Dreams and Desires
Chapter 6
Confusion
*I own nothing and any similarities with any other works are purely coincidental.
It was early morning by the time Lloyd returned to the Dark Island. It had taken him nearly an hour to reach the outskirts of Ninjago City on foot, but he was able to cross the sea in under half that upon his Golden Dragon. Only half a day had passed since his abduction, but his world had been completely flipped upside down during that time. Lloyd dismounted the dragon and landed upon the mountain ridge. He glanced around, seeing the Celestial Clock, but not the Elemental Master.
"Uh, I'm back." he hesitantly announced. Lloyd had the opportunity to change destiny in this moment. This single point in time was emphatically central to the devastation that would come, and the ability to prevent it was quite literally within reach. Had Lloyd looked down at the Sword of Sanctuary, he would have been able to see the coming attack and avoid all of the wrath and ruin, but unfortunately it was all for naught.
"Yes, I suppose you are."
Lloyd turned at the sound of the voice. His eyes went wide as another cyan flash hit him and everything went dark. Lloyd collapsed and the sword clattered to the ground next to him. The Master of Dreams once more sauntered over to Lloyd's unconscious body. They reached down and peered quizzically at the sword. The craftsmanship and build quality was amazingly refined. The sword felt light and weightless, capable of broad, sweeping swings with little effort, while still being very effective as a blade. And of course its powers of precognition were infinitely valuable. They picked up the sword and slashed out at Lloyd's right cheek. Blood began to seep from the open wound and pool up on the ground under his head.
A wicked grin crossed their face.
"And then I saw Dareth running out of Borg Tower, clutching the Sword of Sanctuary and the Golden Armor." Zane concluded. He had been discussing his nighttime escapades for quite a while now, and he was finally getting to the really interesting part. Zane plugged himself into the computer and he pulled up the footage from his memory banks to show the group.
"You know, I always thought Dareth was holding out on us." Jay laughed.
"How could Dareth possibly hold the Golden Armor? If none of us could possess all the Golden Weapons or the Golden Armor, how could Dareth of all people manage it?" Cole asked.
"It is possible that when I sacrificed my original body to defeat the Overlord, the Golden Armor may have been permanently weakened or damaged. No one since has attempted to possess the armor until this very instance, so we have no way of confirming or denying the validity of my hypothesis." Zane responded.
The group stood in silence before Zane continued with his spiel. "There is still more to show." he added. Zane resumed the video and they all jumped in surprise at Dareth's use of Spinjitzu.
"How on Earth did Dareth learn Spinjitzu? Did one of you teach him?" Kai asked, tossing an accusatory glare at everyone present.
"No." they all responded.
Nya leaned over to Jay and whispered, "It's like that stupid Doubloon guy." He gave her a knowing nod.
Zane continued the footage again, showing how Dareth had disappeared soon after. "I still am unsure how he escaped so quickly." he responded. "However, I have managed to acquire the actual footage of the heist, and it may help explain his sudden escape."
Zane loaded the security footage and skipped through until he got to the bit in question. They saw Dareth using Airjitzu to ascend the floors of Borg Tower, and all of the ninja were once again shocked.
"But why was his Airjitzu blue?" Jay asked. "He's gonna pay for stealing my color." he quietly added.
"And are we sure that this is actually Dareth?" Nya asked. "Maybe someone was just pretending to be him."
Zane pondered upon the idea. He hadn't really considered it as an option, but it made quite a bit of sense. Dareth's motives seemed shaky at best, so maybe he was in fact innocent.
"It is possible," he finally admitted. "Dareth said nothing to me when I encountered him, and his voice was not picked up in any of the security footage. Now to answer Jay's question, I believe there are three plausible explanations for how he used both martial arts. Firstly, that Dareth does not have any Elemental Powers. Brown could simply be his natural color of Spinjitzu, like Misako's silver or Doubloon's gold." Zane showed footage of both to emphasize his point.
"And the blue is similar to the shade the four of us had when he first used Airjitzu. Jay, Kai, Cole, and I all had the same blue color originally because we learned Airjitzu when we were without our powers. Lloyd was still possessed by Morro, and at that time our powers were entirely dependent on Lloyd. By now are powers have grown and they are no longer tied to Lloyd's health, but they were back then."
"Now, the second possibility is that Dareth actually does possess an Elemental Power, and that the color of his Spinjitzu was overridden by his brown gi. As you may recall, Lloyd briefly turned my ninja gi pink by washing it with Kai's."
"Oh yeah!" Kai chuckled. "Do you guys remember when Lloyd was a villain?"
The group erupted in laughter, and they went on a tangent about his exploits before Zane redirected the conversation.
"As I was saying, my spinjitzu was also briefly changed to a pink color during that time." Zane pulled up a clip of it out from his memory banks. "We do not know the exact circumstances needed to change the color of one's Spinjitzu, but it is clearly possible, so it may have happened here. If that were the case, then the blue Airjitzu would then accurately represent Dareth's elemental power. I am unsure of what element he could possess, but the most logical conclusion would be that Dareth is this Master of Dreams. The time frames match up, and it is therefore possible that he may have wanted to use the Armor in his plans. Although in the footage we can see that Dareth only grabbed the sword for use as a weapon, which does add a slight problem to this explanation. Why would he have needed the sword if he had elemental powers? If he does have them, he's never shown them to us before. Dareth only used the sword, and the pair of martial arts for his theft."
"The third possibility is that Dareth has powers, but he was purposefully hiding them. As you can see through the footage, he was wearing a mesh overlay on top of his suit. None of us have ever seen Dareth wear such a thing before, but it does look rather similar to vengestone. If this were the case, it would fit with the first explanation regarding the color of his Airjitzu and Spinjitzu, but here it would also explain his use of the sword. What reason Dareth would have to intentionally limit himself like this is unknown, but it would most likely be out of a desire to hide his element. All three of these explanations are also entirely possible if Dareth was in fact framed. I find the first explanation to be the most probable out of the three, but how he learned either of the martial arts is still unexplained."
"I later managed to track Dareth to his corner pad and apprehend him," Zane said as he adjusted the footage, "but I thought I heard someone with him. My sensors picked up another person's heart rate and footprints, as it seems they ran as soon as I arrived. I found an open window in Dareth's room, but if there was anyone, they were too far out of reach. As the weapon and armor were not found with Dareth and they have yet to be located at all, it is most likely that Dareth was in fact working for or with someone. It appears even more likely that Dareth was being possessed or controlled, as he still denies committing the crimes and he seems genuinely confused about the entire situation. As much as we may like to free him from Kryptarium Prison, we must find Lloyd. That is our top priority right now, and we can worry about Dareth and any possible criminal associates at a later time."
"We have got to find him quickly too, or he might not be the man we recognize ever again. We can't let this Master of Dreams corrupt our friend!" Nya cried.
The rest of the ninja agreed, and they quickly ran off to research or further search for the answers they desperately needed.
He walked out onto the deck of the ship. Looking down he could see the beginning of an electrical storm brewing, but for now the Sun was still out. The light was being slightly broken up by the clouds, and it reflected beautifully off of her hair, creating a light yellow shade that bounced across their bodies. His gaze lay off in distance; far away from the ship with a slight hint sadness in his eyes.
"My father told me they call this the Dead Man's Squall." he said with a tinge of bitterness creeping through his flat and measured tone.
She looked over towards him, correctly guessing that his sadness was related to his father. It seemed like a very sore subject for Lloyd, especially considering that the Sons of Garmadon were planning upon resurrecting him very soon.
"Do you remember much about your father before he left you as a child?" she asked hesitantly. He looked up, his face showing even more sorrow than before. Clearly Lloyd still felt a ton of grief over his father's death, and he seemed very insecure with his emotions. Getting no response, she added "When he was… bad?"
Lloyd sighed, turning his gaze back to the storm. "No, not really. I was too young." he remarked. He still felt hurt about the absence of his parents throughout his childhood. Growing up in the shadow of Ninjago's greatest villain had left lasting effects on his growth and development. His childhood had been far from normal, and then it had been abruptly cut short. He had grown up more cold and distant than he sometimes cared to admit.
Attempting to shift the subject away from his complicated feelings, Lloyd asked "What about your parents?" She was a little taken aback by the question. Her parents were dead due in part to Lloyd's actions, and it was a point of extreme resentment for her. She had held a grudge against him for opening the Serpentine Tombs for the better part of her life at this point, but she couldn't lash out at him now. She needed his trust, and not only for her plan. Harumi had been surprised to learn just how similar they truly were, and she would be lying if she said that she wasn't having any second thoughts.
"Sometimes in my dreams, they're right next to me. It's like they're still here, but then I, I wake up." She choked up towards the end, a tiny bit of her anguish sneaking through. Lloyd looked over at her, finding himself slightly comforted by their shared pain. "You're not alone, Rumi." he said softly, turning away once more. He was still feeling very uncomfortable with their conversation, and part of him kind of just wanted to walk away.
"Neither are you." she quickly responded. She didn't quite know why, but seeing Lloyd in pain like this made her feel worse. He was still holding back, and she really needed to get to know him. "I know it's difficult to think that they're trying to bring your father back. I can't imagine what must be going through your head." Lloyd rolled his eyes, quietly mumbling, "You got that right." under his breath. She felt her anger rise at his response. He was still not opening his heart to her, and he was at times being outright dismissive towards her feelings. She grabbed his shoulder and made him look over towards her. His face was looking down, the pain still consuming him.
"Whatever happens, I'll be here." His face brightened at her sentiment, and she leaned over to kiss him.
Lloyd pulled back, rejecting her sign of affection. He looked completely shocked by her advances and he ran off, having difficulty contemplating what had just happened. She looked back to the storm, trying her hardest to stop the tears forming in her eyes. How could he reject her like that? It hurt her more than she could have possibly imagined, and she just didn't understand his coldness.
Lloyd woke with a start, flabbergasted by what he had seen. He couldn't understand why he would have ever rejected her advances, and he really wished that he wasn't so awkward. I know I was in love Harumi, and I'm sure of that belief, but why does it always feel so wrong? Why can't I ever just be at peace with my feelings? He sighed, once again perplexed by his dreams, and he tasted blood. His face was bleeding out; a deep gash had been cut in his cheek. When the hell did this happen? he asked himself. It ultimately didn't matter to him however. Nothing hurt more than a blow to the heart, and that constant misery had numbed him completely to physical pain.
Lloyd sat up, looking around at his surroundings. He was housed in a cell, and he once again couldn't access his powers. Lloyd groaned in frustration; he had had it up to here with vengestone. Looking out through the bars he saw a barren room; resembling a blank, endless void of stone. Where was his captor? What happened this time, and how did I end up powerless again? Lloyd thought back, straining his memories. I arrived at the Dark Island, looked around, and then nothing. How did I end up imprisoned, and when was I cut with a sword? He had so many questions, and absolutely nothing to go on.
A noise to his left shocked him out of trance. A door opened, and the answer to every one of his questions conveniently walked in, arrogantly whipping around the Sword of Sanctuary. Of course. he thought. Why would he be surprised at this point? So, so many people have wanted to exploit my power over the years. he sadly remarked.
"Ah, welcome back to the world of the living Lloyd. Been enjoying your dreams so far?"
He felt his blood boil and he lashed out against the manipulative con. "Goddamn it! Why can't you people just leave me alone for once? Why is it always ME who has to suffer?!"
"Oh, it's nothing personal Lloyd. Your power is simply far more desirable than the boring old water or ice." they said with an air of disgust. "Your friends want your powers too you know." Lloyd's eyes shot up with malice once more, but he was cut off as the Elemental Master continued.
"You have been used by the ninja as nothing more than a weapon! They never cared for you, only your power."
Lloyd froze. It reminded him of something his father had told him years prior. The Golden Power needs to be protected, honored. Evil forces will seek it, try to take it for their own. It seduces. Even your friends may one day covet it. He had dismissed him at the time, but he had been lying to himself.
As much as Lloyd hated to admit it, there was a lot of truth in their statement. When he had first joined the ninja, every one of them had hated him. They had despised him with a bitter and burning passion, and only when he was revealed to be the Green Ninja did they care. Kai had seriously considered letting me die for the stupid fangblade! Only Nya had liked him then, as she was the only one who could see past his poor misguided choices and truly care. Even after all the years he had spent with the group Lloyd still felt slightly ostracized by them. None of his friends were ever there to help him when he felt the most vulnerable and lonely. They will never understand me.
He looked up towards the strange person, once again perplexed by their idiosyncrasies. "I don't completely agree with you, but there's probably some truth to that. I really am alone in this world." He looked down to his feet, staring at the blood that was dripping down onto the stone floor. I will never get Harumi back again- hold on a second. They said they were going to bring her back. What the hell?!
His eyes shot up once again, his bloody face marked by a vicious hatred Lloyd never thought he could feel. "You said you would bring her back!"
"Why the hell would I possibly have helped you with your perverted request?" they spat, visibly recoiling at the mere suggestion. "You're practically an incel at this point!"
"Shut up!" he screamed before collapsing and falling to this knees. How had he been so foolish? Lloyd had let himself get manipulated again, and he scolded himself for it. Why am I so goddamn trusting? Why can't I ever see these smug asshats for what they are? He slowly collected himself and faced his enemy once more. "What the hell do you actually want from me?"
"Oh finally, I was getting so bored of your shitty feelings. I want revenge against your pitiful uncle, plain and simple. And I intend to make it the most bitter it could possibly be, because you are going to help me do it."
"I would never hurt my family!" Lloyd yelled, purposefully spitting some of his blood at the obnoxious adversary. They seemed genuinely surprised and a bit taken aback by the defiance, but their aggravating detachment soon returned in spades.
"Of course you wouldn't. The perfect Green Ninja could never be so cruel. But they deserve your hate Lloyd. They deserve to feel the same pain that you feel, the same pain that I feel! Your master took my family from me, leaving another young child alone in the world! He and all the other ninja deserve to feel like we do Lloyd! They deserve to feel what it's like to be alone."
No, I won't let it happen this time! Lloyd's past truly was coming back to haunt him. It seemed that another Harumi was in his presence, another lost soul consumed by grief and everlasting trauma. And he was going to make sure that they would not succeed this time around.
"You're wrong! As much as I loved Rumi, her pain brought her nothing but ruin. Holding on to that anger for so long will only hurt you more in the end. You have to deal with your pain, not let it control you! Everyone in this world has dealt with grief at some point in their life, us more than most. But you have to move on eventually. You can't just let your anger continue to grow and fester, or it'll end up destroying you in the process." he finished, slightly enjoying being able to so eloquently critique and correct the bastard.
"Oh, how very mature and wise of you Lloyd. I'm sure you've completely moved on from your romantic feelings for-oh wait, no you haven't! You are just as guilty as I am and in time you will join me willingly. I have my ways of breaking you."
They fired another beam at him and he slumped to the ground again.
"Oh, I wonder how long you'll last. Just how long will it be before you snap?"
Jeez, that went downhill pretty quickly for Lloyd there, didn't it? Yeah, I don't feel like I really have my best work here, for which I'm sorry. There was just so much dialogue this time around that at points I kind of gave up writing the character reactions. So yeah, if some of the chapter comes off a little flat here and there, that's why. I really need those little sections and breaks where I can describe what's going on, and here I just couldn't find those spots. The bulk of the chapter was just those two main conversations, and I just can't write dialogue nearly as well when it goes on for so long.