Well, okay. I don't know about you guys, but I'm not always a big fan of those "X amount of time later" epilogues that go, "Hey look, forty million big changes happened that I didn't have the good manners to tell you about!" They're kind of a hit and miss affair. So I'm uneasy about doing one myself . . . buuuut I wasn't about to just leave it on a jaded note like that. My problem isn't that hard to pronounce. :P
So this is an optional epilogue. If you were okay with that ending in the last chapter, go right ahead and skip this—or, you could pretend that last conversation was just being pessimistic and they didn't really fall apart after all, and then this whole thing would be like a bonus story squished in between Seasons 4 and 5. That would be kinda cool, although considering what goes down in Episode 46 I think the concept of the "Greenie" would make me cry.
Orrrrrrr you could read this epilogue too, which would make the story firmly AU. But if you're okay with that, glad to have ya! Enjoy. :)
Thank you once more to everyone who's reviewed, faved, etc.! You guys've been awesome.
GUEST05: Awh, rats . . . Did I scare you off with the dragon death scene? . . . If that's the case, sorry about that. :S But anyway, I'm gonna miss chatting with you! Thank you once again for all your very sweet and thoughtful reviews.
Growing apart doesn't change the fact that for a long time we grew side by side; our roots will always be tangled. I'm glad for that. -Ally Condie
The radio was blaring. It had been for quite a while. But hangitall, he was still sleepy . . . and very comfortable, and warm, and . . .
Cole's eyes snapped open.
He was gonna be late!
Tumbling out of bed, he fumbled for the radio alarm clock at his bedside, trying to see the time. 7:35—dangit! How did six months put him that out of practice?!
Leaving the bedclothes in disarray, he scrambled through a quick shower, trying not to get his hair wet. It was too quiet—mornings always were, it seemed like. He might have slipped out of the habit of waking early, but he was still used to the muffled chaos that had always seemed to fill the Bounty. While getting dressed, he flicked the radio on again, letting the blare of music and news fill the silence where battle cries and the rumble of training equipment used to be.
"Morning Quay!" he said breathlessly, barging into the tiny kitchen still brushing his hair. A chocolate Labrador barked in reply and pawed eagerly at her food dish, and Cole obliged with a sluice of kibble. As Quay gobbled eagerly, Cole tossed the hairbrush back into his bedroom and jammed a toaster pastry between his teeth, still struggling into the last few articles of his work outfit. The quarry manager wasn't keen on latecomers . . .
Screw this. Someday he was gonna have his own business. Someday he was gonna save up enough to get a little shop, and he'd sell pastries, and it would be wonderful. He'd be able to stay with his dad all day instead of just evenings too. But that was someday, maybe just a pipe dream, and right now was no time for daydreaming.
He was still trying to untangle the straps of his overalls when a familiar name suddenly blinked through the stream of radio babble.
"And in today's news, Ninjago is once again saved from its newest threat by our very own ninja team! Lloyd G. reports that the Gloomers have been entirely subdued, and there is no longer any cause for citizens to be alarmed. Luckily, significant collateral damage was prevented by—"
Cole's frenetic morning routine slowed for a moment. He pulled the toaster pastry from between his teeth, listening as the cheerful-sounding news lady gave a conveniently compressed account of the action. They'd handled it beautifully. Lloyd, Zane, and Kai. The three of them had stuck together, each driven by the knowledge that they'd never be satisfied unless they were protecting and serving Ninjago—and frankly, they were dynamic. They used to call him from the quarry and Jay from the TV studio quite a bit, when things got hairy . . . they almost never did, anymore. They could handle almost anything between just the three of them.
Cole crammed half the pastry into his mouth and went back to wrangling his overalls, assuring himself that his eyes were not at all misty. The radio meandered on to less personal topics. Quay finished off the kibble and went over to sniff at a pair of slippers—goodness, had those been left there?! He hadn't realized—lying by the door. The dog growled.
"Ahh, come on Quaky," scolded Cole, laughing. "You jealous women! You're gonna have to learn to share, you know that?"
Quay snuffled peevishly and scraped her hind paws at the slippers in disdain. Cole swept the footwear into the closet hastily with one foot, shutting the door. His dad would be up soon, and even if he couldn't see the slippers he might run across them. Awkward questions best avoided.
Cole finally got himself together, grabbed his toolbox, and ruffled the Lab's ears on his way out.
"Take care of Dad till I get home, Quay! Good girl."
He was already tearing out the door when the phone suddenly rang. He hovered in the doorway, glancing tormentedly at the clock—but at last he dropped his gear and dashed back to answer. If it was a telemarketer, he'd give him words all right.
As soon as Cole picked up the phone, he was greeted by the sound of a cargo freighter being disassembled by a host of rusty can openers. Loudly. Cringing, he held the receiver at arm's length until the noise subsided, then pressed it back to his ear.
"Hey Lloyd!"
A peal of laughter answered him.
"You know it's me by now?"
"Oh, no, I know like forty people who answer the phone with sounds of destruction," Cole parried, feeling his heart lifting already. He knew what this had to mean. "What's up?"
"Ah, not much." There was another explosion in the distance. "Though it turns out the Gloomers were just taking time off to regroup and fetch backup, and they're getting just a liiiiiiiittle out of hand here. Feel like swinging by Birchwood Forest for a bit?"
"Do I!" Cole's thoughts were already flying ahead. Call his boss, let him know it was one of "those days." Get the ninja suit out of the closet. Grab all his backup gear and weapons—
Another crash on the other end of the line jolted him back into the present.
"You guys okay over there?"
"Never better!" a distant breathless voice chimed in. Cole had to smile—Kai hadn't sounded that alive in forever. "Get your butt down here, Cole. Six burgers and a basket of fries says you can't reach us before Jay does!"
"Oh, you are on!" Cole was already stretching out the phone cord to reach the closet. "Just watch; I am not letting him win this time."
"Then perhaps you would care to throw some milkshakes into that bet as well?" Zane cut in brightly.
"Yeah, we're gonna be thirsty, and they taste better when you're paying," agreed Lloyd. Laughing, Cole tossed the receiver back onto the hook and started dashing around again with considerably more verve than before. Quay tore circles around him, barking.
"Getting called in again?" Lou appeared in the doorway with a knowing smile. His walk was so confident that you would never have guessed he had to count steps from his room to the kitchen; he had learned the layout of the new house in no time.
"It sounds pretty big!" said Cole exultantly. "You gonna be okay here, Dad?"
"What a question. Get moving! I want you out of here before I can recite an arpeggio, you hear me?"
Cole chuckled and gave his dad a quick hug goodbye before snatching up the last of his gear, pulling the familiar hood down over his face, and bolting out the door. He had to admit, life was good right now.
And if he could just beat Jay to Birchwood Forest, it would be even better.