Chapter Text
The young men and women aboard the Misfortune’s Keep had quickly grown distaste for the captain’s hospitality. Captain Walker hadn’t come to see them in hours, and food hadn’t been brought into that room for even longer.
Harumi looked around the room at those people, each from very different backstories. Nya and Kai were mere blacksmiths who lived in Ignacia, Cole was a stage performer from a wealthy family, Skylor was the daughter of an evil crime lord named Chen, and Lloyd was literally the son of Emperor Garmadon, that terrible man who had taken control of the entire country.
Harumi made sure to stay her ground around both Lloyd and Skylor, who seemed like they would both kill her and then each other without a second thought. Lloyd just sat there, with his eyes fixed on the floor and his hands folded in his lap, his head held low. Skylor stood against the wall not far beside him, twirling a knife around in her hand.
“When is that pirate finally gonna let us go?” Kai groaned, helplessly ailing in the corner beside his sister, who rubbed his back to comfort him. “He won’t keep us here forever, right?”
“He’d better not,” Cole frowned angrily. “Or my family will have his head.”
“You really think your dancer father will be able to do anything about our situation?” Nya scoffed. “May I remind you that we have the son of Emperor Garmadon here, and the daughter of Master Chen, not to mention the former Princess of Ninjago…and none of those families have done anything.”
“It’s been days,” Kai nodded.
“My father would kill all the pirates on this ship if he wanted to,” Lloyd assured them with a cold glare. “When has use for me, he will come.”
“When he has use for you?” Cole raised his eyebrows. “Doesn’t exactly sound like he shows any fatherly affection towards his own son!”
“Well, he is a cruel warlord,” Kai pointed out.
“Silence!” Skylor snapped, causing a great awkward silence to fill the room. “You waste your breath speaking of things that you are beneath.”
“Yeah?”Nya stood up, fed up with the people she was seated near. “And where are your parents, huh?”
“Where’s yours?” Skylor shot back with a smirk, watching Nya stumble backwards in fear. “I know you and your brother, your blacksmith shop once provided great weapons to my father.”
“We’ve never sold any weapons to that slime,” Kai spoke with distaste.
“No, but your parents did,” Skylor spoke, watching the siblings’ eyes grow in shock. “How do you think my father outfitted his army with such fine weaponry and armor? Ironic, how your parents died by the swords they fashioned.”
“Why, I’ll gut you raw like a fish, you little-“ Kai lashed out, storming towards Skylor before being held back by his sister’s strong arms.
“Let it go, Kai,” Nya whispered to him, listening to his breathing soften and his heartbeat grow slower. “She’s lying to us, anyway.”
The door finally swung open and four pirates filed into the dungeon room, each armed with firearms and swords. As they each presented themselves in their specific orders, the captain himself walked in, his hat seated proudly upon his reddish-brown haired head. A smug grin was firmly planted on his mouth, and his one eye that wasn’t covered by the eyepatch seemed to widen in anticipation.
“Hello, my guests, I assume you all slept well?” Captain Walker chuckled, carefully motioning for one of the pirates to move closer into the room as he noticed Skylor twirling her knife as she had been. “And where, my dear, did you find that?”
Skylor shugged, continuing to twirl the blade dangerously and delicately between her fingers. “I had it, so I decided I wanted to play with it. Got a problem?”
“Yes, the problem is that my men didn’t check you for weapons close enough,” Captain Walter spoke venomously, glaring at the pirates who winced back in response. “Doubloon, take the weapon from Miss Chen here, please.”
Skylor hesitated as the masked man approached her with his hand extended, but finally she rested the knife in his hand and watched as he backed away with it.
“Please, Captain Walker, you must listen to me,” Kai stood up with fleeting hope, being stopped by two of the pirates before he could get too close. “My sister and I are innocent, we didn’t do anything wrong and you won’t be able to get any money out of us, I promise. We’re just blacksmiths.”
“Hmm, Flintlocke, my second mate, do you know if this is true?” Captain Walker looked over at the pirate who stood beside him with combed black hair and a thick mustache. “You and your group were the ones who brought in all of these guests, correct?”
“I…I’m not sure, Captain,” Flintlocke shook his head honestly. “Whoever they are, and whatever their occupation is, they were found on the streets in that same fight with the Princess and the others.”
“We were trying to do the right thing,” Kai yelled in defense. “That crime lord slime Skylor was kidnapping Princess Harumi!”
“And that is when the Emperor’s son arrived to arrest them all,” Flintlocke explained to his captain, who nodded in response. “I’ll say, you don’t normally make such a fine catch these days.”
“No, you do not,” Captain Walker smiled, looking over the group. “And Mr. Cole, I am told you come from a wealthy family of performers, correct?”
“Y-yes, sir.”
“And how exactly did you get involved in this conflict with such unrelated people?”
Cole held his head low with a sigh. “It wasn’t my choice at first, but our most recent performance was where the kidnapping happened in the first place. Princess Harumi was our esteemed member of the audience, but the fighting caused a panic and almost ruined my family’s business. I just…wanted to get back at those horrible wretches while I had the chance,” Cole glared at Lloyd and Skylor. “I believed it was only destiny that I could get both in one place.”
“Revenge, I respect that,” Captain Walker laughed in admiration. “I myself have entangled in much revenge over the years, mainly towards my former rival, Nadakhan the Djinn, whom I singlehandedly imprisoned in a teapot for eternity.”
“Please, Captain Walker, we want nothing to do with revenge or kidnapping or any of that sort,” Nya pleaded with the pirate, standing beside her brother with desperate eyes. “We wish only to go home. We meant no offense to you.”
“Oh, offense?” Captain Walker shook his head with a smile. “Most certainly not, my fair lady.” He reached to grab Nya’s hand, surprisingly finding no resistance. He kissed it, watching the girl’s face flush and a shy smirk overcome her. “I admire your honesty and your respect towards me and my crew. However I am afraid I cannot release you for now, as I yet have use for the both of you.”
“What are you talking about?” Kai asked furiously, grabbing Nya’s arm cautiously.
“After taking Emperor Garmadon’s son into captivity, we’ve had to evade several of his fighter ships,” Flintlocke explained. “Soon enough, we may have Chen’s own forces after us, and when either of those sides finally corners us somewhere, we’ll need as much leverage as possible.”
“Emperor Garmadon won’t care about us,” Kai looked bewildered.
“Just wait and see, and I promise you and your sister will not be harmed,” Captain Walker assured them.
A loud thud shook the vessel, and everyone fell to their knees.
“What was that?” Captain Walker exclaimed.
“Captain!” A pirate yelled as he entered the room. “We’re under attack. It’s Garmadon’s forces. He’s sent his top assassin along with five shuttles carrying soldiers.”
“Ready the deck and hoist the sails!” Captain Walker yelled. “Have Clancee fire up the engines and start the hyperdrive. Everyone else, grab a weapon and prepare for battle if we cannot escape!”
The pirates all left the room and shut the door, leaving the prisoners alone again.
“They can’t expect us to just wait down here!” Kai groaned.
“I told you,” Lloyd spoke, seeming to make everyone, including Skylor, shake in surprise. “My father is merciless. The princess and Chen’s daughter will be very useful to him.”
“And will you?” Cole questioned, only to gain a glare from Lloyd.
“If his plan requires it.”
The sound of gunfire echoed above the deck, confirming that escape had not been successful. Soon cries of pain could be heard as the sound of bodies falling to the floor shook the ceiling.
“Whoever Garmadon sent,” Nya shrunk back in fear, “is very skilled. I can hear Captain Walker’s men dying one after another.”
“Maybe the blonde boy is right,” Cole nodded, gesturing to Lloyd. “In a matter of minutes, we may be the only ones left on the ship.”
“So much for fearsome pirates,” Harumi sighed, standing up to observe the door.
“Hey, Princess, we tried that,” Skylor rolled her eyes. “The door can’t be broken from the inside.”
“Then I’ll…look at it from a different perspective!” Harumi spoke confidently, prying her fingers all along the outline of the door, still finding nothing.
“Captain, that assassin is too powerful for the men,” Flintlocke yelled over his own gunfire as she shot down another of Garmadon’s soldiers. We’ve lost far too many, it’s only a matter of time until he gets to the prisoners.”
“There he is,” Captain Walker breathed, watching in fear as the masked man walked across the deck, approaching him. He wore a biker helmet with a dark red visor, his jacket bearing red and black details. He fought with only a pair of katanas that were painted with the color of blood. Not a single gun could be seen on him.
“Captain…?” Flintlocke stepped back in defense as he watched the man walk closer to the assassin.
“Mr. E,” Walker spoke loud enough for him to hear. “I’ve heard of the brutal assaults you’ve engaged for Emperor Garmadon these past few months. You killed General Kozu, so I at least can respect you for that. The guy robbed me once before.”
Mr. E said nothing, only stood with his swords raised.
“Okay,” Captain Walker sighed, slowly roaming his hands down to the pistols on his hips. He quickly drew them, firing off quickly at Mr. E before rolling for cover as the assassin ran towards him.
Both of Walker’s shots had been deflected by Mr. E’s katanas, a mistake the pirate was confident he wouldn’t make again.
Walker continued firing, each one making a dent in Mr. E’s armor and slowing him long enough for the captain to pull out his sword and block the strike.
The fight continued for a few minutes, neither of them managing to land a blow until Mr. E managed to slip around Jay and slash at his side from behind. Had it not been for Walker’s reflexes, the assassin would have cut him all the way through.
“Ah!” Walker groaned as he held his side, finally raising his arm to fire a powerful stream of electricity at Mr. E, blasting him far away, clear off the deck. The pirate captain rushed over to the side of the deck, watching Mr. E disappear from view as he fell into the abyss. The Misfortune’s Keep had been hiding out around the Glacier Barrens, and Walker had a feeling the cold would eventually take Mr. E’s life if help didn’t come for him.
“Captain!” Flintlocke rushed over. “Are you alright?”
“Yes, Flintlocke, I just have a sword wound I need covered up.”
“Of course, captain, I’ll have Dogshank get the medical supplies right away!”
Another hour went by before the door to the dungeon room opened again and Captain Walker entered, his face quite solemn. This time his pirates did not follow him, but stood outside the door.
“I have a proposition for you all,” Walker spoke, gaining some confused looks from his prisoners. “We found some information of Garmadon’s army from one of his crashed fighters. He knows we have his son, and he knows we have the princess.”
“So he’ll just come back with more soldiers to kill us and take them into his own custody!” Kai fumed. “You say we have a purpose here, but it’s clear that Garmadon has no concern for us.”
“At this point, it’s better that you stay with me because they know we have you onboard, and if we leave you in a village or something, they could come after you and get information,” Flintlocke explained.
“Until we sort out this mess, your best chance at safety is actually with us,” Captain Walker nodded in agreement. “I have decided to work with each of you, as it would seem my crew is not very well prepared for such an army on its own. We lost a lot of good pirates out there…” Walker hung his head sadly.
“So you’ll let us out of this cell?”Cole’s eyes widened.
Captain Walker nodded.
“But what about Lloyd? He’s literally Garmadon’s son, why would he help us escape?” Kai asked.
Walker looked at Lloyd knowingly. “He will remain in vengestone chains until he accepts his purpose on this ship under my leadership. For now, Lloyd Garmadon,” he faced the boy, “you will be free to roam the ship but you will not be able to do anything without being unchained. At least that way you won’t be able to rain hellfire on us.”
Lloyd simply nodded slowly, and the pirates came in to unchain the others.
“Hey, Kai,” Nya nudged her brother as they followed the others out of the cell. “Captain Walker said they have Garmadon’s son chained up with vengestone. Do you know what that is?”
“I’ve never heard of it,” Kai shook his head.
“It’s an ancient metal once used by the Overlord to cancel out the powers of the First Spinjitzu Master,” Harumi explained. “Lloyd’s powers will not work while he is bound by the chains.”
Cole’s eyes widened. “He has powers?”
Harumi nodded. “And if it had not been for Captain Walker intervening in that fight in the street, Lloyd would have floored us all in an instant.” She looked around before leaning in closer to Kai and Nya. “Skylor has powers too, but I’m not sure what they are. That’s a major reason why she is one of the most dangerous women alive, not just because she’s Chen’s daughter.”
“Captain has powers as well,” Flintlocke’s voice startled the group, but he continued. “He’s been able to control the element of lightning since he was a little boy. He used it for a lot of messed up stuff back then, which is a pretty big reason why he became a pirate in the first place. He has nowhere left to run to.”
“So we have three elementals on this crew?” Kai’s eyebrows rose. “Maybe we could stand a chance after all.”
“That is, only if Lloyd and Skylor actually want to help us,” Cole pointed out. “They’re both cold blooded killers for all I care, and I don’t need to see it to believe it.”
“Well, while you four are onboard the ship, the captain wants you to make yourself useful,” Flintlocke caught the others’ attention, handing a mop to each Kai, Cole, Nya, and Harumi. “Scrubba-dub-dub.”
“Emperor Garmadon, my lord!” Samukai entered the room with his head bowed low in respect for his master, leading several soldiers behind him. “Mr. E’s raid may have appeared unsuccessful, but we have found valuable data.”
“And what is this data you have found?” Garmadon sat unamused with his eyes half-lidded and his expression grim.
“Lloyd is, in fact, onboard,” Samukai spoke, watching Garmadon’s face lift. “That pirate Jay Walker has him imprisoned in a holding cell aboard his ship, Misfortune’s Keep. But, my lord, Walker has more prisoners that would be valuable to you.”
“Just spit it out; you overdramatize everything.”
“Princess Harumi is being held onboard as well.”
Garmadon began to sit up straighter in his throne, his eyes widening and his composure growing stronger. “With her parents killed, that princess poses the only great threat to my rule. Bring her and Lloyd to me. Quickly!”
“Y-yes, my lord, but there is one more thing!” Samukai stuttered as he began to back away. “Chen’s daughter is imprisoned there as well.”
Garmadon’s face shifted once more. The memories of that man came flooding back like a haunting shadow, and he shook them off. “I care not for that man, nor his daughter. Kill her, if you have to.”
“Yes, my Emperor.”