Chapter Text
When making determined plans to leave Darkley's Boarding School for Bad Kids, certain things are to be expected. Finn's head noogie whenever he walks into a room. Gene's water balloon gun that pelts him when he tries to start packing. Sally's long ballads of all the pranks they have done since they've known each other. Brad's flower powder that has him sneezing too many times in a row to finish talking about his plans to leave.
"Here," Brad hands him a tissue, and Lloyd glares at him as he snatches it out of his friend's hands. He knows Brad means well; they all do.
Leaving Darkley's is risky and pretty hard to do if he isn't careful. The students here run this building, since the teachers and Principal Noble are all pretty incompetent. The kids are in charge of this place— a place where they have been tossed into because no one can handle their evilness.
If they leave, however, then they're on their own in the larger Ninjagan area. No money, no power, nothing to their names. They are just children in the law's eyes who have parents who believe they are nothing but trouble. Or in Lloyd's case, his parents were completely missing after dropping him off here, so he knows next to nothing about either of them.
"I just don't get it, Lloyd," Brad admits, absentmindedly watching Mrs. Laudita tremble as Finn and Gene work out a formula for some lava bomb to a classroom of intrigued students. "I get you want to find your dad, but you don't even know where to start."
"Well, it's not like I'll find any clues stuck here," Lloyd points out, blowing out a breath. This was a frequent argument that they had pretty much every day now, considering Lloyd was just waiting for the right moment to leave the school. His bags were packed and ready; he just needed a little push to get him to leave. His friends trying their best to get him to stay wasn't helping. "I'm sure somebody has to know."
Brad frowns, tapping his pen against the table. "Have you tried reaching out to your uncle again?"
Lloyd scoffs loudly enough for Gene to side-eye him in annoyance as Mrs. Luadita dives behind a desk. "Wu? He's not going to help. He practically sent me a long letter saying he wants nothing to do with me."
"He sent you tea too," Sally calls out from the back of the classroom, not looking up as she scribbles lyrics furiously onto a sheet.
Lloyd sighs with a defeated shrug, "And he sent me tea," he agrees, rolling his eyes. "I hate tea, especially green tea. It's like he's threatening me to back off in the most stupid way possible."
Brad throws a crumbled ball of paper at Lloyd's head, "Hey, don't say that. You drank my tea. From the elderflower, remember?"
"Yeah, because you're not a wrinkly old guy who refuses to talk to me," Lloyd squawks as the ball hits his head. He picks it up from the floor where it landed and aims it at Brad. "And besides, I thought you poisoned it!"
"Why would you drink it if you thought it was poisoned?" Brad demands incredulously as he catches the paper ball before it hits him.
Lloyd shoots him a flat stare— it was common knowledge that Lloyd was tolerant to most common poisons. They'd tried to see where the limit was, but so far, Lloyd was immune to most of them. Brad sighs, "Right, right, stupid question. But still— try reaching out to your uncle again. Maybe I can whip up a tea that's actually poisonous to send with it to show you mean business." He wriggles his eyebrows, and Lloyd snorts, fighting back a laugh.
The bell rings, and Gene and Finn finish their schematics for the bomb right as Mrs. Laudita lets out a weak, "Class is over." Lloyd slides out of his seat and stretches, "Not a bad idea. But I'm telling you, that guy won't spill the beans even if I chop off his beard."
Sally shoves the lyric sheet into her pocket as she walks with them out of the classroom, "Have you, and I mean this genuinely, considered torture? You need the truth, and your uncle clearly is hiding something."
"Poisoned tea," Brad suggests again in agreement. "Or maybe a looped recording of your screaming?"
Lloyd rolls his eyes as they head to the cafeteria. "I doubt he'd fall for that. I bet he'd probably say something stupid like, 'If I can meditate through screaming, I'll become a better tea master in no time.'" He pretends to stroke a non-existent beard, trying to mimic what he thinks an old person sounds like.
Clearly, he misses his mark completely because Sally and Brad share a look. "Lloyd, when was the last time you slept?" Brad asks straight-faced as Sally bursts into hysterical laughter. "What in the Departed Realm are you rambling about?"
Lloyd’s face turns pink, and he rolls his eyes again, "Shut up."
As much as he hates the idea of trying to reach back out to his uncle, Lloyd figures it's the only way he'll get any leads to discovering where his father might be. Even if Lord Garmadon was dead, like most believed, then Lloyd wanted to be sure. He doesn't like not knowing why his mother abandoned him here when he was only two, and he doesn't like knowing why Lord Garmadon abruptly stopped terrorizing the eastern parts of Ninjago after he got into a rumored argument with Wu.
Plus, the fact that Wu won't tell him anything makes Lloyd all the more determined to figure out what secrets his family is hiding. All he wants to know is the truth, and now that he's ten and has a somewhat plan, he's ready to go out into Ninjago to figure it out.
Tomorrow, he thinks as the principal stutters out the call for curfew. Tomorrow, he'll leave and confront Wu himself. It's a lot harder to ignore someone in person than through a letter, he reasons to his friends, who reluctantly agree. "But why so soon?" Gene frowns, "We haven't even finished developing the lava bomb. We need our test subject!"
"The sooner I go, the sooner I get answers," Lloyd explains, already plotting his final prank here at Darkley's. It's going to be what his friends remember him by, so it has to be perfect. "Just find a rat or something to test it on."
Brad crosses his arms, "What if we came with you? I bet with all of us, we could force your uncle to tell us everything we want to know."
His friends all agree, tossing more ideas of how to make his uncle squirm and spill the beans. Lloyd can feel his lips widening as he imagines the thought of all of them antagonizing Wu, Sally singing for hours, Finn and Gene using the old man as a test subject, and Brad 'redecorating' the old man's monastery with poisonous and deadly plants. He wants to take them up on the offer. He really does.
Instead, he shakes his head, "I think Noble would tell your parents if you guys left," he points out, and before they can scoff and point out that they don't care about breaking the rules, he continues. "No, I'm serious! If they send people to get you back… they'll probably just come get me too."
The looks of disbelief he gets make him shrink back sheepishly. "That is literally so stupid, Lloyd," Finn deadpans.
He bristles, "Look, Noble might be a disappointing principal, but you know how intense he gets when we leave. He practically treats us like prisoners. So if five students suddenly leave, he's going to notice."
He can slowly see his friends process that information, and finally, Brad sighs, "So you're asking us to stay here and cover for you so Noble doesn't send the cops after you?"
Lloyd feels a rush of relief as he nods, "Yeah, exactly."
"Fine," Sally declares as they walk to the dormitory portion of the building. "But you owe us big time."
Lloyd nods, "I will loot an entire candy shop," he agrees, and Sally shakes her head, lips twitching mischievously, and Lloyd instantly braces himself for her to suggest something insane but also really cool.
"I was thinking more along the lines of once you find your dad and have an army or whatever, you give me a concert hall."
"I want a science lab— an evil one," Gene demands, while Finn requires a lair in a volcano. "Hey, I want an evil lair in a volcano, too!" Brad protests, and suddenly, they are designing their super cool evil lair in a volcano. Lloyd smiles because he's going to miss the evil plans and laughter that come from these walls. But as much as he loves it here, he has to know. He has to know where he came from, where his parents are, and he has to know if they loved him at all. He has to know if they really are a disappointment that just abandoned him for no reason.
"Deal," Lloyd agrees readily, because if it turns out his Dad really is alive and not a disappointment, then Lloyd knows that Ninjago will be theirs to easily conquer. And it not… then he'll come back, and he and his friends will do it themselves.
Lloyd has checked and rechecked his bags, probably for the one millionth time, before he climbs into his bed for the last night. He has the cloak that Finn made for him that flutters dramatically in the wind. It's got the Darkley's emblem engraved on the clasp. "So you don't forget where your evil roots come from," Finn had told Lloyd sternly when the older boy had handed him the cloak. Lloyd solemnly promised he'd never forget, wrapping the gift around his shoulders gleefully. It was so nice and evil-looking!
He has a few smoke bombs and a few other… toys that Gene gave him. He can't wait to cause havoc with the exploding paint pellets. Brad packed him way too many snacks that don't have enough sugar, but he wasn't going to complain to his face. And Sally had gifted him his very own flute blow dart and instructions to practice while he's away. He isn't exactly sure why she gave it to him, since he has no musical bone in his body and they all know it, but he appreciates that she's still hopeful for him.
Finally, when he's positive that he has everything essential in his bag— food, weapons, a sleeping bag, and some money that he stole from Principal Noble— he pulls up the covers on his bed, and then immediately groans loudly when he feels the numerous legs of centipedes fall onto him. "Seriously?"
The other boys in the room snicker loudly, and Finn calls out, "It's a farewell gift!" Lloyd flings a centipede in the direction of Finn's bed and grins. He is going to miss this; there isn't any doubt about that. Well, he's not going to miss the bugs, but he is going to miss home.
After brushing away the centipedes to the floor, he settles back into bed, closes his eyes, and tries to sleep. He can't.
Honestly, he should have anticipated it— he's full of nerves and anticipation— and after the nth time of rolling over in his bed, he resigns himself to a restless night. He tries to envision himself finding his father, who is alive and well, but then he doesn't want to think about what will happen if his dad doesn't want him. So he thinks about conquering Ninjago, and that is a calming thought until he thinks of everything he has to do before he gets to this point. Ugh, this was pointless, Lloyd groans quietly so as not to wake the other boys in the dormitory, and buries his face in his pillow.
He manages a few hours of sleep, but as the few beams of light make their way into the sky, Lloyd’s already slipping out of the dorm, bag on his back and a large plastic container of fine glitter in his hands.
When the students and faculty at Darkley’s Boarding School for Bad Kids wake up to see that everything in sight is covered in a sparkly pink dust, Lloyd is already deep in the Echo Canyons, heading straight to Wu’s monastery, and doesn’t hear the loud cries of anger and the sinister promises of revenge.
Not that he isn’t too worried about the revenge right now. That’s for a future Lloyd to worry about. Right now, as Lloyd treks through the canyon landscape, he’s too busy trying to figure out how he’s still standing. The canyons are deep within the Sea of Sands, the western desert in Ninjago. The climate out here can be dangerous to live in, which is why so few people live out here.
That's part of the reason why it makes this place a prime spot for Darkley's to be located in. There isn't a village or city in miles that the Darkley kids could sneak off to and create havoc— or at least that's the official reason why the boarding school is so remote and isolated. But if someone were to ask Lloyd, not that anyone would, he suspects it's so the parents don't have to think about their kids any more than they need to.
It's not all bad, though. Being so far away from anything else means that they can test out crazy cool inventions or shoot missiles and fireworks without anyone official coming out to yell at them. Some of the new teachers would try, but they'd just lock the adults up in a classroom and have their fun. Still, when they would do the crazier experiments and stay out for hours under the sun, they would have to be careful since the sun is a deadly laser and all.
So logically Lloyd knows that he shouldn’t be able to walk and function normally in the sweltering heat of the day or in the icy temperatures at night after a few days of living off of minimal sleep and a few stale breakfast bars. It shouldn't be possible. At least he remembered to grab more water bottles before he left; otherwise, this adventure would have ended a lot sooner than he would have liked. He can feel the sun beating down on him and the frigid winds that blow through his hair when the sky turns dark, but he chalks it up to the cloak he was gifted. Maybe it has some thermal contraption that Gene rigged inside of it, as he had done for Lloyd’s sleeping bag. But how did they hide the wires…?
“First Master, I’m already losing it,” Lloyd mutters to himself as he inspects the fabric in search of small wiring. “Being in a desert this long is making me go crazy!”
He tries to focus on his plans– get to Wu and demand answers– but maybe he should be focusing on keeping his eyes from seeing mirages of a restaurant in the distant sands. It probably was not a good sign that he'd skipped over fantasizing about an oasis and jumped right to a noodle house. It's red and decorated liberally with colorful light bulbs and cheerful signs on the windows advertising the food that the place serves. A giant ramen bowl sits on the roof, looking incredibly inviting. Not to mention that he could practically smell the noodles sitting in a warm broth…
“Wait a minute,” Lloyd squints against the rocky sands in disbelief. "Is that an actual restaurant?" His stomach growls, and Lloyd shakes his head in disbelief as he approaches slowly. Who in their right mind would build a restaurant here?
The closer he comes, the more he notices— the various motorbikes parked in the front, the faint smell of smoke, and the loud yells and shouts, which make him pause for a brief moment. This wasn't a biker tavern… right? Not that it mattered, he was the Son of Lord Garmadon! He could face anything!
He pushes down his totally irrational fears and forces himself to walk into the tavern. He tugs up the hood on his cloak, trying to look mysterious as he opens the doors. Lloyd is greeted with metal music playing in the background as he inches into the establishment, looking around with wide eyes.
Big, muscular guys with tattoos of skulls and other cool, creepy stuff sit around tables drinking out of bottles of what Lloyd assumes is alcohol. Some guys are standing around pool tables, looking at him with menacing looks as they loom over him with their pool cues.
"Well, lookie here, Joe," a tall guy with bulging muscles and face tattoos peers down at Lloyd. "What is a kid doing here?"
Lloyd swallows and puts on a brave face as another guy with a blue mohawk shrugs. He looks more bored than scary. "Dunno, man. You looking for your parents, kid?"
Lloyd bristles, "No!" Then he pauses, technically, he was looking for his parents. But he knows he won't find them here.
Both of the guys in front of Lloyd exchange a look before looking back at Lloyd. Someone drags a chair across the floor, the loud scrape making Lloyd startle. "You shouldn't be here, kid," the guy with face tattoos— Joe— says, looming over him. "All kinds of… bad things could happen."
Lloyd swallows, not wanting to find out what sort of things could happen in a noodle house, takes a step back, and bumps into a woman with neon green hair. He's slowly being surrounded by tall, looming people who look like they fight people for a living. "Uh…"
"You wouldn't want to get hurt, now would you?" Mohawk guy says sinisterly, and Lloyd bristles. Only he should sound sinister; he was the evil one here!
But the memo does not seem to reach these goon-like individuals as they step closer to him threateningly, and Lloyd reaches for one of the smoke bombs Gene had given him in case he needs a swift exit. He's pretty sure this counts as a quick exit.
Before he can pull out the bomb, however, the door behind the bar swings open and a figure wearing a long burnt orange cloak stalks towards them and steps in front of him, her angry amber eyes blazing at the goons. "Is there a problem here?" She asks calmly, though her face promises death if the answer isn't anything other than a resounding 'no.'
She is so cool, Lloyd thinks as the goons quickly shake their heads and stammer out, "No, Miss Chen," and "Sorry, Miss Chen." He watches smugly as the guys practically trip over themselves as they cower from her dangerous gaze. They all but disperse back into the quiet din of the tavern, and Lloyd clears his throat nervously when her angry look focuses on him. "Um… thanks."
He blows out a sigh of relief when her face turns into a stern look. He would very much not like to be pummeled into the ground, thank you very much! "Joe was right, you shouldn't be here. Want to tell me why you're wandering into a biker tavern without an adult?" she asks, folding her arms against her chest, and Lloyd shrinks under her gaze.
Before he can open his mouth to say something cool and mildly vague about what he's doing alone, however, his stomach rumbles, and he flushes at his body's betrayal. "I might have been a little hungry…" He says weakly, and her face softens.
"Alright, kid, I'll get you some food if you promise to tell me why you're out in the middle of the Echo Canyons all alone," she offers, and Lloyd nods his head readily in agreement.
"Deal."
She leads him to a corner far away from the goons who have resumed their game of pool, and only shoots at both of them when the lady isn't looking at them. She barely gives them a glance as she orders one of them to get two bowls of ramen and some other appetizers, and Lloyd watches in amazement as they jump to do what she says. He wants to be able to do that; he thinks watching her with awe. To be able to command people without a second thought and have them do it even if they don't want to.
"I'm Skylor, by the way," she introduces as they settle into a corner booth. "Skylor Chen. This is one of my father's restaurants, and the guys over there who were bothering you are some of my dad's loyal— uh, customers. They're practically harmless."
Lloyd nods, looking around the place again with that information. Skylor was in charge here, he realizes as everyone seems to pointedly not look in their direction. One of the goons comes out with the food, and his stomach rumbles again. "This looks so good!" His eyes widen at the steaming noodles, and the aroma fills his nostrils, making his mouth water. "Your dad made this?" He looks up at her with wide eyes.
Skylor chuckles and shakes her head, "Nah, technically he owns the franchise. Chen's noodle houses are all over Ninjago, so he doesn't make the noodles personally. We have a few factories, though," she explains, and Lloyd nods in understanding as he digs into the food.
And oh man, it definitely tastes as good as it smells and looks. He can feel Skylor's amused look, but he doesn't mind as he practically inhales the noodles. "So, kid… I noticed you haven't given me your name yet," Skylor points out, and Lloyd winces sheepishly. He had forgotten, hadn't he?
He swallows quickly, "Sorry. I'm Lloyd Garmadon. I'm heading to my uncle's place to… uh… surprise him," he fibs, not exactly wanting to reveal anything that could get back to his uncle and ruin the... surprise.
Skylor's eyes widen, and she sucks in a breath, staring at Lloyd with disbelief and something else— something more calculating. Lloyd doesn't notice her reaction, too busy slurping on these really good noodles, until she asks slowly, "Garmadon? As in… Lord Garmadon?" And Lloyd stills, frozen in his seat, his food forgotten.
Skylor studies his face, her own unreadable and oddly calm— a contrast to Lloyd's rising panic. "I didn't know he had a son," She admits, her voice flat, and Lloyd winces.
He doesn't want the entirety of Ninjago to know he existed— he doesn't think he's that vain, but what if his parents decided they didn't want him because they were ashamed of him? He's never thought of it like that, and the feeling of shame burns through him. "Well… he, or my mom, kinda just left me Darkley's Boarding School for Bad Kids. I've been trying to figure out where they are," he admits, and her face turns thoughtful.
Skylor drums her fingers on the booth's table, "I haven't heard much about Lord Garmadon, besides the fact that he vanished almost nine years ago," she admits, and Lloyd finds himself leaning in, desperate to know anything he can about his parents. "I heard from a few rice merchants that he was terrorizing the eastern parts of Ninjago before making his way back west."
Lloyd nods, sighing as he slumps in his seat. This wasn't any new information, and it looks like talking to Wu might be the best option he's got to learning more. "Yeah, I've heard that too. I'm going to see if my uncle knows anything more."
Skylor shoots him an amused look, "You don't seem too eager by that," she points out, and he sighs dramatically in dismay.
"Not really," he admits. "I tried reaching out to him, and all he did was give me tea!" They both share a laugh at that, and Lloyd finds himself enjoying Skylor's company. She's not treating him like a kid, but like an equal. He likes that. A lot.
"You know, speaking of tea…" Skylor muses thoughtfully, "I've heard of a woman in the city who sells all types of teas. Apparently, she helped end the Serpentine war."
Lloyd's eyes widen at the revelation, "Whoa… wait, wasn't the war a long time ago?"
"Oh yeah," Skylor nods sagely. "But, y'know, she probably has a tea that makes her live longer than normal. Anyways, the point is, according to the rumors, she was super close to Lord Garmadon and aided him when he banished the last Anacondrai Generals into the Cursed Realm," she explains to a wide-eyed Lloyd. "I bet she would know where your father is."
Finally, a lead! One that has nothing to do with Wu! "You think she would help?" He asks eagerly, and Skylor nods.
"It's worth a shot. Hey, Lloyd…" Skylor says slowly, and he can see the calculating gleam in her eyes. He wonders if she's as evil as he is. Maybe she would be willing to be his henchman? He'll have to ask.
"Yeah?"
"Let's make another deal. I'll help you find your dad if you want," she offers, and Lloyd breaks into a wide grin. She grins back mischievously, "But first, you have to help me escape Joe and the others. They can be pretty… clingy."
Lloyd snickers and opens his backpack of goodies that Gene and Finn left him. "Smoke bomb or snake in a jar?" He grins, and Skylor looks contemplative.
"Smoke bomb," She decides, and they both share an evil grin.
He digs in his bag for three of Gene's highly potent smoke bombs and hands her two. She takes them and turns in her seat to look at the goons playing pool. "Hey Lloyd," She asks curiously, rolling the bombs in her hands with her fingers. "Have you ever been in a bar fight before?"
Lloyd's grin widens largely. "No, I have not. Is it fun?" He asks excitedly.
She smirks in his direction, "Just watch. If you want, you can man the jukebox." She points with her free hand to a corner of the noodle house where music is playing. It's close to the entrance, which works perfectly with their plan. "Play something exciting."
Lloyd jumps up and makes his way to the jukebox, ignoring the goon's eyes trailing after him. As soon as he picks a song— something upbeat with fast-paced lyrics— smoke fills the restaurant. The goons yell out in alarm, and Lloyd watches in awe as Skylor slings out a sword, barely giving Joe and the others a chance as she weaves in and out of the smoke-filled chaos. Guys yell and scream as she seems to effortlessly knock them out in their blinded panic.
Before the song is up, she's laughing and making her way towards him. "Come on, come on," she urges, guiding him out of the restaurant. "They won't stay down forever."
"That was so cool!" Lloyd cheers as he follows her out of the noodle house.
She grins and ruffles his hair. "Glad you think so. Now let's get out of here."
It feels like it's almost too good to be true that Lloyd not only has a lead on his dad but also a friend/ henchman willing to help him find Lord Garmadon. He won't take it for granted, though, but at least now he knows he's on the right track.