Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Lloyd woke up in pain.

Not entirely unusual, being a ninja took its toll, but he…didn't remember how he got here.

This definitely wasn't his room, he wasn't lying on a bed, this was more like…the floor? He hadn't fallen off his bed since he was eight, so this probably wasn't his room.

He opened his eyes.

…This was just…an empty room…

It was then that the memories came flooding back.

He'd fought Garmadon.

He'd lost to Garmadon.

So that meant he was captured. Definitely not ideal, especially since he didn't seem to remember Lloyd. That was fine, though. The Ninja would get him out if he failed to escape.

He sat up, wincing. Broken ribs. Great.

He tried to get a better look at the room he was in, but there really wasn't much to see. it looked like a small closet, with all the materials taken out.

His hands were tied in front of him, vengestone. That was expected, but still very annoying.

He stood up and tried the door. Locked. Also expected, and also very annoying. the door was metal, as were the walls. He couldn't kick them down, especially without his abilities.

So it was a waiting game, then.

Wait for the Ninja to come, for an opportunity to escape, for Garmadon. Hopefully not that last one.

Lloyd groaned In frustration, and punched the wall.

Ow.

Yeah, that was probably a mistake, but so was going to fight Garmadon, so it was hardly his first today. Wait, was it the same day? There was no way Lloyd was knocked out for that long, right?

He was a little rusty, his last kidnapping was only, like, a week ago.

Yeah, that was it.

Totally not the fact that his dad, his father, didn't remember him and then beat him up.

Speaking of being beaten up, he should probably sit down, he really didn't want to aggravate his injuries. Having a punctured lung or something on top of being kidnapped would not be a fun experience.

And so, he curled up in the corner, somehow already exhausted despite just waking up.

No, he really didn't want to go back to sleep, not when Garmadon could come at any time. He had to be ready. Not like he could do much, but it still didn't feel right to just pass out in this situation. Maybe there would be a chance to escape.

He lasted maybe five minutes before reconsidering. His brain was way too fuzzy, he probably had a concussion. Oh, wait, no, that means he really shouldn't fall asleep. Now he has to stay awake, right?

…Ugh.

This sucked. Maybe Garmadon wouldn't even do anything, he'd just leave Lloyd here to rot, not even caring enough to like, torture him for information or something. Did Lloyd even have any information for Garmadon to torture out of him? He'd failed, Garmadon had won, or at the very least it sure felt like it.

Hmm, should he go to sleep? That both sounded like a terrible idea, but it was also so tempting.

He was out before he could decide.

~~~

He woke up to the door slamming open.

He had no clue how long he'd been asleep, but he didn't fell and less tired. Probably a head injury, or the fact that he'd been up for two days before all this happened.

Oh, right, the door.

He looked up, and froze.

Even though he was expecting Garmadon, it still felt like a punch to the gut, seeing him.

Honestly, if the memories of the Overlord and his childhood still didn't haunt him, he probably would have forgotten about this. The four arms, fangs, black scales. He would have preferred if the only memories of his father were the more…human ones. Even the snake one was better than this.

Garmadon almost seemed taller, heaven though Lloyd had grown a good five inches since they last met, though Garmadon also wouldn't remember that, and it's not like Lloyds memory had ever been too reliable. He would forget his own eye color if it didn't change every time he finally remembered.

Garmadon didn't say anything, which was probably worse than anything he could have said. The suspense was palpable, and only grew more thick as the seconds ticked by.

To be honest, he almost expected Garmadon to just turn around and walk out, but he didn't, instead, he sat down in front of the door. The door was still open.

Garmadon smiled.

"Let's make a deal." the sound of his voice almost sent a shiver down his spine, but instead, he sat up straight.

"What do you want?" Lloyd's voice was clear, years of learning how to quell fear and stand tall when someone tries to push you down will do that.

"A deal." Garmadon repeated. "If you can escape this room, right here, right now, you can go."

"…Why?" Lloyd questioned.

"You claim to be my son," Garmadon spat of the word, and Lloyd held back a flinch. "Prove it. If you somehow manage to escape, I have instructed my subjects to let you flee."

"Fine." Lloyd bit out, offering his hand to shake. "Deal."

"However," Garmadon tilted his head, in a way that was oddly reminiscent of a cat. "I can do whatever I wish with you."

Before Lloyd could even think of withdrawing his hand, Garmadon grasped it.

"Deal."

~~~

It had been an hour. Probably. Garmadon didn't really leave a clock in this make-shift cell.

Still, this was getting ridicules.

The cell was so small there wasn't really much room to fight, so for the first, maybe ten minutes, Lloyd had just stood there.

Garmadon hadn't made a move so he just…waited. For a plan to materialize in his head, for a way out of this, he was unsure. Garmadon hadn't made a move, and didn't look like he would until Lloyd did.

Lloyd seemed to have a terrible patience today.

He'd ducked, trying to fake out Garmadon, trying to make him think this was an attempt at escaping and not an attack.

It didn't work.

After that, it had been pure hand-to-hand combat. Now, Lloyd was sporting a black eye, and probably another broken rib. In his defense, his hands were still cuffed, and he had no weapons. This didn't give Garmadon any less reason to pummel him, though.

He was breathless, tired even before the fighting had started, and injured before that. He'd lost before when in peak physical condition and with no impairments, with his powers still working.

It was really only a matter of time until he lost.

Garmadon grabbed his throat with one of his arms and pinned him to the wall, effectively cutting off his air, and his ability to move.

"Surrender." Garmadon squeezed tighter, and Lloyd choked on his lack of air.

He didn't really have any other option. He wasn't naive enough to this this Garmadon would just kill him.

He nodded.

The smirk on this monster's face made his gut churn.

What have I done? Was all he could think as he faded into unconsciousness.

Chapter Text

Lloyd woke up in pain again. He really didn't like this repeating theme.

Luckily, this time he remembered exactly how he got here with perfect clarity. Well, except for the fact that he didn't know where he was.

When he opened his eyes, he was in an unfamiliar room. He was tied to a table with thick leather bonds on his wrists, ankles, torso, and head, so he couldn't see much but the ceiling. The only other thing he could really tell was that there was an IV in his arm.

At least he remembered the events leading up to this.

He distantly realized that there were bandages on his arms and abdomen. So Garmadon probably didn't want him dead yet. Great.

He tugged uselessly at the restraints, before sinking back onto the gurney. There must still be vengestone somewhere dampening his powers.

He didn't have a plan. There was no way out of this.

Lloyd heard the door open just as he had that thought, and saw Garmadon enter the room out of the corner of his eye.

"Hmmp." Was all the Lord of Darkness said as he paused In the doorway.

Garmadon walked to the side of the bed, quite awkwardly, and Lloyd noticed the fact that he was holding chains. A lot of chains. Vengestone chains, too. A lot of vengestone chains.

Garmadon didn't waste anything, snapping a metal collar around his neck before Lloyd could even think to fight back.

"What-" Lloyd choked out, just now realizing that his throat was dry from dehydration.

"We made a deal, remember?" Garmadon grinned. "I get to do whatever I want with you. You lost, and now your mine."

Lloyd shivered, because that was not a normal sentence that anyone should say.

Garmadon used the fact that Lloyd was frozen to unstrap the binding on one of his wrists and put on a cuff.

"Hey, wait-" Lloyd tried to protest, but was stopped at Garmadon glare.

Garmadon growled, and attached the other cuff to his opposite wrist, keeping them chained together.

"Allow me to make myself clear, ninja." Garmadon started as he unstrapped Lloyds ankles. "When I say I can do whatever I want, I mean it."

Garmadon unlatched the strap on his forehead. "I can break you, I have a drug that can immobilize you, courtesy of Harumi." The name sent a chill down his spine, almost more effective than the threats. "I can kill you, and I can make our friends watch."

Garmadon finally released the last binding across his chest, and lifted him up by the chains that attached his wrists, and the IV was pulled painfully out of his arm by the action. "I won't do that last one, at least not yet. The first two, however. Well, those are what comes next."

The fact that Garmadon was so much taller than him that Lloyd feet didn't even reach the ground did not annoy him. He had grown like, six inches since he last saw his dad. It's not his fault that Garmadon had grown by like, three whole feet.

Needless to say, no amount of kicking at Garmadon was gonna get him to let go, so Lloyd basically just let himself be carried to a new room. (So much for ninja never quit). This one was…well, let's just say he liked the last one better.

There were splatters of blood on the wall, that was probably the first thing he noticed, really the only thing to notice besides the hook on the ceiling, as the rest of this room was barren. The only other thing was a small table shoved in a corner, covered in dried blood.

Yeah, he liked the make-shift med-bay better.

Garmadon hooked the chains that connected his cuffed hands around the hook, and Lloyd could only question what the other chains were for before Garmadon attached cuffs to his feet, and hooked the end of that chain to a loop on the floor Lloyd had failed to notice before.

There was one more chain, and Garmadon hooked it to the collar, and seemed to attach the chain somewhere behind him.

Maybe he should have fought back, or at least tried. He should have done something, even though it probably would have made it worse in the long run.

Lloyd could only brace himself for the first punch.

Garmadon punched his nose, knocking his head back and causing blood to fall down.

The second punch hit his abdomen, right where his already broken ribs had just barely started healing. It knocked the wind out of him, and Garmadon didn't stop.

Lloyd lost count of how many hits he took, too blinded by pain and lack of oxygen.

It was no surprise he passed out.

~~~

Lloyd woke up in pain.

Not only was his abdomen a mess, but his shoulders were sore from being forced into this position for so long.

"Took you long enough." Garmadon's voice shocked him out of his stupor, and he blinked his eyes open. "I didn't think someone who would claim to be my offspring would wind up being so weak."

Now, on the small table in the corner were an array of torture tools and weapons. Everything from a bone saw to tweezers.

Lloyd desperately wanted to go back to sleep.

"I'll let out pick, hmm?" Garmadon hovered one of his lower hands over the table. "Hammer or steak knife?"

Lloyd swallowed. "Hammer."

He really didn't like Garmadon's smirk.

Garmadon walked over and unhooked the chain around the cuffs on his wrists. The collar around his throat almost choked him as he fell, as the chain was tied almost too high off the floor for it to not, apparently.

Lloyd fell to his knees, letting out a gasp, and Garmadon knelt before him on the concrete.

It was brutally quiet, before the hammer came down on his right hand, smashing his index finder and causing Lloyd to choke on a scream. Before Lloyd could pull away, Garmadon forced his arm to stay put as the hammer came down again, and a crack sounded out.

Lloyd gasped, tears burning in his eyes, but he felt like there wasn't enough air in his lungs to scream. He choked one out anyway.

Garmadon didn't seem satisfied, as the hammer came down again, and again, and again. Until his whole right hand was broken and Lloyd was full on sobbing, not even caring that he was crying in front of Garmadon.

Lloyd tried to pull his hand away one more time, and Garmadon let him. Lloyd pulled his hand close to his chest and heaved out sobs. Garmadon didn't waste a second, pulling Lloyd up by the chain and causing pain to shoot through his hand and arm. Lloyd let out a yell of pain.

He was hooked to the ceiling again, and Garmadon left the room without a word.

It felt like an eternity before Lloyd fell unconscious, writhing in pain and trying to get air into his lungs before his body gave up and he fell into a fitful sleep.

Chapter Text

Lloyd dreamed, he dreamed of Morro, oddly enough, even though he hadn't had a nightmare of the ghost in so long.

He wondered why he didn't dream of the events that had just occurred. Of this torture, of his fight, anything. But in the end, it didn't really matter, as he woke up, and he was just in another nightmare.

He took stock of his injuries. Pain still laced his right arm, and his ribs still pulsed in pain, and there were definitely bruises there. And on his throat, too, from the collar.

When he opened his eyes, Garmadon was there, smirking.

Lloyd stiffened, taken in a panicked breath.

"Relax," Garmadon said, which did not make him relax. "I have been informed that if I want you to live, you must be patched up first."

Garmadon knelt down and unhooked the chain from the floor, and did the same for the ceiling, which caused Lloyd to fall, hitting the ground hard.

Garmadon walked around him, probably to unhook the chain from the wall behind him.

On one hand, Lloyd really didn't want to be carried by Garmadon, but on the other he probably couldn't walk in his condition.

Luckily, Garmadon seemed to find a compromise, dragging him by the chains. Painful, but probably the best solution.

He was dragged face down towards the medbay, his hand pulsing in pain was enough to distract him from the fact that this was a very embarrassing predicament.

Lloyd was plopped down on the same gurney as last time, but now there was a doctor in the corner, shaking in fear at Garmadon's presence.

The Lord of Darkness turned around and left without a word, locking the door behind him, not that they could escape even if it was left wide open.

"G-Green Ninja?" The doctor stuttered, clearly frozen in place.

Lloyd grunted, and tried to sit up, which showed the doctor out of their, well, shock.

"N-no, just, don't move," they lightly pushed him back down. "I-what are you injuries?"

Lloyd listed them off, ribs, hand, the bruising on his throat, the probable concussion, and the doctor winced.

"I-okay, I'm not really that type of doctor-I-I'm more generalized care," the doctor admitted, "but I can at least help make sure you don't die."

Lloyd nodded.

"Okay, I'll need to, uh, snap your fingers back into place, so, just, brace yourself."

Lloyd sucked in a breath, and managed to hold back a scream the first time, and didn't have enough air to scream as the second bone was popped back into place.

When the last finger was snapped back, and the last cast placed, Lloyd let out a shaky breath.

The doctor replaced the bandages on his torso, and checked to see how severe his concussion was.

They were interrupted by Garmadon when they were checking the bruising on his throat, trying their bast to navigate around the collar, and his father dragged him back to the cell.

It was better than nothing, at the very least.

Chapter Text

Lloyd really didn't want to give up.

He'd stopped fighting, because he knew he'd need to plan for an escape, and couldn't even get that far if Garmadon broke his legs.

So, he'd just tried to not fight back. That was the best way he knew how to deal with his dad.

Now, it kind of backfired, because he also couldn't plan for an escape if he couldn't move.

When Garmadon dragged him back to the torture chamber after he'd been patched up, he didn't chain him back to the ceiling. Instead, he was pinned to the wall as Garmadon injected something into his neck.

Garmadon held him against the wall for what felt like an eternity, until Lloyd's body went slack.

"I have a drug that can immobilize you, courtesy of Harumi."

Oh, well that wasn't good.

Sure enough, when Lloyd tried to move his arm, it stayed at his side. When he tried to kick at Garmadon, his legs stayed hanging above the floor.

Lloyd really didn't want to give up, but there really didn't seem to be a way out of this.

Garmadon threw him on the ground, and left.

~~~

It was probably a few hours before Harumi came in.

She swept into the room without a word, though Lloyd could only see him out of the corner of his eye from where he was lying on the ground.

He couldn't talk, that was something he'd realized awhile ago, so he just waited for something to happen.

"I'm sorry, Lloyd." Harumi said softly, "I didn't think he'd…"

She sighed and knelt down in front of him.

"I'd like to think it's your fault for getting captured, but…I just didn't think he'd go this far." It was then that Lloyd noticed she had brought something in with her. A drip. "I hope you know that if I don't do this, he will kill me."

She poked a needle into a vein in his arm and hooked the tube to the drip.

"Maybe…I made a mistake, but I can't take it back now." She let hi sit up, leaning him against the wall.

"I'm…" Harumi passed, before turning and leaving.

And so Lloyd was left alone again.

~~~

Lloyd had really lost his grip on time and reality be the time he fell asleep. Everything had seemed both slow and fast at the same time.

It didn't change much in unconsciousness, but at least now he was getting rest. That was, until the nightmare started.

It was fuzzy, at first.

He was with Kai, that much he could tell, even though all his surroundings were muddled.

Kai was talking about how he planned to beat Jay's score in some video game, his favorite pastime, when Garmadon walked into the room.

That was when everything became clear, he was at Krypterium Prison, watching Kai fight Garmadon.

That…wasn't what happened. Kai wasn't there.

Lloyd rushed in to help, and somehow ended up right in front of Garmadon.

After that, Lloyd was frozen, and Garmadon grabbed his throat, cutting off his air.

"LLOYD!" Kai's voice shouted in concern in a way that was almost nostalgic.

"You won't be able to find him, Red Ninja." Garmadon snapped his neck, but Lloyd was still somehow present. "He's already as good as dead."

~~~

When Lloyd woke up, he couldn't breathe.

It was as if his lungs had decided to rebel, and not take in oxygen anymore as some act of protest.

He ended up choking, before passing out again.

At least this time his sleep was peaceful.

~~~

Lloyd was hungry, he hadn't had food in who knew how long, or company since Harumi's visit. Needless to say he was going a bit insane.

He could practically feel his muscles atrophy, years of ninja training apparently no use against this stupid, paralyzing drug.

Lloyd honestly just wished for something to happen, anything. He's seen studies on the effects of solitary confinement and they were definitely not fun.

Okay, maybe not anything.

Oh, yeah, no he jinxed himself.

As if he knew this was the best moment to walk in, Garmadon appeared in the doorway.

Garmadon appeared in the door way with flaming knives.

Unexpected, but so was the drug.

"I'm sure you're still clinging to hope." Garmadon said, "I just want to make sure that's squashed."

Lloyd could barely even flinch as Garmadon lifted up his hand and stabbed the knife through his wrist and into the wall.

He couldn't even scream as Garmadon did the same with the opposite arm.

The bright side of the blades being on fire; it immediately cauterized the wounds, so he wouldn't bleed out.

The bad side of the blades being on fire; everything else.

The flames locked up his arm, but oddly, didn't burn him. At least, not as much as it probably should have, it definitely burned but his whole arm wasn't on fire.

This was somehow the moment that he noticed that the flames were purple.

"Hmm," Garmadon sounded. "Maybe you are my son."

He held Lloyd head up with his hand, scraping his nails against the skin of his cheek.

"But it matters not."

He let go, and Lloyd's head dropped, unable to hold itself up.

Garmadon walked out of the room.

Lloyd really didn't want to give up.

Chapter Text

Ever since Misako told him about the whole Oni-Dragon thing, Lloyd had been thinking about it.

On one hand, it shed a whole new light as to why his childhood was so…weird. He'd just chalked it up to being Garmadon's son, which, in a way, was correct.

He thought he was more metaphorically the son of a demon, not literally.

He hadn't really thought about it since his capture, he almost forgot about it with…everything. But now, he didn't really have much to do.

Was his Oni blood the reason the fire that was still blazing wasn't killing him? It had to be, right? This was clearly some kind of Oni magic knife.

Misako had said something about shape shifting, and Lloyd would admit that he had spend some of the time he was supposed to be meditating trying to change shape. Then, he did some research and found out that Oni drew power from negative emotions, specifically, anger.

It might be hard to believe, but Lloyd wasn't very angry right now, just tired and pained.

He still tried to shape shift, tried to point the simmering resentment of his father and Harumi into finding a way to get out of here by unlocking Oni powers or something, but it was no use.

that was, until Garmadon walked in.

~~~

Kai was this close to killing someone.

He'd tried Wu's meditation, he'd been working to find Lloyd (probably too much), and even baked a cake with Zane, but nothing seemed to stop the itching underneath his skin to fight. To punch Garmadon in the face because that monster had taken his little brother and was doing who-knows-what with him.

Lloyd could be dead right now, and Kai had been spending time doing nothing, of looking for him but only coming to dead ends, he'd been baking a cake.

Kai wanted to kill Garmadon.

It was a realization that had made him somewhat sick, but the bastard had taken his brother, and was probably torturing him.

(The dream he'd had a few days ago popped back into his head. "He's as good as dead").

Lloyd could be dead, and that was why he was staying up.

Yeah, no more sleep for him until Lloyd was back home, safe.

It would probably, no, definitely impair him when the fight finally came, and it would come, but Kai didn't care. he'd kill Garmadon in his sleep if he had to, anything to get Lloyd back.

Okay, that didn't make a whole lot of sense, he was definitely sleep deprived, but he could handle it.

Anything for Lloyd.

~~~

Garmadon walked into the room holding a chainsaw.

Lloyd blinked, because this really wasn't how he thought he'd go.

"Oh, wrong room." Garmadon blinked at him. The chainsaw turned off, and was tossed to the side. "Well, while I'm here."

Garmadon knelt beside him, and took out the IV with the drip.

"Don't get any ideas," Garmadon warned, "it will still take at least a day for it to leave your system, and you'll be back in chains by then. We just really need to save the stuff."

Sure enough, the Oni took the bag and left the room.

Believe it or not, that wasn't what was weird about the exchange.

No, because when Garmadon walked into the room, Lloyd felt rage consume him. It wasn't directed towards anything, and it took him awhile to realize that this wasn't his emotions.

These were Garmadon's.

~~~

Borg tower, that was where he knew Lloyd was, he just didn't know where.

He patrolled around the outside, even used his secret stealthy ninja skill to look around inside on a few occasions, but it was of no use. Lloyd was still missing, kidnapped, (was it a kidnapping if it was your dad? Oh, yes, Wu had guardianship, so yes, right).

Kai kept having flashbacks to Morro, and this felt like a terrible reflection of those past events. Kai could spend countless days beating himself up about Morro, or this, but now he had enough experience to know that it would do nothing.

Not enough experience to sleep, (he didn't want to see Lloyd die, no, bad thoughts,) but it was enough experience.

Hopefully, enough to find Lloyd.

He jumped off the building he was stood on. He was going to kill Garmadon, and fight through that entire building alone if that was what it took. He was getting Lloyd back today.

~~~

The next time Garmadon came in, maybe a few hours later, probably to chain him up, Lloyd was ready.

He didn't know what changed, why he could feel Garmadon's anger, but he was ready to use it.

As soon as he felt the rage enter his mind, he grasped it. He had no clue what he was doing, only hoping that something would help him escape, and sure enough, it did. He didn't shape shift, but he heard a faint popping noise, and then he was floating.

Lloyd couldn't breathe, but it didn't seem like he needed it. The blades were still in his arms, and he still couldn't move, and he had no clue how to get out of here, but this was still much better than that cell.

It wasn't long before he popped back.

He fell, gravity coming back to him as he took in a breath of air, and he crashed into someone.

"Wh-Lloyd!" Kai, that was Kai, was he home?

"K-Kai-I-" Lloyd coughed, apparently there wasn't enough air in his lungs to speak. That was fine.

"What? Lloyd, where did you-you know what, never mind, I have to get you out of here." What? Out of where? Wasn't he out? "Okay, just-are those knives on fire?"

It was silent for a few seconds, Lloyd still couldn't speak, he could barely move, but it did seem like the drug was losing its effects.

"Okay, just-this'll hurt, sorry, Lloyd." The first knife was ripped out of his right arm, and was promptly tossed aside. It hurt, but not as much as keeping the knife in. The second blade was pulled out, and Lloyd let out a hiss.

"Sorry, sorry. We have to get you out of here, bud." Kai repeated. Were they still with Garmadon? Why was Kai here, he wasn't captured, was he?

Kai lifted him up, holding him in a bridal carry, and started running. Sprinting, really.

Lloyd opened his eyes, barely registering that he closed them, just as Garmadon appeared.

Panic seized his hears because he couldn't go back there, and just like that, They popped back out of existence, this time, with Kai.

"What is happening?" Kai screamed into the void, and Lloyd popped them back into the world, hopefully far away from Garmadon.

Lloyd started coughing again, though it seemed like he landed on Kai again.

"Okay, no time for questions, we have to run!" Kai tossed him over his shoulder and made a break for it.

Before Lloyd can see if they have escaped, sleep drags him down, because he free, he's with Kai, and he's more safe than he has been in the week (?) he spent here.

Besides, he trusts his brother enough to get him out of here.

~~~

Lloyd woke up home, safe, and surrounded by his friends.

Two and a half weeks, it almost didn't seem like it was that long, but at the same time it felt longer.

He still couldn't move much, but now he had proper bandages, and treatments for all his injuries.

That was all he could ask for, really.

He wasn't allowed back in the field, probably wouldn't be fore awhile now.

But Kai was sleeping on the gurney next to his, and Lloyd wasn't in pain.

He would have to deal with Garmadon at some point, but for now, he could rest.