Everyone walked towards the shores where the water is barely above their knee. They've all changed into their scuba suits, ready to dive into the water. They had to walk a long way from the coast to get to the deep part of the Endless Sea, it was around 350 yards. They could hear seagulls squawking around them, understandable, they were in their territory. PIXAL had also given them blasters. Harumi asked her how these would work underwater but Jay explained to her that these were designed for being used underwater. They were now almost at the drop, just a few more yards and all they had left to do is dive.

They managed to reach the Endless Sea before sundown, which was what they planned. But it was currently sometime around 2 and 3 in the afternoon, so they didn't have long before the sun goes down. They had to hurry if they wanted to retrieve the Pearl before it gets dark. They reached the drop, Lloyd was at the front so he held his hand out and everyone stopped at his gesture. He looked down, it was hard to see since it was really dark underwater. He turned his head around to look at Harumi.

"You said that the Pearl is located in a monument?" He asked, retracting his hand.

Harumi walked up beside him, making sure to not fall off the edge, "Yes. And not just some monument, the Pearl Monument." She crouched down and touched the sandy ground. The water was above their waist when this far from the shores, it was a miracle that they didn't get swept up by the ocean.

One by one, each of them started lining themselves beside Harumi and Lloyd carefully. PIXAL decided to speak up, "The Pearl Monument was specifically built to protect the Pearl. The traps that the sea dwellers set down there are unknown for no one has ever even heard of this artifact. We need to be careful." Harumi got up from her crouching position, nodding.

Skylor placed a hand on her hip, looking at Lloyd, "You think we should split up around the Monument? That way we'll cover more ground." She asked whilst suggesting an idea.

"Maybe we should check the place out before trying anything. That way we'll know what sort of traps there will be." Lloyd recommended. He clicked something on his blaster and made it ready for immediate use. The ones who knew how to use it did the same.

They all flipped their diving masks on and adjusted their oxygen tanks to make sure that they would operate properly so that they wouldn't drown when underwater. Once they were ready, they all jumped into the water, letting themselves fall down the drop. PIXAL designed their suits so that they were able to go past the crush depth since they had to dive pretty deep underwater. Everyone looked around for the Monument while they plunged deeper into the sea. It was a whole building constructed underwater so it should be somewhere around rocks and corals so that it wasn't too deep down the sea.

"Over there!" Vania pointed to something glowing in the distance, "Is that it? I can see something glowing." She asked, kicking her feet so that she would stop diving and start floating.

Everyone stopped themselves from diving any further by doing the same, stopping at somewhat different levels. Harumi narrowed her eyes and found the glow. It was faint but it glowed bright neon cyan blue. She gasped, "Yes, I think that's it." She smiled at the Queen of Shintaro, "Good eye, Vania."

Vania chuckled and thanked her before everyone swam towards the glow. They were very close and Zane scanned the Monument. It fits the description he found about the Pearl Monument, he nodded at his friends as if he was telepathically talking to them. They nodded back at him, telling him that they understood.

"Zane says this is the one. We found it." Lloyd translated it for the girls who had confused looks on their faces before Lloyd explained it to them.

Jay stopped for a brief moment to pump a fist, "Yes! Now, all we need to do is-" A wave coming from the Monument stopped him mid-sentence and everyone teleported a few yards back from where they were. They looked around and saw that some fishes that they had already seen were swimming through again.

Cole scratched his head, "What just happened?" He asked, looking around for his friends. Everyone was scattered not too far from each other.

"I-I don't know. It's as if we went back in time..." Harumi voiced her thoughts.

Skylor looked around at where they were and where they just were at. She gasped, looking at the others, "She's right. We were just here a few seconds ago." Her eyes widened in shock.

"How did that happen?" Vania asked, swimming towards Cole.

"Zane, can you analyze that wave that hit us?" Lloyd asked the titanium nindroid. Zane nodded and his facial expression went blank as he searched for what could have caused them to go a few seconds back in time. His eyes dulled and glowed as if his systems were loading.

The others tried to theorize what it could have been while waiting for Zane. Jay hummed, stroking his chin, "Maybe we're just delusional and we were just hit back by that wave? Maybe it had nothing to do with time at all." He exaggerated by waving his hands around.

"Maybe it was one of the traps? Like PIXAL said, this Monument was specifically built to protect the Pearl, retrieving it won't come easily." Kai stated the obvious while shrugging.

PIXAL shook her head, "That wouldn't make sense, Kai. Going back in time has no relation to a water trap. It just doesn't make sense."

"Maybe Jay is right. Maybe we are just delusional." Vania jumped in.

Cole hummed, "Or... Maybe the traps aren't just powered by water? Maybe something else powers them. Something like the power of time? Maybe?" He suggested.

Zane's eyes went back to their vibrant blue glow and his facial expression turned to one of a shocked person. He turned to the white-haired girl, "Harumi, when you were explaining to us about the Pearl, you said that it was powered by two elemental powers, right?" Harumi nodded, still not getting where he's getting to, "What were they?" He asked.

Harumi looked down and played with her gloves, "The Pearl is powered by two elemental magic. It contains the power of water and it has the power of..." She closed her eyes, frowning, and trailed off, not wanting to believe it now that she's seen it.

"And the power of what?" Jay asked impatiently, just wanting to see his Yang again.

She looked up, her eyes still closed, "Time..." She breathed out, opening her eyes. Everyone backed up in shock.

"Time?! How do we beat that?" Cole queried, waving his hands from up to down in front of him.

Jay held his hands out, shrugging, "Try splitting up?" He asked, suggesting Skylor's idea.

Lloyd sighed, "Worth a shot." He paused to recharge his blaster before saying, "Ninja..."

Everyone smirked, "Go!" They all finished at the same time.

They split up into four groups, two people each, with the exception of Jay. Kai and Skylor went to try getting in from above. Cole and Vania went left to try and get in from there. Zane, PIXAL, and Jay went to the bottom of the Monument, hoping to find a way in. And Lloyd and Harumi proceeded to go towards the right.

The top of the building was flat, it didn't look like there was a way to get in. Kai tried using his powers but the flames extinguished before a second even passed. He noticed and groaned. Skylor tapped his shoulder, "We're underwater, Kai. Your powers aren't going to work down here." She reminded.

"Fine. Then why don't you go and try to find a way in?" He challenged, smirking.

Skylor lifted her right hand up, "Challenged accepted."

Kai felt the ground shake around him and looked behind him. It was a bunch of rocks. "Skylor must've used Cole's power." He thought. Kai looked at her and saw her smirking at him, "Show off..." he thought before adding, "My show off." He sighed lovingly before turning to look back at her.

She used her free hand to shoo him back, "You might want to take a few steps back." She informed.

Kai tilted his head in confusion and was going to ask why but then remembered that she was going to use some rocks to break through the ceiling. He complied and took a few steps back, safe from the rocks' distance. Skylor grunted, closing her eyes, and then she slammed her fist down. The rocks followed her command and slammed down on the ceiling, breaking through.

They both smirked and approached the hole that was big enough for both of them to enter through, "After you, m'lady." Kai held his hand out for her to take.

She took it and jumped down, "Thank you kindly, sir." She replied, smiling at him.

They both jumped in but felt a wave push them out of the Monument. They both screamed as they got blasted out and landed on a ledge with a groan of pain. They both slowly got up, sighing.

"That didn't go the way I pictured." Kai said slowly, his posture slumping. A few seconds later, the broken pieces of the building started reversing and it slowly rebuilt itself, making Kai add, "Oh, come on! That's so not fair!" He complained, crossing his hands.

"It's fine, Kai. Maybe the others had better luck?" She shrugged, trying to cool off his hot head.

Kai sighed and uncrossed his arms, "We'll wait for them to come out." He shook his head, sitting down on the rough, rocky ledge.

⊱ ─────────{.⋅ ✧ ⋅.} ─────────⊰

Cole and Vania swam quietly towards the left side of the Monument. They slowly got closer and closer until they're finally up against the wall, catching their breath. Vania sighed, "That went better than I expected." She then turned around to touch the wall, "The only entrance is from the front. Do you think you could punch through this wall? Quietly?" She asked.

He touched the wall, trying to guess its width. He cracked his knuckles, "I can try. Hopefully, it won't be loud." He slammed his fists together and it lit on lava. With a grunt, he punched through the wall easily, but it sent an impact through the whole Monument.

"That was not quiet at all, Cole." Vania covered her diving mask where her ears are supposed to be at.

Cole unlit his hands and slowly nodded, "Definitely not. Let's just hope we don't get caught." He took Vania's hand and they both swam into the Monument. They felt a loud rumble around them, "Did you feel that?" He asked his girlfriend.

"What was that?" She nodded, hiding behind Cole.

Cole placed a hand on her shoulder, "Stay behind me. Just in case-" He got cut off by the whole Monument shaking from the top. He sighed in disappointment, "Must be Kai and Skylor. Whatever they're doing, they're probably gonna get caught." He continued swimming.

Just a few seconds later, they heard two people screaming and it started getting fainter and fainter, signaling that whoever were screaming were getting farther away from them. Vania raised a brow, "That was definitely Kai and Skylor. Looks like it's just the three of us left."

They quietly swam across the Pearl Monument's hallways. It was beautiful. The walls were really shiny even after being underwater for so long. Everything was decorated with crystal accents, making everything shine even if it was dark. There were lots of sea lanterns lighting up the place so that they could see in the dark. Some small fishes were swimming around them. Some were schools, some were alone, some were in a family.

This adventure reminded Vania of when she and Cole explored the dungeons underneath Shintaro. It was the first time she ever went on something exciting, and it was the first night she spent time with Cole. When the Ninja first arrived at Shintaro, she was most interested in Cole out of all of them. That got Lloyd's suspicions up because of how similar Cole's case was with his when he first met Harumi. She forgave him for his suspicions though, she understood what he felt about someone's trust being abused by others who used it to their own advantage.

Adventuring with only Cole and no one else reminded her of many pleasant and unpleasant memories at the same time.

They were pleasant because it reminded her of when she and Cole ventured together underneath her Kingdom and they met a few new friends. The Lowly was what they were called when they first met, but afterwards, their name was changed to Upply because they were finally out of the mountains. She also remembered all the loving looks she and Cole gave each other. Those were pleasant memories.

They were also unpleasant because this was when she discovered that her father, the former King of Shintaro, was the Skull Sorcerer. She still can't believe that he forced innocent creatures that were living below the mountain to work for him. It was hard for her because she was his daughter. No daughter would want to imagine their own father being evil.

She snapped out of her thoughts when she felt something swim past behind her. She looked back but nothing was there. She turned to Cole and asked, "Did you feel that?"

Cole looked at her, "Feel what?" He asked.

Vania looked behind her again, "I don't know. I think I felt something swim past from behind me, but when I turn around, there's nothing there." She explained, giving off a confused look.

"It was probably nothing. Maybe it was one of our friends accidentally doing something while trying to find the Pearl." He shrugged it off.

She was still skeptical and looked behind her one more time before turning back to look at the front, "Yeah... Probably." She whispered, still suspicious.

Cole frowned but then smiled to try and cheer Vania up. He placed a hand on her shoulder, "We can look into it later. Right now, though, we have to look for the Pearl. Let's go." He looked back to the front but looked behind him occasionally to make sure she didn't wander off.

⊱ ─────────{.⋅ ✧ ⋅.} ─────────⊰

"Are we going to try and use the entrance to get in?" Jay asked eagerly like a little kid with an excited smile on his face.

PIXAL and Zane sighed. "No, Jay." Zane sighed, getting quite annoyed by the talkative Lightning Ninja.

Jay groaned in annoyance, "Aw. Why not?"

"The Monument is built on top of a bunch of pillars, meaning there is nothing under the floor. We were thinking that we could try and break through the ground." PIXAL explained while they swam towards the bottom of the Monument.

"Fine, do it your way. I'll do mine." He said before swimming towards the entrance.

The two nindroids stopped in their tracks and looked at Jay.

PIXAL looked at Zane, asking, "What is he doing?"

Zane shook his head, "I don't know. But I have a feeling that we should stop him." He mentioned, looking back at PIXAL.

"Same here." Once those words were out of PIXAL's mouth, the two nindroids swam as fast as they could towards the reckless Master of Lightning.

Before anything else happened, the ground around them shook and everyone stopped in their tracks. No one had time to say anything about it as rocks came up from underneath them. The trio gasped and started swimming in different directions to avoid getting hit. Only a few rocks came so it was over quickly.

Jay decided to swim back to the nindroids, "What was that?" He demanded.

"We're not sure. But-" She was cut off by a very loud, hard crashing sound.

They looked towards the source. It was where the rocks were flying to. The loud sound came from above the Monument. "That's where Kai and Skylor are!"Jay pointed out, "You think they need help?"

Zane brushed it off, "I don't think they acquire our assistance. We-"

He got cut off by two screams. One was feminine and the other was masculine. They looked at who made them and saw an orange blob and a red blob. Kai and Skylor. They had their mouths agape as they watched the fiery couple get blown away to a ledge. Jay hid behind Zane and PIXAL and stated.

"O-Okay... Now, I'm scared." He shook.

Zane and PIX both rolled their eyes, knowing that he was faking it to be dramatic about the case. PIXAL groaned and turned to him with a death stare. Zane also turned with unamused eyes. Jay let go of his scared theatrics and groaned, "Okay, sorry. Let's just go in now."

The nindroid couple sighed in annoyance and trailed behind Jay. They all followed him, entering through the front entrance. Archways lined up above them as they passed underneath them. The arches were lit up with sea lanterns that gave the Monument a beautiful, vibrant bright neon blue glow. After passing the archways, they entered through the main entrance and it was surprisingly calm. They looked all around them. Left, right, up, down and there were no signs of any guards.

"See guys? Coast's clear. Let's go!" Jay cheered, trying to run in water before he sighed and kicked his legs to swim forward.

Only a few minutes into the Monument and they were already lost. Every turn looked the same. Every hallway and decorations were lined up the same way. Nothing was different in there. They took random turns hoping to find their way through the maze.

Jay started complaining about how they were lost and how they would never see the light of day again and how he will eventually run out of oxygen down there. PIXAL and Zane were leading and his whines were starting to get on their nerve circuits. Both of them tried blocking out the annoying whining sounds but nothing seemed to work. Zane and PIXAL even tried to turn off their speakers but Jay's cries somehow still got through and they could still hear it.

If Jay keeps this up, at this point, some creature that guards the Pearl might find them. Who knows? Maybe Jay's whines might actually annoy them to no end and maybe that's why no creature has come to them yet.

PIXAL lost it and turned to Jay, "Ugh! Jay! Would you cut the whining? It is really getting on my nerve circuits." She snapped.

Jay froze in his spot and placed his hands up in defense. "Okay, okay. Relax... I'm just pointing out the fact that we could literally be stuck down here for eternity!" His voice snapped when he got to the bad part.

Zane just sighed and facepalmed, thinking about how negative Jay was thinking right now. PIXAL and Jay eventually got into an argument and Zane didn't even try and stop it. It was better than hearing Jay's whines. He just stood there with an annoyed face. After the argument didn't stop even after 10 minutes, Zane decided to break them up.

"Both of you! Stop it! We are supposed to be trying to locate the Pearl of Reversal. Why are we not complying with this simple task?" He used one hand to hold Jay and the other to hold PIXAL.

The three of them heard an ear-piercing scream coming from their left. They all could tell that it was from a female. There were around ten halls down that way and they didn't know where to go. Someone could be in trouble but they didn't even know where they were and how to get there. By the time they figure it out, it would already be too late.

Turns out, they didn't need to go anywhere. The creator of the scream came running down one of the ten halls with another person behind them, swimming as fast as they can. Their eyes widened as they approached the two beings. It was Cole and Vania.

Cole and Vania didn't see their friends coming and they all bumped into each other. Cole groaned and opened his eyes, "PIXAL? Zane? Jay?" He let out a sigh of relief

"Oh! Are we glad to see you guys!" Vania commented, also sighing.

Cole quickly interrupted the about-to-start conversation, "Yeah. Love reunions and all but... A Ripper Shark is heading straight for us!" He shrieked out whilst pointing to the hall he and Vania came out from.

"A ripper shark?! I thought those things were only from Merlopia!" Jay complained, not wanting to believe what he's hearing.

Just then, a loud roar was heard and they wasted no time and to swim and get away from the creature as fast as possible. They all panted as they swam away from the ripper shark. Trying to find a way out, they felt something. It was a wave coming towards them. They tried to swim away from it but it didn't work and they got caught in it.

They got pushed by it and they all screamed as they got shot out of the Monument from another opening. They flailed their arms around desperately trying to find something to hang on to. They came to an abrupt stop as they landed on a rocky ledge. They all let out small groans whilst getting up to a sitting position.

"Zane? PIX? Jay? Cole? Vania?" A familiar voice spoke up. Their footsteps came closer, along with a few more footsteps.

Cole looked up and saw the rest of their friends. He got up and hugged them, "Guys?" The others followed in pursuit.

They let go and Lloyd asked, "Did you find the Pearl?" He asked.

Zane sighed as PIXAL replied, "No. We did not."

Everyone slumped down but then Jay asked, "Wait. How did you guys get here?" He asked, pointing at Lloyd and Harumi. Everyone's attention turned to them.

Harumi bit her lip, looking in any direction. Lloyd rubbed the back of his head, "Uhm... We uhh..."

⊱ ─────────{.⋅ ✧ ⋅.} ─────────⊰

Harumi and Lloyd swam to the right side of the Monument in silence. No one said a word. But it wasn't an awkward silence but it was not a comforting silence either. The silence was to avoid attracting attention though they could hear Jay jabbering from the front of the building, to which they rolled their eyes at. At one point, they also felt the ground shake, and then they heard a loud crash from the top.

They looked at each other as if they could read each other's minds, "Kai and Skylor." They thought to each other.

They continued until they reached the Monument. Underwater waves shot in different directions and time waves also traveled around the place, keeping random sea creatures from entering the Monument.

They didn't even get the chance to find a way inside when they heard two screams. They turned and saw the Master of Fire and Amber get thrown to a ledge far from the Monument. They winced when they saw them crash.

Lloyd used his elemental energy to blast a way inside the place. It wasn't quiet but it wasn't too loud either, so it worked for them to get inside. The sea lanterns lit the place up but it was still pretty dark. Lloyd summoned his energy and the halls lit up with green light. Harumi smiled in amusement.

This reminded both of them of the time they explored the Oni Temple for the Oni Mask of Hatred. Good and bad times. It was exciting and they bonded a lot on that adventure, but it was also when her accidental word slip led to a painful experience.

The halls weren't that wide but they weren't too small either. It fit enough for a few people to go through at once. Harum and Lloyd kept exploring around the monument, marking where they've been and where they haven't been to try and get somewhere instead of going in circles.

Just when they were about to decide which way to go, they heard whining. An all too familiar whine. Jay's whine. It was getting really annoying that they decided to just go the opposite direction of the whine. Bad idea.

They used their hands to cover where their ears were on the diving mask to try and block out the whines. If those three got caught, it would be because of Jay's nonstop whining. Or maybe if they don't get caught, it would be because the captors don't want to hear Jay whining while they guarded them.

They kept going down the hall, not looking where they were going when they bumped into a wall. Harumi sighed, "Dead end." She said.

Lloyd looked suspiciously behind Harumi at where the wall was at. He narrowed his eyes, "What's that?" He asked, pointing at something on the wall.

Harumi looked at where he was pointing when they heard a clicking sound. Then they heard screams from behind them, they turned around and that's when an underwater wave was shot at them. They had no time to swim away and they got caught in it. Then they both got thrown out of the Monument and landed on the ledge Kai and Skylor were sitting at, tumbling on top of each other.

⊱ ─────────{.⋅ ✧ ⋅.} ─────────⊰

Lloyd waved his hands, shrugging that off, "Nevermind that. We need to get a new plan together now." He changed the subject.

"Obviously, splitting up doesn't work." Jay stated.

"Thanks for stating the obvious, motormouth." Kai mused. Jay huffed at him and looked in the other direction, arms crossed.

Skylor groaned, "I've had just about enough of your tedious arguments. Can we please just try and focus on the mission?" She asked the immature boys who just ignored her pleas, making her add, "Never mind." She muttered, covering her eyes.

Not listening to the other conversation, Vania's eyes lit up, "Then why don't we do the opposite?" She asked.

"You mean stay in one group? Together?" Cole pointed at everyone in a circular motion, "All of us?" he asked.

"Splitting up into small groups doesn't work, so why don't we try and go in one big group?" Vania suggests.

"It could work. If some of us could distract the waves then maybe the rest could go in and find the Pearl." Harumi theorized.

"What about the sharks?" PIXAL pointed out the last obstacle.

Kai, Skylor, Harumi, and Lloyd turned to her, "What sharks?" Kai asked, distracting himself from his and Jay's argument.

Jay scoffed, "The ripper sharks! Hello? Didn't you see any?" Kai frowned at him and Skylor had to separate the two before they got into another argument.

Lloyd raised a brow, "Ripper sharks? You mean the one we saw in Merlopia?"

"Merlopi-what?" Harumi gave him a weird look.

"That doesn't matter. So now, we need a few groups to distract the time waves, internal waves, and the ripper sharks. Any volunteers?" Lloyd looked up from his thoughts.

It was quiet for a few seconds before Zane stepped forward, "I could divert the ripper sharks, but I would need some assistance." He offered himself.

"I will go with Zane." PIXAL intertwined Zane's hand with hers.

Jay jumped on Zane, placing both his hands on his shoulder, "I can come help." He smiled.

"Kai and I could reroute the time waves." Skylor volunteered with Kai nodding behind her, signaling that they discussed it first.

"That leaves me and Cole to distract the internal waves." Vania raised her hand.

Lloyd nodded, "So Harumi and I will go in and retrieve the Pearl." Everyone started nodding and agreeing. "Alright then, let's get to it."

They all went in together this time and as soon as they approached the front of the Monument, waves started towards them. Cole and Vania came forward. Cole used his powers to send a pulse to the Monument, "Hey! Over here!" He yelled, grabbing its attention. The waves started chasing them. Vania looked at the others.

"Go!"

Kai and Skylor also left to divert the time waves away from them. They tried going in from the top, front, left, and right so this time, they went for the bottom of the building. They swam underneath the Monument and Lloyd blasted a hole through. They swam in and started exploring the building. Lloyd used his powers and left marks on the walls to mark where they've been and haven't been.

Soon enough, they ran into some ripper sharks. Zane used his powers and created a wall of ice to block them from the sharks. Harumi and Lloyd went the other way while the trio were left to take care of the sharks. Jay started to brag and gave a victory dance to the sharks, angering them. By the time the sharks broke through, Zane already created another ice wall for them to break through again.

Harumi and Lloyd swam around the Monument as fast as they can, trying to find the Pearl. Lloyd marked every hallway they passed but it seems as if the Monument itself was magic and this place had endless hallways. They decided to stop for a few minutes to rest.

"This seems hopeless." Harumi muttered, burying her face in her hands.

Lloyd looked at her and hesitated before he placed his hand on hers. She looked up at him in surprise. "It's not. If you've been on as many missions as I have, it's always hopeless at first glance." He chuckled.

Harumi didn't laugh and instead, she just looked up at the ceiling. The longer she stares at it, the more suspicious she gets. Lloyd raised a brow and decided to look at what she's seeing. It was just a ceiling. Harumi decided to speak.

"Where would you put an important artifact in an endless Monument?" She asked, still staring at the ceiling.

Lloyd looked at her, confused. Then he looked up again and said, "I'd put it where they'd least expect it. People would usually hide it in underground basements but this place is floating in water so..." he trailed off.

Harumi stood up, smiling, "So, it means they could've hidden it above us." She pointed to the ceiling, "It must be somewhere up there."

Lloyd smiled and gave a playful shove to Harumi's shoulder, "You're smart. No wonder you were the only villain that ever succeeded in taking over Ninjago." He complimented.

She waved an arm, shrugging it off, "Oh, please. That was nothing. I could've done worse but the plan I had come up with was good enough to work with." She paused, giving him a teasing look, "Now, come on. We need to get up there. The others can't hold them back for long."

As soon as she said that, Lloyd powered up his energy and blasted a hole in the ceiling. They went through and found themselves in a gigantic empty room. They were right up against the wall and this room looked as big as the whole Monument, which was huge. So it would've been pointless to keep searching on the first floor. Pillars were all around the room and sea lanterns lit the place up.

In the center of the room, walls were covering up something. It didn't take long to guess that it was the Pearl. Why would someone hide something if it wasn't valuable? They wouldn't. They both smiled at each other before proceeding towards the box in the middle of the room.

They were foolish to think that nothing was guarding the Pearl, cause as soon as they were close to the center of the room, Lloyd felt a presence behind them. He had a suspicious look on his face before he tackled Harumi out of the way. He was glad he did because no sooner after he did that, something exploded right where they were. Harumi's eyes widened whilst still in Lloyd's hold.

"What was that?!"

"I don't know." Lloyd shook his head, letting her go.

The creature that shot the explosive came out into view. It was definitely a guardian creature, and its purpose was definitely to protect the Pearl. Now, there was no doubt that the Pearl was here. If the sea dwellers that created this place made this sea creature guard this exact spot, then it was to protect the artifact.

Lloyd turned to Harumi, "Get the Pearl!" He took out his blaster, "I'll distract it." Then he started shooting at the creature.

Harumi gasped as Lloyd fought the sea creature. She didn't know what it was but she needed to retrieve the Pearl as quickly as she could if Lloyd were to not get injured. She hesitated before nodding towards the Pearl's container. The fight behind her sounded intense. Green light and explosions would flash here and there.

She bit her lip once she made it to the container. She took her blaster from behind and clicked the trigger. The blast made a crack in the wall, but it wasn't enough for her to get through. She kept repeating this step over and over again until she could proceed.

Lloyd fought the sea creature with his blaster and energy, hoping to distract it long enough for Harumi to get the Pearl. Once Harumi shot at the wall, it got the sea creature's attention. It immediately swam for her. Lloyd tried chasing it but it was too fast. He had to resort to using his powers to make him go faster.

Once he was close enough, he used his energy and shot it at the creature. It roared in surprise and forgot about Harumi. He was so focused on Harumi's safety that he forgot about his own. He gasped when the creature charged at him. He only had time to conjure up a small shield to protect him when the creature hit him at full force.

The impact knocked him into the wall. A crack could be heard. Hearing the crack, Lloyd got up but he didn't feel any injuries. He then noticed air bubbles escaping from behind him. He was confused at first but then realization hit him harder than the impact itself.

He looked at his back and just as expected, there was a crack in his oxygen tank. "That's not good." He muttered.

Lloyd looked back at the creature and saw it lunging at him again. He just barely managed to dodge it as the creature slammed into the wall, making a slight crack. It was getting harder to breathe because of his small predicament with his oxygen tank. He heard a final blow from where Harumi was at and let out a breath of relief as she finally made a hole big enough for her to crawl through.

He was too caught up in his relief for her that he felt an immense amount of pain on his side that sent him flying towards the other side of the room. His back hit the wall and his body fell limp to the floor, slightly floating since he was in water. He saw the creature approach him.

He tried to get up but he couldn't muster up the strength to do so and his mask was starting to fill up with water, not giving him enough oxygen. The sea creature readied itself to make the final blow on him. His vision started getting blurry with the little oxygen he had left. He started drifting in and out of consciousness and he started feeling numb.

Just as the creature was about to strike, he saw a blue glow that hit the sea creature, making it disintegrate into bubbles. He saw a green blob swimming towards him while carrying a shiny circular object. He could hear a feminine voice fretting about him.

"Lloyd! What's wrong? Get up..."

A few more colorful blobs came into view from a hole in the ground and they started surrounding him. There was barely any more oxygen left that he could breathe in and he started wheezing. He heard more voices but his head was too dizzy to process any of the things they were saying and he just drifted out of consciousness as he let his body finally go limp.

⊱ ─────────{.⋅ ✧ ⋅.} ─────────⊰

Harumi swam towards Lloyd as the others came in view. She paid no attention to them, just to the boy who was lying limp on the ground. The others started gathering around them and they started shooting questions at her.

She ignored anything and everything they said. Even if she heard them, she just blocked them out. She held Lloyd in her arms, trying to find any injuries on him to find out why he isn't moving. She was going around on his back when she felt a hole in something. Confused, she turned him around and saw a crack in his oxygen tank. She gasped, grabbing everyone's attention to her.

"We need to get him to the surface. He can't breathe." She worried.

Lloyd finally went limp in her arms. She lifted him up to the others and Cole, being the strongest, carried him while they swam out of the Monument. Jay, PIXAL, and Zane had already taken care of the ripper sharks, so they didn't run into any of that. And when Harumi retrieved the Pearl from its pedestal, the time and internal waves stopped since the source of its power was gone, so they had nothing to worry about.

They finally got out of the Monument after what felt like an eternity even though it only took an hour or two for the whole operation. So now it was around 4 or 5 in the evening. When they were out of the building, they headed for the surface. The oxygen tanks they were using didn't last for too long and soon enough, it started getting hard for them to breathe. Luckily, the surface wasn't far from sight anymore.

Everyone gasped as they reached the surface, flipping their diving masks off to breathe. Cole had also already flipped Lloyd's mask off. They all swam towards the shore and let their body go limp on the sand. It was far more comforting than being stuck under the water in Harumi's opinion.

She flipped herself onto her back and got up in a seated position to breathe. Her body tensed when she remembered Lloyd's state. She got up to her feet and rushed to where Cole placed Lloyd at. She grabbed him and placed his head on her lap, checking for a pulse. She sighed in relief when she felt one.

She heard footsteps coming towards her and saw Zane coming towards her. The rest also came to check on Lloyd, surrounding her. Harumi gave Lloyd to Zane for him to check. Zane set Lloyd down on the sand a few feet across from them. Harumi let her face sink into her hands, covering her face so that no one would see her state.

The Pearl was clutched in between her legs and chest so she let her face out of her hands. She grabbed the Pearl and stood up. The Pearl glowed bright and it was getting dark so they could see it even clearer. She grabbed the person closest to her, who happens to be Kai, and hands him the Pearl before walking away to a rack big enough for her to lean on.

While walking, she stopped for a brief second to say, "Now that you have the Pearl and the instructions, you won't need me anymore." She sighed and slumped on the rock. She covered her eyes with her hands.

Kai looked at the Pearl in his hands. The Pearl was the key to bringing back his sister and it wouldn't have been possible without Harumi's help. He then turned his attention to Lloyd who was being treated by Zane and PIXAL who had joined him shortly after he walked away.

He looked at his friends and then the Pearl, "What do we do now?" Jay's voice spoke. Even without looking, Kai could tell that he was sad and confused.

Kai looked up from the Pearl and at his friends. He looked at Skylor and Vania and saw that they weren't focused on the artifact nor him, they were looking at Harumi. Kai slowly turned to look at Harumi too, "How about we make amends with her?" He asked, smiling at Skylor and Vania, who gave him a grateful smile back.

Cole gave a slight laugh, "She's helped us this far." He started, walking towards Vania, "I think we can try and start over with her again." He hesitated before looking at Lloyd and adding, "Lloyd probably would've wanted that." He smiled.

"Thank you." Vania smiled at him appreciatively. He returned it.

"I'm pretty sure Zane and PIXAL had already forgiven her since she revealed herself. Even if they hadn't, they can do that after tending to Lloyd." Kai looked at Jay, "That just leaves us with Jay." Everyone turned to him, "What'd ya say?"

Jay twiddled his fingers and bit his lip. He closed his eyes in uncertainty before a look of determination flashed across his face, "For Nya, I'd do anything. She helped us do something that we didn't even think was possible." He looked up, "I think she deserves an apology and our forgiveness." He smiled.

Everyone nodded at each other before they walked towards the curled-up white-haired girl. She noticed them walking towards her and she looked up, raising a brow. She opened her mouth to say something but the boys interrupted by apologizing. One by one, they apologized.

Slowly, her mouth twitched upwards into a smile. She looked down, hesitating before saying, "It's fine, and I'm sorry too. It didn't occur to me how I was only making things in Ninjago worse until I almost died." She sighed, "I hope you can forgive me."

"We forgive you."

"It's cool."

"Yeah, we're past that."

Vania and Skylor watched as the boys and Harumi reconciled with each other. It was nice to see that the boys were finally letting go of the past and trying to befriend Harumi again.

"So, are we friends now?" Harumi asked timidly.

The three boys looked at each other and nodded. The two girls watching from behind smiled at the progress.

"Yes."

"If you wish for that, I don't mind."

"Yeah, sure. As long as you don't betray us again."

Harumi laughed at the last comment, "Deal." They shook hands with her one at a time.

Kai was still holding the Pearl and showed it to Harumi, "What do we do with this now?" He asked, "Lloyd kind of lost the paper instructions back in the forest after reading your note."

Harumi paused to look at Lloyd before pushing Kai's hand back, signaling that she wants him to hold it, "Turning Nya back to human is the easy part. Finding her is the hard part." She explained, her eyes still set on Lloyd.

Cole jumped in, "Then we'll set sail to find Nya tomorrow. Hopefully, Lloyd will be awake by then." He smiled, side-hugging Vania. Kai also snaked an arm around Skylor's waist when she came up beside him.

Harumi nodded in agreement before she walked towards the two nindroids. But before she could say anything, PIXAL beat her to it, "It's okay, Harumi. We overheard your conversation. We also forgive you and we're also sorry." She smiled.

Harumi gaped, wondering how she knew what she was about to say but shrugged it off, "Thank you, and I also forgive you." She nodded. PIXAL and Zane nodded before going back to Lloyd. Harumi got concerned, "Will he be alright?" She asked, worry taking over all her features.

Zane let PIXAl finish up as he got up and turned to Harumi, "Yes. We believe that he will wake up tomorrow. Unlike Jay's situation, Lloyd didn't swallow much seawater that couldn't be coughed out." He paused when the others came towards them, "He had already coughed out most of the water and when he wakes up, he should cough out the rest of the water." Zane assures everyone.

After Zane's explanation, PIXAL finished up Zane's work and went to go to sleep with the others. Kai slept with the Pearl in his hands. They found a cave they could sleep in for the night and decided to sleep there. The Pearl gave out enough light for them to see and Kai made a small fire so that they wouldn't freeze to death.

Despite already making amends with the other Ninja, Harumi still hadn't made up with Lloyd. She had an alliance with him but it was only temporary. Out of all the Ninja, Lloyd was the most hurt by her. His opinion was the one that mattered out of the whole team's. If she and Lloyd don't make amends soon, then they probably won't get another one after this whole oni invasion was over.

Again, she wants to forgive him but it's hard to actually mean it. Harumi wasn't asleep yet. She cradled herself up beside Lloyd. Her eyes were open and she was staring at his face, taking in his features. His gentle breathing. His calm face. His bravery in the face of danger. His chest rising and falling with every breath.

He would wake up.

She knows it but just the thought of losing him alone scared her. Sure, she hasn't exactly forgiven him yet, but deep down, she knows that she still has feelings for him. She just hides it from the world, not wanting to believe it. She's trying to hide the reality of her true feelings. But she couldn't let this get in the way of what's important.

Tomorrow they were going to venture into the sea again to try and find Nya's water form. It's going to be hard but she wants to redeem herself. She let out a deep breath before finally drifting off to sleep. Little did she know that tomorrow morning was going to be a surprise.