Hidden Away || Ninjago AU

S:2; Ch:15

It was almost 11 pm. Red, Orange, and Black had just arrived at The Port. The Port was a privately owned section of Ninjago's harbor. It was majorly used for emergencies outside the city that required the ninjas or students of the academy to travel. It was also a storage facility for various vehicles; Water, land, and air.

As they entered, they bumped into Water, who was stepping out.

"Sis," Red said. He left Orange and Black to meet up with Water. "Where are you going?"

"Hey, bro, Sensei Wu told us he caught Greenbean. I want to see him when he comes."

"You're calling him Greenbean? After everything he put us through this night?"

"Well, what do you want me to call him?" Water asked with her hands on her hip. "Mysterious person? Dark power guy? Greenbean is fine. It rolls off the tongue."

Red sighed. "This all feels strange. The person we're looking for suddenly shows up as we plan everything and turns out to be evil. And then, he's caught by our Sensei. Just like that."

"I can see what you're saying," Water said. "It's suspicious to me too. I want to hear Sensei's thoughts on what happened. I also need to report the situation in full."

"Someone's taking on the leader role quite nicely," Red placed an arm around his sister as he sighed. "Can't believe it's my term next."

The Senseis wished for their students to experience what it was like in leadership positions as a lesson to them all. Every three months, a member of the secret ninja force would take on the team leader role. It was currently Water's term, and Red's followed after.

"You did great today, though," Water said, "You took charge when everyone was panicking, including me."

The sound of footsteps echoed loudly despite sounding from a far distance. Red and Water turned their attention to their Sensei's figure appearing at a distance.

"He's here," Water said. She pulled out a pair of binoculars and looked into them. "He seems to be alone, though."

Red put his face in front of the device. "Yeah, it does look that way. Hey, did Sensei Wu always wear a bracelet?"

"Why would Sensei wear a bracelet?" Water said, utterly confused. "Move aside. Let me see. Where is he?"

"Over here," A voice said, landing behind them, "Is everyone here?"

"Except Blue, Sensei," Water answered. "They're seated inside."

"Good," Sensei Wu walked toward the entrance. On his arm was a silver bracelet that had words engraved in gold. He had a satchel bag with him that they hadn't seen with him earlier. "How's Wind?"

Red and Water followed after Wu inside.

"He's fine. He's exhausted and has a few scratches, but he's doing okay."

"Brother!" Garmadon exclaims, standing up. "How did it go? Was it him?"

The other students stood up to greet Wu but motioned for them to be at ease. They were all in a relatively large room that resembled a living room. It had three couches, a center table, and a large-screen television. The only difference was that the room was barely orderly. There was sand on the recently tiled floor, and all the furniture was covered in transparent nylon. The only things in order were the lights and the TV.

"Brother, let's discuss this upstairs," Wu said. He and Garmadon left in the direction of the stairs.

"Excuse me, Sensei," Black said.

"Yes, Black?"

"I think we should know what all that was. The entire situation happened to us after all."

The other ninjas seemed to agree with what he said. The looks on their faces were that of curiosity and seriousness.

Wu turned to Garmadon, questioning him with a stare. Garmadon wasn't sure how to proceed. On the surface, he was calm and collected. Below that, Wu could tell, Garmadon was worried. Worried for his students and his son while also being excited at the thought of having his son found.

"I think they should know," Garmadon sighed. "They have been involved since the very beginning, after all."

Garmadon's words reached the ninja's ears, although it was not intended. This brought on an onset of more confusion. They looked at each other, wondering if the other had answers. However, no one knew what Garmadon's statement meant.

"Hmm..." Wu turned to his students, "How about this? It's been a long night, and I'm sure it's your first time in such a situation. However, there seems to be something more at large. Take the night off and get some rest. Let's meet two days from today."

"And Blue?" Black said, "I don't know what you told my family, but I don't think it can be the same thing you'll tell his family."

"Leave it to the staff at the Academy," Garmadon said. "Listen to my brother and return home."

~X~x~X~x~X~

Garmadon followed Wu in a dark hallway. He walked behind quietly, with only the light from Wu's bracelet to guide him.

"Your silence is questionable," Wu spoke amidst the silence.

"I'm still processing. Also, didn't you and Misako find my quietness cool?" Garmadon answered.

"Not really."

It was quiet for a moment, but Garmadon spoke again.

"Is it him, Wu?"

"Yes, brother."

It was quiet again. Wu stopped in his tracks and turned to Garmadon. Garmadon stopped, confused.

"Are you ready to see him?" Wu asked. "We don't know how he'll act or what he'll say."

"I'll have to see him either way. There's no point leaving what could be done today until tomorrow." Garmadon smirked.

"Why are you always trying to impersonate me?" Wu said with a tired sigh and turned around.

Garmadon laughed a bit, "It's funny, obviously."

"Imagine if your students realized that their super-quiet-super-scary Sensei loved joking around."

"They should see me with Misako if you really wanna shock them. Speaking of which-"

"We're here."

"Where is here?"

Sensei Wu hit his staff against the wall in front of him. The ground vibrated as the walls opened up like an elevator door. Wu stepped through the door, and Garmadon followed.

The two Senseis were standing in a room similar to the living room on the upper floor where the ninjas were earlier. It was empty, with a few chairs scattered around.

"Come out," Wu said, moving to one of the seats. Garmadon, who was behind, noticed something move.

"You came back. Yay." A person said dryly, his voice echoing across the room. "Any plans to let me go?"

"None at all," Wu replied. "Come on out, Lloyd. Let's analyze the situation."

It was quiet for a moment, but then Lloyd spoke.

"Your memory must be bad, uncle. I can't remember how much I've said you shouldn't call my name."

"Maybe if you told me why, I would remember."