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Chapter Text

It was after the ninth assassination attempt that Wu finally broke.

---

“Lloyd,” the aging Spinjitzu master said as gently as he could as he led his young nephew to the small table for two set up near his window. Wu’s room was tidy and set in the middle of the family’s cubical shaped compound, so there was a beautiful view of the zen gardens he carefully tended to outside the paper screen windows. The rest of his room was sparsely decorated, with long scrolls showing onis, dragons, and the history of Spinjitzu decorating his wall.

Lloyd always felt self-conscious surrounded by them, and such a serious tone to his uncle’s voice set him on edge. “Yes, Uncle Wu?”

The sensei paused, letting his relative sit and settle down. With a small sigh, he inhaled before beginning. “You are going to take over for me any time now, my boy.”

His brother’s son, painfully young with hair the white-blond of boyhood, looked up at him. Lloyd’s eyes, so beautifully bright a green, shone with a blend of respect and stress as he looked up at his uncle. “I’m only thirteen,” he said as he dutifully accepted the teacup offered to him.

When his uncle said nothing, he focused his attention out of the window at the sprawling estate given to the Garmadon family, the day clear and peaceful. Lloyd wished for nothing more than to be outside, playing or practicing martial arts, but instead he was stuck in yet another lengthy lecture.

All because someone broke in and yelled about how “the blood of the green ninja would nourish the land”. Really, it was just another Tuesday in the family compound, but he would never say that to his uncle’s face. It would only serve to add another thirty minutes to a long winded speech that already felt like a million years.

Lloyd looked at his uncle- his surrogate caretaker, the brother of his father, both of whom were mighty, feared men- and furrowed his brows in worry as he registered Wu’s words. His slender fingers involuntarily flexed around the teacup, grip tightening. “Don’t tell me that you’re sick.”

Wu, who had been pouring his own cup of tea, struggled to keep his hold on the pot as he sputtered. “I- no! No, my dear nephew, I am not ill. I am simply old and exhausted. As you grow up, the more you are expected to lead. I am an old man, and you are the young and volatile son of the most feared warrior Ninjago has seen in quite some time. Misako has made no attempt to hide how intelligent you are, and how your Spinjitzu has been improving by the day. This estate needs its true leader and our family’s reputation upheld, but we cannot do that if you are dead. As the green ninja, you have a duty to not only be a protector, but to stay safe. There are four young warriors out there who also have a duty: to protect you.”

Lloyd’s face soured as he lowered the teacup from his pursed lips, eyes shifting away from the old man and instead towards a scratch on the cherrywood table. “…I didn’t even get hurt this time.”

Wu sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he took a long sip from his teacup. “The operative word of that sentence, Lloyd, was ‘this time’. There will be more assassins who are stronger and faster than I am. I cannot protect you and make sure this estate runs properly. You need the elemental masters the prophecy has bestowed to you.”

“That’s not fair!”  Wu’s eyes widened as Lloyd immediately quieted, embarrassed at his outburst. “I- I mean, these people that we don’t even know have lives of their own. Why should I have the power to make them protect me? To give up all they know and live here? What if the prophecy is wrong? What if we get the wrong people? What if they don’t even like me?”

“Destiny does not care for things like whatever petty day-to-day job they may have. Their true job is being your protector; a warrior to make sure Ninjago stays safe. I would even be willing to bet that their life has felt wrong- like there is an itch they cannot scratch, nagging at the back of their mind, and that it will go away once they realize their true potential as the legendary ninja.”

Lloyd looked down and away from his uncle, the hands folded on his lap immediately beginning to fidget with the hem of his kosode sleeves. He looked outside once more in an attempt to avoid Wu’s gaze, observing the way cherry blossoms’ petals fell gently onto the reflecting pools underneath them, and how his mother would often find him playing and splashing in those same pools rather than perfecting his Spinjitzu technique.

He couldn’t imagine other people- maybe even adults- doing that. He couldn’t imagine anyone else living in the sprawling Garmadon family compound, which had been for so long only the home to him, Wu, and Misako. They didn't even have any servants to fill up space or create background chatter. The other rooms, built for family members, visitors, and nobles passing through were always made up but never inhabited. If people were to suddenly begin living in them…Lloyd didn’t know what he would do. His isolation, enforced for over a decade for his own safety, was his “normal”. He only ever interacted with other nobles through letters or very select, formal meetings. I probably can’t even talk to other people my age. I think the First Spinjitzu Master would strike me down.

Wu’s loud and pointed clearing of his throat snapped the young boy from his thoughts.

“Destiny may not care for things like jobs, but Destiny is not cruel. It would not stick you with angry or unlikeable people. You cannot live life with two aging adults, my boy. People your age could be a blessing in disguise.” Wu reached across the table and put one of his hands on top of Lloyd's, a gentle smile on his face.

“You can’t be friends with people who work for you,” Lloyd replied with a frown, tracing the design on the cup in front of him with his eyes. The tea had gone cold; the leaves settling at the bottom like a rock. “They’ll never see me as one of their own.”

Wu chuckled, retracting his hand. “I see you have not been paying attention in your history classes with Misako. You are to work with the other ninja. They protect you, but you also protect them.”

“I don’t need protecting! I’m the green ninja, for the First Master’s sake! Uncle, I’ve been doing Spinjitzu since I could walk. You just don’t think I’m ready. You never will!”

“Lloyd!” Wu snapped, startling the boy across from him into silence. “There has been a prophecy since before I was born that the green ninja will arise with four elemental masters to protect Ninjago and take down any calamity that may rear its head. You do not get to opt out. Now, I think Misako said your handwriting needed improving?”

Lloyd was headstrong like his father, but he wasn’t a fool. He bowed his head as a begrudging sign of respect before getting up from the table silently and slinking towards wherever Misako had decided was the best area for writing prose poetry.

As soon as the wood door slid shut and Lloyd’s only slightly angry stomps disappeared from Wu’s range of hearing did the old man let his typically impeccable posture falter, slumping forward and resting his forehead against his hand.

“That boy will be the death of us all,” he muttered before turning his head towards the empty gardens, where he and his brother had been forced to run through training drill after training drill years before. At least I had a brother, he thought. Poor Lloyd only has his mother and I. He needs to meet someone, go somewhere, see beyond this ancient estate.

---

“Misako, the boy needs something to do,” Wu said wearily as the candles burnt brightly around the pair.

They were sitting in one of the common areas, a low-legged chabudai resting in between them. A teapot and a few cups were in the middle of the table, as per the custom of Wu’s well-known drinking habit, and a tasteful flower arrangement added a pop of color to the dark wood of the table. The candles, however, were melted dangerously close to overflowing their holders- a testament to the length of the adults’ debate.

“He needs to train, to study,” the older woman countered hotly, shaking her head slowly. She pushed her glasses up her nose before settling her gaze on her old friend. “Being the green ninja is already such a- a damning responsibility, but knowing that as soon as he comes of age, he has to manage this estate? Do you know how much debt his father has accrued from other people? If he so chooses to fight any of the neighboring daimyo, he could mobilize so many warriors, not just the elemental ninja. I cannot and will not let someone underprepared take control of this family.”

“He is thirteen, Misako! He cannot understand the scope of the world from just our teachings. I know that we had to isolate him for his safety, but assassination attempts or not, he is a growing boy. I am going to take him to the Royal Blacksmiths’ performance later this week.”

“The one that is taking place right in the center of Ninjago city? Where any nefarious criminal who can gain something from killing my boy can take a shot at him? The troupe are all wonderful performers, but not ones worth getting killed over.”

“Not everything must be a battle of life and death,” Wu replied lightly as he reached towards his tea. “Anyways, the last four assassins didn’t even scratch Lloyd. He is a skilled warrior despite his age, and if I am with him, the streets of Ninjago will probably be safer than they have in a little while.”

Misako pursed her lips into a tight line- the exact way Lloyd did when he was trying not to let his true thoughts slip out- before sighing loudly, her posture slouching, deflating like a balloon. “Nothing I say can convince you otherwise?”

“Nope,” Wu said, smiling behind the rim of his cup so Misako couldn’t see. “Anyways, I head Lou’s boy does a wonderful rendition of Mu Guiying Takes Command.”

---

Lloyd hit the ground flat on his back with an umph! “Uncle, I really don’t think this is helping,” he wheezed, unsteadily getting back onto his feet.

“Did you know that the Gonryou family’s most decorated warrior had a long history in opera?” Wu replied breezily as he watched his nephew crouch back into a defensive stance in the middle of the courtyard.

Misako sat at one of the granite tables in the gardens a stone’s throw away, shielded from the sun by the trees planted long ago by Lord Garmadon and Master Wu. Her lips were pursed as she watched Lloyd intently, her gaze piercing, constantly calculating.

“He later went down in history for running through the ranks of the Stonemason’s Army and taking down their general with nothing but a greatsword. He attributed it to the breathwork and cardio he had been forced to go through whilst practicing in the opera.”

“Please don’t make me sing,” Lloyd griped, letting his head drop. “Even Misako knows that I can barely keep up on the koto.”

“No, I won’t make you sing,” Wu agreed as he delivered a series of strikes with his wooden staff aimed at Lloyd’s stomach, diaphragm, and lungs. “But no pupil of mine will be uncultured. In three days’ time we will be traveling to Ninjago City to watch the Royal Blacksmith’s production of the play Narukami.”

Lloyd, once again a heap on the ground, looked up hopefully. “W-we? Like, me? I get to go to Ninjago City? This isn’t a joke, is it, Uncle?” His voice was a few octaves higher than normal, and he was inhaling in short breaths, but the sweat on his forehead and the quickly forming bruise on his chest couldn’t diminish the overjoyed sparkle in his eyes.

“No, Lloyd,” Wu said kindly as he helped pick his nephew up off the ground. “I hope you won’t mind- Narukami is a longer production; depending on which acts they choose to perform, it could take anywhere from half a day to an entire day.”

“I don’t mind at all, Uncle Wu!” Lloyd replied as he popped back onto his feet, dusting himself off. Wordlessly, he dropped back into a defensive stance, his energy renewed.

If he had a tail, it’d be wagging, Wu thought with a small smile as he shook his head. “You’ve done wonderfully today, nephew. Go clean yourself and rest, hmm?”

Lloyd’s smile somehow got wider, and he nodded. “Alright. Thank you, Uncle,” he said, and bowed respectfully to both adults in the gardens before practically skipping towards the bathing area.

Wu crossed the gardens to where Misako was sitting, watching the form of her son race through the corridors, his shadow visible behind the paper windows. Her eyebrows were knit, and she looked lost in thought, the brush she had been using to write held limply in her hand.

His closeness snapped her out of whatever scenarios she was playing in her head, and she looked up at her friend. “Are you sure this is the right decision?”

“Yes,” he replied without hesitation, sitting down across from her. He grabbed one of Misako’s hands in his own, calloused and scarred from years of battle. “I have…a feeling about this. A good one. Something important will happen when we see this performance, I know it.”

Misako sighed. “What if the ‘something important’ is the death of the green ninja?”

“Then my feeling wouldn’t be good, and we wouldn’t go.”

“I can’t argue with that, can I, hmm?” The older woman looked tired, but her lips were drawn into a small smile nevertheless. “You always could talk circles around me and Garmadon.”

Wu smiled back. “It is a skill that needs to be kept in tip-top shape. You know how those nobles get when I tell them we don’t want to enter whatever political alliance they’ve concocted.”

Misako rolled her eyes. “Don’t get me started.”

“I won’t. Would you, however, like to get started with helping me rake a new design into the zen garden’s rocks?”

---

Lloyd sat in the bath, watching the steam curl around his shoulders, as he tried his best not to shout in joy. I’m going to leave the family estate!

He so rarely got to leave (even trying to escape a few times when he was nine and ten to no avail), and when he did get to visit the outside world, it was for political reasons. Telling other daimyos that he didn’t want to team up with them or slightly abusing his father’s horrible reputation as a scare tactic if some of the samurai that lived on his part of the lands got fresh. Ninjago City offered so much in the terms of arts, culture, and activities, but he never got to enjoy those opportunities- his mother writing them off as too frivolous, a waste of time that must be used to prepare for the eventual fight against his father, the shogun of the dark realms, Garmadon. (Apparently, the samurai and daimyos under his command had started calling him Lord Garmadon. The name was extremely corny if you asked Lloyd.)

But, through some stroke of luck, they were going to go see Narukami! By some of the most respected performers in all of Ninjago!

“I don’t care if this is the most boring play in the entire world,” Lloyd muttered to himself as we watched his hands make ripples on the surface of the bathwater. “All that matters is that other people will be in the building with me and won’t try to kill me for once.”

He allowed himself a small smile as he heaved his body from the water, walking across the wooden floor of the bathroom to grab a towel. As he began to dry off, the young ninja smiled a little wider.

“I can’t wait.”

Chapter Text

Ninjago City was bustling with life, with people rushing in all directions wearing a variety of clothes, yelling everything from the price of their wares to “move it!” It was overwhelming, crowded, and stressful. One misstep meant separation from whoever you were traveling with, eye contact with a vendor meant you were probably going to get pressured into buying their items, and the air was heavy with the smell of food from restaurants lining the densely packed streets.

Lloyd had never felt happier.

Wu’s hand was clamped on the green ninja's thin wrist so as not to lose him amongst the hustle and bustle, the crowds of people easily swaying the young boy as they rushed to and fro like soldiers on a march. The shops lining the street boasted everything from artisan pottery to some of the most enticing bowls of food Lloyd had ever encountered, and he could barely tear his eyes away from his surroundings to follow his uncle. Even the sky was displaying it's best, the setting sun dousing the world in rich pinks, oranges, and yellows as a last hurrah to the daytime.

There were stares, of course- but it was to be expected when someone of such high and notorious standing finally showed his face. To not only see Wu, a respected Spinjitzu master and brother of the infamous Garmadon, but also Lloyd, the legendary reclusive child prodigy waltzing down the street caused more than one vendor to stare open-mouthed as the duo tried to get to the theater on time. After spending so long with a reputation as nigh untouchable, the stares slid off of Lloyd like water off of a duck's back.

When the pair finally did find the large building with an excited line of everyone from fishmongers to nobles waiting to enter, the person at the front- a large man with an unimpressed face- allowed them to bypass everyone and slip inside the theater to the front row, passing by familiar faces and complete strangers.

The seating was packed, and even sitting close to the main stage, Lloyd could feel the sheer number of people sitting behind him, around the hanamachi and the kari-hanamichi. It was intoxicating, the feeling of being just another face in the crowd, united in entertainment. There was nothing on the stage, just the typical striped curtain, but Lloyd was smiling widely as he surveyed the theater, wanting the lights to dim and the actors to take the stage as soon as possible.

“You brought him to see Narukami? My, Wu, you certainly don’t care about what he watches at all,” a suave voice said from one of the seats behind the two ninjas.

They turned around, and Lloyd’s brow cinched in confusion, but Wu simply smiled. “As long as you don’t explain the deeper meaning of what Princess Taema says, he should be fine, Dareth,” the master replied. “Anyways, there isn’t much, er, romance at the estate, so why not start exposing him now? He’s old enough, don’t you think?”

Dareth, a man dressed in the finer clothes of a wealthy businessman, chuckled before turning to Lloyd. He bowed, and after straightening his golden necklace out, he winked. “I’m an old friend of Wu’s,” he said by way of introduction. “I run a dojo in Ninjago city full o’ pupils who could even keep up with you, wonder boy.”

Llyoyd could feel his face flush at the comment. “…I wouldn’t know. This is my first time in Ninjago City in a long time.”

Dareth nodded. “I know. A darn shame, keepin’ ya locked up like that. Say, why don’t we all hit the town after this performance? Chen’s noodles hit the spot after such a production, and there's nothing quite like sake and Ninjago nights.”

“No, no, we musn’t intrude,” Wu said with a small smile. “And I don’t think it’s fair to leave Misako alone at the compound for so long.”

“Your loss,” Dareth said with a shrug and a get-a-load-of-that-guy look at Lloyd, which caused him to giggle. “My offer stays open, though. Drinking by yourself is no fun, no sir!” He looked at Lloyd, leaning in conspiratorially as Wu rolled his eyes fondly. “Don’t drink alone, kid. Though if your only options are solo and this dusty old teabag, choose solo.”

Lloyd smiled awkwardly and nodded his head, not having the heart to mention that he was only thirteen, had never left the family estate, and that there hadn’t been alcohol on the estate grounds since his father was living and training there.

“Shh!” someone around them hissed as the lights of the theater dimmed. “It’s starting!”

The curtains began to open, and Lloyd quickly turned around in his seat to watch, enraptured, as the stage came alive with sound, movement, and color.

---

The Royal Blacksmiths truly were phenomenal- their diction, facial expressions, and masterful mie poses engrossed Lloyd immediately, the story enveloping him entirely as he watched the dramatic entrances and exits with rapt attention, hanging onto every word. Even when the innuendos Taema made were agonizing by themselves, they were made doubly worse just from the fact that Lloyd was sitting next to his uncle, but even that wasn’t enough to dampen his enjoyment for very long.

However.

One of the acolytes of the priest Narukami held Lloyd’s attention, even when next to the enchanting actor that made Lloyd truly believe in the beauty of the Princess Taema, throughout the entire play. The actor, even when under a bald cap and wearing stage makeup, couldn’t hide how striking his features were.

His shoulders were broad, and even though his arms were hidden underneath the robes of a religious man, Lloyd had a feeling that they were thick with muscle. The actor’s nose was like that of an ancient statue, strikingly straight and eye-catching when in a side profile. His lips were large (like the rest of him- he was obviously young but almost comedically huge when next to the slender princess), and honestly looked soft, like his muscles and stature were made to protect and defend instead of attack or to show off strength.

Lloyd couldn’t stop staring. There was something about the actor that seemed so…familiar. But none of the Royal Blacksmiths had ever asked for his official protection or funding like other troupes had, and Lloyd didn’t go out enough to somehow bump into someone as unforgettable as the man on stage.

Even Wu, skilled in the art of minding his own business and not pressing the small details, couldn’t ignore Lloyd watching, barely blinking when the young man on stage delivered his lines.

When the acolytes made their exit to raucous applause (Lloyd the loudest of all), the youngest Garmadon finally remembered to pay attention to the actual plot.

What he did not remember in the rundown of the plot Misako had given him before leaving was the part where Princess Taema took the knife she had gripped in her hand to cut the sacred rope around the waterfall to free the dragon god and leaped at an unsuspecting audience member.

As the people packed into the theater screamed in terror and ran to the streets of Ninjago, Lloyd flailed on the ground where he was stuck under pounds of heavy kimono fabric and the strong hand splayed on his chest keeping him flat on his back. Held just above his panicked face was a knife, sharp and deadly and close enough to make Lloyd’s breaths come out in shaky exhales.

He tried to deliver some sort of punch or kick, having been in situations like this before, but the fabric weight, combined with the actor pressing their body onto Lloyd’s slender limbs, meant that he was effectively pinned and could only pray his uncle or someone else would help.

Just out of the daimyo’s periphery was Wu, his staff held up threateningly as he looked on at the mad actor. “Step away from him,” the old Spinjitzu master commanded. “No harm will come to you."

“T-that’s not true!” Taema’s actor yelled, looking around at the crowd wildly before focusing back on the boy trapped beneath him. “With him here, who knows when something evil will get us all! The son of pure evil is bound to track it’s filth in his wake!”

" Torakichi, drop the knife!”

Everyone, including the actor, snapped their attention towards the stage, where Lou Brookstone stood. His makeup and costume was still on, and he looked wild- dangerous, even, as imposing as a general, staring down at his much younger co-star. Behind him were the two acolytes- including the one Lloyd couldn’t take his eyes off of. (Which- embarrassing. Almost getting killed in front of an amazing person? This was what, assassination attempt number ten? Lloyd was starting to believe he was cursed to never die, but his embarrassment was making him reconsider.)

The ninja felt the hand on his chest keeping him down relax slightly at the command of Lou, and he used that opportunity to wiggle free of the grasp, darting away from the actor and towards the stage- an open space where he had multiple exits.

As he ran, back towards his assailant, the crowd around him once again screamed out in primal terror, his uncle bellowing, “Lloyd, get down!” and someone else roaring “Torakichi, NO!” in a clear, strong voice.

The youngest Garmadon instinctively dropped to the ground, covering his head in a crouch but felt no impact of whatever injury his uncle thought he was going to sustain. Instead, he felt a bit of dust and silt fall gently onto his scalp as the audience members gasped in shock.

Lloyd tentatively turned around to see the blade of the knife stuck in a wall of solid rock that had been erected behind him. It curved slightly over his hunched form, like a protective embrace. Beyond that was Torakichi, his arms and legs bound and weighed down with stones, silt, and rock.

“Wh- who did this?” the daimyo exhaled, looking wildly around him to see who had the power over the earth. No one in the audience seemed to have done it, and Wu's elemental powers lay beyond rock and dirt, so that only left the people on the stage…

“Cole, your arms!” The other acolyte gasped as he stared at his fellow actor, whose limbs looked as if there was lava coating his hands and forearms. They softly glowed in the theater, casting a gentle orange and yellow light, and the actor looked just as shocked as his troupe member, his mouth opening and closing but no sound coming out. The boy in question looked mortified, his chest heaving as he looked up at Lou, eyes wild.

The lead actor looked disturbed and ready to faint, and silence gripped the theater at the supernatural turn of events.

“Everybody out!” Wu yelled, his voice strong and clear as he issued the command, snapping the common folk out of their horrified trance.

It took no repeating as the remaining audience exited the theater en masse, some volunteering to get local law enforcement to take Torakichi away, who had long since crumpled to the ground in a heap of fabric, sobbing miserably.

When the group was alone, Lou looked at Wu and Lloyd, before flicking his eyes to Torakichi. He sighed softly before turning to Cole and the other actor. “Cole and I are going to have a discussion with our…guests,” he said. “Victor, I trust you can keep an eye on Torakichi?”

Victor nodded aggressively before setting his lips into a firm line. “Of course, boss!”

“Good. Now, if you three would be as kind as to follow me to the dressing room, I would appreciate it.” The veteran actor said nothing more as he turned on his heel and walked off the stage, leaving Lloyd to pray that the First Spinjitzu Master would strike him down and save himself the agonizing ritual of profusely apologizing for ruining the play and reputation of such an esteemed theater troupe.

---

The walk of shame into Lou Brookstone's dressing room was agony. Stares from stagehands, extras, and policemen wandering around sunk into every inch of Lloyd, making it feel like he was going to be arrested any minute. He kind of wanted to cry, even with Wu's hand protectively on his shoulders, gripping the wide shoulder of Lloyd's kataginu, embroidered with a golden yin-yang.

When the pair entered Lou Brookstone's private dressing room to see the lead actor and the newly discovered black ninja (who Wu informed his nephew was Lou's son, Cole) sitting near the vanity in wooden chairs, the room kept painfully clean and organized to the point of being sterile, Lloyd wanted to burst into tears as he was led into the room.

It was simple in design: wooden walls and floor, with one wall dedicated to old costumes hanging up. A few posters, all featuring one of the Brookstones as a lead, were hung up next to the costume worn. There were a few plush stools and chairs near a standalone table, piled high with scripts and other papers. On the perfectly cleaned floor was a rug, clean and centered perfectly, and softly glowing lamps were scattered in the corners of the room, creating a homely atmosphere. 

The two men sitting with perfect posture at the back of the large dressing room was what made the homely atmosphere feel like a false sense of security. The dead seriousness emanating from Lou made the daimyo want to sob, beg for mercy even though he was the one attacked, and break out into a cold sweat.

Instead, he steeled his nerves and followed Wu further into the room, observing the father and son a little closer as he patched together an apology on the fly.

Lou and Cole Brookstone were very different people when out of costume. Cole had ink-black hair that was messy but well taken care of, and it framed his soft face and downturned eyes well. He was just as muscular as Lloyd had guessed, but with enough fat on him to round out the sharp edges. He looked as if he was shaped by the earth itself, a bulky figure meant to be an immoveable object.

Lou, on the other hand, looked like the word "severe" come to life. Thin lips, an exquisitely groomed mustache, and black hair with a few strands of grey at the temples. However, under his eyes were dark circles- and under further inspection, Cole had them too, though they were difficult to discern from underneath layers of makeup.

The father and son’s severity and ramrod straight posture looked like the effects of rigorous discipline, but after closer inspection, they seemed…exhausted. Not just tired from the performance, but like they had taken turns holding the sky on their backs.

There was no time to dwell on that, however. There was business to attend to- as the highest ranking person in the room and as the cause of the problem, Lloyd knew that he was at fault.

It’s a good thing I listened to Misako and wore something on the formal side, Lloyd thought as he put his hands together over his head and got on the floor, bowing as deeply as he could in front of the two actors. It was a practiced action, but Lloyd truly did feel bad that he disrupted their performance and possibly even ruined their reputation. Next to him, he could hear the rustling of Wu’s clothes that meant that the older man was copying the pose.

“I am truly sorry for causing such an incident during your performance. I take full responsibility, and if there is anything I can do to make amends, please let me know. No expense will be spared to right this wrong.” He spoke loudly and clearly, enunciating each word so that it wouldn’t be muffled from the facedown position he was in.

After a moment of silence, there was a slight huff from above him.

“Oh, get up, boy, I don’t blame you,” Lou said as he sat back in the dressing room’s chair. He rubbed a tired hand over his face before looking at the two lords sitting on the ground, their legs tucked as they listened. “Torakichi was always…superstitious. It was either going to be the green ninja or Lord Garmadon or a nervous breakdown any day now. A wonderful actor, but weak willed and…ultimately replaceable. If Cole wasn’t so large I’d just make him play all the women anyways.”

“Hey!” his son protested, looking affronted at the quip, but the grin pulling up the corners of his lips betrayed him.

The group, now focused on Cole, lapsed into silence.

“Wu…what happened to my son out there?” the veteran actor whispered as he looked at Cole’s arms, now no longer glowing. “He’s always been strong, but I thought that was just the side effects of being an actor. Having to carry heavy props and the like, you know. But what I saw out there…he moved the very earth underneath the theater. That’s not…that’s not normal.”

Wu nodded in confirmation. “Cole is one of the four elemental ninja of the prophecies of old. He is the Black Ninja, the Master of Earth and Sovereign of Terrain. I believe what happened was because of his personal values of protecting the young, but also because he had a feeling about Lloyd. A higher calling, a gut instinct that said that he was special.”

Cole fidgeted with his hands a bit before looking at the two Spinjitzu masters. “I mean…usually when I look at the audience, I don’t really concentrate on their faces, y’know? I don’t want to get hung up on what they look like and miss my cue. But I swear that my line of sight just kept on getting dragged to where you guys were sitting. I thought it was because of your reputation- that you barely leave your estate, that you’re a ninja- not that…I’m some magic warrior. I don’t even know how to fight besides throwing some punches or stage fighting.”

“Why didn’t we know beforehand?” Lou interjected. “Glowing arms aren’t something that’s exactly subtle, and he just said that he wasn’t exactly ninja material.”

“I believe his powers were awakened when he saw Lloyd in need. His instincts worked for him, rather than rational thought. It is difficult to breathe when you think about it, rather than just letting your body work.”

“Is that why there was an earthquake?” Lou said softly as he turned towards his son.

“Yeah,” Cole replied hoarsely. “It makes sense now.”

Lloyd’s eyebrows creased in confusion, but the two men’s soft and strangely vulnerable tone obviously meant one thing: that whatever they were talking about was personal. He wasn’t meant to know what the earthquake was, and the young ninja had a feeling he might never find out.

Wu got off the ground, gripping his wooden staff as he looked at the two actors. “Cole should begin training as soon as possible to be able to unlock his true potential. I suggest letting him pack his things to join us at the Garmadon estate as soon as he can.”

Llyod copied his example, getting off the ground and brushing out the wrinkles in his hakama. He looked tentatively at Cole, who seemed shocked into silence by the proposition. His large stature, easily broader and bigger than his father, seemed almost small due to the way his shoulders were slumped forward and he looked confused and stressed, almost constantly flicking his eyes to where his father was sitting as if he was perpetually asking for permission.

Next to him, the old actor sputtered. “Wu, I know you are an accomplished man, b-but this is preposterous! Take my only son away from me, to what? Become a ninja? For heaven’s sake, he is an actor! And a damn good one at that! You can’t just whisk him away from a career on stage that could easily outstrip mine!”

“This is not just a frivolous fantasy I am chasing, Mister Brookstone. He is to be one of the protectors of Ninjago, to aid in the upholding of justice and peace alongside Lloyd and three other ninja. There is a darkness brewing that may soon come to fruition. Without your son, we would all become a victim to it.”

“You can’t guilt me into giving my son away!” Lou barked, any semblance of friendliness quickly disappearing. “I…I cannot lose him too, so quickly,” he begged, voice cracking slightly.

Wu bowed. “I see. I apologize for overstepping. Once again, if the theater or costumes need any repair, please bring the costs to us. Thank you for your time.” He walked out the door, and Lloyd quickly bowed at the family before scurrying to catch up with the old sensei.

“Uncle, why on earth would you just let him go?” Lloyd hissed through clenched teeth as they walked through the hallways of the backstage of the theater, passing by black-clad stagehands and the occasional policeman.

“A ninja will always know the right thing to do,” the Sensei replied cryptically as he opened the theater’s doors, allowing Lloyd to step back onto the streets of Ninjago City, illuminated by gently glowing paper lanterns against the night sky, littered with stars. “Have faith, nephew.”

---

As the Garmadon family sat at the breakfast table, the only sound the clinking of utensils and chopsticks sliding against teeth as they quietly ate their rice and fish, Misako finally broke the silence by clearing her throat.

“I hear Lou’s boy is the earth ninja?” she asked, looking at her food rather than her family, not seeing how Wu almost choked on his rice and Lloyd struggled to not spew his morning tea out of his nose.

“H-how did you hear that?” Lloyd asked after gulping down the tea and sputtering slightly.

“Dareth never could keep a secret to save his life,” she replied genially, taking a sip of her tea before speaking again. “He may not be the sharpest spear on the rack, but he’s an honest man and well-connected. Running a dojo means you meet a lot of people. News travels fast in Ninjago City, my son.”

Wu sighed. “I’m expecting Cole to arrive in the next two weeks, depending on how long he drags out the argument with his father. Lou did not seem particularly overjoyed that his son was destined for greatness outside of the stage.”

Lloyd sighed, setting his bowl down. “You’re too hopeful, Uncle. I don’t even know if Cole wants to come here.” He thought about the conversation he had with the Brookstones, and how protective Lou was over Cole, and how they shared some sort of pain that went much deeper than they let on. Lloyd knew that if he was living with his father and Wu tried to force him to live on the family estate, he'd fight with every ounce of strength he had.

“He will,” Misako said as she picked some meat off the yellowtail fish that had been grilled by Wu earlier. “Destiny dictates he must.”

Lloyd grit his teeth in an effort to not snarl or huff at his mother like some sort of overgrown dragon. Destiny this, destiny that. What about what Cole wants? Shouldn’t we respect his wishes?

He continued to eat in silence as Misako and Wu discussed how to best receive a new member of the household and possible training regimens.

---

“Dad, you can’t keep me here forever!” Cole said, trying not to raise his voice and let the rest of the troupe know they were arguing (again). He was halfway in his costume for the night’s performance, and across from him, his father faced the vanity mirror to paint his face for the role. He said nothing. “Why won’t you listen to me?” Cole yelled, throwing his hands out, and underneath them, the ground rumbled.

Lou finally turned around, his makeup frightening as he faced his only son. “Because you need to learn that this behavior is not acceptable! With your mother gone, only I can raise you, and this pipe dream of yours that’s been put into your head by a lunatic old man and his brainwashed child is not what your mother wanted for you- or what I want for you!”

“Do you know what Mom wanted for me?” Cole challenged, taking a menacing step forward. “She wanted me to protect the innocents from those who were cruel and unjust. How on earth am I supposed to do that stuck on a stage, pretending to be a hero that’s been dead for years!”

“DON’T TALK ABOUT HER THAT WAY!”

Even Lou looked shocked at his outburst, his eyes wide and chest heaving as the room went as silent as death. With flared nostrils, the aging actor leveled a pointed finger at his son. “We keep the people entertained with stories of good always- always- prevailing so they know not to try anything. We help uphold justice, just not by dirtying our hands with common criminals.”

“Tell yourself whatever you need to fill the hole in your heart since apparently your own flesh and blood can't,” Cole hissed. “Joining up with Sensei Wu and Lloyd would mean something, w-would help people, beyond upholding the status quo. I would be able to do real good. Make real change.”

“You have a gift, Cole! Something your mother saw, something the audience sees!” Lou sounded desperate under the layers of anger as he faced his son, the black paint near his eyebrows smearing on the white layer around his eyes as his face creased.

“Yes, father, it’s called ‘dominion over earth’, and I think I’m just about the only person in this entire world who can do it!”

“Don’t you see, boy? You need to be here! You must! The people come to see you, t-the rising star not of the Royal Blacksmith kabuki troupe, but the acting world overall!”

“I am not this theater’s cash cow! There are rising stars every day, but only one elemental master of earth!”

“I will not allow it, Cole! I will not!”

“Why not? Why!? Why am I so important that you will sink your fingers so far into me and refuse to let go? You have never cared this much, not even when I mastered the Triple Tiger Sashay, or got my first lead, or did anything at all!”

“Because I cannot lose you! If you leave me, who will I have?”

Cole flinched, his head jerking back as his father’s roar washed over him. His mouth struggled to form words as he blinked owlishly. “Father, I-”

“Go to your dressing room. We’re on soon and you’re not even finished getting dressed.” Lou’s words were short and clipped as he turned back to his dressing table, methodically dabbing face paint over his cheeks and thoroughly ignoring his only kin closing the wooden door behind him on his way out.

When he was alone, he allowed his stern expression to drop as he looked at himself in the mirror, but it lasted only a second before he schooled his face into something more stern; fit for facing an expectant audience.

---

The stage did not feel like home as Cole went through the motions and spoke his lines. For the first time in years, the eyes of the audience felt like a burden, small pinpricks in his chest that made it hard for him to truly engross himself in the part of Hakuunbō, even amongst the realistic sets and skillful acting of his counterparts.

Even more so was this odd feeling that the audience was missing someone. Lloyd’s absence from the middle of the front row felt like a gaping hole, and the couple sitting where the blond boy felt like stand-ins, and Cole felt like he was waiting for the daimyo to come walking in any minute. He felt incomplete, his earth powers rippling under his skin, wanting to be used.

When Torakichi’s understudy slid the prop knife over the fake sacred rope, freeing the dragon god, Cole felt sick to his stomach. Seeing such a small boy, young and thin like a fresh sapling, fall backwards under the murderous weight of an adult was much more overwhelming than he’d assumed it to be. The all-encompassing fear of spilled blood, a young and promising life snuffed out not even ten feet away from where he stood frozen behind his father was difficult to shape, and it lent itself to on-and-off stomachaches and difficulty sleeping. Cole had never felt less rested in years, not since his mother’s passing in a hospital bed years ago.

He shook his head, dispersing the thoughts as he once again took the stage to the audience’s thunderous applause. For now, he would do what his father expected of him. Needed of him. Cole knew that if he was as disturbed at Lloyd’s attack, then his dad, someone who had been a single father, was probably even more shaken. He needed to be the rock of the family again. For just a little longer.

---

“He’s never coming,” Lloyd sighed as he copied Wu’s movements, cycling through the typical Spinjitzu stances.

“He will,” Wu said genially as he moved his arms slowly into the crouching dragon stance. “Earth is…sturdy. Difficult to move gently. Cole’s mother was the old elemental master of earth, and much the same way as he: headstrong and stubborn. Lou knew what he was getting into when he married such a passionate woman. It’s a family trait; give it time, my boy.”

“Wait, what? Cole’s mom was the elemental master of earth? When!?” Lloyd couldn’t even pretend to be interested in the stances Wu was still doing, letting his arms hang at his sides. “How come we didn’t ask Cole to help us earlier, instead of, you know, playing insane mind games with him and his dad?”

“It wasn’t time yet,” his uncle replied, sighing a little as he did some cool-down stretches. “Her passing was difficult on everyone. The family needed time to build back up. Taking away Lou’s only surviving family member after his wife died would be cruel and pointless."

“Did Lou know that his wife had those powers, and that Cole would get them? He seemed shocked that Cole did what he did, and it didn’t look like acting.”

Wu sighed softly again as he stood in the middle of the courtyard, looking at his youngest family member. “I think grief made Cole’s powers go dormant, or his mother wasn’t there to guide Cole, so they were never forced to awaken. I doubt Lou was aware his wife even passed down the skills in the first place, and probably repressed any part of him that thought that maybe, just maybe, his son was more like Lilly than just appearance. I told Lou that elemental powers can skip a generation, and I think he hoped such was the case with his little boy.”

“Oh,” Lloyd replied numbly. “Well. I still don’t think Cole’s ever gonna join us. I think his duty to his father outweighs anything else.”

“Lloyd,” Wu said sternly. “If you say how you think Cole isn’t going to become a ninja one more time, I will make you hold the creeping oni pose for two hours.”

“Sorry, uncle.”

---

“They loved you out there,” Lou said from where he was standing in the doorway of Cole’s dressing room. His voice was soft and gentle, the lilt of kabuki recitation still lifting his words.

“It doesn’t matter,” Cole replied from where he sat hunched over his dressing room vanity. His back was to the door, and he didn’t turn around as he focused on getting the glue off of his hairline from where the bald cap had rested. “They’re just people who were looking for a performance. Or more. We’re still kabuki artists, no matter how high-class the people who see us are.”

“That’s not important, son,” Lou said, stepping further into the well-loved dressing room.

It had been Cole’s ever since the troupe bought the theater, and there were old costumes hung up, taking up almost an entire wall. There were a few chairs scattered around, covered in makeup bottles and stray pieces of clothing, a few letters from fans scattered here and there. Scripts and books also lay around the room, piled on the floor and around the legs of the vanity. There was a smell of earth permeating the room, warm and comfortable- they had thought it was just because of thin floors and the trees planted around the building, but Lou knew now that it was his son carrying the essence of earth around him like a second skin.

“Mom never got to see me perform,” Cole said, his voice smaller than he would have liked it to be. “That’s what’s important. The walls are so thick here, so even if she was looking down on us, she couldn’t see anything. If I were out on the streets of Ninjago, fighting people who would do innocents harm, she could see. She could see who I’ve become.”

“She would have been proud,” Lou murmured, walking up behind his son and putting a hand on Cole’s broad shoulder. “Especially to see you stand up to me. She would have laughed- oh, she would have just about fallen over. Lilly was the only one who could ever talk back to me. I think she would call it poetic justice that her son could do it, too. You always had more of her fighting spirit than my artistic inclinations.”

“That’s not true,” Cole replied, looking up at his father with a soft smile. “I always beat you for the lead in romantic productions.”

“That’s because I’ll never live through a romance- real or pretend- that could replace the one I had with your mother. You still have all the time in the world, my boy.”

Cole’s smile remained, though it was slightly dampened by the mention of his mother. “Maybe.”

Lou inhaled softly before sighing, putting on a brave face for his son. “I was thinking, that after we wrap up the run on Narukami and begin production and rehearsals for Kanadehon Chushingura, you could…go see Wu. Train with him, learn to control your…powers. It’s time for you to know what your mother went through when she was your age-”

Cole whipped around in his seat, mouth gaping and eyes wide as he watched his father, a proud and honorable man, pace awkwardly in the middle of his dressing room, practically rambling.

“-you know, you are growing, and I cannot keep you here for much longer. If I do not let you out of this cage, you will simply break free, and I don’t think I could handle you simply…running away.” Lou stopped his speech to pause for a breath, looking sheepishly at his son, his hands clutched in front of him.

“Y-you can’t be serious,” Cole said, feeling faint. “I thought you needed me here? For the sake of the theater?”

Lou chuckled. “It seems the entire troupe heard our argument before the show. Yukina and Mori gave me quite the stern talking-to during the intermission. I- I realized that I was wrong. I thought that Lilly’s wishes for you didn’t mean anything, since she’s gone, and your wellbeing is on my shoulders now. But…she had a vision for you. Like most things, she knew better than me. I know now that forcing you to stay will only make you find a way to escape in a possibly dangerous way. Just…stay for a little bit longer. Until Narukami is done.”

Cole rushed off of his seat and crushed his father in a hug, his thick arms easily keeping Lou in place. Hopefully, with Cole’s face lodged in the junction of the actor’s neck and shoulder, the earth ninja’s tears weren’t visible.

“Thank you, father...dad.”

---

“You gave him false hope,” Misako hissed from where she was sitting in the courtyard, pretending to look at old folklore scrolls as Lloyd moped his way through training drills. If the boy had inherited his demonic father’s traits, his ears and tail would be drooping.

Next to her, Wu pursed his lips as he watched his nephew unleash a bolt of energy at a training dummy and then walk over to pick it up, frowning the whole while. It was quite disheartening to even watch. “I didn’t imagine Lou putting up so much of a fight. But you must remember, Cole is a star. If he were to suddenly go missing, the whole of Ninjago City would be up in arms.”

“It’s been two weeks, and not a single peep from that whole theater! You need to tell Lloyd that we must begin searching for the next ninja. He’ll be waiting for his whole life, Wu. You can’t do that to him.”

“You’re right, Misako,” Wu replied with a sigh, using his staff to help pick him up from the stone bench. “I’ll…tell him that our search will begin elsewhere. I’ll take him to Lord Chen’s estate for a small vacation to make up for it.”

As he made a move to walk towards Lloyd (who was trying his best to fight five dummies with Spinjitzu at once but it was obvious his heart wasn't in it), Misako grabbed his arm. “That’s very sweet of you, Wu. I’m sure it’ll make his day.”

The old master gave a small smile before walking towards the green ninja, but was stopped in his tracks by an unmistakable sound: metal door knockers slamming on the wooden gates.

“Mail’s here!” Lloyd cheered, immediately stopping his spinning to instead run towards the front of the compound, eager to see If his father sent anything.

“I asked Ronin to get me a scroll from the Mines of Xian’bo,” Misako called. “Would you mind seeing if the mailman has it?”

“Of course,” Wu said with a bow of his head, and followed Lloyd’s path to the gates of the estate, the sun merrily shining down onto the small family as the wind gently flowed, sweet with the summertime flower's scent.

---

Lloyd threw open the heavy wooden doors of the Garmadon estate's front gates, smile plastered over his young face as he thought of all of the snacks and goodies his father would sneak him from wherever he was conquering. It was a highlight of his time with Wu and Misako, a break in the monotony of ninja life. Misako was strict about his diet; because he was growing as well as vigorously training, his meals were packed with healthy food and nothing else. The snacks from Nadakhan’s village were a little odd, but they were snacks nonetheless.

The boy standing in front of the doors was not a gift from Lord Garmadon.

His posture was much different than their meeting backstage: he stood tall and proud with his shoulders pushed back, like one of the many trees planted around the compound that had survived harsh winds, ambushes from the Serpentine clans, and other attacks. Only Cole’s soft, downturned eyes gave away how he really felt: the pupils kept flicking around, from the gates to Lloyd to the ground to Wu, and then they did it again.

Behind him were trunks of luggage, less than what Wu had expected for someone uprooting their life. However, there was no cart to carry such heavy items, which explained the faint sheen of sweat on Cole’s forehead: he had used his superstrength to carry the trunks all the way from Ninjago City to the isolated family compound.

When he saw the daimyo, however, all nervousness melted away and he stopped chewing at his bottom lip, face cracking into a grin at the sight of the youngest Garmadon.

The young daimyo was so excited that he screamed “COLE!” and rushed forward to all but leap into the kabuki actor’s arms. The blond boy was caught easily, and the earth ninja chuckled as he spun Lloyd around, gently setting him back on his feet before looking at the old sensei, head bent in respect to the aged master.

Cole coughed awkwardly and cleared his throat as the green ninja scampered back to where Wu was standing. “I, uh, came to an agreement with my old man. They’ve started a new play and I didn’t get the part I auditioned for. A real bummer.” He offered a lopsided grin that betrayed the true meaning of his words.

The Spinjitzu master gave the newest addition to the family a warm smile. “Welcome to the Garmadon estate, Cole. Please, come in. I know you must be tired from the journey.”

The actor easily picked his heavy bags up as Lloyd trailed behind him, watching with starstruck eyes at the feat of strength, his face a flaming red, obviously embarrassed by his emotional outburst. Such a shame Misako made him grow up too fast, and is now ashamed of his childishness. He’s earned it. Cole was older than Lloyd, yes, but it was obvious that he was easygoing and good-natured, even with slightly hyper kids. My nephew is in good hands.

“Welcome home, Earth Ninja!” Lloyd said from where he had dashed ahead of Cole, eager to show him to the room they had prepared for him all those weeks ago.

“We cannot wait to see what you are capable of,” Wu offered, placing a hand on the newest ninja’s shoulder. "Ninjago cannot wait to see what you are capable of."

"I won't disappoint you...Sensei."

Chapter Text

“Sensei, this feels more like a costume than anything I have ever worn on stage. Ever,” Cole said as he awkwardly stepped from behind the large folding screen to show off the new ninja uniform Misako had custom designed and tailored for him. “I mean, I appreciate the fact that you went to all this trouble to make me this, but what about this screams “ninja” besides the fact that it’s black?”

One of the family’s ornate folding screens stood erected near the back of the hall so Cole could change without the possibility of being seen from any angle. The family had dragged a few cushions and a low table to sit around and write down notes and possible changes to the earth ninja’s new outfit. Near them was a large mirror propped up so Cole could see what the outfit looked like on his large frame.

“You are not a typical ninja,” Misako said as she spun her finger in a command for Cole to do a slow turn-around, leaning forward to get a better view of the outfit. “You have an extra weapon at your disposal: the very earth we walk on. You must accommodate for that.”

“Ma’am, a nio dasuki is something we wear on stage to show off how heroic we are. If an enemy gets a hold of this, I could be yanked backwards,” Cole replied, looking at the thick ropes wrapped around where his arm connected to his shoulders. “This feels a little…counterproductive to stealth missions.”

“You will not be wearing those clothes during a typical stealth mission,” Wu chimed in from where he was sitting at the table in the middle of the large gathering room. As per usual, a teapot and four cups were close by. “For a typical mission, you will wear the clothes the common folk of the area use, or dark blues and greys to blend in with the night. However, there are some battles you must face head on, and that means wearing armor that suits your powers.”

“So what I’m hearing is that I’m meant to be seen in this.”

“At least black is a cool color,” Lloyd piped up from where he was sitting at the table, messing with one of the ink brushes his mother had set out for notetaking. “Since I’m the green ninja, I’m stuck looking like a bamboo stalk. It's totally lame.”

“Hey, green’s pretty cool. I’d rather be a tree than some rocks and dirt,” Cole chuckled, and Lloyd gave a lopsided grin back.

“Focus not on what looks the coolest, but if the armor fits you, please,” Misako interrupted with a motherly smile from where she was scribbling notes down, Wu grinning at the seamless redirection.

Cole complied, turning his attention back to his reflection and stared. He felt strangely comfortable, the palette of black, browns, and earthy tones feeling natural as he did a turn in front of the mirror. Aspects of his background in kabuki were present, like the nio dasuki that wound around his shoulders and his waist, their weight a reminder of his father and home.

Other parts of the outfit were much more functional- hakama cinched at the calf so bandages could wind around his shins and ankle, armor layered on top. Instead of two-toothed geta, he wore tabi socks and lightweight waraji- perfect for running and battle. On his shoulders were sode, shoulder guards made of layers of metal connected on a leather base, and his chest was protected by a breastplate, designed to look like it was made of rock, cracked by molten lava. It made him feel invincible.

“I can…definitely understand why this is for battles,” he said. “Thank you for making it tailored to me; it fits perfectly.”

Cole spun in front of the mirror again, observing the way the fabric moved and the way the sunlight streaming through the windows glinted off the metal armor. It felt familiar, the many layers like the samurai costumes he had worn years prior in the theater, and the freedom of movement was wonderful.

Wu cleared his throat, catching the earth ninja’s attention and drawing it back to the family sitting at the table.

“Lloyd, would you like to get it from the drawer?” Misako said, a smile on her face as she saw Cole’s head tilt slightly.

Her son nodded, shooting up from the table and running out of the room.

“When we were preparing for your arrival and trying to figure out how best to go about training an earth master, we found some of your mother’s old belongings from when she stayed here for the Elemental Alliance years and years ago,” Misako explained. “Most of it was pictures, writings, a few medical documents, mementos from your father when he was trying to win her heart- all of which are open for you to go through- but I thought this would best be presented now.”

“You found some of her stuff?” Cole asked, hating the way he felt his voice go soft and wobbly, his breath catching in his throat. Dad kept all of her belongings in his room and I never got to see any of them. “F-from when she was here?” At the height of her powers?

“I got it, mom!” Lloyd called from down the hallway, his rapid footsteps thundering closer and closer. The green ninja appeared in the open doorway, a wide smile plastered on his small face as he triumphantly raised a paper wrapped item above his head.

“Well? Don’t keep him waiting,” Wu said, pouring more tea into his cup.

Lloyd ran up to Cole, unceremoniously shoving the package into his large hands. “Open it, open it!” the little daimyo said, eyes bright.

“Alright, alright,” the black ninja chuckled, ruffling the daimyo’s hair before looking down at the soft…thing in his hand waiting to be opened.

Gently peeling the paper back, Cole gasped softly. The ‘thing’ was an obi and matching obiage. The obi fabric was a light gold-orange that shimmered in the light, while the obiage was black. His mother’s family crest was embroidered in white on the sides of the obi, and in a light yellow gold thread mountains were embroidered. It was beautifully crafted and obviously well loved, as a few parts had obviously been sewed back up from minor rips.

Cole looked up at the Garmadon family, who were carefully pretending to do other things but were slyly watching him inspect the gift. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but no words came out as his shaking hands gripped the fabric tighter.

The earth ninja wiped the tears collecting at the corners of his eyes before hoarsely croaking out: “Thank you.”

“Of course,” Misako said with a smile, gently setting her inkbrush down. “Strength runs in your family, as well as good taste. Hopefully you’re fine with it being a woman’s obi. Please, put it on.”

Cole obliged, looking at the mirror as he placed the obiage on his waist, and then the obi, tying it carefully. It complemented the rest of his armor beautifully. “Did you…color coordinate this with the sash?”

“Of course,” Wu said with a self satisfied grin. “We can’t have one of the saviors of Ninjago looking shabby and colorblind, can we?”

“Apparently we can,” Lloyd huffed from where he was sitting at the table, flicking an inkbrush and watching it roll back to him. “When is it my turn to look cool?”

“You’re 13,” Wu reminded him. “Protection comes before looking cool. It’s a lot easier to break your ribs than to break Cole’s ribs, and your mother doesn’t have any armor to pass down to you.”

“He’s the Earth Ninja, uncle, his bones are probably made of rocks!”

“Are you calling me fat, blondie?” Cole couldn’t help but grin as he saw Lloyd’s face morph from shock at his words being twisted to a challenging grin, the young boy leaning across the table with a devilish smile on his face.

“No, I’m calling you heavy!”

“And I’m going to call you two to the gardens to run through some training drills! Cole, your ninja training officially begins now,” Wu said, getting up from the table, cup of tea in hand as both boys stopped trading jabs at each other. “Though I wouldn’t want you to dirty your uniform already. Change into your training clothes and meet me in the gardens, hmm?”

Cole immediately straightened his posture, jaw clamping shut as he nodded solemnly, resting his hands on the sash around his waist like he was preparing for a performance.

“I cannot wait to see what years of theater training will translate to,” Misako whispered to herself as she began to return her ink, brushes, and parchment into her yatate, watching as Lloyd all but leaped to his feet to follow after his uncle to the gardens.

---

The day was beautiful- not a cloud in the sky, and birds softly calling their songs from where they were perched in the ancient trees planted in and around the Garmadon estate.

“Your posture cannot falter, Cole!” Wu instructed as he saw the boy slump a little farther underneath the sweltering sun. Even though Cole was in a tank top and shorts, his hands wrapped for wrist support, he was still sweating buckets with the exertion. “Poor posture means poor form, which translates to weakness, sloppiness, and injury. Again!”

And here I thought my father’s training was hell, Cole thought as sweat dripped down his brow, too tired to raise a weak arm to swipe it away before dropping back into a wide-legged stance, making sure to keep his back straight and shoulders loose.

Across from him, Sensei Wu gripped his bamboo staff a little tighter. An invitation.

Inhaling deeply, Cole tried to imagine the same power he felt all those weeks ago with Lloyd and Torakichi; the warm embrace of earth around his arms and the strength surging through every vein and muscle.

Cole struck out, stomping his bare foot down and roaring with effort as he willed the earth to move beneath him. He tried to channel the same fluidity of movement that Wu had demonstrated earlier when the Spinjitzu master explained the specific style of martial arts the previous earth elemental masters used; but he knew that he had failed his task. The movements were too familiar, and it was obvious that he was recycling the mie poses that kabuki masters were expected to know by heart.

The ninja of earth was undeniably angry in himself that he had failed, but he still couldn’t help the cocky grin that slipped onto his face as the rumblings of the earth beneath him reached his ears. He watched with heaving breaths as the ground protruded in a fast-moving line towards Master Wu, who had to leap away (surprisingly spryly for a man his age) from the geyser of rock that shot upwards when it reached where he had previously been standing.

If Cole was still training with his father, Lou would have made him go through the basic forms of martial arts for hours until his limbs shook and his body was slick with sweat, barely able to remember anything but how his body should move through the cycle. To make sure his son never failed or disobeyed something simple again, the way a good father would.

Instead, Cole was rewarded with a genial smile from Wu. “It is good that you can use your background to aid you, Cole. Earth is notoriously inflexible, difficult to adapt easily. You are proving that idea wrong. I think we could make a master of you yet.”

The earth elemental glowed with pride, bowing to the sensei. “D- do you really think so?”

“Yes,” Master Wu replied. “But in order to confirm that, we must continue to train. Again, please.”

Cole nodded before dropping back into stance, squaring his shoulders and spreading his feet apart. Nothing would knock him down- not Master Wu, not Lloyd, not even Lord Garmadon when the day would eventually come. Rock does not move until it shatters.

---

Wu sighed from where he was standing over a single pot blazing on the stove, the flames eagerly licking the underside of the metal and causing the soup inside to boil and bubble. “I cannot keep doing this, Misako. I had to cut Cole’s training early today just to get something simple on the stove.”

The older woman looked at him from where she was preparing the rice, her kimono sleeves pushed up past her elbows as she closed the lid of the clay pot. “I agree. It was manageable when it was just Lloyd, but Cole…he needs much more food than any of us. We don’t have the time to devote hours to cooking something to not only sate him, but strengthen him, too. We must hire someone, Wu. Just one person. We have been without servants for many years, so I know it will be…odd to adjust to, but we must hire someone now, before any holidays or festivals roll around and all the help will be snapped up.”

The sensei opened his mouth to reply, before closing it and shaking his head. “I just…don’t want to hire someone with ulterior motives towards Lloyd, someone willing to play the long game in order to gain our trust and hurt him in the dead of night, or when either of us are away to gather information-”

“Wu.” Misako cut him off, gently placing her hand on his arm, the action making him stop talking and look at her. “Lloyd is strong. Stronger than me, and soon will be stronger than you, and with Cole by his side, I’m sure no harm will come to him. Anyways, you must stop thinking so negatively of everyone. What if the person we hire is amazing? What if they are just what we needed?”

“I wish I could still think like that, Misako,” Wu said. “But I have seen too much, and cannot bear to lose the Green Ninja- or my nephew.”

---

The ronin, dressed in stark whites and light blues, stopped in front of the Garmadon family estate’s gates, the red-painted wood signaling that someone important and not to be messed with resided there, and that they were protected very, very well.

The wandering warrior looked up, tipping the brim of his rice hat up so he could take a better look at the writing on the imposing structure. “Don’t wait until tomorrow what can be done today. Hmm. Well-written, but an odd choice for a family compound,” he murmured, walking closer to the gate and raising a hand to grip the rings held in the cast-metal animal’s mouth to slam it onto the door, knocking once, then twice, the sound booming through the air to alert anyone and everyone that there was someone at the door.

The ronin only waited a minute or so before the doors began to creak and swing open, their ancient gears creaking and groaning as thousands of pounds moved to show an old man, looking laughably small when standing in the doorway large enough to accommodate weapons of war standing expectantly in front of the ronin, his hands tucked behind his back. Nonthreatening to the average visitor, but to someone who had seen many men like him, set off a few internal alarm bells.

The white-clad man bowed deeply anyways. “It is an honor to be accepted into your home. I promise I will not let you down.”

“Good, good,” Wu replied, a genial smile blooming on his lips. “Please, Zane, come in. We have much to tell you.”

The sensei turned around, beginning to walk back into the compound, and with a start Zane jogged through the gates and to the older man’s side as they began to tour the grounds.

“Currently, there are only four of us,” Wu explained. “However, one of us- Cole- has already proven to need a lot to keep him fed throughout the day, and Lloyd needs something nutritious as he grows and trains. Misako won’t admit it, but she needs more collagen in her diet. Personally, fish, rice, and seaweed is enough to hold me over.” His tone was light as he walked, his hands clasped loosely behind his back.

Zane nodded, his sugegasa bobbing with the motion, although he was a few steps behind the master as a sign of respect. “I understand. Meals for two over-sixties, and two under twenty-five.”

“Well, when you put it like that, it seems worse than it is…” Wu chuckled, continuing to lead the ronin through the many halls and rooms. He stopped at a wooden door with paper windows and slid it open, revealing a simple, furnished room. The only things in it was a rolled up futon, a wooden desk with a matching chair, and a few tasteful flower pots on top of a simple wooden drawer. To Zane, who had spent many months sleeping in tents, under trees, or in sketchy inns, it was beyond luxurious.

“You will be sleeping in one of the guest rooms like this, closer to the family and Cole. Our servant’s quarters are downstairs by the kitchen, but it’s empty and I’m sure quite spooky to sleep in, since you’re our only staff.”

“Thank you, Master Wu,” Zane replied with a quick bow, surveying the room and committing its layout to memory. “I appreciate your hospitality.”

“You’re saving our family quite a bit of time, so it’s really you I should be thanking. Not many people want to work for a family associated with the man currently razing parts of Ninjago to the ground.” Wu slid the door shut and continued to walk down a connecting corridor with windows on the left revealing the courtyard full of blooming flowers and shade-bearing trees.

“One of the many things I have learned from my time as a ronin is that work is work, and people are people. Reputation is barely ever in our own control,” Zane said, his tone even as he studied the falsely relaxed posture of Wu. Even though the sensei’s white clothes were loosely tied at the waist and his skin was thin, there was an obvious outline of muscle here and there. Zane was still an outsider; still a possible danger to Lloyd, and they were both aware of it.

“Reputation, hmm? I’ve heard of yours, ronin of heavenly precision,” Wu said as he peered at Zane from the corner of his eye. “I have heard of your talent with a bow- shooting one of Master Chen’s generals through the eye from the top of a misty mountain. I have heard that the cold bothers you not, even while other wandering warriors succumb to the frost and snow.”

Zane licked his lips as he thought of how to best phrase his response, knowing the line between a job and another five months of wandering laid in his words. “As I said, Lord Wu, work is work. I learned to be proficient with a bow on my journeys, and it earned me money. My assassination of General Han was not personal; it was survival. I was alone and constantly on the move, I learned how to cook and hunt, once again with my bow. That too earned me money. I was raised in the Aisu Heiru No Mori, my Lord; the cold is my kin and frost is my clothing. As we have established, reputations are difficult to control, no?”

Wu stopped in his tracks, and Zane almost ran into his back, but stopped just in time to avoid a collision. The ronin said nothing, watching Wu for any sign of movement, hands flexing in preparation for an altercation.

The old man turned around, a smile on his face. “It’s been many years since I have met someone from the Aisu Heiru No Mori, and it’s been even longer since I’ve seen someone with as quick a wit as yours! My boy, you will fit in quite well here. Both Misako and Lloyd have fast and sharp tongues, it will do them well to have someone who can keep up with their debates and quips.”

Zane balked, blinking once, twice, as he stared at the lord of the house in confused silence. “Y-you…what? I don’t understand, my Lord, your tone earlier indicated mistrust and the way your shoulders were tensed aligned with a warrior prepared for battle- what now has changed?”

“What has changed is that you have shown that you hold no malice in your blood. Most ronin become…tainted. They are masterless samurai, and all they know is the draw of the blade and the spilling of blood. I sense none of that in you.”

Zane allowed himself a moment to process the old man’s words before bowing. “Thank you for allowing me into your servitude.” What have I gotten myself into? He’s off his rocker!

Wu bowed back. “Welcome to the Garmadon family. We look forward to your talents. Please, follow me. Misako has been wanting to meet you for quite some time.”

---

Zane was very good at pretending he wasn’t there. It was a skill acquired from years of sneaking around, serving in houses and restaurants, and mercenary work. When people think you are of a lower class, intelligence, or just simply not important, they will argue, yell, and spill emotions in front of you, not even giving you the slightest bit of acknowledgement. Making yourself known during these emotional outbursts was suicide.

Following that line of thinking, it was a shame the Garmadon family were some of the loudest, most social people he ever had the tragedy of meeting. Everything was a group vote, information was never, ever hoarded, and for some gods forsaken reason Zane- a humble, simple servant- was included in these things. What exercise should Lloyd and Cole do? Zane, you were a warrior, what do you think? Lloyd wants venison, do you think a deer can be caught with today's weather? Do you think Lloyd should allow the samurai to set up camp on the territory?

Most nobility wouldn’t even acknowledge Zane’s existence, and as long as he was getting paid, so be it. This was not the case with the Garmadons. Anytime he made a dish, at least one of them would have something to say about it. They even tried to make him eat with them, as if he wasn’t some guy they hired off the street to make them food.

Zane was customarily quiet as he served Wu and Misako an egg and fish soup, gently placing their bowls in front of them with a blank face. He was quiet when he returned from the kitchen with Cole’s protein-laden plate, piled high with rice and steamed greens. Zane didn’t even say anything when Lloyd accidentally splashed hot tea onto his jika tabi, although some expletives were on the tip of his tongue as the pain spread over his foot.

Biting his tongue, Zane bowed to the family sitting at the table as Lloyd apologized profusely before turning to disappear to the servant’s quarters, planning on eating his simple meal of scraps and leftovers before getting to work scrubbing the dishes and utensils clean. Easy work, honestly; he was getting paid quite a bit for some of the most mindless tasks he could imagine.

Suddenly, Zane felt a gentle, wrinkled hand on his arm- bare, as he had tied up his sleeves- and he immediately snapped out of his thoughts, his ice-blue eyes focusing on Misako.

“This looks wonderful. How on earth did you come up with this from what we had? Our supplies have been running low; our grocery delivery is yet to come for a few days.” The older woman’s eyes crinkled at the corners when she smiled at him, and he caught himself smiling back. It used to be out of professional courtesy, but Misako was easily his favorite of the family- she respected his tendency to keep to himself, and he often found her basking in silence in the library or gardens as she pored over scrolls.

To his horror, he was genuinely smiling back. “Fish and eggs have protein and many important vitamins and minerals. Most households have at least a few varieties of fish on hand year-round. It’s really just utilizing the spices and sauces available.”

“Whatever, man, this sh- er, food- is really good!” Cole interrupted from across the table, his mouth already full of the beef that Zane had put a hefty amount of muscle into thinly slicing and then searing.

The black ninja’s face gave no hint at lying, as it always did in the two weeks Zane had been cooking for the family, and he seemed to truly enjoy his food, viewing it as more than simple substance. Cole’s smile, genuine and happy at the portion size, made the newly hired cook’s stomach churn with- embarrassment? Pride? Something unfamiliar that stressed the cook out more than it needed to.

“I am…joyous that you like it. Food is not like finance, where there is a right and a wrong answer. Even the smallest change to a recipe can make something a perfect dish or nearly inedible to certain people. I will keep in mind that you enjoyed this, going forward,” Zane replied, trying to ignore the way Lloyd’s startlingly green eyes seemed to bore into the side of his face as he spoke, as it always did.

The ronin gave a false, tight-lipped smile before urgently whisking back into the kitchens to eat and escape the expanding Garmadon clan, his feet working overtime as he weaved through long, dark hallways, trying to shake off the feeling of Lloyd’s stare.

When he finally managed to slide the door open, close it quickly behind him, and sit down, he gave a shuddering exhale. “That boy…he knows something. I don’t know what, but…he knows,” Zane muttered, scrubbing a clean and well-manicured hand down his face, letting his typically pristine posture relax, slumping forward in his chair.

A gentle tapping on the window returned him to reality, startling him as his head whipped towards the sound.

“My old friend,” Zane ground out, letting his lips curl at the sight of the falcon that had plagued him for months, leading him through forests and valleys to a destination that didn’t exist, wasting the precious energy he needed to truly search for his family.

The falcon let out a piercing shriek, and the ronin got to his feet, crossing the kitchen to open the window and try and shoo the bird away, clearing away the cutting board and knives to lean further over the counter to open the window and flap his hands at it. “Get away from here,” he hissed, voice a low whisper, even though he knew the family were rooms away. “Your games are a waste of my time.”

With a flap of its wings, the falcon took to the air, letting out another squawk, before flying up and over the estate walls, looking expectantly at the white-blond man staring at it in disbelief.

Zane looked towards the sink, full of dishes and utensils to be cleaned before preparing the marinade for tomorrow’s meals, waiting for his skilled hands to make quick work of them.

“…There will be time later,” he murmured before stepping onto the countertop and out of the window, towards the falcon waiting patiently for him to follow it.

[Two Months Later]

“Lloyd, what did your mother say before we left?” Cole panted as he ran, weaving quickly through the trees that surrounded the pair on all sides. Behind them were the sounds of an enraged army, hot on their heels and firing projectiles indiscriminately in the ninja’s direction.

“To not approach anyone or anything that looked dangerous or unfamiliar?” the blond replied helpfully from where he was slung over Cole’s broad shoulders like a sack of flour as the yelling and cursing got louder, snakes erupting from the undergrowth and slithering down trees to join in on the chase.

“And yet here we are! You do know that I’m not that fast, right?” the earth ninja replied, panting heavily as he dodged a well-aimed arrow. His sinuses felt clogged with the smell of damp earth after a rainstorm, forced to take deep breaths methodically to avoid the certain doom that awaited him if he dared to falter for even half a second. “And that, you know, you’re not really holding them off or helping or anything. Hold on!” he yelled, before easily lifting the green ninja from his shoulder and throwing him into the air and over a tree that had snapped in half.

While Lloyd screamed for his life, Cole ducked under the tree, barely keeping his head low enough to avoid scraping the rough bark, and desperately swiped his hand backwards, the earth rising in a tidal wave to bowl over the front lines of the newly-disturbed Serpentine clan members before desperately holding his arms out to catch Lloyd like one of the balls the city kids would play with in the streets.

When the young ninja landed safely in the Cole’s arms, he gripped them for dear life. “If you ever do that again, I’m going to use Spinjitzu on you,” he warned, before sparing a glance at the army chasing them. He paled and quickly looked forward to see if there were any obstacles or sudden drops waiting for them, hidden amongst the thick trunks and sagging canopies of leaves.

“Hopefully we’ll still be alive long enough for me to do it again,” Cole replied as he continued running towards the river they had used to voyage unknowingly into the Serpentine clan’s territory. “Here’s hoping the Bounty is still waiting for us, kid!”

Cole continued running, but Lloyd’s weight was obviously taking its toll on him- his arms were drooping, and his breathing was heavy and uneven; the ninja was barely able to dodge the snapping maws of the snakes chasing them or the arrows and spears being thrown at their backs.

“Cole, put me down,” Lloyd said, tugging on Cole’s hakamashita to get his attention.

“What? And just let…whoever those guys are snap you up and kill you? I know you’re the green ninja and can- can do more Spinjitzu than me, but that’s suicide, kid,” Cole huffed, eyes firmly planted on the forest in front of him. The trees were beginning to be more and more spread out, and the moss-covered rock formations felt familiar. They were nearing the Bounty- and their only real route of escape.

“If we get on that boat and they’re chasing us, we’re going to get killed,” Lloyd replied, looking over Cole’s shoulder and inhaling a gasp at the sight of an army frenzied by bloodlust. Distantly, the thundering gallop of hooves could be heard- apparently, the two-legged snake army had a cavalry, and it had joined the chase. “We don’t have a water ninja yet. We’d be sitting ducks. But here, we’re still on your turf. We’d at least have a fighting chance.”

“I can make it,” Cole ground out, but his pace had lagged significantly, and they both knew he was lying through his teeth just based on the way his hair was sticking to his sweat-slick forehead from the exertion.

Lloyd rolled his eyes before going completely limp in Cole’s arms, allowing gravity to pull him downwards and onto the ground, easily rolling into the impact and springing up into a defensive stance, a simple bō disguised as a walking stick his only weapon.

Cole struggled to a stop, having to turn on his heel quickly to rejoin his younger counterpoint, watching futilely as the army neared closer and closer. He tugged at the green ninja’s arm, desperately trying to get the boy to run with him, but Lloyd shrugged his arm out of the kabuki actor’s gentle grip.

“We got what we needed, Lloyd, it’s time to go,” Cole said as his brow furrowed and his nose flared. In his low voice was a warning. “We don’t know who they are or what they can do. It’s not worth it.”

“Uncle always tells us that ninja never quit. You need to stand your ground,” Lloyd replied. “Anyways, that big purple guy still has the map to what we need.”

“Not that you’ll ever get it, boy!”

The army had finally caught up to them, the ninja's arguing enough of a setback to let the snakes surround them in a loose circle. From the back of their ranks came a disturbing noise of scales over leaves and sticks, a loud hissing accompanying it. The snake warriors nearest to where Cole and Lloyd were standing moved to the side to allow the largest of them all to enter the middle of the circle. He slithered forward, letting the two humans look up at him in fear barely disguised at awe.

“So…young,” he said, more to himself as he neared Cole, his long neck craning downwards to truly look at the ninja, observing how he was growing out the last bit of his awkward adolescent weight, the round edges of his face not yet completely gone. “So…fragile,” he hissed, moving towards Lloyd to inspect how thin and long his limbs were, his slender fingers in a white-knuckle grip around the wooden staff. “It’s such a shame that you peons were the ones to awaken the mighty Serpentine clan!”

Around him, his army cheered, shaking spears and banging their rusted swords against metal shields.

“The what clan?” Cole asked, but Lloyd’s face paled when he heard the name, and the purple armor-clad snake chuckled darkly.

“So it seems the boy has done his homework,” he said, looking to his army. “You are standing in front of the legendary Anacondrai General, Pythor.”

“And you are standing in front of the Green Ninja, Lloyd Garmadon!” Lloyd’s voice was defiant and strong, ringing out around the trees. Even Pythor looked surprised at the challenging tone of the young boy’s voice, his eyes widening with the declaration. A few of his Serpentine warriors began muttering and shifting their weight from foot to foot when they heard Lloyd’s name.

“Garmadon, hmm? I must say, I have a bone to pick with someone with that very name,” Pythor murmured, slithering in a circle around the pair of ninja, his hands crossed behind his back.

“Watch it, snake,” Cole spat, ushering Lloyd behind him as he stepped forward to lock eyes with the general. “The Garmadon you have a problem with isn’t him. You’ve been gone for far too long.”

“Well? What happened to the correct one, then? Has he finally mucked off and died, the hero’s death he always wanted? Insufferable, uppity brat that he was, always doing the right thing, slaying my brethren down with his good-for-nothing brother!” The general’s long neck extended so he could crowd Cole, his thin tongue flicking in and out as he took a breath in and listened to the thumping of a fear ridden heart. “These woods and caves where we have been imprisoned for millennia are wild; overgrown. No one has wanted these lands in years, boy, except someone trying to finish what they started. I should kill you now and end it for good.”

“I am the daimyo Lloyd Garmadon, heir to the Lord Garmadon’s empires and armies; as well as his wealth and status,” Lloyd said, his voice strong and clear. Instantly, Pythor’s red gaze snapped from Cole to Lloyd with interest obvious in his eyes. “Back off, or we won’t just imprison you again. We’ve never taken well to trespassers.”

“Just like your old man,” Pythor hissed angrily, slithering over dead leaves and sticks to where Lloyd was standing tall, chin raised defiantly.

The forest was dead silent; the only sounds being the distant rushing of a river and Cole’s heavy breaths as the army tensed for a fight, their grips tightening on the various weapons in their grasp.

“I never thought he would ever manage to secure an heir, the ugly bastard,” the general muttered as his long neck allowed him to look at Lloyd from all over, tongue flickering angrily as his eyes narrowed. “You’re no use to me dead.”

“Step away from him,” Cole warned, curling his fists as he watched the giant Anacondrai circle the one boy who could keep Ninjago truly safe.

Pythor didn’t even spare a glance at the black ninja, instead waving a hand absentmindedly before looking at his army. “Hear that, boys? So, the mighty Garmadon’s not dead after all.” The general looked back at Lloyd. “You’re just an heir- you don’t have any of that fool’s armies or wealth- all very interesting things for him to acquire unless, ah, his heart changed sometime between then and now,” he said with a mocking smile, turning away from Lloyd.

“Times change, Anacondrai,” Lloyd warned. “You’ll find that the no-kill policy has eroded over the years.”

Pythor laughed, a disturbing hissing noise. Around him, his army of warriors did the same, making Cole shudder at the inhuman noise, like a brood of cicadas had just erupted around them.

“The Great Devourer finally got him!” the snake crooned after his bout of laughter ceased. He bent down, his eye level even with Lloyd’s. “We will meet again, boy…though, without our map, I’m sure it’ll be later rather than sooner!” He cackled again before straightening up. “Come, boys, we have much to do.”

His army immediately relaxed, falling into formation as they watched the Serpentine leader slither back to the front of the circle. None of the Serpentine looked back, eyes on their general as they began the march back through the trees, Pythor’s large purple form slowly disappearing as he returned to the cave system the pair had fallen into on their search for the golden weapons. The sound of their armor and weapons clanking gradually receded as Lloyd collapsed to the ground, his hands shaking as he released his grip on the bō.

Cole turned around to check on the boy, his face scrunched up as he patted the daimyo down for injuries. “What in the name of the First Master were you thinking? He’s a giant snake. Did you see his fangs? If he bit you, you would be breathing through two holes in your neck right now.”

Lloyd just rolled his eyes. “I knew he wouldn’t do anything. Most evil guys either want an alliance or a fight with my dad. As soon as I say my name they don’t want to attack me- either to kidnap me to goad him into a battle, or because they don’t want to incur his wrath.”

“Your dad has attacked people for hurting you?”

“Oh, yeah,” Lloyd said, nonchalant. “He razed a village to the ground when their governor hired an assassin’s guild to try and kill me in the dead of night.”

“That’s…we’ll unpack that later. Getting back to the insane topic at hand, I may not know much about the politics of villains and samurai lords, but I do know that your dad has made enemies, and one day you’re going to meet someone who finds your head on a platter a little more useful than your namesake,” Cole replied, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I like a fight as much as the next guy, but you’re the only green ninja there has ever been. I need you to remember that on these missions.”

Lloyd got up off the ground with a huff. “I’ve been the one dealing with assassination attempts on and off since I could learn to speak. I think I know what I’m doing- you do remember you’re the newbie here, right?”

“I may be new, but I’m expendable, Lloyd,” the older ninja said, a pained look on his face. “My mother was the earth ninja- if I die, a new one will take my place. If you die, who knows what could happen.”

“You’re acting like I’m stupid,” the blond boy replied, rolling his eyes again. He leaned down to pick up his staff and began to walk through the woods towards the sound of the river, accompanied by birdsong and wind rustling the leaves.

“You’re not stupid, and I don’t think that you are. I just think you’re…young. Politics and fights are two different things- you can talk down an army over tea and a round table; but fighting it off by yourself is something I think only Master Wu could do.’

Lloyd shook his head. “…Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“If it was a few bandits, I’d be all for it, but Pythor is something new entirely. I’ve only seen scrolls in museums depicting Serpentines- I just thought they were a human army named that because their armor looked like snakes! Any methods of fighting them have been lost. We gotta tell Wu and Misako about this,” Cole said, looking down at Lloyd’s hunched figure and pinched frown. The taller ninja sighed softly before reaching a hand over to ruffle the green ninja’s hair. “You still handled it really well. I especially liked the part where you lied out of your ass and implied that these lands are in your jurisdiction.”

“One thing you learn from sitting through peace talks, trade deals, and land negotiations for days on end is how to lie confidently. Sometimes I end up believing the insane stuff I say,” Lloyd said with a small smile as his cheeks got a little pink from the praise. “I’m telling Misako you cussed around me, though.”

“Wh- hey!” Cole cried, his eyes widening, as the younger ninja giggled and ran towards the Destiny’s Bounty, the black-haired boy easily giving chase.

---

“The Serpentine are back?” Misako gasped as she sat across the two ninja in one of the study rooms.

The room was covered in a variety of maps from different eras, pins stuck in a few to determine where the Golden Weapons were and weren’t. Sketches, notes, and scribblings were strewn over any and all free surfaces, a few even plastered onto walls and the maps. In the middle of the room was a large wooden table, books and scrolls pushed aside so a large tome with a history of the Serpentine could be placed in between the four.

“Yeah,” Lloyd said, sheepishly hanging his head as Wu gasped and Misako’s frown deepened. “We went to the caves you guys said a clue could be in, but I guess there was a trap door or secret entrance near it ‘cause Cole’s heavy butt made us fall through it and into wherever they had been imprisoned.”

“Hey-” Cole protested, looking offended as Lloyd smirked.

“Focus,” Misako reminded them, her tone gravely serious. “The Serpentine were some of the biggest threats Ninjago had ever faced. It took all the elemental masters, Wu, and Garmadon working together to banish them.”

“That makes sense,” Lloyd said. “Pythor was hoping dad had, what- died a hero’s death? And then I guess he figured out that dad’s evil now, so he left us alone.”

“This is the worst outcome of your interaction,” Wu said, shaking his head. “Pythor managing an alliance with Garmadon, who is possibly at the height of his rampage, could mean certain doom for Ninjago. We only have two ninja right now, one of whom has only had two months of training. We must increase your training, and I will ask that your time spent studying with Misako will be spent researching the Serpentine. We must be prepared so Ninjago can stand another day.”

“Yes, Sensei,” Lloyd and Cole chorused, already getting to their feet to go to the courtyard for light sparring as the two adults exchanged a frightened look behind the ninja’s backs.

---

Cole laid on his back, an arm tucked under his head as he looked at the wooden panels making up the ceiling above him; his room illuminated by the moonlight seeping in through the windows. He let his eyes flutter shut and body fully relax, the tension and fear that had built up over the course of his mission seep out, slowly but surely.

Wu and Misako had made sure his room was closest to the gardens, and he appreciated it greatly, feeling calmer just by being closer to a hub of rocks, sand, and the earth. His futon felt comfortable and welcoming as his large frame relaxed into the softness, his breathing evening out as his thoughts wandered.

Wu’s face when he saw the two boys arrive after docking the Bounty, dirty and tired from their espionage through the cave system and then running for their lives in the woods; Misako’s expression becoming grim when Lloyd explained Pythor and his reaction to Lord Garmadon’s rise to power; the way the shower felt rejuvenating as the dirt and sweat was washed away from him, and then to Zane and how the food he had been served was filling and satisfying.

Zane.

The new cook, hired to take some stress off of Wu and Misako as they dedicated their time to training Lloyd and him in the ways of the ninja and how to master their elements. The man who was as old as Cole, possibly a few years older, but seemed so mature, as if he had lived a hundred lives while Cole simply pretended to experience them on stage. Zane, who was possibly the first person to never return one of Cole’s smiles, cold as ice. A ronin who was always composed as he answered questions, his voice smooth and even. Zane, who seemed to know something about Cole that no one else had picked up on, his frosty demeanor always keeping the family at arm’s length. Who avoided Lloyd like the plague, his eyebrows always furrowing slightly when in range of the young ninja.

Cole sat upright on his futon, suddenly hot and frantic, chest beginning to heave, the panic of earlier in the day coming back in full force, as if Pythor was breathing down his neck and he had no powers, no strength. What if he’s after Lloyd?

Quickly and quietly, Cole got up from his futon and crossed his relatively bare room, bare feet erasing any noise he might make as he crept towards where Lloyd slept, keeping his large body low to the ground and out of sight of any windows. His head constantly swiveled around, looking for threats- for Zane’s slender figure. Cole had a feeling that the cook moved with a purpose, his movements graceful and fluid, speed his main ally, and that if he tried anything, Cole would have to concentrate on accuracy to keep the green ninja safe.

He continued his slow creep through the many hallways towards the section of the compound where the family slept, keeping his eyes peeled and alert. Distantly, Cole heard a door slide open, and snapped his head towards the sound, his eyes narrowing.

When the sound of a door sliding shut reached his ears, any pretense evaporated from his body, and the large boy gave chase, remembering Wu’s training from the weeks prior to keep his footsteps light and not wake the family up.

He followed his ears, reaching the guest room hallway, before a flash of movement from one of the corridor windows caught his eye- a figure, tall and thin, was moving towards the front gate. Cole allowed his lips to curl as he made haste to follow Zane. “What the hell is he doing?” he muttered, slipping out of the front door and into the night.

He looked around, the silver moonlight illuminating the area between the family estate’s front doors and the large wooden gates that connected to the larger fence. The doors were too loud and heavy to open silently, which meant that…

Cole saw the shadowy figure disappear over the tall, fortified walls, and tried not to groan. He was a heavy being, and being disconnected from the ground didn’t make him all too happy.

Pushing past his restraints, he commanded the earth to lift him up, and jumped over the fence, landing with a muffled oomph!

Zane, who had stilled near the tree line outside of the family’s grounds, looked towards the black ninja like a startled deer before bolting towards the bamboo forest that the Garmadons had jurisdiction over, that connected to other areas like valleys and fields. A lone falcon’s cry echoed into the night as Cole gave chase, giving up any pretense of stealth.

“Stop right there!” he yelled as he tried to follow the cook, but his earlier guesses had been right- Zane’s movements were extremely fluid, allowing him to weave between the thin stalks easily as Cole’s shoulders constantly bumped into them and stalled his progress.

Finally, the ninja’s brain fired and he remembered one thing at his disposal that Zane didn't have: mastery over the earth they walked on. With a grunt, Cole thrust his hand forward, willing the dirt between him and Zane to oscillate like a rug being snapped open.

The cook fell to the ground, and Cole used the opportunity to have the earth wrap itself around the thin boy’s ankles, keeping him down as the larger of the two finally caught up.

“What the hell were you trying to do to Lloyd? If you poisoned him, I swear that I’ll feed you twice the dose,” he hissed, grabbing the cook’s collar like a cat and effortlessly lifting him up, the earth releasing its grip and letting his legs dangle in the air.

“I was just following- wait, what?” Zane asked as his eyebrows scrunched and head tilted. “Lloyd? I didn’t do anything to the boy except feed him like Lord Wu asked.”

“Then why were you sneaking around in the dead of night and running away like a criminal from the scene of a crime?” Cole demanded, observing the pale boy’s expressions under the light of the moon.

“I was…following an omen,” Zane replied with a small sigh. “Please put me down. My legs are starting to lose circulation.”

“Sorry, man,” Cole said out of reflex as he put the cook down, before narrowing his eyes and returning to character. “But I still don’t trust you. You were following an omen? Of what? Death?”

“Not of death, but your assumption is understandable,” Zane replied, dusting off his white hakama, shaking loose soil off of his ankles. “Most people don’t trust a ronin as…infamous as I. The omen was a falcon, loud and irritating. You probably heard its cry.”

“I…did, actually,” Cole said. “But that’s not the point. If you’re some well-known ronin, why are you working for the Garmadons and not for the other warlords in the area?” Cole asked, crossing his arms as he watched Zane straighten his clothes out.

“I never wanted to be a ronin,” Zane said with a small sigh, his bright blue eyes falling to the ground as his arms hung limply at his sides. “My father disappeared around the time memories of my youth began, I believe. I only remember my life beginning at the age of ten, when I woke up alone in the snow of the Aisu Heiru No Mori. I…I think I also have a brother, but I cannot remember. I have no family to tie myself to and nowhere to go, so I wander in search of something, anything, to lead me back home, if I even have one. I figured that having somewhere to work and live for a while would allow me the freedom to devote time to finding my father, and my memory.”

Cole’s expression fell as he studied Zane- his perfect posture was no longer an effect of discipline, but instead a bowstring so taught it was ready to snap at any moment. His perfectly combed hair reeked of a habit formed because it was one of the things Zane truly had control over, and it made Cole’s defenses and suspicions melt away.

“Do you think the falcon will lead you home?” he asked, his voice considerably softer. The pain of losing his mother had barely ebbed away in the years after her death- he could not imagine the uncertainty of not knowing if your whole family was alive or dead, or if you ever had any family at all.

“I hope so,” Zane replied. “Though if it has any answers, it will not give them up easily. In the last six months it has begun following me, showing up outside of windows or flying overhead. I feel as if it has been taunting me, leading me to forests and dead ends, although I know I probably sound insane for saying so out loud.”

Cole shrugged. “I know a guy who swears up and down that the water spirits near Stiix are trying to unionize, and he has all his memories to boot.”

Zane laughed, a soft noise that seemed to escape him unintentionally, and he brought a hand up to cover his mouth. “Forgive me, but…I’ve worked in Stiix for a pawnshop owner named Ronin. During my stay there, I can definitely say that the water spirits are up to something.”

“Oh, great,” Cole groaned, exaggerating his voice with a small smile. “He’s already insufferable. If he turns out to be right, we’re all in for it.” Zane laughed again, and Cole’s grin got bigger. He nudged the cook with his elbow. “Do you see your falcon?”

The pale boy looked around the bamboo before turning his eyes skyward, surveying the clouds and stars. “…No, I do not,” he replied, looking back at the earth ninja.

“Good. Let’s get the hell back to the house before Wu realizes we’re gone. I’m pretty damn tired.”

“Where on earth did you learn such a poor mouth?”

“I’m a kabuki actor first, ninja second, man. The cussing comes with the costumes. Honestly, for someone who was a wandering warrior and probably found himself in more than one bar fight, I’m a little offended I haven’t heard you cuss once.”

Zane chuckled, shaking his head, before setting off through the trees towards the estate. “I believe I was raised better than that, even if I don’t remember it.”

“Fair enough.”

They continued their trek in silence, the nighttime symphony of nocturnal animals, crickets, and cicadas providing the soundtrack for their return.

“I noticed that you have no shoes on. Do your feet not hurt? We must have walked over sharp rocks by now,” Zane said, giving Cole an inquisitive look.

The earth ninja shrugged. “I have thick skin, and I think the earth knows I’m part of it, so I’ve never like, kicked a rock. Anyways, if you weren’t so suspicious, I would have had the time to put some shoes on before chasing after you. Speaking of that- how did you get over the wall so quickly?”

“I have had to make a quick escape more than once,” Zane replied with a small smile, remembering hasty escapes after stealing an artifact from one clan to give to another. “Once you learn how to jump in just the right way to need minimal extra footing to heave yourself up, you don’t forget. I also think I’m not wrong in assuming we have a weight difference.”

Cole huffed, puffing his cheeks out in mock anger. “Why does everyone bring that up? Just because I indulge in some cake once or twice doesn’t make me some thousand-pound beast. First Lloyd, and now you? I ought to just go back to the stage with how I’m treated around here….”

“Forgive me, Cole,” Zane said, his cheeks a faint pink from the laughter that he couldn’t hold back. “I meant no ill will.”

“As long as you don’t blame me for accidentally releasing the Serpentine because I was too heavy for a trapdoor, we’re fine.”

The pair lapsed into silence once more, perking up when the behemoth walls and gate to the Garmadon estate came back into view.

It was always a striking sight, seeing it from the outside. Tall walls made of wood that had an ancient quality to them, as if they had come from trees that were fully grown long before you, your father, or his father were around- and would still be standing long after you had returned to the earth from whence you came.

The gate was equally imposing, made of the same wood, maroon paint chipped and showing the reddish wood underneath. The large doors were painted with yin and yang symbols surrounded by roaring dragons and grimacing oni, faded gilded gold making the illustrations stand out, even in the soft moonlight. The knockers were made of steel, carved into lions holding rings in their mouths that were as large as your head, and protective charms were hung all around the doors, fluttering softly when the wind blew.

It all conveyed a grand sense of awe: that by stepping inside, you were stepping into a millenia-old legacy, walking the same ancient paths that the Garmadon family had owned since before time had a name.

“I know I have superstrength, but if I open these doors, everyone is going to know, and Master Wu is going to beat my ass for not getting enough sleep,” Cole said, dropping his voice as he looked up at the gates. Even though he knew no one could hear him, it felt like the appropriate thing to do.

Zane tsked. “Language, Cole.” He looked away from the gates. “We’re going to have to jump the fence.”

“Once was already enough,” Cole grumbled, but he still followed the pale boy to the right side of the gates and mentally prepared to have to use his superstrength to punch handholds in the walls to heave himself up.

“Watch closely,” Zane said, interrupting the black ninja’s thoughts. “I am sure it will come in handy when you are on a mission.”

He walked a distance away, and silently launched himself forward, taking a few large steps before leaping up an almost impossible height, his jika tabi touching the wood of the fence only a few times- but the split second his foot had contact, Zane used it to propel himself upwards another few feet. It almost looked as if he were running up the fence, and he easily made it to the top, balancing on the flat top of the fence.

He smiled down at Cole, the smugness evident, even so far up in the clouds. “The weather is wonderful up here, earth ninja!” he called, and Cole felt himself eagerly rise to the bait.

“What, was that supposed to impress me?” he barked back, and walked backwards to give himself evident space to really get his legs going.

Using the earth to propel him forward, the kabuki actor grunted as he launched himself towards the wooden planks awaiting him, feeling his superstrength course through his muscles as he soared through the air.

Snarling a little with effort, gravity already working on pulling him down, Cole focused his inhuman strength from his whole body into just his thighs and pushed forward like a coiled string.

Zane’s face when he was joined by the other boy was priceless.

“And here I thought you were going to do something amazing,” Cole teased, bending forward a bit, putting his face close to Zane’s to really drive home his taunting, hands shoved into the pockets of his sleep pants.

The cook rolled his eyes, but it took effort to yank them away from the sight so, so close to him: dark, long lashes fanned over downturned eyes, heavily lidded with the joy of victory; a strong nose crooked from an accident in training paired with plush lips curled into a genuine smile over teeth well-taken care of. Some of Cole’s hair, ink-black and the perfect length, was almost close enough to tickle Zane’s pale face.

I can show you something amazing, is what Zane wanted to say, ripping his eyes away from the tantalizing face in front of him. “Most people are quite impressed by that, I’ll have you know,” is what he actually said, faking an annoyed huff and hoping Cole couldn’t see the pink on his cheeks in the night. “But I guess most people do not have magical abilities over the earth we stand on,” he followed up, voice much softer than intended.

“I mean, cooking something that tasted good and had that much nutritional value in it is pretty impressive. Back at the theater, I’d always opt to get something from Chen’s noodle house than actually step foot in a kitchen.”

Zane sighed. “That is why Lloyd called you heavy during training.”

“Hey, I always kept the weight off- YOU HEARD THAT?”

“You two are very loud, even when the Lord of the House asks for silence during meditation.”

Cole sighed and shook his head. “I…have noticed a change in my weight recently. Not like I gained fat or anything- to be honest, I’m probably in the best shape of my life thanks to Master Wu making me spar for half a day every day. It’s just like…my bones have gotten heavier. Harder. As if I’m turning into rock.”

Zane looked over at the ninja, his eyebrows raised and expression blank as he did a once-over of Cole. “Hmm. I cannot say I have met another, ah, Elemental Master on my travels, but I could see the validity of your claims.”

Cole shrugged. “It’s honestly whatever, just a little weird getting used to, but I feel like my superstrength is compensating pretty well for it. If this happened to say, a hypothetical Master of Fire or something, I don’t think they would fare as well.” The black haired boy looked down at the steep drop to the other side of the wall, and then the jog to the back door of the sprawling house, a devilish smile blooming on his face. “Anyways, the weight lets me get back down to earth pretty quickly!” he whooped before happily jumping from the top of the fence.

Zane gasped as he watched the ninja hurtle to the ground at twice the speed a normal man would. He gasped again as he saw Cole land evenly on his feet as a cloud of dust erupted from around his landing spot, an amazed scoff punching out of Zane’s lungs.

The small form of Cole waved up at the cook, and even though his face was much too far away to discern an actual expression, the ex-ronin had a feeling he was wearing a wide grin.

Zane inhaled deeply before leaping forward and down, easily tucking himself into a ball to cushion the landing- which, he noted with some pride- was next to a very shocked looking Cole.

“I have been thrown from the ramparts of feudal lords’ castles before. This drop is nothing,” he replied primly, before beginning to walk towards the house.

 “Spinjitzu above, Wu’s hired a madman!” Cole cackled as he matched the cook’s pace, the midnight breeze helping the pair along.

---

The new cook made Lloyd’s stomach hurt.

Not from food poisoning or anything of the like- no, he was quite talented in the kitchen, even when wearing a pink apron stained with the blood of whatever fresh game he had managed to catch around the family territory and forests (which was an extremely disturbing sight to see, especially in the wee hours of the morning when the sun hadn’t fully risen).

The uneasiness arose from his mere presence, like a deceptively clear body of water. No ripples of movement, but the second you begin to swim, a deadly beast would emerge from the depths to snap you up and drag you to the depths of the ocean.

Seeing Zane, a known warrior, tote a cleaver’s knife instead of a katana, or wear an apron instead of armor, felt…wrong. He was obviously a proud man, who knew his skills and were confident in them. Seeing him bow to show deference to the lord of the house, Wu, was excusable. Seeing him bow to Lloyd felt wrong; like something he had no business seeing, as he was at least six to seven years Zane’s junior. There was a subtle power to the man constantly clad in white, a thrumming of energy that couldn’t be stifled, but was dormant. It made Lloyd uncomfortable, tense; as if expecting him to be yet another assassin in disguise, waiting for the day his unflappable composure finally snapped and he turned on them all.

It would have been an easy problem with an easy solution: tell his mother that his life was at stake for the eleventh time, banish the ronin to the deserts of Ninjago, and continue on training with Cole and his uncle.

That was where the difficulties began.

Cole would not leave Zane alone. Any time he wasn’t hanging out or training with Lloyd, he was pestering the cook. When he was served at mealtimes, Cole would smile widely and offer the pale man an appreciative slap on the shoulder that would most likely dislodge a normal man’s joint, but Zane would simply give the ninja an appreciative smile in return- which he never did for Lloyd.

Lloyd would hear them sometimes, at night. Sneaking through the halls, conversing softly, or occasionally exchanging punches in the courtyard. When they did that, the black and white duo looked like they were dancing rather than sparring. Both warriors would sport easy smiles on their faces as they moved in sync, never truly doing damage to each other, exchanging damaging blows over normal conversation. That was the only time Lloyd saw Zane truly show his emotions openly, smiling widely as he spoke with Cole, blushing when the kabuki actor would say something flirtatious (which, ew, gross), or gloat over the earth ninja if he managed to best him. It made Zane seem more…human. Cole was an excellent judge of character, so if he trusted Zane, Lloyd supposed he had to trust him too.

It did not mean he had to like the cook.

“Lloyd? What has your attention this time?” Misako’s voice was low, gentle as it usually was, but there was an undercurrent of frustration. “You’ve been spacing out a lot more, recently. Is it the Serpentine?”

The sudden interruption to his thoughts immediately snapped Lloyd back to reality as he processed the sight of smeared ink on parchment and his mother’s concerned face. “I, um, I don’t know?” he succinctly replied, and mentally kicked himself for the fumble with an internal groan.

His mother’s face morphed into one of concern. “Are you not getting enough sleep? Are you eating too much, or too little? How much water have you drank today?”

“It’s not that,” Lloyd sighed, clearing away his writing supplies and closing the history book on the Serpentine war. His private lesson with Misako was as good as over for the day. “It’s…Zane. He makes me feel…weird.”

Misako paused, looking at her son, before sitting down across from him and reaching a hand over to grab the green ninja’s. “I appreciate you being comfortable enough to tell me that. I need you to know that it’s okay to feel that way, Lloyd. You’re at the age when you start noticing your peers in a different way, and there aren't a lot of girls for you to notice your age-”

“What? Mom, no! Gross! Zane, that way? What the heck?” Lloyd sputtered indignantly, rearing back in his seat as he felt his face flush. “I- I meant that he makes me feel like he’s hiding something!”

“Oh,” Misako said, blinking owlishly. “OH!” she repeated, her cheeks pinking a little. “I’m sorry, my dear. I guess I had been waiting to give you that talk sometime, and I wanted to beat Wu to it since it’s been a little while since he’s gone through all that. But, um, back to Zane. Lloyd, of course he’s hiding something. He’s a ronin, and seems to have no family. Men like him always have secrets. I’m sure he didn’t want to frighten us with tales of his past exploits.”

“Not like that,” Lloyd protested, trying to make his mother understand. “Like, when I saw Cole, I knew there was something different about him. When I look at Zane, I feel like there’s something hidden just under the surface. Like he’s actively holding something back.”

“I mean, he told Wu and I that he dabbled in mercenary work before seeing our advert in the Ninjago newspapers. He probably has lengthy weapons training that simply isn’t going to be showcased while cooking. Seeing you and Cole get to use katanas and throwing weapons probably makes him a little nostalgic, maybe even jealous.” Misako’s face was sympathetic as she spoke to Lloyd, her tone even as she explained, but it only made him more irritated.

“You’re not getting it!” he huffed, leaning back from the table and getting up, quickly crossing the study-turned-classroom in a few strides, and turning out the door and towards his room.

The matriarch sighed softly as she watched her son storm off.

---

“Sensei, I’m not ready,” Cole said desperately over tea in Wu’s private study, hands spread palm-up on the tabletop. “I can’t even do Spinjitzu yet, and you said it yourself that my fighting has very little technique and I rely too much on my elemental powers! I can barely keep myself safe, much less Lloyd. How am I supposed to get the map to the golden weapons if I can barely beat you in sparring?”

“It does not matter if I think you are ready or not. You can only learn so much from drills and training. You must use it in battle to truly progress,” Wu replied before taking a sip of his tea.

“There’s only two of us, and who knows how many Serpentine! Lloyd and I don’t stand a chance against Pythor, Sensei,” Cole protested, brows furrowed as he tried to make the Spinjitzu master see his point of view. “I can’t Lloyd get hurt on our first real, important mission. Having him out of commission means that the Serpentine will have extra time to do who knows what as he heals.”

“You won’t let him get hurt,” Wu replied, giving a small shrug, as if he was explaining this to a child. “Your elemental powers would not allow it, just as Lloyd’s powers would not allow any true harm to befall you.”

“We need another ninja, at least,” the black-haired boy begged. “Please. Just let Lloyd find another elemental master, and we can storm Pythor’s keep whenever you want. I…I just… can’t do this with just one other person.”

The master sipped his tea, pretending to mull over Cole’s proposition, watching slyly as the ninja fidgeted in his seat, cup of tea completely untouched. I’ve been waiting for this to happen. A sign of a leader is the willingness to admit that he is unprepared, and to acknowledge the protection of not just himself, but his team.

Wu snuck another peek at the earth ninja. He really does look unconfident in his skills, although he is getting the hang of his element as fast as-or faster than- his mother before him. Misako said that he would be doing Spinjitzu any day now.

The sensei fake-sighed, his exhalation causing the steam rising from his teacup to swirl around. “I suppose it will be easier with another ninja. Your request has been granted.”

The kabuki actor let out a breath he had been holding unknowingly, slumping forward a little. “Thank the First Master,” he muttered under his breath, and Wu stifled a chuckle.

Cole got up from his seat, and bowed deeply. “Thank you, Sensei,” he said, and when Wu dipped his head in acknowledgement, Cole left the room, posture still slightly slouched from the stress of asking such a big favor from the current head of the Garmadon family.

Wu smiled to himself. He could probably take Pythor alone, his strength naturally already immense enough to move mountains. I won’t tell him that, though. Let him be proud when he eventually does make the mountains bend to his will.

Chapter Text

Another month passed, filled with steady pay, three square meals a day, and a strange feeling of belonging accompanying it. Most of Zane's jobs never lasted this long, and having one of the finest estates in Ninjago housing him didn't hurt, either. For the first time in a long while, Zane felt himself truly settling down, a luxury he was unused to.

With that, however, came with acknowledging that Zane was smack dab in one of the strangest estates in Ninjago. Misako was an intellectual juggernaut, often found writing to archaeologists on theories relating to the realm's folklore, and was also married to the man currently terrorizing Ninjago's islands. Wu was either seventy or seven hundred, content to keep up his act of a jolly but wise old man, dispensing cryptic wisdom whenever possible. Cole was a star kabuki actor who was large, strong, and intimidating- but also a sentimental crybaby with a major sweet tooth. Lloyd was the strangest of all; an amalgamation of cosmic divinity, the Chosen One made flesh, only thirteen but the holder of the powerful title of daimyo. His bright green eyes, more perceptive than someone his age would have, was constantly observing those around him as he cycled through martial arts kata, his elemental power of energy a terrible force in inexperienced hands.

The strangeness of living with ninja meant that the sounds of physical exertion had long become background noise to Zane’s daily work, accompanying the bubbling of whatever pot he was watching or the dull thuds of his cleaver into fresh meat. A simple glance out of the window of the kitchen gave him a view of the two ninjas constantly sparring each other, jumping and kicking, wielding superhuman powers and weaving their elements into their fighting styles. Occasionally they used weapons- Lloyd was fond of staffs and polearms, whereas Cole had taken to swinging heavy hammers or wearing brass knuckles that Misako managed to acquire from who knows where.

Lloyd was quick, constantly moving as he charged up blasts of energy, throwing them like a shuriken, whereas Cole would control the earth with his movements, bringing them along for the ride to increase the power of his heavy hits. Both of them were completely in tune with their elements, rarely if ever struggling to make them bend to their will. It was an impressive sight that Zane was privy to, and slightly strange that the insanity of those two had become his normalcy, his constant as he worked, but against all odds, he enjoyed it. It was much better than infiltrating seedy bars or grimy dens of crime, walking for hours a day just to get a job that wouldn’t pay well.

I don’t often get to fight anymore, he thought as he carefully de-boned a fish bought from one of the many fishermen in the Ninjago City harbor. I wonder if Cole would spar with me later if I asked…. The thought of his friend’s large hands on him made Zane blush, but there was a true underlying fear to the thought. Cole was strong, and it was obvious he was heavily restraining himself when he fought Lloyd, whose bones would snap easily under the full weight of the earth master. Zane had proven he could take what Cole gave during their late night sparring sessions- but what if he forgot he was blessed with the power ten times that of Zane?

“Ah!” Zane gasped, yanking his hand back at the sudden pain. “Damn,” he huffed, reaching for a clean towel to blot the cut in his thumb caused by watching the fight outside and not the task at hand.

The cook quickly exited the kitchen so as to not contaminate any of his ingredients and began the walk towards one of Misako’s many personal rooms, where he knew she kept bandages on hand when Lloyd and Cole got a little too rough with each other or when their missions- simple patrols around Ninjago City apprehending criminals- didn’t always go as smooth as the ninjas hoped.

The hallways were brightly lit with the mid-day sun, and Zane knew that the two elemental masters would soon be done sparring (typically Cole yielding) and searching for something to eat, which meant that the sooner he bandaged his finger, the less nagging he would have to deal with. (Lloyd begging for food was understandable, since he was still a child. Cole begging was obnoxious. Every day Zane wondered how on earth that boy managed to make it to 19 years old.)

“I guess I’ll take the shortcut,” he murmured to himself. “Maybe get a little sun before going back to the kitchen.”

The compound the family lived in was shaped like a large square, and Misako’s rooms (along with Cole, Lloyd, Wu and his room) were on the opposite side of the house, so theoretically, if Zane simply cut through the garden area where Cole was getting his ass beaten by a thirteen-year-old, he would reach his objective sooner. The quickest way from point A to point B is a straight line.

Easily locating and walking towards one of the many sliding doors that connected to the gardens, Zane opened it and let the sun wash over him, inhaling deeply at the feeling of his skin warming up. He began to move forward, towards the sound of grunts and the impact of fist on skin.

When he spotted the pair fighting, he couldn’t help but grin. It was obvious that Lloyd was winning the fight and enjoying every second of it, forcing Cole to be on the defensive.

The black ninja lashed out with a killer hook, but the blonde easily dodged Cole’s fist and weaved around his hulking form, delivering quick and nasty kicks wherever he could, as fast as he could muster, causing the older boy to grunt with the impact.

“You’re going easy on me!” Lloyd complained as he deftly jumped away from a rock Cole had launched in his direction. Neither of them took notice of Zane’s quick walk across the pavilion, aiming to snake around the zen garden to get back inside, though his pace had slowed so he could watch the entertaining fight unfold.

“I am not!” Cole growled, his voice laced with indignation, before stomping a foot out onto the garden’s stone paving and thrusting his hand out, causing a group of hefty rocks to hurtle at the smaller boy, though to Zane it was as plain as day that he intentionally made them go a little slower to avoid a concussion (or worse).

“Yes, you are!” Lloyd replied. “If you were using your full powers, you would be able to dodge…this!”

This is always the most impressive part, Zane thought as he came to a stop to watch the family’s most guarded secret come to life.

The green ninja launched himself into the air, rearing his leg backwards to generate movement, before quickly whipping his body forward and allowing his element to course through his body, illuminating his veins and arteries and making his body look lighter than air. He spun towards Cole, quickly, and stifled a laugh at the barely-schooled expression of irritation on his sparring partner’s face before causing the elemental master to fall backwards as some of Lloyd’s energy arced through the air and connected with his skin.

“How on earth are you doing that?” Cole groaned from where he was a heap on the ground. “Sensei keeps telling me it’ll occur naturally, but obviously, that hasn’t happened. I just can’t get myself to go fast enough for Spinjitzu. Ugh, Lloyd, that one hurt.”

Lloyd came to a stop and then shrugged. “I dunno. I just sorta…jump up, kick back, whip around and spin? I feel like once you get moving, your element takes over and helps keep you in motion.” He walked over to where Cole was sitting and helped him up. “I’m sure you’ll get it soon. You’ve only been a ninja for three or four months, whereas I’ve been training since I was nine.”

“I can’t believe a thirteen-year-old is better at this than me,” Cole sighed dramatically, before dropping into a sturdy, defensive stance. He gave the daimyo a cocky grin. “Bring it on, blondie.”

Lloyd mirrored the action, a matching grin blooming on his face. “Only if you actually try.”

The green ninja wasted no time in rushing forward, already beginning the smooth whirling motions typical of his energy-bending, green tendrils of power already condensing at his palms. Judging from the radiant glow the energy produced, it was obviously more than he typically generated, and Zane sucked in a nervous breath.

Lloyd then leaped up, forcing Cole to look up into the sun and squint. He brought the energy down on the older boy, who had crossed his arms above his head as a last-ditch attempt at protecting himself, and it was obvious it hurt. The earth ninja’s lips curled at the contact, and Zane felt himself wince. He could only imagine the burning sensation on the other boy’s forearms.

Lloyd, determined to make Cole fight back, began to summon another energy blast, even as the earth ninja obviously dropped his arms to shield them from another round of agony, leaving his head and face open to the attack.

This must stop. Cole will have a second or third degree burn at this rate; possibly even more since no one has studied what Lloyd’s power is truly made of.

The bleeding on his thumb long since clotted and even longer forgotten about, Zane began to take wide strides across the zen gardens and towards the pair, determined to halt their sparring session.

Cole softly gasped when he saw the mass of energy hurtling towards him, catching onto what Lloyd was trying to do. He lashed a hand out and stumbled to the right, and a great wall of earth burst forward like a wave, tall enough to blot out the sun.

Zane felt the world slow down as he began to run towards the daimyo, his feet moving without his brain’s instructions. Lloyd had stalled in his tracks, eyes wide as he watched the wave crest and begin to fall downwards, his green energy dissipating quickly. He’ll be buried if he doesn’t move.

Zane reached out his hands, a yell bursting from his diaphragm as he stepped in front of Lloyd, fingers splayed out in a desperate attempt to stop the young ninja from getting crushed by rocks and dirt.

The cook gasped as his body went frigid, his muscles feeling as if they had been completely frozen in the desperate attempt to save Lloyd, fingers burning from the sensation of pure cold coagulating there.

From his palms and the soles of his feet came ice. Sheet upon sheet of it, crackling towards the base of the wave as well as the dirt closest to smothering him and Lloyd, and all the boys could do was watch with wide eyes and open mouths as the earth was stopped firmly in its tracks, blue ice jutting from the wave in spears, frost collecting on Zane’s hands and face as his breaths came out in visible puffs near his mouth.

No one dared to speak, looking at the monolith in the middle of the Garmadon family courtyard, and then looking at the man who produced it.

"Zane, what-" Lloyd began, but stopped when he saw the man's knees buckle.

The elemental master of ice’s eyes rolled back in his head, and he crumpled underneath the shade provided by his ice monument.

---

Wu and Misako looked at the unconscious boy stuffed underneath layer upon layer of blanket, his breaths coming out in short puffs so cold they appeared as white clouds above his nose. His room had started freezing in the corners, small particles of snow shining like glitter in the sun, a few of his personal belongings covered in frost. Even with the windows and doors open to let the warm mountain sunshine in the temperature refused to rise.

The adults had dragged two chairs to the small round table in Zane’s room to watch over the sleeping cook, and then made it very clear that the two ninja were to stay away.

Cole had been immediately sent to the makeshift infirmary to treat his energy burns, which was a Herculean task. They had found him folded over Zane’s unconscious body and had refused to let anyone else carry the cook to his room, Cole's large hands gently laying Zane down onto the futon- and then he refused to leave his friend's side. It had taken quite a bit of cajoling and shoving to get him to the infirmary. Lloyd had been banished to his room as punishment for testing his and Cole’s limits, as well as to keep him out of Zane’s room as the elder Garmadons tried to figure out what to do with the new master of ice.

“Lloyd told me Zane made him feel weird,” Misako murmured to herself, catching the movement of Wu’s eyebrow arching in an unsaid question. “I just thought he wasn’t used to living with another person, much less someone with such a complex background as a ronin’s. I thought that he possibly felt unsafe as a form of PTSD from earlier attacks since Zane was unfamiliar to him.”

“It must have been the same feeling he had with Cole at the theater. An odd sense of recognition, a feeling that a specific person was important in some way,” Wu said, leaning back in the chair, eyes searching Zane’s pale face.

“Do you think Cole knew?” Misako asked. “Those two have been spending quite some time together. They’re both elementally inclined, they must have noticed a sense of familiarity with each other.”

“I don’t think he did,” Wu replied. “If Zane was the elemental master of plants or something like that, maybe their powers would have synergized, but ice and rock do not have much in common.”

The pair lapsed into silence, their thoughts consuming them as they looked for an answer in the sleeping form of the cook.

“I…I mean, you told me that Cole’s rock wall was impressive, but what Zane did today was unlike anything I have seen in a very long time,” Misako said, breaking the momentary pause. "It took quite a bit of training and stamina for Kori to generate something of that size. Zane did it as a reflex."

Her chair creaked as she got up and walked to the window. She stilled, content to just observe the behemoth block of ice melting steadily in the gardens. The wave encased in it looked miniscule, a spot of dark browns contrasted heavily by the bright, clear blue shining under the sun.

“He has no family or clan,” Wu said, still seated at her back. “We don’t know if he’s the son of Kori.”

“I don’t think he is,” Misako murmured. “Although his hair is almost white, I don’t think they’re related. You know how…how Kori was about purity, and how he believed that it helped keep his element at its strongest. He never had interest in anyone, or passing on his powers through a bloodline like Ray and Maya were.”

Wu sighed, taking a sip of his tea. “Then how on earth did he get the power of ice? I mean, Zane was a ronin. He could have extorted the powers when Kori was old and dying- threatened him to hand over the powers in exchange for his life. What would an old man do against a young and strong mercenary?”

Misako shook her head. “I know it's only been a few months, but I don't think he would ever do that. He seemed content with his mastery over the bow and knife. But...Zane is more than a ronin- Lloyd was right. He has secrets, and I don’t think he knows how important they are. They could be the key to finding the other elemental masters, or even finding the golden weapons.”

“What’s important is that he rests,” Wu replied, getting up from his seat. “We must let his body adjust to his powers awakening.” He left the room, and soon after, Misako followed him.

Zane continued to sleep, the sun slowly dipping below the horizon as the frost spread around his room.

---

For a ninja, Cole was about as subtle as fireworks in the dead of night.

Forearms covered in ointment and bandages, he had immediately ignored Misako’s orders of rest and beelined to Zane’s room, where the door had been closed- and locked, the key long hidden from him.

Better to beg for forgiveness than to ask for permission, he thought as he grabbed the door and yanked just enough for the lock to break. Not wasting a second, Cole easily slid the wooden door open the rest of the way, quickly entering the room and shutting the door behind him, trying not to wince at the way the broken parts rattled with the movement.

He gasped at the scene that greeted him: a room covered in ice and frost, blue-white snowflakes hovering in the air over Zane, still asleep in his futon, layers of blankets protecting him from the subzero temperatures.

Cole shivered, his bare arms immediately getting goosebumps, before beginning to gently creep forward, careful to not disturb his friend, who didn’t stir once at any of the commotion happening in his rooms. Zane wasn’t even shivering, although his cheeks were tinged pink, and his nose had a little bit of a blush to it as well (Cole would never say it out loud, but it was kind of cute).

“How did I not notice before?” the earth ninja murmured as he grabbed one of the cushions off of the chairs. He placed it on the floor, next to his sleeping friend, and lowered himself onto it. “Your eyes are even ice blue, for the First Master’s sake! I needed another ninja and thought that we were going to have to spend weeks, maybe even months searching for you, but…you were right here the whole time. Why didn’t I know?” He couldn't keep the hurt out of his voice, thankful that his friend was asleep and couldn't hear the way it cracked on the question.

Zane’s white-blond hair was fanned across the pillow, loose instead of carefully combed through in a flat-top style, and his mouth was gently parted as puffs of cold air escaped from between his soft pink lips. He looked ethereal, resting and peaceful, but…he looked amazing when his elemental powers unlocked. His ice blue eyes were practically glowing with energy, and the typically reserved man letting forth a guttural, primal yell as ice shot from his hands was a devastating display of raw strength; a promise that he could take whatever Cole gave and more, because he wasn’t just a wandering warrior. He was a being of ice and power, who only needed a push to become who he was truly meant to be. He was Cole's equal.

“You never wanted to be a ronin, but I don’t think you’d ever see yourself become a ninja, huh?” Cole chuckled, leaning forward to brush a stray hair out of Zane’s face.

“No,” Zane replied, his eyes slowly blinking open. With a soft smile, he turned his head towards a shocked Cole. “But I must admit, it does sound more appealing than being a cook.” With some difficulty, he managed to push himself into a sitting position, chest slightly exposed from the loosely tied yogi that he had been put in to warm back up. The pale man gave Cole a small smile. “I must have found your presence calming because I knew you and I were the same.”

“What, stunningly attractive?” Cole joked, trying to ignore the way his heart jumped when he made eye contact with Zane, the worry bogging down his heart slowly dissipating.

“I was going to say elemental masters, but I won’t disagree with you,” the master of ice replied with a grin, before it melted away. “I…never knew I had this power within me, I swear.”

Cole shrugged. “I believe you, since I didn’t know I had any powers either ‘till I saw Lloyd almost get stabbed in the back by my crazy coworker.”

Zane blinked. “…what?”

“Yeah, um, my elemental powers were awakened when one of the really superstitious actors in my dad’s troupe saw Lloyd, somehow got it in his mind that he was a bad omen since he’s Lord Garmadon’s son and then, y’know, tried to stab him. Lloyd ran away, the actor threw a knife at his back, I freaked out and made a wall of rock to protect him, and now I’m trying to steal maps from newly resurrected Serpentine warriors. Didn’t even know I could do half of the…rock-y stuff until the moment it happened.”

“Until you needed to protect Lloyd?” Zane asked, a hand coming up to his chin as he pondered the new information.

“Yup. I think it has something to do with needing to keep the green ninja safe. Wu told me that my powers wouldn’t allow true harm to come to Lloyd, and Lloyd’s powers would save me from getting hurt.” Cole lifted his bandaged arm up. “Obviously, that was a lie, but hey! You got some sick ice powers out of it!”

“Sick is definitely the word I would use for it,” Zane said, looking down at his body, covered in heavy blankets. “I feel cold, but it’s almost…comfortable. Like my body temperature should be this low, because the coldness feels like it’s coming from the inside out. If anything, all these blankets are making me kind of hot.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Cole said, leaning back in his chair. “When my powers awakened, I started feeling stressed out if I was too high up off the ground. I felt disconnected and a little disoriented.”

“Is that why you don’t like jumping the fence with me? And, that night with the falcon, you said that your bones had…turned to rock?”

“Yeah,” Cole said, nodding slightly. “Lloyd calls me fat all the time, but it’s not because I actually am. It’s because, according to Wu and Misako, elemental masters’ bodies change to accommodate and embody their element. I’m sure your body temperature is just dropping to match your ice.”

“I don’t know how I’m supposed to stay alive, though,” Zane said, pushing some of the blankets off his lap and towards the foot of the futon. “Hypothermia occurs when the body temperature drops to ninety degrees, whereas ice is formed at thirty-two degrees and below.”

Cole shrugged. “Sure, ice shooting out of your palms to freeze my rock wave is totally normal, but your body changing a little to help it along is where you draw the line?”

“I guess not,” Zane muttered, before looking to one of the open windows. “Speaking of your frozen rock wave…is it still there?”

“Dude, I think everyone all the way down in Ninjago City can see it. It’s melted a little bit, and no one’s allowed to go near it since a few of the spikes have fallen off and shattered.”

Zane sighed, letting his head drop into his hands. “Gods above…” he muttered.

Cole barked a laugh, but before he could say anything, the door to the room slid open, causing both boys to jolt.

“Cole….” Misako said, her brows furrowed and her lips pursed. “I told you to go directly to your room for bed rest.”

“I got lost?” he said, trying to feign innocence with an awkward smile as he felt his face heat up under the matriarch’s disapproving stare.

“So you broke the lock on Zane’s room?” she asked, crossing her arms. "Which I heard, by the way."

“I...missed him?” 

Judging by the unimpressed look on Misako's face, she didn't buy it. “Out.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The earth ninja got up from the chair, but before he crossed the room, he gently squeezed Zane’s shoulder, giving the ice master a warm smile before exiting with Misako.

---

Zane served breakfast. It’s what he had done for the last few months, a routine not quickly broken. Just like routine, Lloyd and Cole sat on the right side of the table, farthest away from the door Zane entered from. At their backs was a wide mirror with large vases holding cherry blossom branches on either side of it. Wu and Misako sat at both heads of the table, Misako’s back to the wall that could slide open, currently letting the warm air of the zen gardens wash over them. The entire family could see Zane’s ice obelisk melting steadily.

Unlike daily routine, he did not go back to the kitchen to eat the leftovers and begin to wash the dishes as training would start for the day, the threat of the Serpentine spurring progress forward at a rapid pace.

“Stay,” Wu commanded as the simple rice and fish dish was placed in front of him. The sensei looked directly at Zane, his intense stare causing the ronin to stop in his tracks.

The ice master complied, finding an empty seat next to Cole and sitting down on the tatami floor, trying to resist the urge to make a mad dash for the kitchen. Will they fire me? Kick me out? Make me pay to repair the wood my melted ice may have ruined?

“So, you have awoken your powers,” Misako said, pushing her food to the side so she could lean forward on the table. The joy in her voice was barely concealed as she continued. “I have a feeling that you were drawn here by some other, higher force- that this household was right, in some way.”

Zane looked at the two adults, eyebrows pinched as he cobbled together a response. “I…guess so. You sound very confident that your answer is the correct one, my lady.”

“Zane,” Wu chastised, putting his teacup down. “You have never once guessed while in this household. You are smarter than to do so. Speak your truth; be honest. We will not punish you for having an opinion.”

“I wouldn’t want to tell the truth if you guys were interrogating me,” Lloyd muttered from his end of the table as he reached to take a bite of his food. Cole nudged him in the ribs before a petty argument could break out, but the grin on his face gave away his thoughts.

“When looking for a job after wandering the Aisu Heiru No Mori, I saw your advert for help among many on a bulletin board. My eyes felt drawn to it, like the ad had to be the very first I saw. No other jobs offered to me seemed like a sensible choice in comparison. I… knew that I was going to get the job as well, even with the reputation of a ronin possibly weighing me down. In retrospect, you could liken it to cosmic alignment.” Misako nodded silently, urging Zane to continue. “I actually felt uncomfortable around Lloyd,” he said, giving the daimyo a sheepish smile before turning his attention to the two adults again. “Like he knew something about me that even I wasn’t aware of. I guess he did after all.”

“Not really,” the daimyo muttered. “I don’t know anything that happens in this house sometimes.” He looked at Zane for a long second before his eyes flitted to Cole, and then looked down at his plate full of steamed greens and eggs.

Wu smiled. “I won’t spill your secrets, Lloyd, but…there were some feelings of awkwardness from us as well. Like you were hiding a great power or terrible secret.”

“It sounds like you were both right,” Cole said before reaching for his meat-laden plate. “Zane knew that Lloyd recognized his position as a ninja, and Lloyd saw Zane’s true power. Win-win for all of us.”

“You’re seriously eating right now?” Lloyd said, turning to look at the black ninja. “We’re formally inviting Zane to become a ninja and you’re stuffing your face?”

“Hey!” Cole said around a large mouthful. “He worked hard on this, I’m not letting it get cold. Anyways, you can ask him. I’m hungry.”

Zane couldn’t help but chuckle at the antics, drawing the family’s attention back to him. “I would be honored to join your team, Lloyd.”

“Great!” the blond said with a smile. “At least you know how to fight, Cole.”

“Sorry I had a flourishing career by the age of thirteen, Lloyd,” Cole shot back after swallowing his breakfast. He pointed a spoon at the daimyo’s face. “But I promise you, when we have to lie our way out of a tricky situation, you’ll be glad one of the best actors in Ninjago is on your team.”

“Whatever. Having the guy known as ‘the ronin of heavenly precision’ on your team sounds a little more useful in the day-to-day of being a ninja. I mean, shooting one of Chen’s generals in the eye and living to tell the tale? That’s the stuff of legend!”

“Why, thank you, Lloyd. I have found that acts of skill are often appreciated by peers and equals.”

“You’re siding with the thirteen-year-old? Not the guy who wandered around a forest with you to chase a bird? Come on!”

Wu and Misako shared a look before silently setting into their meal, the boys across from them bickering and trading verbal jabs like they had grown up together. There is not only potential in this team...but hope for Ninjago.

Chapter Text

“I take back what I said about being a ninja being better than being a ronin,” Zane wheezed as he lay on his back, limbs splayed out as his chest heaved from the rigorous training session inflicted on him by Wu. “First Spinjitzu Master have mercy.”

Next to him was Cole, whose forehead was slick with sweat. Despite the fact that his cheeks were flushed a brilliant shade of red, he still had an easygoing grin on his face. “You guys just have no stamina. A little cardio will shape you up, easy.”

“Why are you so hot, anyways?” Lloyd chimed in as he walked towards the other ninja with a tray laden with cups of cold water. “You have ice powers. Just use those to cool off.”

“That’s not how it works,” Zane said with a sigh as he sat up, glad to get his sore back off the hard stone tiles in the garden. “My powers affect everyone but me. I was born in the Aisu Heiru No Mori, the cold was constant. I’ve never had to deal with heat like this.”

“Not even as a ronin?” Cole asked, gratefully accepting the water offered to him. “You mentioned being thrown out of a few lords’ castles and having to beat a hasty retreat before. That’s gotta break a sweat.”

Zane took a sip of his drink, sighing with the relief it brought, before turning to the earth ninja. “I wandered the northernmost parts of Ninjago the most, very rarely straying towards the southern areas. When I did, it was miserable, and every time I took a job there, I swore to never do it again.”

Memories flashed across Zane’s mind- days of being so thirsty he began to hallucinate dragons and warriors during the day and then freezing in the night, having nowhere to hide from the caravan armies that prowled the oasis towns, adapting to fighting warriors who used scimitars and circular shields. I’m glad I’ll never have to go back there alone again.

Lloyd nodded. “Makes sense. The heat is horrible, and Lord Geb is even worse than the heat.”

“You’ve met the Desert Lord of the southern no-man’s-land?” Zane asked. “I thought you were pretty much confined here, not to mention it’s many days’ travel away.”

“Although I’m only thirteen, I am the daimyo of the Ninjago City harbors and mountains. I only ever got to leave this place to go to formal events with other warlords to hash out treaties or other boring stuff. Usually, Uncle Wu would pull some strings and the others would come here, but it didn’t always work out.”

“Interesting,” Zane murmured. “Did the other lords actually…listen to you?”

Lloyd could command respect if he wanted to, but he looked so young with his eyes the color of spring plants and hair so light that he looked like a fairy; and he wasn’t tall for his age. The rulers of the sixteen realms and the nations in those realms were for the most part adults- sometimes even ancient beings with magical powers- with experience in politics and battle. They were proud, secure in their reigns; they wouldn’t take kindly to being bossed around by a child. The ones Zane had met during his travels didn’t even like when their own staff told them dinner was ready.

“They listen to me,” Lloyd replied. “But they’re really, really mad about it. While Ninjago City itself is directly under the royal family’s jurisdiction, I’m the closest to the borders and the harbor, which is a trade hub. If they crossed me, I could ban their ships and goods from entering one of the largest cities around. And y’know, they’re afraid that my dad would find out and destroy their crops and armies.”

Cole whistled lowly, shaking his head. “I just know Chen and Unagami hate you. They’re some of the most egotistical and vain people I’ve ever had the misfortune of knowing. The fact that they have to take orders from a kid probably grinds their gears like crazy.”

“You’ve met them?” Zane asked, looking at the actor. “When?”

“The Royal Blacksmiths are the best theater troupe in Ninjago. We’ve been asked to perform for their private functions a few times- Chen especially. He’s fond of kabuki theater, and it’s kind of annoying. He’s old and completely off his rocker.”

Lloyd snorted. “And that’s putting it nicely.”

Zane scrunched his face up, tapping his chin thoughtfully. “I think he’s ordered his men to kill me on sight, actually,” he said. “What with shooting his general and all.”

“So what you’re saying is that Chen will probably join up with Pythor soon to have our heads on a platter?” Lloyd said before taking a drink from his cup.

Cole paled, looking at his teammates before rising to his feet. “Yeah. We should, uh. Get back to training. Probably.”

Zane got up too, placing his and Cole’s drinks on one of the zen garden’s many tables. “I concur.”

“Right behind you,” Lloyd said, speedwalking back to the main training area.

---

“Master Wu? Misako?” Zane called from where he was standing in his doorway, staring at the state of his room.

There was nothing in it.

A robbery would have been messy- futons overturned, drawers on the ground with discarded items scattered around, the like- but this was a professional scrubbing. There was no futon to speak of; none of Zane’s clothes or personal items remained where they had been folded and left on the desk chair. Even his small flowerpot with a few bamboo stalks was missing.

“What in the name of…?” he muttered, stepping further into his room to inspect the damage- or lack of it, for that matter.

The room was almost perfectly clean, and there were barely any remnants to give him a clue as to where his belongings could possibly be. None of his windows were broken, and the door seemed intact- so either there wasn’t a break-in and his belongings simply grew legs and walked away, or the people that broke in were very, very talented.

“Oh, no,” the ninja whispered. Forcing his frozen legs to move, he quickly turned on his heel.

Zane left his room and jogged through the hallways towards the family sleeping quarters where he knew Cole slept. Raising an alarm or creating a panic by running around or yelling would not be ideal. I must find Cole and inform him of the situation if he has not also been robbed, and then we must find Sensei Wu.

His question- if only he had been robbed- was answered when Cole almost knocked him down, barreling down the brightly lit hallway towards Zane’s rooms. A large hand lashed out, grabbing the ice ninja by the bicep so he wouldn’t fall, and Zane tried his best to not blush at the contact. He’s just catching me! He would catch Lloyd the same way. Hell, he’d probably catch Misako the same way! Calm down!

“Sorry, Zane, didn’t see you there,” Cole said by way of greeting, quickly righting his friend and snapping Zane from his thoughts. “Has your room been robbed too? None of my stuff was there when I finally finished with training,” he said, quickly looking around the hallways, every door closed. “Even my dirty clothes were gone, which is actually kind of creepy.”

“We need to talk with Wu and Misako,” Zane said, following Cole’s line of sight and seeing nothing. “Their rooms have more valuables than ours.”

“You’re right,” the earth ninja agreed, before grabbing the ice master’s wrist, his wide hand easily wrapping around Zane’s arm. “Come on, I think I saw Wu in the library.” The white ninja was given no time to voice his idea or even begin to follow his teammate before getting dragged along by Cole’s considerable strength, his long legs the only thing allowing him to keep up with the larger boy’s quick pace.

“Master Wu? Master Wu? Where are you, Sensei?” Cole called as he raced through the hallways, head swiveling as the pair neared the library, its large doors closed to the main compound.

“Lighten your grip, Cole, your strength is a little much-” Zane stuttered, voice breathy as the sliding tatami doors of the library finally opened, and the aging sensei poked his head into the hallway, arching an eyebrow at the sight of the two young adults running in his direction.

Cole barely managed to skid to a stop, his hand unclenching from Zane’s thin wrist, and he fell forward, face planting directly in between the black ninja’s shoulder blades.

“Sorry, buddy,” Cole said over his shoulder before turning back to the Sensei. “Master Wu, we’ve been robbed!”

“Robbed?” the Spinjitzu master said, eyebrows somehow managing to raise even further. “When? I have heard nothing all day except the sounds of you three training, and most of our valuables are in here. Everything’s accounted for, boys.”

“Our rooms are completely empty,” Zane piped up as he walked around Cole to face his master. “There is nothing in them whatsoever. We were checking if your room has suffered the same fate.”

Wu chuckled. “Oh, your rooms! My apologies, that one is on me. While you were practicing your weaponry training, Misako and I took all your things to the old servant’s barracks.”

“Why?” Zane asked, head tilted. “We have not done something to warrant such an odd punishment, have we?”

“No, no, not at all, Zane,” Wu said with a genial smile, stepping farther into the hallway and sliding the door shut behind him gently. “However, I have heard whisperings of Pythor moving to team up with my brother. If it goes successfully, the union will result in the merging of two very powerful armies. While you three are all very talented fighters individually, you must become a team, synergized in all aspects of life. You must begin to live together, to know each other’s patterns and personalities intimately. Living under the same roof is not enough. Sleeping, cooking, cleaning, training- these will all be done together.”

“Lloyd will be sleeping in the servants’ quarters with us?” Zane asked as Cole nodded along to the sensei’s words.

“Not yet,” Wu replied. “He’s a little too young to be rooming with you two- he won’t admit it, but he’s still adjusting to having so many people in the house, and he’s a growing boy. He needs his privacy.”

“I- we- understand,” Zane said, looking at Cole, who nodded. “That is the most logical course of action.” Yes, it’s the most logical course of action, but no, I can’t do this! I’ll be sleeping in the same room as Cole for the foreseeable future! Just…us two. Together. Alone. Oh, First Spinjitzu Master, send a bolt of lightning to strike me down. I can’t do this anymore.

“I’m glad you’re so accommodating, Zane. Well, you two, it’s not getting any earlier. I doubt you’ll want to have to arrange a room together after dinner and the evening part of your schedules when you're exhausted. I highly suggest going to the new…barracks, let’s call them, and getting yourselves situated.”

“You got it, Sensei,” Cole said with an agreeable nod as the Spinjitzu Master returned to the library. The earth ninja wasted no time turning on his heel and beginning the march to the servants’ quarters, Zane trailing behind him.

“Cole?” the ice ninja said as they passed their old rooms, cringing at the overly soft tone he took when saying his crush’s name (which, embarrassing! He killed men in cold blood! He didn’t have crushes on people). “I, ah, run cold, and affect everyone but myself. I’m sorry in advance if you wake up shivering.”

The kabuki actor’s broad shoulders shook as he chuckled. “Frosty, needing a few extra blankets won’t be the end of the world. If anyone needs to apologize beforehand, it’s me. I allegedly snore like I’m trying to wake the dead.”

“I spent months on end sleeping in the wilderness. Nothing will be worse than the moose. Unlike you, it actually might have managed to wake the dead.”

“The moose?”

“The Aisu Heiru No Mori is full of them. I will tell you after we get the room in order.”

The pair stopped in front of the large double doors leading to the servant’s quarters. Unlike the rest of the house, the wooden panels were not ornately decorated- only a pair of twin dragons greeted them.

“Don’t think you can get out of telling me this later, ice princess,” Cole said with a pointed finger, an easygoing grin on his lips as he grabbed one of the doors.

Zane smiled back, the warm feeling in his chest that he always got when joking with Cole spreading throughout his whole body. Ice princess? That’s a new one. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

The earth ninja managed to slide the door out of his way, and let his pale counterpart enter first, sliding it closed as he stepped in after.

“This is…generous,” the master of ice said from where he was standing in the middle of the spacious room.

There were two futons lying in the back left corner, one of them with Cole’s clothes folded on top of it while the other hosted Zane’s simple clothing set. The floors were tatami like the rest of the rooms made for day-to-day living, and there was a shoji door acting as the right wall.

Cole walked over to it, checking to see where it led to- a closet and storage area, deeper than expected and as wide as the length of the room. It was already furnished with a few weapons, the boys’ shoes (Zane’s geta, which were well-loved and slightly beaten up next to Cole’s simple waraji), and a few of their personal items, with places dedicated to hanging clothes, folded clothes, and a few drawers.

Zane joined Cole, looking at the commodious space allotted.  It’s nicer than most of the places I’ve stayed. “How many ninja does Wu expect to join us? There is room for quite a few of us to live in just this area.”

“Well,” Cole said, reaching towards the shelves to take out the framed picture of his mother and father, “this is the servant’s quarters, and this estate ain’t exactly tiny. I’d bet that there were at least twenty servants active during the average day.”

“Does that make us servants, then?” Zane asked, grabbing his potted bamboo plant. He was starting to get attached to it; taking care of it had become a part of his daily routine. “Since we are supposed to cook together and help upkeep the estate.”

Cole groaned with mock annoyance. “FSM, he’s using us as free labor!”

“Maybe being a paid mercenary wasn’t as horrible as I remember it being. At least I got money out of it.”

“No! You can’t leave me to suffer alone!”

---

Dancers, adorned in kimonos of vibrant red and gold stilled their movements when the doors to the decadent palace banged open and two soldiers marched in, the purple serpent tattoos on their back vibrant in the tropical island sunlight.

Between the two soldiers was a young man, only nineteen, but could pass for younger. His freckled cheeks were red from a few well-landed punches, and his already slightly curled hair was mussed and messy from trying to resist the soldier’s attacks. His legs were dragged on the marble tiles leading to the throne at the back of the octagonal first floor of the palace- and on the throne was a shadowy figure; an infamous ruler who refused to give up his power.

To Jay Walker, the old man looked crazy.

Not crazy like the people who had descended into insanity after losing battles with their own minds, succumbing to the euphoria of the bottle, or those who had their mind taken from them by the grasping, greedy fingers of age.

No, the warlord Chen looked insane in the dangerous, erratic way- wide, sunken eyes that rarely stayed on the same thing for longer than a few seconds, unkempt and bushy eyebrows and facial hair, and, of course, the skull of an Anacondrai perched on his head with two twin purple snakes descending on both sides of his face, stemming from the back of the Anacondrai’s skull. He looked like he could snap at any moment over anything- even his own servants and performers looked like they were afraid for their lives.

Of course, Jay found himself dragged in front of Master Chen’s throne with no way to escape or defend himself, which only left one way of getting out: talking.

I can do this. I talk great! And a lot! But not digging my own grave will be tricky, considering I suck horribly at it.

The freckled boy was snapped from his thoughts by the warlord giggling in a not at all stomach-churning way.

“Well, we finally caught you, child of lightning!” Chen crowed happily, clapping his hands gleefully as the boy’s aching feet scraped against the floor of the warlord’s magnificent palace.

“Can you catch me a little less painfully next time?” Jay asked, glancing at the guards clenching his biceps, their fingers pressing in tightly so he knew not to make a break for it.

“Oh, of course! Anything for our guest- and hopefully, my new ally,” Chen replied before tapping something on the arm of his throne.

Jay squinted and realized it was a panel of buttons, none of them labeled. All of them looked identical- red, round, and ready to be pushed at will. Surely one of them had a “kill the young and cute guy who accidentally sneezed a little too hard and caused lightning to strike a huge tree in the middle of the day” button, considering his current string of luck.

The doors of the island palace- magnificently shining red, embellished with golden snakes and scenes of nature- swung shut behind the group, the distant sound of a lock clicking into place reaching Jay’s ears. The windows, all of them open to allow the island sunshine into the glittering interior, had bars slide over them, on every level of the palace, which, overkill.

Jay very distinctly felt trapped, but the feeling disappeared when the two lackeys trying to crush his humerus let go of him, flinging him forward and closer to the warlord’s throne. The scrapyard boy had barely enough wits about him to stop himself from falling, but he somehow managed to stay on his own two feet, even as the lackeys laughed at his stumbling.

"Your little…lightning magic was very impressive,” Chen said, leaning forward on his throne, a manic smile decorating his wrinkled face. He licked his chapped lips before continuing. “You are a very special boy, ah...”

“Jay. You didn’t even find out my name before kidnapping me?”

“Ah, Jay! What a wonderful name. Jaybirds have always been on my island, singing to me their songs. I think you would be at home here, singing as your thunder claps and lightning strikes.”

“What do you want with me?” Jay ground out, clenching his fists from where they were stuck to his sides.

“I want your power,” the warlord replied, his smile widening as if he had just said something especially funny. “I have had a few of my soldiers inform me that you…are not the wealthiest man in Ninjago. Far from it, actually- a trinket and scrap peddler, desperately trying to keep your parents supported as they tinker the hours away. Join me, and all your troubles become quick fixes.” Chen leaned forward, waving a hand around as he spoke. “Money, protection, a place to stay in a beautiful climate, the supplies needed to truly create instead of dabbling with reject metals and rusted trash.”

“And do what? Fight for you? Make sure your grasp on the islands and jungles of Ninjago remains iron-tight? I’m not a fighter,” Jay said, trying to keep his anger down. “My parents love what they do. I only sell stuff ‘cause the extra money helps me buy things I want. Anyways, I can’t do lightning on command. With all due respect, you’d better find someone else, m’lord.”

One of the servant girls- the only one not in a vibrant kimono, with ink black hair and a mole on her cheek, gasped at the disrespect, the sound alerting Jay to her presence in the shadows behind the throne. She was beautiful, and her armor was striking, but Jay couldn’t focus on her for too long due to the fact that Chen’s face dropped entirely, an angry snarl overtaking his deranged smile. He truly looked like the warlord he was- who had used his abilities as both a treacherous, lying tactician and businessman to slowly tighten his grip on the islands of Ninjago, his influence seeping into the city over the years.

Chen didn’t break eye contact with Jay as he slammed his fist on the arm of his throne, fingers flying over the buttons as he pressed them indiscriminately.

The curly-haired boy had barely any time to react before he felt the floor underneath him disappear, and he was suddenly in a free fall down a pitch-black chamber.

---

Zane’s brow was furrowed as he gently pierced the flesh of the fish with the tip of his knife, dragging downwards to begin the de-scaling process. Next to him was Lloyd, given the task of chopping the greens needed to flavor the dish and looking deadly serious as he did so.

The kitchen was silent except for the sounds of knives on cutting boards. Outside through the window, Cole could be seen in the courtyard, reciting lines as he moved, the archaic language of theater and lilting tone making wonderful background noise, though distantly, it caused pangs of worry to echo in Zane’s mind. The earth ninja was more introverted than most people would have guessed, but he was using all his free time in between training and golden weapons research to practice the art of kabuki theater, rarely spending time with Zane and Lloyd like he usually would.

Although Cole was already pushing himself to his physical limit every day, wielding the very earth until his entire body was covered in a sheen of sweat and his limbs shook, he would continue to exert himself as he danced and acted to an audience of none. It made Zane stressed, the personality change just another problem alongside Pythor and the golden weapons. Why is he suddenly doing this? Does he miss his home that badly? Does he think practicing will help him learn Spinjitzu?

Zane’s quickly spiraling thoughts, and the silence of the kitchen, were abruptly broken by an angry noise from the back of Lloyd’s throat, a mix between a grunt and a huff.

“What’s the problem?” the ice ninja asked, looking away from the fish in front of him and instead at the…enthusiastically… chopped spring onions.

“I suck at this, is the problem,” Lloyd said, all but slamming his own knife down. “I…I’m a lord,” he said, looking up at the ice ninja, his lips pursed in a thin line, just like his mother did.

“And you are thirteen,” Zane reminded him gently. “When I was your age, the food I ate looked more like something scraped from the floors of Lord Khoka’s stables- and tasted like it too. Your knifework needs perfecting, but we all start somewhere.”

“I should be able to do this!” Lloyd said, throwing his hands up. “I- I can throw a kunai into a moving target from fifty feet away, I can pick locks, I can do Spinjitzu! Why is doing something so simple so hard?”

“It is difficult because it is simple,” Zane replied, picking up the blonde’s discarded knife. “With Spinjitzu, you already know that it is hard to do and go into the task knowing you’ll have to work yourself ragged to get it. But with cooking or other menial tasks- it’s supposed to be easy, right? Everyone does it at home, so why is it that when you do it, it’s so impossible?”

The ice master grabbed an onion and quickly cut off the roots, discarding them, before taking a shallow breath in and then out. He chopped the onion into thin disks in five seconds flat, before picking up the cutting board and swiping them- and the onions Lloyd had chopped- into the marinade sitting in a bowl between the two boys.

“The reason you struggle is because you have never done it before. Of course it looks easy when watching someone who has done it for years and years. You have had people to help you, to feed you while you worked, and have not needed to do this yet.”

Lloyd’s eyes fell to the floor as he subconsciously bit at his lip, his small chest heaving a sigh, but Zane quickly tipped the boy’s face up. “There is no shame in having people to look out for you. Now it is your turn to look out for them, and that means practicing. I am sure that in a week, your slices will be even. In a month, you will pick up speed. In a while, you may very well outpace me.”

Zane handed the knife back to the daimyo. “Now. Again- and remember, it does not have to be beautiful to be worthy. Cole couldn’t dice a radish to save his life, and we still all ate it, and enjoyed it.”

“True,” Lloyd said as he grabbed another onion from the pile. He lifted the knife and began to chop as Zane watched with a small, proud smile on his lips.

---

“I want you to begin patrolling Ninjago City,” Misako said as she placed a map on the table in front of the three ninja. “The royal family knows that you are training and active, and the people of the city need a morale boost- knowing that they’re safe, from Garmadon and his forces, and just crime in general. The people of Ninjago don’t know that there are two more ninjas helping the legendary green ninja, so a few public appearances would be…beneficial.”

“So, you want us to wander around at night and do the police’s job for them?” Cole asked as he looked at the map- a detailed layout of the city.

“Yes,” Misako replied simply. “Wu also wants you guys to get hands on experience. I know that Spinjitzu does not come easily when all you have to practice against are training dummies, so maybe being out in the world and fighting crime hands-on will help your true potential as ninjas bubble to the surface. Learning in practice, not just theory.”

Zane nodded. “…I understand.”

 Next to him, Cole’s nose flared as his lips quirked into a frown, but the master of earth said nothing, eyes resolutely locked onto the map.

“Are we supposed to be going out tonight?” Lloyd asked, looking at the sun that was preparing to sink low into the sky.

Misako nodded. “Yes. We will have outfits ready for you three after eating dinner tonight, and you’ll make your way to the city under the cover of darkness. Remember- as ninja, you choose when to be seen. Stay hidden. Every action must have a reason.”

She walked towards her wooden desk at the back of the study and began poring over yet another scroll of legends mixed with historical accounts of the Serpentine, leaving the ninja to themselves to hatch a plan.

Zane leaned forward. “We should choose an area of high foot traffic that intersects with an area with either a lot of shops or residences. A robbery would most likely take place in one of those places, and it should be easy for us to stop that before anything gets out of hand.”

“Or we could choose a seedier area, like the red light district or where there’s a few bars,” Lloyd said, pointing to a cluster of buildings on the map. “There’s definitely gonna be a fistfight or mugging that we could help with.”

“We could just do a huge lap around the entertainment district, spiraling inwards,” Cole suggested, finally breaking his silence. He reached forward and pointed to a patch of open area in the middle of the map. “There’s usually a night market that happens in the heart of the city. There are food and drink stalls, as well as just general shops all over the place, and the entire market is surrounded by even more shops and restaurants.”

Zane nodded. “I think we have found our target for this evening. Lloyd, you are still on cooking duty with me today- let us return to the kitchen and check to see if the meat is satisfactorily marinated.”

He stood from the table, Lloyd following his example. Cole stayed seated, looking at his teammates. “I know the area best, so I’ll stay back and map our route out.” The earth ninja looked at Lloyd, a lopsided grin on his face. “I heard you did the vegetables for tonight? I can’t wait to try what you made, punk.”

The daimyo’s face flushed, and he looked away. “It looks a little ugly, but I promise it’ll taste good.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Cole replied, before looking down at the map again as Zane ushered the green ninja out of the room.

---

The night markets of Ninjago were renowned for their beauty. String upon string of lanterns glowed gently as the stars and moon watched over the food carts and stalls laden with wares, all accompanied by a gentle summer wind. It made for one of the most unique experiences Ninjago City had to offer, and tourists from the other towns and nations on the continent made no attempt to hide their amazement at the souvenirs offered from the market stalls- paper charms, dyed and embroidered fabrics that shimmered in the light, technologically advanced toys that walked with them on the cobblestone pathways winding through the streets.

It was a second home to many of the people calling out the prices of their wares or the deliciousness of their food. Every night, the same stalls that had been in the same families for generations were erected, shop owners trading jokes, stories, and gossip as they watched the culture of Ninjago be celebrated.

Jay couldn’t keep his smile to himself as he waved at the family at the yatai next to him, before turning back to his task of spreading the day’s finds across the wooden table at his family shop’s little market storefront. Restored toys, household items, knickknacks, and items for daily life were put on display, each painstakingly discovered and lovingly brought back to life from Ed and Edna’s scrapyard.

Putting his sandogasa with his now empty satchel, Jay sighed and looked at the crowd milling about, assessing who the main buyers of the night would be.

“Lots of young couples, children, and tourists,” the daughter of the food stall owner called out to him from where she was standing over a grill, packaging up the taiyaki her father was removing from the hot press. “I have a feeling it’ll be a good night for business.”

“I sure hope so,” Jay called back. “These things are heavy, and the walk back home is long!”

The girl laughed, and returned to work as Jay took a seat behind his table and began the wait for customers.

Like always, it took a while for the people hungry for taiyaki to wander over to his stall, biting off pieces of the fried dough as they watched his nimble fingers turn a crank on a refurbished toy. It began to walk across the table, occasionally bumping into a cast iron doorstop or fixed up lamp. The people gathered laughed and clapped at the toy, and soon enough there were coins pressed into Jay’s hand, and the toy was given to a little girl holding her father’s hand. After a while, a sophisticated older couple decided that they liked the ornate lamp, and that too was gone. A young man caught sight of the hardy doorstop, and it was packed up into a box for him to carry around as he beelined towards the fresh, heavenly smelling taiyaki stand next to Jay.

Another night of pockets jangling with coins, and a considerably lightened bag to take back home to the scrapyard! A pleasant situation that suited Jay just fine, and he could barely keep a self-satisfied smile off his face as he looked out at the market.

Judging by the thinning crowd, it was close to three a.m., the only people still milling around either drunk groups of bachelors, or people itching for a late-night snack, which meant that sales were pretty much done until the next night and Jay could leave, and a feeling of relief washed over him. The sooner he could get home and away from the samurai thugs under the varying warlord’s thumbs, the better. The city was crawling with reminders of his run-in with Chen, and he missed the comforting peace of Ninjago Desert in the nighttime. It was cold and desolate, but the stars were visible in all their glory, rather than obscured by the towering architecture of the city.

Jay stood up, putting his sandogasa back on- this time to shield his face from passerby, rather than to protect his skin from the sun- and began returning the few items that didn’t sell back to his satchel. “I would say sorry that you’re stuck here so late, but that just means business is booming!” he said cheerfully to the stall next to him, and the family all laughed, as they usually did at his quips, before waving.

“Get home safely!” they chorused, before quickly turning back to the customers waiting for their taiyaki.

Jay wasted no time slinging his satchel over his shoulder and beginning the brisk walk through Ninjago City, slipping between the tall wooden buildings and through almost deserted residential streets. Only the moon, a few decorative paper lanterns, and streetlamps guided him, though the route was muscle memory at this point.

Although he knew he was alone except for a few people who called the city home, there was a mounting feeling in his gut that made him feel watched. Chen wouldn’t dare. Not out here.

Quickly swiveling his head, he looked at his surroundings, but there were no snake-worshipping samurai or lackeys trying to drag him kicking and screaming into Chen’s dungeons.

It didn’t stop him from picking up his pace. The residential street he was on was deserted, which meant no witnesses if something happened to him (which, with his luck, was bound to happen).

As he walked, a door suddenly opened, and Jay all but leapt into the air. Glad I didn’t scream like last time.

A woman stepped out of her house and onto the rickety wooden porch, a cigarette perched in her lips. She raised an eyebrow at Jay, but largely ignored him as she struck a match and lit her cigarette up.

Jay looked away, trying to convey a sense of I know I look shady as hell but I promise I’m not a criminal I love my mom and dad I would never rob anyone, he saw three figures of comedically varying proportions, all dressed in black, hiding near the trashcans in an alley between homes, illuminated by the light coming from the woman’s open door.

Flashes of Chen’s palace crossed his mind. The terror of a completely dark freefall. The pain of landing on a weak ankle. The grip of the lackeys on his arm. The feeling of being trapped. The snakes. The snakes. The snakes. Child of lightning.

Jay ran. The thudding of his metal-laden satchel against his hipbone hurt, but it didn’t mean anything as terror, panic in its purest form, began to claw its way up from his stomach and towards his throat. He knew that running to the right would lead him to the shadiest area of the entertainment and social district. Not even the thought of the chances of getting mugged by low-level street thugs or attacked by a drunkard spiking exponentially could deter his feet from moving as fast as he could. I’ll use my lightning in front of the whole royal family if it means never going to that horrible island ever again!

He twisted his shoulders to fit between boxes of empty glass sake bottles waiting to be picked up from behind bars, eyes flicking through patches of darkness around him, looking for the three figures. Jay’s mind was on complete autopilot, so the sound of a door sliding open didn’t register in his mind.

“Hey! Stop rooting through my trash!” An older woman, her back hunched from years of sweating over a hot wok, appeared in the back doorways of one of the many restaurants in the area, waving a spatula threateningly at Jay, smirking when he made a strangled noise and ran away. “That’s what I thought, punk! Keep running!” She works with food. Is she an informant for Chen? Does she work for him? Where are the snakes?

He continued to run through the dark, hoping he wouldn’t trip over a passed-out drunkard or pile of trash.

Yes! Yes! YES! Jay couldn’t help but smile triumphantly as the red light district hit him with full force, the bright lights of an entire section of the city still fully in the swing of business overloading each of Jay’s senses.

Of course, the bright lights and warm summer colors of the area gave him away completely due to his conspicuous hat and dark blue clothes- but also made it hard to find him in the first place as people of all creeds took the hands of women on corners and sang drunkenly in front of bars and street performers, the sea of people happily swallowing him whole.

“Excuse me, sorry, coming through,” he said as quickly as he could, cutting through the crowds of people, ignoring the angry glares as he bumped into shoulder after shoulder. “Gotta go, I got somewhere to be, you know how it is,” he explained as he almost stepped on the toes of what looked like a wealthy businessman trying to cross the street.

Jay whipped his head around- no sign of the three shadowy figures in any of the surrounding areas or anywhere behind him, but he had a feeling they were still watching him. These weren’t Chen’s normal snake worshippers. These were professionals. They would be hot on his tail until he made them back off.

His pace didn’t slow as he ran through the main street of Ninjago’s red light district, his waraji slapping painfully against the cobblestone pavement. He was trying his best to pretend he wasn’t running from a powerful warlord’s lackeys in a desperate attempt to not become a cog in the machine of war, though he had no idea how convincing he was.

Typical three a.m. activities for a guy who’s been named “child of lightning” by a complete wacko, I guess. This is my life now. Joy to the world.

Jay had been standing in the middle of the Ninjago City Park underneath a tree, and because of the pollen floating around he had sneezed, and a bolt of lightning struck the tree. It could have been a complete fluke, a total game of chance! Lightning is notoriously random, after all.

…unlike the time, when there were no customers at the market and his stall neighbors weren’t focused on him at all, he had carefully zapped a music player that refused to work with the tiniest bolt of lightning and as sure as the sun went round, music began to gently chime from the metal object. It could have been static electricity! Jay never went to school, he didn’t know how those things worked!

Jay grinned, a hand on the top of his hat so it wouldn’t fly off as the end of the district came into view. Ninjago City outskirts! I can see them!

A stone’s throw away from him, the lightning boy could see where the fine stone roads- paid for by one benevolent Lord Lloyd Garmadon- turned to packed down dirt, worn weary by the constant stream of travelers that came from the villages around the city. Out there, where there wouldn’t be a single soul on the road, would be Jay’s chance to disappear, dropping into one of the cave systems. Or maybe I could take a hard left towards the harbor and stow away on a boat, lay low until those freaks give up.

Jay didn’t have the chance to think much farther than that, because the shortest of the trio chasing him jumped down from the very heavens in front of him and forced him to bank right to avoid a full-on collision.

Instead of playing it safe, Jay found himself still running towards the seediest part of Ninjago City, a ninja with glowing green eyes hot on his heels.

---

The trinket seller was shady as hell. The tense posture lurking underneath an easy smile and meaningless chitchat gave the seller away as a man hiding something. He also wore a sandogasa- a large, conspicuous hat wouldn’t be all too weird for the constantly changing fashion of the urban Ninjago, but something specifically designed to shade one’s face and hide their identity made alarm bells distantly ring in Zane’s head. When he was still a ronin, he wore his sugegasa for the exact same reason, especially when he had a price on his head. I would be willing to bet that he is a wanted man in certain crime circles.

Zane, Cole and Lloyd were all perched on the roof of the night market’s storage building that also housed bathrooms, an area to sell smaller livestock, and a few of the larger-scale food and drink vendors. (How livestock and food could be sold in the same room confounded Zane, but the building was large enough for him to assume the two things were kept very, very separate.)

The three- all dressed in black with matching hoods to obscure their identity- had a perfect view of the entire night market, from the musicians dotted around the area, to the souvenir vendors, to the family-owned food stalls. The rest of the area was packed with tourists and locals alike, wanting to enjoy a clear summer night to the fullest before autumn rolled in. The market was nothing more than a party that had lasted for hours before the ninja’s arrival and was going to carry on deep into the wee hours of the morning.

“Is that our target for the night?” Lloyd said, pointing to the trinket seller on the outskirts of the market. Only he had ever been behind the table, continually collecting grease stains and soot spots as he worked on small items in between a continuous flow of sales.

Now that his obnoxious hat was out of the way, Zane could fully see him. Ruffled and curly light brown hair with streaks of a natural orange-ish color, a notch haphazardly struck in one of his eyebrows (no doubt the result of his tinkering gone awry), and cheeks dusted with freckles. Despite the constant friendly conversations he struck up with people, his facial expressions obviously indicating jokes being told at light speed, Zane could tell that the probable criminal was intelligent; far more quick-witted than he let on, and the white ninja could feel a desire to put the vendor behind bars mounting up.

“What do you see, snowflake?” Cole murmured as he leaned over on Zane’s left, following his silent companion’s line of sight, squinting in the night.

“He’s hiding something,” Zane said, trying not to blush at how he and Cole were pressed together. “His eyes give him away.”

“His eyes?” Lloyd chimed in, scooting to where the other two were practically leaning over the edge of the shingled roof, his shoulder bumping into Zane’s right. “How can you tell from this far away?”

The pale man blinked owlishly at the green ninja, turning away from the market. “You can’t see that far away?”

“Dude, we’re on a roof, and that guy is on the edge of this entire place. We might need to get your eyes checked- not because they’re bad, but because they’re too good,” Cole said, a smile obvious from underneath his hood.

Zane shook his head. “No one ever told me I could see more than others,” he muttered.

“It’s pretty handy,” Cole said with a shrug. “I can’t see jack squat in the darkness.”

“You’re a useless ninja,” Lloyd said dramatically. “You need twice the amount of darkness to stay hidden, and you can’t see in the dark, when half of our job includes sneaking in the dark!”

Zane felt Cole stiffen next to him, the subtle change in demeanor obvious only because the two were pressed shoulder-to-shoulder.

“I know you jest, Lloyd, but as a leader and a daimyo, your words have power,” Zane reminded the youngest ninja. “I trust you’ll think before you speak before making a joke at someone’s expense.”

Lloyd, to his credit, immediately sobered up, his eyes losing the spark of mischief. “Sorry, Zane,” he said, trying to hide how crestfallen he was.

“It is no harm to me,” the ice ninja said, raising an eyebrow. No matter how many battles we fight or how much Spinjitzu he can do, he is still just a child, and for some First Master forsaken reason, Cole and I must do our part to raise him.

“Sorry, Cole,” Lloyd said, eyes firmly glued onto the roof underneath the three.

Cole simply reached over Zane and lightly tapped his fist against Lloyd’s arm. “It’s all good, kid,” he said, eyes crinkling in a smile, before taking his place next to the ex-ronin once more.

The ice ninja peered at Cole, not looking away until the kabuki actor caught his eye again. We’re talking about this later.

The earth ninja blinked an okay before rolling his eyes.

Seriously, he’s almost as bad as Lloyd, and almost a decade older!

The three continued to monitor the night market, not breathing a word as the crowds milled through the paths, continually thinning out as the night continued.

At around three in the morning, the shady guy put his hat back on and began to scoop his wares into his beat-up satchel, covered in patches sewn all over the strap and bag. Some patches of fabric were even sewn over each other, and where the vendor’s hands naturally rested were permanent smears of oil.

“He’s on the move,” Lloyd said, looking at Zane and Cole, who nodded and quickly got to their feet. “Keep on the rooftops. When we get him alone, we’ll knock him out or something and then take him to the jail for the night.” He said nothing else, beginning to run across the rooftops, the moon illuminating the outline of his shadowy figure.

Zane and Cole quickly followed, eyes glued to the fast-moving trinket peddler, who had started weaving through back alleys, his slender frame allowing him to slip in between tight spaces that most pursuers couldn’t follow if they were on foot.

He knows the city and knows it well. He could be a higher-level crime lord working directly for thugs like Ultra Violet and her gang, Zane thought as the group realized that the residential street’s rooftops were too inclined to safely run across and keep an eye on the fast-moving man, who had begun to up his pace to a light jog.

Lloyd motioned quickly at the elemental masters, before dropping to the ground slightly behind the blue-clad man, sticking to the surrounding shadows to circle in front of him soundlessly, keeping to the alleys where shadows were abundant.

Across from the three, a door opened and a woman with a cigarette ready to be lit stepped out onto her porch, the inside light of her small house shining on the ninja just enough for the trinket seller to catch sight of them.

The man’s eyes widened and he ran to the alleys opposite them. 

Cole grunted, irritation flashing in his eyes. “He’s going into the red light district,” he said. “There’s going to be a shit ton of people there. We need to get back onto the roof and corner him. If we stay on the ground, we’ll never find him.”

“Understood,” Zane replied, and Lloyd nodded.

The two blondes followed Cole’s lead, grabbing onto protruding pipes and using trash cans to scale the walls of Ninjago’s houses, wasting no time as they began to run across rooftops towards the hub of light and noise waiting for them in the eastern district of the city.

Cole was right when he said a shit ton of people, Zane realized with wide eyes, pace minutely slowing as he was bombarded with the sight of hedonism in full swing. Groups of drunk men partying in the streets, their faces flushed, women excitedly dipping in and out of trending shops and restaurants that Zane could tell were anything but cheap, people of the night offering their services in front of hole-in-the-wall, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it doorways that led to seedy stores.

The entire main road had string upon string of paper lanterns crossed between exceedingly tall building to building, signs with bright lettering and bold fonts protruding from the sides of the multi-story shops, and the noise. Street musicians, loud laughter, store owners yelling prices, the sizzling of food and clanging of utensils as cooks worked overtime, all at a time when most people would be dead asleep.

Zane suddenly found himself yearning for the quiet isolation of the Garmadon estate as his eyes roved the crowds as best as he could manage, looking for the sandogasa that would stick out like a sore thumb from a bird’s eye view.

“There!” Cole yelled, drawing the ninja’s attention as he pointed near the end of the main street- and there he was, round hat quickly carving its way through a disgruntled crowd, and the ninja leapt into action, running as fast as they could over rooftops, leaping from building to building as a summer breeze cooled them off.

“He’s trying to leave Ninjago!” Lloyd called, voice slightly muffled from his ninja hood. “There’s nothing to hide us- we’ll either have to fight him directly, or wait for him to return!”

“Lloyd, go down there and herd him towards our right,” Cole said. “Zane and I will meet you there- aim for a dead end. A residential area should be close by, it should be easy to find a place where he doesn’t have anywhere to go!”

“Got it,” Lloyd said with a solemn nod, breaking away from the group and leaping down to the street- directly in front of a now very afraid criminal.

Zane didn’t have any time to watch the scene unfolding as he followed Cole- who had said he was familiar with Ninjago City, having grown up there- to the aforementioned residential area.

As they neared it, it was obvious that this was the less wealthy part of the city. Artisans, noblemen, and guild members did not reside here- instead fishermen, street sweepers, and manual labor workers called this area their home. The houses were flat, one-story homes on stilts, a small canal winding its way through the area and branching through neighborhoods. A few boats and gondolas were being carried by the current, their owners not paying any attention to anything but steering. A few of the boats had cabins at the back, the floor of the boat littered with personal items. This was the urban city Zane knew, often finding jobs from men who inhabited these kinds of areas, and a strange sense of relaxation- that he was in a familiar environment- washed over Zane.

The pair continued to go farther and farther into the area, closer to the heart of the neighborhood, until they came to a stop on top of the largest house they could find.

Cole barely breathed, head swiveling for the sight of Lloyd and the criminal, while Zane committed the layout below him to memory. There were many offshoots and secondary roads branching out, and a few many of them lead to dead ends, and others were blocked by piles of trash behind houses.

“Hey,” Cole said gently, pulling Zane from his thoughts. “We’ll get him.”

Zane smiled, even though the earth ninja probably couldn’t see it. “I know we will.”

As if on cue, a bright flash of green in the corner of Zane’s vision drew his attention to what looked like a very intense chase.

Lloyd’s eyes were glowing green, with tendrils of similarly colored energy emanating from his fast-moving figure as he chased the boy running quicker than anyone Zane had ever seen.

The ice ninja squinted as Lloyd chased the criminal through the streets, occasionally firing off a blast of his elemental power to herd his target to a dead end or small back alley.

“Cole, I think he’s using magic,” Zane gasped. “There’s lightning near his feet- look!”

Every time the sandogasa wearing boy took a step, a few bits of lightning arced from where his foot connected to the ground.

“Shit, that must be how he’s going so fast,” Cole hissed through clenched teeth as he watched Lloyd force the vendor into a small alley in between two houses, a brick wall marking the end of the line.

“He is fast,” Zane agreed as Lloyd chased him closer to where the two were perched, eyes glued to the quick pursuit unfolding in front of him. “But it is a damn shame that I am faster.”

Cole barked out a surprised laugh as the ice ninja launched himself into a freefall off the roof, slamming down into the alley Lloyd was aiming for.

The man they had spent the better part of an hour chasing gasped when he saw the pale man, head whipping around as he ran closer to Zane, desperately looking for a way out.

The man raised his hand, a ball of lightning coagulating in his palms, but he couldn’t do anything with it as Zane thrust a hand out and a sheet of ice burst forward, hitting the blue-clad man’s shins. Frost and ice quickly spread over his legs and down his ankles, cementing him in place and stopping him in his tracks. The distraction caused the lightning to dissipate just as quickly as it formed, and the chance for Lloyd to catch up.

“Get away!” the lightning user yelled, arms raised as threateningly as he could, though he was so lean it didn’t intimidate Zane at all. “Stay back!”

His voice was higher than expected as he twisted around, his threat aimed at a slightly winded Lloyd, who simply raised an eyebrow.

“Hey, great job, frosty!” Cole called from his rooftop perch, loud voice echoing through the neighborhood. Before Zane or Lloyd could reply, he unceremoniously leaped down, the earth shaking underneath him when he landed.

The man they caught looked ready to pass out from either the comedown of an adrenaline high or fear, warily looking at the three masked men surrounding him, two of which were using powers not of this world.

Zane tore his mask off, ice-blue eyes narrowing. “Magic use is dangerous, you know,” he said. “Using lightning in an area with multiple targets could have set off a chain reaction.”

“It doesn’t do that unless I want it to,” the man blurted before his eyes widened and he clapped a hand over his mouth. “I mean, I didn’t know it would do that! I just, uh, bought a potion from someone on the street!”

“Nice try,” Lloyd said, joining the other two ninja and taking his own hood off. He leveled an unimpressed stare at the lightning man. “Is that what you really sell? Lightning potions, instead of trinkets and toys? Black market magic to the highest bidder?”

“No, stupid,” the man snapped. “You guys should know this! I know Chen told you about me! Gods above, he really sent his dumbest goons after me, didn’t he?”

“…Chen?” Lloyd murmured, looking at Cole and Zane. The earth ninja shrugged, and the ex-ronin simply gave a minute shake of his head. Lloyd pointed to himself. “Do you, uh, know who I am?” he asked.

The lightning man scoffed and crossed his arms. “No. I didn’t memorize everyone in that stupid dungeon, since I assumed I would never be back there again. Let me go, and tell your boss that my answer is still no! Actually, change my answer to no, leave me alone, I hate you, goodbye!”

“Woah,” Cole said as he took his own mask off. “He’s completely insane.”

“INSANE?” the vendor said, eyes widening. “Is that what your actually insane boss told you? You guys are literally part of a snake cult. Pot, meet kettle!”

“Sir, we don’t work for Chen,” Zane interrupted, hands raised placatingly, before the lightning man could spin himself up more. He’s more powerful than he knows. Lightning can kill, easily. If he gets too emotional, he could hurt all of us on accident.

“Sure you don’t,” the man scoffed, crossing his arms. “Only he has the power to send magic freaks in the middle of the night.”

“I’m not a freak,” Lloyd muttered.

“We’re not working for Chen,” Zane said, speaking slowly and ignoring the daimyo. “The exact opposite, actually. We work for him,” he said, motioning to Lloyd.

“The kid?” the lightning man said incredulously, crossing his arms. “What has this world come to,” he huffed under his breath.

“I’m Lloyd Garmadon,” the green ninja said, pointing to himself. “Daimyo of the Ninjago mountains, valleys, and harbor? Son of Lord Garmadon? Green ninja?”

The criminal paled immediately. “Oh,” he said.

Cole hid his chuckle behind a hand, Zane nudging him in the ribs to cut it out, as Lloyd continued to speak.

“Look, whatever your name is-”

“Jay.”

“Okay, Jay, at first we thought you were a criminal. I still sort of think you are. But, what you said- about Chen chasing you and asking you for something- is important to me. You’re a Ninjago resident which means that your safety is something I’m responsible for, and Chen is never up to any good. I’m gonna have my buddy Zane here melt the ice, and you’re gonna come with us back to my house, alright? We just want to ask a few questions.”

Jay’s eyes were narrowed as he looked at the three ninja, but he obviously realized that Lloyd Garmadon was a) personally offering protection and a place to stay, and b) friends with people who had a bunch of magical powers that he couldn’t fight off, even with lightning.

With a sigh, Jay nodded. “Alright.”

---

Wu’s face when the ninja, ragged and tired, re-entered the Garmadon estate with an extra person, would have been funny if they weren’t so exhausted.

The walk all the way back through Ninjago City and then up a mountain after running on rooftops was enough to make even the most accomplished distance runners’ legs feel like jelly. That, on top of the fact that they still all had to be on guard with Jay (who talked the entire time, as he always did when nervous out of his mind) made all three ninja feel drained, both physically and mentally. If I wanted to make a break for it, now would be the time.

Jay never made a break for it, the awe of seeing the large gates of the Garmadon estate wiping all escape plans from his mind as he was ushered though the front door and into the main hall.

The ninja deposited Jay into one of the cushioned chairs in the main hall’s reception room, sitting down at a long table across from the lightning user, while Lloyd was dispatched to wake Misako up so she could witness whatever insanity was going to happen next.

Am I going to get interrogated and tortured? Is it torture first, interrogation second?

Wu sighed, before looking to Zane. “My boy, could you help an old man out and put some tea on? I have a feeling we will be in for a long night.”

I don’t think people who torture teenage boys drink tea. Maybe.

Zane nodded. “Of course, Master. I’ll go now- if Misako arrives, please let me know.”

The pale man (who made Jay the most nervous, his icy eyes and calm demeanor totally unnerving) wasted no time beelining towards the kitchens, leaving Cole and Wu to stare down Jay, who was increasingly getting nervous under their watchful eyes. His hands were moving a mile a minute with the hem of his haori, and his eyes flitted from each piece of décor dotted around the room. If I could pawn even two things from this room, I would never have to sell scrap again.

“Patience,” Wu said, snapping the curly haired boy from his thoughts and redirecting his attention to the master of the house. “We are not here to harm you.”

“I just, uh, haven’t been in a house as nice as this,” Jay replied, a flush creeping up his face at the honesty. “Feel a little too sweaty to be in the daimyo of Ninjago’s house.” Might as well go all-in.

“My ninja train every day, and use their powers at will. Nothing is off limits in this house.” The sensei leaned forward, locking eyes with Jay. “From what my ninja have told me about you, you are very special. Special enough to meet the madam of the house.” Wu’s eyes brightened as Zane returned with a steaming pot of tea and a tray laden with cups.

“Got a fire guy to do that for you?” Jay commented, more to himself than to the people around him, speaking in order to stomp down the urge to vomit. Chen called me special, too.

“Quite the opposite, actually,” Cole said with a fond smile. “Ice princess over there couldn’t heat something up if his life depended on it.”

Jay raised an eyebrow. Ice princess? Are they- ohhhh. “Okay, so skinny pale guy is ice. Got it. The green-eyed blondie’s power is…green. I think. You’re not fire, so what are you?”

“Earth,” Cole replied, before flicking a hand at the centerpiece of the table- a delicately pruned bonsai tree.

The soil packed into the pot flew into the air, coalescing into the black ninja’s outstretched palm, forming a circle. He glanced a look at Jay, who was enraptured at the showcase of power, watching silently. Cole let the soil return to the tree and waved at Lloyd entering the room with the madam of the house in tow, who was blinking sleep from her eyes as she readjusted her glasses, greying hair hastily braided.

“The green gremlin’s power, as far as we can tell, is energy. Gave me a hell of a burn a month or two ago.”

“Oh, okay,” Jay replied, trying to keep his panic under control as the daimyo of Ninjago sat down across from him, his gracefully aging mother taking a seat next to him.

Five pairs of eyes turned to the scrapyard boy. Oh, gods above, why didn’t they just hand me to the city police?

Jay awkwardly cleared his throat. “My, name’s uh, Jay. Jay Walker. Son to Ed and Edna Walker, proud owner of the Walker family scrapyard.” He giggled, sounding only slightly neurotic (which was a big step up from his confrontation with Chen!), before continuing. I got my powers when I was struck by lightning on accident one time. “You guys probably should let me go before Chen breaks down your doors.”

What the hell, Jay!? Can you listen to the plans you make FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE?

None of the people across from him looked vaguely impressed.

“Chen’s been making power grabs for years,” Lloyd sighed. “None of them have stuck.”

“You did accuse us of working for him,” Zane said, tilting his head to the side slightly, eyes still locked onto Jay. “Has he been stalking you?”

The lightning user scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Stalking, kidnapping, threatening- what hasn’t he done? He wants my power sooo bad because one of his stupid lackeys saw me sneeze one time.”      

No one said anything, and all Jay’s brain could come up with was “if I farted right now, everyone would hear it.”

Jay took the expectant silence as his cue to continue. “A couple years back, I was at the night market like I usually am, right? Right. Anyways, I was talking to this family, but I couldn’t see any of their faces since it was raining, and they all were understandably wearing sugegasa. Anyways, as we’re all under the stall, lightning strikes one of the trees near me, and I get totally shocked! Like, passed out from taking the brunt of it, but when I woke up, Yuki and Terri- the owners of the calligraphy stall next to me- said that no one else was hurt, not even the family barely a foot in front of me. Flash forward to a few weeks ago, I was in Ninjago City Park, and I sneezed, and a bolt of lightning hit one of the trees there. In the middle of the day. When it was bright and sunny. One of Chen’s soldiers working in his noodle shop saw it and snitched on me, which stinks, since I was really good about not using my powers in public.”

Lloyd gasped as Misako and Wu shared a look, a conversation playing out between glances. Cole and Zane also looked at each other, their eyes wide as they took in the new information.

“That was you?” Wu’s voice was deadly serious, and Lloyd was blinking furiously like he had been flashbanged.

Jay once again giggled awkwardly, gripping the hem of his haori for dear life. “Uh, yeah? No one else I know has lightning powers?”

“No, I mean- you were the seller at the flower stall? That absorbed the lightning strike?”

“Yeah, uh, I was covering for someone else that day, so I was closer to the pavilion area,” Jay said, looking at the people in front of him and trying to resist the urge to make a run for the door. “Is that…a bad thing?”

“Jay,” Misako said gently. “I want you to focus. Truly focus. Draw out the lightning in you and then release it at the floor.”

“I don’t use it a lot,” Jay said. “It’s lightning. It’s hard to control, I- I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“You won’t hurt us,” Wu interjected, before his eyes slid to Lloyd. “Or, well- you won’t hurt him. You can’t.”

“Uncle, do you think he…” Lloyd began, looking at the sensei with wide eyes.

All of this secret-talk and unfinished sentences are really irritating. Why can't they just finish their thought out loud!?

“Possibly.” Wu turned back to Jay. “Please. Indulge an old man just this once.”

“Oo-kay,” Jay said, before closing his eyes and breathing deeply. Please, please, raijin above, let me not electrocute the family controlling 80% of trade in Ninjago.

He felt the chaotic, crackling power of lightning surge from his body, the electrical impulses sent from his brain continue from the path of his muscles to the tips of his fingers, waiting to be aimed at something.

Jay exhaled, and let his lightning free.

Bright bursts of light, zapping and snapping, arced outwards from his fingertips, so powerful that Jay’s spine hit the wooden back of the chair. Instead of hitting Lloyd, who was sitting directly in the center of the table, the lightning forked around him and hit the tatami mat behind him- one arc directly on the left, one arc on the right. They dispersed when contact was made with the ground, but it left two black spots in the fiber mats, smoke curling into the air from where the lightning connected.

Wow, that felt nice, Jay thought, followed closely with, I hope they don’t make me pay to replace that, before the reality of what he had done set in.

The child of lightning looked up at his silent audience, their stares making him want to crawl out of his skin.

“So, show’s over! Run of the mill lightning use, no doubt, and really, I’m sure Mom and Dad are getting worried, so I should be on my way!” His voice sounded too loud, his cheeriness too forced, and he knew that everyone saw through him, but if he didn’t act as his typical chipper self, he would scream. His hands were shaking; he could feel it. The feeling of release, truly using the powers he had never asked for, was only satisfying for so long before his thoughts became crowded with fear. Where is Chen hiding? When will he get me? When will the snakes come out? He knew it was irrational, but the days stuck in that dungeon...he doubted he'd ever experience anything as horrible as that ever again.

“Jay, you are the next lightning ninja,” Wu said, and his voice suddenly sounded like an authority. Gone was the jolly old man taking care of a young boy, who idly drank his tea and told anecdotes. In his place was someone who had had a direct hand in shaping Ninjago’s past and present- and through Lloyd, it’s future. He was powerful, and everyone in the room knew it (though Lloyd simply rolled his eyes). "When lightning struck on that fateful day, you protected my family, including Lloyd, the prophesized green ninja. Your body absorbed the lightning and redirected it, and awakened your powers. You are the only man currently alive who can harness lightning and bend thunder to your will. Alongside Cole, the master of earth, and Zane, the master of ice, you will help Lloyd save Ninjago."

I’m supposed to join these guys? The big buff man with the sweetest eyes I’ve ever seen, the most put-together, competent guy who also moves like an automaton, and the literal prophesized savior of ALL OF NINJAGO? I’m just Jay! I sell scrap metal at a night market and I’m poor!

“Okay,” was all Jay could think to say, before promptly falling forward and passing out.

---

“Lloyd, this is a serious outing,” Wu scolded as Misako laughed behind her fan. “We are not here to play.”

“I never get to leave the house,” Lloyd pouted, walking back to where his guardians were standing in front of a stall selling hand-stretched noodles in a broth that had been a family recipe for generations. The warmth and light of the yatai was a welcome contrast to the dark downpour of rain that hadn't let up for hours on end.

“Could we have forty orders of the soba, delivered to the estate?” Misako asked, turning back to the vendor as Lloyd was forced to hold Wu’s hand. “We’ll pay extra.”

The older woman nodded vehemently, bowing to the matriarch. “Of course, madam. Thank you for your patronage.”

Misako smiled, before walking towards another yatai, her brother-in-law and son trailing behind her.

“I’ll try and convince her to get some satsuma age for you,” Wu whispered after Lloyd flinched at the clap of thunder reverberating throughout the market. “But for now…this’ll have to do!”

With a wink, he produced a small daifukumochi ball, handing it to his nephew. Lloyd smiled, wide and gap-toothed, even as the rain poured around them. He watched as the light of the night market changed with the rain, patterns of light fluctuating beautifully on the stone flooring of the main selling area. The sounds of wooden geta clacking onto the rain-softened surface grounded him, the continuous downpour lulling him into a content, happy state, even though the family was there for strictly business. If it wasn’t for a formal reason, they never would have graced the vendors with their presence…or their coin purse.

Wu and Lloyd caught up to Misako on the outskirts of the market. She was standing in front of a vendor with flowers decorating the stall and tables, their bright petals fluttering in the rain. Misako's braid was swaying softly behind her as she nodded along to whatever the young boy- kid, really, - was saying.

As the pair got closer, they heard him speaking, mentioning that a bed of morning glories were about to bloom, and she could simply reserve the entire bed in advance. Misako nodded, and as she reached into the coin purse hidden underneath her many kimono layers, the vendor shot Lloyd a playful wink.

Before he could return the gesture, Lloyd’s vision was enveloped with a flash of pure white so bright and powerful it felt he had been knocked flat on his back. Distantly, a boom so loud it surely must have rattled the heavens reached Lloyd’s ears, but not after the panicked yelling of the vendors crowded his senses.

By the time Lloyd's vision cleared and ears stopped ringing, the vendor was slumped over the table and his back had smoke curling off it. His blue, battered kimono was suddenly backless and scorched black on the edges, and his sugegasa was on the ground near Misako’s feet. The sickening smell of electrified air and burnt flesh filled the air along with floral perfumes and fresh rain.

“Get a doctor!” Misako’s voice commanded a few of the men that had gathered around to see if the young boy was still alive. She seemed unhurt, if not in a state of shock. Her voice was sure and steady enough to startle the onlookers into action, scrambling to scrape together someone who could help the young boy before his injury got infected...or worse.

Wu suddenly dropped down in front of Lloyd, gripping his shoulders tight. Too tightly.

“Are you okay?” His uncle sounded deadly serious, so the young daimyo swallowed thickly and nodded his head frantically, water shaking off his sugegasa.

Wu looked to the vendor- thirteen at best- and shook his head. “He…took it. All of it. No one else was hit by the lightning strike.”

“He’s alive! He’s breathing!” Misako called out, before shimmying the rest of the destroyed kimono off the boy’s shoulders to the doctors hopefully on their way could better help.

“Lloyd!” Wu said, causing his attention to snap from his mother to his uncle. “Do not look at him, do not-”

Lloyd jolted up with a gasp, Cole quickly retracting his hand and raising them placatingly. “Woah, sorry buddy, just tryin’ to wake you up. Jay’s folks are here, gotta leave a good first impression!”

“Y-yeah, you’re right,” Lloyd replied, trying to rub the bleariness from his eyes as he looked around. He was still in the reception hall, and had had his cheek plastered to the table in front of him for quite some time, though it was hard to get an exact time since the night was still in full swing, a blanket of stars covering the sky.

Jay was still on the ground, though someone had located a chair cushion to prop his head up, and his chest was moving with even breaths.

“I am sensing a pattern here,” Zane said from where he was sitting cross-legged near Jay, keeping careful watch. “I passed out, and now him. That’s two out of three of us.”

“Well, you passed out because you made an ice…thing that was as tall as the pagodas in Ninjago,” Cole replied with a smile. “He just couldn’t take the information all at once.”

“Which is unsurprising,” Lloyd interjected. “I mean, we did chase him for a solid hour, drag him up a mountain, make him recount getting struck by lightning, make him use his power, and then say that he was a prophesized ninja.”

“It sounds a lot worse when you put it like that,” Cole replied, walking back to the table and sitting down, leaning back as he watched the door.

“Madam Misako and Master Wu have been waiting outside for the Walkers to arrive,” Zane informed Lloyd. “They should be here any moment.”

"Did Uncle send someone for them?" Lloyd asked, looking at the closed door. "Coming up a mountain on short notice would take hours, and Jay tried to run to the desert. That's almost a half day's travel if they're on foot."

"Misako sent a carrier falcon with a message. They replied pretty quickly and said they had something that could get them here in a little over an hour," Cole said, pointing at a shakily scribbled piece of parchment laying on the table.

Lloyd raised an eyebrow. "They can get up First Master's Mountain in a little over an hour? What are they riding, a dragon?"

"I don't know," Zane said, looking at Jay, who mumbled something under his breath. "I cannot fathom anything that can move that consistently fast."

“Well, if they're going to be here soon, should we wake Jay up? I feel like if I had a son, seeing him unconscious on a stranger’s floor would make me a little hysterical,” Lloyd said, peering at the lightning user.

“I wanted to let him rest as much as possible,” Zane said, eyes searching Jay’s face, which had scrunched a little. He is no stranger to nightmares. “Nevertheless, I fear that his time to wake is upon him.” Gently, the ice ninja reached out and placed a palm on the side of Jay’s neck, exhaling roughly.

Judging by how the pale man’s breath was visible in front of him, his hand was surely frigid enough to wake Jay- and with a yelp, the trinket peddler lurched awake, eyes wild as lightning crackled off his body.

“First Spinjitzu Master,” Zane hissed, shaking his shocked hand as Jay got a hold of himself. He looked at Lloyd, a light eyebrow raised. He needs to train to control his element, or unintentional injuries will happen.

Lloyd subtly nodded back, before the sound of the door to the reception room opening drew the three boys’ attention to the group entering- Wu and Misako leading two older, frazzled people towards Jay, who struggled to his feet upon seeing them.

“Oh, Jay, we were so worried!” The woman who Lloyd assumed was his mother (though the family resemblance between the two was close to none), rushed forward, embracing her son tightly, and he wasted no time burying his face in the junction of her shoulder, the pair babbling happy nothings at lightning speed.

Jay’s father trailed behind the Garmadons, turning to Lloyd and bowing deeply. His well-worn hakama and haori had patches in them, and like his son, they were covered with small scorches and oil spots, but Lloyd could tell that he was in his festival best, which he appreciated.

“Thank you for taking care of my son, m’lord,” the man said. Lloyd couldn’t help but smile, the man’s homely accent warm and welcoming. “I’m Ed, and the bird currently sobbin’ ‘er eyes out is my wife Edna.”

“It’s an honor to meet you,” Lloyd recited. Should I have changed into something more formal? “Thank you for coming on short notice. I know you live far out and away from here.”

“Ah, it’s no problem, son- er, m’lord. Edna and I have been tinkering, and although we were scared outta our wits, it was the perfect opportunity to test out our horse-less carriage! Only caught on fire once the whole trip!”

Lloyd caught Cole's eye. So that's how they got here so quick.

“Oh, Ed, stop boring the poor boy! It’s nearly five in the morning!” Edna chastised; Jay still firmly stuck in a hug. She flapped a hand at her husband. “Get over here and tell your son how worried you were!”

“He’s a special boy, Edna, and he’s smart as a whip,” Ed huffed, but he still walked over to his wife. “I knew he’d be fine.” His gruff tone didn’t stop him from crushing Jay into a hug, his arms wrapping around his son’s shoulders securely. He buried his head in Jay's hair, exhaling heavily. "Oh, son, ya had your mother in knots and I can't say I didn't feel a little worried, too. How'd you get yerself into a noble's house so late?"

The reunion was heartwarming, even though the ninja and Garmadons were all awkwardly watching from their places around the room. Misako and Wu were smiling, their own feelings as parents and guardians all too familiar in Ed and Edna and Cole was looking at the floor, a bittersweet smile on his face, but Lloyd didn’t miss how Jay’s exceedingly tense shoulders relaxed in his father’s embrace…or how Zane was uncharacteristically biting his lip and looking away from the familial scene unfolding in front of the ninja, his typically unflinching stare wavering.

Misako walked forward after Jay was finally released, a wide grin on his face that was a perfect mirror of his father’s.

“I’m very sorry to disturb this touching moment, but…you were correct, sir, that your son was special. Very special, in fact, and we have a proposition for not just him, but all three of you.”

The Walker parents paled. “You…know about it?” Edna whispered, reaching out to grab her son’s forearm, and he placed a gentle hand on hers. “You can’t put him in Kryptarium Prison, please,” she said. “He’s all we have.”

“No, never,” Misako said quickly, looking alarmed at the prospect.

Wu appeared at Misako’s side. “We were thinking the opposite, in fact. If you’ll follow me into the war room, I would be glad to explain further.”

Edna frowned deeply but still nodded, and everyone present trailed after Wu and Misako, walking further into the house. At the back of the pack were Zane and Cole, and the earth ninja had taken Zane’s hand in his- gently and loosely, but still connected- and they walked silently in tandem.

I wasn't supposed to see that.

Lloyd quickened his pace to walk with Wu. 

---

While this maybe wasn’t the worst day of Jay’s life, it was definitely the hardest. Putting on his best customer service face while about to pee himself from the fear of Chen’s goons crawling the streets, then getting chased through said streets by magic ninjas, then being told you were one of those ninjas by one of the most powerful people in Ninjago, and then passing out in his house after burning not one but two holes in their floor? Jay wanted to go to sleep for the next three years, give or take.

As Wu explained to his parents some sort of magical prophecy where the green ninja needs four elemental masters, and that Jay was one of them, he was really trying to not fall asleep. It was one of the most important moments of his life, and his parents were obviously stressed, but Jay couldn’t help the exhaustion that permeated every bone in his body.

In his defense, the house was nice. Nicer than nice. It was somehow the most perfect, comfortable temperature, and the cushions on the cherry wood chairs were the most comfortable thing Jay’s body had made contact with that day, and Wu’s voice was droning enough to be the perfect white noise.

If I fall asleep now, I’ll die of embarrassment. I’m already the pitied poor kid in a lord’s house, who passed out in front of the whole family. At least I had an excuse then. If I fall asleep now, it’ll make Mom and Pa look bad too! STAY AWAKE, JAY. FOCUS ON THE OLD MAN’S WORDS. Blinking furiously, Jay straightened his posture and forced himself to focus on Wu and Misako.

“…which is why I am formally offering for Jay to come stay with us and train in the martial art of Spinjitzu and to learn how to control his lightning. He will possibly have to fight and risk injury, but it is to protect Ninjago.”

“It’s his decision,” Ed said, and Jay couldn’t stop the smile he knew was spreading on his face. His parents couldn’t afford much, but they always supported him and respected his right to choose from himself from an early age. Although people often commented how old his parents were, and how physically different they were, Jay loved his parents as strongly as any other child would.

The adults turned to look at the lightning user. Wu and Misako both wore matching, blank expressions- probably to not pressure him into making a decision, though their imposing presences both insinuated that there was a right answer to their proposition.

Ever since he had seen Zane make sheets of ice from nothing and Cole make dirt dance in the air, he knew he was one of them. The fear of someone knowing he had powers was tiring. Living a lie made day-to-day life so much harder than it should have been, and the stress of knowing you were a danger to everyone was agonizing and alienating.

To spend his time with people who knew what his experiences were like and wouldn't judge him or turn him over to the authorities...it sounded like a dream come true.

“I’ll join,” Jay said. “Even if I said no, I think they’d just track me down again.” He jabbed a thumb at the back of the room, where Cole and Zane were sitting on two stools near the door.

Everyone laughed, and Wu dipped his head in Jay's direction. “Take the next few days to gather your belongings, tie up loose ends, and then come to us when you are ready to begin your training.”

Jay nodded solemnly. “Yes, Lord Wu.”

Misako smiled. “It’s Sensei now, Jay,” she said, and he felt his cheeks heat up.

“Right, right,” he said. “Got it.”

"Well,” Edna said, getting up and smoothing her kimono out, the faded decoration of a mountain waterfall catching the lantern light. “We best get out of these good people’s hair and get back home. We’ve all had an adventure tonight, and we are guests after all. Don't want to wear out our welcome."

“It’s no trouble, ma’am,” Lloyd said, getting up as well. Everyone followed suit after that- although most protocol when interacting with nobility went out the window with the Garmadons, there were some customs they still adhered to. “Honestly, we’re awake at all hours of the day for a whole lot of reasons. This is nothing new.”

“Goodness! You’re too young to be pulling all nighters!” 

Misako chuckled softly as she placed a hand on the small of her son’s back, steering him out of the room. “That’s what I’ve been saying since day one. Alas, danger never seems to adhere to a schedule.”

Ed patted Jay on the back as the group began to exit the war room (which was really just a meeting room with a variety of maps of the surrounding area on every surface, with a few letters from other heads of state littered on the desks and chairs in the back of the room). “It seems you’ve gotten yourself a good group, son!”

“I think so, dad.” I hope so.

---

Zane was very obviously not asleep. His eyes were shut, yes, but they were less “gently closed” and more “squeezed together”. Even in the low light of the barracks, Cole could tell that Zane was struggling.

It worried Cole. Seeing Jay’s family, together and happy, had obviously set the pale man into a spiral. Understandably so- seeing it made Cole’s heart pang with homesickness, but…Zane didn’t know if he had parents or not, or if they were alive, or…

“Cole, I know you are worried about me,” Zane said into the darkness of their shared room. He shifted onto his side, the futon cover rustling around his legs, so he could give Cole a neutral look. “You are very obviously staring at me and trying to figure out what to say."

“Nah,” Cole replied, glad that it was too dark for his friend (crush, not that he’d ever jeopardize the bond he had with Zane) to see his face redden. Shit! “Just thinkin’ about how cold you are.”

“…Oh. I'm sorry.”

Cole kicked himself internally. Now you made him even more self-conscious, jackass!

The earth ninja poked a leg out, lightly tapping his foot against Zane’s shins still hidden underneath his covers. “You’re all good.” Cole waited a second before speaking again. “I...I miss my dad. I try not to, but I still miss him. So, uh, I get it, the way you feel and all, though I can’t blame Jay for havin’ loving parents.”

“I do not hold it against Jay at all. I’m happy that he has a family who loves him, but when I see it, I become so…jealous. I don’t know if I even have a father,” Zane said. “Loving or not. I just…want a family. A name I can tie myself to. I’m just Zane, the wandering ronin. Zane, the ice ninja. You’re Cole, master of earth, Cole, lead of the Royal Blacksmith troupe, Cole Brookstone, son of Lou and Lilly Brookstone.”

He’s so alone. All he’s ever been is a tool for hire, and now a tool for Wu and Lloyd. Cole’s heart hurt for Zane. Losing his mother had been hell, but at least he had his father trying to heal alongside him almost every step of their battle with sorrow. Having to grieve for people you didn’t even know existed and for a life you held no memories of, all while trying to survive and build the skills to stay alive, must have been the most agonizing years of Zane’s life.

“You can have my name,” Cole blurted, suddenly. “We…our family has been missing a member for a while now, Dad and I.” The words were pompous- who was he, the youngest son, to give away a respected family name, with years of history behind it?

Images of his mother flashed through Cole’s mind, and how she was always giving, smiling, making sure that every action was imbued with love, welcoming those that felt alone, and how she always made sure that Cole understood why she did it.

She would have loved Zane. This was the right thing to say. I think…she would have been proud of me.

Zane was quiet for a while, and Cole was afraid the ice ninja had fallen asleep again or was silently rejecting him. Before his thoughts could spiral too far, Zane finally spoke.

His voice was hoarse and thick, exceedingly loud in the agonizingly silent room. “I could never replace your mother.”

“You’re not replacing her,” Cole replied, laughing softly as relief flooded his bones. “I don’t think anyone could, even if they tried; no offense. But I was thinking you could join us. Another son for my father to nag, needle, and dote on. FSM knows I need someone to share that load with.”

Zane sat up, and in the gentle moonlight filtering through the window of the ninja’s barracks, Cole could tell he was biting his lip. 

They were silent, the only sounds being the rustling of fabric as the two boys shifted and the soft breathing of the ice master.

“…another son? Would we be brothers united under a family name, or did you have something else in mind, Cole?”

The earth ninja sat up as well, trying to ignore the shudder that ran through his body at the use of his name, the way it always did when Zane addressed him directly.

It’s now or never. “I was thinking more…as lovers. M-my father’s name wasn’t originally Brookstone, and I’m a man long steeped in tradition.” His voice only shook slightly as he prayed that he wasn’t screwing up a relationship that was healthy and strong, backed by months of living together, but a feeling in his gut- rock steady and strong- encouraged him to keep speaking. "My mother was a giver. She gave her heart freely to those she loved. And to my father, the one she loved most, she gave her name. It'd dishonor her memory to not follow her footsteps."

I’ll give you my name like my mother gave hers to my dad. I’ll give you anything. I’ll use all my powers to move mountains for you, and if that's not enough, I'll reshape the earth we stand on.

The looks when sparring, the laughter that came so, so easy, the enabling of each other’s habits- Zane making whatever Cole’s sweet tooth demanded and Cole never pulling his punches at Zane’s request- it was obvious. Cole wanted Zane. His feelings refused to hear reason, to stay as a simmering longing in the pit of his stomach. He couldn’t deny it or stamp it down any longer. Cole wanted Zane in a way that seemed straight out of one of his kabuki plays; a yearning deep and strong that threatened to tumble from his lips at any given moment. He wanted to monologue about Zane's intelligence, his quick wit, his quiet power, his beauty, his control- everything. Cole ran hot, but for Zane, he’d let the ice elemental freeze every last drop of blood.

Zane was quiet once again, Cole's heavy breathing too loud in the space between them. As the seconds stretched on into the night, the fear from earlier was stronger than ever. Cole could feel his lungs shriveling and chest constricting, bile churning deep in his abdomen. I’ve ruined it all. I’ll just pretend like it never happened, that I was in a dream state, that I-

“Zane…Brookstone. I believe I could get used to being called that,” the ice ninja murmured, head tilted as it usually did when his head was full of racing thoughts. His voice, to an untrained listener, sounded purposefully coy and thoughtful, but Cole could hear the hints of a waver- a mutual fear of taking it too far, of the moment being ripped away.

In the quiet of the darkness, Zane shifted forward, towards Cole, and the small dam holding the earth ninja’s reservations broke. Months of yearning rushed forward, and he was already far enough gone.

Cole leaned forward as well, moving towards the ice ninja, who, like always, was waiting patiently.

A symphony of the night, previously muffled, accompanied Cole, the ministrations of the crickets and cicadas soothing him as he bent his head down slightly- just barely being taller than Zane when sitting- and met his lips to the pale man’s.

They were cold, as expected, but soft, inviting him to continue pressing his own mouth to Zane's, reveling in how it was everything he had wanted, everything he had dreamed about in the long nights.

Cole couldn’t bring himself to mind as a hand- cool to the touch with nimble, gentle fingers- reached up to bury themselves in the actor’s ink-black, permanently shaggy and messy hair. What started as a feather light touch morphed into a confident grasp, the strong tension making the soft embrace more intense as the pair moved in tandem to deepen the kiss. A soft noise escaped Cole, quickly swallowed by Zane, and he couldn't help but smile into the kiss.

Slowly, as if afraid that moving too fast would scare Zane and cause them to separate, Cole wound his arms around the ice master's waist, moving him closer to his chest- the way he distantly remembered his mother and father would during anniversaries and tender moments- and Cole felt alive.

Zane broke away first, and the earth ninja couldn’t help the way his face fell, but the look on his face soothed Cole.

“I adore you,” Zane breathed, his face flushed. The two were so close that the pink of his cheeks and the glisten of saliva on his lips was visible even in the low light, and Cole couldn’t help but smile and embrace the ice elemental again, holding him closely and tightly.

Around the pair, snowflakes began to fall softly, and Zane buried his head in Cole’s chest, groaning with embarrassment. This is a new one.

“I’m so lucky you wandered into my life,” Cole said, trying to keep his voice low as he pressed another kiss to Zane’s temple. How long have I waited to do this! “I’m lucky I get to do this with you.”

“What, kiss me and hold me like you have some fanatical notion I want to be anywhere but here?”

“No,” Cole said, before frowning. “Well, yes, but I meant just…live with you. Spend my days by your side. B-before, even as just a friend, you made me feel known. But l-loving someone who has powers too, I just…I feel understood.”

Zane, head still resting on Cole’s chest, smiled. “I could go on for quite some time about being known. Wandering in the ice forests alone was…damaging. Killing for survival made me feel…isolated, like I was a feral animal. Anything was on the table- people, animals. But being here, with everyone- and you- has made me feel…full. Human. We may not be blood, but I think my family, whoever they are or were, would be okay with whom I have found.”

It was Cole’s turn to go silent. I had the troupe when Dad and I were at odds and grieving. It was just him for years. This is his first cobbled-together family, isn’t it? United by love and not by blood?

Cole released Zane, dropping a kiss on the corner of his mouth and trying not to smile at how Zane simply let it happen, tilting his face to give Cole more space to kiss. “While I would love to go on about how wonderful you are, I can tell that you’re tired, and so am I. It’s late, and we have all the time in the world to be…whatever we are now. Tomorrow, we have to go back to being ninja.” But tonight, we can just be two people who found normal love in an abnormal situation.

Zane sighed, looking at the master of earth. “I do not enjoy the fact that you’re right.” He yelped when Cole gripped the edge of the futon he was sitting on and easily dragged it over to his, arms glowing a slight molten orange with superstrength and illuminating how much his cheeks were tinged pink and the giddy grin on his face.

The ninja of ice raised an eyebrow as he was scooted towards his lover. “Are you especially proud of yourself?”

“Yes, actually, because now I can do this,” Cole chirped, flopping onto his back. He reached a hand out, gripping the sleeve of Zane’s loose yukata and pulling down.

“This is extremely cliché,” Zane pointed out as he allowed the earth ninja to manhandle him into laying in his arms, resting comfortably. Cole was big, and his considerable muscle was surprisingly plush as Zane adjusted, wrapping an arm around Cole's waist.

“Hey! I've been doing romantic plays for years. Sometimes you gotta pull a move or two from the old classics. And you're not trying to escape at all, so I don't want to hear you complain!”

“If I tried to escape, I have a feeling you would just drag me back anyway.”

“You’re damn right I would.”

“Goodnight, Cole. Hopefully, in the morning your language will be better."

“Goodnight, Zane. Hopefully, in the morning you'll kiss me awake.”

"Cliché, Cole."

"Whatever."

With a kiss to Zane's temple, Cole let his eyes flutter shut.

Chapter Text

Cole and Zane were not supposed to be up.

They had spent the greater part of the day preparing their room for Jay’s arrival, and then trying to plan how to go after Pythor and train Jay at the same time. Everyone in the household had different ideas on how to best kill the two birds with one stone, and their stress levels only increased as the ninja patrolled Ninjago City and heard rumors of a snake-man and his army moving through the peaceful independent villages and settlements found between the Ninjago deserts and coasts of the Lethe.

The moon indicated that it was two in the morning- and that was the gracious estimate. It shone on the black and white ninja as they wandered around their shared room, moving items and rearranging furniture as quietly as they could manage, even though their rooms were relatively isolated from the other inhabitants of the house.

“Would it be seen as clique-y of us to keep our beds next to each other and have Jay at the left end? Or should we move our beds to the corner of the room and sleep in pairs of two? Either way, Jay will be mostly alone, and I don’t want to seem as if he is a guest in ‘our’ room, if that makes sense,” Zane mused, a finger tapping his chin as he stared at the futons on the ground in front of him.

“I mean,” Cole grunted from where he was moving the drawer that housed folded training gis and their ninja suits, “we can just put him in between us and call it a day.” He gently placed the drawer down as best he could, wincing at the thud it made.

“Jay couldn’t stop staring at me,” Zane sighed, shaking his head. “I do not think he likes me very much. I think I should sleep next to the wall, then you be in the middle, and then Jay at the end.”

“Why not put him against the wall?” Cole asked, wiping sweat from his brow as he looked at the futons.

“That seems very rude to do to our newest member,” Zane replied, eyes still trained on the ground in front of him. “Maybe in the morning we’ll ask Lloyd what he thinks-”

The ice master was interrupted by a squawk outside the window, loud and demanding. Both ninja jolted at the sudden sound before rushing to the window to see what news the falcon would bring.

“I haven’t seen you for a while,” Zane hissed as angrily as he could muster, before narrowing his eyes at the bird. “Don’t you dare peck a hole in the window.”

The falcon squawked again, aggressively flapping its wings and blocking moonlight from entering the ninja’s room.

“What does it want?” Cole asked, looking at the ice master. “I’ve never seen it so agitated before.”

“I…don’t know,” Zane replied, eyes still on the falcon, which was now busy slamming its beak into the wooden frame of the window and undoubtedly leaving indents. Ignoring the flash of irritation caused by property destruction, the ice ninja continued. “I think it wants both of us this time, and not just to lead me to some dead end.”

The falcon bobbed up and down at this, flapping its wings once more.

“I have a feeling we need to get ready for battle,” Cole whispered. “I don’t know…it’s been so long since we’ve done anything actually ninja-y that the odds just don’t add up.”

“Well, if we’re going into battle, shouldn’t we get Lloyd?” Zane asked. “If you get our weapons and our armor, I’ll wake him up. We either go as a team, or not at all.”

The falcon reared its head back and let out a piercing shriek, the two boys wincing. If that doesn’t wake up the rest of the house, nothing will.

“I think that was some form of agreement,” Cole said. He dropped a kiss to Zane’s temple. “Go, then. I think our… little buddy over there is trying to tell us time is of the essence.”

The falcon bobbed again before the two ninja began moving: Cole beelining to the drawer and grabbing belongings haphazardly, and Zane sliding the shoji door open to run to Lloyd’s room.

---

For a nightmare, it was very uninspired.

Lloyd was alone on the edge of The Destiny’s Bounty, letting his legs dangle into the dark sea that surrounded him on all sides. There was no land in sight, and Lloyd knew it was only him on the boat. That’s how nightmares went- his brain knew he hated being alone, and so he always was in these dreamscapes.

He looked at his surroundings: there was no storm on the horizon, and the waves lapping at the edges of the Bounty were tame. There were most likely monsters that his brain couldn’t comprehend lurking in the depths of the ocean, but in this situation, what was out of sight was out of mind. The stars were out in full force, their light the only thing allowing Lloyd to see, because it was always night when his brain decided he wouldn’t be getting any rest. The fear reminded him of his father.

Lloyd looked down at his legs, distorted by the waves, and then up at the moon, tinted a blue-green by the murky waters below.

He thought about how Cole or Zane would have something to say about the stars, the old men that they were; and then his thoughts wandered to Cole and how he was running himself ragged every day as Zane got closer and closer to achieving Spinjitzu.

Cole’s voice would reverberate throughout the estate sometimes, when he was really in the zone and riling himself up. Lines from poems and songs written ages ago would tumble from his lips as he would sing and dance, the earth moving with him as he cycled through kata forms. He had made it through every aria from The Unicorn Purse, and had begun going through the songs from Lucretia, Mine Own Reflection.

A lot of times, he would be spinning, bare feet- because he firmly believed that he always needed to be directly connected to the earth- moving his large frame around and around, as if he could say the line just right or move just fast enough, Spinjitzu would come to him.

The daimyo sighed, looking out at the water. “Hark! On days like this; and in miserable times like these, I feel an animal deep inside! Heel to haunch on bended knees, you beast, living on! If and if I tried, somebody please doth send me dream wars; and mightily, permission to seem,” Lloyd muttered, repeating the phrase that he had overheard Cole reciting a few hours ago as Zane cleaned dishes and Wu went over reports from the city. The phrase rolled off the tongue, though the master of earth definitely did a better job on the delivery.

Lloyd sighed and turned his attention back to the waves cooling his feet and legs off, his thoughts wandering to how Zane had the Spinjitzu form perfect, he simply couldn't will the ice to surround and carry him at a high speed.

“Sisters of mercy reap the floodland, fie! Like a healing hand, sing this corrosion to me!” a voice called from behind him, completing the verse, albeit with a slightly mocking tone.

Lloyd whipped around, gasping at the intrusion of his peace. He never had anyone else in his nightmares- it was always him carrying the brunt of the suffering, alone until his body released him from sleep. He felt the hair on his arms raise and hands involuntarily clench into fists as his eyes struggled to focus on where exactly the sound came from.

A figure walked towards him; hands shoved into the pockets of hakama that had easily seen better days. Their head was cockily tilted, shadows and hair obscuring a thin face. Lloyd squinted to better make out the details and realized that the person on the Bounty with him was probably only fifteen or sixteen, even though the person’s clothes indicated they were older.

A cloud parted, and moonlight shone down to reveal that the person was a boy, who had shoulder length hair. It was jet black like Cole’s, minus a strip of green on the right side of his face. His color scheme was unconventional for a ninja- shades of deep and sandy greens with accents of black- but he was wearing the standard ninja outfit of hakama wrapped in strips of bandages or cloth at the shins. On his chest was a simple vest over his gi, though judging from the haphazard stitching, the boy had sewn the sleeves to the current ballooned effect they currently had. Like Zane, he had wrapped his palms, wrists, and forearms in bandages. Around his neck was a bunched-up cloak, draping over his left side. It slowly lifted and flowed, though the ocean winds weren't strong enough to ruffle Lloyd's hair. Strange.

Seeing him clearly didn’t ease Lloyd at all. If anything, this person was a wolf in sheep’s clothing- dressing a certain way to make Lloyd think he was like Cole or Zane, a warrior who fought for good.

I guess my brain didn’t like it when I called this nightmare uninspired.

“That play was popular during my lifetime,” the figure said, voice languid and slightly distorted, though his disdain was poorly hidden. He scoffed as he walked across the deck to where Lloyd was sitting. “No wonder you know it. All you nobles care about is the past.”

“G-get away,” Lloyd said. If he had hackles, they would be rising with each step the figure took. “I don’t know who you are, but you’re just a part of my dream.”

The newcomer stepped into the light and raised an eyebrow- revealing the deep green markings around his eyes like scars, and his green-tinged skin. “Hate to say it, kid, but this isn’t your dream anymore. It’s mine. Anyone who can infiltrate your head and change your dream this easy deserves to be in control. As the green ninja, you need to firm your control on your own damn Dreaming.”

“Wh…what?” Lloyd gasped, eyes widening. “How did you know I’m the green ninja?”

The figure smiled, teeth bared like an animal, a vicious sight that made Lloyd’s breath clog in his throat. “Because I never was.”

Wind began to whip around the boat, causing it to heave side to side in the suddenly rapid, choppy waters. It took all of Lloyd’s strength to get to his feet and drop into a defensive stance, the high-speed winds forcing him to constantly readjust his footwork so he wouldn’t be blown off the edge of the ship.

“You better get ready, little dragon!” The figure yelled over the howling winds, hands still shoved into pockets. “I have a feeling your friends are going to lead you right to the suffering your destiny dictates, and I'm going to make sure it happens!”

Lloyd had no time to respond as he jolted upright with a gasp, looking around wildly, eyes unfocused.

He wasn’t in the ocean anymore, and a ceiling stood firmly between him and the moon. His room wasn’t creaking softly like the boards of the Bounty, and from what he could tell, there wasn’t even a breeze outside.

“Lloyd?” Zane said softly, a cool hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?” His white-blonde eyebrows were pinched together, and he did a quick once-over check on the daimyo. He didn’t retract his hand until Lloyd managed a shaky nod.

“Yeah, just a bit of a nightmare. I don’t think spending the day talking about Pythor was a good idea.” He tried for a laugh, but it came out sounding hoarse and forced.

Zane pursed his lips. “I initially woke you up for a mission, but I don’t think you should go, considering your current state.” The master of ice stood up. “Get your rest. Cole and I can handle it.”

“It was just a nightmare, Zane,” Lloyd said, forcing his legs to swing over the side of his bed. “I’m fine- you said we had to go on a mission?” Away from Zane's sight, he let out a shaky exhale, grateful at the grounding effect of his bare feet on the wooden floor.

“Well, not exactly,” Zane muttered, scratching the back of his neck. “This is a more…unofficial excursion. There is a falcon that has plagued me for quite some time, leading me around Ninjago towards…something. For the most part it leaves me alone, but tonight it has returned; and it seems rather urgent. It only ever shows up if something important is happening, and Cole has a feeling that we must follow it.”

“We’re…following a falcon? That you seem to be well-acquainted with?” Lloyd asked, raising an eyebrow, even as he moved to take out a black uniform from his closet.

“Yes. It is strangely attached to me. Cole and I have followed it a few times, but it keeps taking us to forests, or we cannot follow it very far out because we must return here in the morning. I… believe it knows something, no matter how inconceivable it seems.”

Lloyd snorted. “You’re talking to the grandson of the guy who created Ninjago from four golden weapons. A magic falcon isn’t as crazy as the universe deciding I should be the green ninja.”

Zane blinked before shrugging, a small smile creeping on his face. “Your logic is sound.” He walked to the shoji door of Lloyd’s room, sliding it open, ready to exit. Before he left the room, he looked over his shoulder. “Please, gather your armor- you can change when we get to the Destiny’s Bounty and we begin to follow the falcon.”

Lloyd nodded, before turning to open his closet and grab his green ninja armor instead of plain black clothes as Zane silently left his room to join Cole, leaving the door open in his wake.

Alone in the darkness, Lloyd felt a gentle gust of wind ruffle his hair, even though his window was closed and the night air was still.

Shaking his head and trying to ignore the chills running down his spine, Lloyd grabbed his armor and ran out of the room to join his teammates.

---

Vultures circled overhead in the crisp morning air, their cries echoing throughout the rickety town of Stiix, accompanied only by the lapping of waves against the stilts keeping the houses and walkways above water.

No one was on the streets, vendor stalls were abandoned with their wares out in the open, completely unprotected- uncommon for a town where money made the sun go up every day.

There was a smell of fire in the air, smoke rising from one of the shops on the outer ring of the town. One of the largest buildings in Stiix sagged under the weight of burnt items held up by wood that had been ripped apart by flames, the creaking of the old boards bending and snapping causing the Serpentine soldiers milling around the wreckage to jolt and flinch as they waited for it to finally collapse.

Pythor couldn’t conceal the grin as he felt the weight of the golden nunchaku in his hands, his scaled back turned away from the carnage wrought at his command. “You see, Ronin, sometimes there is peace in submission.”

The man the general addressed was gagged and bound to the chair that had been dragged outside of his shop. His eye drooped with the effort of staying conscious, blinking slowly as he struggled to focus on the general. His clothes were ripped in some places, burnt in others, and his eyepatch was stained with blood. His red sugegasa, as much a personal trademark as the eyepatch, was battered and beaten just like its owner, with many straw pieces flapping in the wind or missing- ripped out when he fought back against the robbery.

Against the cloth obstructing his mouth, he grunted. It was obvious from the way his eye narrowed and lips curled against the gag that it was nothing kind.

Pythor snapped a finger as he looked over his shoulder at the captive, watching as two footsoldiers rushed to take away the crudely made gag. “Watch what you say, pawnbroker. Right now, your words have more power than the Emperor of Ninjago.”

Ronin spat on the ground near Pythor’s tail. “Are you going to pay for my wares, jackass? You just destroyed my livelihood.”

There was no time to react as the back of a clawed hand was quickly drawn against Ronin’s cheek, the harsh sound of the slap reverberating off the sides of the houses.

Pythor bent his neck down to the thief’s level, eyes narrowed. “Fourteen people. One for every word. Drag them out. Entire families, if you must.” He didn’t break eye contact with the man breathing heavily across from him as he ordered the command.

Around the two men, soldiers burst into motion, scattering in different directions as the people huddled in the houses and shops around the carnage began to scream in desperate terror. Ronin could only watch through blurred vision as doors were ripped from hinges and the sounds of windows shattering filled his ears. His head drooped as the throbbing spread from his cheek to the rest of his already battered body, but not for very long. He was snapped out of the euphoria of exhaustion by Pythor’s hand grabbing his cheeks and forcing the pawnbroker to watch as his soldiers dragged fourteen struggling citizens from their homes and threw them into a line. The citizens clutched their children, their spouses, anything tangible as they were cruelly jostled into the middle of the town square.

“The damage has been done, pawnbroker,” Pythor hissed once the screaming died down to a frightened whimper. He released his grip on Ronin and turned to face the shaking townspeople, zeroing on the youngest of the fourteen- a little girl clutching her mother’s hand with tears in her eyes. She couldn’t have been older than seven.

“Do you know that man?” the general asked, his neck craning down to look at her better, smiling as she shook violently at his presence. “The one who…gave me this artifact?” The snake raised the nunchaku of lightning air in front of the girl, watching as her eyes widened at the glimmering, precious weapon.

“He- he takes whatever m-my mommy finds and sells it,” she hiccuped through gasps and sobs, her bottom lip trembling again as Pythor smiled, sharp fangs on display.

“He’s a good man?” the general prodded, his voice strangely smooth, his suave tone falsely gentle.

“Y-yes,” the girl whispered as she leaned closer to her mother to hide in her simple kimono.

Pythor looked at the rest of the peasants. “Did you hear that? The man who couldn’t give me one inconsequential artifact and put you in this situation is good!” The snake looked over his shoulder at Ronin. “Look at him now! Defiant to the last, his fourteen words putting you, your spouse, and your children at risk. The wares you found for him burnt to the ground, his shop in ruins. You live in a nowhere town in a nowhere country, with no one to save you! Pledge your allegiance to the army of the Serpentine, and only the pawnbroker dies. Resist me, or, Great Devourer forbid, try to help that scum in the chair, then-” The general lunged towards the small girl, the other thirteen captives screaming as they fell backwards, and the snake looked at them with a disdainful glare. “-she’s the first one to go.”

“Masuyo!” the girl’s mother cried, but she was held back by the person next to her- an older man with age lines on his tanned face and a silver beard, shushing her desperate cries.

Ronin opened his mouth, but only a pained warbling escaped from his split and chapped lips. He licked them, tentatively, before trying to speak again. “Just kill me and get it over with,” he rasped. “You have your weapon. These people are-” the thief doubled over as a hacking cough wracked his body, the smoke from his destroyed shop forcing his eye to water. The tears made rivulets of clear skin as they ran down his unshaved cheeks. “These people are fishermen. They barely make enough to feed themselves; they won’t be able to contribute anything to your war other than a few fishing rods and boats.”

“A few fishing rods will feed my men hundreds of times over,” Pythor replied as his army drew their weapons and began to slowly advance on the fourteen people gathered in the middle of the town as more screams began to raise into the air. “Their boats will be the beginning of my fleet, carrying me closer to the rest of the golden weapons. It seems the katana of flames is hidden in the Ninjago deserts, from what my men can translate from that ratty map. We have an ocean to cross once we’re done here.”

Struggling against the restraints, Ronin opened his mouth to retort, but one of the snake warriors refastened the gag around his mouth, tying it to the back of the chair, forcing the pawnbroker’s head into an upright position. He couldn’t look away from the scared townspeople, his desperate thrashing bending his neck into dangerous, painful positions.

The little girl’s father- a young, strapping man who had plans of declaring allegiance to the lord of the water-towns and earning a soldier’s salary- shielded his family, forcing his body between his wife’s throat and one of the Serpentine warrior’s spear tips, his chest heaving as he prepared for the agony of a preventable death.

It never came.

From the direction of the ocean resting between Ninjago Harbor and Stiix came an arrow, trailing frost and snowflakes in its wake. The single, whistling projectile flew over the head of Ronin and Pythor and lodged itself into the back of the Serpentine warrior ready to slaughter a family of three. The frost coating the metal tip of the arrow spread, quickly covering the snake’s entire body and freezing it in place, spear poised to strike.

The army stilled as they stared at the frozen warrior, unable to process the sight.

“What in the name of the sixteen realms?” Pythor muttered to himself before stowing the nunchaku into one of the pouches of his belt and addressing his men. “Hurry up and kill them! One of our own’s life is not enough to save these peasants!”

Before the army could bring their weapons down on the citizens of Stiix, a boulder covered in algae and seaweed came sailing over their heads once more, from the same direction of the arrow.

It hit the frozen Serpentine warrior, causing the ice-covered body to shatter in an explosion of shards. Each of them contained part of the warrior’s body, and the few citizens of Stiix still on their feet howled; haunting wails of terror that came from the diaphragm, loud enough to wake the dead as the frozen shards slid across the wood, pieces of viscera and chunks of scaled skin visible through the clear blue ice. A few of the Serpentine warriors doubled over to heave and gag at the sight of encased fingers and organs.

Pythor snarled as he unsheathed a wicked looking longsword and slithering to the edge of the docks, furiously looking at the foggy waters. “Show yourselves, ninja! Show me the futile powers you were foolishly bequeathed!”

“Your vision’s going, old man!” Lloyd’s voice called from one of the shingled rooftops surrounding the scene of chaos unfolding. Distantly, a piercing cry of an eagle or falcon resounded throughout Stiix.

The army’s weapons swiveled from the townsfolk, who quickly took off back to their ransacked homes. None of the Serpentine spoke, eyes locked onto the rooftops of Stiix as they waited for the green ninja to show his face.

From another rooftop, Cole’s booming voice resounded throughout the entire water town. “These people are now underneath the protection of the strongest daimyo in all of Ninjago: the Lord Lloyd Montgomery-Garmadon!”

“Your title means nothing, little boy! Your father stole it from Chen!” Pythor spit. “Come down here and prove to me you earned your reputation, not just a child riding on the coattails of his egotistical father!”

“The Lord does not need to prove anything to you, general of times long forgotten!”

From a third rooftop came Zane, fully dressed in the armor of the ice ninja. A pristine white kimono was draped on his lithe body, but only on one shoulder. His left side, including the arm reared back and ready to release the bowstring, was bare, the sleeve hanging useless at his side. On top of the kimono was a black dou, consisting of stacks of silver metal sewn onto each other. On his hands were thin black gloves, tucked under sleek han kote to prevent any bow rashes or close-range blows. He wore light blue hakama tucked into bandages, and on his feet were white tabi socks and wooden geta.

The ninja’s bow was drawn and an arrow knocked. In the air around it was gleaming snowflakes, and the metal tip was covered in frost. Combined with his pale appearance and white-blue color scheme, it was obvious to Pythor who he was.

“So you’ve found your ice ninja. How cute,” he drawled. “He is no match for an Anacondrai. Wait and see how his white clothes will be stained blood red!”

“I am more than a match for scum like you,” the ninja replied, his expression unchanging.

He let go of the bowstring, and the arrow whistled through the air like a lightning bolt. It did not strike Pythor, whipping past the general and directly onto the ropes binding Ronin’s arms to the chair.

Frost spread through the old and frayed hemp strands, and Ronin began to weakly struggle, twisting and shaking his shoulders and arms like a caught animal until the ropes around his arms shattered.

He looked up at Zane, stunned, before quickly leaning down to untie the ropes at his ankles.

“KILL THE NINJA!”  Pythor’s voice was an enraged scream, echoing throughout Stiix and causing his men to jump into action.

The army began to advance on the houses that the three ninja were perched on, stowing their swords and spears and beginning to climb up the rickety wooden sides. A few of the warriors armed with bows began to launch arrows at the three ninja, though none of them hit their mark.

“Get the nunchakus!” Lloyd commanded before barely leaping away from a clawed hand swiping for his ankles. “And try and get the map, too. Don’t let him leave.”

“You got it, boss!” Cole replied before taking a running leap and jumping off the roof, sailing over the heads of the snake warriors and landing with a thud. He quickly started throwing punches at the Serpentine warriors, easily dodging their out-of-practice sword strikes and spear thrusts.

Snake after snake fell as Cole carved a path of bodies through the converging army, all without taking his heavy hammer from its holster. Above him, Zane let arrow after arrow rain down onto the Serpentine that Cole couldn’t reach, freezing them on the spot.

With a grunt, Ronin freed himself from the rickety chair, and coughed heavily, a little bit of blood smearing on his lips and staining his teeth. “Took you fools long enough.”

Pythor whipped around, hissing at the pawnbroker. “You die for this,” he spat, raising his sword above the man’s head, prepared to deliver a killing blow.

“You couldn’t kill me if you tried,” Ronin responded with a pained grin, before his eye rolled back into his head and he fell to the ground. Blood began to dribble from his nose and into his unshaven scruff.

With a wicked grin, the general began to swing downwards, his sword hurtling towards the Stiix man’s head.

A simple bō lashed out and connected with the blade, stopping it in its path and causing the snake general’s head to whip up.

“The little daimyo Garmadon,” he drawled. “Who can’t even use a sword.”

“I don’t need a sword to defeat someone like you,” Lloyd replied, a determined grin on his face. “Cole doesn’t even need a bō to take down your entire army.”

The Serpentine’s yellow eyes flicked, for just a moment, and saw that the green ninja was correct: many of his warriors were on the ground, either dead or unconscious, and the ones that were still managing to fight back against the earth ninja were busy dodging the additional threat of Zane’s ice arrows.

He looked back at Lloyd with a sneer. “No matter. I know where the other snake tribes are- and they have triple the warriors I was imprisoned with.”

“You’ll never find them, because you’ll be banished for the rest of your pathetic life,” Lloyd replied, before quickly retracting his weapon from underneath the general’s sword and drawing it across Pythor’s face with a resounding crack.

“How dare you,” the Anacondrai hissed, before raising his arm again to attack Lloyd, bringing his sword down again and again, forcing the green ninja to deflect each blow and walk backwards, away from Ronin’s unconscious body and towards the edge of Stiix.

“Zane!” Lloyd yelled as he began to run out of space, the edge of the wooden walkways coming closer and closer. “Cole! Help me!”

“If I don’t kill you, your armor will!” Pythor laughed as he thrust his sword towards Lloyd’s stomach, the daimyo just barely managing to react quickly enough to deflect it. “The metal will make you sink farther and farther down until breathing is a distant memory, and I don’t see a ninja of air, hmm?”

“I-I don’t need a ninja of air when I have the ninja of ice!” Lloyd replied, before launching himself into a backflip off of the edge of Stiix, out of the range of Pythor’s sword.

One of Zane’s arrows whizzed past both warriors and straight into the ocean around Stiix. Where it landed, a patch of ice grew, and Lloyd landed on it with a cocky grin.

“Now, Pythor, give me the nunchakus of lightning,” he said, chest heaving as he could finally stay off the defensive. “And if you don’t, I’m taking you down to the depths of the Lethe myself.” Stowing his bō, he held his hands out, and between his palms green energy began to converge.

Pythor gasped as he finally saw Lloyd’s power, before snarling and reaching into one of his many belt pouches near his sword’s scabbard. “You disgusting brat,” he hissed, taking the nunchakus out. “I believe it is time to see what true power looks like.”

He swung the golden weapon over his head once, twice, as lightning crackled and converged around it, and cackled as he directed it at Lloyd.

The daimyo barely managed to leap back onto the wooden boards of Stiix, looking horrified at the water below them crackled with electricity, steam rising from the point of contact.

Pythor whipped the nunchakus again, aiming for blonde hair, but was deflected by his wooden staff. With a hiss, the general drew his sword in his other hand. “You only prolong your life by seconds, boy.”

Lloyd grinned as he danced around the Anacondrai, dodging each jab from the longsword as Cole and Zane continued their attack on the Serpentine warriors. “A few seconds can change everything, Pythor. I thought you knew that- a few seconds of Cole’s mistake freed you guys.”

He spun and drew his bō across Pythor’s face again, chuckling as he saw the general drop his sword as he roared in pain.

“Zane! His hand!” Lloyd yelled, throwing a desperate glance over his shoulder. Cole had subdued most of the Serpentine, though he was sweating, unable to use his elemental powers and instead relying only on his fists and whatever improvised weaponry he could get his hands on. His hammer was still in its holster, though there were a few large holes in the ground that showed why he couldn’t use it.

Zane looked away from the warrior he was busy freezing, and gasped when he saw Pythor swinging the nunchakus as lightning arced through the air, striking down at Lloyd’s feet and forcing him to jump around the rickety boards of Stiix. Where the lightning hit, holes were punched and the rushing waters of the Lethe could be seen.

“Cole, cover me!” Zane yelled as he let an arrow fly. It missed, shooting over the edge of Stiix. “I need to get closer,” he muttered. Please let this work, he prayed, before slinging his bow over his shoulder.

Cole swung at a Serpentine trying to stab Zane from behind and watched as the ice ninja got a running start before leaping into the air. He spun, and as his body twisted in the air, ice and snow coalesced around him, and he used Spinjitzu to cross the town square of Stiix.

There was no time to marvel at the sight or display of skill, and Zane quickly stopped spinning a few feet away from Pythor and Lloyd. He threw his hands out, and ice flew from his palms to where the Anacondrai general was standing.

“NO!” Pythor roared as he was frozen in place. His head and hands were free to thrash and grab, but the rest of his body was stuck under layers upon layers of ice, glimmering in the morning sun. “Get away from me, brat, or I’ll bite and kill you with Serpentine venom!”

“How?” Lloyd said with a smug smile, walking tentatively towards the general. “You can’t reach me from up there.”

“You will rue the day you were born!”

“I already do that. Zane, freeze him again.”

“NO! My men, to me-”

“Of course, Lloyd.”

The Anacondrai’s indignant screaming and hissing was silenced by a gentle fwoosh of ice covering his head, and Lloyd smiled even wider as he crossed the rest of the space between them and plucked the nunchakus of lightning from Pythor’s hand, the only limb not frozen.

“Did we win?” Cole called from where he was wiping Serpentine blood off his knuckles, a pile of warriors around his feet. He looked largely fine, except for the inexplicable sight of his kimono, once tied up at the shoulders, no longer having sleeves.

“Yes,” Lloyd set. “Now we need to make sure the town is okay. We can’t do anything about the damage to the floorboards, but we need to make sure that no one’s hurt. Cole, can you pick Ronin up? We don’t know what he’s been through, but I don’t want him dying on my watch.”

Cole nodded, moving to pick up the pawnbroker like a ragdoll as Zane surveyed the wreckage of the town square.

“What will we do with Pythor?” he asked, looking at the ice-encased general. “If he has not already suffocated.”

“We’ll let the people of Stiix decide what to do,” Lloyd said. “He was the one who threatened their families and children. It’s only right for them to choose their justice.”

Zane nodded. “I will go to the people and check for injuries.”

“Thank you, Zane,” Lloyd replied, watching as the ice ninja swiftly made his way towards the closest one-story house, its door ripped from its hinges and deep gashes in the siding.

Lloyd looked down at the golden weapon in his hand- Jay’s golden weapon. It seemed almost deceptively simple as it glittered in his palm. The blunt grip of the nunchakus was forged from gold and shaped like dragons, and in their eyes rested a circular sapphire. Connecting the two pieces was a thin, crackling strip of blue lightning that only got more intense the longer Lloyd held it, as if recognizing him as the green ninja.

Grandfather used these to create the very ocean I’m standing on now….

Lloyd looked around, taking in the way the sun shone on the gentle waters of the Lethe, how the clouds made their way across the sky, how the people of Stiix collapsed sobbing into Zane’s arms, their legs shaking as they looked at the unmoving Serpentine warriors littering their home.

The nunchakus of lightning crackled as glimmers of blue electricity arced from the weapon to Lloyd’s fingers, tingling sensations racing up his arms as the weapon allowed him to feel a fraction of its power. It felt good, a glimpse into power Lloyd hadn’t yet mastered…it felt wrong.

He stowed it away into the pockets of his armor before he got comfortable feeling lightning react to him and his will. This is for Jay, and Jay alone. I’m not the lightning ninja.

With a shake of his head, the daimyo walked towards the edge of Stiix to make sure the Destiny’s Bounty remained unharmed from the battle.

---

Misako took a sip of her tea, watching the sun climb higher and higher into the sky as a breeze gently brushed stray gray hairs from her face.

The archaeologist sat on a cushion facing the completely open shoji-door wall, the courtyard strangely empty of ninja shouting and training. The Garmadon estate was peaceful once again, though it wasn’t a return to normalcy, as she had expected to feel.

“You’re not worried?” Wu asked as he joined her, a small tray laden with simple snacks and a teapot in his arms.

"Not really,” she replied as Wu sat down and began spreading the small dishes around the pair. “Maybe that makes me a bad mother, but…I can’t bring myself to be stressed.” She looked at her counterpart. “Lloyd…is special. In every way. If he…felt some supernatural calling to leave this place in the dead of night, bring the ninja, and weapons, and armor…well, I’m surprised it took thirteen years to start happening.”

“He wrote me a note,” Wu chuckled as he grabbed some senbei crackers. “I think he wrote it in the dark, his handwriting was so bad. All it said was that he was taking Zane and Cole to find something very important, and he didn’t know when he’d be back.”

Misako sipped her tea as she watched a pair of birds fly together, making patterns in the sky before gently landing on a branch of a tree.

“You’re still not worried? You don’t know when Lloyd and two very powerful ninja will be back, even when we have Jay on the way?”

The archaeologist arched an eyebrow and looked at Wu. “Did your father teach you to stress like that? Or was it your brother? You need to stop worrying over other people.”

Wu went silent, dropping his eyes to the crackers in his hand. The birds began to hop from branch to branch, walking down the length before flitting to another one, determined on their search for something only they knew the goal of.

"Lloyd is only thirteen,” Wu said. “He’s much more delicate than you think he is.”

“Was Garmadon delicate at thirteen? At thirty? At three hundred?” Misako looked at the aging Spinjitzu master. “I’m just a human, Wu. At thirteen, I was more than willing to get hurt in pursuit of things that were important to me. I didn’t even have legendary ninjas with magic powers at my side, nor was I the grandson of the man who could create realms as he pleased. Lloyd will outlive us all, and every year will have events in them that we can’t explain or understand. It is all we can do to have faith in him. He is the green ninja, after all. He…was created to fight for the good of us all.”

Wu looked at the birds, who had found a branch to their liking. One of them flew down to the courtyard ground and picked up a stick, returning it to their partner. It was placed down, and the bird flew away again in search of more materials.

It returned later, beak laden with a variety of materials for the nest taking shape.

---

Lloyd was at the helm of the Destiny’s Bounty, navigating the boat back towards the First Master Mountains and private dock at the base of it. The nunchakus of lightning were stowed in one of the many pouches that hung from his armor’s belt, their weight a reminder of their quiet power.

Cole and Zane were sitting on the edge of the open-air aft deck, watching the town of Stiix get farther and farther away. Near the two boys was Ronin, still unconscious, though he had long stopped bleeding and mumbling under his breath.

“So,” Cole said, looking at the ice ninja, barely able to contain his smile. “You finally got it! You did Spinjitzu! Master Wu is gonna be so excited that you finally got it.”

Zane couldn’t stop the blush that crept onto his cheeks. He looked away from the earth master and instead at the rushing waters of the Lethe. “Spinjitzu is what is expected of us. It is no big deal.”

“No big deal!? It’s the only reason we managed to get the nunchakus from Pythor without us or citizens getting seriously hurt! It’s only, y’know, the thing we’ve been training our asses off for the last, I dunno, eight months?”

“It wasn’t exactly good Spinjitzu,” Zane said, shrugging. “My form was dismal.”

“But you still did it,” Cole countered, leaning towards the ice master. “Now that you know how to, you can get to the nitty-gritty of perfecting it. From theory to practice.”

Zane looked at his lover, a soft smile on his face. “You are very excited about this.”

“Why wouldn’t I? There are only a few people alive who can do Spinjitzu, and now you’re one of them!”

The master of ice looked over his shoulder at Lloyd, who was staring out into the water, hands gently resting on the steering wheel of the Bounty. “…I cannot refute that logic.”

Cole followed the ninja’s line of sight and peered at Lloyd as well. “He did pretty well, considering we woke him up early to follow a bird.”

“Besides the time you woke Pythor up, this has been his first battle, correct?”

“I think so,” the earth ninja said. “The small crimes we’ve stopped don’t really count.”

Zane bit his lower lip before looking at Cole. “When we get back to the estate and make sure Ronin’s injuries haven’t been infected, one of us needs to talk to him. He puts on a brave face very well, but…he is still thirteen, grandson of the First Spinjitzu Master or not.” His voice was low and serious, tinged with melancholy.

The boys went silent after Zane’s statement, looking out at the waves crashing around their boat and lapping at the sides of the hull. Above them, birds cried out their calls as they hunted the ocean for its bounty and the sun lent its bright rays to their endeavor.

“I was a mess after my first battle,” Zane said quietly, squinting as he watched a pelican yank a fish from the water. “It wasn’t very noble or refined. Honestly, it was less of a battle and more of a back-alley scrap.”

Cole licked his lips, chapped from the salty seawater, but said nothing as he waited for Zane to continue. The master of ice did not often share stories from his time as a ronin, unless they were lighthearted or had a lesson at the end of them. This is a rarity.

“This was in Mujintou. I was young, maybe twelve, thirteen years old? I don’t know since I don’t really…know the exact date I was born.” Zane sucked in a breath before heavily exhaling. “It was one of my first jobs. I, uh, agreed to bring a local crime baron the eye of someone who couldn’t stop looking at his wife. The…the man I had to target was in his twenties and four times bigger than me. I approached him outside of a local, shitty bar. He thought I had been sent as a peace offering- ‘take this white-haired child instead of my wife’- and let me get close. I took out a knife that was just a rusty hunk of metal attached to a handle, closed my eyes, and threw my hand forward. There was no finesse, there was no skill. I barely missed his nose, I was so far off.”

The ice ninja let out a laugh, though it was dry and mirthless. “I got his eye out. I don’t know how I did it, since he was fighting for his life and I could barely keep a grip on my knife because there was so much blood. I did it, and I brought his eye to the crime boss immediately after running from the bar like a bat out of hell. If I remember correctly- this was quite a while ago, after all- I dropped it in one of his empty tea cups, watched his wife pass out from the sight of a little kid drenched in someone else’s blood, collected my money, and then I just…walked out of his house and into the woods. I found a tree near a stream, and completely shut down. I sat down in between the gnarled roots of a tree that had been alive longer than I had, its roots so all-encompassing that they were erupting from the ground, and I didn’t move for days. Bugs bit me all over, I attracted wild animals from the scent of blood dried all over me, and if there were groups of roaming bandits, I don’t think I could have fought back against them. Like Lloyd, I had fought and collected my prize, but unlike him, I was alone. I…I will not let Lloyd shut down how I did. It takes far more fortitude to get up after those types of things than most would assume.”

Cole didn’t- couldn’t- say anything, his throat dry as he imagined Zane, a skinny white-haired kid with bloodstains up to his pale elbows. He could have easily become some sort of thug or gang leader in his own right if given the proper guidance. If that Mujintou crime lord was impressed, he could have adopted Zane and trained as an heir to a crime empire. And yet...he chose to be good. To be a ninja. To fight Pythor, help Lloyd…protect and guide him, when no one was there to help Zane all those years ago.

Zane blinked in surprise when Cole leaned over and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. “I do not think most people would react that way when their significant other recounted a story about ripping a man’s eye out and then mentally collapsing.”

“You continue to surprise me every day,” Cole replied. “I-I couldn’t imagine going through that at twelve. Wanting to protect Lloyd is…you…you’re a good man.”

Zane’s lips quirked up as he dropped his gaze to his hands folded tightly in his lap. “I just don’t want him to turn out like me.”

“Hey,” Cole said, placing a hand on the ninja’s arm, not removing it until the ice master looked at him. “I want Lloyd to turn out like you. Smart, honorable, thoughtful…willing to protect those that can’t protect themselves. Those qualities are important.”

The pair locked eyes, and Zane’s icy blue irises shone with tears as he managed a real, wobbly smile. He reached out to Cole, threading his thin fingers with the earth master’s, opening his mouth to say something.

From behind the pair came a rough, droning voice. “If you guys kiss again, I’m going to vomit.”

“Ah, Ronin,” Zane said, his gentle expression immediately dropping into something more neutral and guarded as he took an unimpressed look at the pawnbroker. “I’m so glad you came back to the land of the living.”

This is going to be a long ride back to the estate.