ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: Twenty One Pilots - Ride

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◄◄⠀▐▐ ⠀►►⠀⠀ ⠀ 0:00 / 3:34 ⠀ ───○ 🔊⠀ ᴴᴰ ⚙ ❐ ⊏⊐

Yeah, I think about the end just way too much

But it's fun to fantasize

All my enemies who wouldn't wish who I was

But it's fun to fantasize

---

Searching for Ronin and the Scroll of Airtjitzu, the ninja found themselves on the docks of Stiix, the village on stilts over the water.

''Welcome to Stiix. Watch your step. Oh, I caught one. It's a big fella. Ugh, whoa. Whoa!'' The Fisherman greeted, before something on the end of the fishing line pulled into the water. ''Ugh. Dagnabbit.''

The others turned to see Kai sitting down, a nervous look on his face. ''I didn't know you were afraid of heights,'' Jay said.

''I'm fine with heights. It's water I hate.'' Kai replied, getting up as he joined the others as they walked towards Stiix.

''Didn't seem to have a problem before,'' Zane told him.

''Before I could make a Fire Dragon at will. Since Morro's taken over Lloyd and our powers gone, I haven't felt—Aagh!'' Kai said before a plank broke under him, and thankfully Cole helped the Fire Ninja up.

''Well, now that we know Ghosts don't like water either, at least we should feel safe surrounded by it.'' The future ghost ninja told him.

''Ugh, what a dump. You'd think the thief who stole the Scroll of Airjitzu would have better taste.'' Jay said, pinching his nose because of the terrible smell, walking into the above water village.

''Uh, this is Ronin we're talking about. He'd steal the sea if it were worth anything. We just have to figure out which rock he's under and get to the Scroll before Morro does.'' The Earth Ninja replied, and (Y/n) nodded.

''Let's split up and start looking,'' Zane told the others

Arriving at a pawn shop, the ninja searched for the scroll.

''Wait a minute, this is my dad's Blade Cup trophy. What's it doing in a pawn shop?'' Cole asked, picking it up.

(Y/n) found a photo of her and her family, and tilted it. Her eyes widened, and she quickly threw it away.

''Selling stolen goods?'' Kai questioned. ''Ha, sounds like we might have stumbled on the right place.''

A wild Bounty Hunter appeared, holding a vase, whistling.

''Ronin,'' Jay said, looking at him. ''Going so soon?''

''If this is about our last encounter, it was only business.'' Ronin replied, backing away and being surrounded by the ninja.

''You left us in the mouth of a—'' Kai spoke.

''So you're still upset. Let me make it up to you.'' The Thieving Bounty Hunter put the vase down, and pushed a button. ''Aha!'' Ronin said, but the vengestone net failed to trap the ninja. ''Uh, that was a mistake. I can explain that.''

''Argh, nothing here is legit, including you,'' Cole replied.

''Yeah. I bet your airship's not far either.'' Jay said, pushing aside the net to look at Ronin. ''What do you call it again? Rylo? Ruby?''

''R.E.X. And could you have a little sympathy? Sold her so I could buy this place. As you can see, I'm trying to make an honest living.'' The Thief replied.

''Honest enough to steal the Scroll of Airjitzu?'' The Hair-Gelled Fire Ninja questioned.

''The Scroll of Who-whatzu?'' Ronin asked, acting confused.

''Airjitzu. It can make a Spinjitzu Master fly.'' Jay replied.

''Yeah. So hand it over or we can make you fly.'' The Earth Ninja threatened, picking up an abacus and throwing it at the wall, making it break into pieces.

''Whoa, cool down, fella. Even if I had such a thing, it sounds pretty old and important. Definitely not something I'd keep on site. And definitely too much for you to afford. Maybe I can interest you in some unique weapons? I've got Jadeblades, obsidian armour...'' Ronin offered, holding the armour and Jade Blades up.

''Have anything that can vanquish Ghosts?'' The Ice Ninja questioned.

''Hmm, Ghosts you say?'' Ronin asked.

''Yeah. They hate water, but we're not looking for water balloons. We need something reliable.'' Cole replied.

Ronin zipped over to a shelf, picking up what looked to be a big shuriken. ''Hmm, what you're looking for is an Aeroblade, forged by Deepstone, an aquatic material mined from the bottom of the ocean. Very unique. Even more expensive.''

''Ugh, can't you see he's giving us the runaround? We want the scroll, Ronin. What do you want for it?'' Kai asked.

''Two hundred.'' The Thieving Bounty Hunter answered.

''What? Two hundred? We don't have that kind of dough!'' Jay told him.

''Come on, you guys once had the Golden Weapons. You honestly telling me you've never pinched anything?'' Ronin asked.

''No! We don't pinch. And we don't even have pockets.'' Kai replied.

''How about (Y/n)? I heard she's gotten famous, eh?'' The Bounty Hunter asked the girl, as if only just noticing her presence.

''Ronin, I haven't received the money yet.'' The Master of Illusion replied, making him frown.

''What if we were to tell you all of Ninjago depends on it?'' Cole asked.

''Well then, that changes everything. Four hundred.'' Ronin replied, smirking.

''Argh, you can't just double the price!'' Jay shouted in outrage.

''My shop, my rules.'' The Bounty Hunter replied, crossing his arms.

The ninja huddled in a circle.

''All right, so my gut says—'' Kai spoke.

''What do you think, Zane?'' Cole asked, interrupting the porcupine.

''What, my opinion doesn't matter?'' The Fire Ninja questioned.

''We don't listen to your gut anymore, Kai,'' Jay told him. ''Zane's the leader. You just get us lost.''

''Well, I say we give him what he wants. I sense if we won't, Morro will.'' Zane replied, and (Y/n) nodded.

''All right, but let me negotiate,'' Kai said, pushing aside the others to walk over to Ronin.

''Trying to negotiate with Ronin is like trying to bargain with a brick wall, pointless and nothing comes out of it, the only difference is that Ronin is smarter than a lump of brick.'' (Y/n) mumbled.

''Two hundred.'' Kai negotiated.

''Four hundred.'' Ronin replied.

''Three hundred.''

''Four hundred.''

''Three-fifty.''

''Four-fifty.''

''Deal.'' Kai finished.

''Oh.'' Jay facepalmed. The boys walked out of the shop, leaving (Y/n) who stayed.

''I'll catch up.'' She told them. (Y/n) turned to Ronin, who was holding the photo of her family, now broken. ''Where'd you get that?''

The Thieving Bounty Hunter quickly turned his face away from her, mumbling something under his breath. The Master of Illusion raised an eyebrow, wondering why he had suddenly gotten so quiet.

''Nowhere.'' Ronin answered after a moment, turning his face towards (Y/n). He then walked over to a shelf, sorting through it for something.

(Y/n) looked around, before spying a small box. She went over to it, picking it up and was about to look inside it when the Bounty Hunter turned his head, seeing her holding it. He snatched it from her hands, hiding it behind his back, whistling casually.

''That's not yours.'' (Y/n) told him, putting her hands on her hips.

''Neither is it yours.'' Ronin retorted, walking away to hide it somewhere for safekeeping. When he came back, he saw Remo who was on (Y/n)'s shoulders. ''Oh, Remo.''

''Ronin,'' Remo replied, looking up at him.

''Hold on, I've got some ham sandwiches, I'll be right back.'' The Thieving Bounty Hunter said disappearing yet again.

Ronin came back, holding a plate stacked with ham sandwiches. He put them on a table, taking one for himself while leaving the rest for Remo.

He sat down in a chair, looking down at what seemed to be black lipstick. (Y/n) saw it and quickly snatched it from his grasp, examining it.

''Toxic Kiss lipstick... What is this Ronin?'' She asked, and he sighed.

''It's what I sold to Morro, he needed it. Apparently.''

''What does it do?''

''It says here it can drain an elemental master's powers from far away if the intended target has been... kissed.''

(Y/n) looked at it in her hand. ''I'm going to need this, thank you Ronin.''

The Thieving Bounty Hunter looked at her in surprise. He then attempted to snatch it from her hand but she held it out of reach. The girl smirked, waving him goodbye before running out of the shop.

''And like that, she slipped away again...'' Ronin mumbled.

---

''Ah, his voice mod's on the fritz. I can fix it, but it's gonna take time.'' Jay told the others, while the nindroid sat down.

''Ti si, dab taht ton s'ti?'' Zane asked. ("It's not that bad, is it?")

''Sorry, Zane, you tried to lead, but I guess it just didn't work out,'' Cole told him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Kai sighed. ''No money, no scroll. And it couldn't have happened at a worse time.''

''What are you, a bunch of quitters? Sure, we can't understand Zane, but did we ever?'' The Lightning Ninja questioned, making Zane look annoyed. ''And Kai's the last person I'd want to follow.''

(Y/n) found the others talking to each other. Zane pointed at her and tried to tell the others, but they ignored him. ''(N/Y)!'' (Y/n)

''What happened to Zane?'' (Y/n) asked, making the others turn to her.

''Zane's swallowed a fly, and it kinda damaged his voice mod-''

''Kinda? I leave you guys for some time and something bad happens.''

''Why did you stay behind?'' Kai asked.

''I and Ronin had a little ''chat''.'' (Y/n) answered.

''Like friends or enemies?'' Jay questioned.

''That's for you to decide.'' The Master of Illusion replied. ''Right, so about this plan?''

''We're going to steal the Scroll of Airjitzu.'' The Master of Lightning answered with a confident grin.

''Jay, we're Ninja, not thieves!'' Cole told him.

''Yeah, but we're stealing from a thief. Haven't you ever heard, two wrongs make a right?'' The Lightning Ninja questioned, turning away from the others and making (Y/n) facepalm.

''Uh, Jay, I don't think that's how it goes,'' Kai replied.

"Thgir a ekam t'nod sgnorw owt" s'ti,'' Zane said. ("It's 'two wrongs don't make a right.'")

''Shut it, Mush Mouth. I'm the leader and what I say goes. After Ronin locks up tonight, we steal the Scroll of Airjitzu.'' The Lightning Ninja told them.

---

It was nighttime, and the ninja were on the rooftops, looking in the direction of Ronin's shop.

''Remember, I'm in charge. We're not stealing the Scroll, we're returning it to the library after we learn Airjitzu.'' Jay told the others.

''Whatever helps you sleep at night,'' Cole replied as they walked along the roof.

''And we're Ninja! Let's keep it quiet.'' The Lightning Ninja added.

''Ninja, go!'' The boys whispered, while (Y/n) stayed quiet the whole time.

They ran along the rooftops until Jay fell through someone's roof.

''Aah! Get out of here, you blue weirdo!'' A woman shouted. The Lightning Ninja climbed out of the house, exiting through the hole in the roof.

''Let's try to be a little more quiet, shall we?'' Jay asked the others. ''Last I remember, we're Ninja.''

---

''You're supposed to pick the lock, not try to bite it off.'' The Fire Ninja told Jay.

''Ugh, if I had my powers, I'd zap it, after I zap you!'' Jay replied, not knowing that the Ghost Gang along with Ronin were nearby.

The ninja broke in through a window. ''Great, now we're already on the hook for breaking and entering.'' The Earth Ninja said, looking at the others.

''I don't like sneaking around in the dark any more than you do, so let's just find the Scroll and get out of here,'' Kai replied, and they searched the shop.

''Hey, when you guys were leaders, you never heard me complain. And if you don't like sneaking around, why become a Ninja?'' The Lightning Ninja asked, whispering, before seeing a vase. ''And leave no stone unturned.'' He said, lifting it to find no Scroll of Airjitzu.

''Not a word,'' Morro warned Ronin, who was tied up and his mouth gagged.

'''The faster we find the Scroll, the faster we can work on the next clue that will lead us to the tomb. Then we can save Lloyd, and it will be all because of me.'' Jay said, walking right past the Ghost Gang's hiding spot, and uncovered a pipe organ.

''Ah, I found it!'' Cole exclaimed Jay turned his head, allowing Soul Archer to run past him and possess the pipe organ.

Jay gasped. ''You found the scroll?''

''No, but I found my father's trophy,'' Cole answered happily. ''I'm taking it back. He danced hard for this.''

The spooky ghost that possessed the pipe organ acted, grabbing Jay with the pipes. ''Aah! Holy pipes! The organ's got me!''

''Uh, it's possessed by a Ghost! I forgot what we're supposed to do.'' Cole told the others.

''Water! Water!'' The Lightning Ninja screamed.

''I got water!'' Kai replied, grabbing a flower vase, but found it wasn't real. ''Hey, these flowers are fake!''

''We're on a village built entirely over water. Please, take your time!'' Jay shouted.

''Aha!'' Cole exclaimed, throwing a full water jug at the spooky ghost, but Soul Archer escaped.

''Sdneirf s'orroM fo eno rehtona!'' Zane told the others. ("Another one of Morro's friends!")

''I think he said "another one of Morro's friends." '' Kai said.

''And there's more where that came from!'' Morro announced, opening a door. He then summoned more ghosts using the Allied Armour.

''We're gonna need more water,'' Cole said as the ghosts circled them.

Zane looked at the items in his hand, before throwing them at a ghost, going through them.

Ronin had managed to get up and get half of the tape off. ''Cut me free.'' He ordered Kai.

''Not until you give me the Scroll. You're not the only one who can make a deal.'' The Fire Ninja replied.

''Then at least take an Aeroblade and get rid of a few of these Ghosts.'' Ronin told him.

''You said they were hard to come by,'' Kai said.

''I'm a businessman, that was business. Whoa!'' The Thieving Bounty Hunter replied, dodging one of the ghosts. ''This is personal. Now cut me free.''

''Not before we check out the merchandise.'' The Fire Ninja told him, throwing an Aeroblade at the ghost, making it poof. ''Huh? They worked! Try these!'' Kai exclaimed, giving the others Aeroblades.

''Haha! Now, who's scared of who?'' Jay asked, chasing a ghost with an Aeroblade.

(Y/n) snuck up behind one and simply poked them with the Aeroblade, making them poof.

Jay's Aeroblade flew past, and Ronin used it to cut himself free. He then fought Morro.

''Where is the Scroll?'' The Ghostly Wind Master questioned.

''You'll never find it!'' Ronin said, kicking Morro into a vase, making it break and the scroll was seen by all in the room. ''Whoa!''

''The Scroll!'' The ninja said in unison.

''Only one of us shall possess it,'' Morro replied.

''Yeah, me!'' Ronin declared, whistling and grabbing the scroll, escaping on Rex. (Y/n) held onto the wooden floor planks, looking down at the water below.

''Ah, I told you his ship wasn't far!'' Jay told the others.

''Sorry to leave you hanging, but since this Scroll's so important, I can't just give it away.'' Ronin told the others, before Morro used his wind on the Thieving Bounty Hunter, making him fall off. Ronin attempted to summon it again, but it was too far away.

They began chasing Ronin, who had used the Aeroblade in his grasp to make two ghosts poof as they dropped into the water.

''Run, run, run away. My arrow will find you anyway.'' Soul Archer said, firing an arrow from his bow.

Ronin held up a stop sign at the last moment, preventing the arrow from hitting him. ''Right. Unh, that was close.''

''But so am I,'' Morro replied, snatching the scroll from Ronin.

''Ah, no! Morro's got the Scroll. We can't let him get away!'' Jay shouted, and (Y/n) gave him a ''really?'' look.

The Ninja began chasing the Ghost Wind Dude. ''He won't outrun the four of us,'' Cole told the others.

''Aah!'' Jay said as he fell through a roof again.

''Aah! Not again!'' A woman shouted.

''Scratch that, guess it's just the four of us,'' Cole replied. Everyone then used telephone wire to swing to another building, but Zane was left behind.

''Etanutrofnu s'taht,'' Zane said. ("That's unfortunate.")

''Looks like it's just the three of us now.'' (Y/n) said, and the three jumped across a building, but the Earth Ninja's was short of his destination, falling into a pile of boxes. ''Whoa! Go, Kai and (Y/n)!''

The Master of Illusion tripped on a roof tile, falling onto the wooden planks of the ground, looking up at the Fire Ninja. ''Just go! We need the scroll!'' She shouted, and Kai continued chasing Morro.

---

All the ninja, (except for Kai) met at a table.

''Ugh, so after all this, Morro gets Airjitzu and we're left with zip?'' Jay asked the others. ''I hate being leader, but I hate losing even more.''

''Eerga I,'' Zane replied. ("I agree.")

They saw the Fire Ninja, standing on Ronin's flying vehicle.

''We didn't lose everything. At least Kai's okay. Tomorrow, I'll command, and we'll figure something out.'' Cole told the others.

''Thanks for the pick-me-up,'' Kai told Ronin, hopping off.

''Remember what I said about second chances, and I'm gonna hold you that deal. So long, and I hope you get your friend back.'' Ronin replied, before leaving.

''Second chances? What did he mean by that?'' Cole questioned the Fire Ninja.

''We may have lost out on the Scroll, but he thinks there may be another way to learn Airjitzu,'' Kai told the others.

''We're still gonna fly?'' The Earth Ninja asked.

''Really? Another way?'' Jay questioned.

''Swen taerg si siht,'' Zane replied. ("This is great news.")

''Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a sec, Ronin makes deals in his favour, and you're a terrible negotiator.'' Cole said, realising something.

''Kai, what did you give him?'' Jay asked, slamming his fist on the table.

''I sort of gave him...my shares of the tea farm...along with all of yours,'' Kai answered.

''You what!?'' Jay shouted.

''Wu's gonna flip!'' Cole added.

''Swen elbirroh s'taht!'' Zane told him. ("That's horrible news!")

(Y/n) was sitting down, raising an eyebrow at them. ''I don't see the problem here.'' She mumbled.

''I did what I had to, and for Lloyd, I'd do it again,'' Kai told the others.

''You're right. But I have to ask if Morro has the only Scroll, just how are we gonna learn Airjitzu?'' The soon to be ghost ninja asked.

''Let's just say, it's not gonna be easy. We have a Ghost of a chance.'' Kai replied.

Phew :P

It's going to get real spooky next chapter ;)

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See ya Bookworms.

WriterAgreste, over & out!