Black with a Hint of Silver [ 1 ] | Lloyd Garmadon

09 | NINE

9 | DRAG ON

It was later in the week when the ninja were called in for a 'meeting' with the three elders. All were hoping for good news, or at least information that would assist them in their search for these demonic beings that are supposed to be terrorizing the future of Ninjago, though the elders were very vague with their request.

Everyone had gathered in the kitchen in the early morning with Nya and Emma still dressed in their pajamas. There was no sunrise training that particular day which meant sleeping in, however, the ninja still preferred to be about their day by eight. Emma, on the other hand, had made the threat that if anyone woke her before they needed to be in the meeting, she would personally take their Jay's nunchucks and beat whoever woke her with them for three consecutive hours. And after living with her for weeks, the ninja did not doubt her, so they made sure to be silent when preparing for their day.

As Sensei Wu scanned his eyes over his students, he noticed the girls still in their sleepwear and he raised a disapproving eyebrow while silently judging their decision. Nya didn't notice and slumped on the bench next to her boyfriend while Emma shrugged, "No fight-y, no wake-y. No wake-y, no dress-y," she simply replied, then sitting next to Lloyd who gave a very confused look at the girl. 

Nya snickered, along with Jay and Kai, but Sensei Wu just sighed and looked at Misako and Garmadon who were lightly smiling at the team. 

The older woman cleared her throat to diminish the soft whispers and everyone seated directed their attention to her. "I've looked thoroughly into the letter," she began, raising Emma's hopes slightly. "And sadly, I didn't find anything encrypted in the message."

Emma frowned, then looking at Sensei Garmadon who shook his head, "Though this is true, we think that we found something else," he added in, nodding once to his brother to take over. "We looked into your powers, Emma," Wu told her. "And there will come a time when your powers are put to the test in teaching someone else their similar powers. We wish we could tell you who, but we don't have such information at this time. And it's safe to assume that we will never have this information."

"So, what are you saying?" Emma wondered.

"You'll have to figure out where your path begins and where it ends. We don't know much about this new danger lurking in Ninjago, and we're hoping one day you'll get some information that can help us."

"So, the fat of Ninjago rests in the hands of someone who just found out they were a ninja three weeks ago?" Jay spat out. His reaction time was clearly not high enough because Emma had twisted in her chair and reached over Nya to push him off the bench, landing with a thud on the wooden floor. 

"Hey!" Jay whined, rubbing his head while struggling to get back at the table. "You deserved that one," Cole admitted, then giving Emma a high-five. "I do not understand such humor," Zane announced. Kai rolled his eyes, "We'll explain later."

Again, Misako cleared her throat to gather their attention, "This is going to be tough, Emma. If you aren't up for the -"

"I'm up for it!" she interjected quickly. "I mean, uh, yeah, I'm up for it. If this is what my mom wanted, then yeah, I'm up for it."

•••

After an exhausting day of errands for Sensei Wu, Nya and Emma had begun their long trek home. It was beginning to grow dark outside with the sun setting in the horizon, and the girls were still laughing about Jay's fall off the bench. They were so caught up in their giggles and fun that they didn't realize what was parading around in the grass ten feet away.

It was something that would change life at the tea shop forever.  Something that would make Emma reflect on what was said at the meeting. Something that would make everyone aware of what's really out lurking in the woods of Ninjago.

The girls were occupied with their own conversation that when they finally did notice what was in front of them, they couldn't believe their eyes. They'd never seen anything like it. 

But it was a sight for sure. The girls had stopped walking and watched a baby gray dragon jump around in the green grass. He seemed to be happy as he was scrambling on his small legs to chase after a butterfly.

Nya had taken control and dragged Emma behind the tree to stay away from the small creature as they didn't know what it could do. But after moments of staying hidden, Emma felt something brush against her leg, and when she looked down, she saw the same dragon peeking out the side of the tree to search for what the girls were hiding from.

Emma had let out a laugh before reaching down and scooping the dragon into her arms. He nuzzled against her with his head laying on her arms and his eyes staring at Nya. "Uh, Em, I don't think we should be messing with Ninjago's wildlife," Nya warned.

Emma scoffed, "Please, he's harmless. Aren't you, little guy?"

The dragon nodded in understanding and Emma laughed while Nya looked at it in surprise. "It looks like a big ball of dust to me," she shrugged. Emma rolled her eyes and started walking with the dragon in her arms. "Either way, I say we keep him."

"You can't just keep a dragon, Em."

"Why not? The ninja do it."

"Okay, fair point, but Ultra-Dragon is trained."

"Who's to say he's not?"

"I don't think Sensei Wu would approve," Nya sighed. Emma glanced back at her friend, "We'll never know if we never ask," she simply replied. "What would we even call him?" Nya inquired, a huff of air leaving her mouth.

"Just like you said. We'll call him Dust."