When Zane and Cole ended the call to follow through with their lead at Laughy's, Lloyd turned to me.

"Rest," he ordered as he cradled my face with a concerned frown. "Now."

I huffed, eyes drifting to the side in annoyance. I didn't want to sleep, I couldn't sleep. Not with what I'd learnt. Not with what the Princess had threatened. Just the thought of blissfully forgoing all suspicions about her and crawling into bed to sleep like a baby while she was still milling around my family had my stomach twisting in knots.

Lloyd saw the conflicted expression that had settled on my face. His frown deepened. He pressed his forehead against mine until his red eyes were all that I could see, warm and courageous and trusting, so trusting. Too trusting for his own good.

I risked a peek across the room at Harumi and found her staring out the porthole window, face stern. Her cold glare sent shivers running down my spine. How was I the only one seeing this? Was everyone else just blind?

"You promised," Lloyd said with a pout, and I broke. My eyes reluctantly met with his again. "You'll really be easing my nerves if I know that my sunshine is all rested and healthy."

"Says you," I murmured. I slowly raised a hand to rub the back of his, sliding my fingertips of the scarred bumps of his knuckles, lining the hills and dips of his skin. Lloyd pressed his nose against mine.

"I told you that I'll be resting soon, too," he reminded gently. He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear before brushing that finger down the line of my jaw. "We just need to get Cole and Zane back, first. Now, please sleep?"

"I'd rather be sleeping with you," I mumbled in a last, pitiful attempt to get him to either recede or at least join me. "Can't I stay up until you go to bed?"

"But if I let you do that," Lloyd began in a whispering, gentle voice, "then you might rip off the princess' head for some ungodly reason. Then what will we do?"

"Snuggle," I decided. He laughed at my quick reply, all soothing and charming and rolling like smooth honey.

"Snuggling sounds tempting," Lloyd agreed with a grin and a kiss to my forehead. "But not right now."

I dropped my head back with a groan. "You're killing me, Lloyd."

"You look exhausted, kitten," he murmured as he guided my head back to his. His thumb brushed under my eye. "You've got bags. Your eyes are bloodshot. You've been put through so much stress in such a short amount of time." Lloyd pressed his lips to the tip of my nose. "Please rest, even if you just close your eyes."

My eyes dropped to his shirt with a sigh. I couldn't really deny him when he asked so sweetly, so full of worry and with a simple want for me to be okay. I dropped my cheek into his palm with a grumpy huff.

"Fine," I mumbled. My eyes jumped to his relieved gaze. "But can I check on Garm first?"

At the mention of his dad, Lloyd's attention flicked over to the old man. I followed his gaze and found the Sensei fiddling with a lever knob from the destroyed console while pretending to listen to Jay blabber while he fixed it. Attention solely stolen, I zeroed in on the old man's face. He was clearly still in the throes of the revelation of his genes, deep in thought while he rolled the knob in his hands. He looked so tired.

Lloyd deflated beside me, brows pitched in stressful worry. His thumb brushed a circle on my cheek.

"I'm sure he'll appreciate it," Lloyd murmured. His red eyes dropped to me. "Okay. But you go to bed straight after, alright?"

I nodded. "Deal."

Lloyd brought me in for a quick kiss before slipping away to talk to Kai and Nya. With a stressful release of a breath through a sigh, I turned on my heel to approach the Sensei and the lightning master who was still yapping his head off.

"Hey, Jay, second-father," I greeted with my usual bright smile as I approached the two. The old man glanced up from the lever knob rolling in his grasp and cracked an attempt at a beam back at me. His eyes looked distant, still thrown and tossed within the thoughts of his head like a washing machine.

"Hi!" Jay buzzed before sticking his head back into the console and muttering to himself so fast that his words became an incoherent slur of noise. My smile faded at the look on Garmadon's face. I leant against the console beside him.

"You doing okay?" I asked quietly. It was obvious that the answer was 'no' but I didn't know how else to start a conversation when he was so uncharacteristically stuck in his head. Usually Garm was the one to calm my erratic brain. The role reversal was making my world spin.

A hum was his reply as he rolled the knob in his fingers. We both stared at it as the tense heaviness hung in the air around us.

"How did Lloyd take the news?" Garmadon asked. I sat back on my hands and stared at my sneakers, rubbing the tips together. At least he was talking, right? Even if it was a deflection, it was still a step in the right direction.

"He stormed out of the tea shop," I answered. "Had a panic, which is understandable. I think we were all pretty shocked."

"And what do you think about it?" he questioned quietly. I realised that he wasn't really staring at the knob, but rather his fingers. I could tell what he was imagining - the claws of a dragon, the scaled skin of an oni. He was probably reevaluating the monstrosity that he transformed into when he was Lord Garmadon, and my heart ached that he was awfully transfixed on what was such a painful part of his life.

Everyone calls the Garmadon's demons, Lloyd had once said. And this was just proof to the rumour.

"Well, in my personal opinion of being affiliated with both dragons and the Garmadon lineage," I began, intent on making him at least smile, dammit, "is that it's really fucking cool. Excuse my language."

Garmadon huffed through his nose at my comedic response.

"I'm gonna tell you the same thing I told Lloyd," I continued with a nudge to his shoulder. He lifted his aged green eyes to me. "All this does is answer some questions. It doesn't change who you are and it doesn't change what your family thinks of you. Like - you're still you, who you want to be, how you act, that's all up to you, fundamentally 'n stuff. Just because you may be susceptible to some snake's stupid venom and just because your son can purr-" Garmadon chuckled once, but it was enough for me to begin to smile "- it doesn't change who you are, you know? It's always been there and we all still love you despite it. Now, you're just aware of it."

Garmadon smiled at me. It was small, but it was there, and that's what counted. His wrinkled face pulled into a look of appreciation as he stared down at me as we leant against the half-destroyed console that Jay was still tinkering with.

"When did you grow up and get so wise?" Garmadon said affectionately. I rolled my eyes in faux exasperation.

"You know, I'm starting to get real insulted whenever you guys act surprised after I spout some wisdom," I playfully snarked. Garmadon's gaze softened. "Hey, I love you. You're the best second-father-figure I could've asked for."

"What about me?" Jay piped up as he pinged out of the console with a hopeful beam. "What do you think about me?"

I had to giggle at his unexpected interruption. "I love you, too, Jay. You're tied for the best brother I could have."

"'Tied?'" he echoed in absolute agony. "I'm 'tied?' I thought we had a special bond, sparky! I'm hurt."

Before I could reply with a jest of my own, the communicator screen crackled to life. Zane's feed connected to the bounty's system and sound soon followed; a jeering, crude yowl of a sound that soon settled into a voice. A voice that was singing.

"Is that... Cole?" Nya asked incredulously as she stared at the screen. I lifted myself off of the console to peer and, sure enough, Cole in his questionable disguise was nervously parading himself on Laughy's karaoke stage and caterwauling the lyrics to a child's lullaby.

Jay pulled himself from the console and brushed down the front of his gi, staring at the screen with a baffled expression. Kai let a stunned laugh escape as he threw his head back at the scene. I joined the rest of the team and Harumi in front of the console, sharing my shock. It was quickly, too quickly, giving way to amusement. I could feel it building a laugh in the back of my throat.

"What is he doing?" Jay asked, bewildered. The crowd at the karaoke club must've found the buff, burly man singing a lullaby hilarious, because I almost couldn't hear Cole singing from over the thunderous laughter erupting from the crowd of members from the Sons of Garmadon.

"I don't know," Kai paused to snort as he watched the screen, enraptured, "but please tell me you are recording this."

"We must get Cole to sing at the next Day of the Departed festival," Garmadon lightly chuckled.

"Zane informed me he has a plan to gain the Sons of Garmadon's trust," Pixal's voice flooded over the backing track that was Cole. She sounded hesitant and unsure, and I found myself sharing her sentiments as Cole cowered under the bar snacks that was being thrown at him. "But for it to work..."

"Shine!" Cole shakily bellowed.

"... we must trust him."

I glanced up at Lloyd, who'd settled beside me and watched the screen with a wide-eyed, stunned stupid look. My gaze drifted back to Cole as he spun the mic stand and donked himself on the head.

"Are... missions usually like this?" I asked quietly. All Lloyd could do was slowly shake his head no in response.

"Uh, no one answered my question," Kai impatiently exclaimed.

"Yes, Kai, yes," Jay said with firm hilarity. "I am recording and I am making copies. Lots of copies."

"Can we make them into Christmas cards, too?" I asked.

"Absolutely," Nya agreed.

Our amusement didn't get to last long, however, as Cole tripped over himself with a lack of grace I never would've picked from him of all people (I'd be more forgiving if it were Jay or Kai, but Cole usually held himself with so much sureness) and part of his disguise fell off. I didn't get to hear what happened next, as a flurry of activity and a wall of noise blasted through the speakers, but when Zane's gaze focused on the scene again, we found Cole trying to escape the grabbing hands of the gang members.

Lloyd grabbed my shoulder and I flinched under his tight grip. He stared at the screen intently as he watched the master of earth struggle to his feet as a wave of gang members began to crowd him. He clenched his fingers.

"Well, I totally saw this one coming," Nya said dryly.

"Help me, Zane!" Cole's plead broke over the chaos as he batted off a few members, only to be swarmed by a whole new wave. He was quickly overwhelmed. "Where are you?"

Then, clearer, Zane's commanding voice pierced through the noise; "Find this Zane and grab him too!"

"What's he doing?" I gasped.

"Why isn't Zane helping him?" Jay asked worriedly. He balled his gi's pants within his hands. "Pix, tell Zane to help!"

"Zane has blocked all communication."

"Lloyd, what do we do?" Jay asked as he sent his leader a desperate look. "He's getting slaughtered out there! We have to go after him!"

"This is our only lead," Nya reminded with a stern frown, but her stormy eyes betrayed her concern. "We may never get a second chance."

"Zane wanted us to trust him," Lloyd added. An unsure edge to his voice had him sounding quieter than usual. His grip squeezed my shoulder.

"Zane is letting this happen!" Jay burst.

"I'm with Jay," Kai said as he picked up his katana from where it leant against the wall and sheathed it in the holder along his back. "I'm not waiting for the coach to put me in. I'm going."

"You have to go after him." I turned to Lloyd. "Just stick to the sidelines. Cole needs back-up, even if Zane's playing along."

Lloyd stared down at me as he assessed his options, running each scenario through his head at light speed. He weighed each idea as though testing their potential successes and failures. Finally, he glanced over at his father. Garmadon gave a single nod.

"We go in," Lloyd decided and the bridge erupted into movement as the remaining ninja prepared for their next mission. Lloyd grabbed his sword from the table and ran a gloved finger along the blade, testing its sharpness. Satisfied, he sheathed it, and by then the rest of the team was ready to dispatch.

"Be careful," I murmured as I matched Lloyd's hurried footsteps out to the deck. He spared me a quick smile and a chaste kiss to my lips before nodding to his expectant team.

"Don't worry, Y/n," Garmadon said as he stopped beside me. We watched the four ninja fly towards the city on their dragons from the deck of the bounty. "Everything will turn out okay. It always does."

"Yeah," I whispered.

The Princess stared after the ninja with a troubled frown.

🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃

"The ninja's got back up, get the bosses out of here!"

Lloyd leapt over the side of the building first, landing right in the fray of the Sons of Garmadon's flooding from the karaoke place. The rest of the team followed his lead, eyes squinted, hands gripping weapons and waiting for their leader's command.

Lloyd's sharp gaze caught Ultra Violet on the outskirts of the fleeing crowd, with Cole hogtied and thrown over her shoulder. His hearing caught her frantic words to the silent, helmeted man beside her.

"We gotta split!" she spat to Mr. E before chucking Cole onto the back of her bike. Cole's wide eyes found Lloyd as the woman expertly leapt onto her bike and ripped it into gear in one, deft move.

"I got Mr. Mysterious!" Jay called just as he shot lightning at Mr. E's bike. The engine exploded from the excess energy and caught the man by surprise, quickly losing control over the bike. He leapt from the vehicle and began booking it to the shadowy side streets.

A rage began to build within Lloyd's gut as he locked on to the man clad in red and black. Mr. E looked over his shoulder and caught eyes with Lloyd - the same eyes that stared Y/n down in that alleyway she was cornered in at seventeen and pulled the trigger. The same eyes that wanted her dead, and he almost succeeded, too.

His rage reached a burning crescendo. Violence, his nerves seemed to sing. Kill him.

"Greenie, please!" Cole cried just as Ultra Violet's bike ripped past. Lloyd was shaken from his stupor of revenge. "This is really humiliating!"

"What do we do?" Nya shouted to Lloyd over the chaos. "Who do we go after?"

"Cole can handle himself!" Lloyd ordered and began chasing after the man fleeing on foot. "Don't let Mr. E get away!"

"Are we chasing after him because he's easier than the chick, or is it because of your vendetta?" Kai muttered as they barrelled down the street after Mr. E. Lloyd hissed for him to pay attention.

Mr. E ducked into an alleyway and came to a dead stop at the brick wall he was faced with. He spun around to face the four ninja, lining his only obvious escape.

"Wow," Jay laughed as he brought out his nunchucks, ready for the ensuing fight. "He cornered himself. I thought he was meant to be smart!"

Jay's amusement faded when Mr. E reached behind him and pulled out his Oni Mask.

"Aw, man," he sighed as he watched Mr. E transform into the Oni-like monstrosity, extra arms erupting from his sides and horns protruding from his head. "Bug man's back."

"Be ready for anything," Nya warned.

Lloyd grimaced as the monster stared at him. That was him, too, he was looking in a mirror. But he wasn't altered by a mask imbued with the vile, dark magic of the oni. That was just him, through and through, flesh and blood.

Something was digging at him as he stared at the monster before him. Something deep and visceral within him, that same urge from before - to rip this guy's head off. To sink his fangs into his neck and tear out his throat. He could feel his teeth sharpening behind his scowl as the darkness inside him bloomed.

The flaming, red eyes of the monster before him caught Lloyd's vicious snarl of a glare. And then he bolted.

"Run!" Lloyd commanded his team as he took off, but his voice sounded deep and gravelly and not himself. If they noticed, they didn't comment, scaling over walls and buildings as they gave chase.

Car tires squealed and a barrage of honking ensued as Mr. E darted across a busy highway. Lloyd's ears rang, violated by the commotion. Blood drew from his gums as he gritted his sharp fangs from behind his mask.

I can't let him get away. Not again.

The team stopped outside the entrance of another dead end, but Mr. E had taken to the criss-crossing laundry lines that connected the two buildings that towered above them.

"Ugh," Jay muttered. "I always hated doing laundry."

"Why can't he just stay still and fight?" Kai seethed as he leapt for the lowest laundry line. The team made their way up, using the momentum of the taut lines to power them higher.

Jay landed on the same wire as Mr. E, but the monster leapt and the swinging of the rope unbalanced the ninja. He gave a yelp as he fell, hands flailing to grasp at the laundry lines that swept past him.

Nya snatched his wrist with a grunt and an intense shift of her weight to keep balance of them both. Jay's wide eyes glanced up.

"Lloyd, watch out!" he cried.

Lloyd unsheathed his katana as Mr. E dropped down to land on his line and pulled out his own swords. Nya leapt and perched behind the monster - they had him caught, and he knew that, so he drove his swords into the rope in a tactic to evade.

Nya and Lloyd fell to the lines below them, recovering quickly. Kai and Jay were on Mr. E's tail as he hopped up the lines.

"We can't let him escape!" Kai yelled just as Mr. E threw his sword and sliced the rope beneath the fire master's feet. He fell with a cry, landing on the same line as Jay. Jay gave him a weary smile.

Nya was gaining ground, and fast. Her grey eyes were intent with determination as she climbed the lines with expert grace. Mr. E glanced down and, realising how close she was, threw his sword at her face.

Nya dodged, but her foot slipped on the rope and her balance was lost. With his heart in his throat, Lloyd reached for her, hooking his feet on the rope and snagging her hands with his.

"Got you," he breathed. Nya's sharp eyes darted to his.

"And I got you," she said, before using her body weight to propel Lloyd up, high, high, into the air. He gasped as his stomach was left behind, eyes taking in the lights of the city, before quietly landing behind Mr. E on the building's rooftop.

Mr. E had his remaining two swords unsheathed and was prowling on the ledge. Lloyd tapped the edge of his sword on the concrete ground to get his attention, and Mr. E leapt around to face him, swords poised.

"I've been waiting far too long for this," Lloyd whispered vehemently under his breath before surging forward.

Mr. E's swords clanged as they deflected the sweeping attack of Lloyd, glossy metal glinting reflections of the bright, neon lights of the city. Mr. E quickly jabbed his swords in to land an injury, only to be swept smoothly aside as they screeched against Lloyd's sole blade.

The fight was a flurry of metal and spitting grunts as the two men balanced on the precipice of the ledge. They were ruthless, gunning for blood, and Lloyd felt himself begin to flag against his opponent's unending, blistering attacks.

Lloyd breathed a gasp between gritted teeth as Mr. E disarmed his sword and sent it tumbling to the alleyway below. Mr. E took the opportunity to aim both of his swords to Lloyd's unprotected torso. The green ninja quickly raised his hands and a sharp burst of energy sent Mr. E tumbling back, mask falling, and slipping over the ledge.

He snatched at the rooftop's ledge and grabbed the falling mask with his free hand, no longer blessed by the mask's powers now that he was unmasked. Lloyd released a shaky breath and started forth, only to give a yell of surprise when a pair of shurikens suddenly caught each of his sleeves and trapped him to the rooftop's entrance. His eyes wildly tried to find the culprit, only to spot Zane standing atop the building across from him.

"Hurry!" Zane said in the deep, scratchy voice of his disguise as he leapt over to Mr. E's side. His eyes shot to a bewildered Lloyd just briefly before grabbing Mr. E by the arm and hauling him up. "There's no time to fight!"

"No!" Lloyd shouted as they took off. The rest of the team crawled up the ledge of the building and watched in shock as Zane dragged Mr. E away at speed.

"Th- they're getting away!" Jay loudly cried, unsure by this sudden of events. Kai began bolting after them with a growl, his sister on his heels.

With a grunt, Lloyd yanked one arm free and snatched the other shuriken, intent on following after his team. The ice on the weapon caught his attention and he skidded to a stop. Zane's plan had clicked into place.

"Wait!" Lloyd called for his team. They stopped in place, frantic eyes jumping to him.

"What?" Nya asked. "They're getting away!"

Lloyd held up the shuriken for them all to see. The ice was beginning to melt, dripping from the metal and landing on the concrete of the building's roof. A smile tugged at his lips beneath his mask - that smart droid.

"This was Zane's plan all along," Lloyd said. "He's just gained their trust."

🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃

I was jerked awake when my phone began to ring.

My eyes peeled open as I groaned lowly in my throat - my body felt like led, and the little rest that I did have was fitful and unsatisfying. The bed was too large and cold. The sound of the water sloshing against the ship was too loud. The presence of Harumi was suffocating.

My phone began to ring again. I forced myself upright and pulled it from its charger

"... hello?" I mumbled as I checked the time; eight in the morning. My eyes widened. I'd slept for four hours but it felt like it was only twenty minutes.

"Yeah, hi,-" it was Ambrose. "Where the HELL are you?! I thought you said that you'd meet us on campus?"

My tired eyes wandered around Lloyd's room. The swells of the ocean gently rocked the Bounty and almost put me back to sleep where I was sitting.

"Oh..." I murmured. I wiped some sleep from my eyes and pulled my legs from under the thick duvet. I walked to the window, where the dawn light was slipping through the curtains. "Yeah, uh... there's been a change of plans."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm kinda stuck on the Bounty," I said and pulled aside the thin curtain. No land could be seen, only the endless stretch of water. "... in the middle of the ocean."

I gave Ambrose the brief rundown of how I ended up in the middle of a mission. I even told him about Harumi and all the suspicious sneaking around she was doing.

"Just remember that Lloyd has code, yeah?" Ambrose reminded from speaker as I pulled on some clothes. "He may believe you, but the princess is under his protection. He's ninja first, boyfriend second."

"I know," I sighed.

"Get proof."

My eyes darted to the phone. "What?"

"Get indisputable proof," Ambrose repeated. "Something that she can't argue against. You said she's up to something, right? Figure out what it is."

"But Lloyd told me not to worry about it," I murmured. "I don't think he wants me doing anything around here."

"That's just because he's not used to having you around while on a mission," Ambrose pointed out. "You're smart, Y/n. Utilise your strengths and apply them. You're not just there to tend Lloyd's wounds when the day is done - be part of the team." He cut off to sigh. "If you think something's up with the princess, then find it out. Dig deeper."

Dig deeper. Ambrose's words echoed in my head as I walked down the Bounty's halls to the bridge. Voices were flooding from under the doorway and so was the smell of breakfast. My stomach grumbled. My feet drove me faster.

"Where are the others?" I asked when I entered the bridge and found only Jay, Kai and Garmadon standing before the control panel. Nya was underneath the bridge, in the work zone, where loud banging of something metallic was coming from. A flash of white told me Harumi was keeping her company.

"Cole's been taken by the Sons of Garmadon, Zane's acting as a spy, and Lloyd's trying to find their base," Kai replied as he approached with a plate. "Bacon?"

"Thanks," I mumbled as I picked up a piece from the plate and took a bite. Garmadon sent me a smile from across the table and I felt myself relax a little bit - it seemed that he had calmed down a little more.

"Where was Zane last seen?" Lloyd's voice flooded from the control's speakers. Jay flickered through some CTV screens.

"Central Station," he replied. "But once they went underground, Pixal lost his signal." Jay's brows furrowed as he swapped screens to the intercom registry. "We haven't been able to pick up Cole's intercom, either."

"If they're taking Zane to their hideout, then Cole could be held captive there," Lloyd thought. A low groan of a train called in the background. "We can't lose Zane. I'm over Central, now."

I approached the grate on the floor that looked down into the workspace, where the girls were working on something. Nya looked up and held open her mouth. I knelt beside the grate and dropped the bacon.

"Fank uoo," she grinned, and pulled the welder's mask back down over her face as she turned to work on her project. My eyes caught sight of Harumi, hovering in the corner, illuminated briefly by the sparks flying from the machinery. Her eyes looked like fire with each flash of the welder, before quickly falling away from where she had been staring at me. My fists clenched.

Dig deeper.

I swallowed as I wracked my brain. Dig deeper? It would be great if Ambrose could've given me some examples to stem off from, because I was coming up blank. Lloyd's voice stole my attention.

"No sign of Zane or Cole," he said wearily. I glanced over my shoulder at Jay and Kai as they each held a look of tired frustration. "They could be anywhere by now."

Kai pinched the bridge if his nose and Jay rubbed his red-rimmed eyes. Had they even gotten a chance to sleep, yet? I doubted it. How long had they been going at this for?

A loud CRACK of hammering below the bridge made me jump. Kai's patience snapped.

"Do you mind?" he seethed in the direction of the grate beside me. "We're trying to save Cole and Zane."

Nya leapt for the grate and stuck her head up between the bars with such quiet swiftness that I flinched. She was scowling.

"What do you think I'm doing?" she shot back. "Zane won't last long undercover in a biker gang without a bike."

Kai's scowl dropped. "Oh."

I stood up and dusted my pants. I couldn't dig deeper until I had some questions that could possibly trip Harumi up on. I needed to brainstorm - maybe I could convince Garmadon to help me out? He was always more than willing to hear me out, and he seemed to be faring much better than he was a few hours ago.

Jay dropped his elbows to the control panel with a tired groan and Kai patted his back. Worry surged within me - maybe I should focus on helping out where I could instead of chasing ghosts.

"Jay?" I asked quietly as I approached the tired ninja. He must've worked himself into the ground if he was this exhausted. "Are you okay?"

"I need sleep," he groaned. "I need sleep for a bajillion years."

"Why don't you take a nap?" I suggested. "I can help Kai."

Jay's tired eyes glanced. "But... you're not a ninja."

Ouch. Smile through the pain.

"Does it look like I'm going to fighting anyone?" I asked. Jay sighed.

"I guess not," he mumbled and took a seat at the table. He immediately fell asleep. Kai glanced at me from the corner of his eyes as I took Jay's spot beside him. The smile he sent when I caught his gaze was proud.

"Lloyd, did you find their hideout?" Kai asked as he turned back to the screen.

"No," Lloyd sighed. "I can't find anything."

"We can search the other stations cameras," Kai suggested. "Don't worry. We'll find-"

"Have you tried the abandoned subways?" I quickly jumped in. Kai's gaze turned to me.

"Y/n?" Lloyd asked.

"They don't have cameras," I continued. "I mean, I don't think they do. Why would they? The abandoned subways would be totally off the grid."

"... perfect place for a gang's hideout," Lloyd murmured. "Send me through a scan of the city twenty feet below the surface."

Kai's hands flew across the panel. He frowned as a map came up with small red dots flushed evenly across the city underground.

"I can't get an estimate of lifeforms," he said. "The serpentine tombs make it impossible to tell which is a gang's hideout or which are them."

"It's good enough," Lloyd said. "Y/n?"

"Yeah?"

"Smart thinking, sweetheart."

My cheeks went pink at the compliment as Lloyd disconnected from the comm link. Kai nudged my shoulder with a grin.

"Look at you go," he said. "You're giving me a run for my money."

He tapped Jay awake. The lightning master lifted his head with a broken-hearted groan.

"C'mon, sparkman," Kai encouraged with a bright smile despite the bags under his eyes. "We gotta help Lloyd search the abandoned subway tunnels. Y/n, can you ask if Nya's joining?"

I nodded and made my way over to the grate to ask exactly that. She declined, claiming that she needed to get the bike for Zane done 'before he gets his tin ass handed to him,' and continued working on the vehicle. I was going to slip away when I noticed something.

Harumi wasn't in the room. My heart leapt to my throat.

"Where did Harumi go?" I asked in a thin voice. Nya's welder's mask looked up at me and shrugged.

"I dunno," she nonchalantly replied. She slipped back the welder's mask and frowned. "Are you okay?"

"No," I breathed as I quickly got to my feet and started for the bridge's door. Jay, Kai and Garmadon glanced up at me as I shouldered my way through the door. "I'm going insane and it's her fault."

My heartbeat was thudding in my ears as I scoured the Bounty to find the elusive princess. It wasn't even that big of an area, how could she keep slipping away? I was growing more desperate, more frantic the longer it took to find her. Who knows what she was saying to someone; who knows what secrets she was spilling?

My hand landed on a doorknob to the storage area just as it swung open. I gasped and glanced up, caught in the hazel scowl of the princess. I stepped back just as Harumi slammed the door shut behind her. It was the same room I caught her making a call in before.

"Do you have a thing for trying to listen in on other people's conversations?" she asked, and it would've been a genuine question if it weren't for the downturned snarl of her lips.

"Who were you calling?" I demanded. She tsk'd.

"I was calling my people at the palace for an update on those recovering from that awful explosion," Harumi replied. "I'm concerned for my people, Y/n. Surely you understand this?"

I shook my head. "No. No, I don't believe you. You may have the others fooled by innocent princess act, but it's not working on me."

"An act?" Harumi placed a dainty hand to her chest and gave a single, incredulous laugh. "Oh, poor, delusional Y/n. You must feel so threatened by me."

I scoffed. "I'm not- I don't-"

But her saccharine smile twisted and she took a step forward. I eyed her as I tried to keep my cool - how could a girl that looked as though a slight breeze could topple her terrify me so? Maybe it was the look in her eyes. Maybe it was the way she held herself. Maybe it was the way that I felt so alone, standing against her.

"Men are as fickle as water," Harumi whispered. "They find something more enticing and suddenly they're slipping from between the cracks of your fingers."

"What?" I breathed. My brows furrowed as I realised what she was implying, and suddenly that fear was replaced by rage. My eyes shot to her. "You know nothing about Lloyd."

"Oh, Y/n," she said with a pout as she leant back. "It's okay. You had your time being the legendary green ninja's girlfriend. But it's time for someone more worthy to take your place. It's time for someone who understands him and what it means to be a part of his world."

A breath escaped me. She caught onto that - the little exhale of disbelief, of hurt, and capitalised on it. She gave me a look as though she were truly sorry. She gave me a look as though she believed herself to be on a completely other level than I.

And, in a way, she was right. She understood hiding her true self from the public gaze, just the same as Lloyd. She was as influential as him. She was as important. Who was I in comparison?

"It was cute," the princess murmured. Harumi flicked a lock of my hair as she passed. "It was cute watching you play pretend. But, Y/n, it's time you grow up and face the facts."

I turned to her. Her expression was cruel and cold and it sliced straight to my every little insecurity I had and didn't know I had, exposing them all for her to pick apart.

Harumi smiled.

"You're just not worthy enough for him."