Chapter 10: Marceline's POV

"Why can't I remember where this damn temple is?!" I thought, slamming both my fists against the table. It had been two days now and I still couldn't find the exact location! We could've went and flew around the area to find it, but the forest surrounding the Spirit Temple is deadly so you either knew where to go or you're dead. The last time I had been to the Spirit Temple was when I was fourteen and that was for my spiritual training, I left because I wanted to experience the world outside the temple. "You okay?" Tony asked, walking into the room.

"No, I'm trying to remember the exact location." I growled, glaring at the map on the big screen.

"Why is there so much memory loss lately?" he joked, but I wasn't in the mood for a joke. "Look, its past midnight you gotta' go to bed."

I shook my head. "No, I have to stay here and…" I let out a loud, deep yawn. "Figure out where…" *another yawn* I rubbed the tiredness out of my eyes. "The Spirit Temple is…"

"Dude, you'll pass out if you don't go to bed." He folded his arms.

"Well then I'll stay here until I pass out." I said defiantly, staring directly at the map, but I let out another deep yawn.

Tony sighed. "You give me no choice then."

I raised a brow, but still remained focused on the map. "What do you-" Two hands grabbed my waist and the next thing I knew, I was riding on Tony's shoulder. "Tony, put me down!" I growled, deadly serious.

"Nope, you're going to bed." He chuckled. "You can argue as much as you want, but you're going to sleep."

"I hate you!" I hissed.

"Sure ya' do."

"I can't sleep now, I was so close to figuring out where…*yawn* the Spirit Temple is…"

He shrugged. "You can continue where you left off in the morning."

"No!"

"Alright look," he said in a calm voice. "If you sleep for say…Three hours, you can spend the next century looking for the temple."

I relaxed slightly, but still kept arguing. "Hell no,"

When we got to my room, Tony sat me down on my bed. "Where are your pajamas?"

I stuck my tongue out. "I'm never telling! You'll have to kill me first!"

He sighed, rolled his eyes and went over to my dresser. He dug through the clothing until he found a white tee shirt and green pajama pants. "Put it on." He tossed them over to me.

"NEVER!"

"It's either you put them on or I'm putting them on you." I sat with my arms folded, glaring at him. "Alright, if it's gonna' be that way…" he stepped closer to me. "Come here."

I jumped up and did a back flip away from him. "Fuck that, you're not stripping me."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Then put them on yourself."

"NO!"

"Then, I'm doing it for you."

"I'm not a little kid!" I backed away.

"You sure as hell act like it…" he mumbled. He grabbed the shirt and pants and walked closer to me. I growled and did my best to avoid him but he jumped me like a fucking cat. "PUT THEM ON!" he yelled, holding me down.

"FUCK YOU!"

"Oh, not tonight sweetie," he chuckled.

"Oh ha, ha, very funny,"

He started to unravel the top half of my ninja suit. "I did this with my little sister and I have no problem doing this to you!"

I grabbed his hands and stopped him. "Okay, okay! I'll put the dumb pajamas on!" He got off me and I snatched my pajamas away from him. "But I'm only doing this because I want to, not because you're forcing me."

"So you say…" he smiled, turning his back so I could change.

I angrily pulled off my ninja suit, tossed it away and slipped on the tee shirt and pants. "There I'm in my pajamas." I flipped up my middle finger. "Good luck getting me in bed."

Tony cracked his knuckles. "Oh that'll be easy."

"Tony what the-" he lifted me up like it was nothing and I squirmed like crazy. "Put me down!"

"Okay." He shrugged, letting me go. I fell back onto my bed and he stood upright. "Now, go to sleep." I flipped him the bird again before folding my arms and staring up at the roof. "Need help falling to sleep?" he asked. I just continued to stare upward, angry as hell. "Want some cookies and warm milk?"

A small laugh broke through my frown. "You're joking."

"What you prefer hot chocolate, or tea?"

I looked at Tony, raising a brow but he returned it with a smile. "I'm fine." I said, putting my hands behind my head.

He pulled up a chair beside my bed and sat down. "Just to make sure you don't play me, I'm gonna' watch you sleep." He pulled out a small book and read, waiting patiently for me to fall to sleep.

"What are you reading?" I turned my head slightly to look at him.

"Old tales of Ninjago, Volume 8,"

I stared at him, he actually sounded smart for a second. "You actually read?"

He shot me a quick glare. "Yeah, I read." I noticed he was holding the book super close to his face. "You wear glasses don't you?" I smirked.

Tony looked up and sighed. "I don't need 'em, okay?" he spat, continuing to squint and read his book.

I sat up and leaned over. I slid my hand into his pocket and pulled out a pair of glasses. They were thin and black but on someone like him…He'd look like a nerd. Still, a cute nerd… "Put them on." I ordered. "No." he said sternly.

"Tony, there's nobody here but me, put them on, nobody's gonna' know…"

Tony sighed. "I gotta' get contacts…" he mumbled, taking the glasses from me. He put them on and I examined him.

He looked different so it took me a while to remind myself it was Tony Maxx I was staring at. With his pajamas on, he looked a bit younger than eighteen. I smiled. "You look like a nerd." I giggled. He scoffed and pulled the glasses off. "No put 'em back on, you look like a cute nerd," I took the glasses and slipped them back on for him. Tony looked down slightly and my smile returned.

"Now will you go to sleep?"

I nodded and laid my head on my pillow gently. Instead of drifting off, my thoughts kept drifting back to the damned Spirit Temple. "Don't tell me you can't sleep." He sighed. I shrugged. Tony flipped through his book for a while before stopping at a page. "Mothers kissed their children goodnight and it was said to help them fall asleep faster than any slumber potion to exist. Even up to the age where they were old enough to work, the mothers would kiss their children if they couldn't fall asleep." He read aloud.

Tony closed the book, pulled off his glasses and leaned forward. His hands rested on the bed beside either side of my body as he kissed my forehead for at least three seconds. He pulled away slightly and looked into my eyes. I reached out and cupped his face in my hands. I pulled him back down onto my lips and kissed him deeply. A light pink color spread across the bridge of my nose when he wrapped his arms around my lower back, kissing me back.

Okay, this was definitely not how moms back then kissed their kids, it was way better. He smelt and tasted like mint which mixed with the taste of all the orange soda I drank earlier. His caramel hair which fell down entwined with some curled up blonde strands of my hair which managed to escape my ponytail. We didn't pull apart until we had to breathe.

"Sleepy yet?" his voice was a whisper and he had a sly smile on his face.

"What I really wanted to say: No, give me another kiss and I'll think about it." "Um…No…Sorta'…"

Tony leaned down to give me another blissful kiss. When he pulled away, I opened my eyes, not exactly sure when I closed them in the first place. "What about now?"

I smiled lightly. "Yeah, thanks…"

"Good night…" he stood upright, picked up his stuff and left the room.

"Night…" When he left the room, I sighed dreamily and fell asleep easily.

"Marceline…" I hadn't heard that voice since I was fourteen.

"Mom?" I called out.

I was in the middle of the Spirit Forest just outside the Spirit Temple. "Don't come to the Spirit Temple, you'll put yourself and the others in danger."

"What's that supposed to mean? Mom, are you in trouble?"

"No, do not come!"

"What's wrong?"

"I ORDER YOU TO STAY AWAY!" she screamed. She smashed her fist into my side, my stomach, my chest and her foot slammed into my back harshly. "Mom…" I fell to the ground. I groaned and stood, slurred. "Ninjago…" I cried weakly, spinning in my green tornado. That didn't last long because I fell onto the ground again. A woman with bright blonde hair and blue eyes stood over me. "Stay away, Marceline." She raised a dagger.

"Mom, please…"

The dagger went straight through my heart.

My eyes snapped open and I jumped up, screaming. "Whoa! Sleeping Beauty, what's up?" Lloyd stood in my room. I felt the spot where the dagger went and was relieved to find it wasn't there. I relaxed. "You slept in late, what's up with you?"

"Oh…Just tired," I climbed out of my bed. "But I know where the Spirit Temple is now…"