Clouse leafed through his spellbook by candlelight, fed up with Chen's games. With the dark magic of a power-sucking staff, they could be ruling Ninjago by now. Instead they were playing games. Children's games.
And he was going to stop it.
Those before him, they had failed… the serpentine, Garmadon, and the Overlord. But he wouldn't.
"Clouse, where are you hiding?" Master Chen's voice echoed through the deserted tunnel Clouse had hidden his work in.
The robed leader of the anacondrai cultists trotted into the dark cave. "What is this? A new plan? Does it have buttons?"
Even Chen wasn't stupid enough to leave the secret of his lair undiscovered for long. His plans would have to be unleashed sooner than expected.
"Not so much buttons as mutiny." Clouse murmured an incomprehensible word under his breath and a portion of the floor started to crumble before Chen's feet.
He took a step back, slightly startled, then his expression darkened to a sneer. "What have you done?"
Clouse's pet snake shot out of the unstable floor and hissed, lunging towards Chen. It was over before it began, and the serpent recoiled, slithering to curl up next to Clouse.
Yes, things had certainly changed.
"Where's Chen?" Jay asked at breakfast.
"Why are you dressed in a bathrobe?" Cole countered, stealing a cookie from Jay's plate.
Jay glared at him. "Excuse me, today is my day off!"
"Yeah, because your competitor got himself eliminated!"
Lloyd sighed. "Guys, fighting is not gonna help anyone! We need to find Zane!"
Suddenly, the speakers sputtered to life. "There have been a few… changes in management." It sounded like Clouse.
Garmadon frowned. "Chen runs his own show. Why is he letting Clouse take over?"
The announcement continued. "I now run the island. Guards, you may capture them now."
The guards lunged towards the masters, and Jay cried out in surprise as one seized him just to be pushed away by a ball of green energy.
"Dad, what in Ninjago is going on?" Lloyd asked, putting up an unsteady shield around them.
"That's just it," Garmadon responded, "We're not on Ninjago. Or Chen's island."
"What does that mean?" Cole asked, leaping to his feet.
"I believe that Chen's island has become Clouse's island now."
Taadaa! Chapter 1 is complete! Things will sure be different now. Chapter 2 is coming VERY soon, I promise!
If you have ideas on what should happen, I'm happy to hear your input! I only have a VERY, VERY basic idea of how this is going to go.
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed!