Ring of the Artisan

Act III Ch. 5: A Shadow of Myself

warning (this chapter): nausea + vomiting, concussion symptoms (all info is based on research)

also it's so difficult keeping track of so many characters lol

~

"That's it?"

The fight against the pirates ended in such an anticlimactic way. Nya completely swept the fight with her Samurai mech. Most of the pirates were terrified of the "mechanical doo-hickey" and fell with a single hit.

And so, the ship was reclaimed in an anticlimactic way. The Bounty descended and parked in an empty street and the police were contacted. They were quick to arrive and handle the rogue pirates.

"Great work, ninja," The police chief congratulated the many of you.

"Don't forget this little fella," Kai ruffled Lloyd's hair. 

The chief smiled for a moment before he glanced up at the Bounty behind you. "Uh, isn't that your ship?"

You spun around and spotted Lord Garmadon on the Bounty's deck. He was holding an enormous weapon made of solid gold, its head vaguely resembling that of a dragon. The Bounty's engine fired and the ship slowly began rising into the air.

"Sorry, ninja!" Lord Garmadon laughed. "You snooze, you lose!"

"Garmadon!" Kai shouted.

"Dad?!" Lloyd called as he took a few steps towards the departing ship.

"You really are becoming stronger, son," Lord Garmadon proclaimed, "but you won't ever be strong enough to defeat me!" Lord Garmadon pointed his oversized weapon down at the many of you. "Give up now, before it's too late."

Lloyd paused for a moment before glancing back towards the many of you. Lloyd held an expression of courage as he turned back to face his father.

"So be it," Lord Garmadon lowered his weapon. "Have it your way!" The Bounty then rose further into the air before sailing away from Ninjago City.

"Great," Jay muttered. "Lord Garmadon's back, and he's got our ship."

"Hey," Cole smiled as he stepped up to Lloyd. Cole placed a hand on Lloyd's head. "At least, we've got this little bugger."

"What is it with you all messing with my hair?" Lloyd swatted Cole's hand away.

"It's fun," You smiled and patted Lloyd's shoulder. You then waved a hand. "Think you up to do some more training, today?"

"Heck yeah, I am!" Lloyd nodded, determined. "C'mon, let's go!"

~ ~ ~

You were awake in your bed, unable to go back to sleep. An unsettling dream had caused you to wake up, one that surprisingly wasn't related to recent events. You don't remember much of what happened, but you do remember falling from a cliff and waking up before hitting water.

Not the best thing to dream about.

Now, you sat on your tiny sleeping bag, holding Cider's bonsai tree within your arms. You've been trying to see if you could telepathically speak to Cider. You didn't want to talk out loud in fear of waking someone else up. You shared the room with three of your friends. Everyone else was in the other bedroom.

'I'm getting closer to getting you back,' You had shut your eyes and focused on what you wanted to tell Cider without speaking. 'Acrylic, my dragon, has a voice, now. He needs to learn how to use it on his own, though. If— When I bring you back, you might need to relearn how to walk or talk. I'm not sure, though.'