Hey Lloyd, I know you're super stressed right now, but my ancestor sorta caused everything that's evil in this world and I'm really kind of freaking out.

The true reality of what Minerva caused hadn't settled in until I was left to my own devices after dinner. It fell upon me like a thundercrack, all bolting and heavy and bellowing, like the hallowing of a barrel. I felt empty, yet so sick, that I couldn't stay in Lloyd's room. I had to go to a place where I could really centre my thoughts.
So I paced the dojo and was probably wearing a track into the tatami flooring while Kashu limped along beside me. I held my chin in my hands and my mouth in my other as I stared at nothing in diluted, sick horror.
The candles flickered with each lap I passed, curling with the momentum. My pace sped and fell with each frantic thought, as did my erratic heartbeat.
My ancestor caused the evil in this world.
Wu knew this. He must've, because how else would he have known that Uchū's journal contained passages about the origins of my powers? He didn't hate me, though, despite Minerva quite literally destroying his father's own paradise.
But did Garmadon know? Did Misako? Surely they did. Misako knew more than all of my history textbooks did combined and Garmadon and Wu were practically mind-linked; what one knew, the other did, too.
But what did it mean? What was her motive? Why did she do it? Why collide two realms? How did she even do that to begin with?
And, again, why?

Too many questions. I found myself surrounded by too many questions again. They poked me, prodded me, pinched my skin and punched my lungs. I was getting harassed by my own mind.
I stopped in the middle of the dojo. Kashu stopped beside me and panted. The candles flickered.
Questions, questions, questions. It was always like this, and I always found myself in the same position; nothing had changed in the nearly four years I'd been a part of the Garmadon's lives. Always kept in the dark, always left grasping for answers while being pelted with more questions. Nothing I asked was answered, at least nothing of value.
It wasn't fair. It's not fair.
Is this not essential for me to know? Is this not my own history? Why did Lloyd and I have to be punished simply for knowing what our prophecy contained? How did that even make any sense? In all my novel-diving expeditions, not once did I stumble across a book where the prophecy's recipients weren't allowed to know it.
Why can't my life be like Percy Jackson? I thought to myself in misery. I would kill to have a gross, old oracle in the attic.
I looked down at Kashu. He looked up at me, all brown eyes and droopy jowls.

"I'm tired of this, Kashu," I whispered to him. "Yes, I am, yes, I am."
The dog barked at my puppy talk. I took that as encouragement.
Because this time, I wasn't going to take deflection and crawl off to simmer in my questions.

This time, I'm getting my fucking answers.

"What does he mean Minerva caused the collision?" I asked in a voice that was more of a demand than a question as I planted Uchū's journal at the foot of Garmadon and Misako's bed.
I stared hard as they blearily gazed at the book, in the process of waking up. Their eyes drifted to mine, glazed and still only half-conscious.
"What..?" Garmadon croaked.
"I'm not leaving until I get answers," I threatened, but my voice cracked with stress in the middle of it, so I sounded more like a terrified teenager than anything else. "So unless you want me setting up camp in the corner of your bedroom, start talking."
"I wouldn't mind having you camp in the corner of the room," Misako admitted with a wistful smile. "It'd be like having a baby in a bassinet again. Oh, Lloyd was so cute-"
"Please," I begged, glancing between Lloyd's parents as I picked the journal up and held it before them. It felt as if I were grasping on straws to keep myself from blubbering like an aforementioned baby. "Please. I need to know if I'm a bad person."
Garmadon sat up, face stony in seriousness. Misako glanced at him, lips between her teeth in hesitation, but he didn't seem to notice.

"You are not a bad person, Y/n," Garmadon said in that voice he used whenever any of us was panicked. I involuntarily softened. "Let us return to the scroll room for a proper discussion. Allow some tea to settle yourself."
I gave a small, insecure nod. They stared at me.
"Go on, then," Garmadon instructed after I stood there, unsure. "Go put the kettle on."
"Oh, right," I said and fled to the door. I poked my head back only a second after. "You're not gonna, like... fall asleep again to avoid answering, are you?"
Misako set me a look. "Y/n."
"Right, no, you're right, stupid question, sorry."
Approximately ten minutes later, we were sat in the scroll room, each cradling cups of chamomile tea. Kashu had his head resting on my lap. I stared at the two adults across from me and pondered over the innate feeling of being a child that was currently swirling through me. They just had that effect, I guess, even when I was twenty.
"Minvera was... my father's greatest friend," Garmadon began, staring at the old journal that sat on the table like some weird sort of centrepiece. "She was also his greatest mystery."
I watched the old elemental master as he inhaled, paused to search for words, and then continue on. It was as if he were picking out what to tell me and what to leave be. I just wanted to know it all, even if it made me hurt.

"She appeared one day out of thin air," Garmadon continued, eyes lost in time as if he had travelled back into his father's shoes. "Uchū had a strong account on all living creatures at the time, so the arrival of an entirely foreign entity both enthralled and unnerved him. The world was still very new and small when she arrived, you see. The entire population was inside a singular village of about a thousand."
Misako, sensing my agitation (I knew all of this already, I'd read the passages), interjected. Clearly, she'd known about Minerva, too. Figures - of course she would.
"We're not sure why Minerva caused the collision between the Cloud Kingdom and Ninjago," she admitted. "She kept no records that we know of. No journals, no letters, not even any close friends. Her only confidante was Uchū, and even then, she kept to herself."
"And she betrayed him," I said stiffly. They grew a little uncomfortable, which only further confirmed my suspicions. "Does Uchū hate her?"
"It was a... strained relationship," Garmadon confessed.
"And what about me?" I asked, voice dropping quiet without my consent. My shoulders hunched towards my chest. "Does Uchū hate me?"

A very real look of shock passed across both of their faces before they leant forward to dissuade my train of thought.
"Of course not!" Misako exclaimed.
"He would never," Garmadon sharply assured.
"But why wouldn't he?" I asked, desperately confused. "Minerva is- is me! Or at least part of me! He should loathe me for what she did."
"Did you hate Lloyd for what I did when I was Lord Garmadon?" the Sensei reminded with a pique of his eyebrow. My mouth closed, retort dying on my lips. "Exactly. You, of all people, should know to judge a person based on what they have done, not what their ancestors have."
I bit the inside of my cheek.
"Still..." I murmured.
"No, not 'still,'" Garmadon commanded. "That's the truth, Y/n."
My eyes fell to my lap, where my hands were anxiously twiddling. Despite being promised answers, nothing really... made much more sense than they did when I first learnt of them. Were they still hiding stuff from me? Or did they genuinely not know? I drew my knees to my chest and hid my chin.
"I don't understand," I whispered into my knees.

"There is so much I wish I could tell you, my darling," Misako insisted as she shuffled over to my side of the table and clasped my hands in hers. "Believe me, there is. But for now, you're just going to have to trust us. Can you do that?"
I glanced up to Misako's face, and then looked over at Garm. They each shared worried expressions, tinged delicately with concern and overlaid with affection.
I sent a watery smile.

"Yeah," I whispered, and severely hoped that it was the truth.

🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃

"... the Jade Princess, Princess Harumi."

A delicate smile crossed the princess' face as she spared the ninja a look of regal admiration upon Hutchin's announcement. Her gaze lingered on Lloyd for a noticeable amount of time and had only been drawn away when Nya, who noticed the ogle, gave a disgruntled clear of her throat.
The ninja bowed, sans Nya, who had to be nudged by Lloyd to duck her head to show the least amount of respect. She did so reluctantly, cashing in Kai to sneak his sister a perplexed look from across the floor. It was met with a thunderous sneer.
"We are honoured by your presence," the emperor began. "Please, Lloyd Garmadon, raise your hood. You have no need to hide your identity in the Palace."
"This is suuuus," Nya chirped in a sing-song voice from behind gritted teeth. She was the last to remove her hood.
"The honour is all ours," Lloyd said with every decorous of politeness he could humanly allow while wanting to yank Nya to the side just to ask what on earth her problem was.
Princess Harumi stepped forth, hazel eyes dragging across the line of ninja like how a hand would through molten chocolate. Her footsteps were light and perfect, much like how she sounded with each word she spoke.
"I have read much about you," began her charming voice as she descended the stairs. Her long, green gown followed, draping down the steps like paint. "Your heroics will surely become legend and each of you shall be painted into the murals of history."

Harumi walked towards Kai with a floating grace that could rival even Zane's ballet-esque movement. The fire master bowed his head at her approach.
"Kai, the hothead who acts without question," Harumi announced with a gentle warmth to her voice, as if welcoming back an old friend. She turned to his neighbour and said with just an equal amount of affection; "Cole, the rock and foundation of the team."
"Jay, the joker whose mouth is as fast as lightning." The princess' was twinged with amusement for a second, and Jay puffed his chest in pride. "Zane, the cold and calculating Android."
"Nindroid," Zane corrected with a polite smile as he bowed. "Your highness."
Harumi smiled back with a nod of her head.
"And Nya," she said, moving to the mistress of water. "The girl."
Nya's fake smile quickly returned to her scowl. She bowed, though stilted and obviously not a genuine show of respect.
"The girl I've wanted to be ever since I first heard about her," Harumi continued. "With her mastery of water and her skill that could rival any master."
Nya blinked.
"I like her," she smirked to her team.
"And master Lloyd," Harumi said, turning to the last of the line of ninja. He bowed with a smile, but it was soon lost when she continued to speak; "the green ninja. The youngest, but most powerful protector. The chosen one."
Lloyd frowned, the familiar weight of responsibility returning. Harumi's drifting, somber eyes jumped back to his.

"I too, have lost my parents," she confessed above barely a broken-hearted whisper. Her eyelashes flickered over her eyes for a brief second, as if the pain was too much. Lloyd felt his heart ache for her pain - he knew what it was like to be without his parents or have anyone to look out for him. "But we are both not without family."
Lloyd's brows furrowed in acknowledgment. He gave a nod.
"We adopted Harumi and raised her as our own," the empress said upon Jay's confused look towards the royals.
"When her parents passed away," the emperor added.
Harumi ducked her chin.
Lloyd, sensing the sudden awkwardness, stepped towards the thrones.
"Thank you for inviting us into your home."
"It wasn't us," the emperor corrected with a fatherly smile towards Harumi. "It was our daughter."
"And she would like you to stay with us until the threat to our throne is over," the empress added.

And all at once, Lloyd felt the dreamy vibe of the evening shatter.

"St- stay?" he stammered uncharacteristically, taking a step back. But Y/n. Y/n's at home. She only has a few days left until she has to return to university and I have to return to my search.
He spent so long apart from her already.
'I'll be waiting for you, greenie.'
He hadn't even been in Ninjago for two days yet, and he was already breaking his promises. A chasm of guilt wrenched open within his gut and he felt it physically hallowing him with a melon scoop from the inside-out.
"C'mon," Cole whispered just quiet enough for Lloyd's sensitive hearing to pick up. He glanced at his brother, face ashen. "She'll understand."
But I want to see her. I want to be with her.

... but what does the green ninja have to do?

Lloyd hadn't quite felt as emotionally broken as he did when he realised that once again, he'd have to put his job before his girlfriend. Once again, she was pushed to the side for his duty.
Wonderful, incredible, smart Y/n. You deserve better than what I can give you.
Nya's face turned genuinely sympathetic and it seemed that whatever funk she'd been in was put on hold. She edged closer, eyeing the leader.
"Are you okay?" she whispered.
She's going to be so disappointed.
'She'll understand.' Cole's voice echoed in Lloyd's head. He balled his fists. But she shouldn't have to. She shouldn't have to keep making these sacrifices for me.
"Is there something the matter?" Hutchins drawled. His sharp eyes seemed to send warnings to Lloyd and it reminded him of where he was, and who he was meant to be.
"No," Lloyd breathed with a shake of his head. "No, not at all."
"These are troubling times, Lloyd Garmadon," said the emperor with a concerned, poignant look pointed Lloyd's way, "and as long as we have an oni mask, we fear our lives are in jeopardy."
"The masks must never be reunited," Harumi insisted. She lifted her hands to her chest and nervously balled them. "Please say yes."
Lloyd drew in a dry breath that seemed as though to scrape along his throat. It was scratchy and uncomfortable and a sort of sweat had began to prickle at the back of his neck. Guilt sweat. If such a thing existed. He glanced to his team and found them already watching, expectant for his answer. It was all on him. It's always on him.

It's not as if I can say no. Fate's soldier, remember? I never get to choose for myself.

"Then you have our help," Lloyd promised with a strained smile. Put on the fact, Garmaboy. It's just like high school.
"Great!" Harumi chirped, and beamed like a child on Christmas. Well, if they were to be stuck there for the foreseeable further, at least the princess seemed nice. Maybe she can recommend me some books for Y/n. "Then Mr. Hutchins can show you the palace."
Hutchins sighed as if the task of being tour guide mortally wounds him. With a bow of his head to the royal family, the Master-at-Arms raised his hand and gestured for the ninja.
"If you will follow me," he began.
The team filed out, jittery with excitement to be getting a tour of such a lavish place. Lloyd was more stuck in his head, wondering how he was going to word this to Y/n.
Nya was the only one to notice the way the princess watched Lloyd leave the room. The water mistress pinched her brow.

"Eyes like a hawk's," Nya whispered to no-one but herself and swept after her team.

🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃

pew pew watergirl 🔫
this is borrrrinnnnggggg
Sent 10.36pm

pew pew watergirl 🔫
this tour is borrinngggggg
Sent 10.36pm

pew pew watergirl 🔫
i wanna go hommeeeeeeee
Sent 10.36pm

pew pew watergirl 🔫
wyd?
Sent 10.36pm

Me:
poor poor soul
Delivered

Me:
it must be tough getting fed free food from world renown chefs and having ur feet massaged
Delivered

Me:
so sad
Delivered

pew pew watergirl 🔫
shut up wyd
Sent 10.38pm

Me:
training w dim. is it seriously that boring that ur texting *me*?
Delivered

pew pew watergirl 🔫
babe if u were here we'd be spending the entire time making fun of these pompous pricks. it IS that boring.
Sent 10.38pm

"I thought you said you wanted to clear your head," Dimitri reminded with a raise of his brows. "That doesn't look like clearing your thoughts."
"Sorry, Dim," I grinned bashfully as I tucked my phone away. "It's Nya."
"It could be the First Spinjitzu Master for all I care," Dimitri teased dryly. "You still haven't even completed a full five-minute meditation session. That's the only reason why I'm here, Y/n, remember? You called me for help."
"You're right, you're right, I'm sorry," I said with raised hands as I settled back into my position across the floor from Dimitri. I crossed my legs and closed my eyes. "It won't happen again."
My phone began to ring. I grimaced as it vibrated across the tatami flooring. He peeked an eye open.
"Just answer it," Dimitri sighed. I leapt to my feet and dashed from the room.
"It won't take long, I promise!" I called as I slid shut the doors behind me and dug my phone from my pocket. I brightened upon seeing the caller contact.

"Hey!" I buzzed.
"Hey, sunshine," Lloyd purred down the line. "Why aren't you asleep?"
Because I've been going mental over my ancestor. "I can't," I said with my eyes careening sideways in guilt - but to tell the truth would begin a discussion that I really didn't want to have over the phone. "What's up?"
Lloyd sighed. His hesitation had me frowning; something was wrong.
"I have to stay at the palace."
The happy, bubbly feeling that was turning my stomach into knots stopped dead. I stared at the ground, turning his words over in my head. Every time I found something to say, it would crumble in my throat and leave me in this continuous speechlessness.
"Y/n?" he prompted, voice quiet.
"Stay?" was the only thing I managed to murmur from this stupor I'd found myself in.
"Yeah."
I raised my eyes to stare down the empty hallway.
"For- for how long?"
"We don't know," Lloyd murmured. "Until the threat of the Sons of Garmadon dies down."

"Oh." The crash of disappointment almost had me teetering on my feet. 'We don't know' was a certain 'longer than the two days you have left before heading back to Nom.' The familiar feeling of a pit being caved into my chest returned. "O- okay. I'll, uh... see you then."
When? How long will it be this time?
"I'll make it up to you." You've promised that before, Lloyd. "The first thing I'll do when we're let off is go to you."
"Don't worry about it," I said, forcing a merry bell to my voice so he couldn't hear my dismay. "Seriously. Go do what you've gotta do. I understand."
His sigh of relief had my head prickling. I closed my eyes and titled my chin back to let the pleads for him to come home slide back down my throat.
"You're amazing," he said. "You're the best. I love you."
My smile was bitter in my pity.
"Love you, too."
The silence from the ended call continued to press against my ear as I stared at the backs of my eyelids. My arm dropped to my side, taking my phone with it, and I inhaled long and slow.
I want to scream. I need to scream. How can anybody deal with this? Who can I pretend to be so I don't fall apart while being myself?
I leant back against the wall just to keep my knees from giving out. Everything in my life was Lloyd, Lloyd, Lloyd, and when he's not around...

Fuck. I need to get a hobby.

🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃

Lloyd tucked his new phone (he must remember to thank Borg again) into his suit and sped his walk to catch up with the rest of his team.

Hutchins, who looked like he'd rather be anywhere else, was leading the group through the lavish halls of the palace. Zane was calmly assessing every crevice of the intricate, expensive interior while Nya had her nose in her own new phone. The remaining three were in varying states of immature excitement. Hutchins seemed to be itching to grab his heavy helmet and throw it at their heads.
"While you are in our service, you have full access to the complimentary royal buffet," Hutchins drawled as he drifted past a long table laden with food for anybody looking to fill their stomachs. The ninja, ever ravenous, took in the sight with utter delight. "Anything you want is at your disposal. Exotic fruits, assorted vegetables, scones, and all-you-can-eat cake."
Lloyd took a red apple from the table. It seemed to shine in his hand, as if polished. A tentative bite told him that it was, in fact, an actual apple rather than a decorative fruit imitation that had fooled him once before.
"Ah, thank you, but I gave up sweets," Cole announced. "My body is a temple."

Lloyd glanced at Kai, who shrugged. This was news to the leader.
"Ever since Master Wu went missing, Cole has been a real party pooper," he chirped to Hutchins, who really would rather not hear about the team's antics and instead throw himself off of the balcony. Jay didn't seem to notice the Master-At-Arms silent hostility.
"Party... pooper?" Zane quietly asked over the lightning master's shoulder.
"I'll explain later," Jay whispered.
Ignoring him, Hutchins continued the tour, taking the team beyond the buffet area and instead entering a vast, incredible library. Shelves stretched from floor to high ceiling, casting long shadows whose interrupting godrays illuminated the mites dancing in the air. It smelt of dust and parchment.
"Beyond cake buffets, the royal family holds an impressive collection of books from over the centuries," Hutchins said, sweeping his arm to elaborate the library's magnifique. "Journals, biographies, bibles. If the Library of Domu doesn't have it, we do."
"Y/n would love this," Nya murmured to Lloyd. He nodded in agreement. Hutchins drifted a fingertip across the spines of books as he turned to leave the library.
"The palace is also equipped with secret passages to get anywhere fast."

"Oh, so that's why they call it the Palace of Secrets!" Kai piped up excitedly. He began scouring the bookshelves with sharp eyes, animatedly looking for anything that seemed out of place.
Yes," Hutchins agreed slyly. "But as to the locations of these secret passages, only the Royal Family knows."
Now, to Kai, that just sounded like a challenge. And Kai loved challenges.
"Sure," Kai said with a careless shrug. His amber eyes jumped up and a grin curled across his lips. You mean like right...here?"
He yanked a book from a shelf. To the utmost anticlimax, nothing happened.
"Nope," Hutchins said.
"Or here?" Kai continued, pulling out three more books.
"Not there."
"Or right here?" More books were sent careening to the ground, and Lloyd could only watch on in bewilderment.
"Nope."
"How about here? Here?"
Books were flying everywhere. Hitting shelves, hitting ninja, hitting the floor like it was an early 2000s disco. It was probably a safety hazard.
"No."
"Or here?"
"No."
"Or this one?"
The team were torn between watching Kai humiliate himself and watching Kai humiliate them.
"Nope."
"Here?"
"Wrong."
"This got to be it."
Kai's determination was admirable. His smarts, however, not so much. A sea of books was growing on the floor. Y/n would murder Kai if she were here, Lloyd decided. Maybe then Hutchins wouldn't be so callous to the team - or, at least, to one of them.
"Wrong again."
"This is a big one. Here?"

Hutchins stared in tired disdain at the mountain of books across the floor. Lloyd almost felt bad for him.
"No," Hutchins said. Kai was puffing, exhausted and defeated. Cole broke the tension with an awkward laugh.
"We'll clean up after ourselves," he promised sheepishly. Barely offering him a glance, Hutchins turned to leave the room with his arms neatly folded behind his back and a weary scowl etched tightly on his face. Nya watched him go with a frown.
"Anyone else think there's something a little off about this guy?" she asked as soon as the Master-at-Arms was out of earshot, clasping a group of books to her chest.
"He's holding something back," Lloyd agreed grimly as Kai set off to return the books to the shelves in no particular order. The palace's intellectuals would have a grand old time trying to find their new study material. Nya passed him her pile of books. "But what?"
"'Palace of Secrets' is starting to make a lot more sense," Cole said with a grumble.
Hutchins was waiting for the ninja at the entrance to another large chamber-like room. He sent the team with an unimpressed look.
"And finally, the reason for your protection," he said, sweeping into the room which held a single glass case atop a pedestal. "The Mask of Deception."

Kai leant in to the misshapen, rust coloured mask and pulled a grimace.
"Yugh." He stuck his tongue out in disgust while the rest of the team gathered around to get a peek. "A face only a mother could love. Why would anyone want that?"
"That's up to us to figure out," Lloyd said.
"Just being in the same room with it gives me the heebie-jeebies," Jay whimpered as he hid behind Lloyd. With a half-smile, he patted Jay's curly hair in reassurance.
Nya turned to Hutchins with a narrowing of her eyes and an upward tilt of her chin.
"If this is the Mask of Deception, what was stolen from Borg Industries?" she queried.
"The Mask of Vengeance."
"And who has the third one?" Cole asked worriedly.
"No one knows the location of the Mask of Hatred," Zane answered. "But my sensors tell me it won't be lost for long."
"Zane is correct," Hutchins nodded, even though it looked like it physically pained him to do so. "Though no one has found the third mask, it is given the Royal Family little resolve..."

Movement caught Lloyd's sharp attention and he snapped his head to the source. Something white was filtering through gaps in the woven bamboo wall and he held his breath as he snuck towards the wall's edge.
Is this a break in? Are the SOG already making a move?
Lloyd balled his fists and edged his energy, preparing for an eventual battle just in case. He snuck his head around the corner.
Eyes in the mirror immediately caught his and Lloyd swiftly leapt back from the entrance, biting his lip in embarrassment.
It was just the princess. That was the princess' bedroom. The white was her platinum hair, and the movement was her removing her heavy face of traditional makeup.
Wow, Lloyd. Nice going.

... why's the princess' bedroom right next to an Oni Mask?

Either whoever is in charge of the palace's defences are extra confident in their level of protection or everyone in this palace is a special kind of stupid. Surely this is some kind of safety risk?
As Lloyd pondered over the palace's questionable layout and made mental notes to check on the princess if a break-in occurs (because surely if the Jade Princess is right there, they can take her for ransom), he drifted back towards the group. The remainder of his embarrassment at being caught 'snooping' at the entrance of a girl's bedroom had reduced to a flushed redness at the back of his neck, and he accepted the fate that the Jade Princess of Ninjago thought that he was weird.
She knows I'm Lloyd Garmadon, he thought bitterly. Surely this is no different than what she already thinks of me.
"...for we know dark forces are looking to acquire it. And that's why we need eyes on it at all times," Hutchins finished. Lloyd realised that he hadn't been listening and glanced up, only to find the middle-aged man staring directly at him. His tongue felt heavy in his mouth. This was just like being back in high school.
"Don't worry, we're ninja," Kai said with a smirk as he placed his hands on his hips. "We're experts at this kind of thing."

Hutchins dragged his eyes over the team.
"... yes," he muttered, before turning away to continue with the tour.

🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃

"Whoa, back up! You peeked inside a girl's room?!" Nya exclaimed down the comms in incredulous disgust. Lloyd could almost hear her yell from across the palace grounds.

"Unintentionally," Lloyd reiterated in a quiet hiss. He leant back against the wall of the room with the oni mask, opting to take first shift watching the case. He was almost bored to tears and indulged his worries of the Princess' safety to the rest of the team - Kai and Nya, who were doing an outside sweep via the palace rooftops, and Cole, Jay and Zane who were patrolling the long, winding hallways. "I saw movement and I went to check it. I was just doing my job!"
"That's what they all say..." Jay murmured.
"Are you accusing me of being a peeking Tom?" Lloyd said in disbelief.
"No, I'm accusing you of being a dumb Lloyd!" Nya jumped back in. "You don't go snooping through other people's rooms!"
"I didn't," Lloyd groaned. "It was a quick look to make sure nobody had broken in."
"I don't-!"
"I'd love to continue this entertaining chat," Kai interrupted from his vantage on the roof. "But I just saw Hutchins walk out into the courtyard, look at me and then head back inside."
Lloyd furrowed his eyebrows and uncrossed his arms. Cole made a thoughtfully suspicious hum.
"... that's odd," Zane finally commented through the team's silence.
"Who's watching who?" Nya murmured.

Lloyd opened his mouth to tell Cole to try and locate Hutchins to keep an eye on him, but the sound of glass shattering had him spinning towards the sound before he could say a word.
Broken glass never was a good sign. His acute hearing picked up on the sound of shuffling material and feet landing on the terracotta tiles of the roof, and that was enough to send him barreling headfirst towards Princess Harumi's room.
"Princess?" he called. "Princess!"
He shoved the sliding door open and the sight nearly had his adrenaline doubling down; the darkened room was a mess, pillows thrown, draws spilling, broken pieces of what looked to have been a glass jug scattered across the floor. The curtains were billowing, open wide to the balcony and the city beyond.
He darted to the balcony and scanned the palace's rooftop, gaze zeroing in on a hooded figure in green hauling a large sack. Lloyd cursed and leapt over the banister, giving chase.
"The princess has been taken!" he yelled down the comms. "I'm going after her! Someone get to the mask!"
He vaguely heard Kai curse, but Lloyd's attention was sealed on sprinting across the terracotta. The breathing, the shift of weight, the way they ran pointed to the figure being a woman, so Lloyd's initial thought of it being the man who stole of the Mask of Vengeance was out of the window.

The woman hauling the sack halted at the edge of the rooftop and turned back, making Lloyd duck for cover. When she was gone, Lloyd took off, scanning the surrounding buildings for his pursuit. The palace was long behind them.
She was good, it was undeniable. Already half-way across the block, making near-impossible leaps, all while holding a sack that contained a living person. Lloyd was surprised by how he was almost struggling to keep up.
He landed on a roof and momentarily lost the woman. His eyes darted across the rooftops, before finally spotting her ways away, slinking swiftly through the darkened shadow of a building taller than the one she was on.
He took off, only to come to a jarring halt at the building's edge. There was no other tower close for him to leap on to, only thick lantern cables tied across the street.
Lloyd's eyes widened in disbelief.
"You've gotta be kidding me," he groaned, before jumping. He grabbed the first cable, then the second, and finding success, reached for the building's fire escape-
The ladder's old bolts had rusted and the sudden weight of Lloyd had them snapping. The ladder jolted as it careened out across the street, high above, and he felt his stomach twist as he glanced down at the drop.
The ladder gave another dip and then, as the final bolt caved, Lloyd threw his weight up to grab the side of the building, and found his hand being snatched by another instead.
It was the hooded woman.

She hauled Lloyd up onto the rooftop, and despite saving his ass, he took no chances. Lloyd slid his foot back and prepped his position, just in case this saving turned into an ass-beating.
"Who are you?" he spat.
The hooded woman's head tilted before she raised her hand. Lloyd tensed, waiting for a weapon or a punch, but it was only to delicately push her hood back.
Suddenly, Lloyd felt like an idiot.
He should've recognised the expensive material of the green robe she wore. He should've recognised the graceful way she moved. Despite her platinum blonde hair having been haphazardly shoved into a bun and her face devoid of make-up, it was indisputable. The woman was the Jade Princess herself.
Lloyd allowed himself to relax with a sigh.
"Princess?" he said in disbelief. He pulled back his hood and let the cool, night air fill his lungs as he collected himself. "I thought you were kidnapped. I was trying to save you."
Princess Harumi raised a brow in amusement.
"Was that what that was?" she teased, and Lloyd had to do a double take from her personality shift from before. "From my vantage, it looked like I was the one saving you."
He looked away, cheeks flushed in shame. He was meant to be the green ninja, the thing of legends and wielder of power unmatched, and he was the one getting saved by a princess.
Princess Harumi leant in. She was smirking.
What is this, embarrass Lloyd day?

"Then... who's in the bag?" Lloyd asked, suspicion returning. Harumi 'ha'd!' - in fact, she snorted, too, raising a gentle hand to her mouth in beguilement. She was a far cry from the refined, bashful creature Lloyd took her for when they first met.
"You mean what's in the bag," she corrected with a raise of her brows and a brightening of her smile. She pulled the sack open and Lloyd stepped forward, revealing an abundance of- "food. For the less fortunate."
Lloyd turned his eyes to the princess. He was totally stumped - his instincts had never been wrong before, never. He swore that she was in danger. Turns out, she was the one who was taking him for a ride across the rooftops of downtown Ninjago.
Princess Harumi must've taken his stunned look as something else, as she leapt to elaborate;
"Even though I'm confined to the palace, I still try to give what I can."
"But your bedroom," Lloyd frowned. "It was ransacked."
It was the princess' turn to be embarrassed. Her cheeks blushed and she turned her gaze away, as if not willing to meet his eyes.
"... yes, I... can be quite a slob," she admitted. Her hazel eyes shot back to him and suddenly she was back to teasing, placing her hands on her hips and cocking her head. "Thank you for noticing."
"I- I'm sorry," Lloyd apologised, because jesting or not, this 'slob' of a princess was still Ninjagoan royalty. "I- I didn't mean-"

"The princess is gone!" Hutchins impressive yell could be heard from the palace. "Find her!"

Princess Harumi grabbed a jacket from a person's washing line and sent a startled look back at Lloyd.
"They can't know I left the palace!" she rushed, throwing the clothing at Lloyd and lifting her hood. "Hurry!"
Too taken aback by the alarm in her instructions, Lloyd shoved the beige garment on and followed after Princess Harumi, scaling down the side of the building and effortlessly blending into the flow of downtown traffic.
"I know a back way," she said with a tilt of her head. She lead the way through the shadows and the crowds thinned and volume dimmed until they found themselves at the edge of the slums of Ninjago City.
Wordlessly, the princess opened the sack and began handing out food. Bananas, apples, small compact cakes and pies. It seemed that she shoved in anything that wouldn't make too much of a mess. The people seemed to know her and took their food with a grateful smile and a murmur of thanks and blessings.
Lloyd walked behind the princess silently, watching as she handed out food. He didn't want to speak, didn't want to break this quiet, peaceful sincerity in which she gave and they, almost with tears in their eyes, graciously took.

He recognised some of the faces and pulled the hood deeper across his face, not wanting to risk people recognising him and maybe catching a glance of the gi beneath the jacket.
The slums were where most everyday violence occurred. Evil people liked to prey on those who couldn't defend themselves and they took what the wanted, be it money, food or simply just the pleasure in watching a weak person squirm. Lloyd hoped that the elemental masters who had taken over for the team made sure to patrol this area extra carefully. Everybody who lived here were polite and humble, and they each had a soft spot in Lloyd's heart.
It seems that Lloyd wasn't the only one, though, as Harumi conversed with the old people and giggled with the children as she made her rounds. The cracklings fire and faint murmur of voices lulled him into a sense of humble serenity.
Harumi caught his watching eyes and smiled.
"Some things are easier to do when you're not a princess," she said quietly as she slowly walked down at the wooden walkways that sat above the river. "If I asked my parents they would never allow it, but... these people are hungry and we have so much food in the palace."

Lloyd smiled softly, watching as a group of children came clambering, wanting their share of food.
"Patience, little ones," Harumi soothed, quickly passing out her haul to small hands. "There's enough for each of you."
When all of the food was gone and only an empty sack remained, Lloyd slung it over his shoulder and allowed the princess to take him for a stroll alongside the river. An old man steering an ashitenma interrupted the water, sending the reflection of the full moon gently rippling.
"Can I ask you a question?" Lloyd spoke into the peaceful silence. Harumi glanced at him. "Do you enjoy being a princess?"
Harumi glanced down at her shoes, frowning. The river water secretly sloshed beneath the jetty.
"Everyone thinks being a princess is supposed to be easy, and wonderful, and..." she sighed, and Lloyd had taken to staring at her face as she tried to put together the words. "I guess it's okay. But... a lot of the time it's really hard."
"Ha... tell me about it," Lloyd murmured, making Harumi send him a quizzical look. He leapt to continue. "Not being a princess, I mean... being the green ninja."
The smile Harumi made was full of understanding. She lifted her hood and leant against the railings of a bridge, watching as another man sailed his small boat through the calm channel beneath them.

"We have to live up to a role that was bestowed upon us," she began as they watched the rolling wake of the ashitenma. "We never chose these mantles we hold."
"I know," Lloyd sighed. He rested his forearms on the railing and glanced at the princess. "It's hard to live a normal life. But at least I get to wear a mask, but you..."
"I wear my own mask," Harumi interjected with a pointed smile and Lloyd grimaced, being reminded of him catching her in the middle of her taking off her make-up. "Besides, I believe you still find it hard as Lloyd Garmadon. It cannot be easy."
"I do," he confessed, staring back out at the water. "It's been difficult at times. Trust me, you do not want to go to high school. Teenagers are mean-" Harumi had to giggle "-But it's gotten better over the past few years."
"It has?" Harumi asked with a genuine frown. "May I ask how?"
"It-"

Cruel laughter interrupted the inevitable turn in conversation to Lloyd's lovesick rambling about his girlfriend. Harumi and Lloyd, against their own better judgement, crept towards the ruckus and poked their heads around the corner of a shack in shambles.
The familiar sight of gang members hounding the poor residents of the slums made Lloyd's blood boil. Harumi tugged on his jacket.
"We must leave," she insisted in a whisper.
"These people have enough to worry about," he snapped. "They shouldn't have to be bullied by low-level street thugs."
"Don't!" Harumi said, leaping forward to grab his arm before he could stop the fight. "If you try to stop them, you'll reveal us."
Lloyd glanced at the princess and then back at the thugs, weighing the pros and cons of disobeying an order from a royal. The insignia on the back of one of the thug's jackets made his blood run cold.
"What's wrong?" Harumi asked.
"That's the same symbol I saw before," he murmured. "The Sons of Garmadon. I don't understand. He's good now, so why are they..?"
Lloyd cut himself off with an annoyed growl and stepped forward, but Harumi's grip on his arm tightened.
"No!" she exclaimed in a low voice. "You said it yourself. They're only low-level thugs. They don't know anything, they only take orders." Her hazel eyes flickered from the scene to Lloyd, and an edge crept into her voice. "It's the person that gives them that scares me."
Lloyd stared at her for a few beats before lifting his gaze back to the scene. He shook his head, watching as the thugs belittled the poor victims.
"I have to do something..." he murmured.

Am engine revving and the bright lights of a car that was clearly not regulated for standard vehicle usage caught everyone's attention. The car expertly swerved into the scene, headlights focused on the thugs.
"Or you can let Samurai X take care of it," Harumi suggested. Lloyd's eyes nearly popped from their sockets.
"Who is that?" he asked in absolute confuddlement. He hadn't realised that he'd been away from Ninjago City for that long, but clearly he had.
Samurai X leapt from their car and drew a glinting, sharp katana.
"Step away from the pedestrians," came a modified voice from the helmet. The thugs backed off. They'd seen him around before, maybe even up-close.
Lloyd watched in disbelief as the gang members dashed from the scene. Cowards, of course, only attacking people who they knew wouldn't give them trouble in return. As soon as someone like Samurai X shows up, they ditch with their tail between their legs.

Lloyd grinned, and a little bit of weight that he forgot was there lifted from his shoulders.
"It's good to know the ninja aren't the only ones protecting Ninjago."
The mysterious samurai helped the victims to their feet and dusted off their clothes. After professing their gratitude to the warrior, they, Harumi and Lloyd watched him leap back into his car and disappear with a rev, just as fast as he appeared.
"Who is Samurai X?" Harumi asked. She glanced at Lloyd and grinned. "Now I understand the rest of the world's frustration with not knowing who the green ninja is under the mask."
Lloyd smiled. And then, with a cold feeling down his back, realised just how long the princess had been gone. Had he even told his team that she was okay? He was too caught up in Princess Harumi's personality switch that he must've forgotten.
Nevertheless, it was time to return.
"Princess-"
"Please," Harumi insisted with a gentle smile. "Call me Rumi."
"Uh..." Lloyd was taken aback again. Was there anything that this refined royal couldn't do to surprise him? "Rumi. I should get you home-"

"Yes," interjected a stern voice, making Harumi gasp and Lloyd to wince. Hutchins appeared from the shadows with a thunderous expression on his face, glaring at both the princess and Lloyd. "You should be home, your highness."
"Hutchins!" Harumi yelped.
"May I ask what you were doing outside the palace?" the Master-at-Arms demanded with a stifling scowl at the girl.
"Rumi and I were just going for a walk," Lloyd reassured, hoping to downplay the situation. He archived the exact opposite.
"'Rumi'?" Hutchins spluttered. "A walk?"
"It was my idea!" Harumi interjected. "Please, don't be angry with Lloyd."
Hutchins lifted his chin and inhaled slowly. The small gap of silence stroked at Lloyd's nerves. He felt like he was in trouble with his teachers again. High school really never does end.
"It's troubling to see you two are on a first-name basis," he sneered, and suddenly, oh, my god, it all clicked - why Nya was being pissy at him, why Jay was making those remarks-
"Whoa, whoa," Lloyd chuckled and raised his hands, eager to stamp down this misconception before it got too out of hand, or before the princess got too hopeful. "You don't need to worry about that. I have a girlfriend."

Harumi's eyes snapped to Lloyd.
"Girlfriend?" she echoed, making both men look at her. Her puzzled expression deepened. "But I-"
Harumi abruptly stopped herself before she could say anything else, instead taking to tucking her chin to her chest and looking away. Lloyd's brows furrowed. Hutchins watched her, then him, and then back again.
"Nevertheless, the streets are not safe at night, your highness," Hutchins continued after a painfully awkward pause. "I must insist you return with me-" he grabbed the princess' arm and she glanced up with wide eyes. "- at once."
Lloyd watched Hutchins steer Harumi away from him. The old man glanced over his shoulder.

Lloyd narrowed his eyes. There was definitely something fishy with that guy.