Where The Road Takes Us (Discontinued)

Ch 2: Mishaps As Usual

It was by 1:30 that they had just reached the main highway that leads out of Ninjago City and towards the countryside. According to Zane, they would've reached it sixty minutes earlier if it weren't for a few mishaps along the way.

When everything had been ready and Wu had started screaming at them hysterically to get a move on (like uncle, like nephew), the Ninja practically ran a marathon out of the monastery and down the mountain steps at the bottom of which their car - a minivan- was parked.

Still a six feet away from the vehicle, Kai yelled "Shotgun!" to which no one objected since he was still angry at the outcome of the "fight to the death". It wasn't that he hated his sister. He just wanted to see her enjoying herself in a strict female company. Spending year after year running around with her brother and his friends with no other female team member was not the scenario he had in mind for her.

He had even heard some people pointing her out and saying that she ought to spend time with girls rather than boys which caused him to get angry but also made him think about it. He didn't want to mention it to Nya because he thought it would obviously hurt her feelings and she would be compelled to take Mulan-like actions. But all his insisting didn't work and the proof was Nya happily getting into the car.

She and Zane had claimed themselves as mentally mature than the rest of the team and, since Kai was riding shotgun and Cole was driving, they demanded that they be given the middle seats resulting in Jay and Lloyd (both the youngest and naive) being banished to the backseat with all the luggage.

Half way into the trip, Lloyd had noticed that the backseat was a little too comfortable even though it was supposed to be crammed with their luggage. That's when he realized the horror of the situation: they had left the bags back at the monastery.

Not ready to spend the rest of the road trip in the same clothes without his Starfarer comics and earplugs (First Spinjitzu Master knows his team can be loud), he had ordered Cole to turn around.

With both the Smith siblings yelling at them all for their irresponsibility (while keeping themselves out of the blame), they had sped back to the monastery. Zane and Cole had quietly made their way up the steps and, without alerting Master Wu, they had stealthily and successfully retrieved their bags from the front porch.

Trying to make up for the lost time, the Master of Earth had slammed his foot on the accelerator and was racing through the plains when a panicked yell from the backseat startled him. He had almost hit a nearby lorry carrying wood logs, the poor driver screaming his head off. Slamming on the brakes, Cole had turned around and demanded the reason of the noise which had almost cost them their lives.

It turned out that Jay had noticed that he wasn't wearing his shoes - a result of the hurried departure from the monastery - and decided to "inform" his team. Since none of the boys had an extra pair to lend him and they weren't sure that Nya's pumps would look good on him, they had no choice but to return home once more and this time get risked being yelled at by their master.
"How did you not notice you weren't wearing shoes?!" Kai had shouted at him on the way back.

By now it would be fair to say that Lloyd was having some difficulty being "chill". The way he was pulling at his blonde locks was enough to assure anyone that they were going to come off if Nya hadn't helped him relax.

After Zane had made sure that all the bags were in the vehicle and everyone had their feet covered, Cole practically flew the car through the city like a madman at breakneck speed. The car rocked, jerked, swayed and jumped as he navigated it through the traffic and out of the city.

They stopped just as they reached the highway so that Kai could get out and ease his queasy stomach. Now they all waited in the car, recovering from the speed rush while the Master of Fire puked a few feet away from them.

"I shouldn't have eaten that leftover quesadilla for breakfast," he mumbled quickly before he gagged and threw up again. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before adding, "I shouldn't have drunk that chocolate milkshake either."

He straightened his red and maroon jumper and ran his fingers through his styled hair as he made his way back to the car. As soon as he got inside he was met with many "are you okay's" and "how do you feel's" which he ignored. He flopped down onto the seat next to Cole and let his head fall back against the leather, closing his eyes.

There was silence in the car until Cole cleared his throat and gripped the steering wheel. "Should we go on-"

He was cut off as Kai held up a hand to shush him. Cole looked back at the impatient Lloyd and shook his head warningly. The Green Ninja huffed and looked out the right triangular window, folding his arms.

Silence reigned for a few more seconds before Kai reopened his eyes and let out a whoosh of air. "Remind me why I agreed to go on a trip with all you annoyingly forgetful baboons?" He asked with sarcastic "politeness".

His sister smirked as she replied, "Because you love us all so much. And even Zane can't whip up facts to deny it." Zane smiled as he exchanged a glance with the water elemental who winked in return. Everyone beamed and snickered as Kai tried unsuccessfully to hide his smile.

Cole playfully punched him on the arm. "See, you're smiling," he observed as Kai slugged him back, laughing.

Lloyd leaned forward on Nya's seat. "Now that everyone is happy, can we please continue our road trip?"

"Fine," came the Fire Master's reply.

Lloyd smiled thankfully and yelled at Cole, "Step on it!"

Cole twisted the ignition key and started the engine as the rest strapped their seatbelts. "Aye aye, Master Lloyd!"

"Ninja Go!" Everyone yelled enthusiastically as the minivan sped down the highway.

"Wait a minute! I forgot my toothbrush!" the Master of Lightning screamed.

"JAY!"

"Zane, whip up a denial fact! I hate all of you!"

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