Ch 3

The guard in black, who identified himself as Cole, led Alex back down into the ship. He didn't speak to her after the incident on the deck, and Alex wasn't obliged to exactly start up a conversation after the harsh like exchange. The others had also remained quiet as she was escorted downstairs, even the one in white, who only gave her a reassuring glance before turning away.

As they turned towards a door, Cole finally turned to her, "So what's your story?"

"What do you mean, complete stranger whose name I discovered only recently?" Alex replied. "I mean, for starters... do you have a name?" Cole asked. "Careful, that's already getting too personal," she replied jokingly, getting a small chuckle out of the black garbed... ninja was it?

"Well I told you my name, so I think it's only fair for you to reveal some top secret information." Alex smiled at this and replied, "Alexandra, but call me Alex." Cole gave a small smile, "See, that wasn't so hard, was it Alex?" "Yeah it was, I feel so exposed now," Alex said, relaxing at the fact that she could possibly get along with these people.

Cole turned to open the door, creating a stir of emotions inside Alex. Who was this Sensei Wu? Would he be accepting, or cold, like the neosapien leaders of her home?

Cole seemed to sense Alex's uneasiness, and reassured her. "Don't worry about meeting Sensei. He's a good man, and he's taught all of us so much. In fact, he's the reason we found you." Alex felt a little better at this, but still was unsure about the teacher who had possibly saved her life.

As the two walked in, the smell of tea and incense filled the air, but Alex was more concentrated on the figure before her. Sitting on the floor in a meditative stance, was an old man in a straw hat, dressed in a white robe, a bamboo staff at his feet. As he stood and opened his eyes, Alex noticed the smell of tea coming from his long white beard, which he stroked as he glanced at her, with wise and curious eyes.

"Thank you for delivering her here, Cole. You are dismissed for now. Alexandra and I have much to talk about," Sensei Wu instructed Cole, who gave a small nod and left the room. As much as she was scared, Alex was also intrigued by the fact that this man seemed to know her, even understand her.

"You are far from your home, aren't you, my dear?" Alex turned in surprise towards the old man, "How do you know? First off, I have no true home; second, you've never met me and I've never met you. How can you be sure I'm far from my home at all?"

"The spirit smoke never lies, it forewarned me of an anomaly three days ago out at sea, of a portal opening up to connect one dimension with this one," Sensei calmly responded, "I had my students steer to the site as quickly as possible, but by then, the portal had closed. However, the portal was not what I was searching for, what I needed to find, was the only survivor: you." "I was the only survivor?" Alex asked. "Indeed, though the smoke was vague, it told me that the last alive would be the key to what I was searching for." Sensei said. Before Alex could reply, Sensei interrupted with, "No, I will not reveal what key you could posses yet. Perhaps later, when the others are here, but for now, the true discussion is about you, my girl.

"Whether you believe my side of the story or not, you were brought here for a reason, and hopefully it will become clear, but for now, let me ask you, do you know what spinjitzu is?"

"Spinitsu... what?" Alex felt confused. "Spinjitzu," Sensei said, "A fighting style that when mastered, allows you to harness true elemental energy." "And what, you think I have that ability?" Alex asked. "Possibly, in time all will be revealed," Sensei responded, "But for now get accustomed to it, for my students have just finished mastering their potential, and from them you may learn something."

"Ok... but is that it?" "I would also like to know your background; who you were before you ended up on the Bounty," Sensei looked to Alex.

She hesitated, unsure of answering Wu's questions, and revealing her past, yet at the same time, she felt that she could trust him. He had no reason to hurt her, and he didn't seem like one to belong to the neosapien secret service.

So she spent the next few hours venting what she had experienced, with Sensei Wu intently listening to every word. Alex felt like crying in relief that she could share what had hurt her for so long, and when the time came for her to end at the present, she found herself tearing.

"It is ok, Alexandra, I know it is hard to reveal what may seem damaging, but it is all a part of moving on. You are among friends now, so I would like you to join them now. I will send for Zane to show you around. And I promise you, I will not speak of this to anyone." Alex felt relieved at Sensei's words; it felt good to trust someone again; it had truly been so long.

Soon the door opened to reveal the young man who had helped Alex off of her precarious ledge. "I believe you have already met each other," Sensei said, "I would like you to show Alex around the Bounty, Zane, introduce her to everyone, and prepare her for dinner, especially since it is Cole's turn for cooking." Zane nodded, and gestured to Alex to leave first.

As they left the room, Zane asked, "I do not mean to be impolite, but I suppose you do not want to reveal your discussion with Sensei." "You are perceptive," Alex said, "So tell me, should I be worried about Cole's dinner?" "Er.. No offense to my brother, but his cooking is quite atrocious, yet he still remains convinced that his cooking is good," Zane scratched his head in embarrassment as Alex chuckled. "Thanks for the warning, but for now, we should just concentrate on the grand tour, right?" Zane smiled, "Yes we should."

He began to show her the basic rooms: her room, the bathroom, the other rooms, and quickly peeking in and out of the kitchen due to the foul, eye watering smell of whatever Cole was burning alive.

Zane took her to the living room, only to wind up confronting the other two ninja, as well as a young blonde boy with a mischievous look in his eyes. "Alex, these are my brothers, Jay and Kai, and Lloyd, Sensei's nephew," Zane introduced her to the blue ninja, Jay, the red ninja, Kai, and the boy Lloyd.

"Umm... hello. Nice to meet you and... sorry for any injuries I might have caused."

Expecting a fight, Alex was surprised when Jay accepted her apology. "It was a good punch, hey, maybe I can get you back sometime." "Sure, if you even remember it tomorrow," Kai retorted, "You're cool with me for now, hot shot, just whatever you do, don't get this guy talking to much. He'll never stop."

"Aww come on, I don't talk that much, my parents are WAY worse! Like that time when..." Jay kept rattling on about some story involving a science fair and his mom, while Kai grabbed a pillow and pressed it hard on his face.

Meanwhile Lloyd came up to Alex, "Nice job teaching Kai a lesson, the guy can be way too cocky."

"I heard that small fry!"

Lloyd shrugged, "As long as you don't infect me with cooties, you're fine with me, Alex. Maybe I won't give you a newbie prank that's too harsh." "Try if you want kid, but I've seen everything, so watch your step with that rubber spider behind your back." Alex responded as Lloyd gaped, looking from the rubber spider that he had in his pocket to Alex. "That... is soo cool! You gotta teach me how to do that!"

"Maybe later," Alex said, heading for the exit with Zane, "I'll be seeing you guys later, then." Lloyd waved, Kai grumbled, and Jay kept on blabbing his mouth off as the two left to go up into another room where every wall seemed to be covered in screen and buttons.

"This is the bridge," Zane said, "Her we steer the Bounty and keep track of anything bad happening in Ninjago. And if I am correct, Nya should be here as well."

"Someone say my name?" A feminine voice came from under a shelf, and soon the girl came out from underneath to look at the two. "So, looks like you're finally up," the girl said, "Name's Nya. I'm Kai's sister, the Bounty's mechanic, and Samurai X." Alex introduced herself to Nya, "Great to know I won't be surrounded by all of these men," she replied jokingly, to which Nya laughed, "I feel you, it's great to meet you and I hope we can become great friends!" Alex smiled and said her goodbye as she and Zane made their way out into the fresh air. The two leaned on the side, looking into the ocean, admiring how the sun setting looked on the water.

"Have you ever seen such a beautiful sunset?" Zane asked. "I never had time to notice them; the only things I concentrated on were finding a place to stay, and planning what I should do next."

"It sounds like you had a rough life," Zane observed. "You have no idea," Alex replied. Zane looked at her, "Why do you cover your face with your hair? You have nothing to hide." The question was unnerving, since no one had ever asked her why, but she responded anyway, "I do have something to hide: my shame and my past."

Zane looked confused, but said no more, and the two looked out at the final rays of light diminishing.

"...Zane?"

He turned towards Alex, "Yes?"

"You didn't show me your room fully. Is there a reason?" Alex inquired.

"Oh. It's just that we have a guest using our room right now. He is Sensei's brother, Lord Garmadon, the dark lord." "You have an evil dark lord living in your room?" Alex asked.

"Well, he is Lloyd's father, and he helped Sensei make it back here, so I believe we do owe him something." Alex was still confused, but said no more on the matter.

"Come, dinner should be ready by now," Zane put his hand on Alex's shoulder and led her back inside.

Well I hope that was satisfying, because I really have worn myself out with all of these chapters, but despite that, I will continue writing this weekend, but with finals on the way, I might limit to once a week.

For those confused about timeline, the ninja have unlocked their true potentials, but Lloyd has not been announced as green ninja. All will be revealed in the next chapter. And for romances, I have not worked the details out completely, but I may set up a poll on who you all might want, but for now, I'm concentrating on the growing trust and friendship.

Thank you to the reviewers, your support is valued, and hope everyone lets me know how they feel about the story and what I could change. I will see you all in the next chapter!