Chapter Text
Lloyd’s life was terrible. That was putting it mildly. To say that he was hated by everyone in Ninjago City was an understatement. To say that he had no friends was…well…the most true thing you could say about him. To sum it all up, he had a lot he felt he could complain about. Like he was going to do that, though. But that wasn’t important right now. What was important was that his dad was attacking the city.
Oh, did he not mention that? That his dad is the evil Lord Garmadon, who attacks the city every other week or so. And that this just happened to be one of those attacks.
Lloyd squeezed his hands harder over his ears as he felt the ground tremor beneath him after an exceptionally loud booming sound. His eyes frantically darted up to his teacher, silently begging her to allow them to evacuate. Sure, outside might be just as dangerous, but then at least he wouldn’t be dying in school. That was the most depressing death he could think of.
That is probably not where his thoughts were supposed to go during a Garmadon attack, but what was he supposed to think? “ Oh, please stop attacking Dad. It’s kinda ruining my life. ” Yeah, like that was gonna do any help.
He felt the ground tremor again, bringing him back to the present. His dad attacking and trying not to die. Right. Movement caught his eye, and he looked up to find his teacher beginning to direct children outside. I guess outside is safer this time , he couldn’t help but think bitterly. Mrs. Violet, his algebra teacher, began counting the others as they came to the front. Lloyd stayed where he was under his desk. Mrs. Violet began leading the other students out without realizing Lloyd was left behind. Or more accurately, not caring, Lloyd thought bitterly as he stood up, brushing his pants off before making his way out of the building by himself.
His teacher didn’t care if he made it out of the building. His classmates didn’t care if he made it out of the building. His friends didn’t… oh right. Never mind that last one. Point was, no one in the building cared if he made it out with them.
They blamed him for Garmadon’s attacks. They probably thought this one was his fault, too. They didn’t care that his dad probably didn’t even know he existed. Not that he went around sharing that fact. They wouldn’t listen anyway. They never listened when he tried to defend himself.
Focus, Lloyd told himself. You need to focus. He peeked out the door to find the last few students still making their way down the staircase. He could go and join them. Try to escape the building that was about to fall over, like a normal person. Or he could wait till the rest of the students escaped and go down by himself.
He chose the latter option. He didn’t feel like being yelled at. Or pushed around. Or having to be around his classmates at all. He watched as the last of them squeezed their way down the stairs before sprinting across the hallway. He paused at the top of the stairs, waiting for the shuffling of the students descending to stop before making his escape. The ground shook beneath his feet, the lights flickered, and he saw just the tiniest bit of dust fall from the ceiling. He grabbed onto the wall to steady himself, his mouth pressed into a thin line. Below him screams pierced the air, as students wondered if they were going to make it out in time.
And Lloyd…felt bad for them. Bad that they lived in a city that his dad was so bent on taking over. Bad that they had to fear for their lives. They were just kids, like him. They shouldn’t be afraid like that. They shouldn’t have to go through this.
Of course, he’s talking about the people who hate him. The ones who actively make his life terrible. But…ugh, why was it so difficult?
Lloyd shook his head, clearing it of the unwanted thoughts. Racing down the now-empty staircase, he broke through the doors leading to the outside world. He took a deep breath, not even realizing how stuffy it had become in there. Still panting in the fresh air, he looked around the city. Not too much damage. Yet. One of the main bridges had collapsed, but he couldn’t see any cars on top or bottom, so he assumed everyone was safe. A short building that he knew to be an antique store had collapsed in on itself. But other than that, it was all minor fixes.
A group of people ran past him, being chased by a man dressed as a shark. Why his father had chosen to do an underwater theme for his soldiers’ armor, he would never understand. He turned to run home, where he knew his mom would be pacing anxiously for him to get back. But… uhg. This is a terrible idea, he yelled at himself, as he whipped around to chase the shark man. Lloyd wasn’t one to leave people in trouble, even if the city seemed to think he was.
He ran after the hideously dressed man, calling out to him, “Hey, Shark Guy! Over here!” He waved at the man, trying to get his attention.
“Stay out of this, Lloyd!” someone from the group shouted. It was a little boy desperately holding onto his mom’s hand. Lloyd felt a stabbing pain go through him at the thought that that child hated him. Even children hated him.
But right now, that wasn’t important. What was important was getting Mr. Shark Guy away from the group.
“You know, the octopus guy was a lot scarier!” He yelled.
“WHAT?!” Shark Guy whipped around to face Lloyd, glaring. Lloyd tried not to let the smirk threatening to split his lips show. The man ran at him, sword raised. Lloyd shifted into a fighting position, the one he had trained his whole life to have. Ducking, he slipped under the man’s swing, coming up behind him. Lloyd threw a swift punch to the back of the man’s neck, and he went down. Lloyd didn’t enjoy fighting. He didn’t want to hurt people. But if it meant protecting the people of Ninjago City, he would do it.
Lloyd heard cheering and realized that Garmadon was retreating. Two more of his father’s soldiers ran by, grabbing Shark Man as they went. These two dressed as puffer fish. Seriously, who picks out their outfits? He watched as the men dragged their fallen companion to the beach to make their retreat back to the volcano.
Oh yeah, his dad lives in a volcano. As if the char-black armor, glowing red eyes, and fangs didn’t make Garmadon look enough like a villain, his “secret” lair was a volcano.
Lloyd shook his head to clear his thoughts. Before him, people cheered as Garmadon retreated back into the water. He could see a white figure slipping out of the scene unnoticed, even if the cheers were for him.
Still camera-shy, Uncle? Lloyd couldn’t help but smile a little. He and his cousin Morro had taken to teasing Uncle Wu about that. Even though he was the one to fight Garmadon and he was the one to send him packing, Wu never stuck around to listen to the people’s cheers. His excuse was that you shouldn’t need praise to do the right thing.
Lloyd knew that wasn’t true. If Wu stuck around long enough, then people might start to see the resemblance between him and Garmadon. Then they would know that the rumors that their precious protector is actually Garmadon’s brother are true. And it’s hard to help people when they are scared of you. So he didn’t necessarily advertise that he was Garmadon’s brother.
Oh right. Lloyd has an Uncle Wu. brother of Lord Garmadon, and protector of the city. Just don’t tell them that. Then they would probably hate Wu just as much as they hate Lloyd. He also had a cousin, Morro. Wu adopted him off the streets, and Morro’s been watching out for Lloyd ever since. Even if Lloyd annoyed him to no end, and Morro pretended to dislike Lloyd in return. It was the circle of life.
“You have Garmadon insurance, right, Mom?” Lloyd looked over to see an elderly woman staring sadly at the ruined antique store. Beside her stood a younger woman, grabbing onto her mom to steady her.
“Oh. Oh yes, dear, don’t worry,” the older woman said with a strained smile as she patted her daughter’s hand. “It’s just rebuilding. And finding things to fill the shop with,” she sighed, looking sadly over the wreckage. The younger woman just happened to look over and caught Lloyd staring.
“You!” She yelled with enough venom to kill. “You’re Lloyd Garmadon! This is your fault!”
Lloyd recoiled at the harsh words before sprinting away. Running made him look bad, but staying usually ended up with him black and blue and more scratches than when he started the day. He didn’t feel like going through that today. So he ran. He cut down the streets that he knew would be the most empty. The less people, the better.
He heard people complain about the damage. The odd comment on how his Uncle should have defeated Garmadon by now. How terrible Garmadon is. And many comments about how this is all his fault.
He’s giving information to his dad.
He doesn’t like me, so his dad singled me out.
He likes destruction, just like his dad.
He hates us, just like his dad.
He is just like his dad.
He’s heard them all. Every time, putting all the blame on him. Always putting the blame on him.
Lloyd shook away the comments. He couldn’t dwell on them long. He’d learned that long ago. It did nothing. Nothing but make him feel sad, and hated, and like his life is meaningless. So he didn’t dwell on them.
Lloyd pushed open the door to the apartment building he lived in with his mom. He probably should have gone back to school. But it wasn’t like they were going to be worried if he wasn’t there for after-attack roll call. They would probably think he finally left to join his dad, and celebrate that they never had to see him again. Until the next day when he showed back up at school. And if it wasn’t for the Garmadon attack, school would have gotten out thirty minutes ago anyway, so he wasn’t missing anything.
He slipped up the stairs and down the hallway. Pushing the door open, he saw his mom, Koko, cooking dinner, as if her ex-husband hadn’t just attacked the city. Which was actually pretty normal for her.
“Hey, Mom,” he said softly, trying not to startle her. She still jumped, spinning around till her eyes met Lloyd’s.
“Lloyd,” she sighed, relief dripping from her voice. She ran over, wrapping her arms around him, squeezing tight. He squeezed her back, trying to reassure her. She pulled back, kissing him on the cheek, despite his groan. Just because he would hug her doesn’t mean he wants her kissing him on the cheek. Koko smiled affectionately as he tried to rub the kiss away.
“I got worried when I heard the attack was near the school,” she said as she walked back into the kitchen.
“The school's fine. Unfortunately. Knocking down the school would be about the only good thing Dad ever did, though,” Lloyd said, following her into the kitchen and hopping onto the countertop. Koko gave him a look that was a mix between sympathy and warning.
“Lloyd,” Koko sighed, her eyes going back to the pot.
“No sitting on the counter,” Lloyd said, hopping off. “But it’s just so sitable!”
“That’s not what I was going to say, and you know it,” Koko pointed a dripping spoon at him.
“Oh, so I can sit on the counter,” Lloyd said, moving like he was about to jump back on.
“Lloyd,” Koko said exasperatedly.
Lloyd knew what she wanted to say. “ Your father doesn’t mean to hurt you, ” or “ You should talk about those things, not joke about them. ” He’s heard it all before. They’ve had this conversation more times than Lloyd could count.
“Yeah, okay,” Lloyd said as if Koko had actually said those things.
“I promise things will get better,” she said, giving him such earnest eyes he’d wanted to believe her.
But he’d heard that before, too. A lot. He knew his mom meant well, but it just felt like she was lying to him. As long as they stayed in this city, it wasn’t going to get better. Everyone will always hate him. He will always be the outcast. And his dad would always be evil.
Things weren’t going to get better.
“I know,” he responded instead. His mom’s optimism could be overwhelming. Trying to convince her of something bad was nearly impossible. So he didn’t even try anymore.
Koko smiled sympathetically before kissing him on the cheek again on her way to the spice cabinet. Lloyd groaned, rubbing at the spot for the second time since arriving home.
“Go wash your hands,” Koko ordered as she seasoned the food in the pot. “You’ve been out all day.”
Lloyd rolled his eyes, pretty sure he wouldn’t die if he ate without washing his hands first. Still, he made his way to the sink.
Lloyd should really look away. Watching only made it worse. It only made him feel terrible.
He couldn’t look away.
Lloyd sat in his room, the lights off, phone pressed close to his face. On it, a recording of the news blared videos of the Garmadon attack. Video after video of destroyed buildings, ambulances taking someone away, and traffic jams of people trying to get home to see if they even still have a home to get back to.
He wanted to look away.
He couldn’t.
A little part of his brain told him that he did help. He saved those people from getting attacked. That’s one less video of an ambulance the news can show.
The rest of his brain told him it wasn’t enough. He saved one family. He stopped one ambulance ride to the hospital. The news still had plenty more videos to play. And they didn’t even record everything. He didn’t stop enough.
He had always felt responsible for his dad’s attacks. His mom had told him it wasn’t his fault, but she didn’t understand. He knew they weren’t his fault. But it was still his dad attacking. He eventually stopped telling her. His cousin didn’t get it either. He told Morro that he felt he had to do something, and all that did was get Morro telling him that he was stupid.
Even though Morro used to be a ninja. He used to help Wu in defeating Lloyd’s dad. At least until he quit after only three years. He told Lloyd it was because the city is stupid and should burn. Lloyd wasn’t a fan of Morro’s plan.
Just because his mom told him it’s not his fault doesn’t mean he doesn’t still feel responsible. Just because Morro told him it was stupid doesn’t mean he didn’t want to help.
And he was starting to get the perfect plan on how exactly he could help.
Morro was a ninja.
Why couldn’t he be one, too?