We have a song in this chapter.
Nalia finally getting serious!? O.O
Power sneak peek?
Hmmm... foreshadowing? >:3
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*At Grand Sensei Dareth's Mojo Dojo, the ninjas train a blindfolded Lloyd.*
"Don't rely on your eyes. Use your ears." said Cole.
"Uh, guys, I'm teaching a class later, so I'd appreciate a clean dojo." said Dareth.
The ninjas ignore him and keep fighting, knocking Jay into his collection of fake trophies.
"Aah!"
"Ah! No, no, no! No, no, no! No! No, no, no." Dareth panicked.
Dareth opens a window to prevent it from being broken by Jay, who was sent flying by Lloyd.
"Aah!"
Nalia easily dodged Jay from hitting her when being sent flying, as she was sitting and writing in her diary without really watching the fight as much. "At least I'm not doing any training today; I still feel exhausted from doing my training last night."
Lloyd uses his Fire powers and set a small patch of carpet on fire.
"No, no, no, no!" Dareth panicked but it was quickly put out by Nalia's sand.
"Thank you, starlight," said Dareth with a relieved sigh.
"No problem, happy to help." said Nalia giving him a smile.
"Hey, open the window! Let me in!" shouted Jay as he was banging on the window.
Nalia turned her attention to Jay and opened the window for him. "There you go." She smiled at him before going back to writing in her diary.
"Thank you, Lia." Jay said before returning to the fight.
Nalia went back to writing, humming one of her songs.
"Nalia, watch out!" shouted the ninjas as Cole got sent flying towards her.
A wall of sand quickly came up and stopped Cole from hitting her as he was gently put down on the floor.
"You guys saw that too, right? She stopped Cole from being knocked into her, and without even looking," said Kai.
"Sorry, Lia," said Lloyd before dodging another attack from Zane.
"It's alright; just be more careful," said Nalia, still focused on her diary.
"For someone who likes being lazy, she has quick reflexes," said Zane.
"Hey, Lia, why don't you join us?" Cole asked.
"It looks like you guys are doing fine by yourselves, so I don't see a reason to join," said Nalia, looking up from her diary. "You guys just want to test my reaction time," she added.
Jay got sent flying again but was saved by Nalia's sand.
"Thanks again, Lia," Jay sighed with relief before getting back into the fight.
Nalia rolled her eyes playfully until she and the others felt the ground shaking. And it wasn't long until Wu and Misako came into the dojo.
Gayle on TV. "NGTV reporter Gayle Gossip on the scene of what appears to be an earthquake rocking the city of Ninjago. But it's an earthquake, as scientists have yet to pinpoint the cause. And more frightening still, the aftershocks are getting stronger."
Everyone watching on the streets gasps.
"What do you think this could be?" Cole asked.
"Wouldn't be surprised if it was Garmadon. We haven't seen him for a while," said Kai.
"He would never. Lloyd's father is evil, but he would never do anything to put his son in harm's way," said Misako.
"Misako's right. He only tried to thwart his training. This is something else." said Wu.
"But what is it?" Jay asked.
Zane whistles and summons his Falcon. "My friend, be my eyes and look for danger in the streets from above."
Nalia sighed as she closed her diary and put it away before noticing someone holding out a hand.
"So, why didn't you wanna join the training? I thought you would be there to help me too." Lloyd asked.
"The others seemed to be doing a better job, so I didn't see a reason to join." Nalia took his hand and let him pull her up from where she sat.
"Then why not let them test your reaction time? Though I couldn't see anything, I could hear from the others that it's pretty fast." Lloyd questioned.
Nalia rolled her eyes at this. "Because I don't like training, and I'm not up for more training after last night."
"Last night? So you do train, just not when we are around?" Lloyd questioned.
"Let's get going, greenie," said Nalia, rushing out of the dojo with the rest and Lloyd catching up quickly.
*Outside the dojo, the city is panicking from the earthquake.*
A woman sees a dog on the other side of the street. "Oh, Snickers! Stay there, Mommy's coming!" She runs toward Snickers, but the ground falls under her. "No, no! Stay where you are! Help! Help me!"
"Ninja to the rescue! Go!" shouted Lloyd.
"Go!"
"Go!"
"Go!"
"Go!"
They form a chain to reach the woman.
"Few more inches, guys," said Lloyd, while Snickers whimpers to Cole, who's carrying the ninjas.
"Appreciate the support, doggy." Another chunk of the ground falls. The ninja grunt. "Ugh. Could have thought this plan through a little more." Snickers continues whimpering. "No more help, please!" Cole grunts while pulling them up.
"Oh, thank you!" said the woman.
"No sweat." said Lloyd.
"Speak for yourself. I did all the work." Snickers pounces on Cole. "Ugh!"
"These things keep coming with no warning." said Kai.
"That's it—a warning. The scrolls said the earthquakes would be a warning—a warning for something far worse to come," said Misako.
"Far worse? What could be far worse?" Jay asked.
"Yeah, what could be worse than this?" Nalia asked.
"Misako, the indestructible Stone Warrior we fought yesterday. Where did you find him?" Cole asked.
"He was buried under the city," said Misako.
Jay gasps. "You don't think there's more, do you?"
"Please, one was already bad enough," said Nalia.
"Be on guard, ninjas. We must be ready for whatever comes our way," said Wu.
Nalia gave a slight nod but was still getting a bad feeling from all of this.
After a while, Zane's Falcon catches a glimpse of a Stone Swordsman.
"Sensei, it's as we feared. Another Stone Samurai Warrior is loose on the streets," said Zane.
*More Stone Warriors appear.*
"No. No." said Kai.
"No!" shouted Jay.
"We're under attack!" shouted Wu.
Nalia's eyes widened at this. "So many, but that means..... the people will be in danger too." She looked at the others and around herself in worry.
"I can't be everywhere at once, but people will be hurt, and my voice can only reach as far as people can hear... unless." Nalia got an idea as she pulled over her hood and started running.
"Nalia!?" shouted the ninjas.
"Lia! Where are you going!?" shouted Lloyd.
"Trying to save the people!" shouted Nalia as she ran away from the others.
Nalia looked around until she found Gayle standing before a cameraman filming her and running towards her.
"As this army of stone statues sweeps over the city, no one is safe. Mayhem and destruction are their only want. Attempts at communication have failed, prohibi—Hey!" said Gayle but was cut off mid-sentence when Nalia took her microphone.
"Sorry! I'm gonna need this!" shouted Nalia, as she had just stolen Gayle's microphone right before her. She tied the microphone to her scarf, ensuring it wouldn't fall off while running.
"Hey! People of Ninjago! Yellow Ninja here speaking! I know everything is kind of in chaos right now. But don't worry, we, the ninjas, will do everything we can to protect you all!" said Nalia while running through the streets.
"So, to keep everyone's spirits up! I have a small song for you all to hear!" said Nalia through the microphone.
A smile grew on Nalia's smile behind her ninja mask while running and using sand to get up on the roof before she opened her mouth again and began singing through the microphone at full volume so that she could be heard by everyone in the city, even the palace.
(The song she is singing)
(link to song)
"Can you hear that small, quiet sound?
This voice of mine, completely earthbound
For sadly it is trapped deep within
Somewhere in the dark
If the world that we live upon
Still has meaning, please say I'm not wrong
If it's true, the feelings we feel
Are not a hopeless ideal
I was crushed and put down by my own desire
I was hopeless and tired
Without knowing what colors lie ahead
In that endless sky!~"
A golden glow surrounded Nalia as she jumped from roof to roof, singing out loud while looking around, until she noticed two children getting cornered by some stone warriors.
She jumped down, forming a sand shield for the kids, as she let out more strength to punch the stone warriors away.
The punches left cracks on the stone warriors, but she noticed her singing was also healing them, much to her annoyance. She couldn't do much about it, so she quickly ran and picked up the children.
"So I began to run,
Because my feelings, even now
Are always beating hard against my heart
Guiding me towards the sun
And starting from today, until I've finally found the key
So we both can build a future
Where we share one destiny
I finally know what's true
The answer was a gift from you.~"
Nalia made a few sand walls as she ran with the kids until she got the kids to a safe place.
She pointed down an alleyway that would take them to safety, until she left them and returned to running on the streets.
"Now I know I can let go
Of all those bad days but even so
I'll hold tight, and keep going strong
I won't get lost again!
Heading towards that uncertainty
Despite the heartaches that we carry
Soon we'll find our way to the end
No matter where that may be.~"
Nalia saw an elderly couple about to be killed by a stone warrior, so she made another sand wall just as the stone warrior's sword got stuck in it.
"I'm not letting another soul die on my watch!" she thought to herself in rage, glowing even brighter as a silhouette of a huge golden dragon stood in her place. She ran over, punching the stone warrior with more force, sending it flying into three buildings.
"Get to safety." She told the elderly couple as she made a sand wave that took the couple away before she then moved on to help more people.
"So I find myself following the path he laid
And I have come this far
You've made out the map, leading me all the way
Flying to the stars!
I remember every word
I hear your voice, I hear that sound
It's always beating hard against my heart
Echoing all around
Watching the days go by
And as they pass me one by one
I begin to understand my place
And now I realize why!
I finally know what's true
The answer was a gift from you.~"
Nalia ran through the streets until she heard the sound of screaming and quickly ran towards it as the symbols all around her body began to glow.
After turning the last corner, she saw that the palace was under attack. The guards were having some trouble, but mostly seemed to handle it.
She looked around to see where the scream came from until she noticed the royal couple and a little girl, probably the princess, cornered by four stone warriors.
"Look! The Yellow Ninja!" pointed the little girl out when she saw Nalia.
Nalia didn't waste any time as her eyes glowed in rage, and ran over to them, summoning stars around her staff that she pulled out and swung at the first stone warrior at full strength. Causing a massive earthquake to rumble through what felt like the whole world. There even was a faint rift in the sky.
"Get to safety while I handle this." She told the royal family as she swung at the other stone warriors with the same force, causing another earthquake and rift in the sky.
The royal family thanked the yellow ninja and quickly ran to safety.
"As we live life day by day
It just seems that everything will stay the same
No matter where we go
Deep inside my heart I know
It won't end...
And again...~"
Nalia formed a giant sand shield around the palace, pushing away the stone warriors she hadn't smashed into dust.
She looked around as she had the stone warriors follow her away from the palace and back onto the streets.
"So I began to run,
Because my feelings, even now
Are always beating hard against my heart
Guiding me towards the sun!
And starting from today, until I've finally found the key
So we both can build a future
Where we share one destiny
I finally know what's true...
The answer was a gift,
from you...~"
Nalia finished the song by sending comets down on the stone warriors, slowing them down as she got on a roof and got away. She soon noticed Destiny's Bounty ahead and picked up the speed. One of the symbols on her body turned to dust as she increased the size of a star, which gave her the boost to get up on the ship at the last moment.
"But there's always the future," said Wu as he and Misako held hands.
But the ship started shaking just as they were about to fly off. Nalia landed on it, breathing heavily. She had stopped glowing, and the dragon silhouette faded away.
"Nalia!?"
"Lia!?"
Everyone was surprised to see her, as they thought something had happened to her, even though they had heard her voice through the city.
"H-hey, guys," said Nalia, giving a weak smile.
"Lia, what happened to you? You look like you could pass out at any minute," said Lloyd, rushing over and quickly helping her back up by having her lean against him.
"Saving people is hard," said Nalia with a small smile, resting her head on his shoulder. "But so worth it."
"Look! It's the Yellow Ninja!" one of the civilians pointed at her, catching everyone else's attention.
"Thank you so much!"
"You saved us!"
"You're our hero!"
"I loved your song! It really kept my spirit up!"
"Okay, okay, back off everyone." said Cole.
"You can all thank her later, but right now, she needs some rest," said Wu.
The civilians calmed down and went on to give Nalia some space to rest.
"Looks like you became the hero of the people, Lia," said Lloyd, smiling at her as he had her sit down with him.
"Yeah, looks like it," said Nalia, closing her eyes and slowly falling asleep as she leaned against him with her head on his shoulder.
As she fell asleep, the rifts in the sky slowly turned back to normal, and everything was at peace.