3rd Person POV

"I'm not gonna cry..." Lloyd slightly growled after witnessing the destruction of all his friends' mechs before ripping off his hood and adding pointedly,

"Dad."

A turntable disk dramatically scratching in the background before another continued and it finally stopped before Garmadon asked,

"La-Loyd?"

"That's right!" Lloyd stood up and threw down his hood in anger, "It's me! Your son! And it's Lloyd, Dad."

"No. L-L-O-Y-D. I named you."

"You ruined my life!"

"How could I ruin your life? I wasn't even there."

In a moment of insulted anger, Lloyd front kicks the Ultimate Weapon out of his father's grasp, sending it down to the street where it cracked apart, before running to the edge of the building and turning back to tell him,

"I wish you weren't my father."

And jumping off the building, catching a banner to use as a parachute, and leaving his father to ponder his words.

Running through the city after a harsh landing and wiping tears off his face with his sleeve, Lloyd passed the wrecks of Nya and Cole's mechs, Nya's was sparking up while Cole's mech's turntables were stuck in a loop as he ran past them. He was running toward the Ninja Headquarters when he saw a smoke trail through the air and he gasped when he saw the purple dragonfly mech in the distance.

"Ari…" Lloyd ran to the wreckage and pushed aside some rubble from the glass dome of the mech to see Aeria still passed out inside with her leg still trapped underneath the crushed console.

Sighing in relief that she wasn't dead, he lifted the dome off as it was already breaking apart and lifted the console wreck off her leg before pulling her out, pulling her hood off, and laying her on the ground.

"C'mon Ari, wake up…" Almost right on cue, Aeria gasped a bit before scrunching up her face in pain as she tried to get up.

"Woah hey easy easy, your leg's not looking too good." Lloyd tried to get Aeria to stop moving but she didn't listen to him and continued to stand up on one leg with the other dragging a bit and one arm on the other.

"You OK?" Lloyd asked and Aeria responded before trailing off,

"I haven't been that scared since…"

"Oh… yeah…" Lloyd went over to her and carefully pulled her into a hug that she tensed at first and slowly warmed to it after a few seconds.

"I'm so sorry I tried to use the Ultimate Weapon, I-I didn't know that all of this would happen if I used it." Lloyd gestured all around them to the rubble piles and destroyed buildings in their surroundings.

"While I am a tiny bit annoyed that you keep trying to destroy your father with firepower that ends up blowing up in your face, this time more than others, I understand that, deep down, you wanted to protect Ninjago… by driving him away which maaaybe isn't the best option."

"Thanks?"

"Not sure the others would see it that way though."

"Oh my gosh, the others!" Lloyd remembered where he had been heading and started to run toward the recycling center with Aeria behind him, albeit a bit slower due to her barely noticeable limp.

A few minutes of running later, they made it to the center and saw that the building had been completely demolished along with the Bounty, and floating on the water was Master Wu's hat.

"Oh, no. No, no. Please. Please, no. Uncle Wu…"

From behind, they heard the clatter of building materials and turned to see the rest of the gang, looking annoyed at Lloyd, but otherwise alright.

"Oh, my gosh! You guys are okay!" Lloyd exclaimed in relief.

"Barely." Nya pointedly stated.

"You used the Ultimate Weapon. Not cool." Cole added.

"Dude, our mechs are totaled." Kai griped.

"And now, that cat's destroying Ninjago." Nya pointed out.

"We were the only people that didn't hate you, and now we hate you!" Jay interjected harshly.

"Deleting all data related to treating Lloyd as a friend." Zane and Xia stated simultaneously before a small crumpled paper icon filled their eyes and made a small noise to indicate the delete.

"C'mon guys, don't you think you're all being a little too hard on him?" Aeria tried to reason with them, but Lloyd stopped her her a hand on her arm before he told them all,

"No, they're right… *sigh* guys, I'm sorry. I put everyone in danger and now Master Wu is dead."

Abruptly, Master Wu popped out from the pile of broken parts,

"Hello, students."

Making everyone who was standing there back away to gasp before shouting,

"Master Wu!"

"You're alive!" Lloyd exclaimed relieved.

"Duh! I'm a ninja master. If I was gonna die, it would be to teach you a lesson."

"Oh…"

"Lloyd, you have awakened Meowthra."

"Meowthra?" Everyone repeated in disbelief.

"Seriously?" Aeria questioned a little after everyone spoke.

"Yes, Meowthra. The six-toed fluffy demon, with her sandpaper tongue. Her reign of terror will stretch on and on until all of Ninjago is her own personal litter box."

That explanation earned a whimper from Jay before Nya patted his back in assurance and he smiled before stopping.

"There's only one hope. One thing that can drive Meowthra away." Wu continued to explain making his students ask,

"What?!"

"What is it?" Lloyd urged to know.

"The Ultimate Ultimate Weapon."

"Whoa!"

"Again, seriously?"

"Where is this thing?"

"On the other side of the island, hidden where only a true ninja master can find it. You must follow the right path. Otherwise you will end up trapped in the deadly Jungle of Lost Souls, unable to cross the Bridge of Fallen Mentors, and mired in the Canyon of General Unhappiness. And if you're still alive, you'll be crushed by the Temple of Fragile Foundations."

Everyone could be sworn they heard a scream as Wu explained the obstacles before he proceeded with,

"It's a journey many have tried and none have returned."

"That does sound difficult." Lloyd admitted.

"And terrifying." Jay cowered behind Nya as she playfully rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's antics.

"But you know what? We're ready." Lloyd declared and the others straightened up at that.

"No, you're not. It will take great patience, courage, and hard work. All the skills of a true ninja master. So, I will make this journey on my own. Bye." Wu gave a small wave before hopping down from the pile to begin the journey.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Kai urged as he and the others followed behind their master.

"Master Wu, wait!" Lloyd begged.

"Hold on a second, please." Nya added.

"Master Wu, I know I let Ninjago down." Lloyd confessed with shame

"It's true, Lloyd let Ninjago down. *Sorry, dude!* We want to fix his terrible mistake." Jay started, whispering back to Lloyd before the others chimed in their pleas.

"Train us to be true ninjas."

"We have the potential."

"Come on!"

"Wait! We'll do anything."

"Please, Master Wu, you can't do this alone." Lloyd continued to plead making his mentor gradually slow down to hear his case, "I know we're not ninja masters yet, but you said it yourself. It's important to look at things differently. Is there anything I can do to change your point of view?"

Wu finally stopped walking to stroke his beard in thought,

"Hmm. Students, are you willing to give Lloyd a second chance?"

"I am." Aeria stepped forward to place a hand on Lloyd's shoulder before standing beside him and looking to the others with a pleading look.

"Uh…"

"Too soon, sorry Ari."

"No."

"Pass."

"Just processing, so…"

"Mm-mm, mm-mm."

Everyone voiced their hesitations, making Lloyd look down before looking beside him and faintly smiling at the one who was willing to give him a second chance right off the bat without hesitation.

"Lloyd, you have a long way to go to regain the rest of your friends' trust." Wu told his nephew and he nodded his head in understanding, "Luckily, there's a long journey ahead of us."

"Thank you, Master Wu. Thank you."

"The fate of Ninjago is in your hands. Are you ready?" Wu directed to the rest of the team and they voiced their enthusiasm over each other,

"Yes, I am on it!"

"Oh, yeah!"

"Let's do it!"

"Yep!"

"Maybe."

"Let's go!" Wu announced and they all began the journey together.