Hozier
••• It Will Come Back •••

don't give it a hand, offer it a soul

honey, make this easy

leave it to the land, this is what it knows

honey, that's how it sleeps

•••••

Me:
Safe and sound! :D
Delivered

Mumma Bear:
Perfect! Thanks for telling me sweetie xxx
Sent 6.54pm

"I am very not safe and sound," I mumbled to myself as I shoved my phone back into my pocket.
R.E.X was flying over Jamanakai, headed towards our new destination: the actual tomb. The proper resting place of Lloyd's grandfather. I couldn't help but think we were walking towards death and I wasn't sure how I felt about that.
This was the endgame. Either we get the realm crystal before Morro does or Ninjago falls into ruin.
Either we get Lloyd back or we...

Don't.
Simply put.

My fists clenched as I stared out at the blurring landscape that slurred beneath us. There was only one answer I was willing to accept. We had to get Lloyd back.
To not would be illegal - I'm calling it now. It's a crime for Morro to keep possessing Lloyd. As is, he's been over the limit (the limit being staying as far the fuck away from him as possible) and that, I decree, is a crime punishable by more crime.

But before that, I had to deal with the repercussions of my own broken rules.

"Where is Y/n?" came Misako's voice from the speakers. Her tone was steeled. I grimaced.
"H- here," I stood, half-hiding behind Kai sheepishly. Lloyd's parents and uncle, angry at me again? It's more likely than you think.
I must hold some kind of record now.
"What were you thinking?" she snapped the famous words that I'd been far too acquainted to over the past three days or so. "We told you to stay back! And what were you five thinking? You know better than to take Y/n with you!"
"It was Kai's idea!" Cole diverted the blame. Kai sent him a betrayed look.
"Dude," he bit.
"I don't care whose idea it was," Misako shook her head. Garmadon appeared in the background, a frown etched on his face. "I'm disappointed in every one of you."
Ouch. Guilt.
That was a critical hit.

We mumbled our apologies as the airship slid underwater. Misako's eyes narrowed in scrutiny.
"Where are you?" she asked. "What happened? Why are you in Ronin's airship?"
"Oh, man," Jay bounced back, shaking his head in disbelief. "You are not going to believe this..."
As Jay rambled on about our earlier excursions, I took the chance to stare out at the water. Bubbles flung by, accompanied by fish and other sea creatures. I glanced up towards the surface. The sun's glisten was growing further and further away and I felt something unsettling rest in my gut - if this was another trap, we'd be doomed. Why are we trusting Ronin again? He's a deadbeat crook, a no-good, terrible...

No. No, he isn't terrible. As much as I despised him for selling us out.
But he's still a total jerk.

Despite my growing fear as we descended deeper into the depths of the ocean, Nya was on the other end of the spectrum, staring out at the limited scenery with a look of wonder and a growing smile.
Kai was more on my level. About to cry level. I related hard with his panicky expression.
"We're almost to the Tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master," Zane informed, making me inaudibly sigh with relief. Thank god. The sooner we got out of the water with Lloyd in tow, the better.
"Yeah," Cole said with a grin, despite him being surrounded by water. Nerves of steel... or rock. Hehe. "I can't believe we're almost there after all we've been through."
Kai shivered as he watched a fish dart past the window.
"I can't believe I'm underwater," he mumbled uncomfortably.
"You? What about me?" Cole asked, knocking on the window precariously. "Just how thick is this glass?"
Oh, god Cole, please don't do that you're making my anxiety levels absolutely hhhhhh maximise.

"We're heading to your location now," said Wu from the screen. The three elders were in the Bounty, en route to meet us at the Tomb. Or rather, above. "With Morro already ahead of you and able to foresee the traps protecting the Tomb with the Sword of Sanctuary, it's going to be up to you five to find the Realm Crystal before he does."
Garmadon spoke up from behind Wu.
"And I expect Y/n to stay in Ronin's airship."
No.
"Okay," I replied, glancing warily out of the window.
Jay nervously laughed.
"Cole's a ghost, Kai's afraid of the ocean, Y/n's grounded and we have no magical sword or elemental powers apart from Nya," he grinned weakly. "What could go wrong?"
Kai whined.
Misako returned to the screen, looking stressed.
"I may not know the three tests you're about to face," she said as she held up an old parchment scroll before unravelling it. "But I discovered a riddle that makes reference to it that may help.
'A Spinjitzu Master can
a Spinjitzu Master cannot
to move forward, don't look ahead
to find his resting spot.'"

Ah. Riddles. Love 'em.
What the heck does that mean-

"Huh," Cole mumbled from the pilot seat. "That's food for thought."
There was a rumble from afar. I froze.
"Speaking of food," Jay gulped as he shakily pointed out at the depths, where a faint outline of a very very large octopus advanced. "We're about to be some!"
"Nya!" I grabbed her arm. "Use your powers!"
"I can't!" she replied with a frantic shake of her head. "If I so much as lose concentration, the water could crush us! We're too deep."
"We have to go faster!" cried Kai, turning to Cole. "Much faster!"
Cole was already pressing R.E.X forward, making the ship accelerate. I was thrown back by the force, stumbling and hitting the back window. It gave me a good, wide view of the speedily approaching octopus.
I panik.
"Incoming!" I squealed, tossing myself to clutch at the back of Cole's chair just as long tentacle swung out and smashed into the side window. The glass shattered under its force, spiderwebbing across the entirety of it. It would've caved in and drowned us all if it hadn't been for Nya swiftly jumping in and keeping the water at bay. Zane glanced at her with wide eyes.
"I thought you said it could crush-"
"I know what I said shut up and let me concentrate!"

"Why did the Tomb have to be underwater?" Kai cried, flinching away from the window.
"Hold on!" Cole announced as he made the airship tightly turn. He pressed against the accelerator even harder. The octopus kept pace.
Jay began frantically searching around the interior of the ship, peeking fearfully at the predator as his fingers brushed over the unlabelled buttons and levers.
"What the- what the- WHY ISN'T ANYTHING IN THIS SHIP LABELLED?!" he screeched, barely deafening a roar from the octopus. Zane caught Jay's wrist and shook his head.
"We do not need weapons," he said before nodding his head at a large reef formation. "Cole, aim for that rock."
"On it," confirmed Cole as he swiftly changed course and guided the ship through a tight archway. The octopus tried to follow but with a rumbling growl, it found itself stuck.

I held my breath. Everything except the hum of the ship was silent.
"Is it over?" I squeaked.
"I think so," Kai sighed, collapsing against the side of the ship. Nya grunted in exertion, still holding back the water.
"Atta boy, R.E.X, atta boy!" Jay patted the seat.
"There," Zane pointed to a second rock formation, this one much larger than the first. "That is the tomb's entrance."
Cole nodded as the ship glided through a large hole in the rock. We found ourselves in pitch darkness aside from R.E.X's spotlight, which did nothing but show us rock wall as we ascended to the surface.
The water broke over R.E.X's roof and Nya sighed, collapsing. She would've fallen had it not been for Jay, ready to catch her. Nya's forehead was beaded with sweat.
"Th- that was difficult," she mumbled as Jay helped her to her feet.
"You alright?" he asked worriedly, fussing over the hair stuck to her clammy forehead.
"Y- yeah, just... gimme a sec."

As soon as the door was opened, we clambered out. I was thankful to be on solid ground - even if we were still technically underwater. My knees still trembled in shock.
"If you wanna hide a Tomb," Cole said as he glanced around at the interior of the underwater cave before approaching a large archway of rock. "This looks like a good place. We're here."
Jay groaned as he picked up a piece of ripped green fabric that had been snagged against the rock.
"There goes any hope Morro couldn't find this place," he muttered glumly, glancing down the entrance as we spotted a track of footprints. I frowned.
"Hey, stay positive," said Kai as we began down the track. "We're about to risk our lives going through traps we know nothing about and all we have to rely on is each other. At least feel lucky we got this far."
Jay, ever the cynical joker, just sent him an unamused smile.
"Oh, I'm sorry. You're right. What was I thinking?" he began sarcastically, throwing his arms around dramatically as he spun, voice echoing in the chamber. "Hey, there goes any hope Morro couldn't find the Tomb! We're not alone. Yay! Now we're gonna have to fight him again - sure we got our tails handed to us last time - but you never know in the future. 'Cause ninja never quit!"
Jay dropped his grin. "Better?" he asked sassily.
Nya gave a so/so gesture. I shrugged. Kai made a look like he was thinking (but he wasn't really).
"Eh, I'll take it."

"Look!" Zane caught our attention, pointing at a statue of a man in a rice hat that looked like he was mediating. Four lit candles flickered on his lap. I briefly wondered if the four candles represented the four Golden Weapons, or the four corners of Ninjago where they had been hidden thousands of years ago.
"The First Spinjitzu Master," Cole breathed in awe. "Creator of all Ninjago."
I shivered, intimidated by the statue. It had begun to sink in that this was a god's resting place. It felt like I should pray or pay my respects or sacrifice Jay or something.
Even the mere statue of the First Spinjitzu Master was deeply unsettling. This was a tomb. The tomb. His tomb. And we were all - Morro and his goons included - trespassing on the most sacred of ground.
It almost felt like a sin, so I bowed my head in apology and respect.
Sorry, Lloyd's granddad. Please don't smite us.

"Destination: reached," came a robotic voice from R.E.X. "Auto-return: initiated."
"Auto-return?" Jay echoed in confusion as we all spun back just in time to watch R.E.X sink under the waves once more. "N- no! Bad, R.E.X, bad!"
"Our aeroblade weapons were in there!" Zane commented in a panic.
My hands smacked against my cheeks in self-punishment.
"Well," I mumbled despondently. "There goes 'staying in the airship.' I have a feeling I really won't be in good terms with Lloyd's family when we get back."
"We're so doomed," Cole agreed with a groan.
"Not to mention that was our only way back," Kai lamented.
"Hey, stay positive!" Jay said as he used a peppy, chirpy, sarcastic voice that really didn't match our predicament. "Who needs a way back when we gotta go a-that a-way!"
Kai sent him an unamused, narrowed glare. Nya snorted, having regained her energy.

"No Sword, no powers, no problem!" Kai claimed, trying hard to keep positive and ignoring Jay. "We can do this guys, as long as we got each other, right?"
Cole tried his best to stay upbeat. He grinned, nodding.
"Brother sharpens brother."
I pursed my lips, squinting my eyes. Huh. Nya cleared her throat, glaring. Cole's grin dropped.
"I- I mean sibling sharpens sibling!" he scrambled to correct himself. Nya rolled her eyes with a snicker as we started off down the track once more.
"Nice save," I said with an amused, dry smile as I passed him. He sheepishly grinned.
The rock walls were covered in tiny, glowing stones. It illuminated our way, thankfully providing no need for torches or scrambling in the dark. The dim rock hallway came to an abrupt stop as a door opened up and we filed into a circular room.
We were in silent awe as we stared at the rock walls. There were sixteen different doors, each with a statue of a person holding a glowing cube. Above each door was a different symbol.
We jumped as the door we came through slammed shut. I gulped.

"This could be the first test," Cole commented as we warily gazed at the doors.
"Why did it have to be tests?" Jay whined as his gaze slid over the symbols. He held a look of completed dumbfoundness that was shared amongst the team. "Why couldn't it be protected by dragons? We're good with dragons! Hell, Y/n's great with dragons!"
"Uh, yeah, only elemental ones," I argued. "Not actual-"
"I think we're supposed to pick a door," Kai interrupted us. "But which one?"
"And what happens if we pick the wrong one?" I asked. We all glanced at Zane, who blinked in confusion at the sudden attention he was receiving. His expression dropped, unimpressed.
"I may be a nindroid, but that does not mean I know all the answers."
"What?" Jay exclaimed, looking utterly betrayed. "My life is a lie. Anyway, what was it Misako said?"
"'A Spinjitzu Master can
a Spinjitzu Master cannot
to move forward, don't look ahead
to find his resting spot," Zane answered. Jay sent an accusing finger in the nindroid's direction.
"You liar!" he spat mockingly. Nya sighed. Cole rolled his eyes. "You do know all the answers!"
Zane glared at Jay in exasperation.
"No, Jay," he said tiredly. "I just have a better memory than you."
"Can we move on?" Nya asked with raised eyebrows. Jay reluctantly nodded with a huff.
"Thank you," she drawled.

"A Spinjitzu Master can..." Kai echoed as he stared at a door with a curious look, seemingly the only one still on task. He shook his head in disgruntlement as he turned back to us. "Can what?"
"Sixteen doors," Jay noted, holding his hand to his chin before giving Nya a confused look. "For... sixteen realms?"
"Could be," replied Cole unsurely as we all stared at the various different doors. "But let me guess, pick the wrong door and we'll be in a realm of hurt."
I hissed a breath through my teeth. That didn't sound so pleasant.
"Then we have to be right," Nya said determinedly. "But... we don't know."
Jay groaned.
"I wish we had the Sword right about now," he moaned, slouching his shoulders.

"We can figure this out," Kai insisted as we regrouped, no wiser than before. "A Spinjitzu Master can... can..."
Kai's wandering gaze set on a particular door. We followed his eyes.
"The symbol above this door," Jay said as he approached it. "It's a tornado. This could be the one, right?"
Kai hummed in thought. "You could be right."
That was apparently good enough for Jay, as he reached out for the handle.
"Jay- wait!" ordered Zane suddenly, making us flinch. Jay froze. "Step away from that door, Jay."
Jay immediately scrambled back towards us, his gaze fearful as he clutched at Kai's shoulder.
"W-what is it?"
"We are inside a zoetrope," Zane announced. I perked up, glancing around at the little symbols.
"Oh," I said. My eyes widened in excitement. "Oh, oh! Zane's right! We are in a zoetrope!"
"A zoe-what?" asked Kai incredulously.
"A zoetrope is an old animation technique they used to use way back when," I explained, pointing at the symbols. "See how they're similar to the last but not completely the same? That's because if you spin the drawings really fast, it makes a moving image!"

"I still don't get it," Cole shook his head.
"A Spinjitzu Master can..." Kai mumbled in thought before his eyes lit up in realisation. "Do Spinjitzu!"
"Why spin the images when you can spin yourself!" I beamed.
"Exactly!" Zane replied as he took a step back from us. He twisted on a leg, suddenly engulfed in a bright, white light as he spun, making the formation of a tiny tornado.
"He's creating some sort of shape!" Zane called from within. The bright white tornado suddenly disappeared, his shoes scuffing on the stone flooring as he came to a sudden halt. He pointed at a door with a symbol of what looked to be an empty yin-and-yang.
"That one," he announced surely. "That is the door out."
Cole wasn't convinced.
"I don't know, Zane," he said hesitantly. "Isn't that the door we came in? Are you sure?"
Zane sent Cole an amused look.
"Are you sure you want to doubt a nindroid?"
"YOU JUST SAID-"
Nya shut Jay up by shoving his hood over his head. His yelp was muffled.
"Open the door," said Kai as he approached it. "Let's find out."

Zane grabbed the handle and yanked it open. The stone, despite being, well, stone, easily slid open, revealing an entirely new room.
We gaped in surprise. Cole was in confuddles.
"But that wasn't here before!" he accused. "How can it be the way if that's the way we came in?"
"Well, welcome to the tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master," Kai offered with a grin as he passed.
We filed in. I gave Cole a shrug as I sidled up beside him.
"I've stopped trying to wrap my head around things," I confessed with an amused smile. "Helps lessen the amount of existential crises."
The next room was a large cavern, the walls made of pentagon-shaped rock pillars of similar sizes. At the other end was a golden staff hoisted on a stand.
"Ha-hey, nice one, Zane!" Jay complimented as we stopped just inside the room. "Who needs a Sword of Sanctuary when you've got a nindroid?"
That was when Kai spotted the golden staff. His jaw dropped.
"The staff of the First Spinjitzu Master," he said in awe as he began walking towards it.
"Wait!" Cole said, making Kai glance back in question. "This is the second test, remember? Zane, what do you think?"

Zane stared thoughtfully around the cavern. He turned back to us with a confused frown.
"I can see no pattern," he confessed with a shake of his head. "For this riddle room, I am at a loss."
Oh perfect. That's reassuring.
"Think about it," Jay said, holding his hands up in a suggestion as I gazed around the cavern. "The first test was a Spinjitzu Master can. So this one's a Spinjitzu Master cannot. Though, saying it out loud - I don't like the sound of that!"
"Well, what's something you guys can't do?" I asked, surveying the room for something that might just so happen to be a clue. Before anybody could answer, there was a sudden, deafening creak.

"Uh-oh," said Kai.

I turned to face him, tensed. One of his feet was stood on a lowered stone.
I didn't even see the stone spikes being shot at us until they had already embedded themselves into the wall. I made a sound of terror as one landed right beside my head.
"Kai, what the hell!" exclaimed Nya.
"Everyone okay?" asked Cole as we regained our composure.
"That was a close one," commented Zane as he grabbed a spike and inspected the sharp tip. He grimaced.
"Every step," Jay whimpered as he glanced at a stone that had landed in between Kai's legs. I winced. "A trap."
"How does one reach the staff if it becomes more difficult with every step to get there?" asked Zane in frustration. "If I am correct, this riddle room poses quite the conundrum."
I frowned at the ground, suddenly hyperaware of the different stones in the flooring. They could each hold a deadly trap more threatening than the last.
I want to go back to the zoetrope.
"So if a Spinjitzu Master can't do it, how are we supposed to reach the staff?" Cole asked.
They turned their gazes to me.
"What," I said, not asking, as I was too taken aback and suddenly petrified. "I- I can't? Please no?"
Kai shook his head.
"No, that's not it."
"Oh, thank god," I sighed in relief.
"Then how?" repeated Cole. Kai smirked.
"Watch and learn."

And then, c h a o s.

Kai used Airjitzu to fly across the ground. He fell just short of the staff, latching onto a rock. I was going to cheer for him but then suddenly spikes on the walls appeared.
"Uh-oh!" Kai yelled.
God dammit.
He leapt back just as the spikes were launched, narrowly missing them. Unfortunately, he launched another trap and out of reflex, he had to leap to another stone which launched another trap and then another and then another and then another and then another and-
The floor started to give way, making us scramble to the side and activate even more traps. Fire was thrown. Stones were dropped. Spikes were flung. It was a wonder that we were still alive.
Everything we did just made the cavern turn even more chaotic. A fissure appeared in the wall, making a stream of water come sprouting out and almost hitting Cole.
"I can make it!" Kai said.
Stalactites fell from the ceiling. One barely brushed past me. I was too frightened to even make a sound. Kai landed on a large stone.
"Can everybody just stop moving?!" Jay exclaimed, making everyone pause where they were and stare at him. He started in disbelief.
"Oh," he said lamely. "That actually worked. Huh."

"I can make it!" Kai repeated adamantly. "It's a hop, skip and a jump!"
He launched off of his singular rock pillar and tried to fly over the large drop the giving away of the floor created. His Airjitzu faltered, making him land on the traps once more and forcing him to scramble back to his pillar as the stones fell.
"But what else comes with a hop, skip and a jump?" shouted Cole. "You trigger one more trap, I don't know how much more we can take!"
Jay was glaring at his surroundings. He looked like he felt cheated.
"The clue clearly said this is a test a Spinjitzu Master cannot do," he said calmly, before screaming; "SO WHY ARE WE NOT LISTENING TO THE CLUE?!"
Nya rested a hand on his shoulder. They had ended up on the same pillar. I shared one with Zane, heart thundering as I stared down into the seemingly bottomless pit. One misstep and we'd be toast.

"Trust me," insisted Kai. "I can make it!"
"Wait-," Cole said, before furrowing his brow and glaring down at the darkness. "What if it's a trick? What if the reason we can't do it is because we were never meant to reach the staff? What is the first rule of being a ninja?"
"A ninja never quits," replied Zane.
"Exactly!" replied Cole. I frowned. What? "And that's why we can't do it. Because a ninja would never give up!"
"What are you trying to say?" barked Kai. "We just quit? Are you insane?!"
Cole ignored Kai's jab and stepped up to the edge of his pillar. He glanced down at it with a reluctant frown.
"This time, trust me," he said before leaping off of his pillar and dropping down into the pit. I smacked my mouth with my hand as he jumped, making me almost scream.
"COLE-!"
There was a sudden whoop from the darkness, followed by an overjoyed laugh.
"C'mon down and enjoy the ride!" his voice echoed up. Zane brightened.
"He is alive!" he said before jumping, too.
"He's a ghost," I stressed as Jay jumped, too. "Oh my god we're all going to die."
Nya sent me a reassuring look.
"You can do it, Y/n!" she cheered before jumping into the darkness along with Kai. I was the only one left.

I stared dubiously down into the depths. My stomach twisted.
"I- I really can't," I cried, shaking my head. "I'm not- I can't-"
But then the familiar tugging sensation from before almost shoved me forward. I gasped, scrambling back from the edge.
"Where the heck were you before when I needed you?" I accused with a huff. It replied with a sharp tug, making me teeter forward. "Alright! Alright, I'm going!"
I shuffled closer to the edge, staring down at the dark depths. Either death or Lloyd waited down there. Heck, maybe both. Probably both.

"I'm an idiot," I mumbled to myself as I clenched my eyes shut. "A stupid, lovesick idiot. This is so stupid. So, so stupid."

I stepped off of the pillar.

Hey guys, thank you so much for reading the butterfly effect. I know this ending wasn't quite the same as the original considering that the reader and all the ninja died-