by Scholastic
The skeletons clomped around, knocking over props and yelling at everyone in their path.
Dareth came back onscreen. “Nya, we really need you and the boys down here, stat!”
“Okay, Dareth,” Nya said. “We’ll be right there.”
Nya hurried back out to the training course to get the others. But when she got there, she paused.
The other ninja were really focused on training Lloyd. She hated to interrupt them. It was important for Lloyd to master his sensei training. More important than stopping two unruly skeletons on the set of Dareth’s silly movie.
And besides … a little part of Nya wanted to handle this problem herself. Even though she’d made a bit of a mess at the junkyard, using her new ninja abilities had been pretty awesome. Two skeletons were no big deal. She could easily stop them from making trouble and let the others continue training Lloyd.
I’ll be there and back before they even notice I’m gone, Nya said to herself with a smile.
But when Nya reached Ninjago Film Industries, she couldn’t believe her eyes. The set was in chaos!
Extras in skeleton costumes were running back and forth wildly, while a group of actors in stone warrior outfits were having a food fight at one of the lunch buffet tables. Props were knocked over. Film reels were scattered everywhere. And all the while, the director was frantically calling, “Cut! Cut!”
“What happened?” Nya asked Dareth as she hopped out of the DBX flyer.
“It was awful,” Dareth wailed. “Nuckal and Kruncha … They started a riot! The cast all demanded higher pay. Better food. And then, they did the unthinkable.”
“What?” Nya asked, worried. Maybe she should have asked the other ninja to come along after all. “What did they do? Was anyone hurt?”
“Worse,” moaned Dareth dramatically. “They … they …”
“What?!” Nya demanded.
“They took the film reel! All that work … gone!”
Nya rolled her eyes. “Ugh. Okay, I’ll handle them. Where are they now?”
Dareth sobbed. “Who can say? The costume department? The parking lot? They could be right behind us for all we know!”
“Right behind us …” Nya repeated slowly.
From behind her, the DBX flyer’s engine revved loudly.
“Heh, heh, heh.”
“Oh, no.” Nya groaned.
Kruncha and Nuckal were behind the wheel, dressed up in ninja costumes from the movie set.
“We’ll show them who the real stars of this film are!” Kruncha exclaimed. “It’s joyride time!”
This was an epic disaster. Nuckal and Kruncha were disguised as ninja, and they were stealing the DBX flyer!
“Stop!” Nya cried.
“Oh, look.” Nuckal snickered. “It’s the girl ninja.”
“What’s the matter?” Kruncha asked. “Are two skeletons too much for the girl ninja to handle?”
Now Nya was really steamed. “I’ll show you who’s too much to handle!” she shouted.
That only made the skeletons laugh harder. With another rev of the engine, they sped away.
“Quick, Dareth, I need a vehicle,” Nya exclaimed.
Dareth shook his head. “All we have are movie props! The film version of the DBX flyer doesn’t even have a real engine.”
He pointed to a clunky replica of the DBX flyer across the set. It was built out of cheap metal and had a bad paint job. But it did have wheels and an exhaust pipe.
Nya grinned. “That’ll work!”
In a flash, she hopped in. Using her elemental power, she shot a stream of water out through the fake DBX flyer’s tail pipe, propelling it forward.
“Hold on to your costumes, skeletons!” Nya said. “You’re about to face a real ninja with water power.”
Nya shot after Nuckal and Kruncha, chasing them through downtown. The skeletons zipped around corners and through crowded intersections. But that wasn’t going to stop Nya! She matched them turn for turn, careening over bumps and weaving in and out of traffic.
“Give it up, you two!” she shouted.
The skeletons laughed. “Ninja skeletons never quit!”
Stepping on the gas, they zoomed down the street. They were heading straight for New Ninjago Bay.
Perfect! thought Nya. That gave her an idea …
Nya veered to the left and over a small bridge across an inlet of water. In a moment, she was out of sight.
The two skeletons looked behind them.
“Ha.” Kruncha laughed. “Looks like the girl ninja isn’t as tough as she thought. She couldn’t even catch her own vehicle.”
“Yeah.” Nuckal laughed. “Not so tough!”
“Time to see what this bad boy can really do!” Kruncha put his bony foot on the gas. Pedestrians scurried left and right out of the vehicle’s path. The DBX flyer zipped forward. Trees and buildings whizzed by. They were going at top speed, sailing past New Ninjago Bay, when suddenly …
WHOOSH!
A giant wave of water rose up from the bay and scooped up the renegade DBX flyer! With an enormous splash, the vehicle toppled upside down, screeching to a halt at the center of the plaza next to the bay. Nuckal and Kruncha spilled out, somersaulting to a stop at Nya’s feet.
Nya smiled victoriously. “Didn’t anyone ever warn you not to mess with me in my element?”
The two waterlogged skeletons groaned.
“We just wanted to be in the movie,” Nuckal whined.
Suddenly, the sound of a helicopter thundered overhead. It was Dareth!
“Cut!” he called through a megaphone. He dropped a ladder down from the helicopter and climbed to the ground. “That. Was. Incredible! We caught it all on film! It’s going to be perfect in the unauthorized documentary!”
The skeletons gasped. “You mean … we’re stars?!”
Dareth adjusted his sunglasses. “That was great, Nya baby. So much chaos. So much destruction. The fans will eat it up!”
“Chaos? Destruction?” Nya asked.
She looked back over the path she’d taken in pursuit of Nuckal and Kruncha. The streets downtown were a mess. Food carts were toppled over. Fire hydrants were knocked askew. Some citizens stared with mouths gaping, while others looked … well … pretty annoyed.
A little girl came up to Nya and tugged on her gi.
“That was crazy!” She gave Nya a gap-toothed grin. “Where are the other ninja?”
“Yeah,” a small boy chimed in. “You stopped the skeletons with water! Do you think Zane could have frozen the DBX flyer’s wheels?”
“Uh …” said Nya.
“Or that Lloyd could have used his Green Ninja power to keep the truck from hitting all those carts?” the little girl asked.
“Well …” Nya said.
“Or that Jay could have used his lightning to overload the engine’s circuits?”
Nya sighed. The kids were right. The other ninja could have done all those things. And probably could have made a lot less mess while they were doing them, too.
But hey, she had stopped the skeletons, right? After all, she was the Ninja of Water. It was her job to solve problems her way, using her element.
Wasn’t it?
Exhausted, Nya made her way back to the Destiny’s Bounty. When she arrived, she found a note from the ninja.
Nya — we’re heading downtown for noodles. Team dinner! Come join when you get back.
Nya smiled. The guys had always treated her like one of the gang. And now that she was the Master of Water, being on the team felt even more special.
And different. If she was being completely honest, Nya sometimes missed the solo excitement of being Samurai X. Doing things her own way, saving the day in secret — that was familiar. As cool as it was to be the Master of Water, it was a big change.
Nya sighed as she reached the bridge. Misako was there, working on a computer.
“Hi, Misako,” Nya said. “Did the guys leave a long time ago?”
Misako shook her hea
d. “Just twenty minutes ago.”
“Thanks.” Nya plopped into a chair. “Whew, I guess all that excitement downtown tired me out.”
“Excitement downtown?” Misako asked. “The boys didn’t mention anything.”
Nya waved her hand. “Oh, it was just Nuckal and Kruncha. Those two boneheads were causing trouble at Ninjago Film Industries. I went to stop them, and then they stole the DBX flyer and … well, it caused a bit of a mess. But I took care of them.” Nya smiled proudly. “Next time they’ll think twice before messing with water.”
To Nya’s surprise, Misako seemed worried. “Was anyone hurt?”
Nya shook her head. “Oh, no, no. Well, a few market carts got knocked over. It was nothing like the mess at Jay’s parents’ junkyard yesterday.”
“Something happened at the junkyard?” asked Misako, raising an eyebrow.
Oops. Nya hadn’t been planning to tell anyone about that.
“Oh … uh, nothing bad. Ed and Edna are fine,” Nya assured her. “It was just a couple of Nindroids that Jay’s dad had rewired. I thought they were attacking, so I used my water power to stop them. But it turns out they were just helping Ed and Edna. I made a bit of a mess at the junkyard. And I broke Ed’s conveyor belt. But hey, Ed said my ninja skills were pretty impressive.”
“I don’t understand. Where were the other ninja?” Misako asked, confused. “Why didn’t they help you?”
“Well … I didn’t exactly tell them,” Nya admitted. “They were busy setting up at the hospital and then training Lloyd — I didn’t want to bother them. Besides, the problems weren’t anything I couldn’t handle. At least, they seemed like they weren’t at the time …”
A knowing look crossed Misako’s face. “I’m sure you handled them just fine. But, Nya, sometimes our greatest strength comes when we accept the strength of others. You and the ninja are a team now, even more so than before. You are at your best when you work together.”
Nya looked down. “I know. I wasn’t trying to show off or anything. I just thought that was what I was supposed to do. I mean, that’s my job now, right? This being a ninja thing doesn’t come with a job description! But I’m the Master of Water. I’m a ninja.”
“And you are also a member of the team,” said Misako. “That may be your greatest power of all.”
A few minutes later, Nya headed downtown to meet the guys. She was thinking about what Misako had said. Nya felt a little bad for not telling the rest of the team about the two calls for help when they came in. She would tell them about her misadventures when she saw them. She didn’t want to keep secrets from them. From now on, she would try harder to work together with the others.
Suddenly, something caught her eye. An oversized television screen displayed the news on the side of a building. Helicopter crews were filming in real time, hovering over the village of Stiix (or what was left of it, after all the destruction the Preeminent had caused).
“This is Fred Finely, coming to you live from Stiix,” the news reporter announced. “It seems trouble has returned to Ninjago! As you’re seeing here first, on Ninjago Channel 8 — the Nocho — ghosts once again walk among us! Two sightings have been reported in Stiix over the past few hours. What does this mean for Ninjago? Is the Preeminent truly gone? And most important, where are the ninja?”
The screen changed to footage of two ghosts making mischief on the streets of Stiix. Residents who had just started to rebuild their city ran terrified from the creatures.
Nya gasped. “I can’t believe it. Ghosts? But how?” She thought fast. “If I go right now, I can stop them. I have water power — that’s the only thing that ghosts are powerless against!” Nya paused. “But I should get the others. Like Misako said, we’re strongest together.”
Quickly, Nya pressed the communicator button on the DBX flyer. “Guys, come in. There’s trouble!”
Bzzzzzzt! Nothing but static.
Nya looked in dismay at the hanging wires from the communicator panel. “What did Nuckal and Kruncha do to this thing?”
She reached into her pocket for her cell phone.
But it was empty.
“And I left my cell phone back at the Destiny’s Bounty? Perfect.”
Nya watched in alarm as the ghosts on the television screen chased the people of Stiix.
“Those people need help now,” she said. “If I go get the guys, it could be too late. Or …”
Suddenly, she had an idea.
Nya lowered the driver’s side window and called out to an elderly couple on the street.
“Quick, I need your help!” she said. “Please, go to the noodle shop downtown. The ninja are there. Tell them to hurry to Stiix. Ghosts are on the loose! Tell them Nya will already be there.”
The old couple nodded. “Of course, dear!”
“Thank you. Thank you so much!” In a cloud of dust, Nya made a giant U-turn and headed toward Stiix.
The old man turned to his wife. “Where are we supposed to go now, Mildred?”
“Didn’t you hear, Ernest? To the poodle shop downtown. The ninja are there!”
“Oooh, the ninja.” Ernest pulled a Kai action figure out from his pocket. “I’ve always wanted to meet them. Maybe they’ll autograph my action figure!”
Nya screeched across the bridge to Stiix. Terrified citizens scurried past her on their way out of town.
“Where are the ghosts?” she asked a fleeing woman.
“At the Food Market,” the woman shouted. “They’re eating everything in sight!”
Nya remembered how the ghosts had been super-hungry when they’d first attacked Stiix. “Don’t worry. I’ll give them something to chew on!”
Nya sped down the block. When she reached the Food Market, she could hear the sounds of shattering glass and breaking wood. Ghostly green light shone through the store’s windows.
Stealthily, Nya made her way inside. She crept up behind a large pile of crates. Two ghosts were floating just a few feet away, chowing down.
“Om nom nom,” one ghost said.
“They just don’t make burgers like this in the Cursed Realm,” the other replied.
Nya smiled. “How about a little something to wash those burgers down?” In a flash, she shot a blast of water out at one of the ghosts. Direct hit! The ghost vanished in a puff of green vapor.
Its partner looked up and hissed. “It’s the Ninja of Water!”
Suddenly, something smacked Nya from behind — hard. “Ow!”
She fell to the floor, dazed. As she rolled away, she spotted a third ghost hovering overhead. It was coming down to attack!
“Oh, no, you don’t!” Nya said. She sent an entire stack of water jugs flying at the ghost. It dodged, and the jugs splattered across the wall behind it.
“We must go!” the ghost shouted to its friend. Together, they zoomed out of the store.
“You can’t get away that easily,” Nya exclaimed. She sprinted after them through the deserted streets of Stiix. Helicopter lights shone down from the news reporters above, creating eerie shadows all around her.
Nya whipped around a corner — now there were three ghosts! She shot another blast of water.
FWOOSH!
One ghost vanished. But there were still two left.
“This way!” the ghost hissed to its partner.
Nya chased after them, weaving in and out of rubble-filled city blocks. She panted as she ran. The other ninja would be there soon. Like Misako said, she would have her team to back her up.
Unless I’m able to take these ghouls down all on my own, Nya thought.
At the city center, the ghosts suddenly flew straight up, heading to the top of the tallest tower in Stiix.
Nya caught her breath and frowned. She didn’t know Airjitzu yet. “Looks like I’m climbing,” she huffed.
With a fresh burst of speed, Nya took the stairs two at a time. She climbed up, up, up. At the top of the tower, she found herself atop a large roof surrounded by an ornate railing. From he
re, she could see the entire village.
The two ghosts hovered directly overhead.
“Ready to surrender?” Nya said, powering up a spinning ball of water. “Your time is up.”
To her surprise, the ghosts just laughed. “It is you whose time is up,” the first ghost said, leering at her.
Suddenly, an eerie green glow appeared from behind the tower. Nya gasped as an entire army of ghosts rose up into the sky. There had to be thirty of them — maybe more. And they were all ready to attack.
Nya slowly backed away, water ball still spinning.
“I don’t understand,” she said. “How did you escape from the Cursed Realm? There isn’t even a Cursed Realm anymore — I destroyed it!”
“Escape — no escape,” the lead ghost hissed. “We did not get trapped when the Cursed Realm fell.”
“We hid, waiting for our time,” another ghost cackled. “Now there is no Cursed Realm for us. Only this realm.”
“And this village,” the first ghost rasped. “It is under our control now.”
Nya narrowed her eyes. “Not if I have anything to say about it.”
The ghosts howled. “Yes — only one stands in our way. The Ninja of Water. The one who defeated the Preeminent. If we defeat her, then we are invincible!”
Nya made her ball of water even larger. “Too bad, because you’re about to go down.”
An evil smile crossed the lead ghost’s face. “Down,” it jeered. “Not for us, but for the Ninja of Water. She is strong, but can she fly?”
The ghost shrieked as it swooped toward her. Nya dodged to the left, shooting her water ball full blast at the ghosts. She vaporized one ghost, but three more were right behind it.
With a sinking feeling, Nya realized there were too many of them. The ghosts had led her to the tower on purpose! She could hold them off for a while, but without Airjitzu, she was trapped. And in big trouble.
She needed help to win this battle. She needed the other ninja!
Where were they? Why hadn’t they come yet?