"Hallucinating? You?" Kai jumped up and gave Cole a friendly slap on the back. "No one's further from ... oh."
He had followed his friend's gaze, and concern showed on his face. Kai's glance darted back and forth between the black ninja and the window.
"Either we're both hallucinating ... or … there's really a dragon sitting outside."
"What?" Jay coughed into his hot chocolate.
"See for yourself." Cole took a step aside.
Jay, Nya and Lloyd scrambled to their feet and hastened to join their friends by the window. They looked at each other in utter amazement when they, too, saw what Cole and Kai were referring to.
It would have been highly unlikely that they all had the exact same hallucination. Right in the middle of the courtyard sat a dragon, a large, impressive dragon with silvery scales and shimmering, teal-colored wings. The slightly translucent spikes on the crown of its head and along its flexible tail had a tinge of green as well. The dragon had knocked over a large metal bucket, which must have caused the noise they had heard before, and now tried to shove it out of the way with its wing.
"That's it!" Jay gasped.
"That's what?" Nya asked, raising her eyebrows. "That's not a Shintaran Ridgeback. They're white, with golden markings."
"I know that," Jay retorted. "But this must have been the shadow I saw on the roof last night."
"What?" Kai flared up. "Are you saying you've seen this dragon before, lurking around our monastery, and didn't tell us?"
"I wasn't sure about what I saw," Jay defended himself. "It was dark when I went to bolt the gate, and I really saw no more than a shadow. The moment I wanted to approach it, it was gone."
"Was that what you wanted to tell me today?" Nya asked quietly, and Jay nodded.
"Then it's my fault as well, Kai," she told her brother. "Jay tried to talk to me about it, but I kinda cut him short."
Jay gave her a thankful look.
"It totally doesn't matter where and when it has been seen before," Lloyd interjected. "The point is, it's sitting in our courtyard right now. What are we gonna do about that?"
"Leave it alone?" Jay mumbled.
Cole had continued to watch the dragon as it got up, sniffed at some training equipment, briefly flapped its wings and sat down again, this time even closer to the entrance of the building.
"Perhaps we just go outside and have a closer look," he suggested.
"Are you serious?" Lloyd didn't seem too sure that this was a good idea.
"Come on." Cole turned to him. "It's not like we've never seen a dragon in our lives. In fact, we used to train them. We could even summon our own elemental dragons for a while."
"Cole's right," Kai agreed. "You weren't with us in the Realm of the Oni and the Dragons, but we learned a lot about them there. Sure, they're suspicious of people they don't know, and they dislike being hunted. As any species would." He gave a dry laugh. "But we managed to tame a few of them. Let's go and try to find out more about this one, and where it comes from."
Followed by their somewhat reluctant friends, Kai and Cole led the way outside. The dragon raised its head when the ninja appeared in the doorway.
"Well, it is rather large," Nya remarked, her voice quivering slightly.
Cole took a step forward, and the dragon craned its neck.
"You're curious, heh?" Cole asked softly. "Never seen humans before?"
"You don't expect it to answer, do you?" Jay asked nervously, but Cole took no notice of him. His eyes fixed on the dragon, he slowly held out one hand.
"We're not going to hurt you."
The dragon sniffed at Cole's fingers, and then it suddenly spread its enormous wings.
Cole stumbled backwards.
"Take it easy! Everything's ok!"
But the dragon had not intended to attack the ninja. As if it realized that it frightened them, it made a few steps backward. For a moment, it looked at them with large, bright eyes. Then, it flapped its wings and took off. It soared high into the air and quickly disappeared in the dusky sky. The ninja stared after it in surprise.
"Well, that was that." Kai shrugged and exchanged a glance with Cole. "Do you think it will return?"
Cole slightly tilted his head. "Since it already came here yesterday ... it might. If it does, we will probably notice," he said with a slight chuckle. "It is rather large."
When the ninja had returned to the warmth of the fireplace, Nya looked at Cole invitingly. "I think you didn't finish your story. What happened to the four pieces of the dragon gem after it had been destroyed?"
"The legend doesn't tell," the black ninja replied simply. "Both my mother and Queen Vania ended the story with the treaty between dragons and humans. Vania also mentioned that to seal the piece and friendship between Shintaro and Ninjago, the Empress of Ninjago received a collection of jewels and ceremonial weapons from the king of the sky folk."
Lloyd tilted his head to the side. "But this could mean ..."
Jay beat him to it. "It would explain a lot! Cole, are you telling us that the fragments of the dragon gem were crafted into jewelry and sent to Ninjago?"
Kai frowned. "What a mean way to dispose of them!"
"Not necessarily mean," Nya pointed out. "The Empress of Ninjago may actually have agreed to it. If so, it was a rather wise move. What better way to make sure the gem would not cause another war than to distribute its pieces evenly between the two kingdoms and deposit them in the vaults of their respective rulers!"
"Hang on, I lost track," Lloyd admitted. "How many pieces did they send to Ninjago, then?"
"Two," Nya replied. "The one on the dagger and the one on the necklace. But for some reason, a third piece fell into the hands of your mother's friend. Someone from Shintaro, who didn't know the history of the stone, must have sold it to him. Mind you, according to what Cole says, hundreds of years have passed in the meantime, and the whereabouts of the stones weren't generally known. I'm sure this is exactly what the king of the sky folk intended. But if our assumptions are correct, only the fourth piece is still in Shintaro – and the other three have recently been stolen!"
Cole looked at her. "You don't think it's completely ridiculous, then? You believe in this old tale?"
"Ridiculous? Oh, no." Nya shook her head and exchanged a glance with Jay, who gave a little laugh.
"We all know that there tends to be an element of truth in Shintaran legends. I seem to recall a certain skull that was all too real!"
Lloyd frowned. "In light of what happened recently, this story is everything but ridiculous. Cole," he said thoughtfully, "what would happen if someone assembled the four pieces of the stone again?"
"I presume the gem would regain its power," the Master of Earth said slowly. "And this would make the Ridgebacks very angry. They are a proud and intelligent species, fiercely loyal towards those they love, but they don't like someone taking control of their powers. Particularly since it was promised to them that no human would ever do so again." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Some dragons live for hundreds of years, and unlike the humans, they may remember that treaty. It would be a severe breach of trust."
"Good to know the fourth piece is still safe and far away, then," Kai remarked.
Jay exchanged a glance with Cole and saw his friend almost imperceptibly shake his head.
"But if this is not the case?" Jay burst out. "Cole, there's something you didn't tell us yet. Where do you think the fourth piece of the stone has gone?"
Cole moved his laptop so that everyone could see the screen. "These are some of the items that will be on display at the Shintaro exhibition in Ninjago City."
The photo showed an ornate goblet, a few golden bowls, a tiara with colorful gemstones, and ...
"Look at that casket!" Jay exclaimed.
Lloyd leaned forward to examine it more closely. "Some sort of wooden jewel box, decorated with precious stones. You mean the stone on the lid?" He looked questioningly at Jay and Cole.
"Exactly," the black ninja agreed and aligned the pictures of the four stones on his screen. The similarity was obvious.
"So the fourth of these stones is coming to Ninjago in … exactly three days," Kai stated. "Misako mentioned that the transport is already on its way." He hummed thoughtfully. "I guess we should keep an eye on that stone."
"Just hypothetically," Nya remarked, "what if the dragon gem was assembled in Ninjago and the Ridgebacks sensed that the signal was coming from here?"
"I'd expect that it would prompt them to come here," Cole replied. "Depending on who had the stone, and how skilled they were at wielding its power, the dragons would have to obey them – or they would try to destroy the stone."
"Which means we would have to face an invasion of angry, fully grown Shintaran Ridgebacks wreaking havoc until they find the stone that controls them, and the madman who plays dragon general may or may not be able to handle the power of the stone – whatever it is that they want with that dragon army anyway," Nya stated gravely. "In any case, the people of Ninjago would blame the kingdom of Shintaro for this surprise attack out of nowhere, and I can't imagine the sky folk being amused when they realize that an unknown force in Ninjago is controlling their dragons. There have been declarations of war over minor things than that."
"But Queen Vania would never ..."
"No, of course she wouldn't," Nya agreed. "But I've never heard of a cabinet that didn't include a few hotheads, and forgive me, I don't know how strong she is politically. At any rate, I wouldn't trust all politicians of Ninjago to handle a matter like this in the most considerate manner."
Jay glanced at her. He was pretty sure that he knew of whom she was speaking.
Lloyd, surprisingly, seemed to think along similar lines. "Rumor has it that our minister of foreign affairs only got her position thanks to a couple of clever intrigues," he sighed. "But that's not the point. You're right, the scenario you outlined would lead to serious diplomatic alienation between Shintaro and Ninjago at the least."
Kai looked up. "In other word: a terrible mess we want to avoid."
"Great," Jay groaned. "I'm not interested in politics at all. Why are we always the ones who have to set things right when grown-ups get the world into trouble?"
"Jay," Nya gave him a stern look. "Was that a serious question?"
Jay sighed. "Guess not. We're ninja, and we're elemental masters, so we have quite a bit of experience when it comes to getting in trouble. We're best suited for the job." He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, let's make sure the fourth piece of the stone stays safe and the other three are found to keep those dragons away!"
"Sounds like a plan," Kai nodded. "We'll talk to Misako and the Sensei tomorrow."
Cole rose from his seat. "Since Zane isn't here, would anyone care to lend me a hand in the kitchen?"
Followed by Nya and Jay, he passed the window and cast a glance outside.
"I wonder where the dragon is going to spend the night," he murmured thoughtfully.
Pixal gazed at the skyline of Ninjago City, which slowly began to take shape in this gray hour just before daybreak. Nobody had held her back when she left the place where she had been held captive, and by dawn, she had made it to a nearby hill. She was completely alone.
The air was biting cold. She shivered. Low temperatures didn't affect her much, but she was still nothing short of terrified by her present situation. A few lonely snowflakes whirling around in the chilly wind reminded her ... of Zane.
She hung her head. How many days had passed since they had gone to the city to have lunch with her father? They had spent a couple of most agreeable hours at Borg Tower, and then someone – Cyrus Borg? one of his assistants? – had suggested that the two droids should check out the ice rink close to the Emperor's palace. Pixal smiled internally when she remembered Zane sliding effortlessly over the ice, forward and backward, drawing large circles around the other skaters, a self-forgotten expression on his face and a halo of tiny, glittering ice crystals around him. She had noticed this halo before; it only appeared when the Master of Ice was relaxed and completely in tune with his element.
It meant he was happy.
She playfully chased after him, and he looked back and dodged her with a cheerful laugh, only to pull to an abrupt stop immediately afterwards. Pixal almost bumped into him at full speed; at the last moment, she managed to link her arm with his, making them spin around each another until they came to a halt, face to face.
She fell into his arms and laughed. "Our shared reflexes!"
"... work as one," he grinned. "You remembered that?"
"How could I forget?" She looked up into his sparkling eyes. "My nindroid."
He didn't reply, but she noticed a light blue tinge creeping into his cheeks before he pulled her into a hug so tight that she was unable to look at him anymore. She pressed her face against his neck and smiled when she felt his head resting on top of hers. All too soon, he let go of her to avoid becoming an obstacle for the ice-skaters around them.
"Would you like to ..."
She would never know what he was going to suggest; another round on the ice rink, a glass of hot punch? Because at that very moment, the alarms went off.
The sound of the siren came from the nearby palace. Soon after, police cars were heard arriving from at least two directions. With a brief nod at each other, the two droids took off their skates and followed the crowd. By the time they reached the palace, the place was teaming with policemen and palace guards, and a large screen already showed Gayle Gossip giving a report about a daring theft from the imperial jewel collection.
"In broad daylight?" Pixal wondered. The guards seemed to be confused as well, since apparently no suspect had been seen near the collection or in the palace at all.
"Up here!" Zane called her. She swiftly followed him up the fire ladder of a building opposite the palace to get an overview over what happened.
She looked down at the crowd and the part of the palace where the entrance to the treasure room was located, until her gaze finally drifted to the other wing of the palace. She startled. A pelican sat on the rooftop, staring intently at a nearby air outlet.
"Pelicans are not native to this part of the country," she remarked.
"No, they aren't," Zane agreed and followed her gaze. "And this one, in addition, behaves strangely."
They both adjusted their eyes to the distance and observed the large bird more closely. Suddenly, a mouse – or some other small rodent – climbed out of the ventilation shaft, and the pelican excitedly flapped its wings. The nindroids exchanged a glance, but before they could wonder aloud what was going on, another mouse appeared, tugging at something that was still hidden in the shaft. The first mouse came to aid, and with united forces, they pulled up a shiny chain with several large pendants. Immediately after, two more mice appeared, who had probably pushed the item from below.
"A necklace?" Zane exclaimed incredulously.
Pixal nodded grimly. "Seems like we know now what was stolen from the jewel collection – and how it disappeared without any human thief having been seen near the treasure. Those mice carried it through the ventilation system to the other wing, and ..."
"... the pelican is going to scoop it up with its bill and fly away with it!" Zane concluded. "Quick! Do you have a tracking device with you?"
"Oh, yes." Pixal had already produced her little tool bag and took out a tiny tracker, perfectly suited for the occasion.
She glanced at the bird. "Can you make it keep still for a moment?"
Zane nodded. "Like this?"
He aimed at a small puddle of water on the opposite rooftop, which froze and immediately enclosed one foot of the bird in a thin sheet of ice.
"Perfect, thanks."
While the irritated pelican tried to free its foot from the ice, it hardly noticed the ribbon that came flying and wrapped itself around its other leg.
"Great shot, Pixal!"
They watched the bird taking off with the necklace.
"What's the frequency of the tracker?" Zane asked.
Pixal helped him receive the signal, and when they had both tuned into the right frequency, they exchanged a quick glance. "Got it? Let's go!"
The bird was out of sight by now. There was still a commotion in the streets around the palace, but the two nindroids didn't bother to stay and alert the police to the fact that the stolen necklace had long disappeared from the area. They followed the signal northwards, riding on buses, trams, and eventually on an open truck. A few miles outside the city, the signal came to a halt, and the two nindroids jumped off the vehicle and found themselves in front of a high fence.
"The wildlife sanctuary!" Pixal exclaimed. "We're on the peninsula."
"Exactly. Somewhere in there must be our thieving pelican – and its trainer."
Pixal sighed. Getting inside the fenced off estate had been no problem for the two nindroids. They expected a few birds and other wildlife, and someone with a knack for training animals, a liking for shiny jewels, and a penchant for the extraordinary and spectacular. A somewhat cocky character, probably; but they had dealt with scarier villains before.
The trouble had started when they had decided to split up so that Pixal could find out where the animals where kept while Zane would examine the seemingly deserted workshop.
The workshop had not been deserted, and Zane had walked right into a trap. From one minute to the next, Pixal had been unable to receive any signal from him. She had no idea where he was now. She didn't know whether it would even make sense to go looking for him, considering the state she was in. There were too many difficulties piling up before herself right now.
Yes, she had made a very important discovery when she had inspected the stables and aviaries. But the moment she had made that discovery, she had also realized the danger Zane was in.
She should never have let him go alone.
