Hello my dear readers, I would like to address a question I was asked regarding the previous chapter.
For those of you who come in from the previous story of "The Water Ninja" you have known Grace to be, well, the Water Ninja.
So last chapter did raise a question; Does Grace have more than one element?
Well, technically if I answer this at the moment, I may have to contradict the answer given most likely. However I will touch on this in depth within the story soon enough.
However, her main element is Destruction.
After a lot of debating, the old authors and I just didn't want to try and mingle in two Water Ninjas, and going against canon is taboo in all of our books. So while I understand that for many, Grace 'Garmadon' is still the Water Ninja, I ask that you accept Grace Wu in being the Destruction Ninja.
"Sign me up~!" Jay groaned as he and the others pulled the horse carriage up a mountain, with Sensei Wu riding it. "Way to go Spark-Plug..."
Zane gave his companions a small glance, each one talking through their gasps and pants. "I sense this is some strange form of team building."
"Just keep pulling, we have a long way to go." Cole tried to cheer on his team as he ran in front with Kim-Ly. Jay and Zane covered two points at the middle side areas, with Bunny and Kai bringing up the last of them.
"So...Where did Sensei find you guys?" Kai gasped, looking at his companions.
"Uh, well...Lets just say that if it wasn't for Sensei Wu, I don't think we would have ever be seen together. I was testing my limits." Cole fondly regarded, retelling the story of how he was with a climbing group and beat everyone to the top. Only to be confused when he found a tea-drinking Wu already there.
"I was testing my invention." Jay stated proudly, explaining the story about him creating a set of wings that could fly. He ended up crashing into a building's sign, before looking up to see Sensei Wu sitting right next to where he crashed. The old man was happily drinking his tea.
"And I...Was testing myself." Zane gasped, quickly telling how he had been meditating in a pond. Only to gasp beneath the water, and almost drown, when he saw Sensei Wu right beside him.
Still.
Sipping.
Tea.
Kim-Ly was unphased when Cole gave her a glance, the others wanting to know her story..."...Mines. He came in when I was working."
After realizing that this was all they would get from the Ninja of Metal, the Ninja of Nature was put on trial. "U-uhm...H-he came to my f-family's boutique...W-while I was, also..Working.."
"You're right, if it weren't for Sensei none of us would-"
"STOP!" Sensei Wu yelled out, cutting Kai off.. "..We're here."
The five ninja and Sensei look over the ledge and into a large canyon-like monument. Within the crater that laid out before them, the skeleton army was hard at work digging away at the rock.
"The Caves of Despair...Samukai must be close to unearthing the scythe of Quakes." Sensei Wu voiced the group's thoughts, each staring down the sight before them. "Remember! Do not use the weapon, for it's power-"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Is to much for us mortals..Alright guys lets chop-sokey this lemonade stand." Jay interjected, before looking and pointing to his appointed leader. "Cole! You got a plan?"
"Sure do! First we lower ourselves down the ledge and then..." Something made Cole pause as he looked around their little group. "...Where's Kai?"
"Uhm..." Bunny tugged at Kim-Ly's sleeve, before pointing out a departing Red Ninja.
The Metal ninja looked over, and nudged Cole. "He's running."
Once the rest of the group saw the running Fire Ninja, the leader quickly took action. "Agh, let's go...!"
Thus the five other ninja quickly flipped into business, with Bunny hiding behind Kim-Ly as they went.
Each of them carefully followed Kai's trail at first, and used the bin of a skeleton's mining cart to safely move around for a bit...Until they had to thoroughly rearrange a skeleton to stop him from yelling out, the warrior having spotted Kai.
After maneuvering through the maze of skeletons, they all finally caught up atop the central hut of operation
"What's the matter with you?" Jay whispered, slapping Kai's shoulder. However he was 'shhh'ed by said ninja, and they all looked down. Inside, Samukai was reading the map for the Golden Weapons...Only.. "It's upside down...! They're digging in the wrong spot."
"The Golden Weapon is near.." Zane hummed out, quickly getting out a shuriken with a rope tied to it. After the 'go ahead' nod from Cole, he used his weapon to get the map easily from the table. Score one for the White Ninja.
"There's no time to waste." And with that, Kai flipped off of the building, and to the ground...Jay looked at his comrades.
"What is with that guy? Always in a rush...!"
"Better than being slow, c'mon." Kim-Ly grumbled out, following Kai's lead. Hey, if he got in trouble, someone had to rescue his butt.
"Destruction, my dear niece, it not simply one element." Lord Garmadon instructed the girl as she sat before him, hands unbound. "But a combination of the elements which built Ninjago, along with destruction in itself...And given time, you will master them all."
"...Where do we start...?"
"With knowledge. After all, knowing is half the battle..." The male got off of his throne, and walked towards her. "You must understand each and every element that you will have in your arsenal, and be able to use them."
"I...I understand..."
"Good..Then, let us begin your training."
Bunny had stayed outside of the mine for a bit to help the other boys catch up, and lead them to Kim-Ly and Kai...The Metal ninja was simply leaning against the wall, watching the Fire ninja struggle.
"Hey!" Cole started telling the two as the group came over. "Before you two race off again, you need to remember that we're team.
While Kim-Ly simply gave him a nod, Kai seemed a bit...Disinterested, in the fact. "Yeah, whatever.."
With those enthusiastic replies, the other ninja soon aided Kai in his efforts to move the boulder. Once it was out of the way, they were met with a rather menacing sight.
Gigantic stone statues of heads surrounded a single dragon-like alter. Within the dragon's gaping mouth was the floating Golden Scythe.
All of them were in a sort of stunned silence...Well, almost all of them. Jay just- "Whoa..! That is so COOL!"
His phrase echoed throughout the mines, and Kim-Ly gave him a nudge to shut his trap. Cole was kind enough to voice her opinion. "Shhhhh...! Not so loud...!"
The Earth Ninja hopped down, starting to wrap the Scythe in a blanket as the Lightning Ninja shrugged off the warning. "Augh, come on. Don't be paranoid...! We're totally on the opposite side of the caves."
"B-But...The echos.." Bunny frowned, grasping Kim-Ly's shoulder...And quickly letting it go when the other girl gave her a look. "S-sorry...!"
"Hm.."
"Zip it, okay? Now that we got the Scythe, let's sneak out while those boneheads are still busy." The others didn't argue with Cole's instructions, following him out of the cave as he tossed the Golden Weapon to Kai. With a glance back, Bunny felt her blood run cold as she saw the Dragon's mouth start to open wider...And quickly ran to catch up with the group. "Alright, team. Everyone stick together. The way out is right around the corner."
"U-uhm..K-Kim-Ly...?" Bunny started whispering to her.
"Hm...?"
"Dragon head..."
"Huh?"
"Drag-"
The two were cut off as they finally looked ahead...To see what looked to be an entire army of skeleton in front of them and the group.
Well, this was horrifying.
Kim-Ly was partially regretting not getting a weapon to begin with, however her punches seemed to be working in her favor.
Bunny's technique in fighting left many questions...Considering she just swung the staff that she had in her hands. "W-We didn't have skeletons in the city...! Well-not these kind...!"
"Kai! Throw it here!" Zane was heard throughout the chaos, Kai quickly throwing him the Scythe. When he saw that he was going to get tackled, he threw it to Cole.
"Going low!"
"There's too many of them...!" Kai yelled, starting to feel over whelmed by the sheer number..
"Let me handle that...!" Jay happily showed off to the others, adding in his own sound effect...Until finally, he stopped. "Hey, guys! It's just like the training course! Over the planks! Dodge the sword! Here comes the dummy!"
The Lightning Ninja's outburst quickly caught all of the other ninjas' attention as he started to do Spinjitsu. A brief silence from them occurred...Before Kai broke it. "Spinjitzu...! Jay! What's the key?!"
"I'm just going through the motions. This is what Sensei must have meant when he said we already know it." Jay seemed to be having the time of his life in his little blue tornado.
The Fire Ninja watched him for a moment...Before copying his instructions, going through the training course. Once Kai's actions confirmed it, it wasn't long before the others were spinning in their own tornadoes.
Lord Garmadon smirked, watching as Grace's Spinjitsu sped past one of the Skeleton Army's jeeps. From her path of purple, dark lines formed on the ground, attacking and engulfing the massive machine...Before it crumbled to pieces.
"Very good, very good Grace...!"
The girl gasped as she fell down to the ground, panting. Every time she got enveloped her breath hitched, her body seemed to clench, her mind happily reeled...And yet she felt so free...
"Oh come now, you can't be tired already..."
"No..! No, I.." She struggled a bit to get up. "I can continue...!"
"Excellent."
"O-oh geez..." Bunny panted, stopping her Spinjitsu once the skeletons had retreated... "I-I don't...Know if I...Can keep that up...!"
While the City girl voice her opinions, the males of the group were celebrating happily.
"Good thing they didn't check out the merchandise in the back..!" Cole proclaimed eagerly, turning around...And seeming to freeze up as the other boys continued in their celebration... "U-uh...Guys...?"
"Hm?" Kim-Ly turned around to see what Cole was looking at.. "...Oh...Oh.."
"Didn't Sensei say there was a guarding protecting the scyth-" Zane was cut off when the Metal Ninja turned him around...Soon the final three turned around.
" Is that a...That's not what I think it is, is it?"
"Mommy..." The Nature Ninja wheezed out, gripping Kim-Ly's sleeve.
"You mean...A dragon..?"
"No, an over grown lizard.." Kim-Ly dead panned in response to Jay.
Kai and then Zane didn't seem to be in the comedic mood..."Well, that sure looks like a dragon...!"
"I sense we won't be able to spin our way out of this one..."
All six stared up at the large beast, before yelling as it blew them back and to the ground with a mighty burst of sand...Quickly they got up, and took into a quick run.
Well...
"Bunny, get up...!" Kim-Ly accented to the girl as she just stared at the large dragon in fear...With a sigh, the black haired girl took the smaller one onto her back, and ran.
However, a simple wrong turn in a mine lead them right into a dead end...
"I thought dragons weren't from this world..!"
"Tell that to him then, Cole.." Kim-Ly hummed out, still straight faced.
Jay looked over, shocked to see Kai unraveling the Golden Scythe from it's cloth. "No no, Kai. Bad idea. Sensei told us not to...!"
"Then you better keep your mouth shut...!" Just like that, the Fire Ninja took off charging at the Dragon, with Cole shouting one last warning to him.
"Kai! Don't!"
The Scythe was raised into the air before being brought down, cracking the earth at their feet...Soon enough that one little crack lead to an entire rupture in the ground, a cave in starting to arise.
From above, a rock falls and hits the dragon on the head, allowing the Ninja to a better area.
"We gotta escape...!" Kai proclaimed, before a light shown down from above. No, it was not heaven, but a crack in the rock overhead.
"We'll use Spinjitsu...!"
Kim-Ly nodded at Cole's statement, moving Bunny to the safety of her arms..Before following the others through the opening in her silver tornado.
Five colored spirals busted out of the crack in the ground, diffusing in front of Sensei Wu, with Zane and Jay falling to the ground. Gingerly, the Metal Ninja put her Nature companion on her feet as the boys cheered.
"That was so awesome!"
"Yes!" Kai shared a high-five with Cole, agreeing happily with his statement. "We are unbelievable!"
Even Zane was pumped. "We are the best...!"
"Did you see that?!"
"No, Jay...It wasn't like we were all there with each other." Kim-Ly murmured, rolling her eyes in annoyance as Jay continued his little rant.
"I was like pow and you were like BAM-"
"ENOUGH!"...All fell silent as Sensei Wu yelled... " I told you not to use the Scythe!"
The Lightning Ninja was quick to point out the guilty party. "He did it."
"What?" Who, of course, didn't see a problem with his actions.
"I warned him, Sensei.." Cole clarified to the bearded man.
"Using it was my only option!"
Yet this statement didn't make Sensei Wu side with Kai. "And what makes you think you're more important than the team, huh..?! Huh?!"
"They took my sister, remember?!"
"There are still five weapons left...Maybe next time, you can do it right." With that, Sensei Wu started walking away from the group, the others scurrying a bit to follow him.
Kim-Ly sighed as she rested for a moment, sitting down. They had been walking for what seemed like ages, with Sensei Wu leading them to an almost freezing port...Apparently, the next weapon required a boat to get to.
Joy...
It wasn't that Kim-Ly didn't like water, it was more of the ships themselves. Often ships just seemed like a big waste of good metal..But, hey, she wasn't a builder so-
Her head almost whipped up when she heard small sniffling, and looked around..To see that Bunny was sitting near the docks, the boys having gone inside with Sensei Wu to warm up..
Slowly, the Metal Ninja stood, taking a few steps towards the other..Did...Did she have the right to try and see what was wrong?
The City girl looked like she wanted to just be alone...
Yet, her being outside in this cold wouldn't be good for her health...
...
Slowly, and unsure, Kim-Ly walked over...Before sitting down beside the blonde. "Uhm...Hi."
Bunny sniffled, rubbing her eyes and her face... "..H-hi.."
"...Uhm..." She was never good with emotional talks.. "So...Today was...New."
Where was comic relief Jay when you needed him?
"No it isn't...I froze up, a-and I..I could barely keep up..."
"Hey now that...That..Isn't true.." ...Bunny gave her a little glance, and in all honesty? Not even the Metal Ninja would believe those words... "Look you...You aren't that bad..."
"Yeah right..."
"You aren't, you just..."
"I 'just' suck...I should have never left the City..."
"...Bunny..Look, you just...You need to...What's happening is.."..Kim-Ly pursed her lips together, and closed her eyes. Okay, this wasn't working...
And Bunny couldn't help but point it out.."..You..Aren't very good at this.."
"..Yeah..."
The two were left to just sit there until the boys came back out, and they all quickly boarded their ship.
Grace groaned, falling to the ground as she felt her body give way. She had done all the training that she could that day...Or night, or...Or whenever it was. One couldn't really tell the time in the Underworld.
Never before had she felt so tired. Usually it took hours of training at the Monastery before she felt the strain..Yet with full on Spinjitsu, it was like a weight had been put on her muscles. She tired far too quickly for either her, or her Uncle's, liking.
"Get up, Grace...! You must not waste time...!"
"Ugh.." She tried to push herself up..Only to fall back down.
"Hmph...I suppose I forgot a bit about physical limitations for people...Skeletons don't really tired..They're just plainly idiotic." Lord Garmadon grumbled under his breath. "But you can not rest..! You have more training to do."
"Why...Why must I train so much...?" Grace asked, turning her head so that her cheek rested against the cold ground.
"To see your father again, my dear."
And at that point, Grace didn't need the floor...Her body was cold enough.
Bunny took a deep breath, before giving a soft yawn as she clung to one of the railings on the ship. Don't let the yawn fool you though. The waters were terrifying. Deep down inside, she was thankful for the boat that they were on..
She wouldn't know what to do if they had to walk or swim all this way...
Then again, what would be new?
She bit the inside of her cheek, glancing at her companions. All of them seemed strong, and so well fit for this kind of job...
They each came from a background which showed off their strengths, and managed to make them shine while...
While she was just a seamstress..
A backroom seamstress who wouldn't amount to anything but being a seamstress...
The thought left a rock in her stomach as she thought it over, frowning behind her mask.
She had left home hoping to do good..But all she had accomplished was holding a team mate down as fear ran through her. She had expected to fight bad people, living bad people! With SKIN.
Not skeletons! Or dragons..!
From her mind though, she was pulled out as Sensei Wu started to talk.
The most powerful move in Spinjitzu can only be accomplished when all six elements are combined." The elder hopped onto the deck, and began to preform the moves. "Earth! Ice! Nature! Fire! Lightning! Metal!"
Bunny's eyes watched carefully at the movements.
Earth, a stance of pushing against an unseen force.
Ice, looking ahead with both hands going going behind the person, one arm extending over the chest.
Nature, a lung with the left knee on the ground, one palm beside the feet and the other to the sky.
Fire, a confident pose with one hand in a 'blowing a kiss' movement while the other was held out.
Lightning, standing on the left foot with both hands up in a crane position.
Metal, a lung with the right knee on the ground, and both hands in fists, each colliding with one another with the head bowed.
"What happens when all of them are combined?" Jay's question brought the group out of their trance from watching Sensei Wu.
"The Tornado of Creation. The power to create something," Sensei Wu waved his hands, before conjuring a cup of tea. "Out of nothing."
As he began to walk away, Kai began trying to mimic the moves the old man had done...Yet as Sensei Wu noticed, he frowned. "No, Kai..! If done incorrectly, it will lead to disastrous consequences."
"Disastrous consequences? Heh, right..." As Kai seemed to disbelieve the warning, the ship came to an abrupt stop, all but Cole and Sensei Wu falling to the ground.
Kim-Ly grumbled, rubbing her head as she looked to Cole, having stood next to him silently for the trip...The Earth Ninja held his hands up defensively under the stare. "Uh...Wasn't me..!"
"Did I do that?"
Kai's question was proven wrong though as Sensei Wu spoke, walking towards the front of the ship. "No...We are here."
As the others got up, they soon came to the realization that they had crashed into ice..And before them laid a gigantic ice mountain.
"I knew I should have brought my snow boots.." Bunny sighed out, frowning.
~X~
Kim-Ly blew a bit of warm air onto her hands, rubbing them through the gloves as the group walked into the Ice Mountain. She hated cold temperatures...Every time she entered, she felt so slowed down..
Cole made a small comment ahead of her, as the group passed a few skeleton ice statues, the metal ninja behind them all. "Whoa..Looks like someone's already been here..!"
The Metal Ninja didn't make some snarky or snippy comment, she was too cold at the moment. So she shuffled on after the group, rubbing her arms up and down in a hope to conduct some kind of heat.
Thankfully though after not much walking, they finally reach the iced head of the newest dragon. Floating, suspended in the air like the Scythes, was two shurikens..
"The Shurikens!" Zane could not be more excited...
Quickly Cole, Kim-Ly, and Kai helped raise Zane up so he could get his weapons..Only for all of them to 'freeze' as the Ice Ninja actually became frozen. How's that for irony?
Bunny was heard gasping as she and Jay lead the run out of the area, with Cole and Kai running after them and...Kim-Ly...Shuffling.
"KIM-LY! HURRY IT UP!"
"This is as fast as I get in ice, Cole."
The Earth Ninja groaned, before he and Kai ran back. They put Kim-Ly atop Zane's frozen body, and the two ninja quickly ran out of the collapsing mountain. On their way out, the two males also got aboard the ninja Popsicle, and rode him down the icy slope...
That is, until they all crashed as the ice gates.
Yep, already they could all tell that this was all going to end wonderfully."
Added Author's Note
Hi everyone, Mayhemb here, with a few topics that I would like to get on.
First, I'd like to try and diminish the amount of "Author's Notes" chapters that I can make to the best of my ability, which is why this is in here.
Second, I would like for all of those who are back lashing this story, to please stop for a moment and hear me out.
No, I did not want the Water Ninja series to end, however I had my reason to end it.
The Water Ninja Series was made by four people, four classmates in a Creative Writing Class who got smooshed together to make a few original characters. From there, we joined forces to try and actually write something out of the characters we started to make.
I made the enitial story, Dr. Science kept me in check with the in-canon show and helping me go by the rules that we made for the fanfic, Rock gave me great sources of comic relief, and Mrs. Loon helped me with some of the harder character choices.
The four of us made that series...And that's why I had to end it.
The others had moved on, loosing interest in all honesty. Sure, we sometimes still chat about it..But it's not the same. That's the biggest issue when it comes to working with a group, eventually someone may lose interest...And from there, things just go down hill.
So I had to end the Water Ninja series for the sake of preserving what we had made as a team. And in that same respect, I made this story to showcase what we had made as a team, yet what was able to be showed.
Back then we didn't know how to fully make characters. Back then, we were a bit worried about coming off with almost despised characters. Heck, we even forced a connection between our three OC's because we wanted something for their characters to fall back on, yet that fall-back in turn took out a good portion of the characters we wanted to show.
So while I would like nothing more than to continue the Water Ninja series as it was...I'm afraid I can't. In turn though, I want to give back to the old readers who would message me hope when I tried to continue writing the water ninja series, and I want to give back to the old crew who was too afraid to try the ideas that we loved.
So with that, I sign off this chapter, and I wish everyone a happy new year.