"Okay, hold on a second!" Hiccup blurted out. "First you tell me that you guys come from Ninjago, and now you're telling me that there's another realm called Chima?! WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!"
"Whoa, calm down, Hiccup!" Chase commanded. "First things first, I think you've forgotten about the Merge. Ninjago's not the only realm on the map anymore!"
"Yeah," Rubble exclaimed, "In fact, there are fifteen other realms out there besides Ninjago. And all of them came together in the Merge."
"Chima is only one of those realms." Rex finished.
"But what is Chima?" Astrid asked.
"I think I can explain." a voice said from above them. The team looked up and suddenly spotted a Golden Retriever pup looking down at them from a branch just a few feet above them.
"Lupo!" Rubble, Chase, and Rex cried out at the same time.
"Long time no see, Ninja Pups!" Lupo answered. "But where are all the others? And who are your new friends?"
"The other pups are out on a mission." Chase answered. "This is Hiccup, Astrid, Kirby, Kito, Arin, and Cole."
"Correction—Cole's not really a new friend." Rubble clarified. "More like an old one. You just didn't get to meet him the last time we met."
"Well, it's nice to meet all of you, anyway." Lupo exclaimed. "But before I answer your question, Astrid, maybe we could first get out of this tree?"
The others were glad to agree, and a few seconds later, everyone was standing on the ground, stretching their legs. After a few minutes, Astrid stated, "You were saying, Lupo?"
"Oh, yeah." Lupo exclaimed. "To answer your question, Astrid, Chima is a magical land of untamed nature, mystery, and wonder. The falls that stream from Mount Cavora up there in the sky are what give this realm its beauty, majesty, and power. The water that comes from those falls is infused with a powerful substance called CHI—a power source that gives all CHImaera increased strength, speed, and intelligence, as well as the ability to speak and reason."
"Wow." was all Astrid could say.
Lupo continued, "But even though Chima is full of splendor, it has had its share of troubles in the past. First there was a civil war that pitted the eight main animal tribes against each other. Crocodiles and Wolves fought against Lions, Eagles, Bears, Gorillas, and Rhinos, with the Ravens' loyalty shifting from one side to another based on which side seemed to be more profitable financially."
(Just like Ronin. His loyalty tends to shift like that, too, Cole thought to himself.)
"Just when the war seemed to be close to ending, the CHImaera faced a new threat—tribes from the Outlands, Scorpions, Spiders, and Bats, who sought to block up the falls of Cavora and steal the CHI inside. These Outland tribes captured the Legend Beasts, the only creatures who could restore the falls, and Crown Price Laval and his friends had to travel to the Outlands to get them back. In the end, Laval performed an act of kindness toward the Scorpion general, only for it to backfire when a new set of enemy tribes rose up and sought to conquer Chima with their Ice powers. Sabertooth Tigers, Mammoths, Vultures, and Ice Bears, led by a warlord named Sir Fangar, froze the land of Chima and set their sights on Mount Cavora. Only the ancient power of the eight Fire Wings saved the realm from destruction."
"That's one long history of battles and conflicts." Hiccup commented, thinking of Berk's own history of trouble.
"You got that right!" Lupo exclaimed. "The Ninja Pups and I even had to defend Chima against a Black Wolf named Shauku, who used to be my friend but then turned evil and attacked the Lion Citadel, looking for the Fire Wings so he could turn Chima into a land of darkness. But that's one story that would take too long to explain."
"And we thought Berk was a magnet for trouble!" Astrid commented.
"Yeah," Hiccup exclaimed, "Even Dagur the Deranged doesn't sound so bad compared to some of the enemies Chima has had." Suddenly there was a rustle in the bushes. "What was that?!" all the pups cried out at the same time.
"Stand back!" Lupo warned as he slowly stepped forward. Then his ears shot straight up and twitched side-to-side as he tried to hone in on a distant sound. The rustling in the bushes grew louder and more intense as Lupo stood there, listening. Then, without warning, he let out a startled cry of "Elemental Hunters! Run!"
The team wasted no time in making a break for it. For several minutes, the only sounds that could be heard were the dashing of feet and paws over rocks and through grassy patches and the pups' exhausted panting as they raced through the forest. Now and then the silence was pierced by Lupo's cries of "Run! Run!" But no matter how fast they ran, the Hunters were always just a few feet behind them.
Until several things happened all at once. First, Cole, who had been at the tail end of the group, tripped over a rock and fell. Then Hiccup ran back to help him, despite Lupo's cries of protest. As Hiccup tried to help Cole up, he noticed that their pursuers had shifted their attention to something else. The rampant trees and shrubbery limited Hiccup's ability to see what was going on, but from what he could gather, the Hunters were now facing a formidable foe of their own. And judging from the grunts and groans piercing the air, the Hunters were fighting a losing battle. A sudden whoosh caught Hiccup's attention just seconds before he found himself on the ground with a Mouse warrior sitting on his chest, his sword tip just inches from Hiccup's face.
"Choose your last words carefully, invader!" the Mouse demanded.
This mission is getting weirder by the minute, Hiccup thought to himself as he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. This warrior might be feisty, but he'd probably be no match against Hiccup or any of his friends in battle, who all clearly had the advantage size-wise. "You're a…a mouse." Hiccup finally managed to blurt out.
The Mouse lowered his sword, huffed in frustration, and commented, "I was hoping for something a little more original. Do you know how many foes of mine have made that exact comment? Huh? Do you?!" he finished, bringing his sword back up. But before Hiccup could stammer out any sort of answer, there came from directly behind him a shout from Lupo—"Mallik! Stand down! These are my friends. I called them here because Chima needs their help!"
The Mouse, whose name was apparently Mallik, lowered his sword immediately and hopped off of Hiccup's chest. Apparently, Hiccup thought, Lupo had some measure of authority here in Chima. The young Viking gratefully got to his feet and brushed himself off before helping Cole up off the ground. At the same time, the other members of the Land team rushed over to where Hiccup and Cole were.
"Hiccup! Cole!" Chase cried out as he skidded to a stop in front of Mallik. "Are you two okay?"
"Yeah, we're…we're fine." Cole panted.
"Thanks to Lupo here." Hiccup added.
"Who's your friend, Lupo?" Rex asked curiously.
"This is Mallik, Captain of the Mouse division of Chima's army." Lupo explained.
"Aww, look! He's so cute!" Rubble exclaimed before anyone could warn him otherwise.
"WHO SAID THAT?!" Mallik bellowed, brandishing his sword dangerously.
"Sorry." Rubble apologized, his ears drooping with embarrassment. If he could have blushed, he would have turned three shades of red right then and there. Mallik seemed a bit surprised at Rubble's apology and finally managed to stammer, "Oh, I…well, I just meant that I think that 'chivalrous', 'courageous', or 'courteous' would better befit a Warrior of Chima!" The mouse stuck out his chest with pride, and Rubble grinned from ear to ear at Mallik's reply. Mallik then sheaved his sword and turned to Lupo. "You were saying, CHI-wielder?" Mallik exclaimed.
"Oh, yeah," Lupo exclaimed, "these are my friends, Hiccup, Astrid, Cole, Rubble, Chase, Rex, Kito, Kirby, and Arin. Hiccup and Astrid are from a realm they call Berk, and the others are from Ninjago."
"Well, technically most of us pups are from a place called Adventure Bay, but we do help the Ninja defend Ninjago from time to time." Chase clarified.
"Um, quick question—what's a CHI-wielder?" Astrid asked, confused.
"A CHI-wielder is someone who has the power to use CHI without having to plug an orb—and for longer spans of time." Lupo explained. "I happen to be a CHI-wielder myself, one of the few still alive."
"The only other CHI-wielder we know of is Tormak the Tunnel Cat, but no one has seen him since the Merge." Mallik added.
"How do you become a CHI-wielder?" Hiccup asked, intrigued at the idea of using CHI power at will.
"Actually, that's not really supposed to happen." Lupo explained. "Look, maybe we can talk about this later? Those Hunters won't be down and out for long."
"Right." Mallik exclaimed. "Where exactly do we need to go?"
"We have to get to the Lion City and let Laval know what has happened. If those Hunters find the City and attack, we won't stand a chance unless we're prepared to face them."
"The quickest way back is to sail on the creek over by the Forever Rock." Mallik said. "There should be a boat there, but I'm afraid some of you may have to swim. The boat's pretty small, and there may not be enough room for everyone on it."
"Don't worry, Mallik. The other Ninja Pups have that covered." Kito explained. With that, the team followed Mallik and Lupo to the Forever Rock, the CHImaera's favorite place to hang out. Sure enough, there was a small raft waiting for them. It was just big enough for Cole, Arin, Hiccup, Astrid, Mallik, and Lupo to ride on. The others would have to swim their way to the Lion City.
It only took about twenty minutes for the entire team to find their way out of the forest. From there, the creek diverted into two streams, one of them leading directly into the Lion City from underground. Five minutes later, the entire team got their first glimpse of civilization in the realm of Chima.
"Friends," Lupo exclaimed, "welcome to the heart of Chima, the Lion Citadel."