Chapter 83
Come Back

.:Lloyd:.

"Can you at least tell me why you want to protect us so badly then?" The blonde's voice wavered as he tried to choke back the sobs that were now trying to escape. He looked at Violet in hope that she would at least answer this question.

"So you won't see, feel or think what I've been throw… So you won't turn out like me. I want you guys to still be carefree and happy but once you know the truth…You… I-I…" But she couldn't form the words. Instead, she swooped down, picked up her bow and quiver of arrows before dashing into the lower decks.

Have we really just lost Violet? But ninja don't quit do they? Ugh! Why is this so frustrating?

Lloyd's curled fists roughly wiped the tears away from his face and he dashed in the direction Violet went off. He wasn't going to give up, especially not on Violet. "Violet!"

"Go away!" He heard a distress cry from the said ninja. Lloyd merely sighed and just in time, he saw a door slam. The door to the lower training room with the weapons. When he was at the door, he turned the handle to see that she locked it from the inside. The blonde then banged his hand against the wooden door.

"Violet, open up please!"

"No, leave me alone!"

"Please, I just want to help you-"

"I don't need any help!"

"You said the exact same thing before you unlocked your true potential."

"Lloyd, leave me alone right now!"

"No! Because ninja never quit and I'm not quitting on you Violet!" Lloyd yelled and to his utter surprise, he didn't get a response from the girl. Using a softer voice, he said, "can you let me in this time? Please Violet, I just want to help, even if it kills me or you."

Silence fell on both sides on the door however Lloyd waited patiently. Listening intently, he could hear a groan on the other side. "Why do you want to help me so bad?"

"Because you're my sister; along with everyone else on board, you're a daughter to my uncle and Kai's lover. We're all a family and we're all here to share that burden on your shoulders. Please Violet, why are you acting like this? So ignorant and cruel? What truth are you trying to protect us from?"

"I told you Lloyd, I can't. Now stop harassing me!"

"So what, you don't care for me anymore? You don't care for anyone?" He snapped, green eyes narrowing at the door. Lloyd doesn't want to give up but with Violet, she makes him feel like this is for a waste, it makes him feel like she won't change and he has to give up. Now he was fed up at Violet's behaviour. "Can't you see what you're doing to us Violet? You want us to be carefree and happy? I'm sorry Little Miss Princess but we can't when someone so close to us is being depressed and won't tell us what the problem is. It's either we're all happy or none of us." And when Violet didn't answer, the blonde pressed on, "you know we're going to find out sooner or later and it's better to be sooner and by someone we know and trust. Otherwise in the future when we find out, we'll be putting the blame on you. Please Violet, tell me what's wrong!"

Lloyd felt like he was going in circles again. It was just like their first conversation. It's just a repeat of everything; it was like luck was laughing at his face for his misfortunes. The thought of this just wanted to make the young man bang his arm against the door and yell out in frustration. No more Mr Nice Guy. Lloyd was going to get answers no matter what.

"Look Violet, I don't care if this keeps going back and forth or if it goes on for hours because I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong!" He shouted and hit the door. Suddenly it swung open and he was met with hard, dark violet eyes. The girl then pushed him to the wall of the corridor and Lloyd visibly gulped.

"Do you want to know why I'm like this? Do you really want to know?!" Her voice was loud and harsh and colder and bitterer than ever before, as if it's in disgust. Just before Lloyd could splutter his words of unintelligence, Violet beat him to it. "It's because I believed I was safe and the only bad thing out there in the world are robbers and the things we fought. That was the biggest lie I've ever believed in. I saw things I never wanted to see and things happened to me which I know I won't ever forget. Do you really want to know what happened to me?!"

"V-Violet-!"

"I've been tortured in case if you haven't got the big picture. I've been shot four times. I've been beaten with many instruments I don't even know or want to remember! I've been whipped and I got raped. And what, you all expected me to be chirpy and believe that I'm safe again? The truth is that no one is safe, you all are just lucky it never happened to you."

This left Lloyd absolutely speechless. So many emotions welled up in him from all the terrible things Violet said. He felt angry- no, furious and he felt miserable that he resurfaced these memories back into Violet's mind.

"What's even worse is that I killed at least sixty people and yet I still let another thousand die-!"

"Vi, don't blame yourself for that-"

"I can't help it. You didn't hear it, you didn't see it, you didn't smell it. I was there, I watched them die Lloyd! And I could have wiped out Jamanakai Village if I wanted too! Can't you see that I'm dangerous? With or without my powers, I can still kill people. I'm a killer Lloyd! That's all I am!"

"Violet, calm down-!"

"No, you want me to spill so here it is!" She hissed through gritted teeth. Never before had Lloyd felt so terrified of her. "Not only am I spacing myself to protect you guys from the truth but to protect you all from me! I gave Nathan a bloody heart-attack when I woke up, I could have broken Kai's face, I'm sure I gave Zane quite a scare when I nearly attacked him this morning and I nearly killed you with my bow if my back wasn't killing me. This is why I'm cold so you guys can stay away from me." Violet hissed lowly before giving Lloyd another shove against the wall before spinning away.

"Violet wait!"

"Wait for what? For the advice you can give me? Save it kid, I know you have nothing."

"I'm not a kid anymore for your information!"

"Really?" Violet chuckled darkly before putting her hands on her waist. "Just give up Lloyd and next time, when someone say to leave them alone, do it."

And she walked back down the hallway to the decks. Lloyd shook his head in disbelief and ran after her, only to jump onto her and pin her to the ground. A yelp came out from the startled girl but Lloyd quickly flipped her from underneath him and pinned all her limbs down before staring at her harshly in the eyes.

"And when I say ninja never quit, do it! This isn't you Violet, you used to be the kindest person and you still can be. You just need to put that past behind you. Yes, the world is dark but you're over-reacting! You're a ninja, not an assassin, there's a huge difference!"

"No there isn't!"

"In my eyes, yes. Ninja serve with honour and only kill if required to save lives or prevent further killing and they do this with hesitance and regret afterwards like you whereas a coldblooded killer or assassin feel nothing and do it for sport. You are not a killer Violet! You're a ninja and ninja never quit!" Lloyd shouted and he waited for Violet to snap back at him or even slap him to get away, instead there was nothing. He looked down at Violet to see her look… guilty? "Violet, even though you killed sixty people, you saved pretty much all of Ninjago. I'm sure even the serpentine would have feared these people. You saved everyone. Yes, you lost a thousand people and its sad and a pathetic excuse for a sacrifice but we can't save everybody… that's the bad thing about being a hero; when everyone looks up to you only for you to fail them in the end…" Lloyd sighed softly.

"I-I suppose you're correct…"

"And about protecting us Violet, we can perfectly take care of ourselves. You can't hurt us by accident because even if you do, it's not like we're going to kill you for it. We all know it's an accident and your powers go a bit unstable like mine. And by now, you should know we won't be happy unless all of us is happy." Lloyd displayed a smile before getting off her and offered her a hand which she took. He hoisted her up and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Listen, you got it rough and by rough, that's a complete understatement because I don't know any better vocabulary."

Lloyd said and to his surprise, a small chuckle came from the girl.

"If you want to be alone now, I completely understand after all the things you been through… But at least come for breakfast okay? You don't have to talk if you don't want to but I'm sure the guys want to know you're faring a bit better."

"O-Okay…" Violet whispered and Lloyd flashed a caring smile before placing a hand behind her back and led her to the dining room.

As the two got closer to the dining room, the blonde could hear hushed whispers, mainly from Kai and Cole. Lloyd couldn't figure out what exactly they were talking about but he didn't make his entrance quiet like a ninja, instead he made sure his footsteps were slightly heavier. Once the two made it to the entrance of the dining room, silence immediately spread through the room. Lloyd looked back to Violet who slightly stepped back from staring eyes.

"Morning Violet, morning Lloyd." Wu's voice introduced them. Lloyd sent warm smile but he tried to tell them not to mention anything with his eyes, Violet hasn't completely warmed up to them yet.

"Morning Uncle." Lloyd nodded and took his usual seat, hoping Violet would get the message to take her seat. While looking around, everyone's head looked back down to their plates but their eyes occasionally send a glance at Violet who made her way stiffly to her seat next to Kai and sent a stiff nod to her Sensei.

The room remained silent, so silent that for once, Jay accepted it. To the green ninja, Jay didn't look like he was dying to say anything! Lloyd for once found the silence deafening. It continued for the rest of breakfast. The only thing that Violet consumed with a single piece of bread, that's it. No butter or jam, no drinks or anything. The blonde could also tell Kai was dying to hold her hand under the table like they normally do but scared to do so. And then without a word, Violet got up from the table and left. Everyone waited for a good minute before they bombed Lloyd in harsh whispers.

"What did you do?"

"What did she say?"

"I thought she would be better by now!"

And so on. Lloyd merely sighed and held his hand up for silence.

"When you guys went to breakfast, I went to talk to her but she completely went out of it and nearly shoot me with her arrow. She calmed down but didn't talk to me and that's when I've realised she was bleeding so I treated her wounds. She knew I wanted answers even though I said I needed them. And then things kinda went downhill, then up, then down, then up and so on…" Lloyd reported before resting his head on the table. "I know how I said that ninja shouldn't quit but Violet's quitting and… I don't know how to change her mind."

"You're trying your best." His mother comforted him, resting a hand on his head. "Umm…. Where's Kai?"

.:Kai:.

Once everyone went to bomb Lloyd with questions, Kai used this perfect opportunity to talk to Violet. He dashed down the stairs and into the lower decks. The brunette searched through the rooms and found her in the training room, bashing her hands into the wall. This behaviour shocked Kai because if there was anyone who would do that on the ship was him… maybe Nathan but mainly him.

"Taking your anger out on a wall won't solve anything. Take this from someone who used to do it all the time." Kai called out, wanting to give the girl some space.

"Did Lloyd tell you?" She hissed as she continued, each punch made the walls groan and creak. Kai merely shook his head and sigh as he made his way over to Violet and captured her tiny hands in his, only to realise they were bleeding from the punches.

"No, he didn't… I want to hear it from you. Please Sumire." He mumbled softly before taking off his outer shirt and tried to soak the blood as much as possible. A soft and sad groan came from her lips and when kai redirected his eyes from her hands to her eyes, he saw tears in them.

"I already explained it to Lloyd… I don't want to explain it again…" She whispered softly. With one hand holding her hands, he used the other to wipe her tears.

"Not even for me? Listen, I know you've been through some fairly tough stuff but you're safe now-"

"Safe?" Violet scoffed, slightly chuckling at the word. "I've explained this to Lloyd; no one is truly safe Kai. You're all just lucky what happened to me never happened to you."

"So tell me so I can share that burden on your shoulders and feel the pain you're experiencing." He argued but the stubborn girl shook her head. "You know… couples that are really in love tell each other what's on their mind. Right now I'm really concerned about you Violet because you mean more than the world to me."

"Well sorry to break this to you Kai but maybe what we have at the moment isn't love." And upon those cold words, Kai dropped his hands from her and stepped back.

"W-What?"

"You heard me. Maybe we were wrong this whole time, maybe that 'flame' between us is nothing but lies."

"No, that's a lie!" He shouted, anger slowly seeping into his veins. Don't lose control, especially not now. But it was so hard to comply with those words. "You're just too blind to see it right now. So tell me Violet, why did you save me when that ginger dude went to shoot me? Why did you even risk your own life for me? And don't you dare say that isn't love!"

"It's a mere protective emotion I have for everyone on the Bounty; I would even do it for Cole and Jay bloody hell."

"You're lying."

"No I'm not."

"You're lying to yourself!" Kai shouted and for a second, he saw the strong face Violet had just falter for a bit.

"I-I'm not lying to m-myself…" She whispered as she looked down, her voice wavering.

"Yes you are Sumire-"

"-don't call me that-"

"-and you know it. You're just too scared to admit it so it won't make you look like a weaker person… so you can protect me."

"I've realised what I had for you wasn't a love." The caramel-haired girl snapped, her words sent an arrow or venom through his chest.

"But what I had for you was- still is love. Don't you remember that night?"

"My biggest mistake…"

"And then the next morning you woke up from that dream, petrified to lose me because you loved me. Your mind is too clouded at the moment; don't let that change your judgement." The brunette said softly and he crouched down in front of the now kneeling Violet. He slowly reached out his hand and cupped Violet's cheeks.

"A-Alright… Just give m-me some time okay?" She whispered softly. Kai nodded before pulling her tense and stiff body towards him. He placed a kiss on her forehead before resting his head on her's. Slowly, he could feel her loosen up and melt into his embrace. "Why is it s-so hard?"

"I know it's hard. Just give yourself time. You just came back from a mission. You should just relax okay?" He muttered softly into her hand and cuddled her tighter. But he could feel the air tamer's head shook furiously into his chest. "Why, what's wrong?"

"I think you were right yesterday about me having Post-Traumatic Stress…" The brunette heard her whisper. "I keep feeling like Vincent isn't dead, that he's watching me. When he was going to shoot you, I felt scared, more scared than I felt when I first arrived." And the image of the petrified purple ninja from the footage the falcon supplied flooded Kai's mind. "My biggest fear is losing the people I love and are so dear to me. I could only think of three things and they repeated over and over again in my head: Blow the bullet away. Save You. Kill Vincent. That's why I said I didn't have love for you… just so whenever the time comes, it'll be less painful to bare… I was lying to myself. I'm sorry Kai."

"No, that's absolutely fine Violet… but can you answer me one thing?" Kai asked softly with compassion, not trying to let the anger that's welling inside of him make an appearance to Violet. He just felt mad at the fact that he wasn't there to comfort her but let her deal with it by herself. Violet was rarely scared, she wasn't afraid of getting attacked during the night and she isn't scared of Garmadon yet… this Vincent guy has managed to scare the crap out of her. The girl in his arms looked up at him with wide, watery, violet eyes. She nodded slowly in response to his question. "What did this Vincent guy do to you?"

At first, alarm and panic flowed onto the female ninja's face. She started to tremble in Kai's arms and her eyes shut as if to remove the memories from her mind. Immediately, a sense of guilt ate at Kai.

"Y-You don't have to answer if you don't want to. If it brings bad memories, don't worry about it."

"N-N-No… You deserve to know…" She whispered and buried her face into his chest. Kai's arms automatically wrap around her tighter and rubbed soothing circles into her back. "He's heartless Kai! He killed so many of those sweet and innocent people, including some of the children there. When I tried to take the falcon, he sensed my presence and started to shoot at me. He got my leg and my shoulder."

She told him and she pulled away for a quick moment and pointed to her shoulder –since she's still wearing the bandages to cover her up- and Kai could see a round scar, from the bullet.

"I thought it wouldn't scar… You also took forever to heal." Kai murmured as his fingertips ghosted over her skin.

"My powers are still recovering after my outburst… It should go away soon." She muttered before leaning back into his body. "After that, he dragged me to a room, whipped me, beat me up… before he… he… r-ra…" But the words never left Violet's mouth. Kai just held her closer, just allowing her to rant out. But he felt his jaw tighten at the things the ginger did to his Violet. How dare he?! "I don't feel safe anymore… I don't even know if he's dead…"

"It's alright, he's dead. Cole checked while we got you cleaned up and treated… Listen Vi, although no one is safe, you're at least safer with us because home is where family is. I love you so much and next time you go on a solo mission like that, I'm coming with you no matter what and I promise to protect you the entire time okay?"

"No, don't risk your life for me."

"No, I won't. I promised you won't be losing me but that doesn't mean I won't get hurt for you." He told her confidently and kissed her forehead again. "I love you Violet."

"I-I love you too Kaen." And a small smile appeared on her lips, the warmth returned to her voice, her eyes brightened up and the use of his pet name coming from her lips spread a huge smile on his face. She was coming back.

Whoa, way over the limit. Yes I said I'll try to aim around 3000 words but not 3800. So what do you guys think? But thanks to everyone that made this story hit a little over than 900 reviews, I'm so happy! So big thanks to: Mihoshi 2.0, Darkrainbow, Applejack ninja lover, ALookIntoMyWorld, ElementzGirl7, FlameNinjaofDarkFire, AllyoftheNinja, LightningDanino23, CarlyShi208, MortalNinjas and I'm Rat.

Darkrainbow: Haha, that's all good ;) But if you don't mind me asking, why do you dislike Violet?

ALookIntoMyWorld: I check by going into the search filters and there should be a 'sort' button. It'll all sort the stories from updated date, published date, favourites, follows and reviews. And yes I have watched the new episodes, they're so cool and I can't stop laughing at Zane's new voice XD

FlameNinjaofDarkFire: They haven't been released onto Cartoon Network here in Australia but I watched them on youtube and they're amazing!

ElementzGirl7: I miss her too :'( but congrats on the 900th reviewer thing.

I think I might've confused some people last chapter when I said whether to continue this story or go into a series. Violet's life as a ninja will still be continued but I'm deciding whether Undercover will be Book 1 of the series and end it before Rebooted and start another book staring Violet for Rebooted and so on. Some people got the message that I'm stopping but let me reassure you that I won't be stopping; I love Violet too much to end her. Anyway, thanks again to everyone for reviewing – especially the silent readers and I'll see you all next time.

Xoxoxo – ZaneLoverFan88