AN: Hope you like the new oneshot.
This was requested by: my brain at 2:00am!
Set before the movie
Mentions of suicide
Lego owns Ninjago
It had been four weeks since Wu had gotten word of Koko leaving his brother. It had been shocking to hear, he'd thought that the couple were inseparable. He'd even harboured hopes that Koko might be able to turn Garmadon away from his evil path. But now she has left him, and Wu feared what his brother's anger would do.
He'd avoided visiting Koko, in case she turned him away. He was worried about her future in the city of Garmadon haters. But most of all, he feared for her son, his nephew. The child would face prejudice and hatred wherever he went. Being the son of Garmadon may even turn the boy to the evil side. And Wu didn't want to lose another family member. So he vowed to help in anyway he could.
With this in mind, the old man headed to the apartment that Koko had rented. It was a very rundown place, full of desperate people in desperate situations. He found the apartment block and took the elevator to the right floor. Once on the floor, he spotted the door just across from the elevator. He walked swiftly over to it, knocking gently on the door.
As he waited for a reply, Wu looked around the landing area. A few doors down, two people were engaged in an argument. And nearby, a small child, maybe two or three years old, was kicking a ball around. The child kicked the ball a bit too hard and it sailed through the air and landed at Wu's feet. He smiled kindly at the startled kid and calmly kicked the ball back. The child smiled back and grabbed the ball quickly.
Just then, the door to Koko's apartment opened, revealing a very tired looking woman holding a kitchen knife. Wu stepped back a bit, looking at the knife. Was she angry enough to hurt me?
She seemed to realise what she was holding, because she quickly place the knife on a small table by the door.
"Sorry, I was making a sandwich." Koko quickly apologised, stepping aside to let Wu in. "Please come in. Sorry the place is a bit of a mess."
Wu thanked her and walked in, looking around the apartment. She was right about the mess. Furniture in various states of repair were scattered around the room in no particular order. The walls had no wallpaper on them, and Koko had clearly been trying to scrap the patches of mould off the walls. The carpet was probably the only clean thing in the house, but even that had some stains on it.
"It's been a nightmare trying to make this place liveable!" Koko exclaimed incredulously, indicating to the state of the room. "Every time I think I've cleaned it all, I find more dirt!"
"It must not be easy to start a new life in the city." Wu commented absentmindedly, inspecting the furniture and finding a clean-ish seat to sit on. He was too old to stand around all day. Koko looked at him, then sat herself on a nearby sofa.
"So why are you here? I doubt this is a social visit, I've only met you a few times." Koko asked, watching Wu carefully.
"I just wanted to see how you were doing." Wu replied simply. "It came as quite a shock to me when I found out you had left my brother."
"I believe I made the right decision." Koko replied sternly. "I didn't want to live that life anymore."
"Of course. The arrival of your son probably forced you to think about the future." Wu remarked. Koko's eyes quickly flickered to a door in the apartment, but she instantly focused back on the old man.
"Yes. Lloyd deserves a better future than Garmadon can provide." Koko admitted, not looking Wu in the eyes.
"Lloyd? That's a nice name. But a name like 'Lloyd Garmadon' isn't the best way for him to avoid negative attention." Wu was surprised by name of his nephew. Up to this point, he hadn't known the baby's name.
"I thought so, but I'm not going to change it. It suits him." She agreed, then stood up abruptly. "Would you like to meet him?"
"I would love to." Wu replied, following her into another, smaller room.
It was clearly a child's room. The wallpaper, even though it was peeling in places, was covered in cartoon ducks and chickens. Various soft toys were scattered around the floor, including a stuffed teddy. Wu looked at the cot at the side of the room, made of wood and filled with blankets.
He walked over to it and looked down, seeing a small baby wrapped in a green cloth. The child had one of the cutest faces Wu had ever seen. But Wu's attention was drawn to the child's eyes. They were a deep, forest green. He stared at the baby, trying to understand the meaning of it. Lloyd just babbled and reached out a small hand to touch Wu's beard.
The old man gently extracted his beard from the infant's grip. In response to losing his new toy, the baby began to cry. Koko moved forward to pick her son up, but Wu reached out a hand and gently stroked the child's head. Lloyd stopped crying and looked up at the new face, smiling.
"He likes you." Koko commented, looking at her son.
"I think you make the right decision." Wu assured her. "He'll grow up to be better than his father."
_Time skip_
It had been almost five years since his last visit, so Wu decided that today would be spent doing just that. He was also concerned about Lloyd, who had recently started school. Wu was worried what people had said to him.
Arriving at the apartment door, Wu knocked gently. No one was in the hallway this time, so the old man just stared at the roof. He heard the sound of voices behind the door, talking quietly.
The door opened, and Koko stepped out, looking at Wu. She looked surprised to see him, but led him into the house anyway. Wu smiled at her and looked around the apartment.
It had definitely improved since last time. The walls had new, clean wallpaper on them, making the place look homely. The carpet had been changed, and was now a pale brown colour. The furniture was in better condition and Wu easily found a nice seat to sit on.
"It looks better than last time." Wu observed, looking at Koko. She seemed happier and more awake than last time. He was happy that they'd settled down well.
"Yes. I was finally able to fully clean the place. It took ages!" Koko exclaimed, sitting down in a chair across from Wu. "But what are you doing here?"
"Can't an uncle visit his nephew every now and then?" Wu replied, smiling.
"Of course you can visit, just tell me ahead of time." Koko replied happily. "But I'm not sure if Lloyd will talk to you."
"Why not?" Wu inquired, concerned about his nephew. He'd hoped to be able to talk to him.
"He just came home from school, and he's in a bit of a mood." She replied, sighing as she looked a the door to Lloyd's room.
"I'd still like to meet him." Wu replied simply, standing up and walking towards the room. Koko smiled at him gratefully.
On entering Lloyd's room, Wu noticed the change in the look of the room. The wallpaper had been changed, and was now a pale blue. The toys that covered the floor now included action figures and plastic animals. A small child's bed was pushed into the corner.
Lloyd hadn't heard Wu enter, so he continued to play. Wu watched as the five year old moved some plastic farm animals towards a small plastic fox, smiling. But his smile faltered when he heard Lloyd's words.
"Hey guys, can I play too?" Lloyd imitated a squeaky voice, making the fox move its head up and down.
"No, you're bad. We don't want to play with you." Lloyd's voice went deeper as he moved the head of one of the farm animals, a cow.
"But I wouldn't hurt you. Just because I'm a fox doesn't mean I'm evil." The fox replied, lowering its head to the ground.
"But your dad was evil, so you're evil. We will never like you!" One of the sheep replied, and the farm animals were pushed away by Lloyd's hand.
"I guess I'll just play by myself." Snapped the fox. But then Lloyd seemed to lose his temper, because he threw the fox towards the door, where Wu was.
Being a master of spinjitzu, Wu easily caught the fox before it hit him, and placed it back in front of Lloyd. The toddler looked shocked by the newcomer, backing away from him. Wu smiled at him kindly and bend down to Lloyd's level, looking him in the eyes.
"Hello, my name is Wu. But you can call me uncle Wu." The old man told the child gently. Lloyd just sat staring at him.
"You're my uncle?" Lloyd asked, confused.
"Yes. Your father is my brother." Wu explained. Lloyd smiled, but looked worried when Wu mentioned his father.
"Are you evil, like him?" Lloyd asked innocent. "My teacher says that I'm evil because I'm related to Garmadon, so you must be too!"
"Lloyd, you are not evil. Your father's actions should not affect you." Wu reassured him. The old man had been expecting this kind of thing to have been told to his nephew. "And I'm not evil. I'm trying to stop Garmadon's attacks."
"Ok. That means I can be good too!" Lloyd exclaimed happily. Wu picked up the small toy fox.
"What game were you playing just now?" Wu asked, looking at the fox toy.
"I was just thinking about the kids at school, so I decided that they could be the farm animals, and I could be the fox." Lloyd replied, smiling at Wu and reaching out to grab the fox. Wu handed it to him.
"And why are you the fox, and everyone else is a sheep or a cow?" Wu asked gently, wanting to understand his nephew.
"Well, I know that cows and sheep are always with their friends. And foxes are always alone, and farm animals don't like them." Lloyd explained happily as he moved the fox along the ground in an imitation of walking. "And I really like foxes, because they don't care about being alone and are really cool."
"That's nice." Wu said, gently standing up and leaving the room. Lloyd didn't seem to noticed him leave, and just played with his fox toy.
Wu walked over to Koko, lost in thought. His nephew seemed like a normal, happy child, but some of his ideas about the world were concerning. Wu sat down in the chair again, looking at Lloyd's mother.
"He seems a bit lonely at school." Wu remarked. Koko nodded, handing Wu a cup of tea, which he drank gratefully.
"Yes, I'd noticed that too. He doesn't really talk about it, but it is worrying." Koko agreed, looking at the door to her son's room.
"Well, we both knew school wouldn't be easy for him. But he seems like a likable kid." Wu replied simply, sipping his tea.
"Oh yes, he try's very hard to be good and behave himself in school." Koko commented. "He hopes it will make people see that he isn't evil."
"I hope for his sake, it works." Wu replied gravely.
_Another time skip!_
The next time Wu saw Lloyd, it was because Koko had called him over. He'd woken up to a phone call from his brother's ex, begging him to come to her house. The old man had agreed immediately, and quickly made his way to the apartment block.
When he knocked on the door, he heard a muffled, "Come in, it's unlocked." Concerned, Wu stepped into the room and closed the door behind him.
Koko was sat on the sofa, holding a glass of wine and a tissue, wiping away tears from her eyes. Wu hurried over to her, sitting down next to her. Koko looked up at him, and Wu could see that her eyes were red and tired.
"What is it?" The old man asked gently, looking around the room for clues. He found none, except for a smashed picture frame on the floor by Koko's feet.
"I..I'm sorry for calling you so late. I...I just...just didn't know who else to call!" Koko sobbed, wiping her eyes quickly. Wu patted her on the arm gently.
"What happened?" Wu inquired softly. Koko reached down and picked up the broken picture frame, not reacting when some of the glass cut her hand.
"I...I was expect...expecting something like this to happen...for months...!" Koko continued to weep, but looked Wu in the eyes. "He's just been getting worse...angrier and sadder."
"Who has?" Wu asked, but he had his suspicions. Koko turned the photo frame over, revealing a picture of Koko and Garmadon, holding a baby Lloyd.
"Lloyd! He was shouting...and crying...I didn't...didn't know what to do!" Koko mumbled, taking a sip of her wine. "School's been really hard on him, he hasn't been sleeping! I think... I think I just tipped the scales."
"Can you explain it from the beginning?" Wu felt like he was trying to help a situation he didn't understand.
"I was in the kitchen, making dinner. I called to him, telling him food was ready, but he didn't leave his room!" Koko explained emotionally. "I went in to see what he was doing, and I found him looking at this photo."
Koko lifted the picture frame up, letting Wu get a clear look at it.
"I don't know how he found it, but it must have really upset him or something. He started shouting at me, asking me why I married Garmadon and had him in the first place. He...he told me...that...that I should've killed him...him when he was a baby!" Koko dissolved into tears, leaning on Wu's shoulder. Wu rubbed her back comfortingly, shocked by her words.
They sat there for a few minutes, with Koko crying and sobbing.
"Do you know where he is now?" Wu asked after awhile. Koko sniffed and shook her head.
"He just smashed the picture and marched out of the apartment." Koko replied quietly, then sat up quickly, fear in her eyes. "We have to find him, he could have...he could be...!"
She trailed off, but Wu understood her fear. An emotional, self-hating teen could be doing anything, including suicide. Wu and Koko stood up and walked towards the door, intent on finding the missing boy.
But just as they reached the door, it swung open to reveal Lloyd, stood in the hallway, tears streaming down his face. Wu looked at Lloyd closely, he had definitely grown a lot since Wu's last visit, the kid was now thirteen years old. Koko gasped and quickly pulled her son into a hug, crying again. Wu stepped back slightly, letting the family reunite. Lloyd was released from the hug and held at arms length by Koko.
"Don't ever do that again, you hear me!" Koko exclaimed in anger, tears still streaming down her face. Lloyd smiled weakly and nodded.
"I won't, I promise." Lloyd hugged his mum this time. "I love you and I'm so sorry."
"We need to talk. Properly, no more shouting or crying." Koko commanded, leading Lloyd over to the sofa.
Wu, seeing that he was no longer needed, headed for the door. But Koko noticed him move and called out, "Thank you, Wu. You really helped me!" and found himself wrapped in a quick hug. While Koko hugged him, he saw Lloyd watching him, clearly confused by his presence.
Once he was released, the old man left the apartment and headed home. He was glad that things had turned out okay, but he was still worried about Lloyd. He promised to keep a closer eye on the boy from now on. He didn't want to lose his nephew.
AN: if you got confused , this was a series of visits that Wu made to visit Lloyd, when he was 1, 5, and 13. It's a bit dark, but I like how it came out.
I love doing these oneshots about the past, but I will get round to doing more oneshots that include the other ninja.
It was really fun to try and write from Wu's POV. I hope I did okay.
Please leave requests and review and follow.
Bye
Wyrenfire