Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Cold. That was all Lloyd knew right now; it’s all he could feel. 

He sluggishly opened his eyes, blinking his eyes from the lights that surrounded him. Confusion flooding his thoughts, until distant memories of what happened on Destiny’s Bounty plagued his mind. The bright colors, the explosions, the views of other worlds, the other ninja; his family. 

“What? Where am I?” He shot up, pain shooting everywhere. 

He couldn't help but wince in response, slightly curling into himself from the pain. He carefully reached his hand to where it seemed to be originating from; his head. His right hand gently made contact with the side of his head. There was something wet. That couldn’t be good. He lowered his hand into his view; blood. 

“Ohhh, okay. That’s really not good.” Lloyd grunted, the stinging pain from his body growing the more he shifted around on the cobblestone ground. Whatever happened, it couldn’t have been good. 

Lloyd carefully pushed himself off the ground, his body heavy. And soon enough he was on his feet, he was definitely stumbling, but on his feet none the less. He turned around, surveying the area. He was home, he was at the monastery. Though something about it was different, he wasn’t sure what, but the idea lay ever present in the back of his mind. 

He needed to see what was wrong, he needed to find the other ninja, Master Wu, Pixal, but as soon as he took a step pain radiated throughout his right leg. “Oh great, another thing I have to worry about.” He grumbled, growing more annoyed at his injured state.

He didn’t have time for this. Lloyd willed his body to move, biting his lip to avoid his grumbles of pain as he took slow steps towards the large monastery doors. Begrudgingly pushing them open with the remaining strength in his arms. 

Lloyd couldn’t stop his mouth from dropping at the sight of the new world that surrounded him. It looked the same in some areas, while others were different. From his view it was still Ninjago; a false sense of security washing over him. 

His vision guided him towards the large mountain peaks in the distance, those still looked the same as he remembered them, though maybe a little taller. The sounds of screeching and roaring echoed throughout the valley towards the green eyed ninja. He couldn’t help but close his eyes, bringing his hands to his ears. It was too loud. Carefully Lloyd opened his eyes, looking out to the nearby distance where he saw a group of dragons flying in front of the mountains.

“Dragons?” Lloyd thought aloud, wondering why they were here of all places. Though it’s not like he’d never seen a dragon or a group of dragons before, especially in Ninjago. However he had never seen that many dragons, only four or five ever at a time. Something was off, but he couldn’t quite place it. 

Pain quickly shot through him, his head felt like it was on fire, his leg burned as something wet dripped down his leg. His vision blurring, his breath growing more intense. He leaned against the door on his left hand side, giving his body a slight rest. It was something, but it hardly did anything to combat the sinking pain he was feeling. Lloyd did his best to blink away his blurring vision and the black spots that began to flood it. He took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself, though it only caused him more pain in his chest. Something was bruised or broken, he knew this feeling all too well. 

Leaning on the door, where most of his body weight helped push it open. It was here where his eyes widened, two moons loomed overhead of him. His breath seemed to evaporate. 

Coughing, his air catching in his lungs. “Okay, that’s really fucking weird.” He grumbled, one hand now holding his side as he caught his breath. “Oh FSM , I need medical attention.” He groaned, as he turned back around into the Monastery. He could close the doors when he felt better and properly taken care of, which was code for he couldn’t be bothered to close them right now.

He felt silly. His right leg firm as he limped towards the screen doors to the Monastery. His left arm held his side, while his right arm leaned against the walls, the railing, anything really. Sighing, the feelings of annoyance, slight embarrassment, and overwhelming weakness radiating throughout his body. Though he was more annoyed than anything, in comparison to Destiny’s Bounty the Med Bay in the Monastery was located far from the entrance; at least that’s what it felt like. 

Each step took almost everything out of him, his body growing tired. How long was he unconscious for? When did- whatever it was called- happen? Where was everyone? 

As much as he tried to will himself to yell for them, for someone. He could barely talk, he could barely breathe enough for him to be moving like this, so he definitely couldn’t speak at least for right now. 

Once at the Med Pay Lloyd slumped into one the chairs on the right of the first medical cot he could find. As quickly as he melted into the chair, his body willed for him to sleep. And as much as he wanted to; he couldn’t. He had to make sure he was treated first. He couldn’t self-destruct, at least for right now. 

Lloyd slightly sat up, pulling the chair under him as he moved towards the light blue medicine cabinets that were located at the front of the room. He flung open various different drawers and cabinets searching for something to aid in his pain. He found a handheld mirror. Why was there a mirror-? He stopped his thoughts. It wasn't important right now. 

He held the mirror up so he could slightly examine his head wound. He was met with a reflection of himself. His skin; pale and various different small cuts and scratches were littered across his face. His eyes; sunken, not to mention the gigantic bags that sat directly below them. The right side of his hair was coated in dried and fresh blood. 

Lloyd took a deep breath, before pulling the mirror closer to his right side, as he carefully moved several sections of his hair out of the way. Pain immediately shot through his head down his neck. He hissed in pain, breathing in through his teeth. Though it wasn’t the only thing that screamed out at him, the sudden jump in his breath caused an intense coughing fit only further aggravating his aching ribs. Ugh even with his enhanced healing, it’ll probably take a while for  him to truly heal. 

Pushing passed the pain, he moved his hair to examine the wound on the side of his head. Oh for the love of the First Spinjitzu Master . It was big, far too big for it to heal on its own. He needed stitches. Only problem was he was alone and didn’t know where any numbing agent was. He tried to stand but the minute he put weight on his right leg, it instantly buckled, not to mention it caused his vision to grow cloudy for a moment until he practically fell back into his seat. Thankfully, Kai wasn’t there to tease him like he usually did.

Grunting, he bit his lip as he reached for some alcohol wipes in a nearby drawer, as well as  grabbing the suture, and threads of nylon. Oh First this was going to hurt. 

He carefully pulled his- wait- where was his mask? It had got to be somewhere, but knowing his luck it was probably lost. Another eye roll later, he reached for one of the white towels in another drawer. He bunched the towel into a ball before shoving it into his mouth. He’d been gagged before when he was kidnapped five or twenty times, but there was something about this that made him hesitate. 

Well obviously. He was going to give himself messy stitches. Every time he’s ever had to get them it was always Zane or Pix or another one of the ninja if they were in a tight bind. Not to mention he always had a numbing agent or was straight up passed out. 

Pushing his fears to the side, his teeth practically grinding against the soft towel. He took a somewhat deep breath before disinfecting the suture and nylon before taking the alcohol wipes to his forehead. It burned, obviously, but it wasn’t as bad as the other pain he was feeling so he pushed past it. 

Once everything was ready and he was comfortable enough with the state of everything being properly disinfected. Lloyd took another deep breath, as he leaned towards where he propped up the mirror and began giving himself stitches. 

It was probably a top ten pain for him, maybe even top five. Though he couldn’t stop no matter how much his body screamed at him. He hurt his leg too, meaning he probably had to stitch himself there as well. Then he had to figure out what the hell happened. 

Lloyd could feel tears welling up beneath his eyes, some of which even escaped as they made their way down his cheeks. Though he didn’t care, it wasn’t important right now. Small whimpers and grunts escaped from his makeshift gag. He could barely even breath as he threaded the suture through his skin, pulling the two sides together. 

It felt like hours went by until he was done. He shakingly dropped the suture and the nylon he hadn’t used hastily onto the counter in front of him. Lloyd could finally breathe. Though it wouldn’t last long as he decided to prop his leg up, readying the materials he’d need to stitch together his pant leg. 

It was a slight break, but a break nonetheless. Thankfully this cut wasn’t as large as his head wound, but it still needed stitches; unfortunately. He took as deep a breath as he could, as he began stitching together his leg. The pain from this wasn’t as bad, but it was still bad; definitely a top twenty pain for sure. 

His tears and beads of sweat soon morphed into each other as he stitched his leg together. This was something he never wanted to feel again, but the thought of finding his loved ones outweighed the pain he felt. 

Once finished, Lloyd ripped the towel from his mouth; he was panting. Struggling for air, for water, for food, for anything. But as he reached for a water bottle from the small refrigerator on his left hand side, he was met with nausea. His stomach twisted, willing for the contents to be unloaded. After everything he went through in this room, his injuries, and everything that happened when everything exploded; it made sense. Though as much as he wanted to abide by his body’s needs, he couldn’t, he needed nutrients. 

Though as much as he wanted to stick himself with another needle of some kind, he didn’t know where anything was or really how to do that. His medical knowledge was basic to say the least, he probably knew the least out of everyone and that’s saying something. He did somewhat smirk at the thought that every time he’s been in this room it’s mostly been to visit his friends, he was loopy, or was receiving the medical treatment. Nine times out of ten it was the latter. He wished he was more observant during all those times. 

Shakingly, probably more than he had been earlier, he carefully pushed himself off of his chair. Though doing so filled him with an overwhelming pain and intense fire in his head, as black spots danced within his vision. He needed to rest, before anything else. There was nothing Lloyd could do if he injured himself more; he desperately didn’t want to do that again. 

He slowly made his way towards the nearest medical cot, instantly plopping down onto it. He moved one pillow under his head and placed the other underneath his leg. He could rest, only for a little bit. Just enough to get him through as he figured out what the First happened and found his family. 

It only took a few seconds for Lloyd to drift off to sleep. He was usually an insanely light sleeper, but this was a much more intense, heavier sleep. 

When Lloyd awoke there were lights streaming in from the surrounding windows and the ones that lined the hallway. Part of him hoped the other ninja had somehow returned, but the more he woke up, the more his heart sunk. The monastery was never quiet, at least when everyone was home; he was still alone. 

Lloyd did his best to push himself up in the bed, his head immediately reacting to the almost sudden movement. His breath moved into and through his teeth and he pushed himself into a seated position. Once his head felt slightly better, he gently swung his legs over the side of the bed; letting them hang below him as he carefully set down his uninjured leg first, followed by his injured one. Even with rest and his wrapped leg, the pain was still far too great for him to walk relatively normally, even for a little while. Lloyd started to feel a sinking feeling in his chest, as his mind began to wonder if it was truly just a gash in his leg or if it was something else.  

He shook his head, doing his best to not aggravate it or the other aching parts of his body. If something truly was broken or sprained, he couldn't possibly tell; at least for right now. And it’s not like he had the energy to figure it out or wanted to go to the hospital. Lloyd wasn’t sure if he wanted to see anyone besides his family. 

Grunting, he pushed off the bed, doing his best to lean against the wall for support. Even if he wasn’t hungry, Lloyd knew he needed something to eat, no matter how much his body protested. 

As Lloyd walked through the monastery to the kitchen, which of course was on the opposite side of the med-bay, he missed the sounds of the others training, playing video games, goofing off with each other; really he missed anything. The sinking feeling in his stomach grew. 

He passed by Master Wu’s room, the screen door was slightly ajar. His hand gripped the edge of the wood about to close it, when he saw one of his bamboo staffs. This one was charred and parts of the wood were almost peeling off from the rest of the bamboo. The sight of Master Wu’s room was something else, his two other staffs hung neatly on the wall, the smell of incense faintly lingered throughout his room. His bed was neatly made, like it hadn’t been slept in forever, along with a layer of dust overtop his dresser. The only thing that seemed out of place was this staff and how it was almost carelessly tossed on the floor. 

Lloyd looked up from the room and more accurately the staff towards the window directly in front of it. It was open, the hinges barely attached to the wall. The wind must have done something to practically pull the window from the strong walls of the monastery. That’s when it hit Lloyd. His uncle only had three staffs, two of them hung on the wall, and one. Well, one was on the floor. Almost as if it was nearing the end. It was the one he had during the explosion. His stomach continued to sink further and further down. 

But he couldn’t think about that right now. He had to find him, he had to find everyone. They could all be scattered throughout the world; alone. Lloyd did his best to pick up his uncle's staff. It was like a part of him could be with him and it doubled as support for his injury. When tears started to well up behind his eyes, Lloyd knew it would be best if he probably left this room. So, he slowly made his way out of his uncle’s room, shutting the door close. Hopefully the next person who would open it would be Master Wu. 

Thankfully, most of the monastery seemed to be relatively intact and not a huge mess; that was a first. Lloyd couldn’t help but chuckle to himself slightly at that thought. 

The kitchen thankfully still had power, though there wasn’t an insane amount of food in the refrigerator or the pantry. So Lloyd opted for a nutritional supplement drink. He would have opted for the protein drinks instead, but those tasted like chalk. Not to mention, that ‘chocolate brownie’ was a much better flavor than just ‘chocolate’.

 Lloyd’s shaking hand brought the drink to his lips, it felt nice against his dry, cracking lips and within his mouth, and throat. He also opted for a package of crackers, just so his stomach had something physical to cling to. 

He wasn’t a slow eater to be clear, he felt like he always ate at a normal pace, but today his hands felt too weak to shovel his food and drink into his mouth; even if his stomach desperately pleaded for it. 

Once finished with his roll of crackers and his drink, he hastily poured himself a glass of water; chugging it down. Who knows how long it had been since he had proper care, but his brain and body pleaded for more; Lloyd of course, obliged. He had three full glasses of water, his breath panting as he tried to catch it, his hands leaning against the counter. As much as Lloyd wanted his body to move, it wouldn’t; it couldn’t. His right hand stumbled, as he was now resting on his forearm. It looked like he’d be here for a while, who knows? A break would be nice. 

Lloyd rested against the counter for what felt like hours. His eyes would slowly close, but he would always push them open no matter how much it hurt. He had to figure out what happened. He had enough of a break. 

He sucked air in through his teeth, as they met his lips. He didn’t mean to bite down very hard, but the taste of iron entered his mouth. Lloyd grunted, pushing himself off the counter as he leaned against his uncle’s staff. 

Slowly and painfully, but surely, Lloyd made his way towards the library. The doors seemed somewhat different, as he pulled them open, careful not to aggravate any of his injuries. The library was indeed different, just like everything else that surrounded him. 

Large tree branches protruded from various different corners of the room. They looked to be large oak trees, but with the way they twisted throughout the walls and ceiling rafters, raised a few suspicions in regards to what trees they actually are. The room was scattered with various different books and scrolls, with only a few being in their proper place along the bookshelf. 

Though Lloyd’s eyes darted to the table in the back of the room, where Master Wu hastily went through various different books and scrolls that were now scattered throughout the desk, under it, the surrounding chairs, or heck even the entire room. 

He limped his way over, praying to the FSM that there would be something, anything that could give him insight on what happened or where the others were. He picked up the first scroll he came near, but his hope faded as it crumpled to ash at his touch. As did most of the other scrolls and books that Wu was studying.

But some of his notes were still there, though they weren’t much help either, since most of the ink from his pen fell across the scattered papers. Lloyd exhaled deeply, or as deep as he could without triggering another sharp pain in his ribs or another coughing attack; both of which he’d like to avoid. 

There seemed to be one scroll out of the dozens that sat before him that was seemingly untouched. On it, there was a large drawing of some kind of dragon, though it was unlike any dragon he had seen before. Everything about the dragon looked large, its body, wings, even the gold crown that lined its head. In the corner of the scroll there was a small inscription that read: Motion Source Dragon . 

“Source dragon?” Lloyd asked himself, he had never heard of anything like that before. Maybe it was somehow tied to the merge? But Lloyd wasn’t sure. Nothing in all the realms he’d been to, had that amount of power.

He moved another torn up scroll to try and make some sense of the remaining words on it, which was where he found his phone. It was a simple BorgPhone, with a plain green case over top of it. The only thing about it that stood out was the dragon phone charm Nya had gotten him for his last birthday. Oh First how he missed Nya. He must have put it there when he was helping Master Wu collect various different scrolls; before the first explosion occurred. 

He carefully picked up his phone, pressing the power button. It was April 18th, which meant that it was six days ago when he and the other ninja left the monastery to help the people of Ninjago. His knees buckled and Lloyd fell to the floor. How had so much time had passed? It felt like nothing, did he really sleep for six days? 

Overcome with emotions, Lloyd leaned against one of the chairs in the library. He was really alone in this. 

With each passing day, Lloyd slowly began healing. It was slower than usual, but he didn’t care. The only thing that seemed to plague his mind were the other ninja. His thoughts were so overwhelming that most days all Lloyd could do was lay in bed, hiding from the world. Hoping no one would come by, he couldn’t face anyone right now. He didn’t feel like the Green Ninja, he felt like a lost kid; a feeling he knew all too well. 

Two weeks had passed since Lloyd woke up in the med-bay. His injuries still ached, but were no longer as painful as they were when he first woke up. On the days he did get up, he spent his time cleaning and fixing up various different areas around their home. Just in case one of the ninja came back or heck if all of them came home and they could all be together again. Though as each day came and went, the more he lost the silver of hope he had. 

That was until it marked three and half weeks that passed since he woke up. He was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling above him. The wood of the beams overhead somewhat eased him, they were a constant in his life. He couldn’t help but scoff at how much he stared up at a simple walnut beam. How could staring at wood bring him comfort? Though in the back of his mind he knew why something so miniscule could bring him ease. 

A loud sound of scraping metal seemed to echo throughout the monastery, causing Lloyd to shoot up from his bed, which in turn caused a sharp sting from his side. Even if it didn’t hurt as much as it did before, Lloyd couldn’t help but slightly wince at the aching pain shooting from his ribs. Brushing it off, he decided to investigate exactly what the echoing sound was. 

He quietly opened the doors to the montstary, staring at the dragon fountain in front of him, though the large anchor sure caught his eye. He ran towards the ship, knocking over a mug of tea he left there from who knows when. Hope and fear soon flooded the young ninja’s mind.

“The Bounty ? How?” Lloyd whispered to himself, as he carefully went to investigate what exactly happened or who exactly brought Destiny's Bounty back. 

Aboard Destiny’s Bounty , there was slight paint chipping in various different locations, small scorch marks, and scratching in the wood. It made sense why it was all here, but how did the ship get here? 

Lloyd suddenly heard the sounds of creaking wooden planks. Someone was here. Panic shot through him and for the first time in a while Lloyd was scared for himself. Almost instinctively, his demeanor shifted and he formed a spinjitzu tornado and attacked the shadowed foe. He threw them from the top area of the bounty onto the deck. As he jumped after them, his left hand glowed green. 

Seeing the figure in the light, it was clear to him who this was, as Lloyd opened his eyes. Their red gi, their grunts, it was Kai. His heart swelled, one of his brothers was home. Thank the First . He stumbled, as he landed, doing his best to regain his footing from his attack position. 

It was there that he threw off his red hood. “What the heck Lloyd?” He asked, both shocked, and confused. 

“Kai! Sorry.” Lloyd stumbled through his words as he helped the Master of Fire to his feet. “I haven’t seen anyone in weeks.” He could feel tears welling up behind his eyes, though he wasn’t sure if he could even cry anymore. 

Kai immediately picked him up, spinning him around in a hug. “So good to see you buddy.” He exclaimed, his voice warm and soft. 

Lloyd couldn’t help but bury his head into his older brother’s shoulder. “You too.” He breathed out, his vision growing cloudy. 

Though as soon Kai had put him down, his grateful expression turned into one of worry. “Lloyd, you okay?” He asked, still holding his younger brother’s shoulders. 

Caught off guard, Lloyd attempted to ease his brother’s worries, but it didn’t seem to work. “Oh y- yeah, yeah I’m okay.” It sounded like he was convincing himself, rather than Kai. “I’m okay.” Lloyd forced out. 

Kai smirked, placing a hand on his hip. “Come on Lloyd, I know you better than that. Tell me what’s going on and I can help.” 

He looked up towards Kai, He was a little under a head taller than him though his spiked hair made him feel so much taller. He was staring at Lloyd with his kind dark hazel brown eyes and that was enough for Lloyd to break down. He fell into his brother’s arms, the tears unable to stop. 

“I- I-” He stuttered, struggling to speak, choking back on his teas, while he sobbed into Kai’s chest. His grip around his was warm and gentle, for a while Lloyd had only known the cold, but is soon slowly faded the more his older brother held him.

“Hey, hey. Shhhh. You’re okay now.” Kai whispered, as he rubbed Lloyd’s back. 

Lloyd wasn’t sure how long they stayed there, but he knew he didn’t want to leave; he didn’t want to let go. He wanted the two of them to stay like that forever. But nothing lasts forever, as Kai shifted, slightly letting go of Lloyd. 

“Come on buddy, let’s get us something to eat.” He whispered, waiting for his response. But all Lloyd could do was nod his head. 

In the kitchen, Kai sat Lloyd down at the island as he fixed themself some noodles and tea. The noodles were the kind where you’d pour hot water into them from Skylor’s store, but they were still delicious. He hoped she was okay, just like he did all the people he cared about. 

Kai placed a noodle cup and mug in front of Lloyd, then placed another pain in front of the chair adjacent to him. Kai sat down, carefully sipping his tea; Lloyd followed suit as well. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Kai asked. 

That was a good question. Did Lloyd want to talk about what happened in the past three, almost four weeks? A part of him didn’t, but a greater part of him wanted to let go of everything he was holding on to. He nodded, as he began sharing everything he did and didn’t do within the past few weeks. He could barely look at Kai, he knew what his face would look like; in pain for him, worried, and caring. He loved the way Kai and the others cared for him and each other, but he couldn’t exactly bring himself to look at him in fear he’d lose his composure again. 

Once he finished, he was met with a large hug that tore at his aching ribs causing a slight wince to escape his breath. 

Immediately, Kai pulled away from him, his eyes watering. “Lloyd! You said you were all healed?” He scolded. 

Growing slightly embarrassed, Lloyd let out a soft chuckle. “Well mostly all healed.” He smiled towards the Fire Ninja, who returned it. 

“Hey Kai?” Lloyd began, gaining his brother’s attention. 

“Hmm?” He hummed, as he slurped up some of the noodles that were between his chopsticks. 

“Please don’t go missing on me again? I don’t know if I could handle it again.” He forced a small laugh out, as he played with the belt on his gi. 

Kai softened, pulling Lloyd into a gentle hug. “I promise, as long as you take care of yourself from now on," he added. Eyeing the younger ninja, slightly. 

“Promise.” Lloyd said, holding out his finger for a pinkie promise. Like the kind they did when he was younger. 

“Promise.” Kai responded. Intertwining their pinkies together. 

Lloyd took a bite of his noodles, melting in their savory taste. He spoke with his mouth half full of food. “So Kai, what happened to you? And on that note, do you know what happened? I tried making sense of Master Wu’s notes, but most of them were destroyed.” He swallowed his bite. 

“Well I woke up on an island far away from here, though it wasn’t an island I recognized or was on any of the maps. Thankfully, I was with the Bounty , though it wasn’t entirely smooth sailing. I was hoping to find some of the others, but alas to no avail.” He sighed. “From what I’ve heard a lot of people are calling it, "The Merge” since all sixteen realms merged into one with Ninjago. Pretty intense stuff to be honest. Though I’m not sure what exactly happened. I do want to–” 

Kai was interrupted by a large boom, cracking sound, and the rumbling of their surroundings. The two brothers looked at each other as they ran out of the Monastery. Their mouths dropped at the sight. The sky cracked open, almost the same as it had been during the night of ‘The Merge’. 

The two ninja looked at each other, horrified. Kai began rushing up onto Destiny’s Bounty , while Lloyd called for his mech to meet him at the gates. Once they were both ready they flew up towards the merge, thinking of a way to stop it. Unfortunately there was nothing really in either Lloyd’s mech or Destiny’s Bounty that could maybe stop it.  

“Hmm I wonder?” Lloyd thought aloud, as he shot his green energy towards the crack in reality. 

“Kai! For some reason elemental powers can close it!” He yelled towards his brother, who somehow heard him. He nodded, as he sent his fire towards the crack in the sky. Soon enough, with both of their elemental energy hitting the crack, it soon dispersed. 

Exhausted, the two decided it’d be best if they went back inside and rested. Stopping the mergequakes, as Lloyd dubbed them, seemed to drain them both of their energy and elemental power. Lloyd hoped it wouldn’t be a daily occurrence, but knowing their luck it was definitely going to be. 

They made their way back to the kitchen, unfortunately their food and tea were cold. So Kai decided to place everything into the microwave. Not the most efficient, but Lloyd would have done the same thing. Kai sighed, leaning against the counter, his arms crossed. His eyes staring at the floor. 

Lloyd opted to sit back down at his seat at the kitchen counter. Looking up where he noticed Kai, seemingly lost in thought. “Everything okay?” He asked, biting down on his lip. 

“I think I want to go explore to find the others.” He answered, his voice soft, almost like he didn’t want to say it. 

“What are you saying?” Lloyd asked, hoping it wasn’t what he was thinking. 

Kai shifted against the counter “I- I want to find the others and explore the merged lands.” He said, raising his head to make eye contact with Lloyd. 

Lloyd wanted to plead with him to stay, to beg him. To ask him how he could leave so soon? To remind him of the promises they made to each other. But his head knew better. He knew Kai wouldn’t just leave willy-nilly and leave him hanging and with the installment of the mergequakes he was needed here to protect Ninjago. More times than not, the life of a ninja was incredibly taxing and this was one of those times. 

Lloyd looked down at his hands, he fiddled with them for a bit before responding to Kai.”I-I understand. And I’m getting the idea that I need to stay here and stop the mergequakes?” Lloyd answered. 

Kai smiled softly. “Yeah.” 

“Well you better write me every week so I know you’re okay.” Lloyd added, a smile forming between his lips. 

Kai laughed. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He paused. “Wait mergequakes?” Kai asked, his eyebrow raising. 

“Yeah, you know. What happened is called the merge, and what just happened felt like an earthquake. So mergequake.” Lloyd answered, clearly proud of himself for coming up with the name. 

The Fire Ninja burst out laughing, smiling widely. Once he regained his composure, he smiled sweetly towards his younger brother. “I’ve missed you, Lloyd.” 

“I’ve missed you too, Kai.” A matching warm smile formed between his lips, for the first time in the past few weeks, he was happy. 

Chapter Text

“But taking my power is dangerous. Your life may change forever.” The Source Dragon’s voice, his words, echoed throughout Lloyd’s mind. 

Was this something he should be doing? Lloyd’s mind flattered for a fraction of a second, a wave of unsureness washed over him. He looked towards Zane, who had given him a reassuring nod. This was Lloyd’s decision and he knew what he had to do. 

He thought back to the dragons, how they were imprisoned, taken advantage of. He couldn’t sit idly by, watching them be recaptured and tormented for who knows how long. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he let that happen. He turned back towards the Source Dragon, his thoughts no longer faltered; he was sure this is what he wanted, what he needed to do.

“If it will save those dragons, that’s a risk I’m willing to take.” He stated, his resolve as strong as ever. 

“And that is exactly why you are capable of being a conduit.” The Source Dragon’s voice echoed throughout his mind. “Approach the sphere.” 

Lloyd took a firm step forward, as Zane brought the hovering platform closer to the golden sphere that surrounded the Source Dragon. His feet, only mere inches away from the Source Dragon, the energy radiating off of him overwhelmed Lloyd and his senses. 

Cautiously, he held his left palm gently against the sphere.

Golden light soon began to flood his vision, as he began to glow the same light from the same energy that emulated from the Source Dragon. Lloyd could feel the blood moving through his veins, the circuits in his brain firing, the way his muscles moved and reacted as he stood still. It almost seemed like his senses were on overdrive, it was almost too much to bear. The feeling of an overwhelming wave of heat exploded throughout him; first through his fingers, then through his arm, and soon his whole body was radiating. 

Lloyd tried to remain focused, to not let Zane, or anyone for that matter see him like this. But the shining golden light never once dimmed, it was almost like he was staring into the sun, the way it caused his eyes to burn. He shut his eyes in protest of the blinding light in front of him, but no matter how much he wished for them to remain closed, destiny willed them open. 

As his eyes were forced open, he was no longer standing in front of the Source Dragon, he was no longer next to Zane; instead he was in an endless sea of space and stars. Surrounding him overhead, there were multiple different symbols, their symbols. But before he could study them a little longer, the ground beneath him began to crack and crumble; pulling Lloyd into a seemingly bottomless abyss. 

His screams echoed throughout the world he was in; his mind. As he reached for something to grab, to hold on to, to keep him from falling deeper and deeper into whatever this was.

His prayers seemed to have been answered, as Lloyd landed atop a hill of sand. He was free from falling, but he was not free of the horrors of the sight that laid in front of him. His field of view was surrounded by gravestones, ninja masks littered the surrounding ground, as did a plethora of swords and arrows. This; This was a massacre of some kind. Lloyd could feel his heart twist and pull in who knows how many different directions. His eyes surveyed the ninja masks, hoping to the First Spinjitzu Master , his friends; his family’s weren’t there. 

Though before Lloyd was able to ease his mind; his worries. He was confronted by a large shadowed dragon flying over head of him. He stared in disbelief of the dragon, even more so when he was attacked by an onslaught of catastrophic energy. 

Lloyd could feel his body temperature rising, sky rocketing. He had never felt anything like this in his entire life. The power shared  with him from the Matriarch Dragon paled in comparison to the incredible force and power shared upon him from the Source Dragon. Just how powerful were they?

He could feel his body floating, almost as if it was lighter than air. He could no longer feel the weight atop his shoulders or how tense his back was, or how the rest of his bones and muscles ached. There was nothing for him to feel, nothing except the heat that coursed through his veins, or the way his palms tingled with the Source Dragon’s energy. It was almost too much for Lloyd to keep up with.

Even though Lloyd’s eyes were open, he couldn’t really follow what was happening around him. He could see Nya and Kai screaming at him, but he couldn’t hear them. It was as if he was under water, with how their muffled voices grew further into the background of his mind. 

Now wasn’t the time for this though and it seemed his body knew that too. Instinctively Lloyd’s arms moved towards a gate of some kind. Oh right, the gate . His hands harnessed the newly found power within himself, as they shot out beams of green and yellow towards the top of the gate. With every bit of power that escaped Lloyd and the more he sent power to the portal gate, the more he found himself growing colder and colder. But he couldn’t think about that at the moment, he had to free the dragons. 

He could feel his body as it grew increasingly more and more exhausted, as he floated overhead watching the dragons run through the gate, running towards their freedom. Once his mind and heart were sure the dragons were saved, the power shared with him from the Source Dragon dissipated just as quickly as it entered Lloyd’s body. Leaving him to fall from the high point he once was; freezing.

His mind fell, just as his body did, into a deep slumber. 

His limbs ached, they screamed out at him. It was like someone had taken all his energy, all his strength and stole it. He willed for his eyes to open, nothing. No matter what he tried, no matter how much he wished his eyes would just open; they wouldn’t. He couldn’t even move his body, he was trapped in the endless space that was before him. 

Lloyd didn’t know how long he sat there or how long he tried to meditate for, but was quickly shaken out of it at the sound of murmuring voices. Why were they talking to him? Did something happen? Why were their voices in his dream?

He did his best to listen and to understand what was being shared directly above him.

“What the hell happened Zane?” A feminine voice asked, Nya’s? 

“I– I do not know.” A robotic voice answered, it was shaking; it was Zane’s voice. “I only know that the Source Dragon shared some of his energy with Lloyd. I do not know what happened to him physically during that time.” 

“Is there anything you can tell us?” A warm voice asked, Kai’s? This voice sounded much closer than the others. There was also the faint feeling of someone touching or holding his right hand. 

Zane exhaled deeply. “My scans of Lloyd indicate that his energy has been sufficiently depleted, along with a dangerously low body temperature, his body is doing its best to take care of him but–” Zane trailed off, he paused for a long moment; it was for so long Lloyd thought he left the room. “– but I fear it may not be enough. We do not know anything about the transferring of power between dragons and elemental masters, especially with the likes of a Source Dragon.” 

“No, that– that can’t be right.” Nya pushed, her voice unsteady. “Zane, please we have to do everything we can to make sure he doesn’t–” She paused, sniffling. Lloyd hated seeing her cry or in this instance, hearing her. 

“I will. I promise I’ll do everything in my power.” Zane answered. The sounds of creaking floorboards followed behind his voice. 

Lloyd was left alone again, alone in this never ending world made of mirrors and stars. That was until he felt someone squeeze his hand, before placing it to their forehead. “Please, buddy. I need you to wake up for me, okay?” Kai’s voice asked, his breath shallow. “Squeeze my hand if you can hear me.” He begged. 

As much as Lloyd wanted to, just being awake and listening to them exhausted what little energy he had. 

“That’s okay, bud.” Kai’s voice softened, defeated. He continued to gently rub the back of his hand. His hands were shaking, Lloyd could feel his heart ache. He wanted to jump up into his older brother’s arms, but his body was trapped within the confines of this bed. 

Almost picking up on what Lloyd was thinking. “It’s okay, Lloyd. Just focus on getting some rest.” Kai spoke into Lloyd’s cold hands. 

That was all Lloyd needed to fall back asleep into his deep slumber. 

… 

He wasn’t sure how long he had been asleep for, or how long he spent lying down; the only thing he knew this time was that it was uncomfortable. Before he had a moment to register just how uncomfortable he was, he felt a cool presence above his head. Gentle, soft hands brushed away sections of hair that must have fallen in front of his face. He wanted to lean into their touch, but he couldn’t even open his eyes. 

“Oh hi, Sora.” The voice spoke, it was Nya’s voice. 

“Hi, um, I–” Sora’s voice was weak and unsteady, each word shook as it left her mouth. 

“Do you want to sit with him?” 

Lloyd could only hear silence, but the creaking of the floorboards gave him a good idea of what was going on. Nya’s presence left him, bidding farewell; she gave him a light kiss on his forehead; almost as if she was saying she’d be back shortly. He wished he had more time with his older sister, they were just reunited. 

“Hi Lloyd.” Sora’s voice broke the long silence. Her voice was shaking, unsure; she had been crying. 

“I’m here for both Arin and me. He um– he isn’t doing too well right now, but I- I, I don’t think any of us are to be honest.” She forced a small, broken laugh.

“I need you to wake up for me Lloyd, you’re our teacher, you’re–” Sora paused, searching for the right words to say. “–we need you. I– I need you.” She broke down, tears falling from her eyes, onto her hand that held Lloyd’s. 

He felt like a monster. Here he was sleeping when he was hurting those around him, but as much as Lloyd tried to fight off his unconsciousness, it proved to be for nothing. So instead, he decided to focus on his student’s voice. Hopefully, when this was all over he could tell her that she had nothing to worry about anymore. 

… 

Slowly, Lloyd’s eyes opened. They were so heavy. He was still so tired. He did his best to blink away the spots that crowded his vision. Though it didn’t do much to aid in how much his eyelids ached and how much they wished to remain close; he didn’t have time for that right now. 

Lloyd did his best to search the room, where he found an asleep Kai on his right. He was sitting in his desk chair, his neck crooked over the back of the chair. His body slumped with his left hand laid on Lloyd’s bed. He did his best to somehow wake him up, but his muscles wouldn’t respond to his will. Sighing, Lloyd opted to go with the next best option. 

“... Kai–” He croaked, using most of his energy to nudge his brother’s arm. 

“Wha–? Huh? Oh my First , Lloyd!” He exclaimed, his loud voice causing him to wince slightly before smiling at the embrace his older brother gave him. Kai was so warm, he didn’t want to let go.

Lloyd opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out, only the sound of a blood curdling cough filled the room. 

“Oh First , here.” Kai smiled, helping him sit up in his bed. He held a water bottle to Lloyd’s lips, doing his best to drink from it, though he couldn’t stop the way some of the water dribbled onto his bedsheets. Kai smiled, taking a towel to Lloyd’s chin. 

“Wha–? Where am–? Back in the Monastery? Our Monastery?” Lloyd asked, growing more confused with each question. He only stopped asking them when he was interrupted by a sharp pain in the side of his head.

Kai paused for a moment, sitting down on the side of Lloyd’s bed instead of sitting in the chair. He sighed. “Easy there kid, you’ve been through a lot. Do you not remember what happened?” Kai asked, patting his younger brother’s head. 

Lloyd thought back as best he could, but all he saw was a flash of gold in his vision. He looked up at Kai, shaking his head. “Mmm no, not really.” He answered. 

Kai only frowned, before forcing a smile again. Yeah, Lloyd saw it, even if his brother prayed to his grandfather that he wouldn’t. “That’s okay, we can talk about it more when you’re feeling a bit better.” 

“Kai, how long was I out?” Lloyd asked, his voice only somewhat shaking now. 

His older brother sighed. “You’ve been out for five days.” Kai answered. 

“Wha–? Five?” Lloyd asked, barely able to comprehend it. 

“Hey, what did I say about taking it easy?” Kai pressed. “It’s okay, what matters is that you’re awake now. I’m going to go get Zane, okay? He’ll be able to answer some of your questions better than I could.” His hand rested ever so softly on his shoulder; almost as if he was afraid he would hurt him somehow. 

Lloyd did his best to stay awake, being somewhat upright certainly helped, but it still felt pointless in the long run as his mind kept trying to nod off and return to slumber. He had to see Zane, Nya, his students; he had to make sure they were okay and that they knew he was. 

The Ice Ninja entered his room, followed closely behind Kai. Zane quickly took his vitals and scanned him, announcing that Lloyd was doing much better than he had been. His vitals were remarkably better, sending a reassuring wave over them. Though it didn’t solve his issues of comfortability, as Lloyd was still stuck with a tube up his nose, one in his arm, and a heart monitor that beeps constantly. How had he not noticed before? Zane determined it was probably in his best interest for him to gain his strength back with the cushions of the various different tubes in him and what they offered. Lloyd reluctantly agreed. 

Zane had told him a Source Dragon shared some of his power with him, which allowed for him to power up the portal gate back to their Monastery; allowing the freed dragons to escape Imperium. He also told him that Zane believed the main reason being a conduit didn’t drain Lloyd more than it did was because of his heritage. It somehow always came back to that. 

…

The tubes sticking in him, the way his muscles could barely move made Lloyd grimace. He hated this. He hated feeling weak. A large part of him didn’t even want his students to see him like this, but he couldn’t do that to them. They were so hurt by him, by his actions. He had to make this right, he had to show them that he was okay; or beginning to be. 

They came in the following morning, just after Lloyd had a nice warm bowl of congee. He was still so cold after everything that happened; memories of which started to piece themselves back together, but he wasn’t really able to follow them all that well. 

Lloyd sat in his bed, twiddling his fingers and playing with the multiple blankets stacked up on top of him. He was nervous, nervous that they wouldn’t want to be his students anymore, nervous they were hurt, or nervous that he hurt them in one way or another. A pit in his stomach formed. 

Sora entered first. “Lloyd! You’re awake!” she exclaimed. Her pink hair was out of its usual ponytail and sat loosely overtop her outfit; she was wearing a pink hoodie, overtop a pair of loose, beige, sweatpants. She was trying to do her best to hide the fact that her eyes were red from crying or her sniffles. Lloyd decided not to point it out. 

Arin followed behind her. He was wearing his usual orange hoodie, along with a pair of black sweatpants. His eyes, unlike Sora's, were glued to the floor. He didn’t look up at Lloyd or really talk to him. Only small hums escaped him. Lloyd's heart sank, he really hurt this kid. 

Lloyd smiled a weak, soft smile as he did his best to follow what she had told him. Apparently some of the dragons wanted to stay here in the new dragon stables, just as the young girl he rescued did, Wyldfyre? Yeah, that sounded right. Nya, Kai, and Zane had been busy with stopping the mergequakes and Nya had gone back to the Cloud Kingdom to research them some more.

“Lloyd? You okay?” She asked, her voice growing increasingly worried as she noticed he started staring off into space. Sora looked worried before, but nothing really topped the way she looked at him here.

“Huh? Oh yeah, I’m okay.” He muttered. “Just happy that we get to spend time together like this.” He smiled, only this one was much wider than his last few ones. He truly was happy, as much as he could be, without feeling like he might explode with how much he missed Cole, Jay, Pixal, and Master Wu. 

Arin shifted in his seat, small sniffles escaping from him; even if he did his best to hide it. 

“Hey Arin, you okay?” Lloyd asked, turning towards him. 

The young ninja only sighed. “I’m fine. Glad to see you’re awake.” He answered, his voice just above a whisper. 

“You don’t seem fine.” He pressed. 

Arin continued looking towards his feet, his hands playing with the drawstrings of his hoodie. “I knew when all this started, it was probably temporary. Cause the other ninja were gone.” 

“What was temporary?” 

“Training, learning. Me becoming a ninja. This. I get it; if you gave them all, you don’t need me anymore.” 

“Arin, that isn’t true. I do need you and to tell you the truth, I am so grateful you and Sora came into my life. The Merge left me really lonely and living with you two reignited passions of mine I thought I lost after the Merge.” He paused, smiling towards the two young ninja trainees.  

Sora smiled, but Arin still looked conflicted. 

“I lost my parents in the Merge, I guess I’ve been trying to find a new family ever since.” Arin mumbled. 

Lloyd couldn’t help but grin.“And you have, Arin. You, Sora, Wyldfyre, me, and the other ninja. And I am honored to call you two family. I mean that.” He smiled, opening his arms up for an embrace; the two younger ninja obliged. 

… 

After Lloyd had taken a well deserved nap and was helped moved to the couch by Kai and Zane, he heard a familiar voices echoing from the elevator. 

Nya burst through the elevator doors, almost sprinting straight past him. Once she laid eyes on her younger brother, she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around Lloyd, almost squeezing all the air from his lungs. 

“Look who decided to rejoin the living!” She marveled, before wrapping him in another tight hug. Lloyd, or course, returned the hug; though he didn’t, couldn’t, squeeze her as tightly. 

“Hi Nya.” He whispered into her shoulder, melting into her over protective embrace. 

“Hi yourself.” She chuckled, punching him softly in the shoulder.

“Hey! Hey! Ow! I’m hurt!” He shouted, exaggerating his pain. 

“Oh so you agree you’re hurt? Mr. I’m always fine and definitely am not hurt or going through something.” She laughed, though as her laughing died out, Nya grew increasingly worried. She sat down on the coffee table adjacent to Lloyd. “Never do that again please.” She pleased softly. 

“I promise I will do everything in my power to not do it again.” He crossed his heart, holding his left hand up. 

“Good.” Nya nodded, moving to the couch, her feet resting on the coffee table."What are we watching?”

Lloyd hummed. “Fritz Donegan movie marathon?” He asked, already using the remote to open up the first movie. 

Nya groaned at first, before giving in. “Ugh, what the heck? Wait a second to start it, okay?” She asked, jumping up off the couch. 

She came back a few minutes later, two ninja and two students followed closely behind. They were all carrying various different snacks, sweets, blankets and pillows. Lloyd couldn’t help but smile, pressing play once everyone was situated. 

It was Sora and Arin’s first time seeing a Fritz Donegan movie, Zane had just placed dinner in the oven, and Kai and Nya could definitely use a break from their research and stopping the mergequakes. 

He couldn’t help but smile, everyone was getting the break they needed. Lloyd melted into the pillows that supported his head, falling into a peaceful sleep. Even if he missed out on the banter between everyone, or his favorite Fritz Donegan movie, he was happy. Happy to be with almost everyone in their family. After all, what better way to heal than with his family? 

Chapter Text

Lloyd looked up towards the sky, the mergequakes were growing in size and intensity. It was almost too bright for him to look at. He could feel the earth rumbling beneath him; screaming out in some kind of desperate plea for this horror to end and he couldn’t help but agree. 

Before he knew it the sky erupted into familiar pinks and purple cracks within the sky, as lightning and thunder shook the ground they were standing on. It was just like that night; the night everything changed. He couldn’t help but hope and pray to the First Spinjitzu Master that somehow everything would be okay. 

He looked around at the chaos that surrounded him; people were running and hiding behind whatever they could, various different streetlights and cars were pulled into the mergequakes cracks that littered the sky. Sora and Arin stared at him, their eyes wide with worry and anticipation. They were awaiting Lloyd’s instructions, but how could he instruct them if he was also at a loss. And here he was, standing there, not doing anything. He needed to move, he needed to do something but for just a moment he couldn’t. He was frozen, tired of always having to fight, always having the world on his shoulders. 

He quickly shook those thoughts from his head, what was he talking about? Ever since he was a kid, he’s loved helping people, or after he dropped the whole evil thing. But he was stunned that those thoughts could even come across in his memory. He was a ninja, one of the few left; he had to do something. What would Cole, or Jay, or Pix, or Master Wu say if they saw him like this? Probably not good things. 

Zane ran up to them from somewhere, though it was almost too loud for him to pay attention. The sky that surrounded him, the screams of civilians, the way his own brain wouldn’t stop making so much noise. He couldn’t get it out of his head, he felt like a failure. They lost Riyu, who he was supposed to be looking out for. It was times like these he hated being a leader, a teacher, all of it. 

He looked up, finding three different sets of eyes on him. Even if Lloyd hadn’t been paying attention, he didn’t need to ask what Zane had said, he knew. Lloyd nodded a slow yet reserved nod. He knew what they needed to do yet, but it always feels like too much. 

“Come on! We need to find the others and make our way to the Bounty. We have two Dragon Cores here, so we need everyone ready to fly back together. ” Everyone seemed to nod at his orders and followed him as Lloyd hastily picked up his heavy feet as he ran to meet up with Kai, Nya, and Wyldfyre; it was now or never. 

The four of them ran further down the street from where Empress Beatrix came from; where she was fighting Kai, Nya, and Wyldfyre. Though the closer they got, the more solemn they felt. There was no Kai in sight, or Wyldfyre for that matter, only a Water Ninja who was actively helping civilians move into a safety bunker.

Lloyd could feel his heart twisting. Did they really lose three of them? As much as he hoped he was kidding himself, the heartbreak in Nya’s eyes confirmed what his heart had feared. He failed Kai, Wyldfyre, and Riyu, some leader he was. 

The two of them made eye contact, an unspoken exchange shared between them. 

“Nya!” Lloyd called, pulling her into a tight hug. She, of course, returned it. She squeezed him so tight, almost like she didn’t want to let go, almost like she couldn’t afford losing another brother. As much as he enjoyed her tight hugs, it was almost unbearable for him to be squeezed so hard; a sharp breath escaped him, immediately causing Nya to let go of him and give him ‘the look’. It wasn’t a look Lloyd enjoyed receiving, especially after receiving it one too many times, but that didn’t matter right now. 

“It’s fine, just a little sore.” He whispered, so only she could hear. “Come one, we need to get back to the Monastery for the other Dragon Core.” 

Nya gave him ‘the look’ again, before giving a small smirk. “Well then what are we waiting for?” 

The five of them climbed onto the back of Zanth and Jiro, who dropped everyone off at Destiny’s Bounty . Lloyd bolted for the steering wheel, taking a deep breath, before starting the ignition and setting sail for home. 

It’s been a long while since Lloyd has ever felt so distracted, he’s had moments throughout his life, but something about this was different and he couldn’t quite place it. It was almost like deja vu? But that couldn’t be possible, he’d never really experienced it before so that choice of reasoning, of words didn’t make any sense. But here he was, sailing the bounty, towards the storm just like in his dreams, just like when everything changed. 

His mind couldn’t help but keep going back to that night, the night where he lost everyone in his family. He had already lost three members today and he was determined to not lose anymore. He was certain that if he did, no one, not even himself, could forgive him. 

Lloyd almost didn’t notice when the sky erupted. It went from cracks in the sky to a sea of pinks, purples, and reds. It was just like his dream, it was just like that night five years ago. His heart seemed like it was about to beat right out of his chest, as they were hit with a large shockwave from the epicenter of the storm. 

“The Crossroads! My home is being ripped apart, again!” Arin yelled, almost unable to process what exactly was happening. 

Lloyd struggled keeping control of the ship, as various grunts and winces forced their way out. He must have been banged up pretty hard in the fight with Beatrix. “We know how to stop this. We have two Dragon Energy Cores with us, we just need–” 

It was at that moment where Destiny’s Bounty not only lost its sails, but lost power as well. Lloyd couldn’t help but scoff at the amount of times this ship had been rebuilt or repaired in some capacity or another, but now wasn’t the time to laugh; it was the time for action. 

Lloyd’s grip remained firm and in control around the handles of the steering wheel. He used what felt like all his remaining strength to get the ship from taking a nose dive into First knows where. However, no matter how much he pushed or pulled the wheel in one direction it did nothing to change the fact that he ship was going to definitely crash land. 

But for some reason, steering the ship began to get a lot easier, as the ship steadied. Lloyd couldn’t quite grasp what exactly changed it, or if he could hear what Sora was saying. He didn’t even know when she got here in the first place. But before he had time to process what was happening, they flew off towards the Crossroads, almost sending Lloyd back into the wall that stood behind him. He wasn’t exactly sure what had changed, but he was grateful for it. 

When they arrived at the Crossroads, Zanth disconnected herself from the ship. Lloyd made sure to make a mental note to thank her when this was all over; he really owed her one. 

The five ninja leaped from Destiny’s Bounty, landing in the middle of the Crossroads. It was almost too insane for him to keep track of. If he thought Imperium was overwhelming this was an entirely different story. The Crossroads already made him anxious, considering the large number of people who lived here, but this was an entirely different story. Parts of buildings were being ripped apart, people were screaming, cars were flying all around them, the ground shook more than ever before, the sky boomed overtop of them. He could hardly find the energy to catch his breath. 

Lloyd, Nya, and Zane erupted into their Spinjitzu tornadoes, flying from one end of the city to the other, as they helped various different citizens from either being crushed or sent into the mergequake. While Lloyd helped the various different citizens of the Crossroads, he couldn’t help but think he already failed them. They were missing a Dragon Core and with no way to get it there.

Soon enough, he found himself at the town’s center, along with Zane who stood by him. His anxiety overwhelmed him, they didn’t have everything they needed to save the world. Lloyd cursed himself for not bringing it with them like he thought he should. have. Maybe if he had brought it with them, maybe they could have had a chance. But with the ways things were looking now, they really had none.

“The Spirit of the Temple said we need to unite all three Cores, but the third one’s back at the Monastery, there’s no time to get it here!” Lloyd shouted to Zane, speaking extra loudly to ensure Zane could hear him. The more Lloyd looked at his brother, the more he realized Zane didn’t seem all that worried; not that there were many times he had seen the Titanium Ninja nervous.

“”It is already on the way.” Zane answered, making Lloyd even more confused. 

How could it almost be on the way? Especially when they were all out on a mission in Imperium and– Oh. Lloyd could feel a small smile forming on his lips, but that was quickly interrupted by the sounds, or more accurately, screams from Mr. Frohicky. 

Lloyd could feel himself breath a heavy sigh of relief as he took the final Dragon Core from Mr. Frohicky. They had all the pieces they needed for this to work; for them to save the world. 

“Yep! Still the best Assistant Keeper of the Monastery ever.” Lloyd acknowledged him before running back to others in the center of the Crossroads. 

Though a present, earth shattering thought continued to form in the back of Lloyd’s mind. What if this wasn’t as easy as they were making it out to be? What if it was a lot more difficult than the Spirit had originally described? But before he could fall deeper into his thoughts, he was standing in front of everyone and the other three cores. 

“All three! Great! Now what?” Arin asked. 

That was a great question. What was supposed to happen when the three of them were united?

“Just put them together maybe?” Nya thought aloud. 

Nothing. 

Maybe placing the third one on top of the other two? Lloyd asked himself. 

Nothing. 

“Ughh! Why didn’t they come with an instruction manual?” Arin complained, seemingly saying what everyone was thinking. 

Lloyd found himself staring deeper and deeper into the Cores. Something was calling out to him or he was calling out to them? He wasn’t really sure, but he could hardly take his eyes off of them. They willed for his touch, they willed for something in him to be ignited, but what? Lloyd hardly had any answers anymore and this was no exception. He desperately wanted to know what was calling for him, his mind seemed to do its best to make Dragon Cores to be his only focus. Even if that was the case, he could hardly even hear himself think with everything going on around him.

“Like all things involving Source Dragons, the details we have are stunningly vague.” Zane added.

“Hmm. The Source Dragon–” Sora wondered aloud. “That’s it!” She yelled, shocking Lloyd out of his trance. 

“Lloyd, you’re the Conduit! If these Cores were made with the Source Dragons’ power, then you might be able to process their power.” She continued. 

The gears turning in his head the more Sora spoke. She was right, he was the missing part of the puzzle. 

“We don’t know what that would do to Lloyd!” Arin interjected. 

His eyes stared into the broken sky above them, if they weren’t all at risk, he would have said or thought about how beautiful the sky looked. But it was at risk, their lives were all in danger.  Lloyd’s mind was fixated on the call from the Dragon Cores, the people he lost, his friends, family, innocent people. 

He rested his palm gently against one of the Dragon Core, he could feel some of its immense power shaking against his fingertips. Like this, their power just felt like a soft vibration; it didn’t feel like it left him bed bound for two weeks. 

The world was falling apart and here he was being the only one they knew that could maybe do something about it. He could feel his stomach twisting. As much as he didn’t want to feel the pain and weakness he felt after the last time he acted as a conduit for the Source Dragons; he had to do something. He was a ninja, it was his job, his duty to protect not only the people of Ninjago, but the merged lands as well. 

“I have to give it a try. If it’s the last thing I ever do.” He broke the silence, doing his best to not let his voice be unsteady or falter. 

He meant it too. He would do anything to have Kai back, Wyldfyre, Riyu, Cole, Jay, Master Wu, or Pixal, even if it meant giving his life to save them; to save the people of the new world they were all in. After all, he took an oath to always protect and serve. 

He placed his right palm perpendicular to his left hand, as they both tightly held the top of the Dragon Core. He began inhaling and exhaling deeply, trying to make sense of the power that flowed within him from the Cores. He did his best to focus on the way they made his hand feel numb, or the way they pushed and pulled on the rest of it. But as soon as Lloyd was about to make any progress, lightning would strike, or the ground would shake, or debris would fly overhead and around him, or the buildings would rattle, or the wind would blow cold air into his ear. 

Everything was too much. 

“I– there’s too much chaos, I can’t focus.” Lloyd exhaled a deep sigh, a sense of defeat washing over him. “I can’t do this.” Everything, especially lately, all felt like too much. 

“If you were me or Sora, what would you tell us?” Arin asked, a kind smile washing over both his student’s faces. 

He took a deep breath. “Ninja never quit.” 

This time, Lloyd softly closed his eyes; finding the calm inside of him. 

He focused on the beating of his heart and how it moved within harmony to the buzzing that radiated off the Dragon Cores. He focused on the warmthness in his fingertips, as they gripped the Cores tighter than before. He focused on the movement of his blood throughout his body, as it carried oxygen to and from his lungs and heart to his fingers. He focused on the signals his brain fired and the spark that radiated off of them. Lastly, he focused on his friends, his family as he called out to them from where he stood in the Crossroads. 

Lloyd’s eyes soon shot open, they were glowing the same bright green like before. Warmth and the color green radiated off of Lloyd. He could feel himself falling into the same endless world from before. 

“When there is no calm outside of you, you must find the calm inside of you.” His voice was so clear, it was almost like Master Wu was standing right next to him. 

Lloyd could feel a wave of coldness wash over him, though he didn’t feel as cold as he did within the Imperium Monastery. 

He was soon surrounded by the seven Source Dragon symbols, or at least he guessed what they were. Even if he had been here before, it didn’t mean it was any less nerve wracking or confusing. 

He felt off, almost like he had when he acted as a conduit before, but this, this felt different. Lloyd felt like he was somehow outside of himself, like he was in some kind of trance. He knew what was happening to his body and what he was feeling, but his mind wouldn’t allow him to look at what his body was doing or what was happening to it. Everything about Source Dragons and their power kept growing more and more confusing. 

Lloyd began levitating, several feet into the air. The Dragon Energy Cores spinning around him in a growing, fast paced, succession. The power that radiated off of them was almost too much for him to bear. He couldn't stop what was already in motion, but he could only feel the way it felt like his insides were being pulled apart from each other. 

The circling Dragon Cores seemed to reach their peak speed in a short matter of moments, as they sent out a wave of golden light across the merged lands. Each of the ninja shielding their eyes from the bright wave of golden energy that emerged from their green eyed friend. As they looked up, thankfully, they were met with no pinks, or purples, or cracks within the sky. Everything was how it should be, the two moons and all. 

Lloyd collapsed to the ground, his energy spent, and sleep being the main thing on his mind. 

He let out a shaking groan, as parts of his body ached and burned after the intense activities he had put them through. Wearily, he slowly opened his eyes; his breathing catching up with him. Had he not breathed that entire time? 

“What happened?” He asked, making minimal effort to stand back up. His eyes were still fuzzy, as the whole world was tinted in an emerald shade of green. Which he hoped would soon fade away, as he hoped his weakness would too. 

“You saved the world.” Arin answered, Lloyd barely able to focus on him or his words. 

He smiled softly, wanting some kind of way to let them know he was okay, or at least somewhat okay. But he didn’t feel like celebrating. Both because he felt like he got his with a bus, but also because the others were still missing and it didn’t feel right to celebrate their victory without them. 

As quickly as he thought about them a crack formed directly above him, as Kai, Wyldfyre, and Riyu fell on top of him. Of course that was just his luck. He saves the world, then is subsequently crushed by the weight of two people and a dragon. It wasn’t like he could have moved away, his body still felt insanely weak and tired, not to mention it seemed to happen in rapid succession. 

If his body was hurting before, it was definitely hurting way more now. As he let out exhausted, aching groans. Lloyd relaxed his throbbing head against the cold, cobblestone street. As various different chills went up and down his spine. He could feel his whole body shaking; going from feeling intense heat to instant shivers was not fun especially twice. But at least this time, he was awake and could watch everyone’s reunions. 

Before he knew it, more and more people began popping in from out of nowhere; everyone who was seemingly lost in the mergestorm. But Lloyd couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit cheated. Here was a bunch of people coming back from First Master knows where and they didn’t fall on anyone else? But as much as he felt a little cheated, or was freezing, he was glad the people of the Crossroads, Imperium, and the whole world were finally home. 

Everyone seemed to wonder what exactly happened, before they made eye contact with the ninja. Lloyd sighed, their secrecy couldn’t go on for much longer. And he was glad that at the very least it was the four of them. But he still felt like their team was somewhat broken, they needed to be whole, and it probably would feel a little broken until everyone was home. 

He did his best to quickly stand up, but it seemed to be for nothing, as the red ninja caught him just before he was about to fall back onto his back. Which was kind of embarrassing, especially since his butt was still on the ground. As much as he wanted to shoo Kai away, he couldn’t help but lean into his brother’s warm embrace. But it didn’t do much to stop his intense shivering. 

Kai seemed to notice, as Lloyd’s teeth began chattering, he was pulled in much closer and held much tighter by his older brother. 

Lloyd internally winced at everyone staring at him. He was supposed to be strong, not weak; that’s what the people needed. They needed someone who could protect them and not someone who could barely sit up by himself, or was on the verge of freezing to death. He let out a shaky smile, to the people that were thrilled at their return, but mostly to his friends. 

The Dragon Cores, seemed to gracefully float back down from the sky, which was something he wished he could say. As he placed his left hand around the rim of one, it didn’t seem to call out for him as strongly as they did before. Either something in him stopped calling out to them, or they somehow knew their purpose had been utilized. 

Nya turned towards him, the green tinting his vision slowly but surely began fading away. “What do you say we get you back home and warm?” 

Lloyd nodded as fast as he could. “Y-Y-Yes p-ple-ase.” He forced out, chest tightening as the cold air surrounded them. 

Lloyd could tell that the three older ninja had given each other a look, one he probably guessed said something about how he could possibly be this cold? But he decided not to press anyone about it. 

Carefully, Kai picked him up as he and Nya loaded him into the back seat of Zane’s car. Zane and Kai decided to head back to the Monastery with Lloyd, while Nya, Mr. Frohicky, Sora, Arin, and Wyldfyre helped the dragons take Destiny’s Bounty home. 

The car ride home felt long and miserable. He could feel the cold breeze around them, even if Kai did his best to shield Lloyd from the ice cold wind. He could feel his eyes slowly start to close, as much as he willed for them to stay open; it was almost too much for him to think about and focus on. What was the harm in taking a small nap? Lloyd slowly let his eyes close, as unconsciousness washed over him. 

… 

When Lloyd opened his eyes, he was immediately blinded by the bright lights that beamed overhead of him. He blinked a few times to gain some kind of sense of reality, when he noticed spiked brown hair staring down at him. And oh boy did Kai look upset with him. 

“Lloyd! You fell asleep?! How many times have we been in situations like that?! So you know we shouldn’t fall asleep!” He scolded, but it felt more like shouting, the way his head screamed out at him. 

He must have winced, the way Kai began staring at him softly. Worry was etched between his gaze and eyebrows. 

“M’ okay.” Lloyd muttered, leaning back into the pillow. 

“Yeah sure you are, and I’m lord of the jig.” He teased, a small chuckle leaving both their mouths. 

“Wha– happened?” he asked, staring slightly downward at the mountain of warm blankets that sat overtop him. 

“Well, um– Zane?” Kai asked, looking over to the medical cabinets at the front of the room. 

Lloyd carefully turned towards the front of the room where Zane soon stood in his line of sight. 

“Your body temperature was dangerously low at ninety-four degrees. So we changed you out of you gi into some warmed up pajamas–” He was wearing his favorite green hoodie, along with some black sweatpants. “–placed warmed up blankets over top of you, as well as some warming lights, I inserted an Intravenous into your vein in your left arm as a way to administer warmed fluids.” Zane answered, Lloyd barely able to follow. 

He nodded. “Oh, w-well I f-feel a bit better. T-thank you bo-o-th.” Lloyd said. Pushing himself further into the blankets. 

“Of course, Lloyd. Now get some rest. I’ve run another scan of your condition and your body temperature is steadily increasing. I’ll continue to monitor your wellness, so just worry about sleeping.” Zane smiled, as he placed his robotic hand at the foot of the bed in the medical room. 

“T-thanks Z-zane.” Lloyd responded, about to close his eyes again when an idea popped into his head. “H-hey Z-zane? C-could you shh-ow me where ev-everything is in t-the med b-bay?” Lloyd asked. 

Both Zane and Kai looked at each other before looking back at Lloyd, clueless. Zane smiled. “Of course Lloyd, but only if you get some rest.” He answered, before turning around to focus on something at the medical cabinet. 

Lloyd looked up at Kai, who had a sad look in his eyes, with his brows furrowed slightly. 

“Y-you o-okay?” He asked, almost immediately ignoring Zane’s orders. 

He shook Kai out of his thoughts, who jumbled in the seat to Lloyd’s right. “Hey, shouldn’t I be asking you?” He asked, pausing for a moment. “Just thinking, don’t worry about it. Go back to sleep kiddo, you earned it.” 

Lloyd made another mental note to talk to Kai about what he was thinking about, before grumbling. “M’ not a kid.” 

Kai let out a small laugh. “Yeah, sure you aren’t.” 

Lloyd didn’t have the energy to respond, so instead he did what Zane asked and let sleep take over him. 

… 

This time, Lloyd only slept for almost two full days, which wasn’t a lot in comparison to the last time he took on a Source Dragons’s power. Not to mention, that this time he woke up feeling slightly more refreshed than he remembered last time. 

As he slowly opened his eyes, he was met with a pair of icy blue ones. “Hi Zane.” He murmured, taking the nindroid slightly off guard. 

“Ah, good afternoon Lloyd. How are you feeling?” He asked, as his piercing blue eyes pierced through him. He was probably doing another scan of him, Lloyd thought. 

Lloyd groaned. “Tired still, hungry though.” He answered, pushing himself up in bed. Thankfully, he was also feeling a lot stronger than last time. 

“That’s understandable. It’s good you’re hungry, last time I practically had to shove it down your throat.” Lloyd mentally winced at that memory. “I’ve run another diagnostic scan and you’re doing much better than you had two nights ago; your body temperature is within a normal limit at 98.4 degrees.” He smiled, sitting down next to his bed. 

“That’s good.” Lloyd smiled. 

“Though Lloyd, I do have a request.” Zane inferred, looking down at Lloyd's pale hand. 

“Yeah? Shoot.” Lloyd answered, his head slightly turning to the left. 

“I know these are instances that we do not have control over, but I want you to try and do your best to take care of yourself. Things right now aren’t easy and I know you’ve put a lot of pressure on yourself, but you’re not in this alone.” Zane said, as he twiddled his fingers together. 

Lloyd was stunned for a moment. He felt bad that his antics and injuries always affected them and he was grateful they always looked out for him, but he couldn’t help but curse at himself for making Zane and presumably the others feel this way. 

“I- I’ll do my best.” He answered, his gaze focused on the way his hands still ached. 

Zane smiled softly in return. “Good and if you need anything we’re always here. Now let me get you some congee.” He responded, standing up to leave the room. 

Just as Zane was about to leave the room, Lloyd called out to him. “Zane?” He asked, waiting for his brother to turn around. “Thank you for taking care of me.” 

Zane smiled. “It does not constitute ‘thanks’ Lloyd, I would do anything for you; we’re family.” 

He could feel his heart swell. “Still, thank you.”

His brother chuckled. “Of course, Lloyd.” 

When Zane returned with the bowl of congee and various different toppings that he claimed would help him feel better faster. Though Lloyd didn’t think it would include so many vegetables. The two sat together as Zane showed him where everything was located within the different medical cabinets. Lloyd didn’t expect there was a crazy amount of everything, but a part of him did feel better about knowing where everything was, when most of it was located too high for him to reach in that state. 

Every day, Lloyd felt grateful for his family, but now more than ever. 

… 

Lloyd was still sitting up in bed after dinner, a scroll open in his hand, a cup of tea in the other. He carefully sipped it, as a certain pink haired ninja trainee entered the room.

She knocked on the door. “Hey Lloyd, could I talk to you?” She asked. 

He looked up at her, she was in her pajamas, a white hoodie with a cute cat on it, and a pair of plaid pink pajama pants, along with a pair of pink cat slippers. 

“Yeah of course. What’s up Sora?” He asked, putting his scroll down on the bed next to him. 

She didn’t say anything for a bit, even as she sat in the chair next to him. She just played with the drawstrings of her hoodie. 

“Sora?” Lloyd broke the silence. “Is everything okay?” 

“I mean yes, but no. I mean–” She paused. “I don’t know. I know I found my true potential, but it feels like I still lost a lot to find it.” 

Lloyd instantly knew what she was talking about; her parents. Lloyd didn’t know a lot about her family, only that they believed every word Empress Beatrix said for the better or worse. 

“I just, I still wish they still loved me. Not the me that they knew, but the me that I am; my true self. I don’t know, it feels selfish and silly to want that, especially after everything but–” 

“Sora, I don’t mean to interrupt. But those feelings aren’t silly or selfish. It’s okay to want something especially when it’s from your parents. It’s normal to want them too. It’s like the rocky relationship my dad and I had after he was brought back from the dead.” He glanced at Sora who was looking more confused than ever. “It’s a long story, but it wasn’t as good as it used to be and it took me a while to make peace with. I think a part of me will always mourn my dad, but I still have a part of him with me now, even if he tries. The point is that others can’t force you to bend to their will, just like you can’t force others. That’s the thing about harmony, it works in odd ways.”

He paused, searching for the right words to say. “Sora, it’s okay to miss relationships with people you were once close with or knew, but it’s important to do what’s best for yourself and what you need. I know myself, Arin, Riyu, Nya, Kai, Zane, and Mr. Frohicky will always be there for you. I’m not saying you’ll feel better about it overnight, these things take time, but you’ll always have a family here.” He smiled, praying to the First Spinjitzu Master that he made an ounce of sense. 

Sora stared at him for what felt like forever, before small sniffles came from the pink haired ninja. She quickly wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her hoodie. 

“Thanks Lloyd. It really means a lot, I–I’m glad I have you and everyone in my life now.” She smiled widely, her eyes still clouded over. 

“Of course. I’m glad you’re in my life too, you know?” He asked, she nodded timidly. 

He held his arms out to her for a hug, which of course she jumped at the opportunity. She buried her head into his shoulder, as she stopped attempting to hold back soft sobs. He drew small circles on her back with the palm of his hand, as he used what little strength he had to hold her tightly to him. 

After a few moments, she let go of him and moved slightly backwards, as she sat at the side of his bed. 

“Thank you Lloyd.” She said, her nose and cheeks a bright shade of red from crying. 

“Of course, I’m always here if you need to talk, Sora.” He replied, smiling brightly. 

“No no.” She waved her hand. “It’s more than that.” 

“It is?” Lloyd asked, growing more confused. 

“Thank you for teaching me what it’s like to be taken care of and loved by an older brother.” She smiled widely. 

Lloyd was usually not a crier. He could probably count ten separate times he cried within his life, not including when he was a baby though. But this? This made him want to cry and he probably would if not for the fact his body was still recovering. 

He instantly pulled her into another tight hug. “Thanks for being my younger sister Sora, I love you too.” 

The pair sat together and talked for a bit until Zane had ushered Sora out of the room and pushed Lloyd to go back to bed. Begrudgingly he agreed. He hadn’t realized how tired he had been until he fell right to sleep, right as his head hit the pillow. 

…

The following few days all felt the same, but he was finally able to remove his IV, and move back into his bedroom from the med bay. The only thing that seemed off was the fact that Kai had seemed to have been avoiding him lately. Not in a leave the room when he enters kind of way, but a barely talking too or being distant kind of way. 

Lloyd wasn’t really sure if it was because he ended up back in the med bay, but he couldn’t help but feel like this was somehow his fault; like he did something to hurt his brother. He couldn’t shake the feeling, as he began drifting off to sleep; he decided he’d try and talk about it to Kai in the morning. 

When Lloyd opened his eyes he was back in the never ending space that he's been in since his two encounters with the Source Dragon and their energy. But something about it was off, something about it ate away at him. It wasn’t the beautiful picture-esque void of space that it was before; It was all red. 

He could feel a pit growing in his stomach, which only grew as the heavy sound of someone taking a mallet to a gong echoed throughout the space. Lloyd looked around, doing his best to find where the sound was originating from. But it was no use. It was just the sound of a gong, nothing more. 

The pit in his stomach only grew more as he was surrounded by people in some kind of wolf masked warriors. They held their weapons to him as one broke out in a sprint towards him; to attack.

He shot up from his bed, breathing heavily. For some odd reason he couldn’t shake the visuals of his nightmare from his mind. Something about it felt very real, too real. Lloyd did his best to not think about it, but the more he tried not to think about it, the more he ended up thinking about it. Of course. 

Lloyd got up from bed, slipping on his dragon themed slippers. Maybe a breath of fresh air could help calm his nerves somewhat. So, he carefully and quietly left his room and headed for the screen doors that led to outside of the Monastery. 

Once outside, he leaned across the railing. Breathing in the crisp night time air. Though he only got a moment of peace before he heard footsteps across the roof of the Monatery. Instantaneously, Lloyd stiffened, as he headed to a different part of the patio, where he could sneak up onto the roof and hopefully catch the intruder in action. 

Though as Lloyd was sneaking across the roof, he noticed the figure’s shadow had similar spikey hair to a certain red colored ninja. And as Lloyd grew closer, the more certain it was Kai. 

“Kai? What are you doing?” Lloyd asked, now only three feet away from his brother. 

“Oh! For the love of the First Master! Lloyd, when did you get here?” Kai yelped, visibly taken aback. 

Lloyd shrugged. “I’m a ninja, it’s what I do. Now what are you doing out here at this hour?” He asked.

“Heh, I could ask you the same thing you know.” The red ninja paused. “I don’t know.” 

“Oh I don’t buy that for a second, what’s going on? You can always talk to me if you need to.” Lloyd pressed. 

Kai sighed, leaning back onto his hands. “I’m sorry.” 

Now Lloyd was taken aback. “What for?” 

“For breaking our promise.” Kai answered, almost refusing to look at Lloyd. 

“Eh, it’s okay. Technically I did too. I haven’t been doing a great job at taking care of myself.” Lloyd chucked, trying to lighten the mood. 

“I just– I just don’t want you to think you can’t trust me anymore. I know as a kid if someone broke their promise it would really hurt you.” Kai said, matter of factly. “I mean it took you weeks to trust us and– I just, I don’t want to hurt you.” 

“Kai it’s okay I promise. I’m not a kid anymore and besides– I mean I still have issues with trusting people, but you’re one of the people who have never let me down. I know what happened wasn’t your fault and I don’t blame you for what happened. To be honest–” He paused, bringing his knees to his chest. “I blame myself to be honest. I feel like I’m supposed to be this perfect leader and I just keep failing everyone.” Lloyd answered. 

“Now that’s way more ridiculous than my thing.” Kai teased, playfully nudging him with his elbow. 

“Oh stop it.” Lloyd retorted, pushing his back slightly. The two ninja paused for a few seconds as they searched their minds for something to say. 

“You’ll always be a kid to me Lloyd. I’ll always see you as a semi annoying kid with a crazy haircut, who lived in his black hoodie.” Kai broke the silence, turning towards his younger brother, messing up his hair. 

“Ugh Kai! You’re so sappy.” Lloyd teased, earning himself an eye roll from the red ninja. “But I’ll always think of you as my older brother, nothing will change that.” He leaned against Kai, who pulled him in for a side hug. 

“Let’s promise to do our best to talk to each other when something’s bothering us?” Kai asked, holding out his pinkie to his younger brother. 

Lloyd couldn't help but chuckle. “Okay, I promise.” Lloyd responded, intertwining his pinkie with his brother’s. 

Almost immediately after, Kai yawned, stretching his arms above his head, standing up. “What do you say we go to bed?” 

A part of Lloyd didn’t want to, a part of him was nervous he’d be subjected to the same nightmare that originally woke him up to start with, but he couldn’t argue with the fact that he was still exhausted. 

“Okay, I’m feeling pretty tired too.” Lloyd said, standing up. 

He followed Kai carefully down off the roof and back into the Monastery to their rooms. The two of them paused for a moment in front of their bedrooms. 

“G’ night Lloyd.” Kai whispered. 

“Night Kai.” He whispered back, opening the screen door to his bedroom. 

He climbed back into bed, hoping he wouldn’t be subjected to the visuals from his nightmare. But unfortunately, as time would soon tell, Lloyd’s hopes and prayers would not be answered. 

Chapter Text

The sound of the mallet hitting the gong resonated throughout the Wyldness. Every time someone used that First Master forsaken gong, it somehow always managed to shake him to his core. It was a sound that echoed throughout his nightmares, one that haunted him every time he tried to close his eyes. As much as he had tried to push his fears down, pushing the way the gong made his knees feel heavy, it only seemed to further torment him on a deeper level. 

Lloyd wasn’t aware that he was frozen in time, his chest rising and falling in rapid succession. He could feel the way his breathing hitched and almost froze as the song of the gong echoed throughout his mind. It was almost too much. Lloyd stumbled back slightly, the first time he had moved since the gong had been hit. He could barely process the world around him as his mind continued to spin and blur together; only the sound of his older sister’s voice seemed to shake him out of his trance-like state. 

“Lloyd! Look out!” Nya called out to him, but it was too late. 

Before Lloyd knew it, Cinder was barrelling towards him from the sky, his hand pulled back; ready to strike him. He landed right on top of Lloyd, a sharp punch to his entire being, which sent him flying backwards. He mentally cursed himself, he couldn’t believe he let himself get distracted or out of focus on the battlefield. 

He flew backwards flying towards the outskirts of the Shadow Dojo. Lloyd landed hard against the cobblestone tiling. Grunting, he did his best to stand up, but just as he pushed his hand off the cobblestone floor, Cinder appeared in front of him. The smoke elemental master lifted the green ninja up by the collar of his gi, holding him up to what felt like two feet in the air. The emerald green fabric of his gi practically inches away from being ripped to shreds the way Cinder’s fingers and nails dug through the threads. 

The green ninja struggled against the taller, and now much stronger elemental master. It seemed no matter what he did, it wasn't enough for him to be let go. 

“Some legendary green ninja.” Cinder spat, his words like poison flowing from his throat. “You're nothing.” Just as those words left his tongue, he took to violently throwing Lloyd against the ground. 

As he was falling he could feel a breath of relief escaping him, but before the breath in its full capacity escaped him, the back of his head collided against a large rock. Lloyd could feel the quick and hard impact resonate throughout his head as his vision shook and the muffled sounds that his ears could hear. 

He couldn’t help but grunt or wince out in pain, as his head screamed out at him. His mind could only focus on the way his head throbbed, or the way his vision blurred, or the way he couldn’t even hear the voices from his friends or enemies. Lloyd couldn’t even focus on the various different blurs sped past him; he didn’t even know who anyone was anymore. He internally scolded himself, but the more he tried to push himself off the rock that now ironically acted as his pillow, the more his entire body shook. 

He didn’t have time for this, they didn’t have time for this. He needed to do something. 

Lloyd took a deep breath, carefully rolling onto his elbows, his breathing labored and scattered. His eyes glancing towards the rock, thankfully, there was no blood on the rock, so that meant at worst he just had a concussion. 

He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind; he didn’t have time to think about this or anything that wasn’t stopping Ras. Carefully and somewhat mindful of his head injury, he pushed himself from his elbows to his knees, then finally to his feet. It took a moment for his feet to steady themselves against the misshapen cobblestone slabs. 

He surveyed his surroundings; he could see Airn and Riyu comforting an unconscious Sora, Wyldfyre was fighting and winning against a wolf masked warrior, while his heart dropped as Nya was thrown to the ground by Cinder. He could feel his left hand shaking, as the smoke elemental master raised his fist, preparing for her to feel the weight of his shatterspin once again. 

But it never came. 

A comet of red and gold sped throughout the sky. The streaks of color blurred in contrast against the dark blue sky. It was almost too much for Lloyd to follow, the way the movements of colors flew throughout the sky, the way the red, gold, and fire attacked Cinder; seemingly throwing him about. 

It was as his brother landed where he realized who the blur was; Kai. He couldn’t help but stifle a small chuckle at the slight irony of Kai saying he didn’t even know he could do Rising Dragon Technique again. Unlike Kai, Lloyd never doubted his older brother’s ability.

He could feel something rising within him, as he watched from afar. Things were changing. They had a chance; they could do something. It didn’t matter to Lloyd that his head throbbed out at him in more ways than one. His shaking left hand slowly began to form a shaking fist, he couldn’t leave his friends; his family to fight by themselves. 

It was here, out of the corner of his eyes he spotted Lord Ras. He was still holding the scroll, but his attention wasn’t fixated on the spell or Cinder, but on Kai. His eyes were wide, there was something behind his eyes that he couldn’t quite make it out. But that didn’t matter, especially now. What mattered now was aiding his allies, protecting the people of the merged realms. His resolve, his attention was left distracted. Leaving an almost perfect opening for Lloyd to do something to take the edge off; to pull his weight in this fight.

Lloyd could feel a tingling sensation throughout his finger tips, as green energy was now radiating through both of his hands. With each step he took forward he could feel a sharp sensation in the back and sides of his head. Though he had no choice to keep going, to keep pushing through even if his body begged him to stop. None of that mattered, at least not at this moment. He had after this battle to recover with his family. 

He quickly spotted a large boulder that was located towards the outskirts of the Shadow Dojo’s training area. This rock practically towered over their surrounding area, giving him the perfect vantage point to launch a strike against Ras. His hands gripped the back side of the rough rock, as his mind and body prepared to go toe to toe with the tiger. He could feel his heart racing, practically beating out his chest, he could feel the vibrations that flowed from the base of his head throughout the rest of his person.

It seemed no matter how much he tried or willed for the pain to stop; for everything to stop, the world wouldn’t bend to his will. A part of him hated all that the world was for not giving him this , for not giving him the one thing he asked for after all the suffering and pain he’s been through. But that’s when it hit him like a train. He did have everything, or almost everything he wished for. He had new friends, he had some of the members of his family with him. The universe may not have given him everything he wanted, but he couldn’t doubt the love and kindness that it did give him. 

Lloyd took a deep breath. It was now or never. 

He jumped on top of the rock, before erupting in a spinjitzu tornado. His hands flying in front of him, as his green energy, his power launched an assault on Ras. Lloyd did his best to push through, to maintain his perfect form as he chased and kept the Lord from making any kind of counter-assault. He had to keep him occupied before he could aid Cinder or go against his students, or go against Nya as she fought off against a group of wolf-masked warriors. It was his job to keep him from them, and it wasn’t one he was going to back down from. 

He chased the tiger throughout the cobblestone flooring, his green energy practically pouring out of him as he was determined to not give him any kind of break or opening. Though at each moment where his powers erupted from his palms, the sharp stabs to his head only grew; almost as if the knife stabbing the back of his brain was being continuously sharpened. But he didn’t have time for that right now. He didn’t have time for his body to be in this amount of pain. He only had time for this, for going against Lord Ras and his plans to bring back the Forbidden Five; something that he would let himself be killed for to never let happen. 

Growls and snarls escaped Lord Ras, as Lloyd assumed he was growing tired of being chased around, especially by the likes of him. And almost right on cue, he turned around. All Lloyd could see in his enemies eyes was hatred and anger. To be honest, it scared Lloyd somewhat. The coldness in his eyes burned into his brain; reminding him of his father’s eyes that horrible night so many years ago. 

All it took was a moment, a brief few seconds of distraction was all it took for Ras to launch his counter attack against him. The tiger’s grip around his golden hammer tightened, as he mercilessly swung it towards the green ninja. His hammer almost acted like a baseball bat of some kind as he hit away Lloyd’s green power from making contact with him. His swings of his hammer grew more intense, powerful, and almost erratic. Lloyd could feel Ras growing more and more desperate, by the way his swings utilizes every ounce of his energy. 

But with each swing Ras threw at him, Lloyd didn’t let him falter or have any kind of break the way his palms sent waves of his green energy towards his foe. Lord Ras would swing his large hammer to the right of Lloyd, who would respond by doing a frontward flip over top of Ras and sending down another wave of his power towards him.

His strength pushed through to combat the sheer strength and force of his opponent, Lloyd erupted in a spinjitzu tornado as he circled around the tiger. He’d be kidding himself if he said he wasn’t struggling against him; he very much so was. The way his head ached or his entire body for that matter was almost too much for him to handle while getting practically clobbered. 

His hands glowed green in an attempt to fight off Ras’ sheer force, though it did little in helping to protect him from feeling the force of his hammer against his gloved hands. With each second of contact Ras’ hammer made with his hands, the more they screamed out at him. His spinjitzu tornado and elemental power only somewhat shielded him from the true weight of the weapon. 

With every blow, every block, every attack, Lloyd could feel his entire body scream out at him, but the brunt end of Ras’ hammer made contact with Lloyd’s chest, sending him back several feet. A soft crack echoed throughout Lloyd’s mind; pain erupting throughout the center of his chest. It was almost too much for him to bear, as he skidded back against the uneven cobblestones. The entire front that he put up seemed to come crumbling down in just a few moments. He couldn’t hide the way his body ached, or burned, or the beginning bruises that were forming throughout his chest and hands. He erupted in an almost silent groan, holding the center of his chest like his life depended on it. 

The green eyed ninja could barely recover, as his right hand gripped his green pant leg tightly. His gloves were the only thing that acted like a cushion, protecting the skin of his leg from the sheer force Lloyd was digging his fingers into his lower thigh. 

He could hear a subdued laugher coming from directly in front of him. The only logical explanation was Ras; it was him who was laughing. Lloyd could feel his fingers from his left palm as they dug into the skin on his palm. He could feel the way he gritted his teeth or sucked air through them. He could feel the way the center of his chest burned, or the way his brain felt like it was jostled around in some kind of box. As much as the green ninja wanted to do something to say something, he had to get his breathing under control quickly. He was forced to listen to the tiger, as much as it pained him to do so. 

Ras’ laughter grew louder and more intense. He assumed this fight was over; that he had won, that he had beaten him and his allies. But Ras never spoke or said anything. He just stood tall, snickering over the green ninja’s state; his hammer calmly resting over his right shoulder. 

The more Ras laughed, the more Lloyd grew angrier and angrier. Was this just a game to him? He was willingly going to sacrifice innocent people, all for what? Lloyd could feel his entire body shaking. Was it because of the pain that coursed throughout his entire body, or was it the way Ras simply angered him down to his core. 

Lloyd gritted his teeth, carefully pushing himself off of his knees. He was now standing, albeit shakily. He had to try. He had to fight back. If his life had taught him anything, it was that Ninja never quit. 

“You are too late!” Ras stopped snickering for just a moment. “The ritual is nearly complete!” He sneered. 

Lloyd could feel his hand shaking even more, he didn’t even think it would stop. But as quickly as he lost hope, his heart seemed to have found it just as quickly. He glanced at the rest of the Shadow Dojo, where Kai and Cinder’s fight could even be called that with the way Kai was winning by at least a mile. 

The hope in his chest beat faster and faster. 

“Your shatterspin warrior’s met his match, and the Blood Moon’s almost passed. Even your sacrifices are gone! Yeah, I’d say the ritual’s almost over, and you failed!” He shouted. Even if he was barely standing on his two legs, even if Kai’s Dragon Rising technique practically blinded him, even if his body begged for him to rest; there was some hope and he was clinging onto it like his life depended on it. 

But it didn’t seem like his outburst did anything to stop the sickening smile across the Lord’s face. 

“All I need for a sacrifice is an un-shattered soul.” Ras snarled. 

With that, Lloyd could feel his heart dropping, his hope fading. But he had to keep up his appearance, but the more Ras spoke, the less and less his hope faded. 

“And I know just who to use.” He continued, his eyes eyeing a specific red clothed ninja. 

It felt like everything started to move in slow motion, the way Ras twirled his hammer in circles or the cruel way he looked at Kai, or the way his hammer left his hands. Lloyd could barely do anything but watch, his breath catching, his chest screaming out at him. He tried to take a step, he tried to do something but as soon as his right leg made contact towards Kai, it buckled under his weight. The green ninja slowly fell to the ground, his eyes fixated on the fear in Kai’s eyes. The fear as he was hit by the hammer, the fear as he gripped on for dear life to Riyu, the way it wasn’t enough. The way he fell back through the portal. 

Lloyd could feel the tears behind his eyes. He could feel the way his eyes clouded over. All of the pain, the hurt he physically felt was nothing compared to this. It was nothing compared to losing his brother. Their promise simultaneously breaking right there and then. 

He gritted his teeth tightly against his lips, the taste of iron in his mouth; he didn’t care. That didn’t matter anymore, nothing did. So much for hope. “Kai!” He called out, but his voice was barely above a whisper. His voice was raspy and sore as he called out for his brother. Lloyd fell into himself, his head being supported by his hands against the freezing cobblestone. Oh how he wished he had just a shred of source dragon energy with him. He wished he had something to aid in their battle. Instead, he had nothing. He could do nothing. Kai was gone because of him. 

He did his best to push himself off the ground, but with how much his extremities were shaking they could hardly support his body weight. He cursed at himself. He was the leader, he had to do something; anything. He bit his lip, the force of his teeth against his lower lip burned and he drew more blood from them. Lloyd shook his head slightly, carefully and cautiously pushing himself onto his knees where he saw it. 

A cloaked man appeared through the other end of the portal where– where– Sora’s childhood classmate was. His skin was a dark shade of blue, it was almost empty, colorless. His eyes were a colder, much duller shade of blue. The masked figure wore nothing but black robes, cape, and curved, flat topped hat that strangely resembled a Ngob hat. His robes were lined with blue and dull red accents, as what looked to be bones decorated around his neck and left leg. Just looking at him made Lloyd feel sick. 

Lloyd could feel his entire being shake more than it was before, but not out of pain or anger, but out of fear. There was something about him that terrified him. And it wasn’t just because this man replaced Kai, but Lloyd could feel centuries of hurt and pain radiate off of this man. He could sense the hurt and destruction he caused, even if it was centuries ago. He could practically smell blood from his disheveled clothes. He was really out of his element here, they all were. 

He carefully pushed himself onto his feet, his limbs still trembling with each calculated step he took. His left hand pressed tightly to his chest, as his movements became more eradicated. Lloyd stumbled, his body only being held up by a large boulder. A few feet away stood Nya, Sora, Arin, Wyldfyre, and Riyu. He had to get to them. He sucked air in through his teeth, biting his lip to not make any noise so they wouldn’t know of his condition. 

As he reached the group, everyone was silent. Their mouths dropped at the lack of the red ninja, at the terrifying being that stood only a few feet away from them. Everyone was on edge, their heart rate increasing the more he stared at them with that sickening grin and his sharp teeth. 

The shattered being jumped onto the cobblestone ground, his smile practically grinning from ear to ear. In this light, Lloyd could see just how dark and soulless his eyes were. His breath catching. 

Before any of the ninja could break free from their fear, the shattered soul began performing shatterspin without the gong of shattering. Lloyd could feel the pure hate, anger, and power resonating from the man. In what felt like a flash a wave from his shatterspin exploded throughout the center of his tornado. There was hardly any time to react, not to mention the immense amount of pain Lloyd was in made it difficult to do anything to prevent his body from being tossed around again. 

As Lloyd’s head laid against the ground, he could feel a numb sensation wash over him. His body and mind felt dazed, the only sound that flooded his ears was the sound of loud ringing. His shut eyes slowly opened, facing the star filled sky. A flash of blue and white sped overtop, it was just like– his mind paused not wanting to finish his sentence. 

It was Nya. 

He gritted his teeth. He had to finish this fight and it was far from over. Even if the only reason he was standing was because of adrenaline. Even if they were staring at a century old villain. Even if they just lost– 

He bit his lip, tears welling up behind his eyes. Lloyd could feel his green power swelling up within him, as his hands began to glow a bright emerald green. His memories, his thoughts were of Kai with him at the kitchen island, his brother watching over him in his bedroom, them sitting together on the roof of the Monastery, his entire childhood, for most of his life his brother was always there– and now? 

Now, he was staring down the barrel of defeat. And he didn’t want to stare at it any longer. 

His attention caught a certain smoke elemental master, his gaze fixated on Sora and Arin. Lloyd could feel his anger bubbling over. If he was going after his students, he’d have to make due with going back empty handed. 

As Lloyd took a step towards Cinder, a sharp pain erupted throughout his skull. 

He winced, his hands instinctively shot their way to the sides of his head. “No, no, no, no, no, no, no.” 

Images danced within his head, voices echoed throughout the green ninja’s mind. With every image that tried to push its way through, with every voice that demanded to be heard the more his entire head swelled and burned. 

He groaned. “Not now, please.”

He could see Kai alone within the Netherspace, it looked to be a twisting, confusing spiral of various different pathways and staircases that led to who knows where. He saw Cole’s mech in some sort of mechanism room, moving some kind of gear mechanism into its place. His last vision was that of Rontu, her gaze fixated on something ahead before turning towards him. 

Lloyd’s breath staggered. His mind was unable to catch up with the visions that danced in his mind. But there was something that he could do in this moment; his mind thought back to the last image of Rontu, her teachings, her advice. 

“Rontu told me I can’t force the universe to bend to my will. I have to find my place in its current, allow the visions to come, to flow.” He muttered to himself, his mind slowly finding a sense of calm, or peace. 

Lloyd was faced with a sharp punch from Beatrix, a Source Dragon symbol– Kai’s symbol. The shattered villain that stood before them breaking his golden dao sword. And finally the symbol again. 

He grunted, the pain radiating throughout his head seemed to diminish somewhat. Who knew that forcing his visions away was more painful? 

It was like his mind, his body had been reset. Every thought, every emotion that he tried to keep pushed down exploded then and there. He could feel his screams and cries against his sore throat. He could feel Kai alone in the Netherspace. He could feel the weight of the world on his shoulders. He could feel everything. 

Lloyd erupted in a spinjitzu tornado; greens and golds littered the surroundings. He could feel the world, the motion of everything surrounding him. He could feel the motion of the blood in his body carrying oxygen, or the way his feet made careful contact with the stone beneath them. 

Blurs of green and gold soon bled within the sky. An image of a swirling dragon followed his every movement. He had done it; Rising Dragon Technique. He could feel a tsunami of pride flow through him, for Nya, for Kai, even for himself. 

In the sky, he felt free. Free from the world’s needs, free from his responsibilities. He was working in tandem with the motion of the universe; he was no longer against it. With every blow of shatterspin Cinder attempted to counter with, was nothing in comparison to Rising Dragon Technique. 

Lloyd was so caught up with this feeling, he didn’t notice what was happening around him. He didn’t notice the way the spell was standing on its last legs, he didn’t notice the shattered villain got a good hit on Nya, he didn’t notice the way Ras snuck up on his recovering sister. 

Just when he had finally found his place within the world, when everything seemed okay, everything shattered. His gaze caught Lord Ras stalking Nya, like a tiger its prey. His heart dropped, watching as– a booster for an elemental mech rammed into Ras, with Arin gleefully celebrating. His heart stopped sinking, as a wave of gratefulness and pride washed over him.

His feet made contact with the ground, the portal now closed. Their way of getting Kai home, gone. As much as he was grateful they won, it still felt like they lost the fight. His attention was soon grabbed by Lord Ras, as he yelled into the sky. 

“Master! I call for your aid.” That was when the ground began to shake violently, as sparks of gold light now stood in place of where Ras, Cinder, what’s her name from Imperium, and the other wolf masked warriors stood. Before the entire Shadow Dojo disappeared along with them. The ninja now stood in the empty Wyldness, the blood moon looming menacingly overhead. 

Lloyd wondered what kind of Master Ras must have if they had that amount of power. But before he could think about it any longer, the green eyed ninja doubled over. His breath heaving as he vomited the little contents in his stomach. All the pain, all the hits Ras got in, all the energy he expelled seemed to have bubbled over the surface. He collapsed to the ground, his body trembling. 

Arin and Sora ran up to their teacher, collapsing next to his sides. 

“Lloyd! What happened?” Sora exclaimed. 

“Are you okay? Do you need something?” Arin asked. 

Lloyd only grunted. He couldn’t think of something to say, so he slowly nodded. He just needed a second. Yeah, he’d be better in a second. But that second never seemed to come. His breathing remained uneven, his body still shook, his head still screamed at him, nothing was okay. 

Someone leaned in front of the blonde ninja, her hand gently placed on his shoulder. 

“Lloyd.” She softly spoke. “It’s time for us to go. Can you move?” Nya asked. 

He grit his teeth. His legs still screamed for him to take a minute to rest, but he couldn’t put his pain on anyone, not now. So, he nodded. 

“Uh huh, sure.” She responded, smirking at her younger brother. “Help me get him up.” She turned to Arin and Sora who helped him stand on his feet. As she walked with Wyldfyre, he wasn’t sure where they were going, but he trusted Nya. 

He brushed them off. “M’ okay.” He muttered. 

Arin gave a slow nod, as he started walking with Riyu in front of them. While Sora remained by his side and it was good that she did; Lloyd stumbled with practically every step, almost unable to catch himself. Sora interlocked their arms together, causing Lloyd to give her a confused look. 

“I just– I still feel shaken up.” She answered, pulling him closer to her.

But Lloyd knew that wasn’t the entire reason. She was doing it to put some of the attention off of him, to allow for him to have an excuse to be helped, so he didn’t worry the others. Lloyd smiled, it was a soft smile, but a smile nonetheless. ‘Thank you’ he mouthed, as he slightly leaned into Sora, allowing her to sorta half help him along. 

The walk Nya led them on was long, especially since the sun began to rise behind the Eastern Mountains. He could feel the exhausting creeping in on him and the others, everyone had been awake for almost two days straight. That’s bound to weigh heavily on everyone. In the nearby distance he spotted a large floating city, or half of a city.  He knew now that Nya was leading them to the Cloud Kingdom, so they could travel home through the Portal Gate. Lloyd breathed a sigh of relief, glad they had an easy way home. 

Though there was still one problem that they had to solve; getting up to the city. But that problem was quickly solved as Nya practically forced Lloyd to be carried by Riyu while the rest of them scaled the chain. And as much as Lloyd wanted to use spinjitzu to get up to the kingdom, riding the back of Riyu was a close second. He only felt bad that he just learned how to fly that night and was now carrying him to Cloud Kingdom.

“You doing okay, bud?” He asked, leaning slightly in front of him. 

Riyu just nodded, his focus not faltering even slighting. Even if carrying Lloyd on his back was a lot for him to handle. It seems Lloyd was feeling more prideful of his students and friends than ever. The pair also seemed to somehow be the last ones to arrive at Cloud Kingdom, even though they got a head start. But at least he got to take the scenic route up. Once able, Riyu immediately stopped flying, coming to an abrupt stop. 

Lloyd carefully slid down the side of his young dragon friend. Still leaning on him, whispering a quiet ‘thank you’ into his ear. Riyu began rubbing his green eyed friend's side. And before he knew it, one of his students was back at his side. Their arms interlinked as they had been before. Lloyd looked to Sora, who smiled a thank you. But his gaze was soon fixated on the person with black hair that stood about twenty feet in front of him. 

With the way his head hurt, he wasn’t exactly sure who it was, but somehow his heart knew. The pace Lloyd’s feet met the ground grew faster, an anxious Sora almost unable to keep up at first. But her gaze also met the black ninja’s. It was there she realized who exactly this was, she may not have been a ninja super fan like Arin, but she knew exactly who he was or who he looked like. Once she was sure her teacher wouldn’t fall, Sora carefully un-intertwined their arms allowing him to run to his brother. 

Lloyd could feel the tears slowly well up behind his eyes, as some managed to fall down his cheeks. Once he was about three feet away from him, he made one last stitch effort to connect. He jumped into his brother’s arms, falling into them, his body, finally giving out. 

“Cole.” He murmured into his brother’s chest, as they slowly sank to the ground. 

“Hey green bean.” Cole whispered into his hair, pulling him into a tight hug. 

Lloyd couldn’t help but wince at the tight hug around his chest or the way Cole immediately loosened his grip around him. He could feel his breathing soften, growing more relaxed than it had been for First Master knows how long. 

“What do you say we get you looked at?” Cole asked, pulling even further away from cradling his injured younger brother. 

As much as Lloyd didn’t want to leave him, he knew the smart thing was to get himself taken care of; it was the right thing for all of them to do. This was a tough past few days, they all needed their rest and to be taken care of. He nodded. 

“Okay.” Cole whispered back.

… 

So it turns out Lloyd didn’t just have a couple of cuts, scrapes and bruises. He had a  concussion, thankfully it wasn’t as bad as he thought it was, but that was only the surface. He had a hairline fracture throughout the body of his sternum. He had to get stitches on the side of his abdomen and thigh from the tree that caught them after they fell out of the bounty. His hands probably had the worst of it. They were wrapped in thick bandages and braces overtop his fingers. Multiple bones on his hands were either broken, sprained, or bruised. Turns out Ras is much stronger than he initially took him for, which is definitely saying something. 

Thankfully, he wasn’t injured that badly, but he would definitely be feeling it the next few mornings. 

After being scolded by Zane, who told him to be more careful. Lloyd agreed, brushing it off as a string of bad luck and circumstances. Zane gave him ‘the look’ before allowing Lloyd to go rest in his room, as he treated another ninja. 

“Thanks, Zane!” He called back. 

As he turned around he was met with Arin leaning on the wall across the hallway to the med room. His arms were crossed and he was leaning down into his chest. 

“You know it’s bad for you to sleep standing up?” Lloyd asked, carefully leaning next to him. 

Arin yelped in response, as he immediately woke up. “Heh, heh. Sorry Lloyd, just waiting for Sora to be done.” He mumbled, clearly embarrassed somewhat, as he scratched the back of his head. 

“No need to apologize, just if you’re going to sleep, do it in your bed or the couch at the very least.” Lloyd teased, pausing for a moment. “You did a great job, Arin. Knocking out Ras with your object spinjitzu was what brought the ritual to the end. We couldn’t have done it without you.” 

Arin sighed slightly. “I gotta admit, after my mess up in training, I started to wonder if I even belonged on the team anymore. But pulling out a win today really meant a lot to me.” 

“Arin, you belong on the team no matter what. Okay? Don’t forget that.” Lloyd clarified. 

His student nodded, a smile beaming across his face. 

“Oh! Sora?” He asked. “Everything okay with you?” 

There was a certain kind of glint in her eyes, before it quickly disappeared. 

“Yep! Just extremely tired.” She answered.

“Go get some rest, you two.” Lloyd smiled, as his two students nodded and went about their way to their rooms. 

As much as Lloyd wanted to fall asleep too, he couldn’t get his mind to relax. So he thought of the next best thing. Granted– it might not have been a good idea with his injuries, but it was good for his mind and emotions. 

The roof was always Lloyd’s safe haven, ever since he was kid he snuck out to the Darkley’s roof to think or take a break from everything. The warm breeze felt nice against his skin, as he hid within his plaid green pajama pants, comfy socks, and his light green crew neck sweater. He curled into himself, the events of last night like a bad dream he wanted to wake up from, but no matter how much he tried to wake up, the more he found himself curling into his knees. 

His mind wandered. Was there something he could have done to save his brother? Something he could have done to stop Ras? Every question had a multitude of answers, but Lloyd never knew what they really were. He didn’t know if any of his ideas would really do anything to save his brother, because that’s the thing about life and the universe; you can’t control it, no matter how much you want to. 

The young ninja sighed, sinking further into himself. 

“Should you really be up here?” Nya’s voice broke the silence. 

Lloyd shrugged, staring back towards the sky. “Should you be?” 

She ignored his question, plopping down next to him, one leg propped up while the other laid against the roof’s shingles. 

The two sat in silence for what felt like forever. Only the distant sounds of the crossroads or birds chirping was all they could seem to hear. 

“I miss him.” Nya said, her eyes following a group of birds. 

“I miss him too.” Lloyd paused. “I’m sorry, Nya; there must have been someth–”

“I’m going to stop you there. It’s no one’s fault except for Ras and his followers. They’re the ones to blame.” Nya interrupted. “Besides, Kai would kick your ass if he heard you talk like that.” 

He snickered. “Yeah, you’re right. It’s just hard not to think of everything we could have done.”

Nya sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. “Yeah, but at least we have each other.” 

“Yeah, thank thank the First Master for that. Nya?" 

"Yes, Lloyd?" The water ninja asked. 

"I love you, sis." He answered, his head leaning against hers. 

"I love you too." She paused for a moment. "Boogers."

Lloyd groaned loudly. "Ughhhh." 

His older sister stifling a laugh, before the two of them grew quiet. Both Nya and Lloyd relished in the moment they had together, specifically the calm of the world in this moment. It was a calm that all the ninja had grown fond of. 

“So this is where you two were?” A deep voice broke the silence, the siblings melted into. 

Lloyd looked up to find Cole, his head peeking over top the rim of the roof. 

“Zane, they’re on the roof!” He called back, before joining them. He sat on the other end of Lloyd, sitting in a loose criss cross shape. “You’re both going to get so scolded.” He teased me. 

“Only cause you ratted us out.” Nya scoffed, her finger pointed towards the earth ninja. 

The three of them looked at each other for a few seconds, before bursting out into laughter. The tension from last night, from the past few days seemingly melting away in just a few short moments. 

“I told both of you to take it easy.” Zane scolded, sitting next to Nya. 

“We’ll be in, in a minute; promise.” Lloyd answered. 

“You better be.” Zane eyed him, a small smirk appearing. 

The rooftop was silent once again, before Cole decided to speak up. 

“Remember all the times Kai said ‘Not so fast?’ He really couldn’t come up with anything cooler.” The ninja giggled. 

“Or when he set fire to dinner after the fight with the Great Devourer?” Zane added.

“Or how he always said he was ‘too old for comic books’ but still stole all my copies?” Lloyd asked, everyone giggling louder. 

“Or when we had to carry him up throughout Aspheera’s Pyramid?” Nya added. 

Everyone found themselves sharing and laughing at Kai’s silly moments of mannerisms for who knows how long. Lloyd could feel his heart swell and the persistent pain in his head begin to fade. Oftentimes when things get the hardest, it's the people who you laugh and find comfort with that helps one feel better. And Lloyd was grateful to have found his people. Even if he didn’t know how to rescue Kai and bring him home safely, he was incredibly thankful for the people around him and that the world keeps spinning around them. 

Hope for his brother; for his family still existed even after everything.

Chapter Text

A shock of electricity shot through Lloyd’s skull, the air in his lungs evaporating. 

In his vision, he could see Zeatrix standing before him. A pure crystal dagger with an amethyst decal in her left hand. Her expression was one of anger, hatred, as she swung down. The sword shattering on impact with the ground. 

He could see Ras’ cruel smile, his laugh echoing throughout the images that flashed across his mind. 

The same crystal sword could be seen resting against a wooden board; waiting to be used. As golden blades rotated violently in front of the sword’s resting place. 

He winced and groaned. His head twisted, feeling the sharp stabbing sensation that spread throughout his mind. Lloyd’s free arm fell onto his knee. His breath panting, as he tried to catch it. 

Almost immediately, Sora, Zane, and Cole were by his side. Sora and Zane on his sides, supporting him, as Cole crouched in front of him, placing a gentle hand on his. 

“Another vision?” Sora asked. Her grip was tight around his arm, almost like she was afraid that if she let go, he’d fall. “I thought Rontu taught you how to control them?” Her grip growing slightly tighter.

The green ninja continued to steady his shaking breath. “This one– so strong.” His strength returned, as he began to stand. His friends still holding on and looking out for him.

“I think today’s the day I fight Zeatrix.” He swallowed the lump in his throat. “And I’m going to lose.” 

Cole quietly gasped, his eyes growing wide. His dark chocolate eyes not even daring to leave his younger brother. His palm gently placed against the top of Lloyd’s shoulder, squeezing it tightly; offering his reassurance. 

He forced himself to smile lightly, though he’s not sure it fooled anyone. Lloyd only hoped, by the mercy of his grandfather, that things would be okay. 

The walk to the games plaza felt longer than usual. Lloyd could feel his anxiety eating away at him with every step. Something about this vision ate away at him, the pain that erupted throughout his skull served as a terrifying clue of what was to come. The echoing sound of the crystal sword haunted him or the horrifying sound of Ras’ laughter was the only thing he could hear.

The other ninja tried to console him and offer some sort of comfort, but he could barely pay attention. His mind was far too busy to pay attention, so he just nodded or smiled at the others and their conversations.

The games plaza was usually loud, but this felt like too much. His ears screamed at him with the loud, echoing voices of laughter, fighting, and training. He winced internally at the sudden ringing of his ears, bringing his hands up to rub his temples. Even if he was in the back of the group, Cole seemed to catch on. 

This was made apparent as he fell back and was now walking in tandem with Lloyd. 

“Hey, you okay?” The earth ninja asked, rather bluntly. 

Lloyd sighed, unable to find the proper words that truly described how he was feeling. Yes, he was anxious, terrified, on edge, on the verge of a breakdown if he failed the Motion Source Dragon’s request of him. But it all seemed not enough. It wasn’t enough for him to accurately describe how he was feeling, especially when he didn’t even know the right words. So, instead he opted for the best three words he could think of at that moment. 

“I don’t know.” He responded, his eyes never leaving the cobblestone walkway. 

Cole raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms. He stopped walking, grabbing his younger brother’s arm to keep him from following the rest of the team to their spot. He gently held the sides of his brother’s arms, carefully squeezing them. 

Lloyd slowly brought up his head, as the two brothers stared into each other’s eyes. They stayed like that for a moment, before Cole soon wrapped him in a tight hug. For a second, Lloyd’s arms hung at his sides, before wrapping Cole in a hug of his own. 

“I don’t know what you’re thinking or everything you’re going through, but I’m always going to be here for you.” Cole whispered, still hugging him 

Lloyd leaned his head into Cole’s shoulder, mentally laughing at how much taller his older brother is. “I know.” He whispered. “I'm always going to be here for you too.”

Cole let go of him, as he stared into his emerald green eyes. “I know.” He smiled. “But don't close yourself off buddy.” 

He smiled at that, knowing that ever since he was young he viewed everything as his problem; refusing to let the others be a part of what he was thinking or going through. It seemed after fourteen years, he was still the same eight year old kid who hid his tears, injuries, and true feelings. Not to mention that he was still just as easy to read, even if he thought he improved somewhat. 

“I know. I’ll try.” He said, the gleam in his eyes returning somewhat. 

Lloyd immediately regretted his decision, as Cole punched his shoulder. It wasn’t enough to leave a bruise or would cause him lasting pain. But nevertheless, he milked it. Lloyd grabbed his shoulder, pretending to almost double over. 

“Ow, ow, the pain!” He leaned into it. “Cole! Ow!” 

His brother just stared at him, his hands now placed at his hips, rolling his eyes to the sky. “If you’re too injured, I could always carry you.” He said. 

Lloyd immediately shut up, as he stood up straight in a matter of seconds, pretending that it never happened. 

Cole smiled. “That’s what I thought.” 

The pair of brothers walked in tandem together, though it didn’t last long as a merlopian pie caught the earth ninja’s attention. Lloyd smiled, as he found himself standing near the wooden man posts. 

Thankfully, the first match hadn’t been between Lloyd and Zeatrix but between Frak and Zur. He could feel a weight somewhat be lifted off his shoulders. He breathed a heavy sigh of relief, even if there was a good chance it would only be for this match. At least now, he had some time to breathe and do his best to calm his anxiety that was only a few seconds away from swallowing him whole.   

During the match, his eyes darted between the two elemental masters, studying their moves and fighting styles. He had to ensure that he and Sora would be best prepared in their future battles. There was a good chance one of them would be up against the other and if they wanted to win the tournament, he couldn’t let his eyes falter or break from their possible future opponents’ swings or the ways they used their elemental abilities. 

“If that were us up there, the battle would already be over.” A feminine voice scoffed. Her voice was just playing and taunting him. 

His entire body tensed, he could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand, or the way breath seemed to catch in his throat. Something about that voice haunted him. 

“When I was in exile, all I had was the dream of exacting revenge on my sister.” She sneered. Anger and hate practically dripped from her words. 

Lloyd did his best to stay strong and show some kind resiliency to her threats, but it proved no use. His head screamed out at him, his body continued to tense, as his terrifying visions pushed their way to the forefront of his mind. 

He couldn’t help but wince at the sheer and intense pain his visions caused him, bringing his hands to head to do something to help his mind relax somewhat. But it was no use as all he could was Zeatrix and that damn crystal sword, or the laugh that echoed from Ras. 

“You ninja stole that chance from me.” She continued, pushing closer to the green ninja. 

The sound of the crystal sword shattering grew louder and louder, as the ringing in his ears grew louder and more intense. 

“Seems only right to exact that same revenge on you.” Zeatrix spat, her words like poison to his fragile mind. 

The sound of Ras’s laughter haunted him and pushed its way into his mind. He saw the tiger’s glee filled expression and the way his eyes seemed almost pleased at whatever had just happened. He forcibly turned away from her, he had to try something; anything to keep her from further tormenting his mind. But just like his recent luck, it did nothing to save him from the toxins that seemed to effortlessly flow from Zeatrix’s mouth. 

Lloyd continued to groan, as his mind still ached, but that didn’t stop the former Empress’ sister from berating him. 

Her smile dripped of the same poison and toxins that her words did. “This is the legendary green ninja who dethroned my sister? Sad.” She shook her head, her golden eyes striking fear into Lloyd’s chest. 

She turned away from him, acting as though she was better than him. As Lloyd recovered somewhat, though his breath was still somewhat shaking and uneven. He grunted, pushing those thoughts away as he did his best to ease his mind and return to his role of Master. Even as he watched Frak and Zur fight one another, he still felt distracted, something was ever present in the back of his mind. 

… 

Lloyd’s first fight was with the Elemental Master of Momentum. His eyes widened as the Cragling darted towards him, but thankfully he was able to react in time. He was able to jump out of the way, allowing his opponent to collide into the blue shingles behind him. 

Even as his friends cheered, his mind couldn’t be silenced as Zeatrix gave him a bone chilling grin from her place in the stands. 

… 

His second match was with Geo, the basis of their match was the same as Lloyd had seen before; find and collect the most amount of gems before your opponent. It was simple enough, but after seeing Nya and Nokt’s battle, he was worried something might ruin his chances of continuing in the tournament. 

With the elemental power of momentum, Lloyd was able to practically breeze through this round, collecting the vast majority of the three gems. He and Geo hugged before the elemental transference of power. 

Lloyd was now the Elemental Master of Life, Light, Momentum, Fusion, and Size. 

… 

Lloyd and his pupil Sora leaned against each other. Their energy was practically exhausted with the amount of matches they went up against today, which was made ever more apparent the way the sun was almost completely out of view. The games plaza, now mostly lit up by the various different lanterns or lamps that surrounded the area. 

“Huh, that was–” Sora stated, leaning back on her hands. 

“A lot.” Lloyd groaned. 

She sighed. “At least it’s over. Guess your vision about fighting Zeatrix today was wrong.” She said, a wave of gratitude washed over the two of them. 

Lloyd smiled. Maybe it was wrong, maybe something happened that presented that outcome. But just as quickly, as he smiled, it just as quickly faded. 

“Well, it’s all over for today.” Roby announced. “Or is it?” 

Lloyd’s stomach dropped, he knew exactly what was coming.

“Wait, what? Surprise? Ya boi planned a secret bonus game.” The Games Master continued. 

Cheers erupted throughout the plaza, but Lloyd and his teammates weren’t laughing. It seemed they all caught the same fears about what was to come. 

“Wow! That’s what all your minds sound like right now!” Roby exclaimed, as he continued to fly around the area. 

“He’s lean, he’s green, but he’s never mean. It’s Lloyd, Elemental Master of Life!” He announced. 

Lloyd could feel his brows furrowing and his heart pounding beneath his chest. 

“His opponent is a former twin, who will do anything to win. The very angry Elemental Master of Shockwave, Zeatrix!” Roby continued. 

Lloyd stared down the opposite end of the plaza, where his eyes caught Zeatrix who was, in fact, very angry. 

It seemed his grandfather had not heard his prayers and he was forced into a battle he knew he’d lose. 

Lloyd and Zeatrix’s match took place atop the main fighting arena. They were on top of a long red platform, with surrounding circular platforms, and gold details. Lloyd didn’t know for sure, but it felt like and sure looked like they were at least fifteen feet in the air. He was surrounded by the golden blades that spun rapidly along the sides of the long red platform. Behind them were various different weapons that were placed on the same wooden boards as the crystal dagger from his vision. 

“Welcome to The Gauntlet, what–what?” Roby exclaimed. “The game’s goal is simple. Retrieve these epic hand–to–hand weapons and yeet your opponent off the platform.”

Though Lloyd could barely pay attention, as his gaze focused on something in the distance. “The sword from my vision.” He whispered to himself, suddenly reminded of the piercing sound of it shattering against the floor. “Gotta get to it before Zeatrix does.” 

“The challengers are free to use any and all Elemental Powers, but the final blow must be executed with a weapon from the Gauntlet. Copy? Cool. Ready? Set? Go, go, go!” He exclaimed. 

And with the tolling of the bell, the match began. 

Lloyd immediately called upon the element of momentum. He was engulfed in an explosive red and gold energy, as his body moved with great force and speed. He bolted for the crystal dagger, his mind fixated on getting rid of it before his opponent had a chance to use it and win the match. He had a duty to fulfill, one to honor. He couldn’t disappoint the Source Dragon of Motion or contribute to the ending of the entire world. They hadn’t even found Pixal, or Mater Wu, or helped Jay heal his goodness and come home. There were too many things at stake for him to fail– 

“Lloyd’s coming out hot! Ba–bam!” Roby commentated. 

Even if the green ninja came out hot, it didn’t do much for him, as he somehow misjudged the turning and speed of the golden blades and ended up crashing into one of them. The momentum causing him to grunt, as he flew towards the opposite end of the platform, where he was hanging off of it right by Zeatrix– 

“Oops, maybe too strong! Looks like Lloyd hasn’t yet mastered that elemental power yet!” Roby continued. 

After jumping back on top of the platform, he was now only a few mere feet away from Zeatrix. His left hand squeezed his right arm, just below his shoulder. Before bringing it back into his view, blood. It must have happened from when he ran into one of the spinning blades; his trajectory really was way off. 

Zeatrix harnesses Lloyd’s mistake, as she utilized the elemental power of wind, forcibly tearing off three of the blades in front of the weapon, a trident, she desired. She jumped onto the side platforms, gripping the golden trident as if it was her key to victory. The determination and revenge in her eyes shot daggers into Lloyd’s soul– 

“Zeatrix uses the elemental power of wind. Be sure to thank Euphrasia later, Z!” Roby exclaimed, as he circled the platform. 

His opponent jumped into the sky, screaming as she held the trident down ready to attack and by the looks of it pierce him. But before she could land a blow, Lloyd used Spinjitzu to not only dart out of the way, but fly towards a nearby sword. This time he was sure to destroy the blades, before obtaining the one half of the twin sword. 

He grabbed it, gripping it tightly. He felt as though his life depended on it; it did. Lloyd jumped back onto the platform, coming face to face with Zeatrix. She thrusted the trident towards him, it was only mere inches away from catching his green gi and the skin beneath it. He caught the trident with his sword, just before the golden blades drew his red blood. Their weapons clanged together, echoing throughout the plaza. 

Their strength pushing against each other. Lloyd grunted. He didn’t have time for this, he had to get to the sword before Zeatrix got to it. He had to stay in the tournament, the whole world depended on it; even if it cost him his life. He reached out his other hand, avoiding the sharp edges of the trident, using the elemental power of fusion, as he fused their two weapons together– 

“Elemental Fusion fused those weapons! Clever move!” Roby continued to commentate. 

The strength of the two opponents continued to push against each other, causing their fused weapons to fly out of both their hands and into the stands– 

“Look out below!” Roby yelled, as cheers erupted throughout the audience. 

Zeatrix jumped towards him, preparing to land a hard blow with her boots against his chest. Lloyd brought his hands to his chest, catching her foot, as he sent her several feet back. Zeatrix’s scowl only grew deeper and more defined, as she called upon her own elemental power. Purple shockwaves sent out from her fingertips towards Lloyd’s direction. In reaction to her element, he used the elemental power of size; shrinking down to only a few inches tall–

“Zing! Lloyd uses the Elemental Power of Size to duck Zeatrix’s blast. Remember, there are no small powers, only small masters.” 

Maybe turning small was the wrong idea, as Zeatrix chased after him. Her boots sending mini shockwaves throughout the red wooden planks. He ran, ran as fast as he could. Now, even more so regretting growing smaller. This was terrifying, almost like a dream he once had. Once he was sure he had an opening, he jumped in between a spinning blade, which was now spinning much faster than it did before. 

As he rolled onto the smaller circular platform, Zeatrix sent out a shockwave in his direction; not even giving him a second to breath, but thankfully he had enough time to react. He grabbed a hold of the circular shield made of wood and metal, using it to shield himself from the heavy force of her purple elemental power. 

He front flipped back onto the platform where he was met with somehow an even angrier Zeatrix who was jumping towards him, a large axe in her hand. Lloyd knew this was a fight, but jeez– she was a little much. 

As the two were about to collide, she used the elemental power of figment, flying through him. The Elemental Master of Shockwaves was now behind him, preparing to swing her axe towards him. Though Lloyd was still able to turn around, preparing to block her. Once again, Zeatrix flew through him; swinging her axe, Lloyd just barely able to dodge as he gained some ground between them. 

There were now three Zeatrixes standing before him, not to mention the three that stood behind him– 

“And Zeatrix pulls out the Elemental Power of Figment! She’s her own party, but which one is real?” Roby asked the crowd. 

As the many different Zeatrixes began attacking him, he used his shield to deflect against them and knock them away. So far it was only her clones that were attacking him, as he threw the shield down behind him, destroying her other clones. 

“Your sister Beatrix didn’t need these tricks to fight me.” Lloyd taunted. 

The middle Zeatrix spoke. “No, she needed an army. My army!” She shouted. 

Lloyd smirked beneath his mask. “Gotcha.” 

He erupted in Spinjitzu, knocking away her two clones on her side with the shield, before he knocked Zeatrix with his shield, sending her flying– 

“Ouch! Lloyd Ze–a–tricked her into giving up her real location!” Roby’s voice and cheers echoed throughout the plaza.

Though his heart sank when he noticed where exactly he knocked her. She was right by the crystal sword. His eyes couldn’t help but widen, as visions of the sword shattering plagued his mind. 

“No!” Lloyd shouted, as he sent his green power towards the sword, the sword falling to the ground as Zeatrix effortlessly dodged it. 

He sent more of his elemental power towards her, as she grabbed a red and silver spear. Lloyd wasn’t fighting anymore, instead he was just reacting, trying to keep his mind from unraveling. He didn’t even notice how much strength it took him to properly shield her away from him or how much his right shoulder hurt when it was knocked away from his hold. He didn’t notice how much energy it took him to launch himself back onto the platform. 

His fear took hold of him, as he turned invisible. His soft steps on the platform kept him from being noticed by Zeatrix. His mind raced, as his terrors plagued his mind, unable to focus or accurately think about anything else except the First forsaken crystal sword– 

“Blink and you’ll miss it! Lloyd pulls a Mr. Pale and goes invisible!” Roby announced. 

Zeatrix sent out a shock wave, which Lloyd annoyingly responded by knocking her back with his green power. She flew back, her body resting on the golden rim of the platform; only mere moments away from being knocked off the platform– 

“This could be it!” Roby shouted. 

But Lloyd didn’t. He didn’t knock her off, he didn’t seize the opportunity. His fear tortured his mind, the fear of the sword, of losing, of disappointing the Source Dragon, of the world ending, of Ras winning. All his thoughts ran rampant throughout his mind. 

“I’ve got to find that sword from my visions.” He whispered. Everything depended on him finding and getting rid of it. 

Zeatrix quickly recovered, growing even angrier than before. “Where did you go, coward?” She sneered, calling upon the elemental power of sound, finding the green ninja, but he didn’t notice. “There you are.” 

“Wow! Zeatrix using Elemental Sound to echolocate. Folks, I’ve never seen and not seen anything like this!” 

She smiled a cursed smile, filling a water bubble with her elemental shockwave power– 

“Seems like Zeatrix is using the Elemental Power of Surface Tension to fill a bubble with shockwave energy. She’s making an Elemental Bomb!” 

Now that, woke Lloyd up from his head. He turned around eyeing the bomb that was now traveling towards him. He grunted. Master Wu or his father had never prepared him or anyone for this. He did the best thing he could think of, as he sent his own elemental energy down the platform. 

Their powers soon met, causing a large explosion of life energy and shockwave elemental power throughout the entire games plaza, breaking the platform they stood upon in two at the point of impact. The blast sent the two elemental masters back to the edge of the platform, the sheer force of their power sending a wave of pain throughout his chest. The two sides of the platform began falling, as he held onto the diagonal planks to keep himself from meeting the ground below them. 

The crowd erupted in cheers. Though Lloyd could barely hear them since his ears continued to ring from the loud explosion of the elemental bomb. 

“They’ve broken the game!” Roby yelled. “In thousands of years, this has never happened before! Is my tournament wild or what? Stang–zoot! We need a short intermission while bots repair the Gauntlet from this unprecedented intensity. I encourage you to vision concessions, hear there’s some amazing pies!” 

… 

Lloyd sat on the ledge of the wooden man post dummy. He spent most of the ten minute break staring at the floor. His next thoughts weren’t about the match, they were about the crystal sword and how he could prevent Zeatrix from getting a hold of it. The fate of the entire world rested on his ability to get that First–damned weapon. He was forcibly pulled from his thoughts, as Cole placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and broke the silence between them. 

“You’re doing great buddy.” 

“You have already beaten the odds by getting this far.” Zane added. 

It didn’t take a detective to notice their small, forced smiles, like one wrong word and he would just break a part. 

Sora pushed through to the front, now standing directly in front of him. “You’re losing, Lloyd, but not to her, to your own fear.” 

The green ninja sighed, looking down at his hands which sat gently in his lap. She was right, he was afraid; terrified even. His fears ate away at him, shielding his thoughts from thinking critically. 

“You’re right, but how do I fight a battle I’ve seen myself lose?” He asked, squeezing his hands together around his bottle of water.

Sora stepped forward, kneeling down; the ninja and her teacher now eye level to each other. “When I faced Cinder, you told me not to make my fear a self–fulfilling prophecy. And I won. Ninja don’t fight because we know we’ll win, we do it because some things are worth fighting for, no matter what the outcome is.” She proclaimed, squeezing his hands tightly. 

Lloyd’s chest practically erupted in pride. He was so grateful of his students and so proud of them and everything they had accomplished. Even if he only felt like a teacher and not a master, he was still so incredibly glad he was able to teach them, so glad they were in his life. He would truly do anything for each and every one of them. 

He smiled softly, taking a sip of his water. “Huh. Maybe I should take my own advice.” Lloyd stood up, his eyes meeting Sora’s, Cole’s, Zane’s, and Wyldfyre’s. It was his duty to lead his team into battle and how could he if all he did was run? Even if he was afraid, even if the horrifying sounds echoed throughout his mind. He was a Ninja and Ninja never quit. 

Almost on cue, the City of Temples bots repaired the center of the platform; it was time. Lloyd could feel his breath catching in his throat, but he did his best to take multiple deep breaths. He wasn’t going to flee anymore. Lloyd carefully made his way onto the platform, staring at Zeatrix, who didn’t even look somewhat calmed down from their ten minute break.

“Welcome back, competitors and spectators. These games would be nothing without you. Well, they’d be just me, which is still pretty amazing. But I dare say, enough about me!” Roby announced. 

Mr. Blekt’s cane made contact with the bell, sending a small ring through his ears. It really was time. 

Zeatrix immediately reacted, forming a bubble around herself, using the power of wind to propel herself to him–

“Zeatrix brings back the bubble! But adding some Elemental wind to give herself the edge!” Roby spectated. 

Lloyd ran forward, sending a wave of his power to the bubble; popping it. Zeatrix growled, as she made her way to the crystal dagger– 

“Woah! I hate to burst her bubble, but Lloyd just burst her bubble!” 

Her hand gripped tightly around the hilt of the sword, swinging it violently in the air, a sickening grin appearing across her face. 

Lloyd was now face to face with her. The shine of the crystals almost taunted him, but he pushed those feelings aside. “No more running.” He ran to her direction, using the momentum from her pushing against the sword to fling himself back to a weapon. He always enjoyed a little bit of dramatic flare. 

He landed on a smaller weapons platform, grabbing an untouched hammer, before returning to the fight with Zeatrix. Their weapons clashed together, each of them attacking, and defending themselves. There was a small moment, his opponent got the better of him, sending him back a few feet, near the end of the platform. 

He called upon the elemental power of size, as he stared down at a tiny Zeatrix; who by the looks of it regretted running to him. Every step he took seemed to shake the red, wooden platform, as this was made evident by the way Zeatrix struggled to stay upright after his feet made contact with the wooden planks. He used one of the hammer’s faces to knock Zeatrix off the platform. 

Cheers erupted throughout the plaza, as a wave of ease washed over the green eyed ninja. He did it, he really did it. He pushed past his fear and won the match. 

“Lloyd is the winner!” Roby excitedly announced, as Lloyd returned to his normal size. 

He stared at his friends, waving his hand towards them. He blocked out thunderous applause or what Roby announced about their match. Lloyd was just so happy, so proud that he won and thankful he was still in the competition. He really hoped they could see his smile or his gratitude towards Sora. Though once he caught her eyes, her prideful expression turned to one of horror. 

“Lloyd, look out!” Sora yelled, cupping her hands together. 

That woke Lloyd from his thoughts. He turned around, his green eyes met yellow eyes filled with anger and hatred. Zeatrix was only a few inches from him; he had to time to react, no time to think, no time for anything. 

The only thing he could feel was a shockwave of pain erupting throughout his chest. He could feel the hammer loosen from his grasp or the way his stomach dropped as he fell. The sound of Ras’ laughter echoing throughout his mind. 

His eyes were forcibly shut, as he made contact with the stone ground. 

In the end, it seemed nothing could stop his visions. 

Zane watched in horror as Lloyd fell from the fifteen foot platform. He reached his hands out instinctively in an attempt to soften the blow of his younger brother’s body meeting the ground. But when nothing happened, his heart stopped. Oh right, no powers. 

His circuits seemed to misfire, as his body froze when his bright blue eyes met Lloyd’s. By the looks of it, his younger brother’s jaw was clenched, as pained groans escaped him. He didn’t have to be a nindroid to know that this was– His blood staining his green gi and the stone path beneath him. His eyes could barely stay open, even though it looked as if the young ninja was still trying; Lloyd’s efforts proved to be fruitless as unconsciousness took over his body. His eyes closed, his body fell limp against the ground. 

He stared at his brother for a moment, before diving into action. Zane carefully lifted the large and heavy pieces of crystal off of Lloyd's body. His eyes never leaving Lloyd, he didn’t have time to think about the others, at least right now. He stood above Lloyd quickly scanning him; his heart dropped. 

Lloyd had a large gash across his chest, multiple bruised organs, smaller cuts scattered throughout his body, his right arm was dislocated, and his left femur had a small hairline fracture. 

He paused for a moment. Staring at his brother or the way Cole gently played with his hair. The two brother’s eyes met for a moment. Cole’s strong expression was much softer than before, his eyes were clouded, and his hands shook. He couldn’t say everything that had happened to Lloyd, especially not when the kids were around. Zane glanced at them. Sora and Wyldfyre stood a few feet back. The two of them, not daring to move any closer. Sora’s tears were practically free flowing from her eyes. While Wyldfyre stood still, silent. The expression beneath her eyes was unreadable, but one thing was certain; she was staring at the trickling blood throughout the gaps in the cobblestone. 

Zane gave Cole a look, and his brother instantly understood. They had to act fast. 

A large group of about ten City Temples bots surrounded them. Most of them had medical equipment in their hands or were blocking the view from the crowd above. Zane internally sighed, the kids were going to have to hear eventually. They couldn’t forever protect them from the pain or the hate some people had in their hearts and the force they used to get the job done. 

“He has a one and a half foot gash across his chest. My scans also indicate he had multiple bruised organs, and other injuries regarding his shoulder and leg. He needs imminent medical treatment.” Zane stated, his gaze refusing to meet the young ninja’s. 

One of the bots nodded, carefully placing gauze pads across Lloyd’s chest as two of them moved closer with the stretcher. They were going so slow and Zane was mad now. There were only a handful of times where he was incredibly angry. Now, was one of those times. 

“He needs medical treatment now.” He assured the bots. “Get me a suturing kit now.” He could worry about the risk of infection later. What was important now was stopping the blood from flowing from his younger brother’s body. 

Two bots placed multiple different medical kits at his sides. One of which had several bags of O-negative blood in them. Zane ignored them. In any other situation, they would be helpful, but Lloyd’s blood was special. His dragon and oni blood prevented any kind of blood transfusion, it just outright rejected it and in the end; would make Lloyd sicker. Zane reached into a different medical kit, pulling out nylon and a suturing kit. 

He carefully tore his brother’s gi down the center, taking a minute to take in just how bad this was. The blood continued to flow from his brother’s body and the gash was much larger than he anticipated. His anxiety spiked, oh how he wished Pix was here. She was always so much better at this than he was. The watchful eyes behind him did nothing to help. Zane gave Cole a look. Cole nodded, carefully standing up from Lloyd’s side. Now before he carefully rested their younger brother’s head on a softer medical bag. 

Zane carefully began cleaning Lloyd’s chest, now somewhat thankful that his brother couldn’t feel what he was doing. It was always worse when he couldn’t stop himself from wincing. 

“No! I need to see if he’s okay!” Sora yelled, Wyldfyre staying silent. 

“I know, but Zane needs to focus right now. Here.” Cole responded, his voice shaking. 

Zane looked up to find Sora and Wyldfyre tucked beneath Cole’s arms. They leaned into his side, gripping him tightly. Cole held onto them, almost just as tightly. 

He turned around, taking a deep breath before carefully suturing his brother’s wound close. Zane didn’t know how long he stayed there, but the silence from their students and the crowd was nice. He had no outside distractions, all except the medical bots who tried to help, but Zane had to keep stopping them. 

It wasn’t their fault. They didn’t know Lloyd’s medical history and they were doing what they were programmed to. But Zane couldn’t let them further hurt his baby brother. Even if Zane was uneasy of a small eight year old Lloyd all those years ago, he quickly found himself loving the kid even if turned all his gi’s pink. He smiled softly at that memory. 

His hands moved almost effortlessly, as he continued to suture Lloyd’s open wound. But it wasn’t effortless in the slightest. In fact, it took his entire focus and concentration. He was terrified he’d do something wrong or that Lloyd would wake up in a fit of pain. 

Zane thought back to that one morning, in that dingy little apartment in Ninjago city. He woke up early, though he didn’t know why. His body was programmed to get a full eight hours of sleep, but it had only been four. He fell back into his bed, tossing and turning. He didn’t know why he couldn’t fall back asleep. It was what he was programmed to do. After eleven long minutes of trying and failing to go back to sleep he got up, careful to not disturb anyone else’s slumber. His eyes soon caught Lloyd’s bed, it was empty. 

A puzzled look soon grew across his face, could he have run away again, gotten kidnapped? He could feel his chest pounding. He was terrified something had happened to him. But before he could wake the others he decided to check all of Lloyd’s hiding spots. Under his bed? No. In the closet? No. Underneath his blanket? No. Zane did find him on the roof, carefully petting Ultra Dragon. His entire person instantly calmed down seeing little Lloyd in his Fritz Donegan pajamas. 

“You should be in bed.” Zane broke the calm silence of the night. 

Lloyd yelped, before sighing, returning his attention to Ultra. Something was wrong, he knew it was. 

He walked up to his younger brother, petting another section of Ultra. The two stood in silence for some time. 

“Couldn’t sleep?” Zane asked. 

Lloyd took some time to respond. “Nightmare.” 

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that. Do you want to talk about it?” 

Lloyd stopped petting Ultra, he was frozen, almost in time. He stood like that for a few seconds, before returning to pet their dragon.

Zane internally sighed. He had hoped Lloyd would be more comfortable in confiding in him and the others but– 

“I was fighting my dad, but it wasn’t my dad. It was like someone else took over his body; a dragon of some sorts. It was really scary, my dad had never yelled at or hurt me before but this–” He paused, finding the right words to say. “– monster did. He wouldn’t let me stop hurting.” 

Zane could feel his eyes widen, he really hurt for his younger brother. Though a part of him didn’t want to scare Lloyd away from how he felt about him. So instead he placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. 

“I’m sorry about your dream, Lloyd. But your father loves you more than anything else in this world. I don’t see a world where that love falters. And besides in your dream it was something else, right? Not your dad.” 

Lloyd sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. I just wish things were different. I can’t fight him.” 

With that Zane pulled Lloyd into a hug. Lloyd didn’t hug him back for a second, before wrapping his arms around Zane, his head buried into abdomen. 

“I’m always going to be here for you, Lloyd. I promise.” Zane broke the silence, leaning his head against the top of Lloyd’s. 

The young ninja looked up at him. “Me too!” His eyes smiled, before leaning into him once more. 

“Hey Zane?” He asked. 

“Yes, Lloyd?” 

“I love you.” Lloyd whispered into him. 

Zane paused, certainly caught off guard, before he smiled widely. “I love you too.” 

Lloyd yawned as quietly as he could, but thankfully being a nindorid and a ninja he could definitely hear it. “Now let’s get you to bed.” He picked Lloyd up, who did nothing to stop it. 

He yawned again. “M’ not tired.” He forced, curling into Zane even more. 

Zane stifled a laugh. “Of course.” 

He was brought back to the present, his hands cautiously finishing up the sutures at the end of his wound. There was something wet that streamed across his face. He pushed those thoughts aside, carefully staring at his red covered hands. His circuits paused for a second before wiping them on a spare towel. 

He did his best to wrap Lloyd in a spare white gi the bots had brought them. He stared at his younger brother, wishing everything was as peaceful as it was before the world exploded. He carefully stood up, looking at the large clock behind Cole, Sora, and Wyldfyre. 

Seven minutes. That entire time was only seven minutes. It felt like seven hours. 

“Cole.” He broke the silence, starling the earth ninja. 

He looked up, nodded, before leaning down to their students. “He’s okay.” He whispered. The two girls carefully let go of him, allowing him and Zane to carefully move Lloyd onto the stretcher. 

“I’m going to stay with him, if that’s okay?” Zane asked. 

Cole nodded. “Yeah, of course. I’m going to get everyone taken care of.” 

Zane nodded, the two brothers paused for a moment before pulling each other into a tight hug. 

Things would be okay, they had to be. 

Cole offered the girls a chance to see Lloyd before the medical bots took him away, but Sora refused and Wyldfyre just shook her head. He nodded, not wanting to force it. He knew, as well as anyone, how hard seeing the people you love in moments like these. 

The walk back to their room was long and quiet. Only the feeling of Geo holding his hand seemed to fill him with any solace or comfort. Once inside their room, the girls plopped onto Sora’s bed, their heads leaned against each other. Cole could have melted into their embrace but now wasn’t the time, he had to be strong. He was the strong one. He needed to be strong for them, for Lloyd. 

He knew the right thing to do was to get everyone food to eat, but he could barely move out of the doorway. He was frozen. His mind, his body, unsure of what exactly to do. Geo’s hand gripped his even tighter. 

Geo turned him to meet his eyes. “Go, go to them Cole. I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry.” 

Cole opened his mouth to say something, but Geo seemed to read his mind then too. “Yes. I’m sure.” 

Cole smiled softly, before wrapping his arms around him. Geo returned his hug, pulling the earth ninja tightly to him. The two stayed like that for a while, before Cole carefully let him go. He sat down in front of Sora and Wyldfyre, while Geo went to grab them some food. 

“Geo went to bring us back some food.” Cole broke the silence. 

Wyldfyre spoke for the first time since it happened. “I don’t–” She paused. 

“I know, but it’s important you two are okay, even now.” He responded, rubbing their arms with his hands. 

It only took seconds before the two jumped into his arms. Sora’s tears flowing freely, Wyldfyre’s breath shaking. Their embrace was paused for a moment, when the screen door was forced open. It was Arin, his eyes were red and puffy, while his cheeks and nose were bright red. Sora looked away from him, but his arms wrapped around her, Wyldfyre, and Cole. 

They didn’t know how long they stayed like that, but when Geo hugged Cole from behind, or when Lloyd was finally brought back into their room and carefully placed on his bed, or when Zane melted into their embrace. 

Things weren’t perfect and they weren’t all good, but at least they had each other. Together, they would get through this. Everything would be okay, they had to be. For all of their sakes and Lloyd’s. 

…

Cole carefully sat next to Lloyd, dabbing his forehead from beads of sweat or in an attempt to calm his slight fever. Staring at his pained brother, made his heart twist and turn. He did his best to ensure his younger brother was comfortable. He carefully brushed his slightly curled bangs out of the front of his face. 

Lloyd’s expression may have looked calm, but knowing Lloyd and his recent experiences, it probably wasn’t. He wished they could all get some kind of break, but the world never seemed to allow it. 

His mind faded into memories from Lloyd after that horrific night at the prison. He knew the reason Lloyd went was because he believed his father was still there, but– There were so many moments where Cole wished he could take his brother’s pain and give it to himself, but knowing Lloyd he would never allow it. 

His heart continued to sink at the memories. The memories of Lloyd’s pained expression on the counter of Mystake’s shop, or the way he was only moments away from death when they found him in the sand, or the way they were separated and he had no way of making sure Lloyd was okay. 

While Lloyd was laid out across the counter top, he could feel his breath practically stop everytime Lloyd winced. His hands grazed the top of his forehead gently, he was scared of causing his younger brother any more amount of pain. He didn’t even care that he still had his elemental powers, all he and the others cared about was Lloyd. Nothing else seemed to matter. Even as the ground began to shake or the way people’s screams echoed throughout the city. He knew he’d have to move, but he didn’t want to. He wanted to stay by his side. But just like everything else in their life; duty called. 

His gaze caught the photos of Kai and Jay overtop the shrine they made in the corner. He knew if Kai was here, he wouldn’t give Zeatrix a moment to breathe and if Jay was here he’d be feeling the same exact feelings, but would choose to help lighten the mood. His breath caught. He wished Jay was here, he wished Nya was here, he wished they all were here. 

He sighed, leaning into Geo’s side. Wishing everything could be okay. 

It was times like these where the Master of Earth didn’t feel the strength of the earth that surrounded him. In part to the fact that he didn’t have his elemental power and second to the fact that he didn’t feel very strong right now. He wasn’t sure when he would feel strong, but all he cared about was his younger brother’s health. 

So when Arin and Sora figured out the clue from– what’s–her–name? And he was forced to leave his side to show Arin where the Monastery was, he internalled cringed at himself; but more so the world. Couldn’t they all get one break? Just one? Why did the world have to come before him so many times? It’s not like Cole hated the world or hated saving it. Innocent people never deserved to suffer, but just a moment of peace was all he felt like they needed. 

Lloyd shot up from his bed, wincing at how much pain he was in. He didn’t really remember anything, but Zeatrix’s scream as the sword hit his chest. He moved slightly, his chest burning. His vision was blurry for a moment before it cleared. The room was dark, no one in sight. He looked underneath the white robes, a large row of stitches littered his body. His right arm was in a sling, while his left leg was carefully wrapped with a thing of ice over top. 

He groaned, pushing himself back up onto his feet. They were definitely shaking and he could barely stand, but he had a job to do. He had a tournament to win, he couldn’t disappoint the Source Dragon. 

Carefully, albeit slowly he took off the white clothes placed on him and changed into a spare green gi from his bag. He removed the sling from his arm, and the extra layers of bandages around his left leg. He couldn’t act like nothing was okay, he had a game to win. He could hear thunderous applause echo from the direction of the plaza. He took a deep breath, it was now or never. 

The walk to the plaza was long, longer than normal. Was it because he was injured? Yes. Was it also because he was incredibly fatigued? Also yes. Each step sent a wave of pain throughout his left leg, while each breath sent a wave of pain throughout his chest. But he couldn’t think about anything else right now, besides winning. Once inside the games plaza he could somewhat hear Roby, but his ears still ached from whatever happened to them from last night. Only the sound of Sora’s voice seemed to echo throughout his mind. 

“Lloyd!” She yelled, pointing at him. A smile wide on her, Zane, and Wyldfyre’s faces. But the closer he got and the more he could hear, the more a part of him wished he was still asleep.

He heard cheers. Sora yelling.” Come on Lloyd! You can do it!” Wyldfyre yelling. “Yes!” And other voices that penetrated his mind. 

“What an unexpected comeback! Lloyd is back in the tournament!” Roby exclaimed, as he made his way to the opposite end of the platform. 

His heart sank. Really? Nokt? He knew it made sense, but really? He just woke up from being injured and was now forced to fight one of the Forbidden Five? Just his luck. 

Sora ran to his side. “Lloyd! I’m so glad you’re here, but you sure you should be here?” 

He tried to hide the fact that his body ached and screamed out at him. “I can still fight. I have to.” 

“And here are the powers that are rightfully yours!” Roby announced, as Zeatrix’s powers flowed into him. He felt somewhat stronger, but that didn’t stop the immense amount of pain that he was in. 

The bell dinged. 

Nokt sped into action, darting down the center platform. “Lloyd, look out!” Zane yelled. 

The green ninja quickly slipped his mask up, as he jumped to a small, floating, circular platform. A shockwave of pain erupting throughout Lloyd’s left leg; he couldn’t help but wince and lean more onto his right leg to provide some kind of comfort to his injured leg. He shook the pain odd, as best as he could. Before dodging Nokt’s lightning attack and using the elemental power of wind to carry him to safety. As much as his body moved, the more it screamed out at him. 

Every time his green power left him, he felt colder. Every time he used Spinjitzu his leg screamed out at him. Every time he took a deep breath, his lungs could barely react. Every time he sent any of his powers out, his shoulder pleaded for him to stop. But he couldn’t. 

He almost thought he was going to pass out again when he combated Nokt’s Shatterspin with Rising Dragon Technique. He was still too weak for it to really do anything against his opponent, but the cataclysmic event of their two techniques meeting sent him back. His entire body willed for him to stop. Now, he could barely stand. Not that he was having a good time with it earlier. He forced himself back up, groaning as his entire person ached. He had to keep going.

The sound of the bell towling brought him out of his thoughts. 

“Stop the fight!” Blekt yelled. Gasps erupted throughout the complex. 

“What?!” His breath panting. “Why?” Lloyd asked, ripping his mask off. Was this really happening?

Blekt held up the rule book. “You are clearly an injured combatant! According to ancient rulings, the Source Dragons, in their desire for fairness, do not permit injured fighters.” 

“Oh. Wow. Well if it’s in the rule book, I guess–” Roby said, his head turned down. 

“But you saw me. I could do it! I’m just a little sore, no big deal!” He lied through his teeth. 

“I– I don’t have a choice, Lloyd. Even though that match was awesome! Your health is the most important thing. You did not look well this morning, and you still don’t, to be honest. Sorry.” Roby answered, his brows furrowed. 

“And the victor by default is Nokt!” Blekt announced. 

Now Lloyd really felt like he was going to pass out, especially when his powers were transferred to Nokt. His body felt even weaker, like it lost a part of his life force. 

“I’m glad you’re awake, Lloyd. I hope– I hope you’ll be okay.” Roby mumbled so only Lloyd could hear. 

This poor kid, Lloyd thought. He knew having immense responsibility on your shoulders wasn’t easy, especially as a kid. And for what it was worth, he wasn’t mad at Roby, he was mad at himself. So he opted to give him a nice, small smile. Something to show they were on good terms. 

He quickly turned away from Roby, avoiding the eyes of his friends. He couldn’t bear to face them. He was a failure. 

“The odds were not in our favor. You did your best.” Zane said, trying to comfort him. 

“It wasn’t good enough. I’ve failed us. I’ve failed all of us!” He exclaimed, his body not even attempting to hide how much he shook out of anxiety and anger or how much he was in pain. 

“No you haven’t.” Sora interrupted. “I’m still in the games, I just need you to train me.” 

She was right, Lloyd did his best to smile, but his body soon gave out from underneath him. Zane leaned forward barely catching him from his body from meeting the cobblestone for a second time. 

“Easy there. Let’s get you sat down and taken care of.” Zane smiled. 

Lloyd couldn’t help but return it. 

…

The next few hours were long and tedious. His body continued to scream out of him. As he coached Sora before her match, during it, as he fought the wolf masked warriors, or as they fought against Nokt who now had every single elemental power. They knew it wouldn’t go over well, but did anyone believe them? No, which was typical. 

His heart exploded with pride, as Arin sped around and fought Nokt using perfect Spinjitzu. He was still proud of him as Arin was flung back into him, knocking them both to the ground. He winced out in pain as the back of head collided with the stone stairs or how Arin was knocked directly into his stitched chest. 

“How did you learn perfect Spinjitzu?” He asked, unable to hide his prideful expression. 

Arin only sneered at him. “Not from you.” Before he quickly stood up, standing next to Ras.

Lloyd could feel his stomach dropping. He felt more like a failure than he did before. He failed as a competitor, he failed as a teacher. But he couldn’t allow himself to dwell on Arin’s burst of hatred towards him. They had a job to do. They had to stop Nokt. 

An explosion of multi-colored light burst from the dragon crowns, as a portal appeared. It was almost too bright for Lloyd to see, but what he could make out was a blur of red and the warmth of fire. Kai. It was Kai. How? 

“Kai!” He yelled, almost unable to believe it. His brother was really fighting Nokt in front of him. 

His breath caught again, as he saw a now unconscious Kai lying on the ground. Cursed Nokt. He felt his heart sink further into his stomach. They didn’t stand a chance, not without their powers. He was too caught up in the fight, the green ninja didn’t even notice how wet his chest felt. 

His prayers were answered as Roby and Wyldfyre stood behind him at the front gate. They were draining his powers. Thank the First Master . And before Lloyd knew it, his powers were returned to him. He could feel his power radiating with him, his strength returning, as he was soon filled with warmth. He was thankful to have his powers back for a multitude of reasons. 

The ninja soon crept in on him, their powers tingling between their fingertips. Nokt slowly began to back away, a cruel grin between his lips.

“Noxt! Come on!” Rox yelled from the portal gate. The other members of the Forbidden Five were already walking through the gate. 

He looked back at the ninja, now only a few feet away from him. He ran, well sprinted to the gate. Knocking out an unsuspecting Ras, dragging him down. 

What Lloyd didn’t expect was how quickly he ran. But he definitely didn’t suspect the way Arin ran after him. “No! I need him!” The young ninja yelled, as he picked up Ras’s hammer half dragging it, following them into the portal gate. 

He and Sora immediately reacted, running for his student, for her best friend. 

“Arin, no! Wait!” She called out to him, but it was no use. 

“Arin, stop!” Lloyd yelled. 

But his student disappeared into the portal gate, its light flickering, sending an explosion out from the center of the gateway. He only had seconds to react, pulling Sora from the heart of the explosion, shielding her with his body. Dust and rubble dispersed from the sight, as everyone coughed, taking in the sight. 

“Arin! Arin!” Sora called out for her best friend. 

Lloyd did his best to stand, but it proved fruitless as he fell back down to the ground. Of course catching the attention of Sora and the other ninja. She leaned down to him, her heart and expression sinking further. Lloyd didn’t even know it could sink further than she already looked. 

Another bone chilling scream escaped the pink haired ninja. “Zane! Cole! Kai! Nya! Someone! Help!” She yelled, turning behind her. 

Lloyd was confused. The fall hadn’t been that bad, until he felt it. A water-like substance across his chest. Oh. That was why she screamed. The others rushed over, Wyldfyre, Roby, and Bonzle not far behind. 

“We need to get him to the infirmary.” Nya’s voice said. 

“No, we need to get him back to the Monastery.” Kai argued. 

“Zane what do we do?” Cole asked. 

Silence. Zane was usually never silent. “We should get him back to the Monastery, we have more things to help him there.” Zane said. 

“Then let’s do it.” Kai responded, he reached towards his younger brother. Their eyes glanced at each other. “How do we get him there? I don’t want to aggravate his wounds anymore than they already are.” 

“Roby?” Zane asked. “Can you call for your bots for a stretcher? I fear his stitches must have been torn open.” 

“On it!” Roby exclaimed, turning around. 

“Wait– Wait–” Kai interjected. “Stitches? What the First happened?” 

“Cole? Zane?” Nya asked. “What happened?”

“He was injured in a match yesterday.” Cole mumbled, his touch soft on his forehead. 

It was like all the air was sucked out of the room. He opened his mouth to say something before Cole whispered sweet shushes into his ear. “Take it easy, okay? We don’t want to aggravate them further.” 

Lloyd nodded, gripping the two hands that were closest to him on either side; Cole and Sora’s. He needed his older siblings, and Sora needed hers. He only hoped and prayed to the First Master that Wyldfyre, Roby, and Arin were okay. 

… 

Lloyd was back in the med bay, currently only being supported by the pillows that surrounded him on all sides. Even when he was injured he could hardly remain quiet, but this time was different. He refused to look anyone in the eyes and Sora never checked in on him like she usually did. He failed her too. 

As the other ninja talked with him, or more accurately to him he either looked at his hands or the wall. He wished he could just lock himself away in his room, where no one could bother him. But because of the amount of blood he lost, Zane refused the idea entirely until his stats were back up. But how could they go back up when he was broken? He was a mess who was barely being held together. He couldn’t eat or drink anything. He refused anything from being shoved down his nose, but did allow an IV in his left arm at the bare minimum. All he could do was stare at the wall for hours on end. 

A knock echoed throughout the empty room. “Hey Lloyd?” Nya asked, peeking her head in. She sat down next to him, holding one of his hands. “I need you to take care of yourself buddy, I know everything hurts but–” She paused, her voice suddenly shaking. She took a deep breath. “Please, Lloyd?” She asked, gripping his hand tighter. He didn’t want to talk, so instead he squeezed her hand, giving her an ‘okay’. 

She perked up. “Okay! I’ll bring you a bowl of congee, that sound okay?” He squeezed her hand again. 

“Okay, I’ll be right back.” She said softly, before getting up to leave the room. 

And just like that he was left in silence once again, before another head peeked in. It was Kai, he could smell his hair gel from a mile away. He sat down quietly on the seat Nya was just in. He leaned his head against his hand, which was leaning against the bed. Lloyd gave him a puzzled look and he just shrugged. 

“You get into a lot of trouble without me, huh?” He asked. Now it was Lloyd’s turn to shrug. 

“Yeah, I know. It’s our duty or whatever, but it’s not fair.” His older brother grumbled. 

Fair? Fair certainly wasn’t Kai being sent into the Netherspace. Lloyd gave him a look, to which Kai jumped back slightly. 

“I know, I know. I meant all of it. It’s all not fair.” Kai clarified, leaning back onto the bed. “I know our promises don’t always work out, but let’s be more careful. Yeah?” Kai asked, a small laugh between his sentences. 

Lloyd held out his pinkie finger. Kai saw and immediately intertwined their fingers together. 

“By the way, Sora’s been asking about you. She’s scared you’re mad at her.” Kai said, leaning back in his chair. Lloyd gave her a confused look. “I know, I know. I tried to tell her, but she’s just lost right now.” 

Lloyd looked down at his hands. Her and me both, he thought. And how could he face her when he failed her? Surely she hated him like Arin did. 

“I know buddy, but you should talk to her.” Kai tried convincing him, but Lloyd just shook his head. “Lloyd.” Kai gave him a look and he shook his head again. 

The hazel eyed ninja sighed. “At least try. The Tournament of the Sources Ceremony is in two days, try then?” Kai pleaded, attempting to reach some kind of compromise. 

Lloyd slowly nodded. He would try. 

“Good.” Kai looked semi-pleased with himself. “Want to play a game together?” 

Lloyd laughed, nodding. 

“Good! Let’s get you to the games room!” He announced, taking off his younger brother’s blankets. 

Lloyd gave him another puzzled look. 

“Come on, we don’t have all day. Here.” He said, moving the metal pole his IV hung on carefully around the bed. “Can you stand?” 

Lloyd gave him a nod. He carefully pushed himself off of his mattress, but his left leg gave out underneath his weight. Kai immediately was at his side allowing him to lean on him. He slowly and carefully led his younger brother to the games room, before gently setting him down in his favorite spot against the arm rest. There were pillows surrounding him, and one placed directly under his injured thigh. To his right on the side table there was a game controller and a bowl of warm congee, and a small bowl filled with his favorite candy. Kai plopped down next to him, when Cole, Nya, Zane, Sora, Wyldfyre, Frak, and Mr. Frohicky entered the room. Each of them sitting in their spots. 

Sora and Lloyd made eye contact, smiling softly at each other. First Master, he really needed to talk to her. Even if playing Prime Empire ached his shoulder, he couldn’t help but enjoy this moment. But he couldn’t stop himself from missing Arin. He would come home, he hoped and prayed to his grandfather that he would. 

Even after they helped save the world more times they can count, was thanked by the mayor multiple times, won awards; peaceful moments like these were his favorite. 

Chapter Text

At Darkley’s Lloyd vaguely remembered a time that high winds nearly stole him and Brad from the courtyard. They didn’t, thankfully. But anytime the wind howled a little louder than a whisper a shiver erupted down his spine. Unfortunately, his wind centered nightmares would never really leave him. 

This was so much worse. 

This was straight out of some natural disaster documentary. The only thing natural about it was the sand that kept hitting the sides of his face, everything else about it was straight out of a supernatural, merged realms horror movie. 

There was nothing about this that was easy, but then again nothing about being a ninja ever was. 

His father, mother, uncle, the loss of his family, the heavy weight that sat unmoving on top of his shoulders, his own expectations, his students; Arin. 

He wished the young ninja had taken his word of warning. He was no master and if these past months taught him anything, he’s not much of a teacher either. He failed him and he couldn’t even blame Arin for leaving. He just wished he could do all for him that he could while they fought on the same side, even if for a moment. 

Like a battering ram, the screams of his old student blasted their way into his ear drums. Lloyd’s eyes darted throughout the tiltawhirl they were being thrown around by. He had to make sure Arin had a chance of making it out of here, that Sora did, Riyu, and Frak. Even if he was no longer Arin’s teacher he had a job to do and First Master knows he’d do whatever he could for him. 

It was there, only about thirty or so feet in front of him where he spotted Arin. He was trailing behind Riyu, as the two tried to fight against the hundred mile winds that surrounded them. He needed to get to him. He needed to provide some sort of help, then he’d find Sora and Frak and help them too. They weren’t going to lose anyone especially if he had anything to say about it.

Lloyd found his footing against a smaller sized boulder that had been picked up by the winds. He placed his feet against the rock, while his hands held the rock behind him to hopefully serve as some kind of launching pad. It worked when he wasn’t spinning, so surely it could still work. He shook his head, maybe he should have gone to a regular school instead of one centered around teaching the next generation’s villains. 

He took a deep breath, before utilizing his spinjitzu and position against the rock to push himself off. Lloyd didn’t go as fast as he would have liked, but it was enough to make significant headway to the young, orange clad ninja. 

Much to his surprise, he had made record time, and it was good news he had. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a large boulder making its way towards Arin. It wasn’t like he could yell at the younger, there was no way his voice could travel with all the commotion around them. 

But it didn’t hurt trying. “Arin! Riyu! Look out!” 

Either they were keen on ignoring him or couldn’t hear him. His heart sank, he had to get to him and fast. 

He collided with orange and with the majority of his strength he used it to push Arin out of the way. “Look out, Arin! Riyu follow him!” He called, determined to not add to any ill will between the two of them. 

Thankfully, he had pushed Arin out of the way and Riyu was out of harm's way as well, but unthankfully for him he was now in the direct line of the boulder he was so determined on protecting Arin from.

The boulder collided with the entire right side of his person. White exploded within his eyes, as he fought to keep his eyelids from opening. He couldn’t rest just yet and knowing him it was just a flesh wound; nothing more. He was fine. 

It didn’t matter to him that he could hardly see out of his right eye, or the hot protruding liquid from the side of his skull, or the fact that he was certain some of his ribs had been bruised, or that his shoulder protested every one of his movements. 

He was just grateful he had done something to help the younger ninja. 

“Lloyd!” A voice called out to him, but it was so hard to place. “You okay?” The voice asked again only much closer to him. 

The green ninja looked slightly to his left, terrified, he’d be thrown into the chaos once again. He was met with a familiar serpentine face and voice. 

“Yeah, I’m okay. Are you?” He asked, forcing a smile from his lips. His physical state didn’t matter to him, not as much as it did as his students. 

“Me? You’re the one–” He paused, his hands gripping Lloyd’s gi as tight as he could as he pulled him into the chaos that surrounded them. “Holy First Master! That was close!” Frak yelled. 

Lloyd turned to face the boulder he had made somewhat of a refuge on and was not in a bunch of different pieces. That really was a close one. The two ninja did their best to hold onto each other, but it proved to be for nothing as he, Frak, Arin, and Riyu had all been separated from each other and thrown into this mess. 

It was almost like everything he did or attempted had the opposite effect. He wanted to help Arin from the boulder, but the ninja was still barrelling around like some kind of tumbleweed and the same could be said for Frak and Riyu. He could have laughed at the irony then and there. He was only a few feet away from them and he was powerless to do anything to help any of them not to mention himself. Arin was right, some teacher he was. 

“Ah.” He grunted as he was caught? How could he have been? There was no one here to– That’s when he took in just who caught him. “Wyldfyre!” He yelled, but with the way his throat burned it came out much quieter than intended. 

Even though his heart continued to race, he could hardly feel it in his ears anymore after she had caught Frak and Arin. 

He brought his hand to face, hopefully wiping it from his eyes, but he hadn’t even made a dent in what he assumed was blood as it seeped into his field of vision. Just great; another thing he had to worry about and would no doubt be scolded about later. 

He was grateful she had put him behind her on the mech, instead of him having to climb there himself. He was pretty over traversing any kind of mech, rock, or anything similar in this well- shit- storm. And it was a shit storm, a shit storm that put his loved ones in danger, a shit storm that almost proved they had no idea what they were doing. And Lloyd, at least in regards to himself, was right.

He swore he felt his heart stop when Riyu got hit with a small boulder nearly causing him to land in an array of spiked stones. 

Lloyd had no idea what he was doing and now he was sure of it. He had almost gotten everyone killed because he wanted to follow the members of the forbidden five? He always told everyone how much he cared for them and would fight for them, but what had he done to show for it? He had lost Jay, his Uncle Wu, and Arin left him because he wasn’t feeling valued or cared for. And now everyone had followed him into this mess and were getting hurt because of him. Most of his life he had felt like a leader, but ever since he saw Nya merge with the sea and he was forced to face that notion that he was the reason she did what she did, that he wasn’t deserving of the title of ‘leader’. The merge and everything after only proved his point. 

He watched helplessly as Sora and Arin ran to Riyu, their knees no doubt made harsh contact with the stone floor. 

Carefully, he slid from the back of Wyldfyre’s mech. As his feet made contact with the stone beneath him, his knees wobbled, sending him to the ground. He did his best to blink past the pain from his throbbing head, or the way his eyesight no longer remained steady. Lloyd was sure he wasn’t hit that hard, but maybe this served as another thing he was wrong about. 

“Lloyd!” Nya called, dropping to her knees in front of him. “Oh, First Master. Here.” She pulled out a handkerchief or something similar from one of her pockets and took it to his eye and temple. “When did this happen?” 

“Earlier.” He hadn’t meant to respond with just a one word response, but he could hardly force any of the other words out. He was so exhausted and the pulsing in his head was hardly anything helpful when it came to forming any kind of sentence. 

She bit back a laugh.” Yes, I know that.” She rolled her eyes. “We have to get you out of here, though.” 

That woke something up in him and he started vigorously shaking his head back and forth. “No, there’s too much we still have to do. I’ll take care of it later.” He looked up to his sister, his eyes no doubt a mix of blood and his tears. He could rest later, everything would be fine. 

She sighed. “Okay, but the minute we take care of it–” 

“I’ll rest and tend to my injuries. I know.” He offered a friendly smile. A part of him wanted to ensure that she at least figured he was more okay than he seemed, even if it was a lie. 

She nodded, clearly making no effort to hide the fact that she was not okay with the plan, but thankfully made no effort to stop him.

Lloyd took a deep breath before pushing himself off the ground and onto his feet. Albeit his feet, legs, and well his entire person were still shaking his head no longer spun around like it did before. 

He took a deep breath, turning to the other ninja. Most of their eyes turned to him, which he was incredibly grateful for. 

“Anyone see where the forbidden five went?” He asked, hoping no one noticed the way his throat bobbed or that his eyes were still clouded over. 

“I–” Arin stuttered. “I had the last two blades. I know I should have just flown off with them, but I tried to save Ras, then Rox attacked me.” 

Lloyd hoped he had succeeded in hiding the way chest ached or how his heart sank into his stomach. He knew Arin no longer saw himself as his teacher, but to know how much the younger ninja seemed to care for Ras made his heart hurt in a way that he had no idea how to describe. He couldn’t be mad at Arin, not for doing what he does best; to look out for those he cares about. 

“Hold on. If the Five have all the blades, doesn’t that mean they can free–” Frak, just like the rest of them put the pieces together. This whole thing was about to get a whole lot harder. 

An earthquake echoed throughout the ground, which only sent Lloyd to the ground. But he didn’t have time to feel embarrassed, he couldn’t afford to spend even a second focusing on something besides the mission. Though he was grateful none of the others voiced any concerns at his less than graceful landing. He quickly pushed himself to his feet, but it proved useless as a large cut of wind from the mountain pushed him to the ground again, as Thunderfang made his appearance known. 

Lloyd had seen the Source Dragon of Energy and Motion before so a much smaller dragon by comparison shouldn’t terrify himself as much as he was, but then again this was an angry, vengeful dragon, so he decided to not beat himself up too much. But he couldn’t just sit by in his fear, he had to do something. He had to do something and he wasn’t going to sit on the sidelines. So, the young ninja took a deep breath, wiped some of the residual blood from his eyes and did his best to stand strong.

“I have no idea how we beat this thing, except there’s one of him and ten of us, so let’s come at him from all sides!” He exclaimed, pausing for a moment to take in everyone’s reactions. His heart warms at the nods and Fye’s ‘works for me!’ He pulled his mask down, taking in his family one last time before they go up against Thunderfang. “Ninja go!” 

He, Kai, Nya, and Arin erupted into spinjitzu, practically flying to Thunderfang. Each of them seemingly knew what the other was thinking. As they moved in near perfect formation, as they climbed one of his hind legs, utilizing their powers at the weak points in his leg. 

Though it didn’t do much except for angering the Chaos Dragon, who knocked each of them back with his tail. 

Lloyd groaned, rubbing his right side, as he avoided taking deep and long breaths in fear of aggravating the sharp pains within his ribs. Though he was grateful the pain was enough for his mind to focus on instead of Thunderfang's incredibly arrogant words. So, he didn’t mind the pain so much anymore. Though there wasn’t much of a break as the Chaos Dragon’s shadow forced each of them to roll from the impact zone. 

As much as the green clad ninja desired and needed some kind of a break within the fight; Going up against a hundred story dragon who desired to shroud the world in chaos hardly left any time for rest. Surprise, surprise. 

Lloyd pushed past the pain, that only made itself more and more known to him. He picked himself onto his feet as fast as he could, nodding to both Kai and Nya. Once they nodded back the three of them bolted into a sprint. They had a greater chance of doing some damage if they attacked as one and each of them knew it. One by one the three of them erupted into rising dragon technique. It was almost instinct, when he reached for Kai and Nya’s hands as they reached for his and each other’s hands. 

The sky was painted in green, red, and blue as the three siblings made contact with Thunderfang’s chest causing an explosion of each of their colors. Lloyd could feel his heart well with something he wasn’t sure it would; hope. They had a way to go up against him and could hopefully do some real damage against him. 

And just as quickly he had gained his hope, it vanished. Thunderfang roared, but not one of pain, one that shook every bone in his body. 

“I smell the power of a Source Dragon Conduit!” He roared and it didn’t take very long for the two of them to make eye contact. “A direct line to the Source Dragons themselves? You!”His voice boomed across the valley, as he dropped low to them. “Draining a Conduit’s power will be transcendent.” He sneered, as he stared at Lloyd like he was some kind of slab of meat. 

He took after Kai, as the two of them continued to dodge his swipes. He tried shooting his elemental blasts at him but it didn’t do anything to him. 

“Whose energy do you channel?” Thunderfang taunted him. “Motion? That incessant busybody?  Or the self-obsessed Strength?” 

The Chaos Dragon didn’t bother to wait for Lloyd to answer, as he took a second to pause his taunting to drag his claws across the dirt, as Lloyd desperately dodged the huge claws.

“Or is it Life?” His claws dug deeper into the dirt, a cloud of dust exploded not only flinging sand ten feet high, but sending Lloyd to the ground.

He made hard contact to the ground, his breath instantly knocked out of him. He ripped his mask off as he attempted for his lungs to have any kind of air. He white knuckled the chest of his gi. He knew he had to get up, he knew he had to stay alert, but the lack of oxygen in his lungs was hard to take his mind off of.

The dragon’s laugh echoed throughout the valley. “How ironic would that be?” 

Lloyd looked up, through his exhausted green eyes he could barely make out the shock of red as it landed at his feet. The ninja flew through the sky, an entire world of red and black sped throughout the sides of his vision. 

He didn’t know how fast he was flying, but before he knew it his body was slammed against a mountain. If Lloyd thought he couldn’t breathe earlier, he really couldn’t breathe now. It was like every bone in his body was broken, or that every one of his organs was bruised. 

But even as much as he wanted to not focus on the pain that exploded throughout his entire person, he did not want to be staring straight at the Arc Dragon of Chaos. 

Thunderfang’s jaw opened, but his sharp fangs didn’t lunge for the young ninja, but instead some sort of force sucked him from against the wall’s edge. With each moment, as he rises closer and closer to the dragon, he could feel himself almost slip away. Like the sheer fact that he was just hurled into a freaking mountain didn’t seem to bother him, anymore. Neither did the throbbing pain in his head or within his ribs. Even if he wanted to move against Thunderfang’s will on him, or more accurately his Source Dragon Conduit power. 

Once the Chaos Dragon’s pull evaporated from his person, the nothingness that clouded his body was replaced by a hot explosion of pain. It was almost as if he was set on fire, or his elemental power had somehow overheated and was cooking him from the inside out. Though his sudden rise in temperature wasn’t as concerning as the way his body felt off . He wasn’t sure how to describe it, but it was as if a part of him was missing, that he was no longer the same person he was a minute or so ago. He wasn’t himself. He was still Lloyd, but there was something that sat deep within his stomach. 

The world around him seemed to move within slow motion as his person barreled at rapid speeds for the ground. It was a brisk thought, but for a second he thought that maybe this wasn’t a bad to go. He wouldn’t have to go against Thunderfang anymore, or be accosted by visions anymore, or have to watch his family suffer, or anything. But he wouldn’t be able to joke around with Kai anymore, or laugh with Nya, or play video games with Cole, or attempt to cook with Zane, or eat pies with Arin and Sora, or teach Frak Spinjitzu, or do target practice with Wyldfyre, or play with Riyu, or catch up with Pix, or be able to see Jay get his memories back. He couldn’t do that to them, even if he was exhausted. 

Ninja never quit.  

Though it wasn’t like there was anything he could do to stop his dissent into the ground. He had broken the wings Sora made him and he didn’t have a mech remote. So, here he was falling from First Master knows how high after having First Master knows what happened to him.

Thankfully, his rapid descent was stopped by his favorite young dragon; Riyu. 

“Oh, First Master! Riyu! Thank you!” He breathed a sigh of relief, resting his head onto his back. “You have no idea how glad I am to see you.” 

Riyu chripped at him. 

“Now, let’s get back in there.” He exclaimed, adjusting his person on Riyu’s back. 

But this time Riyu only grunted, giving him an annoyed look. 

He had figured he looked that bad, but not that bad. “Come on, Riyu. We need to do all we can, I can’t leave them all.”

Riyu gave him the same look.

“I’ll be okay, I promise.” Lloyd assured him, though he knew that he wasn’t at liberty to promise him that. He couldn’t. There was nothing he could say or do that would keep him safe and he would never run away from a battle, especially one that risked the lives of his family. 

Riyu seemed to mull it over, but eventually he caved as he turned back around. Though he seemed to take small glances at his teacher every now and then, it seemed they both knew that there was nothing to be done to protect the Elemental Master. 

Though instead of continuing straight for Thunderfang he turned left towards the controlled Dragonians. But he didn’t mind, he wanted to avoid that dragon like the plague for as long as he could. 

With every blast of his elemental power, the feeling in his stomach continued to eat away at him. It was like he was running on empty, but he felt fine , or as fine as he could be. His elemental power protested with each burst of his energy. He felt sick. He felt like his elemental power was a second away from fizzling out, which didn’t make any sense. It wasn’t like any of the previous times he was close to burning out; this was something much emptier. 

“Conduit!” The Dragon’s voice sent shivers down his spine. 

Though none of it mattered in the end. Not his elemental blasts or Riyu dodging the cursed Dragonians. Thunderfang was behind him and his desire for his Conduit power outweighed anything he, Riyu, or the other ninja could have done. 

This was much different than before. It was like he was being ripped apart from the inside, like something was being torn from him and he was powerless to stop it. And there was nothing he could do about it, his elemental powers no longer answered his pleas. He was calling to nothing, pleading to no one. Not even his grandfather could help him now. 

He didn’t know if he was screaming or crying for this torture to end. He didn’t care. He didn’t even know what he was feeling, just that he wanted it to end. At first he wanted to be rescued by one of the other ninja, but he wished it would stop; It didn’t matter how. 

Somehow these were the prayers his grandfather decided to answer, if he decided to answer them at all. The white streams of light emitting from Thunderfang no longer scared him, instead it called to him and Lloyd wasn’t privy to the decision of denying it. 

At first the pain emulating from his entire person was too much for his person to handle, but now? Now, he felt nothing. Now, he was nothing.

Lloyd sucked in a deep breath of air, his body jolting up right as his body desperately attempted to breathe again. But doing so, only seemed to deepen the pain in his head and chest.  What happened? He was on the ground? That didn’t make any sense, he was in the air with Thunderfang, how did he end up here? Did he fall or? But thankfully before his spiral could continue he was interrupted. 

“Lloyd!” Someone called out to him and before he knew it she and the others were at his side helping him sit up. 

He couldn’t process everything that happened or had any idea whatsoever. And the onslaught of his family hadn’t helped. Their voices blended together while his eyes desperately tried to keep track of who was talking. Slowly, their voices became a little less muffled and he was somewhat able to follow their conversation. 

Unfortunately, as his hearing was slowly coming back to him, so did every other sense and feeling. His lungs still yearned for air. While each of his breaths only sent sharp gasps of pain down his right side and his head continued to pound with each heartbeat. But that wasn’t it. He was feeling like something was off, that something was wrong. That every part of him; his soul was damaged and bruised. What exactly happened to him?

“I’ve had some really weird days, but this might be the weirdest one yet.” He exhaled, still attempting to catch his breath. 

Graciously he accepted his sister’s hug and his brother’s and all of theirs. Even if the pressure against his side brought tears behind his eyes, he didn’t want their presence to leave him.

He kicked his feet backwards and forwards while he sat on one of the medical cots in the med bay. He wasn’t sure what his body or his elemental ability was put through, but he was grateful he was granted a break away from everything. As much as he loved his family, the finders, the people of the crossroads he was in desperate need of some space to think. He wasn’t sure what happened, but the remaining hollow feeling in his chest gave him an idea. 

Thunderfang had done something to him and it was something he was sure was going to keep him up at night; like he didn’t need another reason for lack of sleep. 

A soft knock echoed throughout the room. He was sure he had snuck away after a bite or two of pizza so no one would notice his absence. 

“Hey.” Kai poked his head in through the crack in the door. “Can I come in?” 

Lloyd just nodded, before turning back to picking at his nails. 

Kai closed the door behind him before he sat down in an empty chair by the younger ninja. 

“You okay?” 

“Yeah, fine.” Lloyd answered, not bothering to look up. 

“Sure you are, kid.” Kai rolled his eyes. “But seriously, you’ve had a rough couple days, bud.” 

“You have too.” Lloyd countered. 

“Yeah but–” The fire ninja stopped himself from speaking, clamping his mouth shut. 

Kai didn’t need to stop himself from saying it, Lloyd knew just exactly what he was thinking. That he died, or lost his soul, or whatever happened. He also lost both Arin and Sora, as they both chose to travel with Ras. Jay had no idea who he was and his entire body couldn’t take a few steps before he felt like he was going to pass out. He was the definition of not okay, but he didn’t want to think about it. 

“Pix said she was going to come in and tend to your injuries, but I asked for some alone time first.” Kai began, measuring the weight his words had on Lloyd before continuing. “I know you’re hurting right now in more ways than one and are terrified for Arin and Sora especially after what happened with Thunderfang, so if you need to talk I’m always here; we’re always here.

Lloyd swallowed the overwhelming presence in his throat. He was so incredibly grateful to have them as family, but he couldn’t share this with him especially since he had no idea what he was even feeling. 

“I– Thanks Kai. That means a lot.” He was still looking down at his nails, as he worked to pull against his nails. 

The two ninja fell into an uncomfortable silence. Kai was doing the thing where he wanted to leave room open for Lloyd to talk and Lloyd wanted to do everything to avoid talking. They were in a standoff and it was one the green ninja was going to lose.

“I wanted it to happen.” Lloyd broke the silence, the weight of his words pulling down on him. “I wanted it to be all over and by the end I– I didn’t care how it happened.” The words shook as he spoke. Now he really couldn’t look at Kai, he couldn’t face him after everything, he couldn’t bear to disappoint his brother. He hated himself for thinking it, for feeling it, for wanting it. 

But Kai just pulled him into a hug cradling his head in his shoulder, while his other arm drew circles against his back. Lloyd melted into his brother's arms, his eyes welling up with tears but none of them dared to fall against his cheeks. 

“Hey, hey.” Kai held his head closer to him, remaining conscious of his younger brother’s injury. “We’ll figure it out, I promise. Just rest for right now, okay?” 

Lloyd nodded into his chest. 

“Do you want me to get Pix, so you can get to bed?” Kai asked, not daring to move until Lloyd asked him too. 

“Could we stay like this for a while? Just until I feel a bit better?” 

“Of course, buddy.” Kai’s hand began to pet the back of his cheek. “I love you, Lloyd.” 

“I love you too, Kai.” 

He wasn’t sure how long the two of them stood like that or how long it would take him to feel okay about it, but he was grateful for the other ninja. Grateful he didn’t have to go through this alone, grateful that things even if it ook years would end up being okay. 

Chapter Text

Time was running out and Lloyd couldn’t help but grow more and more desperate as each punch sent small shockwaves throughout the Spectral Lands. If they couldn’t get to the well above ground, surely they’d be able to get to it below ground through the tunnels; that is, if and only if Blekt hadn’t lied to them. He and the other ninja were forced to trust him and if his words proved false it would only mean the world was at the mercy of Thunder Fang. 

Each punch from the mech felt like it sent shockwaves through his hands and arms. It was like his body couldn’t handle how hard he was squeezing the mech’s handles or like it was actually his hands that were attempting to break the cobblestones beneath him, it was like he was unable to fight without a soreness or sharpness exploding throughout his muscles and joints. 

But he couldn’t let himself take a minute to breathe, not when he had to break through the cobblestone, or fight off the possessed Dragonian warriors, or when they only had one shot to stop ThunderFang, or that everything was riding on him and Arin getting the Unbidden Storm to the Well in order for the Arc Dragon of Focus to be released and for it to defeat Thunderfang. 

It wasn’t long before his hands shook from the force he used from attempting to break the ground beneath him. It wasn’t long before he had to take a moment for his limbs to breathe, his right arm and shoulder in particular felt as though it was on fire. Each movement, no matter how small, felt agonizing and sure Zane had told him his shoulder never healed right and probably wouldn’t be unless they went in surgically, but that meant he’d be off patrols and saving the world and training for months if everything worked right and that was something he or the world could afford right now. Besides, it wasn't like it hurt that bad from that fall a couple of years ago, but every once in a while after he had over done it, a far worse pain exploded throughout his arm than the pain he remembered. Or maybe after this couple of years his pain tolerance had significantly dropped. 

“Help me!” Lloyd called out through gritted teeth he called out to Arin, who hopefully was nearby enough to hear his pathetic pleas. 

Thankfully Arin did hear him and was able to race to his side, fending off various different Dragonic warriors, but with each passing second was too long for Lloyd. His anxieties were growing and it was like he could hear a clock ticking down in the back of his head. His punches grew in not only strength and speed, but also when it came to the amount of pain that coerced his person. 

‘It was fine.’ He told himself over and over again. He could do this. He was the ‘Legendary Green Ninja’ for First Master’s sake. He had to prove himself, he had to save the world, he had to prove himself as the Source Dragon Conduit, he had to do right by his namesake. He couldn’t fail everyone, he couldn’t fail his duty. 

“You sure this is the best idea–” Lloyd could vaguely hear Arin ask, but it didn’t matter. The well was too overly guarded, Thunderfang was too strong, the warriors wouldn’t let neither him nor Arin breathe in their offence, and the pain was too much and too great for all this work to be for nothing. 

For a moment, it was like his plan would never work, that is until the two of them fell into some sort of tunnel. All Lloyd could recall as he fell was just how shaky and static like his hands and arms felt. 

… 

He woke up with a start and unfortunately the pain of his body had not diminished in his brief moments of unconsciousness, but he couldn’t afford to sit here when he had a job to do. So, he used his mech to push off the various different sized boulders and debris off of him, coughing as the dust settled around him. 

His eyes darted around the tunnel, his heart sinking to his stomach. “Arin!” He called out, surely he was okay, surely Arin was fine. He can’t have failed him again, right? A thousand and one possibilities flooded his mind, how could he have been so stupid? How could he have put Arin at risk, like that? It was no wonder Arin wanted to leave the ninja, with him as a teacher, how could anyone stay?

A golden mech hand shot out from beneath a couple of rocks. “I’m okay!” 

For a brief moment, Lloyd’s anxiety subsided at least somewhat. But the pain throughout his person had hardly diminished. It didn’t matter to Lloyd that he could hardly breathe or that the pain was far worse than it had been in the past; in fact, the only thing that mattered to the Green Ninja was that his former student was okay. 

With a shaky hand, Lloyd helped pull Arin to his feet. 

“Arin, I’m sorry. I was so focused on getting down here, I didn’t think about the consequences.” He couldn’t help but feel like he had disappointed his former student, someone who he would gladly stand in between any kind of weapon or danger for and here he was actively putting him in more danger. 

“I’m fine and look!” Arin brushed off the collapse, quickly pointing to the bright golden light illuminating the tunnel. 

It worked. A part of Lloyd couldn’t believe that it had worked or that the two of them didn’t end up at least semi injured, but the feeling didn’t last as Arin realised the Unbidden Storm was lost in the fall; Another reason why for himself to be disappointed in himself, maybe the pain was because he was such a bad teacher, or a poor excuse of a ninja. 

As Lloyd held the cracked Unbidden Storm in his mech’s hands, he felt something in his chest twist and contort. He should have just figured something else out, now the world was at risk because he couldn’t think of a countermeasure to the Forbidden Five or the Dragonian Warriors. 

“It broke during the cave-in,” he muttered to himself. “I ruined our last chance to stop Thunderfang."

How could he have been so reckless? The pain wasn’t that unbearable, not to mention that it wasn’t an excuse to ruin their chance at saving the Merged Lands. There must be something that he can do, something that could bring back the Unbidden Storm’s winds, but every thought that crossed his mind had no way of working; all except one that is. 

Arin’s sighs managed to bring him out of the inner workings of his mind. “It’s impossible to get this thing working again. It’s been spinning for centuries and I– I told you I’d find a way to mess this up.” 

It hurt Lloyd that Arin could ever blame himself for something that was his fault, that something he someone who has been on countless missions should have thought of before he acted on a whim. Some ‘Legendary Green Ninja’ he was.

“I’m the one who caused the cave-in, Arin, not you.” Lloyd replied, placing a study hand on his shoulder. He had to know that this wasn’t his fault, he was still a kid and the responsibility of this mission fell on his shoulders not Arin’s. “And remember Ninja never quit.” He did his best to give Arin a reassuring smile, but it hardly lasted the way his body protested his every movement, or the way Arin’s eyes met his. By the looks of it, it looked like a young ninja was a beat away from shedding a few tears. 

“But I’m not a Ninja anymore.” He countered and in this moment more than anything, Lloyd wanted to pull Arin into a hug, but instead he opted for finding a way to lift both his and Arin’s spirits. A part of him wanted to show Arin that he was still a ninja, that he will always be no matter what happened or to try and find a way for him to stay at the Monastery. It wasn’t just because Arin was incredibly special and talented, but because he had come to deeply care for him and couldn’t bear to lose him again.

The Green Ninja took the gem into the palm of his mech hand, examining it. “There’s gotta be a way to reactivate this thing again.” Lloyd thought aloud, but he wasn’t sure just how he would. Neither of them had an elemental power like wind and they had no way to bring Euphrasia here. But maybe he could activate it? It wasn’t likely, but maybe it was worth a shot. 

Lloyd leaned forward towards the gem, his hands glowing green with his elemental power. As his elemental power left his palms, his body only ached more. But as much of his energy that he poured into the Unbidden Storm, the gem had hardly rescinded to his elemental power. It was hopeless.

“It’s no use.” He let out a frustrated sigh, it was like there was no possible way for it to reactivate. Which meant that he had ruined their chances of stopping Thunderfang from becoming a Source Dragon and reeking chaos on the merged realms. Pun intended. 

Before he knew it, Arin had hopped out of his mech and was standing beneath him. 

“I’m not sure getting out of your mech is a good idea, Dragonians could get here any second.” Lloyd protested. He knew he wasn’t strong enough to defend himself and his former student all on his own and it wasn’t that he didn’t trust Arin to protect himself against them, but if he had become hollowed on his watch? Lloyd would never forgive himself. 

“Just let me try something.” Arin said, as he began doing a small Spinjitzu tornado. “Give me the Unbidden Storm.” 

For a moment, Lloyd didn’t understand, but eventually he placed the crystal into Arin’s hand. What happened next was truly extraordinary, as he watched his student successfully transfer his Object Spinjitzu into the Unbidden Storm. 

“I had no idea you could transfer your Object Spinjitzu so– intensely.” Lloyd could hardly hide the pride in his voice and expression. For a moment, a brief moment in this chaotic past few days he felt like everything would be okay, that he didn’t have to worry so much and that would only get better once the Arc Dragon of Focus was here. 

“That makes two of us, but I’ve been training, and it seemed like the only option.” Arin smiled, before tossing the crystal into Lloyd’s hand. 

“Now let’s finish the job.” Arin said, climbing into his mech.

“Let’s hope the other teams pulled off their part.” Lloyd looked over to Arin, nodding with his younger teammate.

The two ninja placed one of their mechanical hands onto one of the Source Dragon Stones. Streams of golden and purple light flooded the base of the well, surrounding both Lloyd and Arin. The Green Ninja followed the light as it traveled upwards, but instead of turning into the Arc Dragon of Focus the light exploded above them. 

Lloyd did his best to blink past the purple hue of his vision, but something was off, something felt wrong. 

“Are you also seeing, like, some kind of vision or something?” He asked, but deep down a part of him knew this was no vision or if it was it was nothing like the visions he had seen before. 

As Lloyd stared deeper into the vision before him and Arin, he saw Thunderfang, and that was where it hit him. “We’re each seeing through the eyes of one of the Arc Dragon’s heads!” 

Thunderfang’s voice echoed throughout his mind and for a moment the Chaos Dragon was speaking directly in his ear. Lloyd couldn’t help the way a shiver shot up his spine and for a moment he wished he hadn’t volunteered to be in his vicinity. 

Something beneath his ribs had begun to twist as his mind and body flashed back to their previous fight with him a week or so ago. Why did he cause his hands to shake or send shivers down his spine? It wasn’t like he remembered it after his soul had been stolen, not to mention that he had a mission to complete, so he shoved his feelings deep beneath his chest. 

Lloyd took a deep breath as he looked to Arin, they could do this. He could help accomplish their role in the mission while helping Arin realize just how talented of a Ninja he was. He could prove himself as not only a teacher, but as a Master, his father, uncle, and Egalt could be proud of. 

With each blow and with each punch given and received by the Arc Dragon sent shockwaves throughout his person, but he couldn’t allow himself to lose focus; he had a job to do and it wasn’t something he was going to fail. 

“I’m not just seeing what the Focus Dragon sees, I’m feeling what it feels and it hurts.” Arin observed out loud, as he rubbed the side of his head. 

“Yeah,” Lloyd grunted. “Didn’t need anymore pain, but does it feel like the dragon wants our help?”

“Yeah, I sense it too.” The teenage boy nodded. 

Lloyd nodded in return. “Follow my lead.” 

He could do this, he could do his job as a leader, prove himself as a Master, as the Green Ninja, and as a Source Dragon Conduit. This was his job, what he had been destined to do. 

Lloyd and Arin lunged in front of them, but with each of their attacks Thunderfang seemed to always counteract each of their movements. Something was wrong, the two of them weren’t clicking and as much as Lloyd pushed himself forward, the more erratic his fighting stances were. 

Each attack sent ripples throughout his person. His shoulders and arms cried out after each offensive move, his chest felt like it was on fire, while his leg could hardly support himself anymore. His breathing grew just as erratic as his punches and kicks, but even as his body willed him to stop he couldn’t, he had to keep going. 

“You okay?” Arin asked, already on his feet. 

“I got this.” The Green Ninja grunted, doing his best to hide the way his hands and arms were shaking. “Come on.” 

As he stood up to face Thunderfang his head felt a sudden panging, causing him to stumble to the ground. ‘Come on, Lloyd.’ He muttered to himself. ‘Focus, you have a job to do.’ So he did his best to shove his pains as deep as he could. Lloyd could faint or tend to his injuries when they were finished defeating the Chaos Dragon. 

Each of his punches proved faulty, as he and Arin grew more and more out of sync, but that didn’t matter to Lloyd, all that seemed to matter was saving the merged realms, proving himself, stopping the pain from overtaking his body, and proving that he was good enough for Arin to stay with the ninja. Though as much as he tried, he could not bend the world to his will and as much as he tried, the pain would not stop overwhelming him

“Lloyd.” He vaguely recalled Arin breaking the silence between them. “Lloyd, I’m trying to stay in sync with you, but–” 

There, after a nasty hit from Thunderfang, with Lloyd struggling to stand, he finally took a moment to breathe. “The pain–” he panted. “I can’t focus. It’s too much.” His chest felt like it was only seconds away from beating out of his chest, while his head felt like it was on the verge of losing consciousness, or collapsing from the agonizing pain that wracked his person. 

“This is when you would tell me Ninja never quit.” Arin’s voice was desperate, he was pleading with Lloyd to get up, for the two of them to finish the fight. But the more as he leaned over himself recovering the more he realized that even though he couldn’t lead the fight, it still meant that he could support someone. Someone who wasn’t overwhelmed by the amount of pain that he felt. 

Arin . It had to be Arin. He was someone who could lead them.

“We don't,” Lloyd groaned. “But we knew when it’s time to change the plan. Arin, you take the lead. I’ll follow you.” 

It was the only way. He was too unfocused and without that, the two of them had no chance of going up against Thunderfang, which would leave the world to his and the Forbidden Five’s mercy. 

“No. No way!” Arin protested. “The Merged Lands are at stake here, I’ll just mess everything up!” 

“You can do this. Just take a deep breath and focus. Trust me, Arin. I believe in you.” It wasn’t a lie and Lloyd hoped to the First Spinjitzu Master that Arin believed him. Even if he wasn’t going to be a ninja anymore or was taught under Ras for a brief amount of time, he believed in him. He had the faith in his previous student that he would become one of the greatest heroes in the Merged Realm. This was his calling. 

For a brief moment, the Green Ninja was scared that Arin wasn’t up for the task but with the crack of his neck echoing throughout the nearby tunnel, he knew that Arin was more than up for the task. 

Now, each of their two punches and attacks landed each and every time. Now, Lloyd and Arin were able to dodge his attacks. Now, the two of them and the fate of the world had a fighting chance. 

Even though the pain still overwhelmed him, their movements weren’t as chaotic or messy than before when Lloyd was leading. He used his remaining strength to deliver a hard punch that was equal to the force behind Arin’s. With said blow, from the Arc Dragon sent Thunderfang overtop a cliff as golden light exploded within his previous surroundings. This brought back the Spectral Lands to its former self, as the wronged world slowly mended itself again.

Once the two of them had confirmation that Thunderfang was defeated, Lloyd fell to his knees. His chest heaved up and down as his body recovered itself from the heavy weight within his limbs and torso. Arin had done it. The world was saved from the chaos Thunderfang threatened to impose. 

“Lloyd, you okay?” He asked, helping the elder ninja to his feet, though his gaze fell to the cliffside where the Chaos Dragon previously resided. “Thunderfang’s gone? We actually did it?” 

“You did it, Arin.” Lloyd corrected in between his ragged breaths. The Green Ninja opened his mouth to further shower Arin in praise, but a voice prevented him from doing so. 

“You did well, mortals, in waking me from my slumber and guiding me with your focus.” The Arc Dragon applauded both of them. 

“What I say?” Lloyd nudged Arin, pride seeping from his expression and tone. 

“However,” They interrupted. “My masters may not feel the same way. I return now to my slumber, and pray the consequences of your actions are not too dire.” And just like that, they were gone.  

Lloyd and Arin were left alone in the Spectral Lands, a sickening anxiety flowing between the two of them. Millions of questions flooded the young ninja’s head; What was awaiting them? And would it be enough for the team? Only time would tell. 

“Well, that sounded ominous.” Arin shrugged.

Something greater weighed on Lloyd’s mind and it was something that he needed to say, it was something that Arin needed to know before the two of them went on their own journeys. 

“Arin, during the fight, I was trying to force things to go the way I wanted, to control it all, but now I realize, I need to let go sometimes.” He took a deep breath before continuing. “Which also means letting go of you. I can’t force you to become a Ninja, Arin, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be here for you or support you if you need.” 

It felt like a weight had been lifted off of Lloyd’s chest, even though it pained him to let go of Arin. But he had faith they’d be reunited if Destiny thought right. 

A wide smile appeared between Arin’s lips. “You don’t have to, Lloyd, because, after all of this, I realize I already am.” Lloyd’s smile quickly matched Arin’s. “If that’s still okay with you.”

Lloyd pulled Arin into a deep hug allowing the younger ninja to rest his head on Lloyd’s shoulder. “There’s nothing I want more.” He could feel the way Arin squeezed him tighter or how it only intensified the pain that overwhelmed him, but he didn’t mind. He would gladly go through waves of pain for the rest of his life if it meant he could have moments like this. 

He wasn’t sure how long the two of them stood there embracing each other, but eventually the two of them pulled away from each other and began walking the path towards home. And oh how Lloyd longed for almost every member of the team home, maybe they weren’t being separated, maybe everything would be okay. 

“But before I get back to training, I need a vacation with my parents. It’s been so long, do you have an idea about where we should go?” 

“Absolutely–” Lloyd’s thoughts were quickly interrupted by a mind splitting migraine erupted throughout his head, causing him to fall to his knees. This was a different kind of pain, this wasn’t the same kind of pain that happened when he had his visions or the same kind of pain of getting thrown into a wall during a fight. This was something entirely different. This was the kind of pain that meant something was wrong. 

“Lloyd? Lloyd? Are you okay?” Arin asked, leaning down next to him. It was like his student was a million miles away. The pain was so overwhelming and great, he could hardly think, he could hardly breathe. Something was really wrong, he could feel it within his gut. 

After the pain had diminished somewhat. Lloyd shook his head slightly. “ I feel weird. It’s like my connection–” Even though his left hand glowed with his green elemental power, the longer he called upon it, the more he felt like he was going to pass out and the more he lost control of it. Sure if he overused it before, he felt weak, but this? This was something entirely different. It was like his elemental power was depleting his energy from him, like they were in some kind of disharmony. “My elemental power,” he thought aloud, but it only came out a little above a whisper. “Something’s wrong with it.” 

“Here,” Arin helped pull Lloyd to his feet, placing a reassuring grip underneath his teacher’s arm. “Do you know what would cause that?” He asked while adjusting himself to better support Lloyd. 

“I don’t know, but we need to get back to the Monastery now.” 

Arin nodded, gripping his shoulder a little tighter than before. Lloyd took a deep breath, nodding to the younger, before allowing himself to lean upon Arin as they raced to the Portal Gate as fast as they could. 

Was this the consequences the Arc Dragon spoke of? Did that mean he’d never have his powers again? Or would they come back like before? Was this somehow connected to Ras? He needed answers and he needed them now. 

Arin helped Lloyd run a little faster as the two of them went through the Ninjago Portal Gate, where they would meet with the others and hopefully be able to figure out why Lloyd’s powers weren't connecting with him and to see if any of the others were experiencing the same thing as he was. 

But the two of them were not met with the Monastery’s dragon stables. Instead the two ninja found themselves exiting a Portal Gate neither of them had ever seen before. The scene they were met with was a lush forest, an overgrown Monastery grounds, with trees that were taller than any skyscraper he had seen, and wider than them too. 

“This isn’t right.” Lloyd voiced, as Arin attempted to pull on the door handles, but it just proved to be useless no matter how hard the young ninja pushed, pulled, or banged on the large doors. 

That’s when it hit him and Arin. “We’re stranded here.” 

“We’re trapped, who knows where, the gates stopped working, and your powers are all messed up.” Arin stressed, placing his hands to his head. “What are we going to do, Lloyd?” 

The weight of what just happened overwhelmed the two ninja, they had no idea where they were, or how to get home, or had any way to contact the others. Were they even okay? There was no way to be sure. And to be honest, Lloyd had no idea. But because he was here with Arin, because they were all able to stop Thunderfang, he allowed himself to breathe as much as his chest permitted. 

“What Ninja always do.” Would it be enough? He hoped so, but before the two of them attempted to go back home, he needed a moment for his body to rest. Lloyd just hoped that it was enough and that the two of them stood enough of a chance.