Like Lloyd could just act like he wasn't hallucinating his father. Oh no... he wasn't Lord Garmadon was hallucinating Sensei Garmadon... not Lloyd. Draw the mental barrier. Lloyd scolded himself.
"You look more alive today." Garmadon stated offhandedly.
"I feel like I should be dead... actually.'
"By all reason, you should be. Fate won't let either of us off that easy."
"Oh please." Sensei Garmadon said, and Lloyd fought the instinct to glance in his direction. "Fate had nothing to do with it. Everyone knows your going soft."
Lord Garmadon's eye twitched irritably, but he ignored the jab.
Lloyd said nothing at that. He could feel the fight in his father, trace the battle lines where good met evil in its never ending fight for dominance.
A thump from the next room caused everyone to jump a bit. The quiet chatter of voices made Lloyd's heart leap in his chest.
Well that explains the blood stain." Ronin's voice could clearly be heard.
"He-" Lord Garmadon had a hand over Lloyd's mouth in seconds, cutting off his attempt to get Ronin's attention.
"What are you two doing here?" Two? Ronin wasn't alone...
"Investigating a missing persons case.We were wrong." Wait a missing person's case and a bloodstain?
"I want my money back."
"Consider it done."
Lloyd felt his hope flounder as the door shut audibly, marking Ronin and the other person's departure. That begged the question of who else was living there.
On the other hand, people were looking for him. They had to be. As Garmadon pulled his hand away, he saw Lloyd smirking.
"Looks like you owe your friend some money."
Garmadon growled and stalked away, but Lloyd heard Sensei Garmadon chuckle.
"He's right. You do."
Once again Lord Garmadon ignored his better half.
"My roommate did a good job of scaring off your foolish allies." He remarked. "They shouldn't be back."
"I have returned." Pixal announced as she stepped foot on the Bounty's bridge. She quickly noted the exhaustion hanging like a fog over the room. Kai was half asleep standing up, his face slack, eyes glassy. Cole had fallen asleep at the table, head buried in his arms.
Jay was tiredly tapping away at his phone, probably updating his parents with the oh so terrific news that nothing had changed...
The only two even partly awake were Zane and Nya. She wondered how the other elemental masters were holding up. Griffin and Karlof had been forced to return to their homes over private matters. Meanwhile Skylor and Neuro were stationed at the noodle shop to keep an ear out for leads. Tox was probably playing videogames in the lounge.
Zane glanced up as Pixal approached. "Did you find anything?"
"Yes... I did. In fact, I believe I may have located Lloyd."
"What?!" Kai's voice made her jump. He was wide awake, striding over. "What did you find?"
"I approached Ronin, and he mentioned a tenant of his apartment complex whom he has never seen. Outside the door was a week old blood stain. We discovered the apartment was owned by a hunter."
"So how is that helpful?"
Nya shot Kai a glare murderous enough to kill. "Kai!"
"It's all right, Nya." Pixal raised a hand palm up to appease the master of water. "The blood stain was not animal, but human... with a positive match for Lloyd."
"Hey, guys, we got a problem." Jay's voice cut into the conversation.
"You mean bigger than our missing friend?" Kai snapped. He didn't mean to be so irritable, but Lloyd's disappearance was eating away at any of the limited amount of patience he had left. He blamed himself.
"How about the massive breakout at Kryptarium being led by a supposedly dead Master Chen?" Jay deadpanned, holding up the live feed playing on his phone. "Does that qualify as big?"
Skylor finished ushering out the last of her patrons as Pixal explained the situation via the phone.
She locked the door and turned to face the television. Chopper feed showed Kryptarium on fire, brilliant yellow flames leaping along the walls as prisoners gathered in crowds outside.
"I'm seeing it, Pixal... but I don't believe it."
Neuro was standing over the phone, listening silently as Dareth paced back and forth. He had been there for a bowl of noodles, and Skylor hadn't really been able to kick him out.
"We must deal with this threat, but I fear for Lloyd. The amount of blood outside the apartment door was unsettling."
Skylor met Neuro's glance, a silent conversation running between the two... no telepathy involved.
"Send Tox to the noodle shop." Skylor sighed, clenching her fist as an internal battle raged. "We'll form a stakeout on the roof across from Ronin's apartment complex. Just... deal with my father. Send him back to the cursed realm or something." She wanted to finish her father, but Skylor had another job to do instead.
"We will."
And Chen attacks! Thanks for all the reviews and remember to stay tuned for more.