A/N: Oh boy, school's about to start up again. Anybody else? I know you're probably tired of being asked this, but how are you all doing school? I at least have a couple face-to-face classes. I hope your all staying happy, healthy, and safe!

(Wow do we really only have ten chapter's left? That's crazy!!)

Oh and just to clarify, the NInja Roll stuff happens at about the same time as this, so that's why Garmadon's in the beginning, he's about to go and watch Seliel's round. 

. . .

Of course Lloyd had known how much trouble he would be in if he was caught sneaking away from home. But he had just kept telling himself that he wouldn't be caught. And now . . . he was actually starting to regret running off.

It seemed that after all the hugs and kisses and asking if he was alright, he was to be endlessly chastised. His parents kept telling him how bad it was that he ran away, and at this point he would have promised to never do it again if they would promise to never speak of it again.

Not to mention how he'd been virtually trapped in Skylor's room for the past few days, bored out of his mind. To say the least, his plan to come and win the tournament hadn't gone exactly the way he had thought it would.

"I'm sorry, okay?" Lloyd said, crossing his arms and shrinking into the hood of his cloak. "I just wanted a chance to fight like the girls do. And I was invited."

"Just because you were invited to participate in an underground fighting tournament doesn't mean you get a free pass to run away from home," his father snapped.

The plan now was for Lloyd and his mother to sneak off of Chens' island unseen, go home, and wait there to find out whether or not his friends succeeded in stopping Master Chen. Basically, he was going to be completely removed from the action and pushed aside to worry and wonder and probably to do more training. Being the Green Ninja really stunk sometimes.

But Lloyd hadn't always had a prophecy hanging over his head. His parents had been training him to fight for as long as he could remember, but the whole prophecy about the Green Ninja was still a little new to him. Lloyd had never really wondered why his parents wanted to train him even though Ninjago was peaceful. He just wanted to learn to fight like them, so he didn't think twice about it. But then, when his father had a premonition about Uncle Wu returning for the golden weapons, Lloyd's parents had come clean to him about the prophecy.

He still didn't understand why it upset them so much to talk about it. Most of the time they acted like the prophecy didn't exist, although Lloyd's training had since intensified. He'd learned to do Spinjitzu and had even tapped into his green element a bit, although he had yet to unlock any of the other elements he could supposedly control. Lloyd was proud to be the Green Ninja, and yet, he wasn't even allowed to talk to the girls about it. His parents seemed to think that if they never talked about it, then it wouldn't really happen.

Lloyd was stirred from his thoughts by his father's voice. "Maybe I should go with you. The girls have done well on their own, and I can come straight back once you two are safe."

Lloyd's mother shook her head. "They've managed to get this far by themselves, but they still need you. Even if not for your experience, then at least for moral support. They're still young."

His father shook his head. "That may be true, but I hate to let anything happen to you."

His mother pursed her lips. "I can take care of myself, you know. And nobody but nobody is taking my baby from me."

"Mom," Lloyd groaned.

"Alright, alright," His father nodded good-naturedly. "But I still won't be happy until I know for sure that you're both safely off the island."

Lloyd's mother gave his father a quick peck on the cheek. "We'll give you a call as soon as we reach the mainland. Just try not to worry yourself to death. I meant it, Garmadon. Those kids need you."

I need you, too, Lloyd thought to himself. But he knew how important it was that his father helped the girls.

"Okay. You're right, of course. I'd better get back to them now. Seliel's round is about to start any minute now. Just be careful."

"You, too."

His father sneaked out through the window, but Lloyd didn't possess the physical prowess to scale the outside of the building, so they would have to go through the front door. 

Now it was just Lloyd and his mother. Or rather, Lloyd, his mother, and the whole entire island.

She was about to open the door to leave, but then she turned and knelt in front of him. "Lloyd, listen to me. I don't think I have to tell you how dangerous this is going to be, but we can't stay here. Until we are away from the island, you're going to have to listen and do exactly as I say. No arguing and no complaining, understand?"

It was true that Lloyd was already well aware of the dangers. But hearing his mother's grave tone, looking into her eyes to see the force of her words, he found a renewed sense of apprehension. He nodded, more serious now than he'd ever been in his life.

"Good. Now stay quiet, and stay close to me. You wanted a chance to demonstrate what you've learned: This is it."

Lloyd stuck close to his mother's side as she cracked open the door and peeked through. The coast was clear, so they slipped out of the room and down the stairs to the ground floor. The front entrance was better guarded, due to Chen's order against private quarters. 

"Stay here," his mother whispered. Then she put her full weight against the door, shoving it open and probably catching at least one of the guards by surprise. Once she was out, Lloyd wasn't able to see much, but after a few moments of struggling, the door reopened and she waved to him.

She took him by the hand again and Lloyd was dragged through the courtyard. They were careful to avoid the moonlight, skirting the shadows on the edges of the lush compound. In the distance could be heard the sounds of wildlife in the jungle, but besides that, nothing else disturbed the compound. The lights were out in nearly every window, making the buildings appear blissfully abandoned. Lloyd's eyes darted around, looking out for any sign of Chen's guards. 

The silence didn't last long. There was a distant shout , coming from the direction of the sleeping quarters. Lloyd saw his mother's eyes go wide. "Run!" she whispered.

He didn't get much of a choice. She squeezed his hand and yanked on his arm, forcing him to match her pace. Lloyd realized that someone must have found the guards that his mother had taken out. They would know now that something was wrong.

He chased after his mother, trying to ignore the terror that was creeping up in the pit of his stomach. The security must have been tighter than they thought if Chen's sentries had already made their rounds and found evidence of their escape so soon.

As if in response to his thoughts, a guard rounded a corner ahead and came face-to-face with Lloyd and his mother. The guard was too shocked at first to know what to do. But Lloyd's mother didn't miss a beat and kicked him across the face, knocking the man to the ground.

Maybe they would have still had a chance, but the guard's cry of alarm alerted just about every other sentry under the moonlight. Lloyd and his mother didn't run much farther before there were guards coming at them from every angle, surrounding them. They were driven to a stop.

Lloyd's mother stepped in front of him, though there were even more coming up from behind. When he peeked around her Lloyd could see that the palace wall was a short distance away. Freedom was so close!

A dozen guards formed a loose circle around them, watching them carefully, waiting to see what they would do. 

"You have to run." Lloyd looked up at his mother, incredulous. There was no way they could make it through all of these guys. "I'll hold them off so that you can get to the jungle. Don't worry about me, I'll be right behind you."

Lloyd frowned. "But you can't hold them all off by yourself!" He turned so that they were back-to-back and held up his fists. "I won't leave you behind. I'll fight, too!"

"You can't –"

There was no time to argue At the command of one general with a particularly nasty scar over his eye, all the guards rushed them at once. Lloyd was worried for a moment that even the two of them fighting together wouldn't stand a chance. But before he knew it, his mother had spun into a tornado of Spinjitzu, and plowed right through half of the guards. When she came to a stop, she pushed him towards the wall. "Go!"

They both made a break for it, and Lloyd began climbing up the ivy that clung to the stone. The sounds of the fighting followed him up, though he didn't dare to pause and see how his mother was fairing. But as he reached the top and hefted himself to sit on the edge, he looked down to see that she had already defeated the rest of the guards. If she hurried, she would have a clear shot to the top. "Come on, mom!" he called.

She turned toward the wall. But just as her hand reached for the vines, another hand caught her by the braid and yanked her backward.

"Mom!"

She shouted and struggled as more guards grabbed her by the arms so she was virtually powerless.

"Go, Lloyd!" she screamed.

No – there was no way he was going to run and let them take her. 

"Leave her alone!" Lloyd jumped off the wall and crouched as his feet hit the ground. He ran forward to strike at one of the guards holding his mother. But the man just kicked Lloyd in the stomach, sending him flying. Lloyd landed on his back and was soon surrounded again.

"Lloyd!" he heard his mother's desperate cry.

The young ninja got to his feet as hands grabbed for his arms. Another hand caught him by the foot, but Lloyd kicked the guy in the face and was released. As he tried to stand up, another caught him from behind in a bear hug. Lloyd threw back his head, bashing the guard in the face. The guard was stunned and Lloyd scrambled away.

But when he looked around, his mother had disappeared, along with the guards that had taken her captive. He looked all around, but there was no sign of her. He could still hear her struggling from somewhere nearby, but her voice was fading fast, and he couldn't tell where they'd taken her.

Lloyd was snapped out of his thoughts as the guards closed in on him. There was only one thing he could think to do.

Lloyd turned and ran. He sprinted to the wall lining the grounds and scrambled up the overhanging plants. Chen's guards were right behind him, but the vines couldn't take their weight and snapped before they could catch him. As soon as he reached the top, Lloyd dropped down on the other side and plunged into the jungle.

He didn't look back to see if the guards had scaled the wall yet, but just ran as fast as his legs would carry him. He didn't want to leave his mother behind, but he didn't know what else to do. He couldn't save her on his own. Maybe his father could, if Lloyd could find him and tell him what had happened.

But right now, he just had to run, as far and as deep into the jungle as he could, until he was safe.

. . .

Jay hurried after Kai as they made their way back to the chow house. The Fire Master marched down the hall in a heated rage. Jay wondered if they would be summoned to meet with Master Chen once again. He almost hoped not. Kai hadn't said a word since they left the race track, but his fury boiled just beneath the surface. Jay thought he should at least try to cool him down.

"Maybe it's not as bad as it looks, Kai. We've only lost two to their one, and there's still time left. We can still win, right?"

"Not if Master Chen has it out for us." He halted and rounded on Jay. "He wants us out just as much as he does everyone else. He doesn't care if we lose. The odds have been stacked against us since we got here!"

"I don't know, Kai. Cole and Zane both lost fair and square. Maybe it really is our fault. Besides, what would be the point? He and Master Wu made a deal, and even he can't get our elemental powers."

"Maybe he can. I still think that he wants the Golden Weapons for himself."

"Come on, Kai, Master Wu wouldn't have sent us here if there was a risk of Chen taking the weapons."

"Hmph. He doesn't seem to care much, either," Kai grumbled.

"What are you saying?"

Kai hesitated, but shook his head. "Nothing. I'm just frustrated."

Jay thought for a moment, trying to find something encouraging to say. "Well, I'm sure Master Wu knows what he's doing. And maybe . . . he's right?" But even saying it out loud, Jay didn't feel like it was very convincing. "I don't know. We just have to keep going. What else can we do?"

Kai turned back down the corridor. Jay really wanted to believe that everything would turn out alright, but after losing two of their teammates, he couldn't help but wonder just what Master Chen was up to.

. . .

A/N: Hehe, hey... so before you kill me for this chapter, I just wanna let you know that browhal1 and I wrote a oneshot for the "Perfect Match" collab challenge by JayTeamUltra. She posted it in her collection of shorts "Between the Scenes." It's a cute fluffy Pixane oneshot entitled'Better with You,' and we'd love for you all to check it out. It's a lot nicer than this, I promise. So yeah, uh... I'm gonna go hide now *runs*