"It's just a bit further, I promise."
"Funny. That's what you've been saying for the past half-hour."
Lloyd reaches the top of the cliff and pushes himself onto flat ground. "Well this time I mean it!" He takes a moment to catch his breath. The afternoon sun blazes hot overhead; he shields his eyes to look around. "You up here yet?"
Harumi huffs from somewhere below him. Lloyd peeks over the edge and sees her about a meter or so from the top. "I think you're forgetting that not everyone had the same rigorous ninja training you did," she says. Her hood and skirts are swapped out for more practical clothing, but her hair is pinned back in its normal position. "A little help, please?"
"Oh! Uh, yeah, sorry Rumi." Lloyd rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. He crouches down and offers a hand to his twin. She clasps it, and together they bring her up. Lloyd wipes his hands on his shirt and takes a sip from his canteen as she takes a rest.
It's been several weeks since Lloyd and the ninja stopped the Sons of Garmadon from bringing his dad back. It's been several weeks since his relation to Harumi was revealed. And it's only now that they're able to escape away. Lloyd looks over to where his sister -sister!- sits on the rock. Ever since her brief stint with the Oni Mask, Rumi's been lacking the total confidence she had before. And Lloyd understands. Most of the time, he still feels unqualified to lead the ninja team.
But there's a reason they're here, out in the Sea of Sand. It's time for his sister to learn about her birth family.
"Most of Ninjago remembers my dad as an evil warlord who wanted to conquer the world for no reason," he says.
Harumi looks up. He meets her eyes and sees both pity and anger in them. "They do have reason to," she says. "Garmadon ruined the lives of so many of my people. It's hard for them to see him as anything else." It's hard for me to see him as anything else.
"I know. But that's not how I remember him. That's not who he really was." Lloyd starts walking again. Harumi climbs to her feet and follows him. "My dad... Dad never wanted to be evil, Rumi. He was bit by a snake as a kid and the venom poisoned his blood."
"Really?"
"Yeah. He never wanted to conquer the world to rule over it. It was the only way he could think of that would let him be together with my mom again."
They fall silent for a half-minute.
"That shadowy figure the Sons of Garmadon were trying to bring back," Lloyd finally says, "that wasn't my dad. He would rather die than hurt me and mom."
They come to the edge of the cliff. It drops off suddenly and their feet scatter dust and pebbles to rain down the canyon sides. But dust and pebbles aren't the reason Lloyd's brought his sister all the way out to the middle of the desert. No, the reason why they snuck from the city and came here is staring right across from them.
They're at the Corridor of Elders, and Sensei Garmadon's face is the first thing to greet their sight.
"This is who my dad really was," Lloyd says. "He was my sensei- my teacher. To ignore the years he was corrupted would be wrong, but so would be ignoring the last years of his life. My dad- Dad sacrificed himself to stop the Anacondrai cultists from a couple years ago. It was the only way."
"He looks... gentle," Rumi says.
"I was the one to send him to the Cursed Realm," Lloyd says. "I held the book in my hands and said the spell that sealed his fate."
"I'm sorry, Lloyd." Rumi comes close to him and takes his hand in her own. "I wish I could have known him like that."
"Thanks. Me too." Lloyd takes a breath. "We should be getting back. The others will be wondering where we are." He looks at the statue of his father one last time.
They leave the Corridor of Elders.
So Sons of Garmadon, yeah? The new season is much more compelling than I was expecting, tbh. I'm actually supper hyped for the new episodes now. Anyways, I'm camp 'Lloyd and Harumi are twins' so I had to write this! Hope you enjoyed. The title and summary lyrics are from The Script's 'Hall of Fame'.
If you follow any of my other stories, the next update for Skyward should be coming out within a week or so.
