~~ Ch35:Tue3, Missing, Green~~

Past/Nightmare

Garmadon knew he was supposed to stay at Lloyd's side. Some obscure part of him pleaded with him, begged him to go back, to be at his dying child's bedside. Tried to reason that a good father would be there until the inevitable.

He couldn't. He just couldn't. He needed to explode. He needed to hurt something, someone. He needed to burn this world that had no right to exist if Lloyd was not in it.

"Please! This is a hospital!"

"I beg of you!"

"Stop! You'll kill him!"

"We've tried everything! I swear! It's impossible!"

All these meaningless beggars. Dirt and bugs to be trampled beneath his feet. Not worth his time. In his way. Between him and them.

He had to find them. Kill them. Whoever was responsible. They would pay. Their families would pay. Anyone who knew them would pay. This whole world would BURN.

Ceiling and walls crumbled in his wake. Floors cracked as the ground buckled and heaved. Furniture burst into dark flames, electronics of any sort exploded.

Everything was a red haze. He was only vaguely aware of the purple flames swirling around his arms, crackling around his feet.

Finally, prey. Ninjas. Something to kill. Get these ants out of the way, and the city would fall.

Words and talk and meaningless chatter. As if the worms had anything important to say. A single point to give worth to their pathetic continued existence. Their only redeeming value lay in giving him something to FIGHT. Something that bled and cried and screamed.

Entire buildings collapsed into rubble. The streets buckled and heaved. Any vegetation burnt to ash. Screams and roars and cries and maniacal laughter ripped through the night.

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

Present

Garmadon surged awake with a gasp, eyes wide in panic. Throwing aside his covers, he ran for Lloyd's room, same as he did every time he had this nightmare. He had to prove to himself that Lloyd was fine. Everything was fine. Lloyd wasn't dying in a hospital. He certainly wasn't already dead. He was in his bed, safe and...

Lloyd was not in his bed.

He hadn't come home for dinner, and Garmadon was fine with letting him stay out late, choose his own mealtimes. Had loudly boasted to Koko about just that last night. But now Lloyd wasn't in his bed.

It stood there, completely untouched. Neatly made from the day before. And there was no note. Lloyd always left a note when he ran away.

The last time there hadn't been a note... Garmadon refused to finish that thought. But a sickening terror quickly warping into rage was building inside.

Garmadon desperately searched the room, throwing all the lights on, scrounging into every hiding space that could possibly be small enough for his son.

Koko was trying to talk to him, but her words didn't, couldn't process. They were meaningless. Everything, everyone, was meaningless without his son.

Lloyd wasn't here. He wasn't home.

Somehow, Garmadon just knew. Even before he started shouting for his generals, before he tried calling Lloyd's cell. Long before the reports started filtering back in, that Lloyd absolutely was not in the volcano, that there was no tracing his phone, that his shark mech was still in that cove he liked to use - the same last known location of his phone GPS.

Someone had taken his son.

They would DIE.

"Ninja," growled Garmadon darkly. They were either guilty or in his way. They were always in his way.

He'd start with his brother.

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

Well, technically it wasn't an invasion?

The citizens of Ninjago City were bewildered, but heeded the warning from the mayor's office to stay indoors and on alert for an evacuation order, away from Garmadon's forces as they streamed down the streets. The government was being mum about what was going on, though the media strongly suspected it had something to do with Lloyd. (Well, duh.)

The situation was made odder by the sight of Lady Irondragon at Lord Garmadon's side. And while the most prone to hysteria began crying that she had betrayed them, the more sensible noticed she was on her phone constantly and seemed perfectly in her right mind.

Lord Garmadon, however, was very obviously not in his right mind. And considering his 'right mind' was normally just shy of insane, that was saying something.

Koko preferred the crazy. This was just terrifying.

She had NEVER seen Garmadon like this. He hadn't hurt her, hadn't spoken a word to her actually, but anyone else was fair game as he literally picked them up and threw them aside, heedless of how they landed. Shadows seemed to encroach around him, and purple fire flickered around his arms and in the wake of his footsteps. She hadn't even known Garmadon HAD an elemental power, if that was even what this was? What else did she not know?

She knew Lloyd was missing. She knew Garmadon was blaming Wu for some reason. And she was terrified this could only end in blood.

Koko had called the mayor to update her on the situation and request she keep civilians out of the streets. She had then called up Ray and Maya, who had promised in turn to contact all the other Ninja and their families. And now she was warning Wu, who had no clue where Lloyd was but refused to back down from a fight with his brother.

"You don't understand, Wu! It's like he's blind and deaf to reason! If you fight him in this condition..."

"This isn't the first time," Wu wearily replied over the phone. "There's not much we can do but give him something to aim at, and my students won't be able to take him on in hand to hand. The first few hours are the worst. We just have to keep trying and eventually we should be able to get through to him. It's just a huge relief that even like this he hasn't hurt you - that means you're our best bet, in lieu of Lloyd, for getting through to him. Keep trying. And let him come."

"At least let the others help you! How about-"

"Misako," interrupted Wu. "Why do you think Ray and Maya ran away?"

There was a beat of silence.

"They tried, last time. They lost."

Koko froze, putting together the pieces. "So the last time he was like this was the hospital..." She shook her head, looking over at an apparently deaf Garmadon storming towards the dockyards. Towards where he already knew Wu docked the Destiny's Bounty. "Maybe I can help. I can fight with the best, so I-"

"You can help by trying to talk to him," interrupted Wu. Again.

"I can fight!"

"To the death?"

"You're not going to-"

"We're sure going to try."

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

My back hurt, like when I would fall asleep working on my mech. Despite his insistence on bedtime stories, my dad doesn't really care when (or where) I actually go to sleep or get up, so I'm pretty familiar with waking up in strange positions with weird aches and pains.

And this was definitely a strange position, butt on the cold metal floor, slumped over my bent knees. Why would I be...?

Oh, that's right. The memories of yesterday came flooding back.

Pythor's reappearance. Ice, mad at my inability to defend myself. Ranting about a power I don't have. Saying he could prove it when I argued with him. And I'd dared him to do just that.

I know better too! I already knew Ice has a thing about always being right, never backing down from a challenge.

He'd kidnapped me. Just picked me up and carried me off. Ugh, how embarrassing.

Ice had frozen my feet to the floor of his ice submarine mech yesterday. Must be yesterday, as it had surely been hours and hours. The ice had long since melted, even mostly dried, though my socks felt kind of gross. That sort of half-wet feeling when it's super humid? Yuck.

More importantly, by now my dad totally must be freaking out.

The mech wasn't moving, though from the sounds it had only just stopped. Perhaps that's what had woken me up. Ice was in the pilot's chair, flicking the last few switches and then pulling a lever.

I groaned and stretched. That felt a little better.

Ice walked over to the hatch while I got to my feet and waited for blood to be flowing properly through my legs again. He turned and lifted, climbing through.

"Ice! I have to call my dad!" I called out. My feet felt better so I followed him. "He's probably scared!"

"He will just have to wait. This is more important," he replied, cold as ever. Or at least trying to give that impression.

"I don't think you-" I cut myself off as I climbed up through the hatch and got my first sight of our surroundings. A tiny little island, with only a lone, seemingly abandoned lighthouse as it's single feature. Nothing else but ocean, as far as the eye could see.

"Where are we?" I asked, bewildered. This was Ice's response to "prove it"?

"An island I've used for various reasons over the years. It's extremely remote."

"So no cell service," I concluded, heart sinking. I checked my phone anyway. No bars. Though it did confirm that, sure enough, it was the next morning. Guess I'm missing school. Again.

"What about a radio of some sort?" Surely he wasn't that cut off, right?

Ice shook his head and began climbing down to the rocky shore. "I don't even have electricity. And I come here to hide, so why would I have any way of contacting others?"

Unfortunately, I believed him. It was just like Ice to isolate himself like this. To have a place where he wouldn't have to deal with people and emotions and other things that made him uncomfortable.

I groaned again, rubbing my face with my hands to try wake up faster. "Fine, fine," I relented. "But can we hurry this up? I really need to get back to my dad."

Ice glowered at me. "What you need is to unlock your power. Which is what we are here for." Then he looked over at the lighthouse for a moment and seemed to deflate. "First, though... breakfast?"

I blinked, and only then recognized the twisting in my stomach as hunger. I hadn't had dinner, probably neither of us had, and it was already well into the next morning. A startled laugh escaped my throat at this complete change in subject.

"Ok, yeah. Especially if it's gonna be that long a ride back to the city."

Seriously, what's half an hour when the trip here, and presumably back, was like sixteen and change? And I really didn't want to go THAT long without food.

We headed inside the lighthouse, up the winding staircase about halfway to a small room with a bed, ice-chest, and small gas stove. If I leaned back I could see the beacon at the very top, long since abandoned and left to rust. Very obviously, it hadn't been used in decades. This little bedroom/kitchen was pretty clean though.

Ice pulled a loaf of bread and chunk of cheese from the ice chest and set a teapot and iron frying pan on the stove to heat up. Within a few minutes, we were enjoying hot herbal tea and cheese on toast. Simple but satisfying.

"So, Ice, why did we have to come here?" I asked. "You know my dad is probably freaking out. What about this is worth the risk?"

Ice frowned, and turned it back on me. "Why are you so convinced you have no power, Lloyd? Surely that one night should have convinced you? You should have been dead on impact."

I narrowed my eyes and set down my tea. I really should have seen that coming. Of course he would go there. Of course he would start there.

My free hand went up to rub wearily at my eyes for a minute, my mind swirling with a memory of that night. Of slam, pain, green sparks, staring up into the sky and knowing I wouldn't make it. Even while I knew, I knew, something inside me, something beyond just me, was desperately fighting a losing battle. And that it wasn't enough. It had been trying so hard, and it just wasn't...

"I'm not stupid," I finally choked out.

I know what happened. I just, I'm just...

"Just in denial," retorted Ice, as if we were talking about something as mundane as me lying about feeling fine when I have a cold.

Not sure whether to be upset or amused or sad or what, a confused smirk found its way to my mouth. I couldn't really argue with that. Not with someone who knew. Knows. I can't pretend it didn't happen anymore. It hadn't been a dream.

"You know which building?"

"Yes. Five stories. All concrete and asphalt around. I stood atop it myself."

"So it wasn't in my head."

"No."

"Huh."

Wow. I just, I don't know what...

"You're not a monster, Lloyd," the old master interrupted my musing, trying to comfort me in his own blunt way. "Green saved your life. Your element reinforced your body, sped up your healing process."

I sighed. Pushed aside my empty plate and mug, glad I'd finished before we started this discussion. Though now I felt sort of queasy.

"Ice," I began, hesitantly. "I'm not sure that's any better."

He looked confused, and of course he was. It's not like anyone could actually relate to my strange issues. But, suddenly, I wanted to talk to him about this. Wanted to hear what he would say. Needed at least some form of objective truth, help to get some perspective. Sort out all these sickening thoughts. I started.

"On one hand, I must be some sort of monster, which means every time someone threw that ugly slur at me, they were only speaking the truth. About me and my dad. On the other, I must have some legendary elemental power that only sorta saved my life, and in exchange for such a 'gift', I'm expected to battle my dad. Or maybe it's some combination of the two - that I'm neither human, nor do I have any say in my own future."

Ice thoughtfully tapped at his lower lip. "I understand your confusion. Both theories seem equally plausible, with your current amount of evidence. And, in truth, I can neither confirm nor deny how human Master Wu and Lord Garmadon are. I know their father, the First Spinjitzu Master, was from another realm. What that makes him, I do not know. However," and he stood up. "As I told you yesterday, I can prove the existence of Green to you. Beyond any doubt. The same way your mother was convinced fourteen years ago."

Fourteen years ago? My mom had left twelve years ago. Was this related? I wonder if it's in that journal she gave me. More importantly...

"Why couldn't you just show me this proof back home, Ice?" I complained sulkily.

"Because It involves artifacts I stole from Master Wu," he said simply. "If you were to tell him, he would kill me. As it is, I'm sure I'll have to be very careful to avoid Garmadon for the rest of my life. If both were to come after me, I wouldn't last a week."

My eyes snapped to him in shock and horror. WHY would he risk stealing from my uncle? And certainly HOW was any of this possibly worth risking his life for?!

Ice gestured and led the way back down the winding staircase.

I looked out the single window, out at the endless ocean beyond. We really were out in the middle of nowhere.

The previous Master of Ice was waiting at the bottom, which was mostly empty except for some old furniture and the door back outside. When I appeared, he formed an ice key in his hand to unlock a chest. He gestured me to wait on the stairs as he ceremonially took out four golden weapons that shone almost too brightly to look at.

Wow. Um, ok. Legendary artifacts stolen from my uncle. A son of the First Spinjitzu Master. Worth killing over. Right. My insides twisted in anxiety.

Hoo boy. Can't we not and say we did? Like, I don't actually need to know, right? And, and, fourteen years ago, how do we even know the same thing will happen? I would've been a baby! Maybe nothing will even happen! Maybe my mom is just crazy!

Ice ignored me and laid the weapons out in a large arc, equally spaced, then reached into his jacket and pulled out one more, an oversized shuriken. He held on to that last one that would close the circle and gestured me forward.

I want to be normal. I have to be normal. But at the same time... I know I'm not. And maybe I can finally know why. Maybe everything will finally make sense, for better or for worse.

Yeah. Ok. I can do this.

I stepped into the center.

The old master closed the circle with the last weapon. And everything changed.

Immediately, green sparks and swirls began dancing around the weapons, expanding and lifting them into the air. They began circling me, and I stared at them in awe, all fear and worry suddenly evaporating. They were just so beautiful. I raised my arms to reach out to them, to see if this was real, and realized the same energy was dancing around my hands and arms.

Ice uncovered a large mirror and angled it towards me, and my glance turned into a stare. My eyes were glowing. The energy was not just dancing around my arms, but all over me, from head to toe.

Somehow I had always imagined powers to feel... different. Maybe like a monster I would have to tame, force into submission. But this was... warm.

Warm. Friendly. Kind of ticklish - I had the craziest urge to giggle. And there was definitely a buzz. I didn't feel almighty or extra strong or powerful, certainly not fearless or like some legendary hero. I still felt like me, just...

The giggle slipped out. I covered my mouth but couldn't stop smiling and giggling, now that I'd started! If anything, the green sparks grew brighter as I gave in.

Playful! That was the word. I wanted to laugh and dance and run and jump and fly! Everything just seemed light and happy and I was suddenly positive there was no need to fear!

The old master took away one of the weapons, and the rest lowered to the floor. I stepped away, well outside the circle, still buzzing and giddy.

Ice stepped into the circle himself, lowered the weapon exactly where it had been, and nothing. He held out his arms in a "well, that's that," sort of gesture.

It wasn't the weapons. It really was me.

And it felt... right. Good! I couldn't stop smiling!

"What..." I began, staring at my hands in wonder and a deep sort of joy. I glanced at the mirror again. My eyes were still glowing. Weird, but somehow it didn't bother me in the least! It actually kind of made me look like my dad, which threw me into another round of giggles.

"These are the weapons, the tools, that the First Spinjitzu Master used to create our world. Each one is intimately connected to an element," lectured Ice.

He took hold of the golden shuriken. It frosted over in his hands, and with a flick of his wrist the walls of the entire room were covered in ice. He tucked it back in his jacket, close to his heart.

Well, that did explain why Ice could still use his element when Zane was the new Master of Ice. I hadn't thought about it before, but in hindsight that had been odd. Uncle Ray hadn't been able to summon more than a few sparks, after all.

The old master gestured to the sword. "Fire." The nunchucks, "Lightning." Scythe, "Earth." Spear, "Water."

Somehow, that all made sense. I could easily picture each of my friends wielding their element through the weapon connected to it. Kai and swords just went together. Same with Jay and nunchucks, Cole with a scythe, Nya with a spear, or Zane with that oversized shuriken. It fit, not just their element, but their individual style and personality.

Then Ice gestured to me, again interrupting my train of thought. "But without Green, an Energy to tie them all together, they remain just that. Elements. Not a whole. They would have no connection. There would be no Ninjago."

And somehow, he seemed to be talking about more than ancient history.

Without Green, there would be no Ninjago.

Without me, there would be no...

"No more denying this then," I whispered. They needed me. I was a part of them, just as much as they'd become a part of me.

I am the Green Ninja. The Master of Green, a figure of prophecy, a protector of Ninjago.

And I'm still Lloyd Garmadon! I still love my dad. I can be both, do both! Hero and son.

Everything made sense, at least at this moment. There was nothing to fear. Everything would work out.

Occasional sparks still flickered from my hands, but the bulk of the energy had faded. I fisted my hands and reached for that warmth, that buzz, that bright and cheerful glow from deep within.

My eyes started glowing, I could feel them, and my fists soon after. Green began dancing around my clenched hands, the sparks and swirls delighted to be let out to play. I couldn't help laughing!

The nearby golden weapons vibrated, probably at my close proximity.

Ice was climbing the staircase.

"Where are you going?" I called out.

"You have unlocked Green. I? I am getting a head start before Wu and Garmadon come for my head. Zane should be here in a few hours to take you home."

I thought about Ice approaching me in the Warehouse. The fear and stress in the lines around his eyes. His anger that I was wasting time, his concern about me being ready, understanding who I was and what I could do. His advice in the mech, that Energy was in all elements, that I should actually be able to manipulate them.

Ice had once been my go-to adult for things I didn't understand. Well, I still didn't understand. Not what Green was, what it could do, why it was so special. It would be nice not to have to figure this all out on my own.

"So you're leaving me again."

That froze him in place, halfway up the staircase. He stiffened. His hands clenched. "I believe I explained to you-"

"I won't tell them," I interrupted. "I won't tell anyone. You met Raila. You know I can keep that promise."

He was thinking about it. It suddenly was so important to me that I not lose him, not lose anyone. Not again. I couldn't be alone again. Every single person in my life, that had returned to my life, that was new in my life, that had never left my life, was precious. So precious.

I refuse to lose even one.

"You keep saying I need training. Talking about all this stuff Green is supposed to be, to be able to do. Train me! Help me! Don't just run off."

Ice looked over doubtfully. "A change of heart, chosen one? Are you ready to fight?"

I shook my head, smiling and letting Green sparkle and dance all around me. Because it didn't matter what anyone else thought about what should happen, what might happen. It was my choice! My choice, to do the right thing. I had never felt so confident. The future had never been so bright!

"No."

Ice blinked, surprised at my firm negative. I smiled sunnily and continued.

"I will find a way to save my dad. If I was chosen, it was for a reason! It was because I won't kill my father. I won't blindly accept someone else's idea of what I should do with my life, with this power! This power is supposed to represent good-"

And it did. It was! Warmth and light and happiness and safety! Like tickles and hugs and blankets and love!

"When has good ever won by sinking to evil's level?"

Ice threw back his head and laughed.

"Ah, you are certainly the chosen one, Green Ninja. I can train you in the ways of Ice. But I warn you, it will hurt. Ice stings and burns and, if you are not very careful indeed, kills. Slowly and cruelly, from the inside out."

And there he goes, trying to scare me off. Testing me. Like he wants me to reject him. Not happening!

"I suppose Fire is gentler?" I asked, smirking.

Ice smirked back. "Just don't kill ME if it gets too cold to handle."

"Freeze me to the floor, then. Just to be safe."

The old man's eyebrows rose in surprise. My smirk melted into a simple, happy smile.

"I trust you, Ice. Even when I don't understand."

"Gerald."

"Pardon?"

"My name is Gerald. It is a pleasure to meet you, Lloyd."

~~ ! Go Ninja Go ! ~~

Author's Notes: Whew, but I'm finally happy with it! What did you guys think? We've finally got a Green Ninja, and he's gonna do things HIS way! But back in the city, things don't look so good.

In other news, regrettably we've caught up with the chapters I'd had written in advance. My goal will be an update every two weeks, but there may be some delays. Please see my profile for progress on future chapters.

Special thanks to Sunny Lighter for reading and reviewing rough drafts of this chapter multiple times for me, helping me to put my finger on just what I wasn't happy with. I couldn't have done it without you!