A/N: Shifting gears for a sec while we revisit some of the canon. Again: trying not to spend too much time in canon. We've been there, watched that.
Tried to spice it up a bit. I have a lot of headcanons/theories about what exactly took place in the Underworld, so ofc I had to include them. No one ever talks about the fact that this thirteen-year-old child was trapped in hell for a while T_T
Anyway! Thanks for all your comments, I love reading them :)
oOo
Nya is not fond of this eerie anticipation, so she attempts to busy herself with other tasks. For a short while, she reorganizes some of her tools. Kai stays occupied, trying to perfect his failed sword.
Nya's about to try coercing her brother into making some breakfast when a voice comes from behind her. She whirls around.
"Hmm. Your metal is loud and heavy. Useful to slow one down, useless in the art of stealth. All tools for a samurai, but nothing for a ninja?"
It's an old man—older than anyone Nya's ever encountered before. He's bent a little, hands clasped in front of him as the sun reflects off his whiter-than-white robes. An ancient-looking straw hat sits atop his head, shadowing his face.
What really grabs her attention is the beard. It's so long that it almost brushes the ground. Nya tries not to stare.
If they're lucky, this man will buy something, so she's not gonna discourage a potential customer.
Kai gives the guy a dubious look. "Ninja? Ha. You're a long way from finding a ninja in these parts, old man."
Well. There goes courtesy.
Her brother continues, oddly defensive. "And the shop is called Four Weapons, not For Browsing. Either buy something or go peddle your insults somewhere else."
Kai's in a mood, apparently. Nya drives her elbow into his ribcage, letting him know she's displeased. 'Cause hello, you're not supposed to be rude to the elderly like that.
The old man hmphs disdainfully. "Too bad. Thought I'd find something special here."
Nya swiftly motions for Kai to salvage the situation—they can't afford to drive people away.
Her eye catches the storm clouds again. They seem to be approaching at an alarming rate. Strange . . . there's hardly any wind.
She hears Kai behind her. "If it's something special you're looking for, lemme sh—" He cuts off.
"What is it?" Nya asks absently. Is that thunder she hears? Weird. She's usually so spot-on about rain.
Kai mumbles, "He was just—forget it."
Nya's already forgotten it. The clouds are rolling in quickly, not like any normal thunderstorm. But she definitely hears a distant rumbling. No lightning yet . . .
Nya shakes herself out of it, resuming the day's work. Hopefully Kai works on his marketing attitude, or he'll never survive as a salesman.
But there's work to be done, and she hasn't even eaten breakfast yet.
All at once, a shrill burst of noise rings out over the hill, coming from down the road. Kai and Nya's heads whip up and they share a petrified glance.
Those were screams.
They hardly have time to take another breath before a roar of engines erupts over the hilltop and five—no, six—monstrous vehicles are upon them, circling the shop at a dizzying pace. One vehicle screeches to a halt in front.
Forget sinking, Nya's heart is skydiving.
"What are they?" she asks, frozen. She can't tell from this distance, but those drivers look like—
Oh no.
Kai has already donned a helmet and chest plate. Nya pales. If he's preparing for the defensive . . .
Kai's gonna fight?
Oh NO.
"I dunno. Stay here," Kai tells her. He grabs a sword from under the counter and edges out into the yard. Nya's heart is skydiving without a parachute.
Kai can't fight. He can't! She's never seen him kick a soccer ball, much less sword fight an armada of hell monsters. She's gotta do something.
The sky has turned a murky, dark purple. A few vehicles are still circling the house. The others have stopped now, and their occupants finally reveal themselves to be exactly what Nya was dreading.
Skulkin.
There are so many.
Nya backs into the shop, warring with herself. Her thoughts are on intersecting train tracks, crashing together.
There are more. FSM, I should've known there were more. Have they come for me? For revenge? Robbery? Bloodlust? Maybe I'm hallucinating. This can't be real. This is a dream. A very bad dream.
But it's not a dream. Fear grips her. Those glowing eyes have been haunting her for days now. She thinks of muddy footprints and dark hallways and—broken dishware, and Liam's violent cursing, and—
And Nya remembers what's stronger than fear.
Anger.
That hot, boiling fury that grabs the fear and crushes it. Nya reaches for the anger, letting it spread.
Forget what Kai told her, she's not staying here. Not when these monsters are the ones that murdered—
She can't finish the thought. Nya searches briskly for a weapon, eyes landing on a bamboo stuff in the corner. Not ideal, but she's on limited time here. It'll do.
She snags it on her way out the back door, tossing a glance out the window. Kai seems to be holding his own alright, if his exaggerated fighting sounds are anything to go by.
Nya sneaks out, approaching two skeletons from behind. There's just a moment of hesitation—a moment in which she remembers they're terrifying—but then the anger flares brighter.
She knocks the creatures over in two fast swings.
Kai's getting ambushed in the front yard, so Nya shoves her way over and joins him. He tosses her a dismayed glance.
"I thought I told you to stay back!"
Yeah, and part of her wishes she would've. But she can't just watch Kai get pummeled. She's not a little kid anymore. She's not getting shoved around by bullies.
"And what? Let you have all the fun?"
It's not fun, but looking scared in front of Kai isn't an option. Nya doesn't want a lecture later.
She and Kai get separated by the skeletons swarming around them, but it looks like he can handle himself. The last shreds of fear evaporate. In its place, the anger howls and burns.
Skulkin glare and jeer at her, swinging with their bony hands, prying for a weak spot. But Walter taught her most of these moves, and they work.
Nya's caught in a deadlock with a particularly persistent skeleton, holding him off the best she can—and trying not to think about its grimy, knobby fingers touching her. That's when she catches a glint of golden light in the corner of her eye.
Promptly, their rickety old water tower comes crashing down in a dusty explosion of wood.
For a breathless moment, Nya and her opponent pause to stare wide-eyed at the wreckage.
Hopefully Kai didn't have anything to do with that . . . but Nya's not sure.
She ditches the skeleton, ducking under his incoming fist, and bolts to where she thinks Kai is. But she can't see him.
There are more Skulkin now, crowding in from all angles. Nya's backed into a corner here. Gripping the staff tighter, she prepares for the worst—
Or, what she thinks is going to be the worst.
She sees a flash of the old man, his white robes standing against the paneling of their home. Someone says "Lord Garmadon" and Nya strains to hear it better, finally picking out Kai in the hoard.
They lock eyes. His expression turns suddenly terrified, and he calls out to her, but she can't hear him—
Then something crashes into her—large and cold and skeletal—
Nya stumbles, recovering her footing—when the ground just disappears from beneath her feet, the shop growing smaller as she's yanked violently backwards—
Nya can't help the panicked scream that escapes her, and Kai's frantic call echoes across the road. At some point, the staff falls to the ground, forgotten as Nya fights the dizziness.
She slams back into something solid—
It's clasped around her, a hand-shaped prison barely big enough to breathe in, and Nya's still trying to figure out where all the air in her lungs has gone—
Her eyes blink open. The whole world is tilted on its side and she's curled up, hands plastered over her head like the sky is falling. For a moment, Nya thinks there must've been some insane explosion and it's a miracle she's even alive.
But then everything heaves a mighty rumble and there's the sound of a roaring, fuming engine. And the landscape is spinning and she can't quite see the shop, and—
The details slide together, merging into one enormous, glaring conclusion.
NO!
She's on the back of a vehicle, and it's driving away.
In fact, forget driving, this thing is soaring.
Nya grabs onto the claw that's trapping her here, holding on for dear life. It's all shakes and bumps—they're going at an inhuman speed and Nya's hair is whipping painfully against her face.
All she can do is hold on, expecting to dislodge and tumble to the rapidly blurring ground. For a while, her thoughts are launching rapid-fire.
She squeezes her eyes closed as the acceleration reaches impossible levels. It defies science. Nothing is supposed to be able to go this fast, not considering friction and the law of—
There's a distinct shift in the air. Then, cold. Ice cold. Like that bath she took a few years back, when she was really sick.
Nya focuses on her breathing.
In . . . out. In . . . out. In—
She dares to crack an eye open.
Oh . . . my . . .
They're not in Ninjago anymore.
Nya's heart takes up skydiving again, leaping down to the churning pit in her stomach.
Did they just—?
But no. That's impossible. It's—
It's all just swirling purple and black, thick smoke spiraling above her. And the noises—
Screeching and clawing and growling—
She feels sick.
The vehicle jerks to a jarring halt and Nya winces at the whiplash. Then there's silence.
Now that she's not in danger of splattering across the road, the events start to catch up. They trickle in, replaying minute by minute. Everything's still blurry, it happened so fast—
She's been kidnapped.
At first, something about the notion is oddly exhilarating. Like—how often does someone from Ignacia get kidnapped? Certainly never in her lifetime. And getting kidnapped by skeleton monsters?
The childish, story-lover in her thinks it might be kind of cool.
But the logical, danger-sensing part of her has been getting stronger, these days. And right now it's scanning every surface, calculating escape plans and defense tactics—
The claw snaps open and Nya drops with a gasp.
No dirt. The ground is solid rock.
Ow. Ohhh, ow.
The escape plans evaporate when Nya realizes she doesn't know how far from home she is. Or even just—where she is. It seems to be some type of cave.
As she's trying to sit up, a pair of spiked boots appears in front of her. Nya looks up.
Skulkin.
Two hands grab the back of her shirt and yank her upright. Then she's being dragged backwards, led into who-knows-where in this god-forsaken tunnel system—
Shadows stir along the walls, watching her.
Why was she kidnapped? Revenge is the first reason that comes to mind, but it's not like Nya did anything to offend these creatures personally. All she did was accidentally stumble upon a crime scene.
Maybe that was enough, though. What if this is one of those "no witnesses" things, where the murderer can't afford to leave any trace of the act. Maybe she's a liability.
Maybe they're gonna kill her.
Fear springs to life in her chest and Nya immediately converts it, deciding instead to be angry.
Anger seems to get the job done better, anyway.
The burst of adrenaline activates and Nya reaches back, gripping one of the skeletal arms. The Skulkin cries out.
"Hey!" it yelps. Nya almost yells, too—she wasn't expecting it to talk. It's just so . . . unsettling.
She squirms free with a tug, but in doing so, there's a shocking pop!
Something rips away in her grasp, sending her stumbling back.
Nya balances herself, turning around and—
She's holding—
Oh First Spinjitzu Master, there's an arm in her hand.
She's holding an arm—
Nya makes an undignified sound, tossing the appendage to the ground. She scrubs her hands on her pants.
Oh no, she's a butcher, she dislodged an arm—
But now the skeleton isn't watching her. He's occupied, picking up the arm and clicking it back into place with a frustrated grumble.
Nya backs up slowly, sticking close to the shadowed walls of the cavern. The Skulkin glances around, looking for her, then shrugs indifferently. It walks away.
Huh.
Not intelligent creatures, then. That's good! She can use this to her advantage. If they don't realize or care that she's missing, maybe she can start by getting out of this cave—
"Boo," says a gravelly voice behind her.
Nya jumps away from the wall, turning to see the enormous, hulking form of another skeletal creature.
It has four arms.
And all four arms are spread out like it's going to pounce on her.
This wasn't in the book, this wasn't in any book, no book has prepared her for this—
"Samukai, Skulkin General. It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance," he growls, bowing exaggeratedly.
Nya just stares, fixated on the glowing red orbs that sit where his pupils should be. Samukai is a good deal taller than her, and much bulkier.
She should run. She should totally run. But her legs will simply not cooperate, rooting her there indefinitely.
The general steps closer, sizing her up. He mumbles something, disappointed.
"What?" asks Nya, finding her voice.
Samukai raises his two bony eyebrow bumps.
"I just thought that, since we went through all that trouble . . . you might be valuable. But now I have my suspicions."
Offended, Nya crosses her arms. Some of the fear abates, just a little.
Samukai looks like he doesn't know what to do with her.
Kai's probably still at home, in the middle of an ambush or scouring the countryside. Either way, he's gonna be worried sick about her, and there's work to be done and a shop to run and—
Nya remembers the old man. Had he been there? Maybe he and Kai can work together. Set up a—a search party, or something.
She looks back to Samukai, who's muttering things like "human child" and "puny little thing."
"Alright, what is all this?" Nya finally asks, planting her feet. "I never did anything to you. And—if this is about what happened at Walter's house, I didn't call the cops or anything, so you can't be mad about—"
"Lord Garmadon requested you, specifically," the general growls.
Garmadon. That name rings a bell, where did she hear it recently . . . ?
Nya frowns. "Who's that?" Better not be some creepy old guy, because she's not equipped to handle that kind of kidnapping crisis—
"Lord Garmadon!" Samukai roars. Nya leaps back. "God of Darkness, Tyrant of the Underworld, Bringer of Destruction!"
None of those titles sound particularly uplifting.
Nya's heart skips a beat when she realizes something else.
"Underworld?" she manages. "Wh—don't tell me this is—"
"It is."
"The Underworld is real?"
"It is."
"But—it's supposed to be impossible for humans to get here. I mean—"
"Impossible on their own."
"So how did we—"
"Enough!"
Samukai takes Nya by the arm and strides away. She staggers along behind him, fruitlessly digging her heels into the ground. Stupid uneven rock, no traction—
They travel down a flight of roughly cut stairs, and the dim corridor only grows darker. In the distance, there's the barest flicker of illumination. It's a fluid, purple sort of light, bouncing off the walls like fire does.
She's pulled through an arched doorway, where the ominous flickering bursts to life. Torches line the walls, casting eerie, disfigured shadows across the floor.
Despite the torches, it's dark.
Nya can't explain it. The darkness doesn't really have anything to do with the absence of light, but more like—
The absence of good.
It's an implied darkness, something hovering in the atmosphere. It crowds the space between air molecules, tainting everything it touches.
Hopelessness. Resentment. Despair.
Nya's never known a heaviness like this.
She's gonna die down here, isn't she?
Samukai flings her forward and Nya barely catches herself. There's a narrow walkway suspended over what appears to be a very, very deep chasm, dropping off into a thick, murky fog.
Nya steps carefully back from the edge, but the Skulkin general is inches away, blocking the exit.
That's when she catches sight of a shadow within the shadows, a vague outline of something monstrous and elaborate. Like—some kind of throne.
Nya's never seen a real throne, of course, so she can only assume, but—
"Lord Garmadon," Samukai rumbles, bowing reverently. "I've brought the girl."
The girl.
Briefly, Nya is annoyed by the indifference of it, but then she recognizes the name.
Garmadon. The—Tyrant. Of the Underworld.
Which is where they are. And the throne—
Nya wasn't as scared before, but now—
"Excellent," says the shadow. Garmadon.
His voice is blood-chilling. Not gravelly like the Skulkin, but—smooth. Deep and compelling. Almost hypnotic.
Nya's stomach is churning and she hasn't even seen him yet.
Luckily, Garmadon seems happy to fix that for her.
He rises, and now Nya can see his outline, too. She likes to consider herself mature for her age, but when Nya sees Garmadon—
Suddenly she's really wishing Kai were here.
At first, Nya thinks Garmadon has horns, and that's terrifying, but then she realizes it's actually some sort of ghastly hat. Red eyes peer out just below the brim, and his entire body is gaunt and textured. Black—or very deep violet. Tattoos are scrawled over his face, highlighting a set of glinting, pointed teeth.
He's—he's hardly human, he can't be human. But then, what is he? He's—
He's crossing the walkway, closing the distance. Stepping slowly and deliberately, he fixes his menacing glare on her.
Nya swallows a throatful of stomach bile.
Holy FSM, I know I haven't been the best person I could be, but please don't kill me today, I promise I'll try harder, I'll pull my weight, I'll stop making fun of Kai's hair—
Close-up, Garmadon is so much taller than she thought. There's something strange about the shape of his body, almost uneven. Oddly bulky.
"A pleasure," he says, eyeing her.
To stop the shallow rise and fall of her chest, Nya figures she'll try talking.
"If—if you're looking for revenge or something, you should know that Kai had nothing to do with the—with me finding your skeletons in Walter's house. So if you kill me—"
"Kill you?" Garmadon laughs and Nya flinches back. "Quite the contrary. I need you alive."
A ransom, then? Logic kicks into overdrive.
"Well—okay, but we don't actually have a lot of money, so—my brother's not gonna pay—"
"It's not money I'm after."
Nya blinks, at a loss. "Then . . . what do you need me for?"
Garmadon grins, leaning down so the word falls right in front of Nya's face.
"Bait."
Bait . . .
Seems like things should be falling into place, like Nya should understand what's going on by now. But if anything, she's only more confused. Does she dare ask?
"What—kind of bait?"
Apparently she does.
Garmadon tilts his head to one side, holding her gaze there. As Nya begins adjusting to the dark space, she notices that Garmadon's eyes look—almost normal. If they weren't red, they might belong to a human.
"In time, all will fall into place."
There's almost . . . an elderly softness to those eyes. Not unlike a pair she saw quite recently, at the shop . . .
"How much time?" asks Nya.
"However long it takes your brother to seek out the Sword of Fire, I'm afraid."
Sword of Fire? Is that some—obscure fantasy reference? Does Kai have to make the sword? If he does, she might be here a while . . .
"How do you know my brother, anyway?"
"So many questions . . ."
Nya is about to ask another question about this supposed sword, but instead, she finds herself mesmerized by Garmadon's eyes again. They're just so—familiar . . .
"Are you . . . ?" Nya fumbles for the right words. "I mean—"
"I beg your—"
"Are you human?"
Garmadon's whole face changes, dropping suddenly into something solemn and pained. He folds his hands behind his back.
"Not . . ." he narrows his eyes at her, "anymore."
Then Samukai has her arm again and starts hauling her out of the room. Nya watches Garmadon as she goes. He watches her, too. And there's something in his expression, just for half a moment—
She can't label it. It flashes in and out, gone in seconds. And Garmadon turns away, striding back to his shadowy throne.
His eyes linger in her mind, though, and Nya wonders what happened to him. She wishes there was someone she could ask, a book to consult . . .
"The plan is somewhat far-fetched, if you ask me," says Samukai, startling her. Though he sounds more like he's talking to himself, Nya finds her curiosity.
"What plan?"
"Lord Garmadon isn't interested in you at all," the general grumbles. "He wants the Golden Weapons."
A memory flashes like the flick of a switch, but it's gone before Nya can latch on. Golden Weapons? She—she knows that, somehow she's heard it before . . .
"What're those?" she asks softly.
Samukai glances back at her briefly, still tugging her along.
"The tools of the First Spinjitzu Master? The most powerful objects in all of Ninjago?"
Nya takes a breath. "Oh."
They don't speak anymore after that, because Nya's busy contemplating what this could mean for the world. If someone like Garmadon gets his hands on the most powerful objects in all of Ninjago . . .
Sinkingly, Nya realizes her little bubble of a life is actually part of a much bigger one.
One that she's now a key part of, whether she likes it or not.
oOo
A/N: How's THAT for headcanon, huh? *slams hands on desk*
More angst to come, fellas.
Xoxo
Saturn