A/N: Well, I kinda figured 'I need more of my stories that have been well developed and that I've written far ahead on on the FFN site' so... here's the first of my two cursed concepts. (and yes, this has a title, but it spoils things so I'm not going to give it to the three* of you reading this until the chapter containing that spoiler has been posted. There will be pleanty of foreshadowing about it, so feel free to guess what it is if you'd like!)
*This is not an absolute number, this is just how many people I think will actually read and be at all interested in my work.
Also, if any of you are interested this story has a movie counterpart! It's called 'Forged in Fire' and will be posted at the same time as this one!
PS. Yes, I did manage to stick to a deadline for once. Hopefully this is the first of many!
The four dragons raced to Jamanakai, their riders whooping in delight as they shouted challenges to one another. As soon as the boys landed there was a brief moment of argument before they remembered why they were in this village.
Lord Garmadon.
It wasn't long before they spotted the ominous shadow of a cloaked figure slipping into the village. The four assumed their battle positions, 'ready' for whatever fight this foe would bring.
Around the corner peered a young boy, dressed in a much too large black hoodie with a rib-like design on the front. Not noticing the four as he glanced around, the boy cautiously stepped out of the shadows, clutching his hood with one hand.
The villagers realized it was a kid and not Garmadon and began to emerge from their homes, shouting for the kid to leave already. Some even began to throw vegetables, which the little kid dodged expertly and began picking them up to store in his pockets.
"What's going on?" Cole asked, placing his scythe back in its sheath.
"That kid's one of 'em Darkly's students. They'a always comin' up here to try and steal our candy, the spoiled brats." The villager spat in the kid's direction.
Cole gave a nod of thanks before stepping towards the kid, addressing the crowd. "Nothing to see here, folks. Me and my friends will take this kid back where he belongs."
The tiny boy froze, staring at the four ninja approaching him for just a second, then bolted between two houses.
The ninja gave chase, impressed when finding the kid was almost as fast as they were. The kid turned a corner, and by the time the ninja had done the same he'd disappeared. Giving a light shrug to each other, they figured he'd just fled to his school and headed back toward their dragons.
*The tiny boy's perspective, several hours later*
Lloyd peered between the garbage bags, trying to adjust so his legs could wake back up. The stars were shining in the sky, and the windows of the houses were dark as the moon. He let out a sigh of relief upon seeing no signs of colorful figures or anyone else on the streets. For a second he debated even going for the food he'd dropped while running, but swiftly shook his head at his own foolishness. He'd been lucky to get this far, there was no need to push that by taking unnecessary risks.
He ran and ran. Legs aching, especially his left ankle, which seemed to burn with each step. His stomach growled softly, impatiently. The hoodie blocked most of the cold, but it was still well below freezing. He refused to stop.
... Until he tripped on a lever, buried deep in the snow, and fell into a strange pit that seemed to open out of nowhere. The bottom was solid ice, and a large cavern stretched out on all sides.
"You are foolissh to ssstray ssso far from home, little one." A giant, literally armed snake approached Lloyd, the rattle on his tail shaking with a sound similar to rain. "Look into my eyesss, I control you."
Panicked, Lloyd backed straight into a stalagmite and immediately curled up. "Please." Lloyd squeaked into the silence. "I... I just don't want to be hurt anymore. I don't want to be supposed to hurt people. Please, just..." He glanced up, feeling very confused as to why the snake had a confused, blank look on his face.
"Your command isss to... Protect you?" The snake said it as if in a trance.
That was a question he had never heard before. "Um, yes, sir?"
The snake nodded. "I am Ssslithraa, leader of the Hypnobrai." A flourishing bow was directed to Lloyd. "And you are?"
"Um, Lloyd Garmadon, sir. But I'm not exactly usually called that..." He trailed off, staring at the ground.
Slithraa nodded. "We are at your disposal for whatever you require, Lloyd Garmadon."
Lloyd opened his mouth, but all that came out was "'We'?"
A hoard of snakes crept out of the shadows, ominously approaching. Lloyd cowered further into the stalagmite until they stopped, all still several feet away from him.
"Um, wow. There's a- there's a lot of you." Hesitantly, he straightened, talking more to himself than the snakes. "Well, um, we're definitely going to need food and water. Um, snow can melt into water so I guess that's not an issue, but plants don't usually grow in the snow, so... Maybe we could go back to that village, after all, they seemed eager to get rid of their food. They were throwing it at me, so maybe they'll do that again."
"Then we shall find this village, and steal their food!" Lloyd blinked, opening his mouth to protest before swiftly shutting it, having learned from experience arguing had bad consequences.