Zane- 59
Cole- 38
Kai- 37
Jay- 36
Lloyd- 35
Nya- 35
"AHHHHHHHH!"
Five heads whip around to face the hallway of the Monastery. Seconds later a very distressed red ninja comes running into the living room, holding a mirror in one hand.
"GUYS! HELP! IT'S AN EMERGENCY!" He yells, looking at his hair in the mirror.
"What is it Kai?" Nya asks, immediately concerned for her brother.
"My hair!" Kai keens in a sorrowful voice. "My beautiful hair."
"What about it?" Lloyd asks, glancing at the others with a confused expression.
"There's gray in it!" Kai says, finally looking at everyone else.
"And?" Cole asks, tilting his head to one side, still confused.
"I'm too young to have gray hair!" Kai moans, flopping down on one of the couches.
"Research says it is quite normal for people your age to have gray hairs. It is part of growing old, Kai." Zane says helpfully.
"I'm only thirty seven, Zane! Not sixty!" Kai says, glaring at the nindroid.
"Yeah, thirty seven is kinda old, Kai." Jay points out, "I'm thirty six and I've got gray hair."
"It's just life, man. I'm honestly surprised that it's taken you so long to get gray hair. I got my first ones when I was thirty two, and I'm thirty eight now. I've got tons of gray hairs!" Cole adds, pointing to the gray that is scattered throughout his coal black hair.
The other ninja all start to share the stories of when they found their first gray hairs. Trying to make Kai feel better about his, but also telling him about the many ways he can hide it if he wants. But Lloyd stays silent, running a hand through his silky blond locks, distinctly gray-free.
Quietly - while the others are all distracted by Nya telling them how Jay refused to let her see his hair when he discovered he was going gray - Lloyd slips out of the room, walking down the hallway until he reaches the farthest door from the courtyard. Knocking once, he opens the door and steps in. Master Wu doesn't often leave his room anymore. His age is finally catching up to him, and now all he wants to do is meditate and read his scrolls. Before Lloyd had knocked, he had been rereading an old story his father had written about the first realm. But as Lloyd walks in, he puts aside the scroll and looks at his nephew, noticing the worried look on his face.
"What is it nephew? You look troubled." Master Wu asks once Lloyd sits down across from him.
"I heard Kai yelling. Has he finally run out of hair gel?" He says with a smile, hoping to cheer Lloyd up.
"No, it's not that." Lloyd replies, a small smile dancing across his face before disappearing back into the worried look from before.
"Then what is it?" Master Wu inquires.
"Well Kai just found his first gray hairs, and was freaking out about it of course. And then everyone else was telling him about when they found theirs and stuff. And Zane said that it was normal for people in their thirties to get gray hair, and I'm thirty five and…" Lloyd trails off, looking down at the floor under him.
Master Wu frowns slightly and asks, "And… what?"
"Master Wu. Why don't I seem to age like the others?" Lloyd asks, looking up at his uncle.
Silence follows his question as Master Wu thinks about how to answer. Searching for the right words to break the news as gently as possible to his nephew. Finally he settles on saying, "I am sorry Lloyd, but you are going to be around for a long, long time."
This seems to confuse Lloyd even more, as he tries to figure out what his uncle is saying.
"I don't understand, what do you mean, Master?" He asks, eyes scanning Master Wu's face, trying to find the answers he is looking for.
With a sigh, Master Wu picks up his scroll again and says to Lloyd, "Someday you will understand, Lloyd. Someday."
Sensing that he was going to get no further answers from him, Lloyd gets up and walks back over to the door, giving his uncle one last glance as he exits, still puzzling over his words.
Four years later
Zane- 63
Cole- 42
Kai- 41
Jay- 40
Lloyd- 39
Nya- 39
Rain is pouring down heavily outside the windows of the Monastery. But that's not what's caused the damp spots to appear on the letter Lloyd clutches in his hands.
To Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon,
Hello my dear nephew. If you are reading this then I am dead. I know there are so many things I have yet to tell you, to tell all of you. But all of that is in another letter that you either have already, or will soon read.
I am writing this letter to you to answer that question you asked me all those years ago. Why you don't age like the other ninja. There is no real easy way to tell you. And I have debated over how I should break it to you for a long time. But finally I decided that you need to hear the truth and only the truth, no sugar coating it.
Lloyd, as I know you are aware, you have Oni and Dragon blood within you. As did I and your father. And you know that your father and I lived for thousands of years. As did your grandfather. And the reason for this isn't some magical tea or special powers. (Yes I was listening when you all were theorizing about the secrets of my longevity) It is our blood. Our Oni and Dragon blood allows us to live for thousands of years, slowing down our aging and the rate our bodies stop functioning. And as much as this seems like a blessing, or cool power. It truly was - to your father and I at least - a curse. We were forced to watch all of the friends and allies that we made over the years, age and die around us as we ourselves remained untouched by time. Over time we began to distance ourselves from society, to prevent ourselves from having to go through the pain of losing someone close to us, over and over again.
And as you have likely figured out by now. This means that sadly you will suffer the same fate as us. A life of near immortality at the cost of having everyone you know and love die while you live for years and years after them. I am so sorry Lloyd. I only hope that you are able to stay positive and find purpose in your long life. As the Green Ninja and the new Master of the Monastery, you have a duty to train the next generations of elemental masters. Hopefully your friends will help you with this for as long as they can. Since they are elemental masters they will have longer lifespans than most humans, and I'm not sure how Zane's situation works, but in comparison to your hundreds of years of life, there's will still be short.
I hope I was able to answer your question from so long ago. I know you will find a way or reason to keep going, even once the others are gone. And once again, I am so sorry Lloyd.
Deepest regards,
Sensei Wu
Three years later
Zane- 66
Cole- 45
Kai- 44
Jay- 43
Lloyd- 42
Nya- 42
Cherry- 8
Oliver- 10
Zippy- 9
Wave- 9
Kera- 14
Lilac- 17
"LLOYD!"
"HELP MEEEEEE!"
Lloyd glances up from his scroll, meeting the amber eyes of a terrified Kai. Sighing, he turns back to his student, and says, "Keep reading, Oliver, I've got to go take care of something quick."
Oliver doesn't even look up, only nodding his head once to show that he heard Lloyd. Lloyd then grabs his staff and walks across the courtyard towards Kai. Kai had been attempting to train his student - Cherry - and Jay's - Zippy -. But the two girls had decided to gang up on the poor older fire master instead, and now have him pinned down, giggling loudly from where they sit on top of him.
Lloyd thumps his staff down, catching their attention, and says, "Girls, please get off of Master Kai. I think you're going to break his back if you sit on it any longer." he continues in a slightly amused voice.
"Awww, but Master Lloyd, it's fun! And we won't break his back." Cherry protests.
"Yeah! Master Kai told us we needed to work on our surprise attacks, so we did. On him!" Zippy adds, poking Kai as she talks.
"Master Lloyd does have a point." A robotic voice comes from the doors leading into the Monastery. Turning, Lloyd sees Zane start to make his way over to them, his own student, Lilac, following closely behind. "Sitting on him for too long will have repercussions, and Master Kai isn't as young as he used to be." He finishes with a grin.
"Hey, hey, hey! I'm plenty young!" Kai objects, "Watch this!" In one move he shakes the two girls off of him and jumps up, doing a backflip in midair and landing on his feet. Well, attempting to land on his feet. Halfway through the flip, Lloyd notices Kai stiffen up and immediately knows something is wrong.
Shit, he's not going to be able to land properly!
As Kai falls back down to the ground, Lloyd sprints over and catches him. Still just as agile as he was when he was younger. The older ninja is limp in Lloyd's arms as Zane rushes over to them both. Quickly the former ice ninja scans Kai, letting out a small sigh of relief as he finishes.
"Good news, he just pulled a few muscles in his back. Nothing that rest and ice won't fix." Zane reports. "Though the sudden unexpected moment overworked his heart and sent too much blood to his brain, causing him to faint."
"Alright, I'll take him back to his room. Make sure he actually rests." Lloyd says, turning to the Monastery doors, but a hand on his shoulder stops him in his tracks.
"Girls, how about you go and see what Master Cole and Master Nya are teaching Kera and Wave?" Zane tells the three younger ninja. Cherry and Zippy run ahead while Lilac walks calmly after them.
Now that the girls are gone, Lloyd looks back at Zane, eyebrow raised expectantly. "What is it, Zane?"
"Lloyd, how were you able to do that just then?" Zane asks.
"Do what? Catch Kai? You know I'm pretty strong and-" Lloyd is cut off by Zane who shakes his head, saying, "No, you sprinted over to him with the speed and agility of someone much younger than forty two."
Zane's icy blue eyes stare deeply into Lloyd's emerald ones, refusing to look away until he gets an answer. Lloyd shifts uncomfortably as he tries to think of something to tell the nindroid. Ever since he found out that he's going to outlive the other ninja, Lloyd hasn't told any of them. He's scared of how they'll react, and he doesn't want to lose his friends.
"I- uh, I'm still training and keeping my body in good shape! Yeah! That's it, I've always been the most agile out of us all, so…" Lloyd trails off, seeing the look on Zane's face, he didn't believe him.
"Lloyd, I know you're lying. Please tell me the truth." Zane says in a calm yet firm voice, one that reminds Lloyd of being scolded by Master Wu.
Lloyd realizes he won't be able to trick Zane, so with a sigh, he says, "Fine, but can I put down Kai first? He's not as light as he's always claiming to be."