Alicia sat straight up in bed, wondering what had happened. Then she remembered where she was. She was at the monastery. She was a ninja now. She was the cream ninja to be specific. She heard Nya's soft snores and looked up at the clock. "6:00," Alicia muttered. Sensei Wu would be waking them up any time now. A gong crashed. Right on schedule, she thought. "Morning," Nya said, cheerfully. "Morning" Alicia replied. Why was it that she couldn't tell anyone about her nightmares? The were a team, right? Surely she could tell them the whole reason she became a ninja. "What about Sensei?" the logical part of her mind asked. "What would he say?"
After breakfast, the whole team went their separate ways to do something or another. Alicia left to go train. The boys (of course) left to play video games. Nya and Sensei Wu cleaned up. Just another typical day as a ninja.
As she was training, Alicia got a little thirsty. She went inside to get some water. She couldn't help but overhear a conversation between Sensei and Nya. "She just seems so closed off sometimes," Nya said. "I'm just kind of worried about her." Alicia hated it when she was talked about behind her back.
"I know you're worried, but I just think that she still needs time to get used to everyone," Sensei replied. "Know, however, that it wasn't too long ago that she was the only ninja, and that she was always a little uncomfortable around people," he added. "She seems okay when she's alone, so just give her some time."
Alicia thought about this. Sensei wasn't wrong. In fact, he was absolutely correct. That, however, was only half of it. If only they knew what she had been through. Nya had, at one point, been separated from her brother, Kai, who had become a ninja for that very reason. Alicia remembered it like it was yesterday.
She continued training, phrases from the conversation running through her head.
That afternoon started as a normal afternoon would. Alicia sighed. She missed the good old days when the boys were training with her. Now, they just played video games, all day long, no care that Lord Garmadon might return someday. "Teenage boys," Alicia muttered to herself. She could even hear them from up here.
Sensei walked in. He sighed when he found Alicia all alone. Alicia pointed to where the boys were playing. He left to chew them out. About sixty seconds later, Nya burst in, a shocked expression on her face. "What happened?" Alicia asked Nya. "It's Garmadon," she replied. "He's back. He just seen approaching Jamanakai Village" "You go tell the boys, I'll pack up," Alicia told Nya. Nya nodded.
Alicia went to get their bags ready, not exactly sure what to expect.
The boys ran in just as Alicia finished packing up. After taking off, the boys were talking about Sensei's "full potential" speech, which Alicia had heard a million times. Somehow, they got to the point where Jay challenged everyone to a race. Couldn't those boys take being a ninja seriously?
When Jamanakai was in view, Kai said, "First ninja there wins."
After the boys landed and argued over who was the winner of the race, they walked into town. Everyone was screaming and running all over the place, all heading to the nearest building. The ninja heard cackling. "Stay sharp fellas," Kai said. "Whatever happens, never let your guard down." Eventually, a figure walked around a nearby fountain. "It is I, Lloyd Garmadon!" he said. "I demand all the candy in town, or else!" "Lloyd Garmadon?" Jay asked. "I thought we were gonna face Lord Garmadon." "It's his son," Cole explained. "Looks like he escaped his boarding school for bad boys again, and to think we could've been doing Spinjitzu already."
"Give me your candy," Lloyd repeated, "or else I'll release the Serpentine on you!" With that, he took a jar and unscrewed it. Inside were some toy snakes. A villager threw something at him. "No, wait!" he yelled. "I asked for candy, not vegetables! I hate vegetables!" More villagers were throwing things at him now.
"He's going have to do a lot better than use an old bedtime story to scare people," Kai said. "The Serpentine are real, Kai," Zane replied. "They are not something to joke about." "Serpentine? Real?" Kai asked. "We're talking about the ancient race of snake people who once ruled Ninjago and were supposedly locked underground?" "Sealed in five different tombs to separate the warring tribes, to ensure they don't unify, to exact their revenge upon those who put them there," Jay said, sounding a little frightened.
"It was an old wives' tale to teach kids not to poke our noses where they don't belong," Kai argued. "Don't you think it's a little suspicious no one's ever found one of their tombs?" "That's because you'd have to be a fool to look for one," Cole countered. "If there was anything I hated more than dragons," he added, "it was snakes, rubber or not."
Lloyd had lost his balance and the ninja caught him. Cole said to the crowd, "Don't worry, folks. We'll take care of this. Nothing to see here." "Bow down, or suffer my wrath!" Lloyd shouted. "I'll give you to the count of three." He started counting. "What are we supposed to do?" Kai asked. "Spank him?" "If his wrath involves rubber snakes," Alicia said to the boys, "then I'm going to be laughing too hard to feel any pain."
A short time later, Lloyd was hanging from a building, courtesy of Alicia. "You've just made me your nemesis!" he shouted. "Mark my words, you'll pay for this!" Everybody just laughed. "You're going to have to do something bigger than this to get me to care, small fry," Alicia said as Zane bought some candy for the team. "Next time, try paying for your candy," Cole advised. "Crime doesn't pay, muchacho," Kai added. "You can take that to the bank." Jay took a couple bites from his cotton candy.
As they were mounting their dragons for the ride home, Kai accidentally kicked his bag and a scroll fell out. Zane picked it up. "Huh? I don't remember putting this here," Kai said. "That's Sensei's bag," Zane said. "You must've accidentally took it in the rush." Kai unrolled it. "What is it?" Jay asked. "It's a scroll, windbag," Kai answered. "I know it's a scroll," Jay replied "but what does it say? It's written in chicken scratch." "Not chicken scratch," Zane corrected. "The ancient language of our ancestors." "Can you read it?" Kai asked. "Well, I can try," Zane answered. Now Alicia was curious. What did the scroll say?
"This symbol means prophecy," Zane said, pointing at symbol on the scroll. "Prophecy?" Jay asked. "It means it tells the future," Kai said. "Course," Jay said. "I knew that." Zane read from the scroll. "One ninja will rise above the others and become the Green Ninja, the ninja destined to defeat the dark lord." "Oh, look," Jay said. "A picture." "Dark lord?" Kai asked. "Hold on. You think they mean Lord Garmadon? Wait a minute. Is that us? Is anyone else thinking what I'm thinking?"
The Green Ninja. It had to be about the Green Ninja. Alicia remembered how, during her training one day, Sensei wondered if she was the Green Ninja. She was a little disappointed to find out she wasn't, but she wasn't going to let a little thing like that slow her down. She had still had her family on her mind.
"Like how good I'm gonna look in green?" Jay asked. "Ha. Isn't it obvious I'm gonna be the Green Ninja?" Kai asked. "The color obviously suits me," Jay argued.
Boys.
"Technically, I am the best," Zane countered. "Everyone, stop it," Cole said. "Remember why Sensei brought us together in the first place: we're a team. We weren't meant to see this and probably for good reason." (probably? Alicia thought.) "Come on, let's head back home. We have training to do." Finally, one of the boys was talking sense. "It's about time I added some finesse to my routine," Jay said. "Well, I could use some exercise," Zane said. "Yeah, I've got to work on some new moves," Cole said. They were finally taking training seriously. They took off, Kai muttering, "Could I be the Green Ninja?" to himself.
When they got home, the Green Ninja was all the boys could talk about. "So then, we all agree," Jay said. "The prophecy states that one of us will become the Green Ninja, and the issue will not rest until it is decided." "May I suggest a tournament?" Zane offered. "Last ninja standing is the best." "And will be declared the Green Ninja," Kai finished. "I love it."
Nya was working with the training equipment. She was really good. She only fell off when she crashed into an axe. "Hey, Nya," Jay said nervously. "Closer to beating your brother's speed record?" "I'm getting there," she answered. "Of course the real trick is beating Alicia's record," Cole said. Nya ignored him. "Heard what happened in town. Just a false alarm?" "Yeah," Kai answered. "but we're gonna need this space. Sorry, sis." Cole went over to the storage cabinet and tossed armor to everyone. "Two matches, then the winners of each face off for the title," he said. "Armor's for our own protection. It's time to see what these babies can do." He said the last sentence as he held up his weapon. "Let me know when this is over," Alicia said.
She went to the room that she shared with Nya. Alicia sat down on her bed. She reached under her pillow and pulled out a necklace. She turned the pendant over in her hands. One of the few possession that she had kept since childhood. The one thing she still had that was from her brother. She reached under her bed and pulled out a photo album. She started flipping through the pages, stopping at every single picture she thought was important.
The day they were born. Their first birthday. Their first family reunion. Their second birthday. Their first vacation. Their third birthday. The time they were caught pretending to be birds. Their fourth birthday. Their first time in Ninjago City. Their fifth birthday, the last picture in the album. Alicia saw herself in the picture, wearing the necklace she currently held in her hand. Her brother, holding a dull sword sheath that still had the sword in it. Alicia could almost hear herself speak in her five-year-old voice. "A good luck charm," she had said.
Alicia looked at the necklace, both the one in the photo and the one in her hand. The symbol that made the pendent was why it was so special to her, for the symbol meant "sister." She cherished the necklace, more than almost anything else. She sighed as she looked at the picture again. Just a carefree kid with nothing to fear. Just a happy girl with a happy life.
She wondered what would've happened if her father hadn't gone fishing that day. If her mother hadn't decided to run errands at that time. On one hand, she would still have her family. She would still be with her brother. On the other hand, she probably wouldn't be a ninja. She probably would never have met Sensei, the boys, or Nya.
Alicia opened a window to give the air some room to roam. She heard screams, hisses, and cackling, the same cackling from earlier that day. She had to warn the boys. She burst into the training yard at the same time Sensei Wu did. Both had the same message.
"The Serpentine are back!" they yelled in unison. "Everyone in Jamanakai Village is in danger!" Sensei added. "Calm down you two," Cole said. "We were just there. You were there, Alicia. It was some kid who says he's-" Cole never got the chance to finish his sentence. "The spirit smoke does not lie," Sensei said. "Neither does the wind," Alicia added. She often got warnings from the wind. The only time one of the warnings was a false alarm was when the wind was testing Alicia to see if she was good enough to become a ninja.
"An ancient evil has been released," Sensei said after Alicia had commented. "Nya's there right now," Kai said. "Nya?" Jay asked. Alicia wondered if Jay had a secret crush on Nya. It wouldn't surprise her if he did.
The ninja, for the second time that day, rushed to their dragons. "Stay close. Stay together," Kai said. "Would we do it any other way?" Cole asked.
They got to Jamanakai Village quickly. They surprised Lloyd when they dismounted from their dragons while they were still flying. It was a move that had taken forever to perfect (it had actually taken no more than a month). "Sorry to bust your buzz, little Garmadon," Cole said, "but it's already past your bedtime." "The Serpentine?" Kai asked. "They're real?" "It's not just them we have to worry about," Cole said, looking over his shoulder. "The whole village has been hypnotized." Jay whipped out his nunchucks and started swinging them around. "No," Zane said. "Our weapons are too unstable. We could do more harm than good." "I guess that leaves us with: run!" Jay shouted. The ninja dashed off onto the rooftops. They eventually hid behind a building with a wagon next to it. A soft thud grabbed their attention.
"Nya?" Kai asked. "You're okay," Jay said. "Barely," she replied. "They've hypnotized everyone in town." "I think we've figured that out already," Alicia said.
"Mind control," Jay said. "How is this possible?" "These are the Hypnobrai," Alicia said. "One of the five ancient races of Serpentine." "When you hear them rattle their tails, don't look them in the eyes," Nya explained. "That's how they get you." "Well, what are we supposed to do?" Jay asked. "We can't use our weapons, and now we've got to fight with our eyes closed? Perfect." "The snake with the staff is the general," Nya said. "He's the one in charge. If we can get the staff from him, it holds the antivenom. If we get that, we can save everyone."
"Look, guys," Kai said. "Forget about the whole Green Ninja thing. Let's make Sensei proud. The five of us, we're a team." "Now you're talking," Cole said. "Oh, and Nya," Jay said, "you can be our honorary member." "Gee, thanks," Nya said sarcastically.
Kai made an attempt to fight off some snakes, but crashed into a wall while doing Spinjitzu. "Okay, we're really out of shape," Jay said. "You think?" Alicia asked.
While the Hypnobrai were making an attempt to flee, Cole kicked the general, causing him to drop his staff. He then picked it up. Alicia was too busy with other snakes to see what happened next.
"Ninja, go!" Alicia shouted, as she launched into a perfect Spinjitzu. This completely baffled the snakes, who had dealt with Kai's face-to-face with the wall.
"Unlike the boys, I've been practicing," she shouted, loud enough for them to hear. "Oh come on, Alicia," they all called back. "Hey, it's not my fault you guys decide to play video games instead of train," she replied.
After the village went back to normal, Kai talked to Sensei, who had just appeared. "We're sorry, Sensei," he said. "If we had dealt with Lloyd before he became a problem, none of this would've been necessary." "Even lessons learned the hard way are lessons learned," Sensei replied. "A great evil has been released. I fear troubling times will come. This is only the beginning." "Then we will train, and be ready for the Serpentine," Zane said. "I'll believe it when I see it," Alicia muttered. "Alicia," Sensei warned.
"No, she's right," Cole said. "She was the only one of us who took training seriously, and was the only one of us that was actually ready for this kind of thing. Anyway, it may not be Lord Garmadon, but that doesn't mean we won't bring our A game." "Help us train," Kai said, "help us realize our potential." "Teach us the secrets behind the weapons of Spinjitzu," Jay added.
"There is much to teach," Sensei commented. "We must return to the monastery." Nya sighed. "When am I gonna get my own dragon?" she asked Sensei. "Patience, Nya," Sensei replied. "Your time will come." "I just hope the boys are serious about training," Alicia said.
