Chapter 11: Insight

A/N: Welp.

Thanks again for bearing with my irregular posting. And many, many thanks to ShinyShiny9 for your review last chapter!

Hope everyone enjoys this chapter's action and antics. :)


Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?

Still, it beats dragons, Cole reflected as his scythe blocked one of the creatures from sinking its fangs into Jay's dad.

"Thanks, Cole," the elderly man huffed. "I didn't fancy having scales instead of skin again!"

The snake—Serpentine, Sensei Wu had called them—reeled back, hissing at Cole before running off. They were strange creatures alright, not even true snakes, since they all had limbs. But those scales, reptilian eyes, and sharp fangs seemed snake enough.

Cole watched Mr. Walker hurry toward his wife, keeping an eye out for more snakes with a frown.

Ever since the ninja had left Kryptarium Prison, all piled into Sensei Wu's van, they had been attacked by these snakes. Helicopters shot missiles at them, while bolder attackers on motorcycles hassled them on the road. It had taken Kai stealing one of the motorcycles and doing some fancy driving and shooting to take down the helicopters and delay the snakes enough to get away to Jay's parents' junkyard.

Unfortunately, the snakes still followed them. Now, though, Jay, Zane, and Kai's sister Nya had teamed up to build a device to drive the snakes back. Cole and Kai were occupying the snakes while the others worked.

Nya, it turned out, had been their main reason for heading to the junkyard in the first place—apparently, she'd started building vehicles for the ninja. It surprised Cole that she could, but then again, he hardly knew her—that he could remember, anyway.

More snakes darted through a gap in the junkyard's doors. The doors had been barricaded, but the snakes' persistence finally opened them enough for a couple to squeeze through. Cole and Kai kept the snakes out for a while, but then a particularly aggressive one with two heads—two heads?!— had thrown them off guard and let some slip in.

The hardest part of this fight, Cole reflected, was that they couldn't really hurt the snakes and they couldn't let the snakes bite them. Their venom could actually transform the victim into a snake! But worse, Wu said the snakes had been their friends. Cole suspected that Ronin guy had used his Obsidian Glaive to control them—to "make them believe his lies," as Hibiki had put it.

"Hey Cole," Kai called.

Cole glanced at the red ninja. He had worried Kai would leave them: Kai had only joined the ninja to save Nya, and whatever else had happened, it didn't matter if he couldn't remember. But Kai had stayed, as annoyed as the others to have lost his memories.

"Yeah?"

"Why aren't the snakes attacking?"

Cole frowned. The main sounds now came from Jay, Zane, and Nya's constructing. And no more snakes pushed at the doors. "You're right…"

"Think we scared 'em off?"

"No. They've got plenty of men and vehicles—"

He broke off, sudden understanding racing through him. "They're gonna try to—"

The roar of a powerful engine drowned his warning.

Cole's body moved before his mind could catch up. He ran—not out of the way, but toward the center, toward Kai. His momentum sent them flying out of the way as the junkyard's doors and barricade burst apart, showering debris.

Something heavy slammed into Cole's shoulder. A gasp of pain escaped his lips, but he didn't dare move with everything flying around.

"Cole? Hey, Cole!" Kai's voice came from under him.

"What?" Cole grit out.

"We're clear."

Cole hesitantly stood, trying to ignore his shoulder as he offered Kai his good arm.

Kai's eyes were wide as he accepted Cole's hand. "You know you just… I would've… Thanks," he managed. "Are…are you okay?"

"Mm, yeah." Cole turned, assessing the damage. He registered an old, broken TV lying nearby as he turned—it must've been what hit him—but his focus was the large truck parked just past the entrance, the gaping hole in the doors, and the snakes pouring through.

And his scythe, lying where he'd dropped it, near the truck.

This…was not good. Cole groaned.

At least plenty of makeshift weapons lay around the junkyard. He reached for the TV, but the moment he put weight on his left shoulder, pain erupted, and he dropped the TV. Really?

Kai still had his sword at least. He moved in front of Cole, weapon poised for attack. "I think you're lying. What happened to your arm?"

"I can still punch these guys." Cole swallowed. Some of the snakes had noticed them and were hissing and pointing in their direction. "But maybe we should head over to the others and warn them? We're about to get swamped."

"Ugh, I hate running away from a fight." Several of the snakes started toward them, but Kai lowered his sword. "After you."

They ran to the work area, jumping over stray pieces of debris, the snakes on their tails.

Suddenly Jay appeared in front of them.

"Oh hey, there you guys are! I was starting to wonder. Just keep out of the way and let the big boy handle it now!"

"It could be a girl," Nya sighed. "Either can save the day."

"Caught thossse ninja!" one of their attackers announced triumphantly, too close for comfort.

Cole whirled as Zane shouted a warning, good arm raised, bracing himself for impact and hoping getting turned into a snake didn't hurt.

The ground shook.

A large, metal arm swooped in front of Cole, sending the snake flying back. Then a towering mech, looking something like a samurai, stalked toward the entrance, more snakes flying in its wake. It flung the truck over the walls and by then, snakes were running out of the junkyard without the mech's help.

"Told you it would work!" Jay beamed.

Cole chuckled in relief. "Yeah, that was pretty epic. Let's try to work on timing in the future, though."

"There's always a critic."

Once they determined the snakes had indeed left, they checked on everyone. None of the Walkers had been harmed. Cole had dislocated his shoulder, but that proved an easy fix, even if he did accidentally punch Sensei Wu in the process.

They all crowded around the Walkers' trailer to discuss their next move.

"Now that the Serpentine have been…dissuaded," Wu told them, "the Walkers have kindly offered their home for the night."

"Oh, it's never a problem," Edna smiled. "You all can stay here any time."

"Any friend of Jay's is a friend of ours!" added Ed.

"Thank you," Zane said. "And we are willing to help with some of the cleanup while there's still daylight left."

"Aw, c'mon Zane," grumbled Jay.

Cole nudged him. "Those snakes just trashed part of your home, man."

"Oh, we've had worse," Ed chuckled. "Remember when the Great Devourer showed up?"

"Or that time all those nindroids came through here? I thought they were going to put this ol' trailer on its last legs, but it held up!"

Cole exchanged blank looks with the other ninja. "Well, we're glad your home is durable."

"Right you are!"

"You guys' vehicles are coming along," Nya broke in. "They need some more time, but I'll let you know as soon as I finish."

"Excellent," Wu nodded. "And tomorrow morning, we will make haste to the Toxic Bogs and brew the Tea of Insight."

Cole smirked as the group began to split up. "I'm gonna have mine with the Cookies of Deliciousness."


"I got it!"

Pythor jerked his head up from his bowl in surprise, a few pieces of rice flying off his chopsticks.

Rako stood in the doorway of their tent, clutching a journal with a few loose pages stuffed inside, eyes dancing with excitement. "I figured out what the last of the components should be! We're missing a couple, but it shouldn't be a problem. I think I've finally got a handle on the rest—that Spiritseeker Tea helped a lot."

He sighed. "Obviously that tea would use inky lemonberries! It makes perfect sense; I just don't understand why I didn't think of it before. Especially when you factor in the anim-temporal properties—or so the limited accounts would suggest. The rosemary, foghorn spores, and hog-nosed water sprouts will complement it nicely, but I still can't believe I didn't see it until now. Inky lemonberries!"

Silence for a moment.

"Um, what?" Lloyd managed from beside Pythor.

"What in Ninjago is an inky lemonberry?" Pythor added. "Do they taste good in pies?"

Rako gave them a blank stare for a moment, then shook his head. "Inky lemonberries are extremely rare plants. I have no idea how they'd taste in a pie. But anyway, we can head out whenever. To get these last ingredients for the spell." He stifled a yawn. "I'll get Ash if you want to leave tonight."

"We're that close to being ready?" Lloyd perked up.

Pythor glanced at his young friend. Lloyd had straightened in his seat, face alert and attentive. Rako, on the other hand, had dark circles under his eyes and exhaustion in his posture, despite his excitement.

"Rako, why don't you join us here and tell us your plan for our travel? Have you eaten dinner?"

"Not yet. That looks good, though." He sat down, reaching for a bowl and serving himself. "Really good, actually."

Pythor sighed, pushing a plate of potstickers toward Rako. "And lunch?"

Rako paused, a look of guilt hovering on his face, chopsticks poised above a potsticker. "Eh…breakfast."

Pythor glanced over at Lloyd to see what he thought of that, but Pythor could tell the exchange had been lost on the ninja—he seemed caught up in his own thoughts.

"Ahem, Lloyd?"

Lloyd startled, looked over to Pythor. "Oh, sorry! What were you saying, Rako?"

"Nothing." Rako ignored a raised eye crest from Pythor at that. "But we have a bit of a trip before us."

He pulled out one of the loose pages from his journal and laid it carefully on the table with one hand while he hastily finished off the pot sticker in the other.

The paper was a map of Ninjago. Certain locations were marked with circles and a few neat notes written on the side.

"Birchwood Forest," read Pythor. "Isn't that a bit cold for most plants?"

"It's not plants we need there. It's Treehorn fangs."

"Treehorns?" Lloyd frowned. "Zane said he found his True Potential fighting those. They're pretty dangerous."

"True, but they're resistant to magic, so the fangs are a key stabilizer for dealing with the Cursed Realm. Over here," Rako added, pointing with chopsticks at the Toxic Bogs, "should be where we'd find any inky lemonberries. The makeup of the soil fits what I've read about the plant's attributes, so that's our best bet. And here," he gestured, "is the general location of the Spirit Grove, where the Spirit Willows grow. We'll need some of their bark."

Pythor sighed. "If you wanted us to exercise, there were easier ways."

"Oh, I don't know." Rako smiled, stifling a yawn. "This is at least more pleasant than being chased by a rat."

It took a second to sink in. "That was uncalled for!" Pythor sputtered.

"Shade thought it was a funny story."

"Shade needs his sense of humor reevaluated."

Rako snorted. "I'll let you tell him that." He and Lloyd snickered as Pythor glared.

"I see what I'm up against here. Teaming up on me like a pair of brigands! And I'm stuck traveling with you both!"

"Well, you might not be outnumbered. I asked Ash to join us."

"Really?" said Lloyd. "It'd be good to see him again."

"Do we need another person?" Pythor asked. "Especially considering the nature of our goal?"

"I wouldn't have asked him if I didn't trust him. He'll be an asset, and we've all worked with him before. As the Master of Smoke, he's quite skilled at evasions. And he has a lot of talent for getting into difficult places for rare objects. I filled him in and he's real willing to help."

In other words, Pythor read between the lines, Ash was a thief. Well, he supposed it made sense to bring him along. He'd be stealthy, certainly, and no stranger to dangerous situations. He already knew how to fight, had helped Lloyd before, and would keep quiet about their travels, especially since he'd joined Shade's group.

"Sounds good." Lloyd echoed Pythor's conclusion.

"So, when did you want to begin? Tomorrow morning after we're all packed and rested up?"

"That makes sense." Rako yawned again as he reached for his map and refolded it. "Mind if I take this food back with me? I've got a bit of preparing left to do."

"Not at all! Take everything you want. We'll see you bright and early tomorrow."

"Bright and early," Rako repeated. He paused, a faint, thoughtful smile on his face as he looked at Pythor. "Yes, that works perfectly."

He stood, gathered his journal and food, yawned again, and headed out, leaving Pythor to wonder what exactly he had planned.

Ugh, humans.


A shadow separated from the roof of the monastery the ninja called home. It slipped down the wall and glided through an open window to meld with the shadows dwelling inside.

A dark flash against faint swaths of moonlight, the shadow danced with its brethren as it swept further into the building. And, at last, halted in the training room.

"Blast."

A moment's pause, and it vanished once more.

The shadow swept through several other rooms. Finally, it emerged in the sensei's room. This time, there was no disappointment. Gloves reached for gleaming black armor and helmet and swallowed them into the darkness.

It was a satisfied shadow that left the monastery and returned to a large helicopter hidden not far away.


The Toxic Bogs. Full of all shades of greenery and downright bogginess.

Dangerous bogginess, though: the bogs were extremely acidic, strong enough to dissolve skin, even a boat. Jay was not a fan.

"Uh, are we sure this is the right place?" he asked as they began following Wu into the bogs. He nearly tripped over something in the ground and looked down to see a long-dead skeleton—a human skeleton. Cold chills burst through him, and he nearly knocked Cole over in his haste to get away. "Are there, eh, any less hazardous toxic bogs we could try?"

"Worry not, Jay," Wu replied from ahead. "You have been in far more dangerous locations than this."

"Okay, well, I'll just draw some comfort from those memories, shall I? Oh, that's right—I don't have them anymore!"

Cole chuckled beside him, giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Hang in there, Motor Mouth. We'll be getting them back soon."

"Yeah, about that," Kai broke in from the other side of Cole. "Is anyone else a little concerned about eating fruit that grows in a toxic bog?"

Cole shrugged. "It might have an interesting flavor."

"I have some reservations," Zane said from behind them.

"I have many," added Jay, making a face of disgust at Cole.

"Not me," Wu declared.

"Really?" Kai asked, exchanging a skeptical look with Jay. "What do you know that we don't?"

"That I won't be eating it. Come, the map leads this way."

Jay groaned. "Not funny, Sensei. Not. Funny."

They ventured further into the swamp. At least it was pretty easy to tell the difference between bog and land—just the thought of trying to test each step as they went along sent an uneasy tremor through him. Kai would probably be the first to go if that happened, anyway, since he always rushed into things, but he hadn't fallen in yet. Yeah, that's the spirit.

"Hey, guys."

"Yeah?" Cole replied.

"How's our gear doing? Not too heavy for anyone?"

"No… Why?"

"I just wanted to make sure no one felt…bogged down."

Cole groaned.

"But hey, as long as we marsh-al our strength, right?"

"I'm going to throw something at you if you do this the whole trip," Kai threatened.

"Do what? I'm trying to keep the morale up so we don't get swamped here."

Something hit his back. Jay turned around with a glare. "Hey, that actually hurt!"

But Kai wasn't behind him. None of the ninja were. Weeeeird.

"What're you talking about, Jay?" Kai asked. "No one hit you."

"Oh yeah?" retorted Jay. "It just threw itself?"

"Have you noticed the stone ruins we've been passing the last few minutes?" interrupted Zane.

"What's that got to do with me getting hit?"

"We may not be alone."

Jay swallowed as Zane's words sank in. "What do you mean?"

"We just ran a scan, and those are Venomari ruins. So we should be on our guard."

"Venomari?" Jay caught movement behind Zane. Green, like the bogs, but scaly, too. "Serpentine!"

"Yes, exac—"

"Behind you! Guys, we're under attack!" Jay drew his nunchucks as more Serpentine jumped out of the swamp. Which, admittedly, would be pretty cool if they weren't armed to the fangs and looking decidedly unfriendly.

"Ssstop the tressspassersss!"

Well, so much for keeping morale up: these snakes clearly did not appreciate his sense of humor. And they'd thrown a rock at him! He caught a dagger with his nunchucks' chain, managed to disarm his opponent, and landed a solid thwack on the snake's head. "Joke's on you, four-eyes!" The snakes actually had four eyes. Huh. He'd figure out if that was cool or creepy after the fight.

Beside him, Zane tripped the snake he fought and tossed a shuriken at another, expertly knocking the weapon from the snake's hand. But more charged at him.

Jay took a deep breath. Over the planks, dodge the swords, here comes the dummy!—and felt the familiar rush of power propel him forward in a burst of swirling blue. He moved in a blur, swiping, jabbing left and right, and knocking several snakes unconscious.

Man, he loved Spinjitsu.

By the time he stopped spinning, the few snakes left standing fled. He glanced at Zane. "You okay?" Zane nodded. "Alright, let's see how the others are."

Wu, Kai, and Cole, as it turned out, had sent their opponents packing and were about to check on Zane and Jay.

"We must keep alert," Wu warned. "No doubt they're telling the others—they may bring reinforcements."

"You think that many live here?" Jay asked.

"Look around, Jay," Cole replied. "If your skin helps you survive the bogs, it's a great place to hide. Why not live here?"

"And these are their ruins," Zane added. "This is their home field, as they say."

"Wonderful. I can't think of any place I'd rather be."

"Hey, c'mon, Jay," Kai said. "We just need to get those berries and we can leave. Go quick enough, and they won't have time to get all their people."

"Does that make this a race? Because obviously, I'll beat you guys."

"It would help if you knew where you were going," Wu shook his head. "But against the Venomari, yes, I suppose it is. So, we don't have a moment to lose!" He set off at a jog.

The ninja exchanged glances and hurried after him.


"Extreme obstacle course" came to Jay's mind as they hurried through the swamps. Some areas had lots of ruins they had to scale, other areas had to be swung across on vines or ropes.

And then there was the giant fly trap lily pad that definitely would've caught him if Cole hadn't yanked him back. Yeesh.

As if that wasn't challenging enough, after an hour or two, more Venomari did indeed arrive. They cut some of the vines and platforms, threw rocks, tried to drive the ninja into traps, and made themselves general annoyances.

If only he'd thought to bring the samurai mech from the junkyard. But at least he knew his parents were well protected.

They entered a large clearing, the bogs pressing in on both sides. The amount of ruins they passed had gradually gone down, and the Venomari attacks had too. According to Sensei Wu, they had almost reached the berry thing.

The others felt it too, moving faster, a growing sense of excitement in the air.

"I wonder where the Obsidian Weapons will be," Kai remarked. "I bet they'll look real wicked."

"You think one of them'll be a scythe? Just picture it: An obsidian scythe."

"Obsidian weapons would be incredibly sharp," mused Zane. "Think our enemies would get the…point?"

A chorus of groans and snickers.

"Sensei Wu, what do you know about this tea?" Cole called. "Have you heard of it before?"

Wu said something over his shoulder, too soft to make out from his position ahead of them. Cole hurried up to hear, Zane close behind.

Jay made to follow, but Kai grabbed him.

"Wait, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"That noise. It sounded like…" He peered behind Jay, a frown on his face.

Jay followed his lead but saw nothing unusual. "Kai, quit making me nervous. What did it sound like?"

Kai sighed. "Um, a splash, maybe? I don't know. I guess let's just catch up with the others."

"I like that plan." Jay turned back around.

Right into a Serpentine, who didn't hesitate to spit on his eyes.

"Agh, snakes! Agh, my eyes!" he shouted. He scrubbed at them, blinking furiously, then opened them fully.

And stared.

Bizarre could only describe what he saw: everything around him swayed and slid and oozed around, the greens and browns of the bogs dissolving into each other. He was standing still, right? And… were those disturbingly huge green spiders waving tiki torches?!

"Go away, go away, don't crawl on me! Or put me in a web-I don't taste good! I eat lots of vegetables!"

Why, oh why, did it have to be giant spiders? In...roller-skates? "I'll never be able to look at skates again," he moaned.

One of the spiders poked him with its tiki torch. It hurt. "Don't cut off my feet! Even if you are jealous you don't skate as well as me!"

Another jab. He backed up. But the world was twisting and folding around him and the spiders' arms now looked like tentacles. Oh gosh, they were aliens!

The spider creature reached to poke him with the tiki torch again. Somehow, Jay managed to step, fall, and roll out of the way. "Leave my brains alone! You don't even deserve that tiki torch!" If only Fritz Donnegan could see him now.

Or maybe not. Everything looked like the freaky child of a kaleidoscope and a lava lamp. He groaned.

A spider tentacle thing reached down, the alien unfazed by Jay's evasive maneuver. "Goodbye, tressspasser."

This would actually be cool if he wasn't about to have his brains sucked out.

Before Jay could react, something fast and gold spun into the spider-alien, sending it flying away. A large man with a white beard shimmered above Jay.

"Santa!" Jay breathed in awe. "I knew you'd come!"

"I see you've forgotten your training," Santa remarked.

"But I've been goo—wait, why do you sound like Sensei Wu?"

There was laughter behind Santa, and Jay couldn't help but have a bad feeling about the situation.

It took several hours for the hallucinogen venom to wear off. Jay was relieved not to see any more oversized, threatening spiders-or any other weird visions. It turned out Kai had also gotten an eyeful of venom from the Serpentine, but Cole, Zane, and Sensei Wu had luckily avoided it.

"You two were a real sight for sore eyes," Cole chuckled, collecting Jay's empty bowl and spoon. Zane had just cooked dinner over the fire.

"Oh hush, you," Jay grumbled. "At least I wasn't hiding from giant gingerbread men."

"At least I didn't think Sensei Wu was Santa!" Kai retorted.

"Yeah, but you said you thought his beard was full of snakes!"

"I apologize for not warning you about the Venomari venom," Wu said, handing Kai a steaming cup of tea. "We will need to discuss the other Serpentine's abilities, but first, the Tea of Insight is ready."

Cole peered at Kai's cup as he waited for his own. "Aw, I was hoping it'd be as bright blue as those berries."

"Would you really drink that? Wait, this is you we're talking about. Forget I asked." Kai smirked.

"What's wrong with blue?" Jay asked as Wu passed him a cup. "Haven't you heard of blue raspberries?"

"The blue of blue raspberries in food is artificial, Jay," Zane countered. "The actual berries are almost black in color." He gave Jay an apologetic look.

"Not helping, Zane."

"Hmm." Kai lowered his cup with a thoughtful look. "This taste reminds me of something."

The other ninja took their own experimental sips of the tea. "Anyone feeling insightful?" Wu asked.

"Oh yuck!" Jay exclaimed, wrinkling his face as the tea's pungent, sour flavor assaulted him. "Does realizing this tea tastes gross count?"

"No, Jay."

"Doesn't taste like a fruit…" Kai mused.

"Throw in some noodles and you could sell this stuff!" Cole exclaimed.

"It's not a conventional tea flavor, but you may be right," Zane offered. "It's savory, with more of a fish note."

"Ew! Herring!" Kai spat out his tea in disgust. "That's what it is. Who would ever want tea that tastes like herring?"

Cole leapt up. Jay braced himself to counter Cole's speech with one of his own, like how Cole's tea noodle marketing scheme would probably fail in fishing towns, but his plans were thwarted when Cole said, "I can see a scythe!"

"What? So can I, Cole," Jay grumbled. "It's right in front of you."

"No, no-an Obsidian Scythe. It looks amazing. In the...the Caves of Despair?"

Kai hopped up. "And I can see an Obsidian Sword!"

Zane stood. "Sais! I see a pair of them!"

Complaints perched on Jay's tongue at the unfairness of not seeing anything special when his surroundings dimmed.

A translucent set of sleek, black nunchucks hovered in front of him. "Oh… Oh! Obsidian Nunchucks! I can totally see them!" He jumped up. "This is awesome!"

Around the nunchucks, he could see lightning dancing around machinery. Somehow he knew this was the Floating Ruins. Then the vision faded.

"Sensei, whose obsidian weapon should we get first?" Zane was saying.

Jay darted over to Wu, slid into a crouch beside him, and leaned over conspiratorially. "Yeah, and I don't want to influence you, but just imagine how cool I'd look with Obsidian Nunchucks."

Wu leaned away from him. "Cole was the first to have an epiphany, so his Obsidian Scythe should likewise be found first."

"Oh, I don't like where this is going at all."

"C'mon Jay! It'll be fun!"

"Sure, let's go get your scythe," sighed Jay. "You'll never know when we'll be attacked by some evil wheat…"


A/N: So when I finished editing this chapter and added it to my master document, I realized it's currently 95 pages typed. And since chapter 12 is currently sitting at ~19 pages, we're about to hit 100 pages. And also- I think this story might finally officially be the longest piece I've ever written (even longer than my thesis tuned out... O_o)!

So to celebrate, I'll echo what some other writers out there are doing and take some asks and a Ninjago oneshot request or two and see where that goes. Fire away!

...Unless you're Kai, in which case, I'll ask you to fire responsibly.

Anyhow, I had a blast writing poor Jay's crazy hallucination. It came together pretty fast and I don't know if that's good or if I should be worried. XD I'm also excited to introduce Ash and some of his backstory next chapter; his is real interesting and also nothing I think people would expect. And the new Team Lloyd! They'll be bringing lots of shenanigans.

Finally, "hog-nosed water sprouts" are brought to you by my sister, and "foghorn spores" from the two of us in one of our many ridiculous conversations. And on that note, thanks again for reading!