Monty let his head hang as he looked down towards the counter of the shop. The shop was always the same,. There was hardly ever a change in the big goods in the store unless some collector was coming by. No matter how many purchases he handled, the sights never seemed to change. There was the box of aeroblades that he never touched in fear of finding out if a prick was enough to end him, there were the same flags on the wall he never cared to research, the fake Serpentine Staffs Ronin had up until he could work out where the ninja kept the real ones… there was the same everything.

Nobody ever came in the shop, or at least not enough to stave away Monty's eternal boredom. Stiix was always the same backwater town that nobody ever wanted to visit. Monty was pretty sure at this point that nobody even cared to put it on a map given how many clients that contacted Ronin didn't know where his shop actually was.

Stiix was the same, just like Ninjago.

It was almost funny how easy life slid back into place. The Overlord was gone, and aside from Morro going around and flaunting his new golden robes, nothing seemed to have changed. It didn't matter that Monty had been inside the Overlord when he was burst, it didn't matter that he'd felt that darkness and felt the way that Garmadon was drowning in it. Ninjago picked up the pieces and not more than a week later, everything was just back to normal.

Monty half wished that it wasn't normal. Part of him wished that something else would come down for him to go and have some fun. Those Stone Warriors had been great to test his wind powers on, even if he couldn't fully take them out. Possessing one was even more fun, as their intellect was so simple it was like taking control of a machine. Of course, once they were given more dark matter he found his control was far harder to maintain, but he wanted to try again.

He wanted to be able to do something again.

"Hey, kid!" Just in time. Monty slid his head to the right to see Ronin leaning up against the entrance to the back rooms. Monty let out a small yawn and pushed himself upright. Even if he didn't need to sleep nor even need to feel tired, it seemed some human characteristics just hadn't had the proper number of years to be fully forgotten.

"What, Ronin?" Monty stretched his arms out, "I'm watching the shop, just like you asked."

"Yeah, I could tell by your go-get-'em customer service attitude there," Ronin held something up, "Here, I got this for you."

Monty looked it over. Ronin was holding a flashy blue cape, the colors fading from blue into indigo moving to the tips. The cloth looked heavy and firm, something that was meant to keep a general shape and not easily be flapped around. Monty stared at it for a few minutes, his eyes appraising it. He used his wind to gently lift the side of the cape to show that the colors were mirrored on the other side.

"I wanted a side cape…" Monty groaned, "The material looks good though."

"Yeah, I thought you could cut it in half and use half as a side cape and then like, I dunno, use the other half for a flag or something," Ronin smirked, "I mean, you already got your windy thing, having a flag wouldn't hurt you would it?"

"Sure, that way when they shoot at me for raising my banner they'll be too shocked at me still moving to fight back," Monty took hold of the cape from Ronin by using his wind to pull it over, gently running his hand over the material to appraise it. Ronin watched him do so with his simple smile that he always seemed to have.

"I'd have to stitch it myself if I cut it in half, you know," Monty groaned, "Way more work."

"I know you have an entire chest just for that," Ronin chuckled, "I'm the one that stole it for you, after all."

"So, you got me a gift knowing that I'd have to do work on it just to make it usable? Wow, you really understand how to give a gift, Ronin!" Monty waved an arm sarcastically.

"Well you certainly got the gift of gab there," Ronin smirked at him, "I knew you wanted the material, it was the best I could do."

"If it's the best you could do, then I guess it'll work," Monty shrugged his shoulders.

"Thought you'd say that," Ronin crossed his arms, "So, you also wanna get out of this shop?"

Monty raised an eyebrow, "What, you got someone coming after you and need protection?" Monty reached down to draw a revolver from his belt.

"Nah, I got a new client for us. Turns out that the Master of Form, the first one, had this big cache of treasure hidden out in the frozen wastes. Hid it real good so only a Master of Form could find it. We're gonna meet this woman named Chamille up there, she's the current Master of Form," Ronin smirked, "And yeah, she's pretty."

"We're not getting into another fight with some jealous boyfriend, Ronin," Monty stretched his back, "So, you want me to go to a place of frozen water and help some stranger find a cache of treasure? How about I go get you an iron suit and ask you to go fish me out some slag from Torchfire Mountain?"

"Look, I know that snow doesn't hurt you unless it melts. I'll make sure to give you stuff so you don't get wet, alright?" Ronin leaned forward, "You honestly think I'd take my partner into a death trap?"

"Depends, have I done anything to tick you off these past few days?" Monty asked pointedly.

"Nah, not yet. And I know that you might want another reason to come, so…" Ronin paused, "The first Master of Form is always drawn with a big flowing cape."

"...A cape you say?" Monty asked quietly, "How big?"

Ronin tossed a piece of parchment onto the counter in front of Monty. Monty slowly set aside the cape Ronin had given him and unfurled it. It was clearly a cut out of a larger parchment, showing a figure depicted in lavender colors. They were standing atop a hill, and from the definition of their torso, Monty guessed they were male. But his eyes were drawn to the fact they were wearing a cape that was billowing out in the wind, clearly one that could easily wrap around their entire body. Monty stared at it for a few minutes, deducing its size, what it was likely made out of and anything else he needed.

"I know that after all that stuff with the Overlord you've kinda been cooped up in here," Ronin rubbed his head, "Figured that you'd wanna go out and get out of this place. Plus, you know, I know you love your-"

"When do we leave?" Monty rolled up the parchment and tossed it back to Ronin.

"Tomorrow morning," Ronin waved his hand, "Come on, we're gonna make sure we outfit REX for the Frozen Wastes. It can get pretty intense up there. It's gonna be a cold one."

It was raining again.

The ghost curled up in the cave. The cave mouth curved slightly down, meaning he had to push his body fully back up into the wall. At times, his back would phase through the muddy wall behind him. It took concentration to keep his body from randomly going through things now.

Lightning lit up the dark cave, followed by a crash of thunder that would have rattled the ghost's bones if he still had them. He just curled up even more in response to it. The last village had gotten frightened when he entered. A roof over his head would have been nice. At the very least he would have appreciated a cloak to give him some protection from the rain.

The water poured further down into the cave. The ghost nervously raised his hand and unleashed a stream of wind. Using it felt strange, as if he had been given a weapon too large for him. But it was all he had now, and at least it seemed to compliment his body having little mass. He didn't like the way that it felt when he used it either. It wasn't his power, and yet it had somehow replaced it.

When the rain stopped, he'd keep moving. If he kept going for a few days he'd eventually reach Jamanikai Village. He had wanted to stay at the last stone-walled village, but once the leader had returned he'd been run off. At least he'd been given a cape from one of the mothers there. Even if he couldn't feel warmth, it was at least enough to give him the impression of it now. It seemed caves and such would be all he could do until he managed to get his hands on something.

A bright light illuminated the cave. The ghost raised his hand to cover his face as the light poured in. It was slightly yellow, meaning it couldn't be from thunder. He stood up slowly, tightening the cape he had around his shoulders. He hadn't even taken the time to tie it around his shoulders, afraid if he let go, it would be gone.

"Heya!" A cheerful and rough voice called out from the light, "Heh, finally found ya. Man, seems like the Wandering Spirit is a pretty accurate name. Had to wander around this entire place just to find you!"

The ghost watched as a figure in shadow stepped forward. The light dimmed down enough to show it was coming from a set of headlights on a strange ship. The ship was behind several trees, hovering just above the ground. The figure, once the light died down, was revealed to be wearing a set of strange green plate armor. HIs hair was orange, a strange eyepiece covered his right eye, and as he walked, he was smiling hard.

"What do you want?" The ghost groaned, "Can't a ghost sleep in his cave in peace?"

"This is your cave? Huh, could've mistaken it for all the other ones around here," The man laughed, "How about we get you out of the rain?" His hand, dripping with moisture, reached forward. The ghost immediately drew back and thrust the cape in front of him.

"Ah, don't like water then?" The man shrugged, reaching out to remove a glove, extending the dry hand into the cave mouth, "Some stories said ghosts hate water. There, how about now? I'm Ronin, by the way. Mind if I give you a lift…?" Ronin trailed off, as if asking for a name.

"L…." The ghost tried to bit his tongue; it was still habit at this point, "...Montgomery."

"Montgomery?" Ronin shook his head, "Sorry bud, I ain't calling you that. Way too long. How about Monty?"

"Monty?" Ronin's voice cut through Monty's sleep.

Monty slowly groaned, lifting himself up from behind his chair. REX's viewscreen was completely covered in snow flurries beating against the glass. The sky was completely white, making the ground and horizon seemed to blend into one another indistinctly. The cockpit's heaters were going hard, furiously trying to provide warmth to the human inside. Ronin was crouched down overtop of the sleeping ghost.

"Ugh... " Monty groaned, looking around and snatching a rifle from the wall to help push himself up, "Been awhile since I slept last. Looks like I was out for awhile…" He yawned again, pushing his body upright and staggering up to his feet.

"Yeah, heh, I think the last time you did was to fool that security guard," Ronin's smile dropped, "Then you actually fall asleep."

"We got out of that jail and you don't have any room to complain about how we did," Monty hissed at him, "I was bored I guess, it's no big deal."

"I guess so," Ronin narrowed his eyes, "You sure that thing with the big guy-"

"You got that gear you said you'd make for me?" Monty asked, making Ronin sigh.

"Yeah, I did kid, it's in the back," Ronin hit a button on the wall, causing the door to the cargo area to slide shut, "Figured you'd want something that'll protect you. They usually make them for people going to really dangerous places, but well, you know."

Monty rolled his eyes and walked back to an open crate. Inside was a massive set of green coats and pants, clearly meant for arctic expeditions. The large hood in the front had what looked almost like a plastic screen that was attached inside it. With strings on the wrists and ankles to sinch them down, it was essentially a sealed outfit.

"It's green," Monty turned, "Funny. And how am I supposed to wear my cape with this?"

"You're not," Ronin chuckled, "Sorry kid, you're gonna have to go cape-less on this one."

Monty let out a string of obscenities, but obliged, dropping the new side cape Ronin had gotten him. He slid the outfit on by simply walking into it and then shifting his body until it was one right. It was a tad bit heavy, but it was better than walking outside in what to Ronin would be comparable to sweltering heat. Once he slid it on, he walked back into the cockpit and slid the rifle's strap over the suit's shoulder, quickly loading up the pockets with guns from various compartments.

"Think you're gonna need all of those out there?" Ronin himself had just finished sliding on a similar suit with two swords and whatever else he had on his person hidden from sight, "We're raiding a temple, not storming a palace."

"Can't hover with this weight on me," Monty shook his head, "And possessing clothes won't do much. Better safe than sorry," He popped a clip out from a pistol to check it, then shoved several filled clips down into the coat as well.

"The weight might be better if you weren't carrying enough firepower to take out the Emperor's entire guard," Ronin pointed out, walking back into the cargo hold and looking to the shell around the back, "You ready?"

Monty finished loading up his guns and turned to Ronin, "You got all the climbing tools?"

"Already ahead of you," Ronin patted his back, showing himself to be wearing a backpack, "Got all we can need in here. If we find something we'll wait till the storm backs out and then bring REX in to load it up. Chamille is waiting for us outside."

"Just remember," Monty frowned, "If the storm is bad enough we can't call REX."

"I know kid, I know," Ronin opened part of the shell, causing snow to come blasting in towards him. His voice switched from talking to a crackle inside of Monty's helmet, "Got comms in there, let's go see about this treasure and cape!"

The two stepped down from REX, revealing that Ronin had parked it underneath a sloped hill to try to shield it from the storm. It wasn't nearly large enough to fully cover the thing, but it was enough that it would give the ship protection from the brunt of the elements.

"Heh, you guys sure take awhile!" A female voice called out to the two as they stepped out, "Lucky we're not on any sort of schedule here."

Monty turned to see a woman that had to be Chamille. The woman was somewhat small and thin, her difference in size emphasized by standing beside Ronin. She wasn't wearing a coat, and instead across her body, she had white fur sticking up from around a simple set of purple tight pants and a shirt tied up with what looked to be a cross between a corset and sash. She wore a massive grin with fur encroaching on the sides of her face. When she saw Monty, she laughed.

"You all nice and cozy in there, ghosty boy?" Chamille chortled at his appearance, "You sure you going to be able to function out here with that?"

"I think I'm going to be just fine here," Monty groaned, "Better for me to be like this then dead."

"Lay off the kid, Chamille," Ronin shook his head, "I brought all the gear that you said we'd need. You have any idea where that cache might be?"

"Yeah, I finally got ahold of some documents that gave us a rough location," Chamille shook her head, "The reason nobody has ever found it is because it's probably just bathed in form."

"So, you can shapeshift other things than just yourself?" Monty crossed his arms.

"Yeah, what about it?" Chamille shrugged, "I'm pretty sure that I have enough power to get into the entrance. We just have to find it. Once we're there, all I gotta do is feel where the power is and then open it. You two go in and see what you find, and that'll be that."

"Wow, I'm so impressed that Ronin and I get to be apart of that brilliant plan. Let's walk right up to the front door, hope we can get in, and then let us do the work. You're really a tactical mind over here, Chamille," Monty scoffed, "How exactly are we going to get there in this freezing wasteland?"

Chamille rolled her eyes and slowly got down on all fours. Monty gave her a long look of boredom right before her body began to shift again. Her clothes seemed to morph and fit along with her as she changed into a white furred bear. She stamped the ground a few times with her paws, getting her balance it looked like, before turning back to them.

"I'm running," Her voice came from the bear's mouth uncannily, "You two get that thing."

Ronin whistled, showing he was sitting aboard a half tracked vehicle. The front were two massive skis, giving the thing a forward rake, while a massive windscreen protected the driver. The large black pad was big enough for both of them and their gear. The bear Chamille just smirked at them creepily before she kicked up snow and got in front of them.

"Come on, we got about six more hours of daylight, I would prefer we find it before we have to go in for the night. I doubt you two brought any of that sort of thing, didya?" Chamille laughed before leaping forward to run off into the snow.

"I always bring tents, plus this place is full of little places we could make camp otherwise," Ronin reached forward to take the controls, but Monty was faster.

"Hold my stuff," Monty ordered, right as his arctic gear crumpled. His body phased into and possessed the sled, causing the engine to roar to life and the handles to begin turning on their own. Ronin just grumbled and strapped the gear down to the sled as Monty caused the thing to gun forward.

The landscape around them truly was a wasteland. The ice sheets stretched as far as the eye could see, and even when the flurries started to subside to let them see the sky above them, there were no clouds in it. As the three made their way across the icy plains, only the occasional formation or hill would break up the monotony. Ronin had his compass out to see the direction they were moving in, while Monty was simply focusing on keeping the sled moving.

Chamille seemed never to tire as they ran. With Monty focused on driving, the boredom didn't set in until at least an hour of driving. Soon enough, without sights to see, he could only focus on just keeping the thing moving. After a second hour of driving them, Monty was beginning to wonder what Chamille was playing at. He revved the engine a few times, making Ronin reach down and grip the handles. Monty appeared back in his clothes behind Ronin like a phantom, appearing inside them and looking to Ronin with a groan.

"You drive," Monty yawned, "I'm bored."

"Still tired?" Ronin took a few moments to reorient himself, his comm coming in clearly, "Don't go sleeping right now, kid. I don't think I can drive this thing and keep you from falling off at the same time."

"I'll stay awake, Ronin," Monty rolled his eyes, "What do you take me for here?"

"A ghost that normally doesn't sleep and for some reason is acting like he's going to pass out," Ronin pointed out, "Chamille says we'll be there soon."

"Where'd you even meet this Chamille girl, anyways?" Monty scoffed, "If she just another girl that promised to get you rich if you did what she said? You know the last one left you tied up in an alley and took all your stuff."

"Hey, that's why I carry my wrist knife now and don't take drinks from a girl without testing them with powder first!" Ronin chuckled somewhat, "Keeps me on my toes too. Going out drinking has never been so interesting! Well, you know, except when you're there."

"Well every girl wants to know what it's like to kiss a ghost, apparently it's all something special now," Monty rolled his eyes, "Plus we have to know if the drink is water based or not first."

"The strongest drinks only have like, what, ten percent water?" Ronin laughed, "We both know that you can handle small amounts of water like I can poison by now!"

The bear Chamille growled in front of them, looking back at them. Ronin looked up to see the two had come up to what looked like a massive lake filled with broken chunks of ice floating across the surface. Wind blew across the chunks, causing snow to blow up into the air and come floating back down, only to get blown up once more. The water was near crystal clear underneath the ice. Just seeing it, Monty suppressed a shudder.

"Alright," Chamille called as she ran up alongside them, "All the reports of the temple say that it should be around here. Most of them say that this was the moat around it. Let's split up and circle the whole area to be sure!"

"Kay, We'll go right and you left then," Ronin shouted back, "How exactly are we gonna know when we see this temple if it's hidden somehow?"

"Just look for anything out of the ordinary!" Chamille called back, "Like I said, I'm pretty sure that it's cloaked in the power of form, so you wouldn't be able to see it. I have no idea what it looks like but I know for a fact it has to be here!"

"Wow, do you say that about everything?" Monty shouted, "If so then you'd be a really good public speaker!"

"Oh can it, ghost freak," Chamille spat back, "Just do you job!"

The bear turned on a dime, rapidly rushing off towards the left. Ronin steered the sled to the right and began working on circling the massive lake. The lake was depressed into the ground, giving a near ten foot vertical drop all the way down to the water level. As they drove along, he made certain to give them at least three feet distance from the edge.

"I'm gonna drive, you focus on looking, alright Monty?" Ronin asked over comm.

"Yeah, I got it," Monty waved his hand, "Let's just get going."

As the two drove around the lake, it became apparent that said lake was most likely an entrance to the Endless Sea. The distance to the other shore seemed constant, and the further that they went out, the less ice chunks there were. It was at least ten minutes before the sea was in sight, and even then another five before they reached it. The fact that Camille had taken them all the way to the sea only made Monty almost want to laugh..

Monty scanned the chunks. Ice chunk after ice chunk floated in the water, but nothing seemed strange. In fact, it looked exactly like a natural formation. That was no man made structure in sight, nothing seemed to even look like it'd been tampered with. It all looked like a frontier only researchers and crazy people would research. Thankfully, the snow had stopped, letting Monty get to actually see what was going on.

"See anything?!" Ronin called out, "We're almost to the sea, kid!"

"Nothing," Monty responded nonchalantly, "It just looks like a regular place. Nothing looks strange."

Soon, the sled indeed came to the edge of a cliff that dropped down into the sea. Ronin stopped long before that, opting to walk out towards the edge and look down. Monty got off shortly after, hands in his pockets as he walked. A loud roar brought their attention to the bear Chamille on the other side of the lake. A few moments after the roar, she shifted to a massive white hawk that flew across the lake to land on the sled behind them.

"Did you two see anything?" Chamille asked. Monty wondered how, given birds didn't lips.

"Nothing," Monty shook his head, "You sure it's out here?"

"I'm sure it is!" Chamille growled, "It's just hidden! You didn't see anything, at all?"

"Nah, if the kid says he didn't then he didn't," Ronin shook his head, "Monty here keeps a close eye on things for me."

"I'm sure he does," Chamille groaned, "Well we need to make another pass then!"

"Question," Monty raised a hand slightly, "This use to be a lake, or was it covered?"

"I… don't know," Chamille shook her head, "I just know it was on the coast, and when I analyzed all the documents this was the location they mostly shared."

"So it could be underwater then?" Ronin looked down to the lake, "Could've just sunk under the waves at that point. That water is too cold for REX, the systems will freeze up."

"No, if my ancestor built this place, why would he just let it sink?" Chamille shook her bird head, "No, we're making another lap!"

That was the line that spurred the group to drive around the lake four more times. Each time, Monty would take careful stock of his surroundings. He looked for anything odd: a piece of land that wasn't moving, a disturbance in the waves, a strange formation that could spell out a hidden entrance, but it seemed clean. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Every time they passed the lake, Chamille would shout at them to do it again. By the last lap, Ronin pointed out they wouldn't have enough gas to get back if they kept it up.

"It has to be here…" Chamille looked up to the sun that was beginning to descend the sky, "Ugh… at this rate we won't have sunlight to get home. It gets even colder at night."

"I mean they don't call it an arctic desert for nothing," Monty grimaced, "And I know deserts."

Chamille gave him a look and looked back over the lake. Ronin looked to Monty and nodded his head towards her. Monty gave Ronin a confused look, to which Ronin made a swipe with his hand and then rolled it. Monty rolled his own eyes dramatically and slowly stalked over to Chamille, sitting beside her and giving her a sideways glance.

"Look, if it's here then you're the one with the gift we need," Monty pointed out, "Can't you feel the form energy?"

"That's why I say that it's here…" Chamille sighed, "I can feel the energy all around us. It's incredibly faint, but I feel it. This has gotta be the place!"

"Well, it's not on the surface. That's a fact. That, or it's hidden so well we'll never find it," Monty slumped forward with his elbows on his knees, "Maybe see if it's somewhere else."

"Like what?" Chamille growled, "Underwater?"

"Maybe," Monty looked across the bay, "Look, let's imagine that the entrance to the sea out there wasn't there. This place is clearly a natural basin though. So, build your palace down there, open a hole to the sea, boom. Hide it. I mean, all the elemental masters were all together back then, right?"

"Now you're just mocking me," Chamille groaned, "What, are you saying there is a secret entrance around here?"

"That's literally what I'm saying," Monty thrust his arm out, "Look. Let's say you build the palace out there. And this is all speculation. Just see about maybe checking this area first, then we go waste gas trying to figure more stuff out."

Chamille blinked, then stood up and gave a dismissive wave of her hands and began to walk around. Ronin walked over and sat down beside him, stretching as he did so.

"Not a bad idea," Ronin smirked, "Isn't that how we built REX's garage?"

"Yeah, that's exactly how," Monty leaned back, "But I held the water back while you dropped it down in there for us."

"Knew it was a good idea to keep those construction guys under an IOU," Ronin grinned, "And having some of that Borg guy's engineers isn't a bad thing either."

A sound of electric discharge behind them filled the area. Chamille's arms were glowing lavender, and her eyes were flaring with it as well. A patch of ground in front of her was sparking, forming a neat rectangle as it spread out across the surface. Her figure tensed as she let out a grunt of exertion, causing the rectangle to solidify. After a few more moments, it disappeared entirely, leaving a dark stairwell that disappeared into the dark.

"Geezus the deadbeat was right!" Chamille laughed, "It's here! It's really here! Haha!"

"Nice, call the kid a name again and we'll have a problem though, "Ronin looked down the stairwell, "Alright, let's go, Monty."

Monty gave Chamille a sideways glance, then drew two pistols. Before the ground could speak, Monty fired off several rounds down the stairs, illuminating the walls with each flash. Chamille covered her ears while Ronin sighed. After ten seconds, Monty slid the weapons back into his pockets.

"Well if there was anything down there it, there isn't now," Monty waved a hand, "Let's go."

Chamille slowly stood up, seeing Monty and Ronin were already gone. Ronin produced headlights he and Monty dawned, tossing another one back to Chamille. The woman sighed and slid it on, making her way down with them.

The stairwell was perfectly hewn, with each step dry and oddly clean. The first few steps were made of ice, but after they descended to the rock below, the walls became rock as well. Monty estimated they had descended perhaps thirty feet when the steps flattened out and they proceeded perfectly horizontally. Their lights revealed a rather long corridor.

Once the three began to proceed, from the noises above them it was clear they were underneath the lake. Part of Monty was lighting up with fear realizing he was quite literally under potential death. It was a feeling that he wasn't sure how to take, and so he didn't say anything. Instead, he forced himself to just keep walking forward, and ignore the fact he was underneath an entire layer of impending doom.

Soon, the three came to a massive archway. Once the three stepped underneath it, it was clear they had indeed found their mark. The room beyond the arch was a massive chamber that was bathed in brilliant blue light. A hemispherical dome was above them, made of ice and showing the water of the inlet above them. Light filtered in through it, meaning the water layer couldn't have been too deep above them. The chamber had a single path forward that led to a large palace, a building of two steps that was colored in purples and lavenders accented by grays and blacks. The stepped roof arced out, casting a shadow over the stairs that led up into it.

"Dang, you'd think the master of ice would have called this place home…" Ronin muttered.

"Who knows, maybe they were into each other, now come on!" Chamille shifted into what looked like a massive snow leopard and leapt forward, "Let's see the goods!"

Ronin and Monty walked forward towards the palace more slowly as the leopard Chamille made her way up the stairs and into the large doors. The two were scanning the entire area for anything that could conceal a trap. They saw nothing; given the fact that Chamille was the only one that could get in, they both supposed it made sense. Still, as they walked up the stairs into the building, they were hesitant.

The palace was far smaller on the inside than the outside. Once they were inside, they saw that it was far more akin to an oversized house than a 'palace' as it'd been described. The main room had two curved stairwells that led up to a second floor, but that seemed to be the extent of it. Ronin could spot a kitchen and what looked like a study, already mumbling about grabbing some 'ancient texts' from it. Monty himself quickly located the bedroom and made his way up the stairs towards the bedroom. As soon as he opened it, his eyes widened.

"Alright, Ronin, I'm happy," Monty called out before disappearing into the room.

When Ronin made his way up the stairs, Monty had come back out. The massive cape in the photos seemed to have been true; the piece was longer than Monty was tall, meaning that a good foot of it dragged on the ground. That portion of the cape looked to be made of thicker material, and despite its use the entire cape seemed to be well kept. It showed signs of age in the way the color had faded in certain places, and the collar looked like it would need new stitches, but the material otherwise looked more than repairable.

"That's great, kid, glad you got what you were looking for," Ronin nodded his head, "Now, where's Chamille?"

"Right here!" Ronin and Monty turned to look to see Chamille standing in the doorway to the house. As she stood, she dangled what looked like a necklace on her hands. It was a silver colored beaded affair, with a jewel embedded into a large disc on the end. Chamille chuckled and slid it on over her head.

"I think I got the rest of it!" Chamille's voice echoed through the house, "Come on and see!"

Monty and Ronin nodded to one another, making their way down the stairs and towards a door that led off to their left. Chamille's voice echoed from the bottom of the stairwell, and the two descended it in turn. Once they were at the bottom, they entered a tiny room with a door with several strange locks on it. Large scratch marks were on the door as Chamille, currently a bear once again, was trying to yank the door open.

"Help me… get it open!" Chamille shouted.

Monty sighed and stepped out of his coat again, much to Ronin's annoyance as the bundle of fabric and guns collapsed. Monty stepped forward into the door past Chamille's claws, causing the entire thing to begin to glow green. The locks were clearly supposed to be driven by elemental power, but being inside meant he could tell all the mechanisms that needed to be activated directly. After nearly fifteen seconds of clicking, the door lurched open inwards, leaving a stunned Chamille and a grinning Ronin.

Inside the space the door protected was enough metals to make Ronin's eye widen. The room was small but densely packed, filled with what Ronin knew was likely pure silver. While not as valuable as gold, silver arguably had far more use. One wall was a collection of strangely shaped and ancient weapons hung on the wall as ornaments, while another wall was a massive bookshelf housing books that looked almost new preserved in the cold depths. The rest of the space was filled with silver, gold, and from the glint Ronin could guess was even potential platinum.

"Man…" Ronin whistled, "Glaad we decided to listen to you, Cammy," Ronin reached down to pick up a bar of silver, "Heck, just half of this could be worth a fortune. Monty, you want anything?"

Monty shook his head, back inside his coat and cape once more, "I don't really care about this sort of thing." He gestured back to the cape.

Ronin chuckled, "Alright, Chamille, how about you get into something nice and big so we can start hauling this stuff out?"

Ronin's body locked up as something was pressed deep into his neck. Chamille slowly removed the needle from Ronin's skin, throwing it on the ground and stepping on it. She looked to Ronin and slowly grinned as she drew an unseen dagger from her belt.

"Nah," Chamille shook her head, "You two are gonna wait down here a nice and long time while I take that ship of yours and get home."

Ronin smacked a hand over the injection point, feeling his vision starting to blur. He stayed on his feet, much to Chamille's shock. She lashed out, knocking into his chest and sending him down into a stack of silver bars. Ronin gasped, his reaction time having gone from fast to far too slow. He groaned out as he slowly rolled himself onto his side, trying to push himself upright.

Chamille had a pistol to his head the second Ronin fell over. Monty's eyes shone behind his suit, the gun pressing hard into her. His other hand drew one of his rifles, slowly moving to point it down at her leg.

"Great plan, except you forgot the fact that I'm a ghost," Monty hissed, "And I'm not above making you one either."

"Hah!" Chamille laughed, "I know you won't do that. Your buddy has been poisoned. Within five minutes he's going to die unless I give him the antidote. And you can't kill me, or else you'll never find out where I have it!"

Monty cocked both guns. Suddenly, Chamille's bravado drained out as she shook her head against the pistol. Monty pressed it even harder to hold her head still.

"I just said you can't kill me, idiot!" Chamille growled, "Ronin is going to die if you do! And I'm wearing armor made with deepstone, so you can't possess me and get me to t-"

The rifle fired. Chamille screamed and fell down, clutching her right leg. Monty stared at her coldly, then spun the butt of the rifle up to crack her upside the head. As she rolled across the floor, Monty fired his pistol twice, the first time hitting her left hand and the second adding a bullet to her right foot. As she wailed again, he reached out and blasted her head with air.

"Just sit there and watch me," Monty placed both guns back on his person and walked over and behind Ronin. As Ronin groaned on the floor, Monty stepped out of the coat again and reached down to heft the man up.

"...Nah…" Ronin grimaced, "D-Don't make me do that…"

"Shut up, we both know that it's the best way to handle this," Monty groaned, "Open up."

Ronin shook his head once, earning Monty's scorning gaze. After a few more seconds of his body going numb, Ronin nodded his head. Monty stepped forward and inside of Ronin, causing Ronin's body to seize up. He jerked about abnormally for several seconds, then came to a shuddering stop. When he did, Monty's voice came from Ronin's lips.

"Alright, have fun," Ronin was made to grin as Monty focused. The benefit of possession was that Monty had total control over the body. That included things that normally, the body couldn't do. Ronin doubled over as he began to hack and cough, his hands clenching into fists. He clutched his chest as Monty forced Ronin's body to divert blood flow in order to drive all poison up into his stomach. The sudden influx of foriegn material was enough to trigger a response, and Ronin successfully hacked up a massive burst of pink colored liquid onto the ground.

Monty stepped out of Ronin, who managed to barely roll away from landing in what he'd just hacked up. As he gave Monty a glance of disgust and exasperation, Monty just sighed and walked back over to Chamille. The girl had tried to crawl away from the group, leaving Monty to reach down and place the rifle to her head.

"I'm not the type that kills people needlessly," Monty casually stated, "But whether or not I have, that's up to you to decide. It's easy to do it to things that are pure evil, but people like you? You'd stay in my head at least a little bit. So keep that in your head for now."

Chamille huffed as Monty used his wind to forcibly drag her head up, "Now, you have two options. Either you run away right now, and trust me that won't end well, or you lay there and accept that you're now getting zero percent of this treasure. Got it, Chamille?"

"S-Screw you…" Chamille hissed at him, "S-Stupid ghost…"

"Thought you might say that," Monty turned to Ronin, "Ronin, toss me the rope. I'm gonna make sure she's tied too tight to use that elemental power of hers."

"Gotcha," Ronin hacked, reaching into his bag and throwing Monty several lines of red rope, "She gonna be okay?"

"I missed anything important," Montty looked down, "I'll tie it off to stop the bleeding. Now, you stand still Chamille, or I might tie it the wrong way and accidently make you bleed more. You hear me?"

Chamille nodded her head. Monty slowly reached down and began working her wrists, humming a little song as he did.

"Bad news, kid," Ronin shouted as he made his way back to the palace, "Managed to get REX out there before it rolled in, but the storm is back on. REX can't take off till it passes."

"What?" Monty, now without his protective coat, standing in the middle of the floor with his cape behind him gave Ronin a frown, "How long?"

"Probably all night at least," Ronin shook his head, "We'll stay down here for now. REX is already at full power just keeping herself warm. Don't wanna add to the load."

"Great," Monty looked around the place, "I get to spend all night trapped quite literally under a ceiling of second death. Maybe I can meet my buddies in the Cursed Realm later."

"Cold can kill me just as quickly as water can," Ronin shivered to prove his point, "It's one night in a hidden palace on the edge of Ninjago, I'm sure you'll handle it."

Monty waved a hand at Ronin, making the man chuckle. Ronin made his way through the home until he was in the study they'd seen earlier. He traced the bookshelves, reaching up and taking down books to flip through them. He began sorting them by quality, those that were too far gone going in one pile and ones he could resell in another.

While Ronin worked, Monty made his way into the study. He took a seat in a massive chair, finding he could quite truly sit on top of the cape. He smiled at the thought and slowly drew the material up and over his arm as he watched it flow. He took a marker out from his belt and began to make small marks on spots that he'd go and fix up later as well. Even with age, however, the cape was easily going at the front of his wardrobe.

"You didn't need to shoot her, you know," Ronin spoke casually as he sorted, "We both know that I have a resistance to poison."

"She poisoned you and tried to leave us both for dead," Monty shrugged, "Like I said, I didn't hit anything vital, she'll be walking again in a few months."

Ronin frowned, "Kid, you could easily have just shot off her deepstone armor and then possessed her instead. Seems like you went pretty far with that whole little lesson thing."

"If someone is going to double cross us, I'm going to make them pay," Monty laid back with his hands on his head, "You'd do the same."

"Yeah, but I also wouldn't have popped her without seeing if she had the antidote on her. You just wanted to drop her," Ronin shook his head, "It's bad for business to do that. If you get a reputation for this sort of thing…"

"It's one girl on one mission," Monty shot back, "I'm not planning on killing anyone."

"Yeah, I guess I know that," Ronin paused, his back still turned to Monty as he sorted, "Kid, is this about the Overlord?"

"What makes you think that?" Monty rolled his eyes.

"Well you've watched the shop without your usual complaints," Ronin shrugged, "And you were sleeping the entire way here. Now you went and shot someone just straight up like that. Twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern. That's what my dad used to say."

"One of these days I'm going to actually find your dad and we'll have a good talk about what he 'used to say' all the time," Monty scoffed, "What's this about?"

Ronin paused in his sorting. He left the half empty book shelf and made his way over to a nearby chair beside Monty's seat. He dragged the chair to sit in front of Monty, at which point he sat down and leaned forward.

"Kid, listen, I never asked about your past and you never really ask about mine. That's how we roll, after all," Ronin frowned again, "The only reason I would ever ask is if it's gonna affect business. You don't have to answer this if you don't want to, but I want to know: do you have some connection to what went down on that Dark Island?"

Monty didn't respond. Ronin waited patiently for him to, refusing to take his eyes off Monty. Monty kept his eye contact with Ronin for nearly thirty seconds of silence. The entire home was deathly quiet aside from Ronin's faint breathing, making focusing on anything else near impossible. Monty gave Ronin a long look before he finally looked to the side.

"Yeah, I did," Monty groaned, "Way more than I think anyone thinks. All those ninja thought I was just there because I was bored. That's how I'm keeping it with them. They don't need to know the truth."

"Alright, and my second question is a little easier to answer: are you okay?" Ronin quietly quierred.

Monty once more went silent. Again, the house seemed to perpetuate the silence. There was nothing to stop them, not the sound of appliances outside, not the talk of others inside the room, nothing. There was nothing for Monty to hear except his own thoughts, and likewise nothing for Ronin to focus on other than the ghost sitting in the chair of a long gone icon.

"...I'm always fine," Monty waved his hand, "Hard to feel things when your body can't even feel things anymore."

"Kid, I know when you're lying to me, and right now you're lying," Ronin gestured to the hand, "You always make some sort of motion when you lie."

Monty silently cursed his hand, "Fine. I'm not fine. I've never been fine, Ronin. I'm dead. I'm quite literally never 'fine' because I can't even be 'fine' anymore. I can't feel anything unless I quite literally force my body to. I'm constantly in a state of just literally being here now. So there, that's it."

Ronin stared at Monty, then he stood up. He made his way back over to the shelf once again, working to start taking down books. Monty perked up slightly and leaned in.

"Alright," Ronin shrugged, "I just wanted to ask."

"What?" Monty shook his head, "No, you don't get to do that. You can't just ask me something like that and then just, stop."

"We don't talk about each other's past. I just needed to know if what happened over there was important. I'll make sure that I'm aware of that next time we go on a mission," Ronin flipped through a book, tossing the book off to the discard pile, "That's it."

"So you were just manipulating me?" Monty hollowly chuckled, "Get a little information out of me so you can piece it together on your own?"

"Don't put words in my mouth," Ronin turned back to Monty, "I just need to know so I let you cool off a bit before our next mission. That's it. If that's manipulation then I guess I did."

Monty stood up, "Cool off? Wow, I'm sorry I got angry that some random woman tried to kill you in front of me. I'll make sure that next time I let you die."

"That's exactly what I mean, right there!" Ronin crossed his arms, "You're blowing everything way out of proportion here. Kid, you just need to-"

"I don't need to do anything, I reacted completely appropriately to that situation, you're the one trying to take this way out of whack!" Monty spat, "And don't call me kid like that'll somehow make it better!"

"Sit down, Monty," Ronin ordered, "You're gonna say something you don't want to."

Monty curled his hands into fists. From them, massive columns of air began to wisp around him, lifting his body up into the sky. The cape billowed out harshly, smacking around at the chair as he lifted upwards. Ronin just kept his arms crossed at him as the room began to shake. The books began to flap open and then be roughly tossed aside. The chair pushed back as he continued to release his powers into the room.

When Monty came back down, his head was hung. The cape had gotten tilted on his shoulder, and when he tried to fix it he found that it was caught on something. He reached up and violently undid the knot and threw it aside, refusing to touch it any further.

"You done now?" Ronin asked calmly. Monty remained silent.

Ronin sighed and stepped forward. He reached out, placing his hands onto Monty's shoulder to press him down. Monty didn't move. Ronin gripped Monty for a few seconds, then he groaned.

"Don't make fun of this later," Ronin muttered. Before Monty could react, Ronin pulled him into a hug. Monty's head jerked up and his eyes narrowed as Ronin hugged him, his grip firm but gentle. He held Monty for a few seconds, not letting him go. Monty let his body stay solid enough for Ronin to do so.

"Kid, I worry about you, okay?" Ronin sighed, "Some messed up stuff happened to you in your past, I think we can see that by looking in a mirror. I know what that's like. It's easy to slide right into feeling sorry for yourself, hating yourself and all. You only sleep when you're upset. You went off on Chamille like that. I just want to know that my buddy is okay, alright?"

Monty remained silent. His head slowly lowered to stare at Ronin's shoulders. Ronin let him go, leaving Monty with his arms slightly outstretched to hug back. Monty quickly placed his hands at his sides again. Ronin gave Monty a small smile, then turned around to go back to the shelves.

"You realize that if you asked, at this point I'd pretty much have to tell you, right?" Monty spoke casually, his arms crossed, "You know me too well at this point. All I'd have to do is pop some Chi out and then you'd figure it all out." He extended his hand, "Just one look and I'm sure a smart guy like you could figure it all out."

A set of gloved hands pushed Monty's hand down. Monty looked to Ronin curiously as Ronin held Monty's forearm.. Ronin just gave him a cocky grin back.

"Nah," Ronin shook his head, "After all, I ain't even showed you mine yet."

Monty opened his mouth. There were a lot of things he wanted to say to that. There was only one person in Ninjago that he'd ever trust something like this to. One person that he'd actually listen to. And he was denying it again. He'd never asked. He eyed Ronin curiously, then scoffed and shrugged.

"Fine, I'll show you mine the day you finally get the courage to show me yours," Monty rolled his eyes, "I still think it's a bug."

"Well you'll have to just keep thinking on it," Ronin grinned, "Now, come and help me with these books."

No sooner had Monty stepped forward to start sorting did a massive explosion rip through the cavern. Ronin and Monty both immediately turned to their feet and rushed out of the study, Ronin drawing a sword and Monty two revolvers. The two stopped just outside of the entrance, rapidly looking around. Nothing was on fire or had holes from it. With that ruled out, they both rushed their way to the corridor out of the chamber.

As soon as they began to ascend the stairs, it became apparent that the explosion had come from outside. Halfway up the stairs they began to smell smoke. Ronin in particular rushed up even faster than the ghost floating up the stairs. As the two reached the gray-tinted exit, a deep black arid plume of smoke rose into the sky.

Once the two were outside, Ronin shouted in rage. REX's entire left engine was completely gone, burst into pieces scattered all about the area. In addition to that, the secondary turbines on the back were completely ruined, half exploded and half melted. A hole on the side of REX's cargo area had a woman in neon green clothes with matching hair dragging out silver bars.

A series of well aimed shots caused the woman to fall backwards. She fell to the ground with a shout, only to pat her body down and find there were no wounds. Instead, the ground in front of her burst up as the snow was shot by Monty again. She dropped her loot and rapidly scrambled backwards.

"Cham, they heard us!" The woman shouted into a walkie talkie she produced from her hip, "Tell Adam to start the chopper!"

"Did you blow up my ship?!" Ronin shouted, "YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS! LITERALLY! PAY UP!"

"I don't think so!" The woman put her hands together, "Back off!"

The woman opened her mouth, causing a massive green cloud to suddenly burst out in front of her. The cloud covered a massive area of the body, becoming thick enough she was lost in it. As soon as Ronin smelled it, he thrust a hand over his face, "Crap, Monty, that ain't good!"

Monty, undaunted, raised his hand and blasted the cloud with wind, dispelling it. The woman was gone. Instead, a massive yellow and green choper with what looked like a bomb dropping system on the back underneath the main tail rotor flew overhead. On either side of the copter was a massive green bubble glass, one of which opened. The woman climbed up a chain as they flew back, rolling inside and causing it to shut.

"Nice going, Tox!" Chamille laughed in the cockpit, opening the glass to shout down to the two, "Have fun stuck in that stupid palace!"

Monty let out a few rounds of fire, causing Chamille to yelp and duck as the cockpit closed up. The copter soon flew off into the distance, being lost in the gray of the storm. Ronin kicked the ground and spat as he raced after them for a few steps, then stopped himself realizing the futility in it.

"Of course she had a partner…" Ronin spat, "Must have been the Master of Poison. Great. Just great!" He threw his hand up in the air as he walked forward to inspect REX's engine, "Yeah, we ain't salvaging this…. Screw those two!" Ronin kicked the engine, only marginally groaning as the pain shot into him from it.

"So, what, we're stuck here?" Monty looked down, "Should've brought more ammo."

"Nah… that would be letting them get away with this," Ronin hissed, "We're gonna make our way back to Ninjago, and when we do… well, if we ever see them again, we're gonna make them pay."

"So that means…?" Monty blinked, "...No."

"Yep," Ronin forced a smile, "We're going on an adventure."

Chen slowly hummed to himself as he sat in his chair. The Tournament of Elements was proceeding just as planned. He'd gotten Zane, all of the ninja, and managed to get even some of the more surly competitors to come on the guise of paying them! It was almost too easy! If any of them actually knew what was going on…. Well, they would soon enough!

"Chen."

Chen turned around in his seat, then his lips curled into a mad smile, "Monty! My good friend on the other side! What brings you here today? If it's about the deepstone swords, I had to make it at least fair-"

"Nah, I can use my guns so I don't care," Monty narrowed his eyes, "I want you to change the bracket."

"Oh?" Chen's smile only grew, "And, pray tell, what is wrong with the matches I have set up?"

"There are two fighters that I need to take out before this tournament is over," Monty crossed his arms, "Chamille and Tox. I want to fight Tox first, then fight Chamille."

"Hmm… that's a tall order right there! Yes, yes, I'd have to change the entire side for that!" Chen giggled, "Now, what is in it for me, ghosty one?"

"You want your matches to be 'fun' right?" Monty sighed,, "I got beef with those two. Got me stuck in the Frozen Wastes while all that dumb Golden Master stuff went downl. But see, we could never track them down. And, well... " Monty raised his hand, forming a sphere of air in it, "Taking out Tox will put a lot of fear into Chamille. I'm sure you can see where that would lead, yes?"

"Hmm… oh yes, I think I see exactly what you mean!" Chen stood up, "Alright, Monty, I'll humor your little request. But don't come crying to me if it goes badly!"

"If I did start crying, then I'd have a lot more to worry about than my next fight," Monty shook his head, "I'll make sure this tournament is interesting for you."

"Yes, yes, good!" Chen laughed, "Now, hurry on back to your room before anybody suspects us! Go on, go on! Or else those swords will be the least of your handicaps!"

Monty shrugged, walking forward and stepping through the doors. As soon as he was gone, Chen walked over to his chair and sat down. Once he was certain the ghost was gone, he slowly fished for a piece of paper and wrote down the changes.

"I'm certain this will be most interesting…" Chen grinned. As he dropped his paper, the words 'Monty X Morro' were scribbled on the page, "Most interesting indeed…"

Greetings Ninjaverse Readers!

I wanted to pop on to say that this will be the last Universal Deviation Chapter during the Ninjaverse hiatus. I have more written, but they're for characters you haven't met yet. Thus, the hiatus will continue.

I am still posting Autobiography of a Legend, and Ninjaverse is on schedule to resume before the end of the month. I am currently working on editing Chapter 24. Chapters 17-32 have been written, but due to needing to massively rework some story elements, the hiatus extended a bit further than initially intended. However, once I begin posting once more, there will be no more breaks until the end of 32!

Thank you to all my readers, and Ninja-go!