Flames of the Past #1: The Man in the Mist (Ninjago Fanfiction)

Chapter 21

Cole darted after the intruder, the same mustached man as before—only he was the real one. At least, he thought he was.

The Fire Crystal was in the intruder's hand. Cole strung an arrow and pointed it at the man, letting it fly a moment later. The man jerked to the side, avoiding the arrow. Cole quickly shot another, but his enemy turned a corner and got out of the way. Growling in frustration, the black ninja slung his bow over his shoulder and raced after him.

The man snickered to himself as he drew ahead. Then something suddenly appeared in the center of the hallway in front of him and, gasping, he skidded to a halt. He looked down to see a small, fluffy white kitten staring up at him. Tail twitching, it let out a loud mewl.

The man tilted his head curiously. But as Cole began to catch up, he tried to speed past the cat. With a yowl, the kitten lunged at the man. Grunting in alarm as she slashed her claws at him, the intruder wrestled with the cat for a while before throwing her off him. Before he could run again, Cole was holding him on the ground.

The cat let out multiple yowls as the two skirmished with each other. She stalked around them with tail lashing, hissing occasionally. A hiss too close to Cole's face startled him and the man kicked himself free, punching the ninja in the jaw. Cole grunted, jolting backward. "Get out of here, you stupid cat!" he growled as his enemy raced away again.

Kitty wrapped her tail over her paws, giving an innocent mewl.

Panting, Cole scrabbled to his feet and pelted after the intruder.

"He's going back to the party hall!" he said into his communication device.

"Why would he be doing that?" Kai wondered.

"He must have an accomplice in there," Zane concluded.

Cole burst through the doors, entering the banquet. He looked around until he found his enemy again and darted at him. Before he could get too far, Cole barreled into him from behind, knocking him to the floor. The Fire Crystal shot from his grip, rolling into the crowd of guests. Cole gasped, losing sight of it in the mess of boots and dresses.

But it rolled underneath someone's foot, and the person picked it up and stuffed it in his pocket.

"I lost the Crystal!" Cole gasped out, still struggling with the first intruder. He tried to hold his arms down like he had seen Lloyd do, but the man twisted and yanked himself out of the ninja's grasp. Cole was about to catch him again, but something distracted him. In the corner of his eye, he could see someone was watching him from the shadows of the room.

Miss Beech.

Gasping, Cole whipped around to face the old maid—but she was gone. What the— He glanced around wildly, but Miss Beech had disappeared. Was I imagining it? he wondered, bewildered.

He broke back into the present as his enemy raced past him. With a shake of his head, he ran after him.

Meanwhile, Jay and Nya were weaving through the crowd, searching everywhere for the Crystal.

"I can't find it anywhere!" Nya exclaimed.

"How can we lose it?" Jay breathed. "It's a huge, flaming gem!"

"That can only mean one thing," Zane broke in. "Someone else must've taken it. But no one left the room, so they must still be in the crowd."

"We can't search every single person here!" Nya protested. "We'll cause a panic!"

"But we don't have time to just stand here," Jay argued. "We can't give the intruders time to escape with the Crystal!"

Kai gasped as an idea hit him. "I need to get down there," he said suddenly. "I know what to do!"