Nightmares and Abolition

Chapter 14

"My emperor..." a soft, yet eerie voice called out to him.

Garmadon turned around, to face away from the city that was now his, and toward the one who spoke to him, calling him the emperor.

The Quiet One was alone, and she was giving him her usual devious but loyal smile.

"Yes?" he asked her.

"As long as you embrace the green ninja as your son, you won't be strong enough to defeat him. Instead, embrace another as your child. I will be your daughter of darkness," she said.

"You, my child?" said Emperor Garmadon.

He turned back to face the city, which was quiet. The people of Ninjago were regaining hope, for the Resistance got out a message to them all. The Quiet One's attempt to hurt the green ninja's spirits once again, this time, it failed, which wasn't like her at all.

"You brought me to this realm, and helped me gain my true potential. You are... my true child," said Emperor Garmadon.

The Quiet One smiled deviously once more.

While the emperor and his new child spoke, they were unaware that they weren't alone. Invisible to the whole world, a spirit was right by Emperor Garmadon. He had a sad look on his face as he heard their conversation.

"No! She's not my daughter! Lloyd is my son, and unlike her, he truly cares about Ninjago, and he truly cares about me!" said the spirit.

The spirit teared up. This was all he could do. Sit and watch on the sidelines, with only himself to listen and hear him out.

Every moment that he saw the Oni side of him in control, choosing the words and actions that his body would say and do, it brought more pain to the spirit. That wasn't who he really was. He was not an evil emperor with Oni powers. He was a person just like anyone else, with a wife and a son, and he was able to redeem himself for all the bad things he did while he was infected by evil.

And all of that was gone now, because this witch who called herself the Quiet One, used evil objects to revive his body, in a corrupted state.

"Please! Someone hear me! I want to be myself again! I want to stop all of this pain that has been brought to my home! And to my son! Please!" the spirit begged.

But no one came. No one could hear him, and no one would ever.

Garmadon teared up as he remembered that awful time after his resurrection. Seeing his body controlled by his Oni side, while he watched on the sidelines invisible to the rest of the world, was painful for him. It was the most horrible feeling, compared to when he was once infected with evil, because even then, he was in control of himself and his actions.

But after Harumi revived him, that's when he wasn't in control.

He thought he could put it behind him. Kate helped him regain control again and be human once more. He rekindled his relationships with his wife, his brother, and his son. Ninjago had accepted that he was back, and himself again. And once again, it felt like he could finally live a normal life.

But all of that was gone, and once again, it was because of Harumi.

No. This time, it wasn't just because of her. That witch was dead for a while, but Fawful had to return. The mad magician broke out the Sons of Garmadon, he revived Harumi, and he possessed Kate. All of which, practically erased everything that he hoped to regain, especially since he was back in his Oni form.

The only good aspect of this was that at least this time, he wasn't a spirit invisible to everyone again. This time, he truly was in control of himself, even if his appearance said otherwise.