AN: It's Tuesday, let's goooooo!

Review Replies
phetiamwantip: Yas, Garmadon's back! The story wouldn't be complete without him. :D

2240713356: I think the way Morro describes it in Winds of Change implies that it can summon anybody from anywhere, whether they're dead, alive, from the Cursed Realm, whatever. This is further supported in the ensuing fight scene, when Lloyd asks the night watchman from the armor, probably intending to summon one of the Ninja. Morro is just the only one who uses the armor, so his allies, the ghosts, are the only ones we see summoned with it.

Lykoln: Trust me, there's definitely going to be several more "Oh crap" moments for Abby. XD
AgH, I feel like you always make really good points, but I can't follow up on them in the story, lol. Look at it this way; Garmadon and Wu are acutely aware of the workings of Destiny, yes. However, they do not know the future or how things are supposed to go. As far as they're concerned, Abby being in Ninjago and aiding them with knowledge of the future is a part of Destiny. Garmadon will definitely be interested by Abby's story, but like everyone else, he's just going to roll with the punches. Don't worry; Abby's tampering with the timeline will have consequences, and it will be addressed. It just won't involve the Senseis.

Ghostkie: Noooooo! XD Adorable, but no, not this time. I do have another self-insert series where Lloyd and Abby are a thing... Which is specifically why I didn't ship them in this fic. I'm doing my best to keep all relationships platonic for this story (although one particular ninja is making it difficult).

Tomura-chan: Abby done played a Lydia. XD
Yeah, Krux just kinda snuck his way in there, the turd.

This is the most reviews I've ever gotten from one posting so far. Thank you guys so much! (*^_^*)

Sneaking Garmadon out of the museum proved to be more difficult than I would have thought. Since he was a ghost, I suggested he possess Lloyd until we slipped out, but he was still too weak to even attempt such a feat. He was already struggling to maintain his corporeality (turned out that was a word) enough that Lloyd could support him as we crept through the halls. Thankfully, Lloyd's ninja skills and my anonymity paid off, and we barely managed to make it out of the museum without attracting attention. We crept off to a secluded part of the city before Lloyd summoned his dragon, and the three of us flew back to Steep Wisdom.

The first one who met us when we landed was Misako, who immediately burst into tears when she saw Garmadon climbing off the back of Lloyd's dragon. She didn't ask any questions, only embracing her husband. Though I saw him wince when she buried her teary face into his neck, he squeezed her back without hesitation. After that, it didn't take long for everyone else to hear the good news. The whole shop was in an uproar as the Ninja simultaneously welcomed Garmadon back and expressed disbelief over his return. It took Lloyd and I a minute to calm them down enough to explain what we had done.

Of course, once they understood the situation, they wouldn't stop thanking me. Sensei Wu pulled me aside to privately express his gratitude, as did Misako and Garmadon himself. While I was glad everyone was happy, the constant attention was draining, and I found myself pulling away from the group more often over the next couple of days. The only one who didn't speak to me was Nya. While she had shown joy over Garmadon's return, she hadn't once thanked me personally. Not that I blamed her.

Even so, the girl's coldness nagged me constantly throughout the week. She didn't seem to be making any progress in her training, though I did notice she was complaining less. Maybe something I said had actually gotten through to her. More likely I had angered her into silence.

Two weeks before Morro was supposed to make his move, I decided I couldn't take it anymore. Garmadon had fully recovered from his time in the Cursed Realm and was back to his old self, sans being a ghost. The deepstone armor Sensei Wu had ordered was en route and scheduled to arrive any day. I had told the Ninja everything I could about the First Spinjitzu Master's tomb, the Preeminent, Morro, and the Realm Crystal. The only thing I had to take care of was Nya. I couldn't put off this confrontation any longer.

Unfortunately, it took a while for me to track the girl down. She seemed to be actively avoiding me, so I only saw her at meals, during training, or in short glimpses throughout the day. If I tried to corner her after meals, she always managed to slip away, and I didn't dare interrupt her during training. It wasn't until that evening that I finally got my chance.

It was after dinner, and I had just gotten out of the shower. Normally, I liked having my showers before dinner, but with nine people (excluding Garmadon) and only two bathrooms, hot water was in short supply. Thus, there were designated shower times for everyone so we made sure everyone got a turn.

I had spent a little too much time in the bathroom that night, and I was rushing to get out for the next person. I ran a brush through my hair before I unlocked the door… and almost ran smack into Nya.

The two of us shared a startled look. Evidently, she hadn't been expecting me either. Her expression almost immediately shifted to indifference, and she started to turn away, but I blurted out, "Wait."

"It's fine, I can wait a few more minutes," She said stiffly, not looking back.

"No, I mean… just listen to me a second," I struggled to keep the edge of frustration out of my voice as I hurried after the girl, "Look, I know you're mad at me, and I'm sorry about what I did. It was wrong. Really wrong. Is there any way I can make it up to you?"

"Forget it," Nya said, tossing a dismissive hand over her shoulder, "It's in the past. I don't care."

"Nya…"

"I said forget it!" She snapped, whipping her head around to give me a smoldering glare. I stopped walking, but I didn't cower, nor did I rise to her bait. Instead, I returned her gaze calmly.

"I know I can't make you like me," I admitted somewhat painfully, "All I was trying to do before was help, and I'm sorry it came out all wrong. But I really do want to be your friend. I… have no idea when I'll get the chance to go home. And I don't want to live the next weeks, months or… years as enemies. Take all the time you need, but please just… consider starting over? I'm willing if you are."

The girl didn't respond. She stared at me, her eyes sharp, but no longer quite hostile as she seemed to search me. After an awkward pause, she asked abruptly, "What's your problem with me?"

"I…" The question caught me off-guard, and for a second, I wasn't sure how to answer. I dropped my eyes to the floor as I replied carefully, "I think I made my issues pretty clear before."

"Yeah, but like… why?" The girl sounded frustrated, "We've never met before. You know me from a TV show," She paused, "Don't tell me I'm that unlikable."

"No, of course not!" I assured her quickly, "It's just… Our personalities are really different, okay? You're a great person, and I do love you a lot. Which means I want to see you become the best you can be. So yes, some of your flaws… rub me the wrong way. But it wasn't fair for me to lay into you like that. It was insensitive and rude. And I'm sorry. Really, I am."

"That's the other thing," Nya blurted out, apparently ignoring my explanation, "Why do you do that? Just… put yourself in reverse when you get in a confrontation? You're so skittish sometimes."

Well, I certainly hadn't expected that.

"I'm… sorry?" I stammered, unsure of what else to say, "I'm not trying to be a doormat. I just really hate getting on people's bad sides, and I'm socially awkward in general. I do my best to be a nice person, so when someone doesn't like me, I just… It bothers me more than it should."

Nya harrumphed, "How many people have you had not like you, exactly?"

"Um, one?" I replied sheepishly, then quickly corrected myself, "No, two. This one girl I knew during my high school years got offended when I expressed some, ah… religious views in a conversation. And then one of my coworkers yelled at me once for no reason, but that was more of a her-issue than a me-issue. She tended to pick fights with everybody."

Nya raised her eyebrow, and I huffed, "Yeah, I know that sounds like I'm just defending myself, but you have no idea how much I self-evaluate my thoughts, emotions, and actions. I have a lot of social anxiety."

The girl continued to stare at me. I was beginning to think she would blow me off and discount me as a fraud when, to my surprise, her stance relaxed and she offered me a small smile.

"That makes two of us," She said with a chuckle, "I've been thinking a lot about what you said, and I think… some of what you said made sense. I do always feel this need to prove myself. I'm not sure why. I've just always hated feeling helpless. When Garmadon kidnapped me, way back at the beginning of… everything, I hated it. I spent a month in captivity, unable to fight back or escape. I'm a strong person; I know I am. But during that month, I didn't feel very strong. And it just got worse after Kai and I moved in with Sensei Wu. I was always left behind during battles, not really treated seriously by any of the guys; besides my brother, I guess, but even he was… well, Kai."

"You felt under-appreciated," I rationalized, "Like you weren't being heard. I can understand that."

"Exactly," Nya's voice was a mixture of annoyance and relief as she continued, "When I made Samurai X, it finally felt like I was doing something that mattered. I wasn't constantly fighting for attention. But now with this whole 'Water Master' thing… It's like I'm not being heard again! No one's bothered to ask me if I even want to be a Water Ninja."

"Do you?" I asked tentatively. The girl looked away.

"I… I don't know," She admitted, "I just want to be useful. I want to be… worth something."

A moment of silence fell after that. Nya looked at the ground, looking more vulnerable than I had ever seen her before. To say I was surprised was an understatement. I wasn't sure what had possessed the girl to confess something so intimate, but I felt… flattered that she was willing to open up. Perhaps she wasn't as prickly and stubborn as I thought.

With an encouraging smile, I said, "Nya, your worth isn't defined by your usefulness. Like I've already told you, the guys and I support you no matter what you decide to do. Whether that's developing your water powers or sticking with being Samurai X, it doesn't matter. It's because you're worth something to us that we appreciate you more than how useful you are. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

A pause. Then, slowly, she nodded.

"I… Yeah, I understand," She said, finally lifting her eyes. A smile played on her lips as she said quietly, "Thanks, Abby. I'm sorry I've been such a pain in the butt about this."

"Yeah. Me too. So… friends?"

She hesitated briefly before she grinned and nodded, "Friends."

AN: Took me forty minutes to proofread this cuz I got distracted talking about Backyardigans with my sister. Aaahh, nostalgia... ^_^

Reviews, pleeaasee!