Fool Me Thrice

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"Remembering this, remembering you, it's painful." The voice of a girl was heard, Zane unable to clearly see what she looks like. He looked around, noting they were both inside some sort of bunker.

The figure reached out to him, his vision being consumed with zeros and ones. "It's better if we just forget our time together, I'm sorry."

Zane jolted up, hitting his head atop of the bunk bed. He rubbed his head before getting out of bed, now being inside the control room of the Bounty, spotting Nya and Wu

Zane huffed. "A vision." He mutters, the room shifting to the upper deck.

His falcon landed on the railing of the ship, catching the attention of the white ninja. "What fortunate do you bring into my vision, little friend?"

These visions rarely came to him, but when they did, they always came true.

Zane heard an eerie laughter, causing him to turn and face the figure. "Garmadon." He glared. "I suppose this means you escape banishment."

Lord Garmadon only grinned, running towards the ice ninja, but was blasted by green light before he could strike.

"The green ninja!" Zane exclaimed, studying the prophesied ninja. He carried attributes of his brothers and himself, he couldn't quite tell who was meant to be him.

Once Garmadon was kicked into the void, the world shifted again.

He was now in a sort of throne room. It gave a strange aura of terror, and with every breath he took, an overwhelming feel of fear waved over him.

"It's so fascinating that you could even feel fear."

Zane flinched at the woman's voice, desperately looking for the source of noise.

He tried calming himself, but it only worsened. Looking down at his hands, they turned into copper, causing him to freak out more.

The woman gave a dramatic sigh, Zane feeling her hand yank the back of his head. "As entertaining as you are, I do need the power source inside you."

He didn't get time to question her, as she slammed his face into the floor. He never felt pain in his visions, but he felt his head crack with every slam, feeling himself start to break.

~~~

Zane jolted up, hitting his head atop the bunk bed. "Arg!" He flinched back, holding his head. "Woah! What kind of dream did you have?" Jay asked, looking worriedly at the white ninja. "Doesn't matter, hurry up and get ready, you're going to be late for training." Cole stated.

"Why did none of you wake me?" He questioned, getting out of bed.

Kai shrugged. "Didn't want to be the one to get punched, you looked like you were having quite the dream."

Zane placed a hand on his head. No cracks. "Is... this still a vision?"

Cole threw a pillow at his face, chuckling at his mortified expression. "Still think you're dreaming? The black ninja asked. "No, your assistance was appreciated."

___

The child walked alongside the Fangpyre Generals, excited to finally get revenge on the Hypnobrai.

(Y/n) rode on the motorbike, having easy access to escape. "Are we almost there?" The boy whined. "Just about." She replied.

And in the distance, there they were, the Hypnobrai. Both Generals of the tribes went to face each other, the child watching in excitement before it quickly was replaced with confusion.

"Skales, you old chum!"

"Well, if it isssn't the Fangpyre twins, I didn't expect the fight to be with you."

The confusion slowly boiled into anger as the child went between the two serpents. "What!? You're supposed to be enemies, not friends!" He yelled, glaring at the Fangpyre Generals. "Enemies while Slithraa was in charge [friends now that Skales leads.]"

"Tough luck boy, realeasssing the Fangpyre was the worst choice you could have made." Skales mocked. "If you released the Constrictai, Venomari, or heavens forbid the Anacondrai, then we would have had a tussle."

The child huffed, his face turning red.

"Well, since the war has become a truce of sorts." The girl started, cutting between the two serpents. "Could you have your people transform the bike, also, I need the weapons back."

The Fangpyre Generals hissed, (Y/n) crossing her arms. "You! I sssaid to leave and never return!" Skales glared, (Y/n) shrugging. "And we will take our leave once my requests are met." She stated, walking back to her bike.

Skales rattled his tail but immediately gets stopped by the Fangpyre Generals.

"Let them leave. They are no threat. [And the human elders would be saddened by her disappearance.]" They said, Skales crossing his arms in annoyance. "Fine, I'll let this transssgression slide."

Once the Fangpyre completed the task given to them, (Y/n) and the child rode off.

"Heaven forbid the Anacondrai- would have had a tussle!" The child mocked, aggressively opening the map. "Fine then, (Y/n), take me to the Anacondrai tomb."

She slightly winced at that. Anacondrai had no known weaknesses. She wouldn't be able to control the situation in any way. "Let's consider a different approach, maybe the Constrictai could-" "ITS AN ORDER!" He yelled, yanking her cloak.

A green shock ran through her body, causing her to swerve the bike. "Woah!" The child yelped, looking at her confusingly.

She stopped the bike, holding onto her heart as she felt it crush as she tried to deny the command he gave.

"(Y-Y/n).."

"O-Okay, fine." Her obedience caused the pain to immediately vanish. She shakingly placed her hands back onto the bike, taking back control in her breathing. "J-Just guide the way."

___

"Then he was pushed off the bounty by the green ninja." Zane finished, getting the awes of his brothers. "Wow, so I guess I really am the green ninja." Kai declares proudly. "Uh, no, unless you can carry things three times your size." Cole stated, immediately debunking his claim. "He also shot lightning, and I don't see you shooting any." Jay added.

Zane didn't include the ending to his vision, the information wasn't needed, and he wasn't sure if it meant anything anyway.

"Since all of you are no longer training, I suppose you've found the answer to my riddle." Wu said, walking to the four. "What is the best way to defeat an enemy?"

"The best way is by.. training?" Kai answered, with a small shrug. "Feeble and incorrect, you will continue your training."

They all groaned in annoyance, their Sensei leaving them to train.

"There are millions of ways to defeat an enemy, it could literally be anything!" Jay complained, dramatically falling to the floor. "Yeah, like going off and marrying them." Cole joked, causing the blue ninja to blush, immediately standing back up. "I wasn't the one to ask about marriage, SHE was the one talking about marriage!" He defended.

"Hey, not judging, everyone's got a type." He chuckled, Jay only rolling his eyes. "Whatever, man."

"Let's bring our focus back to the riddle, Sensei wants us to find the best way to defeat an enemy, we can reduce that to a few options." Zane muttered a bit. "What about just killing them." Kai suggested.

Zane shook his head. "No, then we'd have their allies as enemies, and that cycle would only continue." "Let's keep brainstorming then, I don't want to be training all day."

___

(Y/n) pushed open the tomb door, slightly shuddering at the sight of Serpentine skeletons. "Hello? Anyone there?" The boy yelled, turning on the light source in his hands.

The girl stayed close to the boy, hyper aware of her surroundings. The feeling of being watched felt like ice shards stabbing at her back. Or maybe she was being too paranoid, maybe the Anacondrai tribe had been wiped out.

The boy opened the map, slightly doubting he was in the right tomb. "This should be the right place." He said, looking back up to see, inches away from him, a large purple colored serpent.

He let out a high-pitched scream, hiding behind (Y/n). "Oh my, deepest apologies, I had no intention to frighten you." He said, lowering his large figure to look less threatening. "My appearance does tend to get a negative reaction."

The Anacondrai gently held the girl's hand, placing a small kiss onto it. "I am Pythor P. Chumsworth."

The child suddenly had courage and slapped away the hand from her, slightly glaring. "I'm Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon, this is (Y/n) um.. what's your last name?" "I do not have multiple names, it is just (Y/n)."

"Well! Since you've freed me, I am at your eternal service." He bowed. "Really.. you won't betray me?" "What would be the point? I hardly have any company." Pythor gestures to the piles of corpses he's surrounded by.

(Y/n) cringed, but quickly shoved that uncomfortable feeling down. "Well, don't worry Pythor, you can be our friend." He paused slightly, turning to (Y/n). "We're friends, right?"

"You are my master?" She questioned, not knowing what he meant by friend.

The boy frowned a bit, shaking his head. "No, we're friends now, so you can stop calling me young lord and master." He says with a smile. She tilted her head. "What would you like to be called?" "Lloyd!"

"Well, Floyd, (N/n), I feel as if this friendship will blossom into something beautiful." He cooed, pulling them both into a hug.

The day was spent terrorizing the village people, destroying property, and petty theft. She didn't indulge in the behavior, but she didn't do anything to stop them either.

Then she found herself in the school she's been to. Some of the boys recognized her, but said nothing.

"Second base of operations, I want a lot of booby traps set!" Lloyd yelled out, skating around. "I did set a few of my own, if you like, I could show you." Pythor offered. "Yeah! (Y/n), stay and guard the front."

She didn't get to respond as they left immediately. An annoyed huff left from her, waiting for the two to come back. And, two figures approached her.

"Surprising to see you two here." She stated, watching the two Skulkin stop in front of her. "Now that Samukai's gone, we have a lot of free time!" Nuckal said excitedly. "Ninjago has changed a lot, they have rides that you get on for fun! Ha! Can you believe that?"

Nuckal started rambling about something called an amusement park, how the villages are now large, and how buildings are made of glass.

"Anyway, wanna ditch the kid and hang out?" He asked. She hummed for a bit before shaking her head. "I'll pass on the offer."

For a small moment, she saw a frown, or maybe she was just seeing things. "Okay, whatever the little kin wants." He cooed, skipping away, leaving Kruncha and (Y/n).

"How is life without Samukai?" She asked. "Peaceful." He said, the girl giving a shocked expression, she wasn't expecting him to answer.

"Oh, that's nice." She awkwardly said. "I'm glad you found peace."

He stared at her for a bit, (Y/n) shifting uncomfortably. "How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Uhh, things could be better." She started, thinking a bit. "Lord Garmadon's son had me release a few of the Serpentine Tribes, two of them will be manageable but this one is an Anacondrai, which makes things difficult-" "Not what I asked."

The girl flinched. She paused, not knowing what he wanted to hear. "How are you feeling?" He asked again, causing her to shift in place.

"I don't know." She muttered, frowning a bit. Kruncha sighed, ruffling her hair. "Loosen up, I'm not going to do anything to you." "I know."

Kruncha pondered for a bit, looking back down at her. "You know, if you wanted, we could free you from-"

"No." She hissed, not letting him finish.

He ruffled her hair again, an attempt to calm her down. "We'll be there if you ever need anything." He walked off into the direction that Nuckal went.

She frowned. Kruncha never spoke to her like that. Conversations went along the lines of how to fight, survival, basic knowledge of realms, or even telling stories from his mortal days. He was never.. emotional towards her.

What changed his demeanor? Was it Samukai's death, but why would that even change anything? It shouldn't have, it wouldn't.

(Y/n) flinched, pushing herself back as an anchor crashed just inches in front of her. She looked down into the giant hole that was just created.

The ninja all groaned in pain. "Let's not do that again." The earth ninja declared, the others agreeing.

She made eye contact with the red ninja. Slowly she backed away, thinking if she should yell for the Skulkin.

"Where do you think you're going?" The earth ninja asked, pointing his scythe towards her. "We've got a few questions to ask."

(Y/n) panicked when the red ninja ran full force at her. "Wha- Kai wait!"

His sword came down to strike her, as she barely caught the blade in hand, causing the cut to reopen. "A-Ah." She held the blade tight, kicking him in the stomach, sending him back a bit. In her panicked state, she threw the sword back at him, which he dodged.

Though she missed, the sword was able to pin the blue ninja to the wall.

"A-Are you alright?" "Zane! Don't ask the enemy if they're okay!" The fire elemental yelled, unpinning the sword from the wall.

He went to attack her again, but was countered by Nuckal.

His facial features looked even more deranged than usual. The red light in his eye glowing slightly brighter. "It's been so long since I've been in a real fight."

He was rusty, but still was holding up well against the four ninja.

"This is why you were supposed to follow my lead, Kai!" The earth elemental yelled. "I'm not listening to you just because you self-elected yourself to be leader!" He shouted back.

Kruncha grabbed the girl's hand, seeing how badly the cut was. "It's not that bad." He tells her, pouring liquid that burns her cut. Wrapping her hand with bandages. "Wash it and change it or it'll get infected."

"Look (Y/n)!" Nuckal called, motioning to the knocked down ninja. "Wasn't really hard to beat them, you proud of me?"

(Y/n) rolled her eyes, walking towards the ninja. The white ninja was the only one with golden weapons now.

"Will you listen now?" The earth ninja questioned, slightly irritated by their predicament. "Nope!"

With that, he took out a small dagger, slashing the girl across her chest. "(Y/N)!"

The ninja quickly got up, the three a bit hesitant but continued to go up the roof of the building anyway.

"Don't go into the dark, stay in the light! Stay in the light!" She smacked Nuckal away, lightly growling. "Your voice is irritating." She held onto her chest. "Just leave, you two aren't needed." She hissed, wobbling a bit as she stood.

"(Y/n).." She pushed past them, making her way to the top of the building.

___

The ninja stood a top the building, trying to figure out how to get Pythor away from Lloyd. "All you want to do is make the Serpentine your slaves!" The snake hissed. "Well boy, I've got other plans." He grabbed Lloyd by the collar, snatching the map he had.

Lloyd tried grabbing back the map, Pythor only laughing in his attempts. "Let go!" He screeched.

A trail of purple mist seeped through the cracks of the building, confusing the ninja. "What is this?" Pythor tried to shoo away the fog. The fog materializes, wrapping itself around the large serpent, yanking him down.

The girl crawled out from the building, fazing through the roof. And there she stood, her body hidden by the black cloak she wore, only the glowing purple of her eyes was seen.

"(Y/n)!" Lloyd cheered, getting dropped by Pythor. "No! Let go of me!" He hissed, flailing around, the restraints choking him lightly before letting go. The mist evaporating immediately.

"I've had enough of this!" The Anacondrai disappeared.

"(Y/n)!" The boy cried, hugging onto the girl tightly. "Urk-" She muffled her sound, having a difficult time standing. "I-I thought you were gonna leave me too, I-I was so scared!"

She heard none of that, only focusing on the ringing of her ears and the way she felt her wound burn.

Zane flinched towards her, sensing her weaken. "Something is wrong." He said, taking a few more stops only to be stopped by Lloyd. "No! Go away! We don't need anyone else!" He hissed, looking back at (Y/n). "Let's go, make that dragon thing again."

Lifting her hand, she tried to follow the order Lloyd gave her. Or the order she thinks he gave her, she was only able to hear dragon.

The wind begins to pick up, the ninja letting a sigh of relief when they see the bounty make its way to them. "Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon! Come here this instant!" The old man yelled, the boy sticking out his tongue.

"Nu uh! Come on (Y/n), hurry." He tugs at her cloak, causing her to drop to the floor. She held her open wound in a protective manner, breathing heavily and failing to regain control of it.

Lloyd flinched, looking worriedly at the girl. "(Y-Y/n)?" He pulls the cloak off her head, her eyes still glowing but her expression was pained.

Zane took a few more cautious steps. "Lloyd, (Y/n) is injured, we will be able to help-" "What! No!" Kai interrupted, annoyed that his teammate keeps trying to help the enemy.

Lloyd frowned, looking back at (Y/n). "No, she's stronger than all of you, she's not hurt, come on (Y/n), please." He muttered.

Ignoring her pained expression.

Ignoring her shaking form.

Ignoring how she let her body thud to the ground.

Ignoring the red that stained his hands.

Ignoring the fact that she's dead.

Ignoring the fact that it's his fault.

Ignoring the fact that he's going to be alone again.

Suddenly, a pair of arms brought him out of his thoughts. His uncle was hugging him, giving him a reassuring smile. Lloyd looked over at (Y/n), seeing that she was being carried onto the ship by the white ninja.

A few tears fell before he let out a loud wail.

___

Zane laid the girl on the infirmary bed, getting all the supplies he needed. Once done he went back to her, only slightly shocked to see her trying to get up, her eyes still not to its normal color.

"I recommend you not to strain yourself, it will worsen your condition." He says, getting a glare from the girl. "You are able to trust me, though our meetings were under unfortunate circumstances, I only want to help."

The glare she had softened, but her guard was still up. He didn't mind, given that she sees herself in enemy territory, he understood.

He carefully took off her top, unbinding the bandages from her chest. The wound was from the right side of her hip up to the middle of her chest. He cleaned her wound a bit, cringing slightly at the hissed pain sound she made.

As he continued to work on her wound, he found it strange that she wasn't dead. That wasn't what he wished for, but an observation he made. "Does your glowing eyes help with your wound?" He questioned, getting no answer.

Zane assumed that's what was helping, it couldn't be explained any other way.

After he stitched the wound, he cleaned her up again, then dressed her. And once done with that, her eyes returned to normal and she fell unconscious. She was stabilized, so there was no need for him to worry.

The white ninja made his way to his Sensei.

"That reminds me, did any of you figure out the answer to my riddle?" The Sensei asked.

Zane's brothers sighed in defeat at the question, obviously tired from the events of the day.

"It is to make them your friend." He answered. The answer didn't please his students. "This isn't some movie, you can't just make friends with the enemy." Kai stated. Wu sighs, shaking his head.

"If the girl was befriended, would it not bring peace, would it not have her cease her goal of taking the golden weapons." "Yeah, but that's impossible!" Jay exclaims.

"Difficult, not impossible."

"I believe in Sensei's judgment." Zane added, scaring the three ninja. "Geez, you really need to wear a bell." Jay joked.

"Zane, how is she doing?" Wu asked, a warm smile crossing his face. "Better than before." He says, making eye contact with Kai before shifting it back to his Sensei. "The wound was deep, it should have killed-" "Whatever, she's alive." Kai interrupted. "How did she get the wound?" Wu asked, his students remaining silent before Kai answered. "Pythor."

Wu hummed, walking away from the group. The teens waited a bit before having a hushed conversation.

"What was that stupid stunt you pulled? Why didn't you just follow my lead?" Cole hissed at him. "We got the kid, we got the weapons, we stopped the enemy, your plan didn't matter."

Cole glared at him, fuming with rage. "You almost killed her." Kai rolled his eyes, walking away. "I'm not dealing with this, I'm going to bed."

With his leave, the Earth ninja punched a hole into the wall of the Bounty. He let out a frustrated sigh before leaving too.

Jay and Zane glanced between the two angered ninja, the atmosphere getting awkward. "Haa- so, should we be arguing, or.." Jay joked, attempting to lighten the mood.

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Author's Note

Stabby stab

♡Current List♡

♡Kai

♡Nya

♡Cole

♡Jay

♡Zane

♡Lloyd

♡Morro

♡Skylor

♡Harumi

♡No one