Birthright | Ninjago

𝐗𝐕𝐈. TOO CLOSE

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

THERE WASN'T MUCH TO BE said after the death of Zane Julien. People went their separate ways—over the course of a few weeks, Lloyd would find himself seeing his friends less and less, and one of them not at all. It was difficult for the youngest Ninja to see his family leaving each other, leaving him, and it was even harder to come to terms with the disappearance of his best friend. It was expected for the three Ninja to begin to disperse following the death of their brother, but for Hiro to leave Lloyd after they promised to stay together hurt in a much different way than Lloyd expected.

He took his feelings out during training. He took out his frustration toward Hiro for disappearing by kicking the asses of the new security Nindroids; he took out his anger toward Kai by making sure the droids had to continuously be repaired; he took out his sadness over the team disbanding by helping Cyrus Borg make sure that the Golden Armor the Overlord had worn couldn't be stolen for anyone else to use, not that Lloyd thought anyone else would be able to withstand the power of the armor—just one touch could vaporize someone, no matter their species.

Lloyd sighed as the false armor disappeared from in front of him, the hologram making a pleasing sound as it blinked out of existence. He struggled out of the rope around his waist as Borg spoke, a door at the side of the simulation room opening to reveal Sensei Wu and the inventor.

"You got closer than I thought you would," Borg praised. Lloyd got out of the rope and moved toward the exit, pulling down the mask of his uniform. "But then again, I didn't think you'd be quite so rough on my security droids," the man added, nodding to the pile of sparking Nindroids. Lloyd felt an impulse of fear run down his spine before remembering that just because the Nindroids had the same look as their evil counterparts, it didn't mean they themselves were evil. Borg had reprogrammed them.

"If I can't steal the Golden Armor, I'd be surprised if anyone else could," Lloyd assured, moving around Borg to push the man's wheelchair forward. "It's secure, but where's the real one?" he asked, smiling lightly. He'd asked Borg the same question every time they ran through the security drill, and he never got a good answer out of the man. He supposed it was best he didn't know, anyway—with the new technology in Ninjago, his mind could be read in an instant, and then where would he be?

"Some secrets are best kept safe," Borg said, amused.

"Lloyd, where are the other ninja? I asked for all of you to take part in this test," Sensei Wu spoke up. Lloyd paused, turning to look at his uncle with a sheepish look.

"Uh, they, uh, they really wanted to be here, but they, uh . . . all had other plans," he stammered, his smile falling away to a frown as he turned around again, continuing to push Borg forward. A heavy feeling settled into his chest as he remembered the read but unanswered messages he had sent to the other Ninja, asking them to come down to the training session.

And the unread, unanswered message he had sent to Hiro begging him to home.

"I understand perfectly well. The loss of Zane has affected us all," Borg said gently. "I haven't even heard a word from my assistant Pixal since his memorial. It's heartbreaking." Lloyd nodded in agreement, a small sigh escaping him. It was difficult to hear Zane's name without his mood immediately becoming sour; Lloyd tried not to let Zane's death affect him, but how could you process your brother's death after only a few weeks? There just wasn't enough time in the world to grieve while being a hero.