Computer issues prevented me from updating/writing anything over the past month, so the next few weeks will be screwy as far as content goes. I do not own Ninjago.

The final straw is a statement from Kai, but it started with a question.

Lloyd was a Darkley's student for a long time, longer than most students. When he was eight, he remembers a professor walking and talking him through the narrow hallways towards a portrait he'd passed nearly every day on his way to class.

It depicted a dark figure with fiery red eyes and long fingers looming over a crowd of terrorized, faceless people. The painting was vague, more feeling than image, wild with brush strokes and prominent shape over outline. It was a far cry from the detailed portraits of other famed villains scattered throughout the rest of the school.

The professor was a spindly man with cold hands and a raspy voice, which droned on and on about Lloyd's heritage, something he never gave much thought. Apparently, Lloyd has potential, and a lot of it. Evil's very definition runs through his veins.

And this professor knew all about that.

"Your father is a very important man," said the professor, stopping and facing the portrait, "He desires to rule over all of Ninjago."

Lloyd stared up at the portrait. He'd seen others like it before; none of them ever showed his father's face. Lloyd thought at the time that the artists kept forgetting what his father looked like.

"What about you?" said the professor, looking at him from down his nose, "Do you have such...ambitions?"

What he really meant to ask was whether Lloyd was just like his father. Lloyd didn't know then, and he doesn't know now. It seems everyone knows about his father except for him, and that's what leads to the final straw.

Lloyd has heard many things over the years, from Darkley's students to people on the street that he's never known and never will know.

"You look nothing like your father," a snot-nosed dweeb would say while staring at him, his upper lip turned up in disgust. Then he'd follow it up with some insult, like, "You're positively baby-faced," and Lloyd would sock him in the stomach.

"Don't give that little brat food!" a woman would tell her doe-eyed daughter, "You have any idea who that is?"

"That's Garmadon's kid," Lloyd would hear again and again, "Nothing but trouble brewing in that one."

Lloyd is just like or not like his father, but he doesn't know much about his father. All he has are questions and statements heard over the years, and the angry eyes of that dark and looming portrait, burning hatefully through his soul.

The last straw is a statement from Kai.

The day is already a frustrating one. It's been a month since he's started living with the ninja, and he's still not a part of this family. They say he is, but he sticks out like a belch in a symphony. His behavior isn't right, and his training is not up to speed.

"You should know how to defend yourself," Wu explained when he first proposed the idea, "I won't have my nephew getting into trouble, now."

The first thing Wu did wrong is suggest that Lloyd will somehow stay out of trouble; the second is imply that Lloyd doesn't know how to defend himself.

Lloyd gets along just fine, but the ninja want to teach him to fight smarter. His rough and tumble way of doing so just doesn't cut it for this family, as he learns today.

"Ow!" Jay releases him from a tough, but not too tough, headlock, and Lloyd squirms away from their mock-fight.

It's their twelfth drill, and Lloyd has yet to adequately please his four teachers.

"What now?" Cole gripes from the Bounty's mast, where he stands with his arms folded.

The day is hot, everyone is cranky, and Lloyd is insufferable.

As usual, Lloyd thinks with a glare he directs at no one in particular.

Jay clutches his hand, teeth set in anger. "The little creep bit me!"

Lloyd rubs at his nose where it starts to run and scowls at Jay. They're supposed to be friends, but they don't quite click yet, despite liking a lot of the same things. None of them click.

"You had him too loose," says Cole, "Did it break the skin?"

"I don't think so," Jay looks over the mark carefully.

"Well, wash it off. We'll try again."

"Lloyd," says Zane. He's watching with Kai from beneath the overhang. "That's not the correct way to escape that hold."

Lloyd huffs. He's hot in his hoodie and wants desperately to be inside, playing video games or reading comics. Anything other than running drill after drill with people who still seem strange to him.

"It worked, didn't it?" he says, folding his arms.

"It won't work every time," says Zane, patient, "Nor is it efficient. What happens if you lose a tooth?"

"It'll grow back," says Lloyd, though he likes to brag that all his adult teeth are already in, "and it's worked every time so far."

"How about this?" Kai jumps in, "You bite someone, and they don't let go. You bite someone and they rip out more than a few teeth as they yank their arm away."

Lloyd doesn't have an answer, not that he's given any time to, because Cole jumps in.

"That's why we learn the correct way to break a hold," Cole steps forward and turns Lloyd by the shoulders to face him, "It'll get easier with practice. Let's try it again."

Lloyd doesn't want to, and Cole is so much bigger than him. He's like a giant, and just as dumb, Lloyd thinks.

Lloyd tries biting again once the headlock becomes uncomfortable, but Cole sees it coming and shifts his arms. He can't move his head at all, and is left squirming uselessly on the deck while his face turns bright red.

It's embarrassing. Cole is asking a lot from him.

"Recall your training," he says, "How do you get out of this?"

But Lloyd doesn't know what he's talking about; he can hardly hear him through the ringing in his ears.

Eventually, with nothing else to do, Lloyd does the last thing he can think of: he spits.

It's a gross wad of phlegm and saliva that spills out of his mouth, a size that he'd be proud of on any other day. It gets on Cole's arm and his face, as well as a few unlucky strands of black hair that hang in the crossfire.

Cole freezes up at first, but he lets Lloyd go, face scrunched.

Jay laughs from beneath the overhang, and Kai claps his hands. Zane just grimaces, tight-lipped.

Lloyd sits up and glares at Cole through watering eyes. He rubs at his chin with his sleeve, which smells of sweat and funk.

"At least your hold was correct!" Jay jeers through his chuckles.

Cole frowns at Lloyd, making no move to get up.

Lloyd just crosses his arms. "Told ya. The way I fight works just fine."

He's shaking with adrenaline and anger, and he wishes he was inside, curled up in a lonely corner reading a comic. Doing anything but standing out here, under the scrutiny of people he doesn't know.

"That was dirty, Lloyd," Cole eventually says, "And sloppy. You're better than that."

He looks almost disappointed as he rubs his cheek against his sleeve. The saliva glitters in the black fabric.

"You'll have to be," Jay adds once he's calmed down, "if you want to live."

"What is going on today, Lloyd?" Zane asks.

Apparently, he's better than this, because everyone knows about Lloyd. He opens his mouth to retort, but Kai finally buts in, saying:

"Cut the kid some slack, will you?" he slouches in his spot as he crosses his legs, "It's just his Garmadon genes leaking through. He can't help but fight dirty every once in a while."

Something inside of Lloyd snaps, and the halves splinter as he runs into the cabin, refusing to look back. He wants to run far away from here, to a place where no one knows his name, but there's only so far one can go on the Bounty.

He winds up in a closet, next to the mops. It smells of mildew and misery, and Lloyd is content to wallow there for the next few hours.

Which he does, because the ninja are kind enough not to disturb him.

His uncle Wu isn't.

Three hours later, his belly reminds him that it's supper time, and a knock sounds on the door.

"Lloyd?" says Wu, opening the door just a crack, "Are you alright?"

Lloyd pouts reproachfully at his shoes, feeling no better about his existence.

The door opens further, and Wu's head appears. "Would you like some company?" Wu says with a smile, "I brought tea and peppermints."

Peppermints are the worst type of candy and Lloyd will proudly hate tea until the day he dies, but it's not like he can say no to sweets. He tells himself that's the reason he lets Wu open the door all the way.

"I don't suppose I can interest you in moving somewhere more comfortable?" Wu tries as he pulls a bucket out to sit on.

Lloyd doesn't reply, and Wu nods.

Sitting with a grunt, Wu chuckles, "The older I get, the lower the floor gets."

He drops a handful of peppermints into Lloyd's hands and proceeds to pour himself a cup of tea.

"I understand we had some trouble during training today?"

We, Lloyd thinks in disdain, like this is an issue that Wu is an active part of.

"It happens," Wu continues, "I take it you're frustrated."

Frustrated isn't the word Lloyd would use; he'd say something more along the lines of 'puce'. An ugly color for an ugly feeling that is one letter away from puke.

"I've spoken to the boys," says Wu, "They say they worked you too hard. I'd like your side of the story, if you're up for telling."

As he sips his tea, he gives Lloyd this look; Lloyd knows it well. It's the kind of look that says he knows all your secrets, and everyone on the Bounty has received it at least once.

Frankly, Lloyd doesn't know what secrets he would have, but he isn't up for telling. It isn't even the incident on the deck that bothers him; it's everything around it. It's the professor, the students, the villagers, people, his father, his uncle, his friends.

Everyone expects something from him, but Lloyd doesn't know what it is.

Wu is still sitting there, sipping his tea like he's ready to wait an eternity for an answer. It's something he does a lot. In fact, Lloyd wouldn't be surprised if he was still waiting for answers to questions asked long, long ago.

Lloyd stares at a hole in his sneakers and asks, "What was Dad like?"

Wu goes very still. "Why do you ask?"

"Everyone knows about him except me. They say I'm like him, then they'll say I'm not like him. I wanna know which. I wanna know what he was like," Lloyd looks at his uncle's face, "He must have been someone real..."

Important. Great. Terrible. He's heard many things over the years. Lloyd isn't sure which word he falls under, but the ninja are, as are the professor, the students, villagers, people...

"Lloyd," Wu chuckles into his cup, which hovers halfway between his lap and his mouth, "What a question."

And that's hardly an answer. Lloyd scowls and glares at the grooves along the floorboards. They twist in jagged lines, like his thoughts. Lloyd isn't going to say anything until he gets his answer, his frustration sinking dangerously close to full-blown rage.

The silence stretches long while Wu stares into his cup. He's breathing kind of heavy, then he says, voice soft, "I hate to say this while you're upset, but your father was a lot like you."

Lloyd blinks. Frowns. His head hurts from the tension that's built up over the course of the day.

"He had a... a sweet tooth that would make a fairy cry," Wu starts to smile, slowly, "And the sharpest tongue of anyone I ever knew. Until I met you, of course," he chuckles.

"If he thought you were a yellow-bellied ninny, you would be the first to know," Wu continues, "He always had candy in his pockets. Cinnamon fireballs in one; cherryheads in the other. Which one you got depended on how well he liked you."

Lloyd stares at his uncle's face, wondering what could be so interesting about his tea that he should still be looking at it.

But he isn't looking at it. He's staring somewhere past it.

"He loved butterflies," says Wu, "He used to doodle them. On his scrolls, on his desk, his diary. They had big wings and tiny little bodies, and he always drew them mid-flight. You couldn't find one perched on a flower, or a tree. They were full of life and spirit. Just like your father."

He finally looks up. "Just like you, Lloyd."

Lloyd is silent. Of the answers he expected, this isn't it. It's unlike anything he's ever heard before, and after years of insults and dismissive comments, the details seem mundane for someone named Garmadon. Certainly nothing to make a fuss about.

"Do you like butterflies?" Wu asks, softly.

What he means to ask is if Lloyd is just like his father.

Well... "No."

Butterflies scare him, and so do moths, for that matter. They can fly wherever they want, and yet they choose to fly towards his face with their big wings and rapid movements—

"What do you like?"

Lloyd thinks. That's a question he's never been asked before, and it catches him by surprise.

"I like comics," he eventually says, "I like adventure."

Wu smiles at him.

"And I like sweets," Lloyd glances up, "Dad liked them too, huh?"

"He'd spend hours in the bakery admiring the desserts. He liked the cinnamon rolls best."

"Hm," Lloyd purses his lips, "I like chocolates better. Especially truffles and fudge."

Still, a father like that. A father like that he might just like being compared to.

Might. Maybe if—or, after—he finds out what he looks like. Maybe a father like that is cursed with baby cheeks, too.

Wu has something fond in his eyes as he utters his next words, "I'll have another talk with the ninja. From now on, all they'll expect from you, is you."

Lloyd nods, a weight lifting off his shoulders. Wu smiles. "Alright," he says, standing, "Now, how about we mosey out of here. I can't imagine you enjoy the smell."

No, Lloyd doesn't, but it smells no worse than he does. The afternoon has not been well; he might even brave a bath to wash the stench of misery away. All the same, he's hungry, and he's tired of sulking. Getting to his feet, he follows his uncle out, taking his hand as they make their way to the kitchen.

It smells of Cole's chili, but afterwards, Wu promises him dessert.

"Something chocolate," says Wu.

The time away from writing was spent re-watching Ninjago. Some of those seasons I haven't seen since they aired! I actually learned some pretty important things (which I will share, because why not):

1) Garmadon worries about his weight.

2) Lloyd drinks straight from rivers like a dog.

3) Wu rarely (if ever) offers constructive advice when the ninja are actually in a crisis. Instead he parrots these vague virtues that the ninja are thankfully smart enough to construe into something useful.

There is more, but this note is already too long. Anyways, thank you all so much for reading, reviewing, and following this story! You guys are the best, and truly a pleasure to write for! Have a wonderful day!