"Why'd you shoot him twice?"

Maya froze halfway through the sliding door to her living quarters. Ray, already inside, hear Doctor Julian's query and quirked a puzzled eyebrow at his wife. He too had been wondering much the same.

The woman turned to face the older gentleman, forcing a false pretense of patience to school her features.

"Primarily to make it look authentic." She replied calmly. "I didn't hit anything vital. He'll be fine."

"Hmm." Julian rubbed his chin. "And what of your children?"

He nearly regretted asking the second a pained wince tugged her lips into an unbefitting frown. "That's... Hardly important."

"On the contrary-" Julian folded his hands tightly behind his back, relishing in the fact that his suit was off and not restricting his shoulder movement. "-I believe it is important."

"Dr. Julian-"

"Why did you not speak with them?"

Ray came from behind, wrapping an arm around his wife's shoulders. "Because it wasn't the right time. More specifically, there wasn't time."

"By my calculations, there was plenty of time to tell them at least something."

"They would have had so many questions." Maya grimaced. "Why we never came back, what we've been doing... I don't even know if we're going to survive the coming war... If they already think we're dead..."

"Then they will not grieve when you truly are." Julian finished for her, shaking his head slightly.

"Exactly." There was a harrowed brokenness to Ray's voice that the old doctor could understand. Their children... So close, yet so far away. It was degrading to the already fading morale.

"I understand." Julian admitted, meeting the distraught faces of two broken-hearted parents. "Goodnight, Smiths..."

"Goodnight, Doctor."

{9:27 PM}

That looks like it hurt. Why'd she shoot you twice?

Don't' you have something better to do, Morro?

Depends. Does this still classify as haunting?

Maybe. Should it?.

I haven't decided yet. Your offer's tempting, but I have yet to make a decision.

Noted. Now how deep in my head are you?

Did you really have a crush on the robot lady?

No! Get out of my head! Get out of my memories!

Nah... I think I'll stay for now. Driving people crazy is my forte.

Morro, I swear I'll- AGH!

"How's that?"

Zane asked, checking the bandages for the umpteenth time and preparing to tie them off.

"Not... Tight enough." Lloyd gasped out. He felt the bandages tighten and secure his arm in place, finally nodding his approval. "Yeah... Agh...That'll do... It." Morro had finally gone silent, a small blessing for Lloyd.

Zane finished tucking the free edges under overlapping bandages and knelt in front of the pale teen. Lloyd looked like crap, though Zane would never resort to such language. Their captain was sweating bullets and shaking slightly, more than likely an onset of shock.

It had only been a few minutes since the resistance escaped, but Lloyd had lost far more blood than Zane would have liked. Now that he was out of danger, Zane considered the importance of checking in on the other teens. He pushed Lloyd's shoulders to the ground and wadded up a duffel bag under his head.

"Try and rest. I'll see to the others."

Lloyd lifted a wobbly thumbs up before letting his eyes slide shut in exhaustion.

"Hey, hey, Zane! Can you check my knee out now? It's really killing me."

The future Ice ninja just paused and scanned the injury. Someone, Zane hadn't figured out who, had given his knee a pretty worthy shiner; but beyond that, the damage was superficial.

"Stop standing on it." Zane finally ordered, breezing by to look at Kai and Nya. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured beyond Lloyd.

"How is your nose?" Zane asked curiously. Cole winced at the reminder, carefully touching his nose and hissing.

"Bruised." He replied, with a shrug. "Not broken like I thought."

"Good, maybe he can look at my leg then!" Jay shouted, gesturing wildly to his damaged appendage.

"Kai, Nya?"

"Uh heeeello?" Jay groaned. "Injured man right here!"

"We're alright I think." Kai rubbed his aching head. Nya had her left at cradled in the right, but gave Zane a light nod.

"Yeah, Zane, we're alright. If Jay could be so sweet and help me, maybe we could get your arm fixed up."

Jay closed his mouth and shot a wary frown at his knee before groaning. "Fine fine... Help me up."


"Do you ever wonder if this... eh... resistance is right?"

Skylor set her binoculars aside and tilted her gaze towards Karloff.

"What do ya mean, big guy?" She pressed, rubbing her eyes.

"Well... You don't remember so well, but Karloff does. They took us from our homes... hurt family to do it."

"Karl... what're you getting at?"

"Is the empress really a good-girl? Or are we fighting the wrong fight?"

"You do realize you're speaking treason, right?"

"Yes."

Astounded by his one word answer, Skylor searched her own heart for the answer. For years, she'd been so entrenched in focusing on one day at a time. Any assignment they passed her way, she met with enthusiasm instilled by believing she was working for something great.

But was she? As she studied the slums, she spotted people willfully neglected by the Empress and her advisors. She saw starving children, unrestrained crime, and emptiness lurking in the survivors.

Lloyd's challenge popped into her head. Help... Help the people because she wanted to. Sure, she had helped on orders of the empress, but that brought no joy... not the kind of joy that Lloyd had experienced back in the village.

"I don't know..." Skylor finally admitted. "Would you like to find out?"

"How?"

A devious smile flashed across the amber master's lips. "By helping."


"Will he live?" Garmadon asked Zane, glancing down at his son. Lloyd had drifted into a fitful sleep, still way too pale.

"Yes." Zane nodded lightly. "His femoral artery was nicked, but I managed to stop the bleeding."

Cole quirked an eyebrow. Was Zane, their own factual blond headed android, lying? Neither bullet had damaged anything major aside from muscle... Then it dawned on him. If Garmadon believed that the bullet was aimed to kill, it only added to the cover story.

"Good." Garmadon scowled. "Once he has recovered, he will be punished alongside you."

Cole curled his fists. The price for staying was steep, yet he wouldn't back down now. Not even on pain of death.


Skylor started by stopping a mugging. It had seemed so trivial; but after shedding the elite gear and getting to work, the hours melted into each other. Karloff was a bit reluctant to join in, but soon he too was helping wherever he could.

Skylor knew Garmadon was waiting, but that worry was quickly overridden by her work. The smiles on their faces, the faces of those she helped... It was unlike anything she'd ever encountered before.

These people weren't afraid of her. They didn't cower or shoot her terrified gazes from behind drawn curtains. They laughed, chatted, and treated her like an ordinary person. It was unbelievable.

And the best part? Helping had been her choice. She had taken the freedom to choose... and suddenly what Lloyd had said made so much sense.

This is what he meant. This is what it was like to be appreciated... to be free.


Oof. I feel like this was too short, but my school is pretty stressful these days. So I'm sorry about that. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. We finally get to see a little change on Skylor's part.
AangxiousKittyCornNerd: No problem! It's great that you think I'm getting the personalities right. I certainly am trying. I purposely made Wu a jerk, so in reality I acknowledge that he's ooc in that regard. Not gonna deny that one. I totally understand the writer's block. That's super frustrating, and something I regularly wrestle with. (Today for instance). Someone once told ms that it helps if you never stop writing, regardless of writer's block.
Steampunk Wilson: Thanks! I'm happy at everyone's reception towards that story arc. Lou turned out to be a big hit (originally he was more of a background character). I definitely plan to keep writing, even if occasionally I have burn outs. This does happen to be a pet project.
Bookkeeper2004: And that question has been answered I hope! Maya and Ray summed it up pretty well! Glad you're enjoying it.