The Split Element- Book 1 (Ninjago: Zane X Oc)

Iron and Stone...

Aly's POV:

"Lost...are we?"

The four of us were shoved to the ground, and forced to look at what was ahead of us. There was a man sitting on a throne made of dragon bones, which had four skulls sitting beside it. The man in the chair was creepy; he had a very pale face and one glowing eye. He wore a top hat and wielded a staff, in his remaining hand. His other, wasn't there, but was replaced by a claw.

"His throne. I already hate him." Kai mumbled as the man stood up and walked over. He hobbled, but that was a result of his peg leg. He approached Zane, and tapped his head, examining him. "They don't look as I imagined." The man spoke in a low gravelly voice, making his followers laugh. "Where did you find them?"

"To the south. They were building a fortification." A man spoke up from behind us. "That's pretty generous. Heh. More like a rickety shack. But after losing everything, who am I to complain?" Jay smiled, turning to the man. I quickly grabbed him, and pulled him back down. "Jay, seriously? Are you trying to get us killed?" "Did I say you could speak?!" The man behind us yelled, and we stopped talking.

The man in charge started pacing, occasionally looking at us. "We took them by surprise. There may be more." Someone spoke up, and we remembered that Cole and Wu were still out there. "Is this true? Are there more of your kind?" The head man asked us.

"Our kind?" Kai questioned him. "No. We're alone." Zane quickly spoke, but the people seemed sceptical. "Then tell us, who do these diapers belong to?" A woman asked, holding up Wu's diapers. "Oh, those are Jay's. Tell 'em, Jay." Kai nudged him, and thankfully he caught on. "Oh. I have a weak bladder." He told them, making them laugh again.

"See how they lie? See their treachery? They cannot help it. It's in their nature." The head man explained, but those descriptions didn't seem to fit us. "Do not reveal anything." Zane whispered to us, and we nodded, keeping our mouths shut.

"But there is one whom you cannot deceive." The head man continued, looking down at us again. "Okay, now, take it easy there, Captain. Let's not do anything—" Kai was cut off.

"Throw the Oni into the Pit!"

Suddenly, a man with spider-like legs yanked us tour feet from my end of the chain, and started leading us out as the crowd chanted.

"Slab knows! Slab knows! Slab knows! Slab knows!"

"Oni? You're making a mistake!" Kai called out. "Let us go!" I shouted. "We are not Oni!" Zane called out, and no one listened to us. "Okie dokie. Off we go." Jay still wasn't being himself as we were being dragged out of the room and out into the blistering sun and heat.

The people wandering the area all looked the same; pale white faces with what looked like scars all over. Black hair with some of them having red eyes, which was very unsettling. They all stared at us as we were dragged through their little village, to where we didn't know.

"They think we're Oni." Kai pointed out. "I know, how funny. And here we thought they were Oni." Jay snickered, just as we stopped. Two men were carrying a huge piece of metal to a blacksmiths stall, where we saw a dragon in chains.

A woman was poking it with a long staff, making it breath fire into the furnace. They were using the dragons. "Their entire culture appears to be built around the hunting of Dragons and exploiting their Elemental Powers." Zane noted as we continued walking again. "Dragon hunters." I scoffed. "Yeah. Then it's a good thing we kept our identities secret." Kai sighed, just when a man rushed over to Zane, seeming quite desperate.

"Ah! Welcome to the Dead's End!" The man exclaimed, grabbing the Nindroid. "May I have your parts when you expire?" He asked, and Zane quickly moved away, not wanting to be torn apart. "At least we know what to call this dump. But what do you make of this Slab? And what's the Pit?" Kai wondered.