~~Ch33:Sat2, No.1, Can't Quit~~
It was time.
The match was over. Garmadon had lost. The inhabitants of the volcano trembled as they wondered what their future would hold. If Garmadon would keep his oath. If he DID, what would be the consequences? For them? All that evil had to be directed somewhere!
Well, most of them wondered. General No.3 already knew his fate. Had already packed his things and said his goodbyes, even prior to heading out to the golf course undercover to make sure those new trainees had things in hand. (Lloyd Protection was no joke - the kid was a trouble magnet.)
No.3 was no idiot. If Garmadon got him alone, and wasn't allowed to fire him out of the volcano, he might very well take his frustrations out on his 'inept' instructor.
Thus, he was waiting right here, in full crab uniform. Right in the dockyard where Lord Garmadon, Lady Irondragon, and Master Lloyd would be arriving at any minute. Garmadon wouldn't kill him right in front of the Lady and his son. And he was sure to fire him the instant he laid eyes on him. Someone would have to take the fall - it was a simple fact of being a minion to a super villain.
His fault for apparently signing contracts with his "new friend" when he was dead drunk. He was never touching anything alcoholic EVER again. His wife dumping him had been no excuse to agree to work for Lord Garmadon himself.
This time he'd do things different. Yeah, it would be hard to get a new job, but he would manage somehow. He was actually pretty sure Lady Irondragon would help him out, and maybe Lloyd would vouch for him with his newfound ninja clout.
The boat pulled up. Lord Garmadon stepped off, looking serious and contemplative over something. You could practically see the dark clouds around his head.
General No.3 straightened as much as he could. This was it.
Lady Irondragon and Master Lloyd were just behind Lord Garmadon. Lloyd looked over at him and suddenly cringed. 'I'm sorry,' the teenager mouthed.
Oh, crap. He was dead. Something had happened, and Lloyd was accepting blame where there was none (a habit he'd picked up as a little kid to spare his favorite babysitters, not that it ever saved them from firing in the end), and Garmadon was going to tear him -
"Oh, No.3! Just the man I was looking for! Congrats, you're now No.1, blah blah blah, go set off the volcano two times to let everyone know No.1 and No.2 are fired!"
What.
"I really don't know, Kokes! What do you want for dinner?"
"My lord, I do not understand," interrupted No.3. Er, No.1. "I failed you. You lost."
Garmadon waved a hand carelessly. "All as Lloyd planned, I know! Don't worry about it! It was all part of Lloyd's scheme that you would try to teach me correctly, but I wouldn't listen, so I would lose, so he and I can spend more time together!"
The new No.1 couldn't help a helpless glance at Lloyd. His expression clearly asking, he bought that?
Lloyd smiled nervously and shrugged.
~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~
I was printing out the photo of all of us after the golf game, sitting at my desk and listening to the churning of my printer, examining the cat ears glued to my golf hat.
Huh. Nya, because it had to be Nya, really put a lot of work into these. They were surprisingly realistic, good quality, amazingly soft and fluffy, and pretty much identical in shade to my own hair. This was no spur of the moment purchase at a party shop.
Which made me think this wasn't just a joke. Not just some theme for fun. But what else could it be?
I set my hat down on my desk and picked up my phone. Opened up a text to Nya and, after a moment's thought, just typed a one word question.
[Why?]
The reply was almost immediate.
[Don't be mad!]
[I'm not mad. Just really confused. Why cat ears? Why at the golf tournament?]
[Because they're adorable, and because it would be on tv.]
I groaned. [Still not an answer, Nya. If I have to face everyone on Monday, knowing they all saw me like that, don't I deserve to know why?]
[You really don't get it? It's not hard.]
[Nya!]
In reply, she sent me a photo of a kitten. An adorable little thing, harmless and cute, napping while hugging a teddy bear.
[Very cute. Still waiting for an answer, Nya.]
[Could you be mean to that kitty? What about stand by as someone else was mean to them?]
[Of course not!]
[You are that kitty. You're welcome!]
[?]
I could practically hear her groan. [Jerks like Chad will still try to throw the kitten around. But now others will be brave enough to stop them. It's that simple.]
I froze. The printer finished churning. My eyes fell on the picture of all of us in cat ears. Adorable?
Oh. Crap. I'm probably blushing bright red. Thank goodness I'm alone in my room. I lowered my flushed face to rest on the cool surface of my desk.
A, a kitten? Me? My dad would never let me live it down.
Actually, with how well he took me wearing cat ears all day, he probably approves. I remembered him commenting that they suit me. Oh, FSM - my dad still sees me a cute baby. This really should not be new to me, but man...
My phone was buzzing.
[Lloyd?]
[Lloyd! You okay?]
[Little bro! It'll all work out - I swear! I even ran it by Karen! And you should check out the response online - they even made this meme of you with the caption "Cute. Smart. Self-sufficient." It shows you in kitty ears, then in your hoodie, and then the Green Ninja!]
I groaned. Stared at the hat some more. Eventually typed out a reply.
[I get it. I think. Um. Thanks, I guess?]
[Sweet! Do you have a long black scarf?]
Huh?
[Yeah? I can just get one from my dad. He's got a million of them.]
[Ask your dad if we can have another sleepover tomorrow! Our parents already said yes! When he says yes, which he totally will, wear the scarf tomorrow!]
Oh, yes! Yes yes yes! Sleepover! And we'll have all of tomorrow together!
[Another sleepover! Awesome! I'll go ask now!]
[Hurry and text us back! And don't forget the scarf! We'll meet in the cove at 8am if it's all cool!]
Her insistence on a scarf is weird, but nowhere near as weird as cat ears being used as a bully deterrent, so I brushed it off and rushed downstairs to ask my dad about tomorrow.
~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~
Dad and Mom were sitting on the couch when I got off the elevator. They were curled up together looking through an old photo album and didn't seem to hear me get off. Both were facing away from the elevator and kitchen, off in their own little world.
"Garm? What are you going to do these next few months?"
Dad frowned and leaned back. "I dunno. Lloyd wants to spend more time with me, and now you're back, so we'll probably do a bunch of stuff as a family, you know?"
"No, I meant... You agreed to go six months without invading Ninjago, right? Why not just give it up? Take this opportunity to, to do something else?"
Dad was silent. I was frozen.
"You weren't always like this, Garm. Why can't we go back to how we were? You could join me, be a hero again. Lloyd wouldn't be ostracized at school. We could, we could be with our friends again. On the same side, fighting for a better world. A better world, a better life, for us, for Lloyd."
Dad shook his head. My heart sank.
"You know I can't, Kokes," he said softly, barely above a whisper. "I, it builds up inside and, and I... I just can't. I can't go back. I can't give this up."
"What's even the point? What would you even do if you did win?" asked my mom, ever so gently. Not a hint of reproach or accusation in her tone. "What would you have then... that you can't have now?"
There was a long silence. "I don't know," was Dad's barely audible answer. "But I have to keep going. I just have to win."
"But... but what if you have to do something, something terrible, in order to win...?"
Ok. Yeah. That's enough. I silently stepped back and pressed the elevator button. Since it was right there, it dinged and the doors swished open.
This time my parents heard, jumping slightly and twisting to see me. I smiled brightly, stepping forward like I'd just gotten off.
"I just got a text from Nya! Can we have a sleepover tomorrow night? We won't stay up too late, and I'll make sure all my homework is done tonight!"
"Sure!" exclaimed Dad, as if he hadn't just been having a super deep, super private conversation about the future with Mom. "Your minions are always welcome!"
"Yes! Thanks, Dad! Oh, and I'm borrowing one of your scarves too! I'd better get started on my homework so I don't have to worry about it tomorrow, so good night!"
And I rushed off, trying not to think too hard about what they'd been talking about. How my mom had basically just asked my dad to give up evil... and he'd refused.
And if he couldn't change for her, it was silly to think maybe he could change for me.
~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~
Author's Notes: Hope you enjoyed! Many of you expressed concern for No.3, as well as confusion over just what Nya's logic behind the kitty ears was, so here it is! And I know this was supposed to be Lloyd's next kidnapping, but I decided to let the kid enjoy the rest of his weekend. The kidnapping will be next chapter.
The next chapter will actually be after the sleepover - which you don't have to wait to read, as Sunny Lighter's already written it for you! It's the first chapter of Gift-Fics that Found their Place, and you'll get the scarf joke when you get there! (Though I wouldn't be surprised if most of you have read it already!) Thanks again, Sunny! I just had to include it!
My thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter! I am so happy that you enjoy my story enough to let me know!