The stars glittered coldly from the clear night sky, with but a few faint wisps of clouds stifling their light. A full moon glimmered through those clouds now, only just beginning its waning stage. A lone mountain stood out against this sky. Within the shelter of this mountainside stood a door. Beyond this door lay a small house built into the hill itself. Within this house was Matilda.
It'd only been several days since her return to her own realm. It felt good to be back home, but it took work to forget the other place she'd left behind. Bad memories were easier to forget when there weren't good memories mixed in with them.
That night she was sitting comfortably before a roaring fireplace. She sat upon a small couch, surrounded by books with a blanket thrown across her lap. It was there she decided to go through her small bag that acted as her regular purse, to clean it out. She made it a habit to organize her bag after long adventures, and by now her hands had almost completely healed from their dark burns and sore blisters.
First were the empty potion bottles. Making a mental note to refill them, she stacked them neatly on a side table. Next were some exotic herbs, a gracious gift from Sky Pelt. She would experiment with them later, and perhaps create a new potion. Along with those she found her quill pen and notebook, followed by other small knickknacks she took along on her quests.
Sorting these things out in her lap, a small object she didn't recognize glinted in the firelight. Hesitating, making sure she wasn't seeing things, she took it and held it up to her eye.
With a jolt she finally recognized it—some object for amusement she'd had a long time ago, one she'd given as a gift to someone else in more recent years. It was an object of many dark, iron rings connected together to make a single ring, with a pattern engraved in each piece. When lined up together the image of a little dragon showed up on the ring.
Her heart jumped strangely, in a painful sort of way. She remembered giving that thing to Cole, a long time ago. What's it doing here?
For a while she stared at it wonderingly. Then she quietly said to herself, "Ah, kid... You may try to forget about this story, but I shan't ever forget you."
* * *
"This ends now, Samukai."
Jay frowned at the plastic replica of Samukai's head in his hand. "Nope. Pretending this is the actual Samukai doesn't make cleaning the museum any more interesting." His voice rose in exasperation. "This is so lame! We're ninja, not janitors!"
"Come on, Jay." Lloyd entreated his friend while the others worked around them. Dust was being swept away, rubble collected and tossed into the trash, and broken replicas were being searched and gathered for repair or for storage. They'd spent several hours now, working to clean up the Ninjago Museum of History. The ninja had all underestimated the amount of damage done during the Day of Departed debacle, and now they were paying the price for it.
Lloyd pointed out that if it weren't for the events of Day of the Departed: "...this place would still be in one piece," he finished, using that wise-sensei tone of voice.
"Yeah, and whose fault is, that, Cole?" Jay whipped around to glare at his friend standing in the corner, handling a painting of Sensei Yang.
Cole rolled his eyes. "OK. How many more times do I have to say 'I'm sorry' for accidentally unleashing the ghostly forces of evil that attacked Ninjago?" He tossed the painting into a wheelbarrow and grabbed the handles.
"How high can you count?" Jay muttered.
Without warning, heat surged down Cole's arms. A familiar glow shone through the sleeves of his uniform; an unearthly, orange light. He could barely make out the jagged pattern etched down his arms beneath the sleeves.
Startled, he released the handles and the wheelbarrow toppled over, spilling its contents on the floor with a loud crash. Jay jumped.
Cole held up his hands and stared at them. Still they glowed, and he could feel a familiar surge of energy pulsing from his flesh.
This wasn't the first time his strange ability had made a random comeback. The last time had been when he'd served tea to Master Wu. The power surge had caused him to crush the teapot between his hands and spill hot tea everywhere.
The time before that, however, when he'd deliberately summoned this power...
You're like me! You're just like me.
I'm nothing like you.
He shuddered.
"Uh, speaking of which..." Jay's voice chased away the memories. Cole felt glad for the interruption. "You're still not used to having your old, non-ghost hands back?"
It's OK. I'm OK.
Repeating the words to himself, Cole bent down to grab the fallen items. "I'm working on it."
Shrugging, Jay hefted a large crate of junk and headed out the door. Cole followed, pushing the now-upright wheelbarrow into the adjoining room, where the rest of their friends were working. Yet the appearance of his new power brought his mind back to things—some things he wanted to forget, others he would treasure forever.
Pushing the wheelbarrow, he heaved a long sigh. His eyes roved back over his arms, but the glow had vanished already.
Somehow, a little smile found its way onto his face. I'll figure you out one day. I'll learn how to use this power. And every time I use it, I'll remember Eagle Talon, and Liana, and everyone else. And maybe one day, it won't hurt to remember anymore.
Whatever happened next, Cole would be ready. Whatever destiny gave and took away from him next, he would bear it with all the strength he had. He would do it for his friends, his family, and for Ninjago itself—because that is what ninja do.
In the end, that is all anyone can do.
* * *
"We were tight knit boys
Brothers in more than name
You would kill for me
And knew that I'd do the same
And it cut me sharp
Hearing you'd gone away
But everything goes away
Yeah everything goes away
But I'm going to be here until I'm nothing
But bones in the ground
And I was there, when you grew restless
Left in the dead of night
And I was there, when three months later
You were standing in the door all beat and tired
And I stepped aside
Everything goes away
Yeah everything goes away
But I'm gonna be here until I'm nothing
But bones in the ground
So quiet down
We were opposites at birth
I was steady as a hammer
No one worried cause they knew just where I'd be
And they said you were the crooked kind
And that you'd never have no worth
But you were always gold to me
And back when we were kids
We swore we knew the future
And our words would take us half way 'round the world
But I never left this town
And you never saw New York
And we ain't ever cross the sea
But I am fine with where I am now
This home is home, and all that I need
But for you, this place is shame
But you can blame me when there's no one left to blame
Oh I don't mind
All my life
I've never known where you've been
There were holes in you
The kind that I could not mend
And I heard you say
Right when you left that day
'Does everything go away'?
Yeah, everything goes away.
But I'm going to be here till forever
So just call when you're around."
✯ ☾ ✯
End of Ninjago: Roots of Earth