Marlin's Dreaming
••• Trophies •••

that's how it goes, it's lying to me
pictured in gold, a trophy to hold
that's how he shows he's lying to me
shining control, he's lying to me

•••••

TW: (vague) alleged harassment, slight mention of PTSD

lol sorry for the massive break between chapters, life did what it does best and got in the way, and writer's block didn't help

  I stood in a sea of people surging toward the Green Ninja like die-hard fans at a concert. Lloyd was the perfect entertainer - he laughed and engaged with his fans, said hello, listened, signed a napkin someone shoved his way. Cole was just as good.

  It was so easy to forget that Lloyd was so much more important than anyone else. It was so easy to forget that he was the grandson of the First Spinjitsu Master and in line to become the Second. It was so easy to forget that he was the equivalent of a rock star in the eyes of the people of Ninjago. He was their saviour, and he looked good doing it.

  I'd always hated crowds.

  Dr. Onai tried her best to subdue the racket. "Okay, okay! Calm down now, everyone. Please, Let's get back to business. Come now!" When nobody stopped to listen to her, she grabbed a nearby megaphone and blasted out our eardrums. "That's enough."

  We all ducked at the shrill ring it made. Lloyd flinched a little harder than the rest of us. The clamouring and yelling was swiftly and effectively killed.

  "Are we not professionals?" Dr. Onai asked her team with a displeased frown. "Don't forget that this dig becomes a referral for your next. Pull yourselves together! Ninja, if you please." She gestured them toward her with a wave of her hand.

  With disappointed grumbles, the crowd began to disperse. Dr. Onai shook her head with a huff of exasperation. Lloyd and Cole weaved through the remaining lingerers, and I held my breath as my boyfriend approached. I could do it. Just say hi and act totally normal.

  I opened my mouth to greet him. Lloyd's eyes landed on mine before bouncing away as if having never even seen me, breezing on past and leaving me dumbfounded. My heart fell like a rock at the silent dismissal.

  "I'd never heard of the authorities recognising you as anything other than a menace, but I'm not about to complain," Dr. Onai said. "Dr. Misako, can you please tell the ninja what you know? You too, Cassie. I have to go figure out the type of paperwork for this."

  Cassie, the site manager, was a woman in her mid-twenties with flawless, tanned skin and red hair that somehow looked perfect even in this humidity. She smiled with delight at her new job and turned to Lloyd and Cole when Dr. Onai hurriedly left.

  "Oh, my god, it is such an honour to have you here," Cassie began, her voice squeaky and breathless. "I'm a huge fan!"

  "Thank you," Lloyd said with a kind smile, and even though the mask hid the most of his face, his green eyes were enough to show it. Cassie's cheeks went a little pink.

  "Can you tell us what happened?" Cole asked.

  I took half a step closer to Misako, my chest heavy with hurt and disappointment. I'd known that we'd have to act no more than cordial to one another, but he didn't have to ignore me. I watched Lloyd while Cassie filled them in on the history of the excavation site. He didn't even so much as glance my way.

  "We think it's a dragon," Misako added when Cassie finished. Her voice pulled me from stewing in my unhappy thoughts. "But we are... ill equipped to double check. If it is what we think it is, then we'll need confirmation so we can get proper precautions to have this place kept safe from the public."
 
  Lloyd and Cole nodded in agreement.

  "Can you feel anything?" Lloyd asked the Master of Earth.

  Cole knelt and placed one ghostly hand upon the ground. Cassie leant over curiously, watching with wide eyes as he concentrated. Misako glanced down at me with a small smile, continuing our act of indifference. I barely managed one in return.

  "There's definitely something down there," Cole said. He stood and sent Lloyd a nod. "We'll go check it out. Can you show us to the entrance?"

  "Yes-"

  "Of course!" Cassie cut Misako off with an excited trill. "Follow me."

  She began toward the base of the mountain at a pace just slow enough to walk in-step with the Green Ninja, where she engaged in small talk that he politely reciprocated. Cassie's smile was gorgeous, listening to him with an intensity that betrayed her motives. I trudged behind and watched them with eyes so dry that they stung.

  I knew Lloyd had fans, and I knew that the majority of them were teenagers and young adults that had a crush on him. I didn't blame him for that and I didn't blame them. The comments they made I agreed with - he is hot, he is incredible, I do want to kiss him until the world stops spinning. I just wished I didn't have to see it in person. I wished I could stop it without blowing his cover.

  And I wished he didn't ignore me.

  By the time we stopped at the entrance to the cave with the coin-filled basin inside, I was in quite the sour mood. I crossed my arms tightly across my chest and chewed on the inside of my cheek, hoping that my frustrated expression would come off as an eager inspiring archeologist curbed on her first site visit. Cole kept discreetly peeking at me. My smile was thin when I caught him.

  "We'll take it from here," Lloyd said, swiftly cutting off his conversation before it could linger.

  "Absolutely," Cassie said. She placed a hand on his arm and gave an extra soft smile. "If you need anything, just ask me. I'm more than happy to help. Stay safe."

  A bitter, bile taste burned along my throat. That was my line.

  Lloyd nodded. Cole thanked us, and then the two entered inside the mountain with a sphere of green energy lighting their way. We watched them until they disappeared.

  "Wow!" Cassie turned to Misako and I with an exhilarated grin. "That was amazing! I have to tell my friends." She sped past us, pulling out her phone and beginning to type. Misako chuckled and watched her leave.

  "She's spirited," Misako commented. She turned to me and noticed the look on my face. Her sigh was soft. "Oh, honey. It's difficult playing pretend, isn't it?"

  I peeked up at her. There was a lump in my throat that I felt shame for having. My mind kept going back to Cassie's silky smile, her hand on Lloyd's arm and me, shackled by the inability to do anything but watch. I was sick with indignation.

  Misako's name was called by Dr. Onai. She glanced over her shoulder, nodded, and turned back to me. I stared at the opening into the mountain with a frown.

  "It gets easier," Misako said, before squeezing my arm and heading to where she was needed. 

  I wasn't sure if this awful feeling could ever go away. It was so consuming, so vile and gross. He could've at least acknowledged me before letting some random girl flirt with him. My phone dinged with a text.

Jesus💗
wanna see a dragon? ;)
Sent 12.06pm

  I expelled a huff of disbelief. So, now he wanted to talk to me? He had no trouble pretending I didn't exist before, why should he stop? I shoved my phone back into my pocket and left it without a reply. I needed a moment to gather myself.

  I walked for a good few minutes, arms crossed and glowering at the ground. Logically, I knew Lloyd had to pretend to not care for me, but the him ignoring me followed right by Cassie's flirting drove that anxious part of my brain into wild fantasy - no, Lloyd didn't hate me. He wasn't going to break up with me. It was just an act. Stop thinking so ill of the boy who made you his Yin. That was real, this wasn't.

  But my hurt certainly felt real.

  "Psst! Hey, Y/n!"

  I looked up at Lloyd's voice and found the two ninja at another opening through the rock - except this one was still crumbling from fresh disturbance. Cole must've made a new tunnel. They were erratically waving me toward them.

  Bewildered, I sent them a look before glancing about my surroundings for anyone who'd noticed the very unprofessional duo. When I spotted no-one in sight, I headed toward them.

  "Quick, before anyone sees!" Cole pulled me inside by my wrist before the rock closed behind us.

  The sudden change in visibility left me blinking heavily. The only source of light came from a sphere of Lloyd's power overhead that illuminated everything in a pretty shade of green. It gleamed against their masks and grinning eyes. Lloyd seemed to be his usual self.

  I swallowed back my self-pity. It had just been an act. Lloyd needed to keep his identity - and me - safe. Y/n L/n was a nobody to the Green Ninja.

  The mountain shook as the dragon growled again, a rumble so loud and reverberating that I could feel it shivering along my bones. My hair stood on end. Goosebumps crept across my skin. Cole and Lloyd didn't seem to be phased by the rocking of the earth, only waving away the dust.

  "You like dragons, right?" Cole asked. "So do I!"

  "I like magic dragons, Cole," I corrected shakily. I turned back to the wall I came through. "Not real ones! Let me out."

  "It's not just the dragon," Lloyd jumped in. "Cole sensed an entire cave system to some kind of underground temple. I thought you'd want to see it."

  I glanced back at him. It was touching that he thought of me, and even more that he knew me so well. I did want to see an underground temple. I did want to go on a mission with him and Cole. I was just still upset, and I didn't want to get eaten by a dragon.

  Noticing my hesitation, Lloyd gathered my hands in his and tilted his head. "You'll have the honour of being the first person to step foot in this place for thousands of years..." he tempted.

  I fell like a fish onto a hook. "Fine." To my own chagrin, I yanked my hands from his with bitterness I didn't mean to show. I got a brief glimpse of Lloyd's eyes widening in surprise before I turned on my feet and began down the tunnel.

  My brow knotted. My face flushed hot. Was he clueless or was I being oversensitive? But how else was I supposed to react to witnessing someone flirting with my boyfriend in front of me? Granted, Cassie didn't know, but that didn't stop the pang in my chest.

  I led the way, marching through the dark tunnels with the glowing sphere of green energy hovering at my shoulder and illuminating the path before me. Baffled, Lloyd and Cole walked behind me. Their confused stares felt like leaden weight on my shoulders.

  "Hey." Lloyd's concerned voice right behind my ear made me jump. He'd jogged to catch up, completely soundless and taking me by surprise. His hand on the small of my back was gentle. "Are you okay? What's going on?"

  What's going on? So he was clueless. I turned my head away and blinked back frustrated tears.

  "Nothing. I'm fine."

  "You're not fine," Lloyd disagreed. "Tell me what's bothering you. Please, sunshine."

  I sent him an aghast look. "I have to tell you what's wrong with what you just let happen?"

  Lloyd's brows furrowed behind his mask with sheer confusion. I matched his stare with disbelief. Behind us, Cole let out a single, awkward laugh.

  "Whoa, hey, look at that!" he said. "I can feel a bunch of different cave systems! You two continue down this one, I'll take another." He promptly phased through the cave wall and vanished.

  Lloyd slipped his hood off. "Can you tell me what I did wrong?"

  I didn't know exactly what I was feeling anymore, only that I was feeling a lot of it. My brittling patience snapped.

  "That girl flirted with you right in front of me and you didn't stop it! And then you let her put her hands all over you?" I made a huff of despair. "How am I supposed to be okay with that?"

  "What?" Lloyd looked taken aback. "No..." But then he thought about it, recollected Cassie's words and actions, and he grimaced. "Oh. Oh, Y/n, I'm so sorry."

  I rolled my teary eyes. I didn't have the settled emotions to accept his apology just yet, nor accept the way Cassie's flirting went totally over his head. I turned away to continue walking down the tunnel.

  "Whatever. It doesn't matter."

  "You're upset," Lloyd said firmly. He caught my elbow with a soft hold in an inaudible request for me to stop. "It does matter."

  I stared back at him through an upset frown. His regret was sincere, his pleading insurmountable. I blinked away my tears and let him wipe the escapees from my cheeks.

  "Does it happen often?" I asked beneath my breath in a mutter. "People flirting with you? Being all over you? Is this something I'm going to have to get used to?"

  Lloyd had to consider it for a moment, and when he did, he sighed; long and low and resigned. He leant back against the rock wall behind him and stared at me with regret.

  "Yeah. I think so," he answered quietly. "I don't like it, though. It makes me uncomfortable."

  My tumultuous feelings waned a touch. "Can't you just tell them to stop?"

  "When you're a public figure, you kind of lose your autonomy," Lloyd mumbled. "When I'm the Green Ninja, I'm finally accepted by people - I'm finally part of something, I don't wanna lose that. I wouldn't be able to take it. If I don't let them do what they want, then I'm scared they won't like me anymore." He smiled with self-bitterness. "I know, it's shallow. I'm not the Green Ninja to be liked, I'm supposed to save the world. But being liked is..." He broke to exhale. "It's a nice change."

  My heart sunk beneath his heavy answer. Well, now I felt like a total fucking jerk. Of course he liked to be liked, who wouldn't? And he'd only feel it all the more poignantly due to nobody liking Lloyd Garmadon.

  Lloyd was a private person. His slow-to-open walls were more than enough proof of this. He must've hated it when people got into his personal space and pried into his life or his powers, when people draped themselves all over him, but he still felt the need to be liked. He put up with it because he was scared of the consequences if he didn't.

  He was a standoffish, chronic people pleaser. What a dizzying combination.

  "It's not shallow," I said, equally as quiet. "It makes sense. I'm sorry."

  "I'm sorry." Lloyd took me by the arms and drew me into a bear hug. I returned it without hesitation. "I should've known. I should've been thinking. I'm just so used to it." 

  That hurt even worse.

  "But why did you ignore me?" I weakly asked. I wouldn't have reacted so poorly if he hadn't ignored me in the first place.

  Lloyd released a breath that fluttered my hair. "That is entirely my fault." He pulled back and guided my chin up to look me in the eyes. "That was all self-preservation. If I stopped to talk, you really think I'd be able to keep my hands off of you?"

  I blushed in shock. "What?"

  "Five months in and you still don't get it, do you?" Lloyd caressed my cheek with a glove-covered thumb. "Every time I see you, I have to kiss you and kiss you. If I smiled at you, I'd be sweeping you off of your feet just to hold you close." He shook his head in exasperation. "It doesn't matter how good of an act you'd put up. I would've blown our cover in record speed."

   My heart raced at his confession. I grinned, grateful at Lloyd's innate ability to always make me feel better. "You are a terrible actor."

  Lloyd's smile grew at the truth we both knew. He hooked his finger beneath my neckline and pulled out the Yin medallion, thumbing the pendant fondly. It gleamed a pastel green in the light of the tunnel.

  "I didn't give you this for nothing, silly," he teased softly. "You make me lose my senses. I spent years cultivating them, too. It's not fair."

  I leant into his palm with a warm look. "Sorry for freaking out," I said guiltily.

  Lloyd shrugged and slipped the medallion back beneath my jersey. "It's a natural human response. If I ever saw someone trying to flirt with you, I'd be upset, too."

  "And then you'd make me wear something of yours until it got rid of the smell of them."

  "Can we please forget about that already?" Lloyd said with a wince.

  "How on earth could I forget something like that?"

  He gave me the stink eye. "Let's just go find this dragon."

  My giggle echoed down the tunnel.

  We set a neutral pace into the mountain, the path surprisingly easy to traverse. At some points it got so steep that steps had been carved into the ground, the edges smoothened by wear. Lloyd was quiet - I think he felt a little guilty.

  "You know you can make boundaries and still have people like you," I said gently. "You save Ninjago every other week. Respecting your space is the least people can do."

  Lloyd sighed through his nose. "Until my name gets blasted over the media because I'm being a dickhead."

  "Only idiots would believe that. And they'd be the type of people looking for an excuse to not like you, anyway." I shook my head at the inconceivable notion that anyone other than my dad could ever dislike the Green Ninja. "Lloyd, you're a good person. You shouldn't have to put up with anyone making you uncomfortable."

  He smiled small. "I'll try."

  I still wasn't entirely satisfied but I didn't force the conversation onwards. We walked in silence, the glowing orb of energy pulsing and casting wavering shadows across the craggy walls of the cave tunnel. Lloyd sensed my discomfort and took up my hand, his fingers settling cosily between my own. My disposition warmed marginally.

  We eventually reached an end to the tunnel. It opened into a large cavern that stretched further than Lloyd's energy sphere could light. He expanded it further and drifted it toward the ceiling, casting an illumination upon the place we'd ended up in. The walls were covered with art from millenia ago. Curious, we walked toward the nearest one.

  "Whoa," Lloyd said. "What are these?"

  "Murals." I gingerly touched my hand to the rock and traced an ancient depiction of a figure made of cosmos. "It's telling someone's story."

  My brows knotted as a strange sensation settled over me. There was something weird about the cosmos-coloured person, something that tickled in the back of my head.

  Lloyd's footsteps, usually so silent, echoed softly amongst the great chamber we'd found ourselves in. I followed him as we ambled slowly about the space, taking in the ancient art and painted engravings, trying to piece the story together. I stopped on a block of ancient text with the rock half-way crumbled and tilted my head.

  "It translates to 'home of Mi,'" Lloyd answered my unspoken question. He tapped the edge of the crumbling sentence. "There's some more, but it's unreadable."

  I sent him a look of surprise. "You can read that?"

  "You saw me engrave our names onto the rock," he reminded, amused.

  My shock didn't waver. "Yeah, but knowing our names and actually being able to read kanji are two very different things. Are you fluent?"

  "Almost." Lloyd shrugged.

  Be still, my heart. I knew he was smarter than his grades gave him credit for, but being almost fluent in an ancient dead language? Thank you, universe, for making this boy my soulmate.

  "You're so attractive when you're smart," I said adoringly.

  Lloyd's face went dark with blush. "Th- thank you."

  I melted when he half-hid his face beneath a palm in the guise of clearing his throat. He was even cuter when he was shy.

  "When did you start learning ancient kanji?" I asked as we began to slowly walk around the perimeter.

  "Wu taught me the basics when I began living with him. Mum took over teaching me after she... returned." Awkward, he picked at his collar. "It counted for good bonding time."

  I'm pretty sure that was the most he'd ever told me about Misako's absence during his childhood. I didn't press.
 
  "Mi... is that a name?"

  "Part of one."He seemed to be relieved by the change in topic. "It's just the first character, Mi. It means beauty."

  I raised my brows. "Home of beauty, huh?" Sounded like a salon. I looked around the cavern and pursed my lips in confusion. "Weird name for a place like this."

  "I think it's a person," Lloyd said. He pointed out at an area so dim I could barely see it. "That looks like some kind of ancient sleeping area. I think this is literally the home of Mi."

  I peered into the gloom in vain. "Don't tell me you have night vision, too."

  I looked over at Lloyd when he didn't answer. He caught my gaze and, sheepish, pinched his fingers close together. I shook my head with exasperation. Good lord.

  A home, huh? My mind began to spin. There could be so much to be learnt in here, materials to carbon date, fragments of pottery to re-build, bones to find. We could put together a glimpse of a life led thousands and thousands of years ago. I was beginning to grow excited - the enormity of this place was almost overwhelming.

  Before I could venture to where Lloyd claimed to be evidence of human history, he abruptly halted. I stumbled trying not to careen into his back. My hurtling train of thought was deftly swept away like smoke as I rightened myself and followed the cause of his captured attention.

  "Huh..." Lloyd tilted his head with a frown. "Is this supposed to be my grandfather?"

  For the most part, the impressive painting before us was a depiction of Uchū quite common - of him in the centre of nineteen spheres of elements, and painted between him and the ring of powers were the four Golden Weapons. But there was something different about him, too, something that made Lloyd uneasy.

"He's got horns," I noted.

  They looked like Lloyd's, except far more grandiose and impressive, a fully evolved form of his grandson's own short crown. They stretched wide and above, antler-like, wickedly sharp and tipped with gold. His eyes were reptilian-slitted and equally golden.

  "That's so weird," I said, partly in awe and mostly in shock. "I've never seen him painted like this before."

  "Me neither." Lloyd took a step back with a lost look. "Dad and Wu never said anything about Uchū looking like this."

  I assessed the painting some more - his hands were outstretched, his skin touched with an inky black that faded into olive-tanned flesh. His fingers were curled with talons and golden spines and scales ran down the side of his arms. He had tusks just like Lloyd's, except sharper and more threatening. The resemblance between them was uncanny - except that Uchū looked far more frightening than my boyfriend.

  Involuntarily, I shivered. This version of Uchū was... nightmarish. I wasn't sure if I liked it. I glanced up at Lloyd and found him staring at the painting with a troubled frown.

  "Are you okay?" I asked when he was silent for a little too long.

  "Do you remember when you theorised that Elemental Masters were aliens?" he quietly asked.

  I flushed a little at the reminder and nodded.

  Lloyd dropped his eyes to me and sent a weak smile. "What if I'm something worse?" 

  My brows furrowed. "Don't say that."

  "But what if it's true?" He turned back to the painting. "What if I really am a devil's spawn?"

  Was that what Chen had called him all the way back during my first encounter with him at Mega Monster Amusement Park? He'd put a sour note to the end of our date, but I hadn't realised that Lloyd still carried his cruel words with him. I doubted any of Chen's apologies since would've made up for all the years of bullying; Lloyd wouldn't be saying this kind of stuff about himself if that wasn't the case.

  "Hey." I took Lloyd's hands in mine and squeezed them tight until he met my gaze. "It doesn't matter who or what you are, as long as you're a good person. You're better than good, Lloyd. You could be descended from the worst thing imaginable and it still wouldn't stop you from being the kindest person I know."

  Lloyd sent me a soft-eyed smiled. "Thanks, sunshine."

  I matched his smile and turned my eyes back to the depiction of Uchū. Lloyd went quiet again, staring with a crease between his eyebrows.

  "He kind of looks like he belongs on the cover of an AC/DC album," I said.

  Lloyd's sudden burst of laughter rang in the dome of the cave, surrounding us in echos. My grin was wide at this returned humour. I was flooded with relief. I hated it when Lloyd got upset.

  "Yeah," he agreed between chuckles, "yeah, I guess he does."

  A low, beastly growl resonating through the cave made Lloyd's giggles die out and my hair stand on end. I'd almost forgotten the real reason we'd ventured inside the mountain. I turned toward the green-tinged gloom, suddenly uncomfortable with having my back to the open space. Lloyd pulled me slightly behind him.

  "Do you think it knows we're here?" I dared to ask, whispering.

  Lloyd titled his head in wary affirmation. "If you can hear them, dragons tend to be able to hear you, too."

  I kept my sarcastic retort to myself. Why, exactly, did he think this was a good idea? I wasn't ready to face a dragon. Hell, I hadn't even graduated from kata to armed combat training yet. 

  Instead, I tugged on his sleeve. Let's go. We need to go. We have confirmation that it's totally a dragon, so let's move, skedaddle, let's split from here.

  But Lloyd remained steadfast. "If there's a dragon in a place like this, chances are it's some sort of shrine," he whispered. "Whatever this dragon could be protecting may be dangerous."

  "Maybe it just moved in after the last owner moved out?" I replied, equally as hushed.

  "I need to make sure it's not something dangerous." Lloyd placed a hand over mine with an imploring look. "The amount of dangerous artefacts that fall into the wrong hands has happened too often in my line of work to be negligent."

  It's a dragon. How was that not security enough? But I was resigned to agree. If there was a painting like that of Uchū in here, then this place had to be important. Lloyd knew what he was doing - I hoped.

  Cautiously, and painfully aware of the sound of my footsteps, we crossed the cavern and into the gloom. The sphere of green light followed overhead and revealed another passageway that had been cut into the rock. Swallowing my nerves, I allowed Lloyd to lead me through it by my hand.

  The passageway opened up into another chamber, this one alight with glowing crystals and minerals that grew out from the walls in shades of greens and pinks and purples. My fear subsided just an inch into awe.

  More and more paintings crowded the walls, a story that I couldn't make out in the gloom. Entranced, I was just about to turn to the wall closest to me for a better look when Lloyd stopped my movement with a stiff hold.

  My heart leapt into my throat. Something big was in the cavern with us. I could just make out the shape of it in the gloom, a creature so massive that I felt my fight or flight discard me into freeze. The form shifted, and one large head seemed to rise through the gloaming.

  "Who goes there?" 

  My heart beat came to a startled halt. Was that a voice? I found Lloyd's amazed gaze in the darkness, holding just as much fear.

  The rumbling, growling voice spoke again. "Do not ignore me, trespassers. What are the names of those whom dare set foot within my mistress' sanctuary?"

  But fright robbed me off my voice, and Lloyd was clearing his throat and trying to find the words that wouldn't end with us being dead. Impatient, the beast rose to his feet with a snarl and let loose a torrent of flames upon the walls, dragging it along until the crystals glowed with intense light. I gasped and covered my head. Lloyd bowed across me protectively.

  The brightened cavern revealed a magnificent creature the size of a two-story house, standing tall and proud amongst the glimmering colours. His scaled face was gnarled and battle-worn, his scarred lips pulled back into a sneer. I couldn't quite pick what colour he was.

  "You dare ignore me?!" His voice rumbled through the cavern as an earthquake. "The insolence!"

  The dragon began to bound toward us with his maw drawn wide. Lloyd withdrew his sword of hope on instinct, but the sudden presence in the back of my mind was faster. The dragon slammed straight into the wall of transparent peach that had popped around Lloyd and I. The sound of the impact made my heart stop.

  He reared back with a pained snort, shaking his head in bewilderment. I hadn't realised I'd hidden behind my arms until I had to lower them.

  The dragon turned away, wiping at his nose with a paw. He paused. When his head slowly turned to us, Lloyd's strong grip landed on my shoulder.

  "I know the scent of this power." The dragon stalked back toward us, towering above our protective prison. His shining eyes were squinted with accusation. "You are familiar, yet I have never seen you before."

  I thought he was talking to Lloyd at first, but his unwavering gaze on me told me otherwise. I went to speak but all that escaped me was a breathy tumble.

  The dragon stood tall. "Yes, I know you well. My Lady, why have you taken such a form?"

  It hit me instantaneously, a last piece of the riddle showing the answer. The cosmos painting that drew me in, the ancient remains of a bedroom. This wasn't a shrine. This had been my ancestor's home.

  The dragon impatiently cocked his head. He was awaiting an answer.

  "I..." I cleared my throat and tried again. "I'm not... she's..." My breathing began to shorten. No, no, breathe, Y/n. Don't let yourself fall into your panic.

  But this was a dragon, one that had spoken. This was a fully sentient, fully alive dragon that would've been chomping on our bones by now if my powers hadn't reacted on their own. I felt faint.

  Lloyd picked up on my speechless terror and slid his hand from my shoulder to my fingertips. Sword still drawn, he took a step forward.

  "This is Y/n L/n," he boldly announced. "My name is Lloyd Garmadon, grandson of Uchū."

  The dragon considered this for a short while as he sniffed the air. I gripped Lloyd's hand hard.

  "You do not lie," the dragon said. "I welcome you as old friends."

  I closed my eyes with a sigh of relief. The peach-coloured shield flickered and faded away. Lloyd, ever trusting, immediately stepped toward the dragon as he sheathed his sword. My heart rate picked up again at his proximity to the intelligent beast. Did he have no survival instinct?

  "What's your name?" Lloyd asked. "And... how can you talk?"

  The dragon expelled a huff. "My name is Isao. Those close in lineage to Firstbourne are granted speech. I was one of the few that travelled with your grandfather to this new place."

  "Firstbourne?" Lloyd frowned. "I've never heard of that name."

  "Callous!" Isao spluttered with offence and turned his back on us. "The souls of this realm have already forgotten her great name," he muttered to himself.

  I sent a baffled look to Lloyd, but he could only shrug. Over his shoulder, I spotted the same cave paintings of a woman made of cosmos. Entranced, I side stepped him and approached for a closer look.

  It was a life cycle, or something similar to one. Of the cosmos-woman turning from space dust, into a feminine form, and then into a human woman with eyes made of light. When I reached the end I had to stop short. She looked exactly like me.

  "Oh."

  Lloyd's voice made me jump. I hadn't realised he'd followed me. He must've seen the resemblance, too. Who would've thought that this place held too-familiar depictions of our ancestors? It felt like uncovering a clue for a mystery I wasn't aware I was pursuing. 

  "Your powers are weak, My Lady," Isao spoke with a touch of concern. "... I have been awaiting you. Many cycles have passed since our parting."

  Mustering what little courage I had, I turned to the dragon. "I'm sorry. I'm not who you think I am."

  Isao tilted his head.

  "Your Lady... my ancestor-" I glanced at the painting of my doppelgänger. "She's been gone for a very long time."

  Isao took a step back until he was sitting on his scarred haunches. He stared at the ground, his eyes glimmering in the light of the iridescent crystals. He searched along the cracks of the floor for a long, silent while.

  "I see," Isao finally said. "I thought she had forgotten me."

  I didn't know if that was true or not. I stayed quiet.

  "How did you two meet?" Lloyd asked.

  "It has been so long... my memory has grown hazy," said Isao. With a sigh, he continued; "I do recall that my mistress was already here when we travelled to join Uchū in this realm. However, I do not know of her origin." Isao turned to look at the tapestry of scars that crossed the scales on his side. "Some bands of humans grew more violent than others. One such attempted to capture and harness me, and my mistress was the one who rescued me. I pledged my undying loyalty to her that very day, though she became more of a friend than I her servant."

  "You must have been close," I murmured.

  Isao bowed his head. "I have keenly felt her absence. And with all this commotion outside, the racket and the heavy beasts they use - it has made my sorrows soar."

  "We'll ask them to stop," Lloyd said.

  "I don't think it's that easy," I disagreed.

  Lloyd looked at me with a frown. "Y/n, I know you're excited-"

  "I'm not saying this because I like archeology, I'm saying this because it's true," I said firmly. "They have permits. Legally, they're allowed to dig. The owner of this land has already given their consent and the documents are signed."

  Lloyd's expression turned aghast. "We can't just give up!"

  "No," I said, "but we need to be smart about it. We can't just ask them nicely and we can't bully them into stopping. There's a grey area in the middle where we need to operate."

  Isao laid down and tucked his snout atop his paws. Lloyd paced a section of the wall, rubbing his chin in thought.

  "What do you think we should do?" he asked.

  In all honesty, I didn't have the faintest clue. I could only give a measly shrug. "Ask your mum for help?" She was the expert, after all.

Lloyd stared at me for a beat, considering, before nodding in agreement.

  "I thank you," Isao said. "And I apologise for attacking. It has been many years since I have last interracted with humans." He sent us an unsure look. "Or those that resemble them."

  "It was nice to meet you," I said in a small voice. More questions than I could handle crowded in my brain. Lloyd and I said our farewells before departing for our new mission.

  Cole joined us halfway on our way out of the mountain and confirmed that the other cave systems didn't hold a powerful relic of any kind. We relayed to him the conversation we had with Isao and the issue he had with the commotion of the dig site, and I was sneakily set outside through another Cole-made exit while the two ninja went out the normal way. They'd already caught up with Misako by the time I rejoined the archeological crew.

  I watched from afar as Misako took over the issue. As she spoke with Dr. Onai, I felt a shiver along my spine. Something was watching me.

  I turned. At the edge of the forest and dappled within shade stood a familiar Kirin.

  "Hello," I greeted after sneaking away for a second time that day. "Mi."

  My ancestor in spiritual form lowered her head with greeting. "My child."

  I had a million questions for her, most of them pertaining as to why she was here, or what our new issue was. Was the world going to end again? Was her presence a warning? Last time I saw her, she helped me save Lloyd from the Preeminent - but things weren't as dire now as they were back then.

  But Mi didn't give me any grave warning, nor burdened me with anything that would've weighed down my shoulders. She watched the humans potter around the temporarily-suspended dig site and said nothing. It seemed she was just there to be there.

  Cool... just a not-so-average girl hanging out with her deer-dragon great-great grandma from thousands of years ago. This was normal.

  I glanced over my shoulder at the mountain. "I met your friend."

  "Yes, Isao. I remember him well."

  "Why didn't you visit him?"

  Mi's reptilian tail swished through the undergrowth of the forest. "I do. He does not recognise me."

  I frowned softly at the hint of sadness that coloured her voice. So she did try to visit him after she passed on, and in not recognising her, he believed she abandoned him.

  "It's probably because you're a Kirin. You do have four legs, now," I reminded.

  Mi chuckled. "And a tail." She looked at the mountain with an air of longing. "He does not understand my voice like you can."

  "What if I spoke to him for you?"

  Commotion near the crowd drew my attention back to the mountain's entrance and found that Misako had begun ordering for it to be blocked off, with Earth and Greenie leading the charge. My heart lightened. Isao's home was going to remain undisturbed.

  But that meant that no-one was allowed to enter at all. Would Cole find us another way inside again?

  "It looks like it would be difficult to get back in," Mi mused, understanding the look of thought on my face. "Do not fret, my darling. You are burdened enough. Returning to Isao is my battle - we have all the time in the world, after all."

  But my solution would save her years more of trying. It would be so easy.

  "I really can help-"

  "Y/n." Mi spoke my name with gentle admonition. "You cannot impose yourself upon every person's own adversary. There are battles you are not meant to fight, even if you find them upon you. There are people you must let approach."

  I stared at the grass rustling in the gentle breeze, the crumpling of autumn leaves along the ground, the creaking of twigs and branches. Mi's tail flowed in the wind, her long whiskers swaying. I stared and stared and tried to find the double meaning in her words.

  "There's a lesson in this I'm not getting, isn't there?" I asked.

  Mi softly chuckled. "You will understand it. One day."

  A subtle change in the air tickled the back of my neck, and I was overcome with the feeling that our meeting was nearing its end. I glanced up at the peach-gold face of the dragon-deer and found myself at a loss by how many questions I wished to ask. Seeing her home and meeting her friend was a single star in the galaxy of mystery that was my ancestor.

  "What's your full name?" I asked.

  "There is no fun in handing you the answers."

  I lifted my eyes to the canopy of trees and sighed. "Seriously?" Uchū's family must've learnt their secret keeping from my ancestor.

  Mi touched her muzzle to my hairline. When I next looked to her, she was gone.

🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃

  "I should be thanking you, Y/n," Misako said with a cheeky smile as we drove back home. "I've never been able to interest Lloyd in my research despite how important some of it may be to his future. But as soon as you do, he's all eager to join in."

  I smiled. "Glad to be of service."

  "I'm interested," Lloyd defended from the back seat. Misako raised her brows at him in the rearview mirror in doubt. He harrumphed at being caught. "It was a talking dragon, alright? How many talking dragons do we know, huh?"

  "See?" Misako shook her head. "I'm glad I have you now, Y/n."

  Lloyd made a sound of disbelief while his mother and I chuckled.

  "Do you think Isao will be okay?" I asked. I'd already told them about my mysterious meeting with Mi, but my worry for the old dragon didn't wane despite her reassurance.

  "We got them to leave the mountain alone, but they'll continue to dig around it," Misako said, before sighing. "Hopefully the agreement to not use heavy machinery will make a difference. I doubt they'd want an angry dragon on their case."

  I frowned to myself. Mi told me to leave it to her, that this was her obstacle to overcome. Not doing anything was a greater struggle than helping, and my heart felt heavy with my inaction. Maybe this was part of her lesson.

  Misako dropped Lloyd and I off at my home. It was late afternoon by the time we arrived, and I was so tired that I could feel it in my bones. It'd been an emotionally exhaustive day. I greeted Mum and recounted my day in as much detail as I could find the energy to, before finally turning upstairs to recharge in my bedroom.

  The windows were wide open - Mum must have been airing out my room. The curtains fluttered in the breeze. I took a seat at my desk and pulled my schoolwork toward me.

  "Are you seriously doing homework?" Lloyd asked in disbelief.

  "Mr. Saunders only gave me a few days to complete it," I said. Since I wasn't doing any extra-curricular this year, I needed to have perfect grades if I wanted even a chance of getting a scholarship.

  "You can't study like this," Lloyd reasoned. "You look exhausted, sunshine. Take a break."

  "I just spent two hours in the car having a break," I said amusedly, before standing from my desk. "But you're right. I should slip into something more comfortable."

  Lloyd raised a brow when I swapped my cardigan for one of his hoodies that he'd left hanging on the handle of my closet door. I made a show of snuggling into the neckline. It smelt of him - of petrichor and springtime. My eyes closed in bliss.

  "So much better," I breathed.

  Lloyd yanked me toward him by my sleeves. "You're such a tease."

  "Am I? I don't think so."

  His arms looped around my waist. My smile grew at his chastised look, at his narrowed, red eyes half-hidden behind his messy curls. I laid my arms upon his shoulders with glee. I'd waited all day to get him alone. It was hell watching everyone fawn over him while I had to hold myself back, to pretend he wasn't my person, the one whom I would move mountains and stars for.

  "Yes," Lloyd grumbled, "you are." 

  My giggle escaped in a whispery exhale. "How are you gonna make up for ignoring me?"

  His answer was a kiss. My soul shivered, and I reached up on my tip-toes to return it. My heart stopped, stumbled, and then tripped over itself in racing. The bliss of kissing Lloyd was more intoxicating than any drug, the heat of it a fire I wanted to live in.

  His hands shackled themselves against my hips. His lips moved to kiss my cheek, my jaw, my neck. My vision was fuzzy, my head lost in haze, the warmth of his mouth on my throat was a thrill. His hands knotted into the sides of my hoodie, trapping me. The tip of a feather slipped down my spine. My belly twisted with delight.

  "I love it when you wear my clothes," Lloyd whispered against my collarbone. He nipped the skin across it, and my next breath was short and sharp. "I used to wear that hoodie all the time. Now everybody knows you're mine."

  I dragged my hand through his golden hair. "All yours," I hummed.

  Lloyd kissed along the crook of my shoulder like it was a godly rite, a prayer pledged in kisses. I whispered his name with each pinch of his sharp teeth. My fingers curled through his hair, gliding along his horn nubs, scratching his scalp until he grunted. I was pulled closer to him in response, held so tight that I could barely breathe. Space between us was nonexistent.

  This felt better. This was right.

  I picked up Lloyd's head and kissed his open lips, not realising he'd walked us backwards until I was pinned between him and my desk. The shock of hitting it had me gasping, and he stole the opportunity to invade my mouth in the sweetest of ways. My body sagged, giddy and enamoured. His grip was fierce. His kiss was velvet-soft.

  Exhuastion plagued me no longer. I was envigorated. I could kiss Lloyd all night without needing a break.

  The sound of fluttering paper behind me interrupted my focus, but it wasn't until the wind had picked it up in a breeze and almost tumbled it out one window did I turn my head toward it. My eyes widened. Those were my exam notes.

  "No!" I reached out toward it, as if I could stop the wind from stealing it away.

  For a second, I thought that was what actually happened.

  But my wonder turned into horror when, as if plucked by invisible fingers, it swished neatly into Lloyd's hand.

  My gaze rose to his look of concentration. He glanced at me and dropped my notes with a startled, caught expression. Something ugly began to grow in my chest - suspicion, doubt, disbelief. He backed away from me with an air of guilt.

  That was the power of wind. That was Morro's power.

  "What was that?" I shrilly asked.

  "I can explain," Lloyd said.

  I stepped away from him. The hair on the back of my neck rose at the reminder, my fear ignited by the similarities. The last time I'd experienced this power, it was in the hands of someone who was both obsessed with and wanted to kill me. My stomach churned with unease.

  Was it Morro? No, he was gone. But this meant that Lloyd had developed the ghost's powers on his own. It was an impressive feat. It was a horrible outcome.

  "How long?"

  Alarmed, Lloyd shook his head. "Not long."

  That wasn't an answer. "How long?"

  "A few weeks," Lloyd quickly answered. "It started out a few weeks ago. I didn't realise what it was at first."

  I turned away so I wouldn't be softened by his flushed cheeks and pink lips. I knew that Lloyd was to become the next Spinjitsu Master, the new Uchū. That meant new powers, more abilities. Why did it have to be wind?

  I closed my eyes, but all I could see was Lloyd with black hair and a stranger inside his glare. My neck throbbed at the reminder of his cruel hand around it, and I grew breathless with the fragments of old panic. A headache surged behind my nose and along my temple. I couldn't bear to look at him.

  "I'm sorry," Lloyd apologised. His sincerity almost broke me. "Sunshine, please. I'm so sorry."

  "Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.

  "I didn't want to scare you."

  I spun around at his tentative hand on my shoulder. It'd already been an emotional journey of a day. This passed even that. It'd been weeks? I was one of the people he should've gone to first - I was his girlfriend, his yin. Did his promise mean nothing? Was I really that unworthy of his trust?

  I stared up at his face that I loved so much. I was fraying. "Why do you always have to keep things from me?"

  Lloyd winced at the hurt in my voice. This wasn't just about his new wind abilities and we both knew it. This was his avalanche of secrets. It was suffocating me. Was it not suffocating him?

  He looked away. Guilt riddled him, staining the corners of his downturned lips, the crease between his brows, the colour of his ruby-red eyes.

  "I'm sorry," he repeated; quieter, melancholic. "I want to tell you."

  "Just tell me," I begged. "Nothing will change the way I feel about you, Lloyd. Please, tell me."

  The shake of his head was imperceptible. "I can't."

  I closed my eyes with despair. "Lloyd-"

  "I can't," he said, firmer. The hardness in his eyes softened when I met his gaze. "Not yet. I wish- I wish I could, Y/n, believe me, It's killing me. But I can't. Not like this."

  Disappointed beyond anything I'd felt before, I turned my face away. I thought we were stronger than this. I thought that we were a team. But Lloyd was on an island all alone, and his storm kept my rowboat from reaching him.

  After all this time, he was still Alcatraz. I just hadn't realised that my plastic spoon was broken.

  The silence was deafening. It rang in my ears like a non-existent squeal of a megaphone, stinging against my eardrums without reprieve. My thoughts ran circles. Each new one that popped up weighed my heart down even more.

  "Do you want me to go?" Lloyd quietly asked.

  I stared at the carpet. Did I want him to go? It took me a few moments to find my answer.

  "No," I replied, a mere murmur. "I don't want you to go."

  Lloyd's breath released all at once with relief. But I still felt unsure, uneasy, ladened down with doubt and hurt. I knew I was meant to give him time. I just kept giving and giving, and I was beginning to starve.

  Lloyd carefully pulled me into a hug. I stared at the golden emblem of his gi blankly. 

"I love you, Y/n," he mumbled into my hair. His voice was firm with conviction, wobbled with emotion. "I love you so much. I'm trying, I promise."

  Was he? a bitter voice spoke in the back of my head, but no, he was. And so was I, always trying and trying. It was getting exhausting trying to be understanding when his secrets loomed over us like a bad omen. I allowed myself to sink into his hug. My eyes closed.

  "I know," I whispered.

  "Do you forgive me?" he asked.

  I had to take pause again. "Yes. Of course."

  Lloyd sighed with consolation. Hidden from him, my frown deepened. My heart continued to sink.

  I had nightmares all through June.