Ninjago: The Elemental Master

Season 4: Chapter 31: The Hands of Time

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*Destiny's Bounty*

It was late at night, Y/N was sleeping soundly in her bed when all of the sudden her mind raced with thoughts.

"You are the reason I'm dead, you were the reason I left. You are a monster, Y/N. And you will always be one" Morro said as he walked closer to her. "Even your own friends think you're a monster, you can't control your powers. You're weak, and weaklings get left behind" Morro said as he circled Y/N. "No...that's not true, they aren't scared of me" Y/N said as she looked at Morro. Morro scoffed, "did you not see the look in Lloyd's eyes when he saw what you were doing to that pirate? He was scared of you, of what you could become. They all are, even Master Wu" Morro said as he looked into her eyes. "No, no, no. Shut up!" Y/N shouted as she covered her ears. "You know I'm right, Y/N. You're just going to hurt the ones closest to you, just like how you hurt me" Morro said as he looked down at her. Y/N started to shake her head as tears left her eyes, "no! No, stop it!" Y/N screamed as she closed her eyes.

Y/N woke up and sat up in her bed, tears streaming down her face. Her body was sweating like she had run all day, her hair was stuck to her forehead and back from the sweat as she was wearing a tank top and pajama pants. Y/N panted heavily as her door then swung open.

Y/N quickly looked at the door to see Kai, he looked scared. Kai quickly ran to Y/N and engulfed her into a hug. Y/N rested her chin on his shoulder as she started to cry. "It's ok, you're safe" Kai whispered as he then glanced at the open door and saw Lloyd, Kai sighed as he hugged her tighter before letting her go, Lloyd walked up to them and sat on the edge of the bed. "Wanna talk about it?" Kai asked, Y/N shook her head.

Lloyd nodded as Kai stood up straight, Lloyd got up and was about to get her a glass of water but she stopped him, "stay...please" Y/N said, Lloyd nodded as he sat beside her and helped her to sleep. Lloyd held Y/N in his arms, he could feel Y/N's body shaking underneath him as she laid there. Her breathing was shaky as she held his shirt tightly, as if scared he would disappear. Lloyd smoothed out her hair with his fingers as he held her close, Y/N closed her eyes once again as she leaned deeper into Lloyd. Kai left the room and closed the door behind him as he went to his room. Lloyd decided it would be better if he stayed with Y/N the rest of the night, since he didn't know if another nightmare would happen or not.

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*earlier that morning*

Earlier that morning Lloyd had woken up and looked down at Y/N to see her still in a deep sleep. Lloyd slowly got out of bed and made sure to cover Y/N with her blankets as he looked down at her once again before leaving her bedroom and heading over to the kitchen to see Master Wu. When he walked into the kitchen he saw Misako and Zane sitting at the table, Misako had tea in her hands while she talked to Zane.

"Good morning, Lloyd. How did you sleep?" Misako asked as she looked over at her son. "I slept fine...Y/N had another one of those nightmares again" Lloyd said as he grabbed an apple and started to eat it. Misako sighed as she looked at her cup of tea, "they seem to be occurring a lot more recently" Zane stated as he looked at Lloyd and Misako. "And they seem to be affecting her sleep more" Misako said as she remembered the first night Y/N had a nightmare, it was the night they had gotten back from fixing up Ninjago.

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*a few weeks after the battle against Nadakhan*

It was two in the morning when Misako had woken up to screams of terror. When Misako had made it to Y/N's room she noticed it had gotten ten times hotter in her room. Y/N had steam coming off of her skin, and when Misako went to touch her, her finger felt a stinging pain, and when she pulled away from Y/N, she realized she was burnt.

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*present time*

"Any elements?" Misako asked, Lloyd shook his head. "That's good then" Misako said as she looked down at her hand which once had a red mark on it.

"The museum called early this morning and was wondering if you Ninja could go clean it up for them?" Misako asked as she tried to change the subject, Lloyd nodded, "I'll get the Ninja ready" Lloyd said as he finished his apple and was about to walk out of the kitchen when Misako stopped him, "Lloyd, maybe let Y/N rest this morning? I am worried about her, and I don't want her to overstimulate herself" Misako said as Zane walked past them to get ready. Lloyd nodded, "alright. But please, mom, take care of her while I'm gone" Lloyd said, Misako smiled and nodded as Lloyd went to get the Ninja.

Misako walked out of the kitchen and out to where she had last seen Wu, but he wasn't there, so Misako decided to go check on Y/N to see if she was awake yet or not.

But when she walked in there she noticed the soft wind blowing around the room, Misako walked over to the window to close it, but when she moved the curtains aside she noticed the windows were closed, "wind" Misako whispered as she walked over to Y/N and sat on the edge of her bed, Misako moved loose strands of hair out of Y/N's face as she felt the wind slow down and soon come to a complete stop. Misako sighed deeply as she looked at Y/N with a motherly expression, "what is going on in your head?" Misako asked as she kept her hand on Y/N's head.

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*at the musuem*

The bells of Ninjago rang loudly throughout the city, "this ends now, Samukai. Nope, pretending this is the actual Samukai doesn't make cleaning up the museum any more interesting. This is so lame. We're Ninja, not janitors. And plus, why isn't Y/N here? Isn't she a part of the team?" Jay asked as he felt annoyed. "Come on, Jay. We're all kind of responsible for the damage to the museum. After all, if we hadn't had that massive battle on the Day of the Departed, this place would still be in one piece. And Y/N needs to rest" Lloyd said as he carted away Master Chen.

"Yeah, and who's fault is that, Cole?" Jay asked as he looked over at Cole, who was now more human than ghost. "Okay. How many more times do I have to say I'm sorry for accidentally unleashing the ghostly forces of evil that attacked Ninjago?" Cole asked as he placed a picture into a box. "How high can you count?" Jay asked as he placed his hands on his hips. Cole dropped a box as his hands started to turn orange, and it seemed as if lava was floating up Cole's arms. "Eh, speaking of which, you're still not used to having your old, non-ghost hands back?" Jay asked as he carried a box, "I'm working on it," Cole said as he followed Jay with a cart of things.

"This is exhausting. If I could go back in time, I'd tell Dr. Saunders we were too busy to help" Nya said as she rested her upper body on a box. "Nya, you may recall that the rest of us once time-traveled. It can have devastating effects, and should not be used lightly. Certainly not to get out of labor" Zane said as he looked at her, "it's just an expression, Zane" Nya said as she walked over to her brother, who was looking at a picture of their parents.

"I...I don't believe it" Kai said, "what is that?" Nya asked as she didn't recognise the people in the painting. "I think it's a portrait of...our parents" Kai said as he looked at his father, Nya walked up to the painting and grabbed it gently. "Whoa. This dates to when I was, like, three years old" Nya said as she looked back at her brother, "shortly before they disappeared. We know so little about them, Nya" Kai said as he looked at Nya. "Father was the Elemental Master of Fire. Mother was the Master of Water" Nya said as she showed her water element. "And they left us the old blacksmith shop and little else," Kai said in a softer tone. "They left us our powers," Nya said with a smile.

"Guys! Look what I found!" Cole said as they others all looked at a painting of a fight. "Uh, isn't that Garmadon?" Jay asked as he pointed to one of the men with dark hair, "it is. Lloyd, that's your dad" Cole said as Lloyd walked over to them, "and there's Master Wu" Kai pointed at the man beside Garmadon. "He looks so...young," Nya said as she shrugged her shoulders slightly.

"Look at them, my father and my uncle, Ninjago's two greatest Elemental Masters. I wonder if I'll ever live up to their legacy" Lloyd said as he looked down."First Kai and Nya, now Lloyd. It's family picture day at the museum" Jay said as he smiled at Lloyd. "Does anyone recognise this battle?" Cole asked, Zane walked forward, "Pixal, analyze" Zade said as he looked up at the painting. "Facial contour mapping indicates this scene takes place 40 years ago, during the Serpentine Wars" Pixal announced, "during the Serpentine Wars? But NInjago was at peace. Who would they be fighting?" Cole asked as he looked at the Ninja.

"Refreshing time. Hot, sweaty work deserves a cool drink" Dr. Saunders said as he brought the Ninja drinks. "Ah, thanks, Dr. Saunders," Kai said as they all grabbed a cup. "Enjoy the pickled beet tea," Dr. Saunders said with a cheerful expression. Everyone spit it out as they coughed. "Uh...oops! New hands. So clumsy" Cole said as he dropped his cup. "Eh. Mm" Jay said as he continued to drink the tea.

"What's this painting?" Lloyd asked as he placed his cup back on the tray, "oh, this? Nothing. Minor skirmish. No historical significance. That is why I don't hand it in the main gallery" Dr. Saunders said as he chuckled slightly, "It looks pretty significant to me. This thing is huge" Jay said as he looked at the size of the painting."Yes, a huge myth. The folklores" Dr. Saunders said with a shrug. "Even if it is a myth, who are these men Masters Wu and Garmadon supposed to be fighting? I have no data on them" Zane said as he looked at the other two men in the picture. "There is a legend. Twin brothers called the Hands of Time" Saunders said as he placed the tea tray on a box, "the Hands of Time?" Kai said as he rubbed his chin.

"They could allegedly manipulate time itself. Speed it up, slow it down. All sorts of things. See what I mean? Manipulate time? A ridiculous fairy tale" Saunders said with a laugh. "Who's this one?" Nya asked as she pointed to the one with a mustache, "oh, this handsome-looking fella? Ha! The legend says his name is Krux" Saunders answered, "and who is the nasty-looking guy?" Lloyd asked as he pointed to the one with a beard. "In the stories he's called Acronix" Saunders said as he looked at the second brother.

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*Destiny's Bounty*

Y/N was sound asleep in her bed but all of the sudden ended up by the stairs. Y/N felt her body go limp as she started to fall down the steps of the Bounty and onto the ground. Y/N groaned as she looked around, "what the" Y/N said as she pushed herself off the ground. Y/N heard the alarm start to go off which caused her to look down at her clothes and notice she was already in her uniform. Y/N ran into the control room and saw the Ninja already in there, all seeming confused of how they got there in the first place.

"Time just..." Lloyd started, "moved forward?" Kai asked as he shrugged his shoulders. "Um, weren't we just outside? When did we get here?" Cole asked, Y/N looked at her hands, "how did we get here?" Nya asked as she looked at the boys. Y/N felt a wave of exhaustion run through her body as she felt pain in her body after falling down the stairs.

"My circuits are picking up an energy displacement," Zane said as he touched his forehead. "There was a displacement all right. It displaced us right in here" Kai said, Y/N leaned her body into the desk as Lloyd looked at them, "what is going on?" Lloyd asked as the alarms kept going off. "I don't know, but it's loud!" Jay shouted as he covered his ears.

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*a few minutes later*

Nya started pressing buttons as the alarms kept going. "These energy readings are off the charts. Where is it coming from?" Nya asked as Jay kept his ears covered with his hands. "I'm trying to pinpoint the location" Zane shouted as he looked at Nya. Jay groaned, "how about pinpointing the location of the off button? These alarms are giving me a..." Jay was going to finish his sentence, but Y/N hit the button which caused the alarm to turn off. "Headache. Ha, ha. Thank you" Jay said in a softer voice as he smiled at Y/N.

"Hm. This is surprising" Zane said as he scratched his chin, "no, it's not. I've always had sensitive ears and–" Jay said but Zane cut him off, "I meant, I think I know how we suddenly appeared on the Destiny's Bounty" Zane said as they looked up at a map on the screen, "how?" Cole asked, "the displacement we experienced was not caused by just any normal energy. It was temporal energy" Zane explained. "Oh, well, temporal energy. Of course. Everyone knows that's um...powerful" Jay said with an uneasy tone.

Kai laughed as he wrapped an arm around Jay's shoulders. "You have no idea what 'temporal' means, do you?" Kai asked as he smirked at Jay, "I do not" Jay said truthfully as he smiled slightly. "It means time" Y/N said softly as she looked over at Zane, "precisely. Whatever created that displacement can warp the very fabric of space-time" Zane explained further. "Which is powerful, right?" Jay asked with slight urgency. "Very. All the normal rules of existence no longer apply to such a force" Y/N said as she looked at Jay. "Told you it was powerful" Jay said as he punched Kai's shoulder playfully.

Zane was now hooked up to the computer while Jay paced around, "okay, yes, there was a little hiccup in time. But just one. I'm sure it was nothing. They probably happen all the time, and we don't realize it. You know, like déjà vu. Can we go home now?" Jay whined, Zane hummed in question. "Seriously. We just cleaned up an entire museum! Well, except you, Y/N. Aren't you guys tired?" Jay asked as he looked at the other Ninja other than Y/N. "Well..." Zane dragged out, "well?" Nya asked.

"I've located the surge's epicenter" Pixal informed them, "where, Pixal?" Zane asked softly. "The old monastery" Pixal said as she showed a picture of the old monastery before it was destroyed. "The monastery? That place totally burned down. Why would anyone or anything be up there?" Cole asked as he looked at Nya, "we should find out" Lloyd said as he looked at Y/N. "Oh, why? Cole's right, there's no reason for anyone to be up at the monastery. Zane's probably malfunctioning" Jay said as he motioned towards Zane, "self-diagnostic indicates negative" Zane said, to which Jay immediately hit Zane in the head, "how about now?" Jay asked with a massive smile. "No" Zane said in a sassy tone as he looked at Jay.

"I agree with Lloyd. We should go. Where there's smoke, there's usually fire" Kai said, Y/N smiled, "and where there's massive energy displacement, there's usually trouble" Y/N said as she looked at the boys and Nya. "Well, maybe it's, like, you know, a harmless massive energy displacement" Jay asked as he chuckled nervously. Everyone stared at him blankly as he rubbed his head, "come on. Seriously, I'm exhausted. We did our good deed for the day" Jay whined.

"Wait. Master Wu said he was going to the monastery. Something about 'finishing an old fight'. He said this was something he should do alone" Lloyd informed the others while Jay sighed. "What are you waiting for? Get us to the monastery!" Jay shouted as everyone started pressing buttons as they made their way to the monastery.

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*at the monastery*

As they made their way over the monastery, Y/N made sure her hair was up as she looked down at the monastery. "Hey. Has anyone seen Master Wu?" Lloyd asked, "hm. I only see that guy" Jay said as he pointed down at the man below them. "Who's that?" Cole asked as he looked down, "I don't know. Let's find out" Jay said as he walked away from the ledge, Y/N looked back at him, "no, no, wait, what if...? Hey, Jay" Y/N said as Jay used the anchor to make his way down to the monastery grounds. "What's he doing?" Lloyd asked as they looked down at Jay and the mystery man.

The Ninja watched as Jay pulled out his nunchucks, electricity coming off the chain as he looked at the man. "Jay just pulled his nunchucks. Nya, you'd better get us down there fast" Lloyd ordered, "not gonna work. There's not enough room down there" Nya said over the comms. "It's just one guy. I'm sure Jay can handle...uh, whoever that is" Cole said as he looked at Y/N, "Pixal..." Zane started, Y/N looked over at him as he seemed to be scanning who the person was.

Zane gasped, "Acronix!" Zane shouted. "Acronix? As in Acronix and Krux? The Hands of Time?" Y/N asked as she looked at Zane, "from the painting? But Dr. Saunders says that battle wasn't real" Kai said, "and even if it was, it was forty years ago. Acronix would be an old man today, like Master Wu. But that guy down there is young" Lloyd said as they looked down. "But that's impossible. Unless...he time-traveled?" Nya questioned. "We have to get down there. Now!" Y/N shouted as Nya steered the ship towards the monastery.

Y/N ran down the side of the ship as she jumped off and used her air element to cushion her fall. "Did you see that? It's like..." Lloyd started as they all started going down the anchor chain. "He jumped forward in time," Kai continued, "yeah? Let's see him jump this!" Y/N said as she used her earth element to shoot rocks at Acronix. Acronix managed to dodge them in time but was soon met with Y/N's fist.

Acronix grunted, "nice punch, for a girl" Acronix said as he glared at Y/N, Y/N scoffed, "I'll give you more than just a punch!" Y/N shouted as she slammed her foot into the ground and pushed her heel forward, which caused a rush of spiky rocks to rush towards him. Acronix timed out of the way and Y/N could hear a ticking noise next to her as she quickly punched in the direction and managed to lay a hit on Acronix. "How was that for a girl?" Y/N asked as she went to punch him again, but instead of hitting Acronix, he grabbed her wrist and threw her into the other Ninja. "More Ninja? Curious" Acronix said under his breath.

"Ninja-go!" the Ninja shouted as they used Spinjitzu to head towards Ancronix, only to land on each other as Acronix timed out of the way. "You only missed me by a few seconds" Acronix teased as he smirked down at the Ninja. "Sometimes I wish I was still Samurai X instead of a Ninja" Nya whined as they all got up and placed their masks on. "You're fast. But faster than this?" Kai asked as he threw a fireball at Acronix, only for him to dodge it as it set fire to the broken wood.

"Ha, ha. Elemental Master of Fire. I've encountered one of you before" Acronix said as he shrugged his shoulders. "Huh? You met my father?" Kai asked, Acronix lifted his fist with a green claw and teleported to the top of an old part of the monastery. "There he is!" Nya shouted as she pointed up at Acronix. "Ninja...come out and play" Acronix said in a teasing tone. "Jay, Cole, Kai. We get Acronix. Zane, Nya, Y/N, use your Elemental Powers to put out this fire" Lloyd ordered.

"Ninja...come out and play" Acronix said in a teasing tone again. "Hang on. Who put you in charge? Why can't I help with the flames?" Jay whined as he looked at Lloyd. Lloyd was about to stand up for himself but Y/N stepped in front of him, "you think Lightning is better than water and ice for stopping flames?" Y/N asked as she looked at him, "good point. Let's go!" Jay shouted as Cole jumped up to the wood Acronix was on. "You got lucky with Y/N last time" Cole said as he went to use one of his super punches on Acronix but he hit wood and got his fist stuck. "Clumsy. Like a fawn standing on her new legs" Acronix said as he raised his hand with the claw.

"One!" Jay shouted as he used his element, "two!" Kai shouted as he did the same, "three!" Lloyd shouted as he did the same. All three of them fired their elements at Acronix.

Y/N used her water element to extinguish the fire as Nya and Zane did the same. "Here's Acronix!" Acronix shouted, Y/N looked over as she noticed Kai, Jay and Lloyd shooting their elements into the Time Blade. "It's gonna blow!" Kai shouted, and in only a matter of seconds a massive wave hit them and pushed them back. Y/N opened her eyes as she was on top of Lloyd, "ah. Burned down again. Man, this place just cannot catch a break" Jay said as he took off his mask. Lloyd sat up with Y/N in his lap as he took off his mask as well, "neither did Acronix" Lloyd said as he then looked down at Y/N as she rubbed her head, Lloyd took down her mask as he checked her for injuries.

"Good. You know me, I don't back down from a challenge, but I wouldn't want to face that guy again" Kai said as he took off his mask. "No way. He moved at, like, the speed of time" Cole said as he took off his mask as well. Y/N got up as Lloyd followed her lead. "Come on, guys, let's get back to the Destiny's Bounty" Lloyd said, Y/N looked at him, "but what about Master Wu?" Y/N asked, Lloyd looked worried, "we gotta find him. Spread out!" Lloyd shouted as they all ran around the monastery.

Y/N walked to the edge of the mountain and heard screaming as she quickly went to the edge and grabbed Wu's hand. "Gotta...hang...on" Y/N said as she used her earth's strength to pull Wu up off the cliff. Everyone gathered around as Wu panted, "barely made it" Y/N whispered as she looked at her hands, "Master. Are you all right?" Zane asked as he helped Wu stand. "I...fear not" Wu said as he looked at Y/N, "why was Acronix here?" Zane asked, "how did he do that?" Kai asked, "why were you fighting him?" Jay asked. "There is much to tell you. And not much time" Wu said in a low tone.

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WORD COUNT: 4009
AUTHORS NOTE: hello everyone! Here is Season 4, Chapter 31!!!
Sorry it took so long for me to update it, I was at a volleyball tournament and managed to get silver (second)!
I will hopefully be updating more this week, and I start working next weekend so I might not be able to update much after that! But I will try my best since next season (Season 5) is going to be a juicy season!