Legends of Ninjago: Book 3: The Four Fangs: Chapter 30 — Changing Course

The ninja were staring at Wu, eating their breakfast as slowly as possible and maintaining an uncomfortable amount of eye contact. He knew exactly the reason why, though, and he also knew that he would not be able to finish his rice before someone inevitably asked him a question.

He sighed. He was going to have to tell explain sooner or later.

“Garmadon and I first met the Elemental Masters a long, long time ago when we were… actually, about your age. They were…” he cleared his throat, “acquaintances of our father’s.”

Garmadon lifted an eyebrow, pausing mid-bite-of-rice.

“They were skilled warriors. Wise, noble… some more than others… and in later years they would prove to be good friends and allies in the midst of many conflicts, the Serpentine Wars chief among them. As for gifts,” and here, Wu looked at Jay, “you already know, the water elementals and ice elementals can sometimes see into the future.”

Zane frowned in confusion and discreetly leaned closer to Cole, whispering a question to him. Cole whispered back. He hadn’t been with the rest of them last night after all, and there were some blanks that needed filling.

Wu continued. “The earth elementals are known for their incredible strength—the lightning elementals, their speed. The fire elementals are renown for their healing abilities, and the air elementals, quite famously, can—”

“Can be irritating,” Garmadon sniffed.

Keaton frowned.

“AHEM—Can fly. Without the use of technology and at incredible speeds,” Wu finished firmly. Then he turned to his youngest pupil. “My brother is simply referring to your grandfather, Haruto. You and he possess a... similar optimistic attitude.”

“So I have superspeed?” Jay cut in, eyes widening. “How fast can I go? Can-can I do it right now? How does it work? Do I need to—”

“Ah-ah! If you’ll let me explain,” said Wu, raising a hand. “You likely won’t manifest that power for a few more years. The reason I never mentioned this before is because these gifts come about at a certain time in an elemental’s life. Roughly from the ages eighteen to twenty-one. Occasionally sooner, sometimes later. I wasn’t expecting this for another year, at least.”

“So it’s like puberty,” said Kai, thinking out loud.

“Ew,” said Keaton, who was sitting next to him.

Kai just shrugged. “What? That’s a fair comparison, isn’t it?”

“In a way,” Wu said slowly. “It does mark the beginning of the next stage in your development.”

“Beginning?” Zane asked tentatively.

“Is there something else that comes after that?” Jay added, looking curious yet nervous.

Wu felt his next breath weigh down his lungs. “Your powers will spike at around age twenty-five or so, at which point they will level out and steadily grow until you become old and infirm like… Garmadon.”

His brother suddenly reached out his chopsticks and jerked on a single hair in Wu’s moustache, which looked terribly painful. Wu bore it with a flinch and a cold glare and he readjusted his hat stiffly.

Jay was actually silent for a few seconds. Then he said, staring off into the distance sullenly, “So I still have to wait at least three years for super speed?”

“Be grateful it’s only three,” Keaton muttered, pouting all of a sudden.

“What about Lloyd?” Zane asked thoughtfully. “What’s his special power?”

A few eyes turned toward the lumpy hammock with the blonde boy inside, and a general sense of unease wandered its way through the group.

“Lloyd,” Wu began, picking up a few grains of rice with his chopsticks, “is an unusual case.”

The hammock shifted.

“Typically, there is only ever enough room within the body for one elemental power. In the ancient tongue, they would say, ‘juk terg drun Keromine.’ A Keromine being a ‘second heart.’ A ‘heart of nature.’ Something special inside that connects someone to a part of this physical world in a way we cannot explain. Lloyd possesses two.”

Several faces frowned in confusion.

“When I came of age,” Wu went on, “I discovered that my gift was the ability to generate warmth and light and comfort any time I chose. When Garmadon came of age…”

The Lord of Darkness looked away, crossing two of his arms. “I strike fear into the hearts of anyone foolish to come near me.”

Before anyone could think too much about that statement, Wu pulled their attention back to his dialogue. “However, given Lloyd’s unique physiology, he may inherit both gifts or he may manifest an entirely unique one. It’s difficult to say at the moment.”

The hammock shifted again.

“Sensei,” Keaton spoke up, setting aside her empty bowl. “Why does Lloyd have two Ke… Ke-ro-meens?”

Wu was looking weary now. “Because, little one… Lloyd is… special.”

He wouldn’t say anything more than that.

This whole time, Cole had been rather quiet. This was because he’d been mulling something over. Something he’d caught near the beginning of the conversation that he wasn’t quite able to let go of. Now that there was a break, he took the opportunity to speak.

“Sensei Wu? Something doesn’t quite make sense to me. You said you met our grandparents when you were our age, but that would have had to be… what? Seven hundred years ago?”

“More or less,” Zane mumbled.

“There’s no way they were alive back then—so, when you say ‘grandparents,’ do you mean our great-great-great-great-great grandparents or something?”

“No,” Garmadon blurted. “They’re just that old.”

“Do elemental masters really live for hundreds of years?” Keaton asked, wide-eyed.

“They do,” Wu nodded.

Kai suddenly looked mortified. “I’m gonna be stuck with you guys for the next few hundred years?”

“If you don’t die along the way,” Garmadon shrugged.

“Any other questions?” Said Wu, the lines on his face looking increasingly heavy.

The ninja all squinted, thinking hard.

“I’ve got one. When do we lay anchor?” Kai asked.

*

Serpent’s Bay was still one day away, which meant they had exactly one day to brush up on their training and prepare for any potential confrontation with the Serpentine. Ann was feeling well enough today to take the wheel of the ship so that Wu could teach the boys (and Keaton) properly.

“The first rule of Serpentine combat is ‘never attack blindly.’ You must always be careful to identify the species before striking. I’m sure you’re familiar with the Hypnobrai. Distinguishable by their teal and yellow scales, wide red eyes, and hoods. Their hypnosis is infective against Elementals—however, we now know that there is a chink our armour. When enough severe damage has been caused to the cranium, whatever natural defences we have become weakened. And so,” he glanced discreetly in Cole’s direction, “if you believe yourself to be compromised, do not engage the Hypnobrai.

“The blood-red Fangpyres are a nasty piece of work. Jay was unfortunate enough to demonstrate for us all the effects of their venom. He also demonstrated for us the folly in not reporting a Fangpyre bite immediately after being bitten.”

Jay shrunk back a bit.

“So, take this as a good lesson. Never wait to treat a Fangpyre bite. Better yet, avoid getting bitten entirely. There’s a trick to it. If you pay close attention, the Fangpyres give subtle signs that they are about to strike. You’ll see it mostly in their posture—the way they concentrate their body mass before lunging, or how their eyes go wider, honing in on their target. By the time they hiss, you’ll have only a second to get out of the way.

“In regards to the black scaled Constrictai, stay away. Never engage in close combat. They only require one small grip on you with their tails, and then you will never be able to remove them unless they wish it. Long ranged attacks are your only option.

“The Venomari are a real treat on the battle field. They are by far the weakest of the Serpentine, as well as the smallest, but they make up for that with their green-coloured camouflage and hallucinogenic venom.”

Kai suddenly shuffled his feet.

“When inhaled, or absorbed through the skin, you will become disoriented and unable to fight for several minutes to a half-hour, depending on the potency of the dose. You will almost definitely begin to see strange things as well; things that you believe, in that moment, are real. For this reason, never engage a Venomari from the front. Remember this: if you can see their eyes, you’re in for a surprise. Fortunately, they have about three spits or so in a fight, so if you are out of options, you can attempt to exhaust their supply.”

“And what about the Anacondrai, Sensei?” Zane asked.

“The Anacondrai…” Wu said thoughtfully, “…just might be the most dangerous of the snakes. They were the ones who declared war on Ninjago hundreds of years ago. They were the reason the Serpentine were banished and sealed away in tombs. Their special ability is being able to conceal themselves entirely. They could be standing on this very deck and you wouldn’t know it.”

Jay remembered Pythor’s vanishing trick well. In fact, he remembered that day in the museum a little too much for his liking. He tried not to let the memory of Nya’s horrified face distract him from listening.

“However, that is not their greatest strength. Their greatest strength is their intelligence. They are the most cunning Serpentine, particularly adept at battle strategy. As I understand it, however, you have only ever crossed paths with one Anacondrai. Is that right?”

The ninja nodded.

“Which leaves only one question unanswered,” Wu went on.

“Where are the rest,” Kai finished.

“Indeed. It’s possible that this Pythor is acting independently—the Anacondrai were often far less collectivist than the other tribes—but regardless of whether or not there are more Anacondrai out there, you must always treat every battle with utmost suspicion. They are notorious for setting traps, for misdirection, for manipulation, and for their psychotic tendencies.”

“So how do we fight them?” Cole asked.

“In greater numbers, you wouldn’t. Though, if Pythor remains the only one of his kind, then… by whatever means necessary.”

The boys and Keaton nodded gravely.

“For your training today,” said Wu, twirling his bo staff in the air before slamming the end on the deck, “you will try to land a blow on me.”

“Are powers allowed?” said Kai.

“Anything goes, so long as you don’t burn the ship down,” said Wu with a smile. “You may begin.”

He just stood there, unassuming, hardly looking like a threat, but the boys knew better. They looked to one another for a moment, as if asking who among them was willing to go first, and eventually it was Jay who decided that he would break the ice. He had a training kusarigama in his hands, made of rubber, and with a mighty battle cry, he ran forward, attempting to hit him with the weight at the end of the chain, but, as to be expected, this first assault did not go at all how he envisioned.

As smoothly and as gracefully as if he were a young ninja himself, Wu grabbed the chain, tripped Jay, and had him wrapped up in his own weapon before he could blink. With a little flourish, he sent Jay spinning back toward the other boys, and he took a ready stance, as if daring them to try and land the next blow.

Kai cracked his neck once or twice. He was eager to win this particular fight.

“Slippery” would not even begin to describe Wu’s fighting style. Half the time, it almost felt like he wasn’t really there at all. Cole would go in, swinging his scythe, and catch nothing but air. Zane would try to get in close with his daggers, but then find himself suddenly turned around, Wu behind him, having no recollection of how it had happened.

Kai, meanwhile, charged after Wu like an angry bull. Wherever he ran, Kai was close at his heels, swinging his wooden sword and shooting out flames, trying to fence him in. The only problem was, Kai didn’t really have much of a plan for after he had his teacher surrounded by fire, which left him a sitting duck. Wu used a few well-placed strikes to his arms, wrists, and chest, and before Kai knew it, his limbs felt sore and tight and unable to move properly. But that didn’t stop him. If his hands were too tense to hold his sword, then he would just start throwing punches. Punches that Wu seemed completely unfazed by. Actually, at one point, Wu grabbed Kai’s clenched fist and used his momentum to flip him over and pin him to the floor on his back. The slamming of his bones against hard wood was sure to leave bruises.

Keaton was the only one who ever hung back for periods of time. She was analysing the way Wu attacked, they way he deflected blows, or evaded them altogether. When she did strike, it was usually whenever Wu was preoccupied with one of the boys, his arms full, but somehow—some way—he always seemed to sense her coming and simply moved out of reach of her fans, as if he were a squiggly octopus. The most she ever managed was nabbing the hat off his head.

Round and round the deck they went, throwing more punches, kicks, elemental attacks, and anything else they could think of, running themselves ragged, while Wu almost seemed to be enjoying himself. Ann watched it all from her vantage point behind the steering wheel and she actually smirked a little. She remembered this lesson well.

Now, Cole and Zane were clutching the stitches in their sides, terribly out of breath, Jay and Keaton were collapsed at their feet, and the only one still holding his ground against Wu was Kai. He lunged again—Wu stepped out of the way. He tried to mislead him with two quick jabs, then a final blow, but Wu saw right through him and wasn’t anywhere near his fist when it finally flew. Instead, Wu hooked his leg around Kai’s, pressed his hand into Kai’s chest, and made him fall onto his back. Again.

Now Kai was getting angry.

He launched his fist up, ready to shoot flames—he didn’t care very much about the burns it might inflict—but it ended up not mattering. Wu pushed his arm aside as though he were swatting a pesky fly. It landed against the deck, and Wu simply stood up, walking away. Untouched.

Kai wanted to yell… but he was also very tired. He didn’t want to so much as lift his aching head. After what happened in the mountains… he would never flatter himself as to think that he could actually win in a fight against his sensei… but just touching him shouldn’t be this hard, surely.

“Enough,” said their teacher gently.

“Sensei,” Kai wheezed, forcing himself to get up. “Wait—”

“The exercise is over, Kai. Today, you fail.”

He was staring at him now… just a few feet away… he looked like he hadn’t even broken a sweat. Kai wanted to curse. All these months of training… all the laps around the monastery, the push-ups, the drills, the lifting weights—all of it—had it really not pushed him as far as he’d thought it had? Even after fighting genuine threats and making it out alive—stopping Lloyd’s convoy, escaping the Serpentine-controlled village, the fight in the snowy forest with the tree monsters, the talent contest, Ninjago City, the volcano—surely, he was further ahead than this! Then, with a sad realisation, he told himself, ‘it hasn’t even been a full year yet. What did you expect?’

Right. He couldn’t expect himself to master everything in a few weeks. Wu was a master. He’d been training for hundreds of years, honing the craft, perfecting the art. But… one day, Kai promised that he would surpass him; at the very least, best him in a fight. One day… he would land that blow. One day.

“Now take a few minutes to rest. We will resume shortly,” said Wu as he went to go talk to Ann.

Kai hated resting. Sitting around, not doing anything—it felt like he was slowing down instead of ramping up. He wanted to keep going and ride off of the energy he’d been building, but then his aching back reminded him that he wasn’t indestructible. There had to be something he could do about that.

That’s when he remembered what Wu had said earlier. Fire elementals had a special gift… healing. How that worked, he had no idea, but… what if he unlocked that power? Could he use it during a fight? To heal bruises? Heal broken ribs? Would it restore energy? He couldn’t wait to turn eighteen now.

“Sensei’s not taking it easy on us this time,” Cole noted, leaning back on the mast, eyes closed.

“You should be honoured,” Keaton sighed. She was still very much out of breath. “It took me three years of training before I got to this lesson.”

“You’re also three years younger than us,” Jay chuckled.

“Still… Sensei Wu chooses his lessons carefully. He must think you’re ready to advance. Or start advancing at least.”

Jay sighed. “I just wish advancing didn’t mean getting our butts whooped all the time.”

“Soft,” Cole sassed, smirking at him.

“Easy for you to say, Mr. Gorilla!” Jay fired back. “You’re, like, a foot taller than me!”

“I’d say it’s more like four or five inches,” Zane said in a straight-forward sort of way.

“I was just exaggerating to make a point,” Jay sighed.

Zane’s brow furrowed, confused.

“Are you ready to continue?” Wu asked, coming back over.

Kai tried to hide his frustrated sigh and straightened up.

“Next, we will be exercising your powers. Show me that you’ve been practising!”

“Uh, Sensei,” Cole said suddenly. “I… I can’t use my powers if there’s no earth around.”

Wu’s eyebrow shot up, and then came back down. “I thought I had noticed… hm. Interesting. But, nonetheless, untrue.”

“What?” Cole blurted.

“Young Cole, your grandfather could create earth from thin air just as easily as any other Elemental. Your mother as well, if my memory isn’t failing me.”

Cole blinked, his fists growing tight, eyes downcast.

Wu stopped to watch him a moment. “Show me.”

Cole took a deep breath and then shot out his fist… creating a small cloud of dust that blew away in the ocean breeze. His teacher squinted at it, then came over to him. He placed one hand on Cole’s shoulder and with the other he placed two fingers on Cole’s wrist.

“Do it again, please.”

Again, Cole performed the stance, and again, all he got was a puff of dust.

Wu’s eyebrows knitted into a frown as he pulled his hands away. “Interesting.”

“What is it?” He hoped that the answer didn’t have anything to do with him just being a poor student. Or a total wimp.

“Well, I’m by no means an expert on this—others have dedicated far more time to the study of Keromines—but from what I can tell, I believe yours is somewhat smaller than it should be.”

“Smaller?” Cole repeated, feeling a touch embarrassed with everyone else there listening and watching. “Why?”

“Sadly, it is your own doing, Cole. When a Keromine is weak like this, it usually means that for some amount of time, it has been suppressed. The good news is, it is fixable. You just need to learn to embrace this side of yourself more whole-heartedly. Exercise it, so to speak.”

Cole felt his shoulders relax. Was that all? Oh. Well, surely he could learn to do that. Then again… the more he thought about it… the more he realised that he had been intentionally suppressing this… Keromine-thing for a long time. When he was a kid, he tried to act like he didn’t have any powers at all. He acted that way for years—his whole life, really. How long would it take to build up this "muscle?"

“Cole, you’re excused from this exercise,” said Wu, “and are instead invited to partake in some drills. The first three sets.”

He nodded, feeling just the slightest bit put out that he had to be separated like this. He understood why and didn't complain, especially since he knew it wouldn’t always be this way. He would master his Keromine and catch up to the others. It couldn’t possibly that hard…

*

Lloyd was on his side, letting one of his legs dangle over the edge of his hammock. He could hear the ninja’s training over the creaking of the ship, and felt sunlight warming his legs. The windows were always open. That was a pain. He should do something about that.

His eyes still felt tired and heavy, but the moment his father came into the room with another bowl of soup, he set his jaw and sat up, taking it before he could get the idea of “feeding him” again. Bleh.

Garmadon sat himself down on one of the floor mats and ate some soup of his own. Lloyd kept his eyes on his bowl, swallowing each bite quickly. He was getting stronger now. Strong enough to walk up those stairs, probably. Maybe even make it a decent ways inland before the ninja… or Wu… or Garmadon could…

He sighed. It sounded more and more stupid the longer he thought about it.

He hated to, but he glanced at his father, sitting there, eating his soup like a normal person… and he thought back to breakfast.

“We’re heading to Serpent’s Bay, right?”

Garmadon looked up, his face only the slightest bit surprised. “Yes.”

“To get the next Fang Blade?”

“Yes.”

“Hm.”

Lloyd wished he hadn’t spoken. Garmadon’s keen eyes had already seen right through him.

“What is it?” he asked. “Do you know something?”

At first, Lloyd didn’t want to say… and then he remembered the way Pythor had turned on him… how he’d only taken a few seconds to decide… had wrapped him up in his slimy coils… no, wait, it went further back than all that, didn’t it? All of a sudden, a wave of clear thought hit him. He really had been out of it… like he’d been drugged! All that grovelling and cowering he’d done… all that talk of Pythor being his friend… he hadn’t been himself at all… and Pythor knew it. He’d been using him from the start.

Lloyd’s heart twisted hard.

“…I know where Anguis is.”

*

"The City of Ouroboros."

"You're kidding," said Ann, crossing her arms.

"I don't get it--what is that?" Jay asked.

Everyone was gathered up on the top deck now. Gathered around Lloyd who had ventured up into the sunlight to talk to Wu for the first time since he arrived. Garmadon was noticeably hovering close to him, and every once in a while when the boat rocked and Lloyd began to sway, he would lift his arm cautiously. Then lower it again when Lloyd was fine.

"And why are you just now coming forward?" Wu asked very seriously.

Lloyd shrugged, his face wooden. "Just remembered."

"Hello! Missing context here!" Jay blurted.

"It's an ancient Serpentine city," Ann bit out, as if everyone ought to know that.

"I thought it was destroyed," said Keaton thoughtfully.

"That was the intent," Wu nodded. "After the Serpentine Wars, the city was looted, burned, and then buried in a sandstorm. I'm surprised there's anything left of it. And that you know where it is, Lloyd."

Lloyd shrugged again. "Cause I was there. I guess they can sense it, or something."

"Or sense her," said Garmadon darkly.

"Well," said Kai, "how are we supposed to know that what you saw is real? I mean, you were pretty out of it before."

"I still remember everything," Lloyd replied, his eyes flashing red for a moment.

Ann turned to Wu, looking almost exactly like her old self. "So what do we do with this information? Do we change course?"

"The Serpentine are already onto the last dagger. My guess is they're almost there right now. But I know for a fact that they're holding the other Blades in the city," Lloyd explained.

"How many Serpentine will be there?" Wu asked.

"Hundreds."

Garmadon frowned. "You can't seriously be considering it. They'll sense us coming."

"Oh, suddenly it's 'us' now," said Kai with no small amount of sass.

"It is a possibly," said Wu very pointedly before an argument could break out. He was stroking his beard again as he continued, "There are ways to prevent them from, say, smelling us, and there are ways to prevent them from sensing our footsteps."

"You. Will. Die," Garmadon growled.

Suddenly, Ann's mind flashed back to her vision. The vision of Wu disappearing behind a wall of ivory teeth. She knew that's what her sensei was thinking of as well. Since she was a water elemental, her vision wasn't concrete, but it was still a possibility.

"If we do fail in the end, and Anguis is released... is there a way to stop her?" Ann asked.

Wu sighed. "She will not fall for the same trick twice. Luring her into a tomb will no longer be an option. At least, not one that we can manage. Her scales were renowned for their durability, and depending on her size... a sword or a scythe will almost definitely will not be enough."

"Poison?" Jay suggested.

"She's immune," Wu relented. "She is referred to as the source of all poisons. It has no effect on her."

"Well, great," said Kai, throwing up his hands. "Nice to know that if we fail, we're doomed."

"Not entirely."

All eyes turned to Wu.

"There is one way we could defeat her, almost certainly. Although, it would mean sacrificing our greatest protection. The Golden Weapons."

"You're saying the weapons would be destroyed?" Ann asked.

"Forever?" Keaton added.

Wu's eyes fell. "Truthfully, I am not entirely sure. But... I do know that Anguis is strong. Strong enough for the use of the weapons to be necessary. And strong enough that all of their power very well may be used up in order to defeat her."

"So... that's like a last resort, then?" asked Kai.

"And we would be losing our biggest trump card. If anything else like this happens again..." said Cole.

"Hopefully it will not come to that," said Wu, clearing the air. "But in the event that the tomb is opened, I would prefer to be there, at the city, rather than stuck in Serpent's Bay. Ann, change our heading. Keaton, give us a strong wind. Boys, one more round of training, and then rest. Lloyd... thank you for telling us."

Lloyd wouldn't meet his uncle's eyes, but said, "Yeah. Whatever."

Finally, he turned to Garmadon and asked, "And what will you be doing?"

There was a moment of silence when it looked as though the Dark Lord genuinely didn't know how to answer, and then, in a rather quiet voice that sounded very odd coming from someone like him, he said,

"I don't know."

And that was that. He and Lloyd went back downstairs, Ann went back to the wheel, Keaton beside her, the boys began training, and Wu... Wu began mentally preparing for all that was to come. He knew that what he was planning held risk, and that Ann would likely be angry with him, but the entirety of Ninjago was at stake. Then there was his brother to think of. He needed to be put somewhere he couldn't hurt anyone after all of this was over. He did have a plan in place, but... now it would seem that he needed a backup plan... and perhaps someone to leave it with.