Ninjago Dragons Rising: the Off-Screen Moments

Brotherly Love

"As iron sharpens iron,
So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."

Proverbs 27:17

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It's crazy how fast time flies.

Five years without friends or loved ones may not seem much, but for Lloyd Garmadon each day was long, dreary, and boring, without a soul to keep him company in his darkest hours — which was basically every day now, since everyone is gone. Normal days usually filled with happy people with bright smiles on their faces, yearning for adventure, were now haunted by demons of loneliness, only sparing Lloyd's life for the sake of their taunts. The excruciating slowness of each passing day made him lose track of time; it was a miracle for him that those five painful years have passed. And it seemed that fate had taken advantage of this, for when he first recognized his dearest friend under the red mask of the Fire Ninja, it was like they'd never been apart in the first place.

When Kai Smith woke up on Destiny's Bounty, the hopes of seeing his friends waking alongside him were shattered as he searched every corner of the ship but in vain. He had no choice but to search the strange lands combined with the Realm they all call home. Some lands were familiar, some were not, but each day of harrowing adventures only reminded him that he had no one to share them with. Every "friend" and accomplice he met on the road to the Monastery only reminded him of the true friends he called family. Every familiar place or thing he encountered always brought all sorts of memories of them in his head. Every single thing had to bear some reference to them, and he was so sick and tired — sometimes even annoyed — by it that he would fall into bouts of depression that never seemed to disappear. But hope never gave up on him, for when he arrived at the Monastery thinking he'll be the only one going to wake up that morning, a glimpse of green eyes and professional Spinjitzu made him realize he was wrong.

So reunited the brothers are, after five years of wandering in the thought of never seeing each other again.

After defeating a Mergequake that afternoon, they sat at the porch of the Monastery, talking quite a while about their changing world — over some freshly brewed tea, of course. New, mystical Realms only mentioned in ancient scrolls were described in perfect detail by the Fire Ninja. Even the Green Ninja, who didn't travel much outside the countryside where he lived, had discovered Mergequakes, in addition to the replacement of the surrounding rice patties for lush, exotic, neon plants dotting the grasslands.

Despite all these changes, one change stood out the most, and that was the disappearance of their friends — no, family. The closeness they had to each of them made the pain of losing them harder to bear. And it made it harder for the brothers to stay on topic.

"Welp! So much for our world when it's not even complete," Kai blurted. He attempted a fake smile but in vain.

"Don't force it, Kai," Lloyd replied, noticing Kai's actions. He sighed; "I know how you feel, too."

Kai looked hopefully into his green eyes, desperately trying to find the same pain he experienced.

Breaking his gaze, Lloyd continued; "I miss Zane, I miss Pixal, I miss Jay, Nya, my Mom, my Dad, Master Wu — not to mention Harumi —"

"Her, too?" Kai asked, surprised.

"Yeah," he shrugged.

"Heck, I got a ton of people on my list, too," Kai said, cracking a small chuckle. "Besides the ones you mentioned, I got Cole, Skylor, my Mom, and Dad. I guess Ronin could be on the list as well. . . Cyrus Borg, Nelson. . . the mailman. . ."

He trailed off into a sigh, that sigh soon fading like the countenance in his heart.

Lloyd, seeing his friend's face fall into sadness, gave him a comforting pat on the back. "Don't worry. I'm sure we'll see them again someday. If not, then. . .maybe we'll see their likeness in someone else—"

"NO ONE WILL EVER REPLACE THEM, EVER!!" Kai shouted, bursting into tears. "I see them every. Where. I go. I see Cole in the dragon statue; I see Jay in the clouds; I see my sister in the blue sky; I see Zane in the walls of this Monastery; I see Master Wu in this tea cup — I-I even see you when I check myself in the mirror every morning!" he stammered. "And it hurts me knowing that it's not the real thing. . ."

Kai buried his head in his arms, hiding the waterfall of tears flowing freely like a wild river from his sore, red eyes. Lloyd was on the verge of tears, shocked by his friend's outburst. Usually, he would burst into anger simply because he was angry, but bursting in rage fueled by sorrow and frustration — that's something he never expected him to do, at least in the open.

Convincing won't work for a guy in depression, and Lloyd knows that. Even he didn't believe the encouraging words he spoke to Kai in the moments before. All he knows is that they both are experiencing the same thing and that they both need comfort for that.

"Kai. . ." By this time, Lloyd's eyes couldn't contain the tears in them. "We can do this together," he tried to say confidently.

"What do you mean?"

"Brother sharpens brother, right?" Lloyd answered. "I feel just as much sorrow and frustration as you do. It's been pretty lonely here at the Monastery all those years, and that loneliness has consumed me to the point where I don't even believe I exist. But, I guess fate proved me wrong because you're back, and that's all that matters."

He smiled through his tear-stained complexion, placing his hand around Kai and pulling him into a loving embrace. Kai was so carried away that he didn't bother about the tears still falling from his eyes and hugged Lloyd back.

"Yeah. You're right, Lloyd," Kai replied, a hopeful grin now written across his face. "Brother sharpens brother; we'll go through this together."