Chapter Five: Attack of Benjamin Whipstar…

Kai twisted the screwdriver, listening halfheartedly to the conversation going on behind him. Kai rolled his eyes as Lloyd suggested another name for a potential candidate on who the Phantom Thief is. "Hey? Lloyd?"

"Yeah Kai." Lloyd picked up a box full of random objects.

Kai glanced back at him, his eyebrow shooting upwards. "Ya know that, one Skales is a known criminal…and two, he's a serpentine. There's no way he is the Phantom Thief."

"Oh…right." Lloyd turned away, a frown on his face.

Jay threw down his screwdriver that he was using, frustration flashing in his eyes. "Oh come on! Why can't you help us with the mission if you just gonna point out all the times that we're wrong!?"

Kai rolled his eyes, only for Zane to walk in the room. "Kai doesn't want to help with the mission because he believes that something happened in the Phantom Thief's life that moved whoever it is off the street and that whoever it is doesn't want to be found and we're just making things worse by looking for him."

"Zane! I told you all of that out of confidence… as in no telling the others!" Kai whined as he nearly threw his screwdriver down.

Zane sniggered, before snagging another box full of random objects that needed thrown out. "I figured as much, but the others deserve to know that kind of thing."

"He's right!" Cole hollered as he walked past carrying a box full of old rusty and bent kitchenware.

Kai rolled his eyes before going back to work, "Come on Jay. These old worthless light bulbs aren't gonna replace themselves."

Jay sighed, before picking his screwdriver back up and getting back to work. "Man…I never knew that light bulbs could fill up with so much dirt before."

"See? Haven't opened the school up yet and already you're learning something new." Kai teased him back, a grin on his face.

Jay squawked, but couldn't say anything back to him since that was when Sensei came walking past carrying a pile of paperwork of potential students.

…..

"This is impossible! What do you mean it cannot be Sally One-eye?" Nya whined at her older brother as she flung her arms up in the air, arching backwards away from the computer.

Kai rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms. "You're right that she doesn't have any criminal records…but she is also in a retirement home and if you pay attention to the security footage we have of the Phantom Thief, then you would know that we're looking at someone young."

Groans immediately escaped the group as they slumped forward. It was their lunch break, which they were spending looking up potential Phantom Thief identities. Kai eating a sandwich behind them and telling them that they have the wrong person was annoying.

"Ugh…fine then." Lloyd groaned extra loudly, before pulling up another name. "What about Sarah Desert?"

"She was born two years ago… the Phantom Thief as been running wild for longer than that. Too young." Kai pointed out the age issue with that one.

"What about Lou Brookstone?" Jay pulled up the famous singer.

"Dude! That's my dad! And I think I would know if he were the Phantom Thief!" Cole snapped angrily, swatting his best friend on the arm.

Kai squinted at the screen, before shaking his head. "He has the wrong body build. The Phantom Thief is small, and skinny. Almost as if he doesn't get enough to eat."

Nya whipped around and slapped Kai on the arm hard. "Kai! The Phantom Thief could be a girl you know!"

Kai winced, before muttering under his breath. "Pretty sure that the Phantom Thief is a boy…but whatever."

Everyone ignored what it was that he had said as he stretched, before leaving them to their devises. He had other things to worry about than who was the mysterious Phantom Thief…well, to the others mysterious Phantom Thief. There was a reason why he said what he had to Zane the night before….

…

Kai pulled out a handful of weeds, his mind still dwelling on what they've been talking about for the past few days, since Sensei told them about the Emperor wanting them to catch the Phantom Thief. Shaking his head ruefully, he yanked out several weeds extra hard.

"Ok…you must be pretty upset if you're clear out here in the school's grounds near the woods….far from the others. Is it that upsetting that we're looking for the Phantom Thief?" Lloyd materialized out of nowhere, hands in pocket as he looked Kai over.

Kai sighed, before flinging his handful of weeds at his friend. "Well, it is annoying. Can't we leave the past in the past?"

The words had no sooner left Kai's mouth when five people stepped out of the woods next to him. The first four were wearing ski masks and gloves, matching brown eyes glaring at him through the masks' slits. The fifth person was one that even Lloyd recognized. Benjamin Whipstar, Lucifer Whipstar's cousin, was glaring menacingly at them. He had a single scar down the one side of his face, and dark brown almost black hair that hung down his shoulders. A scowl crossed his face, making his already hard blue eyes appear even harder.

He snapped his fingers and before either ninja could do anything; his four minions had seized a hold of Lloyd, slapping vengestone cuffs on his wrists. Kai clenched his fists as he glared at the larger man. "Let him go Whipstar."

Whipstar turned to face him, his gaze hitting that he wasn't going to do anything of the sort just yet. "I have a better idea. You see, the Phantom Thief took something of mine years ago….and I think it's about time he repaid me. Don't you think so?" Kai growled low in his throat, not liking where this was going at all. Whipstar continued, as if he didn't notice Kai's dislike of this whole deal. "Since you know the Phantom Thief and he can't get caught… I want him to steal a certain scroll from Misako Garmadon."

"What?!" "Wait! That's my mom there…hold on…you know who the Phantom Thief is!?"

Whipstar dashed forward, quickly slapping Lloyd across the face. "Silence!" Turning to face Kai, he continued on. "The ninja trust you. You are going to use that trust to get in and take the scroll. And only after you hand the scroll over will I even think about releasing the oh so powerful gold ninja. Am I understood…Smith?"

Kai clenched his hand tightly, his gaze darting over to a highly bewildered Lloyd. Determination flooded him as he turned back to face Whipstar. "Yeah…I understand."

A/N: Done! Ok…we're getting into the action pack part of the story. Whipstar is the Phantom Thief's old foe that is now kidnapping Lloyd. Kai apparently knows something about the Phantom Thief called his identity, and if you haven't figured it out yet…well next chapter folks. Hope you enjoy this little cliffhanger!

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SkyTalon