Aeria's POV
"Lloyd…" Kai spoke over the comms as we all drove or flew our mechs into the hideout and parked them in their corners of the building.
"Yeah?"
"That's your dad. You were open, man." Kai told him as he made his mech sit down in a giant recliner chair before jumping out to the ground.
"It was highly poignant." Zane stated as he and Xia parked the Ice Tank in their corner.
"For me, it's easy to fight him 'cause he's, like, not my father. But for you, that must be so complicated." Jay added on as he flew his mech in and parked it near the ceiling.
"Nooot that complicated."
"You also really pulled at my heartstrings, man." Nya added as she parked her mech on the ceiling next go mine as the ceiling closed and she leaped down to the ground before continuing with, "I felt for you."
"With... With the missiles."
"No. With the other… The other stuff."
"The dad stuff."
"Yeah, but, like, exactly what are you referring to?"
"Watching you and your father." Zane states from next go Cole at the jukebox.
"The vulnerability."
"You got so emotional." Jay announced from his spot at an arcade game.
"Em-emotions were the last thing that was going on out there." Lloyd stuttered out, making everyone sigh doubtfully.
"Um, yeah."
"Mm-hmm."
"It's okay, Lloyd. Nobody's parents are perfect." Nya tried to assure him
"I mean, my mom is weird and collects seashells." Jay started as he nervously messed with his hood in one hand, "Your dad levels cities and attacks innocent people. So, they've all got their quirks, you know?"
"Who cares what strangers have to say about you when your friends think you're awesome just the way you are?" I made the point as I parked my dragonfly on the ceiling and flipped down to the floor, brushing my hair from my face after I landed.
"I know it's just, sometimes everything they say when I'm not the Green Ninja wears me down…you wouldn't understand...''
"Oh yeah, me the 'poor little orphan girl' who 'always needs her Mommy and Daddy to fend off the big bad bullies' and can't even help her big brother take care of themselves." I made a show by waving my hands in the air.
"No t-that's not what I meant." Lloyd was quick to defend himself, but I just smiled ruefully and told him,
"But I don't care about what they say because I know it's not true all that matters to me is what my true friends think of me."
"Yeah, but I'm not tough like you-"
"Who says you have to be...?"
Lloyd was thinking about that when tranquil music started to play, making everyone look around in surprise.
"Uh, where's that tranquil music coming from?" Cole questioned out loud.
"Hey, look, everyone!" Nya pointed to the Destiny's Bounty, their flying ship, landing in the docks right outside the center, "Master Wu is back."
"Hello, students." The elderly man suddenly popped up from behind them, surprising them all but they grinned and chorused together happily,
"Master Wu!"
"Shock."
"Alarm."
"How was your trip?"
"It was a deep spiritual journey that took me to depths inside myself I never knew existed." Wu answered sagely as he walked around them with his staff clacking against the ground every few seconds.
"Yeah, you have a pretty serious tan line." Cole smirked knowingly at his master.
"Don't judge me." Wu waved his staff in their faces scolding Cole in particular.
"So, did you see us kick Garmadon's butt?" Nya asked, emphasizing with a kick to midair.
"We vanquished him." Zane and Xia chorused.
"Ba-ba bam!" Kai punched the air while going into a split before jumping back up.
"I saw you fight and I saw Garmadon retreat. But you did not defeat him." Wu notified them making them all 'what' as one before he tapped his staff to the ground twice.
"There's nothing ninja about you ninjas."
"We're so ninja. I don't know what you're talking about." Jay quietly protested.
"You will never truly defeat Garmadon until you see things from a different point of view." Wu started to walk around the room to each of us, planting his staff into the ground as he did so, "You have the power to win the battle without fighting. When you start using your mind, you won't need mechs and machines. Your call signs are not just cool names. They are the elemental powers you were all born with." Wu stood in front of Nya before making some hand motions that formed a sphere of water in front of him, making her gasp in wonder, "Nya, you can create water on your own."
"And Kai, fire!" Wu created a single fireball in one hand that was held in front of Kai's face as he marveled at it.
"Wow!"
"Jay, lightning." Wu spread his arms out as crackles of lighting formed between his hands.
"So ninja."
"Cole, earth." Wu jumped up and hit the ground, making a shockwave that knocked all of us but him off our feet.
"Whoa!"
"We both spin." Cole commented lazily as he held up a spinning record on his hand.
"Aeria, wind." Wu waved his hands around to where a mini-tornado formed around us before dying out.
"I'm like an impressive hair dryer..."
"Zane and Xia, ice." Wu coated his hand in a light blue frost.
"Ice is nice."
"And cool."
"These elemental powers are why I chose you to form the Secret Ninja Force. It is the highest level that you can achieve as a ninja. I wrote a book about it. It's called Ninjanuity. Copyright, Master Wu." Wu held up said book as he told us.
"And w-w-what about me? What am I?" Lloyd went up to him bouncing in place in excitement.
"Lloyd, yours is the most important element of all." Wu started slowly.
"Okay. Hit me with it."
"Your elemental power is... greeeen." Wu made a weird face as he said 'green'.
"What's that?"
"Greeeen."
"Okay, so, uh, just to recap. Fire. Ice. Water. Earth. Lightning. Wind. And…" Lloyd asked motioning to each of us when he said our element.
"Greeeen."
"Don't think it's an element though."
"Lloyd…"
"Can I be gold?"
"No."
"Nature isn't taken. Can I be nature?"
"No."
"Earth, green, and fire. Rolls right off the tongue."
"Lloyd…"
"Can I be the element of surprise?" Lloyd asked making jazz hands at the end.
"No. That's the Fuchsia Ninja."
"Surprise." A guy dressed in fuschia waved his hands around before disappearing.
"Was no one else bothered by that?" I asked a little unnerved, but everyone just half shrugged as Lloyd and Wu talked some more,
"There are so many elements left. This feels kinda purposeful that I don't have one."
"Enough, Lloyd. Come with me for mentor talk. The rest of you, practice Spinjitzu."
"That's easy. Watch this." Kai told him as we all practice the spinning and arm waving motions.
"Exertion."
"For three hours." Wu commanded.
"Three hours! Are you kidding me with this guy!" Jay asked tiredly.
"And read my book!" He tossed the book to the middle of everyone.
"Oh, man!" Nya moaned out.
"Oh hey, Aeria, I um…" Lloyd started to tell me, but stuttered off until Wu told me,
"Aeria, go practice under the cherry blossom tree."
"Uhmm OK?" I questioned before walking out of the center.
"Why did you send her there?" I heard Lloyd question Wu as they walked to the pier where the Bounty was parked.
"So it would be easier for you two to walk back to your house per your mother's request." Wu responded as if it was supposed to be obvious.
"Is that was Lloyd was about to tell me?" I asked myself as I made it to the tree.
Shrugging, I started practicing under the tree, the falling petals giving me a sense of tranquility until the memories of the crash started to come back in full detail, throwing my focus off until I stopped, gasping as the impact came back in vivid detail.
"What's taking them so long?" I wondered before I walked back over to the pier and stayed out of sight as she heard that Wu and Lloyd were still talking, catching on a bit of their conversation,
"I need you to lead the Secret Ninja Force. But you must promise to walk a different path. One that only the son of Garmadon can walk. No matter how hard it may be." Wu was telling Lloyd sagely until there was a silence and Lloyd quietly responded with,
"Honestly, I would happily give up being a Secret Ninja if it meant I didn't have to be the son of Garmadon."
"Oh Lloyd…but where would we all be if that happened?" I whispered to myself.
"I know you've had a hard life, Lloyd, filled with many knocks. Why don't I play you a song? Perhaps it will speak to you." Wu started to play his flute to the tune of 'Hard Knock Life' until it stopped abruptly followed by,
"Thanks, Uncle Wu."
"Oh and could you please tell Aeria that it's rude to eavesdrop on other people's conversations."
"Heh busted…" Lloyd stood over me from the Bounty as I smirked and told him,
"Ha ha greenie, let's go." I lightly bumped his shoulder with mine as we both flipped our hoods up.
"You ready?" He got into a starting run position.
"You know it." I did the same before we counted to three and took off, each of us parkouring our way to his house, competing to see who would get there first with the most impressive moves.
3rd Person POV
Aeria and Lloyd had gotten to his house where he slipped off his sneakers and put on his sandals before turning to Aeria and saying,
"Just wait out here a second."
"Sure thing." She told him with a rueful smile as he opened the door to find his mom on the phone.
"Lloyd!"
"Hey, Mom."
"No. I've got him right here. He just walked in. Bye-bye." She hung up the phone before going over to her son, "Oh, my gosh. I was so worried about you."
"Uh, I'm fine. I just took the long way home."
"Why did we get on a family plan if you're not gonna text me?" Koko asked in near hysterics.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. I love you and I'm sorry." Lloyd pulled his mom into a hug as she told him,
"I don't know what I'd do if anything ever happened to you, okay?"
"Thanks, Mom..."
"I'm just really glad that those ninjas saved the day." She commented while looking into the fridge.
"Yeah. Yeah, I was there." He muttered quietly as he shook food into the fishbowl in the kitchen.
"What?"
"Watching with the other regular kids."
"Okay. Well, you must be starving."
"I don't know, I'm not really that hungry."
"But I'll make your favorite. Dumplings!"
"Oh! Enticing, but I'm just gonna… I'm just gonna go to bed, I think. *Yawn* Just really tired." Lloyd yawned while stretching his arms up and heading up to his room for the night.
"Oh."
"Good night, Mom."
"Okay, well, good night." Koko was about to surprise him with a cake, but missed him as he already made it upstairs.
"Oh and Aeria's right outside."
"What? Why didn't you invite her in?" Koko put the cake down and rushed to open the door to let Aeria in, as she pulled her hood down.
"Hi Mrs. Garmadon."
"Oh you can just call me Koko, no more of that Mrs. or Ma'am stuff."
"Ok?" Aeria walked over and sat down at the table as Koko poured her a cup of green tea, "So Lloyd told me that you wanted to see me?"
"Yes, I did," Koko sat down across from her, "How're you and your brother doing?"
"We've... been managing pretty well."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I mean it's been kind of hard, but my brother's taking care of us as best he can."
"Oh well that's good…"
There was a short moment of silence before Aeria asked,
"Is there something you needed or…?"
"Well, today I wanted to give you something that your mother would've wanted you to have, just wait here a second." Koko left and went into the hall and the sounds of her rummaging through boxes was heard as Aeria looked around at all the pictures of Koko and Lloyd that were around the apartment.
Smiling at how happy they looked together reminding her of her own family before the accident, Koko returned with a small box that was covered with dust until she blew it off and set it on the table in front of Aeria.
"Go ahead, open it."
Cautiously, Aeria pulled the top off the box and inside, wrapped in a swatch of faded fabric was a beautiful purple-jeweled hair clip in the shape of a dragonfly.
"Woah…" Aeria pulled the clip out and marveled at it.
"Your mother made that when we were just about your age…"
"She made this?"
"Yep, the same day she met your father heh they were instantly drawn to each other and she told me to hold onto this for her." Koko pulled out a picture that had been at the very bottom of the box and held it out to Aeria to look at.
In the picture, was Aeria's parent's silhouettes against a rising moon on a hilltop next to a cherry blossom tree.
"My husband and I were there for their wedding."
"Wait, Garmadon was at a wedding?" Aeria asked, both with doubt and trying to hold back laughter.
"Yep, believe it or not, I managed to drag him there." Koko laughed as she pulled out a different photo of herself, her husband, frowning from being forced into a four-armed tuxedo, and her parents next to them smiling.
"Wow… I didn't know they made four-armed tuxes."
"Oh it was very hard." They both laughed until Aeria used her jacket sleeve to wipe her eyes.
"They looked so happy…" She commented wistfully touching her parent's faces in the photo, "I really wish they were here right now…" Aeria took the clip in her hand and used it to pin up her bangs out of her face.
"I do too, but as long as you keep them in your thoughts, they will never truly be gone." Koko went over and pulled Aeria into a hug that she slowly returned with a silent 'thank you'.
Pulling apart, Aeria wiped her eyes against before composing herself and telling Koko,
"I have to go now, my brother will be home soon and he worries if I'm not there when he gets back."
"Oh of course, do you need me to walk with you?"
"No no it's ok you've done plenty for me and him already." Aeria smiled as she put the wedding photo in her jacket's inner pocket and picked her backpack up from the floor outside the door before waving,
"Goodnight Koko." And beginning the walk, or rather parkour, home.
"Take care of yourselves…" Koko whispered as she closed the door and looked up at the stairs to see a flash of green bolt back upstairs, smirking at her son's obvious feelings for his "friend".
A few minutes later...
"Phew…" Aeria plopped down on her bed with her hands over her face, processing all that was just told to her.
"Ari? I'm home." She heard her brother announce as the door was closed behind him.
"Hey." Aeria came out from her room to greet her brother with a hug at the door.
When she released him from the hug, she saw that there were two white bags in his hand with some kind of restaurant logo of a man holding a bowl of noodles with a smiling wink.
"I take it the interview went well?" Aeria asked gesturing to the bag of good-smelling food.
"Yep, I've just been hired as the new fry cook at Chen's Noodle House."
"That's awesome!" Aeria hugged the life out of her brother in pride.
"Luckily an old friend knew the owner and convinced her to give me a chance. And we get to take home whatever's leftover from the day." Motor plopped the bags onto the table while Aeria took out the photos and placed them on the table. Morro stopped opening his chopsticks long enough to look at it and pick it up slowly.
"W-where did you get this…?"
"I went to go see Koko since Lloyd told me she wanted to talk to me about… our parents."
"Heh…" Morro touched the photo just like she had before pausing to see that Koko and Garmadon were there too, "How did they make Garmadon a four-armed tux?"
"I have no idea." They both laughed quietly as if he could've heard them then and there and Morro took notice of the hair clip holding back his sister's bangs.
"Is that...?"
"A hair clip Mom made, apparently she wanted Koko to hold onto it." She took it off to show her brother before clipping it back in.
"I know it's been hard without them…" Morro started as they stood up and he took the picture over to a little altar they made for their parents with cherry blossom branches in a small vase and a little candle in front of a family picture of the four of them before Aeria continued with,
"But we're still here and that's all that really matters in order to keep their memory alive." Aeria went to hug her brother as he embraced her as well as they looked at the photos on thee mini altar lovingly.
"Alright enough with all the sappy talk, let's eat!" Aeria joked as they went back to the table, picked up their chopsticks, and they both ate.
Unbeknownst to them both, the candle in front of the photo of their parent's silhouettes against the moonlight brightened a bit before returning to normal.