***Author's Note: Welcome to Archenemy of the Anacondrai! This has been a project of mine for a long time now and takes place shortly after MotM, while erasing the foreplay within it for future shows, ie Vangelis's vengestone was not being bought, and Harumi died in the building collapse as she should have. The ninjas have left Shintaro in the capable hands of its new queen and have returned to Ninjago City. It has been a peaceful six months since their return, but that may change very soon. This chapter is almost entirely exposition, and the next chapter, which introduces our villains (!) will be coming soon! Thank you so much for reading, please review! ***
The sun had set, and the noise of Ninjago City softened as twilight ended and the night began. It was clear but quiet. It gave Lloyd a certain itch as he balanced on the edge of a rooftop and gazed towards the heart of the city. An itch that he knew all too well. The itch always showed up either when he was alone, or when there was trouble on the horizon. Some people would call it nerves. Jay had noticed his "itch" face several months ago, and Cole jumped on the joke when Jay mentioned it. "Itchy" Lloyd jokes had ensued. Regardless of what his brothers thought about his nerves, the itch had proven to be somewhat trustworthy. Stretch the "somewhat".
Along with the fact that his itch was acting up, he had no backup on this unusually hot fall night, and Lloyd was feeling rather alone. Nya was his normal backup on account of their ages and elements mixing just about the best of the team. They had certainly sparred and fought back-to-back enough different times as the original four would run off on some mission or other. As well as the all too recent time period when the ninja were in the First Realm.
But Nya had a date with Jay. Nya's patrol backup was Kai. Kai and Skylor were away for a few days, and no one else could leave their assignments or had enough energy to run an extra patrol. That left Lloyd patrolling solo. Not that he minded.
It was an easy sunset patrol, PIXAL had dropped him off just out of south downtown Ninjago City, and he was working his way west toward the harbor by jumping rooftops or fire escapes. His car was out of commission again, and the girls could only fix so many vehicles at once while being active on the team and for patrols. Zane and Cole had pulled a double shift the night before, so Lloyd was okay with patrolling alone to let his older brothers sleep. PIXAL had offered to stay and leave their ship in Wu's hands, but Lloyd declined, as he knew she had been wanting to rewire something on the Bounty for a few days and wanted to let her work on it. She was only a call away if he truly needed backup.
He had decided to stake his main watch on an apartment building with a moderate view of the harbor. Among the shipments that flowed in and out of the city were shady characters, and he figured it wasn't a bad place to start. Plus, Cole and Jay had broken up a gang fight in the area a few weeks ago, and he wanted to make sure there were no more isolated attacks happening. So far, he had heard a few yells and suspicious sounds but only investigated one, which had turned out to be a woman yelling because she was trying to stop her dog from eating flowers out of a store window box. He might have startled them both when he appeared above them on a telephone pole.
The only other notable thing was a shipment of cymbals that had come in (assumingly for an orchestra performance that was happening later that month in Ninjago) and consequently been dropped. The crate came open, and although the racket was muffled by the packaging, it might still have woken everyone asleep in a five-block radius. Other than that, it was way too quiet for this far down in the city. Lloyd scratched his neck and fiddled with a knife on his chest. Ninjago may be a city full of complicated history and outdated memorials, but it was never truly quiet. Completely distracted, Lloyd's mind drifted to his family, particularly Kai, who was absent from the team at the moment.
Due to Kai's unusual schedule from being a ninja, and Skylor being tied to her restaurant, they hardly had any time together, much less alone. It wasn't exactly like Jay and Nya, who literally trained together, ate together, on certain days patrolled together, and slept across the hall from each other. Kai had wanted to take Skylor somewhere on a trip for a while, and the couple had decided that a quiet long weekend at the end of September was as good a time as any to get away. Once Master Wu approved the quick trip, the couple was gone faster than Jay could recite the opening lines of the most recent Fritz Donnegan show. Really, as far as Lloyd knew, their schedules were so crazy they only managed to see each other once or twice a week if they were lucky. He sometimes didn't mention to Wu when Kai's south city patrols would take a bit longer than usual. His brothers didn't either, although they did have to vocally explain the tardiness to Zane until he understood. He got it, then. After all, his patrols around Borg Tower used to run late too. Skylor was tied to the restaurant, and Kai to patrol, train, or whatever else the city demanded. It was just how it was. But what a way to be together
Most of his team was incredibly blessed with wonderful partners who helped balance the lifestyle that being a ninja demanded. Jay had Nya, Kai had Skylor, and PIXAL quite literally shared a heart with Zane. Cole, meanwhile, had dated a girl named Seliel for a few months before they mutually decided it wouldn't work to be more than friends. They were both just too dang stubborn. She went by the Phantom Ninja, and although she possessed no elemental powers, she was her own force to be reckoned with. Occasionally, they would still bump into her on one of her own patrols, but the latest chatter said she had moved to Jumanji Village up north.
So, the current and past leaders of the team remained single. Well, the last time he had grilled Cole on the topic, he was still single. Lloyd and Jay had a sneaky suspicion as to why the library light in the Monastery often glowed late, long after their Master had retired for the night. It was a great subject to torment Cole about. The time difference between Shintaro and Ninjago was only a few hours, but enough for some difficulty communicating if two specific someone's wanted to talk. Lloyd grinned at the thought.
Cole did deserve someone special. He was the team's foundation and took almost as much responsibility mentally as Lloyd did when something went wrong. Past missions haunted him, much like they did Lloyd. It was one of the reasons they had become so close as Lloyd grew as the destined leader of the growing team and family, and Cole stepped aside.
Skylor had unofficially officially become a member of the team shortly after the team returned from Shintaro. Kai was ecstatic to have her back in his life, and the rest of the team all loved Skylor. She was surprisingly up for Lloyd and Jay's pranks, too; recently, they had snuck glitter into Kai's hair gel. The pictures were in development. But she kept her life separate from the main team. She didn't live at the monastery, choosing instead to live in a three-bedroom apartment above Chen's with a roommate named Clara, who was an ex-pawn of Chen whom the team had rescued after the Tournament of Elements. She was deaf and mute, which unfortunately had made her desirable to Chen, but she made out well enough, and both Skylor and others around her had learned sign language so that they could communicate. Nice girl, although still nervous around the elemental masters.
Skylor, simply put, had decided that she didn't want her past to define her future. Her father had forced her to display her powers and exploited them for his gain. She was very content to live somewhat undercover as a restaurant owner and leave her endless pit fights behind her. The public knew she had powers, but she didn't flaunt them or often use them to fight, so she was treated like any other ninjagoan. Which was exactly what she wanted, and she explained as much to the team. She had even gone as far to change her legal last name to the ancient Ninjagoan word for "amber". No one spoke the language anymore and only a small percentage of scholars even could read it. The restaurant name was beyond fixing- too many menus to reprint. And in time, the public would forget that she was the daughter of Chen. Especially if she continued to mutter ancient words under her breath when anyone mentioned the founder of the restaurant and avoided any correlation between the two of them the rest of the time.
Kai and Cole had personally helped her destroy a board in the restaurant titled "Our Grand History!". The point was she was always there as backup, but don't call her in the middle of the night unless it was an absolute emergency. Lloyd understood. If you could have some separation, own it and hold on to it. He wasn't that lucky. The Legacy of the Green Ninja and his reputation followed him everywhere.
As for his romantic life, well. Everyone in Ninjago knew about Lloyd's disaster of a romantic life. His role as the Green Ninja had played a role in that too. Following the murder of the Emperor and Empress by the Sons of Garmadon, Harumi had lived with Lloyd and the team for almost a month as sparks flew. They had actually let her live with them; how stupid could they have been?
Lloyd still went in circles with himself over what they should have done differently. He had been so happy. Finally happy. It was like he was floating the entire time, even as the city faced its potentially most significant threat. He had finally found her. The one girl in Ninjago who wouldn't see him as the face on TV or the son of Lord Garmadon. The one girl who Lloyd liked and could connect with on a personal level and through similar wrecked childhoods. The one distinct partner who stood by him even as the SOG and The Quiet One threatened everything Lloyd knew and held close. She understood his responsibility, the honor, and the pressure he was under…. the pointless thoughts assaulted him.
Lloyd spat onto the roof under his feet to wash the terrible taste out of his mouth. He could still remember all his half-formed plans. How he had planned to ask her to stay with the team, train as a ninja, and be his girlfriend. Now those memories that could have been remembered with fondness had a hazy red glow over them in his mind. Her once innocent face was nothing but the demonic purple of the Mask of Vengeance and a twisted purple and gray figure. All reminding him anytime he thought of her just how foolish he was for falling for Garmadon's daughter. How much he had put at risk. How dumb he was. How close he was to losing his life and those that he knew actually loved him. Never again. Lloyd startled back into reality as the pager in his ear beeped with a message. P.I.X.A. L's voice floated out of the small device.
"Master Lloyd! Building fire on the corner of Underground Way and Snake Avenue. Multiple entrapments are possible. Fire and Rescue are being dispatched, but the manager has requested us on the scene ASAP as well."
"Copy that, Pix! On my way. ETA: Two minutes!"
Lloyd took off. He had a few blocks to cover on foot before he would reach the scene. While he had grown up with Kai and could see the beauty of his best friend's power, he knew that fire was the easiest element to get out of control and create long-lasting damage as well.
Jump.
Land.
Jump.
Land. Slide over a cooling unit, and jump.
Multiple entrapments...must be either an apartment building or a restaurant. This could get very bad very quickly… But why would they want the entire team there? Nya and Zane were the only ones who could truly help with a fire. Only if…
Lloyd tensed mid-jump, then landed hard on the next rooftop. A curse flew through the air as he looked ahead and caught the glow of a fire. Sure, of himself now, he moved faster than before, all the while pleading with the universe for his mental calculations to be wrong. But of course, because the world was a cruel place, he was correct as he stiffened at the sight of smoke and flame billowing out of one of the most recognizable restaurants in all of Ninjago.