Gap Between Mountains


"What does that even mean?" Jay demanded. Lloyd and I told everyone else what Wu told us, but from the looks on everyone's faces, we're no better off than we were before.

"There are several mountain ranges in Ninjago. There is no telling which one holds the Scythe of Quakes," Zane added.

"But which one is the tallest?" I asked.

"The Wailing Alps," Zane replied.

I grinned. "Then that's where we'll find the scythe."

"How do you know?" Cole asked.

"Because Wu said to climb the tallest mountains."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Nya asked. "Let's go."

Everyone nodded, except for Jay, who was fiddling with his scarf. "What about school? Or what if we all get trapped and no one knows were we are and we die out in the middle of nowhere—"

I cut him off firmly, "That won't happen. We'll be fine."

"No, Jay's right," Lloyd said. "We can't just take off. We need to tell someone."

"Who?" I asked. "If we tell one of the teachers they probably won't let us go all."

"Maybe that'd be best," Lloyd said. Jay nodded in agreement.

"The adults could handle it better than we could," Cole said. "I mean they are full grown wizards."

I wasn't quite sure. "But they're already busy enough as it is. Who knows how long it'll take for them to a get a party together and find replacements for their classes? By the time they leave, the Overlord could already have the scythe and be that much closer to becoming the Golden Master."

"So what do we do?" Lloyd asked. "We can't disappear without telling someone."

I thought for a moment before responding. I get where he was coming from, but time was of the essence.

At last, I said, "If you really want, we could leave a note, or maybe…" I didn't really want to suggest this; it just felt wrong, but I couldn't get the idea out of my head.

"Maybe?" Nya prompted.

"Maybe someone could stay behind," I finished slowly. "That way, if we don't come back within a day, they could get help and they could also cover for us while we're gone. Plus they could guard the Sword of Fire, just in case."

I waited for protests to break out across the circle, but surprisingly, none came. In fact, Zane and Lloyd actually looked like they agreed with me.

"So who should it be?" Lloyd asked.

"I believe you, Jay or myself would be the most logical choice," Zane answered.

"Wait, you're actually considering this?" Cole demanded. "We can't just split up."

"Bad things happen when we're separated," Jay agreed. "The Great Devourer, the Overlord's Return, when Kai lost his magic, all bad things! Why can't we just leave a note instead?"

Nya shook her head. "A note's too random. Anyone could find it, and there's no telling if that person would actually come help."

"And even if a teacher did find it, they'd probably try and stop us, which would waste more time," I added.

"So we're actually doing this?" Cole asked.

I looked around, just to make sure. Zane, Lloyd, and Nya all nodded. Jay and Cole still looked hesitant.

"It's our only option," Lloyd insisted.

"All right then, but I still think it's a bad idea," Jay said.

We all looked at Cole. "Fine," he muttered. "I'm in."

I sighed. "Okay, I guess we're really doing this. So who wants to stay behind?"

"I'll do it," Jay offered. Nya opened her mouth, but he cut her off. "It's for the best. I won't be able to do much anyways, and I'll be safer here, at school."

"Jay," Nya said softly. "Are you sure?"

He smiled and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. I glared at Jay, but he ignored me. "I'm sure," he replied.

Nya gave him a tight hug, and I was tempted to force them apart, but since my sister was the one who started it, and I promised I would let her make her own decisions; I decided to let it slide.

"So when do we leave?" Cole asked.

"Tonight," I said. "Meet by Garmadon's old place, and from there, we'll fly to the Wailing Alps."

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"Are you sure these old brooms will be able to carry us all the way to the Wailing Alps?" Nya asked, eyeing hers doubtfully.

"I'm sure it'll be fine. Right, Zane?" I called.

The android had already mounted his broom and steered around to face me. "They should suffice."

Lloyd dropped his broom in the grass. "Should?" he asked. Zane nodded in response.

"That means it'll be fine," I assured Lloyd. "He's wouldn't be agreeing to this if he didn't think it was safe."

"Are you sure?" He stared up at me anxiously and I put my hand on his shoulder.

"I'm positive," I said. "Now, let's get you on this thing." I picked up his broomstick and set it in front of him. When I let go, it floated in front of him. Lloyd hopped on and I helped adjust his grip and taught him how to steer.

"And there you go," I finished as Lloyd completed a small circle around me.

"You guys ready?" Nya asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Lloyd muttered.

"Yeah," I called.

"Then let's go," she said, and with that she kicked off, Cole and Zane close behind. Lloyd still looked a little anxious. He was gripping his handle so hard, his knuckles were completely white.

"Hey, you got this," I said.

Lloyd nodded.

"Now let's do this." And together we took off after our friends.

Lloyd wobbled in the air and started to drop behind.

"Gah!" he cried, nearly slipping off the back of the broom. I spun around and snatched his handle to try and straighten him.

"Remember, pulling on the handle steers the broom. You have to keep it steady," I told him.

Lloyd panted, trying to catch his breath. "I— I almost…I could've fallen. I could've died."

He was shaking so bad, I was worried he might actually fall off. I grabbed his shoulder and gave him a squeeze. He flinched, but he didn't push me away.

"But you didn't," I pointed out. "You can do this, Lloyd, and I'll be right next to you."

"O-okay," he replied.

"Now, come on, or we're going to get left behind," I said.

Lloyd nodded, but he kept looking down, like he was measuring the distance to the ground. It was less than twenty feet away, but from the look on his face, it might as well been a hundred. I frowned.

"Look at me," I said. Lloyd jerked his head up and stared at me wide-eyed.

"I won't let you fall," I promised. He looked away and didn't say anything.

"Hey, you trust me right?" I asked, giving him another squeeze.

Lloyd nodded and I let go of his shoulder.

"Then, let's go. Hold the handle firmly, and tilt it back a little, you don't want to jerk it too much. Now, lean forward, more, a bit more. There you go! You're doing it!" I cried.

Lloyd grinned weakly. "I guess I am."

"Come on, we got to catch up with the others, lean forward a little more, that's right. You want to get level with the handle."

Turns out they were waiting for us, but it still felt good to feel the wind in my face and race through the night. We should do this more often— when the fate of the world doesn't hang in the balance, of course. A few hours later, we approached the Wailing Alps.

"Well, here we are," Nya said.

"So where's the scythe?" Cole asked.

"Uncle Wu said it was in a gap that shines like gold," Lloyd replied.

"And that's… where?" Cole repeated.

"We must wait for sunrise, then the location of the scythe will be revealed," Zane answered simply.

I sighed. "And how long will that take?"

He tilted his head, probably running some algorithms or another. "Approximately, two hours and twenty-three minutes," he said at last.

"Great. What'll we do till then?" I asked.

"Land?" Lloyd suggested. "I don't about you, but I don't want to sit on these brooms any longer than I have to."

"Okay," I replied, and together we touched down on the snowy mountainside.

The wind howled and whipped right through my kimono. I shivered and set my hands on fire to try and keep warm. Cole had made a little earth shelter/cave thing, but it didn't do much to keep the cold.

"Hey, bring that fire over here would you?" Nya asked, teeth chattering like crazy. I quickly sat down next to her and she huddled up next to me, just like when we were little. I put my arm around her, careful not set her on fire, and focused on providing heat, not flames.

"Hmmm," Nya hummed softly. "That hits the spot."

I smiled and pulled her closer. "No problem."

"Can you warm me up too?" Lloyd asked hopefully. "I don't need a hug or anything, but…"

"Sure," I replied. I used my free hand to start a small blaze in front of him. Before long, everyone was gathered around the fire, even Zane, although he didn't look cold in the slightest. I think he just enjoyed the company. And that's where we stayed, all huddled up around the fire until the sun rose.

Nya was the first to break away. "Well, we should probably get going," she said.

"Alright," I sighed, pushing myself to my feet. We stretched and loosened our stiff muscles and then we walked outside. Instantly, we were hit with an icy blast of wind to the face. I stumbled back and Lloyd nearly fell over.

"Let's get this over with," Cole said. "Now, where is this gap?"

We looked around, but from our vantage point, it was hard to see much of anything. I stared up at the peaks, but they all seemed plain white to me. Where could this gap be?

"Maybe we should look from the air?" Nya suggested. I nodded and we mounted our brooms. But even from the air, all the mountain peaks still looked the same. Several long minutes passed and still nothing.

"Are you sure these are the Wailing Alps?" I asked.

"Affirmative," Zane replied.

"Then where's the scythe?" Cole demanded.

"Guys, look!" Lloyd cried. I followed his gaze, and two peaks were emitting a pale glow. As we watched, the slopes were transformed into shimmering golden landscape.

"Which one is it?" Cole asked. "Now, all the peaks are glowing!"

I looked at the first two peaks to glow, and the more I looked at it, the more the gap between them looked like a crescent, almost like the head of scythe.

"Right there," I said, pointing out the gap to others. "Let's go."

We flew over and landed in the middle of the small crescent, but if the scythe was here, Master Wu did a great job of hiding it. The gap looked like the rest of the mountainsides: snowy, cold, and absolutely barren.

"Are you sure this the right place?" Cole demanded.

"We followed Master Wu's clues exactly. This has to be the right place," I replied, but Cole still looked doubtful.

"Wu didn't want these weapons to be found," Nya snapped. "They're not going to be sitting out in the open on a golden platter. Stop complaining and help us look for them."

Cole sighed, but he joined us in the snow. We split up and searched the whole valley from top to bottom, but we all came back with nothing. I made another bonfire and we sat in silence. It had already been several hours, and if we didn't come back by nightfall, Jay would go to the adults and all this would be for nothing.

Finally, Zane broke the silence. "The weapon is called the Scythe of Quakes, correct?"

"That's what Uncle Wu said," Lloyd replied.

"Then perhaps Cole's powers will reveal the weapons location," Zane suggested.

"Like an earthquake?" I asked. Zane nodded in response.

Cole shrugged. "It's worth a shot."

He stood up, closed his eyes, and took a couple deep breaths. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open and his arms glowed and cracked like lava was flowing threw his veins. Cole slammed his fists into the ground and the whole mountain shook. I slammed into the cold snow and all the air was knocked out of my lungs.

The whole earth rumbled and the ground cracked and broke apart. I rolled to avoid falling into a giant fissure. I tried to stand up, but I couldn't get keep my balance. Then, as quickly as it started, the world went still. I jumped to my feet and glanced around. Only Cole was still standing.

"Is everyone okay?" I called.

I got a few groans in response, but other than a few bruises, or dents in Zane's case, everybody was okay. We gathered back together on our little earth island surrounded by giant cracks in the ground.

I peered done into one of the fissures and caught a glimpse of something shiny down below. I grinned. "Guys, I think we found the scythe."


AN: Yay, they found another weapon! But the journey is far from over! Thank you to those who have reviewed! I really appreciate the support!