»»— —««
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
LOVE LIKE YOU
»»— —««
THE BUILDING SHOOK, DUST RAINING down as the Overlord — Golden Master, whatever — ordered his Nindroids to keep shooting at the shield that protected the Temple of Fortitude. Outside of the Temple was a formidable enemy that would kill everything in his path if it meant turning Ninjago into his own image. There was only a limited amount of time to save the city, perhaps the world, and the Ninja were trapped in a small building with the bare beginnings of a plan and a reliance on Cyrus Borg, who had yet to explain how he had found a way to defeat the Golden Master, hopefully once and for all.
And yet Lloyd didn't care about that. The world was ending, and all Lloyd could focus on was the fact that Hiro was alive and in his arms.
Hiro kept his face buried in the fabric of Lloyd's uniform as Lloyd hugged him, relieved that despite everything — space, certain death, the Overlord — Hiro was still alive, and he was just as reassured to see that Lloyd was okay as Lloyd was to see that Hiro was there. It was a few moments of a silence before Cyrus Borg called them all to attention. Lloyd reluctantly let go of Hiro and Hiro stepped back, looking frustrated, but they both turned to Cyrus and approached the team once more. Thankfully, the team had either not been paying attention to their reunion or had chosen not to comment on it.
"You said you had a weapon that could stop him?" Lloyd prompted as Cyrus wheeled himself to the middle of the room. The floor opened up and a large, heavily protected grey case was lifted up. About a hundred small red lights dotted along the top of the silver locks, making the case look high-tech and secure. Lloyd didn't even notice that there was a space for the case until it was out of the floor, having supposed that Borg was going to lead them to one of the many tables scattered around the temple.
"I do. It's my best protected secret," Borg confirmed.
"What is it?" Jay asked, standing on his toes to get a better look.
"It is well-protected," Zane noted. Borg used a screwdriver to pop open the silver locks.
"Is it an ancient curse?" Lloyd asked.
"I say fire power," Kai jumped in, getting closer to the case.
"I hope it rocks," Cole joked. Hiro rolled his eyes, to which Lloyd elbowed him. They shared a grin before turning their attention back onto the case.
"Is it dangerous? Is it alive? Does it come with a manual? Is it a— a— a pill!?" Jay demanded as Borg picked up the 'best protected secret weapon,' showing it off to the team. It was a rather large pill, white in color and probably half the size of a softball. Lloyd felt himself deflate a little, wondering how a pill was going to help them defeat the Golden Master. He tried not to feel too disappointed, though, knowing that Borg wouldn't fail them. The pill had to contain something they could use, right?
"Ah, not just any pill, a nano pill. For all of time, scientists have been searching for the holy grail of inventions. A diet pill that actually works!" Borg exclaimed just as the building shook, more dust raining down on top of the team. The sound of lasers shooting at the shield reached Lloyd's ears, and he nervously pulled Hiro closer to him, hoping that in the event that the roof came down, he could protect Hiro better, even if it came at the cost of hurting himself. Hiro was still in stitches, Lloyd remembered — it probably wouldn't help if he got crushed by a ceiling.
"Wait until you are old, you'll see why it's so important," Garmadon told the team. "Tell me, Borg. Does it work?" Garmadon demanded, shaking Borg by the shoulders. Lloyd sighed in embarrassment, shaking his head at his dad's antics.
"No," Borg admitted. Hiro and Lloyd shared a look. "But the nanotechnology inside has an adverse effect," the man continued, turning to face the rest of the team. He held up the pill. "It not only shrinks your waistline, but miniaturizes you as well," he explained.
"You've made a shrinking pill?" Zane asked.
"Let me get this straight," Kai cut in. "You want us to get close to this guy, who has armor that with the mere touch would make us toast, and you want us to give him a pill?" he demanded, incredulous. Lloyd could relate to the feeling — they had Elemental powers, they were Ninja, but they weren't superheroes. One touch of the golden armor would kill them faster than they could blink. What were the Ninja meant to do against that?
"Precisely!" Borg agreed.
"Brother, do you remember when both of us were on the same team?" Garmadon asked, approaching Wu.
"Uh, hey, yeah, old timers, mind paying attention? We're trying to save the world here!" Jay argued.
"You're right, brother," Wu said, talking over Jay, "on the playground when we were kids. Templegate Tigers." He tightened his grip on his staff.
"Ha, I threw a mean curve ball, and your stick could thread the needle. We never lost," Garmadon remembered.
"So true. Get us close, ninja, and we'll give the Golden Master his medicine!" Wu exclaimed.
The team prepared the leave the Temple of Fortitude, gathering supplies that were needed to survive. Borg showed them to spare sets of armor that the Stone Warriors used; Garmadon pocketed the nano pill in preparation for Wu to hit it into the mouth of the Golden Master. Lloyd wondered how they were going to deal with the Golden Master when all was said and done — the pill didn't kill him, it just made him smaller. What if he still had the same powers?
But this was the only plan they had. Lloyd had to trust in it.
"Avashiro," Wu prompted, getting Hiro and Lloyd's attention. Hiro held out some armor to Lloyd. "You will stay behind with Pixal and Borg. It won't do you any good to fight with stitches." Lloyd wondered if there was a hidden meaning behind his uncle's words — how much of it was about Hiro not getting hurt, versus Hiro being near his father again. Lloyd had to agree with both — Hiro needed to stay out of harm's way to not get hurt again. Hiro also needed to stay out of reach of the Overlord.
It seemed that Hiro didn't share that same sentiment.
"What? Come on, I need to do something, I can't just sit back and watch you guys fight my— the— the Overlord. I have to be useful," Hiro argued.
Zane, from across the room, offered Hiro a small smile. "You're already useful, Shiro. But Sensei Wu is right, we don't want you to get hurt again. Please, just stay behind," he pleaded gently. Hiro frowned, but backed down, nodding once before turning to help Lloyd into the stone armor.
"Are you sure this is gonna protect us?" Kai asked once the tension had died down.
"If the Overlord's Stone Warriors used this against the First Spinjitzu Master, I see no reason why we can't use it against those exact same powers," Garmadon mused as the team gathered in the center of the room. Hiro placed the stone helmet on top of Lloyd's head. It disappeared, going invisible. The armor felt light enough that Lloyd barely noticed it, and he had to wonder if it was there at all. He'd be careful out in the field, just in case.
"Zane. Zane, we have to go," Garmadon said, trying to get Zane's attention off of Pixal. Lloyd smiled to himself, sparing a glance out the window — only to find that the protective seal that surrounded the Temple was coming down.
"Hey, the seal! It's broken!" Lloyd shouted, getting everyone's attention.
The Nindroids advanced on the Temple, shooting at it. More dust and dirt rained down. The team ducked behind some of the tables. Lloyd pulled Hiro down next to him, wrapping his arms over Hiro's head to shield him from some of the falling ceiling.
"Lloyd," Hiro said, looking up at him. Lloyd's breath hitched when he realized how close they were. Assuming Hiro wanted space, Lloyd reluctantly leaned back.
Several explosions rang from outside. Lloyd frowned, picking his head up. Outside the window, Nya was controlling one of the Nindroid's vehicles, blasting some of them out of the way of the Temple. Her voice crackled to life in Lloyd's ear piece. "Better late than never! Go get 'em, Ninja!" she cheered. Lloyd grinned at her words, going to stand up as the rest of the team got to their feet, preparing to go.
"Wait." The tone of Hiro's voice made Lloyd freeze; he turned his head to look at the shorter boy, confused, and sat back down. "Nya told me something— about how things are complicated, feelings, and— I want to understand, Lloyd. What this all means. Because you— you— you are making this so much more difficult."
Lloyd frowned, confused. "Hiro, I really don't— can we talk about this later?" he pleaded, not knowing what Hiro was trying to clue him in on.
"No, this needs to happen now, I— Lloyd, I need—" Hiro sighed, frustrated that Lloyd wasn't understanding. So he did what he always did when someone didn't understand him — he showed them what he meant. "Fuck it," he muttered. Lloyd's eyes widened as Hiro placed his hands on either side of Lloyd's face and pulled Lloyd forward.
Hiro's lips were soft. He tasted like peanut butter and jelly and peppermint tea, a strange combination. Lloyd's hands dropped, arms going slack, before he reached up to cup Hiro's face, steadying the shaking boy across from him. Lloyd deepened the kiss, leaning closer to Hiro, eyes fluttering shut as Hiro kissed him back even harder. Eventually Hiro had to pull away to take in air, and Lloyd simply stared at him, mesmerized, his mind fuzzy with the thought of I just kissed Hiro.
"I want to understand," Hiro whispered, leaning his forehead against Lloyd's. "Why do I feel like this? Why are you doing this to me?"
Lloyd would have found it funny if Hiro didn't sound so terrified.
"Hiro, I'll explain romance and dating when this is all over. I promise. But I have to go," he said softly, hating the teary-eyed look that Hiro gave him in response. "Please— don't do this to me, you know I can't say no to you, Hiro, I have to do this," he pleaded.
Hiro nodded, letting his hands drop from Lloyd's face. "Stay safe. Come back to me," Hiro murmured, defeated.
Lloyd pressed a kiss to Hiro's forehead, a silent promise, before jumping to his feet.
He had a city to save, and the motivation to save it.
( BIRTHRIGHT — REBOOTED )
Hiro hated that he had to stay behind, but on some level, he was grateful. He didn't want to face his father, he didn't want to be on the battlefield while in stitches. Sure, it was frustrating that he couldn't be there with Lloyd, to help him, to make sure that they got that time to talk, but when push comes to shove, Hiro was glad that he was sitting this one out for once. The thought of facing his father now that the Overlord — the Golden Master — had a physical form, well, Hiro was sure it would fuel his nightmares for months to come. He'd already had nightmares about it in the few weeks he thought his father was dead. This would be no different, just . . . scarier.
As he, Borg, Pixal, and Nya made their way through the city, hoping to get a good vantage point to watch the fight and encourage the team from afar, Hiro could feel himself panicking. Lloyd was going to face the Golden Master, Zane was going to, Cole and Jay and, fuck, even Kai — Hiro was worried about Kai, of all people! Would he worry even if he was on the field with them, or would be feel confident in his ability to save everyone, to be the hero that Lloyd thought he was?
Hiro calmed himself by thinking of Lloyd.
Lloyd's lips had been chapped, but Hiro hadn't minded. He'd tasted like strawberries, which was a strange thing to realize. Lloyd's skin had been soft under Hiro's hands, soft and warm, heating up every second that Hiro continued to kiss him. Lloyd kissing him back had made Hiro's heart stutter, and his mind had been fuzzy from the lack of oxygen and the kiss combined. As he waited in an elevator in one of the buildings with the others that were left behind, Hiro put two fingers over his lips, trying to savor the memory of what kissing Lloyd felt like.
He smiled to himself, a secret grin that only he knew the meaning of.
The elevator dinged, having brought Hiro, Pixal, Borg, and Nya to the roof of a building that gave them the perfect vantage point of looking out to the fight below.
The Golden Master sat in an intricate design of brightly colored golden, shimmering lines, almost like a spiderweb of terror. Hiro leaned against the wall at the edge of the building, not looking down, but feeling his knees go weak all the same as he looked at the sight of the Golden Master. Compared to the Ninja, the Golden Master was massive, towering over them in both physical height and height advantage.
The Golden Master sent out a blast of power toward one building, breaking off parts of the building and sending them crashing onto the citizens below. Hiro held out his hands, but Nya immediately grabbed his arms, shaking her head. "You're too far, don't strain yourself," she ordered. Hiro reluctantly pulled his arms back, nodding in understanding.
Thankfully, the citizens began heading for the sewers, lead there by the Serpentine — some of who were good guys, it seemed.
"Huh, that's new," Nya commented.
"I thought they were the bad guys," Hiro muttered.
"The world is never so black and white, Avashiro," Borg told him. Hiro nodded. "There is good and evil, and then there is morally gray, or the inbetween. Some, like your father, have no hope of being good. Some, like the Serpentine, can be both bad and good. Growth is an important factor in growing up." Hiro nodded again, understanding.
Did he have any hope of being good? Or was he doomed from the beginning, just like his father?
Hiro shook his head, focusing his attention back on the fight. Garmadon took a running start, jumping off the roof of the building; he landed on one of the golden strings, which seemed bouncy, and jumped higher into the air; Wu followed after him, and Garmadon pushed Wu higher into the air, throwing the pill up milliseconds after; Wu spun in mid-air, using his staff to hit the pill with such force that it flew toward the Golden Master without a hitch.
Time seemed to move in slow motion, Wu and Garmadon falling back down to the golden ropes as the pill made its way toward the Golden Master. Hiro leaned forward, eyes wide, praying — he'd never prayed before, he was sure — that this would work.
They were seconds away from victory.
And then Pythor jumped up, jaw unhinged, and swallowed the pill, sacrificing himself by taking what was meant for the Golden Master.
Pythor shrunk out of sight from Hiro, who sunk down to his knees, horrified that the plan had failed.
"No," Nya whispered.
"That was it?" the Golden Master demanded, his voice so loud that it reached the group on the roof. His father's voice echoed, making Hiro clamp his hands over his ears to block out the sound. "That was all you've got?" The ropes reached out, wrapping around the bodies of everyone on the battlefield. As the Overlord lifted them into the air, Hiro noticed that Zane was able to escape, jumping away from the golden bonds that held his friends and family. Hiro couldn't hear what the team was saying, but the Overlord responded with, "Because your time is over!"
Hiro turned to Nya, eyes wide. "Let me help them," he pleaded.
She shook her head. "You'll strain yourself, Shiro, it'll do more harm than good!"
"I have to try!" Hiro insisted desperately.
"She's right, Avashiro," Borg cut in. "You have to sit this one out."
"I can't just let them die!" He grabbed the edge of the wall, determined to jump over it and get to the Ninja, fear of heights be damned, but his arms were quickly grabbed by Nya and Pixal. Hiro struggled in their grasps, but being too afraid to hurt Nya and Pixal's grip being inhuman, Hiro had to stop struggling before he hurt himself, feeling his side prickle with pain.
He watched as Zane jumped from the roof, using the others' struggling forms to jump closer to the Overlord. Hiro watched with open horror as Zane touched two golden pieces of the Golden Master's armor, gold that both Hiro and Zane knew could kill Zane with a simple touch. And yet there Zane was, holding it, glowing pale blue but still holding on, not yet dead.
"Go where, doomed ninja?" the Overlord taunted. "The Golden Weapons are too powerful for you to behold. Your survival chance is low!"
The golden ropes holding the other team members began to turn green, letting go of the Ninja and dropping them onto the street below. Hiro pulled his arm out of Nya's grasp, gripping the edge of the wall as Pixal kept a firm grip on him, preventing him from going anywhere.
"Please, please, I have to help him!" Hiro shouted, turning to look at Pixal. She could barely hide her own emotions, the dread as she realized that Zane couldn't last forever, but she still held onto Hiro, shaking her head.
"I will not let Zane lose another family member," she said, looking into Hiro's eyes. Hiro could feel tears born from frustration making his eyes water, and he quickly turned his gaze back onto the fight. Zane's form was slowly becoming encased in a bright white light, his heart reaching critical mass.
"Why won't he let go?" Hiro demanded, his voice cracking.
"Ninja never quit," Nya echoed, her voice breaking with emotion.
In the blink of an eye, Zane let go of the golden pieces of armor, though he remained in the air; he brought his hands together, shooting ice at the Golden Master. Pieces of ice flew off, scattering through the air as Zane used his powers against the Golden Master. Hiro pulled his arm out of Pixal's grasp, feeling bruises beginning to form from how hard she'd held on, but he didn't attempt to jump from the roof again, instead sagging against the wall with a choked noise that he never wanted anyone to hear ever again.
"What are you doing? Let me go, you fool!" the Overlord shouted.
The Ninja disappeared from view on the street, hopefully going to find cover from the fight. Where he was, Hiro was sure that he and the others would be fine still on the roof, though he wishes they too could go underground and not have to witness the sight before them.
Zane was completely blue, the same color as the ice he shot from his hands, glowing. The Overlord screamed as he continued to be encased in ice, and the temperature in the overworld dropped, freezing temperatures sending goosebumps along Hiro's arms.
He couldn't take his eyes off the sight.
A bright white glow enveloped Zane and the Overlord. When Hiro blinked, it was gone.
Zane was gone.
Zane was dead.
"No," Pixal whispered, sounding more broken than Hiro had ever heard her sound.
"Zane," Hiro whispered.
Ice began to spread around the city, covering every square inch of the space that it could find. The light on top of Borg Tower shut down. Snow drifted through the air, though the sun was still out and no cloud was in sight.
They'd won, but at what cost?
Hiro felt a gentle tug on his arm. "Come on, Shiro. We have to go," Nya said, defeated. Without a word, Hiro stood and began to follow her, Pixal, and Borg to the elevator to meet what remained of the team in the streets below.
The walk was silent. Hiro barely dared to breath.
They found the team standing in the street a few feet away from where they'd been let go of the golden ropes. Lloyd immediately wrapped his arms around Hiro upon seeing him, but Hiro couldn't muster the same energy, simply laying his head on Lloyd's shoulder. Hiro heard Nya begin to softly cry a few feet away and closed his eyes tightly, willing away his own tears of grief and anger.
Why hadn't Zane let go?
Eventually Lloyd let go of him, and he and Hiro walked closer to the rest of team. Hiro wrapped his arms around himself as the chill set into his skin, rubbing his arms to regain some of the warmth. Cole was consoling Nya, while Pixal and Jay stood a few feet away, lost in their own grief.
Kai, it seemed, dealt with his saddness the same way he dealt with everything — by drowning it out with anger.
Kai walked over to Hiro, eyebrows drawn down in a scowl that told Hiro that he was about to have to defend himself. Physically or just with words, he wasn't sure yet. Lloyd sighed, taking a step forward. "Kai, come on, not now," he muttered, putting a hand on Kai's shoulder. Kai batted his hand away, pushing past Lloyd and stalking up to Hiro. Hiro raised his eyebrows, tired and unimpressed.
"What?" he asked, exhausted.
"What? What? You don't get to just show up and act like you couldn't have solved this!" Kai shouted. "Your dad killed my brother!"
"I'm not my dad," Hiro said simply, running a hand down his face.
"If you had just been there, he would still be here! This is your fault!" Kai snarled, pushing Hiro away from him.
"Kai—" Lloyd cut in.
"I wouldn't have been able to do anything, you egotistical bitch!" Hiro snapped back, pushing Kai so the red Ninja stumbled.
"Hiro—" Lloyd pleaded.
"I don't know what Lloyd sees in you," Kai said, drawing himself to his full height, "or why Zane thought you were a good person, but you're not. You're not worth our time, you aren't worth anything, this team would be so much better if you would just disappear!" he shouted, his words stirring up a flurry of emotions that Hiro didn't have the strength to process in a healthy way. Several gasps were heard at Kai's words, the team always the ones to be dramatic, and then shouts of Hiro's — Shiro's, Avashiro's — name reached his ears as he turned on his heels and ran, disappearing into a nearby alley.
Kai had looked horrified by his own words.
Hiro slammed his fist against the wall, frustrated—
And found himself standing outside the Temple of Fortitude, in the shadow of the blood red building, his hand completely fine. His mind, however, wasn't — he felt dizzy, having to blink black spots out of his eyes before his vision completely faded. His energy was gone, exhaustion taking over, making his legs feel weak. The ancient energy radiating from the temple wasn't doing him any favors, a chill crawling up his neck in protest, telling him to run.
He didn't. Snow crunched beneath his feet as he walked toward the temple, wrapping his arms around himself to get rid of the chill that gave him goosebumps. Hiro placed his hands on the large, ornate golden handles and pulled open the oak doors, finding them to be heavy. He settled for opening one door instead, slipping inside the temple without a second thought. The door slammed closed behind him, the sound of it shutting echoing throughout the temple.
Hiro swallowed back his fear, walking further into the temple. He could feel grief crawling up his throat, forming a lump, making it hard to breath. Hiro tightened his arms around himself, his breaths slowly picking up with each passing second. Low light streamed in through what passed for the windows of the temple, lighting the destruction that the Nindroids had brought upon it. Hiro's mind was moving at a pace that he couldn't keep up with, showing him his interactions with Zane — every word, every action, every time Hiro hurt him or brushed him off. Hiro could feel the tears brimming, a scream aching to escape his throat. Hiro pushed it down.
He collapsed against one of the tables, sinking to his knees. He realized with dread that this was where he had kissed Lloyd just under an hour ago, confessing his confusing feelings and being told that they would talk later.
They never got to talk.
Hiro covered his face with his hands and let out a guttural, blood-curdling scream, letting out every negative emotion he'd been bottling up since he'd escaped his father's prison of darkness. In the dead quiet of the temple, his scream echoed around him in tenfold, hurting his ears and only managing to fill his heart with more pain and anguish.
Hiro went quiet, the only sound being deep, heaving breaths that he took to make sure he was still alive.
The tears began to fall, small sniffles escaping him and hurting his throat further, his vocal cords fucked after he'd screamed.
The shadows creeped around him, and Hiro slammed his elbow back against the table just to feel something physical, to get him out of the mental hell he had trapped himself in.
He wasn't expecting a secret door in the table to slide open, revealing a very old, tattered leather journal entitled The Writings of the First Spinjitzu Master.
On the other side of the city, Lloyd turned the corner to go get Hiro, only to find that he'd completely vanished despite only having been out of sight for two seconds.