Chapter Text
It's been a month since the Overlord's defeat. The monastery has been rebuilt (again). Ninjago is at peace once more, and Lloyd's relationship with his father was a little better. Well, they still had a long way to go, but it was improving. And they even got their powers back! Everything was perfect.
Until today…
Awakened in the middle of the night with a terrible headache, as if something was trying to burst out of his head, Lloyd threw off the covers and ran to the nearest bathroom. being careful not to make a sound. He opens the bathroom door and locks it. Running his hand over his forehead, he could feel something. But it was only when he lifted his head to the mirror above the sink that he could see it.
Horns. Slightly curved golden horns protruding from his forehead. The horn-like structure of the horns tearing tissue from his skin, a few draconic scales decorating it. There was a little deep purple blood mixing with his normal blood dripping.
Lloyd's eyes widened in horror, he staggered back from the mirror, his trembling hand reaching to his mouth in shock. No, he panicked mentally. No no no this can't be happening! He pressed his hands against the sink, closing his eyes tightly and straining to try and make the horns disappear. He managed to make his Oni form disappear before he could do it again.
He strained harder to reverse it; he didn't want others to see him like this. He couldn't stay like this. After long, agonizing minutes that felt like hours, he let his legs collapse, bracing himself on the sink to avoid falling. He gasped, sweat running down his face. He weakly raised his head to see his reflection again.
The horns were gone.
He lets out a stammering sigh. He turns and slides to the floor, feeling his breath quicken. He runs his fingers through his hair, his heart pounding with anxiety. He runs his hands through his hair, covering it with his arms, holding himself back from screaming. He rocked back and forth, trying to regain control of his breathing. He stayed in that position for however many minutes he needed, he didn't count. He removed his trembling hands from his head, his palms stained with red and purple blood. Human and Oni.
His vision slowly blurred and distorted. Tears streamed down his face, which he couldn't control. He tries to stand up, stumbling as he attempts to. He leans against the sink again and turns on the water, wetting his hands to clean the blood, the metallic smell becoming intoxicating. He continued to scrub his hands in water for an extra few minutes until he was sure he had cleaned everything. He looked at himself in the mirror. His forehead was still stained with blood. He gulp. He felt like vomiting at the sight.
Disgusting.
UHe grabbed a towel and wet it, wiping his face and strands of hair until the blood was clean. He looked at the towel after pulling it away from his head. The damp stains of blood stained the white towel. He felt his heart pound again and his breathing quicken. His fingers gripped the towel.
Without warning, his eyes sparkle violet and his hands share the same color, a strong and haunting glow filling the darkness of the bathroom. The towel in his hands sparkles and slowly unearths itself, disappearing into purple ashes.
Lloyd's eyes widened in shock, he stared at his hands in panic. What was that?? he never did anything like that before! That light... it was the same light he emitted when angry with Harumi and the Overlord…
He stares at his hands for a few more minutes, then looks out the window. a beam of orange light hitting his eyes. First Master...
How long has he been in that bathroom…?
—
The day had arrived at the monastery, and the ninja woke up well-prepared for another day of training, gathering in the kitchen for a good breakfast. Kai, in particular, was well-rested, having had a good night's sleep. For months since they got their powers back, he has been resting very well. He stretched his arms with a yawn, entering the kitchen and closing the door behind him. Zane was cooking as usual while Jay and Nya sat together at the table. "Good morning, gang," he said, approaching the table and sitting down in a chair.
"Good morning, Kai," Zane said, preparing breakfast while wearing his classic pink apron. Kai still thought he looked silly in it, suppressing a chuckle. Kai glanced to the side and saw Jay and Nya reading some kind of book.
"What are you doing, lovebirds?” He asks. they both look at him.
"Oh, I was thinking about helping Pixal improve the Samurai base, and Jay is helping me with that," Nya replies.
"Ah, I see." Kai says, not sweating much interest. "Where are Cole and Lloyd?" He looks around, leaning back in his chair.
"Cole is training, I believe," Zane replies, placing a plate of bacon toast before Kai. "And Lloyd, I think he's still sleeping.”
"Hmm?" Kai raises an eyebrow, "Lloyd's still sleeping? He's usually the one who wakes up earlier to train.”
And as if summoning him, Lloyd enters through the door. "Hey, buddy! Good morn—oh, First Mster! Are you ok?" Jay asked a startle, pointing at him with a slightly worried expression.
Kai turned to look at Lloyd, understanding Jay's worried shock. Lloyd's hair was messy, he looked tired, and he had dark circles under his eyes. He was also wearing his bandana, which he didn't normally wear.
"Ah, Lloyd?" Kai raises a worried eyebrow at him, "Did you sleep well, lil bro?” He asks genuinely. Lloyd looks at him surprised and looks away, avoiding eye contact. A hint of worry began to creep up Kai's body.
"I, uh, just had trouble sleeping," Lloyd said, fidgeting with the sleeves of his gi. Kai looked at his hands. He'd known Lloyd long enough to know he only did that when he was anxious. "Oh, did you make breakfast, Zane?" He sat down in his chair, resting his arms on the table.
"Yes, Lloyd. I made your favorite, pancakes with syrup." The Nindroid places Lloyd's plate with a small stack of pancakes smothered in a sweet chocolate syrup, exactly the kind Lloyd liked. He and Cole had a massive sweet tooth.
Kai expected him to flash an animated smile as he ate, as he usually did every breakfast. But Lloyd just stared blankly at his plate and turned to Zane with a weak, and, from Kai's point of view, forced smile.
"Thank you, Zane." He takes his plate in his hands and gets up from his chair. "I'm going to eat in my room," he says in an almost robotic, whispering tone, turning his back to them and hurrying out of the dining room. Kai's eyes widened in confusion.
Kai and Nya exchange glances, mirroring his look of "something's wrong". They know Lloyd well enough to know he never eats in his room, preferring to eat with everyone else. Kai immediately gets up from his chair.
"Kai? Is something wrong?" Zane asks, confused. Kai pauses and looks at him, then at Nya and Jay. They were all shifting between looking at each other and looking at the door, confused expressions on each other's faces.
"Yes, Zane." Kai replies with a sigh, heading for the door. "There is something wrong..." He walks out the door, closing it behind him. He glances down the hallways and walks to Lloyd's room. He hesitates to knock, pausing when he hears Lloyd's voice on the other side.
He seemed to be muttering to himself, too quietly for Kai to form words. He could hear something like "no" and "it hurts". He swore he heard a grunt followed by a whimper. Kai's heart froze. Something was clearly bothering his little brother. Not just bothering him, but clearly disturbing him. Kai mustered his courage and knocked on the door twice, a signal he always gave when he wanted to know if Lloyd was alright. If Lloyd answered, he was fine; if not…
Lloyd remained quiet for a few seconds. Kai could hear shuffling on the other end before Lloyd responded. “Y-yeah?” His voice came out somewhat anxious, almost sounding high-pitched like Jay's.
"Are you okay, Greenie?" Kai called him by his nickname. Lloyd was silent. "I... I noticed you were a little anxious at the table today and..." he paused, leaning close to the door with his head touching the wall. He fiddled with the sleeve of his gi. "You don't normally eat in your room."
More silence.
"Lloyd, I know something's going on. I know you." Kai softens his voice, trying not to sound worried, and kind of failing a bit. "You know very well you can tell me if something's bothering you." He gently places his palm on the door. Even though he couldn't see, he felt Lloyd did the same on the other side.
"I..." Lloyd began, his voice low. "I'm fine, Kai..." A lie, Kai knew. "You shouldn't worry about me. I'm already 19. I know how to take care of myself." He tried to sound confident, but Kai knew from his tone that he was anxious. "Go eat, Kai. As your leader, that's an order."
Kai raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Buddy, that only works on me on missions." He laughed, and Lloyd joined in. The shared laughter ended with Lloyd falling silent again. "Just... when you feel comfortable, tell me when you want to talk, okay?" he says, pulling his hand away from the door.
He starts to step back. He couldn't hear anything from the other side anymore; Lloyd was perfectly silent. Kai waited a few extra seconds, sighing and turning towards the hallway after a few extra seconds. If there was one thing both him and Nya had in common, it was stubbornness and refusing to admit when they needed help. Even Kai recognized that.
Kai returned to the dining room, head down, constantly thinking about Lloyd. He joined them at the table, sitting in his chair and resting his arms on the table, his chin on them.
"So...?" Nya asks, bumping shoulders with him. "What's going on?”
Kai sighs and buries his face in his arms. "Stubborn as always." He touches his plate, which has grown slightly cold. He picks up the plate and holds it aloft, placing his other hand underneath and igniting his fire. But as soon as he did that, his flame ended up burning the bottom of the dish, which bubbled up with the intense heat. Before he could stop the flame, the whole plate caught fire. The flame in Kai's hand was shining brighter than ever.
Kai felt a sting in his hand and fanned the flame until it went out. The plate falls to the floor with a crack. Nya immediately throws water on it before it spills. The others stared at him in shock. He stared at his throbbing hand. He squeezed one eye shut, feeling a burning sensation in his hand.
Nya shot some water on Kai's hand, making him sigh in relief that the burning sensation had stopped. And then it clicked. He felt his hand burning.
"Kai, what was that??" Nya asks, perplexed by what happened. Zane picks up the plate and starts scanning it. Jay joins Nya, checking his hand and removing his glove to see what it was. Kai's hand looked normal, nothing out of the ordinary. Jay scratches his head, confused.
"I...I have no idea, sis..." Kai breathes, staring at his hand, confused.
"That's strange..." The three look at Zane. "The dish is completely burnt, including the food." He shows what's left of the plate, broken in two, with the food pulverized into ashes. Dark smoke rises from it, and there's a horrible smell of burning. "But, that shouldn't be possible. You have complete control over your fire powers. There's no way you could lose control of the intensity." He puts the plate aside, placing his hand on his chin.
"And my hand?" Kai shows his hand. "I felt it burning... this has never happened to me before..." He stares at his palm, confused. Before Zane could say anything, they hear a crash coming from the patio. They look at each other before running out of the dining room and to the front door. They open the doors to find Cole staring at the training field floor, a huge crater cracking into the ground. He has just removed his fist, his expression confused and shocked.
"Cole?" Nya and Kai go to him, "what happened?" she asks, checking his hand. There were some scratches on it and his wrists were reddened. His lava hands were changing back to his normal dark skin tone.
"I have no idea!" he replies, a hand on his head, "one minute I was just training, but when I tried to punch one of the training dummies my fist suddenly felt heavier than normal and I hit the ground too hard, and now it's all like this!" he points to the destroyed floor.
"That's bizarre..." Jay says, crouching down to check the crater and cracks. "Not even when you were having trouble with your lava hands was your super strength this destructive," he points out, analyzing the sizes and widths of the cracks.
"First Kai, and now Cole?" Nya stares at them confused, "Oh, my first master, please let it not be like what happened to me!" she pleads, clasping her hands together. Cole looks at Kai in surprise.
"Wait, what happened with Kai?" he asks. But before they could answer, Zane interrupts.
"Jay, can you try using your lightning?" Jay turns to him, raising an eyebrow, and stands up. "I want to test a hypothesis."
"Hmm." He cracks his neck, his fingers intertwined. "I don't see why not." He raises his arm in the air casually, expecting a faint lightning bolt to shoot from his hands towards the heavens. But instead, he creates a massive bolt that completely strikes him. The others recoil from him in shock. The lightning disappears, leaving Jay with his hair and gi scorched and smoking. He comically coughs black smoke before collapsing to the ground, losing his balance on his legs.
"Jay!!" Nya and Cole rush to him, but when they touch him, they get shocked. Jay spasms slightly on the ground, some sparks of shock running through his body. Kai stares at Jay wide-eyed.
"I see..." Zane pauses. Kai looks at him confused. The Nindroid moves away from them slightly and pulls his arms away from his body. Fragments of ice begin to surround him, followed by a cold breeze and frost, encircling him and freezing the ground around him. He breathes in and out, and a cold breath escapes from his mouth. Kai immediately prepares his fire to extinguish the ice that was beginning to freeze his friend's legs, but he felt his hands burning once more. Zane's ice begins to crawl down his legs, Zane shrinks as if feeling the chill on his titanium skin. Which should be impossible, he doesn't feel cold.
Kai endured, throwing a fireball at Zane's ice, The fireball grows stronger, and upon impact with the ice, it explodes into thousands of ice crystals and snowflakes. The Nindroid A cold mist forms around them. Kai ignores the burn on his hands and runs to Zane. Zane was on his knees on the ground, panting. looked in Kai's direction, seeing him groan in pain and clutching his own hand again.
"K-Zai!" He tries to stand up but his legs wobble. Kai helps him to his feet. Zane looks at him with an apologetic look. "I'm-i'm sorry, I was distracted trying to prove my hypothesis..." Kai swallows the pain, helping Zane to stand steadily. "My legs... I felt the ice in... My joints... They froze..." he murmurs weakly, his voice shaking.
Kai touched his shoulder, feeling how cold he was. He could see smoke escaping from his hand accompanied by a hiss. Zane closed his eyes; Kai knew he was doing a self-check.
"My body temperature is... abnormally cold..." he looks at Kai, their eyes meeting. "And you... your body is incredibly warm..." Kai paused, looking at him. He really didn't know what to think. He shook his head, squeezing Zane's shoulder. It felt like touching a piece of ice.
"your hypothesis," Kai starts, "what would that be?" He leaves his shoulder. The other three return, Jay leaning on Cole for support. Nya noticed that Zane seemed uncomfortable and approached him. Zane waved his hand to stop her, signaling that she shouldn't worry. He then straightened his posture.
"Yes." Zane clears his metaphorical throat. "I believe I have an idea of what our problem is..." he pauses, looking away with uncertainty in his crystal blue eyes.
"So?" Jay asks weakly, still coughing as Nya gently strokes his back.
"Our powers seem to have become more destructive," Zane said. The group stared at him, confused.
"But..." Nya begins, "my powers seem to be working just fine." She says, conjuring a water bubble in her hands. The bubble was perfectly normal, floating above her palm. She places the bubble on top of Jay, and the water washes over him, wetting him slightly. He doesn't seem to complain. He knew she had done it to clean the burns he had received and to wet his hair. He didn't mind.
"That's the deal... the last time our powers acted differently like this was..." Zane said, but Kai continued for him.
"Was when Lloyd was possessed by Morro..." Kai crossed his arms. He squeezed his arm tightly. His expression was dark with the memory of that time.
He still remembered Lloyd appearing in the tea shop courtyard in that strange armor. His voice distorted with another voice behind it. His hair darkened and his skin paler. His eyes changed from an emerald green to a dark moss green with a horrifying glint.
He remembers when they escaped the cloud kingdom, him fighting Morro on that sled with the Sword of Sanctuary in his hands. How Lloyd fought back just to give him the sword. How much pain he seemed to be in. How much he seemed to be suffering in his own body. He remembers holding him in his arms. The weak smile he gave him before losing control again.
And then in the tomb. How weak he was in Morro's hands, holding him over the river. How he barely moved. How he panicked seeing the brother he promised to protect being thrown into an icy river, unable to swim. How he ignored his fear of the water just to save him. How cold that water was. How his heart raced when he had Lloyd back in his arms.
And then Lloyd was caught by the Preeminent. How he and Nya yelled at him not to fight. Alone with Morro. How utterly terrified he was of losing him again. How, for a moment, when Lloyd didn't return from the realm crystal, he felt a horrible weight on his heart. How he almost cried seeing him come back. That was the worst New Year's he'd ever had.
He felt tapped him on the shoulder. Looking to the side, he saw Cole putting a hand on his shoulder. He looked at him with a worried expression. Yeah, that year was traumatic for all of them. Especially for Cole. But Kai didn't care that he had lost his powers back then; he was more concerned about his little brother.
"Do you think something's wrong with Lloyd?" Jay asked, adjusting his wet hair. Zane nodded.
"Our powers are linked to him. If something happens to him, it affects us," he informs, "Nya's powers aren't linked to Lloyd, therefore she isn't affected.”
"Hmm, that makes sense." She agrees. "But what could be causing this?" She looks at Kai.
Kai shrugged uncertainly. "Don't look at me, I tried to talk to him but he doesn't seem like he wants to talk." He looked away, downcast. Cole gently squeezed his shoulder.
"Well, we should try again," Cole offers. "We need to solve this problem before we end up causing more problems." The group looks at each other and agrees. "And we should also tell Master Wu." They look at each other a little anxiously.
—
After minutes of hesitation, the five found themselves in front of Master Wu's room. The air was filled with essences seeping from the cracks in the door. The ninja looked at each other uncertainly.
"So..." Jay began, "who goes first?" Without even thinking, they all looked at Cole. The black ninja raised his eyebrows and threw his head back, letting out a long sigh.
"Why does it have to be me??" he asks, lowering his voice so Wu can't hear him.
"You're his favorite!" Jay replies, also in a lower voice, although, being Jay, that was almost impossible.
"Just because he trained me more doesn't mean I'm his favorite!" he denied, crossing his arms.
"Cole, we have a better chance of him listening to you. So go and talk to him," Nya says. Cole opens his mouth to retort but falls silent, pinching his nose in frustration.
Giving up, he turns to the door as the other four move away from it. He takes a deep breath and slides the door slightly aside. On the other side, Wu sat kneeling in front of a bowl of essences. A Sandalwood stick burned in the bowl. His eyes were closed.
Cole swallowed, entering the room. He sensed that he had already felt his presence.
"What brings you here, Cole?" Wu asks him calmly, without even lifting his head or opening his eyes, engrossed in his meditation.
"Oh, ah..." Cole stammers, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. He glances at the door, seeing the others urging him to continue. "I just wanted to talk to you, master." He laughs nervously.
"Cole, I've known you for years to know when you're nervous," Wu says, lifting his head and opening his almost golden eyes to the ninja. "I heard a noise outside. Was there an issue with your training?”
Cole pauses, looking intently at his hands. He sighs. "Actually, yes, master," he says honestly. "Actually, with all of us." He steps aside, revealing the others hiding behind the door.
"Correction," Nya adds, "all of us except me. My powers are doing fine." She shrugs.
"Hmm," Wu hums and slowly stands up. Picking up his bamboo staff that was lying beside him. "Could you explain what's wrong?”
Jay didn't waste any time explaining as best he could. "First, Kai's fire burned his plate, and he felt a burn in his hands. Then, we heard Cole in the yard, and when we went to check, he'd made a crater in the ground full of cracks! He also said the force in his hands was too heavy even for him. Then I tried to use my lightning, but I got electrocuted instead! And then Zane tried to use his ice, which was freezing almost everything around him, including himself!" He paused to catch his breath.
Wu's eyebrows widened at that. "Master," Zane began, "we believe this involves Lloyd in some way. Like when he was..." he paused, looking at Kai who looked away. "You know." They all knew this topic always bothered Kai.
Wu paused thoughtfully, holding his chin. "And where is my nephew?" he asked, looking around.
"That's the problem, he doesn't want to leave his room," Nya explains. Wu looks at her and pauses again.
"Strange..." he murmurs, "he normally wakes up earlier to train at this hour…”
"Even stranger than that, he looked like he hadn't slept for hours!" Jay pointed out, "I would know, it's like when my dad works on a project that makes him stay up late and the next day he looks all sleepy.”
"I scanned him before he left; he had high levels of stress and anxiety," Zane informs him, his expression grim and serious. "But... it was higher than normal.”
Yeah, Lloyd having anxiety and stress wasn't a surprise. As the green ninja and leader, he always put a lot of pressure on himself. It was to be expected that he would be like this.
Zane wouldn't question these states if it wasn't normal to this extent. Not that it's a good thing. Lloyd just refused to accept help. Stubborn kid.
"You're his uncle." Kai finally speaks. "Do you know what's going on with him?" He takes a step forward, fists clenched and trembling, his tone serious and worried.
"I..." Wu begins, pausing mid-way, his eyes briefly wandering. "I might have an idea.” He walks past them and goes to the archive room, the ninja following close behind.
Opening the door, he attracts the attention of a special inhabitant of the monastery, the chicken, who was resting in her small nest in a corner. She leaps from the nest, sparks flying from her, and wanders over to them. Jay lightly hides behind Nya.
Wu pats the chicken on the head and leaves it to go to one of the tables. The ninjas look at each other confused while the chicken clucks at them.
"Ah, Master Wu," Cole begins, the second one, "what are we looking for?" Wu looks at him, holding a piece of paper and a pen in his hand.
"Well, I've been writing to my brother for the past few months since we rebuilt the monastery." Wu begins writing on the paper. "We've been sending letters to each other to reconnect.”
"Wait, you've been talking to Garmadon this whole time?" Kai looks behind him, "Lloyd…. He doesn't know about this, right?”
"No, Garmadon asked me to keep this between him and me. If Lloyd wants to talk to him, the choice is his." He finishes writing. The chicken approach. "Here, you know what to do." The chicken releases a spark of electricity and hops away with the letter in its beak.
"Okay, I didn't know you were using the chicken as a message delivery pet!" Jay huffs, crossing his arms. Nya giggles.
"I mean, that thing is practically inexplicable." Kai shrugs. "But anyway, are you going to explain to us what's wrong with Lloyd or not?”
At this point, Kai was getting impatient. He just wanted to know what was bothering his brother. And the others shared the same feeling.
Wu sighs, smoothing his beard. "Yes, i will. But tell me, how old is he turning now?" The others stare at him, confused.
"19." Kai replied. "He said he was 19... that he already knows how to take care of himself." Kai looked down, his eyebrows arching along with his lips.
"I see." Wu nods. He walks past them to the door. "So, the time has come. And I thought this wouldn't happen." He chuckles softly.
"Master Wu, what's going on?" Nya was now the impatient one. Wu turns to them.
"Lloyd is already reaching adulthood..." he pauses, a deep look into his eyes. "He's growing his Oni features."
Immediately, the others let out a unified "WHAT!?", expressions of confusion, conflict, and denial etched on their faces.
Questions piled up, "Is he going to turn back into an Oni again??" "What does that mean??" "Is that like Oni puberty?" "What does that mean for Lloyd??" Too many questions to answer. Wu raises his hand, silencing the five.
"I understand you all have questions, but you'll have to wait." He opens the door, "Now, let's check on my nephew.”
The five look at each other uncertainly, but they follow the master anyway, arriving at Lloyd's door.
"Should we do this as an intervention?" Jay suggests in a whisper, only to receive a smack on the head from Cole in response. He lets out a whimper and falls silent.
Wu clears his throat and knocks on the door. "Nephew?" but nothing comes from the other side.
Kai fiddles with the sleeve of his gi again, looking at the ground with his foot tapping up and down agitatedly. Nya puts a hand on his shoulder but he doesn't react to her touch.
"Lloyd, I'd like to see if you're alright. I heard you haven't left your room. Are you sick?" Wu asks gently, holding his bamboo staff beside him. Once again, silence.
Kai begins to feel his heart pounding. Something is wrong… Kai opens his mouth but nothing comes out; instead, he feels a burning sensation throughout his body. His hands are sweating as if boiling. He feels his breath quickening. I can't wait any longer!
Without even thinking, Kai walks past the others and Master Wu, opening the bedroom door despite their protests. Something in his heart told him, no, screamed that something was wrong.
Lloyd was acting strangely. He never wakes up late, he never skips training, he never stays in his room for more than a minute. Lloyd was social; he didn't act like this.
He didn't care that it was invasive; he needed to be sure that nothing wrong... had happened…
Kai's eyes fixed on the bedroom floor. Tiny green scales and splashes of a red and violet liquid splattered across the normally clean floor.
He followed the trail to Lloyd's bedside. Fragments of a golden crumbs lay on the floor, also stained with the liquid—no, blood. It was blood. Human and Oni blood.
Kai's horrified eyes stared at the foot of the bed. Lloyd sat on the floor, his normally vibrant green eyes now filled with fear and guilt. The green ninja was holding one of his daggers, now stained with scratches and blood. Blood that also stained Lloyd's hands. Blood that dripped from his head.
At the top of his head, protruding from his skull, a pair of horns, but with a catch. One of the horns had been forcibly cut off, the golden ivory stump bleeding down Lloyd's face. The blood mingled with his tears. In one of Lloyd's trembling hands was the remnant of the horn, golden just like the other.
Kai took a step back in shock and horror at what he was seeing. His little brother, his best friend, was hurting himself like this without them knowing.
He covered his mouth in horror, and a scream came from behind him. The others started to enter the room, but Kai couldn't hear what they were saying.
Kai couldn't hear the shouts or the questions. He and Lloyd stared at each other. Lloyd had a terrified look, a hint of guilt in his emerald eyes. The boy dropped the dagger and horn in his hand as he clenched his hands in his hair in panic, beginning to cry out loud.
This was what snapped Kai out of his paralysis and rushed to comfort him.
"Lloyd!!" Kai ran and knelt beside him, holding him in his arms in panic. He began to comfort the younger boy, stroking him and placing his head on his chest, smoothing his blood-stained hair. "It's okay, I'm here Lloyd..." his voice broke. For the first time in a long time, he felt tears escape his eyes. He rarely cried.
The others tried the same. Nya had a look of horror in her eyes; he had never seen her so horrified, not even when watching horror movies.
She was making circles on Lloyd's back, holding his hand with her other hand and wetting it with water she conjured. Cole ran to the bathroom with Zane, returning with a first-aid kit and a towel.
Jay was almost having a panic attack but was trying to stay calm so he could help when possible. And Wu. Kai had never seen him so petrified.
Kai lifts Lloyd up with Nya's help and places him on the bed, but Lloyd doesn't want to let go, clinging to both Kai and Nya. He grips Kai's gi tightly, his claws digging into the fabric, and holds Nya's hand firmly.
He looks at Kai weakly, as if begging not to be let go. Kai felt his heart break and he sat up on the bed with Nya, Lloyd resting his head on Kai's shoulder while holding her hand.
Cole and Zane began working on Lloyd's wounds. First, Cole asked Nya to wet the towel he had brought, briefly mentioning that one of the towels was missing. Upon hearing this, Lloyd flinched.
Gently, Cole began to clean Lloyd's face, careful not to disturb him. He set the towel aside, and with Zane's help, they began to examine the horn. Zane lightly touched the severed horn, and Lloyd winced in pain.
Zane begins by taking a cotton swab and applying alcohol to the gaps between Lloyd's skin, scales, and horn. This causes Lloyd to groan in pain and flinch again, but Zane tries to ignore it, even though it makes him uncomfortable to hear Lloyd in such pain. After that, he scans his body to check his status. When he finishes, he sighs in relief.
"Not a single sign of extra injury," he says, putting away the first aid supplies and grabbing a bandage, wrapping it around the horn stump. Lloyd flinched again, this time Kai stroked his shoulder with his thumb, trying to comfort him.
Cole and Zane finish and put things aside, Cole's hands were trembling. Kai had never seen Cole like this before. Zane places a comforting hand on his shoulder.
Wu slowly approaches and sits beside them. Lloyd lifts his head, having calmed down a little in Kai's arms. Wu's eyes immediately soften at the sight of Lloyd's state; he places his hand on Lloyd's cheek, wiping away his tears. He looks at the horns, his gaze becoming pained.
"Lloyd..." Kai whispered, "what happened...?" he asked softly, gently stroking his shoulder to comfort him. Lloyd looks at all of them and at Kai. He sobs and buries his face in Kai's shoulder.
"I-I..." he whispered weakly, his voice hoarse and pained. "I-I don't know what's...h-happening... They... T-they wouldn't stop growing...it hurts so much...I just wanted to make it stop..." he cried, tightening his grip on Nya's hand. The siblings look at each other.
"Lloyd..." Wu says, his voice becoming serious. "Those horns, they're a part of you. Your Oni part." Hearing this, Lloyd grinds his teeth.
"I HATE THIS PART OF MYSELF!!" he growls, everyone shocked by his attitude. Lloyd's eyes briefly glow violet. "I didn't want to be like this... I didn't ask to be BORN half Oni!!" he cried, burying his face in his hands and curling up in Kai and Nya's arms.
Kai hugged Lloyd tightly, feeling immense pain welling up in his heart. Nya seemed to feel the same, hugging Lloyd just as tightly. The others joined in and embraced Lloyd, including Wu.
"I'm so sorry, Lloyd..." Wu apologized softly, "I should have told you. This is part of your growth as an Oni. Your father went through a similar phase." He said, placing a hand on Lloyd's shoulder as they broke apart from the hug. Lloyd looked at him, confused.
"W-what do you mean, uncle...?" Lloyd sniffled, wiping away tears with his sleeve. "W-what do you mean my father went through s-something similar?” He asked between sobs.
Nya looked at Jay and he immediately understood her message, running to the kitchen very quickly and returning with a glass of water for Lloyd. The younger ninja picks it up and takes a sip.
"As an Oni, your father grew up having to learn about himself, even after being poisoned by the devourer," Wu explains, sitting down beside the three. "But it was only when he reached adulthood that his Oni traits became apparent. Not just the transformation, but horns, claws, markings, and a tail became part of his physique. Something he was able to accept and control.”
"Control...?" Lloyd asked, resting his head on Nya's shoulder.
"Yes, he could control his physical form; The Oni does have the power to shapeshift after all," he confirms.
"Yeah, I remember that..." Nya says, her tone shifting from realization to melancholy in a second. She and Lloyd exchange sorrowful glances.
Kai recalls when they returned from the first realm, they talked about the tea seller Mystake, that she had been an Oni all along and had helped them during the confrontation with Garmadon. She sacrificed herself to help them.
"Yes, Lloyd, this is part of your growth as a young adult. As you yourself said, you're not a child anymore," Wu said, placing his hand on Lloyd's shoulder.
The boy looked at him, his eyes swollen from crying. Lloyd lowered his head, sobbing. Kai wrapped his arm around him in comfort.
Wu gets out of the bed and walks to the door. "I'll get the house ready for our visit." Lloyd looks up at him. "He knows better than I do about this." He leaves through the door. Lloyd is left in silence, putting the pieces together about what he meant.
And then his eyes widened in realization.
"Wait, Dad!?”