Lloyd was smart enough not to reveal himself as he followed the master of ice. Despite everything, the Ninja were still (reasonably) wary of Garmadon's son, so Lloyd chose not to approach Zane directly. Instead, he trailed behind the master of ice, remaining hidden in the shadows, but close enough that he could easily eavesdrop on Borg and Zane's conversation.
"What are those… things?" Cyrus asked, sounding bewildered. "And what do they want with me?"
Zane shook his head helplessly.
"I don't know, but we'll find out," he reassured Cyrus, just as they ran around the corner to come face to face with… Cyrus gasped.
"Well, this is a surprise. I didn't expect to see you," Cyrus said.
"Who did you…" Zane started. He was interrupted by someone thudding to the ground a few feet away from him. Zane turned to look and found Lloyd standing at the entrance of the alleyway, over the body of Acronix, who looked slightly dazed. Then Zane looked back to where Cyrus was staring and finally saw Dr Saunders too, who was looking equally stunned.
Now Zane was just confused.
"Who are you?" Dr Saunders demanded from Lloyd.
"The time blade!" Zane warned and Lloyd hurriedly began reaching for it, ignoring Dr Saunders question. Acronix unfortunately came out of his dazed state just as Lloyd's fingers were within inches of the blade and he quickly withdrew it from Lloyd's grasp. Seeing this, Lloyd reached to grab him instead, but Acronix was once again faster, disappearing before he could get a fistful. The time twin then suddenly appeared behind him, and successfully swiped the teen off his feet.
Zane's instinct was to go and help, but Dr Saunders lunged at him. Zane stumbled back a few feet and shot Dr Saunders a look of betrayal, unable to understand why the museum's curator would attack him.
"Brother, catch!" Acronix yelled, throwing the gauntlet to Dr Saunders.
"Brother?" Zane echoed, eyes widening at Dr Saunders, who was now grinning menacingly, the time blade in his hands. Krux…?
"Control time…" Krux started, charging up the time blade. He then vanished. Zane frowned. He remembered the fight at the monastery; remembered how Acronix had gained the upper hand over Morro. The master of ice pushed Cyrus out of the way, then tensed in preparation for the incoming attack. "Control everything!"
Zane heard it from just over his shoulder and the ninja reflexively dropped to the ground before Krux could land a hit. Zane's fists slammed into the concrete, unleashing ice in every direction, freezing Krux in place. Krux frowned. This was not going to plan.
"Acronix!" he yelled, realizing he was trapped. Not wanting to risk Zane getting his hands on the time blade, he threw it back to his brother.
Acronix easily caught it. It came at an opportune time too, because he had significantly underestimated the kid he was fighting. With the time blade in his hands again, Acronix flashed forward. He knew he didn't have much time to grab Cyrus Borg and escape anymore. Especially not when he also needed to grab Krux. He needed to end this, quickly, by beating up this squirt faster.
Lloyd wasn't surprised by Acronix's sudden vanishing act. He had experienced it firsthand and had now also seen the very same tactic used against Zane. Deciding the best strategy was to copy Zane's defense, Lloyd spread his feet and hunched down slightly, looking warily over his shoulders. Of course, Lloyd didn't have any powers to fall back on, so he went for the next best thing.
Just as Acronix appeared by his side, Lloyd ducked down and spun into a whirlwind, preventing Acronix from getting a cheap hit in. The vortex was colorless, a pale silver at best, but no less packing a powerful punch.
Acronix, not expecting some random kid to perform Spinjitzu of all things, got knocked away and the time blade slipped out of his hand, clattering to the ground. Lloyd came out of his little tornado, unable to maintain it any longer. He staggered back and was forced to lean against the wall for support.
Seeing Lloyd out for the count, Zane overcame his surprise at the teen's stunt and made a lunge for the blade. Unfortunately, Acronix had quickly recovered from the unexpected attack and managed to reach it first, slipping it back on. For a moment, Zane thought Acronix was going to finally take him out, especially now that the ice ninja was without back-up, but instead, the younger time twin activated the blade and used it to free Krux.
Zane didn't understand why, until he heard the sound of approaching footsteps in the distance. The rest of the Ninja were coming, and the time twins had run out of time (ha!).
"We'll have to try again. Come back stronger," Krux whispered to Acronix. They knew they weren't going to beat the Ninja, the weird kid and kidnap Cyrus Borg, so the twins chose to retreat, vanishing into the shadows. They could always try again later.
Zane tried to stop them, throwing out ice, but it was too little too late. The Hands of Time escaped into the city with embarrassing ease. Lloyd might have attempted to help Zane if he wasn't still recovering from his sudden bout of exhaustion.
Well. At least he had finally done it. He had finally paid back what he had owed his Uncle Wu for two years. That hadn't taken way longer than it should have…
Lloyd steadied himself on his feet, feeling his energy steadily return. That was the first time he had ever used Spinjitzu in a fight and if this was how he ended up after using it, he might have to reconsider how practical it really was… Maybe consider doing more endurance training…
"Are you alright?" Zane asked Cyrus. The inventor nodded, rolling his chair away from where it had been forced against the wall.
"Quite. I'm lucky you were there," Cyrus told Zane. "And I suppose… You too," Cyrus added, and Lloyd couldn't help but wince. Cyrus recognized him as the guy that had abandoned him in the store. He could hear it in his voice. It wasn't accusing or hostile, just… uncertain. Wary.
"That reminds me…" Zane said, turning on Lloyd. "Who taught you Spinjitzu?"
Lloyd felt his stomach drop. Right. He had used it to get the upper hand on… What was the guy's name? Acronix? Yeah, Acronix… He hadn't meant to reveal himself like that, but it was also drilled into his head to win no matter the cost. In this case, the cost was a secret he'd been hoping to keep for a little bit longer.
"No one," Lloyd lied. Technically not a lie, since Lloyd really didn't have a teacher and had mostly learned through trial and error… But he also would have never had a chance of mastering it if he hadn't had newsreels to study.
The other Ninja arrived, and their faces lit up, seeing Zane safe.
"Zane!" Cole called out and Zane was momentarily distracted, turning to look at them. Lloyd tried to use this as a chance to get away, but apparently Zane wasn't in the mood for letting another criminal escape. He grabbed the back of Lloyd's shirt and pulled him back.
"You haven't answered the question," Zane politely informed him, and Lloyd glared up at him.
"What happened? Is Cyrus all right?" Nya asked. Cyrus waved.
"I'm fine. Thanks to Zane and… this young man."
"Lloyd?" Kai and Jay both asked at the same time. Lloyd flinched.
"I was just leaving," Lloyd told them, but Zane shook his head, once again pulling the shirt back when Lloyd tried to get out of his grasp.
"Please answer the question truthfully first."
"FSM, I save your sorry butt, and this is the thanks I get?" Lloyd complained, pointedly tugging at his shirt. Apparently seeing his point, Zane relented and let him go. Lloyd adjusted his clothes, just in time to realize that Dareth was absent. "Hey. Where's the, uh… brown guy. I saw someone run into the store after you," Lloyd asked, suppressing the panic that was flaring up.
"He freaked out and ran off," Jay answered. "Should be ok." Lloyd failed to hide the relief that hit him like a truck.
"What happened here?" Cole spoke up. "Lloyd, what are you doing here?" Last time anyone had seen the kid, Lloyd had been involved in a gang fight. Part of his practical experience, so it was said. (What were they teaching those kids at Darkley's?)
"I was passing by," Lloyd answered, which again, wasn't exactly a lie. He happened to be here because of Dareth. Otherwise, he would have likely been at the comic bookstore or hanging out with Brad, back at their condo. It was supposed to be his day off. No fighting or training, just resting and having fun and being a dumb teen. (ok, technically, he was being a dumb teen by helping, but that wasn't…)
"He was tailing me and Cyrus," Zane informed them. "He helped me fight off Krux and Acronix." Jay lit up, like that had confirmed something for him, but he remained uncharacteristically silent.
"Wait, Krux?" Kai asked.
"I will explain later," Zane assured them.
"I think now is a great time to discuss it at length!" Lloyd spoke up, hoping to launch them into an in-depth conversation, deep enough that they didn't notice him leaving. Naturally, his suggestion went ignored. In fact, it backfired by getting their attention back on him.
"Why did you help?" Nya asked curiously. Lloyd Garmadon didn't have much of a reputation in Ninjago, but he did have a criminal record that listed many reasons why he was very unlikely to help anyone. Ever.
"That is not the question," Zane politely informed her. "It's who taught him Spinjitzu?"
A silence fell over the Ninja and Lloyd fought off the urge to run. Running now would mean getting tackled to the ground in a very violent way and he already had enough bruises from fighting Acronix.
"He knows Spinjitzu?" Cole asked, breaking the silence.
"Of course, I don't! You need someone to teach you, right?" Lloyd reasoned, forgetting that Zane had literally seen him doing it.
"So, someone did teach you?" Zane questioned.
"No!" It came out as more of a whine and Lloyd silently cursed his still squeaky voice. Brad's voice had already broken, why was his taking so long?
Jay let out a loud groan. "So, now we've got more problems?" he complained. "First the time twins come back, then the freaky snake samurais are everywhere and now Darkley's teaching kids Spinjitzu?!"
"I didn't learn it at Darkley's!" Lloyd snapped. "If my teachers knew I could do Spinjitzu, I'd be in so much trouble! It's practically a forbidden art!"
"Why is it a forbidden art?" Kai asked, frowning.
"Name all of Ninjago's Spinjitzu masters and you tell me," Lloyd simply replied. To his surprise, all Ninja started mentally listing the names. He had expected only Kai to do so, but apparently it got all of them thinking. Of course, as far as anyone knew, the only Spinjitzu masters were the Ninja. Well, Lloyd too. Once he could figure out how to maintain it for longer than a few seconds without getting exhausted.
The Ninja got his point. As far as anyone knew, only good guys knew Spinjitzu.
"So, if you didn't learn it at Darkley's, who taught you?" Cole asked.
"I didn't have anyone teach me," Lloyd insisted again.
"It is not possible to learn Spinjitzu without a master," Zane said. "And we cannot let you go until you tell us. It is important we know of other Spinjitzu masters, especially if they are teaching…" He trailed off, not wanting to accidentally insult an already hostile Lloyd.
"But I'm telling you I don't have a master!" Lloyd bitterly repeated.
"Lloyd…" Nya mumbled, massaging her forehead, like she was already getting a headache. The other Ninja looked similarly exasperated, except… Kai.
Lloyd almost missed it, but something flickered across Kai's face. The master of fire's eyes widened slightly, like he had realized something, and he was now giving Lloyd a funny look. A very funny look. Like it was the first time he had ever seen Lloyd.
Had Kai just figured out how he had learned Spinjitzu? If he had, Lloyd was ready to bolt as soon as Kai called him out on it, because honestly, it was kind of embarrassing to admit that he had learned a skill from watching them on the news.
"I think he's telling the truth," Kai said instead, which was… literally the last thing anyone had expected him to say. The Ninja and even Lloyd looked at him surprised. Kai was unphased, looking more bored than anything else.
"Are you telling me," Jay spoke up, "you seriously believe that Lloyd Garmadon just… magically learned it? All by himself?" Jay turned to Lloyd. "Did I get that right?"
"Uh… No. Yeah. That's exactly what I'm saying. No one taught me. I figured it out by myself."
"And yeah. I believe him."
The other four exchanged looks, then dragged Kai into a huddle. Lloyd couldn't hear much, aside from the general gist of "thank FSM there isn't someone at Darkley's teaching those brats Spinjitzu" and "He is Lord Garmadon's son."
While they were huddled together like that, Lloyd decided to take his leave. It might be his last chance. He knew the snake thing and the time twins was way bigger than it looked at first sight and he wasn't about to get roped into whatever weirdness they had going on. He had already risked a lot by helping them protect Cyrus Borg alongside Zane.
He shot out of the alleyway and sprinted off into the city before the Ninja could stop him. They had bigger problems than Lloyd anyway, so they didn't really try to get him back. Once out, Lloyd headed towards Dareth's private home. The man would feel so guilty for abandoning Lloyd that the teen was guaranteed free dessert with the free meal. Multiple free dessert. So, at least something good was coming out of today.
In hindsight, Lloyd actually – once again – felt bad for not hanging around to help out. Maybe if he had stayed, the Ninja would still have a sensei.
He didn't know the details, but he knew that the Time Twins' defeat had come at the price of losing Morro. This was the second sensei that the Ninja had lost, thanks to Lloyd not helping. Sure, maybe Lloyd would have made no real difference at all, but he did know that he'd had the chance to help and had straight up refused. Had even run away from it. Which kinda meant he carried some of the blame.
Not that Lloyd felt bad for Morro. Morro had still been responsible for…
Their faces flashed through his mind again…
The point was, getting possessed was not fun and Lloyd had no idea where Kai had got the mental strength to not only walk away untraumatized but even willing to work alongside and learn from Morro. Maybe it was a Ninja thing, he didn't know.
Of course, Morro wasn't a ghost anymore. Morro and Cole had both been transformed back to flesh and blood during the Day of the Dead. Cole rightly so, since he had been turned into a ghost rather cruelly. Morro… Well, Morro had died fair and square. Lloyd wasn't convinced it was fair at all that he wasn't dead anymore. That Morro had been given a second chance.
So, even though Lloyd did kind of feel guilty that he had maybe caused the Ninja to lose their second sensei, he didn't feel like he owed them anything anymore. Which was a relief, because now, he could finally cut ties with them.
Tune in on Friday for the epilogue :)