Legends of Ninjago Book 2: Rise of the Serpentine

Chapter 27: Never Trust a Snake

Ann stared at the floor while the medic checked up on her. She swallowed hard once or twice, but she didn't know why. There were things she remembered—like getting check-ups—but this time it felt different. Something... something... something wasn't right. Or at least, it was... something... but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't find the right word to describe it, and it left a sour feeling in her gut.
The medic, a snake by the name of Hiss, treated her head injury and cleaned her up, but his motions didn't feel... familiar. A person who was close to you would be unafraid to get a little rough sometimes. Hiss was being as gentle as humanly possible, as if... but she was raised by Scales, so he was probably being gentle for some other reason. Yeah, that—that—that was it.
"You're very lucky," said Hiss, putting his things away. "A cave-in is-s-s no laughing matter. She's-s-s fine, Admiral—phys-s-sically, at leas-s-st."
"Mmm... s-s-so are you s-s-saying there could be s-s-something wrong mentally?" Scales asked, widening his eyes and scratching his chin.
"There could be," Hiss replied, and as he turned back to Ann, she felt another lump form in her throat. Mental? Like, brain damage? She would still be able to fight, right? Hiss pulled out a clipboard and started, "Let us-s-s begin with a s-s-simple memory tes-s-st. What is-s-s your name?"
After a moment of thinking, she said, "Ann Jing." Good. At least she still remembered the basics.
"What is-s-s your power?" Hiss continued.
"My power..." Ann repeated. "Oh, you mean my elemental power? It's water."
"Very good... now, uh, where were you this-s-s morning?"
"I was..." but Ann stopped. Where had she been this morning? She—she—she had to have been with the legion, logically speaking, but no—nothing—not—no memory... blank... she was drawing a blank... there was... nothing besides an endless white haze. She clutched her forehead and winced.
"Oh dear..." said the doctor, clicking his tongue. "Oh dear, oh dear, this-s-s is-s-s not good at all."
"What is-s-s it?" Scales asked, seemingly very worried.
"She has-s-s amnes-s-sia!" Hiss cried. "And a terrible cas-s-se, at that!"
What? Amnesia? Memory loss? That certainly would explain everything, but exactly how much had she forgotten?
"Ann, tell me you remember me," said Scales, coming closer.
She looked up at him and gave a weak smile. "Of course I do, you're Admiral Scales. You raised me like one of your own and trained me in the art of combat. I could never forget you." Yes, this she remembered. It was so clear in her head—a fact more solid than a boulder. Something so engraved in her head was definitely a—a—a real memory. Scales smiled too, and asked,
"Do you remember the firs-s-st time we fought in the s-s-slither pit?"
Ann had been ready to agree with him, but the moment she opened her mouth, the white haze came back and her smile faded. Slither pit... slither pit... slither pit... she had no picture to associate the words with, no frame of reference for what it was or the memory Scales was trying to evoke—the words just felt foreign to her.
"Oh no, it's-s-s wors-s-se than I could have imagined!" The doctor declared, reaching both hands to his face in shock. "If she can't remember s-s-something as-s-s important as-s-s that, then who knows-s-s how much els-s-se she's-s-s forgotten."
Ann thought deeply for a moment. She tried to remember being young—being raised by Scales—and the white haze returned again, blocking everything. Then, an image of herself standing in front of a mirror appeared, maybe when she was eight years old. There was someone behind her brushing her hair. The person—she knew somehow—was much older than her and was her primary caregiver. It had to be Scales. Just like that, her brain inserted the snake into the picture, and she blurted out, "I remember something." Scales and Hiss both stared at her intensely. "I remember... when you used to brush my hair... in front of the mirror."
Scales gave a quick smile. "I... remember, too. But, you must be mis-s-s-remembering. We didn't have mirrors-s-s in the tomb, we had ice walls-s-s."
"Oh. Of course," Ann said quietly. Then, she hadn't just made a major breakthrough. The more she thought about it, though, the more the mirror kind of looked like ice. It was an old memory, after all, it was sure to be somewhat fuzzy and garbled, even before the head injury.
"Well, Hiss-s-s, what can be done for her?" Scales said to the medic while Ann went back to staring at the floor.
"Maybe showing her s-s-some familiar things-s-s and places-s-s would help," Hiss suggested.
Scales was nodding his approval when Ann interjected. "Actually... I think I might want to rest a little, if that's okay with you, Sir?" Scales seemed a little disappointed and Ann knew that he was probably hoping to spend some time with her—her—her—regain memories. But she had a terrible headache coming on, and needed some time alone.
"Very well. We'll prepare a place for you," Scales said and he slithered out of the room.
"Keep in mind what I s-s-said," Hiss went on after they were alone. "Revis-s-siting a few familiar places-s-s may help."
He left then, and Ann sat in the small room by herself for a few minutes hoping that she would still be strong enough to help fight with the Hypnobrai. After all, she hated the Emperor, and she was fiercely loyal to her clan. They were her fam—fam—family, and she would do anything to protect her family. That was something no head injury could ever take away from her. She just wished her headache would stop spiking and hurting so much.
Scales came back a few minutes later and brought her to another little cave where she could rest in peace and quiet. There was a sleeping bag on the swept floor, as well as a pillow for her aching head, and she gladly reclined there, hoping to get a quick nap in before she was needed again.
She was now completely alone in the dark, accompanied by a single candle. The ceiling was all angles and shadows, creating odd and interesting patterns. As she stared at them, she thought back to the times she had spent—spent—spent with Scales. There had to be at least one more memory she could pull out. A training session? The slither pit? A mission? Something?
Then, as gentle as a wisp of smoke, something glided over her mind. It was a tune.
"Little wave... upon the sand... mmm hmm mmm... and take my hand..." she mumbled, hoping no one could hear her. This was definitely a real, strong memory. Now, how did the next part go? "Um... clothed... in foam and born of light... the heavens glow... with pride... tonight." This must be a lullaby from many, many years ago, but who had sung it to her? The voice which instantly came to mind belonged to a woman, not Scales. "Mmm hmmm, lay your head... sleeping, dreaming, in your bed... rest, hmm mmm, in waters deep... and hmm mmm mmm hmmm back to me." What did it mean? Little wave... waters deep... there was definitely a link to her in all of it, and her powers, but—but—but who had sung it? How did she know it? Could it be... some long forgotten memory of her—her—her mother?
All this memory digging was only worsening her headache, so she was forced to forget about it for the moment. Oddly enough, as she drifted off to sleep, the lullaby was forgotten. Completely forgotten.