I was on cloud nine, practically floating as I hopped off my shark mech in our private docking bay in the volcano. Hummed to myself as I punched in my code for the elevator that led to my family's rooms. Danced a little inside of said elevator. What can I say? Cole's latest jam was stuck in my head, and it was awesome! He'd played it right from the cockpit of his mech - and wow, the speakers on that thing are amazing! Everything was amazing!
Fire and Water were now my Auntie and Uncle - that alone had me giggling. All my friends trusted me with a secret that absolutely no one else in the city knew (other than their parents) - that was so, so, just beyond awesome! They trusted me! They really trusted me! We were real friends!
Finding out that they were the Ninja hadn't changed anything at all! Jay was still a hyper but brilliant chatterbox, just now he had a major outlet for all those nerves in his jet-inspired mech! Cole was still my music-addicted rock-steady reliable friend, and now I had a whole new appreciation for just how perfect his sense of balance really was! Zane's tank of a mech wasn't just so darn cool and pretty much unstoppable, but it had all sorts of special sensors on it that he could link directly into! And Nya and Kai's new mechs perfectly reflected their wild, amazing personalities!
The first thing I was going to do when I got to my room after dinner was do a search for all the footage from their last battle to study the mechs and their attack strategies and patterns! Kai and Nya were still new to this, so even though they'd won, surely there was room for improvement. I giggled at remembering Kai's awkward comment at our sleepover that, yeah, he was interested in spinjitzu. I could definitely give them some pointers! And I...
I heard laughter as the elevator slowed. My dad didn't laugh like that. But that was definitely his voice.
The elevator dinged and the doors swished open onto the main level, our kitchen and living room. Dad was sitting at the kitchen table, already eating. He never started eating without me. Koko was in the kitchen, stirring some sort of stir fry around in the large wok. Only Dad was allowed to use the wok.
"La-Loyd! You're home! You've gotta try your mom's beef chow mein! Nobody can make it like her!"
He said that every time he made any sort of noodles. My dad is always the one that cooks for us.
"Isn't this great! Wonderful! We're a family again!"
This is not a family. My dad is my family. Water and Fire can be my family. Kai and Nya and Cole and Zane and Jay. Not. Her. Not. That. Woman.
I couldn't say a word. Just stared at the alien sighting in my own home. The strange thing that. Did. Not. Be. Long.
She wanted him dead. No, they're happy. She was smiling when I came in. She'd apologized, that first time in the warehouse. She didn't want him dead, doesn't want him dead. She loves him. I remember. I'm the one in the way.
"La-loyd?" asked my dad, bewildered. Not using his usual exclamation point.
He had looked so happy when I walked in. I'm ruining it. I stepped backwards back into the elevator and hit the button for our bedroom floor.
"Not hungry. Ate out. Sleepy and lots of homework. Night. Bye," I rattled out, too quickly for either adult to respond. The doors swished shut and quickly rose to the floor I wanted.
I bolted out the elevator, past Dad's room, past the room next to his that Nya had slept in (not hers, not that strange woman's, this wasn't her home), into my own. Grabbed my backpack, threw in a few changes of clothes, and scribbled a note that even I barely comprehended. Something about running away again to practice being evil. Not to worry, I'd call and be sure not to skip school.
Then I jumped down my secret emergency exit slide that dumped me right into the pilot's seat for my Green Dragon mech. Started it up and took off back for the Ninja Warehouse.
Of course everyone had already gone home. The roof was shut tight. Probably all the doors would be locked. My uncle's Destiny's Bounty flying ship was docked right outside, so I pulled my Green Dragon up alongside. It was water capable, of course, so it'd be fine sitting here.
Even if it wasn't, I didn't really care right now.
"Lloyd?"
My Uncle Wu. He was standing on the deck of his ship in his pajamas, holding up an old lantern and staring at me in shock. Concern.
"Are you alright? Did something happen?"
Weird. That sounded genuinely worried. But I didn't want him. I knew who I wanted.
I yanked my hood up as I jumped down from my mech onto the docks and took off in the direction of Fire and Water's house. Auntie and Uncle's home. Kai and Nya's.
"Lloyd!" he called out. He sounded scared.
"I'm fine!" I called back over my shoulder. "Just need space, so I'm running away again. Bye!"
"Space?" I heard him call back, confused, but another turn and I was well out of earshot anyway.
~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~
The doorbell rang. It was late. After ten o'clock. They'd long since finished dinner, gone through their evening routine, and were settling down for bed.
Kai frowned, sitting up from his bed. Who on Ninjago would ring their bell at this hour?
It rang again. And a third time.
Whoever it was, they were desperate.
Kai ran down the stairs and was the first one to the door. Without checking who it was (his mom would lecture him later), he unlocked the door and swung it open.
Lloyd stood there, trembling and white-faced. When he saw the door open, he let out a great gasp of relief and yanked his hood down, looking almost faint as he did so.
The hood up was always a bad sign.
Kai didn't say a word. Just grabbed his little brother and hauled him into the house, hugging him tight.
Nya had been just behind him. She quietly shut the door and locked it for the night.
Their parents were already coming down the stairs.
"She's back," cried Lloyd, clinging to Kai as he babbled out some sort of explanation. "I don't want her. She needs to go away. I can't go home, because she's there, and I don't want to be there. With her. I can't. She's not supposed to come back. Can I stay here? Didn't you say I can stay here? I want to be with you guys. Not with her."
His breathing was getting faster as he clung to Kai and tried to explain himself. His eyes were a little wild, not focused.
"Of course you can stay," assured Ray, reaching forward. "But we-"
Before he could finish, Lloyd dropped like a puppet with his strings cut.
"Whoa!" yelped Kai. Nya quickly helped him support their unconscious, sleeping?, friend.
Maya hurried the kids to the couch, where they laid Lloyd down so she could check him over. The good thing about her many years of Ninja service was she was quite capable of emergency first aid.
No fever, though he was sweaty. Tears streaked down his face. Even sleeping, his hands trembled slightly. No wounds or bumps or bleeding. Shock and emotional exhaustion. She tucked several blankets tight around him. Without needing to be told, Ray brought over some cookies and a few water bottles that they could leave beside the couch, where he would see them when he woke up.
Nya and Kai went upstairs to get their sleeping bags. They would stay with him overnight. Didn't even need to be asked. Good kids.
She kissed all of them goodnight, even her unconscious little blond. Ray did the same. Lloyd seemed to sense them, snuggling deeper into his blankets and sighing. He should be fine, but...
Maya met Ray's eyes as they turned off the lights and slipped upstairs.
"Should we call a doctor? Just to be safe?" asked Maya. "I don't like the way he was trembling, but he otherwise seemed fine. And the way he snuggled into the blankets, I'm sure he's just sleeping. I wish I could get him to eat something, but I don't want to wake him..."
"We'll call one in the morning if he can't get up for school," answered Ray. "I have a friend that won't ask who we're talking about if we keep it vague. What I'm more worried about is that I don't have Garmadon's number. Does he know Lloyd's here?"
"Lloyd has a cell phone. Kai or Nya can answer it if it rings," Maya assured, though she looked just as anxious.
"He brought his backpack. So he somewhat planned this," added Ray thoughtfully.
"Lloyd kept saying 'she'. It has to be Misako. But why would she return now? Lloyd's not ready."
Ray sighed. "Would he ever have been ready?"
~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~
Author's Notes: Special thanks first and foremost to my wonderful beta Sunny Lighter for all her encouragement, reassurances, and wonderful ideas for and comments on characters, plot, and worldbuilding!
Thanks secondly to Carrie2Sky and EMPFangirl02 for their extra detailed reviews and all of our PM conversations!
Thanks also, of course, to all my other reviewers from last chapter: Bookkeeper2004, Pitch'snieceanddaughterofMew, Dyphen, Watcher321, Beaner97, and Little-BluWhale! I know reviews aren't everything, but they certainly add to my personal inspiration and drive to continue this story!
Hope everyone enjoys this new arc of the story! It will include Lloyd house-hopping between all the Ninjas' homes as well as the golf tournament everyone's been waiting for!