#I had to write the words Maya and Ray in this chapter and it made me very uncomfortable

[valiantly-onward]

The Serpentine War Ch. 6

Note: this chapter and the next chapter are some of those that include canon scenes

Chapter 6: Of Battles

Jamanakai Village was cold. 

Red lanterns lined the streets. The low stone buildings were coated in icicles. Snow piled itself against walls, under trees, atop roofs. Ray figured they were totally safe because snakes liked heat and there was none of that here.

He batted one of the lanterns as he strode down the street. Lei was waiting on the outer wall, squinting against the bright sun on the snow.

“Switch,” he said as he approached.

Lei straightened. “Watch the south.”

“I got it.”

She walked back the way he’d come. Then Ray was alone.

It didn’t take him long to get bored. The cloud line was nearly impossible to see through from this mountaintop. What good would it do to keep watch? The enemy could be on them before they had the chance to throw a snowball.

Ray’s finger tapped against the katana hilt at his side. After a moment, he pulled it from the sheath. Sunlight gleamed on the blade. He could see the swirls where the steel was folded in forging, a blacksmith technique he hadn’t yet mastered.

Ray raised the katana with both hands and started on the forms. He lost himself in it. The weight of the sword brought back memories of his childhood, of testing out brand new swords when his father wasn’t looking. Back then, there was no skill, no footwork to carry him, just imaginary pirates and evil ninjas.

The blade slashed low, gashing the snow. Ray lifted it high, then brought it down quickly again as he remembered Maya’s warning to watch his chest. Breathe in. A great sigh escaped his chest as he jabbed forward with one hand.

Finally, he brought the katana to rest before him. He realized then that a few village kids were leaning through the wall entrance, watching him.

“Like the show?” Ray called.

They looked at each other, then stepped out. The first boy looked guilty, but the others followed the sword with their eyes.

“Can I see it?” one of them asked.

Ray raised the hilt in response. Excitedly, the boy scrambled over the rocks. Ray handed over the katana. The boy’s eyes grew wide. “It’s heavy!”

“Kind of,” Ray replied. “You should try a scythe.”

The boy pushed the point into the snow once or twice, then handed it back as if he were afraid to try his luck. Ray let the other boys mess around with the katana for a moment. When they gave it back, he sheathed it and met their smiles with one of his own.

Their smiles suddenly vanished. 

Something slammed into the back of Ray’s head.

~~~

Screams.

Ray forced his eyes open amidst the pounding of his head. His blurry vision made out lantern glows and figures rushing past him.

Screaming. There were people screaming.

His boots slid in the snow as he pushed himself to his feet. He didn’t remember unsheathing his sword but it was in his hands as he rushed past the village walls.

Serpentine.

It was mayhem. The snakes were everywhere. Towering black creatures, sickly green warriors, red-scaled soldiers. Some had tails, some had taloned feet - Ray didn’t know the distinction. All were moving on the villagers.

Cursing himself, Ray launched forward. He slashed the back of a Serpentine, this one blue with white markings, and watched it fall. He moved farther in, as quick as any training or skill could carry him. Time was not on his side; once they realized who he was, he would be a target.

Find Maya. Find Lei. If they were going to win this, they needed to stand together.

One of the green snakes rushed Ray, a flared fan around its head. Its blade snicked his armored sleeve. He knocked the sword away, then rammed his elbow into the Serpentine’s snout. His reward was an explosion of pain up his arm.

But it still seemed to do the trick with that snake. It stumbled back, its slitted eyes rolling.

“Ray.”

Ray jumped, sword raised. It was Lei, materializing out of thin air. Wait, no - out of the shadows, the ones cast between the alley behind him.

“That’s cool,” he declared.

Lei smiled. “Let’s destroy these guys, shall we?”

The roof tile clinked above them. Maya snapped her Nin-Jo to her side and glared down at him from the rooftop. “You were supposed to be watching!”

Ray gripped his katana, turning in a full circle to face the oncoming Serpentine. “How was I supposed to know they were coming?”

“That’s why you were supposed to be watching!”

Ray, angry that he had no good answer, took out his frustration on an approaching snake. He didn’t know what kind this one was, but if a snake could be a hulking brute, this was it. Taller than him, black as night, scaly arms bulging with muscles. It thrust its spear at him, but Ray ducked under the strike and jabbed the creature’s belly with his katana. The Serpentine hissed in pain.

Ray grinned triumphantly, but as he tugged on the sword, it resisted. He didn’t get the chance to try again - the Serpentine raised the spear above its head, eyes wide with pain.

Ray instinctively raised his hands, but there was no need. Maya dropped from the roof, landing right on the Serpentine’s tale. With one well-placed jab, her Nin-Jo sent the creature falling forward on Ray’s sword.

Before it could get up, Maya tugged Ray away. They raced up the street to the town’s main square. No Serpentine had made it this far yet.

Maya wheeled on him. It seemed all her lack of emotion the past few months was emerging now. “You should’ve been more careful.”

“Next time I will be!”

“Knock it off, you two.” This was Lei, stepping out of the shadow of the nearest building. One of her dark braids had pulled loose, but she seemed unhurt. She squinted up against the sun.

“What is it?” Ray asked. He unbuckled his sheath and threw it off. He couldn’t believe he left his katana back there.

“I’m thinking we need to get to higher ground.” Lei gestured to them. “C’mon.”

She led them around the back of the building. She grabbed the icy ledge of the roof and pulled herself up. Maya and Ray - feeling bare without his katana - followed.

The situation didn’t look any better from up top. The village’s meager resistance appeared to have fallen in shambles as soon as the Serpentine arrived. Truly, the three of them were the only hope left.

Ray glanced at Lei, feeling incredulous at the hopelessness of the situation, but she was scanning the fear-stricken streets with determination. Was this how she’d been fighting these last few months? Always outnumbered, against such powerful warriors?

“Aren’t we supposed to have village defenders?” Ray asked her.

“They’re coordinating,” Lei answered. “Not well.”

Maya abruptly grabbed him. The wind snatched her black hair for a moment, pulling it like a comet tail behind her. “We need to use our Elemental powers.”

Ray made a sound of protest. “Like a week ago, you were struggling to move buckets. How in the name of the First Spinjitzu Master -”

“We can do this.” Her fingers dug into his arm. “Look, I’m sorry for yelling at you earlier, but I mean it. True potential or not.”

Ray looked down at his red robes. He’d started wearing them, trying to get a feel for this whole Master of Fire thing. But it hadn’t worked. He didn’t feel any different, any warmer.

Maya wasn’t waiting for an answer. She stepped to the edge of the roof and raised her hands. Her brow creased. Then, all at once, the water gutters streaming through the courtyard became rivers of water in the air. Maya turned them, and several Serpentine got a faceful of gutter water. Below them, the villagers took the opportunity to run.

Maya opened her eyes. She elbowed his shoulder without looking at him. “Your turn.”

Ray looked at Lei, who made a “stay put” gesture to them, and jumped back down into the shadows.

So much for her help. Ray grumbled. Do it without thinking. How could he do it without thinking?

Then Ray saw him. One of the boys he let use his katana. A red Serpentine had him by the hair, dragging him away.

Ray didn’t need to think. He raised one hand. Across the square, the Serpentine’s spear burst into flames. Yelping, it dropped it, and the kid wrenched himself away. He was gone in an instant.

Maya was laughing. Ray realized right then he’d never heard her laugh before. Part of him decided it was the only sound worth hearing.

“That’s it!” she shouted. She lifted her arms wide. “Remember what Master Wu said. Feel it! Let it flow!”

For the first time, Ray understood. He chased that feeling, the warmth filling his chest and fleeing down his arms. Something he’d never known before, a sense of rightness, his whole body screaming yes yes yes FINALLY.

Flames burst to life in his palms. Ice melted away from the heat, and Maya gathered the puddles, swirling them before her like a mini-hurricane.

Lei climbed up onto the roof again. And the battle truly began.

Below, two green Serpentine were corralling some villagers. They looked up at the sound of Ray’s growing fire. Ray let loose a small wave, let it crash into one of the warriors. Lei leapt down from the roof and disappeared into a puddle of shadow, like she was falling under the stone itself. Her shadow flew straight and stopped underneath a red Serpentine, who held a torch to one of the buildings in the square. The poor guy’s feet were pulled out from beneath him, and Lei appeared in body again, standing over him.

There was a tiered fountain at the edge of the square, built right into the side of the mountain. Ray’s gaze caught on it. “Maya!” he called.

She followed his line of sight. Expression determined, she clapped her hands together, as if calling the water to attention. Then she threw them forward with a shout. It was in her shout, the ferocity Wu had spoken of. It was in the water too, as it erupted from the fountain. A wave rolled over the square. Many of the warriors saw it coming and ran - after all, there was no standing in the face of a tsunami.

The water overtook some of the black Serpentine, pulling them under. The fires, both Ray’s and those made by the snakes, were doused in every quarter. Ray and Maya leapt down from the roof in sync, following Lei. Ray scooped up an abandoned Serpentine shield and tossed it to Maya, who used it to bash the face of a rising Serpentine. Ray punched another green guy, ignoring the pain. One hand still in the shield, Maya started to shift the water to the next street -

There was no next street.

Not a street. A writhing mass of purple scales and serrated blades, forged of no metal Ray knew of. Bearing them were devils.

Ray could immediately tell these were different from the other Serpentine. They were larger, wore armor, and slithered uniformly forward, like a real army. Red-slitted eyes trained directly on Ray, trying to convince him he was dead already.

Lei sprang into existence in front of Ray. She didn’t have to say it, but she did.

“The Anacondrai. They’re here.”

@greenygreenland

[verpelisplus-hd]

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[eyeofthewolfe]

Breaking Earth (Ninjago Fanfic): Chapter 6

Cole realizes that there may be a way to prevent his eminent doom. Meanwhile, Jay receives a gift he had never expected.

(Will try to add the other Chapters soon)

Chapter 6

“You know how to save me?” Cole gasped as he stood up quickly, staring wide eyed with disbelief at the woman.

Madge nodded, her black eyes lacking the twinkle but full of a cold seriousness that chilled Cole’s blood. “However, it might be too late. We must try.” She rushed to the ash-coated door before hesitating. “Young ninja, we must leave at once, or else my efforts of attempting to cure you will fail miserably.”

The Earth Ninja didn’t budge, but he stared at Madge dumbfounded and with his mouth slightly ajar. Finally, he squeaked a few words. “How will you cure me?”

She pressed her lips together tightly before answering, “It’s classified.”

“Then why should I trust you?” Cole instantly snapped, glaring at the figure dressed in black.

The woman took a few quick steps in Cole’s direction making him flinch in surprise. She narrowed her eyes like she was about to scream at him, but finally sighed. “You are right, you have no real reason to trust me. But let me tell you this. I came to this realm and framed myself to earn an immediate audience with the ninja, but especially you. I came here to collect you, because I know of your state and how dangerous it is. But I also know you Cole, as weird as that may seem, and I know that you will do and try anything and everything to not only save yourself but to save your friends, and walking away to die is the hardest thing you could ever do.”

Cole was speechless.

“So don’t run away to embrace your death, come with me to prevent it.” The woman finished, gesturing to the door.

The Master of Earth glanced down at his palms that were now internally pulsing with an orange glow beneath his skin. He looked up at a reflective surface on the wall and recognized his face, but was now almost framed with green cracks. One crack had emerged from the upper right of his forehead and was spreading dangerously close to his right eye. Finally, he turned to Madge, who was starting at Cole nervously as she waited for an answer.

“Fine,” Cole declared as he pushed up his sleeves to his ninja suit. “Where are we headed?”

Madge flashed a quick upturn of her lips as she spun to the door, gesturing Cole to follow. “We are headed to my home realm. There we will have the ability to fix you.”

The two quickly rushed out of the door and down the hallway. “Are we going to go get the Realm Crystal?” Cole anxiously questioned, trying to keep up with the giant lady.

They turned the corner and marched up the staircases to emerge on the deck. “No, that would be ridiculous. The secret entrance is within a day’s walk.”

The night sky was blanketed with stars. A cool breeze instantly hit Cole, and Madge’s high pony tail fluttered softly. Cole looked out on the shadowed horizon as he asked, “Where is the secret entrance?”

Madge lifted her finger and pointed at the mountain range sketched out in shadows in the distance. “The Wailing Alps.”

________________________________________________________

Wiping his nose, the auburn haired teenager slid his way back into the temple, thinking about how he was going to lay in his bed for the next three hours and forty-seven minutes waiting to say goodbye to his best friend. He didn’t even know what he was going to say or how he was going to prevent himself from crying. He made his way towards the stairs when a warm voice called out to him.

“Jason?” Nya’s mother spoke as she approached him.

“Oh, hi Miss Maya, you can just call me Jay.” Jay sniffled. The mother smiled, but then noticed Jay’s broken expression.

“Oh dear,” she brushed some of Jay’s hair to the side like she was his mother. “What is upsetting you?”

Jay sniffed again and wiped his nose. “It’s just…alleriges. The trees here must have a ton of pollen.” He chuckled through a sob making a loud backwards cough sound.

Maya raised an eyebrow then reached in her pocket. “Here, I think you deserve to see this.” She revealed a small square photograph of two women in their twenties. She looked at it with a nostalgic smile before handing it to the young ninja. Jay accepted it, looked down, and gasped.

The two women looked like the picture had been taken while they were laughing at the funniest joke they had ever heard. The lady on the right was clearly a younger Maya, she wore blue robes of an elemental master of water and her cheekbones were incredibly defined. She may be very pretty in the picture, but she didn’t have anything on the gorgeous woman standing next to her.

White blonde hair spilled onto her shoulders in perfect ringlets. Jay recognized his eye and nose shape in the woman, and the huge grin she wore could be an exact replica of Jay’s widest grin. She had electric blue eyes-even more vivid than his- and she was lovingly looking at Maya. She wore darker blue robes garnished with white lightning bolts.

“Is that..” Jay whispered, knowing very well who that was.

Maya wrapped her arms around Jay’s shoulders and looked over his shoulder. “That, my dear boy, is your brave mother. She was such a unique character…she was funny, brave, determined…she had the strongest spirit in all the elemental masters. Nothing could break her.

“However, one thing did affect her spirit.” She smiled as she handed Jay a small dusty picture frame. His mother stood proudly in a glistening white gown next to an incredibly handsome man fitted perfectly in a tux. Tears brimmed at Jay’s eyes. “It was such a wonderful wedding. Cliff was so incredibly handsome and nice, he was a starting actor you see, but the wedding was just magnificent. It blew mine and Ray’s out of the water.”

Jay wiped away a tear. “Miss Maya…thank you for showing me these.” He croaked as he brushed his fingers on the photograph as his bride mother.

She squeezed his shoulders like a mother and then pulled away. Jay extended the photographs back to the black haired woman. “Oh no, those are for you. Don’t worry, I have plenty more of me and my best friend.”

The ninja’s mouth instantly dropped. “My mother was your best friend?”

Maya laughed. “Our parents were very close. It always seems to happen, that lightning and water attract each other. Now, nobody predicted that I was to fall for the Master of Fire, but as he always says, the world works in mysterious ways.”

Jay glanced again at his new prized possessions. Ever since he found out he was adopted, he could only imagine what his mother could have looked like or been like. Now, he had images and even passed down memories of her, and everything was better than he could have ever imagined.

“Well, you should probably try and get some sleep before your shift to keep watch in four hours. I’m sure Cole will be dying to get some sleep at that point.” Jay flinched, and all the good feelings just went down the drain. Maya walked up the stairs a bit, then paused. “And,” she started as she turned back to Jay. “If you need any allergy medicine, come talk to me.” She gave him a wink and then disappeared up the stairs.

Jay looked down at the faded photographs of the two best friends. With a frown, he reached into his ninja suit and pulled out two pictures he always holds onto: one of him and Nya on their first date and one of him and Cole laughing together in the early days. His eyes slowly darted between the photographs of the best friends.

“History repeats itself, huh…” Jay muttered. “Life can’t seem to hold together the best of friends.” He glanced over his shoulder to where the Bounty rested on the floating land mass before tucking the pictures into his suit and making his way up the stairwell.

_________________________________________________________

It was hard to keep up with Madge with her long strides. The tall grass seemed to part for her as her black coat billowed behind her. Cole had no problem keeping up with her, but his weakening body tempted him to decrease his speed. He swallowed down his doubt and fixed his gaze on the mountain range ahead of him.

Once again, the feeling of pure power washed over him as he stared at the magnificence before him. The sky beyond the monstrous rocks was hinting at dawn but the still star speckled sky was etched from the jagged outline of the Wailing Alps.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Madge declared as she treaded onward.

Cole shook his head. “That’s not beauty, it’s power. A sight of that magnificence deserves respect more than compliments.” Madge didn’t respond to that remark, but she hid the small smile that grew on her face after hearing Cole say that.

“So the entrance to your realm is at the Wailing Alps, huh,” Cole thought out loud. “So you are from the Cloud Kingdom.”

The woman chuckled. “I am not a scroll obsessed monk, ninja. Do I look like a monk to you?”

“You could be on vacation,” he snickered, and to his surprise, she gave him a quick glance with a smile. “No, young Cole, this is my uniform. The Cloud Kingdom is our sister realm, and we actually are very similar in design.”

The Master of Earth quickened his pace to stride by her side. “So your realm has floating buildings on clouds too?”

She shook her head. “No, I didn’t mean physically. The purpose of the Cloud Kingdom is to write the destinies of the people of Ninjago. The First Spinjitzu Master carefully crafted each realm as a refection or to serve a purpose to Ninjago, the home realm.”

“Huh,” Cole breathed as he raised a curious eyebrow. “Then what is the purpose of your realm?”

The woman didn’t skip a beat. “It’s classified.”

Cole dropped his jaw into a wacky grin. “Aw, come on! I’m headed there anyways, so I’m bound to find out sooner or later.”

“However, the knowledge of our practice is very dangerous, and can lead to destructive consequences.”

“Lady,” Cole started, using his most dramatic voice. “Right now, I am a destructive consequence.”

There was a pause as the two people trekked across the thick grass in silence. Cole looked up at her to see her expression, which was her narrowed pupils peering at her in the corner of her eyes. “Very well, ninja. We are the Realm of Creation.”

“The Realm of Creation?!!” Cole repeated excitedly. “That’s so cool! You all, uh, create stuff?”

“Like our sister realm who are the writers of the destiny for the people of Ninjago, we create the people of Ninjago.�� Madge spoke calmly.

“Create them?” Cole gasped. “How do you create them? Do you like design them? Physically or personality wise? Who have you created that I know? How many-“

Madge rolled her eyes. “This is why I didn’t want to tell you. I cannot answer your questions, the process is far too greater for your understanding.”

The ninja pouted but fell quiet. They walked some more in silence, when a thought popped into Cole’s head. “Wait. Earlier during the interrogation you said that you were here to retrieve your greatest achievement.” Madge’s face reacted with a slight sign of panic. “You came here to bring me to your realm to save me, which would make me your greatest achievement.”

Madge sighed through her nose. “Cleverness is something that I did program into you.”

The Master of Earth froze in his spot. Madge walked forward a few more paces before stopping herself. “We cannot be halted at any point, Cole, we must move forward-“

“You created me?” Cole interrupted her. She paused and stared at the boy before slowly nodding her head.

“You…created…..me,” Cole repeated again, his eyes wide.

“Clever, yes, but I may have slacked some on your common sense. Now come on,” Madge snapped as she continued towards the mountain chain. Cole hesitated before laughing and then rushing after her.

“I was your greatest achievement?” Cole grinned. “I was the best person you ever created.”

“Yes,” Madge groaned. “Please, stop-“

“Oh, I bet I was the best because you were creating an elemental master!”

This time, Madge faltered in her step. Cole looked over, his smile fading. “What? You knew that I was going to be an elemental master, right?”

She looked him dead in the eyes. “You…you don’t know?”

Cole frowned. “Know what?”

Madge shot forward, leaving Cole behind. “I shouldn’t be the one to tell you-“

The Master of Earth caught up instantly. “Tell me what?”  

The woman turned to face him, her black hair flying upwards in the quick turn. “Cole, you are my greatest achievement because you weren’t born an elemental master.”

_________________________________________________________

Jay didn’t get a lick of sleep for the three and a half hours he laid in bed staring at the photos of his mother while meditating on the upcoming final farewell to his best friend. Those 210 minutes were the longest three and a half hours he had ever sat through, but when the time was up, he wanted more. Stuffing the pictures into his suit, he took off down the hallway, down the stairs, and towards the Bounty.

He slid to a stop in front of the door to the brig, and then took a moment to collect his thoughts and push down the tears. He extended his hand and pushed the door open with a creak.

It looked like a bomb had exploded in the center of the room. Some of the metal bars of the brig itself was completely gone, but the ones that remained were bent away from the center. The room was coated in ash and hissing orange cracks, a sight that was hauntingly familiar to the blue ninja.

Mouth ajar, Jay drifted into the room, shifting some ash on the floor. But one thing was for sure. The prisoner and Cole were gone.

Jay absent mindedly hit the alarm button on the brig wall before collapsing to his knees, making a cloud of ash rise and float around him.

Then he burst into tears.