Meeting Master Wu

Lloyd

  Unedited

Now when Wu came to visit Lloyd he had absolutely no idea his small little nephew was on the path of being the destined green ninja. Lloyd didn't remember his first meeting with Wu. He was only a few months only meaning he wasn't at Darkley's yet.

  Wu had learned from a letter addressed from Misako and Garmadon that they were expecting a child. Though the notion that Misako was not in love with him made him sad he was always one for children and the fact he had a new young baby in his life, his family, made him smile. Wu finally got the time to meet Lloyd after a long day of sorting out the various scrolls. Master Wu was well aware that though Garmadon was happy he was still affected by the venom. Meaning his time with his lovely family was very short. But Wu was ready to support them every inch of the way.

  Wu made it to their small little house and knocked his staff on the door. It opened quickly, a bright wide smiling face behind the door.

"Wu!" Garmadon embraced his brother, his red eyes filled with joy. "I'm so glad you could come!"

Wu chuckled. "I wouldn't miss seeing my new nephew for the world." Wu nodded to him. "Now where is he?"

Garmadon led him through the house into the living room where Misako was holding a small bundle. Wu tried to ignore the way his heart fluttered when he saw her and shoved down the feelings to gaze at the little being in her arms.

"Ready to meet Uncle Wu?" She murmured to her child as she passed over the swaddled baby to Wu's awaiting arms. Wu stared in awe at the little thing, with a bright smiling face and big green eyes. A small tuft of light blonde hair on his head.

Wu bounced the giggling baby as he gurgled and blew a wet bubble. "What did you name him?" Wu asked. The couple had kept their choices under wraps.

Garmadon sat beside his wife and they exchanged a smile. "Well..." Misako started.

"His name is Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon." He revealed.

Wu stared down at Lloyd. "It suits him."

His eyes began to droop and Misako stood, Wu reluctantly handed over the baby as she rocked him.

"I better get him to sleep." She said with amusement, giving Garmadon a mock glare. "I told you not to waste his energy so early in the morning."

Garmadon raised his hands in surrender with a chuckle. "I think he enjoyed it."

Misako shook her head as she brought her child away. Wu glanced at Garmadon, the smile dropped and the older sibling sighed.

"I know what you're going to say, brother," Garmadon grumbled. "You've always been the killjoy."

"Killjoy or not we must be aware of the upcoming events," Wu spoke carefully.

"I am perfectly aware!" Garmadon snapped, standing abruptly. "Don't you realize the very idea doesn't haunt me every day?"

He threw an arm to where his joyful family disappeared. "That maybe someday I'll threaten their safety because I'll no longer be able to control it?"

"I've tried everything Garmadon," Wu said softly, his eyes sad. "I even went through Father's old scrolls."

Garmadon stared wide-eyed. Wu had always been careful with those ancient scripts. Never daring to go near them or let anyone else unless they absolutely had to. It meant a lot to him that his brother broke that unspoken rule just to give him a happy life with his family.

"All we can do now is enjoy it while it lasts," Garmadon spoke finally.

Wu nodded, but his eyes trailed to the picture of him and his family on the coffee table.

******

The second time Lloyd met his uncle was far later. It was not long after his mother dropped him off at Darkley's.

Lloyd remembered getting there and already hating the place. Though his father was evil he had inherited the empathetic emotions from both his mother and his father. He didn't want his mother to leave him, he didn't understand why he had to go there. She had tearfully kissed him goodbye and then left, saying she'd come back.

So every day Lloyd would wait. But every day the streets would be empty. The kids weren't that nice there. There were small acts of kindness of course but the boys quickly hid those in fear of not being 'bad enough'. Pranks started and the teachers encouraged rotten behaviour, going out of their way to being cruel to the children as well. Making sure to exhibit a harsh and unfair attitude towards the students.

After being yelled at and then finding dye in his shampoo Lloyd sat in the garden with green hair wishing his mother would come back. It was then he realized that if his parents were to come back he'd have to get their attention. So that would mean shoving away kindness and becoming a bratty bad boy like everyone else.

So that meant pranks. Lloyd began pranking teachers, students, roommates. It became second nature. He shoved away his feelings and put on a rude demeanour, only putting it away to read comic books under his blanket with a flashlight.

One day Lloyd was scribbling with a crayon on the walls outside of the school. He didn't notice the person walk up behind him.

"I don't believe Misako taught you to vandalize Lloyd." A calm voice spoke.

Lloyd turned and furrowed his eyebrows when he saw an unfamiliar man there. "What do you want?" He asked snarkily, gathering his crayons and things into his backpack, his grip slipped and the bag fell on its side, its contents praying across the ground.

The mean bent to pick up a picture frame, in it was a photograph of him, his mother, and his father. The man suddenly looked sad.

"I'm sorry your mother sent you here." The man said softly. "I didn't realize she had until today."

Lloyd narrowed his eyes, they widened when they recognized the face from the pictures that used to hang in his parent's room. "Uncle Wu?"

The man smiled. "So you do remember."

Lloyd scrambled to get his things. "Um...uh...what are you doing here?" His father had always talked a lot about Wu. He couldn't believe he was here-now! Right when he was drawing on a wall like a jerk.

"I came to see you." Wu stared at the drawings that were sketched upon the wall. He wasn't one to just draw swirls everywhere. The pictures were full of superheroes and Knights, astronauts and dragons. At the very bottom, there were three stick figures. A family.

Lloyd looked away. "I gotta go. I have class soon," he mumbled, a little bit of shame rising in the form of a blush creeping up his cheeks,

Wu watched him shuffle quickly away, but he let his nephew go. He had to, as much as he wanted to take the boy and bring him back to Misako he couldn't. That was the cost of being Sensei and elemental master. It meant he had to put aside his wants to go save the world. He took out the map. On it was a small X marking where a small blacksmiths shop was perched on a hill.

He glanced at where Lloyd had gone. "One day." He whispered.