The camera pans down to Arin posing on top of a gate, while his parents cheer him on.
Arin (narrating): It seems strange now, but remember when Ninjago was the only thing on the map? When it was our entire world? I used to spend all my time trying to be like my heroes, the ninja. Practicing their moves, learning their poses. I wanted to be just like them. To protect everyone in Ninjago. To ride dragons into adventure and mythical realms. Mysterious lands that could only exist in legend.
The sky splits apart behind him.
Arin: But I quickly found out those legendary realms are very real. And I was about to lose everyone that was important to me. My neighborhood must have been the very center of the Merge. But back then, we didn't know what to call it. It was just chaos.
Past Arin's mother: Arin, get inside! It's too dangerous out there!
Arin screams as he is sucked into the Merge.
Past Arin's mother: Arin!
Arin (narrating): That's when my heroes, the ninja, arrived! We were in so much danger, but I couldn't help but be excited.
Past Toge: Hey kid! You get lost?
He calls out the ninjas' names as he spots them.
Past Arin: Jay, the Lightning Ninja! Kai, Fire Ninja! Cole, Earth Ninja! Zane, Ice Ninja. Toge, Wind Ninja!Nya, Water Ninja! Lloyd, the legendary Green Ninja!
Past Lloyd: Hold on, kid.
He sets Arin on the ground.
Past Arin: Green Ninja, my parents are in that storm! You gotta save them!
Past Lloyd: That's what we're here for!
Arin (narrating): And that's when it happened.
The rift explodes and his neighborhood disappears.
Arin: As I saw my small neighborhood disappear and a new city show up on the horizon, I realized I had witnessed the Merge firsthand. The moment all the mysterious realms I had only heard about merged with Ninjago, for reasons no one's been able to figure out. I survived, but I was alone. My parents and everyone I ever knew had vanished.
Past Arin: Mom? Dad?
He looks up to see Lloyd's hood floating down from the sky, and he reaches up to catch it.
Arin (narrating): With my parents and home gone, I had to make a new life for myself. Before, everyone I knew looked like me. Now I walk the streets with skeleton people, buy food from snail people, sell pies to frog people! And since the ninja disappeared, I realized it's up to me to carry on their legendary tradition.
It is revealed that Arin is telling the story to some dogs in a junkyard at night.
Sora: Arin, not to insult the dreams of my best new friend, but... you are so not a ninja.
Arin: How would you know, Sora? You didn't grow up with them like I did. All I need is a master to train me.
Sora: Sure! Ah, one problem. There are no ninja masters around anymore.
Arin: Hey, uh, have you found what we need yet? I can only distract these dogs from making noise for so long. Uh, I don't have that many stories to tell.
Sora: Give me a second.
She picks up an item.
Sora: Boom! And we didn't even set off the —
The alarm sounds.
Security Bots: Halt! Halt! Halt!
Arin: We should be leaving now.
YOU ARE READING
Ninjago: Swift Winds
FanfictionToge doesn't know much about his parents only that they left him on the steps of a Shaolin temple. The boy was raised by monks and now he trains with a family friend named Wu, as he trained the boy to become the master of Air. Him and four other nin...
