Chapter 21- Seven's what you fear

Nadya lay on the bed, even though she knew no sleep would come. She heard Naomi leave. Just as Casey had predicted she would. This made Nadya's stomach feel sick. If Casey could see everything, If Casey could twist the world and shape it into what she thought appropriate. Was Nadya anything more than a puppet? Was anyone anything more than a pawn of the witch's game?

Freedom's not real. It's just an illusion. Whatever I decide to do would just be another step in Casey's plan.

Well not everything. There was that small electrifying spark between her and Cole. Casey couldn't have planned that. She'd relived the moment his lips touched hers countless times after it had occurred. And for a moment, A small pathetic moment, Nadya had felt as if she could be normal. As if the serpentine blood in her could be ignored.

Yeah, right

Once Nadya stole the keys from the ninja and ended Lloyd's life, Cole would want nothing to do with her. After all, how could one love a snake?

Well, what if you didn't do what Casey said?

Nadya entertained the idea for a while. She could be a hero. Save the world and all that crap. But Casey was strong. And there was no way Nadya would risk her life simply because a boy had kissed her. Nadya had been a cold blooded murderer since the day she was created. She couldn't change overnight.

"Not being very productive are we?"

The serpentine girl jumped up. Her body flashed into a sitting position. Etched on the wall before her was a portal. Within it stood Casey, her long beautiful dress now soaked with the witch's dark blood. Nadya could do nothing but stare.

Casey didn't have her usual smile. " We have a problem my little snake."

Nadya eyebrows moved closer, forming a frown. A problem?

"The little purple eyed kid got me. . . slightly upset." Casey flinched. More blood cascaded from her wound. "And the samurai managed to actually land a blow on me."

Nadya blinked. No one had ever actually hurt Casey before.

The witch coughed, her body shaking. " That isn't our biggest problem, however, The problem is that they've rescued their sensei. . . And are heading your way fast."

"Um Ok?" She didn't understand what the problem was, exactly.

"Their Sensei knows you're working from me you fool," Casey hissed. "So go find the others, kill the green ninja, and bring me the keys!"

The image of Casey began withering away. The witch's voice was incomprehensible, her magic was beginning to fade. In the end, the last words Nadya managed to understand were. "…Don't let it bite you"

"Longest. Bus ride. Ever!" Jay growled, jumping out of the bus and into the unpaved street. He stretched his legs, which had fallen asleep in the middle of the ride.

The green ninja limped off the four wheeled vehicle, rubbing his eyes. "Not long enough. . ."

Cole stepped down just as Lloyd opened his mouth wide to welcome a pleasant yawn. "I knew you should have stayed kid. My sister did manage to land a couple good blows on you, and you deserved it too."

"Yeah yeah yeah," Lloyd shrugged. He'd come along just so he wouldn't have to think about anything related to Naomi.

"Cole you mustn't blame Lloyd." Zane was the last to get off before the bus drove away from the small village that had been the ninja's destination.

"Right it was the labyrinth and blah blah blah,"

The ninja walked through the village, whose streets were peaceful compared to the usual commotion within Ninjago city. Dirt clung onto their ninja suits. The wind ran its cold fingers through their hair. With each step they took the village seemed more and more menacing. What had seemed to be a calm atmosphere became almost eerie. It was quiet. Too quiet.

"So . . . where's this tea shop at," Jay said loudly, aiming to break the suffocating silence.

"I do not know," Zane examined the village. " I do not think any of us has visited this place before."

"So we ask for directions! Can't be too hard, this place is tiny compared to Ninjago city."

Lloyd limped forward. His muscles were starting to hurt even worse. "Directions from who exactly?"

"Lloyd's right. This is a ghost town if I ever saw one." Cole approached a small house. Wiping off a layer of dust, he pressed his young face against the glass. The inside of the house was pitch black.

"Maybe we should just go back. This place is giving me the creeps." Jay stayed close to Cole, deciding that if things got ugly, having a ninja with super strength by your side was the best option.

"Jay, remind me how you became a ninja?" Cole raised an eyebrow at his blue friend.

"Oh shut up," The ninja of lightning bounced his golden sword between his hands. "I just don't like scary ghost towns in the middle of nowhere."

"C'mon Jay we beat the overlord, how's an empty village scare you?"Cole approached the next house. It was pitch black as well.

"Oh you beat the overlord?" Lloyd followed. "Puh-lease"

A rumbling sound echoed from a street behind them. The ninja froze their hearts skipping a dangerous beat.

"Ghost town with strange noises. "Jay held his sword tighter as he activated it, knuckles turning white. " Wh-what's next huh. . ."

The sound reverberated through the ground once more. The ninjas pulled out there swords. Lloyd's hands twitched nervously.

"I do not think that was a villager." Zane activated his icy sword.

"Obviously not," Cole rolled his eyes, activating his elemental sword.

Stepping away from the dusty shadows, a sickening creature stepped towards the ninja. Its skin was made of multiple shades, stretched over its large features. Pitchforks, kitchen knives, and multiple other tools that a poor village might use as weapons, grew out of the creature's skin. As it walked, the bones within its body seemed to reshape. It grew narrower, legs sprouting out from either side of its body, until it resembled a giant spider, covered by a cloak of human skin.

"I think I'm gonna be sick…" Lloyd cringed. The creature's body was filled with tiny mouths, filled with sharp teeth. Whatever the skin touched was absorbed into the body, until it became part of the monster.

"What in Ninjago is that!?" Cole created a small earthquake, granting the ninja enough time to climb onto the village's rooftops.

"A whole bunch of nopes that's what it is!" Jay's voice cracked, shaking with fear.

"It must be one of Casey's creation," Zane studied the creature, trying to find any weakness to help them defeat it. There was none.

The creature shaped its body once more. Its bones grew longer, allowing it to reach the roofs easily. It reached towards Lloyd, who was dumbfounded by the creatures body. The green ninja stepped back, shooting green energy towards the monster. But the monster wasn't affected. It kept moving forward without a care in the world.

"Guys! I need a lot of help over here!" Lloyd's legs failed him, and he fell, his back slamming against the wooden roof. The wind was knocked out of his lungs. The creature crawled closer, its tiny mouths opening and closing in unison, causing a nerve racking sound to echo all around.

One of the monster's legs elongated, attaching itself to Lloyd's suit.