SEBASTIAN PAUL
••• TROJAN HORSE •••

stuck inside a thought

dreaming 'bout our talks

and, oh, my eyes are on fire

let's watch this world expire

•••••

Me, smacking my own book with a pillow: why are you so fucking dramatic

Sargent Major Jamie shoved Garmadon back with a ferocious growl.

"What the fuck just happened to my daughter?" he yelled. "Was this your doing? Your wretched son's? Huh?"
Garmadon expertly rid his robe of his hands, standing back with a concerned scowl.
"Of course it wasn't, you buffoon," he snapped, eyeing the large, spherical entity just as it emerged with a worried gaze. "We're here to stop the preeminent from reaching Ninjago but... it seems we were too late."
Jamie glanced up and took a step back in shock. "Holy hell. What is that thing?"
Jonesy then decided to appear, laughing gleefully at Borg's gun in hand. "Damn, this thing is awesome! Jamie, have you seen this- oh, shoot."
Where Lloyd and Y/n disappeared, a large, spherical, ghostly-green monster took their place, spitting out ghosts from its tummy-churning orifice that hovered around it like flies to dung.
It was truly a sight to behold. A creature to send a world to the end of its days.

Kai landed back in the clearing where the parents were standing, grunting as he shot balls of fire at an approaching tentacle.
"Well, at least we know that they're alive!" Kai shouted.
"How?!" Jamie replied in angered disbelief. "How on earth would you know?"
"Our powers," Kai answered, sending another burst of flame. "We still have them, for one. If the green ninja dies, our powers go, too."
Jamie scrunched his face. "That seems like a major battle flaw."
"Hey, mind discussing logistics after we save the world?" Nya shouted as she landed beside her brother, expertly reverting back to code names. "Red, I thought you were gonna get closer!"

"You don't think I'm trying?!" Kai shot back as he shot more balls of fire and flung his deepstone aeroblade in defence. It did little to halt the Preeminent. "Jamie, we need to evacuate the rest of the citizens so we can fight this thing without endangering their lives."
"Half of our troops are focusing on getting out the people closest to the shore," Jonesy replied. "The rest are trying to hold the ghosts at bay, but our weapons don't work on them!"
"Of course they don't, they're ghosts!" Cole argued as landed before the group. Jonesy cried out and raised his watergun, only to be met by shouts of the others. Nya grabbed the gun and shoved it into her belt.
"He's with us," Kai explained to the bewildered Jonesy and Jamie.
"Yeah," Cole nodded, a look of apprehension on his transparent face. "Please don't shoot me."

"It's too late!" Wu exclaimed as he, Misako and Zane ran into the middle of the chaos, taking down ghosts and forcing the Preeminent's tentacles to recoil when they could. Zane was the only one still with his mech, as Jay's had been destroyed and Cole had attempted to burst the Preeminent by shoving his deepstone bike down her gullet, to no avail. "We have to get the remaining residents into a boat. We cannot take them through town!"
"We have to leave now," Misako said as she approached, eyes not leaving the preeminent as it hovered over the falling city of Stiix.

"Leave? Like hell!" Jamie disagreed. "That thing just took my little girl!"
"And it took my son," Misako snapped. "So are we working together to get them back, or are we going to let this stupid little feud detriment the lives of our kids?"
Jamie blinked before looking away with a spat curse.
"I think we should work together," Jonesy nodded, speaking up. "This is clearly a fight we can't win without helping one another. Sarge?"
Jamie ran a hand down his face.
"Fine," he said, huffing through his nose. "Fine. What's the plan?"
"Gather everyone you can and rendezvous at the docking station to the far left," Garmadon spoke up, pointing at the meet-up point. "From there, we must get the people as far away from the preeminent as we can."

"But what about Lloyd and Y/n?" Jay cried before the group could split, holding a bundle of blanket in his arms. "They're still in that thing! Are we just going to leave them?"
"They're together," Garmadon shouted, hitting a ghost away with a wooden plank, surprisingly working. "Y/n's no fool and Lloyd is strong and wise beyond his years. They'll find a way."
"If this plan doesn't work, I'm putting a bullet in your head," Jamie snarled, turning on Garm with a thunderous expression. "I'm getting my daughter back."
"Of course," Garmadon said. "The fight is not over until their safe return."
"Wait, wait, wait," Nya said, zeroing in on her boyfriend. "Lightning, what do you have?"
Jay blinked, glancing down at the bundle.
"A puppy."
"Why?" Kai asked incredulously.
"I couldn't just leave it!" Jay argued. "I think it's a stray and it only has three legs so I had to help. Besides, you know I love dogs!"
"You know what? Doesn't matter," Nya shook her head. "Let's go."
The group split, on the scout for any stragglers. Soon, they regathered at a ship, shaky people piling on while the preeminent roared in the background and floating ghosts decorated the sky.

Ronin defended the ship with the Sword of Sanctuary, stolen back from Morro while he was occupied with the arrival of his master.
"That's all of them," Wu nodded before turning and glaring at the Preeminent. Jamie sent Ronin a look.
"Ronin? What are you doing here?" he asked in bafflement. "By your attitude, I assumed that you wouldn't be fighting."
Wu raised a brow at the mercenary. Ronin laughed nervously, slicing at some tentacles that dared to approach.
"What?" his chuckle was strained. "We needed all the help we could get."
"It was you who called the military," Garmadon said as he approached after making sure the back half of the town was deserted. "Why?"
"Because this is crazy as hell!" Ronin exclaimed, pointing at the preeminent. "That thing is crazy as hell! Of course I was going to call the military! All the more chance of actually living, right?"

"No matter," Garmadon shook his head, brushing it aside. "We need to get this ship to sea to put as much water between us as possible."
"Now that, I can do, no problem," Ronin grinned before snapping the rope hitching the paddlesteamer with the Sword. The boat began to slowly leave the docks, making Ronin smirk in triumph before a gust of wind behind him made him turn. His smile dropped as Morro, with the Realm Crystal, landed before him.

"Maybe one problem," Ronin grunted with a scowl.

🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃

I imagined death so much it feels more like a memory.

Haha. Am I really quoting Hamilton as I die? Yes, apparently I am. That is so on par for me.
What a way to go.

"... wake up, Y/n, please!"

Lloyd?
Oh fucking nice. I get to listen to his voice in death? Goddamn, what a score! Sure, the darkness may be boring as all hell, but at least I'll get to listen to the beautiful, heart-fluttering voice that belonged to Lloyd Garmadon.

"Y/n, wake up!"

"Lloyd?" I called, reaching up into the darkness. "Lloyd, are you there?"
My fingers found something warm. I poked around before settling on a nose. I gently squeezed it, just to make sure, and a hand grabbed my wrist.
"What are you doing?" he said dryly. Despite his attitude, Lloyd couldn't mask the hint of relief in his voice.
"I always knew you were my guardian angel," I hummed pleasantly with a dopey grin. "Death won't be so bad if I get to hear your voice for eternity."
"You're not dead, Y/n."
"But the darkness-"
"Your eyes are closed, Y/n," Lloyd sighed heavily. I blinked, sight returning and found him crouching before me.
"Oh," I felt for my chest with my free hand and winced at the injury. Very much alive, indeed. "Aw, man. That'd give us such a solid excuse to not go to school."

He rolled his eyes and I grinned goofily. It fell as I took in our surroundings, turning my head. I sat up with a frown. Heavy green fog kept us from seeing too far down the large hall-like structure. Large pillars hugged the curved sides, purple and pulsing and - nOPE. Nuh-uh. Don't wanna dwell on that.
We had woken up in a cage made of what looked suspiciously like bones. The air was thick and musty, making it a little difficult to breathe and goD WHAT WAS THAT SMELL-
"Where... where are we?" I asked, scrunching my nose.

"I'm guessing we're in the cursed realm," Lloyd murmured, standing up and checking the door to the cage. It swung easily open. We shared a confused look and he shrugged.
"Cursed realm, huh?" I murmured sarcastically as Lloyd pulled me to my feet. "Not exactly where I wanted to vacation at for my summer break."
"Trust me, it wasn't on my bucket list, either," Lloyd grunted. "How do you think we get out of here?"
"Oh, dude," I shook my head. "If you're asking me then we're totally screwed."
Lloyd cursed under his breath, wiping away a bit of sweat from his brow. I scanned the area, looking, hoping for an idea to get out of this place. I came up with nothing and I growled.

"Ugh, why couldn't my powers work!" I cried, hitting my forehead with my hands in frustration. "They worked before, why couldn't they work when you're actually in danger? I'm so useless-!"
"Y/n," Lloyd said, grabbing my wrists. I glanced up at him with a defeated look and he just shook his head. "Your powers are unstable right now. You can't expect them to work. That isn't how it goes with these types of things."
"But I could've saved you," I said desperately, face pulled into a look of guilt. "And then we wouldn't be stuck in this- this... whatever it is."
"It's not your fault," he said, stroking back a lock of hair. His gaze hardened. "But you shouldn't have jumped in like that- god, what were you thinking?!"
"Are you kidding me?" I widened my eyes and stepped back in shock. "I spent the past week without you! I wasn't going to just sit back and do nothing!"
"You should've," Lloyd turned away with a growl, looking down one way of the corridor. "And what about your father? You should've told me about him!"

"Like hell!" I laughed sarcastically, the sound bouncing off the walls. "Every time the military was mentioned, you all would get this sour look on your faces! And before that, even, why the hell would I tell my crush about my father? What, oh, 'hello, guy I really like, wanna go on a date? Oh, by the way, my father's really high up on the chain of command for the military. So, tonight at seven?' Are you kidding me?"
"I don't see a problem with that," Lloyd raised his brow.
"You would've been running for the hills!" I argued.
"The military doesn't scare me, Y/n," Lloyd scoffed, turning on his heel.
"And?!" I chased after him, a furious look on my face. "I didn't know that back then! And then when I learnt that you guys had a history with my family and I found a- a spiteful relationship of hate and malice! Lloyd-" I grabbed his arm and turned him back to me. "I've asked out people before and every time, my father's status would turn them away. A- and when I saw you, everything was different! You were the one person I couldn't risk scaring off. Please, you of all people should know how I feel!"

Lloyd laughed. It sounded empty.
"This is such a mess," he ran a hand through his hair with a stressed grin. "Maybe we're in over our heads with us."
I blinked. It took a few seconds for it to make sense and I felt a chasm open wide at the pit of my stomach.
"Are... are you saying you want to break up?" I whispered. Lloyd's gaze jumped to mine in horror.
"No! No, god no!" he frantically shook his head. "Never! It's just- fuck-" hearing Lloyd curse felt like a slap in the face. "This isn't normal, right? You have to admit, this isn't normal."
I glanced around us. "Uh. Yeah, obviously."
"No," Lloyd sighed with a shake of his head. "Not that. I meant us. Just us."
I blinked and shook my head in confusion.
"I'm- I'm sorry," I sent him a narrowed, baffled glare. "Are you saying that we're too in love?"
"Maybe?"
"So... what?" I stared at him with a bewildered expression. "What do you suppose we do?"
"I don't know!" Lloyd squeaked. "I don't know! But you've risked your life again and again for me and that's-..." he sighed, rubbing his eyes. "C'mon, Y/n. We barely know each other. You have to admit that."

"Why are you bringing this up now?" I cried. "We're stuck in the cursed realm and you- you want to talk about our relationship, are you serious?"
"That's my point!" Lloyd pointed out. "Green ninja or not, prophecy or not, if we liked each other a normal amount that people who've known each other for two months, you wouldn't have done that! You wouldn't have gotten cursed, too!"
"I don't understand what you're trying to say!" I shook my head, shrilling.
"I'M SAYING THAT I'M NOT WORTH IT!" Lloyd shouted. His angered expression dropped and he turned his head away. "I'm not worth you risking your life."

I stared hard at him.
Then I slapped his arm.
He yelped, jerking away as he sent me a baffled look. I slapped his arm again and he scrambled back.
"Hey- what the-!"
"You don't get to say that!" I shouted, hitting his chest pathetically until I stumbled over my foot and fell into him. I squeezed my eyes shut, grabbing at the front of his hoody. "D- don't say that. You're worth everything to me, you dumb idiot. I don't care if I've fallen too hard and too fast, because it doesn't matter!"
I pulled back and sent him a watery smile, chest heaving with emotion as I threaded my fingers through his fringe and brushed my thumb across the scar hidden on his forehead. "My love for you is fierce, yes, and it scares me how much you meant to me sometimes, I admit but I would never change a thing. B- but if you're having doubts then-"

"Oh, sunshine," he murmured, pulling me closer and dropping his head atop of mine. "I'm sorry. I'm not having doubts, I promise. I just worry that you'll hurt yourself and it'll be my fault because I couldn't protect you."
"Well, I guess I'll just have to not hurt myself," I said before grimacing slightly at the injuries I'd already received in the span of knowing Lloyd. "From now on."
He shook his head in amusement, opening his mouth to reply when I straightened, face serious behind my tears.
"Side thought! You didn't tell me that you were the green ninja!" I accused, poking his chest with a finger. "I worked that out myself. So I'm allowed to have this whole dad-thing slide. It's now law."
"You are the most stubborn person I know," he snickered.
"Only when it comes to you, Greenie," I smiled ruefully. "Now let's find a way to get out of here. This place is rank."

"Well, I guess you could say we've been to hell and back," Lloyd grinned.
"Oh, boo," I pulled a face and shook my head. "No. No. Bad joke. Terrible humour. I take back every good thing I said about you."
He laughed loudly. The sound made my chest hurt for an entirely different reason.
When he calmed down he nodded at my holsters.
"Did you lose your guns?" he asked as he hooked his fingers through mine and began pulling me down one of the channels. The way distant sounds bounced and echoed made me shiver.
"Only one," I replied. "I gave Jonesy one."
"So that's why you're able to fight," Lloyd murmured. "And shoot."
"I've been going to my father's military sites every summer since I was six," I explained, tightening the gauge around my chest with a wince. "I picked up a few things."
"Of course, your fighting style isn't nearly as lithe and productive as ninjitsu," Lloyd hummed and I scoffed. "Hey... I'm sorry about calling you and your family unsympathetic bastards. That- that wasn't cool."

I shrugged him off.
"You didn't know," I murmured. "And considering your history, I can't blame you. A feud is a two-way thing, after all-"
"Wait."
I froze as Lloyd held out a hand in front of my chest as he peered into the fog. I followed his gaze, staring down the murky channel.
"Uhh," I mumbled under my breath. Lloyd stiffened.
A cluster of ghosts hovered, taking up the entirety of the area. I glanced behind us - the other way was just as dank and filled with smog, but at least there weren't any ghosts. "Let's go the other way," I whispered, tugging on Lloyd's arm. He allowed me to lead him away as we set off down the other channel.
We walked in silence for a few seconds, minds reeling. Lloyd's fingers were intwined with mine, his thumb rubbing circles on the back of my hand. I wasn't sure which of us was more scared by the almost-encounter. The reappearance of ghosts had seem to thrown us back into the mindset of oh. This is a battle. Right.

"Lloyd," I began quietly, my voice a little hesitant. He hummed in reply. "What did... what did Morro say to you..?"
Lloyd paused, blinking. The silence made me aware of the distant thump-thump sounds, like drums being beaten rhythmically from afar.
"He offered a proposition," Lloyd said quietly. "If I stepped back and let him take over Ninjago, he'd offer you and me protection."
Lloyd sent me a tense smile.
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't almost consider it."
My stunned expression dropped to the ground.
"Oh. Wow, that is, um-"
"I know," Lloyd whispered, squeezing my hand. "But I couldn't."
"Of course not," I shook my head. "I'm glad that you didn't."
Lloyd hummed. The distant thudding continued to play, on a constant loop. He squinted his eyes.
"Does... does that sound like a heartbeat to you?"
I tilted my head, furrowing my brow as I listened. My eyes widened and they jumped back to Lloyd.

"If... if this is the cursed realm," Lloyd began, playing with the pieces of the puzzle. "And we ended up here after Morro called whatever was beyond the vortex his master..."
I stilled, staring up at him as my brain ticked over, thinking.
"You don't think..." Lloyd trailed off, sending me a calculating look.
It clicked and I suddenly recoiled into Lloyd's side. He stumbled, catching me as I bristled.
"Aw, that's disgusting!" I blanched, pulling a face as my stomach twisted. "Eugh! We're in the Preeminent! Oh, god, I'm going to hurl."
The distant thumping suddenly made much more sense - it was the thing's heartbeat. And the pillars were actual bones. And the pulsating walls... I shuddered violently, feeling sick to my stomach. I don't wanna know.
"Do you think it's going to digest us?" questioned Lloyd. I whined, digging my fingers into his hoody.
"Don't say that!" I cried, digging my face into the material of his hoody. "We're in a bad enough situation as it is! How do we get out of here?"
"I don't know," he replied. "I... I should be angry with you for risking your life but... I'm just really glad you're here. I honestly don't think I could handle this alone."

"Aha!" I grinned. "So you admit me coming was a good idea. Victory for Y/n!"
A low, rumbling growl reverberated from the beast, making the ground shudder violently. Lloyd gritted his teeth with a sharp inhale, still clutching at me hard even after it had settled.
"Are... are you okay?" I asked worriedly.
"Oh, you know," he laughed breathlessly. "Just spent a week possessed and now we're stuck in a place where ghosts live. Lemme tell you, I am not looking forward to Halloween."
"We'll get out of here," I murmured. "And then we can watch Peter Pan when we get home, okay?"
Lloyd grinned shakily at my offer, nodding.
"I'd like that."
"It's a date," I crooned, patting his hair. He stilled, eyes growing wide.

"I have a terribly stupid idea," he announced. I raised a brow.
"Wow, that's a new."
"Dad hates me doing this," Lloyd said as he ignored my remark, straightening. "You're... still immune to my power, right?"
"Yeah, I guess. Wh- what are you doing?" I asked, growing worried.
"I already told you," Lloyd replied as his eyes began to glow white. "Something terribly stupid."
"UHH..." I stared at Lloyd in alarm as his entire body began to shine gold. I had to shield my eyes to keep me from going blind.
There was a sudden burst of energy and I felt it travel through to my centre, surging against my very atoms. But whereas the explosion was powerful, it also felt... like home.

A hand grabbed mine and I was suddenly hauled along until I was weightless, falling through air. I opened my eyes just to see the outside of the cursed realm - oh GROSS WHY DID IT HAVE TO LOOK LIKE THAT - with a gaping hole on the side, the edges dripping with gold.
"Lloyd, holy SHIT!" I screamed over the wind. "Did you-?! I'm-! WHAT-?!"
He laughed, drawing me close until I was being held close, legs looped over his arm and pressed tight against his chest. I glanced up to see him grinning like a manic, eyes still glowing. Gold liquid dripped from his mouth.
I gulped, totally taken aback at having not seen this side of him. I raised my hand to wipe away the gold from his lip and it tingled against my thumb. I stared at it as it dripped down to my palm.
Lloyd was right. We really don't know much about each other.

Lloyd landed on a roof before powering off with a leap.
"They've just left the docks," he said, voice sounding an octave higher with effort. "I'll drop you off at the boat and deal with Morro."
I hesitantly nodded, wiping the gold on the gi.
"O- okay."
After a few more bounds, we landed on the dock. Lloyd set me to my feet just as Ronin suddenly tumbled into view, sword of sanctuary slipping from his grasp. He glanced up at us and grinned.
"Lovely evening, isn't it?" he said nonchalantly before frowning. "Since when did Lloyd look like a possum with night eyes?"
Lloyd's brow furrowed over golden glowing eyes.
"I've seen better evenings," I muttered.
"I gotta go," Lloyd murmured, squeezing my shoulder and picking up the sword. He began walking backwards towards Morro and pointed at me. "Peter Pan. Seven o'clock, my place."
"It's a date!" I called back.

Ronin glanced between us with a confused look.
"What the hell was that about?" he said as he struggled to his feet. I heaved a relieved sigh.
"Just cleared the air," I murmured before turning to the bounty hunter and punched him in the shoulder.
"That's for betraying us!"
"Aw shit, Y/n, I'm-"
I leapt forward, encasing him in a hug.
"Don't ever do that again or I swear to god, I'll eat your fucking kneecaps."
"I-" Ronin stopped himself. "I'm sorry, you'll what?"
"Nothing," I shook my head. "Doesn't matter."

"Ronin, Y/n, get to the ship and protect the people," Lloyd yelled to us when he had the chance between battling Morro. We nodded, turning on our heel to bolt down the docks and leap onto the barely disembarked vessel. "Ninja, take out the stilts. We need to drop the Preeminent into the sea!"
I landed onto the boat and my knees buckled. Ronin barely managed to catch me in time.
"Sorry," I breathed, grabbing onto the railing and glancing back at the ninja fighting the preeminent. They all looked so tiny compared to the beast.

As the ninja used Airjitzu to approach the Preeminent, I was pulled into a tight hug by Misako.
"Oh, thank god," she mumbled, standing back to assess me for damage. She shook her head at my busted elbow, grimacing in empathy. "Are you two okay?"
"A little shaken," I replied honestly, glancing out over the side of the ship to watch Lloyd and Morro continue their fight worriedly. "But other than that, we're fine."
Garmadon approached next, followed by Wu. They lightly clapped me on my shoulders, minds a mile away as they glared at the Preeminent. Thankfully, no ghosts had tried to approach our vessel yet, allowing Ronin to walk amongst the shaken passengers and offer his support to those who needed it.

The docks Morro and Lloyd were standing on began to shake, making the master of wind snarl.
"No!" he cried. "They're taking out the supports!"
The Preeminent was howling and growling in pain as she sunk, twitching her tentacles when they made contact with water. With a resounding growl, Morro lifted the Crystal and summoned a vortex. He leapt in, only to reappear behind Lloyd and blast his unprotected back with a sharp gust of wind. Morro used the same tactic again, making my hands grip the railing of the boat. Lloyd fell with a grunt. My knuckles protruded sharply, skin white.
Morro laughed, raising his arms in dominance.
"Protect the Preeminent!" he screamed, ordering. "Protect the realm!"

Morro turned with a smirk to find Lloyd not where he last saw him. He growled, turning on his heel to spot the blonde ninja, only to get shot in the back by a blast of Lloyd's energy. He tumbled with a yelp, calling upon a vortex that he then leapt up into and disappeared, followed by Lloyd.
No vortex reappeared.

"Uh," I began, voice shaky, as I head my dad call my name and approach. I couldn't look away from the spot where the vortex had disappeared. "Wh- where did Lloyd go?"