Also congrats to @SandNinjaGS for naming Lloyd and Kira's daughter Ashley.
I'm not revealing Kai and Skylor's kid's name yet.
Also this is based almost 3-4 years after Ninjago Generations, so the kids are a bit older now.
Enjoy the new series!
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Ryder's P.O.V.:
I just woke up to my little sister's crying. I put my pillow over my head and tried to drown her out, but it didn't work. I could still hear 3 year old Ashley crying her little heart out.
"Ashley!" I screamed annoyed. "Shut up I'm trying to sleep!"
Then my mom busted into the room. Dad and Grandma were behind her, with my father holding the baby.
"Ryder, give your sister a break." Mom said. "She's feeling sick today."
"Ashley, Ashley, Ashley. It's all about Ashley!" I rolled my eyes.
"Sorry son, we'll play with you later ok?" Dad said.
"Yeah right." I crossed my arms and rolled over in my bed.
"Just give him time." I heard Grandma tell my parents. "He'll come around."
With that all three of them left. I wanted to run away. My family doesn't want me anymore, so why should I stay? They don't care about me, I feel like I'm invisible. Like they can't even see me.
That was when I took my book bag and packed the essentials. A change of clothes, a few snacks, a flashlight, my cell phone and charger, and a twenty dollar bill I found on the table as I was leaving. My parents were so busy with Ashley, they never even noticed me leave. Typical.
I took my bike and I headed down the monastery's really long staircase. Then I managed to get all the way to Ninjago City. It was getting dark out so I turned on my flashlight and tied to the front of my bike to use as a headlight.
I didn't know where I was going, but I wanted to get away. I didn't care where, I just wanted to feel wanted.
Then my phone started ringing so I stopped and looked at it. It was my dad probably wondering where I was. I ignored it and let it ring, but then my mom called. You never ever hang up on my mom. So I put the phone up to my ear.
"Don't worry about me, I'm spending the night at a friends house. Ok bye." I immediately hung up.
I did not like lying to my parents, but if it gets them off my back, then it's better than them worrying about me all the time.
My mother tried to call me back, but then I blocked her number, along with my dad and grandma's. I just didn't want to talk to them right now.
I kept going on my bike until the flashlight ran out of batteries. I didn't think to bring extra batteries! Why didn't I do that?!
I kept riding in the darkness of the city until I saw a neon sign that I recognized. It read Laughy's Karaoke Bar. I remember my father telling me stories about this place.
I parked my bike outside and went inside the building. There was the karaoke stage, a couple pool tables and a bar with someone in a brown jumpsuit manning it. I set down at the bar.
"Lemonade please, and make it a double." I told the man in brown and took the twenty out of my pocket.
"Coming right up." The man took my money and gave me my lemonade and change.
"Thanks." I said.
"What's a kid like you doing out here all alone?" He asked. "Are you lost?"
"Can you keep a secret?" I asked him.
"Dareth is the master of keeping secrets!" He exclaimed.
"I ran away from home." I frowned.
"Wait a minute, you're Lloyd's boy aren't you?" He recognized me and I nodded. "Why don't I call your parents to come pick you up?"
"NO!" I yelled.
"But don't you wanna go home?" He asked me.
"They don't want me. They just want my sister." I crossed my arms.
"What?"
"Never mind Mr. Dareth. Do you have any batteries I could use?" I asked.
"Sure kid." He gave me the batteries. "Stay safe out there ok?"
"Thanks." I said.
I finished my lemonade, thanked him and walked back outside. When I got back my bike, I put the batteries into my flashlight and kept going. I found myself missing my family, but I couldn't turn back now. That would be giving up. And a ninja never quits.
I kept riding through the streets on my bike. I thought I saw someone familiar running towards me, and it was my dad.
I didn't think he saw me, so I ducked into the dark alley to my left. As I was riding deeper into it, I saw a girl around my age being cornered by some thugs. She was quivering, she looked like she had been living on the streets a while.
The thugs looked like they meant business and weren't letting up. I couldn't bare to watch, I had to do something. I had to help.
"Hey big guys!" I screamed and tried to get their attention.
"Oh look at what we have here. A little lost Garmadon boy." The biggest thug taunted.
"That's much more fun than picking on a poor girl." The one to his left turned to me.
As they started crowding me, I looked the little girl in the eyes and I mouthed the word 'run'. She nodded and ran out of the alley to get to safety. Luckily the thugs didn't notice her leaving.
All of a sudden, it felt like a surge of energy was welling up inside of me. I looked down and I was floating in the air and my skin and clothes had turned to gold. I found my inner dragon!
I let out a giant roar from the golden dragon head in front of me, and the thugs slammed against the wall. Then they all ran away like a bunch of little girls.
Then I turned back to my normal form and I felt so tired. Before I could question what happened I started feeling so drained I ended up on the ground. The last thing I saw before I passed out was my father and mother's feet running up to me...
I woke up in my room. I had quite a headache but other than that I was ok. My dad and mom were right there in front of me.
"Mom, he's waking up!" My dad shouted to my grandma.
"What happened?" I held the back of my head in pain. "Why do I have such a headache?"
"Easy son, it's been a long day. Just rest." My mother cooed.
"Wait, what happened to that girl? Is she alright?" I suddenly remembered everything.
"She's fine son." My dad said. "She was taken to the hospital and they tracked down her parents. She's home now and they were very thankful you brought her back to them."
"Thank goodness." I let out a sigh of relief. "So you're not mad?"
"No, we're furious." My mom scowled. "We'll discuss your punishment later."
"That's fair." I sighed. "I'm sorry I ran away, I was just tired of Ashley getting all the attention."
"We're sorry too son, we should have been paying more attention to you." My dad said.
"It's ok, next time I'll just talk to you guys about it instead of running away. I've learned my lesson." I said.
"I'm glad." My dad pulled me into a hug. "But you're still punished."
"Awe man!" I sighed.
I ended up being grounded for a month with no TV or video games. I was upset, but I thought it was fair because I messed up. In all honesty I was just happy I was able to help that girl. If I didn't show up when I did, she could've been hurt or worse. I really hoped she was happy with her family now.