Hey guys, I know I haven't updated this in a while but I'm back and ready to write! Now I know that I said that I would add Kirby and I still plan to, I just didn't have room in this chapter. I promise he will be in the next one though. Enjoy the chapter!

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Maizy's P.O.V.:

I was with the VKA laying low while everyone else caused a distraction. My job was to get the scroll but I didn't feel comfortable with this at all. Ryder was going to be so mad at me, and just when he was starting to trust me.

I was outside the museum waiting to receive the signal. I didn't like this at all but it's not like I could do anything.

I saw all of those people running out of the museum. I kinda felt bad after what we were doing, but at least I was helping Ryder the best I could, but after this he may never talk to me again.

I kept watching until Zera gave me the signal. I headed inside and we made our move. I couldn't stop thinking about how I was betraying Ryder, but we continued with our plan anyway. All I could do was hope Ryder didn't hate me after all this.

Ryder's P.O.V.:

We all arrived at the museum. I had been trying to get in touch with Maizy, but she had stopped replying to my texts and calls. Definitely sketchy.

As we were getting out of the car, Amber noticed something in the back seat.

"Ryder, we got a problem."

I walked over to see what she was looking at and saw my sister in the backseat.

"Ashley! I thought I told you to stay home!"

"And I thought I told you to stop bossing me around." She crossed her arms.

"I don't have time to babysit you! This could compromise the whole mission." I screamed.

"Ryder, I have a visual." Allison said from her position behind the big sign. "Lena has the scroll."

"My grandfather said that the scroll was dangerous for elemental masters. Don't touch it with your bare hands." I told everyone.

"What can I do Ryder?" Ashley asked.

"You can stay in the car and stay out of the way." I told her.

"But I want to help!" She screamed.

"If you wanted to help you should of stayed home so I could focus."

"Guys, don't get into this right now. We have a job to do." Amber said.

"Amber's right, let's stay focused." I said. "Ashley, stay here. Everyone else, be ready."

Ashley pouted, but agreed to stay in the vehicle. At least I hope she would. Either way I had other things to focus on.

We were all in position and doing our jobs. I didn't want us all to barge in at once so I had Amber and Allison on lookout, Trent and Jax were left on standby in case I needed them, Lily was watching Ashley, and me, Blake and Alex... or should I say Cass, were infiltrating the museum, ready to take the scroll back.

We ran inside and started looking around. The sprinklers were turned on because the fire alarm had been set off so it was hard to see anything.

"Cass, see if Alex can get a visual on where they are." I told her.

She nodded and told Alex to scan the area. After a few seconds she got back to me.

"Alex is picking up heat signatures that way." She pointed to the scrolls exhibit.

"They must not have found the scroll yet." Blake said.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that."

Zera came out of that room, holding the scroll of forbidden Spinjitsu in her hands. Her eyes were glowing and her head looked like it was on fire. Axel, Lena, Marcus and Seth weren't far behind her.

I immediately called for my team over the coms. The others were there in seconds and we fought them for the scroll.

Everyone picked a target and we all started fighting. I took on Zena myself while the others took care of the rest.

She was a lot tougher than she usually was. It's almost if that scroll she was holding made her powers even stronger. I tried my best to hold her off but in the end she threw me towards a wall. The rest of my team was outmatched and they got away with the scroll. The whole thing had been a trap.

"Dang it. They got away!" Blake sighed as he got up off the ground.

"Is everyone ok?" I asked.

"I think so." Jax said brushing himself off.

"So what do we do now?" Lilly looked at me.

"We come up with a plan to get that scroll back, but we'll have a better chance if we regroup." I said trying to get up.

"You ok Ryder?" Amber came over to help me.

"Yeah, she just caught me off guard." I said as she helped me up. My shoulder was sore from when I was pushed into the wall. "Where's Ashley?"

"Relax, she's safe." Amber assured me.

"Good. My parents are probably worried sick about her." I said.

"That was not our best effort." Cass frowned. "I am sorry that I was not able to use my powers to their full potential."

"That's ok Cass." I said. "We're all at fault."

"Alex has found a way to track the energy from that scroll." Cass said. "They seem to be headed back to their base."

"Wait, you've got a dude stuck in your head?" Allison questioned.

"Long story." Cass replied.

"Well if they're going back to their base, then they probably won't be doing anymore heists tonight." Blake said.

"Aww man! But I wanna fight more baddies!" Trent complained.

"You'll get plenty of chances Trent, but for now we need to regroup while we have the chance and come up with a new plan."

We all agreed and made it back to our houses. I brought Ashley home and my parents were a little upset, but honestly just happy we both got home safely.

I was so mad at Maizy. She had flat out lied to me. She sent me a text and I just now took a look at it:

————{{{Ryder's phone}}}————

Maizy: I saw you were
injured after what
happened, are you ok?

Ryder: My shoulder's sore
but I've been though worse.
I thought you all weren't
supposed to do the heist until after the museum closed.

M: I must've told you the
wrong time. I'm so sorry.

R: You put my team in
danger because I made
the decision to trust you
and look where that got
me!

M: It was an honest
mistake. I didn't mean
to hurt anyone. I'm sorry.

R: I just need some time
to think. I'll talk to you
tomorrow. Let me know if
anything happens.

M: Ok. Once again
I'm sorry.

R: Yeah, sure. 😒

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I put my phone away and turned it off. I just needed a break from her.

My mom took Ashley to bed and I went to talk to my father. He wasn't one hundred percent yet, but he was feeling a lot better.

"Hey Dad." I set down next to him and sighed.

"Hey bud, how did the mission go?" He asked.

"It was a total disaster!" I screamed. "We couldn't stop them because that staff made them too powerful. No matter how much I led them the VKA never even gave us a chance. Maybe I'm not cut out for this."

"Don't say that, just because you lost one battle doesn't mean you've lost the war."

"But I was supposed to lead them and I failed. Not to mention Maizy told me the wrong time." I grumbled.

"Typical." My dad said under his breath.

"Dad, stop it. It was a simple mistake. She typed the wrong numbers into her phone." I said.

"If that's what you wanna believe, then fine. Just be careful who you trust Ryder, because you never know."

"Is this about her aunt again?" I rolled my eyes.

"I just don't want you to get your heart broken like I did."

"But I don't even like Maizy like that."

"I know, but you should still be careful."

"I will Dad. Good night."

"Good night bud, I love you."

"Love you too Dad."

My dad gave me a hug and I flinched as he touched my shoulder. He looked at me concerned.

"Are you ok bud?" Dad asked.

"Yeah, I got slammed into a wall." I said.

"Well you should probably have your mother look at that before you go to bed." He insisted.

"No Dad, she's exhausted from looking for Ashley all night. Let her rest."

"Ok then at least put some ice on it tonight ok?"

"Deal." I agreed. "Good night."

"Sweet dreams bud."

I left my dad and I went to the kitchen to grab an ice pack for my shoulder and then headed up to my room. I tried to fall asleep but my thoughts kept me up all night.

Was I a bad leader? Did I make too many mistakes? What will my team think of me now? This was all way too much. Maybe I was never meant to be the green ninja.

Pixal's P.O.V.:

I was arriving at Hiroshi's Labyrinth in search of the tree that was possibly going to save Alex, if it even exists. It was a dangerous mission going into this big place like this all by myself, but if I wanted to get things back to normal, I had to get that sap.

I was driving the vehicle my father let me borrow. It was in its early stages of production so it still had a few bugs and needed farther testing. A jungle like Hiroshi's Labyrinth probably wasn't the best place for vehicle testing, but it was the only one my father had and I was running out of time.

If I couldn't heal Alex soon, there is no telling what could happen. The last thing I wanted was for him to live inside Cass forever or have to get a new body like I did. Although I don't regret anything that happened, I miss the life that I used to have.

I kept driving the vehicle through the labyrinth looking for anything that could lead me to the tree. The forest was dense and narrow and it was starting to get dark, but I had to find that tree.

The way I had the area mapped out was that the tree I was looking for was in the center of the labyrinth and the other trees keep it hidden. The more narrow the trees got, the closer I was to saving Alex.

I kept going deeper into the forest until the trees got too narrow to fit my vehicle through. That meant I was on the right track. I got out of my vehicle and walked the rest of the way, marking the trees with X's as I went.

It took a few hours and it was completely dark now, but I finally made it to the tree. But the tree seemed to dying. I decided to call Zane.

"Zane, come in." I called him on my com set.

"Pixal? Are you ok?" Zane said.

"I'm fine Zane, I found the tree." I told him.

"You found it!" He sounded surprised.

"Yes, but it's wilted and it looks like it has been for a while." I sighed.

"See if you can get the last of the sap out."

I nodded and tried to tap the tree. I couldn't get the sap to come out at first, but I couldn't give up. Alex needed it badly and I had to this for him.

"Zane, it's not working." I frowned.

"Try a different side of the tree. The sap must be frozen and if so it will take a while to thaw."

"I know, but we don't have a while." I told him.

I took his advice and tapped the tree in almost every spot I could but nothing worked. I used my tools to make a small cut into the tree and eventually I got a small flow of sap going. I got what I needed and I smiled.

"Pixal? What's happening?" Zane asked.

"I got it!" I smiled. "I got it. I'm coming home."

"That is fantastic!" Zane said relieved. "I'll see you when you get here. I love you."

"I love you too Zane." I smiled. "See you soon."

I hung up the phone and started making my way back to my vehicle. It was really dark so it was hard to see the marks I made to guide my trail. The denseness of the forest was interfering with my navigation systems so that was out. To make matters worse, I looked up and saw storm clouds coming in and they were getting closer.

None of that mattered though, I was gonna get that sap back to Alex if it was the last thing I do.

Zach's P.O.V.:

I was pacing the floor waiting for Maizy to get home. It had been hours but I heard nothing from her. I know she's capable of handling herself but I still worry about her.

I was about to call her again and then I heard someone walk through the door. I saw Maizy and ran to give her a hug.

"Maizy you're home!" I screamed.

"Yeah." She told me as she pushed me away. "I told you that I was probably gonna be late."

"Not three hours late." I crossed my arms. "I was worried about you."

"Uncle Zach, I appreciate you looking out for me but I'm used to handling myself."

"I know, but you shouldn't have to anymore. I'm here for you now."

"I know, I'm sorry I guess I'm just not used to having someone worry about me. My father didn't care if I got home safe or if I even came home at all."

"I know, I'm still adjusting to this too, but we'll get the hang of it."

"How did the job search go?" Maizy asked.

"Oh, I'm gonna be working at the noodle house starting tomorrow." I smiled. "I know I won't be home as often but..."

"That's great! Congratulations!" Maizy smiled.

"Thanks."

"So does this mean I don't end up in foster care?"

"I promise I'm not gonna let that happen." I looked at her. "I'm gonna take care of you."

She looked away from me. "Uncle Zach?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think my father's lonely in there all by himself?"

"He has to realize what he's done to that family Maizy." I sighed. "There's nothing we can do until he learns his lesson."

"We both know that's not gonna happen." She frowned.

"Maizy, do you want to go see him?"

"No. Yes. I don't know, maybe." She spiraled. "What would I even say to him? Does he even want to see me?"

"But the question is if you want to see him?"

"It's complicated. A part of me is like he's the guy that lied to me, abused me, and neglected me my whole life, and another part of me is like... he's my dad." She set down. "I don't know what to do."

"No one is saying you have to decide right now. We're allowed to visit him any time we want."

"I know." She nodded. "But does he want me to visit him?"

"Do you feel like you should?"

"Honestly yes. Because as far as he knows my mother is still on that bed. He at least deserves to know what happened to her."

"I think you're right." I nodded. "It's too late right now, I'll take you when I get back from work tomorrow."

"Ok, hopefully I can figure out what to say by then."

"You will, don't worry."

She yawned and nodded. I could tell she was tired.

"Get some rest, you've had a long day. I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night Uncle Zach."

"Night."

I gave her a hug and she went to her room. I was nervous about taking Maizy to visit Akamu tomorrow. We hadn't spoken since he was arrested and frankly I was glad.

He hurt this family so many times, he hurt me and Maizy so many times. To have both of us in the same room with him again, it just didn't feel safe. I just hoped I wasn't about to get Maizy involved in more trouble she couldn't get out of.