Hey y'all, I'm a little early here! I've got a big final on Monday, so I decided to update today instead of forgetting to post on Sunday!

I've been on a big writing kick the past week or so, and I'm in the middle of writing chapter 11 right now! I'm excited to show you guys the next several chapters, but for now we're going to focus on Alex and what's up with her.

Will she say yes? Will her parents say yes? What's going to happen? You'll have to read and see! Go ahead!

Disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago

Alex found herself sitting at a table full of food, surrounded by more people than had ever been in her house before. She found sat between Sensei Wu and Nya, with her parents across the table, Ryder at their side. The ninja were all chowing down, and Alex had a terrifying vision of what her brother would look like in a few years as he became a teenage gremlin.

She shuddered and turned back to her food. Her mom and Zane had whipped up a potato soup, which was easy to make a lot of and was more delicious than normal - probably due to Zane's interference. Her mother was a good cook, but she often hesitated when asked to stray from the recipe. It appeared Zane had the natural instinct to add some flair. Alex had to admit it was one of the best meals she'd ever had.

They were all chatting quietly until her father finished and put down his fork. Lucas Adair breathed out a sigh, then rubbed the bridge of his nose with two fingers. The rest of the table quieted down, turning to look at him.

"Alexandra…" he began quietly, using her full name. She knew it wasn't the time to protest his use of it, and opted to stay quiet as he sorted out what he was going to say.

Sensei Wu opened his mouth to speak first. "Mr. Adair, I know this must be very confusing-"

Her father scoffed. "Very confusing doesn't begin to describe it. What are the disgraced ninja doing in my home? What are you trying to drag my daughter into?"

Alex frowned at that. She wasn't getting dragged into anything! She was under the impression that everything would be her decision in the end. But, of course, she was still "too young" according to her parents.

The older man waited for her father to finish instead of interrupting him. "Mr. Adair, we do believe that your daughter is destined to join our team. Nya," he gestured to the lovely Japanese girl next to him, "is the first of the kunoichi. They are female ninja that will work together with the ninja to save Ninjago."

Slightly stunned, Mr. Adair looked at his wife. Mrs. Adair put a sympathetic hand on her husband's arm. She said, "Why does Ninjago need saving? The Great Devourer was defeated, so why do you need Alexandra now?" Her tone was soft and pleading; she didn't want her child to leave.

"The Great Devourer was a major evil that was defeated, yes, but Lord Garmadon stole the ninjas' weapons. This has given him more power. I fear that he will abuse it soon," Sensei Wu explained. Alex's parents gaped, unfamiliar with the threat of the golden weapons. Sensei continued on. "He will continue to grow stronger, and the ninja need help. They've always needed help, but now is their darkest hour. The kunoichi will rise with them, ensuring the survival of Ninjago."

Mr. Adair sighed at the argument Wu put up. "Sir, you don't have children, so I don't expect you to understand, but Alexandra here is my oldest. Do you really expect me to let her go with you, someone I've only just met?" His hand moved to rub his temple.

Alex was surprised by her father's protectiveness. She'd never heard him like this before. "Dad?" she said quietly.

He looked up at his daughter. "What is it?"

Alex took in a deep breath. "I think I want to go with them," she announced.

Feeling the eyes of everyone at the table, she began to fidget with her fingers under the table.

Nya grinned in triumph. If it all went well, she'd have a new friend and team member!

Zane, Cole, and Jay were all interested to see how having a new girl on the team would play out.

Lloyd rolled his eyes and grabbed another roll, shoving it in his mouth. He didn't need any girls on his team. An anger deep down inside of him flared. He knew what girls were really like.

Kai found himself mulling over what was happening. Nya would poke fun at him if she knew he was thinking instead of just acting. He was known to jump straight into action, but this time he wasn't.

Clearing his throat, Kai called the attention from everyone at the table to him.

"Mr. Adair, we've all been through a lot together. Whatever happens, we'll give your daughter the best training she could receive, and we'll all protect her from anything that comes our way. She'll be able to travel all over Ninjago with some of the best company," he ended with a joke. He made direct eye contact with Alex, and he nodded at her. Alex gave him a shy half smile in return.

Her father looked at her mother, and the two shared a secretive, silent conversation. The whole table was quiet as Alex's parents came to a conclusion.

This time, it was Mrs. Adair that spoke up. Her voice had a soft lift as she spoke, "We'd like the night to talk things over. You," she gestured to Nya, "can stay with Alex for the night, but the rest of you need to find somewhere else. There's an inn in the middle of town that has rooms for low rates," she offered kindly, looking to Wu.

Sensei bowed his head to her in gratefulness. "I'm sure Nya would love to take you up on that offer. The rest of us will shack up for the night and then meet you back here in the morning."

Alex's parents smiled and nodded, pleased with the agreement they had come to. Dinner wrapped up soon after. All of the boys headed out, leaving only Nya behind with the Adairs.

"Ryder, why don't we go upstairs and get ready for bed?" Mrs. Adair suggested quietly, and the younger boy nodded. The two went upstairs, Mr. Adair lingering for a few moments longer.

"Alexandra… just know we're here for you no matter what, okay?" he said quietly, more unsure than she'd ever heard him before.

Taking a few steps forward, she flung her arms around his neck. Her father was only a few inches taller than her, being around 5'11". His arms wound around her waist, squeezing tightly before letting go.

Without another word, he went upstairs after his wife and younger child. Alex turned back to Nya, who had silently watched the family dynamic play out before her. "Wanna go upstairs?" Alex offered to Nya.

Nya grinned brightly as they began walking up the stairs. "That'd be great. I didn't really bring a change of clothes, though. I figured we would be done earlier."

"Done with what?" Alex asked curiously. She was still confused as to how they'd managed to find her.

Nya reached the top of the stairs and paused. She could hear Alex's parents with Ryder near the end of the hall, but she wasn't sure which room was Alex's. Alex slipped past her and walked into the room on the left.

The room wasn't messy, but it wasn't clean either. Things were corralled in bins and boxes on shelves, but a few objects still lay on the floor around the room. A chair in the corner had a pile of clothes on it - all clean and folded, but not put away.

Alex began clearing a space on the floor. Nya decided to fill the space with an answer. "We knew the next kunoichi would be in this area, since The Devil's Pit is right next to Shian Hills."

There was a thud as Alex sat down next to her bed. The shocked look displayed on her face showed that wasn't what she meant to do. Nya giggled, and Alex laughed with her. "Sorry, I'm a little clumsy sometimes," Alex said. "Five years of gymnastics and I can touch my toes and do flips, but trying to get a trundle bed out can still knock me over." While she was still on the ground, she grabbed the edge of the trundle bed and pulled it out.

She stood up and clapped her hands together. "I have several extra pillows, but the sheets on the bed are clean, I swear. If you need clothes, I'm taller than you, but otherwise we're probably the same size."

Nya smiled and thanked her. "Got any pajamas?"

Alex tossed a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt at Nya. "You can keep them if you want," she offered. "I have a feeling if this all works out, we'll be sharing a lot in the future."

They shared a laugh over that, and they both changed into their pajamas. Nya's were a little long, but she didn't mind. Alex was wore a green set of shorts and a shirt with pink embroidery. She grabbed a couple of pillows from her closet and threw them on Nya's bed before climbing onto hers. She hugged a pillow to her chest.

Alex waited as Nya climbed into bed. "How about, to get to know each other and what I'm getting into? We can trade off asking questions." Alex said.

Nya nodded. "You can start."

"Tell me about your team. The ninja, I mean," Alex blurted out immediately, then blushed slightly.

"Technically, that's not a question," Nya teased gently, testing to see how well Alex dealt with that. If she was going to help lead the kunoichi, she wanted to know as much as she could about each girl.

Her new friend rolled her eyes. "Ha, ha, very funny," she stated dryly. "In that case, can you tell me about Sensei Wu?"

And, of course, Nya did. "He's a little… odd sometimes, but he's really smart and knows what he's doing. He'll know your strengths and weaknesses better than you do, so he's the best person to train you," Nya said before hesitating. Should she tell Alex about the familial relationship between him, Lord Garmadon, and Lloyd? She decided to hold off a little longer. "He loves tea and doesn't pick favorites. Equality is something he believes in strongly, and he always sees the good in people." Even if they're his evil brother, Nya finished silently.

"What's your favorite color?" Nya asked, as her first question. She figured she'd start off basic.

Alex didn't hesitate before answering. "Green. I like red too, but it wouldn't go well with my hair. So green it is," she said. "What's the dynamic between all the ninja like?"

Nya leaned back against a pillow to think. "Well, Cole is the leader. He's stronger and more focused than the rest of the ninja, barring Zane. They all respect him, whether they admit to it or not. Zane has good advice, and they'll listen to what he says as well, but he's a robot, so he has a few interesting quirks. He's the best cook, Cole is the worst. Don't let Cole ever make anything for you," Nya warned. She shuddered just thinking about his chowder.

Alex thought about the attractive ninja with dark hair. "Is it really that bad?" He seemed like he was good at everything.

"Worse than anything you're imagining." Nya paused before continuing on, "Jay is the talkative one. If you're ever feeling lonely and just need someone to talk to, he's perfect for that. He's the only one that isn't single, too," Nya smiled. "He's always got a joke ready to make you feel better."

Alex noticed the love-struck look on Nya's face. "Let me guess, you're the one dating him?" She phrased it like a question, but she already knew the answer.

"That's right," Nya affirmed her theory. "We're, ah… in a weird position right now, where we like each other but don't exactly know what's happening in the relationship." She bit her lip, thinking for a moment.

"Anyway, that's Jay. A sweetheart that can talk your ear off and make you groan at all his jokes. Kai is my brother. He's hotheaded and fiercely protective, which often go hand in hand. He's loyal until the end, and the person I'd always choose to have my back." Nya thought back to when she found out she was a kunoichi. Kai had exploded, but only because he didn't want her to get hurt. Being a kunoichi meant she wouldn't have a giant suit protecting her anymore.

The fire ninja sure is as hot as his element, Alex thought to herself. He was certainly the ninja she found most attractive, but it was hard to deny the fact that all of them were.

Nya moved on to the last ninja. "Lloyd is the green ninja, so he's technically included in this list. He's still a kid though, so he acts like one a lot. He's immature, but a lot of that comes from his rough childhood." At that, she hesitated before continuing. "His dad… is Lord Garmadon."

Alex gasped. The sweet kid was the son of Lord Garmadon? "No way!"

Nya modded gravely. "When the time comes, he will have to face his father in battle."

"But he's just a kid!" Alex protested, her mind whirling. This was just like Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader… except in this scenario, Luke Skywalker was twelve!

"He does have a lot to learn," Nya admitted, thinking back to how recently he'd found out his fate. "But he's really a good kid, just watch your back. He loves playing pranks, and right now he's not a big fan of girls." She dropped her voice to a whisper, "he still thinks we have cooties."

Unable to hide her amusement, Alex burst out laughing. "He sounds like a funny kid."

Nya grinned. "He sure is. Now, it's my turn for a question. What's your favorite thing to do?"

"Read," Alex answered. "I usually do some of my stretches while I'm reading, it helps me relax."

"Just how flexible are you?" Nya wondered. Nya was fairly flexible, and being a kunoichi would help her learn how to do more, but she wasn't anything amazing.

Alex hopped out of bed and began doing light stretches to warm up so she didn't hurt herself. "Well, I was really inflexible as a kid, so I decided to work hard at stretching to fix that. Now, I'm the most flexible one in my family!" She bent over to touch her toes, slowly reaching down further until her hands were pressed against the ground.

That was impressive to Nya. "That's really good! And you have such long legs, too."

"And arms," Alex said, showing them off. "It took some extra work because of that, but I managed to do it." Alex sat down on the floor and began to stretch some more. "What's your favorite color?"

"Well, my favorite color is blue. It's what first connected me with Jay, so it's held a special place in my heart ever since. But my other favorite is yellow, like my suit," Nya responded. Blue clearly was her favorite, but she also had a penchant for the color yellow.

"Your suit?" Alex asked from the floor.

Nya suddenly remembered that Alex didn't have hers yet. "Yeah. I'll see if I can show you real quick, but don't make fun of me if I look stupid."

She got out of bed, standing over to the side where she wouldn't trip on anything. Nya remembered when the boys had learned Spinjitzu. They'd all said it was like the training course when you first learned it, and from there it came naturally.

Nya had gone through the training course before. Sensei had let her when the boys were gone, and she was better at it than Kai. She pictured it in front of her, and began to move.

Alex stared at Nya, wrinkling her brow. It looked strange… but then her jaw dropped open. Nya was surrounded by a tornado, and a big one at that! It soon disappeared, leaving her in an orange and yellow suit.

The first thing Nya saw when she stopped was Alex's shocked expression. Then, she looked down at herself. A grin almost split her face in half as she realized she was in her suit!

She modeled it for Alex, who got up off the ground to check it out.

"Wow… this is your suit? Does that mean I have one?" Alex asked, admiring Nya's outfit.

Nya nodded proudly. "My element is air, so my colors are yellow and orange. Yours is going to be darkness, so I'd imagine your colors to be darker. Cole is black, so you might be a dark grey, if I had to guess."

"Will ours be identical like the ninjas' are?" Alex wondered. "Or will we each have unique ones?"

"It's hard to tell," Nya shrugged. "If your parents let you come with us, you'll find out yours tomorrow." Please let them say yes, Nya thought to herself. She really wanted Alex to come with them.

"What happens tomorrow?" Alex asked. She sat back down on the ground and began to move into another flexible position, soon sliding into the full splits.

Nya applauded quietly, impressed by her skills. "We'll go get your weapon."

Alex carefully stood and turned off the light. "My weapon?" She asked as she got into her own bed. Only a small lamp was still lit between the beds.

Nya brought out her fans, sending a gust of wind toward Alex. Alex laughed delightedly as her hair blew back in the wind that came seemingly out of nowhere.

"What kind of weapon is that?" Alex asked.

"They're bladed fans," Nya said, showing them off in the dim lamplight. The silver metal gleamed, as did the yellow gems. "They help me control my power, and yours will do the same for you."

She put them back in her belt and did Spinjitzu to get back into her pajamas. She crawled into her bed.

Alex flicked off the lamp. "Goodnight, Nya. I hope I can go with you."

Nya smiled into the dark room. "Goodnight, Alex. I hope you can too."

…

A few blocks away, five ninja and one Sensei were squeezed into a hotel room. Sensei Wu was on the couch, resting peacefully.

"Ow!" Jay hissed. "Lloyd kicked me again!"

"Shut up," two ninja groaned in unison. Kai and Cole were in one bed trying to sleep, but Cole was sweating because of Kai's natural body heat.

Zane, Lloyd, and Jay were in the other bed. Unbeknownst to either of them, Lloyd wasn't asleep yet. He'd gotten rather good at faking it at Darkley's.

Lloyd was on the outside of the bed, away from Zane's unnaturally cool body temperature. After kicking Jay, he'd rolled to face the wall. The young boy's thoughts whirled as he thought about the events of the day. More girls, he thought. I hope this doesn't end up working out.

The young boy grimaced at the thought of having four girls on their team. Maybe they won't be that bad, a part of him hoped. But Lloyd Garmadon knew the danger of hoping. He knew they'd be awful. At least Jay was the only infatuated ninja though. The rest seemed to be on his side.

Speaking of Jay, he'd already passed out, Lloyd's kicking incident forgotten.

Zane was on the other side of Jay, positioned on his back as he stared at the ceiling. He was on top of the covers, not needing them. His central cooling system kept him at the right temperature at all times.

There was a faint whirring from his chest as his systems began to power down for the night. His internal alarm would wake him early the next morning, just like it did every other day when he cooked for the ninja. Very rarely, Cole would beat him to the punch. On those days, Zane was not jealous of his team's more highly-functioning taste buds.

Being human… what would that be like? He wondered to himself. It was his last thought as he drifted off.

Cole was on his side, facing away from Kai. He was also on top of the covers - the guy was like a personal heater! But it was either this or be stuck with Lloyd and the chatterbox. So, in a way, it was worth it.

He found himself to be neutral on the idea of girls joining their team. Unless they became a distraction, of course. Jay was still learning to not worry about Nya, but he also knew she could handle herself. Cole admired Nya for her strength.

The others wouldn't pose a problem, though. Zane wasn't human, Kai was a bit of an interesting character, and Lloyd was still a child that thought cooties were a thing that girls had. Cole himself hadn't found anyone that had caught his eye in a long time.

Sighing, he decided to close his eyes and get some rest. They would need all the sleep they could get in these upcoming days.

Kai was on his side, eyes closed but not asleep. Alex's face kept flashing in his mind, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get rid of that image of her teasing him when they first met.

I just want to get to know her, he told himself. I wonder if she's ever seen Ninjago City…

Before he could fall asleep, a loud snore came from the other bed, quickly followed by a yelp as Lloyd kicked Jay again. Kai took in a deep breath. Yelling at them to shut up wouldn't do any good…

Kai finally fell asleep, still trying to keep his mind off of Alex.

Hmmm, so we've got some feelings here. No weapon yet, but some insight on several characters throughout the chapter. Feel free to leave a review, tell me your predictions, your opinion... Let me know what you think! Next time I update, I'll be on break! See you then!