AN: This is one of my favorite chapter titles for this fic, because it's exactly what happened while I was writing, lol. Garmadon refused to wait.

Also, why did I get THREE REVIEWS within a few hours of posting the last chapter?! I feel so special. XD

Review Replies
phetiamwantip: *throws hands in the air* I TAKE ZERO CREDIT FOR THIS PLAN. NONE.

2240713356: Nobody likes Resurrected/Oni Garmadon, we're getting Sensei Garmadon and we're KEEPING HIM.

Tomura-chan: Pfff, when has Abby ever been rash or reckless? (note the sarcasm)

"So where are we going?" Lloyd yelled over the wind as we flew over Ninjago. I didn't respond immediately as I stared at the landscape racing beneath us. My stomach felt like it had plummeted to my shoes, but I wasn't overly terrified of our current height. I had worked through my petrifying fear enough over the years that it was now more of a considerable wariness. Even so, I kept my arms wrapped around the Green Ninja's middle, not caring if the gesture was a bit too intimate. If he wasn't uncomfortable, then I certainly wasn't going to be.

"The Ninjago Museum of History!" I shouted, my words ripping from my mouth, "There's an artifact there called the Allied Armor of Azure; it can help a person summon allies from anywhere, even from across realms. In the original timeline, Morro used it to bring his ghost buddies from the Cursed Realm to help him, so I don't see why it shouldn't work for Sensei Garmadon too."

Lloyd didn't reply, but I could read his excitement in the way his dragon rumbled, shaking itself impatiently. The boy was eager to follow through with the plan, and I couldn't blame him. I prayed I wasn't getting his hopes up for no reason, but I had to admit that I felt pretty confident in this idea. If I remembered correctly, the show never said the Allied Armor only summoned ghosts. That was just the only thing Morro ever used it for. I was certain we could use it to bring Sensei Garmadon back from the Cursed Realm.

Even so, I had convinced Lloyd not to tell the others about our plan quite yet. It would have taken too long to explain to everyone, and I didn't want to distract from Nya's training (or at least, any more than I already had). It was best that only Lloyd and I went for now. We could surprise everyone else when we returned with his father.

It didn't take as long as I would have thought for us to reach Ninjago City. This was my first visit to the city since I went shopping with Nya, so I found myself surveying the landscape with a keen interest. The city was big, but surprisingly open, enough that I could see down the individual streets as Lloyd lowered his dragon to fly over the rooftops. A few people noticed us and started waving for attention, pulling out phones to take photos. Lloyd obliged a few of them, gliding low enough over the streets that the fans could get good pictures, but he didn't stop to chat.

In a matter of minutes, we had reached the museum. My stomach was fluttering with butterflies, and my whole body buzzed with frantic energy as Lloyd led the way inside. At first, no one seemed to pay us any mind, as Lloyd was in casual clothes instead of his ninja gi. Even so, he self-consciously pulled the hood of his jacket up over his face.

"Let's find the curator quick," He muttered to me as we hurried toward the front desk, "Before people start swarming."

I nodded, casting a swift look at the crowd to make sure no one had recognized the boy. Considering how many times they had saved Ninjago, I wasn't surprised the Ninja were popular enough to draw a crowd. Lloyd especially, considering his showdown with the Overlord and his brief stint as the Golden Ninja. Personally, I thought it was odd they hadn't reached celebrity status until Skybound, and even odder that they hadn't attracted much attention while passing out flyers in the first episode of Possession. I shrugged it off as having to do more with the show's inconsistency than any fluctuation in the Ninja's popularity.

We reached the front desk without too much problem, and after Lloyd explained who he was and why we were there, the receptionist scurried off to track down the museum's curator. We moved off to an empty part of the lobby to wait, hoping no one noticed us.

While I stood leaning against the wall, Lloyd just couldn't seem to stay still. He leaned against the wall for a moment, then pushed off to start pacing. His expression was tight, and he kept throwing glances at the door where the receptionist had disappeared. His anxiety got so bad that I finally stepped in his path, forcing him to stop pacing.

"Hey," I said gently, reaching up to squeeze his shoulder, "It's going to be okay. We're going to get your dad back, and everything's going to be all right."

"I… I hope so," The boy sighed, looking at the floor, "But I can't stop thinking… It's been months. What if he's changed? What if something in the Cursed Realm… I don't know, messed with his head or something? And I… I said some things to him. Before he… left. And I never said sorry…"

"Whoa, hey," I cut him off sharply, "You can stop that. I'm going to tell you one thing right now; no matter what version of your father it is—evil or good—he has always, always loved you. You know it, and I know it. It doesn't matter what you said to him is in the past. He's going to be overjoyed to see you."

Lloyd chuckled, and while it sounded forced, he also looked a bit better.

"Thanks, Abby," He said, giving me a grateful smile, "If this works… Just… I don't know what to say…"

"Thank you is fine," I replied with a smile of my own, "I want your dad back too. He's a good man and a good father, Devourer venom or no."

"Yeah," Lloyd said quietly, turning his eyes away, "I know."

As the conversation lulled, I happened to glance over his shoulder, and I spotted the receptionist returning, followed by an old man. The second I caught sight of him, my blood ran cold.

It was Krux.

Or rather, Krux disguised as Doctor Sander Saunders. I had known he was at the museum, of course, but I hadn't anticipated meeting him so soon. I had been waiting to share information on the Time Twins until after we had stopped Morro, but now, seeing the man in person… Future events suddenly seemed much closer than they should.

"Abby?" Lloyd's questioning voice snapped me from my thoughts, and I turned to see him giving me a mildly-confused look, "Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah, fine," I lied smoothly, smiling and waving my hand to dismiss his concern, "Just had a thought. Don't worry about it."

The boy shrugged and turned away, and I let out a silent sigh of relief. I felt bad about keeping the information from the Ninja, especially when I couldn't help thinking about Ray and Maya, locked away by Krux and forced to work for him. But I knew I had to be careful with handling the future. If I tried to deal with everything at once, I ran more risk of putting someone in danger. It killed me to have to leave Kai and Nya in the dark, and worse, leave their parents in captivity. But, I promised myself, it would be the first thing I'd take care of after Morro. As long as Krux didn't know about me, he had no reason to suspect his days were numbered. His time would come. I just had to be patient.

Shoving away my discomfort, I followed Lloyd as he went to greet 'Dr. Saunders.'

"Thanks for meeting me on such short notice," The boy said, shaking hands with the man; an action that made my skin crawl.

"Of course, of course!" Krux (I couldn't bring myself to call him by his fake name) said in his funny Saunders accent, "I will be always making time for my favorite ninja, ahaha!"

My stomach lurched as he turned his eyes to me, saying, "And who is this? A young lover for the Green Ninja, hmm?"

He wiggled his eyebrows at Lloyd, whose face immediately turned pink as I burst into giggles.

"I… No… We're not..!" The boy stammered.

"We're just friends," I interjected, saving him the embarrassment, "I'm twenty; way too old for this kid."

I elbowed Lloyd playfully in the ribs. He squirmed away from me with a protest, but still gave me a grateful look. I tilted my head in acknowledgement before turning my attention back to Krux as he hummed, "Ah, well. So what is it that brings you both here today?"

"Well, we were wondering if we could ask a favor," Lloyd said carefully, giving the man an awkward smile, "Is it possible for us to maybe… borrow one of your artifacts for a minute?"

Krux's eyes widened in surprise, and he exclaimed, "Borrow one of the artifacts here at the museum? What for?"

"It's… Um…"

"We don't really need to borrow it," I jumped in again, "Just take a look at it. See, I've been doing some extra reading for one of my college history classes and stumbled on a mention of this artifact, the Allied Armor of Azure. I really wanted to look at it, but I found out it wasn't on display. I mentioned it to Lloyd," I gave the boy a half-apologetic look, "And he said he could get me in to see it? I promise, it will only take a minute or two. We won't even leave the museum."

I had come up with this story on the way to the museum, for this scenario in particular. I figured Lloyd didn't want people knowing about his personal business, and what was more, I doubted some would be too keen on bringing back Garmadon, despite his sacrifice on their behalf. Of course, knowing Krux was the curator, it was even more imperative that he did not know what we were doing. Who knew what he could do if he decided to utilize the Allied Armor?

"Hmm…" The old man stared at me, his eyes piercing. My stomach churned, and my heart began to pound the longer he looked at me. I wasn't surprised if he was suspicious of me. I had never been seen with the Ninja before, and now I was suddenly showing up in his museum asking to see one of his archived relics. I desperately hoped he couldn't see my internal panic as I pasted on an innocent smile.

Thankfully, it seemed my lie actually convinced him. The man's face split into a grin, and he said jovially, "Well, well, is not every day I meet a true lover of history! I will take you then! Come, come!"

Beckoning us to follow, he scurried off, chattering the whole way. Lloyd raised his eyebrows at me as we hurried after Krux. The boy looked impressed, though I wished he didn't. Lying wasn't something to be impressed about. I was just relieved Krux bought it and that I had accidentally earned his favor. I wondered if I could use this to my advantage in the future, but I immediately dismissed the idea. I didn't want to spend any more time with the villain than I had to.

*Krux enters the story*
Me: What are you doing here? Wait your turn! *attempts to shoo him back to season 7*

I CANNOT write Dr. Saunders talk, it's HARD. :P