A/N: A quick but necessary in-between chapter. I hope that Lloyd's sarcastic inner monologue makes this fun. All of the dialogue is taken from Episode 23, "Island of Darkness".
Lloyd knew that he, Cole, Zane, Kai, and Jay might have the power of Spinjitsu; but in his mind, nothing beat his mom's power of having every ancient document known to man rolled up and hidden in the quiver-like carrier on her back.
The whole gang (except for Nya, who was keeping watch) piled around the table in the Bridge to see the scroll Misako had rolled out flat for display.
Lloyd had no idea how ancient papyrus could hold such bright colors. Complicated green and gold geometry on the scroll spiralled around a central point at the summit of a mountain. He found his eyes drawn to it, tracing the edges and corners as his mom explained.
"The Scrolls say there is a hidden temple on the island," began Misako. "If you find it, it will give the ninja pure elemental powers—powers that can destroy the indestructible army."
Now Lloyd was paying attention. The Stone Army had been a nuisance ever since they landed on this island—like when a wasp is in the room somewhere, but you can't see it. Powers strong enough to destroy them? Yes please.
"So you're saying we get to fight?" asked Cole, glee evident in his voice. "Woohoo, I've got happy feet!" He practically sang. Lloyd grinned, wondering what it would take to get Cole to do a dance on the table right there.
"And you, my son." Misako's warm voice and her hand on Lloyd's shoulder snapped him back into focus. She picked up the scroll with a smile. "Here it is written: 'For once the Green Ninja finds the Instrument of Peace, he will strike it, and know the power of the Ultimate Spinjitsu Master.'"
Lloyd could feel his head spinning already. "Ultimate Spinjitsu Master?" he asked in awe.
"It means you will be able to invoke the power of the Golden Dragon," Misako said with a smile, her hand gliding in the air as if she could see the dragon already. "It was an ancient fighting style only practiced by the First Spinjitsu Master."
The other ninja stared at Lloyd blankly. Boy, did he love those dopey looks on their faces. Jay's especially was hilarious.
Lloyd gave a little sardonic laugh. And to think he was "just that kid" to them a month or so ago. "Jealous?" he sneered.
"W-wait a minute," stammered Kai. "This all sounds too good to be true. What's the catch?"
"The catch is…" Uncle Wu stepped forward, no louder than a cat. "The Temple could be anywhere on the island. And all we have is this."
He brought out a shining golden disk from behind his back. At first glance, the three holes near its center made it look like a huge coin to Lloyd, but then he changed his mind.
Zane's dad (seriously, what was his name again? uh...J-something...Jude?) sat at the head of the table near Wu, and he took the disk.
"A medallion!" he exclaimed, bringing it close to see. "It's like a compass. When the three holes match up, the medallion will reveal where the Temple is hidden."
The Bridge went a little quiet.
"Uh, how'd you know that?" asked Jay.
"Oh, I did a lot of reading in my spare time." Dr. Jude—probably—leaned back in his chair, smiling at Zane. He gave that wheezing chuckle. "Adventure stories were my favorite!"
Zane smiled back at him and plucked the medallion from his hand. "Then what are we waiting for?" he asked the whole room.
Yeah, showtime! Lloyd grinned and jumped out of his chair with the rest of the ninja—but unlike them, he'd made the mistake of sitting by Uncle Wu.
"Not you, Lloyd." The old sensei was blocking his way.
"Aw, seriously?" cried Lloyd. He tried to dodge around Wu and failed. "Are we still doing this?" How could they hold him back when he could find the power to destroy an invincible army?!
"Wu is right." And now Mom was involved. Great. She put her hand on Wu's shoulder and moved him to talk to Lloyd herself. "If you were to come across your father, it could prematurely start the final battle," she explained. "We need to be at full strength before we take any risks."
And sure, that sounded logical enough...but it meant he didn't get to go! And in front of all the other guys, too.
Jay mimicked Lloyd's sardonic laugh from earlier. The other boys around were grinning at him. "Jealous?" snarked Jay.
Ugh, there it was. Lloyd scoffed with all his might at all of them, hands on his hips.
"Well…" Dr. Jude's voice sounded a little timid, but everyone in the room looked at him anyway. "I could use some help around the shop," he went on. "We should get working on vehicles that might help give us a fighting chance."
Fighting chance. The old inventor curled his hand into a fist and shook it in the air with a grin.
Lloyd thought to himself that the old guy probably couldn't last ten seconds up against one of the stone warriors.
Okay, maybe Lloyd did need to stay behind after all. Just to protect everybody and make sure they wouldn't get hurt. But that didn't mean he had to like it.
Wait a second…
Julien! It was Julien!
Okay, nobody had to know that he'd made that mistake.
tbc...
A/N: Thanks to Sam for catching the typo. Lloyd's latest opinion of Dr. Julien is "nerd in need of protecting".
Reviews are getting to go out with the guys.