To make things more interesting Nya and Sensei are gone for a few days ;)

I looked around cautiously. "They're gone right?"

"All at work, and they should be for the next few hours." Lloyd reassured me. I relaxed a bit more, turning back to the Serpentine girl behind me, and gestured for her to follow me in. Both Tori and Lloyd loved the idea of me training the two of them without the ninja knowing, probably because they were breaking the rules with a cool older kid, like moi.

I turned on the in-house training feature, which only made the two kids smile wider than before. "This'll be great! The ninja left super early in the morning, they didn't even wake me up for breakfast! There was just a note on the fridge that said I could play some games and that they left a small bowl of cereal on the counter for me." Lloyd whined. "There wasn't even any milk left!

Tori giggled. "(Y/n) made pancakes before we left. They were so good."

The Venomari girl continued to tease the boy as I thought of what to teach. As much as I hated to admit it, the guys were right. Despite how much I could feel it, I couldn't quite remember how I knew how to fight. I zoned out trying to think of what to do when Keenan finally spoke up.

'Repeat after me.'

Why?

'You wanna teach these kids, then repeat what I say.' The old man instructed.

Nodding, I turned to the kids. "Alright you two, you wanna learn how to fight?" The pair ceased their bickering and turned to face me, so I continued. "It all starts with your stance. If you want to last long in a fight, you've got to have a good stance."

Keenan continued to instruct the kids through me, he even told me what to say when Lloyd and Tori got upset, and helped me persuade them to continue. Before we knew it, it was almost one in the afternoon, and we were all pretty tired. I watched the kids proudly as they had picked up quick what Keenan had taught. 'They've worked hard.' The old man praised. 'You should all get something to eat, otherwise they'll be too tired to do anything else.'

I relayed the message to the kids, and they all rushed to the kitchen, relieved for a break. I followed, an idea popping into my mind. "You guys wanna have breakfast for lunch?" I asked. The two quickly replied in unison. "Yes please!"

The two played some video games while I made some pancakes, along with bacon and scrambled eggs. While I cooked, I talked with the voice in my head.

I didn't know you knew how to fight, Keenan.

'There are a great number of things you don't know.'  The usually-salty-codger mused.

I grew curious. Were you a sensei? 'Cause either you're a really good teacher, or I'm actually a mentally unstable person who is talking to a split part of my personality and I actually taught those kids all by myself. Please tell me it's the first one.

'It's the first one.'

Phew. I was almost worried there. I sighed in relief.

'You should be worried, you're burning the pancakes.'

Snapping out of my conversation, I quickly flipped the pancakes on the stove. I was glad Keenan seemed to be in a better mood, and he was willing to help with training the kids. Focusing on the food, I finished cooking and quickly put together three plates. I looked in the fridge to see no drinks, to which I sighed.

"Lunch is ready, I just have to go grab some juice quick and I'll be back!" I shouted to the kids. Without waiting for a reply, I envisioned the grocery store I usually went to, and with the flash of lights from my cuffs I was there.

I grabbed a carton of both apple and orange juice, not sure which one the kids preferred. As I made my way to the check-out line, I passed two girls. One seemed to have strange ears and tails while the other had eyes that flickered purple. They both carried small snakes coiled around their arms, seeming to enjoy each others scaly company. It was insanely adorable.

Getting back to the task at hand, I bought the juice cartons, and teleported back to the kitchen I was in only moments ago. Both Lloyd and Tori sat there, already devouring their food. I laughed as they mumbled thanks while I grabbed some cups. "First, don't talk with your mouth full. Second, you guys want apple or orange juice?"

After properly swallowing their food, Lloyd asked for apple juice while Tori asked for orange juice. Together we all ate, sharing jokes and telling stories. It warmed my heart seeing Tori and Lloyd start to get along, despite their constant bickering. 

I began to wash our dishes while the kids played some video games, when I heard the sound of chatter from the around the corner. The ninja were back, and they didn't know Tori and I had come over!

Before I could figure out what to say, the boys came into the kitchen, probably looking for something to eat. Kai walked in first, with dirt all over his face and gi. Zane was right behind, with his arm around Cole to keep him steady. Jay tumbled in behind them, crashing to the floor in front of the TV. Any conversation they were having ceased, and everyone except Jay made eye contact with me. They all shared confused looks, which I returned. 

"Guys, what's wrong?" Jay asked, before standing up and realizing I was there. "(Y/n)? What are you doing here?"

"That is an excellent question." I responded. "What am I doing here?"

'Oh my gosh what are you doing?' Keenan sounded like he was experiencing second-hand embarrassment.

Zootopia taught me to answer a question with my own question!

'Uh-huh, well I don't think you're doing it right.'

"Shut up." I grumbled.

"What?" Kai asked, concerned. My cheeks began to heat up as I realized I was actually talking.

"Not you!" This is not going well, this is not going well, this is not going well.

Zane placed Cole on a seat, before turning back to me. "Who?" It just got worse!

"I was just dishing washes!" I squeaked.

My whole face was now tomato red as the four boys gave me more confused looks. It was at this moment I forgot about keeping the training a secret, and just wanted to sink through the floor, and disappear.

Thankfully, I had my little green friend to help me. "(Y/n)! Thanks for bringing me back so I could play that awesome video game with Lloyd!" Tori ran into the kitchen, hugging my paralyzed figure. "It was a great idea to have breakfast for lunch, since Lloyd didn't have any breakfast today." She now turned to the ninja, giving them dirty looks.

It was their turn to look embarrassed.  Jay tried to explain. "We had to leave early for our jobs!"

"Yeah!" Cole pitched in while Zane filled a bucket with ice and water. "If we were late, we probably wouldn't have made as much as we did!"

"But you couldn't bother to wake him up when you were all eating?" Tori asked.

"It's still a shame Lloyd had to sit here all day." I joined in. "With nobody to train him." Kai shot me an annoyed glare, and Jay slumped back onto the floor in defeat. Zane put the bucket he had been holding under Cole's feet, before running off, his arm looking a little stiff.

"My feet..." The Earth Ninja muttered, ignoring the last part about training. "I can't feel my feet."

The Ice ninja came back into the room with an oil pump, while Kai crashed onto the couch. "There was so many of them. They wouldn't stop!" Kai muttered, like he had just come back from an intense battle.

I watched as the ninja I fought along side to take down the Great Devourer seemed drained, out of energy. "Was it really that bad?" I asked, forgetting about shaming them on their poor babysitting skills.

"It was..." Zane trailed off. "My gears locked up several times. I didn't even know my gears could lock up!"

"I don't even have enough energy to play video games." Jay complained, reaching out to his controller. Sadly, it was just out of reach.

Lloyd walked in, obviously upset with the guys' lack of energy. "But I thought you were going to train me when you got home!" Tori and I shared a knowing look

"Sorry, champ, but we can't until we make rent." Cole explained.

"GASP!" I shouted, making a dramatic face. Tori and Lloyd giggled while the others looked confused. "You didn't have enough time and energy to train Lloyd?!"

"Did you just say gasp?"

"Shush, Kai." I hushed the tired ninja before getting back into character. "If only someone could've seen this coming! Maybe if they helped  train him, today wouldn't have been such a waste!"

Jay rolled his eyes. "Okay we get it! But you keep forgetting you're new to the team too, newer than Lloyd! What could you teach him, how to twirl around like a ballerina?"

"Bold of you to assume I practice ballet, Jay." I said with a playful expression. "Just because I can dance, doesn't mean I wear a tutu-"

"Whatever, once we earn enough for rent, we can go back to training." Cole interrupted, but it didn't stop Jay and I from sticking our tongues out at each other. "Speaking of which, how close are we, Jay?"

We stopped our little game of funny faces when Jay turned to look at the jar with their newly earned money. His face fell. "Is this jar getting bigger? We're not even close."

"And our rent is due tomorrow." Zane reminded the group.

"Sigh, if only you hadn't decided to buy such an expensive place."

Kai turned to me, annoyed. "Why are you saying words?"

"Why are you saying words?" I countered with a smirk.

"Will you quit it?" Jay shouted, making the kids snicker.

Cole spoke up again. ""I can pull a double shift."

"And I can do overtime." Zane joined in.

"Maybe I can sling a few more pizza pies." Jay said, leaning on the wall next to the TV.

"And I can make a little extra if I do the human piñata." Kai spoke up, and we all turned to look at him in horror. He shook his head. "Ugh, don't ask."

I gasped, for real this time, walking over to him to put a hand on his shoulder. "You poor, poor thing..."

"Gah!" He swatted my hand away. "Don't pity me!"

"Fine then. Suck it up, Flamebrain. It's not my fault you can't handle the heat of having a job, so don't go blazing at me when I try to cool you down. I know you're a hothead, but that doesn't give you the right to go burning those who are just trying to comfort you!"

Kai's mouth hung open as Tori, Jay, and Lloyd started laughing. Zane looked around, confused as to why they were laughing and Cole chuckled before grabbing everyone's attention again. "Our priorities are set. Tomorrow, we make rent!"

Lloyd walked up to Cole, his laughing fit subsided. "And, uh, what about me?"

I eyed the Earth Ninja as he answered. "How about you help out and fetch me some more ice, huh?" He asked little Olive.

"Ouch." I placed my hand over my heart, while I took Tori's hand in my other. "Tori and I can't watch anymore. Olive, if you ever want me to adopt you and get you away from these child abusers..."

"Hey!"

"You know where to find me!"

~~~~~~~~T.S.~~~~~~~~

Tori and I snuck in early the next morning. Thankfully, the boys had made breakfast for Lloyd before leaving, and we were able to have another training lesson with Keenan. After a few hours, we had lunch and the ninja showed no sign of returning. We took this as a chance to continue training. After a while, I let the kids go to play games. They seemed pretty exhausted and I thought they deserved a break.

I decided to go up to the dragon keep and see if I could find Strix.  It had been a while since I'd seen him at Lou's house, and I was starting to get worried. He may be wild, but he usually didn't just leave for long periods of time like this unless it was winter. I scanned the city from above, but stopped when I felt my phone buzz. I quickly picked it up. "Hello?"

"(Y/n), where are you?" It was Zane, and he sounded panicked.

"I'm... with Tori at home." I lied. "Wait, how did you get my number?"

"You must get to Lloyd, quickly!" I could hear noise in the back, like someone was fighting. "He is in danger!"

At that exact moment, I could hear something like knocking on glass. I followed the noise to see Scales waving below to the kids. "Don't worry, I can get him."

"No! Get Lloyd and run! (Y/n), are you even listening?" I hung up on the Ice Ninja, staring down at the snake cutting his way into the room while Tori and Lloyd screamed. I smirked as I unsheathed my hook swords. 

"Looks like I'm going horseback riding again."

I jumped onto the Serpentines' back just before he slithered into the room, almost making the two of us fall out of the window. I quickly hooked my swords around his neck, but realized it only made us tumble back out the window. I teleported off his back and in front of the kids, both my hook swords ready for attack. 

The sudden loss of weight caused Scales to loose his balance, almost falling out of the building in the process. He regained his balance, narrowing his eyes at me. I stood in front of the kids protectively. "What do you want with Lloyd?"

"The boy seems to be the only thing his father cares about!" He hissed before charging at me. I refused to back down, running at him as well. I tackled him to the ground, making him drop his sceptre before we began rolling around, both of us refusing to lose. "With the boy as my hostage, he'll have no other choice but to let me lead the serpentine!"

I managed to stop our little game of rolling around, successfully pinning the Serpentine general. "Wait, Garmadon is leading the Serpentine? How'd you let that happen?" I mocked. 

Scales took my moment of distraction to give me a strong head butt. Surprised, I tumbled back, allowing the blue danger noodle to get back up. I rubbed the spot where Scales had hit me, before hearing the sound of a rattle. I looked up in confusion, only to see the eyes of the snake I'd been battling.

"Look into my eyes..." Scales instructed. I tried to look away, but somehow they seemed different. I couldn't look away, despite how much I wanted to, and I began to panic. I could hear voices, but they sounded distant, too far away to hear clearly. "Augh!" 

The Serpentine General retreated, rubbing his eyes. Free from his hypnoses, I blinked, confused. Scales had retreated to a corner of the room, mumbling to himself. He seemed terrified, and his red eyes were now green.

My head started putting the pieces together when I noticed the young Venomari girl staring at the general in horror before quickly hugging my torso. Her eyes became watery and I could hear her sniffling in my gi. "Tori, did you..?"

"Y-yes." She mumbled, digging her face into my stomach. "I didn't want to, but you were in trouble, and he was going to take Lloyd away, and I didn't know what to do!" She rambled.

I quickly knelt down to meet her eyes, resting my hands on her shoulders. "Hey, it's okay." I reassured her. "Thank you Tori, you did great."

Tori looked up at me with disbelief in her eyes. "B-but, Scales is a general! Dad said I shouldn't use my venom on any of the other Serpentine! What if he finds out, and he gets mad! What if he won't want me anymore! I won't be able to see him again, a-and I won't have a family anymore!"

I took the girl in my arms, wrapping her in a warm hug. "Tori, I'm sure your dad wouldn't be mad. Scales was going to do a bad thing, so it's okay you used your gifts to stop him. And you'll always have a family. Whether or not the other Serpentine except you, I'm always here!" My eyes slightly widened as I felt another pair of tiny arms hug Tori and I. "And Lloyd will be here too." I chuckled.

I broke the hug and Lloyd grabbed Tori's hands. "That was awesome Tori!" He exclaimed.

The Serpentine girl wiped away her tears, looking up to Lloyd. "R-really?"

"Yeah! If Scales hypnotized (Y/n), I would've been kidnapped! You saved both of us!"

"I guess I did..."

"You kick butt in video games and real life!"

The two laughed, and I was about to text Zane that Scales had been taken care of before hearing a knock at the door. Suspicious, I opened the door. I was immediately relieved to see who was waiting on the other side. "Nya! Sensei!" I hugged the two.

"(Y/n)?" Nya questioned. "Where's my brother and the others?"

I sighed, releasing the two from my grip. "I actually have no clue, but the kids and I got you a present." I gestured to the snake in the corner.

"G-get away!" He muttered to himself. "Not a giant bird! No... no!"

Sensei began to walk towards the hallucinating noodle, while I informed Nya on what happened. The two of us checked on the kids while Sensei called the police. Tori still seemed pretty shaken up, so Nya proposed that we could all get ice-cream.

"That's a great idea! I think there's an ice-cream parlour nearby, does that sound good, Tori?" I asked the Venomari girl. She quietly nodded, which worried me a bit. What kid doesn't get excited about ice-cream?

After the police had come to take Scales away, we all went out to grab the ice-cream. It was getting late but the parlour was still open, fortunately.  As we walked down the street people kept staring at Tori, whispering to each other and pointing at the girl. I knew she noticed, and pulled her closer to my side, giving her a reassuring smile. Lloyd walked on her other side, holding her hand. I could feel my heart overflow with cuteness as Lloyd tried his best to comfort her.

"Maybe we can ask if we can have a sleepover tonight! Then we can spend the night beating the ninja's high scores on all their favourite games!" He suggested. Tori nodded, a mischievous glint returning to her eyes.

By the time we made it back to the apartment, we could hear the boys already inside, looking distraught. I remembered how worried Zane sounded over the phone, and realized they must've thought Scales had taken Lloyd.

"We shouldn't have taken those jobs in the first place." Cole lamented. "What were we thinking?  Losing Lloyd and (Y/n) is by far our greatest loss."

"But it could be your greatest lesson." Wu informed the group, revealing the five of us by the door behind Cole, while eating his ice-cream.

The four boys ran up to the group, shouting our names. "You're okay!" Kai exclaimed.

"I wasn't going to be," Lloyd explained, "but (Y/n) and Tori were able to save me."

"Wait, (Y/n) brought Tori to fight?!" Jay questioned.

"Actually," I chuckled, scratching the back of my neck, "I may or may not have been doing what you told me not to do, and started training Lloyd and Tori while you were all at work."

Before they could say anything Nya jumped in. "I go away for a few days, and everything falls apart." She scored them.

"I guess you could say we learned we don't need all the fancy stuff. We just need each other." Kai told us, giving me an apologetic look. 

"You want us to help you clean up?" Wu asked in disbelief.

"Well, we are a team."

"Nya, I think it's time for another road trip."

"Only if Tori and I get to come too!"

"Hold on." Cole stopped us. "I got a better idea."

~~~~~~~~T.S.~~~~~~~~

Tori and I helped move furniture into the ninja's new apartment. It was a definite downgrade, but much more in their budget. "It's not much, but this one bedroom, one half bath is a cozy dream." Cole explained like he was trying to sell the apartment to an old couple. "Who needs extras when everything is in arm's reach?"

"Ok Mr. Real Estate Agent, you already bought it. No need to hype everyone up anymore." I giggled. Tori laughed as Lloyd bumped into Jay, causing him to drop the fridge he and Kai was carrying. The fridge dropped right onto Kai's foot, causing him to shriek in pain.

"Ha, feels like home to me." Jay sighed. "Hey, at least we get to stay in Ninjago City for a little while."

"And now without the distractions, we can put all of our energy into training Lloyd." Zane pitched in. Lloyd turned from side to side at the mention of his name, but the stool he was carrying blocked his vision. 

"Who's there?"

Zane grabbed the legs of the stool, guiding Lloyd to where it was supposed to be while Kai turned to Wu. "I know the Serpentine Generals got away, but you never told us-" He turned to me now. "whatever happened to Scales?"

"Don't worry, he's found a home too." I explained.

"But it's not quite as roomy as here." Wu finished.

We finished putting away all the furniture and Tori and I said our goodbyes. Right as we got out onto the street, Kai called out to us. We gave him confused looks as he walked out to talk to us. "Thanks for keeping Lloyd safe, and sorry we didn't listen to you about our jobs."

I grinned at his apology. "It's fine. Besides, it's sweet that you were all so worried about Lloyd and I."

"They didn't sound worried at all about me..." Tori grumbled.

"Maybe that's because they thought you were at Lou's." I reasoned. The girl huffed, making Kai and I laugh. "We'll come by tomorrow. Tori and Lloyd seemed to enjoy training together, so they should keep training together."

"That sounds great!" Kai exclaimed. "It'll be good for Lloyd to continue training with someone his age, maybe we can even have them spar against each other."

Tori beamed at the the thought. "Really?"

Kai and I laughed at her enthusiasm. "Why not?" I turned my attention back to Kai. "We really should head home now if we wanna wake up in time to catch the bus tomorrow. I'll see you later, okay?"

"You got it. Bye!"

"Bye! Oh, and don't forget to ask Zane how he got my number!"

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

Thank you all for reading and don't forget to vote and comment! Also, who else has seen the new season of She-Ra? Cuz OMG THAT WAS AMAZING!!!! If you have never heard of it, I suggest you watch it (on Netflix) you won't regret it!

Also my phone is kind of broken so no emojis for a bit... : (

With not much else to say, I bid you all adieu~                                                                                                                 -ThatOneScorpio