Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

WERE BACK BABY!!!!!!

ok, ok… I know I kinda gave up on my last challenge, but this one is different I swear!! I already have some of the future stories written, so I’m totally ready to ACTUALLY complete this! (Unlike March of Pain hahahehhwvahwvwbwb sorry abt that)

Here’s the link to the prompt list I’m following: https://whumptober.tumblr.com/

First part will be posted later today!

Also if u have any recommendations or ideas for any of the prompts then let me know!!! ^^

Chapter Text

The Ninja had just finished saving civilians from a collapsing building. They’d assumed it was caused by the mechanic’s team, it was probably just a publicity ploy though. However, it was still rough, with Zane and Nya fighting fire and Cole lifting rubble to free people. Kai, Lloyd and Jay guided people to a safe area and stayed on watch to be sure no one was hurt.

After they’d all returned to the bounty, everyone was tired out of their mind. But that’s what they get for straining themselves with an 18-story building.

“Has anyone seen Jay?” Nya asked, a bit franticly as she shot her head around. The other Ninja (Except Jay of course) stood in a group.

Kai was first to look at his sister, his expression confused as he replied “No, I thought he was with you?”

Nya felt her heart drop to her stomach, it felt like her perception was zooming out as her breathing became shaky, as did her hands. “Did we leave him behind? I- I thought he was with you!”

Cold fingers grabbed Nya’s shaking hands and held them in a cup at her chest. “Stay calm. Let’s spread out and search the city, there’s a chance we simply lost him on our way back.” Zane said in a calm and soothing voice.

Lloyd stepped forward. “Yeah, but there’s a chance he got caught up in the building.” His arms crossed as his voice became more urgent “We should check there first!”

— — —

It was dark and cold, and he could barely move. It was as if his body was frozen in place.

Then it was loud. Squealing turned into ringing that played in his ears like a deathly melody.

He tried to move only to realize his body wasn’t frozen, but that he was stuck. Concrete bricks that built up deteriorating walls covered his body—one of his arms pinned heavily against the ground, and his legs completely numb.

He then attempted to push the concrete off of him, only to have a sharp pain zap through his body like a lightning strike. An attempt to cry out in pain was made, but his face was covered in dirt and dust, so it was more of a weak screech and a cough.

Coughing was painful as well, with each one giving him a painful reminder of the bricks that piled over his ribs. A panicked glare was shot at what he could see of his body—almost every visible part of his body was covered in both dry and fresh blood.

Trying to wrap his head around the situation was difficult, every event that came before this was a static blur, and the ringing in his eyes didn’t help. He wanted more than anything to scream out in pain, but every part of him—Body and mind—Was blanked out by a perpetual feeling of numbness.

It had probably been a few minutes since he woke up when suddenly, he heard noises over the scream in his mind.

“J—“

“J-y!?”

“Jay!!”

“Jay, ar- you he-re..!”

At first, everything was hard to make out. All was still blurry in his mind. But when his head perked up and a jolt of realization came to him—Jay… he is Jay!

Jay wanted to cry out again, but all he could do was make gravelly whispers. “g… guys?” He managed to form.

— — —

Nya was the first to arrive at the scene. The collapsed building had already been surrounded by caution tape and police cars. She slipped under the tape and ran toward the building, the others following close behind. “JAY!!?” She shouted as loud as she could, trying her best to hide her panic.

“Jay!?” Cole yelled, running past Nya to examine another part of the rubble. He pushed himself up a collapsed pillar to scan the area. Nya continued shouting out for Jay, running to the other side of the building to scope over.

Zane scanned the area for heat signals within the debris. “Jay, are you here!” He shouted, continuing to scan—however his question was quickly answered when he spotted something deep within the rubble.

“Got anything, Zane?” Kai asked, only to be quickly met with Zane’s wide-eyed stare as he gazed off at the building. The stare was enough to answer Kai’s question as he turned to face the rest of the group, who were already deep in the search.

Kai placed a hand on Zane’s shoulder to snap him out of his shocked trance “Jay’s in there guys!” He shouted, immediately grasping everyone’s attention.

“Oh, First Master!” Nya cried, her shaking hands covering her opened mouth.

Kai turned to Zane and lifted the hand off his shoulder as they both charged at the building. “Where is he?” Kai asked

Zane turned back to Kai “He appears to be quite deep within the rubble” he replied before turning his body to a specific spot and pointing in said direction “Our best option would be to begin there.”

The rest of the Ninjas gathered around the area, each of them moving loose debris from different spots. Meanwhile, Cole punched his fists together—his arms transforming into lava with the scar on his forehead and every other smaller scar on his body glowing the same molten orange—He began lifting large concrete beams and bricks.

Nya frantically pushed bricks and rubble around, her panic only growing with each second. Everything was becoming too much for her to handle—Nya loved Jay, and she still would even if the whole world hated him. She hated to imagine-

“g… guys?”

Her head shot up, wide tear-filled eyes searching for the weak voice. For just a second she questioned if it was in her head.

“Jay!” Lloyd shouted, his expression was unreadable. Nya bolted over to Lloyd’s side and saw what he was referring to. Jay's shoulder was covered by a blood-stained, ripped blue Gi.

They all began lifting the rubble off Jay’s body, slowly revealing his bloodied, and broken limbs. Cole’s arms lit up as he lifted the large concrete beam that covered his chest and arm.

Jay's eyes fluttered open, first seeing the silhouettes of his family towering over him. But he quickly regretted it and shielded his eyes from the sun. A small weight fell on his ribs as arms wrapped around his neck, sending another jolt of pain through his torso as he groaned in pain.

Nya quickly pulled herself off Jay, “Sorry,” she said. Her hands cupped over her face again.

“Zane, we have to get him to a hospital, ASAP,” Lloyd said, Zane nodding in response.

— — —

The Ninja waited in an empty white room, with nothing but cheap folding chairs and fake plants in marble pots. Nya sat curled up in a chair, her head on her knees as she silently sobbed. Kai had a comforting arm gently wrapped over her shoulders.

A man dressed in a white uniform stepped into the waiting room, his face covered by a paper mask. The Ninja all shot their head toward him. Lloyd shot himself out of his chair “So?”

The man—whom they assumed was a nurse— replied. “He has a broken arm, and his ribs are pretty badly injured. As well as a minor concussion.” The man's eyebrows furrowed, seeing the Ninja's worried and upset expressions. “However you’re lucky you got there when you did. If he was trapped there any longer, these injuries could’ve been much more severe.”

Lloyd sighed in… Relief? Worry? It was a mixed feeling. “As long as he’ll be ok.”

Deep down inside, each of the Ninja blamed themselves for what had happened. Especially Lloyd and Nya. Lloyd felt he should’ve been more careful of Jay team as the ‘leader’—and Nya knew from the start that she should’ve realized he was gone, if only she’d paid more attention.

Chapter Text

Cole grunted. Confused eyes shot open as he scoped his surroundings. The sky was a soft blue, the warm morning sun beaming down. Everything was normal.

But it didn’t feel normal…

The last time he checked, the sky was purple and filled with giant glowing rifts. The only thing he could remember was saving civilians with the other Ninja before getting thrown into one of the mysterious portals.

Cole tried to sit up from where he was lying, only to jolt back down in pain. His spine felt twisted, and the warm breeze gave him the realization that his chest had a nasty gash cut right through his Gi and into his skin.

Before he could properly process anything happening around him. His gaze was met with the end of a dull, rusted spear. He silently gasped as the spearhead was pointed directly at his face.

“Who are you!?” A voice asked, sounding no older than a young child.

Cole’s eyebrows furrowed at the voice as he attempted once again to back away from the weapon and sit up. “I could be asking you the same thing!”

Eventually, Cole’s back met with a metal wall… wait, that isn’t a wall. That’s a car?! His head shot back when he realized he’d backed into a flipped car. He continued scanning the area—it looked like a deserted junkyard—until he finally made eye contact with the person threatening him.

Just as he suspected, it was a young boy dressed in black. His head was covered by a traditional formling hat styled to resemble a penguin. The boy had a confident look on his face, but it was obvious he wasn’t.

The formling body gripped his weapon and held it at Cole’s torso, determined posturing shifting to be tenser. “A- Answer my question!”
Cole looked at the boy in confusion, but his mind was already elsewhere as his eyes shot in different directions. “Ah… where am I?” He asked, pressing his hand against his chest to stop the bleeding.

The boy suddenly noticed Cole’s wound and gasped, hands covering his open mouth and weapon dropping to the ground. “Don’t worry, I’ll get Geo. Spitz, come on!” He said before running off.

A young snake—a hypnobrai—that Cole hadn’t noticed ran after the formling. Leaving him alone at the old car.

Cole’s eyelids felt heavy as his arm loosely fell off his wound. There was a horrible ring in his ears and his body felt weaker than ever.

Before he could pass out again, he felt the ground shake. It felt like an earthquake.

Earthquakes… earth… wait, he knew how to calm an earthquake!

As if he were never tired, Cole got to his knees and spread his fingers out against the rocky ground. He took a deep breath and felt the energy of the earth flow up his fingertips until his arms crackled into lava. The scar on his face lit up, and his eyes began to glow a vibrant orange.

Eventually, the ground began to settle—However, Cole still felt something was off. The ground was no longer shaking, but it still felt unstable. His eyebrows furrowed as he fully lowered his palms to the earth, feeling every part of the ground beneath him.

It was horrible. It felt as if the earth was screaming—suffering. The unsettling sensation sent chills down Cole’s spine as he shot himself to his feet, horrified by the feeling. His arms returned to normal.

Cole was quick to realize that standing up was a bad idea. He immediately stumbled back, knees bent as his back slammed against the car behind him once again. A hand shot up to cover the bleeding gash on his chest as he groaned in pain.

It wasn’t until he finally opened his eyes that he realized he had guests. The two kids he had seen before were accompanied by a Munce dressed in a red cardigan and baggy black pants ripped off at the knees. Wait, were they a Geckle or a Munce? They had the body of a Munce but resembled a Geckle all too much.

That didn’t matter much at the moment though. Cole’s grip tightened on his chest as his body bent over—trying his best not to fall over while he fought for continuousness.

He felt another set of hands supporting his shoulders as he attempted to stand up straight again. Everything was so overwhelming. A formling, a snake, and now a Geckle–Munce all in some infinite junkyard!? This must be a dream.

Cole thought that he must be dreaming—some strange, sleep-deprivation dream.

So he stopped fighting, letting his body tumble over as it was caught by mystery arms. Maybe he would wake up and it would all be gone…

— — —

Geo carefully placed the man dressed in black on their tattered couch. He examined the cut on the man’s chest before grabbing a roll of cloth bandage. He began unwrapping the man’s fabric top. “So…” The two kids—Spitz and Fritz—Both turned to Geo. “How’d y’a find the guy?” He asked, still focused on the unconscious man.

“Fritz and I were jussst playing around when we sssaw him lying on the ground!” The young Hypnobrai spoke up.

Fritz jumped up “he wasn’t moving, but his arms and face were all glowy like you, b- but orange instead!”

Spitz giggled, his little tongue flicked out of his mouth before he spoke up. “Yeah, and then you pointed your ssspear at him, and he woke up.”

A small scoff escaped Fritz “I just thought he was the one who made the sky all purple!” He argued, crossing his arms.

Geo laughed at the kid's argument, but his smile was quickly wiped away as he properly removed the mysterious man’s top. He hissed through his teeth seeing not only the man’s bloody gash but seeing all the other scars that covered his arms and torso.

He tried his best to push the thoughts away as he reached for the cloth bandages on the ground next to him. Fritz and Spitz walked up next to Geo, peering at the man. “Isss he gonna be ok?” Spitz asked.

Geo looked down at the two and let a smile return to his face. “I’m gonna try my best to get him patched up.”

“Can we do anything to help?” Fritz jumped up and down with a big smile.

“Actually…” Geo thought for a moment “Could you get Bonzle? She’s always been better at this than I was” he asked, scratching the back of his neck.

“You got it!” The kids cheered in unison before running out the door of their makeshift home.

Geo turned back to the unconscious man on the couch and began wrapping the bandages around his chest. He was careful to wrap it as tightly as possible before snapping it off the spool.

Just as he began tying it off, the frown returned to his face. All Geo could look at was the several other nasty scars that covered his body. At first, he felt bad for the man—assuming he’s just been in a lot of tough situations. But now each scar he counted put his heart deeper in his stomach. What if this guy really was dangerous?

Geo aggressively tugged on the bandages, the cloth held tight in his fist as he finished tying it off.

Big mistake.

A glowing hand wrapped tight around Geo’s wrist. His gaze immediately met with the now very awake man, who looked back at him with glowing eyes that showed anger and confusion.

Geo backed away as the man’s lava-fist loosened off his wrist. “Woah! Calm down buddy, I’m not gonna hurt y’a.” He said with defensive hands.

Before Geo could react anymore, the man shot up, his back pressed against the back of the couch while holding the wooden frame in a death grip—eyes darting around in fear. “W-..what..?” His voice was gravelly and low, just barely in a whisper.

Then the man grunted, making an attempt to grab his chest only to realize it was wrapped in bandages. Oh, and he wasn’t wearing a shirt. Fun.

“Who are you?” He asked, his voice higher and more direct as he stared into Geo’s eyes.

The man’s expression softened when he noticed how scared Geo appeared to be. His tone softened and his hands began to revert to normal as he placed a hand over his chest. “D- did you do this?” He asked, much softer and calmer than last time.

Geo nodded, a smile crossing his face. “Well, I couldn’t leave y’a out there bleeding.” He said, slowly approaching the man with a cautious hand out. “I’m Geo”

The man was a bit hesitant at first but shook his hand in return. A smile also appeared over his once confused expression.

“I’m Cole.”

Chapter Text

Everything was black.

Lloyd’s eyes darted around the empty void, trying to find anything else to look at aside from his hands and body. The sick whisper of the Oni fog surrounded him—but there was no fog.

He attempted to walk forward, and while he had the sensation of movement, it wasn’t bringing him anywhere.

Shouting also seemed to do nothing for him. The sound was quickly drowned out without even making an echo.

Suddenly, Lloyd heard another voice. He didn’t recognize it, but it sounded all too familiar.

“Hello, Lloyd.”

It was a low, hollow voice that sent shivers down his spine. “Who’s there!?” He shouted, hands lighting up with green energy. “Show yourself!”

His head shot around the void, now desperate to find something or someone else. There was a sudden breeze on Lloyd’s back, making his head whip around with hands held out, ready to attack.

There in the darkness stood a tall figure. Nothing about the figure was clear, aside from their glowing eyes that pierced through the darkness like daggers in Lloyd’s chest. It didn’t take long for him to realize who it was—the demonic purple glow answered that question.

“Da-… Garmadon!” He shouted, the glowing green flames in his fists grew taller. “Why are you here? What is this place!?” His voice began to shake as he backed away from his Father.

Garmadon’s sick chuckle met Lloyd’s ears, only fuelling his anger and fear even more. “Oh, son. Do you not remember this?” He asked, four arms behind his back as he approached Lloyd. His feet clicked on the ground with each step. “Do you not remember the moment it first happened?”

Lloyd’s eyebrow furrowed, and his body froze in place. “Wh- what do you mean..?” He asked, the energy in his hands weakening.

His question, however, was quickly answered as he turned around. Lloyd’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

The sky was dark purple, the air was cold and thin—for he stood atop a stone grey platform, rimmed with purple crystals. A large purple crystal floating in the centre.

Lloyd turned around, now furious with his father. “WHY A-“ However he was met with nothing. Instead, Garmadons limp body was lying on the ground in front of him.

“No… no, what are you doing!?” Lloyd cried, feeling tears start to form in his eyes as he held his head in a death grip. “Make it stop!”

Garmadon looked at him with a weak smirk. “You know what you have to do.”

Lloyd backed away, eyebrows furrowed and eyes widened. “W-what?” He watched as Garmadons glowing eyes shut, his chest freezing as he took a final breath. Lloyd fell to his knees, hands cupped over his mouth. He tried to say something—anything, but all he could make was breathy stutters.

“Lloyd..!” A feminine voice echoed from behind him.

He looked over his shoulder, only for the world to be replaced by the black void once again. Behind him stood Nya, staring back at him with a horrified expression—tears streaming from her wide eyes. “It’s your fault I merge with the sea.”

Nya began walking towards him slowly, an echo with each step she took. “You should’ve stopped it.” She said, now facing the ground. “You could’ve done something.”

“Wha-…I- I’m sorry..!” He cried, feeling tears start to fall onto his knees. His body froze in place as he dragged himself back with his hands, and legs stretched out all while staring up a Nya.

Suddenly, Nya’s face and body began to twist and shift, and in just a few seconds Nya had transformed into Zane. He continued walking forward, however, instead of looking scared like Nya had, he appeared stern and cold. “I was trapped in the Never-Realm for years because of you.”

Lloyd wanted to gag at the sight of Nya’s body twisting into Zane’s. He placed a hand over his mouth and continued pulling himself back. “I tried to stop it, Zane. I- I swear!” He whimpered.

Once again, Zane’s body began twisting and snapping until his place was taken by Cole. He appeared afraid, yet angry. “I was nearly killed by the Oni fog, and you did nothing!” He shouted, fists clenched making his arms and scars begin to glow.

“Cole, I-…” Lloyd stuttered to find a response, but the guilt panged deep in his soul.

Cole then morphed into Jay—previously barred teeth shifting into a sharp grin as Jay's laughter echoed. His laugh was chaotic and frightening “And you can’t even fucking find me.” He spoke all too cheerfully, now standing only a few feet away from Lloyd.

Lloyd covered his mouth once again, panting as tears poured from his eyes. “J- Jay…” his voice just barely in a whisper.

Jay kneeled above Lloyd, staring directly into Lloyd’s eyes as his manic grin turned into a scowl—Kai.

Kai leaned in close, holding Lloyd's chin tight. “You took everything from me.” He growled, his voice low.

Lloyd struggled to form any sort of words, only being able to stare up at Kai. Every part of his body felt so weak it was as if he could fall through the floor. The guilt was horrid, every terrible thing Lloyd had caused rushed into his brain.

“No..” Lloyd finally spoke, his face growing angrier and angrier. “NO!” He shouted, bringing his knees up and kicking Kai away. “You’re not Kai, or Zane or Jay or… Who are you!!?” His voice thundered as he weakly got to his feet.

The figure chuckled, as it morphed and twisted from Kai into… Lloyd?

Lloyd was confused and horrified as he made eye contact with his doppelgänger.

This doppelgänger had large gold-tipped horns and a scaly tail. Its eyes glowed the same colour as the purple flames that engulfed its clawed fists. Its scaly legs were bent into a digitigrade shape.

Lloyd’s eyes shot at every feature it had as it cackled—its voice hollow and demonic. “What do you want from me!?” Lloyd shouted, letting energy build in his palms.

“Don’t fight it, Lloyd.” It chuckled while approaching him “You know what you are.”

The doppelgänger walked to Lloyd’s side, facing the other direction as Lloyd refused to make eye contact. It went close to his ear and began to whisper clawed hands gripping Lloyd’s shoulder tight. “You’re a monster.”

— — —

Lloyd’s eyes shot open. Sweat covered his face as he straightened his back—he was lying on the cold stone ground of a dimly lit cave. Nya rushed to his side to help him to his feet.

The others—Arin, Sora, Wyldfyre, Riyu, Kai and of course, Nya were all there with him.

“What was in your vision?” A young voice asked, Arin.

Oh, right. They were on a quest to follow Lloyd’s vision. They must’ve lost each other in the caves and gotten hypnotized in some sort.

“Ah… I- It doesn’t matter… let’s keep moving.”

— — —

Two large dragons stool sternly ahead of the Ninja—a slim purple dragon with lots of energy named Rontu, and a powerful and wise black dragon named Egalt

Egalt approached Lloyd, staring him down with his bright golden eyes. “I sense a darkness within you.” He speaks, his voice is deep and gravelly.

Lloyd’s eyebrows furrow, he can practically feel the others behind him giving him confused looks as well. “What do you mean?”

Rontu stepped forward, “How can we be sure we can trust you with our knowledge.” She asked, her voice much brighter than Egalts, yet her tone still stern.

Arin stands at Lloyd’s side. “We need to learn everything we can in order to stop the shatterspi-“

“No” Egalt cut off, glancing at Arin before locking eyes with Lloyd once again. “How can we trust, you.” He points a claw at Lloyd.

Lloyd is taken aback, putting a protective hand in front of Arin as he steps back. “I- I don’t understand..?” He gestures for the rest of the group to back up, just to be safe. “You know why we need your knowledge. The world is at risk!”

Rontu tilts her head down. “There is one thing that sets you apart from the others.” She states, her voice sending shivers down Lloyd’s spine.

She glances at Egalt and as if they were speaking telepathically, they both shoot the same threatening glare at Lloyd. Rontu speaks up.

“You, are an Oni.”

Lloyd could feel his heart drop to his stomach. The silence managed to put a ring to his ears. He tried to speak, but the feeling of Arin slipping away from his arm made his head shoot around.

Arin looked confused and worried, looking back and forth between Lloyd and the Dragon Masters. “No, I-“ Lloyd shot back around to face the dragons “I’m not! Well… I am,” he could practically hear the silent gasps from his students. “b- but I’m nothing like them!”

Kai jumped in front of Lloyd like a protective brother “Yeah, Lloyd is the farthest thing from an Oni!”

“But he is not.” Egalt deadpans, glaring at Kai. “It appears your students were not aware of this fact either.” He says, gesturing at Arin, Sora and Wyldfyre.

Lloyd turned around, seeing Arin stare at him with a look of confusion and fear. Sora was mostly confused, and Wyldfyre looked downright horrified. Lloyd turned to face the dragons once more. “I was going to wait for them to be older… so that they could understand better!” He argued.

“Well it appears they understand perfectly,” Rontu replied.

Suddenly, Arin was back at Lloyd’s side. “Yeah!” He shouted, catching Lloyd’s attention. “He might be an Oni in some way, but that doesn’t matter! Lloyd is the best teacher anyone could ask for. He’s nothing like an Oni!”

“Arin’s right!” Sora shouted, now standing next to Arin. “I don’t care if he’s an Oni, or whatever you call it. Lloyd is amazing!” She argued.

Wyldfyre surprisingly joined the argument. “Lloyd is nowhere near the meanness of an Oni! Sure, he yells sometimes but who doesn’t!”

Rontu and Egalt both glanced at each other once again. Eventually, a sigh was knocked out of the eldest dragon “Very well, we shall set our differences aside in order to teach what you desire.”

Lloyd smiled at the dragons before turning to Arin and Sora. “Thank you…” he whispered.

Arin pulled him into a hug, and without any restraint, Lloyd held him tight. Sora joined in the hug on the side.

Everything was gonna be ok.

Chapter Text

BANG!

Kai was launched into one of the metal walls of the warehouse, making the sound of both the metal and his back cracking. He grunted, slowly falling to the ground. But it wasn’t long up he was back to his feet, an angered and pained growl rang in his throat as he glared at his attacker with a protective hand around his waist.

They were dressed in full black, face covered by a paper hospital mask. Although their body was covered by the baggy sweater and pants they wore—it was still clear this person was strong.

Kai charged at his opponent, and a low roar erupted from him as his fists burst into flames.

The man in black prepared to dodge the attack. But before he could even move, Kai jumped up, and with interlocked fingers, he rammed his inflamed hands directly at the man’s head.

He yelped in pain as his face was burned, making him fall to his knees, head in hands.

Kai jumped back, staring down at the man as Smokey breathed filled his mask. He quickly ran behind the man and restrained his arms behind his back. “That’s why y’a don’t steal from the museum bud.” He smirked, guiding the man out of the warehouse.

They both squinted at the afternoon sun beaming down in their eyes. Kai tossed the man over to a nearby cop car, the police inside jumped back in surprise as the masked man was unsuspectingly rammed into their window by the Ninja.

“You’re no hero… Ninjago doesn’t need you!” He screamed as Kai walked away casually.

The shout however made Kai freeze in place. He turned around, removing his mask to reveal the frustrated scowl on his face. “Hey bud,” his tone was stern and threatening as he began approaching the villain, who was now being restrained by the cops and cuffs “This is my job, because of stupid people like you!” He pointed a finger at the man.

He was completely taken aback, expression shocked for just a moment before becoming angry once again. “You Ninja have always gotten everything for free” he grunted as the cops began guiding him to the car door “Meanwhile people like us work tirelessly just for the bare minimum!” He shouted.

Kai began speed walking back to the car, his expression furious as he gripped the villain's wrist tight. The cops backed away as Kai pulled the man out of the car and flipped him over his shoulder. He cried in pain as his back smashed against the concrete, staring up at Kai who loomed over him with a death glare.

He watched as Kai began to kneel over his legs, grabbing the collar of his shirt to pull him up. Their faces were just inches away from each other as Kai spoke in a threatening whisper. “I worked harder than you ever will to get what I have.” He began to stand again, still looming over the man as he released his grip from the shirt “You know nothing about me.” he said, raising his voice.

Just as Kai began to walk away again, leaving the man panting in fear on the ground—he heard a buzz in his ear just before a voice began speaking to him. “Everyone’s gotten their guy?” Came Lloyd’s voice.

“Affirmative.” Zane was the first to respond. His calm voice alone was able to calm Kai’s frustration just a bit.

Kai sighed, hearing the grunting of the villain being shoved into the police car behind him “Yeah, I got him.” He replied, holding the button on his earpiece.

The sound of a higher voice sighing came through. “My guy got away, Sorry,” she said with an annoyed groan.

Then, another voice spoke, “Mine as well, but I’m trying to track him down.” Cole’s voice could be heard along with mumbled panting and gear clanging together.

Lloyd came back in, grumbling something inaudible before responding. “Alright, everyone spread out. They can’t have gotten too far.”

Just as Lloyd cut out, a loud crash burst through the earpiece that made Kai flinch. “Nya, Cole” a voice quickly came in over “I found your guys!” Jay’s glitching voice shouted, sounding panicked.

“Where are you, Jay!?” Lloyd shouted in response.

“The old storage house we fought the Mechanic in. Remember?“ His voice distorting more with each word.

“Got it. On my way!”

Kai heard the communication cut out but already running to the area in question.

— — —

Kai hoped through a hole in the roof, landing atop a massive storage shelf. He crept over to the edge and looked down to see Jay and Cole already fighting the three goons. Jay looked pretty beat up, but it was clear he was still nowhere near ready to back down.

However, it wasn’t long until something bad happened. Cole charged at one of them, his fists lit up as he punched the ground in front of him—forming a stone pillar that knocked him back.

Immediately, another goon ran up beside him. Ripping Cole’s arm off the ground and throwing him at a shelf. Jay kicked the third goon off of himself and turned to see him lying weakly against the metal shelf. “Cole!” Jay shouted, beginning to run at him only to be thrown away by another goon.

Kai jumped down, landing in a kneel behind the guy that threw Jay—Although it was quite the drop, he managed to land just barely without a sound—Kai swept the legs of the goon in front of him then kicked them away, limp body dragging against the concrete ground. “Glad to see someone else showed up,” Cole smirked weakly, supporting himself with the shelves as he stood up.

In response, Kai nodded and smiled back before pulling his mask on. Cole did the same once he fully gained balance. Kai was quick to flash towards the goon Cole had launched with the stone pillar, punching his ribs before he could even stand properly. Then tossing him at a wall where his limp body dragged down and hit the ground—Now Kai could safely say he was knocked out.

Kai turned around to aid the other two. However, Cole was already quick to knock the goon out with an elbow to the head, followed by his lava arms charging up once again as he punched him hard. The goon went flying to the wall, landing directly atop the other knocked-out goon.

Jay was always the quickest Ninja, he dodged the goon's kicks and punches with ease. With one final dodge by jumping above a punch, he came down on the man’s arm and kicked it to the ground. Before the goon could process the kick, Jay jabbed two fingers into his waist and electrocuted him. He fell to his knees after the shock, and Jay quickly kicked his near-unconscious body toward the other two.

The three ninjas regrouped and fist-bumped all while staring down at the pile of defeated goons. “Glad to see you three did alright.” A voice came echoing from behind. Lloyd, along with Nya and Zane walked to the trio.

With the Ninja regrouped, Lloyd crossed his arms and stood next to Kai. “Let’s take these three to the police station and return the stolen artifact. You have it, right?” Lloyd asked, reaching a hand at Kai.

Kai responded by throwing his hands up in defence. “I don’t have it? I thought Cole or Jay got it!” He replied.

Lloyd turned to the two in question with a raised eyebrow. Cole shrugged and shook his head “I don’t have it either! Jay, did you grab it?”

All the Ninja stared down a red-faced Jay, his eyes wide as he bit his lip. “Uhm…ah ha, yeah… about that..!”

Nya ran to Jay and frantically shook his shoulders. “You don’t have it!?” She shouted in anger while shaking him.

Suddenly, Zane put himself between an angry Nya, and a very pale Jay—with a hand placed on both their shoulders. “Don’t worry, it can’t have gotten far. It likely got thrown around during your battle.” Zane turned to the rest of the group. “Spread out, it’s the quickest way for us to find it.”

Kai stepped closer to Zane with crossed arms. “Uh, yeah. What exactly does this ‘artifact’ look like?” He questioned with a raised brow.

“We’re looking for, uh…’The scroll of Tarnaski’..?” He said with finger quotes. “Ah, whatever. It’s some fancy old scroll.”

Kai nodded. “Got it.” He replied, shooting a thumbs up and a smirk at his brother.

The six Ninjas spread out, Searching high and low for the scroll. Kai examined a shelf near the passed-out goons. He sat on his hands and knees with a fist of fire to light the underside of the shelves. Suddenly, Kai heard the weak laughter of the third goon—guess Jay didn’t hit him hard enough.

Kai got up from the ground, his fist extinguishing as he stared at the laughing man. “Uhh..?” He raised an eyebrow, thinking this guy was definitely crazy.

His weak laughter died down as he turned to Kai with squinted eyes. “Ha… oh, you ninja really aren’t the smartest.” He spoke in a tired, gravelly voice.

“What do you mean?” Kai asked, somewhat amused as he watched the man ramble.

The goon looked up at Kai, a slight smile on his face. “Did you r-really think there were only Six of us?” He replied, coughing between words.

Kai’s eyes widened at the man’s statement, but they quickly lowered. He took a few steps toward the man, talking as he walked. “Well, there were only Six of you in the museum.” He chuckled “Maybe Jay did hit you pretty hard. Lightning starting to get to y’a?” Kai smirked and crossed his arms.

His question was only responded to with more laughter. “Ha… ah, Ninjago really doesn’t need you..” He grumbled.

Kai shot back—that was the second time today he’d been told that. Kai bared his teeth and clenched his fists. “First Master you guys are annoying!” He shouted, hands pulling at his hair.

The goon's head rolled back, his tone getting weaker each time he spoke. “Nobody needs you, get outta here! Let the cops do their job…” he rasped—his eyes started to flutter shut.

In the blink of an eye, Kai was at the man’s throat. Holding him up against the wall by the collar of his shirt. “I don’t know who you think you are. But Ninjago needs all of us, and we’re not gonna give up on it no matter how much it annoys me to pieces sometimes.” Kai growled—snapping his finger to make a flame appear over his palm.

The goon began laughing again, it was starting to get annoying. “You’re all useless! Especially you…” he muttered under his breath. “Just a bunch of youngsters in- GAH!” He cried as Kai threw him to the ground behind him. His skin dragged harshly against the concrete ground.

All the other Ninjas finally caught attention to the situation, running over and gathering around.

Kai began walking toward the man, stepping out of the shadows to reveal his infuriated expression. A puff of smoke came from his mouth with each breath, his eyes practically glowing in the dimly lit building. His clenched fists burst into flames, making the others jump back in shock. “Kai, calm down! What’s going on!?” Lloyd shouted. Kai ignored him.

The goon rolled onto his back, supporting himself up by his waist with a pained hand over his torso. He started up at Kai, a subtle smirk still painted on his face even though he was in pain. “You’re really gonna hurt an innocent civilian? Very heroic of you…” he croaked, followed by more raspy laughing.

Cole began walking toward Kai from the side with cautious hands. “He’s right Kai, just forget it!” He said, pausing only a few steps away from him.

The flames in Kai’s hand grew weaker, he sighed and fixed his posture. “Y- yeah… sorry.” He replied, shaking his head until the flames fully extinguished.

Nya lifted the goon to his feet with his hands pinned behind his back. “C’mon, bud.” She groaned, walking him back over to the wall.

The goon kept smiling, seemingly content with the outcome. “Ah, you know I’m right girl.” He laughed. Nya bit her lip and sighed silently.

However, this was just enough to push Kai over the rim. His fists burst into flames once again, he roared in frustration “Oh, that’s it!” He cried, charging at the man Nya held.

“Wait!” Cole shouted, running after Kai. He punched his fists together, making lava spread over his arms. He grabbed Kai’s arms just before he reached Nya, who flinched as her brother ran at her.

Lloyd, Jay and Zane ran to Cole’s side. “Kai, calm yourself!” Zane shouted, wrapping his cold hand on Kai’s shoulder only to realize his skin was nearly as hot as his flames. He shot back once he felt his metal hand beginning to crack under the heat.

Kai struggled in Cole’s arms, his anger only growing with every second he had to stare at the goon's stupid smirk. He let the flames in his hands grow stronger until the binds that held him back released.

Meanwhile, the bind in question—Cole—pulled back, briefly shouting in pain as his arms now sported red burns that reached past his elbow. He started down at his arms in horror.

“COLE!” Jay cried, running to his side and kneeling. He placed his hands over his mouth to prevent a gasp from escaping as he looked over Cole’s scorched arms.

Kai ripped the goon out of Nya’s grasp despite her protested shouts. The smile on the man’s face was quick to be replaced with a grimace. He bit his tongue to hold back his cries. Immediately, Kai threw him at the wall once again, watching his surely knocked-out opponent slide back down into the pile of goons.

The fire that entirely covered his arms quickly blew out—his face twisted from behind all too prideful to now be purely mortified. He slowly turned around, immediately seeing Zane staring down at his destroyed hand. Cole looked up at Kai, wide-eyed as he looked back.

“Kai…” Finally came his sister’s voice. He whipped around to see his sister staring down at her red, burned palms.

Kai backed away from everyone, but Lloyd was already rapidly approaching him. “Why the heck did you do that!?” He shouted, pointing a finger into Kai’s chest. “Are you happy now!?” He appeared even angrier than Kai was.

Nya slowly walks toward the two. “It’s fine Lloyd, I’m ok-“

“No, you’re not!” Lloyd shouted in response, hands gesturing wildly as he faced his sister. “And what about Zane and Cole?!”

Both Nya and Kai turned to Zane and Cole. Zane’s expression was unreadable, a mixture of shock, confusion and sympathy. Meanwhile, Cole simply stared up at Kai, still on his knees and completely lost for words.

Zane finally spoke up, locking his gaze on Lloyd. “I can assure you I will be fine. This is nothing we cannot repair.” He held up his hand. His once shiny fingers were now charred and yellow at the ends—the char faded into blue as it went down his finger and into his palms just like any other burnt metal.

Cole looked down at his arms, then back up at Kai. “I- agh…” he grunted “I’ll be fine as well, don’t worry about me.” He began to stand again, Jay supporting him.

Lloyd raised a skeptical eyebrow before turning back to Kai. He sighed and shook his head. “This is stupid…” Lloyd groaned and turned away from Kai, walking to the entrance of the warehouse. “Grab the goons, let’s get out of here.” He said without turning around, clearly angry.

Nya brushed past Kai, who was completely frozen in shock—simply watching Lloyd walk away. He shook his head to snap out of his thoughts “Wait, Nya!” He said, grabbing his sister’s shoulder before she could walk far. She looked into Kai’s eyes, her eyes watering over her frustrated expression. Kai swallowed and bit his lip, feeling nothing but guilt.

“I- I’m sorry, Nya.”

“Sure…”

Chapter Text

Sora sat cross-legged on the cold stone of the monastery courtyard. Her hands were lying flat on her knees and her eyes were closed. She took a deep breath, feeling the cold morning air chill her lungs. She was trying her best to mimic what Lloyd does to meditate, thinking that maybe it would help clear her mind.

All Sora could think about at the moment was Arin. She felt herself get shot with a bullet of guilt every time her mind dragged her back to him. She told herself Arin would still be here if it wasn’t for her, and that it was her fault he went with Ras. If only she hadn’t tricked him into believing he’d saved them, then at least he would still be here, probably meditating at her side while cracking some un-funny jokes that still made her laugh just because it was him.

Gentle footsteps approached from behind, echoing on the stone ground. “Hello, Sora.” Came a familiar metallic voice. Sora looked up at her side to see Zane already looking down at her. “Mind if I join?” He asked politely.

Sora replied with a smile “Not at all.” She pats the ground next to her as a prompt for Zane to sit next to her. He came to his knees instead of sitting cross-legged, he started at the golden, morning sun that just peaked over the edge of the monastery wall.

“What brings you out here?” Zane asks, still looking forward.

Sora snapped out of her staring trance. “Oh! Ah… uhm, I- it’s nothing. Just, trying something new for a change!” She responded dismissively. “How about you?”

Zane rolled his shoulder and finally turned to face Sora. “I’ve always enjoyed meditating the morning after long missions. I’ve found it helps clear my mind.” He said with a small grin before turning to face the sunrise once again.

Sora hummed in response, making an awkward silence spread between them. She fidgeted with a smooth, shiny stone she found on the ground between her legs. Zane was always good company, and although she didn’t have many opportunities to talk to him, she remembered every last one of their conversations.

It never fully dawned on Sora that Zane was an android—well, a Nindroid—until she first saw him in the real world. At first, she was a bit confused about how an android could be a Ninja. But after spending some time with him, she realized that he was more human than some humans she knew! Since then, Sora never really thought of Zane as a Nindroid unless she thought about it—and even then, it didn’t matter too much to her.

“Sora?” Zane suddenly interrupted her train of thought. She turned to him to show she was listening. “What’s on your mind?” He asked, turning his body fully to face her. Sora did the same.

She waited for a moment before responding—there were a lot of things on her mind. “To be honest, I was thinking about you.” She replied while scratching the back of her head, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Zane raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Really? How so?”

“Well… I’m not sure how to put this, but, do you ever feel left out? It must feel at least a bit different being the only Nindroid on the Ninjas team.”

Zane’s eyes widened at the question before dropping, his expression twisting into a look of guilt and sadness.

Sora covered her mouth. “Oh, no. I- I’m so sorry, I swear I didn’t mean to offend-“

“No no! Your question did not offend me whatsoever. Apologies for my reaction, my mind is simply elsewhere…” Zane shook his head with his eyes shut. “But yes, when I first discovered I was a Nindroid, it was quite shocking. For quite a while, I felt my role as a Ninja was not appropriate for me, and it took quite some time for me to get comfortable in my titanium body. However, after I sacrificed half my power source to save another Nindroid, I realized I was right where I belonged. The Ninja are my family, and I would not wish to have it any other way.”

Sora stared at Zane, a look of surprise and happiness on her face. “Wow… Wait, another Nindroid?” She asked curiously.

Zane sighed with a smile. “Yes.” His head turned back to the golden sun, his body still facing Sora. “Her name was Pixal, and meeting her was the greatest thing to ever happen to me. I loved her deeply.”

“What happened to her?” Sora’s tone grew more concerned.

The question made Zane’s wires twist in his core. His grip tightened on the fabric that covered his knees. He turned back to Sora, looking down at the ground. “I have not seen her since the merge…”

“Oh…” Sora felt the same pang of guilt she felt when thinking about Arin. “I’m so sorry.” She looked away from Zane, not wanting to make eye contact until she felt a cold hand wrap over her shoulder.

“You have no reason to be sorry. I’m sure we will find her in time, as we shall also find Arin.” He spoke softly.

His hand was cold, but somehow he still made Sora feel warm whether it be his words or actions. Sora couldn’t help but smile as Zane opened his arms, offering her a hug—which she gladly accepted.

Sora could feel Zane’s chest expand, it appeared he still had a breathing pattern despite being a Nindroid. She nuzzled herself closer into his shoulder making Zane tighten his grip around her torso.

The feeling of water rolling down Zane’s arm gave him a bit of a shock. He picked up on Sora’s muffled sobs—in return, he closed his eyes and rested his head on her shoulder for just a few seconds.

Suddenly, Sora pushed away. Her eyes were red and sore, her skin damp from the tears. “Oh Master, I- I’m so sorry! I don’t know why I just did that…” she muttered, body language panicked.

Zane showed nothing but sympathy. “Again, you do not have to apologize. I understand…” He smiled, beginning to stand up. “If you would prefer, I could leave?”

Sora’s eyes widened as she shot herself to her feet as well. “Oh! No, no, no… It’s okay, I like the company.” She replied.

Standing up was a bad idea. The air suddenly felt much colder, and considering they were on a mountain right now, it didn’t help. Her arm was covered in goosebumps, making her body shake. “Ah, On s- second thought… c- could we maybe just take this inside..?” She plastered on a smile.

Zane smiled and nodded, walking to the monetary door and holding it for Sora. The two of them stepped in and made their way to the kitchen. Sora sat down at the island counter while Zane stood across from her in the actual kitchen part.

Zane grabbed his old black and white jacket he used to wear when the Ninja explored colder parts of Ninjago. He draped it over Sora’s shoulder. “Oh, thank you!” She said, using the jacket as a blanket.

As Zane walked back around the counter, he noticed Sora’s gleaming arm out of the corner of his eyes, making him smile. “You and I aren’t so different.” He said, gesturing at Sora’s prosthetic arm.

“Huh..? Oh, yeah! I… I lost my arm during the merge, but it wasn’t all that terrible.” Sora looked down “I’ve experienced mental pain that hurt more than losing a limb…” she mumbled under her breath. She looked back up at Zane, who appeared to be re-organizing some things on the counter. “Besides, now I’ve got this cool thing.” She said, raising her gold arm with a smirk.

Zane looked at her arm and smiled. “Very impressive… I’ve been meaning to do some research on imperium technology, perhaps you could let me examine your arm sometime?” He asked.

Sora smiled in return. “Yeah, any time.”

Chapter Text

Lloyd…

Lloyd..!

“LLOYD!”

His eyes shot open, he tried to move his hands only to find them chained up behind him. “Lloyd, you’re awake!” He turned to see Nya. Beyond her were the other Ninja, all chained up according to their respective powers and knocked out.

Kai’s hands were chained to the ground, along with a gag tied in his mouth— presumably to be sure he couldn’t breathe fire either.

Jay's wrists were bound to the wall along with a hoop of whatever metal they were chained in wrapped around his waist.

Zane’s hands were bound up, attached to a chain from the roof. His feet were completely covered by thick boots made of metal.

Cole’s had the same thick boots of metal as Zane along with connected metal gloves that nearly went to his shoulders.

“W-… what happened..?” He asked, completely dazed while scanning the small stone dungeon they were locked in.

Nya's chains rattled as she moved. Her legs were chained to the floor and her arms were tied behind her back. “We were fighting those weird smoke bomb guys when they suddenly filled the room with a weird smoke and everyone blacked out. I managed to get away from the smoke for a bit, but it caught up quickly.”

Lloyd thought for a moment, and once his cautiousness fully settled, he gasped in realization. “Oh, yeah! So… where exactly are we?” He asked, tugging on his chains for a moment. His hands were covered by metal gloves and his feet were chained to the floor. “And what are these things made of!?” He groaned.

“I’m not sure where we are, I haven’t seen anyone outside of this cage. And as for the chains? I’m pretty sure it’s some modified form of Venge Stone… it’s- err… a lot tougher!” She said, struggling to pull her hands out of the metal gloves.

Lloyd knew Nya was still talking, but his panic had his mind ringing, unable to focus on a single thing. He could feel his heart pumping blood through his body—Every nerve in his body gaining awareness.

“We should wake the others up.” Nya’s voice was finally audible over the whirlwind in his mind.

Lloyd stuttered his attention over to her “Wha- huh..? Oh, Right, yeah. We should get them up. Uhm… I’ll get Kai I guess.”

Lloyd awkwardly shuffled to Kai why Nya went to Jay. The cage was small, so this couldn’t be too hard. “Kai!” He silently shouted, trying not to be too loud in case someone else was nearby. “Kai, get up!” He said a little louder.

This was gonna be harder than he thought. Lloyd sighed, getting as close to Kai as he physically could. “KAI!!” He shouted at a normal pitch.

Kai’s eyes shot open and he jumped to his feet, having no restraints on his legs. His muffled shout could just barely be heard through the gag in his mouth. Kai flinched once he realized he could talk. “Hmhmmhmmn!!” He shouted, his lips trying to form words without success.

Lloyd bit his lip to hold back a laugh. Nya on the other hand, showed no mercy—laughing like it was the last time she’d ever laugh at her brother. Kai’s eyebrows flattened, giving Nya the ‘seriously?’ Look.

Once Nya calmed down, they summed up what they knew to Kai and sent I’m to work on waking the others.

Nya turned back to Jay and smirked. “This’ll be a piece of cake.” She said. After clearing her throat, she went as close to Jay as she could get and yelled. “Jay, I’m dating Cole again!”

Jay's eyes shot open. “WHAT!?” His expression was both shocked and angry.

Lloyd laughed at the remark. “Wait, what is this place?” Jay asked, eyes scanning the dark cellar. “And what is Kai doing?” He asked. Kai in question was busy kicking Cole’s side in an attempt to wake him up.

“Uhm, both are long stories. We’ll explain when everyone else is up.” Lloyd sighed.

Just as Lloyd finished talking, Kai gave Cole one last stern kick to the rib—making Cole’s eyes shoot open. “GAH! Heyyy…” he groaned, giving Kai a disappointed look. Just like the others, he scanned the room. “Uhm…” he looked at everyone else’s Chains before looking down at his own. “Seriously?” He raised an eyebrow at his knee-high metal foot binds and metal cuffs that went entirely up his arms.

Kai could be heard laughing at Cole through the gag.

“I’ll explain when we get out of here.” Lloyd turned to Zane “Looks like he was completely shut down, we won’t be able to wake him up until we’re out as well.”

Jay gave Lloyd a skeptical look. “How exactly are we supposed to get out of here? It’s all Venge Stone!”

Lloyd thought for a moment, staring down at his bonded hand. Suddenly an idea came to his head, but the thought of it made him visibly cringe.

“You got something?” Jay asked

Lloyd turned to her “y- yeah… but I-…” he paused to think once again. “No… no, no. I’m not gonna do that.” Lloyd hissed at himself.

Cole raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

Lloyd looked back down at his hands, clenching them into fists. “It’s the only way…” he muttered to himself. Lloyd’s eyes hopped from one person to another.

“I’m gonna try something…” he sighed and straightened his back with a crack “but if anything bad starts happening… just knock me out or something…”

“Lloyd..?” Nya’s tone went stern “If what your doing is gonna hurt you-“

“It shouldn’t hurt me if I do it right,” Lloyd argued. “Now let me focus.”

Nya pulled away from Lloyd and sighed. Everyone else in the room backed away from him. Lloyd’s head faced his hands as he shut his eyes. In just a few seconds, Lloyd’s binds began to glow and crack—and in only a few seconds, the binds practically disintegrated in his palms. Revealing a corrupt purple flame in their place.

“L- Lloyd..?” Nya asked cautiously, staring at a frozen Lloyd.

Suddenly, Lloyd’s eyes shot open. His eyes were entirely black with only a small dot of purple glowing in place of his pupil. Nya gasped and backed into Jay's arms.

Lloyd groaned and punched the chains wrapped around his feet, causing them to snap off instantly. He stood up and walked over to Kai.

Kai flinched back as Lloyd wrapped two of his now-clawed fingers around the gag in Kai’s mouth, ripping it off in one swift move. Then just as quickly punched off his metal gloves. Lloyd turned and went to Nya next. Leaving Kai speechless.

Nya looked up at Lloyd “Are you ok..?” She asked as he punched off the chains on her feet. Lloyd looked into her eyes and sighed

“The longer I do this, the harder it gets to control. I have to hurry…” he said while snapping off her. His canines began to protrude from his mouth, and his voice became more demonic with each word.

Lloyd ripped the hoop of metal off of Jay's waist and snapped his hand binds off. But just as Lloyd was walking over to Cole, he fell to his knees. “Lloyd!” Kai shouted, kneeling at his brother’s side. “You should stop this, seriously.” The now twisted face of Lloyd turned up to Kai.

Kai backed away from Lloyd slightly, who now had Golden scales growing out of his arms and neck. Two small golden horns protruded from his forehead. His mouth began to elongate over his cheeks. “No… let me do this.” He growled as he got back to his feet.

Now in front of a VERY concerned Cole, Lloyd punched Cole’s arms until the thick cuffs snapped off. He did the same with the binds on Cole’s legs.

Lastly was Zane. Lloyd weakly crawled to Zane and used his newfound claws to cut the chain that held Zane’s hands up like a pair of scissors.

Just before Lloyd could punch Zane’s foot binds off, he fell to his knees again. “Alright, that’s it.” Kai said and angrily stomped to Lloyd’s side “Lloyd, Please stop. You’re hurting yourself!” Kai shouted.

Lloyd growled, the purple flames in his hands growing stronger. “I- it’s the last one…” he said in his now demonic and twisted voice as he reached a final punch at Zane’s Binds.

There was no time for victory as Lloyd began twisting on the ground, rolling onto his back as the scales grew further up his arms and neck. He yelped in pain, hugging himself. He just wanted it to all be ov-

SMACK!

Cole’s lava arms died down after he punched Lloyd. The flames on Lloyd’s arms extinguished and his body began reverting to normal.

Cole cracked his knuckles and turned to the others, who all looked at him in shock.

“Whaat? He told us to knock him out if anything bad happened!”

Chapter Text

Lloyd felt himself appear in the all too familiar black void. Crowds of wolf masks surrounded him. “No… no, not again!” He cried, the sensation of falling rushing through his body.

A blue, crystal sword shattered on the ground—his chest ached at the sight. The sound of a loud gong rang through his ears.

“Stop!” Lloyd shouted, clenching his head in his hands. He watched as a wolf mask ran toward him, a blue and yellow aura over their hands. As the wolf mask got closer, the aura was revealed to be lightning. “W- what..?” Lloyd mumbled in shock—however it was quick to fade away.

Lloyd was now in motion, running forward against his will. Sprinting through the black void as the sky slowly turned red—and a crimson moon beamed down on him. Another gong sang, louder and more painful than the last

Suddenly, There was a large red symbol blocking his path. It mimicked fire with its shape and glow and even radiated some sort of heat that struck Lloyd back.

As quickly as the symbol appeared, it faded away to reveal Arin with his back faced from Lloyd.

Lloyd attempted to call out to Arin but panicked when no noise came out. His student slowly turned to him as if he heard the noiseless shout. However, Arin held a dark blue wolf mask in his hands, appearing as if he was raising it to his face.

More silenced shouts came from Lloyd, his hands gripping his head so tight he could easily pull his hair out. His panting was fast! and painful, making his heart audible through his skin. Lloyd’s head began to throb and the sound of a third gong, he let out a low whimper.

Silence had never been so loud.

Lloyd’s head shot up when he felt a hand gripping his shoulder. There next to him stood a lanky, and unnatural perfect-postured man. He wore a traditional black hat and a tattered black robe. His skin was dark blue, and his eyes glowed the same blood red as the moon.

He wasn’t sure how, but something about the figure was all too familiar to Lloyd. However, he didn’t have much time to react when he felt his reflexes throw a fist directly at the man’s masked face.

His hand glowed green and in a quick moment, he punched the masked man away. Sending him flying into the… wall?

In the blink of an eye, the void was replaced by his sun-lit monastery room. His attention was grasped by the sight of Nya’s limp body curled up against the wall, perfectly in place of the masked man from his vision.

“Nya!” Another voice called out and ran to her side, Cole. He placed his hands on Nya’s shoulders and looked her directly in the eyes. “Are you alright?”

Nya’s eyes squinted open. “Y- yeah… I’m fine…” she attempted to stand again—Cole standing close to be sure she didn’t fall. Her eyes meet Lloyd’s mortified expression. “Lloyd! What’s wrong?” She asked, pushing herself away from Cole’s grasp to reach the side of Lloyds bed in which he sat.

Lloyd tripped over his words, eyes darting between Nya’s look of concern and Cole’s of confusion. “It was another” Lloyd clenched his fists and slammed them down onto his knees “Stupid vision!” He exclaimed in frustration. His eyes were clenched shut as he turned away from the other two

“What’s going on!?” A different voice shouted as Zane stood firmly in the doorway. He scanned over the scene, and an upset sigh echoed from him as he walked to the other side of Lloyd's bed.

He sat down on the edge and hesitated to place a hand on Lloyd’s leg. “How frequent is this becoming..?” Zane asked.

Lloyd simply sighed in return, pinching his nose bridge to stretch his eyes in an attempt to stay awake. “At least a few a day now… but it doesn’t happen as much when I’m awake.” Lloyd turned back over to Nya and Cole, who simply looked back at him with a look of sympathy. “Maybe if I just stay awake longer, it won’t be as bad…” he mumbled, kicking his legs off the edge of his bed to stand.

“That sounds like a good idea.” Nya deadpanned in a sarcastic tone.

Zane stood up and turned to her “Actually, I would not recommend that, Nya.” Nya raised an eyebrow at him.

“Depriving yourself of sleep could have an even worse outcome,” Zane said, directed back at Lloyd.

Lloyd paused in the doorway and shrugged. “I’m sure it can’t be that bad…”

— — —

“Yeah, this doesn’t seem bad for him at all.” Cole sighed, staring at Lloyd from across the room. He watched as Lloyd read over a scroll—the same scroll he’d been reading over for the past three hours. Cole leaned over to Nya, and the two of them sat on the couch “How do we convince him to sleep?” He asked

Nya looked over at Cole, then back at Lloyd. She scanned over his weak posture as he sat in the chair, and the dark circles forming under his eyes. “He’ll pass out eventually. Besides, he’s been awake for how long?”

Cole raised an eyebrow “Almost 35 hours straight.” He replied. “Wow, that sounds a lot worse out loud.”

“Cole,” Nya said, turning her palm over to him. “Can I have a rock?” She asked, still facing Lloyd.

The request was unexpected, but Cole thought nothing of it. “Uh, yeah sure.” He balled his hand into a fist, making his veins glow a soft orange. After no more than a few seconds, Cole opened his palm and a small, smooth rock fell into Nya’s grasp. “So… What’s it fo-“

Suddenly, Nya threw the small rock at Lloyd—hitting him straight in the forehead. Lloyd gasped all too dramatically and dropped his scroll immediately. “Whoa-! Huh..?” He mumbled as if he’d just woken up. “Oh… Nya, what’s up?” He asked, attention finally reaching the two on the couch.

“That’s one way to get his attention.” Cole snickered, crossing his arms and leaning back on the couch.

Nya fidgeted with her Gi while talking. “Lloyd, I know you hate getting those visions. But you need to sleep. You won’t be able to train Sora, Wyldfyre and Arin properly without it!”

Lloyd’s shoulders tensed as Nya stood up and began walking to his side. “Reading the same scroll over and over isn’t gonna fix anything…” Just before Nya could place a hand on his shoulder, he shot to his feet with an angry scowl on his face.

“Don’t say that!” He shouted, turning to Nya “I need to find out where Ras disappeared too. He freed one of the forbidden five a-and he took Kai too who knows where!?” Lloyd’s voice began to crack “And I can’t focus on anything with all these stupid dreams and visions!” His voice began to crack and tears began to roll down his face. “So please…” he reached to the ground to grab his scroll before walking to the door “I just need more time…”

Nya stood frozen in place, staring at Lloyd as he walked away from her. “W- wait, Lloy-“ she got cut off by the door sliding shut.

Cole clenched his fists and stood, turning to see Nya fighting back a sob. “I’ll go after him-“

“No…” she paused Cole “I- It’s fine, he’ll realize eventually.” Nya attempted to walk away but was stopped by an arm.

Cole sighed, moving his arm to his side to now block Nya with himself. “It’s not fine! The only thing he’s doing by staying awake like this is hurting himself. We have to do something.” He claimed, his fists getting tenser.

Nya simply shrugged him away in response, stepping past him. “Look, I wish there was something we could do, but he’s just too stubborn! No matter what we say, he won’t listen…” She slid the door open and stepped into the hallway.

“Wait!” Cole ran out behind her, making her pause and turn with a raised brow. “What if we didn’t say something to him, but instead did something to him?” He smirked in typical Cold fashion.

Before Nya could respond, another voice appeared. “If what you are suggesting is putting him to sleep with one of Master Wu’s old teas, then I would not recommend it,” Zane replied from behind Cole.

Cole jumped back into Nya’s arms at Zane’s surprise entrance. “How do you always just show up like that!? And how did you know what I was gonna say!!?” He exclaimed.

“Whatever!” Nya pushed past Cole to confront Zane “I agree with you, Zane. But Cole has a point… It might be the best solution.”

Zane sighed and crossed his arms “There are plenty of other solutions that could work. And, when he awakes from the tea-induced sleep, I do not think he will be very pleased with you two.”

“Uh- keyword, could” Cole crossed his arms. “It feels like every time we even mention sleep around that guy, he loses it!”

“I’m with Cole here. Zane?” Nya asked, the two of them both staring Zane down.

Zane thought for a moment and sighed. “You two may do it. However, I do not wish to be involved with any of this.” He said firmly, slowly walking past the two of them.

— — —

Nya walked outside the monastery to find Lloyd meditating in his usual spot—he looked like he was fighting the urge to pass out right then and there. She walked towards him, two cups of tea in her hands. “Hey, Lloyd!”

Lloyd jumped back and shot threatening fists at Nya, his green-glowing hands nearly making her drop the cups. “O- oh…” the glow in his hands faded away “It’s just you… s- sorry!” He mumbled, getting to his feet.

Nya offered him a cup, and he accepted it without any hesitation. “What’s this for?” He asked, looking down at the reddish-brown tea.

“Oh! Uhh… I just felt like tea, a-and I thought you might want some!” She replied quickly, making Lloyd raise a brow.

Lloyd looked back down at the tea, then back at Nya. “Something feeling wrong… you never drink tea!” He argued.

Nya choked on her words “Well, Maybe I felt like it today!” She counterargued. Looking down at the cup and taking a hesitant sip. She held back a gag once swallowing the tea—how did Lloyd start liking this stuff!? “See..?” She said, looking back at Lloyd.

“Uhm… ok, thanks then! I guess…” He replied, taking a small sip of his tea. Suddenly, Lloyd could taste the familiar taste of the tea. His eyes widened and brows furrowed in anger. “SLEEPING TEA!? ARE YOU KIDDING-“

He was quickly cut off by the sight of Nya passing out, her body collapsing onto his meditation carpet. “Huh…” he reacted, only to feel his eyelids getting heavier by the second. “N- no! I can’t sleep, I can’t!” He cried, clutching his head.

He felt his consciousness slipping away from his body. “N- no..!” He muttered just before his body collapsed atop Nya’s.

— — —

Zane walked into the kitchen to find Cole sitting at the counter. He had his elbows on the table and his head in his hands, clearly upset by something. Just as Zane reached Cole’s side, he spoke. “Did you-“

Cole shot up, charging his lava arms defensively. Only to realize it was—once again—Zane.

“Oh. My. First. MASTER!” Cole shouted in frustration. “Why do you keep doing this to me!” He groaned, letting his arms revert to normal.

Zane sighed “Did you give him the tea?” He continued, taking a seat next to Cole.

Cole hesitated to respond “Uh, yeah… about that.” Zane raised an eyebrow “I may or may not have made both the teas out of the sleeping leaves…” he trailed off.

If Zane’s jaw could reach the floor, it would’ve dropped to it. “Well, that explains your posture.”

A dramatic groan came from Cole as he let his head slam-drop to the counter. Zane pat his back. “I can’t believe I just did that.” Cole’s voice was muffled.

Zane silently chuckled, almost in amusement. “I knew it wasn’t going to end well.”

Chapter Text

I hate to say this (again) but I’m going to be ending this series off! I’m honestly glad I got as far as I did but I really wish I could’ve finished the prompt list, so sorry about that!

Sadly I won’t be continuing this due to school work (ughhhhhhh) and personal reasons.

But don’t worry! This DEFINITELY isn’t the last of me. I have a big plan for a longer fic that will (HOPEFULLY) actually come out at the end of this month!

I want to thank everyone who enjoyed reading this, and a big thanks to everyone who left Kudos!! (And an extra thanks to my friend for being moral support, and a kind-of beta reader!)

And with all that said, SirPloofy out ^^