So this originally began as a oneshot, haha, which was supposed to - essentially - be me crying about Kai, Nya and Lloyd being siblings for an hour. However, once it hit 11K words and I hadn't even reached season 2, I figured I should probably try for a multi-chapter instead. Now I have four seasons worth of me gushing about familial relationships and it does not look like I'm stopping there.

So here is the beginning of my overly-ambitious chronicling of how Kai and Nya adopted Lloyd as their baby brother and their adventures through the hell the Hagemen brothers keep putting them through.

(Also, the ninja are avid cell phone users here apparently, because I want them to for this story so ha.)

Prologue

Lloyd didn't mean for things to go this far.

He didn't mean to let the all the Serpentine out – not at first. Just like he didn't mean to get kicked out of Darkley's. But it still happened. Just like this did.

He's caused…a lot of trouble. He knows this. He's put people in danger, he's hurt people. It doesn't feel anything like the teachers at Darkley's said it would. There's no thrill of victory or adrenaline rush of evil that floods him. And he definitely doesn't feel any closer to his father.

Maybe it's because he didn't win, but…he really doesn't think that's it. Nothing about any of it ever really felt right - every choice he made just felt like he was spiraling further and further out of control, until he was right back on the roof of where he'd started. He probably should have given up after his first failure, and gone…and gone….

Where would he have gone? The only home Lloyd's ever known is Darkley's, and that's not an option anymore. He doesn't even remember what his mother looked like, and she obviously didn't want him anyways. His father has been out since day one, though Lloyd would have picked him first, if he could have. All in all, Lloyd doesn't really have anything – or anyone, he could have gone to.

That's just the way things are, though. Lloyd doesn't have a family, he doesn't have a home, and he doesn't need one. He doesn't deserve it, maybe. Maybe if he was more like the other boys at Darkley's, or even more like any other normal kid – maybe his mother would have stayed. Maybe his uncle would have visited him. Maybe his dad would have come up from the underworld to see him once in a while.

Maybe, maybe, maybe. It doesn't matter, anyways. Lloyd's just not enough, that's all. Not good enough to be wanted by his family, not bad enough to be wanted by Darkley's. Definitely not worth the Serpentine's time, that's for sure.

Stupid snakes.

That's why, when Pythor leaves him on the roof and the ninja surround him, Lloyd prepares himself for the worst. Maybe they'll leave him hanging from the roof again. Maybe they'll toss him straight off, or feed him to their dragons. And that will be the end of Lloyd Garmadon, worst villain ever.

But then –

His uncle doesn't throw him out. The ninja don't leave him hanging from a rooftop. They snatch him from the roof, wrestle him onto their ship, and leave him with his uncle, the blue one making little cutthroat motions as he leaves.

Lloyd is sure, now, that he's going to be punished – maybe his uncle will banish him to the underworld. Maybe he'll lock him up somewhere so that Lloyd can never cause trouble again, where he'll never bother anyone or be a burden.

Uncle Wu doesn't do any of that, though. Instead, he sits Lloyd down in his room and gives him funny-smelling tea and the first hot meal Lloyd's had in months. Lloyd is sure to eat extra fast, just in case his uncle changes his mind – but he doesn't. He just sits there and watches Lloyd scarf down the meal with a very sad look on his aged face. Lloyd doesn't know what to make of that, so he just stares at his tea, trying not to make a face at the funny smell.

He finishes too quickly, awkwardly shifting in place across from his uncle and refusing to meet his eyes. Now he's sure Uncle Wu is going to send him away. His uncle is a good guy, like, the ultimate good guy, but people like Lloyd don't get that many chances.

But his uncle just guides him to a spare room, makes up a little bed of blankets and cushions on the floor, and apologizes for not having a spare bed. Lloyd doesn't care – he hasn't had so much as a blanket to sleep with since he got kicked out of Darkley's. The realization that he's going to be warm tonight is almost enough to make him cry with happiness.

But he doesn't, because Lloyd Garmadon never, ever cries. Not when Uncle Wu reads him a story, or when he pulls the covers up tight around him like Lloyd imagines a parent would. Not even when he tells Lloyd to sleep well, leaving him with a tiny lamp glowing to keep away the dark.

Not even when Uncle Wu tells him everything is going to be alright. How could it be? Lloyd screwed everything up. The Serpentine are still out there, and the ninja are still going to have to deal with them. The ninja all probably hate him, just like everyone else.

Lloyd bites his lip, burying his face in the blankets. They smell clean – a bit like smoke and old wood, but clean and soft and a little like somewhere safe. Maybe…maybe his uncle doesn't completely hate him. Maybe he'd be okay letting Lloyd stay with him, for a little bit. Maybe the ninja could learn to tolerate him-

Who is he kidding. Hot tears trail their way down Lloyd's cheeks. Maybe just this once, he thinks.

He did end up failing spectacularly at being a villain.

Kai created the chat Super Secret Sibling Recon

Kai: super sibling recon time let's gooooo

Nya: you are SO lame

Nya: why is this a group chat there's literally just us

Kai: a super secret group chat

Nya: is this about the kid

Kai: yup

Nya: meet you outside his room in five

"I can't believe we're keeping it," Kai hisses, as he peers around the door frame.

"He's not an it, Kai, he's a Lloyd Garmadon," Nya hisses back, from just below him. "Sensei does realize this is the kid that unleashed not one, but three different kinds of Serpentine that want to kill us?"

"Apparently not," Kai whispers, frustrated. "If he wasn't his nephew…"

"This can't end well," Nya whispers. "He's the son of Garmadon, evil's in his name-"

They both freeze as the kid mutters in his sleep, rolling over and snuggling deeper into the blankets, white-blonde hair just poking out from a coverlet. Curled up in the little nest of blankets on the floor, Garmadon's son is ridiculously tiny, nothing more than a wisp of a child.

"I can't believe this kid survived an Anacondrai," Kai mutters.

"I can't believe it took you this long to catch him," Nya counters. Kai looks down at her, brown hair flopping over his eyes and ruining his glare.

"He had a snake army, I'd like to see you do better."

"You'd be surprised," Nya breathes.

"Ugh, we're gonna wake up with Hypnobrai standing over us," Kai hisses. "Or wake up with our throats slit."

"I don't think he's that dark," Nya whispers.

"Yeah, you're right," Kai grins. "We'll wake up with bad haircuts, or an eyebrow shaved off, or marker on our faces."

"He's like what, nine?" Nya shakes her head. "What's he doing running around on his own anyway?"

"Who knows, ask Sensei Wu," Kai shrugs. They turn back to the kid, staring at him from where they're hanging around his doorway. And no, they're not the creepy ones here - it's the kid, clearly.

"Well, I guess he's probably not gonna murder us in our sleep tonight," Kai finally sighs, turning away.

"I think he'd fall over if you even breathed in his direction," Nya says, following.

"Still," Kai whispers, as they creep back down the hall. "You gotta admit, it's kinda impressive for a little demon spawn. Three major threats, from one tiny brat."

"Makes you wonder how long we'll last," Nya whispers back.

Super Secret Sibling Recon Group Chat

Kai: hey

Kai: if i wake up with no eyebrows tomorrow can u makeup me new ones

Kai: nya

Kai: nya pleassssse

Nya: it's 3 am GO TO SLEEP

Nya:

Nya: i will if you let me fix your hair

Kai: fix?

Kai: my hair is a work of ART

Nya: oh please