His Other Half | Ninjago

Chapter 2| The Last Time

☯️~☯️~☯️

He was running. He didn't know why he was running from Wu but he had to.

There was a katana in his hand. Why was it there? Had he been fighting? He was panting hard. His grip on the katana became tighter, knuckles turning white.

He turned his head to look behind him. Someone was following but was still at a distance. He was running through the woods now. His feet slapped the ground as he tore through the trees. His legs were aching. He wanted to stop but he couldn't. He shouldn't. His mind was screaming danger. He had to keep going. Had to keep running away from his little brother, his best friend, his other half.

He stopped. Dead end. A river was slicing through the ground in front of him, rushing wildly. He heard footsteps. He looked around to see Wu standing a few steps away from him with an evil gleam in his eyes. He didn't like it. His eyes roamed down to Wu's right hand where a green snake was coiled. It had bloodred eyes. Its tongue was moving in and out with a hiss. He looked back at his brother.

"Goodbye," Wu said in a whisper that sent shivers after shivers down his back. Wu crouched down and let the snake slide from his hand and onto the ground. It started slithering towards him. He was paralyzed with fear. He kept his eyes on the twisting body of the serpent.

He had two options. Either he could get eaten alive by the snake or he could jump into the river. Neither of them seemed inviting. But seeing Wu like this, he thought it would be better to drown than to get killed by his brother. Just as he was about to jump towards his watery grave, the snake pounced on him . . . darkness . . .

He opened his eyes. He was on a building. A very tall building. Looking down, he saw what looked like a ruined city shrouded in a violet mist. Something was wrong. He was not himself. Something was inside him. Or was he inside something?

He didn't feel human. In fact, he felt like the most darkest being on Earth. He saw huge wings spread out on either side of him, his body pitch black. He let out an unearthly roar. Was he . . . a dragon? He was calling out to someone. But who?

"Help me," he heard himself say, "please."

There was a flash of golden and he was pushed back. Something ripped out of him. Like a burden was removed. It felt . . . so much better. But the feeling of ecstasy vanished as his body succumbed to the Earth's gravity.

He was falling.

. . .

Montgomery woke up with a sharp intake of breath, eyes snapping open. He held his breath for a second or two before releasing it. He was breathing rapidly, chest heaving up and down. He had a dream. Or was it a vision? Montgomery shook his head and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. It was just a nightmare, he thought. But it felt so real.

Should he discuss this with his father? He didn't want to upset him. Which was unlikely since his father was a very placid man— but still, parents tend to worry.

His eyes squinted in the sunlight coming from the window. He looked around. There was a dressing table facing his sleeping mat with a few candles on it. On its right side was a sliding door leading into the closet and another one on the adjacent wall which led outside into the hall. Paintings of ancient battles and landscapes adorned the dragon wallpaper. There was also a small shelf with books in it which he had never bothered to read.

There were no toys which was unlikely for a room belonging to an eight year-old. He and Wu had never really cared about toys. They had a lot more fun playing outside or exploring. But there were always those decoration pieces to play with when it was raining out.

He heard his father calling him for breakfast. Yawning, he got out of his tangle of blanket and sheets and got dressed. It was a sunny day; perfect for exploring that abandoned farmhouse he and Wu had found yesterday. Nothing could ruin this.

Nothing.

☯️~☯️~☯️

"Come, my son, have your breakfast," the First Spinjitzu Master said, smiling warmly. Montgomery nodded and sat down, cross-legged. Just then, Wu came prancing from the back door, hands bearing a bunch of violets.

"Good morning," he sang. "Father, I brought some violets for the table vase as requested."

"Thank you, Wu," his father said as Wu arranged the flowers in the said vase.

"You're awfully cheerful," Montgomery stated, mouth full.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Wu replied, his blue eyes shining. "We're going down to the farmhouse today, right?"

"Right!" Montgomery grinned, feeling excited himself.

"Neither of you are going anywhere until you finish your chores and complete today's training. Which means you can stop gulping down your breakfast, Montgomery," the First Spinjitzu Master announced, putting down his cup of tea.

"Aww," both the brothers cried in unison.

"You heard me. Now finish your breakfast and then it's off to feed the chickens, water the plants and groom the horses in the stable."

. . .

Even though Wu hated doing chores (considered them a waste of time and energy), he would always agree if it meant that he could have a water fight with Montgomery using the garden hose. But today it didn't seem like it. His brother wasn't talking much. He hadn't had a fight with him. Then what was the problem?

Yané, Wu's palomino, was giving him a hard time. He wouldn't stand still. He kept moving here and there while Wu scurried about him, brandishing the curry comb. Wu sighed and gave Yané a look that a disappointed mother gives her child.
Taki on the other hand always obeyed his brother. Montgomery, ever the loud and destructive child, had a way with animals. Wu saw him brushing Taki's mane while the buckskin pony nudged him for treats.

Wu gave up on Yané and led his pony into the stable with some carrots to keep him satisfied. He then made his way towards his brother.

"Wow, I wish Yané was this nice," he said, rubbing Taki's head. "I'm jealous."

Montgomery smirked. "Well, maybe it's not the horse but the rider."

Wu lightly punched his brother on the arm.
"Alright, Mr. Horse King. Get this princess of yours back in her stall. We gotta go complete training so we can go out."

"You go ahead, Wu. I'll be right there."
_______________________________________

"He blocks the opponent's attack, pushing him back. Ducks. Swipes him off his feet. Opponent lands hard on his butt and Montgomery Garmadon wins yet again!"

The two brothers were sparring in the courtyard while their father was sitting on the porch drinking tea and cleaning the Scythe of Quakes, the other Golden Weapons scattered around him. He smiled a little when he heard his older son gloat over the younger's defeat. "Montgomery, stop teasing your brother."

Montgomery would always commentate the sparring sessions he had with Wu. Only when he was winning though. He would mostly say things like "aw man!" or "shoot!" whenever he was losing. Which was a rare thing. Even though he had a short attention span when his father would demonstrate a new move, once he would get the hang of it, he would make sure he did it better than Wu.
Which left Wu in his brother's shadow. But he didn't mind it that much.

This really irritated Montgomery because he thought that Wu was deliberately trying to look like a loser and that he should hustle up and be more competent. Which confused Wu a lot because Montgomery was the one who was always trying to be better than everyone else and not let anyone take the lead.
Today, however, Wu had had enough.

"This time I'm gonna beat you. For sure," Wu said, picking himself up and dusting his clothes as Montgomery stopped dancing around him.

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that. Again!" his brother yelled as he went into a battle stance, katana at the ready.

Wu took a deep breath and got ready to fight, not knowing that this was the last time he would ever truly enjoy anything with his other half.