Hey Everyone, Happy Friday. It's time for another update. Now that Lucas has escaped the Underworld, it's time to see where he has been for the time. Oh and I even have a soundtrack I've been wanting to use and finally found the best spot. Type up the link watch?v=k-U1ERufWPc and have it set at 1:56 and when you see the mark,*, hit play and enjoy. Find out what happens next to this chapter. Enjoy.
Chapter 22: Lloyd and the Serpentine
3 Months Later, March 1st
"Come on Storm, we need to get these jasper flowers to Mystake while they're fresh." I said while whipping his reins to move Storm faster. Storm roared lowly at me while we glided through the clouds. "Yeah I know, but it's the first time of the month they're blooming and she's low on them." Storm huffed and continued to glide with ease.
I don't understand what his problem was. Ever since we escaped the Underworld alive, we had nowhere else to go. My arm was in pain after our escape and was worried if I broke it. But a couple days later in the woods, with the temperature dropping as it was late November, we were found by a tea shop owner and alchemist of herbs named Mystake and she tended to my broken shoulder in Jamanakai Village. Soon after from recovery, I found work at her shop. I actually enjoy working for her as she treats me kindly like family and even lets me stay in the guest room so I didn't have to deal with the trouble of owning my own place. I mostly worked in the back on inventory and she knows about my dragon, well maybe the entire village does too, but they don't know that I'm a ninja and I voluntarily go out to get the shortage of her herbs. I even have a little helper named Logan, who turned thirteen around the fall, who helps me with inventory and mixture of herbs for teas and is Mystake's nephew while her niece, who's younger than Logan and is his cousin, worked up front, but I hardly get a chance to know her as she's hardly around. But the funny thing about Logan was that he reminded of me when I was his age, but was different as he has blonde wavy hair and blue eyes.
So after three months, winter has finally passed and I head to find jasper flowers early in the morning and it was almost noon. These flowers were a bit difficult to find as they grew in the Forest of Tranquility near a cave. While I was near the cave, I began to recall the events of Sherra's lair. The spider queen was now dead after I retrieved my sai's and collapsed the ceiling onto her. The funny thing though was that I'm still afraid of spiders. I don't mind the common house spider as I'm now use to them, but can't deal with tarantulas or anything big and hairy. I don't know if I'll ever break free from my arachnophobia. But now that I have the flowers, I can see Jamanakai Village ahead and noticed near the entrance were four colored dragons. I quickly knew who was there as it was the ninja. Haven't seen them around. "Storm, land near the entrance and hide." I commanded and a quiet roar of understandment and he landed. I grabbed my small pack of flowers and slid off his back while he took off to hide as we didn't want to be seen as the missing ninja and dragon to the team and I walked through the archway to the mountain village.
As I walked up the cobblestone streets, I noticed most of the windows and doors and shops were closed and wondered what happened. Its noon and most the streets would be busy with shoppers and kids playing soccer, but it was empty. Did something happen while I was gone? I heard someone give out a small scream followed by laughter. "Crime doesn't pay, Muchacho." I heard someone say. "You can take that to the bank." and I turned a corner. I saw down the path was the ninja looking up at a sign and gasped as a boy, around eleven maybe, was hung by rope tied to his waist with a black hood over his head attached to a cape and was covered in garbage. "Mmm cotton candy." the blue ninja said to tease him while eating the cotton candy.
The boy growled through his teeth while kicking his legs and gave up. The ninja and the villagers were laughing at him. But I wasn't. Why was he getting this crap? I walked up to them and checked on the kid and felt pity on him. He wore nothing but black while his shirt had painted ribs and had a purple belt tied around his waist. Underneath his hood, I could see strands of blonde hair and emerald green eyes. I couldn't help but noticed the small tear forming as he being humiliated by the whole village. Not the kids though. I can see that they felt pity for him too. Remembering my vow, I turned to the ninja to shoot glares at them. "What's going on here?" I hissed at them.
The fire ninja stopped laughing to breathe and turned to me. "You mean you don't know?" he inquired while chuckling. No I don't. I just got back from an errand. "This kid here was being a brat and demanded candy or else he'll release the Serpentine." and took a lick of his peppermint stick.
That was it! Tying a kid to a sign as he wanted candy. It's natural for every kid to have candy. Heck, even Logan wants to get candy time to time. But the ninja being bullies now, that's different. I looked at the ice ninja and found his shurikens attached to the holster on his waist and shoved the earth, lightning, and fire ninja aside and quickly grabbed one and threw it at the sign and sliced the rope off. The boy gave off a small shriek as he fell and I caught him in my arms and his hood fell off to reveal his shaggy blonde hair that was almost in a bowl cut, but still was shaggy. He too reminded me of my age when I was young and could feel a presence in him. Like powerful. Very strong and powerful. I brought myself back and placed him on his feet and knelt to his height. "Are you alright?" I asked him worriedly.
"Ye-yeah. Thank you." he said kindly, while scared.
I smiled to know he was alright and safe and began to untie the knot from his waist. "Uh... Do you know what you're doing?" the black earth ninja asked.
I finished untying the knot to let the rope fall down and stood up to glare at them. "Yeah I know what I'm doing." I replied coldly. "I'm saving a kid from you bullies all because you wanted to be the heroes and humiliate him in public while he wanted candy."
"Us bullies?" the earth ninja continued and grabbed the back of the kid's shirt and held him like a cat while he gave out a surprise yelp and kicked his legs to squirm out. "Do you know who this brat is though?" he asked while gesturing to him. No I just saved him and they're making me mad as they are bullying him again. "He's the son of..." Before he could finish, I balled up a fist and threw it at his face and made contact to his jaw. I watched him recoil in pain and release the kid as he fell back in pain.
I shook my hand to relieve the pain and brought the kid back to my side. I saw the crowd gathering around as I was picking a fight with the ninja as they checked on the earth ninja as he held his jaw. I could see I left a good welt on his right jaw as it was red and swollen. Good. I think he deserved it. The lightning ninja stood up to glare at me. "Hey do you know who we are, Bucko?" he asked, making his voice sound harsh and angry. Yeah I know who you are. "Do you know who you're dealing with?"
I moved the kid behind me to step forward. "Yeah I know who you are and what I'm dealing with." I growled. "You are the ninja that protect Ninjago where there hasn't been any danger for three months now. And right now I'm dealing with four bullies that are ganging up on a small kid because he made a dumb threat. Now leave him alone or else I'll punch you all in the jaw and I won't back down." The ninja looked at each other on my threat and kept giving me small glares and helped the black ninja up to his feet and grabbed the missing shuriken and left. I'm glad that they're gone now. Soon after, the crowd left us alone. I turned to the kid as he was still behind me. "You alright still?" I asked.
The kid nodded. "Yeah I am still. Thanks." he said.
I smiled and knelt back down to him and picked the garbage off his shoulders. "So what's your name?" I asked while picking a lettuce leaf off his head.
"My name is Lloyd." he replied while cleaning his cheek of banana smudge off with his sleeve. "Thank you for helping me from them. What's your name?"
Lloyd. I like that. "Well Lloyd, my name is Lucas." I said and picked the banana peel off his hood and dusted him off. "And you're welcome for helping you. I wouldn't let them make fun of you. I had to defend you. But where are you parents?"
Lloyd sighed and looked at his worn black shoes. "I don't know." he replied quietly. "My dad left me when I was little and my mom dropped me off at the boarding school for bad boys and left when I was eight. I haven't seen them or my sister in a long time."
I looked at Lloyd with a frown as I felt pity for him. Poor kid has been abandon by both parents and his sister could be anywhere with them maybe. My question was: who were they? I kept looking into his sad eyes and came to an idea. "Hey do you want to stay with me then?" I asked. "I can ask Mystake about it and see if you can stay with us. I can help and take care of you."
Lloyd looked up at me and shook his head. "No. I'll be fine." he replied while throwing his hood over his head.
I frowned at him and could see that maybe he was on a search for his family maybe. To cheer him up, I reached into my pouch and pulled out a couple twenty dollar bills and reached for his hand and placed it in his palm. "At least do this for me." I said. "Take this cash to buy yourself some real food because you look like you haven't eaten in days. Do this for me, will you?" Lloyd looked up at me surprised and nodded. He placed the cash in his pockets and surprised me with a hug and murmured a thank you for the currency and left the village while kicking a rock. I sighed as I still felt bad for him on everything and headed to the tea shop so I can begin on inventory.
...
Today has been quiet and boring. Business has been slow today than usual. Logan would complain that it's boring to work. He's thirteen and he'll know about the responsibility of work better. Since it was a slow day today, Mystake had me and Logan study the ingredients of all teas we had from her book of herbs. There were some that help you sleep, give you energy to start the day, all of those helpful teas. The ones I found were fascinating as there was one that regulates your body heat, a tea that can make you older, and one that can help with your memories. But the one called Traveler's Tea had no description and was marked dangerous without ingredients. I asked Mystake about it and replied. "Only a fool would require that tea and those that drink it never return." From what?
But I couldn't study much on my studies as my mind was busy with wondering about Lloyd. The poor kid was abandon by both his parents and his sister is nowhere too. I felt sorry for him. I wished he accepted my offer of help for him to stay with me and Logan. There's a reason why Logan was here was because he wanted to help out and stay while his parents were busy on their shop across the village and Mystake's niece was busy with her parents. But for Lloyd though, I hoped that he finds what he's looking for. Hate to see him like that. I wonder if I'll ever see him again.
I climbed onto the ladder to a shelf and pulled down a box of jade leaves and heard someone screaming. Curiously, I climbed down and set the box down on the ladder step and looked through the doorway to the front counter and entrance. Logan looked up from the small television set as he heard the screams too. "What's going on, Lucas?" he asked me.
I shrugged my shoulders to his question. His guess was good as mine. I have no idea. I walked up to the counter and lifted the flap to walk out with Mystake and Logan behind me. I cautiously opened the door and heard the screams echo louder. Something was wrong. Wish the pathway wasn't surrounded by the stone wall. I need to perform stealth to see the problem, but can't do it near the two as I don't want to expose my secret ninja life. The village may know of Storm, but not the fact I'm a ninja and apprentice to Lord Garmadon. "I'm gonna see the problem and I want you two to stay inside in case." I explained. Mystake looked at me and nodded while bringing her nephew in.
With them inside, I ran up on the beam to reach the balcony and then jumped onto the roof. I scanned around the area and heard the commotion happening near the fountain. What was happening there? I ran across the rooftop and jumped to next shop and kept jumping to the next until I reached the fountain. I kept myself hidden and watched everyone scatter around like mice as they seen something to scare them "Take the candy!" a voice shouted. "Take it all!" I recognized the voice and turned to the candy shop to see a familiar face leaving the shop with cart of candy and gasped to what was behind him. Blue snakes with red swirl eyes that can walk while one had a tail and a golden staff. The Serpentine! They were real and existed! I watched the petrified people stare into the snake with the tail and staff eyes and suddenly had red irises and were walking around like mindless zombies. I now knew which tribe this was. The Hypnobrai. Controller of people with hypnosis.
I watched the villagers walk around like they had no mind at all. What was Lloyd doing with the Serpentine in the first place? I just met the kid and in one day he found the tomb. Without thinking, I stood up and jumped down to face him. "Lloyd, what are you doing?" I asked while slowly being surrounded by snakes.
Lloyd stopped to face me. I could see him surprised about me helping him before and now questioning him on his stupidity. These snakes are dangerous. He doesn't know what he has gotten himself into. "I am taking all the candy and with the help from the Serpentine, I can get what I want and my revenge on the stupid ninja." he explained.
So it's a revenge scheme and theft for candy. He has no idea what he got himself into though. I looked at the snake, what I think was the general as he was different than the others, as he glanced at me and hissed with his forked tongue. "What shall we do with him?" he asked.
I froze on his question and looked at Lloyd. He looked at me with a guilty look and mouthed me a sorry. "Get him!" he commanded.
I looked over my shoulders to see the snakes lunge towards me and I quickly jumped over them and ran down the streets with them chasing me. I looked ahead and saw more snakes running towards me from the street ahead. Quickly, I ran up some crates to hop onto the roof to avoid capture. I jumped over a sign and hid behind it and looked at them turning back. I sighed as that was too close. I heard four dragons roaring and looked up to see the ninja's dragons coming back to hopefully stop them and not bully the kid. I heard another scream and it sounded near and looked over to see two Hypnobrai's, two blue, one with a white arms while the other had grey arms with yellow accents on his face, stood in front of Mystake as Logan and five other kids I knew were behind her. She was protecting them. "Look what we have here, Sskales." the blue cobra observed. "New recruits to help us take over Ninjago."
I heard the children under Logan's age yelped and gasped in fear while staying close to Logan and Mystake. The one named Skales gave out a wicked smirk while tasting fear on his forked tongue. "Yess." he agreed. "General Sslitherra would enjoy his recruits as slaves. Even though I despise brats, they'll do fine. Even the older one."
I heard Logan gasp and Mystake moved the children closer to her. "It'll be alright, children." she said to comfort them.
I felt my blood boil in anger and clenched my fists to make my knuckles pop. I ran across the rooftops and jumped over them and landed in front of them in a crouch. The snakes stopped and hissed that I interrupted their plot to take the children away. I shot them with glares of anger and slowly stood up. "Leave them alone." I hissed.
Skales walked ahead of the other to glare at me. "Who are you to interrupt our plans?" he asked.
"I am here to protect them from you reptilian freaks." I remarked in a growl. "Now leave them alone or you'll face the consequences."
The blue cobra and Skales laughed like it was a joke. Which I'm not. "And how will you do that?" he asked. "It's two against one."
I smirked at them. I don't care if I expose myself as a ninja, I have to help them. "Ninjaa-Gooo!" I shouted and enveloped myself in my misty grey tornado and stopped to be dressed in my grey gi and pants with my gloves on and mask over my face. I crossed my arms over my face and stretched them out to have my golden sai's slide from my sleeves and stood in a defensive stance. I looked over my shoulders to see Mystake and the others gasp as I was a ninja and was gonna face against two dangerous snakes. I don't know where the ninja were, this should be fun to face. I haven't had action in a long time.
Skales and the other snake hissed at me angrily and charged. I sheathed my sai's into my belt and charged towards them and performed Spinjitzu to knock them off their feet. The quickly recovered and had me surrounded. Skales threw the first punch and I blocked it with my left arm to move it away and grabbed it with my right. I then drove my right elbow into his scaly arm and slammed my forearm into his neck and watched him fall. That should paralyze him for awhile. Hopefully.
I turned to the other snake as he crept forward while glaring at me with his red swirled eyes of control. He'll never take control of me or the others. I lunged at him and blocked his attacks. I swung my right leg at him and he caught it and twisted it to have my entire body flipped over while I hopped on one foot to maintain my balance. With quick thinking, I hunched my left leg to jump and swung a kick to his face to release my other leg and threw a punch to render him unconscious, but he instead caught it and quickly wrapped his arms around my neck in a headlock. I struggled to shake him off, but gasped to see Skales recovered and smirked to my capture. "Look into my eyes, ninja." he demanded.
*I quickly shut my eyes from his control and continued to shake the other off. I had an idea and felt around for the snake's foot and found it. I threw my heel into his right shin while bending and felt his weight on my back and his arms loosen. I quickly slipped my head free and dropped to the cobblestone ground and pushed myself back under his legs to be behind them and stood up. Skales was surprised by my escape and charged towards me. I fought against him in close combat as he was using Tae Kwan Do against me, but I ran up his chest and sent my knee into his jaw and then kicked him into the other snake and performed a backflip and landed safely. With those two on the ground, I drew out my sai's and pointed the blades at them. Make this count. "Water!" I shouted, hopefully not loud for the ninja to investigate, and two pressurized streams erupted from the blade towards them. The two snakes screamed and they disappeared and collided into a wall of a shop in front of us.
The two snakes slowly stood up and glared at me. "Retreat!" Lloyd's voice shouted. The two cobras looked at me and left. Hopefully that was the last of them.
I was breathing heavily to my battle and felt sweat form on my brow. It felt great as I haven't had action in three months. I'm sure the ninja thought the same too when Garmadon escaped. I sheathed my sai's and turned to the people I saved and removed my mask to show them my face. The cool snowy air mountain air felt refreshing to cool off. "Children, I want you to go inside until I say it's safe to go home." Mystake said while opening the door for them. The children looked at her, then me, and nodded and went inside. She kept the door open and waved a finger at me. "And you," she began. "In my office. I need to check on something." Crap. Now what? I just saved them and now needs me in her office to possibly discuss about my secret. Sighing, I nodded and followed.
I followed her through the back and up the stairs to her office and waited by her desk while she went to her filing cabinet. What was this about now? I felt like I'm in court and she's both the judge and jury with my verdict of being a criminal. But I'm a ninja though. Mystake fished out a piece of paper and walked back to her desk and placed it on her desk and pushed towards me. I looked down to study the paper and saw it was a missing poster and below it was a picture of me. I gave out a silent gasp and looked at her to see her arms were crossed. "It is you." she exclaimed. "The missing son."
"Mystake, listen..." I began to defend myself.
"Lucas, why aren't you helping the other ninjas if you're one too?" she asked while closing her cabinet.
Sighing, I looked down at my picture of ten-year-old me. "I have a past that had me run away from my father and I've been somewhere with my uncle." I explained. I told her everything. Why I ran away. Where I was. My training from my uncle. Getting Storm and my sai's. And then Garmadon escaping and my exile from the Underworld. "Now you know I am still under the apprenticeship of my uncle, I cannot go back to my father as he thinks I'm gone. Please don't tell him that I'm alive as I don't want to face him."
Mystake looked at me with her unsure chocolate brown eyes and then my picture. She sighed and looked at me. "Give me some time to think on this." she said while picking the piece of paper up and sat down on her chair.
I looked at her with a worried look and nodded and left her alone to think. I walked down the stairs to hear small shouts and screams and turned the corner to expect the Serpentine attacking again, but it was the children climbing on the shelves and counters of the back room. What were they doing? "Logan, what's going on?" I asked him.
Logan jumped off the counter to the ladder and looked at me. "The floor is lava." he replied. It was a game. "Ninja style"
Oh that's great. I influenced them as ninjas because I'm one. But I need them to understand that I have a secret. They know about Storm and they like him as he's gentle with them. Same to Logan but he's afraid of him. I can understand that when I was his age. "Get down here now." I tell them. "I have to talk to you."
"But the floor is lava." a kid with black hair named Tyler stated.
I rolled my eyes and held my gloved hands out. A spray of mist filled the floor before evaporating in the air; this should get them to stop playing. "The lava is cooled now." I exclaimed. "Now get down here. I need to talk to you." I watched the kids climb down and gathered around me. "Now I want you all to do something for me and not go around the village and say that I'm a ninja."
"Why not?" Logan asked. "It was awesome to what you did to those snakes back there. Even when you made that tornado appear and that water from those...letter openers."
"Sai's and Spinjitzu." I corrected him. "And yes what you saw was awesome, but I had to defend you as that's what ninjas do. But I can't have you all going around saying I am one."
"Why not." a girl with black hair and red streaks named Katie, but everyone calls her Kat for short. "People should know you're one like the others."
I sighed and looked at their wondering eyes. "Because," I began and spun in my tornado to be dressed into my jeans and grey tee shirt. "I have a past that I don't want to see. And if you all go around and spread the rumors to your parents, they'll spread it around outside and who's to say that it'll reach the ninja and they'll know a sixth ninja."
"Sixth?" Joseph, a kid around Logan's age with ginger hair, asked confused. "I thought that there were four when I saw them."
"There are four for now and there's the Green Ninja. He's the one who can control all elements. But they haven't found him yet. I'm the sixth ninja as I can control water and they don't know about know about me at all. But I want you all to promise me this, please don't tell everyone I'm a ninja and don't want to be exposed. I want my secret kept from the ninja and someone else. Can you do that for me?" The kids looked at each other and nodded. "Thank you." I smiled. "Now I think it's safe for you all to go home now and keep it a secret." The kids said their goodbyes to me and Logan left for home. Soon after, Logan and I went back to work in quietness without questions of me being a ninja or my elemental powers.
I hope Mystake doesn't contact my father of my existence.
Well what did you think of the small meeting of Lucas and Lloyd? Now we know how they met in the first place, but they still don't know they're cousins until later. Anyway, I hoped you all enjoyed today's update and soundtrack. Have a wonderful weekend and see you all next week. :)
