Ninjago: Snake Poison Arc (1)

Chapter 3: Home

Master Wu was in the middle of meditating when the sound of the ninja arguing broke his focus.

"My turn! No, it's my turn!"

"Oh, you want some more? Take this!"

"Yeah? How about a little of this?"

"Monkey paw to the head!"

"Ninja, roll!"

Wu frowned and headed to the gaming room, expecting to find the ninja. But when he got there, the room was empty.

"Dragon punch!"

"Dragonfly!"

Confused, Wu continued his search and finally found the ninja outside in the courtyard, each one busy with their training. Jay was deflecting arrows with his nunchucks, Zane and Anna were meditating, Cole was hitting training dummies, and Kai was practicing Spinjitzu.

"Ninja, go!" Wu called out.

Zane suddenly snapped out of his meditation, jumped in front of Jay, grabbed Cole's weapon, hit a few dummies, did Spinjitzu, and then froze the floor and the post Anna was about to jump on. This caused both Kai and Anna to slip, crashing to the ground.

Kai, Jay, Cole, and Anna quickly regrouped. Kai, still catching his breath, said, "This roof isn't big enough for the four of us."

"Correction: this roof isn't big enough for him," Cole added, pointing at Zane.

"It's like he's in his own world," Jay said, raising his voice a bit. "I bet he can't even hear us."

Wu approached the ninja, who all turned to face him. Kai pointed at Zane and said, "Sensei, Zane's... weird."

"What is weird?" Wu asked calmly. "Someone who is different, or someone different than you?"

"No, Sensei, he's 'weird' weird," Cole insisted.

Flashback: Cole was using the bathroom when Zane walked in, calmly combing his hair. "Do you mind?" Cole snapped

Flashback: Nya, Jay, and Zane were watching an emotional movie. While Nya and Jay were on the verge of tears, Zane suddenly burst out laughing.

"We like the guy; he's really smart," Kai said, trying to explain. "It's just that he's a little off sometimes."

Wu glanced at Zane, then back at the ninja. "Siblings are often different. I should know."

"Then siblings are weird," Anna muttered, about to walk away when there was a sudden knock on the door.

"Mail!" Kai, Jay, and Cole shouted, racing toward the monastery doors.

The postman arrived at the monastery, pulling out the ninja's mail. "Let's see... A letter from Jay's parents," he announced as Jay quickly snatched it. "Kai has a fan letter," he continued, and Kai grabbed his. "And something from your father, Cole," he said, handing it over.

Cole frowned. "What? No package? I was expecting something from Creatures, Beasts & Beyond."

The postman checked his bag again. "Oh, here it is," he said, handing Cole a small package.

Jay looked over at Zane and Anna and asked, "Hey, how come you two never get any mail from your parents?"

Zane, looking a bit distant, replied, "I don't remember my parents. I've been an orphan all my life."

Jay then turned to Anna, who simply said, "I prefer to keep that to myself..."

Master Wu approached, sensing the tension. "The monastery is your home now. You have a family here."