NINJAGO: The Beastmaster

CHAPTER ELEVEN - Rising Heat

 "Fire!" Kai shouted, blasting a fiery plume towards the airborne Griffies.

"Water!" Nya yelled, raising a wave of water toward the Griffies.

The Griffies were struck, and the moment they were, they turned to stone and fell heavily out of the sky, plummeting toward the ninjas quickly.

"Nya! Watch out!" Kai said as he dashed for her, about to be crushed by a Griffie statue dropping from the air.

Luckily, Pixal had their backs in the Samurai X suit, catching the stone Griffie and tossing it back the way it came.

"Are you two alright?" Pixal asked.

"Yeah," Kai replied. "Let's just focus on getting rid of these things! Where are those dragons, Unagami?"

Unagami roared, then transformed into his child avatar to explain.

"They went after a large Griffie that entered city limits, data states they are heading this way right now," Unagami said, then turned back into a dragon, catching a Griffie in his jaws and crushing it to dust.

"Kai, I see the dragons, but what is that?" Nya asked, pointing up at the sky.

Kai turned and looked up, seeing the Red and Blue Dragons side by side, but there was something in between them.

"That's Master Wu's dragon!" Kai said, then squinted. "But what's that with him?"

"Is that... Zane?" asked Pixal as she stepped close to the group.

The Red and Blue dragons dove and started to pick off the Griffies impending on Ninjago City, then Master Wu landed his dragon, and quickly, Zane jumped off before Master Wu could.

"Stop!" Zane shouted as he ran up to the group. "Fighting them will only make them stronger!"

"Zane! You're alive!" Kai said. "You know, you play with our feelings a lot."

"My apologies, like I told Master Wu, I would've sent a message to inform you sooner, but my communication panel has been... consumed," Zane replied. "But you must stop fighting the Griffies, they're not here to destroy Ninjago out of gluttony--they were looking for food to feed her."

Zane pointed to the Griffie Master Wu carried on his dragon's back, and she stepped down with him, walking towards the group.

"That's a really big Griffie," Kai commented. "And wait--did you just say they were looking for food to feed her?"

"Yes," Zane said, petting Taiki's forehead once she was close enough to do so. "Griffies in the bamboo forest took me to her, and when I found her, she was sick and small. I had to give her my Sunstone to heal her, and then she was strong enough to absorb the powers of the other Griffies."

"Oh great, just what we needed--a Super Griffie!" Kai grumbled, crossing his arms.

"Kai, wait, this could be a good thing," Nya remarked.

"Indeed," assured Zane. "The Griffies also listen to her, which means they'll stop if she tells them."

"I hope you're right," Kai said as he turned back around. "Otherwise, all of Ninjago City will be breakfast, lunch, and dinner for all of them!"

High in the sky was the massive swarm of Griffies the weather station picked up on. The Griffies the ninja were fighting before were minimal in comparison, and while it was already overwhelming then, this made them feel small with fear.

Taiki looked up to the sky and trilled at the thousands of Griffies flying overhead. The ninja all stared on, wondering what would happen next.

"Can they hear her?" Nya asked, holding her hand up as she looked high into the sky.