Harumi's POV

How I managed to fall asleep in a cold, hard, stone cell, I would never know. Maybe my lack of rest had kicked in.

When I woke up, I found myself sprawled out against the smooth but not completely flat floor. I pushed myself up into a sitting position and yawned. My wrists were tethered in chains that were connected to the floor. The square cell was about six feet in length, and its only exit was a barred metal door looking out into the bland, gray hallway. Other than that, the rest of the prison was made up of stone, and the only other source of light came from another barred up window on the wall opposite of the door.

In the corner was a bucket which I assumed would have to serve as my toilet. Just the thought of using it made my stomach feel queasy. The chains were long enough for me to walk somewhat freely around my cell, but the shackles around my wrists were incredibly uncomfortable nevertheless and scraped against my pisiform whenever I moved.

I stood up on my tiptoes to look at the window outside as if it could tell me what time it was. It couldn't. All I knew was that the sun was already up but other than that, nothing. I could only guess that it wasn't too late since my stomach wasn't growling yet.

The others were most likely in a similar situation, but I had no way of knowing. Unless...

"HELLO IS ANYONE THERE? THIS IS HARUMI SPEAKING!" I screamed into the window, only to hear nothing but my own voice echoing off the walls of my cubicle and the hallway.

Well, at least I tried.

I examined the metal cuffs binding my wrists, wondering if there was a way to escape them. According to Lloyd's story, Ruby had beaten up several guards when they came to feed her? Then I guess I had to wait for an opportunity to come to me. Since Cole seemed to have had trouble breaking out of his chains earlier, I could only assume they were made of vengestone, meaning the Ninja couldn't use their powers against it. What bothered me more, though, was that it looked like we were all separated in different cages which were far away from one another.

What did the Shadow Knight want? After having talked to Morro, I figured that he wanted our blood, but what else? Why was he keeping us shut in cages for the time being? What was the purpose of all this?

Endless questions to which I did not know the answers continued to swarm around in my head, making me really want to punch or throw something. How could I let myself end up in this position? The feeling of helplessness crushed me from all directions, and never had I ever found myself in a more hopeless situation. What was I even supposed to do now? It wasn't like I could rip these manacles out from the ground and burst through the door the way people did in cartoons.

Even back when I thought I had failed the resurrection ritual I didn't feel so terrible. Yet if I couldn't escape this place, Ninjago would fall. Though the citizens of the realm did not know it, they depended on me to save their home. And what was I doing? Rotting in a prison cell.

And not to mention they probably took the Crystal Blade, too. I paced my cell, trying to take deep breaths to calm myself. There had to be some way. Knowing the Shadow Knight, he'd no doubt gone and destroyed it now. But... we still had a magical weapon we could work with and if we could figure out what he needed to do to go to Ninjago we could stop him... or defeat him even before that happened.

I leaned back against a wall, slouching, as the events of the day before came flooding back. So much had happened within the last twenty-four hours that my memory was a blur.

Now I was trapped in a prison cell, my stringy hair falling down in dirty wisps from my head since I hadn't washed it for so long. I ran a hand through the tangled mess, pulling out several loose strands, then rubbed my fingers against each other. They were greasy as expected, and I wiped my hand on my shirt to try to get it off.

Just as I began wondering if I was going to get food, there was a clicking sound at my door. I figured the guards were coming in to bring me something to eat, but when I looked up, I only saw two empty-handed Shadow Riders standing there with a pair of handcuffs. They walked in without waiting for an invitation and snapped them over my wrists, then pulled out a pair of keys to unlock the chains. All this time they were completely silent as usual, and the only sounds I heard were of metal clinking against metal. Despite all the shuffling around, their cloaks didn't make much noise.

Wordlessly, the two Shadow Riders dragged me out of the cage, and I cooperated, since I needed to get a good look at my surroundings before attempting escape. All I saw were the same boring gray walls over and over again as well as dozens of empty cells. The air was dry and smelled like rock, which wasn't exactly unpleasant but took a little getting used to after having been in a tropical climate for so long.

I tried to memorize the twists and turns as the cloaked figures led me down the halls, but there were so many I ended up forgetting all of them.

It turned out I didn't really need to, for the destination was just another cage and I didn't seem to have been led close to any exits.

"Harumi!"

I turned my head around and looked back at the cage, recognizing the familiar voice. Morro grinned at me from inside, and I felt my heart skip a beat. I guess I hadn't noticed him before since I was too busy looking behind me.

The Shadow Riders unlocked my manacles and shoved me inside with a push, and I would've faceplanted into the ground if Morro hadn't caught me. I felt a blush spread across my cheeks and quickly steadied myself.

"Thanks," I said hurriedly, looking away.

"No problem," he said, his eyes having already turned away from me. I didn't blame him, since I was probably too disgusting for anyone to look at. "I wonder what's the purpose of this. Hey Cole."

I turned around and watched as the door opened again, and the Master of Earth stumbled in.

"Jeez, they didn't need to push so hard," he grumbled, rubbing his back. Then he smiled. "It's so nice to see you guys again. What are we supposed to do here?"

Morro shrugged, frowning slightly. "I honestly don't know."

"Hopefully we'll get lunch," Cole said, "I sure am hungry."

I sat cross-legged on the ground. "I doubt the food will be up to your taste, to be honest."

"If Cole can stand his own cooking, I'm sure he'll be fine," a female voice joined in, and we turned to see Nya being pushed inside. She chuckled. "I just hope the rest of us won't vomit."

"Hey!" Cole said indignantly, putting a hand over his heart, "That hurt!"

"I'm sorry," Nya said with fake sympathy, "But every time I eat a bite of your chili I lose a year of my life."

The Earth Ninja grunted and we all laughed.

"Hey guys! Shocked to see me?"

We turned around and watched as the barred metal door creaked open again and Jay came in with a big grin on his face. It was weird, I had to admit, how nobody seemed to be feeling as terrible as I was about being captured. Either the Ninja figured that they could just roll with it and find some way out or they were just being optimistic for the sake of the appearance.

"So, Rumi, Morro, do you guys have a plan?" Jay asked.

"What makes you think I have one?" I asked, frowning, "I have no experience when it comes to breaking out of prisons." Last time I did it, the credit was mostly due to a resurrected Lord Garmadon. "And even if we break out, we don't exactly have any leads as to how to defeat him," I added under my breath.

"Well, it looked like you guys were making the plans all the time so we figured you would know what to do," Nya said with an uneasy shrug.

"For now, I'm out of ideas, but I'm sure we'll be able to come up with one," Morro said optimistically, "I guess we have first to familiarize ourselves with the geography of this cave. The best chance we'll have of escaping is from here. So I guess when they send everyone back, which I think they will, be on the lookout for any potential escape routes, okay? And during the time we can spend together, we'll figure out some leads as to how to defeat him."

"But what about the chains?" Ruby's voice entered the conversation and we looked to see two Shadow Riders pushing her into our prison. The Master of Wind smiled at her and my sister went to his side. I pursed my lips and shifted my gaze away from them.

"Wait, Ruby," Cole asked, "Did they...?"

She nodded sadly and sighed. "Yeah, they took the Crystal Blade away from me while I was asleep. Too bad it can't be summoned like your sword, Rumi."

"Stupid Shadow Knight," Jay muttered, clenching his fist.

"Um," I said, not wanting the devastation to sink in so fast, "Does anyone know how to pick locks?"

"Not to brag or anything, but I'm actually a professional lock picker," Jay said, getting excited at once, "I could teach you guys."

Nya dramatically clapped the back of her right hand to her forehead. "Oh, Master Jay, what would we do without you?"

Jay pulled his girlfriend into him and pressed his lips to hers. The Water Ninja giggled as Cole made gagging sounds and turned in the opposite direction. "Perish, I guess."

I couldn't help but think of Kai again, feeling the all-too-familiar tightening of my chest. Even though I'd never cared for him, the guilt of standing by and doing nothing in his last moments still hung over me like a thick gray veil I would never be able to take off. It seemed as if I couldn't do anything without hurting others in the process, even if that something was saving the world. Even then I'd still have blood on my hands, as I was never able to come out clean.

My train of thoughts was interrupted when Zane came in, followed almost immediately by Lloyd. He avoided eye contact with me as I'd anticipated, but that didn't make it hurt any less. I watched as Lloyd went to the opposite side of the cage from me and began talking to Cole about a kid called Calvin Walters. The Ice Ninja noticed my lack of companions and sat down beside me.

"Hello," Zane said, beaming.

I managed a small smile and met his light blue eyes. "Hi Zane. How are you?" I knew that what I said was really generic, but it wasn't like I had anything else to say.

"As fine as I can be in a prison," Zane replied, "But I am sure we will find a way to escape."

"So is the Crystal Blade..." Lloyd began, and when everyone shook their heads, he rolled his eyes and began picking at a spot on the floor with his fingernails. "That sucks."

"Yeah, who's to say the Shadow Knight hasn't destroyed it already?" Cole agreed.

"We'll figure out a way," Morro said simply, "Let's just stop dwelling on the past and forget about the Crystal Blade for now. Right Harumi?"

I opened my mouth to respond when the door opened and a guard came in, carrying a tray. They were flanked by two other guards, who stood by the door in case one of us decided to try to escape. It wasn't like anyone tried to. Everyone continued to sit, unmoving, in the cage. Even if we were to escape, we'd have to wait until we knew the way out.

The first guard set the tray down at the door then turned back on their heels and left. Before leaving, however, they paused in their tracks to say one last thing: "Every day at this time you will be permitted to see each other and eat lunch together. Then you will be escorted back to your cells and eat the rest of your meals in your own cells until the same time tomorrow. Enjoy your meal." The metal door slammed shut and the guards left.

I looked down at the eight bowls in the tray, each filled with some sort of greenish, gooey glop. It looked disgusting and I tried not to vomit in my mouth. It smelled just as gross as it appeared.

"I'm not hungry anymore," Jay announced.

Morro's POV

"Okay, but for real though," I said as I chased Ruby down the corridor, "Can't you at least give us half decent food?"

She sighed, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "Look, I'm already giving you enough privileges by letting you wander around."

I folded my arms across my chest. "I can't take off this stupid cloak without your incantation. Or get to use my actual voice. Or say that―" I stopped myself before the excruciating pain started again. Saying anything along the lines of "Ruby is the Shadow Knight" was impossible, as my head would feel as if it was on fire and I wouldn't be able to make any sounds anyway. Though I was impressed that she'd considered so many factors, it was really irritating. Whatever happened to free speech?

Ruby rolled her eyes again. "I told you, we'll be eating dinner later. And I can assure you, the food will be more than half decent."

"But what about the others? There's no way they're not gonna notice that we both look much more well-feed. And besides," I added, grumbling under my breath, "You're basically forcing us both to eat it too."

"Prison food is supposed to be bad, what kind of believable excuse would you be able to come up with for the sudden change?"

"If you'd given us edible food today and we wouldn't be having this conversation," I muttered.

"Be glad you're half decent-looking, or I'd be slamming your face into a wall," Ruby said with a scowl, "So keep your mouth shut or prison food will be the only thing you're getting, too."

As much I wanted to snap back at her, I knew it would be useless. Besides, everything had to come at a price, and getting rid of Lloyd Garmadon would be worth five weeks of suffering.

...

This should be the hallway Harumi's in was my only thought as I hurried down the corridor, my cloak swishing behind me. Some of the other guards who were roaming around turned when I passed, probably staring at me like the weirdo that I was. I heard one of them mutter "newbie" but it didn't matter. Their boss already cared for me way more than she did them, not that I found that to be some sort of blessing. I shuddered at the thought. But anyway, I needed to check to make sure everyone was doing alright. Harumi's was the last one; I'd been to the others already.

"Spider's in the house, sleep, sleep

Spider bit the mouse, sleep deep

Don't wake up or else

You'll find a spider in your mouth"

The voice came from one of the cells on the right, and I recognized it immediately as hers. Harumi's voice was soft, and she sounded tired and melancholy as if all hope had been lost. I cautiously walked over and peered through the bars. She was sitting against the left side of the prison and staring at the right through the wispy strands of dirty white hair falling over her eyes, her clothes grimy and ragged. Across from her was the pathetic bucket that Ruby said would serve as their lavatory.

Harumi didn't notice me at first and continued to sing until she realized the shift in brightness of the light. She looked up, her blue eyes almost a grayish color, and I suddenly felt terrible for being there. I had betrayed her and had no right to be disturbing her peace. The others had either ignored or yelled at me (the latter case being Jay, but I think he wanted to yell at somebody anyway so I was glad I had gone). In either case, none of them made me feel like trash inside. Harumi just looked sad, a quality that none of the others had seemed to have.

Sure, when I had visited Lloyd, he probably wasn't in the best mood either, but he had been doing workout exercises to distract himself. Zane was meditating, as I expected, and I figured that he hadn't even noticed me in the first place. Unsurprisingly, Cole was doing one-armed push-ups when I passed him, and Nya had been examining her chains as if looking for the weakest link. I didn't know what Jay had been doing, though, since he began screaming the second he could hear my footsteps.

And yet Harumi had simply been singing quietly to herself, her voice quivering with every syllable.

"You can keep singing," I said, not wanting to just stare at her and watch her stare back. "If you want."

Harumi remained silent and continued to gaze steadily at me through her bangs like she was daring me to say another word, as I thought she would. Suddenly it was hard to swallow the saliva building in my mouth. My legs were like jelly, my chest feeling sickenly numb. I could feel my head throbbing with every heartbeat.

What was I doing? I shut my eyes tightly, taking deep, even breaths to ease the pounding in my chest. This had to be done.

I'm doing this for me and for you, Harumi. Lloyd Garmadon needs to die.

I didn't know how long I stood there, but when the quietness of the situation became unbearable, I left, feeling her eyes on me until I was out of sight. 

A/N: It's uh... been a while... 

I know I've been terrible with updating and there's not even really a valid excuse for why I've disappeared for several months. Everything's just been a blur with life and school and other things... 

I've also been writing something else (it's not a fanfiction so I don't plan on posting it anywhere at the moment), then this past month I just didn't write at all. I don't even know what I've been doing tbh or if I've been doing anything at all. Maybe I'm just losing motivation for everything (which shouldn't be the case for TJC because I've already written the whole book but I feel like the act of posting is a hurdle of its own for some reason)

Anyway, hopefully I'll push out the next chapter before March (and then depending on what happens then I may or may not disappear again) 

If you're still reading at this point, wow. I really appreciate this support and I don't deserve it. You guys are amazing

Merry late Christmas, and let's hope 2022 is a good year