NCHS
By Secret Dancer
Chapter 10: Pieces of a Puzzle
Senior Year
After training with Sensei Wu for two years, it was now becoming their senior year at Ninjago City High school. The Serpentine and Coach Garmadon had been causing accidents in which students were injured. Shard was still in his coma and Zane had been visiting every afternoon as well as the others when they got the chance. Something strange was wrong with Lloyd, he hadn't aged at all. He just….went dark.
Kai, Flame, and Nya worked at their fathers shop Four Weapons afterschool. The Samurai Games had been canceled the past two years due to it being sabotaged. Now extra precautions had been taken so that no accidents would occur. Kai and Flame had been training and they knew that they'd win for sure.
Wisp had been trying to get Jay to ask Nya out but the brunette would always chicken out. He couldn't talk to Nya at all. Wisp tried getting him to write a note since he couldn't speak but it wouldn't work. So the nineteen year old vowed to get the two together. He couldn't just let his soon-to-be- nineteen year old friend wallow in self-pity.
Cole and Rocky were offered football scholarships which they denied. They were too caught up in training to go to college. It wasn't the wisest move but there's no time like the present. The two got asked out by girls but they weren't interested in dating. Rocky wanted to unlock his dragon shape-shifting and Cole wanted to find out what he was since Sensei hadn't revealed the secret in the two years they trained.
Zane had graduated a year early and as valedictorian. During his senior year he won the science fair with Falcon. It was a mechanical bird that Zane could see through its eyes if he wore a certain pair of glasses his father built. Whenever the Falcon took flight a violin recording would play that the student Michael Kramer wrote and people called it Falcon Chase. Zane was just sad because Shard couldn't be there with him. He missed his best friend. Not even the fangirl cards he received in his locker could make him feel better.
They had an assembly today for all seniors. Zane had mentioned it was an assembly that talked about future plans. The worst part was the spokesperson was annoying. It was Gayle Gossip and she rambled on and on. All the teachers rambled on and on. But it was when Coach Garmadon's turn to speak all the lights in the gym went out. When the speeches ended the students were dismissed.
"That was the most boring thing ever! And it was only our first day!" Jay complained. School was getting out and The Serpentine gang was hanging out near the school. Lloyd was with them.
"I can't believe he's on their side. Those snakes drive me nuts! They've messed with our school and then they messed with our friend." Cole growled while they headed towards the RV.
"Keep in mind that they manipulated Lloyd into joining their side along with making him weaker by changing him into a child. We need to review our evidence we collected Junior year." Zane said from the back seat.
"All we got from there was Lloyd ate candy, passed out, and woke up at his house as a kid." Kai responded.
"But what about the time in between passing out and waking up? That was several hours." Wisp added.
"If only we had security footage or some kind of proof of where they had been. We should've asked Lloyd when we had the chance." Cole sighed.
"Maybe we could kidnap one of the Serpentine seniors? They might have witnessed that night." Zane suggested.
"That is a great idea!" Jay exclaimed.
"We should do it during the next football game when everyone is distracted. We kidnap em, take em to the locker room and interrogate." Flame said while punching one hand into his palm.
"Good plan." Rocky replied before they came to a red light.
"We haven't accomplished anything in training. What is Sensei Wu is the crazy guy we thought him to be two years ago?" Kai wondered.
"Let's agree to something, if we don't have any improvement by the end of the week then we don't go back again." Kai replied. The others nodded or said their agreements.
Another training session over. The boys were sore or tired-excluding the athletes of course. As Rocky was driving them back to their homes he was heading to drop Zane back off at the hospital. Shard remained neutral, neither improving nor getting worst. The teens just knew that if he didn't wake soon that he may have to be let go.
"Hey Zane, it looks like another storm is coming in. Do you want me to pick you up when visiting hours are over?" Rocky asked as his buddy was getting off.
"Yes please, thank you." Zane replied before hurrying to his friends room.
The ICU was always a sad place to visit. Since Shard was still seventeen he was in the adolescent ward. Once his birthday arrived he would be moved to the adult ward. Then Ninjago City has their limit to how long they can keep a coma patient. For a minor injury like Shard the capacity is three years. For a serious injury it could be indefinite.
When he turns eighteen his parents order to have him disowned would be fulfilled. Dr. Julien was interested in adopting him and always had been except that the legal parents didn't want to look bad with their friends and dumping off their kid was bad in books. However the adoption wouldn't mean anything if Shard was to be let go.
"Look my friend, it's been two years. I don't know what is happening inside your head but, please wake up soon." Zane asked for what seemed the millionth time. He noticed how he was tired from the training. Usually he wouldn't be so exhausted but Zane found himself slowly drifting off to the sound of the heart monitor and other gadgets monitoring Shard.
Four suits. Wait, no, five suits. All different colors. Zane saw golden in his peripheral vision. He turned to see four weapons across from four of the suits. The Golden Weapons that Sensei Wu had mentioned! For some reason, the Shurikens of Ice called out to him and when Zane touched them, they felt like an extension of him. The white suit came to life and draped him in its color.
Three others emerged from the black void. Their corresponding suit and weapon came to them. The four were left standing in their ninja suits with their weapons in their hands.
Zane recognized each of them by their eyebrows. The blue ninja holding the Nunchuks of Lightning was Jay because of the cut through his right eyebrow. The red ninja holding the Sword of Fire was Kai since he had the dent in his right eyebrow. The black ninja wielding the Scythe of Quakes was Cole because of his bushy black eyebrows. That left the green suit that lie blandly on the ground.
Then four emerged from the shadows just like the three did. They were Rocky, Shard, Wisp, and Flame. All of them seemed oblivious to their surroundings. It was like they were puppets and Zane was the only one free of the control.
A low growl emanated from the four's mouth. They began changing and it seemed to be painful. Wings sprouted from their backs. Instead of perfect teeth they had jagged fangs and were growing snouts. Fingernails grew into claws. The entire skeleton was morphing into a beast. Zane knew which beast: dragons.
Zane woke up and found that two hours had passed. For a short dream he wouldn't have imagined that it took such a long amount of time. He wondered what Shard was dreaming. Being asleep for that long you have to dream of something, right? Maybe it was dancing chipmunks or alien vegetables but you can't just see blackness for two years and not recognize that you're trapped there.
"Z-zane?" The word barely escaped at a hard to hear tone.
"Shard?" Zane asked excitedly.
"Z-zane? You're really….here?" The albino boy asked. His eyes were still closed and rating normal.
"Yes my friend."
A low growl was heard. Shard's heart rate increased as well as his other stats. Skin was trading to scales and teeth into fangs. Then his heart rate shot back down and all was normal. It repeated this two times before Shard was normal.
"I had a dream….I was flying. I was big, like a dinosaur. You were a ninja." He whispered so he didn't shatter anything.
"I am glad you are awake. I know this is early but, you can turn into a dragon."
"Awesome." Shard grinned and opened his pale blue eyes.
The two spent the rest of the time talking. When visiting hours were over, Zane said his goodbye and went to meet Rocky at the RV. A storm indeed was setting in but with Shard back, the group was almost whole again. Maybe with all of them there training would be easier. Yet, Zane's mind strayed to his dream. Would it really become a reality? And were they really destined to become ninja? He couldn't wait to see what the future held.