Ninjago: An Elemental Curse

Chapter 3: A Dire Warning

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE TRIED TO PERMANENTLY STRIP AWAY THEIR ELEMENTAL POWERS?!" Jay screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing off the large circular room's stone walls.

"Our powers are a part of us! They can't just be stripped away! At least not permanently!" Nya defensively argued.

"H-How is that even possible?!" Lloyd breathed in utter disbelief.

"I mean... we've all had our powers taken away before..., but permanently...," he trailed off, worriedly glancing at his friends.

"Yeah. Are you sure you read that right?" Jay questioned doubtfully.

"Yes. The words of this passage are clear," Wu assured him, nervously turning to meet his students' gazes for a moment.

"But as to how it's possible... I-I'm not sure...," he defeatedly admitted, his voice trailing off as he went into deep thought.

"It must have something to do with that spell book the sorcerer had," Misako told them.

"Wait, so if that spell book is what gave the sorcerer the power to strip away elemental powers permanently, and those mysterious figures stole that very same spell book, then what's stopping them from taking away our powers right now?" Nya asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, why wouldn't they have just used the spell book on us as soon as they found it?" Jay inputted, tilting his head in confusion.

"I don't know," Misako replied.

Then she turned her attention back to the dusty old tan book in her hands.

"Maybe they aren't planning to steal our powers. Maybe they want something else," Lloyd suggested.

"Or they didn't know the spell book had a spell that could take away all our elemental powers forever," Jay optimistically interjected.

"I feel like they would've known," Nya commented, crossing her arms.

"Perhaps there is more to the story," Wu stated.

Then he turned towards Misako, meeting her olive green eyes.

"Let us see what's on the next page," he told her.

She nodded in agreement, then flipped the page.

Everyone crowded around the book again, their gazes intently studying the pages. Even though Lloyd, Jay, and Nya couldn't read its words, since they were written in Ninjago's most ancient language, they still eyed them anxiously.

After a moment, Misako began to read out loud:

"I wondered to myself... how it could be that after all this time I had spent attempting to help Sorcerer Valdorous, that he would betray me and my trust. He had not only betrayed me, but also my trusted Elemental Alliance, placing each of them in danger."

"But during our battle, I discovered the truth."

Then Misako flipped the page again. However, the words and symbols on the next page were faded... very faded. As the words continued down the pages, they only disappeared more and more. Even the elegant golden swirl patterns outlining the pages were becoming fainter.

For a moment, Misako and Wu remained silent. They squinted their eyes at the book's pages, trying to decipher what they could of the faded letters. As they did, Lloyd, Nya, and Jay shared worried glances.

"It says something about... the moon... a full moon," Wu slowly explained, clearly puzzled.

"A full moon?" Lloyd anxiously repeated, glancing at his uncle.