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How many years had it been? He couldn’t remember… Standing atop of the cliff was the same exact monastery he and his fellow ninja had trained and lived in all those years ago, where Lloyd Garmadon was looking out into the views of sunshine glow.
It had been countless of years since the old ninja had stopped the merge and defeated Lord Ras— so many in fact Lloyd had lost count, it was a new generation but he still felt like he was stuck in the old one. A new generation meant new people, which led to new elemental masters and he was currently a master training the current five of: water, fire, earth, lightning, and ice, just like how his uncle had trained them all those years ago.
Being a hybrid had its pros, with the fact that he still looked exactly the same how he did when he was still young and having an almost eternal life meaning he’s seen many things happen throughout his age, and that led him to grow to embracing both his oni and dragon side, with long gold horns atop of his blonde locks and scales trailing down his body that made all the difference. He remembers the day where he revealed these insecurities to his friends but they did nothing but encourage it was okay and led him to embrace his heritage which he was grateful for.
"Lloyd, buddy— it's okay to have insecurities about ourselves... take a look of all the burns and scars I have for example, does that set me apart from being who I am? No, so your scales and horns would never ever change our view of you being part of our family." He remembers Kai's warm soothing voice telling him the same day he let out tears of frustration because of his new appearance.
But the thing that really broke him sometimes the most was watching his friends leave one-by-one. He remembers every single detail of their deaths and the last minutes he had with them, cherished those moments by keeping them in his heart. He remembered the day of Jay’s passing and that he could never forget the way Nya had wept when it happened.
The only one who had remained with him the longest was Zane, who was a nindroid and former elemental master of ice, but apparently nindroids also have their ends sometimes, and he recalled how his friend gave his own long-lasting life up to be with his loved one— Pixal.
He thought about all this while sitting on top of the monastery roof, looking up at the sky, hoping at the same time his friends were proud of him as they watched from above as he devoted the rest of his life as once the legendary green ninja to train new elemental masters in battle to honour carrying out the legacy of the original ninjas who protected Ninjago.
Being so absorbed in his thoughts, he hadn’t realised his students had been calling out to him. “Master Lloydd!” He looked down to see his young students all staring up at him, and he used his Spinjitzu to help him get off the roof as he looked at them all.
”You guys still have another two hours until your training is over.” He said sternly, looking around at the tired faces. “But master, we finished an hour ago and hoped— well…” Zani, the current elemental master of ice trailed, looking embarrassed. Lloyd raised an eyebrow, “Well, what do you guys have to say for yourselves?” He asked, “Master, we want to hear about your tales of the original ninja again.” Isla spoke, who was one of Nya and Jay’s great grandchildren. Her younger brother, Anatole, who inherited the lightning ability, nodded.
Lloyd gave out a short sigh, ”Do you guys want to hear it too?” He added to Ash and Daichi, who wielded fire and earth. Seeing their nodding faces made him sigh again, “Alright, sit down and I’ll tell you the tales of the first four original ninja, who came before you…” Lloyd had gone over the take about a dozen times over the decades, telling different people about the adventures and mischief and glory they had gotten into back then, but this time he felt different…
.
”And that was how, Kai— the fire ninja had managed to seal the spirit once and for all.” He finished, his students faces stunned. “Master, do you think you can tell us about… how the ninja were like?” Lloyd blinked, how they were like? Well, there were so many words that could describe their tales and personalities— brave, strong, courageous, independent… what was that word he was looking for?
“Family.” He suddenly said, and everyone stared at him. “Really master? That’s all there is to describe about the once greatest protectors of Ninjago anyone as ever seen—? No offence—“ Ash said added quickly, and Lloyd gave him a smile, “Yes Ash, family. Everyone has different opinions about different things, you may think of them as once the greatest protectors of their age… but to me they were like the family I never had.” And he didn’t realise the single tear that fell from his eye and his students watched, not knowing what to say at the sight of their great master shedding a tear.
”Master— if you don’t want to talk about it, it’s alright—“
“No, Zani it’s alright… we all have our grievances about our loved ones. Love—“ He chuckled, “The most powerful curse of all.” And he stood up from the cushion he was sitting on. “Love? I don’t understand Master, what does love mean to you in this situation?” Daichi asked, looking confused at Lloyd’s mixed emotions.
The hybrid looked at them all, suddenly stern. ”There will come a day where you will be faced with the most horrible decisions to make of your life, Daichi.” He said, “But, you must never underestimate the power of which what love can do to you—
"Blood is thicker than water.”
He added, his robes— the very same one his father has worn, whipped around in the wind that blew past them.
”Master, if you could say one thing to the ninja if they were here now, what would you say to them?” Anatole squeaked out. Lloyd set his staff firmly into the old stone that carried the memories of the past and he thought. “If I had one thing to say to them, I’d tell them 'thank you'.” And his students exchanged even more confused looks,
”I can sense Kai’s spirit egging me on when I fight with fire, I can feel Nya’s presence flowing through the water around us. I can hear Cole’s voice through the grounds of the earth, giving me hope wherever I go, and I can feel the familiar feeling of Zane’s signature through the ice.” He said simply. “I’d like to thank them for all those years we had together, with their elements all around us I can feel each and everyone of their presence.”
He breathed, feeling elated as he made to walk off slowly towards the open doors, the young elementals looked dazed for a moment before Zani spoke for them, while standing up. “We’ll do our best master, we will do everything in our powers to carry out the legacy of our forebears and protect the people of Ninjago until it is our time to go too.” She said proudly, and everyone else nodded. They all got up and gave their master a big hug and spent the rest of the evening preparing for their next adventure.
Up on top of the monastery there were five familiar faces looking down at the group as they made their way inside with Lloyd. ”She takes after you, Zane.” Came Nya’s echoed voice as she and her fellows watched their once youngest teammate tell them the tales of their adventures. Zane, who was next to her gave a small smile at his future predecessor. "I kinda admit, it makes me sad looking at Lloyd." Came Cole's voice, and he looked down at the old monastery. Nya gave a small sigh and she sunk into Jay's arms, watching the view together. "He'll be alright, Lloyd." Kai suddenly appeared, making the others gasp at the sight of his longtime absence. "Kai!" Nya exclaimed, giving him a big hug as he crouched down, joining his old friends. They stayed silent for a while, before Jay spoke for them. "Do you guys think Lloyd's going to do okay?" Everyone looked at him before letting out small smiles under the starry sky,
"We were once his protectors for a time, now it's his turn to do the same for them. We may not be there where he can see us, but we'll always fulfil our duties to protect the green ninja even in the next life, and the next until the end."
They all starred at Kai for a moment, silent and not believing something like that would ever come out of his mouth, but they exchanged looks of acknowledgment and went alongside the promise they had made all those years before to protect Lloyd Garmadon, the legendary green ninja.
"Until the end?"
.
"Until the end."
.