Chapter Text
Garmadon looked across the sandy wasteland of the first land. He had been roaming this particular area for about 2 months now. He’d been exploring the Merged Lands since it came to be like this, since he regained his humanity. He found a sense of serenity doing this, just wandering with no map, no plan. He would stop in settlement every time he came across one. He would refill on supplies, maybe pick up a few trinkets, but most importantly, ask about his son. He would always discuss what was going on with the Ninja. He was hungry to learn everything he could about them. He wanted to make sure his son and brother were okay. Wu was seemingly still lost to the merge, but Lloyd was shining. His son had become a bright light of this world. It made him so proud.
He had thought about going to find them. It wasn’t like he didn’t want to see his son again. But he didn’t deserve it. He didn’t deserve to see his son, he didn’t deserve to see his smile again. After everything he’d done, all he deserved was to roam mindlessly.
He sighed as he continued walking. His grey cloak wrapped around him, shielding him from the sharp sandy winds that cut through the desert. He ran a hand through his silver hair, his hand rubbing against his black and purple horns. Night was beginning to fall, he needed to build a fire.
Or maybe he wouldn’t. He saw the glow of an orange flame about 2 kilometers away. It was another group of travelers, perhaps he could stay the night with them. He trekked his way over, strapping his sword on his back, hidden under his bag, but still within reach. He didn’t want to be perceived as a threat, he’d had enough of that, “Hello?” he called into the camp. There was a child and a tiger man there. The child was wearing black and orange gi, it was tattered and ripped. He thought he might recognize him from somewhere. The tiger man seemed to be injured, as he cowered behind the child.
“Who are you?!” The child yelled at him, trying to mask nervousness with his defensive stance.
“My name’s Don, Don Darnagom,” he replied, he had long learned not to use his true name. Not all were fond of his previous deeds, he wasn’t really either. “I’m a traveller, I was hoping to stay the night with you. There’s strength in numbers after all.”
The kid blinked, removing his hood, “You aren’t here to hurt us?” As Garmaodon saw his face, it clicked in his mind. This was one of those newer ninja he’d seen photos of.
He shook his head, “No, I’m not.”
“Leave,” the tiger made growed at him, but his winces of pain only made Garmadon want to stay.
“You’re injured,” Garmadon slid his bag off his back, he started digging through, looking for his medicine bag. He could overhear the kid and the tiger man whispering about him as he searched.
“You should strike him now,” The tiger man said in a low hiss.
“Why?” The ninja child replied in a hushed tone, “What good would that do?”
“We do not know who he is, nor why he is here,” responded the tiger man.
“Actually we kinda do. His name is Don, and he’s a traveller!” Garmadon smiled at the child defending him, he had been trained well, “Also, he’s an older guy. I can totally take him if he tries anything.” Garmadon rolled his eyes at that comment, this kid had no idea who he would be up against.
Finally, at the bottom of his bag, was his medicine bag. He probably could have found it faster, but he wanted to listen in a little longer. He also grabbed the pot that was strapped to the outside of his bag, and filled it with as much water as he could spare. He had a large reserve at the moment, so he could give some to an injured stranger. “Can I use your fire to boil this?” He asked, addressing the ninja. He would not be addressing the man who wanted to murder him, even if he was trying to help that man.
“Uh… sure,” the ninja said, “Can I ask what you’re doing though?”
“I have this nice herbal tea, it has a lot of herbs that act as painkillers in it. I’m going to brew your friend a cup,” he gently set the pot over the flames, crouching down next to it.
“He’s not my friend,” the ninja said quickly.
Garmadon glanced back at him, “Then who?”
“He’s uh…” the ninja hesitated, “my teacher. Yeah, teacher.”
Garmadon nodded, turning back to face the child, “Alright… Oh, I never caught your names.”
“You do not need to know them,” the tiger man hissed at him.
Garmadon rolled his eyes, “Well, I told you mine, it’s only fair.” He might have been lying about his name, but he still found it rude the tiger man didn’t want to share.
“I’m Arin,” the child spoke up, “and he’s Ras.”
“Lord Ras,” the tiger man corrected.
Garmadon raised an eyebrow at the title. So this man didn’t want to share his name, but also didn’t want it shared wrong.
Ras narrowed his eyes at him, “What is it?”
Garmadon scoffed, “I just find it interesting that a ‘Lord’ is out in the middle of nowhere with a child and no shirt.”
Ras growled at him again.
He sighed, “You shouldn’t be growling at the man trying to help you.”
“Why are you even aiding me?” Ras asked, his tone filled with sass and apathy.
“Is the concept of kindness too far from your grasp, my Lord?” Garmadon sassed back.
Arin laughed, “He says it’s a weakness.”
A somber smile crept on Garmadon’s lips. He used to think things like that. The sound of bubbles filled his ears as water boiled. His attention was pulled away from his past, “Arin, there’s a cup in my bag, would you mind fetching it for me?”
“Uh, yeah, sure.” He could hear Arin digging through his bag behind him. “It’s stainless steel, right?”
“Yes,” Garmadon nodded as he spoke, even though he knew Arin could not see him. He opened his medicine bag, pulling out the tea he needed. Behind him, he heard the faint noise of dirt being moved as Arin walked over, then the gentle clank of metal as the kid set the mug down next to him, “Thank you, Arin.”
The kid sat down next to him, “So, Don, why are you out here?”
Garmadon glanced over at the kid, “I could ask you the same,” he was tempted to just leave his answer at that, but he wanted to gain Arin’s trust, “But, I’m just wandering. There is a joy in getting to roam without direction.”
Arin nodded, “I get that… It's really nice out here. I don’t think I’ve seen this many stars at night.”
“Before the merge, the Wyldness had beautiful stars. There was so little artificial light there. I should visit there again sometime. I suppose here has a rather nice view as well.” He took the mug, sprinkling some of his tea at the bottom. He reached over the fire, grabbing his pot to pour the water. It hasn’t quite boiled, but it would be fine.
“Whoa!” Arin said in a shocked tone, “Are you okay?! Did you burn your hands?!”
Garmadon just stared at the child for a few moments. He’d forgotten most people can’t just touch metal that’s been over the fire. “Uh, I’m fine.” He poured the water, then set the pot down on the ground.
Arin stared at him for a few moments, mouth gapping, “Are you sure you're fine?”
Garmadon nodded, “I’m alright. It wasn’t that hot anyway.”
“The water was boiling! The pot must have been-”
He reached down, grabbing the cup and pressing it into Arin’s hands, “You should give this to your teacher.”
The kid narrowed his eyes at him, he knew he was being distracted from his questions, “Fine. But we’re coming back to this.”
“Okay.” Garmadon had no intention of coming back to this. The less the kid knew about him, the better.
Arin nodded before he walked over to Ras. He crouched down next to him and handed the cat-man the tea.
He’d leave in the morning. Hanging around one of the ninja meant he would likely run into the rest of them. They wouldn’t want to see his face, not after everything. Lloyd wouldn’t want to see him, he’d only hurt him more.
But that didn’t stop Garmadon from worrying about his son. Maybe he could ask Arin a few questions, as long as he remained subtle.
He sat down next to the fire, ignoring Ras’s comment about him that was whispering to Arin. “How did you touch the pot? I can tell you’re not human from the horns, but something as hot as that would hurt almost anyone. What are you?”
Garmadon looked over at Arin, narrowing his eyes, “Are you one of the Ninja?”
Arin’s eyes widened, “I-” his eyes darted over to Ras, who had started snoring, “I was… Yeah. But not anymore.”
“Oh?” Garmadon raised an eyebrow, “What happened? Why did you quit?” Ninja never quit! The words echoed through his mind, paired with the strong determination that his brother’s students carried in their eyes.
“We had different goals,” Arin said simply.
“Hm.” Garmadon was tempted to press for more, but something told him that that was the best answer he was getting. So he pivoted his angel of attack. “Did you learn spinjitzu while you were there?”
“Um, no actually. I already knew it before I joined, and I didn’t get any better until I left,” Arin had a scowl, and anger lingered in his tone.
“Interesting… Who taught you before you joined in that case?” Garmadon didn’t know of many people who could teach it well. It was something that was much easier to learn for yourself, then to teach another.
“No one. I’m self taught,” A faint smile spread across his lips.
Garmadon’s jaw dropped. He stared at the child in utter shock. He didn’t know what to say to that. In all of his years, no one had taught themself spinjitzu, excluding his father, who was the one who invented it.
Arin titled his head, “You okay, Don?”
He blinked, snapping himself back to reality, “Yes! Sorry. I just didn’t know that was possible. That is incredibly impressive, Arin.”
“You’re not the first person to tell me something like that…” Arin looked away, staring at the ground for a few moments before turning back, “You seem to know a lot about spinjitzu. Or at least more than the average person. Why’s that?”
Garmadon leaned back, he’d shared too much. What could he say to get out of this? “My father taught me. He had a passion for martial arts.” He seemed to be loving his half truths today.
Arin’s lit up with excitement, “Wait! So you know spinjitzu?! Can you help teach me?”
“I’m sure if the legendary Green Ninja wasn’t any help, an old hermit like myself couldn’t possibly be of aid.”
“No, no no! That’s what makes you perfect! You’re nothing like Lloyd!” Arin jumped to his feet, a grin spreading across his face.
Arin was right, he was nothing like his son. Garmadon glanced over at the sleeping Lord Ras, “But don’t you already have a teacher?”
Arin’s excitement died as he also looked at Ras, “Right… But I’m sure a second teacher wouldn’t hurt. Ras doesn’t know spinjitzu, you do. I’m sure I could convince him to let you come with us. And I’m only with Ras because he knows where my parents are.”
That last sentence piqued his interest, “What do you mean by that?”
“My parents, they were lost in the Merge. Ras said he knows where they are.”
“And how do you know he is being truthful?”
Arin sighed, “I don’t… but I don’t have any other choice. Lloyd said he’d help me find them, but he was always too busy with other things… And he kept making more promises he couldn’t keep! And the whole time I was there, I didn’t get any stronger!”
Garmadon rested a hand on his chin, “So you turned to Ras for help?” He was liking Ras less and less. Poaching his son’s students was not an action he approved of.
“Yeah,” Arin confirmed, “I don’t like his methods, his personality, his morals, or pretty much anything about him, even so, he gets things done. Since I started training with him, I’ve gotten so much better at spinjitzu! I’ve been actually improving! And I feel like I’m finally getting closer to my mom and dad.”
Arin was far too trusting for his own good, and he’d clearly gotten himself involved with the wrong people. The more he thought, the more he realised that he can’t just leave Arin here. Ras is using Arin; for what, Garmadon doesn’t know. But he can’t just let this happen.
He’d help Arin get back to his parents or Lloyd. Maybe help train Arin along the way. Whatever Ras was teaching him probably wasn’t good. Garmadon could be judging the feline man too harshly, but he’d been nothing but rude to him. He didn’t even say any form of thanks for the tea!
Getting Arin away from Ras might be a challenge, considering Arin believed this man was the key to finding his parents, so keeping the child safe was the best he could do. He owed that to Lloyd.
“Fine, I’ll come with you,” Arin started to speak, but Garmadon held up a finger to stop him, “But just until you’ve found your parents, or someone who is responsible enough to take care of you.”
“Alright, that’s fair,” Arin said with a small smile, “I wouldn’t call Ras the most responsible person ever. Especially right now.”
Garmadon had already figured as much, at least Arin wasn’t completely blind to Ras. But Garmadon still had questions about the man, he was being fast to judge. “How did he end up in this state? What happened to him?”
Arin scratched his head, “It’s a bit of a long story… I can explain, but I think we’d be up all night…”
Garmadon pursed his lips, he couldn’t tell if Arin was actually willing to explain, or if he was trying to avoid the question, “You should sleep then, we can talk about this in the morning. I’ll take the first watch.”
The young former ninja nodded, “Alright. Make sure to wake me up when you get tired.”
“I will,” he probably wouldn’t get tired tonight, he was more than used to not sleeping.
So he wasn’t lying when he never woke Arin up.
The old man tended the fire until morning. The night was peaceful, as they often were out here. Arin slept rather peacefully, unlike Ras who would stir every half hour or so, interrupting his mediation.
Garmadon couldn’t tell how the man was injured. It was clear that Ras was in great pain from his expression and behaviour, but it was unclear where he was hurt. Perhaps it was something internal.
He would have to figure that out later.
The sun was just peaking into the sky when Arin let out a loud groan, “I will never get used to laying on rocks…”
“Good morning, Arin,” Garmadon said to the groggy child.
“Morning Don…” Arin sat up, stretching his arms. He looked at the sunrise, “Hey, you didn’t wake me up.”
Garmadon shook his head, “You were resting so peacefully I didn’t want to.”
“No, you shouldn’t have stayed up all night! It’s really bad for you.”
Garmadon sighed with a smile, “It’s nice of you to worry about me, but you can’t be older than 15. You need it much more than I.”
Arin frowned, “Fine. But you have to wake me up tomorrow night.”
The old man rolled his eyes, the determination of a child… “Alright.”
Ras made a loud grumble, beginning to awaken.
Garmadon sighed again, this time out of annoyance, “I’ll go find more wood for the fire. I’ll be back.
He returned about an hour later with a massive arm full of sticks, bramble, and whatever else he could find that looked flammable.
He strolled into camp, sitting down his pile of sticks next to the flame, which was starting to go out.
He could see Arin training hard, perhaps even a little too hard.
The kid was jumping on piles of rock, smashing some with spinjitzu.
Garmadon instantly noticed a few things about Arin’s vortex. Red streaks danced through it as he spun, Garmadon hadn’t seen that before. But he wasn’t too concerned about it at the moment, spinjitzu tended to vary in appearance anyway.
Arin’s footwork also seemed very forced, as did the entirety of Arin’s vortex. He clearly didn’t have a full understanding of the martial art, he just knew the steps. It’s like knowing the beat or melody of a song, but not the lyrics.
You can know the notes, but you’ll never sing the song correctly.
Ras barked something at the kid, but Garmadon wasn’t paying enough attention to him to care what the cat man had to say, all of his focus was on Arin.
Arin stopped spinning for a moment, picking up a rock. He returned to his vortex, although this was an improper one, Garmadon had seen something like this before in people who were just learning.
Arin threw the rock fairly far with decent strength. Garmadon has seen better, but he’d also seen much much worse. But it clearly wasn’t enough for Ras who let out a snarl of anger. “Another failure!" the cat man said in a disappointed tone as the rock landed next to him.
Garmadon rolled his eyes at that rude response, “I think that was fairly good, Arin. But your form does need work, and were you working on your aim at the end there?”
“Um, no,” Arin said sheepishly, “I was trying to do object spinjitzu.”
Garmadon raised an eyebrow. He’d never heard of that before. Was that even possible?
“And you were failing! Your thoughts linger on the Ninja. Their cowardness has clouded your mind!” Ras yelled at the kid.
Garmadon scoffed, “And what gives you the right to call them cowards?! All I’ve seen you do is yell at a child! If anyone is a coward, it’s you!”
Ras went to yell back, but winced in pain, grabbing his chest.
“Ras!” Arin ran over to the cat man, leaning over him.
Garmadon turned away, finding it hard to care for the health of a man who so clearly hated him.
Arin and Ras went on for a minute. Bickering on whether or not the ninja were heroes. Garmadon obviously knew the answer, they certainly were. But he chose to not weigh into the argument, not when he was so clearly the villain.
Garmadon did get a silent laugh of Ras not wanting to be called weak, instead injured. The way Garmadon saw it, there was no difference in this case. If Ras hadn't been weak, he wouldn’t have been injured. He bit his tongue to not say that aloud.
Sensing it was time to leave now, Garmadon began to pack up what little things were laying around the camp.
“What are you doing?!” Ras yelled at him.
Garmadon slowly turned around to face the man, “Packing. You are obviously too weak to do it, so I decided to lend a helping hand.” He forced a fake smile at Ras. He mentioned him being weak on purpose too. Anything he could do to get under Ras’ skin would be wonderful right now.
“I am not weak!” Ras roared at him, “And why are you packing our things? You are stealing from us!”
Garmadon looked over to Arin, “Did you not tell him?”
Arin smiled weakly, “I never really got the chance?”
Garmadon shook his head, he was expecting this. “Well, Ras, My Lord, I’m coming with you on your travels.
Garmadon smirked as he saw rage boiling in the man. His smirk was quickly wiped from his face as Ras passed out, “Oh shi-” he bit his tongue, there was a child here.
Panic became visible on Arin’s face as the kid began to check up on his teacher, “His condition is getting worse. We need to get him help fast!”
Garmadon sighed, the kid was right. He couldn’t just let Ras die. Garmadon took off his pack, handing it to Arin, “I’ll carry Ras if you can take my bag. Do you know where we’re headed?”
“Vaguely. I know what direction we need to head in.”
Garmadon nodded, “That’s good enough for me.”
He knelt down, reaching down to pick up Ras. Once he had the cat in his grasp, he threw the man over his shoulder. He was surprisingly heavy, even for Garmadon. How Arin had been dragging this man around for who knows how long, Garmadon did not know.
Garmadon moved his blade from his back to his hip. It was easier to access there anyway, “Okay, let’s go.”
Arin nodded, and started leading him northward. Garmadon was yet to explore this area, so this would be interesting.
“Thank you for carrying him, Don. You really didn't have to do that,” Arin said as he walked ahead.
Garmadon smiled, despite the kid being unable to see, “It’s no problem. I’m stronger than I appear.”
Arin’s pace slowed slightly, Garmadon could feel a question coming. Sure enough, a few moments later, Arin spoke, “What exactly are you? I mean, I’ve never met anyone like you. You’re super strong, you’re fire proof, and you have horns like a devonian, but appear human everywhere else.”
Garmadon paused for a moment, thinking about his answer. He couldn’t exactly tell Arin the truth without giving away who he was. He should have invested more time into figuring out how to hide his horns… Shape shifting was proving difficult for him to master. He should just tell the kid something about being part Oni, and let him figure out the rest. Then at least he’s only slightly lying. “My father was part Oni,” he ended up settling on.
“Hm, and you’re from the Wyldness, right?”
Garmadon raised an eyebrow, where had the kid gotten that from? Maybe when he mentioned the stars last night? No matter, at least the kid wasn’t putting together more about him, “The stars are wonderful there.” Hopefully Arin would take that as confirmation.
“How old are you?” Garmadon was beginning to get bored of Arin’s questions.
“50,” he said firmly. This was the fake age he’s been using since the Merge. He thought it was around what his body appeared to be.
Arin stopped dead in his tracks and spun around to look at Garmadon, “What?” He was almost laughing at him.
“What?” Garmadon tilted his head.
“You are not 50. How old are you really?”
“I am 50 years old,” he repeated.
Arin shook his head, using a hand to hide his smirk, “I’ve let all your other lies slide, like there’s no way you’re part Oni, but you can’t be 50. You’re like 65, at the youngest.”
Garmadon frowned, “Fine. I’m 68. Happy?”
Arin nodded, “And you’re a full Oni, right? No shame if you are. I know you guys get a lot of bad rep. I got chased out of a village just for having horns on my mask.”
A smile crept back onto Garmadon’s lips, “Dragonians?” He passed through one of their villages a month ago and almost got killed. It was a terrifying experience.
He was slightly glad that Arin thought he was an Oni, it saved him a lot less explaining if he ever had to use his powers around him, though it hopefully wouldn’t come to that. Garmadon hated his element, he didn’t wish to ever use it again.
“Yeah… they don’t seem to like you guys…”
Garmadon shrugged, “It’s their loss. They get to miss out on my wonderfully charming personality.”
Arin laughed, “Ras doesn’t seem to find you very charming either.”
Garmadon chuckled, “Well, it’s his loss too.”
They continued walking for the next few hours in a comfortable silence. They exchange little jokes every now and then, but it was mostly walking.
Ras woke up 3 hours in, he was very unhappy about Garmadon carrying him, but was far too weak to do anything about it, much to Garmadon’s delight.
The farther north that they went north, the air around them began to grow colder. Not in the natural way. This was happening far too rapidly to simply be a different climate. All of the life around them also began to thin. Little critters became far and few between. Garmadon hadn’t seen a tree with leaves in at least an hour.
The reason for that became clear as a fog covered village came into view. Garmadon's eyes widened, he’d heard rumors of a place like this. People said this is where the dead roamed freely, this is what remains of the Departed Realm.
He did not want to return here.
Ras must be after the Well here, the Well of the Lost. Ras must have also heard of it.
Garmadon set the man down, “Are you after the Well?” he demanded.
“Arin…” Ras called the boy over, much to Garmadon's frustration.
He wasn’t waiting for Ras’ dying request. He stormed into the village, ready to face his many enemies that rested here. But nothing. The town was empty.
He drew his blade, creeping down the path. He found the quiet unnerving. The air around him was still, not even a gust of wind dared to blow through here. A deep cold filled the fog, as he began to walk through the ghost town.
His memories of his time in the Departed Realm, and the Cursed Realm before that, were distant at best. He remembered being chased down by the many people he’d slain. His allies were few and far between there. There was something else too… Another threat that wandered these lands… Oh, what was it…
“WATCH OUT!” A voice called. In an instant, Garmadon had been tackled to the ground.
His supposed savior leapt off him, blocking a blow from some invisible force.
“Morro..” Garmadon said softly, recognizing the boy. He grabbed his sword from where it was a few feet away.
“I thought you exploded or something!” the child called back to him, fighting off something Garmadon still couldn’t see.
“No,” he pulled himself back to his feet, “I got revived by a girl who had taken to worshiping me.” He dusted off his shoulder.
“So you can’t see the soul-sucker right now?!” Morro yelled, blocking something with his blade.
Right, soul-suckers. Garmadon forgot about those. That’s what he forgot earlier, “I cannot.”
Morro finally lowered his blade, taking some deep breaths, “Got it… I think they’re gone for now, but you should go. They like living souls much more than dead ones.”
Garmadon sighed, “Well, unless you want another soul joining you, I need to get to the Well.”
Morro smiled at him, “You don’t sound too happy about that. Didn’t take you as the type to let someone just die.”
Garmadon rolled his eyes, shaking his head, “No, I’m not… Hence why I’m in a slight rush. He’s someone important to one of Lloyd’s former students though.”
Morro shook his head as he pulled down his mask, “You shouldn’t let guilt control your life.”
Garmadon scoffed, “You are certainly one to talk. You were the one who seeked me out to apologize back when I was here. I don’t even know why you apologized to me of all people.”
Morro groaned in embarrassment, “I felt that I had to… To someone… And you’re his dad, and,” Morro shook his head, “Can we not talk about that right now…”
Garmadon laughed fondly, “You are the one who brought up guilt and its control over one’s life.”
“I’ll take you to the Well before the soul-suckers return,” Morro began to start walking. Garmadon simply rolled his eyes at the sudden change in topic, but he didn’t press. He followed after the ghostly child, letting him lead the way.
The pair had just started up the hill together when a voice came out from behind them.
“Don! Wait up!” Arin called, he was carrying a new blade, one Garmadon could tell even from a distance was made a prismatic-steel.
“Don?” Morro whispered to Garmadon.
“Hush, he doesn’t know who I am,” Garmadon whispered back with a hiss in his tone.“Did Ras give you that blade?” he called back to Arin.
“You said he was Lloyd's student? How does he not know-” Garmadon elbowed Morro through the chest, making the boy go quiet.
The kid nodded, running up to him and Morro, “Yep. You could have seen it if you hadn’t just run off. Now, we gotta hurry! He really isn’t doing well…”
Garmadon wanted to ask more, but that would have to wait.
Morro nodded, “Let’s go.”
Arin raised an eyebrow, “And you are?”
“Oh, I’m the guardian of these lands,” Morro started walking off, leaving Garmadon and Arin to follow, “I protect all souls who pass through these lands, even those who are still living.”
Garmadon walked beside Morro, who was keeping a brisk pace, “That’s very noble of you.”
“Where are all the other… dead people? Sorry, I’m kinda just assuming you’re dead, being see-through and all that,” Arin was jogging slightly to keep up with them.
“They moved on,” Morro said cryptically.
“What?” Garmadon knew that there was no escape from the Departed Realm, not unless someone from the outside got you out.
“The Well of the Lost. When a departed soul drinks from it, they move on. I don’t know what happens to them, but it must be better than being trapped here.”
Garmadon nodded solemnly. Even destruction would be better than eternal hell.
Morro glanced over to Arin, “But to the living, it has a healing effect. It may be the only thing that could save your friend, if you were desperate enough to come here.”
“He’s in pretty bad shape. I was unable to figure out what exactly happened to him, but I’m suspecting internal bleeding, and probably something more magical in nature,” Garmadon explained to Morro.
“He would already be dead if it was internal bleeding,” Morro hummed.
“I mean, unless getting hit with Shatter-Spin has magic side effects, then I don’t think there’s any magical stuff involved,” Arin chimed in.
“Shatter Spin?” Garmadon stopped for a moment, “Who did you face who had Shatter Spin?”
“Oh, uh, he got beaten up by Nokt of the Forbidden Five. Him and Ras don’t get along…” Arin let out a nervous laugh.
Garmadon was puzzled by how this kid could say that his teacher had been injured by a long dead warrior in such a normal tone, “What do you mean by Nokt of the Forbidden Five?! They’re dead! I know because I have checked their house!”
Morro shook his head, “Okay, I’m confused. Who are the Forbidden Five and what is Shatter Spin?”
Garmadon thought for a moment about how to explain before starting, “They were a group of powerful warriors. They sought to conquer all the realms, but they were killed. Or so I’ve heard.”
Arin shook his head, “They weren’t killed, they were banished. I’ve met the dragons who did it, they uhh…” Arin’s voice trailed off, looking away from what Garmadon assumed to be shame.
Morro glanced over, raising an eyebrow, as if to ask, “What’s wrong with this kid? What happened to him?”
Garmadon shrugged in response, he’d only just met the boy.
Before Morro and Garmadon could continue their silent conversation, Arin spoke up again, “They were sent to this place called Nether Space. I don’t know what happens there.”
“And Shatter Spin?” Morro asked.
“It’s a martial art,” Arin continued, “It lets you get a lot of power and strength really quickly. But it comes at a cost…”
Morro rolled his eyes with a scoff, “Those types of things always do.”
Arin’s eyes widened slightly at the comment, Garmadon could see that the boy wanted to ask more, but the kid went back to his story, “It shatters your goodness, it makes you more evil the more you use it.”
Garmadon put a hand to his chin, “Not necessarily…”
“What?” Arin scrunched his face in scrutiny.
Garmadon mentally kicked himself for mentioning that. He really did not want to share his past with this kid. But it was too late now… Arin would surely pester him later about it, he may as well get it over with right now.
“In the Wyldness,” he began walking again, Arin and Morro having to speed up a bit to keep up, “I went to the temple there because I had heard of the power of the Five. When I arrived, they were gone; but I was able to speak to the spirits that haunted their dojo. They taught me a modified version of Shatter Spin, as my soul was not able to handle the actual art.”
Arin let out a short hum of thought, “Is that because of the stuff we talked about last night, Don?”
Garmadon found it kind of the boy to avoid supposedly ‘outing’ him as an Oni in front of Morro. Of course, Morro was well aware; Wu hid much less from him then he did the Ninja.
“Among other things,” he replied. A technical truth, but it seemed to be enough to quell Arin’s ending curiosity for the current moment. Garmadon honestly found it impressive how interested in the pursuit of knowledge this child was, Lloyd had taught him well…
Oh, Lloyd… Garmadon mourned the thought of the son he would probably never get to see again. He knew Lloyd would forgive him, he was so sure of it. Lloyd had forgiven him before, so many times…
But he did not deserve it. He did not deserve the love of his only son. Not after all he’d done.
It was better off that Lloyd went on with his wonderful life believing that his father had been lost to the Merge, like so many others.
Garmadon would aid Arin in finding his parents, and hopefully get the sweet lad away from Ras, because he owed it to Lloyd. He hoped that if Arin were to return to his master, and tell Lloyd of him, that Lloyd, with his brilliant mind, wouldn’t piece it together. Arin would have just been aided by a kind Oni by the name of Don, who disappeared, never to be seen or heard of again.
“We’re here,” Morro said, interrupting Garmadon’s train of thought.
He snapped back to reality, instantly staring at the well before him. An orange light crept up from the bottom of the structure.
It was warm and inviting, like a colorful sunrise after a dark, cold night.
Arin walked up to the well, turning the crank to lower the bucket down.
Garmadon stood back, staring at the well from afar. If this had been an option when he was trapped in the Departed Realm… would he have taken it? Would he have taken that way out? Or would have stayed with Morro to help others get to safety? Would he have waited for Lloyd?
Arin filled up a bottle that Ras must have given him from the bucket of orange liquid.
Garmadon’s eyes lingered on the well. Still thinking about what he would have done.
Morro put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. The boy smiled at him softly, knowing what went through the older man’s mind.
They were pulled out of this tender moment as a loud roar echoed through the valley.
Morro whipped around to where the sound came from, “We gotta go!”
Garmadon nodded, glancing back at Arin, at the blade he’d been gifted, “Arin, you should look through that weapon, you’ll be able to see the Soul Suckers.”
Arin’s eyes widened slightly, “The what?!”
Morro tugged on Garmadon’s arm, “We need to go, Don!”
“Yes, let’s go,” he followed after Morro as the boy took off running.
Garmadon felt odd as he ran down the hill. It was like blindly running into danger, because that’s exactly what he was doing.
He could see Morro blocking and fighting off dangers ahead, Arin doing the same behind him too. But Garmadon was partly dumbfounded at how silly the pair looked, just hacking and slashing at was seemingly thin air.
He was more focused on Morro, as the boy was ahead of him after all. Looking backward right now felt mildly dangerous.
Suddenly rammed into his side, his body being thrown through the air!
“DON!!” Arin yelled out in warning, but far too late.
Garmadon felt his back slam into the ground, his spine aching.
He could hear and feel something lurch over top of him. It was followed by the feeling of all the air being ripped from his lungs.
He felt himself dying.
Garmadon didn’t panic, that would only make things worse.
His sword was on his back, too far to reach. He would be dead by the time he got it.
That left him with one option for a weapon.
For the first time since the Merge, Garmadon pulled on his element.
The purple daggers formed in his hands, as he focused in mind of the threat above him, the thing that was killing him.
He drove on the daggers into where he hoped the monster was.
A hollow shriek of pain echoed above him, the ground shook next to him as the Soul Sucker fell the earth below, becoming visible to Garmadon.
Garmadon didn’t move for a moment, taking time to regain his breath.
He could see that Arin was running to Ras, who had foolishly entered the lands.
Garmadon sat up just in time to see Arin throw his blade with his spunjitzu, the sword arcing through the air, taking on a spin of its own.
It cut through the air around Ras, more shrieking coming from near the cat man. Orange and red sparks spun around the weapon as it returned to Arin’s hand.
It was amazing to see.
Arin mentioned it earlier, but Garmadon didn’t think it was real…
He was awe struck.
“Did Lloyd teach him that?” Morro asked, also caught staring.
“I don’t know…” Garmadon admitted, “Arin is a prodigy, much like you… He taught himself spinjitzu.”
“Really? That’s possible?”
“Apparently so. Arin is the first I’ve ever heard of doing it, apart from my Father.”
“I mean, of course the man who invented it learned it himself,” Morro scoffed. He paused for a moment, looking at Arin as the boy feed the orange liquid to Ras. “Do you think he’s on the First Master’s level?”
Garmadon shook his head, “No. The boy has no element to my knowledge, never mind hundreds of them. But he will certainly go far places.”
Morro smiled under his mask, now helping Garmadon to his feet. “Like you should be going right now. The Soul Suckers will return.”
“Alright. But you should come with us, Morro,” Garmadon knew the answer before he asked.
“I can’t,” Morro replied.
“Can’t or won’t?”
Morro signed, “I honestly haven’t tried to leave, but I need to stay here and guide the departed souls to… to wherever the well takes them.” Morro paused, looking at the ground, “But I do have one favour to ask…”
Garmadon interrupted him, “If it’s about my brother or Lloyd, you are better asking Arin. He is far more likely to see them again.”
Morro looked up, meeting Garmadon eyes. A somber feeling lingering in the boy’s weary face. Morro slowly nodded, “Alright. But visit me, will you?”
Garmadon smiled, “I swear on my life, I will.”
The pair then made their way over to Arin and Ras.
Morro explained how the well’s waters could take time to work, but they always did.
Morro then pulled Arin aside for a conversation that Garmadon did his best not to listen in on. They deserved their privacy.
Garmadon instead focused on making sure his bag was packed for the next leg of their journey, and lifting Ras onto his shoulders.
After a few moments, he called out to Arin, “Are you ready to go?”
Arin turned to look at him before glancing back at Morro, “Yeah, let’s go.”
<~~~~~~>
Lloyd walked around the burnt out fire pit, “Is he sure there’s a third person with him?”
Sora nodded, “Riyu is certainly. He says they smell kinda like you.”
Lloyd frowned, that could mean a lot of things, “Alright then, let’s get a move on. I don’t want to lose their trail.”