I stood knee-deep in a rice paddy, watching, listening. The cool water was a welcome relief from the blistering sun of another summer day in the rice farms outside Ninjago City. I glanced a few yards off where Kai, Jay, and Lloyd were also waiting, rice hats pulled low to conceal their faces. We had been given an anonymous tip that a crime ring would be meeting to smuggle materials in one of the villages surrounding Ninjago City. After doing some digging, we had managed to narrow down an approximate time and place that the smuggling would be happening, so all we had to do was wait for the thugs to show up.
My attention flicked towards the road that twisted through the rice fields, connecting the village with the outside world. I felt the vibrations in the earth and the rippling of the water around me before I even saw the trucks barreling into view.
"They're close," I whispered into my intercom.
"And we're ready," came Lloyd's reply. I smiled softly as I watched three large black trucks appear on the horizon. It was my first big domestic mission with the ninja, and I was anxious to prove myself helpful to the team.
The trucks zoomed down the road, screeching to a halt at an intersection. A few hooded thugs hopped out of the trucks, one knocked on the back door to one of the trucks. The door flew open and a young woman jumped out. I sized her up, taking in her red mohawk, overly dramatic eye makeup, and what seemed to be a flame thrower mounted on her back. Should be a piece of cake.
Patiently, I awaited Lloyd's signal, all the while watching the woman's every move. She moped about the circle of thugs, snapping at them as they made small talk before firing her flame thrower at one of them.
"Why'd they want to meet out here, anyway?" the woman complained, "We're in the middle of nowhere!"
"Probably so those nosy ninja don't find us," one of the thugs offered meekly.
"Too late for that!" Lloyd exclaimed. At the signal, the four of us made ourselves known, throwing off our farmer disguises and squaring up in the middle of the road.
The woman's demeanor actually seemed to brighten as she saw us, which caught me off guard. "Oh wow, I've been waiting for this!" She exclaimed, "I've worked so hard to make it to the top. And it's actually happening! Oh, wait, wait, wait, I had a line for this. Oh yeah, I've got a warm welcome planned!" She blasted the flamethrower at us, which we expertly dodged.
"Get the trucks out of here," she called to the thugs, "You four, get the ninja!" She ran towards one of the trucks and four of the thugs descended on us, baseball bats swinging. I blocked a bat with my sword, the metal biting into the wood of the bat, holding fast. The thug smirked, thinking he had me. Instead, it was quite the opposite. I quickly spun into Spinjitzu, hurling the man across the road and straight into the mud of the rice paddies.
I returned my attention to the woman, who had jumped onto one of the truck, blasting her flames and loudly calling out, "So long boys and girls! I hope our paths cross again!"
As the trucks drove off, Cole sped towards the convoy on his cycle. I watched in admiration as he faced down the trucks before pulling his bike into a wheely and blasting fireballs at them. The first two trucks where hit and flew across the road, crashing, and Cole yanked his bike to a standstill. The last truck, with the woman in tow, kept coming, picking up speed as it approached the earth ninja. The woman fired her flame throwers at Cole, and he jumped clear just in time.
As Miss Demeanor's truck sped away, the contents of the trucks, which were now spilled across the road, caught my eye. I punched one last thug in the face before hurrying over next to Cole.
"Oh, my gosh," I breathed, staring down at the road.
"Vengestone?" Cole voiced next to me. The trucks had been loaded with the ore, mined in perfect blocks.
I swung around towards the Master of Earth and shot him a told you so look.
He paid me no mine, only squatted down and picked up a block before stuffing in a pocket.
I snapped my head up as a giant tornado of water snagged my attention. A few hundred yards off, Nya was standing in front of the lone truck, gathering water from the rice paddies.
"Hit the truck!" I heard Lloyd scream, and she sent the tornado towards it, only for it to veer off at the last second.
"What is she doing?" I murmured under my breath.
The tornado whirled around, heading straight for the water ninja before Zane knocked her out of the way at the last second.
"She's lost control," Cole spoke. We glanced quickly at one another before racing after the other ninja.
"They're getting away!" Jay agonized as the last truck drove off.
"I think we have bigger problems..." I began, head tilted upwards, watching as the water tornado swirled faster and faster towards us.
Zane pushed through, attempting to freeze it in place.
It worked. For a moment.
"I c- I can't hold it!" he cried, dropping to the ground in exhaustion.
The ice broke, freeing the tornado, and ice shards rained down on us as we scattered out of the way as the tornado kept ripping down the road.
"Nya! Just drop the water back down!" Lloyd yelled.
Nya bit in her lip in frustration, "I'm trying! Nothing's working!" she wailed.
"What do we do? There's a village full of farmers over there!" Cole shouted, pointing to the small village to which the rice paddies belonged.
"Evacuate the village," Lloyd ordered, "If this much water comes down on top of them, someone might get hurt."
We raced past the growing cyclone and towards the village, who seemed to be blissfully oblivious to the danger they were in.
"Nice and calm, everyone," Lloyd began, masking the distress in his tone, "There's no reason for concern. Just keep moving."
The farmers made no hurry of abandoning the village, only slowly walking away while gawking at the massive water tornado that was gaining on the village.
"Okay, seriously, get moving!" I shouted, trying to take command of the situation. When still no one responded, I put more umph into the order, "Alright! Everyone OUT!" I shouted. Everyone froze for a second, even the ninja seemed caught of guard by the outburst, but people took notice and added a little more urgency to their movements as they evacuated the village.
We herded the villagers up the steppes, panic finally beginning to set in. My gaze swept the village as we made it to higher ground, making sure no one was left behind. The village was abandoned, except for Lloyd. The green ninja stood at the edge, watching as the cyclone crept closer and closer, gaining size and momentum.
"Lloyd!" I screamed. He turned tail and for the steppes just as the cyclone burst, dumping what must have been thousands of gallons of water on the village, momentarily submerging it. Lloyd barely reached higher ground in time as Jay and Kai hauled him to higher ground.
In a second, it was over. The wave receded and we were safe. We surveyed the damage the water had cost. The village was disheveled, furniture overturned in the middle of the road, farm stands upturned, crops flooded and ruined. I snuck a glance at Nya, who was fidgeting anxiously with her hands, looking like she was on the brink of tears.
Before I could say anything, Jay verbalized what everyone was thinking, "What just happened?"
"What was in the trucks?" Master Wu inquired. We were giving him our usual debrief in the hangar bay once we returned to the monastery.
"Vengestone," Cole answered, holding out the block he had picked up.
"A huge shipment," Lloyd elaborated, "three trucks worth."
"Hmm," Wu mused, "very peculiar. Vengestone has few practical uses. Why would anyone be smuggling vengestone?"
"I think a better question is where is the vengestone coming from?" I spoke up, "Cause to me, it sure looks like Shintaran vengestone."
"Okay and? There's probably still some in circulation even after those mines got shut down," Kai dismissed.
"You don't know that," I shot back.
"Hey, knock it off," Lloyd scowled at us. I huffed, crossing my arms. "Anyway," Lloyd continued, "We don't know why they were carrying it. The criminal called herself Miss Demeanor, but she got away before we could ask her."
"You let her escape?" Wu demanded harshly.
"We didn't exactly... let her..." Kai explained nervously.
"We were forced to content with... unexpected complications," Zane elaborated.
"What complications?" Wu pressed.
I began to speak, but we cut off as the elevator doors opened and Nya stormed out, "It was me, okay? It was me! Just say it, I messed everything up. I had a teensy tiny momentary loss of control, and I kinda created a small tidal wave."
"How?" Master Wu rose from his chair in front of the main computer and walked towards her.
"I don't know how! Okay?" Nya defended, "Can we change the subject?"
"Nya, it was a hundred foot tall tornado of water," Lloyd spoke tentatively.
"We've all made mistakes! It's no big deal. It won't happen again, okay?" She eyed up all of us, waiting for confirmation that it wouldn't be mentioned again.
We mumbled half-hearted replies, which seemed to appease the master of water.
"Good," she snapped, before turning on her heels and heading back upstairs. Only for the sprinklers to go off, dousing everyone thoroughly.
"Oh no! The sprinklers!" Jay moaned.
Electrical snapping and popping drew everyone's attention to the main computer as the screen darkened and it shut off. As one, we swung back towards Nya, who stared at her hands. Again, she looked as though she was about to cry, but before anyone could say anything, she ran back towards the elevator and out of sight.
In the monastery library, we waited with bated breath as Master Wu selected and studied a few scrolls.
"Just as I thought," he finally mused, setting down the scroll and shifting towards us, "This is a complete list of the elemental powers, but there is no mention of water, or wind."
"What does that mean?" Cole probed.
"My father, the First Spinjitzu Master, used to tell me an old fairy tale of how he mastered all the elemental powers," Wu began, rolling up the scroll, replacing it on the shelf, and choosing another, "but never wind or water."
We exchanged puzzled glances before Lloyd spoke for all of us, "Why not?"
"He said those were not his to command," Wu elaborated, a strange edge of worry in his voice, "They belonged to someone else. To Wojira."
"Wojira?" Zane piped up, "That name is familiar to us. If my database is correct, it was a storm spirit of some kind."
"Yeah, is this the same one that the Keeper's tried to sacrifice Jay to?" I inquired. Jay shot me a scowl in memory of the less-than-pleasant encounter a few weeks prior.
"Yes. Wojira commanded the forces of water and wind," Wu continued, When combined, they became a force of destruction, the Fury of the Storm." Wu unrolled the new scroll across the table, allowing us to get a good glimpse of it.
Painted in rich watercolor, an image of a massive sea serpent rose on one side of the scroll, on the other, a small figure appeared, hurling a trident at the spirit.
"That's Wojira?" Lloyd asked as we all crowded around the scroll.
"I believe so," Wu responded.
"Well, what does it say?" Cole pressed.
"Very little, I'm afraid. It says here that the First Spinjitzu Master conquer Wojira with the help of the Merlopians."
"I have no mention of the word 'Merlopian' in any of my of my databases," Zane commented.
"They were a sea folk," Wu explained, "They lived her long before my father came, but there is little else known about them." Wu walked around the table before picking up a magnifying glass and inspecting the scroll farther, "In the midst of the battle, a Merlopian warrior with a trident and a helmet, rose from the depths of the great ocean, and pried from the great serpent's head two amulets: an amulet of Storm, and an amulet of Wave. And the seas grew calm, and the great serpent fell into a deep slumber."
"An amulet of Storm. Like the one on the Island of the Keepers?" Lloyd blurted.
"So, Nya's powers are linked to Wojira? Or these amulets?" Jay asked, befuddled.
"Mm, it's possible," Wu offered, "I don't know. We need to find someone who does."
"Who?" I prodded, cocking my head in thought.
Master Wu turned to Kai, "What about your mother? She was the elemental master of water before Nya. She might be able to help Nya regain control of her powers."
Kai's expression faded to one of doubt, sighing before he responded, "Nya and Mom aren't that close. They hardly know each other. Our parents were gone most of our childhood."
"They were imprisoned by Krux," Zane defended.
"Yeah, you can't exactly blame them," Cole added.
"I don't. But that doesn't change the fact that we grew up on our own," Kai reasoned, "Nya's pretty independent in case you haven't noticed."
We chorused agreements before Wu broke in, "I'm sure that she will understand. Nya is reasonable."
I shook my head silently, Master Wu really could be so oblivious at times.
I was stretched out on my bed listening to music when I first heard the commotion. It seemed for the moment to just be Nya in the training yard, working out her anger, so I dismissed it. But only a few minutes later, what sounded like rushing water came from down the hall along with Jay's scream. I sat up, puzzled. A moment later, something thumped against the walls of my room, which bordered the game room, and a cry from Cole came through the walls.
Now I was really confused. I stood and padded out of my room, poking my head into the game room. The couch was overturned and there was water everywhere. Dazed, Cole stumbled upright from behind the couch.
"Is everything all right?" I asked tentatively.
He pointed a shaking finger at the empty water bottle tossed about the room, "They just exploded when Nya walked in here."
Zane and Jay's footsteps echoed down the hall as they came jogging in.
"I don't wanna be the one to say it, but things are getting a little out of hand," Jay began.
"What now?" I probed.
"Nya's powers are going haywire. All the water in the monastery is reacting, and, well, making a mess of things," Zane spoke, gesturing at his and Jay's gis, which were dripping wet.
"Tell me about it," Cole added as he stood up and glanced at the tv, "Oh come on! I was just about to beat my high score!" he lamented as he noticed the tv and console had shorted out from the water.
"Let me try to talk to her," I soothed.
"Already tried that." I turned and Kai and Lloyd entered the room, "She won't listen," he shrugged.
"Well she's going to have to," I stated, marching out of the room.
"It's not worth it. I already called our parents."
I swiveled towards Kai, "In that case, I hope you're ready for whatever holy terror she unleashes when she realized that."
After collecting Master Wu, we had decided there was strength in numbers, we all went out to confront Nya on her "little" issue.
"Nya, we need to talk," Master Wu spoke, as we entered the courtyard of the monastery.
I picked up footsteps outside the door just before a knock echoed thorough the monastery.
Nya glanced forlornly at the door before letting out a heavy sigh, "I'll get it."
On the other side of the door, a pretty, middle-aged woman stood. She had long black hair swept over her shoulders and her face lit up as she saw Nya.
"Nya dear, oh you poor thing! Look at you!" the woman approached Nya and embraced her, "Kai told me all about what's happening and I don't want you to worry anymore. Whatever it is, we're gonna figure it out, you and me, mother and daughter, working together. I'll be with you every single moment of every day, until we figure this out." The woman hugged her daughter tightly before turning to the pile of luggage behind her, "Bring the bags Ray." As she passed Kai, she paused, "Oh, Kai, which way is Nya's room?"
"Oh, uh, that way!" he pointed vaguely towards the monastery.
The pile of luggage walked over to Kai, "Hi, son. Good to see you," a hand shot out from inside the pile and Kai took it hesitantly.
"Hi... Dad. Do you need a hand?"
"Nope, I've got it," the luggage responded, hefting his load before following Kai and Nya's mother into the monastery.
I glanced over and noticed Nya nearly shaking with rage, "Oh boy, here it comes," I murmured.
She stormed over to her brother and got right in his face, "Kai!" she fumed.
He tried his best to look innocent, shrugging, "What?"
This was going to be very interesting.