I'm back! This chapter seems pretty interesting to me. I like it. The next chapters will focus more on the kunoichi's flaw that holds them back from their True Potential. I have all the flaws in mind, but it might be a bit challenging to incorporate some into the story without going completely out of my way.
I also found out a few days ago there was a new Ninjago season. I watched all the episodes that are out so far. It's pretty good, I like the idea with the wishes and stuff.
By the way, I'm finding it hard to include some Lloyd and Misako conversations. Pretty sure all of you know where it will eventually lead to if you have ANY idea of their relationship in the show. Any ideas on how to do this?
Anyways, hope you like this chapter!
Edit: there was a mistake of the Blade's name. It's Rayseeker. I fixed that.
Chapter 25: Light Problems
The Bounty was in motion, ready to reach the Desert Pyramid within the hour. Zane worried for Astra. He could tell her condition was going down again, and he wanted to know if she would be able to go get her Blade. He decided to go ask her because the other kunoichi were working on controlling their elements.
"Astra," he knocked lightly on her door. Surprisingly, she opened the door, looking fine. "Weren't you not feeling well?"
She shrugged. "A nap helped. What happened? What brings you here?"
"I wanted to know if you were going to get your Blade," he blurted out.
The yellow kunoichi narrowed her eyes. "Of course I am!" she exclaimed. "I'm not going to miss that!"
The white ninja shrugged as well. "Suit yourself. I am definitely coming along with you."
As expected, they landed at the Desert Pyramid within an hour. Everyone on the bridge. The wind was fierce outside, and they didn't want to risk getting sand blown in their eyes.
"Where is that entrance Misako was talking about?" Nya asked.
Wu shook his head. "First, we will decide who will go and who will stay." He looked around, but nobody really volunteered.
Lloyd looked around as well, but since nobody volunteered, he decided to go. "I'll go with them," he said.
Wu nodded. "You know the traps of the Pyramid. There might be repeats."
"T-traps?" Astra quivered.
"Yes, there are traps in there," Misako informed everyone. "I will go as well because I have been in there once."
Cole and Reyna also went with them. The six of them headed out into the wind and got blown around. It was that powerful. Misako led them to the other entrance, which was at the back. It took some time finding it, but eventually, they got in.
Once they were in, Misako gave them a quick briefing. "Now, there are traps, like I mentioned on the Bounty. The first one will be arrows shooting out of the walls. That is dangerous with so many of us, so to counter it, Zane, would you be able to freeze the wall?"
Zane nodded. "I can try, but do not rely on me fully. My elemental power is not as strong as it once was."
Misako nodded. "That's the most we can do about the arrows."
"Doesn't the floor also break somewhere?" Lloyd asked.
Misako nodded. "But that is in the tunnel I went in. There's another tunnel, the left side. That's the one we want to go into."
"So this path splits into two paths?" the black ninja asked. Misako nodded in answer.
Zane used his robot powers to see what was ahead. "Yes, there are two paths. Are you sure we need to take the one on the left?" he asked Misako.
She nodded. "Last time, I went on the right side, and nothing was there. Anyways, let's get going. The sooner we move, the sooner we'll be out."
They walked through, slowly. There was enough light to see what was up ahead.
"This is dangerous," Reyna observed obviously.
They took more steps, and the first arrow zoomed right in front of Misako, their lead. She signalled to Zane to freeze the wall. He did so, but not the entire thing.
"Wow, your ice powers are a lot weaker," Cole observed too.
Zane only looked slightly annoyed. "I do not have a weapon that boosts my power. Neither do you, so your earth powers would be weaker as well."
Slowly yet steadily, they made their way to where the Blade would be. There were no markings on the floor. Absolutely none. This made them think it would be in the wall.
"Wow, there are lots of markings here!" Misako sounded fascinated. There were pictures of fights from long, long ago. There were pictures of the Overlord, of writings in a different language, and the Elemental Blade of Light. Cole leaned against the wall, and felt something move behind him. Then, something pushed him forward. He saw a gleaming yellow stone. "Uh, I think this is it."
Everyone looked towards him, and saw the yellow stone. "How'd you find that?" the green ninja asked him.
"Classic 'secret trigger in the wall' kind of thing." He flashed a smile at them.
Lloyd rolled his eyes. "Wow. I couldn't think of anything more original!"
They chuckled at his sarcasm, but Astra went up and held the stone. Within moments, it transformed into the bright Elemental Blade of Light.
"True to its name," the ice ninja remarked. "It is very bright."
He was, of course, correct. The Blade let off a glow that none of the other Blades so far could even come close to rivaling. The Blade started off bright white at the top, all the way to a very bright orange at the hilt. In the relative darkness of the room they were in, it was practically a light source of its own.
Even though Astra knew it was coming, it still scared her. Thank you for uncovering me, a feminine voice said inside her head. It's horrible being locked like that for so long, with no one to talk to. My name is Rayseeker. How about yours?
This must be a talkative Blade, the opposite of her…
My name is Astra, she replied to the Blade.
Oh, Astra! What a nice name! I haven't ever known an Astra before. What does it mean? Where does it originate? Am I annoying you?
Astra laughed out loud, leaving the others confused as to what was so funny. Yes, kind of annoying.
Don't worry, Astra. It's only first day orientation. I'll be less annoying in the days to come. The Blade paused. Hm, maybe days to come won't be very necessary… Astra froze. Had it done some sort of health scan on her? How does it know how many days she has left? She felt fine right then.
Yes, I did a scan. It is mandatory for me to do so.
"Astra," Zane broke her out of her conversation. "We need to get back soon. But first, what is its name?"
"Um, Rayseeker," she replied. She didn't know what the others were saying after that. She was too scared to listen, and thought of what Rayseeker had told her.
Hey, don't be so down! it told her to get her out of her glumness. Enjoy what you have left while you can!
But…"I want to help them before that happens!" she yelled out loud instead of in her mind. It went echoing all throughout the Pyramid. Everyone froze and looked at her. Astra covered her mouth. Misako went to say something, but she dashed off with tears in her eyes before she could say a word.
"Astra! Wait!" Misako called after her. Her yells were of no use. Astra darted out of the Pyramid as fast as her element.
The green ninja looked at Misako. "Now what?"
She sighed. "Well, we continue to go back, of course. We got what we came for."
After what happened, they walked the rest of the way in silence. The wind had died down a bit when they got out, so the sand was nowhere near as annoying as it was when they went in.
Wu greeted Misako when he saw her. "What happened inside the Pyramid? Astra came running back, and she did not even look up to see me."
Misako sighed and shrugged at the same time. "Inside, she said something like she wants to help us before something happens. We don't know what the something is, but she ran out crying before we could say anything more. Where is she now?"
"In the kunoichi's room," he answered.
"Then let us go there," Misako said. "We should talk to her."
However, when they got to the room, they could already hear a voice inside: Reyna.
"Hey, uh, Astra, what did you mean back in the Pyramid?" The teal kunoichi knew it must've been a sensitive or touchy topic considering the way Astra had reacted to it, but she had to know. It would do none of them any good if they didn't understand her problem.
"Nothing," she mumbled back in response. "Just…don't worry about that." Her voice was muffled because she was face down on her bed.
Wu and Misako, hearing this, decided not to enter. Let them talk first, they silently decided, and began to walk away.
"Astra, I want to help you. If I knew what the problem is, maybe I could help you." Reyna continued to persist.
"Just leave me alone, please." Astra's voice rose a tone louder.
"We're in this together, we have to-"
"Reyna! Just leave me alone! I want some time to think by myself!" she yelled furiously, and this time, she took her face off her pillow so the kunoichi of nature clearly heard what she said. She was very shocked by the sudden outburst. She had never heard Astra as angry and talk as loud as this before.
"Alright then," Reyna said, defeated. She slunk back and headed out the door. Wu and Misako, hearing the yell even from a distance, knew there was something wrong, and they needed to find out.
Instead, they headed to the bridge. They found a lot of the ninja and kunoichi there.
"Nya," Wu called out to the kunoichi of water. "Could you bring up the map on the screen, please?"
She nodded. She pressed a few buttons, and a map of Ninjago showed up, with a big red dot showing where they were. "Yes, Sensei?" The noise of the others quieted down once they realized their two teachers were in the room.
"Now that we have gotten all the Elemental Blades for the kunoichi," he spoke and saw a glum Reyna enter the bridge, "It is time for us to find the Elemental Blades for the ninja."
Jay looked so happy, and his eyes widened. "Finally! My powers will be increased!"
"But to get the Blades," Wu continued, "We need to go to the Island of Darkness, to the Temple of Light."
Everyone groaned and started murmuring amongst each other. "At least this time there won't be any Overlord or Stone Warriors there, right?" Kai asked when the room quieted again.
Wu shook his head. "Of course not. We defeated those already."
"I have a weird feeling about going back to that island again." Nya shivered at her memories of being turned evil.
"Um, what's this Island of Darkness?" Brisa asked.
"The Island of Darkness, or the Dark Island, is where the First Spinjitzu Master and the Overlord fought long ago," Misako answered. "It was a part of Ninjago at one point, but the First Spinjitzu Master used the four Golden Weapons to split it from the rest of Ninjago when he could no longer keep up the fight. The Overlord and his Stone Army were on that side, and it came to be known as the Island of Darkness."
"Well, if that's where we have to go to get out powers stronger," Kai said, "Count me in."
Wu and Misako chuckled. "We have to go there anyways," Wu told the red ninja. "We did not have a choice." To Nya, he said, "Nya, please set our course to the Dark Island. I would like to reach as soon as possible."
The cyan kunoichi nodded. "Right."
"The rest of you can train until dinner time," Wu told the others.
While the others were training, Misako decided to watch and guide the two kunoichi there to control their Blades.
"Where's Astra?" Brisa asked suddenly. "I get that Nya is piloting the ship, but she should be here, right? After all, she just got her Blade."
"She's, uh, not feeling well, and wanted to sleep," Misako blurted out quickly. Brisa could accept that as an answer.
In the kunoichi's room, Astra still lay on her bed, but now face-up. I want to help them, I really do. But do I have the strength and energy to become the kunoichi of light? They say I'm a kunoichi, one of them, but I don't think these clothes are enough to make me one. I can't even control my element properly!
Hey, can you cut it down? Rayseeker asked her. I would like to think on my own as well, and I don't need your constant thoughts running a train through mine.
Then I will just set you aside and not hold you in my hand, she said, and placed her Blade on the floor.
I have to help them! They depend on me, and I also depend on them! It's my destiny to do this! But…I'll die soon, and Rayseeker even told me that. How can I be of any help when I won't even be with them all the way?
A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. "Astra? May I come in?"
Astra could feel her heart beat faster. Sensei Wu? What's he doing here? "Uh, yeah, sure, come in, Sensei."
He opened the door, and closed it behind him. He smiled at her with his eyes closed. "Astra, Misako told me what happened in the Pyramid. I…we both would like to help you if we can. Please, tell me what the matter is. We heard you yell at Reyna in anger when she came in the room. We had wanted to talk to you then, but hearing Reyna in here already, we walked away, but we still heard your yell. Tell me what the problem is. We would like to help you."
Astra gritted her teeth, but her Sensei patiently waited for her. I have to tell him…it'll help. "Well, you see, it all started like this…"
Astra FINALLY decided to tell someone else of her problem. Of course, that is (mostly) a physical problem. The mental problem is different as I'm sure a lot of you may have noticed in the beginning when Astra first joined the team (and before that, in her house).
The ninja will also get their Blades, with names, of course. These Blades that the ninja and kunoichi are getting have a history coming with them, as I'm sure you may have picked up in last chapter's conversation between Reyna and Vinewhipper at the very end. This history is important, and will come back when the time comes and will actually play a big role in making them all more powerful.
Anyways, hope you liked it!