Ring of the Artisan

Act III Ch. 8: Taken What's Rightfully Ours

why is pacing so hard lol

also this ended up being another filler chapter oops??
some action and important things happen though

~

"You got the Bounty back?!"

"Yeah!" Lloyd, who was standing on the Bounty, held a proud expression. On his shoulders sat Acrylic, and behind him stood the Ultra Dragon. "I took back what's rightfully ours!"

"And your dad?" You asked.

"Ran off with the Serpentine," Lloyd responded. "Don't know where he went..."

You glanced back towards your friends, who were still celebrating Hourglass's victory. Harumi, Polar, and Pirate were helping Hourglass to his hooves.

"We're able to move out of the apartment, then, right?" You turned back to Lloyd.

"Yeah!" Lloyd stated before he looked up at Harumi in partial concern. "You think Harumi might join us?"

"I don't know," You responded with a shrug. "I'd have to ask..."

"We can ask later!" Lloyd cheered up quickly. "Let's get back to our apartment!"

~ ~ ~

When the others finally realized that the Bounty was stolen back, the ninja were all ecstatic. The ninja all immediately planned to move back into the Bounty as soon as possible. Nya and Sensei stayed with the Bounty, while you and all the others went back to the apartment.

However, your cheerful attitude slipped away when you neared Patty Keys's. There were a few police cars parked outside, and the front door had been completely busted open.

You were the first to approach the police, with Harumi, Lloyd, and your oddball friends beside you. "What's going on?"

The nearest police officer glanced up at you in surprise. "Oh, the Art Ninja! Just heard you won the Ninjaball Run!"

"A break-in happened while the race was happening," Another police officer quickly filled in. "A bunch of Serpentine stole from a couple of apartments."

"Can I go inside?" You frantically asked. If the ninjas' apartment was broken into, Cider could've been in trouble. Not to mention that the Artisan's Ring was left on the windowsill in plain sight.

"Uh, go right ahead?" The second police officer said. "We're wrapping up, anyways..."

You dashed inside, finding a few broken pieces of furniture strewn about the main lobby. You went to the elevator, found that it was out of order, then ran to the stairs. You bolted up the stairs and quickly appeared before the ninjas' apartment. The door had been completely busted open.

You ran in and immediately searched for Cider's tree. You found the bonsai tree on the ground, clay pot shattered into pieces. In a panic, you grabbed a bowl from the kitchen and quickly scooped up Cider and placed them in the bowl.

Snakes!

Aggie!

As you were setting Cider into the bowl, their thoughts entered your head. You ran to your shared bedroom, Cider still within your grasp. You glanced at the windowsill.

The Ring was gone.

The snakes stole it back.

"Holy shit, the place is ruined!" You heard the ninja dash into the apartment.

You left the bedroom and met them. "They stole the Ring back."

"Oh, no..."

"Is Cider okay?" Lloyd quickly ran up to you.