Chapter Text
Lloyd left his weapons at the arms vault of Kryptarium prison, then followed Warden Noble down the long, concrete hallway. They paused every minute or so for the Warden to punch in a password or scan a fingerprint, deactivating the excessive, deadly security measures stored with the walls. Following the Warden through the tightly protected corridor, Lloyd cast furtive glances up at the cameras fixated on their progress. The cameras pivoted to trace his movement, and so as soon as he passed out of the sight of one, he walked into the view of another.
It comforted him to know that despite its track record, Kryptarium Prison always adapted after its break-outs. Though it had been breached by the Chen’s Anacondrai and then by the Sons of Garmadon, it tightened down with each incident. There was no way his father would escape this place.
Or so he hoped.
“What conditions is he being held under?” Lloyd asked timidly. He’d held the question in since he’d arrived at the prison by way of the bounty. “What’s his cell made out of? Is he ever allowed to exit it? He hasn’t tried to break out, has he?”
“Not to worry, Green Ninja, sir,” The Warden answered with a chuckle. “We’ve locked him up tight and thrown away the key, so to speak. He’s currently being detained in a cell lined with Vengestone and reinforced with titanium. Cameras inside and outside the cell monitor activity constantly, and we have someone standing guard at all times. Usually a standard officer, sometimes Ronin when he volunteers his services. And we have a weapons system at the ready in case he gets aggressive.”
Lloyd winced. The motion was caused by worry, though for two completely different reasons. On one hand, he was worried because even if he’d become a monster, the man in that cell was his father, and Lloyd didn’t want him getting hurt. And on the other hand, Lloyd was worried because he had little faith that any weapon could neutralize that prisoner for long.
Not even Lloyd had been able to subdue him without a hope and a prayer. It had been a desperate gamble, guessing what fueled his father’s destructive power and depriving him of it on the ruins of Borg Tower. And even in his powerless state, it wasn’t as though his father was helpless. Even before the snakebite and his gradual descent into darkness, he’d been a force to be reckoned with.
“What sort of weapons?” Lloyd asked at last as the Warden and he rounded a corner, passing the cells containing the lesser criminals and convicts. “Anything lethal?”
“We think so,” The Warden said after an uncomfortable cough. “We’re not exactly sure what counts as lethal to someone like him. Aside from standard guns and tasers, we have Vengestone and Deepstone weapons on hand. And the bottom of his cell is rigged to drop him into a solitary confinement pit. Rest assured, we’ve done everything to ensure he never leaves his cell.”
Everything might not be good enough , Lloyd thought darkly, though he didn’t dare voice his mind. He had to hold onto his hope that his father would be pacified here. He wouldn’t have come out this way to question him if he didn’t feel some amount of safety.
“That’s good to hear. Thank you again for having him. If you hadn’t agreed to hold him, I’m not sure we’d have found anywhere in Ninjago to put him.”
“My pleasure. You’ve done so much for Ninjago, we’re happy to be of assistance.”
Lloyd went silent the rest of the trip. The Warden led him through several corridors lined with bars, behind which stood, sat or snoozed the minor inmates. The ones here were the crooks charged with lesser crimes and shorter sentences. Lloyd was grateful to know that his father wasn’t just being chucked into one of these common cells. Though the concrete and steel would easily contain a human, his father didn’t exactly fit that description anymore.
Next, the Warden deactivated some more security measures and opened the heavy doors to the main complex. An octagonal chamber with a bulky watchtower taking up the center, the complex was four stories tall, balconies ringing the upper levels, accessible via stairways at different intervals. Sturdier, smaller cells covered every wall, armed guards standing or patrolling the walkways and courtyard.
Almost immediately following his entrance, jeering and curses flowed from the cells like a rushing, angry river. Lloyd didn’t humor any of the furious noise with replies, though he shot cursory glances around for the sources. He saw familiar faces pressed against the bars around him as the shouts washed over him. Wyplash the Skulkin, Captain Soto, the Mechanic, Killow and Ultra Violet, a number of human, Serpentine and Nindroid inmates, and even the titanic Stone Warrior. Their eyes all glistened with hate as he hastily met and averted their gazes.
He was glad he’d never done anything to warrant a sentence here. Being stuck in the same space as all of the crooks he and the other Ninja had put away was a nightmare in the making.
Warden Noble led Lloyd to the opposite side of the chamber, where he unlocked a thick metal door with a keyring and led Lloyd down a hall very different from the others. It was sleek and shiny with steel plating, and there was an even greater number of cameras and speakers here. A number of laser grids and physical bars blocked their path, all of which were removed by the Warden by means of password or fingerprint as they went.
At the very back of the hall were two paths. One led down a stairway, but a sign displayed that active construction was going on down there. Lloyd supposed it was probably the site of the new cell being built. The Warden showed Lloyd down the opposite bath, which ended with a barred cell no larger than an elevator compartment. A bed was shoved up against the back, and there was a surplus of cameras, mounted weapons and guards watching over it.
The guards dismissed themselves after spotting an authoritative nod from the Warden, and he himself left after bidding Lloyd a quick, quiet goodbye. Left alone, Lloyd watched as the lasers and bars were replaced before turning to the cell. He gave a slight start, almost thinking the cell was empty, before the darkness shifted, and a pair of red eyes opened, revealing the figure hiding there. He sat on the edge of the bed, four arms in relaxed positions, watching Lloyd with thinly veiled boredom.
“I must be the luckiest man in Ninjago,” Garmadon said, his voice a deep, silky drawl. “The Green Ninja has come to visit me. I wonder, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
Lloyd shivered slightly. Green Ninja . Not Lloyd, or son, or any less formal name. It was the only thing Garmadon had shown any interest in calling him since his resurrection.
“I have questions, father,” Lloyd began carefully, putting on a stony, cold face, trying not to let his apprehension show. “Questions I’m afraid only you can answer.”
A smirk tugged at the lips of Garmadon’s face. “Well, this should be interesting. You’ve come to me with a new childish notion, no doubt.”
Garmadon looked more or less the same as he had the last time Lloyd had seen him. In his resurrected form, he had his four arms and tar-black skin, which was torn open in some places to reveal bones and splotches of purple blood through cracks in his armor. His casual posture and expression made him look rather at home despite being behind bars. It gave Lloyd chills to see his father so relaxed in this position. It made him fear Garmadon was right where he wanted to be.
“Well?” Garmadon asked, grinning wider as moments of silence passed.
“I have questions,” Lloyd repeated, closing his eyes, trying to work out the best way to pose his inquiry. He’d had the mental battle during his trip to the prison, and had yet to yield satisfying results. “About my eyes.”
Garmadon raised his eyebrows. “Is that all? Well, I’m terribly sorry to be the one to tell you this, but I am not an optometrist.”
Lloyd flushed and he shook his head. “No, I mean . . . they’ve changed. I thought you might know why.”
At that, Garmadon’s expression grew impassive. Lloyd waited, taking in slow, deep breaths, fighting the urge to blink. Just talking about his eyes made him unable to ignore them. And it didn’t help that the strange color of his eyes had haunted him for years, even before their recent change.
For as long as Lloyd could remember, his eyes had been a dark shade of scarlet, with a thin, snake-like pupil. The sinister appearance of his eyes was clearly connected to his father. Though Lloyd wouldn’t learn the details until he was older, he’d understood from a young age that he’d most likely inherited the strange eyes from his father. Garmadon had been bitten by the Great Devourer, awakening his dormani Oni nature and corrupting his blood.
Even when living at Darkley’s Boarding School, Lloyd had known a thing or two about the father that’d abandoned him. He’d heard stories about the evil Lord Garmadon, and through them Lloyd had been able to theorize that he’d inherited his mysterious eyes from his father. At the time, the revelation had thrilled the young boy. For most of his childhood, Lloyd had wanted nothing more than to follow his fathers’ footsteps and join him in his conquest.
Even after Lloyd had been scared straight after his interactions with the Serpentine and eventually learned his destiny as the Green Ninja, he had been accepting of his role as the Son of Garmadon. Though he now saw his eyes as a scar left by his connection to Garmadon, he didn’t waste time loathing them. He knew they weren’t going to change.
And then they did.
“What do you want me to tell you?” Garmadon asked, his voice lacking the amused undertone it’d previously harbored. That, combined with the curious expression on his face, told Lloyd that he’d gotten his father’s attention. “You think I have any idea what is happening to you?”
Lloyd gave a small nod. “My eyes used to be red. Like yours. They were probably like that because of your oni blood. Do you agree?”
Garmadon shrugged. “Perhaps. And now they are green.”
Lloyd went silent again, letting Garmadon mull over that fact. The change had happened months ago, not long before Lloyd had first encountered Mr. E and began the Ninja’s tussle with the Sons of Garmadon. It had scared the life out of him, the first time he’d looked in the mirror and realized what had changed. His eyes, once the color of blood, had become vivid, forest green.
Lloyd had his theories why they’d changed, of course, but none of them led him to a concrete answer. He’d shared his thoughts with his mother and the other Ninja, but similarly, they were unable to come up with a solid conclusion.
The common thread of their theories was Lloyd’s identity as the Green Ninja. Obviously, the color change had something to do with his role in destiny, but why had the change only occurred now? Was it somehow connected to his recent growth spurt? Or was it some delayed sign of his destiny? Lloyd had consumed aging tea years ago, transforming him from a child to a teenager. Maybe that had something to do with it.
In any case, no one Lloyd had spoken to so far had the answers. Which was what had led him here, to his recently captured father, the resurrected Emperor Garmadon.
“What makes you think I have the answer you seek?” Garmadon asked, leaning against the wall of his cell.
“I just told you. I’m your son. This might be connected to you somehow.”
Garmadon’s lips curled in a silent sneer. “You are no son of mine. I have no children. Save perhaps my late daughter, Harumi. How I wish she were still here, rather than you.”
Lloyd bristled at the reminder of Harumi, instinctively wanting to turn and leave, but he held his ground. “I’m not here to talk about her. I’m here because you might be the only person who knows why this happened to me.”
“But why do you care? Is this change painful or significant to you? Why do you need me to explain it?”
Lloyd opened his mouth, then closed it again, his reply dying in his throat. He wasn’t sure why the change alarmed him so much. Maybe he’d grown accustomed to the red eyes. Maybe he didn’t want a constant reminder of his destiny on his face. Maybe he’d grown fond of his red eyes as the last thing he had left from his father before he’d been sent to the Cursed Realm. Either way, he was not a fan of the new green eyes.
“I don’t like them,” Lloyd admitted.
Garmadon’s smile returned. “How churlish. The prophesied Green Ninja, heir apparent to the First Spinjitzu Master, complaining about the color of his eyes. How would your grandfather react to this defamation of your status?”
Lloyd fought back a frustrated sigh and turned around. “I shouldn’t have come here.”
“Just a moment.”
Lloyd paused in his exit, turning back to his father. In the moment he’d faced away, Garmadon had stood up and was now pacing the small cell, all four arms folded behind his back.
“Yes?” Lloyd pressed, some hope flaring back to life inside him.
“I would send you off with a warning,” Garmadon said, his scarlet eyes carefully watching Lloyd. “Do you remember what I told you when I last walked free?”
Lloyd blinked, caught off guard. “Wait, what? What does this have to do with my eyes?”
“Absolutely nothing. You are leaving, and there is something I feel you should know before you do so.”
Lloyd went silent, at first gaping in disbelief before letting out an angry groan. “I don’t care about whatever warning this is. Tell me what you know about my eyes!”
Garmadon shrugged. “You want my answer? Very well. Your eyes used to be scarlet because you inherited my oni blood. It is not active in your veins like mine, since I was bitten by the Great Devourer and you were not. However, there is a chance some of that venom seeped its way into you when you were born.”
Lloyd shivered, his blood running cold. “You’re saying my eyes are green because I have the venom in my blood? But I’m not like you.”
“It is one theory. Here is another. Your destiny as the Green Ninja is not over. Your supposed destiny was to vanquish the Dark Lord, the Overlord, and bring peace to Ninjago. But since then, the Overlord returned, a number of other treacherous tyrants have threatened the world, and the people you try to protect have known no semblance of peace. Perhaps your destiny is not over, and the change in your eyes is destiny’s way of telling you this.
Garmadon went silent, and Lloyd was left feeling even worse than he had on his way to Kryptarium. He’d come this way on the fragile hope that Garmadon would have a theory, but he wasn’t expecting this much. It wasn’t a concrete answer, but it was more than enough to get Lloyd thinking, and the thoughts he was thinking weren’t happy ones.
Was there some merit to Garmadon’s claims? Was his destiny still at play? Was the worst yet to come? How could that be, if the Overlord was gone forever, and Garmadon locked up?
“Or maybe you’re just a late bloomer, and a tad delusional,” Garmadon added with a shrug. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
Blushing again, Lloyd shook his head, trying to hide the panic gripping his heart. “Right. Well, thank you father. I think I’ll be leaving now.”
“Why did you come here?” Garmadon asked loudly, stopping Lloyd as he tried to turn again. “You never answered me, Green Ninja. Why do you care so much about your eyes?”
Lloyd’s hands curled into fists, and he fought the urge to shout his response. “They’re scars. They’re marking me, but I don’t know what they’re marking me for. The Green Ninja, your son, a hero, a monster, I don’t know. I feel like they’re trying to tell me something, and I don’t know what.”
Garmadon finished pacing and came to a stop in front of the bars, looking Lloyd in the eyes. “That speculation is completely redundant. Do you think the scars on the body do anything to the soul? Damage to the external form only reaches the internal form if you let it. Green Ninja, if your eyes are marking you, you are the one deciding what they are marking you for. Scars mean nothing beyond what you chose to let them mean. Remember that.”
Lloyd’s alarmed heart rate eased somewhat, and he was able to take in deeper, calmer breaths. “Do you really believe that?”
“I do.”
Lloyd smiled, closing his eyes and nodding. “Maybe you’re right. Sorry for bothering you. I’ll leave you to your . . . scheming, I guess.”
Lloyd turned and began the long journey away from his father’s cell. The smile grew as he pondered what his father had said. Whether Garmadon wanted to admit it or not, he’d just helped Lloyd more than he could put into words. He’d spent so much time worrying over the strange change in his eyes, fearing that it was a symbol of something sinister.
But Garmadon had put everything into perspective. Even in the form of a monstrous tyrant that refused to call him ‘son,’ Lloyd’s father was still guiding him.
“You don’t want to hear my warning?” Garmadon asked as Lloyd walked away.
“Not now,” Lloyd replied. He was happy with the revelation of his mysterious, scarred eyes. He didn’t want to ruin the feeling with whatever nonsense Garmadon was pulling.
“I’ll call on you very soon. You’d be wise to heed me. Before it’s too late.”