Dreams and Desires

Chapter 9

Uprising

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

"So I happened to wake up pretty early, around 4 in the morning or somethin." he began. "I went to go walk my dog before heading back to bed, and while out I coulda sworn I saw that green ninja guy. He was casually walking down the street, like nothing was wrong or anything. I think he was carrying some sort of fancy golden sword I hadn't ever seen before. Looked pretty expensive and rare, but it didn't look out of place. Those ninja always got all them fancy gadgets and weapons, so I didn't think much of it. But now it turns out I that might be the last person to have ever seen him!" the man laughed, befuddled by his random moment in the spotlight.

Jay grabbed the remote and quickly turned off the television. The ninja sat in silence, each trying to process what they had just heard. Lloyd had been seen after his disappearance? And not only that, but he had been spotted openly walking around with what may have been the stolen Sword of Sanctuary? It couldn't be…

"No." Jay hesitantly said. "That's not possible, it, it's not true." he stuttered. "It had to be a different sword, I mean we do have a lot of weapons, just like the guy said."

"That is possible." Zane conceded. "The witness did not provide a detailed account of the weapon, and I am now checking the further police records. No, when questioned the man could not provide any more details, and couldn't place the sword with any photographic matches."

The other ninja each breathed a large sigh of relief. At the very least they knew that their friend probably hadn't broken into Borg Tower.

"However, this supposed eyewitness brings into question the method and reason behind Lloyd's disappearance. Based on the account provided, that Lloyd was casually walking down the street, it would seem to suggest that Lloyd simply ran away from the Monastery."

"Does that… mean Lloyd he, he wasn't abducted?" Kai asked, his voice shaken and somber. He couldn't believe it. Lloyd's my best friend, I know him. He would never have done this. he told himself.

"Not necessarily." replied Zane. "While it is now entirely possible that Lloyd ran away from the Monastery, I would still consider it more likely that he was taken forcefully. What he told us before his disappearance matches with Master Wu's personal account of the powers possessed by the Elemental Master of Dreams, and I find it unlikely that Lloyd would leave us so suddenly and without warning."

Kai didn't feel very reassured and no one else did either. The two most likely outcomes were both horrible for them to think of. Either their friend was abducted and put up to a theft against his will, or he ran away. And then he still could have stolen the sword, which would be the scariest of possibilities.

"Under the assumption that Lloyd did indeed possess the Sword of Sanctuary however, the possibilities shift. Lloyd must have then been the second person I sensed that was in Dareth's room." Zane responded blankly. "It all lines up, as I was very sure that I had seen someone rounding the corner down the street from his apartment. However, it still seems more likely that he was put up to the theft; perhaps for some sort of ransom or bargaining arrangement with his captor. By pinning the crime on Dareth the Master of Dreams could get what they want without tying the crime back to Lloyd or themselves. What I consider to be most peculiar however is that the Golden Armor is still missing. Dareth, or the person framing him if that indeed happened, was after the armor directly; the sword was just an afterthought to them. So why has the armor now disappeared?"

Cole perked up, an idea suddenly forming regarding the armor."The Golden Armor embodies the Golden Power, right?"

"Uh, yeah Cole. That's why it's called the Golden Armor. Duh." Jay said jokingly.

"Wait, Cole might be onto something." Nya remarked. "If the Golden Armor has the powers of the First Spinjitzu Master, and the Armor has vanished, then maybe-"

"Lloyd has his powers back?" they simultaneously answered with shock.

"Hmm." Zane muttered quietly. "That is indeed the a likely explanation for the Armor's disappearance, but the potential reasons for unlocking Lloyd's Golden Power are unclear. This may point more towards Lloyd acting alone, as I can see no reason the Master of Dreams would wish to increase his power. What would be the point of making their prisoner exponentially more dangerous?"

"I had feared this would be the case."

The ninja turned to see Master Wu had walked into the room, and a worried expression crossed his face. "The Golden Power has many, many uses, and it imbues its user with nigh-omnipotence. However, one of the most fundamental parts of the power is Creation. It is far more powerful and dangerous than my Essence of Creation, and it is not restricted by what is available to the user. The Ultimate Spinjitzu Master could quite literally make something from nothing. However, if that power were to be combined with the Master of Dreams, then it would be completely limitless. Lloyd would be able to make anything he has ever dreamed of a reality."

The ninja once again sat still, unsure of how to respond. Finally Zane broke their silence, stating, "But I fail to see what this Master of Dreams could possibly want with Lloyd's power. Why go through all this trouble?"

"I don't know. But whatever they are planning, it cannot be good." Wu responded. "We must find Lloyd immediately, for if we take too long I fear that they may be able break his resolve. In the mean time I will attempt to find your Stone Warrior Armor, the suits you wore in our confrontation with the Golden Master. As much as I don't like to think of it, you may need them again." he remarked.

"I never got one of those suits." Nya quickly said, worry crossing her face.

"Well, I guess you could wear Lloyd's, if I can locate them. And pray that I do, as there is no way for us to return to the Temple of Fortitude to find more any more sets of the armor. It was torn down some time ago; they built a set of apartments over it." Wu said, disdain and disgust present in his voice. He was always very disappointed to see people disrespecting Ninjago's ancestors and rich history.

The ninja nodded in agreement, before running out of the room. They scrambled down to the deck and jumped off the ship. They all activated their power dragons and flew off in separate directions, praying beyond belief that they could find their fallen brother before it was too late.

Two guards were walking down the blank gray hallway. Kryptarium Prison was not a nice place to visit, much less work in. But there they were, preparing to deliver food to one of the inmates. Cell One, as they called it, was built to house a single, very dangerous, prisoner. The guards always got pretty nervous when they had to visit him. Even powerless and imprisoned, he was a very intimidating man to be around. The guard on the left looked over nervously at the wall before trying to start up a conversation; an attempt to distract himself from his growing fear.

"So… You see the news today? They're saying that the Green Ninja's gone missing'."

They nodded in "Yeah, I heard they said that he mighta stolen some fancy sword or something." their partner responded. "I never would have believed it; the Green Ninja goin' rogue like that."

"It surprised the hell outta me, that's for sure." he responded. "But I'm pretty sure they said we ain't supposed to to talk about it or anything. They don't want any of the inmates to get any funny ideas, especially not the guy they got locked up in here." A shiver ran down his spine at the thought, and they continued walking up to the door. They unlocked it, and moved forward into the solitary cell.

The laser grid lowered as they passed through, but it immediately reactivated itself. They were standing on a silver catwalk, surrounded by a bottomless pit. One wrong step could be their doom, and it was always a bit nerve-wracking to be in here. At the end of the metal walkway lay a glass cell; a cylindrical capsule that housed their most dangerous prisoner. They stopped at the cell and slid his food in through a little sliver in the cell. He said nothing, and he was as usual staring off at the back wall. They quickly left, not wishing to bother the man. He was not someone to be trifled with, and they didn't want to try anything now, when their savior in green was gone.

But today was different. Something had changed in the world, and their prisoner knew it just as well as anyone else; he had felt the shift in power take place. He could always sense his son's presence, and he could easily pinpoint Lloyd's current location. He was gone from their continent of Ninjago; the fabled Green Ninja missing in action, and that left the realm very vulnerable. But why would he reveal his information to anyone when he could take advantage of the situation?

Lord Garmadon had a wicked smile across his face.

He was sitting on a red sofa, leaning up against the mustard-colored wall. His friends were all gone; they had left for work. Today was the day there rent was due, and they were far from their goal. Lloyd hadn't gotten any time to train with them lately, which was supposed to be the point of them getting this swanky suite with a ninja course in the first place, but he really didn't mind being home alone right now. The television was free, and with no one to tell him anything different, he had been playing video games for pretty much the entire day. However, he was not going to be alone for very much longer.

Skales was slowly descending on a suspended platform; that sort of motorized cradle they used for cleaning the exterior of a tall building. There was a malicious look in his red eyes, and he was clutching his golden staff tightly. Lloyd glanced over at the window, before doing a double take and jumping backwards in surprise. Skales knocked lightly on the window, and Lloyd cried out in fear.

"Hello little boy." Skales said, a creepy smile etching itself over his blue skin. Lloyd leaped off the couch, nervously running across the room towards the front door. "Help me!" he screamed throughout the empty apartment, hoping that one of his friends or family would be home soon. Upon reaching the door he tried hurriedly to unlock it. It was controlled electronically, and so he started pushing buttons on the keypad that was mounted on the wall.

"Door is locked." responded a disembodied voice.

Lloyd groaned, immeasurably frustrated with the stubborn technology. "I know!" he cried, as he strained with the door handle to no avail. "I want it open!" Meanwhile, Skales had cut a hole in the window using his staff, and with a small push, the glass broke. It smashed down, landing on the ground. The pieces were strewn aimlessly upon the wooden floor, and Lloyd, hearing the noise from the impact, looked back towards the intruder.

"What do you want with me?" he angrily questioned.

"You sssem to be the only thing your father cares about." answered his slithery pursuer. "But with you as my hostage, he'll have no other choice but to let me lead the Serpentine! Hyah!" he yelled, thrusting his staff outwards with a menacing look on his face.

"Ahhh!" Lloyd screamed.

The slippery creep slowly slithered up against him, moving far too close to Lloyd than he was comfortable with. Skales lowered his head down, and quietly whispered into Lloyd's ear.

"Let's… train."

Lloyd felt himself being pushed backwards against the door; the serpentine's arms and tail starting to wrap around him. "Help me!" he yelled out to the hallway. Lloyd heard no response before he started shrieking in pain; Skales had begun forcing himself on the young boy. Lloyd was being sexually assaulted by the snake general, and all of his friends were gone. There was no one to hear his screams.

Lloyd woke with a start, his body aching with soreness and pain. He found himself once again quite concerned and confused by his dreams. It was yet another tarnished memory; another instance where his friends had hurt him in the past, and this was by far the most disturbing one yet. He shivered at the sensation, his body still physically repulsing from the thought that the Serpentine had been defiling him. Lloyd had never felt that before, and it was in very stark contrast to how he had felt when he had dreamt of Harumi touching him. This dream was not arousing, and it did not make him feel tingly or excited. His mind had been scarred, the disgusting feeling of Skales molesting him seared permanently into his brain.

Lloyd had been physically and mentally tortured for what felt like an eternity now, and he was starting to give in to the pain. He desperately needed water; his body severely dehydrated and weakened. There was more blood dripping from his cheek and wrist. His wounds had been left untreated and they continued to bleed, although thankfully far less than when they were fresh. Lloyd was now seriously worried that his wounds would get infected if they were left alone for much longer, but blood loss and infection were only two of a great many concerns. He needed water more than anything else at the moment; felt as if he was going die very soon without it.

"W-, wa, water." he croaked, straining himself heavily to get the words out. "I need… water." he whispered, feeling as if he might pass out already from the effort.

"Your wish is yours to keep." responded the voice of his eccentric captor. Lloyd was put on edge by the statement. He thought he had heard it somewhere before, though he couldn't remember anything. The memory was somewhere very distant, a tiny speck in the cosmic mess that was his life, and it could not be recalled. He just had a gut feeling about it, for the phrasing was simply off-putting. Lloyd's thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a large mass of liquid being thrown directly at him. He was completely drenched by the freezing water, feeling himself shiver and shake from the sudden temperature drop, and the liquid began to slowly ooze its way into his cell. The numbness and cold refused to correctly register with Lloyd however, as the only thing he could think about at the moment was slurping up all the water around him. Partway through his session of drinking he once again found himself tasting his own blood; some of the excess that had seeped into the stone ground below him had mixed in with the unfiltered rainwater. He tried his best to ignore the disgusting taste.

What he couldn't ignore however was the immense stinging he felt on his face and wrist. The water had cleaned out his wounds, leaving a far more biting and mordant pain to replace the risk of infection. The water had been the salvation from his most pressing problem, but it had created several more to take its place. It was an obvious improvement over his previous circumstances; Lloyd was no longer at risk of dying from his thirst at the moment, but that was the only positive thing he could say. He was still extremely malnourished and sickly, and now he had to be worried that he might die of hypothermia as opposed to dehydration. His captor was using every possible technique at their disposal to break him, and he just couldn't understand why. What have I even done to this cheeky bastard? he silently asked himself. I haven't done jack shit to them, and yet they still treat me like a goddamn prisoner of war or something!

"Why… why are you doing this to me?" he wheezed, the water beginning to block up his lungs. Great, and now I have to worry about tuberculosis too! It's my just lucky day, isn't he? he silently vented.

They chuckled quietly at the question, clearly enjoying being able to torture him so much. "Oh Lloyd." they mused. "Why would I possibly tell you anything when having you wildly speculating and making worried guesses and accusations is so much more beneficial to me?"

Lloyd stared at them blankly, mesmerized by the spectacle of a person in front of him. They were truly unlike anyone he had met before. They were cruel, disturbingly and ruthlessly evil. But they acted so aloof and detached, as if they treated everything like a fun game; a harmless prank. He had met plenty of bad people, but no human was so tactically and precise in their villainy. Are they even human? They could be a Nindroid, a Serpentine, even an Oni for all I know! he thought frustratingly. Who could possibly be this evil?

"Anyway, are you ready to get back at your lying and manipulative friends yet?" the Master of Dreams continued. "Think of just how poorly they've really treated you this all this time. You know deep-down that they deserve to pay for their actions, don't you Lloyd?" they said, their voice a cheery, but overly pedantic tone.

Lloyd froze. He felt his body moving, something inside of him was writhing and twitching; trying with all of its to break free. The offer was so tempting… he thought. I mean, anything is better than the living hell I'm in now. His body began to spasm, his face quivering as he desperately fought against his darker thoughts. They were trying to overpower him, his evil side threatening to destroy everything that made Lloyd who he was as a person. He felt himself shoot up off the ground, his body becoming the battlefield for the confrontation in his mind. His back arched backwards; his spine twisting and squirming against the movement, and then he fell limp.

Lloyd looked up slowly at his captor. He narrowed his eyes at them, the anger and hatred boiling over. The Master of Dreams looked back in surprise and quite a bit of fear, for what they saw shocked them to their very core. Lloyd was staring back at them with a pair of blood red eyes; the deepest shade of scarlet they had ever seen. The Master of Dreams had done it. They had completely destroyed and broken the Green Ninja in just three days.

But would it hold? Had Lloyd been permanently and fundamentally changed, or was he experiencing a temporary shift; a surge of animosity and resentment that would soon fade away? That was the question on their mind, and that single chance, the difference between those two possibilities, had the potential to alter Ninjago forever.

Yeah, more cliffhangers and teases, I know. But there will be plenty more twists and reveals to come, so you should probably get used to it I guess. All things consider, I think this chapter turned out pretty good, although today's flashback dream definitely toes the line between teen and mature. I think the story is still safe with its rating, as although I'm not shying away from mature themes, I'm not really actively describing them in vivid detail either. I think it's fine as it is, but if anyone thinks I should increase the rating, let me know.