Ninjago : The Purple Ninja - Book 1

The Hands of Time: Chapter 2 - The Hatching

"Ah. Another cup please, Misako." Wu said after finishing a cup of Healing Tea.

"Okay, but drink it slower this time. Healing Tea doesn't work on a burnt tongue." She poured him another cup, and he started to take big gulps. "Sip! You are quite impatient." She laughed.

"The same could be said of them." He gestured to the Ninja, who were standing in front of them.

"Okay, Master Wu, you've had your tea. Now can we talk?" Cole said impatiently.

Wu nodded. "Ask any question you wish."

"Who did we fight in the monastery?"

"That was Acronix."

"From the painting?"

"Twins look alike!"

"Or was it Krux?"

"Is he from the future?"

"How does he speed up time like that?"

"Was he from the past?"

"Who ate my pudding cup?" Jay said, holding an empty pudding cup. The Ninja stare at him. "What? He said ask any question. I put my name on this. Just because we're in a new dojo doesn't mean we disobey the refrigerator rules!" His friends just blinked. He cleared his throat. " Right. Sorry. Guy in monastery. What's his story?"

Katarina shared a look with Wu, and he nodded. She sighed. "What I told you all at the museum yesterday wasn't the whole story."

The Ninja looked at each other, then at her.

"Why didn't you?" Lloyd asked.

"Because it was a time of betrayal. For me, Wu, your father, and the Elemental Alliance. It was forty years ago, shortly after the Serpentine Wars. We had sealed the Serpentine away in their respective tombs and cursed the Anacondrai generals. We had achieved peace to Ninjago."

"It is done, brother Garmadon." Past Wu said.

"Indeed, Wu." Past Garmadon agreed.

"Today, Ninjago is finally at peace. A great victory. And one we could not have achieved without each of you, the Elemental Masters. Smoke, Metal, Lightning, Shadow, Fire, Water, Form, and Time!"

"Hold on a sec. So that guy at the monastery is an actual Elemental Master of Time?" Cole interuppted her.

She shook her head. "No, Acronix was an Elemental Master of Time, like Krux. After helping us win the war, they betrayed me, Garmadon and Wu, and their fellow Elemental Masters. They though they controlled the most powerful and superior Element in all of Ninjago, so they thought they could rule all of Ninjago."

"What did you do?" Nya asked.

"We knew we had to stop them. It took all of us. Garmadon, Wu, myself, and the entire Elemental Alliance."

Kai and Nya shared a glance. "Even our parents?" Kai asked.

Katarina nodded and smiled softly. "Yes, even your parents. Your parents and my dearest friends, Ray and Maya, fought greatly, even during the Serpentine Wars. But even they had met their match."

She showed a projection of Acronix fighting Ray and Maya.

"Acronix was one of the most skilled warriors, hell, one of the best I've ever seen. He could move forward in time, always one step ahead of his opponents. However, he could also slow down time. Different power, but equally effective. One Master of Time was bad enough, but like the hands on a clock, there were two."

The projection showed Krux using his powers next. "Krux had the power to reverse time, a huge advantge in combat, because he had the knowledge to know his opponent's next move and how to counter it. He could even stop time, without stopping himself."