Undo the Golden

Chapter 3

The four ninja stood before their panicked master. Wu paced back and forth in the courtyard, stroking his beard.

"We're sorry, Sensei." Cole started, anxiously eyeing the old man. "By the time we got there, Lloyd was nowhere to be found."
It's true. They spent hours searching for the little runt, but he was gone, as for the "older brother" he was nowhere to be seen.
Some villagers had said they had seen them, but they had left the village a while ago.

"As I feared." Wu sighed. He dug into his pocket, pulling out an old, crinkled photograph of him, Garmadon, and... Misako. Where was she? Shouldn't she be with Lloyd? This picture was probably taken only a year after Lloyd was born.

A few months later, Garmadon fell. It was one of Wu's biggest regrets, perhaps, had he not intervened- it had to be done. His brother was cursed by the venom, and he had to be stopped to keep everyone safe.
'But did it, though?'

He wasn't started by the voices that rang in his head. He had been getting them since Garmadon fell. Now they were nothing more than whispers in this old man's life.
"I must go."

Zane walked up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "What? But Sensei-"

"I have to go get help." Wu said, as he made his way into the Monastery. "Whoever this mysterious stranger is, he's more dangerous than anyone you've ever faced. I'm sorry, but we must be on high alert."

"He can't be that dangerous. I mean, we've faced skeleton warriors, Lord Garmadon, how scary can this guy be?" Jay joked, looking at his friends for support.
The rest of the ninja all shrugged and mumbled in return, unwilling to meet their Sensei's stern gaze.

"What do you want us to do?" Kai stepped in. Wu thought for a second, fidgeting with the end of his long white beard.

"Try to find Lloyd, but- if you encounter this mysterious stranger, do not engage." Emphasis on do not. Wu had met many beings in his long lifetime, but this one... from what he could tell from the vision, was powerful, merciless, cruel, and hungry. Hungry for power, hungry for blood.

This foe had managed to shift the balance. It scared him.

"Well, what do we do if we do find them?" Cole asked. All four Ninja looked eagerly at Wu, and he knew once he gave the word, they would go, and begin their quest to find Lloyd.
Wu and the Ninja have grown a bond. Though they still acted like the young teenagers they were, they were pretty compliant to do whatever he asked of them.
They trained (although with much whining), they kept the Monastery clean, stuff like that. They weren't ready for this. But they would need to be.

"I highly doubt anyone would hurt Lloyd knowing he's the son of Lord Garmadon." Wu started. It's true, his brother had quite the reputation, and he holds quite the grudge. If he knew his brother, which he did, Garmadon would hunt down whoever hurt a single hair on his beloved son's head.
Wu stepped into the Monastery, greeted by the warm smell of... he could never quite place his finger on it. He should make tea, to clear his head, and focus on saving Lloyd.

Zane ran after him as Wu entered the Monastery.
"But, father- Sensei, if this guy is so dangerous, shouldn't we all be sticking together?" Zane fussed. Wu had found Zane only a year prior, homeless and abandoned, with a terrible case of amnesia.
The others would say Zane was rather attached to Wu, or at least more than they were.
Wu placed a hand gently on his shoulder. Zane was, and Wu meant no offense to his ninja, one of his favorite students.

"Do not fret, Zane. Once I return from the journey, we will have the help we require." Wu was careful not to slip 'hopefully' in there. But he would have to help them, right? How could he not?
"Let's all head in. It is getting late, we need rest for tomorrow."