Me: I need to stay focused on Raising Hell, nothing can distract me from writing that and I certainly don't need to be starting horribly angsty one-shots on the side.

Me after the finale, in tears: Oops.

The first light of dawn is just creeping over the horizon when they reach the outskirts of the city, the rising sun painting the morning sky a bloody, brilliant red. Smoke rises from the city behind them, visible even at this distance – the screams and sounds of destruction are mercifully muffled, though. The morning air is unnervingly silent – the usual sounds of wildlife are gone, as if the very earth itself has fled from the destruction. The only sounds are those of their footsteps, weary and stumbling through the dirt.

Nya knows the way like the back of her hand, but this is the first time she's gone by foot. There's no other option, though. It was all they could do to get out of the city alive – any vehicle would have been too noticeable, too difficult to retrieve.

No one even mentions trying to spark their dragons. They already know what the result will be.

They reach the junkyard just as the sun rises fully over the horizon, the light it casts painful after the seemingly unending night of darkness. Nya leads the way under the rusted arch, her throat drying up.

The door to the to the trailer swings open with a loud whine, slamming back on its hinges as a figure rushes out, having seen them coming. They make a sorry picture, on the whole – Misako's cheek is bruised, her hair a tangled mess as she holds her left arm awkwardly. Lloyd is slumped against her right arm, barely able to support himself, his blond hair dark with dirt and blood and his visible skin still a multi-colored collage of cuts and bruises. Pixal isn't sporting any injuries, but her expression is dead, her right arm sparking slightly. Nya knows she's not much better, her own injuries making themselves painfully apparent.

Edna Walker gasps in open horror. "Oh, Nya, sweetie-" she steps forward, her eyes wide and searching as she looks them over. "What happened?"

Nya opens her mouth, then closes it. The door swings open again, and Ed Walker is running toward them, looking as stricken as his wife. He comes to a stop behind his wife, grabbing her hand.

"Nya?"

She shakes her head, her eyes flooding with tears as she chokes back a wracking sob. "I'm so sorry," she croaks, wetly. "I'm so sorry."

Lloyd is numb. Which is weird, because he hasn't stopped shaking since he got here, his fingers trembling incessantly over the mug Mrs. Walker had forced into his hands, his teeth chattering.

"It'll help," she'd said to him kindly, her eyes weary with grief but soft as they searched him. "Do you need anything else? Are you alright?"

No, Lloyd had wanted to scream. No, I'm not, but I'm the reason your son isn't here, so you definitely should not care at all-

Lloyd had simply nodded. Technically, he isn't hurting right now – and despite the way he's shaking, he doesn't even feel cold.

Because he doesn't feel anything. He's still back in the city, stuck on a sky tram and watching the Bounty crushed to pieces on repeat.

His mother says something to him, after he lands on the boat, still winded from his exchange with Harumi. He doesn't hear her – not even when she grabs his arm after he pilots the boat to a street corner, not even when he jumps off, her shouts echoing after him as he runs toward the city center.

Not even when he staggers to the wreckage of the Bounty, abandoned now that he's moved on.

All Lloyd can hear are the last, desperate cries of the ninja – of his family, right before the colossi crushed the ship. They echo against his skull, replaying again and again, almost as loud as his frantic denial.

No, no, no no nonono please-

"Kai!"

He tears into the wreckage, splintered wood and sharp metal debris slicing into his hands as he yanks it aside. He barely registers the pain, only pulling harder at the remains of the Bounty, looking for any traces of black or white or blue or – or red-

"Cole, Jay, Zane – come on!"

Please, please, please-

"Uncle Wu!"

Lloyd pauses, reaching with all he can for the core that's always burned inside of him, for the familiar thrum of his power. There's nothing – just the empty, hollow blankness he'd felt earlier. He squeezes his eyes shut, blinking back the surge of emotion. He's knee-deep in the remains of his home, now. A part of him realizes that his mother has come to stand behind him, pulling gently at the wreckage along with him. Lloyd doesn't process this – he's managed to get deep enough to have hit the interior of the ship, and he's starting to recognize the shapes and colors of the broken rubble he's pulling away, the memories of an entire life built with these people-

Please.

Lloyd searches until the sky has started turning, the dark of the night beginning to lighten. By now, he's missing half his fingernails and his hands are a bloody, torn mess. He clings to that pain like it's a lifeline - adds it to the throbbing pain in his leg, the dull aches that still pulses all over him. If he holds onto that, the physical pain, then maybe he can ignore - he can ignore-

Lloyd finally stops, staring at the wreckage, his hands falling uselessly to his sides.

They would have come up by now. They would have said something – Cole would have lifted the debris from them, or Zane would have found a way out, or Kai would have burned his way through, or-

They wouldn't just wait there silently. They would be back up already, ready to fight, to get revenge because their home's been destroyed, again. They wouldn't still be under. They wouldn't leave him hanging like this.

The only possible reason they're not responding is – is –

"Lloyd," his mother's voice is hushed, quiet and full of grief. "Lloyd, son, we have to go."

He shakes his head. He has to keep searching. He has to find them – he will find them, he just needs more time, he – they would never leave him behind, if situations were reversed-

Wild cries echo down the street, the now-familiar voices of the Sons of Garmadon.

"Lloyd," his mother says, nearly begging him, her hand around his arm now. "Lloyd, please, we need to go-"

Lloyd blinks back the burn of tears, his fists clenching so tightly his nails bite bloody half-moons into his palms.

No, no, no-

He rips himself away from the wreckage, letting his mother pull him down the streets. He turns back as they flee, giving the Bounty one last look-

They're not there. They're not coming.

Lloyd staggers, his leg catching, and a hot spike of agony shoots through his ankle and up his calf. He gives a muffled cry of pain, stumbling forward. His mother grabs him in concern, and he swats her off. It's nothing, he'd injured it earlier, that's all. It's always been weak, this is the same leg he'd broken a couple years back, that fateful day he fought the Overlord. It's the same fiery throbbing he remembers, the same pain he'd pushed back as he'd climbed the tower, clinging desperately to Kai-

Lloyd misses a step, falling to his knees as his leg gives out.

No, no, no, no, no-

The Sons of Garmadon are even closer now, their voices too close for comfort, but Lloyd can't bring himself to care.

Come on, then, he thinks, savagely. Come at me, I'll make you pay-

With a sudden lurch, Misako has an arm around his middle and is hoisting him up, dragging him forward until they both stumble onto the boat. She pauses just to make sure he's seated, then rushes to the wheel, revving the boat to life and taking them downriver, away from the burning city. Lloyd sits crumpled near the edge of the boat, his leg throbbing and his hands leaving little bloody patches where they're clenched against the fabric of his uniform.

He had stayed like that until they'd gotten out of the city, his eyes glazing over as he'd fallen into a numb sort of haze. He barely remembers his mother talking to Pixal through the radio, telling her where to meet them. He doesn't register getting out of the boat, Misako half-dragging him as they rushed to where Nya was hiding.

All he remembers is the horrible, stricken look in Nya's eyes when he tells her. The desperate sort of denial that crosses her face as she shakes her head, telling him no, no, he has to be mistaken, that's impossible-

Lloyd remembers being glad for the rush of tears that blurs his vision as she crumples against him, because it distorts the look of utter, heartbroken devastation on her face that he'd never, ever dreamed he'd see.

Everything after that is a painful, foggy haze – he barely even remembers how he got into the Walker's house, or who draped the blanket over his shoulders. He's not sure how long he's been sitting here, but it has to be late afternoon – the sun is high in the sky, filtering through the blinds. Mr. and Mrs. Walker are outside with Pixal, talking over putting up safety measures. He doesn't know where Nya is.

Lloyd shivers again, his shoulders seizing as the mug rattles against the table. His mother shoots him a look of concern, rising from where she'd flipping through an old book and crossing over to him.

"Lloyd-" She hesitates at his tiny flinch as her hand rests on his shoulder. She sighs, weary and sad. "You should get some rest, son."

Lloyd shakes his head. "I'm fine," he says, even as a traitorous yawn escapes him. He clamps his jaw shut, slamming the mug down and standing up. "I can't – we don't have time, there's too much to do, he's – he's still out there, mom, I have to-"

"Shh, Lloyd, Lloyd, calm down." Misako's voice is distressed as she grabs him, forcing him back down, this time onto one of the Walker's old couches. She grabs his shoulders, forcing him to meet her gaze. "There's nothing you can do like this," she says, her voice gentle. "We're safe for now, alright? You can't do anything if you're dead on your feet."

We're not safe, Lloyd wants to yell at her. No one is safe, not while Harumi is still out there, not while his father-

Lloyd winces, his heart stuttering as memories from the prison crash back down on him. He hurriedly thinks of something else, fighting back the sudden wave of nausea.

"Okay," he whispers, staring down at his hands. The bandages his mother had hastily put on are just starting to loosen.

His mother leans over, pressing a kiss to his cheek before she stands. She adjusts the blanket he has around his shoulders, pulling it more firmly around him. "Sleep, alright?" she says, firmly. "I'll be in the room over if you need me."

Lloyd nods, watching her leave the room. He sinks back against the couch, his head tipping back as he exhales wearily. He doesn't want to sleep. He knows what's waiting for him when he closes his eyes. It's like after Morro, when he'd mistakenly thought sleep would be an escape from reality – except this time it's a hundred, a thousand times worse. With Morro, Lloyd could wake up in his room on the Bounty, and Kai would-

Lloyd squeezes his eyes shut tightly, biting down hard on his lip. He can't think about it, he can't, he can't-

The soft sound of footsteps brings him back, his eyes snapping open. Nya is standing in the room's entrance, wearing a bright blue sweatshirt and baggy sweatpants, her hair loose from her usual ponytail. Her eyes are bloodshot and puffy, and her face is lined in grief.

She clutches the blanket she's holding tightly. "Hey," she says, her voice raspy. "I – uh, Mrs. Walker gave me the only spare room, but it's – it's-" she swallows, her jaw working. "It's Jay's old room, and I…your mom can have it, if she wants."

Lloyd nods, his mouth dry. "Thanks," he whispers.

Nya glances to the space on the couch beside him. "Got any room to share?" she says, offering him the weakest excuse for a smile he's ever seen.

"Wha – oh, yeah, o-of course." Lloyd scoots over, giving Nya more room as she climbs onto the couch beside him, tucking her feet up beneath her. She immediately curls up against him, her head pressing against his shoulder. They sit in silence, the only sounds the gentle murmur of conversation from outside and of Misako turning pages in the other room.

He suddenly feels Nya's hand wrap around his, her fingers squeezing his so tightly he can feel the bones creak. She shudders against him, the vibrations running up his arm. She doesn't make a sound, but Lloyd feels the hot warmth of tears as they soak into the arm of his t-shirt. Lloyd bites his lip again, but this time he can't stop the burn of tears that spill over.

It's just them, now. They're all that's left.

Lloyd grips Nya's hand even tighter, drops his head on hers, and cries himself to sleep.

There's about 14k words left of this and I still keep writing for some reason, so yay! More angst to come.