Chapter Text
A cloaked woman quietly crept through the streets of nighttime Ninjago City. Carefully picking her way over uneven cobblestones, she soon entered a ruined cathedral, a victim of so many Garmadon attacks that it was deemed irreparable and now had been left to crumble. The light of the moon guided her way through dilapidated halls and ornate rooms with partial roof cover until she stopped inside a small side room and pushed the singular chair on its side, which opened up a hidden cellar door underneath. The steep stairs down were rather musty and the sound of the door slamming shut above her reverberated loudly throughout the stone passageway, but she confidently continued down until she reached a wooden door with a speakeasy window. After a quick succession of knocks, the window slid open and a deep voice spoke.
“The Elements lie cold and dormant.”
“May we return them to the world of the living.”
The voice grunted in approval and the door creaked open. As she walked through, a tall, stoic man nodded at her before closing the door and latching it again. “You returned ahead of schedule.”
“It’s done and that’s what matters. If I ever have to play act allegiance to a child again, someone is getting strangled.”
A few beats of silence passed before the bass voice spoke again. “Where is…”
“The ninja got him,” she bit out annoyedly. “And before you ask more, let me remind you that your job is to guard the door, not judge my mission results.” She pulled back her hood, revealing long black hair and pale skin. “I’m back, the mission is finished, and that’s all you need to know.”
Closing his eyes, the man briefly bowed his head in apology. “Pardon my inquiry; I did not mean to offend. I wish you a successful report.”
“Whatever.”
Removing her cloak fully, she made her way out of the small entry room and into a large open cavern. It had originally been furnished as a disaster shelter up until the building was abandoned, leaving the facilities to be looted and stripped bare. Now, it was connected to a wider network of tunnels underneath the city and was used as a general common room for casual and formal organization meetings.
“Heeeeeey, lookie here! It’s ‘Ultra Violet~’!”
A lanky man intercepted her and casually threw an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in and taking a swig from a glass bottle before offering it to her. “We missed ya ‘round here! Make any new friends while you were gone?”
The woman scowled and hissed at him. “Shut it, Cyrus. It was just a job and you know it.” She shoved the man off of her and pulled a dagger on him. “And keep your booze to yourself. Some of us have more important things to do.”
Cyrus backed away with his arms raised, bottle still clenched in one hand. “I get it, I’m going. Sheesh, no need to get all stabby over it.”
When he made no further attempt to approach her, she re-sheathed the blade and warily glanced around the room. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a report to give. Where is he?”
Another man, a younger-looking one, pointed to a set of stairs. “He’s been in the spire a lot lately. You might start there.”
The inebriated man nodded in agreement. “Yeah, he keeps sayin’ something about how he can feel the time getting near or some garbage like that. No clue what he’s on about, ‘cause we’re still just waiting around doing nothin’.”
She scoffed at his impatience. “Enjoy it while it lasts. I have a feeling things will get pretty busy around here soon.” Rolling her eyes when Cyrus’s face lit up at the news, she turned to the younger man. “Spyder, send out a notice for me. He may call for a meeting tonight, and you know how he hates stragglers.”
He obediently pulled out a cell phone and began tapping out a message, a look of surprise on his face. “Did the mission really go that well?”
“We’ll find out.” Turning to walk away, she stopped with an afterthought. “Oh, and Spyder? Get Mr. Tipsy out of here.”
She left the underground chamber and climbed the wooden spiral stairs to the top of the tower where a broad-shouldered man stood facing a narrow window. Before she could announce her presence, he spoke before turning toward her. “The wolf returns early. Did our little flock go up in flames so quickly?”
Nodding, the woman briefly studied his face. The moonlight filtering through the glass highlighted his graying facial hair while also accentuating his chiseled cheekbones and deep dark eyes, and though he wore a hood over his hair, a metallic headband could be seen covering the majority of his forehead. “The girl became too unstable and got too close to summoning the Oni, so I had to tip Garmadon off and lead the project to an early end. Ghoultar went and got himself captured with the rest of the rabble, but he’s smart. They won’t get anything out of him.” She reached into a pouch that hung from her belt and pulled out a small black handheld device. “It wasn’t a complete failure though. Harumi managed to clone the data from Lloyd Garmadon’s phone.” A scoff left her lips as she handed the device to her superior. “Apparently the kid is the Green Ninja.”
His eyes widened slightly as he took it and began examining the information. The small room was silent for a couple minutes until the man suddenly barked out a laugh. “Our preparations have not been in vain. It seems the master of wind is once again within our grasp.” He smiled widely and handed the woman a roll of paper. “Good work, Bansha. I trust you will use your new position well.”
Bansha accepted the scroll and bowed before leaving the tower. The man chuckled to himself as he reviewed one specific contact from the device. “Morro Wu. I almost feel sorry for your old man.” Picking up a bow that was leaned against the wall, he lit an arrow tip with green fire and let it fly through the open window, watching it arc over the city before disappearing into the distance.
It was time to put the remaining pieces into play.
“After all these years, I will finally claim what’s rightfully mine.”