As the morning light shone in through his window, Jay blinked, opened his eyes sleepily, and stared at the clock beside him. It read Sunday, April 4th, 9:00 am. Jay snuggled back into the covers and closed his eyes.
"Fifteen more minutes."
As he buried himself further into the comfort of his bed, a distant thought in his brain kept him awake.
'April 4th. Sunday, April 4th...'
Suddenly he sat up in bed giddily. There was no time to rest! Today was Easter! Earlier that month, Skylor's Noodle Empire had released news that they were holding an Easter egg competition on Easter Sunday. And the grand prize was tickets to the premiere of the latest Space Adventures movie, complete with popcorn and drinks. (How Skylor managed to get her hands on said tickets is a mystery. But that's beside the point. Never question the head of a successful noodle empire). Jay planned on entering the competition, winning, and asking Nya out on a date to the movie. His plan was flawless. What could go wrong?
After getting out of bed, Jay headed to the dining room where the others were gathered. They were enjoying breakfast made by Zane. Upon entering the room, character instantly distracted him.
"Morning Jay."
Jay heart skipped a beat as he heard the angelic voice of his Yang, Nya. He stared at her in a daze before taking a seat next to her at the table.
"Hey Nya."
He began wolfing down scrambled eggs and bacon as fast as humanly possible. After all, he didn't want to be late for the event. However, in his haste, Jay didn't realize how obvious his actions were.
"Slow down, Jay. Are you trying to compete with Cole?"
Across the table, Cole glared over at Kai, who had just spoken. The earth ninja stuffed yet another pancake in his mouth as Jay freaked out. If the others heard of this competition, his chances would dwindle.
"Compete? Who said anything about competing?"
The others stared at him in confusion. Jay continued freaking out, not realizing his actions were making him that more obvious.
"Uh.. well. Look at the time! I should really get going. Ha.."
Jay chuckled nervously, stood up, and raced out the door. As he left, the others looked at each other in confusion. Cole raised an eyebrow.
"Anyone know what that was about?"
Kai smirked.
"No, but I know how we can find out. Anyone up for a road trip?"
…
Upon his arrival at the competition, Jay looked around Ninjago park anxiously. There were far more people taking part than he had anticipated. Still, he was determined to win the prize. He had been through countless battles with Serpentine, Ghosts, Sky Pirates, and more. This battlefield was nothing compared to those fights.
"So this is where you ran off to."
Jay jumped and spun around to see the other ninja standing behind him.
"You followed me?" He squeaked. Now his perfect plan was thwarted. How was he supposed to surprise Nya when she was already here? Not to mention his competition just went up tenfold. Kai crossed his arms.
"You kind of made it hard for us not too. You mind telling me what we're doing here?"
For once in his life, Jay kept his mouth shut. He nervously stared back at Kai as Zane looked around the park, analyzing their surroundings. As Jay refused to answer, Zane spoke up in his steed.
"It appears we are at an Easter Egg competition."
Cole instantly perked up.
"Easter Egg hunt? That means candy, right?"
Jay internally sighed. Leave it to Cole to focus on the least important aspect of this competition. However, at the same time the wheels began turning in Jay's head. If he could convince the other ninja that his only reason for being here was candy, then perhaps he wouldn't have to worry about losing the major prize.
"You got me there. After all, what's better than free candy?"
Jay's statement gained the attention of Lloyd, whose eyes gleamed for a moment at the mention of the word candy. However, he instantly straightened up, trying to look more mature.
"We should get back to the monastery. We need to be training, not looking for sweets."
Jay innocently smiled.
"Come on, Lloyd. Don't you want to have a little fun?"
"Who knows when another enemy might attack? We need to be prepared!" The green ninja shook his head, trying to stand his ground. However, now that the others had caught wind of Jay's idea, Lloyd's efforts were in vain.
"We can make our own competition out of it. Whoever collects the most eggs doesn't have to do chores for a month." Kai suggested. Cole nodded while Zane looked perplexed. Nya determinedly smiled, once again sending butterflies to Jay's stomach.
"You're going to regret making that bet, brother."
Lloyd crossed his arms.
"I'm not going to participate. Like I said, we..."
However, Lloyd's words were drowned out by that of the crowd. Jay beamed. His plan was back on track. Sure, now he had to beat the others, but if he won, he could get the prize and get out of chores. This situation was better than he had dreamed.
"Let the tournament begin!"
As the cry rang out, the ninja, with the exception of Lloyd, ran in their separate direction determined to win.
...
Within central Ninjago park, Cole rustled through the bushes in search of a prize. Zane watched him in confusion.
"I still don't understand. What is the purpose of collecting plastic eggs?"
Cole laughed. He snagged a plastic egg from within the bush.
"Zane buddy, you're focusing too much on the outside. The real gem is on the inside of the egg."
Cole popped open the plastic egg, revealing a carefully wrapped chocolate. He happily popped the prize in the mouth and discarded the plastic toy into his basket. Zane stared at him, still processing the situation.
"I repeat. What is the purpose? I am a Nindroid. I have no need for candy."
"Ugh. Zane, it's just a game. If you collect the most, you get some sort of prize. Honestly, I didn't really pay attention to that part."
Zane contemplated Cole's words. As to why one might enjoy such a game perplexed him however it looked as though Cole was having fun. If the aim was to collect plastic eggs, the ice ninja was confident he could easily complete such a task. He stared at Cole's basket, which already had several plastic eggs within its weavings.
"You don't have to participate, Zane." Cole finished going through the bush in front of him. He pouted as he received unsatisfactory results. "But if you do, at least give me the chocolate."
As Cole looked up, he found there was no Nindroid in sight. Then his eyes settled on his basket, which was now empty.
"Zane! Get back here with my chocolate!"
Cole chased after Zane, ignoring his surroundings. Suddenly he collided with Jay, and the two fell to the ground, sending the lightning ninja's basket flying into the trees.
"Gah! I'm sorry Jay!"
Cole sat up, looking into the distance. Wherever Zane was, he was now long gone. Cole sighed and looked at Jay, who starred after his basket tearfully. Cole internally panicked. The last thing he wanted to do was make his best friend upset.
"It's not as bad as it looks! We can try to go find it."
Jay shook his head.
"It's fine. It was a stupid idea, anyway."
"What…"
"I was doing this whole thing for Nya! The first place prize is a pair of tickets to a movie I really want to see, but she probably wouldn't like, anyway! And once she realizes how much of a nerd, I am, she probably won't even like me anymore and…"
"Slow down, bluebell. I hate to tell you this, but I think Nya already knows how much of a nerd you are."
Jay stared at Cole.
"She does?"
"I mean, it would be pretty hard not to. You love video games, space movies, comics, and who knows what else. Nya is well aware of all of that and loves you for it." Cole reached out a hand to help Jay up. "Now get up. We may not be able to save your basket, but Zane has mine, and it's got more than enough for you to win."
"You would do that for me?"
"What are best friends for?"
Jay grabbed onto Cole's hand and the earth ninja pulled him to his feet. Then the two began the pursuit after Zane.
...
As Cole and Jay chased after Zane in pursuit of Cole's candy, the fire ninja determinedly gathered Easter eggs from within the branches of the surrounding trees. Sure, in theory this game was a little silly. However, a challenge was a challenge and Kai was incredibly competitive. Kai snagged a few that lay in the grass before spying a few perched out of his reach. He smirked and placed his basket on the ground. Then he climbed up to reach the prize.
Just as he was about to seize the Easter egg, another grabbed it. Kai glared over at the green ninja who was perched in front of him.
"I thought you weren't participating."
"I... changed my mind."
As Lloyd placed the Easter egg in his basket, a smirk formed on Kai's face. As much as the green ninja wished to deny it, he couldn't hide his obvious glee from Kai.
"Admit it. You're just after the candy."
"N-no!" Lloyd's face flushed red. "I would never be that childish."
"You wouldn't?" Kai leaned forward with a chuckle, starting with the green ninja. "Then you wouldn't mind if I take some of yours."
Lloyd fumbled with his basket, sending the contents tumbling to the ground. However, before the plastic eggs could hit the grass, Nya jumped out from behind the tree, catching as many as she could in her basket. Lloyd and Kai stared at her, shocked.
"Sorry, boys. Your loss."
The water ninja ran off before Kai and Lloyd recovered. Lloyd jumped down from the tree, irritated at his loss of candy. He picked up his empty basket in discontent. Kai frowned, painfully aware it was his fault. The fire ninja slid down to the ground, retrieved his own basket, and then dumped its contents into Lloyd's.
"You take it. It was my fault anyway."
The fire ninja walked away, not waiting for an answer. However, Lloyd refused to accept this response. He purposely walked in front of Kai, stopping him in his tracks.
"No way. We're a team. Maybe Nya took my Easter eggs, but I bet together we can still beat her." Lloyd extended a hand. "So what do you say?"
A grin reformed on Kai's face. He shook Lloyd's hand and nodded.
…..
By the time the buzzer went off signaling the end of the competition, Cole and Jay both looked dejected. Despite their best efforts, the two could not catch up with Zane. As they headed towards the rest of the group, said ice ninja walked up beside them. Cole crossed his arms and glared.
"You basket stealer!"
Zane cocked his head in confusion.
"You said I was supposed to collect Easter eggs, correct? You said nothing as to where they should originate. They were sitting in the basket, so I collected them. I was merely doing as you instructed."
Jay and Cole looked at each other and started to laugh. Zane continued to look confused.
"Did I do something wrong?"
"No, Zane. Nothing at all." Cole put his arm around Zane's shoulder. "However, if you win a prize, could you hand it over to Jay?"
Zane silently nodded in agreement as they walked over to submit the basket.
…
Finally, the results were out. The ninja stood in anticipation as the announcer read off the winners of the loudspeaker.
"In third place, we have Zane Julian. In second place, Nya Smith. And finally, the winner of this competition is Ninjago's very own green ninja, Lloyd Garmadon!"
Kai and Lloyd high-fived. As they received their prize, Kai frowned.
"What are we supposed to do with tickets to a movie? It's not even one I would watch."
Nya held out her prize, two tickets to Mega Monster Amusement Park.
"I'll trade with you. I think I know someone who would be pretty interested in those movie tickets."
She smiled at Jay. A blush formed on the lightning ninja's cheeks. Cole internally laughed. It appeared his help wasn't needed after all. He leaned on Zane's shoulder to see what the Nindroid had won. His eyes widened as he saw a coupon for all you could eat noodles at Skylor's Noodle Empire. He looked at Zane hopefully, not saying a word. Zane noticed his expression and gave a soft smile.
"Would you like to go with me, Cole? I don't believe it would be very interesting to go eat noodles alone."
Cole eagerly nodded. All six of them headed back to the monastery, satisfied with the results of the day. Later, Jay and Nya would go see the movie, Kai and Lloyd would go to the amusement park, and Cole and Zane would go eat noodles. However, today they were simply happy knowing their Easter had been a good one.
Note from the Author:
Hello all! I hope you enjoyed my original Ninjago Easter story. It's a little different then I normally write but today inspiration hit me so I figured I'd give it a shot. This is the first time I have written an older Lloyd Garmadon so that was a bit different for me as well. But I enjoyed trying to understand his character a bit more then I currently do. In addition, this is the first time I have written Kai and Nya in a long while. I only hope I did their characters proud.
I also think this is the first story I've written with no OC's. For anyone who has read The Real Story of Ninjago, you probably know how much I love those girls. However it felt good to not be so reliant on them for once.
Finally to anyone who decided to read this story, whether you decide to review or not, thank you for reading.
Goodbye for now,
Animals Music and Ninjago (AM&N)
PS: I am well aware Skylor's Noodle Empire is not the name of Chen's restaurant. However to anyone who knows me by Autumn (my hamsters name) should understand why I chose this name.
PSS: If you are wondering why I didn't use Starfarer as the movie Jay wished to see, please know I did take this into account. However, due to the fact Cliff Gordon has passed as of Season 6 made me choose a completely different title.
Disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago.