Ninjago: Where Heroes Come From

Chapter Twenty Two: Together At Last

Despite being grounded on the outskirts of a ruined city, the Bounty had never been cheerier. After all the ninja had made their way back from wherever they'd been, Nya and Zane had set to work inspecting the others and each other for injuries. In the end, Kai, Lloyd and Jay were all sentenced to mandatory bed rest, Kai and Lloyd because they both had concussions (Kai was suffering from a fair amount of blood loss as well) and Jay because he had a broken ankle. 

Nya herself had been diagnosed with a minor concussion, but as the team's primary medic, had relieved herself of bed rest. Despite this, she still had a sprained wrist, which inhibited her from fixing the ship or taking care of the other's injuries, leaving these crucial tasks to Zane and Cole, whose only severe injury was a deep gash in his thigh from where a piece of metal had pierced his skin. He had a slight limp, and there was a bulge in his pant leg where the bandage was, but he was otherwise uninhibited. Zane himself had escaped with no injuries to speak of (his wiring was slightly fried, but Jay was able to fix it from the comfort of his own bed). Lexi, too, was more or less unscathed, which was a matter of personal offence to Lloyd.

But aside from the various injuries and grievances the ninja had with them, everyone was happy. They were happy because the Devouror had been defeated, they had achieved their first ever team victory, and, above all else, because their sensea was alive.

They'd been sitting out on the deck, treating wounds and swapping theories about how and why Garmadon had killed the Devouror and how they would have done things differently, when they were interrupted by a chuckle from behind them. Everyone turned to see Wu, leaning against the railing on one elbow, smiling over them fondly, his eyes sparkling. 

There had been a beat of silence, then, from Lloyd, an excited whoop, and he'd leaped up from where he'd been sitting against the wall and slammed into Wu's chest, throwing his arms around his waist and screaming incoherently into his shirt. Wu laughed, ruffling his nephew's hair, and steadied himself for the tidal wave of huge and shoulder smacks and punches to the arm as the rest of his team gathered around him to demand how he was alive and if he was okay and if he knew what his brother had done.

"I'm alright," Wu said once the roar of noise had died down, "I survived because I was not killed within the Devouror, and when it exploded, I was freed." He glanced momentarily down at Lexi, who was staring at him expectantly. "And I know what Garmadon did. I know he saved us."

"I mean, if it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have needed saving," Kai pointed out unhelpfully, "so really, he was just-- ow! Sheesh, what was that for?"

"You're ruining the moment," Nya said, jamming her elbow into her brother's side again for good measure. "Let them have it."

"Sorry," Kai grumbled, rolling his eyes. Lloyd laughed, then clutched his head and winced.

"I believe the two of you should get to bed," Zane remarked, ignoring their cries of protest, "we wouldn't want the concussions to worsen."

"Make that the three of you," Nya added, glancing over at Jay, who was leaning heavily on Cole's arm, "in fact, I think we could all use some rest."

"Not me," Kai said, proving his point by attempting to turn and walk away in a flourish but succeeding only in slamming into Zane and nearly collapsing into a heap on the deck. Zane held him upright, dragging him bodily towards his room, followed closely by Lloyd and Jay. Nya shot the sensei an apologetic glance and hurried to follow the parade below deck. Cole, seeming to sense that Lexi and Wu should have a moment alone, followed as well.

"I... understand this must be hard for you," Wu began, but Lexi cut him off.

"I've come to realize something," she said, "about... about parents. No matter how much they love you... and how much you love them..." she sighed. "They never stay."

Wu placed a hand on her shoulder, and Lexi surprised even herself when she didn't shrug it off. "I thought that once, too," he said, "and I still... I had people once, Lexi." He was staring off into the distance, watching the sun sink into the horizon, painting the sky violet. "I had friends, believe it or not. People who I loved and trusted. I had my brother."

Lexi said nothing, sensing that this was a rare moment for Wu. Perhaps the two were more connected than she'd thought. Perhaps that moment in Mystake's shop, when she'd decided to help him, she hadn't been wrong to do so. 

"But now... now look at me. My brother is evil, my friends are dead... even my parents left me years ago." Wu looked down at her, and Lexi was surprised to see a faint twinkle in his eyes. "But I, too, came to realize something. I realized that although people leave, and people die, and people abandon you... it is never because of you. You cannot hold someone back from the world, just as you cannot hold the tide back from the ocean. In the end, people come and go, like dust floating between your fingers, and your own time will come, one day. We all lose, and we all leave."

Lexi nodded, saying nothing, and for a moment, the pair stood silently, contemplating the sunset. Lexi decided she had changed her mind somewhat about them. She decided, suddenly, that she greatly preferred the sunrise. 

"You must be tired," Wu said after a pause, "you should get some rest."

"I will," Lexi said vaguely. As she began to walk away, leaving her uncle alone on the deck, a sudden thought occurred to her. He should know about not-Ada, and about her scar having been seen.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" Wu asked. It was an innocent question; he didn't know what the answer would or should be. But he should definitely know about her scar.

"No," Lexi replied, and hurried below deck to sleep.

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The next morning was in interesting spectacle. Kai and Lloyd both revolted, insisting that they be allowed to leave their beds, and Nya caved when Zane pointed out that she really should be treated the same way with her concussion. Jay hobbled around after Nya all day, trying to help her with things that required the use of both hands, although they both quickly discovered that kissing was one such activity that did not call for both. Zane made all the meals, accompanied at times by Lexi, who was eager to learn, and Cole, who wasn't at all good but still enjoyed himself. Nya kept challenging people to chess, and she and Kai quickly found themselves locked in a fierce tournament 'to the death' as Jay named it. 

It was, all in all, much like a family. A dysfunctional, awkward, unconventional family, but a family nonetheless. Everyone was happy (for the most part), everyone got along (except when Cole got pizza grease on Jay's controller, or when Kai and Nya got into a heated debate about whether Lord of the Rings or Marvel was better), and most importantly, they were together at last. No one was captured or unconscious or dying, they weren't fearing for their lives or involved in some crazy quest to find magical snake daggers. They were, in every sense of the word, safe.

Of course, this safety wasn't going to last forever, there was no doubt about it. This was Ninjago, and there was going to be some new villain to fight and some evil to overcome and some trial to work through, but they understood this, and they embraced it. They were ninja, they were warriors-- they knew what they'd signed up for. They knew what they'd gotten themselves into.

Still, they relished these moments and held on to them tightly, because for the time being, they were together, and there was no force on earth that was going to tear them apart. Though they had all come from different lands, brought together by fate and an old man in a wagon, they were a family, and they knew that no matter where they came from, they were all headed in the same direction, and that wherever that had come from, it was truly a place of heroes.