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In the last thousand years, Ninjago has undergone so much change. New Ninjago City has flourished, consuming much of the land around it as urban sprawl devoured the land. As quickly as it flourished, the city crumbled; nature taking back the land. This cycle went on for decades; growing, shrinking, growing, shrinking, over and over. Old mountains levelled and new ones rose. The sea claimed more territory and promptly surrendered it again.
The other ninja — the human ones — lived decently long lives when compared to the civilians that they protected day after day. Their elemental powers had granted them those extra years. But their time runs out sooner rather than later.
Eventually, Lloyd is the last one left. Zane and Pixal had stayed with him for as long as they could manage to, but far too soon the very last pieces of hardware that could hold them rusted through and the two androids crossed the river to join the others on the other side.
Lloyd, like the rest of the First Spinjitzu Master’s bloodline, has had a very long lifespan. He has had well more than triple that of a regular human. But he cannot live forever, now his time is finally up. He will finally, after all these years, get to join the others again.
In the end, he lived longer than Wu managed to, coming to a close at nearly two thousand years. He had lived hundreds upon hundreds of years without his friends — his family.
Lloyd knew as soon as he was awake that morning that today would be his last day in the human realm. So he spent that day packing up. Getting the monastery ready to finally be inhabited by others.
The Monastery of Spinjitzu that he lived in with the others an age ago no longer existed. Its walls had fallen victim to nature. The wooden supports and the paper shoji were eaten bit by bit by termites. The Mountain of Impossible Height it was built upon was eventually levelled out until it was nothing more than a small hill.
As his time drew nearer, he could see the others on the other side. All six of them, even Wu, were waiting for him. His brothers were calling to him.
“Join us, Lloyd,”
“Leave Ninjago behind, you have done everything you can there,”
“Isn’t nine-thousand years long enough in that realm?”
Their voices echo in his ears as he writes a letter that details exactly what he wishes to be done with his body once his spirit has crossed the river. He knew that his wishes will not be met; he is a long-time celebrated hero, so there will be a state funeral held for him when the public hears the news that he has passed on.
Decades upon decades have passed since his friends crossed the river. In that time he had trained their descendants, then the descendants of their descendants, and then their descendants.
Not a day has passed that Lloyd hasn’t missed his friends. It’s been so long since he had last been with all of them. To make a very long story short, he misses his family. But he will join them on that side of the river very soon. Soon they will be reunited again.
When the letter is finished. He heads outside to watch the sunset that had begun to drench the sky in oranges and yellows with specks of red splattered across.
As the last of the colour fades from the sky, Lloyd’s spirit follows it, being freshly released from his body. Before he leaves this realm, he checke up on his friends’ descendants and Ninjago as a whole one last time.
He’s so so close now. His friends are right there, surely no more than thirty steps away.
Still, he hesitates.
What if Ninjago still needs him? What if a villain shows up to take control of the continent (the chances of that happening have decreased to almost zero in the last hundred years or so).
But he can hear the others calling for him. To leave Ninjago behind to join them. Convincing him that there was no need for him in Ninjago anymore. That he has done enough. That he deserves to finally take a break.
They are right there.
Lloyd gives in. With one final glance back towards the First Spinjitzu Master’s realm he takes a step over the bridge and towards his family. When his feet hits the ground on the other side, the others don’t hesitate a moment longer to wrap him in a long-awaited hug. All of them look just as Lloyd remembered them so many years ago.
The group breaks apart at the sound of Wu’s voice. “It is good to see you again, nephew,” he says.
“As I you, Master Wu,” he answers.
His uncle is dressed in a robe that somewhat resembles what he had worn when he ran that teashop all those years ago. While the others are dressed in more casual clothing.
“Where’s Misako?” Lloyd asks, fearing that he already knew the answer.
“She is with Garmadon,” Wu tells him, confirming what he had thought.
Of course, she is nit here. Even freed from the constraints of life his mother is too busy for her only son.
An indeterminate span of time (the concept of time as it was in Ninjago is not really a thing here) later all of them are seated around a table somewhere further within the Departed Realm. Or that’s where Lloyd believes they are.
The blond is telling his uncle and siblings tales of the years that he spent in the First Spinjitzu Masters realm after their departure when someone approaches them.
“Master Lloyd,” the person says and the whole group knows instantly who this newcomer is: the First Spinjitzu Master. Lloyd gets up from his spot to walk with his grandfather.
“Thank you for protecting my realm for as long as you did,” The First Master inclines his head in a half-bow after he speaks.
What does Lloyd say in response to that? What can he say in response to his grandfather thanking him for protecting the realm that he created?
“Oh…you’re welcome?” he tries.
His grandfather chuckles at how unsure he sounds.
As the pair continues their walk, the landscape and scenery around them forms and disappears, forever changing. Until it finally settles on the green field with the yellow flowers that Lloyd had first spoken with the First Master all those years ago, during the first Oni Invasion.
The First Spinjitzu Master stops walking and turns to face him.
“Protecting is behind you now, Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon. You have earned the time to rest now.” he declares.
That may be true, but there has to be something — someone here that he has to protect. Surely there has to be. He’d spent over a thousand years protecting to go from that to…nothing is like trying to bring a raging flood to a complete standstill.
“I’m not sure I would be able to do that,” Lloyd says, truthfully. “I’ve spent so long protecting, I’m not sure if I’d be able to suddenly not do that,”
“I thought you would say something like that,” the FSM says. “Unfortunately, there is no need to protect anyone or anything here, there is no ability for anyone to be injured nor die as everyone here has already died,”
“Then…what do I do now?” he asks.
This is the first time in many, many years that he does not have a purpose or prophecy-bound deed to fulfil.
“You will have to find that out for yourself,” the FSM responds vaguely.
That’s really helpful. Lloyd thinks sarcastically.
Although, now he knows where Wu had gotten his love for cryptic and vague sentences from. Lloyd has turned away from him to examine some of the flowers.
“However, with your friends to help, I am confident that it will not take long,” the creator of Ninjago continues.
When Lloyd turns back again, his grandfather is nowhere to be seen.
“Lloyd! What are you doing just standing there?” Nya’s voice asks.
He turns to the source; Lo and behold, there are the others all still seated around that table and not too far away from him.
Hadn’t he been walking away from them? From what he has experienced so far, this realm seemed to not work on the same rules regarding space and time that Ninjago did.
“Join us, we’re sharing embarrassing stories!” Jay adds before he promptly gets whomped on the head by a pillow held by Cole. Where did he even get that pillow?
Lloyd joins them.
This realm is strange, to say the least. For the first time in well over a millennium, Lloyd doesn’t have a purpose.
But he has been reunited with his family again. And all that he is concerned with right now is how Kai’s face matches their shirt as Nya tells a story from their childhood or how all of Wu’s former students (Lloyd included) want to disappear from their seats as the master recounts their misadventures with various magical teas.
All that matters right now is spending time with his family again.