Warning: mentions of blood and a somewhat graphic scenes (I rather be safe than sorry ;D)

The palace shook and people screamed as the last of the blast zap went off. The Sons of Garmadon had successfully made it into the Palace of Secrets and soon enough the Mask of Deception would theirs. Lloyd ran down the hallway, unsheathing his sword. He decided while no one was around that he'd have a little fun helping the Sons of Garmadon. The guards that happened to be near him would be his first victims of the night.

"Oh thank god it's one of the ninja!" One of them said as they spotted Lloyd. "Focus on the Royal Family, we'll take care of anyone who tries to get through the door." One of them yelled to him. Lloyd didn't respond, he rushed to them and killed the first one without any hesitation. The other other two stood there for a moment before looking up at Lloyd who was flicking the blood off his sword.

"Oh my god…" Another whispered as they both started to back up.

"What's the matter?" Lloyd asked darkly. "Don't want to fight me?" He laughed and attacked the second one who blocked his sword. "Not bad." Lloyd commented. "But it won't save you. I'm much more skilled." The third guard took this chance to run and warn the others. Lloyd quickly noticed and shoved the guard away with a kick. He then threw his sword, instantly killing the poor man. Two down, one left. Lloyd had hoped the the last guard hadn't gotten far and he was right as he rounded the corner. Using spinjitzu, he easily caught up with the third one, killing him from behind. As he approached the next hallway, he found many more guards, too many for him to take on alone. He would have to let the Sons of Garmadon do the rest.

"Does anyone have eyes on the Princess?" Hutchins shouted as he entered the hallway. The thunder of motorcycles was almost too loud for anyone to hear each other. Lloyd helped fight back against the attackers, especially since Hutchins was now here. It wouldn't have to be this way for much longer, soon he could drop the act and take off this mask. He wouldn't have to hide his true self anymore. Lloyd could hear Ultraviolet's banshee laugh. He looked in the direction he guessed it was coming from and sure enough there she was. She pulled out a knife and made eye contact with Lloyd before throwing it. "Watch out!" Hutchins shouted as he shoved Lloyd to the floor. He has been prepared to duck at the last second but he could go along with this. He stood up and looked over at Hutchins.

"You saved me." He stated bluntly. Hutchins got in a fighting stance as Ultraviolet got closer to them.

"As much as I hate to say it, I cannot defend the Royal Family by myself at the moment." He admitted. They both dove to the side as Ultraviolet drove right at them on her bike. There was still no word on the Princess' location nor if the mask was still in its case. Lloyd continued to fight side by side with Hutchins though it bothered him greatly to have to fight those who had pledged their loyalty to him. He had no choice though and it's not like they knew it was him, except for Ultraviolet. She knocked over Hutchins and drove right at him. He took the opportunity to knock her off her bike and kick her into a wall. They had to make the fight look real and she knew this. When she stood up, she pulled her knife out of the wall and walked over to Hutchins. As she did, Zane came running in and got her with his Spinjitzu, freezing her instantly. The Princess came running in behind him.

"You're ok." Lloyd hesitated on the way he spoke as he saw her. He was both shocked and angry. The blast zap was set so that her room would be destroyed. She shouldn't be alive and yet here she was. The only thing he could think of was that she was not in her room at the time the blast zap went off. But she should've been even if he did set it off early.

"I am." She smiled at him, clearly not picking up on his anger or shock. "But what about the mask? Is it safe?" She asked looking between Zane and Lloyd. They both glanced at one another, neither having heard from the others on the situation with the mask.

"We don't know. But your safety is more important." Hutchins reminded her. "You must follow me, I will get you out of here." Lloyd and the Princess went to follow after him but Zane did not. Lloyd stopped and gave him a look.

"Go, I will check on the others." Zane explained. Lloyd gave him a nod and followed after the Princess and Hutchins. Hutchins lead them to the throne room.

"How are we going to get out from here?" Lloyd asked, clearly confused.

"Patience." Hutchins mumbled as he moved behind one of the thrones. Lloyd stood watch, strangely enough, none of the Sons of Garmadon had come in here. There was nothing of value to them in here but it wouldn't have hurt them to come and check. Suddenly the comms blared to life.

"I think my brother just destroyed the Mask of Deception." Nya began. Lloyd stood there shocked. How could that have happened? This couldn't be the end. A mask so powerful can't be destroyed that easily. It just couldn't.

"That was a fake." Hutchins announced and it was music to Lloyd's ears. Hutchins revealed the real mask from behind the throne. "I wasn't sure if I could trust you ninja, so I hid the real one, but I see I was wrong. Forgive me, Your Highness for not telling you what I'd done." Hutchins moved one of the thrones to reveal a secret passage. He then handed the mask over to Lloyd. "Take it and get the Princess to safety." He instructed. Lloyd took a moment to study the mask in his hands. It was his, it was finally his! And it was literally handed to him! If only he knew it was going to be this easy then maybe he wouldn't have done all this. No, he still would've.

"What about my parents?" The Princess asked. Hutchins ushered her and Lloyd over to the passage.

"I will find them and get them to safety. But you must go now." He promised and shut the passage behind them. Lloyd and the Princess ran down the passageway quickly, they could hear the sounds of fighting at the end. It was a short tunnel that seemed to lead right to the front of the palace. Lloyd held out a hand to stop the Princess just so he could get an idea of what they were dealing with.

"We can easily get out of here." Lloyd stated after a moment. He looked back at her. "You trust me, right Harumi?" She nodded. "Ok then let's go." He ran out first. His plan was to just run through hoping to be unseen but he knew that would be impossible. As they were running another explosion came from the palace. They both turned to look at the explosion and a Son of Garmadon took that as an opportunity to attack but Lloyd was quicker. He kicked the guy off his motorcycle and swung it around getting it to stop. He turned to Harumi. "Get on." He instructed and hopped on the bike. She hesitated for a moment but picked up a helmet that had fallen and got on the back of the bike. Lloyd revved the engine and took off as fast as he could. He needed someone to follow them, Mr. E or Ultraviolet specifically.

"They're right behind us!" Harumi shouted. Lloyd drove towards the highway, if they could get to an abandoned section, then there was a chance he could get the mask to them. Of course the plan had to be improvised yet again. But this wasn't any of their fault, the fault was all his. He should've checked the mask, he should've known it was a fake. The only good thing was that it was in his possession and the night wasn't over.

"I'm aware!" He shouted back. Lloyd briefly looked behind them and saw Ultraviolet and a few other Sons of Garmadon following them. Good. He would still have to put up an act in front of the Princess but where it was only her it wouldn't be as hard. He slowed the bike for a moment so that Ultraviolet could see the hand signal he was making. He was telling her to separate up ahead, as in separate herself from the others. Doing so would make getting the mask to her so much easier. After a moment he sped the bike back up, using the traffic to his advantage. He knew he could easily lose them all except Ultraviolet. She knew his driving techniques all too well, because she was the one who taught him to ride a motorcycle. This is how he would get her away from the others. Lloyd pulled in front of a truck and shut off the headlights to the bike.

"What are you doing?" Harumi asked as she kept looking behind them. "They're going to catch us!"

"Give it a minute." Lloyd said calmly as the roar of motorcycles grew closer. He watched with a smile as they all drove by, no one noticing them, save for Ultraviolet who gave him a hand signal in return. The single in particular meant that she understood. Once they were far enough ahead, Lloyd took an exit on to a different part of the highway. "I think we're in the clear, Harumi." Lloyd guessed, but a sudden banshee scream said otherwise. Ultraviolet landed with her bike not too far in front of them. "Hold on, and keep low." Lloyd instructed as they both drove towards one another. Ultraviolet pulled out her knife and Lloyd his sword, aiming the weapons at each other. The metal clashed and Ultraviolet used the opportunity to knock Lloyd off the hike sending him sliding down the highway. Harumi let out a scream as the bike landed on top of her. Lloyd looked over at her and noticed she no longer had the mask in her hands.

"The mask, Lloyd! You have to get it!" Harumi pleaded. He looked in front of him and saw it laying there in the middle of the road. Ultraviolet saw it too, she started to drive to it but Lloyd was closer and got to it first. Just as he grabbed it, Ultraviolet stopped in front of him and grabbed him by his gi, lifting him off the ground slightly.

"You have to hurt me and forcibly take the mask." He told her.

"Understood." She responded and kicked Lloyd as hard as she could while holding onto the mask. He let the mask go and hit the ground hard with a thud. "Well, well, looks like we got what we wanted." She laughed and Lloyd got back up, making his way towards Harumi.

"We need to go." He quickly pulled the bike off of her and helped her back on it.

"But the mask-" Harumi started to say.

"It's too late!" Lloyd interrupted her. "Look." He pointed as several others joined Ultraviolet. "She's got reinforcements. At this point my job is to keep you safe and alive." Lloyd sped down the road towards the docks.

"Where are we going to go? They'll chase us anywhere!" She shouted over the sound of the motorcycle.

"They can't follow us into the sky." Lloyd pointed out.

"That doesn't make any sense!" Harumi responded.

"Just trust me!" Lloyd begged. He drove through the alleyways that lead to the docks, quickly weaving through the multiple buildings. "Hang on!" Lloyd shouted as he drove up a ramp and landed on a ship.

"Surround the ship!" Ultraviolet commanded. "Don't let anyone escape!" Lloyd lead Harumi onto the upper deck and began to pull the sheets off of the ship.

"How are we going to escape in this thing?" Harumi asked Lloyd.

"Don't worry this 'thing' has never let me down." He assured her and began to power up the ship. It had been months since the last time the ship was used, there no way of knowing if it would actually fly. Lloyd however was willing to take that risk.

"We can't just sail away, they'd stop us before we could." Harumi warned him. Lloyd pressed a few more buttons trying to get the ship to power up. Finally he gave it a kick and that seemed to knock things into place. He turned to look at Harumi.

"We won't be sailing." He smiled as the ship hummed to life. "You might want to hold onto something, it's been awhile since we've used this ship." He explained as the lift off sequence began. The ship gracefully lifted out of the water and Lloyd spun the wheel so that they could fly back into the city, using the buildings as cover.

"We're flying…" Harumi exclaimed in disbelief. She watched the city below with awe. The first time Lloyd flew in the ship he remembered how amazing seeing the view for the first time felt. "The city, it's so beautiful from up here." Lloyd put the ship on autopilot and walked over to join her.

"Welcome aboard the Destiny's Bounty." He said to her. She smiled at him but her face turned to concern.

"You're hurt." She pointed out and Lloyd looked down at his arm. He was indeed hurt but he hadn't noticed until Harumi said something. He couldn't guess when it happened but that didn't really matter he supposed.

"Are you hurt?" He asked her, remembering that the bike had fallen on her.

"I don't think it's serious but my leg hurts a bit." She admitted. The bike must not have landed on her as hard as he had thought.

"I'm not a doctor but I've seen my fair share of injuries, I can at least take a look at your leg." He suggested to her. Harumi shrugged.

"Why not?" She said. Lloyd lead her to the ninja's shared room and told her to sit down on one of the beds. He went to the bathroom and grabbed one of the various first aid kits they had lying around. When Lloyd walked back into the room, he kneeled down in front of Harumi. She lifted her dress slightly allowing him to look at her injured leg.

"I see some bruising but I don't think there's anything seriously wrong." Lloyd said after a moment. "I think an ice pack is the best thing for it." He said and went to stand up but Harumi grabbed his arm.

"Let me look at your arm." She said. "Like you, I may not be a doctor but I can sew and I bet you need stitches." Lloyd paused for a moment but then sat down next to her on the bed. He removed the half top of his gi, revealing his injured arm.

"Have at it, Princess." He said and she nodded, grabbing the first aid kit. She grabbed the disinfectant and cotton swab and began to clean the wound. Lloyd hissed at the pain and flinched a little but held still as best he could. Once she finished cleaning it, he took a look at his arm to see how bad it was. The cut wasn't deep but she was right about it needing stitches. "Are you sure you want to do this? I can stitch my arm myself, wouldn't be the first time." He asked her.

"You helped me, let me help you." Harumi said.

"I gave you an ice pack, I wouldn't call that helping." He laughed and she did too but only a little.

"I meant with everything you've done since you first arrived at the palace." She quietly said. Lloyd sighed and handed her the stitching needle and thread.

"If you really want to." He said and she smiled a little, clearly happy that Lloyd was letting her help. Harumi began to work on his arm. How she knew how to do this Lloyd would never know but he wasn't going to question her on it since all she wanted to do was help. It took her about thirty minutes and a few mishaps before she was placing a bandage over his wound to stop any blood from dripping. Lloyd moved his arm around, it hurt a little but it was nothing a few painkillers and some rest wouldn't fix.

"Thank you." He said to her as he put his shirt back on. "It'll make for an awesome scar when it heals."

"Thank you as well, for keeping me safe."

"It's no problem, I'm happy to help." He lied with a smile. Lloyd moved over to a closet and pulled out some clothes. He walked back over to Harumi and put them next to her. "They might be a little big but they're cleaner than your dress so feel free to use them if you'd like. The bathroom is the next room over if you need to clean up. I'll be up on the deck if you need me." Lloyd explained before leaving the Princess.

As the night went on, Harumi eventually grew tired. Lloyd told her she could sleep in the ninja's shared room and that he would keep watch. However after she fell asleep, he planned to leave the ship.

"Pixal," Lloyd called out.

"Yes, Master Lloyd?" She responded instantly.

"Watch over Harumi, I'm going to look for the others." He informed her before jumping off the ship. He needed to go back to the Palace, to make sure the rest of the plan went accordingly. He knew of three individuals who would be in the way if they were alive. The Palace of Secrets now belonged to the Sons of Garmadons and he would do with it however he seemed fit. When Lloyd landed on the ground, he changed into his Quiet One attire and then stole a motorcycle. He needed a way to get there fast and his personal bike was back at the Sons of Garmadon's hideout. His ride to the palace was short which was good. He was anxious to finish this. When he arrived Ultraviolet was waiting for him.

"Quiet One, we have the prisoners waiting for you in the garden. And the mask," She started and then pulled out the mask itself. "I have here, for you." He took it from her hands and held it.

"You did good." He complimented. "Lead me to the prisoners." She nodded and brought him to where they were keeping the prisoners. He followed her to the garden where the Emperor, Empress and Hutchins were on their knees, their hands tied behind them. "Clear the area." He ordered. "Though you can stay, Ultraviolet."

"You heard the Quiet One! Everybody out!" She yelled. No one hesitated to run inside the palace.

"On second thought, three can stay, the prisoners won't be walking out alive." Lloyd decided and Ultraviolet nodded.

"You three," She stopped a few who were armed. "Stay here and wait for the Quiet One's signal." The three nodded and stood silently.

How does it feel to watch your city fall?" Lloyd asked the Emperor.

"Who are you?" The Emperor demanded and Lloyd ignored him. If he thought he was going to be the one asking questions, well then he was very wrong.

"Ninjago will burn and it will be your fault because as the Emperor and Empress you failed to protect the city!" He shouted. "You relied on the ninja and hid behind your stupid walls!" He pulled the Mask of Deception out from behind his back. "No matter though because I am one step closer to finishing my mission. Soon Ninjago will have a true Emperor." Lloyd laughed a little.

"But the mask was with the Princess." Hutchins said quietly. The Empress began to cry. "What have you done with the Princess?"

"She's fine. She made it safely to the ninja's ship." Lloyd explained. "I mean after all," he removed his own mask. "I made sure she got there safely." He finished with a smirk.

"You!" Hutchins shouted. "I knew we shouldn't have trusted you! But to think you were behind all this, is more than I feared."

"Yeah, you were right about not trusting me, because I am going to be the most feared villain Ninjago will ever face." Lloyd raised his hand. The Sons of Garmadon readied their weapons at his command.

"How could you do this?" The Empress asked through her tears. Lloyd shrugged. "You were supposed to protect us all."

"Pretty easily actually, I mean I'm the bad guy after all and it seems to run in the family. Evil dad, evil son." He answered and put his mask on. He turned away, giving a nod. Three archers released an arrow, each hitting one behind him. He heard their bodies hit the ground with a satisfying thud. "Well now that that's done." He tossed the Mask of Deception to Ultraviolet, as he did he saw Kai up on the roof. He was about to send the Sons of Garmadon after him but Nya appeared and grabbed him, quickly pulling him out of sight. Lloyd sighed and decided they could go for now. The ninja didn't interfere so they weren't a problem. "Call everyone back to the garden." Lloyd ordered. Ultraviolet went inside the palace leaving Lloyd alone. He took this moment to see the damage done by the explosions and the various bodies that were there. The sight did not faze him, maybe it would have if he were still a child but it didn't and he could live with that. The doors swung open and the Sons of Garmadon filed their way into the garden.

"Everyone listen up! The Quiet One has a message for us!" Ultraviolet announced. Everyone gathered closer, leaving Lloyd in the middle of the crowd.

"For starters, the second part of the mission was a success! We now have the second mask, leaving only one left!" Lloyd shouted. "It's only a matter of time until we locate the Oni temple, we're getting closer to it everyday. For the next few nights you may celebrate!" The Sons of Garmadon cheered. Lloyd raised his hand and the quieted down. "Now, onto something more important. Who had a run in with the Green Ninja last night?" He asked and someone stepped forward, instantly. It was a man. Lloyd was honestly shocked at how quickly he stepped forward.

"I did." The man admitted with a proud look on his face. Lloyd walked forward, circling around him.

"You must feel good for surviving." Lloyd commented and the man nodded and few others let out a cheer in the crowd.

"Yeah I do."

"I mean anyone would. So you want to tell me why you attacked the Princess?" Lloyd asked. "That's the reason the Green Ninja went after you."

"I...I didn't know it was her." The man stuttered and Lloyd pulled out his knife and the crowd went dead silent. He began to twist it in his hands.

"Oh bullshit!" He shouted. The other Sons of Garmadon jumped at his outburst. There had been times in the past where Lloyd had made an example out of someone, it had been terrifying. But it reminded everyone that Lloyd was in charge and they obeyed him and his every command. The newer members had yet to see why everyone was so scared of him but that would no longer be the case.

"I swear! I didn't!" The man cried and dropped to his knees. Lloyd rolled his eyes, this guy really thought he could get away with lying to him. Everyone knew that he could tell when someone was lying.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me you didn't!" Lloyd demanded and stopped in from of him. He crouched down and pointed the knife at the man's throat.

"I didn't know." The man nervously said one more time. Lloyd stared at his eyes and pocketed his knife. The man sighed.

"Thank yo-" Lloyd snapped the man's neck. The crowd began to mumble quietly in shock.

"Never ever lie to me! I will know if you do and you will face the same consequences." Lloyd started to storm away. "Clean up this mess and then clear the area! We're done here." He commanded before he was out of earshot.

Lloyd climbed back up onto the Bounty, having already changed back into his green gi. He walked back to the shared bedroom and quietly entered. He pulled out a knife and snuck over to the bed the Princess was sleeping in. She shouldn't be alive, she should've died in the explosion. He didn't need her for his plan nor did he want her here, she'd only be a problem. He pressed the knife to her neck and she stirred a little. If he killed her right now what would he tell the ninja? Anything he could come up with wouldn't be believable, they'd know he was lying. So what to do then?

Maybe he could use her to his advantage, convince her to join him. If she didn't join him then well, he'd definitely have to get rid of her. He pulled the knife away and quietly left the room. She would live for now and only because he guessed she'd make a nice addition to his game. Why not make it more fun?