With Lloyd's help, busting out of Kryptarium had almost been too easy. He had known that the police wouldn't have any measures in place to prevent elemental masters from escaping. The authorities had relied too heavily on the vengestone cuffs.

First, Cole had lifted the heavy metal gate, so that they could all climb out. Jay then took out the entire network system with lightning. It came with the downside of letting literally everyone else out of their cells, but in the chaos, the Ninja were able to sneak into Kryptarium's offices, retrieve their things and, more importantly, reclaim Kai's golden weapon. They had then easily slipped away into the sewer systems, getting spat out into a lake some way away from the prison.

It seemed Lloyd's help didn't end there though. He had arrived at Kryptarium in a stolen van. And this was their only ticket back to the city. Not that they had been happy to get in. After kicking up a fuss about it being stolen and then about whether or not it was roadworthy, Lloyd had politely informed them that they could always walk back to Ninjago City. It wasn't like they had a djinn to stop.

That had convinced them to at least agree to use the van. But then they had also lost the battle for who got to be the driver. When Cole had attempted to get into the driver's seat, Lloyd had pretty much thrown a hissy fit, before (once he had calmed down) pointing out that if they were to get caught on camera, the entire police force would be after them and they'd all end up back in Kryptarium.

"What, and seeing you wouldn't attract attention?" Morro snidely asked. Lloyd looked at him flatly, then held up his hands, like he was weighing two options.

"The Ninja, former protectors of Ninjago and now potentially the most dangerous criminals Ninjago has ever known," he said, looking at one hand. Then he looked at the other, "one teenage delinquent known for petty theft, vandalism and disturbance of the peace. Hm… I wonder which one they'll prioritize right now."

Having made his point, the Ninja reluctantly let the underage and license-less driver take the wheel. It turned out; Lloyd wasn't actually that bad at driving. Cole still sat next to him, hand hovering over the handbrake, just in case anything should go wrong. It was one of the few times that Cole was grateful for being a ghost – when they came across speed cameras, he could simply turn invisible, which meant Lloyd couldn't argue his way out of a co-driver. And, admittedly, Cole was a little smug that of the two ghosts, only he could convince Lloyd to stay within the speed limit. For some reason, Lloyd absolutely refused to do anything Morro said.

The drive had at first been a little awkward and tense, but once everyone was certain that Lloyd was a halfway decent driver (and Cole could intervene should anything go wrong or Lloyd tried something), one by one the Ninja had fallen asleep. All except Lloyd and the two ghosts (who were physically incapable of sleeping). Morro was seated furthest away from Lloyd, silent in the back, listening to some music through his retrieved headphones. He didn't seem bothered that Kai had fallen onto his shoulder while sleeping. Or that Kai was now drooling on his gi.

Lloyd and Cole had, in the meanwhile, fallen into easy conversation, to both their surprise. Neither would admit it, but they were actually enjoying the discussion, even when it took a bad turn. To themselves, they rationalized their ease away: Cole assumed he liked talking to Lloyd because Lloyd didn't see him as any kind of leader, while Lloyd assumed he enjoyed it, because the teen was tired, allowing his innate trustfulness to bleed through. They were both wrong.

"I mean, what's your hurry anyway?" Cole asked. Lloyd had wanted to drive to Ninjago City as fast as possible (ergo breaking the speed limits), but Cole had kindly reminded him that doing so would unnecessarily attract police attention. Lloyd clenched his teeth.

"You think it's coincidence that everyone's wanting to visit the Ninja tomorrow? We're in the middle of exams," the teen explained, "and there's a really strict policy that we can't leave school grounds during exam period. That's why they want to get you tomorrow; That's when the exams are over, and we can do whatever we want again! So, I've got to be back before anyone wakes up. And we would be there by now if you'd let me speed a little."

"Nah, this is a good speed," Cole easily dismissed. "You're actually pretty good at following the traffic code, when you want to. Keep this up and you might be able to get an actual license. You know, once you're old enough."

Lloyd stuck his tongue out at him, but otherwise said nothing.

"You know," Cole continued musing, "I would have thought a school for bad boys wouldn't care if you break the rules."

"As long as it's not their rules, they don't. Besides, Principle Ignoble has it out for me. Ever since I hid a nest of tiger wasps in his room, he's been trying to turn my life into a cursed realm. Do you know how much it sucks to constantly be on best behavior, because one toe out of line and you'll get suspended during exam period, meaning you'll fail every single class? Then you get stuck in summer school, and you miss out on practical experience…"

"What, teach can't take a prank?"

"Pranks aren't evil. Just childish. That's what Ignoble says anyway. What does he know about evil anyway, he's lived behind a desk all his life…" Lloyd grumbled. Cole didn't need the whole story to know there was more history there than merely a prank gone wrong.

They were silent for a few moments as the road went by. There wasn't much to look at, the landscape was fairly plain, and few travelled at midnight. No passing cars, no trucks. Silence. The moon shone brightly in the night sky and this far out from Ninjago City, the stars were visible. It was peaceful. You would never have thought that there'd been a jailbreak from Ninjago's most inescapable prison just over an hour ago.

"Thanks," Cole abruptly said. Lloyd shot him a look, surprised, and confused.

"For what?" he asked.

"Eyes on the road."

"Right."

"And it's thanks for getting us out. Seems you've got a lot to lose by being here instead of there."

Lloyd made a noise that sounded like a mixture of shock, bafflement, and embarrassment. Like he wasn't used to being thanked. Or shown any kind of gratitude. So, Cole decided to heap it on while he could.

"I mean, I know you only did it as a favor for a friend, but I think you…"

"Who told you that?"

"What?"

"My friend. Who told you?" Lloyd demanded. Cole noticed that Lloyd's hands had tightened around the steering wheel.

"Zane," Cole calmly answered. "You said it while we were breaking out and he heard."

Lloyd frowned but decided he didn't need to argue otherwise. He didn't like the direction their current conversation was going anyway, so maybe he could use this to convince them that thanking him was a waste of time. His grip loosened.

"Well. Fine. You got me. I'm only doing this for a friend, so you shouldn't be thanking me," Lloyd told Cole. "You should be thanking her. I would have left you to rot if…"

"So, it's a girl?" Cole interrupted, giving Lloyd a knowing smile. As expected, Lloyd's face flushed pink.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Lloyd claimed, hunching over the steering wheel, eyes suddenly glued to the road ahead. Cole just kept smiling and Lloyd actually reached over to hit him. His arm went straight through Cole, of course. "Shut up," he snapped.

"I didn't say anything," Cole answered.

"Well, you're- you're, stop smiling like that!"

"First crush?" Cole asked.

"Nooo," Lloyd all but whined. "We're just really good friends. I don't think of her like that."

"You sure?"

"Yes!"

"Your face tells me otherwise…" Cole teased. "Ah, another bad boy lost to the wiles of a girl… I thought that only happened in Jay and Nya's soppy romcoms."

"I'm not- I… I want someone else to sit here."

"Well, your only other option is Morro, so…"

Lloyd looked in the rear mirror, like he was genuinely considering it. Then he sank into his seat and looked like he was pondering his chances if he just jumped out the window.

"No, I believe you," Cole reassured. "If you say you're just friends, then you're just friends. Don't go overthinking it now." Lloyd relaxed at that, looking less defensive.

"Don't tell them?" he hesitantly asked, eyes flicking towards the sleeping ninja in the back, like this was a terrible, embarrassing secret. Because to Lloyd, Cole realized, this was a terrible, embarrassing secret.

And suddenly, this wasn't the son of Garmadon sitting next to him. This was a kid. A kid that had helped them break out of Kryptarium for his friend.

Was he a brat? Yep. Did he have a criminal record long enough to make most parents cry? Definitely. But he was still a kid, apparently just now discovering how complicated and intense feelings could get, irrelevant of whether platonic or romantic.

"Consider my lips sealed," Cole promised. Lloyd gave him a soft, thankful smile and yeah, that sealed the deal. Lloyd was an annoying brat, but he had an earnest, warm smile (who would have thought!)

Another silence lapsed.

"What's it like?" Lloyd asked, changing topic.

"What's what like?"

"Being a ghost. What's it like?" he repeated. Cole tensed. He shifted in his seat.

"It's ok," he finally answered. "Took some getting used to."

"That's all?" Lloyd asked, unconvinced. Cole looked out the window.

"Yeah." He hadn't even talked to his team about it yet. Not really. So, he sure wasn't going to spill his guts to Lloyd. The kid deflated a little, looking disappointed. A silence fell over them again. Cole tried to ignore it, but in the end…

"Cake doesn't taste of anything," he admitted. He could share a little bit with Lloyd. But not about anything that really mattered.

"Really? So, you can't eat?"

"I can. I just don't taste anything," Cole corrected. "Kinda takes the joy out of eating, but I do it for them," he explained, looking back at his sleeping team. "It helps them think I'm still me. That nothing's changed. And, you know… I'm apparently in the habit of eating cake, even if I can't taste it." He couldn't help but wince at that, remembering that technically, they wouldn't have needed Lloyd's help if he hadn't helped himself to Skylor's cake… But it had looked so inviting and that woman could cook. Even though he couldn't taste it anymore, the memory of what it should have tasted like lingered. "I, uh… Haven't told the others. Yet. Morro obviously already knows since he's a ghost too…" Lloyd flinched at Morro's mention. "What is your beef with him anyway? Like, I know you say you hate us, but FSM, I get the feeling you'd actually kill Morro if you got the chance."

"I… did not like being possessed," Lloyd flatly answered. He looked in the rear mirror, at Kai's sleeping form. He was still slouched against Morro's shoulder, still drooling. He looked peaceful. "How does Kai do it? With Morro? I mean, how can he stand to be in the same room as him?"

Cole rubbed the back of his neck. There was a lot the team tended not to talk about. At least, not openly… For the most part, Kai seemed ok with having Morro around, but Cole had never actually sat Kai down and asked him about it… "I, ah… To be honest, I don't know. But I do know we let Morro join the team, because of Kai. He's the one that convinced us to give Morro a chance. And he convinced Morro to stay."

Lloyd's fingers tensed, an icy grip around the steering wheel as he took a sharp intake of breath.

"Oh?" he asked. "Why would you need to convince Morro to stay?" Neither of them noticed Jay beginning to stir in the back. Cole sighed.

"Ok… So, I don't know how much you know, but there was this battle in Stiix. We defeated this monster called the Preeminent and as she sank into the water, she grabbed Morro. Kai was there and had a chance to save him, so he decided to try. But he had to convince Morro to take his hand first. Since then…"

"They've worked it out," Lloyd finished. "Even though Morro possessed him? For, like, weeks?"

"Yeah. I mean, we've still got a lot to work through, but…" Cole explained. "At the time… Back then, Morro didn't know better." Cole looked back. Jay was now pretending to sleep. The rest of the team still was.

Morro was pretty spaced out, staring out the window. His gaze was relaxed, and he was definitely unaffected by Kai's drooling. If anything, it seemed the close contact comforted him (and not just because as a ghost, the sense of touch had a whole new meaning and value). Morro looked… happy. Listening to whatever awful indie music he had recently discovered, but happy, nonetheless.

Cole continued. "To be honest, any one of us could have been him. It's only fair we give him a chance to redeem himself."

Lloyd's frown deepened as he became more confused.

"What do you mean?" Lloyd asked. "He's a murderous ghost, you are Ninjago's greatest heroes. He almost destroyed Ninjago, you've single-handedly saved it three times! What do you have in common with him?"

Cole fell silent. On one hand, he was flattered by Lloyd's unintentional compliments, but at the same time, he was made painfully aware of just how little anyone knew anything about the Ninja and… their trials and temptations. The answer to his question was simple: all the Ninja, even Nya, had once hoped to be the Green Ninja. The disappointment upon discovering they weren't…

Cole almost instinctively admitted it, but he held his tongue. He knew he shouldn't talk about the prophecy of the Green Ninja. It wasn't that they kept it secret, just that… Now that they were famous (and popular), they didn't need everyone knowing they were technically missing a seventh member. They would get so many false leads and cold callers…

That aside, Lloyd Garmadon was probably the last person that should know anything about the Green Ninja, considering who his dad was. Cole didn't know much about Lloyd, but the kid reeked of the same kind of desperation that Morro had suffered from, prior to the ghost joining the Ninja. Sure, now Lloyd was just a dumb kid with a long list of mistakes, but if this Darkley's student ever found out who the Green Ninja was, if he ever got a whiff of the person destined to kill his father… Cole would place his bets on Lloyd trying to kill them, fueled by that horrendous desperation. It was a very dangerous kind of desperation.

But Cole had to say something in Morro's defense. The Green Ninja prophecy was clearly off the table, but there still had to be something he could say. While most of Ninjago had gladly accepted Morro as the sixth member of the Ninja, there were still many that had not forgotten what he had almost done. And they (understandably) weren't that willing to forgive.

"Look, Lloyd… The thing with Morro is… He wanted to be the best," Cole explained, choosing his words carefully. "He didn't have a team to keep him grounded. The only real difference between him and us is that we had each other. We kept each other in check, we kept each other balanced. Well, and Sensei chose not to tell us… certain things. Whereas with Morro, he…"

"What's Uncle Wu got to do with Morro? He died before Morro showed up," Lloyd interrupted. Cole flinched. He forgot that Lloyd wasn't just Lord Garmadon's son. He was also his former sensei's nephew. Like a forgotten piece of Wu.

"I know you didn't really get to know your uncle…" Cole cautiously started explaining. "But… Uh… Sensei Wu didn't like telling us things. From his past. Or, uh, about certain ancient myths and legends. And it wasn't out of malice or anything. We think the reason he told us as little as possible is… Morro." He paused momentarily. Lloyd gave him a questioning look. "Morro was Sensei's first student. Before us," Cole continued, "He died before any of us were born too, he…" He sighed. "Morro says that Sensei never hid anything from him. He told him everything, almost thoughtlessly. Which isn't how we experienced our sensei. We had to fight for every word he said."

"Morro was one of Uncle Wu's students?" Lloyd asked incredulously, looking into the rear mirror in shock. He hadn't known. He then sobered. "So… He was happy to… to take someone like Morro in…?" Lloyd weakly asked.

Cole didn't quite understand Lloyd's sudden bout of forlornness. He turned to Lloyd, but then he saw the glassy eyes. Finally, his stupid brain filled in the blanks.

"Aw, kid…" Cole couldn't help but say. "It's not like that."

Jay frowned, daring to peek at the two in front of him. It wasn't like he had been meaning to eavesdrop, but it was too late to stop now. From where he was sitting, he could tell Lloyd was shutting down on Cole. The two had apparently managed to hold a civilized conversation, but now Lloyd had a tension in his shoulders, his head hung low, and his elbows were neatly tucked by his sides, like he was trying to use as little space as possible. Cole reached out to give Lloyd a pat on the shoulder, but his hand withdrew at the last moment. The touch would have been too familiar.

"You know… A few weeks after the… memorial," he instead started explaining, "a letter arrived for Wu. It was official paperwork and… I don't know why, but instead of throwing it on the pile like I usually do, I bothered to open it, because hey, he's not around to open it anymore and I really should see what all these letters are about…" He nervously tried to wet his lips, forgetting that he was a ghost. "It was a confirmation letter. He got custody of you."

"What?" Lloyd asked, sounding… hollow. Like he wasn't really hearing what Cole was saying.

"That's what I was thinking too. So, I went through Wu's paperwork. I'd been putting it off for weeks, but now I had a reason to go through it. Turns out, ever since he bailed you out of the police station, he had been trying to get custody of you from Darkley's. Unfortunately… it never amounted to anything, since he, uh… Yeah."

"I… I don't understand…"

"Your uncle wanted to take you in. I don't know why he waited until he had to bail you out, but… He cared. He cared about you. And he wanted to look after you." Cole paused. "I… uh… actually tried to get custody of you," he awkwardly added. "You know. Since Wu had managed to get approval, I assumed he'd want you to live with us. But, uh… They don't let thirteen-year-olds live with nineteen-year-olds. Especially when they're not related. And in the event of death; custody reverts back to the original custodians… So, Darkley's. I… kind of left it at that." He paused again. "Sorry."

"What if I didn't want to leave with you," Lloyd said. It wasn't a question.

"We wouldn't have forced you to. But if you want out… You have the choice."

Jay noticed Cole using present tense. As if the option were still standing. Which seemed… insane. The two couldn't have been talking for so long that in Cole's eyes, all Lloyd's troublemaking could easily be swept under the carpet. Then again, Cole had always been a big softie. He had been the first to warm up to Morro, after Kai.

"Good thing I don't want out then," Lloyd replied through gritted teeth. Cole looked at him, studying the prickly teenager next to him.

"I guess so," Cole finally concluded, sinking back into his seat. This seemed the most opportune time to wake up, Jay decided. He twisted, turned, then stretched and let out a big yawn, getting their attention.

"We there yet?" Jay asked, rubbing sleep dust out of his eyes.

"We're not far," Lloyd answered.

"Cool. So, what's the plan?"

"The plan…" Cole muttered, rubbing his face. "Well, first things first, we get the Bounty back."

"Oh, no, we're not doing that," Lloyd interrupted. "We're going to get a map first."

Cole was massaging his temples, as if he had suddenly gotten a headache.

"Ok, first things first Lloyd, you are not in charge here."

"I'm driving the van, aren't I?"

"Yeah. That makes you the ride. Don't you have-"

"What map?" Jay interrupted. Lloyd had that evil little twinkle in his eyes again, like he knew he'd successfully overruled Cole (again).

"The only thing that can slow a djinn down is the venom of a tiger widow and tiger widows can only be found on one island in the whole of Ninjago. For a long time, no one knew its location, but lucky for you, several weeks ago, a young explorer found the Misfortune's Keep, some pirates' old ship. The map to the island was found there, disguised as a lantern. It's now at the Explorer's Club. We're going to get that map."

"Now hang on. Why is this the first I'm hearing of this?" Cole demanded.

"It wasn't relevant before," Lloyd replied. "But I'm pretty sure the best thing is to go to the Explorer's Club and steal the map."

"Steal? Why would we steal it?" Jay asked. "We can just ask or…"

"Seriously? With a warrant on your head?" Lloyd questioned. "Besides, this is the Explorer's Club. They're very exclusive. The only way in is if you're a member… Or you're a thief. Just so you know, membership takes years and we don't have years. So, what will it be, ninja?"

Cole levelled a glare at Lloyd, then looked out the window pensively.

"Why would we need tiger venom anyway? Is that even a thing?" Jay continued asking. He had never been good with silences.

"Tiger widow venom, yeah," Lloyd happily answered. "A, uh… 'source' told me that djinns move really fast. If you want any chance at defeating your djinn, you're going to have to slow him down."

Jay looked fairly unconvinced.

"Ok," Cole spoke up. "Jay, how does this sound. We split up. Some of us go and get the Bounty, the rest will try and get the map from the Explorer's Club." He paused, then added, "Lloyd goes home."

"What?" Lloyd complained.

"You said it yourself: You need to be back at Darkley's before sun-up. So: Go. Home."

"But you can't break in without me!"

"Lloyd, we're Ninja. We might not be thieves, but I think we know how to sneak around. You go home," Cole argued back. Lloyd actually had the nerve to slam on the brakes, jerking everyone else awake. Lloyd turned to him fully, ignoring the complaints from the back.

"I broke into Kryptarium, and I busted you out! I also know where the club is, I know the layout, I know what the map looks like, are you sure you can do without me?" he snapped. Cole stayed calm, sternly crossing his arms.

"The real question is, can you work in a team?" Cole retorted. To his immense satisfaction, Lloyd hesitated to answer.

"What's going on?" Kai asked, sitting up.

"We're almost back in Ninjago City," Jay explained quietly, while Cole and Lloyd had their showdown. "Cole's figuring out what we'll do next, but Lloyd is… being Lloyd. Trying to get control."

"So dump the little twerp already," Morro groused.

"Morro, he helped us, show some gratitude!" Nya quietly rebuked him.

"But Morro is right," Zane interjected. "Lloyd is not part of the team and so, does not have any say in matters involving the team. On the other hand… We can't just 'dump' him."

They looked to the two drivers at the front. Lloyd had still not answered.

"I can learn," Lloyd finally concluded.

"Can you? This is pretty high stakes stuff, Lloyd," Cole countered.

"So? You work with people outside the team all the time. And it's not like you guys were that tight-knit at the beginning. It still worked."

"You're fourteen."

"So was Nya when she became Samurai X!"

"How do you know that?" Kai asked suspiciously from the back. Lloyd simply shrugged.

"You spend enough time around certain people, you hear things," the teenager answered mysteriously.

Cole rolled back his shoulders, then turned to his team. "Ok, this is what we've got so far. Half of us are going to go and get the Bounty. The other half is going to break into the explorer's club-" Cole hurriedly spoke over the outrage, "to reclaim a map that will hopefully lead us to a djinn's one weakness: Tiger widow venom. Now, Lloyd here wants to join that team. Since I'm not the only one that will be stuck with him, who else is in favor?"

The Ninja looked at each other, to see what the others would do. Nya and Zane raised their hands first. It was down to Kai, Jay and Morro. They were still shooting each other looks. Slowly, Kai's hand went up, followed by Morro. Only Jay and Cole's hands remained down.

"Four against two. Ok Lloyd. Looks like you're tagging along."

Lloyd beamed at him.

"But if you're kicked out of school for turning up after sunrise, you do not blame us, got it?"

"Got it!" he replied, starting the van again. "Trust me, you're not gonna regret having me around!"

Cole was regretting it already.

I'm sticking to a ten-chapter format, so the chapter lengths will vary greatly. I hope it'll still be a fun read, even when some chapters are shorter or longer than others.