Hey fellas! Let's see, this one has three chapters, it should end nicely on Halloween itself . . .
You know, I could never comprehend before how "horror" and "humor" ever wound up together on the genre list, but now I'm beginning to understand. Most of this story is going to be happy and cute and hopefully funny, but there will be some references to pretty heavy blood, gore, and psychopathy. Read at your own risk, fellas.
"Whew," said Cole. "What a day."
"What a week," said Nya.
"What a month," groaned Kai.
"What a—"
"No, Jay, we're not taking this all the way to 'what a millenium.' Please."
The ninja and Nya were flopped down in various nooks and crannies of a dusty room, most of them sprawled atop cardboard boxes. It had indeed been a whirlwind month: the Overlord had just been defeated, and the ninja team was left just a little aimless. Wu had insisted the original four become teachers, and they had spent the past few weeks searching for a suitable school location. Now they had finally moved in—into the halls of the former Darkley's School for Bad Boys, no less.
"I had no idea the spiders in the secret passage were so savage," said Nya. "We'll have to warn the zookeeper."
"I hope he takes good care of them," said Lloyd wistfully, patting the cage filled with giant screeching spiders. "They were kinda the class pets of Darkley's. We would go feed them bits of hamburger sometimes."
"Oh, so that's why they all jumped on you," grinned Cole. "I thought they just liked shiny things."
Lloyd snorted. His new golden suit was still catching a lot of attention. It had a truly remarkable ability to stay spotless even in the dustiest corners of Darkley's, and the new title that came with it was just as slow to tarnish. He still hadn't fully registered that the Overlord was gone, his dad was back, and his family was whole again. Everybody still hadn't fully registered that he was the freakin' U.S.M.
The others couldn't resist teasing him a little extra. It was a welcome change after the dark days prior to the final battle, and it was part of their duty as protectors of the Chosen One to make sure the whole "Ultimate Spinjitzu Master" thing didn't go to his head.
Seriously.
Said so right in the handbook.
Besides, he was due to leave this very evening, starting a long tour of award ceremonies and speeches, and they were all trying to distract themselves from how much they'd miss him.
There were some half-hearted attempts to start unpacking their boxes, which mostly just resulted in packing peanuts getting thrown about. Suddenly Zane hissed "Sensei's coming!" and everyone hastily dropped handfuls of peanuts and brushed them from their hair and clothes.
The Sensei strode into the room, leaning slightly on his staff.
"Ah," he said. "I see you have finished with the spiders. Good work, everyone. This kind of discipline will serve you well in your new teaching careers."
Kai elbowed Cole surreptitiously and nodded at his hair, which still had some packing peanuts clinging to it. If Wu noticed Cole hastily brushing his hair clean, he didn't comment.
"Pupils," said the wise old teacher. "I feel now is the right time to tell you. There are three reasons why I chose the former location of Darkley's School for Bad Boys as the campus of our new school."
The ninja perked up dutifully, ready to listen.
"The first, of course, is for its symbolic significance," said Wu. "By moving into this space, we send a clear message that good will always overcome evil. In the ruins of darkness, new life flourishes."
"Uh-oh, he's pulling out the level 9 fancy phrases," whispered Jay. "Must be one of the big speeches."
Cole snickered softly.
"The second reason," said Wu, "is more practical. As the grounds of Darkley's were abandoned and no prospective use for them could be seen, this was one of the most convenient and affordable locations we could purchase."
"Convenient," muttered Kai, shaking stray cobwebs from his foot.
"Lastly, and perhaps most importantly," said Wu. "This property may offer a solution to one of the most pressing problems still facing Ninjago today."
"Problems?" Lloyd sat up, looking anxious. "What problems?"
"The Great Devourer's venom," said Wu. "As you recall, it seeped into the city's foundations and developed a nasty habit of reanimating Stone Warriors. Some expert geologists have probed beneath the city, and they report that there may be massive pools of leftover venom gathering deep underground."
"Uh-oh." Cole grimaced. "That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen."
"But the grounds of this school may hold the solution," said Wu. "Several ancient documents spoke of the Chisean Stone, a powerful artifact that can purify almost anything. If we could find this stone, we could neutralize all of the remaining Great Devourer venom in Ninjago."
"And you think it is somewhere in this school?" said Zane.
"At least on the grounds," replied Wu. "The most recent documents hint that the Chisean Stone was obtained by the forces of evil and hidden underground, in the tunnel system on this property."
"There's a tunnel system on the school grounds?!" said Cole. "Does it lead into the school?"
"It used to." Misako stepped up and spread a tattered blueprint atop a cardboard box. "Since Darkley's was an evil school, students were encouraged to play truant and sneak out past curfew. A tunnel system was dug to help with this; it used to lead from the students' locker room to the edge of the school's property, right here." She tapped a corner of the map. "However, the end closest to the school caved in only a few years after it was built, so the tunnel can now only be accessed through the trapdoor at the far end. They may have been using it as a storage cellar."
"And a hiding place for that fancy stone!" said Kai. "Let's go for it."
They went to check the school entrance to the tunnels first, in case Cole could do something about the cave-in. A few students were loitering in the locker room, packing up books or searching for sports equipment.
Lloyd stopped as soon as he stepped through the door, an odd expression on his face.
"You okay?" said Kai.
Lloyd nodded distantly, his glance flickering to two of the kids across the room. They in turn met his gaze, then looked away awkwardly.
"Hi Lloyd," said one of them, without much enthusiasm.
"Hey." Lloyd smiled weakly. "Hey, you guys, meet Brad and Gene. They were . . . friends of mine, back when I went to school here. Guess they're gonna be your students now."
"Woah." Jay looked from Lloyd, to Brad and Gene, then back to Lloyd. The height difference was not insignificant. "Wellllll, this is awkward."
"So, savior of Ninjago, huh?" said one of the boys cheekily. He pushed his glasses up on his nose, smirking. "Nice suit."
Lloyd flicked his eyes at the ceiling silently. The other boy, Brad, was casting him uneasy glances, clearly wondering what to say. It had to be weird, seeing the little kid you had pushed around and looked out for suddenly all grown up, older than you, a national hero. Lloyd didn't know what to say either.
"So, are we just gonna stand here like this?" said Jay at last.
"Probably, yeah," mumbled Lloyd.
"Well guys, there's nothing I can do here," said Cole. He'd been examining the cave-in like a responsible person all this time; the wall of rubble and dirt was concealed behind a wallpapered door. "There's too much for me to move, and it's too unstable. We'll have to go in from the other end after all."
"You guys will have to go without me," said Lloyd. "I've got to start out right after dinner."
"Woah, woah, woah!" Brad came storming into their midst, waving one hand for a halt. "Hold on a sec. You guys are going into the secret tunnel?"
"Yeah," said Kai. "We're looking for the Chisean Stone."
"Ohhh, you don't wanna go down there," put in Gene. "Especially not at night."
"Why, what's the deal?"
"It's dangerous on the grounds at night!" said Brad. "It's haunted."
"Of course it is," said Jay. "Thank goodness. I would have been disappointed if the evil school wasn't properly haunted."
"Don't joke." Brad folded his arms. "You could lose your lives out there. Didn't Lloyd tell you the basic Darkley's survival skills?"
All eyes turned to Lloyd. He shrugged.
"Geez. Well, okay then." Brad shook his head. "If you're going to be living on the grounds now, I guess we should at least warn you how things work around here."
The ninja exchanging knowing glances. Typical smart-alec kids, wanting to spook their new teachers.
"Go ahead then," said Cole graciously. "Tell us what we need to know."
"Well, ideally you shouldn't go out at all," said Gene. "But if you have to go running around outside at night, make sure you throw a rock at the gravestone by the east fence."
"And why?"
"To appease the ghost! If you throw rocks he'll leave you alone and you'll be safe. But if you don't, you'll have to face the wrath of Bunnyman Bob!"
A moment of silence. Then the ninja minus Lloyd burst out laughing.
"Oh, shut up," grumbled Lloyd, red-faced.
"And you always told us you didn't know any scary stories!" teased Cole, elbowing the younger ninja. "What does he do, nibble you to death?"
"Does he stab you with a carrot?" sang Kai.
"It's not funny!" Brad and Gene were indignant. "Bunnyman Bob isn't a bunny. He's a person!"
"Oh, this is a story I've got to hear," chuckled Jay.
"Okay, we'll tell you." Brad huffed. "We know exactly how it happpened. We were there."
"Of course," said Kai wryly. "Well, let's hear it."
"Sit down," ordered Brad. "It's a long one."
The ninja obediently settled down on benches or the floor, still somewhat amused. Brad glanced meaningfully back at Gene and exchanged a nod with his classmate. Then he began.