The Dark Heirs: Ninjago

Going Home

The Montgomery-Garmadon cottage was secluded in the woods on the edge of a small village.

The plants in the garden were either dead or overgrown, the rusted mailbox was full of cobwebs and the gravel pathway was half hidden by weeds, but otherwise the house looked exactly how Garmadon remembered it.

He tried the front door, but it was thankfully locked and the spare key was still hidden in a loose brick by the floor.

Lloyd followed his father inside, looking around the modest home that he had spend his earliest years in.

"I'll have a few skeletons stay with you and start on cleaning," Garmadon said, "I have to help them find a place to set up camp elsewhere."

"Okay, dad, I'm gonna explore first!" Lloyd said, beginning to run around

The blond unfortunately did not have much to search: a master bedroom, a large bathroom, a kitchen and dining room, the living room he started with, a library that doubled as an office and finally a nursery.

All of felt so familiar yet foreign, like encountering something you have only seen in a dream.

Lloyd eventually settled in the nursery, looking at the toys that littered the room, the crib that was messy, it was clear last time he had been here they had been in a rush.

"I'll get a proper bed for you tomorrow, blossom." Garmadon said from behind him, making his presence known, "And we will get rid of anything in here you don't want."

The ten year old nodded, staying silent before asking, "We lived here with mom right? How come she doesn't live here anymore?"

Garmadon gulped, he knew this would come eventually, "That is because she left us little after you turned one."

"She left us that early?!" Llyod asked, shocked

"To explain why she left, I have to share another story first." The dark lord said, leading his son to the living room where they sat on the couch, a light coating of dust flying up as they did that

Garmadon placed his right hand on Lloyd's lap, revealing the twin circular scars on the back of his hand.

"When I was a little boy, a bit younger than you are, I was bitten by a snake called the Great Devourer. The venom it injected into me through the bite is why I am evil, it's corruptive." The man explained, "I fought the affects of the venom for as long as I could, but as I got older I couldn't always say no to it -I still can't. And as I kept saying yes to it over and over, it eventually became too much for your mother to handle and she left and it was just us until I got banished."

The Dark Lord left out the parts where Misako had not left him any money, so he had been forced to make sure Lloyd always had enough to eat before eating whatever crumbs remained, how when he got desperate he went dumpster diving for his own meals, how he had gone around the village begging for any odd jobs to get enough money for food for his son, nor how at his absolute lowest during the winters when no one had any odd jobs or spare money he had gone to Wu to beg for blankets and food.

He especially did not mention how that all gave the venom a new avenue to tempt him with: to remake Ninjago into his own image so Lloyd got the life he deserved, to be a prince where he could be spoiled and pampered and safe without ever having to worry about going to bed cold or without a full belly.

"So mom left because she didn't like that you are evil?" Lloyd asked, summarizing it

"Yes, it's my fault, blossom, not yours -never yours." Garmadon replied, wanting to be sure Lloyd didn't blame himself

***

The Ninja left the small cottage they had been spying on and went back to the monastery, telling Sensei Wu what Lord Garmadon was doing.