A knock on my window had me jumping. My surprise settled faster than light, falling into loving excitement. Only one person used my window to slip inside the house.

"You know, we have a perfectly functioning door," I mused with a beguiled smile as I slid the window up. Lloyd hung upside down from the old ladder beside my window, head to toe in his green ninja gi.
"Where's the fun in that?"
"Where indeed?" I sighed, glancing outside at the morning sky behind him. "How was morning patrol?"
"The usual," he shrugged. It was hard to when he was using his arms to keep himself from falling, so his whole body moved with the shrug. I raised an eyebrow.
"Are you going to hang there all day or are you coming inside?"
"Or," Lloyd said, throwing in a third option. "You could kiss me?"
I stared at him.
"Quickly, please," he said, closing his eyes in merriment. "All the blood is rushing to my head."
"Moron," I muttered, but couldn't hide the endearment in my voice. I slipped back his mask and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "Now get inside before you faint."

Lloyd rolled his red eyes but landed inside, anyway. His weight staggered a little and I was unsure if it was from being upside down or from the quick, love-filled kiss, or a combination of both. I eyed the pink on his cheeks and concluded that yeah, it was probably both.
"Are you ready for this afternoon?" Lloyd asked, draping his arms around my waist nonchalantly. His eyes betrayed the softness of his feelings when he stared at me.
"Graduation," I murmured, pulling back his mask from his face properly. His blond hair swayed back into place, sticking in some parts from sweat. I raised my brows pointedly. "I'm ready, but the green ninja needs to take a shower." I took a sniff and pulled a face. Sweat and grime and- and garbage. His usual, intoxicating smell - my favourite fragrant - was barely noticeable. "Badly."
"What was that?" he said innocently, cocking his head to the side. "I'm stinky?" He pulled me in closer and smooshed my face against his chest, ignoring my squawking curses. "I don't smell anything bad."

"EW, LLOYD!" I squeaked, pulling away enough to inhale a large breath. Tears stung at my eyes from the horrid smell. "That's gross-!"
He pulled me back in. I thumped my fist on his chest in retaliation, though it was in vain.
"Sorry, what was that?" he asked. "I didn't quite catch what you said."
"I hate you!" I groaned, hauling my head back while he grinned playfully. "What did you do, dumpster dive?"
"Spot on," Lloyd nodded. I gave another sobbing whine. "A thief decided that a dumpster was the perfect place to hide from us."
"Perfect way to turn off your girlfriend," I complained, wiggling in Lloyd's arms in an attempt to get away. "Go get a shower, for God's sake."
"You'll need one now, too," Lloyd pointed out. A sneaky grin grew on his lips. "Care to share?"
"You know, I would've thought about it," I said sharply, brows pulled tight over my eyes. "But considering that you purposefully planned this, I don't think you should be rewarded with a shower buddy."
"Aw," Lloyd whined. I pointed in the direction of the bathroom.
"But I'll give you cuddles if you shower right now."
"How can I refuse that?" he chirped, brightening instantly. I cringed as he leapt closer to press a kiss to my forehead, bringing the awful scent with him, before he disappeared to shower.

I lifted my shirt to sniff and recoiled in disgust.
"Dammit, I am going to have to shower, too."

A few hours later, Lloyd played with my hair while I did the barest of make up I dared, getting ready for the graduation ceremony. I wasn't sure what to expect, since it's just a high school ceremony rather than college, but knowing my friends, we'd be taking a bunch of photos. I snuck my own Polaroid camera into the pocket of my jacket to continue my collection of photos to take with me to college.
"Ready?" Lloyd asked, dropping his chin onto my shoulder. I readjusted my hair before sneaking a quick kiss to Lloyd's cheek. "You look delectable, darling."
"'Delectable'?" I echoed with a snort. "Word of the day?"
"No, actually," he sniffed. "I've been reading your books you keep at my place in my downtime."
"You? Reading something that isn't Ninjitzu or comics?" I asked, eyes wide in mirth. "The world must truly be ending."
"Hey, I read batman fanfics, too," Lloyd pointed out with a feigned frown. I giggled, shaking my head.
"You are so cute," I sighed, glancing down at the lipgloss mark I left on his cheek. He didn't make a move to wipe it away. Then I perked up. "We need to go. Dad wants to drive us and you know how he gets if we're running late."

The drive to school was one we'd taken many times, but for once, I didn't go in full of dread for upcoming exams. They'd been and gone. High school was behind us - almost. After tonight, I wouldn't have to step foot back there if I so desired.
Parents and senior students milled around. Some were scrawling in each other's yearbooks that they'd picked up from the office. I'd have to grab my own one soon, but first I had to deal with a sniffly Jamie.
"Dad," I said with a smile. "I'm still your little girl."
"Y- yeah," he said and swallowed. "I know."
Jonesy patted his friend's shoulder and shared an amused look with my mum, who was glossy-eyed too, but not as much as dad.
We met up with Lloyd's parents and the team. Jay's parents had also come along, fussing over their son. I was introduced to another man; Cole's father. I could tell where Cole got his bushy eyebrows from.
Zane didn't have a parent to come along, but Pixal and Borg showed up in their stead. Zane was delighted. It was super cute.

As for Kai and Nya, if it weren't their obvious differences in genetics, anybody would've considered Misako and Garmadon to be their actual parents. They didn't seem to feel as if they were missing anyone.
While the adults and parents conversed, us kids (young adults?) ventured off to grab our yearbooks and earn ourselves some signatures. I assumed that it wouldn't branch out much further than our own group of friends, but Chen's old cheerleading team headed over and scrawled down the cliche 'have a good summer!' lines. It was still very much appreciated.
Nathan and Jas signed our yearbooks, too. It was offical - Nathan had moved on from Claire. I did catch him glancing at Jas more than once. They'd be a cute couple, I decided. I hope summer would be good to them.

After that, it was time for the ceremony. We were sat in our allocated seats - alphabetical order - so our group was scattered amongst the crowd of our year group.
One after one, a student was called up onto stage to shake the principal's and dean's hand. A small roll of paper was handed - physical proof of our completion of high school. An applause rose up for each person.
I clapped super loud for Lloyd, to distract him of the grimace the principal made when he read out his name. The team had the same idea.
When it was all over, we regrouped with our parents outside the school. A celebratory plan was quickly made - the parents would go back to the monastery for afternoon tea and the kids would go to the beach. Kai had already bought sparklers and Nya carried a bag of snacks.
The parents took the cars while we walked, the beach not being too far a walk from school. We laughed at our memories of high school and Pixal listened intently, seemingly intrigued by the human experience she didn't need to go through.

A couple of other groups had the same idea to head to the beach and other than sparing us snooty glances, paid us no attention. We listened to their music they had playing loudly from an expensive-looking speaker while settling on the soft sand, ignoring the way the little grains managed to stick like glue to our skin.
I sat beside Lloyd and childishly bounced my knees, peeling into a bag of gummy worms. I cried in indignation when he shoved his hand into the bag and grabbed a large handful.
Kai set to making a fire. Skylor helped gather new sticks to place over the ancient bonfire that had been used by many teens before us. Nya and Naomi got set to making sandcastles, with the help of the water master's power to make the sand stick. Jay decorated both, finding little sticks and shells and leaves.

The wind was subtle. Still enough for the sun to warm, even as it began to dip towards the ocean's horizon line. The fire burst to life and we cheered. Chen and Ambrose arrived later, carrying pizzas and fish and chips. Zane and Pixal shared a book together under the shade of a palm tree. Lloyd continued to ransack my candy.
When it was dark enough, we cracked out the sparklers, waving the little lightning rods through the air. Drawing pictures, spelling words. Ambrose drew a dick. We yelled a war cry of a cheer.
The other group of teens slowly migrated closer, sheepishly asking if they could join us with our sparklers. We all readily agreed, and our group grew three times as large.

"Having fun?" Naomi asked as she found me amongst the chaos that thirty or so teenagers brought. I was sitting alone and taking a break from socialising, watching the ninja boys shove Lloyd into the rolling waves of the ocean. She held two beers in hand.
"Yeah," I grinned. Last time I was at a party, I was mopey and got shot in the leg. This was a far improvement.
"Want one?" Naomi offered with a grin, holding up a glass bottle after taking a seat beside me. "First drink as an adult."
I stared at the bottle scrutinisingly before cautiously untwisting the cap and taking a swig. I blanched.
"Eugh!" I shook my head, scrunching my face. Naomi laughed.
"I know," she snickered. "It takes some getting used to."
"It's nasty," I grumbled. Then took another swig, anyway. My gaze returned to the ocean, where Lloyd stood against the reflection of the moon and laughed as Jay got back slammed into the waves from Cole. Naomi shared my view.

"It's crazy," she murmured. I hummed in confusion, lips resting against the top of the bottle. "We're finally out of high school. It feels like it went so fast."
"I know," I sighed, dropping my head back against the tree I was leaning against. "But it felt so slow when we were actually there."
"Right?" Naomi giggled. She sighed, watching the boys. Probably watching her boy. Man. Whatever. "It's also crazy how much a year changes things."
"Yeah," I agreed, turning to stare at the stars. "Damn, yeah. This year was fucking wild. Mind my language."
Naomi grinned, sweeping her blue eyes to me.
"Who'd have thought that we'd have boyfriends?" she teased. "I was convinced that I was undateable."
"No," I stressed with a smile, dropping my eyes from the stars to my best friend. She was probably the best star there was. "You just hadn't met a guy to your standards. And clearly, your standards are Cole."

Naomi leant back on an arm and groaned.
"I hate how you're totally right," she sighed. She took another sip and rested the bottle on her thigh. "Think I'm gonna marry that man one day."
"We'll technically be sisters-in-law," I pointed out with a grin. She brightened.
"Oh, we will!"
"Have you met Lou yet?" I asked.
"I have," Naomi nodded. "Did you know he's part of a barbershop? Like, the singing kind. That man's crazy dramatic, it's kind of endearing."
"I can see that," I laughed. "That makes total sense."
Naomi and I settled and a small silence passed between us. The flickering light of the fire touched our toes as we dug them into the sand.
"I'm kind of glad that we parted from Claire," Naomi murmured, staring hard at a small crab that scuttled across the beach in front of us. A few teens shouted in laughter. "It feels like a huge weight have been lifted off our shoulders, y'know? It was like I was bending over backwards just to please her and now I'm finally finished. I don't have to do that to any of our new friends."
I smiled softly, watching as my toe popped up from the sand.

"I get how you feel," I said quietly. "I didn't realise how bad of a friend she was until it hit me in the face. And then after that when she found out I knew..."
"It was like a tiger got released from its cage."
I agreed with a nod.
"But hey," I said, inhaling deeply through my nose and relaxing into a smile. "She's not part of our life anymore. Nowhere else to go but up, right?"
I lifted my bottle in cheers. Naomi blinked before grinning, tapping her glass against mine. The clink was quiet in the loud night of the party, but it was solid enough to make it known to the world that we were in the process of moving on, no matter how difficult the journey may be.

"Hey!" Lloyd yelled across from the beach. "Join us!"
I shared an apprehensive look with Naomi. The cold water definitely did not look appealing. Nya yelled at us too, and we caved.
"Oh, alright," I relented, standing up and brushing my skirt off. "The things we do for these people."
"Like we wouldn't stop the earth for them," Naomi pointed out with a smile.
"I hate how you're totally right," I echoed her earlier words and she chimed a giggle. "God, what would we do without them? Where would we be?"
"I'd rather not think about the what if's," Naomi said, slinging her arm around my shoulders. "Not when this reality is perfect as it is."
I smiled, watching as we approached the team. They laughed at a joke and Lloyd's happy eyes found mine.

"Yeah," I said softly. "You're right."

Nurses bustled around in a cell, tending to a wounded inmate. Yellow eyes bitterly raked the bland ceiling, counting cracks in the reinforced concrete.

He could no longer find pleasure in meddling with minds, shackled by vengestone. He'd all but lost his powers. But what he lost in elemental power, he made up for in other ways.
Axon smiled in nostalgia, thinking back to the frightened look on Y/n's face and the furious scowl on Lloyd's the last time he saw them, at the hospital. He'd made a passing comment about a pawn. It was an empty threat back then, but now-
A cloaked figure slipped inside the room, just as planned. The nurses left, not noticing the intruder.

"Princess," Axon greeted with a pleasant smile. Despite his warmth, poison laced his yellow eyes. "I've been long awaiting your audience."
"Cut the pleasantries, Axon," the Princess of Ninjago snapped as she pulled the cloak from her head. Her white hair tumbled out and she would be considered pretty - angelic, even - if not for the scowl that marred her face. "I know who you are."
"And yet, you stand before me."
Princess Harumi's hazel eyes narrowed. She wasn't here to play games, but Axon was the master of them.
"I don't have much time," Harumi hurried in a growl. "Tell me your offer before I leave and let you rot here for the rest of your miserable years. You've already had Mr. E wrapped around your finger but I am not so easily swayed."
"Fine, fine," Axon sighed before giving a flamboyant roll of his eyes. "Royalty. Never have any patience for the little people."
"Get on with it!"

"My release," Axon began, bargaining, manipulating his tone to sound inviting. "And I'll guarantee your revenge on Lloyd Garmadon."
Harumi scoffed, already turning away.
"You've tried that already and failed. I'm in no need of assistance from the likes of you-"
"The Garmadons took everything from you!" Axon yelled, voice booming in the cell and making Harumi falter. Her fists clenched. "They took everything from me. I can help you get your revenge, Princess. I can help you take everything from them. When we're done, they'll know not the meaning of happiness."
Harumi hesitated, contemplating. The scowl returned to her face, though this time it was determined and scornful. She stiffly turned back to the master of the mind. Her eyes squinted further.

"I'm listening," she said.
"Well, Princess," Axon smiled. "You're gonna be my mole."