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Sep 8, 2025

Querencia

Rise of the snakes

Perched on the sun-baked red tiles of the Monastery’s walls - overlooking the coiling, golden Lóng statue that sat in the courtyard with eyes of rubies and the lion-like face of the Nian, the symbol of the First Spinjitzu Master - was [M/n], the young purple ninja, lounging about as he read. The sun was high in the sky, a cooling breeze keeping him from overheating, clouds passing over and casting shadows every once in a while and the aromatic smell of incense floating from Wu’s open bedroom window filled his nose. It was a perfect day.

Beeping and yells faintly filtered into the courtyard, accompanied by laughter as the ninja played their video games instead of training as they should have been. While it wasn’t loud enough to disturb his reading, it wasn’t pleasant background noise but he made due. It was easy enough to ignore them. Until the great oak door leading to the courtyard swung open, unaccompanied by steps of any kind.

“Have you seen your brothers?”

“Gaming Room.”

Wu sighed, disappointed. “I see.”

The red oak door closed behind Wu. For a long minute the sounds continued as normal, before the shouts and cheers turned more frantic, distressed, yelling at Sensei for whatever he had done to the old tv. It was then that the sounds irritated [M/n], breaking the peace he had in the courtyard.

Sitting up, [M/n] slid the plain bookmark in hand between the pages to mark his place, setting the book on the tiles, away from the edge so it would not slip. Cross-legged, he allowed his mind to wander, keeping an ear on the chaos happening in the Game Room.

From the sheath at his hip, [M/n] pulled free one of the Golden Tessens he now owned. As one of Five Golden Weapons, it was fascinating, holding a power [M/n] doubted he’d ever be able to achieve in his life.

Supposedly, according to the legend, the Golden Tessens were capable of controlling and resurrecting the Dead. Of manipulating the very essence of Death, known as Nether.

His [e/c] gaze ran over the Tessen, observing it - the nine golden ‘ribs’ and fabric, attached to a handle made from the pale, golden wood of the Golden Cedar, a rare tree found only here in the Monastery, and the black stitching of feathers on the fabric over the ‘ribs’. Hidden in the hollow ‘ribs’ were blades of some kind of golden iron or steel, strong enough to slice through skin, muscle, and bone if need be.

In his, biased, opinion the set was a work of art. Nothing he had ever seen before could possibly compare - though his memory of only a few months did not give him much to work with. Being in a coma for three years would do that to you.

Of course, their beauty was matched by their deadliness and power, so he had spent the six months since retrieving the Tessens working on accessing his Element, learning how to use it. Like an anchor, the Tessens became his focal point for him to channel his element.

A sudden increase in shouting pulled his gaze from the weapons to the doors, flicking his wrist to close the fan to sheath it safely, quickly turning his attention to the chaos. His hearing - which he had learned was better than the average person - was able to pick up the heavy, but coordinated steps heading his way. Nya’s, he guessed.

[M/n] was proven right when the teen burst through the doors, nearly tripping from how hard she slammed into the oak doors. Her breathing picked up as she searched the courtyard but came up empty, only for her head to snap up when he whistled.

Without prompting, she shouted, “Lord Garmadon’s been spotted in Jamanakai! They’re asking for help!”

The girl was then nearly run over by the four ninja, scrambling to get past her to make it to the stables where the dragons resided.

Gracefully, especially when compared to the four, [M/n] dropped to the ground, twisting into his Spinjitzu to change into his GI. Once the soft shade of purple, reminiscent of the Violet’s found outside the Monastery, had made him the butt of many jokes but that had stopped once he had shown how much further along he was in training. And saved them on three separate occasions.

Making it to the stables, he stopped in his tracks at the entrance beside Wu and Nya, watching on in shock - though he remained stone faced. All four ninja were struggling to mount their dragons, who seemed bored with their riders.

Looking to Wu, he saw the genuine disbelief written across his face as if he hadn’t realized how little time the ninja had spent training the past two months, since Garmadon had retreated through the portal.

Said portal had been a massive swell of energy that [M/n] had felt, like a third sense. Which is why he was so calm, having felt nothing similar to imply that Lord Garmadon had returned.

Sighing, [M/n] approached his own dragon, Ara, the Guardian of the Golden Tessens. Said dragon was still curled up in his stall, only raising his head when the teen was close. Leaning forward, the dragon pressed his nose into the gloved hands of his rider, watching him with gleaming silver eyes.

“Γεια σου, Ara,” he murmured, running his palms along the dragon's sinuous neck before climbing into the saddle. As he settled into place, the feather-like structures layered along Ara’s neck shifted and rubbed against each other in an audible sound. Once [M/n] was settled Ara stood, striding forward to stand on the ledge, waiting for the others.

In no rush, [M/n] occupied himself with watching the others.

His gaze found Nya, who had moved to comfort Flame, who was beginning to grow irritated with his rider clambering all over him. His massive head was pressed into her stomach and legs, thin wisps of smoke curling from his nostrils.

“Uh, there anything I can help with?” Nya asked.

Kai, who finally managed to climb up Flame’s side and sit in the saddle, shook his head, “Sorry sis, where we go danger abounds. This is a job for ninja.”

Nya’s shoulders dropped, frowning as she watched her brother struggle to reach the reins. It took a few tries before Kai realized he couldn’t reach it, offering his sister an awkward, embarrassed smile, “Uh . . . Uh, a little help? Heh-heh.”

She sighed, grabbing the reins to offer them to her brother before returning to Wu’s side.

[M/n] held back a scoff, judging the four heavily. Nya had, at least, been trying to learn, spending a few hours a week working with him to learn how to fight, and running through the Monastery’s course in the courtyard. She was progressing well, even if she felt stagnant, but [M/n] knew it was due to age.

He had, according to Wu, begun training as a young child, so his skills were polished while Nya had only begun a few months ago. [M/n] didn’t expect, nor did he believe she should expect, to be an expert in fighting.

His inner musings were interrupted by the other dragons finally stepping out onto the ledge, ready to take flight. Ara huffed, pushing off without further ado, allowing them to drop several meters before extending his wings to catch an updraft. They swept into the sky, the other dragons following quickly with Cole even whooping in excitement.

Rocky’s slow sweeping wingbeats, Wisps trills and chirps, Shard’s low humming, and Flame’s grumbling nearly drowned out the cheers and laughs as the ninja celebrated, hyping themselves up to face Lord Garmadon.

“Just like old times, eh, Rocky?” Cole laughed, leaning forward in the saddle to scratch the side of his neck.

“You guys believe what Sensei was sayin’? About unlocking our full potential?” Kai asked, breaking the happy-go-lucky atmosphere.

“Wouldn’t he know? I mean, it’s not like we’ve really had to use the Golden Weapons since we got ‘em. I wonder what they do,” Jay mused, sparing his Golden Nunchucks a glance.

“[M/n]?” Zane called, waiting for the other to look over. “Do you know what our weapons have in store for us?”

The silence stretched on for a minute, [M/n] gathering his thoughts, “The Golden Weapons are ancient, created by the First Spinjutzu Master in order to contain his power to create Ninjago. Each has secrets only its holder can unlock, and even then it could take lifetimes for them all to be revealed.”

All four stared at him.

None of them had any idea how a 17 year old could manage to spout riddles like an old man.

“No idea what you just said, but I’m assuming it means our weapons are kickass,” Cole grinned. Everyone happily voiced their agreement, earning a bone deep sigh from [M/n]. “Is anyone else excited about facing Lord Garmadon? I’ve been looking forward to trying out some new Spinjutzu moves. Could be the a perfect opportunity.”

“Ha-ha! Race you there?” Jay challenged, wasting no time before urging Wisp forward.

Flame, Rocky, and Shard were quick to take the challenge, roaring as they chased after the nimble lightning dragon, leaving Ara behind. This suited the dragon just fine, as observed by the draconic equivalent of a sigh that escaped him.

This made [M/n] chuckle slightly, gently stroking the ‘feathers’ of his neck, “Δεν χρειάζεται να αγωνιστείς, αλλά δεν μπορούμε να μείνουμε πίσω.” Ara grumbled, picking up the pace. Reluctantly. (You do not have to race, but we cannot fall behind.)

He kept space between him and the others, refusing to be considered a part of the race.

The four landed nearly simultaneously, landing with heavy thumps, stirring up the dust and leaving claw marks on the ground. Ara landed on the grass, the wind beneath his wings barely moving the blades as he slowly leaned onto his wings so his rider could dismount.

[M/n] landed silently on the ground, scowling when he realized the ninja had begun arguing about who won, rather than focusing on the fact that they had arrived.

“Ha-ha! I was here first!”

“No way! No one was faster than me!”

“Ha-ha-ha! My feet were down before yours!”

“You are all disillusioned! It was clearly me!”

They all fell silent when the oppressing silence became clear. Jamanakai Village was a bustling merchant village, constantly filled with voices, shouts, and laughter. A sharp scream, closely followed by a door slamming had them all on edge.

Step by step, the five walked through the main archway that led to the heart of the Village, hands on their weapons and heads on the swivel. From an alley across the town square a long shadow appeared, followed by low haunting laughter.

“Stay sharp, fellas. Whatever happens, never let your guard down,” Kai ordered, pulling the Golden Sword from its sheath.

[M/n] kept his Tessens sheathed, hearing the odd tone to the laughter, the way it changed as the person approached.

The shadow shrank, the laughter changing and pitching higher as the figure strode, or tried to, into the square.

“It is I, Lloyd Garmadon! I demand all the candy in town! Or else!”

The boy, Lloyd Garmadon, had white-blond hair in a bowl cut and a black hoodie that had painted on bones and a green five, with a tattered purple obi wrapped around his waist. [M/n]’s hand twitched, as if to lift his hand, but he stayed steady and still. It didn’t seem like the other four noticed, but [M/n] did. Lloyd was skinny, too skinny, and it was more obvious than ever with the obi wrapped around his waist and the sleeves bunched around skinny elbows.

He climbed onto the lip of the fountain, flinging his arms out in display, a tin can clutched in hand.

“Lloyd Garmadon? I thought we were gonna face Lord Garmadon,” Jay complained, head falling back.

“It’s his son,” Cole said, rolling his eyes. Jay grunted. “Looks like he escaped his Boarding School for Bad Boys again. And here I thought we could be doing Spinjutzu already.”

[M/n]’s lips twitched. He had a healthy dislike of the Boarding School, stemming from one of the few memories he’d still had after waking from his coma, but his research into the school had only infuriated him.

According to Wu’s scrolls the school was a young one, having only celebrated its 30th year but that wasn’t right. At least that's what his head was telling him. But the scrolls said otherwise.

Around Jamanakai, villagers began leaving their homes, candiless, which made Lloyd nervous. The fact that their expressions were also irritated and angry did not help. “Er . . . Er . . . Gimme all your candy or I’ll release the Serpentine on you!”

Pointing the can in his hand towards the crowd, Lloyd pulled the string, sending rubber snakes into the booing crowd. Now, the boos turned to angry shouts, the Villagers throwing rotting vegetables at the boy, pelting him as he ducked to try and avoid them.

“No way! I asked for candy, not vegetables! I hate vegetables!” Lloyd shrieked, knocked into the water by a particularly heavy vegetable.

[M/n]’s body jerked forward, under no command of his own. He forced his body to go still, confused. A heat flash, centered on his chest, had him sighing but he stayed where he was.

“He’s gonna have to do a lot better than using an old bedtime story to scare the villagers,” Kai scoffed.

“The Serpentine are not some fairy tale, Kai. They’re not something to joke about,” Zane warned.

“Serpentine? Real? We’re talking about an ancient race of snake people who once ruled Ninjago before being chased and supposedly locked underground.”

Jay whimpered, wringing his hands, “Sealed in five different tombs to separate the warring tribes and ensure they don’t unify to exact their revenge upon those who put them there.”

“Έξι φυλές.” (Six tribes)

None of the ninja gave any indication that they had heard his murmur, and he was glad they hadn’t. Anacondrai, Constrictai, Fangpyre, Hypnobrai, and Venomari. Five tribes, not six.

“It’s an old wives tale, Jay. The whole thing is meant to teach kids not to stick their noses where they don’t belong. I mean c’mon, don’t you think it’s a little suspicious that no one’s ever found any of the tombs?” Kai pushed through the crowd, making his way towards Lloyd, who was dragging himself out of the fountain.

“Well that is because you would be a fool to look for it. If there was nothing I hated more than dragons, it was snakes,” Cole said, shaking his head. “Rubber or not.”

Jay grabbed Lloyd by the armpits, lifting him straight up as he furiously wiggled, “Unhand me!”

“Don’t worry, folks! We’ll take care of this, don’t worry,” Cole stated, trying to keep the crowd from surging forward. Jay struggled to keep his hold on the boy, trying to readjust his hold without dropping him.

“Bow down to me or suffer my wrath! I’ll give you to the count of three! One! Two!”

“What are we supposed to do? Spank him?” Kai asked, unable to hide his smirk at Jay’s struggle. Jay then lost the fight as Lloyd managed to kick him in the ribs, dropping him in pain.

Lloyd tried to flee before the others could really register what had happened, but a gloved hand stopped him. The flash of purple he saw in the corner of his eye had him crying out fearfully.

The other ninja laughed, turning to discuss Lloyd’s punishment while the crowd backed off, satisfied that the purple ninja would handle it. Their lack of attention allowed [M/n] to lead Lloyd away by the shoulder, even as the boy tried to dig his heels into the ground in the hopes of getting away.

Realizing he wouldn’t get away, Lloyd peered up with wide, trembling emerald eyes, “Please don’t hurt me.”

His voice trembled, his earlier confidence and defiance gone.

“I do not hurt kids.”

“I’m not—” Lloyd cut himself off, audibly, as it occurred to him how stupid it would be to contradict the thing that was keeping him alive. “Wh-what’re you gonna do to me?”

“I am not going to punish you.” Answering the unasked question.

Lloyd waited for more, but the ninja kept silent as he continued to pull the boy along. He was not prepared to stop, bumping into the ninja and stumbling slightly. By the time he had regained his balance, the ninja had crouched down and tugged the mask covering his face to his neck.

Tensing, Lloyd waited to be chewed out or yelled at, whatever the ninja chose.

“You should not have threatened the Village, not for candy. It is . . . unbecoming of the son of a Dark Lord to demand for something so trivial. If you are no longer at Darkly’s, then you need food, actual food, not candy or treats.”

Lloyd’s jaw nearly dropped, eyes bugging out, at the unsolicited advice. “Wha-why-? Why do you care? I don’t have to listen to you!”

“No, you do not. But doing all that for candy? It is stupid and can, will, get you hurt.”

“My dad—”

“Is not here to tell you to eat your vegetables and your meats.”

Blinking owlishly, Lloyd nodded slowly, unsure and a little hurt. Said hurt was erased when a pouch of yen coins was held out for him to take.

“Thanks,” Lloyd mumbled, remembering his manners. “But your team is still my main enemy! My mortal enemies!”

[M/n] hummed, standing, “Then it seems we will be meeting on the battlefield, παιδί." (kid)

Lloyd puffed up in surprise as the ninja slipped away, silent as a ghost. Now alone, he couldn't help but wonder about the rumors surrounding the so-called ‘Bringer of Death’.

‘Cause he’d been nicer than he needed to be, giving him advice and money even if he’d been a little on the harsh side. He’d even said they would meet on the battlefield! He was basically calling him an equal.

-----------------------

[M/n] found the ninja in the clearing, just now making it to their dragons after being waylaid by the offer of free food. Scoffing, he began to cross the clearing to make it to Ara but paused when Kai knocked a scroll loose from the saddle bag that wasn’t actually his. Now that he was looking at the bag, he could see the softened leather and gold stitching along the sides that marked it as Wu’s.

“Uh, I don’t remember putting this in my bag? Ever,” Kai said.

“Because you did not put it there. That is Sensei’s bag. Perhaps you took it in the rush without realizing,” Zane offered, climbing back down from Shard’s saddle.

“Well, what is it?” Jay asked, trying to take the scroll from Kai.

“It’s a scroll, windbag.”

“I know it’s a scroll, but what does it say? It looks like it was written in chicken scratch.”

“Ancient Ninjaoan,” [M/n] corrected, silently making his way closer. He paused by Flame’s head, resting a gloved hand over his snout.

“Correct,” Zane said. “The language of our Ancestors. Not chicken scratch.”

“Well, uh, can you read it?” Kai questioned.

“I can try. These kanji-” Zane pointed to the title on the top of the page as Kai unrolled it. “-mean prophecy.”

“Prophecy?”

Kai rolled his eyes at Jay, “It means it tells the future.”

“Of course. Hah-ha. I knew that.”

“Right,” Cole deadpanned. “What does that rest of it say?”

“The rest of it,” Zane corrected, before translating. “‘One Ninja will rise above the others and become the Green Ninja, the ninja destined to defeat the Dark Lord.”

“Oooh, look, a picture.” Jay tapped the picture that took up the bottom half of the page, examining the traditional depiction of five ninja. Red, Blue, Black, White, and Green.

“Hey,” Kai said, noticing the piece of the scroll that had been flipped inwards, revealing more chicken scratch. “It looks like there’s a back, with more writing.”

Zane flipped it over to reveal a second picture, in the same traditional style. A silver ninja, with a ghostly nine tailed fox wrapped around them.

“It seems to be another prophecy. Give me a moment to translate, these words are smudged. Older. ‘The child of Life and Death, named the protector of the Green Ninja, will receive what was lost at the toll.’”

[M/n]’s brow furrowed.

“Era criptico. At least the first was easy,” Cole complained, running a hand through his hair. (That was cryptic.)

“Wait, the Green Ninja prophecy said the Dark Lord, right? Do you think it means Lord Garmadon? And what about that picture? Was that us? I mean, is anyone else thinking what I’m thinking?” Kai asked eagerly.

“Like how good I’m gonna look in green?”

“Isn’t it obvious I’m gonna be the Green Ninja?”

“The color fits me better.”

“Technically, I am the best here.”

[M/n] rolled his eyes, giving Flame one last pat on the nose as the four began arguing. Ara seemed annoyed, shifting his wing forward to give him a boost onto his back, before pushing off as Cole cut off the argument.

They flew ahead, making it back to the Monastery first.

Unlike the others, he gave himself a moment to pull the saddle from Ara’s back, which meant he was still in the stables when the four landed.

“So, we all agree, the Prophecy states that one of us will become the Green Ninja, another the Silver Ninja, and this issue won’t be solved until it’s decided who is chosen,” Jay announced, earning an even deeper sigh.

“May I suggest a tournament? The last two standing are the best, best suited to being the Green and Silver Ninja.”

“Ha! I love it!” Kai whooped.

[M/n] wondered if any of them had actually been paying attention to the prophecies. A tournament would do nothing to determine what had already been decided.

All five of them made their way up the stairs to the courtyard, Cole pushing open the heavy outer doors. With the doors open they could see the obstacle course revealed from under the stone, Nya running it.

A quick glance their way had Nya’s focus splitting, and that was all it took for her to lose focus and be thrown from the course. She yelped. Jay hurried forward, laughing shyly as he helped her to her feet.

“Hey, Nya. Any closer to beating your brother’s speed record?”

“I’m getting there. Heard what happened in town. Just a false alarm, huh?”

“Just his son, Lloyd Garmadon.”

“Yeah, yeah. But, uh, we’re gonna need the space. Sorry, sis,” Kai said, pressing the button to lower the course back down.

“[M/n], are you competing?” Cole asked. When [M/n] shook his head, the older turned to the cabinet of kendo armor. “Two matches, then. The winners of each face off for the titles. Armors for our protection. It’s time to look what our babies can do.”

“See,” Zane corrected, quietly. Cole’s brow furrowed as he tossed the kendo helmet at the back of Jay’s head, watching it bounce off with a ‘thunk’.

“Hey!” Jay squawked, whirling around indignantly.

“Oh, hey, Nya. Ya wanna stay and watch me mop the floor with them?” Kai asked, smirking as he twirled a kendo helmet in his hands.

“No, but thanks. I think I’ll just visit Jamanakai Village now that it’s safe. Knock yourselves out,” Nya said, rolling her eyes. She turned, only to nearly jump out of her skin.

She had assumed the purple ninja had already left, had chosen to head inside and be done with this tournament, but instead he had chosen to stand a foot behind her, in her blindspot.

“FSM!”

“I’ll take you down to the village. I want to check the market.”

“Yeah, alright, fine. Works for me,” Nya grumbled, shaking her head. “Lolo.” (Crazy)

The two were quick to leave before the fighting could begin, making their way down to the stables.

Nya couldn’t help but smile when Ara crooned, greeting her happily as [M/n] passed them by to fetch his saddle.

“Gorgeous as always, Ara.” Nya dug her fingers into the thick mane of ‘feathers’ along his neck, scratching at the thinner scales beneath.

[M/n] scoffed, “You offer him too many compliments. He is spoiled.”

“Well, he deserves to be complimented.”

Scoffing again, [M/n] finished buckling the saddle into place, patiently listening to Nya lavish the wyvern in attention and praise.

Pleased, Ara shifted his wing forward to give Nya a boost into the saddle before refusing to do the same for his actual rider, huffing a laugh at the irritated sigh. Once [M/n] was settled in the saddle, Ara pushed off, taking up a lazy pace with no need to rush.

“Soooo, what was the tournament for?”

“They are under the impression that a tournament will be the deciding factor of two separate prophecies. Neither of which they were supposed to see.”

“And you’re not interested? Like at all?”

“No. I have no need for a foolish competition to confirm what I already know.”

“Wait, have you seen those prophecies before?”

“Wu showed me both of them when I woke, and I am not a fool. Unlike them.”

“Harsh. Any reason why?”

“Why what?”

“Why are the others all idiots?”

“Because they have misinterpreted the prophecy, seeing what they wanted rather than what is there.”

“Ya’know, sometimes I truly believe you might be related to Sensei Wu.”

[M/n] sighed.

“Oh, come on, it is a possibility. Think about it! You don’t know who your parents are, and Sensei took you in, isn’t it possible he took you in because he’s your father? Ooh, or maybe your uncle!”

“That would make me Garmadon’s son.”

“Oh. Well, still.”

“Wu and I are not related, Nya.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“Fine. But I do expect to be told whenever you learn who your parents are.”

“I will let you know when that happens.”

Ara laughed, a strange huffing sound, before he landed, hardly stirring the grass and dust. “See, Ara wants me to know too.”

“Ara agrees with you because you always compliment him and offer him more treats than he needs.”

Nya laughed, sliding down Ara’s back to the ground. She had no rebuttal. [M/n] followed, running a palm over the wyverns nose as he passed.

“You gonna stay dressed in that?”

[M/n] paused, glancing down. He was still dressed in his GI, which would likely make the villagers even more nervous than they usually were. Nodding in understanding, [M/n] used Spinjitzu to change back into his civilian clothes.

Plain and unassuming. Black hooded leather jacket, dark purple tee, cargo’s, and boots. Practical.

He turned back to Ara, “Πήγαινε, φίλε μου. Θα μείνουμε για λίγο." (Go, my friend. We will be awhile.)

Bobbing his head, Ara pushed off once the two had walked far enough away that the wind wouldn’t knock them over.

“I’m gonna go get some vegetables and fruits, Jamanakai’s had a good harvest recently.” Nya was already walking off.

[M/n] hummed, turning in the opposite direction, towards the jewelry district. Earlier that week he and Zane had come down for a day trip and explored the range of stalls, eventually coming upon one in the back corner that sold Kanzashi. At the time, they had been leaving so he hadn’t had the chance to stop and admire the handmade Kanzashi.

Once again he found the stall, approaching louder than he was normally comfortable with. He didn’t want to scare the older woman that was manning the stand.

“Ma’am,” He greeted, dipping his head as he looked down to observe her wares.

“Hello, young one. Has anything caught your eye?”

Beginning to shake his head, he abruptly stopped when the movement had him catching an eyeful of a Kanzashi. It was a yinglong dragon, carved with precise detail from jade that had then pieced back together with silver. An odd choice since gold was the usual choice for the practice of Kintsukuroi. The dragon was curled into itself, like an ouroborous, with a jade pin across the circle, meant to be pinned into a bun.

Picking up the piece with careful hands, he was surprised to see unpolished onyx eyes, giving the dragon an oddly malicious look.

“A gift for someone, perhaps?”

“No, just . . . it’s beautiful. How much?” His fingers ran over the cold jade, the need to have it almost burning in his chest.

“2,000 Yen, but for you, 1,500.”

“I can’t let you do that,” [M/n] refused, pulling the coins from the pouch on his hip. “I’ll pay full price.”

“No, no, 1,500.”

[M/n] ignored the woman, handing over the 2,000 yen, easily staring her down. The elder sighed, taking the pin from his hands to wrap it in cloth, layering it carefully before handing it over.

“Thank you.” He tucked the item into the inside of his jacket, turning back the way he’d come to find Nya. And he did, perusing the carrots with a keen gaze. At first, she didn’t seem to notice her new shadow, but when a quick glance showed the sweating shopkeeper she realized it.

Sighing, she finished up the interaction, taking the carrots at the lowered price in exasperation. Once her back was to the shopkeeper she rolled her eyes.

“Must you hover?”

“This is not hovering.”

“Then I’d hate to see what you consider hovering.”

“What have you gotten so far?”

“Well, carrots, corn, zucchini, scallions, eggplants, and lettuce. All in season right now, so the boys will just have to plan around what I got.”

“No fruits?”

“Not yet, figured I’d get them last.”

“Alright.”

Screams filled the air, Nya groaning, “What now?”

Nya looked past the nearest stone archway, eyes going wide, “What in the Underworld?”

[M/n] looked past her, saw the serpent-like bodies with scales of blue and grey, with yellow patterns, and concentric circles in the red glow of their eyes, and dragged the teen away as quickly as possible. “Do not look in their eyes!”

“What?!”

“Take the candy! Take it all!” Lloyd yelled, laughing hysterically.

“Is that-”

“Lloyd Garmadon. He must have gone looking for the tombs and found the Hypnobrai.”

“Hypnobrai? How do you-”

“Not important! Keep moving!”

He forced her head down, pushing her into an alley to get away from the fleeing throng of people that were trampling over each other in panic. His eyes ran over the blurry figures in the corner of his vision, but as soon as he set eyes upon them, they disappeared, like mist slipping through his fingers. Ignoring them, [M/n] aided Nya onto the roof of a nearby building, following after her.

Head on the swivel, [M/n] got her against the chimney, making sure her head was down. Ara’s roar had them both looking up but [M/n] made some kind of sign, making him turn back.

“Wha-where’s Ara going?”

“Back to the Monastery. I don’t feel comfortable facing off against the whole tribe of Hypnobrai while defending you and somehow managing to keep myself from being hypnotized.”

“Hypnotized?”

[M/n] nodded, “It’s how they got their tribe name. Don’t look any of them in the eyes. I mean it.”

His temples throbbed, the blurry figures coming closer as the world began to warp around him, leaving him unstable. “Nya-somethings. . . something's wrong . . . I need you to-to stay here. If something happens to me, stay here.”

“Wha-what’dya mean?”

The world blanked out, and suddenly [M/n] was in an alleyway, knee on the ground as he peered around the wall. A platoon of Hypnobrai, all carrying swords or spears, was making their way down the street of the evacuated village, searching for the villagers. He had his orders.

‘Do not engage.’ Wu had ordered. But he needed to blow off some steam.

They split, searching the houses and alleys, and [M/n] patiently waited. A soldier approached, crimson eyes widening as [M/n] lunged, war fans slicing through the thinner scales of his stomach. His scream alerted the rest of the platoon.

On graceful feet, [M/n] danced away from the blades allowing them to glance off his war fans before darting in and leaving long slices anywhere he could get too. He left deep wounds, but he didn’t target places that would kill them but he wasn’t interested in being careful. Distracted, he was unprepared for the heavy pommel of a broad sword to slam into the back of his skull.

Stumbling, [M/n] managed to turn around, raising his war fans to defend himself but the snake's heavy boot slammed into him and he was knocked back, winded. Hissing painfully, [M/n] lunged forward, fans and sword meeting in the middle, but the Hypnobrai had quite a bit of muscle on the young man. It was quickly becoming a battle of strength over wits, and [M/n] was wondering if it was even worth it.

As his arms trembled, struggling to keep the blade away, his mind wondered.

How bad would it be for him to let the sword go, to let it cleave open his chest? Bleeding out, here, didn’t seem so bad. It would be quick. Nothing like how Morro had gone. He was alone, now that he was gone. Wu had pulled away, now that his prized pupil was gone, and none of the other Elemental Masters seemed to like him.

Before he could let the sword drop, the end of a black bo staff slammed into the back of the Serpentine’s skull and he dropped like a sack of potatoes. Panting, [M/n]’s [e/c] met the murky red of Garmadon's gaze.

“What were you thinking?! My brother told you not to engage!” Garmadon yelled, grabbing [M/n] by the wrist and dragging him forward.

[M/n] didn’t respond, only flinching slightly at the yell. Seeing the small movement Garmadon sighed, scowling furiously, “From now on, you are stuck with me. I get that you are mourning, but this will not happen again. You will not throw yourself into battle with the hopes of losing your head, do you understand?!”

Silence.

“Do you understand?!”

“Yes. I understand.”

Garmadon held his gaze for a long moment, scoffing slightly when he turned to walk away. Guilt began curling in [M/n]’s gut.

He wondered how differently it would have gone had Garmadon been a few minutes or even a few seconds late, wondering how he could think that of his teacher. He hurried to catch up with Garmadon, glancing around at the odd sensation on his shoulder.

The world snapped back into place like a rubber band, [M/n] sucking in a deep breath. Nya had a tight grip on his shoulder, shaking him violently to try and wake him, stopping now that he was awake.

“Oh thank FSM! What in the Underworld was that?! You just- I don’t even know what!”

“I-” [M/n] trailed off, glancing around to catch himself up. “I’m not sure, Nya. But it isn’t important right now.”

“Not important?! You practically passed out on me! I thought- I thought something was wrong!”

“Nya. It’s nothing. Focus.” [M/n] looked to the sky, squinting to read the sun. “I wasn’t out for too long, so I do not believe it will be long until the other ninja arrive. We just have to wait.”

“Wha-fine. Fine, I’ll focus.”

Distant dragon roars had them looking west.

“Wait here, Nya.”

“Oh, come on!”

“I’m not engaging, just watching. I’ll be back.”

[M/n] leaped the roofs, stopping on one that gave him a good view and decent coverage. Crouching, he saw the ninja’s entrance.

Lloyd leaned over his wheelbarrow full of pilfered sweets, cheering, “I’m never coming down from this sugar high! Woo-hoo!”

“Sorry to bust your buzz, Garmadon!” Cole yelled, leaping out.

“But it’s already past your bedtime!” Jay finished, smug.

“Get them!” Lloyd shrieked, [M/n]’s heart jumped when he saw the massive General unfold himself, blue scales glinting in the light.

His tail rattled, forked tongue flicking, before he yelled, “Seize them!”

Kai came to a stop, eyes widening, “The Serpentine are real?!”

Hypnobrai soldiers and hypnotized villagers began closing in on the four, coming from the surrounding alleys.

“It’s not just them! The Villagers!” Cole shouted, alarmed. “They’ve been manipulated!”

“Hypnotized!”

“Does it matter?!” Jay demanded, yanking his Golden Nunchucks free. Lightning crackled up the golden chain, reacting to its holder, but Zane reached out to grab Jay’s wrist in an iron grip.

“No! Our weapons are too strong, too unstable! We risk doing more harm than good.”

“Oh ok, I guess that leaves us with RUN!!!”

Splitting up, they dove into the closest alleyways to avoid the circling enemies. [M/n] retreated as well, returning to Nya.

“What happened? I heard Jay scream,” Nya said, knuckles going white with the grip she had on her quipao.

“Everyone is alright. They retreated and split up, so now we can meet with them.”

“Oh, good.”

[M/n] nodded once, helping her stand on the tiles. Head tilting, he closed his eyes to focus, waiting for the wind to carry their voices his way, as it always did.

“This way,” he murmured, leading Nya across the roofs to a dead end tucked away on the edge of Jamanakai.

Dropping down, the others were relieved to see the two were alright.

“Nya!” Kai cried, immediately dragging his sister into a tight embrace that she reluctantly allowed. “Thank the FSM you’re okay.”

“Yeah, we are, but the Villagers . . . If I’d been alone I don’t know if I would’ve gotten away. I had no idea they could hypnotize people until [M/n] told me,” Nya explained, pulling back from her brother.

“Wait, hypnotize, like, mind control?! How is that possible! That shouldn’t be possible!”

“No idea, but it is. You can’t look ‘em in the eyes, but I think they have a tell,” Nya admitted, having been able to pay attention with [M/n] dragging her along. “While we were running, most of what I could hear was rattling. I think they rattle their tails to warn before they hypnotize.”

“So we can look in their eyes sometimes? That’s wonderful, just great. We can’t use our weapons, and if we use our eyes we might end up brain-dead pawns for the Serpentine, WHO ARE APPARENTLY REAL!!!”

Nya scowled, “Ya feel better?”

“No, but thank you.”

“I know a way we can free the villagers.” Five sets of eyes turned to [M/n]. “The General’s Staff. It carries the anti-venom, which we can use to free those who have been hypnotized. That will leave only the Hypnobrai, and I do not believe they have the numbers to take us on.”

“What does that mean? The numbers?” Cole asked, brow furrowing.

“If the Serpentine were trapped underground, they likely didn’t have a true food source. At least, not enough of one to sustain the whole tribe for 70 years.”

“So it stands to reason that they will have fewer numbers, which is why they had to hypnotize the villagers rather than . . .”

“Killing them,” [M/n] finished, unfazed.

“Then we have a plan.” Kai looked around at everyone, meeting their gazes. “Look, guys, right now the whole Green or Silver Ninja thing doesn’t matter. We’re ninja. We protect the people. So let’s go make Sensei proud. As a team, this time.”

“Now you’re talkin’!” Cole whooped, clapping Kai on the shoulder.

“Oh, and Nya, you can be our honorary member,” Jay added, awkwardly smiling.

Nya sighed, “Gee, thanks.”

“Let’s go crack some scales,” Kai declared, hopping up onto the roof, only struggling slightly.

When the other three followed, Nya looked to [M/n], face pinched, “Ya’ mind helpin’ a gal up?”

“Always.” Offering her a boost, he followed with ease, swinging himself up onto the roof.

Pausing he used Spinjutzu to change back into his GI, hands dropping to the Golden Tessens before he sprinted after the others.

Kai made it first, bursting out from an alleyway - for some reason, instead of sticking to the rooftops - hands raising into a traditional boxing stance. “You wanna play? How about a little Spinjutzu! Ninja, go!” Red-gold light formed around him, but within seconds he was thrown off balance, stumbling around in surprise.

“Wow, okay, we really are out of shape,” Jay realized, shocked.

[M/n] scoffed, dropping down onto the shoulders of a soldier, satisfied at the popping sound that came from its body. Collapsing beneath him, the purple ninja carried on, ducking around swords and spears to deliver bone bruising kicks and punches. One even collapsed with wheezing breaths from a bàoquán, before being knocked out from a precise kick to the temple.

Faint cackles had [M/n]’s body moving past the soldiers, once more without his permission. Hissing to himself, he reached for one of the Golden Tessens, freeing it.

“Ha! Consider this a warning ninja!” Lloyd tried to flee with his wheelbarrow of stolen candy but the Golden Shurikens hit the ground in front of him, ice quickly spreading. Growing over the wheels, Lloyd vaulted over the top at the abrupt stop due to the speed he was running and how small he was.

Candy scattered across the cobblestone. Lloyd struggled to get to his feet, bleeding slightly from a scrape on his cheek and ones on his hands. Zane approached, after pulling the Golden Shuriken free, but a bō shuriken sank into the cobblestone barely inches from his boots, forcing him to stop.

The pieces of candy that were closest to the bō shuriken began to decay, or melt, as its form melted away into a gas that slowly evaporated.

Surprised, and only mildly alarmed, Zane came to a stop.

“My candy!” Lloyd wailed, ignoring his bleeding face and palms.

“We should have listened to Sensei. ‘Never put off until tomorrow what can be done today.’ We should not have allowed [M/n] to deal with you on his own. Rather we should have apprehended you and returned you to Darkly’s.” Lloyd flinched away, feet scrambling on the stone to push him back.

“Retreat!”

“Retreat!” The General echoed, raising himself high on his tail.

En masse the soldiers retreated, except for one who was focused on Cole. This soldier was focused on the staff in Cole’s hand, tail rattling in warning, but Cole was confident.

“Go ahead, give me a reason.” The soldier lunged for the staff, but was violently kicked back, giving Cole space. He didn’t want the Serpentine too close when he still wasn’t fully aware of the powers they had available.

But the space only gave him an opportunity, “Look into my eyes, I control you.”

Cole faltered, eyes drooping, “You contro-”

“Cole!” Nya jump kicked the soldier in the head, forcibly breaking eye contact. Yelping, the soldier stumbled away from them. “You have the anti-venom!”

“Santo cielo, you’re right!”

“Quick! We can use the fountain!”

“Got it.” His path was blocked by villagers, who he didn’t want to harm. His hesitance nearly cost him the staff, so he looked around desperately for help. Hazel eyes found the purple ninja surrounded by a semi-circle of knocked out or dead villagers and soldiers. “[M/n]!”

Cole tossed the staff into the air, [M/n] leaping up into the air using the villagers for a boost to catch it. Landing on the lip of the fountain, he lightly tapped the bottom of the staff on the lip, tilting the head forward so the anti-venom could drip from the fangs into the water. The water rippled, a strange blue mist pouring over the sides and down the channels carved into the ground.

Dropping down, [M/n] scanned over the Villagers, finding those who were already breaking free of the hypnotism helping fellow villagers. Those freed were dragging their fellows towards the channels, forcing their heads down so the mist floated up into their lungs.

Sensei Wu made his way towards the fountain, the others making their way over. As he watched over the villagers, he quietly ran his fingers over his beard.

“We’re sorry, Sensei. If we hadn’t made light of the whole Lloyd situation properly, this wouldn’t have happened,” Kai apologized, sending a sharp look towards [M/n].

“Even lessons learned the hard way are learned. Mmmh . . . a great evil has been released. I fear troubling times will come. This is only the beginning,” Sensei Wu warned, eyes looking past them.

“Then we will train and be ready for the Serpentine,” Zane said.

“It may not be Lord Garmadon, but that doesn’t mean we won’t be bringing our A-match,” Cole agreed.

“Help us train, Sensei. Help us realize our potential. Our true potential.”

“Yeah, teach us the secrets behind the Weapons of Spinjitzu,” Jay added, grinning. “In a hopefully non-cryptic way.”

“Hmmm . . . There is much to teach. We must return to the Monastery. Immediately."

Together they made the short trip back to the clearing where the dragons were.

Ara nudged his blood-flecked rider when he approached, worry shining in his silver gaze. Sighing, [M/n] rested a palm on his snout, eyes glazed over and distant, gaze on the horizon, mind swirling.

“When am I gonna get my own dragon?” Nya asked, pushing at Wisp’s head as the lightning dragon leaned against her.

“Patience is a virtue, Nya. The day will come.”

[M/n] gestured for Nya to approach, Ara rumbling in pleasure as she approached, offering a smile to the wyvern. He waits until the girl stands at his side before murmuring, “Ara is always ready to fly with you, even without me. You only need to ask.”

“Thanks, [M/n]. Are you going to be alright after . . . that, whatever that was?”

“Yes. I will be. Thank you for asking, Nya.”

-----------------

Unable to quiet his mind, [M/n] chose to stay in the stable to groom Ara - an unsurprisingly meticulous task, with the wyverns' mix of scales and ‘feathers’ - in the hopes of distracting himself.

It didn’t work. And for good reason.

A fight against the Hypnobrai, before today, was impossible. The Serpentine had been trapped underground for 4 decades, at least. And any Serpentine running amok would have been reported. So how had he had a previous encounter when he was only 17?

Today had been his first recent encounter with the tribe, but it couldn’t have happened before his coma. He had been 14 when he’d fallen and cracked his skull. Right?

Beyond that, what had pushed him to the brink of suicide? Who had he lost that hurt him so? The name that he had thought of had been erased from his mind, slipping away like sand in the wind. Had Wu even had another student?

Was Wu lying? No. No, he trusted his Sensei.

Everything was a jumbled mess. Thoughts twisting and spinning violently as he tried to solve an unsolvable problem. He hated this feeling. His memories were in reach, and yet so far.

Since he’d woken up, [M/n] had done everything to try and retake his memories. Training brought back similar memories, but those weren’t real memories, more akin to muscle memory. Sewing and meditation seemed to work the best, but even those only offered small memories of inconsequential things - like pickpocketing. Forced to compartmentalize everything, he wondered if he even could with this.

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