(4)

WARNING: Hoo boy, this one's kind of chaotic (and l o n g). I haven't seen Seabound in a minute. I didn't really want to see Nya sacrifice herself again. T - T So, I don't remember everything in the most detail.

In Crystalized, Kai states that Benthomaar eventually gave up on his search for Nya and returned to Merlopia to be the King. But what if, in this AU, Bentho actually finds something pertaining to Nya?

This AU starts off slow, and the alterations don't begin one year after Nya's death. So, it's been awhile, but it hasn't been one year. More like a few months.

Onto it then...

What if Bentho helped repair Merlopia a little while he searched for Nya? It probably wouldn't take long; the damage caused by Calamari wasn't too drastic (that chase scene where Calamari disregarded the safety of his citizens because he wanted to catch the ninja).

NOTE: I think Benthomaar feels some sort of guilt and/or regret for playing a part in Calamari's death. His emotions centered around the topic are complicated. It doesn't help that Trimaar, the only one who cared for him, his father, is gone.

Let's say while Benthomaar is helping out, an important Merlopian who worked in the castle approaches him; they discuss the matter of Bentho becoming King. Since Benthomaar is the last remaining member of the royal family, the position automatically goes to him.

I feel like Benthomaar would undoubtedly step up to take the position, but a teeny tiny selfish part of him doesn't want to be king. Bentho would prefer to be free and travel throughout the ocean as he pleases. Little things like exploring, swimming, discovering, just being free, really. But Merlopia is in need of a king.

It's been awhile since Nya's sacrifice, and Benthomaar is beginning to lose hope. But something in Bentho urges him to search the sea once more. Maybe he has a search team with him? I can also see them being the king's (Bentho's) guards. Anyway, let's say he does have a team and they search one last time.

NOTE: There are several teams searching different areas. Bentho is leading his own team.

They scour the sea for awhile but find nothing. The water passes by Benthomaar in a dull blur as he spaces out, deep in thought. Eventually, Benthomaar does notice something. A glowing blue light snaps him out of his trance; he and his team speed up.

Benthomaar speeds up and calls out to Nya; the latter does not respond. The ocean's movements are steadily becoming erratic. Bentho and his team try to move away from the current, but it seems to follow them; it's like it's trying to pull them in.

Bentho and the others are even knocked off their mantas. The sea's current becomes so erratic that even Bentho, a strong swimmer, can't handle it. He tries to fight against it, but the violent currents knock Benthomaar out.

Bentho eventually wakes up to find a glowing entity floating above him. At first, he thinks it's Nya, but quickly finds out it isn't.

The entity introduces itself as Nyad (*shocked Bentho noises*)—maybe he mistook her for Nya?

Nyad questions Benthomaar about why he was so close to a dangerous whirlpool (to Bentho, it seemed to appear out of nowhere). That's when Benthomaar remembers that his team was with him when the whirlpool was apparently forming. He makes a mental note to inform, uh... a map person and the people about the new whirlpool? Idk know how he'd inform them. I just feel like it would be best to let the people know.

Nyad asks Bentho why he's worried about his team. Her mindset is the same as it is in the show. She doesn't interfere and goes with the flow. Benthomaar wonders if Nya is now like this too...

How did Bentho even escape the whirlpool? Considering Nyad's mindset, she probably didn't save him.

Nyad says she thinks she's seen one of Bentho's friends. Nyad offers to show Bentho the way to them, and he accepts, of course. The Merlopian they find is one of Bentho's guards, Coral.

Bentho knows he can't go back to the whirlpool to search for his team; he'd get sucked up and Coral would most definitely protest. It was a miracle the two made it out in the first place. Actually, that's what Coral is calling it. A miracle. She says the current seemed to fight with itself, pulling her into its feud, until it yeeted her away. She probably wouldn't use the term "yeeted," though, lol.

NOTE: I'm not that big of a strategist or whatever. So I don't know what would be best to do in this situation. ToT I'm kind of just guessing and trying to use common sense here. TOT

Benthomaar would like to look for his team in the surrounding area, but that wouldn't really be a good idea. Coral also brings up reasonable points, such as the fact that they don't have their manta, they're low on numbers, and who knows what dangerous creatures could be out there? Coral's duty is to bring the King back to Merlopia safely, and she intends on doing just that.

Not only is Nya missing, but now most of his team are too... R.I.P. I know that feels bad. ToT

NOTE: I'm assuming they're skilled in geography. So, it shouldn't be too hard to try to get back to Merlopia...?-

Coral and Benthomaar begin to make their way back to Merlopia. But as they leave, Nyad says something that strikes Benthomaar as odd. She states that Bentho "feels familiar."

As the two Merlopians make their way back, they encounter some unfriendly creatures. Thankfully, they're able to beat them. After that, they continued to swim back home. But they eventually come across another creature!

A massive sea dragon that swims overhead, startling the two! Coral is prepared to fight until Bentho tells her that it's Nya. Of course, Benthomaar calls out and tries to speak with her. But Nya doesn't remember any of the things Bentho mentions. The names he spoke of sparked something, but it wasn't enough.

Coral suggests they give up and go back to Merlopia. Despite Bentho wanting to inform Kai immediately, he agrees with Coral. It's been a rough day... T _ T

NOTE: I'm assuming Bentho communicates with Kai physically. Phones won't work in the ocean. So, he actually has to leave Merlopia to go speak with Kai. Uh... when he arrives on land, maybe he uses a phone to contact Kai with? You know, to warn him that he's coming. Or maybe he just updates him through the phone? My mind may change on this. OH! Bentho could send some of his workers to deliver the news to Kai. But it feels kind of... shallow to just make his guards do it. I feel like it would be better if Bentho told Kai himself. After all, he was the one who saw her.

Coral and Bentho head back to Merlopia and are given medical checks. Bentho informs the other teams about what happened to his own. Because it's so late, they plan to look for the missing Merlopians the next day. Bentho can't come along, though, because it's too dangerous. So, tomorrow, Bentho plans to meet up with Kai about Nya. As that's happening, we pan to another character.

Nya begins to ponder her name and the other names she heard, similarly to how she did in the show. Nyad ends up finding Nya and helps her rediscover who she is. I don't know what could have triggered the rediscovery, though. ToT

Nya's all excited and wants to meet up with her loved ones immediately. Buuuuuuuuuut Nyad kinda bursts her bubble when she spills the tea.

NOTE: Becoming one with the sea will work differently in this AU.

Nya cannot keep her form for long if she's out of the water. She has merged with the sea, the water itself, and cannot go back to the way she was before. Her elemental powers have passed on, flowing to the beat of the sea's current. But there's a perk to being one with the sea. She's not only connected to the Endless Sea, but all water. If she concentrates enough, she can teleport to any person she wants to go to. But the only con is that the person she wants to teleport to has to be near water.

After absorbing Nyad's info, Nya feels kind of... hopeless? But she still wants to see her loved ones. So, she concentrates and sees if she can teleport to any of them. Because it's night time, I think mostly everyone she knows would be asleep and not near water, so... she'd be waiting for a minute.

It's early in the morning (about 5:00 a.m.) and a young man clad in red wakes up feeling blue...

Recently, whenever Kai feels heavy, he rests in a secluded area by the ocean. Oddly enough, it helps calm him. It's a place where he can clear his mind and be more emotionally vulnerable. Today is one of those days when Kai feels heavy again. So, he makes his way over to his secluded area. Little did he know...

NOTE: Kai still has aquaphobia (thalassophobia?). He sits a safe distance away from the sea.

We're now with Bentho and his guards making their way to Kai. Yesterday, Benthomaar received mostly light injuries and a deep-ish cut on his upper arm. But thankfully, it isn't life-threatening. Coral also received light injuries but had none that were life-threatening. Coral and Bentho are healthy enough to travel!

The search teams have also already left to check around the whirlpool for the lost Merlopians! But little did they know...

We pan back to Kai, who is crying (; - ;). He's curled up into a ball and is weeping into his knees. Because of this, he doesn't notice the water in front of him beginning to rise. The water forms itself into the shape of Nya.

NOTE: I wanted Nya to teleport to Kai when she's able to. I don't know why, I just want that to happen. But Jay keeps half-full glasses around the lighthouse. So, it would make sense if she teleported to Jay. But uh... I want to stick with Nya being able to teleport to Kai first. Sooooooooo, let's say Jay doesn't preserve half-full glasses yet. After all, this AU only takes place a few months after Nya's death.

"...Kai...?"

Kai finally notices Nya! :DDD It doesn't take long for the two to realize that the other is actually there. They have a touching reunion, but the moment is short-lived. Nya's form begins to fall apart.

Nya rushes back to the waves to renew her shape. She tells Kai about what Nyad told her. Hoo boi, this is going to be problematic... :'D

Kai then receives a call from Benthomaar. Kai informs Bentho of Nya's state. I'm guessing Bentho would tell Kai how he saw Nya last (you know, when she didn't remember anything). Benthomaar promises to help whenever he can to help get Nya's form back to normal.

I was thinking that Kai informs the ninja of Nya's condition, too. As he does this, he uh... makes some type of big water area in the monastery? That way, Nya can teleport to it. Where is Nya as she's waiting for Kai's pool? I don't know, ooof- OH! Maybe she'll speak with Nyad one last time.

We cut back to Bentho and his crew returning to Merlopia. A while after that, a fourth of the search team's crew comes back. The whirlpool wasn't where Bentho said it was. That's because it's expanding... and Merlopia is in its path. Well, that's just great!

It would be smart to have everyone evacuated. To where, though? I'm not sure, ooof.

The whirlpool is growing faster by the minute. Trying to evacuate all the Merlopians is going to be difficult.

(*Time skips because idk what else to type T-T*)

There wasn't enough time to evacuate everyone. Some people were swept into the whirlpool, including Merlopia's King. As he's swept in, he loses consciousness. Little did he know...

Benthomaar wakes up... on land? Where was he? Is that... why is there such a huge swirl in the sky!? It's raining so heavily... the swirl... it kind of looks like-

Bentho doesn't realize how badly his body is aching until he's jumpscared by... a ghost? Were they here the entire time? Well, that's kind of embarrassing.

The spirit doesn't seem bothered by Bentho's reaction and simply speaks. It turns out Bentho fell from the sky, and he's not the only one. The big swirl suddenly appeared out of nowhere and began to drop rain into the Departed Realm (fish people too-). The (rainy) storms are only getting worse and many ghosts have already been poofed (that's a huge problem).

It doesn't take long for Bentho to notice the new bandages on his body. Did the stranger help him? Benthomaar doesn't want to keep referring to them as "the stranger" in his mind, so he asks for their name... yup, you guessed it!

"It's Morro."

So, I have a lot of explaining to do! :DDDDD

In season six, we learn that if one realm falls, the rest of them do as well. And that's exactly what's happening here! Ninjago and the Departed Realm are falling apart. With sixteen realms, you have order. Any less and chaos will ensue.

The whirlpool is a not-so-safe portal into the Departed Realm. The Departed Realm will eventually flood and all ghosts will just... cease to exist (POOF). Ninjago will eventually run out of water and there will be a massive drought. The Departed Realm is going to go first. Once all the water transfers to the Departed Realm (R.I.P Nya and Nyad), all the ghosts are gone.

NOTE: The whirlpool portal in the Departed Realm is upside down.

I think I heard Nadakhan's father say that the Cursed Realm was Djinnjago's sibling realm. Even if I'm not correct, think of Ninjago and the Departed Realm like that. All sixteen realms have a sibling. If one realm is gone, it'll take the rest with it. Each pair of siblings will eventually die off and become a shadow of their former selves.

HEADCANON: I'm going to rock with the idea that when a realm dies, it becomes an unstable shadow of it's former self. The conditions become unlivable for those who inhabit them.

Also, the Cloud Kingdom and its sibling realm have already been destroyed. There are no destiny writers. It's REALLY going to get chaotic now. Who knows, maybe that opens a window for Nya to get her body back? Nyad too.

NOTE: I was thinking Fenwick's motive for helping the Preeminent could change. He'd rather all realms be cursed than not exist, but idk.

HEADCANON: I was also thinking that since the Departed Realm is destroyed, any remaining cursed ghosts automatically transfer to the Departed Realm. But the Preeminent is still clearly kicking in season 11... So, let's say her stomach is extremely soaked and can't recover from that. So, if a ghost were sent there, they'd die... again (POOF, POOF!).

For awhile, I've been trying to find a way to implement an idea with Bentho and Morro as partners. But, I finally did it! Benthomaar is a sweet bean, and Morro is.. Morro, lol. I thought it would be interesting if the two became friends. One is a cinnamon roll, while the other is an edgy ghost. Especially considering that Morro can't touch water and Benthomaar lives in it.

NOTE: What if there's a mini-joke where Bentho keeps getting knocked out and waking up next to random people? Lmao.

Below are some mini ideas I had for this plot that may or may not work:

ONE: For my original draft, I laid more clues to the following idea ToT: Benthomaar is the new Elemental Master of Water. The reason why Benthomaar "spaced out" was because he unconsciously put his powers on autopilot. I mentioned Benthomaar trying to fight against the current too. Not only did I mean he was trying to swim away but he unconsciously used his powers too. He was trying to... idk, tame the current or get away from it. The only person he ended up saving was Coral.

TWO: Benthomaar has an ability similar to Nya and Nyad's. He's able to contact others through water, but he can't teleport. Not only that, but he can locate any Master of Water who has become one with the sea. Why? Well, because they're water, lol. He could even summon Nya or Nyad through water to help him, but that would take a lot of work. Actually, all the new abilities I listed are kind of op. So, in order to do them, it would take immense concentration and skill.

THREE: I've also been debating on whether Coral should get sucked down and eventually meet up with Bentho. I'm leaning towards yes.

FOUR: There could be the ninja group and then Benthomaar's group. Bentho's group will start off with himself and Morro. Then they meet Coral and maybe some other allies in different realms? Not too many though... hm... I was thinking that Nobu could be the only survivor of the Cloud Kingdom too. Fenwick transported him (or maybe a new Master Writer) to another realm before the Cloud Kingdom fell. Nobu is then found by Morro and Bentho in said "other realm."

FIVE: I don't know why Bentho and Morro would need to travel to other realms (that aren't Ninjago). But I figured it would be fitting since this idea is about realms collapsing. Maybe they're looking for a specific item that will at least stop Ninjago and the Departed Realm from falling? I imagine Mystaké informing them of the said item. OOOO!! What if Mystaké joins their team!? Mystaké is the best!

SIX: What if the plan to get the mysterious item fails? But don't worry, Nobu is here!! Nobu remembers how the Cloud Kingdom fell and the condition it's probably in now. Trying to reach a scroll and pen would be extremely difficult and dangerous. But if he's able to, he could attempt to write a positive destiny for all the sixteen realms. That would be hard, considering that in this AU, they can only write the fates of people living within the realms, not the realms themselves. But it would be the only thing they had to go with at that point.

SEVEN: The ninjas will be handling another problem in the beginning! Eventually, they will find out about Ninjago and the Departed Realm's fates. But in the beginning, they'll all be searching for a way to get Nya's human body back. I think they should encounter trouble while doing so. Maybe a combination of new villains and older ones? The villains could be connected to the whole "end of the world" thing.

EIGHT: What if there's some type of way for a ghost to go through the whirlpool and survive? That could spell trouble if a villain got out (imagine Good Garmadon meeting Resurrected Garmadon!). So what if the ninja have to face ghost enemies while trying to save Nya?

I don't know what to put down here... ToT Uuuuh, have a nice day! Hope you're doing well. :)