Ninjago: Ripped World 2

Prologue

The Past

The storm whipped around the exhausted figure, her head and face covered with a ninja mask. She attempted to open her eyes to see against the stinging sand. It was impossible. The wind was too powerful. She pulled her cloak up to cover her precious cargo holding it steady while her legs felt like buckling beneath her.

'Why did I think it was a good idea to come out here?'

In the desert outside of Ninjago it was easy to get lost but also to not be found.

'He won't find me, he won't find me' she repeated to herself. That was the most important thing. She lost her footing, the sand dropped before her as she slid down a slope between rocks, it took all her effort to stay upright and keep the carrier aloft. As she came to a stop, a natural shelter was apparent in the rocks. Staggering into it, she placed the carrier down as gently as possible and slumped back to sit on her heals. Gratefully, she pulled her mask off and blonde hair, unkempt and tangled fell down over her face. Exhausted she took deep breaths of the musty air. Leaning over the carrier she unwrapped the light muslin cloth that was bound tightly around it. Snuggly fitted to the interior two swaddled new-borns were sleeping soundly from the storm outside.

Seeing them now, she found it hard not to let her desperate emotion well up. She began to pick one of the babes up. 'Why?' She asked. 'Why am I here, why did this happen to us?'

'...because you are weak'. Came an unwanted reply.

She span around and lurched to her feet, releasing a painful yell clutching her abdomen. A hooded figure stood at the entrance to the shelter. He held a staff set with a large blue crystal. A mesmerising gem that even in the gloom, was able to refract the low levels of light enhancing its lethal beauty.

'Weakness is a state of mind, Chen. My body may be frail now but my resolve is as strong as its ever been'. She pulled a small box from inside her cloak.

Chens' eyes widened at the site of the box, then laughed it off 'and what is that? Are you proposing my dear?' Chen laughed at his absurd joke. 'You really should have accepted mine and we would not be here now. I doubt there is anything that will be of help. You will be the first to release your powers to my Staff of Elements and we shall see if your offspring will add anything to the mix'

Chen directed the staff at the helpless family before him. As the blue crystal pulsed to life the woman pushed a small disc into a slot in the box. Clicking into place, an orange flair arced outwards. It engulfed the blue glow and the space was filled with a black light. Time froze, the two figures were set as statues while their cast shadows crept around the walls of the claustrophobic space.

'What is this thing?' the woman thought in the split moment before she blinked out of existence.