Thankfully, Nya had given you and Harumi spare clothes to change into, so you didn't have to worry about being in a dirty dress every day.
You were in the kitchen, filling yourself with a glass of water. You, Harumi, and the Ninja had just landed near the Village of Stixx, the hiding spot as of now. You frowned, although you knew hiding from the Sons of Garmadon was for the protection of you and Harumi. A small feeling in your gut told you this wasn't right. It seems your responsibilities as an heir didn't seem to want to go away, even when they directly knew this was better for everyone involved or not. You couldn't return until the ninja found the last mask, lest you all be in trouble. So, for now, you would have to lie and wait in secret.
Once you finished drinking the water and cleaning the cup, you decided you would go exploring. It had been the first time you'd been outside the palace for a long time, and you were going to enjoy it to the fullest.
While exploring, you managed to find an old unused room. A lever was nearby to your right, and you tugged on it. Soon what revealed itself beneath the floors turned out to be a training room. You stood still in awe and watched the machinery work itself. Gears twisted and turned, spikes showed themselves and went underground only to repeat the process, and tiny wrecking balls spun around. Smiling in amazement, you pulled the lever again, and the obstacle course disappeared underground once more. Deciding not to tell Harumi, you came to the thought of leaving that specific room alone.
You moved along, making your way to another door nearby. It seemed this once had a wheel on it. Maybe it was for meetings? You opened the door, but instead of a long table with chairs around it and a screen projector, you found out that this was a bedroom.
The bedroom was lined with bunk beds that had different colored bedsheets, almost as if to represent each ninja. Walking forward, you saw multiple framed pictures and what seemed to be mementos of the past to be lined up on a table. You caught a glimpse of what seemed to be a younger version of Lloyd and an older man beside him. They weren't looking at the camera, but they were both smiling. It must be his father, you thought.
Deciding not to snoop any longer, you got out of the bedroom and went back to the main deck, only to find the ninja already there along with Harumi.
Nya and Zane were by the control panels, making sure Destiny's Bounty was in good form. Kai, Jay, and Cole were talking with each other. The topic seemed interesting with how their eyes lit up and the liveliness of their movements.
Meanwhile, Lloyd and Harumi were just coming from the deck and towards them. Cole noticed their presence first and seemed to straighten himself a bit. All was well and fine, but you were not prepared for his small pun.
"So, Harumi!" He exclaimed with a smile on his face. He seemed very welcoming. You were glad he was comfortable making casual talk with you and Harumi. Everyone else at the palace seemed too timid to speak casually for fear of being yelled at—Except Adelinde and Maisie, of course.
"Looks like we're gonna be—" he snickered a tiny bit, almost unnoticeable. "—roomies for a while." You shook your head, smiling. Whether or not she found it funny, Harumi decided to ignore the comment, proceeding with a small speech.
"You have all been so gracious to take us in since our palace was—uhm— taken away." You spaced out a bit at those words.
They're dead, you thought. Everyone is dead. Mother, Father, Adelinde, Maisie, and Mr. Hutchins.
Those thoughts alone almost brought you to tears once more. You snapped back to reality, trying your best to stay strong and blinking rapidly to make the tears go away. But when you finished, you saw that Harumi was glancing at you, making sure it was okay for her to continue. With a slight nod of approval from you, she went on.
"And—"
"You're safe with us," Jay interrupted, trying to give her some hope. He seemed quite sure of them being able to protect both of you. Is this a regular occurrence? You thought. Unfortunately for Jay, Zane cleared any thoughts of the Ninja succeeding in protecting you and Harumi from Jay's head.
"That assumption is not entirely justified, Jay." Zane shook his head a tiny bit, making space for Nya to type in images of the masks the Sons of Garmadon currently had.
"We know very little about the Sons of Garmadons' full capabilities." Kai jutted in, adding on. "We know nothing about them. Period." He made a slashing movement with his arm in the air, made to emphasize 'nothing'. Beside him, Nya stepped towards the large computer screen, and keyboard clacking could be heard. At this point, everyone was crowding around the large screen.
"We do know they're after the three Oni masks," she pointed to the screen. The images of both the Mask of Vengeance and the Mask of Hatred were shown, the screen showing no mercy to the grotesque faces painted on them.
"Unfortunately, they already have two of them," Nya commented. You frowned in response. This meant it lowered your chances of successfully getting the third. Significantly.
"Do we have any information on where the last mask could be?" You look over at Zane, folding your arms. Zane shook his head.
"P.I.X.A.L. scanned everywhere for the last mask, but it came up empty," he said. "It's as if it never existed." Whoever hid this mask, knew what they were doing. You looked back at the screen and stared at the lost mask. Almost as if doing so would bring it back. Unfortunately, it didn't.
"Then we need to focus on who's giving the orders," Lloyd mentioned, stepping forward. "A group this organized must have a leader." He thought aloud. Jay put a hand on his chin, giving ideas.
"Maybe it was someone from our past—?"
"Uh, forgive me, but is that... underwear?" You looked to your left only to see Harumi holding a pair of men's boxers. It took all your strength not to laugh or even snicker at her predicament. Jay, ever the fast one, snatched it from behind her at the speed of light and chuckled nervously.
"We're usually more organized, but our leader got lost in a time stream—" he stumbled backward, hiding the underwear behind his back and trying to think about a good excuse. "They're uhm— they're Cole's!" He exclaimed. From the look on Cole's face, he almost seemed offended at the accusation.
"They're blue!" He protested. Kai chuckled from beside him. Finding the situation amusing.
"You're lucky they're not yellow." He said. Now that specific statement painted a look of slight disgust over your face. Harumi had the same reaction, but it seemed to show more in hers.
Your attention was brought back by Nya once more, pressing buttons and making an image of an arrested masked person appear on the screen. Unfortunately, you weren't able to see their face.
"What about the suspect captured at the heist in Borg Tower?" she suggested, turning around. "I can stay behind with (Name) and Harumi if you wanna press him on who he works for." Out of the blue, a voice came from the screen, responding to Nya's suggestion.
"The police have him in custody, but he has refused to talk," the voice said. It sounded soft and gentle, almost like a flower, one would say. "He is set for release today." She added.
Right beside you, Kai smirked. He cracked his knuckles, looking smug. "Then if Johnny Law can't get him to talk, perhaps Johnny Ninja can?" he placed his hands on his hips. 'Was that a joke?' You thought, raising a brow. 'It's probably something only he understands.' And with that, Lloyd, Jay, Cole, and Zane left to go see the masked man. Kai, in the meantime, went to go and buy groceries. We need to restock, he had said. So he left with a few bags in tow. In the meantime, Nya took the time to give you and Harumi a proper tour of the Destiny's Bounty. You smiled when she said that. Better than what you had experienced is what you thought.
So as the group of your three had passed the laundry room, your next destination was in the kitchen. So, as you and Nya made your way to the kitchen, you noticed Harumi wasn't with you. You sighed, tapping Nya on the shoulder. "I apologize for the interruption, Nya," you said. "But it seemed my sister has wandered off as of the moment." Nya smiled, nonetheless.
"Oh, that's alright. Let's backtrack our steps. She might be in one of the rooms nearby." With that, she ended up leading the both of you to the bedroom. At the far end of the bedroom stood Harumi. She was looking at a framed photo of two people, one which you recognized. Nya leaned on the doorframe, deciding to speak up. "You can believe it," she said. "That used to be Lord Garmadon." Harumi quickly turned around, face etched in surprise. You walked toward the picture. If you compared a picture of Lord Garmadon and this nice version of Garmadon, you'd almost think they were different people!
"Lloyd's father?" Harumi asked. You turned back to look at Nya.
"It's impossible to believe they were the same person at times," you admit. You glanced back at the picture. Nya nodded, walking forward.
"He's made some mistakes, but he's made up for them." She said, her voice turning soft. She stood right next to you and Harumi.
"I've heard so many stories about him," Harumi said. "Such anger. He hurt so many people." Harumi turned to look at Nya, her voice fading away at the end. A sad look went over her face. Deciding to turn the conversation, you spoke up.
"How did he end up changing?" You asked. Nya took a look between both you and Harumi and the picture in front of you. Her response came with wise words.
"Master Wu once told me, 'holding on to anger is like trying to throw a hot rock. Only you get burned.'" She looked down a bit before raising her head back up. "Lloyd helped his father... let go." She smiled, looking between the three of you. "But all of that is behind us now," she finished. A voice came from the entrance to the bedroom.
"So I thought." You turned around to see Lloyd standing there. Harumi stepped forward immediately, practically radiating happiness, the opposite of the gloomy feeling that formally resided in the room.
"Lloyd!" she exclaimed. "You're back!" She sounded happy, seeing him again. You squinted a tiny bit. Harumi didn't appear to have this sort of relationship or these kinds of emotions with anyone else, only Lloyd. Your eyes widened a slight bit, coming to the conclusion.
Was she trying to court him?
This was the only logical thing that could come to mind. Harumi was trying to court Lloyd. Before you could put more thought into it, Lloyd spoke up.
"Where is Zane and Cole?" he asked. "I need to see everyone." Kai must've come back, you thought.
"Following a lead," Nya answered. She tilted her head to the side in question. "Why? Is everything okay?" At this question, Lloyd looked grim. He turned his head to the floor, breathing in deeply before looking up once more, his eyes closed.
"The Sons of Garmadon want to bring back my father from the dead." You, Harumi, and Nya gasped in sync, all other thoughts being thrown out the window. You grasped Harumi's hand, looking at her. She met your gaze, and you had one thought in mind.
This is not good.
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Later on, the group was informed of Zane and Cole's plan to get into the ranks of the S.O.G. So all of you ended up standing in front of the screen while Zane was recording everything inside the bar along with Cole.
"You have to sing," Zane said. A slight hint of nervousness was shrouded in his tone, like he knew Cole's reaction before he did anything. Cole did a spit-take, looking at Zane with dread in his eyes.
"I can't sing!" He whisper-yelled, setting down his glass on the counter. "What did I say earlier? There has to be another way!" Cole seemed desperate if his body language was anything to go by.
"You're the son of a Royal Blacksmith," Zane encouraged. "You went to the Marty Oppenheimer School of Performing Arts. You have to trust me. What would Rocky do?" At these wise words of encouragement, Cole bravely took a last sip of his boba and set it down on the counter. He faced the small stage where the microphone was held and strutted toward it. Zane, on the other hand, headed toward the jukebox, ready to set a song for Cole to sing.
After fumbling with the microphone height for a bit, Cole went and introduced himself as 'Rocky Dangerbuff,' threw a coin toward Zane, and told him to put in a specific song. Once that was done, a happy children's song started to play, the instrumental being happy rather than 'mean.' At the sound of this song, Cole's eyes widened in fear.
"What? No, no, no, no, no. Not this! I wanted 159! 'Cream and Death!'" Zane shrugged, a sheepish smile on his face. Cole looked around, the peer pressure of everyone staring getting and practically gnawing on his skin. He gave in to the pressure and sang the song.
"Shine, little glow-worm, glimmer, glimmer.
Hey there, don't get dimmer, dimmer." The song started to pick up the pace a bit, and the bikers in the bar started laughing at his misery at this point. "Glow, little glow-worm, glow, and glimmer! Swim through the sea of night, little swimmer! Shine!"
Back inside the Bounty, all of you watched awkwardly as Cole sang the children's lullaby. From the screen, you could see him doing tiny dance moves to entertain the crowd. Kai and Jay had other thoughts in mind.
"What is Cole doing?" Jay asked, finding it funny.
"I don't know," Kai said. "But please tell me you are recording this!"
"Zane informed me he has a plan to gain the Sons of Garmadon's trust, but for it to work, we must trust him," P.I.X.A.L. spoke from the screen.
"Uh, no one answered my question," Kai said exasperatedly. Jay responded in turn, looking behind himself to see Kai.
"Yes, Kai. Yes, I am recording, and I'm making copies. Lots of copies!" He turned back to the screen. As you looked at Cole, you yourself couldn't help but also find the humor in it, not in his singing, but more in the way he was trying to dance with the limited space he had. At this point, the crowd was booing. The jeers were so loud you could just barely hear the music.
People were now throwing their glasses and food at Cole, a good sign of wanting to get out of there. Within the glasses and food being thrown, you could see Cole trying to do another dance move. Unfortunately, the boba from the throne glasses had accumulated into a small puddle, making him trip and fall. His fake mustache came off when he tripped, falling into the puddle of boba below. He got up, and the small sticker of the scar that he put on his face came off and slowly flew toward the floor. Now, without the mustache and sticker, he was no longer Rocky Dangerbuff.
"Hey!" Someone shouted. "He's one of those ninja!" The woman named Ultra Violet (from what you and the group saw and heard earlier when Darth was speaking to Cole and Zane) shouted a command.
"Grab him!" Thus, the gang members in the club ran to try and capture Cole. Cole did his best to try and fend them off with the microphone stand, panicking.
"Help me, Zane! Where are you?" He was panicking. Zane grabbed a nearby small stool, hitting Cole with it. He looked back at the crowd almost immediately.
"Find this Zane, and grab him too!" He ordered. Everyone in the club practically complied. Everyone ran, except Zane capturing the moments where Cole was grabbed by the shoulders by both the mysterious Mr. E and Ultra Violet and dragged by them.
"Why isn't Zane helping him?" Jay protested.
"Zane has blocked all communication," P.I.X.A.L. mentioned.
"This is our only lead," Nya said, turning to the rest of the group. "We may never get a second chance!" Lloyd nodded.
"Zane wanted us to trust him." Lloyd intervened. Jay protested once more, shaking his head.
"Zane is letting this happen!" He exclaimed. Kai frowned, going along with Jay.
"I'm not waiting for the coach to put me in, I'm going." He stated, starting to walk toward the dock. Lloyd followed behind him.
"P.I.X.A.L, watch over Y/n and Harumi." He ordered.
"My apologies, your majesties," P.I.X.A.L. said. You shook your head.
"It's no worries, P.I.X.A.L.–" You were cut off by Harumi, who strutted over to the docks as well, following behind Lloyd.
"I can handle myself," she said. A frown on her face was etched across her features. Nya ran over to her, trying to convince her to stay.
"I know how it feels," she started, "but Lloyd's right. Our orders are to protect the two of you." She ran off without a moment's notice. Harumi sighed. You put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.
"They'll be back before you know it, Rumi."
- Edited on Aug 4, 2023