Harumi's POV

I immediately woke up underwater and quickly brushed away the memories of my dream away to focus on my current situation. The water pressed in on me from all sides, and I knew I was completely wet, but other than that, it was no different from being above ground. Breathing was somehow still possible. Whoever had put me here definitely went through some trouble to keep me alive. Merpeople were my first guess. They had probably taken me in since the Shadow Knight ordered them to. But why hadn't they simply killed me? It would've been so much easier and would guarantee the Shadow Knight victorious.

So why?

I looked around myself and saw nothing but rocks and sand and seaweed. No fish, no people, no anything. I was strapped against a wall, from what I could feel, hands locked in cuffs, which were in turn cutting deep into the stone slab behind me. I could barely twist my head and definitely couldn't look down, due to my neck also being in some sort of metal ring, which was stuck in the stone, of course. So were my ankles. I wondered how pathetic I looked if someone came to save me. If.

My head started hurting. The Shadow Knight was doing something. Again. I was running out of time. Maybe he just wanted me stuck down here. Or maybe he wanted me alive so I could watch him destroy Ninjago... The thought sunk in. Yes. That must be exactly what he wanted. But what about Morro? But then... the Shadow Knight wouldn't worry about him, since Morro wasn't destined to save Jade City from the Shadow Knight...

I tried to recall the prophecy to pass the time, but I had forgotten everything by then. The "white-haired princess" part was all I remembered. How stupid. I stared off into empty space, but there was nothing to look at. The most interesting thing I could see was a crab scuttling across the sand in search of food. Almost as if it had noticed me staring, it scurried off into the depths of the water, making it impossible for my line of sight to follow it from there. I felt like I was wearing green-tinged glasses which blurred up my vision. At least the saltwater didn't sting. That was a plus. Whatever had put me here really did consider everything. As for why they even cared, I didn't feel like giving myself a headache in exchange for some theories.

My mind wandered back to the weird dream. Was that Lloyd? But that was delusional. There was no way or explanation for how he would enter my dream. It was probably a feeble imitation of him, a replica I created for myself to apologize to. He had said we couldn't be together. Well, the Lloyd in my dream didn't know about Jade City Lloyd. We were together and I would return to him. But surely this dream would still have a meaning right? It seemed so real...

I could think about this for hours and not be done, so I decided to think about something else.

None of this made sense. The Shadow Knight didn't want me to defeat him, right? Then why did he keep me alive? I could've easily drowned, yet he requested the merpeople to spare me. Why was that? Something told me this situation was much more complicated than I'd originally thought. First I realized that he didn't want Jade City. And now... he wanted me alive, even though I was supposed to defeat him...

He wasn't stupid enough to risk me defeating him by allowing me to live simply because he wanted me to suffer and watch him take over Ninjago. Or maybe he was. Hubris had a tendency to bring people to their doom.

But I'd already learned that underestimating my enemies never played out in my favor, so I had to take into account the possibility that the Shadow Knight was smart...

I suddenly understood. The Shadow Knight somehow needed me to enter Ninjago. Maybe. But definitely something of the sort. He would've killed me otherwise. Which meant... if I somehow disappeared, he wouldn't be able to go on with his plan...

But I was already dead. I couldn't die again. And the Shadow Knight was already tailing us. So the only way I could escape him was to vanish altogether.

As I formulated plans to disappear, I realized another problem. Even if he couldn't conquer, or, should I say, enter, Ninjago, he was surely going to take over Jade City.

And what if he only required me for a more, ah, stable portal? What if all he needed was one person, but he wanted two to be safe? If that was the case, all he needed was Morro. So even if I was gone, he might still be able to do what he wanted. And that was too big of a risk.

Speaking of Morro, I still hadn't made up my mind about him. Though I was really thankful that he had offered to help me find Ruby, his behavior still frustrated me. He could be nice, but then he would be mean again in the blink of an eye. At least I didn't think he was the Shadow Knight anymore.

I steered my thoughts away from the Master of Wind knowing I couldn't abandon everyone for what I believed was the better cause. Because there wasn't one. The situation I was in for now was probably the best, since this way, I could finally get some time to think about my next move and maybe figure out just what exactly the Shadow Knight was planning to do. I realized then exactly how important getting the Crystal Blade would be. Because if we didn't get it, he would win. With my help. That would be more than embarrassing; it would be pitiful.

With this in mind, I knew I had to get out as fast as possible. Time was running out.

I looked down at my hands, which were now balled into fists. If only there was some way I could escape...

Lloyd's POV

Dawn broke across the horizon. I yawned, feeling extremely sleepy and dead inside. The waters seemed peaceful, even though deep under the waves, I knew Rumi was being held hostage. Or at least that was the case according to Morro. Who knew? By now I'd learned that his instincts were right so many times it was scary, but miscalculations could happen on anyone's part. Even Zane had gotten a 95 on a math test before (he had ranted to us about it for weeks).

I didn't know why I was feeling so sour at the moment. Maybe I had since that one night when the two of them left in search of Ruby without telling me. Suddenly I found myself wishing for those days when they didn't get along. I shook my head, telling myself I was being selfish, and that I should feel happy that they were friends (?) now.

The morning air was cold and salty (mixed with the water of the gulf). It might have been somewhat pleasant, but Rumi's absence created some sort of shift in the atmosphere, so it was as if the mist hanging over the gulf was actually a dark gray cloud looming over the waters. The scenery could be considered beautiful, but I only saw it as a prison enchanted to look mystical and appealing. I dug my fingers into the wet sand, feeling each individual grain. It was quite pleasant, even in the current situation.

The sound of footsteps approached. I turned around and saw Ruby coming back.

"Hey," I said. Last night, I recalled, had been awkward.

Ruby looked up and smiled.

"Hey," she replied, then turned back to the water.

The sun was starting to rise, illuminating the gulf and its waters in various shades of pink, red, and orange. I noticed how the colors were reflected in her eyes. She's pretty, I couldn't help thinking. Of course, nobody could compare with Rumi in my eyes, but I wondered why Morro didn't like her. Sure, Ruby was a bit of a scaredy-cat, but wasn't that common of princesses? Or so I thought, until I met Rumi. She was different, of course. But if Morro just gave it some thought, he and Ruby could fall in love and get married—? It wasn't as if he had anything to lose. He could get the girl and the kingdom. What kind of guy would refuse that? Calvin Walters, I knew, definitely wouldn't.

Morro...

I didn't know what was going on with him. He was acting so strange lately. I knew I should be glad about his friendship (?) with Rumi, but a small part of me just couldn't brighten up. I felt ashamed of myself, but jealousy... always the fear of him taking her away from me. But she genuinely liked me, right?

But a voice in the back of my mind told me otherwise, telling me that I was being too full of myself... and I argued back, saying it was true.

I must've dozed off into a trancelike state, because then Ruby said, "Lloyd, are you okay?"

I jerked back into reality and stared into her large light brown eyes.

"Yeah," I mumbled stupidly.

She looked back at the ocean. "What do we do? Are we sure the plan is gonna work? What if there's a major flaw that'll ruin the whole thing?"

Funny of her to ask, I thought, but answered anyway. With a question. "You like Morro, don't you?"

She flushed a shade of scarlet.

"Well..."

"So trust him," I said, despite doubting his judgment myself.

Ruby turned back to the waters without saying anything. After a long silence, she spoke once more.

"So we're going to go in as soon as they wake?" A hint of worry could be heard in her voice. I guessed that it was because she was worried about what she would see once we entered. What if Rumi was... No, I couldn't think about such things.

Minutes that felt like hours passed.

"I don't think he likes me," she mumbled.

I avoided her gaze. "He's ah, going to," I said, even though something told me he probably wasn't.

I turned back to the water and caught a glimpse of Ruby's face. Maybe it was because I didn't sound confident enough, but it was tense and strained; her eyes were shut tight. I reached out to comfort her.

"I'm just so worried about Rumi," she sighed. "As for Morro..." Her voice trailed off.

"Ruby, it's okay. We'll save her," I said, trying to sound reassuring.

She beamed. "I never had a shred of doubt."

"I'll talk to him," I offered.

Ruby laughed. "Thanks. It's just that... he seems to like my sister more than me."

Even though that was just a throwaway comment, it really annoyed me for some reason. Only then did I realize how much I hated the idea of him developing any feelings for her. And what if, what if...? No. I refused to think about it. I tried to reply in a casual way, only to find my throat blocked by something.

A despicable voice in the back of my head told me to keep them at a distance.

Was I jealous? My hands went up to my hair without me even noticing, fingers scrunching up the strands. Panic washed over me.

"Is... is there something wrong?" Ruby asked.

I glanced at her and smoothed out my hair hurriedly. "Oh, of course not, Princess, don't you worry, I'm totally fine."

She heaved a sigh and stared at the water, glistening in the sunrise. I knew what she was thinking. Rumi was down there somewhere, the Shadow Knight probably sucking the life out of her. The thought of it made me sick.

I leaned back on my hands. My legs stretched out in front of me, in such a way that it almost looked like I was suntanning myself on the beach. Ruby sat a few feet to my right, arms wrapped around her knees.

Footsteps from behind told me someone was approaching. I turned around to see Morro. Some of his hair stuck out at odd angles all over his head.

"Hey," I raised a hand in greeting, pretending nothing had happened between us. Nothing had happened, to be honest. It was just my imagination. He nodded curtly.

"They're waking up," he said, "We should go on with the plan."

I stood up and glanced at Ruby, who didn't move, then back at Morro, who was still waiting.

"You two go on," she mumbled.

Morro shrugged and turned on his heels. I followed him.

When everyone had eaten, and Morro had made sure Nya ate a lot, he went over the plan again.

"We just walk, and Nya will keep a wall of water up around us. It is energy draining, and if she can't do it any longer, I'll use my Wind and help her hold it up. Zane's Ice won't do much in this situation, since the pressure of the waters is too strong. We have to find her, or whatever captured her. I know this doesn't sound like much of a plan, but that's all I've got," he added sheepishly. "Any questions?"

Hands shot up. Morro sighed. "Jay?"

"So we just look around? What if we're headed in the wrong direction? All our attempts would then be pointless."

We murmured in agreement.

"I thought of this as well. You have to trust me. I know the odds seem to be against us, but my gut tells me this is gonna work. Sounds delusional, I know, but, well, it's all we can do. You know, we wouldn't have to find them. They'll come to us."

Literally, his gut was always the only thing we could go by in life or death situations.

Jay made a face. I met Cole's eyes and knew he was thinking the same thing I was: this plan honestly sucked. But we really didn't have a better one. Morro seemed to think the same thing, judging by the sour look on his face.

"The odds of success are—" Zane started, but Morro cut him off.

"I know it sucks!" he almost shouted, "But desperate people take desperate measures, okay?" That was a sign for us to stop criticizing it and asking questions.

I nodded. Guess we were going to carry out his plan, then. Seemingly satisfied, Morro picked up the already disassembled tents and stuffed them in our bags. We each took our own bags and slung them over our shoulders. He took Rumi's bag.

"Where's Ruby?" he said, mostly to me. "Tell her we're ready."

"She's still in the same place she was ten minutes ago, jeez. We're headed in that direction anyway." I said exasperatedly.

He gave me a quick nod, and with that, we made our way around the rocks to the beach. I glimpsed Jay with his arm protectively around Nya. Her face was so pale her dark blue eyes looked almost like black stones embedded in her skin. My initial instinct was to comfort her, but then I dismissed the idea. I didn't want Jay to have any thoughts. And with a jolt, I added in my head, just like I'm having thoughts about Morro and Rumi. Maybe I was overthinking the whole situation.

Sure enough, Ruby was still there. She turned when she heard our footsteps.

"Is the plan ready?" Ruby asked.

"Like you care," Morro scoffed. I gave her a reassuring smile, hoping she wouldn't take his snide remarks too seriously. She smiled back, but when she turned away, there was a hint of sadness on her face.

Morro turned to Nya. "Ready?"

She took a deep breath, her face set. "Yes."

"Then in we go."

We stepped forward, and I felt the cool grains of wet sand between my toes, which was oddly satisfying. I shut my eyes tightly, waiting for the water to engulf me as I felt it rise to my ankles, then halfway to my knees. Nya was strong, but she had never even trained herself that much in her power, not to mention done anything like this. I opened my eyes a tiny bit and saw the water still at the same level. Yet now there was a wall around us, or more specifically, a giant bubble of water.

When I looked back, the shore was long gone, replaced by a multitude of brightly colored fish and blue water. Nya beamed and twirled on her toes, her arms still raised above her head. Her face glowed with excitement, and I could almost see joy radiating off of her. She hadn't looked so alive in ages, not since the forest.

I slowly turned on my heels, the water sloshing around my feet. This was insane. Morro's crazy plan... might actually work.

I received a nudge in my ribs. Rubbing them, I turned and saw Morro grinning sideways at me.

I didn't even bother trying to hide a smile. Maybe there was hope of finding Rumi after all.

A/N: Lol, I feel like a lot of people thought chapter 17 was the final one in this book (spoiler alert: I'm currently writing chapter 37, so no). Like, I haven't gotten so many reads on one chapter since chapter 4. I guess it's kinda my fault that the title had the word "final" in it. Oh well.

I can't wait for the underwater chapters to finish, since stuff really picks up after it. And the chapters after they *redacted* are *redacted*

Anyway, I decided to do @LuckyBugBooks ' Flumptober challenge so I posted a oneshot book, though the first one, "The Love Letter", is technically for thelightningninjasis 's contest on her Wattscord server, so yeah.

I will be posting the next oneshot from the TJC AU soon, so be on the lookout for that! (honestly, by the time you read this it's probably already out XD) (Also, as I was writing that oneshot, I thought, dang, I'm such an evil author oops)

Thoughts/predictions?

I really should pay more attention during class instead of writing...

Thank you for reading!!