Siouxsie and the Banshees
••• Cities In Dust •••
water was running, children were running
you were running out of time
under the mountain, a golden fountain
were you praying at the lares' shrine?
•••••
ok so in the 2020 version this chapter was supposed to also end in a cliffhanger (what was going on with 2020 me?) but i decided to not do that this time. anyway ur welcome
TW: death?, blood, faint gore, vomit
The Preeminent rose to new heights, latching her tentacles around the houses her army of ghosts sacrificed to her. My neck kept craning back and back as she was built higher until she touched the ick-coloured clouds.
I felt the equivalent of an ant cowering beneath her shadow. Defeating the Preeminent already seemed impossible before, but how were we meant to stop her when she was like this? She was a mythical thing, a beast of horrors. We were specks in comparison. Even the hole that Lloyd had burst through her side during his escape was starting to knit itself back together.
I raised my arms to defend the ship and staggered, my legs gooey with the fatigue that had finally claimed me. I stumbled against Dad's side and whimpered. He wrapped his arm around me tight to pull me back from the railing.
"That's enough hero-ing for one day," Dad said as he sat me down beside a pair of startled kids. "You need to take a break."
"But I'm only-"
"You're as stubborn as your mother," Dad said, and plucked the water gun from my loose grip. I reached for it limply, before grunting when he fished out a packet of saline wipes and began cleaning the blood from my face. "Jesus, Y/n, look at you. This is why I don't want you hanging around with the ninja."
"Everyone's a critic," I muttered.
"I am when you look like you should be auditioning for the next Carrie remake."
Ouch. But also fair. I caught my reflection in one of the windows of the boat and agreed that I looked like an extra for some gorey horror movie. I hoped I didn't give the kids beside me nightmares. I also hoped that they didn't think I was the Green Ninja despite me wearing his gi.
... actually, that raised an entirely new world of problems. What did Lloyd say when Chen found out about him? Something about them having safety measures in place? I hoped it could work on an entire village, because I was pretty sure half of them had seen at least one of our faces by now.
But I could worry about that later. My main concern was the lack of ability to help prepare for an attack by the Preeminent and the fact that my boyfriend had been lost somewhere in one of the Sixteen Realms, fighting the ghost that had once possessed him. The battle was far from over, but my part in it certainly was.
"Do you think Lloyd will be okay?" I asked nervously. My eyes kept jumping to the sky, peeled for a rift that didn't come. Dad hesitated, unsure.
"Lloyd will be fine." Ronin's voice came from around the corner, having overheard me. "If he was that light show that just blew a hole through the side of that thing, then he can take on Morro."
I turned my eyes up to the mercenary. The last time I saw him face-to-face, he'd stolen the Sword of Sanctuary and fought me for escape - not that I had the skills to put up much of a fight. But then he'd helped give directions to the Tomb after Morro tried to trick us into our own deaths, and he stuck around to join the fight, too. I smiled weakly up at him.
"Thanks, Ronin," I said sincerely.
He seemed to realised that I was saying thanks for a lot more than just reassuring me. He grunted, shrugged it off, and quickly stepped to join Misako and the Senseis at the railing beside us.
"How do you know Ronin?" Dad sceptically asked.
I shrugged. "He helped us with the whole ghost thing." I turned my confused gaze to him. "How do you know him?"
"Who do you think made the call?"
Call? The call to the military? Wu and Garmadon abruptly turned toward Ronin with disapproving glares, and he raised his palms in surrender. I looked at him in shock. Misako raised her brows at the drama.
"You called my dad?" My surprise twisted into a frustrated frown. Every time I was starting to think better about him, he'd pull the rug out from under my feet again. "You knew that my dad hated Lloyd and you called him, anyway?!"
"Oh, come on, look at that thing!" Ronin gestured to the Preeminent with a look of ire. "We needed all the help we could get, of course I was going to call the military! I have a little girl to look out for, remember?"
My frustration ebbed at the reminder of his daughter. "You could've at least warned me."
"You needed the push," Ronin grunted. "Some rivalry ain't worth the fate of the world, kid. Even your dad knows that."
Though reluctant and annoyed, I had to agree with him - I did need the push. Who knew when I would've finally gathered the courage to tell Lloyd? On the other hand, Dad didn't look too happy that a mercenary knew about me having a boyfriend before he did.
"We'll discuss this later," Dad grumbled. I wilted. Maybe I should've let my powers ended me, after all.
Or maybe the Preeminent would do it for me, because the paddle steamer wasn't nearly going as fast as it should be to escape a creature of such unholiness. The over-crowded boat sloshed along the water at a merry pace and without a care.
Said creature was lifting her new house-clad legs experimentally, unsteady as a faun though not quite as cute. She placed it down and lifted the other, and horrible sounds of debris clattering and wood smashing crossed the water. We all watched in disbelief.
"Oh, great," I said weakly. "Baby's learnt how to walk."
"Let's just hope she does not learn how to swim," Wu said grimly.
But she didn't swim. Instead, she swung her arm back and launched a house at us, and it sailed through the air like an arrow from god. The civilians screamed. I covered my head with my arms and gritted my teeth.
"Hold on!" Misako yelled just as the house crashed into the water, a whisper away from contact. It shattered upon impact and sent a wave hurtling against the boat, drenching us all in a shock of freezing water. I coughed out salt as the boat surged forth, careening on the aftershocks. It stung against my sore throat.
"You alright?" Dad asked, before asking the same of the rattled kids beside me. There was a frantic look in his eyes.
She'd begun walking toward us, groaning and bellowing while her ghosts darted around her wavering tentacles. The knee of the Preeminent became snared in a large encasing of ice, but it only seemed to slow her down for a second before it shattered. Sparks of lightning and blasts of fire still did nothing.
I wiped back some locks of waterlogged hair and watched her approach with helpless disdain. I wished I still had enough in me to help fight, but with the state I was in, it was impossible.
It was a miracle I'd even survived this far. Falling from the Bounty, facing Morro countless times, the trap in the Caves of Despair. Those were all brushes with death, the tip of my toe in a pond of certain fatality. Six weeks ago, my biggest concern was settling into a new home and starting a new school.
Had it really only been six weeks? It felt like a lifetime since I first saw Lloyd in that café and hit the poor boy on the head with my decrepit skateboard. So much had happened in such a short amount of time.
I didn't realise I could fall in love that quickly - I always assumed that it would be slow and careful, but falling in love with Lloyd was like hurtling myself head-first over a cliff and into his arms. There was no need to have caution around him.
I missed him. Would he ever be able to come back?
"Don't worry." Ronin must've noticed my heartbroken expression and clapped a hand on my shoulder. "The water will stop it. Then all we'll need to do is focus on getting Lloyd back."
I sent him a small smile. Forgiven again - we just kept going around in circles. But my smile faded when the Preeminent's falter at the edge of the Stiix ended when she pushed on and began walking through the water. My face dropped in horror. Ronin slowly pulled his hand away and winced.
"Or I could be wrong, you know," Ronin said, slightly horrified. "That could always happen."
"I would've rather you'd been right," Dad confessed.
"I thought ghosts couldn't stand the water!" Garmadon exclaimed from the railing. We all watched the Preeminent stomp after our boat in varying states of panic. "How come it's still after us?"
"Have enough ghosts at your disposal and you can do anything," Wu guessed grimly.
"The ninja can't stop her," Misako said fearfully. For the first time I'd ever seen, she looked at a loss of what to do. If Misako didn't know what to do, then I was really starting to get scared.
The Preeminent, although slow, was still faster than the paddle steamer. Her approach was world-shaking and swift, causing violent disturbances in the water and making the boat crash within the waves. I grabbed at my seat while Ronin heaved, face going green.
"Oh, god." He rested his forehead on the bar. "I'm going to be sick."
"Throw up in the water," Dad offered unhelpfully. "If we're lucky, the Preeminent is a germaphobe."
"Unlikely," he grunted.
"Throw anything we don't need off the ship!" Garmadon ordered, turning to the people as the Preeminent approached. "We need to go faster!"
I was almost considering to throw myself overboard.
Everyone grabbed large wooden crates full of probably important things and chucked them overboard, leaving a trail of junk in our wake. I grimaced as I watched them bonk and dunk in the wake of the slow ship. Could the sin of littering be forgiven if we saved the world? I still felt bad.
"We're still going too slow!" I complained.
"This Captain is a joke," Ronin growled under his breath before swerving his way through the bustling crowd of panicking citizens. "He's probably not even steering."
"Wait- what are you-?" I staggered to my wobbling legs and trailed after him, miraculously managing to stay upright despite the upset waves. The dog was another obstacle to avoid - he kept so close to my heels that I almost ended up tripping with every other step.
I turned the corner just as Ronin punched the Captain in the nose, knocking him unconscious. I flinched at the sound and froze when the man crumpled to the floor. Ronin wrung out his hand with a hiss and stepped over him to take control of the ship.
"Dude, what the hell?"
Ronin sent me a glare over his shoulder. He turned to push down on the speed lever, grabbing the wooden steering wheel. The boat lurched forward, kicking up in speed. The engine groaned and rattled.
"I'm a Bounty Hunter," he reminded monotonously. "Your boyfriend's a ninja. Are you really that surprised that I punched someone?"
I supposed I did suddenly find my life amassed by people unopposed to physical violence.
"I guess not," I sighed, gingerly stepping over the unconscious captain. "But usually they're bad guys."
"Complain to me about your morals after we've escaped certain death."
I scowled at the side of his face but didn't argue further. Wu, Misako, Garmadon and my dad arrived from around the corner. They did a double take upon seeing the man splayed across the floor.
"Can we go any faster?" Wu asked.
Ronin shook his head. "It's on full power."
"Head for that fog bank for cover!" Misako pointed to the fog settling over the ocean's surface a few yards ahead of us.
Garmadon gestured to the unconscious Captain. "What happened to him?"
"He fainted," Ronin lied. "Stress. Don't worry 'bout it."
Garmadon didn't buy his excuse. His frown deepened.
Nya suddenly arrived, having shot through the air like Iron Man with strong jets of water bursting from her palms. She landed on the ship, standing to attention with her hands on her hips.
"Hey, guys," she greeted, a little puffed.
She's so cool. Ronin rolled his eyes.
"How is it looking out there?" Misako asked.
"Not good," Nya admitted. Her brows knitted with confusion. "When did you get a dog?" She shook her head and remembered our priorities. "Never mind."
The rest of the team arrived, landing on the boat and looking just as drained as Nya. I wasn't sure for how much longer they'd be able to keep fighting.
"Ghost!" Dad yelled, and lifted my gun to aim at Cole. He was met by shouts.
"Don't shoot!" Cole yelped, staggering back with his hands raised.
"No!" I exclaimed. Zane and I launched for the gun and snatched it from his hand. "Dad!"
"He's not one of them," Garmadon explained to my baffled father. "He is part of our team."
"Yeah." Cole nodded with a look of fear on his transparent face. "Please, don't shoot me."
Dad slowly blinked. "Sorry." I think the shock upon shock was starting to get to him.
Kai turned back to where the Preeminent kept advancing after us. He growled with annoyance. "Every time we get rid of a ghost, it just comes back a second later!"
"If we're going to destroy the Preeminent, we're going to have to do more," Wu said gravely.
Ronin only added to the grimness. "Speaking of more, we're gonna need more fuel. If we turn back now we'll have just enough to get us to shore." He sent a foreboding look amongst us. "We'll be sitting ducks if we reach Hallow's Trench."
Hallow's Trench - I'd heard about it it during a geography class. It was one of the few deep undersea trenches in all of Ninjago, and this one started only a handful of knots out of Stiix.
"Hallow's Trench..." Kai echoed in a thoughtful mumble. He lifted his gaze to us. "Do you think it's deep enough to drown that thing?"
"There's one way to find out," Garmadon replied.
Ronin thinned his lips and shrugged as if he couldn't care less. He pushed the boat onward. Dad cast a worried look my way but I could only nod. They knew what they were doing. I hoped.
"Where's Lloyd when you need him?" Jay asked. He sent a look to the rumbling clouds with the same amount of desperation as I was feeling. I followed his gaze and hoped just as he did.
The ship suddenly reared up toward the sullen sky. I shrieked, grabbing onto Misako instinctively while something at the back of the boat broke with a resounding smash. The vessel collapsed back to its rightful position, making the lot of us careen forward to correct our balance.
"I didn't like the sound of that," said Cole.
"What happened?" I asked as I stumbled to my feet.
"The Preeminent just smashed the motor-wheel thing!" Jay yelled. "We're stuck! We're not moving! We're gonna die!"
"Get ahold of yourself," Nya demanded, taking her panicking boyfriend by the shoulders. "Let's go deal with this thing and not die, huh?"
Jay weepingly nodded. The ninja gathered their wits, steeled their nerves, and took off to the end of the boat. I leant against the cabin's entrance and watched from around the corner, and my neck began aching in protest when I turned my head up to take in the Preeminent. She was right on top of us. She was monstrous.
My knees shook with a primal, innate clutch of fear. The sight of her was imprinted into my brain like the stain of a branding iron. I couldn't find my breath.
A rift ripped open above the Preeminent, and my heart leapt with hope only to fall again when Morro flew out, Realm Crystal in hand. It stitched closed behind him, finalising, and with no Lloyd to come back through. My expression crumbled with misery. Morro's only brightened.
"I did it," he said, as if shocked he'd succeeded. "I finally got rid of you!" He met my gaze and faltered.
"We have got to do something fast before the Preeminent destroys the boat!" Zane insisted.
Cole flinched back from a wave of water that crested a little too close for comfort. "Oh, man, we're toast!" He turned back to find me. "How close are we to the Trench?"
I looked to Ronin at the wheel but he just shook his head. I copied it back to the ninja. They made varying sounds of frustration and fear.
"Nya." Kai took his sister's arm and pulled her around to face him with a firm, desperate frown. "I know you said you're too tired, but I think we might be in really big trouble if you don't drown that oversized hairball now."
Nya's eyes reflected the eerie, green storm as she contemplated how much she had left in her. She sighed, inhaled deeply, and then stuck her hand out to the sea.
When Lloyd was first possessed and we met Morro, his powers were boosted by the storm that raged with him. I hoped that all the ocean surrounding Nya was enough to power her up enough to bring down the Preeminent.
At first, nothing happened. The paddle steamer kept drifting along, rocked by the waves of the upset sea. Then, a low groan from deep within the ocean echoed all around us like the song of a whale, and the water seemed to sink into itself. The dog began barking hysterically.
"Sweet lord," Dad breathed in disbelief. I followed his gaze to where a whirlpool was beginning to grow, the water cresting and falling within a spiral. Our boat was miraculously unaffected.
It grew and grew until it was an impressive size that was capable of dragging the Preeminent into itself. Morro's eyes widened at the realisation of Nya's plan - she was going to drag the entire Cursed Realm into Hallow's Trench.
The Preeminent shuddered and smacked her tentacles through the air in rage. The whirlpool tugged at her balance, and her ghosts began to fly in a frenzy to avoid being taken out by their own master. One of her legs collapsed beneath her weight and she toppled sideways into the water, emitting such a horrible screech that it rang in my ears. I winced when it worsened, her ghostly form steaming away.
Nya stumbled beneath the effort of her own powers. Even from where I stood, I could see her shaking. My dad stood beside me, staring at her display of strength just as silently, just as amazed.
"Noooooo!" Morro bellowed. He watched on in horror as the Preeminent was sucked toward the Trench, struggling to regain her footing.
Nya fell to her knees with a gasp. Jay crouched beside her, speaking encouragement that I couldn't hear over the wind that Morro had summoned to try and haul back the Preeminent in some sick game of tug-of-war. Kai held her shoulder in support.
The Preeminent swept past us, screaming her animalistic shout in rage as she sunk further and further into the whirlpool. Her tentacles flung toward the boat in a last-ditch effort to grab more souls to consume and regain even just a little bit of power, but all her attempts were stopped by the ninja's aeroblades slicing through her primordial flesh before they could get too close.
I felt light with woozy relief at seeing her sink deeper and deeper into the water, sizzling away like steam. Morro had given up on trying to remedy a lost cause. He hovered above the scene, face distraught, as she finally slipped beneath the surface. Only the tops of her thrashing tentacles remained. The water muffled her howls.
"Noooo!" Morro wailed. "We were so close!"
"She made it to the Trench!" Garmadon said with triumph. Nya released her powers and slumped against Jay, finally relaxing at those sweet, sweet words of victory.
Dad squeezed my shoulders in consolation at a fight won, but I couldn't find myself to be happy at the end of our war. Lloyd was still missing amongst the realms, and Morro still had the Realm Crystal.
My eyes scanned the sky with teary anguish. Lloyd didn't have the Crystal, but I'd naively hoped that he'd find some other way to get back to us, like some other fantastical fighting technique such as the Golden Dragon, or that Fate would pull a few strings to retrieve their precious soldier. Ronin said we had multitudes of prophecies to fulfil - so Lloyd had to come back. He needed to.
Even the vision in Uchū's tomb pointed to him returning, but how certain was that future? How set in stone was it? Maybe it'd changed, and I wouldn't get that happy path I'd been clinging onto these past few days like a lifeline. Maybe it was never real in the first place. Maybe I only saw what I wanted to see.
Hero, please. Come back.
I was calling for him. He said he'd come running.
But my fragile hope was nothing more than futile wishes. A crushing weight of realisation settled on my chest. He really was gone, missing amongst the endless expanse of the realms. Was he okay? Was he in danger? What if we never found him?
We'd never be able to find him.
I leant against the wall beside me. I trembled for a multitude of reasons - grief, pain, exhaustion. I'd started crying again. How often had I cried this past week? I'd lost count.
"Are you okay?" my dad carefully asked. He winced at the melancholic look of torture on my face.
I stared up at him, heartsick. "He's gone."
Dad's face fell at my shaking voice. He gathered me into his arms and held on tight while I wept into his uniform. It was all over, we'd saved the world, but only at the cost of losing Lloyd.
"Oh, pumpkin." Dad kissed my hair.
"I love him," I confessed in a sob.
"I know, kiddo," he murmured, and he may have hated Lloyd, but he also hated to see me upset. I don't think I'd ever been this upset, before. "I'm so sorry."
The roar of a dragon made me flinch and peek my eyes open, limply hoping that it would be Lloyd returning on Bentley, but it was only Wu and his dragon of white and gold. He flew out to where Morro was trying to avoid being captured by one of the malevolent Preeminent's tentacles taking the ghosts down with her.
But he was too slow. I could only stare apathetically as he was captured around the waist and yanked toward the water. This was all his fault. It was his fault that Lloyd was taken from me. I was too bitter and hurt to feel anything for him; he didn't deserve my sympathy, not after everything he did to Lloyd.
Wu reached out for a hand for his former pupil to take, which he did, but only for a moment. Their exchange was brief, their conversation too far away to hear. Morro relinquished the Realm Crystal before yanking himself from his old Sensei's hold and letting the water take him.
Maybe I did feel a little bad for him, deep down. Very deep, deep down, past all my misery and spite.
"It's over." My dad rubbed soothing circles on my back. "It's all over."
But I didn't want it to be - because if it was over, that would mean things would have to go back to normal, but how could I go back to normal without Lloyd? He'd turned my entire life on its head in the short time we knew each other. He was my first thought in the morning and the last text at night. I would always feel his absence, just as I did when Morro had stolen him.
Misako and Garmadon weren't faring much better. Garmadon's head was downturned and Misako had sunken into his side with her face covered, and the look of their pain only made my own worse. Even Ronin was frowning. The only cheering came from all the civilians that had no idea who we'd all lost.
The ninja sullenly returned to the cabin, stumbling and dragging their feet. Nya had used all remaining energy she had to sink the Preeminent and had to be carried by Jay. Not one of them looked like we'd just won the war and saved the world.
"We should get these people back to shore," Zane quietly suggested.
Dad pulled back from our hug. "I'll contact Jonesy to get some boats out to us."
While Dad turned away and pulled out his walkie-talkie, Kai stood to the side and dialled someone on his own phone.
"Skylor?" he asked softly. "We need Neuro at Stiix a-sap."
Ah. He was their safe guard about their secret identities. I shuddered at the thought of how strong the Elemental Masters of the Mind were. At least one of the them seemed to be on our side, though I was still weary.
I took a seat while we waited for the boats to take us back to the mainland. Stiix was almost all destroyed, and I had been emotionally drained and wrung out. I mourned for Lloyd in the otherwise empty space of my mind. It wasn't fair. How could any of this be fair? Was this the last time I'd ever lose him, because he'd never return?
The team sat down beside me. Nobody said a thing. Wu was still out above the water, mourning both his nephew and the pupil that condemned him. The dog uneasily paced the cabin.
Before long, boats came crawling through the debris floating atop the ocean. Our ship was latched and dragged back to shore, and it both took forever and not long enough. The cold water sipped at my ankles as I waded through the breakers with the rest of the people to the beach of smoothened rocks. It was loud with the chaos of emergency services and the lost and injured, but it was all deathly muted in my ears. At least we got to be taken to a private, more quiet area. The dog trailed behind the team.
Jonesy met us when we made it to our tent. He pulled me into a hug and patted my head, and I was too tired to tell him to stop it when he began to aggravate my blooming headache. I took it silently. A little bewildered, he bent to pat the dog, too.
"How you holding up, angel?" Jonesy asked. He walked alongside when my dad pulled me to a seat and began unwrapping the bandage around my waist. He paled at the sight.
I didn't have the energy to respond. Jonesy and Dad shared a concerned look.
The dark, heavy clouds had begun to slowly roll away with the storm now over, and revealed the pristine blue sky above. I felt cheated. Lloyd wasn't here to appreciate a blue sky. He wasn't here to appreciate the peace he sought for us all.
Wu's dragon approached the shore before disappearing in a puff of gold. My tired eyes drifted to him as Misako and Garm walked out to meet with him. I flinched when some healing cream began to be wiped over my wound and wrapped in clean, firmer bandages.
"Well, you know," Dad began awkwardly, patting my knee as he crouched on the stones at my feet. "Sometimes in life, these things happen-"
"How often does a kid get lost in the realms?" Jonesy asked.
"Jonesy," Dad snapped beneath his breath. My godfather winced at his slip of tongue.
I watched each failed attempt of opening a new rift, waiting, and then reopening a new one in their search for Lloyd. Logically, how could they do it? Did the Realm Crystal open anywhere? What were the chances we'd stumble across Lloyd?
I closed my eyes and dropped my head. I didn't want to watch their mounting failures. Each new opening made my heart jump with hope just to be crushed all over again. I couldn't do it. I couldn't watch him not come home.
Lloyd. My poor hero. We had such a sweet future before us, one that I was getting excited for after I got past my shock. I really wanted my distant life with Lloyd and the little girl who had his eyes.
The tug on my stomach made my gaze snap up.
My breath hitched. It was too good to be true. The rift stretched overhead, and his parents and Wu were shaking their heads and starting to lose hope. The Realm Crystal was lifted to try again. Another tug had me jumping to my feet. I knew that feeling; what had once been so annoying, now so cherished.
"No!" I took off in a desperate dash toward the shore before the rift could be closed, hobbling as fast as my broken body could take me over the stones. "Wait!"
Wu and Garmadon startled at my shout. Dad called my name. None of it mattered when Lloyd jumped from the rift and landed in the breakers on unsteady legs, his sword of hope in one hand, the Sword of Sanctuary in the other. He wavered with fatigue.
"Lloyd!" I cried in relief, in utter, teary delight.
He was battle-scarred, bleeding and exhausted. He was sweaty and clammy and back to being a little sick-looking, but seeing him was like seeing the sun after decades of darkness. His tired eyes lifted to meet mine, and his swords dropped to the surf when he lifted his arms for me to collide into him. He was back. This had to have been a dream. Maybe I was in a coma.
But no, he was real, and he proved it when he squeezed me so tightly with a gasp that I almost failed to breathe. He proved it when he buried his face in my hair and whispered my name, over and over and over. He proved it when he lifted my tear-wet face and kissed me. It tasted of blood and salt. I was convinced that it was the best kiss we'd ever shared.
"I thought you were gone," I wept when Lloyd broke to breathe. My hands snatched at his golden-stained gi in an attempt to never let him go again. "I thought we wouldn't find you, I-"
"It's okay," Lloyd soothed. He stroked down my hair and kissed my temple. "It's okay, sunshine. I'm back. I'm here."
I'd just began to cry more at his beautiful voice. He was here, he was back, and it was okay. Now the battle was over - no more Preeminent, no more ghost army, no more Morro. We'd be left with scars and wounds, but we'd never have to think of this again. I didn't have to cry for Lloyd's absence anymore. He'd returned when I called.
I hid my face in his chest. "Don't you ever disappear on me again." I'd had enough of that to last ten lifetimes.
"I told you I'd come when you called," Lloyd reminded softly. I shook my head and squeezed him closer. He kissed my hairline. "I'm glad I found you again." He kissed my hair again and dropped his voice to a whisper. "I think your dad's trying to kill me with his glare."
I released a wet laugh. I could only imagine the look he was pulling after his daughter kissed his mortal enemy in front of him. Poor guy.
"Lloyd!"
We were attacked in a group hug by the rest of the team, and then we shuffled out of the water so Cole could join, too. This felt like a victory. This felt like saving the world.
"I knew you'd pull through," Nya tiredly cheered.
"Yeah!" Cole laughed, still warily glancing down at the surf brushing against our little group. "Tell us all about the realms you saw!"
Lloyd sighed slowly through his nose. He was exhausted, but he was smiling.
"Maybe in the morning," he said with a weary chuckle, then winced in pain and groaned. "... if I ever wake up."
I felt that. I could sleep forever, too. We snickered in communal pain.
"Parents incoming," Zane chimed just as Misako and Garmadon came rushing towards their son, followed closely behind by Wu. It seemed they'd gotten impatient waiting for their reunion.
We all stepped back so Lloyd could next be hauled into his parents' hug. I sure hoped he'd get used to being fussed over soon, because I had a feeling that's all his parents and I would be doing for the forseeable future, or until he told us to quit it (though I would never quit). He deserved to be pampered. He deserved far more. He deserved the entire realm.
I picked up the Sword of Sanctuary from the water and watched as salt droplets ran down its gleaming, golden blade. It really was a pretty sword, yet it had caused so much grief. My reflection in it was wearied, but happy. Nobody would be attacking us anytime soon.
Kai picked up Lloyd's other sword and we shared a profound look. We'd gotten closer, too. We'd all gotten closer. At least there was some warmth that could come out of a situation so terrible.
"Let's get you home," Garmadon fondly said to his son with a smile. His eyes were crinkled and glossy, overflowing with joy and Misako was much the same. It was nice to see them so happy after spending so long with their faces etched in yearning grief.
Lloyd nodded gratefully. "I missed home." His red eyes slid to me.
My cheeks warmed beneath his unspoken intentions. I missed you, too. I didn't need to say it - he already knew.
We wandered back up the beach, limping and holding various injuries. I clutched the Sword of Sanctuary, as if ready to swing it at any threat that would take Lloyd away from me again. My arm around his waist was glued there.
Unfortunately, the only threat left was my father.
"Er..." Jay grimaced at the stormy look on my dad's face. The battle was over, the world was saved, and the white flags of surrender between my actual family and my found family had been tucked away. The ninja sent me an uncomfortable, sympathetic look.
Fuuuuck. It looked like my war wasn't yet over.
Feeling the awkward energy and having the right idea that their audience wasn't needed, the rest of the team peeled away to tend to their injuries. Only Lloyd, Garmadon and Misako remained with me.
"Dad..." I lost my words. My brain had been stretched and trampled upon too much to even begin to conceive of a way to convince him to put their feud aside. Beside me, Lloyd tensed. He wasn't exactly eager to forgive, either.
"I think we are due to have a good discussion," Misako said diplomatically. "But perhaps we should leave it until after our children have rested. There is much you need to know."
Dad couldn't exactly argue with that. He sighed and nodded, but his expression was still chilly and unforgiving. Misako and Garmadon were satisfied with that, bade him farewell, and went to join the rest of the team in figuring out a way home.
The three of us remaining were silent. Dad shifted on his feet, suddenly uncomfortable. Lloyd's face was tight.
"... thank you," Dad struggled to say. "For... saving my daughter. And saving the world."
Lloyd frowned and pushed a finger into his ear, as if to unblock it. "I didn't catch that, can you say it again?"
My dad's expression hardened. I sent Lloyd's smug grin a disapproving look.
"Lloyd," I quietly chastised.
Dad gestured to the boy leaning against my side with a frustrated frown. "Did it really have to be him?"
"Dad," I groaned. I was too tired to deal with their rivalry.
"Better get used to seeing me around, pops," Lloyd slyly said.
"Lloyd!" I hissed as my dad grew more spiteful. He wasn't making our case any easier.
Lloyd chuckled and ceased with a hand raised. "Sorry, sorry. Old habits."
"Why'd you have to go and date a prick?" Dad asked me with scowl.
"Oh, my god." I was going to get grey hairs from their bickering. "I'll cut out both your tongues if you don't stop." I lifted the golden sword in my hand in empty threat.
Lloyd's grip around my waist squeezed in amusement. Dad bitterly rolled his eyes.
"Where you going, now?" Dad asked, changing the topic.
"Oh..." I hadn't really thought about it. I wanted to go back with Lloyd and the others, but I was sure Dad would blow his top if I suggested that. I peeked at Lloyd's hesitant expression, then at the others. "Uh..."
Dad groaned. "Fine. I need to stay around here until displacement relief arrives, anyway."
I smiled warmly. "Thanks, Dad." I wasn't ready to part from Lloyd just yet.
He waved me off with an unhappy huff. "Call your mother."
"I will."
"And call me," he demanded, before dropping his sternness. "Please. And take care of all your injuries - you look bloody awful."
My expression softened at his gruff concern. "I'll call you when we get to the monastery." I gently worked myself from Lloyd and stepped into my dad's chest for a hug. He returned it instantly. "Love you."
The tension slowly leaked out of my dad's shoulders. "Love you, too, kiddo. See you soon."
He left to return to his duties as Sargent Major, leaving me in the care of the team. At least that was a step in the right direction, I'd hoped. I took Lloyd's outstretched hand and harrumphed at his apologetic kiss to the back of my hand.
"You're terrible," I grumbled.
"I'm sorry," Lloyd said, then placed his fingers beneath my chin so he could turn my grumpy face toward him. My frown slipped when he kissed the corner of my lips in another sweet apology, and then I was smiling in relief again. I just couldn't stay mad at him.
We managed to salvage one truck that we used to arrive at Stiix all those hours ago, and the most of us piled into the back for the drive home. I didn't let go of the Sword or Lloyd's hand for the entire trip back. Even the dog joined us.
It was strange seeing the red and black monastery gleaming beneath the sunlight. The pond glimmered, bouncing rays, and the sight of it all was both still so unfamiliar but soothing. Any bit of tension still left in Lloyd slipped away at the sight of his home.
Some of the monks were delighted at the arrival of a dog, and then he was whisked away with his tail wagging before my sleepy brain could understand what was happening. The Sword was taken to be put on display in the weapons room, and I was only a little hesitant to give it up.
Thankfully the monks were told ahead of our return, so dinner was ready and waiting for us to eat our fill, and we did. It was a miracle none of our heads fell into our bowls due to passing out, but our heads reamined un-noodelled and we ate in shocked silence. Unfortunately, we also had to drink that foul-smelling healing tea. I stared at the contents of my mug dubiously. Cole was all-too-pleased that he missed out on such an experience, and watched us all cringe with great glee.
"Scull it," Jay warned me. "Pinch your nose and scull it."
I did as told, but I feared it didn't make downing it any easier. Even Zane's immaculate cooking couldn't rid the horrid aftertaste.
The aftermath of a battle was calm and quiet. I was handed a spare pair of Nya's pyjamas and a towel and headed off to take a shower, slightly taken aback by the sudden domesticity after such a harrowing week. The hot water was therapeutic, and scrubbing the grime, sweat and blood from my skin was bliss. I almost cried at the scent of the lavender conditioner. I forgot how nice it felt to be clean.
Lloyd was leaning against the wall when I left the bathroom. He stared out at the garden as if he'd never expected to see it again, and I took the opportunity to watch him. I'd never thought I'd see him again, either. I could understand why he'd want to take the time to drink it all in.
His red eyes lifted to my waiting figure, and he smiled in gentle greeting. He looked like he was seconds away from falling asleep on his feet, and I felt much the same. Why didn't he just go straight to bed?
But Lloyd held out his hand for me to be led to his room for a well-earned sleep, and I found myself not needing to ask. I already knew the answer.
I'd wait for him, too. I'd wait for him forever.