13

Teag finished polishing the last of the forge's tools, and he sighed as he hung the pliers back on the wall. The dreadlocked boy glanced around the area, at a loss for what to do. He had worked once with Tolan since his escape to the Hidden Village, and the day had been long and silent. Neither Tolan nor Teag had addressed Teag's outburst or the guard's surly behavior. Since then, Tolan hadn't been back to the forge, and Teag was beginning to wonder if he had driven the man from his workplace completely.

A quick review of the area proved that there was nothing left to clean—it was more spotless than Teag had ever seen it. The sound of footfalls outside caused the boy to look up, and he prayed that it would be Tolan. Surely the guard couldn't come in angry with the forge looking like this. However, as a bulky form filled the doorway, Teag sagged in disappointment.

"Wow, the forge looks like new," Veneik said, whistling low. "You do all this, kid?"

Rather than answer, Teag shrugged sullenly and moved to grab his bag. If Veneik was here, then it meant that Tolan wouldn't be in again today. The western fortress's blacksmith moved to cut Teag off before the boy could slip by.

"Where are you going?"

"I was waiting for Tolan," Teag muttered.

"Haven't seen him, but I've got quite the quota today. Why don't you stick around and help me through it?"

Teag scowled, having no desire to assist Veneik with menial jobs such as hoofer-shoes and fire-pans. He moved to go around Veneik again, and the blacksmith grabbed his arm.

"Look, you're getting free board and food from the fortress with the rest of the servants, but you're not working nearly as hard. Least you could do is help out with the actual fortress tasks. You're doing no good to anybody loitering around every day."

"I'm not your apprentice," Teag snapped, looking up to glare as he pulled his arm free. Veneik snorted.

"You aren't that Central Fortress guard's apprentice either, you know. In truth, you're not much more than a squatter." The blacksmith shook his head. "Fine, go waste the day away while I slave at the forge. Ancients know you wouldn't be getting away with this if you didn't have connections to the Leader's husband."

Teag stiffened, but the blacksmith was whistling as he headed over to light the fire. When Veneik didn't say anything else, the dreadlocked boy headed out into the desert. Teag trudged back to the Western Fortress, his expression surly. He entered the courtyard, and the guards and servants milling around ignored him. He slipped into the fortress's side door, heading for the kitchen to get something to eat.

He entered the room, but as he heard the kitchen girls cooing and fawning, he knew that Raiyn was in the room. Sure enough, the young child became visible as Teag drew closer to the counter in the middle of the kitchen area. Raiyn was munching on a bright fruit in the arms of one of the serving girls, and Teag reached out for a similar fruit from the bowl in the center of the table.

"Teag!" Raiyn spluttered around his fruit, and Teag winced as all the eyes in the room turned to look at him. The kitchen servants' expressions immediately hardened, and Monnel, the head of the kitchen, slapped Teag's hand away from the fruit.

"What are you doing in here?" the Matron demanded.

Teag met her eye angrily. "I'm hungry."

"Then wait for meal time, like everybody else."

"You gave Raiyn one," he muttered, and the woman narrowed her eyes.

"The Heir of the West is allowed whatever he wants," she sniffed. "You are not."

"Down! Please put Raiyn down!" Raiyn begged, and the serving girl holding him lowered him grudgingly to the ground. Raiyn went straight for Teag, hugging the boy's legs despite the glower he was getting in return. "Hi, Teag," the child smiled.

The dreadlocked boy scowled as he pushed Raiyn away. "Get off me," Teag muttered. The comment earned him a head-smack from the Matron, and his eyes flashed as he turned to glower. "What the heck was that for?"

"Learn respect," she sniffed. "Master Raiyn will be your Leader someday."

"He won't be my leader," Teag growled. "I'm no servant!"

"Then what are you?" one of the serving girls twittered. Teag fell silent, and the girls began giggling at his silence as if it proved their point. The boy flushed, pushing past them all to head back out of the room. He stormed down the hallway, his hands shaking as he forced himself to control his anger.

"Teag!" a small voice called out. He ignored it, but it wasn't long before he felt a small hand grabbing the back of his tunic. Tiny legs or not, Raiyn was quick when he wanted to be.

"What do you want?" Teag demanded as he turned. Raiyn seemed unaffected by the boy's anger, holding aloft a shiny fruit with a grin.

"Here, Teag," Raiyn offered. The dreadlocked boy studied the fruit skeptically, and the small child added, "Hungry?"

"Thanks," Teag muttered, taking the fruit from him at last. Raiyn squirmed with happiness, as if proud of himself for getting something for Teag that the dreadlocked boy should have been able to get for himself. Teag bit into the fruit as he studied the tiny Heir of the West. "Where's your babysitter?" he finally asked. "Hershel doesn't usually let you wander around by himself, does he?"

"Daddy gone," Raiyn offered.

"I figured he was out doing healing visits or something," Teag said as he made his way around the pit in the middle of the fruit. "So who's watching you? Pippa? Syn?"

"Pip-pip sad." Raiyn's smile faded with a sudden morose look.

"What's wrong with her? Someone finally put her in her place?" Teag snorted. He finished the last of the fruit and dropped the core onto the floor of the hallway before moving to leave. He was surprised when a tiny, sticky hand grabbed his own in a surprisingly strong grip.

"Pip-pip sad," Raiyn repeated, and Teag scowled as the small boy began to pull him toward a different hallway.

"That's her problem. Let go, Raiyn."

"Please, Teag." Raiyn's eyes grew large. "Please?"

"You sound like a baby when you talk like that," Teag growled, but he finally began moving in the direction Raiyn was pulling. "I'd have thought Master Hershel would have taught you how to talk by now. You're not a baby anymore."

"Pip-pip sad."

Teag rolled his eyes, but with nothing else to really do for the rest of the day, he allowed the Western Heir to pull him down one hallway after another. Eventually, Raiyn stopped at a random door, and Teag frowned.

"What is this place?" he asked. "Some kind of storage closet?"

"Pip-pip!" Raiyn called, ignoring Teag as he pounded the door with tiny fists. "Pip-pip!"

"Go away, Raiyn!" a voice snapped from inside. Teag frowned as he realized that Pippa's voice did sound strange, as if she were in the middle of crying. All the more reason for him to leave. However, before he turned to go, Raiyn turned to fix Teag with the saddest expression.

"Help."

"With what?"

Raiyn reached up and grabbed the door handle, pulling it several times to demonstrate that it was locked. "Teag help."

Teag scoffed. "I can't help. Go bother someone else."

"Please?" Raiyn begged, his eyes somehow becoming even bigger. "Pip-pip so sad!"

Teag glanced at the door again, and he finally rolled his eyes. Without saying anything, he reached into a pocket to retrieve a set of wires he always kept close. Raiyn watched as Teag glanced down the hallway before inserting the wire into the lock of the door. After a few seconds, there was a tale-tell clicking, and Teag opened the door with a flourish.

"Happy now?" he asked, glowering down at the toddler. Raiyn didn't answer, darting into the room the second the door was open.

"No, Raiyn...NO!" Pippa sobbed, and as Teag glanced inside, he realized that Pippa was sitting up against a wall, her face splotchy from crying. Nearby, her stinky old Sniffer seemed to be sleeping.

Or...maybe not sleeping, Teag realized, seeing the way that Pippa was clinging to the animal as she screamed at her cousin. Raiyn was indifferent to her screams as he launched himself at her, latching on to her waist in a tight embrace. At his touch, Pippa's anger seemed to melt into further despair, and she sobbed as she clung to the silver-haired sniffer.

"Don't cry, Pip-pip," Raiyn begged, burying his face into her.

"How'd you even find me, you stupid kid?" Pippa demanded between sobs. Teag blinked in surprise. As he pondered how Raiyn had known where his cousin had been, Pippa seemed to notice the figure in the doorway for the first time. Her expression became murderous. "What are you doing here? GET OUT! GO AWAY!"

He had been planning on leaving, but at Pippa's accusatory tone, Teag stepped further into the room instead. "I was helping Raiyn," he snapped. "It's not my fault you left your cousin alone to wander the halls without supervision.

"I DID NOT!" Pippa screamed. "I left him with Monnal! GO AWAY BEFORE I BEAT YOU!"

Teag folded his arms, fixing her with a challenging look. Seeing that he wasn't leaving, the girl's eyes blazed purple.

"I said go away!" A blast of aura headed for him, and Teag managed to dodge it before it crashed into the stone wall behind him.

"Are you insane?" Teag demanded. "You're going to start the fortress on fire, you idiot!"

"Go away or I'll burn you!"

"Get ahold of yourself," Teag muttered. "It was just an old animal." His dreadlocks bounced in a sudden whip of aural wind, and Pippa's eyes and hands began to blaze all the brighter.

"I HATE YOU!" she screamed. Teag winced as her words bounced off the walls down the hall, and he felt a flash of fear. If someone caught the three of them like this, he was bound to get the blame for whatever damage Pippa did, even though none of this was his fault.

"Calm down!" Teag ordered, coming further into the room. "Do you want the whole fortress in here gawking at you?"

Rather than answer, Pippa dissolved back into tears as she buried her face into her sniffer's mane. I should just leave, Teag told himself, but he felt strangely rooted to the spot as he watched the girl cry.

"Don't cry, Pip-pip," Raiyn whimpered again, his embrace tightening.

"Baffa's dead, Raiyn!" she snapped angrily. Raiyn's lip began to quiver, and Teag groaned as he watched the younger child begin to sob as well.

"Now look what you did," he muttered, coming closer to pull Raiyn away from the girl. The nearly-four-year-old turned and latched onto Teag instead as he cried, and the old boy sighed loudly. The situations kept getting increasingly more irritating. "Get off that animal—if it's dead, it needs to be buried. Otherwise it's gonna attract diseases and worms and whatever else."

"NO! I WON'T BURY HIM!"

"Then it needs to be burned, or something! We can't just leave it here to rot."

"NO!"

A blast exploded out from Pippa, and Teag winced as the power narrowly missed him and the child clinging to him. Raiyn stiffened in fear, and the dreadlocked boy scowled as he reached over and grabbed Pippa by the shoulder.

"Get ahold of yourself before you hurt someone!" He ordered. "You almost hit Raiyn!"

Pippa's look of hatred softened a little as she glanced at where her cousin was staring at her with wide eyes, and she wiped her nose noisily on her arm. "It's your fault!" she accused. "You're the one making me angry!"

"Master Hershel says that no one can make you angry," Teag spat back. "You have control of your own emotions."

"Go away," Pippa said, turning away to cling to the silver animal again. "I don't want you! I want my mom."

Teag frowned, and he finally stood to leave. Raiyn whimpered where he was still holding on, and Teag pushed the child from the room, not trusting that Pippa wouldn't explode with her cousin in proximity.

"Come on, kid," he muttered. "Let's go find Syn."

The problem with hideouts was they were never comfortable. Caverns tucked into claustrophobic mountain passages, or flimsy tents set up as inconspicuously as possible in uncharted land, without a quality well in sight. The young woman huffed as she pulled her hair from her face, binding it with ties that went down the whole length of it.

"I told you to stop doing your hair like that."

The young woman smirked, her back to the speaker who had just entered the tent. She recognized the man's voice, and she finished her hair without turning. "A visit from the great Quazier himself. To what do I owe the honor?"

"I'm serious, Rook. One of these days I'll cut it all off—traders need to blend with the crowd. No one wears their hair like that—it makes you too recognizable."

"Maybe they're looking for people who are blending in with the crowd. Haven't you heard? Standing out is the new camouflage." She turned, her rust-colored eyes taking in the trader in the doorway. His hair and beard were close cut, and he was sporting new jewelry.

And he blames me for standing out.

"You didn't answer my question, Quazy. What are you doing here?"

"I've got a job for you."

"I thought my job was keeping my ear to the ground in the east," Rook said lazily. "I just got settled here, and now you want to go and start over again?"

"We trained you to be an assassin, not a spy. You're not supposed to get comfortable."

"I remember making that exact same argument when you dropped me in this sand-hole," she snapped. "What happened to it's too dangerous to make a move, Rook...just stay put and keep an ear to the ground, Rook."

"It was too dangerous, with the bodyguard involved."

"I could have taken him," Rook argued, narrowing her eyes. Quazier fixed her with a withering look.

"You may be the best fighter we've got...but that doesn't make you the best, you cocky wench. That fortress guard could be the best in the realm...he would have cut you into ribbons."

"So what's changed?" Rook demanded again. "You decided that you'd prefer me in ribbons?"

"The guard's out of the picture."

Rook blinked. "What? Someone managed to kill him, after all that?"

"No..."

"Freak accident?"

"The guard's still alive," Quazier cut in, obviously angry about being interrupted. "But the thing is, the Heir hasn't been taking him around."

Rook frowned. "Traveling solo? Risky business," she muttered. "Maybe it's just a change in guard—old one retired, and they're getting someone new."

"I don't care what the reason is," the Trade Leader snapped. "I got reports of the Heir roaming alone over the last few days, and you need to strike now while we have the chance. Stop his meddling once and for all."

"Consider it done," Rook assured, fingering the shurikens attached to the inside of her vest. "What do you want me to do after that? Take care of that pesky healer who's been hoarding all your powered children?"

Quazier scowled. "Focus on the job at hand, Rook. The Healer's too heavily guarded, and he never leaves the West."

"So maybe I need to pay a visit to the West."

"I said no!" the man snapped. Rook's smirk faded, and Quazier fixed her with a dangerous look. "You do as I tell you girl. You know the consequences for breaching my orders."

"So serious," Rook muttered. "I'm capable of more than you'll let me do, you know. Keeping me in tents and caves...I could have been helping you for years, if you'd just let me."

"Please...you weren't nearly prepared enough for this kind of work until just barely...and even then, you have yet to really prove yourself. Besides, I didn't spend all that time and effort on training you for you to get killed in some reckless attack. Assassinations have to be carefully planned and thought through. You only get one shot, so you have to make sure the cause is worthy and the plan is flawless. I've told you what happened to that Western Leader who got cocky."

"Only a million times," Rook said, wishing she could avoid the lecture.

"Slave Trade is illegal, see? We're not trying to take over the realm...we're not going to go around killing people for fun. For all intents and purposes, we need to not exist."

"I get it."

"You get arrogant and start wiping people out, and people get suspicious. They start wondering where the threat is coming from, and they start trying to track it down. That's why we prey on the undesirables—if the only people missing are the ones no one will miss—"

"I'm aware of our code!" Rook snapped, pushing herself to her feet. "But killing someone as high-profile as the Oni Heir goes against that same code, wouldn't you say? He's no undesirable, and his parents are definitely going to start looking for a threat. We're going to have the whole army hunting us after he dies."

"Oh, they'll find the threat...but it won't be us," Quazier assured.

"Don't get me wrong...I'm all for the risk," Rook mused. "But you generally aren't. Why the sudden change of tactic?"

Quazier's expression darkened. "The boy's proving to be more trouble than he's worth. A slight investigation here and there, I can handle. The general inquiries from the Central Fortress forces don't keep me up at night. But the freakish prince has been become dogged these last few months, and he's starting to get a little too close to his mark. At this point, there's more risk in him staying alive than in him getting killed. If he manages to uncover what we've been doing all these years..."

"He must be smart, if he's managed to untangle your oh-so-infallible-web," Rook mocked, and Quazier glowered.

"Watch your sass," he hissed. "The boy's persistent, I'll give him that, but he's soft and naïve—he'll be easy to pick off without his deadly babysitter."

"That's too bad. I was looking forward to a challenge."

"This isn't a game, Rook—it's a job. One you can't mess up, or it will be all of our heads. A quick kill, no witnesses, dump the body in a sniffer cave. Think you can handle it?"

Rook rolled her eyes as she passed her leader and headed out into the unforgiving desert sun. "It's what you raised me for, isn't it?"

14

Dani met Amber at the door, and Amber frowned. "What?" the Oni asked, trying to interpret her roommate's expression. Dani didn't say anything, just smiling cryptically as she opened the door wider. The Oni came in, looking around to see if Dani had vandalized anything. Everything looked fine, but then Amber's gaze landed on the items sitting on her bed.

"What are these?" she asked, walking over in confusion. Dani didn't answer, and Amber glanced over at her. "Whistle-tips?" the Oni asked, having seen the logo on the black and silver box. "Aren't those the most expensive dance shoes on the market?"

"You'd know better than me."

Amber carefully opened the box, and her eyebrows raised as she caught sight of the beautiful pair of shoes inside. They were black patent leather with red stitching on the wingtips, and Amber ran a finger along the heel in awe. "Where on earth did these come from?" she demanded as she turned. "Whose are they?"

"They're obviously for you, Amber," Dani said with a smirk.

"From you? Dani, I can't accept—"

"They aren't from me. There's a tag next to the bag."

Amber blinked in surprise, noticing the professional dance bag for the first time. As she caught sight of the crimson poppy stitched on the front of it, she didn't even have to look at the tag. Amber's stomach clenched as she fingered the red stitching, flipping the card over to find the card embossed with a single golden character. "M." she muttered. "What on earth?"

"Poor Openheimer," Dani tsked. "He's got it bad."

"Got what bad?" Amber turned to frown. "What's he thinking, leaving these? Does he think that I can't afford my own stuff? Does he think I'm poor or something?"

"Mmmm...I'm going with 'or something'," Dani mused as she reached out to finger the card. "The punk's going about it all wrong, though."

"Going about what all wrong?"

"I think he's trying to flatter you."

Amber frowned. "With shoes?"

"If you want to know what's going on in Openheimer's head, then you're going to have to go pry it out of him yourself."

"Do you know what's going on or not?"

"I can't be your go-between," Dani said cryptically. "You guys need to communicate, face to face. No middlemen." Dani went to sit on her bed. "That's the only way that this is going to work out cleanly. Otherwise, things will get messy."

"Dani!" Amber said exasperatedly. "You're not helping! I should return these, right? Make him take them back?"

"I can't tell you what to do, Amber. Like Reggie Blue always says, the only path is the path we leave behind us in this ocean we call the sea."

"What?"

"I think it's something to do with creating your own destiny," Dani said. "That, or he was drunk when he wrote it. The point is, you and Openheimer have to work this out. If you want the shoes, then keep them, if you don't, give them back...but either way, you're sending a message to M."

"Messages through shoes?" Amber looked at the box one last time before pulling it and the poppy bag off her bed and stuffing them under her bed. "Why does everything always have to be so complicated?"

"What are you going to do?"

"Nothing!" Amber shoved both items as far under her bed as she could. "I'm not going to use them and I'm not going to give them back. I don't have time to worry about shoes and M right now—there's too much I've got to do." She sat on her bed with finality, and Dani nodded sagely.

"So... we're going the messy route."

"Slow down, Colby," Nya chided as she watched her son shovel in the food. "When I said I wanted us to eat as a family, I didn't mean that you could get out of family time by inhaling your spaghetti."

"You're getting sauce all over the tablecloth," May pointed out. Colby didn't reply, glancing at the cup of water not too far away from him. He didn't even dare drink it...even from here, the water inside seemed to twitch.

"You okay?" Jay asked from the other end of the table. "You don't look so good."

"It's because he's shoveling in his food. You're going to get cramps, eating like that," Nya lectured. "At least drink something."

Colby swallowed. "Not thirsty," he mumbled, glancing at his water glass again.

"Geez, you afraid someone poisoned your drink?" Mia asked. She was on one end of the table, surly due to her phone being revoked for family dinner. "What's so important that you have to get back to? Spilling more paint all over the place?"

"How was your date?" May asked. "Wasn't that yesterday? Did you ask Dani to be your girlfriend, or not?"

Colby broke out into a cold sweat, and he swore that his water glass shook slightly. "Yeah," he offered, not really listening. He jumped when the table broke out into cheers.

"It's about time!" Mia shouted.

"That's my boy!" Jay said. "Not that I ever doubted you—us Walker men are quite the catch."

"Thanks for dinner," Colby said, pushing himself to his feet as he went to escape.

"Woah, you can't leave us hanging!" Nya argued.

"Yeah! We deserve to know the juicy details, Colbes!" May added, reaching out to grab him.

"I have stuff to work on," Colby said, dodging his sister.

"What stuff?" Mia asked skeptically.

"Homework."

"You're sure acting jumpy...you sure Dani didn't break up with you and you're just trying to hide it?" Mia accused.

"She didn't break up with me," Colby scowled. "I have a lot of homework, and I need to get it done."

"Well, you're definitely hiding something," Mia said, narrowing her eyes. "You get all sweaty when you lie."

"Just leave me alone!" he growled, shoving past her to get out of the kitchen. There was a weird creaking from the walls, and he could still hear his family discussing it as he raced up the stairs.

"What was that?" Nya asked.

"Eh, just the pipes. Water heater must have turned on," Jay answered.

"Just wait until I unlock my powers...pipes creaking are going to be the least of your worries!"

Colby slammed the door behind him. He had sworn Dani to secrecy, and he wasn't about to come clean himself...but he wasn't sure how long he could keep this up. The worst part is that he wanted to be excited about his powers—honestly, he had never even dreamed that he would be an elemental master. However, the thrill of the discovery was completely tarnished by the fact that he knew how his family was going to react to it.

Theo flashed into his bedroom, feeling exhausted. He had gotten pretty good at jumping between his bedroom and the stables—it saved him from being caught in the hallways by parents, guards, and advisors.

The moonlight was coming in through his open window, and Theo frowned as he moved to close it. He couldn't remember leaving it open, but the latch hadn't ever really been the same since the rebuild after dragons had mauled his bedroom three years ago in an attempt to kidnap him. Good times, he thought irritably, closing the window firmly and latching it into place.

A scuff of a foot sounded behind him, and Theo managed to get the sword from its sheath in time to block the attack. For a moment, the Heir's heart raced, but then he caught sight of who was glaring at him in the dim lighting.

"Tolan? What the heck are you doing?"

"Where have you been, Freak?"

Theo scowled, lowering his sword and sheathing it. "You gave me a heart attack! What are you thinking, attacking me in the middle of the night?"

"You've been out in the realm for three days without me, Theo," Tolan said, pointing his sword at the Heir. "Do you want me to tell your parents the truth about our visits to the South? Because that's what's going to happen if you keep going off by yourself."

"I thought you weren't a snitch," Theo muttered. "Pulling the parent card?"

"This isn't a joke, Freak—you're going to get yourself killed." Tolan's sword was still pointed at Theo, and the Heir used one hand to move it out of the way to head toward his bed. "Remember our deal?" the guard pressed. "We could look into the slave trade, but only if I was by your side at all times. The second you went off on your own..."

"So tell them already," Theo challenged, turning to face his bodyguard. Tolan went silent, and Theodynn scowled as he sat on his bed. "Go ahead and tell my parents. What are they going to do? Lock me in my bedroom? A dungeon cell? Guard me with an entire army? I can transport wherever I want, Tol. My parents couldn't keep me here if they tried."

"But they could revoke your title."

Theo fell quiet, and he finally shook his head slowly. "They wouldn't—"

"You're so sure? If you're playing the long game, Freak, then prepare for the hard decisions." Tolan sheathed his sword at last, though his expression was still a mask of anger and what seemed to be disappointment. The disappointment was what made Theo bristle, and his bodyguard huffed. "I'm not going to sit by and watch you get yourself killed. Go off into the realm without me again, and your parents and I are going to have a very long talk."

Theo stared at his guard with betrayal. "Glad to know I can trust you," he muttered sarcastically.

"My job is to protect you, Freak—preserving your life is my first and only priority. Everything else comes second. Sorry if that hurts your feelings, but your life is more important than your ego right now."

"Tolan—"

"You better be here when I come to pick you up in the morning, or it's going to all come out," Tolan cut in. "And for Ancient's sake, get your window fixed. Someone could break into this room in their sleep."

The man shifted the glasses up his nose as he traveled down the hallways. Normally he would have taken the time to gaze through the various windows he passed to check up on the projects being attempted inside, but he was currently glued to the screen of his phone, frowning thoughtfully.

Someone crashed into him...or perhaps he was the one who did the crashing. Regardless, the other person took the blame. "Sorry, Doctor Zerek!"

"Not a problem," the man mumbled, stepping around the younger scientist without giving him a second glance. At last, he reached his private office, and he pulled the door closed. The lights flicked on automatically with his presence, and he waved a hand to trigger the blinds on his large windows to close themselves.

He reached his desk and sank into his chair, pressing the replay button on the video for a third time. The segment was branded as some viral "comedy gold" bit, picked off of security cameras in some museum or other out in Ninjago. He watched as the grainy feed showed two older teenagers kissing on the edge of a fountain, only for the water of the fountain to turn against them. Laughing emojis littered the screen, and Zerek frowned as he tried to zoom in around the intrusive video-stickers. There, just as he thought. Though the quality of the footage could be better, there was no mistaking the fact that the water bent away when the young man onscreen threw up a hand.

The lead scientist finally clicked his phone off, tossing it onto the desk as he pushed himself to his feet. He walked over to the sleek black bulletin board mounted on one wall, studying its contents for a moment before reaching out to adjust the pictures pinned to it. A young woman with short hair tipped in blue was moved down to the bottom of the board, replaced by a stockier teen with curly hair and freckles. After firmly attaching the picture of the newest confirmed elemental master, Zerek deftly slipped a golden pen from his pocket so he could scrawl on the base of the boy's high-school photo. Water.

Capping the pen, the scientist stepped back to take in the whole picture. Water had joined fire and lightning at the top of the board—three out of five confirmed. Zerek's brown eyes flicked across the photos in the next row—A school picture from Marty Openheimer's School of Performing Arts, a grainy screenshot of an Oni young man from news reports three years ago, and an intern profile from Zerek's own company.

The man went back to his desk, retrieving his phone. He typed in a number and tapped his leg impatiently while he waited for the answer. "Yus, hallo. Any vord from Agatha and our new intern? You know...vat's his name." Zerek snapped his fingers. "Julien. Yes, ze vun from Ninjago. Have zey reported in yet?"

He listened for a few minutes.

"Very vell. Schedule a time for Agatha to meet vith me ven she returns." He hung up the phone without allowing the person on the other end to reply, and glanced up at the bulletin board one last time. "Ve are getting zere," he mused softly.

Mia pushed her hair from her face as she sifted through the follower requests on Amber's profile. Not unsurprisingly, there were dozens of options to sift through daily. A lesser person would accept any and every follower for the sheer desperation for numbers, but Mia was trying to be a little more selective. After all, Amber still didn't know about this profile. Probably best to keep it limited to the classier fans and followers—she didn't want the Oni to end up with stalkers.

After selecting the last fan deemed worthy enough to follow the Oni, Mia clicked out of Vistachat. The profile was off to a great start, but there were definite gaps—especially since technically Amber should be making her own posts to her account. Or, Mia should at least get permission to post for her before becoming her social media campaigner. But what she doesn't know doesn't really hurt her...right? Ugh...time for a brain break.

Mia opened her Vidlife account, scrolling through the latest viral videos. "Seen it...seen it...gosh, they call Mr. Whiskers Tries Fancy Fromage new? That came out a week ago. Oh, what's this? 'The most epic fountain fail?'" The young woman clicked on the thumbnail, tapping her fingers on the desk while she waited for it to load. After a few seconds, the video popped up to show two figures sitting on the edge of a fountain. Mia watched for a moment, and then it occurred to her that the two figures looked familiar.

"Oh my gosh!" she said, pausing the video so she could zoom in. Despite the low quality, she laughed as she realized who the two figures were. "Colby, you idiot...can you not even go on a date without going viral for screwing it up? I feel like I shouldn't even watch this..."

She immediately pushed play, waiting to see what on earth was going to go wrong. Was he going to end up pushing Dani into the fountain? Did he fall into the fountain? He did come home wet from his date, didn't he? Mia had just assumed it'd been raining, or something. She hadn't really paid attention to the weather that day.

"Geez, Colbes, you call that a kiss?" she muttered. "Loosen up—she's not going to stay with someone who kisses like a brick wall." All of a sudden, the fountain the figures were sitting on seemed to get a mind of its own. Mia's eyebrows shot up as she watched Dani and Colby get blasted from their seats onto the grass. "Oh my word! No wonder he's been so moody—there's no way she stayed with him after he totally wrecked this date. I mean this totally..."

Her running critique of her brother's romantic skills petered out as something about the video seemed odd. She put the video back thirty seconds, watching it again.

"Wait..."

Mia's hands began to shake as she once again bumped the video backward. She zoomed in, her eyes scanning the screen.

"That's not...it can't be..."

Her mouth went dry, and the most horrible feeling began to spread through her whole body. Before she realized it, she had stumbled to the door, throwing it open as she screamed into the house.

"COLBY!"

"So...what is it, exactly?" Myrah asked. Her husband turned to give her a sheepish smile.

"A funeral," he tried. "For Baffa." The Western Leader blinked, and Hershel sighed. "You don't have to come, Myrah. Pippa just insisted—"

"The sniffer was a loyal companion. I don't mind coming to give him a proper send off," Myrah cut in. Her husband looked surprised, and she continued. "He saved my life, after all."

"He did? When?"

"When..." Myrah trailed off, her words suddenly stuck in her throat as she took in Hershel's puzzled expression. It suddenly occurred to her that she had never told Hershel about Bula—about her attacking her and Raiyn after he was born. About everything Myrah's ex-head-advisor had said and done. About what really happened to Hershel's father...

"Yes?" Hershel prompted, and Myrah blinked.

"I just mean, it felt like that. Before you came back, Baffa was a great comfort and support to Raiyn and I. We were never better protected." Myrah looked down at where Raiyn was walking, his hand holding hers. "He used to sleep next to Raiyn's crib every night. It helped me sleep better, knowing he was there."

"He was a member of the family," Hershel agreed softly. "Pippa was riding him around everywhere for as long as I can remember. It's strange, knowing that he's gone now."

"Baffa died," Raiyn agreed softly, and Myrah gave her son's hand a squeeze as they headed out of the fortress and down toward the crashing waves of the beach.

Eventually, they reached a group of people gathered around a pyre. Myrah was surprised by the pyre, and she could hear soft arguing as they drew closer.

"Burning is a high honor, Pip...it's reserved for those who have earned the highest merit..."

"Baffa did earn the highest merit!" the girl shrieked, and Myrah watched Syn put a hand on her husband's shoulder.

"It's not hurting anything, Tol."

"I'm not saying that Baffa wasn't important. It just feels...wrong."

"BAFFA WAS MY BEST FRIEND!" Pippa's scream echoed down the beach, and Tolan winced as his daughter dissolved into tears.

"Just let her have this, Tolan," another voice chimed in, and Myrah was surprised to see Theodynn standing nearby in the dusky lighting. She, Hershel, and Raiyn had reached the group at last, and Raiyn pulled from his mother's grip as he bolted for Pippa.

"Don't cry, Pip-pip!" he begged, embracing her tightly.

"We've got to get started," Syn prompted as she put her hands on Pippa's shoulders. "Baffa wouldn't want you to be sad."

Hershel moved over to talk with Pippa as well, while Tolan seemed to be trying to get the pyre to light. Myrah walked over to talk with Theoydnn, still surprised that he had come. "I didn't realize how close you were to the sniffer," she offered as she reached him. Theo glanced up and smiled grimly.

"Well...to be fair, I didn't know Baffa all that well. I'm mainly just here because Tolan had to be, and he threatened to chain me up in a dungeon cell unless I stuck with him for the next few days. Apparently, he's only going to be satisfied if I'm chained to him for the rest of my life."

"Have you made any progress in your research?" Myrah asked, dropping her voice as she kept a close eye on where Tolan and Pippa were arguing about the best way to light the pyre.

"No." Theodynn's tone was dark, and Myrah frowned.

"I haven't been able to dig much up either."

"Like this, dad!" Pippa yelled, and Myrah and Theo glanced over at the large flash of light. Tolan managed to get out of the way as Pippa's furious aura engulfed the pyre.

"There we go," Tolan said as he watched the wood catch fire at last.

"Was there anything you wanted to say, Pippa?" Syn prompted, and Syn wiped her nose with her sleeve as her tears glinted with the light of the burning pyre.

"Baffa was the best friend I ever had," she said. "He was the best sniffer in the whole entire world. He was good at running and fighting and digging. I will miss him forever." Her voice broke, and she turned to embrace her mother. The rest of the group was silent as the bundle on the top of the pyre began to burn, and then Pippa turned to face her father. "Your turn," she demanded.

"My turn?"

"You have to talk about Baffa!" his daughter demanded, the tears still running down her face. At first the guard was silent, and Myrah wondered if he was going to put his foot down. After a moment, however, Tolan sighed.

"I always felt better about you running wild in the realm, knowing that Baffa was with you," he offered gruffly before glancing at his wife for help.

"He was a good sniffer," Syn agreed. "And a good friend."

"A loyal protector," Hershel added, putting a hand on Pippa's shoulder.

Myrah watched as Pippa's family drew close around her, and she wondered if she should join. She had been saddened to hear of the Sniffer's death the day before, though not surprised. The poor creature had become quite old, and the last year especially had seemed difficult for him. However, the leader couldn't help but remember the devotion Baffa had shown, even in his old age.

Without him, Bula would have killed both her and Raiyn. Animal or not, he saved her life that day on the beach. The Western Leader had never in her life wondered if there was a departed realm for animals, but as she watched the pyre burn with the rest of her family, she hoped that there was some kind of reward waiting for the faithful beast.

15

"Why didn't you tell us?" Nya asked.

Colby stared at his hands, feeling the eyes of his family on him. They were all crammed into the small front room, having accosted him the second he had gotten home from high school. I knew I should have stayed away, he thought angrily. "Tell you what?"

"About this!" May said, and Colby glanced up at the tablet she turned around. He felt a flush run up his neck as he realized what the video playing was depicting.

"What the heck? Are you stalkers filming me now?" he demanded, his temper flaring as he jumped up to snatch the tablet away.

"It's not our video," Mia said from a corner chair where she was glaring daggers. Her voice was dangerously soft as she continued. "It's all over the internet—some security dweeb posted it and it's gone viral."

Colby's heart dropped to his shoes, humiliation mixing with violation as he stared at the video playing on the screen. All at once, his throat felt tight.

"Colbes, what we wanted to talk about is what the video shows," Nya said, having come over to put her hands on his shoulders. "Can you...are you..."

"You're an elemental master, aren't you?" Jay cut in. Colby didn't reply, his eyes glued to the screen as he watched the water twist and bend as he threw up his hand.

"I dunno."

"He's such a liar!" Mia's quiet calm shattered as she sat up. "He's done this on purpose!"

"He can't control if he's an elemental master or not, Mia," her twin argued.

"He's making it look like he's got elemental powers to make me look bad! There's no way he's the master of water—I'm the master of water!"

"Have you ever been able to control water?" Nya asked, turning to look at her daughter.

Mia flushed. "Garmadon says it's finnicky, remember? He said that sometimes it takes a while to make itself known..."

"But if Colby's moving water and you're not, that's a pretty good indication," May mused.

"Shut up! He's not moving anything! This whole thing is just some stupid prank—there's no way it's real."

"Mia..." Jay warned, while Nya squeezed her son's shoulder.

"Colby?" Nya prompted, but he stayed silent.

"This is just his poor attempt at trying to inflate his sad ego," Mia finished savagely. "Like Colby could ever handle being an elemental master!"

Colby felt a flash of rage, and he finally looked up. "I don't know what happened at the museum," he snapped, tossing May's tablet onto the couch. It's owner squeaked in anger, moving to retrieve it, but Colby ignored her as he glowered at Mia. "But it would serve you right to be powerless!"

Mia's eyes widened, and then her expression became murderous. "You stupid, fat—"

"That's enough!" Nya cut in, but she was quickly drowned out by Colby.

"I've had to spend my whole life on the sidelines—you deserve to get a taste of it!"

"Kids, calm—"

"I'm going to post all over the internet and expose you for—"

"Would everyone just stop yelling? You're going to make me blow the fusebox again!"

"Shut up, May!"

"You shut up!"

Colby moved to leave, his hands shaking with anger. He had known it was going to be messy when his family found out, but it made him furious to see how messy. He shoved past his sisters as he went to leave the house.

"Colby, get back here!" his mother ordered. "We need to talk about this!"

"Just leave me alone!" He made it to the door and slammed it behind him, no longer caring about what his family thought. Tears ran down his face as he ran down the street, not really sure where he was going. All he knew was that he couldn't spend another minute here.

"Neuro-technological blending. Could you imagine? If zis project by the NRF is feasible, it vould open an entirely new area of robotics! Just imagine ze possibilities!" Agatha was waving her arms around in excitement, nearly stabbing the waiter in the eye with her chopsticks.

"More water?" the young man stammered, barely missing the chopstick assault. Agatha turned to beam at him.

"No, zank you," she said kindly, gesturing to her glass, which was still full since the last time the waiter had filled it three minutes ago. Julien resisted the urge to roll his eyes. This was the hard part about dating someone as beautiful as Agatha—she got ogled everywhere they went.

"Our brains already work like machines...they are just made of flesh, rather than tech," Julien pointed out as he picked at his vegetables. "I feel that a neuro-tech fusion is not that far from what already exists. Why is Zerek so interested in it? It is not such an earth-shattering development as he makes it sound."

"How could you say zat? If zis project is viable, ve could develop androids zat could truly zink for zemselves! Zey vould have consciousness, morals, could make zeir own choices...gah! It vould be like creating life itself!"

"There are already androids like that in the world," Julien muttered.

"Allegedly!" Agatha laughed. "Oh, J.C. You know my opinion about Ninjago's supposed A.I.s. If somevone had truly cracked the code, ve vould have far more artificial intelligence spread zroughout ze realm." She slurped a few noodles daintily. "You cannot believe everzing you read on the veb. Zat's vhy I ignore ze internet completely."

"There is artificial intelligence in Ninjago."

"Nonsense. Zere is nozing more zan fancy programming—clever coding to make androids sound human. But zat doesn't mean zey can zink for zemselves."

"To merely consider them a well-made program..."

"An ingenious program!" Agatha cut in. "It vould take years to write a code so comprehensible as to appear artificially intelligent! But zese 'vigilante robot heroes' shown on ze news are nozing more zan a marketing ploy." Agatha took a sip of water. "I blame Borg industries, frankly. Zerek always said Borg was a "show-boat."

Julien sighed. "Agatha..."

"But vith this new technological breach, it could be possible to von day create androids zat truly could approach humanity. No vonder Dr. Zerek insisted ve attend ze seminar tomorrow at ze NRF."

Julien Cyrus gave up, setting his chopsticks to the side of his plate. Agatha noticed the action, and her beautiful smile faded.

"Vat's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Don't nozing me, J.C. You've got zat look on your face." Agatha studied him closely. "Is it because ve have to leave sooner zan I first told you? I vanted to stay in Ninjago longer—I zot for sure Zerek vould let us, since he vanted to know more about zis technology. But I got a call yesterday saying zat ve needed to return to MIRI as soon as ze seminar vas over."

"I am not upset about leaving," Julien assured honestly.

"But you haven't even gotten to see much of your friends, or your parents! I cannot believe zey have been so busy." Agatha dropped her voice to a whisper. "You don't zink zey are avoiding you, do you? Do you have a strained relationship, or somezing? Zeir excuses are beginning to sound rahzer far-fetched."

"My parents will understand." Julien dabbed at his face with a napkin. "Don't worry about them, or me. I think it best we get back to MIRI and finish my project there, at any rate."

Agatha didn't look like she believed him, and she reached out a hand to take his. "As soon as zis semester is over, ve vill come back. Zen you can spend more time vith your friends—you've hardly seen zem zis whole trip."

"I hardly see them anyway, except for occasional birthday parties or reunions," Julien Cyrus offered. "Honestly, I am sure that no one is disappointed that my stay could not be longer."

"I'm disappointed," Agatha frowned.

"Maybe there will be more time in a future trip. Like you said." Julien motioned for the waiter to return with the check, and Agatha sighed.

"Vell, at least ve have ze seminar tomorrow to look forward to."

"Yes...at least we have that."

The temple door opened, and Lloyd looked shocked as he caught sight of who was standing in the doorway. "Colby? Are you all right?"

"Can I stay here tonight?" Colby mumbled, feeling stupid. Lloyd seemed surprised by the question, but the green ninja opened the door to let him in.

"You're lucky I'm at the temple. I'm usually gone during the week."

"Saving the world?" Colby guessed. Lloyd smiled.

"Something like that. Crime never sleeps, and all." The blonde man led the way down the hall. "So...what's up? Can I get you something to eat, or anything?"

Colby shook his head, but his stomach growled and betrayed him. Lloyd smiled.

"I'll go make us some sandwiches," he offered. "Is there a reason you need to stay here tonight? Nothing's happened to your family, right?"

"They've all lost their minds, but other than that, they'll live," Colby muttered. Lloyd looked like he wanted to press further, but he finally just gestured to the stairs.

"You can go up and get settled in the study, if you want. The couches there are the comfiest, I've learned. I'll bring the sandwiches up."

Colby nodded his thanks and headed up the stairs. He didn't get very far before he came across the various pictures hung on the walls. He had been to the floating temple dozens of times, and the pictures had always been here. However, today he paused to actually look at them.

They depicted everything from pictures of the ninja, to portraits of the bounty cutting across the open sky, to landscapes of the many different places they had traveled. Colby's gaze lingered on a candid picture of the ninja training. Uncle Zane was jumping through flaming hoops in the background, extinguishing them as he went. Uncle Kai seemed to be on fire himself, with Colby's father laughing and his mother manipulating a large blob of water to extinguish her brother. Lloyd was watching from the sidelines, seemingly unsure whether to get involved or not. Uncle Cole was missing, and Colby wondered if he was the one taking the picture or if this had been taken after Cole had already moved to the other realm.

"You'd have thought it was their first day," Lloyd said, coming up behind him. Colby jumped, and as he turned, he noticed how wistful the green ninja looked. "Always messing around, but they could pull themselves together when they needed to. We were a great team."

"Do you miss it?" Colby asked, and Lloyd glanced over. He noticed a glimmer of sadness in the ninja's eye, and Lloyd sighed as he headed up the stairs.

"Yeah...but change is a part of life. People grow up, move on with their lives, and new generations begin." The Green Ninja met Colby's eye. "That's why you're here, right?"

"Um...I'm just here because..." Colby's voice trailed off, not sure what excuse to use.

"Your powers came in, didn't they?"

Colby looked up in shock. "What do you mean, my powers?"

Lloyd laughed. They had reached the top of the stairs, and he led Colby down the hall to the study. "You're the elemental master of water, Colby. As soon as the element transfers, it's your power."

"But...how did you know?"

Lloyd looked thoughtful. "Well...I guess I didn't know. But I always had a feeling. It's hard to explain. Water is a fluid element—it needs to be able to shift and change. Of all Jay and Nya's kids, you always seemed like the most likely one to attract the element of water."

Colby was quiet as he and Lloyd picked a couch, and his uncle handed him a plate with a sandwich on it.

"How did your family take the news?"

Colby's expression darkened. "Well...if it was possible to take someone's powers by killing them in their sleep, Mia would already be sharpening her knife."

Lloyd looked shocked, and Colby took a bite of his sandwich so that he wouldn't have to keep talking. For a few minutes, neither of them said anything while they ate, and Lloyd finally spoke up again.

"Back when the team was still, well, a team, they fought all the time. Sometimes it felt like they wouldn't ever reconcile—like the year after we thought we lost Zane. Cole and Jay couldn't even be in the same room as each other. But as bad as things got, everyone always came around." Lloyd sighed, setting his empty plate to the side. "It may seem like everything's changing and falling apart, but things always get worse before they get better. Your sister will come around...and I know your parents are proud of you."

"Goodie...they finally have a reason to be proud of me," Colby muttered. "It's probably easier to support a master of water than it is a failing artist. Who knows...maybe having powers will make up for the fact that I suck at inventing and engineering and most of the other skills they hold in high esteem."

"Your parents have always been proud of you," Lloyd countered.

"They've always tried...but there hasn't ever been much for them to be proud of."

"Colby..."

"So, can I stay here tonight?" Colby looked over at Lloyd pleadingly. "I don't want to go home, and I don't really have anywhere else to go."

"Text your parents and let them know you're here," Lloyd said. "I'll be calling them to let them know, so you might as well keep them informed."

Colby sagged, but he pulled out his phone. "If I text them, can I stay here?"

Lloyd smiled. "Yes. In fact, it will be nice to have the company."

The knock was timid, and Mia thought it had to be her father until the door opened and May stuck her head in. Mia acted like she couldn't see her in the reflection of her multiple computer screens. Mom and Dad must still be out looking for Colby, she thought angrily. Just like them to take his side.

"Hey, Mia...can we talk?" May asked. Mia turned, acting like she just heard her twin coming in.

"What's up?" she asked, pulling down her headphones. Her tone was overly sappy, and May furrowed her brow.

"Um, just wanted to check on you, I guess." May moved to sit in an extra swivel chair in the corner of the room, studying her sister closely. "I know you're mad about Colby, but—"

"I have a right to be mad," Mia snapped, her fake smile crumpling to a scowl. "He knows what he's doing is wrong, and I can't believe that all of you took his side."

"There are no sides in this!" the long-haired twin argued.

"Of course there are sides to this! Colby is trying to take my elemental birthright, and you guys—"

"There are no such thing as elemental birthrights, Mia."

"That's easy for you to say—you already got yours!"

"The elements only follow a few specific patterns when getting passed on. Did you pay any attention to the classes Sensei Garmadon gave us when we were young?"

"Elemental powers pass from parents to children," Mia recited. "Unless there are no direct heirs to be had. But Mom and Dad had us first. You may be the oldest, but I was right behind you. Colby didn't show up for years after that. The element wouldn't have skipped me!"

"We don't know enough about elemental power to really be able to—"

"Now you just sound like Julien," Mia sneered. "Acting like it's some big mystery that we can't understand, when everyone knows he's just too scared to ask his Dad to pass on his powers to him, since he has zero skills outside of nerdy—"

"There you go again," May cut in, her expression darkening. "I get you're upset right now, but you're being a real jerk."

"I'm being real! Sorry that I don't tiptoe around people's feelings." Mia turned back to her computer screen. "You sound just like I do, you know. You share just as many painful truths."

"There's painful truth, and then there's malicious back-biting," May said, folding her arms. "I'll admit that I was right with you back in our younger days, but at least I've grown up a little since then. But you—"

"Oh, thank you for those wise and comforting words of wisdom, dear older sister," Mia snapped, typing aggressively. "What a great pep-talk for your lesser, juvenile twin."

"That's what I mean! Mia, I'm trying to help. If you want to talk..."

"Oh yeah! You came to check up on me! You've spent so long judging and condemning me these last five minutes, I totally forgot." Mia opened a few more windows on her computer. "I'm fine, thanks for checking in."

"Glad to hear it," May snapped, just as sarcastically. "Now that I know you're doing great, I'm going to go find our younger brother before he runs off and does something stupid."

"Sure, why not? Everybody else in this family likes him better, so why would I think my own twin would—"

"Grow up, Mia," May cut in angrily, storming over to the door. "You're the one who was a total jerk earlier today, and most days. If you want people to take your side, maybe be on the right one to begin with." She slammed the door as she left, and Mia hunched over her keyboard as she continued to type furiously. However, it was hard to see what she was writing through the tears in her eyes that she refused to let fall.

"So...he's okay?" Nya asked. "He's here?"

"Upstairs," Lloyd promised, and Jay and Nya both relaxed.

"He just ran off," Jay pointed off. "Glad he went somewhere safe...even though it doesn't make much sense that he came here."

"We'll go talk with him and get him out of your hair, Lloyd," Nya said firmly. "I think it was just a bit of a shock, and we could have handled getting the news a little better."

"We should have known it was a mistake to let the twins in on the conversation at all," Jay mused, and his wife elbowed him in the stomach.

"This is a family matter, and we should take care of it as a family," Nya finished.

"I totally understand," Lloyd offered. "Though, if it's not too much effort on your end, I don't mind him staying here for a while."

Both previous elemental-masters looked shocked. "Why?" Jay asked, and Lloyd shrugged.

"Well, he's just unlocked his powers. They can be hard to manage when they first transfer, and it takes a while to really get used to them. I was thinking that I could help train him—it would save on accidents that would happen at your house."

"That does sound better from an insurance standpoint," Jay mused, earning him another elbow in the stomach.

"I'm a Master of Water," Nya argued. "I can train my own son, even if I don't have the actual powers anymore."

"I know you can," Lloyd said. "But maybe, given how strained everything is right now..."

"Strained? Things aren't strained. Our family is fine—we just have to get over the shock of the moment," Nya snapped, pushing past Lloyd to enter the floating temple. "Colby? Young man, get down here right now!" she called up the stairs.

"Nya, maybe we should consider letting Colby stay here," Jay cut in. His wife whirled on him.

"There's more important things going on here than insurance premiums, Jay!"

"I'm not talking about insurance!" her husband countered, looking hurt by the accusation. "I'm not sure that Mia and Colby are going to be able to play nice for a while. So unless we want to actually kick the twins out of the house, we may want to consider this a good compromise."

"Parents ship off son the second he develops elemental power," Nya said, putting her hands up in a mock headline. "That sounds really great, Jay. Parents of the year, right there."

"I think what Jay is trying to say is this might be a good way to get everyone used to the change, with distance to process," Lloyd offered. Nya turned to frown at him.

"Why do you want him to stay here? Won't he just get in the way?"

"Actually, it would be great to do something other than scanning the Ninjago criminal records and make appearances at various Ninjago Events," Lloyd admitted sheepishly. "After Ashley and May turned down my offer to train them in their elemental powers, I wondered if I would ever get the chance to teach someone."

"They turned you down?" Jay asked, surprised. "May never mentioned that."

"It makes sense why she did—she and Ashley are attending university, moving on to careers and the rest of their lives. Ninjago hasn't really had any major crime that couldn't be dealt with through the police force and my father and I's efforts. It's not like when we were a team, huh?"

"Yeah, no kidding," Jay mused. "It felt like we had a crisis on our hands every other week!"

"There hasn't really been a need for elemental masters for a while," Nya added softly, her expression flickering with sadness. "You know, as crazy as it was, sometimes I really miss it."

"Me too," Lloyd sighed. "But I guess I should be grateful that we've had so many years of peace."

"Does Colby even want to stay here?" Nya asked. Lloyd gestured to the top of the stairs.

"You could ask him yourself."

Nya and Jay looked up and saw their son loitering at the top of the staircase, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Colby!" Jay called. "Are you all right?"

"Fine." Colby wasn't meeting their eye, and after a moment, he cleared his throat. "Sorry I ran off."

"I think that everything got a little out of hand," his mother offered, climbing the stairs. "Let me get a look at you..."

"I'm fine, Mom. I didn't get hurt in the taxi ride here," Colby grumbled, but he didn't push her off as she took his face in her hands. Nya scanned him herself before sighing.

"You scared us to death, Colby. Running off and ignoring our calls?"

"I said I was sorry!"

"The important thing is that you're safe," Jay tried, coming up the stairs as he chuckled awkwardly. "So, Lloyd was saying something about you staying here to train?"

Colby shrugged, but Nya didn't miss the glimmer of hope in his eye as he looked at his father. "Would you guys even let me?"

"How would you get to school?" Nya asked. "This is pretty far out of Ninjago City, Colby. Elemental powers or not, you're not allowed to drop out. You do need to graduate."

"Why?" Jay mused. "We never graduated from anyplace."

Rather than elbow him again, Nya decided on a quick smack on the back of Jay's head instead. He grimaced as he rubbed the spot, and Lloyd chimed in.

"I'm sure I can figure out something with the school," the Green Ninja offered. "Maybe we can get his training signed off as work release, or an internship. He could do his schoolwork here and connect to his classes online."

"I feel like they couldn't really turn down the Green Ninja," Jay offered, though he moved away from Nya a few steps, as if not sure if that comment would get him smacked. It amazed Nya that her husband still didn't know what was and wasn't appropriate to say after all these years.

"So, can I?" Colby asked. "I wouldn't be a bother to Uncle Lloyd, I promise."

Nya glanced at her husband, he gave her his usual goofy smile. She sighed as she turned back to him. "Okay. BUT, I reserve the right to call you every day, and if the high school reports that your grades are going down..."

"They won't," Colby promised, and she watched her son sag in relief. Nya pulled him into a hug, sighing.

"Colby, we're happy for you and your new powers, you know," she said. "I'm sorry that back at the house things got so out of control, but—"

"I know," Colby cut in, but Nya couldn't shake the feeling that he didn't quite sound like he meant it.