Forgotten Souls [ninjago]

26 | Sounds like a family

Kai and I straightened up at the same time. Our eyes went from looking at Wu to each other.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Ray and Maya had been together for as long as I can remember. They had always been the couple in the 'squad,' as you youngsters call it." Wu smiled a reminiscing smile. "And they had always wanted to have their own family as well. With children," he looked at my brother and me, "with you. So when they were told to give Kai away, they refused, saying they were both trained with great mastery, which they were. The rest of us couldn't really do anything but give them the same advice, so they raised you like any other parents would," he told Kai.

When I looked at him, I could see his eyes watering. What I guessed was that Kai didn't remember anything about how our parents spent some time with him, which was why he was reacting that way. His face was borderline pale, and his fingers dug into the flesh of my shoulder, which I guessed was a way of telling me he was about to break the dam and let his emotions flood out.

"For two years, until you were born." Wu turned to look at me. "And it honestly looked very promising. They were living in a village far away, where not many people were, which was a great method of protection for the two of you. And since they managed to raise Kai for two years with no complications, they decided to have another child. They used to insist that they 'needed' a second child to pass both of their powers on to the next generation, and while that is a true fact, I'm still convinced they just wanted to give Kai a sibling."

Kai sniffed, letting everyone in the room know how emotional he was about that. I rested my temple against his shoulder, my eyes trained on Wu, wanting to know more, as much as I could.

"For a while, they were able to raise you two like any other family would. Yet, of course, nothing lasts forever. No matter how cautious they were, and no matter how protected you two were, it still happened."

Now it was Wu getting emotional. He pulled out a dark handkerchief and dried the undersides of his eyes.

"I remember not hearing from Ray and Maya for a long while. The other Elementals and I had a strong bond with the two, so when they, too, hadn't heard from them, I knew something was wrong. I remember having this gut-wrenching feeling that something must have happened to them, but I still had some hope. Maybe their power lines were cut, or maybe they just forgot to communicate with the others. I know those are weak assumptions, but they were the only ones I was holding on to. I was hoping they were the reason."

"But they were not," I whispered, hating how Wu nodded his head in confirmation.

"They were not. I personally ventured to their shop Four Weapons." Wu nodded down at the locket. "What your father is wearing is the official logo of it. They owned a blacksmith shop. Ray used to wear that leather apron for as long as they owned that place." He let out a sad chuckle.

I glanced down at the picture of my father. It felt incredibly weird for me to refer to a man I had never met, or at least couldn't remember to have met, as my father, but there I was.

"I remember entering the shop and there being nothing but silence. I remember fearing the worst and feeling like I was going to pass out. If anything were to have happened to them, it wouldn't have been just them. It would have been all four of you, and that was far more concerning."

He let out a shuddered breath.

"I remember rushing into the house and going through every single room. They weren't anywhere, which was a horrible discovery, but then I stopped in front of the children's room. Your room." He cleared his throat. "I remember hearing cries coming from the other side of the door, and I didn't know what was going on."