Hey everyone! I know it's been a really long time since I updated, but here we are! Long story short, the Bad Batch series finale aired a few weeks before I wrote this, so it's been occupying my brain (still is).

I've been dragged back into the Star Wars fandom and have nothing on my brain except for clones (Rex, save me). I also have zero motivation to do anything but read right now (mainly Star Wars).

I don't feel like this is my best work, but I wrote this after a ten hour shift in a greenhouse on a 90°F day, so yeah...

One more thing, yesterday, May 21, was my birthday!!! I'm 16!!! We went and saw the new Ryan Renolds movie 'If' and it was really good. But it was still one of that saddest movies I've ever seen 😭.

That's all for now! On with the show!!!

~~~~~

Charlie let out a soft sigh as she hid behind a pillar. Jay and the others were fighting skeletons to find a "sacred scroll". But the Master of Darkness was instructed to stay as hidden as possible. She was the Master of Darkness after all, capable of striking fear into the hearts of her enemies, but apparently not Dareth.

A soft whistle from a camera man signaled the Purple Ninja to join the others as they fought of Samukai. It was really an actor in a costume, but the kids didn't need to know that.

Charlie rolled out with the others, flipping in a wisp of shadow to fend off the skeleton general.

Suddenly, Lloyd burst through the ceiling and knocked away Samukai, holding a golden scroll.

"Do you have the golden scroll, Lloyd?" Kai asked in a projected voice.

"I sure do, Kai!" Lloyd answered in the same tone. "But I don't know what it says. Can anyone help me read it?"

"We can!" The ninja synced. "Because reading is the first step to every adventure. Go, reading, go!" They lifted their hands in celebration, ceasing when the manager walked on set.

"And... Cut!" Dareth said with enthusiasm. "Brilliance plus perfection! Clean up, little fellas, and make some headway here. That's a wrap!"

"A wrap?" The voice of the Water Ninja gained Charlie's attention. "I just got here. Dareth said–"

Dareth ignored her as he addressed the ninja. They pulled down their hoods, revealing Charlie's dispute frown. "Hey, hey!" She Brown Ninja said. "There's my boys! I knew you could do Spinjitzu but that acting knocked me out." He finally noticed Nya. "Oh, hey, sweetheart. Mind sticking around for a segment to teach girls how to apply make-up? I tried to get Charlie to, but–"

Nya glared at him, a low snarl escaping her lips. "You're gonna need makeup when a rearrange your face!" She clenched her fist, but Jay held out his arm to stop her.

"Easy!" The Blue Ninja said. He turned to Dareth, the same fire in his dark blue eyes. "Nya is one of us now, there's no reason she should be treated differently."

"No reason?" Dareth scoffed. "You added another girl to the team. You know how much that hurts your image? You're a boy band, a hunk machine."

Charlie folded her arms, her mismatched gaze glaring daggers at Dareth. Cole took a step closer to her, readying himself in case he had to hold his girl back too.

Lloyd shook his head at Dareth's words. "No. We're equals. Our power comes from no one being more important than the other."

"Important?" Kai asked. "No. Irresistible...uh, debatable." He sent a wink to the various fangirls watching from the door, earning squeals out of them.

Dareth chuckled. "I don't tell you how to do your business, don't tell me how to do mine." He referred to his new job as their manager, something Charlie seriously regretted. "Remember how every time you saved Ninjago no one cared?" He asked. "Well, now Dareth's in charge and Dareth says don't change the recipe. You boys, and girl–" He added at Charlie's glare. "–are the face of a franchise, and now the face of Teen Idol!"

Dareth pulled out a magazine with Lloyd on the cover. Cole, Jay, and Nya were there two, all in hearts. Charlie was stickered to the side in a broken heart.

Lloyd took the magazine. " 'Sensei Lloyd'? But I'm only a Sensei in training."

Charlie looked over her brother's shoulder. "And what's this about Cole and Jay fighting over Nya? Even if they were it's old news."

"Who cares if it's real or not?" Dareth asked with a shrug. "Isn't this what you've dreamed of? You're the hottest thing in Ninjago!"

Charlie stifled a whimper. Sure, they were the coolest thing in Ninjago, but now they barely had time for themselves.

~~~~~

Charlie let out a low growl as she turned off the TV, tossing the remote on to the coffee table. An old talkshow rerun was on, talking about the love triangle between Nya, Jay, and Cole. It completely ignored Charlie all together, as if she was dust in the wind.

It was hard enough when her boyfriend was a ghost, but for practically nobody to acknowledge that was a low blow. Charlie wasn't even recognized as the Master of Darkness or the Purple Ninja, but rather the "girl that Cole hangs out with".

Charlie let out a groan as she flopped on to the couch. Soft footsteps sounded from the door, earning her attention. Cole walked in, his ghoulish form flickering with excitement.

"Hey, Charlie! Watch this!" He faded into nothing.

Charlie stood in a panic, freaking out as she thought Cole faded away from her forever. "Cole!"

The Master of Earth reappeared, his expression a mix of surprise and concern. "Hey, hey, it's okay. I'm here." He crossed the floor, pulling her into a hug. "I've got you, sweetheart."

Cole had been working on making his form more solid so they could touch easier. But neither of them could feel more than a faint static, so Cole had resorted to calling her pet names to make up for it.

"I thought you were gone." Charlie murmured.

Cole pulled away, his hands still gripping her shoulders. "No, I would never leave you alone like that." He grinned. "I leaned how to disappear. You know what that means?"

Charlie pursed her lips. "No....?"

"In the Tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master, I couldn't see my reflection. But it wasn't because I was dead." He let out a laugh. "It was because I can disappear!"

Charlie smiled. She hadn't told him yet about her future, how she saw the two of them had grown old together. How was she supposed to tell him that?

The Master of Darkness smiled up at Cole. "That's wonderful. I'm happy for you."

The Black Ninja's smile faded, his brow furrowing. "Is something wrong?"

Charlie shook her head. "No! No....it's just..." She let out a sigh. "I'm just so sick of this whole celebrity gig. I just wanna be left alone, y'know?"

Cole scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, especially with that whole love triangle thing. It's not even real." His face broke into a soft smile. "But we're alone now, and with Zane beating Jay in chess I'd say we have a good minute."

Charlie felt all the worry and stress fade away at Cole's smile. It was like the world held it's breath just for the two of them, given them the moment they craved. Even if they couldn't touch, nothing could break their bond.

Unfortunately, the world couldn't hold it's breath for long. Lloyd stood in the doorway. "Sensei's back, and there's trouble."

In the bridge, the ninja gathered in front of the main screen. "What is it?" Kai asked. "Have they sold out of Kai action figures? I knew there wasn't enough–"

Wu sighed and cut him off. "No. It appears when you destroyed the Cursed Realm, one ghost escaped. And you know him all too well." He turned to the screen, revealing an oily looking ghoul. "Clouse. Security footage shows him buying a train ticket that will arrive in Stiix in just a few hours."

Cole furrowed his brow. "Clouse? The sorcerer from Chen's island? What does he want with Stiix?"

Charlie nodded. "Yeah, that place is just a salvage yard now."

"That's why I want you to go there and stop whatever it is he is planning to do." Wu ordered.

"But Dareth wanted us to visit the hospital for that Grant-A-Wish thing." Kai countered. It was obvious what he'd rather he doing.

Lloyd steeped forward. "Hey, we take orders from Sensei Wu, not Dareth. Lil' Nelson only has a broken leg. If his wish is to be a ninja for a day, that day can be tomorrow. Suit up."

Charlie was proud of her brother. He was becoming quite the leader.

~~~~~

"Back to the grind." Nya remarked as the ninja flew over Ninjago City. Their dragons left wisps of color, creating a rainbow of power. Below, the screams of fangirls could be heard in the streets. Charlie rolled her mismatched eyes at the sound.

"Ha, if it weren't for the Bounty, I don't think we'd ever get any peace and quiet." Jay remarked. Even from a distance, Charlie could sense his love for Nya, and his sorrow at her bitterness.

"We're just over Ninjago City." Said Kai. "Isn't that where Lil' Nelson is? What do you say, drop by for a quick stop? In and out?"

"We don't have time." Lloyd argued.

"Technically, we do." Zane said. "As long as we don't encounter any problems."

Charlie had to admit she wanted to grant Lil' Nelson's wish. "I'm cool with it."

"What does Sensei say?" Cole asked. "Never put off until tomorrow what can be done today."

With that being said, the ninja banked their dragons and went to the hospital. Inside were lots of sick and injured kids. Charlie wanted to help them all, feeling as if she didn't she would die of guilt.

Cole took her hand as they walked through the halls. When they reached Lil' Nelson's room, a few other kids had entered to see them. He grinned at the sight of them, becoming starstruck and barely able to stutter a "hello".

Lloyd sighed his cast. "As a part of the Grant-A-Wish Foundation, we dub you an Honorary Ninja for the day."

Charlie smiled as she tied a bandana around his head. The lavender clad boy's face turned bright red and Charlie could sense his giddiness.

"Could you stay to sign their casts?" He asked sweetly.

Nya smiled. "Aw, I wish we could, but duty calls."

Cole bit his lip by the window. "Uh, not sure how far we'll get. Looks like we've got company."

Jay walked over to the window, but when the screams of girls were heard he quickly his behind a wall. "How'd they find us?"

"Reply. Of course I'm at the hospital. My hair is sick. Haha. Send." Kai said to himself as he typed something on his phone.

Nya reeled on her brother. "Are you sending out a Chirp?"

Kai tensed, his hazel eyes wide with worry. "Uh, my followers have needs too."

Zane walked to the window. "If you recall, I said we would get to stick time minus any problems." He backed away as more girls screamed. "This constitutes as a major problem."

Charlie glanced out the window. "Yeah, well, I don't see us flying out of here with these birds in the sky." As she spoke, two helicopters circled the building.

"Charlie's right." Said Lloyd. "No Dragons. If we're gonna escape, we can't be followed."

Shrieks echoed up the building as the fangirls forced their way in. "They're coming!" Cole panicked, his form flickering. "What do we do?"

Lil' Nelson's brown eyes lit up. "You say I'm a ninja for the day, call me...the Indigo Ninja!" He moved his wheelchair, ramming his casted legs into the door. He pulled over a hood, similar in color to what Charlie had when she was younger.

"That hood looks legit." The Purple Ninja remarked. "Did you make that?"

Lil' Nelson blushed slightly. "You have a lot of time on your hands when you break both your legs. This way." He led them down the hall, stopping when fangirls blocked the way. The boy turned his wheelchair to another door. "Double Leg, hyah!" He rammed into another door, closing it once the ninja were inside.

It was a stairwell that climbed up at least 3 stories. "This is as far as I can go." Lil' Nelson explained as he pulled down his hood. "Follow this up to th rooftop. From there, take back streets. I'll hold them off at the pass."

Lloyd nodded. "Lil' Nelson – I mean, Indigo Ninja, thanks."

The boy beamed up at him, his eyes sparkling with joy. "No. Thank you. You made my wish come true." He grinned up at Charlie.

The Master of Darkness couldn't help but smile at the boy. "Thanks for all your help." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek, and the boy turned redder than Kai's Fire.

Giving him one last smile, Charlie ran up the stairs with her team.

When they reached the roof, Cole let out a breath of relief. "Phew. Looks like we lost them."

"But the nearest rooftop is still to far to jump." Lloyd pointed to the next building all the way across the street.

"Airjitzu?" Kai suggested.

"Whoa, I just learned how to make a Water Dragon." Nya said. "I haven't even earned my Airjitzu suit yet." This was true. While the others all wore tight, flexible suits, Nya still wore the loose fitting fabrics of a standard gi.

"But if we don't leave now, we'll never get to Stiix to stop Clouse." Zane countered.

Jay rested his arms over Zane and Nya's shoulders. "We're a team. We stick together."

Nya shrugged him off. "Thanks, but I can take care of myself." She replied with sass.

Cole frowned under his hood. "He was only trying to be nice."

Jay shook his head. "It's okay. Right now, we're just having our first fight."

Charlie cringed as Nya turned around, her almond eyes flashing with rage. "What do you mean 'right now'? And just what are you implying by 'we'?"

The sound of helicopters reached Charlie's ears. "They're gonna see us. Quick, take cover." She spun in an Airjitzu spiral, the others following and landing behind a billboard. Nya stood on the roof, unable to hide.

"Nya, you need to hide too." Jay said, reaching his arm out. "Ugh. Forget what I said, just take my hand."

"No!" Nya fumed. "What did you mean when you said 'we'? I'm a ninja, and I'm nobody's girl."

"Just take his hand, Nya." Cole groaned. "Or else we're gonna be spotted." As he spoke, a helicopter zoomed overhead. They were caught.

"Too late." Kai grumbled. "So much for stopping Clouse."

Lloyds shoulders slumped. "Ugh. Let's just hope he missed his train."

Charlie clenched her fists. "They found us. Now what do we do?"

Dareth stood in the helicopter doorway, shouting over the rotating blades. "Just do what you're doing, but don't run away from the cameras. Run toward them. Ninja visit hospital. This is gold!"

"We don't need more publicity." Lloyd yelled. "We need less. We have to get to Stiix to stop Clouse."

Dareth considered this. "Could be a big scoop. Say no more. Hop in!"

~~~~~

The ninja slunk around Stiix, all in their civilian clothes with hats to disguise them. Cole kept his hoodie up, Jay wore a beanie, Kai, Zane, and Nya wore baseball caps, Lloyd had a black fedora, and Charlie wore a purple bucket hat.

"He isn't here." Said Zane as they looked for Clouse.

"He could be long gone by now." Cole grumbled.

"But look what I found." Kai held up a figure with a familiar face. "A Kai action figure. Some fan probably lost it. No way anyone threw this out."

Lloyd walked away for a moment as he spoke to Misako, but the others pestered Kai.

"Come on, guys." Lloyd said as he turned back to them. "Let's keep our eyes peeled."

Jay stiffled a giggle as he looked around. "Look, another Kai doll. There's dozens."

Charlie chuckled. "Doesn't look like you're popular here, bud."

Kai let out a groan as they left, finding a table to sit at.

"Uh, no sign of Clouse?" Lloyd asked.

Cole slid on the bench next to Charlie. "I don't get it. You'd think they'd remember seeing another ghost."

Kai nodded. "I know. I haven't even been asked to give a single autograph. Not that I want the attention!" He yelled towards the other table watching TV. He was quickly shushed though.

Charlie's attention was captured by the TV. The reporter was talking about them. "Hey, can you turn that up?"

A man at the other table with a scar on his chin scowled. "Hey. No one here cares for them fruit-colored ninja."

"Excuse me?" Cole asked. "What fruit is black?"

"Uh, blackberries?" Jay suggested.

"Shut it, Jay."

"Boys, quiet down." Charlie craned her neck to see the small TV.

"They're calling it The Crime Wave of the Century." The reporter said.

"Guys, listen." Nya ordered.

"Earlier today, Green Ninja Lloyd Garmadon was caught on tape robbing the city bank." The screen showed a clip of Lloyd stealing, laughing at eviliy as he did.

"Whoa!" The Green Ninja gasped. "That looks like, um, me."

"And that's not all. At Mega Monster Amusement Park, Zane was on a rampage of vandalism and mayhem." A clip of Zane freezing the rollercoaster tracks played.

"Hey, wait. My memory has no recollection of that." The Master of Ice said.

"Someone's pretending to be us." Jay grunted.

"But why?" Asked Nya.

"And how?" Cole added.

"Any comments about your son's offenses?" A reporter asked Jay's parents.

Ed comforted Edna. "Jay would never do this. And if he did, he had a good reason. I hope."

"You hope?! It wasn't me, Dad!" Jay layed his arms and head on the table. "It wasn't me!"

"Jay, shh." Cole said.

The man with the scar spoke up again. "You believe them? They destroyed our village, act like they saved the place, and then go around doing as they please."

Kai nodded along. "Yeah. You're right. Ninja, ugh, hate 'em." He turned to his sister. "Maybe now is a good time to leave."

On the TV, the commissioner told all Ninjago citizens to report if they see the ninja. Zane dialed his phone. "Hello, local law enforcement? We are the–"

Charlie smacked the phone out of his hand. "Zane, what are you doing?"

"I am programmed to obey the law." The Nindroid explained. "Not telling them our location would be a direct violation."

The man with the scar squinted at them. "Hey, aren't you–"

"No, no. We're not the ninja." Jay stammered. "We're that other group with a Nindroid, a ghost–"

The other men began to approach them.

"Seven on seven." Said Kai. "At least it's an even number."

"We're not gonna fight them." Lloyd said. "Right now, it's us who look like the bad guys."

They turned and ran. "How are we supposed to defend ourselves?" Jay asked. "Witty banter?"

"Statistically speaking, your witty banter tends only to get us into more trouble." Zane noted.

"I liked it better when they were fans." Kai said.

The climbed up on to the roofs, jumping and twisting away, using Airjitzu when needed.

"There's nowhere to hide." Cole groaned as they landed on the wooden streets.

"There may be one place." Kai spun in Spinjitzu. "Ninja, go!" He burned a hole in the floor, allowing the ninja to clamber through the supports.

"Mom, we're in a bit of a jam." Lloyd said into his comm.

"I saw the news and I'm en route. Looks like you've gone from fame to framed." Misako's voice clicked through the comm.

"And we'll never find out who did this to us unless we get out of here." Charlie added.

"I can hear them over here." One man above said as they pursued the ninja.

"Someone get on those cranes! Let's find those ninja!"

Hooks on cranes burst through the planks. Charlie and the others grabbed on to one, finding a place to hide on a crane.

"Look!" Cole said.

As he spoke, the Bounty came flying to their rescue.

"Ha! Home, sweet home!" Kai laughed.

But several police cars were following it. They grappled on to the ship and pulled it down, preventing any sort of escape.

"Lower all the cranes and check them out!" The commissioner ordered. "Those fruit-colored bozos could be hiding anywhere."

"We need to split up." Lloyd said suddenly.

"Split up?" Cole asked. "But we're all in this together."

"We have a better chance of getting out of here if we divide." The Green Ninja reasoned.

"Nothing good comes when we're split up." Jay reminded him. "That's when bad things happen. Chen's Island, Yang's Temple, Morro's possession. All bad things."

"We have no other choice. We have to go."

Charlie groaned internally. Jay was right, but so was Lloyd. On Lloyd's command, the ninja jumped, all splitting off and all fugitives of the law.