Chapter Text
The next day was Saturday, and Lloyd’s mom had informed him that he would receive a visitor sometime after breakfast. As soon as the knock was heard at 10:30am exactly, the blond opened the front door to reveal his nindroid friend, exaggerated smile nearly blinding him with its cheeriness.
“Good morning Lloyd! We were not able to get ahold of you through text, so I have come to tell you in person to, and I quote, ‘get ready for the best weekend hangout ever.’ We have a whole plan of fun, normal teenager activities for the day.”
Lloyd rubbed the back of his head. “Oh, yeah… sorry about that. Last night was really crazy and I think my phone is still dead.” He glanced back at the table where his mom was still seated, then back at Zane. “Let me go grab my phone and a charger real quick. Wait right here,” he said as he pulled his friend into the apartment and shut the door. “I’ll be right back. Don’t move!”
As Lloyd rushed to grab his phone from where it had been left on his bed, he caught sight of his reflection in a mirror on the wall. His eyes were still a bit puffy and red from the night before; all he could do was hope that nobody commented on it.
Picking up an extra cord and charging block, he headed over to Koko and gave her a hug from behind. “Don’t worry mom, I’ll be with my friends the entire time. Promise.”
Koko slid out of the chair and firmly returned the hug. “You know I’d rather you didn’t go out today, but some time with your friends is probably a good idea after what happened.” Her eyes began to glisten as she hugged him even tighter. “As soon as your phone is charged, make sure your location is on so I can see you, okay?”
The blond squeezed into the hug one last time before separating. “Yes mom.” His smile took on a hint of sadness before he turned away and joined his friend. “Alright, where’re we going?”
The nindroid’s smile seemed to get bigger as he turned and opened the front door. “It is a surprise! You will see when we get there.”
Kind of suspicious but still intrigued, Lloyd shrugged and followed his friend. As they made it outside, he pulled his hood over his head and fell into step next to Zane.
As they walked, he learned that the nindroid was actually pretty excitable. He could get very animated about things, talking quickly when discussing something interesting and using dial-up tones when recounting arguments or imitating annoyances. He didn’t understand any of it, but it got the point across and made him chuckle a little. Not enough to completely stop him from startling at the occasional car whizzing down the street, but enough to distract him from everything else.
Zane led him down the street he had taken to get to the high school, but they turned down another road that he hadn’t been on yet. There were shops lining the sidewalks, many of which displayed the sign he had seen the previous day.
Before he could question his friend on why they were here, they stopped in front of a small ice cream parlor that notably did not have a sign warning him away.
That didn’t keep him from becoming uneasy about entering.
Seeing his hesitation, Zane gave his shoulder a pat of reassurance. “Do not worry, you are allowed in here. We come here often, and the proprietor knows you are a regular visitor.” He then opened the door and held it for the blond. “The others should already be inside.”
Lloyd took a deep breath and held it as he stepped through the doorway, bracing himself for a scolding or worse. When nothing happened, he blinked and looked around the open room.
The walls were a pastel blue with accents of white and yellow swirls, making the small room feel more open. White tables and chairs dotted the dining space, and two large windows let in the sunlight from outside to give the space a cozy feeling.
His darker-clothed friends weren’t that hard to spot amid the light-colored decor of the place and lack of other customers at this time of day. They were all gathered in front of a glass-covered counter that likely held the ice cream. Nya glanced back and motioned for him to join them, which he slowly obeyed as he slid back his hood and tried to convince himself that he wasn’t going to get thrown out. He heard Zane’s footsteps following him and he relaxed a little bit. The nindroid wouldn’t let anything happen, right?
“Glad you could join us! I hope Zane didn’t talk your ear off too much?” The girl smiled as she pulled him up to the glass and gestured to the tubs of frozen goodness behind it. “Let me know what kind you want, and then you can grab a table while we order.”
So the situation was a “tolerate him in the building but won’t serve him directly” kind of deal. That put him more at ease, even if it still stung.
“I guess I’ll go with a mint chocolate chip bowl,” he finally said after examining the plethora of options.
Nya’s smile grew wide and she nudged her brother. “One regular, coming up!” The brunet then groaned and handed over a crumpled wad of bills, and Jay followed suit soon after. Cole just watched the two, bopping his head to whatever music he had blasting through his headphones, but a ghost of a smirk flashed over his lips for a second.
The exchange put a confused frown on Lloyd’s face. “You guys were betting on what flavor I’d get?”
“Yep! Whoever lost has to pay for your ice cream.” Nya chirped as she smoothed out and counted the cash. “These two were sure you’d go for something different because of the whole different memories thing. I thought differently though; the body remembers things the brain doesn’t. Of course you’d still have a taste for your favorite.”
That…kind of made sense, actually. He hadn’t even considered that, but it did explain why certain things felt familiar even though he had no memories attached.
As the others compared the merits of each different flavor, Lloyd picked a booth along the side wall and plugged his phone into the closest outlet. While he waited for the battery to charge, his mind subconsciously turned to the events of the previous night.
He would never in a million years have expected Morro, the vengeful ghost who had a grudge against the Green Ninja and tried to destroy Ninjago, to be his cousin. And seemingly a nice one at that. Morro, the one who trapped him in his own mind and used his body to hurt the people he loved. Morro, the-
His hands went up and slapped his cheeks. No need for spiraling right now. That would probably come later when the others dragged it out of him. His luck was never good enough to expect otherwise...
And on top of the whole Morro thing, he hadn’t even begun to scratch the surface of his thoughts on Harumi’s existence here.
Too many thoughts mulling around in his head, too many people that he would rather not have to think about or deal with ever again, too many unexpected situations-
Oh look, his phone was on.
Thankful for the distraction, he unlocked it and checked his location settings, making sure to send his mom a text with his current location and a sniped picture of the rest of the group ordering at the register. He got a response a few seconds later: a thumbs up reaction on the location link and a heart reaction on the photo, then a wish of “Have fun and stay safe!”
While his focus was on his mother’s text, Nya approached and set the bowl of minty ice cream down in front of him.
“Mind if I sit here?”
Her question caught him off guard, but he managed to stumble out an answer. “Oh, uh, sure?” He scooted over to the wall and the girl slid onto the bench, holding her own pralines and cream cone.
“We try to come here at least once a month or so, depending on Garmadon attacks or other…unfortunate events.” Her smile dipped slightly and he could read between the lines that said unfortunate events included his being bullied. “Since you’re still trying to get things back to normal, we figured some fun activities would be a good thing to check off sooner than later.”
He stared at the slowly melting dessert. Finally, he grabbed hold of the spoon in the bowl and stuck a scoop of ice cream in his mouth. The cool of the mint burst onto his taste buds and he savored the bite, letting the flavors of fresh mint and rich chocolate both relax and energize him.
“Good call. Yesterday was a bit much…” A warm feeling spread through his chest and across his face, and he blinked back the tears that were trying to form. While he stared at his ice cream trying to get his emotions under control, Nya had apparently noticed his distress and pulled him into a side hug.
“You’ve always been the strongest of all of us, but you’re not alone anymore. We’ll get through this together. Right, Nya?”
Lloyd looked up to see Kai standing next to the table with a confident grin on his face. The brunet then looked at Nya and the girl nodded before sliding out of the seat, motioning for Lloyd to follow. He obeyed and was immediately wrapped in a warm hug. The familiar embrace was comforting in a way that made him want it to last forever, and he hugged back tightly, letting it melt his distress away.
But alas, all good things must end, and Kai released the blond from his grip. “Once the others get over here, we’ll talk about the plans for the day. But until then…” Kai gave a smile to Nya. “Lloyd sandwich?”
The dark-haired girl nodded with an equally large smile. “Lloyd sandwich.”
He was relieved to discover that a Lloyd sandwich simply meant being squished between the two protective siblings. Kai sat by the wall while Nya took the outer edge, prepared to ward off any external threats if necessary.
Too bad it wasn’t as effective for internal ones.
Still, it was comforting to have his friends by his side. The two started a conversation with each other, leaving opportunities open for Lloyd to jump in and make comments if he so chose. Probably some sort of practiced grounding routine to build off the seating arrangement, if he had to guess. Though at some point the siblings had started bickering, roping in the others as they sat down.
“I’m just saying, Lady Iron Dragon had the greatest impact of any general in the Battle of Nine Armies.”
Kai slapped his hands on the table with a passion, causing the whole thing to shake. “Oh come on, sis. You’re completely leaving out the unsung heroes! What about Sir Flamberge? Madame Hawkingjay? The Light Knight, for crying out loud!” He turned to the nindroid who had just taken the last seat in the booth, eyes pleading him for support. “Help me out here, Zane!”
The nindroid shook his head, giving the red ninja a quizzical look. “While I do admit that the Battle of Nine Armies had many influential participants, did you not say that we would explain to Lloyd the day’s itinerary once everyone was present? I believe I am the last person to be seated.”
Kai’s annoyance quickly fizzled out at his friend’s words, his face lighting up with a cheesy grin. “Oh yeah! The best weekend ever plans!” He pulled a map out of his pocket and spread it out on the tabletop. A map that Lloyd had sorely needed last night… “Obviously we’re starting the day here with ice cream. We figured next up should be the arcade over here.” A finger landed on a spot that was uncomfortably close to the area marked Industrial District, and the blond’s heart started to race as the memory of last night came to the forefront. “Gotta see if you’ve still got the skills…”
Kai kept talking, but Lloyd could no longer hear him. A tightness gripped his chest and all he could focus on was his heart pounding in his ears, Harumi’s frosty voice, the shouts of her gang chasing him, the wind-
He didn’t even realize he was hyperventilating until he became aware of someone gripping his shoulder. “-eep breaths. Follow me, alright? In through your nose, out through your mouth…”
It took his brain longer than it should have to process the words, but soon he found himself copying the voice and his breath soon evened out. When he became aware of his surroundings again, he winced at the fact that everyone was staring at him.
“You back with us, green machine?” Cole asked cautiously, his normally lax brows furrowed deeply and his slice of chocolate ice cream cake untouched on the table. If Lloyd hadn’t just come out of a panic attack, he might have teased the black ninja about the cake.
He took one more deep breath before attempting to speak. Getting the words through his dried-out throat felt awkward, but something finally squeaked out. “I… I think so…” He reached for a cup of water that Nya had set in front of him and took a few sips to rehydrate, letting the water sit for a few seconds before swallowing.
The pressure on his shoulder lessened as Kai released his hold. “It’s been a while since you freaked out this badly. Was it something I said? Should we save all this for another day?” The brunet let go of Lloyd’s hand and pulled out his phone. “I can text Miss Koko that we’re bringing you back home-“
“No!” Lloyd flinched at the volume of his own voice but started again. “No, I still want to hang out with you guys! It’s just… can we do things back at base? I’m not too eager to be out and about today…”
Kai deflated slightly at the request but nodded. Slowly folding up the map again, he pretended to kiss it before putting it back in his pocket. “Farewell, best weekend plans ever. The world was not yet ready for you. May you be resurrected soon in all your fun-tastic glory.”
As he finished the short funeral, everyone else stared at him deadpan until the theatrics were done. Then Jay coughed awkwardly, and the moment was over. “Sooo, we head out once we finish our ice cream?”
Five heads all nodded in agreement, and the room was silent for a few minutes before Kai started up the history discussion again, causing the table to erupt with voices. Lloyd shook his head as he hid a small smile behind another bite of ice cream.
Some things never change.