Ninjago: Earthly Origins

Chapter 3

Kai
Wu came into the library shortly after, and Zane showed him the Drovestone. Zane went to put it in Pixal's lab for her to study
The company had gathered in the library, and Wu had pulled out the book that contained the information about Hypnos that the ninja needed. She turned to a page that looked promising, and Jay pumped the air with his fist. "Yes!" he cheered. "' Weaknesses'!"

"Hypnos the god of Slumber has only two weaknesses – the venom of the Great Devourer, and a single ripe berry from the Traveller's tree."

The company looked at each other in dismay. "Those are possibly the two hardest things to get in the world," Zane said lowly. "And only one of those items still exists," Pixal added.
Kai's spirits lowered. A berry from the Traveller's Tree could only be found in... "The Never Realm," Jay said quietly. "So that means... Cole's never going to wake up."

There was a shocked silence. It only made sense, but... it wouldn't be the same without Cole. Lloyd's head snapped up. "Wait!" he dashed into the boys' room and shortly returned with a squashed up, red, sweet-smelling... "Berry!!" Nya exclaimed. "How on earth...?" Lloyd blushed. "Akita gave it to me before I left in case I ever wanted to visit." Kai and Jay wolf whistled. "Special someone you want to see again, buddy?" Kai swooned. Lloyd shook his head.
"That's not the point. The point is, we need a ripe berry, so we should use this one to travel back! Who knows, we might run into Akita again!" Lloyd grinned. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

As Lloyd dashed to get ready, Nya, Kai, Zane, and Jay looked at each other sadly. Last time they had visited the Never Realm, they had been looking for Zane, who had disappeared into the desolate place days before. Time was faster in the Never Realm, and when the ninja had finally arrived there, years had passed. This meant that Akita would be much, much older, possibly... no, Kai told himself. Don't think like that.

Not long after, the crew had packed food and water suppliable enough for a week's trip. Cole was on a stretcher that Kai and Lloyd would carry, and Pixal (Who was staying behind), would be studying the Drovestone while the others were away.
Lloyd held up a steaming cup of Traveller's tea with a smile. Kai could tell he couldn't wait to see Akita again, and his heart ached for him. At the same time, Kai wished he loved someone like that.

The ninja climbed back into the Bounty, while Pixal held the tea gingerly, ready to blow the steam into a whirling portal.
On the Bounty, Jay and Nya sat at the front, with Zane and Kai in the middle, and Lloyd and Cole at the back.

Nya revved up the Bounty. She held up a thumbs-up to Pixal, who nodded and carefully blow on the Traveller's tea. The steam blew into the path of the Bounty, and whirled into a violet, swirling portal. Nya accelerated the Bounty towards it and waved to Pixal as the massive vehicle inched through the gateway. The last thing Kai saw was Pixal dropping the tea and bringing her metallic hands to her face, her shoulders racked with sobs. Kai understood the trauma that Pixal has gone through when Zane had disappeared – he could have been dead for all she knew.
The ninja cheered as the snowy landscape came into view, Lloyd loudest of all. Before Nya could even park the Bounty, an arrow crashed through the window and flew deep into Kai's arm.

Wu

While the ninja had set off to get the Drovestone, Master Wu had gone to the Explorer's Club to find information on the Drovestone. He was greeted at the entrance by retired explorer Cecil Putnam. "Ah, yes, I remember you. Came in with Misako Garmadon. She redeemed her membership, yes?" "I am here on behalf of Misako," Wu lied. Cecil nodded. A buzzer went off, and the door ahead unlocked. Wu nodded to Cecil and continued into the club.
The Explorer's club was full of ancient artifacts and books. Wu would have loved to spend hours there, studying Ninjago's history, unlocking hidden secrets...