I sat up with a groan and blinked a few times, willing to world to stop spinning around me. As it slowed, the whirling was replaced by a pounding headache. Disoriented, I glanced around before remembering I was in the Explorer's Club. What was left of it, anyways. One wall of the building was completely blown away and furniture was thrown helter-skelter across the room. There was not a soul in sight.

"They left me?" I asked aloud, though there was no one around to hear my lament. "Typical," I scowled, crossing my arms.

My attention was drawn away from my self-pity as footsteps echoed through the floorboards. "Cole?" I inquired tentatively as I identified them.

The footsteps neared and slowed as the Earth Ninja stepped into the room.

"Celine!" he exclaimed, hurrying to kneel beside me. "Thank goodness you're alright."

"Of course I'm alright," I replied a little shortly as I stood up, brushing off his attempts to help me to my feet.

"I'm sorry," he offered. "I wanted to stay and make sure you were okay, but Master Wu said not to."

"Typical," I growled for the second time.

He smiled softly for a moment, "How many times is this now that you've been knocked unconscious and I've had to rescue you? You really oughta start wearing a helmet around."

I shot him a dirty look, to which he responded by laughing.

"We have to go," Cole explained, "Kalmaar's on his way to the harbor and... the others don't know I left to get you." His face flushed slightly as he finished speaking.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go."

We reached the harbor just in time. Some of the sea serpentine were already attacking the rest of our team, delaying them from reaching Kalmaar and the amulet. As I ran down the dock, Cole detour across a few houseboats, grabbing on a loose rope and swinging into the thick of the fight, taking out two serpentine and sending them sailing into the water below.

As I neared the battle, I spun into spinjitzu, hurling another two serpentine from the dock.

"Fire! Fire!" one of the serpentine, who appeared to be a leader among them, shouted.

I followed his gaze towards another snake barreling towards us on a jet ski of some kind. The dock shook suddenly as the serpentine fired at it, destabilizing the structure. A wall of water erupted from below and sent Kai, Ray, Cole, and I flying off into the sea.

I bobbed to the surface. Pulling down my mask just below my chin I gasped for breath. The water was immensely deep, and the effort of treading water was almost too much for me, seeing as I had literally just had a concussion. I fought to keep my head above water, coughing and sputtering as I inadvertently swallowed seawater. I was mere inches away from a piling, but I just couldn't reach it.

Someone shoved me from behind and gratefully I grasped at the post, clinging to it in an attempt to keep myself from sinking further.

"Ah, crap."

I turned at Kai's voice and noticed that he and Ray and Cole were staring up at the dock, arms lifted in surrender. My own head tilted up to the point of a glowing red trident poking towards me, a scowling serpentine at its base.

"Crap."

Roughly, we were hauled from the marina and tied together back to back with an anchor at the end of the line, before being dragged onto the back of Kalmaar's chariot.

"Ugh, ninja. What does that even mean in surface-dweller language?" Kalmaar scoffed.

Master Wu glowered, "A ninja is one who protects-" he began.

"It was a rhetorical question," Kalmaar deadpanned. "I don't really care. Drop the anchor!" he ordered a nearby serpentine.

The snake, clearly not the brightest, dropped the anchor... straight onto his toe. He screamed out in pain, and despite the gravity of our situation, I had to chuckle a bit.

"In the water!" Kalmaar raged. "Drop it in the water!"

Hopping around on his injured foot, the snake kicked the anchor off with the opposite foot, in turn, gouging that one as well.

Still slightly dazed, I watched the anchor plummet into the sea and the rope to which we were connected to it uncoil rapidly.

"Get ready to hold your breath!" Kai called out. And in an instant, the rope pulled taut and we were pulled into the sea, sinking down, down, down...

The saltwater burned my eyes, and I squeezed them shut. I felt trapped, as if the water was constricting around me, and I could do nothing against it. My chest tightened as I ran out of oxygen, I waited for the end to come, but it never did.

The light of the sun blazed against my eyelids and I was hit with a wave of oxygen. Hesitantly opening my eyes, I realized we had surfaced. I sucked in a ragged breath of fresh air as the others coughed and gagged up seawater.

"The Hydro Bounty!" Cole shouted.

Sure enough, the Hydro Bounty had risen directly beneath us, saving us from a watery grave.

"But, I left this ship stranded!" Kalmaar blubbered.

"You did," Nya's voice rang out as she emerged from the Hydro Bounty. "But we got a bit of help from some friends."

Something rumbled through the water beneath us, and two huge whales breached close enough to Kalmaar's chariot to make him very uncomfortable.

Meanwhile, Lloyd, Jay, Pixal, and Zane hurried to us, cutting the ropes that bound us.

"Sis! Guys! Great Entrance!" Kai cheered.

"Yeah, way to be dramatic," I added, snarky, but smiling.

Armed with blasters, Kalmaar's warriors swarmed the deck of the Hydro Bounty. I reached over my shoulder and my hand closed on the handle of my katana. Thank the Master it was still there.

Throwing myself into the fray, I used the blade to deflect the blasts, slowly and deliberately making my way forward until I was right up on one of the serpentine. Soon, I was close enough the blaster was rendered useless and I laid into the snake with my katana.

Desperately, he tried to parry the uppercuts and thrusts with his blaster, but he was at a disadvantage as I pushed him to the guard rails along the helm. A flick from my katana sent the blaster skittering across the deck and almost involuntarily my blade found its way along the snake's neck. 

His eyes were crazed and fearful, and for a moment, I hesitated. I found myself frozen for a second, in terror of myself and what I could do, practically holding the life of this serpentine in my hands. Frantically, the serpentine took advantage of my momentary indecisiveness and leapt off the edge of the Hydro Bounty. I watched him plummet toward the water, silently cursing myself for letting him get away, but at the same time relieved that I hadn't killed him. Abruptly my thoughts were interrupted by a scream from Kalmaar.

"Farewell surface fools!"

I rushed to the opposite side of the Hydro Bounty in time to see Kalmaar speeding away. Something purple gleamed in his grasp, and my heart sank as I realized he still had the Storm Amulet.

"Go! Stop him before he gets away!" I swung towards the speaker, not recognizing him, but was distracted as Nya dove from the Bounty, landing on the back of one of the whales that was still swimming close to us.

She touched her hand to the whale and the two of them swam off.

"Since when can Nya talk to whales?" I wondered aloud.

We chased the remaining few serpentine from the Hydro Bounty and scanned the seascape for any sign of Nya. The sea was eerily still, not a ripple in sight. 

An explosion of water shot up 50 feet in the middle of the sea and Jay cried out, "Nya!" as he reached towards the sea, tears in his eyes.

One of the whales surfaced close to the Hydro Bounty and Nya clambered up the side of the ship.

"Nya! What happened?" the same boy from earlier questioned. I took a moment to study him. His blue-gray skin was interesting, but what really intrigued me were his piercing blue eyes.

"Kalmaar got away," she responded dejectedly.

The boy stood, "Then he will continue his senseless quest to awaken Wojira."

"Well he won't get far without this!" Nya smirked and slammed the Storm Amulet onto the deck of the Hydro Bounty.

A wave of relief washed over me and I felt my knees weaken, suddenly extremely exhausted. Cole, who was directly next to me, quickly grabbed my arm and slid it over his shoulder, supporting me.

"You alright?" He asked, a little concerned.

"Yeah, I'm great actually," I smiled. He grinned back, and for a moment, I was lost in his gaze.

"Seems like everything might actually work out, huh?"

I nodded in agreement, "I think you're right."

On our way back to the monastery, I was formally introduced to Benthomaar. He had been adopted by Kalmaar's father, Trimaar, the late king of Merlopia and was raised amongst the Merlopians, treated as Trimaar's own son, but loathed by Kalmaar. When Kalmaar kidnapped Nya and Maya, accusing them of trespassing in Merlopia, Bentho helped them escape after Kalmaar assassinated Trimaar.

Upon reaching the monastery, Nya called us into a quick team meeting.

"What do you guys think about asking Bentho to stay with us for a while? Just until things blow over in Merlopia?" she inquired.

"I've got nothing against it," Lloyd replied. The rest of us chorused our agreement before turning to Master Wu.

"I think that is a wonderful idea, Nya," he acknowledged.

As Nya returned to the courtyard to give Benthomaar a tour and offer the proposal, the rest of us drifted off to our own devices. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Cole pull Lloyd aside, murmuring something about the Storm Amulet, but I paid it no mind. Whatever it was, I didn't need to involve myself.

I wandered towards the lounge where Zane and Jay were playing pool. I perched myself on a chair and watched, mulling over the events of the last 24 hours. So much had happened and I needed some time to process everything.

Before long, Benthomaar and Lloyd joined us and when Jay and Zane were done, they set up their own game.

"You wanna play Celine?" Lloyd offered.

"Nah, I'm good."

I leaned back against the wall, finally feeling like I could relax a bit. Idly, I watched the pool game and listened to the banter of the others.

"But what about the Storm Amulet?" Benthomaar asked earnestly, "Where's it being kept?"

"You don't have to worry about that anymore," Lloyd smiled, "I promise it's somewhere safe."

"Yeah," Jay added with a wink, "You could say it's somewhere... out of reach."

"But how can you be sure?" Benthomaar pressed.

"We have some experience in this department," Zane spoke calmly, "We have come across one or two dangerous things before."

"We've made some friends in high places," Lloyd emphasized.

Jay and Lloyd's words suddenly hit me and I bolted to attention.

"Um, Jay, what exactly did you mean 'out of reach?'" I probed, forcing my voice to remain even.

He and Lloyd exchanged nervous glances before staring at the floor.

'Out of reach?' 'High places?' My mind raced as I put two and two together. There's no way. They wouldn't do that... would they?

"Where's Cole?" I demanded.

"Celine-" Jay began.

"He took the amulet to Shintaro," Lloyd answered bluntly, averting his gaze from mine.

The news stunned me for a good minute. I couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. No.

"Why?" I questioned, my voice wavering.

"He- he offered to take it there," Lloyd replied, still not looking up at me. My vision tunneled until all I saw was Lloyd standing in front of me, ashamed. I was briefly aware of Zane ushering the others out of the room.

"HE DID WHAT?" Hot tears streamed down my face as I stared at Lloyd in disbelief. I felt my world shatter into pieces around me. The events of the past few days flashed before me. Every interaction with Cole, every time I thought that maybe things would work out. I couldn't believe I let myself be played again.

"Celine, please," he started, trying to soothe me.

"You let him go there? Are you serious?"

"Celine, it was the best option. Shintaro is secluded and there's no way-"

"I can't believe it. You were supposed to be the one that believed me. And here you are, making excuses for Cole," I snapped.

"Celine, listen to me. This is for the safety of Ninjago."

"But Shintaro?" I cried.

Cole POV:

As Nya was giving Benthomar a tour of the monastery, I pulled Lloyd aside, "Did you have a plan for what to do with the amulet?" I asked.

Lloyd shook his head, "No, but I'm open to suggestions. Did you have something in mind?"

I hesitated, not sure if my plan would work, "I- I could take it to Shintaro," I offered.

Lloyd's eyes narrowed, his expression darkening, "Cole, what are you thinking?"

"I need to go back," I hissed. "Not because of Vania," I rushed, "It really bugged me, that shipment of vengestone. Something's up, and I want to go, unannounced, and see what's going on."

"Cole, do you realize the repercussions this will have? Celine is starting to trust you and finally heal from everything that happened there. If you go back... I can't let that happen. You'll destroy her."

"I know," my gaze dropped to the floor, "It's going to kill me to see how she reacts, but this needs to be done. I need to know what's going on."

"I can't take any blame for this. Don't say I didn't warn you," Lloyd replied.

"I know," I took a deep breath, "But I'm prepared to deal with the consequences."