Somewhere in the Merged Realms

In all his life, Lloyd had never imagined that flying with a dragon could be so terrifying. The poor ninja was dangling from Toothless's mouth, being held up by nothing but the dragon's teeth and his hood. And to top it all off, being up that high in the sky scared Lloyd to death. He had never liked heights when he was young, and he certainly didn't like them right now. The worst part was that it had all happened so suddenly, he wasn't a bit prepared for it—and neither were his friends. As he tried not to panic, he began wishing that Twinkle or Andrew or any of the other Ninja Pups were there with him.

He thought back on all he had been through in the past, particularly what happened after—Lloyd gulped—Harumi had betrayed him. Back then, he had felt so hurt by what happened that he'd closed himself off—had built an invisible shell around himself, to keep from being hurt again. Poor Twinkle—his own connector—had tried over and over again to break through that shell, but with no success. It wasn't until he had unlocked his Oni Form that he'd realized just what he had done. The bitter memory flashed into his mind unwillingly.

Garmadon lay on the ground, wounded by the Overlord. Twinkle and Andrew just stood there, stunned by what had just happened. Harumi had been knocked into a crystal pillar and Matthew was standing beside her, numb and frightened. But Lloyd just looked down at his father and begged with all his might for him to survive, to live. Of all the feelings he had ever felt toward his father, he only felt one now—complete and utter despair. He and Garmadon may not have been on the same side, but even he would never have wished this on the one who had both loved and betrayed him.

"Hold on. You'll…you'll be okay. I'll get you out of here!"

"No, save…save yourself." his father answered weakly. "Save the…the Legacy Twins. It's too late for me." With that, Garmadon closed his eyes for what seemed to be the final time.

"No!" Lloyd cried out in pain and anger. Andrew screamed in shock at what he had just seen. Twinkle's eyes filled with tears as she stood there, not believing her eyes. The Overlord simply laughed and said, "Don't grieve. You and your friends will be joining him soon."

That was the last straw. Lloyd cried out in rage as his eyes glowed purple. He could feel himself changing, transforming, taking on the Oni Form he had never wanted to unlock in the first place. But he didn't care. Only one thing mattered now—the Overlord would pay for what he had done.

Beside him, Twinkle cried out, "Lloyd, what are you doing?!" Andrew's shrieks grew louder in his fear at the sight unfolding before him. But Lloyd barely noticed as he began firing bolts of Destruction power at the Overlord. The bolts hit their mark, and the Overlord reeled backwards.

But then something happened. As Lloyd approached a crystal pillar, he suddenly saw his reflection. And not just his reflection, but the reflections of his friends. Twinkle's eyes were full of tears as she tried desperately to pull a sobbing, shrieking Andrew away from Lloyd. The sight pricked Lloyd at the heart, and he cried out, "NO!" as he fell to his knees and reverted back to his human form.

He had tried so desperately to not be like his father—cold, ruthless, uncaring. He had tried even more desperately to not be like Harumi—willing to betray those who cared about her the most. But in the end, he had done both. Worse, his closest friend, Twinkle, had suffered the most from Lloyd's continuously pushing her away. The poor pup had done so much for him—she had had his back from the very beginning and had never stopped trying to win back the friend she had once known. And he had turned her away—rejected her. All for the sake of trying to not be hurt again.

The tearful words that Twinkle had said to him in the sewers came back to him: "You've changed, Lloyd…and it's breaking my heart!" He had not wanted to admit it before, but the sting of those words convinced him that they had been true. Twinkle had given him her love and kindness over and over and over again, and he had rejected it.

And as he thought over these things, he did something that he had let no one, not even Twinkle, see him do in a long time.

He started to cry.

Right there, right in front of the Overlord, head in his hands, he let out great tears of grief, of despair, and of regret. All the hurt and bitterness that he'd been carrying inside of himself for all these months came pouring out in a great cascade of tears.

He flinched as he suddenly felt a light touch on his shoulder. He looked up shyly and saw Twinkle standing beside him—not saying anything, not doing anything. Just looking at him. And the look she gave him made him feel even more guilty—for the look was one of complete, unconditional love.

A love that had seen past his faults.

A love that had refused to die even when he had rejected it.

A love that had endured through so much—so many months of sorrow, so many days of grief, and so many moments of hope that the friend she had once known would return.

"Twinkle," Lloyd whispered hoarsely. "Can you ever forgive me?"

"I already have, Lloyd." she replied. "You're not just my friend—you're my family."

Thinking back on that pivotal night, Lloyd felt the lump in his throat grow even bigger. He thought once again on what Twinkle had said.

You're not just my friend—you're my family.

Just like the last thing Wu had said to him before the Merge struck—"Remember: family is key."

Wu had not known how right he was—for Lloyd could clearly remember what it had been like for him after the Merge. The young ninja had woken up in the dojo, confused and alone. He had lived there for many months afterward, having Andrew as his only companion. And for the first time in a long while, he had experienced firsthand what it was like to not have teammates who would put their lives on the line to save him. He had known what it was like to truly be alone.

A sudden confused growl jerked Lloyd out of his thoughts. He looked up suddenly, then gasped in fright. The energy tail he had given the dragon was flickering and looked like it was going to disappear at any moment. Sure enough, the next moment it did, and Lloyd found himself and the dragon hurtling towards the sea.

Lloyd screamed in terror and fright. They were going to crash! Just then he spotted some sort of island. "There! Go there!" he shouted stupidly, hoping the dragon would have enough sense to angle towards the island. Apparently, the dragon did have enough sense, as he changed the angle of his downward plunge so the two would (hopefully) land on solid ground. The island came hurtling towards them faster than Lloyd thought it would, and a few seconds later, the two had crashed onto the shore and rolled into the forest a ways right before the dragon accidentally threw Lloyd into the air. The ninja sailed through the air just before slamming into a giant oak tree. A sharp pain exploded in Lloyd's head, and everything went black as he hit the ground—hard.