A/N: Kay, sorry for goin' AWOL for a lil' while there, I've just been in an epic Harry Potter mood lately and have been writing in there and less in here so here's like a long-ass update for y'all plz don't stab me too fatally like I still have a lotta movies to live to see yet

Also: Lizz can hold her breath for a really long-ass time, like, if the Ninja have breath holding contests for some random-ass reason, she comes in second only to Zane

"Hey!" the dock hand greeted them, "Glad you five showed up! Even with a hundred coins a head, no one was willing to go out there and complete the dock."

Kai made an uneasy groaning noise, "Uh... I don't know.. We have to work over water...?"

The head guy turned around to face the unfinished project, "It ain't the water you you gotta be careful of. It's Strangleweed. Grabs ahold of you, doesn't let go," he turned back to face them, a happy expression plastered on his face, "But I could use a good team! How about it?"

Zane pulled Kai aside, "Just remind yourself, after we complete this, we will be able to buy the scroll!" he rushed over to the dock man, "We'll do it!"

Lizz was out on the dock posts with Jay, Cole and Zane while Kai was in the crane lowering planks down to them all. She was helping ward off Strangleweed with Zane while Cole and Jay nailed in the planks Kai offered, however most of her mental power was being used to ignore Zane's creepily peppy cheering he was using to keep a positive attitude.

All positivity was gone from Lizz the third time she'd been snagged by Strangleweed.

They were on their third dock now and feeling pretty good about it, too, well, Lizz was anyway. At this rate they'd be done and home free by 5. She just happened to be zoning out a bit--as usual--and something wrapped around her ankle. With a small squeak and a splash she disappeared.

Damn it's really dark down here, Lizz's vision soon adjusted to the aquatic life, amazed at all the sea creatures, but she was still an air-breather and was starting to feel uncomfortable under the ever-growing pressure of the water. Letting out a short puff of breath she rolled her eyes and doubled over, attempting to get the Strangleweed to release her foot.

It didn't. And if anything happened, the Strangleweed tightened it's grip and quickened its pace.

That earned a very heavy sigh from Lizz, more bubbles escaping her lips, as she attempted to free herself again. Despite the angry popping of her ears and painful pressure on both her lungs and brain, she kept at it but to no avail. How long've I been down here, anyway?.

Whatever she did was absolutely no use, however when a giant wooden post cut through the water and landed on the Strangleweed, it finally released her ankle. She refrained from taking in a deep breath of relief and kicked her legs, aiming for the surface before she imploded on herself.

When she broke the surface quite a few minutes later she took in a needed breath of air and took hold of a floating plank to keep herself afloat--though she was quite buoyant by herself and didn't need something to help her float--and looked around at the destruction, "What did you idiots do?!" she screeched, reaching up and brushing her soaked bangs out of her eyes.

Cole looked down at her, floating in the water, surprised, "Oh, hey, Lizz. Where've you been?"

She growled and scampered up a sturdy dock post, one that they hadn't built, "Did you not notice that I got dragged halfway down to the ocean floor by freakin' Strangleweed?!" she looked ready to assault Cole. Zane looked apologetically at her from where he was sitting and said something that she could not understand. Lizz shook her head, "What did you guys do to Zane?!" she pressed her shoulder against Jay's and began looking at Zane's open back-panel with him.

"His voice mod's on the fritz," Jay explained with an exasperated sigh, "I-I think we can probably fix it, but it's gonna take time."

Zane looked up at Cole and said something else. Cole placed his hand on Zane's shoulder, "Sorry, bud. You tried to lead, but I guess it just didn't work out."  

"No money, no scroll," Kai put out his hands like a scale, "And it couldn'ta happened at a worse time."

Jay jumped away from Zane, "What are you?!" he yelled, "A bunch'a quitters?! Sure, we can't understand Zane, but did we ever? And Kai's the last person I'd wanna follow."

"Hey!" Kai objected.

"But now-" Jay placed a hand on his chest.

Lizz cut him off the rest of the way, "Please don't say you're in charge, because if you do I'm giving myself back to the Strangleweed."

"Don't do that," Jay gave her a quick point with his hand but then placed it back on his chest like their conversation hadn't happened, "I'm in charge," he looked at the others, waving his hands around, "We may not have the money to buy the scroll, but I say we don't need it."

"And why is that?" Cole asked.

"Because we're gonna steal it," Jay's voice was slick with smugness.

Cole opposed quickly, "Jay, we're Ninja, not thieves."

"Yeah," Jay grabbed everyone and pulled them in close for a group huddle, "Yeah, but we're stealing it from a thief! Haven't you ever heard?" he turned and sauntered away, "Two wrongs make a right!"

"Uh, Jay," Kai was skeptic as he looked back at the others, "I don't think that's how that works."

Zane said something--again, no one understood up, "Shut it, Mushmouth!" Jay snapped at Kai as if Zane hadn't spoken, "I'm the leader and what I say goes! After Ronin locks up tonight, we steal the Scroll of Airjitzu."

Lizz couldn't help the small grin that started pulling at her lips and she cracked her knuckles, "This should be fun."

Cole hit her shoulder, "This shouldn't be fun for anyone, this is wrong."

"You have your morals," Lizz patted his cheek and started walking after Jay, "I don't have mine!" she called back at Cole over her shoulder. Then she slung an arm around Jay's shoulders, "So what do we do until then?"

"Well," he put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer, "We hang around and watch Ronin, I suppose."

Lizz wrinkled her nose in glee, "I like the sound of that."  

*       *

Jay was taking point--as a leader should--and was looking back at the group inching over the roof towarda him, "Remember, I'm in charge. We're not stealing the Scroll, we're returning it to the Library. After we learn Airjitzu."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night..." Cole mumbled, following Jay as he began inching across a post that jutted out a few feet from their roof.

"And we're Ninja," Jay paused on the end of the post and turned around, "Let's keep it quiet."

They all joined together for a silently whispered, "Ninjaaaaa-Go!" and one by one hopped off the post to the next roof below.

From there onward the five of them rolled, jumped, flipped and ran their way across roofs, staying as silent as possible as they sped through the night.

Only a couple roofs passed, Jay fell through into someone's house. Cole, Zane, Kai and Lizz all paused and looked back at the space where Jay fell, hearing a high pitched scream followed by some shouting, "Get outta here you blue weirdo!"

Jay resurfaced, looking disheveled, "Let's try to be a little more quiet this time, shall we?" he chastised, as if it was them who'd fallen into the lady's house. Jay took a couple steps, "Last I remember, we're Ninja."

"Okay, shh," Kai hushed them all, "This is Ronin's right here," they all jumped to the ground in front of the door.

"Pick the lock," Cole whispered at Jay, and then when Jay attempted Cole snorted, "You're supposed to pick the lock, not try to light it off."

"If I had my powers, I'd zap it," Jay retorted, "After I'd zap you!"

Lizz heard some half strangled yell from inside and hit both boys on the shoulder, "Shut it, the both of you," she shoved her way to the door and crouched down, pulling a scissors out of her boot, "Nothing is ever locked, don't you people ever listen to me?" after a moment she stood back up, "That is so not a normal lock. He's effed it up somehow to make it unlockable from the outside."

"Well alright," Jay jumped up to the roof, the others following close, "We'll just have to go in through this way," he motioned to the skylight Kai was standing on.

Before anyone could say anything he broke through in a clatter of breaking glass, "Great!" Cole sighed, throwing his hands up, "Now we're already on the hook for breaking and entering."

"I don't like sneaking around in the dark anymore than you," Kai snipped, "So let's just find the Scroll and get out of here."

"Hey!" Jay whispered, looking a shelf up and down, "When you guys were leaders, you never heard me complain. If you don't like sneaking around, why become a Ninja!?" he checked underneath a vase, "The faster we find the Scroll, the faster we can work on the next clue that will lead us to the tomb. Then we can save Lloyd, and it will all be because of me."

Cole gasped, "I found it!"

Jay whipped around, and out of the corner of her eye Lizz saw a shadow run behind him. Jay didn't notice, "You found the Scroll?!"

"No," Cole told them, "But I found my father's trophy, and I'm takin' it back. He danced hard for this."

Lizz was staring past Cole, though, with wide eyes at the organ Jay was in front of, "Jay!"

The pipes sprang to life and caught hold of Jay, "Holy cannolis! The organ's got meeeee!" he screeched.

The other four of them ran to his side, "Ah! Ah! It's possessed by a ghost!" Cole panted in panic, "I forgot what we're supposed to do!"

"Am I the only sensible one here?!" Lizz shouted. Both Jay and her then yelled, "Water!" and she looked at Jay with a smile, "See, I'm not the only sensible one. Good job, Jay!"

"I got water!" Kai ran over to a flower vase and aimed it at the organ, "Hey! This flower's a fake!"

"We're in a village built entirely over water," Cole yelled as he, Kai and Lizz began running around throwing stuff in an attempt to find water, "Why can't we find any!?"

Everything they threw ended up being caught by Zane.

"Please! Just take your time!" Jay yelled at them, the organ pipes making his voice come out slightly strangled.

"Ah-ha!" Cole grabbed a water jug and tossed it, sending it spiraling through the air. It hit the organ with a splash.

Jay fell to the floor and Lizz helped him up as Kai translated something Zane just said, "I think he said 'Another one of Morro's friends.'."

A door to the side slid open, "Speak of the Devil and he shall appear," Lizz mumbled, clenching her fists.

"And there's more where that came from!" Morro shouted, stomping on the floor. Three more ghosts sprang from beneath him and started flying around.

"We're going to need more water!" Kai warned.

"No shit, Sherlock!" Lizz snapped, ducking her head slightly.

Zane too the two things that he had in his hands and threw them; they soared right through one ghost's midsection and hit Kai in the head.

Kai stood up, batting away another ghost to find Ronin--tied up with tape falling off his mouth--hopping around him like a pesky fly, "Cut me free."

"Not until you give me the Scroll," Kai told him, ducking again, "You're not the only one that can make a deal."

"Then at least grab one of these Aeroblades," Ronin nodded towards the one Lizz had whipped at him earlier that day, "And get rid of some of these ghosts!"

Lizz fell to the floor beside Kai; standing between him and an Aeroblade, "You said these were hard to come by," she glared at Ronin.

"I'm a businessman," he defended, side-hopping a ghost, "That was business! This is personal," he was jumping around to evade the clutches of a ghost that was swiping at him, "Cut me free!"

"Not before we check out the merchandise!" Kai grunted, chucking a dark red Aeroblade towards Ronin. The offending ghost paused to look at Kai and the Aeroblade cut right through it; the ghost disappeared and Kai gasped in shock, "They work!" he picked up the others, "Try these!"

Lizz, Jay, Cole and Zane all caught the one tossed to them; coincidentally each one was coloured in coordination with their Gi. Jay was laughing, chasing after the last ghost, "Haha! Now who's scared of who?!"

Jay threw the Aeroblade and dispatched the last ghost, freeing Ronin from his ropes in the process. Ronin--when freed--got into a fist fight with Morro, arguing over the scroll. Lizz nodded in approval when Ronin kicked Morro in the chest--both of them falling flat on their backs, "He got a kick in... sweet..."  

But, Morro had knocked over a blue vase when he fell and a tall roll of parchment flew out of it, rolling into the middle of the floor. There was a chorus of 'The Scroll!' from the Ninja and then Morro stood up, "Only one of us shall possess it!"

"Yeah," Ronin said angrily, "Me!"

He whistled three high-pitched notes and Lizz narrowed her eyes, "I know that whistle..."

Morro jumped to his feet and reached for the scroll as the floor began shaking, throwing everyone but Ronin off balance. With a smug grin, he bent at the waist and picked up the Scroll that everyone was so desperately after.

Something motorized and red busted through the floor, taking Ronin with it into the air. From his spot laying helplessly on the floor, Jay scoffed, "See? I told you his ship wasn't far!"

"Sorry to leave ya' hangin'," Ronin called down to them, "But since this Scroll's so important, I can't just give it away!"

As he was leaving, Morro sent a heavy gust of wind at Ronin, causing him to fly off his ship and out of sight outside, "This way!" Lizz was the first one to her feet, shouldering open the padlocked door--it broke off its hinges--to get outside fast, "He's not far!"

Morro went out the hole in the ceiling and was literally just a half beat in front of the herd of Ninja; all six of them were running down a long dock-bridge, headed straight for Ronin, who was laying in the middle of the walkway.

When he caught sight of the Ninja and Morro, Ronin jumped to his feet and ran away from them, swinging up a couple buildings and signs to get to the roofs. The Ninja all looked around to see where he was going and Lizz caught sight of something green and glowing, Ghost... she got ready her Aeroblade but the ghost with the longbow disappeared and she grunted, running back off after the others.

She caught up to them laying on a roof, "Agh, no!" Jay groaned, "Morro's got the Scroll!"

"I leave you morons alone for three seconds..." Lizz beat her head on the roof, Why couldn't you get the Scroll first?!

"We can't let him get away!" Jay shouted, and all five of them pushed off the roof and took off running after Morro, jumping from roof to roof to catch up.

"He can't outrun the five of us!" Cole told them as Jay fell through yet another rooftop, his grunt getting lost in the girly scream and the feminine "Not again!' The four of them stopped for a second to look down the hole, "Scratch that, guess it's just the four of us."

They continued hopping from roof to roof, getting closer to Morro with each step as he ran up one of the tallest roofs in the village. Then he cut off what looked like a power line and swung across the large gap to another building.

Cole, Kai and Lizz grabbed the last three lines, swinging across. Lizz glanced apologetically back at Zane as Cole stated the obvious, "Looks like it's just the three of us, now."

"Come on!" Lizz took off after Morro, gritting her teeth as she flipped over rooftops to get at the shell of her brother.

She skidded to a stop at a particularly large gap between buildings, her toes hanging over the edge as she looked down. Two blurs running by almost knocked her off balance and over the edge, and she watched as Kai made it across but Cole came up short. He fell off the roof and landed with a hard thud on his back, calling out a weak, "G-Go... K-Kai...!"

Lizz nodded at Kai, who continued after Morro and Lizz hopped down to help Cole up, "Up you come, you big oaf," Cole didn't take her hand at first, trying to get up himself, but when he groaned and winced Lizz made him take her hand, "Don't hurt yourself more than necessary. What hurts?"

"I'm n-not a droid, Lizz," he coughed harshly, "You're a mechanic, n-not a doctor."

"People and droids aren't that much different," she sassed back, "Speaking of which, stay here. I need to go retrieve Zane."

And that is exactly what she did, making her way back to where he was slowly getting down to the ground. He said something to her--it sounded like a question??--and Lizz shook her head, "We need to get you sorted out, brother," she patted his shoulder and led him back to where Cole was slumped against the wall, "You look out of breath."

Cole was indeed very pale and panting very hard. He nodded, "C-Can't... breathe... p-properly..."

"Zane, I have an idea," Lizz glanced at Cole, "Cole lay down. On your back. Now! Don't question my methods," he gave her a flat, confused look but did as she said. Then Lizz quickly went over and grabbed one of his feet, "Zane, grab his other foot," Zane seemed to know what she was thinking because as soon as he took hold of Cole's foot he nodded.

Lizz and Zane roughly shoved his legs back towards him, shoving his knees up to his chest in one quick movement. Cole gasped sharply and rolled over on his side, coughing, "What--did--you--just--do?!"

"Sgnul rouy otni kcab ria eht devohs ew," Zane told him quickly and smoothly, offering a hand to Cole.

Cole didn't take it and instead rolled again so he was hunched on his hands and knees, "What?!"

"We showed the air back into your lungs," Lizz clarified; it just clicked in her head Zane was just talking backwards and she somewhat understood him now, "Your diaphragm stalled a bit, so we fixed it. And now I know what's wrong with Zane. Let's go find Jay and Kai, c'mon."

Jay actually met back up with them, looking slightly battered and dishevelled, "That lady doesn't appreciate me falling in her roof."

"Twice," Cole added.

"I wouldn't either," Lizz nudged his shoulder with hers, "Good news, though."

Jay perked up, "You got the Scroll?"  

"No," Lizz told him, "But I figured out what's up with Zane. He's talking backwards, that's all, so now that we know what's wrong, we can fix it quicker."

"Yeah, but we still don't have the Scroll," Cole told her blankly, flopping down at a table at the end of the dock.

Jay sighed and beat his fist on the table, "So after all this, Morro gets Airjitzu and we're left with zip? I hate being leader... but I hate losing even more."

Zane looked off into the distance and said something and Cole smiled a bit, "We didn't lose everything. At least Kai's okay. Tomorrow, I'll take command, and we'll figure something out."

"Thanks for the... pickmeup," Kai snorted, hopping out of Ronin's ship.

"Remember what I said about second chances," Ronin called, "I'm going to hold you to that deal. So long, and I hope you get your friend back," with those words he flew off.

"Second chances?" Lizz raised an eyebrow as Kai approached their table, "What'd he mean by that?"

"We may have lost out on the Scroll," Kai explained, "But he thinks there may be another way to learn Airjitzu."

A bunch of commotion broke out between the boys and Lizz waved her hands, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a sec," she called, "Ronin only makes deals in his favour, and you're a horrible negotiator."

"Kai," Jay's tone was warning, "What did you give him?"

Kai turned his back on the group, scratching his neck, "I sort of... gave him... my shares of the tea farm... along with all of yours," again, the three other boys started a commotion and Kai jumped back, turning around to face them, "I did what I had to do! And for Lloyd, I'd do it again."

"You're right," Cole agreed, finally looking less ill than before, "But I have to ask, if Morro has the only Scroll, just how are we going to learn Airjitzu?"

"Let's just say..." Kai began, "It's not going to be easy, but we have a ghost of a chance."  

A/N: Bad news; school starts on September 1st and it's already August 17th today to RIP being online 24-flippin-7 

*deep sigh*

Even more so, mom's trying to cancel DISH; aka the onLY WAY I CAN WATCH NINJAGO 

So, if it comes on YouTube someone tell me because I'll have to watch it on there because *shrug* mom only cares if everyone else can watch their shows and not me

Thanks, ma

Bright side: 

I'M WRITING IN A BUNCHA BOOKS AND PLAYING GTA V AND I LOVE IT LIFE IS GOOD MAN :D 

Peace out

Love ya allllllllll <3 <3