Roots of Earth ~ A Ninjago Fanfiction

Chapter 26: Rescue Mission

"Why?" Nya asked.

"Because allying with humans is betrayal!" he snapped. "I'm risking my position in my clan, my reputation, my honor, and both my sisters's dignities by making a mouse-brained deal with you!"

Nya arched her eyebrows in interest. "You have sisters?"

Talon growled impatiently. "This is not the time to play student-asks-mentor! Look: the boat carrying your friend and probably half a dozen of my tribe-mates will probably be here any moment, so what we need to do is stay down and stay quiet!

"See." At this he gestured to a wide river flowing in from between two cliffsides, which came in on the left of the group several hundred yards away. "That strait there is what we call the goose's neck, and it will be there the ship comes from.

"What we need to do is climb up to this cliff," He pointed up at crag hanging away from the side of the mountain and over the river. "—And wait for the ship. When it comes just beneath us, we'll hop down and take action. We knock out a few of my buddies, get Jay the Lightning Bug—it's an in-and-out job, attack-and-run, then we're out of here."

"Hold on." Cole looked at Talon suspiciously. "You don't mean to tell us you're going to help us defeat your kitty-friends and rescue Jay, do you?"

Talon's eyes narrowed. "To keep an eye on you. Whatever the deal may be, I won't stand by and watch my tribe-mates be killed."

"What do you think we are? Gangsters?" Nya sputtered indignantly. "We're ninja! We never kill, and we always show mercy to a defeated enemy!"

"Do you, now?" Talon smirked. "No wonder there are so few of you left."

Outraged, Nya opened her mouth to retort, but Zane interjected hastily. "Will your tribe-mates not recognize you, Talon? Surely if they see you fighting alongside us they will later report to their leader."

"I'll transform into the shape of a human who, eh... is no longer with us."

Talon's body and features begin to change. His shaggy hair drew back into his head and faded to a chocolate-brown color. His eyes switched from green to gray. His skin tone lightened to a paler color. He shrunk a couple of inches shorter, and his biceps and chest seemed to shrink.

The faint hint of baby fat in his cheeks suggested he was in the form of a younger man, perhaps a year or two younger than Jay's age. A small white scar etched itself across one cheek, the only stain on the youth's handsome face. He still wore the animal skins, which now looked too big on him.

Cole stared uneasily at the new figure standing before him. "Dare I ask how you got that... body...?"

"Some things you'd rather not know, Son of Earth." The boy smirked. "While I'm in this body, call me Randy."

"OK, 'Randy'," Matilda said. She was standing away from the path and on a boulder, looking over the strait. "You might want to look at this."

Everyone else joined Matilda and peered down the river. Cole crawled up beside Talon—or, 'Randy'—and saw an old-fashioned fishing boat drifting down the water. It was a shabby, sordid craft, bearing worn ropes, tattered sails, and peeling paint. A few human figures in animal skins like Talon's wandered idly on deck, murmuring unintelligibly to one another. One man steered the helm while two others messed around with the sails, trying to set the tattered rags into place.

"I believe now is a good time for you to try out your new uniforms," Wu murmured.

Cole, Zane, and Nya edged back from the crag and rummaged quickly through the straw packs. It didn't take long for them to switch outfits, from rice farmers to ninja, and even Talon changed clothes. When asked why he explained that his tribe-mates might recognize his regular adornments, plus the other clothing would mask his scent.