So. Yes, I am alive. And, this story might be a bit vague, but I just wanted it to kind of lead it into the next chapter. Anyways, you'll find out more about Mia's and Lloyd's life, but not much. I hope to emphasize that a bit more next time though!

Mia: Piinkielollipop does not own Ninjago, me, Pearl, or Melissa.

Oh, and BTW, this chapter is dedicated to mykindleisawesome as she has been asking me to update forever :D Sorry if this is not that good though.

"Lloyd!" Mia cried. She bounced over to Lloyd and wrapped her arms around him in a giant embrace. Lloyd returned the hug equally as enthusiastically, but I could tell from his bemused facial expression that he felt a little awkward.

"Mia!" Lloyd smiled. "What are you doing here?" Mia pointed to the tree house.

"That," She replied. "Is my secret hideout. Well it's not exactly my secret hideout. I share it with my sister and some of her other friends and we made this tree house ourselves, and the inside is awesome and-"

"I think we get the idea," I giggled, cutting the pink ninja off. She shrugged, and Lloyd said something inaudible to her. Mia nodded excitedly, and they turned to face me.

"Mia is coming home with us," Lloyd explained. I hesitated, and looked over at Mia. What would Sensei say when he knew that we had one extra person to accommodate, one extra mouth to feed, and one – I shook the thought off. Mia was so cute and fun, surely it would not be a problem to bring her back home? I nodded fervently, and Mia squealed, jumping up and down, caught in the midst of her happiness. After she had gone up the tree house to tell the others and pack her things, the three of us started down the path back to the other ninja.

Lloyd and Mia finally explained to me how they knew each other, starting right from the beginning where Mia had appeared in the Ninjago world, just as I did! Then, the two ninja started telling each other about what was happening in their lives, just catching up on each other's stories I guess. As we nearly made it back, a bush I walked right past rustled, and I paused. Lloyd and Mia turned back with a questioning look on their faces, but I waved them away.

"I'll be back right after I check this out," I told them. Lloyd nodded, but Mia was more stubborn.

"I'm coming with you," She said with that tone of voice that meant there was no way I could argue her out of this. Glancing at Lloyd, she added, "You can go back first." Lloyd looked a little crestfallen, but bounded home anyways. Mia turned to me. "So, what's up?"

"The sky," I rolled my eyes. "Duh." I knew that was an old joke, but that still set the both of us laughing. After I had caught my breath, I pointed to that bush. "There's something unusual about it," I confessed to my friend. She narrowed her eyes, and beckoned me to follow her as she stepped behind the bush.

Turns out I was right. There was a huge alley behind the bush, and it seemed that it completely disappeared once I stepped out into the open again. An eerie silence hung in the air, but a scream cut through it.

"This way!" I raced down the stony path, dodging trash cans that were scattered here and there. Shouts and shrieks filled the air, and now I understood. "Serpentine attack," I murmured. Mia nodded, her eyes wide. "Come on!"

"Oh brighten up, little girlsssssss," The drawn out 's' sent shivers up my spine. As we rounded a corner, I finally caught sight of about a dozen of stupid overgrown worms, and… Pearl and Melissa?! They were holding back the snakes pretty well, but they definitely needed some help. Pulling out my sword, I charged into the flurry of daggers and tails, while Mia did her Spinjitzu thing.

"Sky!" Pearl called through gritted teeth. "There you are!" I shouted out a greeting before tearing out my opponent's throat. I wouldn't want to give you nightmares and gross you out, especially if you're eating, so I won't emphasize that part. You can imagine, though. Before long, all of the serpentine were scampering off like little kids when they saw an ice cream truck.

"Pearl, Sky, you okay?" Melissa called, a note of triumph in her voice. We nodded, then she seemed to notice Mia for the first time. "And you are…?"

"Mia," She bowed deeply. The other two seemed to be taken aback when they saw how "formal" she was. But they must have changed their minds when Mia started laughing and bouncing around them.

"Melissa."

"I'm Pearl."

So far, so good. At least we all got along pretty well. Maybe Destiny chose us to be together for a reason. Destiny. That word… Seemed oddly comforting but brought back memories of a brutal past. I decided to take no notice of it, and focused on the present. Pearl seemed to be chatting to Mia already like they had been best friends for a long time, given the bubbly nature they both shared. Melissa hung back a bit, but she was still included in their conversation.

"Ooh I know a good joke!" Pearl squealed. "Okay so here goes: Knock knock?"

"Who's there?" The rest of us answered in unison.

"Isabel."

"Isabel who?"

"Is-a-bell broken? I had to knock!" Now that made us double over with laughter. Even Melissa was giggling. She did look different when she smiled.

However, it was soon replaced by a look of terror.

"G – guys," She stammered, frozen to the spot. "Behind you."

"Hello, my pretties," I made out a familiar figure, and before I could figure out who it was, we were trapped inside a huge bag.

That's when I figured out who it was.

Jake.