Chapter 21; Luminous Mysteries yet to be Found

Nya's POV

I hear the bell ring and students rush out of their classes and out to lunch. We decided that it would be a good idea to see if there were any students with the name Laura however there are actually a few of them. Because it is lunch time and we would not be interrupting any classes, we decided to ask around and split into groups. I have no clue where Emma and Zane went though. We split in groups; I am teamed up with Jay. The rest of the teams were; Kai, Lloyd, and Cole, and Cece and Anne. Jay and I start walking around the lunch room asking kids if they know a Laura. I poke a guy on the shoulder and he turns around.

"WHAT!" he says but pauses to look at me for a second. "Oh, hey… what's your name?" he says in a flirty tone and I frown.

"The name is Nya. But hey, we have been walking around and are looking for a girl named Laura, could you help me out?" I ask and he thinks for a moment.

"I know Laura I have no clue where she could be though." He says. "I am Matthew by the way." He says and I nod my head slightly I then move on to someone else. After a while I do not make much progress. It seems that not many people know a Laura and the ones that do when I followed their directions the Laura did not match the description Emma gave us. We all meet up near the bathrooms but there is still no sign of Emma and Zane.

"Where are Emma and Zane?" I ask.

"I haven't seen them." Anne replies.

"Well we cannot find the kunoichi of light without Emma, we better go find her." Cole says

"Where could she be?" Jay asks

"How could we forget? She is probably in the garden upstairs!" Kai states and we all nod in agreement. The problem is none of us know how to get upstairs.

Laura's POV

I do not believe it! I am actually walking right next to one of the ninja and he is leading me to meet the rest of the ninja! Because it is getting quiet, I decide to make conversation.

"So where are the rest of the ninja?" I ask and Zane turns his head to me.

"I actually do not know. Emma and I wandered up here on our own I suppose. However I am sure they would not be far. They probably are in the dining hall of this school asking around or wandering the grounds…" Zane says

"Oh, well why you are all here? IS THERE ANY SERPENTINE AFOOT?" I ask and Zane laughs. Emma answers my question.

"We are… looking for someone to join our team to be honest." Emma says.

"Really, whoever it is sure is lucky!" I say and Emma looks at me and I decide to continue; "because if it is a student I would love a free pass out of here!" I say and Emma smiles.

"I would agree with you on that. I went here when I was little but I changed schools because I didn't like it here. Yet, the person we are looking for is…" Emma pauses.

"Well whoever it is I could help you find him or her because I know most of the kids' names around here." Though I am very shy and I do not talk much to any of them… Emma smiles at me. I look ahead but I bump into someone. "Sorry!" I say but with further inspection I see his golden uniform and I realize it is the green ninja.

"Oh, sorry it was…" He looks at me in the eyes. Standing there, I cannot help but look back into his vivid green eyes… Nervous, I step beck.

"Oh hey Lloyd do you know where everyone else is?" I hear Emma ask. Dazed, Lloyd turns his head and breaks our eye contact to answer Emma's question.

"We are actually looking for you and Zane, I think they are nearby." Lloyd says and he leads us to where the rest of the ninja are. Looking at them shocked and astounded, I stare in aw at the legendary ninja that saved Ninjago city! I do not believe it!

"There you two are, we were looking for you!" I hear Cole say to Emma and Zane.

"Sorry for wandering off like that…" Zane apologizes. I continue to gaze at all the ninja before me. Am I in a dream? I pinch myself and it is not a dream!

"So, who is that?" Jay says pointing to me. Emma looks at me for a second.

"She is Laura, the Kunoichi of light." Emma says but I do not understand.

"What…?" I say but Emma comes over to me.

"Laura, you are destined to become the kunoichi of light and join the Cosmic legion. I am sorry for being so sudden but it is your choice…" Emma says to me and I am shocked. I think for a moment. This is an opportunity of a lifetime! What would my parents think? Yet this is my chance to get away from this school and start a new life!

"Perhaps I should think about this…" I mumble…

"Well we will be down stairs at the entrance when you make up your mind… Please inform us on what you decide…" Emma says and I nod my head… We depart separate ways… and I turn around. On impulse, I make my way to the garden upstairs. Looking at the grey walls and the dead hard wood floors of the forgotten passageway to the roof, I climb the stairs that I have grown accustom too. Finally, I reach the top of the stairs with aching legs because of the many steps. Softly, the bright blue sky gives me a high-five with a blaring sun. The profound smell of roses fills the air and I relax. I sit on the ground in the center of it all on a bench and focus on breathing… I hear someone else inside the garden and I open my eyes. Lloyd, I think… the golden one. He looks over at me and smiles.

"I don't want to interrupt you or anything… I just wanted to see the garden myself… I don't know why… it just seemed so serious and sacred… I was extremely curious…" he looks around for a few minutes and decides to sit on the bench. "So… um… why do like this garden so much…?" He says and I hesitate and think of the memories… All those horrible memories… I look at the ground and think for a minute.

"Well… you could say I was bullied a lot if you wish to be simplistic…" The bright blue sky is covered with only a few clouds. "It is sort of a refuge because nobody comes up here…. Anymore…" I say and shiver… I look at Lloyd who attempts to look sympathetic; you know the feeling when someone says their tragic life story and you have no clue how to respond, I could see it in his eyes. "I think I made my decision now…" I stand up and walk towards the exit.

Skales' POV

I watch the Ninja and Cosmic Legion walking throughout this boarding school though Nya's eyes. I almost forgot that I still have her under my control. They wait outside the school while the future member's decision is impending. I know I can use this to my advantage. I simply need a plan… The serpentine do not have the technology that we need to create the machine to build our army… but the ninja do. I would not think Nya or even Jay could, but a certain Nindroid's father could… I close my eyes as I think of a plan…

Emma's POV

Laura walks out of the school with all of her stuff and a smile.

"Ummm… well if it is my destiny, I got to accept right?" She says and I smile.

"You will not regret your choice!" I say and we start heading to the bounty. Everything is quiet and tacit. I do not think anyone knows why though…

Prostate slumbers on cold hard ground

Mysteries yet to be found

When the past and the future become as one

The darkness's chains shall come undone…

I remember when I touched Laura's hand that she was the one because… it burned. I had received this riddle as well. I am not quite sure what it means yet I have a few theories. The bounty's alarm breaks the silence and we all rush to the bridge with Laura trailing behind. I step foot into the bridge and take a look at the screen. I dash in further as we discover where the danger waits for us.

"A small group of Serpentine is attacking Jamanakai Village and another small group is also attacking Ignacia." I say looking at the monitor.

"IGNACIA?" both Kai and Nya say at once. I nod my head. We then decide to split into two groups; Kai, Nya, jay and Cece in one group and Zane, Cole, Anne and I in the other.

"Lloyd you will stay here with Laura." Cole says to Lloyd.

"But I could help!" says Lloyd.

"No 'buts'! We need you here to guard the bounty!" Cole says and Lloyd pouts. "And besides… you could give Laura a few tips on fighting while we are gone." Cole winks. Cole's logic seems reasonable. Lloyd sighs but then reluctantly agrees. Both groups split, one in the Ultra Sonic Raider and the other group rides on the bounty. I scurry out of the bridge and onto the deck when we arrive at Jamanakai Village. I look off the rails and we all rush into the action. I see no Hypnobrai but I see plenty of Constrictai and Fangpires. I pull out my daggers and slash at near by serpentine. I nock a Fangpire unconscious and move on to the other snakes. Hearing the bounty flying up in the air, I look around at the many screaming civilians and see a few Serpentine (mostly Fangpires go figure) attacking innocent bystanders. I rush to their aid and block a Fangpire's bite heading to a young girl. I punch him hard in the face and he falls back and lies down on the ground. I get the girl to safety and then return to the battle.

Cece's POV

We drive to Kai and Nya's hometown in the Ultra Sonic Radar as I sit in the back in the vehicle. When we arrive we gaze upon a few burning buildings, terrified civilians, and a bunch of Hypnobrai and Venomari. If only Emma was here she cannot be hypnotized by the Hypnobrai. However she is over at Jamanakai Village. We all decamp from the Ultra Sonic Radar and charge into battle. I begin shooting arrows at the many serpentine and helping civilians get out of the range of fire. I for some reason am very good with a bow and arrow. Ever sense I was little I would go out to archery ranges and I would say I was a natural. Speaking of natural… I start creating vines from the ground and use them to trap serpentine. I continue to use plants to disarm serpentine. The Venomari are used however to plants and they start spitting acid at them. That getting me angry, I hit them even harder and hit them more. I watch as Nya helps the firefighters with the burning buildings and Kai attack the Serpentine. Jay is helping the people. I continue to attack the Serpentine however they mysteriously retreat.

Lloyd's POV

Laura and I sit in the bridge awkwardly in silence being abandoned and left to 'guard' the bounty.

"So… should we get you started in training?" I ask.

"Sure" she says quietly. I smile and we head over to the deck to train.

"So, do you have any past fighting experience?" I say and she stops to think.

"Not really…" she says. This may take a while. After about an hour I wonder why they are not back yet. However I made good progress with Laura... Laura… she is really nice and after a while she opens up. She likes adventure actually but is most of the time too shy to go through with it and she has the most adorable voice… um… did I just think that? I look around the deck as I hear hissing. Laura and I look over the rails and we see serpentine climbing up the sides.

"A-Are those Serpentine?" asks Laura very startled.

"Yes… but don't worry! I am here! I am sure we can… fight them off." I say to try to encourage Laura. The Serpentine try to make it up on deck however Laura and I try knocking them off. Eventually, they make it up on deck. I then use spinjitzu to try to knock them down as Laura tries the best she can to defend herself. We soon discover that we are becoming out numbered. Continuing, we still fight. I then hear a scream and turn around to see Laura cornered by a bunch of serpentine. However while I am distracted a Snake takes this opportunity to punch me in the gut and then knocking me out afterwards

Laura's POV

Cornered by a bunch of serpentine I watch Lloyd in the distance being knocked down. The next thing I know I am hit with a bright light. However the light does not hurt my eyes but I feel the light coming out of my person. Lifted in the air away from the serpentine, I then decide to release all that energy building up inside me. Suddenly, all the serpentine are blinded by the bright light. My toes reach the ground and I fall on my knees. I hear the Serpentine retreat and Sensei Wu, Dr. Julien, Misako, Lord Garmadon rush out the door.

"What happened?" I hear Sensei Wu ask loudly. I look up and turn to see Lloyd on the ground. I run over to him and try to shake him awake.

"LLOYD!" I say in the loudest voice possible. "LLOYD, PLEASE WAKE UP!" I yell and after awhile he regains consciousness. He opens his eyes and looks at me. I am sitting on my knees and I look back into his light green eyes. He smiles and I smile back. He sits up.

"Are you ok?" I ask and he turns to me.

"Oh yeah, I am ok. What happened?" he asks and looks around.

"Well there was this big ray of light and… they all retreated…" I answer. I turn around to see the ultra sonic radar pull up and Sensei gets a call from Cole to come and get them. Once all of the Ninja and Cosmic legion come back to the bounty I explain what happened and everyone besides Emma looks surprised. When I finish I give out a sigh.

"Is it always this chaotic?" I ask and the rest of the ninja nod their heads.

"We really need a break!" Emma responds and I smile. We all get ready for dinner and Cole brings out the food. I look around to see no one is eating it and I decide to take a bite out of the chili. I instantly regret my decision.

And chapter 21 is complete! 21 is my unlucky number. This chapter was really long to write! BUT IT IS FINISHED! During writing this I thought of something funny. You know the song Paradise? I thought of a parody! SERPEN, SERPEN, SERPENTINE. SERPEN, SERPEN, SERPENTINE! They always try to hypnotize! THIS TOOK SO LONG TO REVISE! It really did… (it is so long too!) I didn't remember it being so bad… I am finished though! What are everybody's thoughts? What do you think of Laura so far? Do you like her? What do all these riddles mean? How far ahead am I? BTW I keep hearing all these rumors and things from people about the next season… like I hear they released the new sets, or the new episode names? IDK! Where do these people get this stuff?

"Our [Sarcasitzu] doesn't work, [our brains are] too small! [besides Zane of course ;)]" ~Kai

Sergeantsarcasm7 at your service!