As the purple fog cleared, you stood in the middle of someone's living room. A family's living room. As they played board games.
They stared at you both in shock. Of course they would, two semi-strangers (were you really a stranger if you were famous? ...That was probably a creepy question..) had just teleported into their apartment.
"Wu.." you mumbled glancing at all the people. "Think you messed up the amount of tea."
He agreed walking towards the door. "We're sorry for the intrusion!"
Pushing through the door, you both stood in the stairwell in shock. Glancing up at Wu, he was holding in a laugh.
Seeing his face and between what just happened, you couldn't help but start laughing yourself. "That-" you had to take breaths between laughing, "that was something."
Glancing at the door, you saw it was door 16, just had to go down a level or two.
Adjusting the bag on your back you glanced to Wu. "Ready?"
He nodded, walking down the stairs behind you. Between the both of you walking on the creaking steps, you must've woken up at least some people.
Getting to door 13, you knocked. KoKo didn't answer. Glancing back at Wu, you tried again. Still no response.
Pushing on the door, you realized it was never locked in the first place. Maybe just jammed. Walking in, everything seemed fine, but you couldn't see KoKo anywhere. Putting the bag down, you watched Wu begin to prepare the dragon shed as if it were a dissolvable soup packet.
Opening the door to Lloyd's room, you first saw KoKo, asleep, her head and arms on the bed as the rest of her sat on the floor. Secondly, you saw Lloyd.
He was now on his side, part of his head hanging off the bed. A thick, black ooze dropped from his open mouth, and into a bucket below him. Things were bad.
"WU!" You yelled, going to KoKo, "THINGS ARE MUCH WORSE!" Crouching down next to the woman, you grabbed her shoulder.
She flinched awake, looking terrified, but once she realized it was just you, she calmed down. "I- I didn't know what to do.." she mumbled, glancing over to Lloyd.
Wu barged in, staring at Lloyd. "KoKo, rest in the living room. Y/n and I can deal with this. Thank you for watching him." While he spoke to KoKo, he began propping Lloyd upright on some pillows.
Lloyd looked dead. The color of his face had drained, and the black spit was still dribbling out of his mouth. The only things that proved he was alive was his heavy breathing, the pained expression on his face, and the way he winced with every breath.
Handing you the hot bowl, Wu continued preparing Lloyd. The plastic bowl was filled halfway with a shining red liquid, obviously from the shed.
Holding his hand out, you realized Wu was ready. Giving him the bowl, you sat down on the bed, and watched him slowly tip the burning liquid into Lloyd's mouth.
Rubbing Lloyd's hand between your own, you stared at him, waiting for something to happen.
Wu leaned over him, rubbing some of the soupy substance onto his forehead. He whispered an incantation of some sort, standing up. "Now to wait. You should stay with him while I speak with KoKo. If anything worsens, tell me."
With a nod, and you watched him walk out. It was suddenly very silent as you stared at Lloyd. You had made it in time, right?
Grabbing his hand tighter you brought it up to your face. Pressing into it, you could feel your salty tears roll over his knuckles.
And then he flinched.
As you looked up, his scrunched face slowly relaxed, and he began convulsing, and coughing. Bringing the bucket by his mouth, you guided him to coughing, and throwing up the black ooze into the bucket.
Rubbing his back, you felt him shiver in pain. Taking the cloth around your wrist off, you fashioned it into a hair tie, and tied up his hair.
Taking a break from coughing up the blackness, he turned his head to look at you, his face turned from being in pain, to relief, to confusion. "..Y/n?" His voice was hoarse, and some more black dripped from his lips.
Grabbing a tissue from his nightstand, you began wiping around his mouth. "Yep, I'm here..."
He grabbed your arm, looking up at you. "Why- why are you here..? Why did you come back after I left you...?" The whites of his eyes were red and irritated as he glanced around, trying to figure out what happened.
"KoKo asked for help, and me and Wu got you that help. You think I would leave you forever?" You asked, throwing the tissue into the bucket. You would call Wu and KoKo in eventually, but you deserved a moment alone.
He let go of your wrist, and reached behind your neck, touching your hair. "Your hair is longer.." He rubbed an end between his fingers. "Why is there-" he glanced at his fingertips, "why is there sand in your- in your hair?"
Pursing your lips, you sighed. "Wu and I went on some adventure to heal you. You better be thankful."
Lloyd looked away, spitting a bit into the bucket. "I am.. and- and I'm sorry I left. I made a mistake and I never meant to hurt you-"
"Hey.. hey it's alright." You mumbled, grabbing his cheek and turning his head back towards you. "You need time to grieve, and I'm not going to deny you that need. We've been through a lot, and with Nya.. gone.. I've come to realize everyone just has a different way of coping."
Reaching up to your face, Lloyd's fingers flinched. "What happened to your face..?"
Grabbing your face, you panicked. You had thought the bruise had gone away by now. He could still tell based on the littlest mark? "It doesn't matter. Let me get Wu and KoKo so we can all talk-"
Going to stand up, you began walking when Lloyd grabbed your wrist, almost sliding off the bed. Whipping your head back, you sighed at his expression. He wouldn't take any excuses, would he? "It's nothing, we'll talk about it after the others talk to you for a bit."
Sliding his hand off, you opened the door, glancing to the sofa. "Lloyd's awake."
Wu and KoKo looked back, their eyes both widened. Rushing to their feet, they ran past you and into the room. KoKo sat, sobbing as she hugged Lloyd, while Wu studied the black ooze.
Lloyd hugged KoKo back, before leaning out of the hug. "Will someone explain what is happening..? I was just putting away laundry- and now I'm here, puking up.. whatever that is. Why are you two both covered in sand..? Why is there.. blood.. stains.. on your pants?"
Glancing down, you realized you probably should've changed out of your nice sweatpants before going to the First Realm. They still had the reddish stains in them, though better after Faith had helped you. "We'll answer your questions after you get something to eat. It's been days since you last had anything to drink or eat."
KoKo stood up quickly, "I'll warm up the takeout!" She quickly exited the room. She was reacting pretty well, compared to everything that just happened.
Now that KoKo was gone, Wu grabbed a stool from the living room, and pulled it into Lloyd's room. "We can explain if you'd like... as best we can at least."
Nodding, Lloyd leaned forward, grabbing your hand, "I think- I think it has to do with that heavy feeling I always felt. Like I was carrying an extra pressure with every breath I took. That's- that's the best way to describe it."
Taking a seat on the bed, you held his hand in your lap, watching Wu's expression form into disappointment. "Why did you never tell any of us?"
"We were constantly going through mission after mission- I didn't want to make anything worse. I thought it was just something I ate, or contracted from a mission. But it's not, is it?" He asked, rubbing his cold hand into your's.
Pursing his lips, Wu shook his head. "Your Oni part of yourself.. it was conflicting with your power. Your Elemental Power was fighting against it, but that only caused it to grow stronger." He paused, seeing if Lloyd had a reaction past just nodding. He didn't. "We -Y/n and I- went to go get you something to heal you. Firstbourne's shed."
He furred his brows, looking at you both. "Firstbourne was in Ninjago?"
Shaking your head, you glanced down to your lap. "We were in the First Realm."
Leaning forward, Lloyd grabbed you, hugging you from the side. "I didn't mean- I never wanted you to- I'm so sorry Y/n."
Hugging him back, you sighed. "It's not your fault. It wasn't horrible either- it was different.. nicer this time. And we only stayed until Firstbourne was there."
Wu coughed, getting your attention again. "With the Dragon skin, we are able to temporarily negate your Oni side. But it's temporary. We'll-" he paused, brushing his hand through his beard. "We'll have to find some kind of permanent solution eventually."
Lloyd nodded, before starting to choke again. Bringing the bucket back up, he puked inside of it.
Standing up, Wu handed you the bowl. "It's about time to open shop. Stay with Lloyd, and make sure he drinks about half a gram of dissolved skin every 3 hours." You
Grabbing it, you handed the bowl to Lloyd, who began swallowing the shining liquid as you set a timer for 3 hours.
KoKo ran past the door, shoving objects into her purse as she slid her shoes on. "I have to go to my diner job. If anything happens, my number is on the fridge, the food is almost done on the stove, and Lloyd has a spare key on his dresser for any emergencies. Take care of him... please." She then opened the door, hurried out with a click of the lock.
Lloyd sighed. "I'm really fucking sorry- I didnt-"
"If you didn't mean to, you have no reason to say sorry. What's done is done, and I understand you did what you did to just keep everything simple." You mumbled, placing his hand on the side of the bed.
He pressed his hands into the mattress, sitting tall. "How long was I out for?"
Rubbing your thumb into your palm, you looked at your sand covered shoes. "KoKo said you were out for four days. Me and Wu arrived a day ago, and then spent about another day in the First Realm. So I'd say 5 days."
Lloyd nodded biting his upper lip. "I-"
The kitchen timer began to beep loudly, loud enough the upstairs neighbors could definitely hear it. Excusing yourself, you walked into the kitchen, seeing puffy potstickers on the stove. Taking the pan off the stovetop, you began opening cabinets trying to find a plate.
"Plates are in the upper cabinet next to the fridge!"
How'd he know you were looking for plates? Sure enough, the cabinet held plates of various shaped and sizes. Grabbing a paper plate from the stack, you took the potstickers off the stove, and only mildly burned your fingertips.
Bringing the plate back to his room, you set it on the stool, before sitting on the floor. Picking one up, you brought it to your mouth and began blowing on it. Biting on it, the soft crackle as you bit the bun was the only thing filling the awkward silence.
"Y/n.. do you still love me?"
Choking on the pork bun, you coughed it up, and tried swallowing it again. "What? What do you mean?"
Lloyd shook his head, positioning himself at the edge of the bed. "I asked if you still loved me."
Taking in a breath of the still air, you sighed. "I do. But I'm not sure how to show it after all I've been through. And I'm not sure how you want me to show it after 5 months of not seeing each other.. Do you still love me?"
He pursed his lips, a small nod quickly grew into a bigger one. "It felt easier to talk to you after you came back from the First Realm the first time. Now it's- I dunno.. a bit awkward.
Putting a hand on his crossed knee, you smiled. "I understand what you mean. It's kind of scary, basically having to start over again."
Putting his potsticker down, he grabbed your hand. "I don't want to start over. I want things to be the same as it was. But- but it can't be the same since she's gone..."
Taking another bite, you stood up, unlaced your dirty shoes and sat back onto his bed. Facing him, you raised your eyebrows tilting your head. "This is what I mean. We need time to grieve, that's why you left, and it was perfectly reasonable."
He nodded, hesitantly leaning his head forwards, and into your's. "I'm scared, I don't want things to be awkward."
Pressing your forehead into his, you sighed. "I know."
"I don't want to restart.. I'm so scared.."
"...I know."
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Did more research with my friend and found out Lego is neutral to Israel (haven't announced anything currently) so yippee new chapter!!
:3
Also here's how I imagine Lloyd and KoKo's apartment layout to be, along with the small layout of Lloyd's room as well, feel free to imagine your own floorplan if you don't like this one