i entirely forgot to post this chapter yesterday im sorry

Announcer voice: Today, on Way of the Dragon: Jinlong must keep Lloyd distracted from his hovering doom, and tells made-up stories about her childhood to do so.

Jinlong voice: Chapter 19: The Mosty True Story of Miss Jin Shu

Jinlong chuckled to herself as she visited, once again, the shrine that the street kids had made for her. They kept restocking it, too, so it was an easy way to get a few dollars, an orange, or whatever else they'd put there.

She did feel a little bad about it, though. It felt like she was lying, even though she'd never breathed a word about being a 'dragon spirit' or wanting a shrine. But it was there, so she figured she might as well make us of it.

That day, the dragon-girl had gotten a shiny red apple, and 2 shiny coins. They weren't gold, which made sense considering that the street kids were probably poor, but it was still disappointing. Jin adored gold.

As she neared the spot where the Bounty was parked(anchored?), she saw that the ship was about to take off. A spike of alarm shot through her, and she quickly jogged up the plank.

"What's going on?" She asked. They weren't due to leave for another few days.

"Lord Garmadon's been spotted near Ouroborus," Nya informed her from the Bridge. "Sensei says he's up to something really bad this time."

Jin frowned, nodded. She hurried to put her apple and coins in her room, then climbed on top of the Bridge, before letting out a sharp, loud whistling noise.

There was, in the distance, a short, guttural roar in response, and Jinlong nodded in satisfaction.

"Are you talking to Ultra?"

She nearly jumped out of her skin at the unfamiliar voice, but caught herself in time and turned around, looking down at a blond teenager. No one was really used to Lloyd being older, and least of all the boy himself. He tripped over his feet, ran into things that used to tower over his head but were now eye-level with him, and was generally like a puppy who didn't realize its own size.

"Yeah," She said. "I just told them where we were going. They like to know."

Lloyd said nothing. The dragon-girl sighed, wishing she knew how to help her friend. He'd gone from 9 to, like, 14 in a matter of seconds. No one really expected him to act like a teenager just yet, but it still had to be strange.

They arrived at the abandoned city soon after, and the ninja, plus Wu, all rushed off. Nya and Jin stayed behind, drinking tea together, since all the chores had been done already.

"Hey, Jin, you never told me what it was like where you grew up," The black-haired girl noted.

"Oh," Since her secret was out, she supposed it didn't really matter if she told them or not. "Well, for starters, my name's actually Jinlong the Gold Dragon. Jin was just an...uh...al-ali…"

"Alias."

"Yeah. It was just an alias, because I didn't know what names were like in Ninjago."

Nya took a sip of her tea. "Well, why'd you need an alias? You could have just told us you're a dragon. We like dragons, in case you were unaware."

Jin smiled a little. "Yeah, well in Kigana, humans are far less pleasant. They tend to, uh, kidnap, exploit, and murder dragons. So I was a little hesitant."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Aw, don't be. That was on the mainland. I lived on Huan, which is an island, so I never actually even saw the humans there."

The door suddenly flung open, and Wu stood there, supporting a very-dazed-looking Lloyd. Both girls were immediately on their feet, hovering worriedly around the two.

"Is he alright? Is he injured? What happened?" Jin demanded, talking a million miles and hour. "Did Garmadon do this? Where're the ninja? What do we do?"

The old man set his nephew down on the sofa. "The ninja are fighting Garmadon in the past. If they fail, I cannot tell what will happen."

"Would...would Lloyd disappear?"

"I do not know."

A surge of anger filled her, but she quickly fought it down, remembering her vow of maturity. She crossed the room, pulled up a chair across from Lloyd, and looked him in the eye.

"Lloyd," She spoke gently but firmly. "Lloyd, look at me. Did I ever tell you the story of how I came to be in Ninjago?"

"Hmm? U-uh, no, I don't…"

The dragon-girl forced a smile. "Well then, listen up! It's quite the tale."

She was aware of Sensei and Nya also pulling up seats, the three of them forming a half-circle around Lloyd.

"So, it all began, as stories tend to, with my parents. My mother's name is Tianlong the Heavenly Dragon, and my father is Langlong the Wolf Dragon. After they married, they had a son, Dalong the Big Dragon, and after that, a daughter named Maolong the Cat Dragon. Finally, they had me, Jinlong the Gold Dragon."

"Y'never said that w's your name…" Lloyd slurred.

"It is," Jin nodded. "Anyway, while I was still just a hatchling- a baby, you'd say- there was this terrible storm that hit our island. My brother, Dalong, was 4 at the time and wandered out from the mountain temple, where everyone was gathered- it's the strongest building there, you see. So he wandered out, and the wind swept him clear off the mountain.

My mother was in hysterics, predictably. My sister, who was 2, didn't understand what was happening. But my father shifted into a dragon, and flew into the storm after Dalong. Little did he know, however, that I, in all my 6-month-old glory, was clinging to his back. So he was flying through the howling winds and pelting rains, my brother in his sights, when I suddenly shifted into a dragon.

Now, as we get older, our dragon forms get bigger than our human ones, but when you're a hatchling, it's the opposite. So the wind blew me away. My father grabbed Dalong and was heading back to the mountain, when he saw me, a tiny dragon, gliding through the wind. I was too young to fly, but I was smart enough to glide. I guess, anyway. He grabbed me, too, and we arrived safely at the temple and waited out the rest of the storm."

"How would you remember?" Nya asked. "If you were a baby, I mean."

Shoot. Uh…

"I'm a dragon, Nya," Jin proclaimed. "We have excellent memories. Anyway, a couple years later, when I was 6, something else happened. My sister and I were going on a walk through the forestry part of the island, when we came across this beautiful pond, with lotus flowers in it. While we were admiring it, Huilong the Water Dragon came bursting up out of it in her dragon form, which, by the way, is remarkably beautiful. So she scooped the two of us up, and flew over to the ocean. She landed in it, and zipped us out to the middle of it. That was the fastest I've ever moved in my life. Once we were there, she shifted into a human and the three of us just relaxed there for almost an hour, and then she took us back."

"Why'd she bother taking you all the way to the middle of the ocean?" Nya asked.

"She's the Water Dragon, she likes water. I dunno. So after that, when I was 9, I got into a fight with Sanshe the Sand Snake. He was maybe 16 or 17 at the time, and I thought it'd be funny if I embarrassed him in front of this dragon-girl he liked. I did, but he didn't think it was very funny, and almost drowned me in sand. I only survived because of my quick-thinking and lightning-fast reflexes; I managed to kick him in the head while he wasn't looking, and he let me go. I never messed with him again, though.

And when I was 11, I went fishing with some of the adults. We had a competition to see who could catch the most fish, and the rarest ones. I won, and caught 30 fish in an hour, including squids and Red Frog Crabs!"

The world seemed to shift, and suddenly Jinlong was unaware of where she was or what she was doing. But...she needed to do something. She had to be mature, and help someone she cared about. The story! That was it, she was telling a story.

"And on my 12th birthday, I was part of a big dance festival we were having. I'm a ribbon dancer, you see, and I had these beautiful golden silk ribbons I'd use. I was supposed to represent the sun, because of my golden hair, and freckles, and clothes, and ribbons. For lack of a better term, I'm just gold. So I was gold, and there was this other dragon-girl about my age who was the moon. She had white hair, but her face, even as a human, was a gorgeous, shining silver. Her name was Lulong the Silver-Faced Dragon. Her ribbons were longer and slimmer than mine, and, of course, silver. So we were dancing out our parts in the story, when this new dragon came twirling in, with white ribbons that were billowy and short. Yunlong the Cloud Dragon, I knew, but I hadn't been told he'd be a part of the dance. So I just sort of went off on my own routine, ignoring Yunlong and Lulong. They eventually just stood on the side of the stage as I danced.

Afterwards, I was told that Yunlong had been at all the practices, just like me, and had always been a part of the dance. I promise, though, I never knew about his part."

The world shifted again, but in a much better way. Only...had the world ever shifted before? She couldn't remember, but...she had to keep telling her story.

"I got my very first gold item when I was 13. A beautiful, shiny gold coin. Since I'm the Gold Dragon, gold actually makes me stronger, and faster, and smarter. But only when I touch it. So I carried it around with me everywhere. But, when I ended up here, in Ninjago, I didn't have it with me.

But that brings me to how I got to Ninjago. My mother was doing laundry, and I was playing hide-and-go-seek with Senshe the Forest Snake Dragon. I hid in between the sheets my mother had up to dry, but I tripped and fell over. Instead of hitting the ground, though, I kept falling. I passed out at some point, and when I woke up, I was in Yama, and I met a nice old woman who told me to go to the monastery. I did, and that's when I met you all, and the dragons."

Lloyd was looking at her, much more alert. The ninja came in, suddenly, and visibly relaxed when they saw everyone, safe and together.

"What happened?" Lloyd asked.

"Oh, nothing," Jay laughed. "Nothing at all."

The blond boy turned back to Jinlong. "Was that true? The story?"

"Well," She grinned mischievously. "Mostly."

Announcer voice: Next time, on Way of the Dragon: Jin and Nya go shopping together! But their destructive tendencies seem to get them into trouble...find out what happens later today!