His Other Half | Ninjago

Chapter 1| As Simple As Any Father And Son

☯️~☯️~☯️

The First Spinjitzu Master stood in front of an empty wooden crib and took in a deep breath. He knew he still had two elements left within him, ones he thought no one was responsible enough to use or worthy of wielding; creation and destruction. He had given all the other elements to his guardians whom he had created as grown men and women.

He positioned himself so that his arms were outstretched and his hands were reaching into the crib. He closed his eyes and concentrated on one side of his double-sided being. His heart was hammering loudly in his chest as he felt something being ripped away from his soul. He felt tired but light at the same time.

Strands of dark purple light erupted from his hands, twirling around his fingers before shooting towards the blanket arranged in the crib. The strands intertwined with one another, criss-crossing, moving under and over, folding and unfolding till they fashioned themselves into the form of a human baby.

His hands were shaking and so was his entire body. When it felt like he had given everything he could, he bent over and rested his hands on his knees. He was breathing heavily, sweat trickling down his forehead.

He stopped, however, when he heard crying from right above his head. He straightened up wearily and looked down at the baby who was flailing his arms and legs and crying his little head off, eyes shut tightly. The baby had dark brown hair and skin of the lightest shade of tan.

Destruction, he thought.

With trembling hands, the new father quickly wrapped the blanket around the naked baby. He slowly lifted him out of the confines of the crib and held him close to his chest. The baby was still crying and screaming so he tried to jiggle him up and down slightly to calm him.

"Shh. It's okay. I've got you."

Sure enough, his crying lessened as he opened his eyes to reveal two sparkling brown irises. The First Spinjitzu Master smiled like he had never done before. He felt complete with this little bundle of joy in his arms. Not quite though for creation still needed to be there. He slowly bent down and kissed the top of his "son's" head, which caused him to stop bawling immediately.

"Hello there, little one," he whispered.
The baby looked up at him, silently gazing into the blue eyes of his father.

Not looking away from the small face peeking out from the blanket, he made his way to his room for night had fallen and he had spent quite a lot of energy that day.

"We'll bring your brother tomorrow. Father's tired now," he said. He felt pride in thinking that he was a father; that he had a responsibility.

Despite feeling weak and exhausted, he fell into a wonderful, comfortable sleep with the "light of his life" in his protective arms, already getting down for his first nap.

That is until the baby started crying again in the middle of the night.

"Oh dear. I forgot about your milk."
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The next morning, he was as excited as yesterday but very, very tired. He had stayed up all night either feeding his son with a glass bottle or walking around the entire monastery, rocking him to sleep.

It was at that time he realized that after creating the second, having to take care of two infants simultaneously was going to be an exceedingly stressful job. Especially when they would be only a day apart.

But he couldn't help the feeling of uneasiness he felt without, what would be, his second son. His crying, firstborn child was not helping matters either.

He was always restless and never seemed to quiet down unless his father's fingers served as a pacifier for him to suck on while he would continue to gaze up at his parent with big, innocent eyes.

The First Spinjitzu Master had seen countless mothers and fathers making their children laugh when they would cry by making funny faces or singing songs.
But no matter what he did (even if it felt awkward) the baby never stopped crying but would unintentionally poke his father in the eye with one of his legs which never seemed to be still for even a second.

He was getting worried and assumed that his son was experiencing a stomach ache or something much worse and that he could never find out because the baby couldn't speak.

One thing which was really getting on his nerves was that the baby did scream if he was hungry but wasn't able to keep anything down. After a bottle of milk, it would be time to pat his back and make him burp. But with the release of air, out would come a spurt of vomit, covering the weary father's entire shoulder.

For that reason, the First Spinjitzu Master was forced to look ridiculous by walking around his home with an old cloth draped over his shoulder for emergency throw-ups
and it was either that or to spend the rest of the day in a vomit-stained kimono.

He decide to name him Montgomery as it meant "from the mountain of the powerful man" and thought that there was no better name for him.

Ignoring the warning he had given himself that this was going to be a traumatic experience, he listened to his heart and in the wee hours of the morning, he took out the wooden crib. He wiped his saliva covered finger (which he had used to put Montgomery to sleep) on a napkin and performed the same procedure he did before.

Woken by the noise of another infant and the golden strands of light issuing from his father's hands, Montgomery, who was asleep on a mat, began to bawl.

His father reached into the crib and took out a bundle of blankets enveloping a fair-skinned baby with blonde hair that shone like the rays of the sun. This one, however, did not start screaming but slept soundly in his father's arms. The First Spinjitzu Master lovingly cradled him and carried him over to Montgomery.

"Shh, be quiet. Look. Your brother has finally arrived," he whispered, but the brown-haired baby continued his tear-less screams which caused his younger brother to stir, disturbed.

Not ready for a cacophony of shrill cries coming from both of his sons, the First Spinjitzu Master grimaced and began to rock the struggling baby.

But surprisingly, he did not cry. Instead he opened his eyes (which were blue, much to his father's joy) and lay there quietly.
The father of two slowly put him next to Montgomery so he could pick him up and try to calm him down.

However, as soon as the blonde baby was placed beside his brother, Montgomery stopped crying immediately and, to his father's amazement, gave a toothless smile.

It was at that moment that he realized that his son was waiting to be united with 'his other half'. And he found this so sweet that he chuckled.

"A quiet little angel, aren't you," he said, holding the blonde's closed fist. "Quietning the devil without doing anything. I think I'll name you . . . Wu; the gateway to heaven."

He picked up his now happy, smiling sons and went outside where he stood at the mouth of the monastery's gate, looking at the sunrise. A new day was dawning as the sun rose, shining it's light on the new family, on a new life Garmadon would begin.

"Remember, my sons," he said to the tiny duo which rested on each of his arms, snuggled against his chest. "I am your father and you are my children. We are a family unlike any that this world has ever seen but in no way are we completely different from the others. We will laugh and play, cry and fight, fall and rise and grow old together just like the rest. For we are as simple as any father and son."

☯️~☯️~☯️