Sorry for the long delay; but here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

Ch.2: Thoughts on the Father

About half an hour after they had left the dojo, Pam went onto the upper deck to check up on Zane, who was overlooking the horizon for any signs of the island. She can tell that he's worried about his dad, and she doesn't blame him. They've been apart for so long after Dr. Julien turned off Zane's memory switch, and he did it all out of love.

Sometimes, Pam couldn't help but envy Zane. His father had risked his life so that his robot son could begin his life anew. But her father? He wouldn't care if she were in serious trouble. Ever since that accident months ago, he pushed her away instead of embracing her. After all she has done to earn his approval, he just gave her the chip on his shoulder.

Pam then looked down at her hands and slowly balled them into fists. It's just so hard to believe that she came so close to killing him with these hands and her power over the winds…

Like I care what you do, freak. She then felt anger wash over her again as she remembered her father's words and punched her fist into the mast hard, creating a crater in it and causing Zane to turn to her sharply.

"Pam!" he cried, shock to find her punching the mast without his noticing. "Are you alright?" She then turned to Zane, her face quickly changing to a "calm" smile.

"Uh, yeah," she answered, removing her fist from the mast and quickly stepping to the side to hide the crater. "Yeah, I'm fine! Just a little impatient, that's all." The Nindroid wasn't buying it though.

"Pamela, you shouldn't lie to me like that," he replied. "You tell the truth so much; you're bad at lying." Pam's smile then fell.

"Sorry, Zane," she answered, looking down with shame. "I guess thinking about you and your father just got me thinking about my father."

"I see," the Nindroid replied, recalling Pam telling him of her bad relationship with her father. "Are you…jealous?" She looked up at him in reply.

"Sometimes, but…I don't hate you for that. You're the greatest creation Dr. Julien ever did. He made you smart…a great cook…a kind-hearted friend…and a swell brother. He did more than create for himself a son; he created someone the guys and I can call a family. I'm sure he'll be overjoyed to see you again and see how much you've moved up in the world."

"I'm sure your father would be happy as well to see you moving up in the world as well."

"Are you kidding? He's like one of that mutant-spawn Creed, and I'm one of the X-Men, straight from the imagination of Stan Lee. No matter what I do for the world, he's going to make everyone think I'm some kind of evil freak!"

"Lloyd doesn't think you're a freak, and neither do I. None of us do. We think you're one of us." Pam just looked away in reply.

"Can I ask you something, Zane? What kind of man is Garmadon?" Zane blinked in reply. He knows that Pam has never met the Dark Lord yet, but why the sudden question?

"I just wanna know…Lloyd was prophesized as the Green Ninja who will defeat the Dark Lord…and yet he happens to be his father. I have to know. Does Garmadon love his son?"

"Of course, he does," Zane explained. "He practically fought off many Serpentine to save Lloyd. And before Lloyd found out he's the Green Ninja, he wanted to be like his father." Pam smiled in reply.

"Well, whoever's forcing Lloyd to fight his father is one hey of an idiot! How can Lloyd fight and defeat his own father, the very man who helped bring him into the world? It…It's just not fair…"

"Things just can't go the way we hope, Pam," Zane explained. "It's just the way we have to follow our paths."

"Yeah, well," Pam sighed, "there are times I wish I had a different father. Like Kai's; he should be happy that I'm helping his son watch out for Nya so she doesn't get into too much trouble. Or Jay's; he'd like enjoy how my creative mind works. Or Cole's; he'd be pleased with my song-and-dance talents. Or maybe even yours; he'd be happy that I offered to be the sister you never had."

"What about Lloyd's father?" Pam paused for a second.

"I haven't thought about it; I've never asked Lloyd about his dad." Before anything else could be said, Cole's voice came up on the speaker.

"Guys, we're getting close to the island. Be ready to dock." Pam then rushed up to the side of the boat to look over the railing. Indeed, she saw the small island with the lighthouse standing erect on the large stone.

"It won't be long now, Zane," she said to her ninja brother with a smile. "Soon we'll be reaching the island. And then we'll be bringing your dad home faster than you can say—"

KRRAAASSH! The boat shook violently all of a sudden, causing Pam to fall backwards.

"PAM!" Zane quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled her up again as he held onto the railing with his other hand. "Hang on!" The two of them quickly looked up to see the blasted of mast fall over the other side and into the waters below.

"What the—" She then turned to see Lloyd and the others rush onto the dock.

"Guys, we've been hit!" Nya yelled.

"By what?!"

"We don't know," Kai answered. "The blast just came out of nowhere. But we gotta abandon ship! NOW!" With a reluctant nod, Pam turned to Lloyd.

"Grab onto me, Lloyd!" Wasting no time, the young ninja wrapped his arms around her neck and held on tightly as she picked him up. "Hold on tight!" She then summoned the power of her Sais and brought forth her wings to fly both of them out of the ship falling towards the waters below. Nya quickly got the other Ninja onto her Exo-Suit and flew off after the Yellow Ninja.

About fifteen seconds later, the Bounty crashed into the water. Pam just had to look away, pain piercing her heart at the loss of one of their own, even though the flying ship wasn't exactly a human being. When she did looked towards the island, she spotted movement at one of the mountains. It looked like a figure with short, curly white hair…like her father.

It can't be…Pam shook her head and looked forward again, only to find the figure gone.

"Pam, what's wrong?" The older girl turned to Lloyd with a reassuring smile.

"It's nothing," she answered. "I just thought I saw something."

"Pam, are you okay?" Nya asked as the Exo-Suit flew up to her. She turned to the others in answer.

"Yeah, and so is Lloyd," she answered. "What about you guys?"

"We're alright," Zane answered, "but the Bounty's gone…"

"Where did that blast come from anyway?" asked Cole, looking down at the beaches of the island. "I didn't see any cannons or anything."

"I think someone's been left behind to watch Zane's father," Pam answered. "I thought I saw movement in the rocks below, and it looked like a figure."

"You don't think it was my dad, do you?" Lloyd asked with a frown of concern.

"I don't think so," she answered assuringly. "The figure looked like it had white hair."

"Yeah, and last time we saw Lord Garmadon," Jay replied, "his hair was black."

"You think those boneheads hired a bodyguard or something?" asked Nya.

"I guess one way to find out is to check out the island ourselves," Pam answered. "But I think Dr. Julien might know about it and will be more than happy enough to tell us ourselves…especially when he sees that his son has come here to save him."

"Well, let's take caution," Cole replied. "There's no telling what other dangers we might run into." As the rescue team flew towards the island, the white-haired figure watched them from afar.

"Very fortunate of you, Ninja," he whispered coldly, "but that will all soon change." With a wave of his hand that let out a slight dark aura, he left.