Hidden Away || Ninjago AU

S:2; Ch:16

"Maybe if you told me why, I would remember."

"I'll handle my situation myself," Lloyd answered, "Right now, you're not seeing it, and that's good. Let me go before something bad happens."

"What's going to happen?" Garmadon questioned. It was quiet for a bit before a scoff was heard.

"So, you're here too," Lloyd said.

"Yeah, I am."

At this point, Wu and Garmadon were seated. Lloyd was in the room with them, though they had no clue where.

"What do you guys plan to do with me?" Lloyd asked. "It's clear you don't plan on letting me out."

"Wh- what have you been up to all this while?" Garmadon asked. Wu turned to his brother, a brow raised. Garmadon shrugged awkwardly at Wu.

"Small talk isn't going to help. Let me leave."

"Saying 'let me leave' won't help either," Wu stated. "You might as well talk."

 A short tsk followed after, and the room became quiet.

"Why did you come back after all this time?" Garmadon said, trying to alleviate the tension. Wu was more stern than usual, and Lloyd wasn't helping matters.

"I didn't mean to come back," Lloyd answered with a defeated sigh. "One thing led to another, and here I am."

"Care to elaborate?" Garmadon asked.

"I do not."

"Hey- " Wu tapped the floor with his staff, cutting off Garmadon. He stood up from his seat.

"It's quite late, so we'll end this here," Wu stated. Garmadon stood up, and the two walked toward the door. "Also, nephew, you'll have guests in a few days. You know them already, so it shouldn't be hard to guess."

"Wait, what?!" Lloyd said, popping out from behind a chair in the corner.

He stood behind a pillar by the chair. Only his head and the top half of his torso were visible, while the rest were hidden.

Garmadon was surprised to see Lloyd's appearance for the first time in years. The night everything happened, he had barely gotten the chance to see him.

"Why are you so surprised?" Wu asked Lloyd.

"They can't see me, uncle," Lloyd said adamantly.

"You didn't think about that when you visited a few hours ago."

"That wasn't-" Lloyd cut himself off quickly and hid behind the pillar. "That was a mistake. I hadn't expected that they would be there."

"Brother," Wu said to Garmadon. He looked over to where Garmadon stood but found he wasn't there. "Where the- ?"

"Hey!" It was a cry of surprise as a dark figure hurried to another pillar in the room.

Wu turned and saw that Garmadon was standing where Lloyd previously was.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Lloyd said from where he hid.

"It's just my first time seeing you in so long," Garmadon said.

Wu shook his head and went to Garmadon. Pulling him by the collar of his gi, Wu walked towards the door.

"Forget showing the students your interaction with your wife. They should see you with your son," Wu said, sighing. The door closed behind them.

A/N: This chapter ended up short because I'm stumped about where to go after this. I know it's dumb, but that's what the situation has become.

I thought of prolonging the chapters a bit. Maybe I'll have Lloyd react more with the ninjas and his family, resolve everything, and have the villain reveal themselves later.

Or, the villain reveals themselves first. There could be some interaction between the ninjas and Lloyd. Everything then resolves after the villain has been defeated.

Either way, I'm a simp for all the ninjas. And, as a simp, I like to see my characters go through times of turmoil. The worse, the better (Yes, I need mental help). Things will get better in the end. I wish to bring everyone together at the end.

So, comment on what you guys think. If you've got a better idea than the two above, I will consider it (pinky swear, I mean it). Feel free to think outside the box. I will even incorporate romance (two steps ahead of you, by the way).

See you guys in the comments! Stay safe!