TW: impalement (nondescript), mentions of character death

My eyes narrowed, staring down the shaft of the arrow. My fingers unfurled. The projectile hurtled through the air.

I huffed as the arrowhead embedded on the rim of the target, which was attached to a person-shaped wooden frame and was being jolted around by some mechanism that Nya and Jay had concocted. I reached for another arrow and prepared my next shot, regripping my clammy hand around the polished wood of the pretty bow I had claimed as now mine.
"- and I dunno," I heard Naomi's voice chime from where my phone was on the ground of the training yard, on speaker. I tuned back into the conversation and sucked in a breath. "I love my family but I'm definitely getting claustrophobic. My grandparent's home just isn't big enough for all of us."
I let my breath release and with it, the arrow went sailing.
"You've been gone for two months, right?" Chen asked.
"Yep."
"That's a pretty long time to be cooped up without your own room," he mentioned. "When are you leaving for college?"
I exhaled heavily through my nose as I watched the arrow pierce on the lip of the bullseye. It was good, but I needed to be perfect. Only being 'good' could get me killed. I readied the next shot.
"What do you think, Y/n?" Naomi's question cut through my concentration and I dropped my arms with a sigh. "Y/n?"

"Yes, sorry, I'm here," I answered. I released my grip on my bow and grimaced at the creak of my fingers when I straightened them. "I'm just training."
"Training?" Chen's static-peppered voice asked curiously. "Training in what?"
"Archery," I replied as I raised my arms and stared down the arrow once again. Release. Thud. Almost.
"Why are you practising archery?" Naomi asked, perplexed.
"'Cause 'ninja don't use guns,'" I mocked.
"Who are you quoting?" Chen asked.
"Dunno," I answered with a shrug as I hooked the next arrow into the string. "One of them. What was the question?"
"I was asking if you think I should do honours," Naomi said. I pursed my lips and hummed in thought. The arrow hit the middle of the bullseye.
"If you feel that it would be beneficial to you and you enjoy studying, then sure, why not?" I answered. I would rather not do honours, I decided, because I found that I despised living away to study.
That doesn't mean it wasn't a good opportunity to broaden my mind and gain a degree, because of course it was. I just felt homesick all the time, even with Chen and Ambrose there to remind me of the city.
Though, I still had no idea what I'd do after I got my degree. I'd be let out into the real world with expectations on finding a career, floundering in place, lost in the bustle of responsibility and maturity that I didn't think I had quite a grasp on yet.

My neck prickled as I picked up my next arrow and inserted the end into the string. Somebody was watching me, but I was too focused on getting these bloody bullseyes to turn and look.
The arrow embedded just outside the target. I let out a short huff in annoyance.
My eyes caught sight of the edge of Garmadon before he disappeared. My brows furrowed.
"Garmadon's been really quiet recently," I murmured as I placed the bow down and stare at the arrows in the target in disdain. "He seems distracted." I didn't like it when Garmadon got like this. It made my anxiety skyrocket.
"Maybe he's just jittery because Lloyd's home?" Chen mentioned.
"I don't know," I sighed. "It takes a lot to get that old man worried. I think it might have something to do with the prophecies. There's been a lot of foreboding comments recently."
"Really?" Naomi asked.
"Yeah," I said as I yanked out the arrows and checked the heads. "It's fucking creepy. Skales said something about 'utilising my perceptiveness' at the meeting today, too. I have no idea what he means, but it's scaring me. It feels as if something big's about to happen."
"Probably because it is," Ambrose called from Chen's phone, jumping in on the conversation. I paused.
"What do you know about the prophecy?"
"Jack shit," Ambrose promptly answered. "But I can sense all the fuckery that happens before a prophecy takes a dump on your lawn."

I started slowly piling the arrows back into the quiver. A cloud passed under the sun. My eyes caught sight of the promise ring on my finger and I tried to believe that the sight of it calmed my nerves.
"Like?"
"Like people acting weird. Nervous. Odd dreams, loss of sleep," he replied. "All classic symptoms of doomsday."
"You really think its going to be that bad?" Naomi worriedly asked.
"It might be," I murmured as fear churned in my gut. "Every time the senseis and Misako talk about the prophecy, they always look sick. It's like they're afraid of what it entails. But... if they're afraid, that means..."
"Not much scares those guys," Ambrose solemnly agreed.

I tore my eyes away from the ring and stared at the target, littered with holes.

🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃

I was helping Hiyori and Jace clean up after dinner while darkness fell, evening washing away the sun.

Autumn was close. You could see it in the browning of the leaves of the trees in the garden, feel it from the sky, taste it in the air. You could hear autumn's approach by the crunch underfoot and smell it - the decay of summer, the slumber of plants. Dying and reborn, forever and always, over and over.
My hands were growing wrinkled from the warm water as I quietly scrubbed the dishes that wouldn't fit into the washer. Hiyori, behind me, was wiping down the benches and chopping boards. Jace was cleaning the stove from where the rice had spat while cooking.
It was the domestic blandness, the boring, the ritualistic that I missed while being abroad. The cleaning up after a big meal, the silent camaraderie, the nesting bliss. I didn't have any of that; it was shuffling out of the way while people pushed for space in the communal kitchen, or the waiting until ungodly hours so it wouldn't be busy, or the quick student meals that held no nutritional value or care.
The monastery was a well-oiled machine. One that I had a part in, even after all my time away. I lived here, albeit part-time, and my spot in the family was as steadfast as the changing of the seasons - important, natural, and without a doubt part of the machine.
I was content. It was a feeling I had sorely felt the absence of.

Wiping my hands dry on my sweatshirt when finished, I meandered my way from the kitchen after bidding Hiyori and Jace a good night. The moon was full and flooded through the windows, piercing past the trees of the garden. I watched my feet pass through the milky luminescence as I walked down the halls.
"Hello? Lloyd?"
My ears picked up Garmadon's voice from the scroll room. I poked my head in and found him on the phone with his son. I smiled softly - was he calling to say goodnight? That's adorable-
Garmadon suddenly stood so fast that the table rocked from his movement. Misako, who had been sitting across from him, swiftly slammed her hands down on a pile of paper to stop it from flying everywhere. The both of us were staring at the old man with wide eyes. The bliss I had felt before came to a screeching halt.
"What?" Garmadon said sharply. "I- yes, I heard-... okay. I will get the Bounty ready."
A quick cover of chill had me stiffening. The look of Garmadon's face as he ended the call and rubbed his chin had anxiety twisting nauseatingly in my stomach, and my knuckles were white as I clutched the doorframe.
Something had gone wrong. Why else would Lloyd ask for the Bounty?

Garmadon's green eyes snapped to me, frozen at the entrance. He seemed to deliberate for half a second before gathering his wits and heading towards me. I stared at him owlishly.
"Go start up the Bounty," he said. I quickly nodded.
"What's going on?" Misako asked, getting to her feet, studies forgotten. Garmadon turned and sent her a solemn look.
"The royal palace has been destroyed."
His words sent a bolt of fear right through my heart. It felt as if somebody had taken a spear and shoved it between my ribs, and then twisted it for good measure. It felt like I both had too much weight and not enough within my chest.
I allowed myself only a second to digest this information before taking off to grab my jacket. I was in my pyjamas, yes, but there wasn't enough time to change. I was lucky enough to have my phone on my person as is.
I elbowed the entrance door and all but collapsed outside, scampering down the steps so fast that I was teetering too far forward and almost crumpled to the ground. The gravel crunched underfoot as I, panting and running faster than I thought I could, crossed the driveway and entered the path that took me towards where the Bounty was stored.

The Destiny's Bounty lived in a massive garage located in a thick grove of pine trees to the left of the monastery. It wasn't far to run, but it still felt as if it was growing further and further away, as if it was one of those dreams where you can never reach your destination.
I hauled at the rusty, old door with all my might as soon as I leapt towards it. My destination was achieved. Well, the first of many for that night, it would seem.
I pulled the heavy lever that pulled back the creaking tin roof of the garage before clambering aboard and sprinting across deck to the bridge. Once in front of the controls, I floundered.

Fuck. Fuck.
I'd never driven the Bounty before. Is driven even the right word for this?

I mean, I did. Once. Three years ago - but that was with Lloyd, and we were already in the air. There was nothing for me to do except make sure that the wheel was kept in place so the wind wouldn't take us off course.
I swallowed back my apprehension and shoved back the idea that my first and only time driving the Bounty didn't really count. I'd seen the others drive it countless of times. It couldn't be that hard, could it?
My eyes skittered across the control board before landing on a massive red button. 'On' was scrawled in sharpie on duck tape underneath it.
Thank god for the other two parts of the dumbass trinity, because surely, this addition was for either Kai or Jay.
I pushed the button and listened as the ship made an awful, creaking, whining sound that had my stomach turning. The entire vessel gave a shudder before stilling once more.
"Oh, god," I whispered, horrified, as I pushed the button again. "Oh, god, come on old girl, please."
The Bounty gave another disastrous whine, wings jolting as it tried to spread the old, spider-webbed sails. Desperation was clawing at my throat, laced through with irritated indignation; when was the last time anybody did a routine check on this thing? I get that the ninja have been gone for a year and a half, but seriously!

"Come on!" I yelled, pleading, before giving the control box a well-aimed kick. The Bounty gave another huge roll of mechanisms, which made me freeze in fear that I made things worse, before finally unfurling its sails and kicking its engines to life with a wheezing splutter.
I gave a breathless laugh of disbelief as dust and critters rained down onto the deck. The ship was groaning, but it was alive and moving, and that was all I needed for the time being.
My attention turned to the massive ship's equally massive steering wheel, all aged wood and polished brass and fuck, is it intimidating. I tentatively placed my hands around two of the bulbous handles and blankly looked at the controls.
Panic seized my throat.
Nothing else was labelled, shit.
"Well done, Y/n." Garmadon's voice appearing out of nowhere had me jumping in shock. The Sensei looked slightly puffed and exhilarated, yet a serious chill had his eyes dark and solemn. It was a look that gave me genuine shivers of fear.
A sack that he had been carrying was dropped to the floor. Weapons slid from its open mouth, metal glinting from the lights of the bridge.
I swiftly, gratefully stepped aside and Garmadon took the helm. He expertly guided the wheezing old ship into the air, thrusters thundering loud and almost making my ears ring. The sails had been caught in the sudden wind and were wildly flapping.

I watched as the monastery grew further and further away, reducing until it was just a speck of red roof and sakura trees. I hadn't realised that I was shaking until I held onto the window frame and found my hands trembling.
I balled them into fists as I stood at the porthole, trying to calm my breathing. So much had transpired in such a short amount of time that it left me reeling and anxious. It wasn't over, I was sure of it. In fact, I could bet that whatever this shit show was, it had only just begun.
I glanced over at Garmadon and then at the weapons and was suddenly struck with realisation - this was a mission. I was on the ninja's mission again (when was the first and, until now, only one? With Morro, all those years ago?) which was explicitly against Lloyd's instruction.
I'm not strong enough. Not in the way that Lloyd wants me to be. Not in his world. I'm not part of his world. The words that had been dominating my head ever since our argument all those months back had returned with vigour. I felt my stomach twist.
Well, fuck! If I wasn't part of his world before, then I certainly am fucking now. What was I doing, heading straight towards danger like a cat to a mouse? I should've left the Bounty as soon as Garmadon arrived.
But would you have? Would you let Garmadon fly this ship away without you?

... no. No, I guess I wouldn't have.

"What's happening?" I asked Garmadon as I returned to the helm and stood beside him. My eyes kept darting to the sack of weapons - gleaming and sharp and dangerous.
"The gang members are tailing him and the princess," Garmadon said solemnly. "Axon's people have the second Oni mask."
I blinked. "The what?"
He could only shake his head. Ninjago City began to blur beneath us, miles below.
"Not now," he said, hauling the ship to settle into the water at the docks. The salty waves crashed against the side of the boat, as though in retribution for disturbing them. "We need to get the team out of here."
I sent him an alarmed look.
"Out of here?" I echoed incredulously. "As in out of the city? Why?"
"Not now, Y/n," he said, voice a little harsher. Garmadon put the ship into neutral and hurried out to the deck. I followed, bewildered and confused and confounded as the old man planted his hands onto the railing and peered down the docks. "Where are you... there!"
I followed his line of sight, directing my eyes towards the shore. Past the crates and barrels, under the wooden lanterns and beyond hitched ships that were in a far better condition than the bounty was in, was Lloyd - even from that far and donned in his almost-black gi, I could tell that it was Lloyd. He hauled a motorbike into an almost on the dime turn and was hurtling down the wooden planks, avoiding the milling dock workers with unmatchable skill. A figure sat on the seat behind him.
They were being followed by a volley of gang members, slowly edging closer and closer.

I could almost see the determined desperation in Lloyd's eyes as they fixed upon the ship. He gave the motorbike an extra rev and kicked it faster. Garmadon swept back into the bridge and I felt the Bounty shudder as it was taken from neutral and prepared to take off at a moment's notice. But even with our vessel ready to go as soon as Lloyd and the Princess landed on the deck, that didn't stop the obvious closing-in from their tailers.
"Shit," I hissed and raced back inside the bridge. Garmadon sent me a perplexed look as I dove for the sack of weapons and pulled out Zane's bow. Thank god we shared weapon proficiencies; even though he was miles and miles better at the bow and arrow than I was.
Garmadon seemed to understand what I was doing. His eyes narrowed as he stared out the window at the approaching bikers.
"Don't shoot Lloyd."
"I promise!" I yelled as I dashed back out onto the deck.
I stopped at the railing and slid the arrow's butt into the cord. I raised my elbow.
Okay. Okay. You can do this.
Lloyd had certainly noticed me. I didn't have the time to catch his gaze, as he was closing in too fast, fuck they're all going too fast, jesus shit and balls.
I took and chance and let the arrow fly.

It hit a wooden plank with a violent shudder, not even dissuading the bikers. I cursed and reached for another arrow; it zipped through the air and embedded into a barrel. My breathing was growing frantic. This was nothing like training.
Breathe, Y/n, breathe! Fuck! Jesus Christ!
My eyes anxiously flittered to Lloyd as he revved the bike on even faster, pushing the motor to its limits and more so.
He needs me. He needs me.
I could almost hear his words in my head, telling me to calm. His instructions were almost as clear as day; as if he were whispering them right in my ear; breathe in. Elbow up. Eyes down the shaft. Breathe out. Release.
A tyre was pierced. The bike swerved and took out another three as it went sailing over the wood.
"Holy shit," I breathed, taking just a fraction of a second to reel in shock at my success before grabbing another arrow and doing it again. My panic had shifted, confidence soared, I raised my bow and took aim at the leader of the group - a girl with black hair and a gnarly grin.
I faltered, eyes widening. Violet? That's... that's Violet, I- I can't shoot Violet-
The arrow released without my own accord, as if my body had taken the course of action itself. I watched in horror as the arrow sliced through the air and struck her arm, making Violet yell in pain and shock and tumble from her bike, her sprawled body taking up most of the dock. The remaining bikers were quick to skid to a stop before they could hit her.

I didn't have the time to feel sick or stunned or anything else, as Lloyd had finally reached the hovering Bounty and expertly diverted the bike up some planks that lead to the tops of shipping containers. The bike shot across the metallic surface before making a mighty leap over the gap from the edge of the container to the ship.
I watched in awe as Lloyd swung a leg over the front handlebars as he dismounted midair, one arm wrapped around the princess. He dropped to the deck lithely, silently, carrying her weight and the bike continued to fall in its arc towards the deck. It was promptly destroyed with a blast of green energy before it could cause any carnage.
I flinched at the loud explosion, yet my eyes couldn't tear themselves away from Lloyd's masked face as he crowded the princess to protect her from the blast. My arm with the bow dropped. The tip of it brushed the deck's wood.
When did he get so fucking cool? I mean, he always was, but this - damn.
That was hot.
Lloyd quickly straightened and backed off, hands on the princess' shoulders as he asked if she was okay. Satisfied with her answer (shaky and frightened, but unharmed), his green eyes latched to me.

I stiffened as he approached, eyes dark and hooded from under his mask and stance wide and powerful. My mouth went dry as I scrambled for an excuse to fire off. It was Garm's idea, I know you don't want me here, it's not my fault-
Lloyd pulled his hood off, blond hair sweeping from the movement, and he bent down to haul me up into a searing, wonderful kiss.
I blinked in shock as his hands quickly placed themselves on my cheeks, but found myself swiftly batting away the confusion and instead focus on returning the hard kiss with as much energy as Lloyd was giving it. It made my stomach twist and chest flutter - oh, how careful he could be with me after just destroying a motorbike. Truly a modern gentleman.
Lloyd pulled back. The kiss was strong and short and it left my lips stinging, but I could understand why he didn't want to linger. We had a guest, after all.
Oh, god. We have a guest. Sorry, princess.
Lloyd's red eyes stared intently into mine. They were wide and wild and full of adrenaline - a product from being in the middle of a street chase. The look he was giving me had my toes curling - he was staring at me as if I were the most amazing thing he'd ever seen. His thumbs brushed the apples of my cheeks and my hand that wasn't holding the bow latched to his arm, as if I needed the grounding.

"Good aim," he whispered. My chest lightened.
"Thanks," I whispered back into the small space between us. The Bounty rumbled as it lifted from the water and began joltily making an escape from the docks.

I tore my eyes away and glanced around his arm, finding the princess looking lost and distraught and donning heavy ceremonial robes that did not look comfortable. Her exquisite make up was smudged horribly, interrupted by grit and dirt and tear stains. Her pretty robes were almost in tatters.
Lloyd followed my gaze to the princess, who was staring at the sneering, growling thugs below with a frightened frown. She looked just about ready to cry. My heart ached for her.
"Gentle," Lloyd murmured when I went to approach. I glanced up at him and found his sympathetic gaze staring at her before they turned down to me. A look of guilt had wholly consumed him. "She just lost her parents... again."
Again? I wanted to ask, but it wasn't the time. I gave a nod and left his proximity, fingers sliding down his arm.
"... Princess?" I began quietly, slowly approaching. She sniffled suddenly, wiping at her nose, and yet her eyes still did not turn to me.
"I've, uh," she began, voice thick with sorrow as she watched the passing lights of the city as we flew through the tall buildings. "I've never seen the city from this high before."

My eyes dropped to the scenery. The darkness of the summer night had made the neon illumination all the more potent, licking at the shadows in poison colours and dusting the dark clouds in intoxicating hues of pink and blue. A tiny, small smile pulled at my lips. I knew that she was diverting my concern, but I humoured her, anyway. It was the least I could do.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I murmured as my arms rested on the railing. I could feel Lloyd's stare.
"It is," she agreed. I noticed that her voice, despite croaking and trembling, still held the base line of projection and authority. She reminded me of Wu, in a way. That sense of being a leader.
But she's so young... she looked no older than I was.
My eyes turned to the princess, yet she refused to look at me. The neon lights glinted in her silver platinum hair, brushed her stern, teary face, highlighted the clench of her knuckles as she held her fists over the railing. My heart thumped in agonising symphony.
If I thought that Lloyd was guarded before, then the Princess was a whole different level of prisoner.
"Y/n." I turned at Lloyd's voice. The princess did, too, fixating her eyes upon him with a barely disguised look of awe and reverence. "This is the Jade Princess, Harumi. Harumi, this is Y/n, my girlfriend."

"I'm sorry we couldn't have met under different circumstances," I said to the fragile girl, voice soft. She sent me a shaky smile in return, finally looking at me for the first time. Her hazel eyes were rimmed with despondent red.
"Me, too."
Lloyd placed a hand on my shoulder and stepped in close. My attention diverted back to him.
"We need to get into the bridge," he said. His narrowed eyes did a sweep of the surrounding buildings as we sailed not-so-smoothly between them. "We don't know who else Axon has stationed out here."
I nodded. Lloyd's hand slipped to the small of my back as he steered me towards the safety of the enclosed bridge, almost hurrying me along. His barely-there touch had pleasant shivers curling up my spine.
"Where are the others?" I asked as we entered the bridge with Harumi following behind us. Her eyes immediately found Garmadon at the bridge and I noticed with some sense of surprise that she hadn't lost that look of awe she had when she looked at Lloyd. If anything, that awe tenfolded.
Then again, the Royal Family always knew who the ninja were. It's not as if they were unaware of all the good that Garmadon had done, both as a Lord and not.
"We're picking them up after they lose the gang members," Garmadon answered when he heard us enter. "Our rendezvous is bridge three-twelve on highway twenty-two."
I had no idea where that was, but I trusted that Lloyd and Garm did.

"Hello, princess," Garmadon said with a grim sort of smile, one that was thoroughly laced with sympathy. She bowed her head quickly in reply.
"We should drop Y/n off at University when we've picked the others up," Lloyd said. I sent the side of his face a bewildered look. He felt my stare and matched it, unswayed. "What?"
"No," Garmadon said gruffly as he pulled the wheel down on a hard right. The Bounty sharply veered and the princess and I stumbled to keep our footing. "That will be the first place they'll look. You'll just put her in danger."
Lloyd's face twisted as he glared at the back of his father.
"Why did you even bring her along?" he snapped as the Bounty's engines spluttered loudly. He caught onto the control panel and sent Garmadon a snarl. "You know just as well as I do that she's not ready to be caught in the middle of this!"
My bewilderment turned to offence.
"She just saved you," Garmadon recriminated before I could.
"Yeah, thank you!" I shot, grateful for his support. "You would've been toast without me!"
Harumi was watching the exchange with wide, watery eyes, hesitant in her hovering. I couldn't blame her for her awkwardness - family tension was always uncomfortable to witness.
Lloyd heaved a frustrated sigh. He turned his head away so that I couldn't see his unhappy scowl.
"Let's talk about this later," he grumbled.

I crossed my arms with an irritated air, lips in a thin line. I knew that his complacency with my being on the ship would've been short-lived and I expected his swift disagreement with his father's decision; but that didn't piss me off any less.
Still, even with my tight arms and scrunched face, Lloyd managed to sidle up beside me. It wasn't out of apology - oh, no, never that, never when it came to his staunch opinion on me being on missions - but rather, from what I assumed, was just a need to have physical contact. He always was clingy.
The warmth of his body as he dropped his chin atop my head and wound his arm around mine softened me somewhat - but I was still peeved, so I stayed silent. When he pressed a kiss to the crown of my hairline I almost melted. I willed myself to stay strong.
That didn't stop me from linking my fingers through his, however. Even bad moods didn't deter our want to be near one another.
We're hopeless, I decided.
Harumi was staring out the window again.
"Ah, good," Garmadon said as he commandeered the ship towards an empty motorway, probably shut down due to construction. "They're all here."
The ninja hopped on board, movements silent and presence even quieter. Their eyes were loud, however, in guilt, rage, frustration, sorrow.
The night did not go well for anyone.

I bit my lip as the team collapsed onto crates and the floor of the bridge, pulling their masks off with sighs of tired relief and faces of sweat. I thought back to Violet, whom I used to think was just my slightly eccentric and unhinged roommate, sprawled on the docks with an arrow sticking out from above her elbow.
I felt nauseas.
No. The night did not go well for anyone.
"We have to get out of here," Kai said, the only one who hadn't immediately made friends with the floor. "We barely shook them off as is!"
"Going as fast as we can," Garmadon stressed.
"I'm still really confused," I admitted as I glanced amongst the weary group and tightened my hold over Lloyd's hand. "Can someone please fill me in?"
"Axon's after three powerful, powerful relics that can boost the physical prowess of their wielders," Lloyd said quietly as he dipped his mouth to above my ear. "His people already have two."
I lifted my eyes to him, wide and frightened.
"And we're leaving the city because they're that dangerous?" I asked breathlessly. Lloyd gave a solemn nod.
"We don't know where the third mask is," Harumi spoke up. She was staring out the window, watching the city past and admittedly, she was so quiet that I forgot she was even aboard the Bounty. "But we must retrieve it before this 'Axon' does. The three Oni masks are incredibly powerful, and even more so when they are reunited."

Harumi suddenly reared her head and sent the team a startled, scared look. Her face was pale. I flinched at her swift movement.
"The Emperor and Empress?" she burst, taking a frazzled step forward. "Where is Hutchins? Did they..?"
Her hazel eyes scanned the ninja, scorching them with her terrified gaze, freezing them with the desperation behind her folded brow. It was Nya who managed to gather herself together again and stepped forth with an apologetic frown that held enough answer in itself.
"I'm sorry, Princess," the water mistress said. "They didn't make it. Only a handful from the palace staff came out unharmed."
Harumi's breath hitched before shattering into a dry sob. I bit my lip, hovering beside Lloyd as I watched the princess huddle in on herself and hold her arms. She looked so small.
I wanted to approach her. I wanted to hug her and rub her back and tell her that it's okay to cry, that decorum and civility was wasted amongst these very real, very emotive people. It's okay to have a breakdown. You're only human.
Instead, I stayed put beside Lloyd, gripping and regripping his hand as I grew clammy with nauseas and sympathy. I didn't know her well enough. She wouldn't want sympathy from me, not some random she barely knew for five minutes.

Jay stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder, but Harumi simply turned away and hid her face. His hand slipped back to his side and he shared a worried look with Nya.
Kai tore his eyes from the distraught princess and looked at Lloyd. He was still very much in the throes of being in the middle of a battle. It'd been a long time since I'd seen him look so serious.
"The mask?" he asked. Lloyd shook his head and the brunet growled in frustration. He turned to the princess and balled his fists, a familiar fire alight from behind his eyes. "I promise you, princess, we'll find the people responsible for this and take them down."
Harumi spared him a single, watery smile before hiding her face by turning to the window once more.
"Thank you, Kai," she whispered. "I believe that you will." She swallowed thickly and tightened her hold across her chest. The lights of the city brushed her mourning face in blues. "Once again, I am alone."
"You are not alone, princess," Garmadon spoke up. The city had slipped away and we were flying over darkness - not a single light to tell me where we were or where we were heading. "We are all here for you."
"Dad's right," Lloyd said softly. Harumi slowly lifted her eyes to him. "You're with us, now. And we'll make sure to find out where that third mask is before Axon's people do. They're not going to get away with this."

I stared at Lloyd as he watched the princess; so sure, so determined, so reassuring. He always seemed to know what he was doing, always seemed to have everything under control, always calm, always collected - even if he truly wasn't.
He was the perfect protector.
My eyes jumped to the princess as she stared back at Lloyd; so soft, so fragile, so breakable and gentle and scared. She was the perfect damsel to be protected, a princess without her castle.
I stared at my hand in Lloyd's. My gaze drifted to my other hand, fingers loosely holding Zane's bow that I'd forgotten that I had on me.
Where did I fit in? Was I to be protected, or was I a protector?
I didn't know. Everyone had their roles. What did I have? Questions. Fumbling, silly questions, and a lot of them.

Be my own piece of the puzzle, Echo had said.

But how do I even get on the board in the first place?

🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃

"The princess is settled in."

I hummed in acknowledgment as Lloyd stepped out onto the deck that I was lying down on. My mind was buzzing, thinking of burning castles and lost princesses and green ninjas as I stared at the pin-poked night sky. We were definitely flying over the sea. I could smell the salt.
Lloyd stopped over me, eyes soft. He was wearing one of his hoodies. I much preferred them over his gi.
"You should get some rest, kitten."
My lips curled into a smile at the nickname. Trust Lloyd to make my stomach to twist and brain to melt when I was trying to clear my head.
"I will, tom cat," I grinned as I stared at the sky. "I just want to look at the stars. It's been a while since I've been so far out from a city."
I raised my hand and watched as the stars peeked from between my fingers. I turned my wrist and imagined that the emerging and disappearing stars were playing a twinkling, little tune as they went. A melancholic ache for some unknown reason sent a pang through my chest.
"I missed them," I murmured.
Lloyd lied down next to me, shoulders touching, and raised his hand up next to mine. His fingers were calloused and rough and scarred, and so much larger than my own. But still, they swept through the stars with a grace that had my heart thrumming.

"Yeah," Lloyd whispered. "Me, too."

I turned my head and found that the stars were so much prettier in the reflection of Lloyd's red eyes. They coated him in a gentle, opaque silver and filled me with clear, cool oxygen. Lying in the light of the night sky felt like drinking cold water.
Maybe it was just because the world was so pure and clean out where we were.
Lloyd's eyes latched to my gaze and his nose brushed the tip of my own. I wanted to hold him, to hug him and never let him go again. But I also couldn't find it in myself to move and shatter this moment.
"I missed you more than the stars," Lloyd said quietly and with utmost, intense and yet still somehow gentle emotion. I sucked in a startled, heady breath through my teeth and bit my lip.
"You're such a cheeseball," I whispered when I finally managed to reel myself back in. He chuckled and nudged my fingers apart with his own, linking through mine. We rested comfortably together.
"Yeah, maybe," he admitted in a hushed sigh. "I was a hardened warrior beforehand. You made me like this, sunshine."
"All soft and gooey?" I asked.
"Oh, yeah." Lloyd nodded seriously. "Just like chocolate pudding."
"Oh, don't say that. You'll make me want desert."

Lloyd laughed and the sound almost brought me to tears. I missed him so much. So much more than the stars.
"Tell me about the constellations," I murmured. Lloyd's lips quirked in a soft smirk as he watched me for a second before turning his eyes to the sky.
"That's the griffon," he said, lifting his hand that wasn't holding my own to point at a random cluster of stars. He moved his arm to another part of the sky. "That's the old man from the candy store that shut down a year ago and broke my heart-"
"Mr. Robuntusson closed shop temporarily so he could help his son raise his new baby," I reminded with a chiding remark.
"No more free candy," Lloyd pouted. I rolled my eyes.
"You take advantage of that poor old man."
"I'm his best customer!" Lloyd argued.
"Oh, yes, yes," I agreed sarcastically. "Please, continue with your superior astronomy skills."
"No, I don't think I will anymore," Lloyd huffed. "You don't appreciate me or my constellations."
"Fine," I said and raised my index finger to the sparkling oasis. "There's the southern cross, there's Perseus next to Cassiopeia, there's Orion's Belt-"
"Isn't Orion also called the Archer?" Lloyd asked quietly. I stopped short.
"U- uh, well, yeah, in some depictions," I stammered. My hands suddenly felt heavy. Heavy with the weight of a bow. "It... um, it depends on which part of Ninjago you're talking about. Different villages used to have their own legends."

My hand dropped back to my chest, pulled by weight that wasn't really there. Lloyd's fingers shifted in my own.

"I didn't mean to insult you before," Lloyd said quietly. "About not wanting you here. I- I do, just..."
"Just not when there's a mission, I know," I finished for him as I stared at the three stars that made up Orion's Belt. He sent me a forlorn frown. "I am getting a little sick and tired of being told that I can't handle myself."
"I know," Lloyd sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm just- I'm scared. I didn't use to be so scared. And then you showed up and now I'm just- I am just constantly afraid."
"Oh, god," I mourned. "I broke the green ninja."
Lloyd lifted himself up and planted one hand on the other side of my shoulder. He grinned.
"In more ways than one."
I gave a bewildered laugh and slapped his shoulder. "That's a terrible thing to say!"
He snickered.
"I meant what I said, though," Lloyd continued. "You did have a good aim. Perhaps not the first couple of times, but that's a given. You were too tense through the shoulders and-"
"Please, Lloyd," I groaned. I pulled my hand from his so I could sling my arms around his shoulders. "Enough with the debrief and start kissing me already."
Lloyd's mouth pulled into a boyish, excited grin before he dropped to bring me swiftly into a kiss. I hummed in delight at the warmth that cascaded me, as if I'd stepped into a pleasant sauna, or a nice, hot shower.

We kissed in the light of the stars. And I knew. I knew, for a brief moment of infatuated clarity, that I would protect him no matter what.
It didn't matter that I didn't know where my place was. I could figure that out later. He came first, he always did.

"We should really get to bed," Lloyd mumbled against my lips. I pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. "It's late. We have a big day tomorrow."
I hummed, dropping my head back onto the deck while my fingers played with the overgrown blond locks at the nape of his neck. My vision was Lloyd and he was framed by the stars. My very own moon. My own nebula. My own galaxy. My beautiful Lloyd.
"'Kay," I whispered. He pulled me to my feet and I stretched, holding back a yawn. He was right, I was tired. I couldn't imagine how exhausted he himself was, or anyone else.
"Where are we going?" I asked as I stared out at the darkness that the Bounty was sailing through.
"Dad's found us a secluded spot to lay low for a while," Lloyd murmured as he wound his arm around my waist. I leant against him as we walked down the quiet, empty halls of the slumbering Bounty. "It'll take us a while to arrive on autopilot."
I hummed again, eyelids threatening to close and not open again until morning. They were heavy and it was a genuine struggle to keep my feet walking.
"Have you brushed your teeth?" Lloyd asked as I fell down onto the bed in his room and he pulled off his hoodie. My answer was incoherent, smooshed by the pillow and the duvet I was pulling up over my shoulders. His chuckle was soft and rolled in the silence as he pulled himself into bed beside me. His fingers pulled some hair from my face, caress gentle and adoring. I watched him with tired, wide eyes. "I love you."
"I love you," I replied.

He fell asleep first. I could see the gentle lift of his chest with each beat of his heart, and I watched it with a certain kind of tired fascination. His slumbering face was serene and peaceful. The backs of my fingers stroked his cheek before I settled against his side and let my own eyes close.

My galaxy. My beautiful Lloyd.