Wisps: Recollection (Ninjago X Reader)

10. Snakes

Cars lined the sidewalk or piled onto mounting heaps glistening under the sun. Building windows are cracked or gone, inviting those into their darks and empty rooms. Wearily, you and the group got out of the hovercraft Jay's parents fixed. The only sound that reverberated down the street was the hum of the vehicle and the slow, cautious steps everyone took. No one spoke, nothing moved... or maybe you had spoken too soon.

Kai tripped over a hidden wire, triggering an avalanche of metal to collided and converged into a pile that would have crushed him if he didn't roll out of the way in time. Angry shouts rose from behind the mass as people swarmed up top with pipes, pans, anything that could bash someone's head in. Their improvised weapons pointed at the sky or you and the group. It jarred up memories of the village from two years ago, a memory that you'd rather do without. You hid further in your hood.

"Outsiders must answer to the postman!"

"Return to sender!" The middle-aged man in postman attire rose his spoon skyward.

"At least they're not trying to kill us." You whispered into your repaired mask. It didn't matter that you whispered, it was drowned out by the people's uproar.

"Ah, you've finally made it! Don't mind the savages." Cyrus Borg's voice strained through the yelling and the pounding in your veins tempered down. "Ever since the power went out everyone has grown a bit bored. Their imagination knows no bounds."

He tottered on the hill in a wheelchair until Pixel jogged over to help him. "Pixel? Amazing! How are you powered?" He edged further in his seat, hands grasping her head.

"Zane gave me half his power source, his heart."

Something about that sentence didn't sit right with you, leaving a sore print on your heart. She took Borg's upper shoulder as she eased him down the last bit of rubbage.

'I forgot they were a thing...'

"Hey you need to stay in character, Borg, this is no fun if we're all not committed." He slapped the stick against his palm multiple times, like a strict teacher with a ruler.

"Oh? I'll have you all committed if you all don't leave us at once. Now shush!" He waved his hand at them and they all let out sounds of disappointment rivaling the sounds of children told to clean their rooms. "We have real problems to address."

'Oh joy.' You stuffed your hands in your pockets, watching the citizens disperse.

"Thank you, Zane, I am greatly indebted." His face turned grim along with his tone, "Unfortunately, there's some bad news I must share with you, the hard drive was stolen with the digital imprint of the Overlord. We will be unable to erase him with your techno blades until we find him."

"Hahaha! Don't worry, we already had a run-in with the red-handed suspect." Jay shoved through with a cocky smile. "Or should I say white-handed?" He took out a white scale. "He left behind a scale, he's serpentine."

Cole started striding towards a... manhole.

'We're not going down there are we?'

Cole lifted the round top as everyone crowded the filth.

"Why?"

"The last of the Serpentine were sealed in a tomb right under the city." He started going down the ladder. "So it's about time we paid them a little visit."

"Approach with caution, I've lost a few valuable prototypes, they may be armed." He rolled down next to Pixel. "And extremely dangerous." His face is as anxious as his voice.

"We know that particularly well." You sarcastically told Borg, talking over Jay's rambling.

"Ahem!" He gave you a dirty look before it snapped to one of adoration when his attention shifted to Borg. "When those prototypes are made available to the public, could you let me know?" He rubbed his hands and then slammed them on the cover of the manhole. "They are just the coolest gadgets!"