A/N: Sorry for the slightly late update, I have been rather distracted lately. You had better enjoy this chapter because I am taking time out of swimming on my short beach vacation to write this :P although I do consider writing to be as fun as swimming, I just don't get to see the ocean much where I live. I was just kidding about the must like it, I realize I can't actually force anyone to like anything, but I hope you do anyway. I would like to take the time to thank all of you for reading and reviewing. You guys are great and well worth missing some swimming. This chapter switches perspective three times (switching to that of each of the three ninja groups) I hope I transition well and it is all clear for you. :D

To answer a few of you who asked, I think I might be closest to Kai, my sister is closest to Cole and we both have a bit of Zane's social, awkwardness, and nerdyness but I think we both have pretty good senses of humor. It was cool finding out your closest character parallels (not in a creepy stalkerish sort of way, but because I find stuff like that fun, I often find myself taking 'what character are you' tests.)

JayceePhantom- *Looks around with pocket periscope to make sure no stalkers are around* Yep, you can never be too sure. I think you are Kai too.

xXx skytale xXx- hehe, no problem, I have done that before myself. Thank you and don't worry Kai will try his best and Cole will be trying his best also.

Ninjagosbiggestfan- I am sure you are over 80% correct in your assumption (are you a jedi? :P) Nothing wrong with being like Zane and Lloyd they are totally awesooooome :) and I am over 90% sure you are too.

Fatal Strike- thanks! I think that four prople used to working in a team would have serious problems if they were split because they are strongest when they are together. It's cool because when all the ninja are together they have almost all their bases covered concerning skill sets, so they could almost be unstoppable. XD

Mortal Draw- no problem, my sister has been doing the same thing. It is so massivly time consuming it is sickening what with all the tests and studying college hunting and prep work. Not looking forward to it.

Iheartninjago2010- awwwww thanks :D :P (blushes) you can most defiantly be shy and funny at the same time. I have found that the ones who are observant and quiet are often the ones who can make the most humorous and understanding statements when they do speak. I hope this update was quick enough for you! (Are you sure your not a nindroid? XD I mean you never can tell)

17blanceri- oh that's good to hear I was a bit worried. I think that I would be pretty mad were I in Cole's position so that's why I made him rather peeved. Sweet you got a little bit of all of them, now you're unstoppable, Melody! :D

Kokokringles- thanks for your reviews! Sounds like you are going to have a best (fan fiction) seller on your hands soon. That happens to me too I see or hear something and am then inspired. Cole and Jay huh, sounds like an epic mix. :)

Chapter 10

Freedom

Cole had spent all of the previous night, in between numerous breaks, and when the coast was clear, digging and escape tunnel that he was not even going to use. The tunnel was nothing more than an elaborate rouse. It was small and narrow and went no more than eight feet before it led into a pitfall. As an added bonus, the tunnel was not completely stable and would collapse if someone fell into the pit at the end. He felt and heard the morning changing of the guard from his position in his hole. He climbed painfully back into his prison, dusting himself as he did so. He replaced the floorboards hastily and lay back down on his bed to wait for night—when he would make his final move to escape. Smiling, he fingered something he had found during his midnight excavation. It was a broken spear head and would serve him well for the next phase of his plan. He needed to wait for cover of darkness again—which was just as well for he was too exhausted and pained to do anything more. Everything hurt: especially his face and torso which still throbbed dully. His stomach was currently hurting just as much, protesting vehemently with hunger. He was only thankful that he had not had to dig out everything by hand. As soon as he closed his, eyes he fell immediately asleep.

He was awakened by the uncomfortable feeling of cold water being dumped on his head. His eyes snapped open to see the form of Kudzu standing over him.

"Just making sure you are still alive, Earth Ninja," he said, folding his top two arms across his chest and fingering the blade of his sword with the other two. "I never thought you would actually take my advice; perhaps you are smarter than you look."

Cole said nothing and averted his eyes, staring at the wall instead of Kudzu. Out of the corner of his eye, Cole saw Kudzu smile with pleasure. He was obviously taking his actions as proof of submission, which was what he had intended.

"Well I am glad to see the improvement of you attitude; you learn fast. I hope you feel better soon," he mocked, bringing one of his fists down hard on Cole's chest. Cole gasped form the pain and Kudzu left laughing. Cole bared his teeth at the retreating figure.

"If I am a lot smarter then I look than you are a lot stupider," he muttered, rubbing at his chest as he glanced out the window. It was a good thing that Kudzu had become bored with all his sleeping and lounging. It was nearly past twilight outside and, if Kudzu had not woken him, he could have missed his opportunity.

As soon as the enemy camp was quiet, he began to work on the crack in the wall underneath his bed. He used the spearhead he'd found to wedge it into the crack to make it fracture further. The crack was the shape of three sides of a square and was as broad across as his shoulders. His progress was slow and painful but, when he worked down the side, the dry wood eventually fractured and came loose. He winced at the sound, pushing himself to his feet and making his way back to his bed as fast as he could. He waited, tensed, listening for any indication that someone had heard him.

When he deemed it was safe again, he went back to work. He removed the wood to reveal an opening that was just large enough for him. Smiling, he headed towards his excavation work, removed the floorboards that covered his decoy tunnel, and then crossed the room one last time to squirm out of the hole in the wall. Once he was through, he replaced the wood.

When the guards came to check on him, they would see the tunnel and instantly go for it. With any luck Kudzu would try and go through it first and would be the first to blunder into his trap. Cole's plan also came with the added bonus that Kudzu would not know which direction he had actually fled in. Cole scanned the night then quickly dove into a nearby bush as a guard went by on his rounds. As soon as the guard passed, he poked his head out from the foliage and his eyes widened.

"You have got to be kidding me," he muttered. Between him and freedom lay five guard towers with two lookouts, and one soldier to man a dim search light. The light swung around the tower in a steady continuous circle.

"Somebody is excessively paranoid or really doesn't want me escaping," he whispered to himself sardonically.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to memorize the pattern of the guard watches and the searchlights. When he was ready, he dashed past a light beam and hid himself in another low growing bush. When the next light passed over him he made another dash. He repeated the process until he was past the guard towers and the guards on watch. Then he darted from shadow to shadow until he was out of sight of the camp. He collapsed to the ground then, utterly exhausted, his damaged muscles trembling from the exertion. Once that stopped, and the pain had receded into a background ache, he sat up. He got his bearings by looking at the stars. He then struggled to his feet and forced his aching tired body into a fast walk. He knew he had a long way to go.

When he had left the camp far behind him, he could make out the faint far off glow of the Ninjago city's lights in the distance. Focusing on that, he trudged onward. When the sky started to brighten with the coming day, he spotted a small river that ran through the west side of the badlands. Everywhere, stretching the length of the river and going about mile out on both sides of the rivers bank, was a thin forest of cottonwoods and shrubs.

Knowing it would give him some cover, he altered his course a few points west. He was nearing the treeline when he picked up a terrifying sound. It was the chopping blades of a Raptorcopter. When Cole had first arrived at Kudzu's camp, he had seen two Raptorcopters that he assumed had been stolen from the serpentine. Fearing that they might belong to Kudzu, he felt his heartbeat start to race.

He altered his weary trudge to a sprint and dashed for the thin forest. He was nearing the fringe of woodland when he tripped on an exposed root and tumbled down a slight gully and into the shade of the trees. The noise of the raptorcopter grew louder. He burrowed as best he could under a pile of dead leafs, hoping that, if he stayed still, he would not be spotted from above. He held his breath as the Raptorcopter flew by, and then let it out as it flew past. He did not move for several minutes and then got up with a groan. Tumbling down the hill had done nothing to help his soreness.

As he rose, he spotted a few edible nuts and snatched at them. He had not eaten since the morning of his capture and he was famished. He moodily munched the measly morsel and started on his way again. If those Raptorcopters had belonged to Kudzu, then his enemy was aware of his escape and searching for him. Logically, he would be sending his solders out to look for him as well. Considering how slowly he'd been moving, and how many times he had paused to rest, he knew they could be very close behind him.

He had not gone more than sixty paces when he heard the sound of marching feet behind him. He looked around desperately for a place to conceal himself. There were no good bushes and the foliage of the trees was not thick enough to conceal him. Heart in his his mouth, he finally looked towards the small muddy river. He saw a cluster of thick reeds and horsetails by the bank and dashed towards, and then into, their midst. Burying himself deep into the mud of the riverbank and the shelter of the reeds, he watched as a troop of Kudzu's soldiers marched by. There was no doubt that his enemy would be sending patrols everywhere all day so he knew he would have to be on his toes. As soon as they passed, he rose cautiously, looking down at himself as he did so. He sighed. He was an absolute mess, his clothes were muddy torn and covered in foliage, and his beat up personage only added to his disheveled look.

"Well, today sure will be fun," he said to himself mordantly. This was going to be a rough day to say the least. In fact, his past several days had been rather rough. Shaking his head, he moved onwards. He only hoped his friends were having an easier time than he was.

~x~X~x~

Kai listened to the constant steady beat of his feet on the path leading out of the small city that was just across the great gorge. He had crossed the only bridge across that colossal spit in the ground earlier the night before. It was the town that the homeless man had directed him to. Neither the man nor Cole's dad had accompanied him. The man had left out of fear and Kai had asked Lou to try to get a message to Sensei Wu and the ninja.

He left the last house of the small town behind him as he headed for the path that ran along the small river that cut through the badlands. He had lost almost an entire nights travel and was trying to make up for it by moving at a jog.

When he had reached that small town, late the night before, he had accidentally blundered into a small party of Kudzu's soldiers. They had unknowingly surrounded him. Thankfully, they had not seen him, but he had had to remain hidden nearly all night for they had seemed loathed to move and their numbers were too fight alone. It was not until morning that they decided to move out. Although the experience had been rather tedious, it had also been very helpful. He now knew the exact location of Kudzu's camp.

The reason for his speed was because he knew that that this was the day of Cole's ransom. The sun was barely up, and he knew he only had until sunset to find and free Cole. He could not allow himself to be late: too much was at stake. He knew he had tons of ground to cover, so he brought his trot up into a ground eating lope and hurried onward. The thought of what Kudzu might be doing to Cole, the thought of what might happen to everyone if Kudzu got the Mega Weapon, and his promise never to fail Cole again, were the only things that kept his tired hungry body going.

~x~X~x~

Zane and Jay sat in the Destiny's Bounty next to Nya and across from Sensei Wu and Garmadon at the table in the galley. Lloyd was in the bunk room, intent on keeping to the plan of not letting Garmadon see him. They still could not believe that Lloyd and Sensei had talked the lord of evil into parleying with them. Sensei had convinced Garmadon of the danger his former apprentice posed. Garmadon had agreed that, as before with the Great Devourer, they should do everything in their power to stop Kudzu. Zane and Jay were wondering whether this was because that, perhaps under all Garmadon's evil bluster, he actually cared a little bit for people. Or perhaps it was because he wanted to be the supreme ruler of all, and temporarily joining forces with them would help to snuff out his opponents. After all, Kudzu had the power to control the Mega Weapon—which was a big threat to Garmadon.

They looked at each other solemnly, almost reading each other's thoughts and the question there. Then they finally shrugged at each other when they could not decide which it was; although, both were leaning to the latter. Sensei and Garmadon were now deep in conversation trying to make plans. Garmadon, who had been listening patiently, could hold back the protest that was forming in his mind any longer and interrupted.

"I do not understand why you want me to risk my Mega Weapon for Cole. Your plan puts me at great risk."

"You mean it puts your power at risk," Zane corrected him coldly.

"Cole is more important than your stupid weapon," Jay snapped vehemently.

"To you only," Garmadon replied, his tone soft and dark, urging both Zane and Jay to silence.

"For bait," Sensei said, ignoring the interruptions to answer Garmadon's question. "It will put him and his soldiers exactly where we want them. You will give me the Mega Weapon and I will pretend to trade it for Cole, but you will initiate phase two of the plan before I actually hand it over."

Jay and Zane stared dumbfounded wondering if Garmadon would actually go through with this plan. As if he had read their mind, Garmadon chuckled.

"Alright brother, I agree to the plan you proposed. I have no fear of you keeping the Mega Weapon, for you can only hold it if it is wrapped in a cloth so you don't actually touch it—and even then you cannot hold it for long or wield it in any way. It will be easy enough for me to get it back. Come, we had better get going; I have an army to rally."

Did you expect Garmadon to do that? Yes? No? Maybe? Did you like it?

QUESTION:

Sometimes you feel like you want to kill a character because they are being stupid/annoying/obnoxious. Which charater did you feel like killing sometime during Ninjago?