TW: mentions of gore

"Naomi!"

I launched myself into her arms with an exhilarated laugh, taking her by surprise.
"Y/n!" she replied with a shocked laugh. I pulled back with an elated grin.
"Why didn't you tell me that you and Cole are dating?!"
Naomi's shocked face was swiftly replaced by a bright blush. Her blue eyes darted to the side, flustered. She watched the passing shoes of students as they made their way to class before morning bell.
"I- uh- haha- um?" she stammered poorly, mouth gaping like a fish. She swallowed. "I didn't want to impose on you after what happened on Friday."
"Impose- Nomes, this is the best news in the world!" I gushed, linking her fingers through mine. My cheeks hurt from smiling so wide. "This is so exciting!"
Naomi cracked. She gave a little giggle only a girl madly in love could make. Her eyes seemed brighter, smile more genuine. It made my chest soar to see her so happy.
"I know!" she bit her lip with a bright grin. "I just asked! Just blurted it out! It was totally out of the blue! And he said yes!"

I threw my arms around her with a laugh and she returned it with fervor, hugging tightly in shared enthusiasm.
"I'm so happy for you!"
"It's good to see you smiling again," she mused, pulling away and glancing at the empty spot by the lockers beside us. "Speaking of, where are they?"
"They're on a 'hike,'" I replied, using our code word. "Lloyd said that they won't be back for a while. It seemed pretty serious."
"I hope they're alright," Naomi murmured. Her gaze jumped to mine. "How are you and him? I'm guessing you're both right as rain?"
If right as rain meant that we spent over an hour on the phone last night, cooing to one another, then yeah, yeah we were right as rain. It was enough sweetness that it would've made me gag if I weren't the one who was so lovesick.
"Yep!" I nodded brightly, hand subconsciously resting over the promise ring that sat against my collarbone. "Better than ever!"

"Thank god," Naomi sighed as she rolled her eyes. "You two were insufferable."
"I was pretty useless, huh?" I relented sheepishly as she linked her arm through mine and began leading me to class.
"Just you?" Naomi snickered. "I'm pretty sure Lloyd was worse. Were you keeping up with the news? Everybody thought you know who got struck by poison or something during a mission. Little do they know."
I winced. A body brushed past mine in the hall.
"Aha... yeah..."
I did frequently search up news on the green ninja during the week. I even followed ninja stan accounts on Twitter to see what was happening, since I couldn't outright ask Lloyd (they actually were really good with keeping up to date on them!). I probably should've just asked one of the others, but I don't think I could've handled the awkwardness that would ensue if I asked 'how's Lloyd?'
At least that was over.

"So, he told you everything?" Naomi asked as we sat down in our seats for English.
"Everything," I nodded, dropping my bag at my feet. I frowned softly at the desk. "I didn't... realise how sad his life was."
Naomi faltered. Her blue eyes jumped to the side of my face, assessing.
"Well, I think he's doing pretty damn well now," she said firmly, kicking my ankle gently. I shot her a grateful smile. "Even the bullying's not as bad. I think that's props to you befriending Chen. How did you do it?"
"I think it was mainly the shock of finding about Lloyd," I murmured as class begun, leaning in closer to Naomi to continue our conversation as we pretended to pay attention. "People are mainly mean to Lloyd without really thinking about it because that's just what everybody else does, right? When Chen actually found out who he was, I think he realised that Lloyd isn't somebody that he can just push around."
"Cinnamon roll that could actually kill you," Naomi whispered and I snorted so loud that the entire class turned to stare. Naomi bit her lip to hide her snickers. I held a hand in front of my mouth to conceal my grin.

"Sorry," I squeaked.

🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃

School without the ninja was always boring.

Even if I wasn't sitting with them at lunch, it was more exciting when they were there. Whether it was by sitting beside somebody from the team in class or glancing over to see whatever the hell they were doing at their table in the cafeteria (usually something gremlin-like, which is usually par of the course for them), they always made school easier to get by.
And catching Lloyd's eye from across the room was always a day-brightener. He'd wink and it never failed to have my heart racing, no matter how often he did it.
So when they were absent on a mission, I fell into a bit of a slump while I alternated between sitting at Chen and Claire's tables. Naomi called it the 'war wife syndrome.' I called it simply being worried for the well-being of the team.
But also yes, I wished Lloyd was back.

"Missing your boyfriend?" Chen asked as he slid into the seat beside me while I stared at the empty table with a soft frown, chest aching.
Claire straightened at his appearance, glancing my way for the first time that lunch period. He never sat at this table before.
"Yeah," I smiled tightly at him. My gaze shot back to the team's table, as if they'd appear out of thin air. I wouldn't put it past them, as they are ninja but alas, the table remained empty.
"Aw," Chen snickered, poking my nose. I redirected my attention back to the cheerleader. "Look at your face. You're so sad. God, you and Lloyd are adorable."
I rolled my eyes, cheeks flushed.
"What do you want?" I drawled, making his grin grow wider at my dry tone.
"Prom's soon," he noted. "There's an after party. You and Lloyd should come."
I straightened in my seat, face falling slack. He was inviting us to an after party?
"If people find out that Garmaboy's going, good luck getting anyone to go," Claire snorted. Aaliyah hid a snicker with a cough. Chen's brown eyes flickered to them, unphased.

"Their loss," Chen shrugged. "Sarah convinced her dad to let us have it at the docks and everything. Invite only, too. It's gonna be sweet."
"Sounds exciting," Naomi smiled across me. "Am I allowed to come too? Or are you playing favourites?"
"Of course you can," Chen laughed. "You're chill."
"Hear that?" Naomi grinned smugly as she stretched her arms over her head. Claire crosses her arms with a glower. "Chen Daniels says I'm chill."
Aaliyah perked up, turning to the cheerleader.
"Can I-"
"I gotta get going," Chen suddenly said, standing abruptly and patting the top of my head. "I have training. I'll see you in gym!"
"Thanks for inviting us," I chirped, tilting my head back to send him a smile as he towered above me with a gentle expression. "See you in gym."
Chen bounded off with a cheeky wink thrown in Naomi's and my direction. He disappeared out of the cafeteria.

"... I was going to ask him to invite me," Aaliyah frowned in disappointment. "I've heard that his after parties are awesome."
"Whatever," Claire scoffed. "It'll be lame as all hell."
"Are you kidding?" Aaliyah burst, sending Claire a disbelieving look. "His parties are the best-"
"I heard a rumour that you're sucking Chen off," Claire interrupted, sending me a blank glare. I coughed on my breath, viscerally thrown back. "That's why he's suddenly so nice to you and Lloyd. Is it true?"
"Of course it isn't true!" Naomi snapped. "What the fuck, Claire?! We know Y/n! She'd never do that to Lloyd!"
"I also heard that he's sharing you, though," Claire argued, still staring at me. "So? Is the sex really that good? Why else are you still with Garmaboy?"
"Excuse me?" I hissed, bristling at the accusation. My fists clenched. "That- who- I can't believe that you'd think I'm like that! How long have you know me for?!"
"It's a genuine question!"
"It's a fucking insult, Claire!" I barked, face scrunched in righteous rage. "Why the hell would you believe rumours?!"
"Well, why weren't you two speaking last week?" Claire countered, raising her brows.
"That's none of your business!"
"I'm your friend!" she reasoned. "Of course it's my business!"

I scoffed, shaking my head as I stood. My body was shaking with anger.
"I think you need to reevaluate your definition of a friend," I pointed out in a snarl as I snagged my bag and shoved it over my shoulder. "Because you're really not acting like one."
"I need to reevaluate?" Claire echoed in disbelief. "I'm not the one who ditched us over summer for some boy she just met."
I froze, chest feeling as if it was punched open with a hacksaw and emptied onto the floor. The others silenced, the entire group silenced, it felt as if the world had silenced. Blood rushed in my ears as I stared back at her, stunned to stillness in shock.
"Yeah," Claire nodded, face devoid of emotion. "Exactly."
I released a choked breath before turning on my heel and rushing out of the cafeteria. Naomi followed hot on my heels as I scurried down the empty hallways like a scurrying mouse.
"Y/n," she called, but I ignored her. "Y/n."
I pulled out my phone with trembling hands to get some reassurance from Lloyd, just hear his voice, before realising with a choked cry that he didn't carry his phone on missions. Naomi caught my arm and spun me around to face her, stopping us in the middle of the desolated walk way.

"You're not a bad friend," she started.
"Claire's right!" I exclaimed in barely suppressed horror. "I spent all summer with Lloyd-!"
"You met a boy and you fell in love!" Naomi argued. "Of course you would spend all summer with him! He's your first boyfriend! I expected this and if Claire didn't, then she's just thick in the head!"
I dropped my head back with a groan, running my hands through my messy hair.
"Y/n," Naomi laughed gently, grabbing my head and turning it down to face her. I sent her a pitiful look. "Lloyd's life isn't an easy one to fit into plus you've got the prophecies to worry about and the whole instincts thing. You've done one hell of a good job. Don't let Claire's obnoxious naivety get the better of you."
I stared at her, mulling her words over, before I caved with a sigh.
"She is pretty obnoxious, huh?" I sighed and Naomi snorted, nodding.
"I don't know what's gotten into her recently," she shook her head. "But let's not worry about that right now. We should plan a double date! I've always wanted to do one of those."

I giggled with a nod, letting Naomi lead me aimlessly down the hallway as we gushed about our demigod boyfriends. I'll forever be appreciative of her ability to snap me out of it when I got stupid.

🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃

The weekend drew closer, and with it, my anxiety rose.

The ninja had been on a mission for four days and though missions spanning a longer than a day were regular, it still made me nervous. As is, communication with the team was few and far between and I couldn't help but worry about their well being.
At least I could vent with Naomi, who shared my feelings about it.
And we still had to see Axon on Saturday.
I worried the promise ring around my neck enough for it to become a regular habit, twirling the chain with my fingers and brushing my thumb of the little dragon engraving that Garmadon carved for Misako over a thousand years ago.
I wondered how many times she worried the ring when Garmadon was out fighting.
I wondered how many times she looked down at it with a crestfallen expression when he was Lord Garmadon.

Finally, finally, Thursday night rolled around and I was thrown from sleep at three in the morning by a fist rapidly knocked on the window.
I bolted to the curtains and shoved them aside, letting Lloyd in just as he immediately dipped to pull me into a hurried kiss. I had to take a step back as he leant too far into it, desperate. He stumbled inside, hands capturing my hair as my heart thumped hard in my chest with emotion. The curtains billowed in the wind, his face was cold from elements, his gi was caked with dirt and sweat but god, this was perfect.
Everything felt right again. I pulled back to breathe and he dipped his head to my neck, pressing peck after peck and nuzzling his scent into me.
I missed my dragon boy.
"I missed you," Lloyd whispered when he pulled away to shut the window behind him, stopping the mid-winter chill from slipping inside more.
"I missed you, too," I replied, voice hushed. He dropped a duffel bag to the floor. "Did you come straight here? How was the mission?"

"I'll tell you about it soon," Lloyd promised with a soft smile as he cupped my cheek. "I need a shower. I haven't had one in days and it will hit you soon."
It did. My face scrunched in distaste.
"See?" he chuckled.
"You're not injured?" I asked as I lead him to the bathroom. He peeled off his gloves and dropped them to the floor after shutting the door.
"Nope," Lloyd reassured as he unbuckled his gi. "It was tough but nobody got injured."
"That's good," I mused, taking a seat in the dry bathtub and scrolling through my phone as he flicked the shower on and stepped in. "God, your gi smells awful."
"Get used to it, babe," Lloyd snickered over the sound of the shower. I huffed, knowing that he was smirking despite having my back turned to him. "How was your week?"
"Long," I groaned, before telling him about what Claire had said to me on Tuesday. He listened quietly as I rambled, head turned to the ceiling and eyes closed tight in frustration.

"I'm sorry, love," he murmured when he stepped out of the shower, smelling a whole lot better than mud and sweat. I dropped my arm over my eyes.
"Why are you apologising? It's not your fault."
Lloyd was silent. I gave a sigh.
"Let's move on," I suggested, not wanting to bring the mood down more than it already had been. "What was your mission about?"
So then Lloyd launched into a ramble about his week, which was subjectively a lot more interesting than mine. He was a good storyteller, making me giggle more time than once at the antics he and the others got up to while diffusing a tiny serpentine uprising in a small village down south.
"Don't you think we should be doing something more with the serpentine?" I asked, holding out his the fat pants I acquired (stole) from the weekend for him to take.
"More than keeping them underground?" Lloyd asked, confused.
"What? No," I shook my head and finally dropped my arm when he was decent. I sat up, staring at him while he brushed his teeth. "I mean help them integrate into society. Stop all this hate."

Lloyd paused, sending me an incredulous look with his toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. I was too intent in my point to be flustered by his exposed chest.
"You want to help them?" he asked dubiously, voice muffled. "You do remember that they tried to destroy the city, right? They released the great devourer, remember?"
"Yeah, because we locked them underground," I pointed out.
"There was a war!" Lloyd stressed, voice pitched.
"That was hundreds of years ago!" I argued. "Shouldn't we try to rectify it? Like it or not, Lloyd, they're residents of Ninjago, too. They deserve to be treated as such."
"They're dangerous," he countered, spitting out the toothpaste and washing the sink. "I've had first hand experience. Hell, you've had first hand experience!"
"That was a mistake."
"Still dangerous!" Lloyd insisted, lifting me out of the tub by my hands. "If we do let them in, what's stopping them from starting another war?"
"Words," I pressed, brows raised. "Make a truce or something, I don't know - but not everything has to be resolved by fighting."

He still looked unconvinced. My face turned worried as I slung my arms around his shoulders, still damp from the shower. His hands found my hips, expression grim.
"Lloyd, Raptra got hit in the head with a glass bottle," I reminded in a soft voice, searching the green of his irises. His eyes twitched. "Serpentine or not, she was just a little kid. She only wanted to see me to say hello and she got attacked. You've had first had experience with that kind of attitude, too. Are you really going to let this kind of stuff slide?"
Lloyd's face fell in realisation. I could see his brain working it over in his head.
"I-" he cut off to sigh, dropping his forehead against mine. "We can talk to my uncle about it after Axon, okay?"
A beam worked its way onto my face. I pressed a grateful kiss to his nose.
"Thank you," I whispered. A contemplative, distracted smile curled on his lips as he smoothed my hair down the sides of my face and kissed the top of my head.
"We've got school in the morning," Lloyd reminded, pulling me out of the bathroom as he turned off the lights. I let him lead me back to my room and watched as he pulled out some more clothes from his duffel bag and shoved them into the little free space I had left in my drawers.

"Are you moving in now?" I asked, raising a brow as I sat on the bed and crossed my legs. My smile dropped a little in surprise when he began pulling out some of my clothes at random and putting them in his bag. "Oh."
Lloyd huffed a laugh, tilted his head up to send me an amused grin. His wet hair flopped over the side of his head.
"You said you wanted to leave some clothes at my place, right?"
"Gee, let me do it," I scrambled from the bed and ushered him back from the drawer so I could sit on his lap. "All you're pulling out is t-shirts. You just want an excuse to steal my stuff."
"And you stole my hoodies," Lloyd reminded.
"Uh, NO, I have a reason and that reason is because they smell amazing and I have poor impulse control," I pointed out as I settled on his legs. "Actually I'm going to pin that on the imprint."
"You still stole them, though."
"Shut."

Lloyd chuckled, digging his smile into my neck. He let me take over from him, grabbing a variety of clothing choices and shoving them into the bag. When I was satisfied with my haul, I leant back until the top of my head hit Lloyd's chest. He smiled down at me. I returned it giddily.
"Can you teach me how to do Spinjitzu?"
He choked a stunned laugh at the out of the blue question, snorting at my hopeful face. It dropped into a scowl.
"Hey."
"S- sorry-" Lloyd said, struggling to keep himself from laughing. "It's- wow. Spinjitzu, huh?"
"You know, if you think that I'm not up for it, you could just say so instead of laughing at me," I said, scowl deepening. "I get it. You're the superior fighter. Do you want me to sing your praises?"
"Actually, that would be nice," Lloyd snickered. I scoffed at his smug expression and rolled out of his lap. He followed with a whine, crawling onto the bed after me. He hovered over me with a pout.
"Why do you never wear a shirt to bed?" I asked, crossing my arms as I threw the covers over myself. Lloyd slithered in after me, warm skin pressing against my shirt. "How do you not get cold?"

Hiding under the covers together, breathes mingling and hot. It's raining and cold.

He shrugged, lifting a leg to drop it over both of mine and bring me in closer. I accepted the snuggle, threading my leg through his. Lloyd smiled dopily.
"Dunno. Why don't you?"
"Because some blond moron keeps sneaking into my room in the middle of the night," I said dryly before raising my brows. "Why are you asking? Do you wanna see my boobies, Lloyd?"
His face blushed a bright red.
"I- you- no," Lloyd stammered before clearing his throat and looking away. "That's very immature."
"Yeah, I know," I giggled, nodding. "But seeing you flustered is so worth it. You're so pretty it hurts."
"Damn, I knew you only liked me for my devilishly handsome looks," Lloyd sighed, red eyes dropping back to me, teasing. I snorted, shoving his shoulder back.
"Sure," I grinned as he dropped his head closer to mine with a giddy giggle. "That's a reason."
His smiled softened. He pressed a kiss to my forehead. My heart sung.
"You really wanna learn spinjitzu?" Lloyd asked and I nodded frantically, beaming wide. He sighed, tapping my nose. I scrunched it in reflex. "Okay then, but you're going to have to be a good padawan."
"I'll be the best padawan ever," I vowed, linking his pinkie through mine. "Pinkie promise."
Lloyd gave me a tired smile. He looked on the verge of passing out.
"I love you."

I gave him a gentle look. It was an expression that held nothing secret between him and my heart.
"I love you, too," I whispered, feeling like floating as I kissed him goodnight.

🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃

"You sure you want to do this?"

I gave a firm nod to Lloyd as we stood outside the improvised interrogation room that held Axon. The police commissioner already knew who the ninja were due to them teaming up in the past, so we had the liberty to be unmasked as we stood in the empty hospital corridor.
The air held a sense of tension as we waited for the all-clear. The rest of the team, his parents and Wu kept sending Lloyd the occasional glance, as if he would lose it once more.
I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't mentally preparing myself for that.
Just in case.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" I countered, giving his hand a squeeze while the others discussed withholding periods and other technical terms that I didn't care to know the definition of. Lloyd inhaled through his nose, green eyes bowing to brief flashes of uncontrolled red.
"Like I have a choice," he muttered bitterly.

He missed the concerned look that crossed my face as he glared at the ground. I swallowed, catching sight of Cole. He gave me a questioning thumbs up. I subtly shook my head in response.
"Stop that," Lloyd murmured, making my eyes jump back to his. He'd given up trying to keep them green. Boiling red, swirling with unchecked emotion, stared back at me.
"Stop what?" I asked gently, threading his fingers through mine. He pulled them away and my brow pulled together in sympathy.
"Stop treating me as if I need to be checked upon. I'm fine."
'But you do,' I wanted to say but held my tongue. 'And you're not.'
"Axon should be released from hospital in the next few weeks," the commissioner informed the rest of the group, and I peeked around Lloyd's shoulder to listen in. "With that, he'll be transferred directly to Kryptarium Prison."

Lloyd quietly scoffed to himself. It was barely audible. Only I had heard it.
"People break out all the time," he grumbled, eyes squinted in intense negativity. They were a red I'd never seen on him before - a dark ruby, almost black. His voice dripped poison. "I should've killed him."
I stilled, partly glad that the only ears his words reached were mine. What felt like ice crashed through my chest as my gaze slowly drifted back to his. They caught.
This was a new side to him. A side I didn't like. This wasn't Lloyd.
"But... you don't kill," I said softly.
"I should've started with him," he spat a whisper.
Swallowing, I watched as the others entered the room. Lloyd went to follow but I grabbed his hand and held steadfast. His dark eyes found mine.

"Don't become what he says you are," I plead under my breath. "You're Lloyd. My Lloyd. Remember that."
His eyes were shot through with a hint of pink at my words. The smile he sent was small, but genuine enough to reassure a small bundle of nerves in the great storm of anxiety that was my gut.
"Your Lloyd," he promised, softly squeezing my hand. A fluttering smile crossed my face and the commissioner cleared his throat. We glanced at him and his brows raised, the puzzle pieces falling into place. Seems my cover of being 'only barely involved' had shattered.
Didn't matter. We had more important things to handle.
Lloyd lead me into the room, taking great care to have my entire body shielded from Axon as we stepped inside. The door was shut and locked and it felt as if we were being tossed into a battle, except our opponent restrained to a hospital bed with vengestone handcuffs and had a large bandage covering his shoulder.

"Hello, cuz," Axon greeted, white hair tussled and yellow eyes dull. They still held malicious intent, enough for Lloyd to push me further behind him. "I see you're still hanging onto Lloyd. That's great to know - and oh, is that a ring? How precious. Did the spawn propose?"
"We're asking the questions, buddy," Kai snarled as Lloyd's hand tightened around mine and he set his jaw. Garmadon clenched his fists.
"No, no, this is great!" Axon grinned apathetically, glancing around the group. "We have the two stains on society in one room! Oh, wow. I'm getting chills!"
"Alright-" Misako snapped as she took a step forward, only to be held back by her husband.
"Where did you get the spell book?" Wu asked, voice stern. "How did you know about Morro?"
"I seriously don't understand why you insist on showing up in your gis," Axon continued, resting back on his gurney and giving Lloyd a smug smirk. "Especially since Y/n's seen the true monster you are, green ninja. Doesn't matter what you wear, now, does it? Even when you dress up to play hero, you'll just remind her of when you brutally attacked me like a crazed... what is it..?"

Axon smiled cruelly.
"Oh, right," he purred, eyes glinting with malicious delight. "Like an Oni."

"God, does he ever shut up?" Nya muttered.
"Last chance, buddy," Cole snapped. "How'd you know about Morro?"
Axon snorted, sending Wu a look.
"Who'd you think directed him towards the Caves of Despair?"
My chest felt hollow with sickness. Sure, Morro wasn't my favourite guy but-
"You walked Morro to his death," Wu said in a voice that shook me to my core. Eerily calm yet holding such a storm of rage. Wild and barely managed. I almost forgot that Wu could've been affected by the First Spinjitzu Master's genes, too. "He was only a child."
"He was a child when he left you," Axon reminded, voice deliciously evil as he soaked in the destruction he caused as if it were only but a spa. "Morro grew older but his desire to prove you wrong and be the green ninja made him incredibly gullible. All I had to do was wait for the right time."
"That's horrible," Jay said, stunned and disgusted. "Was he just a pawn to you? Like Y/n?"

"You planned this out," Zane noted, voice stern and cold. "Ever since Morro, you had a plan."
"They don't call me master of the mind for nothing," Axon said with a curled, biting grin. "Speaking of planning, did you ever find out who hacked into the drones of Borg's all those months ago?"
"That was you?" Kai bit.
"Surprise," Axon hummed. "Now, let's talk about something more exciting. Lloyd! Do you want to know what you did to me?"
Lloyd stiffened. I squeezed his hand.
"This is an interrogation, Axon," he reminded, voice steeled and calm but oh so fake. "This isn't a joke."
"Whoever said it was a joke?" Axon spat. "My torn ligaments and missing shoulder isn't a joke. I might never move this arm again."
His yellow eyes slid to mine.
"This is your green ninja, Y/n," he chuckled lowly. Lloyd dropped his head, teeth gritting. He was struggling to keep himself composed, fangs threatening to make their appearance. "Ninjago's saviour isn't looking too hot right now, huh?"

"A small price to pay for her life!" Lloyd burst, fangs unsheathing as he directed a glare at the injured man.
"HER life was supposed to pay for my mother's," Axon yelled before quickly calming with a gentle smile, eyes a fire. "Unless you conveniently forgot."
"You cannot fight fire with fire," Garmadon said. He was steadfast in the burning glare of the master of the mind.
"Like you can talk, god-born," Axon hissed. "You and your family are a disgrace to this land!"
"D... didn't his family build this land, through?" Jay asked nobody quietly.
"Well, I think it's time for me to go," Axon declared, as if he could just decide when to leave. I shook my head, stepping out from behind Lloyd.
"How did you know it was me in the prophecy?" I asked. Lloyd's hand held my shoulder, ready to pull me back behind him just in case. "You went through a lot of trouble just to mess with my head and let me in. What was the point of that?"

"Oooh, exposition!" Axon smiled excitedly. "I knew that Lloyd was Garmadon's son but they did a pretty spectacular job on concealing the green ninja's identity. I had to use the green ninja's protector so I could get close to him. Truly work out who was behind the mask."
Lloyd tensed. He looked ready to spring. I lifted my hand to his and linked our fingers.
"As for finding out who it was, well, that did admittedly take a while to figure out," Axon shrugged before grimacing in pain. "But I had the motivation. What better revenge, right? They took the person most precious to me, so I'll take the person most precious to them. From there, it was just a matter of research and scanning everybody I crossed."
"Scanning everybody?" Zane echoed.
"It took a while to get the hang of, but I eventually got it," Axon grinned. "And I've improved on my abilities. It worked out, though, right? I found Y/n when she was twelve years old. Oh- and then that thing with the Great Devourer-" he sighed giddily. "I do love it when a plan comes together."
"What plan?" Wu asked. He was ignored.
"Ah, it doesn't matter that Morro fell through," Axon shrugged airily, a content grin crossing his face and instantly making me go on edge. "This is hardly the only plan I have. I've got people out in the city, ninja. Nowhere is safe from me."
Axon smiled at me directly.

"And the person who strikes will have been right under your nose the entire time."