The Lair of Tanabrax, page 5
Then he looked over at Moody and Bunch. The two puppets were slowly fading away.
“Moody!” Hana cried, and she ran to him.
“Bye, Hana! Bye, Obachan!” the puppet called with a big smile on his face. “Thanks for being so nice to me!”
Then the puppets dissolved into a dust that swirled around the room and floated out the hatch in the ceiling.
Hana wiped a tear from her eye. “I’m going to miss that little guy.”
“I will, too,” Obachan agreed. “They may have been bad, but they did the right thing in the end.”
She turned to the kidnapped humans and clapped her hands. “Everyone—come back to our village and we will feed you. If you are not from around here, we will help you get home.”
They all began to file out of the dark lair. Hana approached Garmadon and Wu.
“Um, what should we do with all these puppets?” she asked, looking at the wooden replicas of the villagers scattered around. “I mean, they’re not really alive anymore, right?”
“Maybe we’ll just leave them here,” Garmadon said. “Although, I’d love to bring that Wu puppet home to show Father. He’ll never believe—”
Garmadon stopped. The Wu puppet wasn’t near the cot. Garmadon looked under and around it.
“Wu, your puppet’s gone,” Garmadon said.
Wu sighed. “Yeah, right, I’m not in the mood for jokes right now,” he replied, but then he saw the serious look on his brother’s face. “That’s impossible. It couldn’t just walk away.”
Their eyes traveled to the ceiling, where sunlight streamed through the open hatch.
“I’m sure it’s around here somewhere,” Garmadon said, but he didn’t sound convinced.
“Yeah, right,” Wu said, more hesitantly this time. “Come on, let’s go get some food!”
They followed the others out of the lair.
Back outside, Garmadon and Wu rolled a big rock over the opening in the ground. Then everyone headed into the woods full of black trees.
When they reached the village, those who hadn’t joined the fight ran out of their homes.
“We rescued everyone!” Obachan announced. “But none of our loved ones would be back with us here if it weren’t for two brave puppets named Bunch and Moody. They may have been made of wood, but they certainly had hearts of gold.”
“Cheers to Bunch and Moody!” Hana cried.
“Cheers to Bunch and Moody!” the grateful villagers chanted.
Then Obachan instructed everyone to prepare food for a feast, and they ran into their homes. Hana and Shin approached Garmadon and Wu.
“We really need to thank you,” she said. “If you hadn’t come to our village, I never would have gotten my brother back. I don’t know what I would have done without him.”
Garmadon looked over at Wu. “I know what you mean.”
Wu’s eyes went wide. “Did I just hear right? Did you just say something nice about me?”
“Don’t push it,” Garmadon said.
Then Wu’s face got serious. “You know, we need to do something about that medallion,” he said. “Djinn magic is nothing to mess around with. Maybe we should return it to them.”
Garmadon laughed. “That might be your worst idea ever, and you’ve had some pretty bad ones. Messing with the djinn is the last thing we need to do right now. We need to eat, sleep, and then pack up supplies and get back on our journey.”
Wu nodded. “You’re right, brother. But what about the medallion?”
“I will take care of it.”
The brothers turned to see Obachan behind them.
“That’s nice, Obachan,” Garmadon said. “But how can we make sure you won’t let it get into the wrong hands?”
“Follow me,” she said, and she led Garmadon and Wu back to her garden. She picked up a shovel and dug a hole.
“Fetch the flour crock from the kitchen,” Obachan instructed, and Wu quickly obeyed. Obachan dropped the medallion into the ceramic crock and put it in the hole. Then she dropped a potted flower into the hole and filled it up with dirt.
“The flowers will grow over it. Nobody will ever think to look for it here.”
“Are you sure it will be safe?” Wu asked nervously.
Everything Obachan had done in the past twenty-four hours flashed through Garmadon’s mind. Leading the charge to train the villagers. Hurling Moody toward the hatch.
“I’m pretty sure it will, Wu,” he said. “Thank you, Obachan.”
“You’re welcome,” she said. She stood up and leaned the shovel against a fence. “Now let’s go eat some of Mrs. Uchida’s dumplings. They’re not as good as mine, but they’ll fill you up.”
Wu looked at Garmadon and grinned. “Dumplings today, back on the road tomorrow?”
“Sure,” Garmadon replied and smiled too. “Our journey can definitely wait for dumplings!”
The six young ninja stared with open mouths at Master Wu as he finished his story. Suddenly, Jay cried, “Look! It’s one of those living puppets!”
The others turned to look back.
A wooden puppet with a curly mustache walked down the stone street, headed right toward them.
“Aaaahhhh!” Cole cried. “Its creepy glass eyes are looking right at me! Hiyyaaaaa!”
Cole lunged at the puppet, grabbed it, and flung it to the ground.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
Cole looked up to see a man inside a horse-drawn cart. He was holding two pieces of wood put together make a cross shape, with strings dangling from them that were attached to the puppet. It was the puppeteer.
“Oh, sorry,” Cole said, and he handed the puppet back to the scowling puppeteer.
The ninja started laughing as they walked up to the cart. More puppeteers held puppets dressed in colorful costumes.
“I’m sorry, too,” Jay said. “I was just playing a prank on my friend here. Master Wu was telling us a scary story about puppets.”
“That’s fine,” the puppeteer said. “We’re doing another show in about twenty minutes. You should come see it. It’s a lot of fun. Not scary at all.”
“No thanks,” Cole said.
“Yeah, um, we’ve got ninja things to do,” Kai said.
“Yes, we really should get going,” Nya said.
The wagon moved on, and the ninja walked down the village street.
“Admit it,” Cole said. “Master Wu’s story spooked all of you!”
Zane nodded. “I will admit it,” he said. “If I could have nightmares, those puppets would probably give them to me.”
“Oh, great,” Nya said. “I’ll never be able to sleep tonight!”
Master Wu smiled. “So you understand why I was not interested in seeing a traveling puppet show.”
“I wonder whatever happened to that puppet of you, Master Wu,” Lloyd said.
Master Wu shrugged. “I’m sure it’s still somewhere in that underground lair. I don’t really think much about it anymore.”
“And Tanabrax was never seen again?” Nya asked.
“Never again,” Master Wu replied.
“Except maybe in our nightmares,” Nya said with a shudder.
“Maybe we should get more donuts,” Cole suggested. “It’s always easier to sleep on a full stomach.”
“Donuts are good, and family is even better,” Lloyd added. “There’s nothing to be afraid of when we’re together, right?”
“Right!” the ninja agreed.
Laughing and talking, Master Wu and his students walked away from the festival. And in the back of the traveling wagon, a puppet sat up and watched them go.
A puppet with glowing glass eyes and no strings…
Bunch and Moody
Two puppets who loyally serve Tanabrax. In the past, they were petty thieves who wanted to be the villain’s best henchmen. They were also the first people he turned into puppets.
Cole
Cole is a member of Master Wu’s ninja team. As the Earth Ninja, he wields the elemental power of Earth and supports his friends with his confidence and great physical strength.
Djinn
A mystical being capable of granting wishes. The djinns inhabited a realm called Djinjago.
First Spinjitzu Master
The creator of Spinjitzu and the entire Ninjago world. He was also the father of Garmadon and Wu, whom he trained in the art of Spinjitzu to protect the world he had created.
Garmadon
Wu’s older brother and a son of the First Spinjitzu Master. Bitten by a vile snake as a child, Garmadon gradually filled with evil to become Lord Garmadon, the greatest villain in the world of Ninjago.
Gi
A type of clothing traditionally worn by ninja.
Hana
A young, brave girl whose brother, Shin, was captured by Tanabrax’s puppets and turned into a puppet, like many other people from her village. Hana wants Garmadon and Wu to help her rescue Shin and the other villagers.
Jay
The Lightning Ninja is quick-witted, talks fast, and often acts before he thinks. Jay also loves pranks and jokes. Without his sense of humor, the ninja team would be in a much worse mood.
Kai
Kai is the Fire Ninja. With his fierce temper, bravery, and strong sense of justice, he’ll stop at nothing if he has put his mind to it.
Lloyd
Wise beyond his years, Lloyd is the Green Ninja and the leader of the ninja team. He is the son of Garmadon, the grandson of the First Spinjitzu Master, and Master Wu’s nephew.
Nya
Kai’s younger sister is the Water Ninja. She’s a skilled warrior, inventor, and tech wiz. She’s often the team’s voice of reason and a steadfast support to her friends on every mission.
Obachan
Hana and Shin’s wise grandmother and a respected dumpling vendor. Obachan may look like just another villager, but there’s more to her than meets the eye.
Scrolls of Forbidden Spinjitzu
Two scrolls of paper that contain the dark powers of Forbidden Spinjitzu. Although the maker of the scrolls, the First Spinjitzu Master, told his sons never to touch them, young Wu and Garmadon stole them to defeat a Serpentine sorceress called Aspheera.
Spinjitzu
An ancient technique based on balance and rotation in which you tap into your elemental energy while turning quickly. Developed by the First Spinjitzu Master long before time had a name, Spinjitzu is more than a martial art: it’s also a way of living. Mastering it is a lifelong journey.
Tanabrax
A mysterious powerful villain, Tanabrax is a creature of shadow, using the dark energy of a djinn’s medallion to build his own puppet army to take control over the world of Ninjago.
Wu
Wu is the other son of the First Spinjitzu Master, and little brother to Garmadon. After many years of mastering the art of Spinjitzu and the ways of the ninja, Wu shares his knowledge with his students—Lloyd, Kai, Cole, Jay, Zane, and Nya—to train them as ninja protectors of the world of Ninjago.
Zane
Brave and caring Zane is the Titanium Ninja, wielding the elemental power of ice. He is a Nindroid (ninja robot), created to protect those who cannot protect themselves.
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Tracey West, The Lair of Tanabrax
