The Wonderful Wizard of Ninjago: Part One
"Nerd!" William Julien was pushed into the lockers with a thud. Pushing up his glasses he calmly picked up his books. Over time, he had gotten used to this treatment. Growing up in a small town he had been stuck with the same classmates since his first day of school. He sat alone once again at lunch trying to drown himself in his books. The library had very few books on electronics but to William, it was a goldmine. He lived with his grandmother, his parents had both died in a fire when he was young. She was a very quiet woman who couldn't do anything anymore. The two of them lived in a small one bedroom apartment in a poor neighborhood. After school ended William walked the three miles home, carrying books and all. He climbed up a flight of stairs and using a spare key opened the door.
"Hello Gramma!"
The shrunken elderly woman wrapped in a shawl looked away from the radio over to her grandson. She blinked.
"Are you cold?" William asked.
She stared at him as he picked up an extra blanket. She leaned forward in her rocking chair as he wrapped it around her. He smiled and went to the small wood stove. Restocking it, he put a kettle filled with water on the burner. He mindlessly listened to the radio as he found a cup and saucer. The kettle whistled and lifting it off the stove this a towel, filled the cup with the hot liquid. He set the beverage down on the end table next to his grandmother. The radio droned on in the background. It was news about the war. More killing, more death, William thought. William hated war. His older brother, John, had left a year earlier for overseas. He was killed in action three months prior. This war had taken the only person who had ever understood him. John had become more than just his older brother, he had become a father and a best friend.
William shut the door behind him as he went into his room, attempting to drown out the radio. The room was no more than a glorified closet. He sat down at his desk, observing his current project. It was a small copper bird. He began this little robot as something to keep his Grandmother company when he was at work or school. Come summer, he would be working full time.
Pulling out some tools from the top drawer, he began to manipulate the metal pieces, connecting them together to form a small flexing wing.
It had become hard to find the pieces he needed in the dump ever since the war started. Scrap metal was being melted down to be turned into bullets and airplanes. William continued to work when there was a muted knock at the front door. William stood, exited his room and opened the front door of the apartment.
"Hello Mrs. Simmons, hello Mary Ann!" William said to the women standing at the door and the young girl next to her.
"Hello William, I just got the mail from downstairs and this was in my mail box." Mrs. Simmons handed a medium sized package to William "It was addressed to you, so I figured I'd drop it off."
"Thank you" William replied observing the package. It was from an address he didn't recognize.
The young girl looked up, eyes hopeful,"Mr. Julien, do you have anymore little robots?"
"As a matter of fact I do. Come on in and I'll show you!" William stepped aside so the mother and daughter could enter. His apartment wasn't much smaller than their own.
"May I offer you a cup of hot water Mrs. Simmons. We don't have any tea at the moment"
"That would be lovely, thank you!" She said as she sat at the small kitchen table. William filled the kettle once more and put it on the stove. He then went into his room into the top drawer of the wooden desk. Mary Ann waited anxiously by her mother until William remerged into the main room, hands behind his back.
"Close your eyes!" He instructed as Mary Ann put her small hands in front of her eyes. William, taking the small robot forward, twisted its key. He noticed Mary Ann's eyes peeking out from between her fingers. "No peeking!" He laughed as she quickly readjusted her fingers. He finished winding, "Okay, open!" Mary Ann took her hands away from her eyes just in time to see the metal and paper butterfly take off. Mary Ann giggled and began to follow its gentle flight around the apartment.
Mrs. Simmons looked disapprovingly at William. "You made a toy butterfly." She stated with a cold tone, putting emphasis on toy.
"It wa just a little scrap metal, nothing the army won't miss." William responded trying not to start an argument with the woman."
"Everything helps! I bet Hitler isn't wasting resources on toy butterflies!"
"It's not wasteful, I'm leaning how things work."
"It's wasteful to make toys during a time of war!"
"It's wasteful to take good resources and kill people!"
"If John was here he would agree with me!" Mrs. Simmons stood up.
"John would be here if someone had made butterflies that bring joy instead of bullets that bring death and pain." William spoke slowly and angrily, shocked that she would have the nerve to bring John into the conversation.
"You're not the only one who has been hurt by this war William. I've lost my husband and my brother is leaving tomorrow for the front lines." Mrs. Simmons strained as tears welled in her eyes. Her fist were clenched tight as she spoke, "Mary Ann, we're going home."
Mary Ann stood confused, the butterfly gently perched in her hands. Upon seeing her mother's distress, she handed the mechanical creature to William. Her mother began to leave the apartment as William spoke apologetically, "I'm sorry about your family Mrs. Simmons, but… I just don't agree."
Mrs. Simmons looked harshly at him through tears and pulled her daughter down the hall. William shut the door and sighed. Turning, he saw his wrinkly grandmother staring at him. "I'm sorry if that outburst disturbed you Gramma. I just can't stand closed minded people."
She turned back to the radio. Sighing again he went back into his room to work leaving the brown paper package next to the now cool cup of water.
William woke up early the next morning. It was about 5:45 a.m. and the apartment was cold. He rushed out to fill the woodstove in the living room where Gramma's bed was. She was still sleeping soundly. William finished throwing wood into the iron mouth, causing small embers to fly inside the metal beast's mouth. Packing a lunch he looked at the clock, just a little before 6. He was due to be at the store for work at seven-thirty. It took half an hour walk to get there, so he had just enough time. He washed up for the day and walked down the stairs of the apartment building. He entered the backyard where John's garden was. Retrieving the hose and turning it on, he began to water to soil under the plants. Looking up he saw the beautiful Saturday morning sunrise.
It was times like this that William most remembered his fallen brother. Before he had been called to duty, John had helped William and the other apartment members plant this garden. Every morning it was John who had watered the garden. When he left, William took over the job. The sun had begun to peek over the hills and the sky was a burning red color.
William frown slightly. 'There must be a storm coming,' he thought to himself. He turned off the hose and climbed back up to the apartment. He made two bowls of oatmeal and gently woke Gramma. He helped her make her way to the table. Her slippered feet shuffled slowly across the floor. She eventually sat down fraily in her chair. She sat eating her breakfast slowly. William ate his and went to finish getting ready for work. He packed a small lunch for himself and assembled a lunch plate for Gramma. After wrapping it, he set it on the table beside her rocking chair.
Once she had successfully finished her breakfast, William cleaned her up and got her ready for the day. He then helped her shuffle to her rocking chair and turned on the radio for her.
"Gramma, if there is any trouble go across the hall to Mrs. Esther. I'll be back by six-thirty. Bye Gramma!" William kissed the top of her head before he left. She didn't respond and continued to stare blankly at the radio. Taking an umbrella, William locked the door and left for work.
The sky was black except for a few flashes of lightning. Heavy rain poured violently as it moved with the powerful gusts of wind. The trees struggled to keep their leaves as William fought to keep his umbrella. About halfway on his walk home it had started to sprinkle. It continued to get worse the closer he got to home. The clouds above swirled and pushed. The wind eventually yanked the umbrella from William's hands. William quickly forgot about the umbrella as he noticed the fat droplets of rain had become small white flakes. The wind became frigid and a flash of lightning illuminated his home ahead. The windows were black. He pushed his way through the accumulating snow and into the building. Everything was black. Frozen, he found his way to the stairs. Thunder rocked the building. Finding the apartment door, he unlocked it and pushed open the door. The room was silent, save for the raging freak storm outside.
"Gramma!" He frantically shouted. Lightning flashed outside the frosty window, casting light on her form sitting in the rocking chair. Her head was slumped forwards. Approaching her he put his hands on her shoulders, "Gramma, wake up! We have to get downstairs!" She didn't move. William shook her gently, "Gramma! Please wake up!". The old woman was limp. Tears began to well behind his glasses when the frosty windows exploded into the apartment. Wind tore through the small room pulling pictures off the walls, flipping furniture and rifling through cabinets. The brown paper package that had been sitting on the counter was ripped from its resting place and collided with the back of Williams head.
William awoke drenched from head to toe. His head hurt and he could hear faint voices as his vision began to focus. There were several villagers around him. Screaming, he stood up still holding the brown package. They were near a rice patty. The village around him resembled a mix of Chinese and Japanese architecture. He looked at the villagers. They seemed as confused as he was. He slowly began to back away from the villagers, "I'm not exactly sure who you are or where I am. All I know is that there was a freak storm and I'll assume this is somewhere in Japan-" A second wave of fear swept over him as he began to talk to himself, "Oh my God...I've been captured by the Japanese! They probably attacked during the storm! They probably don't speak English! I could be stuck here forever! Who knows if I'll even make it out of this alive!" As he spoke to himself he paced back and forth rapidly, the villagers following him with their eyes. He stopped, his back to the villagers, and threw his hands up dramatically, "How will I ever get home!?"
One of the villagers cleared his throat and stepping forward spoke, "We speak the same language as you and I assure you, none of us want to kill you."
William spun around and blinked at the villagers. Embarrassed he apologized, "I'm sorry. I just assumed." He put his hand on the back of his neck. "Where am I?"
"This is Jumanachi Village, Yamato found you here." He motioned to the rice patty behind him. "You don't remember where you are from?"
"No, no I remember, I just don't know how I got here…" William looked around at his surroundings. The air was warm, a contrast from his home.
"Where is your home?" the man asked.
"Maine."
The villagers exchanged glances. The man spoke again, "May-n? As in the main land?"
"No, the state of Maine. It's in New England." William answered.
The villagers stared at William with questioning glances.
"I need to sit down…" William breathed shocked as he lowered himself to the ground, putting his head in his hands.
The man knelt down next to him, "You seem confused. You may have hit your head when you fell into the rice patty. Come with me to my home, we will get you some tea and help you figure everything out."
William stood shakily and began to follow the man, absent mindedly picking up the package.
"My name is Haru." the man said.
"My name is William Julien." William introduced.
Haru's home was a small rectangle one floor house. It was surrounded by a small farm. There was a large green garden fenced in and plotted out. A group of white and brown feathered chickens roamed about pecking the ground. The sound of a snorting pig and her piglets came from a small pen and overhang.
Within the fenced garden a woman and two children were weeding. The two children noticed their father and ran out to greet him. The woman stood up and wiped her hands on her apron following the children at a walking pace.
"William, this is my wife Mei. Mei, we found this man almost sunk in the rice patties."
"Oh you poor man, you're still soaked!" Mei said with concern.
"I was going to take him inside and make him some tea." Haru said.
Mei gave him a look, "Haru, the last time you tried to make tea you almost burned the house down."
"It was an accident!"
"I'll make you some tea William." Mei said, "Haru, can you get an extra blanket and set of clothes for William?" Mei said as she began to lead William inside.
"Alright fine," Haru said stubbornly.
The two children, a boy of eight and a girl of six, followed William curious about his strange clothes.
The inside of the house was small but cozy. Slideable panels in the walls created different rooms. Mei, Haru and the children took off their shoes at the door, causing William to pause and take off his squishy damp shoes. The main room had a small fire pit in the center and a couple of cabinets in the back. Mei began to light the fire pit, grabbing some wood from out back, as the children set out five small cushions around it.
William stood taking in his surroundings when Haru emerged from one of the rooms carrying and extra pair of clothes and a blanket. William took them gratefully and went into one of the rooms. When he reentered the main room, he saw the family sitting together around the pit, the kettle over the fire. William took the empty cushion between Haru and the daughter. He noticed the scorch marks on the floor, which he guessed were from Haru's tea making skills.
Mei spoke up, "So where are you from William?"
"The state of Maine in the United States." William answered.
Mei, confused, looked toward her husband. He shrugged his shoulders. "How far away from that is here?" She asked.
"I have no idea." William answered looking down into the flames.
The room was silent until Mei looked to her husband, "Would the master at the monastery know?"
Haru sat thinking, "He might. Maybe William and I could take a trip up there tomorrow."
"The kids and I could come too. It would be a nice break from staying at home all day and doing chores." Mei chimed in as she began to pour the tea.
Haru was silent for a moment before addressing the two kids, "Ichigo, Misako, do you promise to be on your best behavior?" The eight year old boy and the six year girl shook their heads up and down vigorously, excited to go on a day trip.
"Then, we will leave tomorrow morning!"
The sun had just risen over the hills when the family left the house. William put on his now dry clothes and carried the package he had received back home. It wasn't until noon that the group had reached the base of the mountain steps. After taking a short break they began to climb up the mountain.
About halfway up the mountain, the family heard heavy breathing behind them. They turned to see a winded and exhausted William, bent over and huffing. Looking up he smiled slightly, "I don't… do much… stair climbing… like this … at home."
The two children giggled and their mother swatted them lightly, "Don't be rude."
Haru sighed, "We can break for a short time. I would like to reach the top of the mountain by sunset."
"Yeah! or else something will eat Misako!" Ichigo teased.
"No! They'll eat you first!" Misako retorted.
"Nu-uh!"
"Yeah-huh!"
"Stop it both of you! The serpentine aren't real and nobody is getting eaten!" Mei scolded.
"Misako is the only one that believes in them! 'Cause it's a baby story and she's a baby!" Ichigo stated.
Misako's face became red and she shouted, "I'm not a baby!"
"Listen to your mother or we will march straight down this mountain and back home!" Haru chimed into the argument.
William prayed that the children would stop arguing. That way he didn't have to climb the mountain twice.
The bickering soon stopped and the group continued their ascent. The sun was just about to set when the group reached the gate doors of the monastery. Haru knocked and a monk came to the door.
He was a small man dressed in white. "Hello weary travelers! You are welcome, come inside!" he smiled, kindly showing them into the gates.
The group followed him into the monastery. There were several buildings with white walls and red roofs. A small porch surrounded them.
"You are more than welcome to join us for dinner." The monk continued.
"I have an offering for you." Mei said reaching into her bag, pulling out a smaller bag full of vegetables and herbs from the garden at home.
"Thank you." The monk said bowing.
"Your welcome." Mei said, the family bowing. Misako looked up at William, "You gotta bow too." she whispered.
"Oh…" William bowed too.
"Follow me inside," The monk showed them inside the large hall where many other monks were, "What brings you to the monastery my friends?"
"Our friend here is confused about where he came from. He can't remember how to get back." Haru spoke. "We were hoping the master might know."
"Currently the master is in deep meditation. I don't know if-"
The monk was interrupted when a young boy, about eight entered the room. The boy stood in the doorway as the room went silent.
"My father would like to see the man who is lost."
The other monks and the family stared surprised at William.
"I believe he means you.", the monk motioned for William to follow the boy. With a bewildered face William complied, brown package under his arm. The pair left the room and walked onto the red wooden porch.
It was dark outside now, yellow lanterns cast light onto their path. The air was chill and quiet, the only sound carried on the air was the strum of crickets and the soft creak of the wood panels under their feet.
William was the first to speak, "Who is your father, if you don't mind me asking."
The boy looked back at William with confusion, "The master is my father."
"Oh," said William, slightly embarrassed, "I'm not from around here…"
"I know. It's kind of obvious." the boy responded, nodding to the clothes William wore.
"I guess it kind of is." William laughed.
They continued their walk in silence until the boy stopped and slid open a door. The room was filled with the scent of burning incense. An older man in his mid-forties and a young boy about seven were sitting towards the back of the room in meditation.
"Father, I brought the man whom you asked for." the older boy said.
The master opened his eyes, "Thank you Garmadon." he turned to address the younger boy, "Wu, go with your older brother and have dinner. I will be there shortly."
The younger boy got up, looked briefly at William, and then ran after his brother shutting the door behind him. The man looked to William and smiled, "Come and sit.", he motioned to a place across from him.
William moved forward and sat across the burning fragrance sticks. "So, by what I've been told you can help me get home?"
"Yes and no. For you see young man, you have a greater purpose here than you do back in your original home." The master said as he moved some of the sticks. William sat in silence, a little freaked out about the answer.
"What do you mean?", he asked.
"Within the next one hundred years, darkness will rise to great power, and it will fall again sure enough. In order for this to happen, four heroes will assemble to fight and train the greatest hero to defeat the darkness. You, young William will create one of those four heroes. Without you, this world will fall."
William sat in silence his fists clenched, "So, you are asking me to build a soldier to fight and kill?"
"No!," The master's outburst startled William, "Heroes do not fight to kill. They protect people, they keep people from harm. I have seen the evils of your world from meditation, and I assure you nothing like that happens here." The master became silent for a moment. He then stood and went over to a wooden cabinet. He pulled out a small bag of tea leaves. "I offer you this William, Traveler's Tea. You have the ability to go home at anytime you wish. The task you have been chosen for is not an easy one, and will bring much hardship. It is your choice to take it or not." The master stopped talking and looked at William.
William thought for a moment. He had nothing left at home, no family, no friends. After that freak storm he wouldn't have much of a house either. He looked back at the master, "How will I even create a hero? All I have built are small animals, butterflies, mice and such."
"Open the box."
"Excuse me?"
The master motioned to the brown paper package. "You have carried that from your home. Open it."
William looked at the package as if he didn't even realize it was there. It was from an address he didn't recognize. He began to tear open the package when he found a letter:
"Dear William,
My name is Henry Jones, I was a good friend of your brother John; we were in the same platoon. I am sorry for your loss. He found this artifact during a Nazi base raid and wanted you to have it. I don't know what it is; he never let me see it.
Sincerely, Henry Jones"
William fished through the newspaper shreds until he found a tightly wrapped bundle. He pulled it apart to reveal a glass jar with glowing purple and white disks. William stared in disbelief as the master spoke, "The power source."
"The what?"
"These are power source disks. They will allow your creations to take on a life of their own." the master answered.
William turned the glass jar, the disks color reflecting and pulsating. "So, this gives life? These came from a group of people who weren't exactly known for their heroic actions or good deeds. Do you think it will corrupt anything I create?"
The master laughed, "You should know better than that. You program and raise your creations, these disks only allow for them to become like humans. Will you accept this task?"
William was quiet for a moment. If he accepted the task he could save people and bring peace, on the other go back to the place he always called home. "I'll do it."
"Excellent tinkerer, you may stay here if you wish. We always have extra room in the monastery. You and your small robotic friends are welcome to stay for you are doing a great service to all of Ninjago."