- You -

After that personal discussion with Lloyd, I decided to turn in early for the night. I was sure that the ninja were successful in breaking up the serpentine before they could even unite. I knew my old friend taught them well, and yet, they still have a long way to go.

- Lloyd -

Within 2 hours or so, the ninja got back from their mission. Zane went to change out of his suit but the rest went back to the dinning room to finish their food. While they did that, I thought it was about time I do something nice and apologize for the pranks I pulled earlier today.

#~#~#~#

Geez...if I had known that it was gonna take 20 loads of bleach, I would've went easier on the pink dye. I brought Zane's suites up to the dinning room, ironed and folded neatly, and I could hear what they were saying though the door.

"You know, whether it was in a lesson book or not, we use the destructive power of rumors to our advantage," said Cole.

"And now the Serpentine are futher away than ever from getting their act together!" Kai added.

"I don't think we would've gotten out of there if it hadn't been for Zane," Jay credited towards him.

"Don't thank me. Thank Lloyd." He corrected, "if it hadn't been for his 'laundry skills,' we all would've been found."

I unknowingly smiled. It sounded like he was joking because of the convenience of his suit being pink but, it sounded genuine too. It felt nice being appreciated for once. I finally took the chance to walk in and present my apology.

"Well, it took me twenty loads, but your suits no longer pink. And to show that I'm sorry, Cole," I turned to the black ninja. "I got you a can of nuts."

He laughs all knowingly, "don't think I don't see what this is. When I open it, a bunch of snakes are gonna pop out, right? Yeah. No, thank you." He then goes to open the fridge, and just as I planned, giant rubber snakes jump out, scaring the heck out of him. He fell back with as we all laughed at him. Well, all except for one.

"Haha! Hey, I just realized," Jay spoke up, "where's (name)?"

"Oh, she went to bed early," I answered.

"Aw, that's too bad. She's missing out on all the fun." Nya pitied.

She's not wrong. The old pop-up snake gag would've made (name) wheeze from laughter. One the other hand, maybe she's just feeling really tired after today. She deserves a good night's rest, at least.

- You -

I laid in my bed. Tossing and turning. My teeth grinding against each other. I could hear my heart pounding louder in my head. I felt trapped...trapped by own memories..

It's always him who gets the praise...others just hate me...

"She made that thing? Ugh, of course she did."

Why must I be the one to make all the bad things in the world?...

"Wow, *****! Now, that's the work of a God! It's beautiful."

A God?...A God of what, Light?..and Life?...Then what does that make me?

"Your job is to make horrible monsters and poison life. Nothing more....You're nothing like your brother. And you never will be."

A God of Darkness...and Death..

"IT ISN'T FAIR!"

I could never be good enough for you, compared to Him...

"YOU WANT SOMETHING HORRIBLE?! I'LL MAKE IT FOR YOU!!"
.
.
.
.
"Hahahaha~...AAAHHAHAHAHAHAA!!--"

"No...What have I done?"

Brother, forgive me, please....I never wanted to hurt you...

"Don't worry, little sister. I'll take care of this for you..."

You're gone, because of me...

"No! *****, STOP!! BROTHER!!"

And I promise you...

"You are hereby stripped of your god-hood. And you will be sent to earth to pay for your crimes..."

Until I'm able to rid this planet from my evils..

"You'll fix your mistakes!"
I'll fix my mistakes!
.
.
.
"YOU CAN'T!--"

Those final words are what made me shot up in a cold sweat. My heart was racing faster than ever. I was pale and out of breath. There was a clenched feeling in my chest and my eyes were swelling up with tears. I tried to not let them fall, but I couldn't help it. Hugging my knees to my chest I began to break down in my dark quiet room, filling it with my cries of sorrow and agony.

I don't know how long I cried for. Before I knew it, the rays of the morning sun entered through my window. As much as I wanted to lay back down and sleep, we had some serpentine to take care of. I got up from my bed and went to grab my usual ninja outfit from my dresser, but, I hear knock on my door. I open it and Wu is there with a black box in hand.

"Oh, Wu. Good morning." I said with a hoarse voice.

"Good morning to you, (name)." He said back and easily noticed the bags under my eyes. "Oh my, what's the matter, old friend?"

"Look who's calling who old?" I playfully joked. "Hehe, I'm fine. Last night was just rough for me."

"Mm, I see.."

"Anyway, what's that you have there?" I point at black box.

"Well, it's your new uniform." He said pulling out a fresh, purple gi with the most cheeky grin on his face. "Surprise!"

"What? Wu- are you- I-" honestly, I was at a loss for words. "You didn't have to get me this."

"Believe me, it's the perfect occasion. You'll need better gear for the serpentine and this is best I could find."

"Aw, thanks buddy." I hugged the old man and he returned the gesture.

"I'll meet you at breakfast when you're ready. I have to give the rest of these to my students."

"Cool, see you in a bit."

With that, I lightly shut the door. I look at the packaged suit and I realize the sudden lift of weight off my chest. Ha, maybe a talk with Wu was all that I needed. I began to change into my new suit and noticed the armor that came with it (it's the outfit you're wearing in the book cover). The fabric color was a royal purple with silver details and the quality was light and breathable. The armor was made of powerful steel and the black limb braces were a perfect strong leather. Another thing I noticed was the design of a silver tiger lily on the back. It was my favorite flower. I can't believe he remembered. I checked my myself one last time and smiled. I felt stronger and more badass in this fit!

Finally, I wrapped my original dark purple scarf around my waist, for accessory, and made my way to the dinning room with everyone else. As I make I way to open the door, I could hear the ninja crew quarreling. Probably yammering about being the Green Ninja, again. But suddenly, their argument turned into fanboy squeals. I'm guessing they were shown the new outfits too.

"Wow. Not even at the breakfast table can you be respectfully quiet." I utter, loud enough for them to hear me come in.

- Lloyd -

"Woah, check her out!" Nya teased as we all stared at her new uniform.

Her too?! Damn. I would never admit this aloud, but, I was totally jealous. These guys get all this cool stuff and I'm left with just a box! I guess it's easy to see why (name) gets some new gear. She's had her old one for years, I bet. She hasn't worn anything else since the day I met her.

As I saw her reach for a fried shrimp, the cold vision alarms went off. "Oh, come on!" She shouts at the alarm. I just chuckled at her reaction.

All of us rush into the bridge and find that the serpentine are at the Mega Monster Amusement Park! I excitedly wanted to go, but my uncle said it was too "dangerous." So, I had to stay here until it's safe.

"Aw, ninja get all the fun." I pouted.

"Hey, don't worry, Lloyd." (Name) patted my shoulder. "Once they ninja take care of it, we'll go down there together!" Her voice sounded different, I just realized. It was raspy and there were light bags under her eyes.

"Wait, you're not going?"

"No, I'm hungry. And I wanna eat." She said going back to the dinning room.

After that, the ninja took off with their new suits. I decided to check on (name) again and find her eating peacefully, yet, something was off. Her face looked tired and depressed with those light puffy eyes. I take a seat across from her and attempt to make small talk.

"Yo?"

She gave a short glance at me and returned her eyes at the food, "Hello, Lloyd."

"Uh, is everything okay with you?"

"Mhm."

"You sure? You look..pretty bothered."

"I didn't sleep well, is all."

"Oh. Okay."

She then wipes her mouth with a napkin and stands from her spot. "Well, I'm done. You ready to go on some rides?"

"Wait, now?"

"Yeah. I'm sure the snakes were quickly taken care of. Let's go." (Name) grabs my arm and leads me down a small mountain with Uncle Wu. Once we were there, the serpentine were already wrapped in rope and everyone went on with their day of fun. (Name) turns to me with smile on her face. "Where do you wanna go first, Lloyd?"

"Uuuuhhh," I looked around the amusement park and my eyes locked on the giant roller-coaster. "Let's go there!" I pointed at the ride.

"Alright..race you! Ahahaha!" She then sprinted away, leaving me in the dust.

"Wh- hey!!" I ran after her to the waiting line and she clearly got there first. "No fair, you cheated!"

"Whatever, loser." She playfully punched my arm. "You ever been on a roller-coaster before?" She asked looking up at the thrill ride.

"Uh, not really." I admitted, "you?"

"Nope, can't say that I have."

We waited a while in that line, it felt like forever. Now, it was our turn and we got the chance to sit at the front of the cart and buckled in. The ride starts and I don't know about (name) but, the feeling of nervousness already bubbled in my stomach.

"S-say, how are you feeling, (name)?" I glanced over to her

"Excited, really," she beams, "why? You getting scared already~?"

"NO! I'm the son of Lord Garmadon! I don't get scared!"

The ride stops before the first dive and we stared at our doom for about 5 seconds and I finally swallowed the lump in my throat. I feel something grab my hand and see that its (name)'s hand. Before I could say anything, the ride pulls us down the dive and all heck broke loose.

"OH! MY! GAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAA!"

We went through the loops and turns at such a fast pace, I felt like I was about to lose my breakfast. I tried my best to keep it in while (name) was having the time of her life. The roller-coaster slams on it breaks and the ride was finally over.

We and the other passengers get off and I'm dragged by my friend to check out the photo booth. Sure enough, there's our picture on the first dive. Her with a wide-open smile, screaming, and me looking like a constipated idoit.

(Name) couldn't help but cackle on the ground, pointing at my face. "DUDE! You- hehe..You *snort* YOU LOOK RIDICULOOUUS-- AAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

I stood beside her with a blush and my arms crossed over my chest. This is so humiliating! I grumbled internally as the other visitors of the park stared at us weirdly. Before I knew it, she was heading over to buy a copy, wiping the tears from her eyes. Noooo!!

"Wait, (name)--!"

"Too late~" ......the photo was already printed....

"..I hate you.." I glared daggers at her.

"I know~"

#~#~#~#

- You -

We all had a splendid time at the amusement park, that day. Lloyd and I went on more rides and played a few games, we even tried this thing called funnel cake. For the first time, having to let loose and enjoy myself was fun! I've never been able to act in such a way like this. I'll cherish that moment..

And now, back to business. In the past few days, surprisingly, the ninja were currently more focus on finding this mysterious samurai to win some sort of bet. Ughh, boys. Within those days, one of them was assigned to "take care" of us [Lloyd] and it would go on to next ninja, depending on whose turn it was. This time, Lloyd would be on his own. Wu requested that I come along with him to Jamanikai Village, for one: to purchase armor polish and a few groceries. And two: plan out strategies in case we're unable to stop the serpentine from unleasing the Devourer.

"(Name). Is something the matter?" Wu taps my shoulder.

"Huh-- Oh, no. I'm fine." I answered, but my friend could see right through me.

He stops and goes on one knee to look me in the eyes. It was obvious I've been getting less sleep, which is too much stress on my new, tiny body to handle. I'm getting weak.

With a sigh, he takes my hand and leads us to a bench to rest on, but I resisted it. "Wu, please. We're still not done with groceries. I can rest later, I'm fine-"

"I buy none of that." He says taking a sip of his hot tea. "I've known you for many years, (name). And there's no doubt in my mind that there's something wrong. You're losing sleep."

I give in, feeling like my legs will crumble if I stand any longer. I sat down beside my old friend and I see him pat his leg, motioning for me to rest my head, to which I did. I feel my lids close. The soothing sound of the wind and birds singing. Even the scent of Wu's Dragon Lime tea was enchanting. They all had lulled me into a dark slumber. I didn't dream about anything. Everything was pitch black but, I didn't mind. This was the best sleep I've had in a long while. I wished it could last forever.

Later that evening, Wu and I got the remaining groceries and went back to the Bounty. I decided not to have dinner that night. Honestly, I was still tired. So I jumped into bed and went into some hibernation. Surely Lloyd is alright, a little sleep won't kill anyone.

- Kai -

The following morning, everyone was at the breakfast table, except for Sensei and the two rugrats. Probably sleeping in. The boys and I were discussing the samurai that nobody seemed to catch yet. I hate that showoff.

"Trying to find out the Samurai's identity is more of a nuisance than the snakes." Cole sighed and toward the rest of us, "any luck with you?"

"The guy's elusive. He's like a ghost," Jay answered. "One moment he's there, the next he's gone."

"I'm starting to believe we might never catch him." Zane concluded.

I agreed, "I think it's safe to say, none of us are closer to proving we're the Green Ninja."

Sensei Wu then enters the room with a smile on his face. "Looks like iron is sharpening iron," he repeated his lesson words, "I feel you getting closer to your true potential." He scans the room, noticing two missing kids. "Hm, I understand that (name) is still recovering her sleep, but uh, where is my nephew? I thought you were looking after him." He asked to me.

"I thought Cole was gonna pick him up?" I passed my glance to him.

"I went to the arcade, but he wasn't there." He excused and points at Jay, but he deflected it.

"Sensei, we have not seen him." Zane admits and Wu grows worried.

"We must find the boy....before (name) realizes he's gone too."

....oh shit.

We all get into our golden weapon rides and head down to the arcade. I'm sweating bullets. That purple ninja kid is gonna destroy me if we don't find Lloyd! And fast! By the gods, have mercy! She's a living menace!

I was the first to arrive at the arcade and went inside to check if he was still in there. "Lloyd?..Lloyd?" The guys came by after as I stepped out of the arcade. "He was right here. Someone must have seen him."

Cole looked around the street for clues and he spots something above, pointing at it. "Hey, guys. Check this out." What he found was a security camera on a signal pole.

We asked the clerk inside the arcade where we can see the recorded footage and he led us into the backroom that had security screens showing his store front from different angles. He leaves us to investigate and we play back the recordings.

"There's the pipsqueak," Jay points at the middle screen, "play that back."

Zane rewinds the video and we see Lloyd peeking around an alley. He moves away from it and goes inside a costume store, coming out with a hypnobrai cap and glasses and white maracas. He goes into the alley and he's no longer in sight. What is he up to?

After thanking the arcade owner for his assistance, we go back to were Lloyd was last seen. On the ground were small footprints, we followed them but they suddenly come to a stop. We also find tire tracks, he must've gotten into some vehicle.

"Something tells me we're going for a ride. Come on, boys." I tell the group and head off to wherever the trail led, the desert. During the ride, the guys and I were discussing through our transmitters.

"What do you think we'll see after finding Lloyd?" Zane wondered.

"I honestly don't care, as long as we get him and go." I said with a dead serious tone.

"What's up with you, Kai?" Cole raised a brow, "Are you really that scared that (name) is gonna kick your ass?"

"Maybe he is, haha," Jay laughed, "but get this-- Kai actually thinks she's the destined Green Ninja."

"Whoa, what?!"

"Yeah! She knows spinjitzu, has an experienced grasp on the golden weapons, and..has an odd connection with Sensei Wu."

"Hey, I never said that last bit," I corrected Jay.

"No, I know. But it's something I just realized. Sensei Wu seems to show a lot of casualties towards (name)," he theorized, "as if they've known each other for years."

"Perhaps their protectiveness of Lloyd's well-being had sparked a bond between them," Zane suggested.

"Yeah," Cole nodded in agreement, "I've seen the two talk over tea many times and they act so comfortably around each other."

"Well, after we find Lloyd, we can ask Sensei about it..hey what's that?" I squinted my eyes at something I saw up ahead in the desert.

"Looks like Snake City."

"Let's get a better, closer look."

We unsummoned our vehicles and travelled from the rooftops to not get spotted. There were crowd noises coming from the center of the town and we followed it. The place looked like a battle arena with the audience seat being above the ground. There was Serpentine everywhere.

"It appears that Pythor has successfully united all of the tribes." Zane stated obviously.

"I know we ruined their last get-together, but that's no reason to not get an invitation." Cole jokingly put a hand over his heart, "my feelings are hurt."

I rolled my eyes as I scanned the area. I noticed a black, rusted cage sticking out from the desert's golden yellow and I could see someone inside.

I pointed to it, "there's Lloyd."

"Woah," Jay gawked at the giant statue next to Lloyd, "look at who they worship."

The statue was, by no surprise, in the form of a giant snake. Beside it, there were two smaller snake statues. One was holding Lloyd's cage and the other was pouring toxic green venom.

"Let me guess, the Great Devourer."

"All the more reason to get the kid out of here," I drew out my sword, "this comes to an end today."

We had only taken a few steps when a cage was dropped on top of us. The surprise made us drop our golden weapons out of reach and everyone's attention was now on us.

"It lookss like we've caught the main event.." Pythor laughed.

- Sensei Wu -

While my students were searching for my nephew, there was nothing I could do but wait for their safe return. And every now and then, I would go to check on (name), and every time, I'd still find her asleep. I've grown worried about her. The past few nights haven't been so kind to her resting needs. In her eyes, they have been far distant and her movements are less instinctively quick. Her mind is elsewhere.

"Wu?"

I turned my eyes to my bedroom door and saw (name) standing there. She was rubbing her tired eyes, leaning sloppy on the door frame. As she let out long yawn, she shuffled her way inside.

"Where is everyone?" She asked me, "did they go out somewhere and take Lloyd with them?" Uh-oh.

"Yes, they did," I lied. "Of course, they didn't want to disturb your slumber so, you know."

"I guess so-" she yawned again. "I just hope they're careful. The serpentine are very cunning. They'll pull any underhanded tricks."

"I have full faith in their skills, they'll be back soon. Don't worry."

- Jay -

"Arrgh! Why can't anyone play fair!?" I shouted irritably at the spike sprouting from the ground.

After me and the guys were captured, we were set up to face the friggin Samurai to regain our freedom. At first, we thought that the Samurai would be our ally. You know, since he also fought snakes--but no! He became our enemy in the arena! Like, the HELL, man!

Pythor, the master of the area, pulled a lever and the ground began to tilt. All of us that were within the ring slid down and had to hold onto the spikes, so none of us would fall into the dark pit below.

Cole scoffed, "can this get any worse?!"

"We must continue to make it appear that we're fighting for real." The Samurai suddenly spoke.

"We're not fighting for real?"

"Keep up the charade. And hold onto my Exo-Suit."

We did as he instructed and latched on. The Samurai started his rocket thrusters and they lifted us into the air, but we were too heavy. We thought the plan would fail, when suddenly, the Samurai jumped out of his suit and the mechanic armor took us away. I know we should've been grateful, but we were pissed more than anything.

"I can't believe he just saved us!"

"He stole our thunder again!"

"Gyaagh! I hate that samuraiii!!!"

The suit had taken us to a far enough distance from the serpentine city but it then began to malfunction and it crashed into the hot desert sand. One by one, we fell off. I pulled my head out from the sand and looked around. Thankfully, we didn't land that far apart, but one of us was missing.

"Where's Kai?!"

- Kai -

I held my head as I sat up. I fell off the suit pretty hard and everything was dizzy for a second after opening my eyes. I checked around me and I found out that I was alone. No samurai suit, no other ninja, just me.

"Guys?" I called out, but got no answer. Surely, I couldn't have landed that far from them.

I was about to head on a search for my brothers when I saw something familiar zip through the sky. "The Samurai?" I thought to myself and watched as the suspect crashed behind a sand dune.

This was probably my chance! To find out the identity of the mysterious hero! And then, I'll win the bet and become the Green Ninja! I raced over to the crash site and hid behind a giant rock in the sand. Peeking around, I saw as the Samurai pulled off his crooked helmet and recognized the all-too-familiar haircut.

"Nya..?" I approached them as they quickly put the helmet back on.

"Steer clear, ninja. Don't look-.." they took off the helmet again, "..at me..." It was Nya all along.

"I don't understand. You're the Samurai?"

"It was always a boys' club. You never let me try to help, well except (name), but I get her case. So, I found my own way to be a hero," Nya admitted. "Are you mad?"

"Mad? Of course not. It's just..all this time I've been trying to protect you and you never needed it. You're amazing!"

"Girl power!" She punched my arm, "you're not gonna tell the others are you?"

"But we have a bet?" I reminded her, "we said whoever caught the Samurai would be the Green-" I then saw the worry on my sister's face. As much as I wanted to win and be the Green Ninja, I can't ruin this for her. "Of course I won't say anything," I promised. "How did you make all this stuff?"

"You'd be surprised how much spare time I have waiting for you guys to come back from your missions." She then bends down, grabbing a rolled up cloth that had all our golden weapons and hands them to me. "You better head back before anyone gets suspicious. We'll have to rescue Lloyd another day. Be ready to face (name) when she hears about this."

I suddenly felt dread washing all over me, "oh..right. She's gonna tear me to pieces."

"Or, maybe not. She's totally weak right now. Her lack of sleep has taken quite a toll on her body. So, you're safe for now, but you really need to head back."

I'm glad to know that I'll be spared today. However, the thought of my little sister taking on danger was still worrisome to me.

"Nya. Whenever I get in trouble, the other three always have my back, and whenever Lloyd got into trouble in the past, (name) was there for him, but you... Just be careful, will ya?"

"Promise." She nodded, giving me her word.

"Wait, how are you going to get back?"

"I have my ways~" Nya then pressed a button on her bracelet, to which I assumed was a homing signal to call her suit.

And that was my cue to find the rest of the guys. I waved "goodbye" to the mysterious samurai and left to meet with my brothers. And once we were back home, I was really in for what was coming.

(Heyo, sorry this took so long to post, but after reading you probably see why. Along with the procrastination, my dad stopped paying for his Netflix account so I had to go to Tubi to find the show. The ads are a pain, but hey! Free shows and movies! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and what's about to come. Cya, weenies!")