TIGHTROPE | Llorumi fanfiction

Pt 2 What Seems So Tiny And Fragile...

Lloyd found himself sitting in a boat made of dark wood. The first feeling he was met with in this new world was a strange feeling of dreaming. Almost like the whole world around him was unreal, like it would crumble to dust if only he touched it. Lloyd ran his hand over the wood. It didn't.

All he could see was the grey plumbeous sky and the sea of the same color, slightly covered by mist. He could discern the coastline though, but it was barely visible because of the fog.

Lloyd slowly stood up, moving like if he was in the water. His head refused to work properly. He was frightened, but at the same time, he felt so calm and peaceful like he never did before.

It's all over. Your fight is over. You don't need to run anywhere now.

Words appeared out of nowhere and scared him a bit. Lloyd turned around and saw the boatman at the back of the boat. His eyes were glued to the coastline, barely blinking. At first, Lloyd didn't even notice his presence. Like a shadow, the boatman silently moved his boat to the coast with his oar...

Lloyd regained his consciousness standing on the coastline. Right in front of him, a big city was towering - the city of Limbo.

The city looked neglected, forgotten, abandoned. Grey, gloomy buildings were partly destroyed, covered by thick mist. Some of them resembled those of Ninjago City, but never did Ninjago have that apathetic atmosphere. Lloyd could see some of the citizens though - not a pretty sight either. Those were frightened people with eyes full of despair and sadness.

As he approached the nearest street, Lloyd could see them closer. It appeared that not every one of them looked despaired. Some of them glared at him with wolfish eyes full of hate and greed. These were not just civilians.

Lloyd quickly analyzed the situation. Cities like this one – abandoned, with no police, civil law, or administration – have criminal authorities to manage all the issues. This is who they were: criminals, gangsters, mafia. They must have had a big boss or something who rules the city. Others are citizens, terrorized by this mafia for God knows how long.

He could hear whispers, mumbling all around him. Some citizens mocked him, some spoke in a whisper, some run away, but one phrase he could distinguish clearly:

The Green Ninja is dead.

Anxiety was growing inside of him. More and more people came to the street to watch him running and looking around. More and more local 'gangsters' surrounded him until he knew that fight was inevitable. He had never had so much fear.

He ran into the nearest building. It was a bar, a typical bar with a grumbling bartender and noisy clients. Lloyd sat at the counter and ran his eyes over the place. There were even more gangsters. They were laughing and preparing to attack, while other bandmates entered the bar and blocked all the exits.

Way too quick the gangsters completely encircled him. Right now, right there Lloyd needed to fight. But he couldn't. His body was shaking, his breath was trembling. He had no weapon. Head was blowing up from one horrifying question: "Am I dead? Am I really dead?"

This was the moment that defines a fighter from a coward. You either accept your fate or fight back.

Right at that moment, somebody entered the bar. Lloyd couldn't see the man because he was too frightened to turn around. Lloyd just stared at the table and carefully listened to every little noise in the room.

Giggle. Mumbling. Tinkling of weapons.

"What are you looking at, old man?" - voice belonged to one of the criminals. It was completely silent since the man entered the room, and the pause had already seemed way too awkward...

"Vultures... You don't usually work in such big groups. What's the matter, huh?" - the voice of an old man sounded confident and somehow familiar... But Lloyd's was too busy to process this.

"It's none of your business, old man. Go away before I get annoyed!"

The tension was rising up. The old man wouldn't get out of here alive if Lloyd sat there and did nothing.

"Do you know who you're talking to? Finish this circus, I asked you a question: who are you hunting now?"

CRASH! - Lloyd threw a big glass mug at the nearest gangster. Before he could fall, Lloyd quickly jumped to him and snatched a katana from his hands.

"Y'all wanna get me? Try!"

Lloyd rushed to the middle of the room, pushing criminals from his way. In the center, he met the old man. They were wearing a black mask that covered their face but couldn't hide his gray hair. His frayed clothes were tightened by a number of belts with strange schemes, patterns, and amulets on them. The man was holding a katana, too.

Both of them stood back-to-back in the middle, ready to fight. Lloyd kicked one gangster in front of him, blocked a hit from another one, and then attacked him with a roundhouse kick. He threw one enemy over himself, then pushed a table with his leg so that it felt on a bunch of gangsters.

In fact, the local mafia was very bad at fighting. Not good enough for a ninja, at least. But there were dozens of them.

When Lloyd finished the battle, he needed some time to catch his breath. Lloyd moved his eyes to an old man. The man was staring motionlessly at Lloyd. His eyes were the only thing Lloyd could see, but they alone clearly expressed mixed emotions – surprise, joy, and sorrow.

"Is everything okay, mister...?"

The man made a few steps towards Lloyd. Then he took his mask off. Lloyd's breathing stopped; his eyes widened. He was standing in front of the man he thought he'd never ever see again, much less fight with on the same side. The man that used to keep all Ninjago in horror...

"D-Dad?"

"I've never thought I'd see you here, son..."