Ninjago: Where Heroes Come From

Chapter Two: The Sensei

Lloyd lay in the back of his uncle's wagon, squinting against the glaring sun as he stared directly at it like the idiot he was. Above his head, steering the mule as it pulled them along, his uncle Wu sat, holding the reigns loosely in his lap. It was a peaceful, boring day, perfect, Wu said, for putting a team together.

"Remind me again where we're going," Lloyd said, shielding his eyes from the sun with one hand. "It's that village, right? It's... Jamonakai... or something like that-- right?"

"No," Wu replied, without taking his eyes off the road, "that's later. Right now, we are going to a mountain range."

"Oh, right," Lloyd said, dropping his hand onto his eyes and blocking the sun out entirely. "And this is for... the earth ninja?"

"Correct." The wagon hit a bump on the road and Lloyd bumped with it. He winced as his shoulder knocked against the side of the wagon, and he twisted his neck so that he was looking up at his uncle. "The earth ninja is a mountain climber, among other things. He must be the first to be chosen, for I feel that he will be the easiest to persuade."

"Persuade?" Lloyd sat up, spots of colour filling his vision and fogging his mind over. He really shouldn't have been lying down for so long. "Why wouldn't he come? Why wouldn't any of them?"

"Lloyd," Wu said carefully, "we've talked about this. Some people have power and don't wish to use it, while some, like you and I, feel obligated to use our gifts for the betterment of the world."

"You don't have powers, though," Lloyd pointed out. Wu bristled.

"Right," Lloyd said, looking down, "sorry." He cleared his throat. "So-- uh-- powers. Why wouldn't they join us? Shouldn't they be, I don't know... outcasts? Like I was at Darklies?"

"They may be," Wu said, "but the may not." He beckoned for Lloyd to come sit beside him, and his nephew clambered over the back of the seat to position himself next to his uncle. "You must remember, Lloyd, that you are the only elemental master of your age. The rest have already grown up, or are beginning too, at least." He tugged the reigns and the mule sped up. "These people who we will find... they may not be so eager to leave behind the lives they have made for themselves."

"Uncle, what if..." Lloyd peered up into the man's face, wondering, not for the first time, why he looked so old. "What if they don't want to come? What if they say no?"

Wu shrugged, and Lloyd recognized this as the signal for when he didn't want to talk anymore. He knew it all too well, he saw it all the time. Wu was the sort of man who didn't want to sit and discuss his feelings, or worry about what others thought of him, or be concerned with the problems of the future. It was the past that seemed to concern him the most, him and all the dusty books he kept, leafing through them when he thought Lloyd was looking the other way.

"What elements do they all have?" Lloyd asked instead, still not ready for the trip to fall silent. Wi sighed.

"Lloyd, I've told you a thousand times--"

"Well, I never listen, and when I do, I forget." Lloyd turned his body so that he was facing his uncle fully, his expression eager. Wu sighed again, but he didn't frown. This was a good sign. Wu only frowned when he was truly annoyed.

"The master of earth is first on our list," he said, "next we will go to collect the master of ice--"

"He's the robot, right?" Lloyd asked. Wu nodded.

"Yes, he's the robot. And then we have the master of lighting, living in the desert, and finally, Jamonakai village, where we will find the master of fire-- and, I believe, his sister."