Since the fiasco with the Time Twins, another year had passed. The Ninja had essentially all but disappeared from Ninjago City, ever since Morro had got lost in the time stream. There wasn't an official story to explain their absence, but it was generally understood that they were searching for their lost sensei.

Lloyd was now sixteen. Unlike previous years, where he had kept his hair a more practical length, Lloyd had let his hair grow out a bit, creating what Gene had once mockingly called "luscious locks". It was supposed to be disparaging, but it had ultimately backfired when Jenny and a few other girls had eagerly agreed. Lloyd's voice had also finally broken properly, just in time for his first step out of Darkley's as a(n almost) fully-fledged villain. He was finally mature; ready to take on his role in Ninjago.

Yet, as Lloyd had grown older, he had become plagued by uncertainty. It was like something wasn't… right. And the Ninja were probably the cause of that. Unlike everyone else at school, well… Lloyd did dislike them, but he didn't really… hate them.

He had kind of assumed that maybe he would change his mind by the time that graduation rolled around, that he would learn to despise them, but… nope. If anything, his relationship with them had become increasingly ambiguous.

They were just… always present in his life. In one form or another. They were almost a source of stability, something he could rely on. They were also his uncle's legacy. He kind of didn't want them to ever fail. It was through them that his uncle lived on and continued to have a presence in Ninjago. For the Ninja to fall… Lloyd didn't want to fight them.

But he didn't know what else he was supposed to do. Darkley's was all he had ever known. Sure, Harumi's parents and Dareth had helped Lloyd get some perspective on life and see the world beyond the four walls of Darkley's… Had maybe even influenced him with some basic morals and humanity…

But it wasn't enough to convince Lloyd of letting go of everything he had ever learned, of all the cruelness and cold-heartedness that had been drilled into his head by force. Only one group of people had ever successfully convinced Lloyd of letting go of his past, and they had all ended up dead as a result.

It was giving up on his past that Lloyd particularly struggled with. Everything Lloyd did, everything he planned, revolved around one person. Truth was, he wasn't interested in being successful at Darkley's. He didn't even care for graduation, of finally being free of the school. He only cared about getting his dad back. Everything else was inconsequential to him.

It had been six years since anyone had heard anything of Lord Garmadon. Six years was a long time to wait. Lloyd still tightly, almost childishly, held on to the belief that there was a good reason for his father leaving him. But he wouldn't wait any more. Now was the time to finally get his father back.

To Guest, who is clearly a Shipper™: Sorry, the exact nature of the relationship between Harumi and Lloyd is better examined in S8, and we're ending at the end of S7. :S