So who's ready for GROSS FLUFF and excessive unnecessary foreshadowing parallels? :D (Okay look Lloyd and Nya had to get to the top of that building somehow, and I couldn't just not take the opportunity.) I have no regrets.
Except that this took so long to write - I've been pretty caught up between classes (so many essays T-T) and All I'm Asking For, but that story should be wrapping up soon and I got a lot of really kind feedback for this recently, so earlier update than planned! I've had this chapter planned from the beginning, so I'm super excited to have finally made it this far :'D
A huge thanks as always to everyone who's continued to give feedback, I'm basically saying this over and over but I really cannot stress how much it means to me to hear from you guys! :)
(Oh also! There is fanart for this fic! :D The wonderful ninjawhoa on tumblr did some gorgeous art of Lloyd and Kai that I'm gonna try and link here if FFN cooperates, but either way you should definitely go check their tumblr out! Because all their art is fantastic.)
Chapter 10: Garmadon Gets Some Revenge, and Kai Makes His Mind Up on the Demon Spawn
He came back.
He came back! Lloyd's dad came back for him in the nick of time, just like a comic book superhero coming to save the day. Lloyd can't remember ever having been so happy, except for maybe that time he realized Uncle Wu and the ninja were keeping him. Garmadon cared enough to come back, even if it's just to save the city. Who cares about the dumb prophecy! Lloyd's dad came back to save him from a giant snake, not for some stupid prophecy — he'll take it for now.
It does kinda ruin things, though, that Lloyd's probably gonna die any minute now, which would really suck after everything else he's lived through recently.
"Go, go go go - Lloyd, run!"
Lloyd doesn't need to be told twice, ducking falling rubble as he sprints behind Nya, her grip on his hand painfully tight. His legs start to burn just as Nya slows, gasping as she slams the door of a building open, grabbing Lloyd by the front of his gi and practically hauling him inside after her. Not a second too soon, either — the jagged half of a billboard comes crashing down where Lloyd just was, sending splintering cracks across the sidewalk.
Lloyd takes an extra large, careful step back, trying to catch his breath. Oh man, he really hopes being a ninja isn't always like this. He's losing count of how many times they've almost died, and that's just from today.
Nya seems to finally shake the shock off, still not letting go of his hand as she tugs him further into the building. Lloyd glances around curiously as they weave through shattered glass from a fallen chandelier — it looks like they're in the lobby of some fancy business place, nice desks and little potted plants scattered around the abandoned floor. He's guessing everyone else evacuated already. There's no sign of anyone here but them.
That's smart, Lloyd thinks, as he pulls his hood against his head tighter, the roar of the Devourer making his ears throb. He wishes they could evacuate, but that's not what ninja do. And that's not what he gets to do, either. Lloyd is the one who started this whole terrible mess, no matter what Kai says. He was the one that pulled the lever that let Pythor out. Pythor might be gone now, but Lloyd isn't. And he's gonna do everything he can to fix it, to end this whole awful mistake before it hurts anyone else. He has to.
But for now, he and Nya have a job to do. They're…um…well, alright, he's not entirely sure what they're doing actually, just that Kai had yelled "get somewhere safe or I'll kill you!" at them before running off.
That's becoming a habit with the ninja, Lloyd thinks sourly. Yell at him and Nya to get safe while they take care of things. He is pretty glad not to be on the front lines this time, though — not that he's gonna admit that to anyone else! But the Devourer just keeps getting angrier, and Lloyd isn't gonna forget what its breath smells like anytime soon.
Nya finally stumbles to a halt, leaning over and bracing her hands on her knees as she lets out a breathless curse, which Lloyd carefully ignores. (Zane and Cole went off on him earlier, he's not gonna try his luck this soon. Still, it's totally not fair that he got lectured so much for that when he's definitely heard the others saying some bad stuff during training.)
"They could have at least dropped us off somewhere safer," Nya pants. "Stupid useless mech."
Lloyd ignores her, peeking out a busted window and watching with wide eyes as a tiny red figure hops over a row of cars, the Devourer following close behind. Lloyd bites his lip, his hands fisting tightly around the window sill. Please be careful, he thinks. Please don't get eaten-
"Okay," Nya says, straightening as the building shudders, an awful creaking sound echoing above them. "We gotta - we gotta get to higher ground." She turns, then grabs for Lloyd's hand again, dragging him away from the window. "And get back from there!"
"I'm just looking," Lloyd sulks, but he quickly draws closer to Nya's side as the Devourer shrieks loudly. Nya goes slightly paler herself, biting her lip.
"It's gonna be okay," she breathes, sounding like she's trying to convince herself. "We're gonna be fine. Let's just see if we can get to the top of this building, okay? We can watch from the roof that way."
Lloyd eyes the stairwell nervously, watching as a little layer of dust rains down from the ceiling over the stairs. Nya doesn't seem too eager either, still standing frozen by Lloyd's side.
She finally takes a sharp breath, then squeezes his hand. "It's not that many stairs," she says, firmly. "We just need to move fast."
Lloyd wants to argue that they're in a pretty tall building, so it's probably gonna have a lot of stairs, and they've had a bad day enough as it is — but Nya is already pulling him up the first steps, setting a rapid pace Lloyd has to half-run to keep up with. It's not a terribly exhausting pace though, as Nya's too focused looking up at the stairwell that stretches above them, occasionally halting and pulling him to the side as the building shakes. Lloyd figures she's looking out in case the ceiling starts falling down on them, which would be…which would be really bad, and he needs to stop thinking about it.
Ugh, but there are so many stairs — Lloyd just wants to get to the top already. But he also doesn't want to have to start running yet, because Nya has longer legs than him and he's pretty tired-
The Devourer roars nearby, and Nya glances out the window. Her eyes immediately go wide, and she suddenly breaks into a sprint, hauling Lloyd behind her as they fly up the stairs.
Okay, running is fine, Lloyd thinks half-hysterically as the Devourer's tail hits their building, sending him and Nya stumbling forward with a scream. Nya yanks him back to his feet before he can fully recover, dragging him up to the next stair level.
Something rumbles from above them, and Nya's head jerks up, her eyes wide. "No, no-!"
Lloyd looks up, and he feels his stomach drop. The giant lighting panel at the top must've gotten knocked loose, because it's barreling down toward them, making its way to crush them flat.
Nya quickly yanks them to the doorway, elbowing it open and sending them sprawling through it, just as the huge light panel comes sparking down right where they were, crashing against the stairwell as it tumbles down. Lloyd watches wide-eyed as the stairwell lights up like a deranged disco floor, sparking and flashing as the rest of the lights blow out.
"Okay, new plan," Nya says, breathlessly. "Um…elevator?"
He looks at her, wide-eyed. Lloyd doesn't know a whole lot about disaster safety, and other useless stuff like that, but he's pretty sure the elevator is the last place they wanna be right now. Like, he used to jump up and down in the elevator at Darkley's along with the other kids trying to get it to rattle, but he doesn't actually want to plunge to his death in a little box.
"Yeah, alright, not my best plan," Nya admits. She looks around the floor they're on, the work cubicles abandoned, a few computers still bright and running where they were likely left on in the haste to escape. "I think we're still three floors or so down for the top, so there might be another stairwell on the other side?"
"What about the fire escape?" Lloyd tentatively suggests.
Nya snaps her fingers. "There we go. That's the kind of thinking I'm talking about, partner."
Lloyd returns her grin, trailing behind as they weave through the cubicles— when a loud roar from the Devourer echoes close by again. Really close by. Nya's eyes go wide in horror, and her hand seizes around his tightly. "Get down-!"
Too late. The Devourer crashes violently against their building, knocking them both off their feet with a cry. Lloyd blinks dizzily, the world spinning as a loud cracking sound echoes in his ears. He must've hit his head harder than he thought.
Lloyd looks up, and his stomach plummets. The cracking sound isn't in his head — it's from the large, jagged fissures splitting across the ceiling above them, fracturing as the whole thing threatens to come down on top of them.
Nya looks up as well, and she gives a sharp gasp. She pulls Lloyd up, trying to move back for the stairwell — just as a portion of the ceiling comes down in front of them, heavy plaster chunks raining down with a loud crash. Nya shrieks, stumbling back and dragging them away before they're crushed. She yanks Lloyd to her, glancing up to the crumbling ceiling left above them as her eyes set in terror. Lloyd feels her pull him closer, and if she's about to fold herself on top of him.
A cold rush of terror swoops through him — he knows what she's doing. Nya doesn't think they're gonna get out. Nya's gonna try and save him, and she probably isn't — neither of them are strong enough to-
Lloyd stops. If he really is the Green Ninja — if he remembers what Uncle Wu said about using the others' powers-
The ceiling left finally gives, cracking and tumbling down on top of them as Nya screams, and Lloyd stands up.
He doesn't have time to think it through — all he can think is that he has to be strong — strong like Cole. Cole, who's always rock steady, who keeps the team going even when everyone else is falling apart. Cole, who's always looking out for his family, even when they're being dumb. He's gotta be strong like Cole-
Nya gasps.
Lloyd's eyes are screwed shut tightly, but he doesn't give. His arms are trembling under the weight, but they don't actually hurt — they feel all tingly and stuff, like he's lifting something heavy, but it's not too heavy for him.
Somewhere in his chest, Lloyd feels something shift, as if sliding into place, warm and pulsing.
Then his arms suddenly start to burn, threatening to give, and he shoves the chunk of ceiling he's somehow holding aside, collapsing to his knees. Nya's at his side in a flash, pulling him into a tight embrace.
Lloyd's head spins. He doesn't understand what just happened — he feels weird, wound-up and wrung-out and a lot like someone lit his insides on fire or shot electricity into his blood. He feels like he could bring a whole building down himself, and it's — it's—
"-okay, it's okay, Lloyd, you saved my life, stop apologizing-"
Lloyd realizes with a flash of horrified embarrassment that he's crying, tears sliding down his cheeks as he clutches at Nya. He quickly wipes at them, scooting away and trying to pull himself together. He's not a baby, he reminds himself. He's the Green Ninja.
Which means he can just…lift part of a ceiling now, that's all. Totally normal for a ninja.
Nya keeps staring at him, her eyes wide. "What was that?" she says, her voice awed.
Lloyd rubs at his eyes, trying to get the tingly feeling to go away. He shrugs, not exactly wanting to test out his voice at the second. It's not like he can really explain, anyways, what it felt like.
Nya gives a breathless, wheezing laugh, shaking her head. "We are so talking about this later, don't think you're off the hook."
She pushes herself to her feet, wobbling a bit as she does, looking every inch as rattled as Lloyd is. "C'mon," she says, holding her hand out to him. She jabs her finger over the wrecked pieces of the ceiling around them, toward to the light filtering in from outside. Lloyd realizes that the ceiling that fell down on them is only part of the building — the rest is still holding strong, even though it's got a big ugly hole in the side now.
And, right at the edge of the rubble, still firmly screwed into place, are the metal bars of the fire escape.
"Let's go, demon spawn," Nya says, pulling him to his feet. Lloyd follows her almost blindly, letting her clutch tightly at his hand. He refuses to acknowledge that he's probably holding her hand even tighter.
Nya pushes him in front of her, letting him climb up the fire escape first. Clambering up the rickety ladder attached to the wall, the city sprawling way down below them, might be terrifying to another kid, but to Lloyd, it's a surge of familiarity. This is what he's used to — playing chicken on the roof of Darkley's, scaling across booby traps in the depths of the Fangblade caves. Not…weird warm power flowing through his hands, and suddenly being able to lift half a ceiling.
Hand over hand, Lloyd scales the ladder, and finally, finally reaches the top of the stupid building. He sticks a hand down, making sure Nya gets up safely before standing himself, looking wide-eyed around him. The roof they're on is pretty boring, edged by a little block railing, but it's high enough to see the chaos unfolding in the city around them. From here, Lloyd can see the wreckage the Great Devourer's left, the rising smoke from buildings it's hit, its great big ugly body twisting all around the city in some giant, coiling circle. His stomach drops as he realizes that he doesn't see the guys anywhere. Aren't they supposed to be—
Nya gives a whoop of joy, and Lloyd looks up. His eyes go wide as his face splits into a smile — it's the dragon again! It looks like it's recovered a bit, huge wings sending gusts of wind at Lloyd and Nya as it lands. Lloyd spares a minute just to stare at it, trying to memorize every bit of the enormous dragon. This alone almost makes this whole stupid day worth it. He's standing next to a dragon, how cool is that?
Oh yeah, and the guys are safe, which is pretty cool too.
Lloyd runs forward with Nya to greet them, feeling a little more relieved when he realizes they're all unharmed. They mainly look excited, little sparks of elemental power still flickering off of them as they jump from the dragon's back to the roof. Nya streaks past him, darting over to intercept Kai before he can even take a breath, muttering almost frantically.
"-better be okay, you're okay, right, c'mon Kai, tell me you're fine-"
"I'm good, I'm - Nya, I'm good!" Kai yelps, extricating himself from her. He tugs his hood up, looking winded but smiling nonetheless as he wipes sweat from his brow. "We totally kicked butt out there. You saw us, right?"
"Uh…yeah, most of it," Nya says, her eyes darting briefly to Lloyd.
Kai frowns. "What d'you mean?" he says, eyebrows furrowing further in concern. "You guys didn't have any trouble, did you?"
"Well, there's, erm…we were fine," Nya says. Lloyd takes a careful step back, putting himself next to Zane. "I've gotta tell you about something later, though…"
"What's tha-"
"Alright, where'd Garmadon get to?" Cole cuts in, his harried tone reminding them of the situation they're in. He glares down over the roof. "That thing's not gonna hold on for much longer."
Lloyd peeks over the edge of the building, watching with wide eyes as the Devourer writhes, struggling to untangle itself, scales flashing in the sun as it coils and uncoils. It gives a hissing shriek of frustration, infuriated at being caught. Lloyd almost gets it, in a weird way. He knows what it's like to get stuck somewhere thanks to the ninja, even if it was just a roof. Cole is right, though — unlike Lloyd, who took about three (and he's not gonna admit any more) hours to get down, the Devourer looks like it could pull itself free at any moment.
Lloyd bites his lip, looking with the others around the city. His dad's here, he knows it. The guys might not trust him, but Lloyd knows his dad, and he - he trusts him enough to show up, so he better.
Something prickles at the back of Lloyd's neck, and he stills, eyes turning upward instead of below like the others. High up above the chaos of the city, on the tallest tower. Lloyd's heart jumps. There.
"Look!" he calls, pointing up at the dark figure. He'd recognize his dad anywhere, that's definitely him. The Golden Weapons held high in his hands are just more confirmation. A heavy gust of wind pulls at Lloyd's hair, a growing chill that sweeps through the fabric of his gi, leaving the others shivering. The sky is turning dark, swirling and purple, like a building storm that threatens to blow them all from the roof. Lloyd tugs his mask off, stepping up to the edge of the building, his eyes glued on his father.
"Lloyd, no, get back-!"
"Dad!" Lloyd calls, shaking off Nya's hand, his voice small against the howling winds.
Lloyd stumbles forward, just to the edge of the building, eyes tearing up from the force of the wind. He feels someone's hands grab him, holding him steady — Kai, his brain tells him instinctively — but Lloyd barely registers it. He's only got eyes for his dad, who looks so small up against the Devourer. Lloyd feels a cold knot of fear build in his throat. His dad can beat it. His dad has to beat it. Lloyd can't lose-
Garmadon's head turns, and even though the tower he's on is far, so far away — Lloyd swears he sees the glow of his eyes meeting his own.
Then Garmadon raises the weapons higher, gleaming gold sharp against the darkened purple sky, and his head turns to the Devourer.
"You. You are the reason evil runs through my blood!" Garmadon's angered shout echoes across the city, thundering in their ears, and Jay stumbles back with a yelp. The weapons in his hand suddenly flash, bright swirling purple sparking around them as his father's power overtakes them. The weapons blink once, then a burst of light explodes from them, nearly blinding Lloyd's vision as a screaming surge of wind sends him stumbling back against Kai, who quickly grabs him and holds him close. Lloyd can hear the rapid beat of Kai's pulse as he leans against him, and he wonders if his own is racing that fast.
"You bit me once," Garmadon snarls. "Now, feel what it's like to be bitten back!"
Zane gasps. Garmadon jumps, a streaking comet of bright gold and purple as he falls toward the Devourer. Lloyd watches him fall, purple light flashing in his eyes.
"Go get 'em, dad."
A dark cloud of power explodes out, hiding Garmadon from Lloyd's view, but he hears his dad loud and clear. "Vengeance will be mine."
There's a howl, a flash, a shrieking scream-
And the word explodes in green.
Kai changed the chat name to Get Owned, You Overgrown Reptile Scum
Nya: really?
Kai: its poetic
Kai: for our AWESOME VICTORY HECK YEAH
Kai: did u see how i lit it up?!
Nya: for the 10th time, i saw all of you, stop bragging
Kai: we're such badasses
Nya: kai please
Kai: nya we just kicked snake butt whats ur problem?
Nya: i'm trying not to PUKE
Nya: couldn't you have killed it some other way?
Kai: what don't u love flooding piles of snake guts everywhere
Nya: KAI
Kai: lol
Kai: technically that's garmadon's fault
Nya's not normally one to worry about appearances, but even though she knows it's nothing but a pile of wood in the desert now, she's seriously considering hiking back to the Bounty to see if the water heater survived, because she's gonna need to shower for three straight days after this.
"Oh, gross, it's sticky," Nya gags, wiping another strand of slime from her hair. "Ew, ew, ew-"
"Geez, what are you, five?" Kai snickers at her. "It's just a little snake guts."
Nya gives Kai the darkest glare she can manage. "I don't see you dealing with it in your hair," she scowls. Stupid ninja hoods, she should've put her helmet back on when she had the chance. Now her and Lloyd are the only ones sporting lime green-stained hair.
"I think you still look great!" Jay pipes up, quickly. Nya sighs, but she gives him a slightly less strained smile.
"Thanks."
Kai makes a gagging noise, and Nya flicks the slime from her fingers at him. He jumps back with a yelp, brushing frantically at his hair, and Nya rolls her eyes, turning to the others where they're still surveying the aftermath with wide eyes. Lloyd is the first to start moving, craning his head over the flooding masses of green goo (Nya is not going to refer to it as guts, because this day has been enough already) as he searches for something.
He finally steps back, worrying at his lip. "I don't see my dad," he speaks up slowly, and Nya catches the edge of concern in his voice.
"He should be around here somewhere," Kai says, with a frown. He glances up as well, and Nya joins him in looking around, squinting through the crowds of people celebrating in the streets a little ways down from them. They were quick to flood from their homes after the Devourer was killed, and it's already shaping up to be the most disgusting celebration Nya's ever seen, everyone wading around in the piles of gut- slime.
She shakes herself back, eyebrows furrowing as her eyes dart around the street. She'd watched Garmadon fall along with all the others, seen the explosion of power. If what she'd last seen was correct, he should be right around here — unless he's been blown sky-high along with the rest of the Devourer.
Zane's eyes flash, an action Nya is coming to recognize as him scanning their surroundings. "Your analysis is incorrect," he says, blinking. "He is not here."
Cole's eyebrows scrunch up. "Then our golden weapons are gone too!" he says, indignant. "Well isn't that convenient."
Lloyd's expression falls at that, his eyebrows pinching. He looks like he wants to say something, but is deciding against it. Nya shakes her head. There's gotta be some sort of clue around here. Garmadon couldn't just have disappeared — he's a dark lord, not a teleporter.
(…can he teleport? Nya's never actually asked what the extent of Wu and Garmadon's powers are, come to think of it…)
Her eyes finally catch on trailing spots of green — which wouldn't be out of place, except they're staggered in a uniform fashion too precise to be random, heading away from the streets. "Look," she says, realizing what she's looking at. "His footsteps!"
It takes a second for her words to sink in, but the reality clicks pretty quickly. Garmadon's footprints are leading away from the city, and Nya doubts he's got any plans of coming back for them. Cole mutters a curse under his breath. It quickly turns to a yelp as Zane swats him.
Nya's heart sinks. She shouldn't be surprised, really, but…
For Lloyd, she had hoped.
She carefully glances over at Lloyd, biting her lip. He's staring at the footsteps with a forlorn expression on his face, but there's also a hollow sort of acceptance in his eyes. There's a flash of heartache, but it's gone before Nya can blink, Lloyd's face settling in a determinedly blank mask.
She's about to go to him, but Kai beats her to it. He places a gentle hand on Lloyd's shoulder. "I have a feeling you'll see your father again soon," he tells him, quietly.
Nya's not sure if that's a reassurance, or an impending doom.
Lloyd exhales. "I know," he mutters. He hesitates, his voice catching. "But….that's what I'm afraid of."
Kai blinks at that, and Nya feels a pang. Kai opens his mouth to reply, when Cole suddenly straightens, his face splitting into a growing smile of half-disbelief.
"Sensei Wu?"
Nya's head snaps around, the others following suit. Her mouth drops open, and her own eyes go wide.
Just standing up in a thick pile of slime, brushing at his beard with a disgruntled expression, is an unharmed, very much alive, Sensei Wu.
"Oh wow," she manages.
Jay gives a burst of incredulous laughter. "Would you look at that!" he says, a grin spreading across his face. "He survived!"
That's all it takes for it to sink in. They break into a run all at once, slipping and sliding across the gooey street as they race for their sensei, breaking into breathless laughter and cheers. Nya trails behind the guys with Lloyd, trying not to slip as they hop down a jagged section of pavement to meet Wu.
Wu neatly bypasses them all, pushing right by them and heading straight for-
His teapot?
"I can't tell you how glad I am to see you!" Nya blinks rapidly as Sensei Wu scoops up his teapot from the street, shaking it once before pouring it and — oh, no, gross, that was in the Devourer's guts-
"The Great Devourer left a bad taste in my mouth," Sensei Wu says, sipping at his tea appreciatively. They all gape at him, lost for words. Which is becoming an unsettling pattern, at this rate-
Wu finally looks up at them all, smiling fondly. "Much better," he says, glancing down at his tea. "And still hot — oh!"
Lloyd surges forward, smashing against his uncle and throwing his arms around him, face pressed into his robes. Wu blinks, then smiles gently, leaning down to gently pat Lloyd's back.
Lloyd suddenly pulls back rapidly, his cheeks flaming. "It's - uh - it's good to have you back, uncle," he says so quickly, Nya barely catches the quiver in his voice. He straightens, eyes going wide. "But my father left!" He tugs insistently at Wu's robe. "And he took the Golden Weapons with him!"
Wu's eyes grow heavy, his head tipping downward as he nods. He places a comforting hand on Lloyd's shoulder. "Very true. The ability of the Golden Weapons is truly great." His eyes soften. "But the ability to better oneself makes you limitless."
Lloyd looks taken aback, frowning. He exchanges a glance of confusion with Nya, his obvious question echoing in her own mind. What does that even mean?
Jay gives a satisfied huff. "I couldn't have said it any better myself."
Kai rolls his eyes. He steps gingerly over the slime, making his way to Lloyd's side. He puts his hand on Lloyd's shoulder, in a gesture that mirrors Sensei Wu's previous one. "Besides, we have what's most important," he smiles, and Nya feels her heart pull as she recognizes it. "You."
Oh, Kai is so gone for him, Nya thinks half-smugly, half-happily. Looks like her brother's still a total softie, ninja training or not.
Wu seems to be thinking something along the same lines, smiling slightly at Kai. "The pupils have become the masters," he says, and Nya can pick up a hint of pride in his voice.
Lloyd looks up from Kai, to Wu. "Am I really gonna have to fight my father one day?" he asks, uncertainty punctuating every word. He fists a hand in his gi, clenching and unclenching in a nervous tick.
Wu's expression grows heavy again, and he nods, regret flashing in his eyes. "One day." He shakes his head, his expression lightening. "But today we can feel good that Ninjago is safe."
Nya nods along with him. Good. They just had the longest day in history, the last thing they need is to be piling more reason to worry on anyone's shoulders-
"Tomorrow we will train for the day that good will finally face evil, and the final outcome will be decided, for all of time."
Nya scowls. Well never mind then. No pressure, or anything.
"That's a big final," Lloyd murmurs.
Kai quickly puts his arm back around Lloyd's shoulders. "U-uh but don't worry!" he says, encouragingly. "We're gonna teach you everything we know."
Jay nods, stepping up. "And make sure you're prepared for that fight."
"Cause as we all know, good will always stand up to evil," Cole grins at him.
Zane smiles softly at his brothers, then turns the expression to Lloyd. "And ninja always stand up for what is right."
Nya watches Lloyd stare up at them with wide eyes, a hint of a smile pulling at his mouth. She can't help a smile of her own, and she glances over to find a similar expression on Wu's face. It's just - it's nice, seeing them all getting along like this. You'd never have guessed that this was the same kid the guys hung from a roof not that far back. Now look at them. They look like a bunch of grinning, happy dorks.
…kind of like a family, actually.
"But in the meantime," Cole speaks up, crossing his arms. "Can I remind everyone that we just won a totally epic battle?"
Sensei Wu coughs out a laugh.
"Heck yeah we did!" Kai whoops, punching his fist in the air. "That's the attitude we need!"
"Y'know what this calls for," Jay grins. "A good old, solid, go ninja-
"Go Ninja go!" Cole and Zane holler in unison, drowning out Jay as they sling their arms over his shoulders, nearly knocking him off his feet.
"Go ninja go!" Kai cheers, kicking goo up at Lloyd. Lloyd sputters indignantly.
"Hey!"
Nya bursts into giggles, watching as Lloyd nearly wipes out trying to kick slime back up at Kai. Over by the others, Jay finally breaks free, sliding quickly up to her and grinning expectantly. Nya shakes her head, but she doesn't have it in her not to give in. "Go ninja, go," she laughs, the phrase much happier than she's ever said it.
Jay beams, grabbing her and spinning them both around as they burst into laughter. Nya's cheeks almost hurt from smiling — they did it. They did it! They made it out alive, they're all gonna be fine, just like they promised. Caught in the bright haze of happiness, Nya leans forward, planting a kiss on Jay's cheek.
Jay turns bright pink, but he gives her a shy sort of smile, pulling at the light smattering of freckles on his cheeks, more visible in the bright light of the sun. Nya feels her own cheeks heat, but she smiles softly back.
"What was that?"
Nya and Jay turn abruptly. Nya shakes herself, briefly yanked out of her spell of happiness. Lloyd is staring up at them, looking highly suspicious and somewhat perplexed.
"What was what?" Nya asks, frowning a bit.
Lloyd's eyebrows knit, looking between them both. Then his eyes go wide, as if having figured out a particularly difficult puzzle. "Wait a second," he says, eyes narrowing at Jay and Nya. "Do you two…do like, kissing?"
Jay turns scarlet. Nya gives a loud snort, unable to entirely suppress her laughter. Cole isn't nearly as successful, bursting into snickers he tries to muffle against Zane's shoulder. Kai bites his lip, looking as if he wants to be grumpy, but can't quite hide his amusement.
"Well, I mean…sometimes," Nya finally answers him, at a loss.
It's not quite the answer Lloyd was looking for, apparently. "You and Jay are in love?!" he yelps, looking thoroughly disgusted.
"Jay's my boyfriend, Lloyd," Nya says, amused. "You know that."
…he does, right? Nya quickly backtracks over the past month. She's pretty sure Lloyd teased her relentlessly about the picture she'd had of Jay, so he had to know, right?
"I thought you just had gross crushes on each other!" Lloyd says, looking affronted. "I didn't know you actually kissed!"
Zane's laughing along now too, and Sensei Wu looks torn between despair and amusement. Nya just snickers, leaning down close to Lloyd's face.
"Do you want a kiss too, Lloyd?" she says sweetly, leaning forward.
"No!" Lloyd yelps, quickly scrambling back, bumping into Kai's leg. "No, Kai, help!"
With a grin, Kai snatches Lloyd from Nya's attack, sweeping him up into the air and placing him firmly on his shoulders. Lloyd gasps, suddenly going still. His eyes go painfully wide, and he wavers a bit where he's frozen on Kai's shoulders.
"I gotcha, green bean," Kai says, apparently oblivious to Lloyd's reaction. "C'mon, wanna leave the lovebirds to their own gross stuff and get some victory cake?"
"Ooh, cake!" Cole's eyes practically sparkle. "Can't have a good celebration without cake! I know a really good place down the street — if it's not, uh, destroyed…"
"Wha'd'ya say, kid?" Kai asks, starting after Cole. "Green Ninja calls the shots."
Lloyd's eyes are still wide, but he finally starts to relax, his hands settling carefully on Kai's shoulders, balancing himself.
"Yeah," he says, a bright smile creeping up on his face. "Yeah, cake sounds good."
Get Owned, You Overgrown Reptile Scum Group Chat
Nya: not to rain on our parade or anything
Nya: but do we like
Nya: have a plan for tonight
Kai: what do u mean
Nya: we're kinda homeless right now remember
Nya: since the bounty's gone
Kai: aw man I forgot about that
Kai: thanks for raining on our parade
Nya: how much $$ did u lose in hair gel with that btw
Kai: oh NO
Kai: NOOOOOOOO
Nya: rip
Kai: IM GONNA KILL THAT SNAKE ALL OVER AGAIN
So much for a victory celebration, Kai grumbles to himself.
He grits his teeth as he braces himself against the car, straining as he pushes it toward the side of the street. Man, what he'd give to have Cole around right now. But no, Cole skipped out and went to help Jay with the easy stuff, like freeing up the subway tunnels from the worst of the concrete. Kai grunts, his muscles burning as he gives the car a final push, wheels creaking as it finally moves from the center of the street, leaving a clear path for the medical team and ambulances to move through.
The car makes a crunching sound as it hits the curb, and Kai lets his muscles go limp, leaning back and wiping sweat from his brow. Geez, maybe he does need to be training a little harder, he thinks as he pants. At least he can chalk this one up as sheer exhaustion from everything that's gone down today. He tugs at his gi so it's not stifling his neck as much, waving half-heartedly as people pass him by, an ambulance rolling past him. Kai leans back against the car, exhaling wearily as he looks up, watching where the sun is dipping lower in the sky.
This has all been the same dumb day, he realizes with a jolt. It's felt like three years.
Kai shakes himself back to the present, pushing up from the car and setting off in search of Zane. He shouldn't be too far — the road they're working on kind of ends abruptly in a fallen building now. Kai gingerly shoulders his way through the crowds of milling people, most of them leftover from the medical tents that were here earlier. He cranes his head over them, searching for the slightest flash of white-
"-just saying, they didn't even kill the snake, Garmadon did." Kai's footsteps slow at the muttered voice he hears, and he blinks slowly, listening in almost against his will.
"Yeah, I saw 'im and everything! Took it down with one hit, those ninja were pretty useless next to him."
"Ha! Garmadon's our hero, who would've thought. So much for the ninja."
Kai's nails dig into his palms as his fists tighten, something hot bubbling up in his stomach. His throat feels tight. Who do these people think they are? They all worked themselves to the bone to save this city. Kai hasn't slept in three days, and he doesn't even wanna know how long it's been since Cole so much as took a nap. They've bled to stop that stupid snake, risked their lives over and over and —
They almost lost Zane for this. Kai almost had to watch his sister die, listen to his little brother screaming-
Um. Lloyd. He had to listen to…to Lloyd, almost get eaten.
Kai blinks, shaking himself from that train of thought. He narrows his eyes at the group of people conversing, the anger in his gut only heating up as he realizes that some of them are medical personnel, EMT's. A haze of red slides over his vision. These people are adults, easily two or three times his own age. Where were they when Kai almost got crushed defending the city? What gives them the right to talk about his family like-
"Kai, no."
Kai is yanked to a sudden halt by a firm but gentle hand on his shoulder, Zane's reprimand low. Kai stiffens, turning on him.
"Do you hear them?" he says tightly, his voice just barely kept quiet in suppressed anger. "You know what we went through, they don't get to sit around and just - just talk about us like we're helpless little kids!"
"Kai, we are kids," Zane says, heavily. Kai stares at him, his mouth half-falling open to protest. Zane cuts him off first. "At least in their eyes, we are."
"W-well yeah, okay, but-" Kai cuts off frustrated. "That doesn't mean we're helpless. We worked so hard to save this stupid city, Zane, at least lemme give them a piece of my mind-!"
"I will not, and you know I'm stronger than you, so please stop trying to push me over."
"I'm not-" Kai gives an irritated growl, then relents, deflating against Zane. "Fine. Fine. We'll do it the peaceful way, or whatever."
Zane looks at him, and Kai tries to stifle the pang in his chest as his eyes rake over the wrecked half his brother's face, none of them having had the time to repair it yet. "You cannot change someone's mind by yelling at them in anger," Zane says, quietly. "Sometimes you have to show them. And we will. We just have to be patient."
Oh great, Zane's being all smart and reasonable again, Kai huffs. Whatever, he thinks dully, finally turning away from the group of jerks. It's not like he can stay that mad at Zane for long anyways.
"Yeah, okay, sensei," Kai mutters, kicking at the dirt. "Let's go. Who needs them anyways."
"Thank you," Zane says, a bit hesitantly as he follows him. "I'm…I am sorry if I upset you further."
Kai pauses, then shakes his head, throwing his arm around Zane's shoulders. "Nah, it's cool," he says, ruefully. "You're right, I guess, as usual. Besides, Nya would'a killed me if I'd started something."
A flash of relief crosses Zane's face , and he smiles at him. Then he hesitates, looking away. "But Kai…" he sighs, staring out over the edge of the desert, where they can see the sun turning a fiery orange as it begins to set. "Don't think this means I'm any less frustrated than you are with their attitudes toward us."
"There we go!" Kai says, throwing his hands up. "I mean, I know, right? We spend all this time trying to save this dumb country and Garmadon gets all the credit. What kind of stupid joke!"
"Personally I fail to see the humor in it, but yes, what kind of joke." Zane sighs. "It's the price of doing what we do, I suppose."
"Yeah, yeah," Kai grumbles. "Bet there's that exact line in one of Lloyd's dumb comic books."
Zane's head perks up, as if remembering something. "Oh, yes," he says. "I was supposed to mention. Nya is helping clear a street nearby, but she asked if you could check on Lloyd for her in the meantime."
"Lloyd?" Kai blinks. "Is he okay?" Aw heck, there goes his heart rate again. He's gonna have the worst anxiety known to man at the end of this-
"Physically I believe he's perfectly fine," Zane assures him. "Nya, ah, the term she used was banished? She banished him from helping with repairs to go take a rest. She wants to make sure he's actually obeying her."
"Oh," Kai says, the worry ebbing. "Yeah. I can do that. Where's the brat at?"
Zane gives him a look. "That's not a kind term to call him," he says, eyebrows furrowing. "Perhaps-"
"I don't mean it like that," Kai assures him. "I mean — not anymore. It's a kind of nickname now, like how Cole always calls Jay zaptrap, y'know?"
"Oh," Zane says, taking this in. "Alright. The…brat is over by our camp, then."
Kai claps him off the shoulder, before taking off. "Thanks, bud."
"You are welcome, hot-head."
"Hey now, that wasn't an invite to call me names!" Kai calls back to him, and Zane laughs, the sound quickly fading as Kai jogs across a torn up street. He hops over a particularly nasty crack, grimacing at the destruction he passes. Man, it's gonna take them forever to clean this up. It really takes the thrill out of seeing Ninjago City, Kai muses, seeing the buildings half-crumbled, the smoking wreckage left by the Devourer's wrath. For having lived in such a small town his whole life, Ninjago City still manages to impress him with how big it is, how tall its buildings are.
He supposes that just means there's more stuff to destroy and rebuild.
Kai sets his jaw, clambering over an overturned car and hopping down, finally reaching the edge of the city. They've set up a makeshift sort of camp just on the outskirts, which is really just a few tents, Sensei Wu's rescued tea set, and the Ultradragon. It's not ideal by any means — he really misses the Bounty right now, and boy was it fun telling Sensei about that one — but Kai's used to living rough. Besides, if it rains or anything, they can always just huddle under the Ultradragon. It's not like it's a permanent living situation either, though Kai….really doesn't wanna think about how their little ragtag, pretty-much-penniless family is gonna afford an actual place.
This is what they get for all running away from home, Kai sulks. Running off to be a ninja sounds great until you have to start paying for things.
He takes a deep breath, blowing it out. That's not something he needs to worry about right now, he reminds himself. They're all alive, and that's what matters. As long as they have each other, they'll be fine.
Besides, he's supposed to be checking up on Lloyd, and the kid's already given him enough to worry about in the span of one day to last him a year.
Lloyd's not anywhere in sight at the camp — certainly not sleeping, like he's supposed to be, but Kai figured that'd be the case. He pauses, panting a bit as he looks around. Hmm. If he were a little demon spawn, where would he go to hide from everybody? Hopefully Lloyd's gained enough common sense in the last month not to go running off too far.
Aha. Kai finally spots a bright flash of green closer to the city, a tiny figure huddled over on a broken piece of wreckage, using the unsteady chunk of concrete as a seat. Kai starts picking his way over to him, pulling his gi a little tighter around himself as a gust of wind from the desert picks up. The evening is growing chillier as the sun sinks further below the horizon, and Kai suddenly finds himself missing the Bounty a lot more.
He finally approaches Lloyd, footsteps dragging slightly as the sand beneath his feet turns to concrete-ridden grass, before finally giving way to the streets of the city. He's fairly sure that Lloyd hears him coming, but the kid doesn't look up, staring darkly at the ground instead.
Oof. That doesn't look like a good mood, Kai thinks.
"Hey, squirt." He ruffles Lloyd's hair in greeting, grinning at the annoyed look that crosses his face. "How you doin'?"
Lloyd shrugs him off, making a face. "I'm fine," he says. He narrows his eyes. "And I'm not tired, either."
"Uh-huh," Kai says, eyeing the darkening circles forming beneath Lloyd's eyes with concern. "Yeah, you still suck at lying, bud."
Lloyd glares at him. "Fine. I can't sleep then," he says, kicking at the ground. "S'that good enough? Can you leave me alone now and go annoy someone else?"
Kai blinks, taken aback by the heat in his voice. "Geez, you don't have to get all worked up," he says, crossing his arms. "I'm just checking up on you. It's fine if you can't sleep, but being a brat about it isn't gonna help your case."
Lloyd flinches, glancing down. "Sorry," he mutters, looking chastised. "It's just - just a long day."
"Yeah, I hear that," Kai huffs a weary laugh, looking up at the sky briefly. A long day is an understatement. "But hey, it's almost over now. We won, too, y'know. Normally people are happy about stuff like that."
"I-I am!" Lloyd looks up at him, quickly. "Really! It was - you guys were awesome. Kicked the dumb snake's butt like it deserved."
"Hey, you helped too," Kai nudges his leg with his foot. "Sure, we did most of the work, but give yourself come credit. Like, three percent?"
Lloyd rolls his eyes, but Kai is heartened to see a hint of smile on his face. It quickly drops, though, and Lloyd returns to looking at the ground, that same miserable look on his face.
"Hey," Kai says, his voice softening as he carefully takes a seat beside Lloyd, the chunk of rubble wobbling a bit. "You sure you're okay?"
Lloyd shrugs, kicking at the ground again. "Doesn't matter," he mutters.
"It does to me," Kai says, persistently. Lloyd looks up at that, a flash of surprise crossing his expression. He quickly looks back down, shaking his head.
"My dad left," he says, voice colored in absolute misery. "Again."
"…oh." Understanding dawns on Kai. Personally, he hadn't been too concerned when Garmadon disappeared (except to worry about their weapons, because ugh, while expected, what a low move). But for Lloyd, who had tried to get his dad back for so long and finally found him, just to lose him right after…
Broken families are something Kai is intimately familiar with — it wasn't until he met the guys that he really started to feel as if him and Nya were part of something whole, and even then, there's still that gaping hole in his chest that's taking a…a really long time to heal. But it's hard to see that same pain in Lloyd's eyes, and it hurts a bit more than Kai would've thought.
"I mean, I knew he would," Lloyd says, bitterly. "I'm not stupid."
Kai opens his mouth, but Lloyd continues before he can say anything. "But I just — it's stupid. A stupid, broken family." Lloyd hunches in on himself, biting at his lip before mumbling, his voice so quiet Kai almost misses it.
"It's just…everyone's always leaving. They're always leaving me behind, like I'm just - like I'm-" he cuts off, his voice hitching, either from anger or sadness or a mix of both. "W-why does everyone always leave?"
Kai blinks, momentarily at a loss. His heart constricts. Oh. He doesn't have an answer for that one, other than it's not fair.
But it isn't — it isn't fair. It's not fair that Lloyd's left this way. He's a good kid — a mischievous, scheming little brat who can whine for hours and get underfoot like nobody's business, but he's also earnest and sweet and amusingly funny, and he cares about people in a way that's so naively innocent you can't help but want the world to change for him.
He's a good kid — the Golden Weapons knew that, even when Kai couldn't see it.
Kai blinks. He realizes, with a start, that Lloyd is the Green Ninja now. He's going to be training, going places, doing dangerous things. He won't be Nya's little tagalong anymore. He won't just be Kai's little demon spawn who watches him make fires in the middle of the night with wide eyes. He's going to be so much more, he's going to be something great. He's — maybe going to leave, eventually.
And Kai — Kai has gone and gotten himself attached.
It doesn't make sense — what is this, witchcraft? Here's a pint-sized brat, in one month you'll gladly burn the world down for him? Because he would, Garmadon's son or not-
Kai is suddenly seized by an overwhelming need to keep this kid forever.
"How about we combine, then?" he blurts out suddenly.
Lloyd's head snaps up, looking utterly confused. "Wha-?"
"Families," Kai says, hurriedly. "Let's combine families. Mine's broken, too. Nya and I, it's just us, our parents are — well, anyways, it's broken. So let's combine, you and me and her, huh? Then we can have half a working one, you know?"
The entire thing comes out in a dizzying rush, Kai tripping over every other word. He immediately wants to bolt and pitch himself off the nearest cliff, because yikes, that was a mess.
Lloyd stares at him, his eyes wide and mouth half-open, expression blank.
Kai is very well considering that he may have said the entire thing in a different language, because Lloyd is staring at him like he's grown a second head. Smooth one, fire boy, a voice that sounds like Nya echoes in his head. He should probably try and explain, either to clarify his point or drop the whole thing entirely — probably drop it entirely, Lloyd is gonna think he's a dumb joke anyways — when Lloyd opens his mouth and—
"You – you want…me?" he says, his voice a baffled whisper. "To be a – a part of your family?"
Lloyd blinks furiously, and Kai is horrified to see tears welling up in his red eyes.
"I mean - not if you don't want to!" Kai yelps, hurriedly. "It's just - it's just an offer, I thought - well, I dunno what I thought, just - please stop crying? Please? You can just forget everything I said if you wa-"
"N-no, it's not that!" Lloyd bursts out, his voice thick as he waves desperately at Kai. "I just – no one's ever – you're not even related to me, and you actually want-"
Oh, oh, Kai's heart is just getting shoved through a cheese grater today, isn't it. He swallows back a lump in his own throat, crouching down on one knee so he can face Lloyd directly.
He grabs Lloyd's shoulders, holding him firmly in place so he actually meets his eyes. "Kid," he says. "You may be a demon spawn, but you know what else? You hit Pythor in the face. You've tried to punch people who can, without a doubt, utterly crush you. You can't do laundry to save your life, your taste in pizza is terrible, and you've given Nya gray hair already. Trust me," Kai grins a little, shaking his head. "You are a hundred percent, guaranteed, family material here."
Lloyd's face screws up, like he's desperately trying not to burst into tears. He makes a shaky little squeak that might be an attempt at a sentence.
Kai clears his throat, trying not to feel hideously awkward and mentally praying to everything that he doesn't make Lloyd cry anymore. "So, uh, yeah! Bing, bang, you're adopted. Congrats, we're a very exclusiv- uff!"
Lloyd crashes into Kai, his arms wrapping around him tight enough to knock the air clean out of him. Kai has to take a few wheezing gasps before he's able to return the embrace, holding Lloyd tightly, then patting him awkwardly on the back.
"Uh — there, there. Just — please stop crying?"
"I'm not crying!" Lloyd says thickly into his shoulder, obviously tearing up.
"Then what is this?" Kai says, gesturing to his damp gi half-hysterically. "Rain?"
"You're crying too!" Lloyd accuses, through tears.
"I am not!" Kai defends, trying to ignore the hot sting in his eyes. "It's been a very stressful day, that's all!"
Lloyd just giggles, sniffling noisily and pulling back a bit. He quiets, looking down at his hands before looking up at Kai. Kai's stricken by how very small he looks, and how tentatively, painfully hopeful.
"You're…you're really for real about this?"
"A hundred percent, really for real," Kai assures him.
Lloyd's expression spasms briefly, several hundred different emotions flashing across it at once, before it softens into the tiniest pull of a smile. Kai grins back, and ruffles his hair. Lloyd lets him this time, not even trying to pull away. "You just need a haircut, okay?"
The fact that Lloyd doesn't even try to make a bratty retort back is probably saying something.
But maybe it's a good something, Kai thinks, as he scoops Lloyd up when he finally falls asleep against his side, carrying him back to their camp under the night sky, the stars just starting to shine through. A good something that makes Kai's chest almost hurt as Lloyd mumbles something inaudible, tucking his head against his shoulder. The kind of hurt that feels good, though, like when he looks at Nya.
Ooh. Yeah, speaking of. He should probably let Nya know — she's gonna kill him for adopting Lloyd without her.
It was kinda her idea, after all.
Nya changed the chat name to HE WAS MY KID FIRST
Kai: u snooze u lose
Nya: i hate you
Kai: whatever u know he loves u
Nya: yeah but I wanted to BE THERE!
Kai: ur just mad ur not the baby of this family anymore
Nya: no that's definitely still you