Roots of Earth ~ A Ninjago Fanfiction

Chapter 67: The Mind-Bending Session

It was shortly after Ronin's brief appointment with Dr. Shadow that Dr. Wesley gave all the Dark Sleep victims a quick checkover and proclaimed them well enough to leave the hospital. Ronin, after sitting through an explanation as to why giant "panthers" had busted into his shop, why they had kidnapped him, and why he had been stuck in a long series of nightmares before waking up with amnesia in the hospital two weeks later, immediately exclaimed to Cole, Nya, and Lloyd that he was going back to his shop and he was not "going to get involved with this evil-cat-people business of yours anymore".

"Are you sure?" Nya pressed. "You don't want to get back the Moon Tribe for— you know..." She hesitated. "Giving you those nightmares?"

Ronin still looked pale and shaky, but he was adamant. "Those are just bad memories and dreams. They can't hurt me anymore." He paused. In a brief motion, he reached up and touched his eyepatch. Then he snapped back to attention. His tone wasn't quite as harsh this time. "Good luck with that Moon Tribe stuff. Hope you get Kai and Skylor back." He turned and walked away.

Misako and Jay were just as relieved as Ronin was to leave the hospital and to return to their friends and family. "No more pistachios for me!" Jay crowed as they walked out of the building. He was now fully dressed in his new uniform, and Misako in her usual safari shirt and green neck bandana. The sleek, stern material matching Jay's signature color, along with a dark bandana for his face and a belt allowing easy attachment for his nunchucks, looked good on him.

"I thought you liked the pistachios those guys were giving out," Nya protested lightly, walking alongside him.

"Yeah, but after eating nothing but pistachios for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for days, it gets kinda old."

"There was more hospital food, you know."

"Yeah, but it's all super-gross."

"Except for the pistachios," Cole commented.

"Exactly!" Jay grinned.

The five of them stopped at the parking lot, in a patch of pavement clear of vehicles. "Do you feel well enough to fly, Mom?" Lloyd cast Misako a concerned look.

She smiled gently. "Of course. I feel much better now."

"Great." Lloyd summoned his power, and in a flash of light, the great green elemental dragon appeared, shimmering in the sun. The beast lowered itself to allow Lloyd to help Misako on board, then took off at Lloyd's command.

For a moment, Cole wondered if Jay was strong enough to summon his own elemental dragon. The cruelty of the Dark Sleep still had its mark on Jay, as was obvious from the Dark Mark wound in bandages and the bags under his eyes. However, the electric-blue dragon burst into appearance with ease, and soon they all were all soaring out of Ninjago City.

The four dragons swept across the field where the Destiny's Bounty was parked, and they disintegrated upon landing in the knee-high grass. Master Wu, Liana, and Matilda met Cole, Nya, Jay, Lloyd, and Misako as they neared the ship. Cole caught sight of Wu's eyes glimmering at the sight of Misako.

"You're back," he murmured, embracing her. "You— You are well now?"

"Well enough." Her voice was soft, as if she were afraid of it breaking should she raise it. "It's good to be back and out of bed." As she pulled away from Wu's arms, her gaze fell upon Matilda and Liana standing together close by. Her eyes sparked with curiosity. "I believe some introductions are in order."

Jay, having already met Matilda the other day, fidgeted during Wu and Cole's shared explanation of who Matilda was and why she was here. Misako seemed to regard the witch warily, glancing at her pointed hat frequently, but she shook hands with her politely. "I didn't know some of the Masters had help from you. That sounds like an interesting story."