Chapter 6

Lloyd continued to sleep soundly for most of the day. He rested peacefully on the bench at the training grounds, until he felt a sudden tap on his shoulder. Sleepily, he opened his eyes to find an elderly man with white robes, a long, silver beard, and a conical, straw hat. Lloyd knew who this man was.

"Uncle Wu?" Lloyd said sluggishly. He sat up tiredly, feeling a chilly breeze pass by. "What time is it?" he asked while rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Around eight o'clock," Wu replied simply. "But that doesn't matter right now."

Wu was Lloyd's uncle. Lloyd had known him his entire life, ever since he was a baby. Wu was, in fact, his and the teams' teacher as they were training to be Ninja. Lloyd remembered that one of their first training exercises was to complete the training course before Wu finished his tea.

"What's going on?" Lloyd asked, finally wide awake. He could see that it was night, but it wasn't pitch black like the forest. The training grounds were illuminated by lanterns that hung in various places.

"Lloyd, we need to begin training," Wu replied.

"What do you mean?" Lloyd questioned, still quite confused.

"I saw you yesterday," Wu answered. "From the tower. Do you remember? The spinning and the endless green?"

Lloyd recalled yesterday, when he and his friends trained. He remembered the feeling of being in a small twister, and the swirling, shining green. He could also recall briefly seeing someone in the tower closest to the training grounds when the spinning had stopped.

"I thought I saw someone in the tower, after the spinning stopped…that was you?" Lloyd asked, curious and slightly shocked.

"That was me," Wu nodded, with a smile on his face. "And you can do that again." He then continued in a serious voice. "When I saw you do it, I knew it was time for you to learn the art of the elements, and of spinjitzu."

"Spinjitzu?" Lloyd asked nervously.

"Lloyd, you can control the elements of earth, water, fire, ice, lightning, as well as your own power," Wu said excitedly. "But you will never be able to control them if you don't learn. So we must begin at once! And don't worry, your friends will join you on this journey."

The sound of crickets echoed outside the training grounds while Lloyd took a moment to process this information. Lloyd thought back to unexplainable moments in his life when he or his friends did something seemingly impossible, like when Zane managed to freeze an entire lake, or when Cole banged his head against a fifty foot tall rock once, and smashed it into two pieces. "Okay," Lloyd said finally, shaking slightly. "Where do we begin?"

Wu nodded and gave a small smile in return.

Meanwhile…

As Harumi slept, obscure yet vivid memories flashed through her head.

"Mom! Dad! Don't leave me!"

"We'll see you when we get down! I promise."

Harumi awoke with a start. She'd had a nightmare about the day her parents died. Still in bed, she wiped the sweat off her face, and allowed some of her tears to flow. As they sprinkled over her face, she heard a voice right next to her.

"Miss Quiet One?"

Harumi looked over, and saw a female S.o.G. member that had a neon pink streak through her raven hair. As for the name The Quiet One, it was a name Harumi adopted. Where did the name come from, you ask? Well, when Harumi was in the hospital after the attack that killed her parents, she refused to answer the nurses' questions. She wouldn't turn away, or say a single word to the nurses. She merely remained silent and sad. The nurses would say, "Well, aren't you the quiet one?"

"What is it?" Harumi asked. She scooted off the cot and onto her feet.

"This letter came for you," the female S.o.G. member said nervously. Her words were muted by the dingy walls, the low ceiling, and all of the cots scattered around the room. She handed Harumi the folded parchment carefully.

Once Harumi accepted the letter, she waited until the female member shuffled out of the room before reading it aloud.

Dear Harumi, I have some wickedly exquisite news! We might be closer to finding the Oni masks than ever before! I and many other Sons of Garmadon managed to locate clues, maps, and many artifacts that will help us recover the masks! Once we find them we will be able to conquer Ninjago and take over the throne and blah blah blah and you know the rest. ~Ultra Violet.

Once Harumi finished reading, she had cheerful look on her face, and happiness swelled inside her heart. She was excited that she could finally get the revenge she always wanted! She could take Ninjago into her own hand, and do whatever she wanted with it. Crush it, mould it, sculpt it. Harumi thought about all the possibilities. Then she thought about Lloyd.

"I wonder what his reaction to his father turning evil will be?" Harumi thought aloud to herself. "And I wonder what he'll think when he finds out that I'm the leader of the S.o.G.?"

These two questions disheartened Harumi. The thought of a father being suddenly ripped away from his son reminded Harumi of being ripped away from her parents. And the thought of Lloyd finding out who she was also saddened her. Lloyd already considered her a friend, and Harumi absolutely refused to admit it to herself, but Lloyd was quite sweet. She had a personal fondness for him, one that she dared not to expand into something more. Before Harumi could delve more into her melancholy thoughts, she heard the sudden *DING, DONG* of a bell.

"Dinner!" the voice of an S.o.G. member bellowed. "Come get your dinner!"

Perhaps I should go join everyone else. Harumi thought. Before she could think anything more, she scurried out of the bunker.

I got a new chapter done this fast! YAY! I know this is incredibly short, but, it will move the story along. I promise. :)

AuroraRain18: The best Romances often do start with completely random question! :) And if you're wanting more vivid details and magical hidden romantic getaway places, then you must stay tuned for future chapters! And your patience must be thick as a… aaa…. Something, idk. :)

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