Ninjago: Earthly Origins

Chapter 2

Lloyd

Preparation for the trip was easy.

All anyone needed was clothes, food, tools, weapons, and gas masks, and everyone got everything loaded in record time. Master Wu had said that Cole was in a cryogenic state , so he didn't need to eat or drink.

Kai and Zane again carried Cole into the seating area and strapped him in. After everyone had finished loading, they strapped themselves in. Lloyd sat at the front with Nya, with Zane and Jay in the middle, and Kai and Cole in the back.

"Ok, guys," Nya said, grabbing the wheel and turning to face the others. "Who's ready to go get rid of Hypnos?" The others cheered. The entrance opened, and the ninja set off in the Land Bounty.

As it turned out, the Cave of Slumber was only about four hours away from the monastery. During the trip, while Nya drove, Kai, Zane, and Jay played Lava Zombies and Lloyd had a lie down. Having not slept well the previous night, he fell asleep in the first five minutes.

Lloyd's dreams were filled with Cole and Hypnos.

Four hours later, the ninja arrived at the Cave of Slumber. They left Cole in the Land Bounty while they approached the cavern cautiously.

The Cave of Slumber was a looming cavern in the side of a mountain. The mountain lay in the thick of a jungle, and the atmosphere was hot and humid, so as the ninja approached the cave, they started sweating almost immediately. Lloyd was about to enter the inviting, cool shade of the cave when Kai grabbed his shoulder, saying, "Wait."

"What?" Lloyd squinted and looked into the cavern. "Booby traps?" Kai shook his head. "Magic." Jay scoffed. "You're just being a drama queen," he laughed. "There's no such thing as magic." He sauntered forward and entered the cave. Immediately, he staggered and yawned. He pitched forward, but Nya, after taking a deep breath of clean air, caught him just before his freckled face hit the dirt.

She set Jay on the ground, who had fallen asleep. She rolled her eyes. "Stupid guy. He'll wake up." Sure enough, Jay's eyes flew open twenty seconds later, and he sat up. "Woah! That magic is strong!" "And apparently not fake." Kai shook his gelled head and went back to the Land Bounty, shortly returning with five gas masks. "Good thinking, Kai!" Lloyd exclaimed. "We need to keep that magic out of our system." After selecting a mask (why he bothered to look through them, Lloyd had no idea), Kai handed out the rest. After strapping them on, the five ninjas entered the cave. Lloyd took short breaths at first, but resumed breathing deeply after about five minutes, because he was feeling wide awake, and the magic seemed to be having no effect on him.

As the cavern entrance grew farther away, so did the darkness. Soon, it was pitch black in the cave, and they needed to turn on their flashlights.

Moss-covered boulders that Lloyd shone the flashlight on revealed sleeping animals lay on the ground. The glare of the light hit a misshapen thing, and Lloyd went closer to take a look. When he figured out what it was, he was filled with shock.

It was a saber tooth tiger.

Lloyd took a step back in horror. "These things have been here for centuries," he said weakly. "This cave is a death-trap."

Jay shivered. "Great. How about we leave and find some other Drovestone?" Lloyd was about to agree, but then an image of Cole entered his mind. Smiling, happy Cole.

"We can't go back," he said bravely. "We have to push on. Cole is back at the Land Bounty, and he should be here, with us! But he's not, thanks to Hypnos. He's snoring in his seat while we go on adventures! That's not how it works! If Cole were awake, he'd say for us to not give up, no matter how bad things look. For him"