Nalia has lived with Wu for a year, and her wounds have mostly healed.
Her voice is not so strong yet, but she can make at least a few sounds.
____________________________________________________________
Nalia was lying in the living room reading a book about dragons while humming softly since she was the only one at the Monastery. "I wonder when Sensei is coming back. I know he said it would just be a short trip. But that's what he said when he brought those other three."
She kept humming to herself until she heard the gates being opened. Nalia closed her book, pulling the scarf she always wore closer to her face before walking out into the hall and slowly looking around the corner.
"You will be ready when you are ready. Not a minute sooner," said Wu to another stranger who walked in right after him.
"A monastery? You expect me to learn to fight in a place of peace?" said the stranger, surprised, until he noticed someone looking around the corner. "Do you have other students?" he asked, pointing towards Nalia, who quickly tried hiding behind the corner.
Wu looked at where the stranger was pointing but didn't see anything. He could guess who he saw. "Oh yeah, that's Nalia, though she is a bit shy around strangers until she gets to know them," he said.
"Huh, okay." said the stranger, though they couldn't help but be curious.
"Now, to answer your question. No, not fight. Train. In order to become a true ninja, first you must be able to see what others do not." Wu bonked the stranger's head, and his staff got back his attention.
"But there's nothing here." said the stranger while rubbing his head from where he was bonked.
Nalia slowly watched from her corner, listening closely to them talk. "At least he isn't as weird as the others," she thought.
*Sensei Wu pushes a dragon statue, which reveals a secret button. He pushes it, activating all the training equipment in the monastery.*
"Whoa! Is this gonna teach me how to do that cool move?" said Kai, amazed as he goes on top of one of the training poles as it descends.
Wu pauses in a moment of worry. "Oh, dear."
"Oh, mangos. This isn't going to end well." As she watched, Nalia thought about coming out more to get a better view.
*Kai gets launched into the dragon symbol and falls back on the ground.*
Nalia put a hand to her mouth. Trying to hold back a giggle, along with lessening the pain she still got whenever she tried speaking or singing.
"Complete the training course before I finish my tea. Then we will see if you are ready." Wu drinks the entire cup. "Today, you failed. Tomorrow, you will try again."
Kai looked over at him confused. "Failed?! But I didn't even start to-"
Wu closes the door of the monastery. "Patience."
"Patience! I don't have time for patience!" The stranger complained with a frustrated sigh before noticing the kid who had been watching from the corner earlier.
Nalia still tried to hold back a giggle until she noticed the stranger looking at her. "What's so funny?" The stranger asked. But this only seemed to scare the kid, so she ran away to hide.
The stranger ended up training at the Monastery for a couple of days, which Nalia watched from a good distance. During those days, she was able to find out that this stranger's name was Kai. But seeing him fail each time, every day, was kind of funny.
Kai had seen Nalia watching him train every now and then these few days, and he had tried talking to her, but she would always just run away without saying anything.
"Fail. Fail. Oh, fail! Oh, so fail! And... fail." said Wu while drinking his tea; he even left some for Nalia, but she never came out from her hiding place for the tea.
One day, a determined Kai again goes through the training equipment as Wu watches along with Nalia from her hiding spot. Just as Wu is about to drink his tea, Kai knocks his cup away with his sword to stall him. When he pours some more tea into another cup and looks up, he notices that Kai is nowhere to be found.
Kai offers Wu a cup of sugar cubes, surprising him. "Was that one sugar... or two?"
Wu is impressed with Kai's progress and enters the monastery.
"So, am I gonna learn this Spinjitzu I've been hearing about?" Kai asked.
"You already have. Your final test comes tomorrow." Wu closes the door. "My advice is to get some sleep."
Nalia had been watching closely and was surprised when Kai could do it. "So cool! I didn't think he would use his sword to stall sensei!" she thought with big sparkly eyes in complete aww.
"So what you think, kid? Do you think he will teach me Spinjitzu after my final test?" Kai asked, turning his attention back to Nalia. Who had come out of her hiding spot without much thought because of how impressed she was.
Snapping out of staring at him in amazement. Nalia gave a slight shrug before running away again before he could ask anything else.
*Later that night, three unknown ninja enter the monastery as Wu is asleep and Kai is preparing for bed. While Nalia is sitting outside watching the stars.*
Wu in a flashback. "My advice is to get some sleep."
Kai is talking to himself and gesturing wildly. "Oh yeah?! Well, take this!" The first ninja lands silently near the front door, wielding a pair of nunchucks. "And this!" The second ninja lands in the corner of the room, possessing a pair of shurikens. "And this!" Kai then comes face to face with the third ninja, who is holding a scythe.
*The three ninjas prepare to attack him.*
Kai realizes his trapped situation. "Oops..."
Nalia hummed softly as she enjoyed watching the stars at night. "I can't believe it's already been a year, yet my voice still hasn't fully recovered. I miss singing and being able to talk," she sighed a little. Her peaceful night was interrupted by the sound of fighting.
Kai attacks the ninja and escapes through the rooftop, but the ninja attacks him to the floor of the Monastery of Spinjitzu. Surprisingly Nalia, Nalia quickly jumped up and grabbed the staff she had lying next to her.
Kai then turns on the training equipment to attack the other ninja. As the fight continues to take part, Kai lands on one of the ninjas, making the other two dogpile on them while Nalia backs away, holding up her staff when Wu stops the fight.
"Stop!"
"Yes, Sensei." said the three ninjas.
Nalia let out a small sigh as she could relax a bit from what had just happened, but she still held up her staff in case of another fight.
Kai were now looking very confused. "Wait a minute, they're your students too?" Wu nods. "This was my final test, wasn't i-?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! You never said anything about a fourth. It's always three. Three Blind Mice. Three Musketeers. Three-" said Jay.
"Uh, what he's trying to say, Sensei Wu, is that three of us have trained together. We're solid," said Cole.
Nalia huffed a little and bonked them in the head with her staff. Before crossing her arms as she pouted.
"Sorry, I meant four," said Jay, rubbing his head.
"Didn't mean to leave you out, but yeah, the four of us are solid." Cole corrected himself.
"Didn't look so solid to me," said Kai before looking at Nalia, standing closer to the other ninja. More comfortable around them.
"Master, what is the meaning of this?" Zane asked.
"Each of you have been chosen. Each in tune with elemental properties. But first, ninja, Go!" said Wu.
*Wu uses his Spinjitzu to change the outfits of the five ninjas and give them each a weapon. Except for Nalia, who already had a weapon.*
(she will still be wearing her red scarf and glasses)
"Whoa!"
"How'd he do that?!" asked Cole.
Jay elated. "Whoa! Look what color I am!"
"Wait a minute, I'm still black." said Cole.
Nalia smiled happily as she jumped up and down joyfully at her new outfit.
Wu starts donning each ninja with their respective element.
"Kai, Master of Fire. It burns bright in you. Jay is blue, Master of Lightning." said Wu.
"Heh, that's not all I'm the master of. I do a little inventing. A dabble in model building. A touch of cooking. A little poetry." said Jay.
Cole sighs. "More like "Mouth of Lightning"."
Nalia let out a weak giggle before stopping, as it was hurting her voice.
"Black Ninja is Cole, solid as rock, Master of Earth." said Wu.
"Nice to meet you, kid. I got your back, and for the record, there ain't nothing in this world I'm afraid of," said Cole, turning to Kai.
"Except for dragons." said Zane.
"Dragons aren't from this world, Zane. I said in this world." said Cole annoyed.
Nalia tilted her head, confused. She never understood why he would be scared of dragons. She always loved reading stories about them, even some of the stories the old man once told her back at the old cave.
"White Ninja is Zane, Master of Ice, and seer with sixth sense." As Wu speaks, Zane utilizes his shurikens before making them vanish.
"I sense this one takes things a little too seriously." said Kai.
"You too have the gift?" Zane asked.
Jay laughs. "He's just making a joke, Zane. Remember what we talked about? Your sense of humor? Huh?"
"Yes, it was a joke. Haha." said Zane as he tries laughing, Jay shakes his head in disappointment.
"Pay attention! Last but not least. Nalia the yellow, Master of Sand, though silence as the night, her spirit is as bright as her lively energy." Wu pointed at Nalia, who looked at him surprised since she didn't even know she had an element.
Clearing his voice, Wu turned to the others. "You four are the chosen ones who will protect the Four Weapons of Spinjitzu... from Lord Garmadon."
Nalia's joy went away the moment that name was mentioned. Memories of those weird skeleton people that cave to her cave and cut her throat trying to silence her terrified her.
"But what about my sister?!" said Kai snapping Nalia out of her thoughts, and turn her attention to him.
Jay gasps excitedly. "We're saving a girl? Is she hot?"
"Jay..." said Cole.
"I-I just wanna know what we're getting ourselves into. Does she like blue?" said Jay.
"Back off!" said Kai.
Nalia pulled out a small notebook and wrote something down before grabbing Cole's sleeve and getting his attention. "What is it, Nalia?" he asked, wondering what it was.
She showed him what she had written down in the notebook.
"Why would she be hot? Wouldn't she be burning like crazy if she was? Let alone hurting from it.
Also, why does Jay act all that weird when talking about a girl? I'm a girl, but he doesn't act like that to me.
And why is Kai getting all mad about it?"
"Oh boy, " Cole said, facepalming himself. He tried to think of a way to explain it. "You'll know when you get older," was the best answer he could give.
Nalia scowled at that and went on to show the notebook. To the others, but each of them just gave the same answer.
"When we find the weapons, we will find your sister. It is time! We must go to the first weapon!" said Wu.
"Whoa! Hold on a minute. You said you were gonna teach us Spinjitzu." said Cole.
"Spinjitzu is inside each and every one of you, but it will only be unlocked when the key is ready to be found." Wu pauses for a moment. "Come! My feet are tired. We will take the horse carriage."
"Great." said Cole.
"Now we have to find the key?" Jay asked.
"Yeah, I'm feeling like he's taking us for a ride." said Cole.
"Well, if it means finding my sister, then sign me up." said Kai.
Nalia smiled a bit as it reminded her of the time she had with Morro. This caused her to let out a sad sigh, as she still remembered that last moment as if it were yesterday.
"By the way, I've been wondering why Nalia hasn't said a single word. I mean, she just walked to each of us with a notebook, with questions instead of saying them out loud," said Kai, raising an eyebrow.
"That's because she can't speak." said Zane.
"Yeah, Sensei Wu told us that she got a serious injury to her throat, and her voice hasn't recovered yet. So the only way for her to communicate is with a notebook or wonky hand signs," said Jay.
Nalia looked down at the ground, trying to hide more of her face with her scarf, as she didn't like talking about her voice or even injuries that had left a permanent scar on her throat.
Cole walked over and patted her head as he noticed her getting upset. "Hey, don't think about it; just give it some time, and I'm sure your voice will return."
Nalia looked up at him and the others who had also walked over and tried to comfort her in their own way, causing her to give a small smile and nod.
*The next day, the four ninjas pull the horse carriage that Wu and Nalia are sitting on as they travel to the Caves of Despair to retrieve the first Golden Weapon.*
Jay mocking Kai. "Sign me up". Way to go, spark plug."
"I sense this is some strange form of team-building." said Zane.
"Just keep pulling. We have a long way to go." said Cole.
"Hey, how come Nalia isn't pulling this carriage, too?" Jay asked, noticing she was inside the carriage and not pulling it like the others.
"Nalia is still a child, and so shouldn't be pulling anything too heavy for her," said Wu as he handed her some tea to help with her voice, which she happily accepted.
"So, where did Sensei find you four?" Kai asked.
"Let's just say if it wasn't for Sensei Wu, I don't think we'd ever been seen together. I was testing my limits." In a flashback, Cole is seen climbing a mountain when he stumbles across Wu, drinking tea.
"I was testing my invention." In a flashback, Jay tests his gliders, which work well. Unfortunately, he crashed through a billboard, noticing Wu next to it after the accident.
"And I was testing myself." In a flashback, Zane is meditating under a frozen pond. He loses focus and starts struggling for air upon noticing Wu, who was underwater the whole time.
Nalia wrote her notebook and showed it to him to read.
"I ran into him after getting my throat injured, and he took me in after that while I recovered."
"You're right, if it weren't for Sensei, none of us would-" said Kai.
"Shh... Stop!" They arrive at the Caves of Despair. "The Caves of Despair. Samukai must be close to unearthing the Scythe of Quakes. Remember, do not use the weapon. For its power-" spoke Wu.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! It's too much for us mortals. Alright, guys. Let's chop-socky this lemonade stand! Cole, you got the plan?" said Jay.
"Sure do. First, we lower ourselves down the ledge. And then..." Cole notices Kai's missing. "... where's Kai?"
Nalia froze remembering this place, and tears began forming in her eyes. This was where Morro died. This was where she caused his death because she had to follow him.
"Nalia, what's wrong? You seem upset," said Wu, noticing the tears in her eyes.
Nalia hugged Wu and silently cried into him, her body shaking. Even if her voice hurt, she couldn't stop the tears and memories from coming in full force.
Wu wasn't sure what could have caused her to become so sad, to the point of crying. But whatever it was, it must have been something important.
"Now, now, Nalia, how about we talk about your element? I'm sure you would like to know how you could have one," said Wu, trying to get her focus on something else.
Nalia sniffled a bit before looking up at Wu, giving a slight nod.
Wu gave a soft smile as he patted her head. "When we first met, you were covered in sand, and when I tried getting closer, the sand began moving on its own, forming some kind of shield around you before you passed out," he explained.
Nalia looked at him, a little confused, as she tried to remember anything about sand that day. But when she tried, it only got all foggy in her head as she sighed, shaking it.
"It's okay if you can't remember. I'm sure it must have been a very traumatic day for you, and you probably didn't even notice you were controlling the sand," said Wu, smiling.
Nalia just nodded until they heard the sounds coming from the cave. "Let's go and check on the ninja. I hope they got the Scythe," said Wu.
They both left the carriage and went to find the ninja cheering over something.
"That was so awesome!" said Cole.
"Yes! We are unbelievable!" said Kai.
"We are the best!" said Zane.
"Did you see that?! I was like "pow"! And you were like "bam"!" said Jay.
Nalia noticed the look on Wu's face and decided to take a few steps back.
Wu infuriated. "ENOUGH!" All four ninjas pause and pay attention to Wu. "I told you not to use the Scythe!"
Jay pointing at Kai. "He did it."
"What?" said Kai surprised.
"I warned him, Sensei." said Cole.
"Using it was my only option." said Kai.
"And what makes you think you're more important than the team, huh?! HUH?!" said Wu getting right in his face.
"They took my sister, remember?!" said Kai.
"There are still three Weapons left. Maybe next time you can do it right." said Wu.
Kai realizes the mistake he made and follows right behind his team.
Nalia walked over next to Kai. Behind her scarf, she gave him a small smile before showing him her notebook so he could read it.
"Everyone can make a mistake, so don't beat yourself too hard about it.
Besides, if you were my brother, I'm sure he would do anything to keep me safe.
.....Even when he isn't around..... anymore."
Kai read the notebook before looking over at Nalia, noticing the sad face she was making.
"What happened to your brother if he isn't around? Did he leave you behind, or did you both get into a fight?" he asked, unsure what she meant.
Nalia wrote something else in the notebook, and a few tears formed in her eyes again as she showed him what she had written.
"....He died saving me from a collapsing cave.
If I hadn't followed him that day, he would still be alive... It's all my fault he is dead."
Kai was shocked by what he read and then noticed the tears running down her face.
"Hey, hey, it's okay. Whoever he was, I'm sure he wouldn't blame you for anything," he said before picking her up. He held her close as he carried her back to the others while she was crying ever so quietly into his shoulder.