The Explorer's Club was somehow still up and running at two in the morning. Of course, Lloyd had already warned them of this. Apparently, most club members liked to go on and on about their exploits and adventures. To the point that yes, they could start a meeting at four o'clock in the afternoon and still be in the midst of it late at night.
"So, what's the plan?" Nya asked Cole, as he returned from his scouting.
"Simple," he answered. "We're going to sneak in from the roof. They won't even notice we're there." This dissatisfied Lloyd, who had previously given them a complete rundown of the building's inside structure. They had waited a full fifteen minutes for the great ninja leader to come back with a plan, only for it to be… This? Really?
"What if they do catch us?" Lloyd asked.
"We'll improvise," Cole answered curtly, giving him a challenging look. Lloyd frowned, dissatisfied by the answer, but held his tongue. One of the conditions of his participation was not challenging Cole's leadership. Which he seemed to be in the habit of. Much to Cole's irritation (like the not-so-little brat could do any better, Cole grouchily thought to himself).
"Will you be able to get to the roof without attracting attention?" Zane asked Lloyd.
"I told you before. Best of the best in practical modules," Lloyd coolly answered. "That includes stealth and infiltration, by the way."
Satisfied with that answer, the three ninjas jumped off the roof they'd been lurking on and began an elegant climb up to the club's roof. Lloyd couldn't help but admire them for a moment, before he hurriedly clambered after them, somewhat less elegant from the exhaustion of that night. He did not dare mention how tired he was to the Ninja. They'd send him home immediately and he had to see if they would break in and steal stuff. He had a bet to win.
Once they were on the roof, they hit their first snag. The ventilation system had a razor-sharp fan blocking safe entrance. It blew out hot air, and anyone foolish enough to stick an arm in would lose their hand. Before Lloyd could conjure up a snarky remark at their imminent failure, Nya stuck her spear into the duct, effectively blocking the fan. Zane then hit it with ice, freezing the fan and spear in place.
Again, Lloyd found himself simply staring. Without speaking a word, the Ninja had come up with a solution to their problem and were ready to continue, as if nothing had happened. Lloyd had never witnessed a team so in sync with each other that words were not needed for communication. They just instinctively knew what to do.
Nya pulled out some rope from her belt and hooked it into a nearby crevice. Once certain that it would not slip, she started climbing down. Lloyd watched Nya and Zane disappear into the vent and found that he was feeling a little… jealous. He wished he was part of a team that was that close-knit. He doubted he ever would be though, what with villains generally suffering from chronic backstabbing disorder.
Cole motioned for Lloyd to follow Nya and Zane, but the boy (to Cole's irritation) hesitated. Lloyd looked at the steadily melting ice with suspicion. Rather than get further annoyed, Cole reassured "It'll hold." It was a calm voice that would have convinced Lloyd in any other occasion. Unfortunately, the ice ominously creaked just as he spoke. Cole couldn't help wincing at the sound. "It'll hold for long enough," he amended. Deciding he had no other options, Lloyd slowly lowered himself into the vent. He heard Cole climb in above him. Another ominous creak followed.
Lloyd focused on climbing down but didn't get far. Zane had stopped lowering himself. He looked up and talked straight at Cole, ignoring Lloyd who was sandwiched in-between.
"The vent leads straight down. They'll see us."
Cole frowned.
"Can't Nya poke her head out? Maybe throw a rock to distract them."
"And where would I get a rock?" Nya hissed from somewhere below. There was another ominous creak, far louder than the previous. Lloyd looked up, passed Cole, to see that the ice was rapidly melting.
"Uh… Ninja…?" Lloyd spoke up, but unfortunately it was too late. Cole managed to look up, just before the ice was crushed, the rope cut through cleanly, and they plummeted like a rock to the floor below. Nya had the misfortune of landing first, followed by Zane on top of her, then Lloyd and finally Cole, who initially landed on top of Lloyd… Then sank right through the pile and disappeared beneath the floor. They looked up, to find three club members staring at them, completely stunned.
Busted.
"What in the world?" one of the old men asked.
"What is the meaning of this!" another demanded.
"Uuh…" Nya stuttered out, despite still being squished beneath both Zane and Lloyd (not that Lloyd weighed much). "Sorry, we're, uh…"
"Working on the air conditioning?" Lloyd piped up, as he climbed off the pile. Just in time to avoid a spear splitting him in half. It embedded itself in the floor, mere inches from Zane's face. The nindroid quickly got to his feet and the three offered awkward smiles. The club members did not look impressed. It was such a blatant lie - two of the intruders were dressed as ninja and the other was in the school uniform of a notorious super villain school. It didn't take math to put two and two together here.
"Security!" one of the members screeched and almost immediately, three security guards burst in, followed by yet another old man. A lot of old men in this club.
"Interlopers, hm? We'll soon sort you out," the new old-man arrival claimed, approaching them menacingly. However, before he could get even a step in, Cole burst out of the floor.
"OOoooOOoh, I'm the ninja ghost! One of your old relics has brought me here and I will now haunt you!" he fibbed in the absolutely least intimidating manner ever. It was like watching a living cartoon instead of a fearsome phantom. Still, the dorky display did the trick. The club members panicked, not recognizing the black ninja at all (if they had ever even heard of the ninja, the Explorer's Club seemed to be two centuries behind the times). Zane and Nya wasted no time bolting into action. Nya dislodged her spear and Zane grabbed Lloyd's wrist, dragging him toward the nearest exit.
"Forget the ghost, they're escaping!" someone yelled, just as they slammed the door shut. Zane threw some ice around the doorknob, effectively locking it.
"That will buy us some time," he said. "It seems Cole will be distracting them, while we look for the lantern."
They turned to face the room. Unlike the lounge they had just been in, it was dark, cluttered. Cobwebbed. A thin layer of dust was on most objects in the room, but not all.
"I think they store ancient relics here. Ones that haven't been catalogued yet. Recent finds," Lloyd muttered, eyeing the various artefacts nervously. He had heard all sorts of things about the Explorer's Club's collection. He was wise enough not to touch anything.
"So the lantern will be here?" Nya asked.
"Yeah, I think so. It was only found last week, so it won't have been properly stored away yet. Just… lying around somewhere obvious," Lloyd explained. The two ninja gave him a nod, before they spread out across the room, searching for the lantern. Lloyd followed suit, wandering into the far back, around boxes and…
Lloyd screamed.
Nya instantly came running.
"What, what is it?" she hurriedly demanded, holding her spear threateningly towards any possible menaces. Lloyd hesitantly pointed at his reflection in a mirror.
"It- it-" he stuttered, not able to get any words out. His voice was shaken and weak. Nya looked at the mirror, and her eyes widened. This was apparently no ordinary mirror. Instead of reflecting Lloyd in his school uniform, it was reflecting Lloyd in the Green Ninja gi.
"What…" she whispered.
"I-it's not real, right?" Lloyd asked. Zane finally joined them, just as Nya caught sight of her own reflection.
"Lloyd, are you alright?" Zane asked and Lloyd shook his head.
"Lloyd, it's ok," Nya reassured him.
"But it's me- as the Green Ninja!"
"No, seriously, it's ok," Nya repeated.
"What's this about the green ninja?" Zane asked, concerned.
"That mirror is magic," Nya explained. "And it's reflecting Lloyd in a green gi. But it's not real," she insisted.
"How do you know that?" Lloyd demanded. There was anger in his voice, but also desperation. Please tell me it's not true.
"Because the mirror shows what you fear. When I look in the mirror, I see me as a normal person. A version of me that never achieved anything, never did anything… Never became Samurai X, never became a ninja…" She let out a deep sigh. "And I know that's not my future. It's just my fear."
Zane covered the mirror with a sheet without ever looking into it. "How do you know about the Green Ninja?" Zane asked Lloyd.
"That's a good question," Nya agreed.
Lloyd opened and shut his mouth.
"Shouldn't we find the lantern?" he asked, in an attempt to dodge the question. He tried to duck out of their way, but Zane grabbed his arm. It wasn't a tight grip, it didn't hurt, but Lloyd still froze, not daring to take another step.
"Lloyd, this is important. Did you learn it at Darkley's?" Zane asked.
"No, my… I have a friend," Lloyd quietly admitted. "She's really interested in history and happened to find out about the legend of the Green Ninja. She shared it with me."
"Can we assume 'she' is a Darkley's student like you?" Nya asked, suspiciously.
"No. She's not. And she hasn't told anyone but me," Lloyd told them. There was no dishonesty in his eyes, but both ninjas struggled to believe him.
"And what do you intend on doing with this information?" Zane asked. Lloyd's eyes hardened and suddenly, he didn't look like some tagalong kid anymore. He broke free of Zane's grip and looked every bit the villain-in-training that he was. He looked like Lord Garmadon's son.
"If the Green Ninja is ever found," Lloyd said without wavering. "I'll make it my mission to kill him." The tone was cold and determined. "Until then, nothing. I won't do anything with it." He walked past them, to another corner of the room. "Now come on, I thought we were looking for a lantern."
Nya and Zane shot each other a look. Ever since they had met Lloyd Garmadon, they had kind of known that the teen would sooner or later become a major problem. He was going to a school for super villains, his father was perhaps the greatest villain in Ninjago history, and he had every reason to despise the Green Ninja. Despite this, now finally facing the inevitability of their chosen paths, it was… disheartening. Because… limited as their contact with Lloyd was…
He really did not seem that bad a kid.
But… Lloyd had clearly made up his mind about the Green Ninja. His determination to kill him. Lloyd was rapidly becoming a legitimate threat to whoever the Green Ninja was. He was already demonstrating just how dangerous he could be at fourteen, having broken in and out of Kryptarium like it was a walk through the park.
So young, and already a dangerous foe to anyone that stood against him. Sooner or later, someone was going to die and both ninjas had an idea of who it was going to be.
"You think there's anything we can do about him?" Nya whispered to Zane. The master of ice hesitantly shook his head.
"I fear… our situation is no longer ideal. If Master Wu had lived, then we would have been able to help him effectively, while he was still a child. I do not know if he is willing to change now. If we can make any difference at all."
"So, we shouldn't bother?" she asked. She tried to hide it, but the despair was evident in her voice.
Zane paused for a moment, thoughtfully. Then he shook his head. "That is not a solution either. But I believe it will be hard to reach him. As he gets older, it will get harder still."
Nya sighed and looked over to Lloyd, who was carefully pushing books and scrolls aside.
"Ugh, we've been so caught up in everything else, Lloyd just kind of fell out of the picture. We need to prioritize him from now on. We can't risk… anyone."
Zane hummed in certain agreement but made no further comments.
"I found it!" Lloyd called out, running over to them, holding up the lantern.
"This is the map?" Nya asked, looking at it suspiciously. Zane gently took it from Lloyd and inspected it.
"I believe it needs to be lit to be read," he stated.
"It should point you to the island of the tiger widow spiders," Lloyd added. Nya and Zane looked at it thoughtfully, wondering if this really held any solution to their current problems.
Then Cole ran through the door, into the room.
"Guys, I hope you found it, because it's time to go!" he shouted. This was quickly followed by the door getting slammed open, breaking off its hinges.
"Get them!" one of the security guards yelled, before throwing a water bucket in Cole's direction. Nya instinctively blocked it, protecting Cole, before the Ninja (and Lloyd) hurriedly ran out of the room, locking the door behind them. Zane once again encased the doorhandle in ice.
He held up the lantern to Cole, showing that yes, they had found it. Cole barely acknowledged it though, walking straight to the window. He poked his head out, inspecting the outside structure, before turning back to his team.
"Ok guys, we can climb out this way. Let's go before they call the police."
"The windows are locked," Lloyd pointed out.
"They've already broken down their own door, I think a window won't hurt them," Nya replied, before throwing a chair at the window. It broke, glass shattering out and falling to the ground below. It was a clean break, with very few shards left in the paneling itself. "Who goes first?" she asked. Zane moved forward and carefully climbed out, followed by Lloyd, Nya and lastly, Cole.
The climb back down to street level was not as elegant as their climb upwards, but it was faster and more efficient. They were hiding in the shadows across the street, before the Explorer's Club ever got a chance to look out the broken window. Cole watched the club search for them for several moments. They gave up rather quickly.
"They're probably calling the police, we can't stay here," Cole muttered quietly. He paused, thoughtfully. "But I think we're good for now."
"Thank you for your help, Lloyd," Zane said, as he leaned over to the teenager. "We can now defeat the djinn, thanks to your intel."
Lloyd looked surprised but all the same shrugged. "Don't thank me," he simply said. "It's not wanted." He was trying to play it cool, but he was rather obviously pleased about being thanked, even if also a little flustered. He wasn't accustomed to being thanked for anything.
"Are you going to be able to get back in time?" Cole asked. He didn't bother hiding his concern, which seemed to actually make the teen happy. Lloyd wasn't accustomed to people worrying about him either. He took his phone out of his pocket, to check the time. He then shrugged.
"Should be. It'll be tight, but I've had worse odds," Lloyd admitted. His phone started buzzing before he finished speaking.
"Did you leave your phone on during a break-in?" Nya asked incredulously, but Lloyd ignored her. He looked at the name flashing on the screen. "Hang on, I gotta take this," he simply said, as he picked up and walked away, but not out of actual earshot. A high-pitched voice rattled on the line.
"Oh hey," Lloyd said. "Was just about to call. No, we don't need your help, we got in no problem. Yeah, you owe me twice. Don't be a sour loser. Oh. Yep. We got the lantern. Told you they would break in if they had to. Ok. Yeah, ok, see you later." He then hung up and turned back to them. The Ninja looked at each other.
"Help?" Cole questioned.
"Yeah. I know a member of the explorer's club," Lloyd replied nonchalantly and now it made sense that he hadn't left. He wanted them to know that they had never needed to break into the club.
"You mean… We could have simply walked in and asked? Instead of spending two hours essentially conducting a heist?" Zane asked, alarmed. Lloyd grinned widely and nodded.
"Yup!"
"You little…" Nya muttered under her breath, visibly angry.
"Looks like it's my time to go. See ya around Ninja," Lloyd immediately spouted out, quickly ducking out of Nya's way and escaping up a fire escape. He was actually pretty impressive, nimbly moving up the levels to the roof, before disappearing out of sight. And just like that, Lloyd had left their adventure.
Nya muttered curses under her breath, while Zane seemed to settle for bemusement. Cole was just glad that Lloyd was not their responsibility. The kid was quickly shaping up to be reckless trouble no matter which side he fought on, and Cole already had enough of a hard time managing his own team. Lloyd was a full-time job and then some.
The Ninja headed to their meet-up point and eventually, the Bounty emerged over the horizon. To their shock though, they were greeted only by Morro. Kai and Jay were absent.
"Where's Jay?" Cole asked.
"Where's Kai?" Nya pressed.
"I don't know," Morro answered. He was trying to sound nonchalant, but there was an edge in his tone. "Jay suddenly took off and Kai went after him."
"That is… not ideal," Zane said, now deeply concerned, his previous good mood forgotten. "I thought we agreed that no one can be left alone while the djinn is free."
"Yeah, well, tell Jay," Morro retorted. "He's the one that suddenly ran off. Don't know where or why. But Kai should be with him, so they're both safe."
"Well… That's something," Nya said, only slightly relieved. "But that means we get to try and find them…" Cole was rubbing his forehead. He had given them one mission and somehow only one third of that team had returned. The other two thirds had absconded.
At least they had the Bounty back. That should make finding Kai and Jay easier.
FSM, he hoped so.