Curate, connect, and discover
What if Harumi decided to torture Lloyd, unhinge him, before speaking to him and explaining everything to him in Crystallized? And what if she decided to do that by playing out on his biggest fear—becoming his father?
Just a quick trigger warning: blood, dead bodies, and mentioned cannibalism
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It felt like an eternity had passed before Lloyd finally opened his eyes. Shapes and figures were blurred—colors mixed with no distinct outlines—and he instinctively covered his eyes to block the harsh light. But when his vision adjusted, oh how he wished he could return to the previous moments of visionless bliss. With his vision, the rest of his senses suddenly appeared—something he didn’t even notice was gone in the first place.
He wasn’t sure how he could’ve missed the stench of blood that hung in the air or the deafening screams of unseen citizens. Fog hung low in the air, and greedy fires emitted the harsh light he was just covering from, eating his city away. He stepped back, only to have his foot splash in a pool of blood, triggering his gag reflex.
As he tried to take in his surroundings—to comprehend what he was seeing—a woman stumbled in front of him, snapping him awake. Her clothes, or at least what wasn’t torn, were caked with mud and blood. Her hair was torn in places, and her clear scalp was covered with scratches, just like the rest of her body. He reached out a hand, but, to his utter confusion, she screamed.
“PLEASE NO! Spare me, my lord,” she faced him, eyes brimming with tears, “I have kids! Four of them! Please don’t kill me!”
“Ma’am, I’m only trying to help,” he raised his hands in an assuring manner, “You can tell me where your kids are, and I’ll help you get back to them. I promise.”
She slowly crawled away from him, her whole body shaking like a leaf, repeating, “Not my kids,” over and over again.
“I swear I’m only trying to help!” He took a deep breath, “You might be new here, but I’m the Green Ninja, you know? Helping people is my thing.”
He took a step forward, and, God, if he stabbed her, she wouldn’t have screamed as much as she did.
“PLEASE DON’T KILL ME!”
“Alright, lady, calm down,” his frustration grew with every passing second, and he was barely keeping it in check, “Listen, I’ll leave you, alright? I don’t see any dangers in our immediate surroundings; just stay safe, find your kids, and leave the hell out of here. Sounds good?”
She darted off as fast as her legs could carry her, and he took it as a yes.
Confusion and guilt swarmed his brain as he walked through the streets. The few people he met—all ragged and wounded—reacted similarly, screaming and running left and right. And his friends were nowhere to be seen.
Man, he thought, they sure would be a great load of help right now.
Before he turned onto the next street, the horrible odor intensified, striking his nose strongly, but it was mixed with something else this time. Rotten bananas? No, he pulled out his weapons as realization hit him, It was the smell of bodies; thousands of them concentrated in one place, and a quick look proved his suspicions.
What the hell?
He was about to turn his back to that horrid street, but another realization took control of his limbs, first walking, then running to the heap. His friends…
He scanned the pile for any sign of the—red hair, scarred hands, their gis—anything. In desperation, he prepared himself to climb the heap, but one familiar voice dissolved his doubts, stopping him short. Kai’s.
“What, did you turn to cannibalism already?”
“If you’re searching for something fresh, check the other street; those are days old,” Cole added.
With these remarks, Lloyd expected to see a smile or a smirk on his friends’ faces—not the disgust deeply engraved there.
“Guys, thank God you’re here! Where were you? What happened here?” Shock laced his voice as he studied their torn gis and their fresh wounds, “And where are the others?”
“Not that you care anyway, but they should be coming soon—wouldn’t wanna miss that,” Cole tightened his grip on his hammer, “Now, do you want the easy way or the hard way?’
“What?”
“Dude’s obviously hungry; he probably wants the easy way,” Kai said.
Lloyd put down his sword, shaking his head, “Ha ha, real funny. But can either of you explain what’s going on?”
“Maybe ask yourself, master of destruction,” Nya’s voice, thick with hatred, echoed from behind him before he felt her trident against his back, “Move, and another body will be added to the pile.”
“Nya!” he exclaimed, “Are you OK?”
“That’s hilarious, Lloyd, or should I call you Lord Lloyd, now?” Jay walked into his field of vision, followed closely by Zane.
“You know, at this point, I’m sick of asking, but—”
“He appears to be trying a new strategy,” Zane interrupted.
“What’s it called? Acting all whiny and confused?” Cole’s voice dripped with sarcasm
“Not working so far,” Jay replied, “You need to work on your strategies, Lloyd.”
“Jay, dear, how about we don’t give him any suggestions, mhm? He already conquered Ninjago in less than a week,” Nya said.
“This isn’t funny, guys!” Lloyd protested, “Cut it out!”
He searched their faces for any hints of their condition; whatever caused this might have corrupted them against him, somehow convincing him that he was the root of all this chaos. Their faces, however, showed nothing but anger, hatred, and… was that fear on Jay’s face? And pain in Kai’s eyes?
He held Kai’s glance, trying to speak to him without words, but Kai, who was uncharacteristically quiet, said, “Let’s get it over with.”
“What?!”
Nya struck Lloyd on his head, disorienting him, while Zane froze his feet to the ground. With a quick strike to his wrist, Lloyd’s sword dropped from his hand, and Nya quickly kicked it out of his reach. His other friends encircled him, pulling weapons from pouches on their backs.
Not any weapons.
The Golden Weapons.
An inhuman growl escaped his throat as his heart burned with hurt and shock; his limbs elongated, sending sears of pain through his bones. A new pair of arms sprouted above his waist, sending him into a panic. His eyes filled with tears, refusing to accept what they saw—his Oni form.
No! There’s no way!
It can’t be!
“NOW!” his friends shouted, before jumping at him with weapons directed at his body.
He woke up, gasping, with tears running down his cheeks. His sweaty hands grasped his body, almost expecting himself to be wrapped in bandages but feeling the cloth of his gi instead. The chains around his waist stopped him from sitting up, and the fabric around his eyes prevented him from seeing his surroundings.
A weird laugh, some sort of evil cackle, erupted next to him, “Well, that went better than expected.”
Harumi.
A mixture of feelings squirmed in his gut—panic, sadness, confusion, and, yes, some longing—before finally settling on anger.
“What was that?” His voice rose with every word, burning his throat.
“Oh, nothing, just a little fear serum we wanted to use before you meet the Crystal King.”