Announcer voice: Today, on Way of the Dragon: Dareth's dojo is about to get destroyed! Can the ninja get enough money to save it?

Jinlong voice: Chapter 17: Meals on Wings

Jinlong yawned, rubbing her bleary eyes, wondering how in Kigana the ninja weren't tired. It was barely 6:30, but they'd already been training for quite some time, in a small dojo belonging to a man named Dareth. He was a funny sort of guy, but Jin had a sneaking suspicion that he didn't mean to be.

"Hey, guys," The man in brown sauntered into the room, an uneasy look on his pale face. "I've got some bad news."

"Not now, Dareth, we're busy," Kai waved him off. Dareth shifted his feet.

"Yeah, about that-"

"Not. Now."

"C'mon, let him speak," Cole said. Kai rolled his eyes, and Lloyd copied the action.

"Well, you see, I'm a little behind on the rent for this place-"

"We couldn't care less."

"-and it's going to get demolished tomorrow."

"Wait, what?"

Jinlong snapped awake. That didn't sound good.

"Can't you just pay?" She asked. "Don't you make money from giving lessons?"

Dareth sighed dramatically. "I wish. This place runs on a shoestring budget, and thanks to the Devourer, people have started movin' out of the city, and I get less business."

"Stinks," Jay looked at him. "Know of any other dojos around here?"

"Actually, I was wonderin' if you guys could give me a hand. Got any cash?"

Kai squinted his eyes. "Are you hitting up jobless teenagers for money?"

Dareth sighed again and looked down. Jin couldn't help but feel pity for him; that dojo was really all he had.

"Maybe we can help," Nya piped up from across the room. "There's the annual Ninjaball Run tomorrow, and the grand prize is 10,000."

"10,000?!" Dareth yelped. "That's enough to keep this place goin' for a year!"

"And I've been fixing up the Ultra Sonic Radar," The black-haired girl added. "So we'd have a vehicle."

"Sounds fun," Cole nodded. "Why not?"

"Lloyd and I can enter, too," Jin said. "On Flwirosh. That should up our chances."

"Great," Nya beamed. "It's decided, then."

oOo

"On your mark...get set...GO!"

With a jolt, Flwirosh was rocketing forward, and Jin held tightly onto Lloyd to keep the gremlin from flying off.

"This is awesome!" He cheered, eyes wide. Poor kid. He'd never get to fly on his own, never know how dull riding on a dragon was in comparison to actually being one.

The Ultra Dragon was intelligent, mostly thanks to Shard, and so they needed no steering or guidance as they zipped above the other racers.

"Where're the ninja?" Lloyd asked over the howling wind. "I can't see them!"

Looking around, the dragon-girl saw that her best friend was right. The ninja were nowhere to be seen, and she couldn't remember seeing them take off at the starting line, either. Good thing the Warriors Two had decided to enter…

The blond children were nearly thrown from Flwirosh's back multiple times as the 4-headed dragon made sharp turns and eventually began to navigate through towering birch trees. The jolting was beginning to hurt Jin's head and neck, and give her motion sickness, but Lloyd didn't seem to be having that problem, seeing as he was eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"There! The ninja!" Lloyd pointed down at something, voice muffled through his sandwich, but the dragon-girl didn't look. Her dark green eyes were locked ahead of them, watching as racers jostled and slowly began to creep ahead of them.

"Faster, Flwirosh," She urged. The dragon surged forward, weaving through the trees as dizzying speeds.

"WATCH OUT!" The gremlin yelped, and suddenly they were flying off of the Ultra Dragon and upside-down in a snow drift.

Jin sat up, shaking the snow out of her golden hair and tugging Lloyd upright. Both their heads were spinning, and they looked up to see the 4-headed dragon above them, looking apologetic. The competitors raced by.

"We're sorry, we got distracted by the ninja," Flwirosh said, casting all 8 eyes downwards.

"It's alright," Lloyd muttered, and Jin stared at him, taken aback. "But I lost my sandwich."

"You can understand them?"

"Huh?" He looked up at her. "Yeah, a'course. Can't you?"

"Yes, I can, but…" I'm a dragon. Lord Garmadon had said that Lloyd was ¼ dragon, but she hadn't believed it, really. But the gremlin did have bright red eyes, and sharp little fangs.

"We're disqualified now," He said. "If the ninja don't win, Dareth's dojo will-"

"Ah, don't think about that," The dragon-girl commanded, hauling Lloyd to his feet and back onto the Ultra Dragon, before hopping on herself. "Come on, Flwirosh, let's meet them at the finish line. Because they are going to win.

The massive dragon lifted into the air, and soared far above the trees this time. They avoided the course all together, since it didn't matter anymore.

Surprisingly, though, they still only arrived at the finish line a few minutes before the ninja, and Lord Garmadon in the stolen Bounty. By some miracle, the ninja did win, and Jinlong didn't even hear the explanation of how. She and Lloyd were too busy climbing up the Bounty from the back, and then charging at Garmadon, who was facing the ninja. They pushed him off, and he landed on his feet, catlike.

"Lloyd?" He sounded astonished. The boy grinned.

"Hi, dad. Do you have a sandwich by any chance?"

Announcer voice: Next time, on Way of the Dragon: The ninja get turned into little kids and are being hunted by a monster! Will Jinlong be able to save them? Find out tomorrow!