*phew* After some formatting issues, this is finally up :) I've gotten myself onto a schedule, so you can expect updates on this every Tuesday and Thursday unless something crazy happens (which hopefully nothing will).

Thanks again for reading and your patience, and I really do appreciate any and all reviews, as they really keep me going when I'm struggling with writer's block/when I'm between chapters. Anyway, I hope you enjoy these new changes if you're a returning reader, and if you're new, I hope you look at some of my other pieces as well :)

- Fell_and_Fallen -

People run in circles around us, screaming and tripping over each other in order to get away from the snakes slithering around the square. They're smashing windows and looting stores without a single cop in sight, and a chorus of loud screams erupts as a snake bumps into an already unstable pile of boxes and sets off a blaring car alarm.

"Well, it could be worse," Jay says as we look around at the screeching chaos. "I mean, they're not doing anything really evil, are they?"

"Anyone see Lloyd?" Kai asks, ignoring Jay.

"He's a kid, how hard can it be to find him?" Jay asks just as a huge group of terrified children swarms around us.

"You were saying?" Cole raises an eyebrow.

"That wouldn't to be him, would it?" I point to a kid sitting on a mountain of candy just down the road. He's wearing a black sweater with white skeletal ribs clumsily painted on the front, and a clump of white-blond hair pokes out beneath his hood. His attention is focused on eating a pack of gummies instead of the snakes that swarm around him.

"See? Not that hard," Jay laughs nervously.

"Hey kid, didn't anyone tell you it's wrong to steal?" Cole yells as we approach.

"You dare to challenge me, ninja?" the kid, Lloyd, stands up defiantly on his mountain. "Then taste my wrath!" He waves behind him with one arm and a group of Serpentine surrounds us.

"There's no need to call your snake friends, is there?" I say as a snake hisses at me. Kai gives it a glare. "I'm sure we could figure something out-"

"Come on, we can take these snakes easily," Cole unclips his scythe from his back. "Prepare to be schooled, kid. Ninja go!"

The boys spinjitsu away from me and into the flurry of snakes, who leap forward in response. I shake my head but raise my arms and carefully surround myself in a ring of flame. The fire tries to spring away from me, but I take a deep breath and hold it steady. With a shove I send it flying toward the Serpentine, scattering a dozen snakes that converged on the ninja.

There's a loud hiss behind me and I duck just in time to avoid a lead pipe to the back of my head. I turn in the same movement and drive a flaming fist into the snake's stomach, sending it soaring back with a scream and the smell of burnt leather. I grab the pipe it dropped, test the weight quickly in my hand, and then throw it at a snake that grapples with Jay. The pipe hits with a solid thud, knocking the snake away and letting Jay spring to his feet.

"Thanks, Ash," he smiles as he knocks the snake out with a swift kick.

"Anytime," I answer as he leaps back into the fight. I turn and get a glimpse of something disappearing into a side street, and when I look up I realize Lloyd's disappeared from the mound of candy. With a glance at the still-battling ninja, I start chasing after him.

Lloyd ducks around another corner just as I step foot into the alley, and I take one last look back at the fighting ninja before I start running. They'll be fine without me.

Lloyd stays a good distance ahead of me, wiggling through tight spaces much faster than I can. In just a couple of minutes, I'm struggling to keep sight of him, relying mostly on the slap of his rapid footsteps to keep me on his trail. My chest heaves as I pause near a pile of boxes to catch my breath and Lloyd's footsteps become even more distant. At this rate, he's going to outrun me. I glance at the rooftops above me and decide I have only one way of catching him.

I shove a couple of the boxes against a nearby wall and slowly pull myself up a window and onto the rooftop. My stomach churns a little at the thought of falling, but I swallow the feeling and look for Lloyd in the street below. I see him wriggling under a fence and I make my way over, being careful not to misstep and fall to my death on the cobblestones.

I trail him out of the alley and into the street, where he stops to take a breath. He looks behind him and, thinking he's lost me, sits on the ground and pulls a lollipop from his pocket. There's a fire exit just below me, and I carefully ease myself from the roof and drop onto the stairs, jarring myself a little against the rusting metal. I finish my descent and approach Lloyd, feeling much better to finally be on solid ground.

"You're pretty fast for a kid."

Lloyd jumps at the sound of my voice and scrambles to his feet to face me. He looks like he's about to run, so I stop a few feet away from him and raise my empty hands.

"It's okay," I say carefully. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to talk."

"Wh-who are you?" he demands. He tries to sound confident, but his voice trembles. "You're not a ninja!"

"I'm not. I'm their friend and yours too," I answer. "My name is Ash. What's yours?"

"I-I'm Lloyd Garmadon, Master of all Evil," he introduces himself. "And I don't need friends!"

"Everyone needs friends, even the 'Master of all Evil'," I can't help the smile that tugs at my lips. Something about this kid reminds me of myself, though I can't place it. "You don't happen to be related to Lord Garmadon, the man who tried to fill the world with evil a while back?"

"He's my dad," Lloyd nods, "and someday, I'm going to be just like him!"

"I see," I nod. "So is this a part of your evil plan? Use the Serpentine to terrorize people out of their candy?"

"This is just the first step," he grins. "Just wait until you see the other stuff I have planned!"

"I'm sure it's terrifying," I nod as I approach him. He takes a weary step back as I stoop down to his eye level, but doesn't run. "But you know, you can get twenty times the amount of candy if you ask for it? If you pay, you can get however much candy you want and no one, not even the ninja have the right to take it from you."

"But I don't have any money," he shakes his head. "And asking for things isn't evil, it's stupid."

I reach into my back pocket and pull out my wallet. "Then let's make a deal. Evil people love making deals. Go back and pay for what you stole and you can have whatever's left to buy anything else you want. If it makes you feel more evil, you can tell everyone you stole it from me."

He stares at leather wallet from my outstretched hand, narrowing his eyes like he expects me to tug it back. "You're serious?" He asks.

"Absolutely," I say. "I'm a good guy, remember? We don't lie."

Lloyd takes the wallet carefully and opens it, shuffling through what little bills I have. He pulls something unfamiliar out, and I realize it's a tea packet. He stares at it with confusion as I reach and out take it with a sigh.

"Sensei must have slipped this in my pocket again," I say mostly to myself. "He's always trying to get me to drink tea, but I just can't stand it."

I look back up at Lloyd. "Sensei Wu's your uncle, isn't he?" I ask and he nods. "He told me. Why don't you ever visit him?"

"I was at Darkly's for a long time, and after I ran- was kicked out for being too evil I haven't had time, you know with the whole plan to take over the world," he shrugs, but there's a weight of sadness in his voice.

"Well I'm sure he'd love to see you again," I say. "Why don't you come with me and we'll go say hello for a little bit?"

"But I'm on a quest of evil with the Serpentine-"

"I'm sorry to tell you, Lloyd, but I think the Serpentine have their own agenda," I point over his shoulder to where the snakes are slithering off into the horizon without even a glance back.

"Hey!" Lloyd takes a few steps toward them, but I stop him with a hand.

"Come on, Lloyd, as cool as the Serpentine might be they're no substitute for your real family," I say. "You can find another way to impress your dad."

"But I'm supposed to be evil," Lloyd shakes his head.

"Sometimes you become something your parents don't expect," I say. "Trust me, I know." I blink and memories of my father rush back, of his kind smile, the warm gaze he gave me the day he disappeared. I shake the thoughts aside and focus on Lloyd, who seems to have noticed my sobering mood.

"Ash, there you are!"

Lloyd and I look up to where the ninja are emerging from the village. They're battered, ruffled, but for the most part unhurt from their wild battle against the snakes.

"Looks like you caught the little miscreant," Jay says as they approach. He steps threateningly toward Lloyd. "What do you say we teach him a bit of a lesson?"

"He's coming with us," I get to my feet and step protectively in front of Lloyd. "To see his uncle."

"But what about all the damage he's done to the village?" Kai asks.

"I gave him some money that should pay for most of the candy he stole," I gesture to the wallet in Lloyd's hands. "The rest was the Serpentine."

The ninja still look like they want to argue and I let out a sigh.

"Come on, guys, a visit can't hurt anyone."

"But what about the Serpentine? They're still on the loose!" Jay waves a hand at the fleeing snakes.

"We can take care of that later," I say. "For now, we're taking him with us."

With only a few more grumbles, we start the walk back to where the ship is supposed to pick us up. Lloyd sticks close to me, wearily eyeing the ninja as we plod along. I give him a reassuring smile.

"You'll be alright, kiddo, don't worry. These guys may look tough and scary, but they're actually harmless."

"I'm not scared," Lloyd shakes his head. "I'm not scared of anything."

"I'm sure you're not," I nod.

Cole falls into step beside me, glancing back at the kid as he talks into my ear. "No offense, Ash, but why are you being nice to him? He just terrorized an entire village for candy."

"He's a kid who's a little off track," I answer in a whisper. "Besides, there's something about him that feels, I don't know, familiar. I wasn't much different than him after I lost my father."

"Well your dad isn't Lord Garmadon."

I hit him slightly with my arm. "Just because someone is a little different than you doesn't mean you don't have to be nice." I pause a little. "Maybe that's what Sensei was trying to get at with the riddle."

"What do you mean?"

"An enemy. Just because you don't understand them, doesn't mean you should automatically hate them," I answer as my mind whirrs a little. "The best way to defeat an enemy is to make them your friend."

"You're sure about that?" Cole asks, and I nod.

"Lloyd's a good kid, even if he doesn't realize it," I glance back at the tiny, shuffling would-be overlord. "A visit with his uncle could be exactly what he needs."

"I hope you're right about this, Ash," Cole says.

"Of course I'm right," I shove him a little. "He's as much Sensei's nephew as he is Garmadon's son. It's worth giving him a chance."

"Alright, but he's your responsibility, okay?" he grumbles. "We can't have that kid messing around with anything."

"What, are you just sour that I figured out the riddle before you did?" I grin. "You know, maybe I could be the Green Ninja-"

"You said so yourself that we shouldn't be so caught up in that," Cole says hurriedly. "I mean, it could be anyone of us, why focus so much on it being you?"

I chuckle a little. "I thought so," I smile as a shadow looms overhead and the Bounty starts its descent. Lloyd huddles behind me and I give him a reassuring smile as the ship opens and we enter.