Chapter Text
There's something to be said about waking up in one's own bed. The mattress has just the right level of squish, the sheets are comfortable, and the blankets have been perfectly arranged to provide just the right amount of warmth to survive that post-wake up chill.
Unfortunately, his bed was not where Lloyd woke up. A sharp pain blossomed throughout his head, harshly pulling him from sleep's sweet embrace. As his hands went to cradle his head, he took note of how dark the room was. Usually there was some sort of light, whether it was the moonlight peeking through the cracks of the window shades or a light from the hallway right outside his door, but tonight it was pitch black. He tried blinking several times to get his eyes to readjust and focus, but to no avail.
His head was still throbbing and he could feel what seemed like bandages around his head as he struggled to sit himself up. Had he been injured? The green ninja tried to think back to the last thing he remembered, but everything was fuzzy and vague.
The sound of a door slamming open caught his attention and he turned toward the sound. "Lloyd! Thank goodness you're awake! You were out for so long, we thought..."
"You took a pretty bad hit to the head," someone else (Zane?) interjected. "The doctors are worried about the concussion you sustained. How are you feeling?"
Lloyd winced at the new sounds and curled in on himself a bit more, wrapping his arms around his knees. "My head feels like a jackhammer was left on inside of it. With the way it hurts to hear you guys talk, it's probably a good idea you kept the lights off." He heard several sharp intakes of air, and red flags began to go off in his mind. "...what's wrong?"
Several moments of silence passed before he heard movement. Someone sat on the bed next to him and took his hand. The voice, Kai's this time, was much softer and more melancholic. "Lloyd... the lights are on. I think... the concussion has blinded you."
The blond boy's eyes grew wide with fear as he moved his eyes around and blinked several times, trying to force them to see again. "Wh-what? I... I mean, I can't be..."
Zane's cheery voice piped up again. "That is one of the side effects the doctors mentioned, but the good news is that your vision should return in time. However, whether it will be weeks or months is unknown."
Lloyd felt a hand grasp his own free hand while another moved to rub circles across his back. "We won't let you go through this alone. You've got us to look after you! I'm sure you'll be back on your feet in no time, but until then, just let us know what you need. I'd even give up my portion of cake for you."
Tears began to form in the green ninja's eyes as he tried to clear the fog from his mind. Blind? For how long? What was supposed to happen in the meantime? He didn't want to just sit around, but what else could he do with his injury causing this? And where did he even get the injury from in the first place?
"W... what happened? Everything's so fuzzy..."
It was Nya who responded this time. "Garmadon happened. You had him on the ropes, but then he decided to play dirty. None of us were able to get to you in time, but we found you in your mech, which is completely toast now."
Something didn't feel right about that information, but it sort of made sense? Lloyd decided that he'd have to figure it out later when he wasn't feeling so out of it. The threat of sleep was already pulling at his eyelids and he didn't know how long he could force it back. "How long was I out?"
"A little over a week. The doctor said it might take a while for you to wake up, but we didn't expect it to take this long!" Jay's accented voice almost squeaked as he sounded like he was trying to hold back tears.
"We're just glad you're back now. We'll help you get better." A hand ruffled his hair and the blond subconsciously leaned into the familiar touch. Kai always knew how to comfort him, he thought with a smile.
His eyelids drooped and he felt his body begin to relax. The hands ruffling his hair and rubbing his back guided him into a supine position and pulled the blanket up to his shoulders.
"Get some sleep, bro. We'll come back to visit soon."
As feet pattered out of the room and the door closed gently behind them, Lloyd smiled as sleep finally claimed him. He wouldn't trade his family for the world.
- - - - -
The next time he woke up, he realized he could now sense light. Everything was still relatively dark, but he could at least tell that there was some sort of light in the room. A dryness in his mouth and throat made itself known as well, and he coughed a few times, grimacing at how it rattled his head, before attempting to sit up.
The sound of movement next to him caught his attention before he heard a voice. "Whoa there, slow down! It's Kai here, I'll help you get some water."
Two hands slid under him, one under his back and one under his head, and helped to stabilize him. Once he was fully sitting upright, a drinking glass was placed in his hands. "Here you go. Drink slowly, and let me know if you need help."
Lloyd slowly brought the glass to his lips and took a couple sips of the water. "Thanks Kai. Is it just you here right now?"
"Yep. The others are working on homework right now down in the cafeteria, but I'll let them know you're awake." There was a short pause as he heard the click clack of a message being typed out on Kai's cell phone. "...and send! They should be up in a couple minutes, but it'll just be a couple at a time. The doctor didn't seem too happy that we were, quote 'overstimulating the patient right after he awoke.'"
A comfortable silence fell between the two, only broken by the occasional sound of Lloyd sipping some more water. Some of the brain fog had cleared away, and the green ninja decided to bring up a question that was bugging him. "Why are the others working on homework? They don't go to school, do they?"
Kai gave a short, sad chuckle. "They sure do, just like you. We all attend Ninjago High. At least, we do when Garmadon isn't attacking."
There was that other not-right thing. "What do you mean, 'when Garmadon isn't attacking'?" The events of the past few months flashed through his mind, especially the battle at the monastery. "I thought he decided to help us?"
Another stretch of silence lapsed, this one much less comfortable, before he heard Kai's voice again. "Unfortunately not. He's still in that volcano lair of his, showing up once or twice a week to try and take over Ninjago City. Thankfully he hasn't shown up again since you were injured, but it's only a matter of time until he reappears."
The conflicting information started to make Lloyd's head spin, his thoughts spiraling as they tried to reconcile things. Garmadon had a volcano lair? And what's this about going to school? He hadn't been to school since Darkley's, and he wasn't sure if the others even had any school experience.
Despite all that, there was something in the back of his mind that was confirming everything he had just heard, as if that was the way things had always been. Feelings of frustration, loneliness, and shame began to bubble up, confusing him even more.
"This has to be a dream, right? None of this makes sense, and yet it makes perfect sense somehow? I didn't attend Darkley's for long, and I've definitely not been to school since the Tomorrow's Tea incident..." Lloyd's face scrunched up in confusion and frustration.
A short bell sound caught his attention and he heard the squeak of leather as he presumed Kai stood up from his chair. "That was the others. They're ready to visit, so I'll go trade places with them. Do you need anything else before I head out?"
Lloyd held up the glass of water. "I think I'm done with this for now, but otherwise I'll be fine. Thanks Kai."
The cup was lifted out of his hand and a clink indicated it had been replaced on the nearby bedside table. "Alright, I'll send them in soon." The door opened and closed, and the blond was left alone.
Without his sight, he tried to fill in the blanks with his other senses. His hands ran over the thin hospital sheet, feeling its texture and measuring the width of the bed. A slight discomfort on the back of his hand drew his attention to an IV line, presumably delivering pain relief medication. His ears picked up faint noises outside the room, and he guessed that the door was somewhere to his left. He also heard the rhythmic hum of some of the medical instruments. The air smelled of disinfectant and latex gloves, and there wasn't much to taste besides his own saliva.
The door took longer to open than he expected, but when it did, two sets of footsteps entered the room. Both sets were heavy and bold, one carefree and confident while the other was purposeful and direct. Lloyd tried to guess the person each footstep belonged to, but his mind drew a blank.
"So, how's our resident green bean holding up?" Cole's voice made itself known, and Lloyd realized that it sounded higher than he remembered. It also lacked the gravelly timbre that was associated with the earth ninja's voice, but something in him assured with perfect confidence that this was indeed Cole.
"I can see a little bit of light now, so that gives me some hope. Otherwise, I'm... still trying to make sense of things." He rubbed a finger against the IV line absentmindedly.
"Ah yes. Kai did mention that you were having some memory issues. Is there anything in particular you would like clarification on?" The set of purposeful footsteps walked closer to the bed as Zane's almost-but-not-quite robotic voice spoke rather animatedly.
Lloyd's brows furrowed as he slowly shook his head. "It's just... all of it. Nothing matches what I remember, and yet it feels like this is what's supposed to be normal." He let out a weak chuckle as a wry smile made its way across his face. "Are you sure I'm not dreaming? 'Cuz this would make for a great nightmare story. Exactly my brand of trauma, actually."
A heavy silence filled the room, and he was sure Cole and Zane were having some sort of silent conversation about him. Soon enough, Zane's too-cheerful voice filled the room. "Concussions are serious things that affect everyone differently. It is entirely possible that you had a dream while you were unconscious due to your head injury, and the concussion has caused the events of the dream to present themselves as reality and vice versa." Lloyd swore he heard several different-toned computer beeps before the nindroid spoke again. "I have made a note to inform the doctor about this possibility. For now, we would like to just chill with you," he added with a strange emphasis on the word "chill."
Lloyd sighed and filed the whole dream reality thing away with the growing pile of 'things to think about when his head is clearer'. He then turned his focus to changing the topic. "Sooo, Kai mentioned something about school? What's it like? I don't remember attending Ninjago High."
"It's so boring. I don't see why we have to be there in the first place; we never have time to learn anything anyway with how often Garmadon attacks..."
As the earth ninja ranted about the mundane experience that was attending public education, Lloyd found himself smiling. He still wasn't quite sure that this all was real, but at least his friends were familiar.