"We got here at the exact same time!" Kai exclaims as the seven of us dismount our elemental dragons.
"Oh, darn!" says Cole. "Now how do we decide who gets to fight?"
While the monkeys debate, I take a moment to size up the scene. All the windows in Borg's store have shattered, and inside is an orange snake warrior. But there's someone else in there with the creature. Someone clad in brown.
"Is that Dareth?" asks Kai, also noticing our clumsy friend. "Maybe he'll--"
Kai is cut off by Dareth's scream as he's catapulted towards us. He lands hard on his butt, skidding to a stop at our feet. "Sup? I roughed hum up for you, but feel free to finish the guy off."
"Hey, Zane," says Kai. "You still have those dice?"
"I have virtual ones." His eyes flash a brighter blue as his computers work. Pixal's voice announces the results: "Kai."
"Yeah! Haha!" my lover cheers.
"Wait! Aren't you gonna draw your sword?" says Nya as he struts towards the snake.
"I'm good, sis," says Kai. He approaches his enemy and crosses his arms. Okay, I don't wanna brag, but the other day I helped stop, like, an Elemental Master of Time, so I think I can handle on lousy sna--"
Kai is launched back towards us. I use my energy to slow his fall, but the force of the beast's punch still knocked the wind out of him.
"Who's next?"
"Zane," says Pixal.
"Aw, come on," Lloyd groans. "That was totally rigged! We didn't even see the roll!"
Zane charges into battle, but is soon sent flying back to us with a hard thud.
"You guys got this?" says Dareth as he slowly backs away from the situation. "Good." Then he runs.
"Hang on, guys," says Cole. "There's something I've been wanting to try again." His arms start to glow orange.
"Oh, what, that earth-punch thing?" says Jay, rolling his eyes. "Like that worked so well last time."
"No problem," says Cole, charging towards the snake. He jumps into the air, twisting his body to put as much force into the punch as he can. His fist collides with the snake warrior and it explodes into many tiny orange snakes.
"Woah."
"Gross."
"You--you totally disintegrated him!" Jay cries.
"I-it was an accident," Cole exclaims, looking between his fists.
"Look!" says Nya. The snakes are slithering back towards the pieces of armor, piling up onto each other, rebuilding the warrior.
"Ew! Grosser!" wails Jay.
"Come on, team," I say, clapping my hands to gather their attentions. "We've done this before. There's more than one way to stop a snake."
On my mark, we all spinjitzu at the beast. The force of our mini tornados scatters the snakes once again, but they still slither back together.
"I'm starting to think we might have underestimated this guy," says Kai.
"It certainly appears so."
"You said there was more than one way to stop a snake!" Jay yells, grabbing me by the shoulders and shaking my entire body. "Which way do you wanna try now?"
I shove him away with a glare. "Um, any of them?" But the snake monster doesn't seem interested in us anymore. It turns on its heals and heads back into the store.
"It must be after Cyrus Borg!" says Lloyd.
"Follow it!"
The snake monster has cornered Borg. Cole quickly jumps into action, shielding the inventor.
"Okay, big guy, that is as far as you go!"
The snake pays him no mind and tosses him aside. Two more snake warriors fall from the broken skylight, blocking us at the entrance.
"Zane, get Borg out of here," I say, summoning dark balls of energy to my fists. "We'll deal with the samurai."
"But you'll need my battle skills," he argues.
"Zane. My creator needs you too," Pixal says. Zane jumps into action.
The rest of us keep the snakes busy. Six versus three: two people per snake. Jay and Nya take on one, Cole and Kai take on, and Lloyd and I fight the third. He swings his sword, slicing a few snakes in the stomach, but the beast recovers quick. I throw a ball of energy at it and it explodes. But theses snakes are resilient and slither back together not a moment later.
The battle leads us outside. The snake warriors are attempting to follow Zane; we've got to keep them away.
"Guys! I know how to stop these things!" exclaims Jay. "We gotta keep the snakes from getting back into the armor and reforming!"
"No kidding," Cole growls as he punches a Samurai straight in the face, sending the snakes flying apart. "Any idea how?"
"Nya, use your Water power!"
Nya sprays the remaining snakes as well as the ones Cole just destroyed, but the snakes still slither frantically for the armor.
"No good," says Kai. "Those snakes can swim."
"Not in this pool," Jay says with a laugh. He charges the water using his lightning, shocking the slithery fiends, forcing them to scatter. "Look, guys. Electric eels!"
"Guys, it's working!" says Lloyd.
"And I thought unpacking was tiring," says Jay, relinquishing his power and slumping his shoulders.
"Nice job," I say, patting him on the back. "They're gone."
"For now," says Kai. "But I wonder, who were they?"
"Good question," says Lloyd. "Zane can you analyze?" Silence. "Oh, right, he's with Cyrus Borg. Come on. Let's go get them."
The six of us walk to the ally Zane took Borg down. It's quite a dark street. The buildings effectively block the sun when, especially now that it's almost sunset. Zane and Borg are nowhere to be found.
"Zane?"
"It's safe!" shouts Cole. "You can come out now. Mr Borg?"
"Zane?"
"Hey," says Cole, bending down and picking up a cracked watch. "Cyrus Borg's BorgWatch, but no Cyrus Borg."
What I see up ahead chills me to the bone. Jay spots it too. "Zane!"
"Oh, no," Cole says so quiet that I almost don't hear.
"No, Zane," Nya cries, squatting down beside him.
I blink away the tears that well up in my eyes. "C'mon, guys. We gotta get him back home."
~
"I fear I am not well," says Uncle Wu as my mother pours him another cup of tea. "During my battle with Acronix, he hit me with the time blade."
I sit back in my chair, heaving a sigh. "And the effects it's having?"
"I am not certain. I just know that I am feeling slower, weaker. My brain is becoming foggier, which is why I am telling you this now. I believe this Time-Punch has caused me to age rapidly. If I am correct and we cannot find a cure, I fear I may not be with you much longer."
"No, Uncle, don't say that." I cannot bare to look him in the eye. I lost my father, temporarily lost my brother, was separated from Kai for a while, I cannot lose him now too.
"Tasha," Uncle Wu says, grasping my hand in his. "You are a Sensei. You have been a Sensei for many months now. This is the moment I have been preparing you for, and while I did not expect it to come so soon, I know you are ready. It will be your job to instruct the ninja. It will be your job to finish Lloyd's sensei training. And it will be up to you to watch over ninjago and make sure the balance is intact."
"I understand, Uncle," I say, bowing my head. "But please don't give up hope yet. My mother is working very hard preparing your teas. And with Zane down, I don't think the team could stand another stab at their moral."
"I am not giving up," he snaps, squinting his eyes. "I am just warning you, preparing you, for what might happen."
I nod once more, and that is the end of that conversation.
"Speaking of Zane," Uncle continues. "Has Nya had any luck rebooting him?"
"Unfortunately not. She's growing quite frustrated with it. She says she doesn't have the right skills or equipment."
"Ah, well, tell her to take a break. Sometimes stepping away from a situation and then returning later can bring about new ideas and perspectives that may just solve the problem."
"I think she is," I say. "She mentioned checking on what the boys were doing."
"And what are they doing?'
As if on cue, their heavy footsteps and obnoxious arguing draws towards the door. Wu hides his tea under the covers, sits back into the pillow and closes his eyes. I quirk an eyebrow, but before I can ask, the boys and Nya barge in.
"Master Wu," says Kai, setting the Snake Samurai's helmet on Wu's lap as he groggily sits up to greet them. I have to hold back an eyeroll. "This helmet. I feel like we've seen it before. Can you tell us anything?"
Wu picks up the helmet and flips it over in his hands. "Curious. Time . . ."
"Time?"
"Time waits . . ."
"Time waits . . ." Nya echoes.
"Time waits for no . . ." and then Uncle Wu collapses against the pillow, supposedly asleep.
"Uh," says Kai, picking the helmet back up. "Master?"
Wu jumps up, as if he's just woken from a nightmare. "Did someone mention lunch?"
"No, Master," says Lloyd, a hint of sadness in his voice. "No on mentioned lunch."
"Then why did you wake me?" Wu lays back down and shuts his eyes.
"I'll watch over him," I say, patting my brother's shoulder. The five of them slowly retreat, shoulders slumped and eyes downcast.
As soon as they're gone, Uncle Wu sits back up.
"Why are you being weird to them?" I ask.
He sighs, reaching under the covers to retrieve his tea. He takes a long sip. "Just as I prepared you for my potential passing by telling you in the most straightforward way, I am preparing them by emphasizing my deterioration. If they can guess it's a possibility, it may not sting as bad."
I nod, blinking away the tears.
~
"I think Uncle Wu might be dying," says Lloyd in a voice so quiet I almost didn't hear him.
I glance up at him. He is sitting across from me on the couch, and Lily is sitting in the chair by the fire place. The three of us and mom were left behind to be with Wu while Nya, Jay, and Cole went to the Samurai X cave to try to reboot Zane, and Kai went to the museum to find more clues about the snake warrior's identities.
"What makes you say that?"
"Oh, come on, Tash," Lloyd says. There's an edge in his tone. It surprises me. "I know you see it too. He isn't himself. He's growing so weak, and he seems to be losing his wits."
I look down at my hands, guilt building in my stomach.
"She knows something," says Lily. "She's doing the guilty look-at-your-hands thing that we do."
"What?" I say, shooting her a glare. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Tash," says Lloyd. "Don't lie. Do you know something?"
A sensei sometimes must keep certain information to themselves. said Dad during one of our first lessons many years ago. Only share your knowledge when you know the time is right.
"No."
~
Hey guys! Happy second to last day of 2022!! Told you I'd get one chapter done before new years. :D But in all seriousness, I was struggling with some mental health issues and I'm slowly starting to get better. I can't make any promises on when future chapter will come out, but imma do my best to hopefully finish this book by the end of 2023. I'm super excited for this story's end and I hope you guys are too. Until next time!
Word Count: 1979