I sat on one of the gurneys, slumped against the wall with my head hanging back. Lloyd was quietly pottering around, handing me glasses of water and checking my temperature, which had begun to fluctuate. The aspirin had yet to kick in.

"I'm gonna go get my uncle," Lloyd said, voice soft in the silence. I nodded, crawling my feet closer to my body.
When he swiftly exited the room, I was left to the mercy of my thoughts - what was that? Am I considered dangerous? Was Jace okay? How hurt was he? How hurt was I?
I dropped my head forward and smacked my cheek. Am I menace?
This was supposed to be a nice day. It was supposed to be fun. Why do I always ruin everything?

I smacked my cheek again, harder, because I deserved it. Tears burst from my eyes as a feeling of general incompetence and overwhelming emotions caused the pit in my gut to distort and twist. Did I hurt Jace? It was my fault. What's wrong with me?
I hit my face harder with both hands until I was taking it out on myself, breath catching and tears dripping and panic growing. My ears were ringing.
Lloyd was there the next second, pulling my hands from my face. He looked heartbroken.

"Y/n, stop it," he said gently. "This wasn't your fault. It was my dad's."
"What?" Garmadon blanched. "I- you-!"
I choked a small laugh, sniffling. I didn't want to cry. I didn't want to feel sad.
"Because of what the prophecy contains, we cannot tell you two a hefty amount," Garmadon said, his brother walking into the room a second later. "I've informed Lloyd of what I told Y/n."
"These powers of yours are just settling into your body," Wu continued. "It will take some time before you can access and control them. Until then, you may experience more outbreaks like this."
"H- how do I stop them?" I asked. Lloyd jumped up onto the gurney beside me.

"You cannot," Garmadon shook his head. "You must take it as they come and try to remain calm. Powers very much depend on your emotional state, which was why this one was triggered by Lloyd fighting Jace."
"It was just... a wall," Lloyd spoke up. "Is her power air solidification?"
Garmadon shook his head. Lloyd frowned.
"You sure?"
"Lloyd."
He raised his palms in defence. "Jus' checking."

"How are you feeling now, Y/n?" Wu asked. I shifted uncomfortably, pulling the hoody tighter around myself.
"Clammy," I murmured. "Stressed."
"Some tea will perk you right up," Misako announced as she entered the medbay carrying a tray of tea cups. She offered me one with a gentle smile. "Here you are, sweetheart."
"Thanks," I whispered, clutching the warm porcelain to my chest. "Will Jace be okay?"
Wu nodded. "Nothing a few days rest won't cure."
"These outburts," Lloyd spoke up, holding the tea cup to his lips. "How can we stop them happening in public? Also, I'm gonna ask again because you didn't answer me the first time - what's her power?"

"You'll find out later," Garmadon said in a tone that held no mercy. Uh oh dad mode. Lloyd shrunk back with a pout. "And Y/n's powers, thus far, are related to when she feels like you're in danger. So don't be in danger."
Lloyd blinked, unimpressed. "It's like you don't even know me."
Cole suddenly slid into the room, face determined.
"My big brother senses are tingling!" he declared loudly. His dark eyes found mine and he pointed at me dramatically.
"You!"
"Me?" I squeaked.
"Prepare to be hugged!"
He stormed over and Lloyd quickly took my tea cup before I was absolutely swamped by Cole wrapping his arms around me.

"It's said that I'm the team's best hugger," Cole noted. "Does my reputation precede me?"
"Twitter stan accounts don't always get their facts right," Lloyd reminded. "Remember the time they thought Nya and Zane were dating?"
Cole barked a laugh. It shook me. How is he so frickin huge? He's like a grizzly bear but in the shape of a teenage boy.
"Jay hated that," Cole said amusedly. Man, those Twitter stan accounts were right, though. Cole does give good hugs.
But perhaps not quite as good as Lloyd's.

Lloyd chuckled and I reached out for my tea cup with grabby hands. He returned it and I took a satisfying sip. The tea made me feel warm and light.
"Feeling better?" Lloyd asked when the goldie oldies had shuffled out. I nodded. "Wanna continue the tour? Or we can just chill out in the lounge room."
Cole's head shot up. "Have you showed her the ninja cave?"
"The what?" I asked.
"Oooooh! Lloyd you have to show her it!"
Lloyd snickered at Cole's enthusiasm. "Okay, okay. If she's up for it."

I nodded. I was feeling much better already. Perhaps it was a combination of Cole's hug, the tea and being close to Lloyd that cured me.
"I'm gonna go bug Jay about something meaningless," Cole said, slipping down from the gurney and darting our of the medbay. "See ya!"
Lloyd held out his hand. "Ready?"
I slipped my hand into his with a nod.
We slowly made our way back to the kitchen silently to drop off our tea cups. From there, we strolled down the front wing of the monastery until I stopped at an open doorway where a lot of noise was coming from. It was the rest of the team, sans Cole.

They perked up when we entered, pausing the video game they were all playing. Aside from Zane, he was reading in the corner.
"Have a good dip?" Jay asked, face scrunched into a look of pure chaotic bastard.
"When's the first date?" Kai piped up, whose grin was out of this world.
"We're- we're not," Lloyd stammered which made Nya roll her eyes.
"Sure."
"You guys are useless," Cole said as he appeared out of nowhere (smh, ninja, am I right?) and leant against the doorframe.
"And you guys are judgey," Lloyd shot back. "Super judgey. C'mon, Y/n."

I didn't even get a chance to say anything until I was being dragged down the hall again. We passed a room full of nothing but scrolls and another, more formal seating area. The dining room?
"Maybe in a few years, they'll forget about it," Lloyd joked. I cracked a smile as he stopped outside a set of industrial-looking doors.

Lloyd pushed them open with a grin.
"This," he said, making me lose my breath. "Is the ninja cave."

The door revealed a set of stairs leading down into darkness. I frowned.
"O- okay," Lloyd backtracked. "These are the steps that lead down into the ninja cave, this here isn't actually the ninja ca- let's just get going."
My eyes flickered up to Lloyd, who looked a little flustered from his mix up. A small smile tugged at my lips. He's so cute.
"You'll love it, I promise," he assured as the doors behind us automatically shut. I flinched at the loud clanging, finalising sound they made and instinctively grabbed at his arm.
"Aw, babe, you're scared?" Lloyd grinned playfully, barely illuminated by the soft lights illuminating the steps. "You can hold my hand, if you want."
I scowled. "Shut up." But I still slapped my hand into his.

He laughed gently, sending me a reassuring squeeze of his hand before leading me deeper underground.
It's not that I was scared of the dark. It's just the eerie vibe the lights and darkness gave off made me instantly go on edge. It felt as if I were in a horror movie and I was doing the one thing that everybody in the audience yelled at me for - investigating the dark, spooky basement.
"It's really dark," I hummed, totally not scared or anything. Lloyd glanced at me before lifting his free hand.
"Here," he said just a ball of green light exploded into existence, hovering above his palm. It illuminated the dark hallway like a little sun, chasing away the shadows.

"Whoa," I mumbled as the ball of energy washed everything in a green hue. "That's... whoa." I'd seen Lloyd use his power before, obviously, but only to hit at enemies. Never stationary like this.
Monkey brain me took over.
"What happens if I touch it?" I asked as we descended deeper underground. Lloyd gave a feeble shrug, dropping his hand. The orb continued to hover before us.
"Dunno," he said. "I wouldn't recommend-"
I stuck a finger inside the orb.
"-i-i-t-t..." Lloyd drawled before he sighed, sending me an apprehensive look. As if he were expecting me to suddenly start screaming in agony.
I blinked at the odd sensation the tendrils of energy lapping over my finger left. It didn't shock me, didn't sting, didn't make my finger flare in heat. Instead, "it kind of... tickles."

Lloyd blinked in surprise at my spoken observation before sending me a confused look.
"Tickles?"
I nodded in confirmation, submerging my hand in the energy ball and twisting my fingers. I was fascinated by the way the tendrils of energy would twirl between my fingers, making me grin at the soothing feeling they left behind on my skin. I giggled, feeling like a little kid playing in the sandpit.
"It tickles," Lloyd repeated, deadpanning.
"Ye," I hummed, twirling my hand in the orb.
"Huh. We're almost there."

I retreated my hand from the ball of energy as I glanced up at Lloyd's comment. True to his word, the end of the steep staircase was in sight with a warm glow washing over the last few steps. My pace quickened in excitement, causing Lloyd to scurry after me as I neared our destination.
We exited the staircase, entering a huge bunker/warehouse/cave hybrid. No wonder the stairs were so long, this place was huge.
"Whoa," I drawled as my eyes widened at the sight. Every mech and bike and jet the ninja had ever used (and survived, considering a lot of their mechs and bikes and jets get smashed while in battle) was stored to the side, categorised by which belongs to who. They took up the majority of the base while over to the other side was a couch, a tv and a PS4 with six personalised controllers. Pushed against the wall were various old-timey arcade games like Pac-Man, Donkey Kong and a pinball machine.

"This is so cool," I breathed as I began slowly making my way down an isle of mechs. It was like a man cave but for ninja, which kind of made sense as to why it was called the ninja cave. Various posters were stuck to the wall, beanbags were piled in one corner, hell, a cat slept on the couch.
Lloyd trailed behind me, not saying a word as I stared open-mouthed at the various mechs and machines. We soon entered the next isle, this time jets greeted us.
"I've died and gone to mechanic heaven," I mumbled as I stopped in front of what must've been one of Jay's fighter jets. It was a deep blue with a lighter shade in the shape of lightning strikes making its way up the side. I shook my head in disbelief. "These are insanely awesome."

"Lloyd!" Kai exclaimed as he jumped down into the cave. His amber eyes were wide, bright with exhilaration. "There's been a break in at the city bank!"
Lloyd abruptly stood to attention, nodding at Kai in acknowledgement.
"Understood," he said, losing all humour. His green eyes grew set with determination. "Round up the rest of the team. We'll be leaving in five."
Kai nodded in acknowledgement before turning on his heel to race up the steps once more. Blondie turned to me with a frown.
"Sorry, duty calls," he hummed. "I'll get mum to drop you home."
I caught his arm. I felt vulnerable again.
"Just... stay safe, okay?" I pleaded, staring hard at a loose hem on his neckline.

Lloyd tipped my chin up until he caught my eyes. The green of his were sincere with warmth.
"I'll be fine," he reassured, voice like honey. "It'll be an in and out mission, trust me."
He pulled back, heading towards the staircase. I swallowed sharply, hating the feeling of loneliness that grew with the distance. Was this a side effect of the powers due to the prophecy?
The need grew. My fear from before grew, too.
He began to walk away. My feet lead me forward and I raced until I wrapped my arms around his torso. He laughed breathlessly, taken aback.
"Promise me," I insisted, digging my face into his back. "Promise me, please."
Lloyd turned in my arms until he was embracing me back tightly. His arms felt nice. It felt natural and my panic soothed somewhat.
"I promise," he pledged, saying the words I needed to hear - god, why was I so scared? It's not as if he was inexperienced. My fear was totally unjustified. Were my emotions just totally out of whack from before? "I'll visit you tonight."
"Tonight?" I glanced up at him. He sent me a charming smile.
"Wait for me?"
My heart leapt. "A- always."

"Lloyd!" called Kai from upstairs. "Everyone's ready! Waiting on you, buddy!"
I widened my eyes as I stepped back from Lloyd's hold.
"You gotta go," I said, swallowing sharply and clenching my fists. Hide the reluctance. Suppress the yearning.
I mustn't have hidden it well enough because Lloyd smiled softly before placing a small, chaste kiss on my forehead.
I almost fell to my knees from the fluttery warmth. I felt weak. He pulled back all too soon, a crooked smirk on his lips that made the weak feeling in my knees worsen tenfold. I'm going to fall.

"Lloyd!"
"Y- you've gotta go," I echoed, face blushing bright red at the state he managed to put me in. Stuttering and stammering, face red, impulsive, reckless, hopelessly weak and so, so infatuated. It wasn't fair how easily he wrapped me around his pinky
"I know," he replied, barely above a whisper. He grabbed my hand and we took off up the stairs, savouring the small remaining amount of time together before he had to leave.

All too soon, I was standing beside Misako as we watched the team fly off towards the city.
"Alright," Misako said, clapping her hands. "Let's get you home."
I should've seen the warning signs miles away.
"So, you and Lloyd, hm?" she asked, amused, as I slid into shotgun after telling her my address.
I immediately wanted to tuck and roll from the moving car, just to escape this situation.
"Uhhh, what do you mean?" I asked, voice pitched.
"Well, forget all this prophecy nonsense for a second," Misako said, pulling out into the long track through the forest. "How are you two handling being together?"
"B- being together?" I squeaked, face burning.
"Yeah, you know! Dating! Are you two an 'item' yet?" she pressed for details as the car rolled along the gravel track, the stones crunching under the tyres akin to my slowly crushing dignity. She's worse than Naomi.

"I... I don't know," I replied and it was honest. I had no clue what Lloyd and I were. Dating? Friends that are weirdly close? Complicated?
Misako hummed as we drove through the forest, the late afternoon sun dappling through the leaves. Woodland critters hid amongst the trunks of trees as we passed.
"Do you love him?"
I paused. Did I? Love is an intensely strong word. Romantic love is essentially giving half of your heart to somebody else which, of course, was no small feat.
Was I ready for something like that? Was Lloyd?
"I... I think it's too early for me to say with confidence that I do," I replied, voice collected and slow. Misako nodded.
"You're very mature for your age," she noted. "You think things through."
Lmao no I do not, ma'am.

"I don't think so," I denied quietly. "I lost it today. Lloyd was only in training and I still hurt Jace."
Misako shook her head. The car pulled onto the outskirts of the city.
"Honey, that was nothing compared to when Lloyd's powers were settling in," she informed. I glanced up. "He almost levelled the entire west wing, once."
My eyes widened. "What?"
Misako nodded, humming.
"The greater the power, the greater the struggle," she continued, her eyes suddenly holding a lifetime's worth of wisdom. And her lifetime was over a thousand years. "He's had it the toughest when it came to breaking in his powers. Your little outburst today is nothing compared to what we've all experienced, so don't worry too much about it, okay?"

I settled against the seat. Although I still felt terrible for hurting Jace and the fact that it happened without me even realising it was terrifying, Misako's reassurances made me feel a little bit better. It may be new territory for me but Garm, Misako and Wu are experienced in this field. They'd help me.
"Thank you, Misako," I said sincerely. "That made me feel a lot better."
"Hey, for my future daughter-in-law," she teased. The smile on my face froze.
"Uhh-"
"I'm only kidding, Y/n," she reassured with a soft laugh as she pulled onto my street. The solemn atmosphere from before disappeared completely as she returned to her usual, teasing self. "Do you mind if I meet your mother?"

YES, I do mind please leave and stay as far away from my mother as possible before you turn her into a second version of you.
"Of course you can," I replied.
Nooooo.

I should've just said that my mother was out or in the shower or something because as soon as Misako introduced herself as Lloyd's mother, my own mother sent me a look and I knew that I was done for. I may as well start writing my will and reserve a spot in the cemetery because she's going to embarrass me to death.
The fact that I was in Lloyd's clothes really did not help me out, either.
So, as soon as I was inside, I sped to my room to change into my own clothes - okay, pyjamas - and neatly folded Lloyd's clothes at the end of my bed for me to deal with later.

Okay, I put his hoody back on.
It's too tempting. I'm weak willed.

When I walked back into the living room, both mothers were gossiping like old women, both holding cups of coffee in hand. Oh no. They were going to be at it for a while.
The two clicked instantly, as thick as thieves before long. Discussing the entirety of Lloyd's and my relationship as I sat before them with a look of regret on my face.
So yeah my mother thought I had a boyfriend.
Yay.

As the sun dipped down beyond the horizon and the golden glow gave way to a hue of night, I excused myself and meandered back to my room. That was a situation that I never want to be part of again.
I dropped onto my bed and flopped an arm over my eyes. It was such an exhausting day, what with Lloyd's return, the whole pond fiasco that I never want to think about again and then the first outburst from my supposed powers.
I removed my arm from my eyes, staring blearily at the ceiling.
I should ask my mum about the powers. See if she knows anything about them.
Ugh. But they're dormant. The only reason why they're acting up and I'm even aware of them is because of the prophecy, which means that I'd have to tell her about the whole green ninja thing to ask about them.

Ugh. Ugh. This is so confusing. How did my life go from being completely boring and normal to such a chaotic mess within a month of living in Ninjago City?
A knock on my window made me jump.
"Hellooooooo?" came a familiar voice and ah. That's how. "Anyone home?"
I stuck my head around the window frame. The green ninja waved goofily from where he was hanging upside down, latched onto the ladder.
"It's me!" As if I had any doubts.
I opened the window and he clambered inside, dropping lithely to the ground.

"Long time no see," he chuckled, amused. I rolled my eyes.
"Please never attempt stand up comedy."
Lloyd gasped, pulling off his mask and tucking it into his belt. "Excuse you, but I am very funny."
"Funny looking, maybe," I flicked his forehead.
"Well, I see you're feeling better enough to bully me," Lloyd pouted. "Maybe I'll just go home. My pet rock treats me better than you do."
"Ohoh, I'm sorry," I apologised, smiling teasingly. "You just make it so fun."

He snickered, leaping onto my bed and picking up a book and flicking through it.
"Sure, make yourself at home," I said blandly. Lloyd snatched my wrist and pulled me beside him.
"Snuggle time," he announced. "Your green ninja demands it."
"Don't need to tell me twice," I agreed, shifting into a more comfortable position. And then froze.
We're cuddling.
This was... a first.

But Lloyd didn't seem to mind, or notice. Or maybe he's just good at hiding it.
He placed the book to the side, turning his attention back to me. I stiffened again - this was very intimate and very close. I could count the specks in his green eyes.
"Seriously," he said, his voice sounding a little deeper now that he was lying down. "Are you feeling okay?"
I nodded, totally sincere. "Your mum told me about how much trouble you went through with your powers. At least I know that you and your parents have experience with it."

"Oh, yeah," Lloyd winced. "That was bad. Think puberty except that instead of having tantrums, you accidentally make electrical storms and forest fires."
I choked on my breath, eyes wide.
"Your mum only said that you almost levelled one of the wings," I said in shock. Lloyd nodded.
"That, too. And a blizzard that lasted for two weeks. I was an emotional ten-year-old."
"You were ten?!" I hissed, brow pulled taut in sympathy. Lloyd shrugged.
"Prophecy demanded it."
"B- but... ten," I shook my head. "Lloyd, I'm personally going to help you fulfil everything that you missed out on growing up. Starting with binging Avatar let's go boys."

I leapt up, grabbing my laptop from my desk and bringing it back over to the bed. I logged on, taking a seat on the mattress while I focused on bringing the first episode up.
"You really remind me a lot of Aang," I mused, clicking onto full screen as the intro began to play. "I really think you'll love it."
Lloyd hummed, hooking an arm around me waist and dragging me closer.
"I think I will, too," he said, face buried in my hair. I swallowed, pressing pause.

"Our mothers are currently discussing what the best ship name for us would be," I murmured with red cheeks. I felt Lloyd tense behind me.
"How do they even know what that is?" he asked in disbelief. I gave only a shrug in reply.
"Dunno," I said tiredly. "It was exhausting just being in the same room as them. How'd your mission-thing go?"
Lloyd sighed. "It was very in and out. Super boring. Even you could've taken these noobs down."
"Thanks," I replied sarcastically. "Okay I'm playing the show now so zip it. Pretty please."
"Yes, ma'am," Lloyd nodded, zipping his mouth shut and flicking away the key.

Removing my pillows, I placed the computer at the top of the bed and watched as Sokka and Katara tried to fish. Lloyd shuffled closer, pressing against me. He was warm. It was nice.
No out of control powers, no battles, no drones. Just watching Avatar while the moon peeked from between my curtains. It was nice. Soothing. I felt safe.

I probably made it through half an episode before I fell asleep.