Pixal lead the way to the Ninjago City Harbor. Turning, she offered Zane a small remote, "Zane, would you do the honors?"

He took it, skeptically pressing the only button on it. Within a few seconds, a massive submarine had surfaced.

We gaped in awe at the sheer size of the thing.

"How did you build this so fast?" Jay gawked.

Pixal shrugged, "I had been tinkering with it in my spare time over the past several years."

"It's amazing, Pixal," Master Wu praised.

"I am proud to say it is one of the most sophisticated vessels I have designed, and it is practically unsinkable."

I cringed at the comment. Cole seemed to be having the same thought. "You know what happens when you call a vessel 'unsinkable,' right?"

"You didn't have to voice it," I muttered, while the rest of the ninja glared at him.

Nervously, Cole attempted to recover, "It doesn't sink, or course."

We hopped up on top of the submarine, checking it out.

"This is great, Pixal!" Lloyd commented, "Just what we need."

Nya seemed very skeptical of the whole operation, "But how can you be sure that the underwater pulse you guys saw is causing my powers to freak out?"

"Ninety-seven percent positive," Zane reassured from the dock below.

"Sounds pretty positive to me," I added.

"But what if my powers go crazy on me while I'm down there?" Nya fretted, "Maybe I should sit this mission out..."

"That's exactly why you need to go!" Jay encouraged, taking his girlfriend's hands in his, "You're the Master of Water. There's no one more connected to the sea than you!"

"However you do make a point," Master Wu interjected, smirking slightly, "If you'd rather stay here with you mother?"

"No, no, no. Jay's right. I'll go pack!" Nya rushed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You want me to what?"

"I need you to stay behind, Celine," Master Wu repeated calmly.

"Why? Why can't I go to Merlopia with the others? That's not fair!" I protested.

Master Wu made a calming gesture with his hands, "It's not about whether or not it's fair-"

"You don't think I'm ready for a big mission like this." I couldn't believe it.

"It's not because I don't think you're ready. You're more than capable, believe me. Besides, you're not the only one staying behind. I need some of you to be around to protect the city if that energy pulse hits again, so Kai and Cole will be staying as well," Wu explained.

I let out a disgusted breath, plopping down on a chair in the monastery library, "I still don't like it."

"I never said you had to. But this is the way it's going to go. Besides, you could do with some training above water, and in all honesty, I could use someone else to ensure the monastery doesn't burn to the ground."

I slouched in my chair, arms crossed, "This is stupid."

Master Wu let out an exasperated sighed, "I'm sorry you feel that way, but this is how it's going to be."

"I just wish I could come with you," I remarked as I watched Nya threw a few more belongings in her duffel bag.

"I wish you could to, but if Master Wu wants you to stay back, I guess that's just how it's going to be," Nya shrugged.

"Since when do you go along with everything he says?" I squinted at her suspiciously, "Something's going on your not telling me about..."

Nya zipped up the bag and swung it over her shoulder, "I don't have a clue what you're talking about," she dismissed, "But I do feel bad for you being left here with Kai and Cole. Good luck keeping the monastery in one piece," she flashed me a grin before heading out the door.

Okay, everyone was acting really strange about this. It seemed unlike Nya to just go along 100% with what Master Wu said about me staying behind, and something in my gut was screaming that she wasn't being completely honest with me. But I brushed off the feeling. Might as well get started on that training Master Wu said I 'needed.'

As I passed by the lounge on my way to the courtyard, I couldn't help but overhearing the conversation between the Smith siblings and their parents. I rolled my eyes at Kai and Cole's claim to fame on Prime Empire they made to Ray. So much for us staying back to protect the city. It sounded to me like I was gonna be on my own in that respect.

In the courtyard, I brought up the training equipment, inspecting it for a moment before grabbing a katana and laying into a dummy, focusing in on my form. Dropping the katana after a minute, a switched to hand-to-hand combat.

"Want some company?" I turned at Cole's voice. He was leaning against a support pole, arms crossed.

"I thought you guys were having a Prime Empire marathon?" I asked.

"Eh," he shrugged, "I got bored."

I reached for a staff and tossed it to him, "don't go easy on me."

He smirked, "I wasn't planning on it."

We struck our staffs against each other's for a few minutes before I began advancing.

Cole smiled, "You've improved."

"And you're losing to a girl."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that." Cole swung his staff around over my head, locking me against himself. I felt my breath catch as I realized the closeness of our bodies.

"Still think you're winning," he breathed in my ear, my skin prickling at his voice.

I dropped my own staff, grabbed Cole's, and spun myself around, twisting his arms backwards before letting go and squaring up.

"Yes, actually, I do."

Cole grinned before throwing a punch towards me, which I quickly blocked with my arm before landing my own blow in his gut. He stumbled back a step, eyes widened in surprise.

"If I'm beating you, you're going too easy on me," I suggested.

"Maybe I underestimated you," Cole spoke as he straightened up, "shall we try again?"

"Let's dance."

We continued fighting one another, each advancing in our turn. A swift kick in the chest sent Cole stumbling off balance.

I held my staff just inches from his throat as he stared up at me, disbelief and awe on his face.

He smirked, "Well done."

I lowered my weapon and offered him my hand, bracing as he stood up, "I've had good teachers."

His eyes locked on mine for a moment, and I could've swore I saw something flicker in the depth of them. I was reminded briefly of the Island of the Keeper's.

My own gaze dropped, and I realized my hands were still in his. Letting them fall, I quickly turned away, "I- I should go. I think I have dinner duty tonight." Picking up Cole's discarded staff, I returned it to the weapons cabinet before hurrying inside.

"Celine!" Cole called after me, but I ignored him. Trying, quite unsuccessfully, to quell the raging emotions inside me. I wouldn't let myself believe that he liked me. I wouldn't even admit to myself that I liked him. I couldn't go through that again.

I spent the better part of the rest of the day avoiding Cole. I told anyone who asked I was just working on stealth techniques, but it was a complete lie. And apparently I wasn't the only one in the monastery who could sniff out a lie a mile away.

I heard Misako outside my door even before she knocked. I turned my music off and beckoned her in.

"Is something the matter?" I inquired.

"I should ask you the same thing," she stepped into my room, leaning gently against the door frame, "You've been off lately, Celine."

"I'm just worried about Nya. I wish Master Wu would have let me go." It wasn't entirely a lie...

"I don't think that's all," she walked in and sat down on the edge of my bed, "I can tell you've been avoiding Cole. What's going on, Celine?"

Geez she was good. I sighed, turning away from her. I didn't really know Misako that well, and it felt weird to talk to her like this. But what the heck? It might feel better to get things off my chest. "I... To be honest, I'm not sure. I guess I'm just scarred." I let out a sharp laugh, "Ridiculous, right?"

"Would you mind elaborating?" she pressed.

"It just seems too familiar. When I was in high school, I had a really close guy friend. We were both kind of outcasts, so we just ended up hanging out. If I'm being honest, I started to feel for him a bit, and it seemed like the feelings were mutual. But one day he just stopped talking to me. Ignored me completely. I tried to talk to him, but he ignored my texts and calls. I finally cornered him one day, asked what was going on. He said I didn't need him anymore. I was heartbroken. So from then on I vowed to never let myself get close to a relationship again.

"And now... I feel I'm starting to slip, fall into feeling for someone again, and I know what happens when I let myself do that. I can't go through it again.

Misako placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, "I don't think that's the case this time."

I shook my head, "You don't know that-"

"Celine, stop," Misako cut me off, "You don't know that it's the same. You need to put your past experiences behind you, move past them. You can't let those situations define and control you. Besides, Cole hasn't given you a reason to think he doesn't like you. If anything, I believe it's quite the opposite," a traced of a smile flicked on Misako's lips.

I gaped at her, "How did you know?"

Her face broke into a full smile, "Oh, I have my ways. Give him a chance Celine." She patted my hand softly before rising and walking from my room, "You might just be surprised."

Author's Note:

Since Celine is staying on the surface and not going to Merlopia, I'm going to skip the next few episodes (Five Thousand Fathoms Down, The Wrath of Kalmaar, Long Live the King, Escape from Merlopia, and The Tale of Benthomaar) as they will not be relevant to Celine's story. With that being said, the next chapter that will release in two week will be The Storm Amulet