Chapter Text
It was lunch time.
It was lunch time.
The eleventh lunch time.
The eleventh day of no food.
The eleventh day of the brittle starvation.
But the eleventh month of improper meals.
The eleventh month of scavenging for food.
The eleventh month of the unending malnourishment.
Lloyd was dying. It was finally time.
Stars danced beneath his half-closed eyelids and the rats chewed on his ankles.
He let them. He had no strength to push them away and no problem with them eating his corpse.
At least one of them was fed well.
His stomach lay flat against the cold concrete, the bones of his ribs jutting into it.
The cupboard used to be too small, but now Lloyd felt it to be too big.
His hands couldn’t touch the shelves or the door.
Lloyd was used to dying. He had done it before.
Once bleeding to death in the hallways of Darkleys, after being stung by fire ants that were placed in his bed.
Once more out in the snow when he was strung out by the ninja.
Maybe this time, Lloyd hoped, he wouldn’t wake up.
He could hear his heart in his eyes. In his ears. In his fingers.
Everywhere except his heart.
Lloyd was tired. Tired enough to sleep buried under the dirt.
Tired enough to close his eyes and seal them shut.
He imagined flowers growing through his soul, vines wrapping themselves around his ribs, plants growing in the empty part of his stomach where hunger once lied.
He imagined finally being at peace. Finally never having to run.
His dad could live without him. He was living without him.
There wasn’t a single soul on this earth that cared if Lloyd Garmadon lived or died.
So he did, finally he did something he had hoped for ever since he first opened his eyes.
Lloyd Garmadon died.
And Lloyd Garmadon smiled.
The gods had never liked him.
He knew of that.
But there were stars.
Hundreds of stars.
He was standing in the middle of the sky.
No.. he WAS the sky.
He cradled the thousands of babies in his vast gentle arms.
He kissed every one of their foreheads, helping them illuminate through the darkness.
He gave them purpose.
He gave them life.
He was going to miss the stars.
Lloyd Garmadon smiled and the sky stretched to withstand it.
The stars twinkled at him.
He was going to protect them forever.
Finally, finally he was happy.
But Lloyd..
A whisper cut through the silence, tickled the stars, kissed his ears.
It isn’t your time, my child..
He spun around.
Two hands cradled his face, petted his hair, pecked his nose.
You’re so young…
He cried and the sky cried with him, rain pelting against the shell of the earth and into the hearts of every living creature.
They need you..
He could see Kai.
He could see Nya.
Cole.
Zane.
Pixal.
Jay.
Crying they were all crying screaming they were all screaming he was scared they were loud why were they crying who died what had happened.
A body they were surrounding a body zane was holding a body he was crying crying crying kai was screaming.
A body a body was on the table a body was dead who was dead who was so important.
Him.
He was important.
He was important to them.
It’s not your time..
It’s not my time.
It’s not my time.
Stars forgive me, it is not my time.
The stars pressed into him, an apology, a send off, a piece of love.
They pressed and pressed until Lloyd’s eyes heart mind soul exploded.
He shut his eyes.
Thunder racked the Bounty and Lloyd Garmadon breathed.
The first thing he saw when he came to was the back of Zane’s head.
Zane was slumping, head planted in his hands, shoulder shaking with every gentle sob.
The first thing he felt when he came to was the soft brush of Jay’s hair, who was leaning against the medbed, eyes closed, face red and wet.
The first thing he heard when he came to was the slow soft voices of Cole and Kai as they wafted through the air smoke.
The first thing he smelt when he came to was the acknowledging smell of death.
His death.
The first thing he felt when he came to was the weakness in his bones.
And the hunger.
The softer, gentler hunger.
When his senses were enhanced a bit more, he saw Kai and Cole whispering to each other, holding each other like a lifeline.
“Woah..” he spoke up, wincing at the raspiness of his voice.
“Who invited me to the pity party?”
Everyone’s head snapped up and Jay burst into tears.
The room didn’t feel cold anymore, now warmth radiated off of everyone and everything.
“Lloyd!” Cole sobbed, usually so calm and collected, and ran over to grab him in his arms.
Lloyd let him, and smiled weakly.
His heart was pumping too fast.
Lloyd wept.
He wept and wept and wept until the front of Cole’s shirt was soaked and the caverns between his bones ached less.
“I don’t want to lose you, Lloyd..” Zane whispered from his side, and he felt cold fingers rake through his hair.
“Guess I crashed my own pity party,” Lloyd joked quietly, earning watery laughs from everyone in the room.
Cole just held him closer, Zane brushed his hair, Kai and Jay held his hands, two fingers each pressed on the vein just in case just in case.
They needed to feel his heartbeat, Lloyd realised.
They care.
They care.
“Can I have one more pancake please, Zane?”
The metal cook grinned and flipped another pancake right out of the pan and onto Lloyd’s plate.
Their relationship was still rocky, but it was healing.
It might take years but the ninja were willing.
No one could forget when they found him in the closet.
No one wanted to remember.
But they still tried to make it hurt a little less, to hate a little less, to forget a little less.
It was easy, loving Lloyd, they didn’t know how they didn’t before.
It was easy, he made it easy.
Somewhere up in the sky, she smiled.
And the stars smiled with her.