TOURNAMENT

6 (Lloyd)

We have the Master of Water. If you want to get her back you will arrive at the Moonlit Dock at midnight tomorrow. Tell no one, and leave your weapons behind

Only one can remain, 

Master Chen.

Cole finished reading, and they all stood in silence for a minute.

"Master Chen," Kai said, his brown eyes confused. "Restaurant Chen?"

"Apparantely not," Cole said, setting the paper down on the table. 

Lloyd stared at the drawing of Orco. It was so...real. Part of him thought this was a joke. Part of him hoped desperately it was real.

"Orco is alive," Cole said.

"We don't know that," Asta said quietly. It sounded like it hurt to talk. Lloyd could tell she was on the verge of tears. 

He set his eyes to his shoes. He could understand. Asta and Orco got along just fine with him, Cole, and Kai (for the most part). But Orco had been her sister, in a way. They were fire and ice. They had balanced each other out. Orco could always calm Asta down.

"Asta," Kai said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We should take this chance."

Asta rubbed her eyes. "But what if this is a trap? They could be using this against us. After the Overlord battle...well, they must have known she was gone. They knew. I just--"

"Since when are you paranoid?" Kai asked. He smiled at her, but it wasn't the same cheeky smile he normally gave her. "Come on, dude. You're the Master of Fire. Nothing scares you, remember?"

"Uh...yeah."

Kai dropped his hand to his side. "The come on, Firecracker. Let's go get her back."

"Don't call me Firecracker," she said quietly, but she didn't look mad.

"Ok, so...we're doing this?" Lloyd said it like a question.

"Yes," Cole said, folding the sketch of Orco and putting it in his pocket. "Wait. Should we check with Wu and Garmadon first?"

"And Brynn?" Asta added.

"The letter said tell no one," Lloyd pointed out, though he felt guilty saying it. This was his dad and uncle they were talking about. He didn't like to lie.

But if he didn't tell them where he was going...

"We can't risk it," Lloyd said.

Cole looked uneasy. "What if something happens to us?"

"It's a risk we have to take," Kai said. "For Orco."

"Ok," Lloyd said. "But we should at least go and collect some necessities before we leave. Don't come in uniform."

"Just when I was starting to miss my gi," Kai joked. 

"Be quiet, Airhead," Asta said. "Just do what the kid says." 

Lloyd smiled. "Then lets go back to home base."

...

The next day, Lloyd started to pack.

Lloyd's room was messy. He rummaged through his drawers trying to figure out what exactly he needed. Would Chen provide these things for him?

"What even is a Tournament of Elements?" Lloyd murmured to himself. 

There was a knock on his door. Lloyd twisted around nervously, accidently knocking over the fishing pole that had been leaning against the wall.

His father leaned against the doorframe, smiling. He was lean and had gray hair that was curly, like Lloyd's. He had creases and wrinkles etched deeply on his face, but overall he looked kind and approachable. Not at all like how he used to look.

"Hi, Dad," Lloyd said, forcing a smile.

"Hello, Son," he said. "Wu, Brynn, your mother, and I were wondering if you could help us work on the Bounty."

Think of a way out. 

Lloyd looked down at the bag at his feet. It was stuffed full of clothing and even hid a few weapons he wasn't supposed to have. He could sneak those. But sneak around his father? That would be much harder. 

"The guys and I are going fishing," he said, quickly. That sounded rational. The bag could hold his fishing pole.

"Guys? Is Asta not going?"

"No," Lloyd blurted. "She's...she's getting her hair...cut."

Garmadon looked confused. Asta's hair was so curly and wild she only let it grow a little past her shoulders. This seemed like a good lie.

So why didn't it look like his dad believed it?

"Anyway," Lloyd said, quickly zipping up the bag. "I'd better go. I'll see you later."

He quickly brushed past Garmadon, his cheeks hot. Lloyd just realized he hated lying to his dad. It had been the first time he'd done it and it made him feel horrible.

This is about Orco, he reminded himself. It will all make sense later.

It wasn't until he was far from home base that Lloyd realized he had left his fishing pole.