Season 15 (Seabound) spoiler warning. IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED SEABOUND, TURN BACK IF YOU Don't WANT SPOILERS.

Genre: Fantasy, action, adventure, comfort/hurt

Rating: T for mentions of violence, gore (somewhat), and comfort/hurt, trauma

Main protagonist: Galaxy Star

Main antagonist: Shadow


Chapter 4: Missing...?!


"Keep your thumbs OUTSIDE of your fists, or you'll break them." Cole said. I adjusted my grip to have my thumbs on the outside.

I can't believe I forgot that. That's Punching 101. I should have known that!

The ninja were teaching me basic fighting techniques so I could have a better chance at surviving. Just in case Shadow came back, which in my opinion, was inevitable. We had been doing this for the past few days.

I was slowly getting better. They were mostly making sure I knew what to do in certain situations, because if Shadow came back today, I wouldn't exactly have time to perfect my form. I'd have to react quickly, and sometimes, reacting quickly was better than perfect form.

At least I'm learning to protect myself now. But...will I be ready? Certainly not in a few days...

I had started to learn Karate back at home, but I didn't like it in the slightest. I also hadn't gotten very far into Karate anyways before the fire happened.

We kept practicing with some kicks and punches. I could already do a Snap Kick, a Roundhouse Kick, several punches, and several blocks as well. I immediately noticed some difference between Karate and Ninjitsu. Soon, we were practicing with the ninja throwing light punches to see my reaction time. (specifically with blocks.)

"Your reaction time is pretty good. Still could use improvement though, but you're getting there. You also need to build up your strength." Lloyd said.

"Thanks. My mom used to tease me a lot, so I learned how to block her, even in the middle of the night, when I'm half asleep. And yeah, I need to get some strength. I can't even do pushups properly." I replied, blocking a few punches from Jay, however, that left me open for a light punch from Cole. I let out a small 'ooomf' at the punch.

"Was that too much?" Cole asked.

"Nah, you're fine."

We trained for a little while longer, with me learning how to defend, block, punch, and kick and perfecting what I had already knew. It was all very helpful, but I knew that I probably wouldn't be ready to face Shadow right away.

Lunch came fairly quickly, and we went inside to eat whatever Zane had prepared, which turned out to be cooked vegetables and mashed potatoes and gravy.

Zane's cooking is the best!

I thought as I took a bite. He was really an amazing cook. To be honest, I think his cooking is what helped me make it through the month thus far.

"What are we doing after this?" Jay asked. "I mean, we don't really have any plans after this, other than going to the noodle house for dinner."

"Actually, we do have somewhere else to be. Me and Pixal contacted Borg, and Borg has a new sword he feels is a perfect fit for Galaxy." Zane said.

"Me, with a weapon? That can't end well." I said, promptly eating a bite of potatoes.

Definitely not gonna end with me uninjured

"Why?" Kai asked. "Don't ya want a cool sword?'

"I don't know...I guess because I'm probably going to stab myself or something on accident. I wouldn't mind training with one, if I used a foam replica built for training first."

"This sword is built with safety in mind. The blade is a hologram. A solid one that has a training mode and a battle mode. You can turn it completely off as well. He calls then Holo-tanas." Zane replied. "In addition to that, you may need to learn how to use them in self defense. As it is already, you are woefully under prepared."

I blinked. "That- actually sounds really cool. Goes to show how much more advanced technology is here than at home."

"How much more advanced?" Jay said.

"Well, first of all, you guys have true AI, have holographic blades, and you guys used to have floating roads and what looked like self driving cars. You guys have advanced a lot further with tech in 30-70 years than my world has In two centuries."

Seriously, you guys are advanced as hecc...

"Thats- a lot. We're really that advanced?!" Cole asked, raising a brow.

"Yep. I think that's all thanks to Borg, actually." I said. "I'm pretty sure he has a monopoly on all the tech in Ninjago."

"Yes, you are correct in that assumption. Cyrus Borg is responsible for most of the technological advances in the past." Pixal replied.

I thought so...

Lunch was pretty much over; we had all finished our food, so we prepared to head to Borg Tower. We got to take the Bounty with us. I was super excited to get on the Bounty. I had never been on the Bounty before, and this was literally one of my favorite TV show worlds.

That got me thinking. I had just met literal cartoon characters! That was so cool! Especially since they were characters I loved to watch.

I looked down at the ground. Seeing all the buildings from high above was really neat. The skyscrapers were incredibly tall. We passed by the NGTV building and many other ones I recognized, like Mistake's tea shop, and the Mojo Dojo, and even Chen's Noodle House.

"Wow. It's really cool seeing everything from up here." I took in a deep breath.

It looks amazing!

"I thought you'd be afraid of heights." Kai joked. I shot him a look. He had a joking smirk on his face.

"I only would be if I was falling or really close to falling. Actually, my dream super power would be to fly. Nothing else. Just the ability to fly."

"Really? No teleportation, no super speed like Griffin, no plant growing ones like Bolobo? No fire?" Kai asked.

"Nope. Just flight. I often have dreams about it. But this..." I said, indicating the Bounty. "...might be the closest I'll ever get." I said sadly.

I imagined myself soaring through the clouds, air rushing in my face as the Bounty flew. I'm my mind, I felt wings spreading and launching off the balcony. I imagined the clouds all around me as the air flew through my hair.

I only wish I had gotten a few more minutes.

"We're here." Lloyd's voice broke me out of my daydream. I looked over the balcony to see a large, tall blue building looming in front of us, the Borg logo spinning on the top. We hovered just above the top of the tower. Zane put the Bounty on autopilot, resulting in an inflatable Dareth appearing in front of the wheel.

"Alright Pix, contact us if anything goes wrong." Lloyd said. Even if it was unspoken, we all knew he meant Shadow specifically.

"I always do." Pixal replied through the communicator. A rope ladder was released and we all climbed down it. The ladder was wobbly, but I managed to climb down. A door led to some stairs that lead to Borg Tower's top floor. I followed the ninja down to the top floor.

"Welcome! You guys are just in time! I've just finished my latest project!" Borg, a person in a wheelchair, with glasses and jet black hair said. He moved over to the rest to grab two sword handles off one of the desks containing multiple computers, keyboards, wires, and random tech nick-knacks.

This is sure a lot of tech. How can he afford this? Oh wait...

I mentally face palmed.

He's done more for tech than anyone else. Of course he can afford all this.

"Here." Cyrus Borg said as he handed me two sword hilts. They had white on the bottom and top, with strip of lavender on the top piece. The place where the hilt would be held was black. "There is a button here that you can flip off..." He showed me a switch that had three labels; 'off', 'battle', and 'train'. "...then to training mode..." He flipped the switch. I leapt back slightly as the katana activated, sending a lavender colored holographic blade out of the hilt.

That- that scared me a bit. Oops.

The 'training mode' had a completely blunt edge and was perfect for training with. "...and battle mode!" He flipped it to the last label with a little bit of flair, and instantly, the edge of the blade went sharp, and the end became a little pointer. I could tell he was enjoying showing off.

"Wow, this is really cool!" I said, staring at the blade in awe.

How did he make a hologram solid? How did he make it work like this?

"The blade is also incredibly lightweight and easy to use. The switch is easy enough to use as to not be a struggle in battle, but it is stiff enough to allow the weapon to avoid accidental activation." Borg said. A proud look was etched on his face. "And here is something else." He handed me a satchel to hold the Holo-tanas in. "The satchel is also large enough to carry other things in as well, so you can store whatever you need. Inside are two pockets that allow easy access to the Holo-tanas no matter how full the pouch is."

This is a really neat traveler's bag.

"This is amazing! Thanks! How'd you even find out how to make holograms solid?" I asked. I was genuinely curious as to how he did it.

"It was very difficult, and tedious. Trust me, making holograms solid is no easy feat."

"Those are so cool! Why didn't I get one of these?!" Jay asked as he messed with one of the swords while Lloyd looked at the other one.

"I might be able to make one for each of you, based on your current weapons of choice. Although, they will need slight modifications." Borg said. "I had already finished this one, and Zane and Pixal contacted me telling me that these would be a good fit for Galaxy. At least, for the time being."

"Thanks. I'll take really good care of them!" I replied as I placed the Holo-tanas inside the satchel.

We stayed with Borg for a few hours. Borg was showing me how he made the Holo-tanas, and most of the ninja listened in, only getting half of what Borg was saying.

"Let's go see Skylor! It's almost dinner time anyway!" Kai had said, already heading for the stairs that led to the Bounty.

"You just wanna see Skylor because you like her!" Jay protested in annoyance as we ran after him. Everyone knew Kai had a crush on Skylor. Jay had a crush on Nya, and they were even engaged. (Although, his salty attitude might be because his girlfriend is literally water now) Zane and Pixal like each other, and Cole had a crush on Vania.

Actually, it was the other way around...

We all loaded onto the Bounty, and launched off towards Chen's Noodle House. I got to enjoy the view again for several moments. It was probably one of the most peaceful things since the...

The fire...

It wasn't a nice memory. I pushed it out of my brain, which was as hard as ever. This time, everyone was somewhere else, so nobody noticed that my expression had completely changed.

So, I let it go. I wasn't going to hide that fact that I was upset. I stared into the clouds, thinking of my brother. It had become a little easier to believe that he was gone, as well as mom...but it still wasn't easy to process.

We landed near the noodle house. As soon as we got off, we instantly saw Dareth running at top speed towards us, huffing and puffing.

"Guys, I'm so glad you're here!" His face was filled with worry and panic.

This was the first time I had ever met Dareth. He was slightly chubby, with a large chained necklace and his classic brown dojo Gi. He also had a slight beard. Not enough to be an actual beard, but definitely some peach fuzz.

"Calm down, Dareth, what happened?" Lloyd asked, as he set foot on the ground. We all came behind him. A worried look had quickly taken over the smile he had earlier. We all had the silent thought of what might of happened. Nothing could have prepared me for the thing he said next.

"SKYLOR IS GONE! AND THAT MEANS NO. PUFFY. POTSTICKERS!! NONE!" He said.

Skylor? Missing? That's not like her...unless?

"Skylor's gone?!?!" Kai asked, his voice filling with panic, though he was trying to stay calm. Though, I could tell, the worry was definitely seeping through his facial expression and body language.

I had a pretty good idea of who could be behind this...

I paused, before breaking the shocked silence.

"Shadow went missing too, right?" I asked. "Do..you all think he was behind this?"

Everyone turned towards me. At that moment, just from their expressions, I could tell exactly what we all were thinking.

This isn't good...not at all...


Author's Note: here's rewritten Chapter 4! I had a hard time figuring out what to change and ended up adding stuff mainly. -Galaxy