Kai was seething. Practically vibrating with rage.
"Oh, just wait until I get my hands on Groose," Kai fumed, storming down the path from the academy to the plaza at a speed that had Zane and Lloyd rushing to keep up. "I'm going to destroy that moron!"
"We don't know for sure if he had anything to do with it," Lloyd pointed out mildly, though he didn't sound even a little convinced that Groose wasn't at fault.
"Of course, it was him!" Kai snapped. Lloyd's apparent lack of anger was pissing Kai off even more. "How are you so calm right now?! He nearly killed you!"
"That's a bit dramatic," Lloyd said, scanning the sky above them, maybe looking for his own bird or for Groose's. That Lloyd was trying to downplay what had happened made Kai's blood run even hotter.
"It is an accurate description," Zane disputed grimly. This was the angriest Kai had ever seen Zane, the dude was usually pretty chill. Kai was glad someone else was taking this seriously.
Their hunt for Groose was leading them towards the plaza. The idiot wasn't trying to hide, plenty of people had seen him pass by. Did he think he could just wait out the clock at the plaza? He couldn't honestly think he wasn't a suspect?
"What if Zelda hadn't realized what was happening?" Kai argued. Would Kai have realized? Probably not, and that terrified him. He wouldn't have thought Lloyd's bird wasn't coming, no one would think that. He probably would have thought Lloyd was just playing around. By the time he would have realized Lloyd's whistles weren't being answered, it would have been too late for Kai to make the dive before Lloyd hit the barrier.
"Well, that wouldn't have been good, I guess," Lloyd admitted uncomfortably. Kai's temper deflated a bit as he realized the event had maybe shaken Lloyd more than he let on. This attitude might just be Lloyd's way of coping. Thinking back, Lloyd had gotten pretty quiet when Kai had saved him as a kid too.
"It seems that we'll need to post more rescue knights in that area," Zane commented. A rescue knight's job was to patrol and catch anyone who fell off the island. Mostly, the job was aimed to protect small children who hadn't met their bird yet. Someone Lloyd's age would be expected just to call their own bird, though had a rescue knight been in the area they would have of course caught Lloyd.
"There usually is one in that area," Kai told him. "But with the ceremony, and the Yiga being more active lately, we're stretched thin, and no one was really supposed to be there today." The statue was supposed to be limited to ceremony participants today, so no little kids would be in the area to need saving.
"Yeah, it wasn't great timing," Lloyd agreed.
As they passed a row of houses, Keet, who had graduated last year, waved from the bench he was sitting on. "Good luck in the race, Lloyd!" he called out. "Looking forward to seeing that emerald loftwing of yours in action!" Clearly, Keet had not heard the news yet.
"Thanks," Lloyd returned, but didn't say anything else. Kai understood not wanting to rope in every random person they met on the way into their search. Keet wasn't even a knight, he'd only gone to the academy for basic flight training.
Kai's eyes locked on to Groose, Cawlin, and Stritch as soon as the plaza came into view. The group was sitting by the watchtower, backs facing Kai and the rest of the plaza. Other people were milling around the edges of the plaza, wondering why the race was late to start, but most of the plaza was clear. The main section of the plaza was meant for the racers today. The two other racers who weren't part of Groose's gang were out searching for Lloyd's bird, so Groose and his cronies had the area to themselves.
Bristling, Kai's mouth opened to yell and get this interrogation started, but Lloyd jerked him back. Kai turned to look at the blonde in confusion. Lloyd tapped a finger to his lips. Ohhhh. A stealthy approach. Catch them off guard. Kai could get behind that. He nodded, following Lloyd's lead.
As they got closer, Stritch's voice became audible. Both Stritch and Cawlin were massaging Groose's back and arms, the kiss-up losers. At least Morro had self-respect.
"You know Groose," Stritch grumbled. "That sure was a pain, what with the scratching and pecking." Kai's fingers twitched. Lloyd signaled him to hold, which was incredibly frustrating, but understandable. If they were lucky, the gaggle of idiots would confess on their own.
"Course it was," Groose boasted haughtily. "You thought a big emerald loftwing like that was gonna do down without a fight?" Well there was no misinterpreting that sentence. Lloyd still shook his head to say stay back though. Which- fine. "But we got him, and I don't care how tough those birds are supposed to be. He's not getting out of that pen anytime soon boys." Anger finally sparked in Lloyd's eyes.
Groose started to stand up, so Cawlin and Stritch straightened up too, turning around first. The pair flinched back when they saw the three onlookers just a few steps away. Kai smirked as the two stepped back, effectively cowering behind Groose. Then Groose turned around.
Groose startled as he registered who had been watching them but, to give him very little credit, he didn't shrink back like his underlings. "Whoa! Lloyd!" the bully gasped, before pulling himself together. "So, uh… yeah. Just how long you been standing there?"
"Long enough," Lloyd answered drily.
Groose seemed unsettled by the response but hid it quickly. "What's your problem, anyways?" Groose scoffed. A smug grin spread across his stupid face. "Oh, wait… I got it. You're here to talk about today's race."
"You know why he'd here!" Kai exploded, taking an aggressive step forward.
"He ain't talking to you," Cawlin barked, then cowered back again when Kai lunged towards him. The little creep was so lucky Lloyd held him back, Cawlin was more than a foot shorter than him, it would be like punting a ball.
Groose ignored the whole exchange, all his attention on Lloyd. "I can see it in those dopey eyes of yours," Groose mocked, getting in closer. Groose had a few inches on Lloyd, towering over the kid. Lloyd didn't look intimidated. "They're pleading-" Groose made his voice go higher pitched. "-Oh, Groose, can you please find it in your heart to let me win today? Please?" He chuckled, apparently finding himself hilarious.
"Lloyd never said such a thing," Zane corrected unnneccessarily. "Nor would he ever say such a thing. You are clearly the one at a disadvantage."
"Shut it weirdo," Groose snapped.
"Groose…" Lloyd warned, fists clenching.
The dumb brute began to circle Lloyd like a ravenshark. "You're just desperate to win so you can get some alone time with Zelda up on the Statue of the Goddess at the end of the ceremony. Well, sorry pal, Groose doesn't do charity for wimps. My advice? Work hard and wish with all your heart. You might even come in third."
"This is about Zelda?" Lloyd groaned. "Do you even care about becoming a knight?" Groose was never going to become a knight.
"She's never going to be interested, dude," Kai growled. "She is never even going to be slightly curious." Zelda hated him. Like, really hated him. For obvious reasons.
"What would you know?" Groose waved off, not even glancing at Kai. "So, Lloyd, if you didn't come to beg, did you come to surrender? Say, come to think of it-" Groose made a big show of scanning the sky. "How come I don't see your bird? I can't imagine what happened to him." His smirk grew wider. "Do you think his tiny brain got confused by all the clouds and got lost?" Cawlin and Stritch both giggled.
"Give him back," Lloyd demanded coldly.
"Huh?" Groose shrugged, not even trying to convincingly play dumb. "I've got no idea what you're talking about."
"You fucking-!" Arms were holding Kai back. "Lloyd, let me go!" The kid did not let him go. And Kai didn't want to punch Lloyd to be able to smash Groose's face in. "Urgh, Lloyd almost fell through the barrier!" he shouted, earning the attention of some of the distant crowd. People glanced over to see Kai struggling to get to Groose, but no one came over. Admittedly, it wasn't a super uncommon thing for him. "You egg-brained moron! If Zelda hadn't caught him in time-!"
Groose cut him off, rolling his eyes. "You know, Lloyd, we're all getting sick and tired of how you never let anyone forget you and Zelda go way back. You've been friends since you were kids? Big deal. It doesn't change the fact that you float through life with your head in the clouds."
It was true that Lloyd and Zelda had been friends since they were toddlers. They were both children of the most important and influential families in Skyloft so that had given them an early connection. The sadder connection was the two had bonded over their lost parent. Zelda had lost her mother to the plague and Lloyd had been abandoned by his father when the man ran away to join Chen's Yiga cult.
Kai still hadn't fully forgiven Garmadon for that. His wife had just had a baby and the community had just been ravaged by a plague and his solution had been to go join an insane group of Surface obsessed cultists? It wasn't that Kai couldn't understand it, but understanding why someone did something didn't make the thing okay. A lot of people had gone to join Chen's gang after the plague. Kai had vague, fear-filled memories of the time the sickness had spread through Skyloft, and the scars would never fully heal. Cole still remembered his mother dying quite vividly. Kai completely understood how scared people had been at the time. With a wife still weak from childbirth and a newborn son, Garmadon must have been especially terrified. And many people had fallen for Chen's 'the goddess imprisoned us on this island. The Surface is real, and we're being kept from it' birdshit. Garmadon had been about to inherit the headmaster position, so to have him betray them had shaken all of Skyloft.
It had taken years for Garmadon to finally realize he'd made a mistake. The man had returned shortly after Lloyd met his bird. That was nine years Garmadon had missed out on of Lloyd's life. Nine years he'd spent helping Chen. Lloyd had confessed to Kai that his dad had secretly visited him a few times over the years, but that didn't really make it any better.
Garmadon was the only deserter who came back though. And with his experience and insider information, they were able to beat back Chen to the point he was barely a threat anymore. So everyone had forgiven him. Wu had been thrilled to have his older brother back, giving up the headmaster position to pass it back to his brother. For all his past mistakes, Garmadon had proven himself since coming back and Kai had grown a semi-grudging respect for the man.
Lloyd had forgiven his father remarkably fast. Groose wouldn't get that kind of mercy.
"You're going to be the next headmaster?" Groose continued to rant. "Yeah right. Dopes like you are dragging our honored academy through the mud."
"And just who might you be talking about Groose?"
They all turned to see Zelda glaring at Groose, hands on her hips. Nya was standing a little behind her, also giving Groose a not so friendly look.
Groose was so screwed.
"Oh… Zelda. Hey," Groose stumbled, flustered by his crush's sudden appearance. "Nah, it's… uh…"
"Don't even try it, Groose!" Zelda snapped, striding forward, pushing Lloyd aside so she could get right in Groose's face. She jabbed an accusing finger at him. "You're picking on Lloyd again, aren't you. He's a student at the academy like all of us. Why do you insist on bullying him around so much?" How Zelda could be so stern and heated when scolding someone, but still oddly nice- or maybe it was elegant?- Kai didn't know. When he chewed someone out, there was a lot more insults and swearing involved. To better convey his emotions.
"Yeah…" Groose said slowly, obviously not really processing Zelda's words. Creep was too distracted by having Zelda so close. "I suppose…"
Zelda quirked an eyebrow. "You suppose? Suppose what?"
"I… suppose…" Groose dragged out. "You… er." Then he snapped out of his daze. "Pfft! Forget it." He waved Zelda off and started stomping away. "I wasn't supposing anything."
"Where do you think you're going?!" Kai challenged. Groose and his goons were heading towards the plaza skydiving platform. They couldn't just walk away! Kai followed them, now free from Lloyd's restrictive grip.
"Yes, you must release Lloyd's bird," Zane agreed. He didn't sound very intimidating, but Kai appreciated the support.
Groose completely ignored them, pausing at the edge of the platform. "Okay, we're out of here, boys," he told Cawlin and Stritch. He then looked over Kai's quickly approaching head. "Later, Lloyd! Hope you find your bird, or else you're gonna have to sit out today's race. That would be a real setback for you." They were going to jump before Kai got there, but that was fine. He'd catch them on his bird. "So find that bird or get real used to the taste of failure. It's your special flavor." The three idiots jumped off the platform and a chorus of whistles rang through the air. Less than two seconds later, they were flying away on their birds.
Kai was about to go after them when Lloyd grabbed his arm. He hadn't even heard the kid approach. "Lloyd!" he hissed. The more time they wasted, the further away Groose got.
"Don't bother, Kai," Lloyd sighed, frustration dripping from his voice. "He wants us to follow. To waste time. He's not going to tell us. He knows how much trouble he would be in, and he doesn't want to look weak in front of his crew. If he didn't break for Zelda, he won't break for anyone."
…
Dammit. Sometimes he hated how sensible Lloyd was.
Kai sullenly followed Lloyd back to the others.
"Those lunkheads definitely did something to your bird, Lloyd," Zelda huffed. "But we'll get no help from them. We'll have to find your bird ourselves."
"Why are you all hovering over here?" Morro?
Lloyd's cousin was crossing the plaza to where they were. He didn't look like he was in a good mood, but he never was.
"This place is for racers only right now," Morro continued irritably. "And unless you two-" he gestured at Zane and Kai "-managed to monumentally screw up and fall back multiple years in the span of a single day, you aren't racing." To Nya. "Your race isn't until later." And to Zelda. "I'm not sure about you, you are participating in the ceremony, I guess, but I'm sure you have better things to do." Morro was always more polite to Zelda. It wasn't because she was a girl, Nya was never spared. Probably just came down to her being the future leader of Skyloft.
Zelda shook her head. "Lloyd's bird is missing. We have strong reason to believe Groose is responsible. I don't suppose you'd know anything about that?"
Kai rolled his eyes. Like Morro would confess.
Somehow, Morro's face twisted to look even more annoyed. And- frustrated? Kai could almost hear his teeth grinding as he said, "Missing bird, huh? Nope, don't know anything about it. You'd have to be a real idiot to do something like that."
Wait, Morro hadn't helped? Kai had just assumed he had.
"C'mon, Morro," Lloyd pleaded. Kai didn't know why he was bothering, Morro slapped down every peace offering Lloyd so often gave him. "You can't want to win the race like this. You didn't delay taking the test to not race me." Oh, that was a good point. The guy had rejected the opportunity to take the test early so he could 'teach Lloyd a lesson'. Lloyd not being able to race would make that sacrifice meaningless. Maybe Morro would tell them where Lloyd's bird was.
Morro shook his head stubbornly. "I don't know anything about it. Like you said, I never would let you use a lame excuse like that to coward out of racing me."
"But Groose told you where he hid the bird?" Nya tried.
"I haven't really even talked to Groose today," Morro lied, eyes fixed on one of the stones that made up the plaza instead of meeting his cousin's eyes.
"You know he's manipulating you too, right?" Lloyd attempted to reason. Probably fruitlessly, but might as well give it a shot. "He's hoping you'll effectively give up and drop out of the race too if I'm not there so he can win."
"You give him too much credit, Lloyd," Morro sighed. "He isn't that smart." They could agree on that at least. The eternal grouch spun around. "If the race isn't starting yet, I'm out of here." He glanced back at Lloyd. "Good luck finding your bird. Disqualifying isn't satisfying for anyone." Then he was gone.
"Seriously?" Kai groaned. "He wouldn't even give us a hint?" Was he impressed that Morro wasn't selling out his friends, or disgusted? It was a difficult emotional blend to pick apart.
Lloyd was watching his cousin's retreat with a strangely unbothered look. In fact, he almost looked a little-happy? The kid let out a long breath, then said, "Guess we'll just have to search for him. He has to be somewhere on Skyloft, no way Groose managed to drag him to another island. Skyloft isn't that big. There are only so many places someone can hid a big bird."
"I'll fly around the island to look for any sign of your bird," Zelda volunteered.
"So will I," Kai jumped in. He'd find something for sure.
"Me too," Nya piled on.
"I shall assist Lloyd with the ground search," Zane offered.
"Thanks guys," Lloyd smiled tiredly. "We'll have to move fast. We don't have much time."
"Oh, don't worry," Kai assured, cracking his knuckles. "Speed is my middle name."
"No it isn't," Nya denied flatly.
"Well it should have been."