Harumi was the first, followed by Garmadon, Lloyd, Kaitlynn, Lilla, Jade, and Cloud, to heave herself onto the deck of the Destiny's Bounty.
"Are you sure this will work?" Harumi asked the others nervously. "There's no other way we could do this?"
"Well, we can't think of anything else right now, and we're in a BIT of a time crunch," Cloud sighed. "It'll be okay, Harumi."
"B-But---what if she doesn't cooperate?" Harumi thought aloud, then whispered, "or we run out of time?"
"We won't," Jade said firmly. "Zephyr is holding them at the temple because he wants YOU to come. He'll keep them there until you do, or in this case, Clone Harumi does."
"The only other question is how we'll get them out, and firstly, if he'll believe it's actually Harumi," Kaitlynn reminded them. "Otherwise, the Clone's cover will be blown."
"If she agrees to it in the first place," Lilla said again.
"But seriously, a Clone? Is that actually possible?" Kaitlynn asked Harumi.
"I don't want it to be, as much as anyone else," she whispered. "Considering our history. She tried to steal my crown, and now we've locked her in a closet."
Everyone fell silent, and Harumi maintained the same slightly distraught expression. Lloyd cast her a sidelong glance.
"You're worrying too much. About us. About them. But not about yourself."
He stated it as fact, not question, as Harumi cringed.
"I mean, not everyone has to be overconfident," she said lamely.
"It's not a question of overconfidence, Harumi, and you know it," Lloyd told her stubbornly. "Save it. I've known you since we were kids! You need to focus on healing yourself, and keeping a balance between your self-worth and love for your friends and family, instead of letting one overpower the other, as we've seen happen. The Clone will be fine."
"Yes, it shouldn't be hard to get her help," Garmadon dismissed the problem easily. Everyone stared at him. He said, a little awkwardly, "I...took care of her for a while a few months back."
Harumi stared the longest and hardest.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she said quietly.
"I...I will admit that I wasn't quite liking the thought of your reaction, Harumi," he confessed. "Considering I nursed a traitor who tried to become queen in your place. And kill you."
Harumi looked away. "You didn't seem to care when you lied to the Resistance and made them all hate me."
Lloyd recoiled a little. "Hey now, we don't need to--"
"You don't know what it is to live with that, LIKE that..." Garmadon said regretfully, but his tone was angry.
"Live like what? You ruined my life, Garmadon. You lied to Lloyd, about me calling you 'papa'! You turned me into a baby and tried to make me forget about the Resistance! Forget about the family I was accepted into, the only people I have. You told me they never cared for me, you told me they were using me. You flat out lied to me, and because of your lie, you left me out to be attacked by Zackery, and taken advantage of! You don't know how much I have suffered because of your lies. How much I went through because of it! And how all of it haunts me...to this moment."
Harumi stalked away silently, and Garmadon stood there speechless as the girl who once was as close as a daughter to him had just blown up in front of him, BECAUSE of him.
The others followed Harumi, and she screeched to a stop at the closet, staring emptily.
Jade tried putting a cold hand on her shoulder, but the blonde brushed it away.
"I've faced worse, and everyone knows it," she monotoned. Her hand paused inches away from the handle of the closet, which was locked and protected, for good measure, by a broom in the handles.
It was all Garmadon's fault. His fault she was taken advantage of, that she was hunted for her blood, tortured by the oni; it was his fault she'd been exiled by her family, that she lost her memories and almost died so many times.
Then Harumi wondered if they could ever have a good relationship again. If it was possible to repair and stitch the gaping holes that were the consequences of too many bad decisions. The result of selfishness. Greed. Power.
She wondered if she could ever forgive. After all, it was part of the recovery she promised to try her best at.
Harumi shook herself out a little. Maybe some things couldn't be forgiven.
On impulse, she swiftly removed the broom, a cruelness erupting in her, and unlocked the closet door.
( A/N: Hi all :) Happy Summer! ~Ash )