Lloyd sighed as he took a look at the suit hanging on the mannequin in front of him. It was a bright green cloth gi, with a leather shoulder pad on one side. Stitched into the part of the leather padding that draped over the gi's chest was the number "5". The head of the mannequin was covered in a green mask that left only enough space for his eyes.
He'd never wear it again.
He took a deep sigh at that thought and looked down at the floor… then back up at the six other suits on their mannequins: a red one, once worn by an hot-headed but compassionate man who he considered his closest brother; a blue one, belonging to a jokester who's crackling humor lit up even the darkest of days; the white suit had been owned by a man of metal and wire, but who was no less human for it; the black suit used to be donned by the steadiest man of the team, always level headed and ready to encourage anyone who needed it; the fifth suit was grey, with tinges of blue along the sash and edges of the gi. It had been worn by the sister of the man in red, a woman just as capable of being a raging storm as she was of being an ocean of calm. The final suit was armor, unlike the others, it's white, gold, blue and red all mixing together in a sleek and heroic harmony. The futuristic Samurai helmet on top was fearsome and bold, much like the calculating woman who had worn it.
They'd been through so much together- undead hordes, a ravenous horror that was a world unto itself, fearsome serpents both from underground and under the sea, a dark god who refused to die, and even… even his own father.
He has shared laughter with them. Shared victories. Shared defeats. Shared sorrows. Shared the majority of their lives… even when one of them died for a while, every so often.
He remembered the battles- the easy ones and the hard ones. The taste of blood in his mouth when his returned father beat him mercilessly, the sweat on his brow as he fought in the humidity of the Keeper's island, the haunting phantom pains from Morro's possession… he remembered it all.
He remembered a hundred battles after that too. So, so many battles, so many enemies, so many threats to his home.
He'd fought them all. Beat them all. There was no warrior in the sixteen realms that was his equal, from the beasts of Chima to the samurai of Neverrealm.
That was despite his age, too. He rubbed his chin, and the thick beard that was there. It was rough and unkempt- he really should stop procrastinating that shave. He looked down at his arms and legs. He was almost ninety now, and his muscles still looked like he was in his prime. Better even.
That's what one got for being the grandson of the First Spinjitzu Master, he supposed.
"First spinjitzu master…" he mused quietly, before chuckling a little.
What did that make him? The Last Spinjitzu Master? He was the last one of them still active. He never had found a suitable protégé. The new heroes of the age didn't need ancient martial arts. They fought with their wits and their tech. Lloyd had thought that was a weakness at first… but they'd proved themselves, time and time again. Young people, driven by a need to serve and protect, rising to the occasion with grit and determination. He'd taught them everything he knew, of course, and they were happy to learn- they'd grown up with him saving their lives every other month- but as much as he wanted to keep being their "Sensei Wu"...
They didn't need him anymore, even if they'd never say it.
The world didn't need him anymore, even if it still lavished him with attention at every outing.
The world didn't need the Ninja anymore.
No, no, no more heroics. It was time to move on. Like the others had. Blend into normal society, like Kai had with Skylor. Maybe take time to go off exploring peaceful places, like Nya and Jay.
He would visit Zane and Pixal at Borg Industries first. They had inherited it when Cyrus died. Then he would go see Old King Cole, and his merry wife in his mountain kingdom. They'd had children, if the implications of the last letter he'd received were any indication. Cole was never good at being subtle.
Yes. Visit old friends. Catch up, celebrate, reminisce. Maybe find out he was an uncle! That would be fun.
He smiled, took a deep breath, and flicked off the lights for the last time.
The Monastery would be finally be at rest. The armories would still be locked away if they were ever needed again, the computers and databanks waiting for a spark of power to spring back to life, the vehicles loaded in their bays and built to last...
But Lloyd was done. Finally done.
It was time for a new life.