A/N: I have returned from the depths of H-E-double toothpicks! Have a chapter that has little to none of our (or at least, my) favourite character of this AU!

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xxXTryMeXxx: Gren is way too much fun to write, I should not have the power to write him. (Aka, I'm glad you like him.) Yeah, Gren's kinda been his main comfort for awhile. And believe me, Lloyd has very, very good reasons for calling his powers a 'curse'. (You might want to keep an eye on that, it's probably important. ;P ) As for your guess, while it is accurate it's got about 9 or so too many words. You are still on target though! The far edge, but on target!

NinjagoGeek4EVER: Indeed he is, and the major plot points should be coming... when the major plot points come!

Both creatures froze, the dragon dissipating instantly as panic seized Lloyd's chest. The door creaked open, Cole hesitantly stepped into the room. "Lloyd? That you? Are you in here?"

"Yes, sir."

Cole's eyes flicked to the source of the voice: the child cowering in the corner. He allowed himself a slight shake of his head. "You're even worse than Jay when he first showed up at the monastery. What's wrong?"

Lloyd curled inward ever so slightly - a small enough amount that it would probably go unnoticed. Of course, with his luck, one of the scariest of the ninja would be the one to find him, and ask him questions he didn't understand just to make things worse.

The earth ninja walked up to him, setting a hand on Lloyd's shoulder. "Hey, I'm sorry if I scared you. I know I have that effect on people, but I would never hurt someone unless I had to, okay? I'm not going to hurt you."

Lloyd stared at the floor, allowing his hood to fall further in front of his face. Those words had to be lies; they always were.

A sigh escaped Cole's mouth. "Alright, well, we're going to have lunch, if you want to join us."

Lloyd felt a spark of relief in his chest. He'd been wondering if these guys would let him have their scraps as his meals. Evidently, they would. He slowly followed Cole as the latter left the room. When they entered the kitchen, he stopped just inside the door - stepping to the side to ensure that he was not in anyone's way.

Cole glanced back at him. "Aren't you hungry?"

"Y'know, I don't think I've seen him eat anything since he got here." Jay's verbalized contemplation caused everyone (except Kai, who was busy putting pieces of shrimp on his face) to attempt to recall anytime the child had eaten. Lloyd simply avoided the gaze of most everyone who looked his way.

"Lloyd, when was the last time you ate?"

Lloyd hesitated a second. "Two to three days, sir."

There was a stunned silence among the ninja before Kai finally slurred, "Isn't that really bad?"

Nya marched straight over to Lloyd, grabbing his arm and dragging him over to the table, pushing him onto a seat. She shoved a full plate in front of him. "Eat."

He glanced between her and the plate, shocked at so many parts of this - sitting at a table, the food in front of him not being bruised or spoiled or anything, the way everyone looked at him like they were... some emotion he couldn't recall well enough to describe. Slowly, he took a tiny bite, mostly just to obey the order he'd been given.

*That night (I know, lame transition, but I'm tired)*

Wu sat next to Lloyd once he'd gotten the boy into the cot again. He stared at his nephew a moment before reaching toward the hood Lloyd had been wearing ever since he'd come on the Bounty. "May I?"

Lloyd shrugged defensively.

A soft gasp escaped Wu's lips as he pushed the hood back, taking in Lloyd's face in its entirety for the first time. What had seemed like a darker skin tone was layers of dirt that only the First Spinjitzu Master knew how thick they were. His golden-blond hair was a tangled mass atop his head, tangled in what had to be thousands of knots that formed into one big amalgamation. Looking at how filthy Lloyd's face was, it seemed like a miracle that Lloyd's hands were as clean as they were; although Wu had begun to question the cleanliness of them, too.

"We'll have to wash you up tomorrow, and give you a haircut by the looks of things." Lloyd nodded tersely, and Wu gently brushed some of the rat's nest out of Lloyd's face. His eyes caught sight of something beneath the thinner layer of dirt, paler and pinker than normal skin. His eyes narrowed - he'd started to suspect something like this, with how Lloyd acted, but he had no confirmation. He'd have to figure that out in the morning. For now, he gently rustled his nephew's hair, wishing him a fond, "Good night, nephew," before leaving the room.

The next morning, Lloyd awoke to someone walking just outside the room he was in, grumbling something about 'sunrise exercise'. Peeking outside, he saw the four ninja passing by - three of them clearly irritated with getting up this early, and the fourth insisting 'this is a good thing'.

"If we have to get up this early to beat that stupid samurai, he can win."

"Who-" He cut off his own, muttered, question, hoping no one had heard him. Curiosity was too dangerous, and yet irresistible. He hated it.

Kai heard him, though. "He's this guy in this big red mech, and he keeps showing up randomly to defeat rogue serpentine." His tone took on one of disgust, finishing his sentence just as his sister walked into the room.

"Oh, come on, Kai. 'He' only did it once."

"Well, yeah, but-" Kai began sputtering for a response.

Hating the thought of a fight possibly breaking out, Lloyd hesitantly spoke up. "They have a red mech? Sir?"

"Yeah, they never fight outside it."

"Sir?" Lloyd glanced at Nya, whose eyes began to go wide as she realized what he was about to say. "Isn't that-"

"Don't you four have sunrise exercises that you're missing?" She cut in, shooting a glance in Lloyd's direction.

"Yeah." Cole admitted. "We probably shouldn't keep Wu waiting, he might force us to train day and night again." Lloyd winced in sympathy as the four left.

After the four were long out of earshot, Nya walked up to Lloyd. "So, who's this samurai?"

Lloyd swallowed the lump in his throat. "Is- isn't it you, sir?"

She raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Don't tell the ninja, okay? This is a secret."

That had to be an order she was giving him, right? "Yes, sir."

Nodding at him, apparently satisfied, she turned and walked away.

Yeah, sorry Gren's not here. It's kinda hard to include him when someone *glares at Lloyd* is just so protective of him. Eventually his time to shine will come, don't you worry.

If any of you have a moment to spare, reviews would be greatly appreciated. :)