Chapter Text
Normally Lloyd thought nothing of it when Skylor came to visit. In the years since they had met her, she had become a welcome presence for most —if not all— of the ninja; there had even been times where they asked her to join the team. (The closest she ever got was by being a part of The Resistance.)
However today, Skylor didn't seem to be here just to say hi and flirt with Kai. Instead, it was like she was on a mission; there was whispering and a lot of talk between her and Master Wu. It was odd, something he wasn't used to seeing.
"Master Wu, it's the holidays. Don't you think they deserve this?" Lloyd heard her argue as he peaked into the room. Admittedly, he knew that he shouldn't have been listening in, but what good was being a ninja if he didn't eavesdrop every once in a while? If you asked him, he had been forced by Destiny to have these skills and he might as well use them.
"Lloyd!" She exclaimed as she caught sight of him. She made it across the room in what seemed like three gigantic steps and grabbed onto his arm before dragging him back over to his uncle. "Maybe you can convince him."
Lloyd looked back and forth between Skylor and his uncle. He wasn't sure what powers of persuasion she believed he had over Master Wu, but maybe he could help. "Convince him of what?"
Skylor placed both hands on her hips. "You all need a break," she told him, then grinned as the other ninja walked in. "Oh, thank The First Spinjitzu Master you're here! I thought it was gonna be all up to Lloyd!"
"Hey!" Lloyd couldn't hold back the indignant gasp. Three seconds ago, he had been a lifesaver.
Kai laughed as he leaned against the door frame. "You can't always be the chosen one, kiddo."
For a second, Lloyd wasn't sure if he was more mad at Kai for calling him kiddo, or at Skylor for deciding that he wasn't up to the task of convincing his uncle that they needed a break; after a beat of consideration, he decided on being annoyed at both of them. He crossed his arms and tried to hold his head up high. (Really, why did Fate have to curse him with being the shortest of the group?)
"You said something about a break, Skylor?" Nya asked in what Lloyd assumed was a desperate attempt to get the conversation back on topic.
Skylor nodded. "Yeah!" She said. "You've been working non-stop for what feels like the past fifteen years, and it's not fair that you never get a chance to take a break. I mean, have you all ever even been on a vacation before?"
Kai opened his mouth to say something, but Cole put his hand on Kai's arm to stop him.
"No, Kai…" Cole sighed as if he knew exactly what he was about to say. "Shooting at coconuts with our new elemental weapons on The Dark Island's beach doesn't count."
Lloyd's head snapped towards Kai, his mouth open in shock as he did. "You thought being on The Dark Island was a vacation!?"
"I'd never been to the beach before," Kai shrugged.
Before Lloyd could open his mouth to shout at his older brother for thinking that was a vacation, Zane stepped in. "We're getting off topic," he said as he placed himself between the feuding brothers. "Skylor, you should continue before Lloyd finds a way to light Kai on fire with just his eyes."
Skylor held up her hand. "No, no," she told Zane as she tilted her head. "I think he's proving my point."
"So say we go on vacation, who would watch over Ninjago?" Nya asked. "Villains don't typically reschedule just because we have the week off."
Lloyd had to admit that Nya had a point. Normally when they planned to relax was when the next inspired war criminal would strike. Sure, it kept them on their toes, but it left them tired and burnt out. He was so tired of being exhausted and burnt out.
"I knew you'd ask that," Skylor said with a grin, and Lloyd couldn't help but wonder how long she had spent planning this. "The other Elemental Masters and I will patrol while you're all gone. It's not like we don't have any experience, and we'll alert you the second anything happens."
"I've gotta admit, a week off sounds amazing," Cole hummed. "But what's the catch?"
It was at this where Skylor hesitated. "Well, first off you have to get Master Wu on your side," she explained. "The second is that we obviously don't have the money to send you all on an all-expenses paid trip to the beach, but my father owned a house not too far outside New Ninjago City that you're welcome to stay in. Usually Chamille or Ash will rent it for a few weeks when they need to get away, so it isn't in disrepair or anything."
"I think it sounds great," Kai said. "It'd be a fun way to spend Christmas if you ask me."
At this, Jay leapt up from behind Kai and Cole. "Yeah! What do you say, Sensei?"
Lloyd turned to his uncle. As to be expected, his expression was unreadable, however Lloyd could see the twinkle in his golden eyes.
"Why are you asking me?" Master Wu asked, then grinned before motioning his hand at Lloyd. "He's your leader."
Lloyd tensed as all of the eyes in the room were suddenly on him, and it took every ounce of his willpower not to scowl over at his uncle. This felt like a test; like he was supposed to say no and ruin the fact that he was in good standing with all of his teammates right now, but also how in all of Ninjago was he supposed to say no? Had he even had a break since the day those weapons had sparked and glowed in front of him.
First Master, he could use a break…
"Lloooooyd," Kai sang. "Don't you want us to have a vacation?"
Lloyd took a step back, only to bump into Skylor. Suddenly, he couldn't decide if he should be scowling at her or his uncle. This whole mess had been her idea, after all. However, he knew that he really shouldn't be mad at her; she had only wanted to help them.
He sighed, then looked down at the ground. It was a simple yes or no that was actually extraordinarily complicated. Maybe he could deflect the answer back to his uncle, or one of the others; he was the youngest after all, was it really fair to make him choose?
All he could do was hope that he wouldn't regret this decision as he looked up at the ninja with a smile. "Everybody go pack, I guess," he said. "We're going on a vacation."