Chapter Text
He sat silently trying to process what had happened. He had been in a bad mood all day but he didn’t think it’d end up this bad. He had lashed out and a bit of his oni form had seeped out at him. He hurt Jay, he hurt Jay, he hurt- HOW HAD HE BEEN THIS STUPID.
Choked sobs left his mouth sounding less than a whisper as he remembered Kai’s words. He didn't belong here, they didn’t need a foolish child as their leader. He packed a few things quietly, bringing his sword a couple small knives and some things that could help him out there. In a mix of emotions he opened the window and jumped walking across the roof of the monastery gazing down at the training course. He had clothes, weapons, he’d be fine. They’d be better off without him here anyway. He wanted to scream, cry, run back into Kai’s arms. But Kai would never look at him the same. So slowly he made his way down the mountain and into the long stretch of forest as far as the eye could see.
He had set up a small camp quietly collecting berries. He used his oni form, or part of it. A long tail with a small tuft of fur on the end of it arched behind him. He had longer fangs and 2 horns. His eyes would commonly turn purple but it didn’t matter. Nobody would find him here. His track had been covered up and in the week he had been here he hadn’t heard a sound from anybody other than the animals.
Since he had started to get hungry he decided to head out into the woods to see if he could find something. Sure he had food in his small camp but he wanted to see if he could find something else.
He searched for a long time, scaling trees but he couldn’t find anything. At this point he would take anything. Then he heard something. Quieting down he tried to find where the noise came from. He crouched down instinctively going to all fours and a crouching position. A bird flew up and landed on a nearby tree. It wasn’t right no, but his mind had been clouded by hunger. He waited patiently and soon the bird came down and started nibbling at the ground. It was practically right in front of him. He lept at it, catching it in his teeth and crunching down feeling the crack of its bones. The blood pooled his mouth and he chomped down on the bird. Then the realization came in and he felt sick. He shouldn’t have done that, he really shouldn't have done that.
Then a net came down. It grabbed him and he screamed as something sharp dug into his side. You’ll do just fine, the voice murmured and he drifted off into unconsciousness.
He woke in a cage. Three blank white walls and Vengestone bars in front of him. He didn’t make a sound slowly looking around the cage for any form of escape. An antagonizing wail from another room burned through his ears and then, it cut quiet. Not a sound, he took a step back. What was this place?
Somebody approached him. It was a man, a white lab coat and brown hair. He growled looking around. Somebody’s a little quiet, he tried to speak but a sharp pain shot through his neck and it resulted in a scream. He whipped around violently trying to get the collar off of his neck. It went like that for a while, “when you struggle it only hurts more." He went still, and like he said the pain started to cease to a stop. He shook slightly trying to hold himself together, how had he ended up here?
The man came closer and he took another step backwards feeling a slight shock in his neck. If you move I’ll shock you again. He stopped and let the man approach him, he stuck something in his side, a needle. His pupils dilated and he looked up at the man feeling blood rush to his head. His vision went blurry as he looked at the man.
“Did it work sir”?
“I think so”.
Blood. I need blood. The voice echoed through his head.
He lunged before the man had time to react. He ripped his arm out, sinking his teeth into it and using his claws to rip out a chunk of his hair. The man screamed fumbling for the remote. People entered the room dragging him off of him, the man went limp. Dead. Blood pooled in his mouth, under his claws, he had, he had killed him. He felt sick, what had made him do that? It happened so fast, he tried to speak but another needle was shoved in his arm causing him to lose consciousness, the last thing he saw before he blacked out was the dead man in front of him.
2 months. 2 months later. He didn’t speak, didn’t react, they came in, gave him his needles, and left. If he were to speak he were to be punished, if he were to attack he would be punished. So he sat absolutely still as they entered the room. During his time there they kept giving him stuff in the needles, it drew out his oni side wanting more and more. They soon left, quietly shutting the door behind them. They didn’t lock it. They- he got up quietly. Slowly going to the door he listened for anybody nearby, nobody. He opened the door and sneaked by not making a sound. He quickly scaled the roof and kept from water pipe to water pipe watching the guards below. His tail offered balance and then he saw it, light. He was free.
They would know he had escaped soon. Nobody was nearby, he ran. He ran faster than he ever has. Sharp jagged pain filled his neck but he kept going. He ran for minutes until he was sure he was safe in the large forest. He found a small opening in the ground and hid in it trying to get the collar off, only after a large crack he knew it was off. He yanked it off suppressing a grin. He was safe, no he wasn’t. He needed to keep moving. He got up, there was a small water puddle in the cave and he towered over it looking at his reflection. One of his eyes had gone pitch black, lifeless. He gagged at the sight of it. What had happened to him? In all that time, all the bruises, the abuse, the, he, he was okay now. He was safe.
That’s what he would fix when he got out of there radius. Ditching the collar and running, they might be able to track it. He ran like no tomorrow, in his case he might not have a bright one if they manage to find him again.
His old camp had been destroyed but the supplies were still there. He grabbed the knives, swords and clothes. He quickly changed out of the lab clothes and into his old ones. Grabbing some extra supplies he got to work.
So that’s what he spent the next of his time doing, making a small mask to cover half of his face. He could say it’s a religious thing, a fun mask. No one had to know. No one had to know what a monster he was. He tried to speak but no sound could come out, maybe that was something they did to him. He opened his mouth to speak but the shock filled his body so much that he fell to the ground. You are not to speak without permission. You do not deserve the right to speak you humanless freak.
His tail twitched angrily, he did not need to speak. No one to talk to, it’d make his life easier if he never had to talk to someone again. Screw the lab, screw the scientists, screw them all. He had himself and only needed himself.
He walked for hours trying to find a new place to settle, eventually stumbling upon a small cave, it had multiple exits fairly well hidden. He could stay here. His stomach rumbled and he knew he needed to eat soon. He sighed, heading out of the cave sniffing the air and looking for traces of life. A small black line hovered in the air, got you. He crawled over to it expecting a squirrel, or a rabbit. Instead he was granted with a, cat? It was curled up sleeping, he was hungry but. He couldn’t bring himself to kill it. He looked around seeing if there was it’s mother nearby. He sighed seeing no other traces of life. He picked the kitten up and carried it with him.
He ended up finding a bird fairly easily, killing it in one swift blow. He sat down on the wall trying to figure out what to do when the kitten woke up, it was barely bigger than his hand.
He looked at it softly trying to figure out why it was alone. It was adorable, a sweet little kitten. It would be hungry when it woke wouldn't it? What do cats eat? Do they like birds? A part of the bird was left so he put it to the side waiting to see if the kitten wanted it. It looked up at him with big eyes and he sighed pulling the bird back over and offering it to the little devilish cat. The cat nommed on it quietly, it kept looking up at him almost if debating if it was worth trusting him. It was small and delicate, similar to him. He knew he shouldn’t but he couldn’t help it, he didn’t need to be entirely alone. He pulled the cat closer to him cradling it in his arms. He tried to speak to soothe the cat but no sound came out.
Devil. I think I’m going to name you Devil he said in his head. He rubbed the cats head and it purred happily. He smiled at the sight. I love you.
Devil followed him, she was a few weeks he thinks but that’s not really exact. He had developed some sort of hand signals with the cat. Moving his hand in a cup position and holding it out to Devil meant he was getting food. Devil decided to follow him right now, so he was going to try to teach Devil to hunt. Somehow.
Rabbit, he looked over from where it was coming from but Devil was already sprinting at it, swiftly yet silently. The poor rabbit didn’t even know what was coming, leaping out of the bushes and onto the rabbit she dug her teeth into the rabbits neck killing it. It was double Devils size, he smiled. He could work with this. Devil started to drag the rabbit back over but it was too big. He walked over, picked up the rabbit his hands and gave Devil a quick pat. She purred and followed him back to their home.
He sat with his legs crossed ripping small pieces of the rabbit for Devil. She didn’t need much food, so once she took a step back he knew it was his time to eat. He ripped small pieces of it off trying not to think about what he was eating. Part of him had accepted that he only would eat meat now, he was still partially human, or that’s what he thought anyway. He knew it was uneven now, trying to summon his green energy was hopeless. Only a few sparks would appear in his hand. He didn’t need the stupid green energy anymore, he wasn’t the green ninja anymore.
After he finished he grabbed a water bottle he had found and washed it multiple times before trusting it. He poured some over Devils mouth slowly then some into his own. He could refill it later and it still had a good amount in it for now. Devil climbed up his back and sat on his shoulder. He stood up and Devil didn’t even move. You are some strange cat aren’t you he thought while gently scratching her chin making her purr and her tail flap gently on his back. A voice came from nearby. He walked over to the exit of the cave, Devil still on his shoulder. The voice again. He quickly climbed the tree and perched on top of it. Was it 2 people, or were they talking to themselves? He headed to the next tree hidden deeply in the leaves.
She was on what looked like a small path. She had blond hair, a blue T-Shirt and black shorts on. One hand was on her head and the other was holding her phone to her ear. She looked worried. She went quiet for a long period of time till he heard her scream “HE'S DEAD”?! It wasn’t a happy, oh yay hes dead! She had just lost somebody. She fell to the ground crying from what he could tell the phone had turned off to. She screamed and sobbed, maybe it took all of her energy but soon she fell unconscious. He sighed as the girl slept, Devil got down from his shoulder and than down the tree. His mask was still tight to his face, he got down with Devil and picked the girl up. He really should just leave her, but there were bugs and it’s not very comfortable on the ground. He brought her back to the cave which wasn’t really far so it wasn’t that big of a deal. He perched her on a makeshift bed which was really just anything soft they could find, birds, feathers, pollen and some leaves.
Humans don't eat raw meat, right? He looked down at himself, he wasn’t completely covered in blood, just a few splatters of it on his hoodie. Quickly changing into a new one he went out in search of berries. He found a small blueberry bush and picked those, he remembered seeing an apple tree so he headed there and grabbed one of those for her too. If she wanted it. She would, he wouldn’t do this for nothing.
How was he going to explain if he couldn’t speak? He sighed, that was a problem for later.
The second he walked back in she screamed. “AGH MONSTER”! He frowned, is that the only thing people saw him as now? Or would see him as. He opened his hand out as the girl pulled away. She opened her eyes and looked down at his hand. She shook her head, he assuming looked impatient so she thought twice and took them. He moved back and sat against the wall looking up. She inspected the berries before popping a few in her mouth. “So, who are you”? There was a good layer of dirt on the floor. He grabbed a stick and started to draw. Just simple stick figures.
He drew two, one was human than one had horns. He looked up at the girl, than he drew another one in the middle, human. He circled it. He drew an arrow. Than he drew the ninja suit as best as he could, she looked up at him. “YOUR THE GREEN NINJA”? He frowned but nodded. He erased what he had then drew 2 stick figures. One was himself. He rapidly pointed to it so she’d get the point. Then he drew 2 horns. The other stick figure became mad, he looked up to see if she understood. Then he erased what he had again. She frowned, “they kicked you out”? He moved his hand in a kind of way. Then he drew himself again, rapidly pointing to it. He drew small trees around himself. Then he drew a net. He was under it. They grabbed him and threw him around. Even in his unconscious he knew what had happened somehow.
She tapped his shoulder gently. “Are you okay”? He smiled trying to look convincing, she could only see half of it. Then he drew a cage. He looked up at her. He drew himself in the cage. Then besides it he drew a needle, fairly big so that she got the point. He drew a small mad face, drew the tail, drew marks and scars. She got the point. He then drew the mask, and he was done.
He sat back looking up, “I’m sorry Lloyd”. Her face softened, “sorry for what I said earlier, and all of this”. He gave her a thumbs up and she smiled. “Do you need me to bring you anything? I won’t tell anyone you're here”. He thought for a moment, the what ifs. If she told someone, Devil came up and sat in front of him with her big round eyes. She meowed happily. Then she rubbed her head against the girls leg. He sighed then nodded.
What’s your name he wrote. “Lilac”. He nodded, quite a pretty name. “What do you need me to bring you”? Blanket, pillow he wrote. She nodded, is it, is it okay if I stay here for a while? Someone I love a lot died recently and I need time to think. He nodded, then wrote, sure. “You're not going on some mad villain arc here are you?” He shook his head holding in laughter. She leaned back. “You think you’ll ever return to the ninja team”? He shrugged. In reality he had no clue.
Devil sat peacefully on his lap before climbing up to sit on his shoulder. He smiled, stroking her fur.
“Your cats beautiful, what’s her name?” He wrote it in the dirt. “Devil, that’s a cute name”. He nodded. It was.
“Is it okay if I come visit you again Lloyd” she asked, getting to her feet. He nodded, then wrote. Don’t tell. She got the message and nodded. Cya Lloyd, next time I’ll bring you a blanket okay? He smiled, and she was off.
He waited till she left to go grab food. Both him and Devil got something, he killed a squirrel and Devil killed a bird. He patted her head encouragingly and she came to sit on his shoulder. He wanted to say his encouragement aloud but he couldn’t bring himself to.
He cared for Devil more than he’d like to admit. It was like his little partner. She was cute, and helped entertain him since there wasn’t much to do. In general she was great.
It was when he awoke needing blood that it got messy. He was weak, his mind was fuzzy, he needed help. Then Lilac came to visit. He wasn’t in the right mind, and, and he lunged at her.
His teeth sunk into her arm, his eyes blurry. She screamed but he didn’t let go. She managed to calm down and looked at him, Lloyd, can you let go? His vision was fuzzy but he didn’t want to let go. He shook his head slightly. Slowly she removed his jaws from her arm and he let out a whimper falling back to the ground.
He bit down on his own arm feeling the blood pool into his mouth. Lloyd! She tried to approach him but he shifted backwards. Than Devil came in, a small rabbit in her jaws. He slowly looked down at the rabbit and Devil pushed it towards him with her paw. He bit down on the rabbit, his tail swishing back and forth, smiling.
His vision and mind returned to normal, “Lilac” he muttered feeling sick. His eyes opened in alarm at his voice, scrambling backwards. She didn’t bring it up, “Lloyd I’m not going to hurt you,” she came near him and put her arms around him in a hug. You're okay now, he slowly fell asleep in her arms.
Devil was 2 years old now! She was sweet and really good at hunting. Lilac came to visit often and she was here today. He still hadn’t spoken but that was his thing, with a mix of hand gestures Lilac could understand what he was saying. He rubbed Devils head and she purred. Lilac brought small cat treats from her town and Devil loved them. She had pranced around happily after eating them, they had decorated a bit too. Leaves hung from the roof, a small wooden stand for his weapons on one end of the crescent moon shaped cave. He had a small blanket and pillow he used as his bed and Devil slept with him. He kept a cooler for food, it was a bit of a mess. Lilac kept her distance with it.
Lilac probably thought the fact that both of them who eat raw meat are a bit crazy but it’s okay. It’s just Lilac. “Lloyd, is it okay if you meet my younger brother? He thinks you’re really cool and I know that you said not to tell anybody but it’s just him, please”?
He sighed then nodded, okay we’re going to have to do something about, she pointed to what he was wearing, this. It was a bit run down sure but it worked. I can get you a simple black cloak if you want. He smiled and nodded, that would work fine. Okay I’ll meet you here tomorrow cya Lloyd, happy 2nd year Devil. Devil wagged her tail and Lilac left.
Here, I got you a plain black T-shirt, a simple black cloak and, you have a pair of jeans here right? He nodded, you get changed and I’ll wait outside, with Devil. Lilac grabbed Devil as Devil let out a small yelp.
He laughed getting changed. The jeans were a dark blue and pretty baggy, the black T-shirt for nice and the cloak could hide his tail and horns. He could partially shapeshift but it’s not something he put much effort into. He smiled as he left. “Wow you look great! Now come on”. He followed her through the forest adjusting the gray mask over half of his face. After fixing it Devil jumped down from Lilac and onto his shoulder.
She turned around and he signed to her, do I look ridiculous? Yes. He laughed softly trying not to make much noise. Inside the cloak he had hidden a couple of his knives in case of emergencies, he hadn’t completely lost the skill to wield a sword but his knives skills were so much better.
From first glance, he looked like not the best person. Covered in all black half of his face was covered, he had a long cloak, but that shouldn’t make you think someone’s bad. Right?
He quickly followed Lilac through the small busy town, barely anybody paid any mind to him. Maybe a couple glances but not for too long. He followed her to a large building.
“Room 208 please,” she said. Where where they? And than it hit him, they were in a hospital. He followed her up the elevator and to the room. 208. He walked inside to find her little brother. No one else was in the room apart from them 3. She shut the door and flipped a sign saying they were visitors.
He looked at the kid, he was pretty beat up. He had bruises and scar marks over his body, he signed to her. Is he okay? “He got into a car crash a while back, a couple years and he’s been in a coma for the longest of the time. The day we met, my parents didn't make it.” He frowned, I’m sorry he signed. “It’s okay”.
He sat down next to the kid making sure his cloak hid his back. The kid reached out for him patting his head gently, then a small wave. “I’ve heard so much about you,” he whispered. “You make my sister very happy”. He smiled and nodded.
You have a very smart sibling. She nodded but didn’t speak as tears gathered in her eyes. She came over wrapping her arms around him and he giggled. “I love you sissy”. The two of them smiled, why hadn’t his relationship with the ninja been more like that? He missed them more than he would ever admit.
Maybe, he should go check on them. It wasn’t that bad of an idea, he good tell them about the lab, in a letter of course. He couldn’t speak anyway, he grabbed a piece of paper lying around and a pen. He quickly jotted down what he wanted to say making his hand writing unrecognizable, “where are you going Lloyd”? I’ll be back soon.
He left the building quickly, cat still on his shoulder. His cloak trailed behind him and his face was well hidden. Even if someone were to see him the shadow wouldn’t make him recognizable, as well as his mask.
It had been forever since he had taken his mask off, it was like a part of him.
He bustled through the busy streets of ninjago city making sure to avoid any officers patrolling. It was easy sailing. He made it through the entire city, than he was met with the monastery. It’s not that hard, he told himself, slip inside, drop the note and go.
He climbed the many steps off the mountain until he reached the top. Careful to move around the side and approach that way, rocks slipped beneath his feet as he used his hand and the wood for balance. In a quick jump he grabbed hold of the roof and pulled himself up looking down pulling out he note. Ninja. They could probably figure out it was meant for them.
Waiting a couple minutes for signs of life he quickly slipped through his old window. Swiftly and silently he pulled himself up to the ceiling jumping from wooden beam to wooden beam.
He landed on one of them and it creaked, he cursed silently as he heard movement from the other room. He blend in pretty well, just don’t look up to closely don’t look up to closely-
A shuriken flew by his head and he jumped running back the way he came. Of course it was Zane, the one with the extra good eyesight and could see any detail. He dropped the note and heard the ice ninja stop to pick it up. He had out speeded him anyway, he listened at the entrance to his room as the footsteps faded away.
They wouldn’t know it was him would they? No, if Zane knew it was him he wouldn’t throw a shuriken at him. Would he?
“LLOYD, LLOYD, LOOK AT THIS” Lilac yelled panting running with phone in hand. He looked up from where he was playing with Devil, tilting his head slightly. She flipped her phone screen around to him, it was a new report.
A local group of scientists have been found committing many illegal deeds yet have been put to a stop by the ninja! No sign of the green ninja yet the rest of them have refused to say anything- she shut off her phone. They’re gone! You don’t need to worry anymore! His eyes lit up and he jumped into Lilacs arms happily, tail wagging. They’re gone he signed. Thank you.
“No worry Lloyd, after all you went through they needed to be stopped. I didn’t do much anyway, it’s the ninja you need to thank”. He frowned. How? I know you don’t want to see the ninja, just wear your cloak and try to say thank you some how? I’ll try.
Try he did, every time it got harder and harder to do. So, like garmadon used to do he’d write small letters about local crime and where to find them, the ninja skyrocketed. They caught more crime than ever before, sometimes he’d sit and watch from above, out of sight.
He could tell they had gotten sloppy, but they did their job good enough so it would work.
One night on his way to deliver his letter he stopped before slipping his letter inside. One dance wouldn’t hurt? When he was younger he’d dance across the rood of the monastery, it was like a fight, but more elegant.
He jumped and lept happily, not taking in his surroundings, a big mistake. “Hello”? A groggy eyed Kai looked up at him, then his realization kicked in. “Hey! What are you doing here, who are you”. Instead of saying anything, he couldn’t anyway, he slipped a letter down the roof of the monastery. Kai picked it up careful to keep his eyes on him and opened the letter, he gasped “your the one giving letters”! He rolled his eyes, had Zane not seen him well enough? Kai always did take an extra moment to process things.
He bowed to pay his respects and then slipped one more letter down. Kai picked it up reading through it yet he knew exactly what the words said.
Dear Ninja
I've been giving you hints on where villains are located
For you to stop them for some time,
But in reality it’s also due to the fact I can’t speak,
I had a terrible experience in the past with some terrible people
But you’ve gotten rid of them
I will still give letters regularly but this is my thanks to you
-the half faced one
He sounded so modern it made him want to laugh, it didn’t sound like him at all. He frowned, he missed the ninja, but the fact still remained. He didn’t do it as often anymore but he couldn’t risk going haywire.
Kai looked up at him, “would, would you like to stay here for the night? You’ve helped us so much and it would be great for us to repay you”. He looked around, part of him wanted to go with Kai yet it wasn’t a great idea.
Then, he slowly nodded his head. What was the worst that could happen?
Kai hadn’t seem to recognize him yet he mostly kept his hood over his face, his blond hair now had brownish tints, his horns hid behind his hood but they now curled backwards. His face was ruined, he was in all black and wouldn’t speak. He had some weird cat on his shoulder and pointy elf-like ears. He sighed, tickling Devils neck quietly.
“I like your cat” Kai said. He just nodded and slightly bowed his head for Kai to get the message. Everybody else is still sleeping but they won't mind, I’ll see you in the morning? He nodded and headed into the guest room. He left a sigh of relief once the door shut and he knew for at least a moment he was safe.
What would he do if they found out? He wasn’t the same person, he had disappeared for 2-3 years and they probably hated him. He put his hands up to his face pushing his head backwards as he flopped on the bed.
He set a mental reminder to only sleep for a couple hours before waking up and slowly he crawled in bed, hiding his oni parts, and slept.
He woke up earlier, much more than the other ninja. Not other ninja, you aren’t one of them anymore.
He prepared a small breakfast for them before taking his plate and eating quietly at the counter. Small was an understatement. Cooking was something Lilac adored and since eating raw meat a lot had gotten to him he had asked her to teach him. Which she did with open arms.
He had already gone out to grab his kill but they didn’t need to know that. He smeared a couple crums on the plate and some syrup and put his plate to the side so it looked like he had ate. Not necessary but he did it anyway.
Jay was the first one out and the second he saw him he screamed. He would to being fair, a random man dressed in all black standing in your kitchen. That alerted the presence of the others including Kai thankfully.
“Hey hey, this is the guy who’s been delivering us the letters, I offered to let him stay here for the night”. The others didn’t seem very happy but they agreed. Zane looked curiously at him and he made sure not to have long eye contact
Zane approached him, would you lower your hood for us. He shook his head slightly, “alright then. And, thank you, did you cook this”? He nodded. “It’s very good, I hope you aren’t trying to poison us though” he chuckled and followed Zane over to the table.
He sat next to Jay, he should have seen this coming. Almost instantly after he sat down he felt his hood being pulled back. He grabbed his hood before it had the chance to and growled at Jay. Jay mumbled an apology and backed off. What’s your name? He looked over to Kai,”oh right! He gave me 2 letters last night”. One of them was explaining that he wasn’t able to speak and he thanked us for getting rid of some bad people”. Yeah, but what’s his name? “It said the half face one”. “Interesting” Zane said and picked his plate up to bring to the dishwasher. “Come onnnn, can you please show us your face”?
His broken, ruined, unrecognizable face? Not a chance. He shook his head and got up from the table heading to the door. He felt there eyes as they watched him,
sighing he turned around. Zane walked up to him, do you speak sign language? Partially, some actions I use aren’t in normal sign language. Zane nodded. He walked out the door, only to find a sword being flung by his head, he grabbed it as he ducked and pulled it out.
The ninja had gotten up the second it happend, he stalked outside looking around for a potential threat. The man jumped down from the door of the monastery, didn’t hit you 308? HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD he screamed in his head! Why was he still here? Dropping the sword he had thrown at him he chose a better one from his cloak. “You keep knives in there”! Jay whispered.
“Who the hell are you” Kai yelled at him. The man shook his head, why wont 308 tell you? Oh wait, he can’t. He laughed happily and he growled. Grabbing something out of his back pocket he through it over, the collar. The freaking shock collar, he took a step back losing his balance.
His vision blurred, he couldn’t be here anymore. He took off to the left jumping up the sisde of the monastery and looking down at him. Professor number 1, or as he liked to call him the lab rat king. He hissed which just made him look more amused. Kai took a step forward, I don’t know if you’d like to do that would you? Kai’s face morphed into confusion, and hen anger. “Give me one good reason why”. “I can ruin your little friends secret identity here, 308, I know who you are”. His eyes narrowed.
They couldn't know
They couldn’t know
They couldn’t know
He stepped back down in a swift moment he was next to the ninja, a couple gasps arose beside him, “aw, that means so much to you doesn’t it L-”, he grabbed the man shoving him against the wall hearing the hard crack of his skull. He heard a scream from Nya but he didn’t stop. He bashed his head into the floor until his eyes rolled into the back of his skull. In all of it his hood fell back, “Lloyd”? He looked over at them,
Blood pooled out of his bottom lip, bruises among his face as the dead body sat next to him. His eyes glowed purple and he shook violently. He looked down to find a knife stabbed in his leg. He moved to the other side of the monastery door and peeled back his cloak. Blood gushed out of his wound at an alarming rate. He cursed silently as his vision went blurry, he leaned back but his head hit the wall too hard and he fell unconscious.
Beep, beep, beep. He woke up startled, confused by the machines hooked up to him, he grabbed his face, his mask wasn’t on. He looked to the side, his mask was there, he lunged for it slipping it back on his face as footsteps neared. He was in a simple black T-shirt and jeans seeing multiple bandages on his body. Zane entered the room stepping carefully, are you feeling better Lloyd? He took a step back clutching the shirt he was wearing. He’s not here, he can’t be here he can’t know. “Lloyd, why haven’t you come home”?
A knife chucked by the side of his head, INSOLENCE, YOU ARE NOT TO SPEAK REMEMBER? He sobbed into his shirt feeling dizzy from the pain shaking his head in a desperate nodding motion. Good.
He shook his head slightly looking at the window tempted to break it to escape. Then, Zane walked up to him, he put his hand on his shoulder and pulled him into a hug. He couldn’t help the tears that came from his eyes, he was stronger than this. Slowly he backed away from Zane pulling himself together, he was better than this. He didn’t need stupid people looking out for him; he was fine on his own. Devil meowed and he looked down at her. He sighed as the cat jumped into his shoulder.
He wanted to leap into Zane’s arms, but he wasn’t the Lloyd Zane knew anymore. He looked away not being able to make eye contact. His tail was out, stupid, stupid, he shouldn’t have stayed in the first place, it had just been one stupid decision after another. “I thought it was you,” Zane said amused. He didn’t find it funny. Please stay with us for a while Lloyd, we missed you. He looked Zane up and down, no they didn’t. He was a useless burden for their team, he wasn’t human and had hurt Jay. Why, he signed? I’m not human. That was a tough argument to make against a robot, I’m not either Zane said calmly. “Please”? 3 days, 6, 3, 6, 4, deal. He had terrible betting skills, Zane knew that.
Zane sat on the edge of the bed looking up, do you want me to grab someone else to be in here?" He frowned. Who else would want to be with him? Zane was probably here because the others didn’t want to. He shook his head crossing his legs and pulling them close. Devil snuggled into him and he stroked her fur affectionately burying his face into the cats fur.
“What’s her name”? Devil. That’s, an interesting name, he nodded not looking up at Zane. “Is there, a reason you can’t speak? Your letter didn’t say much”. That horrid man, the one outside, he, he kidnapped me for months, I thought it was only 2. Turns out it was 7. “You were kidnapped?” He nodded, if you were to speak, there were punishments. His eyes glistened but he fought tears, it had been so terrible. “Like”? You're pushing it here Zane, he signed, narrowing his eyes making Zane back off.
“Nya and Kai had really wanted to see you along with the other ninja, do you want to join us for food?” He thought for a moment before nodding, following Zane out of the room quietly. They wanted to see him?
Lloyd! Nya jumped forward wrapping her arms around him. He was frozen in place, his one visual eye widened in fear. Lloyd? He nodded, taking a quiet seat at the table. Why was it a short sleeve? They could see his scars, his voice screamed in his head but he had a neutral expression. He sat on the side of the table, Kai was next to him and Nya sat on the end of the table, so she was also next to him.
Whenever any sound left his mouth it was almost instinctive to grab ahold of his neck to loosen the pain a bit. So when he coughed and his hand reached for his soar neck Zane looked over. “Lloyd, I haven’t taken a look at your neck yet it seems injured, can I”? Zane stood up and he pushed the chair backwards sending everyone into a bit of a panic. So far anything anybody had said had gone in one ear and out the other, the others seemed to realize his panic and Kai grabbed his arm trying to hold himself in place. He yanked it back letting out a scream of terror and clutching his shirt in fear. His tail curled around his leg and Zane slowly sat back down. “See, I’ll sit here, I won’t touch you if you don’t want me to”. He sat down trying to keep himself together. He was better than this. He shook his head in an apologetic way as the others ate. He looked down at the plate in front of him knowing full well he wasn’t able to eat anything on it. He pushed the plate forward even though hunger gripped at his stomach. Just not that, he couldn’t eat that.
“Is there something wrong with it Lloyd”? Oh, right, he used to love this. They probably made it for him, useless little brat, just eat the food it’s not that hard. I can’t eat it, he signed for Zane. “Just curious, why?” He didn’t know how to answer as his head hit the table with a loud thunk. He shook it off and left the table not saying anything. “Lloyd”! Nya called after him but he quickly grabbed his cloak slipped it on and was out the door. He heard footsteps being him but he was out of the monastery in a second and back into the woods.
He pulled the cloak over his head and slipped into the familiarity of the forest. He waited almost a minute before picking up the scent of something. Quickly he followed it stumbling upon a rabbit. He killed the rabbit in a swift movement and had it as his dinner. He fed some to Devil to make sure his cat was well fed. He patted Devils head and headed back up to the monastery. This time he kept the cloak on, it reminded him of what he wore as a kid. He re-entered the monastery feeling eyes on him as he went up to Kai. I’m sorry, Zane! What’d he say? “Lloyd, could you repeat the action please”, he shook his head smiling feeling energy in his body once more. “Lloyd, are you going to like, explain what happened"? Jay asked. It’s not every day you just randomly disappear and don’t come back. I don’t know where to start. “That’s okay Lloyd, take your time”. He nodded his thanks to Zane. “Lloyd”! Kai called him over, he looked to see what Kai needed. “Do you want to play a game of Uno with me and Nya”? “You know, like, some sibling bonding time”? A game where you need to shout Uno when your down to one card? He signed questioningly. “Kai what Lloyd is trying to say is that playing a game where he needs to speak is I’ll advised. Right, sorry I forgot about that. He nodded, it’s okay Kai. I can partially understand sign language I learnt it a bit, it’s all coming back to me now, she said, it’s okay? He nodded to Nya who had gotten it right. All right! He smiled knowing they could only see half of his face.
Did you, see my face well I was unconscious? Nya looked at what he had signed so he repeated it drastically slower. “Nah it was only Zane in there with you”. Guys I think you forgot that I can’t read sign language, he laughed softly shaking his head as Nya sealed the cards out. They decided that he would just put 1 finger over the deck for him to call Uno.
I think it was their way of saying they wanted things to go back to normal, how? He had no clue. Then he noticed the missing presence when he looked to his shoulder. Devil, where was Devil? He got up looking around frantically. She had just been here, “Lloyd, Lloyd what’s wrong”? He signed the one word to Nya and got up looking around for the cat. “Oh, your cat?” He nodded looking for it, he looked on the couch, the room he was staying in and other rooms. Then he stumbled upon the open front door.
“Lloyd, what-”? The freaking door had been left open, he trusted Devil but when she vanishes out of nowhere? He was concerned. The mess that he had made with that wretched man was gone thankfully, but that was the least of his concerns. Knocking at the door to the monastery, quickly hiding he saw Kai look over at him but open the door anyway, only to find. Lilac? He came out of his hiding place to jump over to Lilac hugging her, I think you’ve lost something she said handing him Devil. He took her wrapping the small cat in a hug.
“And you said you weren’t going to come back here” she said with a small laugh. Not really by choice he signed, “oh please I knew you weren’t going to live out there forever”. He frowned at Lilac’s words. “Sooooo, you going to introduce yourself or-”. “Yeah I can introduce myself, I’m Lilac," she said bowing to the red ninja. I’m Lloyd's friend we met shortly after he escaped, he was pretty beat up- he covered his hand over her mouth. Don’t you dare. “Righttt sorry, I’m also the reason your friend is still here with his sanity”. He growled again, “calm down Lloyd” she said ruffling his hair, he struggled to get her hand away from his head. Once he did it had flopped down over his eyes, she laughed and Kai just looked at the 2 of them. “So your close with Lloyd?” Very. “What was that about his sanity and”, drop it Lilac he signed. “Lloyd-, ugh fine. I don’t agree with this, this is very unhealthy”. He stuck his tongue out at her. You know what, you want to come inside and meet the other ninja? “DO I? YES”. She followed them inside happily, you're supposed to be on my side here Lilac. Copying him from earlier, she stuck her tongue out at him. “Hey guys! We have, one of Lloyd’s friends here” the fire ninja said hesitatingly. The ninja made their way to the living room, but Cole. Where’s Cole? He was needed on a mission but he’ll be back soon Zane said. I’m going to be gone before that, he said in his head.
He sat on the edge of the couch, Lilac next to him and Kai next to her. Jay and Nya sat on the other couch together and Zane and Pixal both sat on chairs. It’s been a long time and I think we’ve all been avoiding it, Lloyd, can you explain what happened? And, why you left?
He froze up and Lilac put a hand on his leg whispering comforting words into his ear. He opened his mouth to try and speak but closed it, relying on his hands to speak for him. I don’t want to explain to them he signed to Lilac nervously, I can explain for the most part for you. If you feel more comfortable you can leave the room. He nodded getting up from his seat and leaving the room.
“So what happened, Lilac right?” “Yep, from what I know, which isn’t much. He had hurt, she looked at them all, you right? Jay,” he nodded, “it wasn’t that big of a deal though”. She shook her head, “I think he ran away of fear of himself, he got kidnapped by the scientists and they locked him up. They gave him these weird needles with liquid inside of them, it were to draw out his oni side. That being the reason why he probably doesn’t look the same as the last time you saw him. If he were to speak, he had a collar tied to his neck and they’d shock him. You weren’t aloud to speak and if they caught you moving around a lot they’d punish you. He told me about the screams of other things in the other rooms”. “That makes sense, when we raided the building there were plenty of other kids being kept there,” Nya said. She nodded. “Lloyd met up with Devil, the small cat, and they bonded. From what I know he had been locked up for months and we met around 2-3 weeks after maybe?
“Lilac, thank you for protecting Lloyd all this time”, Pixal said. She shook her head laughing, that kid doesn’t need me to protect him, he goes loose and every single person in this room could be dead in minutes. Their eyes widened in fear. He’s not going to of course she said with a nervous chuckle, that happened like twice and it was a year ago. A lot of unconvincing glances, “so what happened after he escaped,, what’d he do?”
“He practiced his fighting, he got food, he just, stayed alive I guess”. Huh Kai said. Yeah, but, where’d mask come from? Oh that I have no clue, he hasn’t taken it off since I’ve met him. Zane you saw him without his mask right? “What are you talking about Kai?” “You know, when you were taking care of him?” “I, I have no memory of that”. “Zane let me check something please,” sure thing Pixal he said standing up. Coming behind him she opened the back of his head and looked through it. That’s, strange. What? There’s a missing memory, are you able to regain it? Not at all, it’s not like it was even there in the first place I can just tell between the two random gaps of time. So, Lloyd took it out? Jay asked. He must have Pixal replied closing he compartment. “Strange”. What’s so bad about it anyway? I, I do not know Jay Zane said. Can we ask him? “That’s not a good idea” Lilac said. It can’t be that bad Lilac, you can’t try, he's the most stubborn person I know.
Lloyd! He turned to face Kai, are you done? I think I recognize that, if it’s what I think yeah we’re done but I’ve just got a couple questions, the others are still inside. He nodded, unfolding his arms and standing to face him. “Can you take off your mask”? His eye widened and he shook his head. “Please, just let me see” he said lunging for him. Lloyd stepped backwards causing Kai’s arm to flop flimsily in the air. “Please Lloyd”. He shook his head, I’m going to kill you if you try this again. He narrowed his eyes as Kai spoke again, “yeah but your going to need to speak up I don’t know what that means”. He snapped kicking Kai backwards as he hit the post. Kai got up, “okay hit a rough nail here, I’m sorry. He frowned, wiping the dust off his arm. Don’t take the mask off, fine by me.
He followed Kai back inside and watched as he went back into his room. He scoffed at his former elder sibling getting irritated. Small edges of his skin had rough darker skin appear around it and he rubbed it pulling his sleeve back down. Ugh, oni junk.
Come down for supper everybody! 1 day left, he had 1 day left. Then he could leave. He tried to ignore the ringing in his head, he hadn’t eaten food for days. He wanted to try and be a bit better while he was around the ninja, if he could break the habit of eating blood he’d be fine.
Stepping down carefully he sat down at the table with Lilac next to him. Nya on the end of the table so technically also next to him.
He swung his legs back and forth as he watched everyone take a seat, a scream came from Jay in the kitchen and his head shot up. Blood dripped from his hand, “Zane, a bit of help here!” Zane got up from the table and quickly wrapped Jay’s hand. His vision on the other hand had blurred. His body started shaking slightly and he felt himself get pulled in by Lilac. A comforting arm rested on his shoulder and he leaned into her touch not being able to focus on anything.
The shaking just got worse. The scent of blood, he curled up wrapping his tail comforting around himself trying to stop his anxious body. Everybody finished their dinner and Nya crouched down next to him. He turned away from desperately holding onto Lilac and looked over at her. “Hey Lloyd, um,” she didn’t know how to act around the small oni. So she held out her hand and he grabbed onto it greedily and pulled himself close to him. “Lloyd,” Lilac whispered. He turned to her his ears flicking up and down. “When was the last time you ate?” He stopped and felt the shiver crawling up his body again. “Lloyd! You can’t ugh come on,”Nya looked at her questioningly. “You’re gonna get stuck in one of your trances again.” The shiver raced up his body to the point he couldn’t move without shaking, to the point where he could only see red, to the, he felt a sob ecscape his mouth and he covered it trying not to cry.
Lloyd, whispered Lilac. She held out her arm, “bite.” He closed his eyes trying not to cry, shaking his head. When he opened she had a knife by her arm, she sliced it gently, a clean wound. Just enough for the blood to drip in front of him. Slowly he brought his mouth down and bit into her arm feeling much nicer already. He closed his eyes and sat there for a long time, he didn’t want to let go. At some point he had been moved to the couch, he laid down, curling like a cat and gently let the blood pool into his mouth.
Slowly and carefully she removed his mouth from her arm and he laid comfortably on her lap letting out a small grumble.
“Lilac?” She looked over at Zane, “is, is he okay?” “He should be fine, obviously he had been a bit of an idiot and hadn’t eaten.” “But, blood?” “It’s an oni thing, he’ll be fine after. Just, leave it, he’s sensitive about it.” The ninja nodded, keeping a wary glance on the curled up sleeping Lloyd.
When he woke (sadly) he had multiple people towering over him. As a reflex he practically jumped up from where he was and over the couch with his arms raised. Wu, and Garmadon. Of course somebody would invite those 2. He couldn’t just leave in peace could he? “Hello Lloyd” he stuck up 2 fingers in a peace sign and walked towards the door, his tail swishing behind him. Zane stepped in front of him and he sighed. “Lloyd.” Zane grabbed the back of his shirt and dragged him back over to where Wu and Garmadon were sitting.
I’m going to be acting as a translator for Lloyd. “Huh, why?” I forgot we haven’t really explained the situation to you two yet, Lloyd, can’t speak. “That’s stupid why?” Wu elbowed his brother. “Some trauma reaction, the, laboratory we shut down a while ago, he had been stuck in their for months. If he spoke, if he even moved this collar that had been tied around your neck would shock you. “And the Oni stuff?” Wu stayed silent while watching Lloyd, what had happened to the green ninja? Oni stuff is complicated, Lilac said sitting down on the edge of the couch. “Complicated how? Also I heard that you need blood, is that true?” He looked like he was going to cut off Garmadon's throat and he actually might. Can I kill Garmadon then leave again? He signed to Lilac. “Lloyd.” He turned at Wu’s voice. “Both me and my brother had to learn sign language.” I don’t freaking care, Garmadon if you think I like thinking about this crap your wrong. “Just answer the blood question, or I can answer it myself. What kind of oni are you? Maybe some side effects from being in the lab?” Garmadon stood up and crouched down in front of him looking Lloyd up and down. It was only when he touched him when he flinched uncomfortably. “Just trying to figure out what kind of oni you are.” He jumped up at the stupid oni pinning him to the ground and pulling out a knife and stabbing it next to his head.
Garmadon breathing went heavy, stepping off of the older oni he picked up the knife and slid it back into his boot. Garmadon finally got up after he sat back down, “what was that?!” “Oh I should’ve warned you, he kind of hates when people touch him. But he also loves physical contact, it’s a 50/50.” At this point Zane had got up and left the room realizing Lilac could cover everything. I just hate him he signed grumpily to Lilac and she laughed ruffling his hair which made him slap her hand away affectionately.
“Where have you been staying Lloyd” Wu asked. None of your business. “Why do you wear the mask?” Again none of your business. “Can you tell me how you met Lilac?” I can tell you Lilac chipped in. Though I thought the ninja would have told you already. I had been on the phone and stuff happened. I went into shock, fell unconscious and like the little stalker Lloyd is he had been watching me, anyway he took me back to what we’re going to call his little home. He scoffed and Lilac punched him jokingly. Didn’t really know what to think of him at first, he explained, in like the dirt of everything that had been happening.I brought him a couple things he might need after and than we just bonded, also we’ve got Devil here who is out little prized possession, she picked up the cat and nuzzled her face into her fur. Devil let out a pur and laid down onto Lilacs lap. He shook his head, traitor, Lilac laughed, pulling Devil even closer to her. Devil let out a yelp at the sudden movement and jumped onto his shoulder shivering. Petting the cat affectionately she snuggled into his head. Bumping into his mask. He moved Devil to the other shoulder stopping her from hitting his mask. He tightened it for extra safety measures. Mentioning where I used to live, my couple days are up and I’m allowed to go. Turning around and phasing over behind the couch, CRAP YOU WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO DO THAT LLOYD, “what.” “YOU CAN TELEPORT?” He turned around and walked back to the couch. Grabbing Lilac's arm he dragged her away from the two.
It was freaking stupid to come here in the first place. Devil clung to his shoulder sensing his distress. Lloyd- he shook his head, it was stupid to come here in the first place I don’t belong here anymore. “Lloyd?” He turned around to see Kai and Nya. Nya ran over to him wrapping her arms around him. He flinched slightly but didn’t pull away. And Nya sobbed, she never cried, she was the strong one. He didn’t know what to do, he slowly lowered to the floor holding Nya in his arms. “Please don’t leave again” she whispered. He thought he might break, so he didn’t move. He ran his hand comfortingly through her hair. And he spoke, for the first time since, forever, he spoke. “I’m sorry” he whispered. He tried not to let his voice hitch, and he cried. He cried into Nya’s arms, cried for the pain, for the years without any of this being dealt with. It was important, and he had been putting it off. Because he was scared, how was he supposed to deal with this stuff? Covering his mouth he stopped himself from crying and he looked up at the sky. One breath after another, he was fine. He got up brushing his arms off wiping the tears from his eyes.
Everything he just thought? Absolutely useless, he was left off guard. For when the stupid fire ninja stepped towards him, and ripped the mask off his face. And he screamed, he pulled his hood over his face and turned around sprinting away. He was not going to let them see, they couldn’t see, they wouldn’t. He climbed up the wall of the monastery and crouched on top of it pulling his hood farther down his face. And Kai ran after him, of course the stupid fire ninja would. In a moment of desperation he swiped his power at Kai sending him flying backwards. Lilac picked up his mask and walked towards the entrance. We’ll come visit sometime! He watched as Kai got to his feet, and the first thing he did was chuck a ball of fire at him. He ducked missing it by inches but the movement caused his hood to fall. He turned away quickly, they didn’t see, they didn’t see, his breath hitched in his throat as he jumped down and walked down the steps of the mountain.
He walked besides Lilac, she didn’t speak, of course neither did he. After they were down a bit she handed him his mask, he took it and strapped it back to his face. “That was chaotic.” I don't really want to think about the last couple days, everyone’s emotions were crazy. “That’s fair.” He nodded, now pulling the hood back from his face. They had seen his mask, the bloody ugly side of it, the result of never taking it off, he tried to ignore the fact that blood dripped down his face sometimes but he knew that it did. No one else needed to know though. And they did, well maybe not completely “Lloyd? Earth to Lloyd?” He looked over at her, “your horns are dirty you should clean them once we get home, we can stay at my place if you’d like.” He nodded, he needed a break. He’d go talk to them another day, not today, he was done for today.