iluvninjagothenextstepgirl: haha yup! His lines are mostly the same, but imagine them in his voice… it's pretty funny!

LightningPants: haha I agree! Thanks!

Chapter 7: Miracle

The Skulkin army came to a stop by a marsh. The air was thick and foggy. Garmadon sniffed the air suspiciously, then inclined towards the grove of trees to his left. His general nodded, and two Ninjagian soldiers were dragged out and thrown before him.

"Scouts of Emperor Wu," the bony general spat.

"Garmadon!" one of the solders gasped. Fear was apparent in their faces-Garmadon was not known for his mercy.

Garmadon smirked. "Nice work, gentlemen. You've found the Skulkin army." His troops burst into raucous laughter-a harsh, grating sound that gave the two scouts shivers.

Building up his courage, the taller of the two soldiers glared at the leader of the Skulkin. "The Emperor will stop you."

Garmadon only grinned. "Stop me! He invited me. By building his wall, he challenged my strength. Well, I'm here to play his game. Go! Tell your Emperor to send his strongest armies." His ruby eyes narrowed. "I'm ready."

The two soldiers quickly scurried off, one after the other.

Garmadon tilted his head back, apparently thinking. "How many men does it take to deliver a message?"

General Wyplash smirked, drawing his bow.

"One."

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"Okay. Okay, how about this?" Nya deepened her voice and announced, "Excuse me, where do I sign in? Ah, I see you have a sword. I have one, too. They're very manly, and, uh, tough." She tried to pull out her sword, but fumbled with the it. It dropped to the ground.

Flame rolled with laughter, and Nya scowled, hurling her shoe at him. "I'm working on it!"

She sighed. "Oh, who am I fooling. It'd take a miracle to get me into the army."

A spark of orange light danced on the edge of her vision, growing in a split second to become a roaring fire. She turned in panic to see an enormous light show against a large cliff of rock. The lights flickered but stayed strong, like a two-dimensional campfire. And nestled in the center of the flames was the shadow of an immense dragon.

"Did I hear someone ask for a miracle!" a brazen voice boomed, "Lemme hear ya say, 'Aaah!'"

"Aughhh!" Nya cried, terrified. The voice snorted and continued, "That's close enough!"

"A ghost!" she whispered, sure that her crabby, deceased calligraphy teacher was come to get her.

On the other side of the rocks, Darreth grinned. This was going great! Ignoring her whimper of fear, he announced, "Get ready, Nya, your seventeen halation is at hand, for I have been sent by your ancestors to guide you through your masquerade!" He glanced down at the cricket, who was making finger-shadows of a dragon's head, and kicked at it. "C'mon, you're gonna stay, you're gonna work with me," he hissed, then raised his voice again so Nya could hear him. "So heed my words, cause if the army finds out you're a girl, the penalty is death."

Ready for the girl to rush up with open arms, begging for his esteemed help, he wasn't expecting her question.

"Who are you?"

He was taken aback, even though it made no sense for him to be. After all, she only knew him as the shadow before her. But still, she needed a proper introduction to her draconic savior! Striding out from behind the rocks, he began his spiel. "Who am I? WHO am I? I am the guardian of lost souls! I am the powerful, the pleasurable, the indestructible Darreth."

Nya stared at the tiny dragon for a moment.

Darreth smoothed his hands down his scaly girth and agreed, "Ah, I'm pretty hot, huh?" An instant later, he was being trampled by a horse.

Nya leaned over and picked him up by his tail, eyeing him with a mixture of disgust and disbelief. "My ancestors sent a little lizard to help me?"

Darreth scowled, squirming out of her grasp. "Hey, dragon, dragon, not lizard. I don't do that tongue-thing," he protested, flicking out his tongue with irritated impatience.

Nya's expression didn't change. "You're… um…"

Darreth liked where this was going. "Intimidating? Awe inspiring?"

"Tiny!"

So that's what she thought of him? He fought the urge to scowl at her, and instead, grinned widely. "Of course! I am travel-sized, for your convenience. If I was my REAL size, your cow here would die of fright." The horse snapped its teeth at him, and Darreth leaned back to avoid the sharp dentures. "DOWN, Bessy," he scolded.

Nya still looked like she needed a little convincing, so he continued, "My powers are beyond your mortal imagination. For instance, my eyes can see straight through your armor." Nya immediately donned an expression of shock. She placed an arm over her shirt protectively, and with her other hand, she slapped Darreth.

It stung. "Alright! That's it! Dishonor! Dishonor on your whole family," he snapped, "Make a note of this. Dishonor on you, dishonor on your cow, dis-"

Nya looked chastened, and a little fearful, as she apologized, "Stop! I'm sorry! I'm sorry. I'm just nervous. I've never done this before."

Darreth fixed a stern stare on her. "Then you're gonna have to trust me. And don't you slap me no more. You clear on that?" Nya nodded obediently.

"Alright. Okey-dokey!" he cheered, "Let's get this show on the road! Crickee, get the bags!" Inclining his head at her horse, he called, "Let's move it heifer!"

His plan was working! He grinned widely. Guardianship, here I come!