I feel someone move next to me, awakening me.

"I didn't mean to wake you," Lloyd murmurs.

"It's fine," I say, repositioning myself so that my head was against his chest.

"Last night was fun," he says. I could practically feel him grin.

"Yeah," I agree. "It was."

The day that we were evacuating the city from the Stone Warriors, Lloyd had promised me he'd take me out for real. So much has happened since then that it's crazy to think last night was our first formal and typical date. I enjoyed it nonetheless.

I especially enjoyed what came after.

Lloyd and I began looking for a small place together a few days after the final battle. Our realtor learned who Lloyd was, and gave us a discount. Perks to dating the Golden ninja.

The rest of the guys and Nya live at their school with Sensei. They complain about how it's unfair that I get to live in the city and help Lloyd fight while they have to teach annoying children. I told them if they wanted to make out with Lloyd they can have perks too. They were not amused.

"We should probably get up," Lloyd mumbles. I sigh, climbing out of bed.

Lloyd as usual finishes getting ready before me, and heads to the kitchen to start breakfast.

Lloyd was at the stove making eggs. I 'sneak' behind him and snake my arms around his torso, yawning against his back.

"What are you doing today?" He asks.

"Your father wants me to stop by to use me as an example, as I'm the only ninja that's not a teacher or the golden ninja," I respond.

Lloyd whistles. "Good luck with that. Those children are jerks."

I smirk. "You would know, wouldn't you?"

He sighs. "I'm your age now! How many times-"

I laugh. "I know, I know. It's funny seeing you get all defensive though." Lloyd rolls his eyes, shoving my shoulder playfully.

"Whatever. I was gonna drop you off there, but I guess you can walk..." he sings.

"Walking is actually very healthy. I might even run there. It's proven-"

"Shut up, loser," Lloyd says, interrupting me. I grin as we walk to the balcony together, jumping off as we reach the edge. A few seconds later Lloyd forms his golden dragon, and we soar into the sky.

I wrap my arms around his waist as I watch Ninjago's skyline disappear.

"It's so bright," Lloyd mumbles. I nod.

"Cyrus Borg really changed it, huh?"

Lloyd doesn't say anything. I enjoy the peace of flying through the sky, the cool wind against my face as his dragon takes us through the air.

"I-I think we should visit where you grew up," Lloyd says hesitantly. I take a deep breath.

"I know you don't want to, but it's the key to unlocking your true potential. It's the only way to improve your fighting skills."

I nod slowly, knowing that he was right, but it still didn't stop the anxiety from boiling in my stomach.

"Also...you need to visit Tobi's grave."

I purse my lips. "I know," I mumble.

"But I'll be with you the whole time. I won't ever leave your side, ok?" He says softly.

"Okay." I say as Lloyd squeezes my hand gently.

"We're here."

Lloyd lands his dragon and we hop off, the dragon disappearing into the air. We walk through the forest and onto a wooden path, leading to Garmadon's dojo.

"Son! El, great to see that you could come," Garmadon asks, emerging from the gateway.

"The children will be here any moment. They'll be all over you, Lloyd," he says.

"How ominous," I murmur. Garmadon chuckles.

"They're great, but wild. You both have no weapons on you I presume?" Lloyd and I nod.

"Wait, why can't we have weapons?" Lloyd asks.

"I've taken an oath. I shall part from my violent ways. Come, El."

"Oh," Lloyd jokes, as his father only said for me to come.

"Who's the loser now?" I say, grinning.

"You can just walk back home then," Lloyd responds. Garmadon chuckles.

"I'll be back later," Lloyd says, waving and walking away.

Garmadon and I walk silently into his monastery.

"You two make quite the pair."

"Lloyd and I? Yeah, we do," I say, smiling awkwardly.

"You remind me of Misako and I when we were younger-"

"Is he boring you? I'm so sorry, El," Misako says. I grin. "Not at all. Good to see you."

"You too. The students are waiting for you."

Garmadon nods and leads me through two doors.

The students stand as we walk in, facing us with their arms folded behind their backs. Garmadon nods and they quietly sit down, crossing their legs and giving him their full and undivided attention.

"Students, this is Elaine," Garmadon looks towards me and I bow in greeting. "She is the elemental Master of Air."

Collectively, the students gasp, but they quickly close their mouths. I smile, kids are always going to be kids, no matter how much training they receive.

"Today, we will practice our response to our opponents attacks. In other words, defense." He turns to me. "El has always been a great defensive player, which is one reason why she is here today." I grin. Ex-Lord Garmadon thinks I'm great.

"Is the other reason because she's Lloyd's girlfriend?" A young boy says loudly. I blush.

Garmadon chuckles. "Perhaps. But I'm more focused on her skills as a fighter, not a lover." I blush even harder as the kids erupt in a series of oohs and awes.

He grins at me before turning to quiet the students. I stand across from him, unsure of what to do next.

"Students, I want you to watch how she moves and reacts to the attack. Ready, El?" I nod and we bow together.

I stand across from him, my feet shoulder length apart in defensive position, waiting for him to strike.

Garmadon lunges at me and I easily lean to the side. I turn around quickly and duck, dodging his fist. I continue doing this until his back was unprotected, everyone's greatest weakness. You obviously didn't have eyes on your back, and your arms can't bend that far either. The back makes for the perfect blind spot, my go to spot to harm. Don't tell anyone though, it's my secret.

I elbow his back, right in between his shoulder blades and pause there.

"That's good, El," Garmadon says, and I remove my elbow from his back.

"If her elbow was her dagger, and if I wasn't going easy on her, I would have lost. Anyone see anything that caught your eye?"

A small girl lifts her arm up. Garmadon nods towards her.

"She kept playing defense until your back was open."

Damn, so much for my secret.

"Good job!" Garmadon smiles. "Keep this in mind; every opponent has a weak spot, no matter how strong. Be patient, and fight smart. Tonight we will focus more on the defensive part. You are dismissed."

The kids run out the door, leaving Garmadon and myself in the center of the room alone.

"Wow," I say. Garmadon chuckles. "What is it?"

"All of it. Their so smart and respectful, and at the same time they're rowdy and childish. I was never like that."

"I'm sure that's not true. I understand that you provided for yourself at a young age, correct?"

I scoff. "Not in the most ethical way."

"Remember who you're talking to," Garmadon says, grinning. It struct me then that he and Lloyd share the same attitude, the same cocky grin.

"Go talk to the students. You have lots in common with them."

I nod and exit the same doors the children did a few minutes ago.

They were in their separate groups. One group of boys were playing soccer, and another playing basketball on makeshift goals. Several groups of girls were scattered around the place, talking in their circles and glancing at the boys. Every so often a boy would look at a girl, and try to show off with the ball.

I am so glad I'm not in school anymore. This shit sucked.

I notice a boy leaning against a tree near the soccer kids. He was watching them with a look of envy and sadness on his face.

I approach him carefully, trying to come off as kind and understanding. Okay, El. You can do this. Talk to the child.

"Hey," I say.

The boy turns towards me but doesn't say anything. He goes back to watching the game.

"What's your name?" I ask.

"Cohen," He says plainly.

"My name's El," I say.

"I know. You're the air ninja. Everyone knows you."

I shake my head. "Not really."

"That's not true. You're El, Master of Air. You have two daggers and a grey gi."

"That isn't me. I am the grey ninja, but that's just one part of me."

Cohen doesn't say anything, so I continue.

"I love music, whether it be singing it or listening to it."

Tanner snorts. "You? Sing? But you're a ninja! Ninjas don't sing, they fight!"

I chuckle. "Maybe. I'm more of a music listener than singer. I only sing in the shower-"

"That's sad."

If this kid don't-

"Actually it's pretty fun. You should give it a try. Point is, I'm only known as a ninja, but there's so much more to me than that. I like making people laugh, whether I succeed in doing so or not is a secret, but I enjoy watching people smile. Yes I'm a ninja, but I'm El too."

Cohen nods, like he gets the point I was trying to make. "I love soccer. I used to play with my brother before he died. But the other kids don't think I'm good at it so they don't want me playing with them. They just think I stand at this tree all day and watch people."

"I think you should go join their team," I say, smiling encouragingly.

"I want to, but I'm scared."

"Don't be. Wanna pass a ball back and fourth?"

Cohen nods excitedly and runs to find a ball. He returns and sets it on the ground.

We pass back and forth for a while, I hadn't even noticed other kids come up to watch.

Soon there was a big circle of kids, all passing the ball to one another. Everyone exchanged names as they played. Cohen was smiling so wide, it made me smile too.

"I'm going to head inside to talk to Sensei Garmadon. You guys keep playing for me, okay?"

"Thanks, El!" Cohen says. I smile.

"I see you met some of them," Misako says, greeting me at the door.

"They're so sweet," I say.

"I'm glad you talked to Cohen. You can really impact these kids, El."

"I'm glad I talked to him too," I say.

"Lloyd is outside, by the way." I nod and follow her around the building towards the back entrance.

"You seem happy," Lloyd comments, smiling down on me.

"I am," I respond, wrapping my arms around him.

"I met this kid, Cohen, and we talked, and now he's playing soccer with a big group of kids."

Lloyd grins and pushes my chin up. "I'm glad you're happy," he says, kissing me lightly.

"Gross, enough with the PDA," a very familiar voice says.

I turn around. "Cole!" I say. We move towards each other, meeting in the middle with a hug.

Nya and the rest of the guys appear from around the corner. "I feel like I haven't seen you guys in forever." I say.

"That's because it has been forever," Kai says, wearing his infamous smirk. I reach to hug him as well.

"Nya!" I say, pushing Kai away to talk to his sister.

"El! I've missed you," Nya says as we exchange hugs.

"Something seems wrong. Where's Sensei?" I ask. The guys look at each other, then at me.

"Borg's machines took him."

My eyes widen. "What?"

Cole explains first. "We received clearance to take the kids to see Cyrus Borg's factory, and Borg wanted just to see us."

Kai continues. "So we met him, and he gave us this statue of himself. Before we left, he whispered, protect them with your life, to me. I was like, what? It's just a statue."

"We get to the elevator, us carrying the statue on our shoulders, then Kai walks away and we drop it. The statue breaks, revealing new gi and weapons," Zane says.

"Then the elevator begins to talk, threatening to kill us if we don't hand over the techno blades, and we plummet to our deaths!" Jay says quickly. Kai hits his shoulder, much to Jay's disapproval. Jay's always a drama king.

"To your deaths?" I question, crossing my arms across my chest.

"Jay, chill," Cole says. "Anyway, the techno blades can hack into Borg's products. Kai was in a jet when a prerecorded message from Borg began to play."

"Apparently, they discovered a virus a couple weeks ago. The Overlord," Kai says.

I groan. "Him? Again? But I thought Lloyd defeated him!"

Lloyd scoffs. "I did too. The only way to truly erase him from existence is the techno blades."

"Which reminds me," Cole says, nodding to Zane. Zane throws me a long, golden rod, decorated with gears on the side.

"Is this mine?" I ask, examining the blade.

Jay nods. "We have to keep them outside, though. Zane volunteered to watch over them."

"You don't have to do that, Zane," I say.

"It's no problem," he says, shrugging.

"Thanks," I say, handing my techno blade back to him.

"There's this too," Zane adds, throwing me a wad of grey fabric. I examine my new gi with excitement. It was grey, obviously, and has patterns of wind depicted on the front and sides. I liked the mask, how it only covered your mouth rather than your whole head.

"What does the Overlord want? He has to have a motive, right?" I ask.

"We're not sure," Cole says.

"Borg did ask for Lloyd, remember? Then he said it was good he didn't come," Kai adds.

"What would he want with Lloyd?" Jay asks.

"Yeah, really," I joke, grinning. Lloyd rolls his eyes and hits me playfully.

"Garmadon is ready for you all," Misako says, walking from around the corner.

Jay gulps. "That doesn't sound very good."

Kai takes a step forward. "Let's go see what he needs."

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