"We know the skull represents his tomb," says Uncle Wu, pacing back and forth infront of the bulletin board that has each of the three clues pinned to it.
"But from everything that was ever written about it, there's nothing in Ninjago that matches its description," Mom continues, voice quavering with frustration. "Where is it? The clues are all right here, but what are we missing?"
"Patience, Mom," I say through an exhale. I open a single eye to look down at her from where I am sat, cross legged, on top of one of the empty tea shelves. "We won't make any progress if you're upset. Take a break, have some tea."
"Your sarcasm was not asked for, Tasha May," Mom snaps.
My smirk drops and I open both eyes. "I wasn't being sarcastic. I was being insightful."
"Well, insightful or not, it is not helpful. And get down from there, it's distracting!"
"I'm just sitting here, silent as a mouse, meditating. How is that distracting?"
"It just is, Tasha, now get down!"
I roll my eyes and uncross my legs, sliding from the top shelf and landing gracefully next to her. The book she is reading would be useful to our endeavors, if only she was looking on the right page. Without asking permission, I start flipping through them.
"What are you doing?"
"Being useful," I say, when I finally find the page I'm looking for. "Look, see. This inscription matches what we're looking for."
Mom jerks the book out of my hands and examines the page. Her face brightens slightly, then falls once again. "No, you're wrong. It doesn't match."
"No, not there," I say, "here. It gives us another clue."
Mom looks at where I'm pointing. "You can read that language?" she asks skeptically.
"Yeah, when you turn it upside down."
I flip the book around and point while she reads aloud:
"Once written in the Last Scroll of the Spinjitzu Master, which was burned, but not before translated, the following phrase provides yet another clue to his supposed tomb: 'Look at yourself and you will see what's truly meant to be.' However, historians have yet to decipher what this clue could possibly mean or how it could help the search. It almost makes you wonder whether this tomb was meant to be found at all."
"But what does that mean?"
"Isn't it obvious," I say, looking up at Uncle with a big smile, "it's talking about a reflection! 'Look at yourself . . .' Thousands of years ago when the scroll was written, there was no technology to take pictures with, you could only use your reflection. 'You will see what's truly meant to be . . .' Clearly it's telling us that some clue we already have will become clearer if we look at it's reflection."
Mom's eyes widen and she grabs my shoulder, unable to contain her excitement. "It's the reflection of the map in the sword! Isn't it?"
"Yes, exactly!"
"Wow, Tasha, you're a genius!" Uncle Wu exclaims. "How ever did you figure that out?"
I smirk and turn around, reaching to grab the top shelf and hoisting myself back up.
"Sometimes you just need a different point of view."
"I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier," Mom says, folding her hands together and bowing her head.
"It's okay, Mom. I know you're worried about Lloyd--I am too. But one thing I've learned over these past few days is that if you can keep your head on your shoulders, everything will work out in the end."
~
I'm still sitting on the empty top shelf, legs crossed and eyes shut. Mom and Wu had left a few minutes ago to gather everyone for a team meeting. I open my eyes when the door opens, expecting it to be them, except it's not. Ronin tiptoes in and begins to rummage around the shop in search of something. He's hyper aware of every sound and movement, even flinching when the floorboards squeak beneath him. He's up to something.
"Thanks for gathering on such short notice," Mom's voice floats through the cracked open door. Ronin immediately puts down what he was holding and rushes over to the stocked shelf next to my empty one.
"Looking for something?" Kai says from the now fully-open door.
"Ha! Just making sure the tea blends are in alphabetical order," Ronin says, placing his hands on his hips. "Yup, A to Z. Heh."
"So you figured out where the tomb is?" Jay asks, changing the subject.
"Not yet, but we think we know how to locate it."
As Mom talks, Ronin tries to sneak out, only to bump into Uncle Wu. Ronin smiles innocently and greets him.
"Zane," mom says and on cue, Zane's falcon projects an image of the scull on the wall. Uncle Wu turns off the lights and mom begins her explanation about how the scull marks the tombs location and Uncle adds about how there will be three difficult traps to try and stop us, and then I say how I figured out to use the map's reflection.
"Which means we'll have to get our hands on that map," Cole says, summing it all up.
Mom agrees with him and then starts talking again about the plan, but I stop listening. Ronin has snuck out, and judging by her absence, Nya has followed him. I can only assume they're somewhere fighting for the sword.
"Guys," I say, interrupting Wu midsentence. "Ronin's gone."
The four boys rush out of the room in a bit of panic while Uncle Wu and Mom pull a few levers to amp up the defense of the shop. I, on the other hand, sit for a moment and think.
Ronin is smart and cunning; he undoubtedly has an escape plan and will do everything in his power to avoid being stopped. If I know him, and I believe that I do, he won't try to escape on his trusty airship, Rex. No, he'll use Rex as a distraction by setting him on autopilot. Instead, he'll use the second fastest form of escape while also being evasive and elusive . . .
The river!
That's how he's going to get away. He's going to go down the river, whether it be on foot or by boat. But he won't go easy. No, I'm going to be there to stop him.
I find Ronin almost instantly when I get to the river and, just like I predicted, he's speeding away in a small boat, but he's not alone. Nya is sprinting after him, but she's loosing ground fast. Her run turns to a walk before she quits the pursuit all together, but her efforts in catching him don't cease. She raises her hands in the air, mumbling something I can't quite hear, and then the river starts to flow backwards.
Ronin looks slightly panicked as he shifts the sails in an attempt to counteract the current, and his efforts aren't wasted. As the wind helps push him back in the right direction, Nya looses hope and eventually her arms fall back to her sides.
"Face it, Nya. You're not strong enough. You care too much," Ronin shouts in a weak attempt to console her. "I'm sorry, Nya. I wish it never had to come to this."
Nya collapses to the ground and I stop watching. Resuming my own pursuit, I hop from tree to tree, moving faster than Nya was on foot.
The current is beginning to pick up, dragging him away faster and faster. If I don't board that boat soon, I too will become too slow unless I use my energy dragon, which I'd rather not because that would cost me the element of surprise. When the current brings him beneath a half-tilted tree, I make sure that I am in it, and at the perfect moment, I drop down into the boat with him.
"Well, Ronin," I say, making him jump out of his skin, "I see I wasn't wrong in my assumption that you would betray us?"
Ronin sighs and rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. You got me. You gonna take me in now?"
"No," I say, surprising both him and myself. But an explanation flows out of my mouth just as quickly as my answer. "I'd like to have a little chat with Morro. Former villain to villain."
This time he scoffs, quirking an eyebrow. "Going rogue? That's more like the Tasha I used to know."
"That's not what this is." I stalk over to the boats mast, touching it tentatively with my fingers. Dark energy climbs up the pole, lacing itself into the sail and rushing forward. The boat jerks with the newfound speed. "I'm just trying to save my brother."
~
Hours later, Morro and I enter a small shop in the center of the town surrounded by water, Stiix. It's silent for a few moments, then--
"Good evening." Morro is sitting on a thrown of glowing green matter and bone, a devilish smirk sprawled across his face.
"And good night!" adds Ghoultar, appearing behind us, blocking our way out.
"Huh, like what you've done with the place," says Ronin, cool and sarcastic as ever. "Pretty gutsy making your hideout right here in Stiix. With this much water, they'd never come looking for you here."
"I've never been afraid of anything," Morro says, narrowing his eyes.
Ghoultar takes the sword from the sheath on Ronin's back and examines it. "The sword is no fake."
"Huh. For once, the crook makes good," says Morro, taking the sword from Ghoultar. "And what about you? Why are you here?"
"I'm here for Lloyd."
"I'm afraid I can't give you him. You see, I require a mortal body to find the tomb."
"Then use me." Again, the words fall from my mouth before I can stop them. But I know that I mean them. Lloyd needs a break, I can give him a break.
Morro watches me skeptically and when I don't say anything else, he gets up from his throne, sword in hand, and approaches me. I maintain eye contact until he's right infront of me, but then he brushes past me, walking over to a table with the map printed on it. He stabs the sword down into it and then crouches so he's eye level.
"Ha! The Tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master."
"Now what about my soul?" Ronin asks. "The deal was you'd remove the curse and free me."
I raise my eyebrow at him, but don't say anything.
"You can have your soul," replies Morro, "but the deal has changed. I want the ninja, too."
"Woah now hold on," says Ronin, panic creeping into his tone. "A deal's a deal. What do you care about the Ninja? I thought you said you weren't afraid of them?"
"I'm not," Morro snaps. "But our Preeminent requires certain . . . safeguards."
All the ghosts laugh at that and something churns in the pit of my stomach.
"Forget it," Ronin growls. "I'll keep my cursed soul. The sword's one thing but my friends are another."
Again, I raise my eyebrows. He thinks of us as friends?
Awe, Ronin, that's the nicest thing you've ever said.
"Since when do you have friends," says Bansha in that shrieky voice of hers. The other ghosts laugh hysterically.
Ronin turns on his heel with the intent of heading towards the door, but another ghost whose name I don't know grabs onto his shoulder.
"Where do you think you're going?" says Morro connivingly. "We still have a need for you. The Realm Crystal will be mine." His echoey laugh rings in my ears and I cringe. "Bansha, chain her up."
"Yes, Morro."
I don't resist as she wraps Vengestone chains around my wrists, tying them behind my back, and I sit quietly as Morro relinquishes his hold on Lloyd, shoving him into a Vengestone cage, and possesses Ronin instead, filming a fake message to send to the boys. It's all according to my plan.
"Pretty good impersonation," Ronin says through a groan once Morro's released him. "But they'll never buy it was me."
"We shall see," Morro concedes.
"You're no Green Ninja," Lloyd whispers and I flinch. "The Green Ninja would never need to lie."
"Oh, you wont be Green Ninja for long," Morro replies, smirking up at him. "Save your strength because you'll be needing it. Prepare for a voyage. We head to the tomb at dawn."
"What about Ronin?" the Soul Archer inquires.
"Leave him. He's worthless now." Ronin then turns towards me--finally. He stalks over, reaching his ghostly hand out to touch my face: It feels like cold nothingness enveloping my cheek. "Such a pretty one," he mumbles.
"Can't say the same about you," I mutter just loud enough for him to hear.
Morro's smirk turns to a frown. "We'll see about that. I've decided to take you up on your offer, but on one condition."
I have to suppress my smile. It's all going according to plan.
~
Guys! I did it! I finally finished this chapter! And the road to the end should be pretty easy from here on out. With that being said, I still cannot promise weekly or even biweekly chapters. Track season has started and practices go till pretty late at night, so my time to write is more limited. I will try my hardest and though and I promise you won't have to wait 3 months again. Thank you all for being so supportive, I appreciate every comment and every vote. Stay amazing, guys! Wacky AWAY!
Word Count: 2263