The next morning Destiny awoke with an unwelcome pounding in her head. The crying she'd done last night, as well as the fact that she hadn't replenished her body with any of the water she'd lost, was now coming back to bite her. She squeezed her eyes closed tightly, and moved her hands up to her face, using her palms to massage her brow. Her attempts to rub away the pain proved to be futile though, and she removed her hands from her head soon after, pushing herself up into a sitting position.
Destiny let out an exasperated sigh as she groggily stared at the door to the bathroom. Maybe some steam from a hot shower could help to quell the pain? Shuffling to the tub, the teen slowly turned the faucet on before going through the motions of bathing. About half an hour later when she finished Destiny threw on some of the new clothes she hadn't tried on yet that Nya had given her. A pair of dark blue jeans and a maroon t-shirt with a golden dragon on it. Destiny smiled a bit at the top, she liked the look of the printed design, and made a mental note to thank Nya for it.
After throwing on her yellow socks and jacket the short girl made her way out of the bedroom and into the hallway. As soon as she opened the door her nose was filled with the delicious smells of breakfast. Whatever was being cooked up in the kitchen smelled warm and sweet, and her stomach couldn't help but growl in anticipation.
After the intimate moment that happened between herself and Cole last night Destiny had to admit she was feeling somewhat lighter. She wasn't doing any better, but the fact that there had been someone there to comfort her after she'd cried alone so many times at this point she'd lost count. However, the experience just served as a reminder that there could always be someone who would help given the opportunity.
Consequently, because of this reminder, Destiny could now feel a small glimmer of hope inside of her. It was just enough to give her the energy to 'seize the day' as people said. Though Destiny couldn't imagine herself doing much, just leaving her room to get breakfast herself instead of forcing one of the ninja to bring the meal to her felt like a step in the right direction.
As Destiny reached the dining room she could feel some of her nerves building up. She assumed it was social anxiety of some sort since she couldn't remember the last time she properly contributed to a long lasting conversation. When she walked into the small room a pair of figures took notice of her presence.
"Destiny! You're looking nice." Nya complimented, looking up from where she was setting up cutlery. Next to the water ninja was an older gray haired woman that Destiny didn't remember seeing before.
"Oh Destiny, I've heard a bit about you. I'm Misako, Lloyd's mother." The gray haired woman smiled, moving closer and outstretching a hand for the yellow clad teen to shake. Destiny shook the woman's hand hesitantly, pulling away after just a single shake.
"It's uh, nice to meet you." Destiny answered quietly, now standing in place awkwardly, not sure what to do now. Before any of the women had the chance to say anything else though the sound of several thuds of footsteps found their way into the dining room.
Turning around Destiny saw it was most of the other ninja walking in, presumably ready for breakfast themselves. Lloyd, Jay, Kai, and Zane all stopped in their tracks for a moment, almost looking like they'd seen a ghost.
"Hey guys, look who decided to join the party today!" Nya says with a beaming smile as she moves to sling an arm around the shorter girl. The boys' looks of shock quickly soften into smiles.
"Destiny!" They all say in unison, giving the girl various greetings and welcoming gestures before moving to take their spots at the table.
"It's nice to see you out and about." Lloyd says with a happy expression plastered across his face as Nya walks off to take her place between Kai and Jay.
"Yeah, I'm sorry for how I've acted since I got here. I-..." Destiny struggles to string some words together, but before she can continue she is interrupted by the green ninja placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, it's okay. You've got nothing to apologize for. We're all just glad that you're feeling better." He says kindly. Destiny nods her head at him before giving him a small smile in thanks. Lloyd then removes his hand, motioning for her to follow him.
"This way, you can come sit over by me." Lloyd returns the smile before walking over to the other side of the table. Destiny follows the younger teen, and Lloyd sits down, the older of the two following in suit sitting to his left. As the group began to talk amongst themselves, Destiny took this time to inspect where everyone else was currently sitting.
Of course to her right was Lloyd, and past him was Misako. The pair was currently having some sort of discussion about a museum exhibit. Not very interested on listening, Destiny continued to scan her eyes down the table.
At the head of the table past Misako was an empty seat, and across the table from right to left were Jay, Nya, Kai, and Zane. Zane seemed to be lecturing Jay about some sort of instruction manual while Nya agreed with him. Meanwhile, the Master of Fire was simply messing around on his phone.
When Destiny's journey finally came full circle she noticed there was a second empty seat to her left. The only two people that she knew, and who currently weren't present, were Master Wu and Cole. The yellow clad teen could feel her anxiety beginning to rise again; Cole wasn't going to sit next to her was he?
"Uh, hey Kai?" Destiny spoke up, getting the red ninjas' attention.
"What's up?" The spiky haired teen across from her questioned.
"Where are Cole and Master Wu right now?" the girl asks, trying to sound as normal as possible.
"Oh, today is Cole's day. So, he's in the kitchen right now cooking breakfast. Master Wu is in there with him though to make sure the food is edible cause Cole isn't exactly the best cook." Kai says with a laugh, not meaning any harm by his words.
"I see." Destiny acknowledges, not continuing the conversation just yet.
I can't face Cole again after last night can I? Wouldn't it just be awkward? Sure he was nice, but that doesn't change the fact that I completely ugly cried all over his clothes. Oh FSM what if he found snot all over his suit?!
Destiny could feel her face beginning to heat up in embarrassment. It wasn't hard for her brain to convince itself that she had completely embarrassed herself by crying on the Master of Earth. Even worse than that, that he had also been secretly uncomfortable about the whole thing but hadn't said anything out of an obligation for kindness.
"Kai, will you switch seats with me please?" Destiny asks, somewhat more desperate sounding than she intended to. Kai looked up from his phone again, this time with a raised eyebrow.
"Why?" The red ninja asks, obviously confused as to what he had missed.
"I- I, uh…" The shorter teen attempted to come up with a believable excuse, but sighed mentally in defeat when none presented itself to her. "Nevermind." she mumbled, biting the inside of her cheek in shame. Before Kai could question her about it the door to the kitchen burst open, and with it the heavenly aroma of breakfast grew stronger than what it had been previously.
"Okay everybody! I hope you're hungry!" Cole says excitedly as he holds up several large trays of food. Everything from pancakes, bacon, and toast, to eggs, oatmeal, and waffles. All the platters were stacked high and steaming with warmth.
While Master Wu walked over to take his seat at the head of the table Cole placed all of the food onto the tabletop. Staring at the feast, Destiny wasn't even sure that the group would be able to eat all of it. As soon as all of the food was set down the group thanked Cole for all of his effort in putting the meal together.
"Wow! This looks great Cole!" Lloyd states.
"Yeah, it smells really good too!" Jay adds, starting to stack up his plate with an abundance of food.
"Are you sure you made this and not Master Wu?" Kai teases whilst grabbing a waffle and putting it on his own plate.
"Hardy har har, very funny Kai. For your information I did cook all of this! You're welcome." Cole muses, a smile on his face as he finally makes it to his seat. Before the black ninja sits down though he pauses, finally noticing the extra member joining them for breakfast this morning. "Oh, hi Destiny! Sorry, I didn't see you sitting there." Cole apologizes as he takes his seat. He had jumped a little, the unexpected body surprising him.
"It's all good." Destiny responds, one of her hands playing with the bottom of her jacket beneath the table nervously.
"Don't be afraid to dig in." Nya spoke up, her statement obviously pointed towards Destiny. The other girl nodded, and hesitantly grabbed a single pancake and set it onto her plate.
She could feel her anxiety rising again, it felt like everyone was staring at her and she was trying desperately to ignore it. Before her mind was able to work itself up even more though a loud growl could be heard, followed by a chuckle.
"Heh, wow, I've never heard someone's stomach get that enticed by something I've made before." The Master of Earth joked, and Destiny could feel her face heat up in embarrassment. Hurriedly the yellow clad teen stuffed a piece of the pancake into her mouth in an attempt to quiet her abdomen before responding.
"Uh, well, it's been a while since I've smelled or eaten anything this good." Destiny complimented the raven beside her, earning a flustered expression from the black ninja.
"I-I, uh, thanks." Cole stuttered sheepishly. There was chatter at the table for some time, and Destiny paid it no mind until Nya spoke up loud enough.
"I need everyone to meet up on the Bridge in 5 minutes. Zane and I think we've finally found a lead on the gang that tried to kidnap Destiny." Everyone acknowledged her and began to clean up after themselves. Exactly 5 minutes later everyone was present in the Bridge, Destiny included. Walking up to a large television screen Nya turned it on before facing the group and speaking.
"Okay, so, right before Kai and Zane engaged the enemy Zane's internal recorder was able to capture this symbol on the back of the jacket that the ringleader was wearing." Zane pressed several buttons on the computer console, and the image on the screen was enhanced. The symbol on the jacket appeared to be the lettering for the word 'Shapeshifters'.
"Shapeshifters? What is that supposed to mean?" Jay questioned, a confused look on his face.
"Yeah, I'm kinda missing the point you're trying to make too sis." Kai adds, his arms crossed over his chest as he continued to inspect the image.
"Zane and I think that 'Shapeshifters' is possibly the name of the gang. So we cross referenced everything in Ninjago that has some relation to the word. We came up with a couple interesting things during our search." Nya stated, turning to Zane expectantly.
"Indeed. The 3 results that hold the most promise though are 'The Shapeshifters Racetrack', 'The Shapeshifter lounge', and the elemental Master of Species who is said to have shapeshifting abilities similar to that of the Master of Form." Zane explains, more images popping up on the television as he spoke.
"What would any of those groups want with me though?" Destiny questions, not understanding what any of those groups would see in her. Before now she hadn't even known they existed.
"Well, we're not exactly sure." Nya admits.
"Master Wu, do you know anything about the Master of Species?" Cole speaks up, and the group turned to the elder, eager to know if he knew anything that could possibly help.
"I do not." Master Wu spoke sadly. "The Master of Species disappeared many years ago."
"Well that's just great." Jay said sarcastically, obviously not surprised by the groups' misfortune.
"Hmm, it seems like our best chance at figuring anything else out would be to split up into teams and investigate each lead." Lloyd deduces. "Kai and Nya, you two investigate the lounge. Cole, you check the museum, maybe has some information on the Master of Species. Zane, Jay, and I will check the racetrack."
"What about me?" Destiny asks. Although she was the one in danger that just gave her more determination to assist the group. She'd let the ninja do so much for her so far, this was her mess after all, and it was only right that she helped them in cleaning it up.
The ninja exchanged nervous glances, and finally, after a long moment of silence Lloyd spoke up.
"We still think it would be too dangerous for you to leave the Bounty." the green ninja said sadly, obviously unhappy giving the undesired news to the girl.
"Especially if we're going into possible enemy territory." Kai added, his arms still crossed over his chest. Destiny frowned at the news, their reaction wasn't unexpected, but it frustrated the short teen.
"I understand that, but I want to help. This is my mess after all. These 'Shapeshifter' guys are after me, and I don't want to be useless just waiting on the ship." Destiny attempted to argue. Even though she knew protecting others was the ninja's job she still felt guilty being reduced to nothing more than a bystander.
"We all understand where you are coming from Destiny, but it would be best to remain with Misako and I while the ninja handle things. To stay here and assure you're safe is just as important as following a lead." Master Wu explains, and the yellow clad teen nodded sadly. With the debate settled the ninja split into their teams.
"Alright team, ninja go!" Lloyd and the others cheered in unison before running out of the bridge. As Misako, Wu, and Destiny watched the ninja leave Destiny couldn't help but let out a frustrated huff.