Lloyd's P.O.V
I sat on the edge of the Temple's island, my feet hanging over the edge. I knew I should be with them team, forming some sort of plan on what to do next. I just needed some space, though. They all understood, allowing me to relax. We all needed to relax before the time came to fight Krux and Acronix again. With or without Kai and Master.
Zane has been on and off the scanners since we came back to the Temple. He's watching for temporal disturbances around Ninjago. Otherwise known as Kai arriving. So far, there's been no luck.
Nya has been with her parents. Having them around has really lifted the pressure off us to help her. Of course, we're still here for her in every way possible. Just none of us have lost a sibling as close as she and Kai are, so we don't know how she's feeling or how to comfort her. So we have been letting her have the comfort of her parents, allowing them to join us for meetings if Nya wants.
Cole and Jay left this morning to hide the Time blade again. They had a place to hide it, but refused to say. It was smart to not tell us, but it worries me that they might just play with it instead. Either way, I'm sure they'll hide it with caution and security. I hope at least.
"Lloyd?"
I turned, seeing my mother behind me. She sat next to me, her feet dangling next to mine as an arm wrapped around my shoulders. She pulled me in close, and I sighed. Neither of us spoke for sometime. I just stared into the distance for a while, watching the birds swoop and soar and the puffy clouds float across the sky. It was peacefully out here, a peace we needed to rest for a little while. It's what we got once we returned home. Peace and quiet. For some of us.
"Are you feeling alright?" my mother spoke, startling me from my thoughts.
"What do you mean?" I asked her.
"No one has heard a peep from you since Cole and Jay left two hours ago," she told me. "Zane is kind of worried you aren't taking this well."
"I'm still adjust to being their master is all," I insisted.
She gave me a look, saying she knew there was more to it. There was, obviously. I wasn't going to say anything, though. I just couldn't admit that I was worried. Not without worrying the whole team.
"That's all it is, mom," I said. "Honestly."
"Alright," she sighed. "Just know, I'm here if you need to talk. As is everyone else on the team. We are all here for you."
My mom gave me one last hug before getting up to leave. I watched her walk back to the Temple over my shoulder. Once she closed the door, I turned away. I looked out on the horizon, over the rolling hills of sand. The sun was shining brightly above my head, sending small sparkles shimmering in the sand. It was relaxing to watch.
When I glanced up, I saw two dots off in the distance. Cole and Jay were returning. How did I know? I watched one fly into the other, the other barely avoiding him. I chuckled.
"I'm taking that Cole and Jay are coming," a voice caused me to jump.
I turned, seeing Zane behind me. He smiled at me.
"Surprise," he smiled.
I smiled at him. I climbed to my feet, careful to not fall off. He took my arm and pulled me from the ledge. I smiled as he laughed. When I stopped, I noticed there was faint laughter in the distance. I looked up to see Cole and Jay laughing as they came in to land.
"Blade is hidden," Cole told us.
"No one will ever find it," Jay added.
"Good, now we can focus on the next thing," I said.
"Finding Kai?" Zane asked.
I nodded. Cole and Zane turned to walk inside and Jay moved to my side.
"Have you seen Nya lately?" he asked.
"I believe her and her parents returned to Ignacia," I said. "She wants to be around where she grew up with Kai."
"Oh," Jay sounded disappointed.
"She is happy you're here still," I told him. "She said this would be a lot more challenging for her without both of you and Kai, she needs you to help her."
Jay smiled slightly, nodding.
"Thanks, Lloyd," he said. "I needed that."
I smiled at him. We walked inside to join Cole and Zane. Zane was running another scan of Ninjago for any temporal disturbances, or signs of Kai.
"Nothing yet," Cole sighed. He turned to me. "Do you think he might not have fallen after all? What if he is lost in time like Wu? What of he didn't make it? What if we can't find him?"
"What if there are no more what ifs?" I echoed Master. "He will show up, Cole. We will find him, whether it's five days from now, or five years. He will show up and be back with us. I am sure of it."
He nodded. I had to keep the hope up that Kai was still out there. It had been two days since Kai and I had been separated. Nya has been rather distant, only speaking with her parents and the odd time with Jay. Zane has constantly scanning Ninjago, hoping to find Kai, so I haven't seen him much either. Really, I've only spoken with Cole lately. Which has been helping a lot. Most of the time.
Cole turned and we walked out into the main room. He glanced around, looking for anyone. I saw Jay walking to his room, probably to get some rest after their long journey.
"I'm heading off for some rest, Lloyd," Jay called to me.
"Ok," I nodded.
He disappeared into his room down the hall. I turned to Cole, seeing him staring into space.
"Lloyd," Cole said quietly.
"You should go and rest too," I told him. "You and Jay both were gone all morning and need it."
Cole nodded, "I know. But there is something else."
I looked at him confused, trying to figure out what he was implying. Then his hand shot out, grabbing my wrist. He pulled me behind him as we quickly ran into his room. He locked the door behind us, then turned to face me.
"What was that about?" I asked him.
"It's Jay," Cole told me.
"What about him?" I asked.
"He's not acting like himself," Cole told me.
"He's tired," I said. "Most people aren't themselves when they are tired."
Cole shook his head. He walked across the room, opening a drawer.
"Lloyd, I'm serious," Cole told me. "Something else is wrong with him. He's keeping a secret from us. I think someone else might be in on it too."
"Who?" I asked.
"I don't know," Cole shook his head. "But we had started talking about past villains. About Chen, Pythor, your father.."
"And," I said, wanting him to continue.
"After Clouse had come up, he mentioned something about Sky pirates," Cole said.
"Sky pirates?" I questioned.
"Yeah," Cole said. "I didn't know what he was talking about, then he claimed he didn't say anything like that."
"Maybe you misheard him," I suggested.
"Lloyd, something has happened and we don't know about it," Cole told me, sounding really serious. "Jay knows, he doesn't want to tell us, and I don't know why."
"Ask him," I said.
"I tried, and he went straight to denial," Cole insisted.
"Well, I have no idea what you are talking about," I told him. "You said another teammate might know, I have no clue if that helps. Zane might, but I doubt Kai would. He would have said something."
"You don't believe me," Cole muttered under his breath
"That's not true," I cut in. "I'm not saying I don't believe you, I'm saying I don't know anything about this. You might be able to get something out of someone else, but I can't help you. This is all you."
Cole nodded, disappointed.
"Get some rest and maybe you can talk to Jay later once he wakes up," I said. "Maybe then he will tell you. I can't do much other than that without losing focus on the task at hand."
"I understand," Cole said quietly. "You can go."
I sighed, turning and leaving him in his room. I turned and returned to the control room, wanting to talk with Zane about everything Cole just told me. Maybe he has an idea on what Cole's talking about.
Ok, this is rather important so please read!
As of July 21, there will be no updates for 10 days. I will be away camping and unable to upload chapters. This story will be finished before I leave, seeing there re only two chapters left. This story has been finished for a while, so uploads tomorrow and Sunday and it'll be done. This story has been done for more that a week, it's just a matter of uploading the chapters and time to do it.
Again, I'm gone July 21-31, and won't upload until August once I leave most likely. Stories will hopefully be finished this weekend or at some point within the next week.
Thanks for the understanding,
Sweetheart114 signing off!
