Work Text:
It was hot. Unbearably hot. Why past Lloyd thought wearing a hoodie to a volcano was a good idea is beyond present Lloyd.
Yet here he is, trying to climb up a volcano-turned-fortress/lair/castle for the proclaimed fire-emperor.
It's exhausting. Though the blonde kept his body in shape, even after retiring from being a ninja, he's not exactly the same as he was when he was a ninja.
Lloyd practically sobs in relief as a view of the palace's grand entrance came into view and didn't care if the millions of guards guarding the door looked at him weird for collapsing on the floor, sobbing and thanking every single deity in the universe.
The guards don't make a sound, only mere grunts as Lloyd picked himself off the floor and wiped away his tears.
"Why did Kai have to take over such a large volcano?" He muttered to himself, going up to the door.
Two guards blocked his way from simply entering the volcano, and the one on the left shouted, "YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO ENTER."
Lloyd winced at the loud voice before crossing his arms. "I know, but I want to talk to K- the Fire Emperor. Is he here?"
"WHAT IS YOUR STATUS TO THE EMPEROR?"
Why did Kai have a flare for shouting?
"I'm a friend of his," Lloyd replied, not at all fazed. "An old friend, a younger sibling, that sort of thing."
He couldn't see the guard's eyes as they were hidden away with the helmet, but he knew that they were looking over him. "HIS HIGHNESS DOES NOT HAVE ANY SIBLINGS BESIDES THE WATER NINJA AND THE GREEN NINJA."
Green eyes rolled. "I am the Green Ninja. Well, former. I don't have proof on me-" He didn't expect to have to prove his identity, but really should have. The last photograph taken of him was well before he retired. "But I'm not wearing my gi, nor do I have any weapons on me. If you have a weapon, bomb, or whatever detector, I'll gladly step through it."
The guard narrowed his eyes but proceeded to check Lloyd over and after a very long inspection (which probably took five or so minutes but Lloyd wasn't counting) the guard reluctantly nodded and opened the door, only to grab Lloyd roughly by the wrist and drag him in.
Lloyd would by lying if he said he wasn't a little bit amazed by the inside of the volcano. Kai really had transformed it into a palace and a factory all in one. (Lloyd would rather not mention the type of weapons that the factory was making).
"I can walk you know," Lloyd huffed, attempting to set free his wrist. The grip only got tighter.
"His highness does not want to risk any unauthorized people running free," was the only thing the guard said, thankfully now at a normal voice, "And you do not know the way to his throne room."
"I could probably figure it out." Lloyd may not be the green ninja anymore, but he sure as hell did still have his powers. He could probably locate the source of all the power running through the volcano and find Kai that way.
"His highness does not want to risk any unauthorized people running free," repeated the guard, shoving away any henchmen in his path.
There seemed to no way to convince the guard of anything else, so Lloyd, reluctantly, allowed himself to be dragged.
After corridor through hallway through doorway, they finally arrived at a very extravagant doorway, beyond the black curtains lied the throne room.
"You. Stay here until I leave," commanded the guard, shoving Lloyd against the wall, before going in the room, throwing open the curtains dramatically.
"YOUR HIGHNESS! SOMEONE HAS COME TO SEE YOU!"
And back with the yelling, Lloyd observes. Despite the guard telling Lloyd to stay put against the wall until he left, Lloyd couldn't help but just peak at Kai.
His older brother looked completely different-- but that was probably expected. He once was on the side of good, now was on the side of bad. (Well, Lloyd thought about it, there really was no good or bad. If a thing in one's view is good, then the same thing in another's view would be bad.)
"Who?" Demanded the former-red-ninja-now-emperor. "No one is foolish enough to try and climb the volcano."
"Yes, but he claims to be someone close to you and he wants to talk."
"And I assume you did a full inspection?"
"Of course."
"Send them in."
The guard left and signaled Lloyd to go in, before leaving without checking if the boy did. Wow. So much for not wanting to let unauthorized people loose.
But Lloyd wasn't really a hero anymore. He was just Lloyd. And Kai was probably waiting, so with a deep breath, Lloyd stepped into the throne room.
"Do your guards usually shove people against the wall when they want to talk to you? Seems really rude to do so."
Kai's bloodied eyes went wide open, slowly leaning forward from his cross-legged position, as he saw who just entered. "...Lloyd?"
"I mean, the volcano's nice and all, but you won't get any visitors if those are the manners you treat your guests," Lloyd said, placing a hand on his hip.
Red eyes narrowed. "What do you want? Why are you here?" The former red ninja snapped, "You don't belong here." You aren't safe here.
"I just want to talk," replied the former leader, holding his hands up to show he had no intention of harm, "Before the war gets any bloodier than it already is."
"Talk?" The emperor scoffed. "What is there to talk about? If this is another 'you can change' speech, then I'm-."
"No."
"What?"
"No," Lloyd shook his head. "I'm not here to convince you to change your ways or to repeal your declaration of war against Ninjago City. I'm retired now. I'm just a normal citizen."
"Aren't you the green ninja?" Kai recrossed his leg, looking at Lloyd as if he was judging him. "You swore that you would protect Ninjago City for as long as you lived."
"You must be behind on news in Ninjago City," Lloyd frowned. Kai and Nya had left long ago before he retired and Kai's declaration of war. "There were no threats for a long time. Zane and I retired not far long after you and Nya did. The only reason why there is a ninja force now is because of your declaration of war.
Why keep being a ninja and protect the city when there was nothing to protect it from?"
Kai's lips pressed into a thin line. "That checks out," He admitted. "But why are you here? Really? To announce to me of your retirement? I mean, it's really good you retired. You get to go out and do whatever you want. But was that all?"
"No, I simply want to know your reason for this war," Lloyd tilted his head. "As far as I know, you also swore to protect the city as much as me."
"You don't get it, do you?" Kai's hair blocked his eyes as he turned his head away from Lloyd. "They had us tricked and fooled into protecting them. Not once did they appreciate us."
Kai stopped, waiting for Lloyd to shoot a rebuttal, but it never came. Instead, Lloyd stood there, listening, gesturing with his head for the emperor to continue. Surprised, Kai kept going.
"You experienced it first hand. You're god's grandson, yet you couldn't claim the crown of Ninjago City or date a royal because you weren't royal yourself? And remember that day when we met her? The reason why we met here was because we were hired as basically bodyguards. And if any of us messed up any bit, it would be all over the media and everyone would be saying of how 'unworthy the ninja were' or 'how terrible are they'. They didn't take care of Zane's statue, they didn't visit Nya's shrine after she merged with the sea. They took Cole and Jay for granted and now look! They're dead! They sent them off for such a minor thing and that happened. I'm sick of it! I'm sick of us being side characters they can just sacrifice. I'm sick of us getting treated for granted. And they are going to realize how much we protected them when we were around."
So that's what Kai had felt all those years. "Okay," Lloyd nodded, stepping a little closer to Kai. "While I don't believe war is the right answer, I understand where you are coming from. We don't do our best if we aren't supported. And you want to show the citizens how bad they treated us."
"Yeah... Yeah, that's exactly what I mean," Kai's eyes lightened up a bit, a little touched at how Lloyd just let him rant and figured out his meaning. "Nya doesn't understand it. She thinks it's unreasonable and that they didn't not support us. But you understand. So I'm not crazy at all."
Lloyd shook his head. "No, you're not. War, yeah sure, a little out there, but ultimately it's your choice. I'm not a military leader or a ninja anymore so there's no point in me trying to convince you of something you have your mind set on."
Kai stopped, "You mean... you really aren't going to tell me what I'm doing is bad?"
Lloyd shrugged. "Our morals depend on how we're raised and what we believe in. If you think war is the best choice here, then who am I to say you can't do it? It's your city after all." The journey from Ninjago to Iganica was a little hard, especially because Iganica was hard to get into, but to able to talk to Kai, it was worth it. "Sometimes a thing in one's view is good while in another's is bad.
Besides, Nya occasionally tells me of news in Iganica. She said that most of the citizens in Iganica wanted war against Ninjago."
"Of course. Being drafted into a war is not the most pleasant thing."
"Yes. And that was what I wanted to talk to you about. Find out why you wanted war."
"Is that it?"
"Well..." Lloyd took a step back. "There are many things I want to talk to you about. But as the current situation stands, there simply isn't time or room to catch up on daily lives."
Kai chuckled softly. "You sound like Wu."
Lloyd smiled back. "I bet he'd be proud. Saying something like 'You're becoming the master you've always been' or 'you're becoming me'."
The two laughed and for a moment, it felt like nothing changed. Like they weren't standing on opposite sides.
"I appreciate this talk, Lloyd," Kai said, resting his head into his hand. "I wouldn't mind, when the war is over, if we talked like this again."
"You know, although we are on opposite sides now," Lloyd's smile turned sad. "I am always available if you wanted to stop by."
"How would I be able to stop by your house without dying?"
"I don't know," Lloyd said, turning away to leave, "But you always told me, someone has to look out for the little guy. Maybe it's time I returned the favor."