Hello everyone! I'm so sorry for the little hiatus, I took some time to spend with my family. This chapter is probably one of my favorites, you'll see why soon enough. Thank you for reading!

*I do not own Ninjago*

NINJAGO

"Who are you?"

It was a curious question from his mouth, true intent and all. For in front of him was a gorgeous girl around his age, smiling brightly from where she stood. Wavy green hair flowed down to her shoulders, while a seemly similar tone took over her flowing dress. A chocolate skin tone was presented as well.

Her smile was enough to melt down a thousand worlds. Or Lloyd's heart, though he would've told no one if he knew about it all.

"I see you're straight to the point, that's fine." She leaped from her spot, landing square center in front of everyone else astonished eyes.

She waved. "Hi! I'm Aisha, the watcher over this humble cave."

The rest of the ninja were silent for a moment, not really knowing what to say next. Aisha seemed friendly enough. But the life of a ninja taught them to always be cautious.

"Are these….emeralds?" Cole asked, lightly guiding his hand over the smooth crystals. A small tint of light caught on the glimmer of the crystal itself, presenting a fabulous design of green reflecting off the walls.

Aisha giggled lightly. "That's a loaded question; these are emeralds but are not as well."

"Oh…"

"I'll explain it later. But for now, please do follow me."

She turned around and started to walk towards a small pathway in the left corner of the cave. The rest followed to some degree, but it was hard to keep all their attention directed on a single point where there were so many sparking crystals nearby. A poor choice for an even poorer lack of mind. But it worked, that's all they really needed to be thankful for.

The young girl continued to walk towards a destination that felt endless. How long had they been walking around anyway? It felt eons ago. Or maybe it was only three minutes…two minutes? Everyone started to lose count.

Finally, after a good chunk of time, a beautiful landmark was revealed. There were still green crystals littering the hardened walls, but there was also something else magnificent clouding their view.

A waterfall

A waterfall so beautiful that the water flying off the edge was as clear as a lens on a camara. So, striking, that the liquid felt likened unto the liquid of life, pursuit, and happiness. And with all the humidity attacking their systems, it only looked more notable to jump in.

Aisha must've noticed it all. She gestured towards the ravaging waterfall.

"Oh yes, you must all be so hot. Please, go have fun."

The rest of the ninja applauded to her wish, quickly taking off towards the liquid of refreshment. All except one that is.

Lloyd might've been sweating from the humidity presented, but he wasn't one to dose himself. He would rather cool himself off on the inside, drinking water instead.

"Are you not going to get yourself wet?"

He turned to see Aisha looking at with him with a peculiar look. Her long green hair swayed off to the side, creating a view of pleasant beauty. It almost made him blush.

But he quickly stopped himself from allowing such feelings any further. The last few relationships were….they didn't end well, nor bond with him at all. Akita wasn't so bad, in fact, she was probably the best dating relationship that he ever had. But Harumiwas enough to make him shiver down to the bone, she ruined dating for him for years to come.

In a few years, he told himself, that's when he would allow such feelings to come back once again

He sighed. "Don't know, just don't feel up to it I guess."

"I see," Aisha smiled softly. "Well, could I offer anything else for your entertainment? I'd hate to bore you."

"Maybe a story?"

The young girl's smile grew. "Of yes, I have a lot you see. But have you ever heard about the gem in the stone? It's a fascinating story, one that I think you might like."

Lloyd nodded, allowing the excited girl to continue. And he did love to hear new stories, it was one thing that would never change.

"There lived two gems, one as beautiful as the sun, the other as dark as the moon. The first gem, the most beautiful of the two, lived in a rock that was kept tidy, never had any harm to it. But the second one lived in a rock that was thrown around. Well one day, a young girl found these two rocks near each other."

Aisha continued on. "And decided to throw them, don't ask me why she wanted to. But in the end, the first rock broke to pieces, along with the gem. Shattared to pieces, it was unfixable. The second rock didn't break, no, because its entire life it had been thrown around and adapted to such changes. It was stronger and couldn't be broken by anything. The gem inside was protected, and honestly, more beautiful than the first gem."

Lloyd's eyes found her's, a peaceful solace in both of them. "I'm guessing you were that little girl."

"I was, but very young." The young girl laughed lightly, lighting up the green ninja's heart. "But I learned an important lesson that day. The most broken people are the strongest, sometimes the most hardened as well. And yet, their soul is just as beautiful as everyone else's."

"That was an inspiring story, thank you for sharing it with me." He placed his hand on top of her's, warmness spreading between the both of them.

She looked up at his eyes, her's sparking with a new-found prettiness. There was no doubt in the world that Lloyd felt something new, felt so connected to someone – of whom – he had just met. He wanted to reach out further, but something inside prohibited him from doing so.

Though he didn't remove his hand from hers

"You have a special soul, Lloyd. Don't let it crumble, don't be like the first gem." Her voice was light, carrying a sense of worry with it. It almost made him wonder if she's seen people go down that horrible path.

He didn't know anything about her

It only made him more hungry to know

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you here? Have you always been stuck in this cave?" Lloyd asked.

Aisha pulled her hand away, out of instinct….he didn't know. But it was clearly the wrong thing to say.

'I always have to ruin these moments! Why did I say that?!'

"I'll tell you soon enough, it's your business to know. But for now, can we just enjoy the moment?" Her eyes found his again. He relinquished in this moment, scared that she might never share such closeness again.

He didn't want to ruin it again

Lloyd nodded, as her hands found his once again. It was weird, how connected they both felt. Even if they only met each other a few hours ago.

For him, it felt the opposite of weird. It felt more like destiny playing a card in his favor.

None of them spoke, though they didn't need to. Watching the ninja splash each other was far entertaining enough.

-0-

Eventually the duo had to call the ninja back, though Kai and Jay both shot Lloyd a confused glance. It was oddly soothing.

"How come you didn't come down with us?" Kai finally asked Lloyd.

Lloyd shrugged. "Didn't feel like getting myself wet, you know how much I hate wearing wet clothes."

"Oh, trust me, we do." The fiery ninja muttered, earning a laugh from almost everyone. He almost might've gotten a little hair noggin from the famous green ninja. But that was up for debate.

But Aisha wasn't laughing, no, she was wearing a frown instead.

"Are you ok, Aisha? You seem troubled." Zane brought up.

"I hoped to prolong this longer. But I must tell you, there's a reason I brought you all here. And time is off the essence." She spoke softly. "Everyone sit; there's a lot that I must tell you."

Everyone sat down, all looking up to Aisha. Though they knew partly what she would say, a little information was spread through the text's sent by her already.

Cole came over and wrapped a arm around Lloyd's shoulder, sitting down next to him as well.

They all knew it

Yet, it only made it so much more scarier

-0-

"The drone has located them ma'am. Their in a cave not far from here, they also took a little passage as well."

She smiled. "Why thank you."

"Do you want me to send troops?"

"Oh no," She got up. "I'll go there myself, pay them a small visit. Then, you can send troops, all of them in fact."

"Of ma'am."

"Oh please, I have a name you know."

"And what should I call you ma'am."

She grinned widely, all of her teeth showing with a white glimmer. "You can call me Evolet."