Chapter Text
Lloyd wasn’t the type to lose control over his emotions. In fact, he had an almost immeasurable amount of patience and self-control, compared to the rest of the ninja. Lately though, he found himself getting ticked off and annoyed easily, even at the slightest things. Actually, it wasn’t really noises or things that annoyed him, but rather certain words or phrases that triggered him.
It’s been exactly 1 year since Nya’s disappearance, and her ultimate sacrifice. Each of the ninja went their separate ways, as her disappearance from the team really left a mark. Nya was the glue that kept them together as a team, so without her, they were left broken, torn and shattered. Kai had taken up teaching lessons to kids in a vacant dojo, not too far from the monastery. Cole didn’t seem to be as hurt as the others were, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t care for her. Zane shut off his so called emotion meter, as it helped to keep him calm or something. As for Jay, he’d gone completely mad. He holed himself up in the lighthouse, barely stepping out, remaining unshaven and ungroomed. He kept glasses of water around, and the poor thing was so heartbroken that he’s gone mad with grief. He was convinced that all glasses of water contain a part of Nya in it, as she became part of the sea now. He even ended up hurting Kai over it, all because of a simple mistake, which was accidentally knocking over one of those glasses and spilling its contents.
As for Lloyd, he fell into a state of depression. He completely quit his job as a ninja, but he still wanted to be productive and responsible, which is what he was destined to do as the almighty Green Ninja. With that, he took up a part time job as a window washer for Ninjago City’s apartments and local buildings. However, this was where things began taking a big turn.
Window washing was no easy task, and some even found it quite stressful. To Lloyd, however, there was something about it that was therapeutic, as tough of a job it was. Because of this, Lloyd decided to transform his daily tasks of cleaning windows into a way of dealing with his stress. Unfortunately, it never helped him to fill the hole in his heart left from losing Nya. Nya wasn’t just his friend and teammate. Nya was also his older sister from another mother. She was the older sister, or rather, mother he never had. She was there for him after the Sons of Garmadon took over Ninjago City. It was her who gave him the push he never knew he needed, the push he needed to get back on his feet and fight to get their city back.
It had been an entire year since Nya’s sacrifice, and Lloyd found himself growing more and more irritable as each day went by. He didn’t know what was wrong with him. He’d been in much worse situations compared to this, so what was the big deal? Just the other day, Cole, Kai and Zane stopped by to visit, just to check up on the boy and see if he was doing okay. But all it took were those three words…
“Whatever happened to ninja never qui---"
That was all it took for the fuse to finally pop. It was all becoming too much for him. He couldn’t take it anymore --- he’s had enough.
“Don’t say it, just don’t!! I don’t wanna hear that! I’m—I’m done okay??!”
When something really angered or upset Lloyd, he was generally calm about it, and he always kept his emotions to himself and under control. But ever since they lost Nya, his emotions were erratic and out of control. Part of the reason was simply because he was getting fed up of being the leader. He may be older and more mature then the rest of the ninja, but deep down inside, he was just a little kid. He was getting tired of being responsible for everything whenever something went wrong, and because he feels responsible, he therefore blames himself for what happened to Nya. It was his fault, he could’ve done something better. Why didn’t he do better?
Cole knew that the boy was under a lot of stress at the moment, but he was completely taken aback by the way he lashed out at him. Lloyd wasn’t the type to yell or scream out in anger, so this was a surprise to not only Cole alone, but to Zane and Kai as well.
This year, Lloyd turned 18, and it was the first year he actually spent his birthday with his friends, rather than spending it all alone with no one to celebrate with. In Ninjago City, the legal age one can start drinking is 18. Since Lloyd was now a young adult, the ninja decided to let him drink, not to the extent of getting blacked out drunk or wasted, but just for him to let loose and have a little fun. And besides, Lloyd had always wanted to drink, or at least taste liquor, so it’s not like they were forcing him into drinking to try and get him drunk or something. They surprised him with a small party and then took him to Laughy’s and bought him a couple of drinks. He got a little tipsy, but he was still sober. Little did they all know letting Lloyd drink was a big mistake.
Lloyd had gotten used to his window washing duties, but taking up a job didn’t seem to change his mood one bit. Sure, it made him feel responsible and productive, but it just wasn’t enough. However, he’d been hurt one too many times for him to let this one tragedy bring him down. He had to do something about it.
Ever since Lloyd had his first drink, he found himself craving the taste for alcohol even more. One evening after finishing his 12-hour shift, he’d just finished cleaning his last round of windows. He was about to head back home when he stumbled into one of his good friends from Darkley’s. Sammy, 19 now, was so much taller than he remembered. It had been so long since Lloyd left that dreadful sorry excuse for a school. Unlike his other so-called friends, Sammy stayed by Lloyd’s side, and he was there for him during his roughest days at the boarding school. He never put fire ants in his bed or put hot sauce in his orange juice. That was what Lloyd really liked about him—he never picked on him like the rest of those bratty little monsters.
That following evening, Lloyd decided to head home to quickly change out of his work uniform and into his usual ninja gi. He wanted to hang out with Sammy, at least for a couple more hours, just so they can catch each other up on life.
“Hey, buddy! How was work??”, Cole asked, greeting Lloyd as he stepped into the hallway.
“Work? Oh, yea! Work was great”, Lloyd replied, and as he did, he rushed into his room and changed out of his work clothes into his usual ninja gi.
“Wait, where are you going?”, Cole asked, standing in the doorway of Lloyd’s room.
“Oh, um….I bumped into one of my old buddies from Darkley’s, and, well, we want to hang out, just for a couple of hours before we part ways again…”
“Um, okay…Go ahead, then. Have fun and stay out of any trouble okay, kid??”, Cole said, as he stepped aside to let Lloyd pass.
“Don’t worry, I will!!” I’m not a little kid anymore, but okay Cole.
Lloyd and Sammy met up at Laughy’s, and since Sammy didn’t drink, he decided to get boba tea. Lloyd got a drink, but Dareth made sure to dilute it a bit so it wasn’t too strong for him. Whiskey was not only very strong. It had a higher percentage of alcohol content than most alcoholic beverages. Aside from that, Lloyd was a bit of a lightweight, even if he could down 3 shots in one sitting.
Night soon fell, and so far, he and Sammy had some good conversations about life and what they’ve been up to. Apart from being a good friend, Sammy also gave good advice, including social life advice. Lloyd never told him about Harumi, though. He didn’t want to talk about her, and although a lot has happened since her…err…departing, he will never forgot what she put him through. It’s not that he didn’t trust Sammy with his deepest secrets. It was more about how Lloyd felt whenever he talked about her or even brought her name up. He just didn’t like talking about how he felt about things, especially if the conversation was about her.
The night went on, and Lloyd had already drank close to 2 glasses of whiskey already. He finished the last of his second glass, and he decided to have one more glass before calling it a night. After all, it was already close to midnight. He was sure the others would be worried sick by now.
“Darrrreeeeeeeeth”, Lloyd called, as he waved over at Dareth, who was serving drinks to other customers at another table.
“Anoderr round over here, pleaseee.”, Lloyd said, fumbling his words and stuttering already.
“Woa, Lloyd! I think 2 glasses are enough. You might black out or even collapse if I give you anymore!! Besides, you’re already drunk.”
“Shuddupp, I’m not drunk”, Lloyd said, as he fumbled his words again. He stood up from his stool, but he stumbled over to the side, and he had to grip the table to keep himself from falling over.
“Lloyd, I’ve seen enough drunk teenagers and alcoholics to know if someone is drunk, so please. Just sit back down and I’ll make you another drink.”
Dareth made another drink for Lloyd, but this time, he added a very minuscule amount of whiskey this time, and even diluted it again with juice so Lloyd doesn’t become even more inebriated than he already was.
“Here you are, Lloyd”, Dareth said, as he handed the glass over to Lloyd.
Without even hesitating, Lloyd chugged the entire glass in one sitting. It’s a good thing Dareth decided to dilute that whiskey. The boy would’ve collapsed by now if he hadn’t.
“Okay, buddy. I think you should call it a night and go home. Sammy, can you walk Lloyd home and make sure he gets there safely?”
“Sure thing, Dareth.”
“Come on, Lloyd. Let’s get you home”, Sammy said. He gently lifted Lloyd up and threw his arm over his shoulder. He was barely able to walk straight, let alone stand up without stumbling over. Yup. Lloyd was in absolutely no condition to make it home on his own.
“Okay, Dareth. I’ll get him home as fast as I can. I don’t want his friends to worry about him, considering how late it is. Have a good night okay?”
“Okay, you too. Be safe out there!”
Sammy held Lloyd close as they walked through Ninjago City, and it was only then he realized how drunk Lloyd really was. He smelled like…no—he reeked of alcohol, and he wrinkled his nose as the scent overwhelmed him. They passed the Canals, and that was when Lloyd decided to spill it—well—unwillingly decided to do so, considering his current state. He went on and on about how much he hated his life, how much he hated being the destined and almighty green ninja. At one point, he actually started crying.
“Oh, Sammyy. Everyone beshhrayys me. My friends even beshraayed me. Even my own mother and fatheeerr beshraayed meee. They’re never around, even for their one and onlyyy sssssonn.”
“Hey, its okay buddy. Not everyone betrays you. I’m here for you, and I will never leave your side no matter what.”, Sammy said, as he held Lloyd close to his chest.
“Okay, its okay. Stay close to me.”
By the time Sammy got Lloyd to the monastery, it was already 2 am. How he found the strength to hoist Lloyd, who was on the brink of passing out, up those long and never ending steps was beyond him.
Sammy slowly opened the gate to the monastery, being extra careful not to make so much noise, considering how late it was. He finally managed to get Lloyd inside, straining every muscle in his body while doing so. Boy, this kid sure was heavy.
“Okay, buddy. It was nice seeing you again after so long. Get some rest and try not to drink so much next time okay?”
Sammy left and began making his way down the steps, leaving Lloyd alone in the dark hallway of the monastery. He drunkenly made his way towards his room, and when he finally made it, he passed out on his bed, not even bothering to undo the covers first.
The second Lloyd opened his eyes, he had to shut them again to prevent himself from going blind. The sunlight shining in his room was just too much for him to bear. He threw his forearm over his eyes, but that didn’t seem to ease the throbbing headache he was currently experiencing. He sat upright and groaned in pain as he put a hand to his head. He had a piercing headache that was so bad, in fact, one of the worst headaches he’s ever had in his entire life. Fuck. I drank way too much last night. His stomach knotted and began to churn violently, and at first, he wasn’t sure whether he was gonna vomit or not. One reason for this is that he would get nauseous on some occasions, and it usually just went away on its own. But when he suddenly felt his throat close and he began salivating uncontrollably, he was almost certain he was gonna throw up. Oh god. He bolted out of his room, down the hallway, and into the bathroom as fast as he could. When he got to the bathroom, he quickly shut the door and dropped to his knees in front of the toilet, barely managing to lean over before he vomited. He was sure he had just thrown up everything he had eaten and drank in the last 24 hours. He took a deep breath before vomiting once more.
Suddenly, he heard knocks at the door. Knock, knock, knock.
“Lloyd? You okay in there?” It was Cole.
No response.
“Alright, Lloyd. I’m coming in.”
Cole opened the bathroom door and gasped at what he saw.
“Lloyd! Are you okay??” He placed a hand on his shoulder. “Wait here, bud. I’m gonna go get Zane.”
Lloyd was still hovering over the toilet, hands gripping the seat, unsure if he was gonna throw up again. He had never felt so sick in his life, at least, not since his days back at Darkley’s. It’s been a while since he felt this awful feeling.
“Lloyd. Are you okay?” Does it look like I’m okay? Before he could even say anything, his two brothers were at his side. Zane held his hair back while Kai soothingly rubbed his back in an up and down motion. “You’re okay, buddy. Just let it out. You’ll feel better once it’s all out of your system.”
After a while, there wasn’t anything more he could bring up, and Lloyd finished throwing up. Although he absolutely dreaded the feeling, he had to admit that Kai was right. Yea. I’m never drinking again. He felt so much better now that it was all out.
“We need to get him to the Med Bay so I can assess his symptoms.”
Kai helped him get up and when Zane brought him to the infirmary, he instantly scanned him for anything that may assist him in determining the cause for Lloyd’s ‘illness’.
Lloyd couldn’t let them know. They’d never trust him again, and worst of all, they’d find out that he lied. But he didn’t technically lie. He told them he’d hang out with Sammy for a while, which is exactly what he did. But that hangout quickly turned into a disaster once he started drinking.
“Okay, Lloyd. You don’t seem to have any underlying injuries. Can you tell me how you feel right now?”
“Well, I don’t feel nauseous anymore. Actually, I feel much better now.”
“Okay, good. That’s a good sign. Let me just check if you have a f—”
Lloyd instantly batted his hand away. “Look, Zane. I’m fine. It was probably something I ate. This isn’t necessary.”
“Maybe so, but I need to be sure.”
Lloyd rolled his eyes and eventually relented, much to his own dismay. He let Zane run his stupid scans and tests, and once he was finished, Zane let him go.
He made his way to the kitchen to get a glass of water, only to see that Cole had already poured him some. He handed it over to him, a concerned look plastered across his face.
“Thanks….”
“You okay?”
“I’m fine…”
“Do you feel any better?”
“Yes. One question though. How did you guys know I was sick? I didn’t even know you guys were already up.”
“We all noticed that you overslept, so I was coming to wake you up. I was headed towards your room when I saw you run into the bathroom, and I grew concerned when I heard you throwing up.” Oh. He was so hungover he didn’t even realize he had overslept.
Once the others were aware that he was sick, they didn’t let him train for the entire day. They instructed him to stay in bed, even though he cried and pleaded to them that he was fine.
The rest of that week went completely fine, but after his drunken mishap at Laughy’s, he noticed his craving for alcohol growing even stronger than before. At first, he would make his late night drinking a once-in-a-while occurrence. But as he got used to the taste, he started doing it more often. It went from a monthly occurrence to a weekly occurrence, and most times, he would just wave everyone off, telling them he was just gonna hang out with Sammy again. But he knew he was lying, and it bothered him. But it was true. He was spending these nights by himself, going from bar to bar, knowing that if he kept this up, Dareth would ban him from Laughy’s.
A couple of months went by, and everything seemed normal, until one morning. Lloyd was getting ready for work when suddenly out of nowhere, he felt incredibly nauseous and sick to his stomach. Not again. Thank god he was already in the bathroom. He wouldn’t have made it on time. He threw up whatever he had eaten the night before, and when he was finished, he just went on with his day as if nothing happened. At least no one was around to see it.
This went on for about 2 weeks straight, and he figured that maybe if he stopped drinking, it would stop. However, it didn’t make any difference. After he stopped his late night drinking, he still found himself getting sick, almost every morning right before he left for work. This non-stop vomiting only got worse. He started to notice a major change in his appetite. It wasn’t a change in his diet, but rather a change in how much he was eating. He noticed that he couldn’t even stand the mere thought of food. Sometimes, he would go days without eating anything at all, because he was also struggling to keep any food down. He had finally reached his breaking point when he had thrown up for the third time in one day. This time, Kai had seen him as he stood in the doorway.
When Kai walked him back to the living room, he was surprised to see Misako and Wu there as well. They both looked visibly upset, and he wasn’t sure why. Crap. Did they find out? How did they even know?
“Mom? Master Wu?”
“You wanna tell us what’s been going on with you?” Kai asked.
“Nothing is going on with me. I’m fine.”
“Lloyd, something is wrong and you’re not telling us. Why?” Kai’s voice grew a little angry.
“I’m telling you, I’m fine!”
“Lloyd!!! You are NOT fine okay? Don’t think you can lie to me! You’ve been puking for 2 weeks straight, okay? That is definitely not fine!”
“Son, I think you should go and see a doctor.”
“Guys, stop fussing over me. I’m not 10 anymore, okay? I can take care of myself.”
“We aren’t fussing over you. We are concerned because you’ve been sick and you haven’t said a word about it. We can’t help you if we don’t know what’s wrong.”
Kai had a point. He hated to admit it, but he was suffering. Although he hated going to the doctor, he knew that his mother was right. He’s been sick for almost 3 weeks now. He couldn’t take it anymore. Maybe this was worse than he thought. Maybe now was the right time for him to see a doctor.
He decided to take a sick day from work and go to the local clinic located in the city hospital. Since he didn’t have an appointment, he had to do a walk-in, which meant that he’d have to wait even longer. After hours and hours of waiting, his name was finally called.
“Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon? The doctor is ready to see you.”
The nurse sat him down in one of the rooms, and finally, the doctor came in.
“Okay. Let’s see…..You areee…Lloyd Garmadon, correct?”
“Yes. That’s me.”
“Okay, Lloyd. Tell me why you came in today.”
“I’ve been throwing up a lot lately, and I don’t know what’s causing it.”
“Okay..And how long has it been going on?”
“About 2 weeks.”
“Ooh. Okay. Was there any blood?”
“No.”
“Any diarrhea?”
Gross. “No.”
“Okay, well what I’m going to do is take a sample of your blood for testing, just to make sure that the vomiting isn’t being caused by any underlying issue. After the tests come back, I will analyze it and call you in for a follow-up. But for now, I’m just going to prescribe some anti-nausea medication and some sedatives, since at this moment, I’m not sure what the cause may be. I am ruling out some common causes such as food poisoning, 24 hour bug, norovirus, and things like that. Vomiting would typically last a couple of days if that was the case.”
“Okay.”
“Do you smoke?”
“”No.”
“Do you drink?”
Crap. “Well….I used to drink but I quit.”
“Okay, well here is some Gravol. Take it once a day with food, but no more than once. And if you take it on an empty stomach, you increase the chance of throwing it back up.”
“Okay, thanks…”
Well that sure was helpful, wasn’t it? He couldn’t believe that he waited over 2 hours just to get some anti-nausea medication, as if that would solve the problem. It didn’t matter now. He just hoped that his test results would come in as soon as possible.
About a week later, he went back to the clinic for a follow-up, and the doctor sat him down, ready with his results.
“Alright, Lloyd. So the results from your blood test came back…And I have some…how do I put it…not so good news.”
“Okay?”
“Lloyd, you have chronic alcohol poisoning...”
Oh my god…