The Titanium Ninja

Return to the Team: Part Two

Lloyd stepped outside of the recording studio, feeling defeated from not being able to convince Jay to rejoin the team. He glanced up and saw that Nya had moved the van, probably to outrun the security guard. He felt his phone buzz, a text message from her popped up: Moved van, parked in front of Zane's statue.

He sighed, tucked his phone into his pocket, and started to walk to the statue. As he was walking past several businesses, he heard loud, excited cheering coming from one of the buildings. Curious, he followed the cheers and found an underground Slither Pit, a fight had seemingly just concluded the moment before.

The Slither Pit was a large red and gold room with two floors and a massive stained glass window, the second floor was a balcony overlooking a ring. A bar was tucked in the back of the first floor, a few men were chattering and drinking while the rest were waiting for the next fight. Lloyd watched from the sidelines as the announcer, a Hypnobrai snake, stepped into the ring, riling up the crowd.

"Who's ready for the champion to take on a new competitor?" Everyone screamed and pounded on the nearest surface, a young man stepped into the ring as the snake said, "In this corner we have the challenger! In the opposite corner, we have the champion! Welcome, once again, the Flaming Shogun!"

A man in a red and gold suit stepped into the ring; he wore a red mask, a gold belt, black sleeves with flames on them, a red jumpsuit and...familiar spiked brown hair.

Lloyd's eyes widened in surprise as the Flaming Shogun created a fiery spinjitzu tornado, knocking out the challenger in three seconds flat. It's Kai! He'd found him! Kai's tornado dissipated, revealing the Ninja of Fire looking down at the challenger in disappointment. Lloyd wanted to run towards him but his phone started buzzing. Nya was texting him, asking him where he was. He glanced at Kai one last time before rushing out of the Slither Pit.

***

Lloyd sped through the gravel roads of the Forest of Tranquility on his green motorcycle, the wind whipping through his blond hair. He could hear the sounds of chainsaws and large machines growing louder the closer he got, eventually he skidded to a stop in front of the lumberjack worksite. He scanned the numerous workers, searching for the familiar face that belonged to the Ninja of Earth, then he found him...in a tree? The motorcycle disappeared in a flash of light as he dismounted, Lloyd snuck through the camp and scrambled up the tree beside Cole's.

Said ninja was chopping a tree branch with an axe; he wore a brown beanie that smushed his black hair, an open brown jacket with the sleeves ripped off, and black pants, gloves and boots. His dark skin glistened with sweat as he finished off the branch, he panted softly and wiped his brow as Lloyd leapt onto his tree.

"Hey Cole," he called, startling the earth ninja.

"Lloyd! What are you doing here?" Cole cried. "It's dangerous for you to be here!"

"I'm a ninja, I think I can handle this place. But what are you doing here?"

"Well, no one knows me here," Cole said, glancing down at the lumberjacks meandering about. "I can work and not worry about paparazzi interrupting me, that I can work in peace...that I can start over."

"But you're the Ninja of Earth, Cole!" Lloyd cried. "You shouldn't be in a tree, your feet should be on the ground!"

He sighed, "Lloyd, I'm tired of being a ninja. I'm tired of fighting. I'm sick of battles, of Serpentine and Nindroid warriors, of worrying about the possibility of dying in battle. After Zane...after he...I had to leave, I saw him everywhere and it was driving me crazy. I started eating to drive away the pain, I ate way too much...I still am. Working here helps me keep my mind off of everything, and to keep my weight down. I enjoy working here, I've met new people and learned so much more."

"But what about the team?"

"If you're asking me to come back, I can't. This is my life now," he said.

Lloyd sighed and pulled out a flier, he handed it to Cole and said, "If you change your mind, you'll know where I'll be." Using spinjitzu, he descended from the treetop and disappeared into the forest, leaving Cole to his work. Cole looked at the flier and sighed, he tucked it into his pants pocket and moved further up the tree, determined to get back to work.  

Part Three will come out soon, it's my personal favorite.