Ninjago : The Purple Ninja - Book 1

Possession: Chapter 3 - Stixx and Stones

After the Ninja had hitched a ride to Stixx, they had arrived at the village by the very next morning. They walked on the pier, lanterns at either side. 

Katarina had noticed that the village was surrounded by water. She looked up at the sky. There was no sun nor the clear blue she was used to. Instead, there was just clouds. 

Then she looked down. The wood seemed old and worn. She wondered how much longer it would be before one of the wooden planks broke and fell into the water below. 

The Ninja stopped when they came across a fisherman, who appeared to be on top of a wooden pole. He was holding onto a fishing rod with one hand, while holding onto the pole with his other. 

"Welcome to Stiix. Watch your step." The fisherman warned them. His fishing rod jerked. " Oh, I caught one. It's a big fella!" 

Before he could claim his victory, he was pulled down in the water. He let out a string of curses. Cole, Jay, Zane and Katarina ran over to make sure the fisherman was alright. 

Seeing that he was, Cole tapped Zane's shoulder and gestured behind him. 

Kai was sitting on the pier, scared and trembling slightly. 

"I didn't know you were afraid of heights." Jay said. Everyone but Kai continued down their intended path. Kai shakily stood up and walked behind them. 

"I'm fine with heights. It's water I hate."

"Didn't seem to have a problem before." Zane said. 

"Before, I could make a fire dragon at will. Since 's taken over and our powers gone, I haven't felt-" Before Kai could finish his sentence, he screamed. A wooden plank had given out beneath him. His feet dangled. Fear quickly overwhelmed him. 

Cole rushed over to Kai and pulled him up. "Well, now that we know ghosts don't like water either, at least we should feel safe surrounded by it." 

Katarina purposefully walked slowly, until Kai caught up with her. "You must have aquaphobia. It's a fear of water, in case you didn't know."

"I do not." Kai argued. 

"Okay, if you say so." She put her hands up in mock surrender, showing she was dropping the subject for now. She knew Kai was too proud to admit his fear of water, his ego was bigger than himself for all she knew. 

Once the Ninja arrived in the village, a foul stench made her noise scrunch up. It made her want to throw up. 

She saw that the village was made entirely out of wood. Wooden planks were nailed on top of each other to cover the holes from the worn-out wood. There were ladders leaned against houses and its rooftops. 

"Ugh, what a dump. You'd think the thief who stole the Scroll of Airjitzu would have better taste." Jay said, disgusted.

"This is Ronin we're talking about. He'd steal the sea if it were worth anything." Cole said. "We just have to figure out which rock he's under and get to the Scroll before Morro does."

"Where is he usually?" Katarina asked. Zane looked around until he spotted a pawn shop. 

"That would be the most logical spot for Ronin to be at." He said. 

The Ninja made their way inside the pawn shop, and as expected, it was full of different kinds of items stacked on shelves and counters. 

They started looking around, lifting up the items for the scroll. 

Cole spotted something in the pile of items, and lifted it up. "Wait a minute, this is my dad's Blade Cup trophy! What's it doing in a pawn shop?

"Selling stolen goods? Ha, sounds like we might have stumbled on the right place." Kai said with a scoff.