Season 15 (Seabound) spoiler warning. IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED SEABOUND, TURN BACK IF YOU Don't WANT SPOILERS.Genre: Fantasy, action, adventure, comfort/hurt
Rating: T for mentions of violence, gore (somewhat), and comfort/hurt, trauma
Main protagonist: Galaxy Star
Main antagonist: Shadow
Chapter 3: I'm Getting better
About four weeks have passed since the fire incident. I've gotten to know the ninja a little more, and they've gotten to know me a bit. (It helped that I had watched them as a cartoon) My arm was also healed, for the most part, which I was happy with. Zane had insisted on me making sure my arm rested.
Speaking of Zane, I had been helping him with the chores lately in an attempt to get out of my funk. But, I was having a hard time getting it to work.
What if...he comes back? What will I do then?
Unfortunately, Shadow was still missing. We had no idea where he is, but Zane and Pixal had been scanning all of Ninjago for him. The other Elemental masters also haven't seen or heard anything. I was also slowly becoming more worried. What if me being here is putting the ninja in danger. The longer Shadow is in hiding, the more anxious I get. He's planning. Waiting. Watching. He had to be. A villain didn't just disappear in the blink of an eye for no reason.
I thought about the fire, and my face turned subconsciously grim. I idly fidgeted with my fingers after I put the last dish away. I tried to pull my thoughts away from the images of my dead family, but everything I tried failed. The nightmares had far past engrained the image in my mind.
Where is he? If he's been gone for this long, he's got to be planning something. First, he's thirsty for my blood, then he just disappears out of nowhere?!? That's suspicious.
A voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
"Hey, Galaxy! Feel like playing Prime Empire?" Cole asked, a grey game console in hand. Kai was also on the couch, although he was on the complete opposite side from Jay.
What is going on with those two?! Does it have something to do with Nya?
"Isn't that the game you guys got cubed in?" I asked.
"I don't like that game very much..." Lloyd said. He had a book in his hands, a ninjargon title on the front. He hadn't even looked up from the book as he turned the page.
"Yea, but Dyer and Unagami fixed that a long time ago." Jay added in monotone, a blue game console resting on his lap, as he messed around with it, pressing the buttons while staring at it. It didn't even seem to be plugged in.
This whole past month, he seemed very depressed. I wanted to figure out a way to help him, but I just wasn't sure how.
But right now, I needed to take my mind off of everything. I needed a distraction.
"Sure! I kinda wanted to try that game." I replied. I needed to get to know the ninja better anyway, and I had been pretty quiet and unsocial the past month.
And I need to get my mind off of the fire for a bit anyway...
I sat down on the couch next to Cole and grabbed a spare controller.
The game was actually pretty difficult. Most of the time, I got absolutely blasted apart by the bad guys. I was NOT very good with video games unless it was Roblox, Minecraft, or even Uno.
"Aww come on!" Cole shouted. "How do you always win?!" He asked Kai, who had a satisfied smirk on his face.
"This game's easy! You just gotta know what buttons to press and when." Kai said, grinning like an idiot in a 'I'm the best at this game' kinda way.
"I think that might be a bit easier for you than it is for me." I said with a small chuckle.
"You appear to be in a much better mood." Zane observed.
I sighed. "Yeah, I figured I should stop sulking around. I needed to get my mind off of things. I'm still worried though. Shadow being missing is really worrying."
"We'll find him eventually. Bad guys always come out sometime." Cole said.
I hope we don't meet him on his turf. He'd have the advantage.
"What if he can outfight everyone here?" I said, worry in my tone.
"Don't worry, we've delt with snakes, an evil guy who wanted out powers, an evil djinn, an evil video game master, an evil Garmadon cult, a Skull Sorcerer, and more! He would be an idiot to challenge us!" Kai bragged, leaning back against the sofa.
Shadow IS an idiot. A smart deadly one, but an idiot nonetheless. I mean, the guy kinda has a huge ego, and that seems to be his biggest flaw...
Lloyd sighed, finally looking up from his book. "Guys, he could be really dangerous. We shouldn't underestimate him. We underestimated him last time. We can't afford to do that now. We don't know anything about this guy. He could have a giant magic scythe for all we know."
If he can light an entire school on fire within minutes, than Lloyd might be more right than we thought. No matter how full of himself Shadow may be.
"You are right. We must be prepared for anything. Even if it seems unnecessary." Pixal said. I hadn't noticed that she was in the room. I had met Pixal a few weeks ago, when she came in from finally fixing the Bounty. She had provided me with as many English books as she could find, and now I had about twenty in my shelf in my room. It still feels weird to call it my room though. I have no idea if I can or will stay here.
If I can't head home, I might stay, but will they let me? I don't have any parents now, unfortunately...
The thought made me upset again. The past month, I've had nightmares, and I'm forced to watch my family die over and over again. I had been do encased in my thoughts that I hadn't noticed that everyone had moved.
"Are you all right?" Pixal asked. She rested a hand on my shoulder. "Your demeanor has quickly changed."
I noticed that the ninja were no longer in the room. From the clattering that came from the kitchen, Zane was preparing to make dinner, while the others were scattered about the monastery. "I should be fine. I just...miss them. A lot." I looked down at the floor, controller still in hand as I subconsciously fidgeted with the buttons.
"I know. Things seem to have been incredibly difficult for you. We will help any way we can." She said, giving me an understanding look. "I will continue to try and track him down." Her hand left my shoulder as she walked outside to the Bounty.
After several moments of trying to process my thoughts, I decided to go to the kitchen, where Zane was preparing the ingredients for what looked like it was going to be Tofu Stir-fry.
The aroma filled the air. Zane hadn't even started cooking yet, and the food already smelled delicious. "It smells amazing in here." I said, a smile returning to my face.
"Would you like to help?" Zane asked, a cooking spoon in hand. He was also wearing a pink apron, and a cooking hat over his straight up hair. At this point, I suspected he secretly liked dressing up. First as a detective, then as a pirate, now a chef.
"As long as she's not as bad as Cole is!" Kai's voice rang out from the other room. Presumably his own
A mildly offended "Hey, I'm not that bad at cooking!", came from Cole's voice.
I chuckled. "Sure. I'd love to help. I used to make things all the time." Zane helped me by showing me which vegetables to chop and how much of each I should put into the pan. He cut up the tofu and put it in with the vegetables, sprinkling some seasoning into it as well. He even taught me things I had never even thought of while cooking.
Zane moved around the kitchen like a professional. If he was allowed to compete in one of those cooking competitions, he would really make Gordon Ramsay happy. Soon, he was done, and we worked together to serve the food. Kai was suspicious about it at first, and then once he tasted it, he had a surprised look on his face.
"This is...actually pretty good." He said, eyes widened, as he looked at me.
"I used to make stuff for me and my brother all the time. It was simple stuff, but I'm usually good at following recipes. Plus, Zane did most of the cooking. I only did a little bit." I told him as me and Zane sat down to eat. As far as I knew, nindroids didn't need to eat or drink, but I knew Zane could if he wanted to.
Several moments of silence ensued until Lloyd broke the silence.
"How old is your brother?" Lloyd asked. I noticed that he said 'is' instead of 'was'. He stabbed his fork into a piece of broccoli.
"Only nine." I replied. Another wave of sadness washed over me, as I drifted off into thought again.
Why'd I have to lose him like that...
Lloyd must have noticed the shift in my expression. "Sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up."
"It's okay. You can ask any questions you want. I was just, really close to him. I guess I just...miss him a lot."
The rest of dinner was silent. I wouldn't say it was super tense, but there was just a bit of tension in the air. After that, I decided to go to my room and read for a while. I had been learning a lot about Ninjago recently, and Pixal had found a really good fantasy adventure book I could read as well. Later that night, I sat at the front of the monastery, the doors open. I was looking down at the city absently, while I had soon drifted into deep thought.
What's going to happen? By the day, I get more and more nervous. When will he come and try to kill me? Will I ever get out of this mess? Are my friends safe?
Questions like these often crossed my mind. Usually, I would read, or eat, or talk to people in order to distract myself. But at night, I could never distract my mind. I almost berated myself for always staying up till 9:00-10:00, constantly worrying.
These guys were ninja. of course they could take care of themselves.
I wish my mom was here. Or my brother. Or Lily. Lily would love it here. She would love to meet the funny Jay, or the kind and caring Misako, or Pixal, or Cole, or Zane, Wu, Kai, and Lloyd. Although, if they were here, they could have been in even bigger danger, like I am. What do I do now that they're gone? Will I- will Shadow succeed in what he wants, whatever it is? What is he planning anyway? It can't be good, whatever he's planning. Why does he want me dead specifically? What do I have that he could possibly want?
"Are you okay?" I jumped a little at the sudden noise. I turned my head, and Lloyd was at the door, and he waited until he knew I saw him. He walked over and sat next to me. "You seem to have come out here often, at least while you've been here." He sounded concerned.
He probably was, considering the fact that I had told him about my brother.
"Physically, yes, I'm okay. Mentally..." I sighed. "...no, not really. And I guess I do come out here often. It's...kinda hard to fall asleep with a lot on your mind."
Plus, it's kinda nice out here. It's cold, but nice.
"Yeah. I get it. I mean, the whole 'having things on your mind' part. Being the Green ninja isn't always easy for me. It's kinda hard to lead, ya know?" Lloyd replied. His voice sounded strained a bit, although, I didn't bother to bring it up.
"Yeah. For me, being the big sister is hard. I wanted to protect my little brother any way I can. And I failed." I felt my hand turn into a fist. "I wish I could have saved him. I wish he didn't have to die like that." I felt a few tears unintentionally coming down my cheeks.
I wiped them away as I continued. "I was never really close to my dad though. My mom and dad divorced when I was nine. My dad's been in jail five or six times already for DUIs and stuff like that. He was never a proper father figure..."
"Your dad's like that too? You know, bad, and stuff?" Lloyd asked.
"Yeah, I guess. I wanted to be close to him. I wanted to confide in him like I did with my mom. I wanted to show him everything I made and tell him everything that had happened recently. But it didn't seem like he would care or anything like that."
"I'm sorry about that. Trust me. I...know what it's like." Lloyd responded. "So..." He paused, as if trying to say something else. "...how are you liking it here?" His voice sounded hesitant, hoping that it wasn't offensive.
"It's pretty cool. Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu is one of my favorite TV shows from back home. I had no idea this world was real. Or that the multiverse was real. It would be really nice...if I didn't have an assassin on my tail." I sighed. "I've always dreamed of getting to explore fantasy places. That's what I love about books. You get to be in a whole 'nother person's shoes and get to explore magical worlds. My world has no magic or fantasy or adventure at all. Everything is pretty much already explored, and everything is as normal as it can get. It's really boring at times."
A boring, boring world.
"You don't even have your own ninja?" He asked.
"No, not really. Just the police, sheriffs, presidents, stuff like that."
"That's, actually kinda weird...well, uhh, NOT in a bad way. No offense."
I chuckled. "None taken. My world is pretty terrible. No magic, no dragons, no elemental masters, no cool fantasy stuff. There's wars all the time, people bickering. I mean, there are decent people, a lot of people are nice, but a lot of people are downright mean too. There are at least ten other worlds I would like to be in, If they were real. And I'm starting to think that they might be."
"There's a lot of fighting going in your world, huh?" Lloyd said.
"Yea. Pretty much. People hate each other."
Unfortunately...
I noticed it was getting extremely late out, as a lot more stars were visible than before.
Lloyd finally broke the silence.
"We should probably get to sleep. It's getting late. You feeling better?" Lloyd said as we walked back to the monastery, closing the door to the training center.
"Yea I'm okay. Thanks. That...actually really helped."
"Your welcome." He said with a smile as he disappeared into one of the hallways.
That helped a lot. Thanks Lloyd.
I went back into my room, and lay on my bed, sighing. I quickly fell asleep.
For one of the very first times, in this past month, I actually slept peacefully, without any nightmares. I actually had a good night's rest. My last conscious thought was...
Today was one of the best I've had in a long, long while.
Author's Note: so here's that chapter rewritten. Pretty much her bonding with the ninja and actually opening up after a whole month, especially to Lloyd. And to anyone who is wondering, NO, I AM NOT SHIPPING GAL AND LLOYD. They will basically be best buddies and eventually, siblings. Galaxy is super upset, and her way to cope is either to directly talk about it, or avoid it all together. She is getting better tho, and her new friends/protectors are making better for her. Anywho, that was that. If you have any questions, comment below! Signing off -Galaxy.
