Shifting Winds (Chapter Three: The Orange Ninja)

She watched with weary eyes as several of the serpents on the deck ran back and forth, checking to make sure the sails were drawn taut to help them stay afloat for the time being.  Lord Garmadon had cut the power to the boosters a brief moment prior, minimizing the noise they emitted.  We can’t let the ninja know that I’m close, he had told Laurie, a strong hand on her back.  They need to be completely unaware that I have a hand in this little scheme.  Inhaling deeply, the teenager walked over to the edge of the ship, folding her arms down on the shoulder high railing.

Dawn was slowly approaching.  A few streaks of golden light erupted from behind a cluster of clouds off in the distant.  Laurie gave a short yawn, resting her head down on her arms.  She had not slept well last night.  There was a constant pressure in her head; sometimes it felt worse than others.  She would start to have a dream and during the middle of it she would suddenly wake up, groaning in pain before promptly rolling over.  Needless to say, Laurie was not feeling like she had her wits about her.  What if the ninja discovered what she was up to and kidnapped her too?  “No, I’m not gonna let that happen,” she whispered to herself, a pitiful pep talk.

“Quickly, we’re approaching the city,” Lord Garmadon shouted, descending the stairs from the bridge to the main deck.  Hordes of Serpentine parted to allow the temperamental man to pass.  His revenge hungry eyes fell upon his daughter who seemed to be deep in thought.  Well he could not let that happen.  Giving her too much time to think would not be helpful.  She might remember something.  “Laurie, are you ready to go?” he prompted, hands clasped behind his back.

Laurie lifted her head, spinning around quickly.  The sleeve on her right wrist became caught on a loose nail protruding from the railing behind her and she yanked on it.  She was definitely not used to wearing a gi.  Tank tops had always been her “go to” accessory when training in the monastery.  “Yeah, I’m ready,” Laurie replied, freeing her arm and adjusting the strap of the holster that held her weapon.  She had chosen a bō staff that had been shoved in the back of the closet her dad had told her about.  It made sense to her why it seemed lost and forgotten.  Why use a weak, wooden weapon where there were so many stronger options to choose from?  Laurie was beginning to wonder if she had made a mistake; if she should go back and pick something else to take with her, but it seemed like time was up.  Right now it was a staff or nothing.

A gust of wind blew over the deck of the vessel as Lord Garmadon shouted out orders.  Laurie pulled her tangled, red hair back in a sloppy ponytail before hastily pulling an orange mask down over her face.  Immediately, the skin that was covered by the material felt warmer, the open area around her eyes feeling slightly chilled.  At least the mask was thin enough for her to breathe through.  It would not have been worth it to suffocate before she could even find Lloyd.  Her nerves were quivering inside of her, stomach twisting into knots.  What if she could not hold her own against the ninja?  They must be highly skilled.  Overtaking her would not be difficult.  She was only a novice when it came to combat, useless when it actually came to performing Spinjitzu.

“Um…are you gonna go or not?”  It was a green serpent, three of his four eyes scarred and mutilated.  “We’ve lowered a rope ladder over the side of the ship.”  He watched as Lord Garmadon’s daughter quickly focused on him before craning her neck to look over the railing of the vessel.  “Use the ladder to get close enough to a building or something.  You’re on your own after that.”  Laurie nodded her head in understanding and Lasha sighed, turning to head back towards his fellow Serpentine.  People thought he was dumb sometimes.  This girl seemed to have no clue what she was doing.

The skyline of Ninjago City was quickly coming to greet the hull of the Black Bounty.  Locating the ladder, Laurie hopped up onto the wooden railing along the ship before slowly descending.  A shadow cast across her body made her look up once more, gripping the thick, rope of the rungs in her hands.  “Be careful,” her dad warned, shouting the advice down at her.  “The ninja may not be the only adversaries you have to face.  Be wary of anyone you meet and please remember that not all Serpentine can be trusted.”  Well that did not make any sense.  The Serpentine were working for her dad obviously, so why should they not be trusted?  Without giving her time to ask any questions, Lord Garmadon gave a stern look before disappearing back onto the deck of the ship.

“Now or never,” the teenager whispered to herself, spotting the roof of a building approaching at a frightening speed.  Relinquishing her hold of the ladder, Laurie launched herself backwards, attempting to twist her body around in the air to grab onto the side of the rectangular roof.  Her right hand caught hold of a drainpipe laid horizontally with the roof.  The metal cylinder was slick with early morning dew and she could feel her fingers starting to slip.  Just as Laurie tried to use her left hand to aid in a batter grip, she started falling.

The air around her rushed upwards and she opened her ice blue eyes to see the ship she had just been on floating farther away from the city, both rocket boosters at the rear spitting fire.  They wasted no time at all making their escape.  Something taut broke her fall for a split second before bouncing her on to the ground.  Groaning, Laurie managed to pry herself off the asphalt and stand.  She probably would have broken some bones if that awning had not slowed her descent.  Sure, there were probably some bruises underneath her gi, but at least she could still move around pretty easily.  Her hand immediately flew to the weapon on her back and every muscle in her arm relaxed as she felt that the staff was still solid.  Excellent.

Now she just had to find out where the ninja were and take Lloyd out from under their noses.

As the sun cast a bright, yellow blanket across the city skyline, Laurie swallowed hard and headed down the closest street near her.  This city was rather large, the biggest place she had ever been to.  She had to navigate the city and find her brother.  A sudden wave of anxiety and stress overwhelmed her and she ducked down an alleyway to stop for a moment and collect herself.  “Get it together,” she whispered softly, closing her eyes.  “You can do this.  Dad needs you to do this and Lloyd needs your help.”

“Are you lost?” hissed a voice.  Laurie did not need to turn around to recognize the speech pattern of a Serpentine.  She kept her eyes closed, just giving a small nod.  Maybe they would give her some pointers on where to begin her search.  “Looking for someone?”  Again, the teenager just nodded, beginning to get a grip on her confidence once more.  There was something odd though, a strong pressure wrapping itself around her left ankle.  Just as Laurie opened her eyes, she was yanked down to the ground, the air knocked from her lungs.

A black snake stood in front of the girl, his winding tail slowly wrapping around the rest of her body.  Arms pinned to her sides, Laurie felt her muscles tighten as she struggled to try and move.  “W-Who are you?” she choked out, feeling the air slowly being squeezed from her lungs.  She was suffocating, she could feel it.  Black dots danced gracefully at the edges of Laurie’s vision as she continued to squirm for freedom.

The serpent gave a crooked grin, looking very pleased with himself.  “A Serpentine General, leader of the Constrictai.”  A small chuckle filled the air as he used the muscles in his tail to hold the girl upright.  He could feel her every movement, attempting to break free, every shallow breath that entered her body.  The coils tightened and he heard her gasp.  “You can call me Skalidor.  Who might you be, girl?”

“I-I’m Lord Garmadon’s daughter,” Laurie coughed, a crippled wheeze following her answer.  The words had just flowed out of her.  If this snake was working for her dad, it had to know about what she was trying to do.  He could help her find the ninja.  “So, please, let me go.  We’re on the same side here.”  Panic was settling in her throat, a lump that made it hard to swallow, even harder to breathe.  The pulse in her neck was pounding with every passing second, her ears ringing with the sound.  “Please,” Laurie begged once more, “I-I can’t b-breathe.”

Skalidor seemed interested in her response, his eyes widening slightly.  He turned abruptly, dragging Laurie across the dry asphalt as a strong cough erupted from her throat.  “Lord Garmadon’s daughter?  That’s news to me.  I didn’t know Lord Garmadon had another child.”  His beady eyes scanned the open street in front of him, cautiously checking for any wandering pedestrians.  The coast was clear.  “Too bad for you that we don’t like your father.  I can’t let you go.”  He noticed his prey’s lack of struggle now.  She was weakening.  “I don’t know what to do with you though, so I’ll have to talk with a friend first.”

Everything around her seemed to be fading away, slowly slipping away into darkness. Through the background babbling of her captor and the unrelenting blood pounding against her ear drums, the words her dad had told her were beginning to make sense.  Remember that not all Serpentine can be trusted.  Laurie’s right hand twitched slightly as she thought about attempting to maneuver her arm around to grab the weapon on her back.  It was not worth the thought though.  She could not move an inch.  “What will your friend want to do with me?” Laurie asked hesitantly.  Hopefully this friend would let her go free.  Her vision was growing hazy, colors in the environment blending together as her consciousness wavered.

“Who knows,” the Constrictai continued, spotting two pairs of gleaming eyes peeking out of a nearby alleyway.  “We’ll most likely take you with us though.  If we can’t have Lord Garmadon’s son, then having his daughter is the next best thing!”  A groan came from behind Skalidor, but he ignored it, continuing onward.  “Fangtom,” the short Serpentine hollered indiscriminately, picking up the pace of his gait.  “Fangtom, I found Lord Garmadon’s daughter and I need your advice on what we should do with her because I don’t really –“

A two-headed red and black snake slithered out of the darkened alleyway, both faces communicating annoyance.  “Keep your voice down, stupid,” he chastised, his Romanian accent evident.  “We don’t want to be found by the pesky ninja.”  His two sets of eyes then drifted down towards the girl in Skalidor’s grip.  “Did you say this was Lord Garmadon’s daughter?” the other head questioned, leaning down towards the red head who gave a grimace.  “I did not know that Lord Garmadon had a daughter.”

He shrugged lightly, maneuvering his tail to hold Laurie upright.  “That’s what she told me.  I guess it’s true because I don’t know why anyone would just say they’re Lord Garmadon’s kid.”  He glanced back at the girl, her head bowed forward lifelessly.  Had he killed her?  Uh-oh.  “She’s not dead, is she?” Skalidor quickly panicked, looking desperately at his comrade.  If Skales found out about this, then he was as good as dead too.  The Constrictai erratically shook his captive, a sudden burst of relief washing over him when she mumbled something incoherently.  “Okay, nope, she’s not dead.  Well, that’s good.  What should we do with her?”

The Fangpyre slithered forward, ignoring the latter of Skalidor’s bumbling words.  He knew exactly what to do with her.  It had been such a long while since he had gotten to sink his fangs into anything.  “We’ll make her one of us,” he snickered darkly, laying a hand on the side of Laurie’s head and another on the top of an exposed shoulder.  She winced lightly as he bared a set of fangs and eased in for the bite.

Laurie was happy that she was finally succumbing to the relief of darkness.  She did not want to be aware of what was happening when the needle like appendages pierced the pale flesh of her neck.  Well, that and the fact that she could have sworn she saw people jumping from rooftops.  Yeah, she was definitely hallucinating.  Maybe it was time for a nap.  The girl’s ice blue eyes closed indefinitely as she wondered how everything had ended up going south so quickly.

From somewhere above, a pointed weapon soared down; burying itself into the Constrictai’s left shoulder.  Taken by surprise, the serpent shrieked, losing his tight grip on his prey.  Laurie fell to the warm asphalt, unconscious and motionless.  Fangtom narrowed his eyes at his comrade before noticing the oddly crafted piece of metal jutting from Skalidor’s shoulder.  “We’re under attack,” he hissed menacingly, taking a split second to try and retrieve Lord Garmadon’s daughter from the ground.  They had to have her if they could not have the boy.

Searing pain exploded from the red serpent’s tail, accompanied by the sticky warmth of trickling blood.  Gritting his teeth, the Fangpyre decided to leave her against his better judgment.  Another opportunity would arise to blackmail Lord Garmadon.  At least, they were always hoping that one would.  “Retreat,” one head ordered, pushing Skalidor forward along the city street.  The smaller serpent reluctantly obliged, large tears streaming down his scaled face.  His shoulder hurt so badly!  With pent up frustration rising, Fangtom ripped the shuriken from his partner’s shoulder before grabbing the one that plagued him.  After chucking both weapons carelessly onto the street, they slunk back into the shrinking shadows cast by the many skyscrapers of Ninjago City.

A person clothed in white jumped down from a nearby rooftop, landing in a crouch.  Dark blue eyes peered out from behind a mask as he scanned the asphalt, quickly locating his weapons.  A loud chirp caught his attention as he stowed the twin pieces of metal in a small holster set around his waist.  Head cocked to one side, a large falcon sat above on a telephone pole, wings fluttering wildly before it took off once more, soaring over the city.  “Thank you, friend,” the person replied before quickly attending to the unconscious person on the ground.

“Zane,” yelled a boy clothed in blue, barreling down the street, a set of nunchucks dangling from his left hand.  One of the handles bounced around wildly as his steady run continued.  “I tried to go after the Serpentine, but I couldn’t find them.  Probably went down into the sewer or something.  What a bunch of cowards.”  His breathing was heavily labored by the time he reached his friend.  Smiling widely, he put his hands on his knees.  “I feel like I should be in better shape than this.”

The white ninja, Zane, waved away his friend’s comment.  Now was not the time for such trivial thoughts.  “Do not fret, Jay.  We will locate the Serpentine in time.  For now we must attend to this individual.  Fangtom was attempting to turn them.”  Inspecting the exposed skin on the neck revealed no sign of puncture wounds.  “It appears that he did not get the chance to bite.  This is good.”

“Hey, he’s a ninja too,” Jay laughed, hazel eyes wide.  “That’s really cool, but kinda weird, don’t you think?  I mean, there shouldn’t be any more ninja.  It’s just us.”  It finally felt like he was getting enough air into his lungs without hyperventilating.  Taking in an unnecessarily deep breath, Jay thought about this mysterious ninja.  “Oh, maybe he’s like a vigilante or something!  You know, like people from comic books that want to help people out, but disguise themselves.”  Now that he was talking about this out loud, it almost sounded like he was describing himself and his friends.  Naw, we were chosen to do this.  Vigilantes aren’t handpicked to protect things.  They personally choose to do it.  “He’s not dead though, right?”

It was a reasonable question.

Sighing, Zane rolled up one of the person’s sleeves and felt for a pulse near the interior of the wrist.  Sure enough, a weak thud answered him back.  “No, he is not dead, but I am not sure if he is breathing.”  Leaning his head down near the person’s face, Zane attempted to look and listen for any sign of breathing.  Despite the lack of breathing sounds, the white ninja could see the faint rise and fall of the person’s chest.  “Jay, I am not so sure that this is a man,” he stated plainly, getting back on his feet.

“Well what makes you say that?” his friend questioned, taking the liberty to forcefully remove the unconscious individual’s mask.  “He’s just a-,“ but Jay cut his own sentence short as bright red hair tumbled to the ground like a fiery waterfall.  Delicate features and pale skin stared back at him.  <i?How did Zane know it wasn’t a guy?</i> the blue ninja thought to himself.  His curious eyes briefly gazed over her chest before he turned away abruptly.  Oh, gotcha.  “So…um…what do we do with her?”

Zane scooped the girl into his arms, fumbling briefly as something attached to her back prevented him from keeping a good grip on her.  “Jay, I think she has a weapon.  Can you take it so that I may carry her better?”  His brother nodded, slipping the bō staff out of the holster strapped to the girl’s back.  “Vigilante or not,” the nindroid continued, checking once more to ensure that the girl was breathing, “she was prepared to fight.  The Serpentine most likely caught her off guard.  We will bring her with us to Dareth’s Dojo.  The others should be there by the time we arrive.”

A small shadow passed by and Jay looked up to see Zane’s falcon effortlessly gliding by, scanning the streets for any sign of possible shenanigans.  It had been a good thing for this girl that the bird had seen she was in trouble.  A few seconds later and she could have been a snake.  He shuddered as the thought drudged up bad memories, gripping the staff in his hands tightly.  Maybe Sensei would feed her some weird kind of tea and then send her on her way.  For now though he felt like this orange ninja was their responsibility.

I mean, she is a ninja, or at least a ninja wannabe.  She’s practically family!