Lloyd lightly groaned as he stood on his right hand. He never thought he could do a handstand before, let alone one with extreme weight on top... yet here he was.

"Focus," his uncle instructed as he poured a cup of tea above him. "In order to bear the fate of Ninjago on your shoulders... you must first learn to bear the weight of all of us."

Wu was on top, but not of Lloyd's foot. He was sitting on Cole's shoulders. Who was being held up by both Jay and Scarlett.

And those two were sitting on the shoulders of Kai and Zane. She on the fire ninja, he on the ice one.

And then they were being held up by Red alone. He had each of his arms held out, clearly struggling.

He carefully glanced up at the white beard of their teacher. "Why did I have to join in? I'm not a ninja."

He slurped on his tea. "You were conveniently in the room."

"I know you're not complaining," Lloyd managed to retort from the bottom. He had Red's feet on top of his. He was the true powerhouse holding everyone up.

"Oh, that's right. Apologies. Carry on."

"Focus."

"Uh, Sensei..." Jay seemed a little afraid. "I'm starting to think this was a bad idea."

"Yeah, Sensei, he's just a kid," Cole added. He had the fortunate luck of holding just him up.

Scarlett smiled. "All I know is that if you guys bruise my face, I'm gonna be real pissed."

Wu ignored their complaints. "In order for him to succeed, we must all trust one another."

Coincidentally, a giant wrecking ball then smashed through the glass, knocking all of them down. They let out a unified scream as they all fell flat.

"What the fuck was that?" Cole questioned.

Two construction workers entered the broken premises. They were lost upon seeing the ninjas.

But someone knew all about it. "Woah, woah, woah!"

Dareth came running in at the sound, desperately waving his hands in the air. "This wasn't supposed to happen until tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow?" The first man in a suit scratched the side of his helmet. "Let me see that order." Once skimming it over, he chuckled like he didn't just half destroy someone's property. "Oh yeah, my bad! Sorry about that, we'll be back in the morning!"

And just like that, they dipped. Lacked complete accountability.

Dareth sighed, utterly dejected. He picked up one of his fake, now bent trophies.

"Uh, Dareth?" Cole was the first to grab his attention. "What is this all about?"

His shoulders slumped. "Well, I fell behind on some of my payments, and some developer named Darnagom Enterprises is buying the entire block to put in some stupid frisbee golf course. They say if I don't come up with 50,000 by tomorrow, the dojo is gone."

Jay frowned. "We already lost the Bounty. We can't lose the dojo now!"

Dareth seemed worried about a completely different thing. "My trophies. All my fake trophies."

While he cried, Zane stared up at the company name. "Wait a minute... Darnagom? When you rearrange the letters, it spells..."

"O grandma?" the ninja in blue suggested. This is why he was considered the idiot.

"No, dumbass. Garmadon," Kai corrected.

"Right... that would make more sense."

Lloyd was upset at the idea. "My dad is behind this?"

"If he destroys the dojo, where will we train Lloyd and Scarlett?" Cole asked.

"Any chance you got 50,000 in that teapot of yours?" the man in brown solemnly asked Wu.

"Worry not, Dareth," he reassured the amateur sensei. "You are not alone. We are all with you."

Though he was glad for that, he still turned to the teenage ninja. "Scarlett? Any way you might have 50,000 at your disposal?"

She scratched the side of her cheek. "Honestly, I might. Am I old enough to write a check?"

"Girl, there's no need for all that. Did I hear 50k correctly?"

Everyone in the room turned to find the samurai confidently leaning against the frame with a hand on her hip.

Jay warmly smiled at her. "You didn't happen to win the lottery?"

"No, but I heard about Ninjaball Run."

Everyone save for Dareth and the Dragonfire siblings were confused. "Ninjaball Run?"

She began to explain with enthusiasm. "It's the biggest road race in Ninjago, with a prize of 100,000 big ones. And it's tomorrow!"

"Yeah... it's also like, super dangerous." Scarlett frowned. "Those motherfuckers do not care about you once you pass that line."

"I've only seen crazy people hit that path," Red added with a small shake of his head. "Skeletons, crooks... I don't think it'd be worth it."

Dareth wiped a tear from his eye. "I thank you, little lady fighter. But they're right. You're talking about the most dangerous race known to man. Only the most serious of racers even stand a chance."

Kai glanced at his sister. "But didn't you do upgrades on our Ultra Sonic Radar?" After seeing a nod from her, he continued, "Maybe we might stand a chance."

"And I can enter with my dragon!" Lloyd waved his fists in front of him. "You did say I needed the practice."

"So it is agreed," Wu announced to his pupils, "you will all enter this Ninjaball Run to save the dojo."

Scarlett's shoulders slumped. "All of us...?" This was the moment she began to regret ever asking to join them.

Her brother placed a hand on her shoulder.

Nya walked over to the man in brown garments, who still appeared to be sobbing. She pitifully smiled. "Are you still crying?"

"Yes... but these are happy tears."

¤ ¤

The heroes spent the rest of the day prepping for the big race. No training, nothing. Nya and even Scarlett both worked on the Radar in order to make sure it was in tip-top shape. The ninjas prepared the four-headed beast.

At the end of the day, Lloyd had gone up to the Dragon Ninja. He cutely fiddled with his fingers, clearly having something on his mind.

She could tell. "What's wrong, lovie?"

"I was just wondering... do you think you could ride the dragon with me tomorrow?" He didn't look up at her, as if ashamed. "I'm honestly a little scared. I've never been in a race before."

She softly smiled. "Lloyd, this race terrifies me. You're not alone, promise. Of course I'll ride with you."

The child then lifted his head. "Really?"

"Yeah! Besides, it'll be good to have another dragon with you. God forbid we end up stuck somehow, maybe they won't care if I transform."

"Isn't that cheating?"

"In Ninjaball Run? If it's entertaining, they'll love cheaters."

Finally, late morning came. The track was already set up, with only a few vehicles standing behind the lines. The Ultra Sonic Radar was among them.

Cole waved to the crowd while Nya finished some last minute repairs. The others watched her.

One of the announcers in a fancy white suit with a gold chain smiled. "Welcome to the 14th Annual Ninjaball Run!"

A second in a green sweater and cap spoke next. "The grand prix where it doesn't matter how you get there, as long as you get there first!"

A few cops were holding people back behind the rails. The benches were full, so they had nowhere else to see from. Wu, Dareth and his students, and Red managed to find seats.

The white suit pointed down. "Well, let's take a look at the racers!"

"I see the starters' line. We have a few familiar faces," his partner pointed out. One of those included the mailman on his bicycle.

The Ultra Dragon then stomped next to him, knocking him off it and to the ground.

"Hey, watch it, you big oaf!"

Lloyd sat atop, with Scarlett sitting behind him. Her mask was over her nose while his was over his whole head. She was sort of frozen in place while he played with the reins.

Cole looked up at them. "You look nervous, Lloyd. You okay?"

"Nervous?" The child turned to his team. "Ha. Maybe for you guys..."

Though he then glanced up at the girl behind him. "You're gonna make me nervous. Can you please say something?"

"Sure." The teen momentarily pulled down her mask to say, "We're all gonna fucking die."

Kai smiled. "Stop being dramatic, babe. It's just a race."

"I heard that three years ago, one of the racers got into a coma. And then he died after months in the bed."

Lloyd dropped his head. "God damn it, Scarlett! Now you made me nervous!"

Jay raised a brow. "Is it really a good idea to put two anxious people on a dragon?"

"I'm sure they will be okay. Scarlett has a way with him," Zane calmly assured.

"A way with who?" Cole asked.

"... we will find out."

Nya jumped down to meet the four. "Now, one final thing. I installed a pretty cool upgrade. So if you're ever in a really tight spot, pull that lever, because what it does..."

That's when the boys of Darkley's in a school bus began to rev the engine like it was nobody's business. And that engine was loud.

Somehow, she didn't catch the hint that the four couldn't hear her. Even when Kai went, "What?" and leaned down with a hand over his ear, she continued to ramble.

"Pull that lever, because..."

The roaring engine still sounded until the announcer spoke up again. "Alright, the race is about to start! And officials are saying..."

"... only under those circumstances, and no other should you..."

"We're about to begin!"

The ninja were stuck between listening to the samurai or the announcer. Soon enough, she stopped, and conveniently so did the engine.

"That's my cue." She placed a hand on her forehead and waved it. "Gotta go! Good luck!"

As she ran off, Kai called out to her. "Wait, Nya! We couldn't hear you!"

Clearly, neither did she as she continued to run off until she reached the benches.

It didn't seem like a problem yet.

The Royal Blacksmiths then pulled up in their own little bus. Cole smiled.

"Look, it's my dad. They've entered too?"

And someone else's parents then drove to the line right next to them in a funky car.

Jay lightly slapped the side of his head in embarrassment. "God damn it."

His mother began to wave her hands. "Jay, Jay! Oh, look, he sees us, Ed."

The old man smiled as he lifted his goggles. "I see him, Edna, you don't have to embarrass the boy."

The lightning ninja groaned. "Is there anyone we don't have to compete against?"

Then of course, a purple portal opened. Skeletons came popping out in a large, white and purple car of the same species. It looked like a monster truck.

The four sighed.

"Wait a minute!" Green Cap announced. "It appears some skeletons have crashed the party! Is this against the rules?"

"Rules? Ha!" White Suit boisterously laughed. "There's only one rule in Ninjaball Run, and that's cross the finish line first! Let's take a look at the course."

The large screen then zoomed in, revealing the entire track as the two commentators started to explain.

"The first thrilling leg starts on the streets of Ninjago City, and empties out into the treacherous Sea of Sand. Racers, look out for the dangerous straightaway known as Crashcourse Canyon, where the slightest mistake can be your last!

"The next two legs of the race take us into the winding maze known as the Birchwood Forest, then through the perilous and icy Glacier Barrens!

"Finally, in the fourth and final leg, racers must beat the desert heat in the Badlands, which then takes us back to the finish line, here in the heart of Ninjago City!"

By the end of the announcement, everyone was prepped in their rides.

"I don't know, guys," Kai hesitantly started, "if we're going to save the dojo, we're gonna have to beat some pretty stiff competition."

"One final word — let's have a good, clean race!"

What the ninjas didn't realize was that two more of the Darkley's students had unscrewed an important part of the Ultra Sonic Radar's wheel.

So much for clean.

"So good luck to everyone!"

That's when the first light turned red. It was about to start.

Lloyd let out a shaky breath. Scarlett placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay. We totally got this."

He sort of smiled as he looked back and up at her. "Didn't you say we were gonna die?"

"Yeah, but then I remembered you're the Green Ninja. The First Spinjitzu Master would never kill his only grandson!" She sent him a quick wink. "And I guess we're not quitters."

He couldn't help but chuckle in agreement. "Yeah." He faced forward again. "We're not."

The sound of many engines revving took over the city. Everybody knew what was going down.

The second light flashed yellow. Some vehicles were inching close.

"On your mark..."

From the sidelines, Nya looked over at Red. He was repeatedly tapping his finger against his leg.

"Really makes you that nervous, huh?"

"Extremely, to tell you the truth," he replied. His eyes were glued to the racers. "I've heard terrible stories about this race. This is the second time I've been to one myself... but not in a while."

The samurai raised her brows, intrigued. "Oh yeah? What made you stop coming?"

"I had a friend participate three years ago. I watched him take a hit so hard he fell into a coma... and then months later they determined him braindead."

Nya blinked. He didn't. She'd be a liar if she said that that didn't make her the slightest bit edgy too, now.

"Oh, that's... nice to know."

White Suit continued his announcement. "Get set..."

"Ninjaball..." The third light finally flashed green. "Go!"