Ninjago - Heart of Stone

Chapter One: A Fair Trade

"What do you want?" He asked, his voice low and filled with rage. Skales smiled, clasping his hands together and sliding forwards to be closer to Garmadon. "As I said before," he said in a low voice, "I need you-- for the first, and hopefully the last time."

Garmadon folded his arms across his chest. With his extra two, he stood almost a foot taller than Skales, and given the expression of pure hatred on his face, and the way he was literally shaking with rage, Skales would probably be intimidated if he didn't have Misako held fast behind him. It was satisfying, he thought, like taunting a beast that was chained up, held back from biting at him by nothing more than an inch of air.

"So what is this mysterious favour?" Garmadon asked. "I'd like to get on with it, if you don't mind."

"The feeling is mutual," Skales promised, "but first-- bring Misako back to the prison tent. We can't have her overhearing our little plot."

As the two guards hauled a squirming Misako away, Skales slung an arm around Garmadon's shoulder and turned him around. "Let's talk," he said cheerfully, "let's discuss my little plan."

"Just tell me, you worm," Garmadon snapped, jerking out from under Skales' arm. The Hypnobrai chuckled, inciting a furious scowl from Garmadon.

"Alright," he said, "do you know of the statue in the Ninjago City Museum?"

"Oh, yes," Garmadon said sarcastically, "the statue in the museum. That narrows it down to about a thousand."

"There's one in particular that I have in mind," Skales explained, "the Grundle. You know it?"

Garmadon nodded. "It's old," he said, "it's been there for ages-- what do you want with it? Investing in some home decor? I would suggest hanging lights and--"

"You know that isn't what I mean," Skales snapped, beginning to feel impatient, "I picked that statue because it depicts one of the greatest, most feared land predators of all time." He sighed wistfully. "A pity they went extinct during the Dark ages."

"Ah, yes, I often long for a world where none of us are alive," Garmadon said dryly, "now, are you ever going to finally get to the point?"

"What I want," Skales said, "is for you to steal it." At Garmadon's incredulous snort, Skales lifted and hand to stop him from making a snide remark and hastily continued. "Not in the way you would think-- I don't want the statue, I want the Grundle."

"A living Grundle?" Garmadon laughed. "Skales, it's a statue, not a time machine."

"I'm aware," Skales said wryly, "but it will not remain so-- tell me, are you aware of the properties of your blood?"

"Yes," Garmadon said quickly, his tone suggesting that he did not want to elaborate on the subject, "ever since I was bitten, it's had powers of it's own."

"Yes," Skales said eagerly, "and are you aware that the Devouror's venom shares those properties?"

Garmadon rolled his eyes. "It's the Devouror's venom that gave me those powers, fool."

"But the venom is stronger," Skales went on, "it has powers of its own, powers you cannot imagine-- powers that some would consider unnatural, and they would do so rightly."

"Like what power?" Garmadon asked, frowning. Skales grinned madly, his eyes gleaming like a dagger in the moonlight. "Imagine... imagine erecting a statue of a beast, imagine carving it and painting it and furnishing it, striving to make it exact in it's every detail." Skales leaned closer to Garmadon, lowering his voice conspiratorially. "Now, imagine if something... venom, for instance, oozing and green... could soak your creation, and your statue, still and silent and utterly dead... was alive."

Garmadon gasped. "You want... you want me to bring the Grundle to life?"

"Yes," Skales said gleefully, "I do. I want you to use the Devouror's venom-- and the only reason you must do this is because you are the only one who can touch the venom, and who can control it. You must bathe the Grundle in the venom-- or perhaps not. Perhaps a single drop will be enough." He shrugged. "Whatever must be done, it will be done." Skales grinned like a devil, and Garmadon felt his flesh crawling. "Or else that lovely wife of yours gets to fully experience the hospitality of the serpentine."

"Don't touch her," Garmadon snapped, glancing back at the camp, as if fearing to see Misako's corpse being dragged out, "I'll do what you want. I'll bring back the Grundle." He looked down at Skales through narrowed eyes. "Why is this what you want, anyways? Didn't you learn your lesson with the Devouror?"

"I learned to trust no one but myself," Skales replied lightly, "and I learned that sometimes, mayhem and death are the keys to success... and sometimes not." He smiled. "My motives are my concern, not yours. All you need to do is resurrect the Grundle, and your wife gets to live."

"And then what?" Garmadon asked. "Then will she be released?"

"No," Skales replied bluntly, "she will remain with me for as long as I deem the two of you useful, but I can promise you that she will come to minimal harm during her stay."

Garmadon scowled, looking like he wanted to blast Skales into oblivion, but he remembered Misako, bound helplessly and trapped in the serpentine camp, and he forced himself to remain civil. "I'll make your Grundle, then I'll be back for my wife," he snarled. Skales smiled.

"I will be eagerly awaiting your return," he said, waving as Garmadon stalked off, heading towards the city.

One of his guards came up behind Skales, holding his spear loosely at his side. "The prisoner is secure," he said, "she's getting annoying, you know. Maybe we should just bury her, leave her head above the ground or something?"

Skales laughed. "I'll keep that in mind," he said, "but for now, I have another way of satisfying myself."

"How's that, general?"

Skales snickered, pointing to Garmadon, striding away. "He's going to bring the Grundle back from the dead," he explained, "delicious revenge, this is-- he knows so much, yet he's missed one very important thing."

"And what's that?" The guard asked curiously. Skales laughed again.

"The Grundle," he said, "is much like the Devouror, in the sense that it is a creation of the Oni. That's why the venom will work on it-- and, it can smell the blood of those descended from the Dragon."

"His children," the guard mused. A wicked smile grew on his face. "General, you are clever... what a way to have them go!"

"I thought so," Skales said, "Garmadon will unleash this new terror on the world, and it will seek out and kill the two greatest threats to its existence-- Lloyd and Lexi Garmadon."

"Not that I don't hate the little rats," the guard said, "but why go to all this trouble to kill a couple of little kids?"

"It is not the children I fear," Skales explained, "but what they will grow up to be... Lexi is dangerous, my friend. She must be stopped, must be killed, by any means necessary."