A/N: Today, the closest thing to Julien angst that you'll ever get from me. (*glares at woods, cough* jk i love you, you nerd.)
It was a close fight. The Stone Army warriors couldn't be stopped, only slowed down.
But Lloyd, his mom, and Uncle Wu were able to trap them in different ways—including a rapid-fire bamboo cage that Lloyd constructed himself. Not to brag, of course, but he hardly broke a sweat.
When the three of them returned to the beach, Dr. Julien ran from the combat vehicle's side to join them. "Is everyone all right?" he cried, out of breath.
"We're fine," answered Misako. "The stone warriors set up an ambush in the forest, but we were able to slow them down."
"At the creek? Oh, I'm sorry," stammered Julien, turning to Wu. "I had no idea that my errand..."
"You are not to blame," Uncle Wu assured him, stepping forward and looking out from under the straw hat. "I should have been more careful."
Lloyd frowned. He'd been thinking about how to avoid this ever since they got back. "If the stone army is getting closer," he began slowly, "maybe we should move somewhere they won't look for us."
"We can't," replied Misako, shaking her head. "We've already encamped here, and the other ninja won't know where to return if we leave."
"She's right," said Uncle Wu. "A rash decision may cost us everything. We will stay here for now, and learn to defend ourselves more closely."
Lloyd had to agree that that made sense. "Yes, Sensei." He bowed.
Dr. Julien hadn't said anything since his apology, only stood there wringing his wrinkled hands.
Uncle Wu and Misako eventually left for the Bounty, and Lloyd turned back to look at the old doctor. "You okay?" he asked.
"Oh!" Dr. Julien looked surprised. "Yes, fine," he answered briskly. "I'm just...ah…" He wasn't looking Lloyd in the eye.
Lloyd had to smile a little. "You know they don't blame you, right?" he asked quietly.
Dr. Julien gave a heavy sigh. "Yes, of course." He finally lifted his gaze off the sand. "But that doesn't change the fact that my request almost put your sensei and...all of us in danger."
Oh. Lloyd stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder. It still boggled his mind that he didn't have to reach up to do that.
"Honestly," admitted Lloyd, "if it had to be anyone to run up against the Stone Warriors, I'm glad it was Sensei Wu. He almost had it handled before we showed up. You heard them," he added, shaking Dr. Julien's shoulder gently. "We'll defend ourselves, and everything will be fine. You're safe."
Dr. Julien's smile looked a little weak as he squeezed Lloyd's hand and removed it from his shoulder. "Thank you," he answered. "It's not that."
Lloyd's eyebrows went up to the clouds, then right back down. "What is it, then?"
"Well, it's..." He couldn't look Lloyd in the eye. "It's complicated."
Lloyd puffed out his chest. "I'm no stranger to complicated," he challenged in his best Green Ninja Voice. "Try me."
Dr. Julien's laugh was tiny and starved. "Oh, no, I...well..." His voice was far away, somewhere he didn't want it to be.
"I..." He grabbed at his arm anxiously. "I suppose I've helped the side of evil once before. It was the worst feeling of my life." That was the first time he'd really looked Lloyd in the eyes. "I don't want to do it again."
Lloyd couldn't help but feel sad for him. "You didn't," he assured him quietly. "And you won't."
"But—" he began.
"No, just give me a second," insisted Lloyd, grabbing both of the doc's shoulders.
He half expected to be shut down anyway. 'You wouldn't understand' is a thing that grown-ups say to kids pretty often, and there was no reason that should change.
But instead, Dr. Julien looked at him for a long time—so long that Lloyd almost memorized the shade of blue behind his smudged glasses, a color exactly like Zane's eyes—and then the old doc said perfectly seriously, "All right. I'm listening."
Oh, darn...why did he think he could talk to an adult about his problems again? But after a second to chase down his thoughts again, Lloyd let his hands down and blurted out, "Sensei Wu always tells us to never think about the 'what if's."
Lloyd took a deep breath and went on, more comfortable with his thoughts. "You're wondering what would've happened if we got caught?" he asked, stepping back to give him some room. "Well, we didn't. Mom and Sensei Wu and I fought back and made sure it didn't happen. So there's no use thinking about it."
Lloyd could almost feel himself getting taller, confident now in his entire speech. "You didn't help the side of evil again," he went on, "and you won't, and you're already helping the side of good. You're building that machine and helping Nya. That's real. So ignore the 'what if's, and hold on to that instead."
Lloyd took a deep breath, finally losing steam. "That's all."
Dr. Julien gave him a long, unreadable look.
And then, he stepped forward and pulled Lloyd into a hug. Lloyd let out a muffled grunt of surprise against the lapel of his lab coat.
But when he started to think about it...man, when was the last time he'd gotten a real hug like this? Arms over the shoulder, yeah, and maybe a hug from the side or two, but this? It kind of felt warm...and really good...
He grabbed the back of Julien's lab coat and sunk into the warmth.
A short while later, the old doc murmured, "Thank you."
Aw, darn...Lloyd was sure he was going to cry now.
Dr. Julien took a deep breath, and let Lloyd go just a little bit too soon. The old doc smiled from behind his glasses and laid his hand on Lloyd's shoulder. "You're very wise."
Lloyd sure didn't feel very wise. "I've...got good teachers," he answered with a shrug.
Dr. Julien took his hand from Lloyd's shoulder to fix his coat.
Lloyd got an idea. "If you still feel bad about it," he began slowly, "maybe you can figure out another way for us to get water that's safer."
Dr. Julien looked at him with surprise, but immediately he was thinking again. "Why, that's a brilliant idea." A little spark came back to his expression. "Come to think of it, I saw some parts from the Bounty's scraps that might work for a filter. We could use the seawater offshore!"
Lloyd blinked. That was fast. "That's perfect!" he blurted.
"Oh, but I'll need an extra hand to get it set up." The old doc's smile at him was almost a knowing smirk. "Care to help?"
Lloyd chuckled. "Sure. What else do I have to do?"
Dr. Julien cuffed his ear, messing up his hair with a grin.
"Hey!" Lloyd covered his head and tried to smooth all of his hair back down, laughing.
"Well, let's get to work, then," ordered Dr. Julien with a wink.
Lloyd followed him to the workbench in the sand at a run.
He would make sure that if anyone wanted to hurt this kind, batty old man, they'd have to go through the Green Ninja first.
tbc...
A/N: An integral part of Lloyd's canon personality: inspiring speeches. Also, he's really starting to like Julien now.
This is probably the most heart-breaking chapter until the last one. *rubs hands, evil chuckle*
Reviews are unexpected hugs.