Archive of Our Own ^beta

The gentle smell of chamomile tea wafted through the monastery kitchen in the early hours of the morning. No noise echoed through the halls, most of the inhabitants deep asleep. Silver moonlight shone in from the open windows, accompanied by a faint summer breeze that spread the scent of the tea throughout the building.

Lloyd cupped his hands around the mug but made no effort to drink it, despite the tea slowly losing heat. He stared unseeing into the steam rising from the mug, zoned out.

Ever since using the Dragon Cores during the battle, he’d felt strange, like there was something he needed to do. He was restless, constantly scanning his surroundings for hidden threats, always jumpy whenever he was alone.

The nightmares we’re helping, either. Horrifying scenes of his family hurt or worse, a gonging sound that put his nerves on edge, a vivid red moon, warriors wearing wolf-face masks—

One of the worst was seeing Sora crushed by a pile of boulders and unable to do anything about it.

They were so intense and horrifying that Lloyd became afraid to sleep. The nightmares assaulted him every single night, always waking him in a cold sweat, sometimes screaming. He realized that maybe if he stopped sleeping, they wouldn’t scare him.

Being a dragoni had its perks, too. He didn’t need sleep as much as his family did. It was nice, sure, but he could live without. For a time.

“Lloyd?”

The voice was quiet as if not to startle him, but Lloyd jumped anyway. His gaze snapped up to the doorway, where Sora stood half-awake, watching him with that look she always got when she was studying something or trying to solve a puzzle.

“O-oh. Hey, Sora.” Lloyd swallowed thickly, forcing away the scene of her getting buried to the back of his mind. “Why are you up?”

The teen silently moved into the room and sat across from Lloyd with a heavy sigh. “Can’t sleep.”

She folded her arms across the table and rested her head on them with another exhale. “Are you okay?” Lloyd asked tentatively upon seeing the way her shoulders drooped with defeat and exhaustion.

Sora only picked up her head to lean her chin on her arms, still slouched over the table, and glanced up at Lloyd with a troubled expression. “I can’t stop thinking about my parents,” she replied heavily. Lloyd immediately zeroed in his focus. He always put his guard up when someone mentioned parents, especially after the kids moved in. “I saw them in the battle.”

“Oh…” Lloyd blinked slowly. “So, good thing or…?”

“No,” Sora replied bitterly. “They wanted me to go with them and help the empress.”

Lloyd’s eyes widened. “Even after the video?”

His student nodded forlornly. “They didn’t care. Still remained loyal to the empress.” Her voice turned resentful and she leaned back, pulled her knees to her chest, then wrapped her arms around her legs.

A position of defense, to hide vulnerability. As if it would block out the world.

Something Lloyd didn’t want to see on the young teen.

“Sora,” he asked as gently as he could, “do you still want to be their daughter?”

The teen’s eyes widened. “What?” She blinked, then scowled. “I don’t have a choice! They’re my parents, whether I want them to be or not.” She curled tighter into herself. “And I’m their daughter.”

Lloyd stood slowly, tea forgotten, and moved around the table to Sora’s side. She didn’t move, but he could feel her watching. He pulled up an empty chair and put a gentle hand on Sora’s shoulder. She wilted slightly under the touch, defeated.

“We’re never defined by our parents,” he replied earnestly. “If you don’t want to follow in their footsteps, don’t. And if you don’t want to be associated with them at all, you don’t have to be.”

“But—”

“Don’t,” Lloyd interrupted gently. “It’s your choice. No one—none of us—will judge you for it.” He smiled softly. “I can tell you from experience.”

Sora sniffed and swiped at her eyes, still refusing to meet Lloyd’s eye. “But you have a perfect family,” she protested.

Lloyd paused, startled, then couldn’t help a bark of laughter. Sora startled, whirling to him with wide eyes, and he tried to wrestle his amusement down. “I have a terrible family,” he mused. “I’ve rejected my parents before. Kai and Nya and the others aren’t siblings by blood.”

Sora looked like her world had just tipped upside down.

“W-what?”

“Yeah,” Lloyd breathed with a huff of laughter. “They’re sworn siblings. But I chose them, and they chose me.” His love for them swelled when he vocalized the truth. It seemed more real when he said it out loud.

“I didn’t know that,” Sora hummed quietly, staring at her hands.

Lloyd shifted his chair closer and gently pulled Sora into a loose hug. She melted into him, her expression still conflicted but clearer. “You don’t have to choose right away,” Lloyd added.

The teen nodded in agreement, already looking half-asleep.

Comfortable silence fell over them for a long while. Lloyd simply kept his arms around Sora, who made no effort to move, and watched the steam fade from the mug of tea as it cooled.

“What if…” Sora’s voice was hesitant and quiet, almost as if she was nervous. Lloyd waited patiently. “What if I choose you?”

He almost didn’t hear her, but when his brain latched onto the words, his eyes widened. Time froze for a moment. He became acutely aware of his beating heart and breaths of air.

“M-me?”

“Yeah,” Sora replied, sounding much more confident. She shifted slightly into a more comfortable position, then stilled with a sigh of fatigue and contentment.

Lloyd tightened his embrace ever so slightly. “I wouldn’t say no,” he responded honestly, just as quiet.

He thought for a moment, then smiled into the dark. “Why don’t we go to Imperium tomorrow and see how much it’s changed? Because of you.”

Sora was silent for a moment before nodding once. “Okay,” she agreed tiredly.

Then, almost too quiet for Lloyd to hear, a last murmur escaped her lips before she succumbed to sleep. “Thank you.” Another word followed, but too faint to discern.

Oblivious, Lloyd simply smiled and waited for the sun to rise.

***

Imperium bustled with activity.

Unlike when Lloyd had been here last, the people dressed differently from one another, no longer constrained by a dictator. They ran and laughed and played with one another, bright smiles alighting their faces.

Sora’s head swiveled around, eyes wide, as she absorbed every new detail about her home city. She couldn’t help a smile when a group of kids barreled past, flying kites, and unknowingly almost tripped the two Ninja.

She’d decided that it would be best if they went undercover. Gone were the uniforms and armor, replaced with hoodies and sweatpants. Lloyd kept his hood up, knowing his bright blond hair, glowing eyes, and pointed ears would be easily identifiable even in a foreign city. Sora, though, let her pink hair flow freely, held back with her cat-ear headphones.

“It’s so different,” she breathed, plunging deeper into the city with an awed expression.

Lloyd smiled fondly as Sora continued to soak in everything around them, bright-eyed with wonder.

But as they walked further into the reforming city, the chaos of freedom and the hubbub of activity died out, replaced with a heavy solemnity. Families huddled together, facing the same direction, watching with apprehension.

And there was a lot of shouting, too. They should probably investigate that.

Before Lloyd could even voice his thoughts to Sora, she’d already quickened her pace and hurried onward.

When they rounded the corner, both Ninja halted in their tracks.

A messy line of Imperium citizens marched towards them down the middle of the street, handcuffed, all still wearing the old black and gold uniform. Guard paced down either side of the line, making sure no one broke the line.

“What are they doing?” Sora questioned, but made no move to approach.

Lloyd studied the Imperians. They all wore expressions of disgust or anger, some struggling against the cuffs, and shouting at the guards.

When a different citizen shuffled past, Lloyd stepped in the way. “Excuse me? What’s going on here?” He asked, gesturing to the crowd.

“They’re rounding up anyone loyal to the empress,” the citizen replied hurriedly, voice rushed as if they were desperate to leave. And, indeed, as soon as the words were out, they scurried away.

Lloyd turned back to the crowd with a new understanding, and Sora did as well. No longer did she look confused. Instead, she appeared…saddened.

“Sora?” Lloyd prompted quietly, resting a hand on her arm.

Her shoulders slumped at his touch. “They don’t get it,” she murmured sadly. “They…”

“Hey,” Lloyd interrupted softly, turning her to face him. She could barely look him in the eye, her own filled with guilt. “You did everything you could, Sora,” he insisted. “Sometimes…you can’t change the darkness deep inside someone.” He swallowed bitterly and released his student, who, thankfully, didn’t question his change of tone. Rather, she turned back to the crowd.

The line made its way towards them, the guards doing their best to keep everyone contained.

Sora and Lloyd watched from the sidelines as they slowly marched past, hardly anyone paying attention to the people on the sidewalks and instead trying to free themselves from the handcuffs.

“Ana!”

Sora went rigid.

Lloyd’s gaze snapped to the source of the call. Two Imperians, a woman with chin-length curled hair and a man with a crew cut, surged towards them. They almost broke free of the group until four guards restrained them.

“Ana! Help us!” The woman begged, tears causing her makeup to streak down her face in haunting black trails.

Sora made no movements.

The man fought even harder, thrashing in his bonds. The guards struggled to hold him back, unable to receive backup due to the other guards needing to put their efforts into the rest of the flock.

“Ana, help your parents!” The man demanded, expression set in anger. “We’ll—we’ll forgive you! You can come back to your family!”

Lloyd stared at him in shock. Was he for real? After all the suffering they put Sora through, this was their offer? Seriously?

The man freed himself from the guards, who immediately tried to wrestle him back. But Sora held up a hand and they stepped away, wary.

Lloyd’s fingers twitched into a fist, prepared to fight, but Sora sent him a side glance. He backed down immediately, but watched carefully at every action Sora’s birth parents made. His arms crossed tightly across his chest.

The teen took a small step forward, lips pressed into a thin line of neutrality. “Why?” She demanded simply.

“We’re your family!” The woman emphasized. “Don’t abandon us to these monsters!” She spat at the guards, who shoved her to the ground. Sora didn’t flinch when she cried out at the movement.

“I already told you,” she replied flatly. “I didn’t abandon you.” Lloyd instantly picked up on the slight tremor in her voice.

The man stormed up to her, but Sora didn’t move. “You left us in the Merge storm!” He snapped. What kind of daughter leaves her parents to the mercy of—of them! ” He shoved his finger in Lloyd’s direction.

The Ninja’s lips curled into a snarl and his fingers curled around his arms.

Why was it that no matter what realm he was in, there were people who had no appreciation for them? No, worse—didn’t like them. After everything they did, everything they’ve suffered and lost and the pain they’ve felt, people like Sora’s birth parents saw them as the bad guys?

Sora stepped in between so her father’s finger was aimed at her instead. “‘Them’,” she repeated coldly, “is also me.”

Lloyd snapped out of his loathing, his expression softening.

Sora’s father lowered his arm with a scowl. “You’re walking on thin ice, Ana,” he snapped. “Any more of this and it won’t be so easy to earn our forgiveness.”

Sora’s eyes narrowed. “Earn it?” She asked, icy calm that could only mean she was furious. “Why in the merged lands would I want your forgiveness?”

“You hurt us, Ana!” The woman cried out, still with tears streaking down her face. “You left us without a word—you didn’t even say goodbye!”

“You’re hurt?” Sora suddenly burst out, hands clenched into fists that shook with anger. “You never believed in me or loved me! As soon as I saw the truth about how LaRow and Beatrix hurt dragons for power, you turned your backs on your child! What kind of parents do that to a five-year-old?!” Lloyd’s eyes widened as Sora stepped closer to her father, tears in her eyes. She’d been… five? “Leaving was the best thing to happen to me,” she added shakily. “I have a new family now.”

Lloyd straightened and met the man’s eye directly.

“So…you’re not going to help us?” The mother sobbed.

“Like hell I would,” Sora spat, stepping back. “You don’t know me at all. I…” She furiously wiped her eyes. “I’m not your daughter.” She glanced back at Lloyd with hope, and he smiled softly, heart warming.

Her father’s face contorted with anger and his hand advanced upon the teen, snatching her arm. Lloyd shot forward. Sora cried out in alarm as her father pulled her towards the line, somehow stronger than the young Ninja. “Fine, then!” He shouted. “If we can’t come with you, you’re coming with us!”

He hadn’t noticed Lloyd approaching until the Ninja grabbed the hand holding Sora in a vice grip. The man stopped, eyes wide, and glanced at the Green Ninja. Lloyd’s eyes burned with hate, no doubt glowing slightly more due to his emotions. “Get. Your hands. Off.” He hesitated slightly, glancing at Sora—and despite the fear that had surfaced in her eyes, she gazed up at him with complete trust. Lloyd turned back to the man. “My. Kid.”

Whether from shock or the growing pressure from Lloyd’s grip, the man’s grip relaxed enough for Sora to yank her hand out. She stepped away, gingerly rubbing the wrist, and Lloyd stood protectively in front of her.

He felt a growl building up as he glared at the man in his grip, his fingers subconsciously tightening and the man’s expression pinching with pain.

But before anything else could happen, the guards reappeared and restrained him. Lloyd let go of his wrist and allowed the guards to drag him and the woman back.

“And my name is Sora,” she shot after them. “This is goodbye. Forever.”

She spun on her heel and stalked away, never looking back. Lloyd sent one last glare over his shoulder, then followed.

Sora kept herself composed until they reached a back alley, where she immediately whirled around and threw her arms around Lloyd.

He readily returned the gesture, pulling her close, a shield protecting his student…his kid.

He’d have to get used to that.

…He figured it wouldn’t be too hard.