A Team Divided Read online

  TITLE PAGE

  FROM THE JOURNAL OF SENSEI GARMADON

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  COPYRIGHT

  Ninjago™ is still recovering from the assault by the Digital Overlord. His dark spirit infested cyberspace, seeking a way to steal my son, Lloyd’s, Golden Power so he could become the Golden Master. And he succeeded.

  It looked as though all was lost. In the Serpentine legend, the Golden Master was called the Destroyer. Unless someone stopped him, nothing would survive.

  Then one brave ninja made the ultimate sacrifice to defeat the Golden Master: Zane. Using his mysterious Nindroid power source, Zane created an icy explosion that destroyed both the enemy and himself. Zane’s sacrifice was one of the bravest actions I have ever seen. He not only saved Ninjago — he saved the world.

  With the Golden Master vanquished, Ninjago must once again rise from the ashes of destruction. And once again, the ninja must find their place in a new world.

  Without his golden powers, Lloyd is back in his role as the Green Ninja. And without their friend Zane, the other ninja — Kai, Cole, and Jay — aren’t sure what to do. They feel lost.

  As much as my brother, Sensei Wu, and I wish we could step in and give the ninja direction, this is a journey they must take on their own. But we have faith that they will band together, stronger than ever. For in their hearts, they are, and always will be, ninja.

  And as for Zane, well … he had a power source different from any other Nindroid’s. His power source was a mystery. So I ask myself: How can a mystery die? I do not think it can. But I will wait and see.

  Sensei Garmadon

  Ninja never quit, and ninja will never be forgotten. Wherever you are, Zane, you’ll always be one of us.”

  The crowd solemnly applauded as Kai finished his speech. All of the citizens of New Ninjago City were gathered to dedicate a statue in honor of Zane, the Ninja of Ice.

  Zane had shown courage and selflessness unlike any other. He had used his Nindroid power source to stop the Digital Overlord from taking over the world. In a fierce battle, Zane had destroyed the Digital Overlord with an incredible, frozen blast. But the victory came at a cost. Zane was also lost in the explosion. The citizens of New Ninjago City were very grateful to Zane for his sacrifice. They were also very sad.

  Streetlights shone on the titanium statue. A light snow fell from the sky. Kai, Cole, Jay, and Lloyd stared up at it in silence for a minute. Then Kai’s sister, Nya, walked up to them.

  “It’s a great statue,” she said, placing a hand on Kai’s shoulder. “Zane would have loved it.”

  Kai nodded. “Yeah. I think he would have.”

  A few days later, Cole, Jay, Kai, Lloyd, and Nya walked down the main street of New Ninjago City. Things had been … different since the statue ceremony. They were still a team, but without Zane, things didn’t feel quite the same.

  “So, what should we do now?” Jay asked the others.

  Kai pointed to a bright neon sign just down the road. “How about some noodles? Like old times?”

  “Sounds good,” agreed Cole. “I’m hungry.”

  “Me, too,” said Jay. “Now, that’s using your noodle, Kai!” Everyone groaned. Jay’s bad jokes were one thing that hadn’t changed.

  A few minutes later, they were all seated around a table at Master Chen’s Noodle House. The place was packed. A waiter on roller skates skidded to a stop at their table.

  “Your water,” he said, quickly placing a glass in front of each of them. Then he rolled away.

  “Cool job,” remarked Jay.

  “Not as cool as being a ninja,” said Cole.

  Kai frowned. “Being a ninja is only cool when there’s something to fight for.”

  Everyone grew quiet. After the first time they had defeated the Dark Overlord, there were no bad guys for Kai, Cole, and Jay to fight anymore. So the ninja had all become teachers at Sensei Wu’s Academy. But none of them were cut out to be teachers, really.

  Nya pointed to the conveyor belt snaking past their table. “Come on, let’s pick out our noodles!”

  Steaming bowls of noodles whizzed by them. Peanut noodles, chicken noodles, tofu noodles — any kind of noodles you could think of.

  “Wow, Master Chen has it all,” said Cole.

  “Extra spicy. My fave,” said Kai, choosing a bowl topped with red chili peppers. As the Ninja of Fire, he liked things hot — even his food.

  Jay grabbed a bowl of chicken noodles and placed it in front of Nya.

  “And here’s your favorite,” he said.

  “Actually, Jay, I was going to get the veggie noodles,” Nya said.

  “I know she likes veggie noodles,” Cole muttered.

  Jay spun around. “What did you say, Cole?”

  Nya got a nervous look on her face. Not long ago, she and Jay had been boyfriend and girlfriend — sort of. Nya had been too busy being Samurai X, and Jay was too busy being the Ninja of Lightning for them to go out on dates or anything. But they liked each other.

  Then Nya had taken a silly computer test at the headquarters of Borg Industries. The computer calculated her perfect match — and it was Cole!

  That had left Nya confused. Jay and Cole had found out about the test, and now they were confused, too. They had asked Nya to choose between them, and she couldn’t.

  “I’ll have the chicken noodles, too,” Nya said quickly, taking the bowl from Jay.

  “Tofu for me!” Lloyd exclaimed. “Let’s eat!”

  Everybody began to loudly slurp their noodles. There were so many bowls on the table, it was difficult to tell whose was whose. Cole reached over to one with his chopsticks.

  “Hey, those are my noodles!” Jay cried.

  “Whoa, sorry.” Cole jerked back. “Relax, it’s just noodles.”

  Jay’s cheeks turned hot. “Sure, take my noodles, just like you took my girlfriend.”

  “I didn’t take anything! Nya hasn’t decided yet!” Cole reminded him.

  Nya quickly changed the subject. “So, now that there aren’t any bad guys anymore, I guess we’ll all go back to teaching at Sensei Wu’s Academy, right? Those kids are pretty cute, after all.”

  That took the ninja by surprise.

  Kai swallowed slowly and shook his head. “I don’t know, sis. I mean, things are different now.”

  Cole nodded. “Yeah, the staff isn’t like it used to be.” He pointed at Jay. “I’m not going back unless you choose between me and him.”

  That made Jay super-angry. “Why should Nya have to choose? She never actually broke up with me. So technically, she hasn’t unchosen me!”

  Jay slammed his hand down on the table. His noodle bowl flew up in the air.

  Plop! It landed on Cole’s head.

  “Oh, so that’s how you want to do it, is it?” Cole asked. He dumped a bowl of noodles right onto Jay’s lap.

  “Hey, I just washed these pants!” Jay cried. He jumped up on his chair and grabbed two noodle bowls off the conveyor belt. “Aaaaiya!”

  He sent the bowls flying at Cole, who ducked. They hit a roller-skating server, sending him speeding into another roller-skating server. The tray she was carrying fell out of her hands, spilling water everywhere!

  “Whoa!” Another waiter slipped in the water and went flying! Lloyd leaped up and caught him before he fell.

  Suddenly, two burly guys in black suits appeared at the table.

  “I’m afraid we’re going to have to ask you to —”

  “Leave,” Kai finished for h
im. “We got it. Come on, guys.”

  Cole looked longingly at the messy pile of noodles on the table. “But I haven’t finished yet.”

  Outside, Nya tried to smooth things over. “Let’s go to the academy and talk about this,” she said. “I’m sure we can work it out. We always do.”

  “No way,” said Jay, angry and hurt. “I’ve had enough. Zane’s gone and our ‘team’ isn’t a team anymore. Things can’t magically go back to the way they were. I’m outta here.”

  “At least that’s one thing we agree on,” Cole said heatedly. They both stormed off in different directions.

  Nya sighed and turned to Kai and Lloyd. “Well, I guess that just leaves us.”

  To Nya’s surprise, Kai shook his head. “Sorry, sis. I can’t go back there right now, either. Too many memories. Maybe Jay is right. Maybe what we all need now is a fresh start.”

  He walked off without another word.

  Nya and Lloyd looked at each other.

  Were the ninja really splitting up?

  The next morning, Lloyd walked through the city’s downtown. Residents had already started to rebuild after the big battle with the Golden Master. Some people were doing it the old-fashioned way: with bricks and cement. Other workers were laying lines of digital cable.

  Looks like a blend of the old and the new, Lloyd thought.

  Old and new. Before and after. Before the Digital Overlord, Lloyd was the Golden Ninja. He was a hero in New Ninjago City, riding through the skies on his Golden Dragon.

  During the battle, Lloyd had to give up his Golden Powers. Now he was the Green Ninja again. Not that there was anything wrong with being the Green Ninja. He loved being on a team with Kai, Cole, Jay, and Zane.

  But was there even a team anymore?

  Lloyd stopped in front of Borg Industries’ headquarters. “I wonder what Cyrus is up to.”

  Cyrus Borg was a genius, the mastermind behind New Ninjago City. Under his hand, the city had become fully computerized.

  And that was pretty great — until the Overlord infected the system with a computer virus. The Digital Overlord had taken Borg over, transforming him into a half-man, half-droid.

  But now he was the old Cyrus again. Lloyd pushed open the glass doors of the building.

  The lobby inside was eerily quiet.

  “Hello?” Lloyd called out.

  His voice bounced off the walls. Curious, Lloyd rode up the elevator to Cyrus Borg’s floor.

  The elevator stopped and the doors slid open.

  “Help! Help!”

  Lloyd knew that voice. It was Cyrus! With ninja speed, he raced toward the cries and through a door marked “Testing Room.”

  Floating in the center of the room was a giant Nindroid! Its black, armored body shimmered with a strange glow. Streaks of red light poured from its one red eye. Lightning sparked in the air all around it.

  Cyrus Borg was frantically steering his wheelchair around the room, trying to avoid the lightning blasts.

  “Lloyd! Quickly! The red lever!” he yelled.

  Lloyd spotted the lever on the wall across the room. “Got it!”

  He sprang up and somersaulted through the air as lightning whizzed past him.

  Bam! He kicked the lever on his way down. Instantly, the lightning stopped — and the Nindroid vanished.

  “Oh, thank you, Lloyd,” Cyrus said, out of breath as he wheeled up to him.

  “What was that?” Lloyd asked.

  “It’s a holographic training system I’m developing,” the inventor replied. “As you can see, it has a few glitches. It’s a good thing you came when you did.”

  “So that Nindroid wasn’t real?” Lloyd asked.

  Cyrus shook his head. “No. But it will be an ideal training tool, don’t you think?” He looked to where the hologram had vanished. “At least, it will be once it’s perfected. So, Lloyd, what brings you here?”

  Lloyd wasn’t exactly sure himself. “I guess I just wanted to see if anything new was happening.”

  Cyrus adjusted his glasses. “Well, this is new.” He gestured to the hologram device. “But it’s not quite ready yet. When it is, I’d like to bring in you and the ninja team to test it out for me. What do you say?”

  “Yeah, right, the team.” Lloyd shuffled awkwardly.

  Cyrus didn’t seem to notice Lloyd’s hesitation. “Excellent! I shall call on you soon,” he said. “Thank you again for your help.”

  Lloyd left Cyrus and went back out into the streets of New Ninjago City. If Cyrus wanted the team, Lloyd would bring him the team. He only had one problem.

  He had no idea where they were!

  The sun blazed down on Jay as he walked across the Sea of Sand. The colorful neon sign for Ed and Edna’s “Scrap N Junk” glowed in the distance. Jay hadn’t seen his mom and dad in a while. They would probably have some good advice for him. They always did.

  As he got closer, Jay saw that the junkyard was hopping. Usually, he’d find his mom or dad tinkering with one of the busted vehicles. The only visitors were crows that came to perch on top of tall metal towers made out of scrap.

  But now the place was filled with people. It looked like they were building stuff — robots — using pieces of scrap from around the yard.

  Jay walked through the archway and stopped a woman carrying a small motor and a metal garbage can lid.

  “What’s going on?” he asked.

  “It’s the Junkbot Battle Supreme!” she replied. “Are you competing?”

  Jay shook his head. “No, I was just looking for my —”

  “Jay! My little bird has come back to the nest!” a voice called out.

  Jay turned to see his mom, Edna, hurrying toward him with her arms open. She squeezed him in a big hug.

  “Ed! Jay’s here!” she yelled.

  A white-haired man walked up, wiping his hands on an oily rag.

  “Well, hello there, son,” he said. “I am so sorry to hear about Zane.”

  “He was a lovely boy, and a hero,” added Edna.

  Jay nodded. “Thanks, he was.”

  “So, what’s new in the ninja business?” Ed asked.

  “Nothing much,” Jay replied. “But what’s all this about a Junkbot Battle?”

  Edna smiled brightly. “Isn’t it a fantastic idea? Competitors have forty-eight hours to build a robot using the junk in the yard.”

  “Then tomorrow they’ll face off in a series of battles until there’s one ultimate winner,” said Ed. “Should be a rootin’ tootin’ fun time!”

  Jay suddenly felt excited. “Hey, can I build one?” he asked. He had grown up in the junkyard, inventing things. It always made him happy.

  “Well, you won’t have much time, son,” Ed replied. “The battles start tomorrow morning.”

  “No problem!” Jay said. “I’ll work fast.”

  Edna pinched his cheek. “That’s my son. Such an eager little beaver!”

  Jay blushed. His mom always embarrassed him in front of his friends.

  Then he remembered — none of his friends were around to see this.

  “I’d better get to work,” Jay said. He gazed at the towers of junk piled up everywhere. There were junked cars, shiny hubcaps, broken tools, wires, tubes — everything he would need.

  He grinned. “This is going to be awesome!”

  “Welcome to the first annual Junkbot Battle Supreme!” Ed announced into a microphone the next morning. “Our first challenger is ten-year-old Suzie Wheeler, and her Junkbot, Mr. Peepers!”

  The crowd cheered as a young girl stepped into the battle arena with her tiny Junkbot. Mr. Peepers had the body of a toaster set on top of four wheels. Two metal stalks stuck out of one end of the toaster. Each one was tipped with a round ball painted to look like an eye.

  “And facing her is Jay Walker and his Junkbot, Ninjasaur!”

  Jay stepped out into the arena, waving and bowing. He was really proud of his Junkbot.

  Ninjasaur stomped out behind Jay. Twice as tall as h
im, it looked like a metal T. rex with a blue stripe painted down its back. Jay had added all kinds of sweet tricks to it. Ninjasaur could breathe fire and was programmed to perform the coolest ninja moves.

  He took a look at Mr. Peepers and felt sorry for little Suzie.

  “Don’t worry, I won’t be too hard on you!” he called out.

  “I’m not worried!” Suzie called back. “Maybe you’re the one who should be worried.”

  Jay laughed. What a cute kid, he thought. I’ll try not to completely wreck Mr. Peepers. I just need to knock it out so I can head to the next round.

  “Let the Junkbot Battle begin!” Ed yelled.

  Suzie’s eyes narrowed. She turned the knob on her remote control and Mr. Peepers wheeled across the battle arena.

  “Ninjasaur, crush!” Jay commanded, pressing some buttons on his controls. Ninjasaur stomped forward. Jay just had to bring one heavy foot down on Mr. Peepers, and it would be over.

  Stomp! Jay waited to hear the crushing sound, but it didn’t come.

  Stomp! Ninjasaur stomped again, but he still didn’t get Mr. Peepers. The tiny bot raced circles around him.

  “Ninjasaur, stop!” Jay called out. He had to rethink his strategy. Maybe he could aim a fire blast at Mr. Peepers …

  But where was the tiny Junkbot?

  Suddenly, Ninjasaur started to spark and sizzle. Across the arena, Suzie had broken out into a wicked grin.

  “What’s happening?” Jay asked. And then he saw it — Mr. Peepers was right under Ninjasaur’s tail, shooting electric blasts out of its toast slots.

  “Ninjasaur, flip!” Jay cried, punching in new commands.

  The metal dino crouched down, and then sprang into an amazing backflip.

  Boom! The ground shook when it landed. Mr. Peepers quickly zipped out from underneath it. But Suzie didn’t look worried.

  Jay punched another button. “Ninjasaur, flame!”

  Ninjsaur’s mouth opened wide … and a stream of oil poured out.

  “Wait, what?” Jay asked. He frantically started pressing buttons. Ninjasaur stomped around, waving his tiny arms. Then the bot stepped right into the oil slick.

  Boom! Ninjasaur crashed down hard on its back. Mr. Peepers wheeled right up onto his face.