*Aster*
Aster ran a hand along the row of scrolls, feeling their papery texture. The monastery had an impressive library, although there were no scrolls for children. She didn't mind. The scrolls back home had never been very childish, either. It was enough for her to be surrounded by all the documents, myths, and fables. She'd only been at the monastery for a week, and already she'd inhaled a quarter of them.
She'd always enjoyed reading. As a very young child, she'd spent hours in the living room puzzling over words and letters with Tsunami. As she'd grown older, especially in the last five years without her adopted mother, scrolls had become a way to remember Nami. Of course, once Hotaru had perished, she'd spent more time sword-fighting. But it always made her happy to see scrolls.
Excited yells sounded from outside, followed by Kai's frustrated swearing. She heard Cole's voice as he tried to calm down the agitated Master of Fire, and Nya's laughter at her brother's misfortune. Ever since Garmadon had left their realm, Ninjago had been fairly quiet. The ninja had taken their free time as an opportunity to play video games, and so outbursts like this had become quite common- especially when someone defeated her incredibly competitive brother.
Aster played with them sometimes, but it got boring. Especially when her character did nothing but die. So she spent her mornings in the library, flipping through the scrolls. After lunch, she'd barge into the gaming room, and dragged them out by the ear to spar, for no reason other than because she had nothing better to do.
Sparring with Kai was a lot like dancing, as they'd become so used to each other's attack patterns. Jay enjoyed surprise attacks, which were fun to fend off. Cole was probably the most fun to fight with, as he relied mostly on brute strength, and so no tactics were necessary- as long as she was faster than him, she'd avoid decapitation. Zane was harder, though. He only attacked when he was a hundred percent sure he'd hit her, and so they'd spend ages seizing each other up before they actually got to the action.
Zane was strange. She'd come to accept Jay and Cole as extended family, but she couldn't come to terms with Zane. Everything he did was cool and calculated, as if done mechanically. Aster was almost his polar opposite- she did almost everything on impulse, and she rarely cared about the consequences. She found it hard to understand him.
"So this is where you spend your mornings," Zane spoke from the doorway. Speak of the devil.
"Yeah," she answered, shifting from foot to foot. She had no idea what to say, and given Zane's silence, the feeling was mutual.
"Why aren't you with the other guys?" she blurted out, plucking the first thing she could think of.
"I lost all my lives," Zane shrugged. Any other place, the statement would have sounded strange, but Aster understood. "There was nothing else to do."
"Doubtful," Aster laughed, as she plucked a scroll from the shelf randomly. "It's hilarious to see their faces when you turn the power off."
"But I have never turned the power off," Zane said, confused.
"When 'one' turns the power off," Aster amended. "I swear Kai was this close to crying when I switched it off right before he killed Jay."
Zane nodded, but said nothing. Once again they lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. Just for something to do, Aster unrolled the scroll, reading through it.
The scroll wasn't written in clear calligraphy like the others she had read. Rather, it was in charcoal, and the words were a little messy, as if written by a childish hand. Curious, she tried to decipher the first few paragraphs:
Sensei Wu has given me this scroll to record the extents of my power, seeing as I am the last of my line, and if something should happen to me, the Masters of Wind will be no more. This scroll is how we will be remembered.
At least, that is what Sensei has told me. I think this is more for his personal interests, as he is one to whom information and history matter very much, even if they do not benefit anyone.
This is a belittling task for someone who is destined to be the most powerful being in Ninjago, but I will do as Sensei wishes. For the moment.
Morro
Master of Wind
Aster stared at the scroll in disbelief. Her father's work- It seemed near impossible. Her father had been banished to the Cursed Realm. She'd thought that all traces of her father's legacy had been destroyed, and she would never learn of the man who'd sired her.
She smiled a little. Her father wasn't as bad as Sensei Wu had made out- she'd been imagining a murderous monster who would stop at nothing to destroy those more powerful. But Morro wasn't like that at all. True, from what she'd discerned from his small portion of writing, he was impatient, and arrogant. But who was she to judge? So was she.
"You dropped this," Zane spoke up at last, startling Aster out of her thoughts. He handed her a slip of paper, which had probably fallen out of the scroll. She took it.
"Thanks." Aster inspected it. It was a photograph of two people- a boy and a young man. The man had cropped blonde hair, styled much like Jay's. He would have been unrecognizable but for the golden characters on his kimono, the teapot in his hands, and his twinkling pale blue eyes. He was a much younger Sensei Wu, with his arm around the boy.
The boy was clearly her father. He had black eyes, much like Aster's own, and a curtain of black hair surrounded his face, interrupted by a single streak of rebellious green. It seemed the mastery of Wind was not the only thing she'd inherited. Aster grinned at the picture and scroll in her hand. Despite only knowing of her father for a week or so, she was already fond of him. It would be nice to see if she could meet him. At least, she'd be able to, if he weren't…
Dead. In the exhilaration of discovering her biological father, she'd forgotten both her parents were dead. The grin slid off her face. She would never see her father, never see what he thought of her. Would he be proud of her? After all, she was one of the best swordsmen in Ninjago, and with her mastery of Wind, one of the most powerful. Or would he be disappointed in the way she turned out- arrogant, careless, and problematic? And her mother- she'd given her life to birth Aster. Would she find her sacrifice worth it?
I'll never find out, Aster thought bitterly. I wish… I could see them both once. Just to properly see them.
"Are you alright?" Zane asked gently, snapping her out of her thoughts. "You seem distressed. Do I need to get Sensei?"
"I'm fine," Aster answered quickly. She was appalled at the tears that threatened to well in her eyes. Don't. Don't you dare.
"May I see?" Zane held out a hand. She obliged, putting both scroll and picture in his hand. He studied it, tilting his head inquisitively. "He looks a lot like you," Zane observed, stating the obvious. "But… Not so much like Kai. Or Nya."
Why would he look like Kai or Nya… Oh. She'd never told the ninja about her true parentage, but she'd assumed that Kai or Nya would have said something. She'd never found her adoption to be embarrassing, but now, faced with discovery… She was hesitant to admit the truth.
But Zane was a ninja. She was a ninja. Technically, now he was family. Didn't he have a right to know?
"He's not Kai's father. Or Nya's." She shuffled on her feet. Oh, dragon fodder, what was Zane so hard to talk to? He was just staring at her. He also had his trademark I-have-absolutely-no-idea-what-you're-talking-about-but-because-I-am-a-polite-person-I-will-keep-listening-to-you face on. Spinjitzu, every conversation with him was awkward. I need to punch something.
On the downside, the only things nearby were Sensei's prized scrolls and Zane.
"Kai and Nya are adopted?" Zane looked at her, bewildered. Aster stared back at him, not sure whether to laugh or scream.
She decided to go with neither. "No. I am adopted. My father died before I was born, and my mother died birthing me. I was adopted by Kai's parents. His mother died of disease when I was five, and his father was killed by bandits when I was eight." Aster paused. "Wow. That was morbid."
"Why don't the other ninja know?" Zane nudged. This guy was full of questions.
"Because there was no reason to tell them." She shrugged, ever pragmatic.
"You have to tell them," he insisted. "They are your brothers now. You cannot hide your past forever. Better they learn now, than on the battlefield, when loss of concentration could be their doom." Zane smiled at her faintly, and turned to walk out.
"Where are you going?" she called after him.
"To cook dinner. Knowing Cole and Kai, we best prepare the biggest meal humanly possible."
"Good idea. Can I help?"
"Of course." Aster scampered after him, and despite how different they looked, one might have thought they were truly brother and sister.
*Zane*
"What is this?" Jay nudged a brown lump with his fork. The sun was setting outside, and the lack of light didn't make it look any more appetising.
"Smoked eel," Cole mumbled with his mouth full. Opposite to him, Kai was engaging in an intense staring contest with his food, despite its lack of eyes.
"Actually, it was meant to be roast chicken," Zane pointed out. "Aster was in charge of it."
The Ninja of Wind spread out her arms as eyes turned to her. "What?"
"You said you were good with fire." Zane crossed his arms. Evidently she needed cooking lessons. And for that matter, so did Cole, who was still digging into the offending course.
"I was a blacksmith," Aster objected. "I have a Ninja of Fire for a brother. Of course I'm good with fire."
"Cooking is very different from making swords, Aster," Zane closed his eyes. "One does not hammer meat into submission. One does not throw said meat directly into the fire. And one certainly does not plunge the meat into ice cold water afterwards."
Aster rolled her eyes amid gales of laughter. "Same thing. It's edible, isn't it?"
"This is why I used to cook," Nya sighed, shaking her head.
"You must have been an awesome chef," Jay chirruped, his eyes immediately lighting up. Cole and Kai looked at each other, exasperated. Confused at the turn of events, Zane shrugged and shovelled a spoonful of the mutilated dish into his mouth.
"She wasn't," Kai clarified. Aster snorted, and began to laugh, before Nya silenced her with a withering glare.
Cole tilted his head at them. "If Nya was such a bad chef, why didn't your mom cook?"
An awkward silence fell as the siblings shuffled around. It seemed Kai and Nya shared Aster's reluctance to talk about their parents. Eventually, it was Aster who spoke up, staring resolutely at the wall.
"Mom's been dead for a long time."
"Oh," Cole ducked his head, seemingly embarrassed. "Sorry."
"There's nothing to be sorry for," Nya brushed it off. "And before you ask, Dad's been dead for some time as well."
"Where's Sensei?" Kai asked with forced cheerfulness, steering the conversation away from their parents.
"Sensei is in town," Zane answered immediately. "He said something about research."
"Research about what?" Jay echoed Zane's own thoughts.
"It's not our place to question him," Cole frown at the Ninja of Lightning.
Zane turned to look at Aster, who was staring blankly into space. She called it "thinking Cole-style". She had a hand in her pocket, where Zane knew she kept her father's scroll. Judging from her reaction to inquiries about even her adopted parents, he guessed she was unlikely to divulge the truth about her true parentage on her own. So he decided to push her.
"Have you learnt anything else about your father?" he asked, emphasising "your".
She glared at him through narrowed eyes. "No. I learned nothing more than what I told you in confidence."
Their brief exchange had caught the attention of the other ninja.
"Your father?" Cole pressed. "Aren't you Kai and Nya's sister? Isn't your dad the same guy?"
"No," she said flatly. "I'm adopted. Which is a useless piece of information, and shouldn't change anything." Aster sprang to her feet and marched out of the room.
"I apologise," Zane said quietly to no one in particular. "I was not aware she would be so distressed."
"She'll cool off," Kai shrugged, already turning back to dinner. "She's like that."
"Hypocrite," Nya mumbled, dodging a swipe from Kai.
"I'm confused." Cole looked from Kai to Nya to Zane.
"Aren't you always?" Jay sang softly, so Cole couldn't hear.
"Yeah," Kai turned to Zane. "What do you mean, 'anything else'?"
"She found a scroll written by her father in the library," Zane explained, standing up to take the surprisingly empty plates. "And a picture of him. She explained to me about her origins, and I told her to tell you, as it seemed wrong to hide anything from the rest of you. We are a team, after all."
Was it just him, or did Cole just wince? Zane shrugged it off. "I was not aware she would be so distress," he said again. "Where are you going?" Zane turned to look at Cole, who was moving towards the door.
"To check on her," he replied, raising an eyebrow, like it was obvious.
Immediately, Kai and Nya moved to stop him.
"She trains when she's mad," Nya explained. "To be precise, she destroys things. You don't want to get in her line of fire." Cole nodded slowly, and sat back down. To emphasise her points, a loud bang sounded from the courtyard. Jay winced, as if sorry for the equipment.
"She'll calm down," Nya said, though she sounded unsure.
Well. He would certainly never meddle in other people's affairs again. Zane flinched as the screech of metal on metal sounded.
*Little Monk*
He scurried along the corridors of the monastery, keeping his head down. The older monks didn't notice him. They walked slowly, burdened by the weight of the many scrolls they were carrying. Normally, he would pace himself similarly, but today he held only one scroll, and a small one at that. It was night in one of the sixteen realms- one of the smallest realms. Its name was Ninjago.
The little monk quickened his pace. Today was one of his nights off, and likely he would not have another one in a long time. It was crucial he arrived at his destination before Ninjago's night was over.
Not to mention that this was against the ancient laws. When a monk of Cloud city came into existence, the first thing they learned was not to meddle with the affairs of any of the realms. They were to leave everything to what had been preordained by the Master Writer.
But everything had been put in jeopardy when a witch with the power to defy fate had married, and birthed a young boy. A Master of Wind, who'd inherited that power. One named Morro.
The perfect future the Master Writer had had in mind was doomed. At least, unless he completed his mission.
The little monk pressed his lips together. No doubt what he was about to was exceedingly reckless, and more so with his inexperience in dreamwalking. But he had read the future the Master Writer had planned out, and with Morro dead, it was impossible. He had thought so, until he'd found a curious little scroll, which, unlike its many, many, counterparts, wrote itself. It belonged to a young girl, who should have never existed.
Her name was Aster.
Arriving at his destination, he entered and bolted the thick door shut behind him. He approached the altar centred in cavernous room, his footsteps echoing eerily. He hoped desperately no one could hear him.
He placed the scroll on the altar, and stepped back. And waited. And waited some more. Nothing happened. Blast it, this is why I should have gotten someone else to do it. His temper frayed, and he hammered on the surface of the altar. "Work, already!"
The altar glowed golden in response to his touch. He felt the waves of power rolling off it. The power that was searching Ninjago for the last Master of Wind.
He knew, the moment it found her. The gold was eaten up by a dark, murky green- a green that was the last remnant of her father's ambitious desires, which she herself harboured unconsciously. The glow faded abruptly, as suddenly the walls lit up in a mass of colours. The monastery disappeared around him as he stepped into her dreams.
First impression of the Master of Wind- she was a strange child. He'd expected to step into a bright world surrounded be toys, maybe involving the ninja. He had not expected to hear the clash of sword as soon as he entered the dream- the dream of a ten-year-old girl, mind you. Admittedly, the swordplay was brilliant. But he was beginning to have doubts about placing the fate of the wold in her hands.
He cleared his throat, trying to get her attention. She paid him no heed. He tried again. But Aster was completely absorbed in her dream. The little monk took a deep breath.
"Aster Graye!" he bellowed, ending up with a sword at his throat. Was it possible to die in someone else's dream? He'd better research that.
"Whoa." Aster peered at him. "I live in a monastery, and I don't wear that." She gestured at his habit. He blinked. Of all the possible reactions, he hadn't anticipated that one. He opened his mouth to lecture her on the importance of a monk's habit, but was cut off.
"Graye?" she demanded. "Where did you get that one? It's 'Smith'. And where's your sword? It's no fun killing unarmed people."
Was it too late to warn someone else? Maybe Jay Walker. But then the monk in charge of his scroll would find out about the visit, and that would be disastrous. It looked like he was stuck with the crazy not-supposed-to-exist girl who didn't even know her own surname.
"Listen to me," he said urgently. With his luck, she'd forget this dream as soon as she woke up. He'd heard of that happening. "I need to tell you something important." He felt no small amount of relief when she nodded to indicate he had her full attention. "There's something wrong with Ninjago. Someone died, who shouldn't have died, many years ago. And because of that mistake, you are here today."
"Are you saying I'm not supposed to exist?" Aster said sharply, hackles rising.
"Essentially," he admitted, hoping she would not take out her anger on him. "But," he said quickly, "You do hold tremendous power, a power which you can use to fix Ninjago."
She surveyed her hands. "Will I be more powerful than the ninja?"
"That's not how it works," he said, wincing. "What I mean, is that you know a truth that no one knows, and no one can know. Knowledge in itself is a power. If anybody finds out, things could go badly for you, me, and Ninjago."
"Aha," she said, unimpressed. "So what am I supposed to do with this… power?"
He shuddered. He was scared of the way she said that word, like a weapon, a treasure, a promise.
A threat.
Like father, like daughter. He really worried about putting the fate of Ninjago into her hands.
"You are different, Aster," he said seriously, trying not to flinch from the hunger in her onyx eyes. "Everyone else in Ninjago- not to mention the other realms- has a fate preordained and ready for them. There are prophecies, predictions, and everything in their way, most especially the Ninja of Fire, Earth, Lightning and Ice. But you… You can do anything. You write your own destiny, and change the fate of yours around you. You need to know that sooner than anyone would like, there is going to be a battle between Light and Dark. The Green Ninja is key to everything. You must protect the power of the Green Ninja with your life. Do you understand?"
Aster studied him for a long time. Then nodded, and he exhaled. "Good. Farewell, Aster Graye."
The dream, with its bloodied grass, melted away into the shadows of the monastery. The little monk closed his eyes. Spinjitzu help us all, he prayed.
Realms away, the Master of Wind awoke.
Hey, I'm back! I apologise for my unplanned absence. I've read your reviews, but haven't had time to answer them. I will, soon. I'm going to make a few changes in how I write the chapters, and they will commence in the next chapters.
The More Than Green trilogy will go like this:
A Darker Shade of Green- Pilot Episodes, Season 1, Season 2
A Ghostly Shade of Green- Season 3, Season 4, Season 5
A Fading Shade of Green- Season 6, Season 7, and my own conclusion.
Titles may be subject to change.
I've also grown tired of desperately copying down the dialogue, so I will omit the episodes and details I deem unimportant. I will also add in many fillers like this one. I'd also appreciate tips to make Aster more humanoid- she was a little Mary-Sue-ish in the earlier chapters, and I apologise profusely.
Thank you for reading, despite my EXTREMELY long break.