Children of Destiny
After the second wham chapter, we're gonna see how the ninjas, especially the Walker bros, react to Sayuri getting her powers as well as figuring out what to do with her. Plus, there's also going to be a couple of cameos so enjoy!
Chapter 50: Big Responsibilities
These last several days have been one heck of a roller coaster for the ninjas and their allies, Wu included. He and Lloyd have been dealing with Iris' changes since she was brought back as some human-snake hybrid but dealing with a ragtag team of ninjas and their antics left the sagely old man with a nigh divine level of patience and even understanding.
The latter quickly came to play when he got a visit from Jay and Nya concerning Sayuri.
Knowing what already happened to her thanks to their previous encounter, the Walker couple didn't mind Iris' appearance at their meeting but her dilemma was the least of their concerns at the moment. The group gathered in the meeting room to discuss over a matter they would've never thought to be possible…
"So her powers have finally awoken…" The old teacher stroked his long white beard in thought once his former students told him what happened with their youngest child.
"Even I would've never thought this would happen…" Nya admitted, "Chris and Kyle already got our elements and Sayuri never developed any when she was the ages they were when they got their powers. If anything, I thought she would get her uncle's powers…"
"Not everything about the future is written out and that's the reason why we were able to live our own lives. No one does anything simply because they know what will happen and one vital part of life is taking risks." Lloyd said, knowing that rule all too well…
"But what about Sayuri having two powers? OR if she ends up getting Kai's powers as well?" Jay threw up his arms in yet another one of his rants.
"There's always a first for everything." The green ninja retorted dryly.
"But do you think she'll have what it takes? She's still so little…" Nya sighed.
"And so were your sons when they first unlocked their elements." Wu reminded them.
"But still…"
"It is too soon to make assumptions."
"So what are we supposed to do?" Jay asked in exasperation.
"The most important thing for Sayuri is to learn to control her powers. As with your sons, you'll have to train her and above all, prove to her that having powers is not a privilege nor does she have to hide them. She is not defined by what she can do but who she truly is, regardless if she has powers or not."
"True…"
"I would advise teaching her to keep her elements under control. Such an impressionable mind like that of a child can easily lose hold of their very selves…" Lloyd warned his teammates.
"Of course. There's no way I'm gonna let my little girl go mad with power!" The lightning ninja boasted, ignorant of his words hitting home for the green ninja.
"You better not…" The hero of Ninjago bit his lips over the memories of the numerous times he lost control of himself to his inner demons.
Jay, still oblivious to the bluntness of his comment, kept rambling until his wife convinced him to calm down and confront their youngest child. Now that they had a clear objective on what to do with her, the Walker couple confronted their daughter who was busy talking with Willow.
"Sayuri, Mommy and Daddy have to speak with you for a moment." Nya beckoned her.
"What is it?" The still naïve girl asked once she was propped up on her father's lap.
"Sayuri, Sensei Wu and I had a little talk and we decided to teach you to control your powers. It won't be easy but after going through this twice, we have faith that you can do it."
"Really?"
"Of course. We'll find a way to teach you how to control your powers."
"I can teach her." Willow offered.
"But you haven't reached your true potential yet." Iris hesitated at the thought of her youngest child taking a more 'grown-up' responsibility.
"I think your sons should also know of this," Lloyd glanced at his former teammates, "As part of the family, they have every right to know of their sister's development."
"Yeah but… I'm pretty sure they won't take it very well…" Jay hesitated.
"But you never know until you actually tell them."
"Jay, they're growing up. We can't sugarcoat the truth nor keep it from them forever." Nya took Lloyd's side.
"I understand. It's just that being a parent… no matter how much time passes, I still see them as two little boys." The once garrulous ninja sighed.
"I feel the same way," His wife sympathized with him, "But time can only move forward."
"What about my powers?" Sayuri whined, bring the conversation back to her.
"Don't worry, Sayuri. You'll get to show Chris and Kyle what you can do." Jay consoled her.
"Yay! I can't wait to show them I have powers too!"
"Patience," Nya chuckled at her daughter's excitement, "You'll have your chance."
Sayuri was already way too excited to show not just her brothers but the whole world that she had her own special talent and wasn't the same as other little girls.
She was never going to be stuck in her brothers' shadows ever again!
The ninjas who chose to continue their quest returned to the cave in the Bone Forest to find at least some lead to what they'll have to do to cure the kunoichi. Even with no Serpentine, it was not easy concentrating, knowing half of the team were gone.
"It's so strange not having everyone with us," Amy shivered, "I hope we reunite soon…"
"I also wonder how the others are doing…" Melody sighed, sorely missing her teammates.
"I'm sure they're fine. They still have other things on their plates." Kyle comforted her.
"Guys! Focus!" Leon hissed at them and the young couple immediately got their heads back in the game but he also noticed that same blush on their faces…
All the group could find in the cave were remnants of the contraptions that changed the former kunoichi into snakes but hey, it was better than nothing at all but it was a good thing the ninjas more knowledgeable about machines was in the group.
The tech-savvy Walker brothers examined what remained of the machines that was responsible for the original kunoichi's transformations into Serpentine. One pattern they quickly found was the way the wires and gears were set up. Also, the pods they and Kai were contained in looked eerily similar to organic cocoons.
"The machines and the pods connected to them may be a combination of our technology and the arts and culture of the Serpentine." Chris observed.
"Since when did the Serpentine act civilized?" Melody asked dryly.
"This may sound weird but if we find the Serpentine, we'll have to keep them alive if we want to find a way to change the kunoichi back…" Kyle concluded.
"But even so, they probably wouldn't want to cooperate with us." Amy pointed out.
"Unless we make them." Leon muttered darkly…
"And since the others are at the locations they'll most likely go for, they also better be careful not to take things too far before it's too late." Melody added.
"We'll also have to tell them that they'll have to let them live if they want their mothers to turn back to humans." The lightning ninja answered.
"But what if the Overlord takes care of them before any of us even have a chance?" The black kunoichi reminded her group of the cause of Skales' gruesome downfall.
"Given what happened to Skales, I doubt he'll do anything unless we pull off what Melody and Amy did." Leon said.
"We're still here you know!" The kunoichi of water complained.
"We'll figure out something!" Chris spoke above his teammates to stop any arguments before they start, "I know we're all walking on eggshells here but we need a moment to think."
"We understand…"
"Let's just go through everything we've found so far and we'll pick up from there."
The group were slightly confounded at the sight of Misako standing at the edge of the deck of the Bounty. It was almost as if she was standing there for a long time, having something really important to tell them…
"Sensei Misako, what happened?"
"Chris, Kyle, I have something very important to tell you." Misako commanded with a slight hint of urgency in her voice before the Walker bros can actually set foot on the deck.
"What for?" Kyle asked once he got off of Star.
"It's concerning your parents- "
"D-did the Serpentine reach them!?" Chris soon let his protective instincts kick in, interrupting Misako in the process.
"Don't worry about them. They're safe but it's not them they need to talk about." The wise old woman still kept her cool despite the brothers' anxiety.
"Then who is!?" Kyle too grew concerned for the family he and Chris left behind.
"It's your sister."
The inventive brothers immediately darted for the bridge and on the screen was indeed Jay and Nya but Sayuri was with them. She appeared fine but looks can be deceiving…
"Sayuri, what's wrong!? Did someone hurt you!? Or did you get bitten by the Serpentine!?" The brothers were already at it like their uncle was for their mother since… ever.
"Nope." The youngest Walker child shook her head.
"Then what?"
The nine-year-old paused for a few moments before she finally delivered the news herself.
"I have powers too!" She declared with more pride in her voice than ever before.
"WHAT!?"
"No way! You're still just a kid!"
"I do have powers and I can show you!"
To prove that she was now on par with her brothers, Sayuri held up a spoon and it bent as if she was psychic, similar to how Kyle unlocked his powers a long time ago. Since there was no way to explain the phenomenon when there was nothing else that could've caused it, the brothers had to face the reality that their sister now had more in common with them then they thought yet part of them were still in denial.
"B-but-but Sayuri's still just a little girl! She's too young!" Chris stuttered.
"She's only nine! She won't be able to handle it!" Kyle added.
"And how does that make her any different from you?" Nya reminded her sons, "You two were younger when your powers awoken and Sayuri is smarter than you give her credit for."
"But because Sayuri now has elemental powers, that could make her a target for the bad guys. Whenever Mom and Dad are at work, she'll be ripe for their taking." Kyle pointed out.
"That, and it could take years for her to be in full control of her powers. We already have a lot on our plate and the adults are busy with their own lives."
"Don't worry about that. Like you said, you have bigger things to worry about."
"But who will help Sayuri?"
"Leave that to us," Jay boasted, "We did the same for you so why not her?"
"But we want to see it for ourselves, just to make sure…" Chris replied.
"Are you saying I can't do it!?" Sayuri pouted, making her face look even more childish.
"You know what? Just come up to the Bounty and show us what you've got. We'll try to at least get you prepared to learn how to control your powers, okay?"
"Okay."
The next day, Sayuri arrived at the Bounty riding atop Wisp with her parents. The brothers can practically see the excitement in her eyes once she hopped onto the deck but she couldn't hide her disappointment that the whole team wasn't here to see this.
"I wish Alex was here…" Sayuri sighed.
"Believe me, she would be really proud of you." Kyle attempted to console her.
"Can you show us what control you have so far over your elements?" Misako finally asked.
"Yeah!"
Sayuri grabbed the nearest metallic object she could get her hands on, in this case a mace chain from the obstacle course, and even without any wind, the chain moved around and even curled up and moved as if the coils were alive.
"…She actually did it…!" Leon gasped along with everyone else.
"I-I never thought I would see the day…!" Amy voiced her teammates' sentiment.
"Perhaps you can show us more of your new skills." Misako offered.
"Sure! Can you
The ninjas led Sayuri to the living room and the little girl made a beeline for any electronics she can get her hands on, such as the remote control and a bunch of sparks crackled around it.
The Walker brothers quickly noticed a pattern in their sister's powers. Sayuri's lightning powers only worked on electronics and she even had slight control over heat but only if a heat source already existed for her to use. As for actually creating lightning or fire, she just fell short…
"How's that?" Sayuri taunted once she was done.
"There's no denying that Jay and Nya's elements have passed on to you." Misako answered.
"But I noticed that there's a pattern in Sayuri's powers that still makes her different." Chris said.
"And that is…?" Jay started, letting his sons answer for him.
"It seems like Sayuri can only control what already exists, not create it." Kyle answered for him.
"But that's still something right?" Sayuri reminded her brothers that she was no ordinary girl, at least not anymore.
"True, but still, you may be able to control our elements but unlike us, you can't make them."
"So she just has a fraction of each of your powers…" Melody theorized.
"Then again, if you give it some time, your powers could increase until it's on par with Chris and Kyle's." Amy brought up the small possibility.
"Until then, you still need to understand that having powers is not a privilege. There have been times that we were envious towards you for not having to worry about carrying all of Ninjago's burdens on our shoulders." The metal ninja confessed.
"You did?"
"Of course. We've been so busy hounding out the bad guys and even before that, we were told that Ninjago's fate will depend entirely on us. It's not something desirable and the stress of it all can be too much at times." Chris admitted.
"But you got to do a bunch of cool stuff and stand out!"
"Sayuri, having even one element is not all it's cracked up to be and even to today, I still believe that." Jay warned his youngest child.
"There will be people who'll only see you for your powers and nothing else and will even try to take advantage of you for the worst reasons and we wouldn't want that sort of future for you." Nya added.
"Guys, we can't focus on just Sayuri or her powers. We still have to find the Serpentine." Leon brought the objective back to the real threat.
"I can fight too!" Sayuri still pleaded to join the team.
"You're too little!" Chris and Kyle dismissed her.
"But Willow gets to fight and she's only three years older than me!"
"She discovered and trained longer than you. It'll take a long time before you can fully control your powers. I know it's hard but please try to have patience and understand." Misako said.
Sayuri furrowed her brows as she had always done whenever she was about to cry. She hated to admit it but the adults were right: she still needed to learn how to remain in control over her new powers.
"I'll try…" She finally gave in.
"As for curing the Serpentine, have you come up with anything?" Chris turned to his father.
"So far, I've only discovered the effects the infused DNA has upon the kunoichi's behavior. But from what I gathered, these are just general habits of actual snakes and is no implication of any sanity slippage… I hope…" The ninja turned inventor started.
"What about finding an antidote?" Misako asked for the results of his tests with the DNA.
"I've experimented on their DNA's reaction to different chemicals and substances but I have yet to find anything that could potentially alleviate their symptoms without causing further harm to their bodies." Jay confessed, still feeling like a failure for not being able to help his teammates.
"You did what you could." The intelligent scholar consoled him.
"What about my training?" Sayuri piped in.
"We're not busy twenty-four seven. So if you're okay with it, we could take her in and help her whenever we can." Leon offered to take her in.
"But our team is still divided in half," Amy objected, "It isn't easy looking after a child, especially when even your own resources have been split."
"Then we'll handle it." Jay stepped in.
"But you're always busy." Sayuri lamented.
"We'll squeeze in time for you. We'll find a way." Her father answered.
"And don't worry about losing control of your powers. We'll help you." Nya offered.
Sayuri paused for a few moments but then she finally accepted her parents' offer.
"So when should we tell the others about this?" Kyle turned to his teammates.
"Do you think we should tell the others now? They do have every right to know." Amy asked.
"Willow already knows since we visited Sensei Wu but the others still don't." Jay said.
"Do you think they'll actually believe us?" Chris rubbed his chin in deep thought.
"We've all seen stranger things happen so why not?" Leon shrugged nonchalantly.
"But they could also be busy handling their mothers. Maybe we should give them some time," Melody started, "They'll still know sooner or later
"You seriously have no idea how bad Akira can get when he knows he's in the dark." The elder Walker brother shook his head.
"Just tell him. He'll know sooner or later." The kunoichi of water goaded him.
"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you." Kyle eyed her while he took out his phone…
Alex could've sworn her heart actually stopped beating for a second once she got the news.
It was like two punches in the face and each of them had a different effect on her.
"I… can't believe it…!" The orange kunoichi just stared ahead of her once the news was broken to her. She did nothing but stare into space, even when her brother caught up with her and the communication was cut off.
"Um… Alex…?" The fire ninja waved his hand over her face but she remained unresponsive.
"I… I…" The younger Pyrrhus twin stuttered.
"What now?" Akira asked in slight exasperation.
"Sayuri… she actually has elemental powers…" Alex finally managed to get it out of her mouth.
…
"You're kidding me, right?" Akira wasn't sure if he wanted to believe it.
"It's true! Sayuri now has elemental powers and this time, she has two!" Alex was now beyond ecstatic since she was no longer the only girl in her generation to control the elements.
"That's impossible!" The blonde twin was still stuck in the first stage.
"She may not be here now but the ninjas saw it with their own eyes! She can now control both lightning AND metal!"
"Kidsssss, what'sssss going on?" Aria slithered in.
It was a little strange for the twins to deal with their mother as a snake but they got used to her form, knowing that her heart remained untouched. However, she did get some 'quirks' such as constantly craving meat and only meat and seeking the warmest places in the house. It's been a few days and the twins already lost count on how many times their mother almost got caught by locals for curling around the furnace of their dad's workshop.
"Mom, you remember how Sayuri often complains that she doesn't have anything special?" The younger kunoichi of wind started.
"Yeah…?"
"Guess what? She has powers just like us!" Alex boasted excitedly.
Instead of feeling happy for her niece, Aria's orange-scaled face was filled with concern for her.
"Mom, why aren't you happy for her?" Alex knew she was going to regret asking…
"Having powersssss will not be assssss cut out assssss Sssssayuri thinkssssss it isssss…" Aria said.
"What do you mean?" Akira asked.
"Having privilegessss comessss with big resssssponssssibilitiessssss… Alssssso, there'll be people who'll want her powerssssss for malevolent purposssssesssss. And of courssssse there'sssss the bad guysssss too. I didn't think about it when I agreed to become a kunoichi but I wassss merely a naïve child. Sssssayuri will have to train until her body and mind isssss exhaussssted, fassssse off againssssst enemiessssss left and right, and every day will become a trial. I found out being a hero wasssssn't assssss fun or gloriousssss assssss I asssssssumed the hard way and Sssssayuri isssss but a child. Her young mind issssss too fragile to comprehend ssssssuch a harsh reality."
The Pyrrhus twins felt the terrible weight of the downsides of being a hero bring them down.
Aria was right. Being a hero did have its upsides but there were also… complications. At school, they have been approached by other teens who wanted to bask in the association or even take advantage of them, something Liana would know all too well. Also, as Kyle described and hated, they were occasionally only seen for their powers and not for who they were as a whole.
"I'm not sure if Sayuri can handle all the pressure…" Akira pondered out loud.
"Well… Auntie always knows what she's doing so I trust she and Uncle Jay will help her."
"She'ssss ssssstill jussssst disssscovering her elemental ssssstrength. There'sssss nothing elsssse immediate ssssso it'sssss not wissssse to get ahead of oursssselves."
"But that wasn't all that the others called us about… they also have some news concerning the Serpentine." Alex continued.
"What about them?" Akira practically growled and his fists shook…
"The others found the machines used to change the kunoichi and from what they deciphered, only the Serpentine are more than likely the only one who'll know of a way to change Mom and the others back so if they come here, we better be careful." Alex said solemnly.
"Damn… and I was hoping to repay them…" The fire wielder's blood was at boiling point and his sister and mother can feel it with the room's rising temperature.
"Akira…" Aria held her son's fists to keep him from blowing up.
"Do you think they'll tell Liana and Forrest about Sayuri and the Serpentine?" Akira asked once he calmed down.
"It wouldn't be fair to leave them out," Alex responded, "Why? Thinking about her?" His sister narrowed her eyes at him in a teasing manner…
"No!" The older twin protested a little too quickly, "Like you said! It wouldn't be fair for them to not know of what's going on!"
It was obvious to Aria that her son had a crush on the kunoichi of ice with the way he acted. She remembered she was like that whenever her siblings or the other kunoichi spoke of her spouse before she came to terms with her true feelings for him.
"What mattersssss isssss that Sssssayuri isssss getting all the help she'll need from the ninjassss and her parentsssss. You mussssstn't fret over anything out of your reach."
"But…"
"Jussssst focusssss on your dutiessssss. That isssss all I asssssk of you."
The Pyrrhus twins nodded, not wanting to disappoint their mother after all she's been through.
"Ugh… it's like we're walking on a landmine…" Akira let out a deep sigh of aggravation.
"Your father and I have been through worssssse ssssso I have faith that you'll sssssucceed." Aria comforted him.
"But you didn't have to fight a bunch of snakes that can turn into titans on a whim, a diabolical robot army, and a bunch of psychos obsessed with revenge all at once!"
The veteran kunoichi didn't say a word and only answered with her eyes. Even with slit pupils, her baby blue eyes still shone with pure honesty. Akira respected the experience she had gone through and can see the message she was trying to get to him.
After all, the meaning of 'ninja' is 'one who endures'.
Akira can only hope he'll be able to hold out in these trying times…
How's that?
The next chapter will focus on Sayuri learning how to keep her powers in check but I haven't forgotten about the kunoichi and finding a cure for them. Let's just say… be prepared for tons of drama galore!