Part two of the double update!

Candy! 🍭

☯~️☯~️☯️

Garmadon's hazel eyes widened in horror as two more wolves appeared behind the first one. "Oh great," he muttered, continuing to back away. He stopped as he felt himself stepping on a detached tree branch. Without wasting a second, the brunet seized it, waving it at the beasts to waver them.

He got ready to strike as the wolves closed in on him, his forehead creased in concentration. What happened next was all a blur. The wolf in the front pounced so suddenly, Garmadon had no time to react. However, before he could be torn to bits, something swooped down from the trees above him and kicked the wolf back into its companions.

Garmadon dared to open his eyes and was taken aback at the sight of a woman defending him. He couldn't make out her face in the dark but the subtle moonlight from above the tree canopies enabled him to see that she had raven hair as dark as night with a green streak running down on the right side.

She was a bit taller than him and seemed experienced in fighting. Not making much sense out of the situation, Garmadon was grateful for her help.

"Are you okay, kid?" she inquired all the while scowling at the wolves.

"Uh, I think so," Garmadon replied, his grip on the branch becoming tighter. He couldn't focus properly on his moves due to the need of food and rest so he wasn't performing to his full potential. Garmadon cried out in pain as he was tackled by one of the animals.

The wolf growled in his face, its hot breath making Garmadon gag as he held it back with the branch. Just as he was about have his head bit off, the brunet mustered up the strength to fold his legs and kick the wolf clear off him. Scrambling to his feet, Garmadon waited for his heartbeat to slow down.

He ran for a trio of wolves rushing at him, vaulting clear over them with the aid of the branch. He landed and side struck another beast, getting tired already. The woman on the other hand was faring far better than him.

It was like she had been fighting these wolves all her life. She dodged, jumped, kicked and attacked, punctuating every action with a "hiyah!"

"Look out!" Garmadon hollered as all the wolves circling around her charged at once. But she didn't need any warning. In the small interval of time, the woman raised her hands and at once the winds picked up speed.

The gale whipped Garmadon's hair around and he shielded himself with his arms against it, trying hard not to get blown away. He didn't have to put in a lot of effort though. It turned out the woman was directing the wind straight at the wolves who were instantly knocked back.

They quickly got to their feet and threatened the woman with a nasty growl. She seemed unfazed and instead, stamped her foot at one of the nearest wolves, snarling. The beasts immediately cowered and eventually ran away.

The woman relaxed herself and straightened her long dark hair before turning around and facing the boy. The said boy was, however, staring at her with his mouth wide open.

She was breathing heavily, tired from all the action. She furrowed her brows at the surprised look on Garmadon's face. "What?"

The boy moved his lips but no words came out. Finally he cleared his throat and managed to say, "You can make wind?! Like, with your hands?!"
The ravenette glanced down briefly at her hands before replying, "Uh, yes. I'm the Master of Wind."

Hearing this, Garmadon beamed and dropped the branch he realized he was still holding. He rushed forward and vigorously shook her hand. "I knew you were real! Everyone thought I was wasting my time but I turned out be right!" He let go of her hand and gestured at himself smugly. "I'm Garmadon, you know, the son of the First Spinjitzu Master."

The woman giggled good-naturedly at the boy's excitement. "Hello, Garmadon. I'm Venti."

"I have never seen a person control wind before but my father told me he was sure the Wind Master fought alongside him and the others against the Stone Army," Garmadon explained, excitement bubbling in his chest. "This is definitely going in the Coolest Moments Of My Life list!"

"Well, I'm honoured to make your acquaintance, young Garmadon," Venti smiled. "I actually overheard the conversation you and your brother were having earlier. I liked how you denied his negations about me."

Garmadon's grin quickly converted to a frown as he narrowed his eyes at the woman. "Wait, you've been following us?"

Venti stuttered, waving her hands. "No, no. I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I was just on patrol and I heard you two."

"Why were you on patrol?"

Venti pressed her lips together and appeared uncomfortable with answering the question. She fiddled with her fingers as she stared at the ground. "Son of the First Spinjitzu Master," she began as if repeating a chant, "since you have such a high and noble position, I am blindly putting my faith in you.

"It was because of your father that we are all here today and if I can't trust the progeny of my creator, I can't trust anyone else."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Garmadon stated, mystified by why Venti had started acting weird.

"What I am about to reveal to you is highly confidential and it's something I would rather keep a secret from any other person," Venti explained. "There is a village up ahead where I come from. As far as I know, the first Master of Wind did fight in the First Battle. But after it was over, he came back here to settle down into that village.

"The villagers have in their possession the Sword of Sanctuary," Venti continued, "a weapon with which you can see your opponent's next move before the maneuver is made. It was gifted to them by the Cloud Kingdom but people have always tried to steal it.

"It was lost once due to a traveler who had betrayed them but was retrieved soon. Ever since that, they've stayed in hiding. My ancestors have always protected its remaining populace and I do the same."

"Whoa," Garmadon breathed, listening intently. "And do they still have it?"

"The Sword of Sanctuary? Yes," muttered Venti. "But it would be foolish to go on a tour. They don't take kindly to strangers - not after what happened last time."

Garmadon's eager smile vanished as a disappointed pout took its place. He would never miss an opportunity to check out an ancient piece of weaponry or artifact but conditions weren't swinging in his favour right now. Then all of a sudden, a realization dawned on him and his eyes widened. "Oh no," he whispered.

"What? What is it?" Venti asked, thinking that the wolves had returned to avenge themselves.

"My brother is there," the brunet replied, wringing his hands uneasily. "In the village. I told that pipsqueak not to go there but he doesn't listen to me."

The woman grabbed Garmadon's shoulder and gave him a feeble shake. "You have to go help him," she said in a frantic whisper. "They won't stop till he's dead."

Garmadon freed himself and scrunched up his nose haughtily. "And get myself killed? No, thank you! I've given enough sacrifices for him already!"

Venti scowled at him, folding her arms. "That's not what I expected from you, son of the First Spinjitzu Master. Brothers always have each other's backs."

"Okay, okay," Garmadon grumbled, not wanting to face the wrath of his father if anything happened to Wu. "And will you please stop calling me the 'son of the First Spinjitzu Master' again and again? It sounds weird."

Venti beamed and began leading the way back to the village. "There's a clearing a little way away from the village. You and your brother can take flight from there."

Garmadon thanked her as they sped through the trees. He sighed as he realized that he was doing the exact same thing he had vowed never to do again: being responsible for Wu. Guess it was Garmadon to the rescue - again.

"Oh and Garmadon?" Venti muttered.

"Hm?"

"Don't tell anyone about me or the Sword, okay? Not even your brother. Can I trust you?"

"Sure thing!"

☯~️☯~️☯️

Wu yelled as he ducked, nearly getting impaled by a spear that went sailing over his head. He began running as one of the fighters pursued him, his fatiguing muscles screaming in pain. He was getting exhausted and there were villagers on every exit so he couldn't escape easily - not without help.

His feet got caught up in a tangle of roots of a nearby tree resulting in him falling face-first onto the ground. He gasped as pain shot through his sprained limb. He rolled over onto his back, coughing and sputtering.

The man who he was running from now towered over him, sneering down at the tired boy. "I have you now," he growled, pressing the blade of a sword on Wu's neck. "It was your own foolishness that led to this. Now all that's left is to finish you off, boy!"

Wu shut his eyes and waited for the slicing pain and the arms of death to claim him. But it never came.

"Not if I have a say in it!" came a yell from somewhere and the man was yanked away from the blonde. Wu cracked open an eye and was relieved to see a purple tornado slicing its way through the crowd of armed villagers.

As the spinning blur came to a stop, it revealed his brother, his fists raised and determination showing in his eyes. Wu's blue eyes lit up at the sight of him and he got up to run over to him. He stood back to back with the brunet as the men enclosed them from all sides.

"You came back for me," Wu announced, not hiding the gratefulness that was evident in his voice. Garmadon leaped and applied a roundhouse to a fighter, sending him flying back into his companions.

"Of course I came back!" the older answered as if it was the most obvious thing ever. "Did you think I was just gonna leave you here?"

"Kinda," Wu muttered, latching himself onto a man's back, delivering a knife hand to the junction where the shoulder connected with the neck. As though a switch had been turned off, the man collapsed.

Garmadon scoffed, smirking all the while. "Yeah like Father's going to let me in the house without you." Then immediately he yelled, "Slingshot on three!"

Wu understood and interlocked his hands with his brother's as Garmadon once more twisted into his Spinjitzu, he and Wu nothing but a blur. A few seconds later, the blonde shot out from the tornado and went careening through the air, arms positioned at his sides, one leg extended.

He struck his foot straight on the chest of the tribe leader, who had asked for Wu's name. The said blonde landed on his feet, whooping.

Garmadon found himself busy with a group of five when his eyes fell on the clearing on the other side of the village. But that was not all he saw.
Amongst the shadows of the rustling trees stood a woman with a hood pulled over her head, hands raised.

A smile found its way to his lips as he realized who she was. A strong gust of wind started blowing and extinguished all the fires and lanterns, plunging the village into darkness. With no light to expose them, Garmadon saw their chance to make a run for it.

"Wu!" he yelled at his brother over the sounds of the panicking villagers. "To the clearing!"

Wu turned around at the sound, squinting at his brother's silhouette in the dark. "What clearing?!"

"Just follow me!"

Leaving everything behind, the brothers rushed through the chaos they had caused towards the space among the trees. They were halfway there when the village chief came to a halt in front of them, blocking their way. "Not so fast!"

Garmadon and Wu skidded to a stop, gazing up at the tall man. They were out of breath and were hardly in the condition to fight any longer.

Venti saw the trouble and shuffled around to help them without being seen. She noticed a stack of barrels next to a tent that was trying to stay fastened to the ground in the rough gale. Rushing over, she kicked them down, using the wind to direct them straight at the chief.

Wu saw the incoming barrels and pushed Garmadon out of the way. As the brothers crashed to the side, the chief got clobbered by the rolling wooden cylinders. Recovering, Garmadon pulled Wu to his feet, dragging him over to the clearing.

"Dragons! Now!" he yelled, a glowing purple sphere forming underneath him, developing into a dragon in seconds. Wu constructed a golden one as the clearing lit up with sparking lights. As the winged creatures flew out of the confines of the conifers, the darkness returned.

Safely in the air now, the brothers turned around to see the villagers gathered in the clearing, screaming and shouting and waving their weapons up at them.

"Thanks Venti!" Garmadon yelled to the wind, his dragon picking up speed as they flew farther away from the forest.

"Who's Venti?" Wu wondered aloud, jerking his reins and trying to catch up to his brother.

"Oh, no one," Garmadon shrugged, smirking all the while. "Just a Whispering Giant I met." He winked at the blonde and clicked his tongue, urging his dragon to go faster.

Wu made a face as he stared after him, running thoughts in his head. Was Garmadon joking or was he being sarcastic. Or . . . telling the truth? He shrugged, dismissing it altogether. With Garmadon, you never really know.

☯~️☯️~☯️

"What is the meaning of this?!" the First Spinjitzu Master screamed at his sons. "Would you look at the time?" He was standing in the courtyard, arms folded and face twisted in a scowl as he glared at the boys.

"I've been worried sick! Look at yourselves!" He gestured at their ripped clothes which were dirty and torn from all the fighting. Their faces also sported a few cuts here and there.

Wu scratched his rough blonde locks, trying to come up with a believable lie that would convince his pragmatic father. "We were, uh, having a tree climbing contest but we fell down and
. . . this happened."

Their father narrowed his eyes at them as the brothers greeted him with innocent grins. "But we're not hurt that bad so don't stay up all night nursing us or whatever," Garmadon added.

"Go clean yourselves up and then have your supper," the First Spinjitzu Master commanded with a sigh. Wu and Garmadon obliged with a little bow and made their way into the monastery.

As Wu continued on, Garmadon stopped in his tracks and turned around to face the old man who stood looking over at the moon. "Father, guess what?"

His father turned to smile at his son. "What?"

"I found what I was looking for."

The First Spinjitzu Master widened his smile, not needing further explanation. "That's wonderful, my son."

Garmadon, feeling good about the whole thing (ignoring the fact that they had just escaped from the clutches of vengeful tribesmen), hummed a tune as he made his way to his room. He was at the door when he heard his name being called.

He backtracked to find Wu coming to him, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I just wanted to say . . . thank you," he mumbled, stealing a glance at his brother. "Thank you for saving me back there. I was pretty much a goner if you hadn't . . . y'know . . ."

Garmadon chuckled, slapping Wu playfully on the back. "You're welcome, goofball. And maybe next time you'll listen to me more."

"I will," Wu promised, folding his fingers into a fist. "I mean, obviously I have to since you're my older brother and all," he added with a shrug.

The brunet leaned forward to give him a one-armed hug before muttering "See you at supper." With that, he entered his room, closing the door behind him.

Wu exhaled slowly, a little smile playing on his lips as he too traipsed to his room. No matter what had happened between them all those years ago; no matter what had torn them apart, he knew that Garmadon would always have his back.

And he would always have his.

☯~️☯️~☯️

Yes, Venti is Morro's great grandma times hundred.

I personally believe that the green streak thingy is hereditary and the first wind master had it too. It doesn't show itself in a descendant that was skipped in the element transfer.

Basically, if you have the wind element, you have the streak.

Okay, I'll shut up now.