"WOOOOHOOOOOO" Kai yelled, speeding in his off-road car through the desert under the blazing sun. Beside him, the six other ninja were zooming in their own vehicles, taking their speed to the air and ground.
It had only been a few days after the huge 'incident' - the rubble from the alien crash had been cleared quite quickly, with all the debris and spare pieces of metal taken to Ed and Edna's Junkyard. In the meantime, Ninjago City was back to normal, bustling with life like always.
"Wow, I sure did miss this! The whole gang riding through the deserts, to who knows where-" Cole proclaimed brightly, increasing the boost of his automobile.
The GPS on Zane's jet screen beeped - "We're here!" he alerted his friends. They all slowed their impressive vehicles as they came to a stop on the burning sand and jumped out.
Jay opened his blue jet door to let his passenger out as well. Quentin stumbled out beside the seven ninja, dazed by the intense journey across the dunes of the desert.
"Did you have to do--all those--loops..?" The Kosmikile blurted in a queasy manner, leaning against the stationary jet.
"I thought it was cool, okay? Don't go puking on us, Q; I'm not cleaning it!" Jay retorted. The others all chuckled lightly.
"We're here now anyway - come on, guys," Jupiter said, hiking through the red sand towards a huge boulder marked with a circle.
"I don't understand - the surprise is... a rock?" The alien questioned, following behind the ninja.
"It may look like a rock, but it is much more than that," Nya told him, leading him through the mysterious rock-shaped mirage and into the majestic land of Azure Valley. Above the sub-realm, the sky was a magnificent blue, with the sun's rays beating down on the colourful city.
Quentin gaped at the vast terrain in awe.
"Cool, right?" Lloyd said. "This is Azure Valley, a special part of Ninjago that's hidden away behind those boulders."
"It's incredible!" exclaimed the alien, as he marvelled over the place with wide eyes.
The ninja and the Kosmikile took a pleasant walk through the main street of Azure Valley; The stone, rock and marble buildings stood high and were decorated in bright lively flowers of every colour. Lights hung over the stone path like daytime stars and the sub-realm's inhabitants waved and cheered as they passed.
Past the densely populated streets and towards the centre of the city was an enormous palace, built from shining marble and adorned with gold. The seven heroes and their new friend all walked through its wide affluent gates into the courtyard, where on the elegant steps stood a familiar face.
"Ah! Ninja! You've arrived!" Axel exclaimed brightly, approaching them with open arms. Emperor Axel ruled over Azure Valley and its people with a kind heart - the only mishap was his brother Marcus not being there too, since he was still cooped up in a Kryptarium prison cell.
The Emperor released himself from the hugs and looked at each of them kindly.
"I did hear about Ninjago City - I am sorry to hear it even happened," He said.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty," Lloyd assured him. "We've sorted it out and now, Ninjago City stands at peace again."
"That is most pleasant to hear - Now onto the real reason we're here today..." The Emperor said, gazing at the additional alien within the group. Quentin smiled politely, a bit confused as to what exactly is happening.
"I've also heard a lot about you, young Kosmikile - Quentin, isn't it?" Axel said, stepping over to him.
"Er..yes, Your Highness," He replied nervously.
"An avid researcher, thriving scientist, and astrology enthusiast...very much like myself and many of the citizens here in Azure Valley."
Quentin raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
The Emperor nodded with a smile.
"Of course! After this whole incident, I've had a bunch of new things to investigate in my free-time...one of those things being the complexities of astralstone."
The young alien's eyes lit up - he felt like he immediately became best friends with this guy. He turned to his ninja friends in inquisitiveness. Zane put a hand on Quentin's shoulder and spoke;
"Azure Valley is a place where no one gets left out, or feels misplaced. And with the Emperor to keep you company in your research, we all thought it'd be a great idea for you to stay here, in the palace - a new home," The nindroid said brightly.
"And don't forget, you're never too far from Ninjago," Jay piped in. "We'll come and visit you guys!"
Quentin couldn't believe what he was hearing. Nobody had ever given him a gift like this before - a chance to pursue what he wanted to do without being ridiculed or controlled.
"So what do you say, Quentin? Would you like to join me here and work together to investigate the unknown?" asked Emperor Axel. The alien looked in disbelief at the smiles around him.
"Yes! I-I'd love to! Thank you!" He exclaimed happily.
And so Quentin became Emperor Axel's partner in crime (not that they were criminals though!). Azure Valley was home to many different people; it was a sub-realm formed to bring the misfits and mistreated of different realms together and give them a place to call home.
After saying their goodbyes, the ninja parted with their friends in Azure Valley; they left the sub-realm through its mystifying portal and boarded their vehicles to head back home.
"I'm gonna need at least a day's worth of sleep after all this," Jupiter sighed in an exhausted tone, whilst starting her bike's engine.
"Heh, I think we all do -" Nya responded. "But that's the thing about being a hero - evil never rests..."
"Especially in Ninjago." said Zane with a smirk.
Kai scoffed in an amused tone - "Yep. Just another day in Ninjago..."
⭐ The End! ⭐
YOU ARE READING
NINJAGO: Starmarked
Adventure[𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙙!] Shortly after the events in 𝘕𝘐𝘕𝘑𝘈𝘎𝘖: 𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘥, the seven ninja head to Kryptarium Prison to question one man who can tell them about a potential threat to Ninjago. As more secrets are uncovered and friendships...
