Ninjago: The Tribes AU

"Break out"

Lloyd yawned as he opened his eyes. He was curled up in the desert sand, and it was nighttime. Odd, he distinctly remembered falling asleep in the town. What happened? He got up, dusting himself off. “Hello?”
He called out, but nobody answered. Then, the sound of a violent fight rang out behind him. Lloyd turned to see The Desert Tribe caught mostly on fire. “They’re back?!” He panicked as he rushed to help. However, when he reached the village, and attempted to attack a fire soldier, he fell right through them. His confusion was broken the second he noticed a familiar light perched on a roof. Their bright white eyes stared down at Lloyd with wonder.
‘You are quite amusing.’ He whispered, but it almost came out like a small laugh. Lloyd looked up at him like he knew the routine, but he was unsure if he wanted to go through it. A battle cry filled the night, but above it all, he heard a little child scream. The ghost floated over to an alley, where a child, only about 3, lay cornered by a warrior. Tears rolled down the child’s face as the blade that held his fate drew closer. Lloyd noticed the kid had a fresh wound on his forehead that was still bleeding; it looked painful being right near his eye. Lloyd recognized the location of the injury almost immediately; it was where Cole had his forehead scar. Actually, the more he looked at him, the more apparent it became that it was a young Cole. He was so small and cute, but utterly terrified. The blade came crashing down on him, but before it could connect, a piece of earth rose up underneath the man and sent the attacker flying. A rather strong looking woman darted to the child, embracing him warmly. The little boy buried his face in her arm, clearly being comforted by her presence. The woman laid her hand on the ground as her eyes began to glow orange. The same crackling lava pattern that Cole got on his arms formed on hers. A loud rumble began to erupt from the ground, and the barricade that surrounded the town rose from the sand. Except it nearly encapsulated the town, even having what you could consider a roof. Lloyd turned to the apparition. “That’s Cole’s mother. Th- the Fire Tribe didn’t kill her?”
The ghost nodded, then the world whirled around until where they were standing was a completely different location. It looked like a hospital of sorts. Lloyd could hear violent coughing coming from a nearby room, so he headed toward it. His heart sank as he saw the scene in front of him. Cole’s mother was on her death bed. Literally. She was laying on a bed covered mostly in a white blanket. Cole, who looked around 7 now, was crying by the dying woman. Lloyd felt so awful watching it all. He desperately wanted to help, but he knew that he couldn’t. The ghostly figure floated up to Lloyd, but hung in the hallway, like he refused to witness the scene beyond the doorway.
‘Death takes us all eventually, that we all gather, but he was still so young to have lost his loving mother.’

The green ninja turned to look at the saddened spirit. “I lost mine when I was only a few weeks old…”

The ghost nodded. ‘I am aware of your tragedy, I do truly feel your pain, but understanding that of others, more wisdom you’ll gain. Sickness is a terrible thing, and this day it claimed a soul, in the heart of her son, an innocent child, it left a painful hole. Unite the tribes and make more broken like this whole.’

Huh, Lloyd guessed that he never actually thought about how many people probably died the last time the Fire Tribe attacked. I mean, yes, his mother was killed, and so were Harumi’s biological parents, but in his tribe only there were so many more lost. Lloyd and Harumi might have miraculously survived with the protection of Garmadon, but there were probably several young children and babies that weren’t so lucky. Especially the one nobody dare talk about- Brad’s little sister. She wasn’t even born yet, but… well… it was truly something no one liked to talk or think about honestly. That night broke so many hearts, and now that he thought about it, the other tribes probably went through the same thing. The same terrible, horrible thing. As Lloyd stared down at the floor in thought, the apparition reached its hand out to touch his shoulder, but recoiled at the last moment. Almost like it was scared to touch him. The world around them began to flicker and fade away, then Lloyd’s eyes shot open and he quickly sat up; awake.