Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Looking back on it now, it couldn't have been avoided…

The storm raged on, a tornado of red winds and lightning swirled in place, sweeping up anyone who dared to get close. That's what to be expected in a ninja adventure, as Arin has learned. As terrifying as all of this was, having these adventures and defeating the big bad evil guy still turned out to be a fun experience! Right now it wasn't fun though, spinning violently in the middle of a tornado is never fun. Maybe for adrenaline junkies, but not him. Frak and Lloyd spun around in the tornado with him, the winds commanding their movements. Below him, also stuck in the winds, were Kai and Nya.

Inside a mech, planted onto the ground, were Zane, Pixal, and Sora, although Zane was piloting. He gazed at the chaos happening around him, reaching out the hand of his mech in an attempt to grab the closest Ninjas spinning in the storm. Kai grabbed onto one of the metal fingers, but as Nya slammed into the hand, it released Kai's grip on the mech. With a yell, he was thrust back into the tornado. Nya managed to grab onto the mech and hold herself there, the winds pushing her body back as she clung horizontally in the air. She grunted, her other hand reaching to grab the mech. Her fingers began to slip, as the winds finally pushed her away, sending her back into the storm. Zane brought the hands of his mech to cover himself from the winds,

“These unnatural winds defy all logic!” The ninjdroid yelled over the storm, befuddled by the sudden appearance of them.

Arin squinted through the storm, the constant spinning making his stomach twist. Felt like his breakfast was going to come back up if this continued for much longer. He reached his hand out for Frak and Lloyd, the two grabbing it as they spun around. Finally, they got into some sort of formation. Now all he had to figure out was how to get in the ground and out of this storm, it can't be that hard.

A sharp crushing pain emerged as a rock slammed into his back, pushing him away from Lloyd and Frak. He swore he felt some sort of crack as he yelled in surprise and in pain. The winds continued to push the three around, seriously, this was neverending. There was no easy way out either, he could barely see over the high speed winds, he could occasionally make out a few rocks flying past and see Zane's mech on the ground, but that was really it. Damn it, why can't he do anything correctly!

Riyu pushed through the storm, flapping his wings as hard as he could. He surprisingly had the strength to bypass the wind's current and forge his own path through, but he was considerably slower. He struggled, growling a bit as the winds hammered against his scales. Arin caught a glimpse of the young dragon as he spun, his eyes widening with a newfound hope.

“Riyu!!”

Arin yelled, a small smile working its way up his face. The young dragon narrowed his eyes, flying straight towards Arin. He could barely see it, but out of the corner of his eye, another rock blew past him and headed straight for Riyu. The happiness he felt was immediately replaced with a fear, his breath catching for a second.

A blast of flame hit the rock, causing it to crack and explode before it hits Riyu. Speeding into the tornado, unaffected by the winds, was Wyldfyre. She was riding a red aircraft, it looked to be like some sort of speeder. And if that wasn't enough, she was also piloting a mech on top of that. Who gave this woman a mech??? Robie, but that doesn't matter, even if she’ll burn the world down with it. What matters is that she's here and getting him out of the tornado. THANK THE FIRST SPINJITZU MASTER!

“I can't leave you all alone for a minute!”

Wyldfire flew over to the group, holding out the large mech's hand to catch Lloyd. He slammed into the metal palm, unable to move as the winds pinned him there. Frak quickly followed, hitting the metal exterior of the thruster and staying there against the wind. Arin was last, and went head first right in front of Wyldfyre. An immediate sense of relief washed over Arin, that breath he was holding immediately loose. He looked up at the red haired girl,

“Wyldfyre! I've never been more happy to see you.”

“Arin? Why are you here? I thought you peaced out.” She raised an eyebrow, a confused but focused expression on her face. She swerved the vehicle, dodging yet another rock trying to knock them down.

“Eh, I'm trying not to let the world end.”

“Well I'm here now, so it won't!”

Arin, now able to finally ground himself, looked over at those below him. Zane managed to catch Kai and Nya with the arm of the mech, wasting no time as he held them close to himself and began to slowly push through the storm. Wyldfyre dived, slamming into the back of Zane's mech. She grinned, her eyebrows furrowed as she stepped on the gas. Flames erupted from out of the thrusters, pushing Zane and co across the ground. Lloyd and Arin had climbed up Wyldfyre’s own mech and clung onto the top, looking over on opposite sides. Slowly but steadily, they finally escaped the tornado.

All Arin heard was a crack and a squeak of pain. He hated that he recognized the sound, both of who it came from and of what caused it. He immediately turned to the direction it came from. Riyu was freefalling in the air, heading straight for sharp jagged rocks. A rock must've hit him, it was the same sound when that other rock slammed into him earlier. These rocks need to be stopped, they're trying to kill someone here and he is not going to let it be his friends. And apparently Sora isn't either.

“RIYU!!”

She yelled from inside Zane's mech, the exterior of one of the mechs arms turning pink. Parts of the metal flew off, flying around and forming a new arm. A laser gun now emerged from the product of her elemental power. Zane understood immediately, shooting the gun as soon as he was able at the jagged rocks, causing an explosion at the impact. Ryu landed in the rubble, safe from impalement.

Wyldfyre piloted the vehicle away from Zane, getting a better view of the situation. Arin hopped off, landing on the sandy ground. Sora ejected herself out of the arm of Zane's mech, rushing over to help Riyu. Arin pulled down his hood, leaning down as his heart pounded.

“You okay boy?”

He received a few noises in response, Riyu's head raising before going right back onto the ground, his eyes closing. Good news, he was definitely still alive. Bad news, he was now out of commission and was injured from the hit and the fall.

Arin never enjoyed seeing a friend injured, it was hard to see most people injured actually. It was part of the reason he just couldn't do certain things with Ras, it was difficult to push past that crucial part of himself. He sighed, turning back to the other ninja before helping Riyu stand on his feet again.

“I think it's better if you sit the rest of this out Riyu.”

Frak and Lloyd jumped off Wyldfyre's mech, looking solemnly at Riyu and Arin. Nya and Kai similarly jumped off Zane's mech, removing their masks as they gazed at each other before doing their own thing. To do that would be like using Shatterspin with a fully intact soul. It's catastrophic…and he saw what happened to Jay. He didn't want anything similar happening to him. If someone so pure and fun could turn sour like that, he didn't want anything to do with it. Kai immediately approached Wyldfyre, eyeing the red mech and vehicle she had received.

“That thing is awesome! Can I try?”

“It won't look as cool on you.” Wyldfyre replied back, her arms crossed with a playful smirk on her face.

“Hurtful.”

Kai said with a monotone voice, disappointed in the way that turned out but not exactly surprised. Lloyd rushed over, Nya and Frak following him.

“We have bigger problems you two,” Lloyd raised his voice, making sure everyone heard him over the storm right next to them, “Did anyone see where the Forbidden Five went?”

Arin managed to catch the last part of it, a wave of guilt hitting him. He frowned,

“I-...I had the last two blades. I know I should've just flown off with them, but I tried to save Ras….then Rox attacked me.” Arin looked at the ground, disappointed in himself. “She took both…I'm sorry. If I had just flown away than maybe-”

“Don't beat yourself up about it Arin, we all make mistakes, one's we can't take back.” Nya placed her hand on his shoulder, a warm smile sitting on her face. “The important part is that you learn from them.”

Nya always seemed to know what to say in moments like these. She was a beacon of light to the team, tying the loose ends and making sure each individual doesn't fall apart. But…Arin couldn't take her words seriously, he didn't believe that. He's made this mistake time and time again. Even with Ras, he couldn't stop being useless. It was an improvement from a few months ago, but he still can't do a lot correctly. It was a miracle he managed to get Spinjitzu down. The ninja just looked at Arin for a few moments as he spoke, a puzzled look on Frak’s face. He opened his mouth for a moment, closing it soon after, seemingly collecting his thoughts.

“Hold on. If the Five have all the blades, doesn't that mean they can free-”

On cue, a deep rumble shook the earth, Sora letting out a yell of alarm. The tornado that was once steadily in place began to enlarge, red lightning erupting around it. All ninja were hit with the full force of the winds as it went past them. The eye of the storm making an arena of wind and what can best be described as chaos. The sky turned a pure crimson, thunderclouds forming as far as the eye can see. A giant arm the size of a building tore its way through the earth, dislodging rocks and sand. It felt like something out of a zombie movie, and they just happened to be standing in the graveyard.

“Thunderfang!!” The ninja all cried, now it was a lot more serious.

Seems like every time they go on a race to get some sort of item before the baddies, they always end up freeing Mr big bad evil monster one way or another.

More of the giant dragon began to emerge, a wing shot up, kicking up sand and pillars of rock into the air. Chaos extruded from the wing membrane, the red lightning jumping through the clouds and wind. His red head emerged, launching whatever was left of the ground near him into the harsh winds. He was giant, even bigger than Arin had imagined. Just seeing the hand pop out earlier gave him some sense of scale but this…this is unreal. How the hell are they supposed to fight against that thing?

Thunderfang let out a deafening roar, that was enough to cue Arin to start running. With a quick turn, he was on his feet and moving, the rest of the ninja following the same cue. Sora kept an eye on him as she ran back, dodging a few stray rocks as they cratered the ground she was once beneath.

“Woah,” Sora said dumbfounded, her eyes wide. “I knew he was big but…”

“Yeah, but that's BIG big!” Kai finished her train of thought, stopping right beside her.

“Sorry, but with all due respect,” Frak spoke up from behind Sora, unable to stop himself from staring at the behemoth of a dragon. “How are we supposed to fight THAT?!”

Lloyd had already pulled out his sword, his mask back up over his face. His eyes glared at Thunderfang, he was so…confident. Arin didn't know how Lloyd did it.

“I don't know…but I do know that there’s one of him, and ten of us.”

Arin barely heard a snort from Wyldfyre, a cocky grin on her face once more. He knew how Wyldfyre was so confident, she had the biggest ego in all the merged lands. And yet she was still pretty competent, not the best as she thinks she is, but not terrible. She knows she isn't untouchable, she's been out of commission before. But the fact that she still acts like this is…worrying. Arin didn't want anyone getting severely injured.

“Well, what are we all standing around for? Let's go take down a Chaos Dragon!”

★—-------★

Frohickey swept the stone tiles of the monastery training area, the broom moving the dust and stray leaves out of the way. Thunder echoed through the sky, red lightning coursing through the clouds. This was an incredibly unnatural storm, unlike anything he's seen. The only event he could relate it to would be The Merge. Only that event had no build up, it simply just came. This was something different, it had a different energy.

The frog looked up at the storm past the monastery walls, climbing the wooden ladder in order to get a better look at the Chaos unfolding. He was worried for the Ninja's safety, they always went out of their way to protect Ninjago and the merged lands without putting themselves first. It was very noble of them and he admired that. But he didn't want any of them to, dare he think it, parish out there.

The storm looked much worse than he expected, the clouds were shades of red, black, and grey, all swirling into a focused point. Frohickey assumed it was some kind of tornado, a very powerful one. It didn't seem to be moving from what he could tell at this distance, just sitting in place. While he didn't consider himself a weather expert, he was quite certain that a tornado should not be perfectly standing in one place the whole time.

He sighed, resting worriedly at the top of the ladder. “Be careful ninja…”

And then, he heard the sound of something ripping apart, and shattering.

★—-------★

Cole was admittedly, getting a little concerned for the Ninja's safety. When he chose to sit this world ending threat out in order to protect Geo and the finders, he knew that it was the best course of action so he could make sure that no one got hurt. But this storm…it's unnatural. He narrowed his eyes, both in suspicion and worry. Did he underestimate the trouble that his friends were getting into? He didn't want to indulge that thought, he had too many fears at the moment.

Geo was next to him, also gazing at the storm with a similar sense of worry. Although most likely not for the same reasons Cole was. Geo opened his mouth for a moment, beginning to turn his head to say something to Cole when all of a sudden, a loud tear and shatter was heard through the sky. Cole flinched, instinctively grabbing his sword and unsheathing it. That seriously startled him, gave him one of the bigger flinches he's had in a while. And it was for good reason…

“What the…”

Cole stared for a few seconds in shock, there was a tear. Just a giant tear of reality in front of him. Red lightning channelled through it, causing the space-like center to expand. It all sounded like shattered glass. Geo’s ears drooped slightly, a more nervous frown on his face.

“It looks like the mergequakes are back.”

As the cracks in the air spread, it consumed the ground and lost items it touched, making it another part of the void.

“No…this is something different…we need to go.”

There was only one real thing on his mind now, find the finders and keep them safe. This just got a whole lot more dangerous than he originally thought. It wasn't like The Merge, even if that's the obvious conclusion to point to. The Merge was when the warps in reality were sucking everything in, pulling the realms together. This isn't sucking anything in, it's just spreading until it consumes everything.

“The finders!!”

He grabbed Geo’s wrist with his gloved hand, running in the opposite direction of the tear in reality. He really hoped the Ninja could handle this…he didn't want to lose anyone today.

★—-------★

“Source Dragons!” Thunderfang roared, reality bending as the red chaos crackled through the sky. It was a quick tear and shatter as reality cracked, a void floating in the sky. This got a gasp out of Arin, as well as most of the ninja. “You will rue the day you rejected me! Ninjago, the Wyldness, and ALL of the merged lands will shatter under my chaos! Face me you cowards!!”

“What's happening?!” Sora yelled, trying to process everything that's happening. It's way too fast for her.

Lightning struck the ground, reality bending itself to the chaos being unleashed, the void it leaves beginning to spread. Although in the air before, the tears spread vertically, reaching the ground with a surprising speed. Kai quickly took a few steps back, looking to Lloyd for what to do.

“Uh, Lloyd?! I think we underestimated him a little!”

“Damn it…” He muttered, before snapping behind him at Zane's mech. “Zane, Pix, give me a rundown!”

“It appears that the concentrated power Thunderfang has built up over the centuries of imprisonment has allowed him to tear apart reality!” Pixal said, making herself known from inside Zane's mech. “It's advised that we stop these Chaos Tears from spreading any further by exterminating the source!”

“Chaos Tears?” Nya said, raising an eyebrow. Although she quickly pulled down her mask and drew her weapon.

“A term I improvised, seeing as this is different from the mergequakes, I concluded that name to be fitting.”

“Chaos Tears it is, not much time to get into detail Pix!” Lloyd yelled over the storm, everyone who wasn't in a battle ready stance before was now entering it. “We can't let this spread, attack him from all angles!”

Lloyd spun into a green Spinjitzu, Nya and Kai following suit. Now Arin was even more paranoid than before, but he pushed forward. He couldn't freeze now, not like this. He won't allow himself to become dead weight. He picked his feet off the ground, charging at Thunderfang. He can do this, he can do this, he can't do this. He's never been good enough, he'll never BE enough with them. Thunderfang looked down on the group of 10 ninja, it felt like he was gazing at ants. The red dragon grinned, baring its sharp teeth.

“Look at you, running like lamb to the slaughter. Who are you supposed to be? Some heroes?”

He lifted his claw, swatting Lloyd, Nya, and Kai away with ease. He wasn't even trying, Arin saw in the way he moved his claw, there wasn't much force behind it. Usually people wind up for a big strike, but he just slapped them away. Lloyd was knocked back onto the ground, tumbling backwards into Arin, the blunt force hitting his chest. He grunted, the air knocked out of him as he lost his footing and fell with Lloyd. His ribs were definitely bruised from that. Wyldfyre swerved her mech around the expanding Chaos Tear, pivoting a sharp left to Thunderfang. She stepped on the gas, heading full speed at the dragon's head.

“Eat this, you oversized lizard!!” Wyldfyre screamed, her hand lighting up in a bright blue and orange flame as she curled it at Thunderfang. The flames shot through the air, hitting his scales. He didn't even blink, not even a flinch. He opened his jaw, reaching his head forward. Wyldfyre’s face dropped,

“Oh my…” She grabbed onto the controls of the mech, trying to sharply turn out of the way of Thunderfangs jaws.

 

Snap

 

Thump

 

Time seemed to stop for a moment

 

No.

 

No it can't be….

 

Thump thump

 

Blood.

 

It was so high up but he knew it was there.

 

He heard her scream, her horrifying scream. It pierced through his ears.

 

Thump thump

 

Thunderfang was biting down firmly on Wyldfyre's mech, his teeth had completely bypassed the metal exterior and hit Wyldfyre underneath.

 

His heart….

 

Thump thump

 

He couldn't breathe….

 

Move.

 

“WYLDFYRE!!” Kai screamed, Arin had never heard Kai so distraught. He saw a blur of red Spinjitzu and a burst of energy as wings propelled Kai forward.

 

Thump thump

 

He wasn't focusing at all…

 

Why is it all a blur…

 

Just move.

 

Thunderfang twisted his head and released his grip on the mech, sending Wyldfyre flying through the air. The mech glowed a bright pink as it began to deconstruct itself. Arin barely saw some of the parts forcefully ripping themselves out from Wyldfyre's skin.

 

Thump thump

 

Even though he was breathing so quickly, it felt like he wasn't breathing at all.

 

Her screams…

 

Kai managed to catch her and lower her to the ground safely. Arin could barely hear her cries…

 

“I can't– my legs! I can't feel my legs! Kai…I can't–”

 

“ARIN LOOK OUT!!!”

Frak tackled straight into Arin, knocking them both down and out of the way of the Chaos tear expanding near them. He snapped out of his trance for a moment, looking at what could've just befell him. He was just…frozen. He couldn't do anything, just stuck in a useless state.

“Wake up! We need to move! The Chaos Tear is getting too big, we can't keep fighting Thunderfang without risking one of us falling in!”

Frak quickly rose to his feet, grabbing Arin's wrist and getting him to his feet. Arin looked around, Kai was leaning over Wyldfyre, he was clearly shaken by what had just happened. He couldn't hear anything that he was saying or that Wyldfyre said to him but Wyldfyre…she was crying. Wyldfyre…the cocky Wyldfyre with an ego that leveled the world, was crying. It felt so out of character to see her like this. There were giant gashes on her back and her leg. From Thunderfang's teeth. Wait, what did she say before? Something about her leg? …He didn’t quite catch it. Lloyd was attempting to fight off Thunderfang, doing little to do damage as he blasted him with green blasts of energy, occasionally switching into Rising dragon to gain height. Zane and PIXAL were using their mech to their advantage, getting a lucky shot with their Lazer and hitting one of Thunderfangs eyes. He recoiled, a deep roar echoing off the cliffs. Nya was right behind Frak, protecting him and Arin from rogue rocks and sand that were caught up in the storm. And what was Arin doing? Too busy being frozen. Useless useless useless-

 

“Thunderfang.”

 

His thoughts were cut short by a bright blue light blasting across the area, the Chaos Tears immediately freezing in place. The Tornado that was surrounding the Ninja dissipated, the red and black clouds parting slightly as a beam of blue light descended down behind them. Thunderfang stopped in his tracks, gazing at the beacon of light with a concerning amount of glee.

“Oh?” He chuckled, recognizing the voice instantly. “Well, If it isn't the cold narrow-minded Flow.”

The light parted, revealing a dragon slightly smaller than Thunderfang. She was mostly an ocean blue,her horns branching out like coral. Her scales were almost translucent, looking as if she were made of water. Her eyes were down turned, glowing and icy white. She had a halo around her head made of water, flowing smoothly around her. Her voice was cold, unmoving and apathetic. There was a strong aura emanating off of her, something incredibly powerful. It reminded him of the Source Dragon of Motion…wait. Was she a Source dragon? The Source Dragon of Flow?

“You wished for the Source Dragons, and here one is before you. Your Chaos has not gone unnoticed, it threatens the very cycle of reality.”

The ninja that were fighting Thunderfang backed away from him, trying to distance themselves from what was about to happen. Lloyd however stepped forward towards the Source Dragon,

“I know you, you're one of the Source Dragons from my visions.”

Flow seemed to ignore Lloyd’s comment towards her, her attention solely on Thunderfang.

“I have spoken with the other Sources, your fate is decided.”

“Is that right? And they sent you as the messenger? I thought Balance would be more suited for this. …Oh wait, they aren't active anymore are they?”

Thunderfang’s eyes narrowed cockily at Flow, taking a jab at her. Arin was so confused, he really wished he had some sort of context as to what Thunderfang was referring to here. All he got in return was an annoyed blink,

“You are no longer permitted within this realm, there is one that will take you instead. You and the 11 creatures of equal strength will be banished to restore peace to the Merged lands. The Harbinger will be able to contain your Chaos once he awakens.”

Wait what? Banish him and…us??? For what balance? He's the one distributing everything? Wait, did she say eleven? There are only ten of us…including Riyu.

“You can't get rid of me like this!” Thunderfang raised his wings, charging up his Chaos energy once more. With yet another deafening roar, he leaped forward, red lighting protruding his scales as he lunged at the Source Dragon. “Face me!!”

“This trick? Sad.” She said, a hint of annoyance in her voice. She raised her claw, her water halo breaking apart and reforming around her wrist. She flicked her wrist, a large pillar of light appearing in front of her as it created a vortex, swirling colors of all shades descending in a spiral inside it. Thunderfang realized too late and lunged right into the vortex. “For such a big threat, you'd think he'd be smarter.”

“Wait, are you going to banish us as well?” Lloyd spoke up again, trying to get Flow’s attention. He managed to make eye contact with her, “We're the heroes of Ninjago, keep the peace, I don't understand why you're-”

“It is obvious Conduit, in order to banish Chaos, you must also banish Order. I know it seems cruel, but what the Source Dragons decide is for the greater good of all the realms. Do not take it personally, child.”

 

That was all the warning they had.

 

The vortex was pushed forward at high speeds, all the ninja forcefully entering it. Suddenly, Arin was falling. This was all happening way too fast for him. First Thunderfang getting released, then Wyldfyre getting hurt, then the Source Dragon, then this- he can't keep up! It all happened in the span of 5 minutes, what is he supposed to do in this situation?!

There were two unexpected “guests” in the vortex. Both that he recognized immediately. It was Ras, Ras was here in the vortex, he's another one of the twelve that Flow was talking about. And then there was him, that mercenary that was trying to capture Ras this whole time. He was annoyed with how persistent he was.

The vortex itself was…weird. It wasn't like a normal portal, one with an easy destination where it's only a second in and you're out. This seemed to be a portal with multiple destinations, maybe at different moments in time? If someone could even believe that. But until he fell into one of those times, it would theoretically just be a free fall?

“ZANNNEEEE??? GIVE ME SOMETHING, WHAT'S UP WITH THIS PORTAL!!??” Nya yelled, freefalling incredibly close to Arin. She had great control over where she was going, not flipping in the air but gliding in a steady pose.

“IT APPEARS THAT WE ARE STUCK IN AN INTERDIMENTIONAL TIME VORTEX!! IT'S SIMILAR TO THE TIME VORTEX MADE BY THE IRON DOOM!!

“HAVEN'T HEARD THAT NAME IN A WHILE.” Lloyd commented, higher above Arin and Nya but below Zane.

“IT’S LIKELY IF WE WERE TO HIT THE WALLS OF THIS VORTEX, WE WOULD BE TRANSPORTED INTO A DIFFERENT TIME IN THIS NEW REALM. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND STICKING TOGETHER!!!”

No way, Arin was actually right in his crazy theory! He managed to stabilize himself, copying the pose that Nya was pulling and leaning his bodyweight forward. He looked up, trying to spot the rest of the team. Kai was holding Wyldfyre in his arms, keeping her close as he tried to steal himself from falling into the walls of the vortex. Frak was right next to Zane and Pixal, keeping a surprising steady hold on his balance. And Ras and that Rogue…wait, where were they? Arin saw a blur of movement as both Ras and Rogue dived straight at the team of ninja.

“ZANE, LOOK OUT!!!” Arin yelled out, but it was too late. Rogue hit Zane with full speed, knocking both him and Pixal off course and into the walls of the vortex. Sora, who was right next to Zane, lost her balance from the attack and fell into the vortex not too long after. Rogue was fighting fist to fist with Ras, and it seemed like Ras had the upper hand, but Rogue had air control. His mechanical wings.

“ZANE!” Nya and Kai both yelled out, unable to really do anything but watch the situation unfold.

Arin thought that they could use their powers to propel themselves forward but Kai couldn't do that with Wyldfyre in his arms and uh, he didn't know about Nya. Maybe she didn't think about it. Or maybe she doesn't have enough firepower for it.

The two were trading blows, both were seasoned fighters, Arin will give them that. Ras managed to land a good punch to Rogue’s abdomen, stunning him for a moment as he grabbed his wing, twirled in the air, and threw him at Lloyd. Lloyd's eyes widened as he looked up, seeing a blur of dark blue heading at him. Thinking fast, he drew his hands together, speedily charging a blast of green energy and throwing it at Ras. Both the energy blast and Rogue hit their targets.

Lloyd knocked into Frak on the way into the Vortex, sending all 3 of them into the vortex wall. The green energy blasted Ras right in the chest, sending him flying up into the vortex wall. Arin grabbed his grappling hook, aiming at Kai and Wyldfyre.

“COME ON, WE NEED TO STAY TOGETHER!!!” He shot the hook, a blur of grey shooting straight at Kai. However, the force fell short, the wire curving and losing its motion before it got to Kai.

“DON'T WORRY I THINK I CAN GET THERE” Kai shouted back, shifting his weight down as he dived. A minor problem is that he aimed more to the right than he wanted, causing him to bed incredibly close to the walls. In a quick blast of panic, he used his fire to propel himself and Wyldfyre closer to Nya and Arin.

This backfired horribly, Kai was knocked completely off balance and slammed straight into Nya. This caused a domino effect. Nya was pushed down on top of Arin as Kai and Wyldfyre were knocked into the walls of the vortex. Arin spun out of control, and took Nya with him. He yelled as he fell, his body hitting the vortex wall.

 

And then there was darkness.

Chapter Text

Nya knew that fighting Thunderfang was going to be difficult. If the Forbidden Five, a group of merciless conquerors who created Shatterspin, a dark magic that destroys the good parts of your SOUL wanted to release him, then it was a big deal. She knew Thunderfang would be powerful, but she tried to be prepared…only to realize way too late that it was impossible to prepare for that. Thunderfang was way larger than she first thought, normally not too big of a problem, they've been able to handle big monsters. Nya took out a whole realm that one time with a tsunami so to her, this fight was possible. Well, if what just happened in the last 5 minutes was any indicator, APPARENTLY NOT. If a whole Source Dragon has to show up and defeat Thunderfang for you, then you were not winning that. Ohoho, but it's not just that, no that'd be too simple. Not only did the Source Dragon of FLOW, the originator of her elemental power, show up but she also revealed that Thunderfang was such a big threat that the boundaries of this realm could not contain his powers.

The realm.

The whole fucking realm.

You know, the 16 realms that merged together to become one? Yeah, all of those couldn't support Thunderfang. And became of their perfect luck, banishing such a powerful force also required THEM to be banished in order to support the balance. Why? Just why?

The sky itself parted, a swirl of water tearing open reality and opening a vortex, iridescent colors spiraling endlessly inside. As Nya fell out of the portal, a zap of energy flowed through her body, she shook as it passed, a heavy feeling resting in her chest. Her veins felt like they were filled with static. Her eyes flashed a teal glow but as she blinked they dissipated. Arin was right below her, yelling as they exited. To continue their amazing stroke of luck, the vortex spat them out right below the cloud line, giving them a good look at a glistening city as they plummeted to a fall that would definitely kill them. She needed to act fast.

“ARIN, HOLD ONTO ME!!” She called out, reaching her arm to grab whatever part of Arin she could.

Arin looked up at her, swinging his arm as she grabbed his hand. She pulled him closer to her, letting him wrap himself around her waist. Normally she wouldn't let just anyone do that but right now was an exception. She pushed her arm forward, arcing it above her head and to the other side, water following the motion. She never really pulled off this move before, so she was really hoping it works. It was something she was saving to show everyone when it was really polished but this was the only way both of them were going to fall from this height and make it out unscathed. She repeated her arm motions until a translucent bubble appeared around the two of them. Now came the difficult part, holding it together and praying to the First Spinjitzu Master it didn't pop.

“A BUBBLE?! ARE YOU SURE THIS IS GOING TO WORK?” Arin questioned, unable to keep himself from looking down, desperately holding onto Nya as a way to ground himself.

“NOT AT ALL!” She responded, a stressed smile on her face as she kept concentration. This caused Arin to hold onto her tighter, clearly not taking those words that well. “JUST TRUST ME!”

“...I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die…”

Or lose yourself to panic, that works too.

She didn't really fault the kid too much for it though, a lot has just happened and it was clear he wasn't processing any of it well. Nya was just attempting not to think about it and focus on the problem at hand, to keep herself distracted for the time being. It didn't feel good, thinking about those types of things. She was worried, and being that worried and paranoid was distracting. She needed to stay focused, not lose herself to worry. Keep Arin and her together, since everyone else was tossed out at different points in the vortex.

Nya's body flung forward, Arin moving with her as the bubble crashed into a building. The water’s form tensed, threatening to pop but Nya barely kept it together. The bubble then bounced down, ricocheting off another building, a sign, and a couple unfinished buildings. If Nya could describe how it felt holding it together, she'd say it's like a game of Jenga. Hold the structure of the tower, one small misplacement will cause everything to collapse. The falling wasn't without pain, the rules of gravity were cruel so she still felt parts of the fall just not as bad as it could have been. Nya felt her palms beginning to sweat, holding this up was taking a lot of energy and she didn't even want to look down right now. This bouncing around inside the bubble didn't help the sense of danger, gravity had pushed her to the bottom of the bubble, unable to get up as the sharp movements threw her around. Arin wasn't spared either, she wasn't sure if he was better or worse off holding onto her.

Eventually, the bubble lost its inertia, slowing down as it hit the ground, rolling to a stop. Nya felt nauseous from the fall but that was better than being an unrecognizable flesh pile on the pavement. She released her hold on the bubble, breathing heavily. The water fell out of its form, cascading down onto the two ninja. Arin loosened his grip on Nya, laying on her stomach for a few moments before rolling over off her and onto his back instead. He stared at the building covered sky with wide eyes.

“I can't believe that worked…I thought that only happened in cartoons.”

Nya took a few big breaths, laying uncomfortably on the half paved floor.

“Yeah…except they never tell you how much energy that takes up to use.”

The water ninja took this opportunity to begin to actually observe the new realm around her. Being in a new realm was always a gamble, you never knew if it was safe or dangerous. The rules of your own world aren't the rules in another, it operates differently. Sure, some rules like gravity and physics might be the same, but the power system may be tweaked a little. There did however always seem to be a connection between the realms, like the similarity of having elemental masters. But that didn't have anything to do with the environment.

The first thing she noticed was the buildings, the architecture was similar to what she was used to, large towers of metal reaching for the sky. From the overview she managed to get of the city, it looked more futuristic in nature. It wasn't as futuristic as Imperium, but more similar to New Ninjago City in its lighting and appearance. It brought her back to the teenager and young adult age, back when the world was smaller and less convoluted. The area she particularly landed in had smaller buildings that had abandoned construction, leaving empty shells. Immediate red flag, an abandoned anything was never a good sign. Pipes lined the area, leading up and bending when it reached a certain point.

“Looks like we landed in a dump.” Arin groaned, finally pushing himself onto his feet.

“Seems abandoned…that's normally not a good sign. We're having a spectacular stroke of luck aren't we?”

Nya's voice was annoyed and clearly stressed, Arin caught onto that. Today wasn't a good day for anyone on the ninja team, especially Wyldfyre. Nya managed to get an up close look at her status and it…wasn't good. Her body, blood…no, stop thinking about it. Not right now, just focus on what's at hand.

“...Nya.” Arin said softly, a concerned look piercing through her heart. “Are you okay…?”

Funny how he's asking this considering his mindset a few moments ago. Nya sat up, tightening her hair so her ponytail would stay firmly in place.

“I'm fine. Let's just try to figure out where we are. See if we can find any friendly people.”

She felt Arin's eyes still on her as she sat up, she sighed. She just had to push forward, she'll get a moment to relax soon. She just has to be certain that everything is safe-

“...waiting eternity for this moment. Is everything in order?”

A woman's voice echoed across the metal, it came from behind her somewhere. Nya snapped her head back, on high alert. She crouched, moving silently across the solid ground, alternating from metal, grass, and rock. She pushed her foot off the floor, jumping high into the area and onto a large boulder blocking the path. She kept low, making sure the shadow covered her form. Arin attempted to jump as well, he didn't reach as high as Nya, but he almost made it. He barely grabbed onto the boulder, pulling himself up on top of it. He looked from her and then to the scene below him.

“Just making the final adjustments Mother.” A male voice replied, so a mother and son duo. Their tone didn't seem like the friendly kind. It sounded like the voice people would use when talking about their evil plan.

Light peaked through the unfinished buildings, shining perfectly on a patch of grass. Impaled into the ground with plants surrounding it, was a golden and crimson staff. Mystical energy emanated from it, she could sense it. It felt like Lloyd's Golden energy from, wow, almost a decade and a half ago. That made her feel old. Back on track, the way it felt in the air, it was empowering. That was a magical weapon if she's ever seen one. A taller woman stood confidently, a few feet away from the staff. Her black hair was…peculiar. It was styled to look like a bull's horns, how it stayed upright like that was unknown to her. She couldn't make out if it was organic or just a hairstyle, but she was assuming a hairstyle. She was wearing a red dress with golden accents, old and traditional but still gorgeous. She'll give her this, it was a good sense of style. Standing next to her was a young man, also sporting an interesting hairstyle. Apparently this realm is the realm of weird hairstyles that defies gravity. His red hair was tied back into a ponytail, but instead of falling down his back, it was flipped, his hair arcing up in the shape of a flame. He wore a red trench coat, the collar popped up sharply. He wore purple pants and a pink belt, usually this wouldn't work well but with all the red it managed itself. A red dot was placed on his forehead alongside small black glasses resting on his nose.

“Finally, after all this time, we have the means to lift Monkey King's legendary staff.” The woman said, clenching her fist with a large grin on her face.

“Monkey King's staff…?” She pondered out loud. She learned a few things from that. One, this staff was magical, as she suspected. Two, Monkey King is either a deity or a legendary hero. Three, these guys were up to no good.

“My love will finally be returned, once we remove the staff.” The woman continued, but she paused, noticing something. “Huh?”

Another piece of information, she was doing this for her lover. In a way, she could relate. She spent five years apart from Jay and when she finally reunited with him, he was completely changed. Ras had sunk his teeth into him, teaching him Shatterspin and allowing his soul to shatter for power. She doesn't know how much he had used it but it was enough for him to hate anyone and everyone. He hated her, he said that…she hadn't really gotten over it. But it was just the Shatterspin talking, once she gets back to Ninjago, she'll find him and a way to repair his soul.

She noticed what the bull lady's attention was stolen by, a being covered in bull-like armor climbed the grassy hill, its metallic arms wrapping around the staff and pulling with all its might. Nya can barely make out the sound of metal popping and bending before both arms rip off and the armored bull falls down the hill. Okay, so it's a robot then. Interesting, so a realm with traditional outfits but more advanced technology.

“You fool. You think we didn't try that already? It's going to take more than a few robots to lift the Monkey King's staff. Only those deemed worthy can wield it.” He spoke it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. A swirl of energy gleamed around his hand, a gunmetal grey metal gauntlet appearing around his hand. “But I, Red Son, have designed this gauntlet to bend it to my will.”

The boy, Red Son, walked up the hill and stood over the staff. He wrapped the gauntlet around it, planted his feet and pulled. Nya heard the ground itself crack as he pulled, Arin and her both side-eyed each other before looking back at the display. With great strength and a yell, the staff flew out of its place in the ground, allowing itself to be lifted triumphantly in the air.

“Yes! I did it!” He yelled, breathing heavily.

More of the armored bull robots emerged, all clapping in celebration. The one without its arms looked down at the floor in dismay.

…

“What?! Why isn't anything happening?!” He strolled down the hill, the staff held firmly in his gauntlet. “Mother, are you sure this is the right mountain?”

The woman pitched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head in a form of disappointment or annoyance. Could be both.

“No, maybe it was that other mountain with a magical staff sealing away my husband!”

Then the ground began to shake, it was a familiar feeling when Thunderfang rose from the ground. There seemed to be a pattern with that today. The ground tore open, a purple claw emerged from the terrain, pushing the rest of its body up with it.

“Yes, Father! Rise! Rise!!

The creature wasn't as big as Thunderfang, but bigger than any normal human. He had purple fur and a golden nose ring. It seemed to be a bull if its horns were anything to go by. That explained the whole theme they had going on. They were some sort of weird bull family. Not something she had on the bingo card.

“Flesh. Bone. I have returned to the realm of the living.” The bull bellowed, observing his form.

“Oh, Demon Bull King! How I've missed you.” The woman rushed to the Bull King's side. She envied her, being able to see the one she loves again. But that aside, what kind of wacky name is Demon Bull King?

“Princess Iron Fan! The years have been kind.” He smiled softly, a loving gaze meeting hers.

Princess Iron Fan????? IRON FAN?? To summarize, we've got Demon Bull King, Red Son, and Princess Iron Fan? What kind of parents are dishing out names like that? This realm is weird.

“How did you free me?”

Red Son made himself closer to his parents, a cocky grin on his face.

“Actually, it was I, Father. I moved the staff. I learned how to harness it, to make its power mi-” He cut himself off, the Bull King looking down at him with a glare. “O-our power.”

“Excellent…”

“Now we, the Demon Bull Family, will plunge the world into eternal darkness!”

Red Son stood confidently next to his family, before out of nowhere, a young boy fell out of the sky and right on top of him. Nya wasn't expecting that to happen, she was planning on stepping in at the right time but it seems that they weren't the only ones eavesdropping. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Arin lean forward, ready to jump in to try to save him if anything went immediately wrong. Nya put a hand out in front of him, shaking her head. She tried to signal to him to wait, but wasn't quite sure if Arin got it. He frowned, a worried expression on his face. He did eventually nod, leaning back to where he was. So he got it, good.

“Get off of me you idiot!!” Red Son flailed beneath the boy, his hair flickering before lighting up in a large burst of flame.

An Elemental Master of fire? No, that can't be possible, there can only be one master of fire at a time. The boy rolled off, laying on the ground at the situation he managed to fall into.

“Augh! Don't you see what you did?! You ruined my MOMENT!”

“Ah-hehe…someone ordered some noodles?” The boy spoke nervously, holding a plastic bag of noodles in his hand.

“A little eavesdropper has fallen into our midst. It seems a waste to crush something so insignificant as my first act as ruler of this new world, but so be it.” The purple bull raised his foot, preparing to crush the boy.

Nya gave a nod to Arin, about to rush forward and save him.

“Wait father.” Red Son put his hand up to stop the foot.

Arin had jumped off, rolling onto the ground with a small thud. He made sure to say low and to the shadows. Nya followed him, landing into a shoulder roll and behind a rock pillar.

“What is it?”

“Ahem. Waste not your energy on this peasant. Please, allow me to show you how powerful I have become in your absence!”

“...as you wish.” The king agreed, putting his foot down gently as he watched from the sidelines.

The boy muttered something but Nya couldn't make out what it was. Red Son moved back over to the boy but didn't quite pay full attention to him.

“In some ways, you're very fortunate, Noodle Boy! Not many insects are lucky enough to be stamped out by the Demon Bull Family.”

Noodle boy? That can't possibly be his actual name, can it? With how the naming system in this realm works, she wouldn't be surprised. No, it's just a crude nickname. Stop getting ahead of yourself Nya.

The boy began to crawl away as Red Son monologued, he surprisingly wasn't noticed for a few seconds. Nya looked over at Arin, giving him a nod. She raised her hands, water rising off the ground and hovering next to her. Arin reached for his grappling hook, the sword he usually used was lost during the scuffle with the Prismatic blades. He could make due with just his grappling hook if he aimed it correctly. Red Son finally noticed the boy, the tips of his hair lighting aflame.

“Are you even listening to me?! I, Red Son, will not be disrespected! You're history!” He leaned back, clenching his fist as he went in to punch him.

Arin pointed his grappling hook at one of the pipes, the wire wrapping around it. He flung into the air, leaning his body as he arced around, aiming straight for the two. Nya pushed off the ground, spinning in the air as she swung a beam of water forward. It was way more powerful than she meant it to be, the pressure of the water causing it to be both faster and more condensed. It hit Red Son square in the face, knocking him back quite a few feet. She rolled onto the ground, standing fiercely right in front of the boy. Arin landed next to her, looking back at the boy.

“You alright- oh!” He stopped himself, looking at the crimson and gold staff now resting in his hands. “I was planning on helping but it seems like I might've underestimated you a bit.”

Nya looked back, he had lifted the staff? Well that was unexpected. According to the Bull Family, it could only be lifted by those worthy. She didn't know how reliable that source was, but it was the only source she had.

“This is impossible…” Princess Iron Fan stated, a large red weapon appearing in her hand. Nya couldn't really tell what it was, it looked like a flame with golden accents. She didn't have enough information about this realm to tell.

“A little boy lifting the legendary staff and more eavesdroppers? This is beginning to become annoying.” The Bull King growled, but didn't step in himself.

Red Son got up, his face and part of his clothes soaked. His hair had steam rising off from it, the water evaporating instantly from the heat.

“AUGH! I don't know what's going on here, but I'm about to end it! That staff is mine!” Those Bull robots launched themselves into the air, surrounding the three of them. Nya shit a wave of water at some of them, knocking them to the ground.

“I'm supposed to be on my break!” The boy yelled, activating the staff. It stretched, growing longer as it swung around and knocked down the rest of the Bull robots.

Nya was surprised and impressed, she was working with a realm she didn't understand and this was both interesting and weird. The fact that he just got his hand on it and already knew how to use it was amazing to her. She wished she could've done that with her elemental power.

“Uh, that was way more explosive than I expected.” The boy said, amazed at himself. “Who even are you people?”

He pointed the staff at Nya and Arin, still on guard.

“We’re friends, don't worry about it.” Arin said, trying not to give anything away about them yet. “Just know that we're here to help.”

“Yeah, I got that part but- stay back!” His attention changed as he pointed the staff at the bull robots, as well as Red Son as he drew closer. “I don't know how I'm doing this stuff!”

“That staff doesn't belong to you, little boy. Hand it over.” Iron Fan slammed her weapon on the ground, a gust of wind expelling threateningly from it. “And water demon, attack my family again and I will make you regret your existence.”

“Water demon? Good insult, but you don't scare me, bull princess!” Nya exclaimed, “I've been threatened by way scarier beings than a make-a-wish bull.”

Nya saw Princess Iron Fan's eyes narrowed, her expression darkening. She didn't move from the taunt, not allowing herself to be baited. Nya didn't know if that was a good or bad thing. She couldn't scale their power since she didn't really know the magic system or any beings that are considered powerful. For all she knows, Princess Iron Fan could be weak compared to her. Or, she could be one of the most powerful beings in the realm. It was a gamble.

“Uh…sorry not sorry, but I'm not letting you have this staff.” The boy said, holding the staff vertically. The staff elongated, the bottom digging into the ground with a surprising speed. The boy looked down then at Iron Fan. “Okay, I didn't even move that ti-”

The staff launched itself into the air, growing at an increasing rate as it flung incredibly high in the air, taking a screaming boy with it. Wow, that thing has a mind of its own doesn't it? That left them with…those two. Uh oh.

“Uh…Nya?”

“You.” The woman said, a powerful red aura emanating off of her. She lifted her weapon, winding back for a powerful strike. “Get out of my sight.”

Nya got in front of Arin, using an arc of water as a shield. But to her surprise it wasn't a physical strike, it was a strong gust of wind. It hit her like a truck, pulling her off her feet and into the air. She hit Arin, the two losing control as they spun in the sky. The current was strong, keeping a solid speed as they flew across the construction site.

Once again, hundreds of feet in the air, they fell.

 

★—-------★

 

They won.

The world was whole again, the ninja successfully defeated Thunderfang. Cole was relieved, he had a terrible feeling when reality began to crumble but it seems like that guy feeling was incorrect. It feels great when that happens. Cole leaned onto the outside of their tower, observing the finders play around with some of the lost items they found. When he got lost in the merge, he ended up here, in the land of lost things. It was one of the best things to happen to him in a while. He didn't expect to grow so attached to these people, these kids. They couldn't leave this place and had nothing to really protect themselves with, at least not efficiently. Geo had his elemental power, which can be quite a force if used correctly. But he wasn't much of a fighter. So he stayed to protect them. Five years. He knew that the ninja most likely had some doubt with him staying here, they were his family after all. But, five years is a long time. A lot can happen in that time frame. Geo happened.

A burst of lost items spewed into the sky, a fresh arrival. The kids had stopped what they were doing, looking at each other with a mischievous giggle as they raced off to find whatever objects they could get their hands on. Cole felt the infectious smile creep up his face. He put his hand up to his mouth, trying to use it to project his voice a bit more.

“Be careful out there!!” He called out, crossing his arms after.

He felt a soft hand on his shoulder, “Ever think you'd be a parent?”

Geo emerged next to Cole, coming out from his work inside the tower. Speak of the devil, he appears. Oh Geo…you artistic purple goblin.

“Heh, not this early, that's for sure.” Cole responded, looking out to the direction of the new geyser.

“This early he says. Aren't you almost thirty? You're what, 28? 29?”

“27 actually.” Cole sighed, the weight of his age hitting him like a brick. “Almost thirty…wow, you're making me feel old.”

“You're welcome, I'm here all day.” Geo teased, a smile weaseling its way onto his face.

“You annoying purple goblin.” Cole joked back, a small laugh in his voice.

“Purple goblin?! Yikes. I know you like me being around like this. Besides, all my jokes are rock solid.”

“...”

Cole was half sure he felt physical pain from that one.

“Did you just make a rock pun?”

“Yup.”

“And here I thought some of Jay's jokes were painful.”

“You, Cole, Master of Earth, are in a relationship with a guy named Geo. That's a rock pun in itself.”

…Well he couldn't exactly argue with that one could he. He shook his head in a joking disappointment.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“And correct.” Geo pointed loosely at Cole, a big grin on his face.

Cole couldn't help but start to laugh, a genuine rich laugh. He held his stomach, the laugh continuing for another few seconds. He enjoyed these moments, these calm tranquil moments. It seemed like all the ninja were doing nowadays was looking for the next bad guy to fight and continuing a hunt for those missing in the merge. They were excellent goals, don't get him wrong. He wanted everyone back as much as the rest of them, but it gets to be a bit much after a while. He wanted more time to actually enjoy himself, to not be stressed out all the time. He stays in the Land of Lost Things to protect his new family, instead of going with the ninja on their missions. They don't need him as desperately as they used to, they have so many new ninjas to train and take care of. If one leaves, then the gap isn't as noticeable as it would have been back to when it was the original six.

Cole eventually sighed again, leaning his head against Geo’s shoulder. Geo’s eyes widened slightly in surprise but he opened up to it. The Munce moved his hand to Cole's waist, lightly resting it there. Cole had learned over the years that Geo tended to run on the warmer side, meaning that he made an excellent pillow when it came down to it. He lost his train of thought as he laid there, enjoying the silence that came. Cole lost track of how long they rested, enjoying each other's company. He heard the familiar faint tapping of footsteps, the finders. How long have they been sitting like this? It hadn't felt like that long. No, it's only been a couple minutes, why are they back so quickly?

Cole stopped leaning on Geo, his guard raised. Spitz was sprinting right at the tower, his blue scales reflecting the sun's glow. Geo gained suspicion as well, joining Cole as they went to meet up with the Hypnobrai. He stopped in front of the two, leaning over as he breathed heavily. His expression was shocked, maybe borderline horrified. That wasn't a good sign, and it immediately put Cole in a protective state.

“Spitz! Are you alright? What's wrong?” Cole said frantically, his hand hesitating to touch the snake in case it was unwelcome.

Spitz’s red eyes shook up,

“We- F-Fitz found a mech, it was terrible, all broken and-” His voice was shaky, speaking quickly in a way Cole barely understood.

“A mech?” Geo questioned, raising an eyebrow. “What about it spooked you so much?”

“It's- I- you should just see!” The serpentine grabbed Cole's and Geo’s wrist, running as he dragged him both with him.

He didn't know what to expect from this, from the information he gathered from the quick talking, it was a broken mech. But not like the normal type they usually encounter in the Land of Lost Things. There was a big piece of context he was missing, he could figure this out as he ran. His feet hit the ground at a decent speed, following Spitz’s wills. What is something about a mech that would leave it completely destroyed- then it hit him. His eyes widened a little with apparent realization. Oh First Spinjitzu Master, let him be wrong. He's been on a good streak with his bad gut feelings being wrong, let it continue. They climbed one of the trash piles, he noticed a bird hovering overhead, Fitz. The black bird dived down once he noticed them, transforming back into a child as he landed right on top of Geo. Geo held his ground, catching him without falling over himself.

“Fitz!” Geo exclaimed, holding the formling close. He was crying, tears streaming down his face.

Cole didn't like this at all, it had the boys in a lot of distress. Please just let him be wrong. He finally saw what Spitz was leading him towards, how could he not? It was obvious what caused them so much distress.

Laying in the middle of the trash heap was a completely destroyed part of a red mech. The front had been completely demolished, a whole chunk was missing like something huge took a bit out of it. The rest of the parts were all covered in blood, it looked to have been forcefully pulled apart completely.

He hated being right…

He rushed forward down into the pile, looking over the mech as much as he could. What could've done this…? Something small caught his eye, a part of some sort of fabric. He drew closer to it, removing it from its place lodged near the front of the vehicle. Cole sharply gasped, his eyes widening. No. This can't be what he thinks it is right? His hands shook slightly, he couldn't get the thought out of his head.

This was a part of a gi.

A ninja gi.

He recognized the design instantly. It was completely torn up, and with all the blood…

Either one of the ninja lucked out with an injury or something far far worse.

And he left them behind to protect the finders. He left them. He might've been able to prevent this. One of the Ninja could be dead, and he chose to stay behind. The Monastery. He had to go there, he had to make sure that it wasn't as bad as his spiraling mind was making it out to be. He couldn't lose someone else. He hates the guilt, he hates it all. He dealt with that when his mother passed away, and again when Zane died for the first time, with Nya…he couldn't handle it. He couldn't handle more.

“Cole!” Geo called out from on top of the hill of lost items, “You okay?”

“The Monastery.” Cole said, clutching the blood covered part of the gi in his hands. The blood squelched, leaking through the crevices in-between his fingers. “I need to go to the Monastery.”

He needs to see if they were all alright. He could just be spiraling for no reason, but he had to be sure.

Please, don't let him be right…

 

★—-------★

 

The Monkey King's legendary staff, he couldn't believe it. It's real, the legend is actually real. The one big thing in life that he's incredibly invested in, knows everything about, the thing that he thought was just a cool piece of mythology, was real. It was in the palms of his hands, literally. He was just there trying to do his job, he didn't sign up to hold his idol’s staff! …Okay, but he's not really complaining too much though. It's kinda nice. Except for the literal demons trying to kill him. That's not as fun, seeing as his life is in danger at the moment. It looked like he wasn't the only one who stumbled upon the Demon Bull Family, two other people did as well. A woman with water powers, and a guy with a horn headband. What if they were secretly his protectors? The divine beings sent from the celestial realm to aid the one who lifted the staff? Nah, that's a bit far fetched. He would've heard about that at some point. That begs the question then, who were they? He tried to ask but that didn't seem to go anywhere. Whoever they were, they weren't interested in sharing their identity. Made it cool, a mystery. The mysterious heroes, showing up to save the day. And their names were…WATER GIRL AND GRAPPLE BOY!!!!!! Amazing name choices if you asked him. What could he say, he's a true connoisseur of names. Wait, where was he again? Oh right, being launched in the air by the weirdly kind of sentient legendary staff. Pfff, how could he forget such an important detail.

MK ended up in the cart, immediately putting it into drive and moving as fast as he could. The car sputtered but drove. Good thing he did at that time as well because right out of where he came from, a large black truck broke through the construction site and raged after him. It looked like the type of truck a really edgy person would drive to be cool. Just gave off that vibe. Said a lot about the one driving it but he didn't say that. He stomped on the gas pedal, the speed dial going up at a rapid rate. Even with how fast he was speeding down the road, breaking multiple laws probably, the truck was still keeping up.

“Alright, Noodle Boy, hand it over!” Red Son yelled, the anger in his voice clear.

MK frantically looked for something to stop Red Son with, not counting the staff, MK wasn't that stupid to just give it to them like that. His eyes caught onto the noodle deliveries he was supposed to deliver. …Pigsy was going to kill him for this.

“I'm sorry, valued customer. You won't be getting your noodles.”

He grabbed one of the noodles and began to hurl it at Red Son's truck, the bowl landing perfectly on his windshield as the contents splattered over it. He does this with all of the remaining noodle orders, trying to keep an eye on the road as he does it. As he reached over to grab another, his hand was met with nothing. He's out. He let out a nervous laughter, well that wasn't good at all. Looking at Red Son, the windshield wipers just tossed all the soup and the bowls off the windshield anyway. That was not worth it at all.

“Dang it.”

Red Son's hair was set ablaze once more as he seethed with annoyance and anger. Not good, not good.

“Fine! Have it your way!”

“Ah! You're really scary” Red Son's truck picked up speed, going way faster than his little Tuk-Tuk could go. This is it, he thought death by an angry Pigsy was the way he would go out. Guess he was instead going to be crushed by an emo’s car. Died so young…

The front of Red Son's truck hit MK's, sending him forward a little. The force caused the staff to activate again, either that or this staff picks the most continent times to activate. It extended itself, pushing into the ground and sending MK AND HIS CART high into the sky. It was a shorter jump this time, his cart bounced aggressively onto a building. A building. The staff put him on top of a building. Doesn't matter, he's moving and trusting that staff with his life. If the staff did it, then it's probably right. He luckily managed to bounce from building to building with the staff in toe, this was pretty fun honestly.

“Would you get down here so I can kill you?!” Red Son yelled, leaning out his window to look at him.

MK grinned, a small giggle escaping his lips as he looked back at Red Son, making eye contact.

“Never!” Almost on command, the floor beneath him crumbled, sending him into the interior of one of the buildings.

Yes Pigsy, I'll deliver these noodles for you, I'll also break multiple laws in the process, can I get my paycheck now?

His cart landed harshly into one of the rooms, almost running over a person in the process.

“Oh, I'm sorry!”

He didn't have time to stop so he just continued going. MK sharply turned, crashing into and shattering a window of the building. He fell a few feet but survived, the bouncing was a bit much but he was getting used to the turbulence. He looked around him, Red Son was nowhere in sight.

“Haha! I think I lost him!” Oh course, now that he's put that information out into the world, the universe must screw him over as a result. His cart sputtered, slowing down as smoke puffed out of the back. “Oh, Come on! Come on! Come on, old girl! You got this! Oh, don't do this to me! Oh, man, Pigsy's gonna kill me.”

And he thought he was dead before, he's double dead now! He heard the roar of an engine and the hysterical laughter of a certain fire-headed demon. Uh oh.

“Ah!” He got out of his cart, running along the path on foot. He made sure he held onto Monkey King's staff as tightly as he could. He didn't want to lose this, not one bit. There had to be something nearby that he could use, come on universe, for the plot convenience!! He spotted a Cloud Board hovering in the near distance, aha!

Thank you universe, I will never doubt you again. Everything I thought before, I take it back.

“So sorry! I really need to borrow this! Bye!” He spoke fast, trying to portray his thoughts quickly since time was of the essence. She stole the Cloud Board, placing his feet on top of it and riding off at full speed. It was difficult to get his balance on it and he was struggling with it, he was hoping that wouldn't be a problem.

“I'm coming to get you, Noodle Boy!” Red Son yelled from behind him, reminding him of the approaching danger. He hadn't forgotten, but he really wished he was at home right now.

MK dashed through an alley way, gaining his balance over the board. Haha, take that! He heard a loud crash, looking behind him he noticed that Red Son had gotten stuck in the narrow alley! YES! Victory is his!!!

“Haha! SEE YAAAA!!!” MK celebrated, riding the Cloud Board as far away as he could.

He tilted his body to the side, steering the board onto an unfinished road. He let out a sigh of relief, that chase was fun but also scary, he should never do it again. Good news, he still had the staff with him. Chased by a crazy fire demon and manages to get away without dying. Well, he's definitely going to die at least to Pigsy so, that's a downside. Breaking a few laws, not delivering noodles, and ruining the cart is bound to get him a good old trip to the Underworld. Something weird caught his eye in the distance. It shone off the sun, an iridescent sphere flying through the air. That's weird, he squinted but could barely make it out. Was that…some kind of giant bubble???

He didn't have much time to process what it was as he heard a familiar rumble of an engine behind him.

“Come on, where did you get that!?”

Red Son was driving a race car, it was similar to the truck he had except slimmer and smaller. Still looked emo though.

“What? You think I drive anything that doesn't have at least one complex transformation?” Red Son pulled out a sheet of paper, pointing to it as he spoke. MK couldn't even read it so he didn't catch why he felt the need to pull that up.

MK sees as Red Son flicks a few buttons, the race car he's in immediately speeds up. He was a good distance away from him before but now he's quickly about to run him right over. MK panicked, jumping into the air in hopes to avoid the car. Somehow by some miracle, the race car caught him, MK landing on the windshield. He sighed another sigh of relief, there seemed to be a lot of those today. But right around the corner, the road ended, leading straight down into a ditch.

Oh shoot.

Red Son sped off the end of the road, either not realizing in time or doing it on purpose. MK didn't have any real way to tell at the moment. His stomach dropped, his body feeling weightless as he fell. He heard something zip past him and around the area. Green light surrounded him, it looked to be in the form of a dragon. MEI!!! IT'S MEI, HE'S SAVED!!!! Mei's gloved hand grabbed onto his jacket, swinging him onto her motorcycle. But there is an official term that Mei calls it, her “WHITE HORSE DRAGON BIKE!!!!” Pretty good name, he really liked it. It captured Mei's personality perfectly. She darted around at an impressive speed on the bike through the air, landing right outside Pigsy’s Noodles.

She got off her bike, a green light surrounding her as her clothes changed, revealing the green jacketed Mei MK was used too. She took a selfie of herself,

“Nailed it!”

“Mei!”

“Mhm! That was an intense game of tag. You guys looked like you were having so much fun. I wanted to join in too!”

Ah, blissful ignorance. Mei, never change.

“Uh actually, I almost died back there.”

“But you didn't. So let's celebrate with a round of Monkey Mech!” She enthusiastically pointed to the arcade machine to the left of her. “You should invite your new edgy friend, too.”

“Aha! I knew he was edgy!” He said with conviction, but he was getting off track, focus! “Yeah, but he was trying to kill me.”

“Well in that case,” Mei quickly opened some sort of app in her phone with an ominous red button. She turned to MK darkly, “Where does he live?”

“MK! Where are you, you punk? You mind telling me why some bozo left a zero-star review on Pigsy's Noodles?” Pigsy stormed out of his shop, phone in hand. Oh look, death is here. Nice knowing you, world.

“Oh! Uh, yeah. So, uh, here's what I think happened with that-”

“Woah, zero stars! Congrats! That's better than nothing, right?” Mei swayed gleefully side to side.

“That's not how it works, Mei! And you! I-” Pigsy turns to MK but he's already ran inside. “Where'd he go?”

“Mr. Tang!” MK said, running right over to Tang. The man sat on one of the seats, slurping up some of Pigsy's noodles. He looked at MK as he ran in, his attention stolen.

“Hmm?”

“Remember the story you told me this morning? About the Demon Bull King? Argh, where is it? Where is it? Where is it?” MK frantically searched around for his book, eventually finding it under a load of dishes. He snatched it from underneath it, the bowls losing stability shattering on the floor. “Ah, there it is. The Demon Bull King, see?”

“Argh, kid! What are you doing to my kitchen?” Pisgy yelled, being held back by Mei.

“Yeah?” Tang took a sip of the soup, “What about him?”

“The Demon Bull King is back! The legend is real, it's all real! The Monkey King's staff has been removed! There were these weird two people, they found him too! But we have to find the Demon Bull King before it's too late! It's the only way to s-”

Tang pushed MK back with his chopsticks, clearly not believing a word he was saying.

“Boy, relax. You're getting spittle in my soup. Besides, you're delusional. It's just a story.”

“Delusional, huh? Would you call this delusional?” MK raised the staff into a more prominent view.

“Wow, MK. You found a stick!” Mei observed the staff, leaning in closer.

“No, it's the Monkey King's staff!”

They all burst out laughing.

He was being serious, completely genuine. Why couldn't they just believe him? Ugh, this was so frustrating.

“You aren't listening! Demon Bull King is out there. We have to get the staff back to the Monkey King! It's the real deal. I'll prove it.”

Pigsy piped up, “Oh, yeah? How?”

“Uh…” MK admittedly didn't think that one fully through, but he didn't have to think about it as the staff activated. It stretched, smashing the table they were sitting at and retracting back to its original state. This sent Tang into a state.

“BRBRJDJDK, Monkey King's staff! I knew it all along! The legendary weapon that only he could wield to seal away evil! Wait a minute. Why do you have it?”

“I was just trying to deliver some noodles and I ended up stumbling in on the release of DBK.” MK shrugged, holding the staff firmly in his hands.

“DBK?” Pisgy asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Demon Bull King. Since, you know, Demon Bull King is a mouthful to say and shorting it is way easier.”

“...Fair enough, continue.”

“Anyway so uh, I got ahold of the staff when one of them dropped it and these mysterious people showed up, they tried to save me and help me-”

“I'm going to stop you right there.” Tang pushed up his glasses, eyes narrowing curiously. “Mysterious people?”

“Yeah, one of them had water powers and the other had a golden headband with horns on it!” MK could see Tang's gears turning in his head, likely searching for anyone who had that description in his head from Journey to the West.

“I can think of multiple beings but nothing concrete, what did you say they looked like?”

MK heard a loud thump and crash outside, followed by the sound of splashing water. He immediately ran outside to look at what just happened.

There they were, the two people he saw! He was able to get a better look at them now. The woman was tall, sporting a small white face tattoo under her eyes, reminding him of tribal markings. She had long black hair tied tightly in a ponytail and her attire was mostly an aqua blue. Her clothes were weird though and nothing he was really used to but it could just be a fashion statement. She was younger than he expected, probably in her mid 20’s. The boy looked to be in his later teens, having shorter black hair. He noticed a few face scars, unsettling for someone so young. He had the cool golden headband with horns wrapped around his head that he remembered. His attire was orange and black. It was a lot less of a fashion statement and looked fairly comfortable.

The boy groaned, “How powerful was that wind blast- ow.”

“Powerful enough where we defied gravity.” The woman responded, her voice was higher than he anticipated. “Pretty sure we shouldn't have been in the air that long. We should've landed minutes earlier.”

“I'll agree with you, this realm is weird.”

MK was surprised that they landed uh, right at his doorstep but he wasn't complaining one bit! He seemed to have a great stream of luck when it came to these types of things today and he was planning on keeping that streak. Okay then!

“I remember you guys, protected me from DBK!”

“...DB-” The woman started but MK cut her off.

“Don't worry about it, you couldn't have had better timing. I'm the Monkey Kid!”

“But you can call me MK, nice to meet you!”

Chapter Text

Well. This whole day is definitely an experience.

Arin feels like he's already thought that in his head multiple times but he seriously means it. He thought that he would be able to get Ras back and try to complete his plan to reverse The Merge but instead all of this happened. He's back with the ninja, except with the knowledge that his parents are gone…and he'll never be able to see them again. There was no real…point in being with Ras anymore. He couldn’t do anything about The Merge if he wasn't in any of the Merged Lands. This is unless there happened to be something Ras wanted here but he found that extremely unlikely. They were trapped in this new realm for who knows how long, maybe the rest of their lives. Now that he has time to think, he's realizing a lot.

The Merge didn't affect this place for some reason, he's never heard of a realm like this one from anywhere before or after The Merge. It was completely separate from the 16 realms. There was only one question to ask then, why? Why is this 17th realm so important, why is it the only realm that can contain Thunderfang's power? And this being that can take care of it, the Harbinger of Chaos, who are they? He thought he remembered Flow saying that he hasn't yet awoken. Maybe if they wake the Harbinger of Chaos, they can send them home?

MK had invited them both inside a noodle shop (quite instantly he might add), he assumed it was where he worked. In his life, he's seen a giant vaguely humanoid bull, a humanoid frog, and multiple Serpentine. Time to add more to that list, now he's seen a humanoid pig. If it was five years ago, he definitely would've freaked out a lot more. But he's seen way weirder things since then so this was pretty normal. The pig was wearing mostly white and black, a chef hat delicately sitting on his head. Overall, everyone in here looked like normal people. There was a woman with short black hair tied in two small buns, still allowing some of her hair to be free. The sides of her hair here dyed a vibrant green and Arin was a big fan of it. Her clothing was a lot more casual than the Demon Bull Family, having a green jacket with a dragon symbol on the back, a white shirt, and similarly white pants. There was a middle aged man sitting down at one of the chairs, he had short black tidy hair and large glasses. He sported a dark red scarf and more traditional wear, looking to be some form of red robe with a white sleeve on one side for whatever reason. MK himself was sporting an orange jacket with multiple hand-sewed additions. His shirt was mostly white with two large circles on it. A red bandana was wrapped around his head, part of his hair falling over it. Arin didn't know why he thought of this, but he kind of looked like Kai when he was at the Tournament of Sources. With the bandana and everything.

“... well that's convenient.” The glasses guy said, raising an eyebrow. “You basically just willed them into existence. They're a lot more…hmm, normal than I expected. Thought they'd be more demonic.”

Nya shot him a look, “Excuse me…?”

“What? Are you not a demon? Because humans don't come with water powers. Unless you're a celestial being, then it's different.” He casually took a sip of his soup. He wasn't being accusitory, it was as if he was just pointing out a well known fact. That must be how magic in this world works, you either have to be a demon or celestial to use it.

“I’m not a- ugh. How do I explain this properly…we're not from this realm. So we're not exactly familiar with all the-”

“Wait, this realm? So you're from where, the Underworld? The celestial realm?” The guy with the glasses asked, narrowing his eyes in analysis.

So they're aware of multiple realms? Or do they have micro-realms inside this realm? Arin was leaning towards the micro-realm theory.

“We’re from Ninjago, it's separate from all of the realms you're familiar with.”

“YOU'RE NOT FROM THIS REALM?!” The girl in green looked away from her phone, saying this at a similar time to MK and the one in glasses.

“NO SHOT!!!” The girl said again, in shock but looking incredibly curious.

“THERE ARE MORE REALMS THAN WE'RE AWARE OF!! HOW MANY DO YOU KNOW? ARE THE RULES OF REALITY DIFFERENT THERE?? YOU MUST HAVE DIFFERENT MYTHS AND LEGENDS, TELL ME ALL ABOUT IT, I NEED TO KNOW!!”

The guy with the glasses got out of his seat incredibly fast, in their faces instantly. Their reaction was pretty reasonable, it would be his reaction if he had no knowledge of new realms. As a concept, it's interesting. As a reality, it's complicated but still interesting. The Merge had changed a lot of lives, for better and for worse.

“ARE THERE OTHER VERSIONS OF US??” MK took a dramatic gasp, having a realization. “IS THERE ANOTHER VERSION OF MONKEY KING?”

“Uh MK, I don't think it works like that.” The pig shook his head. Arin did notice that he was keeping a close eye on them, it was almost way too judgemental.

“uh okay…” Nya said, putting her hands up. “It’s a different land entirely, with different rules and a different landscape. There aren't any alternative versions of people that we've come across. The only big thing that the realms have in common is elemental masters, do you have those?”

Arin knew that this wasn't the best explanation they could give, the stress of being chucked into a new realm and already being pushed into another threat that they knew close to nothing about, it was getting to the both of them. At least that's what he thought, it's what he was thinking and he was assuming it was similar for Nya. Plus, she was acting a little off so that's what he was going with.

“An elemental what now.” The girl in green said, a confused look on her face.

“...huh, that's weird.” Nya narrowed her eyes a bit, Arin couldn't get a good enough read on her. He was never that good at reading people unless it was very obvious. Actually no, even then he's still incredibly bad at it. “Guess we should introduce ourselves, try to make this less chaotic.”

She nudged Arin, giving him the go ahead. Honestly he thought that Nya was just going to talk for the both of them but he enjoyed being given a chance to speak for himself as well. Easier than having to forcefully push himself into conversation.

“Ah right, I'm Arin and I'm a ninja! Well, we're both ninja. Technically I'm a ninja in training but also ninja enough but also technically not a ninja at all-” Arin stopped himself, “It's complicated.”

Nya gave him a sympathetic look, a barely noticeable frown on her face.

“I'm Nya, the elemental master of water. In my realm I'm known as the water ninja. I can create and utilize water and bend it to do what I want, there is a limit though.”

“You're both ninja?! That's awesome man!” The girl in green replied, displaying a bright grin. “I'm Mei! The grumpy guy is Pigsy, the nerd is Tang, and my best friend is MK.”

“Grumpy?!” Pigsy said, giving a stern look towards Mei.

“I stand by what I said.”

“Very descriptive…" Arin mumbled, giving a nervous look as he tried to fully note in his head who was who. But overall it was a pretty lackluster introduction. Could've had some sort of description of who they are but hey, they were in a bit of a time crunch with DBK and all so he understood. Besides, they look like regular civilians anyway. It doesn't seem like this is the type of group to be famous.

“Those water powers though, how far can you push it? Can you create tsunamis from nothing? Can you create water swords? Water guns? Oh! Can you surf on any terrain you want???” Mei questioned, saying whatever questions came to her mind first.

“You know…I never tried that.” Nya put her hand under her chin in contemplation. Arin didn't know what exactly she was referring to though.

“What about you Arin? Do you have any cool magical powers?” MK turned to face Arin, a gleam of excitement fresh in his eyes.

Ah, the dreaded question.

Arin sheepishly smiled, “No, I'm just a normal kid.”

“I don't know, being a cool ninja doesn't sound normal to me.” Mei shared a side eye with MK, before they returned their attention to Arin.

“That's because he isn't ‘normal’ like he says he is. You taught yourself spinjitzu, that's not something anyone thought was possible. You can also use object spinjitzu, that's your staple, nobody else is capable of that.”

Nya gave him a reassuring smile, attempting to raise his spirits. He'd be lying if he said that it didn't work a little. But his mind still found ways to take apart that statement, finding holes and broken pieces. He learned spinjitzu on his own, sure but it wasn't perfect. He couldn't do a perfect spinjitzu until he got under Ras’s teachings. Even then his object spinjitzu wasn't perfect yet. He hasn't really found his anchor.

“What's spinjitzu? Is it some type of magic?” Tang this time chose to speak up, already having a notebook in hand. Wait, when did he have time to grab that?

“Right, so you see-”

“You can ask later Tang, we have bigger problems.” Pigsy interrupted Arin as he started to talk. Hurt his feelings a little bit but he understood. “What exactly are we planning to do about DBK anyway?”

Tang immediately pushed up his glasses, changing gears instantly. “The Demon Bull King is a powerful warrior from long before our time. He's not someone you can really stroll up to and defeat. It took Monkey King to defeat him, and even then, he wasn't dead. He had to be sealed away beneath a whole mountain.”

“So what do we do, try to seal him again?” Nya asked, putting a hand on her hip.

“What about returning the staff?” MK said, staff now in both hands. “You know, to Flower Fruit Mountain. It's better to give it back to Monkey King so it's in more capable hands.”

Arin resonated with that, even if it looked like MK didn't mean it in a self deprecating way, he still empathized.

“Flower Fruit Mountain is hidden away, deep in dangerous and unknown territory.” Tang began darkly, before sheepishly grabbing onto his scarf with a nervous smile, “Guess we should give up while we can.”

“What?!” Arin, Mei, and MK all yelled. Arin definitely wasn't expecting that out of Tang, he seemed like the wise mentor at first glance! This is what he gets for assuming.

“Oh come on Tang, don't back out! This sounds like a good plan to me!” Mei said, once again scrolling on her phone. Her eyes widened for a moment, glued to the screen.

“You’re coming with whether you like it or not Tang, that way you don't do nothing all day. …One last question, where is DBK now?” Pigsy was crossing his arms, pointing out the obvious questions that surprisingly nobody asked yet.

“Oh, he's at the shoe store.” Mei said nonchalantly, holding up her phone for people to see.

“The what now?” Pigsy responded, not really processing that answer.

MK, Tang, and Pigsy quickly gathered around Mei, getting an up close look at the contents of her phone. Nya and Arin made eye contact with each other, confused but not questioning it out loud. Arin was next to get a closer look at the phone and yeah, she wasn't kidding. He really was at the shoe store. This realm is weird.

“Oh woah, he really is at the shoe store.” MK muttered, a hand on his chin.

“It just started trending, look, hashtag Demon Bull King!” Mei continued to scroll her phone, giving everyone a look at all the posts from people at the shoe store. Why is he even there right now? Seems a little ridiculous.

“Why would this powerful Demon King from ancient times be roaming around in a shoe store?” Nya pondered, it was the question they were all asking themselves.

“Maybe he really likes shoes.” MK shrugged, “Can't fault a guy for his interests.”

They watched Mei continue to scroll to new posts, slowly seeing the situation begin to escalate. Demon Bull King looked different, he got some metallic upgrades. He was now sporting large shoulder pads, metal gloves, and an orange contraption on his chest. Arin didn't really know what to make out of it, it wasn't that clear from the photo. There was another photo of Red Son and DBK at the checkout of the store, then another of multiple shoes being sucked into the contraption on DBK’s chest. By the look of the photo, it seemed to act like some sort of furnace, a fuel for power maybe? More photos scrolled by, DBK seemingly getting bigger in each one. Mei ended off the scroll on a shaky and blurry image of a golden shoe being sucked into the contraption.

They all shared a troubled look.

“Guessing it wasn't a shoe interest, huh?”

 

★—-------★

 

The Monastery.

He needed to get to the Monastery.

Cole rarely panicked, he was normally much more levelheaded than this. He was supposed to be the protector of the group, the one others could lean on if they needed help. He couldn't even do that, he couldn't be that person when they actually needed him. Protector of the group, what bullshit. He couldn't choose between his friends or the finders, it was such an easy choice, such an obvious choice. But to him, it was like choosing your mother or father in a divorce. The finders couldn't protect themselves as well as the ninja could, so that was his choice. His choice. Yeah, he made his choice, and the universe gave its response. Its cold, ruthless response. He should've stayed with them, he should've helped them deal with everything. The finders would've been fine, they've shown their resilience to him many times before. No, no. He made his decision, he can't back out anymore. That window has passed. He let his heart decide with what he knew and the finders ended up safe. They're his family now. The panic is getting to him and he needs to calm down. How can he calm down, his friends could be dead, they could ALL be dead. He doesn't know who's gi that was, it was completely soaked in blood. He had no way to know these kinds of things, he wasn't there!

The group has returned to their tower in the middle of the land of lost things, the sun was completely set and the mist began to roll in. The land of lost things had a beautiful sunset, all of the oranges, pinks, and yellows of the sky really popped here. Now, the sky laid in a symphony of blues and purples, the stars illuminated in the dark. He's grown to love this trash heap that he calls home. He never thought that this place would have ever existed. A plane of existence where all of your lost and forgotten items go, lost to all other realms? It was an odd but amazing reality. There were a lot of things that he wouldn't be able to find anywhere else here. And sometimes, random objects show up, he's seen a few corpses in here. But he has kept it out of sight of the kids. He didn't want to frighten them, not like what happened today. Damn it, damn it all.

Cole was leaning against the tower again, looking out in the direction of the monastery. He'd be lying if he said it wasn't that far from here. It'd probably take around an hour or two of driving to reach it. He was used to more quicker ways of travel, so this was a bit of a hassle. His foot tapped on the metal ramp, he couldn't help but be this distressed. But he can't leave all of them behind easily, in his head it was easier to just leave but in practice, he couldn't. He already said that he needed to go to the Monastery, they're aware of what he's trying to do. He doesn't want to bring them along, it poses too much danger. But leaving them behind and risking some sort of attack would also leave them extremely vulnerable.

He's thinking in circles. Come on Cole, get your act together. Just focus on what you need to do, the moral dilemma can come later, go to the Monastery.

He looked inside, seeing nobody there. Geo must've put the kids down in their rooms so they can rest. It was a lot earlier than they usually went to bed, but considering everything that happened, a rest was necessary. It meant he could sneak out. …wasn't one of his best ideas, he was too desperate for those right now. Besides, it would only be an hour, he'll be in and out. He'll be back here in the morning, easy peasy.

Cole leaped onto the ground, rolling onto his feet with precision and silence. He avoided the lost items likely to make a ton of noise, like metals and wood. It was harder than it looks but he stuck to the path that the finders had cleared. He knew that Geo had built some sort of car in case of some sort of emergency, he just had to find it. He thought he remembered him saying that it was nearby. He kept on light feet, lightly running through the pathway. He spotted a red and gold blur as he ran by, that must be it. He pivoted, jumping up above a smaller pile and continuing towards it.

“Where do you think you're going?” A familiar voice called in front of him, “Well, I know where you're going but you know what I mean.”

Cole slowed down, he knew that voice all too well. Geo was crossing his arms, leaning against the red and gold car. So he expected him to come here, guess he couldn't sneak out that easily. He sighed, stopping right in front of Geo. He expected Geo to be a little annoyed or mad, but he was just worried, downright concerned.

“Geo,” He smiled, it almost felt forced. “I’m sorry but I need to go.”

“Yeah, I figured. You weren't exactly keeping that a secret earlier.” Geo frowned, standing straight up and closing the space between them. “Don't get your mind too worked up about all of this, it could just be someone else entirely.”

“But it wasn't Geo, that was one of their gi’s, I know it was. The fact that it landed here in the land of lost things so quickly says that something is wrong.”

“How did it even get here so quickly? Things only show up in the land of lost things when they're completely lost, when no one knows where it is. It's extremely unlikely that it got here so fast in just a day or two. It usually takes a week or so for items to show up.”

“Battle is complicated, everything happens at such a quick pace that it's easy to lose track of things. Like parts of a mech, weapons, etc.” He ran his fingers through his hair, “I just- I need to check on the monastery, clear my head and kill my worries.”

“I-...” Geo looked at Cole for a moment, contemplating something in his head. He took a breath, a sigh escaping his lips. “I understand, we needed help before and now your friends might as well. You're incredibly noble Cole, and I love that about you. But you do know that you can't protect everyone.”

“Huh?” Cole was taken off guard by the sudden change in subject.

“You want to protect people, that's what fuels you. You're heroic, honorable, and strong. But sometimes you stretch yourself too far. You do know that this isn't your fault, right? Whatever happened?”

“...” Cole didn't respond to that. It was eerie how well Geo had gotten to knowing how he thinks, his whole mindset as well. It was impressive, the Munce was very observant and it was a trait not many gave him credit for.

“You’ve been distant for the last hour, distance means you're troubled.” He put his hand up gently onto Cole's cheek, “You don't just have to run off, you can talk to me. I never really got an answer out of you when I asked what was wrong before. I'm not against you leaving, I can look after everyone. It's just- …I want you to explain things to me.”

Cole leaned into his hand, loosely grabbing Geo's wrist. He let out a shaky sigh, the words were getting to him a lot more than he enjoyed admitting. He thought that the cracks in reality sealing meant that they'd won, the universe had been so quick to prove him wrong. It also introduced him to the idea that the team could've fallen as well, trading lives with Thunderfang. He didn't like the idea one bit, but it was the only possibility his mind kept going to. He knew that there were others but he couldn't stop heading back to the worst outcome. He was more optimistic than this, FSM, he's such a mess right now. His eyes felt stingy, tears beginning to make their way up.

“...I can't lose anyone else.” He diverted his eyes, looking at the ground. “I've gone through this so many times, just for it to be fine after, I can't have it be real this time. Every ninja that we thought we lost was enough on its own, but everyone? I can't-”

“You don't know that.” Geo said softly, trying to calm him down. Unfortunately it didn't work as well as he thought it would have.

“I know that's not the only possibility, I know. But I can't get the thought out of my head.” He tensed, there were too many unknowns. Unknowns that he would have known, if he had been there. “I could know all of this if I had chosen to go with them. I might've been able to prevent whatever happened, I could've been there for them.”

“You were here for us.” Geo said more firmly, trying a more different approach. “Some things in life you can't control, there are no second chances, no redos. You've made your choice to stay here with me, with us. You chose to protect us because we can't easily protect ourselves. The ninja are capable fighters, they've handled whatever has come their way before. But, sometimes, bad things happen to good people. And that's something that you can't control. You can't be in two places at the same time, no matter how badly you want to be. I'm glad that you stood with us, that you keep coming back despite the ninja having problems of their own.”

“They needed me-” Cole started, only to be interrupted again.

“It's not guaranteed that they're dead Cole! At most, someone is injured but give your team credit here! They're amazing heroes who've defeated every villain they've come across, defying all odds. You're just as amazing! You're the Master of Earth, not the master of overthinking.”

Geo put his other hand on Cole's opposite cheek, trying to fully drill in what he was saying. He took yet another deep breath and sighed, giving himself a moment to stare into his eyes. He spoke more softly, but with a clear voice.

“I didn't fall in love with you because you're strong Cole, I fell in love because you know where to put your heart.”

He felt his heart melt, the tears bubbling in his eyes before he cracked, the tears cascading down his face. He didn't often cry, but right now was an exception. Geo had a way of carving a path to his heart. Geo fell first, but Cole fell way harder. He took a sharp breath, keeping most of his composure.

“You always know what to say…” He smiled sadly, gazing at Geo again.

“You did the same for me, only natural I return the favor.” Geo wiped the few tears that were shed, a small smile on his face as well. “Promise me you'll be careful, alright? I can only keep the kids out of too much trouble until you get back.”

“Heh…I'll try my best.” He took a few breaths, calming himself down a little. He was better than he was a few minutes ago, that's for sure. Everything that was building up over the last hour came out in this conversation, it was…relieving. And Geo, he was really glad that he cared so much. It seems so obvious for some people but seeing it done in practice feels different. It was a great feeling, knowing that you're cared about so deeply like this. “...I love you Geo.”

That got a brighter smile out of the Munce, subtly closing any small amounts of space between them. They pressed against each other for a moment, both of them waiting for the other. Cole decided to make the move, closing his eyes and kissing him. They hadn't had a chance to kiss in a while, he'd almost forgotten the feeling. Cole was the type of person to express his love for someone through touching them, showing his feelings that way. Geo, he had learned, had preferred actions as a way to show love, occasionally words as well. They were a good match for each other, it was something neither of them saw coming. Cole always knew that he preferred men over women, they were easy to get along with and he bonded with them in a way he couldn't with women. With Geo…it just worked, he unlocked a part of him that nobody else had been able to, plus an additional power. He loved him, he really did. He'd built a family here, one just as personal as the one he built with the ninja, albeit different types of love. This is why he stayed behind with the finders. He didn't want to lose this, he didn't want to lose the kids he practically adopted and the boyfriend that he received. It was something that the merge had given him, and it was something he'd always be grateful for.

Cole finally broke the kiss, giving Geo a reassuring smile. He definitely felt happier after this, talking to him got a lot off his chest. It meant that he didn't just have to carry all this weight alone, he appreciated it in a lot of ways he couldn't express.

“I love you too, you big softie.” Geo smirked, giving him a quick hug before releasing him. “Seriously, be careful.”

Cole stepped up closer to the car, jumping over and into the seat. He was always impressed when people were able to make such cool machines like this. He looked at all the buttons, making sure that he was familiar with all of them before pressing them and flicking a few switches. The only downside was how complicated they made it to turn on and get all the weapons ready.

“You could just use the Monastery door, you know. The one that teleports you?”

“I want to see if I can pick up a trail along the way, see if they made it this far out. It'll take longer but there's more of a chance I'll find wandering ninja faster. They wouldn't exactly have a mobile Monastery door wherever they are. Best to do this.”

“Hmm, fair enough.” Geo took a few steps back, giving him one last smile.

“Good luck Cole.”

 

★—-------★

 

Honestly, Nya didn't know how she never thought of doing this before. It was such a simple idea, such an easy mode of transportation and she just, never did it. She felt a little dumb for not thinking of this sooner. She crouched down, keeping her balance as she used a concentrated amount of water to SURF ON THE GROUND. This was way cooler than she expected it to be. She was doing it without a board as well, just her feet and concentration. It was a lot easier than she expected it to be, when she tried any sort of concentrated blasts on anything back in Ninjago, she wasn't able to be this flexible with how she controlled the wave. She never felt this versatile with her powers before, it was something about this realm that must've given her some sort of magic boost. And she was enjoying all of it. Arin was desperately holding onto her waist with his legs, his arms wrapped around her neck. He was having fun, but a lot less fun. Pigsy drove in his food truck on the road, and the rest were shoved into the back of the truck.

“Ack, very tight!” MK wheezed, unfortunately stuck in the middle seat, the staff uncomfortably grabbed in front of him.

Pigsy swerved the truck around incoming traffic, going way past the speed limit. It was very difficult for Nya to keep up with his speed, but with enough pressure added to the water, she could speed up with him.

“Pigsy, watch where you're going! You're gonna kill us!” Tang yelled, being bounced around violently in the car. Good thing seatbelts exist.

“Yeah, we gotta get to Flower Fruit Mountain without getting smushed in a car crash! All we need to do is drive through an entire ocean. Simple.” MK shrugged at the end, it sounded more dreadful when he put it that way. Although it was exactly what they were going to do.

“Good thing you have the Elemental Master of Water on your side then!” Nya grinned, dodging out of the way of multiple obstacles on the sidewalk. It was similar to when she used spinjitzu, balance is key. Once you get that down, surfing like this is easy.

There was one big thing on her mind from the conversation earlier though. This realm doesn't seem to have elemental masters. Instead, its magic system is species based. If you're human or mortal, tough luck, no magic for you. If you were a demon, you got magic, she just wasn't sure of what types exactly or if there was a limit. The demon bull family consisted of DBK who's powers she wasn't sure of, Red Son with fire powers, and Princess Iron Fan with wind powers. They were very versatile, having a lot of reach in their powers. She's dealt with similar powers before with Morro, then again, the power was only really dangerous if they knew how to utilize it. Red Son had already shown to have different limits and more flexibility with his fire powers, with his hair being lit ablaze on command. It was difficult to scale what exactly they were against, but she imagined that more information would come her way sooner rather than later.

“Guys! Demon Bull King has moved onto downtown. He's destroying the cheese tea stalls!” Mei stated, giving live updates as she refreshed on her phone page.

“What does he have against cheese?!” Arin questioned rhetorically, tightening his hold on Nya.

“This is all the more reason to get this staff back to Monkey King. Flower Fruit Mountain. It's the only place he could be. Even if it's hard to get through, we can make it!” MK said confidently, finally squeezing through to give himself some space in the back of the truck.

“That's the spirit!” Pigsy spoke up, before adding on some more information. His tone turned more serious in nature, “I know a guy that can take us there. The most dangerous, deadly, raged-filled warrior I've ever known.”

“That doesn't sound very friendly Pigsy…” Tang mentioned, hiding part of his face in his scarf.

“Oh don't be a baby, Tang. It'll be fine, trust me on this one.”

Nya narrowed her eyes on that, she was familiar with those types of people. Either they turned out to be a helpful ally or a deadly villain. There wasn't really any leeway…unless you were Garmadon, in that case there's plenty of it.

Pigsy took a final turn, parking sharply near the edge of the harbor. Next to them was a large blue boat, their destination. Nya slowed down the pressure of the water, letting it splash onto the ground below her feet as they came to a stop. Arin loosened his grip, bouncing off of her and onto the ground.

“Sorry that you keep having to carry me Nya, I'll try to make sure it doesn't become a problem.” He scratched the back of his head, an apologetic frown plastered over his face.

Nya sighed, “Don't worry too much about it, there wasn't any room for you in the truck anyway and I wasn't about to let anyone stick you on the roof and hope that you stay there.”

She paused for a moment, a quick thought passing through her head.

“You don't have to say sorry for everything you know.”

“Yeah, it's a force of habit at this point. One time, I bumped into a table and said sorry. …I am trying to work on it though.” He gave a small smile, before looking back at what the group was doing.

Getting out of the truck turned out to be a more daunting task than the both of them had originally thought. Pigsy had been able to get out no problem, but the people who were squeezed in the back had issues. Tang had fallen onto his face, tripping on his clothes as he got out. MK had somehow gotten the staff stuck inside the truck, trying to forcefully pull it through. Mei was assisting him in trying to pull it but wasn't adding much help by the look of it. How did that even happen? It's getting out of a truck, it shouldn't be this difficult. The two finally released the staff from the truck, falling out of the truck themselves and onto the ground. Tang by this point had picked himself off the ground and adjusted his glasses, which were miraculously not damaged. Arin rushed over to help Mei and MK both up, Nya moving slower as she was more so focusing on processing how that went so terribly wrong. Noted, in a fight, these guys might not be that capable. That or they're just clumsy. Eh, both are possible.

“How did that even happen?!” Arin asked Mei and MK, the two dusting off their clothes.

“This happens way more often than you'd think, just a classic part of a Mei and MK adventure!!” Mei enthusiastically said, wrapping her arm around MK’s shoulder playfully.

Nya did feel…weird near all of this water. She didn't know how to explain it, it wasn't like the call to the ocean she frequently experienced. This was different, more overwhelming. She tried not to pay too much attention to it.

“What’s taking you guys so long, get over here already!” Pigsy called out, standing next to the entrance of the boat. Tang was standing a few feet away from the door, a safe distance in case things went haywire. Pigsy rolled his eyes at Tang's antics, knocking on the door. Nya walked over, standing behind Pigsy as the rest of the group joined the herd.

A voice from behind the door, “Who is it?”

“It's Pigsy, we need you to do me and my pals a favor and take us across the sea.”

A pause. “And where do you need to go?”

“Flower Fruit Mountain.”

The door creeped open, the room dark and mysterious. Pigsy's friend was shrouded in shadow, holding his hand up as an invitation inside.

Inside the boat was an atmosphere that she expected, dark and malicious. The room was dramatically lit and their host was facing away from them, a butcher knife held in his hand. Pigsy seemed calm, not reacting much to it, so this must be a normal thing then. He did say that he was the violent type. She sat on one of the spots of the couch, crossing her arms in a tense manner. She was ready to counterattack at a moment's notice if this guy turned out to be a bad apple. This was just rubbing her the wrong way. The rest of the group was in a similarly tense state, MK and Mei visibly stressed.

“And why might I ask, do you need to go to Flower Fruit Mountain of all places?” He was making something, Nya didn't have enough vision past his large figure to see what it was.

“The Legendary staff of the Monkey King was removed and is in our possession. Demon Bull King has returned and is destroying everything in his path, we need to get to Flower Fruit Mountain in order to return the staff and reseal DBK.” Pigsy offered a short explanation of their situation, not mentioning Nya and Arin to make things less complex. “This is the definition of an emergency Sandy, we could really use your help.”

Sandy put away the butcher knife, “That's a lot to take in. You know what I do to people who disrupt the peace?” He turned around, his dark tone immediately replaced with something lighter. “Serve them tea!”

He was holding a tea set in his hands, a bright smile on his face as the dramatic lighting of the room faded. Nya was flabbergasted, as was Pigsy. All of her expectations immediately went out the window. She needed a new slate, no assumptions. She immediately noticed the abundance of cats on his boat, there were…so many. Another thing that was more notable was the fact that Sandy was blue. He was completely jacked as well, white sweatpants being the only prominent piece of clothing. He had a bright orange beard and Mohawk. This was…definitely some guy, she'll say that. She was scared to ask what exactly he was in case that was offensive in this realm…she'll ask him when she gets the chance.

“You guys want some? You? How about that guy over there? Maybe the nice lady here? Huh? Huh?”

“I'm good, thanks.” She declined the offer, she wasn't in the mood for any tea right now anyway.

Tang immediately raised his hand, “Oh, yes! Don't mind if I do. Certain noodle shop owners could learn a lot from your hospitality, Sandy.”

Pigsy seemed to have noticed the snide comment but didn't comment on it. Sandy politely handed Tang a cup of tea.

“Can I have one? I've never really gotten to try a lot of tea!” Arin smiled brightly up at Sandy, a gleam of excitement in his eyes. Nya liked tea but was more of a coffee person herself, she didn't do well in the morning.

“Of course, little man! Happy to introduce you to some lovely tea!” Sandy handed another tea cup out, this time to Arin.

Arin took the cup, “thanks!”

“My pleasure!”

This guy was so polite…wow.

“Oh, you're right piggy, this guy is dangerous! He'll kill us with cuteness!” Mei held up one of Sandy's many cats, placing it on top of Pigsy's head.

“What's uh, in the tea?” Arin said, taking a sip of it. Nya saw his eyes sparkle, so he liked it then.

“It's my own blend of anti-stress fruits. It really brings the heart rate down.”

Nya was completely wrong about this guy huh. He seemed so nice, it was a great first impression.

“Sandy! What happened to you? Where's the angry, glass-chewing, fist-throwing buddy I used to know?” Pigsy was still shocked, seeing someone he thought he knew change so drastically…Just like Jay.

“Oh, well, my therapist said I really needed to calm down. That's why I started drinking tea. Doing yoga. Investing in therapy cats. Really helps. Oh, don't you, Mo?” He gently held a similarly blue and orange cat to his face, nuzzling it playfully.

Wait, how is the cat blue and orange? Is that just another one of this realm’s quirks? Odd, but at least it wasn't flying spiders.

Mei got on her knees, clapping her hands together as she looked up at Sandy with puppy dog eyes.

“Oh, Mr. Sandy, sir.” Mei got on her knees, clapping her hands together as she looked up at Sandy with puppy dog eyes. “We could really use your help. We've gotta get to Flower Fruit Mountain!”

MK got in on the idea, getting on his knees in a similar fashion. “Please, the fate of the world is at stake.”

“Ok!” Sandy agreed.

Since when is it that easy to get people to agree to things? She only wished that it worked so easily for her when she tries to convince Kai that it's his turn to do laundry. She misses Kai already. She doesn't know how far apart the vortex wall sent them, but she does know it's different times. Just not how much. She also didn't know if it was different areas. She could be here for a month before another ninja decides to show their face and fall out of the sky.

“Really?” MK questioned, wondering a similar thing Nya was.

“Anything for Pigsy. I can get you there, but it ain't a pleasant trip.”

MK and Mei gave each other a delighted look as they ran around the room, doing multiple victory laps as they said yes on repeat. Nya was amazed how much energy these two had, it was cute. They made for a chaotic friendship.

“Alright, let's get moving. But I'm telling you, old friend. If things get hairy, I've changed. I don't go around picking fights any more.”

Pigsy sighed, “Good thing we managed to pick up two ninja along the way then.”

“Happy to help!” Arin grinned, holding an empty teacup in his hand.

“Oh, ninja? That's awesome! Amazing how people can still find such unique skills and put them to use like that.” Sandy looked at both ninja, the blue cat, Mo on his shoulder jumping off, “Mo, initiate the launch sequence!”

“This place has a launch sequence?” Nya muttered, hearing Mei say a similar thing. Just a lot louder than she did.

The cat ran off, jumping onto various ledges and out of sight. Moments later, the boat rumbled, metals shifting against each other and air hissed. She heard the roar of an engine, and Mo returned back to Sandy. Sandy smiled, opening the door and going outside, keeping it open for people to follow. Arin was the first to, running after him. Tang was next, Pigsy right after him, MK and Mei followed which left Nya. She sat there for a few moments, taking in everything that happened today. She tapped her foot on the ground.

“You coming nice lady?” Sandy called out.

Nya hesitated to respond but eventually did after a short pause.

“Just give me a minute, I can be a little boatsick sometimes.”

That was a blatant and obvious lie but Sandy didn't seem to notice it.

“Alright, no worries. Come on outside when you've gotten yourself comfortable!” He shut the door, leaving Nya alone with all the cats. She was too lost in her head to pay too much attention to them though.

Ever since she got near the harbor, her body felt as if it'd become static. She didn't pay much mind to it before, but it felt so weird and overwhelming. It pricked at her skin, it was unnatural. It was unnerving and especially uncomfortable, luckily there wasn't any pain to it. This was a similar feeling to when she fell through the vortex wall. Nya didn't know exactly, but she suspected this was her body's way of reacting to an unfamiliar source of her elemental power. It was the only reason she could think of. She hadn't experienced much of this realm, and it does have an influx of magic so it could just be her body adjusting to all of it as well. If what she was thinking was true, that meant that all she had to do is just wait it out. Let her body adjust. She did wonder if Arin was feeling something similar or if it was only her. She took a few deep breaths, one of Sandy's therapy cats jumping onto her lap and just laying there. It was grounding, having an animal on her lap like this. She never really had any pets, not personally anyway. She did feel herself crack a smile as she petted the cat. Its fur was soft and smooth, white with splashes of orange and black. This might've just made her a cat person, Mei was right, this was really adorable.

“I'm okay kitty, I'm not panicking. Just…overwhelmed.” She sighed, unable to stop herself from continuing to let the cat on her lap. She sat there for a few seconds, the static beginning to lessen. It was a constant sting in her skin, but it was a lot less active. She imagined it would go away within the next few minutes but she had no real way to know for sure. The boat jerked and pushed forward with a blast of energy, moving on the open sea. Nya wasn't prepared for the amount of speed that it exuded and the cat wasn't either, being startled off her lap.

“Guess that's my sign to join them then.” She pushed herself onto her feet, moving herself towards the door. Her hand wrapped around the doorknob, twisting it as the door creaked open. The sea was beautiful, sparkling brightly in the beaming sunlight. The sea breeze whirled past, a cool wind hitting her skin. It was nice, really nice. She fully smiled, allowing herself to take it all in.

Maybe one day, all of the ninja would be able to enjoy this breeze with her.

Chapter Text

Ah the wind, it's a mesh of different scents, usually just the smell of the ocean and salt. But there was something different here, the faint smell of fire and smoke. Usually a sign of disaster on the water, manmade or natural. She didn't sense that this water was anything like the Boiling Sea, if it was, she would've known immediately. High temperatures like that tend to be obvious, they also tend to set parts of the ocean on fire. How did that work? Great question, ask the First Spinjitzu Master. She wasn't close enough to the origin to tell. She suspected it was manmade, that tended to be her luck.

Nya walked across the deck of the boat, joining the group near the front. Tang was sitting down, notebook in hand as he jotted things down. She suspected it was of the events of the day, then again she didn't know him well enough to know for sure. Pigsy kept near the front of the ship, holding onto the railing as he gazed ahead, occasionally looking back at MK and Mei. Those two in question were goofing off, MK playing with the staff and making fun poses. Nya narrowed her eyes at that in a sense of judgement and worry.

Growing up at The Four Weapons in Ignacia, weapons weren't to be played with. They were to be handled with care, precision, and purpose. Those weapons that Kai and her created were their key to living, playing with weapons meant playing with death. And this was a legendary weapon of some powerful warrior that she STILL knows nothing about. Sure, he might not be playing with death specifically but that didn't erase the fact that it was making her inner blacksmith twitch a little.

And then there was Arin, he was sitting down at the rail of the boat, waving at Mei to sit down with him, which she eventually did with her phone in hand. It looked like she was recording MK. Nya was glad that they were having fun…weapon misuse aside.

Tang seemed to notice her approaching, scrambling to sit up as he scuttled towards her.

“Nya, you're just who I wanted to talk to!” He spun his pen in between his fingers, “Normally I keep notebooks for myths or extremely important events, but I think your situation qualifies. If you don't mind, I have a few questions about you and your realm…by a few I mean a lot.”

Ah, she was expecting this sooner or later. It was good to have a sense of curiosity, just be careful to not disregard common sense. Wow, she sounded like Lloyd there.

“Oh yeah, of course. Go for it.” Nya nodded, a hand on her hip.

The flood gates opened, “Great! So how do elemental powers in your realm work? Does everyone in your realm have powers? How did you get elemental powers? Is it natural, a selection? Do you have celestials and demons as well? Or do they have different names? Maybe different beings all together? None at all? Oh! Do you-”

“Alright, I'm going to stop you right there.” She made a motion with her hands, overwhelmed with all the questions. “Try again, but slow.”

“Ah, ahem. Right, sorry. I get excited sometimes.” He chuckled sheepishly, “Alright, so elemental powers, how do they work in your realm?”

“Elemental powers are extremely rare, passed down through genetics. However, there can only be one master of a specific element at a time. Once a parent passes down their element, it's no longer theirs.”

“Oh, what happens if there are twins? Or if the elemental master dies? Does the power just have nowhere to go?”

“If they're twins, then it goes to the firstborn and the second child gets nothing. But, if it's an elemental power that has the ability to be split, then it goes to both twins.” Nya walked closer to the rail, leaning on it, “if the elemental master dies, the elemental power transports itself to another realm and goes to a new person just born or otherwise. I've met multiple exceptions to this rule so take what I'm saying with a grain of salt.”

“Salts taken…” Tang jotted down bits and pieces of what Nya was saying, shortening them into bullet points. “Do you have any demons or celestials?”

Nya inhaled through her teeth, “Not exactly. We have Oni and Dragons but they don't originate from Ninjago. They're actually from the First Realm, Oni having the power of destruction while Dragons have the power of creation. The First Spinjitzu Master, the creator of Ninjago, was both Oni and Dragon. One of my closest friends, Lloyd, is actually his grandson.”

“Like a hybrid of sorts, that's awesome! Oh! That reminds me! You never told me what Spinjitzu was.” Tang readjusted his glasses, his eyes locked onto Nya. “Sounds important to know, I think.”

“Right! Spinjitzu is a martial art technique, it's used by spinning rapidly to create a tornado of energy. Nobody automatically knows Spinjitzu, it's something you have to have taught to you. It's not limited to elemental masters though so anyone can learn it. That's one of the reasons Arin is so special, he figured out how to teach himself Spinjitzu. It wasn't perfect but it was still Spinjitzu.” She readjusted some of her loose hair, “That’s really the simplest way I can put it.”

“...oh wow, that sounds epic! Is it just spinning then? What's special about how you spin..? I'm a bit confused about the application.”

Nya nodded to herself for a second, pondering on how to go about this. Spinjitzu was both easy and difficult to explain. From an outside perspective, it's simple. Just spin into a tornado, done! But the actual application was way more complicated. You have to spin while keeping balance, true unbothered balance. That was why Master Wu was so adamant about his obstacle courses. Once you master that, just input those movements and mindset into your Spinjitzu. Of course, she could've just said all of this out loud and been done with it. Stress must really be getting to her head…and whatever this static feeling ended up being. Maybe once she catches one of the other ninja, she can know for sure. Just…say what she was thinking, easy.

“The trick is having balance, true unadulterated balance. Master Wu, the one who taught all of us Spinjitzu, insisted on using obstacle courses to help with the motions. Once you master that flow and motion, Spinjitzu comes a lot more naturally.”

“All of you?” Tang paused his writing, looking back up at Nya with a bit of confusion. “You mean there are more of you traveling through different realms?”

“Oh we're not traveling per say, we more so…got banished.” She gave a sheepish smile, it didn't sound good to say out loud. Saying you got banished from a whole entire REALM is a crazy sentence in the first place. She didn't expect it to happen, she expected to beat Thunderfang and go back home. Not be punished for his crimes along with him.

“YOU GOT WHAT?!”

“Banished?” Pigsy spoke up, overhearing the conversation as he turned to face them. “You didn't say anything about being banished.”

“It's not something you bring up when you meet someone.” Nya crossed her arms, “it's not that we were intentionally hiding it either, I think that we were wrongfully banished, all for the sake of protecting the order of the world. We're ninja, protectors of the realm, we're not evil people.”

“It's still important to know. I'm not taking any chances with randos who fall out of the sky.” Pigsy drew closer to the two, “in fact, I'm surprised all of you immediately decided to trust these guys.”

“Well, yeah, they protected me or at least attempted to. That deserves some trust.” MK jumped into the conversation, holding the staff more loosely in his hands. He paused for a moment before chuckling guiltily, “Right, eavesdropping, sorry.”

“It's fine kid.” Pigsy sighed, “Look, I'm glad that you tried helping MK, I really am. But there are a lot of rotten people and demons in this world, ones that you don't see coming until it's too late. I'm just trying to make sure that nobody gets hurt in that way.”

“I understand, it's a noble effort.” Nya nodded, “It's good not to trust someone immediately, you never know their true colors until you get to know them.”

“You're not helping your case too much but you're right.” Pigsy looked back out towards where the boat was headed, the sea line vast. They still had a little while to get there.

“Nonono, go back to the banished part.” Tang moved his hands wildly, “How do you get banished from A WHOLE REALM?! And how many of you were there anyway?!”

First Spinjitzu Master, she hated this topic. She hated it all with a burning passion. Why did they get banished? It was completely unfair. For the balance of the world? Come on, Thunderfang's Chaos Tears were throwing the world out of balance, it was in balance before he was released. How did they get involved in the punishment??

“The Source Dragons wanted to banish Thunderfang, a dragon of chaos. But in order to do that they had to get rid of a large source of order within the realms. And apparently that was the ten of us. Although oddly enough, two more people were added on. Some Mercenary called Rogue and Ras, one of our enemies. I don't know the Mercenary all too well, but I know Ras is pure trouble. Why would they classify what he's done as “Order?” Besides, Thunderfang was throwing all balance out of order anyway, so they should've just banished him! They didn't even give us a chance to say goodbye! And Cole-” Nya paused her ranting, her angry tone shifting into something vaguely resembling mourning. “...Cole got left behind. He probably doesn't even know what's going on, he's stuck back in the Merged Lands believing we're dead. If this banishment doesn't have a loophole, we'll never see each other again. Jay too…I'll never be able to bring him back to us. He's stuck on the wrong side and there's nothing I can do about it. I'll never get his love back…”

This situation isn't like others she's been a part of. It's not some obstacle to get around, this could possibly be her new home realm. She didn't know when the other ninja were getting here, and that was a stressful thought. She'll hold on until then, no problem. It'll just be a uh, bumpy ride. She took a deep breath running her fingers through her loose hair. Calm down…deep breaths. It doesn't have to be perfect, just calm.

That static feeling has grown again throughout her rant, it was difficult to ignore. The feeling of small needles digging harshly into her skin, it's not pleasant. But through that static there was some strange surge of power. Just a gentle flow circling through her. …What was going on with her elemental powers? Last time something similar happened was with Woljira, even then there wasn't this static feeling. Just…push forward.

“Uh, Nya…?” She heard Arin mutter, a frown morphing onto his face. “You’re uhm…”

“You're glowing.” Tang pointed out bluntly, lighting pointing at her.

“What? Where?” She raised her eyebrows, looking at her hands for any glow but none was within sight.

“It's your markings, they're glowing…” Arin spoke up louder, concerned at what exactly this means.

Nya's expression dropped as she immediately turned her body, arcing her hand around as water flowed into her hand from the ocean. It was formed into a small reflective bubble. She peered into it, and yeah she was definitely glowing. The marking from her time merged with the ocean was gently glowing and aqua blue.

This has…never happened before. Her markings were always dormant, they never glowed like they did when she merged with the sea.

“I don't-” Nya hesitated, her words tripping over themselves. “I don't understand, this shouldn't happen. They should never…”

“I'll take that it's not normal then.” Tang commented awkwardly, as if he didn't know what to say in this situation.

Mei and Arin had gotten up, dragging MK alongside them to see what Nya's situation was. It was likely that they were eavesdropping on the whole thing. Their own conversation had stopped a while ago.

“Hold on…” Mei leaned in closer, “Those markings-”

 

BOOM!!!!

 

A geyser slammed into the boat, knocking crates off the ship and everyone not stabilized off balance. Nya stumbled, bending her knees to anchor herself. Tang was unlucky, falling over onto his back, the poor guy kept falling. MK flailed a little but ultimately kept his balance. Pigsy had been holding onto the railing once again so he turned out to be fine. Mei took a tumble, not stable at all, Arin however had caught her, now hoisting her back onto her feet safely.

“Huh?” Arin and MK shared the same thought, everyone looking at what was ahead of them.

A giant ring of volcanos, that explained the smell. Fuck.

“Welcome to the Flaming Mountains, gang! A volcanic ring surrounds the mountain making it virtually impassable. This path is the only safe way through. That's as close as the boat can get.” Sandy called out from on top of the ship, seemingly not having been in earshot of the conversation beforehand. “Just... be careful.”

Ah right, giant Bull King trying to take over this realm, another big baddie to take down.

MK spoke up this time, “Okay, we'll figure out the weird mystical glowing markings mystery after we return the staff to Monkey King! We need to get through the mountains, so who's coming?”

Arin jumped in, “We're all here, who'd back ou-”

“Not me.” Tang took multiple steps back, collapsing dramatically on the ground. “My ankle is incredibly weak, I don't want to weigh you down. Plus volcanoes are by definition HOT! I'll melt there!! I'd love to meet Monkey King, but I'm afraid you must go on.”

Arin gave him a dumbfounded look, before gazing back at MK. “...is he always like that?”

“Unfortunately yeah, that lazy freeloader doesn't know when to start working.” Pigsy responded instead, pinching the bridge of his nose. “One of these days, I'm actually going to kill you Tang.”

Tang was now fanning himself with his hand, waving his ankle in the air.

“Death by heat or death by Pigsy!” He yelled out, “See what I have to deal with Sandy?”

“Oh my-” Pigsy rolled his eyes, “Fine, stay here all Cozy. Everyone else will go play the hero.”

Tang smirked, “I knew you loved me.”

Pigsy was going to say something but gave up. Pigsy and Tang huh? Nya wouldn't have expected that one. Anything's possible when you don't know other people. For all you know they could be leading an evil biker gang set on resurrecting your friend's father, you never know.

“... Alright, let's go then. Don't want your whole city to fall to a big bull.” Nya took a deep breath, it's like MK said, focus on that later. Even if it's probably more pressing than that, they've got evil plans to stop.

Save the world…heh, easy.

 

★—-------★

 

Past

Present

Future

Normal concepts of time, everyone is aware of them, everyone has a sense of them. Some focus too hard on the past, some focus too hard on the future, and some are grounded in the present. All of them are dangerous if you focus too hard on a specific one. You have to have a balance between them, have them separated. Learning that was a difficult process, but it was manageable. Personally, it was easier to focus on the present without the constant gnawing of the future and past. But of course, the past is haunting. It's filled with so many horrors, so many mistakes, so much pain. You can't take that back, that's what makes the past the past.

There's been a voice, there's always been for a while. Or rather, there will be a voice, there was in the past as well. Whispering and commanding, ordering…it's unpleasant. Every time the voice emerged, it was the same, cold and wispy and always feminine. It was never expected to change, that's just how the future laid down the path. All the different possibilities of the future.

Recently, it shifted. There was another branch, all the other voices were erased from those possibilities. There was no real way to know what caused this, from a quick check, nothing was found. It kept its other properties before, keeping cold and commanding. But it was more shrill, more sharp. It didn't sound the same anymore, it didn't sound as feminine as it used to, as formal and put together. It didn't sound masculine but it definitely didn't sound feminine either. Even though the voice itself was different, the presence inside the voice wasn't unnoticed.

All of the other voices and chatter that have been heard have also been changed, ever so slightly. Voices that weren't there before added into the mix, their chatter, their overwhelming chatter:

“A new power? Interesting” silky and hungry, definitely a demon.

“Goddamn it! Stop! This isn’t what we agreed!” betrayed and helpless, that same shrill voice…

“Still. Or you're dead.” Deadpan and serious, stuck in a state of survival.

“And you, wind lady, have PISSED ME OFF!!!” Done with everything and aggressive, wind lady? What an odd way of speaking.

Those were the ones that were able to be heard clearly. Hearing everything at once made it difficult to pick out, but some were more clearly heard than the others. One's that were more likely to happen. It wasn't good to rely on the future that was heard, they're all possibilities, not guaranteed. Hearing so many things so clearly was rare and honestly concerning.

And then the noises quieted, and eventually disappeared until activation once again. A clenching of the fists, a sigh. And then back into the shadows.

Apparently the Demon Bull King himself had risen back into the mortal realm, trying to enact whatever plan he had. The guy still thought he had a chance here, he may be powerful but he isn't on top of the world. No matter how many times he may try to claw his way up, he'll always come crashing down. There were more pressing problems than him.

Soon, there will be trouble, a havoc released onto the world, a deadly silence that balances past, present, and future. Encompassing everything in unmoving ice. The voice would call it perfect.

I don't believe it.

 

★—-------★

 

Volcanos.

The last time Nya vividly remembered volcanos it was with the golden weapons. Which was a really long time ago now. She wasn't a big fan of the heat, it messed with her perception as well as her energy. Nobody wants to fight in the middle of a volcano. It's a big no. And yet every time there's always a fight there. All of that being said, crossing this pathway to Flower Fruit Mountain gave her a bad feeling. There was something in the air, other than the soot. She didn't like it. Pigsy, Mei, MK, Arin, and her had headed off the boat, setting foot on the ashen lands. As expected, it was hot and barren, geysers of lava spewed into the air occasionally. So it was active, great. She took another look at her reflection in the water before she caught up with the others. Her markings were still glowing faintly. She hated not knowing why, it was gnawing at her.

“Stupid Sandy. Stupid Tang. Staying cozy in his stupid boat. What did I do to deserve this, Noodle Gods?” Pigsy looked up at the sky, but next to him a geyser erupted. He barely dodged it, “AHHH!!”

“Careful, piggy! Eeeee!” Another geyser erupted as Mei talked, she dodged it as well. “You gotta wonder why Monkey King decided to live here of all places.”

“Speaking of, you never told us anything about him. All me and Nya managed to figure out was that he's a legendary hero of some kind. And uh, also the king of monkeys for some reason.” Arin trudged forward, asking the question Nya was going to ask.

“You don't know about Monkey King?! How!!??” MK stopped for a second, realizing his mouth moved faster than his brain. “Not from this realm, right. Wow, where do I start? Tang told me all the stories I need to know, including some things about DBK! Monkey King though! I know his whole life, I documented all of it!!”

“Oh boy, here we go. Strap in everyone.” Mei commented, if she was able to spawn popcorn out of thin air, she would definitely have some in her hands.

“There's a story called Journey to the West that tells the whole story of the pilgrimage!! Monkey King is an extremely powerful, awesome, and mystical warrior who was born from stone! He has amazing powers and magic, plus a whole stack of immortality, it's like almost 11 stacks or something but we'll get there later. He was so powerful that the celestial realm wanted to stop him, it didn't help that he was incredibly mischievous. But no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't stop him!! But through a fight, they managed to contain him down in a mountain for 100 years. During that time, the great monk Tang Sanzang was tasked with the pilgrimage to the West and he needed protection and a guide, so Monkey King was tasked with this. In order to keep him in line, he actually used a golden pain crown, which was basically torture if you're asking me, completely unnecessary.”

MK continued to ramble on about Monkey King and the events of the pilgrimage, Nya found it pretty incredible that beings in this realm were so powerful. It didn't take long for MK to grow off track, throwing in bits and pieces of later information. The whole story of the Monkey King, what she could gather went like this: Powerful immortal monkey goes on a journey with a monk and a group of demons (and a dragon horse for some reason, MK didn't really dwell on that one). On this journey, there is a lot of kicking demon ass. She did feel like he skimmed over a lot of stuff though.

“...it was incredibly cool to figure that one out!! Oh yeah!! You know when Monkey King had to get through the Flaming Mountains he actually used Princess Iron Fan's fan to blow-”

A gust of wind swept over the volcanic land, a menacing laugh flowing through it. The winds gathered in the air, circling in a tornado. What is it with tornadoes? Can everyone stop it with all the storms and tornadoes, she's had enough for her whole life. The winds dispersed, revealing a familiar figure emerging from it. Princess Iron Fan, heh, speak of the devil and it appears.

“Well, well, well. Aren't you a little Monkey King fanboy?” She held what Nya now knows to be a giant fan in her hand, she hovered it over the lava, the winds controlling its path as it erupted into a fireball. She swung her fan forward, releasing the fireball at the group.

“GET DOWN!!” Nya yelled, jumping in front as she created a wall of water. There was a large splash as the fireball impacted into the wall, she heard the sizzling as it evaporated. The water fell to the ground, returning to the shoreline behind them.

“Kids! Everyone, okay?” Pigsy scrambled to check everyone, especially concerned about MK.

“Still kicking.” Mei groaned, looking up at Nya. “Wow that lady's badass…”

Princess Iron Fan laughed, “I'll be taking that staff now.”

“This belongs to the Monkey King. There's no way I'm letting you take it.” MK shouted back, clutching the staff tightly in his hands.

“Oh, you're just a little Noodle Boy playing at being a hero. Sorry to disappoint. Playtime is over.” The winds picked up again, visible as they swirled.

MK gritted his teeth, leaping into the air and straight at Princess Iron Fan. He fell for her taunt, Nya could see the princess’s grin widen from here. He spun in for a strike.

“Kid no!” Pigsy yelled out, but it was too late for any persuasion.

A wire shot through the air, wrapping around MK's waist before he could get farther. Arin had released his grappling hook, thinking incredibly fast. Nya gave him some credit, he was a quick thinker when he wanted to be. MK was yanked back, crashing into Pigsy's arms. Iron Fan gritted her teeth, her eyes narrowing in annoyance.

“Dang it kid, don't jump off into danger like that!” The pig said, letting MK stand. A geyser went off in front of them, that would've been really bad if MK fell into it.

“Good job Arin.” Nya nodded at him, before facing Princess Iron Fan.

“No biggie, just trying not to let him make the same mistakes I have.” He gave her a thumbs up.

“Water Demon…pesky brat. You've been making today very difficult.” She looked down at her, hovering in the air. “Have you no concept of who you're fighting?”

“None at all. Except that your bark is way bigger than your bite.” She grinned at her opponent. Here she was in the boiling heat, fighting with water. Great idea, what could go wrong. “Also not a demon, told you this already. Are you deaf too?”

She got a scoff from that.

“Well then, it's your life to forfeit.” Iron Fan's eyes lit up in a blazing orange, her body looked like it glitched for a second, intense speed following her. In a blink she was right in front of Nya, swinging her fan forward. On reflex only, she jumped to the side, avoiding the burst of wind the fan summoned. The onslaught continued, Iron Fan releasing quick and intense winds as she swung her fan. Nya took out her spear, weaving out of the way just barely of the blows. She had to get closer, staying on the defensive will only lead to exhaustion, especially in this area.

Nya sprinted to the side, guiding her trident to arc and strike at the bull princess. Iron Fan blocked it, their two weapons colliding. The water ninja spun her trident, using the back of the spear to get a good hit in on Iron Fan. It slammed into her forehead, no doubt going to leave a bruise if beings in this realm had the same healing as her. Princess Iron Fan gritted her teeth, the winds picking up once again. The good thing about these types of wind powers is that they're not invisible, you're able to see them. They were a lot easier to dodge that way, the bad thing is that wind is an incredibly powerful element if used correctly. And she was using it…alright, it felt as though she was holding back a lot. Which was concerning, but then again, Nya wasn't exactly going all out either. Princess Iron Fan was doing all of this with just one hand, and that looked like one hell of a fan. The winds pushed against her body, sending her back a few feet. Nya stumbled, catching herself as the bull princess swatted the air with her fan. A sharp blade of wind bolted through, Nya twisting her body barely to get out of the way. The wind slashed through a bit of her cheek, blood now slowly flowing down her face. Nya gasped, her eyes wide. The wound didn't hurt too much, the stinging felt similarly to a paper cut. What shocked her, was the fact that it cut her in the first place. How was it even that sharp, it shouldn't be possible. Iron Fan covered herself in wind, vanishing from thin air. Damn it, where'd she-

A gust of wind hit her back, drawing out a yell as she was violently thrown across the land and past the shoreline. It wasn't high enough where she could use the saves to recover. So instead she painfully splashed into the ocean, her back impacting into the water. Damn it damn it damn it! The static instantly got worse, an overwhelming buzz in her nerves and ring in her ears. It was uncomfortable before, just pins and needles. Now it was like her body was on fire, bubbles escaped her mouth as she yelled in pain. The ocean was dark and suffocating, she's never felt so out of place in the water before. Yet that's what it is, water. She's the elemental master of WATER damn it! She should be in tune with the waves, not struggling against them.

Ever since she got into this realm, her powers felt weird, they're different. It's not the familiar “create small blasts of water and the occasional tsunami,” no. Now it was more powerful, more flexible, more uncontrollable. When she fell through the portal, it was the first time she felt the static feeling, yet at the same time, it felt rejuvenating. New realms are different with new rules, she's gone over this continuously in her head. What if the rule here…is more magic? More energy in the air, adding more potential to the elements. Going into this realm gave her a…power boost. That's what the static feeling is, her body's adjusting to the boost. It's trying to get her to use her elemental powers. With all the theories running around in her mind, she was completely certain that that's what this was. She'd figured it out. Her absolute max limit in Ninjago was merging with the sea, how powerful can she push her powers now? New realm, new possibilities.

Her body glowed a soft aqua, the water around her swirling. Forming on her head was a pair of translucent glowing horns, gently flowing like coral branches.

How about she tests her limit then?

Chapter Text

Oh they were really screwed now weren't they…?

It seems like a fair enough fight from what Arin could tell, Nya was going toe to toe with Princess Iron Fan and they were trading blows. The two were incredibly agile fighters, he didn't expect someone in that sort of robe-like dress to be that fast, he thought it would've caught on something or burned but no. And he doesn't mean that in any hateful way, he just means that dresses aren't usually built for combat. From what he knows, they tend to be more on the restricting side, so it was pretty incredible what Princess Iron Fan was able to pull off. It helped that she had a long distance weapon and power. Wind is incredibly useful, he remembers the elemental master of wind, or at least the previous one, Morro. He knew that he had possessed Lloyd out of some jealousy for not being the Green Ninja. Nobody ever brings that up, which is insane to him but it's probably a rough topic for Lloyd. Arin couldn't imagine what possession was like, especially to one's mind. Back a few sentences, Nya hadn't really used her water abilities that much, she was more reliant on her trident. He wasn't judging, sometimes stress and nerves don't make your mind think that clearly, he knows from experience. What he hadn't expected was how quickly the fight ended, he had expected it to go on for at least another minute. She'd gotten thrown at such a high speed and far into the ocean. She's the elemental master of water though, she got tossed in the ocean, surely she'll be back up within seconds to help them out, right? …Right?

Princess Iron Fan swung her fan to her side, now looking at the group with a calmer expression. It was clear to Arin that if anyone were to attack her, she'd act accordingly. MK, did not get this memo. MK spun his staff, getting up from where Pigsy had been holding him despite the pigs displeasure. He ran forward, leaping into the air. Arin's eyes widened, nonono. Why is this kid not listening to them? He's playing into whatever plan she has! She wants that staff, they have a way to get it!

“MK! Stop! You're playing right into her-” Arin tried to yell at him, but it was way too late. Princess Iron Fan simply looked up, raising her pointer finger effortlessly in the air as the staff came crashing down. There was a quick flash of orange light as metal climbed up from her wrist, covering her hand. It was a bulky metal gauntlet, the same Red Son had used to remove the staff from the mountain. MK gasped, immediately realizing what was going on here. Arin's feet grew wet, the waves of the ocean hitting his boots. Wait, huh? He wasn't near the shoreline anymore though, what's…he looked out to the ocean, ah. Well, that's either an amazing sign that Nya is doing well or a horrific sign that they're going to have another problem on their hands.

A roar shook the earth, the rumblings causing the waves to grow more aggressive, attacking no longer up to his toes, but his knees. Princess Iron Fan looked out into the ocean, trying to see what caused that deafening roar. In order to stop MK from potentially leaving with the staff while she wasn't looking, she closed her fist around the staff, a steady grip applied.

The ocean was wild and unpredictable, the waves a constant fight with each other, crashing and rising. There was a point where the ocean sank in a circular motion, a whirlpool pulling the water down. Arin remembered where he'd seen something similar before, he was very young when the attack happened but it still felt so clear. When Woljira flooded the city, he managed to catch a glimpse of the battle. It was that sea serpent vs a water dragon, he didn't realize it at the time, but that dragon was Nya. And staring out at this ocean now, that same dragon peaked out of the water, the ocean supporting its movements. The one who protected his city before, and the one that would protect him now. That roar, now a human voice, a very very pissed human voice.

“IRON FAN!!!!” She roared, the dragons flapping its wings and flowing into the air, it was such a smooth flyer. Getting closer, he realized something, Nya wasn't the dragon, she was RIDING the dragon. She grew closer, stopping directly in front of MK and Princess Iron Fan. The winds that stop left blowing dramatically in the princess’s face. Nya was a little different than when he'd seen her a few seconds ago. Her normal jet black hair’s ends had turned an aqua blue, flowing like a waterfall. Her markings were now glowing a bright blue, her eyes following that similarly. Poking out of her hair were translucent dragon horns, curving like coral. He'd expected her to have wings, but she didn't, instead flicking aggressively on her lower back sat a long dragon tail. Less scaly and more furry, having a similar translucency as her new horns. Arin didn't realize that his jaw had dropped.

“Omg.” Mei commented, her eyes lit up in pure awe. “I knew those markings were dragon marks!!! Who was going to tell me that she was a descendant of Ao Guang?! AM I JUST SUPPOSED TO FIGURE OUT THAT INFORMATION MYSELF?!”

“...heh, your ramblings make sense now. You're not a water demon at all are you?” Iron Fan stared down Nya, an analytic look in her eye. “You're more powerful than that, a wyvern. Your kind does not belong to this plane child. It's an insult to the dragons themselves.”

“Wait huh?” Mei said flatly, her excitement and awe quickly being replaced with confusion. MK was trying to pry the staff out of her grip but it was ultimately no use, he was just flailing around like a fish. “...a wyvern…?”

“Look. I've been having a bad day, borderline a bad week. I've fought too many villains, fallen down too many meters, and the whole time, it's been the end of the world at stake. You and your family haven't helped! Dragon, wyvern, whichever name you wish to call me is fine, do you know why?” Nya didn't wait for Iron Fan to answer her, “Because I don't care! I'm done caring for today, I'm DONE! Your husband trying to take over the world was enough to almost get me to lose it! But you…ohohoho you.”

Nya laughed hysterically, it felt so wrong to hear it from her. Arin was starting to get creeped out, like he was witnessing something he shouldn't. This was something that had been building up for a while, he could tell. He wasn't enjoying it…it didn't seem like her anymore. He's never seen her when she's this mad.

“And you wind lady, HAVE PISSED ME OFF!!!!” The dragon roared, the waters behind her rising into a tsunami, a contrast to the boiling lava behind them.

“Uh oh.” MK said, gazing at the tsunami now heading in his accidental direction.

Princess Iron Fan inhaled a light gasp, tearing MK from the staff with a powerful pull, the winds around her pushing him away and far into the air. Her grey winds flowed around her in a circle, protecting her from the incoming tsunami coming her way. Arin's never seen a tsunami work in the way it was now, he knew that normally it was just supposed to be a long wall, but here, it was a condensed wave bending straight at Iron Fan specifically. The waves collided with the wind, causing a deafening splash. The water sprayed into the air caused a light rainfall for a few moments. Arin aimed his grappling hook at MK again, releasing the hook as it flew through the air. It bended perfectly with the wind allowing the wire to wrap around the boy. Arin planted his feet, bending them as he pulled. MK’s directory changed, now flying directly for Arin. It was faster than he expected but MK crashed into him, causing Arin to take a tumble of his own.

“Ow…you alright MK?” Arin asked, groaning in pain. This terrain wasn't exactly landing proof.

“Uh, yeah…thanks a lot! Glad I'm not being crushed by a tsunami right now.” He chuckled nervously, getting off of Arin and holding out his hand for him to get up, which he took. “Bad news though, she took the staff.”

“Oh come on!” Arin quickly turned back to Nya, trying to see if there was any way he could get involved in that fight, if he could help. “It’s always when we're about to win!”

Nya's tsunami soon subsided, the water cooling some of the lava over, only molten lava remaining. She seethed, her breathing uneven. Below where Princess Iron Fan once was, where that shield of wind was protecting her, had all vanished. Nya's scowl worsened, anger completely taking her over.

“GODDAMN IT!!!” She screamed, the water beneath her and her dragon pushing out in a wave, crashing into the land and returning to the ocean. “FUCK! RAHHH!!! COME BACK YOU COWARD!!!”

Arin frowned, this was getting out of hand. He needed to help her, he couldn't just stand here and watch her crumble like this. He took a deep breath in, running forward in the now muddy ground. Pigsy, who had been quiet for a while, spoke up, trying to grab Arin's wrist before he ran ahead but failed.

“Kid wait! It's dangerous with her like that right now!” The warning fell on deaf ears.

“Nya!” He yelled up at the dragon, making eye contact with Nya on top of it. She didn't stop her rage, the waters continuing to assault the land and itself. The dragon she rode seemed in a state of similar madness, its agitation in its body language not going unnoticed by him.

“Damn it…NYA!!!” He raised his voice more, trying to reach her, he had to reach her. Repaying her for helping him…it was the least he could do. “I KNOW YOU'RE ANGRY, AND THAT'S FINE! I UNDERSTAND, I UNDERSTAND MORE THAN ANY OF US! EVERYONE IS GONE, WE'RE STUCK IN A REALM WE DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT! ONE VILLAIN FIGHT STRAIGHT TO THE NEXT, IT'S HARD! I JUST WANT TO HE-”

“What? Help me? You've helped enough, Arin!” The dragon's head bowed, allowing Nya onto the ground to tower over Arin. “You practically GAVE the prismatic blades to the forbidden five! WHAT HELP HAVE YOU BEEN TO US?!”

It felt like Nya had taken an arrow and shot it straight through his heart. …She'd never say anything like this, she was nice, she kept everyone together, she knew what needed to be done, but she was saying all of these things right now. He hated it. She'd told him that everyone makes mistakes, that's what makes them improve. She was saying the opposite now. What's the truth then? Which one is her true thoughts and which one is the lie? The worst part is, she was completely right about that. It was his fault, he should've ran, he should've taken the blades and got somewhere safe. He got everyone into this mess and there was no way to get out of it. He fucked everything up, he always has.

MK, Mei, and Pigsy were watching what was happening uncomfortably. Mei and Pigsy were especially worried, he could see it in the corner of his eye.

“There's an old trick in my family for an angry dragon.” Mei spoke up, taking a few steps forward. “I know you're not exactly a dragon but, it still applies. They say that a young dragon's power can be unstable sometimes, messing with your emotions and perception. In order to control that emotion, finding a calm point helps a ton. A person, place, event, whatever is your little happy place. It should quell whatever fire you have burning inside you.”

MK gave her a look of “girl, you've never used a trick like that a day in your life”. He didn't stop her, it was clear he also wanted her to be calm. MK himself followed behind Mei,

“I’m not that amazing at comforting people, so I'll keep it short and sweet. Being angry is a natural feeling and all, but the thing that makes anger bad isn't being angry, it's how you deal with being angry. And no offense but uh, you're not dealing with it too great right now.” MK frowned, giving a sympathetic look towards Arin. “I don't know what Arin did exactly, but I don't think he deserves all of this. He's been nothing but helpful, he saved me twice!”

Arin smiled at both of them, still incredibly hurt from the previous statements but it warmed his heart that they were out there trying to help him out when they barely knew each other. Nya frowned slightly, the form of her water dragon wavering. Regret quickly formed on her face as her dragon’s form splashed helplessly into the ground, the water returning to the shoreline. The rough waves calmed as Nya's horns, tail, and the flow of her markings vanished. An apologetic look instantly creeped up her face,

“Arin…” Nya took a step forward, her body heavy and fatigued. “I- I..ngh…”

Her eyes rolled back, her body collapsing forward right into Arin's arms. He stumbled back, still on his feet as he held her there. He…didn't expect that one. He didn't know what to do. He had expected some sort of apology and answers but none arrived, just more questions. Mei said that powers for dragons can be unstable sometimes which lead to intense emotions. It would explain why she felt so out of character. Everyone rushed over to Arin, Mei was especially close to Nya. Putting a hand to her forehead.

“Good news, still alive. Bad news, still alive.” Arin gave her a look, “I'm joking! I don't wish her harm, I swear! Okay but for real, she's going to be out of commission for a little bit. The power she tapped into was a lot more powerful than she could handle.”

“How come you're so knowledgeable all of a sudden? Just an hour ago you didn't know what the number 0 meant.” Pigsy raised an eyebrow, his arms once again crossed. He didn't seem as closed off, more concerned and curious. Fair enough after all of that.

“Oh you know, we all have our specific topics that we're extremely knowledgeable about. Yours is cooking, MK’s is Monkey King, and mine is just a haha, very heavily influenced by my parents' topic.” Mei scratched the back of her head nervously, one of her hands now back in her pocket. “You know, normal stuff. It's as the people say, 7-4=2. Easy logic.”

“No one says that Mei. And that's not even how that math works!” Pigsy pinched the bridge of his nose, growing annoyed at her ignorance once again.

“What do we do about Nya?” Arin inquired, still holding up Nya. “Do we take her back to the boat and the other people go ahead to Monkey King? The tsunami she released did kinda…well the lava for a little while so we have some time to cross it.”

“Say…Pigsy…” MK said in a sweet voice, like a child wanting something from their parents but are trying not to be obvious about it. “Do you want to take one for the team and take Nya back to the boat?”

Pigsy hesitated, looking at MK for a solid five seconds. “Kid…you know that I know that trouble is going to find you.”

“Very well worded. Yeah I know!” MK grinned, pointing over at Arin. “I have Arin to protect me! He's done it plenty already.”

Pigsy sighed, “Be careful…please. I don't want any of you dying out there.”

MK unprompted pulled Pigsy into a deep hug, Pigsy stuttered for a moment but gave up with a sigh, embracing him gently in response. MK broke the hug,

“We should probably leave as soon as possible then. The staff is gone and uh, that's a giant problem, I haven't really processed how big of a problem that is yet haha.”

“Fine fine, I'll go.” Pigsy took Nya from Arin's hands, he adjusted himself to her weight, she didn't weigh too much but it certainly wasn't a walk in the park. He began to, with a struggle, walk Nya back to Sandy's boat.

“Also Arin, I didn't really say this earlier but you really didn't deserve that. You're a great guy.” Mei gave him a thumbs up, trying to be comforting.

He appreciated it, but he wasn't so sure about that. He's at fault for a lot of things, there's plenty that he could be responsible for. Far..far too many.

“...thanks, I appreciate it.” Arin smiled gently, trying to stay together.

The group began their journey through the volcanos, weaving through the hot molten rocks and the bumps in the road. It's a difficult terrain to get around, but Nya's stunt got them an easy path through. The large volcanos were daunting, a neverending circle of volcanos. The air burnt his throat, the ash not helping the agony. After this, Arin never wanted to see a volcano again. But they just had to continue on towards the center to the Monkey King. He couldn't stop thinking about what Princess Iron Fan had said to Nya…or what Nya had said to him.

“Mei…what did Princess Iron Fan mean when she called Nya a Wyvern?” Arin broke their silence, turning his head to look at the shorter girl.

“Wyvern’s is a name I've only heard in legends. They're supposed to be a corrupted form of the mighty dragons, tainted by the magic brought in by the Chaos Tear thousands of years ago.” Arin’s eyes widened with surprise when he heard that word, he hadn't expected it at all.

“Chaos Tear?!” He yelled, perhaps a bit too loudly. “Sorry…just surprised.”

“Yyyeah, it was a big event that changed our world and some of the creatures inhabiting it. Reality sorta tore open for who knows what reason and magic started to seep through. Some dragons were affected, causing them to grow wings and more quote on quote, demonic features. I didn't really pay attention to the tale, and a real Wyvern hasn't been seen in a loooooong long time. The celestial realm kinda made sure of that.” Mei shrugged, “Nya isn't a true Wyvern though, she just resembles one in a way.”

Arin hesitated for a moment, “Wait, if our dragons are your wyverns, then what are your dragons???”

MK blinked, “What did I just zone into-”

“Dragon talk, don't worry about it man.”

“Ah.”

Mei turned back to Arin, stepping over a large rock and jumping down.

“Our dragons are more angelic but minus the wings. Think long, flowy, lots of legs, shaped like a big snake. If we get back in the city so I can get some actual service, I can show you some actual pictures!” Arin nodded at that, that would be something he'd be incredibly interested in. Omg right the Chaos Tear.

“Back to the Chaos Tear though, we had one of those too. …except it was earlier today.” Mei raised an eyebrow at that but Arin continued, “We were fighting Thunderfang and his power created those Chaos Tears, it wasn't leaking magic, at least none that I noticed. It looked like it was just consuming everything in its path, sucking everything in. …Maybe the things that were pulled in our realm appeared in yours somehow??”

“...does time work differently in both of our realms?” MK asked, as if either of them knew the answer.

“I don't know, we don't really have enough information. If we had Zane or PIXAL, maybe we'd be able to MAYBE figure it out but we'd need someone back in our realm who could contact us. We don't have that person unfortunately.”

“Are those two like…the smart ones???” Mei questioned, the volcanos began to part, the end of the pathway getting closer.

Arin gasped, reigniting his flame for the Ninja and their stories. “I forgot you didn't know anything about them! I'll give you a good rundown on every ninja!!! Don't worry, you'll get caught up!”

MK and Mei shared a look before nodding, not fighting this intense infodump heading their way.

“First of all, there's Nya, the youngest of the group of you don't count Lloyd. She's the elemental master of water, but she used to be a samurai before discovering she had powers. Her brother is Kai, master of fire. He's matured a lot since when I first started learning about him, he's really selfless and was the last ninja to join the original four. Wyldfyre is his student and wow does Kai have his work cut out for him. She's the elemental master of heat, and supposedly a ninja in training but I don't know if that's completely official. She hasn't really been learning much. She was raised by dragons so she's really unpredictable. Back to the older ninja, we have Cole, the elemental master of earth. You've heard his name mentioned already, he decided to sit the fight with Thunderfang out, protect the people he cared about instead. Everyone thought he was in love with Nya for a while but it turns out he was just gay. No hate, gay is cool.”

“Damn right.” Mei nodded in agreement, gay forever bitchessss.

“Frak is one of the younger ninja in training, he was the last one to ever join, happening not too long ago. He's a serpentine, basically a humanoid snake. He's the elemental master of quake, which is just fancy for vibrations basically. He's one of my best friends. Speaking of, Sora is the elemental master of tech. She's also a ninja in training, we've been friends for 6 years now. She's a great mechanic, especially with her added tech abilities. She's one of the best friends I've ever had, always there for me when I thought no one could be. Even when she made mistakes she…helped through them. Even if it took me a long time to see that. Zane is the elemental master of ice and he's a ninjdroid, a robot. He's a little odd sometimes but he's incredibly smart and is a great member of the team. He does uh, need to stop being broken down though, it's happened an alarming amount of times now. His girlfriend is PIXAL, she's a samurai with no elemental power. She's more snarky than Zane is but it's a great trait. She's the one who takes care of all their suits and building of bases or any mechs the team needs. She's also an amazing fighter. There's Lloyd, master of uh energy? I'm not really sure, his powers have changed names a lot over the years. You've heard his name mentioned, he's the grandson of the First Spinjitzu Master. He's also known as the Green Ninja, he's been chosen by destiny countless times. He used to be my teacher.”

“Used to?” MK cued, narrowing his eyes.

“Yeah, I didn't take to his teachings that well and found someone else. Wasn't the most moral of teachers but he helped for what I needed. There's one more person though. Nya has a boyfriend, his name is Jay and he's the elemental master of lightning. Unfortunately, due to reasons we don't really know, he lost his memories. A group of people found him before we did and corrupted him with a type of dark magic. That type of magic can't be altered, there wasn't anything we could've done. We lost track of him soon after we found him, we haven't seen him since. That was a while ago. Nya isn't dealing with that information too well.”

“Oh…that's sad.” MK frowned, not really knowing what to say to that. “You ninja have it rough, huh?”

“Yeah…” Arin said, the exhaustion evident in his voice. “A lot more than I first expected.”

“Oh look we're here!!” Mei shot up, running past the final curve in the way of their sight and finally to Flower Fruit Mountain.

As they turned the curve, they gazed at the majestic mountain that was Flour fruit…as well as the big body of water separating them from it. Mei's grin dropped,

“OH COME ON, THAT'S BULLSHIT!!” She put her hands to her head, screaming out into the distance. It was more for being dramatic and loud than true annoyance.

“And we can't use the staff to get over because Iron Fan took it!” MK groaned, “How can we even get over there!? We don’t have any vehicles!”

On cue, perfectly timed with MK's statement, a big blue crate washed up onto the shore, it must've fallen off of Sandy's boat. It was closed, but there looked to be something large in it. Well that was convenient, very very convenient.

“Oh hey.” MK discovered the crate, checking it over for any sort of opening. “There doesn't seem to be any lock that I'm noticing…”

“Well if it isn't the power of plot convenience.” Arin joked, a small laugh in his voice. “... hopefully it's something actually relevant to our situation.”

Mei walzed over, climbing the big crate and standing on top of it. She made a noise of thought, stomping roughly on the metal. She grumbled, now jumping on it multiple times. There was a crack and then a rumble, the rectangular shape of the crate falling apart. Mei yelped, jumping off the crate and rolling tactically onto the ground. The sides of the crate fell onto the ashen land, dust flying up into the air. Out of the dust and ashes, was sitting a pristine yellow jet. It was brand new, sporting great wings and clean thrusters. The space in the cockpit left a little to be desired.

“Oooo~” They all said in unison, sharing their brain cells.

“...so does anyone know how to fly a jet?” Mei said flatly, looking awkwardly at the two.

Arin slowly raised his hand, “I do…I guess.”

“You guess?” MK questioned, already heading up to the jet. Arin jumped into the cockpit, trying to find space as he gazed at the plethora of buttons. He then spotted a 8+ sticky note on the corner of the window.

“I got a little bit of practice before the whole getting banished thing. I can land without too much issue, I just don't know whether I'm going to get confused with the eject button and the go button.” He then spotted a 8+ sticky note on the corner of the window, “8+? Who's letting 8 year olds fly jets???” Arin said to no one in particular, he didn't expect an actual answer.

“Oh, 8+? It shouldn't be that hard to fly then if someone under ten can do it.” MK climbed into the cockpit, finding a sliver of space around the seat. “I believe in you, please don't kill us all!!!”

Mei went in after him, taking the space on the opposite end of the seat. Guess he was driving then…or piloting- does driving even work in this context? No, no he doesn't think it does. Piloting then, forget driving even came up. He had trouble with jets before but he could figure this out, it's for ages 8 and up, can't be that hard. He pressed a switch, then two buttons that would hopefully turn the ship on. The engine rumbled to life, heat erupting from the thrusters. Arin pushed a lever forward, the jet launching into the air at a way faster speed than he wanted. Dust and ash filled the air from where they were as the clouds parted in their wake. He yelped, quickly trying to slow down the jet a bit. It wasn't what he was used to but it was surprisingly close to it. Some buttons didn't do what he thought they would do and controlling speed was a lot more difficult than he'd thought it'd be. The jet came down to a more manageable speed, now safely cruising towards the mountain. Now that they had an up close view, it was really beautiful, filled with life. The trees were more like the trees you'd seen in more tropical Islands mixed with a rainforest. It wasn't like any of the trees he was used to in the crossroads or otherwise.

“Oh wow…” MK said in awe, “I can't believe we're really here! Flower Fruit Mountain!! It's as awesome as I thought it'd be!!!”

MK was practically climbing over Arin, trying to learn up and see the Mountain closer. Arin was struggling trying to see past him.

“Hey! I need to land this thing, can you not?” Arin steered the jet with what minimal vision he had, weaving it slowly onto the beach. MK eventually got out of his line of sight, which was great if he hadn't already lined up the jet. How? Great question, a miracle. Maybe this mountain was blessed or something. The jet thumped into the ground, getting its footing as the gang climbed out. Arin jumped down to the sandy beach, the ground soft and hard at the same time. Sand was weird like that sometimes. You'd walk around and it'd be all soft and then you hit those areas where the sand decides that it suddenly hates your feet and turns rough and unpleasant.

“AHSOSOSISHJAOAI, LOOK AT THOSE CUTE MONKEY'S OMG!!!!!” MK squealed, running over to a group of light furred monkeys. “OHOHO, THEY'RE SO TINY!!!”

Arin could've sworn he saw one of the monkeys frown, feigning annoyance.

“So you think they're okay to touch? I mean they are wild monkeys, but they're so adorable. If not friend, why friend shaped?” MK rambled, hovering his hand over to the monkeys.

The monkey he reached to pet jumped at him, landing on his face. MK yelled out in surprise, tumbling onto his back as the monkey thrashed him. Sand was kicked up into the air as MK flailed, trying to get this troublesome monkey off his face. Arin couldn't see what exactly was going on but Mei was getting a good giggle out of it. Had to get in her good laugh before helping him out. Eventually, the monkey was thrown out of the cloud of sand, MK standing back up with multiple red marks on his face. The monkey hissed, running back into its group and disappeared into the trees in the distance.

“You good,” she snorted, “monkey man???”

Arin tried really hard to keep a straight face, unfortunately poker faces were never really his skill. He giggled a little,

“Well, I now know that monkeys don't like being pet. Lesson learned.” He put his hands on his hips, looking out in the direction the monkeys fled. “Face stings though.”

“Are you actually alright though?” Arin wanted to clarify, approaching MK to close their distance.

“Yeah I'm fine, it doesn't look too bad hopefully?” He scratched the back of his neck, while he was there he tightened his headband.

It didn't look too bad, it looked like someone slapped and clawed his face multiple times. Blood wasn't drawn but he was definitely red in some areas.

“Ehhh…? Not that bad, just looks like your parents were really mad at you when you walked out the door this morning.”

“Oh, not too bad then.” MK paused for a few moments, her grin morphing into a frown. “You know, I think reality just fully set in on me again, Demon Bull King has the staff and can probably rule the world or something. Haha, we're so cooked.”

Mei nodded, “Deep fried. …I've been trying not to think about all that too hard in all seriousness. Guess we should book it for Monkey King then?”

“Oh yeah, definitely.” Arin cut in-between the two, already going ahead of them, “You guys should probably come fast since I have no idea where I'm going!”

“Okay okay, chill we're going” Mei rolled her eyes jokingly, “wouldn't want you to get lost now would we?”

“Oh come on, who'd get lost in this place? Who'd get lost in general actually, just follow your inner compass. Besides, he lives under a waterfall, it can't be that hard to find it!”

 

★—-------★

 

The ride from the land of lost things to the monastery was as smooth a drive as he expected it would be, no road bumps or obstacles in his path, just a dark night ahead of him!

That's what Cole would say if life liked him, life did not in fact, like him.

Turns out, when those giant tears in the sky start popping up and start consuming everything in their path, even though they get fixed, someone is going to see if that person who fixed it filled out their paperwork. The Administration, natures 9-7 office job employees. He's had a few encounters with them before, he doesn't know whether to actually take them seriously or not. On the one hand, they're absolutely ridiculous, having paperwork for anything and everything under the sun. And on the opposite hand, they could be operating the world in a way. He thinks the thought is pretty bad but it's something to be considered, not in that specific wording though. What he's trying to say is that something about the Administration is off, he doesn't know exactly what. What's a group of office employees doing trying to make sure the world's in order? Who are they even working for? Okay, technically he knows the answer to that. The Administrator, an unknown being of unknown power. Not even those working in the administration know who they are, why? There were so many questions and so little answers.

The administration and their officers were circling a spot in the desert, Cole instantly recognized the place specifically, it was where Wu had taken him, the Screaming Earth. There was something underneath it, something big. And apparently they were interested in finding out what that was as well. …Maybe they were investigating that and Thunderfang at the same time? Cole didn't know for sure, he was just throwing out guesses, whatever made sense first.

Should he get out? Maybe find out what it is they're planning? There are an…unusual amount of them. But his friends, he needed to see if they were okay. That's what he left to do, and he will do that. Something gave him a terrible gut feeling, this was wrong. Whatever was going on here was wrong, he can't explain it. He needed to stop anything bad from happening, he can't just look at this and ignore everything he's feeling. He narrowed his eyes, driving over to where the Administration was hanging out. No one in particular stood out to him, they were all wearing the same thing. So immediately identifying their leader was a bust.

He saw something out of the corner of his eye, short spikey purple(?) hair.

A touch to his head, fingertips to his forehead.

 

…

 

…

 

…

 

Silence.

 

Gone.

 

Blank.

 

D

 

E

 

L

 

E

 

T

 

E

 

D

 

-
-

 

The ride from the land of lost things to the monastery was as smooth a drive as he expected it would be, no road bumps or obstacles in his path, just a dark night ahead of him!

…That wasn't right. He blinked, sitting back in his car. Why would he not have been sitting down, he never left…? He clicked his tongue, a wave of confusion hitting him. It felt like he was forgetting something, something important. He couldn't shake it. If felt disorienting, like he was tossed out of reality for however long he zoned out. He was getting deja vu. It's like when you take naps and fall asleep for too long and believe it's the next day, it throws you off and you sound a little crazy.

…He just needs to get to the ninja, all this stress is getting to his head. They're his priority, he won't let anyone or anything distract him.

He's so close to the monastery, he didn't have time to waste. He had to know if they were okay, they're not just his friends, they're his family too.

He stepped on the gas, speeding through the desert land. He'd never thought he'd ever be this afraid…

…To return home.

Chapter Text

The first thing Nya was greeted with was a nightmare. The ocean was rough and brutal, waves crashing into her as she flailed around in the water. Her body was thrown into the water as the wave hit, having no time to get air. He kicked her feet to propel herself up, her head breaching as she gasped for air. It was dark and stormy, black and dark blue clouds obscuring the night sky. The ocean was a darker blue, uncontrolled and violent. Lightning danced around in the clouds, thunder quickly following as the sound echoed through the night. She needed to find something to grab, to stabilize herself. Coughing up water, she looked around frantically, no land in sight for miles. The only thing in sight was the long ominous ocean…that's not good. Her body rose as the ocean arced into a large wave, threatening to crash down on her. She gasped, pushing her hand out in an attempt to stop it with her elemental power.

Nothing happened.

No glow emanating from her palm, no wave freezing in place of parting. Her elemental power was completely unresponsive. She couldn't move her body. She was stuck treading water as she watched this giant wave crash down on her.

It hit her harshly, her skin stinging from the impact. Her head was forced into the water, sending her deeper into the depths. She couldn't see that well, it was almost completely pitch black. The only light she could make out was the flashes of lightning in the sky. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears, panic enveloping her. She tried swimming up, only to once again be knocked down farther by the ruthless waves. It was difficult to move in water, even if she was the elemental master of it, that didn't change the physics of it all. She swam up again, reaching the line dividing her from water and air. She was expecting her head to go above the water so she could breathe, but that didn't end up being the case.

Nya's head thwacked against something solid, some kind of barrier preventing her from going farther. She didn't see anything that stopped her from going up, that was the weird part…not to mention the scary part. She was trapped. Trapped by an unseen force beneath the water. Her eyes widened in panic, banging against the barrier with a closed fist. She couldn't exert as much force as she would've liked beneath the water.

No.

Nonono…

Her mind erupted with screaming, not daring to lose what little air she had. The elemental master of water, trapped helplessly beneath the ocean…how infinitely ironic.

Someone was standing on top of the barrier, unaffected by the crashing waves. A man wearing a blue outfit adorned with lightning symbols and purple fur around their neck. Their hair was a short and curly ginger mess, one that Nya would recognize anywhere. Jay. It took a while for him to slowly turn and peer down at her, his eyes a piercing bright crimson. This wasn't the Jay she loved, this was when he was at the Tournament of Sources. No…not her Jay, not again. Just bring him back, bring him back to the way he was, not this husk! Please!

It felt like she was banging on that invisible barrier for so long, her head grew lighter, her body losing its energy and will to continue. She was drowning, and it was terrifying. She never wanted to die, she didn't think it would happen like this. Her eyes began to sting from the water touching it. She couldn't…do this…not for long. Jay…Kai…Lloyd…Cole…Zane, everyone! She couldn't just abandon them in the world like this! She couldn't shrivel up and perish in this way! Not like this…never like this.

But Jay didn't help her. Nobody helped her. All of that banging was no use. Jay simply couched down, resting his chin on his palm in a state of amusement. Jay never looked at her that way, this wasn't the look of fawning that she was so used to, the look of love and affection. This was a sadistic smile, a look of enjoyment for her demise. He'd never do this, he'd never act like this.

How did…how did she even get here…? She couldn't think, her mind was so fuzzy and unresponsive.

Her thoughts couldn't continue any longer as out of the corner of her eye, a bright aqua glow emerged from behind her. Jay's grin grew larger as he pointed down, urging her to look. Her head turned slowly, revealing a dragon. A glowing aqua dragon with its jaw open wide and its long teeth on display. She couldn't do anything. Just float there as her life was surrendered to the beast of the abyss.

It dashed towards her, its jaws snapping shut on Nya. And the curtain closed.

 

★—-------★

 

Nya's eyes shot open, jump-starting her body as it rose. She gasped sharply, breathing heavily as she tried to process everything. What happened, what was happening, where is she, why was she here? Questions spiraled inside her mind.

“Woah, Nya!” A voice called out to her, bending down to help her.

Her breathing was quick and ragged, her heart beat echoing loudly in her ear. She felt it in the tips of her fingers to the bottom of her feet. Small beads of sweat trailed down her face, her mind felt hazy and disoriented. Nothing felt…right.

What was happening…?

The figure hovered its hands hesitantly over her, debating what to do in its head. The figure had circular glasses, black hair and a robe of white and red. It took her a while to realize that this was Tang, a regrettably long time, she'll admit that.

“Calm down! It's okay, you're fine, everyone's fine! Nobody's hurt or dead or anything in between!” Tang made up his mind to touch her shoulders to try and ground her a little. “You're safe, Pigsy brought you back to the ship after you blacked out. Looks like you might've had one hell of a nightmare though…”

“...what” Nya choked out, her voice wavering as she spoke, “what happened just now…?”

Tang hesitated again, “You mean the nightmare or the whole situation with the water dragon that went down?”

“I don't know, maybe it was the option where she's actually conscious!” Another familiar voice, one Nya more quickly recognized to be Pigsy. Her brain was clearing up, but the fog was still strong.

“Oh, yeah right!” Tang cleared his throat, “Shouldn't you explain that then, you were there for it and everything.”

“Oh my- I have to do everything myself around here, huh?” Even though he complained, he still did it. “I'd say sit down for this, but you're already sitting…”

Nya used the opportunity to look around her a bit, trying to regain a sense of where she was right now. Tang had said she was back on the ship, and below and behold, she was. They'd laid her down inside on the couch, a blanket covering her with a white cat laying on top of her lap. Now that she noticed it…she was very inclined to start petting the cat, give it the affection it was probably craving. Before she knew it, her hand was stroking through the cat's silky fur.

“Before I start dumping everything onto you er…how much are you missing? In your memory I mean.” Pigsy gave her a concerned look, Tang kneeling down right next to the couch, he shared the same look.

Nya paused, honestly…she didn't know how to answer that. She was still processing…all of that, whatever that was, that nightmare. Yeah, it was most likely a nightmare. That's all that makes sense. But it felt like there was still a fog blocking her from accessing parts of her memory. She thought back to what happened, but it stopped as soon as she was thrown into the ocean by Princess Iron Fan. She hated feeling this run down and useless, she couldn't even think properly.

“I remember fighting Princess Iron Fan and getting tossed into the ocean…I don't know anything that comes after that. Next thing I knew I was thrust head first into a nightmare.”

Pigsy and Tang exchanged a glance.

“...So after you were thrown into the ocean, you summoned a giant storm and whirlpool, causing the whole ocean to go haywire. Thunder, lightning, the land started flooding…I didn't think elemental masters could do that. Then, you pop out with a giant dragon or wyvern or whatever the correct name for it is at your beck and call. It was made entirely out of water and was glowing as well. You also had some dragon/wyvern attributes yourself! You had translucent horns, your markings were glowing brighter, you had a tail with fur on it, etc. It was pretty confusing but pretty cool, I won't lie. You then proceeded to yell at Iron Fan and vent your frustration and anger at her, you even threw a whole tsunami at her! A tsunami! I'm really glad it didn't hit any of us, we would've been toast!”

“No, you would've been bacon.” Tang interrupted, Pigsy turned to look at him with a piercing glare. “...I might've said something wrong…if you'll excuse me, I'll go say my last words somewhere else-”

“Nuh uh, you're staying here and letting me continue.” Pigsy kept his frown, looking back at her. Nya didn't know if he was joking with the way he was acting towards Tang or actually serious. This felt like banter…sure a bit more “Pigsy” banter, but still banter. Honestly, she was just shocked at all the things he was saying. She didn't remember it at all…

“Anyway, where was I? Ah right, unfortunately Iron Fan managed to get away with the staff before the tsunami connected. That sent you into a frenzy, Arin approached you despite my warnings and tried calming you down. I thought that would work but it didn't get through, if anything you got more pissed at him. You seriously insulted him, tearing at whatever you could. Something about the prismatic blades or whatever, I was missing context for that. Mei and MK ended up being the ones to calm you down in the end. You regained a hold over yourself and was going to say something to Arin but you passed out before you could. I brought you back to the boat while everyone else went to Flower Fruit Mountain.”

“Oh…” Nya said with confusion and concern, but then everything fully hit her at once when her memory cleared. Her voice shifted to one of pure guilt, “...oh…”

It took her a few moments of surprise before it hit her fully. The fog in her mind decided to clear as her memories of the previous however long it was came back to her. She remembered everything, yet it still felt weird to her. It didn't feel entirely like her, none of that did. She wouldn't say all of those things to Arin, and yet she did. She blew up in everyone's faces, endangering them just because she was upset. What kind of ninja is she if she's doing that? She's supposed to protect everyone, not endanger them more. What even made her lose control like that, activating her power fully? What was it Mei had said? ‘Dragons lose control of their powers’ or something along those lines? Maybe that's what happened with her, although Mei and Iron Fan had both made comments about her not really being a dragon…and she didn't really know what they meant. Not like she could ask them although these two were here, didn't know how good her information would be but it didn't hurt to try.

“Mei said something about me not really being a dragon, same with Princess Iron Fan. Got any clue what that's about?” Nya spoke with more certainty, trying to get to the bottom of all of this instead of drowning in her sorrow.

“Oh yeah you're definitely not a dragon, no doubt about it.” Tang nonchalantly stated.

“Wait what? What do you mean??”

“Dragons shouldn't have wings, if they do, it's a sign of corruption. It's rooted in ancient history all the way back to the Chaos Tear.”

Nya's eyes widened, gasping. She recognized that word instantly, but there's no way they'd conveniently have the same exact name right? That should be impossible. But it was looking incredibly likely right now.

“Chaos Tear?! You mean what happened when Thunderfang’s Chaos got unleashed?!” Nya jolted forward, startling the cat on her lap as it leaped off of her. …awh :(

“Wait, Thunderfang did that? As in the reason you were banished here?” Tang paused for a moment.

 

…

 

His eyes narrowed, putting his hand up to his chin in deep thought.

 

…

 

More silence

 

…

 

For the love of the First Spinjitzu Master, someone talk already.

 

…

 

Finally, Tang spoke up.

“So even though he's banished to this realm as well, I've never heard of a Thunderfang. He must've not shown up in this realm yet if that's the logic we're working with. Since you didn't show up with everyone immediately, it must be running on some sort of system in order to determine how you and your friends arrive in this realm. I know you said that you were banished here, I heard that one loud and clear. But how EXACTLY did you end up in this realm, not how it happened with Thunderfang, but after that?”

And yet, nothing in detail about her dragon problem, she'll ask for more details after this conversation. This is too important.

“Well, the Source Dragon of Flow showed up to banish all of us. She threw a vortex at Thunderfang and we came soon after. Zane said that it was some interdimensional time vortex that would transport us to a different time in a new realm. Ras and Rouge were fighting each other while falling and we ended up getting caught in the middle. Everyone was flying in different directions, I don't remember the specifics of who was with who but I can see…” Nya tried to remember everyone that fell in but there were a lot of people to keep track of and she definitely missed a few people. “Arin and I fell through, Kai and Wyldfyre fell in together, Lloyd and Rogue were similar, Ras was alone, Zane and Pix went in at the same time, I have no idea what happened to Frak and Sora.”

Nya paused for a moment, completely stumped. “I'm missing someone, there's supposed to be ten of us there, who am I forgetting…- oh fsm, Riyu.”

Nya froze for a few seconds, remembering the young dragon. How could she forget him? She didn't see him fall through the portal at all, did Flow not banish him? She said that she'd banish twelve creatures of equal strength right? Did she remember that wrong? Was she doing the math wrong this whole time? Lloyd saying ‘ten of us’ while including Riyu must've messed up her math. That makes a uh, lot more sense.

“Who?” Pigsy tilted his head, arms once again crossed. It felt like he was barely keeping up with their conversation.

“Riyu, a young dragon, technically he's a ninja as well. I've been thinking there were ten of us ninja banished this whole time but didn't think about Riyu. Even though I was subconsciously counting him! He never got banished in the first place. So if I said twelve, I meant eleven. I'm usually much better at math. Damn it…at least there's someone there to try to tell Cole what happened, Riyu has his ways. I believe in him.”

“Wow, you have a young dragon? That's incredible…” Tang exclaimed before stopping himself before he could ramble more, “okay, we need to stay on track here. So that means eleven of you were in that vortex, plus Thunderfang. So even then it ends up being twelve total. It didn't look like you saw Thunderfang through the vortex, you would've told me already. So that means that the vortex was likely traveling from the present all the way to the past. In other words, if your friends fell through the vortex earlier on, they'll show up in this realm in the future. How long? I don't know for sure….” Tang sighed, “wow, there's so much I want to say about this, about dragons, about the Chaos Tear and what happened. There's so much information.”

“So I just have to wait for them to get here…what about Thunderfang though? He was the one who caused the Chaos Tear, so how did that come here so far in the ancient past? Did he really go all the way back there? He couldn't have if you didn't know about him.”

“That's what stumps me. If he's THAT important, then he would've come up at least once in my readings. I'd have to dig for information once we defeat DBK, it'll occupy my time for a while though.”

“Yeah, that's a good idea. The more information we have about where Thunderfang could be right now, the better.” Nya paused, a question popping into her head. “What really happened when the Chaos Tear appeared? At least for you?”

“What didn't happen? The Chaos Tear unleashed chaos and corruption into the air, infesting anything it got its hands on. The tear itself consumed everything it touched, leaving only decay behind. Dragons were the first powerful beings to do something about it, using their abilities to mend the tear. It worked but some younger dragons were contaminated with the chaos and corruption. They changed that day. They grew wings, longer horns, their fur was replaced with sharp spikes, and their original color shifted to crimson. Not to mention their way of thinking was altered as well, as if the good in their soul went away. They were dubbed as wyverns.”

Nya narrowed her eyes when he said that last bit, it felt like Shatterspin. It made sense in a way, it originated from Thunderfang. But it didn't work like that. Just being near the chaos didn't shatter their souls, that shouldn't be how that works. That didn't make sense to her... history must be off there.

“Even if the Chaos Tear went away quickly, the aftereffects hit hard. The dragons were fighting with the wyverns, trying to eliminate the corruption of their kind. They managed to get them down to only three, the strongest wyverns. This is when Heaven stepped in. They took the remaining wyverns, deciding it best to seal them away instead of killing them. So, they were scattered across the world, hidden where none could find them. I don't know why Heaven decided that, but it's not really my place to ask questions about their decisions.”

“I've learned that it's better to just kill the big baddies rather than seal them. Or rehabilitate them if you have the chance. Chances are sealing them will bite you in the ass later on, even if it takes centuries.” Nya put her feet on the floor, properly sitting up on the couch. “That story is odd, your Chaos Tear was a lot different from the one in my realm. Maybe it's due to the influx of magic here.”

Tang shrugged, “Hard to say, we don't really have enough information on either side about the inner workings of it all. I was thinking that you got corrupted by the Chaos Tear as well back in your realm, hence the wings. But you said yours was different, how?”

“Well first of all, you're completely wrong on the wings part. Most of the dragons in my realm have wings, it's completely normal and genetic. No corruption required. Almost seven years ago now, I merged with the sea in order to stop an ancient sea serpent from destroying all of Ninjago. That was what resulted in my markings and one of my forms was a dragon made of water. That's what manifested back when I fought Princess Iron Fan. It didn't have anything to do with the Chaos Tear…at least I think. 99.9% sure.”

Tang fell completely silent after that, staring at her like his world just got shattered. He blinked multiple times, trying to start a sentence and failing miserably. Pigsy just looked even more lost than he already was

“...what.” Tang ended up saying, there was a shocked smile on his face as he said it. Nya had to hold back from giggling. “So…you just have wings normally?????”

“Yeah, some dragons don't have wings and can still fly but overall, wings are most common.”

“I-wha-hu-h-...WHAT?!” Tang stumbled over his words, in complete and utter shock. “That- that changes so much…”

“...you know, I didn't think I could get more lost.” Pigsy frowned in confusion. “I just hope the kids are okay.”

“...yeah.” Nya immediately thought about Arin, she'd have to make it up to him. She didn't want to live with this guilt, there was already so much weighing down on her already. Maybe after all of this, she could do something big for him. What that was she didn't really know yet. But it'll be nice. She made that giant mental note for herself. Now she had something to look forward to in the sea of madness. …Stay safe out there Arin.

“Is there anything else you want to share about your life that could maybe be extremely important if you don't say something now?” Tang said, still obviously shocked by everything she just said.

Nya simply grinned at that,

“Okay, you're going to want to sit down for this. Because it's a lot.”

 

★—-------★

 

He was actually going to meet Monkey King, the actual Monkey King. MK couldn't believe it. Mei, Arin, and him had been climbing up the mountain when they finally found the waterfall. MK had recognized it immediately as being where Monkey King resides, so he went up to it and it just opened. There was a giant golden seal that glowed and then the waterfall parted. It was ethereal. If the city wasn't on the verge of being destroyed right now, he would be having a much better time. Not saying that he isn't having a good time, because he's enjoying the hell out of himself, just not as much as he could be. Mei was enthralled with all of this, looking at everything in awe. She probably hasn't seen much like this before. Arin was what really surprised him, MK expected him to be just as enthralled as Mei was being. But instead, he was still interested but he was more focused. He wasn't dwelling on anything, just looking over things as they passed it. Now that they were actually inside the waterfall, the cave was a lot bigger than MK thought it would be. But it was really beautiful…

“I can't believe this…THIS IS AMAZING!!!!” Mei yelled, running excitedly. “I wasn't that interested before but that parting waterfall got be INVESTED!!!! Well, not as invested as you monkey man.”

MK snickered at that, forging ahead.

“I don't think many people are more interested than him.” Arin commented, softly laughing. “His interest in Monkey King is like my interest in the ninja. It's really unparalleled…I don't know if I said that already. Feels familiar.”

“I don't remember dude, my short term memory is the same as a goldfish’s.” Mei responded, a sheepish smile on her face.

“Ah come on, don't say that Mei! You're smart! …Sometimes.” MK said offhandedly, his mouth spread in a cheeky grin.

Mei's head snapped to look at MK, a fire in her eyes. “HEY!!! …Deserved… but still, NO NEED TO CALL ME OUT!! THE TWO OF US SHARE HALF A BRAIN CELL, DON'T EVEN.”

Arin laughed, a big smile on his face as they bantered. MK noticed it first, distracted instantly. He stopped “fighting” with Mei, looking back at his new friend. Mei eventually stopped as well, trying to see what stole his short attention span. Arin stopped laughing, a little intimidated by their staring.

“...sorry, just reminding me of my friends back home. They were banished with me but still, I can't help but miss them.” Arin scratched the back of his head, MK frowned with sympathy.

“Well, you've got us in the meantime. Not trying to be a replacement or anything but the offers here if you want.” MK gave him a thumbs up

“You can be officially inducted into the Mei and MK tag team!!!!” She yelled, her voice echoing across the cave.

“Hehe! Yeah, I think that would be great. You guys are great, glad I landed where I did in this realm.” His smile was bright, almost blinding. MK didn't care though, he was such a nice kid.

“Well then…WELCOME TO THE FRIEND GROUP!!!! Note that there will be clubbing whenever Mei is available and she will drag you there no matter what you say. True friendship everyone!!!!!” MK practically leaped onto Arin, trapping him in a tight hug. Mei joined in, wrapping her arms around the two.

“Thanks, this is amazing, truly. But uh, we should really find Monkey King. There's not much time to get distracted.” Arin tried getting them back on track.

“Oh don't think I forgot, that is still very much on my mind right now. I'm freaking out if you can't tell.” MK said surprisingly calmly.

The group walked across a small bridge and onto stone, turning into a larger portion of the cave. MK was immediately overtaken with awe. This area was giant, the stone walls having detailed murals of Monkey King and his hardships. They covered the basics of it all, where he hatched from the stone egg, the Journey to the West gang, the usual Monkey King tales.

“Look, it's Monkey King!!” MK exclaimed, running forward to the center of the cave.

Arin perked up instantly, “WHAT?! WHERE- oh it's just a mural.”

“It's Monkey King adjacent.” Mei shrugged, “Weird how he has this in his own house, isn't it? Did he do this himself? Did someone else do it? Someone has to ask the real questions.”

“You know…that's a great point.” Arin pondered, his hand on his chin.

Just then, MK felt weird. His eyes suddenly had this golden hue to it as the world looked different. Sparks of gold hovered slowly in the air, evaporating at a certain height. The murals looked different as well, all outlined in white. Monkey King did look more defined now that he looked at him this way, more important. Not that he wasn't important before, not at all! This was weird. It felt weird. Like he just put on a pair of sunglasses except it was brighter. EXCEPT HE DIDN'T. What was happening?

“What? Uhh! What's happening? What's uhhh! What's wrong with my eyes!?” MK panicked a little, looking back to his friends. Arin looked normal, but Mei looked different. She had a green aura around her, her skin had scales, curvy horns, and a long furry dragon tail. Everyone's eyes widened as they looked at each other.

“WOAH!” They all exclaimed at the exact same time. Mei and MK pointed at each other while Arin just stared.

“WHY ARE YOUR EYES GLOWING?!”

“WHY ARE YOU A DRAGON?!”

“What kind of question is that?! I have a dragon ancestry, no duh I'm a dragon.”

“YOU'RE A DRAGON?!” Arin exclaimed, that surprised him even more than the glowing eyes did.

“Yeah, I have dragon ancestry. My great great great great times a thousand great grandfather was Ao Lie, the white horse dragon who joined the Journey to the West. Don't usually brag about it that often, it's a lot less cool than you'd think.” Mei looked back at MK raising her voice again, “WHY DO I LOOK LIKE A DRAGON TO YOU THOUGH???”

“I DON'T KNOW, I'M ASKING YOU!”

“ARE YOU JUST SEEING MY ANCESTRY?? WHAT DO I LOOK LIKE TO YOU, A FAMILY TREE???” Mei flailed her arms around, “what ARE you even seeing right now anyway?? Your eyes are all goldeny.”

MK was unsure of how to really answer that. It's difficult to describe everything but it feels really simple. Maybe he was just overthinking this, who knows. Not him, that's for sure.

“I mean uhh…it's very gold. There are uh little bits of gold balls hovering in the air, you look like a dragon, the mural has a white outline for some reason. I don't really know, this is very weird and difficult to explain.”

Mei snickered, “We got MK seeing balls in the big ol day and age, I didn't know you swung that way.”

…OKAY, AND WE'RE MOVING ON-

“It's like some weird gold vision…” Arin commented, stepping closer to MK. “Maybe it lets you see the things no one else can, like the things hidden in people. Why is the mural different though, could you look at it again? Try telling us what you see?”

MK looked back at the mural, his gaze instantly going to Monkey King. Nothing happened for a few moments, but something weird did happen. He didn't know how to describe this but the mural…came alive. It shifted from, being pulled from out of the mural as the images animated in golden lines..

“Oh woah- the mural sort of came alive.”

“It did what now?” Mei commented, raising an eyebrow.

“It's shifting into the important stories of Monkey King! That's Monkey King when he was born from a stone. And when he got his staff from the Dragon of the East!” MK tried to comment on everything he saw for those unable to. It changed again, now showing a group of demons just standing there. He didn't recognize any of them so he didn't really comment on it. Must be all the guys Monkey King defeated, why is it showing it to him though? But then he saw it, “Huh?”

Him.

His idol.

His hero.

Sun Wukong, the Monkey King.

He was exactly how MK thought he was going to be, his vision in his head matched the real thing exactly. At least he thought it was the real thing. It sure looked like him.

“It's Monkey King!” MK pointed over to the simian, Mei and Arin both looked there expectantly but were met with disappointment.

“Uh, hate to break it to you, but Monkey King isn't actually-” Arin frowned, but MK wasn't really paying that much attention to him right now. There was Monkey King right in front of him, friends can wait thirty seconds.

Monkey King smirked, turning his body as he ran. MK's eyes widened,

“No wait up! Monkey King!” MK immediately ran after him, catching up a lot faster than he expected to. He reached a clearing in the cave, the light bright as he passed through the opening of the rocks. He reached out his hand to touch him, “It's really-”

Unfortunately, his hand didn't connect with anything solid as it went through Monkey King's form as he evaporated. The gold in his vision went away, reverting back to the colorful world he knew. He stopped running, a frown forming on his face as his hope was shattered.

“Monkey King…?” His frustration rose, kicking a rock as he sat down on the ground. “Ugh! What was I thinking?! For a moment there I thought- ghhh.”

Mei and Arin caught up to him, standing on opposite sides of him.

“Sorry MK, I tried telling you…” Arin sighed, “Guess there's no sign of Monkey King. Is he really here after all?”

Arin looked around, not seeming to notice anything. But MK wasn't focusing on what he was doing. There was no Monkey King…he wasn't here. He's real, everything else is real. But he isn't here. He felt awful…he was looking forward to all this. Monkey King was his everything and he doesn't even know him! Augh!!! A butterfly flew down from the sky, flapping its delicate wings as it landed gently on his arm.

“Oooo, a butterfly landed on you! That's so cool!” Mei leaned in, looking at the butterfly closed. But they were all hit with something none of them expected.

“Sup.” The butterfly spoke in a high pitched voice.

It spoke. Actually spoke.

MK's eyes widened as it talked, immediately creeped out and admittedly scared. Bugs weren't his thing. Neither were spiders, especially spiders. He hated them, so many legs, ugh. They were gross…

“A talking butterfly?” Arin questioned, not as surprised as Mei and MK were. Again. He looked a bit unnerved so he wasn't completely unaffected, “That's a new one…still weird but you know.”

“Holy shit bro…” Mei said slowly, her mouth hung open.

The butterfly stood confidently (if they could even do that), “Yes, it is I! Monkey K-”

MK slapped the butterfly, then as soon as it was on the ground he stomped on it. Mei and Arin screamed in protest,

“AUGH! MK WHAT ARE YOU DOING???” Mei yelled, her hands on her head.

“TALKING ANIMALS ARE USUALLY IMPORTANT! I DON'T THINK THAT'S A NORMAL BUTTERFLY EITHER!”

“Really? I didn't notice…considering IT TALKED!” Mei replied snarkily, “Well…too late now I suppose, you probably killed it.”

“I uh…don't know if it's dead yet. Does anyone want to check?”

Just as MK said that, the butterfly glowed gold. It's body morphed, squeezing out of the hold of MK's shoe and transforming. It took the form of various animals, glowing as it fluidly transitioned from form to form. Then, it turned into a humanoid and MK recognized him instantly. It was Monkey King, there was no other ginger simian that he knew about. He was just like he thought he would be, his skin was dull with a yellow tint to it but next to his ginger fur it looked bright. Red ribbon stemmed off of his head, trailing down half his body. His attire was a lot less flashy than he expected but that was a long time ago, it could be excused. MK heard that Monkey King was short and it held up. He considered himself to be on the shorter side around 5’4 to 5’5. But Monkey King probably stood at 5’2 to 5’3. It didn't make him any less intimidating, if anything, it made him more intimidating. Nobody wants to see a short person running at you at full speed, believe him.

“M-m-m-monkey King?!” MK exclaimed, immediately regretting all of his actions from the last thirty seconds.

“THAT'S Monkey King?” Arin raised an eyebrow.

“The one and only! Why so skeptical, not what you expected?” Monkey King looked over to Arin, his aura of confidence intense. “I get that a lot.”

“...yeah.” Arin mumbled, his eyes narrowing.

“So, where's my staff?” Monkey King looked around, before settling on MK…who was currently on the verge of tears. THIS WAS A LOT, OKAY? Don't come after him.

“I'm so sorry! I tried to bring it to you but Princess Iron Fan came and took it. She's got this glove-” MK's groveling and apologizing was stopped by Monkey King's laughing. He looked back up,

“I know, I know. Look, I'm gonna come clean. Um... I've been kinda watching you.”

“What?” MK raised his eyebrows, immediately rethinking back on the events of the day.

“You've been stalking us?! Look out Monkey King, that sort of stuff could get you cancelled!!” Mei joked, MK knew it was because she didn't know what to say. “Still creepy though, we didn't notice you at all. Are you secretly a ninja as well???”

“You know, I really doubt that one.” Arin mumbled, he was being weirdly quiet right now.

MK thought back to the bird that poked him off the metal pipes, connecting the dots. “Wait, what? That was you? Back at the construction site??”

Monkey King laughed again, completely amused. “The look on your face, you're perfect!”

MK narrowed his eyes in confusion, about to reply but Arin beat him to it.

“Perfect for what?”

“To be…” Monkey King paused dramatically, crossing his arms. “MY SUCCESSOR!”

MK and Arin both looked at him with suspicion. Mei was just straight up happy,

“Successor??? No shot!! That's amazing dude!!!”

“Ehhh, I don't know about that one Mei. This feels off, even to me.” Arin replied, MK couldn't help but kinda agree with that.

“Uhhh? Are you sure you're the Monkey King?” MK approached Monkey King closer, really examining him. “You've been cooped up in here way too long. I think your brain went mushed up.”

“You think I'm kidding?” Monkey King smirked, laughing again. “No, I'm completely serious, I want you to be my successor. Listen, Kid. You fought demons and you didn't die. And you made it here. Not just anyone can lift my staff.” He pulled out a bag of peach chips, “But you did. Plus, you came here with friends too! Got a whole team of friends to help you already!”

“Got a good point there, I won't lie.” Mei nodded along

“But what about DBK?”

“Phft! What about DBK? You can handle it. Consider it a trial.”

“A trial to defeat someone actively destroying the city?” Arin raised his eyebrow again, his suspicion raised again.

“Exactly! See, this guy gets it.” Monkey King pointed at Arin, throwing a chip into his mouth and chewing on it.

“Not what I was getting at…” Arin mumbled, crossing his arms.

“But I-” MK started, only to be cut off.

“Look if you can lift the staff you can use it. Just believe in yourself. Even a smidge makes all the difference. The staff was taken from you. Take it back.” Monkey King's words were incredibly convincing, his words held weight and it was some genuinely good advice. MK already felt himself becoming convinced. With new found confidence, he spoke up.

“Alright!!”

“No.” Arin immediately interjected

“Wait huh?”

“Something isn't sitting right with me, what about you? You're just going to sit here?” Arin gestured at Wukong, who was currently laying on his cloud and eating his chips.

“Yyyup! That's the plan”

“Got any sort of reason besides ‘it's a trial???’ Because to me it sounds like you just don't want to do it yourself.”

“Uhhh, Arin.” Mei tried speaking up, but it fell on deaf ears.

Monkey King just looked Arin in the eyes with a neutral expression, before returning to the smirk he's been sporting this whole conversation.

“The thing is, I'm kinda retired right now. Not really up for working anymore. I'm centuries old, you can understand that.” His tail swished beneath him, “I’m old and in need of a break, you know how it is.”

“And MK calls you a hero.” Arin muttered under his breath

“Arin!” Mei exclaimed through her teeth, trying to get him to calm down a bit. “What is up with you right now?”

“I think I'm raising a good concern, am I the only one seeing this?”

“I AM a hero. …In some people's eyes, ask Heaven and they'll tell you something different.” Monkey King laughed a little, "I don't blame you for being suspicious, I'm known to have that effect on people.”

Arin didn't seem convinced, his eyes narrowing

“Yeah uhhh, I think we'll go! Thanks Monkey King!” MK smiled nervously, him and MK pushing Arin out.

As soon as they were back in the cave and out of sight, they all speed walked back to the jet. There were two things on his mind, get this done for Monkey King and figure out what Arin was so ticked off about. Because from what little he's seen of Arin, that didn't feel normal.

“Okay Arin, what was that???” Mei looked at Arin, concern clear in her eyes.

Arin sighed, “Sorry about that, he was just- …it felt weird. I don't know. When you described Monkey King, he didn't really sound like a hero, even though you were painting him in that light. He didn't sound good. I wasn't expecting what I saw, but his personality just…got on my nerves. He just got under my skin so easily, probably without even meaning to. I'm usually a very trusting person, I try to give people the benefit of the doubt and believe me, I'm trying right now. Monkey King just doesn't sit right with me, the way he acts doesn't feel right. And what he asked you to do…” Arin paused, “He's supposed to be this incredibly powerful being, so why is he just sitting there? If he thinks he's a hero shouldn't he help everyone in danger?”

MK hesitated to respond to any of that, Arin was pretty valid for what he felt but MK didn't believe what he was saying.

“Makes sense why this would be a trial, at least to me. Monkey King is extremely powerful and he wants to see if I can handle it! My bet is that he'll be watching on the sidelines, ready to step in if anything goes horribly wrong. He isn't a bad person, but he is known to get under a lot of people's nerves. So you're not the only one.” MK tried to be reassuring, tapping his back lightly.

“It's also a possibility that you could just be a little paranoid from everything going on today.” Mei shrugged, “Could just be lashing out as a stress response.”

“...could be.” Arin muttered, “The only way we'll find out is with time. I'll try to trust him. It probably was just paranoia, that felt extremely out of character for me…”

“If it helps, you're not the only one stressed.” MK walked a little faster, passing out through the waterfall once more. The golden seal was reapplied as they exited, closing the waterfall off.

They ran back to the jet, it took at most two minutes but they still had time. MK watched as Arin started up the jet, pressing multiple buttons as the engine started up. They were quickly off. It didn't take long for them to soar over the Flaming Mountains and spot the ship. Arin circles over it, coming in for a relatively smooth landing surprisingly. There was enough space on the deck and it was a small enough jet so everything could fit. That was pretty good, better than crashing. It took a few more seconds but they got out of the jet, landing back on the boat. To Arin's surprise, no one was up on the deck except for Sandy.

“Oh hey! You're back already!!! That's amazing, they were all worried about you all!” Sandy pointed down to the inside area of the ship, “They're with Nya if you want to converse, I'll start up the ship and we'll be back quicker this time.”

Arin was the first to run down inside, opening the door and closing it. MK didn't really have an interest in going, he was occupied with other thoughts at the moment. They'd win. He was going to defeat DBK and his family! He had to win, for better or for worse. Hopefully for better…that's what he really wanted.

 

★—-------★

 

Back in the food truck, everyone raced back to the center of the city. Nya once again held Arin on her back, this time surfing ahead of the food truck as she knocked out all the bull clones in the way with blasts of her elemental power. Arin wanted to make sure Nya was alright, the only thing she really told him was information about things he figured out already. But there was some new stuff, the vortex and what that really meant as well as some more in detail explanation of the Chaos Tear in this realm. What he got is that they're playing the waiting game until their friends all show up, who knows when. Nya looked like she wanted to apologize, she had said that she wanted to tell him something but was going to wait until after the fight so they weren't distracted. Arin was worried about her, she lost control of herself and her emotions. She'd completely passed out! And she wants to get right back into the fight. He couldn't stop her, he already tried. It didn't get anywhere. Nya was being a great help and she's always been an excellent fighter, he just couldn't help but feel worried.

“Red Son ahead! Look alive team!” Nya called out to everyone behind them, knocking out another wave of bull clones.

Red Son stood in the center of it all, a flame flickering in his palm. He looked at the truck currently driving full speed at him, as well as Nya and Arin. He didn't seem that phased, which surprised Arin.

“Arin!” Nya ordered, signaling Arin to jump off. He promptly did so, rolling onto his shoulder and back onto his feet smoothly.

The food truck drifted, its wheels almost screaming in protest. But it came to a stop as everyone jumped out. They all hit various fighting poses as they came out, Tang was welding chopsticks as a weapon for some reason. Arin didn't really know what they'd do with that. He was worried for them as well, this group didn't really seem like fighters, just normal civilians. They didn't stand too much of a chance.

“Are you guys REALLY sure about fighting?” Arin's eyes narrowed with concern, pulling out his grappling hook.

“Oh yeah, huuundred percent!” Mei responded, “I may not look it, but I can throw down if I want to!”

“Honestly, no! I'd really rather not do this right now…” Tang chuckled nervously, Pigsy stood at his side,

“For better or worse Tang, we're fighting with them. It's the least we could do here. They need all the help they can get!”

“Don't count on me physically fighting, but I can lend some support if you need it!” Sandy gave Arin a thumbs up, it still felt weird seeing this absolute giant of a man actually being a pacifist.

“You already know my answer!!” MK grinned, completely unarmed.

Red Son gazed at the group with a sense of amusement and superiority.

“So you wanna be heroes, huh?” His hair was lit ablaze as he grinned wildly, “Let me show you what happens to heroes!”

Nya rolled her eyes, Pigsy was feeling the same way. He rolled up his sleeve,

“I've had it up to here what these demon punk-”

Mei stepped in front of him, holding out her hand to stop him,

“Me and Wyvern will handle this one!”

“Not a wyvern, just a dragon.” Nya replied dryly.

“Doesn't matter, we’re still going to beat his ass!!!”

“Arin!” Nya looked back at the group, “You go with MK and get him to DBK as soon as possible, FIND THAT STAFF! Sandy, Pigsy, Tang! Take care of the remaining bull clones! Me and Mei will take care of this guy…”

Mei gave off a green aura of energy, her eyes narrowing as her and Nya took a stance against Red Son. Arin nodded, grabbing MK's wrist as they rushed ahead.

The terrain was rough and destroyed, debris everywhere they ran. It was difficult to maneuver but Arin had a secret. (…It wasn't a secret at all-) He aimed his grappling hook at the top of a building, a railing placed on a balcony higher up. It was perfect,

“MK, hold onto me! I'll get you closer!” Arin shot his grappling hook as MK held onto him.

The two got pulled up into the air at a quick speed, Arin used his body weight to swing the two past the building and into the air. He released the hook, the wire snapping back into the gun. DBK…he was giant. Way bigger than when they saw him last, he's taller than all of these buildings and about as wide as one of them. It was incredibly intimidating, Arin gulped. He shot his grappling hook again, pulling the two of them on top of another building. He released the hook, allowing them to roll onto the roof with ease. Arin couldn't help but stare at DBK.

“He's giant…” He laughed nervously, “I don't see the staff though.”

MK's eyes glowed a gold color again, the kid was shocked at the appearance of them again.

“Augh! Uh, why is everything gold again?!” MK's eyes widened in a sense of realization, “The staff! It's inside that hole in DBK’s chest! You need to get me inside of it!”

“Wha- INSIDE IT? Are you crazy??” Arin was surprised by that, it was such a wild idea. He didn't know what was in there, it was incredibly dangerous.

“Yeah, guess I am! We need the staff back, if you get me in there, I'll take the staff back and take it from there. Just trust me!’

Blasts of fire and water flew up into the air behind them, occasionally having green flame as well. Nya and Mei looked to be an incredibly powerful duo. He wasn't too worried about their chances…although he did wish Nya would pace herself a bit. Arin hesitated for a few moments, before sighing.

“Fine, ho-”

“The little thief and the eavesdropper return…” DBK bellowed, his voice loud and low. His heart fell to his stomach,

“OKAY, GO GO!! I GOT YOU, JUST RUN!!”

Arin watched as MK ran forward, he followed. They leaped across buildings, landing clumsily but continuing their movements. They needed to get closer in order for this to work, Arin was improvising this as he went…this relied on him. He needed to do Object Spinjitzu to get enough speed to fling MK to DBK. He didn't think he would be able to but he needed to. He could do regular Spinjitzu now, he just needed to anchor himself. They leaped across another building, DBK charging up the cannons on his back in a green light. Arin gasped,

“BE CAREFUL!”

The cannon fired, a large blast of green energy blowing up them. The aftershock sent MK and Arin off their balance, falling onto the ground. DBK laughed,

“This world is mine, there's no use denying it!” Smoke poured out of his cannon, it looks like it has cooldown. They needed to capitalize on that, they were almost close enough, just one more building…

Arin got himself up, stumbling as MK rose as well. They leaped over one more building, having a better landing than before.

“This is it! I'm trusting you, jump off and I'll toss you!”

MK did what Arin told him, leaping high into the air and off the building. Reacting quickly, he shot his grappling hook, the wire curving around his waist at it held him. Arin planted his feet, swinging MK as hard as he could in a circle. He needed to do this…anchor himself. Anchor on what? He thought back to Ras, the tiger had told him that hate can be a great anchor, it makes you stronger. …But that wasn't for him. Sure, it worked to give him a jump-start to fully learning Spinjitzu, but it didn't feel right. It wasn't him. Sora said that he was a kind person, he had hope. That's who he was, he wasn't a bad person. He had a good heart, so maybe he could just use that as his anchor. Substitute his rage for his hope, yeah, that felt like him. Orange swirls poured from his hand and up the wire to circle around MK. With a yell of effort, Arin released the grappling hook and threw MK at DBK with surprising accuracy. MK flew into the hole in his chest, disappearing from view. Arin breathed heavily, a smile emerging on his face.

“I-...I did it.” He cheered, “I actually did it!!”

DBK laughed again, not understanding the plan. “Yes! Now this world is truly mine!”

He then stumbled back, hunching over in a sense of pain. “Ngh! What is this?”

A golden light flashed out of the hole, something emerging from out of it. Arin couldn't really see from this high up, but it looked like some kind of stone. Golden light flung out of the stone, the sky turning a bright ethereal yellow. Someone floated in the air, was that…? No way.

“MK…?” Arin muttered in awe, he knew that Monkey King was one of the most powerful beings in this realm. But this was on another level, this was just from his staff!

A golden crown wrapped around MK's head, a laugh escaping him as he floated there with the staff in his hand. DBK froze,

“...Monkey King?”

He was afraid that much was clear. Completely fair, Arin didn't want to see that amount of power welded by a person on the opposite side either. He was really glad that MK was on his side, this was impressive.

There was another flash of golden light as a line of gold struck DBK, sending him stumbling backwards. Arin struggled following all the movements the golden blur made, the speed MK had right now was pretty terrifying. DBK tried swiping at him but missed every time as MK weaved out of the way with an overwhelming ease.

“Haha! Missed me! Nope! Over here!” MK knocked down DBK with the tip of his staff, sending him into the ground. He spun the staff, slicing a building in half as it hovered in the air. “Okay! Here we go!!!”

“No!”

MK leaped back into the air, the building flying down on top of DBK. The bull caught the building, keeping it from crushing him and trapping him under it. He charged up the cannons again, green light building up inside of it.

“Not again! Enough!” The light blasted through the building, hitting MK head on as he was sent flying into the ground and out of sight. Arin gasped, not having expected that in the slightest. He was winning! Well…not anymore. Doesn't matter, he could still turn this around!

“MK!!!” Arin screamed, there was nothing he could really do in this situation. He couldn't fight DBK, that would be a death wish!

DBK laughed again, “You might have that old fool's staff, but you are not the Monkey King.”

Arin wasn't close enough to hear MK's response but he knows he must've said something. Because just then, pieces of rubble and buildings hovered in the air as they glowed a gold color. Their material changed, turning into a type of red and orange metal. They combined together, forming what looked to be the makings of some kind of…mech??? He could do that? This kid is just full of surprises, isn't he? The mech was the same size as DBK, which was impressive on its own. But the staff MK had grown to fit the size of the mech. Even with this, he could wield the staff. How many powers DID he have anyway?

DBK looked on with a bigger surprise than Arin, “Impossible…”

Arin was surprisingly able to hear MK's voice, it was echoed across from inside the mech.

“Nothing is impossible if you just believe in yourself. Make no mistake, you just got MKO'd!” MK spun his staff, ready to take DBK out for good.

An orange flame rushed past the mech’s foot, followed closely by the sound of yelling and rushing water. Just then, Nya and Mei appeared in view, surfing on the ground.

“GET BACK HERE RED BOY!! WE'RE NOT DONE WITH YOU YET!” Mei called out to the flame, was that Red Son?

DBK looked down at the flame as it turned back into a humanoid figure, red hair and a red cloak. Yeah that was Red Son alright. He looked completely beat up, bruises and some drawn blood. Nya and Mei looked like they had some bruises here and there but were a lot more unscathed than Red Son. Guess there was no reason to worry about Nya after all…

“Ugh! Stop chasing me peasants!” Red Son shouted back, hunching over in pain. “Can't you see I'm trying to escape?!”

Nya and Mei stopped at the mech's foot, glaring daggers at the Demon Bull Family. They didn't respond to Red Son though.

“Where's Princess Iron Fan? I haven't seen her this whole fight.” Nya looked around, spotting Arin and giving him a nod. “I have a score to settle with her.”

“Doesn't matter! 2 out of three is better than none at all.” MK swung his staff at DBK and Red Son but it collided with something else and was stopped in its tracks.

Princess Iron Fan held the staff in her gauntlet, slowly turning it out of her face. Nya gritted her teeth but surprisingly didn't yell at her immediately.

“We know when we've been bested.” Iron Fan said calmly, not seeming to have the intention of fighting anymore. “But this won't be the last you see of us, Noodle Boy. …And you as well Wyvern, I look forward to our next meeting.”

She laughed as she disappeared, Nya didn't try to run forward, not really seeing any point in going after her. MK was distraught and incredibly disappointed,

“What? No! No fair! Come on, you can't just run away when I'm right about to win!”

It didn't matter though, they won! And they survived, sure they were still out there and a future problem. But that wasn't really a problem right now. He just needed a break from all this fighting for a little while.

“Welcome to heroing, it gets worse from here on out.” Nya sighed, “you all did great though, you as well Arin!”

Arin smiled, aiming his grappling hook at MK's mech as he swung over to the ground.

“Thanks Nya, I did object spinjitzu again! At will! Not by accident!!! I'm so proud!” Arin cheered again, meeting the eyes of a smiling Nya. “And MK! That was incredible, how did you even do it?”

“Erm, I don't really know! I just felt this power and used it.” The mech shrugged.

“MK! You totally kick DBK's butt. Without us, the city'd be toast!” Mei said excitedly

MK simply chuckled awkwardly, “You know it wasn't just me right? I couldn't have done this on my own.”

The mech's head turned down, looking at Arin and then everyone else. MK then exited the mech, landing on the ground. He was immediately attacked with a hug from Sandy, Mei getting caught in the middle of it as well.

“You did great, little man!!” Sandy then looked over at Arin and Nya, “Get over here you two, you're in the group now so that means you get the hugs!”

Nya smiled again, letting out a silent laugh. Her and Arin walked over to Sandy, allowing themselves to be hugged as well. Eventually, the hug ended as they were released.

“You know, you're basically the new Monkey King now! Technically the successor but who cares! You're Monkey King in my book!”

“Monkie kid.” MK replied

“Sorry?”

“You know, for like a hero title. Makes sense, successor to Monkey King, MK, see my vision?”

Mei nodded along, “Indeed I do, excellent idea!”

“You did good, kid,” Pigsy smiled proudly, "you did real good.”

“But uh, what now” Sandy questioned, it was a good question honestly.

“Isn't it obvious?” Mei smirked deviously

“Yeah! Beat up more bad guys!!” MK yelled with confidence.

“You guys are welcome to, but if I don't lay down, I'll die.” Nya groaned

“I agree, I need to crash…” Arin sighed

“We COULD just go and eat some noodles?” Tang suggested, everyone gave it a great amount of approval.

“Yeah! Noodles, noodles, noodles!” Mei and MK chanted, running around the mech.

They won, and Arin was glad. That was one baddie of this realm gone. Not gone gone, but nonetheless, they were victorious. Sitting at a good 2/9 ninja, all they had to do was wait for everyone else to show up. It was a lot easier said than done, and they've already missed so much so catching them up is good to be a bit of work. Plus with Rogue and Ras thrown into the mix as well, they need to watch out for them. Right now, Arin wanted nothing more than to take a giant nap and just relax. That would be fun…sounds like a plan!

 

Unbeknownst to the rest of the group, there were other dangers waiting for them in the future. More beings that are more powerful just by their presence. Changing this future by being banished was an event some didn't expect. More challenges, more foes, but also more allies.

And just then…as the ninja and the Monkie kid crew were peacefully eating their noodles, in the vast distance away from the city…

The sky itself parted, a swirl of water tearing open reality and opening a vortex, iridescent colors spiraling endlessly inside.

And two red figures fell out of it.