Ninjago Magazine Comics Translated Issue 98 - The Kidnapping
If you didn't know, Blue Ocean has a variety of non-canon Ninjago comic magazines. I'm working on translating a few of my favourites from German to English for you all to enjoy (see Issue 85, the first one I translated, for more details). This story is post-Crystalized. Your tags and reactions to my first translation gave me motivation to translate more, and I'm glad people are enjoying them! If there's any in particular you want to see, let me know and I'll see if I have it.
His heart was pounding when the darkness allowed him to come up for a quick moment, just a few seconds to let him thoroughly panic before a hand tightly grasped onto his with the hushed voice insisting, “hey, hey, it’s okay.”
And with that, he was pulled back under.
For @senseigrace, edited by @21st-century-ninja
Lloyd’s thoughts had been hazy since the final battle.
He knew it wasn’t his final battle with the tight rope that destiny had around his neck, but he couldn’t help but hope that it was the last time.
That this was the last time he would have to fight The Overlord, the last time he would have to see Harumi and the last time he had to see Garmadon.
He tried to find the bright spots in all of it, like how Nya was back and even had regained her powers, how Ninjago was rid of the persistent darkness that tried to engulf it, but despite that, his mind just kept wandering back to the darkness that lingered inside of him.
Even the sunrise exercises, training hours and meditation sessions that he was still expected to show up for despite being the only participant were unable to center his absent mind; nothing could erase the memories of the mental and physical pain that was associated with becoming something that he wasn’t, even if there was a small voice inside of him begging him to forgive his father.
Which had led Lloyd to where he was now, standing outside of Master Wu’s bedroom with his hand knocking lightly on the doorframe; he highly doubted his uncle was awake, given that the time was nearing two in the morning, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t lull himself to sleep.
But, to his surprise, it only took a few rapid, soft knocks for Master Wu to open the sliding door and given that he was still wearing the clothes he had spent the entire day in, Lloyd couldn’t help but wonder if he wasn’t the only one who was struggling to sleep in the eerily quiet monastery.
“Come in, Lloyd,” his uncle insisted as he stood to the side, allowing Lloyd to walk inside; his usual meditation setup with the tray of burning incense and the red, fraying carpet was still out as well as the secondary brown carpet that was reserved for lessons, “I’ve been expecting you.”
‘Why am I not shocked?’ Lloyd thought as he sat down on the familiar brown carpet, crossing his legs when he had fully brought himself to the ground.
“You haven’t been sleeping,” Wu called him out, “because something is troubling you.”
“Have you heard from the others?” Lloyd asked, hoping that his lie would be enough to quell his master’s prying, only to get the head shake that he had been expecting along with a sigh.
“Not since they left. But we both know that’s not what is keeping you awake, if anything, you should be sleeping better without the late-night video game sessions.”
Lloyd pulled in a breath to try and calm his nerves, pressing his palms into each other so they wouldn’t shake before the truth spilled from his lips, “I just…I’m worried, Master Wu.”
“About the others?”
“Well, yes, but no,” Lloyd stopped to bring in another shaking breath, feeling his heartbeat pound in his ears, “I’m worried about becoming like my father” those words resulted in Wu raising his eyebrow with what he hoped was curiosity instead of disappointment, “and the whole Oni form thing isn’t helping me feel better about that.”
“My brother was slowly corrupted by the darkness inside of him from the Great Devourer, the Oni inside of him simply propelled it,” Wu insisted, his voice growing eerily steady like it did every time he spoke about Garmadon, “we each follow our own paths, Lloyd. Paths that we are not even aware that we are on.”
“So, you have no idea if I’m going to end up like Garmadon.” Lloyd sighed as defeat seeped into his bones, “or if I’m going to turn into an Oni and get stuck like that.”
“I’m afraid I do not, nephew,” Wu agreed, “but, what turned your father into what he is now, was corruption of what once was truly good. The things that turned him into what he is now, they no longer exist.”
Lloyd nodded; he knew that the Devourer was long gone, that the Oni masks were destroyed and that the Golden Weapons had been returned to raw, elemental energy.
Nothing existed that could corrupt him the same way it had destroyed his father.
“But, and you’re not going to like this, you should continue to work on controlling your Oni form.”
“Have you not been listening to me?!” Lloyd couldn’t stop himself from shouting as he stood up, “that sounds like doing exactly what Garmadon wanted me to do! He wants me to be like him, you know that, right?! He wants me to let go of all of my emotions, my sentimentality, anything that makes me human!”
“Lloyd-”
“I can’t end up like him, Uncle Wu!”
And with those words, Lloyd felt like he was eight years old again; terrorizing Ninjago, releasing the Serpentine and being everything that he thought would bring his father back to him only to get taken in by the ninja, screaming and fighting as they made him board The Bounty.
He hadn’t even noticed the hot tears rolling down his cheeks until his uncle approached and brought his hand up to wipe them away before pulling Lloyd into a tight hug which only made him cry harder.
His chest heaved harshly, his body shook and all he could do was grasp tightly onto his uncle, burying his head into his shoulder.
Master Wu didn’t speak, he just kept one hand on Lloyd’s back and let the other one gently brush through the golden wisps of hair, but it didn’t do much to quell the sobs of what he had been keeping in longer than he should have.
But, when his eyes started to sting and his ears started to hurt, he finally managed to pull himself away from Wu’s shoulder, wiping his face on his sleeve.
“I-I’m sorry,” he muttered under his breath, “about yelling at you.”
“I would rather you aim your anger at me then someone else, nephew,” his uncle insisted before putting his hand on his left shoulder, “now, even though I don’t assign bedtimes any more, it is much too late for the two of us to be awake. No sunrise exercise tomorrow, but I expect to see you awake before noon.”
“Goodnight, Master Wu.” Lloyd nodded, letting his shaky legs guide himself to his bedroom.
But as he walked, he couldn’t stop the thoughts of worry from creeping back into his mind to try and narrow down any object that could possibly corrupt him.
…
The post-battle haze didn’t leave Lloyd’s brain when he awoke the next morning; in fact, between the throbbing directly in his forehead and the heat in his cheeks, the haze was only stronger than it had been in the last few weeks.
His vision was blurry as he squinted in the darkness, trying to gain his bearings only to see the familiar form of his uncle hovering over his bed; even though there was a look of worry covering his face, he couldn’t help but feel relief when he identified him.
“Master Wu?” Lloyd’s voice cracked as he spoke, making his cheeks feel more flushed than they already were and his jaw started to ache, “is everything okay?”
“Everything except for you, nephew,” Lloyd knew that when he was referred to by “nephew” instead of his name that Wu was worried about him but it wasn’t until he felt Wu’s familiar hand rest on his forehead that he was able to process that he was sick, “you’re running a temperature.”
“Oh, I’m sure it’s nothing,” Lloyd insisted as he started to sit up, only to be met with what he could only describe as a stab of pain directly in his shoulder blades, “ah!” the cry of pain tore out of his throat and tears sprang into his eyes involuntarily.
He tried to slow his breathing as he was gently pushed back onto the mattress with a hand on his shoulder, but when the pain in his back dissipated, he was met with the throbbing in his forehead returning with a vengeance and nearly making him sick along with a chill starting to seep into his bones and spread throughout his body.
He couldn't stop himself from shaking as he pulled his legs inward toward his chest and pressed his head harder onto the pillow to try and muster up some relief.
“W-what’s…” Lloyd managed to pull a painful breath into his aching chest and fought the urge to cry out again from the ripples of agony, “w-what’s wrong with me?”
The last words Lloyd heard before the darkness pulled him down deep into unconsciousness were the unmasked, terrified words of his master, “that’s what your mother and I are trying to figure out.”
…
“-is going to have to hold him still.”
“I’ll do it.”
Lloyd couldn’t move, he couldn’t speak. All he could do was listen in on the words spoken by his bedside as pain continued to make its way through his back, his head, his teeth, his hands and his sides and he was pulled into someone’s comforting arms.
He could tell that despite the rough hands seemingly trying to press on every area that throbbed or stung, he was being supported by someone’s chest against his back.
“This is bad, Wu.” The smooth yet deep voice finally broke through his hearing, “this wasn’t supposed to happen for years.”
Lloyd could recognize that voice anywhere; whether that was in the deep recesses of his childhood, those few good years followed by the worst years of his life, only to be face to face with something that was everything but what he needed.
He could recognize the voice of Garmadon anywhere.
But, despite his harsh touch against his aching shoulder blades, there was the gentle hand in his sweaty hair that gently made its way from the top of his scalp all the way to where his thin, blonde wisps touched the bottom of his neck.
It was the only thing that kept Lloyd from fighting the paralysis that held him tightly in its grasp because he knew that no matter how much his uncle wanted to continue to foster a relationship with Garmadon, he would never let him put an unnecessary hand on him.
If he had asked a question, had managed to make his lips move or even had found it in him to try and move, he didn’t know.
All he knew was that his uncle knew, because the touch somehow became even more gentle as his familiar whisper lulled him back into the darkness.
“Everything's okay, just go back to sleep."
…
“You need to call them, Wu.”
“If this is what Garmadon says it is, then it will pass.”
“Regardless of whether it will pass or not, you know as well as I do that they will want to know what’s going on.”
“They are all in the process of trying to regain their elemental powers, Misako.”
“And they all left you their contact information if they were needed. My son needs them right now.”
A long heavy sigh and the same gentle touch running through his hair before his uncle finally responded.
“Very well.”
Darkness enveloped Lloyd yet again almost as quickly as it had let go.
…
His heart was pounding when the darkness allowed him to come up for a quick moment, just a few seconds to let him thoroughly panic before a hand tightly grasped onto his with the hushed voice insisting, “hey, hey, it’s okay.”
And with that, he was pulled back under.
…
When Lloyd awoke again, his head was throbbing and even though it was now centered in the top of his skull, it still made the pain radiate throughout his face; despite that, he finally managed to pry his eyes open once again.
The lights were off, making it difficult for him to focus on anything.
In fact, he considered going back to sleep for a moment when he didn’t see his mom, uncle, or even Garmadon when his eyes flicked downward toward the pressure surrounding his left hands and saw the familiar, scarred hand with the red fabric of a gi nearly covering it.
“K-Kai?” he managed to croak, only now realizing how much his throat burned and his jaw ached, only to feel a soft hand on his blanket-covered leg that belonged to, “Nya?”
“Lloyd!” Kai shout penetrated his skull in a way that he couldn’t do anything but wince, resulting in the sound of a hard ‘smack’ against skin that he could only guess was Nya, “my bad, bud” he added in a much softer voice.
“H-how?” He couldn’t help but ask even though he vaguely remembered his mom and uncle discussing calling the others.
“Master Wu called us,” Nya said with a nod of confirmation coming from Kai, “he said that you weren’t doing too great.”
“Granted, I don’t think anyone would be doing well while they were turning into an Oni-”
‘No, no, this isn’t happening,’ the anxiety started to swell at the thought of looking like, of turning out like Garmadon, at the mere possibility of his worst fear coming true, ‘not now, not now, this is not happening.’
‘I’m a monster. I’m turning into everything that’s wrong with me. They’re going to leave me again.’
“Lloyd,” the pressure around his hand tightened, forcing him to look up at Kai’s amber-colored eyes, the eyes that he associated with safety, “Lloyd, take a deep breath and hold it in. I need you to do that for me, okay?”
Lloyd couldn’t do anything but comply, the salty tears breaking away from his tear ducts and streaming down toward his ears as he pulled in a shaking breath.
‘In, hold, out, hold.’ He repeated the breaths that he was coaxed through like a mantra until his chest stopped shuddering and his cheeks grew sticky from the drying tears.
Eventually, Kai loosened the pressure on his hand enough for him to push himself upwards on his elbows and slowly prop his aching body against the pillows; his head felt way too heavy for his neck but the angle allowed him to take in the fact that Nya and Kai were really there.
“Here, let me just…” Nya paused as she reached forward with a soft tissue and wiped down his cheeks before running her hand across the top of his scalp while avoiding the two prominent sources of the pain that pulsed throughout his head, “there you go.”
“Thanks,” he smiled, despite the ache it sent throughout his mouth before letting it fall, “what do you mean, about what you said?”
Kai’s sigh was long, the kind he reserved when he regretted what he had said, as he responded, “your uncle and your da-Garmadon want to talk to you about it.”
“First Spinjitzu Master,” Lloyd cursed as he rubbed his hand over his face; the thought of having to talk to Garmadon about how he had become exactly what he had tried to mold him into and hearing him gloat about how he had been right the whole time made Lloyd’s headache come back with a renewed throb to it, “do I have to?”
“They’re gonna have more answers than us, Lloyd,” Nya shrugged hopelessly, “but we can always stall for you, say you’re still asleep.”
“Yeah, we don’t wanna push you,” Kai insisted before his free hand became alight with fire, “and you know, just say the word and I’ll hurl this at Garmadon’s face.”
‘Wait…fire?’
“You got your powers back?”
“We all did, big shot,” Kai’s grin continued to widen as he extinguished the flame, “and I’ll give you all the details after you get some more sleep.”
Lloyd nodded, scooting himself carefully back onto the mattress so he was laying down before rolling onto his side and letting his eyes flutter shut. He felt Kai pull the blanket over his shoulder and Nya gently squeeze the same shoulder, but he just let himself welcome the darkness that engulfed him once again.
…
With help from Kai and Nya’s stalling and his first peaceful sleep for the first time in a long time, Lloyd managed to hold off the conversation for a solid five hours.
And despite that, when he finally managed to stand on his shaking legs and look at himself in the bathroom mirror, he still didn’t want to do this when he still had the option to lay down for a few more hours.
But the sharp fangs that protruded from his gums in the place of his canines and the nubs of horns that would have been fully hidden by his hair if he hadn’t just been victim to a raging fever and sweat reducing the natural volume worried him.
‘If I keep putting this off, are more things going to change?’ he couldn’t tell if he was imagining the red that had always made up his eyes trying to push through the bright green, if the Oni inside of him was fighting its way to the surface, ‘will I continue to turn into a monster until there’s nothing of me left?’
“Lloyd?” Nya’s voice was soft as it broke through the spiral and forced him to turn away from the mirror to see her slouched against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest, “do you want me to go with you?”
As much as Lloyd wanted to say yes, he had a feeling that this was meant to be a private conversation between himself, Master Wu and Garmadon, something that the others would hear from him as soon as his father made his way out of the monastery.
“No, but…” he looked down at his fingertips, wincing when he saw the dark stain of dry blood under and around his fingernails from his claws forcing themselves out which sent him to the sink to try and scrub some of it away.
Nya approached silently, her hand coming down to rest on his shoulder as she spoke, “that promise I made to you, about protecting you? I still intend to keep it, and so do the others.”
“I know.” Lloyd agreed, knowing fully well that the others wouldn’t hesitate to take Garmadon down at the first sign of danger, that they had all been very uncomfortable with his methods of trying to teach him how to control his Oni form to the point that the insult toward Master Wu was the breaking point for them.
“Do you need anything before you go talk to them?” She asked while he pulled his hands away from the sink and wiped them dry on the brown towel that hung next to the sink.
Lloyd nearly bit his tongue in order to keep himself from saying ‘I need to get out of this conversation’ until he remembered that he had fangs now and he would actually like to keep his tongue, so he settled for looking up at Nya’s grayish-blue eyes and asking.
“If it’s not too much to ask, there’s a new Starfarer movie. It’s the reboot series, so it’s not as good as the original ones, but-oomph” he couldn’t hold the sudden wince of pain as Nya hugged him tightly, but she pulled away nearly as fast as she hugged him.
“I’ll let the others know, we’ll be waiting for you,” she insisted, leaving the room with one more look and a “good luck”.
Lloyd forced his legs to bring him towards his master’s quarters and as he brought his hand to the door in a series of swift knocks, the only thought that filled him was ‘here goes nothing.’
No one opened the door, but it was unlocked when he gently nudged it, so he let himself in; he wasn’t surprised to see Master Wu and Garmadon both sitting down at the small table pushed into the back of the room, talking softly over cups of tea.
He cleared his throat, instantly gaining both of their attention from their private conversation, but he kept his attention focused on Wu’s face despite his father’s voice being the first to speak directly at him.
“He lives.”
Lloyd swallowed back his anger as he crossed his arms over his chest, refusing to look him in the eyes and keeping his attention on a slightly darker spot on the hardwood floor.
“The least you could do is sit down with us.”
“I’d rather stand.” Lloyd tried to keep back as much of the bite in his tone as possible, if only for Master Wu’s sake of having to mediate between the once-close father and son.
“How are you feeling, Lloyd?” Wu asked while filling a third teacup which he reached over to hand to Lloyd once it was three–fourths full.
He took it gratefully, the warmth from the light brown liquid warming his palms while the scent of chamomile and vanilla worked through a few of his nerves; it smelled like Steep Wisdom, like coming into his uncle’s room late at night when something was keeping him awake; above all, it smelled like home.
“I’m feeling better,” Lloyd finally looked back up at his uncle with a nod before glancing over at his father, “do you know what all of that was? Is that why you were brought here?”
“That’s exactly why I was called here,” Garmadon insisted as he stood and approached Lloyd, “Wu and I may have similar genetics, but when it comes to the Oni side of it, I have much more experience.”
The lightest touch in his hair had him flinching away from the hand that was more than likely trying to get a closer look at the horns that had emerged from his skull, and the shame only really hit him in the chest when he saw the confusion and what seemingly was regret on Garmadon’s face.
“I didn’t mean to-”
“I’ve changed, Lloyd,” Garmadon cut him off, “and you still think that way of me? You still think I would hurt you?”
“I’m trying.” Lloyd swallowed to keep the tears from falling out of his eyes, “I’m trying to let you back into my life, but after that stunt you pulled, I…” Lloyd reached his free arm up to his face to wipe the tears off of his cheeks even though he knew they would quickly be replaced.
He was angry at his father, yes, but the real emotional weight of just how hard it was for him to have him and then lose him, only for him to come back but not as the father he remembered only for him to act as though he was losing him again, was finally smacking him across the face right in front of the man himself.
“The transformation you went through, that wasn’t supposed to happen until you were much older, when you aged from an adolescent Oni to an adult Oni,” Wu filled in, letting Lloyd’s unfinished sentence hang in the air, “but between your genetics and the Tomorrow’s Tea, Garmadon and I have come to the conclusion that your body assumed you were ready.”
‘Damn Tomorrow’s Tea,’ Lloyd couldn’t help but think as he nodded along with what his uncle was saying while setting down his untouched tea, “but that’s the end of it, right? The horns and the teeth, that’s it?”
“Well, that’s part of the reason that it was so hard on you, that I was so hard on you, aside from you being too young,” Garmadon cut in, only now Lloyd could find it in himself to actually look at his father’s glowing, red eyes, “the Oni side of you will always fight to let itself out unless you learn to control it. If you keep fighting against it like you have been, there is a high chance that more of your Oni features will end up like your horns and teeth. Permanent.”
“So the purple eyes, the claws, the wings and the extra arms?” Lloyd swallowed at the sight of the mental image he was faced with, the ruthless Oni that fought for dominance, “they would always be there?”
“Precisely,” Garmadon confirmed, making Lloyd’s stomach twist, “but you are closer to controlling it between this transformation and unleashing your Oni form, you just have to learn how to bring it out when you want it to come out.”
He didn’t respond to his father but focused his attention on his uncle as he asked, “I don’t suppose you could teach me that.”
Lloyd couldn’t help but deflate when Master Wu shook his head, “Your father is the most equipped to guide you through this training, Lloyd.”
He nodded and turned back to Garmadon, bringing his eyesight upwards to look at his glowing red eyes, the ones that used to remind him of home the same way the scent of his uncle’s tea did now, before finding it inside of himself to ask, “when do we start?”
“Once your horns finish coming in, you’ll have better balance that way,” Garmadon’s voice was unwavering and void of any emotion that Lloyd could try and pick out, “should be about three days from now.”
“Okay,” Lloyd nodded in agreement and hoped that he hadn’t just signed up for hours upon hours of misery, “is there anything else that you need to tell me?”
“No, nephew,” Wu assured him, “you may leave now.”
Lloyd had never left a room faster, even if it was just to breathe in some less stuffy air and avoid having to process everything that had just happened. ‘Processing can happen later.’
And with that thought, he made his way downstairs toward his promised movie viewing and the others all while trying to keep his mind clear of any thoughts about his dad, the Oni or the pain that still occasionally radiated through his head and down his neck.
He had never been so relieved to see the others in their usual places, PIXAL and Zane setting up the movie, Cole holding the popcorn bucket that Jay had gotten when the two of them and Nya had gone to see the last Starfarer movie that had starred Cliff Gorden in the titular role, Jay and Cole already starting to eat it despite the fact that the movie hadn’t even started.
Given that Nya and Kai were sitting on the couch, leaving the spot in between them for him, Lloyd could only assume that Jay and Cole’s playful bickering had resulted in the two of them being banished to the floor like always.
Lloyd took his spot on the purple couch and shamelessly rested his aching head on Kai’s warm shoulder, his eyes already trying to flutter shut.
“Lloyd, the least you could do is try and stay awake long enough for the movie to even start.” Kai joked while wrapping his arm around him and gently rubbing his hand up and down his right arm.
“I’m gonna stay awake, ‘nless you put me to sleep.” Lloyd mumbled from where he laid, but made no move to sit up which only continued to enable Kai.
“Be nice,” Nya chastised as she finally got Cole to move the popcorn bucket upwards so she could reach some, “he’s been sick, he can sle-” she cut herself off after putting a few kernels in her mouth, “who the fuck seasoned the popcorn with ranch?”
Nya and Cole bickering about the ethics of putting ranch seasoning on popcorn was only stopped by the familiar intro music that indicated that PIXAL and Zane had finally gotten the movie started.
Lloyd tried to pay attention to the newest installment in his favorite franchise, but his eyes continued to try to flutter shut, Kai’s warm hand on his shoulder was the closest thing to a comforting embrace he had gotten in days and the blanket that someone had tossed over his body was so soft that he couldn’t help but wonder how he managed to stay awake during the first fight scene.
All he could really focus on before he drifted off wasn’t the classic “Fear? Fear isn’t a word where I come from” line, it wasn’t Jay saying that the design of the spaceship wasn’t comic accurate only to get loudly shushed by everyone else.
It was that for the first time since standing on that floating rock next to his father and Harumi, his thoughts were no longer hazy; for the first time in a long time, Lloyd’s thoughts were clear and for the first time in a long time, he welcomed the veil of sleep with open arms.
After Crystallized.Garmadon's angst and his family who is conforting him.
@ogzieoggleton Thanks so much for the request!!!
"Father," Lloyd looked confusedly at Garmadon, who was rummaging through his room.
"What are you doing?" Concern was clearly heard in Lloyd's voice.
"Nothing," Garmadon chuckled falsely and hid something behind him. Unsuccessfully, as a Hawaiian shirt fell out of his bag from behind.
"Is that yours?" Lloyd asked in amazement.
"Um, yeah," Garmadon nervously picked up the shirt, but other things fell out of the bag. A brush, pictures, clothes...
"Um, no, it's not mine," Garmadon falsely laughed again and collected everything back in the bag.
Lloyd stood silently in shock.
"Are you... leaving us?"
"Maybe," Garmadon swallowed.
"Why?!" It was Lloyd's only question, to which Garmadon sighed.
"I don't deserve to be here," Garmadon turned towards the window and continued to stare out of it.
"Of course you deserve," Lloyd gently approached him and put his hand on his shoulder. "You helped us defeat the Overlord, rebuild the monastery..."
"Lloyd, let me go," Garmadon turned away from his only son.
"Let's talk..." Lloyd insisted.
"No," Garmadon said softly. "No talking."
"What's going on here?" Misako came in from the door when she saw the strange scene in the room.
"He doesn't want to talk to me and wants to leave!" Lloyd complained to his mother. Garmadon didn't respond to that, just continued to stare at the wall.
Misako gestured for Lloyd to leave for a moment, then leaned on the window sill.
"Why are you leaving?"
Nothing.
"Garmadon..." Misako persisted.
"I don't want to talk..." a rough response.
"You'll break Lloyd's heart.He will miss you."
Only sad frown.
"I will miss you."
A surprised whisper.
"Stop being childish!" Misako tried the last method and raised her voice.
"Who's being childish!?" Garmadon sharply turned and angrily looked her in the eyes.
"Um, mom, dad...?" Lloyd looked confused at his parents.
"Go out for a minute, Lloyd," Garmadon waved his hand.
"Explain yourself," he said and leaned against the window.
"You want to leave without saying goodbye, and you don't understand how much we'll miss you. Lloyd needs a father, no matter how grown up he is."
"Do you need a husband," Garmadon raised an eyebrow.
"Yes," Misako said after a brief pause. "We all need a family."
"We can't be a family," Garmadon coldly replied and started collecting his things from the floor into the bag again.
He didn't want to look at Misako or Lloyd, thousands of emotions were swirling inside him.
"Why?" Misako asked desperately.Garmadon paused and looked at his reflection in the mirror.
"Because I'm a monster," he whispered and continued packing. Then he stopped when he felt Misako's hand on his shoulder. She squatted next to him.
"You're not..." she whispered gently.
"It doesn't matter how you look, you're still the man I loved, that I love.Father of our son."
"How do you know it's me?" Garmadon whispered.
"I see it," Misako began, but Garmadon stood up and gently brushed her hand off his shoulder.
"Lloyd thinks I'm a monster," he told her.
"It's not true..." Misako started but Garmadon abruptly cut her off.
"Don't lie to me, Misako!" Garmadon was angry with sadness and despair.
"You didn't see how he reacted when he achieved his True Potential. Besides, you don't seem to know that his biggest fear is becoming like me!!"
When he said that, he turned to see the expression on her face. She was shocked and sad at the same time.
She didn't know how to respond to this.
"It's not true, dad," Lloyd entered the room.
"Yes," Garmadon muttered and turned away from Lloyd.
"I'm afraid he'll become like evil you, not like you are now."
"I'm not different from before..." Garmadon muttered.
"You are, you're changing. You're reverting to your old self," Misako intervened again and approached Garmadon.
"Seriously?" Garmadon looked at the two of them.
"Dead serious," Lloyd said and hugged him.
That was the moment when Garmadon couldn't hold back his tears anymore and buried his face in Lloyd's head. With a hand, he pulled Misako, who stood behind him, to join the hug.
"Do you think we'll be okay? Do you think we can be a family again, that you can forgive me for everything I've done..."
"We can," Misako said and kissed him on the cheek, leaning her head on his.
"I don't think otherwise," Lloyd smiled. "Do you know what the best way is to recover from a stressful morning?"
~~~~~~
"Seriously?" Garmadon asked.
Following Lloyd's instructions, all three of them lay on the floor.
"Is it that this is the best solution?" Lloyd proudly stated.
"You are a genius son," Garmadon said sarcastically."Were you eavesdropping on us in the room a little while ago?"
"No," Lloyd swallowed. "You were screaming so I heard you."
" Yeah," Garmadon said not really convinced.
"Well, I guess it's actually comfortable," Misako noticed.
"Huh, you see," Lloyd said to Garmadon. "Mom says it's comfortable."
"If you say so, who am I to argue," Garmadon said sarcastically, and all three of them laughed.
Even when they stopped, Garmadon continued to laugh. His heart was bigger than the universe.
For the first time in a long time, he felt like everything was going to be okay and that they could be a family again.
(for @hms-siren who requested Kai & 53 for the Spotify Wrapped Fic Requests. My 53rd most listened to song was My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys by Taylor Swift)
So, while she was strong and ready, she had to do it.
For both of their sake, she had to break up with Kai.
Skylor's emotions flared as the door opened.
The door of the restaurant opening wasn't unusual during a rush, it meant business was steady and good and normal.
With how long she had craved normal on her father's island, she still found herself constantly reaching for it and that was due to the subject who came in the door.
"Hey, Sky."
That voice, forever unwavering in its smooth delivery, was the same voice that only offered distance and leaving for months at a time.
And yet, she still found herself falling for it every time.
"Your usual?" She responded as she took in the smudges of dirt and mud covering his cheeks and clothes that he hadn't even changed out of before tracking the latest mess of Ninjago into the building.
He nodded and she punched it in, wishing that she could just take in the soft scent of smoke and every single scar on his face that had drug her into curiosity when she had met him the first time.
And yet, even with the deep, exhausting love fighting tooth and nail to emerge from her lips and force this feeling down yet again so she could just live in his chaos, she just swallowed hard and forced herself to stay steady.
"Once it comes out, we…we need to talk."
She knew that this was going to break him, probably more than it was going to break her, but with the way it was going now, she knew that the combination of unrelenting distance and never talking to her about it was going to make her combust one day.
So, while she was strong and ready, she had to do it.
For both of their sake, she had to break up with Kai.
…
Kai used the napkins sitting at the booth in the back to try and wipe some of the soot off of his face as he waited for Skylor to arrive.
The exhaustion in his bones was weighing heavy, only matched by his adrenaline ebbing way too slowly. It had been way too close today and he knew that he wouldn't be able to eat on The Bounty.
Not when it had been way, way too close.
He looked up at Skylor when she brought the meal over on one of the trays; usually he would be concerned that she didn't have food with her as well, since she tended to take her break when he arrived but he had been late due to the fight.
He didn't want her to wait on him when everything about his life was all too unpredictable.
"So?" He asked, snapping her vision away from a couple in the booth across from them, "what did you want to talk about?"
She let out a heavy sigh, the kind that came with a lot of baggage, "you were late again."
"Yeah…I know, The Mechanic is ramping things up, hence the whole…" he trailed off, gesturing a hand to his dirty face and clothes, "every time we try and stop him, he comes back with a vengeance and-"
"Even if you stop him, something else will come up," Skylor cut him off, her tone bitter and sad in a way that made Kai's stomach roll painfully, "I know the drill by now."
"Whoa, Skylor, it's not like that."
"But it is, isn't it? Every time things settle down, and I think that maybe, just maybe, things will be normal for a second, something else comes up. Morro, the Time Twins, Harumi-"
"Okay, maybe it is like that, but I can't give up on this," Kai cut her off, "the others are mine and Nya's family, you know?"
"…I thought I was too," and Kai flinched at the sound of tears in Skylor's voice, he hadn't seen her cry in years, "but you don't even talk to me about anything meaningful or important. All I ever get from you are shitty memes or emojis if anything when you could be dying."
"Sky, that's not fair."
"But it's fair to keep me in the dark? Not to tell me why you're over an hour late to dinner when you promised me after the whole crystal mess that you would fucking communicate better?"
"Skylor, Zane almost died today cause of The Mechanic! I'm sorry I didn't tell you that I was going to be late mid battle, I was a little preoccupied!"
"But you're always "preoccupied"! I knew that I would come second to the ninja the second I started dating you, at the very least coming in after Nya and Lloyd, that's fine," she huffed, venom practically spewing from her lips, "I didn't realize that I had to come after Ninjago's latest crisis!"
"Well, you should have!" Kai shouted, finally reaching his boiling point, "I'm sworn to protect, you know that! I've told you that! Maybe I would tell you this stuff if you didn't get pissed every time I forget to text you back!"
The air was thick, the couple across from them and as he breathed heavily, he watched as Skylor stood up and dropped the receipt on the table.
"Pick up your stuff tomorrow from my apartment. I'm done."
And like a rush of wind, the anger was instantly replaced by panic as Kai stumbled out of the booth while she began to walk away.
"Skylor, Sky, wait. Just hold on for a second, Skylor-"
"You make me feel so alone, you know that? I spend every day terrified for you and all I get are cat gifs in return," She demanded as she turned around, the words like a dagger to his chest, "I know that you're sworn to fight for Ninjago, but if…if this was ever going to work out between us, we needed to swear to fight for each other too. You were never going to do that for me."
"Skylor-"
"Goodbye, Kai."
And with that, she pulled her hand out of his worn gloved palm and disappeared behind the swinging door, leaving Kai to stand in the empty restaurant with his heart shattered on the floor.
"Aside from the pain in my side, good!" Lloyd managed to weakly smile.
Garmadon then helped him sit and drink some sips of tea.
"Now seriously," Garmadon stepped back a bit from him. "How was it for you that I operated on you?"
"Actually, the thought that I was in your hands was the only thing that comforted me." Lloyd said, holding Garmadon's hand again. "I told you I trust you."
"Thank you." Garmadon smiled and kissed him on the forehead. "Now rest."
~~~~~~
Garmadon still held Lloyd's hand as he slept. He could see that it hurt him by how tightly he was squeezing his hand.
He hoped he had done his job well. What Lloyd had told him that he trusted him... That meant more to him than anything, especially after everything.
"Just be well, son." Garmadon softly whispered to the sleeping Lloyd. "You be good, and let me be broken instead."
Now all they could do was wait. Wait for the long night.
Garmadon had immediately called the others and they were rushing to come as soon as possible...
Waiting...
Garmadon knew people who were doing well during the day but plunged into a terrible state at night. He also knew those who recovered overnight. He was scared, deathly scared...
He just hoped that Lloyd would be okay. That Wu and Misako would come as soon as possible to give him better help.
As he worried like that, Lloyd peacefully slept beside him. His face was like that of a peaceful and bright angel.
That's what worried Garmadon the most.
"You're not ready to become an angel in heaven yet," Garmadon whispered to him. "Stay a little longer as an angel on earth. Please."
Lloyd knew that his vision was dimming and that he couldn't stop shaking, so all he could do was force himself to squint at Nya as he rasped out, "Find Master Wu," before letting his eyes shut and his body hit the stone floor with a loud 'thud' filling the room followed with screams he didn't hear.
Takes place after Crystalized
‘I’m getting too old for this.’
Lloyd knew that was a ridiculous thought since he was still a few years shy of twenty, but the ache in his bones was bad enough that he just wanted to take a few days and do nothing but lay in the dark.
Whenever he got this tired, it seemed like all of his old injuries had to make a painful reappearance in the form of throbbing pain that radiated in his muscles and joints; the broken ankle from what was supposed to be the final battle, the sprained wrist in Prime Evil’s eye, the plentiful injuries he had gotten fighting his father in Kryptarium Prison and the broken ribs from when the monastery door had fallen on his chest, it all came rushing back to a point where he could barely function through it.
But, just because he was running on nothing didn’t mean that he could take a break. He, along with Nya and Skylar, were the only ones who still had their powers and the members of the Overlord’s council were still at large minus Aspheera and Mister F and they had to be tracked down.
After all, Lloyd had fought against the Overlord three times in his life, each time resulting in some sort of twisted outcome. It was likely that a council member would try and resurrect him yet again, especially since Pythor had done it before.
‘And I’d be okay with never fighting him again.’
Which brought him to where he was; pulling his green suit on after finally moving into his room in the rebuilt monastery. While it would make sense to put on the gold and green one since Nya’s matched, it made his stomach twist with memories that seemed like a lifetime ago as well as very fresh memories of turning into something that terrified him to his very core.
‘Nothing good comes out of me wearing gold.’
He was pulled out of his thoughts by a sharp knock on the door, revealing Jay standing against the door frame with his familiar grin on his face.
“Hey, Jay,” Lloyd managed to smile around the pain, “What’s up?”
“I just wanted to check out your room. Kai’s convinced he has the biggest one.”
“It can’t be bigger than his ego,” Lloyd responded while tightening the belt around his waist, wincing briefly as it pressed against his skin, “any updates on if they found any members of the council yet?”
“Not yet, but PIXAL, Skylor, and Nya have been working overtime on it,” Lloyd couldn’t help but sigh. He knew that some of the members had been hiding in plain sight while the others patiently laid low in Kryptarium prison, but he also assumed it would be easier to track at least one of them down, “Lloyd, you guys are gonna find them. You know that, right?”
“Yeah, I know,” Lloyd nodded even though he didn’t believe Jay’s words, but also knew that he was doing what he could since he and the others had lost their abilities, “I’m gonna go see what I can do to help.”
Jay nodded and the two walked out of his room, splitting up as Jay went towards his room while he went down into the renovated and rebuilt underground base, trying to keep the throbbing pain to himself by biting back the pain in his throat.
‘I’ll tell them after we stop the remaining council members.’
Luckily for him, Skylor, PIXAL, and Nya were all engrossed in the monitors so they didn’t even acknowledge his presence until he spoke up, leaning against the wall for support while crossing his arms across his chest to appear more casual. “Have you three gotten anywhere yet?”
“Negative, but we will continue looking,” PIXAL explained while keeping her eyes glued to the screen.
“We have Cole and Zane searching in the Bounty, and Kai is searching in one of the noodle delivery trucks throughout the city, so if they are in the air or on the ground, we’re gonna find them,” Skylor added while continuing to look on a different set of monitors.
Lloyd nodded in agreement, his body shaking against the wall. His throat was practically on fire now and his vision was starting to tilt with dizziness.
Getting sick from stress was somewhat normal for him after the second fight with the Overlord, but the onset was worrying. Usually, it was a matter of days as his adrenaline ebbed away, but this…
‘This is way too fast.’
“Lloyd, are you okay?” Nya’s voice broke through his fuzzy thoughts, but when he tried to speak, his tongue stayed heavy, so he just uncrossed his arms, and gripped the wall, starting to lose the battle for consciousness, “Oh, you look awful. Are you getting sick?”
Lloyd knew that his vision was dimming and that he couldn’t stop shaking, so all he could do was force himself to squint at Nya as he rasped out, “Find Master Wu,” before letting his eyes shut and his body hit the stone floor with a loud ‘thud’ filling the room followed with screams he didn’t hear.
…
Cole had never made such a sharp U-Turn in the air before; he was used to operating vehicles on the ground after all, but when Nya’s panicked voice came through the comms and demanded that the two of them returned to the monastery as soon as possible, he knew that there was not a moment to lose.
Nya was similar to him in the way that she kept calm until things escalated badly, and with how scared she had sounded, the worst possibilities sprang to mind for him and started to swirl in his mind whilst he piloted the ship.
‘A member of the Crystal Council attacked the monastery and someone got hurt, or Garmadon turned on us again. Lloyd turned into an Oni and got completely out of control.’
The bad possibilities continued to swirl as he anchored The Bounty, only letting himself take a quick breath of relief when he saw that the monastery was still completely intact from where it had been rebuilt just a week before.
“Cole, PIXAL’s signal is coming from the living area.”
Cole nodded and the two of them slid down the anchor’s chain before sprinting into the monastery, but just when he started to hope that it was a minor incident was when they stopped in the living room to find the entirety of the ninja team either twitching where they sat or pacing around the room.
‘Everyone but Master Wu and Lloyd.’ Cole’s stomach dropped when he took in everyone’s worried faces that looked up to make eye contact with both him and Zane behind him. Nya was the first one who stood up to hug them, her eyes red with tears.
“Nya, what?” Cole questioned when she moved away from Zane to wrap her warm, tight arms around him, her head resting on his shoulder as a sob escaped her, “what happened? Where are Master Wu and Lloyd?”
But her sobs only intensified in his arms, so he held onto her and tried to keep any sort of assumption to himself about what was happening while also trying to calm his racing mind.
‘Lloyd probably just hid an injury from the battle, he does that. Or maybe he got sick from the stress, that happens too. He probably just got caught by Nya and she’s over-tired from regaining her powers. But he’s fine, she’s fine and we’re all fine.’
Everyone was looking at him with a mix of concern and aching like they wanted to tell him what had transpired but couldn’t find the best way to break it to him gently like he would crack with the knowledge.
‘Which is ridiculous. I don’t crack or break under pressure. I always hold us together until we find the solution.’
Nya didn’t let go until the door to Lloyd’s room opened and Master Wu walked out, a glimpse inside of the room showed that Misako was hovering over Lloyd’s bedside before he shut the door behind him, leaving Cole and the others waiting for him to speak with bated breath.
“I must admit that I was naive in my hopes that you four would quickly regain your elemental powers. I was also naive in the fact that I was sure that it would not have this effect on Lloyd,”
Wu stopped speaking to take a long, deep breath, “your abilities are connected to Lloyd’s to the point where when Morro had control of him, you did not have control of your powers.”
“We’ve lost our powers before and it didn’t do this to him,” Kai responded, which is when Cole realized that he had all but chewed through his bottom lip in his frantic pacing.
“You were the only one who lost them to Aspheera. Zane was the only one who did not have control of his powers as the Ice Emperor. The only other times that you two have lost all of your powers was when Morro used Lloyd’s body, which inadvertently delayed something like this from occurring, and after he defeated the Overlord the first time.”
“When he was the golden ninja and had all of our powers.” Jay supplied and Cole watched as Wu nodded, but his stomach was still full of knots and he was still extremely confused as to where all of this was going so he finally asked the question on his mind.
“Can someone please explain what is happening?”
The room grew quiet for a few somber moments and Cole started to assume that the only way he would get the answer was if he begged, but before he could speak, Master Wu gave him the words that hit him in the chest like a ton of bricks.
“Because his elemental powers don’t have you four to connect to, Lloyd has grown very ill, very fast. I don’t know how much longer he has, but as of now, Misako thinks that the best plan is to get him to the temple of light and restore his golden power. And I can’t help but agree with her on that.”
“He doesn’t want that power,” Kai tried to argue while Cole’s stomach started to twist with dread and anxiety about the state of Lloyd’s health and how the way that Wu was speaking about it was all too reminiscent of his mother, “it practically turned him into a target for the overlord last time.”
“But it might be the only way to save his life, unless you just got your powers back,” Cole managed to retort with a heavy tongue before approaching Master Wu with a singular question, “When do we leave?”
“As soon as we can get him on The Bounty,” Wu affirmed before turning to the group, “Zane and Nya, chart a course to the Dark Island. Jay, you and Kai lock everything up and grab the essentials for the flight.” The five of them went off in their separate directions to get the ship ready to go.
“PIXAL and I will watch over the monastery and keep an eye out for council members,” Skylor piped up from where she had been standing in the same space as Kai, “I can’t guarantee that I can stop them, but at least we’ll be able to hit the ground running when you get back.”
“Thank you,” Wu nodded with appreciation before turning to Cole, “I want you to help Misako and me get Lloyd on the ship. I know that without your powers, you don’t have your regular level of strength but-”
“I’m still the one who does the most strength training outside of ninja training, I got it, Master Wu,” Cole assured the older man before asking, “Is he conscious?”
“He’s been in and out since he collapsed downstairs,” Wu explained as they made their way back to Lloyd’s room, “I gave him some healing tea to try and keep him lucid which has worked so far, but…” Wu trailed off as his fingers grazed the knob, “I don’t know how long we have before we lose that.”
And with that somber statement, he twisted the knob and opened the door, letting Cole into the dimly lit room before shutting the door but all Cole could focus on was Lloyd’s sweating forehead with his eyes squeezed tightly shut in pain, his breathing tinged with a light wheeze.
All Cole wanted was to break out of that room and break apart a punching bag as he punched down the painful memories of losing his mother to her illness, watching her fall apart with every day that passed; but he has been trusted by Wu to take care of his nephew and he would be damned if he broke that trust.
So when Wu gently squeezed Misako’s arm and told her that they needed to pack, he immediately took over where she had been and wiped away some of the beads of sweat from Lloyd’s forehead, his temperature radiating through the washcloth; the only thing he could equate this too was when he had gone after Garmadon in Kryptarium.
He hadn’t even been able to help care for Lloyd when he was unconscious, his stomach in too many knots to care for his friend before the attack had begun. But he was here now, and he had to stay present. He couldn’t ignore it this time, not when his life was at stake.
“Cole?” Lloyd’s weak but coherent voice forced him to look down at his squinted eyes and Cole had to swallow his tears back.
“Hey, bud. We’ve got a plan to help you feel better, you just gotta hang in there. Okay?”
“Y-you’re getting y-your powers back?” Lloyd’s voice was shaking with the long sentence but hopeful nonetheless and Kai had explained how Lloyd didn’t want his golden powers back so he swallowed back his honesty and let the white lie slip from his teeth.
“Yeah. We just gotta make a road trip to do that and you gotta come too.”
Despite how much pain and how tired the green ninja was, he still managed to add a little bit of his snark in his response, “Not walking right n-now.”
Cole couldn’t help but smile as he used the now lukewarm cloth to push Lloyd’s blonde hair out of his eyes before responding, “Well, once your uncle gives the word, you need to be prepared to live down the embarrassment of me carrying you bridal style, punk.”
“I h-hate you,” Lloyd responded with zero bite in his voice and Cole knew that he wasn’t serious as he smirked back, his heart feeling less heavy for a brief moment as the door squeaked open.
“Love you too, buddy,” he looked up to see Wu give him a nod and Cole turned to Lloyd as he walked in, “Your uncle’s gonna help me get you up. Are you ready?”
Lloyd’s nod was almost non-existent due to the lack of strength in his body which forced Cole to push back the tears as he and Master Wu slowly pulled Lloyd to his feet, his arms wrapped around their shoulders and his legs shaking under his weight; once they got him to his feet, Cole managed to lift him into his arms, feeling his hot cheek against his chest as his wheezing breaths came out rapidly from the overexertion and he squeezed his eyes shut again.
Cole forced himself to take a deep breath to try and calm himself as he adjusted Lloyd in his arms, but his body was concerningly light in his arms and the pale-gray tone to his skin made bile rise in his throat. He had already lost his mother this way and barely survived. If he lost Lloyd too…
‘Push it down, we’re getting Lloyd help,’ Cole told himself as he took the steps to The Bounty that were slow enough to keep Lloyd steady but fast enough that he didn’t feel like he was wasting time, ‘he just needs his golden powers back and then he’ll be fine. Lloyd is not going to die.’
With those attempts at reassuring thoughts, he stepped aboard The Bounty and followed Wu to the small room below deck where Lloyd had stayed when he was brought in by the five of them all those years ago. He slowly lowered him down onto the makeshift bed, making sure that his head and neck were supported by the pillows and only spoke when Lloyd opened his eyes again.
“That sucked.” He said through pained, gritted teeth while his breathing started to even out.
“Yeah, but I shouldn’t have to move you again till we get there,” Cole explained as he squeezed Lloyd’s outstretched hand, “you just rest. Your uncle and mom are gonna be right here the whole time.”
Lloyd nodded and closed his eyes, but Cole didn’t move from where he was standing until Lloyd’s breathing slowed enough for him to know that he was asleep and when he finally did move, it was straight to the on-deck training course to work out some of his frustrations in the fact that once again, he was completely useless in helping.
He found the remote easily and clicked the button to replace the deck floor with various pieces of training equipment but immediately fixated his site on the worn punching bag that was off to the left; despite never needing them before, he slipped on the gloves and let his hands adjust to the foreign feeling before he started to hit the bag.
‘The last thing we need is someone else getting hurt.’
Cole had lost track of time as he punched, each hit rippling off of the bag into a very mild kickback and his forehead dripping with exertion but this level of intensity felt normal like his powers of the earth were still flowing through every fiber of his body and everyone was more than okay; he needed all of his brain power to focus on where his punches were hitting, so he was unable to dwell on just how bad things were and how grave of a situation Lloyd was in.
It wasn’t until he was broken out of his focus by Kai asking if he needed a spotter that he was sure that he could hear sounds outside of his own grunts and the sound of his gloves hitting the bag.
“Yeah, that’d be nice.” Cole agreed, wiping his forehead on his arm as Kai grabbed onto the bag, allowing him to hit it harder without it swinging back to hit him, but he should have known that the silence wouldn’t stay for long.
“You’re okay with this plan?”
“I’m always on the side of keeping people alive, in case you haven’t noticed,” Cole explained as his temple pounded just once to remind him of the period where he hadn’t been, “you’re not?”
“The saving Lloyd’s life part, I’m all for that but…” Kai trailed off and looked at the ground with a face that easily showed guilt.
“You think we’re painting a target on Lloyd’s back.”
“He already has to deal with the Oni thing and the fact that he’s Garmadon’s son. Not to mention, he gave up that power a long time ago. I just can’t help but feel like he’s going to hate us.”
“He’ll understand that we’re saving his life,” Cole stopped punching to meet Kai’s regretful gaze, “that’s what matters most. He doesn’t want the powers, I get that, but we have to put things off until tomorrow to survive today,” Cole explained, waiting until Kai nodded to continue punching, “besides, he was still really young back then. Maybe he’s changed his mind.”
…
In his brief moments of coherent thoughts, Lloyd knew exactly what the others considered the solution and he hated the idea.
Yes, being alive was the goal, he understood that but the fact that the only way to achieve that was to revive the powers of his grandfather inside of him, the powers that had caused the Overlord to hunt him down and subsequently nearly drained him of all his power, he wasn’t exactly happy about that.
That didn’t even scratch the surface involving the fact that he had foolishly ignored the training from his father and how he had failed to hide his disappointment when he gave them to the others.
‘I fail too often in green, the only thing that gold will do is propel that further. That’s when people get hurt, that’s when people die.’
Despite his swirling thoughts, he knew it would be impossible to get any of them to budge on their decision to take him back to the Temple of Light. He was just going to have to force himself to accept that he would regain the title of the golden ninja.
…
Kai felt sick to his stomach. He had ever since he had sped back to the monastery when Skylor had told him what had happened over the comms. Boarding The Bounty made his vision swirl, flying through the air made his stomach turn, and watching over Lloyd in the small room below deck gave him the feeling of bile in his throat.
‘I can’t lose him. We’ve been through too much for me to lose him,’ Kai thought to himself as he held Lloyd’s hand gently in his, running his thumb over his worn and scarred knuckles, ‘this has to work.’
He knew it was selfish to focus on his feelings in these circumstances, but at the same time, he couldn’t stop himself from hating everything about the plan; he had multiple candid conversations with Lloyd in the past about how he no longer wanted to be associated with being the golden ninja and at the same time, he was forced to watch him fade slowly as they flew across the ocean to have a chance to reach the temple of light in time.
“You can’t give up, Lloyd,” Kai said aloud even though his eyes were shut and his breath, although wheezy, was light, “ninja never quit and I really need you to take that to heart right now.
Kai wasn’t surprised that he received no answer except a slow, wheezy exhale. What did shock him, however, was the crash of thunder followed by the ship tilting harshly to the left, forcing him to grab Lloyd with one hand and the wall with the other, his teeth gritted together until the ship straightened.
“Keep the ship steady!” He shouted upwards towards his sister, only to hear her muffled insistence of Jay acting as a lightning rod much to his own loud protest that eventually forced Lloyd to blink up at him.
“Hey, buddy,” Kai greeted with a much softer voice despite Jay’s distant cursing, “how’re you feeling?”
He watched as Lloyd took a few moments to swallow and look around at his surroundings before finally making direct eye contact as he spoke, “Like shit.”
Kai couldn’t stop the brief smile from spreading across his face as he smoothed Lloyd’s hair down where the energy surrounding them slowly started to make his hair stand up on end while explaining, “We’re in a storm right now, but Jay’s being a handy lightning attractor.”
As if on cue, an angered shout rang out from above deck followed shortly by another crash of thunder, but all Kai could focus on was the fact that Lloyd’s face was slowly but steadily turning as green as his suit.
‘He’s gonna barf.’
“Okay, buddy, let’s get you above deck,” Kai insisted as he reached around and pulled Lloyd to his feet by his armpits, forcing himself to block out the pained groan as he rushed up the stairs while supporting his weight, just barely helping Lloyd stand with his head across the railing before he felt his body stiffen followed by pained reteching, “just get it out. I’ve got you.”
Kai heard Jay shout out in disgust from where he was positioned at the highest point of the ship; in any other situation he would have laughed at his friend’s disgust but right now, he was just holding tightly onto the back of Lloyd’s shirt to keep him from falling over the railing.
Kai wasn’t sure just how long he was holding on tightly to the youngest member of their team but eventually, his body relaxed and he practically leaned against him as he brought him back below deck, but he was just glad and shocked that Lloyd was still conscious as he lowered him back down.
“We’re going to the d-dark island, a-aren’t we?”
Kai took a deep breath as he dampened the cloth and started to wipe the sweat off of Lloyd’s brow before responding, “Your mom doesn’t have any other ideas and I don’t like this any more than you do, but if it helps you-”
“Not mad,” Lloyd cut him off as his eyes started to flutter shut out of exhaustion, “just have to g-get used to the i-idea.”
Kai nodded in response as Lloyd shut his eyes; he wanted to keep talking to him and to get to the root of how he felt about it but at the same time, he knew that it would just waste the extra strength that he had.
‘There will be time for talking after this nightmare is over.’
But when Lloyd asked with his eyes still closed, “A-are you sure this i-is going to work?” Kai had to scramble for words that he didn’t know were true.
“Of course, it will. Your mom’s pretty smart, so if she says it’ll work, then it’ll work.”
His reply stayed on his mind even when Zane came down to stay with Lloyd so he could stretch his legs; it didn’t take him long to find Nya, steering The Bounty with one hand and eating a granola bar with the other.
“Where did you get that?” Kai questioned as he leaned against the wall, trying to force some of his stress out of his mind even though he couldn’t stop thinking about his conversation with Lloyd.
“I always keep this room stocked with snacks,” she explained as she took the last bite, “the storm is starting to clear up. We should be there soon.”
Kai nodded, his thoughts running wild with anxiety. All he could hope was that this would work and when he felt as though he couldn’t hold it in any longer, he couldn’t stop himself from asking his sister, “You’re sure this is gonna work?”
“It has to,” she affirmed before clicking on the microphone button, “hey, you can probably come down now, Jay.”
“Thank goodness,” Jay’s voice echoed through the ship, “I hate being the lightning rod, you know.”
As if on cue, Kai looked through the window to see a flash of blue climb down from the mast, practically illuminated by the break in the storm clouds. “I just…even if it works, he’s not going to be happy about this.”
“Yeah, I know,” Nya nodded after flipping The Bounty to autopilot, “but we don’t have another choice. It’s been weeks and you four have no signs of your powers coming back. Without them, he’s at an imbalance.”
Kai sighed as he rubbed a hand over his face, “I’m just worried he’s going to hate us for doing this to him.”
He looked up when he felt the firm but gentle pressure against his shoulder that could only be Nya’s hand and looked up to make eye contact as she spoke.
“I would rather deal with Lloyd’s temporary anger than lose him, even if he can turn into an Oni.”
“So would I,” Kai agreed with zero hesitation before the weight of the stress returned as he looked out onto the sky which was growing clearer and clearer with every second spent in the air, “I just hope we’re not too late.”
It didn’t take long for them to approach the island after they made their way out of the storm and Kai was glad that his sister had found a way to anchor The Bounty close to the temple, but he knew that was mainly so they didn’t use any of Lloyd’s strength that they didn’t have to before they got inside.
He followed Nya outside into the humid air as the group made their way onto the closest semblance of a path that there was in the curves of the mountains that led to their destination; the sunrise shone on his face and he couldn’t help but think that in any other situation, the view was gorgeous.
The sound of Lloyd’s wheezing breath was what brought him back to the present and he quickly turned his head to see him standing on shaking legs with his arm wrapped around Jay’s shoulder.
“You’re sure you want to walk up the mountain?”
“I’ll be fine,” Lloyd insisted even though the sunrise made his face look paler with each passing moment, something that Kai was unable to hide because despite how sick he was, Lloyd still managed to roll his eyes as he spoke again, “if I can’t, I’ll let you guys know. Promise.”
Kai slowly turned away and started the ascent up the mountain; he wanted to believe Lloyd but given just how sick he had been in the past twenty-four hours and his ever-present stubborn streak, it was nearly impossible.
‘I guess I have to rely on Jay to keep him in check.’ He realized before a second thought came into his mind, ‘This isn’t going to go well.’
…
Jay did his best to hold up the weight on his shoulders as they began the climb up the somewhat pathway.
Even though he was tired from the lightning that had coursed through his body amid the storm, he couldn’t let any members of his team down.
He could feel Lloyd’s body shake with every step that he took, which made his stomach turn with anxiety, but he didn’t know how to step in and tell him that he needed Cole to carry him, so he just held on tighter to Lloyd’s left side to keep his steps in tune with his own.
“I'm fine, Jay,” Lloyd insisted as he stood up straighter when he caught onto Jay’s tightening grip, blinking back visible beads of sweat that dripped from his forehead out of his eyes, “just tired.”
“Which is exactly why you shouldn’t be walking,” Jay insisted as they stayed at the tail end of the group no matter how fast they walked, “you’re going to need your strength.”
“I said I’m fine,” Lloyd insisted again, seemingly forcing his voice to come out clear without the shake despite the chills that racked against his body, “I can walk.”
Jay wanted to find a way to convince him otherwise, but the words refused to come to mind, so he just continued to hold tightly as the ascent continued higher and higher.
As the climb continued in silence, Jay felt the subtle shift in the humidity that felt like a bad omen; but it wasn’t until they were just a few feet from the steps that he felt the weight he was carrying suddenly go lax against his body.
“Lloyd!” He shouted, gripping tightly onto the youngest member of the team to keep him from fully collapsing while lowering the two of them to the ground; he blinked his eyes open a few moments later, but Jay’s nerves were still unsettled despite the reassurances.
“I’m fine, I just blacked out for a few seconds.”
“You’re done.” Cole’s voice came from behind him and Jay was glad he didn’t have to fight the signature Garmadon stubborn streak on his own this time.
“But we’re almost there!”
“Yeah, and you almost just fell down the mountain,” Kai argued back as he approached Lloyd’s left side, “this whole thing is to save you so you need to get over your embarrassment and let Cole carry you the rest of the way.”
“Not embarrassed,” Lloyd muttered as he let Cole reach over and pull him into his arms before they started to catch up with the others, leaving Kai and Jay at the back of the group.
Jay stood up and wiped the sweat from his face, noticing Kai’s face melted from determination to worry as he glanced at the rest of them before they started walking.
“I’m worried too.” Jay finally spoke up to break the silence and distract himself from the bundle of nerves that his brain had become.
Kai was silent for a few minutes, but as they arrived at the steps, he finally whispered something that chilled Jay to the bone despite the heat.
“I don’t think he’s being stubborn, I think he’s trying to stall and find another solution.”
“Wait, he doesn’t want to do this?”
“None of us do,” Kai elaborated, whispering as he walked towards the fire symbol on the floor, “but we can’t lose Lloyd.”
Jay swallowed as he walked towards his spot on the floor, the lightning symbol practically glowing under him as it welcomed him back for the first time since Lloyd granted them their powers for the first time.
He had been all for the plan at the monastery, but now that they were there and the event was about to take place, he was starting to have second thoughts.
‘After all, he doesn’t want to do this.’
But he also knew that with just how sick Lloyd was, he was only getting worse and they had run out of time for any other options when they knew that this one would work.
So he stood up straight in his spot against the pillar and when Lloyd looked at them one by one to receive confirmation that it would work, he gave him a nod full of false confidence but not due to the legitimacy of the plan, but due to how all of them, especially Lloyd, would handle the aftermath.
Jay was lost enough in thought that he had barely noticed that Lloyd had managed to gather enough strength to launch himself off the wall and hit the bell before nearly collapsing in the center under it.
The loud clang rang through the entire temple, making his ears ring slightly, but what shouldn’t have caught him off guard was the elemental weapon that formed in his hand, shining with its sharpness in the light that shone around Lloyd.
He knew that for this to work, he had to use the powers that emerged through the blade on the light; despite his worry, he did what was expected of him and watched as the room was practically filled with white light for at least a full minute before it finally dispersed and for a brief moment, he let his lungs release the breath of relief.
Until Lloyd hit the ground with a thud and didn’t move, forcing Jay to rush forward in a sprint.
…
The world around Cole went quiet, the screams of panic falling around him in deafening silence, as his legs collapsed under him and his chest throbbed painfully.
The tears welled up in his eyes as he looked directly at Lloyd laying on the ground, pale and lifeless and he knew that deep inside, he had failed.
…
Kai couldn’t breathe.
He knew he was, as he got down beside Lloyd and held his wrist in his hand, frantically calling out to him as he checked for any signs of life, but his own emotions held onto his throat tightly to keep him from drawing in any air.
He could feel Nya’s hand on his shoulder, a shuddering gasp coming from her chest, but he couldn’t look back at her. Looking back would be giving up.
‘And I am not giving up on Lloyd.’
…
Surrounded by golden light, Lloyd could feel his illness leave his body; any damage that had occurred as a result repairing itself in the brightness and every single ache and pain leaving his body resulted in the feeling of rejuvenation.
It wasn’t until he looked down at his floating body surrounded in the bright light that he saw his green suit around him being replaced with golden thread that he fully processed what was happening and his mind filled with both panic and relief.
‘Mom’s plan worked.’
He wanted to yell out to the force behind this that he really didn’t want the powers, but when he opened his mouth, nothing but a singular pitiful squeak escaped before the light faded, resulting in the world going black around him.
His heart started beating way too fast as he started to fully freak out in the darkness but he forced himself to close his eyes and take a long deep breath.
When he opened his eyes again, his vision was blurry but he could see the outlines of everyone surrounding him, staring at him from above.
‘I’m alive,’ he assured himself before slowly lifting up the hand that wasn’t wrapped tightly in Kai’s grip, the powers that had once been green now glowing gold and as everyone cheered around him and held onto , the only thing he could feel was a sense of dread, ‘ and I’m the golden ninja again.’
TWO WEEKS LATER
“Lloyd.”
“No.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No.”
“Can I get you out of this room?”
“Probably not.”
“Are you gonna try and stay here forever?”
“It’s looking like a good idea right now.”
“Lloyd, I will drag you out of bed if you don’t roll over to look at me.”
Kai watched as Lloyd weighed the possibilities in his mind before finally giving up with a long drawn out sigh and rolled over to make eye contact with him; he expected to see the glints of red that had always been settled in Lloyd’s eyes replaced with gold and in hindsight, he should’ve expected to see the tear stains on his cheeks, but he couldn’t stop the harsh intake of breath when he saw them.
“What?” Lloyd’s voice had some bite in it, but he also sounded too drained from the events of what had happened on the island to actually force any actual anger in it.
“PIXAL got a hit on Vangelis, Nya and Skylor are getting ready to help bring him into custody,” Kai explained before sitting on the end of the bed next to Lloyd’s feet, “they sent me to get you.”
“They should go without me.” Lloyd spoke after a moment of silence before flopping back over to avoid eye contact with Kai.
Kai bit his inner cheek to keep him from lashing out at Lloyd; he knew that he was angry at the situation and was most likely worried about innocent people getting hurt again but at the same time, Skylor and Nya needed all the power they could get.
“I get that you don’t want these powers,” Kai sympathized as he craned his neck to try and get Lloyd to look at him, “but we need to get these guys taken down, which means that we need everybody on board. We can try and figure out how you can transfer the powers to us safely afterwards.”
“What about before that?” Lloyd questioned, “what if I hurt people when I go after the remaining counsel members?”
“We can keep you in check over the comms, and Nya will be there-”
“You don’t get it, Kai!” Lloyd shouted suddenly while sitting up, his blanket cascading down his torso and settling over his knees, “you weren’t there when I turned into that…that thing. I had no control, I couldn’t stop shooting the Overlord. If that crystal hadn’t been there…”
“You’re scared that you wouldn’t have shifted back.” Kai spoke as it clicked in his mind and what Lloyd said afterwards made the explanation behind the fear of regaining his abilities.
“I was the only gold Oni that I’ve seen. These powers…I fight against that side of me every single day and I can barely hang onto myself sometimes.”
“You think the abilities are going to make it harder for you?”
“I know they will,” Lloyd agreed before looking down at his empty palms, “I know that the Overlord was a bad guy, that Vangelis is a bad guy, but I don’t know if I can control myself long enough for myself to process who is good and who isn’t when I’m like that. I don’t want to hurt any more people.”
Kai swallowed harshly when Lloyd finally slouched and let his head rest against his chest, seemingly trying to find any sort of comfort just by laying against him.
“I wish I could tell you that no one is gonna get hurt, but I think you’d know that I was lying. So I’m gonna ask you a question instead, is that okay?” He waited for a nod before speaking, “are more people going to get hurt if you go out there, or are they going to get hurt if Vangelis wreaks havoc on an entire village?”
Lloyd sat up once he absorbed what he was saying and rubbed a hand over his face before he twisted in a beam of golden light emerging in his suit that had been transformed before their eyes in the temple and put his pajamas in the laundry basket; he turned back to Kai with a smile.
“Thanks for knocking some sense into me.”
“Anytime,” Kai affirmed as he stood up before setting a hand on his shoulder, “I’ll be on the comms if you need me.”
He couldn’t help but smile as he watched Lloyd grin before heading towards the base to meet up with his sister and girlfriend while he thought to himself. ‘He’s going to be okay.’
