The Lost And The Found

The Training Begins

Early morning, 9 AM. Zane, Cole, Kai, Jay, and Axel are all out on the deck of the bounty. Zane, Cole, and Jay are all sitting on the steps watching Kai as he trains Axel how to fight. Kai had little oven mitts covering his hands "Alright Axel, try to punch me."

Axel gulped but nodded, taking a swing
   
Paff
   
His face turned a bit pink at the tiny noise the mitts had made
   
"C'mon Axel, I know you're stronger than this! Hit me! Harder!"
   
Axel looked up at him and nodded "Haiya!" he yelled taking another swing and hitting Kai's hand. Kai moved his hand back a bit "Good job kid! Now keep hitting me like that."
   
A smile grew on his face, continuing to punch the mitts as he did before, though not very quick

Cole watched eagerly, thinking to himself.

Jay leaned over "What do you think Axel's elemental is?" he whispered
   
Zane turned to face the two behind him "I don't know, it is hard to tell right now. I have been searching for other people in Ninjago's past who might have had the same purple eyes as he has but... there is nothing in the files"

"If he has an element there's bound to be an elemental master from the serpentine wars who had what he has," Cole said, "did you look at those?"
   
Zane nods "I did. It was the first thing I looked through." Zane pauses, looking away from them and then back to the elemental's sitting in front of him "I did find a missing file. Someone with the name of... Absinthe Conager, the master of hypnosis. I could only find one article about her though."

Jay leans forward "What'd it say..?"

Zane looks from Jay to Cole, then down to his hands "Well... Years ago it was said she had run away from the serpentine war with her daughter Blair Conager and was never to be seen again. No one knows where Absinthe or Blair are to this day, but some say she still lives in Ninjago city."

Jay and Cole are Silent, their eyes wide

Zane looked between the two "Too much?" He asked. Suddenly, he was hit in the back with an oven mitt. Zane jumped, whipping around to see Axel with an extended arm that had hit Kai's arm off to the side. Kai had gone in for a punch to show Axel what it's like for someone to fight back. Axel's reflexes kicked in and caused him to hit Kai's arm off to the side, making the mitt fly off.

Axel retracted his arm, staring at Kai's surprised face "I-i'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Kai smiled "No, that was great! Was that a reflex?"

Axel nodded

Kai's smile became wider "That's a great reflex to have! But there is more to fighting than punching. Let's get back to working on your strength." He pats Axel on the back, then calls over to Zane "Hey Zane, could you toss me the mitt?"

Zane sighs, picking the oven mitt up and throwing it over. Kai catches it and puts it on, proceeding to go back to training with Axel. The trainee's punches began to get faster and somewhat stronger
   
Jay looks back to Zane as the nindroid turns back to him and Cole. All three are silent until Jay speaks, "So do you know anything else about this elemental master?"
   
Zane shakes his head "We'd have to ask Wu about it."
   
Cole looks down, thinking. "We could ask him tonight after Axel goes to bed."
   
"No," Zane responds "If we do that there is no knowing if he'll sneak out of bed and listen. I say you two stay here while I go ask Wu. Since Axel is busy he won't wonder where I went."
 
"Sounds like a solid idea. Better than dirt brain here." Jay gestured to Cole
   
Cole gave him a glare, then huffed "Fine."
   
Zane nods, walking into the bounty. Once inside again he finds where Wu is and takes a deep breath, then walks in. "Sensei," he spoke softly, keeping his voice down "May I talk to you?"
   
Wu looks up and nods "Sit down while you're here."
   
Zane sits down in front of him "Did you know anyone by the name of Absinthe during the serpentine war?"
   
"Ah yes. Yes, I did."
   
Zane looks down "Did she have purple eyes?"
   
"Indeed... Zane, where are you going with this?" Wu asks, his voice getting stern
   
"... Axel has purple eyes. In my files, it says she was the master of hypnosis. She had a daughter, Blair. I came here to ask if you knew anything about this."
   
Wu stares at Zane for a while then sighs "I do know more about those two. But it's nothing Axel should know... Zane, promise me you won't tell anyone about this. Not even the ninja."
   
Zane nods "This will not exit the room."
   
The wise sensei looks down "...During the serpentine war, Absinthe had run off with her daughter and hadn't been seen again until the war was over. She had turned herself evil and was planning on turning her daughter evil too. The only problem was that she was old by now and couldn't do much. After Absinthe had passed, Blair was at her funeral but after it... She was never to be seen again. Blair had obtained the power of hypnosis from her mother and... I'm afraid."
   
"Afraid of..?" Zane leaned close, eager to know
   
"I'm afraid that... If Axel has purple eyes and he's only 10... Blair is still out there."
   
Zane nods "I understand. Thank you for talking with me," He stood up "I will leave now.
   
"Zane, before you go," Wu said, standing up as well "You must be cautious while in the city. Blair could be anywhere,"
   
"I will be," Zane responded, leaving the room and back to the deck.

   
The nindroid sits down where he was before, turning to face Jay and Cole "Master Wu did not know anything else on Absinthe and Blair."
   
Cole tilts his head "Why did you take so long then?"
   
"Nya had me help her choose where to put some boxes."
   
"Oh," Cole sighed, looking back at Kai and Axel "I was excited to learn something new about Axel."
   
Jay looks forward "Me too."
   
Zane only nods, looking at the two training. Since he learned the new information he had been put on edge.

   
Axel had been getting faster at punching, Kai giving him the occasional "Yeah!" and "You're getting the hang of it!"
   
Axel suddenly winded up really far back and swung, almost knocking Kai off his feet. Kai squeaked, just bearly keeping himself up. "Woah, Axel! Good job kiddo!" Kai said while taking the oven mitts off.
   
Axel smiled, rubbing the back of his head "Aw, thanks."
   
Cole perked up "You think it's punching bag time?"
   
The fire ninja nodded "Yep. Zane, would you like to do the honors?"
   
"With pleasure," Zane said jokingly, pulling a lever. Suddenly 3 sets of training equipment came out of the floor.

Axel stared at everything with wide eyes "Woah... These things are a lot bigger than I expected."
   
Cole chuckles, walking over to one of the punching bags "Alright, c'mere Axel"
   
Axel looked around one more time, then running over to Cole. Cole got behind the punching bag "Alright, do the same thing you did with Kai!"
   
"Wait- what if I knock the bag into you?"
   
Cole shrugged. "I'll be alright. If it helps-" He moves out from behind it, now only next to it "There."
   
Axel smiles "Thank you. Now let's do this!" Axel said confidentially. He winded up his arm again and swung, hitting the punching bag harder than he did to Kai.

Cole stood there, amazed. "You're one quick learner. Quicker than Lloyd was!"
   
Lloyd, from inside, called out. "I can hear you, y'know!"
   
Cole laughed "Alright, keep punching at it." He walks next to Axel
   
Axel nods, now punching the bean bag by winding up his arm, slowly getting faster and faster at it.
   
Wu walks onto the deck with Lloyd and Nya, now watching Axel. Wu looked to Zane who was next to him, then back over to Axel "I see that training is going well." He whispered
   
Zane nodded "He's quick. We're starting on basic fighting skills right now, soon we will teach him how to kick."
   
"When will you teach him how to use a sword?"
   
Zane paused "..Later. When he's older. At least 13."
   
Wu nods "And about his element?"
   
"Once I can fully identify it, we will start teaching him how to control his power. For now, we keep it basic."
   
Wu nods again "I look forward to knowing what his power is."

—Later.....after training—

Cole stepped inside with Axel. "That was great! Usually it takes trainees two weeks to get a hand of punching. That took less than a day! I'm proud of you Axel."

The 10 year old smiled "I guess I'm a fast learner then"

"Yes, you are!" Cole pat Axel's back, sitting on the couch.

Nya shook her head and smiled, going to the closet to find some fans if they had any.

This time, Zane sat on the recliner, Kai was on the opposite side of Cole, and Jay, Lloyd, and Wu were sitting on the floor. Axel was in between Cole and Kai

Nya came back with one fan. She sets it up in front of the hallway, turning it on and letting it turn left to right. She sat down on the floor by Kai.

Axel looked around "So what am I being taught tomorrow?"

Kai raised an eyebrow at him "Slow down little rabbit, you're gonna hurt yourself."

Axel giggled "Sorry. This is just so exciting!"

Kai's smile returns "I can tell."

Zane chuckles, responding to Axel's question "Well tomorrow we're teaching you how to kick without falling over."
   
"Oooh, sounds fun!" Axel claps

"You're very cheerful today." Cole chuckles, rubbing his head

Axel shrugs "Better than how I was yesterday."

Cole nods "I agree. Well, Zane, dinner time?"

Zane stands up "I will get to it."