Dreams and Desires

Chapter 5

Betrayal

*I own nothing and any similarities with any other works are purely coincidental.

Zane sat in the Control Room of the Bounty. It was very early in the morning, and the other ninja had gone to sleep several hours ago. As a Nindroid Zane did not require sleep, but he normally powered down his main systems at night. He had refused to do that today however, instead volunteering his time to continue searching for Lloyd. He had been pouring over all the facts and data they had, and he had not been able to find a conclusive explanation behind Lloyd's disappearance. The group technically had no confirmation as to if Lloyd had even been abducted in the first place, as none of them had seen the Master of Dreams. For all they knew Lloyd could have just left the Monastery under his own volition. This frustrated Zane considerably, as he struggled with making decisions and research off of pure speculation, but he had been trying his hardest.

And while Zane had come to a conclusion on the most likely scenario during his previous discussion with the team, he still could not figure out why Lloyd had been taken. Whatever this Elemental Master had planned for Lloyd was a mystery to Zane. If only he had been able to decipher what Lloyd had been dreaming about. But his efforts had not been fruitful. Zane had spent the past few hours sifting through all of his data collecting from the past two weeks, but nothing he had been monitoring gave much of an indication as to what had been troubling Lloyd.

He had stumbled upon one very interesting detail however. Lloyd had been listening to their conversation from the previous day, and Zane had missed it. His scanners had noticed him, and they had been able to immediately pick up on the fact that Lloyd had been sitting outside of the room. Looking back through his data he saw that they had all ran right past where Lloyd was sitting, and Zane scolded himself for missing such a thing. He had been distracted by their conversation and their subsequent race so much that he had overlooked his most valuable piece of data. Zane loaded up their conversation from the previous morning, and focused the scanners on Lloyd.

"Not much talking coming from our royal prince today." Kai remarked.

At this moment Zane's scanners picked up a slight increase in Lloyd's heart rate, but it very quickly plateaued. This was not particularly surprising as Lloyd did not take kindly to their nickname for him.

"I have also found Lloyd's reluctance to socialize today quite puzzling." Zane said as he walked over to join the rest of the ninja. "I had previously noted that Lloyd appeared to be sleeping far less than usual, and that his aggression and stress levels were higher than normal. He did confirm that he was having some difficulty with sleep, but he would not answer what it was that was stressing him out more than usual. I do believe that he was hiding something from me due to his increased heart rate and the long time it took him to answer but I have no leads as to what exactly it is he could be hiding."

Zane saw that Lloyd's heart rate spiked significantly after he had mentioned that he thought Lloyd was hiding something. This was also not particularly surprising. Zane found it regrettable that he had no visual record of Lloyd in these instances, as heart rate and other data could only help him so much. They could tell him what things Lloyd had reacted more sharply to, but it offered no help in explaining said reactions.

"Well, I'm sure he'll talk to us about it if he needs to." Nya said. "Lloyd knows that we're here for him, and I'm sure we'll be able to help him with whatever's bothering him if he needs us to."

This statement appeared to have put Lloyd at ease more, as his rate began to fall to a more normal level.

"It's probably nothing to worry about. Maybe the prince has found himself a new lady friend!" Jay chuckled.

At this moment Lloyd's heart rate jumped to the highest levels out of all of the scans, and Zane noted that Lloyd's aggression levels also shot up. Zane found it rather odd that a passing remark towards Lloyd's lack of romantic interaction had angered and worried him more than anything else in their conversation.

"Guys, you should stop calling him that. Lloyd has said that he doesn't like it, and I'm sure he doesn't want to be constantly reminded of Harumi." Cole said.

This was the moment, the one single time Lloyd responded to their conversation. Zane's scanners picked up the absolute faintest of a whisper, but the fallout from his one slip in judgement screamed louder than Lloyd could ever have imagined.

"You have no idea." Lloyd softly remarked.

Zane paused the playback. Had Lloyd unknowingly shown his hand with this very simple reply? Zane pondered those four words for what seemed like hours. Lloyd had responded to Cole's statement, and no others. He had spoken up specifically following the line mentioning Harumi, not their discussion regarding the nickname he disliked. What did it mean? Was Lloyd agreeing with Cole, in that he didn't want to hear anymore about Harumi, or was he saying the opposite? Was he rather discrediting Cole's assessment, hinting that Lloyd was still harboring feelings for her? And was this indeed the subject of his nightmares? he asked himself.

Zane froze. Of course he was having nightmares regarding Harumi. It all fit perfectly, as Lloyd would probably still be harboring feelings of guilt or resentment towards her even this long after her untimely death. If Lloyd was already troubled by his experiences with her, then the nightmares would only have compounded it further, and it was clearly a very sensitive topic for him. It made perfect sense, but Zane was still unsure what it meant. What could the supposed Master of Dreams possibly seek to gain from doing this?

Zane continued watching the footage, wondering if he could glean anything else from it. The rest of their conversation garnered no change or response from Lloyd, but when the five ninja ran out of the room, Zane slowed down the video and zoomed in on Lloyd. He had been sitting up against the wall to the left of them, his knees tucked up under his head. His face was fraught with worry and distress, and his eyes were welling with tears. Zane looked down at his feet, ashamed that he had missed all of this. He had ignored Lloyd when he had most needed help, and if Zane had noticed any of this at the time, Lloyd might still be with them. This was now the second chance to prevent Lloyd's abduction that Zane had overlooked, and the guilt began to overwhelm him.

After a few minutes he sighed, choosing to move on as he could not change the past. He would try to learn all he could from it however, and he continued the playback. He and the others had been running for about 10 seconds before Zane's scanners picked up footsteps in the distance. Lloyd had begun to follow them, another key detail he had missed. 30 seconds later he saw the collision between Jay, Kai, and Cole and continued running. Zane ignored the further visual footage, isolating Lloyd's audio among the ruckus. 10 seconds after the collision the footsteps stopped and he heard two bodies hit the walls.

"Ow! What the hell man!" Kai yelled.

"Yeah, that actually did hurt Lloyd." Jay added.

"You should know not to remind your Prince about Harumi." Lloyd said in a scathing but slightly hurt tone before walking out and claiming his victory in their race.

Zane stopped the video. That was the nail in the coffin, the smoking gun for this case. Lloyd had almost certainly been having nightmares about Harumi, and it brought back some painful memories that Lloyd was unwilling to talk about. This essentially proved to Zane that the Master of Dreams had been purposefully exploiting Lloyd's emotions, and that immediately made them a far more worrying threat. Lloyd was extremely insecure with his emotions, especially when they concerned Harumi, and now another villain was attempting to abuse that. Zane wanted to run out and tell the ninja what he had found, but right as he was getting up the Control Room whirred to life. A message appeared stating that there had been a break in at Borg Tower, and he ran out of the room but opted to jump off the ship alone instead of running to wake the others. Zane summoned his Elemental Dragon and he desperately hoped that he would be able to get there in time.

Lloyd was approaching Ninjago City, and he had an important question to ponder upon. Stealing the Golden Armor would not be difficult for him. He would barely have to lift a finger to do so, but he also wanted to steal it without being recorded or identified. Lloyd didn't particularly care if he tripped any of the alarms or anything, but for his purposes there had to be nothing tying the crime to him. If the ninja or anyone else found out that he had stolen the armor, they would most likely be able to track him down far easier. And quite frankly, Lloyd didn't want to ruin his spotless image quite yet either. The element of surprise was very valuable, and he had no intention of letting the ninja know his true intentions. Moreover, he couldn't allow himself to be followed either, as he would not let anyone interfere with him and his love ever again. So stealing the armor would take a bit more work and planning to do.

Finding his destination, Lloyd jumped down and released his dragon. He walked into the building and moved through until finding the correct room. He approached the door with caution. How would I go about explaining this if I do get caught? With apprehension mounting, he tried the door. It wasn't open, so Lloyd sent a controlled beam of energy at the lock. It cleanly broke and fell off the door before he quickly plucked it out of the air. He pocketed the item and slowly pushed the door open.

The apartment was dark and deserted. Lloyd activated his green fire to light up his surroundings, and he saw that the room in front of him was a complete mess. There were random takeout containers and assorted clothes items strewn about everywhere. Collecting himself he hesitantly walked across the room and over to its adjacent bedroom. He slowly creaked the door open before sighing in relief. Dareth wasn't home, so Lloyd appeared to be in the clear. He quickly walked over to the closet and removed one of the several brown ninja suits that were hanging up. Lloyd felt slightly bad about pinning his crime on Dareth, but it was far easier than shutting down all of Cyrus Borg's security systems. Satisfied Lloyd moved to leave but heard footsteps approaching. Panicked he looked for a pathway of escape and saw a window. He opened it and jumped out, escaping right before Dareth stumbled into the room.

Lloyd tried to steady and calm himself; that had been too close. He quickly used his spinjitzu, fluidly changing into the brown gi. Lloyd begrudgingly slipped on a mesh armor made from vengestone, as he could not risk using his powers, and the green eyes would be a dead giveaway should he be caught on film. His natural eye colors, a lighter brown, were closer to Dareth's and far more common, so it was a necessary step. He probably wouldn't need his powers to steal the armor anyway, and he could still use his spinjitzu if he really needed to. Testing his theory, he activated his spinjitzu again and was satisfied to see a brown tornado instead of his normal green. Just as it had done so for Zane with his pink gi years prior, the outfit color swap had overridden the shade of Lloyd's spin. He left his green suit next to the building, covering and obscuring it with some nearby garbage. He really hoped it would still be there later.

Lloyd walked the short distance over to the tower, as he had not wanted to use his dragon anywhere in range of Borg's cameras. Approaching the dark and lifeless building, he paused before kicking the door open. Alarms immediately began ringing, but he had ran over to the elevator and gotten inside before the nindroids emerged to fight him. The button for the lower basement was restricted, but Lloyd took out an override key that he had swiped years prior and descended down to the vaults.

The elevator opened and he found himself face to face with a larger group of nindroids. Sighing to himself, as he had wanted to avoid confrontation, Lloyd used spinjitzu. The nindroids were taken aback, and all knocked away by the brown cyclone. Lloyd quickly ran past them, and pushed the door open. He was standing in a hallway, with several doors on either side. Remembering back to the time a few months ago when Borg had built the vaults, Lloyd knew that the door at the end of the hallway led to the Realm Crystal, and he was pretty sure that the first door on the left housed the armor. Another group of nindroids were waiting for him however, and he found himself backed into the third room. Looking around for some sort of weapon he could use, he noticed the Sword of Sanctuary lying slightly askew from its laser protection. Lloyd snatched it up and looked down at the sword. It showed that the nindroids were going to shoot at him, and Lloyd ducked accordingly. He then jumped up, making very quick work of the robots with the help of the valuable sword. He then quickly exited the room and ran back down the hall to the first room.

Lloyd entered, scanning the room for his prize. It was at the back of the room mounted on the wall, and it was not guarded by a laser grid. It made sense, as nearly anyone who came into contact with it would instantaneously die. Luckily, Lloyd was able to possess the Golden Armor however, and he removed it from its perch. He proceeded to run from the room, and was able to ward off the pursuing nindroids by waving the armor towards them. One touch would also disintegrate them, which was a very good reason for them to stay back. He moved past them all, working his way back to the elevator before looking in horror to see it missing. The doors were open but the elevator itself had been locked off on another floor.

He sighed once more, as he had really wanted to avoid using a second martial art, but Lloyd activated his airjitzu. The element-less airjitzu came off with a dull blue shade, and he was able to fly up and jump through an open door above. He had not made it back to floor one, but after stopping briefly, he flew up once more and succeeded in reaching the first floor. Lloyd ran out the door and emerged onto the streets of Ninjago City.

Zane flew through the night sky, and he could finally make out the tower approaching. Looking down he saw a lone figure exiting the building. Zane was shocked, and he had to double check his sensors to be sure, but all appearances suggested that Dareth had just broken into Borg Tower. Even more interesting was the revelation that not only was holding the Sword of Sanctuary, but he had the Golden Armor. The second one was extremely intriguing, as Zane had not thought that Dareth was anywhere close to being able to possess the golden power. Shaking himself from his surprise, he released his dragon and jumped down to the streets below.

Ah, shit. Lloyd thought to himself. Getting himself out of this situation was probably going to be quite difficult. He still couldn't use his powers, so defeating Zane wasn't going to be easy. The Sword would certainly help, but having to simultaneously lug around the armor would severely limit his chances to attack. And Lloyd couldn't just run away either, as he was obviously not not able to activate his dragon, but even if he could doing so would allow Zane the chance to to identify and follow him. Therefore Lloyd needed to incapacitate Zane before making his escape.

"Put down the sword and armor, and surrender yourself Dareth. There is no need to fight." This statement relieved Lloyd, as Zane was in fact fooled by the disguise. And if Zane wasn't going to strike, then he would. A sly grin formed under his mask, and Lloyd activated his spinjitzu. The action caught Zane quite off guard, as he had never seen Dareth use the martial art before, and he was thrown backwards. Lloyd looked down at the sword, and saw his moment of escape. The fight had gone far better than Lloyd would have imagined, as he was able to use the brief moment where Zane was down and out to fly away. He activated this airjitzy and landed safely on the roof of an nearby building. Zane looked back and saw that Dareth had completely vanished. He looked up and down the street, but Lloyd was nowhere to be found. This confused Zane even further, as he was utterly shocked at Dareth's new abilities. Lloyd walked across the roof and jumped down to the next street.

He broke into a run, making his way back to the apartment complex. Lloyd stopped outside the building, grabbing his suit and then activating his spinjitzu to remove the mesh and brown gi. He slipped the golden armor over his green suit and felt the surge of power. The armor disappeared, merging itself with Lloyd himself, and he felt the powers of the First Spinjitzu Master return to him. It had been so long since he had had access to his Golden Power, and it was a breath of fresh air. Lloyd then walked into the building and once more approached Dareth's corner pad. The door swung open easily, and he again walked through the cluttered space to reach the adjacent bedroom. He slowly opened the door, silently hoping that he would not have to confront the Brown Ninja, and he sighed in relief. Luck had been on his side, as Dareth was fast asleep. It seems he had not noticed the missing lock or ninja gi, and Dareth had apparently ignored the open window. Lloyd tiptoed over to the closet, and trying his hardest not to make any noise, he hung the suit back on its hanger.

He looked back, considering what would be his primary method of escape. Should I leap from the window once more? Or would it be smarter to walk back out of the building? he asked. His choice was once again made for him, as he heard more footsteps approaching. Zane had caught up with him, and made the correct assumption that Dareth would return to his "secret headquarters." Dareth stirred slightly, and Lloyd immediately panicked, jumping straight through the window once again.

Lloyd now had just a small amount of time to plan his larger escape. The authorities would now be looking for Dareth, but they were also going to be looking for the sword and armor. The armor was now a non-factor; its powers having been directly absorbed by Lloyd, but the sword was a problem. Should he be found with it, he would be immediately incriminated, and Dareth could potentially be exonerated. Lloyd did not want to get rid of the sword now, as he had no other weapon on him, but it might be the smart thing to do. But then again, he couldn't afford to be caught at all, with or without the sword. Lloyd decided to keep it, at least for now. The more pressing issue to him was of course getting out of Ninjago City. He would obviously use his dragon for the return trip to the Dark Island, but using it here would be far too noticeable, especially if he activated his Golden Dragon as opposed to his normal Energy Dragon. And if Zane was here now, then the other ninja might not be too far behind. Lloyd began walking towards the city limits, hoping he would make it there without anyone noticing him.

Zane opened the unlocked door to the apartment; a multitude of questions going through his head. How had Dareth managed to pull off such a heist? How could he possess the Golden Armor? When did Dareth learn Spinjitzu? Did Dareth have an Elemental Power, or had he managed to learn the martial art without one? And most importantly, why? He heard noise coming from the bedroom. Dareth was there, but Zane thought he had sensed another person. It had been there for only the briefest of moments, but Zane surmised that Dareth may have had an accomplice. That would probably explain the theft, as he found it unlikely Dareth would have managed such a feat by himself. Zane stormed over to the bedroom and kicked down the door. Dareth shot up, confusion and worry crossing his face. Spotting the open window, he quickly ran over to it. Zane peered out to the streets, but he didn't see anything abundantly suspicious. Out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw a figure turn the corner to an adjacent street, but he could not accurately identify them. Zane did not see the sword or the armor, and so he turned his attention back to the Brown Ninja.

"Zane? What are you doing here?" Dareth asked groggily.

Zane felt a sharp rise of anger and confusion. Dareth knows exactly why I'm here, so why is he playing dumb? "There is an active arrest warrant out for you Dareth. I am programmed to follow and obey the law, and thus I must apprehend you and deliver you to the local authorities."

Zane reached for a pair of handcuffs and quickly restrained Dareth. He responded with a series of pleas and whining statements, all of which Zane tuned out so he could focus. He pulled up the contact for the police commissioner, and informed him that the Brown Ninja had been apprehended. Police arrived soon after and Dareth was taken away for questioning. Zane left them alone, allowing the police to run their own investigation on the complex, and headed back to the Bounty. He had quite a lot to tell his friends about.

Clearly Lloyd is already beginning to turn, but I'm certainly not done yet. Many of biggest the twists and turns have yet to come. There wasn't much of a focus on his emotions or angst in this chapter, for which I apologize, but there will be plenty more of that coming soon enough.