Evil of a Broken Past (Ninjago)

Chapter 10

"It can't actually be him, right?" Cole asked. The ninja, Pixal, and Sensei Wu circled around, speaking in hushed tones.

"The Golden Weapons reacted to him- " Wu responded. Lloyd walked in the room and they all quickly silenced.

"Lloyd, welcome. I thought it would be nice for one of the ninja to give you a quick tour around the monastery. But immediately after, we have to begin training. I'm afraid we're years behind Garmadon." Sensei Wu said. He looked over the ninja to see who'd be given the pleasure of giving Lloyd a tour.

"How about you, Nya." Nya stepped forward at her Sensei's orders. Unlike some of the others (namely Jay and Cole) who thought working with Lloyd was a terrible idea, Nya didn't think it would be the worst. He had, after all, spared her brother.

Nya always wondered why the villains they faced did what they did, and now maybe she could finally know why. But nothing about Lloyd felt very villainous anymore, even if he'd only been there for a little over an hour. He was expressionless, he didn't say much. He was simply a body, lost of all soul and spirit. If anything, he looked sad and lost. It was a drastic change from the Lloyd the ninja were used to fighting, who was the exact opposite.

In between pointing out training rooms and living spaces, Nya finally asked him.

"Why aren't you with Garmadon and the Quiet One?"

"I'm not wanted there." Lloyd answered quietly. This felt like the first time he had truly admitted this statement. It was still so hard to wrap his mind around everything. All he could think of was how terrible the Overlord had been inside his body. Ever since, Lloyd had felt different. It was like the world was in grayscale, everything bleak and heavy and sad. And Lloyd had no idea why.

"Really? But they're your family. Surely they care at least a little bit. As much as villains can, right?" Nya said hopefully.

"My sister, maybe. But Garmadon, my Father, he's never really cared. Not everyone can have a loving family."

Lloyd almost continued his train of thought until he remembered who he was talking to.

"But there's no reason to talk about all this. I need to start training as soon as possible." Lloyd responded, operating almost like a robot, just reading off his agenda.

Just as Sensei Wu had said, training began immediately. Garmadon had never taken training easy, but by the end of the night, Lloyd had never felt closer to dying.

At nearly 1 a.m Lloyd could still be seen drilling over and over on that first night.

"Don't you think we should tell him to stop? He's been out there for hours." Kai asked Sensei Wu, helping Wu finalize some planning.

"He's still out there? Yes, go ahead and tell him that. It'd be best if he ate something, too." Sensei Wu responded. Kai nodded, heading out to get Lloyd.

"You should come in." Kai said, walking up to Lloyd. Lloyd's face was set in something close to anger, but he quickly stopped when Kai approached.

"I'm fine. You know what Sensei Wu said. I'm years behind. I need to be working at least twice as hard."

Kai looked at the smaller boy with a small sadness. He couldn't exactly pinpoint it, but something about Lloyd felt very different. Kai could barely imagine all the emotions Lloyd felt now after suddenly being told "You're the Green Ninja, You'll need to face your father". If Kai was being honest, he had a bad feeling, one that nearly terrified him.

"If you don't take care of yourself, you won't be able to fight at your best." Kai told Lloyd. Kai couldn't help but have a soft spot for Lloyd, but now that Lloyd was on their side it wasn't as bad.

"I know there's so much happening, but... Are you okay?" Kai asked sincerely, holding Lloyd's hands in his own.

"Yeah." Lloyd responded with a smile that he hoped was convincing enough. "But you shouldn't worry about me at all. I'm going to be okay."

"Okay." Kai said with a satisfied smile. Kai could tell that that last statement might not be true, but he decided that instead of pressing the subject he would make sure Lloyd got some sleep.