#high as balls nindroid gets into fight

[sicksucculentz]

Killow is about to completely demolish Zane. He stops and leans in a little closer.

Killow: “wait. Hold on a sec”

The whole fight stops

Killow: “is this one high!?”

He points at Zane.

Cole: “he might be. Lemme….oh yea he’s high”

Cole checks Zane’s eyes by flicking his fingers in Zane’s face.

Ultra Violet: “you guys get your nindroid high!? HOW!?”

[aweebwrites]

Allies Ch12

Warning: Minor character death, decapitation, abuse of a minor

“The Golden Peak.” Garmadon says, seeing it on the horizon. “The source of the gold that made the Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu and the place where these very same weapons will become one.” Garmadon says holding two of the four weapons, the other two secure on his hips.

He then turned to his son.

“I want you to remain here on the Garmatron for now.” He told him and Lloyd frowned. “Your fight will come to you, whether I like it or not. I suspect Wu will send his own son after you. Any child of Wu will be powerful so he must be drawn away from the Golden Peak. The Garmatron does have the ability to ascend the mountain but I’d rather not risk it falling in and corrupting the Golden Peak. This fight could still go sideways so I am entrusting you with the Dark Matter the Garmatron carries. Staying on the Garmatron at the base of the mountain serves to satisfy all of those problems.” Garmadon says, checking to make sure that it was fueled and ready to attack if it comes to it.

“Alright.” Lloyd nods, able to accept that.

As long as he was helping, he would be fine.

“Naturally, they’ve been expecting us.” Garmadon says as Wu and his selected soldiers came into view. “Halt!” He called and his army came to a stop a short distance away from Wu.

Garmadon dismounted the Garmatron then, his army stepping aside as he walked towards his brother, his lower arms folded behind his back as he carried the Scythe of Quakes and the Sword of Fire in his upper arms.

“Your reign of terror will end today, Garmadon.” Wu says once Garmadon came to a stop before him.

“Oh, something will end today alright.” Garmadon says lightly unphased by his brother’s golden glare. “You’re outnumbered and overpowered. It would do you and your soldiers well to end your fight here.” He hummed, expression cool.

“Never. We will fight your evil to the very end.” Wu says raising his sword to Garmadon. “You may hold the Golden Weapons now, but not for long.” He promises with a glare.

“So you hope, Wu.” Garmadon says, allowing for the intensity of his determination to show through when he spoke next. “But know that absolutely nothing, not even the First Spinjitzu Master himself returning from the Departed Realm will stop me from achieving my goal.” He says darkly, tightening his grip on the Golden Weapons and Wu sneered.

“Attack!” They yelled simultaneously, swinging their swords at each other, gold clashing against dragonbone.

“Where’s the Green Knight?!” Morro yelled as he used his wind against the charging army- only to grit his teeth once the Stone Soldiers remained unaffected, the Nindroids hunkering down before charging the second he stopped.

“I’m scanning the area!” Zane yelled over the noise of combat, using his ice to freeze as many of them as he could. “There! On the vehicle!” Zane yelled, picking up the same energy readings from the distant figure on the Garmatron, grunting once the Nindroids and Stone Soldiers broke free from his ice.

Fine. He’ll have to double layer it then.

“I’ll clear a path!” Kai yelled then charged ahead, Morro right behind him. “Fire!” He yelled, summoning a huge ball of fire and wacking it ahead with his sword, the force behind it enough to clear a path as the army were forced to move, the one Nindroid that wasn’t fast enough getting thrown back.

“This is our chance!” Morro yelled and used his wind to keep the path clear as they rushed forward.

“There he is- huh?!” Kai says, eyes wide as a red eye looked down at him expectantly from his higher vantage point.

“Kai! The Generals-” Cole cut himself off as he, Zane and Jay caught up to the duo, staring up at the figure there wide eyed.

“Well well. You’re all here.” Lloyd says lightly as they looked at him owlishly.

“What is it? Isn’t he the Green Knight?” Morro asked confused, itching to fight this smug bastard who was clearly not on their side.

“That eyepatch… His eye...” Jay whispered, realising that both matched the Umberian that beat them.

That Umberian was…The son of Emperor Garmadon?! The same blond kid from 6 years ago?! He was the reason behind the Jamanakai Village wipe out they barely survived!

“Your eye…” Zane whispered and Lloyd reached up to rub the eyepatch where his eye hurt as badly as it did on the day of the incident.

“A loss and a lesson learned.” Lloyd says then looked down at them, expression cold. “I’m sure knowing that fills you with just as much amusement the day I lost it, doesn’t it.” He spoke darkly, red eye glowing with his hatred.

Yes, he remembered then, seeing them there vividly.

They had tied him to a stake in the ground, binding his hands above his head, even going as far as to tie his fingers separately to prevent him from using his claws to cut the rope and escaping. Lloyd was terrified as he struggled against the too strong, too tightly bound rope, wanting to go back home, hating that he had left to begin with. Why hadn’t he listened to his father? To his protectors? None of them knew he was here, none of them expected him to come here. They won’t be able to save him...

He flinched once they all began yelling at him, surrounding him as others brought sticks and hay at his feet. He looked down as they gathered it wide eyed. No! They wouldn’t! They wouldn’t try to burn him, would they?! He cried out once a rock hit him hard in his side, tears falling down his cheeks as they began picking up more rocks, throwing it at him and he turned his face away, trying to grasp his ability to transform, to fly away from these people but he was too terrified to think straight.

“What’s going on here?” Lloyd looked up then, hiccuping as four armored figures the Knights of Fulgor walked to the front of the crowd, their eyes widening at the sight of him.

“What are-”

“He’s the son of Garmadon!” One villager yelled, interrupting the Fire Knight and Lloyd knew he wouldn’t get any help from them, seeing their expression change at that news.

“He came to torment the village, just like his father!”

“He stole from our vendors!”

“He has to be punished!”

“We have to end that monster’s bloodline!”

“He injured two men already!”

“He’s already corrupt like him! He’ll be nothing but a murderer too!”

Lloyd yelped once a rock hit his cheek, a sob immediately following.

“... What should we do?” The Master of Earth had asked the others, their eyes filled with nothing but scorn and hatred at the sight of him.

“... Leave him to the villagers.” The Master of Fire spoke up with a sneer then turned away.

“But-”

“Let’s not forget. He’s Garmadon’s seed. Nothing good will come from his existence.” The Master of Earth says, cutting off the Master of Ice.

“Cole’s right Zane. It’s best to get rid of him now than have him growing up into even more trouble. We can barely handle Garmadon himself but to take Garmadon and his son? We might now win a fight like that.” The Master of Lightning says as they retreated to the back of the crowd, watching as they pelted him with stones and words.

Blood ran down the side of Lloyd’s mouth and the side of his head as he sobbed uncontrollably, unable to escape the villagers’ wrath. He looked to where the Knights of Fulgor were, seeing them laugh as they watched him while accepting candy from the same vendor he stole from before mounting their horses to leave. That was the last thing he saw from his right eye before a large rock hit him square in his opened eye, making him see stars as he screamed, wetting his clothes. He saw a villager approach with a torch then as he cried tears and blood. They were going to kill him… Burn him... He released a high sound of distress then- surprising him when he had it immediately be responded to with a furious roar.

Everything was a blur to him then but the villager had dropped the torch out of horror, the others screaming once, they all looked up to see Emperor Garmadon himself and three of his 4 generals ride in quickly on their Floating Cougars, the Emperor jumping off his Cougar before it even got close to the ground. He landed with an echoing thud on his feet, lifting his head- then gasping in horror at the sight of his son bound and injured, the torch that fell next to the pile of hay starting to ignite. He rushed over, stepping on the torch and outing it immediately as he dropped to his knees before his son, his right eye beginning to swell as blood and tears streamed from it.

“My son…” Garmadon choked out in anguish, using his claws to free him from the ropes that bound him, holding the shaking form of his son close as he curled up in his arms, pressing himself closer to the familiar scent of his father, sobbing into his chest. “My son… What have they done to you…” He whispered, closing his eyes tight, tears of fire rolling down his cheeks as Kozu stepped on the chest of the man who intended to burn the prince, two of his swords poised at his neck as he sobbed and apologized.

“Stop right there!” The Master of Ice yelled as they charged forward but Kozu did not stop, had decapitated the man and had held his bloodied swords in place, poised and ready to attack.

While Kozu, Cryptor and Pythor had gone in to fight the Ninja, Garmadon’s fiery tears had not stopped, not in the face of his now unconscious son. No, but his black, bitter rage did grow. Dark, destructive energy billowed from him as he sneered a seething growl escaping his lips. They… Will… Pay ! In that moment, the power given to him and the power he had all along synced and merged, changing him, making him shift into a form he hadn’t known he had access to. The battle between the ninja and his Generals came to a halt in the face of the massive black dragon with purple highlights that held something, someone precious in its front, right paw. Kozu’s eyes widened as he took air, black and purple smoke gathering in his maw as each flap of his massive wings echoed like thunder.

“Retreat!” He called hastily, getting on his Floating Cougar quickly, the other Generals quick to do so as well, knowing that they best move quickly once the Stone General reacted so critically.

“We need to leave. Now.” Cole says as he quickly mounted his horse, turning it around immediately and grabbing Jay as he ran by.

“Wait! What about the people?!” Kai yelled as Zane did the same from his horse, having no time to fetch theirs from where they had wandered farther away.

“There’s nothing we can do in the face of that but avenge them! We need to get far away! And fast!” Cole yelled over the loud rumbling that started up as the energy from the dragon’s mouth built.

“Will we make it?!” Jay asked, looking back as he gripped Cole’s waist tightly.

“We better!” Cole yelled as they pushed their horses as fast as they could go.

Kozu watched with the other Generals from above and behind their Emperor as he destroyed the village and a large perimeter outside of it in one blast, leaving behind nothing but a crater coated in black ash behind. No-one could have escaped that blast at least not without war bred horses that had the stamina to run that quickly for that long. Everyone in that village, man, woman and child perished that day, not even bodies left behind. Kozu had flown behind the dragon form the Emperor took that held wicked horns and spikes as they returned to the castle, this dragon far larger than even his father was, displaying frightening energy. So this was what his father would have been like if he had taken Garmadon’s power for himself. The Emperor had landed in the courtyard of the castle, barely able to hold and immediately began returning to his original form, cupping his arms to hold his son.

“Medic!” Cryptor had called and not even a second later, the castle doctor and her nurses came out to take his son he reluctantly let go of.

Once he had watched them take his son to the infirmary, all eyes turned to Pythor who was looking pale behind his scales. Both Cryptor and Kozu had watched as Garmadon had stalked towards the Serpentine General who was visibly shaking, sputtering out half formed excuses. Garmadon hadn’t addressed them, instead, he had stopped before the General, grabbed his staff and walked away. Cryptor was surprised he was only letting him get off with being demoted if taking his staff is anything to go by. But they soon realised how wrong they were about that once Garmadon used his powers of destruction to destroy Pythor’s staff- if only to gain access to the 4 fang blades inside it.

They all held a look of trepidation as he slotted them all in the statue of the Great Devour in the north corner of the courtyard that sent venom from the statue’s fangs trickling down into the hole that opened up, waking the slumbering serpent. A low hiss sounded as green, acidic mist rose up from the hole. The head of the Great Devour slid out before the rest of its large body followed. It roared then before noticing Garmadon and lowering its head, nuzzling him as Garmadon stroked the top of its head.

“This, will be the last time you defy my orders.” Garmadon finally spoke as Pythor stood there, frozen in fear. “Because of your negligence, my son suffered pain and trauma he should never have… And now… So will you.” He says with a glare as the Great Devourer coiled around him, its head next to the Emperor, waiting for a command.

“Swallow him.” Was all Garmadon says and the Devourer slithered forward, the spines around its head flared open as it came up to Pythor.

“W-wait! No, please!” Pythor begged as he slithered backwards.

He screamed as he tried to slither away but the Great Devourer struck, swallowing him whole.

“Do not leave the castle walls. I will send you back to sleep in a few moments.” Garmadon says coldly as he walked by and the Devourer curled up in a large coil, watching him as he turned into the castle.

He of course, headed directly for the infirmary where a nindroid was scanning his son for any further injuries.

“How is he?” Garmadon asked as he folded his hands behind his back, wringing them with anxiety.

“So far he doesn’t have anything that’s broken. He does have some impact bruising, swelling and cuts that will heal up on their own in a few hours.” The Umbrian says as the Nindroid stepped back but Garmadon sensed a but. “There is one critical damage however…” She says, turning to the fearful Emperor.

“That eye of his. The blunt trauma directly to it has severely damaged his cornea, iris and lens of it. It will heal in a little over a week but…” She says, glancing back at the still unconscious 9 year old prince as the Nindroid returned to add soothing balm to his injuries. “He’ll never see from that eye again.” She whispered and Garmadon was devastated, his heart squeezing for what his son had endured.

It couldn’t be helped that he was a curious child. It was just unfortunate that was the place he ended up… Son…

When Lloyd had regained consciousness, he was in his father’s quarters, a place he hasn’t been in for a long time. He remembered everything and had hated himself for not listening to the warnings he received. But more than that… He glared up at the ceiling as his eye throbbed with pain, his small body burning through their pain relief medication with his fast metabolism.

… He hated the Knights.

__________________ (And there you have it. The story of how Lloyd lost his sight and why he hates the Knights so much! The rest of the war continues tomorrow! Thanks for reading!) __________________ Ch1 | Ch2 | Ch3 | Ch4 | Ch5 | Ch6 | Ch7 | Ch8 | Ch9 | Ch10 | Ch11

[silver-ninja-of-the-tides]

Silver and Gold

Chapter 10--The Truth

(AO3 ver.)

(Prologue Tumblr ver.; AO3 ver.)

Blake’s POV

Days turned into weeks, and I had healed faster than most expected. But after I was fully healed I made sure to keep a few tabs on them.

In the times I had been with them, the Silver and Gold Ninjas had gotten stronger, and the bond they shared between the group of heroes had grown. In no time they were welcomed as part of the team more so than before, and Kai and Destiny were gradually growing closer to each other. She’s an amazing person, and I never thought I’d think of her as more than an acquaintance.

During the couple of days I was with them, they appeared to be comfortable around me. But a certain Red Ninja couldn’t be more annoyingly protective of his team.

As for right now, I was paying another little visit to the Ninjas. The elders had gone out for an errand and everyone else was in the living room.

Standing behind Kai, I looked over my shoulder at the study. “Hey Kai. Could I talk to you?”

A suspicious look clear in his eyes, he followed me to the study after excusing himself. With everyone entertained by that box in the room, this was going to go well.

Picking up the pace, I slipped behind the open door just as he entered the hallway, and he growled in frustration. Once he was deep enough into the room, I calmly closed the door and locked it. Out of reflex he assumed an offensive stance.

“Oh I’m not gonna fight you, Fire Boy,” Blake said. “I know you haven’t let your guard down. You never did for one second, did you? I figured out how wary you all were of me the minute I met this group. And you thought I wasn’t gonna notice, did you?”

He narrowed his eyes as I held my hands up in a mock surrender.

“Well, you got me. I’m a bad boy. But, so are you. You’re just tamed.”

“You better keep your mouth shut before I shut it for you.”

“You can try. I have everyone else’s guard down, and by the time I make my move you’ll be short a few members.”

“Short a few—” He balled his fists. "So you are the Overlord!”

"Really, Fire Boy? You wanna go there? I’m not exactly him.”

“Hey who’s in there?” It was Lloyd.

“It’s Bla—”

I covered Kai’s mouth and had him in a head lock before he had time to react.

“Kai?” Lloyd called. The Red Ninja’s cries of warning were muffled, and then I heard a new voice.

“Lloyd? What’s going on?” It was Nya.

“Kai and Blake are in there.” The doorknob wiggled. “Rrr. The door’s locked!”

The ninja slammed his foot onto mine, and with a yelp I released him. I countered with a deep purple force field and slammed Kai into the door. He barely rolled to the side away from another shot, and the door became coated in a layer of dark matter.

I heard Lloyd blast at the door, and seconds later he growled again. “My powers aren’t working!”

“Blake is the Overlord!” Kai yelled before catching a hard punch.

“What?!”

“I said, Blake is—AH!” He ducked down from a high kick and was quick to counter with Spinjitzu. But it was going to take more than a little fire to take me down.

I jumped up and slammed my palm into the floor, releasing a dark pulse throughout the room. A resonance that those who knew of it dreaded surged throughout the building, forcing Kai out of his fire pit and into a bookshelf. Suddenly the power went out in the apartment, and soon all of Ninjago City had lost power.

“The Horns of Destruction!” Zane exclaimed.

“The what?!” Des asked.

“Guys! I need your help!” Lloyd yelled.

I watched numerous books and scrolls rain onto Kai as I slowly rose. His eyes threatened to close, but that fire of his wasn’t out just yet.

He yanked himself to his feet and surrounded himself in a fiery tornado again, illuminating the room with an orange haze.

With a short yell I swept my leg under him only for the Ninja to tackle me to the ground. I ignored the sizzling pain in my leg as I thrust him off of me.

“Someone tell me why the door is purple!” Des said as Kai and I unsteadily stood.

“Dark matter?! How do we get past this?!” Jay exclaimed.

“Wait, I got it!” Cole exclaimed. “Everybody stand back!”

I heard the sound of rocks tumbling down a slope as the Fire Ninja and I exchanged blows, but the noise was cut off abruptly.

“It didn’t work!”

“Forget that! Bust down the door!” Janet yelled.

“What do you think we’re trying to do?!” Jay exclaimed. The two of us caught one another’s punches yet again, and we strained to overpower each other.

“You’re not getting anywhere near the team,” Kai spat. “Not while I have a say in it.”

“I admire your passion, Red Ninja, but I’m winning this fight,” I sneered. I kneed his gut and shoved him into the bookshelf again, and this time I made sure he wasn’t getting up.

3rd person POV

“Oh step aside, people!” Janet barked.

As she prepared to break down the door, it exploded right in the heroes’ faces and knocked them down. With the heroes stunned, Blake was able to walk out of the battle scarred study and down the hall. But upon hearing them groan, he turned to face them.

“Come find me if you heroes want to settle this once and for all.” Blake rolled out of the way of a stream of Lloyd’s lightning, making him shatter a window instead.

Both Nya and Jay rushed after the culprit, but they found only an open door.

“Kai?” Lloyd called.

The rest of the heroes poured into the study that was now in ruins. The doorway was simmering and smoking, and the door was in a million pieces. Scrolls and books littered the floor and desk, and one of the bookshelves was cracked. Lying unmoving at the base of the cracked bookshelf was the Red Ninja.

Nya sat her brother up. “Kai?“

No response.

”Kai? Oh please don’t be …” She noticed his chest slowly rising and falling, and a small wave of relief passed over the room.

“That’s it. I’m gonna say it. I told you so!” Jay snapped. “We should’ve just kicked him out while we had the chance!”

“We just had to be nice, didn’t we?“ Cole spat.

Footsteps running toward them brought the young heroes’ attention to the hallway, and the elders of the team appeared in the doorway. A look of quick shock passed over each of them.

“We leave for one hour and this is what happens,” Garmadon said.

“What happened in here?” Dr. Julien asked. “The power went out in the entire city!”

“Blake tuned out to be the Overlord,” Nya replied with disgust. “And we just had to bring him in.”

“The guy probably knows how we work now!” Jay exclaimed.

“Where is he now?” Wu asked.

“He just took off after he said to find him if we wanted to settle this,” Destiny said.

“Then we can’t waste any time,” Misako said. “We need to search the entire city now before he causes anymore damage.”

“This is Gayle Gossip reporting live in Ninjago City,” the TV stated.

“Oh great,” Janet grumbled.

“A major power outage has just recently swept over the entire city! So far no one knows what caused this power outage, but witnesses say it had something to do with some horns that they heard …”

“All right, guys, let’s hunt this Overlord down,” Cole ordered.

“What about Kai?” Nya asked.

The Black Ninja blinked. “Right. Um—”

“I’ll help with him,” Destiny said.

“And this study isn’t going to clean itself,” Misako said.

As the group took their positions, Nya and Destiny got Kai to his feet and each took an arm, leaving Lloyd and Misako to the study.

“When I get my hands on that guy I’m going to fling him into next week,” the Silver Ninja heatedly muttered.

“Just don’t leave me out on the action,” Nya said. “No one messes with my brother.” The girls situated Kai onto a bunk bed as Destiny was conjuring up multiple ways to dislocate a few of Blake’s limbs.

“And he was trying to act so smooth and—and all that and—ugh! And I even started to–“

A groan from Kai cut her off. “Nngh … what …” His eyes suddenly flew open, and he shot up to hit his head against the bottom of the top bunk. “Ow.”

“You okay?” Nya asked.

“Ugh … a little bruised but—heeey. Where’s—”

“He’s gone, Kai,” Destiny said, and the Red Ninja growled.

“I can’t believe I let him get away with this.”

“The team’s making a sweep right as we speak,” his sister said.

He attempted to get up when a sharp pain flared up in his back.

“Easy. We can’t have you going out there like this,” the Silver Ninja said.

“I can’t just sit here while the Overlord’s running around Ninjago City! I have to do something!”

“You’re not going anywhere if you can’t even sit up,” his sister argued.

“The falcon has located the Overlord!” Zane announced as he appeared in the doorway. His attention quickly went to his friend. “You’re awake!” The Nindroid walked in. “How are you feeling?”

“Good enough to get out there and teach that guy a lesson,” Kai replied, but Zane wasn’t buying any of it.

“Judging by your expression I would say that you are not good enough to get out there to teach the Overlord a lesson. You are not going after him.”

“Zane! We’re heading out!” Lloyd called, and the White Ninja looked to the girls.

“We’re on our way!” Nya replied to the Green Ninja, and the trio took off.

“So you’re just gonna leave me here?!” Kai protested.

Destiny stopped at the doorway, and she strained to keep from turning around. “We don’t need you getting hurt more than you already are because of your hot head.” I’m not letting you get hurt more.

Once she left him to catch up with the others, Zane led the way his falcon provided.

“How many times are we going to go running through the streets of Ninjago City to find people?” Jay asked.

“As many times as we need to,” Wu answered. “And this time, we will find him and put a stop to him.”

“I hope so,” Cole said. “I wanna fight this guy already!”

“That makes two of us,” Destiny replied.

As the team ran through the streets, she thought back to how her sister discovered Spinjitzu. If Janet had that power, then maybe she did, too.

So why haven’t I done it yet? “Hey uh, question. How did you guys … y’know … figure out how to do Spinjitzu?”

“It will only be unlocked when the key is ready to be found,” Wu said. “Patience.”

Okay so I just have to go through the motions, then. Good advice for someone who’s never heard of Spinjitzu.

Up above, the falcon cawed as they arrived at the main square. The city was bustling with repairs and usual city activities, but there was no sign of Blake.

"Anybody see him?” Lloyd asked.

“He should be here,” Zane replied. “And I am!”

Citizens and heroes alike turned to see Blake on a roof.

The boy curled his hands into fists and released them. “Looks like you’re one Ninja short.” The deep purple flecks in his eyes brightened with anticipation. “Gold Ninja! You have a choice!”

All eyes turned to Janet, who held her sister back before stepping forward.

“Surrender yourself to me and I won’t harm the people. If you don’t … well … you’re smart enough to figure it out.”

She narrowed her eyes at the blonde, whose hand drifted to his jacket pocket. “You think I’m going down that easily?! You want me? Then get down here!”

“Hmph. I was told Ninjas never seemed to go down easily!” Blake leapt off the roof and slammed his fist into the ground, sending a massive shockwave throughout the square. Panic surged in the citizens as they ran for cover, and the Horns of Destruction echoed in the air as the power flickered.

“Everyone get inside!” Lloyd warned the people.

“It’s all of us against him, guys!” Jay said.

“Never underestimate the enemy!” Wu said. “Especially the Overlord!”

“Cut off all the exits! We are not letting him get away again!” Cole ordered.

“Ninjaaa-GO!” the Ninjas exclaimed. Six tornadoes shot off to surround Blake, and a gold one led Destiny and Nya straight for him.

“Apparently I can change clothes!” Janet said from behind Blake as she briefly examined her suit.

Blake was thrust back by Wu’s Spinjitzu, but he was quick to block a blow from Wu’s staff and kick Destiny back. Nya was able to swipe her leg under the blonde, and the earth began to shake as a crack rapidly travelled to him. The trio quickly moved out of the way before shards of earth popped up. With one swipe of a shield of dark matter, the shards became corrupted and shattered.

“Ice!” Zane and Janet barely landed a hit on Blake, who merely threw the shield at them. Luckily it was intercepted by a blast of wind, and the rest of the team continued to keep Blake on his toes. And a fight like this wasn’t complete without someone catching it all on a news camera.

“Reporting live from the scene of the action, it seems like all of Ninjago isn’t safe after all,” Gayle stated from a safe distance. “But luckily the Ninjas of Ninjago and their new friends are here to save the day!”

After getting hit by a kick from Nya, Blake rolled to the side to let Zane get pelted by a stream of water.

“Sorry!” Destiny called. Shortly afterwards Cole was shocked by one of Jay’s attacks.

“Aahh! Aim for him! Not me!” Cole exclaimed.

“Well it’s not my fault he keeps moving!” Jay fired back.

“Focus!” Wu scolded.

Blake climbed back onto a roof, and Janet wasted no time in using the wind to catch up to him. Within seconds they were exchanging fierce punches and kicks. Upon spotting them, Destiny swiftly hoisted herself up toward the duo. Just as she reached the top, Janet was shoved to the ground.

“Hey!” she yelled, and Blake turned around. “Nobody picks a fight with my sister!”

The boy merely smiled. “Destiny, just the girl I wanted to see. Besides your sister, that is.”

The Silver Ninja surrounded herself with a tendril of water as her sister motioned for the others to surround him.

“Keep him occupied,” Janet mouthed.

"You fight her, you fight me.”

Blake rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to speak.

“Fire!“ a familiar voice shouted from behind Destiny. Blake ducked from the blast of fire, and his irritation flared greatly.

“Kai!?” Cole exclaimed.

The Red Ninja landed beside Destiny with his sword at the ready.

“You’re supposed to be inside!” she hissed.

“I’m not letting him get away this time!”

“Now’s not the time to prove yourself!”

Blake rolled his eyes again. “Fine. This’ll make things a whole lot easier for me.”

To prove him wrong, the others finally had him surrounded.

“Hmm. Let’s see. Nine of us against one of you? Huh. I find that easier for us,” Jay mocked.

“And this time, you have nowhere to hide!” Lloyd added. “Now!”

As one the Ninjas fired their elements at Blake. A bright light flared up upon impact, and the force was enough to knock the team off the roof. When the light subsided, there wasn’t a single trace of Blake.

The Green Ninja moaned as he began to sit up. “… Is everyone all right?” The rest of the group muttered replies as they sat up.

“Is he gone?” Nya asked.

“I’m not quite sure this fight is over just yet,” Zane said. “His energy is still here.”

The team slowly got to its feet, and citizens hesitantly emerged from their safe havens. As the heroes scanned the square, something in Janet was warning her to stay alert.

Movement caught her green eyes, and it took her seconds to register a dark substance in a person’s hand.

"Look out!” Janet yelled. She shoved her sister out of the way, and a stinging cold sensation consumed her whole being.

(First chapter) (Next chapter) (Previous chapter)

[eyeofthewolfe]

Evil Zane Fanfic (Part 1)

Prologue and Chapter 1

For @valerei but also for the fandom who loves Ninjago and the concept of Evil Zane. More to come!

Prologue

               A computer’s hard drive is dependent on every single part working together to achieve power and stability. Then the software delivers an elaborate code that determines the purpose of the programming which gives the computer “life”. Within the “life” of the computer comes possibility. But the possibility is bound by one string: motive.

               Robots, as more humanized computers, have achieved a greater purpose in Ninjago than arguably the standardized computers. Assistant Lifeforms have provided aid through their motive of assistance. Small mechanical robots provide an unbeatable work ethic with their motive of work. Nindroids destroyed New Ninjago City, attacked civilians, and brought fear across Ninjago with their motive of following direct orders from the Digital OverBorg. And the first known android, deemed “Nindroid” from its, or his, friend, protects the people and peace of Ninjago because of a simple motive- “to protect those who cannot protect themselves.”

               For years, decades even, the young-looking android had followed his motive directly until it drove his hardware to the grave.

               However, the software remained in a digital state, letting the robot be reborn in a new body. The software was scrambled but fixable, the code still in effect. The motive of the nindroid still was bound to his possibility…but something-someONE- was after it. With no motive, there is no possibility.

               But with a new motive…. comes new possibility.

  Chapter 1

“Kai- look out!”

Kai swerved his elemental dragon to the left to dodge a cannon ball that soared right past him. He steadied the dragon and peered up at Cole. “Thanks for the warning! That came out of nowhere.”

Cole chuckled as Jay let out another huge sneeze causing his dragon to spew sparks. The water dragon drew back from the sparks, but then flew in close. “Do you feel worse?” Nya called out to her boyfriend.

Jay wiped his nose with his mask. “No, I’m fine.” Jay weakly responded, his voice tight and clogged.

“You probably have a cold, Jay,” Zane remarked, flying a little distance away. “You need to-“

“I’m fine, shiny,” Jay snapped back. “The mission is too important.”

With that, another explosion came from under them and Cole easily dodged a speeding cannonball.

“Jay’s right,” The ex-ghost ninja proclaimed. “We can’t let those thieves get away with their bounty!”

“And Lloyd!” Kai added, his fist on fire.

Earlier that week, the ninja got word that a gang of criminals had escaped Kryptarium Prison led by no other than the Mechanic. They had all gunned for the ninja, but the Mechanic had special interest in the green ninja. They had set a trap at the Ninjago City Bank, activating security, winning the attention of the ninja, and then capturing Lloyd with vengestone. The ninja had tracked the crooks to a rocky terrain where they were currently speeding away shooting cannonballs at the ninja. Lloyd, in vengestone crafted handcuffs, was located in the first car’s passenger seat- side by side the Mechanic.

“Alright team,” Cole directed as substitute leader, “We know the battle plan. Overthrow the vehicles and extract Lloyd. Kai, be careful with your flames and the cars. Nya, don’t get the terrain wet, we don’t want any slipping on these cliffs. Jay, take it easy. And try not to sneeze. Zane, you take the lead car. I’ll fly ahead and make a wall to cut them off. Watch each others backs!” Cole commanded before speeding ahead.

Nya glanced at Kai. “He makes a pretty good battle plan.” She remarked. Kai shrugged before leading the dive.

The four ninja dove towards the line of weaponized cars that sped off across the rocky cliffs. Explosion after explosion rocked the terrain but the ninja were ready to attack. Kai and Jay landed on the last car, Nya on the middle, and Zane on the front.

“It’s the nindroid!” The Mechanic roared. Zane put up his fists, ready to fight. “Leave ‘im as unharmed as possible boys…I want a few spare parts.” The mechanic sneered as the crooks cracked their knuckles.

“Cracking knuckles is actually bad for your finger bones,” Zane commented. One of the men opened his mouth to beg to differ but Zane was too quick. He kicked the guy off the car and turned to the rest.

Nya landed softly on car two and swiftly punched two unexpected crooks off the car. With a quick spurt of water the third crook-who was a nindroid in a undercover sweatshirt- flew straight off the cliff. “Whoops,” Nya whispered before turning to deal with the driver.

“A pajama woman!” Cried out Captain Soto as he waved his hook in the air while driving. “How dare ye plunder my mechanical vessel!”

“Soto?!” Nya cried out. She hesitated, remembering when he was an ally against Nadakhan. But then again, that timeline never existed so technically he was never an ally. Nya sighed, sad to hurt an out-of-time friend. “Sorry Soto, wish we could be friends!” She kicked the ancient pirate out of the seat and took over as driver. She placed her hand on her right ear, activating her fabricated communication device. “Middle car has been overthrown. Kai, Jay, what is your status?”

“Not good!” Kai screamed in response as a bearded criminal clicked the safety off on his revolver. Jay was not the best partner, for his punches were weak and his actions were dizzied. Kai had thrown off three men but including the driver they had to deal with four more. Kai had to worry more about sick Jay then his own safety.

The bearded crook lifted his gun to level with Kai’s head. “Any last words, red head?” he smirked, ready to fire.

“How about Ninja-GOO!” Kai yelled before disappearing into his spinjitzu tornado.

The bearded man screamed as the tornado flung him off the car. Kai managed to knock off two others before spinning to a stop. Kai glanced back at the criminals rolling in the dust behind the car. “Why does everyone assume I’m a red head?” Kai pondered before turning to the blue ninja.

Jay and the last criminal were hand in hand, struggling on top of the moving car. Jay, dizzied by the movement, was weak in his struggling, causing the young criminal to back him up toward the edge of the car.

Jay sniffled, his head screaming in pain. “You are…really strong….”Jay wheezed. The criminal laughed. “Someone seems a little under-the-weather!” He laughed, ready to push the ninja off the car.

Jay laughed weakly. “Ha ha…that’s..fu- uh-uh-ahCHOO!” Jay sneezed, sending a surge of lightning through his opponents’ body. The man screamed and collapsed off the car, almost taking Jay with him. Kai snatched Jay at the last second.

“Thanks…Kai,” Jay coughed. Kai placed Jay down and quickly clicked a seatbelt on him. “Stay here,” Kai directed. “You’re too sick to fight.”

Jay nodded before feverishly rambling about water. Kai shook his head and turned to deal with the driver.

  Cole eyed the first car as it slid around the corner a mile or so away. At the top of the peak, Cole saw the titanium ninja easily holding off the many men on the lead car. Lloyd was still gagged and handcuffed in the passenger seat with the Mechanic was at the wheel.

Cole lifted his fists as he caused massive rocks and boulders to climb from out of the ground right behind  him. He kept his power going until the rock wall lifted for a few dozen feet high. He dropped his fists and clapped the dust off of his hands.

  Zane swung the last thief off the car as the ground shook. The robot turned and watched the rock wall grow only hundreds of feet in front of him. The Mechanic slammed his fist on the wheel and screamed in rage for he knew he was defeated. “You nasty ninja!” He screamed, turning to the metal android. “You wanna play dirty, then I’ll play dirty too!” The mechanic lifted his foot and before Zane to react he kicked Lloyd straight out of the car and off the cliff.

“NO!” Zane bellowed and then lunged off the car after him. He rolled in the dirt causing a cloud of dust, but Zane wasn’t fazed. He peered over the edge.

“Zane!” Lloyd screamed. The red bandana fluttered in the breeze, undone from the sudden movement, but it had miles down to travel before touching the ground. The bandana would be fine, but Lloyd would not.

The handcuffs had snagged a ledge just an arm reach away from the top of the cliff. Lloyd dangled helplessly for if he fell, the vengestone would not let him create his dragon. “Zane!” Lloyd screamed again, his green eyes bulging with pain.

  Lloyd stared at the glittering robot that was staring back at him. The robot fell on his stomach and extended his arm to grab the chains.

But then he stopped. The robotic arm went stiff, and Zane glared transfixed on the green ninja.

“Zane, what are you doing?!” Lloyd gasped, his wrists exploding with pain. The robot just stared back with an empty expression.

The ledge cracked under the weight of the handcuffed ninja and Lloyd screeched. Lloyd still hung vulnerably in the air, seconds away from falling to his death. “ZANE!!” Lloyd yelled, tears starting to stream from his eyes. “ZANE, HELP ME!!!”

All Zane did was cock his head a little, his blue eyes flickering as if his battery was dying.

Lloyd stared at his friend as the ledge broke into pieces.

  Nya watched as Lloyd slid off the cliff and Zane lunge after him. “Zane’s got him,” Nya murmured to herself as she stepped harder on the gas pedal in pursuit of the Mechanic.

  Kai and the driver struggled with the wheel but Kai had enough control to dodge Zane who was lying next to the cliff. Kai, who had more important things to worry about, didn’t think twice about Zane.

  Cole watched Lloyd fly out of the car and Zane jump after him. Cole tensed, ready to run to help, but then paused. The Mechanic was headed right to him, and was that a rocket launcher?

“Zane, I’ve detected an unknown virus in your-“ P.I.X.A.L. chimed in, her voice synthesized with worry.

“Not now!” Zane interrupted as he lunged toward Lloyd as he slid off the edge.

  The ledge broke, and Lloyd screamed his friends name one more time as his body jerked downward.

And then stopped moving.

Immense pain shot through his wrists as Zane caught the handcuffs. “Lloyd?” Zane asked, looking down at the now-injured ninja.

“Who else?” Lloyd gasped as Zane dragged him back on top of the cliff. “What happened?”

Zane stared at Lloyd. “What do you mean?”

Lloyd cradled his wrists. “You froze, like you didn’t recognize me or you…didn’t want to save me.”

Zane lost eye contact for a second. “I have…no recollection of that. I reached down, the ledge broke, and I caught you.”

Lloyd shook his head and opened his head to speak but he was interrupted by an eruption and a giant quake down the road.

  Kai took control of the vehicle as the rock wall ahead of him burst apart. He slammed on the breaks and skidded to a stop. Jay made a disgusted sound, then turned and threw up over the side of the car.

  Cole saw the rocket fire straight over his head. Without thinking twice he hurled himself over the edge of the cliff as the wall exploded behind him. He powered up his dragon and swooped upwards, but there was something there to meet him.

A boulder, a basketball sized chunk of rock from the rockwall, slammed into his head knocking the earth ninja unconscious. The dragon blinked away with Cole’s consciousness and the ninja dropped like a stone.

Nya saw and felt the wall explode and watched Cole jump to safety. But she saw the boulder and she saw Cole get hit.

She instantly hopped out of her seat and jumped after Cole, her water dragon activated. Within seconds her dragon had caught Cole and turned back to the rest of the team.

  The team was hit badly. Zane was wrapping Lloyd’s broken wrists while Nya was re-hydrating Jay. Kai sat next to Cole, who was clutching his head and groaning.

“The Mechanic got away,” Kai pointed out, but nobody responded or even acknowledged that he had said something. He sighed, leaned back, and waited for the Destiny’s Bounty to find them.

[aweebwrites]

Celestial Influence 6

Three months have passed since the disappearance of the ninja and Ninjago has been prospering- that is until villains realised there was no ninja to stop them and attacks all across the continent happened daily. Certainly the other elemental masters stepped in, some doing so reluctantly but as great as their fighting skills and powers were, they weren't the ninja's level and only hot the villain half the time. The only fighter out there that almost always got the villain was Samurai X but Pixal was only one person and the villains were many. People were torn. They still thought that they were better off without the ninja but others were tired of the high risks and damages. Without Ninjago's heros around, things became… Difficult. People lost hope. There were many who tried to find the ninja, tried to convince their old Sensei to bring them back but he couldn't help them, even if he wanted to. The ninja's locations were unknown to all but themselves. But he had confidence they would return when they were ready.

He had to.

_____________

"Ready boy?" Kai asked as he held a large ball of semi cooled lava in hand, grinning at the dragon no bigger than him that was made of red fire, scales looking like fine cracks along his skin.

Said dragon gave an affirmative growl, flicking his tail side to side as he crouched, horned wings spread wide.

"Alright." The fire elemental grinned then tossed the ball hard, leaving it to rocket into the Forest of Tranquillity.

Flare was quick to dart after it, his wings flapping quickly, leaving a trail of red fire as he caught up to the lava ball. He opened his maw, ready to catch it- when a blur of orange snatched it. Flare gave a confused sound as he looked around, hovering in place. He looked back to the Temple of Fire then noticed the orange form of his sister flying back with the ball in paw and Flare gave a protesting whine.

"Oh boy." Kai chuckled as Spark flew before him, dropping the ball then dropped on all fours, her tail wiggling eagerly as she looked at her creator, wanting praise. "That wasn't very nice Spark." He says as Flare landed then rushed over to him, burying his face into Kai's abdomen as he chittered and whined.

"See? You've made Flare upset now." Kai says, stroking the red dragon's scales, between the bumps on his head that suggested growing horns.

Spark's wings drooped at being reprimanded and seeing her brother's unhappiness. She looked down at the ball then took it up in her maw and nudged the red dragon. Flare looked back at the orange dragon then blinked once she dropped and nudged the ball towards him. Flare turned away from his creator then hesitantly turned to her. She settled on her stomach with her wings pressed flat to the ground, showing she meant no harm. He then looked at the ball then at her before walking over and sniffing at the ball. He then moved passed it and nuzzled his sister with a soft, forgiving croon that Spark eagerly returned, her tail wagging happily. Flare then picked up the ball and turned to Kai now, tail wagging eagerly, making the fire elemental chuckle.

"Good job." He praised then looked over to Spark. "You too Spark. Both of you can keep playing but don't go too far- and try not to set the forest on fire again." He told them and they chirped then took air, Flare tossing the basketball sized ball at Spark who wacked it with her tail and they both flew off to get it.

Kai shook his head fondly then walked off the bridge into the temple he's called home these past three months. He's done some renovations so it actually looked like a temple. It was one big space because walls were choresome, especially when he had no affinity for earth. The only reason he could slightly manipulate lava was because of the heat it held. He walked towards the high platform and up the golden steps there towards his bed. It was more of a very cozy nest if he were to be honest. It took a while to get the soft materials to not catch fire just from the heat of the temple but he managed. He made four separate nests at the base of the platform for the creation of his fire, his dragons. They were made when he spent his first week on his own messing around with his new powers, undergoing trial and error. His intentions were to just make fire shaped dragons, not actual dragons but he had them now and he loved them to bits. Speaking of…

"Heath, Solaris really?" Kai sighed at the blue and almost golden looking dragons that laid sprawled out in their large nest.

Solaris made a curious sound as Heath only grumbled.

"Your nests are just as big." Kai says, putting his hands on his hips. "Go on, shoo." He fanned them off, golden bracelets glinting as he did.

They grumbled but moved, climbing down into their own nests. Kai flopped down into his with a sigh, staring up at the sky through the open skylight directly over all of their nests. Rain wasn't a problem. It always evaporated before getting anywhere remotely close to the temple. The heat was that intense. Not that Kai minded or could even tell. He just knew that the volcano the temple was attached to was quite happy with his presence. It has erupted once or twice but it shows no sign of sleeping. The sky was getting darker. The sun was setting. Today was the day. Each week, they all reserved one day to give a sign that they were ok. They… His friends. The ninja.

Could they even call themselves that anymore? He didn't know. But he missed them all. He reached a hand up towards the sky, focusing his powers to send fire streaking lightly across the sky once the time was right. Then he waited. He doesn't think he'd ever get over the consequences that came with earning this power but he does know that he's willing to work towards at least trying to make it up to everyone.

A small smile tugged his lips once he notices the flashes in the sky from Jay. It was nice to know that he was alright. But he couldn't help but wonder if he really was. He was hit harder than all of them after all. He watched as the moon slowly peeked over the skylight growing full as it shone down over him. Zane was alive and well. Good. He missed the Nindroids logic and wit. Yes, he was a little upset that he hid it from them, the fact that they've taken lives but… He understood why. The full rainbow appearing around the moon brought relief to his heart. Nya was also ok. He wasn't used to being away from her for so long but they both needed a break, needed time alone. He knows that he's kinda overprotective but you can't really blame him. Not when they grew up alone. Ah… They should really check in on their parents...

The low rumble of thunder filled his ears, a clear sign Cole was thriving. He liked to imagine that wherever Cole was taking a break had cake available 24/7 but the chances of that is unlikely. He was pretty sure none of them were near any city, village or anywhere with a population. The bright aurora travel across the sky made him smile a little. Lloyd's alright too. Good. He was glad. He really didn't want to leave him alone. He was just as much of a brother to him as Nya was his sister. He sighs softly as he watched the brilliant streams of light dance on then ebb away. He missed them. He blinked once he spotted Flare out of the corner of his eyes, looking at him with big golden eyes. He turned over, looking at all four of them as they gave him large eyes before he sighed.

"Fine. You can sleep with me for the night." He caved then found himself in the middle of a dragon pipe, all four of them nuzzling him, purring happily. "Yeah, yeah. You're welcome." He smiled, stroking their snouts.

Heath lifted his head then growled, covering his body with his intense blue flames and Kai sat up, frowning as the other three followed suit, glaring at the space behind them, at the passageway below that lead to the empty back of the temple he hadn't figured out what to do with yet.

"Woah, easy. I'm a friend, not a foe." Kai gasped at the familiar voice then pushed his way forward, past his overprotective dragons.

"Cole?!" He gasped, seeing the Earth ninja standing there with two skulkin behind him.

"Kai?!" He gasped, eyes wide before he grinned. "Kai!" He yelled, running towards the fire ninja as said ninja hopped out of his nest, floating down to meet him halfway.

"Cole! Boy am I glad to see you!" Kai laughed as they hugged tightly.

"You took the words right out of my mouth! So how've yah been?" Cole asked with a grin as he pulled back to look at his friend.

"Not bad, not bad. How'd you find me though?" Kai couldn't help but ask.

"Coincidence! I use the old passageway between Ninjago and the Underworld every once in a while. I ended up there, the skulkin kinda immediately declared me their leader and I rolled with it." Cole shrugged, gesturing to his two generals Kruncha and Nukal. "They mentioned something about Garmadon but eh." He shrugged.

"The Underworld? Not bad. I forgot about that old passage. At least I know what to do with the area now. I've been living here the whole time with these guys." He says, gesturing to his dragons as all four approached, their flames low but they were still wary of the newcomers. "This is Flare, Spark, Solaris and Heath." He introduced and Cole looked over the multicolored dragons with an impressed look.

"Nice. I didn't know that more dragons lived in Ninjago." Cole says, crossing his arms.

"There aren't. I sorta made them with my powers." Kai shrugged, a grin on his face.

"Really." Cole says, intrigued. "That's pretty cool. So you're dragon king now?" He asked, gesturing to his clothes.

Kai looked down at his shirtless form with gold bracelets on his upper arms and wrists, at his dragonscale necklace, at his red ripped jeans tucked into high black boots. He adorned gold earrings and a thin circlet just under his bangs that dipped down to the middle of his forehead in a V shape. All that combined with the fur lined cape must have given him that impression.

"Er. Not exactly. I found an old mine in the forest full of gold and lava. I messed around and kinda just… Made these. Then the dragons eat animals and brought this pelt back so i thought why not? Solaris burned my shirt on accident while figuring out her powers so yeah." Kai shrugged then eyed Cole.

"So what about you Mr. Grim Reaper?" He asked with crossed arms and an arched brow.

"I thought why not go with the flow." Cole shrugged.

He adorned a black cloak that had the hood down as well as a black tank top and black skinny jeans that held several chains and glinting metal with matching combat boots to top it all off.

"I'm in the Underworld, I have a Scythe so why no dress up for the fun of it?" Cole grinned and Kai laughed.

"Good point." Kai nods. "Come on. We have a lot to catch up on." Kai gestured to a nearby stone bench and both males walked over to it.

___________

"... You should visit sometimes." Cole smiled after telling him all about his time in the Underworld.

"Probably. Spykors still give me the creeps. Especially with how big they can get." He says with a grimace stroking Heath's head as he laid his head in his lap.

"They won't bother you as long as I'm in charge, don't worry." Cole smiled, stroking the ever excitable Sparks' head, leaving her purring happily.

"Man, I still can't believe I missed you using the passageway." Kai chuckled as he leaned back against the bench.

"Well you weren't always the sharpest tool in the box." Cole chuckled.

"You didn't notice me this whole time either." Kai pointed out and Cole laughed.

"Fair point." He hummed then sat back, a comfortable silence settling between them.

That silence gave way to a mutual thought.

"I've been thinking…" Kai spoke quietly.

"That we should check up on the others?" Cole asked and Kai grinned and nodded.

"Yeah! Exactly!" He says eagerly then took Heath's face in his hands, nuzzling the dragon's snout with his nose. "I mean, three months is enough time to at least visit, right?" Kai asked, looking to Cole as Heath watched Kai unimpressed.

"I think so. The real quest would be finding everyone." Cole says, and Kai nods.

"I think the only place Zane would go is his pop's old place." Kai says, thinking aloud.

"I wanna say Jay's at his parents' junkyard but I don't think he would be there. I mean, I'm pretty sure this whole mess killed everything between me and my dad after all." Cole says sadly.

"I doubt it. If he really thinks any of what happened was willing and intensional then I'll 'talk' some sense into him." Kai says determinedly and Cole shot him a thankful smile. "Lloyd's the one we need to find. Once we do, he'll find everyone else." He told Cole who nodded.

"We can use the Aurora to find him." He told the fire nin who then frowned.

"But that means waiting a week." Kai pointed out and Cole frowned, rubbing his lightly stubbled chin.

"How about we use the week to try and find the others. If we don't then we'll find Lloyd instead." Cole suggested.

"Sounds like a plan." Kai grinned then grimaced when Heath licked his face with a forked tongue, just to be an asshole. "Heath!" He yelled as Cole laughed.

_____________

"Alright. I'll be gone for about a week but I'll be back. Heath, you're in charge." Kai told his dragons eat the next day, all but Heath looking sad to hear he was leaving. "Don't worry. I'll be back soon. Until then, don't leave the forest. There's plenty of animals in the forest for you all to eat. Stay safe, ok?" He says, stroking them all, pausing once he came to Heath, smiling at the blue dragon.

"Don't worry Heath. I know you'll miss me, no need to show it." Kai chuckled, stroking his smooth scales.

He wasn't very comfortable with leaving them alone. They were babies when he first created them and they still are, only learning how to fly a month back. He gave them all a lingering look and a heartfelt goodbye before turning to Cole.

"Let's go find Zane." He says and Kai nodded, both of them taking air.

Kai heard the goodbye calls of his dragons and felt his heart clench. Here's to getting this all done in a week.

____________

"Nice to know this place hasn't changed." Kai says, his breath coming out as fog as he and Cole walked through the Birch forest, their boots crunching in the fresh looking snow.

"Yeah." Cole agrees, keeping his ears open. "There it is." He spoke up, spotting the thicker tree.

"What's that?" Kai asked, noticing something white dart by up ahead.

"I didn't hear anything. I hope it's not those pesky treehorns again." Cole says, looking around warily.

"No. It looked like some kind of bird…" Kai says with a friend as they came to a stop before the tree house.

"My Falcon to be exact." They whirled around once an awfully familiar voice spoke then gasped, seeing Zane smiling shyly behind them in a full suit of white, his trench coat holding white fur around the hood that matched the tops of his shoes.

"Zane!" Both males yelled, rushing over to hug their friend.

Zane couldn't help his smile as he hugged them back, missing them so.

"It is good to see you friends. I had feared…" He trailed off as his smile fell.

"Ah ah! None of that crap. You're our friend and you always will be." Kai huffed but grinned as the white falcon landed on Zane's shoulder, looking like he originally did- but white with ever glowing blue eyes. "I have a feeling we have a lot to catch up on." He says lightly and the Nindroid smiled hopefully.

___________

"So wait- am I the only one who hasn't been testing out my powers?!" Cole asked as they all sat in the trunk's hollow, sipping hot cocoa.

"It appears so." Zane mused with a small smile as the Falcon sat comfortably in his nest not too far away, preening its white feathers.

"But I don't get it. No offense Zane on what I'm about to say but it's the best way I can express what I mean." Kai forewarned and Zane nods his permission. "The Falcon was just a piece of machinery on your bike. A tool even. How did it go from transformer bird to- well… Realistic bird?" He asked, confused as he set his empty cup aside.

"I can't provide you with the specifics unfortunately. I had started to feel… Lonely after a few days so I had gone to the Samurai X cave and retrieved my friend. It only reminded me that I am not particularly fond of its new design. I was hesitant to attempt to use my powers on him but I wanted him to feel like I did. To feel…" Zane struggled a moment to find the right word, meeting their eyes as he did. "Alive." He whispered with awe and both Kai and Cole shared a look, minds thinking the same thing.

They hadn't stopped to think of the physical changes their new powers may have caused though they should have. After all, Lloyd had horns when he activated his powers. Zane still looked like a Nindroid but he felt… Different, alive. They didn't feel any different. Although… Now that the topic crossed their mind, ever since Kai had unlocked these powers, there's been a warmth that has settled itself into his chest. It felt alive, flickering like flames but it was subtle enough to be easily forgotten. Cole had also felt more solid than ever. It made him feel almost invincible.

"I took that feeling and channeled it into my Falcon and it became like this." Zane finished and they smiled, happy for him at least.

"That's really cool." Cole smiled as he set his empty mug down. "I didn't think you'd have food items around being a Nindroid and all." He commented, noticing the plates neatly stacked away.

"About that… While it still isn't necessary to eat, it appears that I have somehow regained my previous abilities to consume food items. I discovered this during an internal assessment." Zane told them as he stood, taking up the cups as he stood then walked over the small sink to rinse them. "I'm curious to learn what changes these powers have brought forward in each of you physically. Certainly Lloyd has horns but something tells me the changes are much more subtle. Perhaps we could find out once we're all in one place again." He suggested and Kai grinned.

"Funny you should mention the others. We're planning on finding everyone. It'll be just a checkup but if we're all in agreement, we can be a team again." He shrugged and Zane looked hopeful.

"To be honest, I… I have missed you all. I'd very much like to be a team once more… If everyone else is in agreement…" He says with a one shouldered shrug, not very confident they would want him with them still.

Not after how he had lied…

"Heck yeah!"

"Of course!" Were Kai and Cole's immediate responses, a grin adorning both of their faces.

"We just need to find the others. Nya and Jay. We'll find Lloyd whenever he uses his aurora again." Cole says, resting his cheek in his hand.

"Nya and Jay…" Zane says in consideration. "I doubt Jay would stay at his parent's place but it's the only place I could think of. I'm positive he wouldn't be anywhere near New Ninjago City." He says and Kai nods.

"We were thinking that too. Doesn't hurt to check…" He shrugged and Zane nodded.

"But first, I should get us something to eat. I hope you don't mind. I've picked up hunting a little for meals." He pointed out and Kai grinned, showing off sharp fangs Zane didn't miss.

"Well what do you know? So have I…" He hummed, summoning one of his sword.

____________

"Mmm! I won't lie, I've missed your cooking Zane." Cole grinned as he leaned back, stomach pleasantly full.

"And I won't lie. I missed cooking for my friends." Zane smiled as his Falcon preened itself from his own meal.

He seems to like the fact he's able to function and eat like a true bird of prey. He enjoys hunting a lot and often spares Zane from hunting by bringing back ninja rabbits and more.

"We might as well hunker down for the night. We'll go out looking for Jay and Nya tomorrow." Kai says, taking the plates to the small kitchenette on reflex.

He was always after Zane in the plate duties.

"Uh. I'm not sure the bed can hold." Cole says, looking down at the bed they were using as a couch.

"Oh I don't sleep up here." Zane says and they turned to look at him.

"Up here?" Both Cole and Kai asked him at the same time.

The Falcon squawked as it flew out from his perch then landed on the ground in the middle of the room. It then pecked the ground and a circular piece of the floor sunk down before the ground began to collapse down into a spiral staircase supported by ice.

"Woah." Cole says as he stood then headed down, awing at the huge room filled with ice and crystals.

There was a work table at one corner, a small library in the other, a sort of living space everywhere else and two different sets of birch doors on opposite sides of the walls.

"The door to the right leads to the bathroom and the one to the left leads to the sleeping areas." Zane informed Cole as he came down the steps, Cole looking around in awe.

"This place is way cool…" Cole says in awe as he walked over to the large white couch that had a light gray fur blanket thrown over the back. "How did you even afford all of this?" He asked Zane, looking to the Nindroid who only smiled secretively.

"I have my ways." He says lightly.

"Woah. This is epic. Makes my Fire Temple look like nothing!" Kai says as he came down as well, drying his hands still.

"Actually, I'd say your fire temple would be slightly above Zane's place here but only because of the gold and red scheme." Cole says lightly, flopping down on the couch. "What are the chances of you having a TV?" Cole asked, sitting in an actual couch making him realise how much he missed the device.

"It's certain." Zane says, picking up the remote from the ice table before it and pressing a button.

A panel in the ground shifted back and the flat screen tv came up, turning on once it was fully out.

"No seriously. Where do you get the money for this?" Kai asked, flopping down next to Cole as he accepted the remote.

"Well…" Zane says, thinking back to when he first arrived, distraught to see the forest with barely an inch of snow.

He had rectified that immediately with a snowstorm but the lack of thick snow revealed bits of valuable rock crystals he broke from the soil and stone…

"Let's just say I got lucky." He says, walking past them to pick up the small piece he kept for himself then tossed it towards them.

Cole caught it without looking then brought it into his line of sight.

"Oh. Nice." He says, looking over the clear crystal with Kai and Zane smiles.

____________

"See if you can find the others." Zane told his Falcon the next day and the ivory bird of prey squawked then flew off from Zane's arm, taking air and flying far.

"With the Falcon, we should be able to find everyone quicker." Cole says as he and Kai walked over. "Who knows? Maybe he'll find Lloyd." He grinned.

"For some reason, I don't think finding Lloyd will be that easy." Kai says and Zane nodded his agreement.

"We should get going. We have a long journey ahead of us." Zane says and they nod, taking flight themselves.

____________

"Ah. Now that I'm here, I'm kinda nervous…" Cole says as they walked towards the junkyard.

"I know what you mean." Kai says with a weak laugh.

"All we can do is put our faith in their understanding." Zane says, being the pillar they needed as support, despite his unstableness.

He too feared how they would react, feared even more Jay wouldn't be as forgiving as Kai and Cole.

"Let's get this over with." Kai says, lifting his chin stubbornly and Cole nods, all of them quickening their steps as they walked into the junkyard.

The first thing he noticed was Edna seated outside knitting as Ed worked on something close by. Edna lifted her head then saw them and gasped, all hut scrambling out of her chair towards them, startling the three.

"Where is he? Where's my Jay?!" She asked them urgently and their spirits fell, realising that he really wasn't there.

"Actually, we were hoping you could tell us. We're looking for him ourselves." Cole says quietly, wincing once tears welled up in Edna's eyes.

"Oh Edna…" Ed says as he walked over, pulling her into a hug as she cries into his shoulder. "He hasn't stopped by. We've been hoping he would after everything that happened but…" The elderman gave a sigh.

"He will visit." Zane spoke up and they all looked to him. "If not on his own then we'll bring him. We'll find him and bring him back to you." He reassured, walking forward to rest a comforting hand on Ed's free shoulder.

"You-" Edna paused to hiccup. "You will?" She asked him hopefully.

"It's a promise." Kai says before Zane could and they all nodded their agreement.

"When you do find him, tell him…" Ed says then took a breath. "Tell him we know. But he isn't to blame." He says quietly and Cole's back stiffened at his sincere words.

"It's none of your faults. You're all ninja. You would never have let what happened happen if you had control over it." Edna says and Ed nodded. "It may not mean much from us but… You're all still the ninja we know and love." She managed a smile, brushing stray tears away.

"You know it!" Ed grinned but their words really did impact all three of them hard.

They didn't believe it. Won't for a very long time if ever but… Having two persons that believed in them still was...

"It means more than you think." Cole says, managing a smile. "Thank you. We'll bring Jay back. Don't worry." He reassured them and the elderly couple nodded, smiles bright and full of hope.

With that, the three took off again to continue their search. They may not have the slightest clue to where Jay was but that won't stop them from fulfilling their promise.

__________

An entire day had passed with no signs of anyone but they didn't stop searching, going anywhere with a remote chance that any member from the other half of their team would be. They did run into a familiar two in a remote village however.

"Hold it." Ash says, appearing before the three. "Cole, Zane, Kai." He immediately identified and they looked at him wide eyed.

Despite their hoods being down and despite the hat Kai snatched along the way, they were still easily spotted.

"Oh? Interesting to see you three here." Shade commenting, appearing from the shadows himself. "What are your plans now? Rip the village apart with your earth powers? Freeze it? Burn it to the ground?" He all but accused and all of them looked hurt at that.

"Look pal. We didn't do any of that on purpose. You don't even know our side of the story!" Kai huffed, glaring Shade down.

"Defensive aren't we?" Shade says, lifting a brow.

"So what? You accidentally ripped Ninjago apart and caused continent wide destruction?" Ash snarked and Cole tried not to let his words hit him too deep but it was hard…

A low rumble echoed as a slight tremor passed through, alarming the other two elementals and putting them on edge.

"Watch it Cole, we'll put you down if we have to." Shade says, narrowing his eyes.

"You've already put me down." Cole says, half-heartedly glaring at him.

"Look. Clearly this village hasn't seen hide not tail of the others. Let's go before I do something I'll regret." Kai ssys, shooting the element masters a glare.

"We aren't intentional enemies. Right now, we just want our friends back." Zane says quietly before they took off, soaring through the sky with their cloak, cape and coat fluttering behind them.

"Ugh of course they'd think we did this all on purpose. They won't even consider things from our side!" Kai growled, frustratedly as he began to glow red with his anger and hurt.

"We can't let them get to us Kai. We know the truth. It may not be much but we have each other to lean on, even if all of Ninjago turns its back on us." Zane says, looking at them both.

"Yeah…" Cole says softly, keeping his eyes ahead. "It's not much but…"

He looked across at his friends, his brothers and managed a genuine smile.

"It's enough." He whispered.

___________

"Where else can we look?" Cole asked later on as they took a break for a snack as the sunset.

"I'm not sure." Zane says, frowning. "We've checked everywhere we could think of that they would most likely and unlikely to be. Despite our powers, tracking down one of our own is not an easy task." He says, leaning back as Cole and Jay slurped their noodles.

"Tell me about it." Kai says after swallowing. "If o-" Kai cut himself off once he noticed rain starting to fall.

"Oh? But there's no cloud in the sky." Zane says with a frown, reaching a hand out to touch the rain seeming to fall around them.

"Wait a minute…" Cole says as Kai's eyes widened.

"Nya?!" Kai asked eagerly, looking around to see if she was there.

"Who?" A guy asked as he paused in his walk by the cliff on the outskirts of Hiroshi's Labyrinth, holding an umbrella.

"Oh. Sorry, not you." Cole apologised, as disappointed as Zane was.

Kai on the other hand looked at the figure carefully then smirked.

"You'll have to try harder than that to fool me Nya." He huffed, confusing his friends.

The male chuckled, his voice rising in pitch and becoming feminine, clearly belonging to Nya.

"I should have known you'd see through me big brother." She says, shifting back to her true looks.

She adorned a close fitting dark blue bodysuit that only had one sleeve and a semi-transparent lighter blue material over it that parted at her covered stomach, extending backwards as a short trail. The bodysuit ended mid thigh on her body as she wore blue matching slippers that criss crossed up her strong calves. She even added several small but colourful seashells to her clothes as well as her hair.

"Nya!" Kai grinned, scrambling to his feet to hug his sister.

"Long time no see." Nya grinned, hugging him back.

"Indeed. But, how did you find us?" Zane asked as he and Cole approached the duo.

"A little birdie gave me a tip. White looks good on the little fella." Nya says as she and Kai pulled back.

"Here's to hoping he finds Jay along the way." Cole says, hugging her too and she smiled then paused.

"You haven't found Jay? Are you trying to get everyone back together?" She asked them.

"No, we haven't found him as yet. Locating everyone is a means of checking up… And an opportunity to become ninja again if we're all willing." Zane told her and Nya frowned.

"That's strange. I thought out of all of us, he'd be the easiest to find." She says then frowned, recalling the moment they split. "Then again…" She whispered to herself.

"We'll find him. Then we'll find Lloyd and we'll all be a unit again." Kai reassures her and she smiled at him.

"... Still gold crazy I see." She says dryly and Kai sputtered.

"It's a very compliant metal." He huffed defensively and she laughed along with the others.

"It's dark. We should probably find somewhere to settle down for the night." Zane spoke as he looked towards the sea where the sun had disappeared.

"You guys can stay with me." Nya says, intriguing them. "Follow me." She urged, taking flight.

__________

"I'd never even consider here." Cole says as Nya lead them inside her humble cave-esque abode at the Spirit Coves.

"Exactly." She says then flicked the lights on.

Naturally the massive underground sea carved cave looked like the Samurai X cave but noticeably homier. To one side of the cave, there was completed vehicles and gadgets, at another was blueprints, tools and half finished projects and at the final corner had a cozy living space with a couch set, TV, kitchen and a discreet bedroom hidden by curtains, all placed around pools of seawater that no doubt lead out to the sea. The shells and sea plants made it more appealing to the eye however.

"I don't have spare beds but the couches are big enough and comfortable enough to hold you guys." She says as she headed towards the living space to her right.

"Forget that! Are those new mechs?!" Kai says, leaping over the large pool of water to land on the display platform of the uncoloured mech.

"Yeah. But they aren't for us. We don't need them. Not with these powers." Nya says, changing course to head over to where he was, Zane and Cole following her.

"Then… Who are they for?" Cole asked her as they all stood before the mech.

"The other elementals." She says quietly. "They had to take our place and I've seen first hand that it isn't easy. So I thought I'd use my skills to help them instead." She shrugged and Kai gave her shoulder a squeeze, giving her a proud smile she returned.

"That's a great idea Nya. Once we round Jay and Lloyd up, you bet we'll help you and them out too." Kai says, grinning at his friends when they agreed.

"Anyone up for seafood?" She asked after a moment.

"I thought you'd never ask." Cole grinned and they all laughed.

___________

Three days have passed with the four looking everywhere they could for Jay and even with Nya's help gadget wise, they were out of luck. They couldn't find any signs of Jay. It was as if he had fallen off the map. It made them… Worried. But they never gave up. They started each day with determination. Kai, Cole and Zane made a promise to his parents they intended to keep.

"Ok, so he's not at the lightning farm. Where else haven't we checked?" Cole asked them.

"We've already covered the entire northern half of the continent with no success. The southern remains." Zane informed him and Cole only nods, refusing to let frustration take him.

"Alright. While Lloyd would probably be able to find him quickly, let's not give up. His parents are still waiting to see him after all and I'll be damned if I break my promise to them." Kai says determinedly.

"If we split up, we-"

"Hold on." Zane says, cutting Nya off as his eyes glowed even brighter.

They watched him as he remained quiet and assessing before finally speaking.

"My Falcon found him." He says and they gasped.

"Well what are we waiting for?! Let's go!" Cole says, lifting off his feet.

"Right. Keep your eyes sky bound. He's resting on a cloud over central Ninjago, just a few short miles away." Zane says, taking flight as well, leading the way.

______

Jay yawned as he laid on a beanbag sized cloud, his legs and arms hanging off but he doesn't really care. He ran out of things to do and explore quick. He's been drifting around on random clouds just because, switching to another whenever the original dissipates. He pushed back his curly hair from his face as he passed under a slightly higher cloud, really appreciating the coolness that passed over him.

I should probably wear sunscreen…

Though he knew he didn't have to. He's been floating around on clouds for about a month now and the sun hadn't changed his skin tone or burned him in anyway. Sure with his outfit; a blue sleeveless turtleneck shirt pulled over slightly darker blue leggings with a waist cape and blue combat boots, coveted him plenty but his arms were still pretty much exposed. He knew he didn't have to but it was a sort of reflex thought for him.

Once the cloud passed, he blinked, realising there was a tiny white cloud circling him from above. No. Wait. That's a bird. Weird. Why was it circling him? He sat up then stood on the cloud, frowning as he looked up at it. He blinked once it swooped down, letting out a very familiar squawk.

"... The Falcon?" Jay whispered but shook his head.

That can't be right. The Falcon isn't white and it looked far more… Mecha than that. But it really does look like it. Is it? He stuck his arm out, blinking once the falcon landed on it, looking at him with a tilted head, eyes unnaturally blue and mechanical upon closer view. Oh yeah. It's the Falcon.

"Hey buddy! Woah! You sure did get an upgrade!" Jay says, looking him over and the Falcon puffed its feathers up proudly.

Jay laughed then stroked the soft feathers of its head- then blinked as something came to mind.

"Hey. If you're here, then-"

"Jay!" He blinked then turned around- only to be tackled into a hug, a startled yelp leaving him. "Oh man! I was actually getting worried we wouldn't find you!" Cole laughed as Jay gathered his bearings from his crushing hug.

"Cole?! What are you doing here?!" Jay finally managed to sputter out.

"Looking for you obviously." Kai huffed with a grin and Jay looked over Cole's shoulder to see him, Zane and Nya floating over.

"You guys… But… I don't get it. What are you doing here?" He asked as Cole finally let him go.

"We wanted to check in on you." Kai says, pulling him into a hug and Jay blinked but hugged back.

"You're surprisingly hard to find, you know that, right?" Nya says, hugging him as well.

"Not intentionally." Jay says sheepishly, shock giving away to happiness. "Man, I missed you guys." He admitted, not even realizing how lonely he was until now.

"Missed you too yah nerd." Cole laughed as they all came in for a group hug.

"We also came to fulfil a promise we made." Zane spoke up and Jay looked to him curiously.

"Yeah." Kai nods. "You see, while we were looking for you, we checked in with your parents to see if they would know…" His voice tuned out to Jay as mortification filled him.

"I can't!" Jay says, cutting off Kai's explanation. "I can't see them! Are you crazy?! Not when I've- I've-!" He sputtered then gripped his arm tightly as he looked away. 

The group shared a concerned look.

"It's not like that Jay." Cole says softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "They know, of course they do but they know it's not your fault. That it's not any of our faults." He told him but Jay scoffed, not believing that.

'When you do find him, tell him…' Jay's head jolted up to hear his father's voice.

He looked to Zane, watching as he projected a hologram of his parents before them. He noticed his mother, Edna and how sad she looked. How sad they both looked. It squeezed his heart painfully.

__________________

Pt2