It's Wednesday. This is short. I know, I'm sorry. I just felt like I needed to end this storyline here or else it would have been way too long. I still have more planned, obviously.
This is that boring timeline that probably no one would actually want the ninja to exist in.
Chapter Eleven: Enthusiasm
"Hey, look at me, okay?" Kai grinned wickedly, yet the tone of his voice did not seem to match his expression. Laurie took a step backwards, feeling disoriented. The Ninja of Fire advanced quickly, elemental blade gripped tightly in his right hand. "Stay with me, Laurie," he continued, his purple eyes reflecting the growing flames from his sword. He sounded worried, genuinely concerned, but he looked angry. The mist almost appeared to be dissipating and the teenager felt her breath catch slightly as the trees in the distance wavered. Her vision blurred and she fell to her knees, strong arms wrapping her abdomen, trying to pull her back on her feet. "You can hear me right?" Trying her hardest to ignore Kai's voice, Laurie closed her eyes and thrust her dagger forward.
A hand caught her fist and her eyes flew open, not prepared for the sunlight that suddenly blazed down. Kai stood in front of her, his eyebrows knit with anxiety and hand clutching Laurie's. "Is there a reason you decided you wanted to punch me?" he chuckled half-heartedly. Laurie swallowed hard and just shook her head in response, ice blue irises settling down on the ground now. "Hey, look at me, okay?" She brought her gaze back up to the red ninja, recognizing the words from what felt like only a minute before. This time it all seemed to fit though. Kai was normal, aside from concerned expression. "You kind of zoned out there for a bit and no matter how much I tried to get you to say something, you just wouldn't. Is everything alright?"
"W-Where's Lucas?" Laurie asked, whipping her head around quickly, scanning the area around her. She was near the outskirts of Ninjago City, where the technology had slowly started to wind its way out towards the Sea of Sand. How did she get out of the Misty Forest? Why was Kai okay now? "And Jay and Cole and Zane?"
Kai transferred his hand from Laurie's fist up to her shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze. "They all went on ahead while I stayed back with you," the Ninja of Fire replied, guiding the girl back to her feet. He could see the unmistakable sheen of sweat glossing across her forehead and gave her a hard stare. "If you're not feeling good then I'll take you home. I mean, when your mom brought you to the school earlier you really didn't look like you wanted to be there." Kai watched as Laurie just stared blankly ahead, her attention seemingly miles away. "Stay with me, Laurie," the brunet sighed, regaining the girl's attention. "Coming out here was dumb anyways. I mean, Jay was just so excited and you know how he gets when anyone talks about Borg."
The name sounded very familiar to her, but Laurie just could not place it. "Borg?" the Ninja of Wind questioned, wiping her forehead with the back of her left hand. If she had been with Kai and the others all day, then why had she felt like she had been somewhere else? Not that being hunted down in a mist filled forest was fun or anything. Her heart still fluttered in her chest with nerves and adrenaline. "I'm fine, by the way," Laurie huffed, noticing the skepticism on Kai's face. "I just was feeling dizzy was all. Nothing to worry about."
"Of course, nothing to worry about," Kai smiled slightly, the right side of his mouth pulling into a slight smirk. "So that was why you decided to throw a punch at me, because you were feeling dizzy?" He watched as Laurie narrowed her eyes slightly and he just held his hands up in front of him. "I'm just saying, it seemed like it was a little more than that. I overheard your mom telling Sensei that she had taken you to a psychologist earlier today." This elicited a look of realization that spread across Laurie's freckled face and Kai felt a wave of relief overwhelm him. "What did the psychologist have to say about you?"
This was the boring life. She remembered now. This was the world where everyone lived happy and carefree. A Ninjago free of evil. A Ninjago free of anything worth doing. "He said that I was just seeing things, obviously," Laurie scoffed, rolling her eyes slightly. That's the first step to recovery: realizing what you're hearing or seeing isn't actually happening. Doctor Voler's words surfaced in her memories and she closed her eyes, hoping to be somewhere else when she opened them. Maybe she was not as crazy as everyone believed she was. When Laurie finally decided to open her eyes she saw Kai just staring back at her. Well it had felt like it was worth a shot. "I'm doing okay though. The hallucinations just come on randomly and sometimes I just get mixed up in them. That was why I decided to throw a punch at you."
"Well that's just mean," the red ninja chuckled, lightly gripping Laurie's arm and leading her down the road. He could tell that she was not being completely honest with him, but Kai refrained from prying any further. If anything, he wanted to make sure that whatever was happening to the girl he loved improved instead of worsening. His thoughts drifted back to when Laurie had forgotten all about him. If she could pull her way through something like that, then she could make it through some hallucinations or whatever. "You asked about Borg," he continued, just trying to make conversation now. "You didn't remember that Jay was invited to tour the main building? Cyrus Borg, the head of Borg Industries, is actually thinking about hiring him for something. He was just bouncing off the walls when he found out; wanted us all to come too."
She sighed, feeling really exhausted. Honestly, she did not remember anything about Jay being invited for a tour or even the prospect of a job opportunity. However, she did feel stupid for not remembering who Cyrus Borg was. He was the reason the city had become so technologically savvy now. Her eyes fell upon the towering, grey building that grew closer with each step she took. "Have the headquarters always been here?" Laurie asked Kai, feeling a sense of dread well up inside of her.
"Yeah, they have. Right by the corner of Twenty-First and Union. There had never really been much out here before until Borg decided to set up shop." Light brown eyes scrutinized the girl walking next to him. Laurie seemed slightly detached from everything, but he could see the gears turning in her head. She was definitely thinking about something.
"There you guys are," Jay laughed, quickly closing the distance between himself and his friends. "I know I told you to take your time and make sure Laurie was okay, but we've been waiting out front here forever!" The blue ninja felt very antsy, tugging on the long sleeves of his polo shirt and adjusting the collar for the tenth time in the past few minutes. "Can you believe it though? We're going to go inside Borg Industries. We get to see what's going on behind the scenes. Maybe we'll get to see some of the original blue prints for some of Borg's inventions or maybe we'll even get to see him!" A garbled noise of utter excitement tore through his throat, sending Jay into a brief coughing fit before he continued to babble on.
Laurie managed to wrangle her arm out of Kai's grip, much to his chagrin and take a few steps backwards, shielding her eyes from the bright sun above with her arm. The top of the building seemed ridiculously high up. How tall was it? "Are you doing well now?" The red head lowered her arm, returning her gaze to the street level. Zane stood in front of her, a small smile on his usually expressionless face. "You appear to be fine as of right now, but are you feeling well? You gave Kai quite a scare back there when you stumbled."
"I'm doing good, thanks," the orange ninja lied, still seeing the unnerving image of a grey Kai behind her eyes when she blinked. "Just a little dizzy and stuff. You know how it is."
The nindroid's face fell and he paused for a moment. "No, I do not know how it is," he answered honestly as Jay made his way back around, gathered the group all together.
"Are you guys ready for the best day ever?" the Ninja of Lightning squeaked, grinning incessantly. A chorus of grumbles and affirmations filled the air, causing Jay to sigh. "I know we all can't be as pumped as I am right now, but let's just try to have fun and stuff. Maybe this could be the start of a brand new adventure!" His hazel eyes rested upon each one of his friends as they just stared back at him. Cole had his eyebrows raised in annoyance. "Fine, fine, we'll just go in now," the auburn haired teen finished, watching as the two glass doors in front of him slid open. A burst of cool air expelled from the building's interior and the six former ninja stepped inside.
Yeah, let's try to have fun and stuff, Laurie thought to herself, pushing the nightmarish vision from earlier back to the farthest corners of her mind.
That's it for now. And now you see why this world is perfect. Cyrus decided not to build over the sight of the Overlord's defeat, therefore Rebooted doesn't happen and bam: happy endings for everyone. Thanks for reading and see you next week.