The sleeping form of Destiny began to stir in bed when she heard a knock on the door followed by a muffled voice. The teen had no desire to get up yet though, and grumbled in annoyance at the noise. Stuffing her face into the pillows she didn't bother to move at all when she heard the door open. Her head was currently pounding, and the sunlight spilling in from the window only served to make it worse.
"Destiny? Are you up?" Destiny recognized the warm voice that belonged to the Master of Earth.
Not able to find any energy to roll onto her side Destiny merely let out another indecipherable series of grumbles. She felt the end of the bed sink down with the added weight of her visitor as he sat on the edge of the mattress.
"I'm sorry for waking you up but the others are getting the table set up for breakfast. I know you probably don't feel like eating right now, but afterwards we're supposed to have another meeting up in the bridge again." Cole explains.
Destiny lets out a tired sigh before sitting up, regretting her decision immediately as her head pounded with another wave of pain. She then leans over the edge of the bed so she was sitting the same way the black ninja was. The only difference in their posture was the fact the yellow clad girl had her hands pressed against her forehead.
"Headache bothering you?" Cole asked quietly, not wanting to speak loudly for fear of making her head hurt worse. Destiny gives a small nod in acknowledgement, not bothering to look over at the raven haired boy.
"I figured that might happen. I brought you some painkillers and water last night, but I guess you never woke up to see them." Cole explains as he stands up, walking over to the nearby nightstand and grabbing the said items before holding them out to Destiny. Destiny sits up and grabs the medicine and glass from the tall ninja in front of her.
"Thank you." Destiny says quietly before popping a few pills into her mouth and then washing them down with some of the water. "I'm going to get changed and stuff. I'll just be a minute." She informs Cole as she stands up, setting the glass back onto the nightstand and grabbing a new change of clothes before walking into the bathroom.
After a few minutes Destiny walked back out of the bathroom to see the Master of Earth still waiting for her, sitting on the edge of her bed again.
"You didn't need to wait for me." Destiny speaks first, she had expected the black ninja to leave while she had been getting ready.
"I know. I wanted to though, to make sure you're okay." The black ninja responded cooly as he stood up and grabbed the dishes off of the nightstand. One of them was a plate of what Destiny assumed to be last night's dinner, she hadn't even noticed it till now.
"I'm okay. Well, as okay as I can be. But look, about what I said last night… please don't treat me differently because of it. I don't want to be seen as fragile or anything like that." Destiny explained in a rather tired sounding voice.
"Don't worry, I get it. I promise not to treat you any differently. If you ever do wanna talk about things though don't be afraid to let me know. I have some experience with… this sort of stuff." Cole replies, giving the short girl a sad smile. Destiny nods at him, giving the black ninja a sad smile of her own.
"Well then, shall we?" Cole asks, gesturing one of his hands to the door to the hallway.
With things settled the pair of them made their way to the dining room, Cole cleaned off the dishes from Destiny's room first though before sitting down in his spot next to her to eat.
Everyone at the table engaged in some amount of conversation, some more than others. Nya talked about some of the ideas she had for upgrades to the Bounty. Kai boasted about some cool new moves he wanted to try out in their next battle. Meanwhile Jay went on about the weird dream he had last night that involved a crocodile comedian hosting a game show.
Once everyone finished eating and everything was put away, the group made their way upstairs to the bridge. It took a minute for Zane to pull up some programs onto the main screen but once everything was ready and everyone was settled Lloyd began the meeting.
"So, Zane, has the facial recognition program found out anything else about the elemental master in the portrait?" The green ninja asks, causing everyone's attention to turn to the nindroid.
"Yes. The Master of Species, also known as Herman Pierce was-" Zane began explaining, but Destiny was quick to cut him off.
"Wait, I'm sorry Zane, but did you just say that the man in the painting- did you say his name was Herman Pierce?" The yellow clad girl questioned, an unreadable expression on her face.
"Affirmative." Zane confirms, giving a slight nod as well.
"How do you spell his last name?" Destiny continues.
"P-i-e-r-c-e, but I fail to see how spelling out his last name serves any purpose." Zane admits with a frown after spelling out the man's last name.
"Destiny, is something wrong?" Master Wu questions, his face just as concerned as the rest of the ninja.
"Yeah, do you know him?" Lloyd adds, now everyone's eyes were on Destiny.
"Herman Pierce is- was… my fathers name." Destiny explains, and the others are stunned with shock.
"Wait wait wait, Destiny. You're saying that this Herman Pierce guy; the same guy who is supposed to be the Master of Species! Is actually, your father?" Jay finally speaks up, ending the period of silence.
"Do you have any idea as to why your dad might have gotten involved with the 'Shapeshifter' guys?" Kai asks.
"I- I have no clue. My father was a normal family man. He was a school teacher, and he never did anything interesting! Then he got sick… and he couldn't teach anymore." Destiny trailed off, not bothering to explain further.
"I'm sorry." Kai apologizes, placing a hand on the short girls' shoulder. She gently takes his hand off of her though.
"I-It's fine, really. I just, I can't believe it. If my dad really was the Master of Species why didn't he ever say anything about it?" Destiny questions aloud.
"Your father probably didn't want you to get involved in whatever business he had with the 'Shapeshifters'." Misako chimes in, her explanation made enough sense.
"Wait, Master Wu?" Nya speaks up, getting the attention of their sensei. "If the elemental Master of Species was Herman Pierce, and Herman is Destiny's father. Wouldn't that make Destiny-"
"The next elemental Master of Species!" Lloyd buts in, having put the pieces together as Nya laid them out.
"Hey! I was just about to say that!" The blue ninja complained.
"Heh, sorry Jay." Lloyd apologizes sheepishly.
"What?" Destiny says in surprise, clearly taken aback by the assumption. "But- there's no way, I've never done anything like you guys do! I've always just been boring and normal."
"There's more to elemental powers than just using them." Cole starts to explain.
"Indeed. The elemental powers inside an elemental master remain dormant until they achieve their true potential." Zane finishes.
True potential? What was that supposed to mean?
"The others are right, Destiny. On the night you were first brought to the Bounty I could sense the possibility that you possessed untapped elemental abilities. However, I could also sense your inner turmoil and despair. I decided it would be best to wait until you started your path to healing before I confronted you with my discovery. However, now it seems as though both your road to enlightenment and path to healing are intertwined with one another. So, if you choose to accept, I would like to teach you in the ways of Spinjitzu, and how to unlock your true potential." Master Wu offers. Everyone had their attention turned to Destiny, eyes filled with anticipation as they waited with baited breath.
Destiny remained hesitant though. This was a big decision, and it had all come about so quickly. Did she really want to become a ninja? The ninja were known for their tireless effort to keep all of Ninjago safe. Would Destiny really have that same level of devotion to their cause? The yellow clad girl continued to mull over the thought. It wasn't everyday the ninja of Ninjago added a new member to their team.
Penthouse or not, Ninjago was still where she lived, and where she called home. What would her mom think though? Would she even care? It had almost been a week and she hadn't gotten a single text or call from her.
What about her dad, what would he have thought? Destiny wasn't sure, she wasn't sure she knew who her dad truly was anymore. If she accepted Master Wu's offer that meant she'd get to find out who her father really was. What if she didn't like what she found out though? No. She had to do it. Whether she liked what she would find out or not she needed to push through in order to come to peace with everything.
"I accept your offer Master Wu. I will train to be a ninja, and to be the next Master of Species." Destiny finally states, causing a small uproar of cheering as the other ninja smiled at her. Once the brief celebration calmed down Lloyd spoke up.
"Well, now that we know who the previous Master of Species was, where do you think we should look first Destiny?" The green ninja asks, looking over the girl. Destiny pondered the question for a moment.
"My father was only really ever in two places. The 'Ninjago School of Education' and my family's old house outside of the city." The short girl explained, pointing to a spot on a nearby map.
"Looks like we're splitting into teams again." Lloyd concludes. "Nya, Zane, and I will go to the school and see if there's anything left there that belonged to your father. Cole, Kai, and Jay, you guys go and check out Destiny's old house."
"What about me?" Destiny questions, a slight frown on her face. Before anyone else has the chance to answer Cole spoke up.
"Destiny could always come with us? She'll know the house better than anyone else, plus, it's outside the city." The black ninja suggested.
"If Destiny's old house is connected to her father though there's no telling whether or not there are 'Shapeshifter' guys holed up in the building." Nya points out, a look of concern on her face.
"Actually, it is statistically unlikely that there are currently any gang members there. From all the data we have managed to collect on their organization so far the 'Shapeshifters' do not appear to operate outside the city limits." Zane informs.
"Not to mention Destiny will have me, Cole, and Jay there with her in case trouble does show up." Kai adds, attempting to help calm his sisters' worries.
"Okay, Destiny can go with Cole's team." Lloyd decides, giving her a small smile. Destiny smiled back to the green ninja in return.
"Since when was our group called 'Cole's team'? If anything we should be called 'Jay's team'!" Jay interjects.
"Seriously? 'Jay's team'?" Kai questions the Master of Lightning, obviously unamused.
"Oh let me guess, you'd rather our group be called 'Kai's team'?" Jay retorts as he rolls his eyes.
"Hey, I'm not the one who said it." Kai responds as he lifts his arms up in defense.
"Come on guys, we're wasting daylight." Lloyd interrupts the two, trying to get everyone back on track.
Once the plans were set in place and the groups were split up, Cole's Jay's team was dropped off first, simply for the fact that the Bounty had been closer to Destiny's old house. As the four ninja descended from the ship they watched as the Bounty disappeared back in the direction of Ninjago City.
Destiny felt her stomach drop as she laid eyes on her old family home. The first thing she noticed was how unkempt the yard was. The once short and lush green grass was now to her hips, and bleached yellow from the sun. The paint on both the fence and house itself also showed signs of wear and tear. There were areas where the paint was cracked, and others where chips of paint had fallen off completely.
As the teen and her ninja allies walked up to the pathway she hesitated. The red brick stones were now brown with disturbed dirt and fallen leaves. Despite knowing that most of the belongings and furniture inside the building remained in the exact same spots they had been left in, the home gave off an eerie aura of abandonment. Her mother hadn't sold the house, so it was left to the ever constant hands of time to ravage it.
"Huh, it looks cozy." Kai stated as he and the other ninja took in the sight of the 2 story home.
"Yeah. It even matches your signature color Destiny!" Jay adds, trying to lighten the mood against the dreary looking house. When the short girl didn't react to the blue ninjas' comment the boys all looked over to her.
"You okay Destiny?" A voice to her left asks. Destiny looked over to see the red ninja looking at her with a sympathetic expression painted across his face. Destiny looked away from him so he wouldn't notice her bite the inside of her lip. After a moment of silence the yellow clad girl just barely shakes her head enough for Kai to notice.
"I thought I was ready to come back here, but being here just brings back so many memories…" Destiny trails off, not exactly sure how to explain what she was feeling. A brief period of silence passes over the team before it's disrupted.
"Kai, why don't you and Jay head inside and see what you two can find? Destiny and I will wait out here for a bit." Cole's familiar warm voice spoke, giving Destiny a small amount of comfort against the chilling air surrounding the group.
"Sure thing." The Master of Fire nods, placing a hand on Jay for the blue ninja to continue walking.
"His office was up the stairs, second door to the right." Destiny pipes up just loud enough for the two departing ninja to hear. Acknowledging her directions the pair disappeared into the dark, unlit building.
A blanket of quiet outdoor acoustics fell over Destiny and Cole, nothing more than the sounds of the cool breeze and grass blades gently brushing up against one another echoing throughout the space. Destiny let out a tired exhale through her nose before walking across the barren street behind them and sitting on the curb so she was facing the house.
Cole followed the yellow clad girl, the sound of small pebbles sliding beneath his feet as he maneuvered to sit down beside her. Outside of the city were miles of barren desert, though it wasn't the sandy desert some might imagine at first. No, this desert was caked in red-ish orange dirt, cracks within the earth making small patterns similar to that of pentagons.
Right now it didn't really feel like a typical desert either. It was currently nearing Winter in Ninjago, and because of this instead of clear blue skies and the bright sun beating down on their backs they were left with gray clouded skies, and chilling brushes of wind. The gloomy weather only served to make Destiny's childhood home look that much sadder. It was out here in the middle of nowhere, where not even Mother Nature would take pity on it.
"You don't need to sit out here with me y'know." Destiny speaks up, gaining the attention of the raven haired boy beside her. "You should probably help the others inside and be useful, unlike me."
"I know I don't need to be out here with you, I'm choosing to. And you're not useless Destiny, so don't talk about yourself like that." The black ninjas' voice was more stern than Destiny had expected, and she turned to look at him, making sure he wasn't actually angry with her.
"I actually used to be in your place y'know. I know what it's like to lose someone. I lost my mother before I met Master Wu and the others." Cole explains as his expression softens.
"Cole… I had no idea. I'm so sorry." Destiny apologizes, suddenly feeling guilty for being so upset.
"Don't go apologizing now." The black ninja interrupts before Destiny's thoughts can begin spiraling. "You didn't know, and even if you did that doesn't mean you should feel guilty for feeling the way you do."
Destiny gave the Master of Earth a surprised look. How did he know she started feeling guilty just now?
"How did you…" Destiny starts.
"Know that you started feeling guilty? Like I said, I was in your place once. I spent a long time mourning my mother's death." The black ninja admits, frowning.
"I know that not everyone grieves the same way, but I don't want anyone to ever feel the way I did back then. I'm not trying to pity you either, I know you said you don't want that. I just- I just want to do whatever I can to help, that way you don't feel alone anymore."
Destiny could feel tears welling up behind her eyes, and did her best to blink them away. The young girl wasn't sure what she had done to deserve meeting a soul as kind and considerate as the black ninja but she felt overwhelmed. She was thankful to whatever forces of fate caused their paths to cross.
In a single motion the short girl wrapped her arms around the Earth ninjas' torso tightly, worried that if she let him go he'd disappear and she'd wake up from some sort of dream. It didn't take long for Destiny to feel the larger arms of the black ninja envelop her in a gentle embrace. The two stayed this way for a long time, simply holding one another. Eventually though Destiny pulled away, feeling a small spark of happiness light inside of her from the tender memory.
"Thank you Cole, really. Having you here means more to me than you could ever know." The small girl thanks, making sure that the Master of Earth understood the depth of her gratitude. Cole gave Destiny a soft smile, simply nodding at what she had said.
"Does it ever get better?" Cole's smile fell at the brunette girls' question, taking the time to look back at the house across from them before responding.
"It will always hurt, I still miss my mother everyday. Things do get better though, even if you don't notice it at first. The memory of them will always make you sad, but it's also important to remember the good times you shared too." Cole paused for a moment, seeming to take in everything he had just said. "I also wonder a lot of the time though, if my mother would be proud of who I've grown up to be. I like to think she would be." Cole was smiling again now, although it was a bittersweet one.
"I know she is." Destiny affirms as she placed a hand on the black ninjas' leg. Cole looked at his friend with the same bittersweet expression on his face.
The two then continued to sit quietly on the curb, although they still faced the forlorn house across the street from them they couldn't help but feel lighter. Each feeling a new depth of comfort, knowing that they had both found someone who could finally understand them.