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Lloyd wasn’t alone in his hotel room. Skylor and Vania were also there. As well as Vania’s guards.
After defeating the Overlord once again, the ninja started to rebuild the Monastery with the help of their friends. So, everything should be sparkles and confetti, shouldn’t it? Wrong. So very wrong.
The monastery’s foundation was strong again, but certainly not livable as the entire place was ruined with debris. It would take weeks, months even, to fully clean it up.
The whole fiasco left some time to reflect. Lloyd thought about everything that had happened thus far in his short yet eventful life since meeting the ninja. He looked back at when he wished he was like his father, pondering why everything with him was sour now. In fact, Lloyd had no right to be upset with his father. One of the last things he said to him was derived from rage. He often regretted what happened that day.
However, there is something about Garmadon that is different. Despite being a full-blown Oni, he still seemed to have some compassion in him. He had learned how to control his powers and emotions to become more serene from Vinny of NGTV, out of his own will, too. Is his father still inside of this reincarnated body? The gentle old man who swore off fighting, taking over a creature whose only purpose was to destroy?
“Are you guys still awake?”
Lloyd opened his eyes. He was sharing a room with Skylor and Vania. A strange trio indeed. He would’ve preferred to share a room with his brothers and sister, but everyone bought a whole bunch of rooms and didn’t care who went where, just desperate to go to bed.
“Hellooooo?” Skylor was whisper-screaming.
“I’m up,” Lloyd replied.
“Yes, I’m awake as well.” Vania yawned.
“Do you guys want to go to the rooftop?”
Lloyd considered Skylor’s request. It would be nice to breathe some actual oxygen. He got up from his makeshift bed (the couch was a pull-out) and went to where the girls were supposed to sleep.
“Let’s go,”
Hailmar and the other guard remained in the room, trusting Vania to be safe, so it was just the three tenants. They were an unlikely trio: Lloyd Garmadon, the Green Ninja and son of Lord Garmadon. Queen Vania, the ruler of a kingdom that was thought to be a myth up until recently. Skylor Chen, the owner of the Chen’s Noodles Empire. It was strange to have these three together, a thought they would continuously think about the rest of the night.
They were on a terrace. The elevator ride up to the rooftop was silent, but it wasn’t too bad. It was a lot nicer to be here though. The lights of the city were visible and the air was tinged with a light chill. They all sat at a table near the edge.
The ground was beautiful, with all the life being present down there. The sky was magnificent, the stars and moon shining bright and strong. Lloyd wished he could paint a picture of it in his mind. The dark blue sky with hints of a deep purple hue, the moon marking its spot in both reality and mind. The stars were tiny children, dancing around their precious moon-mother. This photo was something Lloyd wished to have with him forever, ingrained in his mind for years and generations to come.
“These stars remind me of back home.”
Lloyd was shaken from his thoughts and looked towards who said that, which was Vania.
“How was Shintaro like at night? I was kind of preoccupied with other things when it was nighttime.” Lloyd asked her.
“Oh, it was just like this. The moon was much bigger, because we are closer up to the sky, but the stars were as beautiful as they are here.” Her voice lit up talking and Lloyd had to smile at that, after all, they were around the same age with similar burdens, so it was nice to hear her less stressed. “When I was younger, I used to imagine that the stars were special people. Aliens, I think is what you call them here, but I used to think that one day a shooting star would come and bring me to the sky.”
“That would be nice. I wish I could be taken up into the sky.” Skylor said. “Imagine how freeing it would be, just being a star, floating around, making friends with the others, roaming around, and taking the galaxy in.”
“That would be nice,” Lloyd agreed. No burden of being responsible for anyone. That was the dream. His friends aren’t burdens, but they weigh down his heart more than anyone. He is responsible for them, which pressures him a lot. “I wish I could go back to when I was young. Where this burden of being the Green Ninja wasn’t even something I knew of.”
The three were silent for a while, considering these words. The three of them had grown up relatively early, destiny having other plans. It was a giant load that needed to be carried, and they were the steeds in front of the carriage.
“When I think of my childhood, I think of my father.” Skylor said gloomily. She cradled her head on her arms, which rested on the edge of the building.
“Yeah, you were on that island for years. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to finally be free.” Lloyd stated, moving his gaze onto the red-head.
“Yes, it was an enlightening experience, trying to fit into modern society. I don’t regret working with you, but, every once in a while, I still think of him. During the long, dark, and quiet hours of the night. I think and wonder if I hurt him. When I’m hurt, I think about him, wishing he was with me. He was a jerk, an evil warlord, an awful human being, but he was still my father. He brought me up after my mother…” she cut herself off and sighed. “Actually, I don’t even know what happened to her. I never questioned what Chen told me, much less what he didn’t. She might be out there. Maybe I could see her again.”
Vania put her hand on Skylor’s shoulder. “I understand this too. After my mother died giving birth to me, my father was the one whom I looked up to. He had this sort of spirit to him. Like he was otherworldly. He was above everything else. I believed and trusted him for so long—” Vania stopped herself, but Lloyd gave her an encouraging look, his eyebrows raised and his lips slightly turned up. This helped her continue. “I don’t regret helping the ninja either, it was for the better anyways. But sometimes, I wish it could’ve been different with him. It might be because I was his only daughter, but he was always gentle with me. He always just wanted what was best for me. Maybe he should have learned from himself as well.” she spat bitterly. “I wonder if I truly deserve to be on the throne after I betrayed him. I wish I could’ve had more time to learn from him. I am being selfish, but I can’t help it.”
“Hey, don’t blame yourself for what Vangelis did,” Lloyd said while patting her hand, which rested on the table. “It was his own decisions that led him down that road, not you.” Vania smiled gently at him. “You were a child. And now you are queen.”
“And now I am queen.” she repeated, though not enthusiastically.
“We are all responsible for so much so quickly. I was immediately thrust into Chen’s business and had to learn everything on my own without him to teach me. Well, except for cooking.” Skylor said with a teasing smile. “My entire identity was tied to him. The business was under his name, so while I’m the CEO, he still lingers, questioning my every move. Even if I was the kindest and most generous person, his name continues to haunt me.” For Skylor, Chen’s name was an ugly scar that she would never be rid of. He would always be there, even if she healed. He would be behind everything she does and doesn’t do. That terrified her.
“We can’t change what our parents did, but we can stop that from affecting us.” Lloyd said, looking to Skylor. “When I was a kid, all I wanted to do was become my father. I wanted to make him proud. When I became the Green Ninja, he said he was proud of me, even though we were on opposite sides. When I turned him good, he was wonderful.” Lloyd painfully recounted the memories. The wounds were scabbed, but they still ached. “And right before he sacrificed himself, I was so awful to him. When I saw him in the cursed realm for the last time, he said he’d always be with me.” Lloyd spat, hot tearing stinging his eyes. Vania sat up to give him a small hug, which Lloyd accepted. Skylor joined them as well, the three in a gentle embrace. It comforted Lloyd and was a stark contrast to the chilly air of the late night. Human touch and interaction were something Lloyd had been deprived of, so he was ever so grateful for the two girls.
“But now, with the resurrected Garmadon, I wonder if I even knew my father at all. I wonder if he ever truly loved me”
“Lloyd, your father did love you. This version Harumi brought isn’t the same man,” Skylor said, pulling away from him to look directly at him. “He might still be out there.”
“You really think so?” Lloyd asked, wiping the remaining tears off his cheek.
“I know so. The Departed Realm still stands, so Garmadon would be there.”
Lloyd thought about it. It made the most sense, according to Skylor. It still hurt, though, that he could still be thinking about his son’s words.
“I wonder the same thing, if it makes you feel better. Chen wasn’t really the….affectionate type.” Skylor said with a smile of amusement, though there was a hint of bitterness and force to it that Lloyd noted,
“Yeah, I feel like my father loved me before, but now, he seems to be confused. I don’t even know, it’s so complicated. I wonder if he’s still hurt by the words I said to him before his sacrifice. Maybe, he never loved me at all.”
“No, Lloyd. I may not have known your father, but from what I’ve heard and read, I know that he loved you. Why else would he sacrifice himself for you and your friends?” Vania jumped in, sort of sternly, like Lloyd was being ridiculous for even suggesting that. He looked at the queen, astonished he ever thought her to be evil and astonished she knew so much about the ninja and their adventures.
“I don’t even know how to describe my feelings, I just know I wish everything was better.”
“Ain’t that the truth.” Skylor yawned. Then, after a pause, said, “You know, being evil and not having a moral compass was quite freeing.”
The three chuckled at that, feeling the weight of the words, but also finding amusement and comfort that all of them feel the same burdens.
“I can understand that. Wanting to go back to the past. It was so much simpler. Our dads were like our Gods. It just feels, I don’t even know the word for it.” Vania pondered aloud. The three were all quite for a while, leaving one another to their own thoughts.
“Epiphany.”
“What?”
“Epiphany,” Lloyd said again. “that’s the word you’re looking for.”
“How’d you figure that out?” Skylor asked curiously.
The young ninja shrugged, it just came to him. It was his own personal revelation that he didn’t know where it came from. Maybe it came from above the clouds? Perhaps his mind, which absorbed whatever he read. Whatever the reason, it doesn’t matter.
“An epiphany….” Vania said, seemingly enjoying the way the syllables rolled off her tongue.
The three were quiet once more, memories of their fathers rushing over them. Their childhood and identity came from them, and unfortunately, so did their heartbreak and pain. If only they had more time together, maybe then, they would come to their senses. But they didn’t, and it hurts. So damn much.
“Hey look, the sky is waking up!” Skylor said. Lloyd stopped zoning out and saw the deep blue of the skyline transform orange and pink. It looked beautiful. The clouds looked so soft and ethereal and the sun was rising as an intense orange bulb of light in the sky. The sky followed the journey of these three kids, talking and thinking together. It was comforting, that the sky looked after them the way their parents did not, and understood them far more than they understood themselves.
As the three watched the sunrise, they heard shuffling near the elevator. Hailmar and the other guard were there, and that was their signal to head back down. Lloyd looked back at the sky, it was turning more blue, which marked that their day is starting. They are starting something anew, and they will rise from the ashes of their predecessors.