Chapter 1

"Lloyd. Wake up sleepyhead."

Lloyd felt something shake his shoulder, attempting to wake him up. However, this only made him sleepier and more comfortable in the pile of ashes and soot he was resting on.

Lloyd heard another voice.

"That didn't work, Kai. Here, let me try."

Just before Lloyd could open his eyes to see who it was and what they were doing, he felt cold, muddy water splash all over him.

Lloyd immediately stood up as soon as the liquid touched his skin. When he rubbed the muck and soot away from his emerald green eyes, he managed to see who threw the water on him.

In front of him stood two young men who both looked no older than seventeen years old. The same age as Lloyd.

The one on the left had spiky chestnut colored hair and he had a scar near his left eye. He was wearing a ruby red ninja uniform with a dark brown belt across his waist and a grey deepstone shoulder pad across his right shoulder.

The other young man had curly, coffee colored hair, and freckles that dotted across his cheeks. He, too, was wearing a ninja uniform. Except his was sky blue, and he had two black deepstone shoulder pads that went across both of his shoulders. He was also holding a large wooden bucket that was unmistakably used to pour the water on Lloyd.

Upon seeing both of their faces, Lloyd immediately knew who they where.

"Kai! Jay!" Lloyd spat. "That was so not cool!"

"Hey," Kai said helping him up. "Don't look at me. Jay's the one who did it."

"I just don't get it!" Jay said. "You are Lloyd. Prince of Ninjago. Heir to the throne. Leader of the famous Ninja! Ya know. Our team. You should be sleeping on the softest, silkiest, most comfortable bed in the land and have breakfast delivered to you IN BED! And yet, you choose to sleep out here with your dragon?"

"Well, technically, I didn't choose to sleep here," Lloyd said brushing himself off. "I had an exhausting day yesterday. I needed to make Emerald's ash bed before I went to sleep. I guess I was just so tired that while I was making the bed, I laid down for a second and passed out."

"Still though."

Emerald was Lloyd's dragon. He had a wingspan of ten horses across, glowing ocean-colored eyes, and was, as his name stated, emerald green.

"Right then," Lloyd said. "I'm gonna go wash up. We begin training in an hour."

"Okay then," Kai and Jay said together.

As Lloyd began to walk back to the palace, he thought of when the Ninja first started.

You see, when Lloyd was just a child, he used to run off to the village and not come back for hours on end. One time when he ran off to the town, he had the fortune of meeting five other children who soon became his closest friends.

Kai, the red ninja, was hot headed and slightly egotistic. When the Ninja first gained their fame, he was the one who let it get to his head the most. Kai often jumped into situations without thinking.

But he still cared very much, and he would stop at nothing to protect his friends and family.

Nya, the grey ninja, was basically everything you could want in a girl. Beautiful, highly intelligent, strong, capable, and selfless. Being the only girl on the team, she refused to be in a boys club. And she was determined and ready on each and every mission. Heck, sometimes she was the one saving the boys! She was also very skilled in the making of maps, weapons, and dragon riding equipment. She also wasn't too bad at potion brewing.

Jay, the blue ninja, was the lighthearted, funny-man of the group. Although, often his jokes were only funny to him. He was also slightly panicky, and he freaked out easily. He, too, had a gift of mapmaking, and making weapons and dragon equipment. He also had a romance with Nya. But that's a story for another day.

Zane, the white ninja, was the intelligent one. He was very skilled in the knowledge of many mythical creatures. Especially birds. Zane was the most serious of the group. It wouldn't matter if you managed to tell the funniest joke to him. He kept a perfect poker face. This didn't make him bad or a party-pooper, though. When he told you a joke, it would be, I guarantee you, the funniest joke you'd hear in your entire lifetime. He was also the best cook of the group, and he made the most delicious meals in all of Ninjago.

Cole, the black ninja, was the selfless and strong member of the team. He was calm and rarely got mad or angry. He also had a fondness for cake. Usually, when he disagreed with something, cake was often his way to seal the deal. And as I've stated before, Cole was very strong. He had the strength to lift up entire boulders!

Then there was Lloyd, the green ninja. He was the undisputed leader of the group. Lloyd was innocent, caring, quiet, and wise. All the traits you'd expect from a leader. He was also prince of Ninjago. And, as Jay said earlier, future king.

Now, you may be wondering, how did the ninja start? What's their origin story? Well, believe it or not, it originally started as a child's play game. Each day, the six young friends went into town, and pretended to fight monsters and ride dragons. One day, it wasn't just pretend. They managed to save an entire village from being taken over by an evil skeleton army.

It was then, when they were all just ten years old, they realized they needed to take this from being a game to a serious responsibility. They trained each and every day. And, since then, they have defended Ninjago from the forces of evil.

From sky pirates to vermillion warriors, to an army of made of sharks, to a giant snake, there was no shortage of powerful villains to fight.

But as they captured and defeated the nefarious villains, the big, mythical, god-like bad guys became more scarce. The ninjas' primary job became to protect Ninjago from minor villains, and capture the occasional outlaw or dragon thieving group.

Most of the dragon thieving groups were small and easy to catch. But there was one dragon thieving group that the Ninja desperately wanted to stop in its tracks: The S.O.G.

The S.O.G. was undoubtedly the deadliest and most active criminal gang in Ninjago.

The S.O.G. was never seen, never once failed a heist, never left a clue behind, and its members were not afraid to hurt others to get what they wanted.

Nobody knew who their leader was. And that was because nobody knew who any of the actual members where.

Not only was the S.O.G. a dragon thieving group, there were also rumors that they were something much bigger. Something wilder. Something even more wicked and evil than anyone could imagine.

The Ninja had never wanted to catch a dragon thieving group more than the S.O.G. They trained night and day, preparing to fight the S.O.G.

As Lloyd walked back to the castle, he remembered how far the Ninja had come since their humble beginnings. He knew one day they would fight the S.O.G. and that when that day came, they would be ready for it. He swore his life on it.

Meanwhile, in an unknown, hidden location in Ninjago, a group of three criminal friends played cards with each other.

One of them had grey skin and scars all over her body. Her thick raven hair hung in a long, tight ponytail.

She told her friends the story about the time when she killed someone by pushing them off a cliff.

"And just before I pushed him off, I said to him, Have fun! See you at the bottom!"

She and her friends cackled hysterically. To them, this horrifying tale was rather amusing.

Just before the woman could continue her story, a voice from behind interrupted her conversation.

"Ultra Violet! What are you doing?"

The voice came from Harumi, head of the S.O.G. She was the leader, the commander, the captain of the gang.

Harumi was only a couple months younger than Lloyd, the prince. She had autumn red lips, and pale, snow white hair that she often let down but occasionally put up in a ponytail.

She was wearing a tattered, shaggy, forest green dress that went up to her thighs, mud colored boots, an oak colored belt with a sword frog, and an olive green cloak that went around her neck.

"This isn't the time for games!" Harumi shouted. Her words echoed off the cold, stone walls. "You should be looking for the Oni masks!"

For a moment, the three members of the S.O.G. stood silent. Then, they burst into laughter.

"Oh Harumi!" Ultra Violet said through her cackles. "We've been searching for those Oni masks for years. We haven't found a single clue as to where they're located, or if they're even real or not. They're probably just a myth. Settle for that."

Harumi was furious. How could Ultra Violet insult the Oni masks, a treasure that Harumi had dedicated most of her life to finding?

Out of rage, Harumi knocked over the table and stomped her foot firmly on the ground.

"Is this some kind of joke to you?!" she spat. "When I was only twelve-" Harumi then whispered.

"Oh boy," one of the three gang members huffed.

"Here we go again," the other one groaned.

"Let me finish!" Harumi snapped. "When I was only twelve, my village was attacked by the great devourer. And do you know what the Ninja did? Nothing!" she continued. "Nobody helped me until the great Emperor Garmadon saved what was left. But he was too late to save my parents. Losing my family destroyed me."

A tear rolled down Harumi's cheek. But she quickly wiped it off before her fellow gang members noticed.

She continued with her speech.

"That is why you, as members of the Sons Of Garmadon, must find the Oni masks to possess him, so that we can destroy everything the Ninja have ever loved! Just one more expedition! One more quest! And I promise you that you will find at least one clue as to where the Oni masks are hidden!"

"Each team we send never comes back," Ultra Violet argued. "Each expedition only weakens our gang. What's the point in sending out another team if it will only weaken us more? What will make this quest different?"

"Okay then," Harumi said. "If all else fails on this mission… I promise that we will never go on another one of these Oni mask quests ever again," she said while tossing her ponytail from her shoulder to her back.

The room then felt cold. And ghostly quiet. Nobody said anything for what felt like five minutes, but was probably only ten seconds.

Then, Ultra Violet spoke up, her voice startling everyone. "You promise, after this is all over, if we fail this, if this mission goes awry, that we will never search for those stupid Oni masks ever again?"

Harumi stared into her friend's electric purple eyes. She was slightly ticked off that Ultra Violet had called the Oni masks "stupid." But she did not comment on this.

"I would never lie to you, Ultra Violet," Harumi merely said.

Ultra Violet stared at her for a bit, and then sighed. "I'll tell the troops to pack their bags."

Harumi grinned. "Thank you."

Ultra Violet and her two friends made their way to the exit. Their footsteps echoed through the dark room. Their shadowy figures were illuminated by a single lamp.

Harumi was about to follow them. But just before she did, she whispered to herself.

"The Sons Of Garmadon are coming for you, Ninja. We will attack you when you least expect it. And we will destroy everything you've ever loved!"

She smiled wickedly, and then exited the room.

Whew! Chapter 1 has been completed! Yay! 1000 thank you's to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed and favorited this story so far! :)

CHEESEPUFF fg: Thank you! I'm glad you're liking it so far!

The Titan's Shadow: One of your new favorite AU's? Really? Awww! Thank you so much! And thank you for following! You have no idea how much it means to me!

NinjagoGeek4ever: Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this new chapter!

AuroraRain18: Reading your review made my entire week! Thank you so much for your beautiful review! I've only been practicing my writing since December of 2017! So to have someone tell me that the first chapter of my first story is a masterpiece, well… it means the world to me! :) And yeah. I kinda did tell you I would release a LloydXClaire story. But fear not! I have an idea for one that I will hopefully have up after this story is complete.

mpsullivan: I'm glad you like it! Thank you for the support!

EnergyBlastNinjaWriter: Thanks so much for your awesome review and for being so supportive! You're an amazing storyteller, so it means a lot to me!

Well, that's all I got for now. See you next chapter everybody! -legocameragirl