Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

„Are you alright, Sir?!“, Lloyd asked worried while approaching a civilian that was caught in this mission. The older man was laying on the concrete ground, cradling his left arm with a pained expression. Yet, as he saw the green clad ninja, his face brightened and a small, though still strained, smile crept onto his face.

“Oh, don’t worry about me! I just hurt my arm when I fell, shouldn’t be anything bad, though.” The man assured and sat up a bit while Lloyd crouched down besides the man. The sirens of the ambulances could already be heard. It wouldn’t be long until one of those would pull up beside them and help the man. But the knot in Lloyd’s stomach didn’t untie itself.

It hurt. It hurt to see that people got injured because of him. Because of his mistakes. Because he’s not good enough.

Lloyd took of his mask and tried helping the man sit up a bit straighter and more comfortable. “I am so so sorry, sir. This is entirely my fault.” Lloyd pled, but the man made a hand gesture and put it off.

“None of this is any of your fault, green ninja. If it wouldn’t have been for you getting me out of the way, I would have turned into smashed potatoes by that pillar!” The man pointed at the large, concrete pillar just a few meters away that surely would have killed this man.

“Still, as Ninjago’s protector I should have stopped those guys from getting so far as demounting that pillar…” Lloyd insisted and when he saw the lights of the ambulance approaching he whistled, loud and high, hoping they would hear his whistle over the sirens.

“Seeing you without the mask makes me remember how young you still are. I feel bad putting the weight of the world on your shoulders… So don’t blame yourself, alright? You did your best, which is still a whole lot better than my best could ever be!”

The ambulance, which has heard the whistle, came up to them and stopped, two paramedics climbing out of the vehicle the second the engine was turned off.

“Good job, green ninja! Saved the day yet again!” one of them complimented, but Lloyd could only muster up a small smile in return.

“We’ve got it from here, you can leave now, I’m sure you guys still have a lot to do.” The other paramedic said before turning his attention to the man on the ground.

“Thanks for taking care of the injured. Goodbye, then!” he greeted and opened the channel on his ear device, connecting him to the rest of his team.

“Guys, where are you?” he asked, hoping they were all alright.

“We’re all already gathered on the bounty just above the harbour.” Nya answered, sounding unhurt, almost happy. They must be stoked about having finally caught a member of this weird criminal group they’ve been chasing for weeks now.

“Great, I’m there in five minutes. Is everyone alright? Nobody hurt?” he quickly asked, not being able to be happy about anything as long as he didn’t know his family was okay. As long as they were okay, he didn't mind himself.

“Yeah, buddy. Everyone’s just fine. Quite the worryward-stuff, kiddo.” Kai teased and it actually brought a tiny smile to Lloyd’s mouth.

He arrived on the deck of the bounty just minutes later and everyone gathered around him, waiting to hear that their job is done for today.

Or that’s what Lloyd expected.

Instead, they all looked worried when he arrived and giving him THE look. He knew there was no way of hiding it.

“And when exactly did you plan on telling us about this bloody cut on your arm or the cut on you head?!” Nya was pissed. Worried, but pissed.

“Nya is right, if it wouldn’t be so huge and obvious with all the blood gushing out, you would never have told us, right?” Jay said, exasperating a little.

“It’s not THAT deep and I definitely would have told you. Really!” Lloyd insisted, but the looks didn’t ease up on him.

“Sure, you would have. When passing out in training tomorrow you would have.” Even Cole was pissed.

“Look buddy, we are only worried about you and maybe, just the tinniest bit, mad that up until this day you still never tell us when your injured. So don’t be upset with us, okay? Zane is gonna have a look at this and you will not protest against it.” Kai stated, leaving no room for arguing.

“Come with me Lloyd, me and Pixal are going to patch you up.” Zane lead Lloyd down the corridors, and while Jay and Cole remained on deck, the Smith siblings followed.

“Kai, Nya, you know you are not allowed in the med bay for privacy reasons.” Zane remarked. It was an unwritten rule that when one of them was in the med bay being looked over by the two nindroids, that none of the others were allowed in there so long as the patient didn’t exclusively say they could. There was just one exception: when the injury was so bad that Zane and Pixal needed help.

“And until this day I don’t get this rule! You two are not even real doctors.” Nya argued.

“It is easier to work if their isn’t someone fussing over the patient for no apparent reason.”

“No reason? Lloyd looks half dead!” Nya still insisted. His face was pale from the blood loss and dizziness started making his steps falter.

“Lloyd is not half dead. He is conscious. Besides, the med bay is a small room, there just simply is not enough space. And it is better for you to get a moment to calm down.”

“I think Nya’s right, Zane. We should change that rule. It drives me crazy sometimes!”

“Kai, Nya, stop acting like fussing parents and go change. You two smell.” Lloyd said, giving them a stare.

“Fussing parents?! Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon, by the FSM, if you keep this attitude up Imma-“

“What? See how much of an impact it had on me being practically raised by a bunch of teenagers? Sure.” Lloyd liked teasing Kai as much as Kai liked teasing Lloyd. It was no secret that the ninja felt responsible for Lloyd in every way, since they were aware that they raised him up. He was still so small and young when Sensei Wu took him in. They might have had their problems in the beginning, but now none of the ninja could imagine a life without their baby brother.

But because of this knowledge, it also became apparent how bad Misako and Garmadon, be it Lord or Sensei, truly were at being parents to Lloyd.

“You little punk. Zane, make sure to feed him some disgusting medicine or something.” Kai instructed, but Zane only shook his head amused.

Zane, being the quiet listener he is, loved seeing his family like this. Teasing. Joking. Laughing. Loving. These were the moments he hoped to forever keep in his heart. The moments that would bring him joy until the end of his existence. But Lloyd’s pain and knowing that the smile on his face wasn’t an honest one stained this memory. It made it bittersweet. A lot of knowledge about Lloyd made seemingly innocent memories turn sour.

Such as the knowledge of the kid’s deep loneliness when they first took him in, his great self-doubt when he first tried on the green Gi or his first dating tips for a person that would end up hurting him.

“You know well I would never do such a thing, Kai.”

“Yeah, Zane’s too nice. But I’m not. I’ll wait in your room, Lloyd. I’ll give you a little surprise…” Nya warned and with that the door to the med bay opened, closing the Smith siblings off.

“Please remove your shirt and then lay down on the table, Lloyd.” Zane instructed just as Pixal arrived in the med bay.

“I don’t think I need both of you to check me over.” Lloyd said but Pixal also gave him THE look. She might have half of Zane’s heart but she definitely got the one with the attitude in it.

“Lloyd, you have two injuries, at least that we know of. It is most time efficient if we look at those simultaneously.” Pixal explained. Both nindroids grabbed their needed supplies while Lloyd stripped and lay flat on the cold metal table.

Carefully Pixal moved golden locks, that were glued to his forehead by the dried blood, out of the way and cleaned the wound. A small gash that he got on impact after landing – not so gracefully – on the street. Shoving the civilian away ruined a good landing but saved their live.

However, Zane’s worry deepened and was written all over his face while taking a look at Lloyd’s arm.

“Lloyd, how do you feel right now?” Zane asked, his voice even and serious.

“What?” Lloyd didn’t quite understand what was going on. Pixal looked over to her boyfriend as well, her face a mixture of worry and confusion.

“How exactly do you feel right now? Are you dizzy? Are you hot? Is there something that feels off?”

“Before Lloyd even had the chance to answer, Pixal said: “I noticed that his forehead feels too warm. A quick scan tells me that he has a slight fever.”

“I don’t know. I feel a bit weak and dizzy. And cold, not warm. Maybe a small headache for obvious reasons… Zane, just what is going on?”

“Is it okay if I take a bit of your blood to test it?”

“Yes, Zane... but what’s going on?” Lloyd said, his voice getting quieter.

“I think… you might have been poisoned.” Zane said, turning away to grab a syringe.

“WHAT-?” both Smith siblings busted through the door, having eavesdropped all along. For a few moments everyone was silent and just looked panicked and confused. It was when Lloyd's breath started sounding strained and his expression twisted in pain that everyone suddenly became too aware of the severity of the situation.

“Guys, I don’t feel too good…” and with that Lloyd lost consciousness.

Chapter Text

“How long has he been out now?” Jay asked, his voice laced with concern.

“It’s been two hours now. Zane and Pix are still in the med bay trying to figure out what kind of poison is in his system.” Kai answered. He was sitting beside Lloyd on the bed. After he lost consciousness, Zane took the blood sample and Pixal bandaged the wound on his upper arm. Afterward, they brought Lloyd to his own room. While carrying him, Kai noticed that the younger one’s body was rising in temperature, but his hands seemed to be icy cold.

Kai was holding his baby brother’s hands and trying to warm them up. The rest of the team was scattered across the room.

Jay was sitting on the ground beside the massive bookshelve holding Lloyd's starfarer comics and many, many novels.

Cole was leaning on the doorframe, filling the empty space almost completely with his massive size. He was essentially protecting his gathered family from any outside danger and he was having an eye on everyone. When one of them was injured – especially their kid brother – they could either become feral with rage or break down from their fraying nerves. He was the scaffolding holding them. If he noticed someone not doing to good he would ground them.

Nya was sitting on the windowsill, phone clutched in her hands and eyes darting between her brother and out the window. She had tried getting in contact with Sensei Wu or Misako, but neither of them seemed to have any cell service. She just hoped they would somehow be able to feel that something was wrong and come back. But even though hope never dies, this one sure seemed to fizzle out by the minute.

“So what? Are we supposed to just sit by idly and wait for Zane and Pix to miraculously stir up an antidote?” Jay asked agitated. He was a clown most of the time and was able to always crack a joke even in the most dangerous and tension-filled missions, but seeing his baby brother, the one they are supposed to protect, hurt and weak like this without doing anything but fiddling with their thumbs, makes him as hot-tempered as Kai.

“Of course not, Jay. But what else are we able to do other than watch over Lloyd now?” Cole asked, stepping over to his best friend and laying a hand on Jay’s shoulder.

“Well, there is one thing we could do.” Nya said looking them all over.

“We could go to the police station, I’m sure the member of his weird group must still be in their custody. They can’t have already taken him to Krypterium. Maybe that guy has some answers.” She explained and her brothers eyes all lit up. A spark of hope. A job to do.

“You guys can go, I’ll stay with Lloyd and wait for Pix and Zane to finish up.” Kai said and everyone nodded in agreement, they knew that not even the strongest bull could pull Kai away from Lloyd now. He was glued to their leader.

While everyone scrambled out of the way to get the vehicles started and gear up, Nya stayed behind a moment longer.

“Kai, try calling Sensei and Misako again. Maybe you can reach them at some point. And call Skylor.”

“Why Skylor?”

“She’s quite close to Lloyd, she would want to know he's hurt. And besides, she’s your girlfriend, dummy. We don’t know when Lloyd will wake up or when Zane and Pix are ready. She might be able to support you a bit. Shared pain is half the pain. Okay?”

“Okay.” Kai almost whispered.

Nya squeezed her brother's shoulder and gave Lloyd a kiss on the cheek for goodbye and then went to join the others.

“Kiddo… How did you end up in this mess? I really absolutely fucking hate it when you get hurt. You know that. So you better bake me those blueberry muffins I like when you’re all better.” Kai tried to joke around, but the silence that followed just made him more depressed.

He fished his phone out of his pocket and tried calling Wu.

But the call couldn’t be connected.

Same with Misako.

He had real trouble keeping his calm when he spoke onto their mailbox, telling them what was going on. Their little “adventures” and “expeditions” aka their dates always ended with both disappearing for WEEKS without the ninja having a way to contact them. He loved his Sensei and found it difficult to actually resent him for this, though he was angry. But Misako was different. There wasn’t a time after she inserted herself back into Lloyd’s life that she was actually there for her son outside of missions. And even then she was mostly somewhere else doing research or whatever. And the most agitating thing for Kai was, that it was because of pure coincidence that she came back into Lloyd’s life. Who knows, if they didn’t accidentally stumble upon her in the museum, she might have never made a comeback.

He looked at his little brother, lying unconscious in the too big bed. Lloyd always looked so much younger when he was resting. He guessed this was the case for everyone, but it hurt him the most with Lloyd. A kid that was never allowed to be a kid.

Until this very day Kai hates himself for not having seen the signs earlier. For not helping the kid instead of putting him on a roof. For disregarding him and not listening for these very obvious cries for help. A lonely, forgotten and tired kid, hated by the so called “heroes”.

Kai noticed that he was drifting into bad territories inside his head. So he called Skylor, who picked up almost immediately.

“Hello Fire-Boy.” She greeted and Kai could hear her gorgeous smile in these playful words. He could never put into words the feelings he has for her.

But he still couldn’t manage a smile back.

“I need your help.” He stated, giving Lloyd another look-over. When was the last time the two of them had hung out? Just as friends, as brothers. He couldn’t even remember.

“What’s going on? Where are you?” her tone shifted instantly, becoming worried and set for action.

“It’s Lloyd. He’s… in really bad shape. I could use your support on the bounty.” Kai answered. He would explain the details when she was here.

“Is Lloyd okay? Can he talk to me?” Yep, Lloyd surely was everyone’s little brother. Even to his brother’s girlfriends.

“Not right now… Just, can you come over?”

“Of course. I’ll be there in 20 minutes. Is there anything else you need? Supplies, weapons, people, food?”

“No, no. I just need you.” Kai answered, his throat tightening and tears stinging in his eyes.

“Alright, 20 minutes. You and Lloyd hold on until then, ‘kay? I love you.”

“I love you, too, Sky.” With that the call ended and silence returned. He just hoped Lloyd would wake up soon and joke about him being a fussing parent again. This time, he wouldn’t even complain.

Chapter Text

Kai heard the door slide open and the hurried footsteps in the halls. Then he saw it, this beautiful red hair and her wonderful ember eyes.

But those wonderful ember eyes glossed over with worry as soon as she saw Lloyd’s unconscious form on the bed and Kai’s hunched body on the bedside.

Skylor crossed the room and sat down besides Kai, putting a hand on Lloyd’s leg.

“How is he?” she asked and locked eyes with her boyfriend.

“Not good. He’s been unconscious for two and a half hours now. I feel like his fever is getting worse and his pulse had been getting slower.” The pulse he has been checking ever since he sat down besides Lloyd.

“What happened? He has a bandage on his head, too…”

“We’ve been hunting this weird criminal group, that had been stealing chemicals and stuff for weeks now. Today we were able to catch one of those guys, but Lloyd ended up hurting his arm and head. It wasn’t that bad, we even joked around on the way to the med bay. But when Zane wanted to patch up the wound on Lloyd’s arm, he found out that Lloyd is poisoned…” Kai explained and Skylor’s eyes widened in shock. Kai never noticed how close Lloyd and Skylor really were, he guessed it was during their time together under Garmadon’s and Harumi’s ruling.

“Oh Lloyd... Is the poison deadly?”

“We don’t know yet. Zane and Pix are still in the med bay doing tests with Lloyd’s blood, they tryna figure out what kinda poison it is.”

“And the others?” she asked and moved her hand from Lloyd’s leg to Kai’s hand resting on his side.

“They’re on their way to the police station. That guy we caught might have a few answers.”

“Okay, that’s… that’s a start.” Skylor assured and leaned a little closer to Kai, feeling his warmth and she could swear that through touch alone, she was able to feel the heat of his protectiveness; his love. Nothing and no one would ever be able to blow out the eternal flame that was Kai’s pure love for his family.

For a while they just sat in silent, the presence of Skylor alone being enough reassurance for Kai. The sun was slowly starting to set, neither Wu nor Misako had called back or replied to any of his messages and there wasn’t a word from Nya and the others. Skylor was drawing circles on his hand, while he was doing the exact same with Lloyd’s hand.

The silent was heavy and time became a sloppy concept. Sometimes seconds felt like hours and sometimes hours felt like seconds.

Roughly an hour after Skylor had arrived, Kai noticed that a muscle in Lloyd’s hand tensed, relaxed and then tensed again, as if testing the tendons for their function. And then his eyelids twitched, a low groan escaped his lips and he scrunched his nose slightly.

“Lloyd!” Kai almost yelled, startling Skylor, who had been lost in her thoughts.

Both Kai and Skylor stood up, watching as life came back to his smaller frame. It felt like a giant stone fell from Kai’s heart when Lloyd’s eyes fluttered open and the youngest wearily blinked up at the two figures beside him.

“Lloyd, FSM, you’re awake!” Kai yelled and Skylor squeezed her boyfriends shoulder to calm him.

“Yeah… Seems like it. Did I miss anything?” Lloyd’s voice was a bit gravelly from sleep, but other than that Kai was happy that he seemed coherent.

“Only that you’ve been poisoned.” Skylor answered, trying to lighten the situation.

A small chuckle came from the youngest and he added: “So nothing unexpected. Got it. Where are the others?”

Kai explained everything to Lloyd, who appeared calm and not very surprised at all the news. Kai, however, did notice the shift in Lloyd’s eyes when he mentioned Wu’s and Misako’s disappearance. It wasn’t anything new to Lloyd, being pretty much an orphan even if he technically HAD parents. He liked to say he forgave both his parents and moved on, but that was simply a lie he told himself.

“So… to sum it up, I’m fucked.”

“You’re not fucked. I won’t let that happen.” Kai replied, ruffling the younger one’s hair. “How are you feeling, gremlin?” he added, wanting to make sure his little brother wasn’t hurting too bad.

“Actually, I feel better than before passing out like a little princess. I do have a bit of a headache and overall I feel a bit weak, I guess. But nothing too bad.”

“If you have a headache, you should drink lots. I’ll go make us some tea, maybe it’ll help.” Skylor said and went to the kitchen.

Lloyd sat up and looked his brother over. “Kai, quit the worry-ward stuff, okay?” Lloyd copied Kai from earlier that day, earning him a grin from the master of fire. “No can do, sorry little bro.” Kai sat beside Lloyd again and laid his hand on Lloyd’s thigh. “You sure you’re fine? It’s what you always say, so I just wanna make sure, y’know?”

“Kai, I’m okay. It feels more like we pulled an all-nighter, rather than being poisoned. I’d be able to kick your ass right now, but I know you wouldn’t even let me out of bed.” He insisted and boxed Kai’s shoulder playfully.

Suddenly loud footsteps could be heard in the hall and then Zane and Pixal stood in the door, being surprised that Lloyd was awake. Pixal ran up to the side opposite of Kai and took one of Lloyd’s hands into her own. Kai never knew when it happened, but Pixal had grown to absolutely adore the youngest member, and seeing this scene, despite the circumstances, warmed his heart.

“We have news.” Zane stated, standing at the foot-end of the bed.

“They better be good.” Kai said in a joking tone, but everyone knew he was being serious.

“We have both good and bad news. Which would you like first?” Zane asked, but while Lloyd simply shrugged his shoulders, Kai wanted to hear the good news first.

“The poison is not as fast moving as I feared it is, after Lloyd’s sudden fainting. While we could not find out what the poison is made out of exactly, we did come to the conclusion that it is based on organic substances.” Zane stopped to make a scan of Lloyd before continuing: “Your blood pressure and heart rate are almost back to normal, your fever has come down 1.1 degrees Celsius and you are coherent. Therefore I detect that the reason for your fainting was the initial shock of your system, after the poison first started attacking your body. Now that it had time to settle your body will fight the poison.” Zane explained, happy that his younger brother seems to be doing fine so far.

“This sounds nice and all… But what exactly are the bad news?” Lloyd asked.

“Your body will not be able to defeat the poison in your system. For now, thanks to your oni and dragon blood, you will feel okay. But over time your body will become weaker and weaker. If we are not able to give you the antidote, you will die.” A dreading silence followed and Kai tried to hide his hands, so none of them could see the shaking. Pixal squeezed Lloyd’s hand a little harder and the boy himself stayed calm. As though these news didn’t bother him at all.

Then Skylor appeared, a tablet with cups and tea, and a shocked expression on her face. She had heard everything.

“Then… how do we get the antidote?” Kai asked

“Either we find out what plant the poison is made out of or we find the poisoner and get have him give us the antidote.” Pixal explained, her voice laced with anger and worry.

“The others are already at the police station talking to the guy we captured earlier. Maybe they’ll get a clue form him. If they don’t, then nothing much changes. It has been our mission to find this criminal group. The only difference is time. So please, everyone, don’t worry too much. I feel fine and I guess I will feel fine for the next days or so. And I’m positive that Nya and the others are going to be back soon.” Lloyd assured everyone in the room.

“So, what do you think? Should we drink tea and discuss our next move?” he suggested and hearing Lloyd’s leader voice, some strength and hope returned in everyone’s eyes.

“I'm in, because ninja never quit.” Kai stated and with that, he felt ready to move worlds and make those criminals pay for hurting his baby brother.

Chapter Text

Lloyd, Kai, Skylor, Zane and Pixal gathered at the controls, Pixal pulling up all stats and facts they have accumulated about their current targets on the screens - which really isn't anything at all - and steaming cups of tea in everyone’s hands.

“What do we have so far, Pix?” Lloyd asked and all eyes settled on Pixal. “It’s a criminal group consisting of approximately 30 to 40 members. We know they have stolen all kinds of different chemicals, lab materials and robbed multiple greenhouses. We can assume the plant that they made the poison out of comes from one of those greenhouses. But outside of that, we don’t know anything.” She summed up, dread clear in her voice. No information equals no plans.

“So, we don’t have any motivations, no goals, no names, no places and no backgrounds. That’s not … much.” Lloyd stated, searching through his brain for anything he might know, anything he might have noticed during the mission earlier that day. But he came up blank.

“We can only hope Nya and the guys get some clues out of that member we captured. That’s our only hope.” Skylor said and took a small sip of her tea, rather to have something to do with her hands than to actually enjoy the beverage.

“Not exactly our only hope…”

“What do you mean, Lloyd?” Kai asked and he noticed that Lloyd was nervously scratching at his nails. “I know someone that has quite a bit of information about the current underground rulers and has contacts to some people that might know a thing or two.” The green ninja explained vaguely.

“Out with it.” Kai demanded sternly, alrighty fearing his little brother’s idea. Lloyd was clever – no, scratch that. His baby brother was very intelligent. He and the others always overlooked this part of Lloyd, but in the later years it has become apparent that Lloyd was much more intelligent than they had always thought. Even as a bratty child, Lloyd was able to quickly come up with clever plans, he read situations and was often able to use them to his advantage. He never stopped educating himself, even after being kicked out of school. He read all kinds of books and Zane gave him lessons in subjects, where it was harder to just read and remember, such as maths or chemistry. Nya also taught him in mechanics and technology ever since joining the ninja, since he and Nya always stayed behind and because Lloyd honestly had a passion for electronics and mechanics. However, no matter how smart, Lloyd sometimes had the wildest and most dangerous ideas out of everyone. And with Lloyd already poisoned, Kai was not going to stand for any stunts.

“Harumi.”

“Lloyd-“

“Kai, just hear me out. Harumi has been a part of the underground for years now and has a lot of contacts that I bet are still willing to help her if she just uses the right words and motivations. Through her, we might be able to get informations directly from the underground.”

“We can’t trust her.” Syklor warned and everyone else nodded in agreement.

But Lloyd wouldn’t have it. He might have been tricked by her, but he still knew her better than anyone else. He was sure of that. He had seen the real Harumi before, the one behind a mask of revenge and anger. And he knew that after the defeat of the Overlord her anger had died with him. All that was left was regret, he was certain of that.

“Lloyd, your argument makes sense, but Skylor is correct. She cannot be trusted. And with you being in a vulnerable state, it would be very risky to have her near you.” Pixal explained, but as much as he understood their doubts, it still made him angry. People changed. He changed from being a wannabe evil master mind in the form of a brat to the green ninja, having saved Ninjago countless times. His father changed more often than he liked to think about, and currently he was changing from pure evil to someone eager to understand feelings and light. Skylor, too, had changed from a traitor to one of their most trustworthy friends. He just needed Harumi to change as well, to get a second chance. If only that was so he didn’t have to live with guilt and regret for the rest of his life.

“She doesn’t want revenge anymore. We’re not enemies any longer!”

“She tricked you not once, but twice. She destroyed Ninjago not once, but twice. She hurt you not once, not even twice, but thrice. Do you get where we’re coming from?” Kai asked and Lloyd had to concentrate on breathing so he wouldn’t explode.

That was another way in which he changed. Becoming older, for him, meant becoming angrier. He easily found himself getting worked up, getting frustrated and being angry at things, he wouldn’t have been angry about before. Becoming older, meant becoming just a tiny bit more like Garmadon.

He had to believe he would change again, or else he would go insane with this knowledge.

“I know better than anyone where you’re coming from. But if you can’t trust her, then trust me.”

“Duo to past experiences and feelings, your judgement might be clouded.” Zane said and Lloyd just hated how he felt like he talked to a wall. But he continued. They were just worried.

They were just worried.

They were just worried.

He repeated that like a mantra to stop his anger from overflowing.

“Okay, let’s do a compromise. We’ll ask her for help, and at the slightest doubt of her sincerity, the second that you think she cannot be trusted anymore, we’ll send her home.” Lloyd suggested and thank the FSM that they actually contemplated it.

“For that to work, someone would have to be by her side at all times.” Skylor said, hating the idea of Harumi being anywhere near them. But at the same time, she and everyone else were aware of their dire situation and utter need of information. And Harumi seemed to be the only one who could supply them with that.

“I’ll do that. I have experience with babysitting used-to-be-villians. I mean, how often did I babysit Garmadon now? And no-“ Lloyd quickly added, when Zane wanted to give him a number, “I don’t actually want to now the numbers, I meant it rhetorical.”

A minute of silence passed with everyone mulling this suggestion over. None of them were happy with it, but everyone agreed to it.

And so, the first move was decided on and now they just had to wait for every party to arrive.

-

-

“He is inside that interrogation room. Hasn’t said a bloody word once. Even the chief tried his luck, but nothing.” The young police officer explained, as he guided Nya, Jay and Cole through the halls and to the interrogation room.

“Thanks a lot, we’ll let you know if the birdy sings a little song.” Cole assured and waved the young officer off, who went to the nearest coffee machine.

Upon entering the room, the air was heavy and hot. Or maybe that was just Nya’s anger she felt when she laid eyes on the culprit. Who knew, maybe he was actually the one who had hurt her little brother? Oh, she wanted nothing more than to give him a taste if his own medicine. But the good guys didn’t do that sort of stuff… Unfortunately.

“So we can do this the easy way or the painful way, you choose, asshole.” Nya said, slamming her hands on the metal table and giving him the death stare. But instead of answering, the guy just grinned widely and opened his mouth.

No tongue.

“Great, just what we needed. When we finally caught one of them, that guy can’t even fucking talk!” Jay cursed frustrated, pacing around the small room.

“If he can’t talk, he’ll have to use paper and pen.” Cole stated and went to get a notepad and a pen, meanwhile, Nya continued staring the guy down.

He had shaggy, messy hair, dark stubble and dark eyes. Cold eyes. He was someone with nothing to loose, a person that made peace with spending his life in Krypterium. Guys like him are tough nuts, but even the hardest ones had a soft core. There was always something that would break them.

Minutes later Cole returned with pad and pen and slammed them in front of the guy.

“I talked to the officer again about his identification, said they didn’t find any ID, driver license, nothing. No way to identify him other than him telling us.” Cole explained and stepped a few steps back, behind Nya. This way he had the entire room in his vision, ready to notice any danger and to jump into action at any given point.

“Write.” Nya simply commanded, but the guy crossed his arms in front of his chest and just grinned at her.

She sighed, long and deep, and then straightened her spine. “Did you know that the human body consists of up to 80% water. The element that I just so happen to control?” She said with a fake innocent voice and staring him further down.

But the guy only cocked his head to the side and leaned back in his chair. He didn’t have a clue about what was coming.

“Jay, can you electrocute the cameras?” Nya asked sweetly, never taking her eyes of her target. Jay knew what his Yang wanted to do. It was a trick she had thought about for a while now, but never tried out. It was one of her secrets that she only shared when it was dark. A secret shared in whispers and trust. It was also a secret Jay wasn’t quite comfortable with, because of it’s brutal nature. But for this he would excuse any violence.

“Sure, Nya.” He sent a beam of lightening to the two cameras in the small room, effectively destroying any way of outsiders witnessing what will come next.

“You can consider yourself lucky, you’ll be my first test-subject.” Nya congratulated and the guys grin faltered.

Nya concentrated on her pulse, her bloodstream, and then imagined the guys bloodvessels, how the blood was pumping through his body. How it was mostly water. Liquid, formable and manipulable. She imagined a sort of thread linked his water to her element and clutching this thread, pulling at it bit by bit. It strained and the guy choked on a painful moan as his body stiffened, his pupils went wide in pain and he seemed to be out of breath. His face reddened and his hands locked mid-air. He wouldn’t scream, he couldn’t.

“See, as the good guys we normally don’t resort to such extreme methods. But I am not the good guy right now. I am a big sister that is extremely pissed off, because you and your little group hurt my baby brother. And as his big sister, everyone that stands in my way will suffer until they bend. Do you understand?”

His breath quickened and Nya knew that he started panicking.

“I asked if you understood.” She said again and this time he managed just the smallest nod.

“Good.” She released her hold on the threat a tiny bit, giving him more room to breathe.

“Just so we’re clear, I was being nice. Do anything I don’t like, and I will not be gracious again. Write down what you know. Names, places, plans, everything. And then be a good little puppet and give the police your identification and go to prison. Then you’ll never see me again. Do you copy?” Nya explained and the guy eagerly nodded, grabbing for pad and pen as soon as she fully released the thread.

He might be a guy that made peace with prison, but not a guy that made peace with pain.

“Good job, Nya.” Jay complimented, setting a hand on her shoulder.

“Yeah, you did it.” Cole added, stepping forward.

Nya knew she should hate what she had just done to this person. But she didn’t. Maybe there was something wrong with her. Or maybe that was just her sisterly instincts. Either way, she was happy none of the two judged her for it. That they had her back and supported her.

Yeah, they might be the good guys as Ninjago’s protectors. But they were monsters when it came to protecting their family.

Chapter Text

“LLOYD!” Nya yelled, arriving at the controls if the Bounty and engulfing her baby brother in a bone breaking hug, while Cole and Jay joined the two.

“So, did the guy spill the tea?” Kai asked, wringing his hands nervously.

Nya fumbled in her Gi and took out the paper. “The guy couldn’t exactly talk with a missing tongue, that didn’t stop us from getting the infos, though. He wrote an adresse belonging to empty hangars at the port, an approximated number of members, the group’s name and their goal.” She explained, crossing her arms and leaning against the railings.

“The Curse Breakers? Someone’s trying to be edgy. But what does it mean?” Lloyd asked, sitting on the railing next to Nya and with Kai at his side. He had a massive headache and dizziness clouded his thoughts, however, he tried ignoring the symptoms of whatever poison was in his system to lead his team.

“Who cares about that stupid sounding name? We should worry about their goal.” Cole stated, pointing towards the bad writing on that piece of paper.

“He, who is not human, shall not live amongst the pure. He, who is of a gods blood, who has tremendous power, shall not live on his own regards. He, who’s power we seek, shall sink to his knees and serve us, making us the rightful rulers of this forsaken land…” Zane read aloud, the heaviness of those words sinking into their bones.

“He wrote that word for word?” Skylor asked and Jay nodded. “Yep, wrote it from memory.”

“So we can assume that this might be a kind of mantra or promise all members know by heart.” Pixal concluded and everyone agreed. No normal person would write something like that.

“So that basically means, that these people don’t actually want to kill Lloyd, they want to have his powers. Like nobody ever came up with that.” Oh, Kai was just about ready to grill some insane people wanting to use his little brother. And by the looks of it, everyone else felt the same way.

“Well, they aren’t that many members. Around 50 people is a number we can handle just fine. But if they managed to poison Lloyd, we have to assume they are able to poison all of us. Which would not be too great, because I have a noodle business to run and I can’t do that dead.”

“Skylor’s right, we’ll have to be careful. No reckless stunts or impulsive decisions.” Lloyd agreed, already trying to piece together a plan for all of them to take out this group.

“Woah, woah, woah. Who’s we, exactly?” Kai asked, voice stern like a father’s brother's.

“You, me, everybody. You suddenly forgot who’s in this team? That’s sad, seems like someone’s getting kinda old.” The youngest teased, knowing what the red ninja meant but choosing to ignore that.

“Yeah, that ain’t gonna happen, green machine. You’re going to stay right here and lay your ass down to rest, alright?” Kai would bind his brother to the bed with a rope if he had to.

“Quit the worryward stuff, okay? I’m fi-“

“Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon, I swear to the FSM, if you’ll finish this sentence, I’ll personally throw you from the Bounty this instant.” Nya warned, not wanting to hear another excuse as to how exactly he is fine with an unknown poison in his system slowly killing him while being targeted by a bunch of lunatics.

“Who is getting thrown over the Bounty ? I thought you were the mighty heroes.” A new voice introduced herself to the group, immediately raising the tension in the air and making everybody gasp in shock.

“No fucking way, Lloyd, you have some serious explaining to do!” Jay shrieked, seeing Harumi’s figure in the door.

“Kai, Zane, Pixal and Sky… You agreed?” Cole asked shocked.

“Wow, I knew I wasn’t welcome but I didn’t expect this.”

“You are not helping, Rumi.” Lloyd said tiredly, his headache becoming worse with his siblings fussing. He loved them; he loved them more than anything, but their constant worrying, fussing and babying could become the most annoying thing to ever experience. Did they not know he was a teen by now and not some little child?

“I asked her to come, because she had connections to the underworld and might know something.”

“Well, now we already have our infos. Therefore, she isn’t needed.” Nya said, giving the used-to-be-princess a dirty look.

“I have a plan. But for that to work you need to stop babying me and to accept her being here. Are you ready to listen to what I have to propose or are you just gonna tell me to go back to bed like a toddler?” The room went quiet and the silence that covered the air was thick. Lloyd was mad. And he usually didn’t get mad at his teammates. But his headache and dizziness, as well as their fussing and arguing, made him irritated and he seriously just wanted this to be over.

The ninja gave each other searching looks and agreed to listen to Lloyd’s plan, already knowing it wouldn’t be something they liked.

“So, the plan is as follows…”

“Here is Gale Gossip from NGTV News with heart breaking news we’ve just received from serious and trustworthy sources. Lloyd Garmadon, the Green Ninja, has died. The cause is unknown, however it is speculated that he died from foul play, assuming that he died while protecting our City. This, dear citiziens of Ninjago City, is a dark, dark day and one, that years from now we will still remember. Not only has he been our protector and saviour, he was the symbol of piece and hope. And furthermore, he was just a child. A child who’s shoulders had to bear the weight of the world, but this weight never seemed to crush him. With his death, Ninjago as we know it, will never be the same again.” Gale Gossip took a pause, wiping away a tear and steadying her tone. The screen was clear, but his thought’s weren’t.

His son… was dead?

“The rest of the Ninja have decided to make his burial public, inviting everyone who wants to show their last respects. It is held tomorrow at 2 p.m. at the Central Ninjago Graveyard. Once more, we admire you and loved you, Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon, and we will remember you. This was Gale Gossip of NGTV News and this, everybody, is a day to grieve.” He shut off the TV and slumped back on the couch.

He was dead.

Lloyd was dead. Just like that. He survived world moving and existence threatening battles, but yet he died on a random wednesday that had seemed just like any other day. And the last time he had seen his son was… He couldn’t remember. Garmadon didn’t know how he felt with this knowledge. Didn’t know what he was supposed to feel. But it didn’t feel right, didn’t feel good.

Was this sadness?

Regret?

Or was it just hunger? He didn’t know. Couldn’t know. That was when Vinny entered the apartment and found Garmadon’s slumped form on the couch.

“You alright?” Vinny asked, giving the Lord of Destruction a look-over.

“Lloyd is dead… I don’t know what I feel… What do I feel Vinny?” Vinny always seemed to know exactly what Garmadon was feeling, what he was supposed to feel and where to start feeling. Where to start changing.

“Dead?” Vinny took a second before remembering that Garmadon was outside when he talked to the ninja and Vinny didn’t have a chance to inform him.

“Ohh, shit. Yeah, that one’s on me, sorry dude.”

“What do you mean?” Garmadon asked, confusion clear on his face and the look in his eyes being dark and clouded.

“Lloyd’s not actually dead. This was just part of a plan the guys have to stop some sort of group that’s out to hunt Lloyd. I wanted to tell you, but you weren’t here and I really needed to go. This News Report was filmed hours ago.”

Garmadon just stared at Vinny. Whatever he was feeling upon first hearing the news seemed to intensify with this new knowledge. To fester and shapeshift and nest in his insides. Molding him, infesting him, grounding him.

It was a heavy and dark feeling, rolling over him the more he thought about it. He wanted to scream, to tear things apart, to yell at Vinny, to walk for hours. He wanted silence, violence and destruction. He wanted informations and people. Who he could appoint the fault to. He wanted to yell at his stupid son and the even stupider rest of the ninjas. He wanted to yell at Wu. At Misako. At the City.

But most of all, he wanted to see Lloyd. To be sure. To confirm.

He didn’t know what he was feeling. And this time he didn’t know if he could even ask Vinny. How would he explain this sea of emotions? This ancient feeling deep inside him.

“I am going to the monestary.”

“Actually, the ninja are on the bounty.” Vinny corrected and shrunk under Garmadon’s dark eyes.

“Then I’ll find the bounty.” And with this, Garmadon left the building and flew into the sky in search of the ninja.

Vinny stayed behind and leaned against the wall for support. Never had he seen Garmadon like this. Vinny thought this must have been the most human Garmadon ever seemed. The most a father he ever looked. A father in believe of his son’s death. A war-waging, violent father willing to destroy – to kill – whoever was responsible, if not for the fakeness of these news.

As scary as this Garmadon may be, Vinny had never been more proud.

Lloyd stood outside the bounty looking over his city. His responsibility. He found himself often doing this and coming to the conclusion how insane it is, that this huge city with thousands of people residing in it just put their trust – their lives – in the hands of a teenager. A kid they used to despise and the spawn of one of the most feared beings alive. It was just crazy to him.

Now he pondered over their missions, over his plan and the poison in his blood slowly making itself known to him. The headache, the dizziness, the general feeling of weakness and the constant dull pain cursing through his entire body. He was able to function on basic terms right now, he was barely able to hide his state, so was he able to pull of his part of the plan? He didn’t know, but he had to. That was all, he just had to. There wasn’t much room for mistakes. Not when he was basically on his own this time around.

“Are you ignoring me too, now?” Lloyd startled a bit when his racing thought were interrupted by Harumi’s voice, laced with something akin to disappointment.

“No, of course not. Why would you think that?”

“I called out to you about five times now and you didn’t respond…”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to ignore you, I was just…”

“Lost in thoughts.” Harumi ended his sentence and stood beside him at the railing. She searched his eyes and it was as though she could read him like an open book. Every secret, every thought and every feeling he was trying to hide was so easy for her to see. It almost scared Lloyd.

“You’re scared your body will give out on you, right?” she asked and the worry was written all over her. It was still weird, the genuine feelings she showed towards him and the kindness she now gave him, as opposed to the hatred she harboured for him before.

He couldn’t say he disliked it.

“Kind of.” Is all he could reply.

Harumi intertwined her hands with his. Since the defeat of the Overlord they had spoken regularly, discussed what had gone wrong and she apologised countless times, the same way Lloyd had apologised countless times. But touch was something new. Touch was foreign. Touch was much more frightening then he thought. Touch was something much braver for her. Touch was something both didn’t know they needed this much.

“I know the rest of your team doesn’t trust me – for good reasons – but I hope you can trust me enough that I’ll look out for you. I can fight, you know that.” She assured him and never broke their eye contact.

“I know you can fight, you beat my ass more times than I’m comfortable with.” He joked and closed his eyes for a second in hopes he could somehow relieve his headache.

“Lloyd-“

“I trust you, Harumi.” He didn’t know it would be so hard to say these words – he didn’t know he would ever say those words again – but now that they were out of his head, it was like a snapped threat had sowed itself back together.

“But this trust is the last I can give you. After this, there are no more chances. So I hope I made the right decision.” Lloyd added and squeezed Harumi’s hand a bit harder.

“You did, I’ll prove that to you.”

For a while they just stood in silence, the warmth of their intertwined hands seeping through their limbs into their souls and sparking a fire both teenagers thought had burned out with the last fight.

Lloyd and Harumi were both aware that there wasn’t an excuse in the world for what she had done. Neither of them searched for an excuse. All they wanted was a new beginning. A new chapter after closing the last one. The spark was lit, but would the fire be a constant warm, a flickering light threatening to burn out or an all-consuming catastrophe? No one would be able to tell besides time. So time it was they trusted.

But time was a fleeting thing for the green ninja, as the poison weakened him and shortened his lifespan by the minute. Should they not be able to retrieve the antidote he would surely die within the next couple days. If not less.

So while a new flame of trust had been lit, the flame of hatred Kai had in himself, while watching this scene unfold, never vanished.

Chapter Text

“Are you absolutely sure you can do this, kiddo?” Kai asked for what must’ve been the 100^th time now. Zane, Cole and Jay had set off to give NGTV News the details of their plan and to create the perfect breaking news of Lloyd’s supposed death and funeral.

Nya, Skylor and Pix were keeping an eye on the princess at the controls while Kai brought the youngest member to their sleeping quarters. The effects of the poison were really starting to show on the kid and Kai worried that Lloyd had overestimated his own strength.

Lloyd, without a doubt, was the most powerful ninja of them all. But he wasn’t the strongest. There was a big difference between those two definitions. Lloyd’s powers, his techniques, his wits and sharp intellect, the way he could come up with a plan in seconds, those all made him the most powerful ninja. He was fast and agile – for the love of the FSM – he had both oni and dragon blood in him. But physically he was far from being the strongest. If anything, he was near the bottom of that list since even Nya beat him to it. No, the title of strongest belonged to Cole, who, even without his lava arm, could crush them all if he so wished.

The way his kid brother was looking, pale skin, dull eyes and the small tremors in his hands that Lloyd probably thought they hadn’t noticed, made it clear that the team didn’t have a lot of time.

“Yes, Kai, I am sure. I’m not going to do anything crazy.”

“And I’m supposed to believe that?”

“Yes, why wouldn’t you?”

“You’re Lloyd.”

“Good point.” The younger sighed and sat on his bed. If Lloyd was being honest, there was nothing more tempting than to lay down and take a long, long nap. But not only was he the green ninja; he was their leader. And as such he simply couldn’t allow himself to take a rest while his team – his family – was risking their lives for him.

“Kai, did you really just bring me here to ask if I was good or are you going to say more?” Lloyd asked, annoyance clear in his tone.

“Actually, I do have a pretty dang good reason why I brought you here.”

“That is…?”

Now Kai had to be careful. He knew Lloyd, knew how stubborn his baby brother was and how short tempered he could be – a trait Kai didn’t know was from the Garmadon line or the Smith line and preferred to just imagine it was from Kai and Nya – so this conversation could go very wrong.

“Okay, so… Nya and I talked a bit about this whole situation and we don’t think that Harumi and you should be alone together.”

Lloyd rolled his eyes. Yeah, he had a feeling something like this was going to happen. “I know-“

“Don’t be mad at me okay? We just worry-… wait, you know?” Kai was sure Lloyd was going to give him hell and if there’s one thing Kai learned it's that older Lloyd is as bad as Nya when he get’s mad.

“Yes, Kai, I knew you would think that. All of you. And honestly, I can understand perfectly well.”

“Than why do we not just sent her home?”

“See it that way Kai, you all need to be present at the funeral tomorrow or else people will get suspicious. Harumi isn’t part of our team, if she’s absent nobody would notice. She can fight pretty damn good. She is probably better than some of us and I need someone strong at my side. If everything goes downhill, she’ll be able to get me out of there. She is perfect for this plan.”

Kai thought that over. Lloyd was right, he hated it but that’s how it was. But still, Harumi had betrayed them not once but twice. Kai wouldn’t be surprised if she is the mastermind behind the Curse Breakers – Kai HATED this cheesy name – and her helping right now was just another part of her plan. Then again, she did seem to have changed after the fight against the Overlord.

“Can you promise me you’ll do absolutely everything to stay safe and get the hell out of there as soon as things go wrong?” Kai pleaded. A long time ago Kai had promised his little brother to always protect him, to always be there for him, now look at Kai; going to his brother’s fake funeral while Lloyd is going to risk his life in order to save himself. It’s nuts.

“I promise I’ll try.” Well, that’s as good as it’s gonna get.

After that, they went back to the controls where they were watching the Breaking News that just played in all of Ninjago and saw that the rest was back, as well.

“You two good?” Nya asked going to Lloyd’s side and sitting down on the railing with him.

“Everything alright.” Kai answered, even though it wasn’t really alright.

“Can we go over the details again? This plan is a bit too crazy for anything to go wrong.” Jay asked and they all nodded in agreement.

“Right.” Lloyd said clearing his voice. He felt dizzy, his mind foggy and his thoughts were hard to string together. No, no he was fine.

“Tomorrow you’ll all attend my funeral, as weird as it sounds, and let yourself be seen by everyone. Hold a little speech, cause a scene, whatever. Get the people’s attention so the Curse Breakers know you’re there and feel save. At the same time me and Harumi will go to the port and infiltrate their hideout. Using the surprise element we’ll get to the boss and make them hand out the antidote. As soon as the funeral is over you’ll come with the police and arrest them all.”

“Yeah, sounds good and all, but why aren’t we positioning the police at the port from the very beginning?” Cole asked.

“It’ll be too dangerous. If they notice that something is out of the ordinary, then the plan is ruined.” Lloyd answered. He respected the chief, he really did, but they just weren’t suited for this type of job.

“What if something goes wrong?” Skylor asked. Having seen Lloyd’s unconscious form just hours earlier still unnerved her and just thinking about anything going wrong made her nervous.

“I’ll save him.” Harumi said. Everything went quiet; a unanimous sign of untrust.

“So we’ll just put all faith in the one person that’s most likely to betray us? Yeah Lloyd, you’re absolutely bonkers.” Nya said.

“You don’t put all your trust in her, but in me. And I don’t want to hear any more discussions about this. The plan is set and we’ll act accordingly. I really don’t have the nerve for any more-“

Suddenly a crash could be heard from the deck and as they all turned around to look they saw Garmadon standing there.

“-trouble. Great, just great.” Lloyd cursed, jumping from the railing and starting towards the deck.

“I demand answers this very moment, you color-coded ninja!” He yelled and went towards his son, glooming over Lloyd’s much smaller frame, who didn’t look impressed.

“You weren’t invited to our tea party, Garmadon.” Lloyd said annoyed and crossed his arms.

“You will tell me exactly why you are telling the news you are dead this instance!”

“You don’t get to command me around. I am not a stupid foot soldier nor are you a sensei, you can either ask like a normal fucking person or go. I don’t have the energy for you dumb tantrums, so choose.” They all backed off a bit to give the two some space. They’ve been getting into arguments like these more and more often, which they concluded must be because of Lloyd’s puberty and his overall hotter temper.

So they chose to give them their space, well, all but one.

“Garmadon, long time no see.” Harumi greeted as she went to stand beside Lloyd. “What are you doing here?” The Lord of Destruction asked, cocking his head upon seeing the jade princess.

“Me? I’m part of this little rescue mission.” She answered and Lloyd wiped his hand over his eyes.

“Rescue who?” Garmadon asked, suddenly much calmer.

“Me, cause I’m currently dying.”

“Then why did no one inform me about this?”

“Why should we? You never ask about me, never visit us, never even call us.”

“I assumed you were to inform me if anything of relevance were to happen. Why should I call you without reason?”

“Well, you assumed wrong.” Lloyd said matter-of-factly.

Harumi felt wrong, she thought it would be good to stand beside Lloyd, to diffuse the tension if necessary. She could see the strain in Lloyd’s eyes, the pain and unease. His hands were trembling, and he practically lost all color. But now she saw another pain. A pain in the heart. And that was all her fault. Just because she wanted revenge. Revenge for something Lloyd would never have been able to prevent. She knew that now, she wished she had known that then.

“Where are Wu and Misako?” Garmadon asked looking around but only spotting the rest of the team.

“Obviously not here.”

“But where-“

“Look, I don’t know where they are right now. We really have other things to do, so tell me, do you want to help or not? Because if you don’t, then please leave and stop asking me all those questions.” Lloyd's head was pounding and he was just about ready to go insane. This conversation was draining the last of energy he had and something felt off. He was weak and it felt like all his limbs had gone numb.

Garmadon had come here on an impulse with a rush of emotions he couldn’t comprehend. He didn’t know if he had any expectations when he came here. All he knew was that THIS wasn’t how he imagined things to go.

He took another look at Harumi, the girl that brought this version of him back, the girl that was able to bring anything at all from him back. She nodded, pushing him further into the decision he unconsciously had already made.

“I’ll help.” He answered and watched as something in his son’s eyes softened.

“Okay… okay, good…” Lloyd stammered and closed his eyes, swaying on his feet until they weren’t strong enough to support him any longer and he fell.

Garmadon watched as Harumi caught him and went to the floor with him. Watched as the rest of the silly ninja came rushing to his side.

I’m currently dying.

Oh.

Oh.

Chapter Text

“Lloyd, hey! LLOYD!” Kai yelled and tried shaking the youngest back to consciousness, which, to his own surprise, actually worked.

Still in Harumi’s – and now also Kai’s – arms, surrounded by his team and his father, Lloyd started blinking his eyes open, grunting as the first streams of light hit his eyes.

“Lloyd, oh my- you okay?” Nya asked and helped her little brother sit up.

“Yeah, I mean, as good as I can be, you know, being poisoned and all.” He was still dizzy, his mind fogged and his limps jittery. He didn’t quite know if he could even stand up right now, however, he had to try and push through. His team – his siblings – wouldn’t allow him to go through with the plan if they knew just how bad he felt. Really, all he wanted at this moment, was to just lie down and take a nap.

“You most certainly do not look okay.” Garmadon helpfully had to add, earning the Lord of Destruction an eyeroll from his son.

“No shit I don’t look good, I’m still fucking poisoned, Garmadon. What did you possibly expect-“ A sharp pain caused him to startle, moving from his head down into his toes. His entire body was shaking and Lloyd was sure this was the moment he would just die. But as suddenly as this pain came, it went.

Everyone’s attention was on the green form on the floor.

“Maybe you should get inside and rest for a bit.” Harumi said quietly, as though it was a sort of secret; his weakness, that is.

Yet, everyone on deck had the same thought. “You should get checked again by Zane and take a rest, bro.” Jay said.

“I believe this would be the best course of action. I will get the MedBay ready.” Pixal said, vanishing in the bounty.

Kai warmly laid one of his hands on Lloyd’s shoulder and Nya glared daggers at Harumi, while Jay, Skylor and Cole watched Garmadon, since their trust had yet to return in this new version of Garmadon.

“Do you need help getting to the MedBay, kiddo?” Cole asked kindly, offering a piggyback ride.

“No, just- just give me a second and I’ll be up. Jay, Cole, Nya, can you guys check on the progress with the funeral preparations? Everything needs to go smoothly tomorrow.”

They nodded, though Nya’s eyes told Lloyd how badly she wanted to stay by his side. He understood that, but he didn’t need so many people worrying and fussing over him.

“Kai, could you bring Garmadon to the controls and inform him of our plan?”

“What?! Why me?!” He asked, not wanting to be alone with the Lord.

“Because I trust you enough to keep an eye on him and fill him in. Can you do me the favor? I mean, I would do it myself, but I’m currently… Not really in the shape for any more… for anything.”

Kai mumbled something inaudible but strengthened his grip on Lloyd’s shoulder for just a second. A silent message of support, of him being there. A silent promise of protection.

“You heard him, Garmadon. To the controls we go.” Kai grumbled, annoyance clear in his voice and distrust in his look.

“I am wiser than any of you children will ever be, instead of sending me away, I should escort him.” Garmadon took a step forward which caused Skylor to protectively step in front of Lloyd.

“Watch yourself, old man.” She threatened, her ember eyes glaring with anger. Something she and Kai had in common.

“Skylor, it’s fine." Lloyd assured, hissing as his cuts started to hurt more.

What in the love of the FSM is going on with me?

“Lloyd, do you trust him?” she asked.

“No, but if he wanted to do something bad, he would have done so when I fainted. Also, would you mind accompanying Kai and Garmadon, maybe it’s better after all to have not one but two pairs of watchful eyes on him.”

Garmadon crossed his arms as a sign of dismay. Lloyd, however, could not have cared any less.

“Kiddo, you sure you can handle things?” Kai asked concerned, his brows furrowed and wrinkles forming on his forehead.

“Yeah, I’m good.” By now this lie came rolling of his tongue too easy, too fast. He never even thought about these sort of questions anymore, the answer was always the same.

Lloyd waited until the three were out of sight and earshot, but clearly that was too long and his arms threatened to give out under him. A warm hand put pressure on his back, stabilizing him.

“You’re quiet, Harumi.”

“There was a reason why my nickname was the quiet one, you know?”

“I know, which is why it unsettled me.”

“Is there a specific reason why you sent all you friends – and your father – away, yet I’m still here?” she was clever and figured out what Lloyd was trying to do the second he sent those three to check up on the “funeral”. She also always knew that little Lloyd Garmadon wasn’t as open or confident as she used to believe.

The Green Ninja, the chosen one, Ninjago’s hope. A young boy that is kind, trusting, hopeful and confident in his doing. That doesn’t waver, that never doubts his actions and always knows what he’s doing.

But in reality he was closed off, even from his best friends, liked spending time alone, hated all the attention from Ninjago and all the pressure he was constantly under and an insecure, anxiety-ridden mess that just really knew how to mask all that in public.

And right now he was afraid of letting the others see just how weak he truly was. For whatever reason that may be.

“You know the reason. Or do you really need me to spell it out for you?” His voice sounded strained, breathless.

The crease between his brows showed the pain he was in.

“Where does it hurt?” she asked, giving Lloyd a once-over.

“To be honest, kind of everywhere. But my arm is like really pounding and burning right now.”

Harumi checked his arm and – sure enough – blood had seeped through his bandages.

“Lloyd!”

“I know, I know. It honestly looks worse than it is… probably. Just, could you help me get up? I think I can walk alone but I’m not sure about getting my ass of the floor.” He laughed, embarrassed about needing help to stand back up. Harumi always pictured him the same way society framed him to be. But reality was so, so much different. He was, in essence, what the two of them should be; awkward teenagers that just started to find themselves.

“Of course.” She was surprised at how easy it was to heave Lloyd up. It wasn’t as though he was feather light, but he was certainly a lot lighter than she had expected him to be.

“What?” Lloyd asked, his uninjured arm draped over Harumi’s shoulder, steadying his still swaying feet.

“Do you even workout, beansprout?” She asked jokingly and lightly poked his side, while Lloyd’s cheeks turned deep red from shame.

“What do you mean with that?! Of course I work out!”

“I you say so~“

On unsteady feet, the pair made their way to the MedBay. A normally three minute walk that turned out to be ten minutes, with Lloyd swaying and stumbling his way like a drunk insisting on being able to do it himself.

“There you are, we were getting worried.” Zane exclaimed, wasting no seconds to rush towards the door and taking Lloyd out if Harumi’s hands. A silent “Don’t get too close” hanging in the air for the ex-princess.

With her hands up in the air to mock the two nindroids she backed off and leaned with her back against the door, quietly watching the scene in front of her.

Pixal had all sorts of supplies ready on a small silver tray and Zane helped Lloyd get on the examination-table.

“Lloyd, please remove your shirt so Zane can take a look at your wounded arm.” Pixal softly instructed him. Lloyd nodded and started to remove his garments, blushing when he locked eyes with Harumi for a second.

“Harumi, the Medbay is not for you to be in.” Zane said sternly, taking a few steps towards her and crossing his arms.

“Oh really, well I was the one that-“ She remembered Lloyd’s apprehensiveness about revealing his weakness “accompanied him… Which, to be fair, is a shit reason.” Her shoulders dropped defeatedly and a sigh escaped her lips.

“Not even family members are allowed inside the MedBay while in use as long as there is neither an explicit wish from the person in care or any other specific reason. There simply is not enough room. If you wish, you can wait outside in the corridor and accompany him to his room as soon as we are finished.” Zane explained, something more kind in his tone; something understanding. Sometimes, the nindroid was the most empathetic of them all, as weird as it may be.

Harumi nodded and went outside, waiting until she could somehow get a glimpse of Lloyd again, whose face had lost all color and who was barely able to stand on his own.

But she wasn’t concerned, she shouldn’t be. After everything she had done, all the harm she had caused, she simply wasn’t entitled to any deeper feelings for the green ninja.

So, she just waited. Because of curiosity. Because of boredom. Because of any superficial reason she was able to come up with.

Chapter Text

Kai’s hands were shaking and he was rubbing them together for what must have been the last 20 minutes. They were all standing at central, a massive crowd having gathered around the empty casket, which as they thought carried the young Green Ninja’s corpse. Everyone, aside from Harumi, Garmadon and Lloyd, were here, waiting to hold speeches, to shed fake tears and hold each other comfortingly. The latter being an honest action, as they all had frayed nerves and the fear of either something going wrong or Lloyd’s health suddenly getting worse again.

After his little collapse yesterday, the two Nindroids had examined the youngest, re-bandaged his cuts and gave him an IV-infusion to at least alleviate some of the symptoms. However, seeing his decline in strength with the hour, none of them could stop the crushing worry in their veins to shake them.

Worst of all was Kai, who so long ago had promised his baby brother to always protect him. He had meant that promise; no matter what, Kai would always give his life to save Lloyd’s – or Nya’s – or Syklor’s – heck, he’d give his life for every single one of his family members, but Lloyd, seeing as he always got into trouble the most, had a special spot of protection for Kai.

He knew the casket laying just a few feet in front of them was empty – he knew that – yet, seeing the grieving faces of Ninjago’s citizens and knowing that this was still pretty much a funeral for his brother – fake as it may be – did something terrible to him.

He just hoped with all his heart that this mission went smoothly and he would have a healthy Lloyd back in his arms in just a few more hours…

-

Meanwhile, Garmadon, Harumi and Lloyd were at the port just above the hangar this group – the Curse Breakers urgh – were residing and meeting up in.

“You guys know what to do, right?” Lloyd asked. He knew they had the plan memorized, but working with two people he still had trouble trusting in was a bit more nerve-wrecking than he anticipated.

Yet, strangely enough, they weren’t his main worry. That was himself; he didn’t know if he could trust his body right know and judging by the ever-present headache, the dizziness and the overall weakness that was becoming worse and worse, it seemed his body was going to betray him any minute now.

The IV-infusion yesterday and this morning had helped a little, but all he could do now was to take a deep breath and hope everything would be alright.

“Lloyd, we are literally just going to jump right in there and make sure you get to the antidote, what is there for us to forget?” Harumi asked, arms crossed in a mocking manner but the look of worry in her eyes betrayed her attitude.

“The one that is most likely to fail or be a hindrance at the moment is you, son. You should worry about yourself.” Was Garmadon’s reply, once again showing Lloyd just how little empathy his father possessed. But that wasn’t of importance right now. Nothing would ever be of importance to him again, if he didn’t get that antidote – and soon.

“Right, great. On the count of three we will go in. 1… 2…3!” Through the opening they had gathered at they jumped into the middle of the hangar right in front of a makeshift altar resembling… something. Lloyd didn’t have a clue what it was supposed to represent, he only knew it was ugly and distorted and most likely inhuman.

In front of the altar there stood a small group of masked people and a bit further away from Lloyd was a bigger group of people, all in white cloaks and faceless masks.

While Harumi and Garmadon fought of the bigger group, Lloyd was supposed to take on the leaders and get his hands on the antidote. He assumed it was the little flask filled with a purple substance hanging around the neck of the tallest of them all. And so he went straight at him, sword in hand and dodging attacks from left and right.

But then, everything went downhill from there. Lloyd managed to snatch the flask, but while he restrained the tallest person and holding the liquid up, the man began to chuckle darkly.

“You know that is not the antidote you are searching for, right? That, young Ninja, is nothing more than a trap.” His voice was deep and menacing. Before Lloyd could even think about what that entailed for their mission, he was hit with a little dart, containing the same purple liquid that sickered into his bloodstream. He fell to his side unconscious.

The last thing he saw, was Harumi getting hit with the same dart and falling on the ground, while Garmadon fought and fought, but it never made a difference.

What Lloyd didn’t see, was the distressed look on Garmadon’s face, knowing if he didn’t do anything his son and Harumi were probably both going to die at the hands of mere humans! But there were too many and the darts kept coming at him. If they caught him as well, there would be no one left to find help and no one left to rescue the two children.

So, against everything in his body telling him to go, go to his son, he changed into his Oni form, that has weakened in strength tremendously, and flew through the opening in the ceiling.

-

The headache had returned stronger than before, the dizziness was almost overwhelming now and his body was so weak, Lloyd wasn’t sure he could move his limbs properly anymore. When he opened his eyes, the sudden light hitting his eyes made him feel like his head was going to explode and his hands tied up over his head and lifting him up the ground wasn’t doing him any favours.

He slowly became aware of his surroundings. Beside him, Harumi was chained up the same way he was, however, she was already fully awake and looked at him worried, sighing when he recognized her.

Then, in front of them, was a crowd of masked people and the tall leader just a few feet away, holding some sort of speech when he noticed his captive had regained consciousness.

“Ah, the Green Ninja. Or can I call you by your name, little Lloyd Garmadon?”

“You can call me master, I’d like that.” He said mockingly. If there was something he was probably never going to be able to get rid of, it was his attitude-problems towards a) his family and b) assholes.

“I’ll just call you Lloyd then. How does it feel to be this weak – this helpless.”

“It honestly feels the same as the day after a movie-marathon with Jay. So, I’m good.” He lied, his entire body was weak and hurt and his head felt like it was splitting open. But he couldn’t give the satisfaction to this fucker. Even if he was going to  die chained to this very wall, he was going to do so with a cocky smile plastered on his pale face, just to ridicule these bastards.

“I must say, you are a very interesting person. But your existence is so very wrong, young boy. Dragon blood, Oni blood and human blood all mixed within you and that is without considering your elemental powers. You do not belong anywhere and you shouldn’t be here. Your existence is a threat, especially given your… herritance. You have proofed to be impulsive, angry and hot-tempered. Who is to say you won’t turn out like that father of yours?” the leader explained, coming close to Lloyd and hovering over him.

“Leave him be-“

“YOU! You, Quiet One, are not part of this very important conversation and do not have a say in any of this.”

“You asshole!”

The leader snipped and two masked people came up and tied a cloth in front of her mouth, silencing her.

“If I was to become like my father, don’t you think I would have done so years ago? I have been through literal hell while protect this damned city and not once have I turned my back on the citizens.” Lloyd replied calmly.

“Yes, that is indeed right. And do not get me wrong, Lloyd, I am truly grateful for your protection. Yet, the threat that is you is too great to oversee. A person changes with age. And I believe there is simply no way for you to not someday realize the true strength your power holds and what damage you could do with it – what things you could seize through force alone. I am exactly like you; I am protecting this city.”

“Hate to break it to you, but we are nothing alike. Because I’m not some maniac having teenagers chained to a wall in the bounty. And – let’s not forget – the face under that ridiculous mask is probably very ugly, while I’m extremely handsome.” He joked, a sly smile forming on his lips making a bruise hurt, he didn’t yet know he had.

The leader stepped even closer towards Lloyd, grabbing his chin and forcing the green Ninja to look up at the leader. The grip was strong and painful, but Lloyd’s smile stayed.

Slowly, the leader took off his mask with his free hand, revealing a man not older than thirty with brown hair and dark, almost entirely black, eyes. His face, just like his voice, was dark and threatening. Lloyd was a little disappointed the man wasn’t actually ugly.

The leader forced Lloyd’s chin up a little more, making the younger one look directly into the leader’s dark pupils.

“That cockiness of yours will vanish soon. You still have a choice. You could join us and lend us your powers to make this city better – greater – than ever. What do you say, Lloyd?”

“Thanks but no thanks, I’m not into that whole “god-complex insanity”-shit. And I really hate your ugly ass white cloaks. Like, ew.”

The leader strengthened his grip before releasing Lloyd and stepping a bit away.

“Well, I thought you would say no.” He snipped and three more cloaked people came up to Lloyd, one holding a syringe with, again, the same purple liquid.

Lloyd’s smile didn’t waver.

“You really love to see me sleep, huh? Pervert.” The sting of the syringe came suddenly and the narcotic worked fast. Everything went black once more and Lloyd just assumed it would never become light again.

Chapter Text

The anxiousness grew within Harumi as she saw the sleeping form of Lloyd hanging right beside her. They were alone – have been for at least two hours now – and all she could do is watch Lloyd’s rather irregular breathing and hope to come up with a plan on how to get out of this hangar.

The chains weren’t made out of vengestone, as she had realized a while ago, but Harumi wasn’t sure if Lloyd had the strength to use his elemental powers and blow those stupid chains to bits and pieces.

After a couple more minutes of anxious looking around, she heard soft groans beside her and saw as Lloyd started to stir.

“Lloyd? Lloyd! FSM, you stupid asshole, you scared the fuck out of me!” She yelled, though the anger wasn’t really directed at the blonde and more at the entire situation the pair found themselves in.

“…Rumi…?” the blonde mumbled, voice a bit slow and slurred and his normally green eyes dark and bleary. He definitely wasn’t in his right mind. The pain had tripled in intensity since his last time being conscious and his thoughts were a jumbled mess he could not make any sense of.

“Yes, Lloyd, it’s me. Are you… scratch that, you are obviously not alright. But do you have any strength left? Any elemental powers you can use?” She started asking, hoping – begging – that he did so they could escape a certain death.

“I… dunno…” His breathing was laboured and his face had lost all colour. There was a thin sheen of sweat covering his face and Harumi noticed the way his lips quivered when he made a slow exhale.

“Try. Please just try.” Harumi begged him once more. He was the Green Ninja, he was the Chosen One and most important of all, he was Lloyd goddamn Garmadon. He just had to have some strength left in him to get out of this.

Lloyd struggled weakly against his chains, clenching and unclenching his fists and trying to regulate his breathing so he could focus.

But that was the biggest problem – he just couldn’t focus. His mind was clouded and his thoughts were racing so fast he didn’t even know what his mind was so busy with.

He looked to Harumi, wrists visibly red from irritation due to hanging from these chains for – well, however long they have been here. And now that he saw her wrists, he noticed his own stinging pain around his wrists and the ache in his shoulders and back and the nauseating headache from the poison and the actual nausea he had as well as the pounding from his wounds and – no, he couldn’t be throwing himself a pity-party now. Not when it wasn’t only his but also Harumi’s life that were endangered.

So he used his pain instead to distract himself from his thoughts and slowly regain some focus. He pictured the green energy flowing through his veins and strengthening his body. He pictured the way it glowed and danced so beautifully around his hands when he used his powers. He pictured all the good he had done with those powers. Power he had never asked for, had actually hated for some time, but come to accept as his life. His fate.

Green light flickered dimly around his fingertips. At first they were just sparks but they slowly gained strength. His breathing picked up pace as it became harder and harder to wield his powers but nonetheless he managed to use his energy to free himself from the chains.

With a thud he landed on the cold concrete floor and for a second he thought he might throw up right there right then. But Lloyd closed his eyes, breathed deeply through his nose and told himself: you can collapse later, now you have to be the hero everyone thinks you are!

He gathered all the strength he had left to stand up on wobbling legs and to summon his powers once more to free Harumi from her chains.

“Just get out of here, you dumbass! You don’t have the strength to free both of us. I can handle things here. Are you even listening?!” Harumi told Lloyd. Originally, her plan had consisted of both of the teens getting out, but seeing how Lloyd struggled at this moment, she just wanted for him to be safe. For his friends and family to come get him.

“Nah… that wouldn’t… be very hero-like… of me…” He countered quietly.

Lloyd wrapped his hands around Harumi’s chains and again imagined his energy in his body and focused it on his hands. Harumi felt the fizzling of the blonde’s energy on her sensitive wrists and winced a little in pain, but disguised it as best as she could as to not worry Lloyd.

With a heavy clunk the chains fell to the floor and Harumi was freed. Quickly, she took hold of one of Lloyd’s hands and started to pull him towards a manhole. She knew these creeps had locked all exits, but the manhole must be open. The canals were their only hope of escape.

But soon enough the last of Lloyd’s strength left him and he fell on his knees, the hand in Harumi’s hold going slack and Lloyd’s head hanging low.

“Shit, Lloyd?!” Harumi panicked. Everything – every fucking thing – was going absolutely wrong and the blonde teen definitely didn’t have long anymore. But Garmadon had escaped, he must be getting help right now, right?

Yet, could Garmadon really be trusted? Or would he use this opportunity to attack Ninjago?

Harumi crossed these thoughts out of her head, banning them from distracting her. That’s when she noticed the sound of multiple cars just outside the hangar. The creeps were back. Shit.

“Common Lloyd, I know you’re weak, but we have to get moving now!”

“Hm…Jus…five mins…” he mumbled. No, Harumi couldn’t count on him any longer after he used whatever energy he had left to free them.

So she did what she could. Harumi hastily opened the cover of the manhole, hooked one of Lloyd’s arms around her shoulders and then proceeded to carry the blonde over to the manhole. Despite being light for his age and height, he still wasn’t feather-light and she struggled the last meters to – hopefully – freedom.

Voices could be heard just outside the doors. Silently cursing, she did something she hoped she wouldn’t regret in a couple minutes; she hauled Lloyd up one more time and basically just pushed him into the open manhole, took the cover and climbed after him.

Now she only hoped Lloyd didn’t die being thrown into the canals.

What a shitshow.

Chapter Text

Just as Harumi had jumped into the manhole and closed the lid the hurried steps of too many people could be heard above them. 

“They escaped! Who of you complete morons let our prisoners escape?!” the leader yelled angrily and Harumi could perfectly imagine him flailing his stick-lick arms.

Originally there had been two guards to watch over her and Lloyd while the rest of the group supposedly collected the last of their “materials”. But she was the Quiet One; she had her methods of manipulation.

Grunting and falling was coming from up above, the responsible guards probably having earned themselves a proper beating from their grave mistake. She didn't have it in herself to feel sorry though, they were the enemy after all. Even the underlings. 

“Go search for them! In his condition the green ninja cannot have come very far. Our plans have not been ruined just yet!” the leader shouted and for a second time frenzied steps echoed through the silence until they eventually calmed down and it was still.

Harumi glanced over at Lloyd's figure, lying gracelessly on his side beside her, rubbing his injured arm and pouting like a kid.

“Y'know… you didn't h've to push me… so hard…” Lloyd mumbled offended, sitting up to the best of his abilities. But the boy barely had any strength left in him so his attempt at sitting up really just made him turn on the other side still vertical.

Harumi looked at him sympathetically and gave him a small smile before crawling beside him and helping him up. Even under the layers of his Gi his skin felt much too warm and the layer of sweat on his forehead glistened in the little light the holes of the lid above them provided. 

“Maybe, but it sure was fun.” She joked, hoping to lighten up their current situation. 

“Say it.” Lloyd demanded, giving the girl a half smile that looked drunk.

“Say what? Sorry for pushing you down the manhole and saving your ass?”

“No, that my plan was stupid.” Lloyd said, guilt clear in his quivering voice and his bleary eyes full of regret.

“Half-baked, sure. But not necessarily stupid. These people obviously know you. This whole thing, getting us alone in the hangar, having their guy at the police station give us all this info about them, was all a part of their plan. And we fell for it, all of us. Not just you.” Harumi explained, hoping to ease some of Lloyd's thoughts.

“Thanks.” Was all he responded with. He sat back, resting his back against the wall and closing his eyes. The pounding in his head felt like it gained his very own pulse, he was so cold that he felt like Zane hit him with his powers right in the chest, the stinging hot pain was shooting throughout his body in increments and the wounds on his arm and head reopened and slick blood was running down these areas. 

Voices of the gang members could still be heard somewhere outside them but now police sirens or voices of the ninja. Were they on their way yet? Had Garmadon reached them in time to come save them?

Would his father even do that?

Lloyd's head was swimming with all these thoughts while one persisted at the front: was he going to die down here?

He certainly felt like he was dying right now. 

“LLOYD!” Harumi yelled and shook his shoulder vehemtly. The boy slowly blinked his eyes open to see a very worried, beautiful girl in front of him.

She was scowling. Cute.

“I called out your name five times now, you idiot! Don't scare me like that I thought-“ she cut herself off, not wanting to finish that sentence.

“Harumi, I-“

“They are underneath! I heard the girl from down there!” came a deep growling voice from above.

Shit.

The two teenagers looked at each other in shock. They needed to go, and they needed to do that now. But Lloyd couldn't even get up on his own. 

Harumi locked her arms under the boys armpits and heaved him up, half dragging him along the platform down in the sewers. She ran as fast as she could, turning around once she already saw the lid being opened and picked up her pace.

Lloyd, to his defense, was trying his best to summon whatever energy he had left somewhere in this body of his but every step he took, every step he tried taking, felt like a gigantic hurdle he couldn't manage. Sweat was running down his temples and his face scrunched in pain jolting through him like an electric current. 

Yeah, they were fucked, weren't they?

Garmadon was flying as fast as he still could. Over the time, trying to understand human emotions and kindness, his Oni powers slowly started weakening. It was only logical, that if he went against an Oni's very nature that their power would deplete. He had been lucky to still be able to transform, but his wings struggled to keep his body afloat and bring him to his destination.

But they did. As soon as he reached the central graveyard, already seeing the ninja holding a grand speech about their not-yet dead friend his wings finally gave out and he crashed in the middle of the crowd.

Gasps of surprise and shock, hands clapsing mouths and sharp intakes of breath all around – it irritated him so much he wanted to blow them all away. But he had more important things on his mind right now.

He stomped forwards to the ninja who locked at him with wild expressions.

To his surprise, the angry girl was the first to go forward, her arms crossed and a face so stormy with rage Garmadon thought she might as well be an Oni herself.

“Garmadon, why, the everloving fuck, are you not with Lloyd and Harumi?!”she shouted, uncaring about the fact they just revealed their funeral to be false.

“They managed to get them, both of them! If we don't go there now, they are going to be both dead-“

“Why did you leave him behind?! You could have saved him!” her just as angry brother joined in, a sharp finger pointed at the Oni and brows furrowed.

“I couldn't!” Garmadon stated, not understanding why they couldn't just go back to the hangars now but needed to argue. Silly humans.

“You want to tell me you leave you own son behind to die?!” the blue funny-looking ninja joined them and Garmadon was just about ready to go back without them when the white robot looking kid thankfully stepped between them. 

“Guys, I think what I important now is to go back to the hangars and save Lloyd and Harumi before it is too late. We are free to argue later, when all are safe.”

The tension didn't fizzle out but the remaining ninja all nodded on agreement, readying themselves for the fight and entering the bounty.

The countless questions from the reporters and civilians were ignored. They would soon get their answers. For now, the ninja needed to make sure this funeral stayed fake and wouldn't become reality soon.

Chapter Text

After a while of clumsy running they managed to round a few corners. The steps and shouting from the gang members were no longer in hearing-range and now light from torches was in sight.

Just to make sure they rounded one more corner and then Lloyd's body completely gave out beneath his weight. Collapsing like a wet sack on the wet ground, Harumi guided him so he would sit against the wall and sat down right next to him.

The heat radiating of off his body was now as prominent as his shuddering breathes and heavy eyelids.

“…Ru…mi..” he sighed, his eyes still closed and chest moving rapidly to accommodate his fast breathing. 

“Yeah?” she whispered back, trying to not make the same mistake and alerting the gang by being too loud. Fuck, she went with Lloyd to protect him not endanger him further. And look where she got them.

“nothin'…. Just wanted t'make sure… you're there.” The boy explained, voice strained in pain and every muscle in his face tensed.

“I'm here. I won't go anywhere, I promise.”

“kay… I trust you.” He let his hand roam at his side until he found Harumi's hand, soaked in sweat from her anxiety and took it in his, intertwined their fingers like knots, tying her to him.

“Maybe the others were right… maybe you shouldn't trust me.” She admitted in defeat, studying the soft features of the boy. The boy she used to hate more than anything. The boy she loves more than anything. 

“You haven't… g'ven me a reason… to not trust you.”

“I’m the reason they are searching for us down here now. I came with you to protect you and instead I let you get captured.”

“not y're fault.” Lloyd mumbled and let his head rest on her shoulder. 

Everything started feeling surreal and far away. Almost like he was rolled up in ten layers of thick cotton. He still felt cold, but the tremors in his hand had subsided and his headache didn't have it's own pulse anymore. He felt weightless. Floating.

And he knew that wasn't anything good.

“Don't fall asleep, muttenhead.”Harumi warned, pinching his arm and she managed to get out an amused snort from Lloyd. 

Lloyd was happy. It may all end here, in a dingy sewer with pain in every inch of his body, and he wished his family were by his side, but he wasn't alone.

He wasn't alone.

Not… alone.

Just minutes light torches lit up the tunnels in front of them once more and steps were coming closer. Running wasn't an option anymore. It was a miracle they had managed to get this far at all.

Harumi stood up to shield Lloyd. No weapon, no plan, no help in sight. All she had left was the promise to protect him. 

It was the leader that came to light as he rounded the corner and an eerie, too big smile was decorating his face. In one hand he held the torch, in the other a small dagger with intricate designs carved into the blade. A ceremonial blade.

“Look who I have found, the sewer rats!” he giggled, sanity having left his voice. This man was deranged and he was going to end what he started.

He came to kill Lloyd, no compromises.

“I won't let you hurt him!” Harumi threatened, taking a fighting stance. 

Lloyd noticed the dark figure looming in front, but closed his eyes again. He wanted to do something. Stand up. Talk back. Fight him. But his muscles were as though cut from his demand, slack like pudding and as unwilling as a too-tired Jay after a movie-marathon.

Please Harumi, don't do something stupid… He prayed silently, hoping the girl would ditch him and run even though he know, she would never even consider doing such a thing.

The leader leaped forward and lounged at Harumi with the dagger, which she managed to dodged and get a good kick in. 

Their dance went on not for too long. Both breathing heavily in desperation to not be defeated. But the narcotics from earlier made her body too heavy and Harumi soon got out of breath.

Behind her, she heard Lloyd softly mumble something. It was during that second of paying attention, that the leader managed to stab the dagger into her side. Pain blossomed in her abdomen but she didn't let herself collapse. He was still there. There still danger. 

Instead, she took out the knife, yelling, shouting, screaming in pain and held it securely in her blood-soaked hand. 

The leader made a fatal mistake.

While he stood there in shock, in just a fraction of a second the knife was now sticking in the leader’s throat. His body fell into the water beneath them, carried away by the current of the sewer while Harumi crumbled to the floor next to Lloyd.

Too much blood was leaving her body and she already felt her head swimming and the strength leave her bones.

She chuckled darkly. “Seems like we're both dying in these disgusting sewers, Lloyd. Lloyd? … Lloyd?” she asked, turning her head to look at the boy beside her, motionless and unresponsive.

With what little power she still held she shook his shoulder, but no response came.

“Lloyd please…” she pleaded but his green eyes stayed firmly shut and his chest didn't look like it was still rising.

He was dead. Harumi gave all she could offer and still failed.

Oh, life hated her. 

At the very least, Lloyd is by her side.

I guess, she thought bitterly, if this is what's meant to be, it will have to be.

And so she closed her eyes, grabbed the cold hands of the boy she loves and slipped into darkness.

Chapter Text

“This is WAY more than 50 members!”Cole shouted while they were fighting the gang members in this godforsaken hangar.

“Well, the guy at the police definetely lied, like that's surprising!” Jay yelled back, all of them frustrated with this situation and anxiety bubbling inside of them as the clock ticked. How was their youngest member? Was Lloyd okay?

Was he… still alive?

All of them had a bad feeling.

“Look guys, the lid to the sewers is open! They must be down there!” Kai pointed out, immediately jumping in, followed by his sister and Garmadon.

“Jay, Skylor and I will take care of the guys above ground, Zane and Pixal you should follow the others. I have a feeling Lloyd will need some serious medical attention.” Cole instructed, reminding his brothers that the earth ninja was once their leader, many, many years ago.

And so they did. Following the grunting of fighting and angry shouting from the trio in front the nindroids wasted no time following suit.

Meanwhile Nya, Kai and Garmadon were running through the tunnels, taking down anyone they came across. Garmadon smelled the strong smell of iron, even with the reeking sewer water right beside them, and chased that smell.

Iron meant blood. Blood meant injury. And injury meant nothing good.

Everyone held their breathes rounding corner after corner and running down tunnel after tunnel.

It were mere minutes, but it felt like a thousand eternities to them.

What no one expected was sight that played out in front of their eyes, as they rounded a sharp last corner.

A blood soaked Harumi sprawled out on the floor, one hand weakly grasping her wound on her stomach the other tightly holding onto Lloyd’s hand.

And Lloyd, lifelessly lying beside her, head hanging low and blonde curls obscuring a too pale face.

All five rushed forward, Zane istantly put pressure on Harumi's wound and she coughed weakly, opening her eyes just a sliver and whispering: “Help him… not me. Antidote… he is down there.”

Kai and Pixal check on Lloyd, his face clammy with cold sweat, unresponsive and a pulse so slow Pixal was barely able to pick up on it.

“What does she mean by down there?” Garmadon asked looking around.

Nya looked at the river just a few steps north from where they came from and sure enough, a body was floating in the water slowly painting the brown water crimson.

She ran down to his body. He wore the same clothing as the other gang members and his throat was torn so wide he was almost decapitated. He must be the leader. And such he must have the antidote on him, just like Harumi was trying to tell them just now.

Garmadon came up beside her and hauled the corpse out of the water, checking his pockets and found a little flask with some colorless liquid inside.

“This must be it.” He announced and brought it to the nindroids.

Kai took the flask from Garmadon's hand, opened his kid brother's slack jaw and poured down the mixture.

All held their breath waiting for something to happen. For Lloyd to open his eyes. To say something snarky. To just give them a small, reassuring smile.

But nothing happened. 

“Why isn't anything happening, Pixal?” he asked desperately, worry lacing his voice and warping it into something ugly.

“His body is weakened and damaged, if the antidote is working, the affects of the poison have been stopped, that doesn't mean the damage that already happened well be restored.” She answered gravely and gave Zane a meaningful glance.

They needed to get to the Bounty's med bay fast or they would be loosing to kids today.

“Ugh Pixal, I can't feel a pulse anymore.” Kai announced in pure terror.

Frantically, the nindroid put two fingers against Lloyd's warm neck and did a scan simultaneously.

She waited a heartbeat.

Then she waited another.

Nothing. There was

Absolutely

Nothing.

.

.

.

Slowly he blinked his eyes open, instantly being blinded by the too bright overhead lights and white sterile walls of the med bay.

His body felt too heavy and stretched taught around his bones. Like he was cut open and bricks were stuffed under his skin.

His head was swimming and he felt nauseous.

He was alive.

They did it, he survived.

“Lloyd? LLOYD!” a very familiar voice screamed excitedly beside him and engulfed him in a bone crushing hug.

“I missed you too, Kai.” Lloyd rasped, voice harsh from disuse.

Immediately the room filled with his family, everyone hugging him and telling him how much they missed him. He hugged them all like it was the first and last time he ever could.“

Nya and Kai sat beside him on the hard bed, Nya stroking through his matted hair and trying to loosen some knots. Kai keeping a steady hand on his thigh and running circles with his calloused thumb.

Zane and Pixal checked his vitals and told him he was had been out for two weeks.

Jay and Cole told him all about what happened before he was rescued and how they had to gingerly tell the civilians of Ninjago theor favorite green ninja was, in fact, not dead.

Wu and Misako apologisized for not being there, an apology only accepted for peace and quiet.

Garmadon was even there, telling how grandiose of a saviour he had been and how all of them owed him big time.

Everyone was there, unharmed and happy to see Lloyd awake.

All but one.

“Guys, where is Harumi?” Lloyd asked, fearing they shooed her away the second they brought him to the bounty after all she did for him.

“Oh shit!” Jay exclaimed and ran out of the room, earning him a harsh look from Lloyd.

“We may have left out an important detail in the story.” Cole admitted.

“While you two were hiding the leader found you and Harumi gave her all to protect you. But that ended with her being stabbed in the abdomen.” Nya explained, her fingers not ceasing to toy with his bed-mussed hair.

“WHAT?” Lloyd yelled in shock and glanced around, but all his friends seemed weirdly calm.

That is when Jay came back, rolling in Harumi in a wheelchair.

“Good to see you back with the living, muttenhead.” She greeted, a big genuine smile on her pale face.

“You- you almost got killed because of me.” He whispered.

“Correction, I upheld my promise. I told you I'm going to protect you and stay by your side.”

Silence stretched over the too full room.

“Thank you, Harumi. I knew I could trust you.” Lloyd answered, a proud smile plastered on his lips.

“And we can trust her, too. Now, at least.” Kai added, sending a look over to the white haired girl.

Even Garmadon, though not smiling, wasn't making a sour face for once.

Maybe he didn't die, but Lloyd Garmadon sure was in heaven.

His family and friends and the girl he loves all in a room. Laughter and lighthearted jokes filled the air and everything just felt right.

Everything would be okay.

Everything was in it's right place.