The Garmadad

AN: I decided to repost this cause I got other ideas that just had to be put in here. I got this idea from a head canon from the Garmasquad. Thanks guys! I was also inspired by a pic I found by Preshfinn. I don't own Ninjago at all! Enjoy the craziness!

I wasn't a normal teen, though I really wish I was. Sure, at first glance, my life seems like everyone else's. I attend high school, I have my mom and live in an average apartment. I have good friends; Jay, Kai, Nya, Cole and Zane, but I envy them sometimes. They have it way better than me.

Why?

Because their father isn't the evil Lord Garmadon.

Pretty much everyone but my friends, hates or blames me for the stuff Garmadon does, which is to attack Ninjago City on a daily basis. I don't really understand why they think it's my fault, but whatever. If that's not bad enough, he recently just started showing up randomly to see me.

It all started one day when I was at home. My mom works a lot, so she's not always there when I am. I had just finished my homework, and was putting my papers inside my folder, when I got a papercut.

"Ouch!" I yelled. Believe it or not, papercuts are really painful. I stuck my finger in my mouth, just as the front door of the apartment slammed open. I guess I forgot to lock it when I came in.

"Luh-loyd! Are you okay?" My father came rushing over to me.

"Dad? What in the world are you doing here?" I asked him, taking my finger quickly out of my mouth. How did he know where we live? My mom sure would not have told him.

Instead answering my question, he said, "Don't worry. Your dad's here and I'll take care of that nasty cut." He began to pull out of band aid from a box that he had apparently brought with him.

I was stunned for a moment. The way he was acting made no sense. He was an evil warlord, not…this… "Dad, I'm not seven anymore. I don't need—"

"Hush, son." I watched as my father took my hand and applied some ointment, which stung causing me to hiss, and then he applied the band aid. "There, now isn't that much better?" he asked me, pinching my cheek.

I sighed and shook my head. It's like he never hears a word I say.

"Dad, don't you think you're overreacting?"

"What? No! It could have gotten infected, and then you wouldn't be able to write, and then you couldn't go to school, and have to go to the doctor, and we can't have that, can we?" My dad fired off in rapid succession.

"Are you being serious right now?" I asked, raising a brow.

"Always when it comes to you, son," he answered with a wide grin. An alarm suddenly went off. He pulled out his phone.

"Oh, I gotta go. Need to plan my next attack. You'll want to stay away from the beach tomorrow. See ya!" And with that, he was gone.

I sat in stunned silence, trying to process what had just happened. My dad was out of my life for so long and now this?

What was going on?

I decided not to tell my mom about my dad's visit. It would worry her, but more than that, she would be furious. I just couldn't figure out how he knew where I was, and what was going on with me.

Today was my history test. I had studied some, (it would have been more if a certain warlord hadn't attacked the city the day before) and I didn't think it would be hard, but that was before I saw the questions. They were all essay questions, which I hated. I bit my lip with worry.

Suddenly there was loud noise, followed by a tremendous bang, and as I turned to look for the source, I saw that the far wall of my classroom had been blown open. Kids dove under their desks.

"I sensed that my son was in distress!" Lord Garmadon announced with a loud voice. "And I want to know why!"

The teacher cowered behind her desk. I watched in shock as he walked up to her. "Are you in charge here?" he demanded.

"Y-yes," she answered quietly.

"What are you doing then to my son?" he continued in the same commanding tone.

"I-It's just a history test," she managed to get out.

"A test?" he repeated, seemingly unfamiliar with the concept.

I got up from my desk and decided to intervene. "Dad, please. Everything's fine, can you just go?"

He turned to look at me. "Since this test is obviously causing you so much trouble, I'm putting a stop to it right now."

All the students who were initially filled with fear at the sight of Lord Garmadon, suddenly cheered at hearing this. "Thanks Lloyd!"

"Yeah, your dad finally did something right!"

"Let's go!"

They all ran out excitedly, just leaving me, the teacher and my father. While I couldn't say that getting out of a test was appealing, I couldn't believe how he just showed up…again.

I decided to confront him about it. "Dad, how do you know what I'm doing? Are you tracking me?"

Garmadon smirked at me, showing fangs as he ruffled my hair. "I just got you out a test. Thanking me would be appropriate."

I was too shocked to answer him.

"Well, my good deed is done for the day. Enjoy the rest of your day off, Luh-loyd!" Then he left the same way he came.

I stared after him, wondering if he had selective hearing.

School would be cancelled until the hole in the wall got repaired.

Since the impromptu school closing, I went to the secret Ninja headquarters. I didn't want to go home just yet. My mom would freak out if she knew what happened. She would find out, but I hoped it would take a while. She didn't have time to watch the news every day. I didn't know how I would explain it, as it made no sense to me at all.

It seemed that only Kai, Nya and Cole were there. Cole was listening to music, and Nya was playing a video game.

"Hey bro!" Kai greeted. "How awesome is it to get time off school?"

"It's fine, I guess," I answered slowly.

"You guess?" Kai repeated, not understanding. "Your dad actually did something cool!"

I choose to ignore his last comment. "What class were you in?"

"Math. I was so glad to get out of it! What about you?"

"History. I was taking a test."

"Then that's even better! How can you not be happy about that?" my friend asked.

I sighed. "It's more than that, Kai. How did he know when to show up? And why now? He's an evil warlord! He came to my apartment the other day right when I got a paper cut. He was freaking out over a paper cut! I don't even know how he knew at that moment to show up!"

Kai thought for a moment. "Hmmm…who knows? Your dad is strange."

I had to agree. But I had more questions than answers.

My mom did find out about my dad's 'visit' to the school. After assuring her I was fine, she dropped it. I didn't know how much longer I could go on like this.

A few days later, I was making my way back home. As the green ninja, I had just helped drive my father's forces back once again. It was kind of strange that he wasn't with his army this time. I had changed out of my ninja uniform and had my favorite green hoodie on. I was in deep thought. It was getting hard to keep up my secret identity with my parents and for different reasons. Why was my life so complicated?

I was just about to cross the street, when a black blur appeared right in front of me.

"Woah, what do you think you're doing, Luh-loyd?" Garmadon asked, standing directly in my path. Why was he here…again?

"Crossing the street. I do it every day," I answered dryly.

My father tsked at me. "Don't you know how dangerous it is to cross these streets? The drivers and traffic here are crazy!"

I thought it wouldn't be so bad if people weren't always trying to get away whenever my dad was around.

"Dad, I'm fine. I gotta go," I answered quickly.

"Ah, ah. I'm going to make sure you get across safely," Garmadon said and reaching for my hand with his lower one, he started leading me into the street.

I was mortified. Here was my father, holding my hand across the street like I was some little kid. He stopped cars by threatening people that he would stomp on them with his mech next time he had it.

I saw a lot of people stare and point.

"Dad! You're embarrassing me!" I hissed at him.

He ignored me, until we finally got to the other side. "There now," he patted my head. "All safe and sound." After that, he just left.

Why was he doing this to me?

That night, as I was getting ready for bed, I got a phone call. I answered it without even checking to see who it was.

"Hello?"

"Luh-loyd, are you in bed?"

I sighed. "Dad, why are you calling me?"

"I wanted to read you a bedtime story, but I couldn't make it. I…uh…ran into some complications."

"Are you being serious right now?" I asked raising a brow.

He ignored me and went on. "I thought I could read it to you over the phone. It's called, "Never trust a snake."

"Um, yeah, no. I'm going to bed," and I hung up. Unbelievable.

The next morning, I received another call from guess who? My dad. I was right in the middle of a good dream too.

"Hey Luh-loyd. I wanted to make sure you were awake for school."

"I obviously am now," I answered grumpily.

"Listen, I wanted you to know that you can get out bed safely now," he told me.

"What are you talking about?" I groaned. It was too early in the morning for this.

"I removed anything that was unsafe in your room so you wouldn't hurt yourself," Garmadon answered. "Have a great day, buh-bye!"

I looked around my room and saw it empty except for my books and a poster. I wanted to go back to sleep and hope this was all just a bad dream.

A few days later, I was walking out of school with my friends when I let out a huge sneeze.

"Oh my gosh, you're sick!" my dad's voice suddenly came from beside me. How did he do that?

"Man, Lloyd, what's your dad doing here?" Cole asked. Everyone else around us screamed and ran at the sight of Garmadon.

"Taking care of my son, since he can't seem to do it himself," Garmadon answered and proceeded to pick me up bridal style.

"Daaaaad! I'm fine, it was just a sneeze!" I protested, trying to get down.

My friends stared. They weren't sure what to think.

"You're clearly not. I'm taking you home myself," Garmadon said.

"What? No! Put me down!" I turned as best I could to my friends. "Don't just stand there, do something!"

My friends approached the warlord. Garmadon growled and pulled me closer. "Don't even think about it." They slowly backed away, giving me sympathetic looks. My dad smirked showing teeth and took off.

I sighed as he carried me all the way back home and didn't put me down until we got to my room, where he dropped unceremoniously on the bed.

"Stay put," he finally spoke, in a serious tone, pointing a finger at me as he left the room.

Why do I even bother? I considered getting out of bed just to spite him, but I decided against it. He didn't know I was the green ninja, and even so, I wasn't sure I could fight him off, if he was really determined to use force on me. I just couldn't figure out what had suddenly gotten into him that he was treating me like a…little kid…or was it more like a real dad? I wasn't totally sure, but I didn't think that dads should go this overboard with their kids. But then again, nothing about my dad was normal.

I looked up as Garmadon came back into the room with a thermometer and some other supplies that he must have found. I couldn't take it anymore. This had to stop.

"Dad, stop! I don't need any of that! I'm not sick!" I said as forcefully as I could manage. I hoped he would listen, or I didn't know what I was going to do. Maybe throw myself out the window.

He paused for a second at my angry tone. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure!" I was relieved that he was listening to me, for now anyway.

"Okay," he answered, sounding like he wasn't convinced.

I had to switch the subject before he decided to change his mind. "Look, Dad, I have to know. Why are you doing this?"

"This?" my dad repeated, confused.

"You keep showing up like you know what's going on with me. And…" I paused for a moment to collect my thoughts. "I don't understand why…now…after all this time," I finished the last part quietly.

That was what was really bothering me. Why after all this time would he act like he cared about me? Last time I remembered seeing him was when I was seven. He had to pick me up from school one day, when my mom couldn't get me. It seemed to my dad that no time had passed at all since then, and that he could pick up right where he left off.

He blinked at me in surprise. "Don't misunderstand me, Luh-loyd. I'm still an evil warlord bent on conquering Ninjago, but I'm not completely heartless. The important thing is that I'm trying to be here for you now."

I looked at him like he had grown two heads. "Dad, you realize that I'm not a little kid anymore, right? You're about eight years too late." I felt I had to keep reminding him of this fact, hoping he would get it.

"Oh!" My father's red eyes took on a sudden gleam. Not the good kind, either. "You have a birthday coming up, don't you?"

He had never remembered any of my other birthdays, so I have no idea how he realized it now.

"Yeah, it's this week," I answered vaguely. He had successfully changed the subject…again. But I wasn't about to tell him the exact day. If he really cared, he could figure it out himself.

My dad had been sitting on my bed but jumped up suddenly. "I've gotta go! Get plenty of rest!" He left in a whirlwind.

I just couldn't understand how his mind worked. But I had bad feeling….

My birthday came. I was sixteen. As I was getting ready for school, my mom had wished me happy birthday and told me she would make my favorite for dinner; dumplings. I wasn't really looking forward to going to school. My only bright side was seeing my friends.

So far, it seemed like my dad didn't know when my birthday was. I hadn't seen or heard from him at all for a few days. Maybe he had finally given up. While a part of me felt a little disappointed, it was nothing new.

I was waiting for the bus, when I suddenly heard screaming. I turned to look to see people running away from…oh no…it couldn't be…

Garmadon was approaching me in his shark mech was an exact replica of a real shark. (don't ask me why he has such an obsession with sharks). I had often wondered in the past how he expected to conquer Ninjago in something that didn't even have weapons-just upgraded shields.

Back to the present…what in the world was he doing?

He stopped his mech right in front of me. "Hey, son! Today is your lucky day! Hop in!"

I raised my brow at him. "You're kidding, right?"

"Of course not. It's my son's birthday-so you're in for treat!" He grinned at me.

I guess I was wrong. He knew it my birthday today. How?

My dad continued. "It's not every day you turn sixteen, after all. Come on, let's go!"

I sighed. At least he got my age right. "I don't have a choice in matter, do I?"

"Nope," he answered.

I guess I could humor him for now. After all, he was just giving me a ride to school. It was going to scare everyone though. Maybe I could convince him to drop me off a block away?

As we went clunking through the streets, I noticed my dad pulled out his megaphone. What was he up to?

"Hey, Ninjago! It's my son's birthday! So, get out of the way, or else!"

I went as red as a tomato. I couldn't believe this was happening. I wanted to just jump off the mech. As if sensing my thoughts, my dad put one of his four arms on my wrist, as he continued to shout out to the crowd.

I turned to him. "I want to get out. Just drop me off here."

"No can do. Besides, we're almost there."

As predicted, my classmates started panicking at sight of my dad's shark mech.

"It's Garmadon!" they shouted as they started running into the school.

The warlord then hopped down out of the mech and waited for me to do the same. I just wanted to get away from him.

"Well, I gotta get to school. Bye!" I told him in a rush, but he grabbed by the arm.

"Hold on, Luh-loyd. I'm not done yet," my dad informed me.

"What?" I asked. What more could he possibly do?

I never in a million years thought this would ever happen to me. I was being paraded around the halls of Ninjago High, piggy back style on my dad.

He was strutting down the hall with two arms holding me, and the other two hands out in a threatening kind of way.

"Hey, kids-wish my son a happy birthday, or ELSE!" He shouted to everyone we passed by.

Some kids gawked, while others fled in terror, but not before they had to say happy birthday to me. I was utterly mortified. It wasn't like anyone could stop him either because he was Lord Garmadon. The only satisfaction I got was that even Chen was forced to wish me a happy birthday. I could tell how much it pained him, as he gritted his teeth when he spoke. But Chen wouldn't dare defy Garmadon. That was only plus of having a warlord as father.

I soon saw my friends as we neared the end of the hall. I wished I could disappear. They just stared at me in sympathy.

"I had no say this," I told them as we walked by. What else could they do? Their identities were a secret too.

When my dad was satisfied, he put me down. "That should do it. Here you go, son, have this."

He pinned a 'It's my birthday" button on my shirt and stuck a party hat on my head.

"Happy birthday, Luh-loyd!" He gave me a wide, toothy grin. It was really hard to believe he was so oblivious. I could never show my face here again.

"Dad," I hissed, "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"Only giving my son the best start to his birthday, ever!"

I rubbed my face in exasperation. "No dad, you don't get it! You just ruined my life!" I yelled.

My dad looked taken aback. "Oh. Uh…well…I-I'll just go then."

I watched him leave, his posture looking deflated. I was too upset to care. My friends slowly made their way towards me.

"Lloyd?" Kai asked. "Are you okay?"

"No," I answered harsher than I intended.

"Is there anything you need?" Cole asked.

"A transfer to a different school would be good," I said.

"Come on, Lloyd, we're trying to help," Nya chimed in.

"Lloyd is correct. He will become a laughing stock," Zane said.

The others gave him a look. "Not helping, Zane," Kai told him.

"Maybe it won't be as bad as you think," Jay offered.

"It will be every bit as bad as I think, Jay," I told him. I took off the button and the hat and threw them on the floor.

"We're here for you, Lloyd. You don't have to go through this by yourself," Kai told me.

I sighed. There was no point in being angry with my friends. They were just trying to help.

"I know. I'm sorry. I know you get it."

"Of course, we do. Any of us would feel the same way if our parents did that," Jay said.

I couldn't help but smile. Leave it to Jay to state the obvious. "Well, I need to get this day over with."

With reluctance, we parted ways. I didn't have them in all my classes, but at least the ones we were in together, they stood up for me when the jeering started. It was going to be a long day.

I made my way home as fast as I could when the day was over. I was going to talk to mom about homeschooling me. I knew it was a long shot with how busy she was, but maybe if I told her what was happening, she'd find a way to make it work.

When I got in the door, I was surprised to see that she was already there.

"Hi honey. I was able to get off work early for your birthday, so we could celebrate. I even made you a cake!" My mom told me.

I smiled at her. She tried so hard for me. "Thanks mom, but I'm really tired. I think I'm just going to turn in early."

"Lloyd, wait," my mom said. "I…I heard about what happened at school today."

My eyes went wide. "You know?"

"Yes."

"How?" I asked. I knew news traveled fast in Ninjago, but I didn't think this fast.

"Because I told her." My dad stepped into view.

"Dad? What are you doing here?"

My mom spoke up. "Tell him, Garmadon. I'll leave you to it."

I could tell my mom was upset with him, and I can only imagine what kind of conversation they had, but she had still let him come over.

Interesting.

My dad watched her leave, and then turned to look at me, looking a little sheepish. "Um…Luh-loyd…I…well…I just wanted to say that…about what happened at school-"

"Dad, I'm sorry too," I interrupted him. I knew what he had been trying to say, and I appreciated his effort.

"Really?" he asked. He was twiddling all four hands together.

"Yes," I told him.

He gave me a toothy grin. "I just wanted to make your birthday special, since ya' know I've missed so many of them," he admitted.

"I know," I assured him. There were still so many questions that I wanted to ask him. Like why he had left, why did he want to keep conquering Ninjago? But I could see that despite all of that, he was trying in his own way. I also had to admit that I wanted to get to know him better.

"I do have one condition for you though," I continued.

My dad suddenly looked concerned. "What's that?"

"That you stop tracking me. I know that's how you've been showing up."

The warlord let out a huge laugh and then wiped his eyes. "Oh Luh-loyd, I wasn't tracking you."

I frowned in confusion. "Then how did you know about all that stuff from before?"

He tapped his head with one hand. "My dad instincts kicked in and I could just tell."

That didn't make any sense to me. Why now? Maybe it was just better not to know. With Garmadon, nothing made sense.

"But what about my birthday? How did you know what day it was?" I wanted to know.

"Oh, I saw it on the Ninjago news this morning. You know, they always list out all the birthdays," my dad answered casually.

I found it odd that he even watched the news. But then that meant that he really didn't know the actual day. He just got lucky.

"Then…you didn't know…" I trailed off.

My dad came up to me and put a hand on my shoulder. "No, I didn't. I knew it was coming up. But I'm going to make it all up to you. In fact, we can celebrate your birthday every day!" He gushed.

"That's really not necessary, dad," I assured him.

"Oh, okay," he answered quickly.

"We can celebrate my birthday today…" I paused. "Together."

His eyes lit up. "Great! I have some fantastic ideas!" He proceeded to rattle off a bunch of things that were either illegal or too dangerous.

"Dad, dad, wait!" I stopped him. "How about we just start with having dinner and eating some cake?"

"Oh, sure, that's cool, I guess," he answered, shifting his feet.

"I'll go talk to mom," I told him. Just as I was about to leave, I turned around to face my dad.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks," I said with a smile. I think he knew what I meant, because gave me a lopsided smile. "Oh, one other thing…"

"What's that?" my dad asked.

"Turn down your 'dad' instincts a notch or two. I'm sixteen now."

"Sooooooo, if you get like a nosebleed or something, I can show up then, right?" he asked.

I just rolled my eyes at him. But somehow, it didn't bother me so much anymore.

The End