(A/N): This is one of those chapters where I re-read years-old writing and went, "dang, this is good, actually." Sad as I am that I can't actually write out all of the ideas and backstory I introduce in this chapter, I am excited to explain them later when I run out of written work and enter summary territory ... Anyway, hope you enjoy, and considering reviewing + sharing with any friends; I've missed the feedback!
"Eight … " Zane paused, scanning the page curiously. "The date is smudged; I cannot clearly make out the numbers."
"You likely will not need it," PIXAL stated from her position in his interface. "After all, we have already dated most of this mansion's history to the Serpentine War."
Zane noted the point and began to read. In the backdrop, the fire crackled softly. "I have finally made it to my station in the Southern Woodlands, and am beginning to settle into my quarters, having finally found a room cozy enough for my comfort. What a large mansion! Not even the F.S.M.'s monastery is qu—"
"Hold on, did you say FSM's monastery?" Cole butted in. "As in, the Monastery of Spinjitzu?"
"Like where we used to live?" Jay added. "Did she really mean the same monastery? That's insane!"
"I cannot think of any other monastery they would possibly mean," Zane agreed. "While the mention of it is fascinating, we really should continue to read before drawing any conclusions." The pointed tone he took was not lost on the interrupters, who chuckled apologetically but quieted down.
"Not even the F.S.M.'s monastery is quite this large," Zane continued, "Or lavishly decorated, for that matter. The monastery could take some pointers. Perhaps without all the clocks. I suppose that comes with being in a clockmaker's home, though."
"So there was a clockmaker! I called it! No normal person has this many clocks in one place." Cole pumped a fist. Lloyd, who had also noted the amount of clocks as strange, nodded emphatically. Zane made a note to look out for more signs of this clockmaker's influence around the mansion the next time he went out to search; given what had become of it, he wondered about its owner's fate.
"If I remember correctly, he controls the mansion, but it is technically collectively owned by the Shuravansha clan" —at the unfamiliar word, the others perked up again— "and several of the warriors live here as a shared home."
"You said it better than I did, Zane," Lloyd said, sounding equal parts impressed and embarrassed.
"I only approximated the pronunciation. It is entirely possible that I am incorrect," Zane assured him.
Setting her pen down, Skylor briefly stopped her quick note-taking. "Either way, there's that word again, and now we might know what it means."
"It's a clan," Cole said. "A clan of warriors?"
"It seems so," Zane agreed. "It was mentioned several of them slept here. Given the size of the mansion, they must have numbered many."
"There's only one way to find out." Skylor rotated her wrist in a stretch and picked the pen back up. "And my attention span has a time limit. Keep reading, Zane."
She had a point. Her notes would probably be useful for keeping track of what they learned, and they did not want to waste too much time speculating. Picking up the book, Zane picked up where he had left off.
"Several of the warriors live in the bedrooms. Which explains their size, I presume. Still too large to properly sleep in, and given what I'll be doing, I would prefer not to share a room. After all, I doubt the same warriors who face the threat of Serpentine invasions would be comfortable with knowing there are snakes among them right now."
There was a blissful second of quiet before the room went into a riot. A shocking feat considering there were only four other people in the room, but Zane knew what they were capable of. (He had long since given up on hoping he would be allowed to read without interruptions.) Skylor winced at the burst of noise from the other ninja, but her eyes were similarly wide with surprise. Lloyd came to his senses and hushed them all before Zane had a chance to step in and do so himself, but they were still incredulous when they spoke up.
"What do they mean, there were snakes among them?" Lloyd exclaimed, careful to lower his voice. "Did they sneak Serpentine in or something?"
"Maybe they were there to do something? It sounds like this was a deliberate affair," Skylor suggested quietly. She rubbed a temple idly as her pen hovered over the page, mulling over a turn of phrase.
"Now I definitely need to hear what comes next. Keep reading, Zane," Cole beckoned. "No matter what it is, this has gotta be interesting."
Zane nodded, but did not immediately turn his eyes to the page. Cole and Lloyd were enraptured in the mystery, exhausted and drawn but unmistakably interested. Skylor's energy was divided between note-taking and listening to Zane read, but her brow was beginning to furrow—the entry of the diary he was reading would likely be the last for now. Jay had been listening, fingers rapping softly against his knee, eyes attentive, but he stayed uncharacteristically quiet. Zane swore he saw his gaze sometimes flickering to Cole.
How he wished he could do anything to take the slightest edge off the fear on their faces. But the best solution was unachievable at the moment—finding Kai and Karlof, ascertaining Shade's whereabouts, and escaping.
So he read.
Zane's pause and observant glance at the others had caused a sober curiosity in the other ninja, and they complied solemnly when he warned that they truly should let him read the next paragraphs uninterrupted. PIXAL, too, hovered in the corner of his vision, remaining quiet but taking in each word as he read it.
"It is an unfortunate fact that this war has driven away all nuance. The other elemental masters are similarly biased against the Serpentine, despite the fact that Earth's betrayal in the Birchwood Forest battle proves we are no better than them."
Cole's eyebrows flew up at the new mention to his traitorous ancestor. The others threw brief glances his way, interested in the reaction.
"Did Chen not manipulate them as he manipulated us?"
The expression on Skyor's face darkened, hard to read behind sunglasses. Zane was sorry to remind her of all the harm her father had done, when he imagined the pain it caused her to know she had once followed him.
"Did Garmadon himself not take Chen as his Sensei?"
Now Lloyd's eyes flashed guardedly, nonplussed by the mention of his father.
"Did we not see several Serpentine prove extremely reluctant to break the peace between them and humans? But now that we are at war, apparently these things no longer matter. They are bad, and we are good; that is all."
Zane was beginning to see the angle this mysterious figure had come at their life from. Dissatisfaction dripped from the words like ice, with the disappointment of a friend who had expected better and never received. He was sure the others had put it together, too: with such familiar language, their knowledge, and a mention of the ninja's original abode, it was clear the subject of their perusal was close to the Elemental Alliance, if not one among their ranks. And they had begun to tire of the black and white of war.
"The Alliance has gravely overlooked a valuable resource. Any serpent who has resisted Chen's manipulation thus far will not fight willingly — if it meant stopping the bloodshed, they would gladly offer their information. And they have."
Skylor was scribbling so madly Zane worried whether it was a good idea to continue, but her serious stare when he paused set him straight quickly.
"The Serpentine I brought with me are acting as trusted informants and spies, trying to find any way to stop the war from dragging on any longer. Those staying with me are disguised, to avoid the panic of being spotted, but they will have to be careful, regardless." Which explained why this person had not wanted to share a room with anyone. "While they exchange information, I am helping the Shuravansha build hideouts for the villagers taking refuge here. As of now, they are incapable of holding everyone with the disarray they are in, so many people are simply staying in other rooms. This will prove less than ideal on the slim chance that there is an attack, so I hope to change this quickly."
"I am tired and sore from moving heavy objects around downstairs all day, so I will stop writing now. Until next time I remember to open this book, hopefully tomorrow."
With a searching once-over of everyone's faces, Zane closed the book and tightened the thread holding it shut.
"So." Jay spoke up, at length, the room's dim light casting his shadow oddly across the floor. "That was … kinda nuts, huh?"
"You don't say." Cole ran a hand through his hair and blinked. "Friendly Serpentine spies, huh? Not sure I would've jumped to that strategy."
"Who is this guy? They keep saying 'we' and 'us', talking about the elemental masters like … like they were one of them. They sure seemed to know dad well." Lloyd's voice sounded flippant, but Zane could hear the wariness when he mentioned Garmadon. He understood it—their author had been sent by Garmadon, and had brought up his past relationship with Chen, undoubtedly a sore subject for Lloyd. They had spoken of him in the tone one would a friend, yet used his shortcomings as an argument.
"So they really were an elemental master?" Jay put his finger to his chin thoughtfully. "You know, it makes sense. How many other people would know what they did?"
"Not many," Skylor murmured. "Especially not what they said about my father."
"Not to mention they sound like they fought in at least one battle," Cole added, similarly unnerved. "So my grandfather really was a traitor, huh."
A moment of charged silence.
"That was your grandfather?" Lloyd spoke up finally. Although he did not voice it, Zane was similarly surprised. To know an ancestor had betrayed their allies was one thing. To know it was your grandfather was another.
"I knew I had a grandfather who fought in that war. Just never heard anything about him betraying anyone." Cole let out a humorless chuckle. "Although I guess I see why you wouldn't tell a kid that sorta thing."
"So … you've been thinking about this since that last letter we read?" Jay reached for Cole's shoulder, likely as a show of sympathy, but faltered. His hand never made it there before it dropped back against his leg. "That's. That's gotta be a lot, man."
"It would be understandable if he has. I am sure that it must come as a surprise to learn." Zane had placed the diary back in its satchel, and closed it back up as he spoke.
"Well," Lloyd said, "what he did in the past doesn't say anything about you."
The scritch of Skylor's pen stopped.
"You're still one of us, that's not about to change."
"Yeah, I know," Cole replied, quirking his lip up in a brief half-smile. "Thanks, guys. I just don't know what to think about it; it's not like I really knew the guy."
"How come?" Lloyd asked.
"I just didn't see him much, 's not a big deal." A half-shrug. "But you know what else was really interesting about that diary? That whole bit about the Serpentine."
Recognizing the attempt to move on from the topic, Zane picked up the thread. Cole shot him a grateful look as he spoke. "Indeed, I was quite surprised by their perspective on the war. The familiar way in which they speak of the Elemental Alliance does imply that they were a member of its ranks, but they diverge from the predominant attitude of the elemental masters during the war."
"It's weird," Lloyd pondered. "Uncle Wu told me never to trust a snake when I met him. And everything Mom and Dad said made it sound like trusting them was impossible once the war started. I haven't really heard anyone from the past argue for them until now."
"Let alone use them as spies," Cole agreed. "It's easy enough to demonize your enemies, but this guy refused to, even though they were almost definitely an elemental master. Sure is new to see someone calling the Serpentine a 'valuable resource'."
"Why is that?" Skylor posed. She'd put her little pad and pen down to rest her face on her palm.
Everyone turned their eyes on her, curious as to where she was going.
"Whoever they were, this person trusted their spies, maybe even more than they trusted the other masters. Thought they could help stop the war faster. But it ends up being long and gruesome, and even after it's over, there isn't a word about friendly Serpentine coming to anyone's aid." Skylor pushed a stray curl behind her ear before looking up again, eyes dark under Kai's sunglasses. "Why is that?"
"Zane."
PIXAL's voice startled him; she had been content to listen to the others exchange thoughts thus far. There was a troubled edge to her voice now.
"Do you recall how we concluded that many of the bones found here were Serpentine?"
It bemused him, the way he could be nonhuman yet feel the distinct sensation of one's heart skipping a beat.
"Maybe they just didn't wanna be recognized?" Lloyd was saying meanwhile. "They would've looked like traitors, 'helping the enemy' and all. I bet they wouldn't have gotten the warmest welcome back after working to make their own kind lose."
A temporary refuge for the people of the Woodlands during the Serpentine War. He along with his friends had all assumed an attack.
"Maybe. It's either that or they double-crossed our EM, right?" Jay shifted his position again, his hands dropping onto restless legs. "They seemed to trust these snakes enough to bring 'em here, though."
From the destruction wrought on their surroundings, it had seemed the obvious answer.
Skylor sighed. "That tracks. So what happened?"
But if the Serpentine residing here had been on the side of the Elemental Alliance, then …
"Zane?"
Startled a second time by the sound of his name, Zane blinked back into focus. Cole was regarding him with thinly-veiled concern.
"You good? You're looking a bit spacey, pal."
"Y-yes, I—" Zane stammered, trying to find his voice. After a second, trusting himself to speak properly, he started again. "I am fine, I was simply reminded by PIXAL how many of the bones found here appeared Serpentine." Cole's eyes widened by a fraction; he understood where this was going. "We assumed it was a given that Serpentine had attacked here in the past. But if the Serpentine staying here were uninterested in fighting, then—"
"Then something else finished everyone off, huh?" Cole's jaw clenched.
"Like what?" Lloyd worried at a stray thread on his gi as he asked the question. Zane had the feeling everyone's thoughts jumped to the same answer—ectoplasm dripping off a mountainous form, slashing claws and jagged teeth in too many angry mouths to count, a forest of cold, uncaring eyes peering from the shadows.
What in the world had happened here?
"That mansion was supposed to hide people from war."
With a final once-over, Cole confirmed he was ready to leave and stood, grabbing his bag and scythe. The bag had been emptied of anything they wouldn't need, leaving just medical supplies, a flashlight, a few smaller weapons, water bottles, and a couple snacks (unfortunately less than he would like, considering they needed to make it last). He had already woken late, and the time spent allowing the last search party to recuperate made the day feel that much shorter. Anywhere normal, he would have pinned the time at somewhere in the afternoon, but there was very little normal to be found here; already the shadows were creeping in from the edges their kerosene lamp couldn't reach. Cole could feel the strain on his circadian rhythm in the grogginess refusing to let up and the effort it took to fight, plan, worry, walk, exist.
Or maybe it was simply the mansion's magical effects. Who cared? Either way, being here was as exhausting as it was anxiety-provoking.
Truth be told, Cole wasn't sure he was ready to leave their room and go back out into the constant assault on his sanity. The nap after his watch was over hadn't been nearly enough, let alone any kind of restful. He felt a little drained still, which was probably natural after the massive anxiety attack he'd had last night. After that disaster, he was none too keen on encountering the spirit, either—now he knew for certain it was angrily sneaking around out there, and he'd get to spend an entire search expedition wondering how many different ways Kai and Karlof could have possibly been torn into shreds by it! Lovely. And to make things even better, they were focusing more on the open hallways and rooms, since the last expedition had done a heavy share of passage-searching, meaning no cover, no safety, nothing to protect them from being descended upon like so many morsels of prey. He could feel the nauseous butterflies already.
He couldn't stay, though, not after he had stayed behind with Skylor on the last rotation. Plus, Lloyd desperately needed the rest. The kid was stubbornly resistant to any suggestion that he was anything but fine, but the ninja had eyes. Just yesterday he'd nearly crumpled in Cole's arms with worry. He pushed to keep searching long past the point of reason. The bags under his eyes were starting to look like real designers… the list went on. There was no denying it, Lloyd needed a break, and no matter how crummy he felt, Cole wasn't denying him one.
That didn't mean he had to love going back into the open. Just that he knew he had to suck it up.
All he could really do about it was cross his fingers and hope this outing was an uneventful one.
The information from the author's diary was still on his mind, as well. While he hadn't known his grandfather well enough to be affected by the knowledge he'd betrayed his allies during the war, it was a pretty insane tidbit to learn out of the blue. He'd been alive when Cole was young, and probably still was (chagrined, he realized he didn't actually know for sure), so he couldn't have paid too dearly for it. Since they'd read the first letter, he'd been wondering what to make of it, and that it had been mentioned again showed how much it had shocked the other elemental masters. Regardless, he got the feeling they didn't care to elaborate on the situation, and that was … fine, he guessed.
What interested him was the author's argument paralleling his grandpa and Garmadon with the Serpentine. Just as humans were not uniformly good, so too were snakes not all evil. It made sense, but it wasn't a worldview he'd heard anyone profess openly, let alone while Ninjago was locked in a war with them. To go so far as to use Serpentine as spies, and bring them here wasn't something he would have ever expected, and the fanged skulls littering the halls left unsettling implications he didn't know how to unpack.
Knowing dwelling on it wasn't going to answer the questions he had, Cole reluctantly shelved the information. The search expedition needed his utmost focus, especially considering what would happen if he got caught off-guard …
Lloyd sat cross-legged on the free bed (and he'd made it, since Cole had forgotten to). Cole met his eye and shot him an encouraging smile, but got little else besides a half-hearted quirk of the lip. Discouraging, but he really did understand it— by the minute, it was growing harder to stay optimistic, no matter how important it was to try. To Skylor, he dipped his head, and she sent them a tired wave.
"We all ready?" He forced his voice to stay level as he asked the question. Zane nodded from where he stood near the door, alert and prepared to go. Jay, on the other hand, had his bag on his back, but he was scarfing down a chocolate-chip protein bar.
Cole raised an eyebrow. "Really? Now? Didn't you already eat breakfast?"
Jay turned to him, owl-eyed. "Uh, yeah, but just. Never a bad time to fill up on energy when you need it, right?"
"Not that I disagree, but you do remember we're rationing so we can spread this stuff out, right?"
"Well, duh." Jay peeled the shimmery wrapper back a little further and took another chocolatey bite. "It's just one protein bar. And I saw you with those peanuts earlier."
Cole sputtered momentarily. "I didn't eat before! That was different and you know it."
"I know. Sorry, I was just hungry, okay?" Jay polished off the bar and crumpled the wrapper up into a ball, the crinkling echoing eerily through the room.
"Whatever," Cole sighed, turning for the door. "If you're ready, let's just go."
He could feel Jay's eyes on him, as guilty as the furtive glances he'd been getting all morning, as he reached for the doorknob. He didn't have it in him to care, though. Not after last night.
The first day they'd arrived? Jay ran off. Letting Kai take his night watch hadn't been his best idea, either, especially once the fire ninja went missing. Sure, he'd apologized for those things, and he'd more than made up for them. Cole would have been perfectly fine with chalking those things up to nerves, blanking in an unfamiliar situation. He sure wasn't perfect, either.
But last night?
Their footsteps thudded with a dull echo through the wide hallways, deadened by old furniture, bone remains, and the age of the wooden floor. Zane's gait was measured like always. Jay's footsteps were light and erratic, like he was slightly favoring one foot over the other. (Cole remembered the split-second of Jay's foot hitting the floor at the wrong angle, and the gasp that'd torn itself from his throat.)
It was a stupid idea. Even in broad daylight, the spirit was dangerous, and he'd wanted to go looking for Kai and Karlof in the middle of the night? To accomplish what, exactly? Cole had warned him, too, warned him so many times over that it wouldn't be worth it. No, stupid, stubborn Jay had to insist anyway, and Cole was the bigger idiot for letting himself get dragged into it. Why couldn't Jay think, just once, about the things he did?
Jay'd apologized for that, too, although he had almost been too spent to hear it. Jay made famously bad decisions under stress, everyone knew that. Cole wanted to forgive him and move on, but … it had felt like he would die, right then and there. For several minutes, he'd thought they both would. His ears were still ringing with the echoes of the spirit's cries, and each one had sent a fresh spike of cold, jagged terror ripping through his chest. His head still pulsed with a dull ache, and with each step his sore legs cried out. The glint of his flashlight against its claws still flashed behind closed eyelids with each blink.
In front of him, Zane signalled for them to turn into another corridor, one he hadn't yet mapped out, and pointed out rotten wood and debris to avoid. Through a haze, Cole registered the instruction and stepped accordingly. A harsh shudder went through him at the pieces of skeletons off to one side—a spiky hand peeked out from under a curtain. No matter how many times he saw it, he could never get used to the carnage.
Having his fragile courage ripped away so violently, being so vulnerable, was terrifying. Had he been alone with the spirit, he knew which one of them would have walked away, and it wasn't him. That thought was another punch to the gut. He was lucky Jay could hold his own so well, he knew that, but Jay was only so strong. Cole had been caught completely by surprise; if Jay had gotten hurt, he couldn't help. One wrong move and he could have been bringing Jay's body back in his arms instead.
How were any of them supposed to deal with that? Just the idea of it happening to their two missing friends was cracking away at their determination. How would he have ever looked his friends in the eye if Jay had died yesterday, defending him? How would he have ever forgiven himself?
Jay had unwittingly walked them both right into the lion's den. Mistake or not, no matter how well it had turned out, he couldn't be okay with that.
A rusty key slotted into a lock refused to turn, and Zane put it back in his bag, disappointed. Watery light spilled from the windows, weakly washing at the dark just enough that flashlights weren't required yet. The quiet hung in the air between the thud of footsteps, ringing in their ears, the perfect blank canvas for their thoughts to stray. Every piece of furniture, every stain on the walls, each bag and weapon and piece of bone sat in its place, with the weight of things not moved in eons. The ninja swept by, slowly, cautiously, their minds heavy, and their motion swept the faintest layer of dust into the air.
"Then it became the war."