Month 7

(Week 25 - 28)

Coughing echoed through the monastery, accompanied by the occasional crying, as baby Lumi Garmadon sought for comfort from her parents.

"She has a fever." Harumi announced, holding up the thermometer in her hands to show the temperature.

Lloyd continued swaying his daughter, trying to get her to stop crying as he did. "What do we do?"

Harumi coughed into her sleeve, wiping her nose with a tissue right after.

"It looks like you have it too." Lloyd pressed his hand on her forehead to find her burning up. "You both need rest."

"Nonsense! I can handle this, Greenie." Harumi crawled onto the bed, laying her head on the pillow. "I just...need to lie down for a second."

Lloyd chuckled and laid the baby beside her. Cracking his knuckles and stretching his arms, he was now in charge of two sick babies for the rest of the day.

With Harumi's vomiting and Lumi's crying, Lloyd was starting to feel nauseous as well.

"Are you sure you're not pregnant again?" Nya asked, holding up Harumi's hair as the girl emptied her stomach in the bathroom for the second time that day.

She turned around and shot her a glare. "I think I would know if Lloyd and I decided to give Lumi a sibling."

Nya offered a sheepish smile, deciding not to argue with the mother of her niece. "Carry on." She cleared her throat and winced as Harumi faced the toilet again.

"Shouldn't we take her to a baby doctor?" Jay suggested watching Lloyd dance Lumi from left to right, trying to get her comfortable.

Kai scoffed from beside him. "Why go to a doctor when we have our own nindroids?" He pointed towards Pixal and Zane who had been sorting through their medicine cabinet to find the appropriate one for Lumi.

"And besides, it's too risky. The people don't know about her yet." Lloyd looked down at the baby in his arms.

It had been months since he last made a public appearance, given his patrol ban and having to take care of his child, it was clear he had to give an explanation for his absence. One, he hoped, that the people would believe without him having to reveal the truth.

Lumi cooed and sneezed, covering her dad's clothes with a sticky substance. Lloyd groaned and passed her to Kai.

"Lumi, I'm running out of clothes!" He called back as he made his way to his room.

On his way there, he could hear the girls arguing in the bathroom.

"Just take one! It won't hurt to be sure!"

"Nya, for the last time. I'm not pregnant."

Lloyd's eyes lit up at the mention. Before he knew it, he was knocking on the bathroom door.

"What?!"

He gulped, knowing exactly who just snapped at him.

"Lloyd?" Harumi's voice softened once she caught sight of the boy poking his head from the small opening of the door. "How's Lumi doing?"

"She threw up on me again." He sighed and rolled his eyes. "How are you doing?"

He watched Harumi glare at Nya and quickly place a hand over her mouth when the girl was about to speak.

"I'm doing okay." She smiled at him.

"So, you're not pregnant?"

Her smile faded, her eyes narrowed, but before she could do anything, she felt another urge to vomit last night's dinner.

"This conversation is not over!" Harumi pointed out before turning to face the toilet again. Lloyd caught sight of Nya shaking her head which was enough signal for him to leave them alone.

By the time his girls got better, Lloyd took a 15 hour nap which led to everyone finding out that he caught the flu too.

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Everyone was gathered in the living room, Lumi sat in the middle, playing with her toys, while bets were made around the ninja.

"20 bucks I could get her to say 'Kai' first!" The Master of Fire confidently held out the money.

"You wish! I say she'll say 'Jay' I am her favorite uncle after all." The Master of Lightning declared, taking out his own cash.

"I am afraid that is incorrect." Zane interjected. "For I am the favorite uncle."

Cole raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "Uh, since when? Last time I checked, she bonded with me the most."

"Okay, if we're going to argue on who she bonded the most with, prepare to lose to the Master of Fiya!" As Kai exclaimed his words, he lit his hands with a small flame–catching Lumi's attention–earning him a glare from Lloyd.

Lumi giggled, already crawling towards him, making Lloyd jump from his seat to grab her before she got too close.

"What did I tell you about using your elemental powers in front of her?" Kai's fire immediately died down–much to Lumi's disappointment–and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Much better."

The baby started crying when Lloyd set her back down on the floor, it was clear she wanted to play with their elemental powers. But to her luck, Zane created a small snow flurry right above her, covering her surroundings with the white powder.

"I stand by my statement." He declared, a smirk of victory on his face as Lumi played with the snow. "I am the favorite."

The other ninja scoffed, crossing their arms as Zane went to play with Lumi.

"Alright then." Cole agreed. "How about we each get 1 minute to use our powers to convince Lumi to say our name first. Let her decide on her favorite uncle."

Everyone looked at Lloyd for approval, and he had to admit, it seemed like a pretty fun activity. Harumi ran a hand through his hair to calm him down and leaned in to whisper something in his ear.

"Alright." Lloyd nodded, taking everyone aback. "But just one minute."

The ninja saved their complaints and immediately got to work. Zane went first, surrounding Lumi with different toys made from ice and snow.

"Come on, Lumi." He pleaded, creating a small doll using his powers. "Just say 'Zane' and this will all be yours."

Lumi giggled and reached for the doll. "Bah!"

"Time!" Jay declared, a little too enthusiastically. "My turn!"

For Jay's plan to work–without having to electrocute his niece–he wanted to show Lumi the beauty of lightning. Jay rushed to turn off the lights and laid out some of Master Wu's crystals–which he found throughout the monastery–in front of her.

"Watch closely, Lu." He smirked and zap one of the crystals. The lightning created a glow that passed on from one crystal to another.

Lumi watched with wide eyes, before bursting into a fit of giggles and asking Jay to pick her up.

"Say 'Jay'! Come on, Lumi. Say the name of your favorite uncle!"

"Bah!"

"Time!" Kai announced, making Jay groan, and tossed the timer carelessly behind the couch. "I'll take her now, thank you."

Using his powers, Kai created different figures in the air–making sure not to set the monastery on fire–and even spelled his name out with the flames.

Lumi watched from the floor, snacking on one of her baby biscuits, and giggled every now and then.

"Alright, fireboy." Cole called from the couch. "It's time! Now stop it before you burn this place to the ground."

Kai groaned and picked up Lumi. "Come on, kid. I'll buy you one of those pink barbie jeeps! You'd like that, won't you?"

"That will not be necessary. I have been informed that Pixal is already working on a much more efficient vehicle for Lumi." Zane stated, his eyes widened once he realized what he had just said and immediately went to place a hand over his mouth.

Unfortunately, Lloyd was able to hear his words. "She's doing what now?"

"Oh come on! It would be fun." Harumi nudged him and nodded towards Cole. "Your turn, Master of Earth."

Cole was aware that using his powers in front of a baby would cause a major disaster in the monastery. Instead, he played to his strengths.

He picked up Lumi and engulfed her in his spinjitzu. His usual tornado of brown and rocks, now had a new shade of pink because of Lumi's clothes.

When he came to a stop, Lumi smiled up at him. "Co–."

A trail of baby vomit covered Cole's clothes.

"Oh come on!" He groaned and set Lumi down on the floor. "She was so close."

"You probably shouldn't have used your spinjitzu then." Harumi chuckled from the sidelines, her eyes following Cole when he left to change his clothes.

"My turn." Nya stepped up. She had been watching the boys fail for the past few minutes, deeming her confident she was the one who could get Lumi to start speaking.

Lumi coed at the sight of her aunt and immediately started reaching for her. Using her powers, Nya conjured a little water show for the baby.

Different sea creatures made of water floated over Lumi's head, which dripped water whenever she touched them, making her giggle.

"Who's your favorite aunt? Say 'Nya'!"

"Bah!"

"Time!" Lloyd called from his seat and got up. Everyone watched as he made his way to his daughter, taking a seat right in front of her.

Jay's eyes widened, already aware of the outcome. "You're joining?!"

"That's not fair! She's your daughter."

Lloyd smirked and handed the baby a toy. "Lumi hasn't said our names either."

"And what makes you think you can do it?" Harumi challenged from her seat.

"Because I can do this." Lloyd conjured his powers, a light green energy orb forming between his hands. Lumi watched with amazement, the light reflecting in her eyes.

Concentrating all his power into the orb, Lloyd was able to manipulate its shape. When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by thousands and thousands of tiny green fireflies.

Everyone was captivated by the show. No one had ever thought the Green Ninja was capable of such a feat.

"H-how did you do that?" Harumi sat down beside him to place a hand on his shoulder, her eyes never leaving the glow.

Lloyd shrugged, watching Lumi smile and try to grab one of the creatures. "I guess there's more to my powers than I've unlocked."

Harumi tore her gaze away from the fireflies and smiled at him. "It's beautiful, Greenie."

"Not as beautiful as you."

Their foreheads touched, their lips away from each other. Blue eyes meeting green. Before they could get any closer, the door to the living room was promptly opened to reveal Master Wu in a state of panic.

"There has been a break in at Kryptarium prison!"

The green light died down the same time everyone fell into panic. It had been months since there was trouble in Ninjago City, and months since the last battle of the ninja. Lloyd looked at Harumi, waiting for her to tell him that he could go. But when he got a glare in response, he sighed in defeat and watched as the other ninja scrambled to their feet.

"Ninja go!!" They yelled in unison, masks over their faces and weapons in their hands.

As they were about to leave, a small voice managed to catch their attention.

"Ni'ja go!"

Everyone turned their heads to find Lumi giggling from her seat and quickly placed her hand in her mouth.

"O-kaay." Jay let out a nervous chuckle, his mouth open as he stared at her with everyone else.

"Who had money on that?"

"Kai, priorities!" Nya ushered her brother out the door and dragged the rest of the boys along with her.

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"Come on, Lu. We're going to surprise your daddy."

"Dada!"

Harumi had been trying to get her daughter inside Lloyd's car for the past 5 minutes, but for some reason, she had developed a fear of riding in a car seat.

"Yes," Harumi responded and tried to fix the straps around her but Lumi's squirming wasn't making it easy. "And if you want to see 'dada' you need to behave."

She huffed and grabbed a toy from the baby bag she carried over her shoulder. A green dragon stuffed toy was picked up from the variety of toys and Lumi immediately went to reach for it.

"Thank you." Harumi sighed once she stopped moving, taking the opportunity to lock her in place.

She took her place at the wheel and headed for Ninjago City. Lloyd had informed her that all his shoots were private and there were rarely any people inside the studio, a perfect opportunity for Lumi to visit without getting caught.

They had been talking about revealing her to the public for weeks now–although most of them ended with arguments–and Harumi decided this was the exact push he needed.

She didn't care if the police commissioner had strictly forbade them to do so, the people were going to find out eventually.

The car pulled up in front of a large warehouse, the same place the navigation was locked on, Harumi climbed out and grabbed her daughter. There was a back door with a sign that read "Artists Only" inside a yellow star, Harumi shrugged and pushed it open.

The outside of the warehouse was definitely very different from the inside. While the outside was covered in rusty metal, large doors, and piles of empty boxes, the inside was much more organized with different backdrops, cameras and lighting equipment, along with a separate room for hair and makeup.

"Woah." Harumi gasped at the sight of the busy environment, trying to make her way towards the center of the room.

So much for "rarely any people".

Lumi blew raspberries with her mouth, drawing the attention of different makeup artists, making Harumi duck into a corner to hide.

"Come on, help me spot your dad."

It wasn't hard to find a boy with golden blonde hair, dressed with green from head to toe, for he was right in the middle of everything (and the outfit was making him stand out).

"Alright, now give me some action!"

"What does this have to do with a cereal brand?"

"Everything, Lloyd. Everything."

Harumi recognized the self-proclaimed Master of Brown who was standing beside the photographer. Her last encounter with the man was not entirely pleasant since it was when she was evil.

She contemplated on how to approach this situation, perhaps this was a bad idea. Lumi Garmadon seemed to have noticed her mother's dilemma and chose for her.

"Dada!" She exclaimed, catching the man's attention, as she wiggled out of her mother's arms.

"Lumi, calm down." Harumi tried to fix her hold on her daughter but Lumi insisted on crawling to her dad.

Lloyd's eyes widened at the sight of them and immediately broke out into a run, scooping Lumi in his arms before she got any further.

"What are you doing here?" He whispered to Harumi, placing a hand over Lumi's back and fixing his hold on her.

Harumi offered a sheepish smile. "Surprise?"

Lloyd glared at her but before he could respond, Darreth beat him to it.

"Aw. Who's this adorable little baby?" He asked, playing with Lumi's hand from behind Lloyd.

The Green Ninja gulped, the serious look on his face dropped into an expression of panic. He turned to Harumi for an answer but she simply nodded, encouraging him to tell the truth.

Lloyd held his breath and faced the Master of Brown. "Darreth, this is my daughter. Lumi Garmadon."