Chapter Text
Arin and Sora screamed as they ran, they didn’t mean to get attacked, it was supposed to be in and out of that tech warehouse, but they ended up in a zombie warehouse instead.
Arin dashed for a nearby alley, it was a bit of a gamble, but he had to risk it. He’d rather try than give up and become zombie food.
Sora quickly followed him in, unsure of what Arin’s plan was, if he even had one. Arin turned sharply around a corner and they both stopped as they came to a wall. They were trapped in an alley that had no exit other than the way they came from, which was where the zombies were.
“What is this, a movie?!” Sora shouted, and Arin heard the sounds of inhuman snarling getting louder.
Out of nowhere, a rope was suddenly dropped down the wall in front of them, and Arin and Sora looked up to see a man on top of the wall.
“Grab on! I’ll pull you up!” He shouted, that was enough for Sora, who grabbed the rope first, Arin following quickly after her.
The man was really strong, managing to pull both of them up all by himself. Sora had to admire that, maybe she should add working out into her routine. It wouldn’t be a bad thing to get fit in times like these.
Once Sora and Arin had their feet firmly on top of the wall, the man turned to them. He had blond hair that was cut at his shoulders, emerald and ruby eyes gleamed as he eyed the two teens.
“Follow me, I’ll take you to my place, it’s not far from here,” he told the two teens, and Arin took a closer look at him and gasped.
“Wait! You’re—,“ he cut himself off, unsure if he was right.
“The Green Ninja? Yeah, now are we going, or are we getting infected?” He ushered, and Sora sighed, it's not like they had a choice.
“Let’s go,” she said, knowing that if this was one of the ninjas Arin always talked about, she supposed she could give him the benefit of doubt.
—
Maybe she should have let herself turn into a mindless human with base instincts. Maybe she wouldn’t have to walk up all of these stairs. No wonder the zombies never came up here, who would willingly climb up all of these stairs?
“We’re almost there,” the ninja said, looking back at the teens, who both looked tired and exhausted. Well, Sora at least, Arin was practically beaming with excitement.
Sora looked up, spotting a monastery at the top of this mountain. She thought it was really pretty architecturally, and it was in better shape than most of the buildings left in Ninjago.
Once they finally made it to the top, the ninja opened the giant red and gold doors. Sora looked at the dragon fountain in the middle of the courtyard with interest, she’d always loved dragons. Sora held back a shiver as she thought about her birth realm.
“So, Mr. Green Ninja, how long until we have to leave?” She asked, spooking the older man out of his thoughts.
“Uh, just call me Lloyd, I’m too young to be a ‘Mr’, makes me feel old. You guys can stay as long as you want, it’s safer here than, well, down there,” he reassured her, leading them into the building.
Sora couldn’t help but stare at the photos on the wall. She could tell the ninjas had all been close, like a mini family consisting of multiple siblings and their one uncle. Of course, there were photos of the nindroids clearly in a relationship, along with the black haired woman with a shorter, curly haired man. Lloyd must be all alone if she couldn’t see anyone else. She looked at Lloyd with a slightly sad look, she couldn’t imagine being so alone for so long.
The ninja led them into a larger room, it looked like a living room, a large T.V. that probably no longer worked since the power went out a couple years ago, a couch, and a few shelves of books. It felt a little like home to Sora, but then again, she never really had a home besides the run down shed she and Arin had. But that shed was more of a ‘shelter’ than a ‘home’.
“This is where you guys can stay,” Lloyd finally said, breaking the silence as he looked around the large room. “I’ll go and grab a spare bed frame and a hammock for you guys to sleep on.” He swiftly turned around and left the room, leaving the two teens alone.
Arin flopped down onto the couch, looking around with nervous excitement. Sora followed him, sitting down next to him. She could feel the other vibrating with excitement. Sora could only wish to have even half of the beam of sunshine that was her best friend's personality.
“Can you believe it?!” He excitedly gushed with amazement. “We’re in the home of the ninjas! Not many people are able to actually step foot in here!” Arin cheered, his excitement unending.
Sora smiled at him, giving him a knowing look. “Yeah, at least we’re finally somewhere safe,” she happily said, looking down at her hands. She couldn’t help but feel relieved that she and Arin had actually survived without any major injuries, only minor scrapes and bruises.
They looked at the doorway as Lloyd finally walked back into the room with a large box with a large cloth covering it. “This should do, it was my old twin sized bed that I grew out of years ago,” he said, placing the box down and he cracked a couple of his knuckles.
He looked at them, meeting their gazes. “I have a couple rules though, I don’t want you wandering into any of the other bedrooms. Those are mine and the other ninjas, and I hope you can respect my choice, I would like to keep those rooms how they left them,” He told them, a sorrowful look on his face. Sora and Arin nodded in understanding.
Lloyd turned away from them, opening the box. “I also don’t want you wandering down into the garage, if you can even find it. The others left the exit in it open when they left on their…last mission. It leads to the base of the mountain, so I think it’s better safe than sorry not to go down there, just in case there are zombies lurking around there.”
“Sounds good,” Arin said, and Sora nodded in agreement. Lloyd turned to them and nodded, a look of uncertainty flashed, but he quickly hid it with a smile.
“Dinner’s at 5:00.”
–
That night, Sora couldn’t really sleep. No matter how much she tossed and turned, she just couldn’t sleep. Her mind screamed ‘danger’, but they were far from it. Sora laid awake thinking about how she probably ended up in the worst realm. Which was probably normal, given her record of luck. Of course, it was probably better than Imperium, but at least Imperium didn’t have bloodthirsty zombies. Sora didn’t regret building that realm traveling machine thingy she had made, after all, she got to meet Arin.
She glanced at her bag that held her portal machine. It broke after she had used it, she had used way too much power for such a small machine. Sora sighed.
Maybe tomorrow will be a brighter day.