I'm baaaack!
Yeah, so it's been a couple of weeks again. I've been really stuck on the same chapter, even though I know exactly how I want it to go. Writing really is like that sometimes, isn't it?
Anyway, we last left Mira stuck with a bunch of snakes. Hopeless situation, right? Well, we'll see...
Disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago
Zane turned away from Mira's now-empty house, shaking his head. After getting the location from Cole, they'd all raced over to try and get Mira before the snakes could, but they were too late. Cole and Lloyd were still stationed on top of the waterfall just in case they took Mira to get the whip first, and the rest of them were to watch out for Garmadon's ship.
Kai let out a yell of rage and punched the side of Mira's house. The others turned to stare at him.
"What was that for, Kai?" Alex was the first to go over to him. She appeared to be more angry than sympathetic as she grabbed it to look at it. She sighed, "You've broken the skin."
He tugged his hand away, frustrated. "I'm fine, but that girl isn't. They've taken her, and we have to find her before they corrupt her." He stomped away from the house, leaving a bewildered Alex behind him.
Chuckling awkwardly beside Nya, Jay said, "I think it'd be pretty hard to willingly side with the Serpentine."
Nya shushed him, elbowing him gently. "Maybe so, but if they get her to Garmadon, that's a whole different story." She played with a ring on her finger, twisting it around. "He can be persuasive, and to the public eye, he's sort of a saviour."
Off to the side, Kai was pacing and quietly muttering to himself. Zane, Alex, Jay, and Nya were all clustered together in front of Mira's house. Sensei Wu was sitting on her front stoop, sipping a cup of tea.
"Sensei, what are we supposed to do?" Alex asked, looking at the old man. "I mean, we can't just let them take her."
Unnoticed by the others, Zane had frozen in place, using his falcon vision to try and locate Mira. The falcon flew over the whole town, but to Zane's disappointment, he couldn't spot the Serpentine at all. He kept searching, hoping to find something.
Nya gasped and grabbed Jay's hand, dragging him back into Mira's house, slipping past Sensei. Alex looked after them as they left her with Zane. She took a look at the ice ninja beside her, whose crystal eyes were staring blankly into the distance, and went over to Kai, who was still muttering to himself.
"Kai?" Alex asked gently. "Are you alright?"
He let out a loud sigh, stopping in place and crossing his arms. "No, I'm not fine. We found her, and Garmadon got her anyway. That guy is the worst," he muttered angrily.
Alex heard the underlying frustration as he talked. "Do you… have some kind of vendetta against him?" She'd only seen the guy once, and sure he was creepy, but she didn't know much about him.
Kai glared at her, but she could tell the glare wasn't really meant for her. "We have a bit of a history, I guess."
She chuckled softly. "Is it just because he stole your golden weapon?"
"If only," he said. "He also-"
"I know why we can't find Garmadon," Nya called from the front door of Mira's house. "They must've had Constrictai with them, there are holes out back where they escaped. We can't find them because they're underground."
Zane shook his head, getting out of falcon vision. "If they are underground, then where are they going?"
Sensei stood up and put away his tea. "That's what I feared." He shook his head slowly. "Fortunately, there's magic preventing the Constrictai from digging into the cave behind the waterfall. The only way in is through the water, so we'll get the chance to get Mira back."
"There's no way Garmadon would leave without the silver weapon," Kai said hotly, returning with Alex to the group. She raised an eyebrow at him, but he just shook his head.
"Kai's right," Zane confirmed. "Our best course of action would be to watch the waterfall, and as soon as Mira is sent inside to get her weapon, we can take on the snakes."
All murmuring in agreement, Kai whipped out his phone and called Cole. "Hey, we're headed to the waterfall. Is there any place to hide out over there without being seen? … No, Cole, on the ground… Okay, thanks. We'll be there in a few." He hung up the phone and turned back to everyone with a grin.
"Good news, there's a lot of bushes and trees right by the waterfall, so a few of us can hide out there," Kai recounted. "There's also an abandoned house, where the rest of us can fit."
Sensei nodded. "Wonderful. Whoever takes the waterfall can try to talk to Mira before she goes to get her weapon. She'll have to swim to get to the waterfall itself, and the snakes won't be able to follow her. Then we will be able to attack the snakes as soon as she's gone through."
"I think Alex and I should be by the waterfall," Nya said, stepping forward. She turned to look at Alex, who nodded back at her. "Hopefully she'll find us less threatening than the rest of you."
Before Sensei could respond, Zane cut in. "I want to be there as well."
With a smirk hidden by his beard, Sensei nodded. "As the ninja of ice, you have a close relationship with water. It would be wise for you to try and speak to her."
Sharing a glance, Nya and Alex agreed with Sensei's plan. "I'm sure we'll be able to get her back." Nya was confident as she spoke, and Sensei knew that she'd be perfect as the leader of the kunoichi. Just like Cole, she seemed to have a way with the team.
"Very well," Sensei said. "We should head over. Remember, we'll need to be prepared for anything."
…
Mira cowered in the corner as the snakes that had taken her tried to figure out what they were going to do with her. The one with a tail had dragged her outside, where several dark snakes had then dragged her underground. They were now in an underground cave, and she could hardly see. There was only a little light from the tunnels they'd dug. The snakes weren't bothered. She assumed that they could see in the dark.
She squinted, desperately trying to see anything besides vague shapes slithering around, but she saw nothing. Mira hugged her knees to her chest in an attempt to make herself smaller. She could tell the snakes were talking about her, but the hissing didn't make any sense in her distressed state.
Her eyes fluttered shut as she began to twirl her hair between her fingers. She breathed in and out slowly in an attempt to calm down. Mira felt a tear slip down her cheek, and she sniffled softly, trying to stay in control of her emotions.
The hissing stopped, and Mira tensed as she heard scales against the dirt, coming closer to her. A soft whimper escaped her mouth, and she pressed herself against the wall as tightly as she could.
"What'sss wrong?" The voice talking to her was raspy. It made her cringe and duck her head as she felt the snake lean in. He didn't wait for a response before saying, "I need you to do sssomething."
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Mira gasped as she felt the snake's hand move her hair away from her face. "What - what do you want?" Her voice shook as she spoke, undermining her brief moment of bravery.
"You're going to run a little… errand for usssss." The snake's voice was menacing, hissing every time he spoke an s.
Mira shivered as if she could feel his tongue on her skin. His face was still too close for comfort, making her uncomfortable. She didn't respond this time, choosing to keep quiet instead.
The snake straightened up as he began talking again. "I'm ssssure you're aware of that sssilly waterfall outssssside of this pathetic little town, correct?" His tone was even, as if he wasn't even aware of the fact that he was insulting the place where Mira had spent her whole life.
Mira frowned. Why was everyone so obsessed with her and that waterfall today? She'd gone and visited it once, hearing that there was a legendary treasure hidden behind it, but when she looked inside, there was just a pool of water, no treasure to be seen.
When he didn't get a response, the snake grabbed Mira's arm and hauled her up roughly. "Did you not hear me?" he hissed in her face, taking delight in the terrified squeak that came out of her mouth. "You know the waterfall, yesss?"
"Y-yes," Mira stammered. "With the treasure?"
A cruel smile lifted the corners of the snake's mouth. "You're going to go in and get whatever issss in there, undersssstand?" The underlying message was that if she didn't understand, she'd pay.
"I under - I understand," Mira whispered, hating how weak and frail she sounded. If she had the courage to stand up for herself she would, but for now she just wanted to get away from these snakes. If getting into that cave behind the waterfall got her away from them, then she'd do it.
Two more fuzzy shapes burst into the cave, coming from one of the walls this time. Mira squinted to try and see them, but her sight was still very limited.
"Skalidor, we can't get behind the waterfall. We're blocked by sssomething, and it won't let usss in," one of the new snakes said.
The one holding Mira, who she assumed was Skalidor, let her go. He whirled on the other snakes and began angrily hissing at them. "What do you mean, you can't get in? The ninjasss might be onto ussss by now, we can't rissssk going out and getting caught." He turned and hissed to himself. "If Skales wasss here, we wouldn't have thisss problem."
Mira crept back to the wall, leaning against it as the snakes began yelling over each other. Her hands went to cover her ears in an attempt to block out the hissing.
"Target the girlssss," Skalidor called out over the clamor of voices. "They have the leasssst amount of training, and the ninjasss will do anything to protect them. Drag them underground if you can."
Mira felt her heart skip a beat as he talked about the ninja and whatever girls they were with. Was that who talked to her earlier? She hadn't given them a chance to explain themselves further, but she'd rather be stuck with human strangers than snakes. If she'd just agreed to talk, maybe she wouldn't be here, stuck underground with a bunch of crazy snakes obsessed with a legend.
She yelped as Skalidor grabbed her arm again, thrusting her towards one of the other snakes. She knew in an instant that they were going to be leaving for the waterfall and she'd have to suffer their tunneling again. Hopefully those ninjas would be able to help her escape.
…
When the snakes appeared outside the waterfall, Zane was ready. A group of about twenty Constrictai came out of the ground. In the middle of the group was one clutching Mira. Zane froze as he saw Skalidor pull himself out of the ground. This was a big deal if a leader of the Serpentine had shown up.
Zane made eye contact with Alex and Nya on the other side of the waterfall, nodding at them. Looking up, he could see Lloyd's blond head as he tried to spy on the snakes, still bitter about being tricked all that time ago. Cole was better hidden, as Zane couldn't see his dark head of hair.
"Get to the waterfall," Skalidor ordered Mira. He grabbed her arm and tugged her to the edge of the river the waterfall flowed into.
Mira was still dressed in a tank top and shorts, and she was grateful for the heat of the summer. Without it, she'd be freezing in that water. There was no way to get to the waterfall without getting in, so she took a deep breath to calm herself, before slipping in. The water was comforting, and she swam with long, confident strokes to the base of the waterfall.
"Mira!" Zane couldn't help himself anymore. "You have to get the weapon and keep it away from the snakes!"
Skalidor and the rest of the Serpentine whipped toward Zane, hissing angrily at his intervention. Alex and Nya jumped out of the bushes on the other side of the river, catching their attention. In the abandoned house, Kai growled as he saw how the snakes leered at the girls. He felt protective, more so than normal, and his hands sparked as his anger flared.
"Ninja-GO!" Zane yelled, and Alex and Nya echoed the battle cry as they spun into their suits, weapons now in hand. Skalidor's eyes greedily lingered on the two silver weapons that the girls held threateningly.
"Mira, you have to get that weapon!" Alex called to her, never taking her eyes off of the snakes. Her eyes narrowed as half of the snakes began to move towards her and Nya.
"I know it doesn't make sense yet," Nya yelled, "but you have to trust us. You're the only one that can do this, and whatever you find in there, it won't hurt you." She waved one of her fans in front of her, sending a few Serpentine that had gotten too close flying through the air.
Mira watched in awe as gusts of wind flew from the fans that the dark-haired girl was holding. It looked like she was creating the wind. Next to her, the girl in grey and red closed her eyes in concentration. Mira gasped as shadows began to creep out of her hands and katana, covering some of the snakes. They all hissed angrily as things began to take a chaotic turn.
Zane knelt by the side of the river, looking down on Mira, who was lightly treading water. "You can do this, Mira. I promise we will explain everything as soon as you're back safe." He smiled gently at her before standing up and grabbing his shurikens.
Three more figures joined the fight from an old house facing the waterfall. One in red, one in blue, and an old man in white. The one in red instantly gravitated towards the one in grey, and the blue one went towards the girl in yellow. The shadows cleared around the snakes. They'd done their part to confuse long enough for the group to get together.
Mira yelped as a roar came from above. A large dragon with four heads flew over her. A green tornado and a brown, earthy tornado came down to the ground, revealing a kid in green and a very tall man in black. She blinked. She had not expected the group to be this big.
The one in white - Zane - turned back to see her still in the river. "Go, Mira!" he yelled before throwing one of his shurikens at a snake.
Mira turned away before she could see the blade pierce the snake's skin, wincing at the thought. She dove under the water, letting it wash over her as the chaos turned into peace. It covered her, and she easily went under the pounding element that no one else could pass. She came up for air before she needed it, seeing the cave she'd seen the inside of only once before, many years ago.
It was surprisingly small, with a ceiling that Mira might have been able to touch if she was taller. She got out of the water onto the unnaturally smooth ground. This place wasn't made by a god, but it looked like it wasn't natural either.
She turned back to the water cascading down, covering the mouth of the cave. She reached a hand out, sensing its great power. She watched it, wondering why she was able to make it through when no one else could. Sighing, she turned back towards the cave. None of this made sense, and she only had more questions than answers.
Though the cave was small, Mira could see rippling water in the back of it. She took a few steps forward to see a shallow pool in the back of the cave. Upon further inspection, she saw that the water went far down, and it appeared to be curved like a tunnel.
Biting her lip worriedly, Mira looked back to the wall of water she'd come from. Dimly, she could hear fighting on the other side of the waterfall. She turned back to the water, choosing that over the snakes.
She lowered herself into the pool, sitting on the side for a moment to relax and get ready to hold her breath. She breathed in and out slowly for several moments before taking a big breath and holding it as she dove down. Her legs kicked and propelled her down through the tunnel. She went several feet straight down before turning to the left.
The tunnel was jagged, not smooth like the cave she had started out in. It was also cramped, giving her just enough room to kick her legs, but not much room to move her arms. She grabbed rocks to help keep her moving forward methodically.
The light couldn't reach this far down, and the rocky surroundings cast shadows everywhere. Mira had to squint to see, and she was grateful that her eyes weren't too bothered by the water. Still, the lack of light unnerved her, and she began pulling herself forward faster. She couldn't see very far ahead of her, and there was still no end in sight. What if there was no end? What if she got stuck down here?
Panic shot through her as she noticed her oxygen starting to run low. She could hold her breath for a long time, but she had her limits. Her feet were helping her cut through the water, but her movements were becoming more frantic.
The tunnel took a sudden turn to the right, and Mira felt that she was close to the end. Her lungs began to burn as she saw light in the water a few feet ahead. She kicked harder, using her hands to pull her to the surface.
Gasping for air, she dragged her tired body out of the water. She was surprised that she was so out of breath. With her experience, she hadn't expected to run out of air like that. The tunnel had gone on for far longer than she'd thought. What on earth did she get into?
"Oh, thank you…" she murmured to herself. If the tunnel hadn't ended when it did, she would've been stuck.
She lay on the floor for several minutes to calm herself down. Her thoughts swirled like the water she was just in. She'd never been betrayed by water before, but this had come dangerously close. She reveled in the feeling of air flowing in and out of her lungs.
Finally looking up, Mira's eyes widened as she saw the room she was now in. It was modeled like the first one, a small cave, but it wasn't empty. There were several wall hangings around the room, each depicting a different picture from the legend of how the waterfall was created. She slowly got to her feet as she noticed the rippling of water on the walls, like a light was reflecting off of water from somewhere.
Mira turned her eyes toward the center of the room, where a pedestal sat. It was surrounded by a bubble of water, and the light was coming from whatever was inside it.
"The treasure…" she muttered absently.
As if in a trance, Mira stepped toward the pedestal. Her feet carried her to it, her hand reaching toward the bubble. She hesitated before touching it, afraid of popping it. The water kept its shape as she reached inside and grabbed the treasure - a whip with a purple gem on the handle.
The gem glowed as she pulled it out of the water, the bubble popping as soon as the whip was out in the open. Mira stepped back as the water got all over the floor.
She flicked the whip experimentally, watching how the water on the floor moved a bit with it. She'd seen a couple movies where they used whips like this, but she'd never used one.
Mira heard something move behind her, and turned around. She shrieked and fell to the floor, looking up at the dragon that had appeared out of nowhere. Turning her head away, Mira caught sight of one of the tapestries that had fallen to the floor. It had been covering a hole in the wall, where the dragon had likely come from.
"Please…" she whispered, looking back at the dragon.
She couldn't help but notice the swirls of purple and blue and green on the dragon, like the ocean. Her eyes were a deep blue-green, and Mira found herself staring into them. She felt a sudden connection to the dragon. Hopefully it wasn't about to eat her.
It reached its nose down to her forehead, and when its nose brushed against her, a flash of light made her close her eyes. When she opened them again, she wasn't in the cave anymore.
Instead, she was sitting on a tiny island surrounded by water. The dragon wasn't next to her anymore, and was instead on the other side of the water, staring at her with those piercing blue-green eyes.
Mira slowly stood up, watching as the water lapped at her feet gently. The whip was still tightly clutched in her hand, and she flicked it gently.
The water in front of her shifted slightly. She looked up at the dragon, who just kept staring at her.
Sighing, she gripped the whip tighter and concentrated on moving the water. Her eyes were closed as she imagined creating a path through the water for her to walk on. She moved the whip in a sweeping arc, feeling the graceful power of the water through the way the whip moved.
When she opened her eyes, the water had parted for her. She began to walk through the path that she had created, water closing it behind her. Mira made her way to the dragon, stopping right in front of it on solid ground.
Mira felt oddly confident as she looked up. Her back was straight, chin lifted as she looked up at it. A slow grin lifted the corners of her lips.
The dragon seemed to smile back, and Mira looked around the dragon. She trailed a hand along its side, feeling the cool, slick scales under her touch.
"Beautiful…" she muttered breathlessly.
There were ridges along its neck and tail, but they were white, reminding her of the foam of a cresting wave. She touched one gently, marveling at the dragon.
"You need a name," she said as she looked over the dragon. She thought back to when she was inside the original cave, watching the waterfall and its great power. Somehow she knew that this dragon had the power of that waterfall.
"Cascade," she said with certainty. It felt right as it rolled off her tongue. This dragon wasn't suited for a silly, feminine name like Droplet or Aqua. It deserved a name as powerful as she was.
The dragon - Cascade - lifted its head a little, as if proud to have a new name. Her eyes glinted, and she lowered her body to Mira's level. She moved her wings as an offering for Mira to climb on.
And Mira did, sitting on top of the gorgeous beast that she had been afraid of only moments ago. She thought back to her sketchbook at home, and couldn't wait to go home and draw the creature she was sitting on now.
A flash of light made her close her eyes once more, and when she opened them she was sitting on the dragon's back on top of the waterfall. She looked down to see everyone still fighting, making her wonder how long she'd been in there.
The dragon roared, making everyone still standing look up. Mira leaned forward on the dragon, holding on to its scales.
Zane threw his final shuriken directly at Skalidor, pinning his tail to the ground. The snake hissed angrily as the shuriken cut through his scales. He grinned at the snake. "Leave, Skalidor. You will not take the kunoichi today."
Several snakes were lying on the ground, either knocked unconscious or bleeding heavily. Alex and Jay were both nursing light injuries, but the Serpentine had taken the most damage. Skalidor shot the ninja a deathly glare before turning to his snakes.
Before he could have the chance to yell, a wave of water rose from the river. Zane's eyes widened as he turned to see Mira on top of a dragon at the top of the waterfall, swinging her whip with the water she now controlled. An odd feeling fluttered through him as he watched her. Her shyness was temporarily gone, and now she had the confidence of the kunoichi she would soon be joining.
Her dragon flapped its wings and landed beside the water on the ground. Mira slipped off, holding her whip out in front of her.
Nya and Alex walked over to her, flanking either side of the newest kunoichi. Nya held a fan in each hand, sending gales of wind to make the water tower higher over the rest of them, protecting only the three of them. Alex held out her katana, and her grin was deadly as darkness began to seep out of her weapon. Between the three of them, they would make an unstoppable team, and Zane knew that the next kunoichi would only strengthen them further.
"Skalidor," Nya called out, making direct eye contact with the Serpentine. "I suggest you go now, while you still have a chance."
The snake sneered at the girls, enraged that they were able to use their powers like this already. Their plan had counted on the newest kunoichi being too weak to control the water, even with her weapon.
"Retreat!" he yelled, bending down to snatch the shuriken out of his tail. The snakes that couldn't support themselves were helped by others, and they all tunneled back underground.
Releasing a breath, Mira sank to her knees as she let go of the water. The power had taken its toll on her, since she'd never used it like that before. Alex knelt down beside her as Nya used the winds to make sure the water went back into the river and not all over them.
The ninja all ran up to her excitedly, and Mira looked up at everyone that approached her. The colored outfits swirled in her mind, the colors melding together as a headache overcame her.
The old man stepped forward and offered her a kind smile. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions, Mira," he said gently. "I promise we'll be able to explain everything to you. Will your parents be home soon? We'll need to explain things to them as well."
"Um…" Mira held up the whip. "What exactly will you be explaining?"
"You, Mira Kalua, are the kunoichi of water."
Poor Mira. No explanations yet! But she and the girls did get a little time to shine by themselves. The team really is coming together, if I do say so myself.
Next chapter will be focusing on Mira as she decides whether or not she's going to join the team. As you may have noticed, fighting isn't exactly what Mira's best at. She just really loves the water! All of those water scenes were really fun to write, considering I don't actually like water all that much.
Please read and review!