About an hour and a half has passed since we arrived at the Bizzaro's cabin, the sun had set behind the trees and I was glad that everything was going as well as it was. For that time, everyone had found a place to fit in between each other.
Nya had dragged BJ back into the lounge room by the ear, the boy muttering and blubbering words left and right before she had pushed him into one of the recliners with her hands on her hips. BJ physically shrunk under her steeled grey eyes, a wobbly grin pulling at his lips.
"Don't smile at me like that, mister. What do you have to say for yourself?" The water mistress raised a sharp eyebrow, foot tapping a rhythm on the carpeted floor as BJ stuttered for a response, "You tricked me into thinking you were Jay, not only did you lie to me, but you kissed me as well! You manipulated me so you could steal from me!"
"L-Look, miss-" Nya hardened her gaze, causing BJ to raise his hands in defence, "Nya! Look, Nya, I'm sorry, okay?" She gestures for him to go on after a small pause, making the man sigh regretfully and play with his hands, "I don't want to make excuses or anything about how I didn't have control of myself, that it was mainly Lord Garmadons doing, but I really am sorry. If I could go back and stop myself, I would."
The pair stare at each other with two seperate expressions. Nya's was calculating, as if scanning him for any traces of lies or if he was just manipulating her again. BJ's was seemingly genuine regret, guilt and acceptance. If she didn't forgive him, then he would accept that and try to prove to her that he truly was sorry.
"I forgive you."
"Huh?" BJ blinks owlishly and shakes his head, his eyebrows knitted together in confusion, "Sorry, say again?"
"I said, I forgive you." The woman shrugs with a now gentle smile, her hands falling off her hips to hold one out to him, "I understand that you weren't in control of your actions back then, and I hope we can start over?"
BJ had stared at her outstretched hand for a few long seconds before he reacted, reaching out to clasp his own hand in hers, "That sounds good, I'd like that." She pulls him up from the recliner, letting their hands drop back to their sides as they quickly get into a new conversation, their past behind them.
Jade, Kat and Emilie found themselves in the library, BZ being their guide around the spacious room as he had read most of the books that occupied that space multiple times. "This here is a guide on 'How to Defeat a Dromaeosaurid Theropod Grundalicus', also known as the Grundle,"
"Oh, those guys sucked." Jade winces to herself, her friends and Frost glancing at her curiously. She chuckles nervously, blue-grey eyes shifting from one person to the next as she continues, "It's a long story, sorry. You may proceed."
"You're going to have to tell me the story then, sometime." Frost chuckles, moving along the bookshelf as he points to another old looking book spine, "You might find this one interesting. 'Elemental Masters: Be Gone'."
"What's that one about?" Emilie questions, reaching out with gentle fingers to pluck the thick books out of its spot on the shelf. She flips the book over, eyes glancing over the back cover.
"If I remember correctly, that book was written as a journal many years ago by an Elemental Master." Frost crosses his arms over his chest, his gaze drifting off to the side as Jade peers over Emilie's shoulder as the woman flips through a few worn pages, "He writes about the time when humans wished for Elemental Masters to disappear. Many humans believed that the First Spinjitzu Master was wrong for selecting only few people to hold Elemental powers, so instead of accepting that they were powerless, they decided to banish anyone that was chosen."
"What assholes." Emilie scoffs, gently shutting the journal after skimming the ancient looking writing. Jade pouts over her shoulder, wanting to read more but holds herself back.
"What's this one?" The small group turn away from their own conversation to see Kat holding another yellow aged book, her fingers tracing the unfamiliar writing that was etched onto the front.
With Emilie putting the book in her hands back into its rightful spot on the shelf, her and the other two next to her side come over to stand behind Kat, the short woman turning around from the table she was near to hand BZ the thick book.
"I can't read the cover, it's written in a different language." Kat continues with a frown, her stare stuck on the front of the ancient book that BZ held delicately.
"It's written in the ancient language, Ninjargon. The language was used many centuries ago, it's almost died out." BZ dusts the book off, a deep frown set on his face. He turns away from the women and slowly makes his way to a shelf placed to the far left, sliding the novel into an empty slot.
"You going to tell us about it?" Jade persists, itching to know more. She's heard of the language before, Sensei Wu had many scrolls written in the difficult writing. Though he's never offered to teach anyone about it, maybe other than Lloyd from what she knew.
"'Extinct Elementals: For Better Or Worse'." BZ tries to wipe the grimace off his face, knowing now that the three women before him had a yearning for knowledge, and he didn't feel like explaining more about his discomfort for the certain topic. "Let's get back on track, you wanted to know more about your descendants?"
With everyone else busy, the kitchen was also bustling with movement. BC had been cooking steadily before Maddy had decided to keep him company. He was so use to just him being in the kitchen, sometime BZ coming in to steal something before he was rushed out with a knife, so he was easily distracted with someone else hovering over his shoulders.
"I can see if the noodles are ready!" Maddy eagerly strides over to stand by the stove, right next to BC, a fork in her hand as she goes to fish a spaghetti noodle out of the boiling water.
"Ow!"
BC watches with an amused grin on his face as Maddy pulls her throbbing hand away from the pot, rubbing at her tender wrist. "Don't touch." He simply shrugs, going over to wash the stainless steel tongs in the sink after using them to slap Maddy's hand away.
"That was uncalled for." She sniffs with a frown, dropping her hands to her sides as she watches the Bizzaro in front of her go back to stirring the noodles, "So, what am I supposed to do? Stand here and watch?"
"You can make yourself useful and set the table." BC grunts out, taking the pot off the stove to drains the noodles of the water, the spaghetti mince and sauce being left to simmer.
Rolling her eyes, Maddy busies herself with searching the kitchen cupboards for the plates. It didn't take too long for her to find them, grabbing the right amount for everyone in the house before placing them neatly on the dining room table. Once that was done, she fetches the forks and manages to find some napkins at the same time.
"Grab some grated cheese while you're at it." The woman turns to send BC a glare, dropping the last fork onto the napkin placed on the table. The man had only glared back as he passes her to set the noodles on the table.
"It wouldn't hurt to say please, you know." Maddy mutters to herself, not caring if he heard her or not. She moves around the table to open the fridge, rummaging around until she grabs a bag of grated cheese.
When she drops the cheese to the table by the pots of spaghetti noodles and sauce, her eyes widen at the spoon being held out in front of her. "Taste it." BC grunts, carmine eyes studying her face as she takes the spoon and places the sauce into her mouth after a second of hesitation.
Shock courses through her at the taste. She dared to say it came in second to Zane's cooking, but a part of her knew that if she said that to BC's face, she'd no longer be able to talk.
"This is great, Grumps! Do you have your own recipe or something?" Maddy licks her lips, enjoying the flavour dancing on her tongue.
"Like I'd ever tell you." The man smirks to himself, his previous anxieties of his food not being up to someones standards disappearing in an instant as he takes the spoon from her hands and goes to drop it in the sink. "Go get the rest of the idiots, tell them dinner is done."
That's how everyone found themselves sat at the dining table, excited murmurs and loud laughs being shared between the unique group. I sit next to Phoenix, who has red sauce smeared across his face, but he doesn't seem to care and continues to shovel noodles into his mouth. BK sits on the other side of him, holding back his grin as BJ tries to inhale a noodle through his nose despite Jade telling him that it wasn't a good idea.
"So," I turn my gaze away from BJ, who had nearly choked on the noodle after inhaling it, and hum towards Nya. She finishes wiping her lips with a napkin and pushes her empty plate away from her, catching the rest of the groups attention, "You've explained a lot already, but I have to ask. What's stopped you from telling us and the others about these guys?"
I take my time chewing on a singular meat ball, the questions having been expected. Swallowing, I place my fork down and sigh. "A few reasons, really." I begin, watching from the corner of my eyes as Phoenix makes a smiley face out of his food, "The first one being that I was scared, terrified even. I didn't know how you would have reacted, I didn't want anyone thinking that I was some sort of monster or something."
"But we're friends, we tell each other everything." Maddy frowns towards me, having finished her food second after BZ who was piling up his plate with more spaghetti.
"I know, but even then, there are always things that friends don't tell each other. You can't look me in my eyes and swear that you've told me everything and not lied once to me." I counter back, watching the brunette open her mouth to defend herself but stops herself short. "Exactly."
"Okay, what about the other reason?" Kat asks next to me, her brown eyes catching my own hazel-green ones.
"Well, think about it. The Bizzaro's tried to destroy us all those years ago, so if you guys somehow thought that they'd still be under the influence of Lord Garmadon's evil, I wouldn't have been surprised if Lloyd had sent them all to Kryptarium Prison." I bite the inside of my cheek and turn back to my son, who had been staring confusedly up at me as I spoke.
Sighing softly, I reach over for his napkin and gently start to clean his face of the dark red sauce, a small smile coming over my face at his whines of protest. I wasn't going to mention to my friends about my worries about Phoenix as well if Lloyd or anyone took the situation the wrong way. If his father and the rest of the Bizzaro's were sent to Kryptarium, what would happen to him? A spawn from a ninja and a Bizzaro, a person created by one of the most evil villains we had encountered. I would fight with all of my life to protect his innocence.
"Hey," Jade was the next to speak, my gaze leaving Phoenix's grinning face to glance over at her. She smiles gently at me, her head tilted ever so slightly, "You out of anyone should know that Lloyd loves you to death. I think you should give him a chance and tell him the truth, he wouldn't do anything to make you unhappy."
A small smile of my own twitches at my lips, my heart aching in my chest at her words. "I know..." I mutter, scrunching up the dirty napkin in my fist and dropping it onto the plate in front of me, "I'll work on telling him, just not yet."
"Don't rush yourself, take your time." Emilie stands up from the other end of the table, her empty plate in her hand, "Talking about time though, we should probably clean up and head out."
The girls all give out their agreements and hurry to get up, the sound of clinking cutlery and plates echoing around the room. I reach down to pick up my plate when a hand stops me short, my eyes following the arm up to see BK grinning down at me from behind. He picks up my plate and drops it onto the stack of his and Phoenix's.
"I can clean up my own mess, you know." I laugh quietly, pushing my empty chair in under the table.
I watch him shrug, "I know, but I can handle these. You should probably tuck Nix into bed, he's a bit upset that you were only here for a few hours." He subtly gestures his head to our son, who I see frowning to himself at the kitchens archway, the sight breaking my heart.
"Thanks, I wish I could stay the night, but..." I let my words drag out, but BK only shakes his head with an understanding and silent pat to my shoulder. He leaves me standing by the dining room table to head towards the loud chatter coming from the kitchen sink, where people were fighting for the spot to rinse off their dish first.
Quickly, I move away from my spot to sneak up to Phoenix's side, reaching down to scoop him up into my arms with a playful shout, "Ha, gotcha!" His laugh brings a certain type of joy to my soul, healing mental wounds and fighting off the ache in my chest.
I giggle along with him, wrapping his legs around my waist so I could wrap my arms under his arms, holding him as close to me as physically possible. I place a quick peck to his cheek and leave the kitchen, the noise from my friends getting further away as I pass the lounge room to head up the spiral staircase in the library.
"Sleepover?" I hear Phoenix question onto my neck as I walk through the second story of the house towards his room, the small boy leaning back just enough to look up at me. I try not to let my disappointment seep into my expression as I open his bedroom door with my free hand.
The dark blue room was a familiar sight, white stars were spread along the walls and the ceiling with a yellow and orange sun painted in the very middle of it all, also acting as a light. Small plastic planets hang off thin string from the ceiling while a picture of a rocket ship sits above the headrest of the bed. Sitting down on the corner of the alien themed bed, I lean down and manage to tear Phoenix away from my body to lay him down, his brown-red eyes still staring up at me.
"No sleepover this time, honey." I whisper quietly, as if it would stop him from looking heartbroken at my words, which it doesn't. His downcast expression wavers, bottom lip wobbling as I tuck him in under the blanket. "I'm sorry, baby. I really wish I could stay."
"Why can't you." His whine pierces my very being, watery eyes meeting my own as his tiny hands reach out to hold my hands tightly, "Why can't you stay with daddy and me?" My breath hitches in my throat as a small tears slides down his cheek.
"Baby, sweetheart, no, don't cry." I hold back my own tears and reach out with one hand to quickly wipe the tear away, watching with sad eyes as he leans into my touch. My thumb rubs small circles on his cheekbone, "I wish I could tell you, but its all confusing. You know you don't like adult talk."
"I just miss you." He sniffles, curling around so that he could hug my arm to his chest tightly. I didn't have much choice, but I climbed into the bed along side him, bringing his back to rest against my front, curling my arm around his frame and laying chin against his head.
"I miss you too, darling. One day, I promise you'll understand. One day, I promise we'll be able to have as many sleepovers as we can." I whisper my promises into his hair, feeling his little hiccups against my chest.
Singing him a small lullaby to calm him, his words replay over in my head. No child should ever have to miss their parent, they should be swatting them away in annoyance when they cuddled them too much, or pushing them away when their mother tries to kiss their cheeks. Was I really failing my job as his mother? All because I was afraid of someone else's reaction of his and his uncles existence? Things needed to change, and I needed to act fast before my own son began to fall out of my hands.
It took a few minutes of singing to lull the small boy asleep, his soft breathing easing my anxieties just a smidge. Wiggling myself out of his weak grip, I manage to tiptoe out of his room without waking him up, the sound of a butterfly fluttering around in its little green container being shut out as I close his bedroom door.
After making sure there were no signs of distress or tears in my eyes, I make my way down the spiral staircase to see my family and friends crowded around the lounge room, close to the front door. I come over to stand next to Kat, the shorter girl looking up at me with a grin, unknowing of my earlier almost-breakdown. Despite my sour mood, I send her a small smile back, which satisfies her.
"You guys are welcome back anytime, our home is your home." BK announces to the group, his arms crossed over his chest, "Just remember, you betray Alyssa's or our trust, well, let's just say, we can still kick some major ass." He flashes them a fanged grin, his words light and airy but his threat thick.
"Don't worry, we know this situation isn't easy." Jade opens the front door, being closest to it at the back of the group, "We actually have morals, if you didn't know." She snorts, rolling her eyes.
"Thanks for letting us stay for dinner." Maddy grins happily, shooting a quick look to BC who in return glared back at her, "You better give me the recipe one day so I can give it to Zane."
"Get the fuck out of our house." BC growls out lowly before turning on his heel and stomping out of view, most likely to continue cleaning up the kitchen.
The girls laugh to themselves and begin to pile out of the door, their goodbyes being said over their shoulders. I step just out of the doorway before turning back around to smile at the Bizzaro's, "I'll let you know when I'm able to stop by again, but can you tell Phoenix I'm sorry that I couldn't stay longer?"
"Will do, he'll understand one day, don't let it get to you." BZ reaches out to ruffle up my short hair, the midnight strands nearly poking me in the eyes as I push him away roughly, to which he only laughs heartily at.
"Take care, got it?" BK meets my eyes, his face set into a serious frown as BJ and BZ leave his side, shouting something about how they should prank BK while he sleeps. I simply nod curtly, giving him a quick wave goodbye before turning and jogging to meet up with my friends who have already summoned their dragons.
"So, we were thinking of heading to Chen's Noodle House to get the guys some takeout, you in?" Nya raises an eyebrow at me as I scale my dragon, the reins heavy in my hands. She seemed to be in a chipper mood, which I was ecstatic with.
"Sounds great. It'll be good to see my wife again." I tease, giggling at the looks of betrayal I got from most of the women. "Sorry, one of my wives." I correct, which seems to make them happy.
"Last one there has to pay!" Maddy screeches as her dragon suddenly takes off in a flash of yellow mist, the rest of us screaming at her as we race to catch up.