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The Garmafam History

The First Spinjitzu Master spent most of his life in the First Realm on the run from both Oni and Dragon. In that period of time, he created Wu and Garmadon by sacrificing his Dragon wings and Oni horns. When his sons turned 3000, the FSM created Ninjago for retirement and his sons to live an unbothered, peaceful life.

Humans are made from the image of both Oni and Dragons, modelled after the FSM himself because he wanted them to be capable of both Destruction and Creation. They do not have powers or supernatural abilities, but he gave them the gift of innovation and greed to improve their own lives and build a world beyond him.

And to protect them, he appointed specific humans as Elemental Masters, as vessels for Ninjago’s elements. Originally there were only four – Earth, Fire, Water and Lightning – but as time passed, more and more sub-elements came to be. Moreover, at some point of time, because of Nyad’s sacrifice, Water was removed from the core four and replaced by Ice. As time passed, Ice gradually replaced Water in almost every generation (because every Master of Water, for one reason or the other, always becomes one with the sea), leading to Ice becoming a permanent fixture of the four.

Eventually the FSM passed, but not before his sons inherited two core aspects from him:

1. Wu, the title of Master. His purpose is to seek out and train new Elemental Masters with every generation, if the need to protect Ninjago from threats ever arises.
2. Garmadon, the title of Guardian. His purpose is to protect the Heart of Ninjago, either by monitoring the Elemental Masters or tapping into the Heart itself.

Together, they protect both Ninjago’s safety and reality, making up two sides of the same coin.

Only a few centuries into Ninjago, Garmadon met Koko, the Lady Iron Dragon. While she is human, she is one of the Dragons’ chosen champions in this realm, protecting them from poachers and giving them aid. Once, she was gravely injured after fighting off a hoard of hunters, but Garmadon found her at the brink of death. He brought her back to the Monastery to heal her, and it all blossomed from there.

Sometime before Lloyd was conceived, Garmadon was going about his duties as usual, ensuring that the Elemental Leyline in Ninjago was unimpeded as usual. However, when he was having a stroll in the forest below the Monastery’s mountain, he was bitten by a scorpion. The scorpion ended up being corrupted by the Great Devourer’s venom which in turn poisoned Garmadon.

Initially there wasn’t much issue, as Garmadon returned to his daily life without giving the bite much thought. However as the days passed his mental stability began deteriorating, where Wu and Koko helped as much as they can.

With Lloyd’s birth, Garmadon fought the poison the best he could. When he held Lloyd for the first time (albeit a lot of coaxing from both Koko and Wu) it was like the poison never affected him at all.

As Lloyd grew up, he displayed signs of being capable of interacting with the world itself, essentially manipulating reality and matter. This meant he had inherited Garmadon’s ability to tap into the Heart (as a refresher: Ninjago itself is made up of elements, which they are capable of manipulating on a deeper level).

This caused Garmadon a great deal of excitement, horror, and a bunch of other emotions mankind did not have a name for yet. He immediately began doing a bunch of research and triple checks on his life so he can teach himself how to teach Lloyd in case he decided to inherit his title in the future.

Lloyd is quite… an unaware but bright child. He has too much restless energy even for all of the adults combined. One time, Garmadon woke up from his much-needed rest only to find that his son had chewed through half their silverware. He was also very energetic and outgoing, always looking for the next exciting thing to occupy his attention with.

Their days of peace didn’t last long however, as the fateful night happened. The poison flared in the middle of the night, where Garmadon forced himself to leave the Monastery in fear of injuring anyone. Around this time, Koko returned from a grocery trip, doing headcount of all the ingredients for dumpling soup when she realized Garmadon was out.

Wu told her what had happened, and against his advice, Koko left to find him. As she left, Lloyd asked where she was going and she’d said she be back with Dada soon. Tragically (for her and a million dollars for me, the author who is in desperate need to touch grass), she never made it back, having wound up a casualty but not before taking him down with her.

A 9-year-old Lloyd eventually snuck out of the Monastery in search of his parents, only to find a very gruesome sight of his parents’ corpses impaled on top of each other. He shook his parents’ bodies and tried to get them to wake up, but ultimately he was too paralyzed by fear to move. Wu found him soon after, where they gave them a proper burial in the Monastery.

Though, because of Lloyd’s messy memory, he hardly remembers Wu being there at all. In his mind, he’s the only one who had to bury his parents’ graves by hand, which makes it even worse for him because it plagues him with soul-crushing loneliness and despair every time it surfaces in his mind.

After a few months, Lloyd runs away. Wu tried to find him, but he failed time and time again. Eventually, after a few decades, Wu gave up and prayed Lloyd would be safe, and keeps tabs on him through the Spirit Smoke whenever he is cable to.

A thousand years have passed since then, but the memory of that night is still raw and fresh in Lloyd’s head.

Elemental Masters (+ Mechanics, Roles)

The Elemental Masters, unlike canon, do not have the element in themselves. Rather, they are vessels of the Elemental Leylines, where they are capable of channeling their elements from the world to take physical form. Because of this, they rarely lose their powers for too long, and attempts to steal their elemental powers never last.

Vengestone is a method to suppress it, but only when it’s in direct contact with them. Otherwise there’s not really any way to permanently remove a Master’s connection with the Leyline, save for direct intervention from the Guardian.

The only outlier from this principle is Harumi, the Master of Life. Unlike the other Masters, her powers stem from her connection with and are a combination of the Main Four. As long as Kai, Zane, Cole and Jay are fine and well, she can use her powers freely.

The Guardian (Garmadon & Lloyd’s Powers – the complement to Spinjitzu)

The Guardian, unlike Spinjitzu Masters, is a title that can only be passed down by bloodline and inheritance. When Garmadon passed, it was assumed that this title was forever lost to time because Lloyd never finished training or displayed any other signs of this ability ever since he ran away.

The Guardian is essentially a Keeper, a Warden or even a Protector. Not for Ninjago (that’s Wu’s job) but for the Elements themselves, which basically means that the Guardian is responsible for the literal fabric of reality of Ninjago itself.

They are capable of manipulating the elemental flow, but not use them directly. (As mentioned above, Elemental Masters are not literal holders for their respective elements, but vessels for channeling them that hold Ninjago together.)

You can think of an element as two states: a) intangible aura in rivers; and b) the element’s physical manifestation. At its essence, all elements boil down to the same principle (Creation), but it’s the FSM’s interference and meddling that they took form in different elements. A Guardian is capable of manipulating the very basest of the elemental aura from their origins, either from the world itself or from the Elemental Masters.

The Heart of Ninjago

The Heart is located in a parallel dimension adjacent and upside down to Ninjago. Only the Guardian(s) can access this realm by projecting their souls into the world, but not their mortal bodies.

It can be seen as two worlds separated by a mirror. Ninjago is the world where the physical manifestations of the Heart are located, while the Heart is directly underneath us, reflecting and mirroring our every move in the form of intangible aura and elements.

Each element appears as a river or a blood vessel, and they intertwine to form a structure similar to a ball of yarn or a quaternary protein structure.  

Destruction takes its own form alongside the Heart, but never intersects with any of the Elements. It is its own independent force but necessary for Ninjago’s existence.

Changes to the Prophecy

In this universe, the Prophecy of the Jade Ninja/Master of Life is discovered during Lloyd’s childhood (which was 1000 years ago). Harumi only makes her appearance after Season 4, Tournament of Elements, where Morro got to her before the Ninja. He possessed her and her parents got into an accident looking for her, and they eventually do find her and realize that she’s the Jade Ninja.

Harumi is the Master of Life, where her powers take on a more passive and peaceful route compared to Energy. Her powers are usually used for healing, senses and Spinjitzu – but otherwise she rarely relies on them for offense.

Her powers are derived from the Four Elements of Creation. While the other Elementals are mere vessels for the Leylines, she is the direct result of a combination between Fire, Ice (and everything nice! Sike), Earth and Lightning. However, if one of them dies, she will not be able to use her powers.

Lloyd’s Abilities

Lloyd’s Dragon and Oni features are heavily dominant and accentuated, and that extends to his base abilities. He is not an Elemental Master, but he does have powers stemming from his Dragon and Oni side.

1. Teleportation

He is capable of teleportation, but only to himself and a limited number of objects. This is due to the Dragons’ ability to create portals and the Oni’s selfish nature of shadow traveling, which combined allows him to teleport at will.

2. Elemental/Balance Sensitivity

His Oni and Dragon side are quite unstable however, as they can shift easily because of the environment around them. This makes him especially sensitive to the Balance, and gives him a special type of precognition that alerts him when something bad is going to happen.

3. Basic, Limited Echolocation

Only in the Darkness however, because of the Oni. All Oni have this feature and he just happens to have a small bit of it.

4. Spinjitzu

Wu taught him when he was a mere child. Since his departure, he practised by himself for years because he quickly learned that his physical prowess and teleportation is not enough. However he only uses it sparingly.

SPOILERS FOR THE BOOK BELOW

Before he tapped into his full potential, his Spinjitzu tornado is capable of manipulating matter around him albeit it’s very limited. After he reunited with his Father in the Space Between (the Bridge across Realms), Garmadon finally gives him the full access to the power and title of Guardian, he can combine both Spinjitzu and his abilities as a Guardian to literally reshape the world around him in the mortal realm without tapping into the Heart itself.

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All of these are drawn in MS Paint when I'm procrastinating from my studies. Enjoy!

Scene: Literally the only thing in the Sixteen Realms keeping Lloyd sane.

Yawning, he tossed in his bed and laid on his side, staring at a dragon plushie over half his size laying innocently next to him.

Scene: Harumi and Lloyd driving Kai crazy by playing a collection of board games that seemingly pop out of thin air.

Kai glanced at the stack of Starfarer comics in Lloyd’s glass dome, tucked away neatly by a vast collection of video games. “Uh, about that last bit—” He paused, turning around momentarily to bear witness to the dysfunctional pair playing the most intense game of Four in a Row known to the Sixteen Realms. “Wha-? Where in Ninjago are they even getting these many board games?”

Scene: Firstbourne and Lloyd chilling together.

The strange thing was that despite being an Oni, Firstbourne didn’t seem all that guarded around Lloyd, only giving him a few cautious sniffs before deciding that he wasn’t much of a threat, even allowing him to curl up by his side as they sunbathed together. She even went as far to drape one of her intact wings around Lloyd, keeping him close to her like a makeshift blanket. The scene was strangely reminiscent of a mother nursing its young, where the mother in this case was a dragon that predated the creation of Ninjago and the young was a menace to society.

Scene: Lloyd getting absolutely wrecked by the Omega.

Then his vision turned white. Pain exploded from his tailbone, shooting up his spine and setting all of his nerves on fire. It felt as if someone were drilling into his bones with a red-hot screwdriver, precise and deliberately aiming at his weakest point. He tasted blood as he bit down on his tongue, but ultimately was unable to stifle his screams as agony coursed through his entire body.

Scene: Nya jumping off the fucking Monastery like an idiot.

She jumped off the cliff, using her momentum as a running start. Vaguely, she could hear her team’s shouts of confusion and panic behind her, but they were all drowned out by the roar of adrenaline going haywire in her senses.

Halfway down the mountain, an important detail finally clicked in Nya’s mind:

She just jumped off a mountain.

Without a parachute.

And is currently diving headfirst into her doom.

Scene: … I don’t think I need to elaborate on this one. I am so going to hell because I laugh every time I see it.

Through the blinding light, the dark silhouette of two lifeless bodies greeted him, stacked on each other as his father’s second sword had run through both corpses, connecting them even after death.

Scene: N/A

Not part of this book but 100% canon, especially when this generation of Ninja in particularly are more dramatic than an unmonitored fourteen-year-old with unlimited access to Twitter, and Ninjago can’t go two months of peace without some world-ending threat coming to destroy them all.

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#1: What is Lloyd’s past history with the Ninja?

While Lloyd has been an observer since the founding of Ninjago, he only really began interacting with the current generation of Ninja when the Masks of Oni became a city-wide hot topic, where every villain worth their salt was trying to get their hands on it. As mentioned multiple times in the book, he had quite a good relationship with them until his ultimate betrayal that landed him in Kryptarium.

#2: Where tf has Lloyd been throughout all of the Ninjas’ adventures?

Places. Most of the time he is present when Ninjago is being attacked, but he chooses to work in the shadows rather than showing himself. When the Preeminent attacked Ninjago and possessed Harumi, Lloyd was actually present during the battle against the Preeminent, but he hid his presence and chose to protect the citizens in the dark. He defeated ghosts using dozens of water guns, which he took and reloaded a bit too seriously.

RANDOM GHOST: (scaring a little girl) Woooo! I’m a ghost! Fear m- (gets vaporized by water)

LLOYD: (in the shadows, ominously changing the pink plastic tank) Boo.

#3: What is the relationship between Firstbourne/Omega and Lloyd?

The FSM was a child of both Oni and Dragon, so by technicality Firstbourne and the Omega are his parents, and Lloyd is their great-grandchild. Though, he is the only one in the family that is organically born from two parents.

#4: Are Wu and Garmadon twins? What and where have they been before Ninjago?

Yes, they are twins. Garmadon is older by a split second. Before creating Ninjago, the FSM sacrificed his horns and wings to create Wu and Garmadon. These three stayed in the First Realm for approximately 3,000 years until the FSM decided to create Ninjago as a retirement plan, so they all moved there.

#5: Is Garmadon poisoned by the Great Devourer venom?

Yep! Though in this universe, he is struck by a scorpion instead. However, before any of his evil blood can come to fruition, he and Koko perishes during one of his lapses.

#6: Why didn’t Lloyd go to Wu all this time?

Most of the reason is that Lloyd is traumatized by his parents’ bodies and the memories are too fresh. However, as time passed, this fear gradually shifts to “I’m a cursed child and no one wants me” so he avoids Wu as much as possible, going as far as to run away when Wu’s in the same vicinity as him. Deep down he does want Wu to try harder and catch him, but the fear in him overpowered everything else. Eventually, he just accepted his lonesome fate and subjected himself to a life of living purgatory to continue what his father cannot in his own way.

#7: Is Harumi the Jade Princess?

No. Her parents tried to raise her, but ultimately they couldn’t afford a third mouth. So they gave her up to an orphanage to give her a roof and food, promising to return one day. They did not, as seen when she tracked them down after becoming a Ninja, they were accidentally killed when a gang of robbers tried to rob them.

#8: How old is Lloyd? (In human, Oni and Dragon years?)

Lloyd is 1,009 by Ninjago human years. Ninjago years to First years have a 1:20 conversion rate, so Lloyd is approximately 50.45 years old in Oni/Dragon terms. Which is still quite young for their standards, hovering between the line of childhood and puberty.

#9: Does Lloyd have the same biological functions as [Humans/Oni/Dragons]?

Glad you asked! No, LOL. Humans survive largely because of a built-in stabilizer called homeostasis, where our bodily functions (eg: pH, water levels, ion exchanges) are always within a set parameter without crossing the minimum or maximum boundary. Lloyd himself is a walking balance-meter where his physiology changes depending on the local Creation-Destruction distribution. Though, I would say his physiology by itself is an amalgamation of all the traits combined, so there really is no precedent for this as a whole before his birth.

He has more flexibility in his tail compared to regular Dragons, though, so that’s a fun fact! There’s more nerve endings and muscles in there, allowing him to control it like a fifth limb at free will. This comes with the downside of it being extra sensitive with a lot of scar tissue because of his tendency to run towards trouble.

#10: Not really a question but a random fun fact!

Oni’s horns are a huge part of their hierarchy. Native Oni display dominance similar to goats, where they ram their heads and horns at each other for either food, territory, mates or even fun. The larger and more complex their horns are, the higher they rank. The smaller or plain disappearance of their horns means they are weak and unfit to rule or be part of the colony.

Parent Oni will play fight with their children, often letting their children win to build their confidence and strength. They would ram their horns very gently, then collapse to the floor after a meager touch when facing a child, even if it’s not theirs. Life is precious to the Oni and they place their children on a pedestal. Dragons do the same thing, only they let their children bite their tails instead of butting heads.

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Yes, yes. The fun, foreshadowing part and the reason why every English teacher that ever came to be existence always insists that the reason why the author was depressed and ate lead was because they wrote “the sky is blue” in a 100,000-word poem when they were high on opium.

1. Sweets and Candy Colors

Before you start yelling “Oh my god, the author is out of their mind if they think I’m going to care about what flavor or artificial coloring candy Lloyd is actively ingesting into his body,” HEAR ME OUT…

Lloyd stared at her like she was the crazy one. “Candy,” he decided after a few seconds. “Lots of candy.”

Kai shifted in his position. “Uh, which brand?” He gave Harumi a look that practically screamed, play along!

“I’ll take anything with sugar, but none of those artificial sweetener crap or any green ones. Those ones suck, like a certain Ninja I know.”

I think at this point we all know Lloyd has a chronic sugar addiction. At first glance, you’d think that he dislikes the green color solely because of Harumi (the Jade Ninja), but it’s hinted further in the story that this isn’t simply the case:

Lloyd’s eyes sparkled. “Really?”

“Really!” Koko pinched his cheek. “If you’re extra good, I’ll even bring back some candy, alright? The green ones you love so much.”

We learn even more in the story that his parents have met an untimely fate and anything that he used to associate with them is ruined. (Oni as a whole, green candy and physical closeness.)

Moreover, he pointed out “artificial sweetener” – and I threw this in not because I’m a Food Science student and want to use my syllabus somewhere other than my fucking exams – but it’s because he’s tired of lies and fake sweetness/relationships.

However, towards the ending of the story, this conversation happens between Harumi and Lloyd:

“For the record, Lloyd,” Harumi quipped, “Kai keeps a stash of peppermint drops under his bed.”

For a second, Lloyd simply blinked at her, not understanding where that was coming from. His brain did an entire reset before the memory resurfaced in his mind. He’d completely forgotten about that, even if it had only been just yesterday morning.

He huffed, adjusting the hem of his sleeve. “Pleasure doing business with you, Greenie.”

P/S: If peppermints aren’t green for you, I have no words.

Either way, after dying at least two times and literally meeting his dead parents, it can be another metaphor for how he’s beginning to accept his past and all the things that happened to him and moving forward with his life.

2. Pillow and Childhood Plushies

“Ooh, the Fire Ninja,” Lloyd hummed. His grin showed razor sharp canines. “What are the chances that you can sneak me some pillows? The one I have isn’t nearly comfortable enough.”

The fact that Lloyd specifically asked Kai for pillows (read: a source of comfort) makes me want to eat metal. (Wait, shit, I wrote this…) It’s heavily implied throughout the book that Kai was once a big brother/father figure to Lloyd prior to the events of this book happening (prequel is in the works!), so is it really out of the question that Lloyd would go to him for some sort of comfort?

It's revealed towards the very end of the book that the Dragon Plushie Lloyd carried around is actually a gift from the FSM.

Garmadon paled even further, if that was possible for a ghost. “What?! Where is he now!?” He whipped around the room, throwing closet doors open and tossing things out in a frenzy. “Does he still attach himself to that dragon Father gave him?”

Lloyd is, honest to god, a sentimental soul at his very core. He doesn’t want to ruin his dad’s clothes, still keeps his childhood toy after all these years, and protects Ninjago to honor his mother.

3. The Oni Masks

In the story, three Ninja with closer histories to Lloyd take the masks:

Nya: Hatred

Harumi: Deception

Kai: Vengeance

All of them can symbolize Lloyd’s character throughout their past history and current events as a whole, a parallel to how they parallel canon Harumi and her conquest to revive Garmadon.

Hatred – Lloyd’s hatred for the Oni and Nya’s hatred for her teammates after they lost the literal love of her life.

Deception – Lloyd’s fake persona when he joined the Ninja team in the past and how Harumi tricked him into diving headfirst into a mountain full of Vengestone dust to counteract his teleportation powers. (More on that in the upcoming prequel.)

Vengeance – Lloyd’s revenge on the Omega after the sucker beat him into next Sunday and Kai getting revenge on the Mask of Hatred’s spirit that tormented his soul with Lloyd’s help. Though, this takes a more positive turn compared to canon Harumi.

Lloyd promptly tossed it with the Mask of Vengeance and the dragon plush.

“You Ninja already destroyed one Mask,” he mused. “I’m not so dumb to allow you to risk breaking another.”

The motif of Masks as a whole can also describe Lloyd’s motivations in their past history. And the fact that he dismisses the masks and never uses them for himself + the Mask of Hatred getting vaporized by Kai can also mean that the character we see in this book his real, authentic self.

4. Dumpling Soup

Nothing much to elaborate other than the FSM and Lloyd both like dumplings. The same principle for 1. Sweets and Candy Colors apply here as well, though only solely reserved for his mother.

5. Nostealgia

Master Wu waited for a few more seconds, unmoving from his spot. Just as Kai was about to ask about their next move, a humanoid shape formed above him, materializing from thin air. Wu merely stepped aside, held out his hand and caught Lloyd by his hood as he fell.

“Keen eye, Nephew,” he praised, pretending not to notice Lloyd’s ears turning red. “But unfortunately for you, while they share similar brewing methods, compositions and appearances, but that was in fact, NosTealgia, not Traveler’s Tea.”

NosTealgia – magically transports the user to wherever their heart yearns to be, even when the user themselves are unaware. (*Useful in breaking any pesky love triangles!)

Its whole gimmick is pretty self-explanatory, but that just means deep down, under all his gripe and gloom, he does yearn for his Uncle and a chance for a normal family.

6. Purple Guy

“Oh, you’re done!” Lloyd abruptly appeared between them, dragon plush in hand. Kai screamed even louder. “Now, Purple Guy, the Mask of Hatred makes you invulnerable. Like this!”

No, Lloyd does not watch FNAF. I doubt even exists in this universe. Shut up.

7. Starfarer and Board Games

“Nya’s right, Kai,” Jay jumped in before Kai could speak. “I thought the guy was cool too! He liked Starfarer, played games with me, but all that was just smoke and mirrors!”

Kai glanced at the stack of Starfarer comics in Lloyd’s glass dome, tucked away neatly by a vast collection of video games. “Uh, about that last bit—” He paused, turning around momentarily to bear witness to the dysfunctional pair playing the most intense game of Four in a Row known to the Sixteen Realms. “Wha-? Where in Ninjago are they even getting these many board games?”

Like the little shit he is, Lloyd is very obviously toying with the Ninja and treating them as a game. The games they play involve:

1. 4 in a Row
2. Chess
3. Snake and ladders
4. Monopoly

4 in a Row – It’s a game where both players try to align 4 colors before the other to win the game. There’s no mention of who won the game, and this symbolizes their dynamic pretty well – always trying to outplay and strategize around the other to achieve their plans.

Chess – the opening of the white pawn (d2-d4) is the opening move for the Queen’s Gambit. It’s a famous move that forces the game into a strategic battle rather than an all-out, guns’ blazing war. However, Lloyd eats the pawns without regard for Harumi’s moves or the game, which shows just how little care he has for long-term planning and strategy that involves rigidity and foreseeable outcomes. It can also mean that he is the force that always throws the Ninja off their plans and ruins everything like the wildcard he is.

Snake and Ladders - A game based on sheer luck. And Harumi, as the Jade Ninja, has shit luck. Lloyd is all the more amused by it. Also, the fact that Lloyd is the one rolling the dice could also mean that he has Harumi’s (and by extension, the Ninja and Ninjago itself) fate in his hands, and he’s the key to everything.

Monopoly – The fact that Lloyd lost so horribly just goes to show how unaware he is about the economy and finance. He chose Utilities instead of Railroads while Harumi does the opposite – and with Utilities, the amount of rent is paid by the dice thrown. This hints at Lloyd’s tendency and nature to base things on luck and chance, which is shown when he gambled Harumi, Nya and Kai’s fate on whether the Masks worked in the Darkness. The opposite is also true for Harumi, where rent is based on accumulation and a guarantee rather than chance.

Starfarer – also relevant here. Jay claims that the Lloyd they knew was a complete lie, but the fact that Lloyd still continues to play Starfarer and enjoy the franchise shows that not everything was smoke and mirrors.

8. Firstbourne

The strange thing was that despite being an Oni, Firstbourne didn’t seem all that guarded around Lloyd, only giving him a few cautious sniffs before deciding that he wasn’t much of a threat, even allowing him to curl up by his side as they sunbathed together. She even went as far to drape one of her intact wings around Lloyd, keeping him close to her like a makeshift blanket. The scene was strangely reminiscent of a mother nursing its young, where the mother in this case was a dragon that predated the creation of Ninjago and the young was a menace to society.

 

This is how birds warm up their young or eggs. Added to the fact that Wu says this:

Wu stood by the door, blocking the only exit. “I told you, Lloyd,” he said as a matter-of-factly. “I will not allow you to leave as long as you continue to act like a petulant child.”

To Firstbourne, Wu, and just about everyone who has had the displeasure to meet Lloyd, knows that he is an immature brat despite his age.

9. Disregard for Others

It took a whole three minutes for Lloyd to cave.

Lloyd blinked, as if surprised by the interference, whirled to them in surprise.

“Huh.” He blinked. “Those party hats actually worked!”

Harumi stared at him, stupefied. “So you didn’t know.” Why was she even shocked, again?

Lloyd does not give half a hoot to what happens to them, going so far as to lie to his Uncle so he’d let him leave the Monastery to handle the Oni himself.

10. His Tail (Or Lack Thereof) and Descent into Morality

Then his vision turned white. Pain exploded from his tailbone, shooting up his spine and setting all of his nerves on fire. It felt as if someone were drilling into his bones with a red-hot screwdriver, precise and deliberately aiming at his weakest point. He tasted blood as he bit down on his tongue, but ultimately was unable to stifle his screams as agony coursed through his entire body.

“Master Wu,” Zane started. “We are in need of your assistance.” He paused for a second, looking Lloyd up and down. “Do you need assistance?”

Lloyd opened his mouth to cuss him off, but a stern look from Wu and a pinch to his arm dissuaded him. “Ow, ow! Stop! I’m fine! Old man, I’m fine! I just can’t walk properly, that’s all.”

Zane frowned. “Cole, you don’t understa…” He trailed off when he saw Lloyd take a deep breath, holding onto the doorframe as support to help himself to his feet. When he stopped shaking, Lloyd’s hand left the wooden surface, confidently taking a wide step forward—

—and confidently tripped on air, faceplanting into the wooden floor.

Lloyd slapped Wu’s hand away, snarling like a wounded beast. “I buried my parents with my own two hands! Where were you when Ninjago needed you? When I needed you?” His eyes flared with light. “Don’t you dare parade your so-called righteousness in my face when you’ve grown too soft to make hard choices!”

Wu left the room, leaving Lloyd to stew in his own wrath. The signature Oni blackness had spread to his jawline, coating his ears and cheeks in coal. His form trembled and shook from his sheer rage, sinking to his knees as all the strength left his body. Cole and Zane tried to help him up, but a murderous glare was enough to stop them in their tracks. Purple sparks flickered painfully from his skin, his features twisting in pain before he disappeared before their very eyes, leaving only a charred crater behind.

The Oni tried to stand, knees wobbling as his tail stump flailed uselessly. “Don’t you see? We’re not on the same side. I’m on no one’s side but my own.” He tore a strip of fabric from his (read: Kai’s) jacket, using it to tie his dripping hair into a high ponytail. “Why should I help? The only ‘good’ I’ve done so far is giving you mortals more reasons why I deserved to be locked up!”

After the Omega, he lost his tail and balance; physically and psychologically.

Getting his ass beat was a turning point for him, where he’s faced with his ideals and his own mortality in his long life. He goes from self-assured, snarky and apathic to self-deprecating, desperate and lonely. This is shown by his unstable physical form and powers. In all of his teleportation, it’s clean and swift; but after his argument with Wu, it’s messy and even chars the ground with his clashing Destruction and Creation.

Also, I just like having Lloyd fall flat on his face like the little angst potato he is.

11. Kai and Garmadon Parallels

Garmadon and Kai are similar in many ways. For one, Kai is overprotective of his siblings (Harumi and Nya) and Garmadon is overprotective to Lloyd.

Nya picked up the Mask of Hatred, still looking at her brother. “You don’t have to do this,” she said. “Someone else can take the third—”

Kai swooped in and snatched the Mask of Vengeance before she could even finish her sentence. “Not a chance,” he snapped, face red. “It’ll be a cold day in hell when I let you two run into some weird, freaky Oni darkness by yourselves.”

Wu bolted straight after him, throwing himself off the top by sheer adrenaline alone. Attracted by the ruckus, Garmadon stumbled into the living room blearily, just in time to witness both his family members consecutively diving off the tallest mountain in Ninjago.

Without hesitation, he leapt right after them, screaming.

AKA:

KAI: There’s no way I’m letting you two jump into the Oni!

GARMADON: There’s no way I’m letting you two jump off a mountain… WITHOUT ME!

Moreover, these two idiots like to hide their injuries and make things worse for everyone and themselves:

“Will you be alright?” Her voice lowered to a whisper, eyes wandering towards his bandaged wrist, ugly purple veins reaching beyond its coverage. “The wound…”

Garmadon cupped her cheek with a hand, gaze softening. She covered his hand with her smaller one, sighing into his warmth. “I will be just fine here, in the Monastery,” he assured her. “It is only but a few weeks, beloved. There’s no need to trouble yourself over something so trivial.”

For a second, Kai hesitated. The last thing he wanted to do was to worry Nya even more. Because what was he supposed to tell her? That he was suffering from night terrors?

“I’m fine, Nya,” he lied through his teeth. “I promise.”

When Garmadon lied, he ended up succumbing to the venom shortly after Koko returned from her expedition and they perished, becoming plot devices to traumatize Lloyd for life.

When Kai lied, he ended up kicking himself in the behind, overexerting his own elemental energy, gets possessed by a vengeful Oni spirit and became a plot device for Lloyd to tap into his Guardian powers with higher stakes.

(Sorry, Kai! Not really!)

Also, a funny parallel also lies in the fact that they both tried to bribe Lloyd:

Kai’s gaze flicked between Harumi, the couch and Lloyd. “Well, um,” he stammered, suddenly unsure of himself or what to think of the situation. “Why don’t we make a deal? I’ll get you your pillow, and you help us out.”

Harumi spun to Kai like he’d grown two heads. “What?”

“Deal,” Lloyd said instantly.

Harumi spun back to Lloyd. “That’s it?!” she demanded incredulously. “You’re not going to ask for something else? Your freedom? More video games?”

Lloyd stared at her like she was the crazy one. “Candy,” he decided after a few seconds. “Lots of candy.”

Garmadon grit his teeth. Koko would kill him for this, but he was going to have to use his final trump card.

“Lloyd,” he said carefully, gauging his son’s reaction. “If you drink the tea, I’ll give you candy later.”

Totally not kicking myself with that one. I’m lying belly down on my bed, kicking my legs and giggling madly when I made that parallel.

The only difference between these events, is that Lloyd accepted Kai’s bribe while turned down the other. It can be interpreted in different ways:

1. Lloyd is not over his past and this can be a form of atonement, in order for him to begin coming to terms with that night.
2. Lloyd is a little shit through and through ever since his birth. So by that logic, his entitled behavior is not nurtured but rather a genetic trait passed down from the FSM.

Take that as you will. One interpretation makes me sound like a stuck-up, prissy poet during the Reconnaissance Era (to laugh at the uneducated, penniless peasants, of course) while the other is a hint that the entire book is literally just one long crack-fic.

12. The Fate of the Masters of Water

Only Nya was the odd one out – her connections resembling threads rather than veins, tying around her body as if she were bound by her element more tightly than the others.

This isn’t really relevant to this book’s storyline, but it’s definitely foreshadowing her fate to merge with the sea. In this universe, Masters of Water are almost always destined to become one with the ocean. Nya’s mother, Maya only escaped this fate because she had Ray by her side as an anchor.

(Un)Fun fact – All Masters of Water, especially after getting their True Potential, can hear Nyad’s voice. Most of the time it is a disembodied voice trying to speak to them, but it can also be described as a Siren’s Song calling them to join the sea, to return to their home.

“Why must every child ye have turn into some sort of ghoosst?” Mystake demanded over a cup of tea, unamused. “First the Morro boy, now our little Lloyd? What’s next? That Water Ninja of yers becoming a sea dragon?”

Mystake, you are not helping.

13. Jinxing your own Fate

“Nope.” Lloyd popped the ‘p.’ “If I knew, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I’d probably be retired somewhere, sleeping until the end of time…”

Lloyd, you are not helping either.

14. Lloyd, Garmadon’s and Wu’s Names

The Oni smiled, moving to nod, only to suddenly double over and clutch his head in pain. Wu spun around in alarm and Koko’s eyes widened, flinching backwards in caution.

“Brother?”

“Yuan? Are you alright?”

Garmadon’s first name is “Yuan” (圆/原). His name is the direct opposite of “Wu” (无/武).

As the Guardian, Garmadon’s duty in maintaining Ninjago’s peace and safety lies within balancing the elements from the Heart, which is hidden beneath the reality most people live in.  

“圆, yuan” means “circle,” or in this case, “whole.”

“无, wu” means “nothing.”

They’re direct opposites of each other, parallels of their responsibilities and powers. On the flip side:

“原, yuan” means “origin.” Garmadon overlooks and guards the elements, which are the very origins of everything in Ninjago.

“武, wu” means “weapon/combat-based (adjective).” Wu overlooks Ninjago by training the Ninja to fight physical threats.

“I love you, Uncle Wu.”

Wu choked, swallowing bile before he could muster a reply.

“I love you too, Yu.”

Lloyd’s nickname is “Yu” (pronounced “Yǜ”), (预, main word/与/于). It’s something that’s referenced towards the ending of the book when Wu tucked Lloyd to bed. Not really something to worry about (for now…)

Anyway-

“预, Yǜ” comes from 干预 (gan yǜ), which means “intervention.” In a sense because of Lloyd’s unruly nature, he is a force beyond anyone’s control. And because he is part of the FSM’s family tree, a demigod, an Oni/Dragon hybrid, he cannot be controlled, prophesized or expected by the Cloud Kingdom or any foresight-related abilities. This same principle applies for everyone with Oni/Dragon/FSM blood with them.

“与, yu” means “and.” This references his heritage of having all three major bloodlines, and being a perfect balance between all of them.

“于, yu” comes from 于是 (yu shi), and can mean “then.” He is the next and current final generation of the FSM family tree, and is what comes after.

However, Lloyd ultimately only introduces and refers to himself as “Lloyd,” and never Yu. Only Wu and the FSM calls him Yu, but neither Garmadon nor Koko ever refers to him as Yu either.

15. The Freaking Sky

Yep, the sky has symbolism. And you thought me overthinking Chinese was bad enough?

Still, he and his father sat by the Monastery’s gates side-by-side, watching the moon rise from the horizon together.

He walked and walked. He shivered from the rain, whimpering as thunder relentlessly struck the trees near him, the fires extinguished by the rain.

Where’s the sun? When is it rising? He missed its warmth, its light…

You know… the last time I was here, it was with my Father. He liked coming out here, Lloyd hummed. I didn’t understand why back then, but I think I do now.

A satisfied hum.

It’s beautiful, isn’t it?

All the moisture in Kai’s mouth dried up.

“Yeah,” was all he could say, facing the sun. “It is.”

The next few moments were spent in silence, eyes fixated on the rising sun breaking through the horizon.

They saw another day.

Initially, Lloyd and his Father is implied to spend a lot of time stargazing after they bid goodbye to Koko.

As time passed however, Lloyd is waddling through the rain trying to find his parents, only to see them dead. They never saw another day and Lloyd is powerless to stop it.

At the final scene, the sun rises. But this time, Kai takes Garmadon’s place as they saw another day – but Lloyd didn’t. Stuck in the Heart, he’ll never see the sun rise ever. Neither Lloyd nor his parents got to see the sun rise again. He might have saved Ninjago, but he couldn’t save himself.

The sun rising after all this time could mean that this is a new chapter. For Ninjago, for Lloyd, for everyone involved.

16. Minimum Wage

“But I thought your first disciple was Morro.” The last the Ninja encountered him, he was working part-time at some random ice-cream shop after his redemption a year ago. “Even that was hundreds of years ago.”

Not symbolism. Just a blatant callout. From a literal god’s personal protégé, to a wannabe Jade Ninja to working minimum wage scooping ice-cream for a living. Makes you wonder how he’s doing now…

17. Lloyd Digging his Own Grave (Part 24 or something)

“Oh sure, they’ll be too busy laughing at you that they’ll forget to attack you entirely,” Lloyd mused, stifling a mocking laugh. “Good plan, everyone!”

Ironically, during the first battle against the Omega, the Omega was too busy humoring Lloyd to even attack the others.

Nya and Harumi did a double take. “Grandfather?” Harumi almost choked on her saliva. “The First Spinjitzu Master?”

Lloyd looked at her like she had grown three heads. “Who else could it be? A Djinn?”

That would have made the entire Skybound fiasco a lot easier, dangit!

18. Roots

No, not the Crystallized Ending.

The Oni inside the vault were in lesser numbers, but once they caught sight of foreign movement, they pounced, using their bodies to form a flesh shield around the Realm Crystal. The blue stone was unusually dark, smoke emanating from its surface; the root of all the darkness in Ninjago.

Kai looked around, noticing white glowing lines resembling roots. They climbed the walls, floor and ceiling, creeping up every surface they could find. And wherever he stood, orange bled from his feet and into the silver, streaming down the lines in one single direction.

 

Harumi looked towards the floor and gasped. From Lloyd, pure light was pouring into the cracks of the tiles, flooding the Monastery’s ground that pooled around the six Ninjas’ feet. The light crept up their legs, waist then their entire body, coating them in a layer of glowing silver.

Roots are a common motif in Lloyd’s powers, and at some point, how the Oni were corrupting Ninjago. It signifies an anchor towards the elements around them and a visual representation of him accessing the Heart. He’s not making these roots – only revealing what was already there. The very foundation that makes up Ninjago.

19. Kai’s Inner World

Kai’s eyes snapped open. Through the dying embers of the tormenting flames, the shadows fell apart piece by piece like shards of glass, giving way to light and a world of vibrant colors.

The fires stopped. Kai sat up as if he were never burned, eyes wide as he was suddenly sitting on a couch, staring at a familiar TV in the Monastery. His own reflection stared back at him from the dead screen. As he stared, the old thing flickered to life, crackling as the Mask of Hatred stared back at him.

Instead of the Heart, the Monastery’s common room is what he sees when Lloyd exorcises the Oni spirit from his soul (not element!) Does this have a meaning?

We shall found out soon enough… :)

20. The Reforged Golden Weapons

When Kai reforged the Golden Weapons, he added his own spin on them.

A new era/generation, which means that if they are to survive, they must adapt and change. It can also tie back to 15. The Freaking Sky in a way that this is a new era and chapter of their lives.

21. The FSM is actually pretty chill…

Lloyd sniffed. “I already said I don’t like you Ninja; old or new,” he reiterated. “Sure, you save Ninjago from large threats, but a pattern I picked up over the years is that you meddle too much, whether if it’s your predecessors or your generation. Wait, I think there’s a saying my Grandfather used to tell me. ‘Too many cooks spoil the pot.’ I thought it sounded fancy when I was younger, but I think he was just ticked off that his favorite restaurant changed recipes for his go-to soup dumplings.”

“If my Grandfather would let me use the Shurikens as a binky, he’d let you reforge it to save the world.” Cole, Pixal and Zane spun to him in alarm. Oh, right, they weren’t there in the compound when they were running for their lives. “Are you reforging them or no?”

A pause. “And my Grandfather told me stories when I was very little, especially after some rice wine.”

Whatever the old fart’s been smoking, I need it.

22. Reunion

“Ugh,” he whined weakly. “I think I… saw my parents…”

“Well, you’re gonna have to postpone that reunion for the foreseeable future!”

Don’t worry Lloyd, you’ll see them soon enough… muahahahaha!

23. Garmadon and Lloyd’s Robes

Lloyd sat on one of the pillars that formed the entrance, cross-legged as he gazed down at the coming Oni himself. He’d forgone Kai’s jacket and instead donned gray robes a few sizes too large, its highlights gleaming silver and gold. Instead of a gi, it resembled Wu’s clothing, only more elaborate and difficult to maneuver in.

Lloyd blinked. He raised his arms out of instinct and quickly realized what his Uncle was talking about. His Father’s robes, ill-fitting and baggy as they were before, had shrunk to fit his size, as if it’d been tailor-made for him. The silk had changed into a darker shade of gray, and the phoenix patterns turned bright silver that gleamed under light. He felt his horns, noting that the velvety texture was smoothed out to a metallic surface, humming as his fingers ghosted over the appendages.

Alright, here we go. It’s pretty darn obvious that the robes are a metaphor for Lloyd stepping into his father’s shoes, but the first time around, he’s unprepared and unfitting for the role. The robes are oversized and doesn’t fit him at all, which reflects his mental state of thinking that there’s no way he can live up to his father’s role as a whole. However, after their reunion in the In Between, the robes fit him and he gains a magical girl transformation! (Coined by Kai) Then he pulverizes the entire Oni by accessing his full power but also gets himself a one-way ticket to glorified purgatory.

The phoenix on the robes symbolizes rebirth, which shows his transition into becoming a full Guardian. Moreover, phoenixes are the opposite of Dragons, the Yang (light, life) to the Dragons’ Yin (dark). So instead of falling into a mold of Oni or Dragon that the others thought him to be, (read: the Ninja constantly referring to him as only Oni) he became something new, something never seen before.

Chapter Text

Fun fact(s)-

Before I established plot points like the Guardian, Elemental Vessels, & The Heart, I initially planned for Garmadon to be a retired Spinjitzu Master with the unique ability to manipulate elements from the Elemental Masters themselves called the Art of Balance. Not a very good name until I fleshed it out to the Heart as we know it today.

Lloyd was originally going to look like a 10-year-old child throughout the series, until I wrote further and decided it just didn't fit the story as a whole.

Moreover, Harumi wasn't even going to be a part of the story at all- but as I planned the story out, I wanted to make direct parallels between Garmadon, Harumi and Lloyd as a whole, reflecting each of their characters' arcs in different lights and outcomes.

And as seen from the deleted scenes below, Lloyd was also capable of infusing other elemental masters' elemental energy into inanimate objects. The Kai(TM) heated plush was supposed to be canon but I had to scrap it because it didn't make sense in the continuity. Poor heater plush.

During the Battle at the Monastery

“Stay inside, Lloyd!” Wu ordered him, pushing Lloyd away when he tried to help him up.

“What?” Lloyd demanded, wondering if he’d heard him wrong. “You want me to what?”

Wu’s hand clamped over his shoulder, pushing him further into the Monastery towards the civilians. The powerless, defenseless civilians. “As you are now, Lloyd, you are unable to fight,” he said firmly. “You need to go somewhere safe.”

If it wasn’t for Wu keeping his eye trained on the Omega, Lloyd would’ve gawked loudly at him. “No!” he cried. “I’m not a kid anymore, Uncle! I can help!”

“No, you cannot.” Wu all but physically picked him up and tossed him into the Monastery himself. “Please, Nephew. This is for your own safety. You are no match for the Omega.”

Okay. First of all, he was underprepared when he fought the Omega for the first time. And if it wasn’t for that old geezer tampering with the Realm Crystal of all things, none of this would have happened!

“And the Ninja are?” Wu refused to meet Lloyd’s eyes. “I can’t believe yo—”

Wu’s eyes widened. “HARUMI!”

Lloyd spun towards the battlefield. His eyebrow twitched when the Omega had Harumi in a chokehold, her legs kicking uselessly as his hand constricted around her throat, lighting up with a sinister purple aura.

loosening as she fell to the ground, wheezing and gasping for oxygen as she held her bruised throat. Wu swept in, pulling her aside as the Omega swayed and flailed his limbs, trying to pry the blond off.

During Cole and Lloyd’s talk

This was where I grew up, you know,” Lloyd whispered, resting his chin on his hugged knees. “I really thought I would follow in my father’s footsteps: becoming a Sensei.” Head shaking, he sighed. “In another life, maybe.”

Cole hesitated. Had Lloyd let that slip, or had it been intentional? After five, agonizingly awkward seconds, he decided to shoot his shot. “Your father was a teacher, just like Wu?” he asked. They knew about his existence, but not who he was as a person. “Did he teach Spinjitsu too?”

Lloyd uncurled his knees, leaning on the side of the gate’s frames. His face scrunched up in distaste, an insult forming on the tip of his tongue, but that faded quickly as he muttered to himself like a mantra, No, Uncle Wu would kill me if I dropkicked his pupil. Deep breaths, deep breaths…

“No.” His ears drooped, sighing. “He knows Spinjitsu, but my dad swore an oath of pacifism and non-violence. He teaches the Art of Balance, and I was gonna be his successor, but…”

“The Art of Balance,” Cole repeated, the words foreign on his tongue. “So instead of making a cyclone with your body, do you make a body out of a cyclone?”

A pebble ricocheted off Cole’s forehead. “What? No! How does that even work?”

“Connect with our element—” A light bulb lit up in Cole’s head. “That thing with Kai – when he started glowing like a light stick with the plushie. That’s what you were doing? The- the Art of Balancing-?”

“Balance,” Lloyd corrected him, annoyed. “Did you even pass your spelling test?”

“Didn’t even show up for it,” Cole declared proudly. “In my defense, ol’ Marty only gives us pop quizzes to match what footwork belongs to which dance, then sort it in ascending order according to the year it was invented. Speaking of, did you know there’s a dance move named the Monastery?”

“You say Wu and us Ninja are the reason why Ninjago is suffering, but have you seen what you did yourself? You blame us for locking you away? You deserve that stay in Kryptarium, but you were harassing the prison guards so horribly that half of them were carted off to mandatory therapy! You lied and played Harumi’s trust, and I see how badly it affected her whenever someone asks to shake her hand! You locked yourself in with the Omega and an unwinnable scenario, risking my friends’ lives even further. Wait! There’s more. You almost knocked the Bounty out of the sky because you failed to notice that the Oni Masks had side effects! Pixal’s been nothing but nice to you when you got your butt kicked, yet you can’t treat her with basic respect?”

Back when Harumi and Kai first brought Lloyd to the Bounty

“You’re the Fire Ninja, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, but I’m not going to burn Jay’s teddy bear!”

Lloyd groaned, slouching over. “Fineeee.” His tail perked up, curled around a gold dragon plushie that Kai swore appeared out of thin air. “What about this?”

Now that one Kai didn’t recognize. No one on board claimed ownership of the toy, and they sincerely doubted Cole owned cotton renditions of one of his greatest fears. There weren’t any price tags or names on it, but the chances of him acquiring it ethically were low. But why in the First Spinjitsu Master did it look familiar?

Lloyd dropped the dragon plush into Kai’s hands. It looked like a fat, oversized lizard and resembled traditional Chinese dragons rather than the ones from the First Realm. The Fire Ninja turned to Lloyd, who was half a head shorter than him, and squinted. He can’t be asking him to set this on fire, is he?!

“What am I supposed to do with this exactly…?”

Lloyd’s ears twitched. “Do I need to spell everything out for you?” he mocked him. “I want you to imbue your element into this stuffed toy.”

“What?” Kai demanded. The most he did with his element with inanimate objects was to melt the alloys he needed to make their weapons. Was Lloyd asking him to burn a perfectly good stuffed toy? Is that his idea of a decent heater? A pile of ashes?

The blond’s expression fell flat. “You Ninja are doomed,” he decided.

“W-what?! All because I don’t want to set things on fire unnecessarily? Do you know how annoying those weekly fire alarm maintenances are? I—” He clamped his mouth shut when Lloyd planted his palms on both sides of Kai’s face, squishing his cheeks together. “Oi!”

Lloyd’s hands lit up with a purple aura, fingers eerily close to Kai’s eyes. “Close your eyes, loverboy.”

“Wh—”

“I said close them!”

“Okay, okay!”

With his eyes closed, Kai could only pray to the First Spinjitsu Master that this squirt wasn’t about to tear his face off and wear it as a mask.

Lloyd’s hands were uncomfortably warm—a side effect of being part Oni, perhaps—and his fingernails dug harshly into his cheekbones, but strangely enough, Kai found himself relaxing, muscles unclenching as waves of warmth washed over him. Not quite sleep-inducing, not quite stimulating. Only him, his warmth, and his mind.

His eyes were closed, but he saw a bonfire. It burned brightly, lighting up the darkest corners in his vision, flooding his soul, every corner through his body. His fingers tingled with the kiss of flames. Fireworks danced under his skin. A river of life flowed within him, ancient and sacred, a generational heirloom passed down from the ones before him.

The streams gathered in his arms, bleeding from his very core like gold ichor. From a sinkhole they trickled away, leaving him from the pores in his—

Lloyd let go.

Kai opened his eyes. He smelled smoke.

Lloyd yanked the plushie from his hands and buried his face into its belly, purring. Kai snapped out of his stupor, blinking as he stared wide-eyed at his hands. Instead of the fire he was used to, they were coated in a thin layer of orange aura. Instead of expelling his element into its physical form, he felt as if they were a mere extension of his body, like second skin he pulled out of his mortal shell.

They dissipated and fizzled away when Nya shook him, concern plastered on her face. “Kai?” she asked. “Are you there?”

Kai nodded numbly. “Yeah.” He wiped his hands on his gi, skin tingling still. “Yeah. I’m here.”

“He didn’t do anything, did he?”

Kai thought back to the warmth, the river of gold and fire he saw. Not with his eyes, but with something inside him. A third, fourth sense he didn’t know he had. “No, he didn’t.” He turned his hands. The ghost of his element sung to him still, deep and hidden inside him. “Nothing bad, I don’t think.”

“A sacred elemental power passed down for hundreds of years,” Harumi grumbled, “wasted on a stuffed toy.”

Zane looked suspiciously curious of the whole ordeal, hovering around Kai’s shoulder in thought.

When the Ninja left to reconvene below deck, Lloyd woke from his feigned sleep. His ears twitched, hearing all of their voices echoing below, confirming that there was nobody around.

Holding the plushie upwards, he closed his eyes, putting all his focus into the elemental energy. His body glowed white, his powers sparking as the toy lit up with an orange aura.

Come on… He chewed his lip, opening his eyes.  Work, Cursed Realm damn it!

He squeezed his eyelids shut and opened them again, practically glaring holes into the innocent plush. But no matter how much he looked, all he could see was his dragon plush, and nothing else.

Unrelenting, he poured more of his focus into the toy, the dragon turning brighter and brighter until he was blinded with light. Yelping, he cut his flow of energy, stopping just as his nose caught the scent of burning fabric.

When the light died down, nothing had changed. Only the tip of the dragon’s horn was charred and singed, his arms trembling with a mixture of exhaustion and fury as he failed once again.

“Why…” His fingers dug deep into the plush’s sides, shoulders shaking. “It’s been a thousand years… and I still can’t…”

He buried his face into the plush, saying no more.

Set when Nya lost control of the Mask of Hatred

He gasped as the familiar stream returned to him, pumping through his veins and lighting up his eyes. At that very moment, his world was plunged into a void of his own making.

Unlike the Oni’s darkness, this infinite abyss consisted of only two beings: the him that is his mortal vessel, and his soul as old as time itself. Two beings of the very same origins, yet vastly different in their trajectories, never once intersecting before now. But there was only one path left they could possibly take. His soul burst into an endless tower of flame, its ends and beginnings unclear.

Kai reached out to the pillar of fire, plunging his hands into the light. The fires climbed up his sleeve, his shoulders and soon his whole body, engulfing him whole.

The fires reached his heart. And they burned.

He screamed, but there was no one that could hear him.

Set After Nya Lost control and Kai got BBQ’d

“Now that I think about it—oh Cursed Realm why does dying have to hurt so much!?—it kinda makes sense? The masks were made by Oni for Oni… Speaking of, where’s the annoying one?” Lloyd paused, shooting up and gesturing wildly to his stump of a tailbone. “WAIT, WHERE’S MY TAIL??”

Pixal took a step backwards, unsure if she should advise him to lie back down or let things run their course.

After Nya jumped off the cliff to find Lloyd

“There is no good left in me.” Lloyd’s voice wavered, cringing like his words physically pained him. “It’s like the Earth Ninja said. I’m the villain in this story.”

“A touching lie,” he admitted. “I’m impressed that you can come up with all of that in such a short notice.”

Nya’s lip twitched. “It’s the honest truth. You can ask any one of us.”

Ending, Wu and Lloyd talk

“It’s been a thousand years since I Slept,” he wisped. “All this time, I didn’t trust any of the Elemental Masters to keep Ninjago safe. But now, I know that’s no longer the case.” He shook his head. “With your Ninja, I can at least Sleep knowing you won’t be alone.”