>>》★《<<

Ninjago City was once a beautiful location, where its towers and skyscrapers stood high and mighty. The waters that surrounded the grand city was once peaceful and clear, the sun reflecting on its crystal surface. But now, most of the buildings were turned into rubble, smoke and dust lifting up into the sky. The once crystal waters was half of its original volume and littered with debris, the sun no longer able to reflect on its now dark surface.

Despite the depressing sight of the once beloved city, its people were jumping and rejoicing. The sounds of happiness reached the other side of the large river where a man clad in green stood at the edge of a small cliff. The steady breeze blew, wiping his blonde hair onto his face. His green eyes scanned through the many men and women, young and old, jumping around and shouting in joy for their victory over the enemy. Despite the happy feeling of victory, the man wore no smile, nor held no joy in his heart.

To him, it was a hallow victory. It was true that they have won against their enemies, but for what? Many lives were taken, never again to see this glorious day they have fought for this whole time.

A woman around the age of the man, with curly blonde hair tied in a ponytail, watched him from behind a nearby rock. Her ocean blue eyes narrowed in the light of the sun, her fingers pulling at her worn clothing.

She walked up to him and intertwined her hand in his. The man didn't look away from the city as he squeezed her hand gently. The two of them stood in silence, choosing to find comfort in each other's presence instead.

Their silence was interrupted when a young boy with dirty blonde hair squeezed in between them. His clothing was worn out and a few scratches littered his body, but a smile was plastered on his face and his blue eyes were twinkling with happiness.

Lloyd gave a small chuckle as he bent down to pick up his son. He lifted him high in the air and twirled around in place. The 3-year-old boy giggled and squealed in delight. He asked to be lifted higher.

Lloyd did so and the young boy squealed louder. The woman, Lynnette, just watched her husband and son with a small smile. The couple heard their names being called and they both looked behind them.

Just at the bottom of the hill was a worn-out red and gold ship. Its sails and hull had a few holes on it and the boosters were dented and a bit rusted. The flying ship was slightly buried in the ground, indicating that it had crashed there some time ago. How the once majestic ship ended up like this, Lloyd chose not to remember.

He saw the the figure of his friends, his family, walking up the hill towards the couple. The little boy wiggled out of his father's grasp before running over to two 7-year-old boys, who both looked just as happy as the younger boy.

The Fire ninja walked up to the couple and lightly punched Lloyd's arm. "Why the long face, green machine?" He asked with a smile, the scar on his forehead giving the blonde unwanted flashbacks. "You should be happy. We finally won! And after what? Three years?"

Lloyd forced a smile, though it disappeared as quickly as it came. "It just feels like a hallow victory."

Lynn placed a hand on Lloyd's shoulder, but the blonde man didn't look at her. "I mean, sure, we defeated them. But at what cost?" He asked with a frown. "So many people died, and most of Ninjago is reduced to rubble. That's not victory to me."

"There's no point dwelling in the past." The Yellow ninja of Nature said, squeezing her husband's shoulder. "All we can do now is rebuild our home and honor those who died protecting it."

"She's right," the Earth ninja agreed. "And besides, the Overlord and his Shadow Warriors may be gone, but that doesn't mean other bad guys aren't around anymore. We can't stop them if we're not in our A-game."

Nya scoffed. "Fighting bad guys sure gets old after a while." She said. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm looking forward to settling down and having a normal life. Maybe have a kid or two."

Zane nodded in agreement, his arm wrapped around Pixal's shoulders. "Pixal and I have been thinking about settling down, as well. Though, we are not yet sure about having children."

The master of Stone stepped forward. "That all sounds good and all, but don't forget that living a normal life isn't possible for us." She reminded them. "Sooner or later, another villain will rise and we're gonna have to slip back into our old lives and fight. We can't pretend that we can just slip into a normal life and expect things to go smoothly."

"Rachel's got a point." Skylor said. The master of Amber turned to the Water ninja. "Not to mention that our powers will be passed down to our kids. And pretty soon, they'll be controlling their elements and-."

"They won't," Lloyd cut in. "Elemental powers need to be awakened to be controlled properly."

The blonde Yellow ninja gave her husband a look. "Are you saying that we keep their powers from them?" She asked, uncertainty lacing her voice. Lloyd looked down at her with a sad frown.

"If it's the only way to protect the next generation. Then we have to."

>>》● 《<<

Lloyd's eyes snapped open. He blinked a few times, the memory still replaying in his mind. He looked down at his hands where he held an old photo of him and his friends. They were all standing in front of a large monastery, wide smiles plastered on their faces. The blonde's green eyes landed on Lynn's past self. The master of Nature was slightly leaning back at his past self, a playful smile on her lips and a hand on her round stomach. The picture was taken nine days before Lynn gave birth to Luke. It was only a week later when everything went downhill.

"Dad?"

Lloyd looked up when the door to his and Lynn's room opened. The master of Energy half expected to see his son Luke standing in the door way, the usual smile on his face. But instead, a small girl of 12 stood in his place. Her long, curly, blonde hair was tied in a high pony tail and her emerald green eyes stared at her father. She wore a yellow green tank top, black leggings, and gray sneakers.

She crossed her arms and pouted. "Dad, you promised." She said.

Lloyd chuckled at her adorable face and placed the photo on the bedside drawer. He stood up from sitting on the bed and walked towards a pair of wooden, training swords that were leaning on the wall.

"Alright, Leyla." The former ninja said with a smile as he grabbed the weapons. "But you gotta be more patient."

"But I wanna start training!" Leyla whined as Lloyd walked out of the room. "I wanna be able to kick the butts of those bullies at school!"

Lloyd closed the door to the bedroom and walked down the hall with Leyla beside him.

"Remember why we're doing this," the master of Energy reminded. "Your skills must only be used when-"

"When I'm in danger or to help others." Leyla interrupted her father, her voice monotonous. "I just wanna show those bullies that I'm not some girl to mess with! I'll kick their butts and get revenge for all those times they bully me."

Lloyd sighed and pulled Leyla closer. "You know," He began, looking down at his daughter. "Violence isn't always the answer. And revenge isn't always sweet."

"Why not?" Leyla asked. Lloyd sighed and stopped walking. He knelt down in front of Leyla so he was at eye level.

The former ninja held both of the girl's shoulders firmly. "Leyla, sweetie, promise me you'll only use your abilities for good, to protect those who can't protect themselves. Promise me that you won't let negative emotions cloud your judgement." He said, his voice firm.

Leyla was confused, but she nodded her head anyways, trusting that whatever her father meant was for her own good. "I promise, Daddy." She said with a small nod.

Lloyd smiled and pulled her into a hug. He then stood up and the two walked out the back door.