Ivory's Homecoming ► Ninjago

02 ≛ The Chase

As night fell, the ninja prepared to break into Ronin's pawn shop. They were desperate for that scroll; so much that they'd be willing to steal it.

Well, Jay was. As the self-proclaimed new leader since both Kai and Zane—who now only spoke backwards gibberish due to being struck by a heavy, swinging pole earlier—failed, he insisted that they wait until the thief locked up to go in.

Hoods on and hopping on rooftops to avoid being seen—Jay ended up falling inside a house, though came back fairly quickly with a swear from the woman—they were getting close.

However, when they were two homes away, Cole saw something in the distance. He held his arms out to stop his team from going any further.

The lightning master leaned over his shoulder. "Hey, what's the holdup? I'm the leader, remember?"

Without moving his arms, Cole pointed one finger at the ground. Though still a bit far, Natasha was walking toward the shop.

He turned his head to the side. "You ever thought about her, leader?"

"Okay, maybe I didn't. I assumed she'd be inside with Ronin!"

Kai also looked toward him. "Alright, leader. Any ideas on how to get past her now?"

Zane tried saying something, but it only came out in gibberish.

"What'd I say? Mouth shut!" Jay slapped a hand over the nindroid's lips. Both ninjas sighed as he continued with, "So we got our asses handed to us earlier. Big deal! Remember what we have against her: we're ninja. Let's wait until she goes in, and then when she leaves with him, we'll go next."

It was better than nothing.

However, none of them knew that Morro was already there.

Within that time, Ronin had turned off the lights in preparation to close. Whistling, he checked the clock on the wall.

"She still ain't back yet? Better start giving her a time card..."

He didn't notice something in the corner. When a transparent green arrow was unexpectedly pointed at his neck, he froze and attempted to smile away the sudden nervousness that rose within him.

"Ah, Soul Archer!"

A ghost completely masked stood just a few inches away from him, practically staring through his soul. At any moment, he'd be ready to fire the arrow; a deadly move.

"I thought I was gonna have more time... I'm a little short."

"I'll return for your debt later," the ghost hissed, voice deep and extremely raspy. He took one step closer, the arrow nearly touching Ronin's neck. "But for now, I came for something else."

He backed up. "Uh, if this is about our last—" When bumping into someone, he literally jumped with a small shout.

Behind him was a boy that seemed all too familiar, save for his eerie appearance. Yet he wore green, and so Ronin felt somewhat relieved. "Lloyd, you're a little late. Your friends were just here." But he wasn't that much of a fool; pitch black hair, pale green skin, and black scleras in his eyes?

He wasn't speaking to the Green Ninja. "Or should I call you by another name?"

"The Ninja..." Soul Archer muttered. "They were already here..."

Lloyd took a step toward the thief, glaring at him. His bright green pupils were intimidating, to say the least. "Where's the Scroll of Airjitzu?" He was angered without cause, seemingly ready to pounce on him at any moment.