A/N: Greetings! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! We're starting to slowly - but surely - creep into my favourite parts of this fic... which may or may not be most of it. By the way, for all those of you reading Forged in Fire that will be what I'm updating next Friday (at the latest, I might do it earlier if I'm feeling impulsive enough.) And I'm working on getting ahead in Through Thick and Thin so it's not stressful trying to upload.
Review Reply:
xxXTryMeXxx: I'm really glad you like it! As I'm sure you know (probably from your own reviews that you recieve) it really means a lot to me that you say that. Also don't worry about Lloyd, I'm sure everything will be just fine and his life will be sunshine and roses. ;P
Please enjoy the chapter and, if you have a second to spare... *old granny voice* could you be a deary and give this author a nice review?**
Jay awoke to his phone ringing, wondering who in Ninjago would be calling him at one A.M. in the morning. He nearly groaned seeing the caller ID was his parents... Until he realized that the two should be in bed, fast asleep at this time of night. Frantically, he scrambled to answer while simultaneously shushing his sleepy, recently awoken friends.
"Hello? Mom? Dad? What's wrong?" He paused. "I- slow down, I can't- I can't understand you!" Another pause, more tense than the last. "Calm down, okay? Were on our way. Just keep talking soi know you're okay." The sharp edge of panic laced his voice as he raced towards their dragons, the other three ninja confused and half asleep, but still following.
When they reached them, the dragons got up slowly, almost reluctantly, but flew the four ninja to the junkyard.
"What's going on?" Kai punctuated his question with a yawn as they rose into the air.
"I don't know! My parents are talking over each other and I can't understand a word either is saying!"
"You think something's wrong?"
"No, they just called me at one in the morning to make sure I was getting enough sleep! Of course something's wrong!" Jay pressed the phone to his ear for a second, vainly hoping his parents had calmed enough to explain.
"Hey, at least Jay's fulfilling his promise to visit." The other three chuckled at Cole's comment.
"That's not funny!" Focusing back on his parents, he attempted to soothe them. "We're going to be there in a minute, okay? Just hang tight, we're almost there." He spoke quickly and his voice had a higher pitch than normal.
He just hoped his parents were okay.
*And now, a child's perspective on these pressing matters.*
Lloyd paled as he caught sight of the four dragons flying toward the junkyard, knowing the ninja were riding on top of them. Of course the ninja would take advantage of the poor creatures; the poor things had to be enslaved, punished into obedience. Humans did that with anything they thought useful, which was why he never let anyone see Gren... Not even the serpentine. Just in case.
He watched the four land, the ice dragon easiest to spot in the moonlight. Four figures slid off the dragons, the blue-clad one racing to the trailer. The elderly couple must be his parents. He felt the slightest bit of relief, human parents and children really did love each other. Although that relief was accompanied by an unfamiliar feeling, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth as he watched the three exchange relieved hugs.
It took the ninja a moment to notice the snakes creeping out, but when they did they lept into battle positions, telling Blue's parents to stay inside. Their dragons growled at the snakes, and the fiery one took off in the direction they had come from.
"Attack!" Cried Fangtom, and Lloyd couldn't help but wince at the command. The Fangpyres and all the machines they had bitten lept at the four ninja and the remaining dragons. With the Fangpyres' population the two sides were fairly evenly matched, even with the dragons on the opposing side. Lloyd hoped that this battle would go well, that they would scare the ninja into leaving them alone without hurting any of them.
The fire dragon returned, tranquil flute music filling the air. The Serpentine all immediately covered their ears, faces twisting and some of them even screaming in agony. Lloyd glanced around frantically, searching for something to help his friends. His eyes landed on a radio: perfect. It hadn't been bitten by the snakes, so he held the end of the cord in one hand that he tucked behind his back. He turned the radio on, blasting painfully loud rock music over the soft flute. Fangtom gave him a grateful smile.
The two slid off the back of the dragon, one of them an elderly man with a long beard. Something felt vaguely familiar about this man…
The old man pointed straight at him with the flute. "Young nephew, must I teach you who's side you should be on?!" Lloyd's eyes narrowed, could that man be his uncle? But he thought his uncle was supposed to be a good person, not someone working with the ninja! Lloyd cringed as the thought crossed his mind that his family - or at least, his uncle - must be more like the opposite of the blue ninja's parents. He hoped not.
A scaly hand landed on his shoulder, causing him to jump and shoot a panicked glance to his left. Fangtom gave him a gentle smile with one head, while the other glared at the elderly man - Wu. The general felt cool, gentle, and safe - like the night - and Lloyd found himself scooting toward the snake. He saw the long tail curling protectively around the base of his feet, and felt the hand shift to his other shoulder so as to hold him closer. Lloyd discovered that there was something he liked about being held like that.
On the battlefield, the snakes were losing. Now that there were four dragons and six people, five of which could do spinjitzu, the snakes just couldn't keep up. "Retreat!" Fangtom called.
It was the first time Lloyd heard the two heads speak in unison.
**Please do not take any offence or anything at this, it is meant to be humorous.
Also, if any of you want to take a jab at what the real title is, feel free. It's a single, highly plot-relevant word. The rest of your hints are in the story itself.