Legend of the Brown Ninja

by Meredith Rusu

  The inmates just laughed.

  One of them stepped up to the bars from the shadows of his cell. The ninja had never seen this guy before. He had a robotic arm and a nasty scowl on his face.

  “They call me the Mechanic,” he rasped. “And I got a bone to pick with you.”

  Lloyd pointed to his robotic arm. “That’s one more bone than you’ve got in your entire arm. Let me guess, you don’t have much of a spine, either.”

  The ninja gasped. Those were fighting words!

  “Lloyd, what are you doing?” hissed Cole.

  “Acting tough,” said Lloyd. “These guys only respond to one thing — tough.”

  The Mechanic growled. “I used to repair noodle trucks for Master Chen and his underground organization. When you put him out of business …”

  “Yeah, yeah, we put you out of business, too,” said Nya. She and Jay had actually heard all of this before, when they were locked up in the Kryptorium prison in the alternate timeline. “Guys, I think that’s enough chitchat.”

  “Now tell us what you’ve done with the warden,” said Kai. “Or do we have to knock it out of you?”

  That just made the prisoners laugh harder.

  “You hear that, boys?” said the Mechanic. “Sounds like the ninja want to roughhouse a bit. Normally I keep to myself. But this time, I feel like playing along.”

  The Mechanic suddenly produced a makeshift remote control. He pressed a button on it.

  Whhhhhiiiirrrrrrr.

  All of the inmates’ cell doors began rattling open!

  “Uh, guys,” Jay said nervously.

  The prisoners cackled as they stepped free from their cells and circled the ninja.

  “Fellas,” said the Mechanic. “I think it’s time we gave our guests a proper welcome.”

  Attack!” Captain Soto cried.

  The inmates had the ninja completely surrounded. As one, they charged!

  Lloyd somersaulted over two rushing prisoners and shot a blast of green energy at the center of the room. It acted like a mini earthquake, knocking any prisoners nearby off-balance.

  Suddenly, something hard hit Lloyd’s head.

  “Ow!” he yelped, rubbing the back of his head. He looked around to find a skeleton arm lying nearby.

  Kruncha laughed from across the room. “Told you we had a bone to pick with you!”

  “Yeah, told you!” chuckled Nuckal. Then he looked down at his arm, which was missing. “Hey, wait,” he said. “That was my bone!”

  Meanwhile, Nya grabbed hold of Kai and swung him around feetfirst, knocking three Nindroids right back into their cells.

  Clang, clang, clang!

  “I think it’s time for a reboot,” Kai shouted. With a fire blast, he slammed the cell doors shut, melting the gates to the wall.

  Across the room, Cole and Jay faced off against Soto’s pirate crew.

  “Pajama men!” said Soto. “Prepare to walk the plank.”

  “Oh, yeah?” said Jay. “Come and make me!”

  “Arrrrrr!” The pirates rushed at Jay.

  Jay waited until the last possible second … then he leaped out of the way in a whirlwind of Airjitzu! Behind him, Cole was ready. He used his Earth power to lift three stones up from the prison floor. Then he rolled them straight at Soto and his crew like bowling balls. The stones knocked them over one, two, three!

  Jay landed beside the dazed pirates. “Didn’t we ever tell you, guys?” he asked. “Pajama men don’t sleep with the fishes!”

  Then Jay noticed one of Soto’s pirates had accidentally dropped his eye patch. “Cool!” he said, picking it up. “I kind of missed wearing one of these!”

  Cole laughed. “I think it’s time we put the rest of these guys on ice. Zane! What do you say we turn this place into a skating rink and send everyone flying back into their cells?”

  But Zane didn’t reply.

  Cole looked around. “Zane?” he called.

  While the other ninja were busy fighting, the Mechanic had cornered Zane in his cell.

  “That’s a lot of spare parts you got there, Nindroid,” the Mechanic rasped. “I could use a few in a place like this.”

  “I am afraid they are not available,” Zane replied. He tried to power up an ice blast. But to his surprise, his elemental power just fizzled out.

  “Pixal, what is happening?” he asked.

  “Scanning the cell. Stand by,” said Pixal. A few seconds later, she gasped. “Zane, the insides of these bars are coated with vengestone. Your powers won’t work in here.”

  The Mechanic laughed. “That’s right. I’ve been tinkering with a trick or two in case you guys ever came to visit. Looks like it paid off. Let’s get ’em, boys.”

  The Mechanic and his cronies piled on top of Zane. Without his ice power, Zane was helpless!

  The Mechanic pulled open Zane’s chest plate. “Well, I’ll be. Look at all those spare parts.”

  “Brace yourself, Zane,” said Pixal. “I am rerouting all remaining power to your chest. In three, two, one …”

  ZAP! The jolt of energy blasted the Mechanic and his thugs right out of the cell!

  “Thank you, Pixal!” exclaimed Zane.

  “Nobody messes with my Nindroid,” Pixal replied.

  As Zane sat up, his friends all rushed into the cell to check on him.

  “Zane! Are you okay?” Lloyd asked.

  “Stop!” cried Zane. “This cell — it is a trap.”

  But it was too late. With a mechanical clang, the cell door rattled shut.

  The inmates laughed as the ninja raced up to the bars. Kai tried to melt them, but his fire power barely created a spark.

  “What’s happening?” he asked.

  Lloyd tried to create a ball of green energy, but to no avail. “Our powers. They’re … gone?” he said.

  “The bars are coated with vengestone,” said Zane. “The Mechanic tricked us.”

  “You mean the Mechanic actually coated his prison bars on the chance we might come here one day?!” cried Jay. “This has got to be the worst luck ever!”

  Across the prison hall, the Mechanic rose to his feet. He was visibly shaken by Zane’s energy blast. But he was smiling. He waggled the remote control that operated the cell doors at the ninja.

  “Looks like we’re the ones in control now,” he said.

  The ninja looked at one another. This was not good.

  “What do we do?” asked Jay. “How do we get out without our powers?”

  Lloyd angrily took hold of the cell bars. “This was a trap all along, wasn’t it? You had the warden call us just to lure us in for a fight.”

  Soto shook his head. “Silly pajama men. It be you that came to us!”

  “We didn’t tell the warden nothin’,” an inmate named Dan barked. “You came here all on your own.”

  “Then where is the warden?” demanded Cole. “What did you do to him?”

  At that, all of the inmates shared a brief look of confusion.

  “Uh, when is the last time we saw the warden?” asked Nuckal.

  Kruncha bonked him on the head. “Who cares? He ain’t here now.”

  The Mechanic glowered. “And it looks like he certainly doesn’t care about you ninja.”

  “So you’re telling us that the warden called us for help, and then just happened to disappear without a trace when we got here?” Cole asked. “And you don’t think that’s a little weird? Come on. We may have fallen into your trap, but we’re not falling for that.”

  Little did the ninja know, things were about to get so much weirder.

  “And … that’s a wrap!”

  A familiar voice suddenly echoed down the hall.

  “Oh, no. This isn’t happening,” said Kai.

  Walking toward them, movie camera in hand, was none other than Dareth. Behind him was the warden.

  “DARETH!” the ninja all shouted at once.

  “Ninja! My brave little ninja!” Dareth cried gleefully. “That. Was. Epic. Perfection! It
couldn’t have been better if I’d staged it myself. Oh, wait, I did!”

  “Can someone please explain what’s going on?” yelled Jay.

  “Yes,” chimed in Soto. “I, too, be confused.”

  “Well, you see” — Warden Noble adjusted his glasses — “Dareth came to me with an idea. He wanted me to ask you ninja to figure out how the inmates have been escaping.”

  The warden walked up to the Mechanic and pointed to the makeshift remote control that had opened the cell doors.

  “Thanks to you ninja,” the warden continued, “we have our culprit.”

  “Wait, I don’t understand,” said Nya. “The Mechanic has been letting prisoners go one by one? But why? Why didn’t he just escape by himself?”

  The Mechanic scowled. “Needed time to rebuild my business after you six destroyed it,” he said. “And these inmates were each willing to give anything for a taste of freedom.”

  “So …” Lloyd said slowly. “This was all … a stunt? The fight wasn’t real?”

  “Oh, it was real!” exclaimed Dareth. “Real action! Real baddies! Just like you asked for! ‘Don’t call us, Dareth, unless there are real bad guys to fight.’ And it was awesome. We got it all on tape! Wait until Ninjago City gets a load of the ninja fighting off an entire prison full of the baddest of the bad!”

  “We could have gotten hurt, Dareth!” yelled Cole. “Sprocket-arm there nearly disassembled Zane.”

  “I must agree,” said Zane. “This endeavor was not at all safe. I’m surprised, Warden, that you went along with it.”

  The warden coughed. “Well, we didn’t know how the prisoners were escaping, so I had no idea they would all be able to attack you like they did. Sorry about that. My bad. But the ninja are right, everyone. Fun’s over. Time to go back to your cells.”

  The inmates growled.

  “Who’s gonna make us?” said Kruncha.

  The warden sighed. “Okay, guys, you know the routine. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way.”

  The inmates didn’t budge.

  The warden sighed. He reached for his cell keys so he could release the ninja — but they were missing. “Gosh darn it,” he said. “Forgot my keys again.” He spoke into a walkie-talkie. “Guards, we’re gonna need backup here. Code 567. All inmates out of cells. Better bring everyone.”

  There was an awkward silence as the warden’s walkie-talkie buzzed with static.

  “Uh, guards?” the warden repeated.

  Still static.

  The inmates chuckled ominously.

  “Well, well,” rasped the Mechanic. “Did your backup take a lunch break?”

  The warden looked to Dareth. “Did you see the guards outside on your way in?”

  “The … guards? Outside?” Dareth stammered. “Ohhhhhhhhhh. Is that who those people were? I thought they were backup camera crew.”

  The warden blinked. “No. Those were the prison guards. Who keep the dangerous inmates in check. With handcuffs. And stun guns. And balls and chains.”

  “Ah, uh …” Dareth scratched the back of his head. “I may have sent them for lunch. For all of us. And the editing team.”

  “You WHAT!?” cried the ninja and the warden.

  “Hey, don’t blame me!” cried Dareth. “Ninja gotta eat, baby. I thought after you guys talked the secret out of the inmates, we’d all enjoy a nice chat-and-chew ourselves. You know, take five.”

  Jay smacked his head. “This is bad, guys. Really bad.”

  Zane nodded. “I’m afraid it is indeed. Without our powers …”

  “And locked up in this vengestone cell …” added Cole.

  The Mechanic sneered as he took hold of Dareth and Warden Noble by their collars. “Looks like it’s just you and us.”

  For the first time, Dareth was starting to get a bad feeling about this.

  “Hey, come on, guys. I’m sure we can talk this out.”

  The Mechanic gave Dareth a rough shove into several other inmates. They pinned his arms.

  “Like I said,” the Mechanic said, sneering, “I got a bone to pick with the ninja. And since you seem pretty important to them, I think I’ll start with you.”

  “He’s not that important to us,” Cole mumbled under his breath.

  Kai elbowed him. “Guys, what are we going to do?”

  “We can’t do anything unless we get out of this cell,” whispered Lloyd. “And the only way out is with the Mechanic’s remote.”

  “Which I could zap out of his hands if I had my powers.” Jay moaned.

  “Too bad the only power Dareth has is the power of hot air,” muttered Cole.

  A funny look crossed Lloyd’s face. “Guys … that might just be it!” He turned to the Mechanic. “You’d better not hurt him! Because if you mess with one ninja, you mess with all of us!”

  The inmates laughed.

  “He looks funny, yes,” said Soto. “But a pajama man he be not.”

  “That’s what you think,” said Jay. “Really, he’s the strongest ninja of them all. He’s the BROWN Ninja.”

  Dareth felt a bead of sweat run down his forehead.

  “Guys,” he said. “Normally I’d welcome the praise, but now’s not the time.”

  “Seriously, he’s more powerful than all of us,” called Lloyd. “I just hope you make it out in one piece.”

  Nuckal eyed Dareth suspiciously. “If he’s a ninja, then how come I saw him on the rec-room television the other day saying he was a — a manager. Or something.”

  “That was not me,” said Dareth.

  Nuckal shook his head. “I’m sure it was you. On Fred Finley Live at Five.”

  “You are mistaken,” said Dareth.

  “Enough of this!” cried the Mechanic. “If you’re a ninja, ninja, then show us what you can do. Boys, lock up the warden. I don’t want anyone interrupting.”

  The inmates pushed the warden into a cell and slammed the door shut. The Mechanic used the remote to lock it.

  Dareth caught a glimpse of the remote just as the inmates shoved him into the center of their group. They jeered, forming a tight circle around him.

  “Uh, guys.” Dareth glanced pleadingly at the ninja. “I could really use some of that Master Wu mumbo jumbo right about now.”

  “Don’t worry, Dareth,” said Lloyd. “Just show him that power you’re always bragging about.”

  “But I don’t —” sputtered Dareth.

  “Trust us!” cried Lloyd.

  Dareth gulped as the Mechanic came right up in his face.

  “So,” the Mechanic said, “who wants a piece of the Brown Ninja first?”

  “Me, me!” cried the inmates.

  “You!” The Mechanic pointed to a Stone Warrior. “Teach him a lesson.”

  Dareth backed up as the Stone Warrior approached him.

  “Uh,” gulped Dareth. “Don’t come too close! I don’t want to hurt you.”

  The Stone Warrior didn’t laugh. It didn’t even blink. It just came closer.

  “Don’t say I didn’t warn you!” exclaimed Dareth. “Here, I’ll even tell you what I’m going to do. I’m going to, uh, beat you with that boulder over there. Yes!” He pointed to a boulder left on the ground from Cole’s battle against Soto’s crew. “I’m going to use my awesome ninja power to beat you with that boulder. Don’t believe me? Just try to pick it up and see if you can throw it higher than I could. Go on. Try.”

  Now the Stone Warrior was confused. It looked at the boulder, and then at Dareth. With a shrug, it picked up the boulder easily. Then it tossed it up into the air and let it fall back to the ground.

  “Hah! That was nothing,” said Dareth. “My grandmother could throw it higher. Try again. I want a real challenge to compete against.”

  The Stone Warrior frowned. It picked up the boulder and tossed it higher into the air. It landed with a thud.

  “Better.” Dareth nodded. “But the Brown Ninja is not impressed. Give me a true challenge, or let me face off against another opponent.”
<
br />   Now the Stone Warrior was angry. With a mighty heft, it lifted the boulder high into the air and chucked it up toward the ceiling.

  CRASH!

  The boulder landed right back on top of the Stone Warrior, knocking him out cold!

  The inmates all gasped.

  “See!” cried Lloyd. “Told you — the Brown Ninja defeats all!”

  “Better throw your best fighter at him. Because no one is stronger than him!” shouted Cole.

  “Cole!” the other ninja hissed.

  “Oops,” muttered Cole. “Well, he kind of deserves it, don’t you think?”

  “All right,” the Mechanic said. “How about you?” He pointed to Soto. “Give him a taste of steel.”

  Soto snickered as he stepped forward. He leaned down and pulled the long, sharp fork he’d been using as a peg leg out from under him. Another inmate handed him a broomstick to use for a leg instead.

  “So, pajama man,” said Soto. “This may not be me sword, but I’d wager it can still make a mark or two.”

  “That’s, uh, a cool accent you got there,” said Dareth. “Too bad it’s not how a real pirate sounds.”

  “A real —” Captain Soto sputtered. “What be ye talkin’ about? I be the most fearsome pirate to ever captain a ship!”

  “Sure, sure,” said Dareth. “That sort of talk would pass on a movie set. But if you were really sailing the high seas, you’d need a saltier dialect than that.”

  Soto growled. “Be ye saying that I, Soto, the only pirate brave enough to steer a galleon upstream against the northern gall with a leaky hull, not be a true pirate in me words?”

  “Mmmm-hmmm, mmmm-hmmm,” said Dareth. “I’m starting to hear it. Loosen your jaw a little to make it more natural.”

  Now Captain Soto was enraged.

  “How dare ye?” he snarled. “There ain’t no other pirate as swashbucklin’ as meself! Why I’ve led me crew to the very depths of the underworld and back in search of treasure you pajama men have only read about in your granddaddy’s storybooks!”

  With a mighty thrust, Captain Soto slammed his fork sword into the floor for emphasis.

  Thud! The fork got stuck!

  Soto frowned and pulled at the fork. But it was good and stuck. Soto pulled harder and harder, until …