Ch 4

Everyone at the table was in high spirits, with Nya talking to Jay, while Jay stared dreamily at her; Lloyd and Kai discussing fighting situations; Sensei speaking quietly to a dark man in a bone samurai helmet, who Alex assumed to be Lord Garmadon; and Zane helping Cole serve... whatever was in that sopping dark foam filled with chunks of what looked like pieces of rubber. When Alex was offered the concoction, she refused, preferring to stick to some bread and butter.

Alex was the only one who was not speaking to the others, preferring to sit at the end of the table, silently contemplating over her situation. So this world, Ninjago, was apparently not her own, according to Sensei Wu, and her own world was... God knows where. She began to compare this world to her home: her world was a dark, tragic place, where if you didn't obey the rules and accept your fate as a slave you would be punished, or at least find yourself with little to survive off of. She had barely survived the past four years on her own, and had only gained reinforcements recently after the people discovered her reputation post the events where... Alex lost her train of thought for a second as her scar began throbbing. Since that day in her life, it had always throbbed at the mention of his name and the thought of his face as he raised the dagger, the one she had carried since.

Four years on her own, and before that... all a blank. She believed it had been a side effect of her past that her memories had been deeply submerged, unable to surface due to whatever trauma had occurred. In general, her life had been rebellion against the demons of Hell.

Now she looked at this world. Ninjago had its threats and crimes, of course, but the land still seemed almost peaceful compared to Alex's world. The people here were not oppressed and crushed under another's rule, but were happy, something Alex had hoped to see in the eyes of the humans of her home.

The people that had rescued her actually stood out for others, rather than fend for themselves. And despite their opposite personalities, they had bonded and learned from their Sensei; to the point where they had unlocked their true power.

If she had to choose worlds, her heart would be set on Ninjago; at least she wouldn't be traumatized to the point of amnesia. However, her mind seemed to point to the fact that evil is everywhere, though it plainly showed in her home, it seemed subtle here, but the darkness still existed. It especially radiated in Lord Garmadon, from the untrustworthy look of anger in his red eyes, to the waves of hatred emanating from him to travel throughout the room, providing a darker atmosphere.

It was through this that Alex realized that evil never truly goes away.

While Alex was contemplating her situation, she failed to notice the silence at the table and everyone's eyes trained in her direction. When Alex did notice, she almost fell on the floor, earning a snicker from Jay, who was elbowed by Kai.

As Alex repositioned herself, she asked, "Is there something on my face?"

Zane shook his head, "Sensei was asking you a question."

"I asked if you would like to share your tale of your journey up until now," Sensei repeated.

Alex hesitated, her mental blockades rising; why should she reveal anything to these strangers? For all she knew they could be spies, how could she trust them?

Yet you trusted Sensei Wu with your past.

Alex thought long and hard; she had just realized her already placed trust in these people and had already shared her past with Sensei, what would the harm be in sharing the truth? It's not like they know her or anything.

After a long mental discussion, she looked up at the eight faces staring at her, and began her tale:

"My life, at least the parts I remember, has been a complete wreck of misfortunes. I just woke up on the side of the street one day four years ago, with no memory and no family; a small girl covered in rags and scrapes.

For a while, I just wandered, trying to discover my past, and where I fit into society, and it was through that process that I discovered what world I live in.

Mankind had once ruled this world, and from what I had been told, the world may not have been peaceful, but it had been a better situation then the one we had now.

Overtime, natural disaster tore the world apart, and each country blamed their misfortunes on their enemies. Soon, alliances broke, brother turned against brother, and we tore ourselves apart.

In the time of the wars, the neosapiens arrived, first establishing themselves as peaceful, and then offered to share their technology with us. They gained our trust though promises of power and aid, but soon they revealed their true purpose.

I was told that one day, out of the blue, humanity woke to the skies filled with UFOs, and in a matter of seconds, the ground began to burn, as rays of fire shot down from above. They trapped the people like rats, massacring them to the point where the survivors were completely outnumbered by their forces. That day, humanity gave up its freedom to the invaders, and since then, have spent their lives as slaves to the ones who dare to call themselves "new" humans, the purer race.

I traveled around, and saw how the people were treated; forced to mine, build, and serve without question, or face a fate worse than death.

It was then that I found my purpose, for how could mankind rise up again without someone to set the spark? Those who had tried in the past had failed and paid the price, but I realized that with no memory, I had nothing to think about losing, thus I could stand up to the overlords and show humanity a new future.

The first few attempts, I managed to evade capture, but it produced little results. After about a year, I decided that in order to turn the tables, I had to go to the source of the issue: the neosapien leader.

After months of planning I set out to the capital to confront the tyrant himself. After a few close calls, I made it into his office, where he was leaning over his desk, unaware of my presence..."

As Alex crept her way towards him, knife raised in hand, a deep voice responded.

"Don't think I didn't notice you slinking around, my dear. After all I knew someone would come in here one day to try and fail to assassinate me."

Alex froze in her tracks as he turned around. His face was human in appearance, but she wasn't fooled by the calm expression; she could see the cold look in his pale colored eyes.

"Now the real question is: why? Do you feel willing to answer? Or should I call my guards now?"

Alex grew furious, "Why? Why do you think?! You're the reason my race is breaking their backs out there, dying from hunger or thirst, or from the torture you and your puppets inflict for no reason but fun! You're bloodthirsty, violent, cruel, and would be better of de..."

Smack

Alex found herself on the ground, clutching her cheek, as the malevolent lord stood above her. "Careful, my dear, you were almost getting on my good side for making it this far. I was thinking of offering you a position as a high ranking official, but I think I'd prefer seeing your corpse on the floor in front of me."

He lowered himself to her eye level and picked up the knife, "How are you so sure they are your people. If I am correct, you have no memory, Alexandra."

Alex looked bewilderedly at him, "How do you know..?"

"That is for me to know and for you to never find out. After the hostile exchange you gave me I feel like keeping your origins a secret. Now..."

He glanced at the knife in his hand, "Let's teach you a lesson..."

Alex paused there, as her scar began to throb at the thought of the events that had occurred afterwards. "So afterwards, I barely escaped with my life, and up until now, I've devoted my time to instigating small revolts rather than confront that psychopath again. Sometimes I teamed up with others, but that turned out with me getting a death sentence. If it wasn't for that portal..."

The people at the table stared at her in shock, with the exception of Sensei Wu, who had heard the story already, and Lord Garmadon, who understood the dark ways of torture and seemed less sympathetic. Lloyd had surprisingly stayed to listen, and now looked up at Alex with wonder and shock, "What happened with you and the evil overlord?"

"This isn't the time to be asking that, Lloyd," Nya answered. The boys nodded, their faces also reflecting a look of horror.

Alex took this as her cue, "I should...go to bed..." She stood up from the table, and quickly left the room before any tears gave way and her headache became uncontrollable.

Alex ran to her room and locked the door, going up to the vanity mirror to check on her scar. She lifted up the hair covering the left side of her face to reveal a long jagged scar that ran from just above her eyebrow down to her upper lip. It was now tinged in a red tint, not too different from how it had looked the day she received it. Alex had many scrapes from that day, but the one on her head seemed to be the one that ached the most, possibly from trauma or some kind of mental damage.

Alex put down her hair and went to the dresser, where she discovered some fresh clothes, a comb and toothbrush, and one object that she thought surely lost from her arrival: her dagger, the very one that had caused her scar and the one that she had failed to use to save her people. Alex pulled out the dagger, looking over the polished blade, before putting it away and donning on a fresh pair of pajamas. Tonight, there would be no need to worry about safety.