In an Alternate World (NINJAGO)

Chapter 18

Kai panted as he trudged along the winding road to Jamanakai Village, his wounds burning worse than before as the wind practically slapped him in the face. The Skulkin had fulfilled their end of the bargain; sending Kai out of the Underworld and into a nearby town, while they were granted their freedom. Kai couldn't care less about leading their pathetic army anymore; all that mattered was his master, but now that he was gone...

The former general huffed, trying to shake Garmadon out of his head. No more dwelling on the past. He needed to find a place to heal, and fast.

Kai stumbled into a patch of freezing snow, too exhausted to pick himself up. He closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep, or at least numb the excruciating pain through the snow. He had almost successfully blacked out, when the voice of an elderly woman caught him off guard.

"My god, boy, what have you done to yourself?"
-
The tea lady had given him nothing but a cup of pungent, hot liquid and a handful of scoldings. Kai was tired of her by the time he had been able to comprehend where he was... and that was minutes ago.

"Look, lady, I don't have time for this!" He snapped after she had nagged him for too long. "And what is this stuff? It tastes like shit!"

"You ought to respect your elders, boy." The old woman shot back, tapping on the rim of his cup. "You fail to realize one thing; I am armed with dozens of recipes that can turn you into something unpleasant."

"Oh please, like that'll ever happen." Kai attempted to smirk, but his wound forced him to cringe in pain. "U-Ugh!" He touched the side of his face, only causing him to cry out in pain even louder.

"You're right." The woman lifted her brows, looking him up and down. "You're already hideous."

Kai sat up quickly, flustered. "Wha-What?! I can't look that bad..."

The woman tossed him a small mirror on her dresser. "Have a look for yourself. Just try to refrain from screaming in horror, please." She sighed heavily and peeked outside. "I don't want to scare away what little customers I am so lucky to have."

Kai snatched the mirror into his hands and attempted a scowl, which quickly disappeared.

His mouth dropped open when he saw himself, a feeling stirring in his stomach that he couldn't quite name. Was it disgust? Fear? Shame? No... it was more like...  pride...

He even looked almost... good.

After all, half of his face eerily looked like the man he respected for years.
-
(One week later)

"Nya, I believe you can stop now. Overexertion is never a good thing."

Nya huffed, hopping down from one of the platforms of the training course and turning towards Zane. She wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead and crossed her arms. "I'm just training, Zane. I'll know when to stop."

"The problem is, you don't." Cole piped up from behind her, ruffling her messy hair. "But I guess that's one of my little sister's many quirks that I gotta learn."

Cole has insisted on calling her his "little sister", justifying it by saying she never had a good older brother to look up to, but mostly because he had always wanted a little sibling. Nya had agreed to it somewhat. After all, Cole did act like the oldest out of all of them, even if it was Zane biologically. It was more of a Cole-thing anyways; Zane was more of a little brother with his naive understanding of the outside world, and Jay was...

Nya hugged her body, glancing at Jay training alone. It had been over a week since their escape from the Underworld, but everything was still the same. It wasn't that they were growing apart; it was that Nya wanted more, and she had a feeling Jay did too. Of course, they had to worry about Garmadon's return, a battle that would require hours upon hours of training, but still. Was it too soon for them to go out? Would it be the inappropriate time with so much that was at stake?