WOHOOOOOOOOOO! 45 CHAPTERS!!! THANK YOU EVERYONE!!

" Dad, is there any way for this spell to wear off soon? I'm getting tired." Lloyd panted.

" Maybe. What time is it?" Garmadon asked.

Lloyd checked his watch. " Ten thirty in the night."

" Ten thirty?! We've been running for hours, then!"

" When did we start?"

Garmadon paused for a moment.

" Three fourty five."

Lloyd calculated in his head. " Nine hours and fifteen minutes?!"

" What? What have we been doing for nine hours and fifteen minutes?"

" Walk! And run, and skip, and save them from messes!"

" Really? What type of messes?" Garmadon sounded.... intrigued.

Lloyd glared at him.

" Father, you know all the messes. Saving them from trees, making sure they don't step on turtles. Those types of messes."

A groan escaped Garmadon's lips, a sound that was equal parts amusement and exasperation. "Nine hours of babysitting... under the influence of a dollar store discount spell. This is worse than facing Chen's noodle army."

Lloyd couldn't help but crack a smile at the image. He pictured his father, usually stoic and intimidating, facing down his old friend and his army. The absurdity of it all was enough to lighten his mood, even if his legs ached from hours of running after his team's chaotic shopping spree.

"Look, there they are!" Nya called out, pointing to a clearing ahead. In the moonlight, Lloyd saw his friends sprawled out on a grassy patch, exhausted and surrounded by their discount store purchases. Cole had somehow managed to build a precarious tower out of ice cream cone hats, while Jay, still sporting the orange afro wig, was attempting to serenade a nearby owl with his kazoo.

Lloyd sighed. This was going to be a long night.

He and Garmadon approached the group cautiously. Nya, the first to notice them, perked up. "Hey guys! We're having a picnic!"

"A picnic?" Garmadon echoed, raising an eyebrow. He surveyed the collection of mismatched snacks and questionable fashion choices with a mixture of disbelief and something that might have been... fondness?

"Yeah!" Cole chimed in, his voice muffled by a mouthful of gummy worms. "We got all sorts of yummy stuff! Wanna join?"

Lloyd exchanged a helpless look with his father. Refusing their offer, even in this state, would likely only lead to tears and tantrums. With a resigned sigh, he sat down next to Nya. Garmadon, after a moment's hesitation, followed suit, carefully avoiding a precariously balanced pile of plastic dinosaurs.

"So," Lloyd began, trying to sound cheerful, "what have you guys been up to?"

Nya, her eyes sparkling with an uncharacteristic glee, gestured to a pile of brightly colored scarves. "We're playing dress-up! See, I'm a pirate queen!"

She struck a dramatic pose, the oversized scarf billowing around her. Lloyd had to admit, she did look rather regal, even with the sparkly purple leggings peeking out from beneath.

Jay, finally giving up on the owl (who seemed more annoyed than charmed), plopped down next to them, the orange afro wig askew. "And I'm... uh... a warrior bard! Fear my musical might!"

He brandished his kazoo like a weapon, letting out a series of kazoo noises that sounded suspiciously like a strangled cat. Cole, his ice cream cone hat tower now leaning precariously, offered Lloyd a handful of gummy worms.

"Want some, green bean? They're the best kind – neon green, just like your powers!"

Lloyd forced a smile and politely declined. He glanced at Garmadon, who was watching the scene with a hint of a smile playing on his lips. His father might deny it, but Lloyd could tell he was secretly enjoying this bizarre turn of events.

As the night wore on, they shared stories (mostly embellished tales of their shopping adventures), sang terrible karaoke renditions (courtesy of Jay's kazoo), and even managed to build a (somewhat lopsided) fort out of blankets and pillows.

" You know, this day didn't turn out as bad as I thought it would." Garmadon admitted.

" How bad did you think it would get?" Lloyd playfully asked, rewarding him with a good- aimed elbow bump from his dad.

Suddenly, a splash came from outside. Garmadon and Lloyd, who were still exchanging jests, sat up and looked at one another, alarmed.

" Was that....?" Lloyd started, pointing timidly in the direction the sound came from.

" Now is not to be a man of words, but a man of actions." Then, Garmadon muttered, " What has he done to them?"

Before Lloyd could further question, Garmadon disappeared outside, and Lloyd followed. 

It was chaos. Nya and Jay were in a small mud pond, covered. Cole had twigs sticking out from his hair, and Kai..... well, Kai's hair.... got it's share of his element.  ( In simplest terms, it got burnt).  And Zane.... well, Zane was gone. Under the mud.

" Wheeee!" Cole squealed, canon-balling into the mud. " This is fun!"

" I agree! And, it's delicious!" Jay said with a mouthful of something gooey and brown.

" Wait, he didn't...." Lloyd started, looking at his father with a concerned look as he pointed to Jay's mouth. Garmadon didn't respond. He was too busy slumped over, his mouth wide open as he took in the scene. 

" This..... this is beyond what I've ever seen." He said, recovering.

"This is a disaster!" Lloyd groaned, burying his face in his hands. He could hear his father muttering something under his breath, but the words were lost in the cacophony of mud squelching and Jay's surprisingly loud burp.

"Hey, green bean! Come join the fun!" Cole bellowed, launching himself towards Lloyd with surprising agility for someone covered in mud. Lloyd sidestepped just in time, narrowly avoiding a mud bath.

"Fun? Cole, you're covered in mud! And Kai, your hair is on fire!" Lloyd exclaimed, his voice laced with exasperation.

Kai, finally regaining his composure, swatted at his smoldering hair with a hand (accidentally flinging a burning ember in Jay's direction, who yelped and ducked). "Fire? What fire? My hair is perfectly fine... ish."

"Zane!" Lloyd yelled, rushing towards the muddy patch. He plunged his hand in, feeling around blindly for his friend. "Zane, are you okay?"

A muffled gurgle was his only response. Panic surged through Lloyd. He needed to get Zane out of there, and fast.

Meanwhile, Garmadon surveyed the scene with a mixture of exasperation and something that might have been... amusement. He had to admit, this whole situation was more entertaining than he initially anticipated.

"This is... crazy," he finally muttered, his voice laced with a hint of begrudging respect for the spell's creativity (if not its practicality).

Lloyd, finally managing to pull Zane out of the mud, glared at his friends. "You're gonna catch a cold!" he exclaimed, his voice laced with worry.

Cole, covered in mud from head to toe, emerged from the puddle with a mischievous grin. "Cold shmold! We'll be fiiiiiiiiiiiiine!" he declared, throwing his muddy arms around Lloyd, showering him with a brown splatter.

Garmadon, however, seemed to have reached his limit. "Okay, this is ridiculous," he declared. "We need to take them to the emergency room... quickly! Lloyd, find the nearest hospital!"

Lloyd sputtered. "Dad, I'm a ninja, not a GPS! And besides, they're not exactly... injured. Just... muddy."

Garmadon's eye twitched. "Same difference! Look at them! They're covered in grime, who knows what kind of bacteria they've picked up! They need a decontamination unit, stat!"

Lloyd couldn't help but roll his eyes. His father was always so dramatic. "Fine, fine," he conceded. " But I'm not happy."

A ghost of a smile played on Garmadon's lips. "Neither am I, son. Neither am I." 

Lloyd smiled at him before focusing for a moment, channeling his green energy. "Alright, there's a hospital about five miles from here. But seriously, Dad, a hospital? They just need a shower."

Garmadon, however, was already striding towards his son's team, his expression a mask of determination. "A shower can wait. First, we get them out of this... mud pit."

He pointed a finger at Jay, who was now attempting to use a stick to fish a particularly large earthworm out of the mud. "And keep them away from... whatever that is!"

Lloyd knew arguing was pointless. With a resigned sigh, he pulled out his phone and started putting in the coordinates for the hospital (hoping they could handle a mud-caked ninja invasion). As he typed, he heard his father's exasperated voice behind him.

"And Lloyd! Make sure they have a fire extinguisher! Seems Kai decided to set his hair on fire again!"

Lloyd sighed. 

" Ask Nya to dunk water on him."

A few moments later, he heard a loud sploosh! sound. Startled, he turned, to see everyone dripping with water. Not to point fingers or anything, but Nya wasn't dripping wet, AND she had a sinister smile on her face.

The scene unfolded like a chaotic comedy sketch. Garmadon, surprisingly agile for his age, managed to wrestle a giggling Cole out of the mud with surprising ease. Meanwhile, Kai, his hair now a smoldering mess (courtesy of Nya's impromptu fire extinguisher technique), was chasing a particularly large earthworm with a stick, muttering about "fire and earthworms... a new power source!"

Lloyd, phone clutched in his hand, fought back the urge to bury his head in his hands. This was a disaster of epic proportions, and he wasn't sure how they were going to get out of this sticky situation (literally). He typed in the rest of the hospital address with shaking fingers , already composing a fantastical explanation for their muddy arrival.

Suddenly, a loud shriek pierced the night air. Turning, Lloyd saw Nya, covered in mud from head to toe, sputtering in outrage. "Nya! What happened?" he yelled over the cacophony.

"This maniac!" she sputtered, pointing an accusing finger at Jay. "He said he could fly us to the hospital faster! Now we're all going to be arrested for public indecency!"

Indeed, Jay, fueled by a potent combination of mud and the discount store spell, had decided to take matters into his own muddy hands. With his arms spread wide and a determined look on his face, he was... attempting to fly. Unfortunately, his attempts at aerial navigation resembled a particularly ungraceful sparrow with a head injury.

"I am NOT a maniac!" Jay protested, his voice strained from the exertion. "I am Spinjitzu Master Jay Walker! And I can fly!"

With a particularly ungainly flap of his "wings," Jay managed to propel himself a few feet off the ground, only to lose control and careen headfirst into a nearby tree. A comical "oof!" escaped his lips as he landed in a heap of leaves and twigs.

The rest of the team, their inhibitions lowered by the spell, found this turn of events side-splittingly hilarious. Cole rolled on the ground, clutching his stomach and howling with laughter. Even Garmadon, despite his initial annoyance, couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Well," Lloyd sighed, "at least they're having fun."

" Fun or not," Garmadon said, firmly. " We have to take them to the hospital."

The news of the hospital visit didn't sit well with any of them. The image of sterile white rooms and frantic doctors poking and prodding at them for a simple mud bath was enough to make even the mud-encrusted Cole groan in protest.

"Hospital? Can't we just head back to the monastery and clean up there?" Kai whined, gingerly picking at a singed clump of hair.

Garmadon, however, was resolute. "Absolutely not. Public health hazard and all that. Besides," he added with a mischievous glint in his eye, "think of the story you'll have to tell Wu!"

Lloyd shot his father a withering look, but secretly, the idea of teasing Wu about the whole ordeal was a bit tempting. With a sigh, he announced, "Alright, alright. Hospital it is. But Nya, try to keep the waterworks to a minimum, okay?"

Nya, who had been suspiciously quiet since the water dousing incident, gave him a sly smile. "No promises, green bean."

Their trek to the hospital was... eventful, to say the least. Under the influence of the spell, their coordination was off, their movements clumsy and erratic. Simple tasks like walking in a straight line became an obstacle course of giggles and stumbles. They ended up slipping and sliding on the wet grass, crashing into trees and bushes, leaving a trail of muddy destruction in their wake.

The chaos reached its peak when, in a particularly spectacular tumble, they all went flying headfirst through the open window of a nearby house. The startled yelp that erupted from inside was quickly followed by a shriek that could only be described as bloodcurdling.

Lloyd, the first one to scramble to his feet, winced at the sound. This was not how he envisioned their evening ending. He peeked cautiously into the window, bracing himself for the worst.

Inside the house, a woman was standing in the bathtub, covered in suds and a look of pure terror on her face. Four pairs of muddy eyes stared back at her, blinking in confusion. For a tense moment, everything seemed to freeze. Then, the woman let out another ear-splitting scream.

" Woah, woah, ma'am!" Jay said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. " Don't you know that rule 9.999995 in the law book says, ' never scream in the bath unless there is a fire'?"

" Uh, Jay, I thought it was rule 4.85665." Cole replied.

" It's 6750." That was Kai.

" Are you guys crazy?! It's number 76859664!"

The boys stared at Nya.

" Number 76859664?!" Jay asked, tilting his head. " There aren't that many rules!"

The woman in the bathtub continued to scream, her suds-coated face a mask of horror. Lloyd, ever the responsible one, pushed past his friends and waded into the bathroom, his muddy footprints leaving a trail on the pristine tile floor.

"Ma'am, ma'am," he soothed, raising his hands placatingly. "We mean no harm. We're ninjas, on a very... unexpected mission."

The woman, still wide-eyed, finally seemed to register his words. "Ninjas? In my bathtub?" Her voice was a shaky whisper.

Lloyd winced. This was even worse than he imagined. Suddenly, a mischievous glint appeared in Jay's muddy eyes.

"Actually," he declared, striking a dramatic pose, "we're not just any ninjas. We're the Ninjago Ninja Team! Masters of Spinjitzu! And apparently, experts in accidental home invasions."

Nya rolled her eyes, but a smile played on her lips. This was Jay at his best – turning even the most awkward situations into an adventure.

Cole, ever the foodie, piped up, peering at the overflowing tub with longing. "Whoa, is that... bubble bath? Looks yummy!"

Before Lloyd could stop him, Cole lunged forward and scooped up a handful of suds, shoving them into his mouth. His face contorted in disgust as the soapy flavor hit him. "Blech! Tastes like disappointment!"

The woman in the bathtub, witnessing this bizarre scene, finally burst into laughter. A wave of relief washed over Lloyd. Laughter was good. Laughter meant they weren't about to be arrested for ninja-related bathroom trespassing.

Just then, a loud rumble echoed from outside. Peering through the window, they saw a sleek black car driving down the street. Kai's eyes lit up.

"Oh, look!" he exclaimed, pointing. "A chariot!"

Before anyone could react, Kai launched himself through the window, landing with a graceless thud on the car's hood. Cole, not wanting to be left out, followed suit, crashing into the trunk. Jay, ever the showman, climbed onto the roof, yelling, "Hold on tight, citizens of Ninjago!"

Lloyd groaned. This was getting out of hand. He looked at Nya, who was struggling not to laugh. "What are we going to do?"

Nya winked, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Looks like we're going for a ride." And with that, she followed her brothers, leaping through the window and onto the car.

Lloyd sighed. There was no point in arguing. 

" Sorry, Ma'am." Lloyd said, jumping down from the ledge and onto a speeding bus. This was gonna be a long night.