Hello, Everyone! I'm actually on time! I hope you all have had a good week. Enjoy the chapter! :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago or the episode Queen of the Munce.


Chapter V: Queen of the Munce


Lloyd, Nya, and Jay followed the Munce through the dark caverns, nothing but a glowing green crystal lighting their path. Lloyd had held out hope that their missing friends would soon join them, but after two hours had passed, he realized that no one else was coming.

"I wonder what happened to the others," the youngest ninja said aloud.

"Yeah, I hope they're safe," Nya responded.

"I guess for now, we'll have to follow these guys. Wherever they're going," Lloyd continued as he looked to the Munce, continuing on.

"The others will be okay. Don't worry," Jay reassured them, although anyone who had known him as long as his brothers and yang did, knew that he just wanted them to be quiet, so he could stop thinking about his missing family.

Lloyd looked back from where they came for the umpteenth time, wishing that his brothers would appear behind the corner they just passed and said, "I hope so."

Realizing he was getting left behind, the green ninja rushed to catch up with the others, but they had stopped.

"Uh..." Murt vocalized as he looked around. "Hmm."

"Everything okay?" Lloyd asked. "Why'd we stop?"

"Murt not remember the way," Murt replied.

"What? I thought you knew these tunnels like the back of your hand," Jay remarked.

The Munce was confused by this as he looked at the back of his hand. He did not know it very well.

When Jay face palmed in response to his confusion, Murt looked up, feeling rather annoyed and said, "It's one of these. Either this way, or this way, or this way," he said as he pointed to the three pathways in front of him.

"Yeah, um, we figured it was one of them, Murt, but we kinda need to know which one," Lloyd replied.

"How about this way?" Murt asked as he pointed to the pathway behind them.

"That's the way we just came."

"Oh, great! Now we're gonna get lost down here, we're never gonna see the sun again, we're all gonna-" Jay started to ramble, but he was soon interrupted by Nya, who said, "It's this way, Guys!"

"How do you know?" Jay asked as everyone walked over to the water ninja, who was currently bent over the ground, examining something.

"I can see footprints in the dirt," Nya answered as she pointed a green crystal torch towards the large footprints in the ground.

"Oh! Nice work, Nya!" her yin complimented. "See? I told you it would be fine!"

Nya just shared an annoyed look with Lloyd as Jay ran through the path with Murt.


The path was very long and rocky and bare, but when they finally made it through, the ninja and Munce were greeted by a beautiful rock palace with giant green crystals surrounding it and lighting the whole cave up. It looked to be the perfect underground home.

Everyone marveled at the little rock kingdom that was bustling with Munce that made their way towards and away from the palace and surrounding rock homes. The guards to this palace noticed the ninja coming towards them and became very protective of their proud home.

"Halt! Who goes there!" the two guards asked as they placed their halberds in Murt's way.

"Where?" Murt asked.

"There!" one of the guards told him.

Murt looked down to the ground, once again frustrated by his own confusion when Lloyd tried to help.

"He means you, Murt."

"Oh. Murt goes there!" the Munce stated proudly.

"Murt? Son of Murt?" another guard asked.

"You escaped from the Skull Sorcerer?" the first asked. "How?"

Murt gestured to the three ninja behind him, who smiled sheepishly. Even after so many years of being thanked for things, it still felt awkward.


Glad to have Murt back and thankful to the ninja who had saved him, the guards let them through. They led the ninja, Murt and other Munce through a rocky hallway before opening two very large wooden doors.

"My Queen! We have visitors," they announced.

The queen sat in a throne made of tree roots and wore a sack dress. Her black hair was tied in a bun, and her smile revealed a toothy grin as she gasped in delight.

"Murt!" she exclaimed.

"My Queen," Murt bowed upon reaching the foot of her throne. "Murt escape with help of these moutsiders."

"How?" the queen asked. "No one has ever returned from the caverns held by the Skull Sorcerer."

"If you wish to hear story, Murt will tell," Murt told her.

"This should be interesting," Jay whispered to Nya, only for her to shush him.

"Tell!" the queen ordered.

Everyone turned to Murt in anticipation, and he told the story.

"We were like so. Many days. Always thunk, thunk thunk," Murt said as he swung his arms downwards, "and then they came." He gestured towards the ninja and continued saying, "And the Skull Sorcerer was like so," as he waddled over with his arms and legs out wide. "And the ninja went like this and this," as he imitated some of their fighting. "And then, caught like so. Thunk, thunk, thunk!" as he repeated the same motion as earlier. "But then, this! And then, they fought, and like so. And like this," as he imitated their spinjitzu. "And the Skull Sorcerer was like this." Suddenly, Murt started screaming and wailing as he threw himself on the ground and had a mini tantrum.

"Murt? You okay?" Nya asked. She couldn't tell if he'd hurt himself after all that imitation or if he was still imitating.

"And so it was. We are free, thanks to them," Murt finalized his story.

The queen jumped from her throne and down to the ninja's level to ask, "This is true? You are ninja from the surface? And you freed my subjects?"

"Uh..." Lloyd was still trying to figure out how she understood his story without context.

"Yes, it is! Your Majesty," Jay quickly added as to not be rude.

"I am most grateful," she said as she turned to Jay directly now. "How can I repay this?"

"Oh, no, it was nothing. Forget it."

"You are also modest, I see."

"Well, modesty prevents me from agreeing, but...yes."

"And who is this?" she asked as she looked to Nya in distaste. "Your servant?"

"Servant?" Nya asked, shocked that the queen would say such a thing.

"Oh, oh! No, no, no! This is Nya. My yang," Jay explained.

"Yang?" the queen drew out the word, trying to understand it.

"It means we belong together!" Nya replied as she pulled Jay in close.

The queen seemed upset by this, but she turned her back to the ninja and started telling her guards what to do.

"Make our guests comfortable," she told them. "Give them whatever they wish. Our best quarters, food, drink. Even for the yang servant."

Nya pulled Jay even closer, causing him to fear for his life, but it wasn't until they were in their quarters that Nya started her long awaited ramble.

"Yang servant?" she asked. "Can you believe that?"

"Actually, I think it went pretty well," Lloyd said calmly. The best thing he could do at this moment was try his best to keep the peace. Besides, he did really think it went well.

"And you didn't say anything!" she started yelling at Jay.

"What? No! I totally did!" Jay tried to defend.

"Will you guys relax? This is good," Lloyd cut in. "They might be willing to help us. And we could use all the help we can get right now. Finding the others, dealing with that Skull Sorcerer guy, and-Hey, look," his tone grew softer as he noticed something on the wall behind the couple. There was a painting of a ninja surrounded by clouds of fire with nothing but two swords to protect him.

"That must be that Milly guy," Lloyd concluded.

Suddenly, a Munce cleared his throat, gaining the ninja's attention and said, "Queen Murtessa asks if you would dine with her."

"Of course. We would be honored," Lloyd said as he and the others walked over to the door where this Munce was located. He pointed his weapon at Lloyd's chest, though, and said, "No. Not you. Just him," as he pointed towards Jay.

"That's it! You tell the queen we're a team! Where he goes, we all go," Nya protested. "Right, Jay? Right?" she pulled on his shoulder as he was about to walk away, causing him to scream in pain. He got over this quickly, though, and said, "Right!" as he nodded towards the guard.


The guard agreed and escorted all three ninja to the dining room, which was just the throne room with a table to the side. Queen Murtessa was waiting for them there with a bowl of who knows what.

"Bring another two bowls," was her annoyed response when she saw that Nya and Lloyd entered behind Jay.

When the ninja were served their food, Jay watched as a fly came from Lloyd's food over to his, only for his food to eat the fly.

"What is this?" Jay asked.

Nya sniffed hers and nearly gagged. "I have no idea," she replied.

"Oh! I think it's trying to eat me," Jay remarked before throwing up a little in his mouth.

"Is it true you know spinjitzu?" Queen Murtessa asked, ignoring the quiet comments about the food.

"Uh, yes," Jay answered.

"And you have elemental powers?"

"I-I do."

"We all actually-" Nya started, but Queen Murtessa interrupted saying, "I hope you will show me, Ninja Jay. I would love to see a demonstration."

"Oh! Um, okay. Um. How about this?" Jay activated his power and threw the lightning at a crystal above. Immediately, the room lit up in a beautiful blue light show as the lightning danced from crystal to crystal.

"Oh, gee. Um...That doesn't usually happen," Jay said awkwardly. He really didn't know what to think about this.

"It is beautiful!" Queen Murtessa marveled. "I have never seen such beauty. Truly, you are gifted. Brave, modest, and powerful! Tell me, are you...betrothed?"

"Yes! He is! To me!" Nya yelled as she got in Queen Murtessa's face, who had since walked all the way over to Jay.

"So, um, what is this wonderful food?" Lloyd asked, trying to ease the tension.

He was seriously about to take a bite of it when Queen Murtessa kicked the plate off the table in her anger.

"Oh, thank goodness," Lloyd breathed in relief as Queen Murtessa started yelling at Nya saying, "I demand the Munce rite of ritual combat to fight for the honor of Ninja Jay, for you are unworthy!"

"Are you nuts? I'm not gonna fight for Jay!" Nya exclaimed.

"Why not? Are you afraid? You hide behind others like a child?"

Lloyd could tell his older sister was getting very angry and started saying, "Nya, come on, don't-it's-it's not worth it."

"Like frightened child?" Queen Murtessa continued. "Child!"

"That's it! Bring it!" Nya accepted.


The master of water was given armor the Munce had found during their mining days, and she was now being allowed to pick any weapon of her choice from what was known to the Munce as the meapon cave.

"Nya, you can't do this," Lloyd protested once they were finally without Munce supervision.

"Yeah, Nya. There's gotta be a better way," Jay agreed.

"Well, if you figure it out, let me know," Nya said as she took a silver shield to match her armor. "Jay, has it occurred to you what would happen if I didn't fight?"

It had not occurred to Jay, but he wasn't going to admit it.

"You'd have to stay here, forever! She wants you to be her king, or whatever the Munce call it!" Nya exclaimed.

"King? Me?" Jay asked. "I would have to stay down here? Forever? Eating that disgusting Munce food?"

"Yes, Jay," Nya replied.

"You have to win this, Nya! This is serious!"

"Oh, I intend to," Nya replied as she stole one of the Munce guard's spears and walked into the battle arena.


Jay and Lloyd ran up to the stadium and watched as Queen Murtessa came into the arena through a cloud of green smoke. Before the battle started, she looked up to the ninja in the stadium and said, "Ninja Jay! I challenge this moutsider creature to combat, for you! I wish you to be my king, for even though you have tiny arms and a ugly human face, you have a stout heart and are a mighty warrior! We should be together!"

"Not if I can help it!" Nya replied as she put up her hood, which was now adorned in its own armor that made her look like a cross between a ninja and a knight.

"Let the combat begin!" Queen Murtessa announced.

She hit her weapon, two clubs onto the ground, and the fighters began circling each other.

"You asked for it, Lady," Nya growled.

"For what?" Queen Murtessa asked.

"For this!"

Nya jumped at the queen, only to be hit down by the clubs, and she dropped her weapons. The queen tried to pound her with her clubs by jumping down onto her, but Nya rolled out of the way and picked her spear back up. The queen tried to hit her again, but Nya jumped out of the way and got ready to dodge again as Queen Murtessa began running, but she wasn't running for long. The queen suddenly dropped her clubs and began using some very awkward and distracting movements.

"What the-?" Nya asked, but she was suddenly cut off when Queen Murtessa rolled up into a ball and crashed into Nya like a bowling ball.

"Nya!" Jay exclaimed when he saw this.

"Quit that!" Nya yelled. "That's not how you fight!"

Queen Murtessa continued with this for a while, not giving Nya a chance to even attempt to fight back.

"Lloyd, I'm scared," Jay told his little brother.

"Relax. Nya's got this," Lloyd replied, only to see a number of reasons to believe the opposite take place in the arena. "I hope."

Finally, Queen Murtessa stopped a moment to catch her breath, giving Nya the time to stand up and said, "Okay, Lady. Let's see how you like it when I spin! Ninja go!"

While Nya went into her spinjitzu tornado, Queen Murtessa became a human bowling ball once again, and the two went at each other. Only, this time, Nya got out of her spinjitzu just in time to kick Queen Murtessa in the chest, knocking her against the nearest wall, and she was rendered unconscious.

The crowd began whispering amongst themselves, shocked at what they had just seen take place.

"See?" Lloyd told Jay.

"The queen. She-she," a nearby guard started.

"She has lost," another finished his unbearable sentence.

"The queen has lost," another yelled. "Long live the queen!"

"Queen Mya!"

"Queen Mya!"

"Queen Mya! Queen Mya! Queen Mya!" the crowd started chanting as the water ninja took off her hood, revealing the shocked expression she wore on her face.


#God'sNotDead