AFTER THE WAR
Episode 3: The New Ice Guardian
Although the Queen of Darkness is vanquished, Mack becomes aware of the need for a new Guardian to take Danny's place. The Guardians are hesitant to replace their fallen brother, but they have a duty that supersedes such sentiment…
Nearly four months ago…
Mack radioed the other ninja the moment he saw Danny laying against that rock, the sand around him stained red. He also sent up a green flare so that the others knew where to find him. Mack ran toward his old friend and knelt beside him. Danny was breathing, but it was labored. His eyes were open, but they were unfocused.
"Danny. Hey!" Mack gently tapped Danny's face. "Danny, look at me. Look at me!"
Danny forced his eyes to focus on Mack and let out a small laugh.
"Hey, Mack. Looks like he got me, that son of a—"
Whatever obscenity Danny was about to use to refer to Tenebris was cut off by a gasp and a cough.
Mack took Danny's hand in his own and felt a heaviness in his throat. "You're gonna be alright; I'm gonna get you to the Bounty and they'll—"
"Mack, no."
"Just hold on, you're gonna be—"
"Mack," Danny said with as much strength as he could. "It's too late. And…"
Danny looked past Mack to the buffer line. The army was still putting up a fight against the Serpentine.
"They need you," Danny said.
"Then we'll get somebody else to—"
"All of you." Danny squeezed Mack's hand.
Mack's eyes filled with tears. "All of us, you mean?"
Danny coughed weakly. "I sure hope not."
There was a pause.
"Mack, listen," Danny spoke up again. His voice had barely any tone. "I don't regret this. It's my duty, and it was my honor to fight beside you all."
Danny coughed again. He was having trouble drawing breath. His next words were in a weak and shaky whisper.
"Mack… Tell Emily… I love her… Look—"
Another cough.
"Look after her… my sister… look after her."
A deeper breath, and barely audible words: "Go win this war."
The grip on Mack's hand slowly loosened to nothing, and the labored breathing stopped. Danny, the Ice Guardian, had fallen in battle.
Mack knelt there, mouth agape, tears freely flowing down his face. After a few moments of shock, Mack bowed his head and then closed Danny's eyes.
The Hut; Billingsley, Alabama
Earth
Friday March 15, 2019…
"Good spar, bro," Cole clapped Jay on the back.
"Thanks," Jay panted. "I'll get you next time."
Mack shook his head to get rid of the flashback. He was in the garage—which had essentially been turned into a makeshift sparring facility—attached to the Hut. Jay and Cole had just finished sparring, and it was his turn to spar with Kai.
"You okay, Mack?" Kai asked. "You seem a little… out of it."
"I'm good," Mack quickly replied, then he took another moment to clear his head. "You ready?"
Kai nodded and the two ninja took their blunt practice swords off the rack. Mack and Kai (along with Lloyd) were excellent swordsmen—the best among the ninja, and the green and red ninja had similar, extremely aggressive styles of swordplay.
Both were heavily offensive in their approach, using wide swings to overwhelm their opponent's defenses. Facing each other, however, forced them to rely on quick-striking counterattacks to avoid being knocked off-balance.
When they sparred, it was a show you did not want to miss.
In the makeshift ring (simply a square drawn on the concrete garage floor with chalk), Mack and Kai circled each other, each waiting for the other to make the first move.
Kai lunged.
Mack moved to sidestep Kai's attack, but a horrible chill came over the Green Ninja. Time slowed, and Mack was no longer aware of the Fire Guardian frozen in midair. His vision was taken over by the memory of Danny retrieving the Shuriken of Ice.
An understanding came to the Green Ninja as he was knocked off his feet.
Time may have stopped for Mack, but not for long. As soon as he perceived the reason he had seen that memory, everything was back to normal, and Kai's powerful strike resulted in Mack getting whacked across the chest.
Cole and Jay stood up from the bench where they had been sitting and watching, both looking concerned: Mack's defense never let a hit like that land.
"Whoa, sorry dude," Kai also had a concerned look on his face.
He extended his hand to help Mack up. "Are you sure you're alright? I've never scored a hit like that on you—no one has."
Before Mack could answer, the garage froze over. A thin sheet of ice covered everything, and snow fell inexplicably from the ceiling.
Mack stood up with Kai's help and winced when he cautiously touched his sore chest. That hit would leave a good bruise.
"It's time," Mack mumbled.
"Time for what?" Cole asked
"To call on a new Ice Guardian."
"What," Kai frowned, "replace Danny? No way."
Mack sighed. "Kai, we all loved Danny, and we could never replace what he meant to us. But there's a reason this is happening. I feared this would happen."
"Feared?" Jay asked.
"That the elements would call on us to replace Danny," Mack replied. "What it means…"
"What does it mean?" Cole asked, somewhat exasperated. "You're starting to freak me out."
"It means the darkness will rise again," Mack answered with a barely detectable amount of fear in his voice. "And we must stand against it again."
Mack gathered his resolve and took on a firmer voice. "Get everyone together in the Hut; we need to talk about this."
"Some of us are back at the house in Ninjago," Kai said.
Mack nodded. "I'll go get them in a moment. I want a drink of water first."
The four Guardians made for the Hut and ran into Mack's friends Kayla and Pete, who were coming by for lunch (Anna was on vacation with her family and so couldn't come). Mack stopped in his tracks.
"A little chilly for March, isn't it?" Kayla asked.
Mack ignored her innocent question and looked back and forth between her and Pete.
"It's one of you," he whispered.
"What?" Kayla squinted.
"I'll explain in a minute. Can y'all wait out here? The Guardians need to have a quick meeting."
Without another word, Mack summoned the Super Bolt and left to get the rest of the Guardians. Cole, Jay, and Kai gave uncertain looks to each other and to Kayla and Pete, and then proceeded into the Hut.
"What's got him so freaked out?" Pete asked when it only himself and Kayla in the yard.
Kayla shook her head. "Probably forgot we were coming and didn't fix lunch yet."
She and Pete laughed, but they had a feeling it was deeper than forgetting to prepare a meal.
Once everyone arrived in the Hut, Mack explained what had happened and that a new Guardian was needed, because of the threat that the darkness would rise again.
"But wait, Mack," Zee spoke up when Mack was finished, "you destroyed Rikayla and banished the Overlord."
"She was not our first enemy," Wu reminded. Mack thought it a good idea to include not just the Guardians in the meeting, but Morro, Nya, Misako, and Senseis Wu and Garmadon as well. "There is no reason to assume she would be our last."
Lloyd was the next to speak up. "But wasn't she the reason the Guardians had to be carefully chosen? Why do we need to do that again if she's gone?"
"I don't know. We just do," Mack replied. "The best reason I can think of is to preserve the balance the eight Guardians created.
"Listen, we will never forget Danny—we will always honor him. Right now, we have to honor him by beginning to prepare for whatever may threaten the Realms in the future. And to do that, we must find the next Ice Guardian.
"Luckily, it's looking a little easier than it was last time. The Ice Guardian is right outside the Hut right now."
"What?" Nya asked. "How can that be?"
"The garage froze over," Mack explained. "We went outside and there were our friends Pete and Kayla. It's one of them. Their presence here caused the Element Ice to react, telling me the next Guardian is nearby and it's time to train him or her."
Garmadon pondered this. "How do you know which one of them it is?"
"I don't… but I think I know how to find out. The Guardians are destined to possess the Golden Weapons, and they're already chosen. So, if I take the Shuriken of Ice out there to them—"
"They'll reveal their choice," Lloyd guessed.
Mack nodded. "Exactly."
Pete and Kayla were starting to get impatient—and the weather was getting colder, snow flurries starting to fall from the sky—when Mack came out of the Hut alone, in full gear including battle armor, and holding the two Shuriken of Ice.
"Mack," Kayla frowned, "what is going—"
"Both of you, hold out your hands," Mack instructed, cutting off his friend's question.
Pete and Kayla hesitated, passing a confused look between them.
"Please," Mack softened, "I need your help."
They look at each other again, and they both extend their hands. The Shuriken immediately jumped into Pete's hands. Kayla looked shocked and Pete's face was unreadable. The snow disappeared and the weather returned to its mild state of early spring.
"No," Pete trembled and shook his head. "No, no, I can't."
Mack tried to console him. "Pete—"
"NO!" Pete shouted, dropping the Shuriken onto the ground and starting toward his Jeep.
Mack ran and called after him. He caught up to him and walked hot on his heels. "Pete! Stop."
"You can't change my mind, Mack," Pete insisted. "You're one of my best friends and I admire you, but this is something you can't possibly ask me to do. After what happened to Danny?"
"Just listen." Mack reached out and grabbed Pete's shoulder.
Pete stopped and turned around to face Mack.
Mack firmly looked Pete in the eyes. "Danny made a choice—we all did—to become a Guardian. You have choice, too. You can say no and walk away, but you could be surrendering us all to the designs of the darkness."
"You said Rikayla is dead and her master is gone," Pete said. "What's there to fight against?"
"I don't know what's coming," Mack replied, "but I know I can't repel it without you. You were chosen for a reason. You don't have to accept this call, but I want you to think about this: what if you walk away, and later, some gift you possess was the one thing we needed to turn the darkness away?"
Pete sighed. "Damn it," he muttered.
"Now," Mack said, the strain gone from his voice, "are you going to accept this?"
"Damn it!" Pete cursed again before calming down. "Yes, I'm ready."
Mack came closer and took Pete's shoulder with a firm but gentle hand. "It's okay to be afraid; so am I. We'll train and prepare, and the shadows will be turned away by the Guardians once more. Do you trust me to prepare you for whatever is coming?"
Pete closed his eyes and took a very deep breath before opening them.
"Yeah," Pete barely whispered. "Yeah, I trust you, Mack. I'm sorry I freaked out."
Mack smiled. "It's alright. Let's get you started. Once you make the connection with your elemental powers, we'll officially make you a Guardian by renewing our oath together. Then, you'll be entrusted with the Shuriken of Ice, which will greatly enhance your powers."
Pete smirked. "So, the Shuriken will make me even… cooler?"
Mack groaned.
That's all for this little collection of short stories. I might add more later, but now we have all we need to start the next big story.
Chapter 1 of the new story will go out right after the story you're reading right now, but it's going to take an extra step to find it. It's entitled Darkness in Chima, and it's in the crossover section (I'm sure you can guess why that is from the title).
Hope to see you there, thanks for reading!
