Ninjago: Where Heroes Come From

Chapter Seventeen: Alone

The ninja arrived at Dankstone at the same time as the Constrictai did, and, to their dismay, after the Hypnobrai. Wu led them off the ship and towards the small island that was Dankstone, where the serpentine were already converging, looking hungry for a fight.

"Whatever you do," he cautioned, as the ninja stood at the ready, waiting for his command to go, "do not them reach the water. The Fangpyre are entombed at the bottom, and if they free them—"

"We get it," Kai said impatiently, "charge!"

To their credit, Cole, Zane, and Nya did not charge yet, although Jay and the twins followed Kai into battle, screaming wildly. Wu called after them in futility, and before he had the chance to tell them to wait, the rest of his team went charging after them. He hesitated only a moment, his pre-planned battle strategy he'd spent the entire journey creating crumbling before his eyes and he watched the ninja leaping into action, before throwing all caution to the wind and running in to join his pupils.

Skales was at the head of the army— the serpentine could really call themselves that now; they'd grown considerably in size— and he was liking what he was seeing. Though the ninja were admittedly strong, and their elemental powers gave them extra leeway, his troops were already pushing them back, edging closer and closer to the water with each step.

"Keep fighting!" He screamed, as one of his troops collapsed to the ground in flames. "Kill them! Drag them into the ocean if you have to! If those disgusting ninja—"

A sudden hot, searing pain erupted in his side and he was thrown to the ground, gasping and clutching the scorch in his scales. He looked up to see Lloyd standing over him, glaring down at him with a sort of enraged triumph in his expression.

"There's more where that came from," he said menacingly, raising his hands to blast Skales again, but before he could, the snake felt himself behind lifted into the air by some force. He looked down and saw, to his horror, that Lexi was exercising her power for the first time to carry him.

"Sorry bro," she said to Lloyd, "but I have to do this just the once."

Lloyd grinned and Skales was lifted into the air, his tail dangling uselessly beneath him. "Have at it, Lex."

Lexi grinned, and without warning, dropped her hands with a sudden jerk. Skales plummeted back to earth, landing with a heavy crunch right on his tail. It crumpled beneath him and he moaned, falling sideways in pain.

Seeing that he was no longer a threat, Lloyd grabbed Lexi's arm and pulled her away. "Let's help them," he said, pointing to the water's edge, where Nya and Jay were desperately fighting off several Hypnobrai who were trying to force their way into the ocean. They were struggling to battle their enemies without looking them in the eye, as one wrong glance could place them under the Hypnobrai's unshakable control.

"Need a hand?" Lloyd called, attacking one from behind and sending him flying. "Happy to assist."

"It's good to have you back, Lloyd," Nya said gratefully as she stumbled back from where she'd been struggling to hold the snake at bay. As Lexi used her power to push the remaining two snakes into each other, Jay and Nya paused to catch their breath and fill the twins in on what had happened.

"One got through us," Jay said apologetically, "but they'll have to come up for air soon; they won't find the tomb easily by themselves."

Before anyone could respond to this, they were involved in the fight once again as several Constrictai came in, charging madly towards them like it was going to be that last thing they ever did. I certainly hope so, Lexi thought as she raised her hands and sent one flying, only to be forced back by two more who double-teamed her and began grabbing for her arms to try and rip them from their sockets.