A Second Chance

Part 32 - LISTEN TO ME!

Opening the document, I found a total of eight logs.

Damn it... way too many to read in one sitting. The cab driver would surely be executed by then, and on top of that, I had knocked out two people. If either of their unconscious bodies was found, it would make it harder for me to go back.

Looks like I'll have to read the first log here and go through the others after escaping.

If he has that many logs, then it's very likely that I could learn more about what the ninja were up to after my banishment. Maybe I'll even hear something about myself. The pictures showed they weren't interested in me, but there has to be more than just images. Maybe he'll reveal the intimate conversations they had when the cameras weren't rolling.

"It's time to explore the unknown," I declared.

"I'm gonna have to disconnect," Emily replied. "Call me after you escape Jurong West."

"What?!" I exclaimed. "Why that long?!"

"Deathstroke and The Executives are going to monitor me when I enter Jurong Island to pick up the device. If they see me talking to you, I'm done for."

"Fine, I'll talk to you after my escape."

I took out the paper containing the first log of the document.

Log 1

It's been a little more than two years since I arrived in this realm.

Everyone back in The Vipers probably assumes I'm dead or lost forever. To be fair, it wouldn't be an unreasonable assumption, out of thousands of test subjects, only two survived the process. The rest just became part of a statistic.

Two years or not, you know how I am: it doesn't take me long to gather intel.

This realm is called Ninjago, and it has quite the history. From what I've pieced together, the story starts with a guy called The First Spinjitzu Master. He left his old realm because he refused to take part in a war. Upon arriving here, he created the land of Ninjago using the power of creation, an elemental essence that consists of four parts: fire, lightning, earth, and ice.

Later, he had two sons who had two essences. The older son, Garmadon, carries the essence of destruction, the direct opposite of creation. On top of that, he was bitten by some snake when he was a kid, which drove him to become evil. He's tried to destroy Ninjago more times than the ninja can count, though ironically, he's also saved it at crucial moments. The younger son, Wu, inherited the essence of creation itself. That power is capable of building, shaping, even summoning a massive tornado if those four elements were used- but for a reason you'll figure out later -  because of one particular loss - the tornado can no longer be fully created.

Speaking of tornadoes, this realm has a unique combat style: Spinjitzu. Experienced warriors who know the art can transform themselves into a mini-tornado that they can use for combat.

The with powers here here call them "elements" instead of "powers," but in practice, it's the same thing.

Now, the main protectors of this realm are called the ninja. They're Elemental Masters, part of a larger circle of fighters with elements, but these five stand apart from the rest.

Kai, the Master of Fire, is a hothead and has a lot of bad ideas, but oddly enough we get along, probably because he likes video games - I like these ones too - and can be relaxed and funny at the right time. Beyond that, he's famous, flashy, and always quick to jump in.