What if: I arrived in Ninjago early?

by Death by Amber

A what-if scenario following the possibility of Lucas arriving on the scene much earlier. Will likely span from the pilot episodes all the way to the end of Season 2.

"Are you sure this will work? It'll take me where all my friends are?"

"Of course. It was so cruel of them to leave you behind, all alone… But if you just trust me, you will be reunited with your dear friends before you know it."

"Okay…. Let's do it."

"Very well. And don't you worry about payment, it will be collected in due time. Have a nice trip… Lucas."

I woke up in a grassy field, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Looking up at the sky, it was a beautiful shade of orange, indicating that I was either on an alien planet, or it was pretty late in the day. Sitting up, I noticed the surrounding rice fields, and a dirt path leading up to a building in the distance.

"Is this…?" I had a hunch, but I needed to be certain of where I was. Following the path, I came across a fairly normal-sized shop with a sign on the front displaying a staff, a sword, a shuriken, and nun-chucks. This confirmed everything I wanted to know.

Wait, this is… Four Weapons Blacksmith. That means I'm in Ninjago! But how, it should just be fiction, right? My train of thought was disrupted by a familiar voice calling out to me.

"Hey, stranger! In case you haven't noticed, we're trying to run a business here. Either quit gawking at the sign, or buy something and make it worth our time!" I looked back down at the source of the voice, and it was unmistakably Kai. Spiky hair, notched eyebrow, signature glare. He seemed just as grumpy as he always was, with his sister Nya shaking her head at him.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming in, jeez. Can't a guy admire a nice looking sign?" I walked inside the store, taking a look at what they had to offer. Just as I could've guessed, it was all weapons fit for a soldier or a samurai, and some armor to match. As I looked around, I could hear Kai and Nya talking, presumably to each other, but I didn't really pay attention to what they were saying. Nothing really caught my eye, but I still felt the need to at least give a few of the weapons some test swings. Ultimately though, I didn't find anything worth buying. They were all great weapons, but none of them were really my thing. Just when I was about to leave, I heard a different voice. The voice was older. Wiser.

"Hmm… your metal is loud and heavy. Useful to slow one down. Useless in the art of stealth. All tools for a samurai, but nothing for a ninja?"

I turned to face the source, but I already knew who it was. Sensei Wu. If anyone knew where my friends are, it'd be him. Hell, maybe they were lucky, got recruited by Wu, and were already ninja by now. His eyes met mine, and I saw him hesitate. He seemed almost… nervous. We stared at each other, but Kai speaking up again quickly snapped him out of it, and he managed to recover.

"Ninja? Huh, you're a long way from finding a ninja in these parts, old man. And the shop is called 'Four Weapons,' not 'For Browsing.' Either buy something, or go peddle your insults somewhere else!" Wu seemed unphased by what Kai had said, responding just as I expected him to.

"Ha! Too bad. Thought I'd find something special here." I looked at Kai and Nya for a moment, and when I looked back, Wu was gone. I was shocked! It was like the pilot episode was playing right in front of my eyes, a private performance only I could see.

I heard Kai and Nya talking again, but again I wasn't paying attention. I turned back and grabbed a katana, already knowing what was coming next. Right on cue, I saw dark clouds rolling in over the area. The Skullkin attack was about to begin.

As the Skullkin's vehicles came into view from inside the shop, I took a deep breath and made sure I was holding the katana comfortably. It still felt like it wasn't a weapon I was meant to wield, but I didn't exactly have much of a choice.

I turned back to look at the others, as Kai grabbed some armor and a sword. He looked at me, and we gave each other a quiet nod.

Nya was understandably concerned by the army of skeletons rushing towards the shop. "What are they?"

Kai walked towards the door, gripping his sword tightly. "I don't know. Stay here. He and I will deal with it." I followed close behind him, deciding to forgo any armor in order to stay more agile.

As the Skullkin hopped out of their vehicles, I leapt into action, taking on as many of them as I could. Seeing as there were only a small amount of them compared to their full numbers, I found myself keeping up quite nicely, for my first time in battle that is. Slipping around their slow attacks, I seemed to be taking care of them much quicker than Kai was, what with all that heavy armor, though they were definitely tougher to put down than I expected. As I should have guessed, the swords were more like blunt objects than sharp blades to their skeletal bodies. Everything seemed to be going as usual, Kai kicking one of the skulls high into the air as Nya snuck up on two of them and entered the fray with a staff. I noticed Nuckal and Kruncha sneaking into the shop, and I barely resisted the urge to rush in and chase them out. I've probably already caused a lot of alteration to the timeline just by involving myself in this battle, I can't risk everything being different if they don't grab the map! I thought to myself, quickly pulling my attention back to the battle at hand as I narrowly avoid an axe blade headed straight for my face. Soon, we had taken out the last of their numbers, and Samukai finally decided to drop in.

Kai took him on first, being clearly outmatched as he was disarmed and knocked down within a few seconds. I attempted to charge in, only to be met with a heavy kick in the chest from Samukai, throwing me onto the ground hard. Samukai laughed, looking between the two of us. "What wimps! I've never had a battle end this quickly in a long time."

We suddenly heard a voice call out the words "Ninja, go!" as a golden tornado whirled around, striking Samukai several times before fading to reveal Sensei Wu, staff at the ready.

Samukai shook himself for a moment, regaining his focus. "Sensei Wu! Your Spinjitzu looks rusty!"

Wu stared him down, "Nothing like bone to sharpen it's edge, Samukai."

Samukai's eyes darted to Kai, to me, and then to a water tower behind us. I suddenly realized what was about to happen, looking up at the water tower and trying to find the strength to get out of the way. As I caught a glimpse of Samukai's knives flying through the air towards the tower's legs, all I could do was shut my eyes tight and wait for it to be over.

"Ninja, go!" I suddenly felt myself picked up, opening my eyes as I heard the tower smash against the ground. Wu had managed to rescue both of us, though it was a very close call.

Samukai climbed back into his Skull Truck, closely followed by Nuckal and Kruncha with the map. Samukai pointed at Nya, shouting to Kruncha, who was manning the bone hand mounted on the back of the truck. "Lord Garmadon says take the girl!"

Wu was shocked and confused, his eyes opened wide as his voice went quiet. "Lord Garmadon?"

As the bone hand from the truck shot through the air and grabbed Nya, I jumped to my feet, grabbing the sword Kai had dropped off the ground and charging at the truck. I jumped into the air, thrusting the sword into the front of the truck, just missing Samukai. As the truck suddenly reversed, I lost my grip on the sword and got thrown to the ground once more, only able to watch the truck racing away into the distance.

"Nya!" Kai shouted, taking a few steps forward. "They took Nya…"

Wu shook his head. "I told you." He poked the back of Kai's helmet with his staff. "Useless."

Kai spun around to face him, fuming. "Arrgh! You could've done something! You could've used your… Twistitzu or your-"

"Spinjitzu!" Wu quickly corrected.

"But you did nothing! I'm going to get my sister back!" Kai shouted, turned his back and began to walk in the direction the truck was headed.

I stepped forward, grabbing his shoulder. "Don't be stupid. You can't follow them on foot, and even then you can't take them all on your own."

Wu nodded. "Where they go, a mortal cannot. That was Samukai, king of the Underworld. And if it's true that he's carrying orders for Lord Garmadon, then I fear things are much worse than I ever thought."

Kai kept yelling. "Lord Garmadon?! Underworld?! What's going on?! What do we have that's so important to them?! And why did they take my sister?!"

I rubbed my ears. "Jeez dude, no need to yell, we're right in front of you."

Wu's voice took a serious tone. "What's so important? How about everything in Ninjago itself? Long before time had a name…" I did my best not to zone out, trying to keep up with this boatload of exposition via flashback sequence, but it was very difficult not to, especially since I had heard it all before. I was barely even paying attention by the time he reached the end, when Kai's words snapped me back to reality. "You're the younger brother? Then you came here looking for the map?"

Wu poked him in the chestplate with his staff. "No. I came here for something greater—you. Since my brother cannot enter this realm, it's obvious he has struck a deal with Samukai. If he were to collect all four weapons, even I would not be able to stop him again. But you!" He poked Kai's chest once more. "You have the fire inside. I will train you to harness it. Use it. Become a Spinjitzu Master."

I began to walk away, their conversation slowly fading out as I focused on my own thoughts. Why do I even bother… It's not like he's gonna train me. I don't have any powers. No powers, no previous experience, nothing that would make me a worthy addition to any team. I shook my head. No. That's the pessimistic attitude that controlled my life on Earth. I refuse to let it control me here. This is a new world, full of new possibilities. If I'm going to find my friends, I need to explore those possibilities. As I was about to turn back towards them, mentally preparing myself to attempt to convince Wu to train me, I was suddenly face-to-face with him.

"As for you, young man… I sense a dark shadow hanging over you. Even if my instincts tell me to leave you here, I'm afraid I cannot. Come. We must train." Wu walked right past me. I was very confused. "What did he mean by… dark shadow?" Kai just shrugged at me, and kept walking. "Come on, if you don't get moving he'll leave us behind."

The next day, we were climbing up the Mountains of Impossible Height. None of us had really talked much since we started the journey, and Kai and I were both exhausted from all the climbing.

Kai was the first to speak. "How long is training gonna be? Aren't we in a bit of a rush since they have the map?"

Wu looked down at him, pausing for a moment. "Patience." Finally, we reached the entrance to the Monastery of Spinjitzu. I took a deep breath, already knowing what's coming next.

Wu continued. "You will be ready when you are ready. Not a minute sooner."

Kai looked around, rather confused. "A monastery? You expect me… er… us to learn to fight in a place of peace?"

Wu corrected him again. "Not fight. Train. In order to become a true ninja, first you must be able to see what others do not."

I tried to act like I didn't already know what was gonna happen, but my eyes kept darting to the dragon statue that hid the button. Ugh, why did I love this show so much? Now I have to act like I DON'T know what's gonna happen next!

Kai grew even more confused. "But there's nothing here!"

Wu shook his head. "It seems your friend there is more perceptive than you are." He walked over to the statue, pushing the top to reveal a button. Upon pressing the button, the training course activated and rose out of the ground.

I sighed, rubbing the back of my head. Hopefully the walk here got me in shape enough to finish the course…

Amazed, Kai looked over the entire course. "Whoa! Is this gonna teach me how to do that cool move?" He leapt onto a training pole,the pole descending upon contact.

Wu and I just watched the pole lower close to the ground. "Oh dear."

The pole shot back into its original position, launching Kai through the air and into the top of the dragon statue in the center of the course. He hit the ground hard, raising his head up to see Wu sitting down with a cup, some sugar cubes, and a teapot. "Complete the training course before I finish my tea. Then we will see if you are ready."

Without missing a beat, I leapt up onto the course, attempting to make it through to the best of my ability. But before I could even finish the poles, Wu called out. "That is enough. Today, you failed. Tomorrow, you will try again." I looked over, noticing the cup he was holding was already emptied. Sighing, I dropped back off of the course.

Kai rose to his feet. "Failed?! But I didn't even start to-"

The doors to the inside of the Monastery quickly closed in front of Wu. "Patience." Wu's voice called through the doors.

Kai clenched his fist, but I walked over and put my hand in his shoulder. "Don't worry. If we work together, we'll be done in no time."

I got the sense that he didn't really believe me, but he still nodded in agreement.

Over the next few days, we attempted the course over, and over, and over again. Wu failed us each time, so after the first few days we began training in secret during the middle of the night. We gave each other tips on what we were and weren't doing right, and became better and better at the course. On the final day, we followed each other through the course, mimicking the other's movements. With Kai's quick thinking combined with our secret practice sessions, we beat the course with no issue, even pulling a little disappearing act of our own on Wu.

Wu seemed rather impressed with our improvement, turning and entering the Monastery.

Kai seemed eager to push forward. "So, am I gonna learn this Spinjitzu I've been hearing about?"

Wu looked up. "You already have." He looked at both of us. "Your final test comes tomorrow. My advice is to get some sleep." The door closed behind him.

Later that night, Kai was preparing for bed, and I was trying to fall asleep. Try as I might, I just couldn't get to sleep. I knew that the other ninja were going to make their appearance, and I wanted to be prepared. If I closed their eyes, I could hear almost everything. Kai talking to himself in the bathroom, the buzz of his electric toothbrush, and the movements of the ninja through the roof. Their movements were very faint, but I was paying too much attention to not hear them. As I heard them drop to the ground, I slipped back out of bed. I'm really getting myself involved in another fight… This better not cause any problems.

Hey all, little writer's note at the bottom here. Been a while since I wrote anything Ninjago-related, huh? Sorry for the really long chapter, but I was determined to fit the entire first episode into one chapter. Anyway, this was the beginning of What if: I arrived in Ninjago Early! I used the episode transcript a LOT for most of the other character's lines in this, but I promise as the story goes in it'll differ a bit more from the actual show. Hope you enjoyed! ~ Death by Amber