Hidden Away || Ninjago AU

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"Once upon a time, a boy was born to wonderful parents and a loving uncle. They named that boy Lloyd and took great care of him. One day, when that boy was four-years-old, his uncle was hit with a mysterious illness that later left him on the verge of death. The boy was upset about this and one night ran away.

Lloyd ran to the forest on the outskirts of town and cried. That same night, his father went out looking for him, hoping to find his son safe and sound. Once he found his son, he was distressed. His son had cried himself to sleep by a tree. However, a young serpent had slithered its way onto the boy, ready for a late dinner.

The father ran to his son and pushed the snake off. In anger, the serpent bit the father on the leg and slithered away. The son woke up startled and looked to see his father writhing in pain. The boy's eyes widened in shock and began to fill with tears.

The boy, Lloyd, screamed in his head. Why, he thought. The father tried to calm his son despite how painful the injury was for him. The boy looked up at his father, tears flowing from his glowing eyes. As stated, his eyes glowed. A bright yellow light came from them, and the light engulfed his hands. The boy passed out and gold-like energy emitted from him, spreading around the entire town.

The next day, the village woke to a beautiful spring day. The flowers had bloomed, the crops were looking their best, the sick were healthy, and everyone felt full of energy. However, no one questioned it. Everyone assumed it was simply a good day. Well, except Lloyd's parents and uncle.

What happened was eventually forgotten. The boy's uncle got better as a result of what happened. The snake bite on the father's leg was looking better too. It was as if nothing had happened. Lloyd wasn't sure how to feel about that.

One night, two years from then, Lloyd's father disappeared. However, everyone around him acted as if nothing had happened. Despite his curiosity, he went along with it. Three months passed, and the boy grew impatient. His mom and uncle were still pretending as if nothing had happened. Before he knew it, the lad was almost seven and living in a new city. Slowly, he began to build up resentment.

Enrolled in the third grade of his elementary school, Lloyd was teased and made fun of by his peers for his young age. Three weeks into his new life, Lloyd was the most upset, miserable, and confused six-year-old in Ninjago City. His mother and uncle were too occupied to notice. So, one night, Lloyd cried himself to sleep. That same night, golden energy was released all over Ninjago City.

The next day, Lloyd found himself in a place he was unfamiliar. There he met his father. Although, you could say his father was a changed man. Lloyd, seeing this put the pieces together. The reason his mother and uncle acted strangely, why they moved to a new city, and why they were always so preoccupied. It all became clear that it was for his father's current state. And the reason why his father had turned into what he was, Lloyd concluded, was himself.

Garmadon offered the six-year-old a deal. His golden power in exchange for cooperation. Lloyd felt like the golden power inside him was dangerous and unhelpful. Garmadon also promised him that his golden power would help him turn back to normal. And so, not knowing how forgone his father was, he agreed. Garmadon then announced to Ninjago City when Lloyd had turned seven that they were related. It was a means of showing off to his wife and brother that he was winning.

Five years later, Lloyd finished middle school. He had also given up 90% of his golden energy. Garmadon couldn't take the remaining, knowing it would kill him. Not to mention, he needed his son alive for his plans.

Lloyd spent three years at home. No high school would accept him, claiming he was underage. In truth, they feared Lloyd, the infamous son of Lord Garmadon.

During that time, Lloyd repaid his debt to his father. Garmadon used him in dark matter experiments with the hopes of turning him into a super weapon. So, for three years, Lloyd was absorbing dark essence and training under Garmadon's wing. Before that time, Lloyd had already met Skylor through Garmadon's connections. Lloyd met Morro during his training with Garmadon. It was Garmadon who gave him the nickname Em.

In Lloyd's third year of being Garmadon's guinea pig, the dark matter became too much for him, and he began to get weak. However, Garmadon kept pushing it. Lloyd's body slowly began to reproduce the dark essence. Despite this, Garmadon still kept at it. Lloyd reached his breaking point and quit. He felt he had finished repaying his debt and that Garmadon was too much.

Unfortunately, quitting wasn't enough. Lloyd's body was reproducing dark matter it could not store nor convert into usable energy. Lloyd was going to die."

"Ahem.."

"Right, right. Long story short, Lloyd killed all his dark matter regeneration cells and has been looking for ways to expel the dark matter left in him. Also, every Lloyd you have been with since Lloyd turned fifteen, up until this moment, has been a clone."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What just happened?"