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"Up and at 'em, Lloyd!" Jay's voice reached Lloyd's ears, and he managed to pry his eyes open.
He had been awake for at least an hour, due to the throbbing in his head, but he couldn't bring himself to actually make an effort to get out of bed, even when he heard the others get up.
Well, at least Zane, Kai, Jay and Nya from across the hall. He didn't know if Cole even went to bed last night, let alone if he even needed sleep anymore since…
Lloyd tried to physically shake the thought out of his head, but all that came from that was his headache worsening and being aware of how much his chest hurt.
'Knowing my luck, I inhaled the water in Stiix.' Lloyd thought to himself while kicking his blanket off of his legs and managing to pull himself to his feet.
"Lloyd, come on!" Kai's voice this time had Lloyd rushing to change his clothes and make his way to the deck of the bounty.
While he was grateful that Kai was willing to listen to him about what he was going through and was the one to stay with him when his adrenaline wore off in Stiix…
'Not today. Today, things go back to normal.' Lloyd told himself, smoothing the fabric of his gi over his chest, before taking a deep breath, fighting back the pain from it.
'Normal might be a bit difficult today, but I gotta try.'
•••
Kai beamed as he watched Nya control the water seemingly with ease; she had been doing their training courses for years, but now that she was using her own abilities, things felt like they had come full circle.
'If only mom and dad could see us now.'
"Hey, Lloyd!" He heard Nya call out towards the youngest member of the team, and he directed his attention towards him.
It had only been a few days since they defeated the Preeminent, and Kai had only just recovered from the cave water; Lloyd had gone through everything tenfold.
So despite the fact that he could tell his hovering was annoying him, Kai continued to keep an eye on Lloyd.
But he seemed to be doing better, being able to spar with Nya and use his abilities with Jay and Zane.
'Things might actually be getting back to normal.' Kai realized as Lloyd started on the training course, mask pulled down so all he could see was the determination in his eyes
Kai had missed all of them being together like this.
But like all good things, it was short lived.
The training course swung, Lloyd didn't dodge fast enough and a hit to the ribs was enough to send him flying to the ground, coughing as he held his side.
Kai rushed over to help him up, Nya already by his side, when he touched his wrist and felt it.
Lloyd's skin was way too hot. Nya clearly felt it as well since her face screwed up in both anger and worry. "How long have you been running a fever?"
Lloyd coughed, still holding onto his ribs, and Kai's heart twisted. 'I should be upset with him for pushing himself while he's sick…'
He couldn't bring himself to be upset, and instead, reached over to gently pull the fabric off of Lloyd's head, revealing his flushed, sweaty face.
"-sorry." His weak voice brought Kai's attention to the present, as he went to gently help Lloyd off the floor, Nya beside him.
"Let's just get you in bed, okay?" Kai suggested, watching as Lloyd nodded before he tilted his head towards Cole, a silent signal for help.
Cole nodded, and went to gently take Lloyd's hand, but Lloyd jumped back, and Kai winced.
Lloyd seemingly realized what had happened when Cole backed away, as he pleaded towards him.
"Cole, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-" but before he could finish, he was doubled over coughing, and Kai panicked as Nya jumped forward to support his weight.
"It's okay, Lloyd." Cole offered him a weak smile, but Kai knew Cole way too well and he could hear the tears trying to make their way out of his throat.
"Come on, Lloyd," Nya spoke softly, her hand against Lloyd's neck as Jay and Cole made their way out of Kai's vision, "Zane, come with us?"
The three made their way to their quarters, and Kai's heart throbbed with confliction.
He wanted to make sure Cole was okay after Lloyd had jolted away like he was going to hurt him, knowing how much that would hurt Cole who was still getting used to the ghost thing.
But at the same time, Lloyd was the one who was sick, most likely from the fight in Stiix, the one who got hurt because he pushed himself way too hard, and the one who was scared.
'Hopefully Jay can look out for him until one of us can talk to him.'
"-needs to check on Cole," Lloyd spoke, breaking into Kai's thoughts as they entered the quarters, "besides, I'll be-"
"If that ends with "fine", so help me, Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon, I will take all of Kai's hoodies you stole from him."
"So you've been stealing them?" Kai questioned, finally getting some clarity on where all of them had gone.
"I think we're getting off topic." Zane perked up, clearly trying to stay focused.
'The hoodie question will have an answer later.' Kai decided, returning his attention to the diagnostic scan Zane was currently running.
The silence was nearly suffocating, and Kai started to hope that Jay would text him an update on Cole.
"The only injury is just bruising, luckily," Zane spoke up before turning to Kai and Nya, his back towards Lloyd, "but the water he inhaled, whether that was in the tomb or in Stiix, caused an infection in his lungs."
"Still here, you know," Lloyd paused to cough which made Kai wince, "you don't have to talk over me."
"And you didn't have to push yourself to train when you clearly aren't feeling well," Nya snapped back before turning to Zane, much more worried, "what can we do to help him?"
"There's not much we can do, although PIXAL suggest rest, fluids, and trying to keep his fever down. But if he gets worse, we'll have to take him to the hospital."
"This isn't necessary. I'm fine, promise." Lloyd insisted, and Kai watched as he started to stand on his shaking legs.
Before Kai could even move, Nya was already pushing Lloyd back onto his bed, "you're not standing just to hit your head. The last thing you need on top of all of this is a concussion."
Lloyd seemingly relented quickly and laid back down, but before he could sit beside him, Nya was already directing her attention back towards him, speaking in a much softer voice.
"Zane and I can handle him for awhile, can you check on Cole?"
Kai nodded, and made his way out of the quarters before pulling out his phone to send a text to Jay.
Kai: Where r u 2?
The reply came almost immediately, which reassured him a little since Jay was able to get to his phone.
Jay: control.
Kai pocketed his phone and made his way to control, seeing that Jay was sitting near the wheel and Cole was painting something, clearly engrossed fully in what he was working on.
"How's Lloyd doing?" Jay asked, gaining both Cole and Kai's attention.
"He just got bruised up in training, but he's got an infection in his lungs. Zane and Nya are with him now," Kai explained before turning his attention to Cole, whose face was turned up in what looked like guilt, "no one's mad at you, Cole."
"I know that no one's mad at me, but…" Cole took a minute to put the paintbrush down, giving Kai a chance to sit beside him, before making eye contact, "every time Lloyd flinches, or panics around me...I feel like this whole thing is my fault."
Kai swallowed back the lump in his throat; it was like Cole had a window into his own soul and thoughts.
"I get it. I promised him after Garmadon…" another swallow, tears starting to form, "that I'd look after him and protect him. If I had just gone to the museum with him, then maybe-"
Kai looked down, the tears making it past his eyes and down his face. The thoughts had been at the front of his mind since this started, but speaking them out loud made them all too real.
That's when he felt a slightly cold, but solid hand on his shoulder, and he knew it was Cole.
No more words were spoken between them, and the earth ninja returned to his painting, but Kai was grateful for the silence.
They both knew what the other one was thinking, and neither of them knew how to alleviate the thoughts from each other.
•••
After Kai left per her request, Zane left shortly after to go make Lloyd some soup, leaving Nya alone with him.
Part of her wanted to scream or yell at him for his recklessness; if he continued to hide it, how long would it have been before they had to take him to a hospital? Before she couldn't do anything to help?
But at the same time, she also understood. Everything was finally getting back to...as normal as they could get given what they had been through and he didn't want to take away from that.
Between that and the fact that she knew that Lloyd would rather take care of everyone else before himself, despite what the others told him including herself, she shouldn't have been surprised that he hid it.
'That doesn't mean I have to be okay with it.'
"You're mad at me." Lloyd spoke up, and she looked up from her hands to look at his bloodshot eyes that were full of dread.
"I just wish you would take care of yourself, Lloyd," Nya responded, gently pressing her cool hand against his forehead and watching as he slumped against the pillows in relief, "or at least talk to us so we could take care of you."
"I'm trying, but things are finally getting back to normal, and I don't want to disappoint anyone." Lloyd explained before looking up at the ceiling.
He didn't have to add the "especially my father" for her to know it was on the tip of his tongue.
"You don't have to be strong all of the time, especially with what you've been through in the past few months," Nya took a minute, trying to figure out how to word what she was going to say next, before her thoughts spilled from her mouth.
"I wasn't the closest to your father, and I know you're still coping with what happened, but what I do know is that he cared about you so much," she stopped to move her hand to his shoulder, "and that he would want you to let us in, so we can at least be there for you."
Lloyd finally pulled his gaze away from the ceiling, and Nya's heart clenched when she saw the tears running down his face.
She didn't hesitate to pull him into a tight hug, immediately feeling the hot tears against her gi and hearing the soft sobs next to her ear.
She couldn't stop the tears from running down her face as she continued to hold him close, unable to say anything aside from a soft whisper. "I've got you. I'm not letting anyone else hurt you."
The sound of sniffling was the only thing she could hear after that, unable to think about anything else aside from one thing.
'We were supposed to keep him safe.'
•••
If he was being honest, Kai didn't know what to expect when he made his way back to their sleeping quarters.
But Nya sitting outside of the room on the floor, her head in her hands as her body shook with sobs was definitely not it.
"Hey, hey," Kai spoke softly, kneeling beside her and putting his hand on her shoulder, being met with watery eyes, "what's wrong? What happened?"
"I-I should've protected him," she stopped, a shudder escaping her lips, "we never should've let him go to the museum alone."
Kai's heart throbbed. He knew that the others had felt that guilt, especially Cole, but he didn't know that Nya had felt that way in any way other than through their bond.
"Nya, you had no idea." Kai whispered softly.
"I should've looked more into Mom. I-I could've protected him, Kai! I could've stopped Morro before any of this happened!"
"We didn't know about water being a ghost's weakness," Kai tried to assure her, "heck, half of us didn't even know ghosts were real. It's not your fault."
Kai pulled Nya closer and she rested her head against his shoulder, tears still running down her face, which nearly brought him to tears as well, so he just closed his eyes and focused on her choppy breaths.
It reminded him of when it was just the two of them.
The silence was interrupted by a deep cough, to which Kai's eyes snapped open, seeing Lloyd leaning against the doorframe, his bloodshot eyes reminiscent of Garmadon's.
"Lloyd, you shouldn't be up." Nya stood, rushing to Lloyd's side, but he held his hand out in protest, giving Kai a chance to stand.
"I don't blame any of you for what happened, you two know that, right?
Kai couldn't make eye contact with Lloyd; he knew that he didn't blame them, but he also knew that Lloyd was quick to forgive, regardless of what actions they had made, or this case, hadn't.
"The only person I blame is Morro,-" Lloyd started to cough again, forcing Kai to look up out of panic, but he once again held out his hand before continuing, "but I could never be mad at you two."
"We could've-" Kai started, trying to hold back the urge to force Lloyd back into bed, but he cut him off.
"What? Blasted him? Used powers you didn't even know you had? Gone with me, giving him the chance to hurt both of you before possessing me?" Lloyd questioned, and Kai took a step back, "there was nothing you two could've done."
The room went silent after that and Kai didn't know what to say, because Lloyd was right.
'But why do I still feel guilty?'
Kai's thoughts were cut off by his panic as Lloyd let out his third round of coughs, which made him double over.
He immediately jumped into action, helping him stand back up and leading him back to the quarters, Nya holding the door open.
"You can't push yourself like that, Lloyd." Kai scolded, gently motioning him to sit on his bed.
"And you two can't keep blaming yourselves for something that wasn't preventable." He snapped back before laying down.
"I can't, Lloyd!" Kai's fire seeped into his voice as a yell, "Every time I close my eyes, all I can see is you trying to fight him off! All I can see is you being dangled over freezing cave water! All I can see is you holding onto me for dear life after everything set in and you realized your dad was really gone!"
As soon as he shut his mouth, he felt the fire seep out of his veins, and he couldn't make eye contact with his sister or his brother as he spoke, much softer this time. "I failed you, and I broke my promise to your father."
"What are you talking about, Kai?" Nya whispered softly, her comforting presence on his shoulder as the memory came back.
•••
'"I shouldn't be surprised that you are the one who bonded with my son the most." Garmadon remarked as the two of them found themselves alone on the boat.
"I did save his life in the Fire Temple." Kai smiled, which made Garmadon smile as well.
"And I am forever indebted to you for that," the man paused, seemingly deep in thought before speaking up again, "could I ask you to make me a promise, Kai?"
"I guess." Kai shrugged, expecting to hear something about how he had eaten Garmadon's leftovers the last time they had been at his monastery.
"If there comes a time that I am no longer here...please look out for Lloyd. He still has much to learn, and I'm afraid that I will not be there to guide him through it."
Kai raised his eyebrow briefly, but he had heard Wu say similar things before, so he just assumed that it was the fact that the man was old, and so he folded his hands together and bowed his head.
"It would be an honor."
•••
"You didn't tell me that." Lloyd spoke up, his voice clearly raw from crying.
"You didn't tell anyone that." Nya added, her arms crossed and eyebrow raised.
"I didn't know how to." Kai admitted, the tears fully streaming down his face at this point as his head throbbed with guilt; he rubbed his sleeve across his face, trying to stall the flow till he was alone.
"My dad wouldn't be mad at you for what happened to me, you know," Lloyd spoke up, tears in his eyes, "he would be proud of you for trying to fight Morro till he let me go, or for saving me in the river."
Kai couldn't stop himself from pulling Lloyd into a tight hug, his head resting against his shoulder.
He couldn't stop himself from smiling when Nya came over and joined in.
•••
Luckily for Lloyd, the infection cleared up faster than anyone expected, and he was feeling way better the next time he trained with the others, dodging punches and kicks with ease.
He knew the others still felt guilty for what happened, but he couldn't work through that for them.
As for him, he still woke up in the night thinking he heard voices that didn't belong to the others on the Bounty, or from the wind blowing too hard, even from nightmares sending him flailing into the floor.
He was working on things with Cole, but like the guilt, that was going to take time, and they both understood that.
Lloyd didn't know if things would ever get back to normal, 'after all,we are ninjas.'
But as the others smiled and laughed and joked with each other like they had before everything happened with the Cursed Realm, Lloyd couldn't help but think that normal was just slightly overrated.