Disclaimer: I don't own the Hageman Bros characters, etc,. I own my own content here in this story and on my tumblr.

STOP!

Hold it a sec. So you're here to read a story, and that's great. Reading's awesome. And you like Ninjago. Even better. I like you already! However this story is a second book in a series. To get to the point…GO BACK. If you haven't read my first book, Ninjago: Legend Reborn all the way through to the last chapter, then go back now before it's too late! Hurry! Don't spoil yourself of the twists and turns I provided in the last book and this book! Save yourself!

If what I just said doesn't apply to you, then…

CONGRATULATIONS!

You've made it to the sequel that's been coming for a long time, now here it is! Thank you all so much for waiting and being patient with me. I also want to to give a big shoutout to all my followers, all those who favorited my story or put it on alert, couldn't have made it this far without your support. Also the full version of the cover title is on my tumblr, CrystalliaWrtiting, so go there if you want a good look at all the characters! Now, without further ado, Ninjago fans, I present you with the story you've all been eager to read…

Ninjago: Legend Undone!

"I don't know what my path is yet. I'm just walking on it." Olivia Newton-John

Chapter 1: Wanderer

Maria rubbed the sleep from her eyes and let out a warm, throaty yawn. She laid aching in her bed and dark room, the night air chilling her bare arms that was exposed from the tank top she wore. Smacking her dry lips, she stretched out of bed and shuffled out of her bedroom. Hunger…that was the sole thing her mind could clearly focus on as she walked through the quiet halls and into the kitchen. Food would make her feel better.

She caught glances of her reflection as she passed by windows tinted by the midnight sky. A dried drool stain ran down from the corner of her mouth to her collarbone. Her light brown curls were a frizzy untamed mess that framed her tired face's bone structure. The grey pajama pants were wrinkled from tossing and turning in her sleep. She mentally thanked that she was the only one awake.

The young girl clung to the fridge as a support upon reaching it, struggling to grip the curving handle. Maria yanked the door open and squinted at her choices through the fluorescent yellow light. There wasn't much to pick from between a loaf of molding bread and a nearly melted ice cream cake. Weighing the two options, she pulled out the dripping dessert, removed its plastic cover and dug away at it with her hands. She caught a bit of cold with each bite she shoved into her mouth, but it wasn't like she couldn't feel it…or taste the soggy, sweet layers of her late night snack, for that matter.

With the white cream dripping down her forearms and sticking crumbs to her skin, she turned to wash off in the sink. Almost instantly after taking that first step did she feel the cold liquid slip across her foot just before she fell on her right arm. Pain erupted in her body as Maria's scream reverberated across the room. Fully waking up from her earlier drowsiness, she held her shoulder, taking note of the unusual roughness of her skin. Confused, she looked down and found it bandaged up with a surgical bandage.

It dripped red from a huge stain that grew in size and hue.

"B…blood?" her first words were. "I'm…I'm bleeding? How can I-?"

"All hail the King."

She quickly turned around, ready to fight the owner of the voice. "Who said that? Show yourself!"

"I know you're not Seraphina. I know that now."

"I'm warning you! Come out and I might go easy on you!" She held her head in pain as images and sounds flashed violently through. It all felt familiar and distant but she could see it so closely. Ignoring her visions yet succumbing to the fear, she quickly escaped the area and ran back to the safety of her room.

"You're not Seraphina."

"Shut up!" Her body felt weak and too heavy for her to carry, let alone run. Yet she sprinted relentlessly with a bit of her strength. The rest was to scream her lungs out at the constant echoing of the voice. "Just shut up!"

"You're not Seraphina. I know."

"Please, just stop!" Maria nearly slipped and fell a second time had she not caught herself on her room's door. She fumbled with the door handle and flung herself to her tossed messenger bag on the other side of the room. Rummaging through its leather pockets for her weapon, she heard a slow clop sound approach her. "Not now," she prayed, "I need to defend myself. Where are my neko-te?"

A flash of silver passed by her eyes as it fell down past her face and made its way to her lap. Her neko-te were tied together and fell perfectly. Lodged on their blade claws was a large, curved horn that looked as it had been forcefully ripped of from its owner's head.

She froze and made no attempt to break free as she was lifted off the ground by her throat in a tight grip. Tears dripped down her cheeks and quivering lip as it all came back to her in the moment. Maria knew this grip, she knew the hand that began to choke her. Of course it was bittersweet relief to see her attacker revealed as he turned her to lock eyes with his own green demonic pair.

"You're her baby girl," Goryō grinned. His claws dug into her neck as there was a crisp snap and plunged her down into darkness.

The Pink Ninja shot herself up and panted in a cold sweat. Her eyes searched frantically around her surroundings and any approaching enemies.

But there were none.

It was only herself in her bed as daylight began to break through her window. A wave of relief fell over her as she laid back down with a long sigh. It was a dream. A realistic dream based off true events that happened not long ago. Maria could close her eyes and see herself catching a glance at Onryō rising from the dark depths of his prison; his stare with those horrible yellow eyes burned in the back of her mind. It really happened…but everything after was just a blur. Had she passed out from exhaustion or was she knocked out by someone? She didn't know anymore.

Rising back to get out of bed, she had finally noticed her injured arm felt heavier and warm. Maria looked down and saw a sleeping Lloyd hugging her arm protectively. The warm breath from his heavy snores disgusted her at first until she took note of his own bandaged wound over his forehead and ripped gi. She sighed as flashbacks from Goryō's attack resurfaced; Lloyd had gotten hurt for her sake and had exhausted himself. He had risked his life and more just to ensure she would be safe and not release Onryō. But they failed, so what good was it now to rest after a monster had been brought back into the world?

With a bit of guilt, she gently shook him awake. "Hey, wake up sleepyhead."

He let out a groan before yawning and stretching awake. "Maria!" Lloyd's eyes shot wide open with concern. His sudden shift in volume had her taken aback. "You're-well I mean," he shyly said. "So, how do you feel, bud?"

"Tired, confused, and I guess not much else."

"At least you're awake. The others are gonna be happy to see you're ok." Again, he backed up and displayed a shy demeanor unusual for him. "I mean you look ok, but if you don't feel ok, then that's something completely different we can talk about. If you're up to it, that is."

"Are you ok?" she asked. "You're more beaten up than I am."

He shrugged it off. "I've been through way worse than this. Trust me, if I wasn't feeling ok, I'd be in bed resting until I was. Right now, my biggest concern is you. You went through a lot."

Maria took a moment before answering, yet she kept a steady tone. "Lloyd, what happened to me?"

His face became stern as he looked her straight in the eye. He cleared his throat before he replied. "Maria," he took her hand in comfort, "you've been passed out for a couple of days. We've been waiting for you to wake up and you finally did. After all we went through back on Goryō's ship, you finally woke up. It's a miracle."

Three days ago…

Lloyd's head pounded as he was knocked down to the hardwood floor. As he laid in pain, the shimmering of dark ice crystals flashed as a warning above him before a thick layer of the element covered the skylight where Goryō had fled. He held his head as he sat up to further assess the situation. Maria was kidnapped and Onryō was being released. He was slightly injured and his friends were trapped…trapped?

"Uh, a little help here?" Jay interrupted. The Blue Ninja and the remaining team members stared blankly at him from the dark crystal that encased them to a helpless state. "Kinda in a hurry, Lloyd."

"Right, sorry." The Green Ninja quickly shot a beam of energy at the core of crystal, careful not to accidentally injure any of his friends. As cracks began to disperse through the rock, the others began squirming free, releasing their limbs gradually. With a final blast, the crystal exploded into millions of pieces, his friends unharmed from the outburst of shards.

"Lloyd, you've exasperated your wounds," Zane said as he reached out and gently touched his temple, making him wince in pain. "You should rest. We can save her from Goryō."

"No, you can't," he snapped back. "Look, it's gonna take all of us to take him down so we can grab her and get the heck out of here."

Kai quickly intervened the conversation. "But you're hurt, making you the weakest link. We go after Maria, he'll go after you. What then?"

"It won't get to that point if we-"

A clap of thunder echoed its way into the ship's bridge, shaking them and sending a chill in the air that made their hair stand. The view from the curved windows grew dark and lifeless as clouds merged to form a single, ebony cloud that blocked their view. A distant, inhuman roar sounded off, prompting Lloyd to take action as he launched an energy orb at the blocked skylight. He covered his eyes as the shards rained down on him. As they clattered to the ground, he used his airjitzu to send him upward and onto the roof.

Quietly, he landed on the stone tile roof and stayed low at the sight of Goryō offering Maria a glance at the distance. Rising from the dark depths emerged a monstrous, muscular shadow being with wild hair that whipped in the storm's rising wind. He was bigger than any demon they had ever encountered, and looked powerful enough to take down an larger opponent with its blood red claws. Its body was covered in veins that pulsed with raw, glowing power from the core of its chest to the horns.

But beyond its terrifying appearance was its eyes. They were clearly locked with Maria's, yet their ominous yellow hue made Lloyd freeze in his place. The absence of pupils, curvature and glow was unlike any enemy they had faced. It was worst than the Great Devourer, the Preeminent, even his own father's when he had fought him long ago.

They were the eyes of someone the Ninja had hoped to never face; they were the glowing eyes of the Demon King, Onryō.

Lloyd quietly backed down as he tried to formulate a plan to-

"Hey, Lloyd is the coast clea-HOLY HECK! WHAT IS THAT!?"

The Green Ninja stopped, mortified at the scream from Jay and the quick turn of Goryō's head. The demon flared his nostrils and nose ring before offering a wicked grin. With a gulp, he Lloyd quickly turned back to his fear stricken team and prepared to run off. "Guys, get moving! We need to-"

"That's Onryō?!" Cole ignored him as he pointed at the shadow in the distance. "He's huge!"

"How are we supposed to fight that? He's bigger than a mountain!" Kai exclaimed.

"Guys!" he shouted to regain their attention. As they focused back on him, he gestured to the approaching demon. "We kinda got a problem on our hands."

Goryō scoffed from behind him, making Lloyd face him. "This is not a problem, this is the end for you. All of you." Before they could react, he held up an unconscious Maria to their faces, pale and panting from exhaustion. "Hand over the gems and she won't become a sacrifice for Onryō's empty stomach."

Nya stepped protectively in front of Kai and Jay. "Are you nuts? We're not going to trust you. The second we give you the gems, you'd kill us. Besides, we don't even have all the gems and we're the only ones that can find them."

"Is that what you think?" Goryō arched his brow. "You filthy humans think you have privileges, that you're special and are the only ones who can possess the gems? How pathetic."

"I fail to see how we are pathetic in this situation," Zane spoke up. "We are not the ones hiding behind a helpless girl for defense."

Irritation rising in his eyes, Goryō stomped his hoof on the roof, causing a vibration to spread out. Thorns bigger than their whole bodies shot out and precisely aimed themselves at the Ninja's necks. They found themselves back to back with each other, unable to find a gap to slip out and escape. The Ninja dared not to breathe heavily, let alone move by the slightest bit. "I'm going to ask you one last time," the demon whispered as he leaned into their little circle, "give me the gems before I take them off by force."

With their options running out, only one idea came into the young leader's head. It wasn't the smartest or safest he admitted, but it was the only one that could get Maria away from here. Lloyd locked eyes with Goryō and replied without hesitation. "You couldn't if you even tried, only we can take them off."

His eyes narrowed down at him. "You lie, boy."

"Lloyd, what are you doing?" Cole asked in a hushed voice. "Are you trying to get killed?"

"I wouldn't lie," Lloyd continued, ignoring his friends. "It's the truth; only the wielder of their respective gems can take them on and off. No other force could even if they tried with all their might. Seraphina told me herself when I first got this gem at age six. That's what I remembered not long ago. She wouldn't lie to me."

Goryō let out a chuckle. "I believe you more than I believe this little sneak." He dropped Maria onto the roof tiles, her limp body nearly sliding off. "She tried to save herself, but I saw through her lies. Never mind her now," he said just before snatching Lloyd up by his throat.

"Put him down!" Kai shouted.

The circle tightened before any of the Ninja had a chance to escape or counter. Goryō tightened his grip to the point where Lloyd could feel his head getting ready to pop and deflate. "I can't take the gem off your body, but I can simply take it if there's no body."

"Now you're just talking crazy!" Lloyd choked out. His head felt ready to explode with the increasing strength from his giant hand around his neck.

"No, I'm only thinking a little, how you humans say, 'out of the box.'"

"Get your filthy hands off him!" a raspy voice cried out as a shadowy figure tackled Goryō down, allowing Lloyd to escape and slide over to Maria's side. Jorōgumo struggled to pin him down and subdue him. He kicked her away with his hooves and began to stomp over to Lloyd. His fist was set aflame with blue green fire that he prepared to strike with. As he raised his fist high above the two Ninja, Jorōgumo quickly jumped up and bit her fang into his neck.

His green eyes rolled to the back of his head as his balance became unstable. Goryō wobbled back and forth before falling face down unconscious. Jorōgumo finally released her bite and got up, quickly turning to the thorn circle that trapped the other Ninja. She grabbed ahold of the three closest thorns and uprooted them from the roof, allowing them to escape out the narrow path. "All of you, leave this place," she commanded them.

"What about Goryō?" Cole asked. "What'd you even do to him anyway? He's out cold."

"Just some venom I have, but it won't hold him for long with the strength he has now. All of you now, leave. I will handle Onryō and this traitor."

They quickly gathered themselves and summoned their dragons. One by one, they flew off into the night sky away from the Silent Plague. Lloyd was the last to takeoff as he carefully picked up Maria in his arms. Before summoning his own dragon, he turned back to the spider demon. "Hey, Jorōgumo…"

"Look, I don't know what is going to happen now, ok?" she quickly interrupted. "I have a loyalty to King Onryō, but the alliance is important to me, too. I can't decide now where my loyalty stands strongest now, all right?"

With a faint smile, he summoned his energy dragon and carefully got on its back. After he secured himself and Maria, he called over his shoulder, "I was just going to thank you for saving us and me. So…thanks."

His dragon flapped its long wings and took off into the air. It didn't take long for him to catch up with the others as they flew on home. Maria gently groaned in her unconscious state, prompting him to shush her into sleep. His friends looked at him without saying a word; their tired eyes spoke for them as they glanced at him now and then for answer on what would happen next.

He didn't know.

"…then we called your mom and told her you were sick, we quickly sent out word to Cliona about Onryō's return and she alerted the other Great Elders to be on high alert. Also she gave your mom some charms to put around her house to ward off evil spirits and demons."

"But…?" The Pink Ninja waited for any withheld information her brother might've been keeping.

"Well, you're mom is very emotional after this whole thing," he admitted. "She wouldn't let Cliona in when she mentioned she's a Great Elder and screamed at her to go away after quickly slamming the door in her face. Your mom also called and found out you were in a coma, sorry but she got it out of us. She wanted to talk to you as soon as you woke up.

"But you were half awake last night and made a mess in the kitchen. It wasn't too bad, but it was pretty obvious you were low on energy and needed a bite. I figured it would be up to you to call her when you felt ready."

She sighed realizing that her nightmare was mostly real. She was hungry and struggled to find food, but Goryō didn't come after her and tell her-

"You're her baby girl."

'Oh, geez,' she thought to herself. That part was real. Very much real when he whispered that in her ear and stunned her. He couldn't have been lying, could he?

"Hey, bud? You ok?"

Lloyd's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Oh, yeah. I just need some time to myself before I decide what to do next."

"That's fine," he replied as he got up from her bedside and began to leave. "You take all the time you need, bud." He stopped in the door way and offered her a final look of reassurance before exiting out of her room. "We're here for you, no matter what."

As her door closed shut, she nearly fell face forward to her knees. Those words echoed through her head and mocked her, if they were even true. A million theories ran through and back her mind as she tried to comprehend what exactly he meant. It could've been a bluff to freak her out and lower her guard in that moment. Yet when she tried to think back to how she got the tiny scar under her chin, Maria was left with a dead end at every possibility. It wasn't that she hadn't gotten beaten up before at a young age, but there wasn't a single memory that stuck out to her and could be traced back to how she received her scar.

If what Goryō said was true, that would make her Seraphina's daughter, not her reincarnation. That left only her mom to be possibly reincarnated from a spirit that lived over 4,000 years ago. She shook her head at the idea of her mom being the least bit connected to Seraphina in that way. Maria could always remember her mom being calm, conservative and sometimes getting mad in defense, but she sounded as though she hated Cliona and she hated her fighting demons as a Ninja. She was scared for her life and safety…maybe she even wanted her to come back home and leave her new life behind.

What about Cliona and the other Great Elders? They acted as though she was Seraphina reincarnated and didn't act any different towards her, or maybe she didn't pick up on it. They were friendly but maybe a bit too friendly and welcoming. It could be a ruse to hide the fact they knew something she didn't know about her past, about herself.

Then there was her dad. They were never destined to meet, but her already loved her before she was born as he said in his journal. He fought for her before he even knew for sure she was a girl or boy. People got emotional when he was brought up; neighbors, friends, fellow police officers, and more felt a bit of sorrow that would spread to their face at the mention of his name. No sooner would it turn to disgust when Maria came around, having people question if she really was his daughter. Maybe they were right after all.

The possibilities were endless. One thought lead to another loose end which lead to more questions and potentials. Her trust began wavering in everyone around her until she lost it completely in the most important person in her life.

"What does that make me?" she asked her closed window.

The waffle maker went off as steam poured out from the thin gap of the twin irons. Zane turned it over and opened up to another fluffy, golden waffle. He gently pricked it with a fork and placed it on top of the pre-made stack he made for the others eagerly waiting for their food. Finally he set the plate down before them, their quick hands grabbing all they could set onto their own plates to drown them in syrup and scarf them down their throats. How they could easily go back into daily routines after something traumatic happened to them amazed Lloyd.

He finally stepped out from the hallway and joined them at the counter. "Glad to see you're all up."

"Morning, Lloyd," Cole said between bites of sticky layers of waffle. "How's the kid?"

"She's awake and just needs some time to comprehend what's going on. I told her all we knew but right now, it's best to give her some space."

"It's nice to hear she's awake," Zane replied as he poured a cupful of thick batter into the maker. He began serving mugs of coffee while continuing to speak. "We received another call from her mother not long ago. Perhaps she will be relieved upon hearing Maria is awake and well."

Nya shook her head in disagreement and wiped her mouth clean of crumbs. "Maybe that's not such a good idea, Zane. Elise sounded really mad this time, we should give them both time to blow off some steam. If they talk too soon, it could get ugly."

"Ugly how?" Jay asked. "She can't do anything to hurt us and she can't take Maria away now that she's technically an adult."

"True, but she's her mom and has full authority over her," Kai pointed out. "Plus, it's deadly to get in the way of an angry mom. If she wants to take her back home, she technically has the right to."

Lloyd groaned and rolled his eyes at the conversation. "Come on, guys, Maria isn't going anywhere. She wants to be here, that's what she continued to choose over and over again after all we've been through. She won't ditch us and there's no way she'll let anything take her away, even if it's her own mother."

"Did she tell you that or are you just assuming?"

"I…" Lloyd choked on his words for a moment. "I just know, ok? I'm not going to question her about it since she still needs time."

"Perhaps a little bit of food will help her relax a bit more," the nindroid suggested as he prepared a separate plate of waffles and a glass of milk. "Whatever choice she makes, we must stand behind her and give her all our support," he said as he walked down the hallway to deliver the food. "It's the best thing we could do as her family."

His parting words left them in silence. It was the truth; if they really cared then they would have to give her their support. On the other hand, the impact of that truth stayed in the pit of their stomachs. The reality was they had no control over what she may or may not choose, and persuading her wouldn't be right.

If Maria stayed, they would support her. The mission would go smoothly and there wouldn't be any complications in defeating the demons. They hadn't necessarily seen it themselves, but they were constantly told her power alone could ultimately defeat the Demon King. It would take some time, but they all felt certain she had the potential to reach that level of power. Then she would just need to control her dragon better and unlock her true potential, maybe learn airjitzu to further her skill set.

If she left…they would support her, no matter how much it may affect them.

"But I don't want her to leave!" Cole suddenly exclaimed. The Ninja quickly gave him looks at his sudden outburst. "Hey, we're all thinking it," he quickly explained. "We can't have her leave the team now that we've got a crazy, giant Demon King on the loose. Cliona told us not to take chances."

"Speaking of which, isn't weird how Cliona didn't ask more on how Maria was when we told her she was knocked out?" Kai asked. "You think she'd be concerned about the reincarnation of her friend dying again."

Jay shuddered at his words. "Geez, dude, you make it sound so dark. Besides, she probably had million things on her mind once we told her Onryō was back."

"And that's our main mission: defeat Onryō once and for all," Lloyd deemed. "We've been reincarnated ourselves for the sole purpose of supporting Maria in destroying him, that much we know. What needs to happen now is that we focus all our energy into defeating him so this doesn't become some continuous cycle that happens for thousand of years. Agreed?"

"Agreed," his friends replied.

"What are we agreeing on?" Zane asked as he entered back into the kitchen with the untouched breakfast in his hands.

"We're gonna focus on defeating Onryō over anything else," Nya summarized before taking a sip of coffee. She took note of the food and gestured at it. "Did Maria not like her breakfast?"

Zane set it down and began to resume cooking. Over his shoulder, he casually answered, "I won't know for a while, she ran away."

Simultaneously, the Ninja's eyes widened and jaws dropped before shouting, "What?!"

Zane calmly turned back to their stunned faces and pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket. "She left a note and her gi all folded up on her bed. It explains that she's leaving for the city to get some air and maybe find some answers. The way she worded it makes her sound very depressed and confused about certain things going on in her life."

"Well, we gotta go out and find her!" Kai quickly said. "We need to spread out and cover all areas of the city, immediately!" The Ninja quickly cleaned up their mess and prepared to take off. In the chaos of them running around, Zane stood perfectly still and watched them.

"Perhaps we shouldn't try to find her just yet," the nindroid calmly said. "She needs space, isn't that what we all kept saying?"

"Yeah, but we meant 'space' as in ' carefully thinking about what topics we may talk about,'" Jay explained. "Not 'space' as in, 'I'm just gonna pack up my bags and leave you guys because I'm moody!' We have to go after her!"

"I'm with Jay," Cole agreed. "It's our job to protect her and keep her safe."

"No," the Green Ninja said. His words stopped them in their tracks. They were all in shock as he just stood in place.

Kai let out a nervous chuckle as he approached the young Ninja. "Lloyd, could repeat that? I thought I heard you say we shouldn't go after the only person who can defeat Onryō and is now getting herself lost in the city."

"I did," he curtly replied. He let out a sigh before continuing on. "I'm starting to get a bad of habit of overprotecting her. Heck, we all have, so we need to stop while we can. I need to have faith in her and stop breathing down her neck, telling her what to do, what not to do.

"That's all I wanted sometimes when I was training for my own destiny," he said as he raised his head. "It's her turn now. We'll look later, but for now, let's let her find her own way without us guiding her. Let's let her live her life."

"This was a terrible idea," Maria muttered to herself as she walked down the streets of the city in her old outfit with only a messenger bag to defend herself with. Every now and then a glare or just a look would be thrown her way, making her hang head low and hug herself in comfort. Though she had been trained and was now equipped with powers, locking eyes with strangers that looked like creeps or gang members still frightened her.

It was ridiculous how she could be afraid of regular people after dealing with demons and monsters. Maybe it wasn't so ridiculous as she thought. Maybe deep down it was because she knew firsthand that people we're just as bad as a real monster, if not more. They could hurt you just as much and cause the same amount of pain. That's probably why she regretted wearing her pink shirt with the hot chocolate stain on it. She looked like a street urchin.

Ok, so she was over exaggerating the situation a bit. The whole setting freaked her out but nothing had happened to her yet. She took a breath to calm herself and began to stand as she walked down the street. She was a Ninja and if anyone came after her, she would be strong. She was a strong and confident young woman; she could handle anything.

A hooded figure walked out from the alleyway with a smug grin on his face. "Hey, baby," the man said as he pulled back his hood to reveal his face. His suspicious appearance made Maria let out yelp in surprise, to which he returned a dark chuckle. "What's a cutie like you doing in a place like this?" He smiled with two rows of rotten yellow teeth that leaned into her space.

She staggered a bit before regaining her composure and turned to walk away, ignoring him completely. His footsteps followed closely behind her, urging her to pick up her pace. Her heart pounded in rhythm with their shoes against the pavement, growing in volume. From her sides came two separate beats that pounded at a faster pace. With imminent danger at hand, she took off and ran straight forward, regardless that she didn't know where she was headed.

"Slow down, babe!"

"We just wanna have a little fun!"

"Hey, cutie, come here!"

Their yells continually pursued her as she ran down the sidewalk and made a quick turn near a tea shop. She stopped and observed her hiding places: a couple of garbage can, a large waste bin and a few empty tea boxes. With time running out, she took her chances and carefully crawled into the waste bin. To her benefit, all the bags inside didn't have holes and smelled only a little rotten. Quietly, she closed the huge lid and gently laid down on the bags.

She heard muffled voices approach the outside of her hiding spot, making her cover her mouth to soften her breathing sounds. Maria closed her eyes and prayed that they wouldn't find her. It was pathetic of her to be this way, but she couldn't help it. Never in a million years did she think a situation like this would happen to her. But this wasn't Tranquilville and she hadn't seen that much of the city when she first came here. It was a complete turn of events that changed her original plans, even then she hadn't seen that much of the city.

This was another side of New Ninjago City she'd never dream…never wanted to experience.

Now she was here with nowhere to go after up and leaving the friends who took her in. She was scared and couldn't concentrate on what to do if those guys found her, even when she had more than enough power to overwhelm them. If she couldn't handle this, what was she?

"…not here," a distant rough voice said. It trailed off along with a couple of footsteps behind it. Sensing an opportunity, Maria cautiously peeked out the from the lid and looked around for her attackers. When she noticed they had left, she slowly opened the lid and climbed out. With a sigh of relief she sat down and relaxed.

"Got her!" A pair of hands clamped around her mouth and neck, muffling her screams. Two other creepy men appeared in front of her, laughing raucously at their plan working. "I told you guys it would work," the leader said from behind her, almost whispering it in her ear with his disgusting breath.

"What're we gonna do now, boss?" one thug asked. His stare made her frantically try to pry the wicked hands subduing her, but she found no strength in her grip. "I haven't seen her around before. Bet she's a lot of fun."

The other thug eagerly shot his hand up. "I call first dibs!"

"Hey, I found her!" The leader possessively moved his hand from her neck to her curl resting over her shoulder. "I say that I get to go first with this little rosebud."

'Rosebud…?' Maria thought in that brief second. 'Like…bud?' Lloyd's voice rang with hers on that word. Bud, that's what he called her often; maybe more often than her own name as of recent. That's also how she knew they really were like brother and sister, the nickname he gave her was something only he called her. Did this man think that he could call her that because he thought he owned her?

"No," she growled under her breath. With her hands becoming firm, she grabbed the sides of his head and lifted him above her head. The other thugs stood in shock as she held their friend up high. As she slammed him head down into the concrete, she yelled ferociously, "You do not own me, you piece of trash!"

His was knocked unconscious and stayed limp on the ground. Maria quickly got into a fighting stance, ready for their next attack. His friends picked him up, revealing a new wound on his forehead. His mouth was opened a bit, enough to reveal he had lost some teeth. The two thugs went pale at his condition, shaking in fear the same would be done to them. Without even looking at Maria again, they picked up their friend and dragged him off, shouting, "This chick's a monster!"

"Monster?" The rush of anger she felt had vanished, confusion and sadness replacing it in her mind. It wasn't like freak, but it still had hurt. Maybe that's what she was. Maybe all this time she was a monster.

"Nice work, dearie," a weak, old voice commented from behind her. She turned back to see an old lady with straw hat covering her from the late morning sun. She held a teapot and matching cup in her hands that she offered to her. "I heard a ruckus outside my shop and was afraid I'd have to get tough, but I'm glad you took care of it."

"Thanks, but I kinda caused the ruckus," Maria replied while taking the cup. "They were trying to attack me and I led them here. I shouldn't even be here, but I am. I'm…I'm so stupid!"

"Now, child, be calm." The old lady placed a kind hand and her shoulder and ushered her to the front door of her shop. "How about I fix you up with some tea and you explain everything to me?"

Maria pulled back from the kind gesture. "I couldn't do that. It's my burden, I can't just dump it on you."

The old lady smiled and shook her head. "Child, if I didn't want to hear your story, I wouldn't have offered to. Besides, I think having a fresh pair of ears listen to you would help you."

"I suppose." The Pink Ninja continued on to follow behind her inside her shop. "I'm Maria, by the way. Maria Psyche."

"A pleasure," the woman said before turning back to face her. "You may call me Mistaké."

Maria kept quite and stared down at her lemon-honey tea cup. Mistaké had gone in the back supposedly preparing a 'special mix' in a to go bag for her, leaving Maria in the store's front at a small table. Her kindness was unbelievable, yet she had guiltily kept doubts in the back of her mind that it was a façade. Maybe it was all too good to be true. A lot of things had been like that lately. She broke out of her thoughts as Mistaké came back with a brown paper bag, decorated lightly with golden designs.

"This should help you with your problem," she said as she set it down on the table. As Maria went to reach for it, she smacked her hand away. "Not yet!" she scolded. "First, we need to address your problem, child."

"Sorry, I guess I'm too quick to act," she apologized.

"Yes, go on."

"Well, I went through something and then I kinda…learned something about me that might be true. But I don't want it to be true, because then everything changes drastically for me. So I acted on impulse and my friends are probably worried sick. Also, I'm kinda stronger than before which terrifies me."

"Yeah, I bet your big brother Lloyd Garmadon is concerned about you."

Maria choked on her tea and coughed it up. "I'm sorry, but what?" she asked while wiping her mouth with her sleeve. "I never mentioned-"

Mistaké chuckled lightly at her. "I'm a good friend of him and the other Ninja, along with your Sensei. I know things, young Maria. Maybe you could spare me the vagueness and give me the straight story."

"Uh, sure." She took a deep breath in and released it slowly. "A villain kidnapped my mom and tormented me and my friends. When he and I were alone in combat, he said he gave me a scar on my chin and that I-"

Maria began to quiver, her voice breaking as she continued on. She felt the emotions she bottled up resurfacing in a wave overwhelming her. "That I should've been dead for a long time, and that my mom is a Spirit Queen that I thought I was reincarnated from. Now I question everything around me: my friends, my childhood, my mother and late father, and myself. I don't know who or what I am anymore. I…I'm lost."

Before any tears spilled out from her eyes, she felt a pair of arms embrace her in a warm hug. "Come now, child," Mistaké soothed. "You're not the only one who feels that way at some point in their life. People all over find themselves asking what they are and feel lost. But you're not lost even though you wander around; you just need a little guidance."

She released from the hug and offered the bag to her. "This will help you only a portion of the way. To find your way completely will all be up to you. I made this out of Traveler's Tea and a little something else. I'd like to call this brew, the Wanderer's Tea, Curiositea."

"Cute name," Maria chuckled while gratefully taking the bag. "So how do I brew it?" Mistaké only gave her a deadpanned look. "Um, am I supposed to eat this?"

Mistaké groaned and put her hand on her face. "No, you open the bag and it will do the rest. Do yourself a favor a take a break from cocoa. Try tea every now and then."

"Ok, but should I open it now?"

"Are you ready to face whatever may come from this point forward?"

Maria stared at the bag, her hands slowly lifting up the folded flap. Everything that had happened was for a reason she didn't know about anymore, but she had to find out. Whatever may come, from now on, for sure, she had to be strong. There was no turning back now. Not when something was waiting to be found by her. Maybe someone needed to be found in order to get her wish. To find out what she was.

"I'm ready to face it." She pulled the flap open with the utmost certainty. "I'm ready to face my past and myself."

Golden tea leaves spiraled out of the bag and around her. Gold dust that flew off from them turned to a pale blue as something grew inside her. The leaves spun around faster as her body got lighter. She felt herself flying off the ground and into the sparkling blue dust. Everything became bright and distant around her. The last thing she saw was Mistaké smiling a mysterious yet wise smile as she blacked out.

And cut! Thanks for reading! Don't worry, we'll be back soon!

Next time on Ninjago: Legend Undone…

Requiem For A Past Life

Until then, God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.