Ch 9
They had almost reached Torchfire Mountain the next morning, the day stormy and the flying rough. Everyone was anxious to finally rid the world of the Fang Blades, but before that, they had to cope with air sickness.
Alex felt queasy, what with the constant rocking and the world spinning around in bright flashes of lightning. "Can't you use your zappy powers to stop this crazy storm?" she asked Jay as they sat at the table. "Sorry, my powers don't expand that far, at least I think they don't." He went back to eating a sandwich he made. "Great," Alex replied, barely able to stomach the fact that Jay could actually eat in these conditions. Cole had it bad as well, as he was seen running for the deck, looking worse for wear than Alex, face green and cheeks puffed.
At last, they reached the mountain, and with no storms to be seen, the team fetched the Fang Blades and headed outside. As they walked out, they noticed Sensei Wu looking into the volcano with a faraway look on his face.
"What's up with Sensei?" Jay asked. "He's been distant all morning," Zane observed. Alex looked to the old man, "Well let's find out, shall we?"
They walked over to Wu, and asked him why he seemed detached. "You do not need my approval to finish the task. Besides, there will come a time when you will have to carry on without me."
"You're talking crazy, Sensei. You've been alive for, like, forever." This earned Kai a push from Cole and a pinch from Alex. "Hey! Ouch!"
"What Kai means, Sensei, is that you are like the sunrise. We cannot live another day without you," said Zane
"Yes, but even the sun must go down for a new day to begin." Alex got tired at this point, "Look, neither of us like cryptic messages, so what is the problem? Are you going to leave?"
Sensei looked to her, "My visions of the spirit smoke have ceased, and I can no longer see what the future holds for me."
"But, that could be good, right? We are destroying the Fang Blades," Jay chimed in.
"Let's just focus on destroying these blades." And with that, the conversation ceased.
As Kai walked up to throw in the first blade, the Bounty suddenly lurched to the side uncontrollably. Everyone was instantly thrown sideways, sliding towards the mouth of the volcano.
Before anyone could react, Sensei Wu was sliding down the ship, and hung over the edge for dear life. "Hang on Sensei!" Cole called out, and the five began to shift outwards towards their teacher. But before they could make it, Wu's hand slipped and he fell into the mountain. If it hadn't been for some quick thinking, Sensei would have been burnt to a crisp, but the ninja formed a chain to grab their teacher. Kai groaned at the weight, and called out to Nya, "What's going on?"
She replied, "Someone or something has overridden the system!"
Suddenly on the intercom, Lloyd's frantic voice yelled out, "Pythor's on board!"
The ninja turned their heads to see Pythor himself slithering towards them, Fang Blades in hand. "Sorry I can't lend a hand, but I'm in a bit of a rush, what with this whole Devourer buisiness," he chuckled menacingly, "Toodle-oo."
Despite Nya's and Lloyd's attempts to stop him, Pythor managed to get away on a chopper with his prize.
Meanwhile Kai's grip was slipping fast. "You better hold in there, I don't wanna die today," Alex yelled to him. "And you think I want to?" he retorted. In that instant, his grip slipped, and the ninja and Sensei found themselves falling into Torchfire Mountain.
Alex closed her eyes and waited, but soon opened them to find herself and the others holding on to Nya's samurai X suit, heading for the Bounty. As soon as they landed, they ran to get ready to track down Pythor, who was probably on his way to Ouroborous.
Alex quickly ran to retrieve her weapons, while Lloyd brought the ninja their Golden Weapons. When they met up, Sensei was sitting in the special seat on the Samurai Exosuit, with Nya inside. The ninja went over to retrieve there weapons.
"So how are me and Lloyd going to fit into all of this," Alex asked. "You're not," Sensei replied, "You are too important now, Alex, and Lloyd is too young."
"What? But didn't you see me hit Pythor in the face?" Lloyd complained.
"This is what I get for saving you guys and beating up on the enemy?! I thought I was ready for this!" Alex couldn't help being frustrated.
"Patience," Kai replied, "You'll both get your chance."
"Coming from the guy who doesn't know the meaning of patience."
Kai was about to retort, but Sensei interrupted him, "You will get your chance, but for now, you must wait. The two of you guard the ship while we prevent the Serpentine from reaching their destination."
And with that, the ninja, Nya, and Sensei jumped off and headed for Ouroborous, leaving a ticked off Alex and distraught Lloyd behind. "This sucks! I wanted to go out and fight, but it's like being outcasted all over again!" Lloyd looked upset.
Alex turned to the boy, understanding in her eyes, "I feel you, kid. I had to live like a pariah for a long while back home, but that never stopped me. Just because they left doesn't mean they care any less. You should know that, especially since you know you have a friend in me."
Lloyd looked up, "Really? You think I'm your friend?"
Alex nodded, "You helped in breaking me out of my shell, and I'm always going to be grateful to you for that."
Lloyd smiled, "Yea, you're right. You are a great friend. Though I still wish we could do something besides watching the ship."
Alex thought for a moment, turning to the bridge. "You know, maybe we can help them AND watch the ship."
It took a few tries to learn to fly the Bounty, and Alex had a few near misses, but soon she and Lloyd were speeding on their way to Ouroborous.
On their way, Lloyd pointed out an object on the road, and with further observation, Alex determined it to be the ninja and Nya. "Lloyd, time to drop anchor, on my mark."
Timing the anchor perfectly, it caught onto the car where their friends were sitting, and soon the Bounty was on its way, with their team in tow. "Hook, line and sinker," Lloyd joked, coaxing a laugh from Alex.
She pulled up the intercom, "Attention folks! This is your captain speaking. In a few short moments, we'll be nearing Ouroborous, so please fasten your seatbelts and hang on tight, because this is going to be a bumpy ride!"
Dark clouds were forming as they made their way to the ancient city, and on closer look, strange green lights were emanating from the center. Alex searched for a landing strip, and swiftly laid the bus cars and the ninja onto the ground. As the team sped off to find Pythor and Sensei, Lloyd and Alex quickly climbed down the anchor chain, and ran after their comrades.
As they arrived on the scene, they found Sensei Wu and Pythor amidst a swirl of chaos, the ground breaking from below as a pair of eyes shined clearly.
"Sensei what's going on?" Kai looked to their teacher.
Wu looked to his students, "You must do everything in your power to stop the Great Devourer. Go, ninja, go."
Before anyone could react, the ground exploded, as a giant scaly beast emerged from beneath their feet, towering up into the heavens. It turned to Sensei and Pythor, eyes glowing, and roared as it lunged towards the two figures and bit into the ground they stood on.
When it reared back, there was no sign of their wise teacher.
And cue the Great Devourer!
Anyway, hope these last chapters were enough. I know they seemed rushed but I've been studying for my finals and had no time what with homework AND rewatching old episodes, to get the feel of the series to you guys.
A poll will be posted soon, I think, on who you want to pair Alex with. So be on the lookout!
As for the story, I'll continue updating when I can. It will follow the storyline of the episodes up into the next season, and somewhere in there, I'll diverge into my own plots. There's going to be some interesting things in store for Alex and the ninja, I can tell you that.
Follow, fav, review, whatever; I'll still be here though. Until next time
