Flames of the Past #7: Seeds of Deceit (Ninjago Fanfiction)

Chapter 28

Gray clouds drifted across the moon. Lost Rock quieted with the deepening night, and in the shadows of the streets, Lloyd and Chelsea slipped toward Ronin's pawn shop. The other ninja had not thought of another solution to their money problem, and they reluctantly let Lloyd and Chelsea go and steal the scroll. They planned to be in and out, and fly away from Lost Rock before Ronin could even notice something had happened. All they needed to do was locate the scroll inside the shop.

The two made it onto the shop's porch without detection. Lloyd turned and watched the street, keeping a ready hand on his sword's hilt, as Chelsea crouched to inspect the lock on the door. She stuck her tools into the lock, twisting and messing with it, until it clicked open. Lloyd turned to her as she rose back to her feet, returning her nod. Quietly, she opened the door.

Lloyd stopped her before she could step into the shop. Pushing to her side, he pulled out a few shurikens and found several gadgets locked on the walls near the floor. Security measures if he'd ever seen them. Focusing on them, Lloyd threw a shuriken at each of the gadgets, hitting them perfectly and dismantling their sensors.

Suddenly, Chelsea pulled her bow back over his head, and he ducked as she shot an arrow at the camera in the corner of the shop. She smirked at him, and he stepped into the building.

He released a breath of relief when all remained silent. "Look around," he murmured as he closed the door behind them. "And stay alert. After how Ronin acted earlier, I don't trust him one bit."

Chelsea saluted. "Aye, aye, captain!" she whispered back.

Lloyd raised an unamused eyebrow. With a quiet giggle, Chelsea moved away to search the shop. Lloyd tried to resist a smile as he inspected the other side of the room.

He carefully moved the merchandise around, looking inside boxes and cups, searching through any crevices that could fit a scroll. He found weapons, jewels, old trophies, strange gadgets—but no scroll. Where are you keeping it? he silently wondered.

He stumbled upon the Blade Cup Trophy, recalling Cole saying it belonged to his father. Lloyd picked it up, thinking as he looked over his shoulder. Cole would appreciate it if he gave it back to the black ninja, wouldn't he? It was the least Lloyd could do to pay Cole back for his kindness in taking care of him. Quietly, he slipped the trophy into his satchel.

A clatter made him jump, and he heard Chelsea whisper a "Sorry!" from the other end of the shop. Muttering under his breath, Lloyd moved around the shelves and came to the counter. He walked behind it, crouching to open the cabinets underneath it. A few of the drawers were locked and his eyes narrowed in suspicion. Rising upward again, he was about to call Chelsea over to pick the locks, but his voice broke off when he accidentally bumped into the large vase he'd seen Ronin carrying earlier that day. He quickly grabbed it to steady its rocking, then something inside the vase caught his eye.

It was a scroll!

"Chels?" he called roughly. "I think I found it."

Chelsea hurried over to him, gazing into the vase with round eyes. Reaching inside, Lloyd pulled out the long, ancient scroll. Gold markings decorated the back of it, matching the design on the small chest it had once been inside. Lloyd had just begun to open it when a sudden click! made him freeze.

Suddenly, Lloyd and Chelsea were swept off their feet as a net swooped from the ceiling and left them dangling inside it. Gasping, Lloyd shifted beside Chelsea, gripping the net they were now trapped inside. A coughing fit immediately overtook him at the sudden movement and he clutched his chest, hacking for breath.

"What—where did this come from?" Chelsea squeaked out, fumbling against him.

Lloyd was more concerned about getting out, and he pulled a knife from his belt. Yet he still struggled to catch his breath, and as he coughed, he realized he had dropped the scroll and it lay on the floor beneath them.