Legends of Ninjago Book 2: Rise of the Serpentine

Chapter 19: Hailstorm

"Keep moving!"
"Does anyone see Ann?"
"I think they stopped chasing us."
Kai, Zane, Jay, and Keaton stopped for a moment to catch their breath. They had been running non-stop from the Serpentine construction sight, and only now did they feel remotely safe.
"We... shouldn't... have left Ann," Keaton lamented through heavy gasps.
Zane put a hand on her shoulder. "She'll be alright. She's tough, remember?" He tried to give her a smile, but Keaton's frown didn't disappear.
"Well, she didn't get sucker punched in the chest," Jay whined, lying on the ground. "I'll be feeling that one in the morning... ow..."
Kai leaned against a tree and breathed in and out deeply. The only thing on his mind was Cole. He kept thinking if maybe he'd done things differently—maybe if he'd been better to his friend—maybe, maybe, maybe... ugh! He was getting sick of the word already. But the fact still remained: this was largely his fault, and he knew it.
"Come on. We shouldn't linger here," Zane said. He pulled everyone up to their feet and led them forward. "Kai, were did you say that car was?"
"It's just up ahead," Kai mumbled.
Half an hour later, they were standing outside of the armoured car, waiting. There were crows squawking off in the distance, and a cold, grey layer of clouds was rolling in. Kai leaned against one of the doors and stared at the ground. Everyone seemed unable to accept what had happened.
"Can't we wait a few more minutes?" Keaton asked, sill scanning the trees.
Zane sighed. "It's too risky. We've been here long enough already." He popped open the door to the driver's seat and starting climbing in.
"But—but we can't leave! What if—?" Keaton stuttered.
"Keaton... we have to assume that she's been taken," said Zane simply. His expression was  steady and solemn. "We'll get her back. Just not today."
Keaton stood stalk still and starred at Zane. Her jaw began to shake terribly, and her fingers curled into fists.
"Keat... come on," Jay said gently, walking over to her.
She rubbed the water out of her eyes and gave a big sniff before she finally started moving toward the car. Jay and Kai climbed in after that, and Zane started up the engine. It seemed to be routine for silence to overtake the vehicle, leaving Kai to take in the ominous weather outside.
After a few minutes, Jay reached up to the dashboard and clicked something. Instantly, the radio came to life.
"Baby, baby, baby! Oh!"
click!
"Chloe! I know you sister—"
click!
"...on the good times, blame it on the boogie!"
click!
"...has thrown Ninjago into quite the state of alarm, dampening much of what we now know to be premature celebrations." Everyone sat up a little straighter in their seats. "The town's people have been taken to the nearest hospital where many seem to be suffering from severe mental trauma. The doctor's say they have no idea what could have caused this strange case, but the patients themselves say they already have the answer. They claim that a group of mythical Serpentine came and 'took control over them all,' causing quite the stir among the historical and fantasy communities. Whatever the case, no video footage was recovered from the crime scene before it was set ablaze, leaving everyone to wonder what really happened."
Kai's ears perked up when the news anchor mentioned a fire. Was that part of the reason why the army had closed off the town?
"On a slightly brighter note, military forces have finally managed to take back the Undead Citadel, formerly known as Dead Man's Stronghold. An intense investigation has commenced, and as many as five hundred prisoners have been found and returned home as of today."
Kai's breath caught. Five hundred prisoners? Could two of them possibly be... no... no. He remembered something now. During his interrogation with Lloyd, the boy had been very adamant about not having his parents in custody. But still... he could've been lying... maybe there was a secret cell for high priority prisoners? If there was any chance that they were out there, he had to go and see for himself. It was now at the top of his list of priorities, and he'd be heading back to Harper Vale as soon as he could.
"In other news, the identity of the Garmadon impersonator from a few weeks ago has finally been revealed. In an official statement from General Prasert Niran, he stated that it was nothing more than Garmadon's twelve-year-old run-away son, Lloyd Garmadon. He went on to say that the boy's whereabouts are currently unknown, and they are asking people to immediately contact local authorities if they have any information on his location, but they have also issued a warning not to approach him if found, as he still may be dangerous."
"Could you please turn it off?" Keaton asked, leaning against the cold window, and fogging up the glass with her breath.
Jay was about to hit the power button when the news anchor suddenly said, "Breaking news! I'm being told right now that..."
"I said, please turn it off," Keaton said again.
Jay reluctantly hit the button and the speaker's voice died away.
As they were just about to rejoin the highway, Kai remembered the radio in his travel bag. It had been way over two hours now, and he was late for his scheduled check-in. Scooping it out of the small case, he held it up to his lips and pressed a small button.
"Fireboy, calling Tortoise. I repeat, this is Fireboy calling Tortoise, over."
"What are you doing?" Jay asked, turning around in his seat.
"Wu gave me orders to check in every two hours," he said simply. However, fifteen seconds later, there was still no response. "I repeat, this is Fireboy, calling Tortoise. Are you there? Over." Nothing but static.
A sporadic hail storm had begun, and hundreds of tiny, white ice chunks pelted the car, before finally dropped to the ground and soaking the road. Kai didn't like this one bit.
He tried one more time. "Tortoise, do you read me? This is Fireboy! Are you there?"
After another stretch of silence, Zane said, "It's probably just the storm."
"Maybe," Kai mumbled.
Keaton adjusted her seat and hunkered down for the rest of the ride, and Zane had to turn on the heat after a certain point. Meanwhile, the sky kept getting darker, and the air kept getting colder.
They had taken a back road to the monastery, in the interest of keeping a low profile, and Kai was anxious to see Wu as soon as possible, but the longer they bounced over the dirt road, the more of a sick feeling he got in his gut.
Finally, they rounded the last corner, the corner that led straight into one of the smaller courtyards, when they were stopped by a dozen men in black military armour pointing automatic crossbows at them.
"Park the vehicle, and step out with your hands on your head!" one of them shouted.
"What?" Jay stammered.
"Everyone, stay calm," Zane said quickly. "Just do what you're told. Hopefully, this is some kind of misunderstanding." With one hand up where the agents could see, he quickly parked the car and took the key out of the ignition.
"Get out of the vehicle, NOW!" someone else barked.
Kai reached down and grabbed his door handle, stepping out into the freezing cold with his hands behind his head just as instructed. Was this some sort of drill? Where these guys new guards maybe?
"What's going on?" Kai asked as four of the men marched forward. "Where's—?"
"Put your head on the hood of the car!" the man in front of Kai shouted.
"What?!" Kai cried.
"Now!" he shouted again. This time, he grabbed Kai by the arm and shoved him toward the car hood. Jay, Zane, and Keaton were already lowering their heads, looking just as shocked and confused as Kai, who followed suit. Once they were all in position, the men came forward and started handcuffing each of them.
"Ow! Watch it, tall, dark, and ugly! It doesn't need to be that tight!" Jay complained. The man cuffing him made no response.
"Guys, what's happening?" Keaton asked, looking more worried than ever.
"I don't know," Kai said, completely lost.
After that, they were padded down and relieved of all their throwing knives, first aid, katanas, food, and radios. One of the men stepped forward, his face covered with a black helmet, mask, and visor.
"This way," was all he said. The four ninja were escorted into the monastery, and out of the hail, where they saw hundreds of agents combing through every last nook and cranny. There was caution tape, metal detectors, and a bunch of other doodads that Kai couldn't even identify. They uprooted every potted plant, tore through every closet, and confiscated every weapon. At one point, Kai spotted a soldier carrying a pile of knick knacks and clothes that used to be up in his room.
"Hey! Those are mine!" Kai blurted. But before he could move a single step forward, he got hit in the head with the butt of a crossbow.
"Keep moving," one of the agents said, and on they went. Kai gave a menacing growl, and wanted nothing more than to return the favour to that no-good, heartless, cretan.
It seemed as though they were being taken to the dining hall, and when they arrived, Nya was there waiting for them, handcuffed to one of the tables.
"Kai!" she called.
"Nya! What did they do to you?!" Kai's fury was reaching it's limit. If they had hurt her, he wouldn't be able to keep the flames at bay.
The guards dropped them off with Nya, guarded by five men, and then went back to demolishing the monastery.
"I'm fine," said Nya, trying to find a comfortable sitting position. "But these guys won't be, now that you're here!"
Kai quickly elbowed her in the side.
"Oww! What the—!"
"Shhh!" Kai hissed.
"You mean...?" she asked. Her eyes seemed to finish the sentence, 'You're not going to use your powers?'
Kai gave only one nod in response. "Now would you mind telling us what's going on?!"
"I was up in my room, right where Master Wu told me to be, and then all these cars pulled up out front. The next thing I knew, the place was flooded with soldiers, and I was being hand cuffed and dragged here. They won't say anything, either! And I haven't seen Master Wu since this morning," Nya explained. Everyone exchanged worried looks. Of all the times for something like this to happen, this was the worst possible time in the history of the world. But what should they do? By the oath of the ninja, they technically weren't supposed to tell anyone besides Wu about their mission and what had gone wrong, but how could they get to him? Was he even able to help them right now?
A few minutes later, two men came in who were different from the rest. The first was wearing a fedora and spectacles, with a beige trench coat over a plain, grey suit. He looked tired and smelled like cigarettes. The second had a large forehead and was wearing a black suit and sunglasses, carrying a heavy briefcase. Judging by his face, he looked as though he had just eaten something sour, or maybe that's just how he looked all the time.
"Alright, these the ones?" the first man asked the guards. They gave him a look that said, 'what do you think?' "Ugh, you military guys and your protocol... hello, children, my name is Mr. Iwata, social services." He lazily pulled out a small card with his name and a symbol on it.
"Agent Duan. IBI," said the second man, and he pulled out a shiny badge from his jacket. Putting it away again, he continued, "Let's make this simple: tell me your names and we can have you back with your families as soon as possible."
"...if you aren't sent to juvy hall first, that is..." Mr. Iwata added under his breath.
Kai swallowed hard. Where was Wu? Wherever he was, he'd want his students to keep their identities secret for as long as possible. Preferably forever. So he set his jaw and glared up at the social worker. Everyone else slowly did the same.
Mr. Iwata rolled his head and gave a long sigh. "We're gonna do it this way, huh?"
"Trust me," Agent Duan said, "Things will be a lot easier—for all of us—if you just cooperate." Kai wouldn't be budged, and neither would his teammates.
Again, Mr. Iwata sighed. "Kids today..."
"Bring them," Agent Duan told the soldiers.
Right away, they unchained Nya and dragged everyone up to their feet. Kai was getting real tired of being pushed around like this.
On and on and on they went until they reached the front courtyard and finally the great gates. The hail was letting up now, but the air was still frigid and everything was wet, including the muddy trail down the mountain. But before they reached the entrance to the park, they were met by half a dozen black cars sitting in the middle of the path. The soldiers told them to get in, and before Kai knew it, he was sitting, hand cuffed, in a government vehicle. The cherry on top was the black sack which was shoved over his head.