At Stepp Wisdom, Nya, Demir and Rose were continuing their elemental training, Ian was holding an iron ore rock, Rose was looking into a flower pot that had a sprout in it, while Nya was looking at the watercrane as she glared at the drops of water while Wu focused.
"Concentrate." Wu spoke up to them. "Focus on reversing the flow. Become one with the Elements. Embrace it. You three can control them. Become the Water, Metal, and Nature Ninja." He encouraged them.
Demir held the stone, trying to use his powers to mold it while Rose focused on the sprout trying to make it grow and Nya concentrated to reverse the flow. Soon, after a moment, the water stopped flowing, which made Wu gasped before he frowned when he saw Nya blocking the flow.
Demir and Rose saw this as they looked at her. "Uh, Nya, that's not what Sensei met by reversing the flow." Demir said with a brow.
"But I'm not the Water Ninja." Nya insisted. "I'm a samurai. I'm afraid my friends are in trouble, and I won't be there to help them as the only thing I know I'm good at."
"But Nya, Master Wu stated that your water power is the only weapon against ghosts." Rose said to her. "You can be more helpful to the Ninja if you can master your power as Demir and I are trying."
"But we don't even know for sure if I have the power, so if everyone is waiting for me to discover I'm some sort of Water Ninja, maybe we've got a problem." Nya ranted as she waved her arms, which slightly moved the pond's water, which got the three attention.
"And maybe we have an even bigger problem." Misako spoke up as she walked up to them.
Soon, the group walked back into the Tea Shop as they saw Ronin looking around the shop while Susan, Nao and the Chungs watched him, "Ronin?" Nya said in surprise.
"Wait, that's Ronin?" Demir asked.
"He just barged in, acting like he owns the place," Susan said with a frown.
"Your first problem is the opening of a tea shop in the middle of the dry season." Ronin spoke up as he turned to them. "Water's at a premium. Then there's the name. Steep Wisdom? Ugh. More like steep debt. I mean, where are the customers?" He joked with a smile.
"What is this strange fellow talking about?" Fen asked with a brow.
"You need to have a name with pizzazz." Ronin continued. "Like Curiousi-tea! Or Shake-Your-Boo-Tea! Heh! These are just off the top of my head." He said as he looked through a book. "This place is a cluttered mess." He complained as Irene then came up to him and closed the book.
"Excuse me, Ronin," Irene said firmly, "But if you're not here for tea or to adopt then what are you doing on our Property?" She questioned.
"And in our shop?" Misako questioned.
"You mean my shop." Ronin said with a smirk as they all looked at him in confusion. "Oh right, they never told you." He said in realization as he gave a smile. "For those who don't know me, the name's Ronin. And since I'm now effectively the majority shareholder, I'm your new business partner." He explained as they all gasped in shock.
"Shareholder? What are you talking about, Cad?" Rose questioned.
"Well, after the Ninja lost the Scroll of Who-what-zu to that Morro dude, I bailed them out in exchange for their shares in the tea shop." Ronin explained before he frowned. "Since they destroyed my pawn shop, I thought it was fair trade. Until I saw this sorry place. Ah."
"They didn't get the Scroll of Airjitzu?!" Nao asked in shock.
"If they didn't get it, they'll never be able to follow the rest of the clues to my Father's Tomb." Wu said in worried.
"Or save Lloyd," Misako said in equal worry.
"Okay, that's it! To heck with this Water training!" Nya said as she started marching out, "I'm going after them, they need Samurai X more than ever!"
"But Nya." Rose tried to see reason before Ronin spoke up.
"Relax, I got good news and Bad news. The good news is the Ninja are fine." Ronin assured them. "I told them there's another possible way they could get it. Don't you know in life, there's always second chances."
This made the others relax while Nya slumped in disappointment, "That's great, so how are they gonna get it?" Demir asked with a smile.
"Uh yeah, that's the bad news," Ronin said sheepishly, "Have you ever heard of Master Yang's Haunted Temple?" He asked as everyone became alarmed.
At the top of a hill, an old temple covered in roots and vines rested upon the top as a few people walked up to it. "Welcome to Yang's Haunted Temple, the historical landmark and former home of Sensei Yang, the notorious Sensei without a pupil, infamous for creating the lost martial art of Airjitzu," a tour guide woman informed the tourists as the Ninja were part of the tour group as well. Some of the people were taking a picture of an old statue of a unicorn stallion with a long beard like Sensei Wu. "Unfortunately, we can't take our tour groups inside, for rumor saying anyone trapped inside its walls at sunrise, will be turned into a ghost permanently." This caused some of the tourists to let out gasps of excitement at this information. "But if you listen closely, maybe we'll be able to hear the ghost of Sensei Yang himself looking for his lost pupils."
"I HOPE IT'S NOT A RUMOR! FOR IT'S OUR ONLY HOPE!" Zane shouted at the rest of the Ninja cringed.
"Ah, sorry about our loud friend." Cole spoke up with a sheepish look. "He's a little hard of hearing."
"Known for his un-" the tour woman called with a look before she cleared her throat and continued the tour. "-usual teaching methods." As she continued onward to the tour, the Ninja stayed behind.
"I thought you said you fixed him?" Lydie asked Jay.
"At least he's no longer talking backward," Jay said in defense as he gave a sheepish smile. "I guess my tinkering got his volume level stuck, heh, heh."
"AT LEAST YOU CAN UNDERSTAND ME NOW!" Zane yelled into Cole's ear, which made him cringe.
"Dating back…" the tour woman continued loudly with a look as she cleared her throat again. "... to the Edo Period…"
"Well, from now on, only speak if you have something really important to say," Cole said to Zane.
"Okay, wait, who put you in charge, Cole?" Lydie questioned.
"I did." Cole answered. "After you guys muck it up, it's my turn to be in charge. And, like me, I like my plans simple. We sneak in, learn Airjitzu from the Ghost of Sensei Yang, then get out before sun up." He explained as they looked at the temple.
"Since Morro already knows Airjitzu, we just have to hope he hasn't figured out the next clue." Kai said hopefully.
"He already got a head start on us. So we better make this count to catch up in this race." Lydie said with a serious look.
"Well, the sun is setting, which means we should head back to the bus. Wouldn't want anyone to turn into a ghost," The tour woman joked with chuckles as the tourists entered the bus as they all chuckled and the bus drove off.
At night, Yang's temple is completely deserted as the owl's hoot. The Ninja then came out from behind Yang's statue as they sneakily infiltrated the temple. Cole and Jay struggled to get the wood off the boarded-up windows. But Lydie cleared her throat, getting the two boys' attention as they turned to her, Zane and Kai as she opened the front door, revealing it to be open as they entered.
"Oh… Ah, okay," Cole said sheepishly as they entered after the others, but the second they were all in the temple, the door closed on their own and locked them in.
In a hidden cave, Morro had set up a green campfire while holding the staff. He looked around the wall, feeling a bit tense, remembering the last time he was in this position, before he shook it off and looked back to the staff, "The Second Symbol." He said, rolling the Staff on the ground, seeing the Second symbol was a sword in a cloud, "Can any of you decipher it? There's a reason I brought you out." He told Soul Archer and two other ghosts, one was a female ghost with a double-ended sword while the other was a skeleton ghost with a ghostly scythe.
"I can," the Female ghost said, floating over to him, "But you'll need more than airjitzu or your little wind powers to get there," She told Morro.
"Are you suggesting, Bansha, that we'll need to possess a few more vessels?" Soul Archer asked as he flew in next while the skeleton ghost floated around.
"Ha, ha," The ghost chuckled. "Ghoul Tar like! Ghoul Tar likes to take! Take now, heh!" He laughed.
"Settle down, Ghoul Tar." Morro said to him. "Master would want us to be patient." He said before he gave a smirk as a certain memory came to him. "I think I know where to pick up a few more… toys."
Back at the Airjitzu Temple, the Ninja walked into the Study, Cole gave a nervous look as he sighed before a spider got in front of his face, making him scream as he jumped back before Kai swatted the spider away. "Relax. If this place is truly haunted, we just need to wait until he shows himself." He stated as he gestured to the portrait of Sensei Yang.
"Oh, he should've been here by now," Cole said in fear as they're backs were turned, they didn't see the portrait turning to them, "You heard the Tour guide! If we're not out before sun up, we'll be ghosts!"
"You didn't buy into all that malakary did you?" Kai joked as Lydie noticed the painting and turned to it as it returned to its original position.
"Hey, did that painting just," Lydie tried to ask.
"I don't wanna be a ghost! Who wants to be a ghost?! Why didn't anyone warn us this place would get so creepy after dark?!" Cole frantically questioned as Zane looked through a book.
"Eh, remind me again why we agree to put the guy afraid of ghosts in charge?" Jay questioned with a brow as Zane walked up to him.
"LISTEN TO THIS!" Zane shouted, which made Jay cringed.
"Argh! Allow me." Jay said to Zane as he took the book for him and cleared his throat as he read it. "Whoa. It says here though many believed, Sensei Yang's unusually strict teachings drove his pupils away, others admit to never seeing any of them leave the temple grounds, suggesting a more sinister plot." He read while pacing around with a smile. "Haha! How awesome is that?"
"Not awesome. Not even a little," Cole quickly answered nervously.
"Don't believe everything you read," Kai told him before Jay read more.
"'Yang was hard on his pupils for a reason, for in his words: As Iron Sharpens Iron, Sensei Sharpens Student.'" Jay recited.
Lydie rubbed her chin, "Well, we already know what Iron Sharpens Iron, means: To inspire and better each other," Lydie recalled the lesson from her Uncle, "So maybe there's a connection there,"
"Wonder what he means by that-" Kai wondered before the grandfather clock hit midnight and started chiming as moaning sounds could be heard while it shook.
Cole looked in fear. "It's him! He's in the clock!" He frantically said as the moaning continued as the Ninja looked on in fear.
"Uh, you're the leader right now, Cole." Lydie said with a nervous look. "Check it out." She said as she pushed Cole forward. Cole gulped and approached the clock while behind him the others smirked, "Wait for it," She whispered eagerly as Cole then opened the clock as cawing sounds were heard and something flew out.
"AAAAHHHH!" Cole screamed and hunkered down, trembling in fear as flying out of the clock was just Zane's falcon that landed on the Ice Ninja's arm.
Zane then pressed on the falcon's chest buttons, as it gave a ghostly moan and the four of them laughed at Cole who stood back up, "A Prank? Really?" He asked with a look.
"We were just trying to help you relax," Kai smirked.
"Yeah! You should've heard yourself scream!" Jay chuckled.
"Oh wait, you can!" Lydie grinned before turning to Zane, "Instant replay, please," She requested.
Zane nodded as he pressed on his falcon again as it replayed Cole's screaming, which made them all laugh, "Who knew big tough Cole, the Master of Earth, could have such a girlish voice," Lydie laughed.
But then they all heard a loud thud as they gasped, but Cole wasn't buying it. "Ah. Another prank? Real funny. Didn't anyone teach you to quit while you're ahead?" He questioned as he made his way through the door and out the study.
The others looked in fear. "Uh, did you plan that, Kai?" Lydie asked nervously.
"No. Was that you, Jay?" Kai asked nervously.
"Not me. I thought it was Zane." Jay answered in fear.
"ME NEITHER! I THOUGHT THIS WAS LYDIE!" Zane added before their eyes widened in realization.
"Cole! Wait!" They all screamed as they rushed after Cole.
Cole walked down the hall to a door that rattled, banging and knocking. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, very scary." Cole sarcastically said as he then saw a door moving with the knob turning. "As if I believe in ghosts." He added.
"I swear Cole, we didn't do that!" Kai told him as they all rushed towards him.
"Let's go back to the Study!" Jay stated.
"IT WASN'T US!" Zane shouted.
"Get away from there!" Lydie warned.
"Okay, I have to admit, this is pretty good. How'd you guys get the handle to move all by itself?" He questioned before he gave a smirk. "Is Nya behind there?" He asked with a smirk as he turned to the door.
"Don't open that door!" Jay screamed as they all screamed as Cole opened the door, revealing it to be an empty dojo.
"Well, that was anticlimactic," Kai commented as they entered the dojo.
"Sensei's Yang dojo." Lydie said as she saw the picture of Yang, three candles and four swords stacked on the walls that looked similar to the Sword of Fire. "This is where he must've trained his pupils Airjitzu,"
"Or got rid of them." Jay said in fear.
"Knock it off, guys." Cole said with a look. "If that wasn't you behind the rattling door, who was it?"
"The Ghost of Sensei Yang." They all said in fear.
"As iron sharpens iron, sensei sharpens students," Yang's voice spoke up in the air, which spooked the Ninja.
"It's the Ghost of Sensei Yang!" They all screamed in fear before Jay realized something.
"Uh, guys, what does he mean by 'sharpen'?" Jay asked fearfully as they looked at the four swords in the walls as they started moving.
"Let's not hang around to find out!" Cole shouted as the swords got off the walls and started floating as they aimed toward the Ninja.
"Let's get out of here!" Lydie exclaimed as she and the boys started screaming and quickly ran out of the dojo and closed the door, which got the swords stuck.
The Ninja ran down the hallways in fear as bats started flying around and the pictures started moving while Yang gave spooky laughter. "Uh, does this mean he doesn't want to teach us Airjitzu?" Jay asked as they kept running.
"Forget Airjitzu, where's the window?!" Kai shouted.
"This way!" Cole pointed down to the window ahead of them as they tried to budge it open, but they couldn't as they screamed as the bats flew around.
"Ah, we're caged in like animals!" Jay exclaimed as Yang's laughter was heard again.
"Argh! Let's try the front door!" Cole called out.
"But that's downstairs! And in case you haven't paid any attention, there's flying swords trying to slice and dice us!" Lydie exclaimed with a look.
"THERE'S A DUMBWAITER!" Zane shouted as he pointed to Jay.
"Hey, watch who you're calling…" Jay stopped before he turned around. "Oh, a dumbwaiter." He said with a smile as he saw the dumbwaiter behind them. "That can take us down!"
Soon, the Ninja were stuffed into the dumbwaiter as Jay and Kai were pulling the rope down, "You said there'd be enough room for all five of us in here." Jay grunted as he and Kai kept pulling.
"MY CALCULATIONS ARE ALWAYS CORRECT!" Zane shouted.
"Ow, my ear!" Cole said as he covered his ears.
"Zane, your voice, remember?!" Lydie said as she rubbed her ear. "Can you turn on a light or something, because we can't even see a thing."
Zane nodded as he turned on the flashlights through his eyes before they gasped when they saw the ghost of Yang appeared in the center. "As iron sharpens iron…" Yang started but this caused Jay and Kail to pull the rope faster as they screamed and the dumbwaiter went down until they hit the first floor and the Ninja ran out of it. The floating swords appeared again, but this time with a swarm of spiders crawling towards them as Lydie let out a fearful scream at them.
"Aaahhh! Spiders!" Lydie screamed in fear as the arachnids crawled after the Ninja, who screamed in fear. "I hate spiders!" She yelled as she tried to use her powers to destroy them, but they only gave a weak spark that only knocked some away as they continued to crawl towards them. "Stupid weak powers!" She exclaimed.
"Forget that, run!" Kai yelled as they dragged Lydie away as they turned a corner as the swords stabbed the wall as they made it to the front door as they tried to open it as they saw Yang floating towards them.
"As iron sharpens iron, sensei sharpens students!" Yang recited as the Ninja got the door opened, but when they exited it, they all screamed as they fell before they grabbed onto each other as they realized, they and the whole temple was floating in a green vortex abyss.
"AHH! What is that?! What's down there!" Jay screamed in fear as his legs dangled over the edge, "Wait don't tell me! I don't wanna know!" He pleaded.
"WE APPEAR TO BE TRAPPED IN SOME KIND INTERDIMENSIONAL ETHEREAL REALM!" Zane told them as Cole pulled them back into the temple.
"I told you not to tell me, Zane! Knowing that just makes things worse!" Jay screamed as they went back into the temple and quickly shut the door as Yang sent out a ghostly chilling laugh.
Back at Steep Wisdom, Misako was giving the tea to the customer. "Thank you for coming back to Steep Wisdom. Here's a little something extra." She said as she gave an extra bag to the customer, which he was about to leave before Ronin blocked him.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. We're a business, not charity." Ronin said as he took the extra bag away. "We're here to make money, not friends."
The man gave a brow to Misako. "Uh, thanks and come again." She said as the man walked off. "I hope." She sighed.
At the back of the tea shop, Demir and Rose were seen doing some more training as Ronin walked up to them, "So how goes the elemental training?" Ronin questioned.
"So far, pretty solid," Demir said as he slammed his fists together and was soon coated in metal, "Managed to Metal up for a good while, so there's that," He said as he flexed his arms.
"And so far, I've been able to speed along the growth of existing plants," Rose said as she looked towards some bamboo chutes and made them grow."
"Heh, not bad," Ronin commented before looking around, "Hey, where's the Water girl?" He asked, seeing Nya was nowhere to be seen.
"Oh, she gave up on training and decided to take a dip in the lake," Demir said, jerking a thumb to the lake before Nya resurfaced from the water.
"I'm not quitting! I'm just taking a break," Nya said with a frown as she swam back to shore, "Besides, shouldn't swimming be considered water training?" She asked.
"I'm pretty sure anyone can swim, Nya." Rose said with a sheepish look as she brought out a towel, "That is a lovely color on you though," She complimented Nya's swimsuit.
"Thanks, anyway." Nya said as she took her towel and started drying herself. "Ronin, you have to get me out of here."
"I thought you can't go until your training's done," Ronin said in confusion. "Besides, I have a business to run."
"Yeah, and we're not even ready for the field yet." Demir pointed out as he got out of his metal coating. "Rose and I barely manage to get our powers figured out. You on the other hand, not so much a drop."
"That's just it! I'm not a Water Ninja, I'm Samurai X," Nya said firmly, "And Samurai X has saved the Ninja before so she's gonna save them again. And the longer Wu keeps me here with this pointless training, the longer my friends are in danger."
"Take the Bounty." Ronin suggested, but the three looked at him with dull looks.
"Um, Ronin…" Rose started with a brow.
"Oh, I see, that would bring too much attention." Ronin said in realization. "Wu's my partner, I'd never do anything behind his back." But then Nya took out a bag of money, which made him smile.
"I'll give you a ride after we close." He said as Nya smiled.
"You know this is a bad idea, right?" Demir asked with a surprised brow.
"If it gets me out of here to help my friends, I'm okay with it." Nya said to him.
"So you're going behind Sensei's back just to prove that you're not the Water Ninja?" Rose asked.
"How many times do I have to tell you I'm not the Water Ninja?!" Nya groaned stubbornly.
"You're just denying yourself, Nya." Demir said with a frown. "I mean, Rose and I manage well, but you kept thinking you're not what Wu said you be."
"Well then, I'm gonna prove him wrong. And you can't stop me." Nya said as she then went back to the pond to swim some more.
"And they said the Earth Ninja was a hardhead," Demir commented as they watched Nya go.
"Heh, take it from me, running from the ugly truth just makes it even uglier when it catches you," Ronin commented as he held the bag of money.
"Who asked you, Ronin?" Rose questioned before she sighed. "We'll come along to see if we can change Nya's mind."
"Okay, but if you have any cash-" Ronin stopped when Demir armored up and glared at Ronin, who flinched back a bit. "Uh, actually, it's on the house." He said with a nervous smile as Rose and Demir smirk at the offer.
Back in Yang's Temple, the Ninja regrouped back in the studies. "Ah. All right, so there's no way out of the haunted temple, but at least all the commotion died down," Jay said to them.
"Yeah, we just gotta go through the night together," Kai said while the picture of Yang looked at them without them knowing. "Show Yang we're not scared." Suddenly, he had the strange feeling they were being watched as he turned to the picture, and the picture quickly returned to how it was.
And then a clock chimes as they all scream in fear. "It's just a clock. We're not afraid of time, but we are afraid of not getting out in time," Cole muttered as the clock showed it was 2:16 in the morning as Cole started to panic. "Oh, my gosh, why did we spend the night in a haunted temple!?"
"EVERYONE, GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!" Zane yelled out. "EVEN IF MY VOLUME WASN'T STUCK, I'D STILL BE YELLING AT THIS DECIBEL!"
Lydie sighed, calming down, "Zane is right. What are we doing?" She asked her team, "We already lost out on Airjitzu once and this is our only way to learn it and get to the Tomb before Morro does."
"Lydie's right." Cole spoke next. "We need to toughen up. We're Ninja! We can't let this opportunity pass!"
"Uh, guys?" Kai asked nervously as he fearfully looked at a painting with a boat in stormy weather in the ocean that started moving. "Are paintings supposed to move?"
Jay walked over to the painting and touched it, causing the water to start flooding the room with fish and water much to Cole's horror. "Why did you touch the scary picture, Jay!?"
"I didn't know it could do that, Cole!" Jay snapped as more water started pouring as Trail quickly ran up to the door.
"Unh!" Kai grunted as he tried to turn the handles. "It's locked! Unh!" He tried to get the door open as the water started to rise.
"As iron sharpens iron, sensei sharpens student!" Yang echoed through the room again.
"Oh, great, back for round two!" Jay cried out.
"I'll give him this, he knows how to be spooky!" Lydie shouted.
Kai started hyperventilating as more water rose. "Water. I'm afraid of… water! We're all gonna drown!" He screamed as he kept pulling on the door as the room slowly but steadily rose.
"It's all in your head, Kai." Jay said nervously. "He's trying to scare us out so we don't get Airjitzu." He added as Cole and Lydie resurfaced.
"I don't know, it tastes pretty weird to me." Cole stated.
"And it feels real as well!" Lydie said as she moved her soaked hair aside. "And I thought ghosts and water don't mix!"
"WHERE'S KAI?!" Zane asked in worry as they all looked around for Kai.
Beneath the water Kai was struggling to get the door open before he was finally able to do so. The moment he opened the door, he and the other Ninja flooded out of the room and into the hallways as they screamed. They all coughed up some water before they stood up and shook to dry themselves off.
"Well, that wasn't refreshing!" Kai complained.
"First the haunting, then the bugs, then the water, what's next?!" Cole listed out everything that happened before Lydie let out a gasp of realization.
"That's it! He is testing us!" Lydie told the others. "Don't you see? Cole is afraid of ghosts, I'm afraid of spiders, and Kai is afraid of water. He's making us face our fears."
"As iron sharpens iron, sensei sharpens student," Kai repeated Yang's words. "She's right."
"He's making us face our fears, it's just like our True Potential," Lydie stated as the water started draining away, "If we want the power, we have to earn it. So from now, no matter what Yang throws at us, we face it together. No more running away," She said as they stood on the floor.
"Or swimming away." Jay said with a determined smile.
"Fine, but time's running out and if we don't figure out a way of staying in this together or getting Airjitzu, none of us are gonna get out alive." Kai said as they rushed down the hallway.
Across the Sea of Sand, R.E.X. was flying over to Nya's Samurai X cave with Nya, Demir, and Rose onboard as they watched Ronin placing the money Nya gave him in a safe compartment that was full of cash. "Pretend none of you didn't see that." He said as he sat back into the controls as he looked at the GPS. "Should be at the Samurai X cave shortly. Make yourselves comfortable." He said as he leaned back.
"For a dude obsessed with money, you sure have a lot of it," Demir commented.
"Let's just say, it's more than me I'm paying for," Ronin told them as the three gave him suspicious looks.
"Unless you like awkward pauses, do tell." Nya said to him as Ronin gave a sigh.
"I made a few bets and regrets in my life, if I don't pay off the Soul Archer, my soul's going to the Cursed Realm, which makes paying for a daughter's school a little sticky," Ronin explained with a frown.
"And you think cashing in on our tea farm hoping to save your hide?" Rose asked unimpressed, "My what a gentlemen,"
"Hey, only a bit of the money I make is for the Soul Archer," Ronin told her in defense, before plucking a photo, "Everything else I make, it's for them," He said longingly as they gave surprised looks to see a woman and little girl.
"You have a daughter?" Nya asked in surprise.
"Yeah. I don't… talk to her or her mom that much." Ronin said with a sad look. "I've gone through many bad things in my life. And I've been doing bets for Kelly, so she can have the life she deserves. Except I end up making the wrong one with the Soul Archer, which is why I want my soul to be free from this curse because if I don't, well you can't exactly see your daughter's sweet sixteenth in the Cursed Realm." He added a as they looked at the monitors. "By the way, who else knows about your secret cave, Nya?"
"Besides the other Elemental Masters and the Ninja, no one. It's a secret." Nya bragged with a smirk.
"Well, it's looks like we're not alone," Ronin said with a serious look as they landed and they exited the ship. They looked at the entrance to the cave, which was opened.
"Wait," Rose spoke up with a look of dread, "Nya darling when you said the Ninja knew about your cave, does that include Lloyd?" She asked in worry.
Nya's eyes widened and gasped in realization while everyone else got worried as they quietly climbed down as they saw Morro and his three ghosts moving around the cave, looking at his mechs.
"Yep. Morro's here." Demir whispered.
"He already knows Airjitzu, what does he want with the mechs?" Nya questioned as they all hid when the Soul Archer passed by.
"Perhaps it is related to the next Clue?" Rose suggested.
"But what?" Demir wondered.
"Well, the Soul Archer's here too," Ronin said nervously, "So now might be a good time to leave."
"I hate to say it but Ronin is right," Rose agreed, "We're nowhere near ready for these ghouls."
Nya yanks her hand free. "No, if I can stop Morro here and now, that I'll prove to Wu that I can help my friends Samurai X." She said stubbornly as she pressed on her necklace and put on her helmet.
"I got a bad feeling about this." Ronin said.
"Same." Demir added as Rose nodded in agreement as Nya's mech activated and landed in the middle as Nya quickly got on her mech and faced Morro and his ghosts as she drew her mech's sword.
"Sorry to crash the party, but this place looks a little dead." Nya quipped as she swung her sword.
"The Samurai girl," Morro said, furrowing his brow, "Take her!" He ordered the three ghosts as they soon surrounded Nya.
Nya then swung her sword as she tried to attack the ghosts, but her weapon only went right through them as she kept trying before she realized that her weapons are useless against ghosts as they just laughed in amusement as they advanced towards her.
"Clearly someone doesn't know Swords are like air to Ghosts." Ronin said with a sigh.
"We gotta help her!" Rose said in panic.
"How? They are ghosts, we can't touch ghosts but ghosts can touch us." Demir told her.
"Use these," Ronin said, passing them two Aeroblades, "They're made of Deepstone, have the same effect on ghosts as water,"
Demir and Rose looked at Ronin in surprise as they accepted the two weapons. "You kept anti-ghost weapons around you this whole time?" Demir asked in surprise.
"What? You gotta be prepared." Ronin said as he stood up. "So, how about we help Nya before I change my mind on getting out of here?"
"Fair." Rose nodded as they got ready.
Nya stops as she realizes her weapon is useless. "Alright, maybe my weapons can't help." She said, now regretting ignoring Wu's words as the Soul Archer fired an arrow at her, but it vanished when an Aeroblade swung by and circled around as Ronin caught it.
"But these can!" Ronin said with a smirk as he, Rose, and Demir held their weapons.
"Ronin." Soul Archer growled.
"Yeah, that's my name. Don't wear it out." Ronin said with a smirk as Morro then started to use his powers as his armor started glowing. "He's conjuring reinforcements!"
"Now that's something I can deal with," Nya smirked as she launched a mine with suckers on it at Morro and it stuck to the Allied Armor and started beeping, much to Morro's panic.
"You're gonna blow up the Golden Ninja?!" Demir asked in shock.
"Oh, yeah." Nya said with a sheepish tone, forgetting that Morro was in Lloyd's body. "Maybe I didn't think that through."
Morro acted quickly as he took off the Allied Armor and tossed it away. "Look out!" Ronin called as he, Rose and Demir hid behind Nya's suit as the bomb destroyed the armor, shattering it to pieces.
"Well, that takes care of more ghost ghouls." Rose said optimistically.
"Get that Mech!" Morro yelled as the ghosts chuckled as they went up to Nya and lifted up her mech and placed her in the center of the roof. Nya had no choice as she ejected from her mech and landed on the floor.
Ghoul-Tar laughed as he entered Nya's mech and transformed it into a ghostly four-armed black mech with green highlights, "Oh, you gotta be kidding me," Demir muttered in fear.
"We can't fight them all! We gotta leave!" Ronin said as he helped Nya up.
"No, they're not taking my Mech!" Nya called out as she tried to reach out for her mech, but Rose held her back.
"Then you leave us no choice but to take you!" Rose yelled as she brought out some seeds and used her powers as she focused hard and created vines to wrap around Nya, tying her up as she struggled to break free. "Demir, carry her!"
"On it!" Demir said as he armored up and carried Nya over his shoulder. "Now, let's beat it!" He said as they started running.
"No! Let me go!" Nya called as she struggled to break free as they ran through Ghoul-Tar's leg and avoided a sword swipe as they ran to the exit.
"Don't let them get away!" Morro yelled as the ghosts went after them. Ronin gave a whistle as the four exited the cave as they ran up to Ronin's ship, but then Morro flew in by using his wind powers to fly as he landed in R.E.X. "Boo." He said with a smirk.
"Aah!" The three screamed as they stopped as the ghosts surrounded them as Demir placed Nya down.
"Ghoul-Tar never let you leave!" Ghoul-Tar yelled while in the mech.
"Heh, guys, there's gotta be a deal we can strike here, huh?" Ronin asked nervously as Demir cut Nya free from the vines as they all backed away from the ghosts.
"Stay back, ya phantoms! I'll use this!" Demir warned, waving his Arrow blade at them.
The ghosts gave laughter as they kept advancing towards them. "And I have this." Morro said as he controlled the wind. "Your blade will be blown away." He added with a chuckle.
The four then brace themselves for their doom, but then miraculously, rain started coming down as the four smiled in relief and joy at their miracle as Bansha and Soul Archer screamed as they felt the droplets as they quickly sheltered themselves in Ghoul-Tar's mech before they went poof.
"Looks like your plans just got rained on," Rose quipped with a smirk.
Morro growled before he sighed. "No matter, we got what we came for." He said as he turned to his ghost minions. "Leave 'em." He said as he took to the air and summoned his dragon as he took off with the ghosts following in the mech as they took off.
"Rain? In the middle of the dry season?" Ronin asked in confusion as they all turned to Nya.
"What luck, right?" Nya asked with a sheepish look.
"This was not luck, Nya. You caused it." Rose said with a smile as Nya took off her helmet with a frown.
"Face it, Nya. Master Wu was right, you are the Water Ninja." Demir said as Nya frowned as she looked up to the rain, not denying that they were right: she was the Master of Water.
Back at the Airjitzu Temple, the Ninja were in a hallway as they tied themselves together with ropes. "Alright, no matter what happens, no one can run away." Cole spoke up seriously. "We're in this together."
"Haha!" Jay chuckled. "Ain't no thang but a Sensei Yang." He joked.
"Not even a little bit funny." Lydie said with a brow. "Now, let's find Yang and get the knowledge for Airjitzu." She said as they started walking, "But just so we're not surprised, Zane, Jay, what sort of things scare you the most?" She asked the Ice and Lightning Ninjas.
Zane turned and then he screamed in fright. "AH! I THINK I KNOW WHAT I'M AFRAID OF!" He called as they all turned and saw a familiar ninja behind them. "It's Morro!" Soon, he and the others all screamed in fear.
"Of all the times to have to fight him again!" Cole cried out.
"And he already knows Airjitzu! We don't stand a chance!" Jay said hopelessly.
"Wait a minute, if we're all afraid of Morro, then this must be another part of the test." Kai said seriously, which made Lydie realize it.
"Kai's right. How are we supposed to save Lloyd if we don't even have the courage to face the guy in his own body?" Lydie questioned with determination.
"They're right. Let's get him!" Cole shouted as they all gave battle cries as they chased after Morro, who ran into a corner, but being tied up made them slow down as they saw Morro was gone. "We weren't fast enough!"
"There he is!" Lydie shouted as she pointed to Morro running to the left.
"Alright, let's step together." Cole said as the Ninja then started running in sync. "One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three." He counted before Lydie stopped, which made the others stop as they were in front of a ladder.
"Ow!" Jay yelped as he bumped into Zane.
"He went up to the attic," Kai said, pointing upwards.
"Uh, Attics. Definitely at the top of the list of things I'm afraid of," Jay said nervously.
"Come on, Yang must be up there," Lydie said in determination as she took a lantern and they climbed up as they saw Morro with his back to them.
"He's just standing there, what do we do?" Jay asked nervously.
"I don't know. Go face him, Jay." Kai said as Jay growled.
"You face him!" Jay snapped.
"No, we'll all face him," Lydie said bravely as the boys nodded and approached Morro while Lydie reached her hand out and as soon as she was about to touch him he went poof causing them to yell and jump back.
Then standing in front of them was the ghost of Sensei Yang floating before them. "As Iron sharpens Iron, Sensei sharpens Student." He recited with a proud look. "You have passed the test."
"Then, you'll teach us how to do Airjitzu?" Lydie asked as Yang simply pulled out another scroll like the one Morro took, but without a map in the back.
"Only those who see things through will reap the benefit of the reward," Yang told them as he gave Cole the Scroll.
Jay then looked down and saw his arm fading. "That's not the only thing we see through. Why is it I can see through my hand!?" He cried out in worry.
Then Lydie remembered, "Oh no, the curse," She said in horror as she looked at a clock, "What time is it?" She asked as she saw it was almost sunrise.
Yang gave a sinister ghostly laugh as he began to glow. "Now you will join my students." He said while behind him, his ghostly students are cuffed in chains while looking down in hopelessness.
"He's not just their mentor, he's their captor!" Cole realized in horrified shock as they backed away from Yang.
"The new dawn's upon us." Yang said as he floated up. "Get out before the clock's last chime, if you can/" He said with a smirk as the Ninja screamed and rushed down the attic, but they were still tied up as they crashed into the floor.
"WHY DID WE TIE OURSELVES TOGETHER?!" Zane questioned as they picked themselves up.
"There's no time to complain! We gotta get out of here! Move!" Cole told them as they started running as their bodies became more transparent.
The Clock started chiming as outside the Sun was peaking out, "If we don't get out by the sixth chime, we'll be trapped in here forever!" Lydie yelled as they made it to the foyer as the second chime was heard.
"There's the door! Hurry!" Kai shouted as they saw the sunlight while the third chime rang.
They rushed to the door but Cole bumped into a pole and the scroll Yang gave him flew out of his hand. "Uh oh!" He shouted as he tried to reach for it but was out of reach and the fourth chime went off "Ahh! The scroll!" he yelled, knowing they couldn't risk losing out on Airjitzu again, Cole untied his knot and quickly went for it as the fifth chime came.
Just as the clock made its last chime and reached 6:00, the other Ninja burst out of the temple, ran into the courtyard and panted in exhaustion and relief. Kai then looked at his hand, seeing it was solid. "My hand. I can see my hand!" He said in relief as the others looked at themselves to see they were still solid. "We made it!"
"That was way too close." Lydie said with a sigh. "A few seconds later, we would've been goners. But at least we finally have a way to learn Airjitzu."
Cole then looked behind him and saw somepony was missing. "Yeah, but where's Cole?" he asked, holding up Cole's end of the rope. Just then, the temple doors opened on their own as a familiar figure walked out.
"Don't worry, I got the scroll!" Cole said, but his voice sounded different. The others looked at him and gasped in shock and horror when they saw him. "Why are you all looking at me like that?" He asked in confusion.
"You didn't make out in time," Jay said sadly.
"Yeah, Cole." Kai said sadly. "You're a… a…" He stammered as he couldn't finish his sentence.
Cole looked down at his hands, his eyes widened when he could see right through them as he looked over himself, seeing that his skin was now pale green, his eyes were black, and his body was now translucent as he gasped in despair. "I'm a… ghost?" He asked in complete sadness as he fell to his knees in sadness as the others huddled close to him in comfort.
Lydie then sighed and took the scroll, "I promise Cole, we will find a way to change you back." She promised her friend, "For now, let's return to the Tea Shop and hope that the other deciphered the next clue." She told them as the boys nodded and they started walking away with Cole lagging behind with his head down, while Yang's haunting laugh was heard from the temple.
Meanwhile, R.E.X returned to the Teashop as Ronin, Nya, Demir, and Rose stepped out where Wu, Misako and the others were waiting for them, the sensei looking very disappointed, "Uh, hey Sensei," Demir said with a nervous smile.
"Demir, Rose, I'm disappointed in you. You've allowed your progress to overestimate yourselves and chose to go after the Ninja," Wu admonished looking at the two Ninja in training before looking to Ronin, "And Ronin, you not only allowed this brash attempt but aided in it."
"Uh, well you see, um," Ronin tried to say while Demir and Rose looked down before Nya stepped forward.
"It wasn't their fault, Master Wu," Nya told them as Wu gave her a 'go on' look, "It, it was mine," She said shamefully.
"Explain," Wu said eveningly.
"I wanted to prove that I'm just a samurai and not the Water Ninja, so I bribed Ronin into taking me to my Samurai X Cave to grab my gear." Nya started with a guilty look. "Demir and Rose only came along so they could talk me out of it. But, Morro and his ghosts were already there, I tried to fight them off but nothing I did worked against them and they took my mech. If it hadn't been for them, I could have gotten us all killed."
"I see," Wu said, stroking his beard.
"But there is a bright side," Rose spoke up with a smile. "If we hadn't gone there, Nya wouldn't have discovered that she really is the Water Ninja."
"Yeah, she made it rain that chased the ghosts away." Demir added while patting Nya's back, which she gave a sheepish chuckle. "Not only that, if Morro stole her mech then clearly they need it for the next clue."
"Yeah, so let's call this a blessing in disguise," Ronin chimed in.
Wu hummed as he stroked his beard. "It would seem so." He said.
"I would call it a win as well." Susan said as Neo nodded in agreement.
"And they're right." Misako said as she looked at the scroll as she looked at the second clue. "I believe I might know where Morro will be going next."
"Then it essential we go there as well," Wu said before turning to Nya, "That is, if I can trust that you are willing to fully commit to your training and truly believe in your destiny to become the Master of Water."
Nya looked at her helmet longingly before she felt Demir and Rose holding her shoulders and smiled at her encouragingly while Ronin gave a wink. "Yes. From this point on, Samurai X is no more. It's time for the Water Ninja to rise." She said as she put her helmet on a rock next to her.
Wu smiled and nodded in approval, "Good, acceptance is the great step on your path. But first, a little attire change." He said, which made them look at him in confusion.
"What do you mean by that?" Demir asked in confusion.
Wu gave a smirk. "Well, let me show you." He then did Spinjitzu. "NINJA, GO!" He called as he went past Demir, Nya, and Rose and they spun around while Wu stopped his tornado, and the three realized that they were in their own Ninja suits.
Their Ninja suit were similar to the Ninja, but with a more colored detail as Rose's suit was pink with a nature symbol on her chest and a butterfly on her back, Demir's suit was a bit grey with silver details with the metal symbol on his chest and a shark on his back, and finally, Nya's suit was a bit light red, a light blue belt, golden armor with a water phoenix logo on the back and a golden one in the front.
"Whoa! Check us out," Demir said in excitement.
"My, what a lovely color," Rose said as she looked at her suit.
"Huh, blue always was my favorite," Nya complimented.
"Wait, have you had these suits on you the whole time?" Demir asked Wu in surprise.
"I am man of many secrets," Wu said coyly before pointing to Demir and Rose, "Your suits are embedded with Deepstone, it will protect you from the ghost's weapons and possession,"
"Well, that's a relief." Rose said as she and Demir looked at their suits as Demir armored up with his Ninja Suit on as well.
"At least we can still use our powers in a fair fight," Demir said with an eager tone.
"Wait, what about me?" Nya asked in confusion. "Does my suit have Deepstone too?"
"No, the power of water flows through your veins," Wu told her, "The moment a ghost tries to possess you, it is their end,"
"Well, lucky me." Nya muttered.
Just then, the doors opened up again as they saw the Ninja walking in, with Cole hiding from behind as they entered the tea shop. "You're back," Nao said as she, Susan, and Misako went up to Lydie and gave her a hug.
"Glad that you are all back." Wu said with a smile as he and the others walked up to them. "When Ronin explain to us that you finding another means to learn Spinjitzu, we were worried."
"Well, it was a rough find, but it was worth it." Kai said.
"Well, I take it you got it?" Ronin asked with a smirk.
"Well, we got some good news, and we got some bad news." Lydie said with a frown before she lifted up the scroll Yang gave them. "The good news is, we have the means to learn Airjitzu." She said with a smile.
"And the bad news?" Rose asked.
"Well…" Lydie muttered as she and the others moved aside as they revealed Cole behind them, as a ghost as he looked down in shame as the others all gasped at what they saw.
"Cole…" Wu gasped to see one of his pupils turn into a ghost.
"It's… It's okay…"Cole told them while trying to put on a brave face. "I may be a ghost… But it's still me, underneath it all."
"But how did…" Demir tried to ask.
"WHILE WE WERE TRYING TO ESCAPE FROM MASTER YANG'S TEMPLE, COLE WENT BACK TO GET THE SCROLL BUT LOST HIS HUMANITY IN THE PROCESS!" Zane explained as everyone cringed.
"Okay, too loud! Too loud!" Nya shouted while covering her ears.
"No need to shout, darling." Rose told him.
"Uh, actually, his volume level is stuck." Jay said with a sheepish chuckle. "At first he was talking backwards but my tinkering got his voice high. Heheh, but I can fix that."
"Hey, what's with the getups?" Kai asked, noticing Demir, Rose and Nya's suits.
"Yeah, there's a lot we need to fill you guys in." Nya said with a chuckle.
"But there is no time. To the Bounty, we'll explain on the way." Wu spoke up while pointing at his staff. "We may have figured out the next clue to where Morro is going next. If we leave now, we may catch up to him."
"Well, looks like we'll learn Airjitzu along the way." Lydie said as they all rushed up to the Bounty while Cole was trailing behind as Lydie frowned before looking at Wu. "But uh, is there time to head to Ninjago City for emotional support for Cole, Uncle?" She asked.
"I believe so." Wu said in understanding as they all boarded the Bounty. "Now, let us continue our quest." He said as the Bounty then took off at high speed into the sky, leaving the tea shop as they continued their journey to find the tomb and save Lloyd.