Author's Note: Hi Guys! So, this is the first fanfic that I have ever published. Like, ever. I think I made this when I was around 12, but I edited and thought it was something pretty cute as a starter. Ninjago is one of my favorite fandoms that I'm apart of! Obviously, this isn't my best work: I know the pace is a bit too fast. If you have any other suggestions though, please leave them for me to read!
Disclaimer: I don't own the franchise or any of the characters mentioned in this story.
Earth Day: A Ninjago Fanfic
"HAPPY EARTH DAY COLE!"
The earth ninja groaned and looked up blearily through his squinted eyes. Someone had pulled up the blinds. Through the glare of the sun, Cole could make out the brightly colored suits of three ninjas: Blue, Red, and Green. Ugh.
"Earth Day isn't about me, nimrods. It's about the actual earth." Cole rolled over and tried to go back to his dream.
"Which you're the master of, Cole. So get up! It's time to celebrate!" Jay jumped on top of him, and the earth ninja shot up in pain, his eyes popping out.
Lloyd cheered and laughed out loud. Kai hid a chuckle.
"Ugh." Cole straightened up in bed and moved Jay off of him, rubbing the crust out of his eyes. "Why are we doing this again? According to Earth Day, you guys should actually be celebrating with Bolobo. He's the master of nature. Which is the whole deal of Earth Day, right? Now stop bothering me."
Cole walked to the bathroom and shut the door behind him. The ninja could hear the water running.
"Oh come on Cole," Kai whined. "Today's supposed to be fun."
Cole was humming inside the shower, ignoring them.
"Zane memorized, like, all these recipes for hundreds of types of cakes, just for you. What were you even planning to do all day?"
The water stopped and Cole opened the door just a crack. "Hundreds of types of cakes, you say?"
Jay, who had been sitting dejectedly on the bed, shot up. "Yeah! Hundreds of flavors. We've been baking cakes all night. Chocolate, Vanilla, Lemon, Carrot, Red Velvet…" he ticked off on his fingers.
"Just come out when you're done and we'll show you!" Lloyd called out. "And don't forget to put on your best Earth Gi. The very best one!"
When Cole came out of the shower, he expected to see the guys waiting in his room. But they weren't there, thankfully. He dried his hair and, remembering Lloyd's instructions, put on his "best" Earth Gi.
As he was making his finishing touches, he heard a knock on the door. "Come in."
It was Nya. She had a present with a bright purple bow in her hand. "Morning Cole, Happy Earth Day!" She smiled widely.
"Good morning to you too, and… uh, …thanks?" His left eyebrow rose as she pushed the gift into his arms. Was this for him?
"Nya, I-I can't take this. I don't have gifts for you and everyone else."
"Not a problem," She smiled. "It's your day Cole. You deserve it."
It's not my day, it's Bolobo's, Cole thought in his head. But he smiled graciously in return and set the gift down on his bed. "I'll open it later, I'm going to assume the rest of those crazy kooks have got loads of stuff planned, right?"
Nya laughed. "However hard you think they worked, I can guarantee you they worked harder. They really want this to be special for you Cole."
Cole laughed back in response as he made his way downstairs with Nya. Not even halfway down, he heard the ninja getting ready:
"Move your big head, Kai."
"Excuse me?"
No one will be able to see the poster from a mile away 'cause your stupid head's blocking it. "
"Guys quit it."
"Shut up, Lloyd."
"Hey!"
"Do you know how long it took me to build that? Now you're in for it."
"ZANE, KAI SET THE DECORATIONS ON FIRE."
"IT'S NOT MY FAULT JAY ELECTROCUTED ME."
"YOU RIPPED IT YOU JERK. HOW DARE YOU."
"AHHHHHHH"
"LOOK WHAT YOU DID NOW, IDIOT"
There was a crash, the sound of broken glass, and muffled screams. Nya whipped her head around and looked at Cole with wide eyes. Cole shrugged.
"Um, wait right here a sec." She flashed him a fleeting smile and then charged down the stairs at breakneck speed.
"ALRIGHT WHO STARTED THIS."
"LLOYD."
"HEY."
"THERE WON'T BE AN EARTH DAY IF YOU DON'T PICK UP THIS MESS."
"I'M PRETTY SURE MY SPINE IS FRACTURED AFTER THAT BEAM POLE FELL ON MY HEAD."
"WELL, WHOSE FAULT IS THAT KAI."
"AT LEAST YOUR HAIR ISN'T ON FIRE."
After approximately fifteen minutes, Cole tiptoed down the stairs after the commotion had quieted down.
The ninja had heard him come down anyway (being master of earth meant heavy footsteps wherever you went) and quickly got into their positions.
What a sight.
Jay was smiling, even though a tooth was missing and his right eye had been bruised.
No matter how much hair gel Kai put into his hair, his hair went straight up into the air and his face was covered in smoke. Cole thought he looked even more like a porcupine than he normally did. He was also nursing a bleeding elbow.
Lloyd had most likely broken his leg and there was small flame dancing on top of his hair.
Nya didn't have a scratch on her.
"Happy Earth Day Cole." They all smiled, though it was blatant to Cole they were holding back pain.
The black ninja took a look around the rest of the room: it was in shambles. Chairs were tipped over with broken legs, the dining table was smashed in half, the wallpaper had been ripped down, and the streamers were blackened from the fire. Plates had been thrown. There was a large sign that had said: "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" with the word "BIRTH" crossed out in green marker, and "EARTH" written on top instead.
"Thanks, guys. I really appreciate all this hard work. Really do. Um…where's Zane?"
"In the kitchen," Lloyd said.
As Cole walked out of the room, he could hear them all bickering again. He rolled his eyes and chuckled.
The kitchen was thankfully cleaner. Zane was icing a cake.
Actually, he was icing ten cakes. The nindroid was working at bursting speed, concentrating hard. After icing, he would put the delicacies in cake containers and stack them on another counter. Cole counted about 45 before he stopped.
After a few minutes, Zane looked up. "Why, good morning brother. I did not hear you come in. How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to know you've been overworking yourself." Cole gave him a tight hug. Don't make anymore Zane, you'll damage a circuit or something. But I do have an idea. If you could get the attention of everyone, have them set all the cakes outside on a table. Oh, and with about a hundred plates. I have an idea."
"Of course. And where will you be?"
Cole smirked. "I'm going off to enjoy my special day the way I always do. See ya, Zane."
"YOU LET HIM LEAVE?" Jay was in hysterics.
"AND WITH ALL OF OUR DRAGONS," Lloyd added.
"Zane, what did he say before he left?" Nya asked calmly.
"And why didn't you tell us? We could have stopped him." Kai was livid.
Zane's wrist plate popped open and the nindroid clicked a button.
"And where will you be?"
"I'm going off to enjoy my special day the way I always do. See ya, Zane."
"Oh okay, that's great. Wonderful. Fantastic even. Thank you so much, Zane," Jay smiled.
"It's not a problem Jay, I knew it was a good idea to record the conversation-."
"I WAS BEING SARCASTIC."
"Guys, let's focus on the problem here." Lloyd interrupted. Kai scoffed.
Turning around, the green ninja blasted Kai with a ball of energy and knocked him out of the room. Lloyd turned back around and cleared his throat.
"Anyways, Cole asked us to set the food outside. We should go do that. He probably wants us to wait for him outside until he brings back something…or someone."
Nya spoke up, "Yeah, but for how long? Those cakes probably won't last for more than about 30 minutes in the sun."
"I can keep them cool with my ice," Zane suggested.
"Good, it's settled then. Zane, Nya, and I will go and set the cakes outside the bounty." They nodded.
As Kai limped back in the room, Lloyd spoke to Jay.
"Jay, you and Kai can go get the plates and napkins and knives and spoons and things. Be quick though, we don't know when he's coming back."
"Why am I paired with Mr. Inferno over here?" Jay complained.
"Quit complaining. You don't see me jumping for joy."
"Well, that's because if you did, you'd probably activate those fire blasters you call hands and burn the bounty down!"
"Guys! Seriously?" Nya glared at the two.
The ninja refocused and all looked at each other in approval of the plan and their tasks.
"Ninja GO!"
After about an hour, Zane, Nya, and Lloyd finally retrieved all the cakes from the kitchen and set them outside, to form the words "EARTH DAY".
35 minutes later the three could hear Kai and Jay heaving and sweating and complain as they made their way up the hill to the bounty.
"Well?" Lloyd said when they arrived.
"We couldn't find any."
"Before Lloyd could blast them with energy, Kai cried out. "WE'RE JOKING. PLEASE."
Lloyd smirked and looked around him. A sweltering Jay was dragging a wheelbarrow of supplies, mostly utensils. "We bought practically everything we could find. The bill was sent to the tea shop by the way. It was more than we had in our pockets at the moment."
"And just how much did you take with you?" Zane asked curiously.
Jay and Kai looked at each other, flushed. "…A buck and a half."
Nya pushed the two back down the hill.
She turned back to Zane and Lloyd. "Now what?"
"Now, we wait."
After crawling back up, Kai and Jay trudged in to take their showers and put on freshly pressed ninja suits. The other ninja followed. Zane had kept the cakes cool enough, he decided and went inside to rest for a minute.
Not even a few minutes later, Cole landed near the bounty, and the four-headed dragon followed suit. A few meters away from him, about six buses parked themselves and opened their doors.
"UM. WILL SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHERE ALL THESE PEOPLE CAME FROM?" Jay exclaimed.
"It looks like the entirety of Ninjago City came here. But why? How did they find us, especially when the bounty is so far away?" Nya peered through the blinds of the bounty.
"Because I brought them here." The ninja turned around as one. "CO- wait, what?" Lloyd said.
The earth ninja laughed and looked at all the ninja proudly, his arms folded on his chest.
"Happy Earth Day you guys. I decided we ought to celebrate properly, and honorably. Like a real ninja would."
"Really? Wow, Cole, that's actually… really nice." Nya put a hand behind her neck.
"What are you talking about, I'm always nice." Cole frowned. Anyways, don't let anyone touch anything yet, especially those Darkly students… they're crazier than they look. Nice design of the cakes by the way."
"Wait, where are you going?" Kai asked anxiously.
"I'm going to go get the guest of honor. Who would have thought he was actually in town today?"
"Who? Sensei?
'Your father?"
"Dareth?"
But Cole had already turned around and left.
The ninja ran outside of the bounty to go help out.
Fifteen minutes later, the ninja heard the familiar sound of loud, beating wings. They looked up to the sky in relief as Cole's dragon roared in the sky, before gracefully landing near the citizens.
Cole hopped off and lent his hand to…
"Is that Bolobo?" Kai whispered to Nya, a slight hint of jealousy.
"Oh Cole," Lloyd smirked.
Cole shouted at the crowds, who were silent, as they watched the earth dragon warily. "Alright everyone, before you dig in, I would like everyone to wish Bolobo a happy birthday!"
The ninja gasped.
"Of course!" Zane said. "Earth Day is the elemental master of nature's birthday. How could I have not seen that?"
"That's so like Cole, always thinking about others." Jay chuckled warmly.
Later that afternoon, when all the cakes had been tasted and taken home, the ninja wished everyone a Happy Earth Day. But they weren't done yet.
"There's more to the celebration you guys!"
Cole took Bolobo's hand and helped him up atop his earth dragon (much to Kai's dismay).
The rest of the ninja mounted their own dragons and followed Rocky all the way inside the Ninjago City Park.
The ninja watched as Cole hopped off and dug a hole in the ground. Bolobo hopped off once Cole was nearly finished. Cole smiled widely, wiping a smudge of dirt off of his cheek.
"Alright Bolobo, you're up. Go ahead and do your thing!"
Bolobo, the elemental master of nature, focused hard and squinted at the ground. The ground began to shake and the dragons let out uneasy growls. The ninja all held on to each other for dear life.
A full-grown tree suddenly burst out of the hole and began to climb towards the sky until it stopped at a magnificent height. It was a beautiful, Giant Sequoia.
Everyone clapped and cheered.
This was some Earth Day.
When Misako and Wu came back from their vacation, they were quite surprised to find the bounty still in good shape. It had been just as they had left it:
Cole was snuggled up on the couch, reading a book, Kai was cuddled up next to him, napping. Zane and Nya were watching a cooking show, glued to the screen. Jay and Lloyd were in the other room playing video games and discussing comic books.
"Well, how did it go while we were gone?" Sensei asked. Cole looked up for just a second over his book and smiled.
"Oh Sensei, you should have been there."