UPDATE (24/03/2021): The wonderful picture above was drawn by the amazing bear2710 for this chapter (reposted with permission).

SECOND UPDATE (27/03/2021): I've added a drawing of Kath and Lloyd, by the same artist.

As mentioned yesterday on my message board, I was still doing some writing during my absence, so I have a couple of new chapters ready or almost ready. Not gonna post them all at once, but my current plan (which is likely to change at some point 😁) is to update this book once a week for now.

About this chapter - Lloyd gets two chapters in a row because I've rearranged a few things, but I wanted this conversation to happen on Katherine's first evening with the Ninja. It's been a while since the last update anyway.

⚠️IMPORTANT WARNING⚠️:

This is a very serious chapter. The main part contains description of domestic abuse! I didn't want to put this memory into a flashback, but it's still fairly detailed. (If you want to skip that section, I've marked beginning and end with ***.)

I found it to be the most difficult chapter of the whole book to write (it's also one of the longest), and it's one of the few chapters I even had someone proofread (content only, not for editing) before publishing.

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Chapter 44 (Lloyd)

Six years ago, 23rd December 2012 (set after ToE), Ninjago City, Ninjago Grand Hotel

We may have won the war, but victory has come at a price.

Sure, for most citizens of Ninjago this trade must feel like a bargain – the soul of one reformed villain for the safety of our whole country – but not for me.

For the last couple of nights, I've found myself unable to sleep. Instead, I was laying on the roof of the Bounty's cabin, looking at the stars - coincidentally, it's the Arcturus constellation which can be seen from Ninjago at this time of year - and wracking my brain to come up with a different way that we could have defeated Chen and his army of Anacondrai wannabes. I haven't found one though – much to my relief, to be honest.

It would make things only worse, to know that my father's sacrifice could have been avoided.

But, necessary or not, I still miss my dad. And I don't feel like celebrating right now.

So, while my teammates and our new friends from the Elemental Alliance are enjoying the party that the Administration of Ninjago City is hosting in our honour, I'm climbing up the tall building until I finally reach the flat rooftop of the Ninjago Grand Hotel.

As the official part is over now, I don't think anyone is missing me anyway.

While Zane and PIXAL are simply being their adorable Nindroid-in-love selves, Kai and Skylor are still engaged in their unique way of flirt-fighting - seriously, I've always thought Jay and Nya were awkward, but these two... if even I can see that they are attracted to each other, why can't they just admit it and live happily ever after?

At least Cole and Seliel are a lot less subtle about their feelings.

Sure, even they weren't always like this – when we first met Ash's cousin in Nom a few months ago, during one of our fights against the Nindroids, Cole was too busy arguing with Jay and fake-obsessing over Nya to acknowledge the chemistry between them – but since the Phantom Ninja has joined us in the battle at the Corridor of Elders, they're totally making up for it now.

It's really nice to see Cole happy again – he's been pretty down since Jay left the team – but it makes me feel more alone than ever, and I just want to get away from it for a while.

And, as it turns out, I'm not the only one.

Nya is already there, sitting on the cold floor and resting her back against the side of a roof top unit. She has her eyes closed, so she doesn't notice me at first. I stop at the edge to look at my big sister.

Even in the dim light, I can see that she's been crying. Silent tears are running down her face as she gently rubs her growing stomach.

Nya's body has changed a lot during those weeks that she was in Chen's captivity. While it wasn't that obvious before she was kidnapped (except for her behaviour, that is), she's visibly pregnant now (although she's still managed to hide her condition under a loose-fitting kimono during the reception earlier this evening). And apparently, she's only just about halfway...

I don't want to startle our Samurai, so I make some un-Ninja-like noise as I approach her.

"Hey." She lifts her head to look at me, forcing a little smile and scooting a bit to one side.

"Hey." I reply as I sit down next to her. "Not in the mood to party either?"

It's more of a statement than a question.

Nya shakes her head. "I miss him so much." She sighs.

"So do I."

Of course, we both know that we're talking about two different people here, but it doesn't matter. We just keep sitting there in silence, until-

"I don't know if I can do this." Nya suddenly blurts out.

"Can do what?" I question. Nya's always been the one who could do anything, even without an Elemental Power of her own.

"Putting her through all this." She replies in a low voice.

"You mean... the baby?"

"Yes." Nya confirms. "She isn't even born, yet she was already in grave danger, all because of us." She lets out another sigh. "Maybe I should just let her live a normal life, away from all the fighting."

"She was targeted because of her Element." I remind her. "And, even if you give her up, you can't change who she is."

"Oh, I don't want to change anything about her." Nya says, a little smile playing on her lips. "She is perfect."

It's only then that I realise that Nya's been exclusively using female pronouns for her child.

I raise an eyebrow. "She?"

Nya nods. "It's a girl." She smiles. "After all we've been through, the doctors insisted on doing a full check-up on both of us. I had an appointment for a detailed scan scheduled in the new year anyway, so they simply moved it forward by a few days. She's perfectly healthy. A little bit on the small side, but nothing to worry about." Her hand flies to her mouth and she chokes a sob. "She is so beautiful, and I love her so much, but-"

"Hey." I pull my sister into a hug. "You will be an amazing mum. You've had a lot of practice raising the worst brat in all of Ninjago, so this will be a piece of cake."

"And-" I continue. "Don't you think that your child, a future Elemental Master, will be better off with us? She will have four uncles who can help her learn how to control her powers – and who will protect her with their lives."

"But a flying ship isn't the safest place to raise a child." She points out.

"Ah, leave that to our Nindroids." I assure her. "Zane and PIX are going to perfectly childproof the Destiny's Bounty. They have already downloaded all available information on child safety to their database and have even performed a full risk assessment. And there's still plenty of time for the rest."

"I'd like that." Nya whispers into my chest. "Thank you."

"No, thank you." I return. "You've always taken care of me, so now it's my turn. I promise I'll do whatever it takes to keep your-" and our missing brother's "daughter safe."

"But... I still want to give her a somewhat normal life." Nya points out. "I don't want her to grow up in the spotlight..."

"Then we will all stay out of it." To be honest, I'm sick of all that public attention anyway. And, given the way my teammates were acting earlier, Nya's daughter might not stay the only child in our family forever...

"Yeah, sure." Nya rolls her eyes. "Good luck selling that idea to my brother."

"I don't think that's gonna be that much of a problem. You weren't there, obviously, so you can't know how worried sick Kai was when Chen had taken you. And when we found out what he was going to do to your child..." I pull away to look at her. "Nya, Kai may love his fans and followers, but he will always love his sister, and his niece, a lot more."

And he is not the only one.

Present Day (23rd December 2018), late evening, Temple of Airjitzu

"This should be the last one." I inform Zane as I dump another tray of (wine and other) glasses on the counter.

Seeing how much stuff we've already used tonight, I have absolutely no idea how we are supposed to have enough tableware once all our guests will have arrived... but then, I do know to entirely trust PIXAL's planning skills.

"Thank you, Lloyd." He replies politely. "PIXAL and I will take care of everything from here."

After the kids had gone to bed, us so-called adults spent the evening sitting together over a few drinks, until eventually, Zane and PIXAL sent all parents (and parents-to-be) upstairs, claiming that there will be short nights and especially early mornings ahead of them over the next couple of days.

While the two Nindroids have been busy cleaning up the kitchen, Katherine and I, the only other non-parents in this group, have volunteered to tidy up the sitting room.

"You sure you don't need my help with this?" I gesture at the huge pile of dirty dishes.

"Affirmative." He nods. "Goodnight, Lloyd."

"Thanks a lot, Zane. And goodnight to you two as well."

Before I head upstairs though, I briefly return to the sitting room for a final check.

There, I notice that Katherine has folded up all the blankets and put them onto a neat pile – something we've given up doing a long time ago. It just never lasts long enough to justify the effort.

To my surprise, I find Kath herself is still around as well; she is standing at the Floor-to-Ceiling window, looking outside over the desert.

"Enjoying the view?"

I inwardly groan as she jumps at the sound of my voice. I really must remember to move less stealthily when we have guests around.

Luckily, she quickly recovers from the little scare though. "Yes, very much so." She turns to flash me a lovely smile. "I already thought the view was impressive when I arrived here this morning, but this-" she gestures at the clear and starry sky outside, "-is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen."

Just like a pair of sparkling grey eyes...

"You don't really get to see the stars too well from Ninjago City." She continues, snapping out of my confusing thoughts. "It's just too much light there all the time. And even in my hometown, it's never as amazing as this."

"I haven't paid much attention to the view in quite a while." I admit. "When you've spent some years living on a flying ship, it just gets kinda normal."

Kath grins. "Just like using a dragon to get to your home." She states. "Or battling Serpentine and Nindroids before breakfast."

"Yeah..." I sheepishly rub my neck. "I guess my sense of 'normal' is a bit off the scale. But, you don't have to worry. No Nindroids or Serpentine or, well, whatever, will disturb us here. This temple is one of the safest places in all of Ninjago." Only surpassed by Borg Tower and Hiroshi's Labyrinth – but unlike those two, we've actually never had a security breach.

Kath raises an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" She questions.

"The whole island is surrounded by a shield that is tuned to our Elemental signatures." I explain. "You can only cross it by either travelling with one of our team members or if we disable it – which can only be done from inside. It was initially part of our childproofing measures, to make sure Abby wouldn't tumble down the edge – all the kids who currently live here are Elemental Masters, but their powers aren't fully developed yet, so they have a weaker signal than their parents. The force field is programmed to let them get in but not out – but it has also proven very useful against our enemies."

And let's not forget, we also have our own resident ghost. But it's usually better not to bring up Sensei Yang on a first visit.

"That's very impressive." Katherine agrees. "But- why are you telling me all this?"

Oh. I flush with embarrassment. I guess she was not interested in the details then.

"Well, I-I've heard rumours that... uhm, that you got attacked at your home last year. So, I just want you to know that you have nothing to fear here."

"I do feel safe here." She gives me a little smile. "Not because of all those security measures though, but because I trust you and your friends." She briefly hesitates before she adds in a quiet voice. "Sometimes, people fear less the enemy from outside your walls – or shield, in this case – but... the one within."

Seeing her subconsciously rubbing the scar at her temple, I understand.

"The... person who attacked you, it-it was someone you knew, right?"

"It was." Kath confirms my suspicion. "It was my ex-boyfriend." She lets out a sad chuckle. "Well, he wasn't my ex-boyfriend back then just yet."

"What happened?" I ask softly, but I am quick to add. "You-you don't have to tell me, of course, if it makes you feel uncomfortable."

"No, it's okay." She gives me an assuring smile. "As I've just said – I trust you."

***

"Mark wasn't always like that. When I first met him, he was a real gentleman. He helped me put my suitcase into the overhead locker - I was moving to Ninjago City to start college, and he was sitting next to me on the plane. He could see that I was a bit upset and nervous about moving out from home, and we got talking. Long story short, we exchanged numbers, went out a few times, became a couple, and everything seemed to be fine at first.

But then-" Kath lets out a little sigh. "after a few months of dating, Mark suggested that we move in together, but this was going a bit too fast for me. I mean, I liked him, but I just didn't want anything too serious yet. I was only 19 and living away from my parents for the first time. So I told him that. Needless to say, that didn't go down too well with him.

He got obsessed with the idea that I was cheating on him. And he started checking on me. Looked through my college notes to make sure I went to all my lectures. Turned up at my place randomly. And whenever I went out with friends – or even only met them for studying – he would keep calling me during the evening; and when I got home, he'd be waiting for me by the door, and -" She swallows hard. "He would make sure 'I'd remember who I belonged to.'

At some point, he even managed to have the keys cut, so he would be waiting for me inside the apartment."

"Why didn't you change the lock?" I blurt out without thinking.

"I actually did, once, without saying anything to him. Mark never commented on it either, but... he made it pretty clear that he wasn't happy with me. And it didn't take long until he had the new keys done as well. So, I sorta resigned to my fate. I let him stay and stopped seeing my friends. Instead, I focused on my art and on my classes.

I wasn't happy, but at least he wasn't hurting me as much. And having spent more time studying meant that I ended up being top of my class and got to do my final placement at one of the best schools in the city."

"Ninjago Elementary Masters School." I supply.

"Exactly." She confirms. "The best thing that's ever happened to me."

"Because you met Jay there?" I ask, not without a pang of jealousy.

"He's one of the reasons." She smiles. "I mean, have you ever met someone that you just instantly click with?"

Five people, to be exact. Sure, I love Skylor, Seliel and PIXAL a lot, but my relationship with them will never be as close as with the others. Although, thinking about it... my very first encounter with the guys was actually not a pleasant one. Which still leaves my honorary big sister.

"But not in a romantic way at all. Neither of us was looking for a new relationship, we were just two people in need of a friend." Kath quickly adds – she has assured me of this before, but she knows how much I care about Nya and probably just doesn't want me to worry about her and Jay's relationship. "Unsurprisingly, Mark didn't believe me. He didn't want me to spend time with Jay - in fact, he didn't even want me to finish my placement. But this time, I didn't back down.

I love my job – this was what I'd spent all these years studying for – and the kids were absolutely lovely. And I had very nice colleagues and just made a new best friend.

I was so much happier than I'd been in a long time. And, of course, I was absolutely thrilled when I got the school's offer to stay on after my graduation, didn't even have to think twice before accepting it."

Her smile turns into a frown as she continues.

"But, of course, things at home were not as great. And then, almost exactly a year ago... well, we had our staff Christmas dinner. I chose to go, even though I knew what the consequences would be – or at least I thought I knew.

I had told Mark I'd be home by eleven, but I was running late, so Jay gave me a lift home – he didn't drink because he wanted to drive out to his parents' place early in the morning.

I wasn't surprised to find that my boyfriend was there, sitting at the kitchen table with a half-empty bottle of vodka and waiting for me.

We thought we'd been careful - I had asked Jay to drop me off at the corner, so that Mark wouldn't be able to see the car from the window, but he simply claimed that he could smell Jay's scent 'all over me'.

I-I don't remember everything that happened then, just that he kept screaming at me. And then, he hit me. He must have slapped me so hard that I fell and hit my head at the corner of the kitchen table. I passed out, but luckily, our neighbour had heard all the shouting and came to check on us. Everything had happened so fast that I hadn't closed the apartment door, so she found us – me on the floor, unconscious and bleeding, and Mark, drunk and in a panic. It was her who called the emergency services."

***

I take a step towards her. Slowly though, while carefully watching her reaction. The last thing I want is to scare her.

But she doesn't flinch or shy away.

So, I reach for her hand. "I'm so sorry." I tell her.

Kath looks at me. "You don't have to be." She states. "It's not your fault." Why do I feel that she herself had to be told this more than once before actually believing it?

And I'm not convinced yet either. "But... it's my job to protect people."

She gives my hand a little squeeze. "It's your job to protect Ninjago."

"You're part of Ninjago." I point out. A very important one to me, actually.

"But not everything is your responsibility alone, Lloyd."

"You got me there." I blush. Even in my team, I always feel responsible for anything. "But I'm glad you had someone to help you."

"So am I." Kath agrees. "Because my parents live so far away, I had named Jay as my emergency contact. He came straight away and sorted everything out for me.

They let me leave the hospital the next day, under the condition that I would have someone around to pamper me and make sure I'd get a lot of rest. I had a mild concussion – hence the blurred memory – and a sprained wrist, plus a couple of bruises, scratches and cuts all over my face and my body. Jay insisted I'd stay with him over the holidays; and his parents came to Ninjago City as well."

"So, you've already met Ed and Edna?" I've really missed the quirky couple these last few years. Not as much as Jay himself, of course, but still. "I'm really looking forward to seeing them tomorrow."

"Me too." Katherine smiles. "They're wonderful. They immediately welcomed me into their family and treated me like a daughter. Only that they wouldn't let me help a single bit."

"Unlike us." I smirk.

"You didn't ask me to help, I've offered to. I just don't like to sit around doing nothing. It was difficult enough to do that when I was unwell. And I'm certainly feeling a lot better this Christmas than last year."

"I'm happy to hear that. And you're not the only one." I remark. Nya's always tried not to make it too obvious, but Christmas always used to be a difficult time for her and Abby.

"It was the same for Jay." Kath replies when I tell her. "I actually learned more about Nya from Edna than from him." She chuckles. "And now he won't ever shut up about her."

"That sounds very much like the Jay that I know."

"I don't think he's changed as much as you believe him to." Kath states. "Sure, I don't know you very well yet, and I've never met the 'old Jay', but... it's just so obvious how much you guys have in common."

Now it's my turn to ask - "What do you mean?"

"The way you want to protect others, regardless of whether they're family or strangers." She explains. "Jay's reaction to Mark hitting me was very similar to yours. He thought that he'd failed me, even though he'd been warning me about him for months. And he made sure it wouldn't happen again."

My eyes widen. "You mean he-"

"No, he didn't do anything to Mark. He sure wanted to, but he knew that this would make him no better than him. He simply stopped me from going back and giving Mark another chance."

"Would you?"

"I-I didn't want to, but I just don't think I would have been able to end things on my own. I'd been isolated from my old friends, and I was too ashamed to tell my family. So Jay took care of everything. He got my stuff from my apartment for me and even had the locks exchanged to restricted keyway locks. But I still didn't feel safe there anymore. I stayed at Jay's place for a few months, until I was comfortable enough living on my own again."

"And what about-?"

"He was arrested for assault."

"Glad to hear that." I mutter.

"I initially wasn't." She admits. "Sure, I didn't love him anymore – that ship had long sailed – but... I still didn't want him to suffer."

"So what did you do?" I am eager to know.

"We made a deal." She replies. "Jay still had some contacts at the police department, from his time as Ninja and-"

"Wait, you mean they knew where he was all the time?" I interrupt her.

"Of course." She confirms. "In order to work at a school, he had to provide his full police record."

"They couldn't tell me." I realise – legal duty of confidentiality.

"Simon and Tommy, the two officers, were really nice and helped us get a restraining order sorted, so Mark is not allowed to get anywhere close to me, to Jay or to the school. Plus, he has to report to the police twice a year. And, most importantly, he had to agree to see a councillor." She swallows. "So did I."

"She really helped me to understand that it wasn't my fault." She continues after a little pause. "A few months ago, I would not have been able to talk to you about it like this – I was only able to tell my parents the whole story when I went home during the summer holidays."

"Your parents didn't know?"

"Only that Mark and I had broken up, and that I was staying with Jay while getting back onto my feet. Naturally, they thought that I had dumped my boyfriend for him. Only my older brother knew the truth. Tom came to Ninjago City for a conference last January and wanted to see me and my supposedly 'new lover'. Some of my injuries hadn't fully healed by then, so we had no choice but to tell him. But I'm actually glad we did. He was a great support when I, eventually, talked to our parents. And he's officially accepted Jay as my substitute brother, for when he can't be there for me himself."

"Always having a big brother – or sister – around is a very good thing."

"Well, you should never have a shortage of those." She retorts.

"Very true." I concur. "But... you know, I-I wouldn't mind having one more friend."

"I'd really like that too." Kath beams at me. But, behind her smile, she looks very tired now. It's been a long day for her, and talking about her experience must have been rather exhausting as well.

"It's getting late." I thus fake a yawn. "We should probably go to bed now as well; Abby and the twins will be up very early."

"Good point." She agrees gratefully. "Tomorrow will be another long day."

As we walk across the sitting room to the door, I realise that I am still holding her hand in mine. I feel my face heat up, probably with embarrassment, but Katherine doesn't seem to mind, so I just keep it that way.

I lead her through the dark hall – our efficient Nindroids must have already finished cleaning up the kitchen – and up the stairs.

Only when we arrive on the first floor, she lets go of my hand and gives me a brief hug.

"Good night, Lloyd," she says. "Thank you for listening. And-," she smiles as she pulls away, "-for being my friend."

"Good night, Kath." I reply automatically. "I'm very happy to be your friend."

I wait until Katherine has safely made it to her room on the second floor before I head to my own.

And as I walk down the dark and unusually quiet corridor, I realise that I would actually like to be more than just her friend.