Alright! Here's chapter two, which'll be a bit odd for any returning member of the old series...Welp, here's to hoping this'll be good!
At the moment for polls, Scenario Three of couples is winning.
Grace smiled as she carefully brought out a fresh tea kettle for her father, watching as the three boys went through the training course.
They had all been training for a few days now, trying to beat their own speed records on the course.
These boys were so fascinating. They told her stories of life outside the Monastery. Tales of adventure and wonder.
All that they told her seemed to much like a dream..Though, she supposed that's how Spinjitsu felt to them, in turn.
But still..
She paused walking for a moment to look at the walls that surrounded her home. What was it like, outside of her little world?
To Cole, it sounded like a new challenge.
To Jay, it was a blank canvas for experiments.
To Zane, it was a new place to learn.
Yet to her, it just..It felt so unreal..
Sure she knew that there were things outside of her home. Things that were most likely far beyond her imagination, and yet...They seemed almost too good to be true.
Her father's voice pulled her out of her trance. "Grace?"
"Ah! Sorry Father...!" She rushed to his side, putting the tea kettle on his little tray.
"You are here...But is your mind?"
"I'm sorry, Father..I was distracted.."
"That is understandable." He hummed, nodding his head as he sipped his tea. "..I will be leaving again."
"S-so soon?"
"There are more who are needed for this quest."
"I see...Maybe I could-"
"No, Grace."
.. "As you say, Father.."
He nods, before carefully standing, and the three boys quickly going over to him. "You are all doing very well separately...But perhaps, you all need time to coagulate...Prepare a bag, you shall go into the wilderness around the Monastery, and learn to become one."
The plan seemed so fluid as he spoke, with each boy bowing to him and quickly getting their supplies.
"Father...What would you like me to do?"
..Sensei Wu turned, and smiled at her. "Please, go and prepare the rooms for our new guests."
"Very well, Father..."
Kim-Ly sighed as she carefully sorted out the metals that the miners and her had gotten that day, a careful set of magnifying glasses perched on her face.
Lead, silver, copper, gold...
All were carefully separated into the boxes.
She was always focused on the job, even though she already knew which piece was what. It felt like second nature really, to just glance at a piece before placing it.
But she didn't.
Not when she knew the others would come and watch over her, making sure she was 'doing the job right'.
Please, if things were really her way, she could probably get this entire mountain mined and properly sorted by the end of the month...But what good would that do?
The mine would get dried up after that, and they would all lose a valuable income to their homes and-
She gasped as she held the table, the cavern around her shaking. Something had gone off..
"HEY! I SAID NO EXPLOSIVES THIS HOUR!" She yelled out, turning around and taking off the glasses as the men ran passed her.
"A CAP BLEW! WE GOT GUYS TRAPPED IN THE LOWER LEVEL!"
Her heart dropped and eyes widened...Before she joined the herd in racing down to the lowest levels, dawning her oxygen mask.
Already the men were at work, trying to lift away the heavy rocks as they heard their companions on the other side. Screaming, yelling, begging for help.
"WE'LL GET YOU OUT OF THERE!" Kim-Ly shouted to them, aiding the efforts in prying the rocks away and-
She gasped as she felt herself be pulled back by on of the men, and a golden tornado whisked past them.
It spun rapidly against the rock wall, the minerals chipping away easily it seemed to it. As if a million hands were attacking it all at once. In a matter of moments, the wall was gone, and the men who had been trapped were easily helped out.
The tornado spun back to the first level, with Kim-Ly racing after was more than surprised to see the same old man from yesterday, Sensei Wu...
"I am glad to have stopped by when I had...Or else you may have had many more troubles to face, Kim-Ly."
She bowed in respect and gratitude, cleansing the shock from her face. "Thank you. I don't know what would have happened had you not been here..."
"It was the right thing to do." He hummed, bowing in return to her.. "Now then..Have you thought over my offer?"
"Yes I...I have."
"And?"
"..And I wish to learn...That is, if you will teach me."
"My dear, anyone can simply be taught. It is the wise and powerful, who use what they have learned. Now then, prepare your bags, and say your farewells..We shall leave soon."
"Yes, sir."
~X~Time Skip~X~
Kim-Ly sighed as she hugged her mom, Dawn, gently. The woman was tearing up, sniffling, while her daughter was stone faced. "O-oh, m-my little baby's leaving the nest...!"
"Mom, I'm taller than you..."
"Shh-shhh...You're still my little girl.."
"Alright mom.."
"Now, be sure to eat every day."
"Yes mom."
"And message us in any and every way you can."
"Uh-huh.."
"And be sure to change your clothes every-"
"Okay, mom..I get it."
"I-I'm sorry it's just.." Her mother pulled back to gently cup her daughter's face. "..It feels like just yesterday you would come and jump into my arms, telling me about your day at the park with your friends and now you...You just..Grew up too fast, sweetie..."
"Mom.." She sighed, taking her mother's hands off. "You have more children then just me.."
"But I only have one Kim-Ly.."
"Mom." Kim-Ly seemed unphased by all of this, and her mother just gave a heart broken sigh.
"Yes, yes...I know, I'm just..Wasting my breath...Go and see your father.."
"Alright, I will contact you when I can." She gave her mother a kiss to the top of her head, before getting her bag and leaving her abode. Her mother frowned, waving as she watched her daughter leave.
~X~Time Skip~X~
"Tell me, what ails you, sir?" Sensei Wu hummed as he sat beside Thomas, the two sharing some tea as they awaited Kim-Ly to arrive.
"Ah, wouldn't you know it? Metal toxicity." The male chuckled out, shaking his head. "The doctors can't figure out what kind of metal though...I guess it's my payback for always eating my lunch in all the mines..."
"I wish you good health." The old man hummed out, patting the male's shoulder.
"And I wish you well, old friend." He smiled, chuckling. "Tell me, have you talked to any of the other Masters?"
"No, no I have not...Yet, I must say, you have changed over the years.."
"You'd be surprised what a bit of physical training, hair dye, hair cuts, and a bit of manipulation can do...Besides, you look much better than me, Wu."
"Ah, still the flatterer, I see" The bearded male laughed softly. "...Tell me, have you told your family about..."
"No, no I have not..But please, don't tell them...Not yet."
Wu sighed, yet nodded his head.. "Very well..Yet eventually, your past will come back, Thomas...And when that time comes, Kim-Ly will have many questions for you."
"I am well aware, Wu..But for now, I must ask that you keep her safe..."
"I will do my best, old friend." He bowed, smiling at the male, just as Kim-Ly's footsteps could be heard coming down the silent hallway outside.
The door slid open, with Kim-Ly stepping in and quirking an eyebrow at her father and the old Sensei... "Ah, Kimmy, come on in. Me and Mister Wu here were talking about your little journey.."
"Alright...Well, then you know why I am here.."
"Mmmhm, sure as sunshine, Sweetie..Now come over here, and give me a hug." The teen nodded, putting her bag down and carefully going over, hugging her father. "Mmmn...You're gonna make me so proud, sweetheart..."
"..I hope so, dad.."
..
After a moment the father sighed, patting his daughter's back as tears pricked his eyes. "A-alright...Go on now, you and Wu better get going...If you stay here too long, I may never let you go."
"Alright dad, see you."
"Bye, Kimmy.." he smiled, waving at his daughter, and nodding to Wu.
..The male gently patted his hand, before giving him a small hug. "I will protect her to the best of my abilities..."
"Thank you, Wu..."
Sensei Wu had carefully instructed Kim-Ly to wait a bit in Ninjago City as he went to Bunny's family boutique..
Instead of Bunny however, her mother was behind the counter, and as soon as she saw him she froze..Once he entered, she made a swift movement to turn the sign from 'open' to 'close'.
"...From what I hear, you go by the name 'Chanel' now...Correct?"
"I thought I made it clear by the looks I was giving you yesterday, I don't want you here..!"
"Chanel..."
"And I especially don't want you around my daughter!"
"Chanel-"
"Don't you 'Chanel' me...! I know what happens in your little 'Elemental' stuff! My grandparents told me exactly what had happened!"
"Chanel, listen to me."...When the woman had stopped, he took it as his sign to continue. "You may stop me all you want, yet if your grandparents had taught you anything, it's that Destiny will find you. No matter what...Bunny will find out what power she holds, and when she does, she can either learn to train it...Or allow it to consume her."
..Chanel took in a deep breath, before letting out a shaky sigh, rubbing her face.. "..Do you have a daughter, Wu?"
"Yes, I do..."
"Then can you imagine, just how horrifying this is for me? I moved away, I changed my name, hell-I changed everything about me...Just so that my family could get away from that...And now here you come just-just waltzing in with your mamby-pamby staff, telling me that my daughter is...is gonna.."
"..She is going to save lives, Chanel.."
"But my children are my life, Wu.." The woman turned to him, frowning deeply.. "I taught her everything I could..I protected her from this as best as I could and I...I don't want you to take her away from me..Not yet, not when she's so young.."
"Chanel...I am sorry, but her time has come..She needs to learn, before it is too late.."
..She sighed shakingly, holding herself... "...If she is harmed...I want you to know, Wu..It will be all your fault.."
"I understand that well, Chanel."
"And I will never let you forget it."
"..Understood.."
"...I'll be leaving the store for one hour...If she is gone by then, then...I shall not stop her.."
"Thank-"
"Do not thank me." She growled, glaring at the male... "..Just..Just leave..Before I change my mind."
With that Chanel grabbed her bag and left the shop, while Sensei Wu carefully ascended the stairs to the home-portion of the store.
~X~Time Skip~X~
Bunny sighed as she carefully swallowed her allergy pill, taking it with a cup of water.
"What are you allergic to, young one?"
She almost chocked on the water, and had to cough a bit of it out from the sudden scare..Before turning around and blinking when she saw Sensei Wu at her dinning room table. "U-uhm...Pollen.."
"Perhaps you are simply allergic, because you haven't accepted it..."
"H-huh?"
"Have you considered my offer from before?"
"O-oh! Oh, yes, the-the training...Yes, I have.."
"And?" He quirked a bushy eyebrow up at her.
"..I..I want to learn, sir.."
"Very well then. Prepare your bags, we shall leave as soon as possible."
Bunny nodded, having already packed her bags after that first night..She had even made a little farewell letter. She knew her family would never allow her to go, so..So sneaking out and leaving would be her only option...
She packed all of her bare necessities.
Clothing, medicine, shoes, socks, jewelry, photo albums, back up socks and shoes, make-up, sewing machine, sewing kit, and a few other things.
Yep, bare necessities!
All of which were pretty close to making her bag burst out at the zipper..Yet she managed to keep it all nice and packed. If an Asher knew how to do one thing, it's making sure things fit.
She grunted as she hauled the bags down the stairs, and gave a smile to Sensei Wu, glasses in her hair. "Alright Sensei Wu...! I-I'm all set...!"
... "Have you brought all that you needed?"
"I-I think so! Yeah, but if not, I can probably make do.."
"Very well then." The male nodded his head as he went and held open the door for her, an act that she very much appreciated..Before blinking in surprise when she saw a girl right outside her family's store...
A girl in the most atrocious clothing she had ever seen. "Uhm..."
"D'ya need help?" The girl asked in a rather gruff voice, quirking an eyebrow.
In an instant, Bunny felt her own voice decrease in size.. "H-huh?"
"Bags."
"O-oh...U-uhm-"
Bunny wasn't allowed to finish as the girl easily took her bags and carried them.. "...I'm Kim-Ly..."
"B-Bunny..."
"Come, let's get you two to the Monastery." Sensei Wu hummed, ushering the girls to follow him as he already started on his journey.
Grace smiled happily as she opened the door for her father and the two girls that he brought along. Oh yay! More people! Plus, these ones were girls...!
Perhaps they could teach her a bit more of the feminine variety of news of the outside world. Oh, that would be wonderful..!
"Grace, please, help these ladies get settled in. I will be leaving shortly to procure our last student."
"Of course, Father." She nodded, quickly ushering the girls inside. "I am afraid that, due to bit of a lack of room, you girls will be sharing my quarters..."
"O-oh, th..That's alright.."
"I don't need much space."
Grace grinned, nodding as she took them to her little slice of the Monastery. Her room was one that would typically hold about four or so, but given the fact that she used to be the only girl...Well, she had a lot of room to herself.
Yet it wasn't filled with much.
She simply had her bed, and a little dresser for her clothing. The Monastery girl quickly went and pulled out two more beds to put on the tatami mats.
"I'm sorry it's not much to look at, but we can decorate it however you two would like!"
"It's fine." The black haired girl huffed out, dumping two of the almost bursting bags onto the floor, and getting the bed closest to the door. "I'll take this one.."
"O-oh..Uhm.."..The green dressed girl gulped, carefully taking the two bags on the ground to the farthest away bed. "T-this one can..Can be mine...I suppose.."
...
...
Grace blinked at the awkward silence that fell upon her room, glancing between the two girls. Well, perhaps they weren't..The best at conversations..But that was alright..! They could still make do with what they had.
"Grace...!"
"Ah-coming Father...!" She bowed to the two girls in her-their room, before running out to meet her dad. "Yes?"
"Could you prepare me a bit of tea for my journey...?"
"Oh! Of course..!" She smiled, quickly making him a pot. "The boys are still out camping, Cole said they'll be out for roughly a week or so and-"
"Grace..."
"Yes?"
"..You have been using the training course, haven't you?"
The girl froze up, eyes dilating...Before continuing to make tea. "I...Do not know what you are talking abo-"
"The training course ran too smoothly that first day with the boys. Too smoothly for all the time it shouldn't have been in use...You have been using it for a long time...For many years, I am guessing...Behind my back.."
"...Father, I-I simply wanted to learn to defend-"
"You have gone against my word, Grace.."
"...I am sorry, Father..."
"Prove it." He sighed, carefully taking his tea pot. "You shall find a way to make it up to me, and from there...I will decide if I have forgiven you.."
...She bowed, kneeling on the ground. "Yes, Father..."
"...I will be leaving now, ensure that the Monastery if kept under order."
"Yes, Father.."
Grace carefully breathed as she followed after her father, a safe distance away, never letting him leave her sight.
Perhaps if she helped him guide the last member to the Monastery, all could be forgiven!
...
Okay, she knew that it was rather unlikely, but she could at least try!
She crept and hid behind the trees, trying not to be overwhelmed..Everything around her were sights she had never experienced. Sounds she had never heard.
She wanted desperately to just take a peek and-
NO!
No, Grace.
You had a mission to do.
She climbed a tree beside her, watching as her father entered a shop titled "Four Weapons"...After exchanging a few words with someone inside though, he soon left.
Perhaps, then...She could try?
She quickly slid down the tree and ran to the shop, glancing around in a sort of awe. Glimmering metals carefully stacked and placed, with-
"Uhm, excuse me." She jumped at the female voice, getting into a defensive stance and-Oh, it was just a girl dressed in red...Haha, perhaps Grace was just a bit nervous.. "Are you alright?"
"Ah, yes, I-I'm fine..Thank you, though, for asking."
"No problem, I'm Nya..Anyway, are you looking for anything?"
"Oh, no-Well, yes? I mean-Maybe?" Oh geez, conversations were harder than she had anticipated...
Nya giggled, putting a hand gently on Grace's shoulder. "Relax...Maybe my brother and I can help you."
"Oh, well..I don't need help, I was just.."...Okay, think of something, Grace.. "I was admiring your weapons. They're all very nice."
"See? Now her I'm okay with. She wasn't complaining and-"
"Kai."
"Oh, right...Uhm, are you looking for anything, Miss?"
"Ah...Well, I.." She blinked, realizing that the brown haired male was most likely who her dad had been talking to... "..I..Suppose I've come looking for you, Kai.."
"Me? But I-"
Kai was cut off as sudden dark clouds enveloped the sky, and a roaring noise over took the air. The once placid hills were chaotic as villagers were running away, screaming, as skeletons rode in on odd vehicles...
Well, there's something you don't see every day.
"What...Are they?" Nya asked as she looked at the scene in disbelief.
"I don't know..." Kai had managed to change into a thick armor, dawning a helmet and brandishing a sword. "You two, stay here."
With that, he quickly entered a duel with the skeletons.
"Do you really want to stay here?" The blacksmith girl questioned Grace, who shook her head..With a smirk, the black haired female got out two staffs, and handed one to Grace. "Then let's go...!"
Swiftly, the two girls eased their own spot into the battle, aiding Kai.
"I thought I told you two to stay back...!"
"And what?" The sister began, smirking at her brother. "Let you have all the fun?"
~X~
Grace was in her own little world as the fight raged on, teeth gritted as she took down skeleton after skeleton.
Inside she could feel it. Her heart was pounding wildly yet at the same time it felt stilled. Her breath was raging, yet she didn't gasp nor wheeze. Her mind was jumbled yet so clear she...
In all the chaos within her, her body felt so at peace.
She had wanted to fight for so long..
Her hands guided the staff, hitting the weak points that she found. Hitting, slashing, dodging as her mouth dried up.
She wanted it..
Because really, it was all too familiar.
Over the planks, dodge the swords, here comes the dum-
She was in awe as a tornado sparked up around her, maneuvering to skeletons and decimating the army.
After a moment though, she stopped, and looked around at the scattered bones and shattered weapons.
She felt a grin creep it's way onto her face, hand flexing around the staff in her hands.
She could do it.
She did it...
She needed more-
"NINAJAGO!"
She looked up at the top of the hill where Four Weapons was, hearing her father's yell...And quickly ran up the mountain side. As she was about to reach it though, she saw that Nya was being surrounded...
Her father could handle himself.
"NINJAAAAGO!" She quickly blew through the skeletons around Nya, and nodded to her once she got out of the tornado.
"LORD GARMADON SAYS-TAKE THE GIRL!"
"Uh...Which one?" Voices came from behind both Nya and her, and Grace had to turn around.
"JUST GRAB THEM BOTH!" The voice shouting commands demanded, and as swift as the phrase was uttered, a skeleton hand was launched.
She froze, Grace feeling time slow down as the hand extended towards the two girls..And wrapped around them, pulling them to the skeleton.
"NYA!" Kai exclaimed as the leader of the skeletons cackled, the vehicle taking them away.
"FATHER!" Was all Grace could shout, before both she and Nya were hit, and knocked out.
~X~
Kai ran a few meters ahead, watching the departing skeletons in disbelief. "They took Nya.."
Sensei Wu took a deep breath, composing himself...Before walking to Kai, and bonking his helmet. "I told you, useless.."
As if someone had flipped a switch, the Blacksmith was enraged.
"Arrrgh-You could have DONE something...! You could have used your-Your twistitzu, or your-your-"
"Spinjitzu."
"But you did nothing." Kai growled at him, before turning and starting to walk off. "I'm gonna get my sister back..And that other girl too.."
"Where they go, a mortal can not." The simple phrase made Kai stop. "That was Samukari, King of the Underworld. And if it's true that he's carrying out orders for Lord Garmadon, then I fear that things are far worse than I had ever thought..."
Kai though, could not be any more confused... "Lord Garmadon..?! Underworld..?! What's going on.?! What do we have that's so important to them, and why would they take my sister and the other girl?"
...
"What's so important? How about everything in Ninjago itself?"
And from there, Sensei Wu began his tale, praying within that Grace and Nya were both okay.
Mayhemb; I hope you have all enjoyed, and I wish the best for you all. For those of you that this applies to, have a happy New Years.
Talk to you next chapter!