Savage waves collided against the scrawny gondola as the strength of the seas pushed the ship to its limits. An oar that was nothing more than a toothpick in the swells tried to combat them but it was a losing battle. Hefty groans and grunts left a hooded figure as they fought to maintain control of their vessel; a harsh wave would jerk them one way before they pulled back to try and keep themselves from capsizing. A loud groan of disgust left them as a wave of slimy, seaweed hit square against the side of their body. An uproarious clap of thunder shook the sky and brought a new curtain of rain down with it.
"Where the hell did this storm even come from?!"
An irritated growl. Lightning highlighted the otherwise thick darkness that seemed to envelope the sea and the boat operator managed to get a glimpse of his surroundings. No land anywhere in sight, pieces of his boat had been abandoned to the watery abyss without his knowledge and….a gigantic tidal wave was off the starboard bow of the ship.
"...Crap."
Seagulls cawing overhead were what stirred me from my slumber after the storm. I felt water lapping at the bottom of my cloak, so I obviously wasn't floating out in the middle of the ocean. Something squishy and grainy was spread across my face; a sandy beach must've cushioned my body from being decimated by those waves last night… My entire body was aching and felt like I had gotten run over by a stampede of horses...again. Working up the strength to get myself upright, I managed to get my face out from the sand to take a half-decent look around. I'm thankful for not being left stranded in the middle of the sea, but that doesn't help make sense of the situation. I'd been sailing for a good couple of days, so there was no way the storm knocked me all the way back home. Plus, I've sailed that same route time and time again; there were no islands within the miles stretched across it.
"Sooo….just where in the hell am I?"
My last thought spilled out of my mouth. Best to work on getting my bearings; no telling how far away from home I am now….
Walking. Walking. Walking. And guess what?! More walking. I've been walking along the shoreline for forever and I was getting real sick of it. Just how big was this island?! Or was it so small that I had lapped around it without even realizing it? Either way, I was getting sick of it. I'd go somewhere else...if there was somewhere else to go to, that is. Turns out the beach I had stumbled onto was just a might bit bigger than I had originally thought; there was nothing but sand everywhere. The heat wasn't doing me any favors either. I had to ditch my cloak and tuck it underneath my arm, which could explain why my mood had exceptionally soured. I hated the feeling I got when I wasn't wearing it; hated that I felt so...exposed. Ah, well. At least, there isn't anybody around to see. I strained my eyes to just try and see if there was anything in the distance, but…
"Oh, wait a minute here." Bringing my cloak over my head to get the sun out of my eyes, a big blob of...blur was somewhere ahead of me. A strange hum of consideration left me; there was something else on this island, but that wasn't necessarily a good thing. Since it wasn't next to me when I woke up, the blur could be whatever is left of my gondola. Or it could be some sort of predator scouting around for its next meal. Getting eaten was most certainly not how I wanted to go out, so best to try and sneak up on whatever this was. The sand did wonders in muffling every step I took and I was making decent leeway in reaching the only other thing in this desert; so much leeway that I very quickly realized that what I was stalking towards...wasn't alive. Far from it, actually.
"The ground is starting to raise up ahead. Must be a canyon. Thank god."
Being out in all of this sun wasn't healthy and I needed shade. A river or stream of water running through it would be appreciated, but with my luck, I won't hold my breathe on it. Not to mention, who knows what else might be lurking in the cool shadows of the canyon. What a day to lose my bowie staff to the sea… If there wasn't a predator down there, I'm certain there is a poisonous something or other prowling around in the cracks and crevices. As I finally reached the edge of the canyon's opening, my gaze fell to the floor of the gigantic hole in the earth. More sand, unsurprisingly, but there was a copious amount of places to rest without fear of heatstroke. Just what the doctor ordered.
"Seeing as I'm in the desert, I'm not surprised there isn't any vegetation around. And without my boat, there is no way I'm getting back home. Ugh; I might be stuck here for awhile, so best to start making a makeshift shelter out of some rocks or whatever."
In a stark contrast to the blistering heat of the day, night brought a bone-chilling cold to my sandy isolation. A majority of the rest of the evening had been spent exploring the canyons around me, both for a suitable means of shelter and to get a good scope of things down here. No tracks were found, so it was safe to assume I was the only thing down here and for awhile at that. Those skeletons I found weren't any Halloween decorations. And they didn't fill me with confidence about finding food down here at all. Suppose I'll have to set off in the morning to see if it would be feasible to get out of this desert; if not, I could always hunt some fish at the beach. A harsh wind cut through me, and I bundled my cloak closer to myself with a shiver; I'd hadn't stopped moving, except for a break here and there, but still hadn't found a suitable place to retire for the night. The moon was the only source of light that I had to guide me; no sticks or anything to set fire to down here. I'd have been wandering around in the dark until sunrise came, so at least the lunar cycle is on my side…
"...Hmm. What do we have here?"
Something was just in the reach of the moonbeams that lit my way and I picked up my pace to get a good look at it. Some excessive from the cliffs must've eroded away at the base and fallen onto a random rock formation; it wasn't pretty but there was just enough space between the rocks to house me till sunrise. If the entire thing didn't shift and crush me in my sleep, that is…
"Suppose I've slept in shittier places. At least it's not a literal hole in the ground."
Sand was flung every whichaway as I dug out more space underneath the makeshift shelter. Once I had enough room to get comfortable without feeling claustrophobic, I tucked myself further into my cloak to keep warm throughout the night. What good would all of that walking have done me if I just end up as a frozen popsicle? My mind wandered as I began to nod off; what was I going to do without my boat, could I even make a new boat, what if I was stuck here forever? Questions that would be answered when my eyelids weren't fighting to stay open. A sigh left me as I let myself succumb to sleep at last…
Only to end up assaulted by memories I thought I had long since buried.
"Come along now, little one. Your friends are all waiting for you."
"You will grow to be a fine warrior one day, Ezekial. I am very proud of you."
"Well, aren't we a strange one. My name is [...]"
"Ezekial, your compassion has marked a new era for all of us. You will forever be revered and remembered as the greatest example our people has to offer.
"War is coming, Ezekial! We have no choice in this matter!"
"You cannot run away! Not from this! You need to choose a side before it's too late!"
"You…You promised you would be there for me! Till the very end! But no. You betray me! ME?! I'll never forgive you! You chose your side and now you will suffer the ramifications. I SENTENCE YOU TO BANISHMENT, TRA-"
"NO!"
My head flung itself off of the sandy canyon floor and knocked harshly against the rocks housing me with a solid smack. A loud groan of pain left me and…why do I hear dust falling? Oh, that little knock managed to jar this formation loose?! Are you kidding me?! Well, I'm not getting crushed today, no sir! The squishy mess that is sand made it hard to maneuver and this tight space wasn't doing me any favors, either. The ceiling inched downwards ever so jarringly and I crawled towards the tiny exit to salvation. I threw the front half of my body out into the morning sun and began to drag the rest of myself out. A loud thud and a plume of sand billowing up from behind me was all I needed to tell that I had probably just escaped with my life. And it was only the second day. God, I hope the rest of my time here was a little less stressful.
"As good a time as any to shake a leg. Exploring the rest of the canyon would be best right now; I'll catch something to eat lat-RRRGH!"
What the fuck is constricting my throat?! My head turned to stare at the fallen rocks and found that a piece of my cloak had gotten caught in the disarray. Wonderful. An irritated huff released from my nostrils before I took a grip on the bottom half of the stuck cloth; a few experimental tugs didn't do much of anything, so it was time to put actual effort into it. Ugh. With a deep breath, I got a good hold and gave it a harsh tug…that did nothing. Another tug. Same result. An indignant growl, what the fuck was going on with today?!
"Come HERE!"
RRRRRIIIIIIIIPPPPP!
"..."
Rays of sunlight stood no chance against the withering heat of my glare. What was left of my cloak was tied around my head in a makeshift bandanna and swayed behind me as I stomped my way through the sand. Today has been nothing but a complete shitshow; what with my cloak, almost getting crushed to death and let's not forget that pitiful slumber I had. I'm not even sure where all of that came from! I repre-er, got over all of that nonsense years ago! Why was it suddenly being drudged up now when I needed it least? Sure, why not add some unnecessary emotions and thoughts to being stuck on an uninhabited island? Why, by the third week here, I'll have a rock named Antwon as a best friend and be parading around the sand like a pixie! Cynicism; the friend that's always there for you when nobody else is.
Actually…where am I exactly?
My eyes scanned the surroundings I had absentmindedly walked into. The walls were starting to close in and compact into a narrow channel; a separate system of canyons must be waiting for me on the other side. Keeping myself moving was the best thing to keep the thoughts at bay, but goddamn if it wasn't tiring. For the past forty something years, I've done nothing but lounge around and eat fruit all day, so I am not in the best of shape to be trudging around a desert of all places. Not in the best of shape to do much of any-! A loud gasp rippled through me so fast that I inhaled a good number of sand particles that sent me coughing. I...can't be seeing what I'm seeing, right? Heat stroke must be setting in quicker than I thought and making me see mirages because there was no way. None whatsoever that I was looking at-
"The Corridor of Elders!"
My tongue was bit in the process of me not trying to scream out in pure terror and I could feel blood welling up inside my mouth. Somewhere to hide, somewhere to hide! An odd cluster of rocks caught my attention and I swiftly threw myself behind them. Just in time too because a strange group of humans wandered into the record of Ninjago's greatest. Had these humans walked across the entirety of the Sea of Sand just to take a gander at their ancestors? Just another bout of human nonsense, I suppose. A loud collection of "ooh's" and "aah's" rang through the air and I took a gander at the species I hadn't seen in over forty years. Oh my god, they brought little kids into the desert with them?! They oughta be ashamed of themselves! But...what were those strange things that they were carrying? A spiral of strange pinkness was in one of their hands and some floating ball was in another's, not to mention the strange articles of clothing that they were wearing. I expected Ninjago to have changed in my time away, but expecting something and seeing it for yourself are two different things.
"As you all know, the Corridor of Elders pays homage to those of our ancestors that devoted their lives to the betterment of Ninjago. Here, you can s…"
The voice of who I assumed to be the guide of the group grew fainter as they traveled further away from my hiding place. Opportune time to make myself scarce. The large glob of blood that was resting on my tongue was spat onto the sand before I took off in the opposite direction of the people. If I'm lucky, and that's a mighty big 'if', there would be a couple of provisions for me to root around at the end of the canyon. Nobody just travels through the desert without the necessary supplies...er, at least when they can actually do something about it, I mean. Running through this corridor brought back…
"After them! Do not let them escape!"
"Cut them off at the end of the canyon!"
"YOU TRAI-"
WHAM!
Boy, I don't remember these painful consequences happening whenever I let my mind wander. Guess that Ninjago bad luck is coming back to me, which frankly, explains a lot about my situation. My nose had beared most of the brunt of the impact against...Oh my sweet lord, what is this metal behemoth?! It was huge! And remarkably...shiny. So shiny I could see my ragged reflection in it. And let myself be reminded of how out of place I was in Ninjago. Just one blue, little, insignificant dog that had no business being in a place that didn't-I furiously shake my head, feeling the black dangly things on my head swing with it. Now was not the time to catch a ride on the pity train. If there were any provisions to be had, they would be idiots not to keep it inside such a fortified structure. But how to go about getting inside? The entire thing was made of some durable metal if me ramming my face into it didn't even make a scratch. There didn't seem to be any weak points for me to exploit on the exterior either, so simple brute force was probably not going to get me anywhere. A more tactical approach could do me well, but where to-. My ears perked up as I managed to cast a gaze at the top half of the strange object. Were those...windows? Perhaps the beast has a weakness, after all. All of this walking had worn my legs out, but I might have enough strength in them to make one good jump. One of my paws came down and gingerly rubbed against these skinny twigs I call legs; good, nothing seemed to be out of place and I could bend my knees deep without feeling any pain. Guess it's now or never. Bringing my body as close to the ground as I could, I put all of my strength into my leg muscles and leapt at one of the windows. My claws unsheathed the moment I landed at the apex of the glass and I let the rest of myself dangle. Well, I'm up here. Now what? I braced both of my legs against either side of my body and began to pull the window every direction I could. My hindlegs scampered against the metal thing to try and gain some traction in my efforts to pull the window, but my pads just glided effortlessly against the slick surface.
"Come on, you fucking thing! OPEN!"
"And that concludes our tour!"
"Oh you gotta be shitting me…"
Bah! No progress was being made on this window and now the humans were coming back. Awesome. Pushing myself off of the stubborn window, I fell to the sand once more and ran around to the other side of the fortress.
"Now, I hope you've all enjoyed this wondrous look into our fair country's history, but it's back into the bus! We've got a long trip back to Ninjago City!"
Ninjago...city? Has creativity in making names gone down the toilet in these long forty years or something? Stupid name or not, it seems this "bus" was my only means of getting out of the Sea of Sand. But how to sneak on board? …And is that something hissing behind me? My claws unsheathed once more, I whirled around and lashed...at...thin air. Well, almost thin air. Two panels of glass had opened from the side of this "bus" and revealed what seemed to be a small metal staircase? Weird...but just what I needed. Those human footsteps were getting closer and closer, so I better shake a leg and get inside. Rushing in, I felt...cool air hit me? But...we're in the middle of the desert! It should be over a hundred degrees in this tin can easily! Okay, first thing when I get to this "Ninjago City", I'm finding a museum and figuring out just what the hell I missed in my absence. Those humans are almost to the bus and I don't think having a stray inside of their bus is going to make them hospitable. These strange seats that they have are raised up…with just enough room to hide me. On my knees, I crawled underneath the nearest seat and laid myself longways just like it; I learned the hard way about leaving any of yourself out of a hiding place. The humans began to file in and I held my breath, watching them go one by one. I wonder what it'll be like in this city? I wonder what it'll be like being in Ninjago itself after all this time? I wonder if anybody I knew is...even still-!
"Oh mommy, I had so much fun today! It was so amazing to see everything and get balloons and eat cotton candy and-"
Of course. Of course the hyperactive kid hopped up on too much sugar sits on the seat I'm hiding underneath. It was going to be a long trip...