This Blog Is So Ninja™

Chapter Thirteen: What It Takes To Lead

“So basically, if you flick your wrist at the right time and at the right angle you can get that blade to hook around something.”

Jay stared at his weapon with wide eyes. “Are you serious? So, like this?” The blue ninja stuck his tongue out, shut one eye, and aimed at a broom propped up against the banister. With a flick of his arm, the chain and blade whipped out but made no arc in the air.

Lloyd chuckled. “Not...exactly. Once you fully extend your arm, a flick of the wrist should create some movement. Try again.”

Jay tried again, but his flick was too late. He tried again after that, but nothing.

“I’m trying Lloyd, it’s just...” the curly haired ninja lifted his weapon in defeat. “I think this has a mind of its own.”

“You’ll get it.” Lloyd patted the defeated teen. “Nothing comes immediately. It takes hours and days of hard work and practice to master something. Speaking of which...” In a dramatic sweep of his arm, Lloyd pulled on his hood, unsheathed his sword from his back, and then held it at the ready. Jay yelped and stepped back.

The Green Ninja raised an eyebrow at Jay. “Any training equipment on board?”

He shook his head. “Really?” Lloyd sighed. “Very well.”

He flipped to an empty space on the deck and began to practice his offensive sword attacks. Upper cut left, upper cut right, dodge, mid- cut. Upper cut left, upper cut right, dodge, mid- cut. Upper cut left, upper cut right, dodge, mid-

Sword hit sword. Lloyd blinked in surprise to see Kai, a smirk as wide as his face, clang his sword against Lloyd’s and force them into a stalemate.

Lloyd couldn’t help the smile on his face. “Alright hot shot,” he grinned as he narrowed his green eyes. “Let’s see what you’ve got!”

Lloyd pulled away and backflipped. Kai twisted his sword in his right hand while unsheathing his second sword. Then he charged, both swords drawn back to his left ready for a dual cut on Lloyd’s right.

With a quick summersault, Lloyd dodged the attack. He slid on the wood, slowly turned and swung his sword in his fingers to gain momentum before-

He ducked just in time to miss a swinging hammer that was capable of taking off his head. Rolling to safety, he looked back in shock to see Cole standing proudly with a war hammer. Kai joined his side and they stood at the ready.

Not pausing for a moment, Lloyd launched in between them, deflecting both of Kai’s blades and Cole’s hammer. He played defense the whole time, dodging with his head and expertly twisting and turning his sword to counter every thrust and cut and swing. He was just about to go back on offense when an arrow planted itself at his feet.

All three brawlers paused and looked over to see Zane on the bridge next to the steering wheel with his bow drawn. Master Wu stood at the wheel looking very amused with himself.

“Excuse me one second,” Lloyd panted before taking off to the ladder. Zane shot another arrow towards Lloyd, but this one he shot on target. With a swing of his sword, he knocked the projectile off course and it dug into the mast.

Another arrow sped towards Lloyd but he grabbed it out of mid-air and snapped it in his fingers. Zane blinked very hard.

Lloyd didn’t let the second of shock go to waste. Not even using his hands, he scaled the ladder and then backflipped.

He felt like he was moving in slow motion. He kicked back with his right foot at the top of the ladder, and using his left foot he kicked the bow right out of Zane’s hands. After a solid second of air, Lloyd landed hard on the deck, hand hitting the wood and knees bent to absorb the shock of the fall. Two seconds later, the bow landed next to him.

With a huge smile now, Lloyd pushed himself back up and saluted to Zane. “Thank you, s-“ he started but then got kicked from behind. He hit the wood a lot harder than he wanted.

Scrambling back to his feet, he glared at the girl whose eyes glinted with readiness. Her staff was drawn and sharp, and her pose was truly menacing. Kai and Cole flipped next to her, and the fight turned to three on one.

“Finally,” Lloyd called out once his breath returned to him. “A fair fight!”

Sword drawn, the battle continued. Lloyd’s vision turned into a dizzying view of chaos. His instincts were the only thing keeping him in the fight as he dodged the hammer, deflected the swords, and attempted to disarm Nya from her staff. In the few times Lloyd glanced into the eyes of his teammates, he saw a mixture of determination and shock. They didn’t expect him to last this long.

Finally, he snagged the tip of Nya’s spear and twisted it out of her hands. It clattered on the deck and slid away.

“Ha!” Lloyd cheered in excitement. “I actually did-“

Something hit his sword, and then clung on. “What the-“

With a tight tug, he was disarmed.

“Yes!!” Someone from behind Lloyd shrieked. “I did it I did it I diiiid it!!!!”

The defeated leader turned in disbelief to see Jay high-fiving Cole and Kai. Zane, who reunited with his bow, remarked, “Oh snap! Feel the burn.”

“Jay!” Lloyd laughed in disbelief. “You...you really caught on fast!”

Blushing, he glanced at his weapon. “Thanks, Lloyd. I can’t believe I disarmed you!”

Sheathing his sword, Lloyd shook his head with laughter. “Neither can I. But you did. Congrats, spark-plug.”

He turned to watch Nya sheath her spear. “Not bad yourself, Lloyd. You really held your own against all of us.”

Lloyd slid his hood back off. “Thanks, Nya. That was a ton of fun.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Oh, so you do know what fun is!”

The smile drained away from Lloyd’s face. “Wha....what?”

“Oh nothin,” Nya shrugged. “For a while I thought you didn’t know what fun was.” She didn’t wait for Lloyd to respond to that. Instead, she flipped onto a barrel to then flip onto the bridge.

Lloyd turned to the others. Kai was mid-glance with Cole, and Jay had wide eyes.

Tightening his jaw, he pushed past them all and headed to the front of the Bounty. The dragon head looked a little different (and double) but he still found a place to sit. He tucked in his legs and wrapped his arms around them...and then once again tried convincing himself that he was a good leader.

_______________________________________________

Nya found him at the edge of the pond.

“Couldn’t sleep?” She called out while shielding her eyes as she shut the door. The first rays of sunlight were leaking over the mountains off in the distance and the world was bleeding pink and gold. Lloyd didn’t respond to her; he just kept his gaze fixed on the sunrise.

“Hey, you okay?” She approached him carefully. “Are you...back or are you still the other Lloyd?”

She didn’t need him to answer when she saw the tears staining his face.

“I made a huge mistake,” he murmured. “I just wanted you all to have a good night and someone lost everything because of it.”

She joined him on the edge of the pond. “Lloyd, what are you talking about?”

He wiped his face. “Last night, while we were at the noodle shop? I saw a cop car fly past. I made the decision to let it go instead of follow it....and....”

“Something bad happened, didn’t it.”

The Green leader nodded. “I should have....it was my duty...”

A warm hand settled on Lloyd’s shoulder. “Lloyd, you can’t blame yourself like that. It’s not your fault-“

“It is my fault. It’s all my fault. Meowthra, my dad being captured, that shop being destroyed- it’s all on me.” He let his head drop onto his knees. “I’m a terrible leader.”

The world fell silent for a long, few seconds. Finally, Nya found the words she needed.

“You know, I wasn’t there to hear Lloyd’s first morale speech. I was corrupted with condensed evil and helping conquer Ninjago City, yada yada yada..but-“

Light chuckles emitted from Lloyd’s buried head. Smiling, Nya continued.

“But Kai told me all about it. Lloyd had just faced off against the Overlord for the first time and he lost big time. He was knocked out, leg broken, marooned on the Dark Island with no way to get him or his team back to Ninjago....it was pretty bleak. But this kid- the young blonde-chosen one told us not to give up. Why?”

The blonde lifted his head. “...Why?”

Nya looked at him dead in the eyes. “Because a ninja never quits. You were chosen as much as our Lloyd was chosen. Your team needs you as much as our team needs our Lloyd. But no matter how bleak or how dire the circumstance, Lloyd was always there to remind us that a ninja never quits. And now...I get to tell you.”

Lloyd faced the sunrise again. “A ninja never quits...Master Wu has never told us that.”

“Master Wu never told us that either.” Nya chuckled. “You did.”

Lloyd stared off into space, trying to believe Nya. How could someone like him ever be as wise as Master Wu?

“I guess that’s one big difference between our Lloyd and you. You’ve probably never been in a situation like that before.”

“Oh, I have.” The Green Ninja recalled just a few weeks earlier. “My dad locked us in his childhood home and caused it to collapse. On us.”

“Garmadon did that?!”

“Ya...” Lloyd nodded. “I finally decrypted Master Wu’s cryptic teaching and discovered the truth about your powers. Then, I helped you unlock them to escape.”

Nya leaned back. “Wow, that sounds intense! Do you have a little one liner like, ‘A Ninja Never Quits’?”

“Uh...” Lloyd scoured his memories to remember what he told the others. “You...have...the......power?”

Nya didn’t hesitate when she bust out into laughter. “Great line, it’s super inspiring!”

Lloyd chuckled too. “Yeah, I need to work on my inspirational speeches.”

“Well, you get to practice!” Nya chirped as she got to her feet. She extended her hand.

“Practice?” Lloyd asked. “Practice on what?”

With a smile, she gestured to the Temple. “To the others! We are going to go after those crooks that destroyed that shop, right?”

Lloyd stared at Nya for a second before grinning. He took her hand and she helped him to his feet. With a look of determination, he replied.

Chapter Twelve: It’s All Fun And Games Until

Lloyd wasn’t sure if Nya and Jay would ever forgive him for cutting their rebuilding project short. He’d never imagined Nya using profanity but she came close a few times. Lloyd had to move on with the mission, and he really didn’t know how to fly that mechanical green dragon anyway.

The whole team boarded the calmingly familiar Destiny’s Bounty and took to the air. As they rose to the clouds, Lloyd practically attached himself to the railing to gaze over the unfamiliar city.

“It’s big, but it’s home.” Kai chuckled as he joined Lloyd’s side. He rested his elbows on the wooden fragments making up the railing. “Nya and I live in the City’s orphanage....uh....in the Southwest quadrant.” He stuck a hand in the direction where skyscrapers practically didn’t exist.

The blonde felt his face relax with empathy. He wrapped his arms around his body. “The orphanage, huh?”

The hot head shot a sharp laugh. “Yeah, ever since I can remember. No one wants to adopt me and my sis. We are....”

“Explosive?” Cole inserted himself into the conversation with a raised eyebrow. Lloyd and Kai glanced over to see him lounging on a barrel.

“Go blast your sarcastic speakers somewhere else, metal mixer!” Kai shouted back. Mumbling to Lloyd, Kai discloses, “Ignore him, he just likes ruining important conversations.”

“Huh,” was about all Lloyd could respond with.

The Bounty finally floated above the cloud cover and the City was replaced with a sea of white.

Cracking his knuckles, Kai turned to face Lloyd. “Your Kai...what is he like? Any different?”

The Green Ninja couldn’t help but snort. A ton different, he thought. “Well, he’s shorter for one. Or maybe you just have longer hair.”

“Dapper Dan is some powerful stuff,” Kai winked.

Lloyd chuckled. “He’s, um, well he’s head strong. Doesn’t sense the danger until he’s already in it.”

“Sounds about right,” Cole shot over, and Kai shot some choice words right back.

“Uuuuh...” Lloyd scratched at the wood. “He fights with all of his heart. He had to raise his sister so family is super important to him. And he was the best mentor to me when he was getting me ready to fight my dad.”

There was no response to that. The not-Kai was staring at the clouds with a puzzled expression.

“What about you?” Lloyd finally broke the silence. “What do you think makes you...you?”

Kai didn’t blink. “I care too much. I mean, I care about you and the others way too much. I’d lay my life down for anyone on this ship if I had to. Even....” Kai hesitated, and then chuckled. “Even if I had to run face first into something I was terrified of.”

“Like the one time Garmadon kicked Nya in the face!” Zane zipped over out of no where. “Kai flipped Garmadon with just his thighs!”

To Lloyd’s amusement and amazement, Kai turned red with embarrassment. “Can you please stop telling everyone that? I don’t want that as my trophy.”

“No, it’s cool,” Lloyd nudged Kai. “I don’t think any of my ninja-including me- have ever flipped someone with our thighs. That’s super sweet.”

Kai smiled at that. “Your team needs to keep up, then!” He grinned and fist-bumped Zane. “I do have to admit, thigh-throwing Garm was a lot of fun.”

Lloyd’s smile went sour. Nya’s harsh words rushed back at him. Suddenly leaning on the railing was too dizzying for Lloyd. “I’m gonna...” he looked over his shoulder to where Jay was trying (and failing) at using his weird chain-blade weapon. “....go help Jay.”

The blonde took off, causing a shared confused look between Zane and Kai. “Was it something I said?” Kai mumbled.

_______________________________________________

Airjiztu is a ton more smoother going up than going down. At least, that’s what Lloyd immediately told Kai when they safely landed back on the grass of the Temple.

Kai let out a guttural laugh. “Whatever you say, green bean. I prefer the rush on the way down, but whatever.”

Chuckling, Lloyd almost didn’t catch Cole approaching Lloyd from the side. “Wait wait wait, I want to make sure I heard you correctly down there.” Cole’s serious expression cracked into a wacky grin. “You said that your Cole is obsessed with music?!”

“Oh ya!” Lloyd nodded rapidly. “Anything rock, from the the classics to techno. He’s the best mixer and DJ in the city too.”

“Ha!” Jay giggled. “DJ Cole. Who woulda thought?”

“Definitely not me!” Cole snorted. “I mean, music is great but I’m not super obsessed with it.”

Lloyd rested his hand on Cole’s massive shoulder. “Dude, you should’ve seen the mech I built for you. It was huge, with built-in turntables to steer and speakers so loud it could take down a building!”

The whole team laughed at the crazy tale as they all slowly made their way back inside the headquarters. Nya dodged a few of the scattered pieces of training equipment to get to the front. “Okay okay, my turn!”

Clearing his throat, Lloyd began to speak in his ‘dramatic voice’ that made the others roll with laughter when he talked about Kai from his world. “Nya! The Silver Ninja, Master of Water! The biggest feminist in the school, and capable of defeating a whole army in her free time. Don’t you dare say she can’t do something because she will prove you wrong!”

Jay’s dreamy eyed fixated on Nya. “Sounds like our Nya all right.”

Nya giggled as she pushed the giant Temple doors open. “I dunno, she sounds even more headstrong than me. I didn’t even think that was possible!”

The Green Ninja smirked. “Did I mention she rides a motorcycle she designed, built, and painted herself through the halls at Ninjago High?”

“As much as that is dangerous as well as awesome, Nya also designs and builds most of our vehicles,” Zane chimed in proudly, chasing Nya to blush.

“It’s a talent we both share, I guess,” the girl squeaked embarrassingly. She took off up the stairs.

“So you are a Master Builder?” Lloyd perked up at Zane’s comment. To his dismay, Nya froze mid-step and turned back towards Lloyd, her face slowly twisting to confusion.

“A...a what?” She questioned. “I mean, sure I am a ‘master builder’.... but I’ve never heard of people being named that.”

As the other ninja began to climb the stairs, Lloyd was left behind in thought. “...Oh. It’s just....back where I’m from, Master Builders are creative individuals who could build whatever they want with anything. My whole team and I are Master Builders. When Takos Tuesday hit...”

“Oh, Taco Tuesday!” Jay erupted. “Oh, I love Taco Tuesday! Zane makes the best burritos!”

“No, not the food Taco.” Lloyd explained as he followed the team up. “It’s...well that’s another long story. I wish my teammates were there to help me out. I barely made it out of the city in one piece.”

Cole stretched as they all reached the second floor. “Your world is weird. Master Builders, giant cats, shark armies...”

“We have Elemental Masters, giant snakes, and Serpentine!” Kai added.

“And ghosts,” Nya inserted.

“Pirates!” Jay raised his hand.

“Evil Elemental Masters,” Zane recalled.

“Whoa whoa, dang...” Lloyd raised his hands in defeat. “Whose world is weird? It sounds like your world is forever falling apart.”

“Tell me about it,” the whole team said in unison. Then, they all broke into laughter.

Finally back in the lounge room, Lloyd collapsed on the couch while the others yawned and stretched. “I think we are gonna call it a day,” Nya told Lloyd mid-stretch. “You gonna hang out for a bit?”

The blonde grabbed the remote. “Ya, I’m going to surf the channels and see what interesting shows you all have here.”

A series of grumbles and groans didn’t excite Lloyd. He said goodnight to the crew and not long after that he was alone.

He clicked slowly through the channels with a blank expression. A late night talk show with some rando person, a badly acted rom-com, a handful of low-budget dramas...nothing peaked at Lloyd’s interest.

Finally, he clicked on the news. What he saw immediately made him sit up. A heavily made-up news reporter stood surrounded by cop cars and police tape and delivered news Lloyd didn’t want to hear.

“....at approximately one-thirty two this morning this family-owned motorcycle store was ransacked, robbed, and looted. Nobody was injured on the scene, but the family lost all of their earnings from the past month as well as their prized bikes.”

“Oh no...” Lloyd breathed as he saw the B-roll of the damaged and empty shop. “We could have...”

“It was devastating,” a different woman filled the screen and tears were streaming down her face. “I worked so hard for everything and it was just...taken from us. There was nothing we could do.”

Lloyd ran his fingers through his hair. The main news-castor returned and pointed to the brick wall of the shop behind her. “The police still have no clue who and where the culprits are, but they did leave their mark on the scene. Stanley and Shirley, back to you.”

Chapter Eleven: Trust

With tears in his eyes, Lloyd raced across the giant warehouse. He couldn’t believe it...Master Wu is alive!!

The older man was clearly shocked at Lloyd’s reaction to seeing him. However he barely budged as Lloyd lunged on him and wrapped his arms around his master. “Master...you’re okay!”

Even Jay and Nya had stopped their work to watch Lloyd crush Wu. After a few seconds of being in a tight embrace, Master Wu spoke. “I didn’t expect this much of a reaction from returning from my nap.”

Lloyd’s blood went cold. He knew Master Wu’s voice more than he knew his own father’s or mother’s. The voice that Lloyd heard was one of a complete stranger.

The green leader reluctantly pulled away and stared wide-eyed at his not-Master. Besides more wrinkles, this man was a spitting image of Master Wu, but his voice... it had more of an accent than Kai and Jay combined. It was actually miraculous Lloyd had made out the words he had said...

“Master...?” Lloyd forced the words out of his mouth. “Not you too....”

The master sensei took in a breath and then looked Lloyd from top to bottom. After a few seconds of silence, Wu regained a straight composure. “Are you a Lloyd from a different world?”

The green ninja didn’t have to look behind him to know that the other five ninja had lost their jaw to the ground. With a sigh of relief, Lloyd smiled and nodded. “One second I was in my Ninjago and the next-“

“How interesting.” Wu nodded. “I imagined Ninjago to only have one world....I do not know what this means.” There was a long uncomfortable pause as the whole warehouse reflected on Master Wu’s words.

Suddenly Wu slapped his staff on the floor, a sound so unexpectedly sharp that Lloyd flinched in surprise. “Whatever, I guess.” Master Wu shrugged and walked past Lloyd to the table with the map, leaving Lloyd and the orange-haired warrior.

Lloyd stared at Wu as he talked with Cole, Zane and Kai about the battle plan. He shook his head a little in disbelief.

“Is he different too?”

The green ninja turned with wide eyes filled with shock. He didn’t recognize it before but the familiar voice struck him like a staff to the stomach.

The lady in armor was none other than his mom. Or-well, you get it right?

Her eyes flashed wide in response to Lloyd’s shock. “What? Is there something wrong with my hair?”

“Your a warrior??” Lloyd gasped in shock. To that, Koko chuckled. “Oh, this. Yes, I am a warrior. My fighting alias is-“

“WE ARE GOING OUT ON A MISSION WITH LADY IRON DRAGON???”

Koko grinned as Nya, in full sprint, launched a hug onto the warrior. “My dreams are coming true!!”

Her dreamy eyes turned to Lloyd. “Can we be paired up?? Pleaaaaase please please please?”

Lloyd was about to say, “Sure,” when he realized what he originally needed two more people for. After realizing this, he shook his head sadly. “Sorry Nya, I need Mo-uh, Lady Iron Dragon and Wu as a strike team to get Garmadon as fast as possible.”

Both Koko and Nya’s grins slowly faded. With a scowl, Nya dejectedly turned away and walked back to the dragon mech with a comment of disgust. Lloyd tried not to listen to it but it still hurt his heart.

“How grown up of you.” Koko nudged Lloyd. The ninja shrugged his shoulders. “I have to put the plan first. We have to get Garmadon back. You and Wu will be the ones in charge of retrieving Garmadon from...wherever they are keeping him.”

Koko crossed her arms. “Have you made a lot of battle plans in your life?”

Lloyd was confused by the question. “Uuuuuh, kinda...?”

His not-mom leaned in close. “Here’s a little advice, warrior to warrior. Always trust your team more than the plan.”

Chuckling, Lloyd put his hands on his hips. “Oh, I know that.”

Koko raised an eyebrow. “Do you?” Leaving that question hanging in the air, she walked towards Wu humming an unfamiliar song.

Always trust your team more than the plan. Lloyd knew that, right? Of course he did. He’s the green ninja, leader of the best team of ninja in the-

Mid-inspirational thought, he watched as Jay accidentally slipped on a piece for the dragon and elegantly fall to the ground, hitting about ten pieces on the way down. “Ow,” the pain-filled echo from Jay topped with the laughter from his whole team shrouded Koko’s advice just a little in his head. He could trust his old team with his life but these.... imposters were a little harder to trust.

“I’ve got to get home ASAP,” Lloyd grumbled as he jogged over to make sure not-Jay was alright.

________________________________________________

“....and now Meowthra has a spot to live a little west of Ninjago. It’s been peaceful for a few weeks but yesterday the Shark Army launched an attack on the city and captured my dad. My efforts to save him were....” Lloyd searched for the right word while spinning his chopstick in his bowl of noodles. “...worthless.”

He slowly raised his eyes to see how the others were responding to the events from his ‘realm’ in the past month. All he saw from everyone (including the new girl, Skylar? Skyler?) were wide eyes, dropped jaws, and untouched food.

It took a few seconds but finally the host of the restaurant Kai picked found the first words to respond to Lloyd. “There is a little something wrong with your world,” Skyl?r chuckled as she continued to wipe down a counter with a rag. “A giant cat? C’mon, that’s just a little ridiculous.”

“I mean,” Kai shrugged and lifted his hands in defense. “We did have a giant snake attack the city a few years back.”

“A giant snake?!” Lloyd repeated in shock.

“Oh yeah, it was huge!” Cole dangled a long noodle off of his chopstick. “It was as long as like, fifty blocks. If we hadn’t of stopped him-“

“I thought Garmadon stopped him,” Skyl?r interrupted with a side grin.

Jay slapped his hand in the table and Zane almost lost his drink. “What is up with everyone thinking Garmadon saved the day?! I mean he turned it into a huge wave of green goo but we did all the hard work!”

The fire ninja shook his head. “So under appreciated.”

“Talk about being under appreciated,” Lloyd mumbled. “Try having the whole world hate you.”

“Seriously?” Zane picked up Lloyd’s words as if he had said them clearly. “Why did everyone hate you?”

Lloyd sipped his water. “Cuz my dad attacked Ninjago City almost three times a week for like, half a decade. Everyone hated Garmadon, and therefore everyone hated me. Simple, really.”

Nya crossed her arms on the table. “But, they knew you were the Green Ninja right?” Lloyd shook his head. “They didn’t?!” Nya was taken back. “Why?”

The Green Ninja shrugged. “Secret identities. It was to protect us. Didn’t y’all have secret identities?”

A chorus of no’s and nope’s met Lloyd. One “yes” spoke up, but it was from the red head.

“Oh, hush- you were a spy!” Kai laughed at Skyl?r as the group of Ninja laughed at her joke. Lloyd, who didn’t get it, chuckled but caught eye of a flashing blue and red blur as it flew by the window behind all the ninja. He glanced at the team; in the moment of joy, no one had seen the cop car.

They are having fun, Lloyd decided in his head. I’ll let the cops handle this one.

“Nya had a secret identity!” Jay inserted into the conversation.

“Oh yeah?” Cole smirked. “Being my girlfriend?”