Hey guys, back with another chapter! There's been lots of things going on now that COVID-19 is happening, and I haven't been able to write much, but here's something I finally finished up today! Responses to reviews:
Watcher321: Better not count on that *Mwahahaha* Enjoy!
"These are radio telescopes." Borg was explaining to the ninja team as Nya walked back into the room. "They are used commonly in astronomy, but since they pick electromagnetic waves like those emitted from your earpieces, they should work for your case. If they can pick up signals from trillions of miles away, they should be able to help you navigate the caves when searching for Lloyd."
"Thank you so much, Mr. Borg," Cole said as he fidgeted the device, a small metal box with screen, knobs, buttons, and antennae.
"Of course. If there's anything to do for you just let me know." The inventor replied. He cleared his throat.
"Uh- ninja, please stay safe, we can't afford to lose any more of what we already have." Borg looked down at the floor and back up to the group. "Ninjago can't take another loss."
Kai placed a hand on his shoulder. "We'll be as careful as we can." He looked back at his team. "We all have each other's backs. We're gonna get Lloyd back, and Zane too."
"Thank you," Borg said. He looked at the clock on the wall.
"I shouldn't keep you any longer, every second counts in Lloyd's rescue. Now go ninja, go."
The ninja wasted no time, they rushed to the elevator and were gone as quickly as they came.
Borg watched them go and sighed. "I hope they'll be alright…"
…
"I can't even remember the last time we've been here…" Cole whispered.
The ninja were on top of a hill, looking down on the entrance to the Caves of Despair. Or many entrances, one should say.
"It's been a hot minute." Kai said. "Now let's go!"
Carefully, they made their way across the open field and ducked into a tunnel.
"Okay, radio telescope," Nya said quietly as she turned it on. "Do your thing."
The screen was black with a red line, which spiked when Nya pointed it in a certain direction.
"I'm getting a signal through there." She said, pointing to a cave entrance to her left.
They began walking down the tunnel when a ghost emerged from a rock behind them. It was Soul Archer. He knocked an arrow into his bow and snickered.
The ninja turned around just in time to see a green arrow flying towards them. Jay and Cole yelped before leaping out of the way as the arrow embedded itself in the dirt.
"We've been seen!" Kai said. "RUN!"
The group turned around and bolted into the cave. Soul Archer followed them.
The ninja stopped when the cave split in two.
"Which way?!" Jay cried.
"This one!" Cole grabbed Jay by the sleeve and dragged him down the right cavern. The rest followed. Behind them they heard Soul Archer laugh.
"Run, run, run away!" He sneered, knocking another arrow. It became a Skreemer.
"My arrow will find you anyway…"
He drew back and let the arrow fly.
A shrieking noise echoed through the caves. Nya turned to look over her shoulder.
"He's shooting at us!" She yelled as she tried to run faster.
"We have to lose him!" Cole said. He slid around another turn. "Keep going!"
The Skreemer continued to follow them. The ninja continued twisting and turning deeper through the dark tunnels, but they couldn't shake it off no matter how hard they tried.
Jay thought he couldn't run anymore. His lungs hurt, his legs were burning, he couldn't seem to get enough oxygen despite him gasping for breath.
He tripped over a stalagmite and fell to the ground. He groaned and tried to get up, but his weary legs wouldn't let him.
Nya grabbed his arm. "Come on!"
Jay growled with frustration. Out of anger, he grabbed his aeroblade.
"WHY CAN'T YOU LEAVE US ALONE!?" He yelled before chucking it at the Skreemer.
The aeroblade sailed through the air and the Skreemer following them, making it vanish in a burst of glowing green.
Kai and Cole raced to Jay.
"Nice one." Cole said, out of breath, helping Jay up.
"Yeah…" Kai huffed. "You okay?"
"Yeah, all good…"
Cole glanced down the cave to see if they were being pursued.
"It looks like we lost Soul Archer." He said. "But we'll still need to keep going if we want to find Lloyd." He brushed Jay off. "Now let's go."
…
"Master!"
Morro whipped around at the voice, drawing the Sword of Sanctuary, only to find Soul Archer at its end.
"It's only you." The leader said. "What do you want?"
"It's the ninja." Soul Archer answered. He jerked his head to Lloyd. "They've come to get him."
Morro looked at Lloyd in his cage and grinned evilly.
"Finally." he said. He undid the lock and grabbed the green ninja by the shackles on his wrists. "Time to pin them down once and for all."
'They won't be able to defeat Morro, not when he has the Sword of Sanctuary!' Lloyd thought to himself as he was getting dragged out of the room. 'He'll get one of them, and I don't know if they'll be able to resist his possession. I can't let him…'
Even though he was weak, Lloyd sprang to his feet and threw a punch at Morro. The ghost cried out as Lloyd's chains were ripped from his hand and he doubled over.
Soul Archer dove at Lloyd, who threw another punch, but his knees buckled and he missed. Soul Archer grabbed his shackles and hauled him up, shoved him backwards toward Morro, who bashed the hilt of the Sword of Sanctuary across the back of his skull. Lloyd flopped to the ground, out cold.
"Ugh!" Morro snarled. "The rat!"
"He's not going anywhere now, master." Soul Archer said. "Lets go."
The two ghosts grabbed Lloyd and dragged him out of the cave and disappeared into the dark labyrinth of the caves.
…
"I'm getting a signal…" Nya said as she looked at the radio telescope. "But its weak."
The ninja were still in the caverns, trying to navigate their way through. Nya, Jay, and Cole were searching for a signal from Lloyd's earpiece with the devices, while Kai was lighting up the caves with his power, using his flaming fist as a torch.
Cole saw the red line jump on his screen. "I am too."
"So am I." Jay said. "But where?"
The signal got stronger as they turned to the left. Nya pointed to a tunnel going down. "That way."
After a few more twists and turns following where the radio signal got stronger, the screen was covered in red.
"We're so close, it's like we're standing right next to him." Nya said. She looked around. "But I don't see him."
A gasp made her look up. She saw Cole standing at where the tunnel rose.
"I found him!" He said, waving to the others. "He's over here!"
They rushed to the leader. Cole was standing where the tunnel suddenly opened up into a huge chamber. Other tunnel entrances pocketed the walls. Cracks in the ceiling let in a few rays of sunlight. Rocks stuck out of the floor and from the ceiling. And chained to a rock in the center was-
"LLOYD!" Kai shouted. He scaled down the wall and ran to the cave's center.
"No, wait!" Nya said. "We don't know if it's a trap!"
Kai didn't listen. He reached Lloyd and motioned for the others to follow.
"I hope he knows what he's doing…" Jay groaned as the three dashed to Lloyd.
"Lloyd!" Kai said. He lightly shook him.
Nya grabbed Lloyd's face. "Is he okay?" She asked, looking at the bruises on his face.
Cole felt along Lloyd's neck for a pulse. He let out a sigh of relief he didn't know he was holding.
"He's alive, but he's unconscious." He reported. "He's in really bad shape. We need to get him out of here and back to the Bounty ASAP."
Kai's hands went alight. "Help me out here." he began melting through Lloyd's chains. Cole did his best to pry the shackles off Lloyd's wrists.
After a few minutes, they broke through the chains. They caught Lloyd's limp body as he fell.
"Easy now." Cole grunted as they picked him up. "Let's get out of here!"
They dashed for one of the tunnels but a blast of green light stopped them in their tracks. A shrieking roar bounced off the walls of the cave.
The ninja uncovered their ears and gasped in horror when Morro's dragon landed in front of them, blocking their path. It raised its wings and hissed, green mist wafting from its jaws.
"We're hooped…" Jay muttered.
A cackle made them look up. Reins in hand, Morro sat on the ghost dragon's back. Twirling the Sword of Sanctuary in the other.
"Perfect timing." He said, grinning. "All four of you? Looks like I get to take my pick."
Kai assumed his battle stance, clenching his fists. "What do you mean?" He growled.
Morro seemed unprovoked by Kai's hostility.
"As you know, I need a spinjitzu master to find the Realm Crystal." He continued. "I was using him." He jerked his head to Lloyd, who lay unconscious on the ground. "But his spirit is strong. He's able to cast me out of his body if he tries hard enough." He deadpanned the ninja.
"So I figured, why not use one of you instead? Don't think that I don't know the disappearance of the ice ninja fractured you apart. Your will and strength is weak, perfect for me to use you."
Cole bristled and stepped next to Kai, glowering at Morro.
"And you don't think for a second that Zane being gone makes us easy prey for you." He challenged. "If anything, he gives us a reason to be closer and stronger than we ever were before!"
"Yeah!" Jay said. "And you're outnumbered! Four to one!"
Morro chuckled. "Who said I was the only one?"
As if on cue, ghost soldiers emerged from the tunnel entrances. They drew their weapons.
"Stay together!" Cole said as the ninja got back to back, forming a protective circle around Lloyd. "We can't let them single us out!"
Morro drew the Sword of Sanctuary. "Get them!" He cried.
The ghost soldiers rushed the ninja, who grabbed their weapons and began fighting.
Jay used his Aeroblade to deflect one of the warrior's blades. Cole used his to block another's sword. He wrestled it away and slashed it through the ghost, making it disappear in a blast of green goo.
Kai just defeated a ghost and saw Morro on his dragon, watching the battle. His blood boiled at the sight of him. He needed to go down.
"I am taking you out." He muttered through gritted teeth. He turned to Nya and saw she was in trouble. Her sword had been knocked from her hands and the ghost and her were fighting for leverage on his sword. Kai fought his way through, stabbing the ghost from behind.
"Thanks." Nya panted as Kai handed her sword back. He jerked his head at Morro.
"Cover me, I'm going to try and take a shot at him!"
Nya nodded and fought off a few ghosts that were approaching them while Kai ran towards Morro and the dragon. Once he was close enough, he hurled his aeroblade at Morro's head. Using the sword, Morro saw what Kai was trying to do and slashed at the blade, knocking it out of the air. The aeroblade fell to the ground and bounced back behind the dragon.
Weaponless, Kai had no choice but to try to recover the aeroblade. He ran towards Morro's dragon, its claws narrowly missing him as it swiped at him as he went under. He slid across the ground to the tail end. Dodging the dragon's tail as it whipped around, Kai lunged for his aeroblade. He turned around just in time to see the dragon lunging for him.
"KAI!" Jay cried as he finished off another ghost. "WATCH OU-" Jay was cut off as he cried out in pain when the dragon's tail whiplashed him in the face.
Instinctively Kai threw the blade at the dragon. It shrieked and exploded into a cloud of green mist as it sailed through its head.
Morro gasped as he suddenly felt himself falling to the ground. The impact of him hitting the rock made the Sword of Sanctuary fall from his hands.
Kai looked up and saw the sword sliding over the ground. He dove for it.
Morro finished recovering from his fall. He saw Kai and dove for the sword too. Together they scuffled on the ground, grappling for hold on the sword. They both recovered their footing and stood up, trying to wrestle it from each other's hands.
"You're not getting away with this!" Kai grunted as he tried to twist the sword from Morro's grip.
"Yes I am!" Morro growled as he pulled back. "You can't stop me!"
Kai punched Morro in a pent up rage, sending the ghost doubling over and letting go of the sword.
Morro got up and glanced at the ceiling of the cave and got an idea.
Kai, Sword of Sanctuary in hand, got into a fighting stance. Morro assumed the same position.
"Face it Morro, its over!" Kai said.
Morro summoned his twin ghost blades. "Is it?"
Morro charged at Kai. The fire ninja glanced down at the blade and saw Morro's next move. A split second later he ducked to avoid a flying kick.
Morro ran for the other end of the chamber and quickly scaled up the wall. He used the rocks hanging from the ceiling to swing until he was directly above Kai.
"You really think you're better than me?!" Morro yelled. He raised his blade.
"Well YOU'RE WRONG!"
He struck his blade at the rocks, making the spears of stone fall from the ceiling. Kai's eyes went wide in horror as he realized what was happening.
The other three had just finished defeating the last ghost when they turned and saw what was happening.
Everything seemed to go in slow motion. They gasped in horror and ran to Kai.
"KAI!" Cole cried. "WATCH OUT!"
Kai turned away and instinctively shielded his face.
Nya saw that he wasn't going to move in time. She knew what she had to do.
Gathering herself, she launched herself at Kai, pushing him out of the way from the falling rocks. And not a second too soon, because rocks fell on her head and leg where her brother was a moment before. She was knocked out instantly.
Everything returned back to its normal speed. Kai fell back on the floor, the force knocking the Sword of Sanctuary from his hand and driving the wind from his lungs.
"NYA!" Jay and Cole cried at the same time and rushed over to the pile of rocks she was under.
Their voices snapped Kai from his daze. He looked up and gasped. Panic seized his throat.
"No!" He shouted as he ran over. He started helping Cole and Jay shove the rocks off of her. "No, no, NO!"
He pulled her free and gently laid her down. He pulled off her hood. Blood was trickling down her pale face from a gash in her forehead.
A lump formed in his throat as he cradled his sister's head in his arms. Cole and Jay knelt down beside them.
"Nya, wake up!" He said, his voice quivering.
Morro jumped down from the ceiling and grabbed the Sword of Sanctuary. His ghost warriors were defeated, and he was still outnumbered. He'd be defeated if he stayed any longer.
He growled in frustration before making a break for it. Kai looked up from his sister and saw him. His blood began to boil. He could feel the fire coursing through his veins.
He lay Nya's head down gently before charging at Morro. Seeing red, Kai lunged at the ghost, hands on fire, yelling in rage.
Morro saw this on the sword's blade from the corner of his eye and sent a blast of wind from his hand, knocking Kai back. He summoned his dragon and escaped from one of the holes in the cave ceiling.
Jay rushed over to him. "You okay?"
"No." Kai grunted as he got up. "I let him get away…"
"Let him." Cole said as the two walked back over to Nya, still unconscious. "Now he doesn't have a spinjitzu master to possess to find the crystal. We're safe for right now. Wait here." He said and picked up Lloyd, who was luckily not injured further during the battle. Jay radioed the Bounty and gave them their location. The three able ninja tended to the two injured ones. Later, the Bounty arrived and they carried Nya and Lloyd on board to the infirmary.
…
The three ninja tended to Nya and Lloyd in the infirmary before patching up themselves. Lloyd was extremely dehydrated and thin, with a concussion. Nya appeared to be okay except for the cut on her forehead. Cole and Kai had scrapes and bruises but nothing major. Jay had a large cut on his face from the dragon, but some neosporin and bandages later he was fine.
Hours had passed since they left the caves. Wu volunteered to watch over the other two. It was now nighttime. The three ninja made themselves a small meal and set some food aside for Nya and Lloyd when they woke up.
It was almost midnight when Wu walked in. "Lloyd and Nya are awake." He told them.
They were there in a second. Nya was sitting up, holding an ice pack to her face. Lloyd was barely stirring.
"Nya!" Kai cried as he ran to the bedside of his sister. "Are you okay?!"
"I-I'm fine…" she muttered. "It's just my head…"
"I know. Rocks fell on you."
"Nya!" Jay said. "Thank god you're okay!"
"I'm fine…" she repeated. "I just have a bad headache."
"Can I get you some painkillers?"
Nya nodded, wincing has she did. Jay left to the medicine cabinet to get her pills.
"Thank you for that back there, sis." Kai said, placing a hand on her forearm. "I don't know what I would do without you."
Nya gave him a weak smile. "Of course."
"Just don't scare me like that again."
"No promises."
Kai shot her a look. Nya shrugged. "What? I can fend for myself."
Jay came back with a bottle and a glass of water. He opened the bottle and handed two pills to Kai and the water to Nya, who accepted the pills gratefully.
Just as she finished, a soft groan made them look up.
"Lloyd!" They said. They gathered around his bed.
Slowly, Lloyd opened his eyes. He winced in pain and he took in his surroundings.
"Kai?" He asked, squinting as his vision came into focus. "Is that you?"
"It sure is." He said. He rested a hand on Lloyd's shoulder. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I got hit by a train…" He muttered.
"I bet." Cole said. "Morro didn't treat you all that well." He held out an ice pack to Lloyd, who took it. "But we rescued you, and you're home now. Wu wanted us to keep you in here until you felt better. We fixed you up as much as we could."
"Thank you…" Lloyd said. "I'm glad I'm with you again…"
"How is my nephew?" Wu asked, walking in. Lloyd gave him a weak smile.
"Okay I guess." He said. "My head is killing me."
"You have a big bump on your head, we think you may have a concussion." Jay said.
Lloyd thought for a moment. "Morro did hit me with the sword of sanctuary when I tried to escape. But I'm fine now, now that I'm back with all of you-" Lloyd looked at everyone in the room, when a confused look came over his face.
"Hey, where's Zane?" Lloyd asked. "I haven't seen him at all since I got back. Where is he?"
Suddenly a thick uncomfortable silence fell over the room. They forgot that Lloyd didn't know what happened. The green ninja looked even more confused when the mention of the ice ninjas name made them all look down to the floor.
"Guys?" Lloyd asked, very worried. Only time they acted like this was when something was very wrong. "What happened? Where's Zane?"
Cole sighed. He looked up to Lloyd.
"T-that's the thing Lloyd." Cole answered. "We don't know…"
"What? What do you mean?"
The others looked at each other.
"We went on a mission a while ago to stop a ghost raid on a village. It was supposed to be easy, but we didn't know Morro was with them. It was a trap to try and take us out. Zane tried to fight Morro by himself, but-"
Cole had to stop for a moment. The events of that night replayed in his mind, most of all Zane's cry of pain when Morro's sword plunged into his side, and him laying in a pool of his own metallic blood.
"But Morro hurt him badly, and now we can't find him."
"We scoured every inch of Ninjago." Nya added. "But there's no sign of him."
Lloyd was mortified.
No. No! This couldn't be happening. Not to Zane!
"D-do you think he's alive?" He asked. His heart was racing. If anything happened to him, the team would never be the same again.
"We don't know." Jay said.
The room fell in silence again as Lloyd buried his face into his hands.
No, no. Not this again. The last time this happened, they almost fell apart. If it were to happen a second time, they wouldn't be able to handle it. Why does this always happen? Zane had done nothing but protect, he didn't deserve to go through this. But the worst things always happened to him. Why? Zane doesn't deserve any of this, he didn't deserve to die, at least not like this.
Lloyd felt like he was at fault. Had he been more careful in the museum that night, maybe if he fought harder none of this would be happening right now.
"This is my fault…"
"Nobody would have been able to forsee this." Wu said. "This is no one's fault. We must do something to improve our situation rather than worry about things beyond our control."
"But how will we find him?" Lloyd asked. "If he's nowhere in Ninjago, where else would he be?"
"Jay and Kai found Zane's beacon on one of the computers in Borg Industries, but the coordinates were mixed up and the map didn't show." Cole explained.
"So...He's not on the Ninjago mainland?"
"Not within known boundaries." Nya said. Now that the medicine was kicking in, she felt better. "If his beacon isn't giving us a clear location, chances are he's a very long distance away."
"What if he's in another realm!?" Jay cried.
"He can't be." Wu said. "Morro does not have the realm crystal, and the only person who knows how to properly use traveler's tea is Mistake and myself."
"Maybe on the Dark Island?" Kai suggested.
"Or Chen's?" Lloyd added.
Nya shook her head. "Neither of those turned up Zane's signal."
This time it was Cole's turn to talk.
"Sensei, I remember you telling us about the vision with the spirit smoke. What happened when you saw Zane in it?"
Wu stroked his beard. "He fell into a dry riverbed. But the area looked like nothing I've ever seen."
"Can you give a description?" Nya asked.
"It was a forest of evergreens, but not like the Blackwood or Wildwood forests. I also don't recall seeing that riverbed. I've been around a very long time, I know this place like the back of my hand, but what I saw awakes no memory."
Nya thought for a moment. "Maybe we should hit up Borg again for a second time?"
"It's not a bad idea." Lloyd said. He threw the covers off of him and began to get out of bed. "We need t-"
His knees buckled as he stood, luckily Jay and Cole caught him before he hit the floor.
"Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon!" Nya yelled. "You stay in that bed until you're able to walk without seeing stars in your eyes!"
"But-" Lloyd began. Nya cut him off.
"No buts!" Nya said, getting up out of her bed. She swatted Kai's hand away when he tried to sit her back down. She marched over to Lloyd. "You're in terrible shape, and you need to stay here! Now here, eat this!" She shoved a bowl of noodles into Lloyd's hands. "God knows the last time you ate while being stuck with that skank!"
Sighing, Lloyd began picking at the bowl of noodles. "Fine." he huffed.
Lloyd finished his meal. "How are you feeling now?" Cole asked as he took the bowl.
"Better, actually." Lloyd said. He gave them a weak smile. "Thanks."
"Maybe we can go back to where he first disappeared." Jay offered. "Outside of that village by the woods?"
"That's the first place we looked, Jay." Kai said. "We couldn't find him."
"Wait a minute…"
They all looked at Lloyd, who seemed deep in thought.
"What is it Lloyd?" Cole asked.
"I think I remember something." He said. "It was a while ago, and I don't remember it all, but Morro was talking about 'the frontier', whatever that means?"
"Frontier?" Kai said. "But there's no frontier in Ninjago." He turned to Sensei Wu.
"Uh, is there?"
"Yes." Wu said. "There is."
"It is not well-known by many, I myself know little about it. My father visited long ago after his defeat of the Overlord."
"Where is it?" Cole asked. "We need to find Zane!"
"The southern tip of continental Ninjago is a treacherous place. Other than assumptions of being cursed by the Overlord's energy, no one knows what inhabits the area, except savages. Even I don't go for fear of what may be there."
There was stunned silence.
"If he's there, then who knows what's happened to him…" Cole said with wide eyes at the thought of Zane getting imprisoned or torn apart by all sorts of wicked creatures or ancient humans.
"We need to get him back now." Kai growled. "Being in Ninjago is one thing, but if this is as bad as I think it is, I don't think he's gonna last much longer if he's alive."
"We're gonna need all hands on deck for this one." Nya said. "Things just got a whole lot more complicated-and dangerous."
"Why can't things just be simple for once?" Jay huffed, facepalming.
"One of us needs to stay back and watch Lloyd in case Morro decides to try something funny." Cole said. He checked the edges of his Aeroblade.
"What?! No way I'm staying here!" Lloyd objected. "Zane's my brother too, not just yours!"
"Lloyd, you're in no shape to fight." Kai told him. "We can't have you get hurt again."
"Yes I am!" Lloyd shot back. He summoned a green ball of energy from his hands. "See?" A flame sprouted from his palm, followed by a rock forming from dirt, before electricity arced around his fingers. Lloyd extinguished the sparks and a snowball materialized in his hand.
The others gasped when Lloyd summoned Zane's element.
"What?" Lloyd asked in confusion. "You guys forgot I could use your powers?"
"Lloyd! You can use ice!" Cole cried, punching the air.
The green ninja raised an eyebrow. "Which means?"
"If you can use Zane's power-" Nya began, but Jay cut her off.
"IT MEANS HE'S STILL ALIVE!" He yelled. "WE CAN STILL GET HIM BACK!"
It dawned on Lloyd what they meant-but not before he was yanked into a bear hug by the rest of the ninja.
Happiness. Relief. Tears of Joy. It felt like a huge weight was lifted off their shoulders, that they could breathe somewhat easier again. At that moment, everything felt a little more normal, their world a little less broken, the hole in their hearts a little more filled.
But they weren't out of the woods yet.
Cole broke from the hug. "Now that we know Zane's alive, we need to find him ASAP."
"If the frontier is where he is, then that's where we're headed." Nya said. "We're gonna need to figure out everything we can about this place."
"We need to." Lloyd said. "If we don't we might end up like Zane, or worse."
"We're bringing Zane home no matter what it takes." Cole said.
"And this time, we're not messing this up."
Thanks for reading! Drop a review on your way out please! Have a good day and stay healthy and safe!