Ninjago & TLNM: To Be Green
Chapter Thirteen: What It Takes To Lead
āSo basically, if you flick your wrist at the right time and at the right angle you can get that blade to hook around something.ā
Jay stared at his weapon with wide eyes. āAre you serious? So, like this?ā The blue ninja stuck his tongue out, shut one eye, and aimed at a broom propped up against the banister. With a flick of his arm, the chain and blade whipped out but made no arc in the air.
Lloyd chuckled. āNot...exactly. Once you fully extend your arm, a flick of the wrist should create some movement. Try again.ā
Jay tried again, but his flick was too late. He tried again after that, but nothing.
āIām trying Lloyd, itās just...ā the curly haired ninja lifted his weapon in defeat. āI think this has a mind of its own.ā
āYouāll get it.ā Lloyd patted the defeated teen. āNothing comes immediately. It takes hours and days of hard work and practice to master something. Speaking of which...ā In a dramatic sweep of his arm, Lloyd pulled on his hood, unsheathed his sword from his back, and then held it at the ready. Jay yelped and stepped back.
The Green Ninja raised an eyebrow at Jay. āAny training equipment on board?ā
He shook his head. āReally?ā Lloyd sighed. āVery well.ā
He flipped to an empty space on the deck and began to practice his offensive sword attacks. Upper cut left, upper cut right, dodge, mid- cut. Upper cut left, upper cut right, dodge, mid- cut. Upper cut left, upper cut right, dodge, mid-
Sword hit sword. Lloyd blinked in surprise to see Kai, a smirk as wide as his face, clang his sword against Lloydās and force them into a stalemate.
Lloyd couldnāt help the smile on his face. āAlright hot shot,ā he grinned as he narrowed his green eyes. āLetās see what youāve got!ā
Lloyd pulled away and backflipped. Kai twisted his sword in his right hand while unsheathing his second sword. Then he charged, both swords drawn back to his left ready for a dual cut on Lloydās right.
With a quick summersault, Lloyd dodged the attack. He slid on the wood, slowly turned and swung his sword in his fingers to gain momentum before-
He ducked just in time to miss a swinging hammer that was capable of taking off his head. Rolling to safety, he looked back in shock to see Cole standing proudly with a war hammer. Kai joined his side and they stood at the ready.
Not pausing for a moment, Lloyd launched in between them, deflecting both of Kaiās blades and Coleās hammer. He played defense the whole time, dodging with his head and expertly twisting and turning his sword to counter every thrust and cut and swing. He was just about to go back on offense when an arrow planted itself at his feet.
All three brawlers paused and looked over to see Zane on the bridge next to the steering wheel with his bow drawn. Master Wu stood at the wheel looking very amused with himself.
āExcuse me one second,ā Lloyd panted before taking off to the ladder. Zane shot another arrow towards Lloyd, but this one he shot on target. With a swing of his sword, he knocked the projectile off course and it dug into the mast.
Another arrow sped towards Lloyd but he grabbed it out of mid-air and snapped it in his fingers. Zane blinked very hard.
Lloyd didnāt let the second of shock go to waste. Not even using his hands, he scaled the ladder and then backflipped.
He felt like he was moving in slow motion. He kicked back with his right foot at the top of the ladder, and using his left foot he kicked the bow right out of Zaneās hands. After a solid second of air, Lloyd landed hard on the deck, hand hitting the wood and knees bent to absorb the shock of the fall. Two seconds later, the bow landed next to him.
With a huge smile now, Lloyd pushed himself back up and saluted to Zane. āThank you, s-ā he started but then got kicked from behind. He hit the wood a lot harder than he wanted.
Scrambling back to his feet, he glared at the girl whose eyes glinted with readiness. Her staff was drawn and sharp, and her pose was truly menacing. Kai and Cole flipped next to her, and the fight turned to three on one.
āFinally,ā Lloyd called out once his breath returned to him. āA fair fight!ā
Sword drawn, the battle continued. Lloydās vision turned into a dizzying view of chaos. His instincts were the only thing keeping him in the fight as he dodged the hammer, deflected the swords, and attempted to disarm Nya from her staff. In the few times Lloyd glanced into the eyes of his teammates, he saw a mixture of determination and shock. They didnāt expect him to last this long.
Finally, he snagged the tip of Nyaās spear and twisted it out of her hands. It clattered on the deck and slid away.
āHa!ā Lloyd cheered in excitement. āI actually did-ā
Something hit his sword, and then clung on. āWhat the-ā
With a tight tug, he was disarmed.
āYes!!ā Someone from behind Lloyd shrieked. āI did it I did it I diiiid it!!!!ā
The defeated leader turned in disbelief to see Jay high-fiving Cole and Kai. Zane, who reunited with his bow, remarked, āOh snap! Feel the burn.ā
āJay!ā Lloyd laughed in disbelief. āYou...you really caught on fast!ā
Blushing, he glanced at his weapon. āThanks, Lloyd. I canāt believe I disarmed you!ā
Sheathing his sword, Lloyd shook his head with laughter. āNeither can I. But you did. Congrats, spark-plug.ā
He turned to watch Nya sheath her spear. āNot bad yourself, Lloyd. You really held your own against all of us.ā
Lloyd slid his hood back off. āThanks, Nya. That was a ton of fun.ā
Her eyebrows shot up. āOh, so you do know what fun is!ā
The smile drained away from Lloydās face. āWha....what?ā
āOh nothin,ā Nya shrugged. āFor a while I thought you didnāt know what fun was.ā She didnāt wait for Lloyd to respond to that. Instead, she flipped onto a barrel to then flip onto the bridge.
Lloyd turned to the others. Kai was mid-glance with Cole, and Jay had wide eyes.
Tightening his jaw, he pushed past them all and headed to the front of the Bounty. The dragon head looked a little different (and double) but he still found a place to sit. He tucked in his legs and wrapped his arms around them...and then once again tried convincing himself that he was a good leader.
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Nya found him at the edge of the pond.
āCouldnāt sleep?ā She called out while shielding her eyes as she shut the door. The first rays of sunlight were leaking over the mountains off in the distance and the world was bleeding pink and gold. Lloyd didnāt respond to her; he just kept his gaze fixed on the sunrise.
āHey, you okay?ā She approached him carefully. āAre you...back or are you still the other Lloyd?ā
She didnāt need him to answer when she saw the tears staining his face.
āI made a huge mistake,ā he murmured. āI just wanted you all to have a good night and someone lost everything because of it.ā
She joined him on the edge of the pond. āLloyd, what are you talking about?ā
He wiped his face. āLast night, while we were at the noodle shop? I saw a cop car fly past. I made the decision to let it go instead of follow it....and....ā
āSomething bad happened, didnāt it.ā
The Green leader nodded. āI should have....it was my duty...ā
A warm hand settled on Lloydās shoulder. āLloyd, you canāt blame yourself like that. Itās not your fault-ā
āIt is my fault. Itās all my fault. Meowthra, my dad being captured, that shop being destroyed- itās all on me.ā He let his head drop onto his knees. āIām a terrible leader.ā
The world fell silent for a long, few seconds. Finally, Nya found the words she needed.
āYou know, I wasnāt there to hear Lloydās first morale speech. I was corrupted with condensed evil and helping conquer Ninjago City, yada yada yada..but-ā
Light chuckles emitted from Lloydās buried head. Smiling, Nya continued.
āBut Kai told me all about it. Lloyd had just faced off against the Overlord for the first time and he lost big time. He was knocked out, leg broken, marooned on the Dark Island with no way to get him or his team back to Ninjago....it was pretty bleak. But this kid- the young blonde-chosen one told us not to give up. Why?ā
The blonde lifted his head. ā...Why?ā
Nya looked at him dead in the eyes. āBecause a ninja never quits. You were chosen as much as our Lloyd was chosen. Your team needs you as much as our team needs our Lloyd. But no matter how bleak or how dire the circumstance, Lloyd was always there to remind us that a ninja never quits. And now...I get to tell you.ā
Lloyd faced the sunrise again. āA ninja never quits...Master Wu has never told us that.ā
āMaster Wu never told us that either.ā Nya chuckled. āYou did.ā
Lloyd stared off into space, trying to believe Nya. How could someone like him ever be as wise as Master Wu?
āI guess thatās one big difference between our Lloyd and you. Youāve probably never been in a situation like that before.ā
āOh, I have.ā The Green Ninja recalled just a few weeks earlier. āMy dad locked us in his childhood home and caused it to collapse. On us.ā
āGarmadon did that?!ā
āYa...ā Lloyd nodded. āI finally decrypted Master Wuās cryptic teaching and discovered the truth about your powers. Then, I helped you unlock them to escape.ā
Nya leaned back. āWow, that sounds intense! Do you have a little one liner like, āA Ninja Never Quitsā?ā
āUh...ā Lloyd scoured his memories to remember what he told the others. āYou...have...the......power?ā
Nya didnāt hesitate when she bust out into laughter. āGreat line, itās super inspiring!ā
Lloyd chuckled too. āYeah, I need to work on my inspirational speeches.ā
āWell, you get to practice!ā Nya chirped as she got to her feet. She extended her hand.
āPractice?ā Lloyd asked. āPractice on what?ā
With a smile, she gestured to the Temple. āTo the others! We are going to go after those crooks that destroyed that shop, right?ā
Lloyd stared at Nya for a second before grinning. He took her hand and she helped him to his feet. With a look of determination, he replied.
āOh, you bet we are.ā