Greetings from TJ! :D
I've got some pretty big news for you guys! (Well, big for me XD) I finally started a YouTube account! Yay! :D :D :D My username is Jenny Walker (which is more popular than I realize XD) but my profile picture should definitely tell you which one I am! XD XD I've got a playlist already up (which is basically a list of Ninjago Skillet Tributes XD) but I'm hoping to get up some decent videos at some point :D
Okay: review responses! :D Wow, a lot of people are concerned about Jay and Nya XD
strange and proud of it: Don't worry, Nya isn't going to do anything to Kacey; she's just feeling a little strange right now *unsure what sort of face I should use for this situation*
MNC: Maybe he's got a lot on his mind? Or maybe he's said it to her before but she's looking for something deeper? Something more intimate?
MoC: Woo hoo! I should really give the students some cookies XD Aw, I'm glad you enjoyed that "father/adopted daughter" scene! And I'll make sure Jay will pay attention to Nya *gives Jay a pointed look*
LovetheLORD: I'll make sure to tell him that *another pointed look shot in the Master of Lightning's direction* And students! Get on your game and show us you've listened to your teachers! XD
Welp, gotta go! (Not totally sure what I think of this chapter *confused face, then shrugs* It's okay, I guess) Hope you enjoy the chappie! :D
Chapter VIII: Vengeance
At 8:00 P.M., all the students met in the main complex for evening exercises. After the lesson in Art of the Silent Fist, Headmaster Garmadon turned the meeting over to the Elemental Masters. Their wives were allowed to go to bed early, as they had to help with weaponry lessons, and a few were feeling overwhelmed. "How you girls can get overwhelmed with dealing with twenty-two teens and tweens is beyond me," Kai said, shaking his head.
"Hey, we're tough, but in some spots we're delicate," Skylor said, giving her husband a kiss on the cheek before heading up to bed.
Now, the ninja were exchanging nervous glances. Some of the more attentive students noticed. "Is there something wrong?" Jayjay whispered to Avery, voice tinged with concern.
Avery's brow furrowed, his glasses nearly slipping off his face. "I believe so," he whispered back, "but I cannot see what might be troubling them."
Finally, Cole cleared his throat. "Kids," he said, trying to keep his voice level and at ease, "there's something you need to know."
He hesitated. Jay elbowed him in the ribs. "What's wrong?" he whispered.
"There's nothing wrong," Cole whispered back.
Jay rolled his eyes. "Cole Everest Brookstone, I've lived with you for over sixteen years, and you don't think I can read your emotions by now? Let me handle it." Cole winced at Jay's use of his middle name, but he was secretly relieved that Jay could see how nervous he was.
Jay stood up. He racked his brain, trying to find the right way to say what he had to say. He couldn't find any way that wasn't too flippant. Nervous and rather panicked, he collapsed into a fit of hysterical giggling. Zane gave Jay a strange look. "What's the matter with you?" he hissed.
"I couldn't find a way serious enough," Jay managed to splutter. "You do it, Zane, I can't."
Zane sighed. "I'll try." He closed his eyes and attempted to concentrate.
By this time, the students knew something was up. Cole's eyes were darting around the room in an un-Cole-like way, Jay was in a fit of hysterical laughing, Zane looked like he was trying hard not to freak out, and Kai had his eyes firmly fixed on the floor. The only one who seemed perfectly calm was Lloyd, with his eyes closed in thought.
"I can't," Zane mumbled.
He glanced over at Kai. Kai shook his head no. "If you can't do it," he muttered, "what makes you think I can? Ask Lloyd."
Zane gave Lloyd a pleading look. Lloyd sighed, and then nodded. He stood up, and exhaled a deep breath. "What we're trying to say, but aren't doing it very well-" he shot his fellow Elemental Masters a look "-is that there's a darker reason that we've skipped your normal training." He paused. Then he asked, "Do you remember our discussion about Ronin we had a month or two ago?"
The students nodded.
"There's something we didn't tell you about Ronin." He hesitated again. Then he unleashed the bomb. "He had a wife. Her name was Vengeance, and she wasn't exactly happy with us when we defeated her husband. She is finally living up to her name. Vengeance is lurking on this island."
There was a stunned silence following Lloyd's words. Even the oldest students were unable to react. The only thing they could do was stare at the Elemental Masters. Then, a shocked voice came up from the students. "WHA-A-A-A-AT?!"
Lloyd nodded grimly. "That's why we were training you so hard. It may have seemed like we were pushing you, but that's why. After Ronin was defeated, Vengeance sought refuge in Master Chen's palace. But we managed to chase her out and send her to Kryptarian Prison. Recently, we received word that Vengeance escaped, and the Dark Matter detectors we installed alerted us to her presence on this island. Vengeance is now slinking across this island, searching for the very things we hope to find ourselves: the Katanas of the Sun and the Moon."
"The Master of Mystery," Cole continued, courage coming back to him, "the martial artist who forged the Celestial Katanas, lived in a cave on this island, long before Master Chen was exiled here. That's how Ronin managed to find him. He stole the Obsidian Glaive from the Master of Mystery, and forced him to give up 'Tales From the Glaive', which we took back from him when we defeated him."
"But then," Jay picked up, "we found that the Master of Mystery had mysteriously vanished from the island, and never seen again, so we kept the book for safekeeping. But Vengeance already knew about the Celestial Katanas. Unfortunately for her, she doesn't know where they're hidden. We do."
"We do?" Kai whispered.
"I've been analyzing the prophecy, burn-brain," Jay whispered back. "You don't actually think I'd leave something like that hanging in mid-air, do you?"
"Actually," Zane corrected him, "if I remember correctly, it was I who fully analyzed it. You've just used the data I collected to formulate a strategy."
"Whatever. Anyway," Jay continued, "I've been able to trace the only route to the hiding place of the Celestial Katanas. But there's a catch."
"What catch?" a student called out.
"Besides being fraught with known dangers and hidden ones too-" Zane picked up.
"Oh, goody," Krissy Brookstone mumbled.
"-is that to find the Celestial Katanas," Zane continued, "we have to have other weapons as well: weapons that can only be found at certain times by certain people. The Obsidian Glaive, along with the other Obsidian weapons, were the only ever-physically-existing weapons created by the Master of Mystery. The other weapons he created we know only from 'Tales From the Glaive', as they vanished as soon as they were created. They can be only found by their true masters, and when, like I said, when the time is right."
"Such weapons include the Star Aeroblades, and the Elemental Xtremes," Kai continued. "The Master of Mystery created them created these weapons to obey a certain master, and the only thing we know is that the weapons bestow the most powerful Elemental powers in the entire universe to whomever their masters are."
"We don't know who the masters are," Lloyd continued, "but we know that the Celestial Katanas can only be wielded at the same time by the most powerful Spinjitzu master. Which," he smiled weakly, "used to be me."
"Even though you're not the Golden Ninja now," Cole pointed out, "you're still one of the most powerful out of the thirteen of us." He was careful to include the female Elemental Masters and the school officials.
"Yeah, but all the same, I can't use both swords at once," Lloyd said. "but, if we're going to protect the Celestial Katanas from Vengeance, we're going to have to beat her to them."
The students looked confused. "Um," Saige coughed, "how are we gonna do that?"
Cole replied, "We're going to go find the Celestial Katanas ourselves. All of us. Including you."
There was a moment's silence. "THAT'S why you taught us Spinjitzu early?!" all the students exclaimed. Then, they exchanged adventure-hungry grins. "AWESOME!"
"This is probably going to be a lot harder than I think," Astrid murmured.
Soren gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it," he said. "I'm going on this crazy quest too, aren't I?"
Astrid smiled weakly. "Yep. We all are."
"Count me out!"
Soren groaned. "Here we go again. Sensei Jay should put a muzzle on Cadio, not just Kelvin."
Cadio had his hands on his hips, and a smirk on his face. "If you think I'm dumb enough to risk my life on some stupid quest for weapons that don't even exist," he sneered, "you must be more stupid than you look, Sensei Cole."
Thalia jumped to her feet, suddenly angry. "Will you SHUT UP?!" she shouted. "No one insults my dad and gets away with it! And you've gotten away with it for too long, Cadio Marcus!"
"What're you gonna do about it, Stone-girl?" Cadio scoffed.
Thalia clenched her fists, but she didn't retaliate. Her father's watchful eye restrained her from attacking.
"Just as I thought," Cadio smirked. "You're just a cowardly little girl with a dimwitted rockhead of a dad."
That was the final straw, both for Thalia and for Cole. Thalia leapt forward, and slapped Cadio across the face. "I'm so sick of your ungratefulness!" she yelled in his face. "After all my dad did for you, you're still the brattiest fifteen-year-old in Ninjago!"
Her words hit so close to home, they might as well have sat on Cadio. Cole, his anger, disappointment, and shame mounting up, concentrated his Elemental power on Cadio. He could not stand hearing his student so brazenly insult him and his daughter in this way, and even though he had tolerated it for nearly five years, he couldn't any longer. Thalia jumped out of the way just in time. A blast of powerful Earth energy slammed right into Cadio, knocking him to the floor. Before the startled Cadio could move, he was encased almost entirely in rock, pulled from the ground around him by Cole's Earth strength.
"Ha! Y'see, gang, the Master of Earth reveals himself to be a coward!" Kelvin Delancey crowed triumphantly. "Picking on poor, innocent teenagers with his big bad Earth power!"
Jay clenched his fists and set his jaw. He gave Jayjay a quick, almost unnoticeable, nod. Jayjay understood. Time for Operation: Duct Tape. The Master of Lightning squeezed his eyes shut, and kept his fists clenched. He was feigning building up electricity that could come shooting out of his clasped hands when he willed.
Kelvin pretended to look horrified. "Why, Sensei Jay! Not you too! Are you stooping so low as to attack me?!"
"You're nothing better than a tabloid journalist," Jayjay muttered under his breath, creeping up from behind Kelvin. "If you can't dig up any dirt, you make up some of your own."
While Kelvin was jeering at Jay, the fifteen-year-old sneaking up from behind him made his move. With a lightning-fast sweep of both hands, he clamped Kelvin's hands behind his back with lightning cuffs, and slapped a square of duct tape over his mouth. "Where in Ninjago did you get the duct tape?" Avery exclaimed.
"I got connections," Jayjay said mysteriously, producing a roll of duct tape out from under his robes. Kelvin attempted to break the lightning cuffs, but a shock of electricity from the cuffs broke any other attempts.
Kai sighed, then sat back down. Pa-a-a-a-a-arp. The Master of Fire's cheeks burned bright red with embarrassment. Zane shot Cole and Jay a disgusted look, which put a stop to their snickering. Lloyd gave Kai a confused look, then he whispered, "Stand back up."
Kai stood, then checked his seat. His face furrowed into an angry scowl. He picked something flat and pink off the floor where he had been sitting by the tips of his fingers. "All right," he tried to keep his voice level, "who planted the Whoopie cushion?"
Just then, a loud clown horn blasted right into Jay's ear. He let out a yell of surprise, jumping nearly four feet in the air. "WHAT IN NINJAGO'S NAME WAS THAT?"
Splat. Something wet and chunky ran down Cole's face. He discovered a silver pie tin on his head, still gooey with "-a mud pie?" He picked a green piece of slimy moss dangling in front of his eye by the tips of his fingers. "What in-"
"AAAAAHH!" Lloyd leapt away from his seat, wrapping himself around a pillar. A big, black, eight-legged thing skittered up the pillar. Lloyd scooted higher and higher as the thing followed him at a rapid pace "SPIDER!" Lloyd shrieked.
"Who knew the Green Ninja was arachnophobic," Avery muttered, but he scooted gingerly away from the pillar that Lloyd was clinging to.
Saige went bright pink. "Uh, yeah, Dad freaks out whenever there's a spider nearby."
"My dad too," Matthias added.
"So does mine," Jayjay agreed.
"And mine too," Thalia added.
"And my dad too," Avery agreed.
Lloyd was at the top of the pillar, right up against the ceiling. The spider started to crawl up the Green Ninja's leg. He frantically tried to shake it off, but it held firmly to Lloyd's leg.
Finally, with one good kick, the spider flew away from Lloyd. Unfortunately, it landed on Jay's head. It crawled down from Jay's hair, and planted its eight beady red eyes on Jay's in a stare. Jay let out a terrified scream. "GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!"
Zane gingerly pulled the spider off his friend's face and studied it, one leg precariously held by the tips of his fingers. The other students were getting jumpy. Both Masters and Heirs had one universal fear: spiders. Krissy Brookstone had taken a cue from Lloyd and clung to one of the pillars, petrified. Some of the other students huddled together in groups of three or four, whispering nervously.
After Zane gave the spider a timid once-over, he scowled. Then, he opened up the panel in his arm, and gave the spider an electric shock. It fizzed and crackled for a few seconds, then dropped from Zane's hand to the floor with a metallic crunch. "Mechanical," Zane scoffed, crushing the spider with a good hard stomp. "Remote-controlled, no doubt."
Kai groaned. "Only one student I know has pranks like these," he muttered. Then, in a loud voice, he called, "Gilligan Mueller! I know you're hiding! Get right here this minute or suffer the consequences!"
"Thuffer th' conthequenthes," a giggly voice scoffed. It drifted down from the ceiling.
"Nice try, Daffy Duck, but now I know where you're hiding," Kai said. He gave Matthias a quick nod.
Quick as a forest fire in the dry season, Matthias shinnied up a pillar and landed athletically on a ceiling beam. "Be careful!" he heard Jayjay call.
"Don't worry about me!" he called back. Matthias could see Gilligan perched on another ceiling beam, preparing to drop another mud pie, this time onto Zane's head. Just as Gilligan dropped the pie, Matthias yelled, "SENSEI ZANE! WATCH OUT!"
Zane jumped out of the way just in time as the pie landed with a SQUELCH, right where Zane had been standing placidly only seconds before. "Aw, party pooper," Gilligan griped.
He inched backwards along the ceiling beam, reaching for a water pistol tucked in his obi belt. "You try any funny business and Dad's gonna give you probation until you're too old to climb up here," Matthias warned, eyes beginning to glow bright red. This had been coaxed out by all the rigorous training he had done. When a Fiero kid's eyes glowed red, it meant they could spontaneously catch fire at any moment.
Gilligan's hand dropped. He had seen Matthias's hands catch fire before, and he wasn't stupid enough to mess with his fireballs. "Fine, you win," he grumped. "I'll come down." He skittered down the nearest pillar and back to his corner, mumbling scattered apologies to the Elemental Masters.
Lloyd coughed. "Now, if there are no further interruptions, we'll brief you on the mission's details tomorrow morning at sunrise exercise. Then we have to prepare for the search for the Celestial Katanas. Our hope is that you'll unlock your full Elemental powers, not just the minor sparks that have inched out during your training. Our main objective is to get to the Celestial Katanas before Vengeance does. Otherwise, who knows what she'll do with them?" Leaving them on that note, he finished, "You are dismissed."
The students bowed, then filed out the door in little clumpings, chattering excitedly about the mission ahead of them. Just as the other Troublemakers prepared to make their exit, Headmaster Garmadon stopped them. "Stay a minute."
The Troublemakers reluctantly returned to their seats, facing the Elemental Masters. Cole managed to pull off looking serious, even with mud on his face and a silver pie tin on his head. "This mission is vital to the survival of Ninjago," he said, "and your-" he paused to choose the right word "-shenanigans will not be helpful. I advise that you behave yourselves and obey the orders we give to you on this enterprise or we won't hesitate to send you back here in care of the school officials. Is that understood?"
The Troublemakers nodded rapidly, eager to leave. "Understood, Sensei Cole," Sapphire said quietly. The other Troublemakers threw her pitying looks, but a glare from Monty halted their sneers.
