lloyd

Having siblings is infuriating, especially when you're trying to comfort your almost-kinda-ish girl who is a friend, or maybe girlfriend, about her parents dying. And her finding their bodies.

He exhaled slowly and brushed his fringe out of his eyes, cursing as he stumbled over a random energy can. His relationship with Harumi was as confusing as the implemented lockdown that had gone in place this morning. On Tuesdays, he would have been out late getting ready for the pre-lacrosse season, but since the murders two weeks ago on a Sunday night, and Mr Spirdon two weeks before that, Lloyd was on the edge and a little pissed.

Silently, he slipped down the stairs and into the kitchen, using his phone light to rummage through the pantry and behind a box of wheat crackers no one ate to where his first secret stash of candy was. He retrieved a bag of gummy bears and snakes and then snuck back up the stairs, pulling away a long strand of a snake's head with his teeth as he unlocked his phone.

harumi.brassard: lloyd?

lloyd_g: sorry i was getting candy

harumi.brassard: let me guess. gummy bears and snakes?

lloyd_g: damn. right on the money rumi

harumi.brassard: lloyd?

lloyd_g: yeah?

harumi.brassard: i feel sick

lloyd_g: wait you're not like-

harumi.brassard: tf lloyd, no, you're like the only boy im actually talking to rn.

lloyd_g: sorry

harumi.brassard: its fine

lloyd_g: you dont sound fine

harumi.brassard: and how would you know?

lloyd_g: i can tell through the screen

harumi.brassard: really. im fine.

lloyd_g: wanna call instead?

harumi.brassard: ...yes

He nearly missed dinner through their two hour call, but Lloyd was okay with it. Kinda. Harumi seemed like she was determined to keep a solid mask of aloofness up, but when he talked to her, she crumbled easily. She was scarily fragile, and Lloyd wasn't sure what to do except comfort her. The next day at school, Harumi was sitting at the popular table like nothing had ever happened. Then he received a message demanding he go outside and he excused himself from an ongoing argument about the latest DLC on some game to walk to the courtyard near the back of the school.

Harumi was already there, sitting silent on a bench, staring at the leaves carpeting the floor. He knew from her rigid posture that she wasn't feeling well. He'd been speaking to her for well over a month, he realised as he sat down next to her. Her head immediately came to rest on his shoulder and she closed her eyes, the bangs of her hair sliding over.,

"I'm tired." she murmured. "The reporters keep coming to the house. The police are basically living in...that room, and I just want to sleep all the time."

Lloyd hummed in response, his left arm crossing around her back to cradle her.

"Their faces were so pale. And my mother's hair was so messy. She never likes it like that. Father...his tie was red. So much blood." Rumi whispered, her voice soft and wobbly. "I got a letter yesterday. From the Emperor and Empress of Ninjago, House Lotus?"

Lloyd shifted slightly to look at her as she continued.

"Apparently, my mother and father weren't my actual parents. The Emperor and Empress gave me to them when I was a baby, because they had just risen to the throne and the Royal Houses were unstable. I am...their child." Her voice quaked, almost in horror as Lloyd registered this. Rumi was a princess?

"I hate this. So many lies, so much blood." she said, though it was more of a statement than a complaint. "I don't want to go live in the palace."

"You don't have to go," Lloyd tried with a weak smile. "You can stay with me, at the Smith's place."

She laughed. "I don't think they like me very much. And I have to go. I've been 'summoned' by royalty, and if I ignore my heritage, I'll be in trouble. At least I can use my title for good."

"Like what?"

"Like if anyone sees me do this and has an objection, I'll put them in a dungeon."

"Do what—"

Rumi turned to him and leant forwards, gently pressing her lips to his. Her lips were very soft, Lloyd realised in numb shock. And then he remembered that kissing was probably a two person thing and then kissed her back, cupping her cheek with his hand. The awkward pause after they drew away was filled with a light giggle on Rumi's part.

"That was very nice." Lloyd said stupidly. She laughed again, a lyrical, light sound that was making his stomach tumble.

"I'll see you after school."

Right, she was talking about what would have been two friends meeting up but now was more than friends meeting up at the movies. His idea, to take her mind off everything. Turns out she'd taken his mind off anything and everything.

"You were right, Lloyd. That was a very nice kiss," she said cheekily, skipping off before he could stop her.

Lloyd sat frozen on the bench, his fingertip brushing over his lips where she'd kissed him a few seconds ago. A burning sensation crossed his cheeks as he stumbled back inside the school for class, pushing his dazed brain through Science and Art.

o o o

"Lloyd! What the hell is up with you, man?" Cole pretended to rap on his skull, grinning.

"What? Oh, nothing." He returned to walking back home before his date dare he say it, with Cole following along and Kai and Nya squabbling ahead of them.

"Hang on, you—you're in love!" Cole whooped, a cheshire grin replacing the confused expression.

"What? I—uh—what makes you say that?"

"Wait, no, more specifically...you kissed someone!"

"How do you know that? This is so freaky dude."

"So I am right," Cole cackled, "Never doubt the power of Mister Matchmaker!"

"Hey, what's happening?" Kai butted in, dragging Nya along.

"Lloyd kissed someone!" Cole revealed with the air of a showman. "Like a full on, lips on lips kiss. How crazy is that? This little guy—"

"Lloyd? You kissed someone?"

"Why do you find that so hard to believe, Nya? I am a very capable kisser and I think R—"

"So her name begins with an R," Kai mused. "We've already got enough information to find her, Lloyd. You might as well give up now."

"I have." he grunted. "But maybe your ape brains will run into a roadblock."

"Hey!"

pixal

Frowning, she rubbed at her eyes and then looked at the screen's data again. Someone had inputted the data for their experiment wrongly, and she'd have to fix it. With a sigh, Pixal began clearing the cells and typing in her own data from her notebook, a slow, tedious process with the amount of trials and data they had to collect. Luckily, she wouldn't be dragged out by her friends since it was well after the night curfew and Pixal's room was well shadowed in darkness.

She took a break to visit the kitchens on another level, refilling her mug with steaming hot chocolate and a side of biscuits and marshmallows carefully carried back to the lift and up to her room with her tongue poking out in concentration.

The data table was completed a few minutes before midnight when Pixal heard a scream. She set down her snack and drink, rolled up her sleeves and went to the lift palming a butter knife and sharp eyes. It was another scream, a man's scream, followed by a crash that prompted her to take the stairs again, her systems pinpointing the source of noise on the fifty-third floor.

Her father's residency.

Pixal forced her legs twice as fast forwards down the stairs, taking shortcuts where available while she continued tracing the yelling and pandemonium. She spotted a few workers and beta droids scurrying towards the same direction, but it was she who arrived there first. Her hand flew to her mouth at the scene before her. Her father, Cyrus Borg had been thrown out of his wheelchair and to the floor, a steady hand pointing the sword being held to his throat. As soon as his frenzied eyes laid on hers, he gestured wildly for her to leave.

Pixal ignored them and cautiously approached the assassin - that was all they could be, dressed in black, and double blades in their hands. The door behind her shut with a gust of wind.

"Please step away from my father," She pleaded, her voice unwavering despite the fear hammering in her core. The butter knife dropped to the floor as the second sword levelled with her throat.

"Your maker is lucky, android." Their voice was garbled with a vocal changer, deep and glitched. "I suggest you leave the room and spare yourself the sight."

"Step away from my father," Pixal repeated, though there was nothing she could do. Her hand crept to her pocket where her phone was. If she called the police, it was possible she could stall the situation.

"Drop the phone. Now." Ordered the distorted voice, jabbing the blade again. Pixal frowned, but dropped her phone to the ground where it lay alongside the butter knife. "You are wasting my time."

That's the point, Pixal wanted to blurt out, but her father was shaking in fear, his shoulders sagging in defeat. He'd already accepted his fate.

"You know, this may be more threatening than actually killing you in cold blood, Borg. Consider yourself warned. If you don't get us our product before the deadline, I'll be back to finish the job." Then they leapt through the hole that had been cut through the glass window, their parachute billowing out to reveal a crude drawing of the SOG's logo. Pixal blinked at the harsh wind zipping around the room, bending down to help her father back into his wheelchair, her silent boiling anger at that assassin for hurting her father remaining deep down.

"I am perfectly fine, Pixal." His weary voice said, patting her on the shoulder. "You worry too much for me."

"Who were they?" She herself was surprised at the sharp tone, and so was her father. "I apologise, father, I am just concerned for your safety. What did they mean about the deadline? And the 'job'?"

"I am handling it, Pixal."

"You nearly died! I do not consider that handling it father. Please let me help."

"Pixal, although you will grow to be wiser than anyone - perhaps tied with Zane or Evan, you are still learning. Growing. Adapting. This is a harsh world and it is parental instinct to coddle you and protect you so you learn to defend yourself. I cannot tell you what is happening."

Somewhat mollified, she softened her harsh glare at his broken posture, a man defeated, who hated defeat and failure.

"I am here if you need to talk, father. I'll let security and cleanup in to organise this. Would you like some hot chocolate?"

"Yes, I think I do."

o o o

The media had caught wind early of the assassination attempt, following a cold trail of clues until it led to the incident two nights ago. Borg Industries could only keep the hounds away for so long, and Pixal was taking extreme measures to stay hidden from news stations and their naggy reporters.

At least their attention was drawn away when the reclusive Emperor and Empress of Ninjago had stepped out of the shadows for just a second, to claim Harumi Brassard as their child - now of the Royal House Lotus. She'd been watching the event on the big television in their living room, amazed by how Harumi had seemed so composed and put together although her foster parents had been killed just over two weeks ago. Yet her schoolmate's gaze kept searching the crowd before her as her biological parents cooed over a girl they'd given to the ex-Mayor's family.

However, the grandness and the magnitude of the event could not surpass the curfew - which now had been pushed by the government to become even more restricting. School was taken online, and police were shutting down on crime, working harder than ever to keep the influx of felony reduced. Ever since the murders, smaller crimes had been ignored in favour of having the full police force work on these cases. Pixal didn't mind too much as she didn't go out unless required, although some of her more extroverted and active friends were constantly complaining about it.

Online classes were very awkward and Pixal heavily wished whoever was running around killing important, powerful people would stop. Master Wu still had not returned, which Pixal was surprised by. Wherever he was, surely the news would have spread there? Pixal knew few moves to defend herself, only examples of what Astra had shown in their class during the fight. Four vulnerable points would give her time to run away from one person, but Pixal would rather have a range of knowledge behind her.

With some vague questions to her father, she gained the knowledge that as an android she had the ability to download data into her processor and have the skill immediately learnt. She would have preferred learning this the longer way for the experience, but time was hard-pressed these days between keeping a close eye on the news and a wary gaze on the streets. Annoyingly enough, security had doubled at Borg Tower.

Pixal was proud of her father for becoming the number one supplier of technology in Ninjago, but sometimes it was strange and irritating to have someone following you around in case you were kidnapped and held ransom for expensive technology. It was this that formed a bond between her and Skylor, both daughters of fathers who held empires in different districts. She talked to Nya more than Skylor, but their recent complaints and conversation gave Pixal confidence to tell her best friend that she was an android.

Skylor's reaction was pretty similar to Nya's. Disbelief, until she had proved it, and then acceptance. Pixal was lucky she had such a close knit group of friends that made her feel safe. But the fact that the curfew was being pushed to its boundaries, the police were struggling with crime, and the assassinations and attempts were still occuring was shaking her up.

zane

Evan, even though he was a robot, was fragile. His father hadn't the resources he'd had to build Zane from, and he was mostly scraps fitted together. Zane would do anything for Evan and his father, but his younger brother's slightly rebellious behaviour was getting to him. He was barely making the cut for curfew, trying to get Zane to leave earlier than allowed, begging to stay out of with friends.

He didn't want to seem overbearing, but for the first time in a while, he had people he truly cared about, and would be heartbroken if they were hurt in any way. It was a painstaking two weeks for all of them since the adjusted lockdown, online school was tedious and rowdy, but Zane carried on through this dark tunnel with confidence the police would track down the murderer, assuming it was all done by the same person.

He was confident in this.

He kept his head down, attended school, cooked with his family, played games and chess, watched the TV and continued faithfully with his meditation. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. That people weren't trying hard enough. Perhaps the Sons of Garmadon had infiltrated the Police Department and were trying to slow down their progress. Then there was the matter of the 'nullification' they had brainstormed over a month ago that night the Mayor and his wife had been killed.

There was the possibility that Garmadon knew of their powers, which Lloyd thought was plausible, and that he was trying to stop them from using it. He'd suggested Vengestone as the solution to how they'd been blocked, and that seemed to be the only answer. What else could stop an elemental master? Zane was reluctant to jump to conclusions with insufficient evidence, but what else did they have? More importantly, what else could they do, other than lounging around in fear and theorising?

He shook his head to himself, marking off another task on his calendar. He'd begun to note the assassinations as well as attempts on his phone, and a short, risky pattern was beginning to show up. The only fault was the one week difference between the murder of Vance Spirdon and the Mayor and his wife. Then it was a two week gap between them and the attempt on Cyrus Borg.

Therefore, it seemed safe to assume that either a week or two weeks after Cyrus Borg would be another assassination. It had been just over two weeks, but Zane's theory operated on the fact that all these murders had been carried out by the same person, or the same group. It was likely. Most of the crime was carried out by stand-alone ruffians that were hired on by the gangs of the city. The Sons of Garmadon, Serpentine, Ghost and Skulkins were the four biggest and well-known crime gangs around.

It was late afternoon, but Zane had already completed the homework for online school. A ping from his phone alerted him to an email from the school's secretary. A smile crossed his face. Tomorrow, they'd be returning to proper school. He tossed his phone back and turned on the television, putting the news channel on low in the background. They were still jabbering on about the attempt on Cyrus Borg's life, and how his daughter Pixal Borg had saved him in an act of bravery.

There were blurry pictures flashing across the screen, but they were mostly shadowed by the dark night, offering no real information apart from suspense. The last picture, however, taken from someone's balcony was of the parachute, cutting a clean picture of the logo on the material. It clearly was associated with the SOG and only backed up Zane's theory. It also matched with what Pixal had told Zane when they went out for lunch earlier that week.

Despite this, Zane couldn't rid himself of the naggy voice in the back of his head that insisted he was missing something.

Something big.

A/N: okay i know lloyd's part was very dialogue heavy, but take it or leave it (jokes, i loved writing this even though i felt like gagging at the kiss. Not the llorumi part, just romance in general)

AND HOLF CRAPPY POG WE HIT 100K WORDS??? HOLY SHIT- i never, believe me, ever thought that mos would get this far or this fat. From this point, i can tell you there will be three-four more chapters to the end, with an additional epilogue.

P.s thank you all so much for 4.6k reads, nearly 300 votes and over 500 comments! Ily yall :D

-dommie out