Chapter Text
The Sun rose above Ninjago City. The inhabitants below bustled about as they started their days, the beautiful spring breeze creating a welcoming atmosphere to those just exiting their homes. Trees and bushes were vibrant shades of green, birds sang their soft melodies, and the chatter of the city blended with the natural ambient of the world. It really was a beautiful day.
So it absolutely sucked that the ninja were here right now. As per their luck, they were stuck at Clutch Powers place instead of enjoying the rarity of a relaxing spring morning. Lloyd led the way to Clutch’s residence, the other ninja trailing behind the green clad boy, before stopping to wait as Lloyd rang the doorbell.
“Why are we here anyway?” Jay groaned as he crossed his arms. “I was actually hoping to take advantage of this nice weather!”
“As much as I would like to enjoy the nice weather as well, Clutch Powers has requested our assistance.” Zane stated before turning to examine the large entrance before them.
“With what?” Cole questioned. Lloyd shrugged and rang the doorbell again.
“I don’t know, but he seemed desperate. It might be important.” Lloyd sighed, glaring at the door impatiently, before beginning to repeatedly press the doorbell.
“Alright! I’m coming, I’m coming!” Shuffling accompanied the hurried yell from the other side of the door, and after a few moments of listening to various objects fall over, Clutch hastily swung the door open. “Ah, ninja! Welcome, come in, so glad you’re here! Well, don’t just stand there, come in!” The ninja shuffled inside, following Clutch through the large entrance, down a long hallway. The walls were covered in photos of Clutch in front of his many important discoveries, photos of Clutch receiving rewards, as well as shelves that were lined with medals and trophies.
Eventually the ninja stopped as they made it to a decent sized room.
Two of the side walls were stacked to the brim with books, multiple chairs were seated on the floor of the small space, and in the middle a large wooden table was littered in books and scrolls. “Feel free to take a seat!” Clutch exclaimed as he leaned over one of the books that laid open on the table.
“Alright, what’s this all about Clutch?” Kai huffed as he plopped down on one of the many chairs.
“Yes, of course! I just need help with recommendations! You see, the Explorer’s Club is breathing down my neck about…ya know, exploring! And finding something! I figured you guys must have been all over Ninjago, sightseeing, encountering ancient and rare objects of power! Perfect for getting me back into the explorers club! I just need to know which one is the safest for me to go after!”
The ninja all groaned in unison as Clutch began rattling off artifacts he had listed, desperately seeking input for an artifact he could get his hands on that hadn’t yet been logged at the Explorer’s Club.
“Can’t believe I’m missing peak Spring time food for this!” Cole exclaimed, frowning as he clutched his stomach. “I had to skip breakfast too!”
“Agreed. Sorry Clutch, but you shouldn’t be going after anything we’ve encountered. Sooo, I’m just gonna go now.” Lloyd abruptly left the room, and the others began to follow. Some members grumbling at the wasted time. Clutch frantically flailed with the papers in his hands as he tried to get around the table to follow the ninja, calling out to them as he caught multiple papers from falling to the floor.
“Wait! Wait! I just need input!” Jay shook his head and began to follow the others, unfortunately he seemed to be one of the last ones out of the room as Clutch desperately rattled more artifacts off his list, which meant he had to put up with more of Clutch’s (in Jay’s eyes) annoying voice. “How about this!? Teapot of Tyrahn! That’s got to be good!”
Jay froze in his spot, quickly turning around and walking straight over to Clutch. His hands rapidly flung towards Clutch, gripping his shoulders in a tight grasp. “Ow! Hey, wh-“
“No! That teapot is extremely powerful, and the djinn in it cannot be trusted!” Jay yelled, his eyes opened wide as they gazed at Clutch. “It’ll probably be super easy for you to find and get your hands on if you even happened to know where it was, but that’s probably just some sick ploy to get your guard down!” Jay couldn’t help but ramble more warnings, frantically attempting to get his message deep into Clutch’s thick head, but Clutch stopped listening at “super easy to find”. As in, not dangerous to find, and is alright as long as I don’t release the Djinn.
Jay desperately gripped Clutch, quickly moving into his personal space as he stared directly into his eyes. “Promise you won’t go after that teapot.” Jay seemed to be pleading, he needed Clutch to understand. Clutch hesitated, but nodded in agreement.
“Right, promise I won’t look for it. Big no no, for some reason.” The last part was mumbled under Clutch’s breath, but Jay didn’t seem to notice or care as he sighed with relief and backed away from Clutch. Jay’s eyes rapidly looked between Clutch and the exit as his hands grasped his shirt tightly. Taking in a deep breath Jay turned and spoke.
“Good…I’m gonna…go now.” Jay awkwardly shuffled away before turning and speeding out of the house, leaving Clutch far behind as he disappeared down the long hallway. The empty room now only held the lone explorer, who smiled slightly as he pulled out crossed fingers from behind his back.
“Sorry ninja. I’ve got a membership to keep.”
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Cole followed his friends, rubbing his stomach as another hungry growl sounded from within him.
”Skipping breakfast really was a mistake.” Cole whined as he started to think of a place to grab a bite, he wasn’t sure if he could make it all the way back to the monastery on an empty stomach. The mouthwatering food his mind conjured up at the thought of finally eating was enough to make Cole give a quiet hum of delight. His attention was quickly diverted though when he heard footsteps rapidly approaching from behind. Cole glanced backwards as Jay walked out of Clutch’s place, speeding towards the group to catch up, his pace finally slowing as he reached where Cole was. He raised an eyebrow at his friend.
“Hey? What took you so long?” Jay nervously chuckled and looked off to the side, removing his hands from his gi to scratch at his arms, the blue fabric bunching up at his movements.
“Nothing much. Just made it extra clear to Clutch that he shouldn’t go after those artifacts, because it’s a dumb thing to do. I… had a feeling he wasn’t going to listen to just one warning.” Cole nodded as he fell in step beside Jay.
“Probably a smart move. That guy seemed pretty desperate, but I’m sure he’ll stay clear after receiving two warnings. He wants to find an artifact and rejoin his stupid club, he doesn’t want to die.” Jay nodded slowly as he looked away from Cole.
“Yeah, I hope so.” Cole furrowed his brow at Jay’s unusually quiet behavior. He wasn’t sure what was up with his friend, but he knew he could cheer him up a bit, so that’s what he decided to do.
“Come on. Let’s go home and chill for a bit. I heard Kai is close to beating your high score. Maybe I can get some food while I watch him destroy your record!” Jay chuckled at the idea and shook his head.
“Like hell he is! I’m gonna go set an even higher score, there’s no way he’ll beat that one! So you can feast on the sight of my victory instead, boulder brain!” Cole smirked at Jay’s confidence and followed his best friend, bickering as the two boys caught up to the group.
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Clutch was tired.
When he got his information from the ninja, he was expecting the teapot he was looking for to be easily found, considering they had already discovered this thing, but that line of thinking was quickly shut down after Clutch had been searching for weeks. He had followed rumor after rumor, but each sighting turned up to be frustratingly unfounded, and every lead he had, halted in dead end after dead end.
This new lead seemed to be no better as he explored the sea of sand. Clutch groaned as he felt another mountain of sand building in his shoes, uncomfortably scratching at his feet and tripping up his steps. As Clutch stumbled through the desert he noticed a building off in the distance.
“Perfect, time to stop.” He trudged through the sand, the building getting clearer until it revealed itself to be an abandoned train station. Clutch sighed in relief, running to reach the building and take shelter. His fast pace sent him quickly through the entrance, his hand running along the rough wood as he stumbled to take off his shoes. Once they were off his feet he leaned back and collapsed to the floor, yanking his shoes off the wooden boards and dumping the sand out into the desert where it belonged.
Clutch gave his shoes an extra shake, the rest of the sand falling and blending back into the desert landscape. Clutch’s gaze wandered off into the great expanse of sand as he began slipping the shoes onto his feet, and as he stared off into the endless sea, he noticed a figure in the distance. The mysterious shape gave off a rather green aura, and Clutch quickly scrambled to hide behind the outside wall of the train station as it drew closer. He heard the green glow enter the abandoned shack of a station, its steps barely audible, even with the sands being still as stone. Cautiously, Clutch snuck up to the window and peaked through.
The glowing figure was a man, his black hair was tied back, and his facial hair was a simple mustache. Clutch's gaze wandered down as he spotted a map tightly gripped in the figure's translucent hands, a sense of panic washed over Clutch at the sight. His body flung back as the realization of this ominous man being a ghost hit him, his flailing arms hitting the weak wood of the walls as he pushed himself away from the window in shock.
Unfortunately, this loud display of panic seemed to alert the ghost, who’s attention was fully facing Clutch now. Clutch scrambled away from the figure as it quickly appeared in the doorway, its intimidating presence standing over Clutch and drawing closer as he crawled backwards, his eyes desperately scanning for a way to escape.
Until… he wasn’t looking for a way to escape. He saw no way to do that, but what he did see was an opportunity.
“W-Wait! That map! Is it to help find the Teapot of Tyrahn?” The ghost stopped in his tracks, raising an eyebrow in confusion as he gently lifted the map up.
“Yes…it is.”
“Then…then we’re looking for the same thing! The Teapot! I’m an explorer.” Clutch gives a nervous smile as he slowly stands up. “And-And a pretty good one too.” The man stares at Clutch, processing this information, pondering on it, until finally he looks up with an unnerving smile.
“Perhaps, we can help each other then?” The ghost smiled more as Clutch hesitantly nodded. “Good. My name is Clouse, I was robbed of my life by some rather terrible individuals, and I wish to return to the mortal plain.” Clutch seemed to perk up at the mention of wishes, but shook his head slightly before speaking.
“Sounds good, I just want the Teapot when you’re done with it.”
“Well, you can gladly have it after I make all my wishes.” Clouse smirked and held out his hand. “Deal?” Clutch observed the man, contemplating the deal before shrugging and shaking his hand. As long as this got him back into the club, he didn’t care who this guy was.
“Name’s Clutch Powers. You’ve got yourself a deal.”
“Excellent. I look forward to working with you.”