Discovering Destiny

Another night, another update.

We'll find out what Koko was doing & the ninja will see some action again so sit back & enjoy!

Chapter 35: Don't Call Me

Koko was busy preparing dinner to occupy her time alone while Lloyd was away doing school projects with his friends. She remembered a time when she thought that any food preparation more complex than peeling a banana or heating frozen meals in the microwave to be a waste of time. She guessed it was because she wasn't that much of a cook until it was just Lloyd and her. Cooking was one of many unfamiliar things she had to learn in order to adjust to life away from the battlefield and she ended up enjoying it. Being able to provide something as simple as a homemade meal for her son filled her with joy and banished any regret she had over leaving her husband. She didn't bother to think about how the dark lord was faring. They were through and all the once celebrated warrior wanted to do was to keep providing for her son and help him find a much better future...

The ringtone from Koko's phone suddenly went off, interrupted her chopping up some ingredients for tonight's meal. She instinctively answered without looking at the number of whoever was calling her.

"Hello?" Koko answered.

All the former warrior could hear was static and inaudible whispers for many moments until whoever got her number finally spoke.

"Can you hear me?" A voice Koko wished to never hear again finally replied and the ex-warrior nearly dropped her phone.

"...Garmadon…!"

"It hasn't been long but I'll never forgot what happened the other day," Garmadon talked, eerily calm for someone Koko vividly remembers as an extremely temperamental person, "Tell me. How's our son doing? Is he still being, as you claim, hated by everyone in the world you took him to?"

Koko knew of her ex-husband's hacking exploits with the city's TV networks and now, it seems that he can do the same with the cellular network. She quickly thought of the worst case scenario and the first thing she thought about was her son's safety.

Without bothering to respond to her former spouse, Koko hung up on him but memorized the number before calling Lloyd. She had to warn him of his father before the dark lord could reach him…

Lloyd seemed distressed when he was on his phone and the ninja knew better to keep their distance though that didn't stop them from guessing what was going on.

"What do you think he's upset about?" Heather asked.

"Did his mom find out about what we're doing?" Jay fidgeted.

"Or maybe he broke up with someone?" Aria pondered.

Everyone else looked at the kunoichi of wind with incredulous stares.

"Lloyd was never in a relationship." Cole corrected her.

Iris felt a sudden urge to throw up, remembering something she wished to forget. Despite her sudden nausea, she was just as invested in eavesdropping as her teammates.

Lloyd's brain was bombarded by many emotions coming in at once but the strongest one was rage. His father ruined his life and never bothered to make any contact with him or even his mother, taking his sweet time until now to make just one measly call.

"What about him…?" Lloyd's hushed voice shook.

"He somehow got my number and he may have found yours through mine," Koko replied, knowing her son wouldn't take his father's sudden arrival well, "I saw the number he used and I'll tell you. It's..."

The ninja's curiosity was nagging them and they were even more tempted to ask Lloyd what was going on but Master Wu stopped them, which was probably a good thing.

"Students, come back inside," Wu beckoned his apprentices, "Lloyd needs some personal space."

"Don't you think that's a bit of an understatement?" Nya retorted.

The elderly sage still dragged the rest of his students back into the warehouse.

Sooner than Lloyd would've wanted, which was never, the number his mother told him appeared on the screen of his phone. Lloyd was tempted to answer and at the same time, destroy his phone.

This might be his one chance to finally have his father back in his life but is that what he wants?

Does he want to have an evil warlord for a father?

Some people say no family is better than a bad family and Lloyd didn't really understand it until now. As much as he yearned to have the company of a father he was starting to think maybe it was a good thing his mother took him away from the dark lord. If he was the same as his father, then the civilians' hatred of him would be justified but he'll never be his father. He didn't want to be evil and he began to believe that living with Garmadon wouldn't make any difference with how society sees him.

Lloyd felt a strong need to say something he's been planning to say to the dark lord for a long time. He no longer cared what his mother, uncle, or even his friends thought. For once, he's not gonna be held back by the opinions of others.

He 'accepted' the call from the number and didn't hesitate to sum up years of hatred and frustration at his own father into just two words…

At the NCC headquarters, where everyone made sure the citizens must pay a hundred dollars a month if they want to watch Silicon Meadow or Game of Crowns, the employees felt chills crawl up their spine.

Did something slip past their extremely staunch censors…?

The dark lord loomed silently in his office and none of his underlings dared to approach him.

Garmadon never knew what to expect even before calling Lloyd and certainly didn't expect him to say those words to him. He had no idea how to even fathom why his own son would hate him enough to react that way. If he were in Lloyd's shoes, Garmadon would've looked up to him… himself… anyway, the dark lord possessed a massive ego. But if he was the one who was bullied and hated by everyone, he wouldn't hesitate to run away and take revenge on them. He could've given that to Lloyd and much more yet he couldn't see that.

However, the dark lord isn't one to give up so easily.

If Lloyd's gonna give him a hard time, then he'll have to dish it back…

The ninja were too stunned by Lloyd's choice of words to say anything once he returned to the base. Not even Master Wu thought of getting close to him. The wise mentor can see the rage festering in his taciturn nephew's green eyes. The young ninja made a beeline for his desk and was focused on getting started on his next mech without making even the tiniest sound with his voice.

"Master Wu, are we gonna go back to training?" Jay asked the ninja's mentor.

"A quiet atmosphere is what Lloyd needs most for the moment. We shall wait until he blows enough steam. In the meantime, you should also regain your strength." Wu retreated back to the corner with a piping hot cup of tea which his students were starting to think he might be drinking too much of. But in the end, he had a point and the other ninja knew they'll have to avoid Lloyd if they want to live life after high school.

The rest of the Secret Ninja Force huddled together on the opposite end of the warehouse while their teammate was busy building his next mech.

"I can't believe he actually said that..." Luna still can't get over her initial shock.

"I can." Nya said flatly.

"I do not understand," The ever naive Zane spoke, "I have only heard that word in school yet I have no information on the definition of..." The android repeated the word Lloyd said while at the same time, Lloyd briefly turned on the power drill, drowning out his voice. The rest of the robot's teammates still heard him and were even more shocked to hear that word come out of his mouth.

"Zane, do us a favor and don't say that word ever again." Kai muttered.

"Why? I still do not understand what makes -" The robot almost said it again but Iris clamped her hand over his mouth.

"I don't understand how someone as smart as you can also be so naive..." The pink kunoichi sighed.

"I'm actually more worried if anyone else heard him," Heather said, "You know how the NCC can get on everyone's asses when even the smallest thing gets past the radar."

"Since when did anyone else care what Lloyd does?" The black-clad ninja asked.

A few teammates gasped at Cole's remark, which might set off the green ninja the wrong way. Luckily, the green ninja was too engrossed by his work to listen to his teammates' conversation and even if he heard what Cole said, he didn't seem to care.

"Everyone hates Lloyd and there's plenty of times bad things happen to him and nobody gave a damn. If I knew any better, they'll be celebrating if he breaks any of his bones or suddenly disappear without a trace." The earth ninja spoke of the locals' hatred of their friend like it was nothing serious.

"You do have a point..." Jay responded.

"Am I the only one here who's more worried about what Garmadon will do?" Aria reminded the rest of the ninja of the dark lord… whom Lloyd just told off… in a not so family-friendly way.

"Oh god, he's probably gonna send the entire Shark Army," Jay quivered, "Or worse, he's gonna build himself a mech much larger than Lloyd's Mech Dragon or even summon a giant monster. Ninjago City will be leveled. We're doomed!"

"The estimated time for Garmadon to complete a mechanical contraption that will dwarf Lloyd's will be at a minimum of three months," Zane calculated, "And chances of him summoning an otherworldly being is six percent."

"And what if that six percent comes true?" Kai seemed to side with Jay for once, "There's a lot about Ninjago's history we have yet to discover and Garmadon could be making his own mech as we speak!"

"We'll never know for certain," Nya brushed him off, "For now, we need to stay focused on training if we can have any chance of defeating Garmadon."

"But what about Lloyd? I'm more concerned on how he'll react from now on..." Luna mused.

"If he can't fight, then we will. It's not Lloyd alone who has to defend Ninjago. We're the Secret Ninja Force, a team. It doesn't have to be all about Lloyd." Iris said.

"True," Cole nodded, "But we can't forget he'll probably be affected by it more than any of us."

"I guess I can see that. I just hope he'll be able to overcome whatever Garmadon throws at him..." Kai glanced at his teammate hard at work with the mechs...

The ninja just barely got ready to begin another training session when they were needed yet again by the townsfolk. The Shark Army were back at it and since they weren't in school, the Secret Ninja Force had all the time in the world to go after them.

"The Shark Army are raiding the beaches!" The reporters on the ninja's new TV exclaimed, "Last time, it was Master Wu who saved the day! Will the Secret Ninja Force show up again or are they really just a bunch of posers looking for their fifteen minutes of fame?"

The aforementioned Secret Ninja Force watched the report, some of them not at all thrilled at being called posers. Others, Kai and Nya in particular, were itching to test out everything they've learned in the art of combat until now. As for Lloyd… the less words said, the better.

"You know the drill," Wu deadpanned, "There appears to be more henchmen compared to last time. I recommend for all of you to go -"

"I'm not going!" Lloyd interrupted his uncle.

His teammates suspected his sudden behavior had to do with that call from last night.

"Lloyd, there are many things we have to face, even if we don't want to. I understand how you feel but sitting in a corner and feeling sorry for yourself will not get you anywhere." Wu approached his young nephew, expecting him to explode.

"I'm not sorry for myself," The green ninja fumed, "I'm sorry for all those idiots who have no idea what it's like to have stones tossed at you from every side. I'm sorry they only see me for who I'm related to. I have no freakin' idea why I signed up to protect the people who've done nothing to me but assume I'm the same as that… that..."

"Say no more." His uncle halted him, already knowing what he was going to say.

"I don't want to be here. Heck, I don't even want to be in this damn city." Lloyd grumbled.

"If you're tired of being seen as nothing more than the son of the dark lord, then prove it." Master Wu bluntly told his nephew.

"I already did. Countless times and they can never see it."

"I do not mean it that way."

"What else am I supposed to do? No one still trust us as ninja and even if everyone will idolize us later, they still will never know I'm the green ninja! It won't make a difference!"

"One day, you will know exactly what to do. Some things will never come if you keep expecting them to. The more you try to reach out and take possession of what you don't have, the more you already have that you will lose. Life can be cruel but you're not the only one to suffer for it."

"Master Wu, we gotta go!" Kai urged his teacher to give the team permission to leave.

"Lloyd, you must know what you already have," Wu told his nephew one last time, "Go and face your future. All of you must."

With much reluctance, Lloyd accepted his latest assignment. At least he'll have an outlet for his fury...

The ninja still had to go on foot, Lloyd's Mech Dragon still far from being functional. During their trip, they were wary to keep their distance from Lloyd, who was still beyond pissed. It was a good thing the journey to the beach wasn't too long and the ninja soon found the Shark Army.

"Well you sorry lot took your sweet time." The next General #1 sneered at the young vigilantes.

"If you really are the 'protectors' of Ninjago City, then where were you last time?" Another Shark Army lackey mocked the ninja.

"I am afraid we cannot disclose that type of information to you." The robotic white ninja said.

"You know how this will go." Iris whispered to her teammates.

"So… does that mean we run away?" Jay asked.

"No, you idiot!" Kai hissed at him, ignoring his sister's glare aiming at him, "We're gonna fight!"

The Secret Ninja Force and the Shark Army clashed yet again on the shores of Ninjago City.

Some of the ninja's combat skills improved while others still had a long way to go. The fidgety ninja in blue still didn't have a lot of control with his kusarigama and the one in purple always ran away when the Shark Army were after her, always hiding behind the buff ninja wearing black. The ninja in red and silver managed to give their enemies a hard time with their double katana and spear and the odd one in white fired his arrows with pinpoint accuracy.

With twice as many members as the Secret Ninja Force, the Shark Army thought they'll maintain the advantage in numbers but this fight was harder than the first one, thanks to a certain ninja.

Throughout the brawl, the ninja in green seemed much more ruthless than during previous battles. He didn't give his enemies any chance to fight back as he chased them down like a predator demolishing their weapons with his sword. The Shark Army, the other ninja, and even the citizens who stayed and watched the whole battle could see the pure unbridled rage in his eyes.

Once the dust and sand had settled, the Shark Army found themselves ousted by the green ninja, who destroyed their weapons with his sword.

"Okay! We surrender!" The underlings gave up like the cowards they were.

"Go and tell your boss that we won't be playing around anymore." The green ninja glared at the dark lord's underlings with his matching eyes.

With the Shark Army running away with their tails tucked between their legs, the civilians celebrated as the day had been saved by the Secret Ninja Force.

However, the praise and adoration meant little for Lloyd. They had no idea who was really fighting for them and their compliments were hollow. They praised the green ninja but not Lloyd himself. If they ever find out... god knows what will happen...

Throughout the walk home, Lloyd knew everyone was glaring at him without having to see their faces. As usual, they blamed him for his father's rampages against the city. No one will ever suspect that the green ninja on his first steps to becoming a hero was also the same son of Garmadon they hated. The only reason he continued putting up with the townspeople's hypocrisy was because he wasn't saving the city and being a ninja for them. No, he was only doing this to find the answers he's been searching for his entire life. No one else mattered to him but himself… and maybe his mother...

"Mom, I'm home." Lloyd greeted the only parent in his life upon his return.

"Lloyd. I was so worried about you." Koko wrapped her arms around her son once he came inside.

"I always come back in one piece," The outcast retorted, "Why are you being so upset now?"

"Ever since your father found our numbers, I've began to have this fear that you'll leave one day." His mother still didn't let go but Lloyd didn't mind. As much as he despised his father, he loved his mother very much. At least she didn't reject him.

"I would never leave, especially since this is the only place where I can be me without being judged." The green-eyed outcast sighed.

"You know I left your father so I could give you a better chance at life. But I always feared that it will be all for nothing and you'll end up like him despite my efforts. But I only put you in a far worse situation. I don't know which is worse, you staying here and continue to be hated, or… or..."

"Or what? Do you think I'm gonna turn out like him?"

Koko felt even more uneasy when her son voiced her deepest fears.

"Lloyd… did Garmadon call you…?"

The green ninja wasn't sure how to answer. If he tells his mother the truth, chances of her discovering his secret identity will be as great as guessing who's the least popular guy at school. The other choice was to (obviously) keep lying to her, which he never liked since the beginning. He still had to keep his secret safe until the supposed 'right time' as his strange uncle always called it, whenever it comes.

Also, he was sure he'll be grounded for life if his mother found out what he said to Garmadon.

"...Yes..." Lloyd finally answered but said nothing more.

Koko's fears started to consume her very being. With someone as bitter as Lloyd, it may not take much for him to snap or become desperate to have his father in his life… or even both...

"W-what did he say…?" Koko inquired her son.

"I… hung up before he could say anything..." Lloyd lied, knowing it would be for the better.

The single mother sighed with relief. Her son didn't seem interested in siding with his father. Now time will tell if his beliefs will change...

"Lloyd, you will never be like your father… and you will never be me, either." Koko looked straight into her child's eyes with hers that were also green. But hers was different. Her eyes were a darker hue due to both age and seeing many things that darkened her views, including the dark lord himself, while her son's were still bright and young. Unlike her, he still has yet to discover who he is...

"Now that Garmadon knows our numbers, will he call us again?" Lloyd broke the silence with another question regarding his father's intentions.

"It's not unlikely. I would get our phones replaced right now but I can't afford two new phones for the moment." Koko sighed.

"Mom, you don't have to do all this for me. I can take care of myself."

"It's my duty as a mother to look out for you and it's one I will gladly uphold."

"No need to get so poetic about it..." Lloyd found himself wondering if aspects of his uncle rubbed off on his mother. Still, an obnoxiously metaphorical mother is way better than an evil father.

"Okay, I won't say that again," Koko jested, "Now have some dinner. The school year is far from over."

As Lloyd helped himself to some shrimp fried rice, his mind kept revolving around the chances he and the other ninja faced lately. His Mech Dragon was complete and he was getting started on some of the other contraptions, the Shark Army are becoming relentless, and the Secret Ninja Force are slowly but surely becoming celebrities. It was something Lloyd Garmadon, the most hated person in Ninjago City second to his father, would've never imagined. Life has a funny way of never turning out as one would expect it… and Lloyd will continue to find that out in the near future…

And so, the plot thickens. As for what Lloyd said to Garmadon… I'd really prefer this story to stay T-Rated. I told you there will be action eventually & I do plan on doing some more with the ninja's battles as well as training so be sure to buckle up… when humans can turn beef into chicken.

Also, please check out my profile & vote on the poll for my ideas of a new mini-series. I'll still be mainly focused on this story but I do have other stories in mind. As always, please review.