NINJAGO: The Beastmaster

CHAPTER FOUR - A Dire Underestimate

 Scott sprinted back into city limits and over to the corner store that was his dad's Masonry. He pushed open the door and set his hand on the door frame, breathing heavily as Ryo looked up from what she was doing.

"We gotta... We gotta," Scott heaved. "... close down the store."

"Right now?" Ryo asked, then raised an eyebrow with concern. "Where's Zane?"

"No time! Just turn the sign, lock the doors..." replied Scott. "I need to tell the Ninjas."

"Tell them what? What's going on?" Ryo switched the sign over to Closed quickly and grabbed the keys from her apron pocket as Scott went running off again.

Ryo quickly locked the doors at that point and they slammed shut behind her. She chased after Scott to find out more of what was going on, and for somebody she didn't know for running, he was making quite the distance quickly.

Sooner than expected, Scott got to the Bounty and went up the steps. Jay happened to be on deck, carrying some broken boards in his arms when the comotion ran into him. The boards hit the floor, and Scott was too busy trying to catch his breath to apologize.

"Why the rush?" Jay asked as he got up, then helped Scott sit up when he was able to.

"Zane--" he said, air still a luxury. "Problem--"

"Okay, slow down, take a deep breath," Jay said, and that only made Scott glare at him because that's what he was already doing. "Cole! Get Scott some water!"

That's when Ryo ran aboard, just as confused as the others about what was going on.

"Ryo? Aren't you supposed to be working?" Jay asked.

"Yeah... but Scott just came back and told me to close down the Masonry," Ryo explained. "He didn't have Zane with him, and we needed to leave in a hurry--I don't know what happened."

Cole then ran up with a glass of water and handed it to Jay, who handed it to Scott, who chugged all of it and set the cup down. That helped, at least enough.

"Something called a Tera Griffiquus," Scott breathed. "In the forest... ate the statues... and Zane..."

Scott then passed out from exhaustion.

Jay looked back at Cole, then they both looked at Ryo.

"Did he just say it ate Zane?!" Jay's voice cracked.

Cole stammered. "I'm not sure--and what is that thing anyway?"

"Pixal!" Jay shouted, which was enough by itself to bring everyone else outside to the scene.

"What happened to Scott?" Kai asked.

"What's wrong?" asked Pixal.

"Something happened to Zane!" Cole blurted. "We were trying to find out what, but then Scott passed out."

"He said something about 'Tera Griffiquus', too." Jay added.

Pixal's worry then turned into fear.

"The Tera Griffiquus is a stone-eating, shapeshifting creature--they were listed as extinct decades ago," Pixal explained. "How did one end up in Ninjago?"

"Not one... Two," Scott groaned, still half asleep.

"Two?" Cole and Jay said at the same time.

"Okay, maybe that isn't as bad as it sounds," Kai remarked.

"Griffies have destroyed entire cities by eating them before!" Pixal shouted. "Once they run out of food in one source, they'll move on to the next--and the fact that there's more than one means there'll be more mouths to feed!"