Hello everybody, Bananapugg here.
I just wanted to write a quick author's note at the top of this chapter before we continue the story! I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has been reading! This story is just here as a foundation for Destiny's character, and to help set up some groundwork for the future. So, the details are very important to me consistency wise. If any of you could take the time to write a review and give me your thoughts on how you're enjoying the story so far I'd be so thankful!
Anyways, that's pretty much it. I'm mainly writing this for fun, and so far I think it will end up being about 18 chapters long.
Wishing everyone a good day! - BananaPugg
"There's no way I am getting shoved to the sidelines. Those creeps are after me. The least I can do is help figure out how to stop them." Destiny whispered to herself as she descended into the hull of the Bounty. The ship was currently hovering just above the ground somewhere, ready to drop one of the ninja teams off. Destiny wasn't sure which lead the ship was currently positioned over, but she didn't really care.
Finally reaching the lowest level of the Bounty, Destiny looked around the large room. It was filled with storage boxes containing various supplies. Medical items, to engine parts, and extra miscellaneous items were thrown about. Destiny walked to the furthest part of the room and found what she was looking for.
The thick chain of the Bounty's anchor was currently making a loud clanking sound as it descended to the earth below. Beside the anchor was a fairly large circular window, pushing it open Destiny carefully climbed out and slid down the heavy chain. Once her feet hit the bottom she quickly jumped into a nearby bush and waited until the engine of the Bounty grew too far away to hear.
Alright, now to figure out who's mission I hijacked.
Carefully peeking her head out of the shrubbery, Destiny looked around, inspecting the surrounding environment. There was a large open space, scattered patches of grass and small parking lots sharing the area. Further in the distance were the all too familiar skyscrapers unique to Ninjago city.
Looking to her left, Destiny finally spotted a very close building. It wasn't near any other structures, and as she stepped out of the bush the movement of a figure walking up a flight of stairs caught her eyes. It was Cole.
Great, of all the missions I had to hijack of course it had to be Cole's.
Destiny wasn't exactly upset that she had managed to tag along with the Master of Earth, but she felt closer to him than the others; because of this she felt an immediate wave of nerves rush over her. He was cool and nice, and Destiny was scared to embarrass herself in front of him. Again…
Taking in a deep breath she thought about it some more. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad? Out of all the ninja Cole at least seemed to be the most empathetic. If she talked to him instead of sneaking around he might understand how she's feeling and actually let her help out. Making up her mind, Destiny began running up the stairs to catch up to the black ninja.
"Hey, wait up!" Destiny spoke loud enough so the ninja could hear her. He stopped, and turned around to look behind him. An obvious look of shock was plastered onto his face at the sight of the brunette girl.
"Destiny? What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be on the Bounty with Master Wu and Misako?" Cole questioned, his expression now mixed with confusion as the yellow clad teen finally caught up to him.
"I was, or I mean, I am. But look, I can't just let you and the others take care of these 'Shapeshifter' guys for me. I understand that you guys are thee ninja but I'm capable too. I feel guilty not being able to do anything to help." Destiny explained, giving the black ninja a sad look. Cole could tell that she meant every word she had said, and while he knew it wasn't smart for her to be here with him, his heart had already made the decision for him.
"Okay, but you gotta promise to stay close to me. If those 'Shapeshifter' guys find out that you're here we could get outnumbered way too easily." The raven conceded before giving the short girl a soft smile.
"I promise." Destiny responded as the two of them got to the top of the stairs, and Cole held the door open for her. "Even if we were outnumbered, I still think we could take them." Destiny joked, giving the tall boy a smile of her own.
"You think so?" Cole questioned, a playful smirk on his face.
"Oh yeah, for sure. No doubt about it. I mean, look at you! You're definitely the strongest guy in all of Ninjago." Destiny explained, holding her arms open in a gesture that served to prove her point. Cole merely laughed as he followed Destiny into the museum.
It was currently a Thursday, so the museum was closed to the citizens of the city for a couple more hours. The ninja knew Dr. Saunders practically lived at the museum though, and that explained why the door had been unlocked. Cole figured the lack of tourists at the moment meant that the pair of them shouldn't have any issues running into the 'Shapeshifters' gang. At the same time though the black ninja didn't want to risk it. He was hoping the two of them could find whatever information the museum had on the Master of Species as quickly as possible.
"Dr. Saunders?" Cole yelled out into the seemingly empty room. When the duo was met with silence he continued to walk down one of the large corridors.
Destiny was trailing a few paces behind the black ninja, she was currently taking in the architecture. She had always wanted to visit the Ninjago Museum of History, especially with her father. However, her family had lived a ways away from Ninjago City so they had never found time to make the trip. Then after her father got sick, well, Destiny supposed that some dreams were never destined to be anything more than that. Just dreams. The young girl could feel her heart growing heavy at the thought.
"You called?" A voice suddenly spoke right beside her ear.
"GAH!" Destiny yelled out in surprise as she jumped away from the voice that had intruded on her train of thought.
"Destiny!" The teen heard her name being called out by the black ninja just before he appeared in the entryway of the hall ahead of her. He must not have noticed that she'd stopped.
"Oh, sincerest apologies! I did not mean to spook you so bad!" The voice beside Destiny apologized.
She stood hunched over her knees, trying to catch her breath like someone who had just ran a marathon. After a brief moment Destiny felt her heart slow back down to its normal rhythm, and looked over her shoulder to see who had nearly given her a heart attack. It was an older looking man with gray hair, and a long noodle-like mustache hanging down from his lips. He wore a silky red robe, and his brown eyes behind his rounded glasses held nothing but kindness.
"Destiny, are you okay?" The Master of Earth asked in a more hushed tone this time as he took a spot beside the startled teen.
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. It's fine." Destiny attempts to assure the two before standing back up straight. Her arms were now crossed around her chest in a form of self-soothing, the older man had nearly scared her half to death after all.
"Dr. Saunders-" Cole starts, but is interrupted by the museum worker.
"Ah, Cole! It is very nice to be seeing you as a human now! Fortunate that this past Day of the Departed was also the conjuring of a Rift of Return! Yes?" The old man says quickly, and Destiny is hardly able to make any sense of what the elder had just said.
"Yeah, yeah, great." Cole quickly tries to change the subject, feeling uncomfortable at the mention of the Day of the Departed. "Dr. Saunders, do you know anything about Shapeshifters? Specifically anything about the Master of Species?" The Earth ninja questions, a slight look of anxiousness apparent on his face.
"Ah, shapeshifters you say? Shifting one's shape in any way is an extremely rare skill in itself but I might have the things you are looking for." Dr. Saunders says as he begins to walk into a different room.
The younger duo follow the man, not wanting to lose him as they made their way through the twists and turns of the museum. After following the Dr. for a minute or two the older man finally stopped in front of a new section of the building.
"Here it is. Hall of Elemental Masters! Everything the museum has on elemental masters is here!" Dr. Saunders says with a smile. "Now, I must get back to other business, there is still much to clean since Day of the Departed!" With that the museum keeper left, leaving the remaining two to explore the new area.
"You wanna take that side and I can take this one?" The Master of Earth asks the yellow clad girl beside him, pointing to the far side of the room.
"Yeah." Destiny responds, making her way to the opposite side of the room, and beginning to look through all the nearby exhibits. After a few minutes of silence passed the shorter teen decided now would be an okay time to strike up some conversation. She did still want to get to know Cole better, and being here alone with him seemed like the perfect chance.
"Hey uh, Cole?" Destiny spoke up hesitantly.
"What's up? You find something?" The black ninja answers, looking up from the large wooden box he had been rummaging through.
"Uh, no. Not yet." Destiny admits, her cheeks heating up a bit in embarrassment. "I was actually just wondering if I could ask you a question."
"Oh yeah, sure." The raven answers, a bit surprised.
"This is a bit of a personal question, so you don't need to answer it if you don't want to! And I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable. It's just, when Dr. Saunders mentioned the Day of the Departed earlier you seemed to tense up a bit. Is it okay if I ask what happened?" Destiny could hear her voice grow weaker as she asked the question. She was hoping she hadn't just ruined what little relationship she had with the Earth ninja.
"Oh." Cole said simply. His face contorted for a moment as he seemed to go through an internal battle. Just before Destiny could take back what she said though the black ninja continued. "Well, it's all kind of a long story, but, on the Day of the Departed the other ninja and I came here to the museum. It was just supposed to be a normal celebration but I was a ghost, and it might sound weird but, I could feel myself slipping away." The Master of Earth paused, taking in a slow breath of air before continuing.
"The man, or- ghost who was responsible for turning me into a ghost too was Sensei Yang. He tricked me into going back to his temple. He was going to leave me and all the ghosts of his former students trapped there while he traveled through a Rift of Return that would make him human again. In the end though, Master Yang decided to stay behind as a ghost, and instead myself and all of his students made it through the rift."
There was a long silence that passed between the two. Neither knowing what to say. Destiny also had trouble fully understanding what the black ninja was saying. He had been a ghost? Was she understanding him correctly?
"It's all a little complicated, but traveling through the Rift of Return and becoming a human again also came with this pretty cool looking scar." The raven haired boy lifted up his curly locks, revealing a rather nasty looking green scar above his left eye. The scar almost looked more like a crack, and Destiny could feel herself become a bit concerned when she noticed how close it came to his eye.
"Does it… hurt?" The young girl asked tentatively.
"Nope, I forget it's there most of the time. It doesn't affect my vision either. Honestly, it's just kinda there to look cool. At least that's what Jay says." Cole says with an empty sounding chuckle, removing his hand from his head allowing his hair to fall back into place.
"I see." Destiny trails off, silence filling the room again. "I hope I didn't make you upset or anything by asking those questions by the way. I'm sorry if I did."
"Hey, it was my choice to answer your questions. So I promise you don't need to apologize for anything." The black ninja reassures, flashing Destiny a soft smile.
"I would be lying though if I said I don't feel guilty. The temple needed a ghost to stay behind as master of the house, and Sensei Yang volunteered himself to do that. But, I still wish I could have gotten all of the trapped spirits out of there including his. Even if he was the one that cursed me in the first place no one deserves that kind of punishment." Cole now had a rather somber looking expression on his face, and he was no longer looking at Destiny either.
Instead, his eyes had been drawn back down to the box in front of him, but they didn't appear to be searching for anything as they had been before. Walking over to the Master of Earth, Destiny placed a gentle hand on his upper arm.
"It's okay to feel upset, but I don't think Sensei Yang would want you to blame yourself. You said it was his choice to stay behind. Plus, it wasn't all bad, you managed to save his students." The black ninja turned to look at Destiny as she spoke.
"I know we haven't known each other for long, but I can tell that you're a good person Cole. Don't let the things we can't change blind you from all the good you've managed to do." Destiny finished, giving the Master of Earth an empathetic smile.
"Thank you Destiny." The raven haired boy replied with a soft expression of gratitude.
"No need to thank me. You said you would be here for me. The least I can do is return the favor and be here for you too." The short girl spoke, the soft smile not leaving her face. Suddenly something caught her eye, and she leaned past her tall companion to get a better look.
"Hey Cole, what's that?" The brunette asks, moving a hand to point at the object in question. The Earth ninja turned his head, looking to see if he could spot what the short girl was referring to. It was a rather large portrait of a man, and on his clothing was the symbol for 'Shapeshifter'.
"Hey Dr. Saunders!" Cole calls out, hoping to get the attention of the museum employee. Not a minute later the older man peeks into the room, walking over to the young duo.
"Yes? You called?"
"Who's the man in this painting?" The black ninja asks, pointing to the image of the young man on the canvas.
"Ah! I see you have found it! The painting of the Master of Species! Unlike the Master of Form who can only change to take on the appearance of different people; the Master of Species can supposedly transform into nearly any creature imaginable! As long as it is not a human of course! Whether it be animal or something most wondrous. The museums' archive on the Master of Species is limited to this single painting however, so there is no telling of the true power he could possess!" Dr. Saunders explains with a fair amount of excitement.
"That sounds kind of overpowered." Destiny speaks up. "How is turning into different species an elemental power anyways?" She asks aloud to no one in particular. Cole and Dr. Saunders simply shrug.
"Do you happen to know where the Master of Species might be Dr. Saunders?" Cole asks, hoping the elder might have another lead for him and the rest of the ninja to follow.
"It is hard to say, the man in the painting has not been seen for many years! And as I have said, the museums' information on the Master of Species is quite lacking." Dr. Saunders answers with obvious disappointment.
Destiny continued to study the man in the painting as the voices of the black ninja and Dr. Saunders faded around her. She knew she had seen the 'Shapeshifters' symbol before, her and the ninja all had. Yet, something about the young man in the frame seemed familiar. The yellow clad girl was struggling to place her finger on exactly what that something was though.
"Destiny?" A voice suddenly speaks, followed by a somewhat rough shaking to her shoulder.
"Huh?" Destiny looks over to find the source of the voice, it was Cole, and he had a rather concerned expression on his face.
"Destiny, are you okay? You totally zoned out there for a minute." The Master of Earth questioned, not yet removing his hand from her shoulder.
"Oh, yeah. I'm okay, sorry." Destiny apologized as she regrounded herself back in reality. "I got distracted. The man in the painting just seems… familiar somehow."
"Huh." Cole took his hands off his friend and turned back to the painting. "I could take a picture of it with my phone? Maybe if we showed it to the others they could help?" The black ninja suggests, already pulling out his phone.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Destiny agrees, and she watches as he takes a picture of the painting. The Master of Earth had also been sure to keep the flash off, per request of Dr. Saunders.
"Well, it looks like we got everything we needed. Better radio in and head back to regroup with the others." Cole informs, smiling as he put his phone back in whatever pocket he had pulled it from. It was then though that Destiny was hit with a sudden realization.
"Wait Cole!" The Master of Earth jumped in surprise before looking down to the girl.
"What is it?" The black ninja asked, a look of concern on his face. He wasn't forgetting anything was he?
"If the others didn't realize I came on this mission with you I don't want them to find out! I don't want them to get mad at me… but, I don't know how I'd get back onto the ship without any of them noticing." Destiny explained nervously.
Even though she knew she had to help the ninja (for her own sake) it didn't change the fact she'd feel guilty if they managed to find out she'd snuck around behind their backs. Not to mention the fact she had directly disobeyed Master Wu. Cole nodded his head and furrowed his eyebrows for a moment in thought.
"I think I have an idea." He finally spoke up, giving Destiny a sly smile.