astra

"Do not test me, Junior,"

"Why'd you have to be so rude to her? She hasn't done anything to you."

"Exactly."

"You can't still be on about that." Lloyd whined. Astra shot him a glower and he stopped the whiny tone, but persisted eagerly in his little mission. "It's been three weeks, at least try to be nice to her."

"No thanks," Astra snapped, tearing the sports tape away with her teeth. She wound the tape around her ankle and stretched her foot to check the support. When she was sure it was tight enough, she lobbed the roll back into the gigantic bin of tapes and started walking away.

"Can you at least stop calling me Junior? Everyone's calling me that now, and I really don't want to be known as 'Junior'. If anything, you should be called Junior too!"

"Just drop it, okay? It's not that hard to just shut up."

"You don't have to be so rude all the time, you know? We're trying too."

"What?"

Lloyd's mouth pursed as he looked deep in thought. "We're trying to be nice. It's hard times, we're all stuck underground and you're just being rude and overall pissy."

Astra glared at him, internally aghast. "Take that back."

"N-o."

"Take. That. Back."

"N. O. Spells no."

Lloyd had annoyed Astra enough the entire week she'd been stuck with babysitting him - something about bonding - and really, it was all just building up to one point. Just as Lloyd dropped a cheeky grin, Astra let go of her bow and tackled him into the closest wall without thinking properly in the slightest.

Her fist drew back and slammed into Lloyd's stomach without hesitation twice before she stopped. Not because she felt bad, or because she was tired, but because Lloyd was laughing. Nearly doubled over in laughter as he rolled around on the floor, each shaky breath bringing tears of laughter to his eyes. He did gasp for air after she punched him again the gut and his eyes nearly popped out like a fish, and that really was the funniest part.

"You're just — ha — proving my point, Astra. Crap, you punch hard, holy—"

"You have no point." She said stoutly, refusing to oblige to the fact that maybe the insufferable twat was right.

Lloyd looked at her and then sighed. "Okay, fine. I'll make a bet with you."

"A bet?" One of her eyebrows raised in piqued interest.

"If you be nice to everyone for the next three weeks, and speak to my — our mother, I'll tell everyone my middle name is Montgomery. And I'll get my codename to be Junior."

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. There had to be a catch. There was always one, and this offer was way too good to refuse without some trick. When they resumed walking, Astra had thought it over several times and was prepared to take the risk, catch or not. She'd just ignore it.

"You're taking a codename?"

"Well," Lloyd scrunched up his face in thought again. "Everyone's getting them, and they sound cool I s'pose. Not that we're part of the SOG or anything."

"Alright then. Bet."

"Excellent." Lloyd grinned. "Happy three weeks, Lillianna."

"Shove off, Junior."

o o o

She should not have made the bet.

One of Lloyd's friends was always around her, swooping like a hawk with big smirks as they did their very best to provoke her into snapping at them. It turned out that Lloyd was just as stubborn as she was and had restricted her from swearing besides a multitude of other things he'd considered 'not nice'. And worst of all was when Walker was hovering around. It wasn't that he didn't swear, it was more so he'd taken up the habit of promptly saying 'Language!' whenever she opened her mouth to speak.

Strangely, the bet meant she was getting more sleep.

It had been nearly two months since she'd been in her first proper battle, and she'd rarely slept in that time. Slept properly, at least. She was quick to wake and the time she got barely counted as sleep. She still felt tired when she rose but her body seemed to appreciate the forced efforts. At least then the incessant squawking ceased as everyone had to sleep.

But sometimes she couldn't quite win over sleep and found herself in the communal kitchen and three in the morning with something in the oven. More often than not it was a dessert - cookies to be exact, because they were easy to bake on autopilot and if they got burnt she could say it was Kai's fault. A weak excuse, but entirely plausible. Smith had been up and walking for a week or so now with some extended recovery and had kept out of her way pleasantly.

Everyone else, now that she was making a painstaking effort to be nice, had actually become quite bearable at some point. In a more philosophical sense of mind it may have been her majorly negative view on things that was also affecting her. Despite all of this, everything felt...off. Something was wrong. They'd attacked Wu, but nothing had come back to bite them.

Astra knew that a covert team had been sent out to recover the remaining parents. Misako had found her own way there, but Lou, the Juliens, and the Walkers were still out there. Chen, Maya Smith and Cyrus Borg were in Wu's hands and basically out of reach until a rescue plan would be proposed. Everyone was clearly worried about their parents, captured or not, and it didn't help that she was so indifferent about it. Astra knew that. She just didn't know how to exactly help them.

Instead of trying to talk about it, Astra found herself to be putting in extra effort into training to distract her mind. She spent hours in the Arena and the Gym, flipping through obstacle courses and hoping that her powers would do more than just fizzle out disappointingly. She and Lloyd were having the same trouble with their powers, which was why they'd been stuck together for training. It had been over two weeks since the bet was made, and Astra was determined not to mess up in her last week.

Really, she'd done everything but speak to Misako. Mostly, she could put it off because Misako was holed up with their researchers, their library and labs, and Astra didn't visit there that often. She practically lived in the Arena and the Medwing. Sometimes she saw Misako come out for meals, but Astra always felt very awkward and like there were weights dragging her feet down to the core of the earth, telling her no, it's a terrible idea.

It didn't help the fact that as much as her stubborn nature denied, Astra wanted to talk to Misako. To find out if it was true, and if it wasn't, she could move on with her life. But deep down, she knew she was Garmadon's daughter. And it wasn't because of the birth certificate, or his words, or Lloyd's insistence, it was because of what Cassie had said.

Astra, did Garmadon ever tell you exactly where you got your powers from?

Elemental powers were genetic, she knew that much. Alongside their physical and elemental training, they'd been instructed to learn about the elemental influence on prior wars in history. Astra had found a book detailing the natural occurrence of elements. Those which appeared of no accord were not uncommon, but usually fell under jurisdiction of a major element a distant relative possessed. However distant it was, they were related and the element was always born into a different family member. The book barely covered the darker elements - glossing over Destruction, but mentioning a single record of Death. It fell under Destruction and apparently there was a scroll on it.

That explained the tug to Garmadon's power, the similarity in colour but not shade, the dark and dreary nature of their elements. The calmness when she'd exploded the very first time, his invulnerability to her decaying globes of power that she'd thrown at him in endless rage after everyone around her had suffered. The thing that she was proud of, even, was because of Garmadon.

Misako would just be confirming it. Astra sighed, paused to shake a handful of flour over the bread dough, and kneaded it rhythmically. Once it was at the perfect texture and yield, she placed it in an oiled bowl and draped a kitchen cloth over the top so it could rest again. She glanced to the clock and set a timer on her watch before washing her hands and taking off her apron.

Might as well...Squaring her shoulders in mock confidence, Astra walked out of the kitchen and headed for the library. The Sons of Garmadon had established this HQ many years ago, apparently, since their book collection dated back thousands upon thousands of years. Astra had only been in the library once or twice, but it was clear the reading space wasn't just for research.

It was a strangely comforting place that radiated the classic dark academia vibe. Dark oak walls, polished to a gleaming shine under the iron-wrought lanterns that were on the end of every bookcase. There were rows and rows of books all shelved neatly and a cart at the end of the shelves for books to be returned. At the very end of the library was a gigantic reading space with a roaring fire and plush armchairs.

Astra had to ask around for Misako. She found her in a shadowy aisle juggling a stack of heavy tomes on pyramids or something and offered to help cautiously. Misako appeared to be just as wary of Astra as she was of her, and directed them to a lone table that was already piled high with books, scrolls and ink strewn across the surface in a chaotic mess of self organisation.

Astra set the books down and grimaced inside. "I'm, um, sorry about what I said when I first met you."

"It's quite alright," Misako murmured. She spread a map over the table and held down the corners and sides with more books. "It must have been a shock for you, I expect."

"Yeah...well it was pretty shitt—crappy of me to act like that." She rubbed the back of her neck nervously and watched as Misako sketched the outline of a map on a copy of translucent paper.

"What has Monty told you about...us?"

"Not much. Just that I'm Lloyd's twin and my powers are from Garmadon."

Misako chuckled. "He was never one for stories or details unless necessary. He's a very serious man, Astra, but he is loyal to those he loves."

"Can you tell me more? About why I didn't grow up with you, I mean."

Misako looked at Astra, and suddenly all the wrinkles of wiseness and deep thought appeared to be of time and age. "When you were barely a year old, Monty realised the amount of enemies he'd made. He wanted you, Lloyd and I to move underground, here, specifically, to be safe. It was a horrible, horrible argument. I didn't want you growing up underground, he wanted to keep you safe. We were distracted. The safehouse had been compromised and some Serpentine members made it through our defences."

Astra fell silent and fiddled with a scrap of parchment, scrunching it up and smoothing it out.

"I only found Lloyd in his crib, you'd either escaped or someone had taken you. It was the latter. Afterwards, I found out Garmadon had taken you with him when he ran and left me with Lloyd. When I contacted him afterwards, he refused to tell me where you were. He just said you were safe."

It was easy enough to connect the pieces. Garmadon had run with her, dropped her off with a random family without a care in the world and forgotten about her until she'd shown up with a broken leg. Hadn't even told her. Maybe he was scared she'd react the exact way she had.

"I wasn't safe." Astra said softly. "The Harlows are horrible. I hate them."

"Hate is a strong word—"

"I hate them."

Misako went quiet. "I'm going to speak to Monty about this. Lloyd and I are having dinner later, would you like to join us?"

"I have another elemental master to pick up, sorry. Maybe another time?"

"Of course, whatever works for you."

"Thanks, uh, Misako."

"Anytime, dear."

o o o

The new elemental master Astra was ordered to bring back was Rema Barron - Kade's cousin. She'd been hiding out in her home village, and with their intel Astra had found her easily. Arsyn and Maul had accompanied her to retrieve Rema. While the new emperor hadn't publicly called out Rema like he had done to the Hunted Seven, it was safe to assume all elemental masters were in danger.

Rema's home village seemed to specialise in sunflowers and the trades that came from that - flower shops, sunflower oil, birdfeed and snacks. Rema was behind a small shop that was built into the lower floor of a two story building. Astra assumed the top floor was living quarters for Rema and her mother, the small overhanging windows boasting cheerful flower boxes filled with sunflowers.

"Rema!" Astra grinned, shading her eyes from the blaring sun. "How're you doing?"

"Pretty good," Rema cast a suspicious look at Arsyn and Maul dressed in normal clothes behind her. "New friends?"

"Yeah," she shrugged, coughing into her fist. "How much is that tote bag?"

Astra pointed to a canvas tote bag with a large intricate sunflower embroidered on the front.

"Fifteen dollars."

Astra nodded and handed over money. The code sequence had been completed. Rema began packaging the bag in a thin sheet of crepe paper with a hand drawn sunflowers pattern printed on it, and folded it in half to place it in a recyclable bag along with a business card. Sunny Crafts. Arsyn purchased a wallet and Maul asked for an item that didn't exist. Rema pretended to argue with Maul and then beckoned them inside to look at the 'back stock'.

"Are we leaving now?" Rema's mother fiddled with a needle from her relaxed position on the couch. Their bags were by the back door. "I'll have to close up the shop and put up a notice for our regulars."

"Now is probably a good idea." Arsyn agreed with Maul. "We'll take your bags to the car while you close up."

"Rema, can you go out there and tell the customers we've got to go? You know what to say."

"Sure." Rema left the front room with a poster about their absence notice to put up. Rema's mother was already heading for the car with Maul and Arsyn trailing behind with the bags. When Rema came back, her mouth was turned upside down in a frown as she heaved a sigh.

"It's not an ideal situation," Astra said in an awkward attempt at comforting her friend. "Don't worry about your safety."

"I'm not worried about mine. I trust you and Kade. I'm worried about Dean and Zi."

"Are they elemental masters too?"

"No. But they're my friends, and I care about them. I know they won't be targeted but...a lot of people have fallen for Wu's act since they don't know the truth. I know they see through his bullshit. But I'm still worried."

"That's to be expected," Astra shrugged, gently pushing Rema towards the car parked a few buildings away for secrecy. "Well, you won't be alone. Zander and Bells are there as well."

"Really?" Rema's eyebrows shot up. They crossed the street and ducked into the car. Arsyn and Maul were up front, with Rema's mother, Rema, and Astra in the second row and the bags in the boot. Astra nodded, feeling a bit more relaxed now they had Rema with them.

The ride back went off without a hitch. They drove onto the gigantic circle of earth that was cleverly hidden amongst the rocky surface and descended on the giant transport elevator into the cavern below where all the vehicles were. Rema audibly gasped when she saw the sheer number of bikes, cars, trucks and even helicopters parked underground.

"How do you have the funds for this?"

"The supermarket chain Masters is the Sons of Garmadon's...front, you could say. Whatever profit we earn from there is cycled back through us."

"We've been supporting a biker gang?" Rema's mother, Ruth, gasped in horror.

"Well it's for a good cause." Astra butted in quickly with a nervous chuckle. "I'll take you to your quarters. Rem, you'll be sharing with me and the other girls, and Mrs Barron, you'll be in the parents corridor."

"That sounds lovely, dear." Ruth said gratefully, although she still did look a bit shocked finding out the Barrons were helping fund a crime gang.

Arsyn handed Rema her bags and then left to guide Mrs Barron to her room in the parents sector. At the moment, it was only Misako but they were expecting the Walkers and the Juliens to arrive soon as well. Rema was silent as Astra gave a quick explanation of the SOG base and the rooms they passed en route to the dorms. Only Bella was there when Rema dropped her stuff off and the two hugged as Bells gave Rema a quick interrogation into her powers.

Within a few seconds of the vague explanation - Rema didn't know much about her powers either, Bells already had a rough sketch for Rema's suit. And by suit, Astra meant what they fought in. Jay wanted to call it a ninja gi but Garmadon maintained they were not ninja. For now, at least. Apparently Jay had a presentation in the making. Astra let Rema settle in a bit, sprawled over the couch as her friend put her things away.

Rema took the spare bed on the side opposite from Astra where Nya and Bells slept, drawing the curtains around her for privacy as she organised everything. Her watch vibrated just as she was debating whether or not to see what Kade was doing (for no particular reason she just wanted to hang out with a friend yes that was it).

The Lord had requested you bring Rema Barron to the War Room — Notia

Notia was one of the admins who relayed messages and information all around the SOG web for other people when normal messages didn't or couldn't apply. She normally was the messenger for important notices, and a new elemental master was pretty important.

Astra stood and brushed a loose hair from her eyes.

"Rem, let's go. The Lord wants to meet you."

—

A/N: First chapter done! Ok this first proper chapter is dedicated embrace-the-wonder and iva_951 since i've endured so much yelling and screaming. Reminder that Rema is the very pog Iva's OC along with Zi and Dean :). She was mentioned in the last book a bit as well in case you missed that. I am absolutely zapped of energy right now and mildly pissed at my mum but y'know that's family.

This chapter's song is 'Forever' by Labrinth for not particular reason I just like it

This chapter's Q is: What is the best way to spend a rainy day?

My A: Reading, writing, watching a movie with a buttload of popcorn or hot chocolate!

Merry Christmas!

-dommie out