A/N: Hello Fellow Ninja and friends! This fic will be another AU story where the world of Ninjago is being threatened once again! This is mainly an OC story and will be in multiple parts.

This whole story takes place in between the gap between seasons 7 and 8 of Ninjago.

That time specifically seems like the most logical place to start, anyways- enjoy the ride!

"BEEP- BEEP- BEEP!" The sound of an alarm went off ringing through a small bedroom. A young blonde-haired woman, who had come down with a case of bed hair, pressed the snooze button on the clock that was right next to her on the bedside table. She jumped out of bed and ran to her calendar, which was an officially licensed one of her favorite heroes, the Ninja. The protectors of the land the girl called home. She took out a red marker and crossed out the open day,

September 18th- today. A Monday.

The time? 6:45 Am.

The girl smiled as she eyed the calendar, for the month of September, there was a picture of the Green Ninja Himself, Lloyd. She smiled to herself and walked to a window that was facing another direction. She opened the curtains and looked out into the world. "HELLLOOOOO NINJAGO CITY!" she yelled, watching the citizens down below going about their days. "Sam?" A voice called from behind the girl, Sam turned around and noticed the voice of her mother coming from behind her bedroom door.

"Yes, Mom?"

"Finish getting dressed, I finished making chocolate chip pancakes."

Sam was ecstatic as her mom walked away from the door. She loved chocolate chip pancakes, it was one of her favorite foods. Sam then put the curtains back where they were and got dressed. She wore a long-sleeved green and blue striped shirt, light blue jeans, and a coral-colored bow adorned her head. It was her signature look, and as Sam looked in the mirror while brushing her teeth, she knew today was going to be a good day.

She headed out of the bathroom and greeted her mother, "Hey! Mornin!" Sam smiled, Her mom smiled, her daughter always gave a sense of cheerfulness and her smile would make anyone's day better.

"Good morning, Dear. Here are your pancakes."

Sam sat down at the dinner table and poured some syrup on her stack of pancakes. She took a bite and relished in how good they tasted. "Where's dad? Already at work?" Sam wondered, looking at her mother as she had taken her to eat her breakfast as well. "Unfortunately- yes. He had to take an extra shift"

Sam was a little disappointed to hear that, Her dad took nightshifts, He would usually sleep for most of the day but be active during the evening. But if he took another shift, he'd be too tired to stay up, and probably likely would be sleeping all day in order to work tomorrow. She sighed and finished her pancakes in silence. After she and her mom finished, Sam took the plates to the sink, washed them, and put them into the dishwasher.

"Ready to go?" Sam's mom asked, beginning to unlock the door.

"yeah- I'm ready." Sam grabbed her backpack and the two headed out of their apartment. It was on the 10th floor, so the two headed to the elevator. They rode the elevator down, and Sam greeted the people working the reception with a smile. "Good Morning Hellen, Morning Robert! Hi ! And hello to you !" Sam stated, everyone saying Hi to the young girl and her mom and they headed out of their apartment building.

The two went to the bus stop that was just .02 miles away from the building and waited 10 minutes with the other bus goers to ride the bus to school. Once the stop to Sam's high school came into view, the bus stopped, and Sam said goodbye to her mother, as she had more stops before going to her job as a florist in downtown Ninjago City.

Sam walked from the bus stop at the school. As she walked into the school gates, she instantly saw her best friends waiting for her. "yoooo Sammy! Mah Girl! What's up?" Maria, a girl with long black hair, wore a grey long sleeve with a red tee overtop and dark pants, with black boots. She ran up to Sam and gave her a fist bump. Maria was a firey soul, who was a party animal and loved getting herself into trouble. She loved causing fights when they weren't necessary- causing an in-school suspension or two. She lived in a small house with her parents. Her Mom was a Lawyer while her dad did professional wrestling. "Hey M, Hi Girls!" Sam turned to her other friends. There was Madison, a brunette who rocked a high bun, a light sea foam-colored blue shirt with a long sleeve dark grey underneath, white sneakers, and tan pants. Her Dad worked inside the illusive Borg Industries as a researcher, and her mom was a doctor. So, needless to say, they were smart, and so was Madison. She was definitely more on the analytical side, always solving problems and helping with homework or studying. Then there was May, She was a quiet girl who lived alone with her single Dad. Her mom had died due to contracting a disease when May was born and passed only a few weeks later. Her dad, however. Made the most of things, working as a Librarian, he was passionate about literature and was in the process of making his own book. May had often focused on her studies, finding English and History to be her strong suits. With a black bob, She wore a long sleeve light grey shirt stripped with darker grey and a dark grey shirt with darker grey sleeves, also with dark blue jeans and black boots like Maria's. They didn't have a big place, the two had a smaller apartment than Sam and her family, Sam had always worried about her. But May was strong, that much Sam knew. Then there was Victoria, She was somehow sweeter than Sam herself. Victoria had a heart 5 times the size of her chest. She was extremely empathetic and Victoria would always lend a helping hand when she could whenever she was asked. She wore a purple shirt and light blue pants, with tan sneakers and long magenta hair that was tied into two twin tails. She had two younger brothers and two parents. Her Mom was a hairstylist, and her dad worked with Sam's mom at the flower shop. Victoria, semi-picking up from her Mom, was into makeup and styling. She loved fashion and showing off cool outfits. There then was Jane. Jane was an athletic girl, the captain of the volleyball team, she had an older sister who was a Tennis star, famous in Ninjago. Jane had always wanted to be like her sister. Especially when her dad and mom were also into sports. Jane's mom was a pro swimmer, and her Dad was a pro golfer. Jane knew she had huge steps to fill, but she worked and trained hard. Wanting to get into the college that her family went to join the team there with a full-ride scholarship. Jane wore a light green tank top with blue shorts and high black boots, while her brown hair was tied in a long ponytail in the back. There was also Sadie, Sadie looked very kind on the outside, and most would think she was reserved, but Sadie was a bit snarky. Always cracked jokes and made fun of her friends for different things. but cared about her friends. She loved the color purple and always had a thing for music. She played the flute and loved to sing, though she didn't usually sing in front of her friends. Her mom worked as an actress and wasn't home for most of the time. Her dad was a lumberjack and was a very intimidating person. But he was a true teddy bear. Sadie also liked Math and Science, but was more reserved about her smarts than at the very least, Madison. She had a short purple top, tan pants, and grey sneakers. There were also the cousins, Uki and Nagi. The two lived in Nagi's house with her parents and Nagi's younger brother. The two were born in the same month and always considered themselves twins of sorts. Uki had a short hairstyle, a huge left bang that almost covered her eye, with a smaller bang on the right. Also, with a small side ponytail to the right as well. With a streak of dark blue which started from the left bang, went to the back and then the ponytail. She also wore a pink short sleeve with a dark grey long sleeve underneath. As for pants, she wore light blue jeans, and brown shoes. Uki loved to bake, mainly sweets. Cookies, bread, anything of the sort. She also had a love of history and loved reading older stories in her spare time. Sadly though, she was an orphan. Her dad disappeared when Uki was young and her mom dies when she was 11. Ever since then, Nagi's parents had taken care of her and provided for her the best that they could. Meanwhile, Nagi had shoulder-length curly blonde hair and sported a long teal-colored long sleeve. With dark brown pants and white flats. She, like Jane, was also into sports. Being on the soccer team, Nagi loved the outdoors, especially exploring, horse riding, and swimming. Last but certainly not least was Peni. Peni was a video game, manga, and anime geek. She would rather be doing anything else besides schoolwork. Which caused her grades to slip from time to time, but she never exactly failed a class. So- that was something, isn't it? Her older brother who was 12 years older raised his sister himself for a few years at this point. Peni loved her brother and the two were very close. Peni herself had two dark magenta twin drills for her hair, wore a dark magenta top, tan shorts with knee-high socks, and black flats. Also, Peni was small. She had a condition where she was only 4'8 (146 CM for my non-American readers!) She was as old as everyone else, as all of them were Juniors in High School currently.

Sam walked over to the rest of her friends and greeted them all. They always met in front of the school, and only when everyone had arrived would they all go inside. "Hiya, Sammy! Ready to get today started?" Jane asked, "Sure am! Let's go inside!" Sam beamed, "Finally! I missed breakfast and I'm dying to get something inside." Peni stated, giving a weak smile. "I told you you need to be more responsible and pack yourself extra food, you almost always keep forgetting to bring something to eat." Sadie scolded, Peni stuck her tongue out, and the group walked to the school cafeteria to order some food, if they wanted.

sitting at the cafeteria, Peni dug into her cereal and apple juice, Sam decided on a simple apple, Sadie got herself some water while Jane got herself a hydrating sports drink from the vending machine inside the cafeteria. The other girls didn't get anything. Even so, the group's conversation was lively, as it always was. Everyone in the school knew of their clique. Honestly, Sam herself didn't remember how it started, she just remembered meeting Maria a year ago in elementary school, then Jane and Victoria, then the group just kept growing until it was where it was now. Sam always thought about her friend group splitting up, especially after high school. The college Jane wanted to attend was cities away, and Sam herself was eyeing to become a Teacher at the local community college. Madison, no doubt would take some sort of academic path too, maybe even working at Borg Industries or some other highly established team in Ninjago.

"Hey, you ok? What's on your mind?" "huh-?" Sadie had nudged Sam with her elbow, as she hadn't realized she was spaced out and lost in her thoughts. She also hadn't realized everyone at the table gazing at her. "Oh...Nothing in particular..." Sam responded, feeling slightly embarrassed by everyone's stares. "Daydreaming again?" Maria wondered, Sam shook her head. "No, It's not that- It's nothing to worry about!" Sam smiled. "You're doing it again-" Madison quipped. Sam was perplexed. "What?" "You're saying everything's fine, and when you say that- you're lying," Madison explained. "She's not lying-! She's just-not-telling us-the truth...big difference!" Victoria added. "You guys, you all need to stop worrying! You know I just...get caught up in my thoughts sometimes, nothing more, nothing less!" The group looked at Sam with concern. "Well, anyways- Are you all coming tonight for our big game?" Jane asked, trying desperately to change the subject. "Oh, you know it! Wouldn't miss it for the world!"

MEANWHILE IN ANOTHER PART OF THE CITY...

"Anything yet?" A hooded figure wearing a red-colored ninja gi, walked to the edge of a building, seemingly looking around for something. He had a finger placed on his ear as if he had a communicator. "Negative." One voice said, coming over the com. "Nope, nothing." A second one also stated. "UGH! Where IS he?" The red ninja walked around pacing angrily to and fro, he looked in the streets, in the buildings, anywhere everywhere. But none of the people who walked on their daily commutes were him. "Don't worry kai, we'll find him." the first voice stated, trying to sound comforting, but to Kai-

it wasn't really helping... Kai ended the communication and walked around more on the rooftop.

"Where are you, Cole?"

BACK IN NINJAGO HIGH SCHOOL, (approximately 7 hours later)

"Bye, girls!" Sam exclaimed, waving to her friends as she walked to the city bus. She was walking on the main sidewalk leading out of the school and was following the other bus kids to the stop. At the same time, Peni's brother pulled into the school and honked at Sam. "Hey, Sammy! Listen, Your mom called- she wanted me to take you home." He stated, Sam blinked, "Really? Did she say why?"

he shook his head, then noticed the line that was forming behind him, and how angry some of the parents/guardians of the students were getting. Especially when they started honking at Peni's older brother. "Get in and I'll tell you and Peni on the way."

Sami quickly got into the four-seater pickup truck and patiently waited for the driver to pull around to the main pick-up area and patiently waited for Peni to get in, she claimed into the back passenger seat, being very confused after seeing Sam. Sam awkwardly scotched over to the other backseat, with confused may and Sadie in view sitting on benches waiting to be picked up. "gotta take Sam home." Peni's older brother explained. That satisfied the girls and they waved Peni and her brother goodbye.

After about a minute of tension, Peni broke the silence."Soooo Not that I don't mind seeing you and all, but what's up, bro? Why are you taking Sam with us?" Peni asked, Sam shook her head. "I have absolutely no clue-" "There have been some dangerous things happening today." Peni and Sam looked at the driver of the truck with concern and intrigue. "Dangerous things?" Sam wondered, Peni's brother nodded. "Yeah, There have been some robberies and traffic accidents today. A lot of the buses especially are ending up being later than usual. Two streets from your apartment were where some douche tried to rob a convenience store lady at gunpoint." that sent chills up both of Peni and Sam's spines. She knew exactly what store he was talking about, she had been to it a handful of times to get snacks here and there. "And get this- people say the earth ninja, Cole, was kidnapped." "KIDNAPPED?" Both Sam and Peni shrieked, looking at each other. The driver of the truck winced. "Enough shrieking, please, but yeah- nothing has been confirmed. But there are plenty of rumors that he has been missing all day. That's why people have been robbing the stores and being manic, the Ninja are short-staffed." everyone paused as they took these words in. "Your mom didn't want to risk you getting hurt by some bus-jacker, so she asked if I could take you home, I was free so I said yes."

Sam sighed and folded her arms. Peni looked down. "Cole- Kidnapped? I mean- he's gotta be alright, right Sam?" peni wondered, looking at her friend. "Of course! At least, I hope so.." Sam was unsure. of course, they could be false rumors, after all. But where was Cole if he was kidnapped? And who was the one who- "RUMBLE RUMBLE..." Suddenly the ground shook slightly, it wasn't enough to even sway a car, but Sam felt it, clear as day. And judging by Peni's expression, she felt it too. "DUDE- Did you feel that?!" Peni asked, Sam nodded violently. "Felt something? What do you mean?" Peni's older brother was slightly concerned, as he didn't feel anything.

"Bro seriously, did you not feel that? it was like- a slight tremor! like an earthquake or something another!" Peni explained, clenching her hands into fists for emphasis. "It might've just been the street or the car. Today is already weird enough, don't make it more weird with potential earthquakes, besides, those don't really- you know, happen here. Only if caused by like a giant snake or something." Peni went "HUMPH!" Then crossed her arms. Sam was curious as to what she felt too, but she figured Peni's brother was right, it was just the car or the road. She shook her head from thinking about it further and opened her phone, realizing she had not done so until now.

4 missed calls,

10 missed texts-

All from Mom...

uh oh-

-"Sam, Carson will pick you up today after school, Things are bad not only here in Downtown, but near our street as well. Please accept his ride and get home safe!"

-"Hello?"

-"Sam? it's mom please respond."

-"Text me when you can "

-Hey mom, sorry, just got out of class, heading home now.

-Good, I'm almost home, it'll take me about 15 minutes to get there.

A quick drive later, Sam was in front of her apartment building and was ready to go inside. "Thanks, Carson. I appreciate the ride. Saves me a bunch of time!" Sam beamed. "No problem, hey, if you need anything, just let me-" "SAM!" Sam looked to her left and saw her mom speedwalking towards her, She gave Sam a hug when she approached.

"Any trouble, Carson?"

"None at all!" Carson laughed.

"good, Hi Peni!"

"Hello!"

"We should get going, looks like the traffic is acting up around here," Carson explained, placing his hands on the wheel. "Oh yes, we should go inside, Thanks again for your help!" Sam's mom said, giving a wave as she hurried Sam along. "Bye, Sammy!" Peni yelled before Carson pulled out of the parking spot and started driving away.

The two entered their little apartment and unloaded their things. "Ok, I'm going to get some paperwork filled out, you get started on any homework you have." Sam's mom stated, walking to her messenger bag and pulling out a huge thick red binder. On the front to had the company logo and her mom's name, Loretta. Loretta sat at the dining table to work, and Sam took up the couch and pulled out her math homework, she would get started on that first.

LATER, IN ANOTHER PART OF NINJAGO CITY, (approximately at 1:45 AM)

The full moon illuminated the streets of Ninjago. Kai was patrolling the city, looking for something to do. He was riding his motorcycle and eyeing around. Looking for trouble. And eventually, he found it.

"THE LOCKCODE TO THE SAFE, NOW!" Kai heard a male voice yell, he immediately stopped and went over to where the voice was coming from. looking inside of a Bank, He saw two masked men. One of them threatened two civilian women and a man with a gun, while the other one also held a gun but had it trained on two civilian men. Looking in further, Kai noticed the man who yelled was holding a long butcher knife to one of the bank attendant's throats who were behind a teller's desk, while two others were frozen in fear.

Kai wanted to intervene, but he knew he had to go ninja mode. One wrong move could mean a casualty. He looked for a way to take out the two before going for the ringleader. "Ok- Le-let em- me- I -uh- let me go -go-go unlock- the- t- the safe-" one of the bank attendants stuttered, he was shaking uncontrollably and stepped forward. The man took the knife away from the other bank teller and motioned for the one who spoke up to come out and lead the way. The attendant complied and walked to the area where the safe was. "YES! That's more like it! C'mon JJ, let's go get that loot! Ben- you gotta stay here and keep an eye on the hostages, make sure that they don't go anywhere." The ringleader ordered. "But I wanna check out the gold bars!" Ben whined, "No one cares what you want Ben!" The one named JJ retorted. ben sighed and the ringleader and JJ walked with the hostage to the safe.

Kai noticed Ben ranting to himself and noticed he was alone with the civilians. Now was his time to move. He climbed to the roof and with his fire, made a makeshift laser and sliced a hole in one of the rooftop glass panes. When he was almost done, the crude glass circle almost fell, but Kai grabbed it just in time by going onto his side and putting his whole arm in the crude cutout. he sighed in relief. Kai was on a glass roof, laying on his stomach, and he caught the glass circle. All was good...

until Kai's weight started cracking the rest of the glass.

"Oh- Sh-"

Kai fell, barely managing to prop himself back onto his feet before landing, almost tripping in the process. Everyone in the bank gasped or screamed when Kai dropped in. He was only supposed to drop in, no glass involved. But now, things got difficult.

The gunman Ben turned to face Kai. A stunned look on his face. "UH-"

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE YOU IDIOT!" JJ had run into the room after hearing the glass raining down. "GET HIM!"

Ben and JJ started firing at Kai, he dodged or used spinjitzu to deflect the bullets. The civilians all shrieked and placed their hands over their ears. Kai grunted and mainly punched or used melee moves when he got close, as his legs took a good hit from the fall and Kai was feeling the aftereffects. Noticing this, the one named JJ tried to kick or otherwise injure Kai's legs. He landed some good kicks that caused Kai to swallow a scream, but he kept going. And it wasn't much of a battle, as Kai was much too tough of an opponent for the two meager street thugs. He took away their guns and knocked them out with a punch to the jaw for each.

Kai then walked, with a slight limp towards the safe room, he found the ringleader, stuffing money and gold bars into 4 duffle bags. He quickly turned around to see Kai. "Ah! A Ninja? I thought you guys were breaking up again, just like when that robo-dork got axed." He mocked. "I'm going to let you get away with that ONCE, but- Don't. mention. Zane. Again." Kai seethed. The ringleader laughed deeply. "OR WHAT?" He challenged, pulling the hostage he had closer, he held a small pistol to his temple. kai froze. "Don't do anything rash-" Kai pleaded, holding his hands up slightly. "HAHA! Just as I thought- You ain't gonna do jack!" The ringleader laughed. "Tell ya what's gonna happen, I am going to take my leave before the coppers show up, and this young man gets to keep his life, whatdoyasay?" the ringleader asked. It wasn't really a choice, more of a demand. "What makes you think I won't fire blast you in the face once you let go of him?" Kai asked, "Simple. I'll show ya!"

The ringleader walked through the main area of the bank, every civilian now vanished into thin air to who knows where. Kai watched as more of the ringleader's goons loaded the unconscious ones Kai had fought into a limo, with the ringleader getting in. Kai wanted to protest or do something, But the gun was still aimed at the bank teller's head. Once the ringleader got nice and comfy in his white limo, the window rolled down so the pistol was in view, smiled. "Pleasure doing business." The window rolled up, and the limo drove away, and Kai couldn't do anything about it. He had an intrusive thought to blow up the limousine, but that could cause in casualties to the civilians around. And the limo had no license plate either, so it's not like they could go off of that.

The young bank teller turned to Kai. "Crazy night, huh?" he laughed nervously. "You're tellin me..." kai sighed. he then finally heard police sirens closing in. "Make sure you give your whole story to the police, and your coworkers too." Kai asked, The man nodded. "yes- and thanks Ninja!" kai smiled and headed on his motorbike to drive off.

Kai opened the window to his room in the monastery after parking his bike. He tried his best not to make any noise and to get in as efficiently as possible. He softly moved through the window pane and closed the window behind him when he was through to his room. Before he could turn around to get himself to bed, a light came on in his room. Kai jumped at the sudden light and turned around to see who or what had turned it on.

It was a blonde-haired, green-eyed young man who wore a dark green shirt and black shorts. He did not look happy. "Lloyd?! What the heck you almost gave me a heart attack!" kai whisper shouted. "Do you have ANY idea what time it is? What have you been doing?" Lloyd asked, Kai rolled his eyes. "I dunno maybe like uh-" "3 Am. It's 3 a m." Lloyd corrected. "I don't know why you're so upset, I was just doing a little patrolling, that's all!" Kai lied, placing the sword that he had on him back on its rack. "Ok A- You know we call it a night once it hits midnight, we need to get our sleep. B- You said that you wouldn't do anything reckless! With Cole gone you've been more irresponsible. And C- "Just patrolling?" Then explain what happened to your clothes! You look banged up!"

"I'm fine, Lloyd. Sure things happened tonight but it's nothing! And besides, you might be our "temporary leader" but that doesn't mean you get to order me around like you're my dad!" Kai waved his hands dismissively. "Fine. be that way, but we're not done talking about this. Now get some sleep, ok?" Lloyd asked, he quietly opened Kai's door to leave. Kai said nothing as Lloyd let himself out.

Kai sighed deeply, he knew Lloyd was just looking after him. Kai didn't bother with brushing his teeth or doing anything else besides putting on his own pajamas and simply going to sleep. he was considering sleeping in his Ninja Gi, but he decided that would've been too uncomfortable.