The battle was over. Inspired by Sora's broadcast, the citizens of Imperium had risen up against the villainous Empress Beatrix, and now the Merged Realms were finally safe, at least for the time being. Lloyd, Kito, Kijo, and Kelly had embraced their duty as the conduits of the Imperium Source Dragon and activated the Dragon Cores, healing the Mergequakes once and for all. The experience had left Kito, Kijo, and Kelly changed, as they now had powers that seemed to be even greater than elemental powers—though the three pups still had no idea what the full extent of their powers was. In addition, they, along with Kaida and Kaiyo, had been officially declared the newest Ninja Pups—much to their delight. Beatrix had been pulled into a rift in the midst of the battle, but Rapton, Ras, and Jordana had disappeared shortly afterwards. In the weeks that followed, the ninja were able to keep close tabs on Rapton—he may have been on their side during the battle, but it didn't hurt to be cautious. However, neither the ninja nor the pups were sure of the whereabouts of Ras or Jordana, which worried them all. Who knew what those two could be up to!
All the same, Kijo thought as he gazed out over the mountainside, it was nice to finally get some rest after traveling from one realm to the next in search of the Dragon Cores—and searching for their friends. He looked behind him at the scene in the courtyard unfolding before him. Kito was trying to teach Kaida and Kaiyo Spinjitzu, and from the looks of it, Kaida was picking up the technique pretty quickly. Kaiyo, on the other hand—not so much. But it did make sense since his right back leg was paralyzed. He'd used the power of Fusion to make himself a brace, but his paralysis was making it difficult for him to get the whole "jump up, kick back, whip around, and spin" technique required for Spinjitzu down.
Kelly and Sora were practicing using their Tech powers on some old broken equipment that Lloyd had found in what was once the Ninja's secret headquarters—before it had been blown up, that is. The two were attempting to take the equipment apart and recombine the parts to create something new. So far, even with Rocky supervising, they were having difficulty. But then again, the two were still getting used to using their power without Riyu's help.
Speaking of Riyu, he and Arin were training on the course with Lloyd, Twinkle, and Andrew. "Stay light on your feet." Kijo heard Twinkle comment. "It could mean the difference between maintaining balance and falling flat on your face. Not a good situation in the middle of a battle." Kijo smiled to himself. With Beatrix gone, the Claws of Imperium had become rather disorganized and were not currently a threat. But Twinkle had informed all the pups that automatically assuming that Ninjago would be safe was one of the worst mistakes a Ninja Pup could make. Fact was, Ninjago was a magnet for danger, and besides, if the team didn't keep up with their training, their powers and teamwork would suffer. After seeing things he once thought impossible, Kijo knew better than to question Twinkle's judgement. The leader had seen a lot in Ninjago's past and had a lot of experience under her belt—even though she was technically not much older than Kijo himself. Something about how living in a different realm affected timing.
Zuma, Everest, Sweetie, and Marshal were helping Nya, Kai, and Zane try to patch together the scrolls that had been destroyed in the Merge. Strider and Ranger were down in New Imperium searching the city records for any mention of Jay or the Administration. Strider, after sensing Jay's presence in the Administration headquarters, suspected that he had joined the organization after the Merge, but could not remember what had happened prior to the horrific event. The other pups were who knew where in the dojo, doing who knew what. Kijo turned back to the view in front of him. His back itched and he turned to scratch it, but he somehow could not reach the itchy spot. His new Dragon Wings were getting in the way.
"Hey, Rocky!" he called out. "Could you help me scratch an itch?" Rocky immediately stopped what he was doing and looked over at the horribly itchy pup trying weakly to scratch his back with his front paw. "Itchy again?" Rocky asked as he came over. Kijo was about to answer when Rocky barked out his claw arm and used it to scratch Kijo's back, right in the spot Kijo couldn't reach. "Oh, yeah, that's the spot!" Kijo exclaimed in relief. Rocky barked his claw arm back into his Pup-pack and sat down beside Kijo. "Those new Dragon Wings bothering you?" Rocky asked.
"Yeah," Kijo answered. "I just can't get used to having these things on my back. Let me tell you, I don't know how Kelly and Kito do it."
"Do what?"
"Walk around with those Parapup wings on their backs all the time. It just doesn't make any sense how they can be comfortable with those things."
"Well," Rocky replied. "They were born with those wings. You weren't, so you're still getting used to the fact that you have Dragon Wings and you can fly now. Speaking of, how's your flying coming along?"
Kijo winced. His flying needed some work. Correction—it needed a lot of work. He had only gotten his wings a few weeks ago, as a result of activating those Dragon Cores. Twinkle had said the wings were a gift, but right now they felt more like a curse. The glowing purple crystalline wings made of pure Core power were bulky and almost twice Kijo's size. He was still trying to figure out the ins and outs of flying and was struggling to make turns when he was up in the air. He could fly pretty straight once he got off the ground—which only would happen after a few false starts—but turning to avoid flying into obstacles was a disaster. He had already crashed several times and bowled over the other pups more than once. Marshal had tried to offer comfort, saying that he wiped out and crashed into the others all the time—yet they didn't mind. Besides, Kijo was new—of course he needed time to adjust to being a Ninja Pup. But Kijo still felt embarrassed by the whole thing. He should be able to fly smoothly like all of the others—not clumsily like a baby dragon just learning to fly.
"To be honest, not well." he finally answered, looking down at his paws in shame.
"That's okay." Rocky replied. "You're learning an entirely new skill set. Of course it's going to take time for you to get the hang of it."
"But, but it's more than that!" Kijo stammered. "I've always wanted to fly, but I never expected any of this to happen!" He gestured all around him to show his point.
Rocky looked confused. "What do you mean?"
"All of this! Everything that's happened—starting with the Merge! I never once thought that would happen!"
"None of us did, Kijo. None of us did."
"But you're missing the point!" By now, Kijo was almost in tears. "I miss the days when it was just me and Wyldfire and Heatwave. But then the Merge came, and…and things are just so hard!"
"May I ask why?"
"Well, for one thing, how am I supposed to be a Ninja Pup when I can't even fly properly?!" Kijo was definitely in tears now. Rocky laid a paw on the pup's shoulder and looked him in the eye, saying, "Kijo, you are a Ninja Pup because you were chosen to be one, not because of what you do or how well you do it."
"But—but," Kijo protested. "Everyone's expecting us to protect the realms after they're gone. How can the others and I protect sixteen realms all the time? It—it's just too big a job for five pups to handle alone."
"First off, no one expects you to protect all sixteen realms. Second, what does Twinkle always say about our missions?"
"We're all in this together, and," Kijo paused to catch his breath, then continued. "Together we are strong."
"Exactly!" Rocky affirmed. "No one pup can protect the realm on his own, but when we Ninja Pups work together, what was once impossible is made possible."
Kijo sniffed. "You really think so?"
"I know so! I've seen firsthand what can happen when we stick together and never give up."
"Th-thanks, Rocky." the young pup exclaimed before hugging him. The older Ninja Pup seemed like a brother to him, and he was glad for it. But there was still that ache in his heart, one of longing—and of grief. In the midst of the Merge, he'd lost more than his innocence. He lost that feeling of security in the belief that nothing would ever change. The world he had once known was taken by the Merge, and nothing had ever been the same since—not even himself.