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The score swelled emotionally as the protagonist continued to kneel, accepting his fate of being destroyed alongside his antagonistic father. He had thought it was the only possible option…
WHOOSH! He was picked up by a blur of a blue figure - his former boss. They flew up, narrowly escaping the licks of the vicious crimson explosions. They turned to face each other as they continued to ascend.
"He may have been your father, boy," the boss grinned, “but he wasn’t your daddy.”
The protagonist looked back at him, eyes full of emotion…
“See, this movie is good!”
“Not as good as these treats though. Who would’ve thought they were great bingeing material?”
Kai and Nya munched on rice cakes, savouring the tonka bean filling inside. This was a childhood treat they had craved for years, yet the shop-bought imitations could not match up to the love that had been poured into their father's recipe. Not to mention that it had been years since they had tried some, and years since they had had an occasion to celebrate...
"We definitely should do something with Mum and Dad for this New Years," Kai licked his lips. Nya paused the movie.
"Hmm?" she raised an eyebrow at her brother. "What do you mean?"
"I mean... wouldn't it be nice to have a little party with the others to celebrate?" he reasoned. "Plus, it's been a hectic year with all the time travel shenanigans..."
"And Wu going missing..."
"Not to mention us finding our parents after years..."
"And the whole genie fiasco..."
"The what now?" Kai looked surprisedly at her.
"The who what when?" Nya blinked innocently. Kai rolled his eyes.
"Well there's been a lot that has happened, so maybe a party to celebrate that we've made it this far is in order."
"Fair enough. But what will we do?"
"Something small. Just a trip to that nice little restaurant in Ninjago City, where we'll have a nice dinner party with the other ninja, and then we'll go out to the beach and have some fireworks. It'll be so low-key that the others won't even have to help."
"Isn't there only one week till New Years Eve anyway?"
"Relax, Nya," Kai waved his hand nonchalantly. "What could happen in one week?"
…
The ninja had just finished their third training session without a formal mentor. Lloyd, as the team leader, was filling in the position of Wu for the time being. Although the sessions weren’t as smooth or informative as before, they still kept them in good fighting condition. One benefit of training with Lloyd was that it was easier to finish off earlier, which was good for the duo planning to go out to town for supplies. Except…
“Kai,” Nya sniffled, “I don’t think I should come with you today…”
“You’ll be fine, sis,” Kai replied, as he swallowed the last of his porridge. “Just wear a mask, I don’t know. It’s just a small cold.”
“Actually, I’m not feeling all that well,” she continued, as she scooped some oatmeal into her mouth. “Plus, I didn’t sleep too well after last night…”
“See, you shouldn’t have stayed out too late last night!” he argued. “I told you we shouldn’t have needed to stay past 9pm.”
“Need I remind you that you were the one to insist that we had to find ‘potential spots’ for the fireworks?” Nya retorted. “I suggested 3 good places, and yet you ignored th-”
She suddenly rushed out to the bathroom. Kai heard a faint bluuurgh and sighed. She definitely was out of action, whether he liked it or not. He also knew it was best to give her some space.
The other ninja came in from their training session, their foreheads glistening with sweat.
“That run was quite a good idea, Zane,” Jay remarked.
“Thank you,” he bowed modestly, “but you’ll have to give credit to PIXAL. She suggested it when I called her a couple days ago.”
“Wait… what are you doing here?” Cole asked, looking intently at Kai. “Didn’t you say you had to go to buy errands for the party? And where’s Nya?”
Another echo of bluuurgh bounced around the house.
“Nya?” Jay ran off to try and find her.
“Well,” Kai got up, “best if I head out on my own to get the supplies.”
“Hang on,” Cole replied, “can’t we come? Surely four heads are better than one.”
“Are you sure?” the fire ninja perked. “I wouldn’t want to trouble you. And I would prefer you came not because you felt sorry for me.”
“Why would we feel sorry for you?” Lloyd answered.
“You’re our friend after all,” Zane continued.
“And friends help out one another,” Cole finished.
“That was corny as,” Kai broke into a grin, “but thank you.”
Four heads were certainly better than one, especially as they navigated their way through the shops to buy the party decorations. The first hurdle had been overcome.
…
The supplies had been bought and were now awaiting placement in the party room. Aside from the small hiccup in regards to Nya (who was recovering well), everything had gone smoothly. The deposit had been paid, the outfits had been chosen, and the menu had been confirmed for the night. Now all that was left was the set up.
Kai and Lloyd had gone for a grocery run to Ninjago City - somehow they had run out of milk again - and since the restaurant was open at the time, they decided to visit to confirm their booking (as well as some last minute details). However, as they neared the shop, they could hear what sounded like muffled yelling.
“Should we come back later?” Lloyd asked.
“Nah it’s fine,” Kai replied. “They’re passionate people, that's all.” Lloyd looked sideward at him, not convinced in the slightest. They pushed the door open, revealing the source of the noise - the head chef and owner (named Pablo, as Kai would learn later on) and a woman were in a heated argument.
“Madam, I’ve assured you that this was not intentional, but-”
“Not intentional - are you cussing me? We booked weeks in advance! Don’t make up-”
“We’re not making anything up! It was an accident.”
“Sure,” the lady replied, rolling her eyes. Her phone began to vibrate. “I’ll be back in 10 minutes, and by then I hope you’ve sorted things out.” She left through the doors, passing Kai and Lloyd in the process. Pablo slumped into a chair, wearied out.
“Are you ok, sir?” Kai asked, as Lloyd passed him an unopened water bottle.
“I’ve…been better,” Pablo replied, accepting the bottle. “Sorry for that display. That lady had booked in advance for her parents’ 50th anniversary, and I thought it was all fine.”
“Why was she so angry then?” Lloyd answered. “Don’t answer if it’s confidential,” he quickly added.
“No, no, it’s ok,” the man chuckled, “because it does concern you guys too.” Kai felt his stomach drop.
“Uhh… how?” Kai asked nervously.
“Well, the day we made your reservation, we still had both function rooms available. But then yesterday some drunk party goers came and trashed one of the two rooms, meaning we can’t use it.” He put his hands in his head.
“So why did you tell her that you were double booked?” Kai raised his eyebrows. “Why didn’t you just tell her the truth?”
“Truth be told, I don’t know,” he replied, rubbing his hands on his chef's whites. “Maybe because of my pride. Maybe because I don’t want people to get the wrong impression about our restaurant - if people hear that our restaurant was ruined by some customers, they may think that it’s not safe. Maybe because I don’t want to let you guys down too. You all do so much for our city, and it doesn’t seem right to turn you guys down. Others too would see us as non-Ninja friendly if word gets out that we rejected our protectors.”
Kai sighed. Part of him (the selfish part) wanted to give solace and say that he was making the right choice to give the booking to the Ninja. After all, it was in Pablo’s interests too (at least from what he understood). However, he knew what was the right action… and it wouldn’t sit well on his conscience if he took someone else’s place.
“New Years Eve parties come and go,” Kai exhaled, “but a 50th wedding anniversary is a milestone that doesn’t come by often. We’ll cancel our booking.”
“Are you sure?” Pablo gasped. “I wouldn’t want to trouble you…”
“Well they booked first too,” the fire ninja reasoned. “It wouldn’t be fair. Maybe on another occasion.”
As the two ninja left the shop, Lloyd patted his friend’s back.
“That wasn’t an easy decision,” the green ninja nodded. “I admire your courage.”
“Yeah,” Kai sighed, his head a little downcast. “But now where do we go?”
“I’m sure we’ll find a place to celebrate.”
“In one day? What place would be open and accessible tomor-”
Kai stopped in his tracks, pausing mid-sentence. He was staring at something far off.
“You ok?” Lloyd asked, turning to face his friend. “We still have to go get the groceries. But we can go home if it’s ea-”
“I have an idea,” Kai cut in. “It might be a bit wild, but we may be able to pull it off.”
“Ohhkay?” Lloyd nodded slowly. “But where?”
“The mountains.” Kai pointed to the distance.
“And how, may I ask, do we get there?”
Kai smiled. “Do you know anyone who can steer a boat?”
…
“Welcome to the Destiny’s Bounty,” Kai greeted his parents as they climbed aboard.
“So this is the surprise you had organised for us,” Maya nodded, taking in the magenta boards around them, and the ivory sails overhead.
“Hopefully this goes off without any hitches too,” Ray chuckled.
“That makes two of us,” Kai muttered under his breath.
“Hmm?” his parents looked back at him, slightly confused.
“Nothing, nothing,” he reassured them.
“I think everyone’s on board now,” Cole noted. “Though Nya said she would rest for a while down below.”
“That’s all good,” Kai replied. “It’s good that she was able to come, and there’ll be nothing to do while we fly there. Speaking of flying, is Zane ready?”
“Indeed,” the earth ninja replied. “And he has PIXAL on his phone just in case he needs backup. She’ll be helping him navigate.” Kai gave a thumbs up to Zane, who was on the upper deck, as Jay pulled up the ladder. Then they took off, travelling at a steady pace.
After 30 minutes, dark clouds began to huddle in the direction they were flying towards.
“Are you sure this is ok?” Jay asked.
“Relax,” Kai replied. “It’s just some light rain. Nothing harmless.”
But the clouds did not disperse. Instead, they began to pelt heavy drops of rain. Zane tried to turn the Destiny’s Bounty to the left, but the storm followed.
“Still okay?” Lloyd asked, looking out the window of the deck below (where everyone sans Zane was).
“Still A-O-K,” Kai replied, not as confidently as before. “This too should pass.”
At that moment, a crack of thunder clapped out. The winds began to howl louder and more angrily. And the rain? It began to turn into-
“Snow?” Cole questioned, looking at the fast-flying speckles of white zipping past the window.
“Cuss!” Kai swore.
It was a blizzard.
The fire ninja quickly scrambled on to the top deck, where Zane was.
“We need to land quickly,” Zane called. “But PIXAL has gone offline. It’s the blasted storm. Knocked the wind out of her.”
Kai scanned the horizon, panicking. Not only was this not going to plan at all , but they all were at risk of perishing in the snow. Come on, come on, come on…
“Over there!” Kai pointed northwest. “There’s a mountain opening!”
With great difficulty, Zane turned the ship. Then he quickly pushed through, reaching the open cave just in the nick of time. The wind immediately changed direction.
The two ninja headed to the area below deck, where the others were.
“Thank goodness we got to safety,” Maya sighed. But Kai felt defeated. Both by the elements, and by fate. He stormed away, ignoring the concerned calls of his teammates.
…
Kai was many things. He was a ninja, an Elemental master of fire, and one of the protectors of Ninjago. He was also a son, a brother, and a trustworthy friend.
So why did he feel like none of those things at this moment? He had been an ignorant brother, a let-down of a friend, and a failure of a son. He couldn't even get a simple party started. How could someone screw up that bad ?
Saline tears streamed down his face as he silently and angrily cried. Now he didn't even have the courage to face his family and his friends, to apologise for dragging them through a cussing storm and wasting what could have been a more peaceful New Years Eve. What kind of a person am I?
A soft knocking broke through his moment of angst.
“Son?”
Kai remained silent as he sat on the edge of his bed.
“I know you're in there. The others said this is where'd you be.”
Kai sighed as he knew it was futile to try and hide. Ray opened the door and sat down next to him.
“It’s been a tough journey, eh?” the older of the two said, as Kai leant on his shoulder.
“Tell me about it.” Kai replied, as he rubbed his eyes.
“The others did already - or at least from what they knew,” Ray replied. “The green one - I think it’s Lloyd - was particularly impressed with your courage to keep going.”
“But if they told you the full story,” Kai bit back, “surely you’d know how much I screwed up.”
“Screwed up?” Ray questioned, a slight chuckle in his voice. “Boy, I don’t think you ‘screwed up’ at all.”
“What do you mean? Of course I did. I couldn’t pull the party together. I wasted everyone’s time. I-i-” Kai’s voice began faltering again, as a fresh wave of tears came again. “I ruined this for you and Mum and the others.”
Ray began to rub Kai on the arm consolingly as the younger of the two cried. They sat in silence for a few minutes, until he had finished, his breathing more steady.
“Son, let me tell you a story.”
“Why wou-”
“Just hang on and you’ll see. This happened when you were quite young, some time before we were taken by Acronix and Crux. When your sister turned three, we were determined to have a big party for her. We had done that for you, and it had been a tradition with all our families. So we sent out the invitations, set up a movie theatre outside, and paid for a big cake. I was determined to make it one to remember for quite some years to come.
Unfortunately, a few mishaps happened. A bout of food poisoning passing through the village meant that most of the people we invited could not come. And then there was a massive storm - something that only happened once every 35 years. It absolutely wrecked the set up, and the cake delivery had to be cancelled. There was even a hole made in the roof, which we had to patch up before things got worse.
I was down that nothing went as planned. But then your mum showed me something. You and your sister were making a small pillow fort - or at least, trying to.” The two chuckled at the thought. “Suddenly I realised something - it was never about throwing a big party, or being the best. It was about the memories we strung together. And let me tell you - that pillow fort we built was the best damn third birthday party I remembered for a long time.
I know that you were looking forward to a great party. But it doesn’t have to be perfect for it to be memorable. Besides, I think you’ll like what’s waiting outside. You might need something warm though.”
Kai perked up. What could be there? Surely it was still storming. He did feel a lot more at ease.
“You coming?” Ray was now at the door. He tossed an orange scarf to his son.
“Sure,” Kai replied, slightly hesitant, as he wrapped it around his neck and put on his red puffer jacket.
As they emerged from the deck of Destiny’s Bounty , the first thing that Kai noticed was a lack of rain. The stormy sky had cleared up, revealing the glimmering stars and the most beautiful lights of the Auroras Borealis . Small snowflakes dusted the sky, but they were hardly noticeable.
The next thing were the two small campfires that the others had gathered around. His friends were sitting around one of the fires. Cole had brought out his guitar and was strumming some chords from some 80s song. Jay was bobbing his head as he held his hands closer to the fire. Lloyd was nestled in between, passing around branches with marshmallows perched on top, ready to roast in the fire. Zane sat opposite to them, his eagle overhead and PIXAL watching via tablet. Kai felt relieved that they were enjoying this time in spite of all the trouble they had gone through for his sake.
“Are you coming?” Maya called out to them. She and Nya were seated around the other campfire, Nya wrapped in one of the blankets. They both looked content as he and his father joined them. And soon he too did, as they sipped on cups of hot chocolate.
“I bet a week ago you didn’t expect this to be your New Years Party, did you?” Nya laughed.
“Not really,” Kai smiled back. “Like this year, this party has been chaotic. But who cares, when you have the people you care about with you along the journey?”