"I'm...sorry I broke your staff," Lloyd said sheepishly. "But hey, at least you've got that new one!"
Jupiter rolled her eyes with a grin. "Yeah, and it'll be much harder to break this time!"
They were sat outside the Monastery's gates on the rocky steps, gazing into the evening clouds. The stardust ninja fiddled with her new staff, still getting used to its bumpy surface and rough grip. She wasn't sure of its new capabilities, but she knew she had a lot of time to discover that soon.
The two of them sat silently, embracing the late afternoon breeze. Jupiter lightly scratched the bandage on her arm and sighed.
"I'm sorry I dragged all of you into that," she blurted. "It's my fault - I should've just-"
"It wasn't your fault." Lloyd interrupted, resting his hand on her bandaged arm. "This is Ninjago - stuff like that is bound to happen anyway, but you saved the city!"
A small smile appeared on her face. "I guess so - but I could never have done it without you guys. Besides, I still have so much to learn."
"And we'll all help you through it. I'm just happy that you're alright."
Flattered, the girl pushed a strand of hair from her eyes. In the midst of each other's company, something within the green ninja urged him to lean in closer to her. Jupiter's face flushed a warm crimson as she gazed into his captivating green eyes. He'd been undeniably wanting to do this for a while but had never quite found the right moment; he tenderly took her bandaged hand in his own.
Lloyd brushed away the nerves and prepared to embrace her in a heartfelt kiss - just at their lips were to touch, a voice from behind startled the two, instantly breaking apart from their intimate moment;
"Woah! Sorry! I--uh--wow." Kai stammered, awkwardly standing between the Monastery's gates. The green ninja eyed Kai with an irritated look.
"I hope I didn't...interrupt anything important." The fire ninja cleared his throat. "Just letting you know Master Wu's finished talking with Sigma - now we're all discussing the next phase of this situation."
"We'll be right there," Jupiter told him. Kai tried hard not to smirk; he nodded and made his way back inside the gates.
Lloyd stiffly turned back to Jupiter, bashfulness painted across his face.
"Err...We better get back inside with the others-" He said, getting himself off the ground.
Lloyd offered an outstretched hand to help up the injured ninja; Jupiter took his hand and unexpectedly pulled him in for an impassioned kiss. Surprise blew up inside his chest as he melted away in infatuation.
After a few moments, they separated from each other, hand still in hand. The two ninja soon blissfully made their way inside the gates to regroup with the rest of their team.
Inside the Monastery's courtyard, Master Wu stood by the porch; behind him, Sigma stood humbly, arms crossed. As Jupiter and Lloyd joined them in the courtyard, the other ninja giggled softly. Lloyd eyed them all with an unimpressed look.
"So what's the plan now, Master Wu?" Kai finally asked him. Wu briefly stroked his beard and began to speak;
"I've talked it over with Sigma, and she's decided that she, along with the rest of the surviving Kosmikile army, return to their home planet. It is for the best."
The ninja all nodded at each other; It was a simple solution, until Sigma spoke up.
"However, the Kosmikile ship was one of a kind; the engine it used was the only one suitable for distant travelling."
"But I'm sure Master Wu can whip up some of that Traveller's Tea, right?" Cole pointed out. The old man shook his head in response.
"Unfortunately, Traveller's Tea only allows travelling between realms, not through space to different planets." Wu explained. A brief silence fell over the courtyard. What's left of the Kosmikile army have agreed that they wouldn't like to stay in Ninjago any longer, and thought it was best for them to return home, but without a means of getting them back, there was not much to do.
"I know!" Nya suddenly exclaimed. "What if we combined the Traveller's Tea with the teleporting-stardust Sigma uses?"
Pixal nodded her head and inputted;
"Theoretically, that would modify the Tea into being suitable for travelling through space instead of realms, if the right amount is added to it," Pixal said. "It is worth a shot."
"But I had to use all the dust I had left to get myself and the girl away from being suffocated - there is none left," The Chief admitted dimly.
"Maybe I can create some? Since this staff is made of two stardust artefacts, I'm sure there's a way," Jupiter suggested, holding the staff. It would be a chance for her to find out the potential her new weapon had.
"Then we will try." Wu said, turning to Sigma. The alien nodded in gratitude at the old man and the rest of the ninja.