A/N:
Hails: Oneshot ideas everywhere. Cut me some slack, alright! I'm busy.
His shoes hit the soft ground at a steady pace. Slowly proceeding forward, not caring if his boots sunk into the moist ground. He peered up at the dark, his viridescent eyes curiously gazed over the thick, black, velvet sky, it's stars like polished diamonds, and it's moon was a pale luminescent stone hanging in the dusky blue. Isn't that was the midnight sky really was anyway? Shades of blue, and black, and deep grays? Varying from each place in the sky. It seemed to take a sparkle to where the Milky Way poured it's thick cream over the canvas. To imagine the Milky Way was only dust and particles floating around an endless black void. To let one's mind wander about the true nature of an empty vacuum, deprived of sound.
The wind whistled a tune softly, rustling the grass lightly and making the jungle trees sway in the breeze.
Finally finding a place that the sky was clear enough, and far enough away from camp that no one might hear is soft rambling, he paused, hoping to find peace. He wasn't even sure how far he'd gone. A mile? Two miles? And on and off for the entire trip he had been drifting off into his thoughts, being completely spaced out where multiple times he almost ran into a tree, or tripped over a uplifted root, or scared an indigenous animal away. When he finally stopped walking, he found himself gazing into the night sky. For a few minutes everything was completely peaceful.
"Can't sleep, Greenie?" Lloyd turned, finding the voice of an all too familiar rival. "Good, 'cuz I can't either."
"Camille." Lloyd said, green eyes widening in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"Following you." She said, throwing her messy, purple hair behind her. "I heard someone leave the tent, and lo and behold here I find myself. A while away from the camp and curiosity piqued to the max. So, I guess I could ask the same of you. Then again, I already know. Like me, you have trouble sleeping at night after exciting days."
"Wow, okay then." Lloyd said, pausing for a moment. "I guess you were pretty much spot on with yourself. But me in general, I'm a little more complicated. My mind has been really buzzy ever since we got Zane back."
"The metal man." Camille smiled, thinking of the goofy dork and how lucky he was to have a switch that put him in sleep mode. "But other than Zane, what else have you been thinking about?"
"Uh, well. Now that we have him back..." Lloyd trailed off, trying to think of the right words to form a sentence. "I can't help but think it was all my fault that we lost him."
Camille scrunched up her face for a moment in disbelief.
"How could it possibly have been you're fault?" She asked.
"Well, it's a long story. You probably don't even want to hear it."
"And that's bull crap." Camille said irritably. "I have nothing better to do, now tell me."
"Alright, if you say so." Lloyd said, shaking his head subconsciously. "Believe it or not, my father is the eldest son of the First Spinjitzu Master. Have you heard the story of how he was corrupted by a snake?"
"Yes, I've heard the tale. I know enough about the First Spinjitzu Master and the Serpentine Wars, my father fought in them." She had a puzzled look on her face by the question. "Can we skip the part where you tell me your the First Spinjitzu Master's grandson and get on with it?"
"Uh... yeah. Continuing, jeez I thought you'd be more surprised. But, I'm not gonna dwell on that." Lloyd finished quickly. "I only tell you this, because I used to possess my grandfather's powers. Which, you know, is every element. I never got as far as shadow or metal or any other element for that matter though, I didn't even know it existed. So from the point I had it, I could control fire, ice, lightning, earth, and energy. Which is pretty much it."
"Define: used to." Camille commanded lightheartedly.
"I gave it up." Lloyd answered simply.
"What? Why would you give that up?" Camille asked, utter shock written all over her face. "You must have been unstoppable!"
"That's not true. I was actually vulnerable in that state, emotionally weak. Even so, I was also a target for those trying to use my powers for some kind of evil. So, I gave it up to protect myself, my friends, and ultimately all of Ninjago."
"So in the end, Fate didn't want to treat you nicely."
"That's one way to put it. But the reason I say, Zane's death was my fault, was because..." Lloyd trailed off. "the one thing that took him from us, was my responsibility to destroy. And I failed to do that. If I hadn't just shut every twitch of mercy that was begging me to spare my father because I knew he was still alive, corrupted by the Overlord, then Zane would've never died in the first place."
"And yet, you have him back." Camille pointed out. "You have both your father and Zane, alive, healthy, and not living in the past."
"Yeah. You're right." Lloyd said. "But, then why do I feel so... incomplete?" The question was directed more at himself then towards Camille, and he pondered silently trying to figure out the reason for restless nights, exhausted mornings, a sense of dread always filling him no matter where he went or what he did or what mood he was in. How he felt like acting. He couldn't place that feeling of, being empty.
"Is it, maybe you miss having ultimate power?" Camille asked. Lloyd chuckled lightly, finding the answer phrased as a question rather stupid, though he'd never say it aloud.
"That makes me sound selfish." Lloyd said. "Why would I feel insufficient if I didn't have my elemental powers? It sounds so... ridiculous. Like I'm a power mongerer, or someone who craves authority and feels like they must have everything. That only makes someone more empty, not complete."
"That's not what I meant stupid." Camille said, walking up next to him. "What I meant was not the power in general, but what it represents. Like having a piece of your comrades always with you at every moment. Always knowing that they are by your side, even if they aren't physically."
"When did you get so wise?" Lloyd asked.
"Shut up." Camille said, blushing, her cheeks tinging a light pink. "Since never. I've just heard so many cryptic messages and I'm always being told to help people however I can thanks to... an old friend." She muttered the last part quietly, hoping Lloyd wouldn't hear, though unfortunately for her he did. But he chose not to make a comment. "Besides, have you ever thought that was the reason why? Because you're so used to having a piece of your friends with you all the time, that you can't help but feel alone, like you can't do anything without your friends. Especially without your powers, you are always around them, almost every second. I have never seen you separated from them, until the incident of your dirt clod friend falling into one of Chen's trapdoors."
"Dirt clod?" Lloyd asked, chuckling slightly. "I'm guessing you had a bad experience with Cole in the Factory?"
"Sort of." Camille said. "He told me a lot about you."
"'A lot' meaning, paraphrasing and skipping the details... or 'a lot' meaning everything?" Lloyd asked.
"Everything." Camille answered.
Lloyd hissed a curse word underneath his breath, hoping to dear granddad that Camille hadn't heard his colorful language. She made no indication that she had heard him, or perhaps she didn't mind if he cursed so much as this one time. He felt his cheeks flush realizing Camille knew almost literally EVERYTHING about him, and he knew nothing about her. Just that she was the Master of Form, she had attitude on the battle field, and was incredibly skilled in the art of deceit.
"Well then, he probably told you I was spoiled brat growing up."
"You know, talking about this big, bad, gloomy past of yours like it's a brick wall in the way that you can't seem to get past, gets you no where."
"Well then what would you recommend?" Lloyd glowered. He was tired and slightly irritable for reasons he had no idea why, but not wanting to blame it on teenage hormones, fearing the childish tone Camille would obviously pick up in that stupid excuse, he only continued to mentally question her for an answer.
"What does fire feel like?" Camille asked, unexpectedly not in tone of curiosity, but one of demanding, as if she was trying to tell him to do something, and she took his hand in hers, turning it so the palm was facing up. Lloyd's scowl quickly turned into a puzzled expression, and he could only make his eyes scan Camille's face, as if trying to say "you're kidding right?". The Master of Form seemed to read his thoughts, and she sighed, her brown eyes almost pleading with him to listen. Eventually, Lloyd gave in with an annoyed scoff, and he began.
"It's searing hot. It stings if you come too close to it." Lloyd explained impatiently. "I've been burned by fire before, it is not a pleasant experience." The Green Ninja was still for a moment, and his mind jumped to an old memory, one he thought it'd be longer amount of time in between now and then that he'd remember it. Yet, he found himself remembering it much more often than he expected. Kai's firm embrace, the white hot fire blinding his vision and giving him burns that left minor, almost invisible scars, his stomach churning as the sudden sense of flight overcame him, and passing out once aboard the solid, wooden floors of the Destiny's Bounty. When Kai had rescued him from the Fire Temple. He closed his eyes, remembering how protective Kai had become of him since that day. He was always acting as a brother should, caring for the younger deeply, playing pranks in between here and there, sometimes just talking, or a heart to heart whenever it happened.
A sudden warmth overcame Lloyd, and a small smile played across his lips ever so slightly. He couldn't quite describe the feeling of having a brother such as Kai by his side. His fire protecting him, and though powerful and almost uncontrollable, it was a loyalty anyone could want. Kai may have been a terse, impulsive type of person, but Lloyd could usually find the positive. He was fierce, his trust not so easily bought, and under the best circumstances, Lloyd knew Kai was strong. He couldn't be so easily broken, not the way everyone thinks he appears. Sure, he was emotional sometimes, but Lloyd knew where Kai's heart truly lied.
He opened his eyes again, and had a sharp intake of breath. His hand, it had a small flame dancing across the palm, and smoke rose in a steady stream from it. Even so, the minute Lloyd focused on it, he lost it. It was gone in a flash. Camille dropped his hand with a satisfied smirk on her face.
"You're very far from being empty, Greenie. Much closer to pure, unadulterated power. " She said, walking away from the scene and back towards the camp. "If you ask me..."
"I'd say your right on the edge, of breaking the surface."