- Lloyd -
The ancient spellbook feels heavy in Lloyd's hands as he takes it from his Uncle. Looking up he meets the eyes of his father who is suspended in a beam of green-blue light on the Bounty. His father gives him a nod and Lloyd looks down at the spell in his hands.
Slowly he reads the words that will send his father to the Cursed Realm, "Kenji, suveris, toto-demada, cursono, neeboro," Above the ship a swirling portal of deep blue and green appears, Lloyd gulps and continues, "actu, cursono, neeborro."
As Garmadon starts to lift higher in the sky, he looks down at his son and says, "I yearned to make the world in my image." With a small smile he continues, "I never realized I already had, in you."
Tears fill Lloyd's eyes and his throat closes up, making it harder to read the final words of the spell, but he manages to choke out the last ones, "Sono, hokido, bo-rock!"
Garmadon's screams of pain as he enters the Cursed Realm fill Lloyd's ears and he closes his eyes, falling to the ground with a sob as he curses his own father.
- Lloyd -
Knock knock knock
Emerald eyes blink open as three gentle knocks sound on his bedroom door. Sitting up, Lloyd wipes at his tear stained face, trying to get rid of the lingering wetness.
"Hey Lloyd. You awake?"
A voice comes from behind the door, soft and familiar.
Kai…
"Y-Yea-" Lloyd croaks out, wincing as he hears his own voice, it's blatantly obvious that he's been crying. Clearing his throat he tries again, "Yeah, I'm up." It sounds much better this time.
"Can I come in?" Kai asks, a hint of worry in his voice.
Lloyd hesitates before answering, "Um, s-sure, just uh, gimme a sec."
He rushes over to the mirror above his dresser, checking to make sure he looks ok. He wipes away the rest of the tears from his face, and using some cold water he tries to get rid of as much red and puffiness from around his eyes as he can. Taking his hairbrush he brushes out his golden blond locks, making sure they're as knot free as he can get them to be.
He gives himself a slight nod in the mirror, taking a deep breath before walking over to the door and opening it, plastering a smile - that hopefully doesn't look too forced - onto his face as he does so.
Kai straightens up from where he had been leaning against the doorframe as Lloyd opens the door. His amber eyes scan up and down the blond's body. Lloyd shifts and clears his throat, feeling slightly uncomfortable.
"Are you ok?" Kai asks, concerned eyes searching Lloyd's face.
"Y-Yeah, why wouldn't I be." Lloyd replies, trying to make his smile seem more genuine.
Kai's eyebrows scrunch up and his gaze flicks between the wall and Lloyd's face, waring with himself about something. Eventually he shakes his head and sighs, saying, "Ok, if you say so."
He pauses for a moment before continuing, "We got a call from a small fishing village, something about a giant mutant Fangfish. The guys and I were about to head out, you don't have to come if you're not feeling up to it, we should be able to handle this on our own."
"No, I'm fine, I'll come." Lloyd immediately says. A mischievous look appears in his eyes and his smile becomes a bit more real as he adds, "Besides, who's gonna make sure you four actually get the job done right."
Kai lets out a laugh and throws his head back, Lloyd's eyes widen slightly as the red ninja's laugh echoes off the walls of the Bounty.
I didn't think it was that funny.
A light blush creeps up Lloyd's face as he listens to Kai's laugh. It's not a deep earthy laugh like Cole's, it's not high pitched like Jay's, or tinged with a metallic echo like Zane's. It's almost like listening to a song, one that makes everything else disappear until all you can hear is its melody.
And that's exactly what Lloyd is experiencing right now, it feels like nothing but the two of them exists as Kai laughs. Then the spell is broken as he dips his head to reply, "Oh come on, we've all been ninja longer than you, I'm sure we'd be fine."
His face adopts a curious and slightly confused look as he looks at Lloyd again, definitely having caught sight of the pink that is still dusted across the green ninja's cheeks.
Lloyd brushes a strand of hair out of his face and quickly says, "Uh, yeah, yeah you would." His brain scrambles to come up with a reason for him to leave, he had just gotten the sudden urge to go and hide, though he's not sure exactly why.
"I've, um, gotta go… change! Yeah, gotta get changed into my gi." He nervously smiles at Kai, hoping that he bought it.
Relief washes over him as Kai nods his head and says, "Ok, I'll meet you up on the deck." before turning and walking down the hall.
Lloyd's eyes follow him for a moment before he whips around and rushes back into his room, slamming the door and leaning against it with a long sigh.
FSM, what was that?! Was I… blushing? At Kai?
No, I was just embarrassed because he laughed at that …right?
It wasn't even a joke. I wasn't trying to get him to laugh …was I?
Lloyd bites his lip, confusing thoughts swirling through his brain as he thinks about the strange encounter with Kai. Ever since the team had gotten back together right before the Tournament of Elements, he had started getting a funny feeling whenever Kai was around. His heart would start beating a little faster, he would feel like there was a swarm of butterflies in his stomach, and he could always feel his face heating up whenever Kai so much as glanced at him, let alone touched him in any way.
Lloyd groans and slides down to the ground, head falling back against the door as the familiar funny feelings return.
What's wrong with me?! Am I sick or something?
Looking at the clock on his nightstand, Lloyd sighs and gets up, he really should get dressed and go meet the guys. He can go have an identity crisis some other time, right now Ninjago needs him.
Ocean waves ripple and the sound of seagulls fill the air. Suddenly five brightly colored blurs flash by in a triangle formation.
A large glowing green dragon leads the group, its rider's blond locks blowing in the wind. Then a slightly bigger red dragon swoops by, its own spiky haired rider laughing as the blond turns to watch.
Lloyd laughs as he shouts, "Getting ahead of yourself, Kai?"
"I'm leading this charge." He snaps his reins and charges at Kai who yelps in surprise.
Their dragons twist and twirl around each other, playfully roaring as their riders laugh. Smiling, Kai reaches over and boops Lloyd on the nose. Lloyd's eyes widen and he blushes slightly, he then sends his dragon down towards the water and it uses its tail to splash some water in Kai's direction.
Laughing, Lloyd darts away, leaving Kai to yell after him, "Hey! No one messes up my hair!"
He snaps his own dragon's reins and dashes after Lloyd. Flying above Lloyd, Kai dives down in front of him and attempts to splash him with water too. But the green ninja is too fast, and the water ends up hitting Zane who unfortunately was flying right in the splash zone.
He coughs and spits out some water, shaking his head to get rid of it all. Cole flies up next to him and laughs, asking, "You ok there, Zane?"
Zane gets the last of the water out and replies, "Affirmative. It'll take more than a little water to take me out."
Next to him, Jay glances behind him, gasps, and then shouts, "What about a big fish?! Incoming!"
Out of the water leaps a huge fish. It snaps at the tail of Jay's dragon, just barely missing him as Jay hurriedly flies out of range. It dives back down into the water before coming up and trying again.
"There he blows!" Cole shouts, pointing to the fish.
Zane glances back at it and inside his head Pixal analyses it for him.
"Based on its weight and size, this is the mutant Fangfish terrorizing the coastal village and depleting their food source."
Turning back to the others, Zane relays Pixal's analysis, "Pixal says this is the one."
"Good, now that we found him, let's reel him in and get him to the aquarium." Lloyd says, flying ahead of them.
Jay turns to his left and asks Kai as he flies up alongside him, "Let me guess, Kai. You caught one that big before?"
Kai laughs and looks behind him, saying, "Hell no, it was twice the size."
The Fangfish jumps out of the water again and snaps at him, causing Kai to shout, "Woah!" And quickly fly away.
Jay then turns to Cole and says, "He's almost as hungry as you, Cole."
Cole immediately comes back with, "And twice as ugly as you, Jay."
The others all laugh as Jay gives Cole a death glare. Lloyd glances behind him and smiles upon seeing them laughing. His eyes flick to where the Fangfish is, and then back in front of him.
Spotting a fishing boat up ahead, Lloyd turns to the others and yells, "Ok guys, enough goofing around. It's time for the catch of the day. In line formation!"
The others all obediently fly their dragons into a straight line behind him. The order going; Lloyd, Zane, Jay, Kai, and then Cole.
Cole looks back and yelps as he sees the Fangfish on their tail, "He's right behind us!" He cries out.
Lloyd narrows his eyes and counts down the seconds before yelling, "Now!" And one by one the ninja quickly turn their dragons away from the fishing boat.
And as the Fangfish jumps up again, it finds itself heading straight towards the boat. It lands on the lower deck as the poor captain stares in shock at it.
Above the boat, the ninja fly their dragon's around in circles, cheering.
Jay laughs and says, "Now that's what I call hook, line, and stinker."
- Lloyd -
In a small village off the coast of Ninjago, a young boy and his father buy fishing poles before heading towards the docks. From a short distance away, Kai and Lloyd stand together, watching them.
"Looks like we made this place safe to fish again." Kai remarks.
Turning towards Lloyd he continues, saying, "I bet if your father was still here, he'd tell you he's proud of you."
He rests a hand on Lloyd's shoulder as he says, "You've become a great leader, Lloyd."
Lloyd looks down and then brings a hand up to rest on the one Kai has on his shoulder. He glances up at Kai, smiles, and corrects him, saying, "No, we're a great team."
Kai blushes slightly and Lloyd looks off to the side, mumbling, "I really miss him."
Behind them a crane lifts up the Fangfish and drops it into a tank on the back of a large truck. Water sloshes over the edge and splashes Zane, Jay, and Cole who are standing below. They shout in surprise and jump back.
Lloyd sighs and takes a step away from Kai, saying quietly, "With my dad gone, sometimes I question where I'm going." Even quieter he says, "Sometimes I worry who I might become." He looks down at his hands and clenches them, eyes starting to glisten.
Then he feels a warm hand on his shoulder, and Kai says, "I know how that feels. After we lost our parents, I was lost for a while."
Lloyd turns towards him as he continues, "But I was lucky to have my sister with me, we looked out for and protected each other."
Grinning, Kai pulls Lloyd into a headlock, playfully messing his hair up as he says, "Don't worry, Greenie. I'll protect you from now on."
Lloyd laughs and swats at Kai's hand saying in a teasing voice, "Hey, no one messes up my hair."
He wiggles out of Kai's hold and looks up, only to find himself inches away from the fire master's face. His own face flushes red as he locks eyes with Kai.
Kai's amber eyes gaze back at him and he opens his mouth to say something, but then a loud ahem comes from behind them, and they both whip around to find Jay standing there, watching them with an eyebrow raised.
"Sorry to interrupt, but are you two lovebirds gonna stop flirting and get in the picture?" He asks, grinning cheekily as the two ninja both turn bright red in the face.
"W-We weren't- I don't- He wasn't- Wha-" Lloyd sputters, growing more red by the second.
"Jay!" Kai shouts, not looking much better than Lloyd.
The blue ninja laughs and runs back towards the Fangfish's tank where Cole and Zane are waiting.
Kai and Lloyd glance at each other, blush again, and then finally go over to the others.
"No one's gonna believe this. Getting a picture. This is awesome!" Jay squeals, jumping up and down as Kai and Lloyd run over.
Kai wraps an arm around Lloyd's shoulders and over Jay's. Lloyd blushes again as he's pressed up against Kai's side, his right hand ends up resting on Kai's lower back and he swears that Kai's grip on him becomes ever so tighter. Cole and Zane scoot a bit closer, throwing their own arms over the shoulders of the others as Zane directs a man holding a camera.
"Back." The man takes a step back.
"Back just a little further." He takes another step.
"Just a little further."
The man slips off the edge of the docks, but manages to take a picture before falling into the water as the ninja look on in surprise.
"Heh heh heh, you guys!" The man laughs.
"Oh great!" Jay groans, "Who's gonna believe us now?"
Behind him the Fangfish raises up its tail and splashes more water onto them as they all scream in surprise and shock.
- Lloyd -
Lloyd watches as the other ninja laugh and swoop around in the air on their dragons. They're on their way back to Master Wu's new tea shop, Steep Wisdom.
Jay and Cole are flying below and bit ahead of him, laughing together at a joke that Jay undoubtedly cracked. Zane flies in front of everyone, chatting with Pixal in his head. Above him, Kai is doing tricks on his dragon. Loop-de-loops, corkscrews, nose dives, you name it.
"Hey Lloyd!" Kai shouts, catching the blond's attention, "Watch this!"
He snaps his reins and his dragon shoots out a burst of fire in the shape of a heart. Lloyd blushes slightly and thinks back to what Jay had said.
We weren't flirting, right?
He shakes his head and looks back at Kai, now he's gliding through the air nearby. Catching sight of Lloyd watching him, Kai flashes him a cocky grin, causing Lloyd's heart to skip a beat.
Why does it do that?
It only happens around Kai. But what does it mean?
"That had to have been the biggest fish ever, right Lloyd?"
Lloyd jumps as Jay's voice suddenly comes from his right. Turning to look at the blue ninja, Lloyd finds him wearing a smug grin, glancing between the blond and brunet.
"Uh, yeah." Lloyd agrees, nodding his head.
A sharp snort of disbelief sounds on his left, and Kai says, "No way, I've definitely seen bigger fish than that."
"Oh yeah?" Jay questions, doubt clearly evident in his voice, "Where then?"
"Uh," Kai starts. His nose scrunches up as he thinks, and a light blush appears on Lloyd's face as he sees it.
That's kinda cute…
"I don't remember, it was somewhere in Ninjago city." Kai says, glancing at Lloyd who quickly looks away, trying to hide his blushing face.
"Yeah right, just admit it. You've never seen a fish like that before." Jay states.
Steep Wisdom comes into view and the three of them quickly start descending. Jay and Kai still bickering about the fish.
As they touch down, Kai says, "I'm just saying, it was big but I've seen bigger."
"As big as your ego?" Jay teases while the others all laugh.
Master Wu walks out of the tea shop, holding a box in his hands with a teapot on it. As he approaches them he tells them, "Ninja, you need to find customers."
Jay hops off of his Elemental Dragon, sarcastically saying, "No 'hello, how's it going, glad to hear you saved the day… again'?" While the dragon disappears behind him.
Cole jumps off his own dragon, saying, "Yeah, Sensei. We're all a bit tired. You mind if we handle this tomorrow?"
"We all have a share if this business succeeds." Master Wu starts, "How else do you expect me to be able to afford all your new uniforms?"
He places down the box that he had been holding, saying as he opens it, "Which reminds me, your new ones arrived."
"What do they look like now?" Kai asks, trying to catch a glimpse of them.
"New suits?" Zane excitedly says.
"Sweet!" Jay exclaims, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
"I bet they're off the hook." Cole says.
They all lean forwards as Master Wu holds one up, the excited looks on their faces drop as they see it.
"Huh?" They all collectively say, confused. The so-called 'uniform' is really an off-white T-shirt with a teal teapot on the front.
Zane steps forwards, looks at the shirt and then at Master Wu, saying in confusion, "Those do not appear to be ninja gis. They resemble work attire."
"Very observant, Zane." Master Wu praises, turning to the others he continues, "We must focus on furthering brand awareness." He passes out a stack of papers to each of the ninja as he says, "And here are the fliers I want each of you to pass out in the city."
Upon getting his stack, Jay groans and exclaims in frustration, "If I have to pass all these out, I may be the one passed out!"
After putting on the shirts and matching teapot hats, the five ninja and Master Wu all walk into the tea shop where Misako is on the phone.
Kai looks at his outfit and then at Master Wu, asking, "Aren't we going to look kinda dorky flying up on our Elemental Dragons with these things on?"
Master Wu turns to him and says, "You won't be flying on anything. We're selling tea, not magic."
"Besides," He adds, turning to the rest of them, "you all have been relying a little too heavily on your Elemental Powers lately. Real power comes from the inside."
Lloyd nods and says to him, "I agree, we need to learn how to live without them. Who knows when we might need to."
Behind them, Misako is finishing up her phone call, saying, "Thank you. I'll let him know right away." before putting the phone down.
Nya goes over to her and asks, "Is it a big order?"
Misako shakes her head and says, "It's the police. They've asked for Lloyd. There's been a break-in at the museum."
The ninja gasp, and Cole says to Lloyd, "Go on, I'll take your share."
Then Kai butts in and says, "Nu uh, I'll take his share."
Lloyd looks between the two of them, a bit confused before Zane comes over and takes the fliers from him, saying, "We'll just split it between the four of us."
"Thanks," Lloyd tells him, "I owe you one."
He turns to leave but stops when he feels a warm hand on his shoulder. Turning his head he finds Kai on his left, looking a little nervous.
"Do uh- should I- would you like me to-" He stutters, trying to find the right words, eventually he sighs and just asks, "Do you want someone else to come with you? Just in case?"
Lloyd bites his lip as he thinks. On the one hand he'd love to go on a mission with Kai. But on the other hand, those funny feelings are back, and he still doesn't quite understand what they mean yet. It was really a one ninja job after all.
So reluctantly he shakes his head, saying, "No, I'll be fine. But thanks for offering."
He reaches over to rest his hand on the one Kai has on his shoulder. And as their hands touch he swears that he saw a little red appear on the fire ninja's face. But it's gone so fast that he decides that he must have imagined it.
Quiet snickering comes from the direction of a certain blue ninja, causing Cole to whack him on the back of his head, effectively shutting him up.
Lloyd gives Kai a small smile before turning and running out the door, taking off the silly tea uniform as he goes.
As the other ninja go to leave as well, Master Wu reminds them, "Remember, no powers." to which they all groan in unhappiness.
- Lloyd -
Lloyd runs up the stairs leading to the museum. He stops at a line of caution tape that has been put up at the entrance. Inside, two police officers notice him and wave him in. He jumps over the caution tape and walks over to them.
One of the officers says, "Well, lookie here. The green ninja! Feel safer already."
Lloyd smiles and says, "I got your call, there was a break-in right?"
The second officer nods his head and says, "Yeah, the night watchman over there should be able to tell you more. But I wouldn't expect much, he had quite the scare."
"Yeah," The first officer agrees, "hasn't been too helpful. Maybe you'll have better luck."
"Thanks." Lloyd says, walking over to the night watchman who is sitting on a bench with a cup of tea in his hands.
"So you were on guard when it happened?" Lloyd asks, coming to a stop in front of him.
"Y-Yes." The night watchman whispers.
"Can you show me what was stolen?" Lloyd asks.
"Yes, of course." The night watchman says, standing up and leading Lloyd to a storage room.
"It all happened so fast," He starts, "I didn't even notice anything out of the ordinary until I heard a noise and came over here to investigate."
He points to a crate that has been broken open, sand spilling out of it.
"When I got here I found that the only thing stolen wasn't even on display."
Lloyd crouches down next to the crate as the night watchman continues, "It was just something called 'The Allied Armor of Azure'."
"Do you know why anyone would want to steal it?" Lloyd asks him.
The night watchman shrugs and says, "No, I always thought it was some worthless old armor plate. Never thought anyone would want it."
Lloyd looks around the room for a moment, then asks, "Did you see anyone when you came to investigate? Or anything that could help me track down who stole it?"
The night watchman shakes his head, then says, "No, there wasn't any sign of anyone having ever been in here."
"It was as if they were a ghost. And then, there was this wind… but it didn't come from outside, it came from inside." He finishes, shaking slightly.
Lloyd frowns in confusion, this was a puzzling situation. How could someone, or something break into the museum, steal something, and disappear without leaving a trace? And why would they steal a worthless armor plate instead of one of the other priceless relics? It must be important in some way.
Lloyd rests a hand on the night watchman's shoulder, saying to him, "Thank you for your help. I'm going to go bring in some of my other teammates and hopefully they'll be able to find whatever I'm missing."
The night watchman nods and Lloyd starts to leave the museum, stopping only to explain the same thing to the two officers from earlier.
Summoning his Elemental Dragon, Lloyd flies out of the city, heading towards the red cliffs in the distance. Unbeknownst to him, a small, glowing green figure follows him.
- Lloyd -
Arriving at the Corridor of Elders, Lloyd lands near one of the statues. He looks up at a freshly carved statue, admiring the likeness of it to the man it was made for.
"Hey dad." He whispers sadly.
"It's been a while since I last visited, we've been busy on missions."
Behind him the green figure watches from afar, waiting.
"I can't believe it's only been five months since we defeated Chen. It feels like a lot longer."
He sits down on his knees, twiddling his thumbs as he says, "Something… strange has been happening to me."
He pauses, and the figure creeps closer, still unknown to Lloyd.
"I've been having these funny feelings." He goes on, "It's like a bunch of butterflies have somehow gotten stuck in my stomach. And then my face gets all red, sometimes I feel like I'm gonna pass out or something."
Another pause, now the figure is even closer to him.
"But the weirdest part is that this only happens whenever I'm around Kai."
Lloyd groans and drops his head in his hands, "I don't understand, dad. What's going on, why do I feel like this? Is it right? Should I feel this way?"
He lifts his head, sighs, and says, "I wish you were here. I don't know what to do anymore. I feel so lost."
A tear rolls down his cheek as he whispers, "I really miss you dad."
- ? -
The green figure watches as the green ninja sits in front of a statue in front of the Corridor of Elders. They watch as he softly cries, tears slipping down his face.
So, the green ninja is the son of Garmadon eh? What irony.
They watch him for another minute before deciding that this was as good a time as any to start their plan. They don't even try to hide themselves anymore as they walk towards the green ninja, it's not like he's even paying attention to his surroundings anyway.
- Lloyd -
Lloyd sniffles and then shivers as he feels a cold wind start to blow.
Wind…
His eyes widen as he recalls what the night watchman said about wind. Scrambling to his feet, Lloyd quickly turns around, spotting the green figure only a few feet away from him.
"W-Who are you?!" He exclaims.
The figure simply tilts their head towards Lloyd curiously, staring at him with dead, dark green eyes.
"What? Wu's never mentioned me? I'm hurt." They sarcastically say, pressing a hand to their chest in an offended manner.
"How do you know Sensei?" Lloyd asks, eyeing them warily.
"Hmm, I guess you could say he's an old friend." They reply.
"You still haven't told me who you are." Lloyd repeats, still tense.
The figure simply hums and starts to circle Lloyd, eyeing him up and down with a piercing gaze.
"So," They start, "Wu chose you to be the beloved green ninja? Silly old man." They scoff, giving Lloyd a disappointed look.
Lloyd takes a closer look at the figure, his brain suddenly registering the translucent green skin, and the concerning lack of footprints in the sand as they walk.
"Y-You're a ghost from the Cursed Realm!" Lloyd exclaims.
"Ah, so you're not as dumb as you look." The figure says. They stop walking and instead start to hover ever so slightly above the ground.
"How did you escape?" Lloyd asks, the figure gives him a grin that sends chills down his spine.
"When your father opened a door, he should've been more careful what came out." They say before charging at Lloyd who barely manages to flatten himself to the ground. Staring up at the figure as they pass overhead, he catches a glimpse of blue and black.
Leaping to his feet, Lloyd whips around to face the figure again, they're hovering a few feet away from him, and now he can see the blue and black armor piece that's on their chest.
"That's the Allied Armor! You stole it! Why?!" He exclaims, pointing at the armor as the figure glances down at it.
"Oh, this thing?" They say, taking it off and holding it up to examine it.
"Don't you know that it can be used to summon allies, friends, foes, spirits from the Cursed Realm?" They ask, tilting their head to the side with mock confusion.
"That doesn't matter, it belongs in the museum!" Lloyd shouts, running towards the figure.
But they simply laugh and disappear into the ground under them, leaving the armor in the sand. Lloyd stops short, looking around for the figure. Not seeing them, he cautiously walks over to the armor and picks it up. But no sooner does he do that, then from behind him he hears a whooshing sound and he quickly spins to the side, narrowly avoiding the flying sand that had been coming towards him.
The sand in question stops in midair and slowly clumps together, forming a rough shape of the figure. Lloyd summons a sphere of energy and launches it towards the figure, but it goes right through them, only temporarily creating a hole in the sand.
They laugh and say, "Your powers are useless. You think you can hurt a ghost? I can possess anything!" before rushing towards Lloyd and surrounding him in a swarm of sand.
Lloyd waves his arms around, trying to get rid of the sand in his face. He feels something tug at the armor in his hand and he tightens his grip on it. But suddenly something punches him in the gut, and as he doubles over, gasping for air, the armor is yanked from his hands. Then he gets thrown out of the whirlwind of sand, sliding towards the walls of the corridor.
The sand clumps back together to form the shape of the figure again. They spin in the air once before hovering in front of Lloyd again, he tries to grab the armor back but the figure is too fast and quickly flies out of reach.
"You can't have the armor!" Lloyd yells at them.
The figure chuckles to themselves and says, "The armor's nice, but it's not the only thing I want to possess."
Frustrated, Lloyd shouts, "What else do you want?!"
They grin an evil grin, and suddenly they're right up in his face. Lloyd takes a step back, only to find himself up against one of the walls of the corridor. In the scuffle to get the armor, the figure must have forced him back there without him realizing it.
Leaning in close, they whisper into his ear, "You." The sand falls as the figure phases right into Lloyd. A deep primal scream comes from his throat and he falls on his knees to the ground.