Chapter 1: All in one day

Kai shoved his phone into his coat pocket and sprinted to his motorcycle. Not even bothering with the helmet, he started it and took off.

How could they do this? How could they believe this lie?

Hot angry tears made his temples moist as he raced away from the Bounty. He didn't watch the speedometer - he didn't care how fast he went.

He didn't care about anything anymore.

That look on their faces. The hurt that they blamed him for.

He just needed to escape.

He sped down the empty highway, leaving Ninjago City. It was late in the spring day, but winter was still holding on to the world with an icy touch. He felt the chilly wind in his face, but he didn't care. His heart was broken. Betrayed by everyone he knew. Nothing else mattered.

His day hadn't started out so awful. In fact, he'd been actually really happy this morning. His tears began to multiply as he remembered just how perfect he'd thought things were, when Dessie had woken him up this morning, with her pretty smile…

~ Earlier that day ~

"Kai, wake up!" Dessie said. Kai moaned and rolled over. "Just…just ten more minutes…" he groaned, burying his face in the pillow.

"But what about our date? You said you had something to show me today."

"But…but…" Kai mumbled.

"Aw come on," she said, climbing in the bed. "I'll tickle you if you don't get up."

"I'm not ticklish," he murmured, one eye half open.

"And I'm not a healer who just took a small class on pressure points," said Dessie sarcastically. Kai sighed; it was true that she was taking healing classes with Ms. Take [Miss TAH-kay, the best healer in Ninjago - but that wouldn't make her able to know where certain tickle spots were.

"I highly doubt - " he began, but she was already tickling him. His eyes grew wide and he threw back his head and giggled uncontrollably. She laughed as he gasped for air, and tried grabbing her hands as they tickled his belly.

"You can't stop a tickle monster!" she cackled, her nimble fingers moving up and down his torso without mercy.

"I-I-I'm gonna die!" yelled Kai, hopelessly drowning in a fit of giggles as Dessie found his most ticklish spot by his ribs. "Stop! I give I give!"

"Oh fine," she said, releasing him. "I suppose I can stop and let you get ready. When will we leave for our date?"

"In half an hour?" he asked.

"Sure," she said.

About a half hour later, Kai walked out in a black leather jacket and sunglasses on. He grinned lopsidedly at her. "Ready?"

"Well hello Firefly," she snorted. "I suppose this is to be a grand occasion?"

"No," he said. "A flippin' sweet one."

"Alright!" she cheered, taking his arm. "Lets go!"

Kai grinned as they went outside and mounted his motorcycle. They had been dating like this for about a year - and Kai knew deep down that Dessie was the one. But he decided to test her a little bit.

"Does Zane's falcon have to come with?" Asked Dessie.

Kai paused. "Uh," he said, "yeah. It was Cole's idea."

She looked at him, clearly not believing him, but she said nothing as she put on her helmet and wrapped her arms around his waist.

There it was. That tingly feeling he always got when she touched him. He smiled and started the bike. I gotta be the luckiest guy in all Ninjago! He thought, revving up the engine and taking off.

Her grip tightened a little, and he laid a hand over hers, holding it against his heart. He heard her laugh by his ear, and his smile grew wider as he envisioned her smile.

"Where are we going?" she asked loudly, trying to be heard over the wind.

"It's a surprise!" he yelled back, speeding up.

"What kind of surprise?" she yelled. "Wait - is that why the falcon is with us? Are we going to do something dangerous?"

"Nah," he shouted, turning off from the main road and merging onto the highway. "I wouldn't put you in danger."

She laughed again, flattered, and gave his hand a squeeze. Kai had to smile - their relationship was going so good. He was just crazy about her, and she acted like she enjoyed his company. But he wasn't sure that she loved him in the same way he loved her. He was ready to marry her, but he was unsure if she would say yes. And if he couldn't be certain of her answer, he wasn't sure he should ask.

But when they were together, he wondered if he shouldn't just pop the question. He always got lost in her lovely eyes, and if she just touched him, then he felt like he would willingly stay in her arms until the day he died.

But he had never done this before. Was he jumping the gun too fast?

She hadn't really confessed any feelings for him. Sure she'd wanted to date him, but dating and marrying were two different things. And so he had decided to ask Zane if he could borrow the falcon for their date. I'm gonna test her just a little, he thought. Zane had willingly programmed the falcon to count how many times Dessie laughed or looked deeply into Kai's eyes. Perhaps Kai would be able to judge from the results if Dessie loved him back.

They sped along the highway, nearing the Sea of Sand.

"Are we going to Ed and Edna's?" asked Dessie, curious.

"No," said Kai with a grin.

They neared Jamonikai Peak.

"Are we going to Jamonikai Peak?" asked Dessie.

"Um, kind of," said Kai with a mysterious smile.

She pinched him. "Tell me," she begged.

"You little stinker!" he said. "Have patience!"

Kai masterfully maneuvered them up the mountain, then parked the bike on a flat slope.

Dessie climbed off and laid her helmet on the seat, turning slowly to take in the beauty of Jamonikai Peak. It was big and sometimes dangerous with landslides in the summer from the rain, but the ground was firm from being frozen all winter at the moment. Dessie breathed the scent of pine, and smiled in the clear mountain air.

"It's beautiful up here," she said. "But why are we here?"

"I wanted to show you something," he said, taking her hand. He lead her into the forested area of the mountain, where the sun hit the peaks and nourished the plants that grew there. The grass was growing back from sleeping for the winter, and it was soft under their feet. The pine trees towered above them, shielding them from the brisk wind. Sunlight came through the tree tops in shafts of light, and Dessie smiled as the melting snow sparkled in the sunshine.

"What is this place?" She asked in a soft voice.

"It's a little place that I call home," he said softly. "I haven't ever shown anyone else this place, and I thought that you might like it." I hoped, anyway.

"I'm the first person that you have brought here?" she asked, in that surprised voice again. Of course you are, he thought to himself, almost hurt that she didn't think that it was natural for her to be the first person to see something special to him.

"Yeah," he said aloud, wondering why she was surprised by that. Was it because she didn't feel like she could show him things that were special to her? Come to think of it, she never really talked about the healing classes that she was taking. Did she feel like she couldn't talk to him about certain things?

She was grinning at him. "Are you trying to figure out how I feel about you?"

He stared in shock. His face grew bright red as he stammered out,"W…what? How…was I talking out loud?"

She threw her head back and let out the most beautiful laugh he had ever heard. "Oh Kai," she giggled. "It was written all over your face. You kept scrunching your eyebrows, and -" she was lost in another fit of giggles.

"Wow," he sighed. "So I need to work on a poker face, huh?"

"Or on talking to me about your feelings," she said, her giggles ending in a contented sigh. "I take it you want to know how I feel about…us."

Kai bit his lip and nodded. "The fact of it is, we've been dating for a year," he said softly, playing with his jacket zipper nervously. "I…I love you. Like, I want to spend every moment that's given to me with you."

She blushed deeply and looked down. "And that's why you wanted to show me this special place," she murmured.

"I kinda want to build a house here," he said. "Just think of how beautiful a little cabin would be here. Sure it'd be a long drive to work, but our kids would love the excitement of going into the city to buy groceries and stuff, and there are tons of plants here for healing that you could gather and put together all the time. And this place is pretty tucked away - landslides never hit this area, because this part of the mountain is made of a special mineral called Yung Stone…" he trailed off, searching her face. She was looking down at her feet, hands clutching her satchel.

"D…Dessie? I…I didn't mean to upset you."

She looked up at him. There were tears in her eyes, but she was staring at him with a huge smile.

"Kai, that sounds wonderful," she said. "And to tell you the truth…I was scared to tell you how I felt about you because I was afraid you didn't love me as much as I love you."

He stared. "For real?" he whispered. "You…you love me?"

"I wake up with you on my mind," she said, blushing. "And I have been hoping that a day like this would come when you would tell me you loved me and…and that you wanted to spend your precious life with me. I haven't told anyone about these feelings because…well, this all seems like a dream. Almost too good to be true. But Kai…I really want to build a cabin up here with you, and live out my life with you. I know things can get dangerous for us," she added. "You are a protecter of all that is good in Ninjago. And I want to marry someone as good and wonderful as you."

He felt like he would float away. "Really?" he breathed. He had hoped, but he couldn't have imagined her loving him this much.

"Kai Tefuto, would you take me as your wife?" she asked softly.

"Dessie Renaro," he said softly, heart leaping as he said her name and stared long into her eyes, "could you ever find me good enough to be your husband?"

"I already have," she smiled.

Suddenly, the falcon gave a cry and landed near them on a branch. A holographic image of Zane came up, and Kai raised his eyebrows. He had never seen Zane so distressed.

"Kai, Dessie," he said urgently. "We need you both to return quickly. We need to speak with you as soon as possible."

"What's wrong?" asked Dessie.

"Cole will not permit me to say," Zane said. "He has said that you must see it for yourselves."

Kai and Dessie ran back to the motorcycle. Kai started the bike as Dessie shoved their helmets on their heads, and then held on to him tightly as they rushed back.

"What do you think is wrong?" Shouted Dessie over the wind.

"I have no clue," he yelled back. "I've never seen Zane so upset though. It must be very serious."

Please let everyone be ok, he thought. As they sped back to the Bounty, he wondered if there had been an accident of some sort. And why would Cole not let Zane tell them what was wrong? What was he hiding?

Or protecting, he suddenly thought, glancing in the rearview mirror at Dessie. Was there something that Cole didn't want Dessie to know? Or maybe something that the Master of Earth wanted to tell his sister in person?

Curiosity ate at him as they got back and rushed onto the ninja's flying ship. "Here we go," murmured Dessie behind him as they ran below deck.