Evil of a Broken Past (Ninjago)

Chapter 5

"H- Harumi?" Lloyd asked, recognizing the familiar purple and black villain getup Harumi wore. She pulled off the mask that covered her face, revealing a wide, unblinking smile.

"Lloyd. We need to get you out of here." She hurriedly began untying Lloyd, who was free in seconds. Something seemed off about her, but Lloyd chose to ignore it. He just missed his sister. Lloyd thought Harumi had acted surprisingly cold, but he quietly followed her as they snuck out surprisingly easily.

"You've missed a lot. We're going to attack soon. Everything's ready, but we need you." Harumi said, talking fast. Lloyd felt everything coming back, making him more confused than ever. Being kidnapped was, in a weird way, like a vacation. Even though he hadn't been there long, going back to his life before seemed weird.

"What's the plan?" Lloyd wondered. They were going nearly as fast as possible straight to their Father's "workplace", but even then Lloyd still felt like he was going so slow.

"Father will fill you in. He'll explain it better."

The closer and closer they got to Garmadon, Lloyd could feel his anxiety rising, and he could tell Harumi was tensing as well. Finally, the elevator dinged at the very top floor; their father's office.

"Lloyd, welcome back." Garmadon said, his mouth twisted in a weird shape that Lloyd guessed was meant to be a smile.

"Hello Father." Lloyd said with a bow. He was about to practically beg for mercy, before he was embraced by all four of Garmadon's arms.

... What? It took a few minutes before thoughts came, and Lloyd realized he should hug back. I don't think he's ever hugged me... Garmadon quickly pulled back, as if being any bit nice burned him.

"I'm so sorry, Father. I meant to kill him, I did." Lloyd pleaded, scared he would only have a few seconds to state his case.

"It's really okay." Garmadon continued in a supposedly "caring" voice. The more you listened to it, the more disgusting it sounded, like nails on a chalkboard. "The important thing is that you're here now. And as I'm sure Harumi told you, you have a very important job.

"The Overlord has agreed to work with us. But only if we show we are worthy. Both me and Harumi have been able to prove it already while you were kidnapped. But he still needs to see you. If you complete the Overlord's selected mission, he will give you some of his power! You've always had the disadvantage, but with the Overlord's power, evil will flow through your veins!" Garmadon shouted passionately. Harumi stepped forward, a proud smile on her face.

Garmadon needed to say nothing more. Lloyd looked up determinedly.

"What do I need to do?"

Garmadon smiled a sinister smile, before a signature super villain laugh. "That's my boy! Just wait till you see what great plans he has for you!"

The next few days, Lloyd tried to constantly prepare himself for whatever mission the Overlord would give him. The harder he trained, the easier it was to block out what had happened with the ninja.

Finally, the day came.

The Overlord floated over in his spirit form, a simple cloud of dark, pulsing matter. He spoke in a deep and scratchy voice, one of thousands and thousands of years.

"Lloyd Garmadon. I can feel you have potential." The Overlord boomed. Lloyd took deep breaths in and out, somehow maintaining his composure around the greatest evil of all time.

"Thank you." Lloyd acknowledged.

"To do this, we must go farther away from people." With that order spoken, they silently headed to a nearly abandoned part of the city. By now it was nightfall, and the only thing around with any life at all was a crappy gas station.

Going into even further darkness, the Overlord led Lloyd into a dirty alleyway. Something about this seemed more and more ominous, but Lloyd stuck it out. He needed to show his father that he was worthy.

"I can sense your fear. But don't worry. This won't hurt much." With that, the Overlord swooped closer, before his soul went into Lloyd's body.

In tremendous shock, Lloyd's body began to shake uncontrollably, the pure evil of the Overlord spreading throughout his body. The complete darkness was a shock to his body, his limbs convulsing wildly, his eyes blurring and his brain turning fuzzy. It ran into his veins, he tasted the evil in his throat. Lloyd could feel it filling up his lungs. His breathing grew short, and soon he gasped for air.

He fell to his knees, hacking for air, the evil crushing his body.

Finally, every last corner held the tremendous evil of the Overlord. Lloyd's body was frozen still, his skin cold and eyes dull.

With his work achieved, the Overlord came out of Lloyd's body, shaking off the taste of the good inside of Lloyd in disgust.

"Lloyd is going to die?" Harumi asked her father back at their headquarters. She was casually training with Garmadon, as if they both hadn't just sent Lloyd to die a miserable, lonely death.

"It needs to be done. There is no one who will miss him."