Song Quote: Trust Nobody
"Don't know why I still try
And she wonders why I
I don't trust nobody
Not even Her."
~~~
Third Person Pov:
Lloyd sat on the ground criss cross staring intently on the lightbulb in his hands. He focused his powers trying to keep a steady glow on the bulb without breaking it.
The exercise is to teach the young green ninja to control his power at will without breaking the lightbulb.
One could say it represents those he wishes to protect. Too much power unchecked could become catastrophic especially if the user isn't in control.
"Focus Lloyd, control the power inside you" Jay encouraged "When you feel a surge welling up...harness it."
Lloyd smiled from the encouragement "I understand" He replied turning his attention back to the lightbulb muttering "I am in control..."
The child groaned gritting his teeth in concentration. "Come on, Lloyd. You can do it" Jay encouraged as the light inside the bulb glowed more intense. Pressure built up causing the lightbulb to shatter.
"Argh! Stupid lightbulb!" Lloyd shouted in frustration looking to his teachers "You guys are putting too much pressure on me. Let me have another try."
"Sorry kid, that was the last lightbulb." Kai replied and gestured to the broken past attempts scattered at Lloyd's feet.
"Clean up Lloyd, We'll continue training tomorrow" Cole told the green ninja in training handing him a broom to get started.
Lloyd puffed his cheeks grumbling to himself taking the broom in his hand. He bashed it against a nearby punching bag venting a bit.
The lightning ninja let out a sigh shaking his head "What am I doing wrong Sensei Wu? I can't seem to teach him to control his power" Jay asked Sensei Wu hopelessly.
They watched Lloyd punch and hit the punching bag with the broom. The bag swinging back and forth but it hit the broom in his hand knocking the young boy to the ground.
"You dare defy the green ninja!" Lloyd shouted at the punching bag as they watched him get his revenge on the object.
"Patience Jay, sometimes the greatest opponent we face is ourselves and that is especially true of Lloyd." He told Jay as he took him to the side "Remember where he came from, he's the son of Lord Garmadon. It's going to take time for him to embrace the light."
The door opened as Nya entered the room "Hey guys" She greeted as the other three ninja conversed.
"Hey Nya" The four replied back as she approached the blue ninja.
"Hey Jay, wanna come by the auto body shop later?" She asked sheepishly as she hid a piece of paper behind her back.
They continued in their little flirting banter mostly ignored by the others. (Y/n) finally put down one of her library books she was reading by the window. She walked over to the green ninja as he continued fighting with the punching bag.
"You have to clean up when you make a mess" she lightly scolded the green ninja as she knelt down picking up the broken glass with delicate hands.
Lloyd frowned as he finally got to sweeping up his mess with her help. When the two finally created a pile of all the glass and metal parts she stood up to get a dust pan. It was at this moment when the girl finally noticed a cut on her left palm.
Zane noticed this as well pointing out with worry "(Y/n) you're bleeding."
"Huh..." she hummed thinking aloud "Didn't notice." She stared at the cut as the blood seeped out from beneath her skin a bit too long before looking for the first aid kit.
The fire ninja rolled his eyes at the girl telling her "The first aid is in the bathroom." Kai caught her off guard when he started walking out the room dragging her right behind him much to her slight protest.
The two headed into the bathroom where the fire ninja made the girl sit on the lid of the toilet as he rummaged around in the cupboards for the first aid.
"I can do it myself " She protested as she held some toilet paper on the wound to stop the bleeding. She couldn't figure out the fire ninja's intentions since the two aren't exactly good friends.
The two only exist in the same space with only the common interest of protecting Lloyd, nothing more.
(Y/n) and Kai truly don't know much about one another and one can say they are opposites. The two initially repel one another, but maybe if the two took the time they could attract one another...
"You have to disinfect the cut. It was from dirty glass" He scolded the girl throwing away the toilet paper in her hand before cleaning the wound with rubbing alcohol.
"Ah, ow...." she grumbled biting back the burning sensation on her skin resisting the instinct to lash out and get away. The cold liquid felt like fire as it made contact stung like a poison.
"Stop getting yourself hurt then" the fire ninja scolded taking an internal note that her bandages were gone. Her hands finally healed only for her to be reckless and pick up glass barehanded.
"Don't press that too hard. It burns" she growled glaring at Kai as the fire ninja took out a large bandage from the kit.
"So you can stand up and fight the Devourer but rubbing alcohol burns. Yeah sure, got it" he scoffed peeling back the paper and placing the large bandage across her hand.
He can't pinpoint what her deal is. It would be a lie if Kai wasn't a little suspicious of the mysterious girl. She refuses to talk about herself and no one knows much about her. Lloyd can't even answer if someone were to ask.
This suspicion is rather miniscule and pure speculation on the fire ninja's part. But there is nothing wrong with healthy speculation.
Who would trust someone when they can't put the same into you?
The fire ninja started putting away the supplies but glanced over at the girl curiously. She kept her gaze fixated on the bandage softly pressing down on the skin wincing from the pressure. For a moment Kai caught himself staring at the innocent look on her face.
He softened a bit trying to reach out kindly. "Does it still burn?" he asked in a more warm tone as she looked up at him.
"No, but it aches" she replied having gotten over the searing very quickly. (Y/n) truly didn't like it. The pain, while miniscule felt like a flashback to her body to something worse.
While the mind can forget physical and mental traumas the body will always remember the instincts associated.
"It'll settle after a while" he reassured. Kai went back to putting the supplies away and washed his hands whistling to himself as the two didn't exchange anything else.
"Thank you Kai."
The fire ninja stopped drying his hands raising an eyebrow not expecting gratitude. She got up from her seat nodding to him before heading out the door.
"How odd..." Kai thought to himself scratching his head following right behind her back to the main dojo.
"Looks like there's going to be a ceremony" Sensei Wu stated reading a letter aloud as the two walked in.
"I love ceremonies. That means there's going to be cake" Cole perked up with delight.
"Lloyd's change inspired them, now they invited Lloyd to give him an honorary degree in excellence" Sensei Wu told the group who smiled happy for the boy.
Kai and (Y/n) were confused and needed some context as they watched the boy beat up the punching bag. Lloyd broke the broom in half before head butting the bag grunting as he flopped onto the floor in defeat.
The girl walked over and knelt next to him "You okay?" she asked gently poking his cheek.
"Are we sure we're talking about the same Lloyd?" Kai blurted out confused while the others nodded in agreement.
~~~
Your Pov:
From what you understand, Lloyd's old bad guy school is going to be giving him a special prize because his change sparked a good influence on them. An award with a whole ceremony in place.
Lloyd told you stories of his time there and that sounds out of character for that kind of place. From fire ants placed in his bed to someone giving him food poisoning. Not to mention the young Garmadon was made an outcast by his peers for not fitting in with their ways.
Needless to say you are skeptical of this special ceremony.
You rode on the back of the Ultra dragon behind the ninja. Lloyd was still learning how to control the winged beast so he was the operator in training. Looking out to the white fluffy clouds below they looked as though you could touch them.
However that isn't possible for they would pass through your hands as they are, like other things in this world, unattainable.
"It's pretty up here..." You thought to yourself enjoying the cool breeze on your exposed features. The fresh air going through your lungs as you held onto the ice ninja sitting in front of you.
"Now that we can ride the dragon we should get to Darkley's in no time" Jay said aloud.
"That's if Lloyd can get us there in one piece" Kai replied with uneasiness in his voice.
Cole sat up front instructing the boy how to control the dragon "Just be gentle, any sudden moves can cause him to-
"Any sudden what?!" Lloyd shouted turning around and moving the reigns abruptly.
The Ultra Dragon lurched straight down the wind howling as the group was hurling towards the ground.
You accidentally let go of Zane and ended up floating a little bit above them due to the speed in which you and the dragon were falling.
Zane held on tight to Jay as he reached one hand over and grabbed yours as you remained silent amidst the chaos.
"The reins! Let go of the reins!" Cole shouted to the boy who did as he was told.
The dragon circled around your destination before landing in front of the school while you landed on something soft and warm.
When you looked up you realized you actually landed in Jay's lap. You both stared back at each other with wide eyes.
"Sorry about that" You apologized getting off of the blue ninja and dismounted the Ultra dragon.
"Yeah, uh, no problem..." The lightning ninja laughed awkwardly as he followed behind.
"I'll take the reins going home, just to be safe" You overheard Cole tell Lloyd as they headed towards the school.
You looked up at the sign that read 'Darkley School For Great Children.' You looked around taking in the well kept landscape and freshly bloomed flowers on the bushes.
Up ahead a boy turned around from where he tended to some flowers. He gasped when he saw the green ninja. "Lloyd?" He called out to the boy in question.
"Brad?" Lloyd replied recognizing the boy with a perplexed look on his face.
"You came! So good to see you!" Brad ran over pulling Lloyd into a warm hug as a greeting.
"It is? You put fire ants in my bed" Lloyd raised a eyebrow as he pulled away from the hug.
Brad apologized saying "please forgive me. I wasn't myself, and have learned the errors of my ways." He looked around at everyone else "And you must be the ninja" he awed in delight gesturing to you "And that's definitely (Y/n)."
Lloyd turned around saying "uh, guys, meet Brad Tudabone."
The boy walked over to the ninja in excitement "Such a huge fan, go good!" He exclaimed as he shook each if their hands. Brad gestured to the front door leading the way "Please, will you follow me to see the principal?"
The group followed behind heading into the building. you walked down the halls passing by classrooms and lockers. You absentmindedly ran a hand across the metal lockers as you walked by. What goes on in a school anyways? What do they learn and do in the time that class is in session.
"Uh, shouldn't you all be in class?" Cole asked the boy as you walked down the hall. It was odd that the place was completely vacant.
"Actually, today is a new Darkley school tradition: Ninja Day" Brad explained "We stay out of sight to honor the way of the ninja for showing us the light."
You nudged Zane and casted him an uneasy look. He only smiled and patted your shoulder to calm your nerves.
"Huh this is a good school, I'm impressed" Cole stated as the boy opened the door and led the group inside.
"Principal Noble, Lloyd and his friends are here for the ceremony" The boy called out to a door where you'd assume where the principal was.
"That, and the cake. By the way, do you know what kind it is?" Cole added in with excitement as he drooled over the idea of the sweet treat.
You could see a stiff silhouette of a man with a pipe speak "I'll be with you in just a moment." He called from behind the door.
Brad started to head towards the door to leave "I should get back to the flowers" he excused himself and closed the door behind him.
"Um, has anyone seen a teacher yet?" Jay stated aloud his concern.
Zane nodded in agreement "Indeed, there absence is most strange."
"I'll see you now. Come in, come in" The "principal" called from behind the door as it opened.
You stayed back trying to grab Lloyd but he slipped past your fingertips.
You looked up and saw a boy shine a flashlight on his face.
"Welcome back Lloyd" the bow with orange hair and glasses greeted in a sickly way.
"Gene?" Lloyd said in confusion.
"And welcome Lloyd's friends, to the new Darkley's boarding school for worse boys!" He declared with a evil laugh cutting a rope.
"Lloyd!" You yelled as you tried to reach him but sandbags fell from the ceiling on top of the five ninja.
"Gene, I'm gonna get you for this..." Lloyd huffed as his vision slowly faded to black.
"Oh looks like we have one extra" Gene smiled mischievously at you before turning to the other boys ordering "Get her!"
Young boys surrounded you stepping over the ninja's unconscious bodies. They had weapons ranging from baseball bats to slingshots with rocks. They started firing rocks and you turned on your heels running out of the room.
There's no way you're gonna hit a kid and there were too many to apprehend. You could hear them running after you. In an effort to lose the young boys you hid in a storage closet.
~~~
Ninja's Pov:
Each ninja slowly awakened with splitting headaches as they sat up.
"Thank goodness you're here" a man said aloud as the group of adults surrounded the ninja.
Kai groaned looking around rubbing the back of his head groggily "What happened? Where's Lloyd? And who are all of you?" He asked looking around for the boy.
"We are the teachers and we've all been taken prisoner" One woman spoke "We tried to teach the boys how to be good, but they overthrew us. They are monsters!" she exclaimed.
"I thought Lloyd was getting a honorary degree?" Jay asked in confusion.
"That was the boy's trick to lure Lloyd here and convince him to become their leader" The principal explained with a sigh.
"What?!" Cole exclaimed "There's not gonna be any cake?!"
"Wait, Where's (Y/n)?" Kai said looking around the room to find the girl in question missing.
"It's possible she got away before they could have knocked her out" Zane replied stating a possibility.
"So there's still hope for us" One teacher perked up.
Kai rubbed the back of his head muttering "Maybe..."
~~~
Author's Edit: October 19th 2020
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