Legends of Ninjago: Book 3: The Four Fangs

Chapter 16: Crossroads

Wu pulled his cloak further up his face to keep the tiny, black grains of sand from cutting across his cheeks and nose. In order to keep his hat from blowing away, he had to keep his head down, and listened carefully for any shift in the sands or nearby growls. Despite the lonely rush of the wind and dark mountains, he never felt truly alone.
This empty place was known as the Dark Realm. Wu had heard his father, The First Spinjitsu Master, speak of this place on occasion. Although, his words were usually hushed and somber whenever he spoke of it, and now Wu knew why. Nothing grew here—there was no sun—it never rained here—there was no water. The only way to determine for how long you had been wandering the endless, black desert was by watching the blood red moon that rose and set in the deep purple sky.
So why had Wu come to such a place? A place where nothing grows and no one lives?
Long ago, when Wu was still a young man, and his father's age was beginning to take its toll, he had sat Wu down and told him something important about the legendary Golden Weapons of Spinjitsu; a secret. He made Wu swear that he would never tell another living soul—not even his own brother, Garmadon. Leaning closer, he whispered these words:
"No mortal shall possess all four, and neither shall any immortal possess them. For the mortal shall perish, and the immortal shall henceforth be sent into exile in the Dark Realm."
His father had placed a curse upon the weapons to ensure the safety of Ninjago even after he gone from the world. Garmadon, naturally, had not been pleased to hear that Wu had been told secrets and he had been left out, however Wu would later discover that Garmadon had been entrusted with secrets of his own. He supposed that this was one of his father's many attempts to force the two of them to work together. In the end, it hadn't worked.
Wu's mind flashed back to the Underworld when Garmadon had taken all four weapons for himself, and then had subsequently been swallowed up by the portal they had opened. The Lord of Darkness, of course, had not known about the curse, and Wu was the only person in all of Ninjago that knew... his brother was still alive.
He had been traveling north (or, at least, he assumed he was heading north) for the better part of a day (or, at least, he assumed it had been a day.) So far, all he had encountered was a lot of sand and wind and emptiness.
But sooner or later Wu would find him. Or else, Garmadon would find him.
There were some short cliffs up ahead, marking (hopefully) the end of the desert and a good place to rest for the night. The winds were becoming unbearable now, pushing so hard against him he wondered if they would hold him up should he fall. All the more reason to head for the shelter of the cliffs.
They were about five yards away when—
Wu's foot suddenly plunged downward and he fell into a pool of thick, black gunk, hidden underneath of the sand that stuck to its surface. He was up to his chest in the stuff, and it felt like it wanted to drag him deeper still, but thankfully he was stilling holding fast to his trusty staff. Now all he had to do was figure a way out of this... mud? Quick sand? For a moment, he feared that it may be tar, but it wasn't quite sticky enough. At any rate, he could just move his feet and was slowly turning around, trying to make for the land again, when a voice cut through the wind like an ice cube in a hot drink.
"A pity the sink pit couldn't drown you sooner."
"It is good to see you as well, brother." Wu was still facing the shore, but he could picture Garmadon perched atop the short cliff, glaring down at him disapprovingly.
"Don't you 'brother' me, Wu. You and I haven't been brothers in a long time. Not since you banished me here."
"You are too quick to assume blame," Wu responded calmly. "It was father who cursed the Golden Weapons, not I." He watched the sands be scooped up in the wind and scattered far away into the dunes, while the large, red moon began to rise in the distance.
"Yet another secret he kept from me..."
"He kept secrets from the both of us—"
"I'M THE ONE HE HATED!!!" Garmadon suddenly barked. "I'M THE ONE HE FEARED!!! He was always keeping me at arm's length, shutting me away like some sort of BEAST!!!"
It was hear that Wu forced himself to turn through the muck and look up at his brother, standing over him, his eyes blazing red.
"Father loved you just as much as he loved me—"
"LIES!!!" Garmadon drew one of his four katanas and barred his fangs. "You were always his favourite!"
Wu studied his brother—his ragged clothes, his unkept hair, his dirt-smeared and stubbly face. "I have not come here to argue, Garmadon."
"So then why have you come?" He narrowed his eyes while Wu adjusted his grip on the staff. "Don't tell me you've come to rescue me. Are you going to make me see the light?" He laughed. "Or... oh, no, I see... little baby Wu needs my help, doesn't he?"
This time, Wu narrowed his eyes. "Yes."
"Then you've come to the wrong realm."
Suddenly, the pit began rumble, and slow, thick ripples appeared all around him. There were things moving through the muck, like sharks swimming through mud. One by one, they lifted their heads above the surface and revealed their melted, gruesome faces.
"Enjoy the company here," said Garmadon, taking a step back. "It's to die for."
"Garmadon—wait!" But Wu didn't have a whole lot of time as he tried to make for solid ground.  Using his staff almost like an oar, he forced himself to move and had one hand on the sand when suddenly, something grabbed him round the torso. It pulled him out of the mud, and further in, toward the monster the arm belonged to. "Garmadon!" He tried again, fearing that the gunk weighing down his legs would be to much to fight against. "I am not the only one who needs you!"
The mud monster was bringing him closer to his widening, cave-like mouth, so Wu used the only thing he had on hand—his trusty staff—and shoved it right through the back of the beast's mouth and out the back of its head. It howled in agony as it began to sway forward and backward, loosening its grip.
Right as it seemed like he was about to let go, and Wu would be able to make a break for it, another mud monster came over and grabbed him by the legs. Then another, and another came, all crowding around, groping and clawing at him, trying to pull him into bite-sized pieces, or else drown him in mud. "Brother!" He called out desperately. "It's your s—" A huge hand had just smothered his face, clogging his nose and mouth. In a panic, he wriggled one of his hands free and unleashed his power of creation. A second later, a katana had sliced the hand of that mud monster clean off, and Wu frantically wiped the mud from his face. "IT'S LLOYD!!!"
The next second, the mud returned, stopping his lungs and making his heart pound loudly in his ears. He might even be submerged in the pit below, it was impossible to tell. He feared the worst. Perhaps his brother truly had lost what was left of his humanity after all... perhaps this had been nothing but a fool's errand...
Red moonlight pierced the darkness.
All around him, the monsters were drying up and then crumbling to the ground like graham crackers. Wu landed in a pile of earthy rubble, his back positively throbbing and his heart ready to explode. Then, a black hand appeared before him.
"What has Lloyd gotten himself into?"