The Call to Rise

Dancing to the Beat Of My Own Drum Part 1: Counting Stars

Hey people! Welcome to the next arc of this story! As you can probably tell from the title, this arc is going to contain a lot of dancing, which means a lot of songs! So please note that I do not own any of the songs contained in this arc, they belong to their respective artists. 

So without further ado, let's get started! 

~~~~~

It was a calm Friday morning in downtown Ninjago City. Everything was business as normal.

...Until it wasn't.

There was the abrupt sound of glass smashing and people screaming. At a nearby jewelry store, half a dozen Serpentine thugs were smashing displays and stealing all of the jewelry. A few even put on the highly expensive necklaces and rings.

A Constricti thug was threatening the shop owner with a metal pole. "Where's the rest of it?" he demanded.

The poor shopkeeper trembled in fear. "I-I-I..."

"HEY!"

Everyone in the store jumped at the loud voice. Turning around, all of the Serpentine groaned at the sight of the red and black ninja standing in front of the broken window.

"Don'tcha know that it's rude to take stuff that isn't yours?" Kai tsked, lighting his fists on fire. "Your momma must be so disappointed in you."

The Serpentine thugs didn't take too kindly to the insult. "How dare you bring up my mother!" The Constricti thug shouted. "Everyone, GET THEM!"

Cole and Kai shared a smirk before charging at the thugs. While five of the thugs fought the ninja, the Constricti grabbed a big, shiny diamond that was in a smashed display case and made his escape. Hopefully, this was the jewel that his master needed...

~~~~

"I just don't get it," Cole grumbled as he and Kai walked onto the Bounty towards their rooms. "This is the fifth time in the past week that these snake gangs have stolen precious jewels. Why do they want them so badly?"

Kai shrugged. "I dunno. Money?"

Cole shook his head. "I don't think it's money. Most of the jewels that they've stolen are too well known to sell well, even in the black market." Cole groaned and rubbed his temples. "Ugh, this doesn't make sense..."

"Whoa, whoa," Kai said. "Chill, Brookstone. We'll figure it out. Maybe you should nap before your head bursts."

"Can't," Cole replied. "I have to check on Zane."

Kai rolled his eyes as he followed his leader. "What for? I highly doubt that Frosty's gonna kick the bucket if you wait a few hours."

"His bandages need to be changed," Cole told the red ninja over his shoulder as he opened the door to the infirmary. "I also need to make sure he's hydrated, and that he's not in pain, and..."

Cole trailed off when he noticed that Kai was staring past the black ninja and trying not to laugh. "...Zane's not in the room, is he?" Cole deadpanned.

"Nope," Kai replied, popping the 'p' and smirking.

Cole facepalmed. "ZANE!" he bellowed. "GET YOUR ICY BUTT BACK IN YOUR BED! WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS!!!"

The black ninja stormed down the hall, Kai trailing behind him and laughing. "Aw, man. I can't believe Frosty escaped again," the red ninja wheezed. "This is, what? The third time he's done this?"

"Fourth," Cole growled as he stuck his head in all of the bedrooms. "And it's going to be the last because I'm gonna duct tape him to the bed!"

"Isn't that overkill?"