Archive of Our Own ^beta

Lloyd was totally not laughing at the look on its uncle's face.

It sunk deeper into the shadows of the corner. Not necessarily to hide itself- it was still distinct enough that everyone knew it was there from the glinting of its green eyes- but because it wasn't so obvious when a mostly dissolved mass of darkness was smiling. Wu furrowed his brow at the computer system that had been set up in his monastery, face full of undisguised unease and distaste. Kai was tapping away at the keyboard, Cole and Zane hovering over his shoulder and watching. (Jay probably should have been here, if only to try and fix the way the screen periodically dimmed and brightened, but he seemed preoccupied.) They were all more or less ignoring Wu's disapproving stare.

 It wasn't technology that Wu was against, necessarily. He'd taken the news that Zane was a nindroid fairly well; though considering that he'd learned the same day that the physical manifestation of his brother's rage was the Green Ninja, there probably wasn't much that felt like a significant surprise in comparison. It was modifying his ancient monastery itself that he disliked. But they had to make some changes, if they wanted to keep up with...

An image popped up onto the screen with an alarmed beeping sound. The screen dimmed again at the same time, the colors distorting and the image growing fuzzy. It was an picture of two serpentine generals; which narrowed things down immediately to "bad news" but just how bad really depended on the color. There was nothing the ninja could really do but lean in and squint as they tried to make out the details. Lloyd oozed out of the corner and solidified, squirming in between the ninja so it could take a closer look too. Blue and purple- and green for that matter- could all look the same when the computer was acting up like this...

The screen glitched erratically before popping back into normal color and image quality. It was a picture of Pythor and Acidicus. A collective groan rose up from the ninja. Cole threw his hands up in the air, turning and walking away as Lloyd slumped against the desk and Zane stared grimly at the photo, as if he could make it change by staring hard enough. "Fucking hell." Kai hissed, earning a sharp glare from Wu. The fact that Wu didn't actually chastise him for it (or sentence him to running through the training course until he was too out of breath to swear) was a testament to how bad the situation was. They'd still have to get out there right away if it had been Skales... but dealing with Pythor meant there was a very small and defined number of times that they could fail.

Jay, of course, chose this time to walk in. He was wearing a nice suit and gloves, clashing with the bright red scarf around his neck. He was humming to himself, a pleased look on his face. It was pretty far outside the general mood of the room, but he didn't seem to notice. The fact that everybody in the room was turning to stare didn't clue him in.

Cole looked Jay up and down. The corner of his lip twitched as he smiled, trying not to laugh. "Where are you going, Mr. Fancy?" He cooed. Wu gave him a warning don't-tease-your-teammates-look, while Kai ducked away to try and hide his own laugh. Zane gave Kai a concerned look, leaning over the nearly-doubled over ninja.

Jay didn't seem to notice that he was being teased. He twirled around on the spot, grinning as he flapped his hands. "Didn't you hear? I'm taking Nya to a really nice restaurant." He said, rocking on his feet as he smiled proudly. Kai's badly hidden laughter died in an instant. The stop was sudden enough to send him into a coughing fit. Zane patted him uncertainly on the back as he recovered. It took a moment before Kai was able to stand up straight and shake his head at Jay.

"You might want to change your plans. We've got evidence of Serpentine activity over at Mega Monster Amusement Park." Kai said, gesturing back at the screen.

Jay walked up to the monitor, squinting. "Hey, that's Pythor."

Zane nodded. "He would not be there for fun. There must be a Fangblade hidden underneath the park."

"We can't let them get it!" Jay said. For a moment, his voice and expression were full of determination. And then he faltered, his brow furrowing. "But my date..."

Kai scowled, lightly whacking Jay in the head. "If Pythor's serpentine get their hands on all four of the Fangblades, they're going to unleash the Great Devourer. Get your priorities straight."

"Is there any sign of the rest of the serpentine?" Lloyd asked quietly. There was a long and awkward silence. Lloyd hunched its shoulders, wanting to sink away and disappear again. It knew what the answer would probably be, and it knew that it couldn't really be called a good sign either way, but it just... it could hope.

"If there are Fangpyre or Hypnobrai present, nobody has posted evidence of them." Zane said quietly.

Wu placed a gentle hand on Lloyd's shoulder, making it jump. "They are not our allies." Wu reminded it. His tone was firm but not unsympathetic, and Lloyd could tell that he was trying not to let this sound like a scolding. "A common enemy today does not make a friend we can trust tomorrow. Remember who they have sworn their loyalty to." He said solemnly. (Mostly solemnly. It was subtle, but Lloyd caught the curl of his lip and the flash of fang when he said "loyalty"; he figured that there was a story behind that, but it wasn't one he thought he wanted to hear now.)

Lloyd slowly nodded. It hadn't taken long, after all of the tribes were freed, for the serpentine to split into factions. Pythor had been first to break away, calling for all who would follow him to free their ancient goddess and take their revenge on the surface dwellers. Acidicus and Skalidor had followed him. Skales and Fangtom had been swayed to stay by a similar approach; they would have their revenge, and a promise of relative safety for their tribes, if they continued to serve the one who had freed them.

Garmadon.

Lloyd let out a breath it didn't need, shifting uncomfortably. It wasn't stupid. It knew that it and its fath- creator were enemies now, and the serpentine that he'd simultaneously threatened and bribed weren't going to be friendly to it either. But the last time it had talked to Garmadon was when he returned to Ninjago, and if there was some chance that the serpentine would say how he was doing-

"Oh! One sec, I've got an idea." Jay said suddenly, the sound of his voice snapping Lloyd out of its thoughts. The shadow watched as Jay sprinted off towards Nya's room. It relaxed, taking advantage of the distraction to try and force its thoughts away from its creator. It didn't really matter which group of serpentine they had to fight today. They were going to Mega Monster Amusement Park! Assuming they could all get this over with quickly enough and with little collateral damage, there could be time left over for actually enjoying the amusement park. Lloyd hadn't inherited many memories from Garmadon's childhood, but it was clear that amusement parks had only become a thing long after his childhood ended. They hadn't exactly featured in the stories Garmadon had told it about the surface either. It was one of the many things about Ninjago that Lloyd had no idea what to expect of, but it sounded like a lot of fun.

"Can I go?" Lloyd asked. It hadn't been allowed on some of the earlier missions, when Wu had still been uncertain of how it would fight in a team. (Had been uncertain about trusting it, even if nobody wanted to acknowledge that out loud.) But Lloyd was a pretty well established part of the team now, and hadn't been made to hold back in a while. He was only asking to double check, with no real expectation that he would be denied... but the way his teammates were glancing at each other and grimacing didn't seem like a good sign.

"Sorry Lloyd, I just don't think that would be a good idea." Cole said, as gently as he could. He clearly didn't relish being the one to let Lloyd down.

"But why not?" Lloyd insisted, looking up at him with a frown. Cole didn't answer aloud. He just pointedly looked over Lloyd, the person-shaped living mass of shadow and dark magic that was starting to see his point. Lloyd scowled, weaving the illusion of a human over himself. "I can look normal, you know!"

"For the full length of a mission, throughout a fight, without having to worry about it slipping for even a minute?" Kai asked. Lloyd turned to glare at him too. Yes, concealing his true form took a level of concentration that would be hard to keep up when all eyes were on them. Most of Ninjago didn't know that the Green Ninja was one and the same as Garmadon's shadow, and they would all prefer to keep it that way. Kai had a good point, but still.

"The risks of your presence would not be worth your assistance in the fight." Zane said. The nindroid paused at Lloyd's double-take. "I apologize, I worded that poorly. What I mean is that the risks are mainly to yourself. I do not wish to see you injured, if you have to fight while distracted by maintaining your disguise." ...A lot less insulting when rephrased, but Lloyd still huffed and crossed his arms. His teammates were all making solid arguments clearly based in concern for Lloyd's own safety, but Mega Monster Amusement Park.

As a last resort, he looked back towards Wu. Unfortunately, his uncle simply shook his head. "Your teammates are right, Lloyd. Not every mission is well-suited to you. If you wish to spend the time of their absence practicing your ability to disguise yourself, perhaps you will be able to join more missions in the future."

Fuck. Wu's word was as good as final. Lloyd could try and complain and persuade and bargain with the other ninja, but none of it would matter if Wu put his foot down. Lloyd turned back to the computer with a wordless grumble of frustration. He stared down at the keyboard, not wanting to look at the picture of Pythor on the screen. He felt a hand land on his shoulder. His shoulder started to fray into dark mist at the unexpected touch; it was barely there, and he managed to get a grip on his solidity almost instantly, but he knew that Wu had noticed. "Lloyd." Wu said, almost warningly. He may have learned to trust him about where his loyalties lay, but he was very wary of when Lloyd went quiet after being told not to do something. A pretty reasonable thing to be concerned about, to be fair.

Lloyd hunched his shoulders. "You want me to make a promise?" He huffed.

"Yes." Wu said simply. He waited, staring expectantly at Lloyd. Not giving him a chance to squirm out of it with silence.

"Fine. I promise I'll practice maintaining my disguise, instead of fighting with the others at Mega Monster Amusement Park." Lloyd said. Wu nodded, satisfied. When Lloyd glanced around at the others, he could see looks of relief crossing their faces. They really didn't like the idea of him going, huh? It was almost enough to make him agree that he shouldn't go. Almost.

He was determined not to give them a reason to worry. He might resent being told that he couldn't fight, but he would follow his promise to the letter.

...

Four dragons landed on the edge of a parking lot in the desert. Almost before their momentum had stopped, all four of them were crouching down and spreading their wings to let their passengers off. "We get it, it's hot." Jay chuckled, sliding down Wisp's side. He offered a gloved hand to help Nya down; when he saw that she'd just gotten off on her own, he quickly turned the movement to patting his dragon on the neck. Wisp eyeballed him, looking as amused as a giant lizard could manage.

"Take care. We will return soon." Zane said. He pressed his forehead against his dragon's as both closed their eyes. The dragon snorted in quiet reassurance. They would be fine.

"Everybody's got their weapons, everybody's got their tickets?" Cole asked. He nodded as everybody else confirmed. "Alright. Everybody know the plan?"

"Kick some tail?" Kai said dryly, smirking.

Cole snorted. "Yeah, that's pretty much the plan. Find the snakes, stop the snakes, get the Fangblade somewhere more secure. Shouldn't be too hard to find them, at least. The serpentine are pretty noticeable. Jay, don't spend too long at the restaurant..."

The sound of Cole's voice faded as the ninja walked away, leaving the dragons in silence. They drew themselves up to normal height. Wisp shuffled uncomfortably, picking up his paws to try and keep them off the hot asphalt. Rocky sniffed suspiciously at a nearby car, growling. Shard tossed his head and blew a small flurry of snowflakes. He watched with narrowed eyes as they immediately melted in the scorching desert air.

There was a cluster of rocks off in the distance, casting a shadow large enough for four dragons to rest in. Still close enough for them to see when the ninja returned, though the dragons expected this to take a while. Shard clacked his jaws to get the attention of the others, before starting to walk off towards the rocks. Wisp and Rocky followed immediately, but the red dragon in the corner of Shard's eye was distinctly unmoving. Shard paused, turning to look.

Flame quieted as the others walked away. He certainly intended to join them, even if the sun-warmed top of the rock seemed a lot more interesting than the shade beneath it. He just had to deal with this first... he snorted, shaking his wings in clear impatience. Nothing happened. He felt a sort of cold, uncomfortable itching in the shadow where his wing met his body, the unmistakable feeling of something crawling on his scales. Alright, he had tolerated this for the whole flight, but now it was time for it to go.

Flame snorted, unimpressed. He rolled back over, allowing Lloyd to shelter in the new shadow he cast. Lloyd didn't sink into this one, simply lying in the shade as it stared worriedly out into the parking lot. It had been waiting for the ninja to get completely out of sight, but it didn't seem like any of them had noticed the commotion back here. It was probably safe for it to start walking towards the gates. Nobody else in the parking lot seemed to have seen it, which was an even bigger relief.

Lloyd let out a breath, closing its eyes and concentrating. Focus on solidity first, on forming a coherent humanoid structure out of darkness and magic. Focus on disguise second, weaving the illusion of a human appearance over the shadow. When it opened its eyes, the fierce glow was the only tell for what they were. Lloyd slowly stood up, walking out from under Flame's wing. "Thank you." It said, dipping its head politely to the dragon.

Flame rolled his eyes, shuffling his wings in the draconic equivalent of a shrug. Lloyd hadn't exactly asked for help before stowing away under his wing. The most assistance Flame was provided was keeping his wings as still as possible, avoiding exposing the shadow to the sun and therefore avoiding dropping Lloyd miles above the ground. Hm. Perhaps Lloyd really should be thanking him for his restraint.

Lloyd brushed itself off as the dragon walked off to join the others. It didn't want to discover a flaw in its disguise after it had already walked into the park. Hair, skin, and fabric were all convincing to the eyes and almost convincing to the touch. It was eerily cold, something that stood out starkly underneath the desert sun. ...Well, it would just have to hope that nobody touched it. Aside from that little detail, it could easily pass for any other visitor to the park.

It was technically in compliance with its promise. It wasn't going to fight with the others, not unless it saw the situation turn dire enough that it had to intervene. But it hadn't actually said that it was going to stay behind at the monastery. It had only promised to practice maintaining its human disguise, and what better way to do that than actually going out and seeing how it held up in public? It let just a tiny little cackle slip out of its throat, smugly pleased with its own cleverness. (It was a little nervewracking, actually, to think of trying to pass as human while surrounded by strangers. It had to get used to it eventually, but still. There weren't a lot of good possible reactions that a crowd could have to its true form. It didn't miss being evil, but it did sometimes miss "just start attacking" as a viable response to its cover being blown.)

He stood in front of a wide plaza, covered in waving flags and bright signposts. There must have been a few dozen people just crossing the plaza, dozens more walking to and from the pathways spreading out in every direction; a slow day for the park, but still more people than Lloyd was expecting. A gift shop and a help center flanked the entrance, and the sides of the plaza were lined with little stalls selling all sorts of junk food and sweets. Lloyd ducked on instinct as a roller coaster roared over a track abovehead, the delighted screams of the riders seeming to linger in the air. It was all so much, Lloyd felt practically paralyzed as he tried to decide where to turn first.

He heard a yawn behind him. "Hey, did I scan your ticket...?" Lloyd bolted.

He didn't pick a direction on purpose, just sprinting down the nearest pathway away from the guard. He got some strange looks and some shouts of irritation as he rushed through the crowds, but nobody stopped him. He started slowing to a walk once he felt he was a safe distance away, checking over his shoulder just to be sure. He saw nobody but other parkgoers. The guard probably hadn't wanted to bother with chasing down one person trying to sneak in without a ticket.

...Especially if that one person was just an ordinary human as far as the guard was concerned, because Lloyd's disguise hadn't slipped at all while it was running! He had held together impressively well in its panic. It grinned smugly to itself as it walked. He made it. ...So what was he going to do now? Roller coasters sounded fun, obviously. Amusement park food sounded delicious, assuming he could safely circle back to where it was sold. But he had to leave, at the latest, just before the ninja. Running into either them or the serpentine would mean that Lloyd had to get away immediately, if he wanted to maintain any plausibility about keeping its promise. How much time did he really want to spend waiting?

Yeah, no thanks. It would rather explore as much of the park as it could before getting into any lines. It continued down the path it had chosen in a random panic, humming cheerfully. The people it passed by seemed remarkably calm, for being in a place under serpentine attack. Lloyd assumed that Pythor and Acidicus were somehow keeping a low profile. It could only hope that the serpentine would remain hidden. The last thing Lloyd wanted was for the park to get evacuated soon. ....Well, the last thing it wanted was for the serpentine to get away with the Fangblade, so it could only hope that the fight would be quiet and out of the way when the ninja found them.

Lloyd hadn't picked up a map when he ran, but there were enough "you are here" signs put up around the park for him to have a vague sense of where he was and where he was going. He wandered in a loose, winding loop around the park. He mentally noted down rides to revisit if he had the time, but mostly he was just relishing the noise and the light and the people all around. It was so unlike the cold darkness of the Underworld, and so unlike the quiet privacy of the monastery.

He was in the middle of the park's midway section, packed with carnival games, when he recognized the feeling of eyes on the back of his neck. He froze in the middle of the game he was playing, arm awkwardly wound up mid-throw. The booth operator gave him a strange look, and Lloyd silently reminded himself to stay calm. He finished the throw, no longer really caring as it bounced cheerfully off of the unmoved milk bottles.

Being made out of amorphous shadow, he wasn't technically bound by any restrictions of anatomy. If he wanted to, he could split open the obscuring illusion of solid flesh over the back of his neck and peer out, catching his watcher before they could hide. Of course, that would instantly destroy any chance at passing for human. That was a last resort for if he knew he was in serious danger. Instead he just shifted his stance, trying as subtly as he could to get a glimpse of what was behind him. He saw bushes, other parkgoers passing by- something moving in the bushes. A hooded figure, fairly tall, hard to catch much more detail without obviously staring. But it was clear that they were the one watching him.

And apparently Lloyd hadn't been subtle enough about watching back, because they turned and slipped away near-silently. Lloyd made a split-second decision. He threw the last ball at the booth without even looking, already turning towards the bushes. He ignored the booth operator's shout as he brushed past the meticulously watered foliage, running off into the barren sands behind the park's scenes. There weren't many people who would know to watch Lloyd. That sure as hell wasn't one of the ninja, and Lloyd wasn't letting one of the serpentine slip away to strike the next time his back was turned.

Lloyd could see the hooded figure speed up as they realized they were being chased. If process of elimination hadn't been enough, it was clear now that they were serpentine. Lloyd could see their tail lashing under their cloak, moving like they were slithering rather than running. It wasn't sure what, exactly, it was going to do when it caught up to them... but it could feel the familiar thrill of the chase setting in. The surge of satisfaction that had always come with fulfilling its purpose. The fierce, almost sadistic joy of inflicting fear, and the anticipation of the terror in their eyes when it descended with fangs and claws bared-

It was all it could do to keep up the human disguise as it tackled the serpentine and sent the two of them crashing to the ground. (Kind of pointless back here behind the scenes, with nobody to watch unless an employee happened to wander by, but it was the principle of the thing at this point.) They grappled for a few moments, rolling through the sand. The serpentine slipped out of Lloyd's attempt to hold them still, though it managed to grab onto their cloak and pull off the hood. It sprang to its feet as the serpentine scrambled to theirs.

"WAIT! I'm not here to hurt you!" The serpentine cried, even as she drew twin daggers. Lloyd paused mid-lunge. It took a step back, looking over the serpentine. She was crouched, almost coiled up in a defensive pose, ready to strike if Lloyd made any wrong move. Her cloak of rough brown fabric was lined with shed scales on the inside for protection; Lloyd thought it saw pocket-like sheathes built in for the daggers. Lloyd could see the wariness in her eyes, but she met his gaze with the prideful ferocity of someone determined not to show weakness. Lloyd relaxed slightly as he recognized the red of her scales; she was a Fangpyre, one of the two tribes that hadn't gone with Pythor when he revealed his intent to summon the Great Devourer.

...Which meant that she was on Garmadon's side. Which was kind of better, but not... not really good. Lloyd let out a long breath; less for its own sake, and more to show the serpentine that it was calming down. "Okay." It said.

"Okay?"

"I believe you." Lloyd said. It lifted its hands in a gesture of... not exactly surrender, but definitely showing that it was unarmed. The Fangpyre rose slowly out of her coil, letting her arms relax at her sides. She didn't quite sheathe the daggers, but she was clearly less ready to strike now.

"Oh." She said quietly, almost awkwardly. The tip of her tail swished through the sand. She and Lloyd stared at each other, both unsure of where to go from here. They were still enemies, at the end of the day. Neither of them wanted to be the first to turn their back and walk away, but neither of them wanted to pick an unnecessary fight.

"...Do you mind telling me what you're here for, then? Or is that, uh. Secret strategic information or something." Lloyd asked, awkwardly rubbing the back of its neck.

"No, not exactly a secret." The Fangpyre said, shaking her head. She seemed relieved to have something to talk about. "Allegedly, Pythor and Acidicus are looking for a Fangblade here. I'm meant to intervene when they find it, and take it myself so it can be destroyed. Haven't seen them yet, though."

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah, the ninja heard the same thing. They're trying to get the Fangblade first. Technically, I wasn't supposed to come with them, but..." He shrugged. "I don't know if they're having any better luck than you are, though."

"Hm." The Fangpyre hissed thoughtfully, flicking her tongue out. "Would you say it's worth the trouble for me to intervene? Or would my appearance just distract the ninja?"

Lloyd hummed, furrowing its brow. The ninja probably wouldn't mind some help against Pythor, and they generally tried not to judge by appearances. But working with someone on Garmadon's side, even for just one fight... well, they might be distracted enough by watching their own backs that it would be a net loss. Besides, the look on the Fangpyre's face was the look of someone fishing for a particular answer. "You'll probably just split their focus. Sorry?"

The Fangpyre snorted, sheathing her daggers. "You should be sorry, I was really looking forward to fighting two generals today." She drawled. She paused, frowning slightly. "...Though I guess Garmadon would be unhappy to see me coming back early, so I'm stuck here for a while either way."

Lloyd looked over the serpentine again. Pythor and Acidicus had been here longer, with less effort to hide themselves, without causing a panic. She wasn't hostile to Lloyd, and it didn't anticipate the two of them having a reason to fight anytime soon. "What's your name?"

"Vasilica. Why?"

"Nice to meet you, Vasilica. Do you want to go get zeppole with me?"

...

Considering that Vasilica had money on her and Lloyd didn't, meeting up with her was probably best for its fair food ambitions. It figured that stealing from the stalls would have been more trouble than it was worth. Though Lloyd might have done it anyways, if it had known beforehand how good it was going to taste.

It tore happily through the bag of deep-fried dough balls, sending a cloud of powdered sugar into the air. Vasilica ate at a relatively subdued pace, swallowing the donuts whole one at a time. She scanned passerby suspiciously from under her hood, but nobody seemed to take any notice of them. She jolted a bit as Lloyd nudged her, quickly clamping down on the reflex to hiss at the disturbance.

Lloyd smiled up at her, the unnatural glow of its eyes barely visible in the light. "Relax. You'd be surprised at how little humans notice when they aren't paying attention. Confidence is the key, you know? Pretending that you belong." It whispered to her. Vasilica tilted her head, hissing in acknowledgement.

"I suppose you would know." She said quietly. Lloyd's grin turned sheepish.

"Well, I only started trying to hide pretty recently. But it's held up as pretty much true so far." It said. It stood up, crumpling up the empty bag and tossing it into a nearby trash can. It whooped in delight as the throw arced perfectly into the trash, punching the air triumphantly. It reached out to pull Vasilica up. "C'mon, there's still more we've got to see!"

Vascilica rolled her eyes, allowing herself to smile as Lloyd pulled her along. Time had limited Lloyd's options before, and they weren't opened up by bringing along a disguised serpentine who couldn't let her hood slip or let herself be looked at for very long. It couldn't really bring itself to mind, though. It was nice to have someone to talk to as it went through the park!

Granted, there wasn't a very long list of safe topics. Both because of not wanting to reveal themselves to passerby who might overhear, and not wanting to give away too many details to someone who was still their enemy at the end of the day. But there were a handful of topics that felt safer to touch upon. They couldn't speak much about the ninja searching for their true potentials or about Garmadon carving out his plans for world domination, but they could agree that Pythor was a bitch and a half to deal with.

"And he's such a colossal asshole." Lloyd hissed, throwing his arms into the air in frustration. The two of them were strolling back towards the front of the park, intending to get their hands on some maps they could carry with them. "Did you know I was disguised when we first met, and he mistook me for a normal human kid? Did you know he couldn't decide between keeping me as a hostage or just eating me?"

Vascilica shook her head solemnly. "Disgraceful behavior from the last of the Anacondrai. Back in the day, it was always provoked if they tried to kill you." She huffed. Lloyd laughed, not quite sure if that was a joke. Vascilica flicked her tongue out, smiling dryly. "Really, Pythor makes it easy to tell why Fangtom threw in his lot with Garmadon."

That killed Lloyd's laughter in an instant. The two of them walked in silence for a minute. Lloyd glanced at Vascilica; it was hard to read her expression when her face was all but hidden by the hood, but it seemed to him like she was searching for something to say. She clearly hadn't meant to touch such a sensitive subject so directly.

"Does he... is Garmadon a good leader for you?" Lloyd asked. Vascilica jumped slightly. She hadn't been expecting Lloyd to speak before she had found her words.

"About as well as we could have expected. A bit better, depending on how pessimistic you were about it. He clearly isn't fond of serpentine, and nobody wants to be near him when he's angry, but we believe that he's willing to uphold his end of the deal, and that he wouldn't see it as much of a bonus if we all happened to die in the course of fighting for him. It's more than we would get from most people who opened the tombs with that intent." She grinned. "Of course, most people wouldn't be able to offer anything worth following them for." She looked down at Lloyd, as if checking that her words had sufficiently eased the tension. Lloyd wouldn't look her in the eyes.

"Does he... does he care- I mean, does he ever mention-" Lloyd mumbled and stuttered quietly, the slight echo to his voice becoming more pronounced by the second. It didn't help with understanding that he still wouldn't look at Vascilica; but she didn't need to perfectly hear him in order to see him flicker.

Vascilica's eyes widened in alarm, and she quickly looked around to see if anybody else had caught that. There was none of the screaming or staring that she would expect, if somebody recognized Garmadon's shadow, but heads were staring to turn towards the visibly distressed kid. She cursed under her breath, gently grabbing Lloyd by the shoulder. He didn't resist as she pulled him away into the relative privacy between two buildings.

As soon as they were out of sight of passerby, Lloyd gasped and practically collapsed. The illusion of human skin dissolved in nearly an instant, showing how the shadow's edges twisted and writhed. He looked like he was in the brink of falling apart, shuddering erratically as he tightly clutched his own arms. The darkness that made him shimmered like a mirage, twisting in and out of solidity and transparency. Vascilica stared, not having the slightest idea what she was supposed to do in this situation. Lloyd looked up at her.

"I'll be fine." He said shakily, as if he had read her mind. "I just- I just need a minute. To pull myself together." He said, with a weak laugh at the unintentional pun. Vascilica nodded. Silently, she let go of Lloyd's shoulder. She pulled back her hood, and even in Lloyd's current state, he could see her visibly relax when she didn't have it covered up her periphery vision. She leaned back against the wall, looking out at the people passing by their little hiding spot. Standing guard, and giving Lloyd a bit of privacy as he fell apart.

Deep breaths. Lloyd didn't need to breathe, but doing it anyways helped him feel like he did. Slowly, he pulled himself together, one strand of shadow at a time. Looking human was too much to ask for the moment, but he could at least focus on keeping himself solid and human shaped. Two arms, two legs, torso and hornless head. He could feel the magic binding him together; he pulled it tighter, squeezing the darkness into something that could call itself a person.

"Feeling better?" Vascilica asked as soon as Lloyd looked solid. Exhausted, he nodded.

"More or less, yeah." He winced. "It's, uh. Probably best for me to stay hidden for a while, though. I don't think there are a lot of humans who won't freak out at this." He muttered.

Vascilica laughed, a harsh, angry hissing that it took Lloyd several seconds to recognize as a laugh. "Oh, I can't imagine what that's like." She said darkly.

Lloyd grimaced. Sore subject for them both, apparently. "Sorry-"

"Don't you apologize! You're not to blame for this!" She snarled, loud enough that Lloyd still shrank back like she'd declared everything was its fault. "It's been so damn long since I could walk openly in the sunlight. The desert used to be ours. And now it's swarming with humans who look at us with disgust and hatred. Like they weren't the ones who sealed us away, like we're the problem for ever coming back." She gestured out at the humans walking by, a furious jab. Lloyd could hear the chatter and the laughter of the parkgoers drifting into their hiding spot; laughter that would turn to screams if either of them stepped out. "This is the reason why we're following Garmadon. This is the shit he's burning down so that we won't have to hide!" She paused. She was breathing heavily, her tail lashing as her eyes burned with anger. Still, she managed to soften her expression somewhat as she looked down at Lloyd. "...The door is always open for you, you know."

Lloyd was spared having to respond by a nearby explosion.

Or at least, it sure as hell sounded and looked like an explosion. It would be a while before Lloyd got the full story of Jay uncovering his true potential; for now, all it had to go off of was the dramatic flash of blinding light and the deafening roar like thunder. However much fighting over the fangblade had managed to stay out of public view, this was absolutely unignorable. ...Very close, too. Looked like a signal to leave if they didn't want anybody else to know they were here.

"Shit." Vascilica hissed emphatically as she threw her hood back on. She cast a brief, questioning look at Lloyd, but clearly without much hope. Lloyd silently shook its head. It was staying with the ninja. Vascilica's shoulders slumped in slight disappointment, but she didn't press the issue. "Hope Pythor didn't end up with the Fangblade." She murmured.

"Little late for us to do anything if he has." Lloyd half-joked. Vascilica didn't have the time to respond to that with much more than an irritated hiss. She ran, quickly climbing over the fence behind the buildings and slipping away into the park's behind-the-scenes. Lloyd turned away, stepping carefully towards the crowd of people outside the passageway. It hated to go this far into the other extreme after trying to look so human for so long, but this would be a hell of a lot faster than running.

The sun still shone brightly, but it was well after noon. The pathway was crowded with people all hurrying towards the exit, their shadows overlapping heavily and not one of them closely inspecting the ground. Lloyd steadied itself. It waited for the right moment, for a person's shadow to overlap with the shadow of the building next to it, and melted into pure darkness.

It darted from shadow to shadow, weaving through the crowd like a fish through a stream. As nice as it was to seem human, it knew that it was in its element here. It swam through the darkness, hyperaware of every movement around it, plotting out an ever-shifting path in the chaos. In a form this fluid, it couldn't even be bothered with eyes. Its sense of a single, distinct self within the shadows grew looser as the darkness itself peered out at the crowd, guiding the center of some kind of soul. However complicated its feelings might be about the matter, it was meant to live and move in this way, suffusing the darkness around it with awareness.

The crowd only grew denser, until Lloyd was less jumping from shadow to shadow and more just bathing in the darkness, barely any sunlight hitting the ground. The exit was a chokepoint for the people who had fled from the explosion, all packed into the plaza as a dozen people at a time tried to squeeze past the gates. Lloyd flowed easily towards said gates, bracing itself as it slipped into the shadow of the archway. It crept towards the edge, centralizing itself again as much as it could. It quickly checked that there weren't too many people looking its way, and...

It leapt from the shadows, rolling away from the gates as it hit the ground. Even before it could stand up or become entirely solid, it was scrambling to hide around the side of the archway. It pressed itself against the stone, metaphorical heart pounding as it waited for somebody to start screaming. Nothing happened. Nobody had seen it.

Lloyd took a breath as it formed a human disguise. It wasn't as well-done as before, but that was okay. It just needed to pass well enough to make it across the parking lot without people freaking out about it. Nobody was going to pay much attention to one kid anyways. The panic was dying down slightly, so far away from the explosion's source with no signs of another happening anytime soon, but people were still hurrying towards their cars.

Lloyd hummed to himself, walking quickly towards where he'd last seen the dragons. He'd like to get there before the ninja. He glanced as the ground as he walked, hoping to catch the sight of an invisible snake's shadow; but no such luck. Pythor had likely escaped underground. It would have been a nice way to finish the day, if he could get the chance to trip up that snake. Ah, well. (He really hoped that the Fangblade hadn't actually fallen into Pythor's hands. There wasn't much that the snake could do with just one, but it didn't set an encouraging precedent for keeping the rest away from him.)

The dragons were walking from the shade of the nearby rock now, lining up at the edge of the asphalt. Lloyd grinned brightly, waving to them as he ran up. They all turned towards him as he stopped in front of them. They leaned in, curiously sniffing at him. Lloyd laughed as Rocky affectionately bumped him with his snout, though he cast a slightly nervous glance back over the parking lot. He wasn't quite clear on just how long he had before the other ninja showed up, but he could guess that it wouldn't be long. "Hi, guys, I missed you too. Think I could hop on...?"

The dragons all kept their wings clamped tight to their bodies, a polite refusal. Lloyd frowned. "Please?" He tried. There was a long pause. Slowly, with a loud huff of exasperation, Flame spread his wings. Lloyd dissolved into darkness as he darted underneath them, tucking himself cozily into the shadow where the dragon's wing and body met. He couldn't exactly breathe like this, but the feeling that rippled through the darkness was something like a contented sigh. He liked hiding with Flame the best; the fire dragon was always the warmest and most comfortable.

Lloyd couldn't help but feel proud of himself as he waited under the dragon's wing, listening for the sounds of the ninja coming back. He'd gotten in and out with near perfect stealth; sure, Vascilica had seen him, but as far as consequences for being seen went, he'd slipped cleanly under the radar. And he had a good time at the park! Better than he expected, really! He didn't do as much as he could have if he were a normal person, but he'd gotten to see and do things he wouldn't have even imagined wanting back in the Underworld. Overall, he was satisfied.

...As long as he didn't think too long or too hard about what Vasilica had said.

...

Even Pythor getting a fangblade couldn't dampen the enthusiasm of the first flight after Jay achieved his True Potential. Being one step closer to the apocalypse wasn't something they could forget about, but they could at least celebrate Jay while the acheivement was fresh in their minds. The dragons flew close together as the ninja chattered, teasing and cheering for Jay in equal measure. Lloyd couldn't exactly see Jay's face from its hiding spot in the shadows, but it could hear his laughter and imagine his grinning, and the angle of Flame's wing was tilted just high enough for it to see Jay and Nya holding hands.

Any angle that would let it see Jay clearly would also bathe it in light, so. It would be content to congratulate Jay when they all landed. Probably the trickiest part would be slipping away from the dragons and getting inside without being noticed, and doing so quickly enough that it could convincingly pretend that it had just been waiting obediently in the monastery all along. It can pretend to be surprised and curious easily enough. It's sure that Jay would love the chance to tell the story to it, this time without Nya's ribbing about how he hadn't told her about the scratch from the Fangpyre fang...

The gates were wide open as they approached the monastery, and Lloyd mentally winced at the sight of Wu standing there. It could practically feel the disapproval radiating off of him. The dragons slowed as the ninjas' conversation trailed off. "Oh, he looks pissed." Kai said quietly. Nobody else said anything, but the silent agreement was clear.

They couldn't exactly fly away now, though. The ninja brought their dragons down into the courtyard, though they couldn't make them land too close to Wu. Maybe the dragons were just as wary of an unhappy master. Wu didn't speak as they settled down in front of him. He just stared disapprovingly. Lloyd curled deeper into the darkness.

Jay was the first to break the silence. "I- I'm sorry Master Wu, but we couldn't stop Pythor from getting the Fangblade. We all tried our best to stop him-"

"Stop." Wu said. He'd looked briefly startled when Jay mentioned Pythor getting the fangblade, fear flickering deep in his eyes, but his expression softened now. "I am not angry with you all. You are young, and relatively untested, and still have much to learn. It is not unusual or shameful for you to stumble in a mission like this. ...My disappointment is reserved for only one of you."

Lloyd cringed. Well. No point in hiding anymore. While the ninja glanced at each other in confusion, Lloyd slowly slunk out of the shadow of Flame's wing. "Hi, Uncle Wu." It said sheepishly, ignoring the startled yelps of the other ninja as it looked up at him. "I'm not in trouble, am I...?"

Wu sighed. "Lloyd. You are grounded."

"...Yeah, I kind of saw that coming."