Ninjago: Rise of the Snakes

Chapter 2: "Home"

Wu sat in his room, again, meditating. He was, yet again, interrupted by the Ninja making noises.
"My turn! Uh, it's turn!"
"Oh you want a little more? Take this!"
"Yeah?! How 'bout a little of this!"
"Monkey paw to the head!"
"Ninja roll!"
Wu got up and put a flute away. He then went to the video game room, expecting his students to be there. However, when he opened the door, he was surprised to see that his students weren't there.
"Dragon punch!"
Wu decided to go to the training compound, and was shocked to see that all of his students were there training. Jay was deflecting arrows with his Nun-Chucks. Cole was practicing on the dummies.
Kai was practicing his Spinjitzu; "Ninja go!" He yelled while doing so. Finally, Zane was meditating, with (Y/N) stretching next to him. Zane suddenly got up, startling (Y/N).
"W--whoa!" She cried, letting out an 'oof!' upon landing in the ground. Zane then, unintentionally, disturbed the other ninja. He jumped in front of Jay, causing him to loose focus. Then he stole Cole's Scythe to do the dummy test. Finally, Zane did Spinjitzu, which froze the entire training compound and caused kai to slip and fall. Kai, Cole, Jay, and (Y/N) regrouped.
      "This roof isn't big enough for the five of us." Kai said.
      " Correction: This roof isn't big enough for him." Cole commented, nodding his head toward Zane.
      "I will admit, he does seem to be in his own world, but should we really be talking bad about him like this?" (Y/N) questioned.
      "Oh please." Jay said, before raising his voice in an attempt to get Zane's attention. "I bet he can't even hear us!" He said. Wu walked over to the four disturbed ninja.
      "Sensei, Zane's... weird." Kai said.
      "What is weird? Someone who is different, or someone who is different than you?" Wu asked him.
      "Sensei, what kai means is... Zane's 'weird' weird." (Y/N) clarified.
      "We like the guy, he's really smart, he's just...." Kai sighed, "a little off sometimes."
      "Zane is a brother and brothers are often different." Wu told them. "I should know and so should (Y/N)." He muttered. (Y/N) heard this, however, and was confused. She was unable to ask him what he meant, though, because the bell rang, signifying that the mail was there.
      "Mail!" Kai, Cole, and Jay yelled, running to the front gate. The postman, panting from having to walk up the many steps leading to the Monastery, started looking through his mail basket.
      "Let's see. A letter from Jay's parents." Jay took his mail. "Kai has a fan letter." Kai took his mail. "Oh, something from Cole's father." Cole took his mail.
      "What? No package? I'm expecting something from Creatures, Beasts, and beyond." Cole exclaimed. The postman continued to go through his basket.
      "Hm. No. Nothing from.. uh-uh. Here it is!" He replied. Handing Cole a box. "Ha! Rocky's gonna love this!" He said excitedly, running to the dragon stables. As jay and Kai opened their mail, Zane was being comforted by (Y/N).
      "Hey Zane, (Y/N)? How come you two never hear anything from your parents?" Jay asked them. 
      "I don't remember my parents. I've been an orphan all my life." Zane answered.
      "Yeah, same here. My parents both disappeared when I was little. I hardly remember them. The only person I know to raise me, was Wu." (Y/N) said, sending a sad, grateful smile towards Wu.
      "So, you guys have never had a home?" Kai asked, making Zane shake his head sadly, and (Y/N) to look off to the side with sad eyes.
      "The Monastery if your home now." Wu said, in an attempt to cheer the two up. However, Zane and (Y/N) only walked sadly back into the Monastery.
------------------------------------------------------
      Cole had opened his dragon's stall, as well as his package. He took out some meat and showed it to his dragon.
      "Liver and Toads, Rocky, Your favorite!" He said, feeding the meat to his dragon. "Mh-hmm." He commented. Skales saw this through Cole's eyes and showed it to one of his fellow Hypnobrai soldiers named Rattela. 
      "I can't believe you hypnotized one of the ninja! Does the General know?" He asked.
      "Of course not! He's been put under the control of Lloyd. But I plan to use it for my best interest." Skales answered. As Rattela walked off, Slithraa approached Skales.
      "Everyone works while you two slack. As my second in command, I expect more from you Skales!" He said.
      "Yes General." Skales said. He then started to follow Slithraa, who began to leave. "General, you know I am most loyal to you, but I must question this childish agenda." He said, earning Slithraa's attention. "The ninja have stolen our staff, yet you instruct your army to make this... playhouse for Lloyd?" Skales questioned. "Snakes don't belong in trees." He informed. "You know better than to question my judgment Skales. I'll pretend you didn't ask." Slithraa warned.
      "HEY!" Lloyd yelled, gaining both snakes' attention. "If we plan to rule Ninjago from here, this place needs to have a trap door. I want more booby traps!" He ordered.
      "As you wish, Young Garmadon." Slithraa said, bowing to Lloyd. He then motioned for Skales to get back to work. Skales gave a displeased look.
      "As you wish... General." He said, walking away.
------------------------------------------------------
      The ninja all sat around their dinner table waiting for dinner.
      "Hm. Oh, I love it when it's Zane and (Y/N)'s night to cook." Jay said.
      "Hey! I didn't hear any complaints about my Duck Chowder last night." Cole said, a proud smile painted on his face.
      "That's because it glued our mouths shut. Do you really think Jay was speechless all throughout dinner?" Kai said, turning Cole's smile into a frown. Jay crossed his arms and glared at him. 
      "Yeah. Please don't make that again." He said. Zane and (Y/N)  walked into the room, Zane wearing a pink apron and holding some turkey, while (Y/N) held a stack of cupcakes.
      "Dinner is served." The said. However, instead of digging in, everyone but (Y/N) laughed at Zane.
      "What is so funny?" Zane asked his friends, clearly confused.
      "Zane! You're wearing a... even (Y/N) isn't wearing that!" Nya said through chuckles.
      "You laugh because I take steps to ensure I am clean after cooking?" Zane asked.
      "No! We laugh because you came out here wearing that ridiculous Outfit!" Kai said.
      "Kai!" (Y/N) snapped, smacking the back of his head.
      "I guess we do not share the same sense of humor." Zane replied. Cole scoffed.
      "Well, how about this?" He asked, smashing a plate of shrimp in Kai's face, making everyone but Zane laugh. "How could you not find that funny?" Cole asked. WU, who had gotten up with a bowl full of soup, made his way over to Cole and dumped the soup on him. This made the entire group, except Cole and Zane laugh.
      "Now you are brothers." Wu said, putting his arms around Cole and Zane. A food fight then erupted between everyone, but this still confused Zane.
------------------------------------------------------
      After dinner, (Y/N) was outside, training. She had been doing this a lot. Her reason was to take her mind off of her past. Well, what little she knew about it. She had been training well into the night, which showed by how much she was sweating.
      Wu, who was woken up by her training session, walked outside. When he saw her training, he sighed. He knew why she was doing this to herself, but he couldn't understand why she felt like this was the reason to do it.
      "You know, if you keep training like this, you may be to tired to find your true potential." He said, gaining (Y/N)'s attention. She glanced at him, before going back to training with the punching bag. Wu noticed how she ignored him. "Is something bothering you?" He asked her. This caused her to finally stop.
      "You said, that brothers are often different, and that I should know." She said, still facing away from him and looking at the ground. She finally looked at him. "Why should I know? Is there something you aren't telling me?" She asked. Wu was shocked, and paled when he realized that she had heard him.
      "W--well--I--I hadn't expected you to hear that." Wu stuttered. He really had though that only he had heard that. "Master. I come from an orphanage. With no memory of who I am, or who my parents were. If there is something you know about my past, shouldn't you tell me?" (Y/N) reasoned. "Haven't I earned that right?!" She said, voiced raised slightly. Wu sighed and walked up to the troubled girl. "I want you to know about you family and your past as much as you do. Believe me. But I also need you to trust me when I say that I have no idea where you come from. I'm sorry that you were confused by what you heard earlier, but what I'm telling you know is the truth." He replied, putting a hand on her shoulder. (Y/N)'s eyes shown with disappointment. She looked down at the ground, her hair hiding her eyes. "I'm sorry for fussing at you. I know that if you knew anything you would tell me. Thanks Sensei." She said. Without looking up, she headed inside the Monastery, going to her room. Wu sighed. "I'm sorry child. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't tell you." He said to himself, before heading to bed.
------------------------------------------------------
      The next day, the Ninja were all following Zane, who said he had found Lloyd and the Hypnobrai building a treehouse fortress. They had been running for quite sometime, and had began to doubt their friend.
      "Do you know where we are going?!" (Y/N) asked, as she ran next to Kai. 
      "I don't even think Zane knows where he is going." Kai answered as he noticed Zane stop to look at his surroundings. "Uh, tell us again how you 'stumbled' across Lloyd's secret headquarters." Kai said, once they had all caught up with Zane.
      "I followed a bird." Zane answered, as if the thought didn't sound weird at all. (Y/N) and Jay shared a look.
      "Why did you follow a bird?" (Y/N) asked, slightly concerned. "Because it danced." Zane said, answering her question.
      "Oh... okay. Was it a cuckoo bird?" Jay asked, mocking Zane. This made everyone but Zane and (Y/N) laugh. (Y/N) just rolled her eyes as a smile made it's way onto her face. 
      "Of course not. Everyone knows cuckoo birds are not indigenous to these forests." Zane said, before running off again. The ninja shared a confused face, before running after him. When they came across the fortress, they heard Lloyd shouting orders.
      "Watch it! No bigger! Come on, we don't have all day! It's not time for a lunch break!" They heard him yell. However, they were all in shock with there actually being a treehouse fortress.
      "Holy cannoli, Frosty was right!" Cole said in surprise.
      "We can't let that brat and those snakes get a foothold of Ninjago." Kai stated.
      "Kai's right. We gotta destroy that thing before it becomes operational." (Y/N) agreed. Jay gasped.
      "Whoa! Are you sure? It looks like a pretty cool treehouse! There's a ropes course... Ooh, a tree swing!" He protested, earning an eye roll from the yellow Ninja.
      "Hey!" Cole said, stopping Jay. "Remember who's team you're on!" He scolded.
      "Alright boys, what's the plan." (Y/N) asked her team.
      "It look like the entire place is supported by those three trees." Kai said, pointing to the three trees surrounding the fortress. "Once those ties are severed, the whole thing is gonna fall down like a house of cards." Kai said, his smirk hidden by his mask.
      "But why would one make a house of card? Such construction would be careless." Zane commented. 
      "Oh brother." Kai whispered.
      "Okay, when we get home, we are going to go over how metaphors work." (Y/N) said, patting Zane's back.
      "Travel in shadows boys." Cole said, earning a glare from the yellow ninja. The ninja all used different ways to get to the top of the treehouse. Kai severed a rope, which pulled him up to the top. Cole and (Y/N) hung onto the bottom of the elevator, while Zane and Jay climbed up a near by tree. When the five ninja where near Lloyd, they heard him talking.
      "It's almost finished. Soon, my fortress  will me complete." He chuckled. He then turned to a Hypnobrai soldier that was walking by. "You! Hold up that sign for me!" He said. The Soldier did as he was told and held up a sigh that said 'NO NINJA OR GIRLS'.  Lloyd then pulled a lever, which opened a trap door directly under the snake, causing him to fall. Lloyd ran to the opened trap door and yelled "Booby trap!"
      The ninja made it to the very top of the treehouse. Jay and Zane severed the first two ropes, causing the treehouse to stumble and send everyone flying to the ground. While looking for the reason why the treehouse stumbled, Lloyd spotted Kai at the top of the treehouse.
      "I said no ninja! Attack!" He ordered, but Skales ordered everyone to retreat instead. Kai turned to Cole and (Y/N) who stood by the final rope.
      "Cole! (Y/N)! Wait till we are off the treehouse, then cut the line!" He said, with Cole and (Y/N) nodding in agreement. Skales spotted them and pointed at Cole.
      "You!" He yelled, getting Cole's attention. "You will obey my every command!" He ordered, putting Cole under hypnosis.
      "I will obey your every command." Cole repeated, bowing to Skales. (Y/N) saw this and looked at him in confusion.
      "Cole...?" She said, as Cole advanced towards her. "You okay there buddy?" She asked nervously. Meanwhile, Zane and Jay jumped down next to Kai.
      "Where's Cole and (Y/N)?" Jay asked.
      "This whole place is coming down!" Kai said. Just then, (Y/N) was thrown in front of the boys. Cole jumped down in front of them shortly after.
      "No one goes anywhere, until you deal with me!" He said, under hypnosis.
      "He's been put under their control!" (Y/N) groaned, as Jay helped her up.
      "Yeah, well her better snap out of it quick because this whole place is about to go down!" Jay said.
------------------------------------------------------
      "Don't go! We have to protect my treehouse fortress." Lloyd begged, grabbing Skales' arm.
      "Your treehouse? It's about time we did this!" Skales said. "D-did what?" Lloyd asked. Skales then used one of Lloyd's trap doors to trap Lloyd in a cage. "Now to get the staff!" Skales said.
------------------------------------------------------
      Cole stilled had the ninja cornered. (Y/N) took a step towards him.
      "Come on. Friends don't hit friends." She said, but Cole ignored her and kicked Jay in the face.
      "Ow, Okay. I-I-I-I'm going to ignore that." Jay said.
      "What are we supposed to do? If I use my Sword, this place will go up faster than a tinderbox!" Kai said, avoiding some attacks from Cole.
      "Isn't the antivenin in the staff?" Zane asked.
      "Yeah, but the staff is back at the Monastery." Jay replied. Cole knocked Kai off the roof, but Zane managed to catch him. 
      "Jay! Use your lightning! try to shock him out of his trance!" (Y/N) said. Jay groaned.
      "Oh, sorry Cole. This is going to hurt you a lot more than it's going to hurt me!" Jay said, winding up his Nun-Chucks. He then shot a lightning ball at Cole, which knocked him back a little. However, instead of shocking him out of his trance, it only made him angrier. He grabbed Jay by his collar and threw him off the building.
      "JAY!" the remaining three ninja yelled as they watched their friend fall. Jay managed to grab a rope and swing back onto the treehouse, but his added wait made the treehouse collapse even more. "That is a serious safety hazard!" Jay commented. Cole ran up to the last rope and tried to sever it. (Y/N) saw this and jumped up in front of him. She grabbed his Scythe and tried to push him away.
"No, Cole! Don't"
"No! No Cole! No!"
      The ninja heard a flute being played, and the sound seemed to have pulled Cole out of his trance.
      "Huh? Where-where am I? What are we doing?" Cole asked confused. The ninja looked around and saw Nya and Wu flying on Kai's dragon,  with (Y/N)'s dragon close by.
      "We're getting out of here, because this whole place is coming down!" Nya said. The ninja, minus (Y/N), all jumped onto Kai's dragon. Before (Y/N) could leave though, the treehouse collapsed, and (Y/N) fell with it. 
      "NO!" The other's yelled. However, (Y/N)'s dragon, Ray, flew down and caught her.
      "Whew, Thanks bud." She said, petting Ray's head. The ninja sighed with relief to see their friend okay.
      "That flute!" Kai said, turning his attention to Wu.
      "It cancels their powers!" Jay exclaimed.
      "It's as old as the serpentine themselves." (Y/N) said, Ray flying next to Kai's dragon.
      " Yes, but we must hurry! The Monastery is unguarded! Quickly!" Wu informed.
------------------------------------------------------
       By the time the group got back to the Monastery, it had already been burned to the ground.
      "We're too late. Those snakes." Kai growled. Ray let out a desperate cry and flew (Y/N) to the dragon stables. (Y/N) gasped as she saw that the stables were on fire and the remaining dragons couldn't get out.
      "COLE!" She yelled. Cole looked in her direction and saw the situation.
      "Rocky!" He said. When Kai's dragon landed, he jumped down and ran to the stables, letting them out. Once the other dragons were free, Ray landed next to Kai's dragon, but (Y/N) didn't dismount. "Our home...." She said, tears pricking in the corners of her eyes. Zane turned to his dragon.
      "Shard! Put this out!" He said. His dragon then flew above the Monastery and used his ice to put out the flames. The ninja all looked at the burned remains of their once home in disbelief. "The training equipment... gone." Zane said.
      "Our video games, gone!" Jay said, clinging to Zane.
      "They stole their staff back." Wu realized. Kai picked up a small piece of burned wood. He looked at it with sorrow in his eyes, before that sorrow quickly became anger. He crushed the piece of wood before turning to Zane.
      "If you hadn't followed that silly bird, none of this would have happened." He yelled.
      "Kai...." Wu said, warningly.
      "No. Sensei, he's right." Jay argued, stomping over to Zane. "Because of you my high score has been deleted!" He fussed.
      "Guys...Stop...." (Y/N) muttered, looking down as tears started to flow.
      "This is a teaching moment. We must learn from this." Zane said, trying to reason with his friends. Cole, who had previously walked over to (Y/N) to comfort her, turned his head to Zane.
      "A teaching moment? What's wrong with you!? Don't you get it?! Everything is gone! (Y/N)'s home is gone!" He scolded, side hugging (Y/N) in a comforting manner.
      "Enough! We are all at fault. Zane is your brother. Apologize at once." Wu said. The guys' emotions changed to regret as they turned to look at their friend. They were about to apologize when they saw that Zane had flown away. Upon seeing this, (Y/N) turned to the guys. 
      "What's the matter with you guys?! You shouldn't have treated Zane like that. Yes we lost our home. But that is just a building. Something that can be easily restored. Relationships, however, cannot." She lectured, making the guys look at the ground in shame. "I'm going after him." She continued, mounting Ray. "You three need to learn where to place your values." She added, before giving Ray the signal to take off.
------------------------------------------------------
      After taking their staff back from the Monastery, Skales led the Hypnobrai back to their tomb, with Lloyd tied up.
      "Do something General." Lloyd muttered, turning to Slithraa. "You're still under my command, right?" He questioned. Slithraa thought for a moment before speaking up.
      "Enough! I am the general. You will return my staff to me at once!" He ordered.
      "No." Skales said, causing everyone to gasp. "You dare question my command?!" Slithraa asked. The Hypnobrai around them all began to chant the words 'Slither Pit'. This made Skales nod his head. "I guess we will have to fight for it. In... the Slither Pit!" He challenged. The Hypnobrai cheered at this notion. Skales gave the staff to Mezmo as he and Slithraa prepared for the Slither Pit.
      "You know the rules. There are none! but in the Slither Pit, whatever I say goes." Mezmo said, to which Skales and Slithraa nodded. "Alright, fight!" He continued. And with that, the fight commenced. It went on with both sides pretty evenly matched. While the fight went on, Lloyd spotted a map in some ice, and decided to try and get it without getting caught. "Two weapons!" Mezmo called out. A weapons rack was lowered into the arena and the two snakes grabbed their weapons. Slithraa took a pick-axe and a shield, while Skales picked two katanas. Slithraa threw his pick-axe at Skales, but Skales managed to dodge it. Noticing his opportunity, Lloyd managed to grab the map and hide it in his back pocket.
      "Go General! Go!" He cheered, trying not to look suspicious. The fight went on for a little while longer, but ultimately Skales came out victor.
      "We have a winner!" Mezmo said. He walked over to Skales and gave him the staff. Then, both snakes started to glow. Skales gained a tail and general markings, while Slithraa got legs and soldier markings.
      "You will be loyal to me now!" Skales said to Slithraa as the other Serpentine chanted his name.
      "I will do as you command." Slithraa said, accepting his defeat. Skales then pointed to Lloyd. "You! Leave and never return!" He ordered, causing Lloyd to gasp in response.
------------------------------------------------------
      The Ninja were all sitting under a make shift shelter with a fire, trying to gain their spirits.
      "Wh-what are we eating again?" Kai asked.
      "Mudnoot. Not bad for something that lives underground." Cole answered. Jay gave a disgusted look.
      "What?" He spit out the piece he was eating, and threw away his portion. He then threw a rock into an empty can. "Yeah! A new high s-sc-score!" He exclaimed, trying to be positive.
      "Remember, we must be thankful for what we still have." Wu said.
      "What do we have? Our home is gone." Cole replied.
      "You know, I don't miss our home. What I really miss are Zane and (Y/N)." Kai commented.
      "Yeah. I miss Zane and (Y/N)." Jay replied.
      "Zane? (Y/N)?" Nya asked, looking to the side.
      "Yeah, Zane and (Y/N). You know. White Ninja and Yellow Ninja. The smart, strange one, and bold, take charge one?" Jay replied.
      "No." Nya answered, before pointing to where she was looking. "Zane and (Y/N)!" She repeated. the Ninja looked and saw Zane walking towards them, while Ray landed next to him, (Y/N) on his back.
      "Zane! (Y/N)!" They all yelled, running to the two
      "Zane. We're so sorry for everything we've said. We're a team and that means we're all responsible." Jay said, sighing in relief.
      "You don't need to apologize to me." Zane replied.
      "But what about all those awful things we said? Isn't that why you left?" Kai asked, confused.
      "Of course not." Zane said.
      "Zane saw the Falcon again and he followed him." (Y/N) said, dismounting Ray.
      "That's our Zane." Cole said, wrapping an arm around (Y/N) while the others hugged Zane.
      "We're happy to have you both back." Nya said.
      "Why? Is it our turn to make dinner?" Zane asked. This made everyone laugh.
      "Yes, Zane. We would love for you and (Y/N) to make dinner." Wu replied.
      "But we already made it." Zane replied.
      "Come on, follow us. We want to show you what we've found. We both think you will be pleased." (Y/N) said as she and Zane started walking back the way they came. After sharing a confused glance, the rest of the group followed the two ninja. They had walked for a while, before Zane and (Y/N) stopped.
      "I can't explain it, but I feel a strange connection with the Falcon. I think he's trying to help show us the path we need to take." Zane said. The group went around a giant rock, where they finally saw the Bounty.
      "Guys, welcome to our new home." (Y/N) said, wrapping her arms around Jay and Kai's shoulders.
      "Do I smell pie?" Jay asked.
(Y/N) nodded. "You sure do. It's Cobbler berry." She replied.
      "Oh, and we made myrtle berry and apple and—" Zane was cut off as Kai, Jay, Cole, and Nya raced to the Bounty.
      "I'm proud of you, Zane. One day, I promise. We will find your family." Wu said.
      "But I've already found them." Zane said, giving (Y/N) a smile, which she returned.
      "I feel there's more to you than meets the eye. There's something special about you, Zane." Wu replied.
      "There sure is." (Y/N) said, punching Zane's shoulder.
      "Sensei, will I become the Green Ninja or Silver Ninja?" Zane asked.
      "It's too early to tell, but if it's in your path, you'll know. Come now. It would be a shame to let them to eat all that pie." Wu said as he, Zane, and (Y/N) made their way to the Bounty. As they are, they were all laughing, glad to have a place to stay. The group started another food fight. They were completely unaware that Lloyd, having been exiled by the Hypnobrai, was watching them before sighing and wandering off aimlessly by himself.