The True Green Ninja

Twenty-Two

A/n

Thanks for your patience! I know I've been neglecting this book, but I promise I haven't abandoned it.

Also, I would advise you to throw away any previous knowledge you have of the actual plot of the show. Go ahead, toss it out the window! You won't be needing it; I'm about to mess it up... mainly because I don't remember the storyline but let's pretend it's all a part of my master plan mwahahaha!

Anyways...

Enjoy the chapter!

-------------Jay's POV---------------

I wake up to a loud crashing sound. I sit straight up, then accidentally fall off the bed.

"Yowza!" Nya shrieks as I land beside her.

"Sorry," I mumble, pushing myself off the ground.

"You okay?" she asks, helping me up.

"Yeah, I'm great. What was that noise?"

We quickly get dressed and head out of the bedroom, just as another crash echoes through the bounty.

"Lloyd! Get out of the kitchen!" Zane yells. Nya and I appear in the doorway just as Lloyd hurries away.

"What was that all about?" Nya asks.

Zane sighs. " Lloyd wanted to help make breakfast, but it turns out he's a disaster of a chef."

"Aww, poor kid," I say. "He just wants to be of use around here."

"I'll go talk to him," Nya offers, then exits the room.

I take a seat at the counter as Zane adds another pancake to the stack. As I grab a plate and some utensils, I notice Zane is... smirking?

"Why are you avoiding eye contact with me?" I ask.

"Oh, no reason."

"Come on, spill."

He finally looks up from the pan. "You spent the night with Nya, didn't you?"

I nearly choked on my mouthful of pancake. "What makes you say that?"

"Your bed was empty all night."

I got up to go pour myself a glass of orange juice. "Okay, fine, I did, but it's not what you think."

Zane raises an eyebrow.

"Honest! She noticed I was limping, so she helped me bandage my leg. I didn't want to wake you guys up, so I spent the night in Nya's room."

"Yeah, sure," Zane says, rolling his eyes.

I laugh in annoyance. "Of course now you know how to use sarcasm."

"Ooh, pancakes!" someone says. I turn to see Cole entering the room, followed by the rest of the team.

"What's the occasion?" Kai asks with a yawn.

Zane shrugs. "Just felt like cooking, that's all."

"I'm okay with that!" Cole says. "Give me pancakes for breakfast any day!"

----------------Nya's POV-------------------

I exit the kitchen and go looking for Lloyd. I check his room first, but he's not there. I ruffle my brow in confusion; where else could he have gone?

I close his bedroom door and walk down the hall. I'm about to check the bathroom when I hear a creak in the floorboards above me.

I head up above deck and look around for the little guy. I still can't see him, but then I hear a sniffling sound from behind the mast.

I walk over to the wooden pole and see Lloyd hiding behind it. His legs are curled up into his chest, and his forehead is pressing into his knees. He's pulling at his hair as he cries softly.

"Lloyd?"

He looks up at me with red, puffy eyes. His face is stained with tears.

"What's wrong, buddy?" I ask, sitting down next to him.

His breath hitches as he wipes his face with the heel of his hand. He hiccups as he tries to get control over his breathing.

"I-I'm sorry, N-Nya," he chokes out. "I d-didn't m-mean t-to—"

"Shhh, it's okay," I whisper, pulling the kid in for a hug. "You're allowed to cry, you know that?"

"I am?"

"Yes! It's a way to express emotion," I say as I gently rock him back and forth. "Now, why don't you tell me what's the matter?"

Lloyd sniffles. "Why am I here, Nya?"

I stop rocking him. "What do you mean?"

"What's the point of keeping me on the bounty? All I do is cause trouble, I don't have any ninja skills, and I'm not capable of doing anything good. Not even my own mother wanted me!"

I run a hand through his hair. "Listen, honey. We don't expect you to do anything but enjoy your childhood. You don't have any responsibilities yet, so quit worrying! You'll find a purpose when you're older. And as for Misako...  she never wanted to abandon you, she just thought she was doing the right thing. She wanted to find out all she could about the prophecy so she could prevent the final battle from taking place. She thought you were going to be the green ninja, and she didn't want you and your father to fight."

He sighs. "I guess you're right. But... wait a second. You said my mom was trying to prevent the final battle from happening between me and my dad?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, what if she succeeded in doing that?"

I didn't have time to answer before I heard my brother's voice calling me from below deck.

"Yo, Nya! Get your butt down here! Sensei's calling an emergency meeting!"

I roll my eyes and stand up, helping Lloyd in the process. We both run down to the training room, where the rest of the team—plus Misako—is waiting. I squeeze into the semi circle between Kai and Jay and then give Sensei my full attention.

"Now that you're all here, I would like to discuss the matter at hand," he starts. "Based off of the incident with the some warrior, I think it's safe to say the final battle is closer than ever. We need to come up with our next move. Any ideas?"

Everyone looks away, unsure of what to say, but then Misako suddenly pipes up.

"Maybe we should go to the dark island."

"Goodness gracious, why would we need to go there?" Sensei asks.

"That's where the stone warrior originated from. The Overlord was banished there many years ago, and from what I've read, he might assist Garmadon in the final battle."

"Right," Cole says. "So in order to better our chances, we should take him down before Garmadon gets to him."

"But if the Overlord is destined to play a part in the final battle, wouldn't his alliance with Garmadon be inevitable?" Zane asks.

"Maybe," Misako shrugs. "But it doesn't hurt to try."