Chapter 1: Strange

Suzanne woke up like every other day. In the top bunk of the girls' room. She swung her legs over the side to realize that she was the last person up. That was strange.

The clock showed nine in the morning. That was early for a Saturday, and that was strange.

She knew that there wouldn't be a mission today, so she pulled on a bright yellow sweater and some jeans. Suzanne then noticed that Nya's bed was a huge mess. She made it every day as if she were going to sell it for all the money in the world. She was very organized.

That was very, very strange.

She heard a knock at her door.

"Come on in!" Suzanne said with enthusiasm, hoping that it was Nya or Lily. Sensei Wu opened the door instead. He looked distraught, but his eyes lit up at the sight of her.

"Good, you're up. Could you come into my office for a moment?" he asked in a rush.

"Of course! What's happening? Where are the others?" Suzanne replied, as she threw her shoes on.

"Oh, the others got called out on a surprise mission. All your questions can be answered in my office, okay?"

"Alrighty, alrighty! Give me a few seconds."

"Only a few, please."

The Master of Wind quickly put her sheets in order, running a brush through her tangled mop of curly, carrot-colored hair. She set everything aside and dashed down the hall to Sensei's office, where she was surprised to see Zane and Jay sitting as well. Then again, everybody being called to a surprise mission on a Saturday was also surprising.

So. She could just say that everything was surprising in her life, for the time being. At this point, things were strange. Maybe one day nothing would be strange. Then again, one day could be a number of different time scales-

"Suzanne! Hello! Anyone home?" Jay laughed nervously. Whoops.

"Oh! Sorry! Just, kinda tired, ya know?" she smiled, scratching her head. "I'll just... take a seat." The others nodded at this, and Sensei motioned with his hand for her to place herself on the floor.

"So. Let's start with a good morning, first of all," Sensei remarked with a grin. "Then we can get down to business.

"I'm sure you've all noticed that everyone is gone. On a Saturday no less." His students nodded. "They are all on a quick training mission down to New Ninjago City. So, nothing big there. I just needed an excuse to talk to you three without them on my back. I'm not going to sugar coat things, so be ready."

They all leaned in, as if it was some big secret. Which, in Suzanne's mind, it kind've was. None of the others knew about it, and it was exhilarating that she was being told something like this. She had only been there for a few months, but had still managed to show her resourcefulness. Then again, she'd also shown her clumsiness, weirdness, and odd ways of showing friendship. Mostly hugs and making muffins. As far as she knew, not many average Ninjagans did that on a daily basis.

"My brother chatted with me yesterday during our monthly outing, but I say "chatted" very inappropriately. This was no meager talk. We discussed a grave matter that is now resting on our shoulders, as the main protectors of Ninjago in a more... magical sense." He said magical with a wave of his hands. Suzanne noted that Sensei often used his hands in an animated way when he spoke. She wondered how she hadn't noticed it before, for it was a very prominent feature.

"Before I convinced him to come and help us out, especially for Lloyd's sake, he was still in another dimension-"

"With multiple sets of arms, I might add," Jay nudged Suzanne.

"Blegh, sounds gross," she giggled. Garmadon as she knew him was a very old, but kind-looking man. More that two arms was more than she wanted to think about.

"Anyway," Wu continued, shooting a glare at them. "That realm involved a portal, and from that place, all of the portals that he used during time travel, and all the way back to when General Samukai first made the mistake of holding the Weapons all at once, have begun to corrupt the other realm. I first noticed when I went to retrieve him. There were creatures that weren't native to that area, and many patches of dark, almost starry-looking ooze everywhere. Somewhat like what the Overlord used in his siege against New Ninjago City-"

"Sensei, might I ask what this "other realm" is?" Zane asked.

"Oh, of course. It is a dimension parallel to ours, like a warped mirror image. The landscape is the same, except without any buildings. And everything is a dark, violet hue. It holds a large, dark aura everywhere you go. I hope that is a sufficient explanation." Zane nodded, and Suzanne could almost see the gears spinning in his head, or... however that worked. She just knew he was thinking about something, because his brow was creased. She was certainly noticing a lot of things this morning.

"As I feared, and as my dreams and premonitions have shown me, this dimension is being plagued by my brother's past actions. I cannot send Lloyd or Garmadon to fix this because they would easily fall prey to the temptation of the dark aura, and I've sensed that I need to send you three specifically. Zane because he has the intelligence to scope out any level of decay, can break down how much corruption we're looking at and how to easily destroy it. Jay because he has the determination and verve to keep the dark aura away easily, and he would provide an excellent source of light-based attacks against the corrupt creatures. Finally, Suzanne, because I know that because of Master Chen's bloodline, she can easily sense evil emanations, which will prove most useful against their attacks, or even lack thereof." Suzanne nodded, acknowledging all this as true.

"So, your mission will be a more... long-term one. Until we get all of this cleared up, you three will be in the other realm taking care of things," he concluded. "You will be out there for a very long time, how long I can't say as we don't know the full premise of what we're dealing with. You will be able to visit every month-and-a-half or so-"

"WOAH! That's how long this will take at a time?!" Suzanne blurted, going slack-jawed. "But... Nya and Lily... the others...! How are we even going to stay out there for as long as we will?!" Sensei held up a palm to silence her, and she sat back on her heels, slightly embarrassed.

"My brother, at the time that is, was a very extravagant person, so in this realm he had a place built for himself tucked away in a canyon wall. The view is actually pretty gorgeous from the front door out. There's a river at the bottom, and you get a prefect view of the night sky-" he stopped himself, realizing that he was getting carried away.

"Anyway, that is where you will be staying. Here..." He set down a large sack of tea leaf mixtures. "These are what will transport you to and from the realm. You will drink the tea, and within a minute, you will be transported there. The method that I used involved a lot of power because the portal was the best option. The tea itself tastes terrible." Suzanne and Jay made a face, scrunching up their noses in a small laugh.

"The portal method is too unstable to use, so I'll just give you these. Make sure that the tea is scalding before you drink it. My brother also set up a full electrical system as well, just for the basic pleasures, so you will have everything you need. Any further questions?" Everyone sat in silence, soaking in the knew knowledge. Zane cleared his throat before speaking up.

"Am I allowed to initiate experiments against the corrupt specimen?" he asked. Suzanne couldn't help but smile. He could get so excited about science, Pixal too.

Oh. Pixal. Yet another friend she'd have to leave behind.

"Of course, Zane. That is a good way to study the enemy, anyway. Anything else?" When nobody answered, Wu nodded and waved everyone off.

"Alright, you leave first thing tomorrow morning! Pack everything necessary, or unnecessary, you'll be there for a while, you can hammer out details-" he smiled and everyone got up, bowed, then proceeded out the door. Jay and Suzanne walked side by side down the hall out to the kitchen.

"Woah," was all she could say, and Jay laughed.

"Yeah, that was a lot to process in just a little amount of time. But hey, we're still all going on a mission, though, right?" Suzanne tried to smile, but it was hard. There were so many things that she wanted to know, and so little time to think. Just a day to say goodbye, and everyone was out on a mission!

"Hey, you okay?" Jay asked, his smile fading.

"Oh, perfectly fine. I'm just going to miss everyone, is all. I guess..." she had nothing else. Nothing more. Only reflection and... that one curl that refused to stay out of her eyes. She shoved it behind her ear, a little more anger that sadness at this point.

"We all will. But just know that their gonna miss you too, 'kay?" Jay replied. Her smile was back. She knew that she could count on Jay for just about everything. He was her best friend, and one of the only ones she'd ever had, too. She nodded.

"Alrighty, then! Let's go get some breakfast!" he exclaimed, tugging her sleeve behind him, making her run.