Roots of Earth ~ A Ninjago Fanfiction

Chapter 29: The Never-Ending Nightmares

Jay didn't like this guy's attitude, so he opened his mouth to make a sarcastic quip. However, he choked when he realized that something was cutting off his ability to speak, and he grabbed his throat in panic.

Something stirred from behind him. "You're so young..." the voice murmured. "So pathetic. You were abandoned by parents who didn't love you." It hissed in his ear, "Why else would you be dropped on the doorstep of a poor, pitiful couple and be left to be raised in a junkyard? They didn't want you, young one. Nobody did."

Jay tried to move and face the guy who was getting on his nerves, but his legs moved like molasses. He grunted and strained to move his body in the direction he wanted it to.

Meanwhile the phantom continued, obviously enjoying itself. "Is there something wrong with you? Are you stupid? Small wonder everyone looks down on you. You had to fight harder than most to win over your girl." It purred, "But what good did it do? How do you know she's not deceiving you? Remember how foolish you were before? What's to stop you from making mistakes like that now?"

Jay forced his oddly slow feet to move, but to his frustration and humiliation, something darted in from behind him and shoved him to the ground. "Your battle for Nya was all for naught," it hissed in his ear. "Compared to Cole—the Master of Earth, the one with super-strength, the one who wasn't born in a junkyard, the one who wasn't abandoned by his parents—you're nothing compared to him. Nya's heart belongs to him, and there is nothing you can do to change that. Open your eyes and see, weak one, and you shall know the truth."

Jay gasped when he found himself looking at Cole and Nya standing before him, just a few yards away. He tried to move, but his legs were frozen in place.

Cole was holding Nya's hands, and she was gazing into his eyes and blushing. Jay felt jealously and hatred constrict his throat as he watched, literally unable to turn away, as Cole drew a strand of hair out of her face gently and murmured something unintelligible. His eyes on her were soft and warm, and a beautiful smile spread across Nya's lips. She and Cole moved closer, their eyes dancing and faces blushing brilliantly—and kissed.

Jay shut his eyes and shouted for it to stop, but it would not. He screwed his eyes closed to block out the sight, but it was as if the image was implanted on the insides of his eyelids; no matter how hard he tried, no matter how loud he screamed or how much his heart hurt and ached, the nightmare would not go away.

* * *

Kai watched a little yellow butterfly flit from a daisy. "Daddy, do butterflies taste like butter?"

Warm fingers ruffled his spiky hair affectionately. His father chuckled softly, "No, Kai. Butterflies don't taste like butter at all. They taste yucky."

Kai's chubby toddler fingers grasped clumsily at the soft grass and watched a couple of shiny black ants crawling nearby. Ray sat behind him, watching his little boy with a warm, contented smile on his face. Three-year-old Nya sat in his lap, gurgling happily.

It was a bright, warm afternoon in the backyard garden of the Four Weapons blacksmith place, and Ray was watching the kids play outside while Maya was cooking supper inside their cozy, quaint home. The smell of luscious cooked meat sizzling wafted out from the window of the kitchen, and Kai could catch a glimpse of his mother bustling about the pots and pans, softly humming a sweet tune. Birds chirped and sang in happy, shrill notes from the thick boughs of the nearby trees, hidden well under the green canopy of leaves.

Kai—a chubby toddler with big, bright eyes—stood up clumsily. "Then can I make Nya eat a butterfly?"

When there was no reply, he turned around. "Daddy?"