CHAPTER SIX
THE NOT-SO-FINAL, FINAL BATTLE

A CHANCE AT FIGHTING BACK

HAVE YOU EVER FELT YOUR FINAL MOMENTS OF LIFE APPROACHING? Before today, Hiro hadn't. He thought he had, of course, when he'd first been locked away; then again, when he'd escaped his father's grasp, only to run into the Ninja and be launched into a fight with them. Then he thought he was going to die when he was stabbed, only to be saved by the one person who probably wanted to see him dead the most (except for his father, of course). But none of those moments compared to being surrounded by the Stone Army, swords pointed at him from every direction, while being exhausted, hungry, and hurt, all while doing his best to protect his friend, the person destined to kill his father.

Later, Hiro would learn that a lot of people claimed that their entire lives flashed before their eyes as they experienced a life-threatening situation. That didn't happen for Hiro. For one, he didn't have enough of a life for it to be memorable, even to him. Two, he was too focused on protecting Lloyd (and the Ninja, he supposed) to get distracted with the meaningless idea of dying. Hiro had lived his whole life wanting to be dead. Now that he had something to fight for, dying wasn't a priority anymore.

"Avashiro," Kozu spat, his voice heard above the chaos. Hiro's eyes found him standing above the Stone Warriors, his sword pointed at Hiro. Hiro raised his own blade in challenge.

"At least you aren't calling me The Heir anymore," he muttered, taking a few steps in Kozu's direction. He'd just been issues a challenge by the leader of the Stone Army, and he wasn't about to back down. Besides, it seemed that the Warriors who were attacking him were stepping back, realizing that their leader wanted the opportunity of personally killing Hiro. Hiro wondered how much respect Kozu was going to get from The Overlord for killing his son. Hiro couldn't imagine that it would be a lot — his father didn't respect anyone, even those that he had created.

Oh, God. Kozu had been created by The Overlord, too. Did that mean he and Hiro were technically brothers?

"Hiro!" Lloyd shouted, stopping him in his tracks. "Stay back!" It was an order, not a suggestion.

Hiro growled under his breath and took a few steps back. He looked at the Ninja for a moment, seeing that they were still on the ground and surrounded by Stone Warriors. Their Elemental Blades would do little to protect them if they couldn't stand. Hiro closed his eyes and let his power wrap around a few of the Warriors surrounding the Ninja — any more and his power would fizzle, overtaken by his exhaustion. He opened his eyes and threw his arms out, sending the few Warriors into their brethren, creating enough room for the Ninja to stand. Kai, Cole, Jay, and Zane jumped to their feet, Blades held out. Hiro dodged an incoming attack on his right and managed to help Lloyd get to his feet.

"Watch out!" Zane yelled. Hiro turned, holding up his sword. Right as the Stone Warrior in front of him struck it, the Warrior froze.

All the Warriors froze.

Hiro slowly lowered his sword, suspicious that this was a trick. Hesitantly, he tapped the Stone Warrior, waiting for it to spring to life and kill him for good. But nothing happened. Hiro turned, sharing a confused look with Lloyd. He heard Zane tell the ground that the Army was frozen, but his attention was drawn to the top of Garmatron, looking for any sign of his father. There was none, only a soft glow from the clouds as the sun tried its best to get through the blanket of fog over Ninjago.

Hiro turned his head when he heard the sound of dragon wings approaching. He saw Ultra slowly descending from the sky. "All hail the Brown Ninja!" Kozu shouted, almost making Hiro jump out of his skin. He raised his sword, but there was no attack from the Stone Army. "What do you command?"

Jay scoffed. "Brown Ninja?" he asked incredulously.

Hiro frowned. "Wait, I thought I met the entire team. How many more Ninja are there?" he asked, directing his question to Lloyd.

Lloyd sheepishly scratched the back of his neck. "Eh, Dareth isn't really a ninja. He's not on our team, either. He's an ally."

Hiro squinted at him. That answer wasn't satisfying in the slightest.

"Hehe, what's up, fellas?" a voice atop Ultra asked. Hiro's gaze shifted from Lloyd to a man on top of the dragon, who stood proudly, wearing the Helmet of Darkness. "Looks like we all know who's in command now." As Ultra landed, the Stone Army backed away, making room for their new leader. Dareth, as Lloyd had called him, was a brown-haired, brown-eyed, tanned white man, wearing the ugliest clothes Hiro had ever seen. But he supposed he couldn't judge the man who had just saved their asses from the Stone Army.

"The Helmet controls the Army!" Cole realized. He chuckled. "Well done!"

Hiro scowled. "How long have we had this information and why didn't we use it to stop the clock?" he asked, turning to Zane, who shrugged, looking just as confused about the question as Hiro felt. Hiro facepalmed. Was there anything this team could get right? First it was thinking that only Garmadon could be the Dark Lord in the prophecy, now it was not using the Helmet of Darkness sooner. If they'd used that Helmet when they'd had the chance, perhaps they wouldn't be standing here preparing to fight The Overlord.

"I need to get to the top of that fortress," Lloyd explained, pointing to the top of Garmatron. He frowned, looking down at his leg. "I may not be able to get there by myself, but with your help, I can face him!" He looked at the team hopefully, then glanced at Hiro, smiling. Hiro nodded, showing his support. It may not have been as flashy as the Ninja activating their Elemental Blades and putting them together to show their own encouragement, but Hiro hoped that Lloyd understood all the same. Hiro wasn't going anywhere.

"Ninja, go!" Dareth shouted, pointing Kai's Elemental Blade — when had Kai given it to him? — at the sky. Above, The Overlord roared in fury, having finally realized that he no longer controlled his own army. "Army! About face!" The Stone Army lined up in rows, ready to charge. "Stone Army, go!" With Kozu leading the charge, the Stone Army began running up the steps of the fortress. Hiro's attention was stuck on his father, who looked down on everyone below him. He almost didn't notice that Nya was shooting the Stone Army down before they could even round the corner, killing off what was once thought of as an indestructible army.

Hiro swallowed, looking into his father's eyes. A chill ran down his spine. He wasn't sure if he could do this.

He felt a hand on his arm. He broke his gaze away from his father and saw Lloyd standing there, smiling at him. "Come on, while she's distracted," he said, nodding to Ultra, who was flying around the fortress to take Nya's attention away from the Ninja and Hiro. Hiro nodded, sparing one last look at The Overlord before smiling at Lloyd, ready to fight.

They began making their way up the steps. Kai and Zane lead the charge, with Cole and Jay helping Lloyd up the steps. Hiro stayed in the back, making sure there were no rouge Stone Warriors coming their way, or anything else, for that matter. By this point, anything was possible.

Hiro found Ultra once again circling the fortress. He worried for the dragon's safety, and he was proven right when Nya hit Ultra's tail with the laser. Wu turned Ultra around, hopefully to land — and unfortunately, taking away Nya's distraction, leaving her open to attack the Ninja. Hiro tore his eyes away just as his father shot a blast of Dark Matter in Ultra's direction. He would have to hope that Ultra, Wu, Misako, and Dr. Julien got away safely. The fight would feel easier if he knew they were safe from his father.

They were a few levels up the fortress, about to round a corner, when Jay shouted, "Look out!" Hiro jumped back as Jay pulled Lloyd away, leaving Cole to get hit by Dark Matter. Hiro's breath froze in his chest as he watched Cole kneel over in pain, Lloyd shouting for Cole to get up. Cole groaned, telling them to go without him.

Hiro reached out his hand, gently placing it on Cole's shoulder. Cole gasped, and for a moment it looked like the pain had lessened, but then Lloyd grabbed his arm and pulled Hiro away after Kai and Zane began running ahead. Hiro looked back once, seeing that Cole was completely hunched over, groaning in pain. Then he threw Lloyd's arm over his shoulder and began helping Jay get Lloyd up the stairs, taking Cole's place. In his free hand, he still held the Stone Warrior sword. It grew heavier the faster they climbed. He hoped that once this was over, they'd find a way to turn Nya and Cole back to normal. He wasn't sure what would happen to the team if it wasn't possible.

"I can't—" Lloyd began, slowing down. His voice cracked, racked with nerves. His eyes were wide, looking up at The Overlord, who stared down at them menacingly.

"Yes, you can," Hiro told him, voice sharp. Lloyd looked at him, surprised. "You're the Green Ninja, for fuck's sake. If you can't do this, no one else can."

"Hey, hey, hey," Jay chided as he and Hiro kept dragging Lloyd along. "Language."

Hiro rolled his eyes, making Lloyd chuckle. For a moment, the mood was lighter. What remained of the team kept going, nearing the top of the fortress. Hiro began to feel tired, a yawn crawling its way up his throat, but he stifled it. He couldn't focus on his own exhaustion when the Battle was about to come to an end. He could rest once it was over. They all could. But until that time came, they had more stairs to climb and more fights to finish.

"Oh—!" Jay gasped. Hiro grunted as he and Lloyd were pushed to the side. He saw the Dark Matter blast hit Jay, who began to shake as the pain overtook him.

"Jay!" Lloyd yelled.

"Get out of the way!" Jay ordered, grimacing. His eyes flashed from brown to purple before he shut them tightly.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Hiro muttered. He moved to the side, taking Lloyd with him. Kai swooped in to take Jay's place, and together he and Hiro began helping Lloyd climb the stairs, everyone a little faster this time. Hiro pushed the sight of Jay's expression of pain out of his mind. "We're almost there, just keep going," he said, more to himself than to Lloyd.

Zane groaned. "From my calculations, with the distance remaining to the top, the odds are that only one of us is going to make it!" he informed them. Hiro scowled at him, but refrained from making a comment. What a way to encourage the few that remained, he thought, though that thought was hypocritically bitter.

As if to prove him right, the sound of two snarls began growing louder behind them. Hiro turned, moving away from Lloyd, and saw Cole and Jay approaching them, Elemental Blades drawn. Their skin was gray, the same shade as Nya's, and their eyes were bright purple, the only colorful thing about them. Even their ninja gis had become dull, the color drained from their outfits just as it was from their souls. They were quickly approaching, intent clear in the way they glared at Zane, Kai, Hiro, and Lloyd.

"Go on. I'll hold them back," Zane announced, running past Hiro. He drew his Blade and stopped their strike, but backed up a step, as it was two against one and he was outnumbered. Hiro huffed, turning to look at Kai. They shared a look of understanding.

Hiro put a hand on Lloyd's shoulder. The blond looked at him, already shaking his head as he realized what Hiro was about to do. "Say goodbye to my dad for me," Hiro told him, trying to lighten to situation. "When you win, you can give me a tour of Ninjago."

"Hiro—!" Lloyd pleaded, but Kai began pulling him away. When they moved, Hiro dropped the Stone Warrior sword, but he barely noticed. He jumped into the fight beside Zane, and whatever Lloyd wanted to say was drowned out in the chaos that ensued.

Hiro didn't have an Elemental Blade, but he had his hands. He pushed Jay back with his power, annoyed to find that he couldn't just stop the blue ninja in his tracks. Well, he technically could, but that would involve throwing Jay over the side of the fortress, and Hiro was pretty sure that killing Jay and Cole wasn't allowed, even if they were evil. Jay growled at him, sending a blast of lightning in Hiro's direction. Hiro dodged, breaking his focus so he could get out of the way. This gave Cole enough time to turn and slash at Hiro's arm, the same one that belonged to his hurt shoulder.

Hiro snarled at him, pushing Cole toward Zane, who jumped between them and pushed Cole further up the stairs. Hiro turned his attention back to Jay, who was approaching quickly. Now that he was closer, he could see the dark bags under Jay's eyes. How long had Jay tried to fight the poison of the Dark Matter that had entered his body? Clearly long enough to be exhausted. Hiro raised his hands in front of him; Jay hesitated, clearly aware enough to know that Hiro could use his powers. But when he realized that Hiro was just as tired, he began advancing again. Hiro sighed, forcing his power to spread out, even as he began to feel it start to fizzle.

"Shiro!" Zane called. Hiro turned around in time to catch the sword that Zane threw at him. He caught the blade and quickly turned again to block Jay's strike.

"This isn't you," Hiro told him, though deep down he knew there was no pleading with someone infected with Dark Matter. "Snap out of it, Jay! Don't you want to see Nya again?"

Those words seemed to work, if only for a moment. His eyes cleared, as if he'd grasped onto one final moment of fleeting sanity. "Nya . . ." he said softly, like the name was foreign on his tongue. Hiro held his breath, getting his hopes up. If Jay could just remember, maybe he would come back, maybe he could help Lloyd, maybe—

A long, powerful roar erupted from the top of the fortress. Hiro shielded his eyes as his vision was overtaken by bright, neon purple light, and winced as heat began traveling down Garmatron. It seemed to go on forever, his father's power overtaking everything. Hiro's heart dropped as he realized that there was a very real possibility that Lloyd was going to lose the Final Battle.

Then the light died away, replaced with a faint golden shade instead. Hiro blinked the spots out of his eyes, seeing Jay running at him. He ducked, moving past Jay and down the stairs. When he turned around again, his eyes found Zane, and he gasped, nearly dropping the sword. At some point in the fight, Zane had been infected. Now his looks matched Jay's and Cole's, completed with the wicked sneer as the three boys began approaching Hiro slowly, Blades drawn. They didn't need to rush him. They had him outnumbered, and he was exhausted and already hurt. They were going to win.

He'd failed.

Hiro took a few more steps back, finding himself approaching one of the corners, a place he could easily fall off of. He looked up as he heard his father roar again and saw that The Overlord was now flying, hovering beside the top of the fortress. A golden light shinned on top, growing brighter with every second, until it flashed white. Hiro covered his eyes, and when he looked up again, he saw that there was a golden dragon on the edge of the fortress, far smaller than his father's final form.

"Argh!" Cole yelled, rushing at Hiro. Hiro pulled his gaze away from the fight as the golden dragon attacked The Overlord, surrounding him. Hiro moved out of the way, somewhat hoping Cole would run over the edge. He was disappointed when Cole pulled himself back. Hiro began backing up faster, leading the boys down the stairs again. The further he got their away from Lloyd, the easier Lloyd's fight would be.

A roar echoed through the air as Lloyd and The Overlord fell from the top of the building, only to fly back up, The Overlord still surrounded in golden power. Hiro raised his sword to block Jay's incoming attack, unable to tear his eyes away from the sight. He almost smiled. Lloyd was winning.

Hiro knocked Jay away and ran down to the other corner. He turned, waving his free hand. "Come on, boys! Is that all you got? I thought ninja were supposed to be good!" he taunted, enjoying his double-meaning joke. Zane and Cole growled, running at him as Jay got himself off the ground. With new energy, Hiro blocked Zane's attack and dodged Cole's, keeping himself out of the way of their Blades. He laughed — laughed — as Jay ran at him, only to trip and run into Cole, knocking him over. Hiro quickly began fighting with Zane as the other two struggled to untangle themselves.

"Come on, Zane, I thought you were the nice one," Hiro mocked, pouting. Zane brought his Blade down as Hiro brought his up, defending himself. "What happened? Did I hurt your feelings?"

"Shut up!" Zane snapped, surprising Hiro. He forgot that they could technically talk.

"No!" Hiro argued, moving away from another attack. He saw Cole and Jay running at him and quickly turned to flee. As he ran down the stairs, the light began growing dimmer. Hiro frowned, looking up to see what was blocking the light. He froze in place when he saw that a large black mass, darker than even his childhood prison, was taking over the sky, spreading across the city like a plague. The distraction gave Jay enough time to tackle him, sending them both to the ground and toward the edge of the stairs.

"Stop it!" Hiro ordered, throwing Jay off of him. His eyes widened as he realized that Jay was about to fall over the edge. The blue ninja was handing off the fortress with one hand, his Blade in the other. Without thinking, Hiro rushed toward him, kneeling. He held out his hand. "Jay!"

Jay stared at him, eyes emotionless. Hiro thought that Jay's lifeless expression would haunt his nightmares for a very long time.

A bright flash of gold and white nearly blinded Hiro, who fell back to cover his eyes. The weightless feeling returned, twisting his stomach into knots, but Hiro didn't have time to focus on the feeling before he found himself on the ground, looking up a bright blue, cloudless sky.

As Hiro's eyes adjusted to the sudden light — brighter than anything he'd even seen, even on the Dark Island — his other senses jogged to keep up. For a moment, all he heard he heard was a deafening silence, the kind of silence that left a loud, high pitched whine in his ears, numbing his senses. The only thing able to get past its barrier was his own breathing, quiet and heavy; he was alive, that much he could be sure of. Hiro was able to feel the pulse in his neck, thumping against his skin with a low thud with each second that passed. There was a ringing in his ears, growing fainter with every second, enough that he could hear the wind blowing through the city. His mouth was dry — that was the next thing he noticed. It felt like he'd been eating sand.

He opened his mouth then closed it again, hands clenching around the gravel below him, desperate to feel something other than the pain in his head — why was everything so bright and so loud? He couldn't seem to find the words to ask for help. His memories seemed like wisps of fog, escaping before he could reach them. He'd been in a fight . . . Lloyd and The Overlord . . . the darkness covering the sky . . . Jay . . . the light . . . All if it slowly came back as Hiro saw up, rubbing his eyes to get the black spots out of his vision.

A dragon's roar echoed through the air. Hiro froze, his stomach twisting, but he relaxed as soon as he looked up at saw Ultra descending onto the ground.

Hiro got himself to his feet, wrapping his arms around himself as the wind blew by once more. He realized that they were all standing in the ruins of the Garmatron fortress. It had been destroyed, and somehow he and the others weren't hurt. He spotted Kai and Jay reuniting with Nya, Cole helping Zane to his feet, and the others — except for Lloyd — helping each other off of Ultra's back. Dareth approached the team, yelling out something encouraging but the ringing in Hiro's ears refused to allow him to hear it. He sighed, staying a few feet away as the team gathered near Ultra.

"But where's Lloyd?" Kai asked, his voice carrying over to Hiro.

Hiro frowned, his heart jumping into his throat. There were too many emotions he was feeling at once — relief that they'd won, nervousness over approaching the team, terror over Lloyd's whereabouts. He could hardly keep up.

"Lloyd!" the team yelled, startling Hiro. He looked up at the golden dragon disappeared, allowing Lloyd to jump to the ground. Hiro winced, but it quickly became clear that Lloyd had been healed, his leg no longer a problem for him. Without thinking, Hiro rolled out his injured shoulder and was surprised to find that it didn't hurt at all. He frowned, looking at his arm that Cole had cut, and found that that was healed, too. And his energy . . . Hiro didn't feel tired anymore. Somehow, Lloyd had healed him, himself, and probably countless of others by winning the Final Battle.

Hiro pulled himself out of his thoughts as he saw Lloyd approaching, leaving the team as they laughed and joked around. His outfit was bright gold, matching the color of his new dragon. The sun bounced off the new suit, making it almost impossible for Hiro to look at him without feeling dizzy. Hiro sighed, offering an awkward smile. "Hi," he greeted once Lloyd was close enough, trying to avoid looking at his outfit. Lloyd paused.

"Hey," Lloyd replied. He smiled, glancing away sheepishly, and Hiro realized that Lloyd was waiting for him to make the first move.

Hiro huffed, shaking his head. Then he walked closer and pulled Lloyd into a hug. Lloyd let out a startled noise, then quickly hugged Hiro back, probably worried that the interaction wouldn't last long. Hiro was the first to pull away, quickly flicking Lloyd's arm.

"Ow!" Lloyd complained, taking a step back to rub the sore spot. "What was that for?"

"Making me think you were dead," Hiro said simply. Lloyd chuckled. Hiro looked around, taking in the sight of the ruins. He frowned. "So he's gone, then," he said. It wasn't a question. Lloyd shifted awkwardly, nodding. Hiro took a deep breath in, a million thoughts racing through his mind. Then he exhaled slowly, letting the questions melt away. He was safe. He was free. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," Lloyd pleaded. Hiro looked at him and saw Misako and Wu approaching. "I'm sorry it had to happen."

Hiro scoffed. "A dead dad is really all I can ask for," he said casually, the words not stinging in the slightest. But when he saw Lloyd's expression drop, he quickly felt a rush on anxiety, remembering that Lloyd was in the same situation with none of the same feelings. "Oh, my God, I'm so sorry, that was so harsh, I—" He choked, fumbling to a stop. Lloyd looked up at him, almost panicked. "I'm so sorry, Lloyd, I shouldn't have said that," he finished, wishing the earth would swallow him then and there.

Lloyd tried to smile. "It's okay, Hiro, I know you didn't mean for it to offend me."

Hiro covered his face, sighing. "I'm sorry," he said again as Misako and Wu finally reached them. Misako put a hand on Lloyd's shoulder.

"We will all miss your father," she said, which just made Hiro feel worse.

Lloyd nodded, giving his mom a hug. "We'll keep his memory alive," he promised.

Hiro turned away, feeling like nothing was going to stop him from feeling like the worst person in the world at that moment. That was until he laid eyes on a pile of rocks that was shifting, as if something was moving beneath them. He frowned, opening his mouth to point out the problem — seriously, when were they going to get a break — but he cut himself off when a man emerged from the wreckage, someone he had never seen before — at least, that's what he'd first thought.

His outfit was simple, black and white but mostly like Wu's outfit. His hair was grey, and his face had wrinkles, showing his age. No one else seemed to notice him except for Hiro. The man limped forward, pulling himself out of the rocks. He stopped when he saw Hiro, both of them staring at each other in silence. Hiro took a step back, finally making the connection. Everything about the man was different, even his eye color — but the same soul that had stared at Hiro through the trees only days ago was the same one behind this man's eyes. Somehow, Garmadon was alive. And even more astonishing, he wasn't evil.

"What—?"

"Lloyd!" Garmadon said, his voice louder than he probably intended for it to be. The team stopped, everyone turning to look at him. "What . . . what happened?" he asked, approaching Wu, Misako, and Lloyd. He looked around in confusion, squinting against the sun bearing down on him.

"Garmadon? Is it really you?" Misako asked, clearly not wanting to get her hopes up.

Garmadon smiled. Lloyd took a step forward. "Dad?" he asked, hesitant, as if he couldn't believe it. Hiro rolled his eyes and gave him a gentle push forward, which was all the encouragement Lloyd needed to run toward Garmadon. "Dad!" Lloyd shouted, hugging his father tightly.

Misako approached them, laughing in disbelief. "Every ounce of evil and venom is . . . gone," she realized, embracing her son and husband. Hiro smiled at the sight, glad that Lloyd got his happy ending after everything. He truly deserved it, after everything that he had gone through to save Ninjago.

"Aw, would you look at that?" Jay spoke up. Hiro turned his head, looking at the blue ninja. He wondered if Jay remembered what had happened before Lloyd had won. He hoped not — it was embarrassing enough that Hiro had tried to save the enemy. What would Jay make jokes about if he knew that Hiro had been genuinely scared of losing one of the Ninja? "Who would have thought we'd ever see the day? You think we should dog-pile them?" he asked, looking eager to cause some wholesome chaos.

"Let's give them their moment," Kai chided. "They earned it."

The team gathered around each other as Lloyd, Misako, and Garmadon moved away to catch up. Hiro stayed where he was for only a moment before moving to stand in the shade that Ultra provided. One of the dragon's heads lead down to his level, looking expectant. Hiro bit back a smile, reaching out to gently pet the dragon.

Hiro looked up at the towering buildings, finally seeing Ninjago the way it was meant to be seen — in the light. The shadows that were cast by the skyscrapers didn't scare him anymore. The sun shined down on his face and reflected off the windows. He wondered what sort of celebration the city would throw after the Ninja's victory. He wondered what would become of his father's final resting place. Most of all, he wondered if he was still welcomed to be near the Ninja, now that his father was dead and Hiro had no reason to stay with the team. He looked away from the light and turned toward the Ninja again, who were now celebrating their victory together, as they should be.

Hiro smiled, almost sadly. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned his head to see Wu, who didn't look at him but instead at his students. "Are you not going to join them?" he asked, sounding like he already knew the answer.

"I'm not part of the team. I'll let them have their moment," Hiro told him, echoing Kai's words.

"This is as much your victory as it is theirs," Wu told him. Hiro shrugged. "Will you stay with us, or leave to travel Ninjago?"

"I—" Hiro cut himself off, sighing. He didn't know the answer, for once. He thought he had it all figured out — once they won the battle, he'd leave. He'd settle into Ninjago. Maybe he'd help the Ninja out sometimes, but he'd mostly stay away. He didn't need to be near them any more that he already had been, even Lloyd. But some part of him didn't want to leave this team behind. Well, certain members, anyway, but even with his bitter rivalry with Kai, Hiro isn't sure he'd give up anyone on the team. The other part of him worried that he wouldn't have a choice. "I don't know," he admitted. "Your world isn't familiar. I don't know how I would survive. Maybe now that my father is gone, I'll go back to the island. Restart my life. It's a beautiful place when it isn't taken over by evil."

"You're leaving?" Hiro looked away from Wu to see Lloyd approaching from the Ninja's circle. His golden outfit wasn't nearly as blinding as it had been the first time Hiro saw it. Lloyd was frowning, brows furrowed. "You're going back to the island?"

"I don't know," Hiro repeated.

"Don't you want to stay?"

Hiro remained silent, thinking over his words. With Wu and Lloyd both looking at him expectantly, it was hard to sort through the thoughts running circles in his head in a timely manner. "Of course I want to stay," he finally relented. Lloyd smiled. "But," he added, hating the way Lloyd's smile dropped (and hating the way he was the reason for it), "I have no place in your world. I know nothing about it and I wouldn't exactly have a home, so it's better if I—"

"What do you mean?" Zane asked, coming up behind Lloyd. "Of course you have a home. You'd be with us. We could use someone like you on the team"

"I would?" Hiro asked at the same time Kai demanded, "We could?"

"Of course you would have a home with us, Avashiro, if you chose to stay," Wu assured. "We are not going to abandon you so easily. You're valuable to this team, and you're important to some of its members." Hiro didn't catch the teasing tone, nor the way Jay snickered and elbowed Lloyd, who pushed him away.

"Don't be so sure," Kai muttered, groaning when Nya elbowed him sharply.

Hiro shifted uncomfortably, once again wrapping his arms around himself. "I don't know," he said again, softer this time, less determined. "It's not the best idea."

"But it's an idea," Dr. Julien encouraged, smiling at him. Hiro met his eyes and shrugged, feeling terribly awkward about the pressure.

He wanted to stay with them. Of course he wanted to stay with them. It had only been a few days, and already he was loyal to a team he knew almost nothing about. But, God, he hated Kai and his temper, he hated Cole and his authoritative nature, he hated Jay and his stupid jokes, he hated Zane and his kindness; he hated Wu, who was so accepting of him, and Misako, who was so motherly that sometimes it made Hiro feel weird; he hated Dr. Julien, who took the time to encourage and reassure him; he hated Nya, who had always been nice to him, who would probably love it if Hiro stayed. And most of all, he hated Lloyd, who was so nice and understanding, who took the time to explain things, who had saved the world and still probably thought he wasn't worth the praise. He hated all of them. He hated everything.

But yet, he didn't. Sure, Kai's temper was an issue, but the red ninja had saved his life, and, yes, Cole was older and stricter, but he'd also been worried about Hiro; yeah, Jay was annoying, but he was nice, too, and he didn't seem to doubt Hiro's power; Zane was kind, too kind, but he understood Hiro in a way that not a lot of people would. It was as if they were on the same level. Wu took the time to hear his story and explain his powers, and Misako never had a bad thing to say to Hiro. Dr. Julien always took the time to show him how things worked, and had also been critical in saving his life. Nya was sweet, and Hiro knew she was already looking out for him when she'd made Kai shut up.

And, God, Lloyd was so understanding, so patient. He'd never been mean to Hiro out of spite, and after their talk on beach, he hadn't treated Hiro like glass. He'd forced Hiro to sleep so he wouldn't be so tired after getting hurt, and he seemed to have made it his mission to make sure Hiro always felt welcome.

He hated this team. And at the same time, he couldn't imagine being without them.

Hiro frowned, looking at Wu. "Just to be clear, I'm not wearing a bright costume."

Wu chuckled. "That can be arranged, I believe."

Hiro tried to fight back his smile, but when he met Lloyd's eyes, he couldn't help but grin. Lloyd's expression matched his own, the now Golden Ninja taking Hiro's happiness as a sign that he would be staying. Maybe it was crazy — maybe Hiro should've thought it through. He didn't need to stay with the Ninja. He could still be their ally without making a home with them. But at the same time, Hiro couldn't imagine what his life would look like without the team in his life, and he couldn't imagine surviving in this strange new world without their guidance. So he nodded, confirming that he would stay with them — rivalry with Kai be damned.

He couldn't describe the feeling that bloomed in his chest when Lloyd threw his arms around him and pulled him into a hug. He's not sure he would want to describe it, either.

Looking back, sometimes he wonders if he made the right choice.