When the police arrived at the Delectable Egg Roost, they were confounded to say the least. The entire back of the dinery was blackened like an unclean fireplace as ashes and burnt wood kept crumbling onto the floor. The floor itself was an utter disaster with all the hazardous cracks that split the flooring like jigsaw puzzle pieces. The furniture strewn was either incinerated or melted beyond recognition. The remaining criminals laid on the floor hardly moving a muscle, somehow, they survived the earlier havoc. As the cherry on top of this almost unbelievable day, they found a note pasted on top of the counter from the kid who saved Mrs. Reverberett's life.

Claiming he was rendered unconscious by the gang and missed the rest of the eventful evening. He apologized for running off due to waiting for his mother to get home. Officer Moreno could only sigh audibly when she read the note. Officer Moreno was a woman of average height and of South American/Spanish descent. With light brown skin, dark blue eyes, and dark brown hair in two braids.

Clucking her tongue unapprovingly, she folded the little note and tucked it away. The policewoman was too well-acquainted with the antics of Lloyd's mother, Misako. In fact, despite the fact the county was currently waging war against a rampant gang outbreak. Misako had shuffled off Lloyd as her responsibility with not even the least consideration for the law enforcer's schedule. In fact, Officer Moreno had let the archeologist have her way ever since she came to town with a little frightened kid in the backseat.

At first, it was just to help a struggling single mother settle down. Yet as the two women spent more time together, it became apparent Misako had issues about her only child. First off, she could not stand to be in the same room with her boy for no more than a few hours. Second, there was that "rule", that forbidden Lloyd from pursuing archeology like his mother. Even though the poor dear has taken a keen interest in it himself. Third, the minute that Lloyd has committed an offense, it was off to the backyard instead of his room. Where he would be kept outside far longer than timeouts were permitted.

Moreno could not stand how Misako treated her only son. The woman almost seemed to act fearful around him despite the fact the kid could not even defeat a puppy. That is, until the kid's strength started to grow alarmingly. (She would never forget the day that Lloyd has somehow flipped over a garden rock weighing a flipping 30 pounds all on his own without a scratch.) As if the glowing green eyes, yellow plastic-hard skin, and elongated, cubic body was not queer enough. Lloyd had to develop speed, strength, and resilience a level above those of his age. Keeping everyone at an arm's length except for Officer Moreno and Mrs. Reverberett...

Speaking of the elderly cook, the police woman weaved her way through her fellow coppers to check on how she was faring. The owner of the Roost sat on a borrowed stool with an orange shock blanket wrapped around her. "I hope your insurance can back you up..." The older woman looked up to acknowledge the reassuring presence of the female officer. "Xoana dear! Is Lloyd alright?! I hope the poor boy has not hurt himself!" She cried out.

Xoana Moreno put her fears to rest, "Don't worry Mrs. R, the kid is well and alive. That is until after I'm through with him" "The sweet lad was only trying his best to rescue me." "And unnecessarily put himself at risk when he could have called me for help!" Xoana snapped too harshly. Seeing the shaken Mrs. R flinch, Xoana took a deep breath. "Sorry about that Mrs. R, but its stressful enough keeping los criminales off the street and keeping an eye on a lonely kid."

Mrs. Reverberett clasped the younger woman's hands with her own. "We can only do our best darling. You know I would have been more than happy to look after him while you worked on the gang outbreak." "That's just the darn thing! You're not his mother Mrs. R, Misako is. And that miserable excuse for a mother refuse to care for the one that needs her the most!" Xoana spat bitterly. The two women shared a moment of silence as they reflected on the events that brought them to where they were now.

Mrs. Reverberett trying her hardest to discredit the fiendish lies of Ron still whispering evilly in her mind. While Xoana berated herself for not calling on her friend earlier. Considering it was a gang of all dangers that almost ended the kid's life. "I should have alerted freaking Social Services when I had the chance." Xoana moaned. Mrs. Reverberett eyes almost bulged from the frames of her glasses. "My dear Miss Moreno! If you had done so, pray, who would have accepted him?" The constable winced at what she had just said. Tragically enough, it was true.

Who else but the two of them would accept Lloyd Montgomery?

The sun peeked from behind the hilltops to spy if the moon still lingered. With the mistress of night clearly absent from the skies, the blazing orb arose to bring forth the day. He slowly ascended to the throne of the sky as his light brightened the dark world every passing minute. Wildewood looked as splendid as ever as the sun finally regained his place in the sky. Rays of sunlight pierced through all the windows, waking up their sleep occupants. Two black eyes with white pupils fluttered open at the gentle touch of sunlight.

The red ninja sat up ready for the morning. He tried to stretch his arms only to find them tucked firmly to his sides. Puzzled, he tried to stand up only to tip and fall flat on his face. He muttered unhappily to himself as he attempted to stand, before landing on his back. He noticed that something rubbery was wrapped around him, being cushioned by some soft material. He glanced at his body to discover that he was bundled in a blue sack tied with ropes.

Bewildered by this, he wondered who in their right mind would dare to tie up the Master of Fire in just an undignified manner. Then memories of the night before washed over him like a tidal wave and his eyes started flaring red. The scandalized warrior managed to balance after tipping over too many times to his liking. Sure enough, the dastardly culprit was all snuggled up in bed nice and comfy. Probably not in the least repentant for his unforgivable crime...Well, the seasoned warrior could definitely fix that.

Summoning all his mighty strength, he aimed, and fired himself at the slumbering lump. Crashing hard onto the unsuspecting Lloyd! "AUUUGGGHHHHHH! WHAT THE-" Lloyd jolted upwards as he felt the shuddering impact upon his body. The targeted teenager did not even have the time to properly awake before being battered to death by the world's most ferocious caterpillar. Lloyd rolled off the bed as an enraged ninja wrapped in a sleeping bag continued to pommel him with no mercy. The victim could only manage to crawl to the door as his assailant continued to thrash him with headbutts and foreign curses.

The struggling teenager amazingly made it across the hallway to the bathroom without having his skull crushed-yet. The killer caterpillar too busy bashing and swearing at him to notice Lloyd had turned on the tap to the bathtub. When there was enough water, Lloyd wrapped one arm tight around his mini assassin. Then used his free hand to splash the caterpillar and himself with icy cold water. His attacker was stunned still when the water was splashed onto him. Only to start furiously squirming in Lloyd's grasp in order to escape.

The teen held on tight and did not loosen his hold until he splashed the both of them wet with the refreshing water. The little warrior was not in the least pleased with his captor. Glaring daggers at him as Lloyd dried his exposed head with a fluffy towel. After drying himself off, the giant picked up the killer caterpillar who began wiggling to break free from Lloyd's iron grip. If Lloyd was reading a book on what he was doing, he would probably be laughing his jaw off. Yet considering all the melodrama and hassle it took to get the red ninja out of sight. He would have punched himself out cold.

The night before, after Lloyd recovered from his shock of their first meeting. He realized that the warrior must have been hidden inside the box he bought. Since the bonfire had erupted just as the box touched the flames. Was the ninja under some kind of enchantment then? However, Lloyd did not have the time to speculate. Soon the police would arrive and the last thing he wanted was the small fighter who saved his life to be endangered.

They would probably send him to lab for study or let the military keep him as a living weapon. Even worse, the government might euthanize him if they deemed him too dangerous a threat. So, he tried to coax the little ninja into following him home. Unfortunately, the language barrier was only the start of Lloyd's troubles. Lloyd had been raised multilingual thanks to the persistence of his mother, despite dissuading him from the path of archeology. Lloyd tried Spanish, French, Swahili, Urdu, Russian, Bengali, Cherokee, Vietnamese, and even sign language to communicate. Sadly, the pint-sized warrior stared quizzically as if Lloyd was speaking gibberish.

Eventually he replied in his own tongue, yet despite sounding similar to Japanese Lloyd could not understand a single word. The ninja must had been just as frustrated as Lloyd was at this point. For the next thing he knew the ninja had vanished and the door was left swinging open. A hectic chase began as Lloyd sprinted after the skilled warrior who scaled walls and leapt from rooftop to rooftop like nobody's business. It was fortunate that the mini ninja was good at evading the eyes of the public.

Since Lloyd probably seemed like a madman to any passerby, who caught the teenager screaming and running after something they could not see. The fire bearer eventually spotted Lloyd behind him and assumed his pursuer wanted to follow. So, he would stop so Lloyd could eventually catch up. Yet not long enough for the hunter to catch him. Night was falling and there seemed to be no end in sight. The red-clad one not even breaking a sweat after crossing almost half of the town. Lloyd on the other hand, having been on his feet on day and not a bite of supper to recuperate.

Crumpled to the ground in sheer lassitude. The ninja saw Lloyd faint and jumped down from his route to check to see if his pursuer was okay. However, as soon as the scarlet warrior started shaking him awake-Lloyd grabbed the pint-sized pain into a death hold. He almost regretted it as the ninja burst into flames once more. Shockingly enough, with the presence of fire came a surge of energy he never felt before. Giving him the boost to return home with a squabbling, enraged, and feisty ninja in tow.

The ninja did not calm down no matter how hard Lloyd tried. Although he could hardly attempt anything with his infuriated guest trying to escape the house every five minutes. Using one arm to firmly hold the ninja, Lloyd hurried to the basement to gather some fire-proof tarps, rope, and a sleeping bag. Then he dragged his items upstairs and proceeded to fumble through his mother's desk drawer for the tranquilizer shots she kept on hand. With great difficulty and the tragic loss of two armchairs, a pair of curtains, and a mirror now shattered to bits. Lloyd finally managed to bundle up his livid captive and inject him with the tranquilizer.

After the shot, the hostage snarled at him for a few minutes before finally drifting off into a deep sleep. As the languid Montgomery got to catch his breath, an uneasy question came to mind. Just why were they keeping fire-proof tarps, tranquilizer, and rope in the first place?! Not once did he not need such any suspicious supplies so that only left his mother. He did not want to believe his mother stored away those items with him in mind. Uncomfortable memories started to surface from thinking about the supplies, causing Lloyd to shove them back into the darkest corner his mind could find.

He placed his now peaceful guest on the floor in his room since the guest room was reserved for his mother's friend. He stashed away the armchairs and curtains, cleaned up the mirror bits. Ordered a pizza, ate an entire bucket of mint chocolate chip ice-cream while he waited. Tipped the pizza delivery guy, devoured the whole pie, and chugged down several cups of chamomile tea to wash it down. Before discarding his burnt clothes, putting on his pajamas, and hitting the hay. (Too tired to theorize how he himself was left unscathed by the ninja's fire.)

In the present morning, Lloyd was faced with yet another dilemma. What would he do with the ninja? The little fireball at the moment turning down escape just to glare at him. Lloyd's eyes were pinned firmly on the ninja as he put on his pair of prosthetic hands. Knowing that the fireball would end up live on the national news before Lloyd could finish cooking breakfast. It would be wiser to order takeout instead. Yesterday, despite the craziness he had to go through, the boy had noted the worn-out gi the fire warrior wore. Since the ninja was sulking Lloyd seized the opportunity to search for appropriate clothing.

He rummaged through the boxes in his closet where he kept all his old stuff. After some hunting he found a black camo t-shirt, a pair of shorts, and under garments that could possibly fit the ninja's unique body shape. As if on cue, he heard a loud THUD coming from downstairs. Lloyd tiredly headed to the staircase to find the killer caterpillar had rolled all the way to the bottom. "You're not going to be making my life any easier for me are you man?" Lloyd sighed as he dragged the protesting caterpillar back up the stairs.

He freed his captive from his bounds, gave him the clothes, and closed him into the bathroom. Giving Lloyd enough time to change into jeans, T-shirt, and his favorite baseball cap. The lad just finished ordering breakfast from his phone when he heard knocking on the bathroom door. Lloyd opened the door-only to be barreled over by the ninja. Lloyd was lucky he caught him before the escapee found a way outside. It soon became a cycle. Lloyd putting the ninja in the bathroom in order to have the stubborn fire streak to change his clothes. The fireball tricking him and breaking free only to be trapped into the bathroom again.

After several fruitless attempts, the message finally got across and the ninja soon emerged in Lloyd's clothing from when he was little. Lloyd braced himself for assault or another frantic dash, only this time the cubic dwarf crossed his arms and questioned Lloyd with a hard look. The teenager soon heard the doorbell ring and slowly made his way downstairs. His pint-sized guest following a few feet behind him. He reached the door, ready for the upcoming battle to keep the ninja from being seen. To his surprise, the ninja immediately hidden himself behind the couch at the sound of another person.

The boy was even more bemused as he found himself receiving the awaited food without the delivery guy even suspecting a thing. Lloyd set the bag on the dining table only to suddenly find his gaze meeting two obsidian black orbs with shining white stars. "GYA!" He exclaimed as he realized the fireball was on the table. "Yo! Would you mind sitting down on a chair?!" He gestured to the chairs arranged around the table. For once, the little fire start listened to his gestures.

Cold sweat began trickling down his forehead as he gathered the orange juice and two plastic cups. He walked over to the table half-hoping the ninja escaped, to find him still sitting in his seat. Well, as best as a dwarf under four feet could do. Lloyd retrieved some pillows which he piled on one chair for his small guest to sit on. The little guy grunted indignantly but he hopped onto the chair anyway. Without letting his intense gaze off his host once. Lloyd almost felt like screaming bloody murder, will this guy stop freaking STARING at him like that?!

Lloyd sat down, poured the orange juice in the cups, and passed out the food. Breakfast sandwiches freshly made with Canadian bacon, red apple smoked gouda, egg, and two waffles to replace the bread slices. The scrumptious meal soon made the frazzled kid forget all his worries. The warm, soft crunchiness of the sandwich with savory bacon, melting cheese, and buttery eggs was heavenly. All too soon the sandwich devoured, and his cup sucked dry to the last drop. Lloyd rubbed his stomach in contentment and looked across the table to see how his guest enjoyed the meal.

He has not eaten a single bite. The ninja had let his entire sandwich fall apart in front of him. The cubic dwarf skeptically poking the ingredients as if they showed signs of being inedible. The boy started to feel a little sorry for him as the fire warrior prodded the unfamiliar meal. Sure, the guy had tried to light him on fire ten times by now. However, would Lloyd have reacted any better if the situation was reversed? (Also, Lloyd had practically kidnapped the little guy, even if it was for his own good. So of course, the ninja would not be so quick to trust his hospitality.)

Suddenly, the theme song for Starfarer trilled from his mobile. Lloyd's eyes opened wide as if he was struck by a lightning bolt. OMG, WHAT AM I GOING TO TELL MOM?! He internally panicked as his hands shakily answered the call. OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, Nnnnooooooooooooowwwwww how do I phase this in a way that conveys I am 100% not crazy while assuring that there is no need to panic? I mean, there is nothing to worry about over a tiny super warrior with the power to command fire... Lloyd glanced up just in time to see the elephant of the room burn his disassembled sandwich to a volcanic crisp. Before proceeding to joyfully much on the still-smoking slices.

At that point, Lloyd Montgomery wanted to ram his head into a wall. If mom allows me to keep this guy. I hope she does not mind his particular eating habits... He groaned inwardly as the call finally came through. "Hi Mom! How are you? I hope your flight went smoothly and I cannot wait for you to get home! However, there is a little something important I have to tell you-" "It can wait dear, because I am not coming home." Time seemed to have frozen as the only child of Misako registered those words in his brain.

His stomach churned, his vision became hazy, his body wobbled for lack of support, and his throat ran achingly dry. "Um, I'm sorry mom...But can you please repeat that? I heard some static at the beginning..." He coughed out in a whisper. An irritated snort echoed from the other end as Misako repeated, "Lloyd, sweetheart, please do not take this the wrong way. Everything is fine. The only issue is that I am not going to be home until October. You see, Aiko and I have just stumbled upon something momentous and of course-"

His mother's words soon faded until it was as indistinguishable from the muttering of the wind. His heart seemed to hang in the air in front of him. Only to fall and dash against the ground into countless unmendable shards... Meanwhile, the ninja had already finished his meal and had just deemed the odd orange liquid drinkable. When he saw the helpless countenance of his host from across the table.

The giant's entire posture was slack as if weighed down by heavy chains. His breathing came out as wheezing, as if he was lacking air. The bright green eyes seemed to have been overcome by a haunted fog. The ninja immediately became alarmed by this. He observed the silver tablet clutched in the victim's hand as the source of distress. What accursed spell was his kidnapper now under?!

At first escape blared loud in his mind, urging him to flee for he might not be so lucky again. His instincts were soon followed by a chastising voice that pleaded with him to break the giant free from the spell. After all, despite the unnatural height, it was evident he was only a child. A child now threatened by some dark magic being emitted from the silver tablet. Kai's instincts wrestled with his conscience until Kai had declared the winner. Promising himself he'll coerce the kid into letting him go free later.

Kai hopped onto the table, steadied himself, and hurled himself at the shining object of sorcery! Lloyd let out a high-pitched scream as the ninja suddenly appeared out of nowhere and seized his phone. The ninja rolled across the floor until he banged against the wall. With the wicked object now in his hands, Kai executed fiery justice upon the diabolical thing. Until finally he dropped it to the floor, now a blackened lump of nothingness. Lloyd just stared blankly at the scene; the ninja shot him a heroic pose agreeing with how awesome a hero he was.

"GGGGGAAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!" Lloyd erupted in fury as he ran past the ninja into the living room. Ripping off his artificial hands as he did so. The ninja's concern for the kid increased by one hundred more levels. How strong an influence did the black sorcery have on him? Was the kid hunting for a weapon to destroy him? Would the spell wear away on its own or would he need to find a cure? The warrior hurried after the kid and narrowly dodged a flying book flung at his direction.

Lloyd had lost all sense of control as he began ripping apart the contents of the shelves lined up all around his living room. Everything his mother had collected and treasured over the years were being torn from the safety of their shelves and tossed aside in Lloyd's rampage. He even began tearing off the shelves themselves and hurling the mishappen pieces against the wall. He howled so ominously that everyone in the neighborhood were frightened almost half to death by what they thought was a savage, unleashed wolf. He did not care who heard him, he no longer cared about anything. He stomped his brick like feet into the floor which left gaping holes exposing the basement.

He tore up the rug in a frenzy before picking up the coffee table and smashing the useless thing into pieces. His fists attacked the couch without mercy, determined to reduce it to the same oblivion he felt. As fluff and leather floated to the ground he screamed over and over, "You don't care, you don't care, you don't care... WHY DO YOU EVEN KEEP ME AS YOUR SON IF YOU DO NOT EVEN FLIPPING CARE?!" After successfully demolishing the couch, his eyes roamed for more to ravage, and they soon landed on the bags from My Mini Asia. With a yowl of grief, he snatched the bags and crushed all the valuables he had brought. The box with the paper ninja fell to the floor. Lloyd clutched the now-hateful thing in his trembling hands, just as he was about to sacrifice its contents on the altar of anger-he saw quite the surprise behind him.

The little ninja had somehow managed to catch every single breakable item Lloyd has flung from the shelves. The poor guy was only standing on one leg as he swayed to hold everything balancing on his head, arms, and left leg. The fragile keepsakes or artifacts rattled as the cubic dwarf fought to remain steady despite the pressuring weight. The sight was so darn ridiculous that all of Lloyd's wrath towards his negligent parent dissipated like smoke cleared by the wind. Just then, a sneaky idea snuck into his mind and presented itself.

With a mischievous grin he stepped a bit closer to the ninja. The box of origami still firmly in his grasp. The fireball realized what he was going to do and his round eyes begged NO. Too late, Lloyd tossed the box at the ninja and-CRASH! CLATTER! OOMP! CLANG! Everything collapsed on top of the poor guy, burying him in a pile of antiques and souvenirs. Two eyes glowed a dark shade of red from the mess as the teen knelt down to meet them. "Sorry, I just had to do it!" Lloyd smirked mirthfully. A cuffed hand shot out of the pile demanding to be helped up.

The lad carefully eased the ninja out of the mess he put him in. After brushing the dust off himself, the fire starter locked eyes with him and pointed at the wasted room like a displeased adult. Lloyd surveyed the mess properly and rubbed the back of his head. "Right, we should probably clean this up before Miss Moreno checks in on me..." Together, the two boys cleaned up the devastated room.

They stuffed the broken furniture into large bins for the junkyard. Then they began packing up all the relics and knickknacks into boxes. Lloyd carelessly tossed them into the boxes not caring if he broke them or not. Still a little resentful of how his mom treated him. However, he was surprisingly stopped by the little fire ninja. Who gently placed each item away and would slap Lloyd's hands every time he played recklessly with any of the objects. With the fireball having taken over that task, Lloyd headed down the basement for the excess furniture.

Wonder why he even cares what happens to mom's junk... Maybe they remind him of where he came from? Lloyd lifted up a couch with ease before adding two bookshelves to the load. He carefully climbed up the stairs with his hefty load and inched his way to the trashed living room. Just as he entered the doorway, he heard a voice cry out startled, "Cole?" Lloyd peeked around his burden to see the ninja staring at him as if he seen a ghost.

"Cole?" Lloyd asked. "As in I remind you of Cole or does Cole mean strong in your language or does Cole mean look out-" The cubic dwarf made the act of covering his mouth with his hand. His host zipped up right away. The ninja glide across the room to where a table holding paper stood untouched from the previous carnage. He reached up to grab a sheet and then began folding it into a shape in his hands.

When he finished there was a tiny ninja posed in the palm of his right hand. Lloyd's eyes widen in amazement, how had he managed to pull that off without any fingers?! The teenager had depended on prosthetic hands all his life, his pair gleaming dark blue from where he cast them to the floor. Not once could he teach his disabled appendages to do anything except...No, no, no, no. He was not going back to that shadowed corner, no matter how many joyful memories dwelled there. Especially because of those memories...

The ninja soon returned and placed the tiny paper ninja before him. Then he placed a crumpled piece of paper on top of the paper figurine, it was folded in such a way to look like the miniscule person was carrying it. The ninja pointed at what he made repeating, "Cole." The teenager then understood, "Oh! Wait right here!" The boy told the warrior even if he could not understand. Lloyd set down his load and hurried to his room to collect his art supplies.

He soon returned with a notebook along with a pack of colored pencils to go with it. He gestured the ninja to follow him to the dining table. Once settled back there, Lloyd quickly sketched a picture before showing it to his guest. The drawing showed the red ninja sharing a fist bump with a black ninja, meant to be Cole. He tapped on the image he drew before saying, "Friends?" The ninja immediately understood what he meant and replied with his translation. "Ferenzi." He confirmed as he tapped the image in agreement.

A chill of excitement ran through Lloyd as he doodled the next image. This time he drew a house, looking exactly like the house they were in. "Home." Lloyd simply stated as he tapped the house. The ninja eyes lit up in understanding as he grabbed some of the pencils for himself and began drawing. Lloyd could only gawk dumbfoundingly as the cubic dwarf somehow illustrated a decent looking monastery surrounded by epic-looking dragons. How on earth does he do that with CUFFS for hands?!

Lloyd glared at his artificial ones still abandoned on the floor. His attention returned to the ninja's picture which depicted five other people despite Cole. Four ninjas stood around the penciled fire master wearing armored gi ranging from snow white, lightning blue, maroon, and of course Cole's night black. He pointed at the white one first, "Mu ferea, Zane." "Ferenzi?" Lloyd guessed. "Ferenzi." His hand pointed to the blue one uttering, "Mu ferea, Jay." Then he moved onto the drawing of himself, "Ori Kai."

The taller teen pointed to the warrior repeating, "Ori Kai. As in, I am Kai." Kai nodded his head in confirmation. "Great! We're making good progress Kai! Ori Lloyd." The teen pointed to himself; Kai repeated his name. Lloyd then pointed to the maroon ninja asking, "Ferea?" Kai shook his head and corrected, "Mu imuta*, Nya." He stroked the maroon ninja lovingly. Lloyd scrutinized the figure and noted the feminine lashes peeking from her eyes. The teen took up his pencil again, sketched another illustration, and showed it to Kai.

"Lovers?" He teased smugly as he showed off a lovely couple kissing under a cherry blossom tree. Kai rewarded his efforts by flinging a pencil in his face with an offended scowl. "Ow! Sorry!" Lloyd apologized meekly. "JOFI." Kai growled at him as he tapped the depiction of the happy couple. The kid rubbed his face as he attempted to redeem himself. This time the picture of two children, a boy and a girl, gleefully chasing each other materialized by the art of his pencil. "Siblings...?" Lloyd inquired cautiously as he showed his sketch to Kai.

Luckily, Kai nodded in approval as he said, "Kiyeda!" Last but not least, the fire ninja pointed at an elderly man wearing white robes with a straw cone hat. "Sensei Wu." Lloyd's eyes brightened as he realized the Japanese word for teacher meant the same in Kai's language. "Oh, Sensei Wu! As in your teacher!" Lloyd responded as he drew another picture of a sensei teaching his student martial arts. The fire warrior agreed before taking up an armful of pencils to start a new drawing.

Lloyd patiently waited as Kai worked on his next illustration. When he finished the green-clothed lad bent down eagerly to take a look-at a rather unflattering portrayal of him keeping Kai captive in the house. Lloyd met Kai's eyes with an unimpressed look. Countered by the determined frown on Kai's clearly demanding, why-on-earth-are-you-holding-me-hostage?! Lloyd sighed a bit before getting to work on his explanation as to why. The ninja reclined in his chair as he waited for the drawing.

Finally, the kid passes him the finished piece which he impatiently swiped up. Kai's frown deepened as he became just as displeased with the images as Lloyd was with his. It showed himself being awesome as usual, as in wielding his fire element and wiping the bad guys with his superior battle moves. A crowd of stick figures gaped with bulging eyes as they watched him be his incredible self. Next it showed him greeting the crowd before him, to soon find himself besieged by animosity and violence.

His doodled self, despite his renown battle prowess, took flight as the crowd chased him with angry red eyes. The next picture even more unbelievable, him being caught by what appeared to be this country's army. Then it featured all the horrid punishment consequential of his capture. As in being imprisoned, prodded by metal needles while tied to a table. Trapped in a cage as the stick figures took delight in his captivity, being forced to serve the army that captured him. It even presented the possibility of him being executed... Although being forced to fight for the enemy was the worst sentence in his book.

Kai looked back at Lloyd, but before he could speak a single word the doorbell rang. Soon followed by the rapid knocking characteristic of Officer Mereno. Lloyd scrambled to his feet as he gestured wildly to the stairs. "Kai! You need to hurry and hide! I cannot let Miss Moreno find you here!" Fortunately, the message came across and Kai soon withdrawn from the room.

Lloyd frantically gathered all the items littering the dining table before stuffing them into a closet. He scampered to the front hallway before realizing that his current attitude would stink of suspicion. The teen took a few deep, calming breaths before sauntering to the door at a more leisure pace. He opened the door beaming a cheeky smile. "Hi Miss Moreno! How has the gang roundup been going?"

"Kid, why on earth is there a burnt patch on your shirt?" The policewoman eyed him worryingly. Her charge inspected his shirt to sure enough find a blackened spot emblazoned near the waist of the shirt. "Oh darn! I must have burnt myself while boiling tea!" Lloyd chuckled dryly as he kept his gaze downcast. "As in you leaned against the stove itself?" Officer Moreno tested his bluff.

"Yeah! I must have at some point, so, want to come inside? I was renovating the living room before you got here." The kid turned around back into the house without making any eye contact with the law enforcer. Officer Moreno followed him inside, not falling for Lloyd's act in the least. Although she was taken a little aback when it appeared that he was indeed renovating the living room. Still, she had to discern the motivation behind the sudden need for home improvement.

"Lloydster, your living room was just peachy the way it was." Officer Moreno commented as Lloyd put on the kettle for tea. She spotted not just the brick-shaped holes peeping into the basement. There were also charred splotches marring the floor and where a pair of curtains used to hang. She walked to the kitchen, tossing a bag of breakfast food she purchased earlier that morning. "Lloyd sweetie, I hoped you did not hurt yourself with this major project of yours." The tough lady pressed as she stood beside the lad.

Lloyd coughed a bit as he poured the black tea into the two mugs. "Renovation is harder than it looks." He mouthed before setting the cups on the table beside breakfast. He was about to sit down before he felt the hand of doom land on his shoulder. "?Estimado uno, que pasa?"The grip was light but to Lloyd it felt like he was being clenched by an eagle.

He slowly turned to face Miss Moreno, "Look, do you really need to know who saved me, Mrs. R, and the Roost that badly?"

Miss Moreno thought about it for a moment, "At the moment it's not the county's top priority." She admitted.

Then Lloyd asked, "And you are aware of how negligent my mom is of me, right?"

"Unfortunately, si." The elder agreed bitterly.

Lloyd continued, "Now we both know how tough it is for you right now. Having to help clear up the gang buildup and looking after a kid that is not even yours. However, it would not be made any easier if you had to tell the world... About a certain friend I made."

Officer Moreno's focus on Lloyd's abandoned prosthetics whipped back to the teenager. "Lloydster, just who exactly did you meet in the Roost last night?"

Lloyd took a shuddering breath before gazing at the cop with pleading eyes. "Miss Moreno, I promise you I am in no danger from him. Actually, he would be in more danger if the world found out about him. I cannot tell you too much about him or your get in trouble for not reporting him. But please, he needs help. He has no idea where he is, and people will be even less accepting of him than they are of me. So, can you please let me protect him until he can find a way back home?"

The older woman rubbed her forehead as she processed the kid's confession. Her eyes met the kid's and after an eternity she spoke, "Alright, as long as he keeps his flame under control. Or else I'll be keeping him under my custody..."

Unknown to her, the topic of their conversation was perched not too far away on another table. The ninja did not comprehend a single word, yet he still sensed the urgency of it. Kai soon left the scene to Lloyd's room. He noted the bench built nearby a large window where he seated himself. The stranger gazed out into the open world spread before him. Everything so different with hardly a drop of familiarity to be found.

The trees were much smaller and puny, not towering and majestic as trees were meant to be. The houses made up for much of the grandeur that the trees lacked. The colorful, stylish buildings were nothing like the humble bamboo or wooden buildings he felt at home with. The humans here were literally giants, tall soft-looking beings with their skin colors ranging from peach to olive to burnt orange to ginger to even the darkest shade of brown. (And what in the name of the First Spinjitzu Master were stuck on the sides of their heads and between their eyes?!) Even the birds themselves were so far from those he knew. They hung about the human habitations in droves likes bees on a bee farm. Not half as wild, graceful, or as dignified as the birds that ruled the forests and jungles of his homeland.

Kai turned his back to the window as he hugged his knees. Will he ever see Ninjago again?

Author Notes: I am going to be making the Ninjargon language from scratch, so here are the translations so far. I'm using the Japanese language as a foundation for this.

Ferenzi=Friends

Mu ferea=My friend

Ori=I am

Imuta=younger sister

Jofi=Lovers

Kiyeda=Siblings

Sensei=Sensei

Miss Moreno of course is speaking Spanish, send me a note if I got the translation wrong!