I know I need to finish Generations (OG), I'm working on it, but until then here's this chapter. Not my best work, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.

Oh and it takes place three days after the last one and I'm going to reveal what Garmadon's up to yet. Enjoy the chapter!

_____________________

Zane's P.O.V.:

I was going over the results I got from Lloyd's tests and they were not good. Whatever Harumi injected him with was slowly revealing the Oni side of him. By my calculations it would take full effect at the end of two weeks or maybe sooner with Lloyd's current mental state and the injuries he's sustained recently. All I knew was that I had to make an antidote for him, and fast.

Unfortunately that was proving to be more challenging than I had originally planned. I had tried everything I know and nothing had worked. I was beginning to think it was impossible, but I couldn't give up now, Lloyd's well being was at stake and possibly his life.

"Zane." I heard someone sneak up on me.

"Ahh!" I jumped and turned around, but it was only Pixal. "Oh sorry Pixal, I was so caught up in what I was doing you caught me off guard."

"Sorry about that." Pixal apologized. "Any luck?"

"No." I frowned. "I've tried everything but there doesn't seem to be a cure for this."

"Well don't give up, Lloyd's counting on you." Pixal said.

"I know." I sighed. "He thinks he can't come back until he knows there's a cure, but if there isn't one there's no telling what Lloyd could do to himself."

"You've been working on that for three days straight. Maybe you just need a break." Pixal suggested.

"I'm a Nindroid, I do not require rest." I told her. "Plus Lloyd needs this as soon as possible."

"Ok, then how about you let me handle that for a while. In the meantime maybe you can spend some time with your son?" Pixal said nudging towards the living room.

I peered into the room and saw Alex sitting on the couch and he looked sad and bored out of his mind. I guess I had been so focused on Lloyd's antidote, that I had been neglecting him for the past few days. I felt really bad about it once I realized what I did.

"I guess I owe him an apology ha?" I sighed. "Thank you Pixal."

"Of course Zane." Pixal said.

I walked into the living room and saw Alex laying down on the couch. He looked bored.

"Hey Alex." I said. "I have something I want to say."

"Hmm?" He set up.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry I haven't been paying attention to you these passed few days. I put my own work ahead of my family and I should have made more time for you."

"It is ok Dad, I know what you are doing is important." Alex said.

"It is a very pressing matter, but I want you to know that nothing is more important to me than my family." I told him.

"I know Father." He smiled and hugged me. "I love you."

"I love you too Alex." I smiled and hugged him back. "So what do you wanna do?"

"I do not know." He said. "I guess I'm just bored."

"Well we can play a few rounds of chess if you want." I offered.

"Yay!" Alex got this big smile on his face.

I enjoyed the whole rest of the day with my son. We did all of his favorite activities like playing chess and him helping me repair some things around the house. I felt bad that I had to miss having fun with him these past few days.

I had a few other projects I had put on hold because I needed to focus on curing Lloyd. There was one in particular that I was hoping to have done by Alex's first built-day. (Its like a birthday, but For Nindroids.) Borg and Pixal were helping me to make Alex a little robotic falcon friend, much like the one I had back then. Maybe that would help him not to be so lonely all the time when I was it was almost complete, but it wasn't quite ready yet and we were trying our best not to let him find out.

Then I got a text from Kira:

————{{{Zane's Phone}}}————

Kira: Hi Zane,
anything yet?

Zane: I'm sorry no. I have
been working nonstop for
three days but I haven't
been able to discover a
cure yet.

K: Well I appreciate the
help, but I can't let you
wear yourself out like
that for me. It's not fair
to you.

Z: I'm a Nindroid, I do not
get tired. Plus Lloyd is my
brother. I will always be
willing to help him.

K: Maybe I can lend a
hand? I do stuff with
blood tests at work all
the time so maybe there's
something you're missing.

Z: I don't want to bother you. Besides Pixal's working on it
so I can spend some time with
Alex today. I've been so busy I
haven't been there for him.

K: Oh ok, I completely
understand. Sorry for
putting so much pressure
on you, I think I just miss
Lloyd.

Z: It's not your fault. I
should have been paying
more attention to him.

K: I could bring Ryder
with me so Alex has
someone to play with.
He's been pretty lonely
since Lloyd left.

Z: Well it would go more
quickly if we all worked
together, and I guess Alex
wouldn't be so bored with
Ryder around. They are
pretty good friends after
all.

K: Alright, let me get Ryder
ready and we'll be right over.

Z: Thanks Kira.

K: You're welcome.
See you Zane.

Z: Goodbye.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I put my phone away and looked back at Alex.

"My apologies Alex." I sighed. "Kira and Ryder will be coming over later to help your mom and I find that cure for Lloyd."

"Are you sure I can't help with that?" Alex asked.

"Sorry son, but this is stuff is a bit more advanced than what you're used to." I said. "Don't worry, you'll have Ryder to play with while we all work."

"But I wanna help." He frowned.

"I appreciate that, but it's just too complicated for you." I told him.

"Ok." He sighed.

I felt bad for not letting him help, but he was just too young to handle something like this, and we couldn't afford any setbacks. If we do not get the antidote exactly right, it could make Lloyd's condition even worse. It was just way too important.

After a few minutes, Misako's car arrived with Kira and Ryder. Alex and Ryder went into the playroom with Misako while Pixal, Kira and I worked on the cure.

We worked for hours. They brought up a few ideas that I did not think of, but they didn't work either. We were beginning to give up hope.

"Ugh! Nothing's working!" Kira grew frustrated.

"I'm sorry Kira." I frowned. "I'm afraid there's no way to cure Lloyd in this state."

"We can't give up, not yet." Kira insisted. "Lloyd isn't going to come back until we have a way to cure this."

"Kira are you ok?" Pixal asked her.

"Yeah, I just want him to come back." She sighed.

"Your anxiety levels are raising." I warned her.

"I'm sorry, it's just all happening so fast." Kira took a deep breath. "What with Lloyd's dilemma and the baby and Ryder I guess I'm a bit overwhelmed."

"Relax, you're great with kids." Pixal said to her. "You'll make a wonderful mother."

"Thank you Pixal, but That's not the only thing I'm worried about." She sighed. "It's just that Lloyd promised he'd be here to help me with everything. I know what happened wasn't his fault, but Ryder needs a father and so does this baby."

"I thought you wrote him a letter?" I said.

"I did but I haven't heard anything. I don't even know if he's there."

"Kira it's ok, I'm sure we can figure it out." I assured her.

"Ok." She sighed. "Let's keep working."

We kept working until Alex came up to me.

"Dad, I'm bored." He said to me.

"I'm sorry son, this is just too important." I frowned. "We'll play later, ok?"

"You always say that." He frowned.

"Alex wait. I..."

He ran back into the living room before I could finish my sentence. I turned back to Pixal and Kira and sighed.

"What was that about?" Kira asked.

"Well ever since I started to working on Lloyd's cure, I haven't been able to spend much time with Alex." I frowned. "He's been feeling neglected lately but Lloyd's life is at stake here. I'm afraid if I stop, then he might not make it."

"Zane, if you want to take a break and play with Alex, I'm sure Kira and I can take it from here." Pixal said.

"Yeah, we got it covered." Kira agreed. "Go play with him."

"Alex?" I called for him.

"Yes father?" He came into the room. Then he looked at the lab table. "What are you working on?"

"Oh this is a bit complicated for you son." I said.

"No it isn't." He insisted. "If you want to reverse the effect of the venom of the great devourer, then you need the venom of the five staffs of the ancient serpentine tribes. Once they're all mixed together the extract can be used to make an antidote if the venom hasn't taken full effect yet."

"Alex you little genius!" Pixal hugged him.

"Wouldn't that much venom be dangerous?" Kira asked.

"Not if we have just the right amount." I realized.

"We have to find those staffs before it's too late." Kira said. "You guys gather up the rest of the ninja and start tracking them down. I'm going to find Lloyd."

"Do you even know where he is?" Pixal asked.

"I have a pretty good idea." Kira said.

"Let me give you a ride on my dragon." I offered.

"Alright." Kira agreed. "Just let me tell Misako what's going on so she can watch Ryder. Also I need to stop by the monastery and grab a few things."

"Of course." I replied.

Kira let everyone know what was going on and then we left. I gave her a ride to her treehouse in the labyrinth and then flew back to my lab to meet up with our friends. I just hoped Kira knew what she was doing.

Kira's P.O.V:

I navigated Zane to my treehouse and then I climbed up the ladder and knocked.

"Dad? Is that you?" I heard Lloyd's voice from inside.

"Lloyd it's me, Kira." I said calmly. "Is it ok if I come in?"

"Aren't you afraid I might hurt you?" He asked.

"Not at all, Zane has a lead on a cure and I just need to make sure the venom hasn't taken full effect yet." I told him.

"Is Ryder with you?" He asked.

"No, he's safe with your mother." I answered.

"Fine, you can come in just be careful. I don't want to hurt you." He said.

"Ok." I agreed.

I opened the door to the treehouse and I walked inside. I saw Lloyd laying there in the hammock and he did not look good at all. One of his arm was wrapped up, his other arm was in a sling, his foot and head were bandaged up and he looked as though he had been coughing and sneezing a lot.

"How did you find me?" Lloyd asked.

"I just figured you would want to go somewhere private and this is the first place that came to mind." I said. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah I've just been through a lot." He sighed.

"Here let me try to heal you." I insisted walking closer to him.

"No thanks, I don't want it to ware you out." Lloyd frowned.

"Ok then how about just your ankle so then you could at least walk." I suggested.

"I guess." He agreed.

I removed the bandages on his ankle and it looked like just a bad sprain. I put my hands on near it and I was able to heal it. It tired me out a little bit, but it was worth it to save Lloyd.

"How's that?" I asked him.

"Good as new, thanks." Lloyd said. "Are you ok?"

"I'll be fine, don't worry." I assured him as I stood up. "Can you stand?"

"I better not." He replied. "My ribs are still sore and I don't want to chance it."

"That's fine." I said. "What did you do to your arm?"

"I dislocated my shoulder." He told me. "Don't worry though, I'm fine."

"Are you sure you don't want me to heal the rest of your injuries?" I asked. "It won't drain me that bad."

"No Kira, you've done enough."

"Here, I brought these ice packs in case you were hurt." I pulled them out of my bag and I gently placed one on Lloyd's shoulder.

"That feels good, thanks." Lloyd said.

Then I heard his stomach growling so I got the noodles I got from Chen's Noodle House out of my bag.

"Here." I said handing it to him. "I figured you'd want something other then fruit and fish."

"Thank you." He smiled and took the noodles. I could tell he had been starving. "So how is Ryder doing?"

"We're taking good care of him for you, but he really misses his dad. He wants you to come home. We all do." I said.

"I can't." He frowned. "What if I end up hurting you or Ryder?"

"You won't, I know you Lloyd, you wouldn't do anything to hurt us."

"I'm not the same man I was back then." He frowned and looked at his hands. "I'm sorry for what I did."

"It's ok, I'm not mad." I said. "You were just trying to keep us all safe, but you don't need to run away. Whatever's going on, we can figure it out together."

"But what if I..."

"You won't." I cut him off.

"But I..."

"You won't." I said again.

I came closer to him and I held his hand. He looked up at me.

"Kira I'm so sorry." He leaned into me. "I shouldn't have left like I did."

"It's ok." I wrapped my arms around him gently. "It's ok."

"I wanna come home, but I'm afraid that I'm going to hurt you or Ryder."

"Lloyd it's all in your head. Once we get you home Ryder will be so thrilled to see you that you'll forget all about your fears."

"You think so?"

"I know so." I smiled. "But I won't make you go until you're ready."

"Thanks for being so patient with me Kira." Lloyd smiled, which was the first smile I saw from him in a long time. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." I said.

"It was nice to see you again, but you need to leave now." Lloyd frowned and looked away. "You can't be around me, I'm dangerous."

"You're not dangerous Lloyd, you're kind, you're sweet, you're a great father, you're Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon." I encouraged him.

"I am now but it's only going to get worse." He sighed. "Soon I'll be just as bad she is."

"Don't say that." I told him. "Unlike her you love your son, and that's why I know you're not gonna hurt him."

"You said something about how Zane was working on an antidote?" He changed the subject.

"Well actually Alex gave us an idea." I told him. "If we can get the venom from the staffs of the five serpentine tribes, then Zane can reverse the effects to make an antidote."

"So there is a way?" He perked up.

"Yep." I smiled. "If this works you'll be back to your old self in no time."

"That's great!" Lloyd exclaimed. "Tell Zane and Alex I said thank you."

"I don't know how long they'll be, but our friends will come as soon as the find the staffs." I told him. "I'll stay with you until they get here if that's ok?"

"Of course it is." He smiled. "And by the way, thank you for taking care of Ryder."

"It was no problem at all." I said.

"I'm sorry I sprung that on you so suddenly. After what happened I just got so scared that I didn't know what I was doing. All I could think about was how you were taking all this." Lloyd frowned. "What kind of father am I to just leave like that?"

"If you think I'm mad at you, I'm not." I told him. "I understand that you were just trying to keep us safe. You were only thinking about what was best for us."

"Just know that me leaving had nothing to do with you or the baby." Lloyd confirmed.

"I know that." I said. "I'm not mad at you, I just missed you."

"I missed you too." He kissed me.

As we were in the treehouse, I realized something. There's no way Lloyd could've climbed up here by himself in his condition, and I doubt he got hurt that much while in the treehouse. Come to think of it, he thought I was his dad when I knocked on the door earlier so that must've meant he was here. I wanted to ask Lloyd about it, but I avoided the question so I wouldn't stress him out any more than he already was. He seemed to be doing better for the time being and I didn't want to jeopardize that.

"Did you find the letter I sent?" I asked.

"Oh yeah." Lloyd said taking it off the table beside him. "Thank you for that. It's one of the only things that kept me going these past few days. That and Ryder's drawing."

"Yeah, he was so excited when he draw that for you." I told him. "To be honest I wasn't sure if it would reach you."

"Well I'm glad it did." Lloyd smiled at Ryder's picture.

"The letter was actually Ryder's idea." I told him.

"That's my boy." He smiled. "So he's hoping for a brother ha?"

"Yeah. He's really excited about it." I said.

"I am too." He said. "What are you hoping for?"

"It doesn't matter to me as long as it's happy and healthy." I said. "What do you want it to be?"

"Exactly that." He smiled. "I'm sorry you've been doing this all by yourself."

"I'm not by myself, your mom, Nya and Skylor have been walking me through this. They probably know more than you do anyway." I laughed.

"I can't argue with that." He laughed. "Still, I'm sorry I haven't been there."

"It's ok." I said.

"Oh that reminds me, is Kai ok?" Lloyd asked. "I haven't heard much from him since... well you know."

"Yeah he's doing fine." I told him. "Kai's injury has pretty much cleared up and he and Skylor are so excited."

"I bet." He smiled. "I almost forgot they were expecting a baby too."

"Yeah."

I stayed with him and talked for hours on end catching up on the stuff we missed. It honestly felt so good to talk to him again. I just hope the others hurry and find those staffs, but even if Lloyd does go crazy again, I'm not going to leave him alone.