I'm using a different device so. I. can't find the. little dot but here's some diva nails for you and a Kai mood board that I will add in after writing this part. sorry if there's random periods or too many spaces, or not enough, my computer has a weird space button that doesn't like to work UUUGGGHHHH ITS SO ANNOYING 😭

Also shoutout to @DumbassWriter17 you're the best and another one of my first readers!!

I will probably forget about the mood board, though. Please don't blame me I am a busy girl 😭

The usual, no hate, unless it's Harumi and don't be a dry reader please! ❤️❤️❤️

Adelaide Thomas's pov

I wake up only an hour after falling asleep to loud talking and stomping around.

"Where's Adeliade and everyone else, I need everyone to hear this," I hear Lloyd say. Instead of dealing with my messy hair, I put it in a low bun.

"They're following a lead and she's sleeping, I don't think we should wake her up." Harumi whispers.

"This is the first time in a while that she hasn't had nightmares, Lloyd. But why do you ask?"

I almost hear the embarrassed blush in his voice. It's not that embarrassing but that's just Lloyd, I guess. "O-Oh well we can tell her after, I guess."

I grumble and walk over to the door. I open it quickly and it hits something solid. I look behind the door and grimace. Lloyd rubs his head, his blonde hair shimmering in the sunlight. I breathe in a sharp intake of breath and move the door back.

"Sorry Lloyd!"

He looks away and seems fine. "I'm fine," he proves my point and sends me a small smile. "But, what I need to tell you guys- the sons of garmadon." He hesitates and I refrain to hugging this cinnamon-roll right here. He obviously didn't want me hugging him. He steals glances at Harumi and I steal glances at the very interesting ground.

"They want to bring my father back from the dead."

I widen my eyes and the girls beside me gasp.

"Not the sweet one, perhaps?"

He stares into the distance and zones out. His emerald eyes shine with a worry I can't assume is for him. He doesn't answer my question and I look at Nya. She looks at Harumi, in her own way telling me to toughen up for the Jade Princess.

"We've beaten him before." I feel pathetic and scared. My voice breaks and I look away from the small group. I clutch my hands behind my back to attempt to stop the trembling. I approach Lloyd and he glances at me before looking away from me.

"We'll be fine, we always are." I try to be reassuring, but instead it comes out as more of a question. "We ninja like to protect you, we'll do that again. Ninja never-"

Lloyd suddenly throws his hands up. "Adelaide, I'm not scared about me! Why do you always feel like you have to protect me, and protect everybody? I found a family in you guys, and Harumi and we can fuckin' handle ourselves, but you don't seem to get shit, do you!"

I flinch away from his harsh tone and overused cussing. I understand his words in the hidden meaning.

I love Harumi, back off. I pushed you away for a reason. "Fuck you too."I mumble before turning to leave.

Cole Brookstone's pov If you couldn't tell I ADORE HIM ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

Me and Zane watch as 2 figures walk into the bar. Their figures are distorted by flashing lights of the sign. I hide back behind the corner with a sigh. Zane grabs a newspaper to act natural, as if we weren't just spying on the group. I wrinkle my nose at the dumpster beside us's odor, it stank like garbage.

"Our informant's intel has paid off. Two high ranking Sons of Garmadon just arrived. The one they call Ultraviolet , and the mysterious man with the swords." I peer over subtly at the newspaper, scanning it for the comic strip I loved. Even if it was embarrassing, I am glad we got the imformation about the location.

"Good. Then we're one step closer to finding out who's in charge." I dig in the dumpster and nearly gag. I plaster on a moustache and a hat and proudly show Zane my disguise. My fake scar begins to peel off, and I nudge it back into place.

"It's me Zane, Cole?" I ask dramatically "or should I say my alias, Rocky Dangerbuff." I thought hard on that name, ever since I first became a ninja. Adelaide suggested Rocky because I was the master of earth, and we were both very proud of the cover-up. Zane seemed unfazed by my costume change and I slightly deflate my confidence.

"If we wanna infiltrate their gang and gain their trust, they can't know we're ninja." I turn to the trash lid and small bottle in my hand and offer them to Zane. "I even scrounged up a disguise for you!"

The nindroid tilts his head "A... tin trash lid and a can of shaving cream..?"

I nod vigerously "don't forget, you have to sell it." Zane's eyes narrow in confusion, then discomfort as he looks away.

"Er... That won't be nescessary..." He smiles apolitically and changes his appearance with a flash. "But if you want to use the trash lid yourself..."

I bring my arms to my side "No, Zane, it's okay." I say slightly angrily "but you need a cover, something tough, something that says. ' I'm bad! '"

Zane places his hands on his hips "in my estimation, Rocky Dangerbuff is pretty bad."

"The first name or the last name? Anyways- you're... SNAKE JAGUAR!"

Zane hmm-ed and then came to a conclusion: "you were always much better at this than I was."

I stand up a little straighter, and try not to smile. As Adelaide had decided, Rocky Dangerbuff was famous for never smiling. "You ready, Snake Jaguar?"

"I am, Rocky Dangerbuff."

We enter the Karaoke place in our best tough-guy walks and observe the place. This would be a great place for a party, if there wasn't a physco-biker-gang using it.

The singers make me want to cry, there's no other way to say it.

Atcually there is. I want to ask Zane if my ears are bleeding.

We walk up to the bar and a man in a white outfit is making a boba sloppily, clearly drunk with fear. "Darreth? What are you doing here?" Zane hisses. The short man whips around and jumps at the sudden voice. He looks at me with a huge smile.

"Cole? Cole! You came to visit me!"

I grumble a bit before replying sulkily "Aw, is my disguise so much worse than Zane's?"

Darreth turns to Zane now " Zane? Is that you under there? You guys gotta help me. I bought this stink hole, hoping to hold onto the glory days-" he grabs a picture of the ninja from a long time ago wwith darreth taped onto it. I glance at Zane and he looks unimpressed "-when I was fighting side - by - side with you guys."

"Side by side...?" I whisper

"Only now the sons of Garmadon have moved in and made my place their dive. I can't get them to leave you gotta help me!"

I shush him and murmur "we can't. We need to keep our cover to get close to those two." I point to the woman and man watching the singers from the built-in balcony. The woman begins to get irritated and signals some bikers to take out the entertainers. I feel bad, they were only doing their job, and we couldn't help them by doing ours. Everyone applauds as they get thrown out the window.

"Oh, you mean Mr. E and Ultraviolet?"
Me and Zane turn to each other. "Mr. E?" We both ask Darreth. He nods and points to the pair, specifically Mr.E "Nobody talks to those two because he doesn't talk and she's off her rocker." His browneyes sparkle with wworry.

"If we can't talk to them, how are we supposed to gain their trust?"

"UUUGGGHH!" Someone interrupts me "I said, where's my boba!"

Darreth mumbles apologies and turns to us while making a green drink. "Sorry, can't help. Gotta go."

"All right, Snake Jaguar," I say to the nindroid in disguise, "fire up those processors and tell me how we do this."

"I've already ran countless simulations," he says timidly "and out of the 1,542 ways this could go, there's only one."

ENDGAME TRAUMA 😭🥺😪😒😞😔😟😕🙁☹️😣😖😫😩😢😨😰😥😓💀😿

"But it's complicated...and, dangerous!" Zane warns me.

I scoff. "Then it's a good thing my last name is Dangerbuff.Lay it on me." I say in character. I take a sip of disgusting boba, but don't make a face because Rocky is a gangster.

"You have to sing."

I spit all over Zane and the floor. Childhood memories, and pressures, and emotions come flooding backand I can only exclaim "WHAT? I can't sing!"

Zane looks at me in only a way Zane can, a robotically blank expression;.

"What did I say earlier? There has to be another way!" I urge.

"Cole,you're the son of a royal blacksmith, you went to the Marty Oppenheimer School Of Preforming Arts... you have to trust me." Zane assures me. I ponder upon the emphasis on the last bit and set my drink on the counter with what I hope is an brave face.

"What would Rocky do?"
And with that, I march over to the stage, past crooks playing poole, and drinking (disgusting) boba. I reach for the mic and it screeches. I gulp as every pair of eyes turn to look at me. I tap it gently and the room quiets down.

"I'm Rocky Dangerbuff..! And here's something mean to sing!" I grab a coin from my pocket and throw it to Zane.

"Song #159, pronto!" I nearly race off that stage as a happy children's song I recognize plays from the Jukebox.

"What-nononononoono! Not this! I wanted 159! CREAM AND DEATH!" the nindroid shrugs and I stomp my foot. I watch Ultraviolet narrow her eyes and I gulp.

"Fuck this." I mutter, quoting Adelaide form the many years of cussing, even before the tomorrow's tea incident. "🎶Shine little glow worm, glimmer, glimmer, hey there don't get dimmer, dimmer-🎶" The Sons Of Garmadon begin to laugh and I produce a nervous one of my own.

"GLOW LITTLE GLOW WORM, GLOW AND GLIMMER!" I sing over the crowd"SWIM THROUGH THE SEA OF NIGHT, Little swimmer!" I see Zane holding in a laugh in the crowd, and that makes me laugh a little too, as I begin to dance. "Shine!"

Adelaide Thomas's pov

I had been sitting in my room, I have no idea how long. I shake with sobs escaping my mouth. My throat is dry, my cheeks are stained with tears, my nose is stuffed and my eyes are puffy and red. In a mirror in my room, I observe the broken sight. A girl that looks like she doesn't care about herself, a girl who makes my heart hurt for her by just looking at her. She is a mess. If I had any reason to talk, my voice would be horse and scratchy. I move away from the mirror and collapse on my bed. It was like losing him all over again, but I probably won't get him back as even a mutual friend. It will just be like heartbreak all over again, but I don't have Skylor to help me. I can't talk to anyone.

But in a way, it will be no different from before, Lloyd always had a way of making that possible. When he walked into Borg tower, nothing had happened before that, we never broke up, we were just old friends. Nothing happened. It was the magic of the Lloyd mind psychology.

When he was teasing me at the morning spar, nothing had happened. It was the magic of the Lloyd mind psychology.

It was like 1 year ago, when I felt the same heavy heart, when I had the same puffy eyes and ruined hair. I still cared about Lloyd, and it hurt to see that he doesn't care about me, as a person, a friend, as a ninja, even as an equal. I was heartbroken last year, and I only just got over it and here he comes- like the iceberg and I am the titanic. I'm drowning.

I can't do this heartbreak thing anymore.

(Was that overly / unnecessarily dramatic, slightly.

Was it because I wanted to write a sad part, and not just an awkward or happy chapter, or maybe just stop following the exact lines from the show, constantly..?

YES TO ALL OF IT HEHEHEHE. I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS I AM SO ATTACHED I AM GOING TO CRY WHEN I FINISH THIS BOOK IF I EVER DOOOO. 😭😭😭

ANYWAYS BACK TO THE BOOK!!)

***

I hear a knock on my door and jump out of my skin.

"O-One sec..!" I race to grab an elastic, tie my hair up, and put on my best hahaha-nothing-happened-totally-wasn't-crying-face on. I had run out of energy to cry, so my eyes weren't red anymore. I slowly approach the door and hesitantly grab the knob. I twist it and peer out the door.

"Hey," Lloyd murmurs quietly, "can I come in?"

I feel the urge to slam the door and yell "HAHAHAHAHHA YOU THOUGHT, BITCH" but I don't.

"Yeah, of course." I open the door wider and take a step back, letting him inside. "But may I ask why?"

Lloyd plays with the hem of his green sweatshirt and sighs. "There's something I need to tell you." I frown, being reminded by our dead master.

"I figured."

Lloyd opens his mouth to speak, but nothing comes out.

"Come ooon! The suspense is killing meee!" I whine.

"I-er, I want to tell you why I stopped talking to you, it was rude and I know it hurt both of us. I just wanted to say, I'm sorry before I begin. Can you promise me you won't hate me when you hear this?"

I study his face quietly. His hands pull his hair to the ends, and then back to the root. Even while looking up to see this action, I know it is gently, without the intention of ripping any strands out. I then move to his eyes, they shimmer, even in the dull yellow light from my lamp, I see the familiar worry, sadness, and grief. There is a soft hesitance in his gaze, as if I don't answer soon, he might run right out of the room. I move my gaze to his lips, they are in a straight line, pink, and slightly chewed.

"I promise," I grab a chair and set it opposite of the bed for him to sit on. He mumbles a thanks and continues running his hands through his hair. I feel my chest tighten, is it Cole and Zane? Did they not come back? What about Jay and Kai? Did someone die?

"When... the gang broke up..." He begins hesitantly "as you know, everyone did something along the lines of solo missions, and I... I had my own mission. There was a villain named Jamie, or he liked to call himself the Green Phantom. He had a version of my gi, and his goal was 'to end my reign of terror, once and for all!' He was a great villain, as in good at his job. It was a miracle I even stopped him."

"Why does this relate to you ghosting me?" The question comes out harsher then I meant it, and Lloyd flinches. "I'm sorry, I meant what happened next."

"I managed to shut down his high-tech suit, and I thought I won. Adelaide, that day I lost. His suit was the thing keeping him alive, a small chip attached to the inside, connecting with his brain. When I shut it off, his brain began to shut off too."

He took a deep breath and looked out of the window. Lloyd never let anyone see him cry, he tapped his fingers on his knee until he was okay to look me in the eyes again.

"It's okay," I soothe "you can cry Lloyd."

his face crumbles and his eyes fill with tears. "H-he t-t-told me his name, and he h-had a daughter.A-And I couldn't looks at you, or imagine your voice, or call you b-b-because Green Phantom was y-your dad, and I killed your dad and I knew y-you wouldn't want to talk to me, a-and you shouldn't want to now." He finishes with a sob. I open my arms and he cautiously joins my embrace.

"Breathe." I stroke his hair.

"I'm so sorry." His voice cracks and I frown, worried he would hyperventilate.

"Breathe," I remind him again "hey, I'm not mad," I surprise myself by my calmness. He breaks down in my arms and I nearly break down too. I have my friend back, for real this time.

"Who helped kill your father? Twice? I helped read that spell to send him into the cursed realm , I fought with you to stop him for a good chunk of my life. I never thought twice about my role, and I apologize for that. My father was a terrible person, he was a druggie, an abusive person, a hateful person by nature." His sobs quiet down as I say this and I snuggle into the nape of his neck.

"Thank you."

I breathe in his familiar scent with a content sigh. "Any time, Greenie."

"Really? Back to greenie?"

I smile and we release each other from the hug. "Yes, Greenie."

"I'm going back to Del then." I smile at the nickname.

"Del," I smile at him. He gives me a crooked, boyish grin.

"Lloyd? Hello?" Harumi yells.

He gives me a unsure look.

"Go," I murmur. "I won't go anywhere."

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I LOVE ADELAIDE AND LLOYD.

ADELLOYD? I CAN'T DO SHIPNAMES IM SORRY! 😭

I HAVE NO IDEA, BUT I LOVE THESE PEOPLE WITH MY HEART AND SOUL

ALSO COLE AND ADELAIDE ARE SO CUTE (Big brother and little sister type cute not a ship) BUT NOTHING COMPARES TO HOWW LLOYD AND ADELAIDE WILL BE IM HHHHYYYPPPEEEDD TO START THEIR FRIENDSHIP BEING REBUILT 😄😄😄😄

ALSO CANT WAIT FOR PROTECTIVE LLOYD I HAVE A CHAPTER PLANNED OUTALREADY AND IT'S ADSFHELIHFIEWHFKEHFHFEWGHFJA

COMMENT PLEASE, VOTE AND WHATEVER 2991 WORDS THIS CHAPTER

STAY SAFE AND I'LL SEE YOU SOON❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

💕 Grace