Hunted
Disclaimer: OC's are mine!
XxXxXxXxXx
Cole groaned, slowly waking up as he felt a tapping on his head, lifting his head to see toddle Wu smiling at him as he held a stick. Cole's left side of his gi is torn, exposing his whole shoulder and half of his chest, his back has a few scraps, while he has a scrap on his exposed chest. Pushing himself up with his hands he turns to see the others lying on the ground, with Zane lying on top of both Jay and Kai. Cole gets up and looks around, finding they were in some kind of desert. The others were able to stumble to their feet and look around. Kai is missing the entire left sleeve of of gi, Jay has minor tears, Zane's right sleeve had a minor tear and a dirt spot by the left side of his gi.
"Traveler's Tea." Zane said as he, Kai, and Jay look around as Cole walks over to them.
"Looks like we're not in Ninjago anymore." Cole said.
Half of the Destiny's Bounty was brought with them, mostly the bridge and the entrance to the lower deck. "Then, where are we?" Jay asked, after looking at it.
A shadow falls over them, and they look up to see a dragon flying, before flying to meet other dragons. "Back where it all began." Kai breathed. "The Realm Of Oni And Dragon."
XxXxXxXxXxXx
Eleanor sat in a corner of a room. Her gloves are off as she looks at her ring, while Nya and Lloyd trained in the middle of the room, but Eleanor was not paying any attention as all her focus is on her engagement ring.
PIXAL walks up to her and sits down next to her. "That's a very pretty ring." She smiled.
"I was so happy." Eleanor whispered. "I was gonna be Mrs. Cole Brookstone." Her whispered voice started to shake. "And now I don't have that."
PIXAL placed a hand on her shoulder. "You may have lost your future husband, but you still have your sister. And I promise I will stay alive as long as I can."
A few tears slide down Eleanor's cheeks, as she turned to face PIXAL. "Remember, when we were young, and I use to dream up a big huge wedding? Now I just want Cole back and a have a nice small wedding at the Community Center with just family."
"You can still keep the dream alive." PIXAL offered gently.
Eleanor swallowed hard, before she could say anything more, the door opens to reveal Dareth walking in and he quickly shutters as he closes the door.
"It's freezing."
"So they'll never bother to look here." Misako told him. "Did you get food?"
"The mall was picked over." He sighs. "The Sons Of Garmadon punks took everything I had." He digs into his pocket. "Except." He pulls out a now stale Puffy Potsticker. "Ah-ha! Mr. Chen's Puffy Potsticker. I was gonna save it for later, but it's yours." He held the stale peace of food towards Lloyd. "Eat up, Lloyd. You lost your Elemental Power, but not your appetite."
Lloyd hesitated. "Uh, they're just as hungry as I am." He motions to Misako and the others.
"No, son." Misako declined. "You need your strength."
"That's ok Lloyd, it's all yours buddy." William said.
"And we're here to protect you." Nya reminded.
"That's right." Chantal said with a nod. "Remember? We insist."
Lloyd tried and failed to hide his disgusted face as he reluctantly took the peace of food, then eats it, making the other Ninja cringe. "Hmm. Puffy." He turns and coughs some of it out, before burping. "Normally, that part would always be satisfying." He admits. "But that hurt."
Nya sighs, she walks put up to Lloyd. "Ok. Break's over." She grabs his shoulder. "Let's go again."
XxXxXxXxXxXx
As they watch Nya and Lloyd train, Eleanor sat on a crate and chucked both her gloves to the floor, just as Dareth clumsily climbed onto the crate next to her and plopped down with a sigh.
"How goes the training for the leader of our resistance?" He asked.
"Truthfully, not so well." PIXAL said, sitting on the other side of Eleanor.
Chantal nods. "Yeah. Lloyd says he doubts he can lead us without what makes him powerful."
Dareth frowns. "But Nya, Eleanor and William still have their power. Doesn't he believe it'll come back?"
Misako shook her head. "He wasn't talking about his power." She said. "He was talking about his friends."
"Ah damn." Dareth looked down. "I miss those Ninja too. It's only been a week since Garmadon's taken over, and now everything's upside down." He straightens up. "If it means anything, I'll protect the little green guy with my life if it comes to that."
"We all would." Misako replied.
Eleanor wipes a few tears that slid down her left cheek. "Maybe we should try to find Skylor." She said. "And the Elemental Masters."
"We should." Chantal said with a nod. "It's been two days since we saw Skylor." She then gasped as her eyes grew. "Do you think she's ok!?"
William placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't think like that."
Music suddenly places from the small television, making everyone turn to it.
Lloyd turns around in surprise. "Huh? Turn it up." PIXAL turns up the volume, and they watch the Police Commissioner being arrested the by the Sons of Garmadon and is shoved into a police car.
"Oh-ho-ho! Looks like another one bites the dust!" Ultra Violet calls out as she's on the TV. "Who will be next? Ultra Hunt!"
"Turn that shit off!" Nya scuffs, and when PIXAL does so, Nya just stands there for a good long moment - staring at the now blank TV.
William jumped off the crate he was on, then walked over up to Nya. "Nya?" He asks gently as he placed his hands on her shoulders.
"I'm fine." Her voice shook, she closes her eyes as she lowers her head. "Ninja never quit." She said, then turns to face Lloyd and walk up to him. "Again." She said as she holds out her hand to Lloyd, who was slumped against the wall.
XxXxXxXxXxXx
The stranded Ninja are busy searching the Bounty's debris. "Foil." He breaths, picking it up. "I found foil! "Ah! YES, WE HAVE FOIL!" He cheers, waving it around in the air and doing a victory dance. He and the others race for the broken part of the bridge.
Zane sets up the foil on the radio. "Ok." He said as he raised it up. "Let's see if it works."
Kai was about to turn it on, but Cole stops him. "Say we're lucky enough to reach someone in Ninjago." He said with worry. "After everything that's happened, is there even a home to go back to?"
"One way to find out." Kai said. "Here goes nothing." He turns it on, but only loud static, Zane tries to move the satellite a little, but still static as it starts to fuzz.
"And that sounds like nothing." He said with a sigh.
Kai groans. "Damn it!" He yells as he throws his arms in the air while turning around. "We're never getting home!"
"So, it doesn't work." Jay said in a laid back tone of voice. "I'm telling you guys, I've been feeling so much better now that I've accepted our situation. This is our new home."
"You don't sound like yourself, Jay." Cole frowned at him.
"I'm just sayin." Jay said with a shrug. "You don't have to freak out about it." He chuckles. "It could be worse."
"Worse?" Kai questioned. "Worse!? A strange tea lady just marooned us in the Realm of Oni and Dragon. A realm, mind you, we know nothing about, with no hope of getting home, and no clue as to what else is out there!"
"Uh, Oni and Dragons, duh." Jay moves back.
"Sure Jay. We've all seen dragons." Cole said. "But aren't you the least bit concerned about coming across an Oni? I mean, we hardly know anything about them."
"Except that they like to destroy, and Master Wu is part one." Zane replied.
"I'm hungry!" A young voice called out.
The Ninja turns to see Master Wu, now a child as he sits by a campfire.
"Sorry, Master." Cole apologizes as he and the others walk up to him. "But I thought we told you." He places a hand on Wu's shoulder as Cole knelt down next to him. "We're rationing our food."
"Hmm. Perhaps there is some useful guidance you could impart on us in this difficult time?" Zane suggests.
"Master Wu?" Cole asks.
Wu is quiet for a long while. "I'm hungry!" He repeated, causing Jay to laugh.
"Ah, man!"
"You not freaking out, is freaking me out!" Kai yells. "Our parents, my sister! Skylor!" He lists them off on his fingers. "How the hell can you be so calm!?" He yells. "We gotta find our way home!"
"Kai, baby, it's much easier coping with life's problems when you let go of hope." Jay replies, before jumping on a ramp and slides down. "Whoo-hoo!" He jumps off the ramp. "Hey, turn up that music." He spins in place. "That's my butter and jam. Yeah-ha!" Zane sighs as he shakes his head.
"Yeah-ah!" Cole sarcastically joins in. "He's totally lost it."
"Nope." Jay leans on a buoy, putting his hands behind his head. "I've totally found it."
"Still hungry." Wu said.
"We all are." Kai said harshly.
"Be patient." Zane told him. "He's a growing boy. At his excelled growth rate, we'll have our old Master soon enough."
Kai sighs as he walks up to Wu. "We're low on food, Master." He said. "How about you go out and find some?"
Wu shook his head. "I don't wanna." He folds his arms.
Cole kneels down in front of young Wu. "Now, Master, don't put off till tomorrow what can be done today."
"Pfft, ha. That's rich!" Jay laughs. "Now we're giving him lessons he taught us! Haha!"
Wu turns to Cole. "Will you ... will you come with me?" He asks, making Cole smile and nods.
"Ok, you guys fix the radio." He tells his friends. "We'll go see what food we can scrounge up." He said, the others start off. "Come on, Little Master."
Wu gets up and quickly follows him. "Why do you call me that?" He asks Cole.
"Uh ... habit, I guess."
"Quit messing with my tunes, man." Jay complains to Kai and Zane, making the very angry.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXx
Back in Ninjago, in an alleyway. Eleanor is currently throwing up on top of some old magazines and newspapers. Misako is knelt down next to her and gently patting her back.
"Are you ok?" She asks gently.
"The smell of any kind of food is making my stomach turn." Eleanor groaned, her left hand on her stomach as she sits up on her knees.
Suddenly Dareth, William and Chantal runs up. "We gotta go now!" Dareth hurried up to the door and opens it.
"We have to leave!" William said in warning, making the three inside the room turn to the door in concern, and Dareth falls onto his shoulder as he breaths heavily.
"Like, pronto!"
"What is it?" Nya asked.
"Garmadon's forces are sweeping the entire block." Chantal answered, making Dareth rapidly bob his head.
"And we're not talking brooms and dustpans, but a full-on battalion." He added.
XxXxXxXxXx
Minutes later, the Sons of Garmadon finds and checks the hideout. Mr E finds the food, along with the Samurai Mech.
"Ooh, they're close." Killow said. "Spread out and make a five-block perimeter." He orders the bikers. "We'll box em in!" They all move their bikes away. Once they were out of sight, the Ninja come out of from their hiding places and tries to escape, but see bikers driving past.
"We have to go the other way." Nya said softly as the Ninja stood huddled.
Eleanor turns to look behind them, only to see more bikers. "They're coming this way too."
"We're blocked in." Misako said.
Lloyd soon looks up at the rooftops. "Do you think we can all make it to the top?" He asked.
"Uh. Gonna be honest with you." Dareth looks at him. "You might have to carry me."
A foghorn suddenly blares. "No time!" Nya exclaims, and they quickly hide.
When the bikers come into the alleyway, they move slowly before Killow stops and holds an arm out. "Hold." He carefully looks around, before lowering his arm. "Let's keep moving."
The bikers soon leave, and the Ninja come out of their hiding places.
"That was close." Misako said as she helps Eleanor out of her hiding place.
Dareth pants as he comes out from under bags of trash. "If I were a lemon, I'd be lemonade."
"Let's get out of here." William said.
They start to leave, as Lloyd looks around their surrounding, before noticing something. "The Bounty." He picks up a picture. "This is where it was destroyed." He falls to his knees.
Nya walks over to him. "We have to move on." Her voice shook. "We're all that's left. Kai and the others would want us to fight and save our city."
Lloyd turns the picture over, and sees something that's stuck to the frame.
"Is that." PIXAL trails off for a moment. "It appears to be a tea leaf."
William takes the leaf and sniffs it. "Traveler's Tea."
Lloyd stands up and quickly spots something. "I only see one thruster!" He runs over to it and pulls off debris. "Do you see the other?"
Nya looks around. "No."
Chantal gasps. "And there's only one sail!"
"I see the anchor, but no rudder." William said.
"And the helm is missing!" Eleanor added. "This is only half the Destiny's Bounty!" She cried.
"That means the other half is somewhere else!" Nya cried.
"They could still be ... alive!" Lloyd smiles, and in their excitement they cheer, but the moment is ruined when the foghorn blares, and the Sons of Garmadon are quick to surround them.
"Everyone get outta here." Dareth said. "I'll hold them off!"
"Dareth, there's too many!" Nya tells him.
Dareth started to punch the air in front of him as he starts to bounce around like a boxer in a ring. "I told you the Brown Ninja would give his life to protect you. I may be slow and out of shape, but I keep my word." Mr. E charges at him, making him scream and duck, but something punches Mr. E sending him flying an burying him in debris.
They turn to look, finding Karlof. "Back in Metalonia, it is not polite to scare weak man."
"Karlof?" Nya smiles as something appears behind her.
"Hello, gorgeous." Shade flirted.
Suddenly a blur passes everyone. "Hi guys." The blur goes through the bikers wih ease. "Looks like you could use our help." It was Griffin.
"The Elemental Masters!" Lloyd breathed.
A truck then backs up close, and the driver peeks out the window. Skylor. "Get in!" She calls.
"Skylor." Nya smiled.
"How did you know?" Lloyd asked.
"Let's just say we've had our ear to the ground." Skylor answered.
As they all jump for the back of the truck, Griffin and Shade pull Dareth in by the back of his gi, then the two help Misako. "PIXAL, we need the mech." Lloyd told her, PIXAL immedetaly head for the hideout.
Everyone else jumps in and the truck quickly leaves.
"You thought we were alone in this." Nya tells Lloyd, while looking at him. "You forgot. We have friends."