AN: Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free...
Review Replies
Lynkoln: I just want them to be HAPPY!
Lol, no, but on a more serious note: Abby is an extremely caring individual, and this is largely because she is a true and steadfast Christian. She loves people, not for what they've done or what they can do for her, but simply because she is filled with the love of Christ. She had a heart for the suffering and for the children, which is how she sees the Ninja. She's not helping them out of duty or a desire to be a hero, but for THEM. As Jesus Himself says in John 10:10, "I came so they may have life, and have it abundantly" (New American Standard Bible 1995).
Thank you so much for pointing this out. I honestly didn't think about it much when I was writing it, only that Abby needed that one last push. I also want to thank you for the detail and effort you put into your reviews, it means a lot to me. (*^_^*)
Ghostkie: I'm glad you liked it! We all know the Ninja are family, and when you're with the right kind of family, all of the weird and crazy comes out. ;)
The next morning at breakfast, I sat silently, listening to the cheerful chatter around me as I carefully planned what I was going to say. I had decided to wait until this morning so everyone could at least get a decent sleep. Once I told them that ghosts existed and were out for Lloyd, I doubted any of them would be able to relax at night. I myself already didn't. I had been up past midnight that night, writing out what I was going to say to the Ninja and contemplating how much to actually tell them off the bat.
As breakfast neared closing, I knew I couldn't wait any longer. I might not be able to gather them like this again. Before anyone could get up to clear their dishes, I pushed my plate away and said loudly, "Hey, guys."
Conversation slowly died away, and eight pairs of eyes turned to me expectantly.
"What's up, Abby?" Cole asked, and I wet my lips nervously.
"I… haven't been completely honest with you guys since I got here," I admitted, "I mean, I have… there's just something I haven't told you."
Jay barked a laugh, "You sound like Sensei. What terrifying, ancient evil or life-changing secret have you come to warn us about, O Mysterious One?"
The redhead paid dearly for that wisecrack when Sensei Wu reached over and bopped him hard on the head with his staff. I smiled slightly at Jay's disgruntled whines, but the smile quickly faded.
"That's actually…" I started, then stopped. I took a deep breath, "You guys know how I'm from another world?"
Nods and murmurs from the group. That was one thing I hadn't wanted to keep from them, especially since I had already told Wu. It had taken some explaining, but a surprising amount of the group had believed me. Nya and Kai had been the only skeptical ones, which I expected. While I couldn't prove my story, they couldn't refute me either, and eventually, they warmed up to the idea.
After a couple of affirmations, I continued, "Okay, so a couple of you have asked; if I'm from another world, how do I know about you guys?"
"Yes, finally," Jay burst out, standing up in his seat excitedly, "Are we finally getting an explanation about that? Cuz you've been so dodgy about it!"
The blue ninja yelped as Cole elbowed him in the ribs, but I just smiled grimly, "Yeah, Jay. I'm… going to explain that."
Everyone looked interested at this, and Jay plopped back into his seat, fidgeting eagerly. Now that I had gotten started, I found I was oddly calm. I knew my story wasn't that believable, and more than Kai and Nya were going to have a hard time swallowing this next bit of information. But this time, I had knowledge to prove I was telling the truth.
"There's this TV show in my world," I began, reciting the words I had memorized the night before, "It's called Ninjago: Master of Spinjitzu. It's about you guys."
I paused to let the statement sink in. There was a moment of silence as everyone stared at me, and I could see the different levels of processing they were going through. Misako and Lloyd looked bemused, as though waiting for me to explain more. Jay's mouth was slowly stretching in an O as something seemed to dawn on him. Kai and Nya, of course, exchanged skeptical looks, and Cole was frowning; whether from disbelief or thoughtfulness, I didn't know. Zane's eyebrows lifted slightly when I mentioned the show, but that was his only indication of surprise. He seemed to be waiting along with the Garmadons to see what else I would say. Wu had his brow furrowed, looking concerned, though I wasn't sure about what.
Finally, Jay was the first to speak, "We have a TV show?! That's so cool!"
"That would explain your level of shock upon meeting us," Zane put mildly, his fingers rapping against the tabletop, "For you, it was as though you had stepped into a fictional world."
"Yeah, pretty much," I admitted with a grateful smile in his direction.
"That's…" Nya hesitated, her expression strained. She looked like she wanted to say something, but was too polite to get it out.
"It is… strange, I'll admit," Wu said, glancing at Nya as though he too had picked up on her dilemma, "But I wouldn't dismiss this too readily. Abby has been honest with us so far, and it is true that the realms are all connected in mysterious ways."
"Yeah, okay," Kai said, waving his hand through the air, "I'll admit, Abby's probably earned the benefit of the doubt. And yeah, with all of the weird stuff we've gone through, maybe a TV show about us in another realm isn't too far out there. But I don't see why everyone's got to be so dramatic and ominous about it. It's just some show, isn't it?"
At this, Jay threw a spoon across the table, smacking Kai in the head with it.
"Ow! What the heck, Jay?!"
"You can't just say stuff like that!" The redhead retorted, throwing his arms in the air as he glared at the Fire Ninja accusingly, "You're practically jinxing us!"
"He's got a point," I said sheepishly before Kai could retaliate, "I hate to say it, but it isn't just 'some show.' It's an accurate and detailed narrative of you guys' lives. I know things about you that normal people wouldn't; your fears, your dreams, your inside jokes. Your pasts and…" I swallowed and ducked my head, "Your futures."
That caused a reaction. Zane's mouth popped into a shocked O, his eyebrows lifting almost halfway up his forehead. Cole and Lloyd blinked, Misako frowned, Wu eased back in his seat, looking disturbed, and the Smith siblings exchanged another look. Jay, of course, took it the most violently, shooting to his feet as he yelled, "You know the future?!"
"Okay, I—Abby, I'm sorry," Nya said, giving me a tight, apologetic look, "This is just a little too much. Are you pulling our legs? Because at this point, I don't think it's funny anymore."
"I know it sounds weird," I said gently, "Weirder than some of the things you guys have dealt with so far. But I can prove it."
Without warning, I pointed at Jay, causing him to jump and nearly fall backwards off the bench as I stated dramatically, "Jay, it was your idea to use the Tornado of Creation in the Underworld, trapping the Skulkin on a giant skeletal ferris wheel. Unfortunately, it took a second for you to communicate this since you had lost your voice after Cole hit you in the throat with his scythe."
Jay gaped at me, jaw slack, and I moved on to the ninja next to him, "Cole, you used to be afraid of dragons before you all got your elemental dragons. You named yours Rocky, and his favorite food was some kind of weird earthy toad thing. Out of the original four Ninja, you had the strongest bond with your dragon."
The Earth Ninja's eyebrows lifted, and he opened his mouth, but I had already moved to Zane, "Zane, when you were held prisoner by Chen, you had amnesia for a short time. It was Pixal who encouraged you to remember who you are. When you escaped your cell and found her scrapped, she insisted you go on without her, but you instead inputted her memory drive into your main processor."
"That is… How..?" The Nindroid sputtered.
"Kai," I said, pointing to the boy, and he flinched, "You unlocked your True Potential in the volcano of the Fire Temple, when you chose to rescue Lloyd over getting the third Fang Blade. Or, more specifically, after you chose to give up chasing the title of the Green Ninja. I believe your exact words were something like, 'I realized my destiny wasn't to be the Green Ninja. It was to protect him.'"
"Uuuuhhh…" Kai responded cleverly.
"Nya," The girl's eyes widened as I turned my attention to her, "You became Samurai X after you began feeling left out with the Ninja's 'boy club.' Kai was the first one to discover your identity, when you accidentally ran into each other in the desert after escaping the City of Ouroborus. Jay was the second, when you were trapped on an out-of-control rollercoaster. Sensei Wu knew the whole time because he's Sensei Wu."
I heard one of the boys snort in amusement at this statement as I turned my sights on Misako.
"Misako," I said solemnly, and the woman got a distinct deer-in-headlights look on her face. I was silent for a moment before I admitted, "I'll be honest, you're a bit of a side character in the show, so I don't have a lot on you aside from your conflicting relationship drama, which I won't get into at the moment."
Lloyd gave his mother an odd look as the older woman ducked her head, her face reddening slightly. I pointed to Lloyd, "Lloyd, when you were a kid releasing the Serpentine, you managed to gain control of the Hypnobrai because when General Slithraa tried to hypnotize you, you slipped on ice and caused him to hypnotize himself through the reflection behind you."
"Wait a second," Cole said, cutting a sharp look at Lloyd, who suddenly looked like he wanted to be anywhere but in this moment, "You told us you hypnotized him on purpose by luring him to a reflective wall and dodging out of the way!"
"Uh, yeah," The blond chuckled nervously, sliding down in his seat, "Well, details, you know..?"
Cole's eyes narrowed, and all the boys were now glaring at Lloyd as Nya hid silent giggles behind her hand. My mouth twitched in a smirk at the exchange, but to save Lloyd any noogies, I quickly turned to Wu.
"Sensei Wu," I started, and this instantly caught everyone's attention. The teenagers swiveled their heads toward their teacher in interest. At the look on the old man's face, I hesitated. I had been going to blurt out a small fact about him like I had the others, but now… if I was being honest, he looked scared. And he had every right to be. He held too many secrets; too many things he hadn't told the Ninja. Too many things for them to handle at the stage they were currently at.
After an awkward pause, I went on carefully, "With all due respect, I have so much dirt on you, it's not even funny. The thing is that if I know it, then it's in the show, which means it's vital to the narrative, which means it's vital to the Ninja. A lot of the things in your past are going to come back to haunt you, some sooner than others. It'll be easier for everyone if you tell the Ninja sooner rather than later, before they have to deal with the repercussions. But," I added pointedly when some of the teens' stares began to sharpen, "Most of it is still a ways off. I think it's only fair that I give you the chance to tell the Ninja yourself, in your own time."
The man didn't reply. His gaze was downcast, and his wrinkled hands were clenched on the edge of the table, shaking slightly. His straw hat hid his expression, but I could sense how troubled he was. I think everyone could. For a long time, he refused to look at anyone, even Misako. I waited to see if he wanted to speak, but when he didn't, I looked at the Ninja.
"As for you guys," I said seriously, and all six pairs of eyes snapped from Wu to me, "Sensei Wu is still your teacher. This shouldn't change the way you look at him, nor should anything you learn in the future. Sensei Wu has many secrets, but he's also lived many years. He strives to do what he thinks is best for you and for Ninjago, and he deserves your respect enough that none of you should be prying. Got it?"
Silence. The teens stared at me, looking stunned. I myself was surprised at how easily I was commanding attention. I was an easy-going person by nature, so I was used to getting overlooked or ignored in the chaos of life. I supposed my in-depth knowledge of the Ninja's lives had done the trick of gaining me some respect, or at least an authority.
Finally, it was Lloyd who broke the standoff, giving me a wordless nod. Zane was next, followed by murmurs and agreements from the others. Misako stood up and walked around the table to stand behind Wu, putting a hand on his shoulder in comfort. The man stirred at her touch, and his grip on the table relaxed as he finally lifted his head, though his eyes still scanned the table with a mixture of wariness and… guilt, perhaps? Misako's hand compressed slightly on his shoulder before she looked up and gave me a grateful smile. I felt a wave of relief at that smile. That was at least one person in the room who probably didn't fear me right now.
"All right," Nya said softly, turning her gaze to me. The quaver in her voice and frightened look in her eyes caused a lump to form in my throat as she went on, "You've proven your point. Why are you telling us all this now?"
I drew in a deep breath, trying to ignore the pang in my chest at the looks of wariness in the Ninja's gazes. I hadn't expected this kind of reaction, and I wondered if there was a gentler way I could have told them the truth. But it was too late now, and all I could do was press on as I said, "First of all, because I think you deserve to know. I…" I stopped and swallowed, "Please, please don't let this change the way you look at me. You've all been so good to me, and I care about you guys a lot. I promise, I'm not trying to scare you. I'm not going to use this information against you. I want to use it for you. I know the future, and I want to change it. I want to help."
"Help with what?" Kai demanded, though the hostility in his voice wasn't quite as sharp as I was expecting, "Is something coming, Abby? What do we need to be preparing for?"
"I… A lot," I admitted, casting sheepish glances at the teens from over the top of my glasses, "Too much. But we're going to take it one thing at a time. Overloading you guys with information is just going to cause chaos. Most of it can wait a bit, I think. There's really only one problem we need to focus on immediately."
"Stop dragging it out already!" Jay burst out impatiently when I paused, "What is it?!"
I bit my lip nervously, "Well, I can't just tell you it all in one go. It's partly Sensei's story too."
The old man flinched as attention turned to him again, but he seemed to gain composure quickly. Solemnly, he looked at me, his eyes sharp and piercing.
"What part do I need to tell, Abby?" He asked quietly. I inclined my head with a small grimace before I uttered a single word.
"Morro."
AN: Completely unrelated to this story: there are these dead accounts I found once while snooping the site. Judging from their story history, they haven't been active for several years now, but I LOVE their stories. They've all collaborated together, shared OCs, and two of them even have a joint profile where they've posted collab stories. If anyone's interested, here's the names: KaitouKiwi, Packerfan95, SenseiKiwiAndLloydGarmy (the joint profile), 17blanceri, and TombRaiderNinja.
