Chapter Text
Everything hurt, he couldn’t see anything. He heard mumbles from someone familiar, yet he couldn’t place who was calling out to him. Something warm, something of liquid ran down from his forehead. Blood perhaps, he can already see the bloodshed from his blurry vision.
“Garmadon”! He heard someone yell, he fell deaf on it to answer to whoever was calling to him. Everything was red and everything ached, he was in pain, yet he didn’t remember why.
“Garmadon, hold on”! Again with that familiar voice. He felt being grabbed on to by his shoulders and placed on his back.
“Come on, Brother. Stay with me”! It dawned on him, it was his dear brother calling out to him. Garmadon couldn’t see him, he couldn’t ask why as his vision pricked with darkness. He was tired, his eyelids heavy with exhaustion.
Falling into unconsciousness with the last sight of his younger brother’s golden yellow eyes staring down at him with worry. Hearing a faint chirping sound that grew louder as time passed.
—
Birds chirping, multiple birds sang in his ear. Garmadon awoke with a start at the faint memory of a nightmare. Catching a couple of breaths as he took it all in. Garmadon was in his room, lit by the morning sun from his window. His bed was a mess, with his blankets drooping off of his bed frame and pillows no longer in their assigned spots.
Garmadon felt himself drenched in his own sweat, breathing uneven. That nightmare felt real, too real. Raising his arm to wipe the sweat from his forehead, dropping his feet on the cold floor. He mentally laughed, as it was not the first time of sweat-worth nightmares.
“Papa”? Garmadon was startled by the familiar voice of his son. Quickly looking up to see his little boy still in his pajamas and holding tightly onto his favorite dragon stuffed toy.
Garmadon felt a mix of emotions as he stared at his son standing a foot away from his bed. A mix of sorrow and happiness, yet he didn’t know why.
“...Lloyd, you're awake”. Garmadon stated, removing his palm from his face. Lloyd shifted in his place, squeezing tightly onto his dragon.
“I heard you scream”. He mumbled, slowly walking up to his father.
“Oh…I am sorry for worrying you, pupling”. Garmadon chuckled, standing to pick his son up from the ground. “Don’t you worry, Papa’s fine”. He assured him, bringing a bright smile onto Lloyd’s face. Laughing along with his son as they walked out Garmadon’s room.
“Hungry”. Lloyd blurted out, shaking his shoulders to get his point across. Earning a chuckle from his father, he was placed down on the ground. “I want noodles”. The kid jumped, grabbing the hem of his pants.
“You want noodles for breakfast”? Garmadon asked with amusement, earning an eager nod from Lloyd. Garmadon thought for a moment, he was craving some food from a certain place if he was being honest. Seeing that he and his brother haven’t gone grocery shopping yet. He didn’t see anything wrong paying a certain restaurant a visit.
Speaking of his brother…
“Lloyd, have you seen your Uncle Wu by any chance”? Garmadon asked his son while putting on his shoes.
“Mmm, Uncle said he was going to see someone in the city”. The boy said as he wiggled his feet. Earning a small chuckle from Garmadon. He wouldn't be surprised if this someone was Mistaké selling her tea to Wu. That man with his weird obsession with tea. Personally, Garmadon is a coffee type of person, though he still drank tea once in a while. He once caught his brother trying to get Lloyd into drinking more of the herby stuff. He was too late to stop him and Lloyd declared that he liked the green and chamomile tea.
Though Garmadon wasn’t too mad, as long it doesn’t become an obsession with seeing him drink tea 24/7.
Garmadon liked to go out in the mornings and nights. He really liked to spend his days being there for his son, watching him grow to become a fine man. If anything, Garmadon is willing to give the whole world to his little boy.
With joyful skips of the boy, Lloyd held tightly onto his father’s hand as they walked around the streets of Ninjago. Fascinated by every little thing that passed by them.
Seeing Chen's noodle house a block away, Lloyd jumped with joy at the sight of his favorite place to eat. Even Garmadon himself had an odd feeling about that name, he ignored it to focus on Lloyd instead.
Chen's noodle house was packed, roughly by half of the restaurant, though it wasn't as busy as Garmadon thought it would be. Allowing Lloyd to choose where to sit, he breathed in the fresh smell of noodles and sushi.
Lloyd chose to sit on the counters, both sitting down and watching the food pass by on the conveyor belt in front of them.
"Ah well if it isn't little Lloyd"! A server spoke in front of them from behind the conveyor belt. Garmadon took a good look at the server, having an odd feeling of familiarity with the looks of it. She seemed rather young and mature, her red hair tied up in a high ponytail and a wide smirk on her face. She looked between the two with a smile, until she stopped to look at Lloyd.
"What would you like to eat, Lloyd"? She said politely, causing Lloyd to jump up from his seat.
"Noodles"! He yelled with excitement. Earning a laugh from the red head.
"Of course you do". She replied and turned to look at the father.
"And what about you, Garmadon"? He flinched at the mention of his name. He questioned many things about this young girl and how he cannot place why she seems so familiar to him.
"I'm sorry…you seem really familiar to me, have we met"? He questioned instead of pondering. The server let out a dramatic gasp, placing a palm against her chest with a fake offended expression.
"Garmadon, how can you forget me so easily"!? She faked with a laugh at the end by the look of Garmadon's confused expression. "Haha, sorry! I work here often and you guys show up a lot on the weekends. I just thought you knew me by now". She explained, but this confused Garmadon more. He didn't know he came here with Lloyd often. Last time he remembered being here was months ago.
"Oh…well then, I'll have whatever the conveyor belt has to offer". Garmadon said. The server smiled and reached for something beside her. Handing a blank color sheet and crayons to Lloyd. Causing Lloyd to gap in excitement of the sight of dragons on the color sheet.
"I'll be right back with your noodles, little man". She said before she left the counter. Garmadon stared off for a moment, he didn't understand why she was familiar to him and how he doesn't recall ever talking to her. He scrunched up his face for a bit and looked down to the belt of food.
Grabbing a plate of sushi, he turned to look at Lloyd who was busy scribbling a green crayon on the sheet.
"Do you know her, Lloyd"? Garmadon asked, looking between the wasabi and soy sauce on the counter.
"Yeah I do! She's cool, she gives me extra fortune cookies"! Lloyd said as he looked up to his father.
"And how do you know her"? He asked again, begging for an answer. Using his chopsticks to pick up the sushi from his plate. Lloyd stopped fidgeting for a bit as he stared confused. Staring off silently as he thought for a moment.
"I don't know". Lloyd finally shrugged off, continuing to draw on his sheet. Garmadon didn't ask again as he shoved the sushi in his mouth.
Not exactly savoring the taste as he watched his son draw. Muffling out a laugh at the thought of his son's love for dragons.
"If you were to become a dragon, what do you think you would look like"? Garmadon questioned, grabbing a plate of egg rolls and fried rice from the conveyor belt. Fully getting Lloyd's attention as he rambles about how cool he would look if he were a dragon. Not that he isn't one already, just something Garmadon would like to talk about when he gets older. Their heritage can be a bit complicated at times.
He laughed along and listened closely as Lloyd extended his answer in every detail. Claiming he would be a long dragon of a palette of many colors of green. His eyes are as red as they are now, vicious and feared by all people. Garmadon loved to listen where his son's little head was. Eating away at the fried rice on his plate.
Lloyd went as far as to speak about how Garmadon would look as a dragon. Saying he would be similar to his dragon, but replacing his front legs with wings. For a better showcase, Lloyd turned the color sheet around and started drawing what he had imagined on the blank page.
"And why do I get wings"? Garmadon questioned assumingly.
"Because I want you to be cooler"! Lloyd didn't hesitate to answer, focusing clearly on the details of their dragons. Garmadon smiled warmly, a bit touched as he knew Lloyd looked up to him to a great extent.
"Well then 'oh great and powerful Lloyd'. Why don't you take a bite of this egg roll. You'll be needing the energy to showcase me those drawings". Garmadon went along, swiftly grabbing the egg roll from his plate to give off to Lloyd.
The little boy took the egg roll with a smile, munching onto it as crumbs fell onto his page. Scoffing slightly, Lloyd used his arm to wipe off the crumbs and continued to savor the taste of the offered food.
Garmadon chuckled as he took a bite of his second egg roll, also savoring the taste, unlike the sushi he swallowed down without a care. And maybe it was him, a cool breeze or a shiver, he didn't know, but it felt cold all of a sudden.
His ears range, no longer able to hear the scribbles of crayon and chatters of the people around him.
'Garmadon'
Swallowing down the food in his mouth, he quickly looked around. No sign of someone calling out his name. Looking behind him, only to meet the wall.
"Here you go, kid"! The ringing of his ears stops and hearing the voice of the red haired server breaking him from whatever he just heard.
"Noodles"! Lloyd cheered as he picked up his chopsticks. Quickly taking the first bite of Ninjago's number one meal.
"Slow down, little man! Wouldn't want Papa to deal with you having a bad tummy ache". She said, causing Lloyd to muffle a small laugh in between munching on his noodles. He eventually does slow down, quickly enjoying the taste of his meal.
Though Garmadon didn't say anything, a small chuckle was his reply as he felt hot all of a sudden. He found it rather odd, as he just felt cold just minutes ago.
Though that voice that called out to him was familiar. It sounded almost like his brother…too much like his brother.
"You ok there, Garmadon?" asked the server. He broke free from his mind as he didn't know how to reply.
"Y-Yeah, I'm alright. Just felt sick for a second". He lied, quickly looking down at the conveyor belt.
"Oh my, hope the food didn't poison you". She teased, earning Garmadon to roll his eyes at her.
"Haha…very funny". He played along as he looked for something to eat off the belt. Then he noticed a plate of something interesting.
"Didn't expect these things to be here". Garmadon said as he grabbed the plate from the belt. The server looked closely at what Garmadon caught the attention of.
"You mean the Puffy Potstickers"? The server questioned.
"Yes, I thought these things were discontinued". Garmadon clarified, also earning the attention of Lloyd as he is slurping on his food.
"Ah yes. They were for a short time. A silly guy convinced me to bring them back eventually". The server waved off. Slightly whispering about how this silly guy announced himself as the 'Brown Ninja'. Though that just brings him to one question.
"What do you mean by 'convincing you' into bringing them back"? Garmadon questioned as he brought a potsticker to Lloyd’s mouth so he could try them.
"Have you forgotten? I'm the owner of this place". She clarified, but with no tease as she just stared at Garmadon blankly. Lloyd took a bite of the potsticker and went off to his drawing. Leaving the older people to speak amongst one another.
If Garmadon could be more shocked and confused, he would. He fell into a state of nothing as he took that in.
"You're the owner of this place? I…didn't know". He wasn't sure how to feel about that. Sure he saw the girl really familiar, but he wasn't expecting her to play such a big role for someone her age. "Aren't you a bit too young to be working for the owner"? Garmadon asked.
"Oh please, I'm sixteen. I can take care of this place perfectly fine on my own. I just took my father's place after he left". The ser-no, the owner shrugged off. This time, Garmadon stood silent, turning to his side to see Lloyd struggling with a specific line in his sheet.
"Skylor Chen". The owner spoke.
"Hm"?
"Skylor Chen, that's my name if you're going to play the amnesiac game". She scoffed with her arms crossed. Something familiar again, he was sure he heard both of those names before.
"Well, it's nice meeting you, Skylor Chen". Earning a small smile from her. Skylor turned to look at Lloyd and started to lean over him.
"Whatcha drawing there, Lloyd"? Skylor said as she loomed over to take a look at his little doodles. She wasn't able to take a good look at it as it was quickly covered by both Lloyd’s arms.
"Don't look! I'm not done yet"! Lloyd yelled, a growl running up his throat as Lloyd slightly bared his sharp teeth at Skylor.
"Wow, no need to be angry at me". Skylor teases with a smile, hearing a scoff from the little boy as he starts drawing once again, an arm covering the top of his page.
"Sorry about that, he doesn't like it when people look over at his unfinished artwork". Garmadon laughed out. Baring the memory of the many times he caught him growling at his cousin and uncle for looking over when he was drawing. And he'd admit, he was growled at many times before as well.
Garmadon felt the long minutes pass by, watching people from around him and having small talk with his son. Skylor had left to attend to her duties and Lloyd finally took the time to show him his little drawing.
It was exactly what Garmadon thought it would look like. Both being long dragons, one black and one green. The black dragon that was supposingly Garmadon himself, with two pairs of large wings, much like a wyvern. Taking notice of his razor sharp teeth and red eyes, he was bigger than Lloyd’s dragon.
The green one looked somewhat similar to his, with a long body and two large front teeth of its jaws, some of what Garmadon could clearly see. Red eyes and sharp black horns, its body mixed with light and dark green.
"You know what would make your dragon cooler? Adding a bit of yellow or gold". Garmadon suggested, watching a spark of excitement on his son's bright red eyes and quickly grabbed the yellow crayon. Seeing Lloyd looking at his drawing and deciding where he should put some yellow.
After scribbling for a while, Lloyd picked up the sheet and showed it to his father once again. Clearly seeing the hints of yellow on his dragon's whiskers, claws and the tip of his tail. It surprisingly made a good color combination. Grabbing the sheet from his son's hands, staring at it with clear admiration. He just loved Lloyd’s dedication to adding as much detail in his drawings as possible.
"It looks just as awesome as I imagined it"! Garmadon cheered, ruffling his son's locks of pale blond hair. A toothy grin appeared on his face, showing off his sharp fangs. "When we get back home, let's place this on top of Morro's drawing on the fridge". A mischievous grin slowly rising on Garmadon's face, as well as Lloyd, who giggled at the idea.
Both Morro and Lloyd enjoyed drawing a lot, as it became a competition between both Morro and Wu, and Garmadon and Lloyd.
His brother says it was unnecessary to start a competition between drawings, but Garmadon had seen anger in his brother's golden eyes when he and Lloyd covered up Morro's drawings. And so then, Wu and Morro had started doing the same to Lloyd's. It's great fun, Garmadon had to admit.
—
"Well I hope you enjoyed your stay"! Skylor spoke as she received the check.
"The noodles were awesome"! Lloyd jumped around, the colored sheet still in his hands.
"Hey, you still didn't show me the little drawing of yours". Skylor with a fake offended voice. Lloyd grinned, turning the page to show Skylor his drawing. Crouching down to the little boy's height, she took a good look at what he made.
"Are these dragons? They look amazing"! She said.
"It's me and Papa"! Lloyd jumped as he pointed at the dragons in his page. Clearly proud of his work.
Both Skylor and Garmadon let out sweet laughs as Skylor handed out the check book to Garmadon. "Both of you look real fierce in your drawing, Lloyd"! She cheered, pulling out three fortune cookies from her apron. Giving them to Lloyd as a reward. Happily taking them, Lloyd gave her a thankful smile.
"Anyway, here's the check, Garmadon". Turning from Lloyd to his father. The check book left her palms as Garmadon took it in his hands.
Opening the check book as he nodded a thanks to Skylor, a single yellow petal falling out from the check. Taken by surprise as it landed on Lloyd’s feet.
"Oh! How did that get in there"! Laughed Skylor, both watching as Lloyd bent down to grab the yellow petal.
"It's pretty"! Lloyd said, holding out the petal towards his father. The father smiled warmly.
"It sure is". He replied. Getting an apology from Skylor, not remembering if she even had any yellow flowers in the back.
Saying their farewells to Skylor, they headed back to the monastery. Straight onto grabbing the magnetic pin of Morro's certain drawing of a ghost and placing Lloyd’s over it.
Backing up to admire the fridge as it was full of drawings of both cousins. Garmadon couldn’t wait to see the look on their faces. He heard his son giggle from beside him, being just as mischievous as his father.
"Well Lloyd, did you enjoy your time with Papa"? Garmadon asked.
"I did! Noodles were great"! Lloyd cheered as he held out his arms to get picked up by his father. Doing so, Garmadon could only chuckle.
"As great as noodles are, we've been there for almost the whole day. I'm surprised your Uncle Wu hasn't come back yet". Garmadon mentioned, just noticing the emptiness of the monastery.
"He did say he was going to be gone for the whole day. He said he was going to help someone with finding…ingredients"? Lloyd questioned himself if that was exactly what his uncle had said to him.
"And he took Morro with him"? Garmadon asked again.
"Mhm"! He simply replied.
Garmadon simply hummed in acknowledgment as he continued to stare at the fridge of art work. Noticing how both cousins have a clear love for something, that being Lloyd with dragons and Morro with ghosts.
"Can you make me a green tea"? Lloyd asked, looking up at his father with pleading eyes. Garmadon let out a dramatic sigh.
"I'm going to kill Wu for this". Garmadon grumbled out in a playful way. Lloyd laughed in reply as he was put down on the ground.
Even with Garmadon's disdain for tea, he poured his son a cup and one for himself. Enjoying the remaining hours of the day with his son and a cup of tea.