Finding My Second Wind

Defeat the Night

So this chapter took me a while to write. Classes had started again and I'm mostly doing homework and studying, but I'd write whenever I have a break.

Originally, I was going to write out the Lloyd vs. Garmadon showdown where Lloyd regains his powers, but the thing was already more than 7000 words and I didn't want to have too long of a chapter. Maybe I'll write that as a 'bonus one-shot' after I finish chapter 4 because I still want to write out cool elemental fighting scenes.

The title of this chapter is inspired by a song with the same name: Defeat the Night by JPB and Ashley Apollodor. I thought it fits pretty well with the chapter, and it was an inspiration for the general idea of this chapter.

Summary:
Lloyd comes up with a plan to take Harumi out of the equation, and with a little help from Morro, he succeeds. Then the second and harder part was to defeat the Colossus, and take away the very thing Garmadon used to terrorize the city. Skylor is supposed to use her powers to 'absorb' Garmadon's power of Destruction, as it is the only element that could control the Colossus, but she isn't ready.

There's only one more chapter after this one, and this story would be complete.

Enjoy the story, guys!

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The note was pinned to the wall with a sharp kitchen knife, the words written in a messy, but still legible scrawl.

[Meet us where the danger lies.  Where light snuffed out and dark clouds rise.  By the tower base you shall wait.  Alone but armed, you must comply]

There was no telling how the paper got there.  Mr. E had seen the note when he returned with his daily report from the rest of the Sons of Garmadon and he had immediately brought it to Harumi.

The Quiet One was already in a sour mood, evidently so as she paced back and forth in the base at the top of Borg Tower.  The note only made it worse.  Paranoia and anxiety coursed through her veins.  If the secret messenger had snuck past all the security cameras and guards, then her base wasn't as secure as she initially believed.

It was hard to accept that no one saw anything.  Or heard anything, for that matter.

"I can't believe those guards were that useless," she growled, tugging at her hair.  "They've been trained to stop this exact kind of thing from happening!"  Turning to Emperor Garmadon, she asked, "My Emperor, did you see anything?"  Behind her back, she crossed her fingers.  He must've seen something, right?

"Princess, you must be mistaken," the emperor said coldly.  "I was not on the tower until two hours ago.  I was reinforcing the enchantments on the Colossus until then."

Harumi's face paled as she remembered.  She was dangerously close to angering her emperor, and that was the last thing she wanted.

"Of course, my lord," she murmured, lowering her head out of both fear and respect.  "I didn't mean to assume."

Garmadon only scoffed and returned to staring blankly over the silent city.

"It's most definitely a trap," Ultra Violet said, one hand playing around with her knife. Her shrill voice cut through the silence easily.  "Why else would the note say that?"

"Who sent it?" Killow asked.  He had arguably asked the more important question out of the two.

"Isn't it obvious?" Harumi snapped.  "The Ninja did!  They actually think they have a chance of winning!"

"Nonsense!" Violet cut in.  "With the Wind Master roaming around, the little boy they call the Green Ninja would be too scared to—"

"We don't have to worry about Morro."  Harumi dismissed her generals as if the concern was nothing, which it was.  "His heart and mind are weak and gullible.  Sooner or later, he'll come running back, pledging his allegiance and loyalty the way he had done with the queen of the cursed."