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My life had taken a 180 degree turn - and I wasn’t going to complain about it.
Truth be said, I missed my old life. The never ending adventures, saving people but mainly my old friends and family. There wasn’t a day I wouldn’t wonder what had happened to them after the Merge.
But the life in the Land of Lost Things was a nice change. The everyday routine presented an opportunity to relax after the years of chaotic life and reflect on them, even though there were some… inconveniences, to put it lightly.
However, it all seemed so meaningless compared to what I had gained - new family. It wasn’t the same like with my old one from the ninja life, it could never be. But that was alright. They were unique in their own way.
Geo came from Shintaro, respectively, the mountain underneath it. He was a munce but had the skin and ears of a geckle. Not to mention, he was a master of fusion, an element I had had no idea existed. Despite his tough appearance, he was one of the most caring people I had ever met. And also a great artist. He loved to fusion old things together, creating something new, beautiful.
Bonzle was the exact opposite, at least at the first sight. The skeleton girl was hardly ever taken aback and didn’t fear to speak her mind, although the things she said were honestly sometimes a bit concerning. But underneath her emotionless posture and dark humour was a kind soul.
And of course, then there were the kids - Fritz, Spitz and Blitz. Alas a brave formling, a cunning hypnobrai and a witty fairy. Such a strange trio which you would never meet anywhere else. They always sticked with one another through thick and thin, never leaving anyone behind.
Fritz and Spitz were around the same age while Blitz could be two years younger. Just like me she had also ended up here during the Merge.
The kid couldn’t be older than three years at the time.
We had never found out what happened to her parents. There really weren’t even any clues to start with. But considering she ended up in here… It wasn’t hard to guess. The redhead never questioned it, especially since none of us liked to talk about our own parents. But when she thought no one was looking, she would often gaze at the mountains which bordered the valley. And her wistful face always made my heart squeeze.
It wasn’t fair. To none of them.
Nonetheless, we tried to make the most of our time together. Sure, it was sometimes hard with the Hoarder out there, not to mention the struggle with even the basic necessities like aid tools and food.
Speaking of which, Geo, Bonzle and I were in the kitchen. I was making dinner for everyone, despite the fact that we were quite quickly running out of the food. Surprisingly, during the four years here I had become a pretty good cook (at least according to the others). Geo tried to help me out as much as he could while Bonzle was just sitting on a nearby stool, sharpening one of her bones. Neither Geo nor I had no idea why and it was probably better this way.
A loud bang could be heard as the door slammed open. It was hardly any guess that the kids had returned from their search. Hopefully, they had brought some food.
“Look at what we’ve got!” Fritz exclaimed, showing off a bag of marshmallows.
“Hey! I wasss the one who ssspotted it,” Spitz hissed, trying to snitch the bag away.
“Yeah, but I was the one who took it,” Fritz retorted.
“That-“ Spitz was about to snap back but I stopped him by hugging both of them around their shoulders.
“How about you tell me what else you found?” I quizzed, glancing at their bags. The two of them started to take out their findings, naming them in the process.
As they were halfway through, Bonzle spoke up, “Blitz is taking quite a long time with her jumpscare. Usually Geo would be scolding her by now.”
I exchanged glances with Geo, realising she had a point. And the two’s quietness wasn’t promising anything good. A frown appeared on Geo’s face as he folded his arms on his chest.
“Fritz, Spitz, where is Blitz?” he asked slowly, his eyes not leaving the two boys.
The two looked at each other before Spitz shrugged, “We don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?!” Geo exclaimed with a hint of panic in his voice.
“Ssshe just, kinda, disssappeared,” Spitz said as both boys’ shoulders slumped, “One moment we were all looking for something to eat and the next, she was gone.”
“Didn’t she mentioned some place she wanted to go to?” I asked while trying to recall anything that could help us with finding her.
“Oh, I know!” Fritz’ face lighted up, “She said she wanted to check out the shipwreck.”
“Yeah, but sssince we needed food and that practically never endsss up there, we went to the merlopian ssstatue,” Spitz added.
“Yeah, she probably went there. You know how stubborn she can be,” the other nodded.
“But the ship is far into the Hoarder’s territory!” Geo paled at the news. The two boys exchanged shocked glances as they realised the possible danger Blitz could be in.
“It’ll be alright,” I said, keeping a levelheaded attitude, “Geo and I’ll find her.”
“Of course. But we have to be quick,” he nodded, before turning to Bonzle who had been quiet all this time, “Bonzle, look after the the two and make sure they also don’t run off, okay?”
“But we want to help!” Fritz frowned, however, once Geo looked at him, he hid behind Spitz.
“You’ll help us by staying here, all safe and sound,” I said, my tone patient yet stern.
Once they both agreed, Geo swiftly left the room and with one last reassuring smile at the kids I followed him.
Throughout the way, neither of us said much, focusing instead on the task at hands. Or rather why would Blitz run off like that.
Don’t get me wrong, she was the type to there and then hide, only to jump out and cause someone a heart attack. It was a prank the kids loved to pull off. They had practically mastered the art of hiding between the lost things and Blitz had learned how to turn invisible. And their favourite target was Geo. Poor guy.
Finally, we made it to the shipwreck. We split up to cover more ground in shorter time. But she wasn’t anywhere. There wasn’t even a single trace.
“Maybe she went somewhere else,” Geo concluded after we met up again, “After all, she has to be somewhere.”
I was about to bring up a different place to search through, however, my determination to find Blitz was temporarily clouded by the worry for Geo. Not once had his eyes landed on me as they darted around the place, hoping that suddenly the fairy would jump out and yell, “Gotcha!”
“Hey, you okay?” I placed my hand on his shoulder, making him finally look at me.
“Yeah, it’s fine, don’t worry about it. Let’s rather go look to the train. Maybe she’s there,” he shook my hand off and headed away. But it was clear that something was bothering him. And I wasn’t going to give up that easily.
“Geo, I get you’re worried. We all are, you can talk to me about it.”
“I said it’s fine,” he turned around to give me a pointed look. But once he realised what he was doing he sighed, “Sorry. I guess that it got to me more than I thought. It’s just-“ He paused, trying to find the right words, “she’s still a little kid Cole! She’s naive and doesn’t understand what’s going on half the time. What if she gets hurt?”
”She won’t,” I gave him a reassuring smile, “she’s smart. Besides, she’s figuring out how to use fairy magic really quickly.”
”But what if it isn’t enough?” he quizzed sceptically.
Hearing that, I couldn’t help but chuckle, “Back in my days I met quite few fairies. And trust me, it is enough.”
Geo finally returned the smile as his shoulders seemed to ease slightly. He was about to reply when we heard a loud crash.
The Hoarder.
”Go look for Blitz,” I looked at him firmly, cracking my knuckles, “I’ll hold him off.”
”Are you sure?” he quizzed, reluctant to leave me alone to face the mechanical giant.
”Yeah,” I said, getting the view of the Hoarder which looked even larger than the last time. “Now, GO!” I urged him as I slammed my fists together, awakening my powers.
Geo finally nodded and ran off, allowing me to fully use my elemental powers without the worry of accidentally hurting him. I slammed my hands to the ground and the earth shook. The Hoarder fell to his knees, presenting me an opportunity to strike him with my hammer.
But he noticed me and swatted me off with his hand, throwing me at the mountain, bordering the valley. A wince escaped me at the impact. Oh yes, that was definitely going to leave a bruise.
As I slid down to the ground, the Hoarder was preparing for another punch. My body ached as my mind tried to come up with something. That was when my eyes fell on a hole which I could easily fit in and it was a perfect spot to hide.
Ignoring my sore back, I rolled over, dodging the giant’s fist and falling to the hole.
It turned out that it wasn’t just a hole but a tunnel. And I was now sliding down. I tried to fiddle around to stop but all my attempts fell in vain.
It was a long ride, but finally, the tunnel anded and threw me onto… a mattress? Why was a mattress here like it was prepared for this exact purpose? Had the kids done this?
I got up and looked around to see if I could recognise where I was. But what I saw shocked me.
I was no longer in the Land of Lost things. Instead, I was in the wastelands outside of it. What the…
“Cole? What are you doing here?” a familiar voice spoke up. I turned my head to the side to see the little red haired girl with two tiny brains, brown eyes and blue dress. Her blue butterfly-like wings were unfolded, hanging behind her and on her shoulder was an old leather bag.
I gawked at her, processing what I was seeing.
“Blitz?” I quizzed, my brain still refusing to accept the sight in front of me, “But, how? This is not the Land of Lost things!”
Blitz shifted in place, averting her eyes at her yellow shoes as she muttered, “I know.”
My heart swelled at the sight of her slumped shoulders. I took a step closer and embraced her in a hug. She quickly reciprocated, her tiny frame shaking slightly with quiet sobs.
It took a while but eventually she calmed down. As she pulled away, I kneeled down so we could be in the same eye level.
“Hey, why the tears?” I asked softly as I raised my hand to wipe them away. But she kept quiet, her gaze still glued to the ground. So I decided to ask a different question.
“How long have you been able to leave?”
“Always,” she folded her arms on her chest, glancing at the mountains of the Land of Lost things, “I found out about two years ago when I accidentally fell into that tunnel.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” I quizzed, raising my eyebrows.
She fidgeted, pressing her lips together before answering, “Because neither you nor Geo would approve of what I had been doing.”
“What do you mean?” I furrowed my eyebrows, concern once again settling in my stomach.
She didn’t say anything as she handed me the bag. I glanced up at her in confusion before opening it. And I was fairly surprised when I found quite a lot of food.
“Where did you get it?”
“…There’s a city beyond the wastelands,” she replied, “it’s quite a way but I learned how to teleport with this.” She pulled out something from her pocket, showing it to me. It was a blue crystal. Like the ones fairies used to make rips with between their realm and Ninjago.
Huh, interesting. It looked like thanks to the Merge it could now open portals to anywhere.
“Wait,” I narrowed my eyes as a different thought crossed my mind, “you stole all of the food?”
“Well, it’s not like I have the luxury to pay for it!” Blitz exclaimed, frowning.
“I know and I get it,” I quickly said, reassuring her that I wasn’t upset, “but it’s still bad to steal, you know?”
“I like the word ‘charity’ better,” she retorted.
“Blitz.”
“I know,” a sigh escaped her, “It’s just - We’ve been always struggling with everything. And they aren’t. In fact, they’re way better off than we are! How is that fair?”
“It isn’t,” I admitted, “It isn’t fair that Geo, Bonzle, Fritz nor Spitz can’t leave. It isn’t fair that the Hoarder is constantly after us. And it definitely isn’t fair that you’ve got someone out there, thinking about you but have no idea who.”
She watched me with narrowed eyes, her jaw set as her mind was trying to wrap around my words. In that moment I realised that Geo was wrong. He had underestimated her because despite being a kid, she clearly understood what was going on around her.
“Then what’s the point?” Blitz asked, “What’s the point of being fair when life isn’t?”
I simply smiled, “Do you want others to be fair towards you?”
“Well, obviously,” she snickered, “Who would ever want people to be unfair to them?”
“Do you think that they will treat you fairly when you won’t?” I continued and watched as her expression sobered.
“I haven’t met that many people,” she dragged out, “but if I were them, I wouldn’t.”
“Neither would I,” I agreed, “You see, by being unfair we’re not fixing anything. In fact, we’re only creating more unfairness.”
“I see,” she hummed. And with a glance at the bag which was still in my hands she titled her head, “Do you want me to give it back?”
At the sight of the unexpired food my mouth guiltily watered. Considering I had just told her about the importance about not stealing and being fair, I should had make her return it. However,…
“No,” I smirked at her, “sometimes you have to cheat a bit to get around.”
Her face lighted up with a hope, “So you won’t tell Geo?”
“Under one condition,” I raised my finger to emphasise my words, “From now on, you’ll always take me with you on your little trips.”
She looked me up and down before pointing out, “But you’ll get me caught. You can’t turn invisible like me.” And as if to prove her statement, she blinked out of the sight, letting the sun rays momentarily hide her.
“Fair point,” I nodded, “So how about I wait for you here? I might not be able to go to that town but I can still watch out for the Hoarder.”
“Deal,” she hold out her hand and I shook it with a grin mirroring hers.
Once she took her bag back, she added, “Also, I don’t think it would suit your ninja reputation if you got caught stealing.”
“You dare to underestimate my sneaking ninja skills?” I laughed, ruffling her red hair.
As she swatted my hand away, she sticked out her tongue, “We both know that you’re as subtle as a digger in a bathroom.”
“Hey! You’ll take that back,” I threatened playfully.
“You’ll have to catch me first!” she exclaimed and her blue wings fluttered as she flew away towards the mountain.
A pang of guilt poked in my chest as I realised what secret I had promised to keep away from Geo. However, I didn’t regret it. One day, I would encourage Blitz to tell the others the truth and come clean. But until then I would watch out for her and make sure she would always come home alright.
Because that’s what family does.