The Ones That Got Away [Complete]

The Messenger

Another chapter I wrote while in Germany - btw, I haven't seen the new episodes (apart from the first one) yet but will try to catch up over the weekend.

The Messenger

Lloyd slowly opened his eyes, wondering where in Ninjago (or any other Realm) he was going to find himself this time.

He blinked as a bright light blinded him, concluding that he was not inside the Temple anymore. Also, he could feel a light breeze, further suggesting that he was somewhere outside and he took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh air.

The ground beneath his aching body felt sandy, but it was not like the one in the desert in the First Realm. It was much finer and not as red.

It was more like...

Lloyd finally realised that he was back at the beach of the Dark Island. The very place where he had first fought – and failed to defeat – his father.

"Welcome back." PIXAL smiled at him when he had finally managed to fully open his eyes. The Nindroid had been sitting next to the young Master, watching him wake up. "How are you feeling?"

"Ugh..." He groaned, trying to sit up.

"Here." PIXAL offered to help him and this time, Lloyd was happy to accept the female Samurai's assistance.

"Thank you." Lloyd flashed her a grateful smile. "I-I'm alright... at least I think I am."

When they saw their teammate awake, the two other girls, who had been sitting by the water, a little bit away from the other pair, jumped up and came rushing towards them.

"How did we get back down here?" Lloyd wanted to know.

"PIXAL has carried you all the way down the mountain." Skylor explained. "She was amazing."

"Oh, it was nothing." PIXAL stated, slightly embarrassed. "But after the light beam had collapsed, the Temple's structure appeared to be rather unstable." She explained. "It would not have been reasonable to remain up there any longer. And the three of us had gotten quite a good rest, for you were out for a couple of hours. What happened?"

Yes, what had happened? Wracking his brain, memories started to slowly come back to Lloyd... the Oni, the First Spinjitzu Master and...

"It is really great to have a Nindroid on the team." Nya gave her friend a side hug. "And not only because of her skills."

"Thank you." PIXAL smiled. "I am glad to be part of this team." But the sad look on her face suggested that she would rather be part of a team with five more members.

The rest of our team... Lloyd's eyes widened as he suddenly remembered.

"Yes." He jumped up, only to feel dizzy.

"And... you know, what you've said up there gave us some extra strength." Nya said, firmly grabbing his arm and helping him sit down again.

"Well, some of us." Skylor added. Lloyd could feel some tension between the close friends.

"Lloyd." The Water Ninja locker her eyes with his. "What did you mean when you said 'They're alive.'?" She asked. "Please, I-we need to know."

"The guys." He told them. "And Wu. I-I saw them."

"You mean you've seen a vision of them?" Skylor piped up.

"No." Lloyd carefully shook his sore head. "I was there. Well, my mind was."