Lloyd tries to stop his father from leaving, but the Tornado of Creation leaves him too drained of energy. Cole is there after, though. Post March Of The Oni main events. 

A/N: we're at day 6 of summer of whump! I think I'm doing pretty okay so far, yay! 

• • •

When Lloyd wakes up, his first thought is pain. 

Pain filling his chest, reaching claws into his veins, tearing his soul from piece to piece. Bright blue eyes fill his vision, and there's a collective gasp through the courtyard — at least, he thinks he's in the courtyard. The last few memories he gathers are dizzy, wisps of a tornado and powers and dark swirling shadows and his dad—

He draws in a ragged wheeze, chest feeling like it's rattling apart as he breathes. 

"Dad?" he coughs, and makes a valiant effort to sit up, falling back to the ground almost immediately. 

"No, no, Lloyd, don't get up, you're hurt." Cole tells him quietly, and grabs his hand trying to push him upright. Lloyd shakes his head, gasping for another lungful of oxygen. 

"Dad." He whispers, and Cole's gaze softens, melting into regret. His eyes flicker up to another figure in the background, and Lloyd takes the chance to shove himself upright, biting down his lip to keep the cries of pain from escaping. The metallic taste of iron fills his mouth, and he swallows down bitterly. 

No. He can't give it up now. 

He glances the courtyard, latching onto a dark disappearing person at the gates.

Garmadon.

 A rough stumble sends him tumbling towards the ground, and Cole barely catches on his shoulder, hauling him up gently. He leans against the earth ninja, wishing his legs would hold him steady. 

"Lloyd, come on, he's not—"

"You're hurt, just—"

"Cole, get him into the med room—"

 He ignores the frantic whispers of his family behind him, biting his lip. It felt like someone poured molten lava into his bones, twisting and burning and hurting with every movement he makes. 

"Please stay." Lloyd whispers. He's fought too hard to get his father back, and letting him slip away now, would just hurt too much to bear.

Garmadon looks back over his shoulder, eyes filled with cold fire. 

He turns and leaves without a word, and Lloyd thinks watching him walk away silently is so much worst than the sharp cutting insults he always throws, or the departures filled with shouting and threats and hate.

Those were something. Something he could hang on to, something he could use to convince himself that his father still remembered him. 

But this? This was just empty, cold, quiet, ignorance.

"Please? Dad!" Lloyd screams at him, disappearing into the thick clouds, and his voice breaks into a dry sob. Cole catches him when he falls again, collapsing as the last of his energy drained from him, trembling with sobs and cries and broken sentences. He carries him back to the monastery without a word. 

The earth ninja is all too familiar with the pain of being abandoned by a parent, and knows the pain of betrayal can't be fixed with a few sweet whispered nothings. 

So he sits by the cold white bed, tucking in a blanket around his fragile frame, and waits. 

• • •

Lloyd wakes up for the second time that day, and his first thought is again pain. 

Not the aching kind, though. Not the physical kind that sears your flesh and bones, but the kind that sinks into your chests and sews itself into your memories, bit by bit. 

He remembers Garmadon's quiet emotionless gaze, and he remembers the last of his father disappearing within the fog. 

"Lloyd?" Cole peers down at him, deep brown eyes filled with worry. "You okay?"

"I feel great." Lloyd tells him blankly, and Cole gives a small smile. 

"Yeah, no, it was a pretty tough fight out there. It was touch and go with you, for a while. Nearly gave Zane a heart attack." He says wryly, and Lloyd gives a small groan, nose wrinkling. 

"You can't blame me for that, I can't control my dying—" He wheezes, and Cole frowns, eyebrows furrowing in concern.

"Don't laugh, you sound like a seagull. A dying seagull. " 

"You say that like you're not trying to make me laugh—" Lloyd snorts, and Cole grins. 

"Caught." Cole says lightly, his want for the green ninja to laugh rising slightly above his need for him to be okay for a minute. His gaze catches on a pattern of bruises, rained down across Lloyd's side, and he can't stop a wince of sympathy from escaping. The green ninja is still smaller than most of them, pale figure swallowed by thick sheets.

 "Geez, Cole. Give an injured child a break," he huffs, catching the direction he's looking in, and stuffs his arm back into the blanket. 

"I remember him," Lloyd says wistfully, voice soft.  "But Garmadon's not like that anymore, is he?" 

"I know it sounds odd, but, sometimes people do stupid things when they try to protect others." Cole fidgets with the duvet quietly, and Lloyd stares at the ceiling, blinking back hot tears as he tries to register it in his head. 

He knows that. He's done that, far too many times. 

But he hated being protected, now more than ever. Hates feeling like a burden, like something to be taken care of, someone who can't fight for themselves. 

Cole takes his hand quietly, giving it a small reassuring squeeze.

"It's gonna be okay." He tells the teen, and means it. 

He's gone through too many rocky and painful paths of healing, and he's ready to lead Lloyd through this one, even if it's filled with stumbles and undying demons. 

Lloyd looks up at him, gaze glassy with unshed tears, and thinks it just might.