the other side | ninjago

a moment of rest

The team was once again at a loss as to what to do. This was now becoming a common occurrence. They decided to venture beyond the city limits today in search of Cole and Zane. They had had enough of waiting for their next attack. They didn't know when they'd lose another friend, and they couldn't just sit around and wait for it to happen.

They gathered their bearings and proceeded to the bounty's top deck. As they approached the top deck, they noticed that one of their team members was missing. Lloyd was nowhere to be found, and there had been no word from him all day. They contacted him, but they did not receive a response.

"Did anyone see him leave? Oddly, he doesn't say anything," said Kai.

"I didn't," Nya admitted. They decided to track down Sensei Wu and ask if he had seen him.

"Hey Sensei, have you seen Lloyd?" asked Jay.

"No, I have not. Is he not here?" responded Sensei.

"No, he is not. We are going to keep looking for him," said Kai.

He was nowhere to be found, despite their thorough search of the entire bounty. Meanwhile, Lloyd was at the coffee shop down the street with the girl while they continued to look for him. It's not surprising, given that she had occupied his thoughts all day. They sat at a small table together. He kept his mask on because he didn't want her knowing his identity to put her in danger. She took the day off from work, so they could talk. They talked for a while, mostly about trivial matters because he was not able to get too deep. Because she had nothing to hide from him, Sadie was able to tell him more about her life. Her identity was already known.

"Where do you come from?" he asked.

"It was just me, my father, my mother, and my dog in a small town not far from here. My mother is no longer with us, but my father and dog are still in my life," she stated.

"I am so sorry to hear about your mother," he said.

"It's all right, we weren't too close. I found myself spending more time with my dog and working on technology around the house." She let out a small laugh, but her voice was full of honesty.

"I always wanted a dog," he said, also trying to change the subject.

She said, "They're always there for you. He is so good to have around; he is very helpful."

With her, he felt secure. He was careful not to reveal any useful information, but he was able to rely on her to ask questions. Metaphorical ones. She had been thrown into his life for a reason, but he had no idea what it was. He just wished he could get more personal with her and reveal his true identity to her. She put no pressure on him to reveal who he was, which made her even more special to him. It became time to say goodbye because Lloyd knew his team was going to be looking for him soon.

He noticed she was pretty prone to fidgeting around when she sat. As she began to get up to move her belongings she scratched her upper arm pulling up the long sleeve of the shirt she was wearing. This revealing what he could make out to be a flower tattoo her right arm. 

"That's a nice tattoo. What is it?" said Lloyd.

"Oh this! It's a daisy, for my mother. Her name was Daisy." said Sadie

"That's very nice. Thank you very much. It's nice to be able to talk with someone I don't see every day." Lloyd stated.

"Of course, I just wish I could get to know the real you," she said.

"Someday," he responded, knowing he couldn't just yet. "I'll see you soon, Sadie,"

He rose from his seat and made his way to the front door. He had a feeling he'd be back soon. Before leaving, he looked behind him to see if he could see her again. As he walked away, she smiled at him. He knew he had to stop being distracted and find his friends. He was delighted to make new friends, but he couldn't abandon his other ones, his family.

When he returned to the bounty, his friends were all concerned.

"Lloyd! What were you doing?" Nya questioned.

"Probably with his girlfriend," said Jay, jokingly.

Lloyd couldn't help but blush in front of his friends.

"Oh, so you were," said Jay, laughing again.

"Not my girlfriend! Let's find our friends," he said, still obviously blushing.

"Let us not be sidetracked. They require our assistance now more than ever." Sensei stated.

Lloyd was briefed on the team's plan, and he agreed. They now set out for the outskirts of Ninjago to search in the hopes of finding some answers. They turned the bounty around, but as they did so, a large crash erupted from the ship's back corner. They all dashed over to see what was going on. They could only see a vine jammed into the side of the bounty as they looked over the side. Their hunt had come to an end; the masked figure had found them first, yet again.