Harumi arrived at Garmadon Tower. By now, she was majorly berating herself for not attacking and capturing Lloyd. 

    Ultra Violet was chilling at the entrance, absentmindedly dragging her a sai lightly across her wrists. When she caught sight of Harumi, she asked, "Where were you?"

    Harumi didn't give much of an answer as she trudged up the stairs. "Out."

    "And what? Something happened, I can tell from your face. Gimme details," pressed Ultra Violet.

    Harumi didn't address her inquiry. Instead, she snatched the sai out of her general's hand, firmly ordering her, "Quit that."

    Ultra Violet rolled her eyes, looking highly annoyed. "Gimme it. I'm bored. I'm not even doing anything bad with it," she whined.

    Harumi raised the weapon and arched an eyebrow. Blood thinly coated the edge and tip of the blade.

    The purple general looked down at the fresh cuts adorning her arms. She dismissed them with an indifferent, "Oh, oops."

    The Quiet One narrowed her eyes, taking in the woman's rougher than usual appearance. "I can see something happened with you too." She handed the sai back and nodded to the doors. "C'mon. Let's talk."

    Ultra Violet let out a huge groan as she followed her boss inside.

    She yelled at the first Sons of Garmadon member that they came across. "Hey, you! Guard the doors!"

    The man anxiously obeyed.

    Harumi pulled Ultra Violet into the first vacant room they came across.

    "Okay, tell me what you did," ordered Harumi, staring her general dead in the eye.

    The unstable lady raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Nah, I asked you first. You go."

    Harumi rolled her eyes. "Ugh, fine. If you must know, I ran into the Green Ninja tonight."

   "Lloyd?"

    "Yes. Apparently, Emperor Garmadon called Mr.E off before he could start the search to go with him on some trip to Yìshù so I decided to do some investigating myself." She couldn't keep the hint of jealousy out of her tone. "I've had multiple confirmations. He's definitely up to something in the southwestern part of the city," affirmed Harumi. 

    Ultra Violet looked Harumi up and down questioningly. There wasn't any proof she'd been in a fight. "So what'd you do, snipe him?"

    She'd meant that as a joke, but her boss's irritated expression told her everything. She stared disbelievingly.  "Wait... no way. You didn't even punch him? You let him go?"

    Harumi seethed and gritted out. "It was a tactical maneuver. He can lead us to the rest of the Resistance so we can wipe them out entirely."

    Her second general wasn't buying it. "Suuure." Ultra Violet smirked at Harumi. "Even I know taking out the Green Ninja woulda ended everything, but ya didn't." Her eyes sparkled and her tone turned mocking. "You chickened out. Do you still have feewings fow da wittle ninja?"

    Harumi silenced the biker's taunting with a vehement shout, "No, he's the idiot who still loves me! I hate him! Always have!"

    Ultra Violet still poked fun at the Quiet One, making suggestive kissing noises, despite the repercussions that could follow. 

    "Shut up!" snarled Harumi, glaring at her second general while fighting to keep her face from going red. She drew a small dagger and pointed it at her, changing the subject which quickly sobered the lady's teasing attitude.

    "What did you do tonight?" questioned Harumi sharply.

    The wild spark flickered slightly in Ultra Violet's eye, and her countenance darkened significantly. Already not a good sign. She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, attempting to appear at ease as she spoke. 

    "It was just a big, stupid mess. We were actually looking for Lloyd like you and Emperor Garmadon ordered."

    Harumi gave her a hard stare.

    "Okay, okay," admitted Ultra Violet. "So... maybe we were causing some mayhem while looking, but it wasn't that bad! Just a few trashed stores n' stuff. It was all fun 'til some idiots tried to play hero at Ninjago University. They were takin' cheap shots at us with beer bottles and rocks!"

    The Quiet One groaned, seeing the nosedive this story was about to take. "So you shot them?"

    "Not at first!" defended Ultra Violet. "I stopped and flipped them off. With both hands. They got a fair warning."

    Harumi wasn't convinced.

    "I'm not lying!" she whined. "They even fired first! One of them pulled out pistol and then... yeah."

    "I can't believe you," sighed Harumi. "And that upset you for some reason?"

    She knew the woman had no qualms about killing or being in precarious situations.

    "No." Ultra Violet fidgeted as she confessed, "We kinda, may have... set fire to Ninjago University."

    Harumi grabbed the slightly taller lady by the shoulders and shook her. "I told you to lay off the heavy destruction and killing!!! Emperor Garmadon has all that covered! We can't rule if the entire city is leveled!"

    Ultra Violet shoved the white-haired girl away and snapped, "I know! Lemme explain the rest."

    Harumi backed off, interested that she was willing to explain further. The biker typically loved a good excuse to brawl or blow things up, so why was this time different?

    "I was trying to follow your orders."

    Well, that was nice to know. It's the thought that counts, right?

     Ultra Violet recounted what went down and what exactly was said by either side. Most of the story was punctuated by a curse every three words. It was clear the general was highly irritated by the entire situation, especially as she repeated the words exchanged just before the bikers opened fire.

    Harumi winced. Yep, that was a sure-fire way to get yourself slaughtered by any woman. Although, considering the little bit she knew of Ultra Violet's past, those words definitely cut deeper than the person probably intended.

    "Obviously, I didn't let 'em get away alive after that," continued Ultra Violet. "It was someone else who came up with the idea to burn the buildings down. Not gonna lie, that was really satisfying for a sec."

    Her posture slumped more as she very faintly mumbled, "'Til it brought back more stupid flashbacks."

    Harumi felt a pang of sympathy. Sure, she wanted to shoot Ultra Violet in the mouth most of the time, but there was a reason she picked her to be a general. A large part of what bound them all together was their brokenness. Sometimes, Harumi's own pain made her forget this fact.

    "Because of yours and Killow's 'accident'?" inquired the Quiet One with surprising softness. 

    Ultra Violet nodded stiffly. Stupid explosion that her and Killow happened to be caught in gave them their odd complexion and other inhuman qualities. That crap had hurt!

    Not knowing what else to say, Harumi let out a simple, "I'm sorry."

    However, despite the pain it caused the second general, the Quiet One was secretly happy that it got her to shut up about the Green Ninja. She did not want to deal with that can of worms.

    "Whatever," brushed off Ultra Violet, heading towards the door. She wanted to escape the tense, dreary atmosphere as soon as possible.

    Harumi followed her out, honestly relieved Ultra Violet wasn't the type to go spill out her whole sob story.

    Soon enough, the raven haired lady returned to her normal self as she suggested with a sadistic grin, "Wanna see if we can make Borg show us any more crazy things he's got in here?"

    "Sure," accepted Harumi though she did add, "but we can't hurt him too much because he'll make a great bargaining chip. I think Mr.E had something in mind before going to Yìshù."

    "Fine," grumbled the general.

    Before going to Borg's "prison room", Harumi stopped to grab something from the room he had previously holed himself up in.

    Just to scare the man and for dramatic effect, Ultra Violet slammed open the door to the simple room they were keeping him in. She giggled a little and twirled her sai around. 

    The man in the wheelchair flinched at the loud entrance but appeared surprisingly calm for a person in his problematic situation. He didn't even get unsettled by Ultra Violet looming over him, a few droplets of blood still flowing down her arm from a slightly deeper cut. All the poor man looked was exhausted; and to be fair, it was in the middle of the night. 

    Before either of the women could speak, Cyrus Borg crossed his arms and snapped at the two, "I refuse to build whatever death weapon you want!"

    "We don't need anything like that," assured Harumi, striding confidently into the room. "Emperor Garmadon has everything he needs."

    Cyrus let out a relieved sigh and relaxed slightly. Still though, he peered at the two warily. "So why have you come? Does Garmadon want to finish me off?"

    "Nah, we just want ya to show us all the stuff you've got in this place," claimed Ultra Violet.

    He stared at them a moment. That was all they wanted? A midnight tour? Eventually, he stubbornly declared, "No! You will destroy my work further."

    Ultra Violet and the Quiet One frowned. They didn't like being refused. For a such a frail-looking man, he was being quite bold.

    "Fine. Then can you at least explain what this interesting gadget is?" inquired Harumi, placing the scanner-like object on the table in front of him.

    The word P.I.X.A.L. ran across the top of the high-tech machine in fine silver lettering.

    Cyrus's expression turned sorrowful as he gazed at it. He sighed, not really seeing the harm in explaining the device. "I haven't seen nor heard from my assistant, Pixal, in a very long time. I was hoping this would help me locate her if she is still out there."

    Ultra Violet had a bored, uninterested look on her face. She left the room saying, "Okay, don't start up the waterworks. I'm out."

    For Harumi, Borg's answer greatly intrigued her. So, he didn't realize his creation was now traipsing around Ninjago as Samurai X? She could definitely use this to her advantage.

    With mock sympathy, she slid the device close to him. "Hmm. Perhaps I can leave this in here for you to work on."

    Borg looked taken aback by the offer.

    "I'm not a completely heartless. It'll give you something to do to keep from going stir-crazy," claimed the Quiet One, offering a small smile to appear more genuine.

    The genius inventor was suspicious, but still accepted. "Thank you."

    Harumi merely nodded and turned to leave, informing Borg. "I'll send someone to bring you some tools."

    Her gentle grin morphed into a smirk as soon as she bolted the door shut. If he succeeded, that would make for a useful weapon indeed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

    In Yìshù, Emperor Garmadon tore through the extensive library archives.

    "Where is it?!" he growled to himself.

    Just then, the masked nindroid barged in. His appearance was disheveled though Emperor Garmadon couldn't care less about that. Behind him, two Sons of Garmadon dragged the thrashing form of the Master of Sound. 

    Emperor Garmadon glared at them for the interruption. While Mr.E remained stoic under his harsh stare, the other two bikers cringed in fear.

    "What is so important that you have interrupted me?!" hissed the Emperor.

    "Uh, uh. W-we got the Master of Sound," stammered one of the bikers.

    Jacob had froze at the voice of the Dark Lord.

    "Good for you," snarled Emperor Garmadon scathingly. "Now get him out of my sight."

    No need to tell them twice, as the two swiftly darted from the room with the Master of Sound in tow. Before Mr.E could pad away, his Emperor halted him. 

    "You droid, stay. I didn't bring you all this way just to run around the city."

    Mr.E bowed lowly, not uttering a word, knowing the powerful man would not be able to understand anything he said. Unfortunately, this also meant he could not alert him of his run-in with the ice-wielding, female Samurai X or the escape of the other Elemental Master. Although, perhaps it would benefit himself more if he did not mention the latter half of that.

    "I need you to find the Book of Darkness," ordered Garmadon.

    The dark droid surveyed the chaotic, candlelit room. It was apparent the Emperor was losing his patience with the extensive archives. 

    ".rorepmE ym ,tseb ym od llahs I" replied Mr.E with another respectful bow.

    As predicted, the ruler has no idea what he said.

    While Mr.E systematically scanned for the specific book, Emperor Garmadon turned his attention to a certain book he has set aside. It wasn't the Book of Darkness but he sensed it was important to his plans. 

    He read. Ah, so the humans had hidden the Realm Crystal in Hiroshi's Labyrinth? No matter. Only a very minor setback. He would send the girl who resurrected him to retrieve it once he returned to his throne. 

    Soon, very soon, he would solidify his position as ruler of the Realm. They were coming, and he would gladly welcome them with open arms. No warrior could resist them, not even the Green Ninja's pitiful forces. All of Ninjago would fall at his feet, where they belonged.

    A loud crash echoed throughout the library. Emperor Garmadon looked over to see where the droid had punched a hole in a hollow part of the wall. 

    Mr.E reached out to retrieve the book that rested there, but the dark Emperor stopped him.

    "Stop! Don't touch it! Only I have power to hold it."

    Immediately, the metal man backed away.

    A terrifying grin came across the Emperor's face as he held the book in his hand. He could feel its power that yearned to be unleashed. 

    "Perfect," he praised. 

    Then, he addressed Mr.E, "I will return to my throne tomorrow. For now, find me a place fit for kings so that I may rest. Seeing as you do not need rest, return to your search for the so-called Resistance."

    Swiftly, the nindroid did as his leader commanded, though, for the Emperor, it was not speedily enough.

    Grumpily, he marched into the lobby of the finest hotel in the walled city. 

    "W-what can we d-do for you, sir?" inquired the terrified man at the front desk.

    "It's Emperor Garmadon to you," corrected the Dark Lord harshly. 

    "O-of course, Emperor G-Garmadon," quavered the clerk. "What will it be for you and your..." he paused, glancing at the Emperor's wild entourage that was currently tearing up the lobby, "... fine gentlemen?"

    'Imbeciles' thought the ruler. This was why he came all the way to Yìshù. With the book of ancient magic in his possession, his plan for becoming conqueror of this Realm and beyond would soon come to fruition. No more little pawns flopping about him. Finally, he would get the reverence he deserved.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

    While the night was filled with the dark schemes of his bosses, Killow was off doing his own thing. He liked to follow orders, but tonight, he figured the search for the Green Ninja could wait. This was more important. Karaoke! He and his crew spent the next few hours partying it up and getting drunk before eventually passing out. 

    What? It was stressful striking fear into the hearts of people. They earned it.

Well, that was a shorter chapter than usual. Did I write the characters well enough? Please vote and comment!

Also, I promise you, I actually do have an idea of where this is going. It'll all make sense eventually. ;D

    "Whoever plots evil will be known as a schemer." - Proverbs‬ ‭24:8‬ ‭NIV‬‬