Ripples of ocean vibrated through the faux ground. The boy tread carefully to avoid unsteady planks and loose nails, as abundant as they were. The sparse crowd bore faces of sympathy for him, a child looking for a missing person. How sad it was. Who is she to you, the people would ask. A sister? A friend? A girlfriend?

My enemy, the boy would respond. He stopped responding after a while.

Word spread of that boy. He had left no town unsearched, scoured every village, and no city unturned.

Except one.

The town on the ocean, some would call it. Others called it a wreck.

The boy called it his last hope.

Tugging up his cloak, he questioned every man, woman, and child in sight.

A tap on the shoulder. "Excuse me, ma'am."

She smiles at him, sweet. He'd seen enough to know it was poorly hidden sympathy. "Yes, son?"

He swallows his bitter tongue. "Have you seen this girl?" He brandished the poster to the woman. MISSING, WANTED ALIVE. IF SPOTTED, PLEASE NOTIFY xxx-xxx-xxx. A young girl lay on the poster, her face sharp and split by a crude red swatch. A drawing. Accurate, scarily so.

The woman no longer attempted to hide her sympathy. She shook her head. "She's a pretty one. If I saw her, I surely would never forget her. Sorry, son." The boy nods to her, as a thank you for her input.

"I think I seen her, boy!" A man, softly accented, not from here.

He peaks the boy's attention. "Where, sir?" He clutches the poster close to his chest. His foolishness is mistaken for a glimmer of hope.

"My memory's a bit foggy, maybe I had a little something to help me remember..?" He wags his fingers as if rubbing notes. His glimmer fades with a huff.

"Never mind, sir."

The ever-crumpling poster in his grip tears, as does the boy's patience. He rips it up, tearing it up into little pieces that he tears over and over and over until the paper spills from his hands and to the crook floor. He kicks the remainders, cursing the world, cursing himself. Why was finding one person so hard? Where could she even go? Ninjago surely had no more place for her to go. Metalonia was unreachable, as is the rest of southern Ninjago. Shintaro wasn't an option. Prime evil's eye, maybe. She'd survived there before, but now she's alone. Being alone in prime evil's eye simply wasn't an option.

Where else could she be?

Where is Harumi?

Lloyd reaches the end of the wharf, swinging his legs over the ledge and crumpling to the ground. Strangle weed lurches its way toward him. Green power shimmers in his hands, and the weed creeps away, back into the murky depths.

Lloyd feels frustrated. He's been searching ever since the Overlord was defeated, vowing not to give up until he found her. Not like last time. He owed it to her.

A familiar ping vibrates in his pocket. Someone is calling him. Depending on who it was, Lloyd would most likely not pick up.

He checks his phone.

Lloyd answers the call. "Hello?"

"Lloyd, are you there?" The static voice belongs to none other than Master Wu. He sounds confused.

"Yes, what is it?" It better be good.

"We have good news." Huh, It is good.

"The mayor is holding a thank-you ninja party in Ninjago Park. All the ninja are invited, new and old." The man sounds cheery to be sharing this news. He can almost see his master, standing on the edge of the bounty with one arm folded behind his back. His other hand would be stroking his beard if he was not holding the phone.

A party, huh? It's good news, just... not the good news he wanted. "I mean, that's pretty cool, but- why now?" Lloyd stands from his seat at the wharf. Strangle weed below him rifles to life, stuttering up the support beams. It doesn't come too close.

"It's never too late to be thanked, Lloyd."

"But it's been, what, five months?" He shakes his hand in emphasis, he ignores the nagging feeling of familiarity at the motion. "Even if it's a bit late, why are they thanking the new ninja too? They didn't do anything, they got crystalized immediately!" He storms off the wharf, returning to the hills from wence he came.

"Why don't we focus on the positive, Lloyd?" Lloyd slows his stride, "You'll see your friends again." He takes a breath.

"Huh..."

Lloyd trails off in thought, he fails to see Wu off. He strolls blankly to the hills.

Where did the team go?

It had been months since he'd seen anyone on the team, all of them having gone off alone on little missions. Lloyd himself was on a lonely mission. He'd only told the ninja and PIXAL, he couldn't trust Wu and his father not to stop him. Wu stopped him once, he'd never stop him again.

Lloyd clears the brush from his jungle radar and clambers on, uncoordinated and unfocused. He drives in relative silence, spare for the blasting engine and rustling nature surrounding him.

His mind is not so silent.

The other ninja... where had they gone? Kai probably went to his hometown to visit his parents... Ignacia, wasn't it? Yes, the four weapons blacksmith shop in Ignacia. Nya probably joined him, but not for long. She's not close with her parents.

Jay may have gone home, too. To Ed and Edna's junkyard. Knowing Jay, he definitely at least visited.

Zane and Cole... where would they go with all the time in the world? What would they do? Zane doesn't have many connections other than the team, as of his father's departure. Oh, that's it, then. He went to the lighthouse. Collecting remnants from his father. If not the lighthouse, then his home in the birchwood forest.

Cole was trickier. He definitely visited his father. He loves his dad to bits, even if they aren't as close as father and son typically are. But he wouldn't stay for long. He'd travel through Ninjago, to the echo canyons, and take a pitstop in Jamanakai village. Then he'd pass Cryptarium in the sea of sand, circle primevils eye, and finally, he'd reach Shintaro. Where else would he go, other than the place where he is most connected to his element? He'd lost it to the Overlord, after all. Maybe that wasn't even the reason. He probably travelled to Shintaro to visit Princess- no, Queen Vanya.

Lloyd chuckles. Cole is definitely in love with her.

The flaxen-haired boy's smile fades quickly.

He had been so quick to distrust Vanya. He accused her of things and caused issues in the team, all because she reminded him of Harumi.

Harumi, at first, was cheery and kind. She was empathetic, extremely so, and cared very dearly for little things. She was a secluded princess with a messy room, and an amazing home filled to the brim with sneaky passages only she and her guard knew about.

Vanya, at first, was cheery and trusting. She was positive and always saw the best in other people, even if she didn't know them. Later, she proved herself to be brave and morally clear. She saved Cole countless times, even helping to defeat her father for the good of her people and her friends.

Harumi was nothing like her in the end.

She became aggressive, manipulative, and cunning. Maybe she had always been so, but Lloyd also saw the good in people, and had to believe that she once cared.

Maybe she still does.

Lloyd thinks about everything and nothing while he rides his course. The desert of doom, then the sea of sand. He brakes only in Jamanakai village, where he questions the town for the second time.

"No can do, son."

"Haven't seen her. Sorry."

"Still no."

"Haven't found 'er yet? Maybe she's-"

Once again, Lloyd got nothing useful. He travels on.

Through echo canyons, across the western sea of sand, past the caves of despair. Finally, after days of travel, the monastery was in sight. He nearly sobbed at the sight. He vows to himself that he'll never bike to Stiix again. Gosh, never again.

Instead of taking the steps, like the poor mailman usually did, he punched in the code to a keypad hidden inside the mailbox. A large gate opened in the stone wall, and Lloyd shimmies his bike into the elevator. Most useful secret entrance ever.

The elevator stirs to life, lifting him up and up until finally, it stops, opening up to the bunker underneath the monastery.

Home sweet home. He sighs.

He goes through the familiar motions: Ditching his bike in its designated area, taking the second elevator into the communal space, and closing the door behind him (Unlike some people).

He takes a breath of the stagnant air. The area was nearly the same as it was when he'd left: Controllers ditched under the cabinet and on the couch, which was covered in empty bags, boxes, and bottles. With nobody in sight, he leaves the communal space quietly and enters the courtyard.

He calls out to his master. "Wu? I'm back!"

Silence answers him. A metaphoric tumbleweed stirs past him, picking up dust in the wind.

He calls again. "Guys?"

"Lloyd?" An all too familiar voice calls back to him.

"Hello again, Lloyd." Harumi smiles at him.

"Wow! How long has it been?" Nya stumbles from the deck and hugs him. Lloyd sighs in relief and wraps his arms around his best friend.

"I have no idea, but it's good to see you." They pull away, and Lloyd takes in the good sight. He'll never admit it, but he'd been lonely. He'd missed Nya. "Have you been here all this time, or did you just get here?"

Nya sighs with a smile, nodding her head and leaning a hand on her lax hip. "I visited my parents a couple times, but other than that?" She shrugs, "Just been here."

Lloyd laughs at her. "Man, that must have been boring."

Nya awkwardly smirks. "Well, I had some company..."

Lloyd is about to ask what she meant, when a voice answers for him.

"Lloyd."

His attention is immediately diverted to the tall figure on his left. Ever imposing, stood the dark lord himself.

"Dad?" Lloyd smiles at his father. Yes, he smiles. He'd had his... differences with his father in the past, but that's all it was. The past.

Garmadon had proved to Lloyd many times that he could change, despite his destructive nature. A flourishing fern on a neighbouring peak was a sweet reminder of the nice change.

His father strode towards him, two arms folded neatly behind his back. Lloyd walks to meet him in the middle.

Garmadon, however hard he was trying to change, was still very awkward. "Hello, son."

"Uh, hey... So, you stayed here?" Lloyd strikes awkward conversation. "At the monastery?"

"Uh-yes, well, where else would I go?"

"Uh.."

Like father like son.

"I don't know, back to Vinny? Some secret evil base?" Garmadon snorts at the jab. Lloyd smiles back at him.

Lloyd is glad his father is back. He's not the same as he used to be, and most likely he never will be, but he still fills the role that Lloyd was so desperately deprived of.

Despite the flourishing hope for his father, deep down lay some kind of bitterness, and a different kind of understanding.

The bitterness ate away at his soul once before, creating an angry, unreasonable force. He'd dealt with it before, he'll deal with it again.

This understanding he felt, that was new. It was a subtle feeling, like empathy, that had really always been there. Now, it was swelling up. Like a kettle of tea he'd left on for too long, it began boiling over the edges, burning the kettle and melting the handle.

Lloyd was the tea chef, who was deaf to the resonant whistle.

An old voice settles the whistle, "Lloyd, be nice to your father."

Wu emerges from the large doors in front of him, followed by three boys dressed in red, blue, and black. The trio greets him.

"Lloyd!"

"Hey, guys! Been a while-" Lloyd wheezes as he's overwhelmed by a spine-crushing embrace from Cole, which was shortly followed by Jay and Kai piling onto him. Lloyd laughs airily, unable to breathe. "I missed you too, but please let me breath."

Cole jumps away from him, an awkward hand patting his shoulder. "Oh- sorry. Missed you, man."

Kai shuffles Lloyd under his elbow, hooking around his shoulder as an older brother would. He brings a hand to his ear to whisper, "Any luck on your... search?"

A sigh escapes his lips. Luck would be nice right about now. In fact, luck would have been nice in the past five months. He'd not received any word on Harumi's whereabouts, not a trail or footprint to be found.

The only clues Lloyd has on her whereabouts are his memories of her. Her hobbies, her past, her traits. Her honesty. "No. No luck."

Nya hooks her arm around his other shoulder and tussles his hair like an older sister would. "You'll find her one day, Lloyd."

Kai, from his other shoulder, whispers the same encouragement. Cole stands in silence in front of him, arms crossed and face arched in sympathy. Lloyd appreciates the three of them, but he can't help but feel like he isn't owed this encouragement.

He glances at his hands, flexed gently in front of him. The very hands that failed to pull her out of the rubble. The very hands that had started the whole mess.

The very hands that-

"Find who?"

A loud, obnoxious voice interrupts his internal monologue.

The gaggle of ninjas whip their heads in sync to the source of the source, simultaneously shushing the blue ninja, like choir goers. "Shhh!"

Jay flinches, apologetically shuffling closer and whispering sorrys. "Find who?" He's far quieter this time. He's learned his lesson.

Kai eyes their surroundings, noting the absence of the old brothers. He carefully answers Jay's question, with an allowing nod of approval from Lloyd.

"Harumi."

"What's this about finding Harumi?"

Lloyd gasps, flinching out from his safe place under Kai and Nya. The old master stood, omnipotent behind them. Lloyd swallows his fear. He knows. Oh my gosh, he knows. Lloyd has royally screwed up.

This was supposed to be a secret. He shouldn't have told anyone to begin with, why would he tell them?

Lloyd should blame himself for the revelation of his affairs, but deep down that bitter feeling resides, waiting to blame his friends.

Speaking of.

They play dumb.

Kai smiles wide and false, exclaiming a loud excuse that Lloyd doesn't bother to listen to.

Cole jumps in with a wise, well-thought-out remark. "Yeah! We were talking about, uh- halloumi!"

Nya smiles, alike her brother. "Yeah, the cheese!" She elbows Kai, who joins in. "Who said anything about Harumi? Not us!"

Jay, ever the quick thinker, catches the memo. "Yeah! Who even is Harumi?"

The team reprimands Jay for his silly remark. Lloyd just sighs. It was a dumb excuse anyways, it wasn't going to work. Especially not now.

Lloyd should never have trusted the team to keep his secret. They couldn't lie to an inanimate object to save their lives, much less their thousand-year-old master.

He palms Kai's shoulder, nudging him gently aside. The team quiets down, Wu latches his attention onto him.

When all is fully silent, Lloyd stares to the ground with a grudge. "I've been looking for Harumi. Sorry for not telling you, Master Wu."

Wu remains stone-faced at the admission. A part of Lloyd feels he expected this from him. Wu always knew what the flaxen-haired boy was thinking, what he would do, how he would react. Lloyd grew up with him, it goes without saying that Wu knew every little thing about him.

But Wu's stoney face picked at Lloyd's composure. He needed to be reprimanded, punished, yelled at, anything but that blank look of silent disappointment. It was torture.

Lloyd felt his nose twitch.

Wu finally spoke, quietly. "Lloyd..." There it was. The fatherly voice of his master, disappointment melting from his throat, off his tongue, filling Lloyds senses with one word: Failure.

Wu ignore him. "I'll talk with you after the party. Let's not spoil the occasion, shall we?"

Lloyd ignores himself as well. "Yes, Master Wu."

Later, when the sun is nearing its lowest, the team boards the bounty.

Though sparse, they had packed very quickly in order to leave as soon as possible. Jay and Cole especially. They were so excited, in fact, that they packed before Lloyd even got to the monastery.

He doesn't understand the hype. I mean, yeah, it was a thank-you party, but that was about it. They go there, get thanked, and walk around saying hi to people, drinking non-alcoholic wine and eating cake.

Oh. He sees why Cole is excited, then.

Lloyd, personally, was not a big party fan. Sure, with a couple of friends and associates, it's pretty fun. However this was decidedly not that.

But, at the end of the day, he'd do just about anything for his hexad of ninja. Septed? Wait, how many of us are there?

Lloyd counts with his fingers.

Cole, Jay, Kai, Nya, Himself, Zane, PIXAL... that's it, right? Does he count Master Wu? Then it would be... an octet of ninja? But PIXAL is a samurai, not a ninja. Wait, but then Wu is their master, so-

Ugh, I'll just restart.

But, at the end of the day, he'd do just about anything for his h̶e̶x̶a̶d̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶n̶i̶n̶j̶a̶ group.

Speaking of the group.

Where are PIXAL and Zane?

He hadn't realized before, but neither of the nindroids had arrived yet. Was Master Wu going to leave without them?

Nya passes him on the deck, luggage in hand. Lloyd stops her in questioning.

"Hey- where's Zane and PIXAL?" Lloyd gazes around him sparingly. Yeah, as he thought. No sight of them.

"Oh, they took the hydro bounty to his father's lighthouse." Nya shrugs her shoulders, "It's quicker if they meet us in Ninjago City." She strolls quickly away, leaving Lloyd alone again.

So, he was right. Zane had gone to the lighthouse and taken PIXAL with him.

"Huh."

The bounty takes flight shortly after, thrusting into the air and gently gliding toward Ninjago City.

The flight was silent, for the most part. Lloyd couldn't bare to face his master, so like a child, he hid in the bunk room. Cole had joined him, only to immediately fall asleep. After all, he had a long trip from Shintaro. It takes a lot out of a person, to drive so far on your own. Lloyd would know, he did practically the same thing.

On the deck, the boy could hear the cheerful cries of a game of minidroid chess won, 5-2. Jay cheered his yang on throughout the games, jeering at Kai when his move was successful.

Above him, in the main courters of the bounty, the faint sound of Wu and Garmadons footsteps could be heard. They were going down, down, until the footsteps were on the other end of the wall. Just where Lloyd's head was.

He heard them clearly.

"...I still don't see why it's an issue, brother." His father spoke up. He spoke monotonously, tone flat. It was nothing more than a query, rather than a stab at his brother. "He cared for her, It makes sense that he would search for her."

Lloyd feels... somewhat shocked at his father's empathy. He sat up, narrowly avoiding hitting his head on the frame.

With his ear pressed against the wall, he provides internal input.

I don't care about her. I never did, I just- why am I even searching for her? Lloyd could make as many excuses as he wants. As much as he could say he owes it to her, he knows there's another reason as to why he'd searched to the brink of exhaustion. To the edge of Ninjago, and the islands surrounding it, Lloyd had searched, but why?

Nobody answered him.

Wu answered his brother. "She was his enemy. Ours as well, but especially his." A cup dragged against a table. A pause. "She manipulated him, had him tied up in chains and in cages. Why would I ever let him walk right back to her? I cannot allow it." The cup clicked back against the table, lighter. Lloyd imagines the feeling of tea warming his mouth, running down his throat. He thinks of all the things Harumi has done to him, and his team.

Understanding, he called it. Empathy.

Putting himself in his master's mind.

Why would Lloyd, an impressionable, gullible young boy, attempt to locate the honest, cunning young girl? Wu would surely only see it one way: a crush.

A gullible young boy, hopelessly captivated by a young girl whose humanity could only be described as evil.

Garmadon speaks quietly now, warning, no longer a query, but advice of some sort. "No human is truly evil, Wu." the cup is dragged by another hand, slowly. An act of attention. An attempt to connect, to relate.

Wu is a master. He knows these tricks, surely. It would never work on him.

"It's not that Harumi is evil." Lloyd feels guilty for the opposing opinion in his mind. "I agree, no human is truly evil." No. No, that's not true. There are- "But there are exceptions."

Wu promptly leaves the room they confided in, and before Lloyd can think too much of the action, the door opens, and a voice sounds from beside him

"You know better than to stalk a master, Lloyd."

It's Wu.

Lloyd was still leaning against the wall above his bead, ear tightly attached to the wood, listening. His hands shook as he whipped to face the old man, twisting around in his position.

His master, still stoney-faced, aired disappointment. Whether it was because his student stalked him, or because his nephew did, Lloyd could not answer.

Wu shook his head.

Lloyd's heart practically stopped at the implication.

His master turns, silently. When he reaches the door, he stops.

Lloyd holds his breath.

"Wake him up, and get ready. We'll be in Ninjago City soon."

Before the door is closed, Lloyd reaches to his master.

"Wait- Wu!"

The door is left cracked open. Lloyd didn't know if he was still there, but he spoke quickly anyways, with a deep, shuddering breath in. "Do you really believe she's evil? That Harumi's evil?"

His question lands on deaf ears. No reply.

To Lloyd, It's an answer in itself.

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