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axicallian · 2 days ago

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Starstruck [Ninjago x Male Reader]- Ninjaball Run

Lloyd let out strained groans as he supported his body one one arm. Not only was he supporting himself but the other ninja and Master Wu who sat atop the human tower. M/n looked on in concern at the child's feat, his tail flicking nervously behind him.

"Focus," Wu demanded as he calmly poured his tea, "In order to bear the fate of Ninjago on your shoulders, you must first learn to bear the weight of all of us."

"Focus," the old man repeated after sipping his tea.

M/n's dragon ears perked up at a curious noise outside and was excited to investigate before the demands of his guardian on Lloyd gave him a heart attack. He quickly escaped through the dojo door without the others noticing.

"Sensei, I'm starting to think this was a bad idea," Jay, who was perched on Zane's left shoulder, spoke up.

Cole seconded, "Yeah, Sensei, he's just a kid," as he tried to keep balance between his Sensei on top of him and Zane below him.

"In order for him to succeed, we must all trust one another," Wu waved off his students' concerns.

Machinery sounded in the background, everyone too focused to notice. A giant crane appeared in the windows of the dojo with a large wrecking ball attached. M/n can barely be seen outside telling off the workers in the large machine but they ignored him. He transformed into a dragon in order to physically stop the construction workers. The giant metal ball came swinging at the dojo and M/n intercepted it, causing his back to hit the front of the dojo, shattering all the windows.

The commotion outside and M/n's contact with the building causing the tower of ninja to scatter onto the floor. The shaken ninja graon and rise to their feet slowly.

"What was that?" Cole inquired with a hand on his throbbing head.

Dareth came sprinting though the beaded doorway and outside, yelling "WHOA, WHOA, WHOA!!!! This wasn't supposed to happen until tomorrow!"

Past M/n's giant form the ninja could see the construction vehicles and annoyed workers who were barred from doing their job. The conversation could be heard clearly through the now empty window frames.

"Tomorrow?" the foreman, who had previously berated the dragon, questioned. He demanded from his coworker, "Let me see that order."

The man examined the slip of paper, "Oh, yeah. My bad. Sorry 'bout that. We'll be back in the morning," he replied casually, leaving with his equipment and workers.

Dareth somberly returned inside, picking up one of his fallen trophies with a sigh. The ninja gathered around the dojo owner while M/n stuck his dragon head through the used-to-be-windows inquisitively.

"Dareth, what is this all about?" Cole asked genuinely.

"Well, I fell behind on some of my payments and some developer named "Darnagom Enterprises" is buying the entire block to put in some stupid frisbee-golf course," Dareth explained, "They say if I don't come up with 50,000 by tomorrow, the dojo is gone"

M/n gave the brown-clad man a gentle nudge with his muzzle to reassure him.

"But, we already lost the Bounty. We can't lose the dojo.." Jay worried.

Dareth got on his hands and knees and held his bronze cups to his chest "My trophies. Oh, my fakes trophies!" he cried.

"Wait a minute," Zane said through Dareth's sobs, "'Darnagom'? When you rearrange the letters, it spells—"

"'O grandma'?" Jay guessed, earning a slap on the back of his head from Kai.

"No! Garmadon," the hothead corrected with a scoff.

Jay rubbed his head and chuckled awkwardly, "Right! That would make more sense."

"Ugh, my dad is behind this?" Lloyd groans.

"If he destroys the dojo, where will we train Lloyd?" Cole asked to Wu.

Dareth scootched up to the old man, still on his knees, and eyed the blue teapot, "Any chance you got 50,000 in that teapot of yours?"

"Worry not, Dareth. You're not in this alone. We're all with you," Wu replied, pulling the dojo owner to his feet.

"Did someone say 50,000—?" Nya began, hopping through the windowless frames casually.

Jay quickly interrupted the girl, much to her annoyance, "You didn't happen to win the lottery?"

"No, but I did hear about Ninjaball Run!" She announced dramatically.

"Ninjaball Run?" the ninja parroted while M/n just tilted his head.

"It's the biggest road race in Ninjago, with a prize of 100,000 big ones," she explained, "And it's tomorrow."

"I thank you, little lady fighter, but you're talking about the most dangerous race known to man.." Dareth said theatrically, "Only the most serious of racers even stand a chance.."

"But didn't you just do a few upgrades on our Ultra Sonic Raider?" Kai inquired to his sister who nodded in response, "Maybe we might stand a chance."

Lloyd chimed in, "And we have M/n! He'll give us an air advantage!"

"So it is agreed," Wu announced, "You will all enter this 'Ninjaball Run' to save the dojo."

"Are you still crying?" Nya asked with a comforting hand on Dareth's shoulder.

"Yes. But these are happy tears," he sniffled.

The next day the ninja arrived at the Ninjaball Run location. There were several bleachers with audience members chatting and eating popcorn. Many lines were painted on the asphalt to indicated the starting positions of the competitors. Banners and posters hung across lights and on the sides of structures. Near the spectators an announcer booth stood tall with two men inside wearing headsets, projecting their voices to everyone in the vicinity.

Jay piloted their giant Sonic Raider into their starting spot. The ninja gathered in front of the vehicle, talking and observing Nya perform last minute checks and repairs.

One of the announcers' voices rang through the speakers, "Welcome, everyone, to the 14th annual Ninjaball Run!"

The other, in a green hat that matched his green jacket, shouted, "The Grand Prix where it doesn't matter how you get there, as long as you get there first!"

The first one announced, "Well, let's take a look at the racers."

The hat-clad one chimed in again, "I see the starter's line. We have a few familiar faces."

M/n landed as gently as possible next to the postman but his wing grazed the man's bike, almost toppling it. "Hey! Watch it, you big oaf!" he yelled with his fist in the air.

M/n only huffed but Lloyd wouldn't take the disrespect. The blonde threw his now empty juice box at the postal worker, clocking him in the head. The dragon gave a purr at pushed his head back against Lloyd as a thanks.

Nya hopped off the hood of the vehicle she wiped her brow and began explaining the change she made, "One final thing: I installed a pretty cool upgrade so if you're ever in a really tight spot, pull that lever because what it does—" she was interrupted by Brad and his classmates in a bus (which none of them had a license for) revving their engine. She continued to explain but to no avail, the ninja couldn't hear her.

"What?!" Kai yelled over the commotion.

The group could only catch glimpses of what she was saying, "..Pull that lever, because if you pull that lever.."

"Alright, the race is about to start. And officials are saying pit crews must take their places," one of the announcers narrated over Nya.

"...only under those circumstances and no other," she finished her explanation with the ninja casting confused glances at each other.

"We're about to begin!" the commentator's voice rang through the speaker.

"That's my cue. Gotta go!" she gave a swift salute before jogging to join the rest of the audience, "Good luck!"

"Wait, Nya, we couldn't hear you!" Kai exclaimed, reaching toward his sister, who couldn't hear him either over the commotion.

A large truck painted blue and red with a 'Royal Blacksmiths' sign on the side pulled up to the starting line with four men standing on the truck bed in matching outfits humming the same tune.

"Hey it's my dad," Cole pointed out.

Another vehicle pulled up next to the Royal Blacksmiths, a large, silver, custom-built car with several more lights and tires than the usual vehicle. It gave a honk to the group of boys as Edna hopped from her seat, excitedly waving to her son.

"Oh, no.." Jay sighed with an exasperated hand on his forehead.

"Jay! Jay! Oh. Oh, look, he sees us, Ed," the hyperactive woman shouted between her son and husband.

"I see him, Edna," Ed replied calmly, "You don't have to embarrass the boy."

"Is there anyone we don't have to compete against?" Jay whined, turning away from his parents.

Out of nowhere an underworld portal opened out to reveal Kruncha and Nuckal atop their giant, skull-themed monster truck. Next to them were Captain Soto and a few of his crew manning a soccer mom van. The ninja gape at the giant truck which made for steep competition.

"Wait a minute, it appears some skeletons have crashed the party. Is this against the rules?" the green announcer inquired.

The other replied, "Rules?" and laughed, "There's only one rule in Ninjaball Run, and that is cross the finish line first." A big map was brought up onto the screens which only showed ads previously. The map displayed the track that the competitors would be racing on. "Let's take a look at the course. The first grueling leg starts on the streets of Ninjago City and empties out into the treacherous Sea of Sand," the screen changed to pictures of the named places as the announcer kept talking, "Racers, look out for the dangerous crater way known as Crash Course Canyon, where the slightest mistake can be your last! The next two legs of the race take us into the winding maze known as the Birchwood Forest, and then through the perilous and icy Glacier Barrens. Finally, in the fourth and final leg, racers must beat the desert heat in the Badlands, which then takes us back to the finish line here in the heart of Ninjago City!"

During the announcement all the ninja had gotten in their seats with their hands on their controls. "I don't know, guys, if we're gonna save the dojo, we're gonna have to beat some pretty stiff competition," Kai worried, looking down the starting line.

"One final word: let's have a good clean race!" the white-jacket announcer cheered which contradicted his encouragement of no rules.

Gene and another schoolboy left their bus and used a screwdriver to dig out a screw from the ninja's vehicle tread system. The redhead left out an annoying snort and giggle before climbing back into his own car.

"So good luck to everyone!" the commenter pointed out to the viewers.

On the TV a traffic light appeared, flashing red. Then it flashed yellow to indicate to the racers to get ready to drive. The competitors roared their engines in preparation then the light finally turned green causing the vehicles to start speeding down the track. A yell came from the speakers as the race started, "Ninjaball GO!"

M/n quickly threw himself into the air, startling Lloyd who had been too lost in thought to realize the race was starting. The boy clung to the dragon who slowed down a bit. Once Lloyd was adjusted to the flying he patted M/n's side twice, a signal they decided meant the dragon could go faster. They gracefully glided above the other racers, swerving around buildings and around bends. In order to avoid any tricks the other competitors may have M/n took a different turn, leading him to an alternate route.

The ninja barely got away from the starting line before the tread on their left got tangled and they were forced to come to a stop.

"What happened?" Zane inquired, looking out the window to assess the Sonic Raider.

"We've been sabotaged!" Cole exclaimed at seeing the broken tread. The ninja exited the vehicle to take a look at the smoking part.

"Ooh, things just got interesting. And it seems some new competitors have entered the race," the speakers boomed, causing them to turn their attention to the screen. the ninja could see that the serpentine were now on the track in a familiar snake-like bus. "Meanwhile, the ninja remain at the starter's line in dead last!"

"Oh, great! We're already out of the race!" Jay threw his hands into the air while his friends examined the tread.

"We can't quit now, not with everything that's on the line. Help me lift this thing," Cole proposed as he held the underside. The group rushed over and strained to lift the left side of the vehicle. Once there was an opportunity Jay readjusted the tread and Kai reconnected it.

They rushed to remount their vehicle and reenter the race. "So that's how this is gonna go. Alright, boys, let's do this!" Kai grinned competitively. They revved their engine and roared down the track.

The Ultra Sonic Raider came speeding up to the canyon, observing the pirates who crashed into the sandstone.

"Yeah! We're no longer in last! Things are looking up," Jay exclaimed.

At noticing the giant shadow looming over them, the ninja slowly turn their heads to the sky. Their ship, now the Black Bounty hovered menacingly above them with snakes all over the deck.

"Oh no! Garmadon!" Kai hissed.

"What!?" Jay chirped with irritation, "we're sitting ducks! There's nowhere to run!"

Garmadon and the Serpentine prepared the canons to be fired and just as they lit the wick there was a resounding roar. M/n had turned tail and was heading back to protect the ninja. Using Earth from Cole, the dragon hit the front of the ship head-on causing it to slow and the cannonball to miss the Raider. The Black Bounty swerved because of the force of the blow and all its occupants being thrown around including the pilot.

M/n returned to going the right direction a little to fast, Lloyd slipped up his neck and held onto his horns. This gave the boy the perfect opportunity to speak with the ninja speeding just below them.

"Nice going!" Kai appreciated with a toothy grin.

"You saved us!" Cole beamed.

"We did?" the boy wondered before realizing, "I mean, yeah, we did! Hey, what do you say we work together?"

"Yeah, I say let's show 'em what we ninja are all about," The Lightning Ninja declared.

"Ninja, go!" They all cheered in unison.

M/n raised his head high allowing Lloyd to slip back down his spine. The group took off maintaining the same speed in order to look out for each other.

The sandy desert abruptly turned to barren winter as the ninja caught up to the competition. The ninja and M/n watched as the truck of the singing quartet caught on a fallen tree, sending them into a pile of snow. The four men continued singing, now singing about losing the race, "Too big, too big. Too slow, too slow. We had a lead but let it go."

Cole facepalmed and sighed, "oh, man."

"We'll never get through those trees to catch up," Kai groaned.

"We'll find a shortcut!" Lloyd responded, signaling M/n to gain altitude. The duo shot up and found a different path through the trees before swooping back down to the Raider. "Follow us!" the boy called.

They sped through the more wooded path with ease and were spat out right next to the rest of the competition. Lloyd whooped and cheered from the back of the dragon.

"Wow they make a good team," Jay remarked.

"And it looks like we've made up the lost time," Cole chimed.

The skeletons noticed the two different racers working together and grumbled to each other about it. They positioned themselves behind the dragon and using a grapple that looked like a skeleton hand, grappled to M/n's ankle. The dragon growled in annoyance and tried to shake it off but Kruncha and Nuckal used their momentum to drag him and Lloyd to the ground. As M/n fell into the snow he made sure to make a safe landing place for Lloyd using his wings. The boy let out a small groan as he landed while the dragon give an annoyed huff.

The skeletons didn't realize they were still hooked to the dragon. As they cheered their vehicle got tied around a tree and kept going around until they ran out of momentum. The two boneheads emerged from the snow and fought like children, slapping each other's hands. M/n roared at them for ruining their place in the race to which they both let out a girlish yelp.

The ninja turned their heads toward the commotion but kept going, Zane's gaze lingering the longest. The Nindroid felt guilt bubble in his stomach at not helping him comrade who he felt did so much for them. Suddenly his mind was wandering, thinking of M/n's selflessness, his elegant manner, his soft hair, his gentle eyes. Now he just wanted to be back at their shitty apartment cuddling again, tail wrapped around his legs, head against his chest, dragon ears flicking with soft breaths.. Oh right, they were saving the dojo.. good thing he wasn't driving.

The terrain changed from forest to cliffs as they drove past people playing in the snow. The police who had been chasing Skales but now were participating in the race, collided with a snow structure. Likewise the mailman ran straight into a snowman and veered off the track.

Kai watched the competitors crash and jeered, "Finally. Nothing can stop us now."

The engine starts to cut out and splutter. Zane quickly checks the dash for problems, "Oh, no! We've used up all of our fuel! We're not gonna make it to the finish line!"

"Oh, I don't want to say it, guys," Jay sighed "but I think our goose is cooked." (I've literally never hear that phrase in my life)

Ed and Edna pulled up next to them, honking their horn. "You guys look like you could use a hand there," Ed called to the ninja, "We heard on the radio that you're all trying to save Dareth's dojo," his accent peaking through.

"Oh, yeah, we're so proud of you, son," Edna agreed in an accent matching her husbands.

"Oh, thanks, mom, but we're out of gas," Jay admitted.

"Ooh, then take ours," She chirped.

"But how? If we stop, we'll lose the lead," Jay inquired.

Ed held up a makeshift tube, "Well, then we'll just have to do this the hard way, son."

He exited the driver's seat and let his wife take over driving down the snowy hill. He shimmied his way to the gas cap of his vehicle and stuck one nozzle of the tube in. "Take this end, son," he held out the other end for Jay to grab.

Jay carefully climbed to the back of the jittery Sonic Raider, "Keep it steady," he told his friends piloting the vehicle. He threw the filler cap open, trying to keep his balance. Ed reached across the chasm between the cars and handed him the other end, "Here you go, son."

"Ready, dad," he affirmed once the nozzle was in place.

Ed pulled down a lever on the hose, causing the gasoline to transfer from Ed and Edna's car to the Ultra Sonic Raider. Two snakes who had fell from the Black Bounty onto the Serpentine bus, jumped onto the Raider next to Jay. "Ninja, go!" he yelled, spinning into a tornado of blue light and fighting off the snakes. "Need some help, guys," he called to his friends.

"We've got your back," Zane replied, now on the roof of the vehicle with Cole. "Ninja, go!" the duo yelled; one fended on snakes from the roof and the other fending off Serpentine from the hose.

Jay jumped across the gap to defend his parents. He and Cole packed snow into balls to throw at the snakes but one such snake flew off the Raider and toward Enda. The reptile managed to grab the steering wheel, making the jalopy (i had no idea that's what their vehicle was called lmao) spin out of control. It knocked into the Raider also causing it to lose grip of the snow and start sliding. The Serpentine bus was knocked into a spin and Brad swerved the bus to avoid the chaos but lost his tires' grip. Everyone held onto their vehicles for dear life, screaming and yelling.

All the vehicles can to a stop at the bottom of the hill, the Sonic Raider ending up undamaged but the rest of the cars were in a smoking pile. Cole and Zane were ready to enter their vehicle and race once more but Jay yelled, "Wait! Stop!" He ran up to his parents who were now out of their broken jalopy. "Oh, thank goodness you're okay," he sighed, taking off his ninja hood.

"Oh, we're fine, son," Ed reassured, "Just wish I could say the same for the old jalopy."

"Yeah. Shame she didn't get to the finish line," Edna lamented.

Jay takes a piece of the broken headlight, "I'll make sure a part of her will," he beamed before running back to the Raider and attaching the piece to the vehicle. " Let's go. We've got a dojo to save," he declared as the Raider sped off.

"Go make us proud, son," Ed breathed, holding his wife close, both watching their son ecstatically.

Snow turned back into sand as the ninja made it to the Badlands. Finally having a road to drive on, they were able to speed closer to Ninjago City. The only competitor left was Garmadon on the Black Bounty as Cole pointed out, "Looks like it's just us and Garmadon."

"This time let's make sure the good guys don't finish last," Kai smirked, speeds up to pass the flying ship.

Suddenly the earth began shaking and cracking. The ground split open and giant pieces of land fell away; a giant chasm opened up in the ninja's path. They skidded to a halt to avoid falling to their deaths.

"That's totally cheating!" Jay barked as Garmadon passed them.

"Guys, it's impossible to cross that divide," Zane stated.

Kai had backed the vehicle up 1000 feet or so and he examined the control panel, eyeing the lever Nya spoke about.

"We're not gonna win now!" Jay complained.

"Wait a minute. This ain't over," he insisted, gripping the handle of the mystery lever, "Everybody, hang on!" he accelerated toward to gaping hole in the earth.

"Uh, you do know we're heading straight for that cliff, right?" Jay worried, "you're sure that's a good idea?"

"I haven't had time to think it through," the hothead replied, "what was it that Sensei said? You gotta have trust."

"Yeah, in each other, not in miracles!" Cole retorted as he held Zane who sat in front of him.

"Oh, Nya, don't fail us now," Kai begged as he pulled the lever, "Alright, NOW!"

The top portion sprouted thrusters and launched itself from the bottom section. Jay, Cole, and Zane were forced to leap from their seats to Kai's part of the Raider. The jet-like contraption flew across the ravine with no difficulty and continued, speeding up to surpass Garmadon. The two competitors approach the city and cross the finish line at similar times,

The announcer declared through the speakers, "It looks like it's going to be a photo finish!"

The ninja's vehicle landed harshly on the ground and they were quick to dismount. The audience surrounded them and lifted the group up, chanting, 'Ninja! Ninja!'

"I won. I won! Clearly I passed the finish line first!" Garmadon snapped as he jumped onto solid ground.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!" the speakers interjected. Everyone turned to the monitors to see the result, "The ninja! The ninja have won!" The screen showed that the headlight from Ed and Edna's jalopy was the first thing to cross the finish line.

"Yeah! I knew it would bring us luck!" Jay rejoiced as he held the piece of vehicle in his hands.

"No! That's not fair!" Garmadon fumed, "That wasn't even part of the vehicle in the first place! It's not even street legal! My ship was—"

"Your ship?" Lloyd's sly voice interrupted. Everyone turned to see the boy on M/n's back who held the beloved jalopy in his claws and had Ed, Edna, and the quartet on his back. He gently set the Walkers' damaged vehicle down before landing and letting his passengers off. "I believe this belongs to us," the Green Ninja declared, standing on the deck.

"No! No! No!" the oni whined, now being surrounded by police cars.

"Alright, Garmadon, you're coming with us," An officer stated after exiting his vehicle and approaching the Lor of Darkness.

Skales drove up to the chaos in his snake-bus and opened his door to Garmadon, "Look who needs who now," he taunted. Despite his pride, the oni begrudgingly boarded the bus which sped off before it could be stopped.

Ed and Edna approached their son, the older woman giving him a kiss on the cheek, "We're so proud of you! We knew you could do it!"

Ed chuckled, "When did you get a dragon? They're so well trained."

Jay scratched the back of his neck, "Actually he's a dragon shifter, so he can turn into a dragon."

The elderly couple looked to the dragon in surprise. Ed started "Oh dear! I didn't mean that—"

M/n approached as a humanoid with Zane at his side and interrupted the man, "It quite alright, I promise."

Edna blurted out, "Wow! You're a cutie."

M/n's ears perked then drooped, his hand coming up to cover his red face, "Thank you, ma'am.."

"Oh, you can call me Edna, dear!" Jay's mom chirped.

Zane's chest warmed at the scene. He knew Wu was the dragon's only parental figure (and he wasn't a great parent anyway) so to see M/n bonding with an adult in a parental manner and not a teacher/student relation made him smile.

After Ed and Edna stop conversing with M/n, he decided to introduce himself to Cole's dad as well. The ninja were basically his family so their family mattered to him too. The dragon approached Lou and his son and held his hand out to the mustached man. "Hello sir, we haven't met before but I'm M/n, a friend of Cole's," he introduced.

Lou perked up at hearing his name, "M/n? My son talks about you all the time!"

"Dad!" Cole chided with a red face.

The two pretty much hit it off, Lou enjoying M/n's mature nature and M/n enjoying the man's stories about his son and quartet.

( @sir-aadiboii a chapt jst for you, my king <3)

#ninjago #ninjago zane #zane julien #lego ninjago #cole brookstone #kai smith #lavashipping #lloyd garmadon #male reader #ninjago cole #rewrite #oppositeshipping #mountainshipping #glaciershipping #male y/n

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axicallian · 29 days ago

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Starstruck [Ninjago x Male Reader]- The Day of the Great Devourer

M/n painfully watched as his sensei was consumed by the creature they had tried so hard to contain. He knew Sensei Wu would not let himself be killed by the Great Devourer, so he had no choice but to abandon his master to help the ninja. Nya quickly took off in her Samurai mech to start up the flying ship. The giant snake roared into the air, turning it head toward the colorful ninja. "Maybe if we stand perfectly still..." Jay breathed, trying to suppress his panic.

"Run!" M/n yelled as he sprinted toward his comrades and pushed them into a panicked escape. The Devourer pursued the ninja as they made a bee-line for the Bounty.

"Wait! Wait for me!" the Lightning Ninja exclaimed from behind as he caught up to the group.

The ninja and M/n threw themselves onto the deck and through the bridge door. Zane, Kai, Cole, and M/n landed in a pile and Jay rolled by with far more speed. The group untangled themselves as the Nindroid and dragon met each others' eyes with growing concern.

Jay jumped to his feet and pointed to the screen which displayed the giant serpent, "Uh, hate to tell you this, but objects in the mirror are closer than they appear."

"Working on it," Nya called back with frustration laced in her voice, "Blasters on full."

The flying ship dragged itself off the sand and soared through the air.

"Woo-hoo!" Kai cheered as he watched the Devourer shrink in the window, believing they had escaped, "Take that, you stupid snake!"

Suddenly the giant serpent shot itself out of the sand, intercepting the Bounty. Nya made a hard right to avoid the snake's open jaws which threw all the passengers around the bridge. Zane and M/n held each other (purely for balance purposes *wink wink*) as they watched the Great Devourer pursue the ship.

"Uh, I think it heard you," Jay whined.

"Nya, we gotta go faster. That thing is gaining on us," Kai observed, standing on buckets to see out the high window.

"We're going as fast as we can," Nya panicked at the wheel.

M/n pointed ahead to a section of land with rocks protruding from the sand, "Try to make it to Scattered Canyon," he advised.

"Probability of us making it that far is less than 8 percent," the Ice Ninja worried.

"Not helping, Zane!" M/n yelled as he watched from the bridge door.

"It's coming in for another attack!" Cole warned "Port side!"

Nya jerked the wheel to avoid the Great Devourer's hungry maw. Everyone clung to the ship to prevent themselves from being thrown across the floor.

Lloyd's high-pitched voice called out "We're losing speed! We'll drop to the ground pretty soon."

"Throw everything overboard!" Nya's command was met with a resounding 'what?!' from all of her teammates. She elaborated, "We need to lose some weight!"

"Port side!" Lloyd announced just in time for the serpent to consume a portion of their right engine.

Everyone began throwing things overboard while trying to keep their balance on the swaying ship. M/n rushed into a room finding Wu's teapot that he used daily. He wouldn't give that possession up. He grabbed his satchel and began packing it full of necessities in the event that they lost the Bounty. The dragon gently placed his master's beloved porcelain pot in the bag. He reemerged on deck just in time to watch the snake grow from consuming the ninjas' discarded items.

"The more it consumes, the bigger it gets," the Earth Ninja observed, "Don't throw anything else overboard!"

"We made it to Scattered Canyons," Nya's voice echoed through the ship, "Hold on!" She maneuvered the ship around vertical rocks in an attempt to get the Great Devourer off their tail. Kai made his way toward the front of the ship which M/n held onto the rail and watched the serpent disappear.

"Ah, we lost him," Cole said, relieved from inside the bridge, but it was too soon to relax. The snake shot itself out of the sand and managed to take out an entire engine. Alarms began blaring as Nya panicked, "Abandon ship!"

The Lightning Ninja was sent flying out the window onto the deck. With adrenaline pumping through his veins, Jay got up and harnessed his golden weapon to safely jump off the Bounty. The Nindroid gently ran his hand along the ship's well-crafted wood, "Goodbye, old friend." Zane followed his teammates off the plummeting vehicle. Likewise, M/n ripped the bandages from his mostly-healed wing and launched himself off the edge. He flew over to meet his comrades who looked somberly at the ship they had grown to call their home.

The Great Devourer emerged near the abandoned Bounty with a powerful roar. The ninja retreated on their vehicles, Zane giving M/n a hand up onto his motorcycle. They traveled a short distance to a rock with an overhang that would protect them from the serpent. The vehicles morphed back into weapons as they turned to mournfully watch the enormous snake consume their beloved ship in a single bite.

"No!" everyone called, everyone but M/n. He hated this damn snake. It took everything from him. His Sensei and parental figure. His new home. His comrades' hope. He was going to end this snake if it was the last thing he did.

The dragon was forced out of his thoughts as the ninja sat on the sand, panting from the adrenaline. "Oh, that was too intense. All that action makes you so thirsty," Kai complained as he took his mask off. M/n opened his satchel, thankful for his foresight, and handed the Fire Ninja a bottle of water with a sad smile. The hothead met his beautiful eyes with a flushed face, mumbling a small 'thanks'.

The Nindroid arose after only a moment's rest, "There's no time to rest. We need to warn people before it becomes bigger."

"Bigger? Bigger!?" Jay jumped up and began yelling rashly, "That thing in one big bite crushed our entire ship!" The hyper blue ninja began pacing, thinking of alternatives to defeating the serpent. "We need to save as many as we can. Uh, uh, we'll find some kind of refuge, somewhere safe to hide. Ooh, the Serpentine Tombs. Yeah, they're underground. Sure, we'll be without sunlight for months, but they're perfect."

"And what? Just give up?" Cole argues.

"You know as well as I do, we have no chance at stopping that thing!" Jay exclaimed angrily.

"Please stop fighting," M/n pleaded with unprocessed frustration and upset.

Kai separated the bickering teammates, "Is this what Sensei Wu would've wanted? Us fighting? Running and hiding? Giving up?"

"But he's not here anymore.." Lloyd reminded everyone, causing a mournful air of silence.

"But his teachings live on," the Master of Fire encouraged as he walked up to the sitting dragon, offering him a hand. He heaved M/n onto his feet as they shared a small smile. Kai continued with determination and vigor, "Sensei once told me it's not the size of a ninja in a fight, it's the size of the fight in the ninja. All this training, all of these battles we've had with skeletons and Serpentine. We've persevered through so much, we can't just give up now. A ninja never admits defeat. A ninja always picks himself up when he is down. Which is exactly what Sensei Wu would want us to do right now."

Zane questions monotonously, "But how do we destroy a snake of that magnitude?"

"Yeah, it's not like we have an extra Sacred Flute lying around to charm it. Or wait, haha, how about one of our awesome Dragons? Oh, I forgot. They took off and left us high and dry with some weird hybrid instead," Jay complained with theatrical voices and gestures as M/n shot him an offended look at the off-handed comment. "Or, hey, what about our Golden Weapons? Which will do nothing against a snake that size! Heh, oh, we are so hooped," Cole and Kai raised an eyebrow at the blue ninja's antics as he dramatically sank to the ground.

M/n sighed at the hyperactive Lightning Master before begrudgingly agreeing with him, "Jay's right. We need a weapon bigger than the Golden Weapons."

"Or an idea that's even bigger!" the hothead suddenly exclaimed with excitement, "Ha! Jay, you're a genius! You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Probably not," Jay replied, now almost posing on the ground, laying with one hand holding up his head and the other resting sassily on his hip, "but go ahead."

Instead of explaining, the Master of Fire ran off into the desert calling back to his comrades, "There's no time. I'll fill you guys in on the way!"

"Where are we going?" M/n asked as he used his wings to catch up to Kai.

"You'll see."

After riding on their vehicles for a while, Lloyd getting the privilege of being carried by the dragon as he flew, they arrived at Ed and Edna's junkyard. M/n took in his strange surroundings, mainly the mass amounts of tires, before grouping up with the ninja and Nya.

"Good idea, Kai. If the Devourer likes to consume, this place is a full-on buffet," Cole complimented.

Jay approached the trailer and gave the door a knock, "Looks like my parents are gone."

"His parents?" M/n wondered aloud to the other ninja.

"This is Jay's parent's junkyard and also his home," Zane clarified.

M/n only nodded, recognizing Jay's embarrassment of his home as he rejoined the group.

The red ninja laid out a blueprint that he had found in the various papers strewn in M/n's bag.

"It's so awesome!" Jay smiled, bouncing on his toes.

"Zane, you still have a recording of the Sacred Flute in your memory bank?" Kai inquired as Lloyd struggled to see the complicated design through the group gathered around the car hood that the blueprint was laid on. M/n gently grabbed the green-clad boy and let him into the semicircle to give him a clear view.

"The flute might've been destroyed earlier, but I have its exact tone recorded and ready for playback," the Nindroid replied and proudly played a demonstration of the sound.

"Good. And there should be enough spare parts around here to build this whopper," Kai planned with a smile, "But we're gonna need to create our biggest Tornado of Creation yet. This is gonna be dangerous and we can't have anyone around." M/n had heard of the Tornado of Creation from Wu and was surprised that the ninja had already mastered it.

Ironically the mailman, ringing his bike bell, pulled up to the junkyard as the Fire Master finished his sentence. "Ugh. What's he doing here?" Cole groaned as the Lightning and Fire Ninja go to meet the postal worker. "Aah! You ninja are always sneaking around, giving people heart attacks. You're too quiet," the old man complained while dismounting his bike and grabbing Ed and Edna's mail. Kai ordered him to leave for his own safety, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. But you need to get out of here, now." The stubborn postman continued delivering the mail, "Uh, well, now, I too have a job to do, and that's delivering the mail, which I plan to do." Jay simply took the mail in place of his parents and shooed the worker away, "Look, dude, my parents aren't even here. You really should be on your way."

Getting tired of the old man, M/n used his 'talking to adults voice', "Sorry sir, we're actually busy trying to build something out of salvaged parts and I'm sure you also have more mail to deliver," he suggested with a smile and polite bow.

"You know what? You guys are right. Wherever you guys are, trouble is always around the corner," the postal worker replied with slight malice, "I think I'll be leaving now 'cause whatever you guys are up to, I want no part of it." As the mailman rode off into the distance another figure approached, a giant one. The Great Devourer had found the junkyard.

The snake reared up and scanned the scrap as if it was a first-class meal. "Hey! It's now or never, guys! Ninja, go! Fire!" Kai exclaimed as he performed Spinjitzu. All the other ninja followed suit while Nya, Lloyd, and M/n watched from a safe distance.

"Earth!"

"Lightning!"

"Ice!"

All of the glowing elemental tornadoes formed to make a large vortex which began to drag scrap and parts into it. The Devourer looked on in interest as a vehicle emerged from the glow. Kai, Cole, and Jay piloted the vehicle dubbed the 'Ultra Sonic Raider' while the Nindroid got his own cockpit to attack the snake which grew agitated and prepared to lunge.

"Zane, now!" Kai commanded, prompting Zane to shoot concentrated sound waves at the serpent. The Devourer ducked its head to avoid the attack.

"Zane, what was that? This isn't target practice. You're supposed to hit him, not give him a haircut," Cole complained. That's one thing that M/n couldn't stand, the ninjas blaming each other. He'd have to have a talk with them later.

The Ice Ninja frustratedly replied, "May I remind you we just magically whipped up this heap of junk?"

"Well, I hope one of us created a reverse feature because.. reverse!" the hothead shouted as the snake launched toward them, jaws open.

"How's this for reverse?" Cole grinned as he pulled a lever, jerking the vehicle backward and they all let out a yell. He shot the vehicle forward and continued to dodge the snake's attacks. Zane tried to shoot the Great Devourer with the sound waves but failed again due to the serpent's movement.

"I need your help holding him in place," the Nindroid suggested as they pulled up to the serpent's side.

"How's this?" Jay cheered as he shot a grappling hook at the Devourer, "Got 'em!" Another hook dug into its skin and dragged the giant serpent to the ground, then whipping around to face it.

Kai commanded, "Before it gets away! Now, Zane! Take the shot!"

Zane jeered as he shot music waves, "Charm your way out of this!" As the snake tried to recover from being roped, it got hit with the waves right in the head which threw it backward.

"It's working!" the Master of Earth cheered.

The Great Devourer slowly lifted its head, still disoriented. Kai pointed to a mark on its forehead and yelled, "It's got a weak spot!" Cole turned back to him, asking, "What!?" Kai began restating his observation, "On its forehead. It's got a—" but he was interrupted by the snake's tail crashing down onto their vehicle. The Ice Ninja's compartment had gotten destroyed, "Zane!" the ninja and M/n yelled as the dragon rushed over.

The hybrid used his claws to grip the scrap covering his comrade and uncovered the Nindroid. The left side of their face was damaged to reveal robotic parts, "That was close," they commented.

"Are you alright?" M/n helped the white-clad ninja out of the wrecked vehicle with worried eyes. Zane felt their face flush but still replied, "Yes, I am unharmed." Seeing the dragon's relieved smile the feeling increased tenfold, making them inadvertently smile too.

"Perfect. Now that was a total failure," Jay complained.

"Not total. Did you guys notice on his forehead? It has a weak spot," the Red Ninja noted optimistically.

"Oh, great, let me make a note of that," Jay ranted sarcastically, "Giant snake has wee, itty-bitty weak spot that'll be TOTALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO GET AT BECAUSE THE THING IS TOO RIDICULOUSLY HUGE TO DO ANYTHING TO STOP IT!" He ended up yelling and dramatically gesturing while his teammates watched.

"Are you done?" M/n asked, done with the hyperactive ninja's whining and complaining.

He took a deep breath then replied "yes" to M/n's (rhetorical) question.

"Good, because things just got worse. Look," Nya pointed out the Devourer which retreated from the junkyard and was heading toward the large city in the distance.

"It's heading toward Ninjago City," Zane worried.

"That's where my parents are," Jay said, concerned.

Cole replied, "So is everybody else.."

"If it consumes the biggest city in all of Ninjago, there will be no stopping it," the hothead said with frustration.

M/n knew what he needed to do, which he hadn't done yet because he didn't want to strand the ninja without a last resort. He began taking deep breaths, feeling his form change and grow. The ninja looked back at him with confusion and his body morphed. Soon enough his transformation was complete. He towered above his comrades in his dragon form as they stared at him, slacked-jawed and in awe. M/n was bigger than any of their dragons, all of which were gone. His beautiful iridescent scales shined and beautiful fur ran down his spine. The same horns that protruded from his forehead as a human also sat atop his head as a dragon.

Lloyd was the first to break from his trance, "M/n!?"

In response the dragon gave a soft purr and gently nudged the Green Ninja with his snout. Kai walked up beside the blonde boy and put his hand on the hybrid's snout letting out a soft 'woah'. M/n gently laid down and extended a wing, offering all his teammates a ride on his back.

"Hell yeah!" Cole cheered as he leapt onto the dragon's back after snatching the M/n satchel that he left behind, "now let's go get that snake!"

The other ninja smiled and followed the Earth Ninja's example while Nya mounted her mech. They all gripped the tufts of hair as M/n started running and eventually took off into the air. Kai, Cole, and Jay whooped and cheered as they felt the wind blow through their hair and face. Lloyd held onto Zane from behind as the Nindroid looked at the dragon in awe of his beauty and power.

As they soared over Ninjago City people looked up and pointed to the mystical beast which was approaching the Great Devourer. The destruction-hungry serpent was ready to attack Jay's parents who couldn't get their car started but M/n landed with a thud behind it. The ninja quickly dismounted to attack the Devourer and evacuated the citizens.

M/n let out a low growl, challenging the overgrown snake. Even at the dragon's massive size, the Devourer far exceeded him. While the serpent was distracted the ninja took the opportunity to attack.

"Lightning!" Jay called out as he struck the Devourer with his nunchucks.

"Fire!" Kai exclaimed as flames spewed from his sword.

M/n quickly shot into the air and dove onto the serpent's head, holding it down but ended up getting thrown backward. While the dragon wrestled with the Devourer Cole picked up a news van and chucked it, hitting the serpent on the forehead.

"Go, ninja, go!" the news reporter cheered as the ninja gathered in a group.

The snake's claw-like tail came shooting toward the group and Zane quickly reacted by freezing it. The serpent freed its tail with a roar before being sliced by M/n's talons. When it opened its mouth to attack the dragon Nya in her mech cleverly used a lamppost to inhibit the snake's use of its massive maw.

While the serpent struggled with the metal in its jaw, M/n was able to recover and take off into the air, out of the Devourer's reach. The dragon, being able to harness elemental power within a radius, shot ice at the snake. Then he spouted flames with a powerful roar. Using lightning to electrocute the serpent M/n slammed into it head on using Earth to add force to the hit and add defense to himself.

The ninja looked on, adrenaline rushing from watching their companion harness their elemental powers, each cheering when the dragon used their power. Cole exclaimed to his team, "M/n is awesome! Do dragons get any cooler?"

The dragon had followed the Devourer to its perch on a tall building and continued to batter it with attacks. He used lightning to stun it then spewed fire at its face. After freezing its entire head and forcefully breaking the ice M/n watched as the serpent retreated and regrouped with the ninja.

"Yes! It's running away!" Kai cheered.

The hybrid no longer had sights on the Devourer so he made sure the snake wouldn't attack the ninja. He was about to land on the ground when the Devourer's bone-hard tail plunged from the ground, launching him into the air then slamming him back to earth.

All the ninja exclaimed 'no' helplessly as they rushed to check on the dragon's condition. M/n laid on his side, feeling the ninjas' hands rub his muzzle. He let out a gentle purr to reassure his friends before shakily getting back on his feet. He stood over the ninja protectively, ready to defend them from the Devourer.

"You came back!" Lloyd's voice echoed with surprise and everyone's head turned to see Lord Garmadon.

"Give me the weapons," Garmadon demanded, "I am the only one who can handle the power of all four weapons at once. It's the only thing that'll defeat the Devourer."

"Uh, I thought we were supposed to do everything in our power not to let him possess the weapons," Jay said bluntly.

Zane spoke up, being the voice of reason, "I've ran every other scenario through my servers. It appears to be the only way."

"Give me the weapons," the oni commanded again.

The Nindroid looked to Kai who was clearly worried for the city and his dragon companion, "Kai?"

"Only I can destroy it. Or be prepared to watch as M/n sacrifices his life for you all," Garmadon spoke manipulatively as he stroked the injured dragon's snout.

"Quit your yammering and just do it," the hothead replied with frustration, throwing the Lord of Darkness his golden sword, "When you have a chance to make the blow, it has a weak spot near his forehead."

All of the ninja reluctantly handed over their weapons, Jay commenting, "I don't think this needs to be said, but we're gonna need these back."

Garmadon giggled evilly as he held all of the Golden Weapons, "I'll do my part. You just make sure he stays in one spot."

"Stays in one spot? Stays in one spot!? How are we supposed to do that?" Jay worried as his teammates glanced at each other.

The ninja devised a plan to get the Devourer stuck around the buildings of Ninjago City. M/n didn't like the idea of his friends being so close to the snake but they allowed him to perch on the buildings and intervene early if necessary.

Kai approached the snake and taunted, "Come on, you overgrown worm. Take the bait. Come and get me," then ran away from the serpent, which was squeezing through buildings to pursue him. He jumped off a bridge onto a truck until he reached Cole, switching out roles.

"Nice run. Now I'll take it from here," the black-clad ninja smiled before taking his turn baiting the Devourer. He leapt over cars and escaped down a narrow alley, too narrow for the snake to continue chasing him.

When the snake tried to go over the alley it was met with the Blue Ninja. Jay taunted, "Looking for me?" then leaps across building tops until he reaches a half-constructed building. He used his discovered True Potential to meet with Zane who joked, "What took you so long?"

"Save the humor, Zane. Now's not the time," the Master of Lightning retorted.

His comment went ignored as the Nindroid cracked another joke, "Instead of a fire escape, how about an ice escape!" He motioned to a long strip of ice which they leapt onto as the Devourer came crashing through the building.

"Nice one, Zane," Jay cheered before almost sliding off the ice sheet with a yelp. The White Ninja grabbed his hands and set him back on his feet. The snake broke through a piece of their path, which Zane quickly fixed as Jay let out more noises of fear. Zane whooped as he slid on the ice, almost as if snowboarding. Soon the path came to an end and the ninja were sent flying, Jay still screaming in terror. M/n swooped in and caught Jay and Zane, the other two ninja already on his back.

"You think it's working?" Jay wondered aloud.

Kai smiled and replied, "We're about to find out."

The Great Devourer was in a loop around buildings, unable to move. The ninja cheered and felt M/n purring with joy as they landed on a rooftop housing Nya and Lloyd.

"We did it! Now, where's Garmadon?" Cole asked, not really having faith in the oni to do his part, "He's not gonna hold on for much longer."

"Look!" the blonde boy pointed out his father who wielded all of their weapons. The sky darkened as the weapons took on a purple glow. Garmadon dived from a roof toward the serpent and killed it, juices splattering everywhere. Even in the midst of the disgusting scene people cheered because the force of destruction and evil was vanquished.

"He did it," Jay smiled.

"No, we did it!" Cole cheered.

Everyone mounted the dragon once again to go greet the citizens who approached them cheering. The ninja dismounted and bathed in the praise of the people of Ninjago City. Some little children even ran up to see their heroes and their dragon companion. Ed and Edna wrapped their son in a hug, calling him their 'little ninja'. Cole turned on his heel to appreciate M/n, giving him kisses on the snout, almost forgetting M/n had a human form.

"I don't see my dad.." Lloyd noted with sadness.

"He should be around here somewhere," Kai reassured, thinking the oni couldn't just disappear.

"Your analysis is incorrect," Zane stated bluntly, "He is not here."

"Then our Golden Weapons are gone too. Well, isn't that convenient?" Cole sneered, rejoining the group.

M/n, now back in his human form, pat Lloyd's back, "I'm sure you'll see Gar- uh, your father again."

"I know, but that's what I'm afraid of," Lloyd admitted, M/n getting distracted by Cole's bear-hug that could be given now that he was humanoid again. He relaxed against the ravenette's large muscles, feeling tired from his transformation.

"Sensei Wu!" Zane called out, causing the group to rush to the old man excitedly.

"Ha! Would you look at that! He survived!" Jay exclaimed.

Even if M/n was exhausted he was the first the crash into Wu with a hug. The rest gathered around as the duo separated. "I can't tell you how glad I am to see you!" Wu smiled.

"It's good to have you back, uncle. But my father left and he took the Golden Weapons," Lloyd regretfully informed.

"Ah, very true. The ability of the weapon is truly great, but the ability to better oneself makes you limitless," Wu replied wisely.

"I couldn't have said it any better myself," Jay said confidently.

"We have you, sensei, that's all we need," M/n reassured with a soft smile.

"The pupils have become the masters," the old man complimented.

"Am I really gonna have to fight my father one day?" Lloyd asked with a frown.

"One day. But today we can feel good that Ninjago is saved, for tomorrow you will train for the day. Good will finally face evil and a final outcome will be decided for all of time," Wu rambled.

"Besides, you have some great teachers," M/n told Lloyd motioning to the ninja.

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