Ivory's Homecoming ► Ninjago

17 ≛ Back to the City

When Natasha stepped foot in Ninjago City, she was blown away by all of the advancements.

She stopped walking for a second and took off the hood of her black cloak. She simply gazed around, taking everything in. Bright buildings stood tall with large computer screens plastered on some. People bustled with chatter, cell phones in hands. God, she had never seen one of those before. Not that... developed.

This was not the Ninjago she recalled leaving behind after the attack of the Great Devourer.

Had it really been that long?

Ronin noticed how far ahead he was. Even with just the slight narrowing of her eyes, he could tell how confused she was. A soft chuckle left his lips.

"Yeah, things have changed here. You'd lose your shit if you had been here when Borg first took over. The technology is a lot... calmer now. Still crazy to believe, though."

Natasha continued after him. It was quite strange to come from the destroyed Stiix to a much larger, vibrant city.

At least the destruction of the Preeminent hadn't reached here.

In the center of the city, the blonde found herself distracted by a standing computer. Pretty plants surrounded it.

Before she even thought of touching it, the face of Cyrus Borg popped up. She flinched.

"You look lost. Can I be of assistance?"

She remembered him. The guy who made all those fancy cars for the ninjas.

She only stared at it. "... hola."

The computer face softly smiled. "I'm sorry, I don't understand your query. You are talking to Info-Vision. Ask a question, and maybe I can answer it!"

Before she could say something else, Ronin doubled back and grabbed her by the cloak. "Come on, kid. He's not actually there."

Natasha didn't really try to escape, so she just followed. "¿Pero adónde vamos?"

The thief turned his head to wildly grin. "You know me. I always have a place to go to."

¤ ¤

True to his word, her cousin did in fact have somewhere to go. It wasn't anything grand, but it was just enough to accommodate the two of them pretty well. She couldn't ask for anything more.

Ronin set up a few things in the room. How he managed to carry even one object without her knowing was crazy to her; she barely got a hold of her cloak.

Meanwhile, she sat on the edge of the bed. Natasha stared down at the folded paper she held on to. Opening it up, she read the command.

Go to Ninjago City.

That picture of the man in black ink bearing sharp teeth never left her mind all this time. The helmet was quite the statement.

For when you make the right choice.

God, it had been two years already since that strange girl said those words to her. Gave her this card. She never thought she would ever step foot in the city again, but... here she was. What could this possibly be for, she wondered?

Perhaps it was time to find out. If it wasn't too late, that is.

Nighttime struck sooner than expected. After a day of settling in, Ronin decided to sleep early.

But Natasha was still in her black skirt, thin gray sweater, and high heeled boots. "Voy a salir," she had told him.

He raised an eyebrow. "It's eleven o' clock at night on a Tuesday. The hell are you gonna go do?"