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It was symbolic, in hindsight, that their last day as Ninja ended exactly as it had started all those years ago; just the four of them in the courtyard of the Monastery of Spinjitzu.
Lloyd had left some time ago with the boxes of Wu's stuff, he was probably halfway to Misako’s by now; Nya and Pixal had left with him, but they were waiting for their brother and partners at the base of the Mountain of Impossible Height.
So it was just them, the four original Ninjas were left at the Monastery. Kai was doing one last check inside to check that they hadn’t left anything behind.
Switching off the lights for the last time, the Fire Master stepped back out into the courtyard. Cole, Jay and Zane were waiting for him standing on the side of the golden dragon statue closest to the interior of the Monastery.
“So this is it, huh?” Jay says.
“This is it,” Cole agrees.
“Thirteen years, eleven months, and four days have passed since Master Wu recruited Kai, and our adventures together began,” Zane tells them.
Thirteen years. Has it really been that long?
“Do any of you regret…taking Wu’s offer?” Kai asks.
“Not really; if I hadn’t, I’d probably still be at my parents’ scrapyard,” Jay said. “And as much as I love them, no,” he adds.
“I…do not know where I would be now,” Zane adds.
“Probably at the bottom of a frozen lake somewhere,” Jay says, with a laugh that the others copy.
“I’d still be distant with my dad and free-climbing mountains,” Cole said. That gets another laugh out of them all, although this one is sadder, not nearly as lighthearted.
“Nya and I would still be at my parents’ blacksmith shop, thinking that our parents are dead,” Kai adds.
Silence and memories of the last almost decade and a half follows. What more is there for them to say? After thirteen years, there wasn't much left.
“We should go,” the Master of Earth decides.
They should. The four of them, the four original ninja, head out of the monastery, pulling the heavy ornate red and gold doors shut behind them for what they believe would be the last time.
The journey down the mountain is silent, all of them are caught up in their own thoughts of what they were planning on doing after this; where they would go from here.
There’s no need for them to continue their duties as the Ninja — as the protectors of the First Spinjitzu Master's Realm — anymore, Ninjago is peaceful.
It is hard to believe but it is true.
They have finally, after almost fourteen years, been rendered obsolete.
None of them is unhappy about it; quite the opposite in fact, they’re glad that the civilians are able to protect themselves and their homes on their own now.
But it doesn’t make it hurt any less.
Initially, they go their separate ways (it doesn’t last, obviously), to sort out their loose ends but eventually, they drift back together again. I guess that’s what nearly one and a half decades of living together will do that to people.
Lloyd spends some time at Misako’s sorting through what little of Wu’s possessions survived the test of thirteen years and the countless destruction of their home.
Cole spends some time in Shintaro, helping Vania.
Zane spends some time at Borg Tower, assisting Pixal.
Kai visits Skylor but doesn’t stay, then he visits his parents in Stiix but doesn’t stay there for long either.
And finally, six months later, Nya and Jay get married (about time!). Their wedding brings everyone back together, they vow never to go their separate ways for very long ever again.
Eventually, the red and gold doors of the Monastery of Spinjitzu are opened again.
This time, it is to turn the monastery into a museum, of sorts, dedicated to the Ninja and both Samurai X. They played a large part in Ninjago's history, it only seems right.