#i always struggle with cole’s face and kai’s hair but i think i got it

[allisonsylvine]

hi guys :3

[jasonmacavoy]

(FINN COLE, CIS MALE, HE/HIM) Oh, is that JASON MACAVOY I heard the TWENTY SEVEN year old is LOYAL. But don’t let that pretty face fool you, they are also HOT HEADED. Makes sense seeing how they are an ENFORCER in the GHOST RIDERS MC gang. penned by ally.

stats.

full name:  jason thomas macavoy  nicknames: jay, jayjay birthday: april 5th age: twenty- seven birthplace: bronx, nyc star sign: ares gender: cis male pronouns: he/him sexuality: heterosexual gang: ghost riders rank: enforcer cover: strip club bouncer and occasional street fighter theme song: habits by mgk

appearance. 

face claim: finn cole hair color: dirty blonde eye color: blue height:  6ft weight: 185lbs build: big, burly, and muscular tattoos: yes, very tom hardy in the warrior scars: many, more scar than skin, each with a story. most notable a stab wound on his left side from the Halloscream event.

family.

mother: Heidi Macavoy, estranged stepfather: Tommy fowler, deceased father: unknown (but could make for a fun potential connection tho!) siblings: half-siblings he doesn’t know about pets: none

personality. 

positives (+): determined, dauntless, loyal, strong negatives (-): reckless, hot headed, stubborn, uncouth   MBTI: ISTP zodiac: aries  element: fire hogwarts house: gryffindor drugs/ alcohol/ smoking: rarely, thinks it throw off his fighting game/ yes/ yes aesthetics: a string of purpling bruises fresh from a fight, a pack of marlboro reds to take the edge off, raw knuckles, broken beer bottles, cigarette smoke, gaping holes in the wall, more scar than skin, & a thick layer of sweat sheathing toned muscles character inpso: tom conlon (warrior), rip wheeler (yellowstone), billy hope (southpaw), j cody (animal kingdom), johnny lawrence (cobra kai), frank farmer (the bodyguard), jon snow (GoT)

biography.

TW: fighting, death, toxic masculinity

Jason Macavoy came into the world fighting, and he had been fighting ever since. His mother, a struggling fashion designer, had just stepped on set for an athleisure shoot she designed when her first born son barreled into the world with clenched fists and a battle cry that would make his father proud. Not the washed up middleweight champ who couldn’t make it to the hospital on such short notice —the one Jason would grow up calling father— but the one night stand who knocked up Heidi Macavoy all those years ago Growing up in the Bronx Jason was a handful: rambunctious, brimming with unbridled energy, and a temper that would only grow with time. He had trouble learning how to read and was easily set off by a poor test score or an off-handed taunt made by a classmate, landing him in several schoolyard scuffles. By the time Jason was seven, his mother fled to pursue the career and the life she had always dreamed of, leaving Jason in the care of his wayward step-father.  His step-father wasn’t good for much anymore except for drinking and coaching, but Tommy was there and he was the only one who recognized Jason’s potential. He saw that for what his step-son lacked in brains, he made up for in athletics. Young Jason was a natural talent when it came to sports, and Tommy helped channel all his energy and anger into UFC in particular. He bloomed into a wrestling prodigy at the local public school. His determination was feral, and the boy wanted nothing more than to prove himself worthy of his mother’s love, one victory he’d never be able to manage. As Jason’s athletic abilities continued to grow, so did his competitive edge and hot temper that continued to get him into trouble on and off the mat. During a championship tournament of his professional career, Jason had made a spectacle allowing a foul to the boy’s side to ignite a wrath in him he didn’t even know he had. He went wild, shouting and swearing at the referee for the unfair call before striking him and leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. He was disqualified from competition and barred from the league.  Not long after Jason was banned from competition, his step-father succumbed to the bottle while his mother still wanted nothing to do with him. More lost than ever Jason turned to underground street fighting to get his fix. It was then Jason found the Ghost Riders or rather they found him smack in the middle of a bar brawl at the tender age of seventeen. Young and hungry for a place that could appreciate and refine his raw potential, Jason pledged his loyalty to the Ghost Riders in exchange for (tba). He now works as a bouncer at a strip club and has spent the last ten years with Ghost Riders, becoming one of their most loyal enforcers and fighters, growing more and more accustomed to the gritty underground lifestyle, the brawls, the arguments, the booze. His step-father’s voice in his head had never been more clear to him: fight.

WANTED CONNECTIONS || PINTEREST || SPOTIFY

[rosiehunterwolf]

little things

Prompts: Hugs and Crying

Word Count: 3,251

Characters: Lloyd and Kai

Timeline: Immediately after episode 18 (Child's Play)

Trigger Warnings: Trauma, Brief panic attacks

Summary: "Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you'll look back and realize they were the big things."

-Kurt Vonnegut

Lloyd’s tired of being left behind. How is he meant to be the green ninja when he always has to work harder, train better, and wait longer to go on missions with his team? He wants nothing more than to be their equal.

At least, that’s what he thought he wanted.

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The trip back to the Destiny’s Bounty that night was thick with tension. No one spoke, but Lloyd could feel Kai’s gaze boring into him.

He wished the fire ninja would look at something else. He didn’t want to think about what he was looking at.

It had been Lloyd’s choice, and he knew it. Not that his range of options had exactly been wide when a huge, ninja-eating monster had been looming over them, but he had made the choice nonetheless.

He just hadn’t expected it to be like this.

He had thought that not being a little boy anymore meant he got to become stronger, fight better, and, of course, accompany the ninja on their missions.

But he hadn’t thought about the way his legs would become so much longer suddenly, forcing him to concentrate so he wouldn’t trip. Or how his hair would dangle too-long in his face, or how the green gi, on which the sleeves and pant legs had been rolled up a ridiculous amount of times, now fit perfectly. Reminding him too much of who he was and what he was meant to do.

Most of all, though, he hadn’t expected the gaping ache in his chest, like someone had ripped out his heart. He didn’t understand where it came from or what it meant, only that the sparkling display racks in the windows of Doomsday Comix had never felt more distant than they did now.

Their arrival at the monastery couldn’t come soon enough, and Lloyd began to dart down the hall, anxious to get away from the prying eyes of the others. Before he could get far, however, a hand snatched his wrist, and he looked back to see Kai staring at him apprehensively.

“Hey, bud. We’re here for you. You don’t need to go running off on your own.”

Lloyd shook his head. “I’m not. I just wanna go take a shower.” The voice that came from his throat wasn’t his, it was too deep. He didn’t even recognize himself anymore.

Lloyd repressed a shiver of dread, realizing Kai was still looking at him expectantly. “I got… there was a lot of rubble and dust when the Grundle caved in the roof, I just wanna get clean. I’m fine.”

Kai stared at him for a long moment, and for once Lloyd couldn’t read the expression in his eyes. Relenting, he let out his breath, dropping Lloyd’s wrist. “You’re not. But whatever.”

Lloyd merely nodded, realizing that wasn’t the most reassuring answer he could give, but being reluctant to hear his own voice again.

Forcing himself to turn away, he headed down the hallway, passing the ninja’s cabin and heading towards his room a little way down.

Uncle Wu had cleared out the small storage room for him that first night he had stayed on the Bounty, and it had been his ever since. He had appreciated the gesture, to have his own space away from the others, and it had always been a comforting little place for him.

But now, as he gazed around at it, the room itself wasn’t the only thing that was small anymore. The bed in the corner was no longer large enough for him, the mirror mounted on the wall was too low down, the Starfarer comics piled on the nightstand were too juvenile and suddenly much less interesting.

Lloyd sighed, rubbing his hands over his eyes. There was no point lingering here. He might as well go take a shower like he had promised Kai.

But when he pulled open the drawer on his dresser, he paused, gazing down at the clothes.

Everything was too small. Of course it was.

Lloyd took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair as he tried to push down the bubbling panic in his chest.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.

Letting out his breath again, he grabbed a pair of old, baggy pajama shorts that had always been too big on him anyway, and an undershirt from his gi.

Slipping through the halls, he made it to the bathroom at the end of the ship and quietly pulled the door shut behind him.

As he undressed, all he could focus on was his body, how it was bigger and older and different now. He forcibly shoved the thoughts out of his head before he had a breakdown and stepped into the shower.

Lloyd turned the shower as hot as it would go, barely even noticing as the water scalded his skin. He didn’t know how long he stood there, only that the water kept getting colder and colder until his teeth were chattering. Not even bothering to wash his hair, he stepped out of the shower and grabbed a bath towel, pressing his face into it.

He couldn’t do this. He had thought he could handle it, but he couldn’t. Lloyd was barely clutching on to the last threads of his sanity, and he needed to get out of here.

Quickly changing into the shorts and undershirt, he walked over to the window and carefully pushed it open. Stars twinkled at him from the dark sky, and he glanced down. The bathroom was at the top of the ship, just behind the bridge, so it was about a twenty-foot drop to the ground- easily enough to break a leg.

Biting his lip, he grabbed onto the window frame and pulled himself out, gripping onto the side of the ship as his feet found purchase on the windowsill. As he slowly stood, he accidentally caught sight of his face in the reflection in the window and nearly slipped, gasping sharply as he just barely caught himself from falling.

Get yourself together, Lloyd. You’re still yourself, just a little older. Stop being such a crybaby.

Reaching up for the edge of the roof of the bridge, he hauled himself up and crawled back from the edge a bit. Staring out over the trees, the soft glow of the city in the distance, he glanced down at his hands. Fingers too long, palms too rough.

He hadn’t known it was going to be like this. All he had done was age up a few years. It was a small sacrifice to make, seeing as the Grundle would’ve killed them all otherwise. It shouldn’t have been that big of a deal. Lloyd shouldn’t have been acting so selfishly.

He wrapped his arms around his legs, curling up into a ball.

For the first time that night, Lloyd let himself cry.

---

Kai paced back and forth across the hallway. “Ugh! Why do I let him leave? I know he always locks himself in his room and never comes back to talk to me!”

Zane frowned. “I know this is difficult and confusing for you, Kai- it is for all of us. But Lloyd’s always been much less straightforward than you. Perhaps we should try a less direct approach.”

“You’re saying I should just let him sulk alone for the rest of the night?”

“What I’m saying is that maybe we should just give him a little time to himself, time to process, before we all go barging in to speak to him.”

“Just because Lloyd thinks he wants to be alone doesn’t mean he should be. Isolation isn’t going to solve anything.”

“Kai,” Cole sighed, “that’s not what we’re saying at all. This is just a sensitive situation for Lloyd, and we don’t want to provoke him the wrong way.”

“A sensitive situation?” Kai barked. “Don’t you think I know that? But I’m telling you, he needs someone! Don’t you see? That’s what he does! He tells us he’s fine, but he’s not! Of course he’s not! And- and I want to help him, but I can’t. When he needs me most, I have no idea what to do. Augh, why did I let him come with us? I knew it was too dangerous!”

“Kai,” Zane put a cool hand on his shoulder. “Calm down. There’s nothing you could’ve done.”

“Nothing I could’ve done?” Kai blinked up at him through watery eyes. “I was supposed to protect him.”

Nya squeezed his hand. “You can’t blame yourself for this, Kai. You can’t.”

“I’m not trying to. It’s just… hard. This isn’t some small little mishap we can go back and fix. This is big.”

“I know, but he’s strong. He’s going to get through it. I think Zane’s right, we should tread lightly. Although,” she paused, her brow furrowing, “I am starting to get pretty worried about him. He’s been in there a long time.”

“Wait,” Jay frowned. “In his room?”

“No, the bathroom.”

Kai’s head snapped towards her. “Wait, what? Did he go in there again?”

Nya shook her head. “I’ve been watching the door. He never left after he went in the first time.”

Cole glanced between them. “How long has he been in there?”

Kai’s gaze darted anxiously towards the bathroom door. “He went in there to take a shower nearly an hour ago.”

Cole’s eyes darkened. “Yeah, that’s too long. Let’s go.”

They hurried over to the bathroom door and the others hovered anxiously behind as Cole rapped his knuckles on the wood, leaning his ear against it. “Lloyd, you okay in there?”

There was no answer.

Cole knocked harder, and Kai could feel the anxiety building. “Lloyd? Bud? We just wanna talk.”

“Okay,” Nya breathed after a moment, “Lloyd’s as stubborn as a mule, but he doesn’t purposely worry us like this. Something’s wrong.”

“Zane,” Cole said, the struggle to keep calm evident in his voice. “Can you pick up anything?”

Zane stilled for a moment. “My sensors don’t detect any sign of movement.”

Kai’s heart skipped a beat. “Get me in.” Shoving past the others, he lunged for the door handle, yanking on it- but it didn’t budge. “He locked it! Why would he lock it?”

“We need a lock pick!” Jay yelped. “Nya, do you have a bobby pin?”

“I can get one, I’ll be right back!”

“Lloyd!” Cole yelled, banging on the door. “Open the door! Don’t do anything dumb!”

“Talk to us, bud!” Kai cried. “Please!”

“I’m back,” Nya huffed, skidding across the floor and holding out the pin. Jay snatched it from her hand and jiggled it in the lock, gritting his teeth. The others waited apprehensively as the seconds ticked by.

Jay pulled back with a sigh. “It’s not working.”

“Lloyd,” Kai moaned, “Open up!”

Cole glanced at them. “Should I break the door?”

Zane hesitated, then nodded. “Do it. We can always replace it later. Lloyd is more important.”

Everyone except for Cole stepped away from the door. The earth ninja held up his fists, and they glowed amber, the light spreading down his forearms.

“Stand back, Lloyd! I’m coming in!” Cole lunged forward, punching in the door and sending splinters of wood flying.

Kai darted to his side and stared into the bathroom, his breath caught in his throat.

Jay stepped around them, pulling back the shower curtain. Empty.

Just like the rest of the room.

“He’s not here?” Cole asked. “I just destroyed the door for nothing?”

“That’s impossible!” Nya yelped. “I saw him go in, and he never left! I’m positive.”

Kai’s eyes lingered on the far wall. “I know where he went.”

The others followed his gaze towards the open window, and Jay’s eyes widened. “He went out the window? That fall could seriously injure him!”

Kai shook his head. “He didn’t go down, he went up.” Glancing back at the others, he added, “Perhaps Zane had a point about the whole subtlety thing. Let me go talk to him first.”

The others exchanged reluctant glances, but stepped back.

Kai pulled himself out the window, balancing carefully as his fingers found the edge of the roof’s shingles. A chilly breeze hit him in the face, but he ignored it, hauling himself the rest of the way up with a soft grunt.

Lloyd was sitting a few feet away, curled in on himself as he stared off into the distance. Kai slowly eased his way over to him and the two sat in silence for a while.

Kai forced himself to look at the boy and felt a tug on his heartstrings. The way he sat there, so quiet and still, was as unlike Lloyd as his new appearance.

Kai shook his head. He couldn’t allow himself to think like that. No doubt Lloyd already had enough of those thoughts going through his head. This was still the same person. He was still Lloyd. He was still his little brother.

Kai leaned closer, allowing his shoulder to lightly bump against Lloyd’s. The green ninja gasped suddenly, as if just realizing he was there, and quickly scrubbed at his eyes. The action made him seem more like the young child that had been left behind. That, and the fact that he was shivering.

“Dude, you’re freezing!” He glanced down to see Lloyd was only wearing a pair of baggy shorts and a light tank top. “Why aren’t you wearing any proper clothes?”

Lloyd’s cheeks flushed, and he dipped his head, muttering under his breath.

“What?”

“I don’t have any proper clothes, okay?” More quietly, he added, “Nothing fits me anymore.”

Oh, Lloyd. “Hey, why didn’t you come to me? Y’know I’ve got way more clothes than I’ll ever wear, me and the guys would be more than willing to share stuff with you. And we’ll take you shopping, too, so you can pick out some stuff of your own. How does that sound?”

Lloyd sniffed, wiping an arm across his face. “Yeah, that sounds… that sounds good.”

“Here.” Kai slipped his sweatshirt off and draped it over Lloyd’s shoulders. “It’s not exactly warm out. Don’t make yourself sick.”

“Thanks.” Lloyd pulled the sweatshirt tighter around his shoulders, and Kai felt a small swell of relief as he noticed it was still a little big on him. So his little brother hadn’t grown up completely yet.

“Bud,” he said gently, “it’s fine if you come up here, but tell us before you do next time, okay? We were worried about you.”

Lloyd looked down, still refusing to meet his gaze. “Sorry. I just… didn’t really want anyone to follow me.”

“I know, but you can’t be alone forever. It’s not going to fix anything.”

“Being together isn’t going to fix this, either.”

Kai winced. “Not physically, no. But we’ll be here for you emotionally. We’ll help you heal.”

“But I can’t-” Lloyd stopped, sighing. “Sorry. I’m being selfish.”

“Selfish? How is any of this selfish?”

“Because! You guys were risking your lives, and I made the decision that saved you, yet I’m regretting I did!” “First of all, you’re not regretting you saved us, you’re regretting the other consequences that came out of the choice. Second, it wasn’t much of a choice at all. The Grundle backed you into a corner- literally- and that was the only logical solution at the time. It’s not fair. It shouldn’t have been you. You shouldn’t have been there. You shouldn’t have been forced to make a decision like that. But you were. So you have every right to be upset, every right to complain. That is not selfish.”

Lloyd finally turned to look at him, a helpless, floundering expression on his face.

Kai took pity on him, putting an arm around him. “Lloyd, I’m here. Whether you wanna talk, or scream, or cry, or just need someone to lean on, I’m here.”

“I… I don’t know what to do, Kai. I don’t feel like myself anymore.”

“You are. You’re still the same Lloyd, still our friend, our little brother, our charge. This changes nothing between us. We’re gonna take care of you, okay?”

Lloyd sniffed, putting his hands over his face, and Kai elbowed him gently. “It’s okay to cry, y’know. No one’s gonna judge you for it.”

“But I… I’m not a little kid anymore.”

“So? Everyone cries! It’s natural, and it doesn’t matter how old you are! I’ve cried, I’ve seen Cole cry, Jay cry, I’ve definitely seen Nya cry, and Zane- well, actually, I haven’t seen Zane cry. But that’s only because he’s a nindroid and physically can’t cry. He still gets upset sometimes, though.”

“I know, but… I just feel like I should be able to handle things better.”

“Are you crazy? I’d go insane if I suddenly just aged several years in the span of seconds. Compared to me, you’re handling it like a champ.”

Lloyd didn’t look at him. “Not really. I feel like a wreck right now.” His last words caught on a sob, and Kai glanced over at him, apprehension budding in his chest.

“Are you okay?”

Lloyd blinked rapidly, trying and failing to stop the tears spilling from his eyes. “Not really.”

“Can I hug you?”

Lloyd hesitated but nodded, and Kai wasted no time in wrapping his arms around Lloyd’s shoulders, pulling him close.

Kai didn’t know how long they sat there, but it was a while before Lloyd broke the silence. “Do you think the Final Battle is coming sooner, now that I’m older?”

“I don’t know. But whenever it is, I’m gonna be there. Even if that means I have to kick Garmadon’s ass for you.” He bit his lip, grinning sheepishly. “Shoot, I didn’t mean to say that in front of you.”

Lloyd snorted. “I already know that word.”

“Wait, who taught you that? Was it Nya? I bet it was Nya.” “It wasn’t any of you. I grew up at Darkley’s, what do you expect? That isn’t the only choice word I know.”

Kai’s eyes widened. “Don’t you dare tell Zane, he’ll have a fit.”

A brief smile flickered across Lloyd’s face, the first once Kai had seen all night.

“Hey, if I’m grown up now, I should at least get to use some bad words once in a while.”

“Not happenin’, bro,” Kai grinned. “You’re not that grown up yet.”

“I could be fifty and you’d still say that.”

“What can I say, you’ve got a baby face,” Kai smirked, putting his hands on either side of Lloyd’s head.

“Stop that,” Lloyd grumbled, pushing him away. “‘M not a baby.”

“You are, and no dumb tea can change that.”

Lloyd bit his lip, trying to look away, but Kai forced his head to turn, looking him in the eye.

“Lloyd. It’s okay. You don’t have to pretend like it’s all fine. Let it out.”

Lloyd gasped, half falling into his lap, and Kai gripped him tight. It’s gonna be okay, he told himself. He’s going to be okay. We all are.

Lloyd’s path had been difficult from the beginning. It wasn’t fair that all this had been thrown on him- he was just a kid, even now. But it had been, and Kai had an awful feeling that this wouldn’t be the worst hardship his youngest teammate would have to endure.

But next time he would do better. He was one of the four elemental masters of the elements of creation. It was his job to protect Lloyd, to keep him safe.

It made his heart break to see Lloyd, usually so spunky, so unshakable, like this, and he was going to do everything in his power to make sure it didn’t happen again.

But for now, he just hugged the green ninja.

He hoped, with time, it would be enough to heal him.

[lloydskywalkers]

hey idk if you’re doing requests but if you are can you give us the fluffy kai and lloyd sibling content we deserve?? like ummm maybe kai helping lloyd to do homework or something even tho they don’t go to school lmao 😂 i just need something pure :)

i am so very behind on replies but!! in my defense, i started a response for this, got about 10K words in, then realized i needed to give it an actual structure. this is not the 10K words one, but it is, technically, fluffy Kai and Lloyd sibling content? i hope it’s something along the lines of what you wanted :’D

Lloyd decides he wants his ear pierced at three forty-five in the debatable hours of the morning, which isn’t the oddest thing Lloyd has ever decided he desires at that time. But it isn’t usual, either, so Kai decides he probably does, at least, need to ask what brought this on as he begins superheating the edge of the needle so neither of them end up with tetanus, or something.

He’s a responsible brother, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to tell Lloyd no. That would require Kai pretending his own piercing never existed, which is impossible, since Lloyd was the one to help him out back when it got infected and Kai almost lost his entire upper ear.

“It wasn’t that bad,” Lloyd rolls his eyes. “You were just being a baby about it.”

“Oh yeah?” Kai shoots back. “Look who’s talking. I haven’t even touched your ear yet and you’re already wincing.”

“You’re taking forever,” Lloyd says testily. “Why can’t you just pierce it already?”

“Excuse me for trying to make it look good,” Kai says. “But if you really want an off-center piercing, be my guest.”

“No, no, make it look good,” Lloyd protests, straightening where he’s sitting across the bedroom floor from Kai.

Fortunately, they’re in the monastery tonight, otherwise they’d be crammed into the bathroom, or wherever else in the Bounty they wouldn’t wake everyone up. They’ve stashed away in Lloyd’s room, since he’s the furthest from Zane and therefore the least likely to be caught, if something goes wrong. Not that anything’s going to go wrong, of course, but you can never be sure, with them.

“Where’d you want it, again?” Kai asks, as he squints at the tiny earring stud they scavenged from Nya’s bag. He figures she’d support this as a worthy cause enough not to mind. Hopefully.

“On the right side?” Lloyd drums his fingers on the edge of his knee, a bit anxiously. “I sleep on my left more often, so yeah, the right. Just — just the normal ear piercing, for now.”

“For now, huh,” Kai mutters, carefully measuring out rubbing alcohol over the earring, before deciding to drown it in the bottle, for good measure.

“Well, I might decide I want another,” Lloyd crosses his arms. He winces. “Unless Sensei or the others kill me for this, first.”

“Lloyd, if piercing your ear is the worst thing you ever do as a teen, I’ll give you all the piercings you want myself,” Kai says. “And if anybody gives you trouble about it, just make some snarky comment, like, ah—”

“An earring is better to be stabbed with than a knife?”

“…FSM’s sake,” Kai sighs, staring at the bottle of rubbing alcohol and briefly entertaining how it’d taste. “Sure. Why not.”

Lloyd doesn’t look entirely reassured, even with his fun little jokes. “It is better than being stabbed with a knife, right?” he asks. “Like, I can do knife-stab pain, but I was kinda hoping it wouldn’t hurt that bad, you know…?”

Kai rolls his eyes. “It’ll hardly hurt at all,” he assures him, as he reaches for the little cotton balls and soaking one in alcohol. “I promise. You’re a ninja. With the pain tolerance you have, you’re probably not even gonna feel it.”

“Uh-huh, if you say — hey!” Lloyd flinches back from his hand, eyes wide in betrayal.

“Would you relax, it’s just the alcohol,” Kai frowns, going for his ear with the cotton ball again.

Lloyd makes a face, but lets him dab the alcohol on this time. “It’s cold,” he complains.

“Keep whining about it and we’re going back to the clip-on earring plan.”

“No, no, I want them pierced,” Lloyd says quickly. Kai smothers a laugh at how he attempts to appear relaxed, swiping the cotton ball over his earlobe once more for good measure. Satisfied that Lloyd, at least, won’t suffer any immediate crippling infections, Kai grabs for the needle they’re using, soaking the tip in alcohol.

“You…you know what you’re doing, right?” Lloyd asks, suddenly apprehensive now that the needle’s come into play.

“Of course I do, who do you think I am?” Kai says. “I pierced Nya’s ears when she was younger. I would’ve pierced Jay’s the first week we met, but he chickened out last minute.”

Lloyd presses his lips together, hiding a laugh. “If you’d come up to me with a needle the first week we met, I probably would’ve booked it, too.”

“I wasn’t bad,” Kai huffs, kneeing him in the side.

Lloyd runs a hand through his hair, spiking the edges up as he scowls, pitching his voice deeper. “I’m gonna be the green ninja, and none of you losers better get in the way—”

“I never said that!” Kai exclaims, swatting Lloyd across the head as he cackles. “You watch it, or I might slip up with the needle.”

“Sounds like something a green gi-stealer would say.”

“You’re such a brat,” Kai grumbles, hiding the heat rising in his cheeks by busying himself with the earring packaging. “I never sounded like that. And you’re one to talk, with that squeaky little evil laugh you used to do.”

“Alright, I’m dropping it, I’m dropping it,” Lloyd says hastily, his teasing faltering at the threat of turning the tables.

Kai smirks, shaking his head. “Alright,” he says, flexing his wrist once. “I’m gonna ice your ear so it’s numb, then do the actual piercing. You want a count down?”

“Surprise me,” Lloyd says, his hands fisting anxiously in the edges of his sweatshirt.

“Sure thing,” Kai nods absently. “So,” he starts conversationally, as he presses the ice to the back of Lloyd’s ear. “What did bring this on? And don’t give me the teen rebellion thing — seriously, this time.”

Lloyd hesitates, then sighs. He bites his lip, his eyes staring somewhere beyond the ceiling. “I dunno,” he mutters. “I just remembered, the other day, that I’d thought they were super cool as a kid.”

Kai stifles the urge to remind him that he’s still a kid, and continues to listen instead, nodding at him to go on.

Lloyd makes a face. “I don’t know. The mission today was — it was dumb, and I didn’t like how I felt afterwards, so I guess I wanted to do something stupid.”

“Ah,” Kai exhales quietly. He’d had a feeling it was about the mission, but he couldn’t be sure. It hadn’t even been that bad, on the whole, but the sound of Cole’s head cracking against the floor was enough to escalate it right into terrible territory.

Kai’s still thanking his stars that Cole’s got such a thick head. Concussions aren’t fun, even when they do have the chance to treat them immediately.

“I just…I thought maybe it’d be nice to mess up on purpose, for once,” Lloyd continues, his voice quiet. “When I wasn’t trying not to.”

Kai’s frown deepens at that one, his hand hovering where he’s caught the edge of Lloyd’s ear, his thumb pressed against the end of the needle. His sudden concerns over Lloyd’s potentially earring-destroying, Oni/dragon blood are swept away by the plaintively depressing tone Lloyd’s using. He opens his mouth, then shuts it, hesitating.  

He understands the sentiment, of course — probably too well to really put into words. Kai’s not exactly a stranger to messing up. He’s definitely not a stranger to beating yourself up after you mess up, either. He also understands, too well, how it can all build up sometimes — the constant fear of failure, the pressure not to mess up.

Sometimes you’re just struck with the irrational desire to mess up on purpose out of pure spite. Kai gets that. And Lloyd’s at least rational enough to pick something that won’t hurt anyone, and is more likely to get a laugh out of them all, if anything. Kai tries not to roll his eyes fondly.

Plus, Kai would be lying if he said it doesn’t warm his heart that Lloyd’s come to him for it. Which he should, of course, Kai’d better have first dibs on Lloyd’s first piercing, but still. The sentiment, and all.

“Well,” Kai finally says, realizing he’s left Lloyd hanging. “I don’t know about messing up, because this looks pretty rad. But it was definitely your call, so remember to tell Sensei that when he sees it.”

“Yeah, sure.” Lloyd takes a breath, squeezing his eyes shut. “Okay, I’m ready. Stab my ear, Kai.”

“I already did, moron. Did you miss what I just said?”

Lloyd’s eyes pop open, and he blinks. “Huh? For real?”

“Told you,” Kai snorts. “Ninja pain tolerance. Ear piercing’s got nothing on Cole when he scores a hit on you in practice.”

Lloyd’s frozen for a moment, then he scurries over to the mirror, brushing his lengthening hair away so he can get a proper look at it. Kai hovers behind him, suddenly slightly anxious.

“Do you, um, do you like it? You can always take it out, if you don’t. It’ll close over on its own, and you can like, get an actual professional to do it—”

“Shut up, Kai, I love it,” Lloyd beams, tracing his finger over the little silver stud. “I look cool.”

Kai lets out a tiny breath of relief, smirking in satisfaction instead. “As close to cool as you can get, beansprout.”

“Whatever,” Lloyd rolls his eyes, before returning to admiring himself in the mirror. “You’re just jealous I have a super cool piercing, and you don’t.”

“Hey, I gave you that piercing,” Kai scowls. “Just wait until my ear finally heals, I’ll show you cool.”

“Gee, yeah, I can’t wait to see what cheap skull earring you infect yourself with this time.”

“Alright buddy, you’re toeing it dangerously close to the line,” Kai grabs Lloyd in a headlock, digging his knuckles into Lloyd’s thick hair as he yelps, struggling to pull himself free.

“Ow, hey, Kai, watch my ear—”

“Little jerk,” Kai finally releases him with a huff.

“Too bad you’re stuck with me forever,” Lloyd replies, making a face as he brushes his hair back into place.

“Plenty of time to watch you make more mistakes, then,” Kai replies, easily.

Lloyd briefly tenses up, his expression working. Kai slings an arm around his shoulder, briefly squeezing.

“It wasn’t your fault, Lloyd,” he says, gently. “Cole’s gonna tell you the same thing, ten times over.”

“Y-yeah, okay,” Lloyd murmurs, staring at the rug. “I got it.”

Kai eyes him for a brief moment, then shakes his head, carefully flicking the edge of his ear. “This, however? Is definitely your fault. So don’t go selling me out when Sensei bites your head off for it.”

“I’m not a sellout,” Lloyd huffs. “This’ll be nothing. Wait ’til you see what he says about my tattoo, that’ll be the real meltdown.”

Kai barks a laugh out at that, sweeping the cotton balls back into the bag. He then pauses, Lloyd’s word choice hitting him.

“Hey, what do you mean, your tattoo.”

“Oh, would you look at the time—”

“Lloyd, I swear to FSM, if you went and got a tattoo without me—”

[ice-emperor-zane]

Okay, an addition to the ninjago atla au because its angst o’ clock buddy (and theres also various other stuff i should explain about the picrew post)

Lloyd

When Lloyd ran away from the fire nation, of course they were after him, so while he was traveling through the earth nation to get to republic city he had to get a disguise, he naturally has very dark hair but he bleached it which is why he’s blonde and doesn’t really look fire nation, also he may have stolen some clothes made in the earth kingdom so he blends in better. Also he never had freckles until recently because he used to avoid the sun a lot and so his freckles were faded for so long he forgot abt them. He avoided the sun because knew that the sun made firebending stronger, and he knew of the destruction that firebending could cause; the type of firebending he’d been taught was the sort that relied on strong emotions like anger, and im sorry but you cant expect a 12 year old who’s got a lot of pressure on him to regulate his emotions constantly, he’s still trying to figure out how to use his powers without the aid of anger and hatred. He’s no longer so afraid of going out in the sun though because since he ran away he’s been more worried he’ll need his firebending to protect himself from the fire nation than worried he’ll accidentally do any damage to them, and he’s too tired from all the traveling to firebend at all most of the time without the sun.

Jay

Jay has always hated firebending and the way its used in fighting, and so even though he has visited the sun warriors and knows great firebending technique, he decided to never become a master. Though he loves that he can lightningbend, because when its combined with his parent’s metalbending, they created some of the most innovative technology of their time, and he thinks thats way more cool than shooting fire at people. However, Jay can only lightningbend when he’s calm, and he can be a bit panicky sometimes. So, instead of fighting with all the other guys, he often infiltrates the higher ups as an officer for the fire nation army, its concerningly easy, he actually finds it a bit fun. All you have to do is do a quick show of firebending (even though he does hate firebending, he can and will do for pretty much this reason only) and then recite a pledge to the fire nation (Jay is definitely a theatre kid and the way he can lie/act about how much he loves the fire nation with a straight face is terrifying). His current alias is Commander Jin Zhaofeng, and under this name he has gotten inside information on fire nation plans and recruited a small group of soldiers and other low-rank members of the army to he resistance to give him information to pass on to people even when he can’t be there. (He may have also secretly lightningbended into a few higher-ups’ tea if he thought they were going to be endangering people’s lives).

Kai

First of all, Kai definitely has those hair loop thingies Katara had, because he would never pass up a chance to make his hair as extra as possible. Second of all, Kai has a bit of a similar problem to what Child Lloyd did. Kai never had real firebending lessons because in republic city you have to pay for them, and he and Nya grew up basically homeless, nobody knows where Ray and Maya are. Kai’s mad at the world for making him and Nya live like that throughout almost the entirety of their childhoods, pair that anger with his naturally impulsive nature and firebending. As you can imagine, he can be a little bit of a hazard to be arround, but he’s working on it. When he and Lloyd first met Jay at the northern air temple, he did help them with the basic premise of firebending without emotion (though that was only a day or two, because Jay Cole and Nya went on to the northern water tribe, so Kai is still mostly self taught).

Nya

Nya always struggled doing any really powerful bending because of a fear of hurting people. Once in training, she realised that she could actually boil the water she was bending, similar to how Bolin could Lavabend, both are probably because of unused firebending genetics, but yeah, unfortunately the moment that she realised she could do that, she training with one Kai and one of their friends, and Nya accidentally splashed the friend with boiling water. And even though both of she and the friend were quite good at healing through waterbending, it left a bit of a scar. Nya sees the friend often and is constantly reminded of how she hurt them, so in fear of hurting anyone else, she created limits for herself and her bending, but now she and the rest of the group are taking on the fire nation, she wont admit it but she feels way out of her depth, its been so long since she’s tried anything that wouldn’t comply with pro-bending tournament rules, she’s trying to relearn the skills she’d made herself forget and its all a little bit too fast, but that won’t stop her from trying. Oh also the friend mentioned in this is the love interest for Cole mentioned in the original post, and I have a lot more to say about him :)

Cole and Zane’s extra info coming soon, the moment i think of something, along with more info on Garmadon, Harumi, and their evil plan™️

Edit: oki its here

[blursed-ninjago-ideas]

It’s not great, but it was fun to write! A give you an Evil Hypno Lloyd snippet!

--

Keeping his friends enthralled was hard. Lloyd had never done it for so long, nor had he ever done so many at once. It was easier with the guys since he could pull on their elements anytime they started to resist him, but it was taking some getting used to.

Jay’s mind was so fast and restless. Lloyd didn’t want to subpress him just to make him easier to control but keeping his thoughts on a leash was a learning curve. Jay had wandered out of his enthrallment without noticing a few times. Luckily, whenever he did, he always made the same mistake.

“…Wha….Where’s Nya?”

And that was Lloyd’s cue to adjust his grip on Jay’s mind.

Zane was tricky. He had a mechanical brain, which needed to be treated differently. Nothing too hard, but Lloyd hadn’t exactly practiced the skill. He found keeping Zane busy seemed to help avoid him worming his way out of Lloyd’s control. If he had something else to focus on, he didn’t question it. In time Lloyd would probably be able to keep him under even with an idle mind, but he needed to build his skill.

Cole wasn’t too hard to keep under, but he was the hardest to get back the few times he did slip through. Stubborn and strong, it took a lot out of Lloyd to enthrall him again. He had to be careful not to let his hold on the others slip when he did.

He was getting better at pulling on their connection though. He wasn’t limited to one at a time he found. He could push through a distress signal and all four of them would have the instinct to come protect and comfort him. It made it hard to run away.

Lloyd couldn’t help but curse his rotten luck that Nya had gotten away, and she didn’t have any destiny assigned connection for him to exploit to track her down or bring her into the fray. He’d have to figure something out on that front.

But he was tired. He’d spent the whole day learning how hard it was to maintain his oni hypnosis.

As difficult as it was, it was also comforting. He had a pulse on each other them. He could feel each of their minds.

Jay and Cole were playing games in the next room and Cole was losing. Jay was worried that Cole was about to close the gap and Cole is trying to not pay attention to the scores and focus. Zane was cooking dinner, humming happily and enjoying his quiet.

Kai, Lloyd didn’t need his powers to know about, he was sitting right next to him, reading a magazine.

Kai hadn’t wavered once. He had stayed properly enthralled through the whole day. Lloyd was grateful for it. He may not have been able to catch Jay and Zane after he exhausted himself getting Cole back under without him.

Lloyd relaxed, finally feeling like he could rest. It had been a long day.

Kai twitched. Like he was uncomfortable and trying to adjust his position.

A second or two.

He did it again.

Lloyd tried to get a read on what was going on in his head while Kai stood up.

He had a confused look and that was about when Lloyd figured out that he Kai has slipped out of his hold.

Lloyd was starting to panic. He could feel the other’s picking up on it and heading over to check on him.

“Kai?” Lloyd asked.

Kai hadn’t broken out yet, Lloyd didn’t know what to expect.

“Lloyd? What….Something happened….” Kai said.

Lloyd gulped.

“It’s ok, just look at me.”

Try it gently first, like with Jay. He seemed confused like Jay.

“No…no….Something is wrong.” Kai said, starting to push his hands through his hair and pace.

“Let’s put these away first.”

Try to switch his focus, like with Zane. Kai was thinking it through like Zane.

“No! Something is wrong, Lloyd!” Kai ranted, stomping his foot.

Lloyd didn’t want Kai to be like Cole. He had already had a long enough day.

A knock on the door.

“Are you alright in there?” Speaking of Cole.

Lloyd quickly tightened his hold on the other’s, just in case Kai made too much trouble.

“Am I?” Kai mumbled.

Something felt familiar to him. Something about being alone with Lloyd. Something being wrong. Cole showing up and then Lloyd….Lloyd….

Kai remembered.

“Help me with Kai!” Lloyd yelled as soon as Kai started to run.

He managed to push past Cole, but Zane was able to trip him before he got out of reach. Kai struggled and twisted with a fury

“Let go! Let me go! Guys snap out of it!” Kai yelled as he tried to squirm away.

“It’s ok, Kai.” Lloyd said, making his way over.

“No, it’s not, Lloyd!” Kai snapped. “You have to stop!”

“No, I don’t!” Lloyd yelled with power in his voice.

Kai cringed. He couldn’t hold his own against it.

“Look at me!”

Kai shuddered while his head turned and eyes opened, only to stare right into Lloyd’s red eyes. Things started tilting back and forth.

“You’re under my control and you will stay that way!”

Kai couldn’t even focus on the words anymore. The voice was just so loud and forceful.

“Answer me.”

All his thoughts stopped.

“Yes, Lloyd.” He said, no resistance left.

Finally, Lloyd could feel Kai slip back into place. He sighed in relief.

“You can let him go now. It’s fixed.”

Jay, Cole, and Zane set Kai down and stood back.

Kai stood himself up, almost unsure of himself.

“You scared us!” Cole said.

“Yeah….sorry….won’t happen again.” Kai said as he rubbed the side of his head.

“I’ll get back to dinner.” Zane said before walking away.

“You two going to be ok if we leave?” Jay asked.

“Yeah, I got him.” Lloyd said, letting Jay and Cole leave to return to their game. Cole was now winning.

Once they were alone, Lloyd decided to push one more command onto Kai before letting him relax.

“You’re going to come tell me if you ever feel like that again.”

“Ok.” Kai said. Nodding plainly.

There. That should work. A failsafe. If Kai started to slip out of his enthrallment, he was obligated to come tell Lloyd to his face. Which would make it so much easier to putting him back under.

Finally, Lloyd relaxed. He’d had a long day.

--

I decided to start adding a bold on the lines where Lloyd is using his power. Anyway, this was my self indulgent snippet I wrote for my own enjoyment.

-Ivy

[generalskales]

Heyo i have a bunch of headcanons:

🔥 Kai learned how to style Nya's hair so she wouldn't feel left out whenever a new hair trend hit the village

💧 Nya refuses to sleep unless someone or something is next to her, no one minds this because hey free cuddle buddy

💧⚡ Jay specifically doesn't mind but also understands the struggle of being used to another body/a plushie being there, hence why he still has Mr. Cuddlywomp

⚡ Jay tends to chew on pencils while absentmindedly stimming, he has since bought a chewy necklace to save his poor erasers

❄ Zane finds the recaptcha memes the citizens make very funny. It's not a problem for a Nindroid to deal with recaptcha when you know how they work taps forehead

🌏 Cole will send his dad a message of some kind each day and if he's in the area and not actively patrolling or busy he'll swing by for something to eat or to see what Lou is up to

🐻 Kataru is autistic and flaps his hands to stim, his special interests include bears and fishing

🐻 Kataru also give some of the best hugs. He can make you feel very protected and warm with them.

🐺 Akita will howl at the moon if she's alone or with a trusted friend.

🐺 Akita thinks Lloyd is more like a brother or close friend than a romantic interest

🐉 Lloyd likes to surprise children at the hospital with carefully selected gifts for each of them. He gets really upset if he finds out someone died but is usually informed by the parents that he made their last moments very special.

🐉 Lloyd secretly enjoys cooking with Cole simply because regardless of outcome it's fun to get messy. Zane tends to be clean and organized but Cole will have everything be an organized mess he has a system and Lloyd knows it by heart.

🔥 Kai would never admit it to her face but Skylor is the one person that isn't family he would outright die for. The ninja he would obviously protect with his life, but he isnt losing Skylor as long as he's still standing

❄⚡🌏 Zane, Jay, and Cole used to share a bed before Kai joined the team

🌌 Literally none of them are cishet thats just how it be

🌪 Morro enjoys drinking tea but only Wu makes it to his tastes (he won't ever say this but its very obvious)

🌪 Morro would gladly throw down with Chen or Harumi if only to get a chance to fight someone worth fighting again

🔥 Kai likes it when his hair is played with, he finds it calming

🐉 Lloyd has pulled the "my grandfather is God" card on rude people before and will do it often. Said grandfather finds this a nice change of pace

🐉 This does not change that Lloyd calls him out for his treatment of his children he is Not Having It™

💧 Nya is the third tallest after Zane and Cole, standing at 5'11"

🔥 Kai is 5'07"

⚡ Jay is the kid who took their pen apart in school and put it back together

⚡ Jay freaks out if denied food for any reason

💧❄⚡👑 Nya, Zane, Jay, and Pixal all get together once a month to build Rube Goldberg Machines and its wonderfully chaotic

👑 Pixal signs each of her texts with kaomoji because she thinks it's adorable, specifically this one:

~ヾ(・ω・)

🌌 If you meet any of them on the street you have a 75/25 chance of either mistaking them for stupid teenagers/young adults or realizing that they are actually that young

❄ Zane may have the braincell but he will voluntarily go along with whatever scheme the others are planning

👑❄ Pixal will hum on the off chance that Zane is feeling unwell, he said it made him feel safe because she only hummed when they weren't in any sort of danger

👑 Pixal likes watching phineas and ferb, she enjoys seeing whatever the boys or doof come up with each episode

❄🐉 Lloyd is usually found around Zane if he's having a bad day. The Nindroid can tell when his younger teammate is feeling plain awful and will spend the day trying to improve Lloyd's mood. Lloyd in return helps Zane with cooking and cleaning.

🔥 Kai is usually the person to ask to pull double patrols, he has the shortest patrol route on a normal day and can use the excuse to drag Skylor away.

🍜 Skylor has been practicing combining powers she copied so she doesn't tire out as easily. Her record is three at once and she's working on four

🔥🍜 Kai has cooked for Skylor before and never thought of it as anything special or good compared to what she makes. Skylor however loves it and thoroughly enjoys the occasion

🔥💧 Nya would try to bring home stray cats or dogs she found and Kai turned away all of them after a day because of the extra mouth to feed. She eventually got her wish when Kai showed up one day after patrols with a tiny little shrimp of a kitten in his arms and she immediately claimed ownership over it. It's name was Socks because it looked like it had socks on

⚡ Jay cries seeing Socks because Socks is so tiny its illegal

🐉 Lloyd has a youtube channel based around his father's teachings and self defense tips. He's usually joined by either another ninja or an ally

🏅 Dareth is probably one of the few relatively sane adults the ninja have and he won't allow them to miss any opportunity to kick back and relax

🏅 Dareth (and Ronin on a good day) will not hesitate to give some adult life wisdom or a steady shoulder to lean on should any of them need it.

💎 Ronin will throw down if anyone disses his nieces and nephews those are his kids too he doesn't care

🐺🐻 Akita and Kataru have a braincell shared between them

💎🐉 Lloyd will on very very rare occasions slip back into habits from Darkley's and join Ronin in some theivery from the bourgeoisie

🏅🍜 On an off day Skylor may call up Dareth offering a free meal. He always leaves big tips regardless and a note saying thank you, it's her mood booster.

🌪💎 Morro would fight Ronin in hand to hand combat if he could. Ronin would rather the ghost go pester someone else rather than him for the 40th time

🌌 Everyone agrees that Socks is Babey™ and will be protected at all costs

🐺 Akita will sometimes just spend a day lounging in wolf form. No reason she just wants to loaf

🐻 Kataru gets urges to hibernate and is a pain to wake up during winter seasons. He also could beat Cole and Lloyd together in the amount of food he eats during the season

👑🔥 Kai and Pixal will spend their after patrol hours doing science experiments. The more fun ones are the more messy ones, so they tend to get home first so they have clean up time before the others get home

🔥 Kai has the shortest patrol route after an incident on a longer route that made him refuse to take anything longer than what he has outside of a double shift

[lunalikesalotofstuff]

evil kai confronts lydia

i dont usually write on tumblr but i might as well try it out. this was a lil dumb but fun

it was pretty easy sneaking around the city late at night. Lydia wasn’t seen as a ninja like the others, so she was never stopped on the street or recognized by fans. 

it made it easier to do as she wanted...including do her secret job. she had convinced everyone else that it was a security job like coles. she told them she had the night shift. the truth however...was much more interesting.

she found her way to her post quickly, loading her gun and being sure to tie up her hair so it didnt get in the way. lydia stood on the rooftop of the building and watched as people and cars moved below her. her target would be there soon if all went to plan...

before she could think about her mission more , a footstep alerted her that someone...was behind her. she turned sharply with her gun extended to make the possible attacker freeze. 

kai held his hands up and stood up straight , his chin up slightly. “woahhh...on edge , lulu?” he asked. god of course he found her...

“what do you want , kai?” she spat out his name as it if was poison , keeping her gun on him. he glanced down at the gun then looked back up to lydias face. “you’re not gonna shoot me , sweetheart...so put your toy down.” he told her.

lydia looked back to the road seeing her target get out of their car. “kai i dont have time for you right now- “ she blurted , her focus on the target instead of kai. 

kai saw the target and smirked “a big job ay...thats an important figure in the underworld...you make sure your boss cant tie you to this?” he asked , slightly concerned. the target was almost inside the building opposite from lydia and she could not fuck this up. 

she aimed and took the shot too quickly- immedietly rushing to jump to the neighboring buildings fire escape. she stifled the frustrated scream that threatened to spill from her thoat. kai mumbled a “fuck-” as he chased her. 

the bullet had merely grazed the targets shoulder and caused a panic. lydia was furious...

she slid down the fire escape and rushed to the manhole cover in the ally , struggling a bit to lift it. kai grabbed it with one hand and slid it open. lydia didnt have time to be mad at him yet so she made her way into the sewer , letting kai follow. he made sure to place the manhole cover back in its place.

lydia began walking and mumbling to herself. “i cannot beleive- god dammit- always ruining-”

kai followed her silently , realizing he probably should have waited for her to finish the job before talking to her. theyre on opposing sides but he wasnt out to ruin things for her. 

after a few minutes of walking...lydia froze...sighed and turned to kai “what the fuck?” 

“do you know how mad my employers gonna be when he finds out about this!? im fucked , kai!” she yell but the echo of the space made her seem so much louder than she was being. 

kai couldnt argue... he thought for a moment...and then walked up to lydia. he got to the point. “i know sorry wont help so i have a plan.” he told her. “...does your boss want the target in one piece?” he asked.

lydia wasnt sure what he was doing but shook her head. “he just wants him dead...it just has to be identifiable.” 

“...any part of the body?”

“..yeah why?”

“thats all i need to know-”

kai walked off to find another way up , knowing coming up too close to the scene was a bad idea. 

leaving lydia there confused.

she shook her head wanting to forget about it...she went home hoping that nothing too horrible would happen.she made sure that client didnt know who she really was but she wasnt sure if that was enough. 

she snuck past jay’s room quietly knowing he’d be awake at this hour and got to her room , locking the door behind her. she untied her hair and took off her gear. she unloaded her gun and put it away in her bottom dresser drawer , locking it with a key she then placed in a music box.

she kicked off her boots and changed into her sleep wear , still frustrated from that nights incident. 

she saw a news notification on her phone and checked it...”breaking news..mans body burnt beyond recognition at midnight...” lydia too a breath before she read on “...all except for the head which ...has not been found. it was seemingly ripped from the body...”

there was a knock at lydias window... 

she set down the phone...and went to her window...opening it to find kai...his hands bloody. lydia realized...he handled it...

“i hope the apology is enough.. your money will be sent in soon. i thought about bringing you the head but-”

lydia sucked in a breath at the thought.

“i didnt want to get blood everywhere...besides my hands. luckily theyre gloves.” kai stripped his gloves off and set them aside. his legs swung into the room but he stayed sat in the window sill. 

“..thank you..” lydia said. kai smiled , a sick sweet sort of smile. he reached up a hand to lydias face , holding her cheek. his other hand held her shoulder , he leaned in and kissed her cheek. “i told you...back in the volcano when i saved you that it wouldnt be the last time , angel...”

and with that he left her , leaning back and falling from the window , catching himself on a fire escape before he ran off. 

lydia’s cheeks felt hot as she closed her window , glancing at the bloody gloves he has left.

she made sure to wash them before she went to sleep..she’d return them when she remembered to...

[sneegsnitties]

Hold Me Close and Give Me Closure

written for @ninjaneverquit-zine

[AO3 LINK]

Summary: Jay and Nya talk after the events in Prime Empire late at night.

For the last couple hours, Jay’s been staring up at the ceiling in his room. His head is full of thoughts that won’t leave him. Preventing him from getting the rest he needs after everything that happened in Prime Empire.

He can’t stop thinking about what he said to Unagami. How he knows what it feels like to be abandoned by your maker, and for his case, parents.

Cliff Gordon still died even without Nadakhans influence. The only thing that changed was that he didn’t inherit all of his money and estate.

Not yet, anyway.

And as for the master of lightning, his real mom, he has no idea what happened to her. He’s tried to look her up, but could only find that she mysteriously disappeared a couple of months before he was put on his parents’ doorstep. his adoption day, what his parents considered his birthday.

He found out his mom’s name is Lisbeth during his search. That’s one thing he knows about her now.

He hasn’t worked up the courage to ask his parents about this.

But it makes him wonder. What would life be like if he was the son of a movie star and the elemental master of lightning? If he were rich instead of borderline poor. If he lived in an actual house instead of a trailer.

He didn’t hate growing up in a junkyard. He learned things that he wouldn’t have learned if he didn’t. He loves his parents, and they love him. He knows they’re proud of him; he knows they accept him for who he is, for what he is, for what he does. They love him no matter what.

Jay inhales sharply and a lump forms in his throat.

He needs to talk to someone about this. Because if he doesn’t, he’s just going to keep on thinking about it and never act on it.

Because Unagami was able to find solace, so why shouldn’t he?

He could ask his parents what they know about his birth parents, but he doubts they know a lot.

Master Wu? He would know about his mom.

He’s getting ahead of himself.

Sitting up, he takes his phone off his nightstand, blinking at the sudden brightness, and heads to the messaging app. His thumb hovers over his mom and checks the time first, 1 am. Too late for her to be awake.

So instead, he opens Nya’s. She knows this about him. She knows that he’s been struggling with bringing this up with his parents. Because there’s never been the right time to do so.

Jay hopes that she’s still awake.

Jay grabs his phone off of the nightstand and opens the messaging app. His thumb hovering over the chat he has with his parents. Then he remembers how late it is and sighs. He selects Nya instead, hoping that she’s still awake.

Jay: are you awake?

Nya: yeah?

Nya: just barely tho, why?

Jay: I’ve been,,,,,,, thinking about things

Jay: can you come here?

Jay: I need you

Nya: omw

It took a moment for Nya to respond, and when she did, that’s when the dam broke.

As soon as he puts his phone back down on the nightstand, he lets out a choked sob. Everything crashing down onto him all at once. Everything from the past few days to Nadakhan years ago comes flooding back, so suddenly and fiercely that it feels like a wrecking ball has crashed right into him, knocking down the walls that were barely there at all.

Everything that happened in the game was almost nothing compared to the torture he endured on Nadakhan’s ship, but to see his friends, all literally dropping like flies for the second time in his life. That took a toll on him.

He couldn’t wish that all away.

At least no one was permanently dead this time.

But the pain of being alone right now is almost too much for him to bear.

There’s a soft knock on the door before it opens slightly, Nya pokes her head in, sees Jay crying, and rushes in, a frown on her face as she gets into his bed, she pulls him into her lap and hugs him tight.

“Are you okay?” she asks him after a moment.

“Better now that you’re here,” he says with a sniffle, taking one of her hands into his.

“Didn’t want to be alone, huh?”

“N-not really. I- I was just thinking about things, about my birth parents an- and then I wanted to talk to you about it because you’re the only one who knows about this, b- but then its spiraled into remembering everything that happened in the past few days and everything with Nadakhan, and- and how I was the only one left because you and everyone else was taken away from me. I couldn’t do anything about it, I couldn’t bring you back. I… I lost you.” jay says, clinging to his girlfriend and yang like his life depended on it. “I don’t think I can be alone anymore.”

“Because all it does is remind you of when you lost everyone, right?”

“y-yeah. Can- can you stay here?”

“Of course.” she kisses his hand, “I’ll stay as long as you need me to. If you want to talk, I’m here.”

“Okay,” he says with a sniffle. It only takes him a few minutes to calm down, and he sits up. Realizing that Nya has her hair down, he’s rarely seen her with her hair down as of recently. He likes it. “You’re pretty with your hair down,” he moves a strand away from her face.

She smiles and kisses him, “I take that as you’d like for me to have it down more?”

He kisses her back, “maybe,” he lays back down, pulling her down with him, “you always play with my hair. I can’t do it with you because it’s up all the time.”

“Yours is soft,” she kisses him again, “also you're shorter than me, which makes it easier.”

“Aw, no fair.” he laughs, “I think I’m ready to talk now,” he says, much more seriously.

“What’d you want to talk about?” she asks, putting her head on his chest, to allow him to play with her hair as he talks.

“Just… about my parents? My birth parents, I mean. I did some research, and I found out the name of my birth mom. Her name was Lisbeth. She fought in the serpentine war with Wu and Garmadon and against the time twins.”

“I saw her when Kai and I went back in time to stop Krux and Acronix. She and the former master of ice seemed to be good friends. She talked about how she and Cliff were going to go on their honeymoon.” Nya smiles.

“You saw her?” he whispers incredulously, “why didn’t you tell me?”

“I forgot, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he says with a shaky sigh. “I would’ve told my parents after we told the others what happened with Nadakhan, but I didn’t know how to. There’s never a right time to do it.”

“I could come with you. Would that make it easier?” Nya offers, taking his hand in hers, squeezing it in comfort.

“Y-yeah, that would help a lot. Do you think we should go to master Wu? He knew my mom. He probably automatically knew that I was adopted when my parents showed up but said nothing about courtesy, you know?”

“If you feel like that would help. I think that’s a good idea.”

“I think it might.” he kisses her hand and then yawns. The events of the day have finally caught up to him.

“Getting tired?” Nya asks him teasingly.

“Maybe.” he yawns again. “Please don’t leave.”

“I already said I’m not going anywhere.” Nya reassures him.

“I-I know.”

Nya scoots up to face him, placing a kiss on his lips in reassurance. “You don’t have to worry about anything. I’ve told you I won’t leave. I never will. You’re my yin and I’m your yang. I’ll be here when you wake up, I’ll be with you, forever.”

He nods with a smile, kissing her back. “I love you.” he yawns again, drifting off to sleep with his girlfriend beside him.

Jay was able to fall asleep relatively quickly and easily now that Nya was here with him, and he wasn’t in the suffocating abyss that was being alone. He didn’t have any dreams either, which he takes as a good thing because more often than not, it’s a nightmare.

When he wakes up that morning, Nya is still there, arms wrapped around his torso and head by his shoulder. He can feel her breath on his neck.

Even though he did not dream last night, he still finds relief that she’s still here and still alive.

So Jay just stays still, the best he can, anyway. He doesn’t want to wake Nya up from her slumber.

But because of their unfortunately messed up internal clocks thanks to waking up at dawn for training, she’s awake not long later.

“Good morning.” she says to him with a smile, “did you sleep well?”

“Yeah, didn’t dream at all.”

“Better than nightmares,” she says sympathetically, sitting up.

“Did you have any?” he frowns.

“No, it was just a weird one.” she shrugs, “let’s go see if any of the others are awake.”

Since it was still less than 24 hours since their latest escapade, there’s no mandatory morning training today. So the two of them head towards the kitchen with pajamas and all still on.

“Good morning, you two,” Pixal says with a smile as she and Zane prepare that morning’s breakfast.

“Morning, Pix,” Nya says with a yawn and gets a cup of coffee for herself and then sits across from her brother and jay sitting down next to her.

Kai looks up for a second and gives the two a scrutinizing look, “hey,” he says, “you left your door open.”

Nya just shrugs at that, “and?”

“Nothing, I’m just saying.”

Moments later, Cole and Lloyd enter, just as Zane and Pixal have finished making breakfast.

“I apologize if it’s not as good as Zane making it by himself. I am still learning how to cook.”

“It’s okay, pix, its still good!” Cole grins, making the samurai shrink in on herself slightly.

“I also think you did well,” Zane says, giving her a warm smile. “Pixal and I were going to go talk to Cyrus Borg today with Milton Dyer and Unagami. Would any of you like to join us?” he glances at Jay for a split second.

“I’m not up for it today, maybe next time?” he says automatically.

“Oh.” Zane blinks. He must’ve thought he would’ve liked to come along, but there’s a bitter feeling somewhere within him when he thinks about how Unagami got their happy ending. That they and Milton could reunite. These feelings weren’t there last night. He’s… never really felt this way before. “That’s alright. Would you like me to tell them hello?”

“Sure.” a small smile on his face, but he can’t shake this foreign feeling as he eats the rest of his breakfast. Jealousy? He doesn't like it.

Nya takes his hand and squeezes it as if detecting his feelings. “I’ll join next time, too. I’ve been meaning to get some things done.”

Zane nods, though he doesn’t seem entirely convinced. They all know each other too well.

Once Jay finishes his breakfast, he waits for Nya to be done before going back to his room to change, Nya waiting by his door for him so they can talk to Master Wu. He puts his ninja gi on out of habit, not even thinking about putting on his casual clothes since there is always a chance that something could happen. He then waits for Nya to get changed, she wears her gi out of habit too.

Going up to master Wu’s door, he cracks it, “Master Wu?” He asks tentatively.

“Come on in.” Master Wu says, looking up at the two of them, “Is everything alright? There seems to be something troubling you.”

“You knew the original master of lightning right?”

A warm smile appears on Wu’s face. “I did. I was wondering when you would come to ask about your birth mother.”

Jay laughs, “of- of course, you would know.” he says, not knowing whether to be relieved or upset by this.

“I knew ever since your parents came to visit. Though I knew it was not my place to say anything.” Wu confirms what Jay had said last night.

“Right, yeah. The thing is though, my parents still don’t know that I know. Cause the whole thing with Nadakhan, and I just honestly haven’t worked up the courage to ask them.”

“That’s alright, Jay. You will one day.” he puts a hand on the blue ninja’s shoulder, “what would you like to know about her?”

“What… what was she like?”

“She was wonderful and very kind. She cared about all the other members of the elemental alliance greatly. She wormed her way into Garmadon’s heart and they were close friends. She and the former master of ice were good friends as well. I see a lot of her in you. You both talk a lot.” he chuckles. “I remember the day she met your birth father,”

“Did you ever get to meet him?”

“Briefly, she invited everyone to their wedding. He was a nice man.”

“We were planning on asking my parents about her too, were her and my mom close as well?”

“Yes. your mother, the former master of shadow, and eventually Cole’s mother when she gained her powers were good friends. I’m not sure what the extent of their friendship was, you’ll have to ask her.”

“Do- do you know what happened to her?” Jay asks, frowning, “her name was Lisbeth, right? I looked up who the former elemental masters were, and she came up.”

Wu’s smile turns into a frown, only to return a moment later with a sad look in his eyes. “Yes. that was her name. She went by Libber most of the time. Though unfortunately, I don’t know what happened to her. I did my best to keep track of all the elemental masters and their descendants, but she disappeared one day and left you at your parents.”

“Th-thank you, Master Wu,” he says, starting to tear up again. That strange, jealous feeling he had earlier has gone away. He has that closure he wanted for a while now. He, Master Wu, and Nya talk about his mother and the other former masters for a while longer. Jay may not know what happened to her, but at least he knows a little more about his mother.

[falconfriend]

Central character: Zane

A/N: Pixal isn’t here? Yet, and ideally she’s coming in on part 2. I goofed on the transition originally because I had some canon facts about her timeline wrong, so I’ll be editing that soon. People who’ve followed me since I was more active will know I love Pixal very much; let’s write some fic involving you soon, my girl. (It’s been a while since I published fic at all.)

There’s a part 2 coming.

Warnings: Major (robot) injury, death references, some existential themes going on, minor burns.

--------------------

The hard surface of Nya’s workbench rattles into Zane’s skin, rattles because he’s shaking—

“Zane!” Nya startles, bustling over to him. She puts a hand on his arm as if to pull him back onto his back, but snatches it away, shaking it out at her side immediately. “That’s good. Keep pulling in those deep breaths, Zane, you’re overheating. Oh…”

Nya’s voice holds a sense of command that she’s put there, deliberately, for Zane to latch onto, but also a little for herself. She stares at him for a little longer, hands hovering in the air between them as if looking for some way to help him, before she turns back to her screens, eyes scanning rapidly over line after line. This is the part where she can help him.

She presses a call button, and a much calmer version of her voice rings through the Bounty: “We could use a bit of a hand down here, asap.”

“Nya,” Zane gasps.

Nya winces. Oh, she doesn’t know how to do this part… 

She has grown close with all of the ninja, they’re her family, but aside from trading quips, she and Zane have always… struggled to connect. Kai’s the one who’s good with other people’s emotions. Nya’s just good at calling Kai on his own feelings, and building things, and pulling off logistical feats—

Zane had rolled onto his side when he woke up, and now he’s facing away from her. She walks around the table to him and crouches in front of him. She can’t use a metal workbench with Zane, the electronics need an insulator (though sometimes she runs a cable to ground in case of emergency), but if he stays like this much longer he’ll burn parts of this one dark brown.

“Hi, Zane,” Nya begins, at the same moment that a voice saves her from the doorway with, “Hey, Frosty.” 

Nya could melt in relief. She stands to welcome Cole in, remarking, conversationally, “Not so frosty right now, watch out—”

(This conversational tone is a performance for Zane’s sake, too, like the way some grown-ups can be about tragedies and disasters when a child is in the room.)

And Cole has already rested a hand on Zane’s back. Nya winces, knowing how high the metal has heated, and Cole winces too, pulling his hand an inch back and sucking in a quick hiss through his teeth. He recovers quickly. “Okay, big guy, okay. You’re safe. Eeeeeeasy, Frosty. You’re safe. We’ve got you.”

Nya watches from a step behind him, slightly flummoxed, amazed she once thought they were similar people. It’s more of this as she turns back to her workstation to try to figure out what had even happened, Cole’s voice droning on over her shoulder.

“That’s right, Astroboy. Let’s slow it down—Nya, should he be breathing like this?” And then Cole’s voice turns severe, softer: “We will always come for you, Zane. You hear me? We’re always coming for you.”

“Slower is better,” Nya confirms, as Kai and Jay come into the doorway. Her voice has gone softer, now, too. “He is overheating, so I thought that was his fans working on overdrive, but he’s having a panic attack.”

“How can we help?” Lloyd has joined our doorway crew, now, too. It seems less kind to linger in the hall, but the room is so cramped already, and Zane probably needs air.

Nya considers Jay, who looks, though he’s trying not to, like he’s chomping at the bit to ask to double-check her wiring work. She would ask him to if she thought it wouldn’t freak Zane out right now—he tolerates being prodded at like it’s nothing, but it can’t actually be nothing. The part of her that’s learning to be wrong really wants to ask him to anyway.

She checks herself, four times, for overconfidence. Better to stress Zane out and get a second opinion to keep his physical body safe if she has to. But her readings show a clear signal coming from Zane’s CPU and everything else on her screen says there’s nothing wrong.

“Just be a friend right now, I think.”

Zane came into her workshop today totally trashed. She didn’t feel the need to document and explain every one of them to him this time, he’s grown a lot less attached to the original hardware since he rebuilt himself, but she had to put in a lot of new wiring. Welding work. Multiple circuit boards scorched, and half a motherboard she’d assigned Jay to replicate—he keeps spares. 

Jay had found him on the ground torn open.

He must have held off a massive crowd at once. Thirty, fifty. He’d kept fighting long after he should have been on his knees, and most tellingly, he hadn’t let any of them get behind him—the damage is on his front.

Cole has shifted to rub Zane’s back again, now that the temperature’s dropped enough for it to be thinkable, but there’s still a little grimace on his face. 

Kai steps in once he notices that it’s burning him, offering— “Here, I can—”

“I got it.”

And the room settles into this tense sort of quiet.

Cole knows he was a little too sharp.

“I was just letting Zane know we’re always coming for him, and that he’s safe right here on the Bounty. We’re hundreds of miles away from the battle, isn’t that right? Kai, you’ve been manning the bridge.”

“Autopilot right now,” Kai clarifies, “before you worry, Zane. Cole’s right, we’re hundreds of miles away.”

“And what Cole said! We are, uh.” Jay fumbles, because it’s not sounding as good out loud now that he’s saying it. “Always coming for you.”

The stillness really wasn’t fixed by this.

Kai shifts uncomfortably on his feet. 

“No, you know what, that’s not what it’s going to be,” Kai asserts, already decided. “We’re not going to need to keep coming for you, because it’s not going to happen like this. Isn’t that right, Lloyd.”

Lloyd perks up, grateful for something to do. Cole’s eyes are still trained on Zane’s face, Jay watching anxiously over his shoulder, everyone else’s eyes on Lloyd. Nya’s paused in her work to listen.

“That is right.” He decides, then and there. “Zane, if you are in any situation where one of us would retreat or we would die, I want you to retreat. It’s the same standard for everyone. Not any more of this.”

“Retreat wasn’t an option.” Zane croaks out. It’s the second thing he’s said all night. His voice, for all it’s just been through, is surprisingly calm. Cole very gingerly jostles his shoulder, the same way he would ruffle someone’s hair.

“...Okay. I believe that.” Lloyd sounds a little chagrined, voice pulling away from its leader-y command. “I’m sorry it happened that way. We’ll keep a better eye out, alright? No, I’ll keep a better eye out. No one’s running off and getting surrounded anymore—that goes for all of you.”

There are a few very quick murmurs of assent, a quiet aye-aye Lloyd from Nya.

Kai sits on the workbench by Zane’s feet. He reaches as if to touch him, to be here with him somehow, but he’s unsure how to and Zane has already brought his breathing back down. Cole is keeping his hand draped behind the other’s back where Zane can’t see it. Kai notes that the palm’s a little burned.

Zane rolls onto his back, and Cole and Kai move out of the way.

He turns his eyes up toward Nya, who stills, pausing her fidgeting. “Nya, what are my diagnostics.”

Nya rattles them off, one by one, clear and moderately-paced. “You can’t access those yourself, or you just wanted to hear a voice?”

“I wanted a voice.” It’s easier, too, not to need to think for them. If anything is wrong, anything permanently damaged or even just hurting for an extra night, he’d rather not look at it directly.

“Okay, anytime.”

-

It’s well past dark when Kai finally moves toward bed later that night, speeding through the hall with the kind of quiet you use when you’re the only one left awake.

“Retreat was not an option.”

Kai halts. That came from Zane, fully alert—when he walks back to peer through Nya’s door, he half expects Zane to have sat up to face him, but he hasn’t, of course, he’s still curled on his side. He still catches Kai’s eye from the door, all the same, and Kai’s step quickens without waiting for him to ask it to as he steps inside.

“Oh, Zane, are you still-? Lloyd isn’t mad at you, he wasn’t saying-“

“No. Retreat wasn’t an option.” Kai has by now reached his side, and takes Zane’s hand where Zane lies on the workbench. He debates hopping up to sit on its edge, but by the time he’s finished thinking it, there’s already been too much quiet, and he can tell with an uncomfortable internal squirm that Zane is as empathetic to his predicament as he is to Zane’s. He opens his mouth to do something about it, just before Zane shakes his head and cuts in faster, like he’s racing him to break the silence on purpose. “I was built to-“ his voice chokes.

Kai’s eyes lock on Zane’s, and he takes a slow, comprehending kind of breath. He grips Zane’s hand, Zane grips it tighter back.

“...To protect those who cannot protect themselves,” Kai’s mouth helpfully, carefully supplies; he says it like he’s not sure Zane wants it said.

There’s a little moment, somewhere in the space they share right then, when Kai grows something unreadable on his face. A hint of the Kai from years ago who might have snapped on this, who might have given the problem an immediate villain and a villain he wants to punch. He has grown either the maturity or the embarrassment to bite the anger back, and Zane is selfishly grateful for either.

Zane pulls their hands closer to his face, affirmative hum interrupted by a full-body hitch. This part has never been hard. They’re brothers. Zane squeezes his hand, and Kai squeezes it back.

“We can protect ourselves. Zane. We can. Do you believe that?”

Zane shakes his head, not that he doesn’t believe, but that: “Retreat wasn’t-“

“Okay.” Kai cuts him off before he can explain himself into the ground. “You’re gonna be okay. We’re gonna make sure you’re safe, Zane.”

-

“Sorry I’m late, Kai.” Lloyd’s entry, arriving at the door with posture that says ‘casual’ and through the door with posture that says ‘leader,’ turns the half-baked gathering into a Meeting. “You wanted everyone on the bridge?”

“I actually wanted everyone down in Nya’s workshop, but I thought we should get there all at once. We need to talk about this.” 

Lloyd nods in acknowledgement; we all know what ‘this’ is. “You asked Zane?”

“I suggested it, but no, actually, Zane asked me.”

Lloyd nods again, once up and down, and once over his shoulder at the door. Jay, craning his neck up from the back of the room, gives him a smile, Lloyd takes that smile and gives it to the room. His expression goes serious once more, with his head on straight. “Alright, everyone, Zane called a meeting. Did he say right now?”

“Sooner is probably better.”

“Let’s head down.“

[lloydshoulddyehishair]

Paint Fight | Ninjago Calendar, June

Summary: In which Jay starts a paint fight with his friends because why not.

Sometimes Lloyd asked himself what he had done to deserve everything life threw at him.

As if it wasn’t enough to have his first love turn out to be a manipulative psychopath and have his dad resurrected from the dead as a soulless shell of who he once was, Cloud Kingdom had decided to top it of and throw a demon-invasion and a near-death experience at him.

And Lloyd Garmadon definitely wouldn’t be Lloyd Garmadon if he didn’t isolate himself from everyone close to him after a, yet another, traumatic event.

It was like a routine at this point. Everytime they got back from an adventure Lloyd would usually lock himself up in his room for a few days and then come back like nothing ever happened. He knew it wasn’t healthy - ignoring your emotions and stuffing them into a little box, hoping that they’ll never make it to the light of day, that no one would ever notice how much he really struggled. But there really wasn’t any other alternative for him, it was the only way he knew to cope and the others had stopped trying to get him to talk a long time ago.

Or at least so he thought, because right now the leader's door was being opened and revealed frizzy red hair and nervous blue eyes staring at him.

“Hey Lloyd, uhm, could I ask you something?”

“If this is about my Starfarer Video Game you can just take it-”

“N, no, no!”, his smaller friend interrupted him and sat down on his bed, playing with his fingers in an anxious manner, avoiding his gaze.

"You know, you've been isolating yourself and- I mean I totally get that, I get why, but- I miss doing stuff with y'all.", Lloyd blinked, trying to process what Jay was telling him. Jay usually wasn’t one to reach out like that, normally he’d keep to himself and just spend even more time with Cole and Nya, while being sad about the fact that he missed the others.

“But if you don’t want to, that’s fine of course! Don’t feel pressured, especially since you’re still recovering.”, the blond winced.

If there was one thing he hated most in the world it was his friends’ pity.

“It’s fine. I’ll join y’all.”, the redheads eyes lit up as that stupid grin - that was just  so jay - appeared on his face. 

“Great, I already got something planned!”

------

Surprisingly Lloyd wishes he had never agreed to Jay's offer. 

It wasn't that he didn't like spending time with his family, it was just that he didn't really know how to talk to them anymore. As a matter of fact it seemed like no one really did. The silence between them as they cleaned the dust off of the walls, like Jay had told them to, was almost suffocating.

“Why are we even doing this?”, Kai spoke up as he rolled his eyes in frustration. “Has Jay turned into Sensei Wu now and makes us do chores?”, Lloyd couldn’t help but chuckle.

Zane eyed them with a tiny smirk before continuing the task. “Well, I personally find cleaning to be very calming.”

“If that’s the case I’ll gladly have you clean my room!”, Jay called out as he stumbled outside with multiple buckets of paint, which sooner than later found themselves tumbling to the floor. “Now that didn’t go to plan.”, he muttered. “Ayways! Everyone come get their bucket!”

The others started walking up to him, taking the bucket of their respective colour.

“I don’t mean to sound like I’m judging or something but what exactly is your plan?”

“Oh Lloyd, isn’t it obvious? We’re going to paint the walls!”

All eyes fell on Jay in absolute disbelief.

“Sensei Wu will kill us! We can’t just paint the walls!”

“Going after our reputation this monastery won’t stand for long anyways. I give it 6 months before it is destroyed again.”, Nya sighed as she went to grab a paintbrush out of a bag Jay had brought with him.

Cole winced. He was more than familiar with the fate their homes usually faced. “I mean, you’re not wrong but still, you know? I don’t think Sensei is going to be too pleased.”

“Good thing he isn’t supposed to be back before tomorrow, so we got enough time to plan our escape.”, the Blue Ninja grinned, giving everyone a brush to paint with.

Maybe he didn’t regret this too much after all.

------

“Nya, if I was a worm, would you still love me?”

“I swear if you don’t shut your mouth-”

------

“Should I go inside and get us some ice cream?”, Zane asked, interrupting the silence that had once again fallen between them after they had started their paintings on the walls.

Cole’s eyes practically begged his friend to do what he had just offered. “Please, it’s so hot!”

“It’s not, it’s… rather mild, I guess.”

“Kai, no offence but you are literally the Master of Fire.”, Lloyd smirked slightly. “But yes Zane, it would be really nice if you could do that.”, he gave his nindroid friend one more smile before he stepped inside, making his way to the kitchen.

“You know, Cole, I think paint is fairly cold.”

“What are you hinting at, Bluebell-”, next thing they knew chaos erupted.

Cole watched the blue paint dripping from his face to the ground with a shocked expression.

“Any cooler?”, the Master of Lightning grinned at him.

“I’ll show you ‘cooler’!”, Cole yelled out, grabbing his own bucket and running after his best friend.

“Nya, save me!”, she couldn’t help but laugh at her boyfriend’ childishness.

“Coming!”, she calls, grabbing a bucket, as did her brother.

Sometimes Lloyd loved his family for being so stupid.

------

And sometimes Lloyd hated himself for being stupid.

You would think that after near-death experience number 37 and just barely getting away with a concussion and multiple bruises that he would start to pay more attention to his surroundings and be more careful.

You would also think wrong because as it turns out “careful” was something that just didn’t suit the blond.

And before he knew it he slipped on a puddle of paint and landed head first on the ground.

A pained moan escaped his mouth as his vision darkened for a second, everything started spinning.

Lloyd didn’t even get to sit up before Kai was already crouching down next to him, eyeing him in worry and grabbing his arm.

“Gosh Lloyd, you need to watch out, you’re still hurt!”, the younger tried to rid himself of his brother's grip, in vain. He rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Kai, I'm okay! Can you please just-"

"You need to be more careful! I always tell you that and you never listen! When will you start listening to me? When it’s too late?", suddenly everything around Lloyd seemed to come to an halt.

He knew Kai meant well, he always did, but he hated it more than anything when his brothers babyed him.

"Kai, I absolutely do not want your pity.", he spoke more harshly than he wanted to, pulling away from the brunette and standing up again.

“I’m not pitying you, I’m watching out for you-”

“Well you’re most certainly not doing a good job at it then.”, Lloyd had regretted many things in his life so far, releasing the Serpentine, banishing his father to the Departed Realm, but this - this was probably one of the actions he regretted most in his life so far.

Kai’s eyes widened in shock.

“This isn’t fair.”

“Life hasn’t been fair to us for a long while now Kai and you know tha-”, the teens sentence died in his throat as a loud noise interrupted them.

The elder gasped as he put his hand on his - now pink stained - hair. “Hey, watch the hair!”

"Where the hell did you get that from?!", Lloyd yells, hiding himself behind his big brother

Nya simply grinned, pointing the paint-gun in their direction once again.

"I have my ways."

------

“I say we all team up on Jay!”, Cole calls out across the yard.

“What?! 5 against 1? That’s unfair!”, 

“Fair?”, Lloyd yells as he grabbed another bucket filled with red paint. “Fair isn’t a word where I come from!”, he screams, running after Jay, eventually cornering him with the help of the others.

“Oh come on guys.”, the lightning ninja laughs nervously. “It doesn’t have to end like this.”

“It started with you, it will end with you.”, Kai smirks.

They were ready to empty their paint buckets over his head, that was until they heard someone clear their throat behind them.

In shock they turned around, just to meet stern yellow eyes.

“What’s the matter of this.”

“Sensei Wu! I thought you weren’t supposed to be back until-”

“Tomorrow, yes.”, the old sensei cut Nya off. “But my trip was cut short, so I went home just to be greeted by-”, he looked around himself, at the stained floor, puddles of now half dried paint and empty metal buckets. “-this.”

“I promise Sensei, we will clean everything up!”, the blond reassured his uncle.

“Lloyd?”, he looked at the others in disbelief. “You let my nephew join in on this? You know he is still recovering! As are you Cole!”

“I swear Sensei, I’m feeling way better-”

“No. I don’t want to hear it. Starting tomorrow you will clean this mess up and we will start training again. Every day you will have-”

Jay gasped. “Sensei, no! Please!”

“-Sunrise training.”, this six groaned in unison. “Except for Cole and Lloyd, you’ll join when I tell you to, until then you’ll stay in bed.”

“Yes, Sensei.”, they bowed slightly, waiting for Wu to leave.

Just as Sensei stepped inside the monastery, Zane stepped back outside in the yard, ice cream in hand. His face as he tried to understand what had caused the chaos and the stains on his friends’ clothes made them all start to laugh.

Maybe today hadn’t been as bad as Lloyd thought it would be.

------

Once again the part-human found himself alone, this time though not in his room but watching the sunset on the stairs in front of the monastery and eating the ice cream Zane had brought them. His thoughts remained the same however. Guilt was slowly starting to consume his mind, especially after the short interaction he had shared with Kai during the paint fight. 

He smiled slightly. The childish fight was probably the most fun he had had since everything with the Sons of Garmadon started to unravel. 

He didn’t like to think about it. It made him sad, thinking about how broken and alone he had felt, still did at sometimes.

He also didn’t like to think about all the sleepless nights he had spent, wondering why his friends had to die. Of course they hadn’t actually been dead, but sometimes - just sometimes - Lloyd was scared that if he closed his eyes for too long that they would slip away again.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a red figure approaching and sitting down next to him, interrupting his thoughts.

He said nothing, did nothing, simply staring ahead - waiting for Lloyd to make the first move. 

“You know.”, the blond said, staring forward, just like his brother did. “I didn’t want to snap at you like that. Earlier today, I mean.”, he sighed as he placed his chin in his palm. "None of it was your fault..", Kai winced. 

"I know you didn't want to.", he felt a hand being put on his shoulder. "I just wish you wouldn't always throw yourself into danger. I know it's hypocritical of me to say this but-", the elder paused and took his hand. "You need to start thinking things through.", Lloyd laughed. 

"You're one to talk." 

Kai's face softened. "I know, I haven't been the best example but that's why I want you to be better, you know?”

Lloyd just nodded, leaning his head against his brother's shoulder.

“I don’t want to someday wait for you to come back from a mission and have you-”, he let out a heavy sigh as he squeezed the smaller’s shoulder. “Never return.”

“I get that, I feel the same about you guys.”

“I’d sure hope so. I mean who else could you have paint fights with if not for us.”, the Master of Fire chuckles slightly before standing up again. “But we should probably head inside before Sensei beats our asses, especially yours.”, he pauses as he runs his hand through his messed up hair. “Also should probably wash that out.”

“I don’t know.”,the younger grins as he walks towards the monastery. “Pink suits you.”

“Please, Zane has already claimed pink, thanks to you.”, Kai laughs. “Maybe I’ll go orange.”

“Don’t give me ideas because I absolutely will dye your hair in your sleep.”

“Oh, I don’t think so, Green Machine!”, he calls out sprinting towards him, making Lloyd run from him in a laughing fit.

Yeah, today was definitely not as bad as he had thought it would be.

[crystalgirl259]

The Flame and the Dragon Chapter 24

Chapter 24: A Cut Above The Rest

In the dungeon Kai leaning against the wall as he scanned his prison. It was smaller than his bedroom, surprisingly enough, with large stones making up the walls and chains like the ones currently shackled to his wrists hung from the ceiling. There were no windows and the door had a little opening at the bottom where the prisoners were served their food. Kai slowly let out his breath. It didn't puff out in front of him, which was good. It meant that it wasn't overly cold in here.

It was still pretty cold, though.

Goosebumps were prickling along Kai's skin as cold seeped through the thin, damp clothes he was wearing. With a tired grunt, Kai managed to cross his arms over his chest and pulled his legs close. Kai was at Cole's mercy, and knowing him it'd probably be forever before the prince freed him. Much to Kai's shock, however, a part of him still loved Cole, despite what had happened now and before with his siblings. Kai scowled, hugging himself tighter as he shivered.

The dungeon shouldn't be cold enough to be any sort of danger.

Cole wouldn't have locked him in here if it was, but that didn't mean that it wasn't uncomfortable. Kai started to fantasize about different ways of getting Cole back if he was let out as he waited, and waited, and waited. So far, his favorite idea was to dump bright pink glitter on Cole while he was sleeping. Kai's teeth started to chatter loudly. It startled him, and he clenched his jaw to stop it, which just made him all the more aware of how severely the rest of Kai was shaking.

Kai curled in tighter on himself, trying to keep what heat he had left.

It wasn't until Kai's face had gone numb that he reluctantly extracted his hands from where he'd been pressing them against his legs. He winced as the cold started to numb his fingertips. Kai tried to rub some warmth into his legs, but he couldn't feel his hands anymore. Even if he could, they were shaking too much for him to concentrate. He tucked them under his arms, not that it helped much at this point. The cold stone of the wall was leeching heat away from where his back was pressed against it, so Kai scooted farther into the dungeon as far as his chains would allow, still shivering.

He swore under his breath, hugging his legs to his chest and pressing his face into his knees.

He really hoped Cole came to his senses soon and let him out, or at the very least someone would just come and check on him. Then they might see his shivering and possibly give him a blanket of some kind. Kai kept coming up with ways to get Cole back, drawing inspiration from the pranks that Lloyd had played when he was younger. After a long time, Kai blinked, dimly realizing that he had zoned out. He tried to remember what he'd been thinking about before, but his mind was too fuzzy.

He had stopped shivering, but couldn't remember if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Kai breathed out, letting himself relax a little bit. His muscles ached, not wanting to move. He was really, really tired. He should take a nap. That would be nice. There were sounds, though. They sounded like words, but they were far away. Then all of the sudden they were louder, closer, and Kai could hear them well. Not that he remembered what they meant. As his mind started drifting again, something or someone suddenly released his wrists from the shackles and caught him in their arms.

"Kai?" A timid voice whispered and Kai slowly opened his amber eyes, seeing the worried teary eyes of his friends. He struggled to look up and saw Zane was holding against his chest so he was in a seating position. Harumi suddenly burst into the cell from the open door, carrying a large duvet cover from the nearest bedroom.

"Here you go, darling." She smiled sadly as she wrapped Kai up like a newborn baby. The brunette offered her a grateful smile in return, a little disappointed that it wasn't Cole who saved him from possibly freezing to death in his prison cell. He curled up a little as he soaked up the warmth from the blanket and Zane's body heat. When his body finally regained most of its heat and he had stopped shivering, Kai sat up slightly and turned to his friends.

"Guys, I'm sorry." He said weakly. "Nothing's changed."

"I warned you nothing would change." Shade suddenly said, and everyone but Kai glared at him. "I warned you all that the master would not allow this, I warned you this was all a hopeless folly!" He shouted and Kai winced, looking down in shame at giving them all false hope. "But...I was wrong." He added, surprising everyone. "If we felt lost and lonely, with not a dream in our heads, your words lifted our spirits high."

"Yeah Kai, remember what you said?" Nelson asked with a heartwarming smile, but Kai shrugged, not sure what the boy wanted him to say. "That hope is the greatest of the gifts we'll receive, as long as our shining star shines above." He said and Kai's eyes widened for a second, remembering what he kept telling them and what he had even put in the story for Cole. Kai smiled and pulled the boy into a hug.

"You know what, Kai? I don't need to be human to be happy." Jay said and they all nodded in agreement. True, they missed being human, but as long as they had each other then perhaps everything would be alright.

"I suppose I can do without mistletoe." Shade sighed before suddenly pulling Neuro into a rough, passionate kiss.

"Well, I don't need tinsel." Neuro spat in embarrassment. He might love the cook, but he hated it when Shade got too physical when they were in public.

"Oh, I don't need holly." Shade counted.

"I don't need a wreath." Neuro huffed and his lover snarled. Kai turned to the others, but they didn't look fazed by the row. This sort of thing happened all the time.

"I don't need ornaments."

"I don't need turkey!"

"I don't need stuffing."

"I don't need pudding!" Neuro exclaimed and Shade looked ready to tear his hair out.

"To each his own my love, you know how to get me stressed, but if it comes to making things special I'm a cut above the rest!"

"If you could see facts clearly, you would say that I've been blessed!"

"You can't hold a candle to my timing!" Shade laughed bitterly as he flicked Neuro right between the eyes. Kai saw this as the right time to step in and, with shaking legs, stood up and approached them, still clutching the blanket around him. The couple stopped their fighting and helped to teen stay upright, worry clear on everyone's faces.

"You belong side by side, you should never be apart because if you're both together, you're really twice as smart." He told them both calmly, and the couple all shared a look before a smile appeared on their faces.

"Twice as smart? He does have a point." Shade smirked.

"Yes, well, two heads are better than one I suppose." Neuro agreed and everyone else visibly relaxed that a proper fight hadn't broken out between them. At that moment, however, a large frame suddenly appeared in the still opened door frame, blocking out the light from the hall, and they all turned to see Cole standing there. They all froze in fear when they saw him. None of them were supposed to be in here and Kai was supposed to be shackled up.

Instead of anger, however, the only expression the prince had was one of sadness and regret.

Without even acknowledging the servants, Cole walked to Kai, who was glaring at him and gently took his hands into his scaly ones. Kai made no move to pull away and when he saw the regret in Cole's green orbs his anger melted into pity.

"Can you forgive me?" He pleaded, looking ready to cry before Kai could answer.

"I'm sorry for leaving the castle when I wasn't supposed to,"

"I admit that I overreacted, but I would have been fine if you had just asked from my permission and told me where you were going, but I don't really blame you for that part," Cole replied, giving Jay, Echo, and Ronin a glance and they all gulped. He wrapped Kai in a strong embrace who looked up at him in his soft eyes. Kai felt an ugly combination of grief, heartache, and guilt burning in his heart.

"Does this mean you forgive me?" Cole asked.

"I'll forgive you if you'll forgive me," He replied shyly and Cole's response was cupping his cheek and turning to him.

"Always." He promised and kissed the brunette softly. It wasn't passionate, more like a shaky first kiss where someone didn't quite know what to do. Kai was stunned for a second, but recovered quickly and put a little bit more passion into it, realizing just how much he missed Cole's kisses, even though he might not have gotten many yet. The servants all cheered as their master and Kai reconciled their relationship. As they all celebrated, no one saw an inky black cloud of dark magic seep into the castle as look for the perfect tool of destruction.

It eventually found a large, seemingly abandoned giant pipe organ bolted to the wall.

It seemingly melted into the instrument, turning the grand pipe organ black as night. It suddenly began playing loud music, which shook the castle to pieces...

[ninja-go-to-therapy]

Whumptober 12: I Think I’ve Broken Something

Broken Trust

This took months to write, so be thankful for Whumptober or I probably never would have gotten around to finishing it.

Summary: Cole’s mom comes back to him. The other ninja are sceptic.

Trigger Warnings: mentioned cult activity, mentioned death

1509 words

“...mom?” he whispered, afraid to say it any louder lest the illusion shatter.

“Shh, shh, it’s okay Beetle, you’re okay. You did good.”

“But aren’t you… dead?”

“That’s not what’s important, sweetie. What’s important is that I’m here, now, and I’m proud of you.”

Cole couldn’t even think of all the reasons why this shouldn’t be possible. He just started at her numbly, letting her wrap him in a hug.

“Mom,” he said again, his throat closing up and his eyes beginning to fill with tears. He buried his face against her shoulder. He never thought he’d see her again, but here she was, realer than anything else he’d ever felt.

The hug lasted for an eternity, and when they finally broke apart, Cole immediately found himself missing her touch.

“Am I dead?” he asked, the possibility having not even occurred to him until now.

“No, no, we’re both alive, baby. We’re both alive.”

Both of them. Alive. His mom had died when he was seven… how was it possible?

“How?” 

“I don’t remember much, and what I do remember isn’t something I can tell you said,” she said, cupping his face affectionately. “Oh, Cole, I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you too,” he said.

———

“Of course it’s her!” Cole cried, hurt seeping through his voice like poison.

The other ninja shared a look. “We’re not saying it’s not her,” Zane said, gentle. “We simply think being cautious would be the best idea. Your mother has been dead for years, and suddenly she shows up again, claiming she never died in the first place?”

“That’s not what she said!” Cole said, crossing his arms stubbornly. “She doesn’t remember what happened. But I’m telling you, I remember my own mother. It’s her.”

“We just want you to be careful,” Kai said, reaching out a hand to put on Cole’s shoulder.

Cole batted it away. “She called me Beetle,” he said. “She always used to call me Beetle. It’s her. I don’t know why you don’t trust me!”

“It’s not you we don’t trust!” Jay cried. “What if this is some kind of trap?”

“It’s not a trap!”

Frustrated, Cole stomped off to go find his mom.

Nobody had reacted this way when Kai had found his parents. Nobody had looked at Maya and determined she was some sort of fraud. So why were they saying that his mom was?

It really was her, he was sure of it.

He knocked softly on the door before entering, unable to hold back a smile at seeing his mom.

She looked just as he remembered her.

She smiled back at him, opening her arms and letting him burrow into a hug.

And then, much to her concern, he started crying.

“What’s wrong, Beetle?” she asked, rubbing gentle circles on his back.

“They don’t believe it’s you,” Cole cried, pressing himself closer against Lilly. “But I know you are.”

“Of course I am,” she assured, gently combing her fingers through Cole’s hair as he continued to cry. “You know me, you know I wouldn’t lie to you. If they don’t trust you, then that’s on them.”

“Well… I dunno if they don’t trust me…” he said. “They just want me to be careful. But it still hurts.”

“Nonsense,” Lilly said. “They clearly don’t trust you, and this is proof. If they did, they wouldn’t be trying to keep you away from your mother whom you haven’t seen in years.”

Cole sniffled, wiping his face with his sleeve. She was right. Why didn’t the ninja trust him? He thought they were his friends…

“But it’s okay,” Lilly said, pulling him close again. “I’ve got you.”

And she did.

———

The arguments continued for several days.

The ninja refused to just fucking trust him, Lilly comforted Cole, and the cycle didn’t end.

Over and over again, every day.

Cole just didn’t understand why they were so quick to assume the worst. In almost any other scenario he could think of, they had been so welcoming. Kai and Nya’s parents hadn’t been doubted, and Zane’s father hadn’t been questioned either.

They’d even taken in Lloyd when he was still a little brat, uncaring of his attempted cruel nature. Sure, they hadn’t been particularly thrilled about it, but they’d still done it.

But because it was Cole’s mom, suddenly things were different?

Why?

“They don’t deserve you,” his mom said, looking over him sadly. “You are the strongest, kindest, most amazing boy, Cole. My son. And they treat you like so much less than that.”

Cole looked down, flustered. His dad had told him similar things before, but it was different coming from his mom. He hadn’t seen her in so long. Just knowing that she still loved him meant everything.

“I love you so much,” she promised.

“I love you too.”

———

“I want to take you somewhere,” Lilly said one day.

Cole looked up. “Where?” he asked.

“Somewhere special,” she said. “Oh, it’s the most magical place. I’d love for you to see it.”

“You would?”

“Of course, baby. We can go right now, if you want. I’d like to show it to you in the moonlight, first master it’s so pretty. Won’t you come see it with me?”

Cole smiled softly, trying to envision the type of place his mom might have been talking about. “I’d like that.”

And so they set off on their journey. 

Cole didn’t bother telling the others where he was going, knowing that they would only try to stop him or something. They needed to learn to stay out of his business.

If they couldn’t respect him, then they didn’t need to know the details that he would have once shared.

It took a long time to get to their destination. They left mid day, and only arrived as the sun finished setting.

It was a quaint little tower in the middle of nowhere, and his mom was right: it did look beautiful. Vines crawled up the sides, various flowers blooming around the area. It was the kind of thing you’d see in a movie.

“Come inside with me,” his mom beckoned, the door swinging open easily. Cole followed her in, taking in the room. It was a simple set-up, with wooden floorboards and various furniture, tables filled with books and more. The only thing that seemed out of place was some sort of chalk pattern on the floor.

“What’s that?” he asked, frowning at it. It looked a little… cultish.

“I’m not sure,” Lily said, walking across the room and looking at an open book. “I’m certain it’s nothing.”

“Okay…” something about this was leaving Cole feeling… uneasy. He didn’t know what it was, but something… something felt wrong.

“Maybe we should go,” he said, turning back towards the door. “I don’t wanna worry the guys.”

“Oh, those little friends of yours? The ones that don’t even trust you about your own mother?” she asked, walking back to him and gently turning him back around, cupping his face in her hands. “Why should they matter to you?”

“Well I… I don’t know, I guess I can see why they’d be concerned…” he said, discomfort rising in him. Something was definitely wrong.

“What, you think I’m some sort of monster masquerading as your mom?” she asked, offense seeping through her voice.

“No! I didn’t say that!” Cole cried.

“Pity,” she hummed, her grip tightening slightly. “You would have been right.”

With that, her form flickered, and suddenly Cole was staring instead at a mirror image of himself, who smiled wickedly at him.

Cole jerked out of his mom’s — his — its — grip.

“You really should learn not to trust what you see, Cole,” it said, his own voice mocking him. 

“But — you — mom?” he asked, backing up, his voice cracking slightly. No, no, this couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t not be her, he had been so sure.

It backed him against the door, which he hadn’t even had time to notice that it had locked. “Don’t worry,” it said, its form shifting again until it looked identical to Zane. “Plenty of people are unable to tell the difference between myself and who they see.” It shifted to Kai. “The heart convinces the mind, you know.”

“No…” Cole said, tears welling in his eyes. “You… who are you?”

“Doesn’t matter to you,” it said, shifting to Jay. “You’ll be too dead soon to need to know!”

It latched onto Cole, dragging him towards the center of the circle.

“Wait — what are you — no!” Cole cried, wrenching himself free and running for the door. It grabbed him.

“Why are you running, son?” his mom’s voice taunted. “Don’t you want to see me again?”

He froze, and it was enough for it to grab him again, bringing him back to the center of the room.

He struggled, but this time, its grip was firm.

“Don’t worry,” she said, smiling cruelly at him. “You’re going to help me change the world.”

And then came the pain.

[reign-its-raining]

Like Mother Mary

trying to format tumblr and transfer my shtuff has caused much pain :)

Summary: Weakness, we've all felt it. From our knuckles to the bottom of our hearts. (That too vague for you? Read some more.)

wc: 969 !!cw: burning / mention of death

“Knowing full well, darling, your war's not ended.”*

~

The wind whipped around his face, obscuring his vision. 

Cole winced as the thrusters singed bits of hair and skin, he cried out, now falling falling falling until his arm caught the end of the ladder, surely dislocating it. Cole felt his airways seize and struggle as apartment buildings tore through his suit and back, Jay’s panicked voice rang through his head making little to no sense.

“I - I got it!” he cried, clutching the rope with sweaty (bloody) fingers then watching in horror as the rung snapped, sending him downdowndown. 

His name bounced off of rooftops and broken windows. Either the bounty was getting further or he was falling faster. Maybe both, maybe the dizziness and decreasing pressure wasn’t real, maybe he died on that mountain all those years ago, maybe this whole ‘ninja’ thing was all a dream, this wasn’t real- 

Cole was numb as the arms of darkness wrapped around his, luling him to sleep. 

~

Cole gasped as his head hit the bamboo floor, his arms flailing. The raven sighed as he kicked the wadded blanket off, hoping (praying, anticipating) Jay wouldn’t wake. The frame rattled as the blue ninja rolled over, nothing more. 

Cole stumbled as he slipped out of his shared room. His heart raced as he graced down the hall past Kai and Zane’s room, past Nya and Pixal’s room. The black ninja tripped clumsily over a game controller outside of a hall closet, his breath hitched when the sound of snoring paused briefly before resuming. Then he was safe. Safe safe safe. 

The outside air was refreshing. Cole let out a sigh as he breathed in the dewy air allowing serenity to wash over him.

Now if only he were alone.

~

*“The world is coming down around me 

And I can’t find a reason

To be loved.”*

~

Kai shot up, a small sob escaping his lips.

“Kai? Is everything alright?” Zane whispered, his eyes lighting a path to him. 

The red ninja silently cursed the nindroids light sleep. “Everything’s fine, Zane. Go back to sleep.” the grogginess was overwhelming but Kai was nevertheless relieved when the ice ninja (Kai remembered when he had an element to his name-) held his gaze only a moment longer before settled back down into sleep mode.

Now the brunet just had to figure out how to get out of there without waking Zane. Overheating his sensors was always an option that Kai had already successfully (though guiltily) done. Overheating his sensors. God, Kai was such an idiot! And a weak one at that. 

The red ninja chuckled a silent laugh before sliding open the window beside his bed. It led to the hillside beneath the monastery so Kai would have to scale the walls. (He wasn’t too weak to do that at least).

~

Some of the floor was original, loose boards everywhere. Kai pulled up the thirty second tile from the doorframe to reveal flint and wood. After digging around in his pocket Kai et out a small exclamation of success as he pulled out a bit of steel, borrowed from Nya - well, stolen but that meant nothing. 

The sparks flying from the steel were like fireworks in his eyes, one finally caught onto the kindling, igniting into a small flame. The warmth was accepting (and more often than not, he felt so cold). 

Taking a deep breath, Kai tugged off his socks before gingerly placing his feet on either side of the blazing stick. The heat was intense for eight, nine, ten more seconds (than usual) before Kai hissed and pulled them from the small hole in the ground. Without any hesitation, Kai put his hands into the now bigger fire. It burned, of course it burned. Kai wouldn’t have been surprised if his core temperature dropped a few degrees after The Incident.

It was all so familiar(liarliarliar) minus the searing pain. But Kai didn’t move, not until his bubbling hands were pulled roughly from the hole, the fire stomped out, his power once again gone.

~

Cole wasn’t surprised when the smell of smoke hit him. Half the nation was on fire, but Cole could only hope that the monastery wasn’t burning downdowndown (again).  He rubbed his bleary eyes to see a huddled form not ten yards in front of him. 

Hands. Hands glowing red. Kai’s hands burning brighter than the purple circles beneath his eyes. Cole took a deep breath, trying to cool the unfamiliar rage bubbling beneath his skin. “‘The hell do you think you’re doing?” the earth ninja exclaimed, his eyes never leaving the blistering white burns on Kai’s hands. “You’ve got a real nerve doing this shit. Third degree burns, Kai?” Cole wasn’t done berating, he was ready to fire (ha) off more anger, but the look in his friend’s (teammate’s, brother’s) eyes stopped him. 

“I just wanted to… wanted to feel it again,” he murmured, amber eyes trained on the ground. His hands curled around rogue weeds growing between the porch floor. 

“I know you have a high pain tolerance but this is ridiculous,” Cole joked half heartedly. Most of the pain tolerance went with his power; Kai must have been in complete agony. “C’mon,” the black ninja sighed, finally noticing the burns on Kai’s feet. “Sensei probably has some iced tea for this or something.” 

The fire ninja clung to Cole, staining his shirt with tears. “Why are you out here?” he rasped. It took his brother flinching to realize; the nightmares. Cole still had fucking nightmares. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Kai said, changing the question. 

“Because.” Cole pulled the brunet onto his back. “It happened months ago. I felt weak.” 

“I know how it feels,” Kai mumbled, studying his burns. “I promise, Brookstone, it won’t get this bad.”

* : Welcome Home (Finale) - Bandstand (musical) ** : Arms - Christina Perri

[lloydskywalkers]

a complicated profession

Chapter One

This is one of the longest, most self-indulgent fics I’ve written in a while and it is entirely @ninjawhoa‘s fault (and i mean that in the best way possible but u know). So the full inspiration for Kai and Nya as Mandalorians goes to them <3

Honestly the best way I can summarize this is to explain that I started it out saying “lol there’s no way I’m gonna write Lloyd as baby yoda”. then 11k words later. Lloyd as baby yoda. 

(while you don’t technically need to have watched the mandalorian to understand this, it will kinda help and you’ll probably guess who Cole’s gonna be. plus it’s just a Good Show in general, so u should watch it)

Kai’s not a heartless person, despite what some people might say.

But he’s not the kind of person that keeps many regrets, either. In his line of work, he can’t afford to be. Mandalorians aren’t known for their expressiveness in the first place, and the helmet has long hidden any grimace he might make at his and Nya’s less…savory jobs. But he’ll never show it otherwise, because they are Mandalorian, which means they’re the best of warriors or bounty hunters to be had, and you don’t become the best by regretting who you blast in the back and who you freeze in carbonite this week.

But there are some things — a precious few — that he does regret, and he does hold on to. And one of the more current, glaring ones is that he really should have pressed for more information on their target this time.

Specifically in regards to its age.

“I thought they said it would be forty-six years old,” he says blankly, unable to keep the surprise out of his voice. For a moment, he’s glad that Nya’s still outside, covering him where he’s snuck in to the compound with the assassin droid. Because while the droid can’t tell that Kai’s gobsmacked, Nya absolutely could, and she’d never let him live it down.

The target stares up at him where it’s hidden itself beneath an old weapons rack, its eyes wide and curious on his helmet. It’s definitely their target, no question — Kai’s tracker hasn’t stopped going nuts since he got this close to it — but it’s also definitely not forty-six years old.

It’s a kid. No older than six, at most — a human boy, from appearance, but the red eyes staring back at him lead Kai to believe their target’s a lot more than just some human. That and the obscene bounty that’s sitting on it, and the ridiculous amount of guards they had to fight through to get this far.

The assassin droid takes a jerking step forward, the gear on the left side of its face glowing dark red, and the child curls back, the first movement Kai’s seen it make — though he can’t really blame it, after the shootout they’ve had right outside the door. It doesn’t speak, either, just continues to stare at him with those wide, crimson eyes, as if Kai’s the most fascinating thing it’s ever seen. Then those eyes flick to the droid, and the gaze turns frightened.

“Four to six,” the assassin droid clarifies, its voice as monotone as ever. “Species unknown.”

“It’s supposed to be older.” Kai knows his voice is too quiet, too young. He doesn’t sound as old as he’s pretending to be.

“A shame, that it will never be,” the droid clicks. “But its life ends here.”

The droid brings its blaster up, and the kid’s eyes clench shut. Kai’s moving before he can think, shoving the droid’s arm so the blaster isn’t trained on the kid.

“I’m supposed to bring it back alive,” he hisses.

“And I am supposed to bring it back dead,” the droid replies blandly, it’s glowing eyes staring at Kai’s helmet. “Step aside. It will yield less trouble for everyone this way.”

Kai stares at the droid, revulsion twisting in his gut. He hates droids.

But he also knows that this is an assassin droid for a reason, and that it’s proven a valuable ally as it is.

The droid pulls away, its blaster clicking back on. Kai turns back to the kid, all frightened eyes beneath its mop of golden hair.

The blaster levels with the kid’s head, and the fear turns to resignation. Kai knows that look.

For an awful half second, he sees another child huddled before him, another child alone in the world, tear-stained and hopeless and lost.

There’s a click of a trigger, and blaster fire flashes bright across the room.

***********************************

Nya’s just finished cleaning up the last of the stragglers who were guarding the compound by the time her brother finally emerges from it, scraping dark stains from the edge of her weapons with the gritty sand that drowns this planet. She scowls — she hates desert planets on a good day, because the sand gets all in the cracks of her armor and wears down the gears on their ship, but sand will always soak up blood better than anything else will.

She frowns at the bodies that litter the sand around them, scrubbing a hand over the plating of her helmet. They’ve gone through an awful lot of trouble for this job, more so than usual. Ronin wasn’t kidding when he said their client made a steep demand.

It had better be worth it, she thinks, as the familiar sound of her brother’s boots draws nearer. She blinks as he steps out of the compound, the absence of the CRY-11 droid he went in with painfully noticeable. Maybe there was a disagreement on who got the bounty…? The question is on her lips, when she finally catches sight of what’s in his arms.

Nya stares. Her brother is not dragging a struggling target to them. Her brother is holding a baby, the thing tucked close in his arms. Well — not a baby, exactly, if it’s big enough to cling to Kai’s armor like that, but — it’s a tiny kid.

“What is that,” she asks, her voice slow and measured through her helmet.

Kai tightens his grip on the shivering kid, who’s yet to unfurl his fingers where they grip tightly around his breastplate, face pressed into his shoulder. He’s silent for a beat, and the quiet feels loud, surrounding the two of them and the kid and the piles of dead bodies around them.

“Our payday,” Kai finally says, sounding eternally exhausted.

***********************************

It was supposed to be a simple target, if a difficult one.

Sure, their client was Imperial — or ex-Imperial, though either way is just as bad, in Kai’s opinion — but the guy was straightforward enough. A bit saccharine, a lot creepy, but clearly eager to pay for a target. And the payment — Kai hasn’t seen that much Beskar steel since their father’s smithy, and the prospect of winning at least some of it back, at least some of what the Empire took from their people, was too much to turn down (even if it did mean working with Imperials).

Not that he and Nya had been planning on turning him down in the first place. The downside about being the best bounty hunters on this side of the galaxy is that, eventually, they run out of targets that’ll earn them money. They’ve cleaned out all Ronin’s best offers, and they’d needed more.

It’s how they got this target. Not favoritism from Ronin — no matter what the other Hunter’s Guild members say — because as their planet’s head of local bounty headers, favoritism isn’t something he can afford showing. No, Kai and Nya got this target because they are the best, and they always follow through on a job.

But bounty hunting commissions are a two-way street, and Kai knew they should’ve pressed for more information than just “here’s a tracker, you’ll know the target when you see it”.

Then maybe they wouldn’t have ended up trekking across this awful desert with a kid in tow.

“What would a bunch of Imps want with a kid?” Nya asks again, brushing sand from where it’s collected in the corners of her elbow armor. “He doesn’t seem like he’s worth that much.”

“Tell that to the guard detail they had on ‘im,” Kai mutters, wincing at the new scorch marks on his armor. That steel payment is going to come in handy a lot sooner than he’d thought.

“Well yeah, but…” Nya’s helmet swivels toward the kid, where it’s yet to move from the patch of sand it’s claimed in their campground. It hasn’t said much of anything since Kai took it from the compound, but it hadn’t fought Kai either, so that’s something. Not trust, maybe, but the way the kid stares at them seems curious, which is a lot better than hostile.

Makes it easier for transporting it, and all.

“It just doesn’t make sense,” Nya finally huffs, pulling her knees up to her chest, looking very much like the child she is, and a lot less like the callous assassin she’s supposed to be.

“You say that like Imperials have ever made sense,” Kai yawns, stretching his arms. “Look, our job is to bring the kid back, not to ask questions.”

“And to blast Guild assassin droids on the way?” Nya quips, drily.

Kai shrugs, his head tilting down. He wasn’t gonna let the droid just kill the kid. Even if the bounty hadn’t been a part of it, he’s not that heartless.

And he’d known the look in the kid’s eyes.

And he hates droids anyways, so it’s a win all around.

“I wonder what’s so special about him,” Nya murmurs, tilting her head at the child. It shifts under her gaze, almost anxiously.

Kai shrugs again, and turns his head as well. “Hey, kid. What’s your deal?”

He can feel the face Nya’s making at him beneath her helmet, but Kai ignores her, watching the kid intently. The kid stares back, blinking once at him.

Then it turns away, pulling the edge of Kai’s lent cloak tighter around its shoulders, and says nothing.

Kai bites back a sigh. He doesn’t know why he’s expecting anything more. It’s not like every quarry’s supposed to be jumping for conversation at being used as bounty. Heck, he doesn’t even know if the kid can talk. Or if it does, maybe it’s the wrong language…?

Kai doesn’t know why he’s trying to care.

“Eloquent as always,” Nya snorts. Kai throws her a gesture, and Nya retaliates by kicking sand up on him as she stands. “I’m gonna head back to the ship,” she says, shouldering her weapons. “Need to make sure nothing’s scrapped it yet. I’ve seen too many Jawas running around here.”

“Yeah, sure,” Kai smirks. “Checking back in with Jay while you’re at it wouldn’t happen to part of the plan, would it?”

Nya’s foot connects with his side this time, and Kai cackles instead of sweeping her leg out from under her. Nya’s helmet shakes side to side, and Kai can picture the blush she’s sporting beneath it.

“You are going to check back in with Jay,” she huffs. “We’ve still gotta thank him for helping us out, and the kid probably needs to eat eventually.”

“There’s always frogs,” Kai mutters.

“You are not letting him try and swallow a frog whole again,” Nya snaps, clearly not over the earlier incident, in which the kid had revealed a set of unnaturally sharp teeth, apparently trying to snack on one of the planet’s tiny amphibians.

“Maybe it’s naturally carnivorous, like the Togruta,” Kai shoots back. Nya crosses her arms. Kai crosses his.

The debate between calling the kid him or it has been ongoing since they left the compound, but Kai’s not budging. If you give your target humanity, you start to get in trouble.

“I’ll meet you at Jay’s, then,” he finally relents. “Be back before morning, alright?”

Nya makes a sound of amusement, the dying sunlight flashing off her helmet as she shakes it. She knocks armored knuckles against his own helmet, sending mild reverberations around Kai’s skull.

“I’ll be back when I’m back,” she says, but he catches the undercurrent of a promise in her voice. She turns away, her helmet tilting toward the kid where he sits unmoving, still silent. Her hand twitches, and for a moment, it looks like she’s about to reach a hand to ruffle his tangled hair.

Her hand finally goes loose, hanging limply by her side, and her helmet dips.

“Take care of the kid, okay?”

Kai nods. He almost scoffs, makes a comment — they won’t get paid for a dead kid.

But somehow, he knows that thought isn’t what makes her say it.

***********************************

Kai didn’t always live his life under a helmet. Probably wouldn’t have chosen too, necessarily, if given the choice — he’s got some pretty great hair, he likes to think, and perpetually hiding it is a tragedy in and of itself — but, that is to say, he’s not complaining.

Living with his head beneath a helmet is better than the alternative, which Nya always jokes would be living without a head at all.

Kai’s lips curl into a half-grin behind the helmet, in the way he only does when Nya jokes. It’s a half-truth; they both know that had the Mandalorians not seen to take them on as Foundlings, had they not swooped in at the last moment to rain blaster fire on the battle droids, then well…

Well. The little that would be left of them would likely be scattered in the streets with their parents.

The half-smile has now long since disappeared from Kai’s face, but no one could tell. Nya could, probably — she has a way of knowing him like that, just as he does her, exactly what face he’s making behind the helmet — but she’s not here now.

There’s a shuffling noise beside him, and Kai is abruptly reminded at what is here with him.

…alright, calling the kid a what does feel like too much. He should give it who, at least. The kid’s quiet, but there’s enough sentience, and enough expression in its eyes to communicate that its…well, a person.

A bounty, Kai reminds himself. A quarry. At the end of the day, the kid’ll be in someone else’s hands, and Kai’s own hands will be full of well-earned payment. It won’t do to go getting attached, or anything so blatantly stupid. Kai hasn’t gotten this far on sentiment.

The kid keeps staring at him with those eyes, the odd red glinting in the dying sun as it trudges beside him. Not for the first time, Kai wonders what, exactly, type of being the kid even is. It looks human, certainly. Its hair’s gold enough to pass for the Mandalorian royalty of the old Republic, and the teeth could be attributed to mixed blood. The eyes, too.

But the price on its head, for a simple human? Not likely.

Kai glances back at the kid, and is hit with an unpleasant jolt when he realizes it’s no longer by his side. There’s a brief moment of panic before Kai finds it, trailing just behind him, a scowl on its face as it trudges through the thickening sand.

It’s more expression than Kai’s seen on the kid all day, and it almost makes him laugh.

“Having some trouble, there?” he asks, watching the kid struggle up the sandbank in amusement.

The kid looks up, red eyes narrowing, and — “Slow.”

Kai blinks rapidly. He’s been about ninety-nine percent sure the kid can’t talk. So the quiet voice that suddenly comes from it is enough to give him pause, for a moment.

“So you do talk,” he manages. “Wanna tell me what you are?”

The kid finally reaches him, puffing its cheeks out as it breathes heavily, looking exhausted. It probably is, with the pace Kai’s been driving them at.

He doesn’t feel a pang of guilt at that, he tells himself.

The kid blows a breath out. “Slow,” it says again, voice dull.

Kai snorts in spite of himself. “You are slow, huh.”

The kid glares at him. Kai shakes his head, then steps forward, scooping the kid up and settling it on his back, like he used to with Nya when she was younger. The kid goes rigid for a beat, then Kai feels tiny fingers digging into the grooves of his armor, clinging tightly.

“Don’t get used to this,” Kai warns, as he continues to make his way across the barren wasteland. “It’s a one-time thing.”

The kid says nothing, but Kai wasn’t expecting anything, either.

***********************************

Nya’s already made it back to Jay’s outpost by the time Kai and the kid reach it, and judging by her irritated posture, their ship probably has been scrapped. That or Jay’s said something incredibly stupid again, which wouldn’t be unusual, but Nya normally finds Jay’s stupid to be funny, as opposed to…whatever’s put her in a mood.

Kai, on the other hand, does not find it funny, like how Jay laughs for a full ten minutes when he catches sight of the kid. He’s more tempted to slug him in the jaw, or something, because that’s Kai’s approach to almost everything that annoys him.

“This?” Jay says between snickers, as he stares at the kid. “This is what’s been tearing the planet apart?”

The kid’s been shifted back to his hip by now, and it hides its face in Kai’s armor, shrinking away from Jay. Something in the gesture makes Kai’s chest feels weird, so he glares at Jay instead, before remembering that Jay can’t see it.

“Apparently,” Nya answers for him, her voice weary. “It’s not exactly our usual bounty.”

“I’ll say,” Jay snorts, laughter still in his voice. He tilts his head, studying the kid with his bright eyes. Kai lets him inch closer, reluctantly. Jay’s loud and obnoxious, but he’s also one of the cleverest people Kai and Nya know in their corner of the galaxy. Normally, he’s just their repair guy — no one knows ships like Jay, whether they’re in the sky or on the ground, and he hasn’t gained a reputation as an ace pilot for nothing.

Why he’s chosen to stake out here, with the other best mechanic on this side of the galaxy, is still a mystery to Kai, but he’s one of the closest things they have to a friend, and at the end of the day, Kai does trust him.

“Yeah, I got no idea what he is,” Jay finally says, stepping back and running an oil-stained hand through his auburn hair. His mouth quirks up. “Hey, maybe he’s a Sith. Y’know, with the eyes?”

“Like the wizard people?” Nya says, her voice twisting, as if she’s wrinkling her mouth.

Jay rolls his eyes. “Sure, the wizard people. Geez, this galaxy forgets everything—” he cuts off, as if feeling the gazes he’s getting from behind both helmets. “I’m joking. Sith eyes are yellow. I’d guess he’s a mixed human, if anything.”

“It’s worth a lot, that’s what’s important,” Kai grouses.

Jay blinks, staring at the kid again.

“You’re seriously delivering a kid as a bounty?” he finally asks. His voice is even, guarded, but Kai doesn’t have to look far to find the carefully censored judgement in his voice.

“Well, the Imps want ‘im, and you know how they are when they don’t get what they want,” Kai says, sharply.

Jay’s smile disappears. Nya’s helmet swivels toward him, and Kai bites his tongue, mentally cursing himself.

Jay might be the loudest chatterbox he’s met in the galaxy, so it’s easy to forget sometimes. It’s not easy to forget why they come to him so often, because again, no one knows ships like Jay and no one does repairs like Jay, but it’s easy to forget where he comes from.

But the scars are there, hidden behind the sleeves of the blue jacket he always wears, and if Kai looks hard enough, he might even be able to decipher the Imperial brand beneath the mess of scarring Jay’s made over it.

Jay might have made it out, but Imperial slavery isn’t something you just walk off. Especially not when it’s taken both your home planet and your parents.

Jay’s bright eyes shutter, darkening at the mention. Kai wants to kick himself. He wishes Zane were here, like he often is to help with repairs — he’s always better at talking to Zane. Probably because Zane is a whole lot quieter, and doesn’t try so hard to make him talk back.

He’s saved by the kid lifting its head, red eyes watching Jay with an undecipherable expression. Jay shifts, a bit uncomfortably, and Kai gets it. The kid’s eyes feel a bit like the ocean — there’s too much in that gaze, and if you look too deep, you’ll end up lost.

Or maybe Kai’s just being dramatic again. He’s been told he does that a lot.

So maybe he’s too busy being dramatic to miss what happens next, but the next thing he knows the kid has suddenly reached out and has one little hand on Jay’s arm, like it’s trying to comfort him. Or maybe it’s gotten fed up of the way Jay squints at it, and it’s finally decided to try and shut him up, but—

Nope, Jay’s eyes are going the kind of watery that mean the kid’s done something right.

He gives a ragged breath, patting the kid’s hand before pulling away. “Cute kid,” he says, flashing a brief smile. He shakes his head, and something like regret crosses his face before he speaks again. “Alright. Let’s get your ship back together, so you can get out of my hair already.”

***********************************

As it turns out, their ship has been scrapped by Jawas while they were gone after all — typical — and that’s why Zane’s been missing.

“I managed to track them until they stopped,” he says, brushing crusted sand from his hair as he dismounts the speeder. The kid eyes him curiously from behind Kai, where it’s taken to standing most of the time. Kai’s pretty sure that it likes Jay, and it definitely likes Nya, but for some reason it’s picked Kai to stick to like a barnacle.

Persistent little brat.

“Did you take care of them, then?” Kai asks, carefully maneuvering the kid out of his path with his boot as he re-shoulders his weapon.

Zane gives him a blisteringly dry look, and despite the helmet Kai feels his cheeks heat.

“If by that you mean, ‘did I murder them all’, then no, I did not take care of them,” Zane sighs. “I did, however, manage to bargain with them, if you’re up for the task.”

“We’re up for any task,” Kai says hotly. “It’d just be a lot easier if we—“

“Shut up and listened to Zane, who’s been very helpful,” Nya interrupts him. Kai’s helmet swivels to her incredulously, and Jay snorts. Kai finally crosses his arms, slumping down on one of the radiators with a scowl. He glances to the kid, who’s decided to settle on his left, his own arms crossed in imitation of Kai’s.

It’s almost enough to lift his mood.

“Can you believe this, kid,” he mutters instead. “Sold out by my own sister.”

“I didn’t sell you out,” Nya huffs. “I’m trying to get us our ship back. What’s the bargain, Zane?”

Zane purses his lips, suddenly looking a bit hesitant. “Well, that’s the difficult part,” he says. “You could pay them in credits—“

“Imperial?” Kai asks.

“New Republic,” Zane replies. Nya mutters a curse.

Kai exhales wearily. “And the other option?”

Zane winces. “There’s a Krayt Dragon egg,” he begins.

He doesn’t need to finish. Kai knows what that look on his face means, even if he knows little else about Zane.

While Kai and Nya know Jay’s past well enough, Zane’s is a mystery. Maybe it’s just because he’s quieter than Jay, and a lot less likely to blurt out his entire backstory after one glass of Corellian whiskey, but the most Kai’s ever been able to pick up about Zane’s past is that he doesn’t like talking about it. He was with the Rebel Alliance at some point, though he’s quiet about his experience in it, and it lead him to Jay, who he’s stuck with ever since. The two are formidable mechanics and crackshot pilots, and combined they’re solid allies to have on your side.

Except, of course, when they suggest tackling Krayt Dragons as means to win back their ship parts.

“No way,” Nya says. “Nuh-uh. We’d like to come out of this one alive, thanks.”

“Yeah, no offense, but that armor’s seen better days,” Jay says, looking pointedly at Kai. “I don’t think they’d be here to claim the ship parts after that, Zane.”

Kai’s common sense evaporates, as it tends to do when literally anyone underestimates him.

“Excuse me, we’re not the best bounty hunters on this side of the galaxy for nothing,” he snaps, glaring at Jay. “Armor or not. Some of us don’t need fancy tools to get the job done.”

Jay’s mouth screws up. “I literally make fancy tools for you to get the job done with on a weekly basis—“

“Zane,” Kai says, studiously ignoring Jay, who doesn’t know what he’s talking about at all, clearly. “Did they give you coordinates?”

Nya makes a muffled sound of agony, and the kid glances up at him curiously. The edge of Zane’s mouth tilts up, as if he’d known Kai would be on board from the very start.

“You won’t need them,” he says. “The sound will be enough.”

***********************************

The sound is enough. More than enough, in fact, Kai thinks, gritting his teeth as the Krayt Dragon’s screech reverberates through his helmet.

“Kai, get up!”

Nya’s screech of terror almost rivals it though, the panic in her voice triggering a rush of adrenaline in Kai’s battered body. He forces himself to roll just in time, the dragon’s sharp claws sinking into the sand where his head had been. Kai’s armor clanks as he moves, scrambling wildly to his feet, and he bites back a curse. It pains him to admit it — in more ways than one — but Jay was right. They’re going to need to put that Beskar steel right toward new armor, if they survive long enough to actually get their payment.

“Why won’t this thing go down!” Nya grunts, one of her curved knives flashing as the dragon’s tail sends it flying.

“Hit it with the flamethrower again!” Kai calls, fiddling with the controls on his own. He’s regretting having used his own flamethrower as much as he has — his fuel stores are dangerously low.

“Why is that your answer to everything!” Nya snaps, which may have less to do with irritation toward him than it does the dragon that just tried to eat her left leg. “It’s a dragon, this thing won’t burn, idiot!”

It hasn’t met me yet, Kai wants to bite back, but he’s forced to shut his mouth as his next shot goes ricocheting off the dragon’s skin, just before it bowls him over.

“Kai!”

Nya’s scream of visceral horror bounces around his battered brain as the dragon tries its best to trample him, Kai desperately flailing as he tries to stay alive. One of its legs hits his chest, and there’s an ominous crackling sound as he shrieks, fighting back tears of pain. Razor-sharp, dripping teeth flash in his vision, and Kai prepares to shut his eyes even as his brain kicks into overdrive.

He can’t die now, he can’t, he promised, Nya—

Then — relief, blessed relief as he can breathe again. Kai doesn’t dare to hope, but a beat passes. Then another, and another, and there’s no awful sensation of teeth tearing into him. Nya’s gone quiet. Kai frowns, then carefully lifts the arm he’s flung over his face, blinking.

He immediately wishes he’d kept his eyes shut, because that would make this whole thing much easier to explain.

Kai gapes open-mouthed at the Krayt Dragon where it flails mid-air, held hovering by some unseen force as it struggles. Nya’s dropped both her weapons, her arms swinging limply where she stares at the scene as well. Kai’s about to start questioning his sanity, when there’s a small grunting noise from beside him, and he turns.

Oh, that doesn’t help, either.

The kid’s got one arm outstretched toward the dragon, his eyes furrowed and his mouth all set and strained. His arm tremors, and the dragon wavers mid-air, before the kid catches himself, making a face and concentrating. The dragon’s limbs go stiff, as if held by invisible ropes, and it gives a screech of frustration, claws scratching uselessly at the air.

Kai begins questioning his sanity.

Maybe I am dead, he thinks, hazily.

“What,” Nya says, sounding utterly flabbergasted. “The hell.”

“He’s gotta be one of them,” she insists, after they’ve traded the Jawas their disgusting dragon egg for their ship parts. (They’ve left the dragon alive, if worse for wear, which was a lot more than it deserved, if you asked Kai.)

“Those — those wizard people Jay was talking about, y’know?” Nya continues eagerly. “I heard they were supposed to have crazy powers like that, mind stuff and levitation and — and he’s gotta be one of them.”

“What, a Jedi?” Kai scoffs, his eyes straying to kid where he’s slumped in his arms, solidly out for the count after the stunt he’d pulled. “Yeah, and I’m the prince of Naboo. The Jedi are dead, Nya.”

“No, they aren’t,” she says stubbornly, and Kai can imagine her lip sticking out. “There’s that Rebellion hero, the pilot? He’s a Jedi.”

“That’s a legend they made up to get people to join, Nya.”

“Then how do you explain him?” Nya finally says, throwing her arms out and gesturing. The kid’s eyes drag open blearily, and he stares at her in sleepy confusion. Nya’s arms immediately drop, and she lowers her voice.

“How do you explain what he did back there,” she says, less aggressively this time. “Because you can’t write that off as a legend.”

“I don’t know,” Kai says, for what feels like the hundredth time, and it grates at him. He doesn’t like not knowing things, but this is…beyond the comprehension he’s ever expected to need. “It explains why he’s worth so much, though.”

“I’ll say,” Nya mutters. “It’s ‘cause he’s a Jedi.”

“He’s Jedi bounty then,” Kai says flatly, as they finally reach their ship, still anchored near Jay’s outpost. “The important thing is, we got our parts back. Now let’s get them on.”

“You’re hopeless,” Nya huffs, but she complies, dropping her weapons and grabbing for a welding torch. “I’ll get started, you — no, you sit here with the kid.” She shoves at him, pushing him away from the parts and down onto an open patch of sand. “Jay’ll be out in a bit, and he can help me. You need to rest those ribs.”

“I’m fine,” he protests, but his ribs twinge as he sits, and the kid’s weight hasn’t been helping things. Nya’s helmet gleams in the moonlight as she tilts her head, and Kai can feel her judgement.

“I’m sitting,” he grumbles.

“Good,” Nya says, and he doesn’t miss the flicker of relief in her voice. “Keep the kid safe.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kai sighs, shifting the kid from his arms and setting him down next to him. He gives a breath of laughter, muttering, “Maybe he’ll keep me safe."

The kid doesn’t pipe up, pulling his legs up to his chest as he wraps his arms around them, yawning instead. Kai shakes his head, his eyes drifting to where Nya works on the ship, then back to the kid again. He thinks of the way the kid had held the Krayt Dragon earlier, of the power that might lie in that tiny frame.

“Well, you might not be a Jedi, but  you’re definitely something, short stuff,” Kai sighs, wincing as his shoulder twinges again. He’s not likely to forget how vicious Krayt Dragons can be anytime soon, that’s for—

“Lloyd.”

The kid’s voice is so quiet, Kai almost misses it. He blinks, then turns to the kid.

“What?”

The kid shuffles, then jabs his thumb at his own chest. “Lloyd,” he repeats, firmly. “Name. That’s mine.”

It is, quite possibly, the most Kai has heard the kid say at one time. It’s also surprising, for some reason, that he’s got a name, though it shouldn’t be.

“Lloyd,” he says, running the name over his tongue. It doesn’t sound like a name from anywhere around here. “Where’s that from?”

The kid stares at him, then looks away, one of his shoulders jerking up in a half-shrug much like Kai does.

“Don’t know,” he says, and Kai barely catches the sad little thread of emotion in his voice.

Barely, but it’s there.

Kai bites his lip, grateful, as always, that his expression is hidden from the world. It makes his next gesture much easier to write off as casual — simply draping his cloak over the kid’s shoulders to ward off the cold of the desert night. Nothing more.

The kid’s fingers wrap tightly around the tattered cloak edges, pulling it close, and something in his expression softens. Kai feels unreasonably satisfied with himself.

He’s really not a bad kid, for an unreasonably high-priced bounty, Kai thinks to himself.

And yes, he’s fully aware that he’s switched from it to him, and he knows that this is more than likely going to end in pain, but hey. The kid pretty much just took down a Krayt Dragon to single-handedly to save him.

It’s the least he can give him.

Besides, it’s not like he’s about to start using his name.

***********************************

They get their ship repairs finished in record time. Nya argues that Jay and Zane get their ship repairs done in record time, along with Nya’s help, and Kai had zero contribution whatsoever — but Kai reminds her that he was the one to get trampled by a Krayt Dragon for this, so he’s put in more than his fair share of work, thank you very much.

“All you did was lie there,” Nya huffs, as they rocket through hyperspace. “The kid did more work than you.”

Normally Kai would have a snappy retort to give back, but Nya’s voice sounds dangerously…well, dangerous. There’s been a heavy cloud of gloom hanging over her since they waved goodbye to Jay and Zane, more so than there usually is. And, as much as Kai knows part of it is probably from having to leave Jay behind again, he’s not dumb enough to realize that a lot of Nya’s bad mood has to do with their destination.

It’s not like he’s thrilled about it himself.

He lets her words linger instead, the two of them falling into silence where they sit, pilot and co-pilot as always in their ship. There’s an ongoing argument over who fills what role, but Nya’s in a bad enough mood to let Kai take the lead for today, at least.

It’s a hollow victory. Flying with Nya is one of the few things about this job he enjoys, the two of them racing through the galaxy, untethered by anyone or anything. Set upon by the heavy silence as they are now, though, it’s more depressing than anything.

There’s a quiet rustling, and a mop of bright blond hair pops up at Kai’s side, the kid going up on tip-toes as he strains to peer over the ship controls. His mouth falls open as he catches sight of the blurring blue lights of hyperspace, the streaming lines reflecting in his wide eyes. Nya’s helmet doesn’t move, but Kai knows her eyes are on the kid. He turns his head, letting the kid know his are, as well.

“Never seen space before?” he asks, keeping his tone even.

The kid shakes his head, the lights shifting in his eyes as he does. “Don’t remember,” he murmurs, sounding awestruck.

Kai swallows uncomfortably. The kid looks dazzled, more emotive than he’s been since Kai carried him out from that compound. There’s a sinking part of him that’s trying to figure out what the kid’s gonna look like when Kai hands him over for the bounty, and he needs to go ahead and smother that.

He’ll find out soon enough, anyways.

The kid suddenly moves, a skinny arm reaching out across the controls, and—

“Hey, I need that!” Kai exclaims, as the kid steps back, the ball-like knob from the center stick he’d snatched grasped firmly in his hands. The kid dodges his grasp, prize held tightly to his chest, and Nya gives a muffled snort of laughter.

Kai takes a breath. “Kid—“

The kid ignores him, stepping back to the spare seat he’s been huddled in. He turns the knob over in his hands, eyes curious, before shifting so he’s sitting cross-legged. He then cups his hands around the knob, leaving the little ball to hover mid-air, suspended.

Kai wants to run a hand through his hair. Or hit his head against the flight controls. He does neither, groaning quietly instead.

“We’ve picked up a mutant freak.”

“Be nice,” Nya warns, her helmet still fixed toward the kid. “He might turn his wizard powers on you, next.”

“They’re not called wizards, Nya, they’re called Jedi, and he isn’t one.“

“Maybe he’s a Sith, then.”

“Sith eyes are yellow, Jay said so, his are clearly red.”

“Maybe Jay was wrong, then.”

“Maybe Jay was wrong?” Kai repeats, incredulous. “Glad you’re finally seeing sense, but that’s a new one.”

“Shut up,” Nya mutters, and Kai can clearly picture the dark stain that’s spreading across her cheeks. “He knows more than you do, you — you nerf-herder.”

“Nerf-herder?!” Kai swivels in his chair, pointing a finger toward her. “You watch your mouth, you under-grown womp rat—“

“I will curse you out in Huttese—“

The tiniest of sounds cuts through their argument, soft and light. Kai blinks rapidly, turning as Nya does to stare at the kid, who’s exhaling on the end of a giggle, hand over his mouth and his eyes bright. The smile fades at their attention, and he ducks his head — but there’s still that edge of happiness in his expression, the slight turn at the corners of his mouth.

“…he laughed at us,” Nya says, blankly.

“Well,” Kai says, willing his voice to sound light and failing completely. “We’re funny people.”

Nya says nothing in reply, but Kai can feel her stare on him through his helmet. The kid makes a quiet humming noise, turning the little knob over in his hands again. Kai sets his jaw, then snatches the knob away from the kid.

“S’not a toy,” he says at the kid’s wounded expression, twisting the knob back in place. He doesn’t look pleased with this answer, but the kid doesn’t put up an argument either, sinking back in his seat and pulling his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them as he stares out at the streaking stars.

Nya’s helmet swivels from him to the kid, then back again. “Kai—”

“Don’t,” he warns. “Don’t, Nya. This is how we get in trouble.”

She makes a quiet sound of frustration. “This is different. We’ve never…”

Kai blows his breath out, long and slow. “I know. I know, but Nya, we took the job.”

Nya’s hands tighten on the controls. “Screw the job.”

Kai jerks his head toward her, wishing for once that she could see his expression. “Not with this client. They’re Imperials, they’re too dangerous.”

“They’re Imperials,” Nya repeats, emphatically. “That should make it worth the danger.”

Kai presses his lips together, but he doesn’t argue back. He knows, he knows. He knows why Nya wants to abandon the job right now, because he does too. The very idea of handing their kid over to the client is making his stomach turn.

And yeah, he has zero love for Imperials. He has love for blasting them, maybe, but that’s as far as it goes, and he wouldn’t lose any sleep over going back on a job for them.

But then they’d lose the job. They’d lose their payment, they’d lose their place in the Guild, probably, and they’d walk out with a price on their heads and hunters coming after them.

It’s not worth it. Kai feels for the kid, he really does, but Nya comes first.

She can argue all she wants, but they both know it’s Kai’s call that will win out in the end.

***********************************

They land back at the Guild only a few days after they’d left it, but it feels like years have passed to Kai. Nothing’s changed, the dirt-lined streets still filled with the same eyes, but now those eyes are turned toward the small straggler clutching the end of Kai’s cloak where he hides between Kai and Nya’s steps.

Nya steps closer to the kid, her hand holding his tightly on instinct, something protective in her stance. Kai fights the growing feeling of nausea in his gut as he leads the way, hoping his helmet conveys enough intimidation to keep any lingering Guild members from trying to snatch their bounty last-minute. They’ve come this far, and it’d be a shame to end the job with a firefight in the middle of the street.

Or maybe he just wants to stretch out the last bits of protection he can give the kid as long as he can, before he hands him off for who knows what.

Kai’s eyes stray to his side against his will, watching the way the kid takes in the town with wide, curious eyes. There’s still a marked tinge of fear in them, that Kai is beginning to doubt will ever leave, but he looks…less terrified. More trusting.

Trusting of them, and if that doesn’t scrub salt in a wound.

Nobody attacks them, and Kai finds himself almost disappointed. All too quickly, they’re retracing a familiar path to their client, and Kai can spot all the hidden cameras this time. The steps toward the hidden compound feel heavy, like his boots have turned to lead. Nya is silent where she walks beside him, the kid’s hand gripping her gloved fingers tightly. It’s the weighted kind of silence, the kind that means she’s upset.

Kai isn’t feeling ecstatic himself, but they took a job.

They’re Mandalorian. They finish the job.

This is the way.

The doors slide open with little prompting this time, and the kid shrinks behind Nya as the white-armored troopers threaten to crowd closer. Kai’s fingers twitch toward his weapon, and they edge off. They don’t leave his back though, following them through the compound, and the eyes on his back burn.

They finally reach the client and his hollow eyes, seated in his dim room as if he hasn’t moved since they left. His face stretches into a leering sort of smirk as his eyes land on the kid, and something gleams to life in his dead eyes. It’s a hungry look, one that makes Kai’s stomach twist and turn, his heart sinking further.

“Well done,” the client rasps, his voice thick with satisfaction. “Well done indeed."

He pulls their payment from below his desk, the Beskar steel glinting in the dim light. The brief thrill Kai feels at the amount is stifled as their client nods his head at the stormtroopers once, then to the kid. They step toward them, clanking steps echoing heavily, and Nya goes stiff. For a minute, Kai fears she’s going to make a scene. That she won’t let them get any closer, that she’s about to shove the kid behind her and run.

For a half-second, Kai fears he might do the same.

They don’t move. Years of bounty hunting don’t allow for that weakness.

The troopers take the kid, handing him off to a dark-haired scientist. For his part, the kid barely struggles, a myriad of expressions crossing his face before his head droops, something like resignation in his eyes.

From behind her helmet, Kai thinks he hears Nya swallow.

“Your payment, as promised.”

Kai takes it automatically, the steel heavier in his hands than he’d thought it be. He doesn’t like it as much as he thought he would.

“The kid,” he says, his mouth running before he can stop it. “What’s going to happen to him?”

Nya’s helmet swivels sharply toward him, and Kai ignores her. The client raises a single eyebrow, and the gleam in his eyes gains a cold edge.

“I didn’t know it was customary for your kind to ask after their bounty,” he says, carefully.

Kai doesn’t reply. The client raises his head, as if to stare at Kai down the end of his nose.

“What I do with the child is my business,” he says, his voice flat. “I suggest you return to your own.”

The stormtroopers around them adjust their hold on their weapons, just enough to be threatening, and Kai knows this conversation is over. He nods sharply, pushing away from his seat and taking the rest of the steel as he stands. Nya follows after a beat, her posture stiff and brittle.

The troopers part to let them leave, though Kai can feel the stares burning into his back as he goes. He doesn’t care — their business here is done. They have no reason to bother Kai or Nya anymore.

But Kai is a stupid, stupid moron, and he does turn back, once, before they leave the compound.

The kid’s eyes burn into his, hollow and heartbroken, and Kai struggles to breathe behind his helmet.

This is the way, he repeats in his head. He keeps telling himself that until his feet obey him again.

***********************************

Nya says nothing as they make their way back, her silence icy and biting. Her fingers flex over her weapons as she stomps up the ramp of the ship, but she stares resolutely ahead, heading straight for the cockpit. Kai follows after her slowly, dragging himself slowly through the ship and up the ladder. Everything feels heavy. Their new armor, freshly crafted by Mystaké from the steel, is beautiful. Stronger and sturdier than anything they’ve worn before, and they look more Mandalorian than they ever have.

Kai tries to find joy in that, but he can’t. The pauldrons weigh too heavily on his shoulders, and all he feels is tired. Bone-dry and wrung out, like he’s spent everything he’s had on this mission. Numb.

He swallows as he takes a seat next to Nya, then bites back a curse. No, he doesn’t feel numb — and that’s the problem.

Firing up the ship is second-nature by now, and he doesn’t need Nya’s help the bring the engines to life. He can pilot them out of the atmosphere just fine by himself, get them as far away from this stupid planet as possible. Maybe they can go to Naboo, or Felucia, or anywhere that’s not a cursed desert planet. Just as long as it’s far enough away from prying eyes that they can finish their next job in peace, without his insides tearing themselves to pieces like—

Kai goes still, the engine puttering. Nya’s head turns the slightest bit toward him at the hesitation. He should’ve taken off minutes ago, the ship’s ready, but Kai’s fingers just…freeze, right over the knob on the center stick.

He swallows again, and it sticks in his throat this time. Something inside him is burning, twisting and dying with every movement. His arms feel leaden where he’s left them, frozen stiffly over the little ball, and for a second he can’t breathe again.

Those eyes. The kid’s eyes.

Kai wants to curse. His helmet is too hot, tight and constricting. They should leave. They should leave now, with their armor gleaming and their record clean, Nya safe and their ship intact, they should leave.

But that will mean leaving Lloyd behind, in the clutches of the Imperials.

Kai is not a force-sensitive. He can’t be, because he doesn’t put stock in the Force. But he can imagine, if he did, that their fabled visions feel much like the scene he sees flash before his eyes now. The kid and his gentle eyes, his burning eyes, torn apart and broken by the Imperials like every other thing they touch.

Lloyd.

Kai’s fist squeezes closed, gloved fingers biting into his palms. He shouldn’t. He shouldn’t, he can’t, if he does he’s going to ruin everything. He’s going to wreck everything they’ve built to pieces and he’s going to put him and Nya in more danger than they’ve ever been in, hands down. They’ve got their payment, they’ve done their job, they’re legendary now. It would be stupid, it would be so, so stupid.

Unfortunately, stupid has always been one of Kai’s stronger points.

Kai swears out loud this time, and Nya jumps. Aw, to heck with it. What good is being rich if he can’t live with himself, anyways.

He kicks himself up from the seat, muttering under his breath. Nya snaps up beside him, looking to him as if she’s holding her breathe.

“Stock up on the good weapons,” Kai grumbles, already shouldering his heaviest blaster. “An Imperial compound’s gonna be tougher to break into than we’re used to.”

Nya lets out a loud, shaky breath of relief. Kai can’t see her expression, but he doesn’t need much to know that she’s beaming behind her helmet.

“I knew it,” she says, and the smile’s in her voice. “I knew you couldn’t do it.”

“Oh, shut up,” Kai mutters. “I’m not heartless.”

“No,” Nya says, with entirely too much fondness in her voice for someone who’s pocketing miniature missiles. “You’re just a good person.”

Kai frowns, jabbing a finger in her face as he shuts the ship down. “That was uncalled for,” he says. “Watch who you slander.”

Nya huffs a laugh, sliding the now nearly-empty weapons cabinet closed as she follows behind him. They cut a quick pace, and it takes every fiber of Kai’s being not to break into a dead sprint as they retrace their earlier path.

We’re coming, you stupid kid, he thinks fiercely. We’re coming back, so you better not have given up, because we’re about to fight a battalion of Imperials for you—

Well. There weren’t that many stormtroopers in the compound, Kai assures himself, as they turn another corner, followed once again by too many eyes. It shouldn’t be that bad.

***********************************

It’s bad.

Kai should never make assurances to himself, ever. Or promises, at that, because he sucks at keeping them. Heck, he can’t even keep to a job, since he’s pretty sure burning down half the house of his employer goes against a couple of rules.

But still. It might not be that bad, but it’s definitely bad.

“—backup, we need backup, it’s the Mandalorians, you fool—“

The unfortunate trooper’s call for help is cut off abruptly as Kai’s laser blast catches him in the helmet, sending him slumping to the floor. Kai gets only a moment of victory before another smattering of blaster fire sends him to the floor, scrambling for cover.

“Left door!” Nya hollers at him, her durasteel blade whistling as she catches a trooper in the ribs. “Three — no, four more!”

Kai nods sharply, shifting his blaster aside as he reaches for his wrist instead. Taking a quick breath, and shoots up from behind the table he’d been hiding behind, flicking the panel on his wrist as he faces down the newcomers.

The room flares bright as a blast of superheated flames erupts from Kai’s wrist, sending the troopers screaming. He spins in place, setting the room ablaze along with any remaining enemies. A gleeful sort of expression twists his lips as the fire grows, the heat feeding directly into the adrenaline coursing through him.

Take that, you dirty Imperials—

“Kai!” Nya’s shriek cuts through his haze of pyromania, jerking him back to the present, which is apparently him burning the entire room down. “Would you stop with the flamethrower already!” Nya howls at him, from where she’s had to duck behind a stack of crates to avoid incineration. Kai almost scoffs. As if he’d ever hit Nya on accident.

…he should probably watch it with the flames, though. Maybe a bit. Nya’s cape looks like it’s smoldering at the edges.

“Sorry, sorry,” he hisses, switching the flamethrower off and batting at the edge of his sleeve, which is also smoldering from the heat.

“Get it together,” Nya snaps, darting out from the crates and plastering herself against the doorway, glancing around the corner. “We gotta find Lloyd before they try anything.”

Right. The remind of why they’re here sinks in Kai’s stomach like ice, and he shakes his head, following behind Nya as they race through the compound. So far, they’ve had the element of surprise on their side — no one’s expected them to come back after having been paid, that’s for sure. But their client’s quick on the uptake, Kai will give him that. He can already hear the sound of clanking footsteps down the hall over the blaring of alarms, which means their time window is shrinking by the second.

“Come on, come on,” Nya hisses, the tracker in her hand beeping quicker the further into the compound they get. They round a corner stained with blood and Kai feels sick, picking up the pace as the tracker starts wailing, signaling that they’re close.

“Here, he’s in here!” Nya yelps, kicking savagely at the sealed blast door. “Kai, the door—“

Kai doesn’t need to be told twice, already aiming his blaster at the lock. “Get back,” he warns — then the blaster flashes, and the lock explodes into pieces, the door sliding open.

Nya makes it in the room first, her hand waving frantically as if to clear the smoke crowing around them. Kai is immediately after, and he’s the first to spot the droid, gunning it down without hesitation. His eyes dart around the room, landing on the cowering scientist in the corner, the two stormtroopers scrambling to their feet, the blinking machines, and—

There.

There’s a figure strapped to the table, too small to be a trooper, a shock of blond hair—

Kai’s blaster is flashing before he can even think, and the two stormtroopers drop, dead on impact. He leaves the doctor alive, just in case, because he doesn’t know what they wanted with Lloyd and if they’ve hurt him—

“Kid, kid, wake up, come on,” he breathes, snapping through the restraints with his blade. He’s vaguely aware of Nya securing the scientist, her blade leveled at him and her eyes glued on Lloyd. The kid’s eyes are closed, and there are dried tracks on his cheeks that used to be wet that Kai will hate himself for later — but he shifts as Kai finally tears the last of the straps free, his brow furrowing as he brings his hand up to scrub at his eyes as they flutter open.

The kid blinks, wide red eyes focusing on his helmet, and his mouth falls open.

“Kai?” he whispers.

Kai’s chest constricts, because he knows he never told the kid his name, but he’s learned it anyways.

“Hey,” he says, weakly, because he’s bad with this, he’s bad at caring for other people, and admitting it might feel like it’ll kill him but leaving behind Lloyd almost had—

The kid freezes, his expression spasming, before he throws himself at Kai—

And squarely punches him in the chest.

“Oof — hey, kid, stop — kid — Lloyd—“

Kai grabs at the kid’s struggling hands in vain. Lloyd just tugs free and hits him in the shoulder, harder this time, tiny fists battering against his thick armor.

“You left me behind,” the kid gets out, his voice cracking in all the worst places, angry and hurt. It’s the longest sentence Kai’s heard him speak, and it makes him want to throw up. “You left me.”

“I know, I know,” he babbles frantically, alarmed at this turn of events. This isn’t — he’s bad at this—

He gives Nya a look, his shoulders jerking helplessly. Her helmet inclines dangerously, and Kai turns back to the kid.

To heck with it.

Lloyd goes in for another swing, and Kai catches his wrist this time and pulls it, trapping the kid to his chest and wrapping his arms around him, holding tight. He struggles briefly, but Kai can feel him weakening, the fight draining.

“I’m sorry,” Kai murmurs. “I’m sorry, Lloyd. I won’t. Ever again. I promise.”

It’s one he’ll keep, he swears to himself, slotting the promise right next to the one he made to Nya long ago.

And maybe Lloyd senses that too, with whatever freaky powers he has or not, because he finally goes limp, the fight leaving him completely as he clings back, sniffling.

The kid’s voice is raw and scratchy, but there’s a fierceness to it that makes Kai wonder if he wouldn’t have been able to get himself out eventually on his own. “Never again.”

“Never again,” Kai echoes.

“And you call me sentimental,” Nya mutters, but he can hear the smile in her words.

***********************************

They don’t kill the scientist, in the end. It grates a bit, but he really didn’t hurt Lloyd — kept him alive, actually, if his word is anything to go by — and now they’ve got the word of an ex-Imperial scientist that he’ll help them out once he’s in a better position to do so, as long as they can remember the name Borg, or whatever.

Kai hopes Nya listened to him, because he’s too busy trying not to dissolve into panic at the increasing amount of hostiles showing up on his sensors.

There are few troopers left in the compound to stop them on their way out, but they put up a fight. Kai feels a flicker of apprehension that they’ve yet to see their client again, but he shrugs it off as the doors come back into view, the dimming evening sky clear outside. They break out of the compound at a dead sprint, Lloyd tucked into the crook of his arm and Nya at his side — only to immediately skid to a stop. Kai swears.

He’s forgotten the sheer amount of bounty hunters that also wanted in on the kid, and are probably more than happy to get another chance. Apparently, they’re all here to claim it at once. Fantastic.

Nya’s the first to move, turning to the figure standing a the front of the pack, his eyepatch glinting in the dying sunlight.

“Ronin,” Nya says, weakly. “Please.”

Ronin almost looks regretful, something at the corners of his mouth creasing at Nya’s plea.

“Kid,” he says, heavily. “You know I can’t. There’s cutting you slack, then there’s this.”

Nya sucks in a breath, her eyes doubtlessly landing on the dozens of blasters trained on them. Lloyd remains deadly silent in his arms, but Kai can feel the fear radiating off of him in waves. He tightens his hold on him, hoping it’s reassurance.

For himself, somewhat, too.

Nya’s helmet swivels from Ronin to Kai, then back to Ronin. Kai holds his breath. If anyone can change Ronin’s mind, it’s Nya.

Ronin’s expression twists in pain. “Look, just hand the kid over,” he says, and it sounds like he’s the one pleading now. “Just give the kid back and I’ll sort the whole thing out, okay? I can swing it, I can clear you both. All you gotta do is hand the kid back, and you’ll be fine.”

Lloyd shudders in his hold, and Kai pulls him tighter to his chest, his stance defensive.

“You know we can’t,” Nya murmurs.

There’s another flash of pain across Ronin’s expression, before he steels it. “I’ll miss you,” he says, his voice void of emotion. “But there’s always someone else to take your place.”

The sound of the safety clicking off blasters echoes across the street, and Kai’s hand strays to his gauntlet, ready to unleash the flames once more. He’ll get the kid behind him, shove him off to Nya before telling her to run, and maybe — if he can cause enough of a fight — the two can get out of here. He’ll be breaking his promise, but at least Nya and Lloyd will have a chance.

That’s enough for him, he tells himself, fingers millimeters from unleashing the flames. That’s enou—

A bounty hunter to his left lets out a sharp cry, before dropping to the ground. Kai’s head jerks toward him, before there’s another scream, another hunter dropping.

And that’s all the warning they get before the street explodes into utter chaos, missiles streaking back and forth and the roar of jetpacks mixing with the screams. Kai throws himself into Nya, twisting last-minute so he’s covering them both, and hurls them toward an alleyway just as the street they were on explodes.

His vision goes hazy, ears ringing as the world spins sideways. This would be a nice time to take a nap, he thinks dizzily.

There’s a gentle touch at his shoulder, and he’s jostled as someone shakes him.

“Kai. Kai, get up.”

He blinks his eyes open at the kid’s frightened voice, and is met with a pair of red eyes staring down at him in open terror. The terror melts into relief as Kai groans, slowly pushing himself up.

“Okay?” the kid asks, insistently, as if the utter carnage exploding on the street next to them isn’t even happening.

“M’fine,” Kai moans, reaching for his weapon as he reorients himself. “What’s — where’s Nya—“

His eyes catch on her, and his heart almost stops.

Nya’s moving, pushing herself up with a light moan, her forehead creased as she scrubs a hand across her face, dark hair falling in messy tangles around her head. Lloyd stares at her, his eyes wide, and reaches a careful hand to touch her hair.

“You do have a face,” he whispers.

Nya blink rapidly, looking at Lloyd, then up to Kai. And oh, his heart squeezes something painful at her eyes — it’s so rare he gets to see them — but he quickly reaches for her helmet, handing it to her.

Nya stares at it, then swears violently as a blast erupts just to their left.

“You saw nothing!” she yelps, pointing at the kid and jamming her helmet back on, fumbling once in panic. There’s a note of fear in her voice, because they technically have sworn an oath, not to let any living thing see their face—

But who’s the kid gonna tell, anyways.

Besides, they’ve got much bigger problems, like the entire Mandalorian faction on the planet going to war with the bounty hunter’s Guild for them in the street nearby. Mystaké’s risking everything for them right now, so Kai quickly decides that they had better make the best of it.

***********************************

“Well, I guess we’re fired now.”

Nya lets out a wheezing laugh at his dry statement, the sound echoing across the ship as they speed through hyperspace, putting as much distance between themselves and any bounty hunters as they can. Mystaké beamed them one last transmission before they’d taken off, assuring them that no, the other Mandalorians stepping up to save their skins last-minute was not a mistake, but that they had better clear off for a while before they tried to contact her again.

Which was just fine by Kai. He wasn’t too eager to get his head blasted off by a bitter bounty hunter anytime soon.

“I mean, technically, he didn’t really fire us,” Nya argues, slumping into the co-pilot’s seat beside him. “He just fired at us.”

“Yeah, that’s practically a goodbye hug by Ronin’s standards,” Kai says, and Nya snorts.

Lloyd looks between them both where he’s seated behind them, Kai’s cloak pulled tightly around his shoulders. “Weird,” he mutters, shaking his head. Kai blinks, and Nya stifles a giggle.

“You should talk, you could write the book on being weird,” Kai scoffs. He eyes the kid in concern, looking him up and down. “And hey, you should catch some rest. S’probably been a rough time for you, with all the, uh….stuff.” Kai cringes as he trails off, feeling Nya’s glare on him.

Lloyd purses his lips, then shakes his head silently. Kai narrows his eyes at him.

“Alright, kid, nice try, but I know you can speak full sentences,” he says. “We’re gonna prioritize communication here, okay? First rule on board, you gotta talk to us.”

“Kai,” Nya sighs.

“What?” He says, throwing his hands up. “We’re stuck together now, kid’s gotta go with the flow.”

Nya’s helmet twitches, as if she’s rolling her eyes at him, which she definitely is. “You don’t have to talk unless you’re okay with it, Lloyd,” she says gently, turning to the kid. “You’re safe here, we promise.”

Lloyd stares at her, the edge of his mouth quirking up in something that’s not quite a smile, but something trusting.

“And part of being safe is not dropping dead in exhaustion, so rest,” Kai orders, firmly.

Lloyd meets his stare dead on, then the edge of his mouth curves down, making a face that looks dangerously stubborn.

“Next planet,” he says. “Then rest.”

Oh, for—

“This is your fault,” Kai hisses at Nya, as she smothers a laugh. “We have a kid now, do you realize that? We just adopted a freaky wizard kid, we have to raise him now, we’re not even adults—“

Nya leans back in her seat, giving up and laughing freely. “Whatever,” she says, scuffing the kid’s hair. “I always wanted a younger sibling to gang up with you on. How about the next two planets, then rest?”

Kai sputters as Lloyd beams, realizing his critical mistake too late. He finally gives up, sinking back in his seat and sulking.

“Ungrateful brats,” he mutters. “You rescue one kid, and this is the thanks you get.”

He will admit though, to himself at least, that it’s rather difficult to keep sulking when Lloyd’s soft laughter fills the cockpit. And yeah, the kid’s definitely going to crash after passing one planet, but it’s been a pretty exciting day, Kai figures, tossing the knob from the center stick at the kid, unable to stop the grin tugging at his mouth at the expression of delight on Lloyd’s face.

He can let them have their fun for now. They’ve earned it.

Besides, he can always rub it in their faces tomorrow, when every other bounty hunter in the galaxy is after them.

[tornadoofcreation]

Lloyd Heacanons Pt. 2

~I don’t think there’s anything too bad in here, but trigger warning for slight mentions of anxiety~

These also got really long, oops sorry

* He gets stomachaches and headaches when he’s stressed.

* He gets very, very upset with himself when he fails in a mission and makes a mistake.

* He has a bad habit of skipping meals and sometimes goes a full day without having a single proper meal

* Despite this, he’s not picky at all when it comes to food. Maybe it’s because he lived on the streets for a while and took what he could get or maybe it’s just because he’s Lloyd, but he will eat literally anything. Ketchup and bananas? Sure. Peanut butter and cheese sandwich? Sure. Everyone, save Cole, is high key disgusted by it

* He also loves pineapple on pizza, much to Kai and Zane’s disdain

* When Zane died, Lloyd blamed himself because if he had just been a bit stronger and better, maybe when he had defeated the overlord, he would’ve stayed dead.

* Because of this, he started obsessively training and completely neglecting his human needs. It got to the point where Garmadon would literally sit on the edge of Lloyd’s bed all night to make sure he actually slept and didn’t wake up at some ungodly hour to train

* Okay that got a bit too angsty for me, so, Lloyd’s favorite color is yellow and he likes wearing pastels. He owns a lot of light greens, blues and yellows

* He also loves doodling on his jeans and shoes. His jeans are almost all ripped up and covered in sharpie doodles. He has one pair of white converse that he uses as a canvas

* He loves strawberry marshmallows and strawberry milk. Obviously, his favorite ice cream is strawberry

* He talks to himself a lot

* He visits the Ninjago orphanage a lot, just to talk to the kids, and make friends with them. When he turns 18, though, he’s planning on adopting all of them. Every. Last. One.

* He chews on his sleeves when he’s stressed

* He also bites his nails until they bleed. To get him out of the habit, the other ninja (mostly Kai) put bandaids on all of his fingers so he can’t access his nails

* He was once so tired in a press conference that he said “hi, I’m Energy, master of Lloyd” and it’s become a Ninjago-wide meme

* He loves lizards. They’re so cute and have the sweetest faces. He also likes frogs.

* He also really likes sharks

* Because of his dragon side, he’s sort of cold blooded. It’s not full, but if it’s very cold outside, Lloyd needs to keep extra warm to regulate his body temperature and maintain homeostasis

* He has these horrible side effects of getting possessed where he’ll get really dizzy, pass out, start shivering uncontrollably, get pain flashes or start vomiting blood. The effects just randomly show up and it’s very scary for Lloyd and everyone around him when it happens. (Not my personal headcanons, based of an ask that @lindsey-chr-not-found received (sorry for tagging I just wanted to give credit))

* He had to get his passport illegally meddled with because his birthdate looked very suspicious

* After the whole possession fiasco, Lloyd always kisses his mom before every mission, because when he was possessed by Morro, Lloyd feared for his life and all he could think was that he was going to die here, and the last thing he did was refuse to kiss his mom goodbye

* He’s prone to panic attacks

* He always keeps some type of fidget with him. When he has to give public speeches, he likes to play with it to make him feel more comfortable

* The ninja eventually got him a spinny fidget ring that he wears all the time. It helps him so much

* This is more of a garmadon HC, but he knows that Lloyd tends to bottle up his own fears and pain to be strong for others. Because of this, garmadon makes sure to ask Lloyd how he’s feeling every single night, just to encourage Lloyd to open up and give room for him to talk if somethings wrong

* Lloyd goes on runs a lot. He likes to clear his mind and take a moment to breathe

* He likes listening to others talk. He’s not great with social interactions and people. He prefers to listen than to talk

* However, he really has a way with words, and the fact that he’s a pretty quiet person makes the words that he does say very impactful

* He need glasses, but he doesn’t like wearing them. he usually only wears them when he’s around the house or needs to read. He wears them during interviews, because it’s really embarrassing when he spends like 5 whole minutes squinting trying to read the question

* Wearing them makes him look so much older though

* After season 9, he started growing his hair out more and changing small things about his appearing because after everything that just happened, he hates when he looks in the mirror and sees an almost carbon copy of his father

* Lloyd got highlights in his hair because the most apparent difference between him and his father is that Lloyd’s hair is lighter, so he went and got highlights to exaggerate that differences

* As a side effect of the whole “master of energy” thing, Lloyd’s powers can leave him drained of energy very easily. After the whole ‘losing powers’ situation is s9, his powers seem to be different and he’s prone to fainting when he overuses them. Wu told him that he needs to be very careful because if he’s in a situation like he was in season 8, when he fought garmadon, it could sap his energy completely and leave him in a coma.

* He likes putting colorful bandaids on his injuries

* Speaking of injuries, he has a scar right above his heart from the battle with garmadon in true potential. He absolutely hates the scar.

* He is victim to all kinds of nicknames about his hair. The ninja are very creative when it comes to these nicknames, but their favorites are “blondie,” “Rapunzal,” And “Goldilocks”

* Jay and Lloyd like to enthusiastically re-enact starfarer scenes for the others. It started when the power was out, so jay and Lloyd decided to entertain everyone else by performing the entire starfarer movie. After that, it kinda became a thing.

* Little Lloyd used to make blanket forts on the bounty when he was sad, so now all the ninjas, after a particularly difficult battle, will make a blanket fort and just enjoy each other’s company,

* Sometimes they’ll sit in the fort and make up stupid games, or they’ll play video games, or they’ll talk, but sometimes, they just sit in silence and drink in the fact that all of them are okay, and they’re all alive.

* His favorite partners for missions are either Kai, Nya or Cole. Kai and Nya because they’re his siblings and they know each other’s fighting style and where they need to cover each other. (Kai And Nya always cover Lloyd’s left side, bc his left leg still is weak from the time he broke it in season 2). He likes working with Cole as well, because Lloyd has a tendency to panic and overthink, and Cole is so grounded and chill and his strategies are simple and practical.

* He struggles a lot with finding his worth when he is not the green ninja. Lloyd struggles with the fact that his friends only care about him because of his important title and everything.

* That was something his father helped him with a lot. Finding Lloyd’s strengths and all the things that make Lloyd wonderful and lovable. Not the green ninja. Garmadon reminded him a lot that the child he loved and cherished was not the green ninja, but Lloyd.

* Finding his own worth without relying on his powers, title, and family is something Lloyd is working very hard on.

* As soon as Ray and Maya were brought back after season 7, Kai and Nya dragged Lloyd to them and just kinda announced to them that Lloyd was their new son. Both ray and Maya adore him.

* The reason the ultra dragon liked him so much was not because he was the green ninja, but because of the dragon in him. They also connected with Lloyd the same way Firstborn connected to the FSM. They sensed purity and kindness in Lloyd’s soul

* He knows all the small hiding places on the bounty. Whenever he gets overwhelmed or needs to have a breakdown without messing up his “perfect” façade, he goes to those spots and hides.

* Misako and Wu tore down Garmadon’s monastery after season four when the ninja were gone for a week to follow a lead. When Lloyd got back and saw that his father’s monastery had been torn down by his own mother and uncle, he cried for hours on end.

* He was furious and refused to speak to his mother for a few days because this monastery was a such a big part of the legacy of peace garmadon tried so desperately to leave behind. He even sacrificed himself for this legacy, and his own mom, garmadon’s wife who should know how important this was better than anyone, tore down a big part of this legacy to build a tea shop.

* When the tea shop was built, the ninja had sleeping quarters in the shop. Lloyd; however, literally took his blanket and slept outside for the first two weeks. (The others begged him to stop when he caught a fever after sleeping in the rain)

* When the ultra dragon was still around, when Lloyd was feeling sad or lonely, he wold go and sleep in the dragon keep with them. All four heads would nuzzle around him and comfort him until he fell asleep.

* Lloyd and the other ninja burst into musical numbers all the time. If one of them starts a number, the rest are literally legally obligated to join in.

* The first few days after Lloyd aged up were hard for Wu because he looked so much like garmadon

* His anxiety can be really horrible, especially after Morro, and to help with it and make sure it doesn’t get in the way of doing his job, Lloyd takes medication for it.

* Lloyd has a tendency to overwork himself because he constantly feels he needs to prove that he is good enough. Wu sometimes finds this very concerning, because 1) overworking yourself isn’t good for you, but more importantly, in some way, Lloyd’s need to constantly be working and proving his worth reminds Wu a bit of Morro.

* Of course it’s very different. Morro wanted to prove he is the best, while Lloyd wants to prove that he is good enough and worth loving and caring about

* It is so incredibly hard for Lloyd to resist the forbidden scroll’s power, because he has always struggled with self worth, and this scroll gives him power that makes him so important and useful

* After season 2, when Lloyd was receiving awards for destroying the overlord, an alarming amount of new mothers approached Lloyd, telling him they named their baby Lloyd. It kinda freaked Lloyd out, to be honest

* Lloyd’s puppy eyes can convince anyone of anything. Whenever the ninja need to convince Wu of something, they send Lloyd.

* Lloyd knows what places on the bounty each ninja visits most often, so after a hard battle or if one of his siblings is having a bad day, he’ll stick little post it notes with nice messages in all of those places.

* He ends every note with “I love you so much. Love, Lloyd” and a little heart

* After the Morro incident, every single day, Wu would find a new note on his teapot, telling him what an amazing teacher he was, or how much he meant to the ninja.

* After skybound, Lloyd could tell that Jay was hiding something and that he was acting different, so he left a note every day on all of jay’s inventions and the video game console

* He left some for Cole on the refrigerator after he became a ghost

* For Nya and Kai it’s whenever they’re having a bad day. Sometimes Lloyd leaves them on random days, just to remind his big brother and sister how much they mean to him

* For Zane it’s on bad days as well

* After season 8/9 the others started doing it for him. The day after garmadon was defeated, Lloyd woke up to little notes on all of his belongings, from his sword, to his towel to his comics. He kept every single on of them.