If you notice any dumb mistakes, please point them out. I have been editing this chapter in the middle of the night, so the way my brain works can be surprising.
Anyway, enjoy :)
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Lloyd was peering out of the car window in the backseat, staring at the sights that had already become familiar to him over the past month he'd spent with his paternal family and the Ninja. The tall buildings looked much more normal, the Borg Tower was already an old thing, and all of those restaurants and malls blended into the overall view. Only bookstores and libraries interested him any longer. But that was about to change.
It was Lloyd's first day of school.
Lloyd would've been lying if he'd claimed he didn't feel nervous—or absolutely hysterical. He'd been to school last when he was six years old and hadn't experienced anything of the sort thereafter. But now, he was going to a real school, which, by the sounds of it, was far more developed than the one he'd attended, or the ones his siblings had gone to. Jay had even mentioned that the school had a whole room full of computers, which Lloyd had to see.
Other than what Jay had told him, Lloyd didn't know much about his school. His morning had consisted of Kai and Nya prepping him for his first day, helping him into his school uniform and giving him more or less great advice. Kai had told him that if and when someone would bully him, he'd have to kick them where it hurt most. Meanwhile, Nya had advised him to try and talk to others to appear kind, because the first impression was the most important. She'd said it was important to be remembered for being outgoing and nice rather than quiet and reserved. Then Morro had butted in, saying the only thing Lloyd would be remembered for was the year book that would be dedicated to his memory.
But all the while he'd been instructed, Lloyd's mind had prioritized something else. His thoughts were occupied by the memory of his latest dream.
Lloyd knitted his brow at himself, remembering the odd dream. It had been very blurry and kind of hard to make sense of, but there had been these horned creatures, whose skin was thoroughly black and teeth were sharp as knives. Their purple eyes had glowed at Lloyd malevolently, but for some reason, he had not been afraid. The creatures had felt almost familiar to him. He'd felt a strange coziness around them. And now he was left yearning for that same feeling.
Lloyd blinked the mental images of his dream out of his vision and glanced around the car. His eyes paused on his uncle who was driving and giving Morro a lecture about something he'd done the previous day. Then, his eyes shifted to his cousin, who was sitting beside him, dressed in a similiar school uniform (a button-down shirt, black pants and a dark blue jumper). The only exception in his attire was that he wasn't wearing an extra jumper, because he wasn't freezing in normal temperatures.
"—And now, please do not get in trouble," Wu said to his son. "I do not want to hear about any detentions or other punishments you've had to be given."
Lloyd glanced at Morro again, noting how he was glaring out of the car window at the passing sights, including the biking mailman.
"As if I got in trouble on purpose. Besides, it's not me that causes all that trouble. It's those idiots!"
Wu sighed. "Yes, I know, but you've also been rude to your teachers lately."
"Only the stupid ones."
Before long, the car stopped in the parking lot of a huge concrete building with tall walls around it. There were large gates that allowed entrance to a very fancy-looking yard with trimmed grass and a monumental fountain. And above the gates there was a large, black sign with golden writing on it:
Ninjago City Private Secondary School for Boys
Head: Mr. Tanako
"Bye Dad," Morro said dully, getting out of the car and stomping in through the gates.
Lloyd was petrified all of a sudden. He could not make a single movement to get out of the car, but simply stared at the school building, biting his lip. He knew he was supposed to be ready for school, at least according to Wu, but he felt everything but prepared for it.
"It's okay, Lloyd. It won't be as bad as you think," Wu reassured from the driver's seat. "Your homeroom teacher knows what kinds of conditions you've come from. He'll help you with everything. And Morro will look after you as well."
At the last remark, Lloyd gave his uncle a disbelieving look.
"I know he's been very rude towards you, but I convinced him to keep an eye on you. He'll help you if you really need it."
Lloyd nodded hesitantly. "Okay," he muttered.
"And the school can always call me if anything bad happens. You're completely safe here," Wu said. "There's nothing to be frightened of."
The blond nodded again. He turned to face the school building again, observing it with both curiosity and insecurity. Knowing he couldn't back down anymore, he exchanged goodbyes with his uncle, got out of the car and officially entered the schoolyard.
It felt strange, honestly.
All Lloyd could see was bigger and smaller boys wearing identical clothing, all busy talking, laughing and messing around with their friends. He could spot Morro talking to a couple of boys, one with ginger hair and one with chocolate brown hair. He averted his gaze before Morro had the chance to notice him and scowl at him as he usually did.
Lloyd headed to the doors of the school, as he had been instructed that morning. By the entrance stood a tall, bald, dark-eyed probably-a-teacher. Lloyd didn't know whether he was expected to greet him or not (the man looked like he was expecting a bow), so he simply cracked a small smile.
"You must be Lloyd Garmadon," the teacher said. He had a really strict voice, even stricter than that of Wu's when someone did something foolish.
Lloyd nodded hesitantly.
"I am your homeroom and history teacher, Mr. Winston," the teacher introduced himself. "I will be watching over you today and if you need help, you will simply ask me."
The tone Mr. Winston was using made sure that no matter what type of a matter between life and death Lloyd would be facing, he would not "simply ask" him for help. For now, he would've rather gone to hug a skunk than risk annoying the teacher.
"Have you been told about the school rules yet?" Mr. Winston inquired.
Lloyd did recall his uncle going over the rules the previous night, but he had been so nervous he could remember maybe one or two (also, he had gotten distracted by Jay and Cole's bickering). But he couldn't let his teacher know that without speaking, so he shook his head.
"We can go over them now. Your first lesson will start at 9 o'clock sharp in room 108B, so we have exactly 7 minutes and 46 seconds to go over the most crucial rules that you must follow in order to succeed in your studies, settle in properly and avoid suspension or expulsion due to breaking those rules that this school has proudly held onto since December 1989 when the new regime came to be."
This man should've been awarded for the longest sentence in the world. He didn't even draw a breath in between. The lungs he must've had.
"Now, follow me, please. I'll show you around while we go over the rules," Mr. Winston said and proceeded to walk inside at cheetah speed. Lloyd had to jog to keep up with him.
🍀•🍀•🍀
Lloyd's experience of school was fine so far. His first lesson had been everything he'd expected; the teacher had lectured them about hibernation and given them lots of homework that everybody else had seemed to be annoyed by, but which had been an absolute delight to Lloyd. Despite feeling nervous about the social side of school, he absolutely loved studying and learning.
But now it was time for Lloyd's first ever PE class and, as he couldn't rely on his knowledge and books anymore, he was feeling out of his element. His training at the monastery had not yet turned him into a fit athlete, so he had few to no skills to use for his advantage, much less knowledge about what PE lessons were like.
Lloyd was quietly standing in line on a huge sports field along with all the other boys in his class, waiting for the coach to arrive. The coach was apparently taking long, because the other boys were starting to get impatient as well.
"The coach is probably training his vocal cords," a boy called Sean muttered to another boy named Leo.
Leo nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Vocal exercises."
The boy next to Lloyd, Jon-Jon, turned to face him. "Have you been told about the coach yet?"
Lloyd shook his head.
"Well, you'll see soon. Or hear." Jon-Jon shrugged.
Lloyd didn't exactly know what he was supposed to make of that. Apparently the coach was somehow special. The boys had mentioned vocal exercises, so maybe the coach had a funny voice or something. Or maybe he could sing like the opera people Rita had talked a lot about.
Well, he was about to find out, since the coach and assistant coach marched into the field just then. While the assistant coach was short, slim and quite pale, the coach himself was very buff, large and tanned.
And so far Lloyd had not figured out what was so special about him.
"Okay, boys, we have a new student, don't we?" The coach called out.
Lloyd blushed and avoided making eye contact.
"Lloyd Garmadon. Wasn't that your name?" The coach asked.
The blond nodded.
"Well, my name is Coach Marmylady—"
Lloyd could not stop himself from calling him Coach Marmalade in his mind.
"And this is the assistant coach, Mr. Springles," Coach Marmalade continued. "So, today we're going to be playing football. Nice and easy. Let's start off with a few laps around the field. Go!"
In a second, everyone started to run. Lloyd quickly followed after them, running at the very back of the group. He overheard the conversation the boys in front of him were having.
"Just wait. Soon he's going to start," one of them said.
"Yeah. Get your earplugs."
Lloyd frowned, but the frown didn't last long as it was replaced by a violent flinch and him slamming his hands onto his ears.
"Go! Go! Go! Come on, boys! What are you?! Tortoises?! Run!" Coach Marmalade screamed from the top of his lungs.
"There we are," one of the boys mumbled.
"What's the hold-up!? Run, you pieces of garbage!"
Well, now Lloyd knew what all the boys had meant by what they'd said. It wasn't like he knew what PE teachers were usually like, but he was quite sure they weren't supposed to yell so much. At least not so loud.
Then, after a few laps that had the boys tired enough already, it was time for football. The coach split them into two teams, not even bothering to make the teams fair. The other team had all the tall, strong apes while the other one had the scrawny string beans, naturally including Lloyd.
For some reason Lloyd had let himself believe Coach Marmalade would be a little quieter during the football game. Luckily, he was deprived of that belief very soon.
"Get the ball! Get the ball, Johnson!" Coach Marmalade bellowed. "Sean Warren! What the heck are you doing?! Keep your eyes on the ball!"
Lloyd, who dreaded being screamed at, tried to stay out of Coach Marmalade's eagle eye and simply mimic the other boys the coach had not yet used his vocal cords for.
"Garmadon! Don't just stand around! Run!"
Lloyd winced and ran somewhere. He had no idea what to do, so he just avoided staying still, but also made sure he didn't come even close to the ball. He'd already witnessed another boy getting his shins bruised when he'd been close to stealing the rolling thing. The bigger boys knew no mercy, apparently.
And then, something terrible happened.
One of the tallest boys tried to pass the ball to his friend, but accidentally slipped and caused the ball to roll right into Lloyd's feet.
"Kick the ball! Kick it! Pass it! Score! Do anything!" Coach Marmalade screamed from the edge of the field.
Lloyd was stumped. He could either do what Coach Marmalade was telling him and be beaten by the bigger boys or he could simply leave the ball and probably be caned by the coach afterwards. Not knowing which was worse, he simply recalled what he had previously seen happening on a football game, trusted the information the TV had given him, and started running towards the opposite goal with the ball.
Now, Lloyd was no runner. That was for sure. But when he was being chased by boys that sounded like a pack of elephants that would crush him in their way, his speed was competing with that of a cheetah. He almost thought he could make it to the goal post and maybe even score.
But no.
Another boy came from the side and probably committed at least ten football crimes. He touched the ball with his hands, tackled Lloyd to the ground, kicked the ball and the blond's leg in the process, and started running again, sending a few tiny rocks flying at Lloyd's face. And surprisingly, Coach Marmalade seemed to have gone temporarily blind as he did not display his vocal skills to the bigger boy.
Lloyd, groaning quietly, got up from the slightly wet, dirty, artificial turf and looked at his stinging hands. There were about a thousand teeny tiny scratches on them and a few rocks sticking to his skin.
"Keep going! Keep going!"
Lloyd sighed and ran back to the safety of his own team's goal post. He stayed there and pretended to keep an eye on the game, but for real he was just watching the coach and making sure he wasn't looking at him.
However, something strange happened fairly soon after.
"Come on! Run, you lazy leeches!" Coach Marmalade screamed.
The assistant coach, Mr. Springles, leaned over. He was speaking quietly, but somehow Lloyd was able to hear them from the very opposite side of the field.
"Wouldn't it be better if you gave them some more… encouraging words?" He asked in a low voice. "Just to improve their self-esteem and avoid complaints from parents, which have started to come again."
"No, absolutely not. If I don't teach these boys to become tough and strong, nobody will. And on that note, RUN YOU FEEBLE EARTHWORMS!"
Lloyd could see the assistant coach adding earplugs to his attire.
🍀•🍀•🍀
Lloyd felt like his first day at school wasn't going very well. So far he had jogged his ankles sore while walking with Mr. Cheetah Speed, run his ankles even more sore with Coach Marmalade calling him a lousy leech, stumbled in the long stairs only to have everyone stare at him, dropped his tray in the cafeteria to watch everyone stand up to applaud him, and now suffered from terrible swelling in his ankles and wrists.
What a day.
Lloyd had two more lessons to get through. It wasn't much, but it felt like an eternity to someone with such an eventful few hours behind him. And considering the state of his joints, those two lessons were not going to be easy either.
Lloyd folded his arms on the wooden desktop that had been written and drawn on. The words were all hidden on the sides of the desk, a couple of them being rude curse words.
"Alright, hooligans, let's make a start for today's lesson," Mr. Winston called as he marched into the room with a few binders tucked under his arm.
Everyone fell dead silent. Apparently Lloyd wasn't the only one slightly frightened of the teacher.
"Now, during our previous lesson, we covered the Jamanakai rebellion in 1765, so next off we have the three-day coup d'état in 1770. Does anybody know what that was about?"
'A military group opposing the government of that time seized power on July 8th 1770 by marching into the Parliament House and killing seven people, one of which was the secretary of the Prime Minister, Hikihiro Miyamoto. Only three days later they were taken down by the Imperial Army and three of the leaders were given life sentences, while the fourth committed suicide before trial,' Lloyd answered in his mind.
"Thomas."
"Some group attacked the government and was in power for three days."
"Correct."
Lloyd sighed quietly.
"So, the coup took place in…" Mr. Winston carried on, pacing back and forth at the front of the room.
Lloyd tried his best to concentrate although he already knew everything the teacher was telling them, but it grew harder and harder by the minute. He was starting to feel very strange. It felt as though every little sound around him became twice as loud and every movement was a giant explosion to turn to stare at. His eyes were darting from one person to another, from a pencil to a rubber, from the teacher's pointer to the tapping foot of another boy. It was very difficult for him to focus on the lesson, let alone stay calm.
What was going on? Lloyd felt completely overwhelmed by all the things he usually didn't even notice. It was scary.
And then, Lloyd remembered what Nya had told him.
'If you feel restless or anxious, inhale deeply and exhale more deeply three times,' he recalled. 'Find three things in the room and identify them. Draw in your notebook.'
Lloyd ended up breathing calmly and drawing weird patterns in his so far empty notebook. He found himself very invested in the drawing. It was as though everything else around him vanished for a while and the patterns he drew started to turn from random curves and lines into parts of something bigger. Something Lloyd didn't even know he'd wanted to draw.
And then, the surrounding world returned to him in one big bang. Lloyd flinched and looked up to see a grumpy Mr. Winston having slammed his pointer on the desk. He was glaring at him.
"I am aware that you're new and haven't really been to school before—"
Lloyd could hear a couple of boys snickering. His ears turned red.
"But that does not mean you're allowed to spend the lesson scribbling in your notebook, not listening to my teaching," Mr. Winston reproached.
Lloyd stared down at his lap, silent.
"Do you have anything to say?" The teacher inquired.
Lloyd knew he was supposed to say something. He knew he was expected to apologize. But his muteness kicked in harder than ever and he simply could not utter a word. The teacher's glare felt fatal and the other boys' stares paralyzed him.
"Very well," Mr. Winston replied. "Let's see what was so interesting you didn't pay attention to my teaching."
Before Lloyd could do anything, Mr. Winston snatched the notebook and studied the drawing even the blond had not been able to see yet. Everyone was probably expecting him to make a snarky comment or give Lloyd detention for drawing inappropriate things, but neither ever happened. Instead, Mr. Winston's eyes widened slightly and his expression became rather surprised. And he said nothing. There was a silence so deep Lloyd could hear the breathing of the boys closest to him.
Then, Mr. Winston tore his eyes off of the notebook page and lay them on Lloyd.
"To the principal's office. Now."
And before Lloyd could even get an explanation as to why he was being sent to the office, he already sat across from the balding, lanky principal. The man peered at him and, unfortunately, his uncle through his rectangle-shaped glasses. His expression indicated he was everything but happy.
"So," the principal began, holding Lloyd's notebook in his hands and directing his gaze at Wu. "I've asked you here, because Lloyd's history teacher, Mr. Winston, confiscated his notebook after finding him drawing highly inappropriate pictures in it."
Wu frowned, glancing at Lloyd, who still had no idea what he had done wrong.
"What kinds of pictures are they?" The uncle asked.
The principal extended the notebook to him, and Lloyd could see surprise displayed on Wu's face, the same kind he'd seen on Mr. Winston's face.
"As you can see, they are quite concerning pictures for young boys to be drawing," Mr. Tanako stated. "I'm not claiming Lloyd has picked this up at home. I'm merely wondering where he even found out about such… things."
By now Lloyd felt like ripping the notebook out of his uncle's hands just to see what in Ninjago he had drawn, but he didn't need to. Wu slowly handed him the notebook.
Lloyd stared at the two pages he'd drawn on. He could recognize the lines and curves he'd drawn, but had not had any idea what they'd ended up forming. He was a little shocked to find it was the same image he'd seen in his dream. He couldn't really begin to even describe the rest of it, but what he knew to be in the center was a horned, devilish-looking creature with the most enraged expression possible. It looked like the scariest of all monsters and was surrounded by weird shapes.
Well, sure it was a bit creepy, but Lloyd could not understand why it was so bad. What was wrong with it? It was scary, but how was it inappropriate?
"Mr. Wu, do you have any clue where Lloyd could've seen such images?" Mr. Tanako questioned.
"No," said Wu, shaking his head. "But I will talk to him about it at home. I can understand why this distressed the teacher and why you found it inappropriate."
If they both knew, why could neither of them spare Lloyd from the confusion and just tell him? What was with the indirect speaking?
"And Lloyd," Mr. Tanako faced the blond, his gaze stern. "Promise me you will never draw such things again or associate yourself with these sorts of things in any way, shape or form."
Lloyd wasn't sure what he was even promising, but nodded all the same.
🍀•🍀•🍀
Lloyd spent the whole way home wondering what in Ninjago had been so wrong with his drawing. No matter how much he looked at it, he could only see a scary creature with horns and an evil face. Maybe it was a bit strange, but not that big of a deal. In addition, Lloyd was still confused over how he had managed to make the drawing.
While walking up the stairs of the mountain, Lloyd noticed Morro glancing at him. As usual, he didn't say anything, but even one glare was more contact than normal. He seemed confused over Lloyd's behavior, but the blond wasn't in the mood to let him know what was bothering him.
The minute the boys came home, Lloyd went to throw his backpack into his room and find his uncle. By now he knew where Wu drank his afternoon tea, so he was able to locate him relatively fast.
Coming into what he called the Tea Drinking Room, Lloyd saw his uncle sitting by a small table, sipping his lightly steaming tea.
"Uncle Wu," he spoke up, coming to sit across from the master with his notebook in his hands.
Wu gave him a look based on which Lloyd was able to assume he knew what he was about to ask.
"Yes?" Wu replied.
"The drawing." Lloyd placed the notebook on the table. "What was so wrong with it? Why did everyone freak out like that?"
Wu sighed and set his teacup down. "Well, Lloyd, the drawing was not just a random picture of a horned creature."
Yes, Lloyd had picked up that much already. He could not understand why everything had to be explained so slowly and indirectly. Why couldn't someone just spill it out?
"The picture depicted… an ancient creature. A very evil one."
Lloyd was growing frustrated. "Uncle Wu, please just tell me!" He exclaimed, his eyes widening right after. He was surprised he had just said that.
Wu sighed. "The drawing you made depicted an ancient creature called an Oni. The Oni are a very evil tribe of demon-like beings from another realm."
Lloyd stared at his uncle. What he had just been told was not even nearly what he had expected.
Wu nodded to himself and got up to seemingly go look for something. He soon returned with a couple of scrolls in his hands. He laid them across the table.
"These scrolls are the only information there is about the battle my father had with the Oni. Have you heard about the Oni at all?" He asked.
Lloyd could recall hearing his brother and sister talking about how the First Spinjitzu Master had once defeated the greatest evil, but they hadn't said anything about a whole tribe of demons. Therefore, he shook his head.
"Well… after leaving his previous home, where the Oni and Dragon lived, my father came into this realm, which was in utter chaos because of a sea serpent called Wojira. He managed to bring peace upon this realm with the help of the merspecies called Merlopians, and was able to then create the Golden Weapons and Ninjago thereafter. However, several Oni came into this realm from theirs to try and turn my father to their side and win the eternal war between the Oni and Dragon. They set up a few temples in Ninjago and left behind relics of evil, but when it came to either convincing my father to help them or destroying him, they lost. One of the Oni warlords turned to my father's side and together they banished the Oni. Since then, the Oni have been seen as the embodiments of pure evil, and the mere drawings of them are believed to bring devastation and bad luck upon us."
Lloyd was quite sure his current state could be seen very clearly on the outside. He was beyond shocked, confused, creeped out, freaked out, and probably passed out soon.
"In short, the picture you drew was that of the Oni and because of our history with them, it tends to freak people out," Wu summarized.
"But why did I draw it? I feel like I went into this… trance, I think? I didn't even know what I was drawing before it was already done," Lloyd said.
"Well…" Wu trailed off, seeming hesitant. "Well, our family is… strange. Your father did the exact same at your age, even in his sleep. It has something to do with our… special genetics coming from your grandfather."
Lloyd nodded hesitantly, not sure what to think. Wu kept talking about some special genetics they had, but he never told him what exactly they were. And the lack of explanation was making Lloyd feel anxious. He didn't want to have special genes, much less if no one was willing to tell him what they were. It was as though Wu was hiding something. He always acted a bit strange when Lloyd did something surprising and muttered something about things either making or not making sense. It always made Lloyd wonder what was going on.
But, Lloyd never asked him any further questions, not even now. He left the room once it became clear Wu had told him everything there was to tell in his opinion, and went into his room to try and do his homework. But the questions never left him.
What was it that Wu was not telling him?
🔥-🔥-🔥
As the evening approached and training was over, Kai changed from his annoying gi into a comfy hoodie and jeans (his favorite type of attire), and tried to find Lloyd. However, he couldn't locate his brother, which was odd. He was not in his room, not in the living room, and not in the kitchen. Nya, on the other hand, could be found from the lastly mentioned room. She was on dinner duty that day.
"Hey sis. What's up?" Kai asked cheerily, though he felt everything but cheerful after spending hours training with the ninjas, specifically Jay.
"Er... mm," Nya hummed with a shrug, not giving her brother as much as a glance. That was more than uncommon. And now that Kai thought about it, she had been acting a little distant all day.
Kai took a seat by the kitchen counter, peering at his sister. "Everything okay?"
"Sure," Nya replied in a voice that was too shrill and hasty to prove how okay she was.
"Want help with the food?" The older brother offered.
"Nope."
Nya was still not looking at Kai. It all made him quite sure that something was off. He knew his siblings better than anyone, better than they themselves did, and he always noticed if something was wrong.
"Nya, seriously, what is—"
"Nothing. Everything's fine."
Kai sighed. "You've been acting out all day. Why?"
"I haven't been acting out!" Nya snapped.
Kai raised his brow. "Are you really suggesting I don't notice when either one of my younger siblings is acting weird?"
"I don't know. Maybe your age had caught up with you," Nya shrugged.
Kai rolled his eyes. "Why does everyone talk about my age like I was as old as Wu?" He quickly looked around to make sure the master wasn't close enough to have heard him. But no, there was no sign of Wu.
"Because you act like a middle-aged single father," Nya responded, still giving all of her eye contact to the food.
"Okay, but why are you suddenly Miss All-By-Myself? Usually you've never turned down help or stayed away this long," Kai pointed out. He then frowned. "Is this about Lloyd going to school?"
"No," Nya huffed.
"Or me going on that dumb mission in a couple days?"
Nya bit her lip angrily. "No."
"Or you being sidelined and forced to stick to some useless water ninja training while Lloyd and I are actually training to fight?"
That seemed to have struck a nerve. Nya whipped around and gave him a death glare. "No!"
Kai nodded slowly. "Okay, all of the above."
Nya rolled her eyes and went back to cooking.
"But just so you know, I'd gladly switch places with you if I could. I'd much rather do some water exercises than spend endless hours with that clown Jay, emo Cole and weirdo Zane," Kai remarked.
Nya knitted her brow. "They're not that bad."
"They are. And they're even worse when you try to train with them."
"Well, maybe you should try to be more kind and cooperative."
"We're not talking about my stuff, but yours. Now, what gives?" Kai said to steer the conversation back to the preferred topic.
Nya sighed exasperatedly. "Well, it's like you said. You're going on a crazy mission, Lloyd is now in some insanely scary school and all I can do is fill buckets with water and nothing else!"
"But you have done normal training too, haven't you?" Kai asked.
"Not to the same extent as you. Master Wu has prioritized the elemental power I allegedly have and is going to keep torturing me with those water riddles and endless talk about the shape of water."
"Well… doesn't that only mean you'll unlock your power before me?" Kai questioned, cracking a small grin. "Wouldn't that be amazing? You could shoot water at me and I couldn't do anything in retaliation?"
Nya tried so hard to hide it, but Kai could see she was grinning a little.
"It's just… a bit weird. All of this is weird," she turned to face her brother, slightly more serious. "Just a month ago it was just the three of us, working as a team. It was us against the rest of the world. And now all of a sudden, Lloyd's off to school alone, you're off to go on a dangerous mission without us, and meanwhile I'm just meditating with water. Our paths are kind of… parting."
"We're not parting, Nya," Kai reassured, smiling. "Like, yeah, our situation is different now, but that doesn't mean we're losing what we had. We're still a team, but now our enemy is no longer the world. But we're still the RGB Siblings."
Nya smiled a little. "We were so young when we came up with that."
"Yeah, and Lloyd was a silly little 4-year-old shouting his own words and wanting to cuddle," Kai added.
"And soon he's supposed to be a teen—"
"Nope."
Nya turned to frown at Kai. "Kai, Lloyd is turning thir—"
"Ah la la la," Kai pressed his fingers in his ears and made any noise to drown out his sister's insufferable words.
Nya rolled her eyes. "Well, suit yourself."
"Kai. Nya."
The siblings turned around to face the doorway, finding Lloyd standing there with a troubled expression on his face.
"What’s up, Little L?" Kai asked.
Lloyd said nothing but dragged himself over to his brother and hugged him around the torso. Kai cracked a small smile and stroked his brother's back.
"Was school not nice?" He asked, a bit of concern swelling in his mind. He was reminded about the way Lloyd had been very quiet right after school—or right after his talk with Wu, and how he'd been nowhere to be found just minutes ago.
"I got in trouble," Lloyd mumbled.
"In trouble?" Kai questioned. "Did someone do something to you? If they did, tell me where they live and I'll handle it."
"Kai," Nya said reproachfully.
"It's not that," Lloyd sighed, pulling away. "But… I just… did something and apparently it was really bad. I got sent to the principal's office."
Kai frowned in confusion. Not only was Nya acting out a bit, but now Lloyd too. He couldn't come up with anything Lloyd could've done that was so bad he got sent to the principal's office. His brother was so shy, quiet and obedient with everyone (except him and Nya), so what in Ninjago could he have done?
"What did you do then?" Kai asked carefully.
Lloyd lowered his head and smacked it against Kai's side in an obvious "I don't want to talk about it."
Kai glanced at Nya a little worriedly, and the sister shared his concerned look. Neither had any idea what had happened at Lloyd's school, and it couldn't be anything of little importance since it bothered Lloyd so much.
"Lloyd, did you get a punishment?" Kai inquired.
Lloyd shook his head.
"You just got told off?"
The little brother nodded.
"Well… it can't be that bad then, can it?" Kai said. "If you didn't even get detention or a note, then it can't have been anything too serious."
"But it was. I'm a weirdo," Lloyd mumbled, still not facing his siblings. He was fidgeting and moving his feet restlessly, which he always did when he was agitated.
"You're not a weirdo," Nya assured.
"You don't know that."
Kai was at a loss for words. What was it that could've happened to Lloyd? Had the sudden shift to going to school again freaked him out or something? Or had someone really bullied him and he just didn't realize it? What had happened?
"Lloyd, whatever happened, it cannot be anything life-changing," Nya said comfortingly, coming to embrace Lloyd. "If it was really something bad, you would've faced greater consequences."
"They literally called Uncle Wu to the office and asked him if I'd ever done… what I did before," sounded Lloyd's anxious voice. It was even more high-pitched than usual.
"But what did you do?" Nya asked, pulling away just enough to see Lloyd's face. "Could you try to tell us? We won't be mad or anything."
Lloyd shook his head. "I don't want to."
"Why not?" Kai asked.
"Because you'll think I'm creepy."
At this point, Kai and Nya were really starting to grow concerned. The lack of knowledge about what had happened was killing them.
"What if we ask Wu? Can he tell us?" Nya suggested.
"I don't want anyone to know," Lloyd murmured, his cheeks growing reddened. "Just leave it!"
Kai was about to press on, but caught Nya giving him a shake of her head. He nodded slowly, deciding to drop the subject. Lloyd would tell them when he was ready. Maybe.
"Well, anyway, dinner's ready soon," Kai stated, pointing the food out to Lloyd.
"I'm not hungry," the blond muttered, sounding quite weak.
"You're still gonna have to eat, though. Skipping a meal will solve nothing," Nya said, going back to cooking.
Lloyd sighed. "I feel... weird."
"You'll feel better once you've eaten."
Kai wasn't sure if Nya was right about that. Surely it was logical to think that way, but when everyone gathered at the table and started eating their respective meals, it didn't seem Lloyd was cured from his weird feeling. On the contrary, the little blond started looking more and more miserable.
"Lloyd, are you okay?" Kai asked, evaluating the condition of his brother.
Lloyd nodded weakly, continuing to eat. His skin was pale (which it definitely wasn't supposed to be) and his eyes were starting to look watery. Wu seemed to notice the same.
"Lloyd, are you feeling alright?" He asked, frowning at his nephew.
Before he could answer, Lloyd dropped his utensils and slapped his hand over his mouth. He jumped up from his seat and made a run for the nearest bathroom. Kai bolted right after him with Nya following right behind. They found their little brother from the bathroom, crouched over the toilet, vomiting violently.
"Okay, I'm assuming this was the 'weird feeling' he told us about," Nya sighed, going over to Lloyd to keep his curly hair from getting in the way.
"You're not used to secondary school germs, are you, Lloydie?" Kai joked to lighten the mood. He grabbed some paper and came to take a seat beside his puking brother.
"Ew," Lloyd whimpered. He hated vomiting.
"It's gonna be okay," Nya comforted, feeling his foreheas. "You're quite warm. But hey, lucky you, you haven't eaten much today, so there's nothing to throw up soon."
"You suck at comforting, Nya," Lloyd mumbled quietly.
"Nevermind that. Just puke," the older sister ordered.
Kai cracked a smile. Despite feeling bad for sick Little Lloyd, he kind of enjoyed the moment. It reminded him of all of those times he and Nya had taken care of their little brother together, when it had been just the three of them. This wasn't even close to the first time they had to do this. Lloyd had been one small but very active volcano when he was younger.
"Feel any better?" Nya asked once Lloyd seemed to have emptied his stomach.
Lloyd sighed and gave his siblings an utterly depressed look.
🔥-🔥-🔥
Kai saw something very bright in front of him. It was slim, long and shone golden like fire. In fact, it was on fire. Everything was on fire.
Kai took a hesitant step forward, but quickly backed away as he saw the lava beneath him rising. And suddenly he noticed he was standing on a small rock that was floating in lava—somehow. He wasn't sinking, nor was he afraid of doing so. The lava didn't feel that threatening. It even felt kind of nice to be around. So warm and beautiful.
Kai looked up at the bright object shining in front of him once more. Only now he saw its shape clearly and recognized it to be a golden sword. It was emitting small flames that hissed and called for Kai. They asked him to come and pick up the sword.
"Kai! Help me!"
Kai flinched, his eyes darting away from the sword. They frantically searched the place he was in, trying to find the source of the voice.
"Lloyd!" Kai tried to shout, but all that left his mouth were raspy grunts and little hissing. He couldn't shout, or even speak. He couldn't find Lloyd. Where was he? What was happening to him? Kai had to help him. Lloyd was in danger.
Then suddenly, the lava around Kai surged upwards, lighting up the entire room. It was splashing everywhere, burning anything solid in its way.
"Lloyd!"
Kai snapped awake, finding himself in complete darkness. He was panting lightly, his eyes blinking rapidly to see something in the dark. It took a while for his eyes to get used to the lack of light and his mind to register his surroundings.
He was still in Lloyd's room.
Kai slowly calmed down as memories flooded into his mind. Lloyd, afraid of delirium, had asked Kai to stay with him in his room until the he fell asleep. Apparently Kai himself had also dozed off in his chair and then been blessed with a terrible nightmare.
Kai's eyes traveled to the bed in the far corner and found Lloyd fast asleep in it, breathing calmly and coughing every once in a while. He seemed very tranquil, which further ensured Kai that everything was alright and that his dream had simply been the product of his previous stress over his brother's safety.
Kai stood up. He tried to be as quiet as possible so as to avoid awakening his little brother, who really needed the rest. He crept towards the door to go and sleep in his own room, but stopped when strange sounds came from Lloyd's direction.
As Kai turned around, he could not believe his eyes.
Lloyd had sat up and was getting out of bed, his movements much more energetic than they'd been during the day. It seemed as though his disease had ceased to exist as he made his way to the little desk by the window, grabbed some colorful markers and came to stand in front of the opposite wall.
"Lloyd, what are you doing?" Kai asked.
No response.
Lloyd reached his hand up and began to draw on the wall. And it was no messy scribble that the markers left behind. The shapes, the patterns, the images that Lloyd drew were unbelievable. They were so detailed and beautiful.
"Lloyd," Kai repeated, carefully approaching his brother. It was only then that he noticed something that almost made him shout.
Lloyd was asleep. He was sleepwalking. His eyes were wide open, but he was unbothered by anything his eyes would've been distracted by had he been awake.
As much as Kai would've loved to scream and shake his brother awake just because of how creepy the situation felt, he ended up doing nothing. He just watched; watched as much as he could given how dark it was in the room. He observed as Lloyd drew and drew and drew until a big portion of the wall was filled with little lines and curves that formed a very solid, detailed image of some horned creature.
It was amazing.
Just as soon as the final detail had been added to make the drawing symmetrical, Lloyd stopped. He put his markers down and just let his fingers travel down the drawing as though inspecting it without sight.
Kai stepped closer, feeling as though he should've gently shaken Lloyd out of his sleep.
"Lloyd," he said.
"The First Realm is so pretty."
Well, now Kai felt like losing consciousness himself. As if drawing in his sleep wasn't extraordinary enough, Lloyd was now also talking about another realm. And what 'First Realm'? Kai couldn't say he knew much about the other realms anyway, but he'd never heard of one called the First Realm.
He watched as Lloyd affectionately caressed the ginormous drawing, his forefinger staying strictly on the lines he'd drawn. It did not touch a single empty spot, as impossible as it sounded. Small tears rolled down his cheeks.
Kai, who was understandably freaked out, placed his hand on Lloyd's shoulder carefully and shook him slightly. His brother winced violently and his eyes blinked before shooting open only to stare at Kai in utter confusion.
"Kai?" He said, squinting his eyes in the dark.
"Er…" Kai had no idea what to say or how to begin to explain the situation. He couldn't just tell his easily frightened brother "Oh well, you got out of bed, drew that masterpiece and started muttering about a realm you've never heard of and then you started crying. Oh, and you did all that while asleep. No biggie".
"Kai? What happened?"
"Um…" the brunet stammered, scratching his neck. "Well, you… you were just sleepwalking."
Lloyd's eyes widened. "But I don't sleepwalk."
"Yeah, well… maybe you've just started," Kai suggested unconvincingly. "Maybe you've been too stressed out."
Lloyd stared at him for a while and then, much to his brother's misfortune, noticed the drawing. "What's that drawing?"
Kai's brain failed him. "What drawing?" After saying that, he felt as stupid as Jay.
Lloyd furrowed his brow. "Don't pretend you can't see that ginormous drawing right next to you."
The older brother took a deep breath. "Well… you may have drawn it just now."
The blond could not have looked more stunned. He looked back and forth between the piece of art and his very awkward brother before muttering, "It happened again."
Kai frowned. "What do you mean 'again'? And what happened?"
The blond shrugged. "I drew something without really knowing it at school too. I was wide awake but kind of… in a trance, I guess. The teacher got really mad because the drawing I drew was that same kind of a demonic creature or something."
"I see," Kai replied, although he definitely did not understand what was going on with his brother. He tried to find some logical solution to such an extraordinary form of sleepwalking, but as far as he knew, people weren't supposed to draw amazing art in their sleep, let alone go into such a flow that they could draw wide awake without realizing it.
Whatever may have been the reason behind it, Kai had no time to ponder on it any longer. He noticed his little brother starting to look quite weak again and holding his stomach as though about to vomit.
"Lie down," Kai instructed. "A night artist or not, you're still sick."
"Mhm, I feel nauseous," Lloyd moaned and collapsed on his bed. He pulled the blanket over his head and let out a tired sigh.
"Need a bucket?" The older brother asked.
"No, because I'm not throwing up," Lloyd mumbled, sounding amusingly determined. "I'll keep all the puke in as long as I can."
Kai chuckled lightly. He glanced at the bright green, electric clock on the bedside table.
00.42 AM.
Sighing, Kai figured he wasn't getting much sleep that night, then. The sunrise exercise was going to be even more painful now. But at least he'd learnt what had clearly been bothering Lloyd a lot, whether he understood it or not.