The woman ran through the merciless rain, mud splashing at her feet, but that was hardly a problem to her. Several feet behind her was the true problem. The pelting rain, much to her chagrin, could not drown out the sounds of baying, frustrated howls, or the promises of torment that tore through the air. The woman knew why they were chasing her. It was because of what she carried. Such a small thing, she thought, salty tears slithering down her face. And yet he must stop..... him. Fate is cruel. It has forced such a monstrous destiny into his hands, and all I can do is abandon him. She looked down at the bundle of silk fabric. She felt a soft rustling. The word 'abandon' seemed too unliked her. She wished she could use a different word, but she was afraid it was much too true. But there was still hope. She would hide him in a place that seemed contrary to his destiny. A place that seemed minor to.... him. She bit back rage at the very demonic, selfish creature who caused all of this. She remembered the earth screaming.... the volcanoes roaring.... and the terrifying blizzards and hurricanes at ruthless war. Suddenly, she heard a shrill howl. Instinct possessed her, and she whipped around, unsheathing her katana. She stabbed at the terrifying beast. The beast let out a roar of hatred as it dissolved into shadow; and a gruesome skeleton emerged, clawing the ground with anticipation. She ran on, half-sprinting and half-slipping. She jumped behind a muddy boulder and crouched, shivering as she held one of her few joys in life close to her. A raspy voice let out a yell of rage. It was so.... inhuman. It seemed to claw at her soul. It was like the sound of talons scraping bone. The warriors released several dark beasts, and they began sniffing the air with disdain. The woman sprinted on. She had to get there. She had to save him. She looked down at the bundle with mutilating pain. She had to leave him, too. "Running is only delaying, mistress." She turned around and saw a hollow, snow-white warrior roaring as he brought down his sword. The woman unsheathed her blade, and with one swift strike, removed the warrior's hand. He was not injured. It was impossible for him to. He raged and fumed and slammed into her. The woman slipped and fell, sliding down the hill. She clutched the bundle stubbornly as the hollow warrior ran on. The flames in his eyes danced with a hatred, but it was not at her. In fact, it was not even at what she was holding. The woman took a desperate gamble and threw the katana. Its blade dug deep into his hollow chest, pinning him to the earth. He struggled to remove it. The woman ran down, and saw a lumpy, black shape in the distance. She ran towards it, and to her relief, it was a cave. She dove inside, not even daring to breathe. Silence. She could still hear the warriors and their hunting beasts outside, which was good. She at least knew where they were. Relief flooded her limbs, now that she could relax. But not for long. She, slowly, unwrapped the bundle. She had to look at him, her sweet, sweet son, at least one more time. He was a beautiful child. He had wavy blonde hair that went all over his face. He had a small, cute little nose, which she liked to touch, before that day.... He yawned softly, and opened his eyes. They were a scarlet red. One would think they were menacing, but to her, they were as red as a rose, as crimson as an apple. He was still so young, innocent, but he managed to utter, "Mommy?" The woman nodded. "Goodbye," she said. She closed his eyelids, and despite the warriors outside, sang him a lullaby;
The fair earth is rich, The waves soothing and cool, Each has his own niche, And a cruel destiny,
Destiny can be cruel, As ruthless as a storm, Life can make you feel like a fool, And finally fade from your bones,
But do not despair, We all go through the same things, We are all a pair, We understand the pain,
And one day, Everything will be.... All right.
Her heart was struck with agony as she ached with grief. She didn't want to let him go. She was being stubborn, and she dreaded the consequences. She stopped herself as she hugged her son, who was now asleep. She wished she could have shared her very final moment with him a little longer, but she could not be selfish. She wished she could blame all her troubles on the immortal titan that had scarred..... him, but she had to focus on the future. Resting her hood over her face, she stood up, stared into the ruthless storm, and without thinking, plunged into the fallling ocean.
On instinct, a beast leapt at her. She merely jumped over it, and it splashed into the mud. Its senses dulled by the wet earth, the woman wasted no time in saving her son. She ran on relentlessly, stubbornly, ignoring the aching in her heart or the pain of her exhausted lungs. Suddenly, a hollow warrior amassed from the mud and swung his blazing torch, burning with a violet fire. She slashed his weapon in half with her last katana and jumped onto his head. Using it as leverage, she propelled herself into the air and landed several feet ahead. Then she saw her destination. It was an enormous hill, the last and only sanctuary for her only child. She ignored her grieving at the fact that she was closer to abandoning him. She bolted towards the hill. More than once she fell in the treacherous, wet earth, but she held firm and went on, clutching her only joy. She felt her child move softly in the silk, and felt him begin to cry. "Hush," she said softly. "Mommy only has to drop you here, and then I'll come back," Her child was soothed by her voice. He trusted her. She wouldn't leave him.... The woman felt a pang of guilt as she thought about that. But to her luck, she could dwell on it no longer. A legion of snarling beasts and hollow warriors had emerged behind her. More came from the earth and surrounded the woman. She was trapped. And her only child, her precious son was doomed. The hollow warriors were demons unleashed. They were clothed in snow-white skin, with chests as hollow as the devil's heart. Their eyes blazed with tortured flames, and they wore stretched, permanent grins. One stepped up. With a hollow voice, a twin to the sound of wind breathing through hollow bone, whispered with malice; "You lose." The woman clutched her son tighter, stubbornly. Yet she didn't hesitate. She went down to her knees and prayed for her son. The hollow warriors gave her what seemed to be pity, as if they truly regretted their duty. It was as if a god had answered her prayers. Like manna from heaven, a crimson bolt of lightning streaked through the ruthless storm. The hollow warriors could only scream as the bolt struck. The woman wasted no time. She bolted towards the hill... Placed one foot on it; And knew her son was safe. Finally safe. She fell onto the muddy ground, exhausted. And began to laugh. Her son was safe! Her son was- "You." She stood up, clutching her son. She was not done yet. It was a shimmering image of a man. It was a deep blue, like a hologram, and ghastly. He was thin, but he radiated invincibility and power. He wore armor over his body, and clawed leather gloves were draped over his hands. He wore a flowing black cape, twin to a sea tainted with black oil. His head was covered by a trapezoid-shaped helmet, and several eyeholes sealed with glass made him seem all the more lethal and grotesque. The woman nodded grimly. The ghost that was before her was the one who would determine her son's final protection from harm. "Darkley." He hissed as he quivered with rage and insult. "Misako," he replied, his voice filled with contempt. "I know you dislike him-" "OF COURSE I HATE HIM!!!!" Darkley gave her a stare filled with psychotice rage as he threw up his hands with malice. "MY FORTRESS WAS BUILT TO HOUSE MY LEGACY, YET YOU INSULT ME BY ASKING ME TO HOUSE-" He pointed a spindly finger at her son. "-HIM!!!!" Darkley fumed with beastly rage and comtempt. He eyed Misako's son with merciless malice. "THE VERMIN! OF LIGHT!" Misako gritted her teeth stubbornly. She would make him protect her son, no matter what! Darkley glanced at the area outside of the hill with distaste. "We should head to my fortress," he whispered. "Even the strongest of my sorcery will not hold off the skulkin for long." Misako nodded, not foolish enough to DARE look behind her! She silently followed Darkley as he drifted up the muddy hill with impatience. As they neared the top, Misako peered at a wooden sign built over their heads. The black night and ruthless rain hid the letters, but she knew what they spelled, and she clutched her son tighter. She felt herself crying. She, though she hated it, secretly wished rather darkly that Darkley would not protect her son, and she could stay with him. Finally, they arrived at the summit of the hill. Standing over them was a massive tower, a fusion of wood and tan bricks. It had an ancient, chinese style to it. She and Darkley hid from prying eyes as they crept into the ebony shadow it cast over them. "Now then," Darkley hissed. "Why should I let him in? He is a protector of light! He shall defeat the Dark Lord, whoever that may be!" He whipped around angrily, rain flowing through his intangible body. "What you ask of I, Darkley, all-powerful and once-invincible Sorcerer of the blackest evil, is to train the most powerful warrior of light, who can vanquish ME, if I-" "You can train him as a rival." "WHAT?!" Darkley stared at Misako, shocked. "The prophecy said my son shall defeat the Dark Lord. It never said why." Darkley was catching on. Misako nodded, satisfied. "With your training, he shall become an invincible, ruthless titan of power, and defeat all his rivals. And he shall be loyal to you." Darkley contemplated this for a second. Finally, he looked back at the tower and snapped his fingers. "FRARED! DRAIK! METALLICUS!" Misako felt her soul and consciousness plunge into deep, dark depths the skulkin would never consider going. "Did you say...." she whispered, pale as a blizzard. "Metallicus?" She held her son to herself, knowing there was no way she could trust Darkley with him. Darkley nodded with vicious anticipation, even as three men exited the tower. The first was a demonic, bat-like creature that stood like man but was far from it. His fangs trickled with poison, with skin like burnt leather. The second man was not as grotesque, but still disgusting. His body was that of a humanoid reptile, with dark green scales and a writhing tail. He had long, sharpened, talons, and his head was round, fat, and rotund, a mottled orange, with a massive underbite and glowing yellow eyes. The third and final one struck endless terror throughout Misako. He was covered entirely in metal armor, not a single part of him exposed. His eyeholes were sealed with scarlet crystal, and a long black cape flowed behind his back. The armored being, if he could have, smiled with malice. "Indeed, it is I, Metallicus, the man who has come back from the grave." The reptilian being grumbled mutinously. "I'm cold. I'm wet. I'm muddy. I hate that. When I go back into the tower, I'll be splattering stuff all over my room, and then I'll have to-" "Be quite, Frared!" the bat-like being, assumedly Draik, hissed. "Master Darkley is making a very benefitial deal here. Of course, benefitial to him only. We are but his mere servants." Metallicus' eyes seemed to flash with annoyance. "Yes," he muttered. "Master Darkley." "You have no need to worry," Darkley pointed out. "Metallicus needs me to achieve his ultimate life-long desire. If he harmed your son, he shall never learn to feel." Misako let down her head. She had to take the risk. There was no other option.
Even as she surrended herself to the skulkin, her mission done, she heard Metallicus cackle unearthly, and questioned her own judgement.
A long time ago, in a g- Ah, who am I kidding? Hi. I know, you might be confused as to who I am. That was the part I was getting to. The name's Lloyd. Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon. To tell you my story, I'm an orphan, I guess. One day, I was dropped off at this orphanage. Ms. Chafer, one of the people who helps manage it, told me that despite the Police's efforts, they couldn't find anyone who's last name was Garmadon. Weird. Anyways, you see, Ms. Chafer told me that one stormy night (common stereotype, if you ask me), the doorbell rung. So, she opened it up, and as you can guess, I was wrapped up in a blanket in a basket with a letter inside. Inside the letter was my birthday, October 29th, and my name. Right, so then Ms. Chafer took me in, and they took care of me ever since. I made a few friends. And I found a few bullies. But, nonetheless, my life was okay. Right. However, one night, my whole life changed, JUST before my birthday. AAAARRRRRGGGHHHH!!!!!! Whatever. Wanna' hear the story? Well, let me start;
I woke up. It was pretty dark, and when I looked around, I realized it was nighttime. Probably midnight, in fact. Tomorrow was my birthday, and I was turning seven. It's on October 29th, so there were cheap, plastic halloween decorations infesting the place. Everyone else in the room was asleep. I sat up, yawned, and stretched. I wondered if I should sneak out of bed and go downstairs and have a sneak peek at what presents were in store for me. At the orphanage, just before someone's birthday, we hide the presents downstairs in the dining room. Kind of like Christmas. However, I thought against it. But I was already wide awake. So, I climbed out of bed and walked over to the window, scratching myself. The moonlight made me calm. I looked up into the sky and sighed. No stars tonight. I was a bit sad. I thought of how my parents supposedly abandoned me. And as I thought, somone stepped out from the curtains and grabbed me. My first thought; AAAGGGGHHHH!!!!!!! But I wasn't even given the luxury of screaming. The guy clamped one dry, rock-hard hand over my mouth, and then held me with his other one. I looked up, and then I got a nasty shock; He was a skeleton. Yep. One tall, bone-white skeleton, with a rice hat, a gray, ragged loincloth, two torn leather boots, horned armor, and eyes made of sizzling orbs of red energy. And then, like from a horror movie, he opened his eyes and out slithered two long, black snakes from his cracked jaw. I took a jolt when I realized they were made of stone. He let go of me, even as the stone snakes wrapped completely around my entire body, mouth too, and tightened. I fell down, but he caught me. Without even the slightest bit of noise, he took out a thin, silver knife, and cut a pretty big hole in the window; just big enough for the both of us. He caught the piece of glass as it fell, and gently put it next to my bed. He then grabbed me and swiftly climbed down the two stories before dropping without a thud onto the sidewalk. He set me down behind a car, climbed back up, and began fitting the circle of glass back into place. Then, I got another shock; he popped out his eye. It sizzled as he traced the line in the window with it. The eye began fusing the glass, and when he was done, the window looked exactly the same. Gruesome (I decided it was the best nickname) then began to silently climb down. Then I once more got another shock; I was picked up. And I didn't see a soul in sight besides Gruesome, who was still climbing down. I felt someone's hands clench my flesh as they gently put me inside the car I was next to through an open window. Even as I plopped right into some luxurious leather, I saw Gruesome's skull flip around and hiss. Then, I saw the invisible person open up the car door and land in the driver's seat, and slamming the gas pedal as Gruesome dropped down from above. Gruesome's feet made pretty serious dents in the car's roof. The invisible person tried to throw him off, but he just held on and took out a long, thin sword; What do you call it? A katana? Yeah. I let out a muffled scream as he stabbed it through the roof. In a futile attempt to escape, I rolled off of my seat and landed face-first on the floor. My nose stung badly and I tried to think, but way too much was going on. The car bucked and swerved while Gruesome pushed his katana deeper through the roof. I couldn't see much, but if I ached my head just right towards the window, I could see that we were in some sort of country-side by now. I then saw (or is that the right word?) the invisible person drive towards a bridge looming over all of us. I knew that since Gruesome was on top, he'd crash into the bridge as the car drove through. Instead, however, he jumped over it and landed on the car again. Then, I heard a loud, ear-tormenting pop and heard a giant hiss. The car veered to a halt, and I slammed into the bottom of the driver's seat. I couldn't even think as I reveled in my pain when Gruesome jumped down next to the car, which was no longer moving. He tore off the doors and grabbed me by the collar. I then realized that it was probably past midnight, which meant it was my birthday. CURSES! Then, Gruesome began to drag me across a grassy field. I could barely process out my surroundings with all the grass and muddy dirt and other icky stuff scratching my neck and legs. Suddenly, Gruesome whipped around and punched the air. Even as he did, his skull suddenly flew off. Yep. It flew off and landed in a nearby river. What was twice as freaky was that his body was still trading blows with the air. With Gruesome apparently in some sort of trance, I began squirming away like an inch worm. Suddenly, Gruesome's leg accidently hit me. My nose stung as tears came out, and then I realized I was rolling towards the river. I then landed with a splash. I closed my eyes and began to panic as my lungs felt like they were being poisoned! I couldn't swim up to the surface, and I wasn't able to catch my breath! As I landed on what must be the bottom, squirming around on some spiky weeds, I saw something disturbing; Gruesome's skull was swimming towards me. I remembered how his skull fell in the river, and now it was making a comeback. Gruesome's skull opened its mouth, and a wave of stone snakes lashed out towards me. Also, there was one more problem; I couldn't scream.
I woke up. I looked around. I was in a cave, which to me, made no sense. I should've been mince meat down at the bottom of the river. Instead, I was alive. I looked down on myself. Instead of wearing my pajamas, I now wore a formal combination of black nylon pants, ebon sneakers, a black sweater with a purple insignia of a flaming skull, with a white shirt underneath. And a purple tie. I realized I smelled good, which was weird. I fell into a river last night. I looked around the cave. Daylight was streaming in, and I saw the exit. It was sunny, and I instantly knew it was morning. There was a table and a chair with breakfast on it. It consisted of plates of sizzling, juicy bacon, Orange Juice, Sausages, Sausage links dipped in barbecue, scrambled eggs, and fried potatoes. My stomach growled. So, I did the natural thing; I got off my bed, and ate. After washing it all down with some juice, I put my hands in my pockets, confused. I then felt something inside and took it out. It was a formal business card, written in purple, that said, "Darkley's Boarding School for Bad Boys" in cursive. I looked at it more. Did it have the key to this whole mess? I looked around, and saw that outside the cave was a massive field of dark, lush green that spread all around. Hills spotted it like goosebumps. Then, I noticed the biggest hill. Sitting on top of it was a building. It looked exactly like one of those ordinary, ancient chinese towers you see in books. It was pretty tall; maybe even twenty stories high! I looked back at the card, and tossed it aside. Now that I had found some civilization, all I had to do was go inside.
It was a long, boring trek. After a while, I made it to the hill. I wondered how many hours ago that I was just sleeping in the orphanage? And now, here I was, probably several miles away from Ms. Chafer and all my friends. How could it happen so quickly? Then, I stopped. In front of the building was a giant wooden sign. On it were red, messy letters, which made me think of disturbing theories. However, my stomach overturned and I went pale when I read the sign; Darkley's Boarding School for Bad Boys. CURSES! School! I managed to calm myself down. It wasn't like I had to attend classes there. Shaking aside a few disturbing memories that explained how I got expelled several times from different schools, I walked up the stone steps and knocked on a pair of wooden double-doors. Suddenly, the door opened up. What was weird; There was a robot. Yep. A robot. I mean, I knew Ninjago was getting pretty advanced, with the aPad 4 and such, but this was awesome! It was a black, with glowing green streaks all around its body. It resembled a spider, with two long, nimbly arms on its back, with flexible rubber tubes imitating fingers at the end. "You have been expected." It said in a flat, monotone voice, and it skittered away down a long, wooden hall. I remembered the business card, and I thought about how in some movies, either the good guy was gonna meet some allies and get a job saving the world, or be introduced to a guy who wants to destroy them. I contemplated on what to do, and I let destiny do all the work. I followed the mecha-spider. Several wooden doors covered the walls, with labels such as 'Teacher's Lounge' or 'Storage Closet'. Even as I wondered what would happen, the robo-spider led me to an elevator. It pressed a button, and we walked inside. The elevator was pretty nice. It had yellow wall-paper, but it had this weird song that basically consisted entirely of some loser singing, 'La-la-la-la-laaaa'. However, it did have one weird thing; Graffiti. There were all sorts of words and names scribbled onto the wall-paper with all sorts of colors. Most of the graffiti consisted of quotes that made no sense like, 'Disarm the Metal Gear!' or 'The Harlem Shake defies gravity'. The robo-spider pressed a button that was labeled, '2' with one of its arms and the elevator went up, with the weirdo singing 'La-la-la-la-laaaa'. There was a ding after a few seconds, and the elevator doors opened up. The robo-spider then went down another hallway, and I followed. Finally, we arrived at a door at the end of the hallway. The robo-spider opened it up for me, and I stepped inside. Inside was a massive room. It was made of dark wood, and circular. In the middle was a giant platform, and in front of it were about a few hundred seats you would find at the movie theater. I scratched my head. I turned around, but the robo-spider had left. "Hey, wa-" "RRRRRRRRIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGG!!!!!!" I was so startled by the ringing that I backed up into a chair and fell over, landing on it in a humiliating position. I quickly got out and righted myself and before my startled eyes, saw the door open. A flood of kids surged inside. Several of them had weird haircuts. One kid's hair was all shaggy and out-grown on one side, and entirely bald and shiny on the other. Another kid had a maroon afro. They all gathered into the seats, talking, and paying no attention to me. I realized, with a jolt, that they all wore the same clothes as me. Weird.... I thought. I remembered how this was a boarding school, and that business card I got. Suddenly, everyone stopped all their hubbub. I decided to remain silent, too, when a giant bat-creature flew in. I know, hard to believe. But trust me, he was like a giant, humanoid bat. His skin reminded me of a burnt-up leather jacket, and he had glowing, beady red eyes. He had giant fangs, like steak knives, and talons that looked more like the horns of a bull on his hands and feet. He had giant, ragged wings that hung over his ugly face, and was about seven feet tall. He snarled, and before my very own shocked eyes, he transformed into a human. Like, it looked as if he were made of clay before an invisible being smashed and stretched his parts, while his color slowly morphed to match his new form. He now resembled a middle-aged man wearing a black business suit, with brown hair that went down to his neck, and a thin moustache. He took out a pair of horn-rimmed glasses that were tinted red from his pocket and put them on. He looked at the assembled crowd, and grinned. But it wasn't a happy one. It was filled more with viciousness and anticipation. He spread out his arms wide, and took out a microphone from his pocket. "Hello, students!" he announced. Everyone (apparently the students) yelled back, "Good morning Mr. Draik!" Mr. Draik seemed pleased. "Now then, I know we normally get onto the pledge to Darkley before we start, but you see, I have news that can not wait!" The students bristled with surprise and anticipation. Mr. Draik smiled once more. "This important news," he said grandly, spreading his arms wide. "IS......" Everyone leaned forward. "A NEW STUDENT!!!!" Everyone booed and groaned. This wasn't what they expected. Mr. Draik, however, grinned. "You will not groan when you find out who this student's ancestry is," he promised. Then, I had a terrifying moment of clarity as I pieced together a few weird events;
1. There was going to be a new student
2. I was taken near here
3. I wore the school uniform
4. I was given a business card for this school
5. I was expected
I instantly planned to escape, but it was too late. "And, so, this new student I gladly present IS..." A spotlight suddenly glared in my eyes, pointed at me. I squinted and tried to cover my eyes, even as Mr. Draik pointed in my direction and yelled, "LLOYD!!!!!!!!!!" All the students looked at me. I smiled nervously, and waved a bit. "Uh... hi, guys," I said stupidly. "How's it going?" All of them gave me vicious looks of anticipation, the kind you see a bully give the new kid every morning. "Well, then, Mr. Lloyd," Mr. Draik said, beckoning next to me. "Why don't you introduce yourself? Tell us a few things about your life?" I decided to obey him. After all, I found it stupid to make a giant bat-monster that can shape-shift angry. I quickly stood up and made my away across, going between seats and bumping into people and nearly tripping on sneakers. I finally stepped onto the platform, but my foot hit the edge and I tripped. Luckily, Mr. Draik caught me by the arm, but by the looks of jeering by the students I could already tell I blew it. After righting myself and stepping right next to Mr. Draik, he held the microphone to my mouth. "So, Mr. Lloyd," he said. "Which schools -if any-" Everyone laughed "-Did you go to?" I shuffled around a bit. "Uh, well, I first went to McOppers, then Lavey, not to mention Jupiter, and I was also kicked out of Camelo-" Everyone laughed at me. Mr. Draik, however, shot them looks of venom, which I was grateful for. "So," he asked me. "Where did you use to live?" "Uh, at an oprhange... for, um, really rich, and, uh... talented kids!" I lied, not wanting to mess up again. However, it was clear that the students didn't believe me. Nonetheless, Mr. Draik kept his smile. "So," he said. "Anything to say about this school? About anyone?" "Uh.... well, I guess you look a lot like Johnny Depp, Mr. Draik," I muttered. The students laughed, and luckily, since Johnny Depp was considered 'insanely hot' by the girls back in the orphanage, I assumed Mr. Draik was okay with that. "So, when is-" "Excuse me, Mr. Draik," I interrupted. Mr. Draik stopped. "Listen," I said to the crowd. "It seems you have the wrong student." I heard someone in the crowd mutter, "Thank goodness," and everyone laughed, but I went on. "All I know is that one day, I was at the orphanage, and then I was kidnapped by a skeleton, before being kidnapped again by an invisible dude. Then, I fell into a river, and woke up in this cave with these weird clothes, and so I went here for help and am now stuck in this mess." Silence. Then, everyone laughed at me. Embarrased, I was about to ask Mr. Draik if I could go back to my seat when he grabbed my shoulder and leaned in close to my ear. "Listen, Garmadon," he whispered. "You were meant to be here. It was a part of the deal. As for what the deal is, and your parents, most of that will be answered in about.... a few minutes." I went stiff, oblivious to all the jeering. "In a few minutes?!" I asked, and I realized my mouth was too close to the microphone, causing my question to echo across the auditorium (I figured it was called that). All the kids guffawed even harder. Mr. Draik smiled, but it was a vicious one, filled with a thirst for power. "Yes," he hissed, his voice suddenly bestial and inhuman. "All our secrets will soon be spilled." He suddenly straightened up. "Well then, students," he said, his voice normal. "Mr. Lloyd shall be assigned to Mr. Frared's homeroom!" Several kids in the audience cheered, ready to blast me with texas wedgies and wet willies. Mr. Draik brought the microphone to his mouth. "SILENCE!!!!!" Everyone shut up. "Now then, it is time to recite the pledge to our founder, Darkley," he announced. He turned to me, and handed me a piece of paper with what was obviously the pledge to me. "Here you go," he said. Everyone stood up and put a hand over their heart. I did the same, and we recited the pledge. I'm pretty sure it went like this;
I pledge my allegiance and loyalty, To his all-powerful sorcerer Darkley, And vow to keep his legacy immortal, Pass his reign to our descendants, And, finally, force his great nemesis, His slayer, To continue his duty forever
I thought it was creepy, but mostly cool. Of course, I didn't really mean all those words I had recited. I wondered who this Darkley loser was, anyway. Then, Mr. Draik handed me a bunch of school supplies, from notebooks to pencils, not to mention an awesome Star Fare backpack. I dumped my stuff inside lazily, and he summoned this kid over. He had oil-black, shaggy hair that went all over the place. His eyes searched me, as if looking for weak points, and his pockets were stuffed with antique whoopie cushions and cans of spray-cheese. "Hi, Lloyd," he said, putting his hand out. "Lloyd, I'd like you to meet Brad Tudabone," Mr. Draik said proudly. I searched Brad's hands for any hand buzzers, and when there weren't any, I shook his hand. "To-the-bone?" I asked. Brad grinned nastily. "I guess you can call me that." "Mr. Tudabone, I am bestowing upon you the honor of escorting and acting as guide to Lloyd here," Mr. Draik announced. Then, he added, "If you do a good job, I'll raise a few grades on your report card by ten points." "Each?" Brad asked hopefully. Mr. Draik shook his head. "No." "Can I teach Lloyd any pranks?" "No." "You're no fun." "Not yet, anyways." I could've sworn I saw his hand reach for a rubber spider.
-last edited on Mar 12, 2017 22:38:26 GMT by sepublic22
Post by sepublic22 on Mar 12, 2017 22:35:42 GMT
Chapter 3: I get a Pencil-Worm for my Birthday
Brad smiled once more. "C'mon Lloyd." he said. "Let's go-" "RRRRRIIIIIINNNNGGGG!!!!!" I was so startled I fell down and landed face-first off of the platform and onto an empty front-row seat. "AHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH!!!!!!" Brad grinned nastily as he helped me get up. Mr. Draik shrugged and turned back into his hideous bat form before fluttering away to the top of the auditorium. Several students fled away from their seats and outside. A couple -maybe twenty- stayed behind. I figured they were my classmates. Brad led me to them, and they all grinned nastily at me. "Lloyd, I'd like you to meet a few of us," he said. A kid with acid-green hair that was spiked like a mace and brown eyes stepped up. "Meet Terrence Filachi," Brad said. Stupidly, I shook Terrence's hand. I felt the sudden vibrating of a hand buzzer. As I stepped back, Terrence laughed. "Even a worm would've seen that, Rookie!" Another kid stepped up. He had huge nostrils, a dumb expression, with brown hair cut into a mohawk. He also had a golden nose piercing, which I thought was seriously cool. "Meet Francis 'Gold digger' Lustein," Brad said. "Uh... hi, Francis." I said. I looked at Brad. "Why do they call him 'Gold digger'?" "Hi, Lloyd!" Francis yelled, shoving one ugly, fat finger into his right nostril. "UGH!" I recoiled in disgust, backing away. Another kid went up. He was about half a foot taller than me, with red hair that was gelled into the shape of flames. He had ear piercings that were shaped like spiders, and he eyed me with sheer savagery. "Meet Finn Ayabbers," Brad said, although this time he introduced him with less pride and more fear. "He's top bully!" Finn eyed me and grabbed a pencil Mr. Draik had given me. "Nice pencil, Dweeb." he said. And then, before my shocked eyes, the pencil began to squirm around and began to soften and become a bit more rotund at the edges, until it became one muddy, writhing worm. "GROSS!" I yelled, stepping back. Finn laughed. "You should've seen the look on your face!" he yelled. I stared at the pencil worm, which he had just dropped. It squirmed underneath a seat. "How did you do that?" I asked. Finn grinned nastily. "Well, let's just say that when your dad happens to be an insect monster with venom that can mutate organic matter -dead or not- into bugs, you inherit a few things." I stared back at the pencil worm. "Cool." I said. I looked back at Finn. "Can I keep it?" Finn laughed again. "SURE, Dweeb!" he yelled. "No loser -except you- would want a worm for a pet!" Several of my classmates laughed. Suddenly, we all heard somone in the hallway yell, "HURRY UP!" They all instantly began to surge out into the hallway. I was a bit stung at Finn's earlier remark, but I told myself he was just used to his super powers, that's all. I bent down, picked up the muddy worm, and took out a pencil case. I dumped it inside, and poked a few air holes with my scissors. I then ran after them. I followed Brad, who had stayed behind. He told me they were going to their lockers, so I followed. We went up a few stairs before arriving at another more smaller hallway. It was lined with an assortment of metal doors, all covered with senseless graffiti. Brad and the other classmates opened up their lockers and took out their backpacks, lazily dumping in homework assignments that were due today and pencils. They then all instantly surged up another flight of stairs, leaving me behind. By the time I caught up, they were filing into one of many classrooms that dotted yet another hallway. I followed inside, also reading the words on a metal plaque with the school symbol above the door; "Mr. Frared's Homeroom." Inside the room were several rows of desks. In one corner was a shelf filled with math textbooks, and in another was a plastic skeleton. At one end of the classroom, right next to the door, was the teacher's desk. Next to it was the weirdest teacher I had ever seen; He wasn't human. To start, his body was like that of a lizard. It (or he?) had a scaly body coated with dark green scales all over, with a long whip-like tail to match. He was skinny, and decidedly weak, although his forearms and forelegs were muscular, which was weird. But his head was even weirder. It was oval shaped, and had warty, bumpy orange skin. His eyes were hollow in the shape of triangles, and his mouth was jagged with teeth. On top of his head was this stump-like mass of brown, rotting stuff. To be exact, his head looked EXACTLY like a Jack-O-Lantern; the only difference was that his mouth was closed and he a huge underbite, not to mention his head looked flattened. Besides that, everything matched, from the color to shape. He also wore a red tie. He groaned as he saw me enter in. Everyone else was in their seats. It was clear they detested the front row, as all students should, because there was only one seat left, and it was in the front row, right next to the door. "Uh.... are you Mr. Frared?" I asked stupidly, thinking, Of course he's Frared! Frared grimaced. "No, I'm Julius Ceasar." he snapped. "Get into your seat. NOW!" I got into my seat. Frared glared at me, and sighed. He sat into the black, leather turning chair behind his desk and put his hands onto his forehead. "Aye, aye, aye. Students," he muttered. He picked up a clipboard, one of many objects on his desk. "Let's see, then," he muttered. "Since you're the new kid, your name must be...." His eyes scrolled down the entire list and stopped. "Aha!" he yelled triumphantly. "Let's see.... your name is..... Lloyd Montgomery-" He stopped. Frared had suddenly went still. His eyes were filled with shock and disbelief. He stared at my name, which was pretty weird. "Lloyd Montgomery...." he whispered to himself, pale. He then took out a history book and flipped through the pages. "Let's see.... aha!" He put on some huge, wire-rimmed reading glasses. He began flipping through the old, yellow pages. My classmates watched him in disbelief, wondering why he was acting so weirdly about my name. Finally, Frared yelled, "AHA!" and stopped turning pages. His eyes scrolled down the page and stopped. He went pale again, and he whispered to himself, "It's spelled right." Frared suddenly brightened up, and took out those phones teachers use to communicate with each other quickly, so they can round up rabid kids who escaped detention (trust me, it's happened a few times in my old schools). He pressed a button and held it to his ear. "Metallicus, can you gurantee me that your book is 100% accurate, especially with names?" Frared waited for a bit, and suddenly went pale. He put down the phone and looked at the clipboard one more time. Finally, he whispered, so quietly you had to lean in to hear; "Lloyd Montgomery........ Garmadon." The entire class (besides me) went still and pale. All heads turned my direction. "Uh.... why's everyone staring at me for?" I asked. "I mean, my last name's just Garmadon. So what?" Frared suddenly grinned. "Because your father...." he said with rising excitement. "Was the son of the First Spinjitzu Master."
Chapter 4: My last name turns me into a class celebrity
Instantly, all the students jumped out of their seats, asking me if I could control fire or do Spinjitzu and a bunch of nonsense. "WHOA, whoa!" I yelled, trying to push everyone away for some space. Everyone obeyed and backed off. "That sounds nice and all, but who the heck is the First Twirlitsu Master?" Frared chuckled and patted my head, which was weird. "Spinjitzu, actually. Anyways, I'll leave all the explaining to Metallicus. He is the history teacher. What is to know, however, is that in our halls, you're pretty much a celebrity." I gaped. "Holy la cucaracha," I muttered. Then I grinned. Sweet! Finally, for the first time ever, I was popular, and all it took was for someone to say my last name aloud. "Oh, yeah, speaking of which," I said, remembering one crucial fact. "Today's my birthday." Frared clapped his hands together. "WELL, then!" he yelled. "How about we celebrate? Ratios and integers can wait for this!" He began to hop around in excitment. Finally, he stopped. "Okay, class, for today, you can do whatever you want!" Everyone cheered. "Of course, no maiming, destroying, graffiti, etc.," Everyone groaned. He instantly went back into his chair and took out a silver laptop. "I gotta post this on instagram!" Everyone began crowding around me. "Wow, Lloyd!" Brad said. "I heard how you got chased by a skeleton! Can you tell us about it?" I grinned. "Well, then," I said. "Give me some space, and I'll tell you full detail!" Everyone moved the desks around and surrounded me. I leaned my chair against the wall and put my feet on my desk. "Well, there it started, right on midnight," I began. "So, there I was, in the orphanage. I had heard something, so I got out and was ready to pull out some kung-fu! However, my attacker, the skeleton, ambushed me! He took out a sword and lashed out, but I knocked it away and gave him an uppercut!" "Unfortunately, an invisible being ambushed me from behind. I was tied up, and the skeleton tried to steal me from his rival! I kicked the skeleton's head off, and I knocked away the invisible person with a hit from the head!" "However, the skeleton captured me and drove off in a stolen car. However, the invisible person caught up! As the two fought, I rolled out of the car, but I was knocked into the river! I eventually woke up in a cave with these clothes, and sought out refuge here!" The story was WAY too twisted up, but whatever. "Hold on," Terrence interrupted. "Invisible person? Don't you mean Ms. Trexdis?" "Who?" I asked. "Ms. Trexdis is our reading teacher," Brad explained. "She's permanently invisible after this accident, so Draik had to make non-invisible clothes for her so he could see her more easily, and then there was that time when-" "Mr. Garmadon, would you mind if I take a picture with you for a moment?" Frared asked, taking out a camera. I shrugged. He stood right next to me, holding out the camera in front of us and pressed the button. Then he went back to his laptop. "That's..... interesting...." I muttered. If this Ms. Trexdis worked for Draik and was invisible, then maybe she was the one who kidnapped me! "Anyways, that's a pretty cool story and all," Brad said. "But I should introduce you to the rest of the class." And so he did. I met everyone else in the class, all of them impressed by my ancestry (even though I had no idea who the First Twirli- I mean Spinjitzu- Master was). One noticeable kid had orange, wavy hair that reminded me of orange juice for some reason. He had huge wire-rimmed glasses, just like Mr. Frared. He had those expressions evil villains wear when they're plotting something really evil, and they can't wait to start. "Meet Gene Technos," Brad introduced. "Technos?" I asked. "Let me guess; you're really smart." Gene grinned. "Of course! I am the best student here! I'm skilled at physics, math, social studies, science, and robotics! I have even been applauded by Metallicus for my strategic skills!" He had a really stuffy voice and sounded like a smug nerd. I scratched my head. "Isn't that a coincidence?" I asked. "You're a really smart person who's good with machines and your last name is Technos." Gene seemed a bit miffed, but he shrugged. "Then I guess Technos is a fitting name, then." A few other kids I took actual notice in were Richie Rich, a spoiled kid with wavy blonde hair whose dad was a corrupt billionaire, and Diablo Sanchez, a mexican kid with dyed-blue hair who was addicted to spicy foods. Afterwards, Mr. Frared closed the laptop. "Oh, this photo DEFINITELY beats the one Melissa took of Johhny Depp doing the harlem shake as a clown with his wig on fire!" We all stared at him. "Whatever," he said. "Class is over! Pack your stuff and get ready to go to Ms. Trexdis' class!" I had a feeling in my stomach, and I don't mean indigestion. More like.... anticipation. This Trexdis might know the full answer as to why I was here. "Ah, ALSO," Mr. Frared added, even as we put on our backpacks. "For our special little Lloyd Garmadon, I have a birthday present!" My mind was already rolling around with curiosity when Mr. Frared reached inside his desk and took out..... an encyclopedia. One big, fat, dusty encyclopedia that was so old its cover was a dusty brown and the letters were nothing but vague markings. I tried to hide my disappointment as Mr. Frared handed it to me. I let out an OOF! as he dumped it into my hands. "Now, then, Mr. Garmadon," he said proudly. "It may not look like much, but this book is way too special to be put into the hands of any student. What makes it so special is what it contains!" "A wand? Incantation for zombies?" "Uh, no," Mr. Frared said, fiddling with his fingers. "Although that WOULD be cool," he admitted. "What makes it so special is that our principal Mr. Draik had cast a spell on it so that it would reveal any information our school has unearthed, thanks to the help of my very, very, very old friend Metallicus." For some reason, the name 'Metallicus' sent a shiver through my spine. I wondered if it meant Metallicus had something to do with my past or parents, and I assumed so. I noticed Gene eyeing the book with what looked like jealousy, and I remembered how he had claimed to be 'Student #1'. I ignored him. "Cool," I said. I then realized, with a jolt, that this book must've contained info about my parents. I grinned. "Very cool."
Chapter 5: I fail at shaking my invisible teacher's hand
We all then flooded out of Mr. Frared's classroom. I was burning to open up the book and look inside, so I did. I wrapped my fingers around the edge of the cover, and slowly opened it up. Inside was.... Nothing. Just really old, blank, dusty pages. I remembered how Mr. Frared told me that it would show me any info Metallicus (whoever he was) found. Unfortunately, he never specified how to use it. I slammed my head into the wall. A few classmates stared at me. I was so frustrated! I was so close to knowing my parents! It was torment to know that my dad and grand-dad were famous, and yet I didn't know why! Curiosity was killing me! Then, I had a moment of clarity; Mr. Frared had told me that Metallicus, which he had mentioned WAY too many times, that he'd tell me everything! I ran up to Brad, even as we walked up some stairs. "Hey," I said. "Which class are we going to now?" Brad shrugged. "Reading," he explained. "Ms. Trexdis teaches it." I remembered Trexdis. I realized she might hold a lot of answers, too. "So, when do I meet Metallicus?" I asked. "After science, which is after lunch, which is after reading." I cursed under my breath, which got me a confused look from Brad. "What?" I asked. "Nothing," he said. "Except that I find it weird how ANYONE would want to go to history class, especially with Metallicus teaching it." I shrugged. "He'll probably worship me the moment I step in." Brad thought about it. "True," he said uncertainly. We finally reached the top of the stairs and arrived at yet another hallway. My classmates flooded inside a room with an open door. Above the doorway was a plaque, just like Mr. Frared's, that said, 'Ms. Trexdis' Homeroom'. I once more had a weird feeling down in the pit of my stomach, which I figured was anticipation, not to mention a dash of hunger. I shoved my encyclopedia inside my backpack and walked inside along with the others. I wasn't surprised when I didn't see anyone at the teacher's desk. Well, there were a few things; First, there was an orange T-shirt, with the Darkley's symbol on it. It was floating in the air, and right below it, touching at the rim, were a pair of blue jeans. Over the shirt was a light-gray fabric jacket with a hood and zipper, which was open. Under the jeans, slightly hidden by the rim of the jeans, were two gray sneakers. "Uh.... hi, Ms. Trexdis," I said nervously. The floating clothes turned towards my direction. "Ah, finally!" said a female voice. One of Trexdis' sleeves went up and pointed at me. I tried to shake her hand, but instead I got confused and the two of us grappled around a bit before finding a firm hold and shaking. "So, were you the person who kidnapped me from the skeleton?" I blurted out. Trexdis crossed her arms. "Yep," she said. Everyone was watching our conversation, which was pretty unsettling. I thought of saying, 'STOP STARING AT US!!!!' but I opted against it. "And were you the one who rescued me from the river and put me in the cave?" "Pretty much." I shrugged, satisified. "All right, then," I said. "I guess I'll go to my desk." Like last time, I was reserved a front row desk. After I sat down, Trexdis said, "Well, then, class! As you can see, Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon's here!" She sounded pleased, and it was clear she wasn't surprised at my identity. I realized Draik and Trexdis must've been the only ones who knew who I was before I went here. "Since we have a new kid, and one with a lot of potential," she went on. "I've decided to celebrate the occasion; I've brought several graphic novels, books, and comics from the library." All of us watched. "Of course, I selected the books especially, so don't expect to find any curse words, ancient recital words for raising the dead, etc.," Everyone groaned. "Listen," she said. "Normally, I'd do a movie, but as we all know, Mr. Draik wants me to still encourage reading." "But Mr. Frared-" "He's an exception." "You're just saying that because you don't want us to raise the dead!" Brad yelled. "Or learn bad words!" Terrence added. Trexdis must've rolled her eyes. "Terrence, I think it's obvious you already know bad words. And, yes, Brad, Mr. Draik doesn't want you to create a zombie/skeleton/ghost army." Everyone groaned again. Trexdis took out a Hunger Games novel, sat down, and put her feet on the desk before reading. My classmates followed by finding a book among the cart (most of them chose comics), and began reading as well. I didn't bother. Instead, I reached into my backpack and took out my encyclopedia. I opened it up, and stared at the blank pages for at least five minutes. "What," I said blankly after a while, still staring at the empty pages. I looked around. My classmates were reading all sorts of books. Gene was reading a textbook about physics. Finn was reading about horror movie monsters. Terrence was reading some Star Fare comics. Diablo was looking at a recipe book crammed with mexican foods. Brad's eyes were glued to the pages of his Daffy Dale graphic novel. Richie Rich was reading a book called, "How to dupe people and steal their money', and Francis- well, I couldn't see what his book was about. The pages and cover was all torn up, as if a rabid dog nearly ate it. I thought those were all better reads, so I went over to the book cart. However, my classmates took all the good books. All that was left were some soupy romance novels and cheesy books about spies or pirates. I groaned. I walked over to Trexdis, who was still reading. "Ms. Trexdis," I whispered. "Could I go to the library and get a comic? Everyone else has all the good stuff." Trexdis looked up from her book and at me. "Listen," she whispered. "I'd love to help, but I can't." I eyed her. "Okay," she said. "If you go alone, Metallicus could get you. If I went along, with your class unsupervised; you get the point." And she went back to reading. "Wait, what?" I said, but Trexdis just ignored me. "Can you at least tell me about my parents?" I demanded. Trexdis simply said, "Look at your encyclopedia." I fumed as I went back to my desk. Really?! Metallicus was the only one who could tell me everything about my parents, my salvation, and yet Brad and Trexdis and the others didn't want me to meet him (except Mr. Frared)! I mean, seriously. Trexdis acted like Metallicus wanted to destroy me, which sounded stupid. He's just a teacher! I may not know much about him, but even if he's a freak like Trexdis and Frared, I think it's obivous he wouldn't destroy me! I glared ay me encylopedia. Why did I have to have such rotten luck?! I was always questioning my life back in the orphanage, but with no one telling me anything, I felt as if I was just a toy to irritate! Then, I got an idea. I went over to Trexdis once more. "Can I use the restroom?" I asked. My plan, of course, was to look for this Metallicus guy once I was out of the classroom and find out about my parents. That'd show Trexdis! Trexdis nodded (at least I think she did), and I headed out the door. "Wait." I did a mental groan. I figured my plan was somehow going to be ruined already. "Brad, lead Lloyd to the restroom." Brad put down his book impatiently. "Yes, Ms. Trexdis," he muttered unenthusiastically. He walked up to me. "Follow me," he said, as if I didn't know I was supposed to do that already. As I followed him, I got more another idea, being a genius and all. Brad, being my tour guide, had to answer my questions, right? "Hey, Brad," I said all casual-like. He looked back at me. "Yeah, Lloyd?" he replied. "Who's Metallicus?" Brad hesitated for a moment. "The worst history teacher EVER." he answered. "In fact, the worst teacher of any subject for THAT matter!" "Uh.... why is that?" I asked stupidly. "Let's just say that even Mr. Draik doesn't trust him." I stopped. "What do you mean?" I asked. "Does Mr. Draik think he'll teach us all the wrong things, like that Paul Revere said, 'The Russians are coming' or that George Washington had plastic teeth?" Brad did a facepalm. "No, Stupid," he said. "It's hard to explain. Let's just say that the pledge means more than you think." We finally arrived at what looked like the restrooms. "I figure you can find your way back," he said, and left. My mind whirred with possibilities now that he was gone. I could now look for Metallicus, but.... I remembered what Brad told me about the pledge. I tried to remember the words. "Ah, hello Mr. Garmadon." I looked around, surprised, and saw my old friend the spider robot. He had exited the boys' restroom and was holding a mop with both of his extra hands, with a janitor's cart attached to his back with chains. "Uh.... hi?" I said uncertainly. "You're the janitor?" The spider bot nodded. "My programming number is Spirius-1." he explained. "I guess there are other Spirius guys, then," I assumed. "Correct. Spirius-2 and 3 work in the cafeteria. Spirius-5 maintains the computer lab. Spirius-6 is the secretary, and Spirius-7 and 8 help the teachers with errands. And Spirius-9 is our scout, who updates Metallicus on recent events." "Metallicus?" I said. If Spirius-1 knew about Metallicus, then... "Can you tell me about him?" I asked. Spirius-1 was about to answer, but in the distance, a gruff voice yelled, "OI! JANITOR! THE GYM FLOOR'S COVERED IN SWEAT AGAIN!" Spirius-1 looked back at me. "I must go now, Mr. Garmadon," he said. "But I can say this; Metallicus is extremely ruthless and vicious, with no hint of human emotion, and cherishes giving out homework!" Spirius-1 then immediately scuttled off. "Gives away homework and enjoys it?" I asked myself aloud. I shuddered, horrified. "All of a sudden, I don't want to meet him!" As I would soon find out, to my chagrin, homework was the least of my problems.
