I do not own Ninjago, it belongs to Lego and Cartoon Network.
Chapter Seven
Don't get so close. You'll only get heartbroken again.
No! Get close to her! She'll be able to heal your heart!
Don't get close!
Get close!
No!
Yes!
No!
"Shut up!" Lloyd yelled in frustration, and the ninja slowly turned to look at him, their eyes wide with surprise at his sudden outburst. They glanced at each other worriedly, making him rub the side of his head in embarrassment.
"Sorry. I wasn't talking to you."
They all glanced at each other.
It's not like his behavior was hidden. They knew what was going on. He'd been more snippy, distant and quiet ever since Garmadon was locked up. Even though the city was at peace again, he wouldn't talk to them as much anymore, and he seemed to disappear a lot more often now.
Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon was suffering from anxiety and nightmares.
They watched him pick up the box he was packing and head out, and once Lloyd was out of earshot, Kai turned to the others.
"Alright, is it just me or does Lloyd seem... Distant?" He asked.
"I have noticed his mood changes quite often." Zane confirmed.
"Well... Think of all he's been through recently." Cole said, folding a shirt. "First he finds his first love, turns out she betrays him, he gets beaten up by Garmadon, his power is stripped away from him, she dies, and he loses us to the First Realm and has to avoid being captured while we're gone, and pretty much goes into hiding so he's not killed. Don't you think you would be a little distant, too, if that happened to you?" They mumbled in agreement.
"Still... It's kind of worrying." Jay said. "I wish he would talk to us."
"Maybe the new masters will be a good thing for him. He seems pretty close to them already." Nya said. "Some new blood might help him open up."
"Maybe." Kai crossed his arms. "I don't trust Alyx, though."
"Why? She seems okay." Cole commented. "They listen to her and she kind of reminds me of well... Wu."
"I know. But how can we be sure that she's not just using him? Like Harumi did?"
"Alyx wouldn't risk her life for nothing." They jumped and turned around to see Camille standing in the doorway, her eyebrow raised. They immediately looked embarrassed as she walked up to the counter and picked up a screwdriver.
"I'm sorry, Camille. I didn't know you were coming over." Nya said, guilt in her voice.
"It's fine. We left this behind the other day." She waved the screwdriver and headed for the door, leaving them to mellow in shame. They looked away, trying to hide their embarrassment.
"And for the record," they looked up at her voice. "Alyx would give her life to protect Lloyd. She would give her life to protect any of you as well. Think before you speak." She hissed and then left.
A sinking feeling set in their guts.
"Oh, this is going to be great..."
The Monastery was absolutely beautiful. It resembled similar to the last design, but with a modern feel to it. The outside walls were with black pillars. The gates had white with a beautiful and intricate design of the Ninja's symbol on the doors in gold. The shingles were black and it looked so great, they almost didn't want to step into the courtyard.
"Lloyd, would you do us the honor?" Wu asked and Lloyd looked at him, his face surprised. He looked at the others, who gestured for him to go. He gave a glance at everything, then stepped up the step and pushed the double doors open.
"Oh, wow..."
Similar to the previous design, the porch was covered with multiple doors leading into hallways, the kitchen living room, and even a new control room. Dark wooden planks lined the porch deck. The main courtyard was black concrete but padding underneath made it perfect for training and sparring.
"This place is amazing..." Nya said in awe. She grabbed Jay and Pixal's hands. "Let's go check out the control room!" They dashed into the courtyard and straight ahead, opening the sliding doors to reveal a large room. Large screens showing the map of Ninjago, news, and other updates were perched on a control panel in the middle of the room, on the walls on their right and left, and then straight back was a large screen similar to the last one on the first Bounty. The technology was new and amazing, so shiny and new.
"Oh, this place is just absolutely amazing..." Nya sighed.
"You're telling me." Jay rubbed his hands together. "Let's not destroy this place, okay, guys? I really want it to keep it this way."
"Agreed." Zane and Pixal chorused. Wu shook his head, amused and happy that his students were so happy.
"Go check out your new rooms, ninja. Girls are on the left, boys are on the right." Everyone dispersed to their new rooms, finding their own symbol on the doors in the hallway.
Lloyd found his room all the way down the hallway, seeing that it was the closest to the control room, and further from the doors. They probably didn't want his room to be first in case there was an intruder.
His fingers touched the symbol on his door, hearing the others whoop in excitement at their own room. Lloyd hesitated before opening it slowly, stepping in and slightly smiling. It had a little half bath to his right, then further in was a nice sized area. A nice sized bed, a queen he believed, sat against the right wall. A dresser was put against the opposite wall of the bed, a five drawer and the same dark oak like his bed. A nightstand of the same oak was next to the bed with a lamp, and above the bed hung a green banner with his golden dragon symbol. The bed comforter was green as well, and the sheets were white judging by the pillowcases.
He liked it.
Lloyd set his duffle down that was packed with few clothes and a couple of his belongings. Unzipping it, and laying right on top was the picture of all of the ninja and Wu in a new frame. He laid his fingers on it then set it on the nightstand, sighing.
"Whoa, nice room, dude!" He turned to see the other guys in the doorway, looking around and waiting for his approval to come in.
"Thanks. What are your rooms like?"
"Uh, totally awesome!" Jay whooped. "This new place is incredible!"
"But um... Where are the showers?" Cole asked as he looked into Lloyd''s bathroom.
They all looked at each other before heading back out into the courtyard.
"Oh, this is the life..." Jay moaned as he sunk lower so the water was above his lip.
"You're telling me..." Kai said, leaning his head back and enjoying the hot water. "So relaxing..."
As they found out, they all had their own half baths, but they were to share a bathroom with a large tub in the middle with five washing stations to the left. The tub was large enough and deep enough for all of them to relax in, and the smell of the bath oil and herbs was so relaxing and fresh...
The girls had their own, so they had this one all to themselves.
Kai looked over at Lloyd, who seemed asleep. His eyes were closed, arms crossed, and he looked... Peaceful, but worried.
"So, Lloyd, what do you think of the new Monastery?" Lloyd opened one eye, then both as he blinked.
"I like it. It's nice and calming. I hope we have some time to settle in before we start training again though." They all mumbled in agreement.
"Well, maybe we can use tonight to just relax and get to know the other girls." Cole offered. "It'd be nice to get to know them a bit before fighting alongside them." Lloyd kind of smiled.
"They're really cool." He said softly. "Really laid back and they have interesting personalities..." Cole moved over to sit next to Lloyd, nudging his shoulder with his own.
"How does your body feel? They said you were shot up with... Hunter's Venom?" He asked and Lloyd shrugged.
"My data says that Hunter's Venom is an incredibly potent sedative used by animal hunters. It's never been used on humans." Zane informed. Jay lifted his head out of the water so he could speak.
"But apparently it works on humans, too. If it made Lloyd feel like that, then it's potent enough to hurt them."
"We'll need to ask them." They nodded.
After a moment of silence, Jay spoke up.
"Do you know what this stuff is made out of? The oil I mean." Lloyd reached out of the water and picked up a bottle, turning it over and reading it.
"It says it's made out of herbal leaves that soothe and relieve muscle pains and aches. A bunch of different names that I do not know how to pronounce." Lloyd set it back down. "At least they're thinking of how we feel after a battle or training session."
"Right?" Kai moved the water a bit. "It feels so good..."
"I wonder how powerful they really are." Cole commented.
"Who? The new masters?" Cole nodded.
"We did watch them fight, but what is the actual extent of their power?"
"Camille could control Zane if she wanted to. Diana can talk to plants. Ashe can teleport in the moment." Lloyd summarized before submerging himself to wet his hair.
"They can do what?!"
"Is Alyx going to join us?" Nya asked as they settled happily in the bathtub. The three girls glanced at each other before shaking their heads.
"No, sorry. She's... Um... She's meditating." Nya raised her eyebrow, glancing at the clock.
"At... 8?"
"It's not unusual for her to meditate at this time." Diana said, running her fingers through her hair.
"You do know I'm a nindroid, correct?" Pixal asked slowly. "I do know when you are lying." Nya frowned.
"Well, that's not how you want to start a friendship."
"Alyx is..." Ashe fought for the word.
"Self-conscious." Camille finished.
"Yes, thank you."
"Self-conscious? She seems pretty relaxed with her body."
"While covered up." Diana replied. "Alyx... She's been through some pretty insane stuff. Her body is like... Well, like a beautiful temple that's been hit too many times. She's got scars and tattoos, not to mention she doesn't feel like she's quite good enough to be an Elemental Master." Nya and Pixal looked at each other then back at them.
"She's really that unsure?"
"It took us a few months to even find out her story. She has a lot of... Trust issues."
"Oh." They went quiet for a moment.
"Well... I guess we won't stop until we find out her secrets, right?"
"Heh, good luck with that."
"Zane, that was freaking delicious. I think you rival Diana's cooking, honestly." Ashe said as they gathered to relax in the living room. A nice spacious couch that could practically fit all of them, a couple of armchairs and bean bags, and a nice sized TV with the newest gaming stations that had Jay and Kai shaking with delight.
Zane chuckled. "Thank you, Ashe. I'm sure Diana's is quite delightful as well."
"Oh, no, I'm nothing close to you at all." She replied. "I'm decent at most." Camille scoffed from her beanbag.
"Please, the moment your spicy noodles hit my tongue, I was in heaven." Diana's cheeks tinted.
"You should do a cookoff." Kai said. "We could be the judges and everything."
"No, we're not going to do that." Both said at the same time.
"Okay, so we have two fantastic cooks in the house." Zane cleared his throat and glanced at Pixal, making Jay correct himself. "Sorry, three. But whatever you guys do, do not let Cole in the kitchen."
"Is he that bad?" Alyx asked, curled up in the corner of the couch. They almost forgot she was even there with her being so quiet.
"He once made a dish so bad it glued our mouths shut for two hours." Cole pouted.
"I've gotten better!" He defended. "I'm not that bad anymore. Besides, it's not like we've exactly had a kitchen to cook in with everything going on." He crossed his arms, frowning at all of them.
"Uh huh, keep telling yourself that, Cole."
"Hmph." He huffed.
"So, what do you guys wanna do? It's barely even ten, and Master's already in his room, so..." Jay trailed off, grinning at everyone. "Truth or dare?" As everyone groaned, he defended it.
"Hey, it would be a great way to get to know them!" He pointed at the four. "Besides, what better way than to get to know all of our secrets?"
"Oh, please..." Alyx mumbled, but it was too quiet for anyone to hear. She shifted uncomfortably, wrapping her arms around her legs in a protective manner. Ashe frowned, noticing her discomfort and smirked.
"How about this one? Ever heard of Never Have I Ever?"
