A.N: …Uh, hey! What's up?!
You know no introductions today. Let's just say school is really hard, and this chapter went through a LOT of editing to make it just right.
Just read on. XD
No point of view for this chapter.
There was a stunned silence. No one spoke, but all eyes rested on the youngest Bounty resident, who looked downright confused, and slightly put out.
"What?" Lloyd asked. "What did I do?"
No one answered. The ninja looked slightly uncomfortable with this revelation, and Sean was an odd combination of fear and sadness. Pythor was finding the light fixtures above the group's heads to be very interesting.
Sensei Wu signed quickly to his nephew to drop the subject temporarily. The young boy crossed his arms and scowled, but said nothing.
At that moment, Nya cleared her throat. "I hate to put a damper on things, but I think we have bigger problems."
Jay groaned. "How could things get any worse?!"
The sister of fire turned towards the bridge monitor and typed in a series of commands. In a quick blink, a large map of Ninjago was plastered on the screen. Lloyd tilted his head in confusion at this abrupt change of subject.
"Brad and Gene have released more than half of the serpentine tribes. But, there are still two left. The question is where they are."
Wu nodded in approval. "Good Nya. Focus on how we can help ourselves in the present instead of lamenting the future."
Nya blushed a little and turned her head away from the eyes of her friends. Finally she gathered herself and pulled a few multi-colored darts from the pocket of her dress. With deadly accuracy, she threw a blue and red one at the wall.
"These are the locations of the Hypnobrai and Fangpyre tombs," she stated. She reached for a purple dart next to her and released it with the same accuracy. "And this is Pythor's tomb."
Pythor bit his lip at the mentioning of his former prison. That place brought back bitter memories.
"No one knows why the tombs were placed in these three precise locations," Nya continued, "but, after further speculation, I discovered a secret pattern. "
"Such as?" asked Cole.
Nya turned around and pulled a small portable flashlight from a drawer. Shining it on the map, it revealed an intricate snake design the color of blood, curving through the locations of the darts. Pythor's eyes widened in shock. "The tombs are in line with the Ninjago symbol for serpent."
Nya blinked. "Yeah, exactly!"
"So the last two tombs must be here, and here!" Jay said excitedly while pointing. "Nya, you're so smart." He said dreamily.
She chuckled. "Was their ever any doubt?"
Kai loudly cleared his throat to break the pair up. Jay turned slightly red and backed up a tad.
Sensei Wu shook his head at their antics. "There's no time to waste. Kai and Jay, you investigate the Venomari tombs. Cole and Zane, you take the Constrictai tombs. And take this," Wu handed Cole the sacred flute gingerly. "You might need it if you run into any of Gene and Brad's followers."
Cole stuffed the flute in his pocket and looked up at his teacher, his gaze determined, but worried.
"Wait, what am I gonna do?" Sean asked, discouraged that he was overlooked.
Wu turned to his older nephew. "Sean, I want you and Pythor to investigate the underground of the city. Pythor, you know that your kind prefer tunneling below ground when gathering together, which is what I feel Brad and Gene are trying to do once more. Find where they are hiding and report back."
The gray ninja nodded half-heartedly, his eyes flicking towards his temporary partner.
"Good luck ninja," said Wu, gazing at his pupils.
"Alright guys," Cole started, "Looks like we have some snakes to clobber!"
An engine roar was heard as Zane's snowmobile and Cole's all-terrain vehicle rumbled across the desert. The Mountain of a Million Steps towered in the distance, the stairs spiraling around the massive landmark. Dust kicked up around the massive tires of the modes of transportation. At Cole's "okay", the vehicles morphed back into weapons of gold, and the two ninja gracefully landed on their feet, poised for attack.
Zane looked up at the mountain peak. "How are we to get to the top? This is the Mountain of a Million Steps, after all."
Cole followed his gaze, grinning as a plan formed. Minutes later, the white ninja was strapped to the back of his leader, as the black-haired ninja leaped up the mountainside, startling the local mailman by his unusual shortcut.
"Looks like we're rather late," Zane remarked, as he walked ahead of Cole at the top. "Should we investigate?"
"You go on a start," Cole gasped, keeling over as he gasped for breath. "I'll catch up."
Zane shrugged and made his way down the rope, landing on a small platform in the middle of a large cavern. It was pitch black, at least until he lit a small torch and made his way to the east wall just as his partner slid down the rope.
The images depicted were of the serpentine tribes in the old days, fighting and doing as they did in ancient times. Zane's expression turned rather concerned as he further inspected the drawings, his ice-blue eyes scanning the wall from top to bottom.
"Huh," Cole said. "Didn't Mama Snake ever tell them not to draw on the walls?"
Zane's frown deepened. "These markings depict a prophecy, of one tribe uniting all others to find the four silver fang blades. When these blades are gathered, they can be used to release the 'Great Devourer,' a being that would consume all the land turning day into night."
Cole looked perplexed. "You get all that from those little pictures?"
"This gives me deep concern," Zane continued. "If Brad and Gene manage to release the final tribe before Kai and Jay find them-"
The black ninja cut him off. "Relax Zane," he said; his tone nonchalant. "They're a bunch of dumb snakes who believe in fairy tales. If anything-"
He stopped abruptly, looking at the ground. "Did you feel that?" he asked softly, as if afraid what he heard would scurry away at the sound of his voice.
Zane blinked. "Feel what?"
"There's…something in the ground." Cole replied, his voice growing uneasy as he backed up a little. "Don't. Move."
For a moment, the only sound was of faint rumbling under their feet. Suddenly, a large serpentine, the leader of the constrictai, sprang from the ground and quickly wrapped his tail around the nearest ninja, who just so happened to be Zane.
"I've been waiting for you," he hissed, a sly smile creeping across his face. "Skales sssends his regards."
Cole's eyes narrowed. "Wait, Skales? I thought Brad and Gene were the leaders of this little operation of yours."
Skalidor rolled his irises. "Hm. Those children are ssuch pains. But, yes, I ssuppose. Skales, however, seems to have taken a liking to their scheme, after finding out the little detailss from his friend. Ah, who was it…Fangjam? Fangdan?"
The white ninja cringed as Skalidor unknowingly squeezed him tighter as he thought. "I…think you mean…Fangtom…" he gasped.
The general snapped his claws. "That's who! Yes, Skales got the detailss from him, since Fangtom overheard their operation planss when the little brats were gabbing close by to their new vehiclesss."
The leader of the ninja frowned. This was news. Jay was right then. Skales is back in power. And now that he's now technically taking over the plan, it'll only get worse…
He snapped back into the present when he remembered Zane. He quickly pulled out his scythe and slammed it into the ground, causing the earth to quiver and the general to moan in pain, releasing his grip and disappear into the rocks.
Zane sighed in relief as he was freed, turning to Cole. Cole met his gaze and shouted, "Zane! Go!"
He was hesitant to obey, but was about to comply when Skalidor shot back from the ground and pulled Cole with him.
Zane stared where his leader once was in shock. "Cole!"
The ground shook and moved away from Zane, until it promptly spit the earth ninja out and onto his back. Cole scrambled to his feet and used the Sacred Flute to make the general flee, but Skalidor shot up from the ground in anger and constricted Zane once more. Zane held an annoyed look as he was squeezed.
Cole cursed under his breath, eyeing the flute in thought. On an impulse, he tossed Zane the flute in a swift underhand throw, and the white ninja luckily caught it and began to play, despite his constraint.
Skalidor howled in pain, dropping Zane and clutching his "ears". Cole took this as a chance for attack, and swung his scythe over his head, knocking him out cold.
"Good one," Zane gasped, panting from the adrenalin.
His partner nodded grimly, deep in thought. "Yeah, but if he was expecting us, then I think Kai and Jay are walking into a trap. And who knows if Sean and Pythor are going to be expected too. We gotta warn both of them fast."
A.N: Next chapter, we'll see what Kai and Jay are up to, as well as Sean and Pythor, and how this little mission is going to turn out!
Sorry for the super late update, school's a pain, and math is HARD this year. My grade bounced around so much…:P
Review please! Thanks for reading.