Two days after the fight against the Preeminent, Lloyd couldn't pull himself from his bed.

Granted, that fight had zapped a good amount of his limited strength out of him. After all, jumping through realms as the one who held you hostage in your own mind for weeks trying to stop you from doing so was enough to make anyone tired.

But he had managed to get out of bed yesterday, to pull himself away from the soft pillows and the view of the inside of the closet where the gi he didn't feel like he deserved hung as a symbol, in order to celebrate the victory with the others.

He had only been able to fake smiles as he sat in a chair with a piece of cake that made his stomach turn in front of him while the others sang, danced and partied.

He had been secretly relieved when Zane finally noticed the mood Lloyd had tried to hide and sent him to get some rest. But he hadn't moved from his bed since.

When Kai had asked if he was okay that morning, Lloyd had made up some sort of excuse about still being in a lot of pain. It hadn't been a lie, exactly, but it wasn't the reason he couldn't join the others for sunrise exercise.

As he stared at the black and white gi with it's green and gold details, he couldn't stop the sob from breaking it's way through his throat. Lloyd remembered when his father had switched from the black, purple and red one to the one that was currently hanging in his closet.

"Because I want everyone to know how proud I am of my son" was the reason he gave when Lloyd had asked.

He desperately wanted that feeling back. The feeling of being able to hug his father, to talk to him, even just to look at him in any other way than a photograph or a statue. The ability to relax a little, because if things went badly, his dad would keep him safe and help him fight.

Instead, he couldn't pry himself away from the scraps of his father he had left as his body continued to ache from the various injuries that Morro had inflicted; ones he couldn't remember how he got but would regain control of his body in a cage with bruises, gashes and even frostbite decorating his skin like a drawing.

No matter how far he tried to grasp recollection of the jumbled flickers of memories, however, they were just out of reach, like his brain was telling him to not open that up. 'For once in your life, do not open a can of worms you know you can't close.'

Despite the warnings that his own mind gave him, he ignored them and continued to dig deeper, because he knew that he couldn't start to heal without even knowing what happened to him. He closed his eyes and tried to picture the scene in his head.

•••

'You're using his body too much, Morro. Soon you'll kill him." The voice wasn't concerned for him, however. It was concerned about the unwanted presence.

"I know what I'm doing, Bansha!" His abuser shouted back before wrapping ghostly fingers around his throat, making him choke, "besides, I don't need him. He just makes things way easier."

The malicious laugh made the feeling of his air being sucked from his throat ten times more painful as a horrifying thought hit him right in the gut. 'I'm never gonna see my friends again. I'm going to die here.'

But just at the last moment, his throat was let go, sending him to his knees as he gasped for air, hearing Morro's voice in his ear. "You're weak. You never deserved being the green ninja and we all know it."

After addressing him, Lloyd heard the ghost address his sidekicks. "Put him in the cage, and consider giving him some food. We need to tell Ronin that it's time to repay his debt."

He heard the laugh of the one that was called Soul Archer before a rough hand grabbed his shoulder and forced him into the small metal cage, revealing the face of Bansha.

"We'll get rid of you soon enough," she jeered as she locked him inside of the small metal prison, "we just need him to get his ego worn out."

With a laugh, she disappeared, leaving Lloyd to shake mercilessly as his throat ached terribly and his chest burned from the lack of oxygen.

The cage was too reminiscent of the one he had been kept in as a small boy kidnapped by Serpentine. The only difference was he had been shorter back than and could stand in it, now he could barely sit up without hitting his head.

•••

Lloyd couldn't stop the tears from leaking onto his pillowcase as he awoke with a start, his throat almost as dry as it had been when they forced him to go two days at a time without water and only gave him enough to keep him alive.

'I should've listened to my own warning.'