Ghost Story ► Ninjago [REWRITING]

| XXIII | Crooked Path

*No POV*

Nya and Red were the first to enter the tea shop. As soon as the others arrived, he had just finished wrapping his hand with an actual bandage. She paced around, holding her elbows.

Kai was the first to open the door. "We didn't realize you two weren't on board with us... did you see Ronin?"

"We did, but we unfortunately could not catch him. With that sword in his hands, he stood a better chance against us than we thought," Red answered.

"Hey, what happened to you?" Scarlett asked, eyes focused on his bandaged hand. She walked over to him, taking a look at it.

"Ah... nothing big. I promise."

"Okay, we have greater things to discuss," Jay cut in. "Obviously, he's taken the sword to Morro."

"But where's Morro?" Zane questioned. "He could be anywhere."

Suddenly, Cole looked toward Red and Nya angrily. "I know you're not a Ninja, Red, and you're not one yet, Nya, but you should've—!"

"We're sorry! I'm sorry," she spoke, a small sigh escaping her. In all honesty, it was her that suspected he would take the sword—Red was brought into it. "I should've told all of you when I first suspected Ronin would steal it...!"

"Enough!" Wu stopped their chatter. "We all knew the path to save Lloyd was never going to be a straight line. We were all fooled by Ronin, but that doesn't make us fools. At a time like this, we mustn't butt heads, but put our heads together."

Jay started snickering to himself. After receiving looks, he said, "Sorry... you said butt heads."

Suddenly, Zane's falcon squawked. Once it grabbed everyone's attention, it let out a blue light and Ronin appeared in a hologram.

"I can't talk loud," he began, whispering as he turned around to face Red and Nya. "But I wanted to let you guys know, you were right." Seeing him, they only blinked. "Morro didn't hold up his end of the bargain."

Then he turned to face the elders. "And Misako was right, too. The scroll and sword did reveal the tomb. I know where it's located. I know you don't have the sword, but I know you can beat them to the tomb." He gasped, turning around. "They're coming."

"Where is it? Where's the tomb?" Jay questioned.

"The Caves of Despair! The t- tomb i-" His voice began breaking as the hologram glitched. "-is in the C- Caves of Despair!"

And then he cut off completely. Nya seemed to have reached out for the hologram, as if it could have more information. Red stopped her, taking her arm and shaking his head at her. She backed up with a sigh.

"Caves of Despair? We've been there..." Wu recalled. "I don't remember seeing any tomb."

"But there are still miles of unexplored mines, it could be there," Misako countered.

"But why should we believe him?" Nya questioned, "It could be a trap..."

"I'm with Nya," Scarlett agreed, a small frown on her face. "How could he just... get away from Morro so easily to record that?"

"It doesn't matter—we don't have the scroll and we don't have the sword!" Kai scolded. "With Lloyd's life at stake, what other choice do we have?"

"Kai's right." Red placed a hand on his sister's shoulder. "It may be a trap... or we may end up beating Morro to the tomb."

Her gaze was on the floor. "Yeah, I know..." Life at stake? Great choice of words... he won't die, right?