Author's note: The last half of this chapter I edited, so the style is a little different (:
Sunday
The next morning, Lloyd met his friends at the front of the school again.
When they had all arrived, they started for the park.
"On the way back, can we grab something to eat? I'm starving," Cole said.
Kai shrugged. "It's your money."
"Hey, do you think you could get something for me, too?" Jay asked. "Specifically ice cream?"
Cole sighed. "I was more thinking for lunch or a snack, but whatever."
Jay grinned. "Thanks!" He turned to Lloyd. "Have you ever had ice cream before?"
Lloyd shook his head no. "At least, I don't think so…"
Jay turned back to Cole. "And could you—"
Cole waved him off. "Yeah, yeah, I'll get some for Lloyd, too."
"Hey, what about the rest of us?!" Kai asked.
Cole rolled his eyes. "You guys seem to think I'm rich or something…"
"Well, compared to us, you are," Jay said.
Cole just shook his head. "Whatever. Guess I'm buying you all something…"
"You do not have to get me anything," Zane told him.
"It's fine, Zane," Cole assured him. "Besides, I know that you love ice cream."
Zane shifted uncomfortably, looking guilty, but he knew that Cole was right. He did really love ice cream, but it was more for the cold feeling of it which he now suspected was because of his elemental power.
"Thank you, then," Zane said.
An hour later, they reached the park.
Lloyd looked at it in awe. It closely resembled the Outcast, except that the trees were smaller. It was also a relatively small park, and Lloyd could see that there were concrete paths that you could walk on. Lloyd preferred to walk off the paths, but he followed his friends who stayed on the path.
"Man, this place is kind of creepy now, especially after going into the Outcast," Kai remarked, shuddering.
"Yeah," Jay agreed, shoving his hands into his pockets. He glanced side to side, as if expecting an attack.
Nya rolled her eyes. "Will you two relax? There's no half breeds here!"
Lloyd involuntarily stiffened, knowing that she was wrong—hewas here. And her remark reminded him that he wasn't supposed to be here. He felt chills go up his spine in sudden anxiety, but tried to calm himself.
Nya glanced at him, looking skeptical. "Ugh, you too?" She shook her head, quickening her pace, and walked on ahead of them.
Kai and Jay exchanged a glance, and Cole shrugged.
Wu had been training Morro for about thirty minutes—they had been sparring—when Morro suddenly stopped. Wu gave him a puzzled look.
"There's something I want," Morro told him, narrowing his eyes.
Wu felt a pit of dread form in his stomach. This couldn't be good.
"As you know, I want revenge on the half breeds," Morro said.
"I know," Wu replied dryly. "I'm already training you. What else could you possibly want?"
"I know that you have some pretty powerful artifacts in your possession."
Wu didn't like where he was going with this…
"I want the Forbidden Spinjitzu Scrolls."
Wu's eyes widened in shock. "What? Why?" The Forbidden Spinjitzu Scrolls had been made by Wu's father when he and Garmadon had been children. Wu had no idea how Morro could possibly know about them.
"They can… how should I put this? Enhance elemental powers."
Wu shook his head, feeling dismayed.
"Where are they?" Morro demanded.
Wu wasn't sure what to do. The Forbidden Spinjitzu Scrolls could indeed enhance elemental powers, but not only that. They could also enhance a person's abilities. And, Morro was already very good. He had already almost mastered Spinjitzu, he had improved alarmingly fast, and his power over the wind was very strong. Wu was afraid that any more power would make him invincible, or at least almost. And Morro hated the half breeds. He wanted revenge on them. If Wu just handed Morro the power he needed to get his revenge, then who knewwhatwould happen. Realistically, he would probably kill Wu first, since he was a half breed. Then he may go after Lloyd and Garmadon, and possibly Misako, and then the rest of the half breeds.
"Well?!" Morro snapped, growing impatient.
Wu set his jaw, having made up his mind. "No." He couldn't hand all that power over to Morro, especially since it would mean the demise of so many.
"What do you mean, 'no'?!" Morro growled, looking enraged.
"I cannot give you the scrolls. You would only use them for evil, and exact your revenge on innocent people."
Morro took a threatening step towards him, sword raised. "If you don't hand over the scrolls, then I'll tell the city about Lloyd. And I don't know if you've noticed, but he's currently there." A faint smirk of triumph appeared on Morro's face. Apparently, he thought he'd won with that statement.
Wu felt a wave of fear. If Lloyd was caught, then he would most certainly be executed…
But he shook his head, knowing that he would have to deny Morro's demand.
"My answer is still no."
"Alright, then. Have it your way," Morro replied coolly, and turned to go, fury in his eyes.
Wu's eyes widened, realizing what he was doing. He was going to report Lloyd. Wu raised his staff, knowing that he had to try and stop Morro. But, before he could make a move, Morro suddenly turned around and sent a blast of wind at him, sending him flying into the wall of the monastery.
"Can't have you warning him, now, can we?" Morro smirked, an evil glint in his eye.
Wu stood up, shaking off his surprise, and then leaped at Morro. Morro side-stepped him, and then thrust his sword at his back. Wu barely managed to duck in time.
Morro thrust his hand towards the monastery, using his power to blow a rope into his hand. Wu turned towards Morro, realizing that he may have trained himtoowell. He wasn't going to win this fight.
Morro turned towards him, and using spinjitzu, tied him up to one of the pillars of the monastery. Wu squirmed, trying to free himself. Morro walked off, disappearing through the doors of the monastery.
Wu realized with regret that he shouldn't have trained Morro in the first place. At least if he'd refused earlier, then maybe he could have beat him. And now Lloyd was going to pay the price for his mistake…
Morro walked into the police station, hands in his pockets, and headed over to some random officer. The officer was holding a clipboard, mumbling to himself.
"Hey," Morro said, grabbing his attention.
"Can I help you?" the policeman asked.
"Yes," Morro replied, narrowing his eyes. "There's a half breed in the city."
The officer's eyes widened. "What? Where?"
"I believe he's at Ninjago Central Park."
Morro felt a flash of satisfaction, and had to refrain from smirking.
"Hey, Lloyd!" Jay stood on a giant boulder, wobbling a bit, but steadied himself. "Ever see a rock this big?"
Lloyd nodded, smiling. "I've seen one that's bigger."
"Aw, man!" Jay pouted, slouching. "I was hoping you hadn't, since you haven't seen most things…"
Lloyd smirked. "Sorry, but I do know some things."
Jay huffed, looking disappointed, and then jumped off the boulder.
Nya laughed good-naturedly, elbowing Kai. "Well, at least you all aren't still terrified about there being half breeds around here."
Kai gave her an insulted look. "Hey, who said I was terrified?" He crossed his arms, scowling. "I just said that this place was creepy!"
"And I never even said anything on the matter," Cole grumbled.
"And I'm not terrified… Well, not exactly… I'm just, uh, cautious…" Jay fiddled with his hands, a nervous chuckle escaping him.
"Sure…" Nya rolled her eyes, not looking like she believed any of them.
There was a crunch of sticks and leaves then, and they all turned, hearing what sounded like multiple footsteps coming towards them—
The Ninjago City Army and several police officers were suddenly bursting out of the forest, slowing when they neared and surrounding them on all sides like an ambush.
Lloyd sucked in a startled breath, feeling his heart jump into his throat at the sight of them. He heard a few startled exclamations from his friends. What in Ninjago—?
One of the men stepped forward, his katana out and ready. "Step away from the half breed!"
Half breed. Lloyd blinked. The world was suddenly grinding to a halt.
Wait, did he—? He meant—?
Wait, HIM?
The rippling shock and confusion shook Lloyd to his core as he suddenly realized what was truly happening. How does he—? Wha—?
Out of the corner of his eye, he vaguely—almost subconsciously—noticed his friends staring at the army leader, brows furrowed and eyes confused. And then their gazes landed on the army's weapons, their pointed looks—they were all at him. Shocked disbelief erupted on their faces. Their gazes snapped towards him, staring, eyes wide.
Lloyd's breath caught. His legs suddenly felt like lead.
Then his thoughts were suddenly whirling, a building of anxiety and panic suddenly surfacing in his chest and his heart was suddenly beating too fast and he was pretty sure he suddenly couldn't breathe—
This wasn't happening. It didn't feel real. Like he was in a dream—
No. A nightmare.
"Wait, you're a half breed?!" Jay screeched—the first to find his voice.
Lloyd's gaze snapped towards him, seeing his hurt, betrayed look.
"Wait a second, so you were lying to us this whole time?!" Kai's hands suddenly balled into fists, his face contorting into rage as he took a threatening step towards him.
Lloyd glanced at him, then stumbled back, sucking in a sharp intake but it felt like air wasn't coming—
"Back away from the half breed!" the army guy repeated.
Lloyd risked a glance at the others, his eyes landing on Cole. His eyes had narrowed, glinting dangerously—he looked furious. Betrayed. Hurt.Suddenly, all of his fears about him became much too real and he was already panicking he knew that but—
Why did it hurt so much?
Kai and Cole looked ready to pummel him. And Zane—he glanced at him, seeing his widened eyes, the shock in them hurting even more—
Lloyd backed even further away, swallowing hard. "Guys…I…I'm sorry! I-I…I didn't mean—" He realized he was pleading with them, his throat tightening and feeling the sting of unshed tears in his eyes and he knew that no matter what he said, it wouldn't change anything—he was still a half breed, an outcast. A feeling of choking and utter despair welled up inside his chest. Sharp, brutal betrayal stung him—just like his once-were friends. He wasn't even sure why, since he had been the betrayer. Not them. They didn't deserve this.
He suddenly regretted having not listened to his father to keep a low profile and not to associate with anyone, he regretted wanting to explore the city, and most of all he regretted going to school in a city full of humans who wanted to murder him. Because now, his most dreaded fear was becoming a reality—he had been caught. And now they would kill him.
He swallowed hard, his breath catching and his throat seeming to constrict even more. He stumbled back blindly, eyes darting every which way, trying to find a way through their defenses so he could escape—
"I said back away!" the army guy said again, this time taking a step forwards.
He saw Jay and Nya hesitate, looking too shocked to move, but then they did as told. They both looked…afraid of him. Like…he would hurt them…
"No." Zane's face hardened with determination. He started towards Lloyd, his gaze meeting his, and Lloyd stumbled back again, suddenly unsure of his intentions, and he didn't know if he'd actually hurt him this was Zane—
Kai and Cole also advanced.
Lloyd's gaze snapped towards them. No, no, no— His chest tightened, and his heart was pounding and he felt adrenaline surge through him—
He bolted.
When Jay and Nya had backed away, it had left an opening for him. He barely managed to stumble past some of the army and police officers.
He felt the burning gazes of his former friends drill into his back as he fled.