The truck rumbled past the massive gates granting entry to Ninjago City. From there, it was a three hour dirt road to one of the outer villages.
In the back, the n.i.n.j.a. were buffeted and tossed around by every pothole and bump in the road.
"Do they even try to miss any?" Jay whined, rubbing his aching back.
"Course not ,Jay, the road's basically one giant pothole!" Kai pointed out. "If they miss one, they miss the whole road, and that would be unpleasant."
"Agh! I just wish they'd stop for a bit and give my poor aching rear a rest!"
As if fate decided to honor Jay's request, the truck ground a stop after the engine spluttered and died. There were some less than kid friendly curses from the front seat as someone tried to get the engine going again, to no avail.
"Thanks a lot, Jay!" Cole snapped irritably. "You just had to open your mouth!"
"Hey!" The curtain to the back was pulled aside by Ronin. Apparently he had been listening to the non stop bickering for the past hour. "Shut it! all 'a'ya! Get your gear and get out. The truck's dead, and we're going on foot!"
{10:29 AM}
"Oh it's so hot!"
"We know, Jay." Kai growled. Did the freckle faced whiner ever shut up? All they'd heard since the truck left was a barrage of complaints. For their part, Garmadon and the two elites at the front of the group kept their mouths shut about Jay... though the vein throbbing on Garmadon's forehead was proof enough on how close Jay was to being strangled.
"Jay." Lloyd put a hand on the lightning elemental's shoulder. He whispered something in the brunette's ear before letting go and falling back.
Whatever the exchange was, Jay didn't utter another peep for about an hour.
{12:44 AM}
"We stop here." Lord Garmadon declared, checking his map. They were surrounded by fields and fields of grassy expanse, the middle of nowhere. There was a small stream running through a rocky ditch.
"You heard the master! Get a drink, take a rest." Skylor commanded, leaving the trainees to it and turning to face Garmadon. "How far are we?"
"With the truck, we were about two hours out... Now that we're on foot, another two and a half."
"Well, that's not bad all things considered." Ronin sighed, tugging off his helmet. Skylor studied the old scar on Ronin's cheek. He never talked about it, but rumors say the master of water gave him that scratch to defend her kids... Skylor wondered what happened to all of the original elemental masters.
Her father had willingly handed her over as soon as the chance arose, but so many others had out up a fight.
Were they dead? She simply had no idea.
"Has lodging been taken care of?"
"Yes. We'll be staying in one of the local inns. They've agreed to put us up for free."
Big surprise there. Skylor didn't voice that thought aloud.
The elementals were helping themselves to stream water. They didn't care if it was clean or not, just that they were finally quenching their thirst. Kai splashed some water on his face and sat back on his heels.
"We're moving again!" Skylor called.
The village was a decent sized community with enough houses to cover a good section of the valley floor. Kai now knew why they struggled. Of enemies could claim the high ground, then the village didn't stand much of a chance.
"Didn't they realize how dangerous building there was?" Kai asked Lloyd. The ninja shrugged.
"Guess the river was more important than defense." He replied, pointing to the icy blue river snaking it's way through the dead center of town.
"Look." Zane pointed to the sky. A black bird was circling overhead. "It's been circling us for some time now."
"Huh. Guess it thinks we're dead meat." Jay chuckled. "Not far from wrong either."
"No. That is not a vulture." Zane replied simply. "It's a falcon."
"Well..."
Lloyd shook his head. "Keep your eye on it."
"I used to live in a place like this." Kai whispered as they now walked through the crowded streets. Everyone kept their distance from Garmadon and his elites. They acted as if he was plagued, not daring to come near him.
That was fine by the old master's opinion. He just wanted to get to the inn and get settled.
The inn wasn't the nicest establishment, and this seemed to bug Garmadon.
"Is this the best your people can do for their defenders!" Garmadon snapped angrily.
"I-I'm sorry, L-lord Garmadon. I-I can assure you. Th-that-that this is t-the finest we have... aside f-from the mayor's house."
The innkeeper kept his head bowed, panic flashing across his face, voice cracking as he struggled to get his words passed his dry tongue.
"Ah good... we'll go there." Garmadon stepped away.
"We'll stay." Lloyd said firmly. Garmadon paused, and Skylor went wide eyed.
"You dare-"
"It would be rude for all of us to encroach on the mayor... besides, with these cuffs on; we're not going anywhere."
Garmadon let out a growl.
"So be it."
As Garmadon stalked out, Lloyd waited for a moment before turning back to the inn keeper.
He was sizing them up warily, clearly untrusting of the 'elites in training.'
"We're not gonna hurt you." Nya assured gently. "We aren't exactly in the army by choice."
The inn keeper froze at that, eyes wide in shock.
"You're... draftees?"
"I'm afraid so." Cole nodded, crossing his arms.
"But he- he is the son of Lord Garmadon... he is just as much to blame as his father."
"Why?" Kai said. "Look pal, we made that same mistake, but I can assure you that this kid is the kindest person you'll ever get to meet."
The Inn keeper shook his head, and Lloyd sighed. "I'm not for father in any way. In fact, I fought against him for years. This isn't how I want to spend my life, but if I can be a light from inside the darkness of the army, I will be."
"Time will tell." The inn keeper replied in half disbelief. Kai looked down. He couldn't really be angry, for he himself had treated Lloyd like this just recently... He was trying to make up for it by supporting Lloyd now.
"I only have a few rooms available, and-"
"We'll take two." Cole said. "Kai, Nya, and Cole can have one... the rest of us will take the other."
The innkeeper tossed them two pairs of keys.
"Thanks uh-"
"John..." The inn keeper smiled at them slightly.
After they had settled into their respective rooms, the six decided to get out and explore the village.
Had any of them decided to make a run for it, the vast wilderness would put an end to their plans. That's why no one bothered trying... and why no one cared if the recruits roamed.
Lloyd found himself walking alongside Zane towards the market place. No one dared to get close to either of them, a depressing fact for both boys; but completely understandable.
They got near to the open market place when Lloyd's sixth sense warned him of an incoming projectile.
With one fluid motion, he spun around and caught the makeshift soccer ball sailing towards his head.
Lloyd heard gasps of panic as several kids shrunk into the shadows. He shared a look with Zane before they simultaneously shrugged.
"Hey, who kicked this?" Lloyd asked curiously.
One kid was thrown under the bus and pushed from the shadows. With a smile, Lloyd knelt down and held the ball out.
"Mind if we play?"
The kid just gaped at them.
Skylor watched Lloyd from a distance. For an hour, she observed as he played soccer with some of the village children, then helped an elderly woman carry her groceries home. Somehow Lloyd got roped into the village chores. Before long, he wasn't being seen as a brutal elite or the son of Garmadon, but a part of the village.
Skylor wondered what it was like not to be feared... She wondered if she would ever know.
Another chapter in the books! I know I've slowed down to one a day per story, but I'm pretty happy with how my stories are shaping up.Now for my shout outs!
Guest: Thanks! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Hiiiiii (Guest): Thanks for taking a chance with my story! I'm pretty wary when it comes to AUs myself, but I decided to write one and give it a try. I'm glad you're enjoying it!
LunaPikazard12: You're welcome! If people take the time to review, I like to take the time to reply. I'm glad you noticed my writing style. I hate choppy writing, so I try and make everything flow. Sometimes it still doesn't look quite right, but in my opinion ,that's better than all choppy sentences. I also do work really hard to hear how a character would say something or think. It helps to have watched a lot of your character in action :
Bookkeeper2004: I Agree! It's a good thing the team got everything straightened out. It was only a matter of time though... Oh and could someone PLEASE explain what FSM is? I've been hearing it all over the place... and for once, the internet doesn't have a conclusive answer... it's as baffling as Yeet was!...