A/N: Happy Thanksgiving! (Or just... regular day, I guess? For all you who do not celebrate this day of gratitude) Have a chapter to feast upon! I hope you like it, one of my favorite characters shows up!
Also, because it's Thanksgiving, either today or tomorrow (Whichever day I manage to finish their preparations) I will be updating both of my other two ongoing stories, so if you're reading either of them you can watch out for that!
Review Reply:
xxXTryMeXxx: Oh yeah, you actually get to see a little more of Lloyd's trauma and hints at his previous life here (Although that's technically true of every chapter that features him so... take that information as you will.) As for your title guess you're on target, not a bulls-eye yet, but on target nonetheless. :)
"Lloyd, would you be willing to help me with something?"
Lloyd nodded, looking away. "What do you want me to do, sir?"
Wu looked at his nephew. "Well, you don't have to if you don't want to, but I'd like you to prank the ninja."
"I- uhm, yes- yes, sir."
"Is everything okay?" Lloyd had been jumpy ever since they'd picked him up, Wu had understood at first, but by now Lloyd should have learned that the ninja weren't scary in person.
Lloyd hesitated, avoiding looking directly at Wu. "Uh, I think so, sir."
"I could help." Nya stepped into the room. "Sorry for eavesdropping, but I've been dying to get revenge on Kai for that hairspray incident last week."
Wu looked at Lloyd, who was looking expectantly at him (and still not making eye contact.) "I suppose so, but don't go too far. I want the ninja to learn the destructive power of rumors, not be out of commission for the next week."
Nya chuckled darkly. "No promises!"
*Four mischievous pranks later*
"You couldn't just be happy with the top score, you had to run it in my face!"
"Do you know how long it took me to make that? Three days! THREE DAYS!"
"It's an unsaid law, okay?! You don't touch a man's robot!"
"How am I supposed to strike fear in this?! It's PINK!"
Nya began cackling as the boys continued to argue, causing all four to go quiet.
"You did this?!" Lloyd flinched at their glares, instinctively taking a few tiny steps back and pulling his hood so it covered his face better.
"Yep, we did."
"Boys," Cole stepped forward, "I get first dibs on-"
"No dibs!" Everyone except Nya froze as Wu stepped into the room. "I put them up to this!"
"Why?!" Three voices echoed, as Kai exclaimed, "Seriously?!"
"To show you all the destructive power of rumors." His voice softened and he glanced away. "And I... misplaced my lesson book."
Jay stared at the floor as he slowly took out the lesson book from behind his back. "What?!" He frowned at the others' glares. "I thought we would get a break from his outlandish tests!"
It barely took a second for the four boys to return to arguing, even louder than before.
"If we're all done fooling around, we do still have a snake problem to return to."
All four boys sighed. "Fine." Cole groaned, shooting a glare at Jay. "But this isn't over."
All six of the others left to go plan, leaving Lloyd alone... and very relieved to be so.
*Some planning later*
Lloyd crept up on deck. The ninja had just left for some mission, Wu was steering the Bounty, and Nya had retreated to get room to work on some project, which meant he could be outside and alone for a brief moment. He took a deep breath of fresh air, feeling a little strange about being both outside and alone.
Footsteps, from the stairs. There wasn't enough time to get back into the crows nest, so he had to settle for a tiny corner, hoping whoever it was wouldn't see him.
Nya climbed up onto the deck of the Bounty, heading straight to the edge and leaping off. Startled, Lloyd peaked out just in time to see the Samurai fly off. So she fights too. The thought wasn't too surprising, why wouldn't she fight?
He glanced up at Wu, who was busy ensuring that they didn't crash into any trees or mountains as they slowly descended. Wu wouldn't be below deck any time soon, and everyone else was off on missions and fighting. Perfect.
Slipping down the stairs, Lloyd did the best he could to keep a lid on his excitement about finally having a chance to see Gren again, although a small smile slipped onto his face. He searched through the rooms, quickly locating one that was perfect. It had several cozy pillows and things scattered about as well as a big black rectangle with several strange devices connected to it, but what made it extra special was the squealing rusty hinges on the door and a creaky floorboard right outside it as well. A perfect alarm system.
Hesitantly, he allowed a tiny ball of energy to form between his fingertips. Staring at it, a slight grimace spread across his face at the softly pulsing green.
His curse.
He shook his head, hard. Gently pushing a little more, Lloyd allowed the ball to take it's familiar, secret shape.
Gren twirled around, chirping happily before leaping atop Lloyd. His tiny wings twitched as his tail whipped around in excitement.
"Hey, Gren, it's been awhile." A giggle escaped his lips as he rose to his feet.
The bitty dragon chirped and clumsily flew onto his shoulder, nuzzling Lloyd's cheek and nipping at the corner of his hood.
"I'm glad to see you too!" His chuckle faded slightly as he lowered his voice. "But we gotta stay quiet, okay? Things could get really dangerous if someone hears either of us."
Gren's squeak was softer, and sadder.
"I know, I know, the usual, but at least we have some space for the first time in forever. Now come on, I'm sure you've been dying to stretch out your wings." Gren swiftly lept off his shoulders as Lloyd lifted the smallest throw-pillow he could find, tossing it away from himself.
Launching from the floor, Gren flapped awkwardly after the pillow, catching it in his mouth merely a second before it hit the opposite wall.
Minutes ticked by, Lloyd trying his best to keep the infantile dragon entertained, swiftly learning to keep Gren away from anything with a wire - especially the big, rectangular black thing.
Lloyd barely heard the creak of the door over his own giggles.
Sorry about the cliffhanger, but Gren is here! :D
(And more of Lloyd's secrets have been revealed, but why focus on that when we can focus on Gren?)