Miraculously from Ninjago | Stranded in Etheria

64 - The Decision

Y/n's POV

We appeared back in the Agreste mansion. This time, the others immediately noticed our return. Everyone cane running over and speaking at once.

"Y/n! Lloyd! You're okay!"

"Girl, you can't go running off on adventures without us!"

"Glad to have you back, dudes."

"Can we go home now? I'm starving."

All the talking was making my head hurt, but I smiled through the uncomfortable feeling. I glanced around at our friends, and one person caught my eye.

Adrien's eyes were red and puffy, and his cheeks were tear-stained. I pulled away from everyone, letting Lloyd handle their questions, to figure out what was wrong.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

He put his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "I'm fine."

I crossed my arms. "Tell me the truth."

He looked down at the ground. "I kinda sorta had an anxiety attack while you were gone."

I stepped forward and hugged him.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there," I said. I suddenly realized why my miraculous was calling me to Paris; Adrien needed me.

"It's okay," he said. "My dad helped me."

"Your dad?" I repeated. I was surprised for two reasons: one, he actually called him dad instead of father, and two, Gabriel Agreste helped his son through an anxiety attack? That seemed unlikely.

"Yeah. He came to an understanding. He said it runs in the family, and that he's not going to make me work for him anymore."

"That's amazing! I'm so happy for you," I said. "Do you wanna talk about what was making you anxious, or are you good?"

"I... I think I'm okay," he said with a smile that made my heart melt. He was probably tired of me hugging him, but I threw my arms around him again anyway.

"I'm gonna miss you," I whispered.

He held me tightly, and rested his chin on my head. "You'll come visit, right?"

I nodded, even though my face was pressed into his shirt. "If you ever need me, I'll be there in an instant."

"Hey, y/n!" Kai called. "Come on, let's get going!"

I backed away and gave Adrien a small smile before heading over to the ninja. The miraculous holders had all said their goodbyes to everyone, except for me. After a hug from each of them—and a handshake from Gabriel and Nathalie—I realized that someone was missing from the room.

"Where's Master Fu?" I asked, looking around.

"He went out to get something," Mari explained. "He should be back any min—"

"Right here," Master said, bursting through the doors. "I brought tea."

"It's a little late for that," Jay said with a confused look. "We're about to leave."

"Exactly," Master replied as he started pouring the drink into different cups. "This is your way home."

"Is this... traveller's tea?" Cole asked, staring into the cup he was just handed.

Sensei glanced at his brother with an annoyed expression. "You had Traveler's Tea all along and you never said anything?"

"I forgot!" Master Fu said, and smacked Sensei with his cane. "My brain isn't as sharp as it used to be. I went back to my apartment to get something for y/n, and I came across the tea while I was looking for it."

At the mention of my name, Wayzz, his kwami, flew over to me and dropped a book into my hands. I flipped it open to the first page and discovered it was a journal that belonged to my grandmother.

I continued flipping through it to find entries about different worlds, magical spells, and sketches of animals from all over the universe. By the looks of it, my grandmother had travelled to so many realms, and helped a lot of people on the way. Ripple's words echoed in my head; Enjoy your freedom while you can; travel, explore, and live.

"Thank you," I finally said, hugging the book to my chest.

"Well, I guess this is it," Nya said as Master Fu finished handing out the cups of tea.

"Wait, you're one cup short," Zane said. "Y/n doesn't have one."

"She won't be needing one," Master said. He looked over at me, and I felt a twinge of panic as I realized he already knew what I was thinking.

"Oh, that's right; she's got a miraculous, duh," Jay remembered. "Okay, everyone ready?"

As everyone replied enthusiastically, I just stared at the ground, unsure of how I was going to say this.

"You okay, y/n?" Lloyd asked.

I took a deep breath, then exhaled. I looked up, and held my grandmother's diary to my chest.

"I'm not going back to Ninjago," I announced quietly.

The entire room went silent.

"What?" Lloyd wondered, approaching me. "Why not?"

"I knew she was staying here," Cole muttered to someone.

"I'm not staying in Paris, either," I said. I was having trouble making eye contact with anyone.

"Etheria, then?" Kai asked.

I closed my eyes so I wouldn't see my friends' expressions, and shook my head.

"I don't understand," Lloyd said, taking my hand. "What do you mean?"

"My miraculous has this power for a reason," I started. "The owner of it is meant to use it for good; they're not supposed to leave it on a shelf to collect dust! I want to help people, and travelling through realms is the best way I know how to do that."

I expected my friends to be mad at me. After all, I was choosing to provide aid for people I hadn't even met yet over living with the families I already had. But instead, everyone just buried me in a hug.

"Good luck, little sister," Zane said.

"Stay outta trouble," Kai ordered.

"Aw, I miss you already!" Mari said.

I laughed and closed my eyes as I settled into the embrace. We all held onto each other for a few moments longer, then we broke away so the other ninja could go home. They all clinked their cups together, then took a sip. Once they were gone, all eyes fell on me.

"Where are you gonna go first?" Alya asked.

"I dunno," I admitted, flipping through the journal to get ideas. "There's a lot to choose from."

"Flip through it, and whatever you randomly land on will be your destination," Ripple suggested.

"Okay," I agreed, and let my thumb run along the side. After a few seconds, I stopped flipping, and opened to the page my thumb was resting on.

"I'm not even gonna try to pronounce that," I said as I looked at the name of the realm. "But it looks like we're going there."

I studied the sketch my grandmother drew on the page, and visualized what the realm would look like. Once I had a clear enough picture, I waved goodbye and reached for my miraculous.

I tapped the clip three times, then we were off on another adventure.

•••The End•••