#but Mystake knows <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[mysticdragoni]

So does jade like flavoured tea( cherry, jasmine, LILY??)

On TikTok someone said “She’s very picky about how she likes her tea.” I agree with this considering she lives in a Tea shop, and her Yang is Mystake, of course she will be picky about her tea.

Jade can handle almost anything life throws at her except for one thing.. She hates honey in her tea.

When she is feeling under the weather, Mystake will add honey to help soothe the throat..

[ruskatuskapuskasapuska]

A lil mysta(-shitpost)-dump cuz wääääähhh (you can't just get me into vtube-hell and just leave me like that, what the fuck dude?? /j)

Also here's mystakes with mouths that I quickly drew on phone and sketch/lineart of that colored one:

[circus4apsycho8]

Hi, I hope you are doing well!! I was wondering if you could write a ninjago Cole x reader where the reader is the teams medic. Cole, being the muscle of the team, usually gets hurt a lot and the medic has to patch him a lot on and off the field. They grow closer and close and eventually become an established relationship. Angst, smut, fluff, whatever, full creative freedom! Love your writing!!

Hey, thank you very much! Love this request! I will be making this a 2-3 part series. One of the next chapters will feature a second related request, I believe. Originally I was going to publish it all at once, but then I decided to break it up a little bit. Also, not sure how accurate the wounds and whatnot are, but I tried :v Hope you enjoy!

Warnings: stab wounds, cussing, mild gore descriptions

Word Count: 11.9k

Masterlist for this Fic

knife to meet you. | cole x reader | chapter i

The clock is going to drive you insane. 

Tick after tick, the hands click on, your sanity diminishing with each passing second. For the millionth time tonight, you rip your gaze from the dragging hands of the clock. Not even three minutes had passed since you’d last checked the time. A frustrated sigh tumbles from your lips, eyes venturing down to stare at the tea supplies scattered about the table before you.   

“Stop looking at it,” you grumble to yourself, returning your hands to your task - bagging tea leaves and ingredients to assemble Mystake’s latest recipe. Her new tea is set to launch tomorrow, and she could be a stickler for keeping fully stocked shelves. The thought makes you sigh, knowing you’ll certainly be busy in the morning. Perhaps the promotion would make the day go by faster. 

The repetitive motions of your hands eventually allow your mind to shift into autopilot mode, hands running on muscle memory as you wonder how much longer you would be here for - you’d come a long way since training as her apprentice, and by helping her with the shop, she allowed you to live with her rent free.

And while you’re forever grateful for Mystake’s kindness, you know this isn’t what destiny has planned for you. Running a tea shop was her dream, not yours. Deep within your heart, you feel yourself growing antsy. You wouldn’t thrive here, and a part of you wonders if you’ll end up stuck here. 

The bell above the door chimes, snapping your body out of autopilot and into customer service mode. The smile plastered on your face masks the annoyance at having to serve someone so late. Who even thinks to buy tea this late at night? 

You hop off of the stool. “Good evening! How can I-”   

The sight before you jerks your body out of autopilot, a horrified expression overcoming you as your eyes process the scene in front of you:   

Three men dressed in gis stand before you, two of them supporting a man in a black gi - his head is drooped, and he’s limp. His arms are strung around the necks and shoulders of two men on either side - one dressed in red and the other blue.   

“Please,” grunts the one in blue. “We need help!”   

“He’s been stabbed, and we didn’t know where else to go,” adds the red one, both looking at you with desperate faces. “You can treat wounds, right?”   

For a moment, you freeze. Mystake isn’t here, and she always takes care of these things. You’ve only ever observed or helped with guidance. She certainly wouldn’t make it back in time to help.   

What would she say right now?   

...She’d tell me not to freeze. Just work and do what you were trained to do. Make a decision. 

You snap out of your stupor, realizing that you’re on your own. This man needs help now, and you know you’ll never become a healer if you don’t start doing things on your own.   

So, you force yourself to swallow your fear. “Okay. Take him in the back; take a right, then enter the second doorway on the left. I’ll be right there.” 

The two oblige without question, immediately making their way to the back of the store. After making your way to the front, you lock the door and flip the sign to ‘closed’. Next, you jog behind the counter, swiping the emergency medical kit you always had stocked. On your way to the room, you swipe a certain tea you know you’ll need later.   

With almost everything you need in hand, you hurry through the maze of tea shelves and doors until you arrive in the medical room.   

The two men have lowered their friend on top of the bed, with the red one pressing down on his abdomen. Blood cakes the lower parts of his arms, eyes wide with fear as he holds the pressure.   

“The blood…it’s not stopping,” the brunet drawls, tensing as he stares at the wound.   

“Here, let me,” you state, immediately coming to take over. He relents, stepping off to the side. “I need you guys to grab me a few towels. They’re in the cabinet to the right.”   

They nod, rushing to gather what you need. You’re quick to start applying pressure to the wound, face twisting in determination as you hold the fabric in place. The stabbed man grunts, hissing as he tosses his head back in pain. Normally a reaction like this would scare you, but you’re too hopped up on adrenaline to care at the moment.   

“I’m sorry. I know this hurts like hell, but I have to get the bleeding to stop,” you sympathize, eyes still trained on his wound. Out of the corner of your eye, you can see the blue one frozen at the side. Looks like he could use something else to focus on. “Hey, blue guy. Can you start steeping that tea bag over there? I know it’s an odd request at such a time, but just trust me.”   

“Tea bag? Y-Yeah, I’m on it.” Thankfully, this snaps him out his stupor and gets his hands busy.   

You note that the red one looks antsy too. A glance at the injured man’s tattered top gives you an idea for another task.   

“And could you get his top off, please? I need to make sure he wasn’t hit anywhere else this badly.”   

“Yeah. Yeah…okay. I can do that,” he replies, eyes lingering over the blood momentarily before he snaps himself out of his stupor. His hands fumble to his belt, where he slips out a small, silver shuriken.   

You shuffle out of his way as best you can without hindering your progress on the wound, watching as the shuriken slices through the fabric. Mr. Red Guy gently pulls the sides off and out of your way, allowing it to drape over the sides of the table.   

After thanking him, you quickly scan the rest of the stabbed man’s torso. There are a few bruises and cuts, but the stab wound seems to be the brunt of the damage.   

From there, the room falls quiet save for his pained grunts.   

“Fuck,” he curses, voice taut. “How...how’s it looking?”   

“You’re gonna pull through, man,” replies the red one, his voice coming out stronger than he looks. “She’s got the blood loss slowing down.”   

The blue one, on the other hand, doesn’t sound as put together. His voice is shaky and his eyes are glassy, but you can tell he’s trying to sound optimistic. “Yeah, Cole, you’re going to be just fine.”   

“How’s the tea looking?” you inquire, trying to distract him from whatever’s making him upset. You need everyone to remain calm until the bleeding has stopped.   

“I think it’s ready. Do you need it?”   

“Yes, please,” you reply. “Have him drink as much as he can, even if it’s only a few sips. It should ease the pain a little bit and help prevent infection.”   

The redhead nods, going to prop his friend’s head up while the other holds the teacup for him. You listen as they speak softly to him, words too quiet for you to hear.   

It takes you a minute, but thankfully you’re able to get the bleeding to stop. Soon enough, the wound is sterilized and bandaged properly with the man now unconscious on the table.   

You find yourself absentmindedly cleaning the last bits of blood off of his torso, realizing that the three of you are all quietly processing the night together.   

“Are you two okay?” you speak suddenly, shifting your gaze to them. “You’re not wounded, are you?”   

“No, we’re okay. Just a little cut up and bruised, but nothing we can’t handle,” the spiky-haired brunet assures. “Thank you. I don’t know what we would have done if you hadn’t helped us.”   

“It’s what we do. I’m glad I was able to help him,” you dismiss, smiling softly as you return your gaze to the task at hand. “Oh, and by the way…” You take a moment to introduce yourself. “I’m Mystake’s apprentice.”   

“Only an apprentice?” the redhead wonders.   

“I thought you were a master medic, what with the way you handled that. But yeah, I’m Kai, that’s Jay, and he’s Cole.”   

You nod in acknowledgement, attempting to commit their names to memory. “Thank you. Well, I wish it was under better circumstances, but nonetheless it’s nice to meet you all.”   

“Likewise,” Kai replies.   

You debate your next question momentarily, but decide to just ask anyway. “And do you mind if I ask what happened? Stabbings are rare around here.”   

“Well, I’d say you’ve more than earned an explanation for us barging in here with a dying man in the middle of the night, then handling it like a pro,” Jay interjects. “We were on a mission to investigate an incident of serial burglaries that had been occurring around a town close to this one.”  

“Long story short, we find the guys, confront them, then things start to get heated,” Kai continues, staring off into the distance. “So, we start fighting, trying to apprehend and whatnot. Cole doesn’t draw his weapon yet because he’s pretty well-versed with hand-to-hand combat.”   

“It was my fault,” Jay interrupts, eyes turning glassy again as he averts his gaze. “One of them tripped me up, and I caught sight of the knife they had. And I…I just froze. I don’t know why. But he pushed me out of the way just in time, and he took the hit in my place.”   

“It’s not your fault, Jay,” Kai assures. “This was a rough job for us all. And it doesn’t help that Zane wasn’t here to help.”   

“The important thing is that you’re all alive and healing,” you say, dumping another bloodied towel into a nearby bin. “And he’s going to be just fine.” 

“I still can’t help but feel bad,” mumbles the redhead, your heart dropping slightly at the sight of his guilt-laced stare. “He shouldn’t have to look out for us when he already takes the brunt of the damage.”   

Their words pique your interest, causing you to glance up with a puzzled expression. “So you guys do this a lot, then? Are you vigilantes or something?”   

“We’re ninja,” Kai responds, gesturing to the symbols on both of their gis. “We recently finished our training with our master, and have been fighting to make Ninjago a safer place ever since.”   

“Oh, I see!” you reply. That certainly explains the strange outfits and weapons. The conversation reminds you of a rumor you had heard from a few customers one day a few weeks ago. “You know, now that we’re talking about it, I had heard rumors about ninjas surfacing somewhere and taking out bad guys. I just didn’t think much of it considering nothing major has happened in our town since.”   

Kai grins slightly at this, eyeing Jay with a small smirk. “Hey, sounds like we’re starting to make waves.”   

“Waves? I think you’re giving us too much credit,” Jay notes, stifling a yawn.   

“But it’s a start,” Kai adds, also yawning. The action makes you realize how late it is, knowing the two must be exhausted from the night’s events.   

“Alright. It’s late, and he’s about as cleaned up as I can get him right now,” you comment. “If you two will just help me move him onto a stretcher, I can get him hooked up to an IV and then he’ll be set for the night. Mystake will want him to stay so we can monitor his vitals and ensure that the wound doesn’t become infected. You both are welcome to stay here while he’s recovering; we’ve got a spare room and extra clothes for times like these. Please, follow me.”   

…   

With Kai and Jay now settled in for the night, you find yourself preparing the IV for Cole in the recovery ward of the shop.   

As your fingers work, you find your gaze drifting to the man before you. Now that he’s stable and your adrenaline rush has passed, you have time to observe him.   

His gi had been black - that much you remember. Your eyes drift across his bare torso, noting that he has a few scars across his chest. His stature is muscular - seemingly more so than the other two.   

You tear your gaze from him, double checking that everything is ready before taking his arm in your hands, flipping it over to find the right vein. Once you do, you insert the IV. 

The action makes him stir, eyes opening slightly. Immediately, he tries to sit up, but your muscle memory kicks in just in time to push him back down.   

“Hey, hey, take it easy,” you say, holding him down gently. “You’re okay, but you need to rest.”   

Thankfully, he settles, eyes relaxing slightly at your touch. Jaded green eyes study your figure as you gaze at him, watching to see if he’s going to try and get up again.   

“Where am I?” he wonders, voice hoarse. “I barely remember what happened. Everything’s patchy for me...I remember that room, Kai and Jay were there...then I couldn’t stay awake anymore.”   

“You’re at Mystake’s tea shop. This is our recovery ward. You were stabbed in a fight, and your friends brought you here. You’re all patched up now, but you need to rest so you can heal properly. Your friends are just in the other room.”   

“Stabbed? Oh…it’s coming back to me now.” He groans, shutting his eyes and letting his head drop onto the pillow again. “Are they okay?”   

“They’re fine, just sleeping now,” you assure.  

It’s then you realize that you still have a hand on his chest. Your cheeks heat up as you snatch your hand away. “Oh stars, I’m sorry! It’s just been, well…a long night. I guess I’m just a bit distracted now that the action has passed.”  

Cole chuckles, averting his gaze. He winces a bit, making his smile fade slightly. “You’re okay. I hadn’t even noticed.”  

“Your name is Cole, right?”   

“Yeah,” he mumbles.   

You tell him your name, words stumbling out in a mix of your default introductory statement and the mush that is your mind at the moment. “I’m Mystake’s apprentice. It’s knife to meet you.”   

Upon processing the phrase you’d added through your post-adrenaline exhaustion, your eyes widen. “Oh my god. I’m sorry, I-I did not mean to say that out loud! That was so inappropriate of me-”   

“Wow,” Cole responds, shaking his head at you with a small grin. “You can’t just cut down the stab victim like that, doc.”   

“I’m sorry!” you squeak before realizing that he, too, made a pun concerning his injury. “Wait...you’re not upset?”   

“Of course not. You saved my life,” he replies, glancing back down at his wound. “And I appreciate your humor. I know the guys have been pretty down about the whole ordeal, so it’s nice to know that you can at least make light of it.”   

“Oh,” you reply, not expecting that response at all. “Well...I’m glad that you’re okay with it. I see so much gore these days that I...” you trail off, realizing you shouldn’t be spilling your innermost thoughts to a patient.    

You shake your head, nervously chuckling as you take a step back. “I’m rambling, sorry. Are you hurting right now? I can get you a bit more of our pain-killing tea. It might help you sleep, too.”   

“That sounds great,” he replies. “Thank you.”   

You nod, standing up. “I’ll be right back, then.”   

With that, you make your way towards the kitchen. You get another cup of tea steeping, taking the down time to drink a bit of water and get a snack.   

A few seconds after you finish, you hear the door to the tea shop opening. You peek your head out from the back, relief coursing through you when you see Mystake behind the counter.   

“Thank the stars, you’re back!” you say, sighing as she turns to you.   

“I am. You closed the shop early?” she inquires, hanging her hat up on its usual spot.   

“Yes. Two people brought in a man who had been stabbed, and I had to treat it and I-” you trail off, the stress of the situation finally catching up to you as tears pool in your eyes.   

Mystake sets her hands on your shoulders, guiding you to sit down. “A stabbing? Oh dearie…I know it’s scary, but you did the right thing. He’s stabilized now, yes?”   

You nod as she takes your hands in hers, sniffling a bit. “Yeah. I was going to give him some of that pain-killing tea so he could sleep.”   

“Very good, very good. Here, finish what you’re doing while I have a look.”   

Your stomach twists, hands coming to fidget as you nod in response. “Okay, yeah. Thank you.”   

With that, you’re left alone once more. Anxiety meshes with your post-adrenaline rush, leaving you lightheaded and nauseous. You can’t help but zone out for a bit, only jerked away from your thoughts when the water starts squealing.   

The tea doesn’t take you long to prepare, and soon enough, you find yourself approaching the recovery ward once more.   

The lights have been dimmed, causing you to wonder if he’s suffering a headache. You can still see well enough to notice that he’s still awake, though. Mystake is nowhere to be seen, meaning she must have finished her exam.   

“Here, this should help,” you say, setting the tray on the table next to the bed. “It should be cooled enough to drink. Try to drink as much as you can.”   

You hand him the cup, keeping an eye on his hands to make sure he doesn’t spill it.   

“Thanks,” he mumbles, hands seemingly steady enough for the time being. He takes a sip, face melting at the relief it must be bringing. “God, this stuff is magic. How does it kick in so fast?”   

You shrug, smiling softly as he takes another sip. “I’m not sure. Mystake’s teas are incredible. She’s a master at her craft, that’s for sure.” 

“Makes me wonder what else she can do with her teas,” he mumbles. 

“You’d be surprised. She’s like a tea witch,” you reply with a chuckle. “Do you need anything else? Extra blankets, another pillow, snacks, water...?” 

“I think I’m good for now,” he mumbles, sighing in relief. “This is already working wonders.” 

“Okay. If you need anything at all, just push the button on the side of the nightstand. We’ll try to check on you shortly after sunrise. Try to get some sleep for now.” 

“Being unconscious sounds great about now,” he mumbles. “Thank you.” 

You nod in response, smiling softly as you take the tray back into your hands, leaving the mug for him. 

Just before you exit the recovery ward, though, his voice sounds once more: 

"For the record, it was knife to meet you too.” 

...   

Mystake lets you sleep through the new tea launch, much to your relief. You don’t think you would have had nearly enough energy to deal with the rush today – not after all of last night’s excitement.   

Once you rise, you stumble through your morning routine. Yawns rake your body as you attempt to wake up, brain foggy as you emerge from your room.   

You can already hear customers chattering in the front, causing you to redirect to the kitchen. Through streams of unfamiliar voices, you can faintly hear Mystake’s voice vividly describing her newest creation. Looks like she’s doing just fine by herself so far. Which is great, considering you need a hot drink before you can even think about the public.   

Upon arriving to your destination, muscle memory kicks in and you start working on your drink without thinking much about what you’re doing. Your hands work in quiet tandem, voice humming a tune while you listen to the distant voices of consumers and employees alike.   

Once you’ve finished, you lean against the counter and take a sip.   

Soft footsteps catch your attention, eyes drifting towards the entrance. Moments later, two groggy and disheveled ninja catch your attention.   

“Morning,” greets Kai, hair frizzy and wild. Jay is in no better shape, eyes lined with circles as he offers a tired nod.   

“Morning, guys,” you reply, setting your drink to the side. “Doing okay?”   

“Yeah,” Kai responds. You gesture for the two to have a seat, and they do. “Thanks. Is it okay if our Sensei drops by with our other teammate today?”   

“Of course,” you assure. “What time will they be here?”   

“Probably about an hour or so,” Kai answers.   

Jay raises a notched eyebrow at this. “An hour? That’s...unusually quick for him, don’t you think?”   

The brunet nods in agreement. “Now that you mention it, you’re right. Although he did say something about a smoke vision and needing to see something for himself.” Kai shrugs, running his fingers through his hair. “You know how he is. Cryptic and old.”   

“A smoke vision?” Jay wonders. “Every time he has one of those, something big happens. What could it be this time?”   

“I don’t know. He didn’t say much about it, just that he needed to come see something in person. Who knows?”   

“I just don’t get why a near-death experience would be something that triggers a vision,” Jay mumbles. “Oh well. His wisdom works in mysterious ways, I guess. It hasn’t failed us yet.”   

Kai shrugs, not seeming too concerned about the ordeal. “Whatever it is, it’ll work out. Anyways, I’m starving. How about we make a breakfast run, huh? Let’s make it a race so we can get some blood pumping on our way there!”   

You raise an eyebrow, chuckling nervously as the two start thrumming with an energy that wasn’t present last night. Maybe resting and seeing their patched-up teammate has brought it back? Then again, you don’t really know what’s normal for these guys either.   

“You’re on!” Jay stands, a playful determination glinting in his eyes as he turns towards you. “Hey, what’s good around here?”   

“There’s a small diner around the block that’s always good,” you note. “But you guys don’t have to-”   

Jay makes an ‘ah-ah’ noise, shaking his head. “Nope. You saved our brother’s life, and for that you’re at least getting free breakfast.”   

“And more upon request,” Kai adds with a flirty smirk and wink combo. You roll your eyes as he dodges a hit from Jay.  

“Kai, you can’t just flirt with the doctor!” Jay admonishes, the two already zipping out of the kitchen. You try to follow them, but they’re flying out the door while yelling at each other.  

All while going the wrong direction.  

You sigh, chuckling to yourself as you shake your head. Oh well; they’ll figure it out. It certainly seems like they’ve got more than enough energy to spare today.  

“What in the world are they so riled up about this morning?” Mystake wonders, staring at the entrance. It seems as if the initial customer rush is over for the morning, but there are still a few milling about and browsing.  

“Breakfast, apparently,” you mumble, shaking your head. “I don’t know. I’m going to go check on Cole. I’ll be right back out to help.”  

“Actually, I’ll need you for something else today. Pack your bags, dearie – I’ve got a job for you that requires traveling.”  

“Traveling?” you wonder, turning towards your mentor. She merely flashes you an innocent smile – even though you’re sure it’s anything but.  

“Yes. You’ve proven to me that you’re ready to start taking jobs on your own. So, we’re going to start trying them out if you’re okay with it.”  

“Do you…do you really think I’m ready?” you wonder. “I know I was able to handle last night, but…”  

“I do not think it is the disease, nor the injuries that scare you. It is the threat of change. You’ve been cooped up in my store too long, and now it’s time for you to work on your own more often.”  

Her words strike you speechless momentarily. A change was what you’d wanted, right? More independence? More time to work on your own? But…this isn’t just any old job. It’s healing, and people’s lives are on the line. People’s lives are in your hands. Is that a responsibility you’re truly ready to take on?  

A part of you wants to say no – to stay within the comfort of your routine, despite its repetitiveness. That way, you would always have help when you needed it. That way, you wouldn’t have to confront the daunting question of:  

What comes next for me?  

Mystake places her hand over yours, sensing your debate. “The leap into the unknown is always the hardest part, but it is one we all must conquer at some point. I know you’re scared – of making mistakes and determining what your next steps are. But that’s life. Mistakes are how we learn, my dear. Heck, that’s why I’m called Mystake!”  

“But mistakes can get people killed,” you reply.  

“They can. But you’re not trusting in yourself or your training enough. What happened yesterday is rare – in my lifetime, I’ve only treated a handful of stabbings. And most of the time, they weren’t as life-threatening as Cole’s was. You’re not giving yourself enough credit – you took action, followed your training, and saved a man’s life as a result. Look at it that way.”  

You nod, watching as her steely eyes twinkle in a knowing fashion. “And truthfully…I don’t know what more I have to teach you. I truly think you’re at the point where experience will be your greatest teacher. Everything will work out for you; you just have to let it all fall into place. Before you know it, you’ll settle into your new normal without batting an eyelash over it. Because by then, it will feel right. And you’ll have been forever grateful that you took the leap.” 

“Okay,” you reply, letting her words steep. “Okay, I understand.”  

She smiles, setting a hand on your shoulder. “How about you take the day off from the store to think about it? Just tend to your patient and make sure his bandages stay clean. We can talk more about it later.”  

“Alright,” you say, nodding in response. “Thank you, Mystake.”  

With her words in mind, you set off to check on Cole.  

…  

Upon arriving, you note that Cole is already awake. Mystake must have dropped by this morning, because he’s reading a book you recognize from her prized collection. You take a moment to observe the way the strands of his dark hair fall around his face as he concentrates, eyes scouring the pages. It doesn’t help that he’s still shirtless, too – you’d been too exhausted last night to notice, but he’s nicely toned. To think you’d had your hand on his sternum, too…  

You shake your head, reassuming your professional demeanor. No checking out the hot ninja patient!  

“Good morning,” you greet, offering a demure smile as you gently shut the door. “How are you feeling, Cole?”  

“Good morning. Definitely better today,” he answers, gingerly shutting the book and setting it to the side.  

“I’m glad to hear it!” you chirp, noting that he’s also got a fresh mug of tea. “I’m going to have to check your wound quickly to make sure it’s not getting infected. I’ll get you some fresh bandages too. Our hope is that you’ll be back on your feet within the next two days or so.”  

“Sounds great,” Cole replies. As you make your way towards the supply chest to the left of the room, he calls: “Going to make fun of me again?”  

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you want me to make fun of you,” you retort, grinning as you pull out a set of clean gauze as well as a special type of antiseptic cleanser.  

“It’s better than being tiptoed around, that’s for sure,” he says as you pull a rolling stool up next to him. You set your supplies on the nightstand next to him, pulling on a pair of gloves. The bands snap against your skin as you wiggle your fingers until they fit snugly inside.  

“Your friends were just worried about you. Really worried,” you reply. “But they seem better today. Way more energetic, that’s for sure.”  

Cole simpers, shaking his head lightly. “That’s good to hear. Speaking of which…where’d they run off to?”  

“They’re grabbing breakfast,” you answer. It’s then notice that his wound is covered by the blankets, so you push them aside. Cole ends up bunching up the sheets, letting them rest over his middle. With the fabric now out of your way, you start peeling the gauze away.  

“Alright, let’s see here…” you trail off, inspecting the wound. Everything looks okay so far – no signs of infection or reopening. Good. “Not infected. Seems to be on its way to healing. That’s good. We’re just going to clean it with an antiseptic and magic-infused solution. Its purpose is twofold: to prevent infection and speed up the healing process. It should help the cut fully close within a day or so.”  

“Great,” Cole acknowledges, watching as you pour a bit onto a clean rag. The solution fizzes, emitting a faint, white light.  

“Fair warning, it’s going to sting,” you advise, waiting for the glow to simmer down a bit.  

“Then I may not be able to handle this.”  

You roll your eyes, unable to help but smile as you look up at him. Grassy green eyes glimmer back at you playfully as you respond: “Now you’re just being a baby.”  

“Do you call all of your patients babies?” he questions, grin faltering to a grimace as you start cleaning the wound. The liquid sizzles angrily against the wound, working its magic.  

After letting it soak for a few seconds, you start wiping the excess off. “Well, considering you’re the first and only patient that I’ve fully tended to, yes.”  

“I’m your first patient? That can’t be true,” he remarks, studying your hands as they rebandage his abdomen with fresh gauze.  

“From start to end, you are. Mystake has let me practice on others before, but only on certain phases of their injury or illness. You’re the first person that I’ve both patched up and tended to during recovery. And all by myself, too.”  

“Huh. I never would have guessed that from watching you work. You’re a natural.”  

His words leave you speechless for a moment, cheeks warming as you finish rebandaging him. “Thank you; that’s sweet of you to say. I’ve still got a lot to learn, though.”  

“But I’d be dead if it weren’t for you. Give yourself some credit.”  

Unsure of what to say, you smile at him in response. Cole returns your grin, pulling the blanket back over his torso. Somehow, the quiet between you two feels…fine. You know he doesn’t mind your lack of response. It’s comfortable; not forced.  

You like that.  

A moment later, you avert your gaze, fingers slipping underneath the bands of your gloves before pulling them off. “Well…I guess I’ll be back with something for you to eat soon. I imagine they won’t be much longer.”  

“Sounds good. Thanks, doc.”  

The nickname makes your heart stumble, but you’re able to play it off. “Absolutely.”  

…  

The ninja return soon enough – not only with breakfast, but with two unfamiliar people in tow. One appears to be around their age, dressed in a white gi while the other is an elderly man donning a bamboo staff and straw hat.  

“Sorry we’re late!” Jay says as they file into the store. “We ran into our master and teammate on the way back and had to catch up.”  

“That’s okay,” you assure, noticing that the two newcomers linger at the front. Kai and Jay, on the other hand, rush to the back. Knowing Mystake will greet them, you elect to follow Kai and Jay to the dining table.  

“We realized halfway through ordering that we didn’t ask you what you wanted,” Kai admits, sheepishly grinning. “So…we just got a bunch of different stuff. Whatever you don’t want, Cole will eat. I assure you.”  

“No worries,” you reply, watching as they unload the to-go bags. A mouthwatering scent floods the air, comprised of all kinds of breakfast foods. You note that they bought many more containers than you would have initially guessed, but factoring in the realization that ninjas probably eat more solves that puzzle. Just how much do these guys eat? “Have you two checked on him yet, by the way?”  

“Yeah, we talked to him this shortly after we woke up,” Jay answers, spreading out a mound of wrapped, plastic to-go cutlery sets. Hungry hands are quick to snatch them up. 

“Good. I just changed his bandages; I think he should be up and walking within the next day or so. We’ve just got to make sure the wound stays clean for now.” 

“Do you think he could come sit with us if we help him?” Kai wonders. “Kinda sucks that he’s stuck by himself.” 

You don’t answer immediately, taking a moment to ponder the decision. “Yes, he can. But we’ll need to use a wheelchair so we don’t risk reopening the wound. I’ll help too.”  

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Cole is successfully relocated to the dining room. Kai makes you pick a container of food before shuffling the rest to Cole. Everyone settles in – including the two newcomers. Mystake remains in the front for the time being. 

Kai starts off the conversation by introducing you, then the other two: “...this is Sensei Wu, and that’s Zane.”  

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” you greet, flashing the two a smile. 

“Likewise,” returns the snowy-haired ninja. He seems far calmer than his teammates, and sports a more sophisticated personality. “We are most grateful for your aid.”  

“Why? All she did was stick a band aid on me and call me a baby,” Cole replies as everyone starts passing around food. 

Kai and Jay snicker, both accepting their to-go containers of food with ravenous eyes. Zane’s eyes scrunch in confusion while their Sensei chuckles. 

“Only a band aid?” the icy-eyed ninja wonders. “Perhaps I heard the details of your injury incorrectly-“ 

“It’s a joke, Zane,” Jay explains as he unwraps his to-go plasticware. “The injury was really bad, but she got it under control.” 

“Did you actually call him a baby, though?” Kai wonders, eyeing you expectantly. 

You find your cheeks warming again, with expectant eyes on you. “Uh…I did, yeah. But only because he said he wouldn’t be able to handle the sting of the antiseptic when he’d just survived a stabbing-“ 

At your explanation, Kai and Jay break down in a fit of laughter. Cole shakes his head with a grin, but the mood remains light. It’s such a stark contrast to last night’s atmosphere that you can’t help but giggle too. 

You can see it in Kai and Jay’s eyes, too - Jay’s striking blue eyes are twinkling with mischief, making the bags under his eyes seem less prominent. Kai’s warm brown ones are tired too, but seeing his teammate recovered enough to make light of the situation seems to have alleviated the worry he’d been experiencing throughout the night. 

And, when you look at him, you can see it in Cole’s, too – the way his vibrant, green eyes have almost brightened since you studied them last night. They had been faded and dull yesterday, but thankfully that’s no longer the case. 

You avert your gaze before he can catch you staring, though, electing to focus on your food instead. 

“Regardless of whether or not my pupil was acting like a baby, I’d still like to thank you,” interrupts the elderly man. You note how the ninja quiet down upon hearing him speak, glancing at each to see that they’ve given him their attention. “You saved my student’s life, and for that, we’re all eternally grateful.” 

A chorus of agreements emanate from the ninja as the reality of the situation settles over the group. “Of course. We’re healers; it’s what we do. I’m glad I was able to help.” 

For a moment, it’s silent until Kai speaks up: “Oh, did you guys catch the last suspect? I know I managed to get two before the third slipped away.” 

“Yes, we located him before we came here,” Zane answers. “He’s in custody now.” 

Cole nods, apparently satisfied with the answer. “Good. I’m glad.” 

The conversation turns towards the ninja’s training. While you don’t understand much of what they’re talking about, you’re able to chime in on occasion. They still manage to include you in the chat – namely when Jay suggests you could become a “ninja doctor”. 

Which somehow turns into a debate about the conflicting nature of such a title – a ninja who could heal and hurt. It stuns you how the ninja are able to get so philosophical about something so silly. 

“No, no, Kai, you’re missing the point. It’s like what Master Splinter said in the twenty-twelve version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” Jay argues before quoting: “’Do no harm, unless you need to do harm. Then do lots of harm!’” 

Kai narrows his eyes, pondering Jay’s claim momentarily. “So, by that logic, are we all healers, then? Because we don’t do harm unless we need to?” 

“Kai’s right,” Cole agrees, starting on what must be his third box of food. “That’s too general to go by. But it is a fantastic quote, though. Sounds like something Master Wu would say.” 

“It does, doesn’t it?” Jay frowns, trailing off. “But she could be like Donatello, though. He fights but also kind of serves as the team medic.” 

“No, no, Donnie’s way smarter than I am,” you counter. “I can’t invent or do anything as scientific as he can.” 

Jay shrugs. “But you don’t have to. You’d just heal one of us and then go smack someone up with a bo staff.” 

This makes you all chuckle, and leads you to another thought: “Hey, do you guys realize how similar you are to the ninja turtles?” 

A collective epiphany dawns on Kai, Jay, and Cole as they stare at each other, eyes widening. 

“Woah,” Jay mumbles. “Wait, wait, guys she’s onto something!” 

The redhead points at Sensei Wu, then trails his finger across the table. “Sensei…you’re basically Master Splinter. Cole’s our leader, so he’s Leo. Kai’s the hothead, which makes him Raph. I’m the funny and cute one, so naturally I’m Mikey. And Zane’s the brainiac, so he’s Donnie. And Nya’s kind of like April!” 

A sound of awe emanates from three of the ninja, nodding their heads at Jay’s analysis. Poor Zane just seems lost. 

“Are you comparing me to a giant, mutated rat man?” Sensei Wu questions, amusement laced in his gaze. 

“So, you do watch modern TV!” Kai cries, pointing an accusatory finger at Wu. “See! I told you he was lying to us!” 

From there, they start to laugh about Wu before comparing the villains they’ve fought to the ones that appear in the show. That’s when you’re not able to keep up as well. 

Regardless, you roll with the flow of the discussion, surprised at how much you’re enjoying it. A few times, you catch Cole’s stare. 

He never averts his gaze, or makes you feel embarrassed. Instead, he smiles. 

You’re not sure that your heart is supposed to be beating so hard every time it happens, but you can’t help it. Even so, you ignore it. 

… 

Shortly after breakfast, the ninja wheel Cole back into the recovery ward. Zane remains momentarily to help you clean up before joining them. 

“I hope they haven’t been too rowdy,” comes the voice of Sensei Wu. 

You shake your head. “No, they’ve been great. They’re…fun, actually. I’ve enjoyed having them around.” 

“That’s good to hear. I’ve been training them for a good while, but even now they can be a handful.” 

The old man quiets momentarily, free hand stroking his beard thoughtfully. “Mystake tells me you’re considering new opportunities to practice your craft. Is this true?” 

“Oh, um…yeah, it is. I’m still not sure what I’m going to do, but…yeah, definitely thinking about it.” 

Sensei Wu nods in acknowledgement, eyes contemplative as he selects his next words: “I see. Well, I heard about how you handled Cole’s injury from Kai and Jay. If you’re interested, I’d like to offer you a position as our team’s medic.” 

Your eyes widen as your jaw goes slack, the unexpectedness of the proposition making your mind whirl. He wants you to become their official medic? 

“What? Really?” you wonder. “But I don’t have any field experience yet! Cole is the first patient I’ve tended to from start to finish.” 

“That’s all right. We’ve all got to start somewhere. The ninja themselves have only just finished their training and are now fighting together on their own. You’re similar to them in that regard. For all of you, experience will be your greatest teacher from now on.” 

That sentence reminds you of what Mystake said earlier – about experience. It dawns on you that they’re absolutely right – you’re never going to get better by letting your fear win. You have to break the confines of comfortability and get out there. 

Then, a question occurs to you: did Mystake know about this? Is this the job that she was talking about earlier – the one you were supposed to pack for? You’d have to ask her later. 

“And if you like, we could even try out, say…a trial. You could come work with us for a few weeks and see how you like it. If it’s not what you’re looking for, then you won’t have to commit.” 

“I…like the sound of that, actually,” you admit. “So…how would that work?” 

“You’d stay at my monastery. Depending on the circumstances, you might travel with the ninja for missions that are riskier or farther away. Of course, you won’t ever get close enough to be in danger. If you like, we could even have you trained to help design our missions. Kai’s sister handles a decent portion of the mission planning, but a fresh set of eyes always helps.” 

You like the sound of that. Traveling? Learning new skills? Working alongside the ninja? Just imagining the variety presented by the job gets you excited! 

“Sounds dynamic and fun – which is exactly what I’m looking for. Let’s try it out,” you reply, offering your hand. 

The old man grins, shaking your hand. “We’re looking forward to working with you.” 

… 

A few hours pass, with the ninja and Wu slinking back to the recovery ward. You take an hour or so for yourself, hanging out in your room while thinking about what you’d take for your trial run with the ninja. After much debate, you manage to get what you need packed while leaving out enough items for the day or so it’d take Cole to get back on his feet. Mystake’s healing antiseptic works wonders, so you know it’s simply a matter of time. 

You wind up feeling too antsy to settle down, so you insist on taking over for Mystake while she takes a lunch break. 

Thankfully, the main rush is over for the day. Once the last few customers pour out of the store, you decide to start restocking. A soft hum sounds from your lips as you climb a stepstool, a box of tea tucked underneath your arm as you make sure to maintain your balance. 

While you work, a soft whistling tune drifts from the hallway, accompanied by heavy footsteps. When they approach the entrance to the shop, you turn your head. 

Kai stands there, checking the shelves with scrutinizing eyes. You huff a silent laugh, wondering what’s he looking for. 

“Need something?” you wonder, stepping down from the ladder. 

“Oh, hey. Didn’t see you,” Kai notes, pivoting around to face you. “Yeah, Mystake was asking for me to grab some kind of tea. Reme-tea, I think she said?” 

You nod, gesturing for him to follow you towards the back. “I know what you’re talking about. Follow me.” 

“Are all of her teas named with puns?” he inquires. 

“A lot of them are. She thinks she’s funny,” you mumble, rolling your eyes affectionately. “But she names others a little more artistically.” 

“That explains a lot of what Master Wu drinks. He must shop here a lot.” 

“I can’t remember if I’ve seen him here before,” you admit, stopping when you reach the correct shelf. You rummage through the tea, frowning upon realizing the shelf needs to be reorganized. “I’ve served so many customers that their faces might as well be a blur to me – especially since a lot of them come during the early hours.” 

“I get that. I used to work at my parent’s blacksmith shop with my sister. Can’t say I miss the work; it got way too repetitive and bland for our taste. I can’t smith to save my life. It was a miracle that we made enough to scrape by.” 

“Blacksmithing, huh? Sounds hard,” you sympathize, glad that someone else understands the pains of customer service. Even so, you wonder why his parents wouldn’t help them out. Knowing that might be a sensitive topic, you elect not to pry. 

“Yeah, suffice to say it…wasn’t for us. I’m glad Sensei Wu found us when he did.” He pauses momentarily as you move your search to a different shelf, wondering where in the hell Mystake moved the Reme-tea. “But that reminds me…Sensei said you’d be staying with us to test out a work opportunity.” 

You nod. “Yeah. I’ve been dying to get out of here, honestly. I’m just kind of scared to get out in the field, but…you know. I won’t find out until I do it.” 

The brunet nods, turning to glance over the other shelves in an effort to help your search. “I know the feeling.” 

“You were nervous to become a ninja?” you respond. 

“Yeah, I was scared, but…I didn’t really have a choice. My sister was kidnapped by a group of Garmadon’s goons who’d come to our village. If Sensei hadn’t saved me, I would have been a goner…but they still got away with her. I had to change because she needed my help. So…I swallowed my fear and just worked. I didn’t give myself a chance to think about it. I went with Wu and didn’t look back.” 

You gasp at the story, frowning. “I’m so sorry…that must have been horrific. I can’t imagine…” 

Kai shrugs, smiling softly. You finally find the tea you’re looking for, reaching to grab it. 

“It was scary at the time. But Nya’s tough, and she ended up being just fine. We saved her, introduced her to the team, and…well, we’ve all stuck together since. I dunno, I guess things just kind of…fell into place for us.” 

You nod, curious at the mention of his sister. “I’m glad to hear that’s she okay. How do you guys like being ninja?” 

“Honestly…” Kai trails off, seemingly searching for words as the two of you linger in the back. “At first, I was only doing it so I could rescue her. But…after we got her back, the thought of returning to the shop just…filled me with dread. I knew I couldn’t go back to the way I was living. Being a ninja is way more fulfilling for me. We get to travel, meet new people from all over Ninjago, fly on our dragons, fight for the greater good…and that’s all I need.” 

“Wow. That sounds…perfect,” you mumble, mulling over his words. 

He nods in agreement. “It really is. I think you’ll like working with us. My sister’s going to love you; as well as we all get along, I think she gets sick of us sometimes. But you’ll know for sure after a week or so. Though, you never know – you might get sick of us.” 

You snicker at this, shaking your head. “I won’t get sick of you. Honestly…it’s been nice having you guys around, even for such a short time. I’ve never felt so…” 

“Engaged? Not in a haze of repetition?” he finishes with a knowing smirk. 

“Yeah,” you say. 

“That’s how I felt too, working with the guys for the first time. It’s safe to say that’s a good sign.” 

You nod, the two of you walking back towards the hallway. Once you’re there, you hand him the tea box. “I think so too.” 

Kai smirks, thanking you before starting back towards the recovery ward. On his way back, he calls: 

“Besides…how else are you going to keep making fun of Cole?” 

… 

The day passes with you dining alongside the ninja again – this time with Mystake. You notice that she’s uncharacteristically quiet through the event, causing you to make a mental note to ask her about it later. 

Cole’s injury is healing faster than you’d thought it would. Mystake’s antiseptic solution combined with a new tea made for a speedy recovery. At this rate, he’d be up and walking come tomorrow. 

As such, the team is preparing to leave. Watching them restlessly discuss what they’d do when they return made you realize your time in the tea shop is drawing to a close. 

And it simultaneously excites and terrifies you. 

While you lay in bed that night, you wonder if this is how Kai felt when he left to become a ninja. He had said he’d been scared. Somehow, that comforts you. Even someone as confident as him got scared too. 

Late into the night, though, your mind gets tired of worrying. Instead, you decide to get excited about trying something new. 

That thought makes you smile as you drift off into a dreamless sleep. 

… 

It seems like you’d only been asleep for minutes when you jolt awake to the vibration of…something. It rocks the building, making your eyes widen. Was that an earthquake?! 

Another one shakes the shop, this time accompanied by…a roar? Your heart races at the noise, wondering what it could be. Especially at this hour – a glance outside tells you that it’s either very late or extremely early. 

Chills erupt across your skin as you exit your room, eyes searching for potential source as you make your way towards the front. It must have come from outside. 

Even before you open the door, you can hear voices outside. They don’t sound panicked at all, which makes you feel somewhat better as you push the door open. 

Immediately, you’re met with the crisp, morning breeze. It makes you shiver, wishing you’d thought to bring a jacket out beforehand. The sky is still dark and riddled with stars, leaving you to wonder what time it is. Regardless, you press on, looking up to see Kai, who is facing the alley and speaking lowly to something. A strange, red glow illuminates his figure. 

Cole, Jay, and Zane are towards the left side of the shop, all speaking quietly amongst themselves. Cole is back on his feet and seems to be doing okay. Even though it’s early, a sense of restlessness courses about the four. They must be ready to get back into action. 

Deciding that you’ve stared enough, you make your presence known. “Guys? Is everything okay?” 

The brunet is the only one to hear you, holding one of his arms out towards the alleyway. “Hey, morning. Sorry, did we wake you?” 

You shake your head, stepping a bit closer. “No, I just...heard something.” 

“Yeah...about that,” Kai lowers the hand that he’d held to the alleyway. “Those noises were our dragons. Sorry, we probably should have warned you guys beforehand. It just didn’t cross our mind.” 

“Dragons?” you repeat, glancing into the alley. “You guys have-” 

A pair of vibrant, neon orange eyes stare at you from the darkness, making you freeze. Out from the alley creeps a dragon. 

A growl rolls from its throat as it studies you, its red head flecked with streaks of orange. Unfurling from its sides are a pair of brilliant red wings that exude a warm, red light. Its underbelly is protected by many rows of thick, orange bands that contrast against the darkened red scales of its body. Beneath the bands, you can see red patches swirling with energy. 

You take a step back, seeing Kai’s arm swing out in front of you when the dragon steps towards you. It snarls again, giving you a mean glare. 

“Stop being an asshole,” Kai scolds, stepping up to the beast while glaring at it. It lowers its snout, allowing Kai to pet it. “It’s okay, boy. She’s a friend.” 

“You...have a dragon?” you question incredulously, heart racing as you study the creature. Its – his? - eyes flutter shut at Kai’s touch, wings furling in so that he doesn’t appear as massive. 

 “Yep. We all do,” Kai replies, gesturing behind you. You spin tentatively, breath hitching as you see three more accompanying each of the ninja. 

“Holy shit,” you breathe, anxiety snowballing into excitement as you take your time studying each of them. “They’re...they’re beautiful. I never thought that I’d get to see one in person...” 

“Wanna pet him?” Kai offers, hand lingering on his dragon’s neck. “Though, fair warning, everyone else except me says that he’s hot to the touch. Not hot enough to burn yourself, but hotter than you’d expect.” 

You nod in acknowledgement, cautiously lifting your hand. The dragon doesn’t flinch, trusting in his master as you gently place your hand flat against his snout. A grumble rumbles throughout his body, seemingly okay with your touch. Through your legs, you can feel the vibrations of the growl. This has to be what woke you up. 

“Wow...” you say, noting that Kai was right – the scales are burning up. It’s almost like they’re containing a full-on wildfire underneath. “Why’s he so hot?” 

“He’s a fire dragon. He was guarding the Sword of Fire when we found him,” Kai explains, smiling softly as he strokes the side of the dragon’s snout. “Same story with the others and their weapons. We realized we needed to fight alongside them, not against them.” 

“Did you guys name them?” you wonder, glancing back at Kai. 

“Yeah. Flame.” 

“Hi, Flame,” you mumble, smiling at the dragon. He huffs softly in response, small columns of smoke puffing from his nostrils. You feel like you’re standing in front of a bonfire; you don’t have to be terribly close to experience the warmth emanating from his body. “It’s nice to meet you.” 

Kai chuckles, taking his hand off of Flame. “He likes you.” 

“I...I’m at a loss for words. This is the coolest thing ever...” you trail off, slowly taking your hand off of Flame as well. The fire dragon shifts so that he’s laying down, snout dropping to rest on the grass. You're reminded of a sleepy puppy. 

Jay’s is the next dragon you greet. 

“Meet Wisp!” Jay introduces, telling your name to the dragon even though he can’t talk. Wisp tilts his head, curiosity flashing in his electric eyes. This dragon is a gorgeous shade of blue, built similarly to Flame with one exception. If you had to guess, you’d say that Wisp is sleeker – made for speed. Wisp also appears to be friendlier than Flame. 

“Wisp. That’s an adorable name,” you compliment, smiling as you approach the dragon. “Hello, Wisp!” 

You tentatively reach your hand out, giggling when Wisp bumps his forehead against the palm of your hand, eager to be pet. Jay grins at the interaction. 

Unlike Flame, you swear Wisp’s scales are tingling with underlying magic. Electricity tickles your skin, making you pull away from the dragon with a giggle. 

“He’s tickly, isn’t he? Poor guy can’t help it; he’s always emitting a low amount of electricity,” Jay explains, gently scratching Wisp in a specific spot under his chin. Wisp hums in content, leaning into Jay’s touch. 

“That’s amazing,” you reply, smiling at Wisp before turning to the next dragon. 

This one is Rocky – Cole's dragon. This guy is certainly the bulkiest of the four, with scales that feel like rock underneath your fingertips. He seems to be made to take and deliver hits. 

“Hi,” you say softly, carefully scratching the area above his nose. Rocky nuzzles his snout against your palm, eager to receive more pets. 

“Oh, you’re a sweetheart, aren’t you?” you coo, watching as the dragon closes his eyes. 

Cole pushes himself off against the wall he’d been leaning on, adorning a disbelieving expression. “Are you kidding me?” 

“What?” you wonder. 

“He’s usually a jerk,” Cole grumbles, glaring at Rocky. You’re not fluent in dragon expressions, but you have a feeling that Rocky is taunting Cole somehow. “He’s always pushing us around, not...cuddling us! What’s your deal, man?!” 

“I think it’s because you’re mean to him,” you retort, laughing when Rocky bumps his snout against your arm. You realize he wants more pets, so you oblige without complaint. 

“Or because he’s a baby!” Jay calls, earning a laugh from Kai. 

Cole rolls his eyes, stepping beside you to pet the dragon as well. You take note of how Cole’s eyes soften upon seeing his dragon. The sight makes you wonder what kind of bond they have, and how it came to be. 

“And now they’re never going to let me live that down. See what you’ve done?” Cole says, turning to you with a smirk. 

“I don’t feel too bad,” you retaliate before moving to the last dragon. 

“Who’s this?” you ask, directing your question to Zane. He’d been sitting quietly alongside the icy blue and white dragon, which is laying down behind him. 

“His name is Shard,” Zane answers, tone soft as he glances up at you. “And I must apologize...he does not like being touched by people he doesn’t know very well. I imagine he will come around in a few weeks.” 

“Oh, that’s okay. I understand.” You smile, studying the dragon a bit longer. You decide to leave him alone for the time being, instead swiveling around to face the other ninja. 

The other two dragons have settled for the morning too, all laying down. Kai and Jay are near the front of the shop now, the two speaking quietly. Zane joins them a few moments later. 

Cole steps beside you, watching the three before answering your unasked question: “I think they’re going to try to get a quick sparring session in before we go. They need to loosen up and let some energy out.” 

“You’re sitting out, right?” you inquire, eyes narrowing in concern. 

“Yeah. I know the cut finally closed all the way, but it still hurts,” he comments. 

“Good. I know that stuff healed your wound pretty well, but Mystake is still putting the finishing touches on that particular formula. So just...take it easy for a few more days, then you can go back to crimefighting and whatnot.” 

“Are you saying you used me as a test subject?” Cole replies, crossing his arms as Jay gestures towards a small clearing across the shop. It’s grassy and spacious – perfect for a spar. You and Cole follow the three there, standing towards the side as Kai and Zane get into position. 

“We try our new teas and potions on ourselves before anyone else,” you say. Just from observing their stances, you can already see how differently these guys fight from each other – Kai's stance is loose, and he’s staying mobile while remaining focused on Zane. The white ninja, on the other hand, adopts a more formal version of Kai’s. He’s not as jittery as Kai, but he’s studying Kai. Watching, and waiting. 

“And then you just...perfect them as time goes on?” Cole wonders, the two of you watching as Kai launches an attack. 

“Pretty much. Once you understand the base recipes, and how different ingredients affect the base, it’s easy to come up with what you need. So, there’s not much risk in involved.” 

“I see,” Cole trails off, cringing when Zane exploits an opening Kai failed to notice. The white ninja lands a kick on Kai’s torso, eliciting a curse from the red ninja. 

“Ouch,” you hiss, your ribs hurting just from watching them. “How do you guys do this? And enjoy it?” 

“It pays off in its own way,” Cole replies with a shrug. “The risk is part of the thrill for us.” 

“I think you guys are just crazy,” you mumble, eyeing the fight. 

Your statement makes Cole laugh, the ninja unfolding his arms as he turns towards you. “You know, most people just call us noble. Or brave. Heroic, even.” 

“I’m sure; I’m just not much of an ass-kisser.” 

“And that’s exactly why she needs to be our medic,” Kai calls, he and Jay laughing at the exchange. 

“I am not familiar with the act of ass-kissing,” Zane says, he and Kai stopping their match. “Is it in a literal or figurative sense? And why is imperative that our medic does not kiss ass?” 

The white ninja’s remark cracks Kai and Jay up. Zane’s expression leaves you feeling a little bad for him, though. 

You lean over to Cole again, making sure they aren’t listening as you ask your next question. “Is he always that dense?” 

“Yep. Don’t get me wrong...he’s really smart, but stuff like this always flies over his head,” he answers before walking towards the others and answering Zane’s query.  

“Figuratively, Zane. An ass-kisser or kiss-ass is someone who sucks up to someone else. It’s usually to win approval or favors; it depends on the context. And it’s not a required quality of a medic, but personally, I think it’s more fun that way.” 

“She’ll be able to see right through our bullshit,” Kai adds. “She’ll do her job, but won’t baby us.” 

Jay pulls himself up from his previous sitting position, stepping over to the group and adding: “Although, she’s not opposed to calling people babies.” 

"Ah. I see now,” Zane says. “Thank you for the explanation.” 

A silence sweeps over the five of you, partnered with a sudden chilly breeze. You turn around to have another glance at the dragons, watching as they all nap peacefully. A few onlookers have gathered towards the end of the street, ogling the dragons with hushed murmurs. 

“We should probably get going soon,” Kai notes upon seeing the crowd. “Wouldn’t want to affect Mystake’s customer flow with our dragons.” 

“Yeah,” Cole agrees. “We can strap your stuff to Rocky. He’s probably the best suited to carry extra weight.” 

You nod in response, realizing that this is the last morning you’ll spend here for at least two weeks – more if the job goes as well as you think it will. A pit funnels into your stomach, hands twiddling with the hem of your shirt. 

“Okay,” you finally say, turning back towards the ninja. “I’m gonna go talk to Mystake, then.” 

Cole nods, bits of understanding flickering in his eyes. “Take your time.” 

You smile appreciatively, leaving the group and passing by the snoozing dragons. The bell chimes as you enter the shop, seeing Mystake at the register. 

A glance at the clock tells you that the shop has roughly forty-five minutes until opening, giving you a bit of time to say your goodbyes. 

The elderly woman looks up at you once you approach, smiling as you greet her. 

“Good morning,” you say. 

“Good morning, dearie,” Mystake says, expression softening as she glances out the window to look at the ninja. “I suppose today’s the day, isn’t it?” 

You nod. “Yeah...it is.” 

She steps around the counter, hand coming to clasp around yours. “Come with me. I need to give you something.” 

Your mentor guides you towards your room, where your packed belongings lay. On top of your bed is a canvas bag. You note that’s it is your favorite color, complete with a crossbody strap, several pockets, and metal clasps. It looks to be built for durability and function – the straps are thicker than you’d expect to find on a regular bag. 

“I’ve prepared this for you,” she starts, sitting on the edge of your bed. You do the same, settling in across from her. “I’m glad you’ll be working with Wu. I always give him a hard time, but he’s a good man. And, since I’ve known him for so long, I had an idea of what you should bring.” 

With that, Mystake tugs the bag into her lap, snapping the clasps open. “This bag contains everything you’ll need to get started.” 

The first object she pulls out is a wooden box – it's handcrafted and painted your favorite color, decorated with floral engravings along the sides. “This box is filled with your basic teas and potions. There should be enough for two weeks. Should you decide to stay with them, I’ve made something else for you.” 

Mystake sets the box aside, hands delving back into the bag to reveal a handcrafted leather journal. The cover is black, painted with pink and purple symbols that seem familiar somehow. The pages are thick and gray, like a stormy sky. 

“This is a copy of my recipe book. Every potion and tea you’ve ever crafted under my guidance can be found here – with the exception of my secret ones, of course. There are also a few blank pages in the back so you can create your own, too.” 

Then, Mystake tilts the bag towards you. You peer inside, seeing various basic medical supplies – bandages, gauze, simple over-the-counter medicines. It looks like enough for two weeks as well. “And, lastly, traditional medical supplies. Enough for the duration of your stay." 

With that, Mystake repacks the bag and sets it aside. 

Your eyes are watering slightly as you stare at the bag, watching as she snaps the clasps shut. “Mystake...I don’t know what to say. I...” 

She chuckles, taking your hands in hers. Wrinkled, steely gray eyes peer at you from underneath her straw hat, just as glassy as yours.  

“It’s okay, because I already understand how you feel. I know what you want to say. I was in your position once, after all. I was standing before my family in my homeland, about to travel into this world so I could fulfill my duty. But I never could have imagined what awaited me in a Ninjago – a land where I could live a mundane life, set up a silly old tea shop. A land where I had the blessing to train one of the brightest pupils that I’ve ever mentored.” She pauses, squeezing your hands. “I’m so proud of you.” 

That does it. You sniffle, letting yourself cry. “You are?” 

“Of course I am,” she mumbles. “You’ve come such a long way since the day I found you. And now you’re preparing to work on your own…” 

“Mystake…” You’re unable to finish your sentence as you envelope her in a hug – the woman who’d taken you in, mentored you. “You…you have no idea how much that means to me. Thank you.” 

Her arms coil tighter still around your figure, and against your arms you can feel the scratchy wool of her handknitted sweater. An herbal scent floods your senses as you soak it in, knowing this will be the last time you smell it in a while. 

It would forever remind you of her. 

“I’m honored I got the chance to mentor you, and get to know you as a young lady. You’re going to do incredible things. The world is yours, dearie; grab it by the neck and throttle it!” 

You giggle, already knowing that you’re going to miss her eccentric self. “I won’t ever be able to repay you for everything that you’ve done for me. All I can say is: thank you, Mystake. I’m going to do all I can to make you proud. I’m forever grateful for your hospitality and mentorship.” 

“You’ve already made me proud. I know you’re going to be amazing. You’ll be the best damned medic in Ninjago, you hear me? Now get out there and make it happen. They’re waiting for you.” 

With those parting words, Mystake stands, pulling the bag she’d prepared into her arms. “Ready?” 

You make sure you have your bags before nodding, glancing around your room one last time. Without your belongings scattered about the room, it seems far too empty. Your eyes soften as you study the area, heart aching when you realize you won’t be coming back to sleep here again for a while. 

Despite your reluctance, you smile, mumbling a soft “thank you” to the room that had sheltered you for all of those years. 

A sigh escapes you as you turn, following Mystake out of the shop. 

The sun is higher in the sky now, and the dragons seem to be reenergized. Jay and Wisp are play fighting where Kai and Zane had been sparring earlier; Cole is fussing over Rocky while Kai is adjusting a saddle on Flame. Zane and Shard are still sitting together, watching the others struggle. 

“You rapscallions better treat my pupil well,” Mystake grumbles, eyeing the crowd still ogling the dragons. “We can hurt just as well as we can heal-” 

“Mystake,” you interrupt, chuckling as Jay’s eyes widen. “It’s going to be just fine.” 

“Here, let me take those for you,” Cole replies, reaching for your bags. You oblige, grinning softly at him as you hand them to him. 

“Thank you,” you reply, watching as he sets them on Rocky’s back. Kai approaches once he’s done, holding a mix of ropes and bungee cords. 

The two set about strapping your luggage to the dragon, making sure that they’re secure before asking Rocky to move around a little. After a few adjustments have been made, Cole nods in approval. 

“Alright, I think we’re about set,” Cole notes, glancing around at the others. “Who’s gonna take Wu back?” 

“I can,” Kai answers, the four grouping together as Sensei Wu emerges from the store. 

“Alright. Then I guess we’re headed back to the monastery, then,” Cole replies. The others nod in agreement, preparing to board their dragons. The black ninja takes a moment to double check the bags before turning to you. 

His green eyes sparkle in the morning light, lips quirking into a soft smile. “Anything else you need to do before we take off?” 

You don’t answer immediately, instead turning towards Mystake again. Wordlessly, you loop your arms around her neck. 

She returns your embrace, voice soft in your ear as she says: “I’m going to miss you, but I’m glad you’re pursuing your dream. Remember what I said. Take care, dear. I’m always here if you need me.” 

“Thank you. I’m going to miss you too.” 

She pulls away from you, lips pressed together tightly as she releases you. “Now go.” 

For a moment, your throat tightens with the things you want to say to her. Despite this, you hesitate, realizing that she already knows what you want to say. 

With that, you turn back towards the ninja before you, glancing up at him through glassy eyes. 

“Okay,” you murmur, nodding briskly. “I’m ready.” 

Always happy to read fresh requests. Read my guidelines before submitting, please!

Masterlist for this Fic

[thecatundertheladder]

Conversations I Think Happened in the Grasslands:

Lloyd: So people use you to justify hate towards queer people, but uncle Wu's chill with queer people, so does that mean you're okay with queer people too?

FSM: I don't what that means.

Lloyd: Uhhh, queer people are people who aren't exclusively attracted to the opposite gender as them, and/or don't identify as their birth gender.

FSM: You have words for that now? Well then yes, I am fine with queer people. And I don't appreciate others using me as an excuse to hate people because of the way they were born. I've had enough of that in my lifetime.

Lloyd, lying on his back: Hey, do you have wifi here?

FSM: No.

Lloyd: Can you get wifi here?

FSM: I’m God, so probably.

Lloyd, sitting up: You should get a twitter account.

FSM: No thank you.

Lloyd: So being gay means you're exclusively attracted to people of the same gender as you, being bisexual mean you're attracted to both genders and-

FSM: Is there a word for not being attracted to people at all?

Lloyd: Um yeah, asexual means you don't feel sexual attraction and aromantic means you don't feel romantic attraction.

FSM: Oh it's wonderful that humanity’s finally figured that we exist. Whenever I told people I didn't want a spouse because I wasn't attracted to anyone they always said 'you haven't found the right person yet'. I'm thousands of years old, I really don't that's going to happen Takeshi.

Lloyd: You're queer?! Ha suck it homophobes!

Lloyd: Wait who's Takeshi?

FSM: Don't worry about it. He's dead now.

Lloyd, squinting suspiciously: Like, did he die of old age or...

FSM, smiling: I said don't worry about it.

FSM: So how is Mystake?

Lloyd: Dead.

FSM: Really? I didn’t know she could die.

Part 2 Part 3

[lloydlings]

new and updated theory on the source of lloyd’s power!

in dragons rising there definitely has been lore dropped here and there but more than anything I find ammunition to power my long winded theory that lloyd’s powers come from his heart, in theoretical and just elemental sense.

doc wyatt has established there isn’t a set explanation (YET) in show, but he did like one of my tweets regarding my claim that Lloyd’s power resonates within the heart and soul.

starting out, lloyd’s power has never been defined. it is hinted by the writers that lloyd has no idea what it is, though what we do know is that it—-

1) can create life and destroy it (the book of elemental powers)

2) draw energy from the elements

3) shield oneself / very powerful in attack

4) does not belong to the source dragon of energy but belongs to the source dragon OF LIFE

5) has some sort of connection with the FSM

and lastly, by LEGO GROUP’s definition.. it’s ENERGY.

energy can have have different meanings. energy in lightning’s case seems to be the electrical sense, but energy can .. power up things, it makes things work -

energy is also used as a synonym for life force, this is demonstrated when referring to the act of draining source dragons and the whack-rats.

what i am getting at, is I believe that energy in the sense of lloyd’s powers is that he holds the essence of life itself. his power works hand in hand in his survival as well as keeps him alive.

now to connect him to LIFE , a source dragon, was very interesting but made a great deal of sense. Life is in everything, energy can create life.. who created life?

THE FSM used elemental powers to bring Garmadon and Wu into existence, he also holds the ability that past his death, he could steal lloyd from the mortal world to speak to him in the grasslands.

the elements of creation can be drawn from in their energy for lloyd, but the elements of creation were the core four.

LIFE = Lightning, Ice, Fire, Earth

so….

that also makes sense as to when he was dying in mystake’s tea shop that they had to use their elemental powers of creation to revive lloyd or heal him.

now jumping into the theory that will always be my favorite, and the show itself actually jumped into it was elemental powers being felt or drawn from different places depending on the elemental powers, ie nya with veins, zane with his mind, etc etc etc—

lloyd’s power comes from his heart in my opinion.

firstly, life—- energy is what makes the heart beat, you cannot live without that.

mentally, lloyds power has always been his true self, his heart, the way he cares so deeply for people (even if they do not deserve so)

green in spirituality also represents the heart chakra, it is very similar in description.

but as someone so close to his mortality, and who i believe is always aware of such, it makes so much sense.

in s8, when his element is fighting for him as he’s succumbing to his wounds in the fight in krytparium it sparks on his chest,

following this— the elemental master figures that were released in the SOG wave depicted different elements and where they were located differed on the ninja, lloyds was insanely insanely obvious—

overdrawing from his element has caused him great sickness multiple times. we see this with golden power, then we see this with him fainting while using his element against griefbringer in MOTM (something very opposite to his element— death)

the fact that his power kept him alive but also left him for a bit after he almost was on the brink of dying in s8

now with dragons rising and the conduit putting him in a semi coma for several days because of his mortality

he puts his hand on his heart when he approaches the imperium source dragon when saying “this place, i feel weird”

him believing he’d die from conduit power…

it’s justttt…

but that being said there is so much they could discuss about lloyd in show, whether discovering his powers, or seeing the actual scope of what they do

lloyd is very hesitant and he out of anyone never talks about his powers or how they work

but there’s so much there, like what if his elemental power could heal people or bring people back to life (other than himself LOL)

[kindaasrikal]

Garmadon and Morro and their possible stupidity that should’ve been used in the departed realm, part 4:

Part 3 - Part 5

Morro: Garmadon.

Garmadon: Yes?

Morro: no, Garmadon-

Garmadon: What is it this time, child?

Morro: this is kidnapping.

Garmadon: *carrying Morro over his shoulder.* You must be a child to be kidnapped, Morro.

Morro: what exactly classifies as a kid to you.

Garmadon: Hm..I suppose a child is under 25 years. Mentally speaking for most Ninjagians, though for me and Wu I’d say somewhere around 5017 years?

Morro:….God, you’re old.

Garmadon: Wha-I am not-

Morro: besides the point, Garmadon how bloody old do you think i am???

Garmadon: Well…are you not 28?

Morro: excuse me. TWENTY EIGHT??

Garmadon: Ah, was I off? I did always assume you may just look a tad young for your age of 34.

Morro: THIRTYYY FOURRRRR???? YOU THINK IM THIRTY FOUR??

Garmadon: …Yes? Was I still a bit off?? *Garmadon, who is now thinking Morro might be in his early forties with great genes or skincare, everyone.*

Morro: Garmadon oh my GOD.

Morro: IM EIGHTEEN.

Garmadon:

Garmadon:

Garmadon: YOU’RE A BABY??????

Morro: A BABYY?????

Morro: I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRYYYYYY-

Garmadon: RUNNING WILL NOT PROTECT YOU FROM YOUR FATE, CHILD!

Morro: I DIDN’T KNOW!

Garmadon: HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY NOT KNOW?!

Morro: WELL ITS NOT EVERYDAY YOU LEARN THE GARMADON COULD-

Garmadon: Finish that damn sentence. I dare you.

Morro: …no?

Garmadon: Ah, Morro! There you are, I was wondering-

Morro: Everyday I question my very existence. The overwhelming guilt that transcends my body feels as though it is choking me from the inside out. Like claws are scratching at my throat, golden coloured and dusted red with the insides of my very being. The regret that flows between my eyelids as I storm through a stampede of memories of what once was constantly fills my brain with tears of longing. I wonder, on a daily, what destiny had out for me. Did my endless running from my fate, only lead to the inevitability of my end?

Garmadon: ….Please, for the love of everything good, get therapy.

Morro: but then i don’t get to trauma dump on you at random :(

Morro: hey, Garmadon?

Garmadon: *smacks his hand onto Morro’s face and pushes him into the grass* You ask too many questions.

Morro: ow what-

Morro: personally, i think four legs would’ve been cooler.

Garmadon: Personally, I think green on black is an ugly combination.

Morro: *clutches his hair* well, personally, i think having red eyes just makes you look like a dumb cartoon character!

Garmadon: Wha- then personally, I think having a dirty gi on for decades is bad hygiene!

Morro: you and i both know i can’t change that! And personally, i think aging over a thousand years in just ten means you aged like milk!

Garmadon: And I think not aging at all for over four decades is just plain stupid!

Morro: wELL EXCUSE ME FOR DYING-

*in the distance (like a few feet away) two figures stand*

Cryptor:….what are they even doing?

Mystake: *pouring tea* hm?

Cryptor: I mean, why are they arguing like two toddlers??

Mystake: Ah, well.*sips tea* That maybe my fault.

Cryptor:…what did you do?

Mystake: I may, or may not, have accidentally given them the great idea of releasing their pent up anger through childish insults. It was only a coincidence they both chose each other as their victims. *grimaces as the voices get louder*

Cryptor: Well, *grabs a tea cup* it makes for good entertainment.

Garmadon: I DO NOT HAVE DADDY ISSUES!-

I find my self hilarious, guys please i think this is better then part 3 maybe hopefully possibly. The one with morro running away is something you can just lowkey assume on what morro found out/did (i like to think its cause Morro found out if you pull a dragons tail hard enough they jump onto the nearest, and tallest, thing and hold on for dear life like a cat whilst hissing, Garmadon hates it). The first one is under the impression they’re all still green. Also i was thinking of that meme audio about guessing someone’s age and each time it gets higher the person screams. If you know what I’m talking about.

Is this me trying to sell my Cryptor and Morro duo to you guys? As Garmadon’s students? Maybe. Also Mystake I love her guys her death was honestly heartbreaking to me.

Also if you wanna find the other parts I think clicking the tempest duo tag will show them.

Guys please i swear I’m funny-

[weekend-whip]

Ninjago Fic Rec Week (2024): Day 4

Prompts: AU/Movieverse/OCs! (Catching Up! I uh skipped Day 3 oop but I've got plenty to offer for this day! Which is...also late...don't look at meeee)

Aus WITH OCs (or as I like to call this list, my own personal indulgence corner. All the AUs/Movieverse stories I've read are ones that get recc'ed a lot already + I myself have already recc'ed them at one point or another, soooo let's throw some pure spotlight onto some OC stories! Even if a lot of it is connected to me to some degree that's irrelevant):

As The Years Pass By: A fic currently in the process of being rewritten/reworked but still chock full of next-gen Dragons Rising goodness! And it stars the one, the only, Jenna and Ethan from @rainofthetwilight!!!! This fic made me fall in love with her characters and I've loved reading/seeing/drawing these two adorable kids ever since!!!!

Dad!Jay AU by @taddymason: An AU so good I'm still catching up on reading it bit by bit to savor it for longer *-*)9 All the stories in this series are worth the read alone for the accumulation of taddy's character Kaida (a girl who needs no introduction–she's that awesome guys, trust me) but also the eventual father-daughter bond with amnesiac!Jay that is gripping and engaging aaaaall the wall through!!

I Carve This Poem From the Harshest of Storms: Another I'm not caught up with YET (a running theme for this Fic Week, it seems hgfhgfdfgds i'm sorry I'm slow and have a short-attention span). It follow two fascinating peeps in The Administration following The Merge, and without giving too much away, @theartsyswissapple ‘s voices for the characters just POP and make them feel SO real and it's been intriguing to read so far so yeah others should give it a try too!!!

What it Takes for You to See Me: A Spinjitzu bros story with added FSM and Mystake goodness too!!! This is one I've just started reading myself, but you know I love some throwbacks to Wu and Garmadon's past! And the OC here, @marhan-writes-n-draws's Amka, fits into the setting like a glove!!

Honeycomb: Gotta give a shoutout to @miqotepotatoe's Lucy while I'm here too!! Some short, sweet snippets of the Ninja Team's best (and most yellow) cheerleader!! I love her dynamic with everyone, and especially Cole <3

The Space Between Us: A very deep and heart-wrenching introspective into @k1ngtok's characters Lynda and Jamie, Master(s) of Space. It's story about siblings and bonds at its core, but also be mindful of tag of you're looking to dig deeper! (it also takes place in legacyverse technically but that's neither here or there I promise)

Flowery Language Another super funny and endearing story by King following Jesse (hey it's my boy!!) and Antonia on the case to discover who's been leaving flowers in Jesse's locker (spoiler: it's not Cole lmao). It's actually a semi-sequel to this old thing *I* wrote however long ago, but thaaaat's not required reading (though it does help). If you want more of a fix for the Jesse-Antonia duo + more of Jamie, this is the story to read!

Learning to Love (Again): Yet another King fic based in legacyverse (a coincidence), this one kiiiind of takes place during Season 2/Book 3 and follows Jamie on his quest to truly show his friends (Nya, Antonia, Harumi, Jesse, and...Olivia?!) just how much he cares about them through the power of love languages over the course of a week and it is AWESOOOOOOOOME!! Soooo many touching and feel-good moments, mostly soft slice-of-life with teenagers being teenagers, and is a great pick-me up when your soul is feeling sad ;w;)/ I advocate for this one just for the warm soft friendshippy-feelings it gives me alone!!! AAAAAA—

Something About Morning Glories: Jesse (oop there he is again) takes it upon to himself to comfort Jay after the latter finds himself concerned about something following obtaining his True Potential. A duo I desperately want to write more about but can't yet, so this little bit of foundation for their relationship will have to suffice for now ;w;)/

(and if you're still clamoring for more of a certain magic pink fool, there's plenty more where that came from; perhaps there may be a Jesse-Antonia friendship origin story on deck soon, along with maybe some DR stuff~! ...listen there will never be a good chance to self-advertise like this again!! BE YOUR BIGGEST FAN!!! SELF-LOVE BABY!!!! *-*)9 )

In the Company of the Stars: A tale as old as time—a Royal!AU where the fair groundskeeper of a palace's garden (that's the OC) falls head over heels for the prince far out of his league (that's Cole)—except, the prince absolutely likes him back...albeit only as his secret, suave alter-ego. But is that really true—and, more importantly, is there bigger problems to deal with right now???? There's romance, mystery, good food, royal drama, angst, fluff, sabotage, magic, a whole bunch of flowers, Harumi causing chaos on purpose, Skylor throws Chad across a room, Jay goes on a rampage a some point, Kai can't flirt to save his life—the author just needs some fresh motivation to post the darn next chapter already because the ending's gonna be really really good ;V

[differentdragonpeanutknight]

Wu's Diary #3: About Lloyd

Another excerpt from Master Wu's diary:

Date: XX/XX/XXXX

After recovering that precious pieces from my past, I couldn't help myself but wonder why didn't Lloyd, despite being Garmadon's son and sharing the bloodline of our ancestors, didn't had any features from any of them. I was sure I heard my Father talking about this all those years ago, and if he had something to say, I certainly took notes from it.

I found the information I was looking for the next day, emerging in more of my old journals. Unfortunately it seems I completely lost one of them. Having living for centuries as I am, I should be careful and renew my wokrs on new paper. Although I'm not sure if I want my students finding out about everything from my past. Tory was the only exception to that rule (not that I had much of a choice).

Anyway, I'm replicating the same words from my journal right here:

"It has been days since Garmadon and I have been dealing with our different physiques. My brother didn't had much of a problem, of course. I'm glad for him, though. I felt like maybe I pushed him too hard, but he said he would do anything to keep Ninjago at peace.

I wish I could say the same thing for our father, though. After sparring with my brother yesterday, as I was bringing our swords to put them back in armory, I saw Father with Mystake again. She seems to be around a lot lately... I know that Father always tell us to never eavesdrop on other people affairs (especially his affairs) but I couldn't help myself.

From what I could hear, my father was afraid that someday the special tea he and Mystake had created would wear off from me and Garmadon. She tranquilized him, and said that the only way that could happen would be if another mystical force broke the balance within us. That seemed to calm him down. Then he asked 'what if one day they decide to grow a future? To have kids? Heaven knows I won't keep them away from the world outside forever.'

Mystake explained to him that even if said thing happened, the child will inherit the capabilities of the tea, too, and almost nothing can make this wear off. I hope she's right. Father still looked really tense about those probabilities."

All those years later, and Mystake was right. Even after what happened to my brother after our battle, Lloyd still looks like a complete human child. I'm glad to see that. Our family's history is already too complicated to explain, and bringing the fact of Onis, Dragons and Realms would only confuse the poor child even more. Lloyd should just enjoy his simple life.

[morroodle]

Formling Morro AU!

Morro was a normal formling child born in the never realm up until ??? and he got chucked into ninjago at the ripe old age of like 6ish. Something something average homeless kid morro shenanigans Wu adopts him.

Morro knows he's a formling, and he does actually remember a good bit of formling culture, especially the ceremony where kids get their animal form. And he's really sad about it. Being in ninjago and not the never realm and completely separated from all the other formlings he's of course sad cause there's no way he'll be able to do the ritual correctly and he'll never get his animal form

Wu knows Morro's sad and sometime close to when the ceremony is supposed to happen (I imagine it happens on the 12th or 13th birthday or so) Wu gets him talking about it and learns everything he can about the ceremony. Come Morro's 13th birthday he wakes up very sad and depressed and comes out of his room to a whole lot of people. Wu of course, Misako, Garmadon (took a break from evil school to help his brother with his basically son), Mystake, and various elemental masters. Before Morro can say anything Wu reminds him that the journey has to be done in silence. Basically Wu got all his friends to come and help him set up what is as close to the ceremony as could get. It's not perfect and pretty inaccurate but Morro is so happy about it (even if he dosent think it'll work). All the friends give Morro various gifts to help him on his journey, Wu does the little face paint thing (hope I'm remembering that correctly I haven't watched s11 in a while), makes Morro promise (silently) to be safe and come home, and sends him off on his journey to get his animal form

And it works! After nearly a week of traveling Morro gets his animal form, which is obviously a bird. It's similar to one of these things cause they look cool as fuck (they're called bearded vultures) but he probably has a less goofy looking face and not red/orange. Very big birb <3

He comes home and Wu is so proud of his son and everything is good forever (until the prophecy ruins morros life) <3

Haven't figured out the rest of the details yet but it's probably just a modified s5 where Morro is birb and then something something Morro redemption something something wholesome father son relationship <3

Shit ABSOLUTELY happens in s11 when the ninja go to the never realm but I haven't figured out the details yet. Definitely gonna be some fun shit though.

Bonus: wu holding his son <3

[snazzilystoopid]

Ninjago sister AU, pt. 4 Lloyd's turn hehehe 😈

This is gonna be a longer one, so enjoy

Heads up there's probably some typos lurking around in there

Also sorry this took ages heh

(For this AU's sake: Chamille, the master of Form, doesn't exist! <3)

Maeve Montgomery Garmadon

Two years younger than Lloyd

When Misako discovered that her son was the Green ninja, she was determined to leave and find answers

So she left Lloyd at Darkly's, and left Maeve in the care of an old friend

This old friend happened to be Mystake 🤭

Misako did however leave a letter for the both of them when they were old enough to read

It basically just told them that they have a sibling, and when they were old enough they would be able to meet each other

Lloyd and Maeve met at Ninjago Doomsday Comix, this was Lloyd's first time running away from his school

He initially decided to run away to find his sister bc he thought he could find her by himself

But then he got sidetracked by comics lol

They both ended up at the Starfarer section, and they were both about to grab the same issue lol

Lloyd introduced himself as the Mighty Lloyd Garmadon

Maeve was a little confused and told him that they had the same last name, then she asked if he had been told that he had a sister

He said yes obviously and that's when they realised they were actually related

So for the whole day they sat in the comic store just telling each other all about themselves

Yes Wu is aware of Maeve's existence

He would go to Mystake's shop every now and then for tea, as well as to visit his neice

Lloyd would run away from Darkly's often, so he could see his little sis

But then around the start of s1 his visits stopped abruptly and Maeve was worried sick

Around this time, whenever she showed strong emotions, she would randomly morph into someone else

Mystake already knew about her Oni heritage, but never told Wu the reason why Maeve could shapeshift

Wu just assumed she was the current elemental master of Form because he didn't know any better

Ofc he knew about the possibility of it being because she was part Oni, but the chances were so slim that he never even considered it

Eventually Lloyd started to write Maeve letters, and she always wrote back (their handwriting was terrible and was barely readable)

Lloyd told her all about his training to be the green ninja, and that didn't sit right with her

I mean, fighting their dad and possibly dying? Nah she wasn't happy abt that

Lloyd's next visit was in s2, in the Child's Play episode

Maeve was at the comic store at the same time Lloyd and the ninja were

So she introduced herself obviously but didn't know what tf was going on at first, because Lloyd had always described the ninja as teenagers, not kids

When Lloyd gets a hold of the Tomorrow's Tea,, Maeve jumps in and grabs it

She knew that if he was aged up, the final battle would end up being sooner than she wanted

They both fought over it and it ended up getting smashed, aging them both up

Lloyd wasn't very happy about his sister getting roped into all of this

Maeve on the other hand was over the moon

Because she thought that since she was older, she could protect her brother

But we love an overprotective younger sis hehe

Then they reunite with Misako....

Lloyd wasn't having it at first but warmed up to her soon enough

It took Maeve a little longer, because she was kinda pissed at the fact that this woman had been gone "searching for a way to stop the Final Battle" and found little to nothing

When the ninja have to leave for the Dark Island, Maeve is devastated and begged Mystake to let her sneak onto the Bounty, after she had previously asked Wu, who upright refused.

Mystake was confident her ability to shapeshift and they devised an ingenious plan to get Maeve on board heheh

Maeve shifted into Jay as the Ninja were saying their goodbyes and snuck into a crate on the Bounty, meanwhile Lloyd was a little upset that she hadn't come to say goodbye to him

And yes dw she bought loads of snacks for the journey

Lots and lots and lots of Ninja chips

She went undercover as a Stone Warrior for a bit and that's when she finally met her dad

Poor thing was scared out of her mind and she got even more terrified once she heard of his plans to turn Ninjago into his own image

So she went running back to the others lmao

Lloyd initially started to attack her when she met up with the others but she morphed back into herself

The two had a massive argument because Lloyd thought that it was too dangerous for his sis to be there

But Maeve wasn't having any of it

So after that, the two weren't on speaking terms until Lloyd was going up the steps to the Garmatron Fortress

Everyone else had already been hit with Dark Matter and it was only them left

Poor Lloyd started to cry because of how scared he was, and for luck, Maeve gave him the watch she always wore on her wrist

After Lloyd had won, he returned it obviously and their family was whole again 🥰

She then became a student at Sensei Wu's academy and trained under Garmadaddy at his monastery

She was the oldest one there but he didn't mind bc it's his kid ofc

But she still went to New Ninjago City often, to visit Mystake

Lloyd was always busy being the Golden Ninja so they didn't see each other much, but they did write to each other a lot

Maeve went on the school trip to Borg Industries along with the ninja, and she vented to Nya about how Lloyd and her mom always assume that she can't look after herself because she wasn't a ninja like her bro

The only other person who actually believed in her was Garmadon

And ofc Nya knew how she felt so she quickly became the older sister she never had

Then the Overlord came back and all the machines lost control blah blah

Wu demanded that Maeve stay with Mystake. She did but this girl did NOT go quietly

So for s3 she stayed behind with Mystake, who taught her how to propperly use shapeshifting power to her advantage

Then Zane died, and the ninja split up

At this point, Maeve was still living with Mystake, and her family came to visit often

But both her and Mystake were pretty confused as to why she wasn't being taken back to live with them

Then one day, Mystake is delivered an invitation to the ToE for Maeve

She goes ofc, because she sees this as an opportunity to prove herself to her brother and mom

Garmadon had a feeling that she would show up, so he, unlike the others, wasn't suprised when during the first hunt for the jadeblades, she was there waititng for them

Lloyd blew up at her asking why tf she thought this was a good idea

To which she replied that this is what happens when you don't have faith in your own family

Everyone was a little stressed out that they had to "protect her" now-- apart from Kai, who had actually them to lay off her a bit

From that moment on Kai was her favourite

She vowed that she would win this tournament no matter what, and the two weren't on speaking terms up until they had to face off in the roller skate battle

Both of them are stubborn af though so they still decided to fight each other and didn't make up before the fight, much like Cole and Jay

But Maeve broke first, and when Chen rigged the scores so that she won, she immediately defended Lloyd, followed by the rest of the elemental masters

So she lost and fell through the floor, Lloyd tried to jump after her but was held back by the others

Maeve and Lloyd cried together when Garmadon sacrificed himself

When s5 rolls around, Maeve was helping Misako and Nya unpack the new Tea shop

She was an expert bc of helping Mystake out at her own tea shop 🤭

Kai also tells Lloyd and Maeve that he'll look out for them because of Garmadaddy being gone

So anyways her big bro gets possessed by arguably the best villain in the entire show-

She stays with Mystake yet again after Misako demanded she get in the car with her and the customers

She was PISSED at this and even more angry at the fact that no one even tried to reason with her, even though they didn't rly have time to

She continues to stay with Mystake right up to SoG

During that time, Lloyd and Misako visited, she continued helping Mystake at the shop and missed her dad ALOT

There was a period of time where she was just crying every day because he was the only one who really believed in her

During SoG, Lloyd actually sent her a text just venting about his feelings for Harumi, but Maeve got a weird vibe off her

When she hears that the ninja are going to go as far as possible from Ninjago and also to find the Oni Mask, she yet again decides to sneak of as Jay ehehe

At this point Lloyd couldn't give a shit what Maeve was doing anymore so ofc he didn't tell her to leave

So she stayed, which she was very happy about

Then she met Harumi....

She did NOT like this girl

Also she met baby Wu, before she knew he was Wu ofc

Wu kept on following her and Lloyd around until she decided to pick him up and shove him into Cole's arms, telling him to keep him away from her

So then Harumi reveals herself as the quiet one and Maeve is like I TOLD YOU SO

She is then taken prisoner by the SoG and is used in the ceremony to bring Garmadaddy back

But obviously her plan "fails"

Then Garmadon our beloved returns

The ninja are split up and the og four go to the First Realm

Maeve joins the resistance along with her mom

This poor girl is scared out of her mind of what her dad has become

Nya comforted her as much as possible though bc shes an angel

So it gets kinda sad here:

When Harumi is on that building that collapses, Maeve saw her and, even though she didn't like her, knew that she was only a girl who's judgement was clouded by anger

So she did her best to try and save her

But the building ended up collapsing on both of them

Obviously Harumi survives ofc since we see her in Crystalized

Maeve doesn't unfortunately...

Yes guys, Maeve died trying to save Harumi

Now, NO ONE knew that Maeve had died, apart from Nya, until the end of the fight

Nya was absolutely heartbroken and she didn't want to ruin how happy everyone was but when she started to cry, that was when Jay asked what was wrong

Then she said that the building had collapsed while Maeve was in it

Everyone was so shocked at Maeve's passing, because she was so headstrong and confident, and by that point everyone believed that she could look after herself

Which she could, but fate had decided differently that day

Lloyd instantly blamed himself and cried into Kai's shoulder when he found out

Kai was fucking ANGRY and this guy was gonna go to Garmadon himself and kill him right there, if it weren't for Cole convincing him to stay

Needles to say, everyone felt as if a part of their lives was gone after Maeve died

Lloyd was not ready to accept the fact that his sister was gone, and searched the collapsed building not just for her, but for Harumi too

He found nothing apart from the wristwatch that Maeve has owned for years

The same one she gave him for luck during the Final Battle with the Overlord

It was broken and slightly battered but he didn't care

He hasn't taken that watch off ever since

Zane turned off his emotions for about a week before Pixal turned it back on, and once she did Zane just stayed in bed for like another week

He hadn't experienced loss since his father and it was still kinda new to him

Cole stopped eating vanilla sponge cakes, because those were her favourite

Nya sometimes liked to scroll through the selfies they took together, but then Jay would always tell her to stop bc it usually ended in her crying

Kai was probably the angriest out of everyone, he was just so pissed off at Garmadon, who didn't rlly seem to care that his kid was dead

Lloyd did not leave his room for weeks, only when the monastery was rebuilt was when he decided to drag himself out

His eyes had lost their brightness and he just looked so tired

Nya had to stop herself from crying just from looking at how broken he was without his little sis

In March of the Oni, Garmadon revealed that Maeve's power wasn't an elemental one, but one that came from her Oni blood

Lloyd and Kai both get really pissed that Garmadon was just so nonchalantly talking about his daughter (who btw was dead) and Kai was about to pounce on him

Zane and Cole had to hold him back

After MotO, Lloyd was on the couch one night just staring and the blank TV when Kai came in

He asked him what was wrong and Lloyd just told him all bout how he still wasn't over Maeve's death, and how he can't live with himself knowing he could've saved her

In truth, the poor boy blamed himself

He once again cried in Kai's shoulder and eventually fell asleep

He was so exhausted

A photo of her and Lloyd together was hung up by Wu and Misako in the monastery, but whenever Misako visited, she avoided there at all costs, because she didn't want to cry every time she saw her daughter's face

During s11, Lloyd told Akita all about Maeve and how they lost her

He shed a few tears and even though Akita was kinda annoyed at the fact he was just telling her his whole life story, she felt for him because she knew what it was like to be without a sibling

When Lloyd first reunited with Harumi in Crystalized, he had to hold himself back from just smashing her head in

She laughed when she heard that Maeve died while trying to save her

Later on she feels really guilty ofc

While Garmadon was in his little apartment with Christofern, she had time to think abt his daughter's death

He was kinda confused about how he felt, but when he told Vinny, he explained it was grief

Garmadon refused to believe he was upset over it but was he thought more on it, he did realise he felt a tinge of, what was it....regret??

After the merge, in the monastery, the photo of Lloyd and Maeve was damaged, but Lloyd immediately replaced the frame and placed it beside Wu's photo

Kinda sad ikkk

I'm kinda emotional rn lmao but here are a few Maeve facts

Maeve and Lloyd are identical apart from the fact that her hair was longer, and her eyes weren't as bright as Lloyd's

Maeve died not knowing if Mystake was alive of not, and that's saying a lot considering the fact that she raised her and was like a second mother to her

The watch that Maeve used to wear used to belong to Misako, it was a gift from Garmadon

She used to sometimes use her shapeshifting power to prank people and steal stuff

She always wore mismatched socks

Her hair was always in a braid like her mother's

In the time between Rebooted and ToE, her and Garmadon would sometimes go fishing together, Lloyd and Misako would join in on occasion

The last thing she thought about before she died was how Lloyd and her mom were going to feel once she was gone

She had a passion for baking, whenever Lloyd would visit, she'd make white chocolate cookies-- those are his favourite

On her keys, she had a green ninja keychain

She loved to borrow the ninja's stuff: Cole's hoodies, Nya's hairpins, Kai's hair gel, Jay's 3DS and Zane's cooking/baking books

Maeve never found out the true origin of her powers, since no on ever told her; not even Mystake did.

That is all !! Sorry if you come across any typos ! Once again I'm sorry this took so long to get out, and last, but definitely not least, is Zane, coming next !! <33

[canel-exe]

⭒☽✧ Here's Tache ! It's my undertale Oc who has been waiting a long time before going out. It's a fanchild. But It was not created intentionally by Nightmare and Ink, It was a mystake. He doesn't like people because he feels he can't trust them and he has some abandonment issues. ⭒ He's trying to create his own AU to have people with him but he ends up destroying everything because of his emotions. And every time he tries to recreate something, he tries to "overwrite" it rather than create another timeline because he doesn't like what happens in other AU. ⭒ He can use creation to create things and has his strange dark matter that he can control. But he's not really gifted so he's a bit weak. The two tentacles that he has are too heavy for him ; when he forces to use it, he often ends up breaking some of his bones. ⭒ He knows some other AU that he observes to inspire himself. He also knows (in a general idea) what the star sanses and the bad guys "are doing". But he's often scared to bring Nightmare to him because of negative emotions- ⭒Yes he's an emo child, he's really dark you know ?- x) ⭒ Feel free to ask questions ! It's open ! <3

[circus4apsycho8]

knife to meet you. | cole x reader | chapter iii

A/N: I don't know what's wrong with me, but I've been CONSISTENTLY WRITING???? And I'm already starting the fourth chapter for this fic??? What is happening!!

Anyways, chapter 3 is here! I hope you all enjoy. Thank for all of your support so far!

Masterlist for this Fic

Wind batters the ancient walls of the monastery, silence creeping through the hallways as you down the remnants of your morning beverage. Nya and the ninja are nowhere to be found, and you’ve yet to see Wu today. On any other day, the silence wouldn’t have bothered you, but something is…off, somehow. You can’t put your finger on it, but something in the atmosphere is suffocating.

After you finish cleaning up, you decide you need some fresh air. You’d been meaning to explore other parts of the mountain anyway. Tucked underneath your arm is a blanket, your medical bag in your other hand as you proceed to the exit. You’ve probably just been cooped up too long.

Just before you’re about to exit the monastery, your peripheral vision catches motion from one of the open rooms. Halting, you glance at the source.

Sensei Wu is kneeled in his meditation room, thumbing through a photo album. Next to him rests his tea kettle, steaming with his latest brew as he gazes at the people in the photographs. The elderly man senses that you’ve stopped, eyes lifting from the photo album as he snaps it shut.

Realizing that you might be intruding, your eyes widen. “I’m sorry, Sensei. I hope I didn’t interrupt.”

Wu shakes his head, closing the album and pushing it to the side. “Oh, you’re not interrupting. I was about to check on the dragons anyway.”

As Wu reaches for his teacup, you can’t help but glance back at the album. Printed on its worn, muted gold cover is the symbol for Creation - you remember seeing the same symbol in one of Mystake’s books. Underneath that symbol is another one - this one stands for remembrance.

Interesting.

Sensei rises from his position, accompanying you down the hall. In one hand, he carries his bamboo staff while his tea kettle hangs from his other arm. “Have you been settling in well?”

“Yeah! Everything’s been going great,” you answer as the two of you approach the sliding doors.

“I am glad to hear it. Change is neutral and carries no regard for those it affects. Adjusting can be difficult, so I’m glad everything is working out so far,” he muses as you pull the doors open with your free hand.

Not to your surprise, the ninja are nowhere in the courtyard; in their absence lies an empty, eerily silent training course. “Where’d the guys go? I haven’t seen them all morning.”

Sensei Wu pushes a button on one of the monastery support beams. In response, the obstacle course retreats into the ground. “They went out earlier, to investigate something Zane found last night. I’m not sure when they’ll return.”

“I see. Well, I’m going to go look for ingredients for potions. Everything I need should be on the mountain, so I won’t be far in case they need patching up after.”

“Ah, ingredients, you say? You’re welcome to use some of the herbs from my tea garden, if you like,” he says.

“You have a tea garden?” you say, grinning at Wu.

“Certainly. Mystake’s tea blends are the best in Ninjago, and her brand is the only one I drink. However, I’ve yearned to create my own brand of tea for some time now. So, I learned how to grow my own herbs and have been trying to craft the perfect tea recipe ever since.”

“I see,” you reply, tilting your head in thought. “You know…part of my work at Mystake’s shop involved me helping out with her tea blends. So, if you need help, I’d be willing to lend a hand.”

Wu considers your offer, a thoughtful expression on his face as he nods. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.”

…

It only takes you about fifteen minutes to find Wu’s garden, and an additional half hour for the ingredients you need. The fresh air helps clear your head, ridding you of that strange, oppressive atmosphere you’d felt earlier.

Why do I feel so weird today? you wonder as you pull open the massive courtyard gates. I’ve probably just been cooped up in here too long. Maybe I can go out with Nya later.

An herbal scent draws you back into the present, beckoning your gaze towards the source. Sensei Wu sits in front of a stand filled with incense sticks, pale smoke ascending to the sky. Deciding not to disturb him, you return to your room.

A flurry of motion flinches when you push the door open. You jump in response, realizing Nya is back. She must have been hard at work over her desk, if the series of writing utensils and blueprints on her desk say anything.

“Nya,” you realize, chuckling at the scare. “You’re back.”

“You scared me!” she exclaims, settling a hand over her chest as she laughs. “Yeah, sorry. I went to check on the dragons this morning, and you were still sleeping. I didn���t want to wake you.”

“I see,” you say, setting your bag next to your bed and coming to sit next to her. “What are you working on?”

The black-haired girl grins, rotating the pencil in her grip so that she can tap the eraser on the page of schematics. “Well, a few different things. First of all, the last mission made me realize that we need some form of long-distance communication. I’m thinking maybe earpieces? That way, the ninja can wear them underneath their hoods, and they wouldn’t be super bulky,” she frowns, tracing the outline of her sketches. “For me, I’m going to rig my bracelet into a communicator. We’ll have to figure out something for you. But we can wait to decide on that until I’m further in the design process.”

You nod in acknowledgement, scanning her notes and sketches. You don’t really understand any of it, but it’s still cool to look at. “Wow…this looks complex. Having a way to communicate over long distances would be helpful, though.”

She flicks the pencil back onto the paper, swiveling towards you as she shakes her writing wrist out. “I hope they’ll help. The designs are going to be a bitch to make, but I think Jay and I can swing it.” She punctuates her sentence with a sigh. “How about you? What have you been up to? I know it’s kind of a slow day until they get back.”

“I just gathered some herbs from that small section of forest up here,” you reply, shrugging. “I’m going to try and mix some medicines later on.”

Nya nods, swiveling back towards her work. “Got it. Maybe when they return, and you’ve patched them up, we can go out. There’s something I want to show that I’ve been working on, but it’s kind of far-”

“Nya?” interrupts Sensei’s muffled voice from the hallway. You and Nya glance at each other, the urgency in Sensei Wu’s tone alarming you. The two of you hop out of your chairs, rushing over to the door.

Before Nya even gets the door all the way open, she starts responding. “Sensei, what is it?!”

“The ninja are in trouble,” Wu answers, clutching an aged flute in one hand. “I had a smoke vision of them. We must go help them.”

“Got it,” Nya turns to you. “We’ll be back as fast as we can!”

“Okay. Be careful!” you call as the two rush down the hallway.

An overwhelming sense of helplessness overcomes you as you pace around the monastery. All of your potions are already prepared, so there’s not much you can do in terms of prep. It’s a matter of waiting now, which is the worst part.

Biting your lip, you pace around the monastery, your medical bag slung over your shoulder and at the ready. It probably hasn’t even been ten minutes since Nya and Wu left, yet it feels like it’s been hours. Nya was right about the team needing communication devices - not knowing what’s going on is eating at you.

Maybe I’ll just wait outside so I can see when they get back, you think, heading for the front sliding door.

Pushing your bag out of the way, you move to open the door. To your surprise, it doesn’t budge.

“What the hell?” you mumble, hands drifting to the lock. Just as you thought, it isn’t latched. So why isn’t it opening?

Uneasiness creeps throughout your tummy as you tug on the door one more time, frowning at its refusal to open. Something deep inside your gut tells you that the chill of the draft isn’t the reason why the hairs on your skin are standing.

“Something is coming. Be careful,” whispers an unfamiliar, feminine voice. You jump, gasping at the nearness of her words. When you swivel your head, however, it reveals no one else in the hallway with you. Words freeze in your throat as you shake your head, trying to get ahold of yourself.

“What’s coming? Who are you? Are you the lady I saw outside?” you wonder, voice cracking a little as you try the door again. It’s still not opening.

“Yes. Snakes. I cannot hold this form for long. Please prepare.” With that, the atmosphere lightens as the presence evaporates. You swallow at the lady’s warning, questions buzzing about your mind.

Man…what would Mystake say if she were in your position? She’d tell me to listen to my body and instinct. She always said that if you feel as if something is wrong, then you’re probably right, and to never doubt your intuition.

You don’t feel threatened by…whoever that was, and you wouldn’t put it past the serpentine to try and steal their staff back. You decide to heed her warning; you can always try to figure out who she is later. But how are you supposed to prepare for an attack? The only thing you can think to do is lock the gate. Not to mention that you’re still learning the monastery’s layout.

Your mentor’s words echo in your mind: Don’t freeze. Make a decision. Doing something is better than doing nothing.

Swallowing your fear, you try the door again. This time, it swings open. You dash towards the gate, holding your medical bag steady against your side. With a grunt, you swing the swiveling wooden latch into place.

Autopilot kicks in when you realize that the snakes will probably ransack the place looking for their staff. It’s too bad you didn’t see where Sensei Wu hid it, otherwise you could take it with you.

Running through the memories of items you recall everyone using, you decide to collect sentimental items that can fit in your bag. You manage to grab Jay and Nya’s blueprints, the siblings’ twin, custom-made knives, a container of Kai’s hair gel, Cole’s art supplies, Jay’s handheld gaming console and invention journal, a few of Zane’s books, and Sensei Wu’s photo album.

Mental note to thank Mystake for making this bag so big, you think when the zipper closes your packed bag with ease.

As soon as you finish, the ground shakes in response to something booming outside. You gasp as shouts emanate from the direction of the courtyard, eyes widening when you realize you’ll be the first thing the serpentine see if they get inside.

So much for the gate.

At the thought, you dash through the monastery, ducking inside the guys’ room and locking the door. Thankfully, your memory was right - they do have a window, and outside of it, there’s just enough room for you to walk around the perimeter.

“Find the staff!” commands a voice - this time, a familiar one. Maybe one of the snakes you and Nya eavesdropped on at Jamanakai? “Burn this pathetic place to the ground! Ensure the ninja have no home to return to!”

As soon as the leader stops talking, chaos ensues: the snakes cry out, immediately tearing the building apart. Glass shatters, footsteps thunder through the halls, furniture is torn and ripped apart.

With no time to waste, you slide the windowpane up. Shrugging your bag off your shoulder, you push it through the window first. After giving yourself a boost on the bunk beds’ nightstand, you manage to haul yourself through.

Your landing is ungraceful, but it works. A grunt escapes you as you pick yourself back up, grabbing your bag again before looking around. You’re on the back portion of the mountain now, and there’s not much room for you to walk on. There are only a few feet between the monastery walls and the edge of the mountain, so you follow the walls.

Fear tightens your throat, wind whipping against your skin as you work your way along the side of the monastery. You force your gaze to remain on the path, paying no heed to the mountain’s looming height. As you walk, a smoky scent starts drifting about the air as the chaos inside rages on. Even so, you continue forward.

To your dismay, once you round the corner, your pathway ends. It’s blocked by a windowed wall of the monastery, meaning that you’re going to have to cut through inside. Cursing underneath your breath, you crouch down underneath the kitchen window. You need a plan.

Okay…where should you go, first of all? Everyone else is gone, so you’re on your own, and you sure as hell don’t stand a chance against the snakes. You wrack your mind for a solution before recalling something that Nya and Wu said earlier.

“The dragons!” you realize. Sensei Wu said he had wanted to check on them earlier, meaning that the ninja hadn’t taken them on their mission. If you can make it there, you could hunker down with them. Unless the serpentine thought to light the keep on fire too…

You shake that thought away, deciding to tackle one problem at a time.

Decision made, you peek through the kitchen window. From what you can see, it’s clear for the moment, but thick plumes of dark smoke have gathered above. Flames have consumed the left hallway, meaning that you’ll have to make a break for the keep from one of the windows facing the courtyard.

First Spinjitzu Master, help me. Here goes nothing.

You’re not so lucky with this window - it’s locked. You reach down into the pockets of your bag, pulling out a knife you’d taken from the ninja’s room. The hilt seems hefty enough to shatter the glass. With a grunt, you slam the butt of the blade down onto the glass, flinching as it shatters. Glass pools at your feet, the noise drowned out by the chaos emanating from the main side of the monastery.

Tucking the knife back in your bag, you start climbing into the monastery. Remnants of glass nick your hands as you hoist yourself inside, leaving your palms stinging and bloody. Heat singes your skin as you rush towards the other window, smoke ravaging your lungs and throat. Through coughing fits, you make it to the window and manage to unlock it.

Once you push it up, you spot a group of snakes huddled near the front of the monastery. The path past the gate seems clear otherwise; you just have to make it. Hopefully the dragons can bail you out if the snakes chase you.

Okay. Here you go.

Initially, the snakes don’t notice you clambering through the window, too focused on watching the monastery burn. You immediately break into a sprint, bag jostling against your torso as you pass the gate despite your efforts to keep it steady. Voices shout from behind you, but you don’t stop to look back. Instead, you run faster, lungs burning as you resist the urge to cough again.

When you make it to the stretch leading to the keep, you force yourself to keep your eyes ahead. You don’t focus on the fact that you could tumble to your death with a single misstep.

Your heart breaks when you realize the serpentine had lit the dragon cave on fire. Roars pierce the air, prompting you to scramble for the lever embedded in the wall.

“Fuck!” you yell when the lever turns out to be harder to pull than you anticipated. The blood on your hands isn’t helping either; your grip keeps slipping. Frustrated, you fish a medical towel from one of your bag’s many pockets, using it to secure your grip. Adrenaline rushes your muscles when you hear the serpentine approaching. “Come on!”

With a strangled cry, you finally manage to pull it all the way down. Gears screech from within the cave, the wooden gates retreating into the earth moments later. Shard and Wisp stomp out of the cave, immediately taking flight while Rocky lingers behind, stepping out of the fiery portion. He growls at something behind you, prompting you to turn around.

You gasp when you see a snake closing in on you. He wields a twin set of katanas, zeroing in on you. What he fails to notice is Shard hovering in the air across from you, the dragon’s powerful wings pumping gusts of wind in your direction. Icy blue breath erupts from his jaws, freezing the snake solid against the mountain.

“Thank you, Shard!” you yell, voice hoarse. He roars in response, ascending to the top of the mountain and leaving you with the remaining dragon. “Rocky! Are you okay?!”

The dragon whines, nuzzling your hand when you pet him. He crouches, lowering his wing to the ground. You waste no time climbing atop the dragon, sitting in Cole’s usual spot. Thankfully, Rocky doesn’t wait for you to take the reins. Once you’ve got a secure grip on him, he rushes out of the flame-filled cave, wings taking it from there.

Tears gather in your eyes when you spot the monastery completely ablaze. Rocky hangs back so that you’re not exposed to the whelm of smoke rising above the mountain, letting Wisp and Shard take turns blasting ice or sparks at the remaining serpentine. The bastards finally seem to be retreating, but the damage is done; what remains of the monastery is nothing more than a pile of flaming rubble and debris.

“I can’t believe it…” you mumble, watching as Shard begins spraying the remaining flames with his icy breath. “It’s…it’s gone.”

Rocky responds with a mournful growl, coasting on the air as he circles the mountain. You blink a few times, your surroundings not feeling real anymore. Dizziness sways your vision as the events replay, mind having trouble processing everything.

Rocky deems the mountain safe enough for you to land a few minutes later, gently descending to the ground. When you slide off his back, he nuzzles his snout into your shoulder.

“Thank you,” you whisper, petting his scales a few times. Rocky merely leans into your touch, sorrow lacing his eyes.

You collapse to your knees, pulling the strap of your bag off your body as Rocky lays down next to you. With the adrenaline wearing off, your skin is starting to sting with the mild burns you probably got inside the monastery. Even so, you elect to hold off on using any supplies until the ninja have been treated.

With the back of your hand, you pet Rocky. He closes his eyes at your touch, adjusting his head so that he’s resting on his forelegs. Another soft dragon groan from your other side catches your attention, a draconic shadow looming over you. Turning, you spot Shard slinking up to you.

“What is it?” you wonder. You swear these dragons can understand you.

Shard sidles up next to you, enveloping you with his wing from behind. The chill from his freezing body temperature numbs the burns on your skin, making you sigh in relief.

“That’s…that’s better. Thank you, Shard.”

Wisp wanders in front of you, growling softly as he lowers his snout to you. Not wanting to leave him out, you give him a few reassuring pets.

For a while, you simply process the event alongside three dragons as you wait for the others. Your thoughts zigzag to miscellaneous questions: what would the others say when they returned? Where are they? Are they hurt? Who (or what) warned you about the serpentine? Was there anything you could have done to stop the serpentine from burning the monastery down?

Your thoughts are interrupted when Shard retracts his wing, standing at attention. Rocky gently bumps your shoulder with his snout, urging you to stand. Obliging, you study the dragons’ reactions. It takes you a minute or so, but finally you hear the distant roar of Flame approaching.

To your relief, everyone is aboard the dragon. Okay, that’s good at least: no one seems critically injured. You and the dragons step to the side when Flame hovers overhead, sailing down once he has a clear area to land.

The ninja are the first to descend, surveying the area as they flip their hoods off. Jay, Cole, and Zane make their way to their respective dragons, making sure they’re okay.

“Our home…” Kai mumbles, trailing off as he processes the damage. Nya rushes out from his side, making her way over to you.

“Are you okay?!” Nya questions, gesturing to the mild burns on your skin. “Oh, god, one of us should have stayed with you.”

“I’m fine. You couldn’t have known. Is everyone else okay?”

“Just a few bumps. But this…” Nya trails off as everyone gathers together. Grief and shock bubble in the atmosphere, merging into a tension that has you fidgeting.

“The training equipment, gone…” Zane murmurs, petting Shard as he looks around.

“Our video games! Gone!” Jay cries.

“They stole their staff back,” Sensei Wu realizes. You remember what he told you about the monastery; it had been standing for thousands of years, and had been his childhood home. You can’t even begin to imagine the loss he’s experiencing.

“What do we do now?” Cole wonders, returning Rocky’s nuzzle with an embrace of his own.

The tension snaps when Kai crushes a piece of charred wood in his grasp, expression darkening as he swivels towards Zane. “If you hadn't followed that silly bird, none of this would've happened!”

“Kai…” Wu warns.

Fed up, Jay shakes his head. “No, Sensei, he's right! Because of you, my high score has been deleted!”

Zane’s expression falters as his teammates begin accusing him of something he couldn’t control. “This is a teaching moment. We must learn from this!”

Cole throws his hands up in the air, defeat scrawled on his expression. “A ‘teaching moment’? What's wrong with you? Don't you get it?! Everything is gone!”

You step in front of Zane, expression hardening. It’s not fair that they’re blaming all of this on him; Zane couldn’t have known the serpentine were going to attack.

Coming to the white ninja’s defense, you argue: “Not everything is gone. I managed to save a few sentimental items before they ransacked the building. And if you’re going to blame anybody, blame me. I was here, but I couldn’t stop them. Maybe there was something I could have done to prevent this from happening. Zane couldn’t have known they were going to burn the place down!”

Nya joins you, hands on her hips as she scowls at the guys. “Without Zane, you guys wouldn’t have found Lloyd’s hideout.” She steps up to her older brother, meeting his accusatory glare with one just as stubborn. “We could have planned this out better, but we didn’t. We’re all at fault here, and we’re going to learn from this.”

Sensei Wu steps in, gesturing for everyone to separate. You all do so, lining up together. “Yes, we are all at fault. Ninja, Zane is your brother. Apologize at once.”

Silence overcomes the groups, anger dissipating.. Kai turns first, regret lacing his eyes as he starts: “I’m sorry, Zane. I-”

When Kai trails off, everyone turns to look for the mentioned ninja. To your surprise, Zane is nowhere to be found. Neither is Shard.

“Zane?” Jay wonders, confusion lacing his tone.

“There,” Nya says, pointing to the sky. Off in the distance, you see Zane and Shard sailing through the air.

Sensei Wu sighs, rubbing his temples. “He will come back when he is ready, and you three will apologize to him. We may have lost our home, but we have not and will not lose each other. No matter how dire the circumstances are, we will never turn on each other. Disagreements are bound to happen, but we must learn to address them in a more productive manner. Let us take this experience to reflect on what we have lost and how to prevent something like this from happening again.”

“Yes, Sensei,” everyone replies in unison.

Sensei Wu nods, making his way towards the path to the dragon keep. “Good. I would like to have a few minutes alone here. Please head for the Mountains of Impossible Height; I will catch up shortly.”

“Yes, Sensei.”

As the guys head for the staircase, you gesture for Nya to stay with you. She quirks an eyebrow, wondering what you need.

“Can you grab the photo album out of my bag? My hands are still kind of bloody,” you request, glancing at the dried bits of blood sticking to your skin.

“Oh, yeah,” she says, unzipping your bag and fishing the book out.

“Sensei, before we go, I wanted to give you your photo album. I was able to grab it before I had to escape,” you say, watching as your friend hands the mentioned item to Wu.

“Ah…you saved our pictures,” he says, voice low as he accepts the album. “Many of us had irreplaceable photos in here. Thank you for bringing these to me.”

“You’re welcome, Sensei.”

Nya smiles softly, tugging on your bicep as she bids Wu goodbye: “Take your time, Sensei.”

…

An hour or so later, the six of you make the hike up to Sensei’s specified location. The dragons fly your group up the steeper bits. Eventually, you all find a spot big enough to sport everyone and the dragons.

Silence overcomes the group after Cole gives everyone a task to focus on. He and Kai are setting up a makeshift tent together while Jay and Nya search for firewood. You’re tasked with finding edible plants in a nearby forest.

To avoid smearing your blood on everything, you pull on a pair of blue medical grade gloves when picking the plants. You leave your bag back at camp, grateful for the chance to give your sore shoulders a break from its weight.

Finding edible plants doesn’t take long considering how small the patch of forest is. Nearly fifteen minutes later, you return with an armful of potion ingredients, edible plants, and supplies. Kai and Cole have finished with the tent, and Jay and Nya appear to be finishing up with the firewood. As you bump into the others, you hand out the items you saved in hopes it would bring up the mood a bit.

Kai and Nya are first: for the siblings, you were able to grab some of Nya’s blueprints as well as a twin pair of custom-made daggers: one for Kai, and the other for Nya. The engravings and color on the blades differ, but they’re the same shape. You wonder if they came from the siblings’ blacksmith shop. Kai is also relieved to see that you managed to save one container of his hair gel, replying: “At least my hair won’t suffer!”

For Jay, you were able to save some of his blueprints, a journal filled to the brim with invention idea sketches, and a handheld gaming console that was in its travel case when you’d grabbed it. Jay thanks you with glassy eyes when you hand him his belongings, telling you that the journal and console were gifts from his parents.

Of Zane’s possessions, you were able to save three old books. Despite their age, they appear to be well cared for. You hope he’ll be back soon.

Lastly, you have a sketchbook and a set of art supplies that you suspect are Cole’s. You spot the black ninja shuffling the firewood that Jay and Nya collected over to the finished tent.

“Hey,” you greet, keeping your voice low as you approach him. “How are you holding up?”

Once he finishes tying a knot, Cole looks over to you. “Hey. I’m…okay, considering the circumstances.” He sighs, running a hand through his hair as he surveys the tent. “How about you?”

You shrug, gently tracing the line of your gloved palm with a finger. “I’m okay. I wanted to give you this,” you reply, taking his sketchbook and art supplies from your bag. “I was able to save it before they fully ransacked the place.”

Cole’s fingertips brush yours as he accepts his belongings, a ghost of a smile twitching over his lips. “My sketchbook…thank you.”

“Not a problem,” you reply, withdrawing your hand. No longer under the cover of the items, your gloves are now visible. Some of your bloodstains have darkened the blue fabric from underneath, making Cole frown.

The black ninja tucks his sketchbook and case of supplies underneath his arm. “Your hands… Did they hurt you?”

“Oh, no. This was just from me having to climb through a busted window. Some of the glass shards were still on the frame when I grabbed it.”

Cole cringes at the story, stare still not averting. “Here, guide me through your method of bandaging. Where are your supplies?”

You chuckle, shaking your head. “No, Cole, don’t worry about it. I can do it.”

The raven-haired male shoots you a funny look, shaking his head in response. “Come on, you’ve done it for me like…eighty times already, and you haven’t even been here for a month yet. At least teach me how to do it in case we have to administer first aid if we’re on the field.”

“Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of my job?” you wonder.

“Not if you’re far away,” he counters, spotting your bag a few feet away. You follow him, realizing that the Golden Weapons (minus Zane’s shurikens) were placed next to it while you were in the forest, all resting on the ground but not touching. The metal twinkles in the evening light, pulsing with a hint of energy.

“Good point. Maybe we should have a basic first aid class, then,” you muse, deciding you’d ask Sensei Wu about it later. “Okay, fine. Let’s sit down.”

He nods, snatching your bag from the ground while you make your way underneath the tent. Sidestepping the pile of sticks, you have a seat on the dirt. Cole settles in across from you as you peel the gloves off, letting them fall to the side.

“Okay, what first?” he asks.

“First, our priority is to stop the bleeding,” you instruct, peering at your cuts. Thankfully, the bleeding is coming to a halt. “It looks like my bleeding is slowing down, though. But, in the case that it wasn’t, you would use a bandage or cloth to stop it.”

“Got it,” Cole replies.

You nod, tipping your head in the direction of the bag. “Okay. Now, it’s time to clean the wound. I have a bottle of cleaning solution in there somewhere. It’s a little bottle with a teal-colored liquid. There should also be a pink cloth in there too.”

“Okay…” Cole mumbles, rummaging through your bag before pulling out the items. “These?”

“Yep. Pour a little bit of the liquid onto the cloth, then just dab on the cuts. I usually like to clean off the excess blood if the cut isn’t much of a worry at this point, but that’s more of personal preference.”

Cole nods, dampening the cloth with the antiseptic. Once that’s done, he gingerly takes your hand, making your heart bash itself against your ribcage. After he dabs at the blood for a moment, he glances up at you.

“What is it?” you wonder.

“I was hoping that you’d be cringing or hissing at the stinging,” he admits as he continues.

You frown incredulously at him, huffing a laugh. “Why?”

“Because I wanted to make fun of you for making fun of me when I cringed at the stinging sensation. Unfortunately for me, you’re not even reacting to it, which makes me look like a wuss.”

Not expecting his response, you can’t help but laugh. “Are you kidding me?”

“Nope,” he replies, moving to your other hand. You wonder if the others had been teasing him about it, hoping that they hadn’t been doing it too much. After all, you’re still getting to know everyone and their senses of humor. You don’t want to go overboard, so you elect to tone it down a bit just in case.

“You’re not a wuss,” you say after a few moments. “I mean, I’m not the one throwing myself into dangerous situations for the greater good.”

Cole doesn’t answer, instead focusing on cleaning the remainder of your hand. When he’s done, he glances back up to you. “Is that good?”

“Yep, perfect. Now, it’s time to bandage. See the gauze roll, tape, and scissors I have tucked in one of the inner pockets?”

“Uh…here,” Cole mumbles, fishing the items out.

You nod. “Go ahead and wrap my hands up. I’ll tell you when to stop.”

For some reason, you don’t focus as he wraps your hands. Instead, your eyes sneak peeks at his biceps, exposed underneath his rolled-up gi sleeves. When you catch yourself, you squeeze your eyes shut and admonish yourself. To keep yourself on task, you restart the conversation:

 “Are you feeling any different today? It looks like your symptoms are gone.”

“About that, I realized why I looked sick,” he replies, frowning when the gauze comes loose. He starts again, this time making sure to keep the gauze pulled tighter. “You know how that one snake almost hypnotized me in Jamanakai? Well, it turns out that the snake still had some kind of hold over me. It was able to hypnotize me while we were on the mission today. Thankfully, Nya and Sensei Wu arrived with his ancient flute that apparently cures snake hypnosis.”

“That’s…weird,” you answer, face scrunching in confusion as you process his explanation. “A flute that cures snake hypnosis?”

Cole shakes his head as he finishes up with your first hand. “I don’t even know. I’ve learned not to question Wu anymore.”

“Mystake was the same way,” you say, grinning at his reaction. “Just had the wackiest solutions to the most random problems. Must be an old-timer thing.”

Your heart stumbles when Cole smiles again; this time, you can see dimples dotting his cheeks. “Must be.”

With that, the two of you fall silent. As Cole works on wrapping gauze around your other hand, you look out towards the others. Everyone seems to be in their own little bubble for the moment. Kai and Nya are sitting together, facing away from everyone else and observing the sunset as they chat amongst themselves. Flame lays next to the siblings, accepting pets from Kai as Nya twirls her dagger mindlessly.

On the other side of the mountain is Jay, leaning against Wisp’s body. The blue ninja studies a page in his journal, expression taught as he does so. Last is Sensei Wu, meditating off to the side. Somehow, he still has his blue tea kettle; the item is in front of him, steaming with yet another batch of tea.

Did he take the kettle with him when they left…?

“Are you really doing okay?” you wonder, not quite thinking about your words as you speak.

Cole sighs as he snips off the unneeded gauze with your scissors. “Yeah. It’s just…being leader has turned out to be a lot harder than I thought it would be. I keep wondering if there was something I could have done differently to prevent this from happening.”

“You’re a leader, not a psychic. Your job is to lead the team and adjust your actions to the circumstances. You can’t blame something like the fire on yourself. There’s no way you could have known the serpentine were going to do that,” you say, nodding as he tapes the gauze in place.

The raven-haired ninja contemplates your words, tucking your supplies back into the bag.  “You’re right. I just…I don’t know, I can’t help but feel guilty still.”

“You have to give yourself some grace, Cole,” you add, recalling what Sensei Wu told you back at the tea shop. “You guys just got out of training, right? So, you guys are still learning. Not just as individuals, but as a team, too. Leading a team is no easy feat, but I think you’ve been doing a great job of it, if the battle in Jamanakai showed me anything.”

As Cole contemplates your words, he shifts so that his elbow is resting atop his knee. “How is it that your advice is on par with Wu’s?”

You shrug, wiggling your fingers to test out the gauze. It holds well, and while his handiwork is on the messier side, it still gets the job done. “Probably because I’ve lived with a crazy old woman for a while. By the way, nice job on these.”

“Thanks. Hopefully I’ll get better with practice,” he replies, admiring his work for a moment before zipping your bag shut with a sigh. “How about your burns? Don’t those hurt?”

You wave his concerns off. “Eh, I’ve had worse. I’ll get to them later. Thanks for your help, though. It would have been a bitch to try and bandage my hands on my own.”

“Yeah, thanks for teaching me.” Cole leans forward, arranging the sticks into a neater pile. Beside the tent, you spot a pile of hefty rocks, probably to help keep the sticks contained. Without a word, you start lining the rocks up around the pile while Cole works across from you.

“Do you think Zane will come back?” he speaks up suddenly, making you glance up at him.

“I know he will,” you reply. “He might just need some time.”

 “I wish I hadn’t been so hard on him,” Cold admits, shifting his attention to the rocks. “I wasn’t thinking straight, and I should have just walked away to let myself cool off.”

“Well, we’re all bound to have those kinds of moments. The important thing is that we learn from our mistakes. Like Sensei said, we need to take this time to reflect and improve.”

“Yeah. I’ve been thinking about it, and I might see if Jay and Nya can spruce up defenses wherever we end up next,” Cole agrees as the two of you complete the makeshift fire pit. All that’s needed now is a spark.

You nod in agreement, remembering Nya’s blueprints. “Nya was talking about getting earpieces made for you guys too. Hopefully having better communication will make things run more smoothly.”

“Yeah, I saw Jay working on schematics for those the other night,” Cole recalls before frowning. “By the way…I just remembered. You’re staying, right? I know Sensei said your trial period was up, but I never heard an answer from him,” he questions, leaning back on his free hand. It’s all you can do to maintain eye contact and not ogle his arms.

“Oh, yeah, I am,” you reply. “Why?”

He shrugs, averting his gaze to the horizon. “Well, it’s just…you know you’re part of the team now, right? You keep speaking like we’re something…separate, I guess.”

Do you? You hadn’t even noticed. Taking a moment to reflect on his words, you shift your position a little bit. “I…guess I do know, but it’s more of me not wanting to disturb your dynamic. You guys already have your own routine, your own way of life, and I just…I don’t know, I don’t want to intrude.”

“Well…” he trails off, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t want you to feel like an outsider. You’re a part of us now, so…um, I just want to make sure you don’t feel excluded or anything, I guess.”

“Oh, no, I don’t feel excluded. I guess it’ll just take me some time to get adjusted,” you assure, grinning when Rocky bumps Cole’s shoulder.

“Oh, shut up,” Cole grumbles, playfully whacking Rocky’s snout. The dragon growls, laying down next to Cole with a huff. Cole shakes his head at the dragon while you shuffle to the other side of Rocky, petting his head.

“Thank you for your help today, Rocky,” you mumble, giggling when the dragon nuzzles into your hand.

“He helped you?” Cole wonders, returning to a cross-legged position.

“Yeah, he flew me out of the monastery while the other two fought the remaining snakes off,” you answer. “Sweet dragon.”

“You’re unbelievable,” Cole retorts when Rocky flashes a smug expression to the black ninja. “But I’m glad he was of some use. He might have just earned himself another T-O-A-D,” he spells out, making you laugh.

Over the course of the next few minutes, the others start to join the two of you underneath the tent. Flame uses his breath to ignite the pile of sticks before the dragons retreat off to a more open area, all opting to rest. You’re positioned in between Cole and Nya as everyone snacks on the plants and berries you were able to gather.

Defeated chatter emanates from the group, and you find yourself zoning out as exhaustion overcomes you. For a few minutes, you find yourself on the verge of dozing off as the heat of the fire wards off the evening’s incoming chill. You don’t join in on the conversation, instead reflecting on the events of the day as you stare at the fire.

Just as your eyelids are about to drop, a commotion snaps you out of your groggy state. You jerk when you feel the others rushing out from the tent, stumbling to your feet and making your way over to Nya. To your relief, Zane stands in front of the others, Shard nearby. Thankfully, he doesn’t seem upset in spite of the apologies the guys are throwing.

The white ninja offers his signature, soft smile. “You don’t need to apologize to me.”

Kai frowns at the response. “But what about all those awful things we said? Isn't that why you left?”

“Of course not. I saw the falcon again,” answers the white-haired ninja, turning as he gestures to the sky. Sure enough, a falcon soars overhead, chirping along with Zane’s words. “And I followed him.”

Cole chuckles, shaking his head as he claps Zane’s shoulder a few times. “That’s our Zane.”

You can’t help but smile as everyone pulls Zane in for a hug, relaxing when the overwhelming sense of relief in the air floods you.

Nya pulls back first, settling her hands on her hips. “We’re happy to have you back.”

At her remark, Zane frowns as everyone steps back from him. “Why? Is it my turn to make dinner?”

The group laughs at Zane’s question while Sensei Wu steps beside the white ninja. “Yes, Zane. We would love for you to make dinner.”

“But I already made it. Come,” Zane responds, gesturing for you all to follow him as he turns around. “I want to show you what I've found. I think you will all be pleased.”

After you all shoot each other confused glances, you shrug it off and follow the white-haired ninja towards the path leading off the mountain. Just before your group rounds the corner, he pauses, turning back to you all.

“I can't explain it, but I feel a strange connection with the falcon. I think he's trying to help show us the path we need to take.”

Zane doesn’t wait for anyone to reply, instead gesturing for everyone to proceed. Turning the corner reveals…

…a ship?

It’s nothing like any ship you’ve ever seen, though – this one is a deep red, accented with gold in places and complete with a carved dragon on the bow. For a moment, you find yourself stunned at the sight – you take a moment to appreciate the design.

“Our new home,” Zane says, smiling at the team’s reaction.

After you all take a moment to process the sight, Kai immediately breaks out into a sprint, shortly followed by Cole and Jay. Nya full on growls, snatching your wrist and pulling you in the direction of the ship. “Come on, we can’t let those idiots nab the best room!”

A/N: I think my consistency with this fic is due to me getting to the juicy classes of my Creative Writing degree. I had my first writing class last month and I feel like I learned a lot. Got some great feedback. I'm going to try and apply what I learn here to practice!

Would love to hear what you all think of this fic!

Masterlist for this Fic

Rules for Requesting

[thecatundertheladder]

Convsersations I Think Happened In the Grasslands Pt. 3:

Part 1 Part 2

Lloyd: So the platypus.

FSM: Don’t create animals when high.

Lloyd: Not the answer I was expecting but the answer I needed.

Lloyd: You know, I think you'd love Minecraft.

FSM: What's that?

Lloyd: It's a video game where you can like create stuff and kill monsters.

FSM: But I do that in real life.

Lloyd: Umm you can travel to different dimensions and stuff as well.

FSM: Still do that in real life.

Lloyd, panicking: Uhh you can have a stable house and peaceful life!

FSM, shrugging: You got me there

FSM: If you didn't find out I wasn't human until a few months ago, and Wu was a baby, and Garmadon was dead, who told you?

Lloyd: Mystake.

FSM: That makes sense. I find out a lot of things from Mystake.

Lloyd: Yeah, so are you two, like friends?

FSM: I like to think so yes.

Lloyd: And you met when she crossed over to Ninjago to kill you?

FSM: It's true that we didn't become friends until Ninjago but we actually met in the First Realm when I committed high treason against her.

Lloyd: I have so many questions.

FSM: She didn't tell you about the treason? That's unfortunate, it's my favourite part.

Lloyd: What even is my element anyway?

FSM: It's an essence, not an element.

Lloyd: Cool, so what is it though?

FSM: Oh, I don't know.

Lloyd: What do you mean you don't know?! You're God!

[akariarda]

RETURN OF THE ENEMY (Ninjago fan season between season4 and 5 with Sensei G.)

EPISODS 3-A DREAM

EPISODE 4- REGRETS AND DESIRES

After learning the shocking truth, Nya knows what to do, but it seems that Mystake has another plan. Ninja finally find a possible way to save Kai and Skylor.

"My mother was the Master of Water." Nya repeated in shock.

"Yes, don't faint again!" Mistake said, pressing another handkerchief to her forehead.

"I..." Nya said with a sigh.

"I thought they told you." Mistake explained to her. "Because you are needed."

"I can be needed as Samurai X." Nya protested. She honestly understood little of what Mistake was saying.

"Samurai X cannot control water." Mistake stood up and looked at Nya. "Nor can she do the other things ninjas do. Remember Nya, you are needed."

"What does that mean?" Nya sighed again. "What do you know about what's happening?"

"I know everything, yet I know nothing." Mistake replied. "You are needed, Nya. Ninjago and beyond need a water ninja."

"But I'm not a water ninja," Nya said desperately. "And I don't want to be."

"You're not a ninja. But you will become one. Even if not here and not now." Mistake said, clenching her fists. "We have much to do."

"I have to go help Garmadon and Misako," Nya said, standing up decisively. "And the guys!"

"First, you have to listen to me." Mistake said, gesturing for her to follow.

~~~~~~

"I don't think this is a good idea," Cole repeated as they descended.

"We have no choice," Lloyd sighed.

"We really don't," Sanfungol confirmed. He didn't quite resemble Zane, but it was better than nothing. Certainly better than...

"Lightning! Lightning!" Dareth shouted, mimicking the sounds of thunder.

"Shh." Lloyd put a finger to his lips. "The less you two talk, the less chance there is of getting caught."

"Are you..." Cole began, but the guards interrupted him.

"STOP!" they shouted, quickly surrounding the ninjas.

"Here are my favorite guests!" Chen yelled as the guards carried him to the throne.

"You act like a king, Chen," Cole said glumly. "Where is Kai?"

"And what do you want with him and Skylor?" Lloyd added sternly.

"I want to have fun," Chen replied cheerfully, sinking deeper into the throne. "And why are these two silent?"

"Because they have no need to speak," Cole snapped before Dareth and Sanfungol could say anything.

"What are you trying to do, Chen?" Lloyd asked. "This time, you won't easily steal the elemental powers!"

"I've given up on my grand plans," Chen said unconvincingly. "I just want to have fun."

"How did you come back?" Cole clenched his fists.

"Blah blah blah," Chen rolled his eyes. "Questions are boring. Let the fun begin!"

"We're here for Kai and Skylor!" Cole shouted angrily. "Not for fun."

"But that's the point, earth ninja," Chen said with a slight smile. "Choose one among yourselves. And let him dare to pass through this room here! If he succeeds, you have Kai and Skylor."

"How can we trust you?" Lloyd frowned.

"I don't think you have a choice," Chen shrugged. "Did I mention that if you don't leave this room quickly enough, you will lose your sanity?"

"Who will go?" Cole snapped as all four of them huddled together in a circle.

"I'll go," Lloyd said decisively.

"No way!" Cole countered.

"I am a leader," Lloyd reminded him.

"Exactly." Cole pressed his lips together. "We need you, and I'll handle whatever is in there!"

"I'm going," Lloyd insisted. "I’m the green ninja."

"As you wish," Cole sighed reluctantly. "We’re behind you!"

"I know," Lloyd smiled and looked at Chen. "I'm going!"

~~~~~~

"How is this possible?" Nya asked when they entered a room full of maps.

"What?" Mistake absentmindedly asked as she searched for some things.

"Everything about Chen..." Nya peeked over Mistake's shoulder.

"There are possibilities of a spirit returning from the Cursed Realms." Mistake said.

"But Chen isn't..." Nya began, but Mistake interrupted her.

"But there is a way for both spirit and body to return!" Mistake took a map and showed it to Nya.

"I don't understand anything." Despite that, Nya admired the map.

"Listen. This is the Kingdom of the Six Duchies, or rather, it now has seven duchies, but it doesn’t matter. It is located across the sea."

"Why don't we know much about it if it's very close?" Nya asked curiously.

"We are in the same realm, but they, along with a few other kingdoms, keep to themselves, while we keep to ourselves. We aren’t quite alike, but we’re not that different either."

"Does Chen have anything to do with this?" Nya frowned.

"Yes, as I told you. Exactly two weeks after being exiled, a ritual can be performed that frees the exiled souls." Mistake pointed to a specific spot on the map.

"As you can see, it can only be done in a special place, which is located in the Six Duchies."

"Has anyone ever tried that?" Nya looked at the map in confusion. "And that means..."

"Yes, many have tried, but they failed. It is very difficult to carry out." Mistake said, putting the map away. "Not just anyone can do it.

Someone very powerful and cunning. Someone who needs Chen and his army."

"But who could that be?" Nya felt the pressure rising. The situation was serious.

"Anyone." Mistake exhaled. "And Chen has been free for some time, devising a plan..."

"And someone is with him." Nya finished.

"Probably." Mistake said as she exited the room.

"The Chen doesn't plan the same thing again, right?" Nya said while following Mistake.

"No." Mistake said decisively. "That’s why you need to bring us Skylor. And after that, probably Misako. Actually, for sure."

"But who first?" Nya quietly asked. "We know that Misako and Garmadon are captured."

"It will be difficult to do anything there." Mistake said sadly, looking firmly at Nya.

"But..." Nya protested.

"We need both of them. Garmadon to train you, and Misako for information." Mistake interrupted.

"And they are part of our family." Nya noted.

"Let’s hope for the best." Mistake said, looking sharply into Nya's eyes. "You have to bring us ninjas and Skylor."

"How do you know they are in trouble?" Nya asked worriedly.

"I just know." Mistake cut off Nya's questions and looked away. Nya did not waste another second.

~~~~~

"Green ninja, how cute!" Chen laughed. "Come on in."

Lloyd slowly walked to the room, with Cole, Dareth, and Sanfungol anxiously standing behind him.

As he entered the room, he felt a cold breeze envelop him. Soon, the dark room became bright.

Inside, Lloyd saw images. Images he didn’t remember—pictures from his childhood with his parents.

"Welcome to the room of your greatest regrets and desires," a voice said, and Lloyd turned around to find no one there.

"My greatest regrets and desires..." Lloyd whispered, continuing to gaze at the scenes of his childhood.

“Why…” Then he immediately realized. They were so happy—he and his parents—and he remembered nothing.

He watched the images of his mom and dad playing with him, tears welling in his eyes.

Simple little things. Cooking with his parents, drawing with them, going to the park. How they hugged him...

"That’s not a part of me. That’s not me... I don’t remember anything from before my fifth year... Before Darkly's." Lloyd said, distressed.

For a while, tears streamed down Lloyd's face, and then he felt himself slowly becoming part of those images...

He drowned in memories that weren't even his... How wonderful it would be to live in those days again.

To be a normal child once more. To be a kid. To grow up with parents.

"...if you don't leave this room quickly enough, you will lose your sanity.." He felt the voice echoing in his head.

"I have to go," Lloyd said, slowly passing through the room.

He wanted to stay so badly... He would give anything to remain. But he was stronger than that.

"Kai!" he shouted as he stepped out. He found himself in a cold dungeon. There were no guards.

"Lloyd?" he heard two voices at once.

"Wait," Lloyd said and grabbed the nearest torch. His eyes were still red.

It was frighteningly dark. To his relief, he found a key on the floor and unlocked Kai and Skylor.

Could it be that Chen kept his promise?

"Lloyd, how?" Kai looked at him in awe.

"Are you..." Skylor began, but Lloyd interrupted her.

"We have to go. Quickly! The question is how long Chen will pretend to keep his word."

~~~~~~

"Zane, Jay!" Nya shouted as she descended with her Samurai X to the guys.

"Nya!" Jay yelled, rushing to her.

"What’s going on?" Nya looked confused. "Where are they..."

"Down with Dareth and Sanfungol, who are pretending to be us," Zane tried to explain to her.

"Dareth and who?" Nya asked.

"We don’t have time!" Zane shouted. "I see Kai and Skylor with them, but Chen's soldiers won’t let them go."

"Let’s go!" Nya shouted, jumping into her Samurai X suit.

~~~~~~

"You’re not going anywhere!" the guards shouted.

"You promised," Lloyd said, grinding his teeth.

"And you weren’t supposed to pass through that room!" Chen pulled. "The guards..."

"It's over, Chen!" Nya yelled, diving down.

"Samurai X?" Chen looked at her confused. "Weren’t you in a monastery..."

"How do you know?" Kai asked.

"Run! I’ll hold them back!" Nya shouted. Everyone began to flee as Nya held off the guards.

Zane and Cole greeted them and helped them climb up without obstruction.

Once everyone got out, Sanfungol sealed the entrance to the underground passages.

"I’ll freeze it!" Zane stopped Sanfungol.

"No, this has a different mechanism!" Sanfungol replied, starting to fiddle with the entrance.

"There, that should do it. We should have some time..."

"Did you find any help, Nya?" Lloyd asked.

"Unfortunately, they’re all unavailable," Nya sighed.

"Who is unavailable?" Skylor asked.

"The elemental masters," Jay explained to her. "Do you think Chen..."

"Possible," Skylor sighed.

"Let's go to the Mystake tea shop," Nya said. "We can’t waste time."

"I’ve had enough ninja adventures for today," Dareth smiled. "I’m going!"

"Do I have your permission to go with you?" Sanfungol politely asked. Lloyd frowned slightly at this.

"You've proven yourself an ally," Cole said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"If you claim to be a friend, we trust you!" Zane added. "Let’s go!"

"Wait!" Lloyd said, and everyone froze. "Any information about Sensei Wu and my parents?"

"Wu has gone beyond the Ninjago," Nya said seriously. "Mystake assumes to a place where the ritual was performed to bring Chen and his army back."

"Where is that?" Zane asked.

"We don’t have time right now," Nya shook her head. "Mystake will explain everything."

"And where's Clouse?" Jay remembered. "We haven’t seen him."

"My parents, Nya?" Lloyd anxiously asked. He had a feeling something was wrong.

"Clouse has been spying on us with a mechanical spider," Nya began.

"What!" everyone exclaimed in surprise.

"He knew Misako and Garmadon were going to the docks and captured them..." Nya struggled to finish the last sentence as she watched Lloyd's expression change.

"We have to save them!" Lloyd said firmly.

"I'm sorry." Nya sighed sadly. "We need to go to Mystake first."

"Why?" Kai interrupted. "We go for them, then to Wu."

"Because we need to understand what my father is planning," Skylor interjected. "I know I'm not authorized to tell you this.

They’re all your family... but first, we must hear what Mystake has to say, and then we go for them!"

"That's right, Lloyd," Sanfungol said, placing a hand on Lloyd's shoulder. "Don't worry kid. We will go for them as soon as possible, and it will be quick."

"Thank you." Lloyd smiled slightly. His distrust of Sanfungol was somewhat fading.

When he looked closer at his face, he could see fine, well-hidden wrinkles. His face could be in its fifties.

"Then let's not waste any more time!" Kai said, and everyone followed him.

"Wait aren't you thinking this was a little too easy?" Zane asked as they ran.

"It won't be easy." Nya reminded him."

"But it feels like they leted us go," Zane explained.

"Actually, you're right." "Lloyd stopped in amazement." Who knows what Chen is planning."

[kittytq]

IM TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE NINJA'S AGES PLS HELP

ok so the Hageman brothers (the writers since pilot to season 10) said that the ninja were 13-15 in the pilot and Tommy Andreasen said that they were 14 in pilot, the Hageman brothers said that Nya is 2 years younger than Kai, so that makes her 12 in the pilot episodes. the Hageman brothers also said that Lloyd is 2 yeas younger than Nya but since he got ages up he is now her age. they also said that the ninja were 17-18 in hands of time but Lloyd and Nya were 15-16. but they also said that the ninja will never be older then 20.

ok so sons of garmadon take's place 1 year after hands of time, so the ninja are 19-20 but Lloyd is 16 and Nya is 17 in sons of garmadon, and hunted takes place one week after sons of garmadon and march of the oni takes place like 3 or 4 weeks after hunted, so they are still 19-20 and Lloyd and Nya 16-17

(by the way its canon that Harumi was 14-15 in sons of garmadon)

and the Hageman brothers left Ninjago after march of the oni, so that mean that the ninja can be older than 20, right?

at the bingeing of season 11 wu said that its been months since the march of the oni and the ninja lost their skills, so im gonna say its been 8-10 months?

so they are probably still 19-20 Nya and Lloyd are 16-17

and i think that seasons 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 can take place in the same year.

and then we know that season 16 ( crystalized) takes place 1 year after season 15 ( seabound) so they would be 20-21, and lloyd is 17 nya would be 18

so now we have the gap between crystalized the merge

i would say its been about 3 years right?

so in the merge the ninja would be 23-24 Lloyd 20 and nya 21.

and then dragons rising takes place 5 years after.

the ninja would be 28-29 and Nya and Lloyd would be 25 and 26.

and Sora and Arin are 15 (canon), and Wyldfyre i think she is like 1 year younger then the m so she would be 14.

so the ninja ages would be...

Kai 28

Jay 28

Cole 29

Lloyd 25

Nya 26

Zane 69

also Skylor is 1 year younger then Kai (canon) so she would be 27

Akita 63

i feel like every season Wu and Garmadon are 200-400 years old chronologicaly, biologicaly 80, 90

FSM, Overlord, Kozu and the Stone Army, Khanjikhan, Mystake and the Omega are toushands of years old.

If you wondering why Akita is so old its because, Zane was the Ice empire for 40, 50 years and if Akita was like 13 when he got there that would make her like 63, 73.

[ratinthebins]

You wanna know something I find funny about this fandom? Most of everybody hates Wu, but loves Garmadon. Everyone is always talking about how Wu is a secretive and doesn’t care about his students. They completely ignore his character development after and in season nine. He helps Cole out in motm and it’s revealed in dragons rising that he helped Kai calm himself when Nya was lost to the sea. Yet everyone judges him for his past mistakes like the time twins and more importantly Morro. He was young, young people do stupid things and he’s not at fault for everything that goes wrong. He still continues to mistakes like not telling the ninja about the merge, but he’s only human (well partially) he’s bound to make mistakes.

Then, we take a look at Garmadon. He kidnapped Nya, tried to kill the ninja multiple times, unleashed the overlord, nearly killed his son after being brought back to life, disowned his son and adopted Harumi (gags), killed Mystake, let the city burn and you’re all good with that??? Don’t get me wrong I love Garmadon, but he’s also a flawed character and you can try to defend his character in the first two seasons, but you can’t for the oni trilogy. That was all him since he was purified of the snake venom when the great devourer was vanquished. I’m sorry, but he needs to be held accountable just as much as Wu.

they’re both very good, but very flawed characters and you can’t deny that. Thank you for coming to my Ted talk <3