Between training on elemental powers, working on the mechs, and just hanging out, the days sped by quickly. Before Lloyd had even noticed, and long before he would've wished, it was the morning before the day the revolution was planned and he and the other ninja were sitting at the breakfast table, discussing the next day.
"Tomorrow's the big day," Kai stated. "And you know, I think we're more than ready."
"The mechs just need some last-minute fine-tuning and they'll be ready too," Jay commented.
"And our elemental powers are all at their peaks," Cole remarked. "Jay, Zane, Lloyd, you've done great work in such a short amount of time."
"And Cole, Nya, and Kai, you have been great teachers," Zane added.
"Aw, you'll make us blush," Nya dismissed with a grin.
"We're going to rock it tomorrow," Kai concluded. "All we need to do is make sure everyone who's rebelling with us knows what they're doing, and we'll be all set."
"That's what I want to talk to you about," Wu said, materializing beside Kai.
None of the ninja even twitched at his sudden appearance.
"Hey, Master," Cole greeted.
"What do you mean that's what you want to talk to us about?" Lloyd asked in concern, getting to the point.
"I mean what I mean, which is that you have a special mission for today," Wu explained.
"Oooh, a special mission?" Jay asked.
Wu nodded slightly. "You will be spreading information and checking on our supporters to make sure all those who plan to join the revolution understand their parts in the plan."
Kai grinned. "Oh, I love checking on our supporters. A lot of them are pretty cool. Tox, Karlof, Neuro… Hey, Nya, you remember Skylor, that girl who helped us beat up that huge group of snakes?"
"I definitely remember. Is she on our list of people to check on?" Nya asked.
"Everyone we have been helped by is on the list," Wu answered.
"Sweet, that'll be fun," Nya stated, then she paused. "That'll be a lot of people, though. Are we going to have time to check on all of them?"
"You will, but you will split up to do so into a team of three and a team of two," Wu explained.
The ninja were silent for a moment, exchanging looks.
"That only adds up to five," Kai said slowly.
"I know," Wu stated.
"There are six of us," Jay offered helpfully.
Wu nodded. "Yes, I can count and have realized that."
"So there are six of us and you only listed five who are going to go check on our supporters. So what gives?" Cole questioned.
"Lloyd will not be going on the mission to check on the other rebels," Wu answered.
Lloyd frowned. Huh? "I won't be?"
"You will not be," Wu confirmed.
"Why not?" Lloyd asked.
"I have some things I wish to speak with you about," Wu explained.
Lloyd glanced at the other ninja. They looked about as confused as he felt, eyebrows furrowed and lips downturned. However, none of them protested, not even Lloyd himself. Instead, Lloyd stated, "If you say so."
As soon as breakfast was over, Wu split the other five ninja into two teams, one of Kai and Zane, the other of Cole, Jay, and Nya. Each team got a list of people to check on as well as a stack of pamphlets to distribute with the final information about the revolution, and then, in a flurry of goodbyes, they were off.
Lloyd watched from the deck of the Destiny's Bounty as the other ninja disappeared from sight, then he turned to Wu. "So. You wanted to talk with me?"
Wu nodded, stroking his beard. "Lloyd, you have a big day ahead of you tomorrow."
"Well, yeah, but we all do," Lloyd tried to dismiss it.
"You do especially. How are you doing?" Wu inquired.
"My elemental power is fully under control, and I know how I'm going to use my mech," Lloyd hedged.
Wu shook his head. "No. How are you doing?"
"...Not great. I mean, I'm going to be fighting my parents. My mom and dad! I don't want to, but I have to if Ninjago is going to be saved," Lloyd admitted.
"Maybe, maybe not," Wu said mysteriously.
Lloyd frowned. "Uh, not 'maybe, maybe not.' It's a certainty. There's a prophecy about it and everything, remember? I have to fight them."
"You have to defeat them," Wu corrected. "That does not always mean fighting."
"Huh?" Lloyd voiced.
"Nephew, you are in a very unique position. It is a very special thing to be the Green Ninja. But, even more unique is your family position as the child of the rulers. It is more than just 'very special' to be the son of Garmadon. In fact, it may be the very key to your parents' defeat," Wu explained.
"What do you mean?" Lloyd wondered.
Wu simply smiled and walked away, calling over his shoulder, "Think carefully about who you are. You have a free day. Use it."
"Think carefully about who I am," Lloyd repeated to himself. "Who I am? Who am I?
He wandered the decks of the Destiny's Bounty, thinking about that question. Eventually, he found himself standing in the training room, facing down a training dummy.
"Who am I?" Lloyd asked the dummy.
The dummy did not respond.
"I mean, I'm Lloyd Garmadon. People call me Lad Garmadon, but I don't think that's a good thing. I think that's a 'everyone is scared to death of my parents and shouldn't have to be' thing, which is a bad thing," Lloyd speculated. "But I'm not just Lloyd Garmadon. I'm the Green Ninja, and that means I have to fight. At least, I thought it did. That's what it means, right?"
Again, the dummy said nothing.
"Right," Lloyd told himself. "Being the Green Ninja takes priority over being Lloyd Garmadon. Ninjago takes priority over me and my parents. That's how it is. That's just how it has to be."
With that, Lloyd threw himself into training. But no matter how hard he punched and kicked, no matter how many dummies he beat up and boxes he broke, no matter how many times he used his energy power, he couldn't distract himself from Wu's remarks. Was there a way to defeat his parents without fighting? There couldn't be. Could there be? No, there couldn't be, there just couldn't be.
Time flew by, even while taking breaks from training, and before Lloyd knew it, it was time for supper. When he walked into the dining room, the other five ninja were already there, enthusiastically jabbering back and forth about their days. Lloyd joined the conversation, remarking on the encounters the others had experienced during the day and evading questions about how he had spent his day. All the while, Wu's statements spun around and around in his mind, from having supper to playing video games all the way to lying in bed with the lights off and the others' breathing deeply in the grasp of sleep.
Wu had said being the Green Ninja was special, but that being the son of Ninjago's rulers was even more special. What could that mean? Lloyd thought about it until his eyes closed and he started slipping into rest. However, even with how busy his mind was trying to decipher Wu's comments, Lloyd's last thought before sleep claimed him completely was of his parents, as it had been every night he had been aboard the Destiny's Bounty.
He missed them.
He loved them.
He was going to have to fight them.