Chapter Text
The Crossroads, home to all who came from different realms after the merge, a free and diverse place. There you could find sea creatures, skeletons, even anthropomorphic animals; anything was possible at the Crossroads.
It has been almost a century since the merge brought together all the realms, worlds that could only be thought of in legends. From worlds with dragons, paranormal beings, fearsome monsters and even jinns. It was something incredible, but also dangerous and even frightening.
Amidst all this peace, there were dangers: people using fusion to invade other places, territorial wars, monsters appearing in places they shouldn't, people getting lost in what was called the mergequakes.
Cracks opening in the sky, causing tremors across the land and destabilizing the world, sucking in any unfortunate soul who came near, who knows what happens to them. There was only one thing capable of stabilizing these phenomena, at least temporarily. Elementary masters.
Elemental Masters, individuals born with a unique power, not always a natural element, but always a unique and diverse power. These people were special, and since the merge they had become public figures, traveling across the merged lands to stabilize the mergequakes storms.
Some of these masters were trained by the legendary creator of Ninjago, the realm located at the center of the lands, the first master of Spinjitzu. A man said to have come from another realm and created a world from scratch, a man who ceased to exist a long time ago. Leaving behind only remnants of his being, his two children.
The elemental masters have a simple job: to protect the merged lands. They are trained from the moment they receive their powers from their predecessors. Many of them are the children of these predecessors, children born to continue their legacy and task.
And luckily, some of them live at the Crossroads. Unfortunately, some of them don't seem to be trying to do their duty.
Some might say that "the wind has ears". But how true is that?
—
"Excuse me! I'm just passing by!" a girl says, weaving through the crowd on the street, carrying what looked like a box full of scrap metal. A girl with dark hair tied in a messy short ponytail, goggles on her head, and makeshift mechanic's clothes consisting of a gray shirt with a phoenix symbol under a cyan blue jacket with burgundy red details.
People move out of her way, staring at her as if they already know her, some laughing, others shaking their heads.
The girl continues to walk through the crowd until she finally reaches a two-story house with a large garage right behind it. The girl paused in front of the front-floor entrance, a wide doorway that led to what appeared to be a weapons workshop, dimly lit by a furnace in the corner of the room.
In the other corner, a pile of crooked and poorly made weapons, heavy weapons, axes, spears, bladed weapons in general. And near the furnace, a boy with spiky hair and a red bandana around his forehead hammering yet another weapon that has just come out of the forge.
The boy raises the weapon in his hands with a celebratory smile, "Ah-ha!" But then the smile fades, giving way to a grimace as he throws the crooked sword along with the rest of the pile, "No! That's not right!" He grunts, leaning against his desk with a tired expression.
The girl sighs when she sees him and puts her box on the ground, approaching him. The boy doesn't notice her coming in, wiping the sweat from his brow and bending down to adjust the firewood in the furnace.
"Maybe if I recalibrate the fire..." He sighs, bringing his hand closer to the fire and closing his eyes. The firewood begins to burn more intensely, the flames growing hotter and stronger; he opens his eyes, blinking, and moves away from the fire, an ember almost bursting from the furnace. He sighs again, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"Working hard, huh?" The boy jumps, looking at the girl with a surprised expression. She crosses her arms in his presence, a resemblance in their eyes. Siblings. The boy's expression changes from one of astonishment to one of annoyance.
"N-Nya! Tell me when you're popping up out of nowhere, I thought you were a customer!" the boy says, pointing to the door. The girl rolls her eyes, Her brother was always so noisy when he didn't need to be. She looks behind her, seeing no one pass by.
"Ah, yeah, the customers we definitely have." She uncrosses her arms, placing a hand on her hip. The boy simply ignores her, turning back to pick up a small book with a symbol of a hammer and sword, a guide for blacksmiths. "Tell me, when was the last time you sold something?" She waits for an answer, watching the boy turn to her with a raised finger and his mouth open to speak, pausing for a few seconds with a look that suggested he didn't know what to answer, glancing around as if searching for one. The corner of her mouth turned up in a subtle smile; he grunted, closing his eyes and crossing his arms.
"And what do you have to say? You don't even work!" He raises his nose, but the girl just shrugs. She walks around the workshop looking at some of the old weapons that served as samples, and pieces of armor that were already getting covered in cobwebs.
Nobody had used these things in years since the merger; the technological advancement of the Crossroads was more feasible for the people living on it.
"I sell my inventions; they may not be on the level of Cyrus Borg, but they're good enough to support us," she says, flashing a proud smile, "I mean, you're the only one who cares about these old things. I can certainly see people using guns, but armor? Has anyone ever seen anyone wearing that?" She says, taking a helmet off a mannequin, breathing in some dust and coughing. The boy suppresses the urge to laugh, and she makes a face at him. "Anyway, I have to go to work at my mech for tomorrow's race." She lifts the box with some difficulty. The boy helps her to lift her up.
"Not all of us are prodigious inventors, sis." He helps her, picking up one of the scrap pieces that was falling and putting it back in the box. "This is all we have left of Dad, and honestly, it's the only thing I'd rather be associated with." He looks away, staring at the furnace. "You might want to do something similar with them, but I prefer to focus on what's safe for both of us. You're good at this inventor thing, focus on that." He looks down, averting his gaze from his sister.
"I don't want to live a normal, boring life. I want to be like mom and dad." She adjusts the box in her arms, preparing to leave. "I love inventing things, don't get me wrong, but I want something more. We have these... Gifts..." She hesitates to touch on the subject, Kai stares at her uncomfortably, "and we know how to use them, but what good are they if we don't do anything with them?" She says, a painful tone in the voice. "I don't want their legacy to be forgotten, Kai." She leaves the workshop and goes to her garage.
Kai watches her leave, a disappointed look in his eyes, but his mouth and eyebrows force a cold, distant expression. He murmured a "good luck in the race" but knew perfectly well that she wouldn't hear him.
He looks back at his guide to see what he had done wrong, noticing some red ribbons marking the pages he was trying to follow. How could he be the son of a blacksmith and be such a failure??
He looks up, seeing a photograph of his parents, a man in a red uniform and a woman in a cyan dress. Kai stares at them with a questioning and frustrated expression. Their parents disappeared during a Mergequake storm; it is believed they were sucked into one, which, for many in the Mergelands, is a death sentence.
Kai was young when it happened, but old enough to understand this loss. He was now alone with Nya, his younger sister. Alone and having to support themselves with his father's workshop and Nya's inventions.
He faces the furnace and, suspiciously, snaps his fingers, and the light and sound of burning wood disappear in seconds as if on command. He sits on the floor staring at the guide and the photograph on the wall.
"I'm nothing like you, Dad... And I don't WANT to be like you." He says coldly, raising the book above his head and threatening to throw it. He hesitates. He gazes at the majestic figure of his mother, like a nymph with a gentle smile.
The same smile that calmed him when he had nightmares or was sad. He lowers the book and brings his arms close to his body; it has been years since he felt cold, the fire within him warming him ever since he inherited his father's elemental power. His mother was calmer, but unpredictable, like the sea. Fitting, isn't it?
Water and fire, elements that shouldn't mix, and yet, here he is with Nya. Two children born of fire and water. Completely different, and yet, connected. Alone. Since that incident, he made a point of stopping their training sessions, he never showed up again when a mergequake occurred, and he never let Nya go either.
The Crossroads already had local elemental masters to handle that; they don't need two more. He sighs, gets up, picks up his book, and places it on his desk. He stares at the book for a while.
Then he felt a breeze, a whispering wind passing by him; it was as if he could hear the wind chimes all along the Crossroads. For the first time in years, he felt a chill. Turning around, he could see a strange figure in the doorway, his hair and long cloak torn but with the ends fluttering in the wind.
But... there's no wind in those areas; they live in the lower part of the Crossroads. The man approaches the workshop, entering it and looking at the place.
Kai couldn't tell if it was the room's poor lighting or something else, but this guy's aura was chilling, strange, and otherworldly. He was skinny, tall, with dark hair with just one green streak, his skin was pale, almost greenish or gray, he looked like a corpse.
He appeared to be wearing some kind of one-sleeved gi, his left arm covered in bandages, but they don't necessarily need to be bandages to cover injuries. It also appeared to have a long dual-bladed sword on his back.
The lighting from outside cast a shadow that made his silhouette even more intimidating. The only thing Kai could see of his face were his deep, dark green eyes.
"A-ah..." Kai stumbles over what he was going to say, the man's presence not seeming welcoming. "H-how can I help you...?" He managed to ask the question, the man still staring at the rest of the workshop, looking up and down, until he saw the photograph on the wall. "L-look, I was about to close, s-so I recommend placing a quick order and I'll see if I c-can make it for you tomorrow!" He tries to come up with an excuse to kick him out as quickly as possible. This guy is giving him the creeps.
The man looked at him with his cold eyes, and Kai felt as if he were staring right into his soul. He turns his head toward him, "Is this where Ray and Maya Smith should be?" His voice is slow and hoarse, but low like a whisper.
Kai really doesn't like this guy here. Kai simply shakes his head in denial.
"That's a shame. I've heard a lot about them from my mentor. Well, by any chance, you..." He approaches Kai. The boy grabs the blacksmith's hammer handle behind his back. "...Have elemental power? Specifically, one related to fire?" Kai's eyes widen and he grabs the hammer, using the strength of his arm to swing it towards the stranger.
The man in green simply grabs Kai's wrist, causing the hammer to fall to the ground with a THUD. Even his touch was cold.
"I only asked a question, kid. The right thing to do is answer." He says in a cold, serious tone. He releases Kai's wrist and heads towards the entrance. "But from what I see, you're nothing like your father. Nothing but a disgrace compared to him." He turns to Kai with a cold look, a bitter tone in his voice.
He leaves the workshop and Kai follows him. But then, turning the corner, the man had vanished, a cold breeze settling in his place.
"What..." Kai stared, perplexed and confused about what was happening, "What the fuck??"
—
Nya was working on one of her inventions, a huge controllable mech with a cockpit in its chest, a head formation with a crest, and an X marking its chest. The mecha's head had a light blue visor, and its legs were wide with wheels on the outer sides.
Tomorrow's race would be a mech race, the winner would receive a large sum of money, and Nya, more than anyone, wanted to win.
She has participated in these races for two years, but has never actually managed to win; other participants had won before. But what she cared about most wasn't just the money, but the secondary prize: a visit to Borg Industries. Ninjago's largest advanced technology press, responsible for helping expand communications and technological advancement across the merged realms.
Her inventions were her pride and joy, something special that was uniquely hers, and she wanted to prove to everyone how good she was. She finishes adjusting the last cables of the mech, closing the opening and using a cloth to clean herself, removing her safety glasses.
She steps back a little to take a look at the result; it was exactly what she envisioned. She would call this mech...
"The sliding mech X. Perfect!" She says, gesturing a square with her hands as she looks through it, closing one of her eyes to focus in the shape of the mech. She pauses, crossing her arms and squinting, bringing her finger close to her chin. "Hmm, something's missing..." She glances to the side, noticing a drawing she had made of her ideas on a work table. She approaches, wiping some scraps from the paper and looking at the drawing in her hands. "Ah! Colors! That's what's missing!" She says, looking around for her paint cans and graphite tins.
She runs toward one of the shelves in the corner of the garage and takes out some cans of blue and red colors. She loves the color blue; it reminds her of her mother, of the ocean. She paused, gazing silently at the colors. Red and blue, the colors her parents used most often. She misses them a lot.
"Impressive mech." Nya felt a cold breeze, turning to see a tall man standing in the doorway of the garage.
He looked up at the mech, his gaze empty yet distant. Nya stood up, raising a doubtful eyebrow. The man enters the garage uninvited, looking around the place.
"Well-organized, it's to be expected of someone as talented as you that you'd want to keep your workspace clean and tidy." His voice was calm but cold. There wasn't much emotion coming from it. But Nya sensed no hostility or malice coming from him, just... coldness.
"Well, how can I help you? I'm closed today, but if you want, I can schedule you for tomorrow or another day." She offers, going to the next table and grabbing a notepad and a pen. The man places his hand on the notepad, lowering it so that Nya can look at him more closely.
His skin was pale, and he radiated an intense cold. He takes a step back, Nya too. He clears his throat before continuing.
"No, I'm not here at the request of anything. I heard about some... elemental masters," upon hearing this, Nya's eyes widened, clutching the notepad in her hands. "I am familiar with some elemental masters from this territory, and I would like to know more." He said it slowly and calmly, as if not wanting to agitate her.
It was no secret that there were elemental masters in the area; the only thing was, Kai and Nya weren't public figures, with Kai wanting to remain uninvolved in this elemental master thing.
"Just know that we all have our roles to play. Like the wind that helps a ship sail."
"Nya hears a whistle coming from behind her, turning to see what it was. It seemed to be just the wind. When she turned to look at the man, he had vanished, a trail of wind with some sheets of paper floating in his place.
"Han??" She stares at the spot where he was just seconds ago, looking around for his presence, but nothing. He had vanished into thin air. And she had no idea what to think. This guy was one of the weirdest people she'd ever met, and she'd already met Kai's exes! She shook her head, ignoring it; she had a competition to win, and she wasn't going to get distracted.
And so, she continued working on her mech for the rest of the night, finishing the last touches and the paint job. She could hardly believe this was going to happen. She had noted down any kind of problem that could happen in the race, from sabotage and bad wheels to the possibility of explosions; she was prepared.
The night passed quickly for her, and the race wouldn't start until the afternoon of the next day, so she would have the whole morning to rest. And immediately after finishing the mech, she covered it with a sheet large enough to hide it, put away all her materials, turned off the garage lights, and closed the gate behind her. She climbed a staircase that led to the second floor of the workshop, where there was a small house with a little porch containing a hammock and a small table.
She pauses to look at The Crossroads. The two moons, one large and the other reddish, in the starry sky. In the distance, another city with a tower similar to the Borg Tower, surrounded by a wall, in the middle of a desert. At other distances, oh, it was a vast world.
One that she can never see but wishes she could. She could even see what was said to be the Wyldness, with the humorous floating island at the center of what that realm used to be. She knew nothing about the place, only that it was immense and unknown, and few people ever go there or come from there.
This world was incredible.
"Nya! Oh, I'm so glad you finally arrived. I was starting to get worried." Nya turns to see Kai leaving through the door, his expression tired but happy to see her.
They had seen each other earlier, but even so, Kai always worried and was happy to see her after a long day apart. Even if they are only a short distance away.
"Oh, shoot, did I stay working late again?" She rubbed the back of her neck, embarrassed. This is not the first time this has happened. "Sorry for worrying you, I wanted to put the finishing touches on my mech. But hey, it turned out perfect!" She clenches her fist confidently, a wide smile on her face and eyes sparkling. Kai simply shook his head, crossing his arms.
"I should have known, you workholic." He laughs. Nya snorts and looks to the side with a frown. "But knowing you, I have no doubt that you did something impressive. I'll see you tomorrow at the race." Nya looked at him and smiled sweetly.
He was always there for her achievements, making up for the absence of their parents. She always admired that about him.
"Ah..." He paused awkwardly, placing his hands on his hips, "You didn't... See anyone suspicious today, did you?" He glanced at her, something he didn't do often unless he was uncomfortable. But what he said, could he have been talking about that strange man?
"Maybe? Dark hair and faded greenish clothes?" She asks, going over to their sofa and sitting down, picking up a remote and turning on the TV. Kai follows her and sits on the other side of the sofa. "He just said something vague about all of us having a role to play, or something weird like that." She waves it off. Kai glances at her briefly, resting his arm on the arm of the sofa. "Why?"
"Oh! Ah, nothing! It's nothing." He deflects the topic, waving her question away. They return their focus to the TV, a reporter with glasses talking about the recent dragon sightings.
For years since the merge, dragons have been becoming the most normal thing in the world. And several times some dragons would pass by the Crossroads, sometimes stopping to interact with people. Peaceful creatures, or at just act neutral if you don't bother them.
Some people even say it's possible to form a bond with a dragon, and that dragons and elemental masters have some kind of connection. But something about the report was different from the usual accounts of dragon sightings.
"Today we received reports of strange dragon behavior. Several residents of the Crossroads say that the dragons that normally appear every night here in the center of the neighborhood have simply stopped showing up. And the dragons that have been sighted seem to be avoiding contact with people, something that doesn't normally happen. Could this be a migration of dragons to another place? Or is something happening to these majestic creatures?"
The reporter continues to speak, Kai and Nya exchange uncertain glances. They hadn't interacted with dragons before; Kai was too protective, but they know these dragons are peaceful. What might be bothering them and causing them to stop showing up more often?
"On the other hand, preparations for tomorrow's mech race have already been finalized. If you haven't registered yet, you'd better hurry up as soon as the sun comes up! This will be the fourth year since the first mech race, and this year it's being sponsored by Borg Industries!"
A Borg Industry logo appears on the screen, and Nya's mood immediately changes with a wide smile on her face. Kai smiles slightly at her. After the logo, a recording of Cyrus Borg plays: a man with glasses and formal attire sitting in a wheelchair, an android with green eyes and wired hair beside him, her hands formally in front of her.
"Good evening everyone," the man begins, "I'm Cyrus Borg, and as you know I'll be sponsoring this year's mech race. I may not be the most qualified when it comes to this sport, but I love seeing young inventors show what they're capable of. You're all brilliant in many ways, and I look forward to seeing everything you have to show. Who knows? Maybe one of you will catch my eye." He laughs, a charismatic smile on his face. The recording ends and the reporter continues her report.
"And I know you're going to win! And you're going to be the BEST of all in this race!" Kai exclaims, pointing at Nya with a confident smile. She smiles back and punches Kai on the shoulder. The two siblings laugh together. "But seriously, you don't need validation from others to be amazing. You already are."
"It's easy to say, you're my brother, of course you'd say that. But not everyone is biased. And in competitions it's even worse." She hugs her knees, taking her goggles off her head and placing them on the small table in front of the sofa. Kai opens his mouth to say something, but decides not to. "I appreciate your support anyway." She smiles at him. Kai looks at her for a few seconds, smiling back and putting his arm around her shoulders. "I love you too, idiot." She smiles shyly. Nya yawns and gets up, "Well, I have to rest for now, I have to wake up early tomorrow. Goodnight, big bro." She waves and goes to one of the bedrooms at the back of the house.
Kai watches her leave and as soon as she's out of sight, he sighs and lies down on the sofa. He still felt uneasy after his encounter with that strange guy earlier. And with the strange things happening at the crossroads recently, he didn't know who to trust.
His thoughts were interrupted when he felt his phone ringing, his face contorting into a grimace. He pulled the phone from his pocket, his face contorted in irritation. He recognized the number calling, but he simply ignored the call and put his phone on silent.
Unfortunately, he knew this wouldn't stop the calls; it had been days since the last time he'd received a call from that number. He grabbed a pillow and buried his face in it, muffling his irritated groans.
He removes the pillow from his face and sits up, running his hand across his face to his hair, intertwining his fingers in it. He looks at his phone again, a disappointed expression on his face. He puts the phone down on the table and lies down with the pillow behind his head, covering his eyes with his arm. He should stop thinking about it.
—
At one o'clock in the afternoon, Nya had asked Kai to help move the Mech for the race, so he decided to call a local blacksmith colleague of his who was quite strong, as well as being an elemental master.
They waited a few minutes until he arrived, a man with a metal helmet and a goatee, and metal gauntlets covering his arms forming giant hands. After explaining what he needed, he accepted the job, his gauntlets clenching together, his body changed to metal, and he grew a few centimeters taller.
It was actually easy to help move the Mech; the wheels helped. What they needed was more power to move something so big to the race location. And after a few minutes they finally arrived.
"We're here!" Nya exclaimed, bouncyly. Kai and his colleague help carry the covered Mech to the position that was marked for them.
Nya was delighted looking at the other mechs in the race, an immense variety; she could see some Skullkins, and even some Serpentines, and other beings she didn't recognize.
The mechs themselves were what interested her most. "Yes, I'm going to win today! You can bet on it!" she exclaimed confidently, pointing to the sky with one hand on her hip. Kai smiles at her.
"Out of the way!" Nya turns around startled, jumping out of the way as a Mech falls from the sky, landing right where she was standing. She stares at the Mech, a large dark blue, bulky figure with a cockpit in its torso, a front light on its chest, and black joints between the mech's waist and the legs that had feet.
The mech's feet change to wheels in a few seconds. There was a blue flag coming out from behind it's back with a symbol of a octopus with tentacles resembling lightning bolts; it seems to be made with graphite.
"Next time, don't get in the way." The driver, inside the cab on his torso, said. He was wearing a circular hat made of bamboo painted blue that obscured his face, and what looked like goggles with red lenses covering his eyes.
Nya stared at him and gritted her teeth, "Well, how was I supposed to know you were going to land where I was?" She brushed the dust off their clothes, and Kai and his colleague approached to check on her.
The guy in the mech doesn't say anything, he just drives his mech to his position.
"Asshole." She swore, moving to check on her mech, pulling back the covers and giving the metal surface a tap. The Mech rises from its position, remaining upright on its wheels. Kai looks up at the Mech with a proud smile.
"Thanks for the help, Karlof." He thanks his colleague, offering a closed fist in greeting. Karloff smiles and does the same, hitting Kai's fist a little too hard, making him pull his hand away in pain.
"Karlof will be cheering for Nya!" he exclaimed, crossing his arms with a smile, waving to the siblings before heading to the stands. Kai and Karlof have known each other for a few years thanks to their parents.
Karlof is older, but that didn't stop him and Kai from forming a pretty decent friendship. He was the elemental master of metal, capable of changing its form into any metal in existence, and becoming more durable and stronger in the process.
He was a bit... slow, so to speak, not very bright but not very stupid. What he lacked in intelligence, he made up for with a big heart. He also worked in a blacksmith shop like Kai, but he was more successful than him.
"Well, this is where we say goodbye, good luck, sis." Kai hugs Nya and says goodbye, heading to the stands as well. Nya nods to him and begins to climb up to the mech's cockpit, closing the entrance and putting on her protective mask and goggles.
Kai arrives at the stands and sits in the front row to watch her. The monitors on the pillars around the race track display the logo for a live recording of the race announcer.
"Welcome to another mech race at The Crossroads! Today we have racers from all corners of the city, north, south, east and west! Which of these brilliant racers will win? And which one of them will capture the attention of our special guest, Cyrus Borg!"
The recording changes to show Cyrus Borg in a tower in the stands, with two androids on either side of him: one with green eyes and another in more armored clothing with a more serious expression. They must be his assistant and bodyguard. Upon noticing that he was being recorded, Cyrus looked and waved at the camera. The recording goes back to the announcer.
"The lucky winner will be rewarded with a special visit to Borg Industries in Ninjago City! The center point of the Merge Realm! So you guys better win!"
"Oh, and I'm so going to win." Nya announces to herself, gripping the steering wheel of her mech.
"So, on your marks!"
The monitors show a countdown. "Ready"
3...2...1
"GO!!!"
A loud whistle blows and all the mechs start to leave their positions, immediately running at full speed, so fast that Kai even felt the gel in his hair almost coming out. He looks at the monitors again, seeing Nya's Mech going super fast, sliding along the race track.
The mechs would bump into each other, trying to gain an advantage and eliminate the competition; this wasn't against the rules, the only rule was not to cause serious accidents or injuries. Nya sees herself shoulder to shoulder with that blue mech from before. She looks in the direction of the driver.
He looks at her and slams his Mech against hers, making her stagger, but that didn't stop her; she just slammed back. They remain shoulder to shoulder, literally both shoulders bumping into each other.
They continue racing down the track, bumping into each other along the way. Nya sees one of the mechs falling into the path and activates a mode on her mech, causing it to jump sideways in a spin over the other mech and land safely back on the runway, continuing her momentum.
"Not bad," says the guy in the blue mech, "for an amateur." He says, activating what appeared to be the turbo; two cannons emerge from the mech's shoulder pads and project backward, activating a propulsion energy which starts to make him go faster.
Nya's eyes widen in surprise, but she won't just give up; she activates a new mode. Her Mech's legs split into four, revealing new wheels, and the Mech now looks like a water spider.
The Mech, able to go faster and faster, glides along the track as if it were water, managing to keep up with her rival's speed. She stares back at him, and he stares back, If she could assume it, she would say that he was looking surprised by her mech.
"Who's the amateur now?" She activates a button that triggers her own turbo mode, making her go faster. She celebrates, seeing that she was finally in first place; she was already close to the finish line. Victory is so close.
And suddenly, one of the pillars near the stands breaks, beginning to fall towards one of the them. People start to panic upon hearing the sound of the wooden pillar falling, and Nya's eyes widen as she watches.
The cockpit of her mech opens, the mech remains powered on, but she moves to position her hands in front of her body, and jets of water shoot from her palms against the pillar. As she approaches the pillar, she uses the Mech to hold it back along with her elemental power, keeping the pillar away from people.
She then throws the pillar to the ground. She stops shooting her water, panting. She still had difficulty using much of her powers. She looks at the civilians in the audience, most of whom are shocked or frightened.
"Is everyone alright?" She asks, getting out of the mech to check on the people. Kai runs to her, worried. Before they could say anything, they saw the dark blue Mech passing by them, reaching the finish line.
Nya stares at the mech and its driver, who is celebrating before her, upon realizing there was no applause, looking towards the stands to see Nya and her mech. The monitor on the other pillar switches to the race announcer, a look of panic on his face.
"Oh, sources! T-that was terrible, I hope everyone is okay, this wasn't supposed to happen!" He exclaims with a nervous tone and panic in his voice. "I, uh, I'm sorry to say but the race will be cancelled for now. We will send the authorities to check what happened, please everyone remain calm and leave the stands, just for safety's sake."
And so, the people in the audience begin to leave the stands, all in confusion and panic. Nya simply watches them all leave, removing her protective mask and goggles. She looks at the people and sees the other racers arriving, all getting out of their mechs with confused and shocked expressions.
The guy in the blue mech was the only one who didn't leave; he drove up to the stands where Nya and Kai were, stopping in front of her mech and opening the cockpit. He leaps from his mech to the ground, approaching the pillar to inspect it.
Nya and Kai look at each other and jump from the bleachers to the ground, going towards him. "What are you doing?" Kai asks, the guy doesn't answer, just staring at the base of the pillar. Kai and Nya looked at what he was looking at, seeing that the pillar appeared to have been cut, a smooth cut like that of an axe. It didn't appear to be an accident, but rather sabotage.
"Do you think someone cut the pillar?" Nya asks, kneeling beside him. He turns to her, removing his mask but not completely.
"Yeah, I've seen things like that before. It's a long cut, it must have been made with a long blade." He gets up. "How did this happen? Since you were in front." Nya gets up.
"Well, I just saw the pillar starting to fall and I needed to act fast, so I used my mech to hold it up." She says, pointing to her Mech. The boy pauses, hands on his chin, lost in thought. "So... How does it feel to win?" she asks dryly. He looks at her, confused.
"Winning? With a situation like this, winning isn't worth it. What's the point of winning when an accident like this is happening?" He says, crossing his arms. Nya looks at him in surprise, and Kai raises an eyebrow. "What? You think that just because I'm good at racing I'm going to be a snob?"
Nya's surprised expression fades, changing to one of annoyance.
"In any case, we should leave that to the authorities." He gets up and starts walking towards his mech. "Besides," he pauses, looking at Nya as he puts his mask back on, but slightly lifting his goggles to reveal his deep blue eyes. some freckles between them. "You would have won if it weren't for that incident."
He puts his goggles back on and jumps into his mech's cockpit, activating a button that reveals a pair of back wings and thrusters. He says goodbye and flies away. Nya just watches him leave. She stares in his direction for a few seconds until Kai catches her attention.
"So... what do we do now? The competition has been canceled." Kai says, placing a hand on Nya's shoulder, "I'm so sorry about that, sis." He laments, receiving a sad look from Nya.
The girl looks back at the wreckage of the pillar, and crouches down to examine the cut closely.
Kai crouches down beside her, "It's bizarre, I didn't see anyone near the pillar when this happened..." Nya ran her fingers over the cut in the wood, feeling how fresh the cut was.
"That's because it wasn't done today," she hints, looking at Kai, who stares back confused. "Judging by its size, it looks like it was designed to fall apart gradually; look at the center of the cut."
She points to a part of the cut compared to the rest; there was a slight difference.
"The part that was cut ends here," she points to a point on the cut that stops near what would be the middle of the pillar, "and the rest looks like it broke off like a branch being manually snapped in half. Or like a tree falling in the wind." She stands up, stepping back a little to get a wider view, "with the mechs moving fast, the tremor in the ground and air must have stabilized the already cut pillar, resulting in it falling." She pauses, looking at the other pillar on the other side of the track, "or... It was being pushed by a greater force..." She pauses to think, a hand on her chin.
"Okay, I'm officially lost." Kai approaches her with a confused and tired expression, "can we just go home and let the authorities handle this?" Nya looks at him to say something but both fall silent upon hearing a clicking sound in the distance.
They both turned towards the sound, seeing a silhouette behind a corner with a bladed weapon, tapping the blade on the ground. The two stare at the figure for a few seconds before it disappears around the corner, causing Nya to run after it, with Kai right behind her.
The siblings ran towards the figure that seemed to disappear at every turn. Nya ran faster ahead, dodging any obstacles in her path; Kai tried to do the same but kept bumping into things. Soon, the two arrive at one of the bridges that separated The Crossroads from the other realms, a long bridge leading to a desert. Kai stops running after finally arriving in Nya, pausing to catch his breath.
"N-Nya... huff huff... Next time... huff huff... Go slower..." He raises his head to look at her, noticing that she was silent. He walks to her side and finally looks at what was in front of her. There, in the middle of the bridge, was that same man from last night.
Black hair, pale skin, long torn cape, green gi.
Kai's eyes widened in shock when he saw him. "You...?" He murmurs to himself. Nya looked at him and back at the man, who was holding a double blade in his hands, spinning it with precision and sheathing it behind his back.
"It was... It was you who caused that accident... Why?? Did you want to put people in danger??" Nya explodes at him, a furious expression on her face. The man turns, looking at her and Kai, his cold eyes staring directly at them.
"You are strong, determined, and willing to risk everything to protect others. Impressive." He pauses, raising one of his bandaged hands and adjusting the bandages. "Yes, I cut the pillar, but I didn't mean to hurt anyone. If you or he hadn't acted, I would have." He says in a cold tone, as if it were the most normal thing to say. "That was a test." Nya grinds her teeth and stomps her foot.
"A TEST??? A test for WHAT??? What kind of... psychopath puts people in danger just to test someone??? Are you insane???" She raised her voice, even Kai was a little shocked by it. The man just stared at her. "SAY SOMETHING!!!"
She was practically seething with rage, and Kai could see storm clouds gathering in the sky. She picked up a wrench that was in her mechanic's bag and pointed it at him.
"You'll pay for putting those people in danger!!" The man just stares at her and sighs, bringing his hand closer to the handle of his double blade. Before he could brush his fingers along the handle, Nya leaped toward him with the wrench in her hands, aiming straight for his neck, but just as she was about to strike, he vanished in a wisp of wind.
She is swept back, covering her face from the wind, and when she turns her attention back to where the man was, she realizes he has disappeared. Before she could say anything, she felt a cold wind behind her and turned around, the wrench clutched in her hands, pointing it at him, but he grabbed her wrist before she could make contact. He stared at her, gripping her wrist tightly, before spinning her around by the arm and throwing her to the ground.
"HEY!!" The man dodges a fireball coming from behind him, looking towards Kai who was running towards him with his hands and eyes full of fire. He now throws more fireballs at him, which he dodges precisely as if anticipating their movements.
Kai tries to throw a few punches when he gets close enough, but the man dodges them, backing away from Kai, grabbing his blade and using the blunt side of the blades to push Kai away. Nya, having freed herself from his grip, gets up and begins to attack him using her water as well, throwing jets of water in his direction relentlessly, being careful not to hit Kai.
The two siblings launched combined attacks to strike the man, who dodged their attacks, defending himself against the elemental attacks with his blades, spinning them rapidly to create a temporary shield.
He also used the speed of his blades to create a makeshift fan which, combined with his wind power, created a gale that pushed the two siblings away. He stopped, and when Kai and Nya advanced against him again, he began making aerial cuts, creating strong waves of wind that hit them both, throwing them far away.
He paused, one foot dragging back on the ground while the other slide inward, his hand gripping the blade's handle firmly. Nya looks in the direction of Kai, who had fallen near the edge of the bridge.
She looks to her side, to the other side of the bridge, seeing a river far below. She looks bak, the man adjusts himself, rotating his shoulder with a snap. He moves slowly toward Kai, his blade pointed towards the ground.
Nya needed to think fast; she had never controlled large bodies of water before, but if it meant protecting her brother, she would take the risk. She stretches her hand towards the river below, straining and trying to reach the water with her powers.
She could feel the river's fluidity, its current, its direction, and its force. She strained even harder, her sweat dripping but slowly beginning to float, raindrops starting to fall. She opens her eyes, shining a deep blue, tears of water streaming down her cheeks and floating in the air along with the rest of the water. The rain intensifies; she looks more closely; the river water was no longer down there.
Kai begins to stand, looking up to see the man staring down at him, pointing his blade at Kai's chest. The boy stares at him in panic, a cold, liquid feeling dripping from his forehead. Bringing his hand closer, he could clearly feel what it was.
Blood. He immediately flinches, feeling a sting in the wound. He stares at the man once more, he just stares at him with... disappointment? The same disappointed eyes that many gave him before...
But before he could say anything, he saw it. Just behind the man, a stream of water floated in the air, dripping onto the ground, and just below the stream, Nya, with outstretched hands controlling the immense body of water.
It was somewhat intimidating for Kai, who had a fear of water, but he couldn't help but find what his little sister was doing was incredible. The man looks towards the body of water, his expression unchanged, he pulls his blade away from Kai, looking at Nya as if expecting something.
Well, he didn't need to wait much; with a shrill scream, she threw her arms toward the man, and the stream of water shot towards him, pushing him off the bridge. His blade fell to the ground with a clank.
Kai stood up, looking at Nya in shock and surprise. She was panting, her eyes losing their sparkle, and her hair, which had been floating as if underwater, drooped. She falls to her knees on the floor, panting with exhaustion. Kai runs over to her to help her get up, being careful not to overburden her. The rain grew lighter by the second.
"Nya, are you okay?" Kai asks, placing his hands on her shoulders and trying to look into her eyes. She lifts her head, tear marks forming faintly around her eyes. "What... What was that?" he asks, helping her to her feet.
"I just... I didn't want you to get hurt..." She says, placing a hand on her dizzy head. The two looked at each other and hugged, happy that they were alright, the rain beginning to stop. The peace is interrupted for a few seconds when they hear clapping, looking back towards the bridge, seeing that the man had returned, now being brought to the ground by a gust of wind.
"You guys are really as strong as I heard. Your parents must have raised you well." He says calmly, landing on the ground, "but seriously, I don't have time for games anymore. My goal with you two was to find you and bring you to my master's monastery. You have a very special purpose, so you'd better accept it, because I'm not easily convinced." He picks up his blade from the ground and puts it on his back, facing the two siblings.
"Dude, you just attacked us! And now you want us to go with you??? No fucking way!" Kai says angrily, activating his fire hands. Nya puts a hand on his arm, stopping him, then stands up and takes a deep breath. She nods at him and he falls silent, lowering his hands, the fire dying down.
"Why?" she begins, "why do you want us to follow you?" She stares at the man serious, waiting for an answer. He nods.
"I was sent to find the children of the elemental masters of fire and water, Ray and Maya. And I think you two are them. I've been watching you for the last few days, trying to see how good you are. I was disappointed when I discovered that you're wasting your full potential instead of helping with The Crossroads like all the other elemental masters. Seeing how you use your powers, I see potential..." He pauses, His fists clenched and his expression hardened. "wasted potential," he says gruffly. "I was like that once, stubborn, foolish. It took me time to reach my true potential, and I see the same with you." He looks at Nya and Kai, his gaze somewhat colder towards him than towards her.
"And you expect us to believe that??" Kai asks rudely, the man stares at him, silencing him.
"You don't have to believe me, but I'll give you a chance. You have the potential to become something incredible. You can become legends. Your powers are the oldest of all elemental powers." Kai and Nya look at each other confused, "The decision is yours. All you have to do is look for me..."
A strong wind begins to surround him, forming a ball of wind encircling him, In seconds the ball of wind engulfs him and he disappears into the wind that flies through the air. Kai and Nya are perplexed by this; they've never seen anyone who can teleport using their elemental power before.
Kai and Nya look at each other, perplexed by what that man, Morro, had just said. "True potential..." Nya murmurs to herself, downcast. Kai sighs, already having an idea of what she was thinking.
"Let's go home, Nya..." Kai says, grabbing her wrist and dragging her back to The Crossroads. They would have plenty of time to reflect, but he prefers to do it in the safety of their home. But oh boy, all of this seemed complicated...