• 𝓓𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓷𝔂 • {𝐍𝐢𝐧𝐣𝐚𝐠𝐨}

•S1 E1: Rise of the Snakes (I)•

    Sensei Wu felt that breathing exercises were the pinnacles upon which the day depended. A calming process of something so simple, you could do it easy as—well. But doing so also sparked something else for the thoughtful, for the wise. A vision gradually faded in from the fog, just in arm's reach. Wu stretched out—

    'Fire strike! Oh my gosh, is that the greatest move you've ever seen!?'

    The vision tingled around the edges, snipping in and out of mind. In, out, one more time. Sensei Wu could see it now, deep emerald and smouldering grey—

    'Stop trying to do it yourself. We need to attack as a team!'

    The vision startled, arced backwards into the smoke of nothingness. In its place came sounds of combat, metal on wood on metal. For a brief moment, hope told Sensei Wu that his students were training again.

    He slid apart the rice partitions to the training grounds, and mild disappointment was quick to douse it. The weapons lay untouched, the obstacles accumulating dust. His students were nowhere in sight.

    Another cry of outrage quickly met with a snappish response. Wu turned his gaze farther to the room with lights radiating from the interior, his brows falling. Ah.

    None of his pupils even noticed when he slid the dividers wide open, too invested in their video game. Pizza boxes lay askew on the floor, some resting near weapons glowing a soft, luminous gold. The distraction came from a TV screen, alight with colours and flashing pixels.

    His students still bore their guises of red, black, white, and blue—though all they were disciplining were their fingers and thumbs.

    Sensei Wu rubbed his temples, not bothering to be silent as he walked behind the men. No reaction, not even the slightest tense of their muscles. He sighed. None of them even flinched.

    What had happened to the ninja that defeated the dark lord?

    'OK!' The one clad in black exclaimed, punching the controller's buttons hard. 'Now!'

    Small pixels descended on a lump of colour and—the screen cut out.

    The ninja erupted into complaints and cries of anguish as they finally noticed Wu, waving the unplugged cord in front of them.

    Over their whining, Wu said firmly, 'Just because Lord Garmadon escaped through a cortex doesn't mean he won't return one day for the Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu!'

    'But Sensei Wu, ever since he's been gone, Ninjago has had nothing but peace,' Zane argued, snowy fabric shifting as he soundlessly rolled his head.

    'And peace is boring,' Jay yawned, stretching the sleeves of his cerulean gi. 'Can you blame us for having some off time? Peace means there's no one to save. There's nothing to do.'

    'We can train tomorrow,' Cole said, arms behind his head as he sprawled out on the floor.

    A sharp look almost roused him to action, Wu's eyes glinting with ancient fury. 'Never put off until tomorrow what can today.'

    Recovering quickly, Cole cleared his throat and lifted a slice of pizza with a slightly uneven smile. 'Well, I was gonna eat this pizza tomorrow—'

    Wu didn't even spare him a moment to smell the slice, sending the pizza flying out of the room with a single swift kick. Cole stared after it despondently, hands lingering in the air for a split moment more before finally dropping with a sigh.

    'To reach your full potential,' Sensei Wu stated, face radiating disapproval so potently the ninja couldn't help but recoil, 'you must train!'

    A flash of crimson as Kai waved his hand loftily through the air. 'Uh, remember when we did a little thing—you know, just the Tornado of Creation?' He flexed an arm, a lopsided smirk turning his lips. 'I thought that was pretty insane.'