Chapter Text
The remnants of the now-silent alarm rang in Lloyd’s ears as the room exploded in a flurry of activity.
“I thought Miss Koko said that Garmadon wouldn’t come back!” Jay had balled the end of his scarf up and was squeezing it like a stress ball as he scurried to his locker for his gi. “We were supposed to have more time! I’m not ready!”
The blond automatically followed the others to the lockers and slipped his own gi on over his casuals while Zane tried to placate his freckled teammate’s anxiety. “On the contrary, I would say that three weeks is an extremely long time for Garmadon to wait. His previous record between attacks was only four days, nineteen hours, twenty-two minutes, and fifty-three seconds, after all.”
The thump-thump of ninja rushing around and the mechanical whir of mechs powering up sounded in the background, and Cole lazily pulled his mask over his face before pausing to stare at the nindroid. “Y’know, you make so much more sense now.”
“Cole! Zane! Get moving!” Motion by the computer caught the blond’s attention as Morro’s voice cut off any response the white ninja might have had, his tone authoritative and urgent. “Lloyd, you’re going with them. I’ll be here on comms to guide you through everything. Each mech has a live feed I can tap into, so I’ll be seeing what you’re seeing.” The man’s fingers flew across the keyboard like the wind and an image of the warehouse soon appeared on the screen. “Now go!”
Lloyd ran across the room and vaulted into the cockpit of his mech. Nya had shown him the basics of the controls while they were doing the repairs, but he still had a bit of trouble getting the tatsu into the air. Once he was finally airborne though, a combination of Morro’s instructions and vague muscle memory helped him weave almost gracefully through the open sky. His mind took him back to when he first manifested his elemental dragon and he smiled a little at the familiar rush of wind on his face.
The communicator crackled as his cousin began giving orders to the team. “Nya, take care of the waterways. Jay, Lloyd, and Zane, keep the sky and streets clear. Kai and Cole, pair up and go after Garmadon.” A chorus of affirmations followed, and they each headed to their respective positions.
It wasn’t long before Lloyd got his first glimpse of Garmadon’s ocean-themed army. There were so many of them! Rows upon rows of crab mini mechs scuttled down the roads and on the sides of buildings, and manta ray jets buzzed through the sky like a swarm of flies. It was a little overwhelming for a first mission, but with Jay’s and Morro’s assistance he managed to get into the swing of things.
Jay pulled up alongside him, helping to blast several jellyfish-like mechs out of the sky before they could attack the monorail train. “How’re you holding up, Lloyd?”
Before he could answer, one of the jellyfish exploded near him, raining debris onto him and his dragon. “Aside from questioning why I designed this to be an open cockpit? Not too bad actually.” Suddenly jerking at the controls, he spiraled around a stray missile and led it to crash into another airborne sea creature mech. “Having a mech to help with crowd control is so much easier than doing it hand-to-hand. I would’ve loved to have this when we were up against the Stone Army and the Vermillion.”
The flow of battle kept Jay from responding as he repositioned himself to assist Zane with some of the earth-bound troops. Lloyd kept up the fight above the skyline and was able to push the aerial perimeter farther toward the beach.
Then suddenly, he heard it.
A rough baritone voice boomed through the city, apparently performing some sort of call and response routine. Thankful that he had already been warned about the warlord’s…quirkiness, he maneuvered himself between the skyscrapers until he had a visual.
His mind swirled with turmoil once he finally caught sight of Lord Garmadon himself.
The man responsible for the city’s hatred of him.
The man that was doing a terrible job of being his father.
Perched on top of a metallic gray lobster mech, he looked every bit like the version that Harumi had resurrected; the same obsidian skin, same four arms, even the same jagged helmet. The only addition was a dark navy cape that draped down to his ankles. His voice was unfamiliar, but that had been consistent with pretty much everyone so far.
Splashes of red and black color popped into his line of sight as Kai and Cole began their attack. The earth mech blasted sound waves at the crustacean’s shell while the fire mech concentrated its flamethrower on one particular spot, seemingly intending to overheat the alloy to the point of cracking. Just a little more…
“Lloyd, look out!”
A couple of ray jets had begun circling him and one was firing a stream of…live crabs at him? He flew his mech out of the way above the jets and pushed one of his dragon’s many buttons in an attempt to launch one of its many missiles into the fray. Instead, he ended up shooting out a flare, which didn’t do much damage but did distract them. In the end, he smacked them down with the dragon’s tail, watching them careen to the ground while he sighed in relief. “Thanks Morro.”
“Keep your head in the game. I don’t know what you remember about Garmadon, but do notunderestimate him.” His cousin’s voice had a sharp edge to it, and he thought back to what his friends told him had caused his hospital stay. “He may seem like he’s got a few screws loose, but he’s cunning. You never know when he’ll try to pull something unexpected.”
Lloyd hummed and nodded, turning his attention back to crowd control. He was silently thankful for being tasked with something other than Garmadon, because between the different memories, his feelings about his father were still rather complicated. Though, it did feel a little strange to not be leading the charge.
The aerial dance continued for a while, and between ice, lightning, and dragon fire the enemies on the streets were thinning out, and he started wondering if the battle was close to its end until the comms exploded with shouting.
“The fire mech is down! I repeat, the fire mech is down!”
“A little help, guys? I can’t keep this up without Kai!”
“What do we do?!?”
Before Morro was able to give instructions, Garmadon apparently had decided who he wanted to fight next. “Oh Green Ninja~! Come out, come out wherever you are!”
Lloyd took a look at the waning troops and made a split second decision. “Zane, hold the line here. I’m going after Garmadon.” Without waiting for a response, he made a beeline for the warlord.
Garmadon and his own teammates soon came into view, the fire mech dangling uselessly from one of the lobster’s massive pincers and the red ninja on the ground restrained by several people with pufferfish helmets. Cole’s mech was being held in the air between the other claw, immobilized but undamaged for the moment. When Garmadon saw the dragon, he cracked a grin and tossed Kai’s mech to the side. “There you are! I was starting to wonder if you were too chicken to face me again.”
The blond didn’t slow down, instead flying right over the warlord and snatching the earth mech out of the lobster’s grip. Cole, thankfully unharmed, landed safely on the ground and prepared to go another round until Lloyd stopped him. “Go take care of Kai, then help Zane! I’ll keep Garmadon distracted.”
As the black ninja moved to help his teammate, Lloyd maneuvered himself to the other side between Garmadon and the beach, forcing his father to turn around in order to see him.
“Y’know, you ninja are really lucky. If it weren’t for my ex we would’ve done this song and dance already, but nooo~, apparently Luh-Loyd got a boo-boo or something last time I was here and she freaked out.” The warlord gave an exasperated flap of his arms and threw his head back like a whiny teenager. “Ugh, the past two weeks were agony! Not being allowed to go anywhere under threat of harm from your ex-wife is no joke, let me tell you.” Then two left arms gestured up and down in sync toward the green ninja. “And now look at you! You’re already better! I had all these insults for the other ninja about you not showing up, and now I can’t even use them.”
Well. He was not expecting Garmadon to be this…chatty. He gave a sharp glare to his father, making it obvious that he wasn’t there for banter. “Is there a point to this conversation?”
Glowing red eyes widened suspiciously at him, clearly offended. “What, don’t like a little back-and-forth anymore?” He shook his head and tsked. “Kids these days, no respect for tradition.” Sighing, Garmadon moved his hands to a set of levers in front of him, which caused Lloyd to ready himself. “In that case, let’s cut to the chase, shall we?” His eyes sharpened and a wicked grin appeared on his face as the lobster’s claws suddenly—and literally— shot out and smashed into the nearest building, barely grazing the dragon as Lloyd struggled to move out of the way in time.
The blond aimed green fire breath at his father as he hovered over the warlord, but a bubble shield appeared around him and he laughed maniacally. As the claws retracted to the crustacean-themed mech, Lloyd caught sight of the weak spot Kai had made and an idea began to form in his mind. “Change of plans, guys. Zane! Is there any way you can make it over here? I think I know how we can beat this thing!”
“Affirmative! The troops in this area have almost fully retreated. Estimated time until arrival: two minutes and nineteen seconds.”
Perfect. “Great! Cole, go take over Zane’s position. Now all I gotta do-“
A claw smashed into the side of his mech and sent him hurtling straight into the side of a nearby building. His vision went white and starry for a few seconds as his head crashed against the wall. “-is not get hit. Ow.”
One of the jet rockets then sputtered and choked before finally giving out, causing the mech to tilt farther into the wall, and Lloyd had to duck into the cockpit to keep from being injured worse. He somehow managed to keep his hands on the controls and fumbled around with them for a bit until he finally found a way to give the other rockets more power to counterbalance and right the mech again.
Garmadon’s laughter and the pain from the crash made his head spin, but he pushed that to the side, sat up, and—finally finding the right buttons—released several missiles at the lobster. The shell deflected most of them, but one managed to crash into the base of a claw before it could fully return, severing it completely and giving him time to recover.
During that short break, an uncomfortable itch started to form in the back of his mind as if he were missing something. He wanted to just chalk it up to the newly-earned head trauma, but recent events had him questioning everything now.
Garmadon tried to take advantage of the pause and push forward down the street, but a shout from above grabbed his and Lloyd’s attention. “Heads up!” A shadow flew overhead and the water strider mech came down and bounced off of the lobster, smashing it into the ground. “The cannon fodder is all taken care of, so I figured I’d come help out.”
Lloyd let out a relieved laugh when he heard the girl’s voice. “Nya, I could almost kiss you right now.” However, before the cyan ninja could respond, his mech chose that moment to fall from the air, and the street rumbled with the heavy thud of the tatsu. More dazed than actually injured, he absentmindedly heard the rumble of a large vehicle barreling down the street as the itch in his mind grew stronger.
“I brought you here to say thank you for all you have done.”
Before he could process the sudden appearance of this new memory, a path of ice made a beeline for the crustacean mech, freezing it to the ground and immobilizing the remaining pincer. “‘Protocol: Put Garmadon on Ice’ has been executed!” The ice tank skidded to a stop right in front of the warlord. “I am present and ready!”
The green ninja had to keep his hands from moving up and cradling his head as the itch became static in his mind and he winced through his words, grateful for the coverage his mask offered. “Za-…uhhh, Ice Ninja!” His father being within hearing distance wasn’t ideal, but he could work with this. “I need a little fire-freeze action. You with me?”
An endless sea of green. Beautiful blue skies edged with clouds. A smattering of yellow flowers here and there. “But…I don't understand...” His own voice; hesitant, confused.
“Always!” The chipper voice of the nindroid gave him something external to focus on as he shakily controlled the dragon to walk closer to the offending shell.
Finding the weak spot from before, he focused the dragon breath on heating that spot, then when the metal turned red Zane froze it over and the process repeated.
“Endings are never really endings, only new beginnings.” An old man mounting a dragon. “You will understand soon... if you choose to come with me.”
Reheat, freeze. Reheat, freeze. Garmadon frantically tried to escape the icy prison to no avail. His mouth moved, but Lloyd heard nothing from it.
The static grew louder.
“Or, you can continue your duties as the Green Ninja.”
Finally, the metal cracked under the extreme temperature changes and the inner workings of the mech were revealed.
“There is another life on the verge of extinction even as we speak.”
Green sparks danced through Lloyd’s fingers and enveloped his hands, and in a brief moment of focus he threw two emerald orbs that slammed into the exposed mechanics.
“You will wake up to a world not your own, to a family not your own, but they will need you.”
An explosion ripped through the lobster and the ice trapping it shattered, leaving the hull motionless in the center of the road.
The First Spinjitzu Master extended his hand. “It’s your decision, Lloyd.”
An unnatural silence fell over the area, the only sound he could hear being his own heavy breathing.
…until Garmadon broke it with a laugh. “Oh man, you’ve been holding out on me, Green Ninja! Whatever those weird powers were, I’m excited to face them again!” The warlord pressed a button on his control panel and several jellyfish mechs emerged from the ocean. As they hooked tow chains around the lobster and carried it away, his voice echoed through the air. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back! Fight ya later, ninja!”
The stress of the fight finally caught up with him and Lloyd collapsed, flopping unceremoniously over the dragon’s navigation screen. The static had dissipated, leaving behind a terrible weight that sank into his chest and stomach.
Work on getting back to the warehouse, he told himself. Deal with the implications of the memory later. The middle of the street is not the place to have an existential breakdown.
Cole and Kai soon came rolling up in the earth mech. “All clear. Garmadon’s goons have officially retreated.” The black ninja then surveyed the damage done to the pavement and surrounding buildings. “Must’ve been quite the fight, huh?”
Lloyd’s only response was a groan. He pushed himself up, arms shaking slightly from the exertion. “…and this is how it goes every single time?”
“Well…” The red ninja spoke up this time, hand rubbing the back of his head. “It’s not always this intense, but pretty much. Believe it or not, this was actually one of the shorter fights.”
A strong wind pushed through the corridor as the lightning jet lowered itself to the ground. Jay quickly jumped out and ran to the damaged green mech, panicked eyes darting over the scene with lightning speed. “Is he okay?!? Please say he’s okay!” When the green ninja turned his head toward him, he stopped and put a hand over his chest, deflating like a soufflé as the anxious tension left him. “Oh thank goodness. I don’t think I could’ve handled another scare like that.”
The green ninja rolled his shoulders back and did some simple stretches to test his range of movement. “No worse for wear than usual, I think? Although, I would like to get back to base sooner than later.” Between the possible second concussion and the jarring reality of the remembered conversation, a headache was building and he just wanted to lay down.
Unfortunately, life never gave him what he wanted.
Lloyd ended up hitching a ride with Jay as the lightning jet carried the out-of-commission tatsu, and Cole grabbed the fire mech with his own as they finally headed back.
The ride to the warehouse was quiet and uncomfortable. He would have to tell them all. Now that he knew the truth, he couldn’t keep up the charade and break their hearts further.
But…the First Master had said they would need him. Why?
By the time they arrived at their destination, he was no closer to answering that particular question than when he started. Cole dropped the fire mech off in its spot before detaching the dragon and doing the same, allowing Jay to park his jet in its spot on the railing. As Lloyd dismounted and landed on the floor, he began steeling himself for the unwelcome announcement.
He needn’t have bothered.
His mask was suddenly ripped from his face and a pair of hands forcefully grabbed him by the collar of his gi, sharp gray-green eyes burning with rage and boring holes straight into his soul.
“Who are you, and what have you done with Lloyd?!”