"It's getting late, El," Tobi says. "We should head home soon."

"But the sun is about to set!" I wanted more than ever to watch the sun dip into the ocean.

"We shouldn't be here when the sun is gone."

I groan, but I know he is right. Tobi and I remove our feet from the water, the fishy smell disappearing as we stray further away from the pier.

"El, do you think Dad is more stressed than usual?"

I nod. "Yeah. I think something is up."

Tobi frowns, then mutters, "I hope everything is okay."

I give him an encouraging smile. "I'm sure it will be."

Ten minutes later, the sun was almost gone. The bright reds and oranges from before had turned darker to blend in with the night sky. My father was sitting outside on the porch, something unusual for him.

My heart drops to my stomach when my father doesn't meet my gaze. I could see that his eyes were red—red from crying.

"She's gone," he says, enveloping me in a hug.

-

I jump awake, gasping as tears still lay on the rims of my eyes. I wipe them away and trudge to the shower, staying in there for a very long time. The image of my mother was still fresh in my mind, and as vivid as ever.

I look at myself in the mirror and take a deep breath, pulling my grey mask over my head. I take one last glimpse of myself in the mirror then turn away, jumping off my balcony and landing swiftly on the floor. From here, I sprint to the tea shop.

"You're late," Madam Mistaké says.

"Sorry," I mutter and place my things under the counter.

She looks at me and frowns, as if she can sense my disarray. "It's fine, dear," she says. "How about we start with some meditation exercises?"

After an hour of closing my eyes and pretending I knew what was going on, meditation was finally over. As dull as it sounded, I suppose it actually helped my mind be at ease; I felt ready to train.

Madam Mistaké is an amazing teacher, but I don't like training on my own. Sometimes I wish that the other ninja knew who I was.

In fact, I heard Cole talking about a grey ninja to Kai the other day. They know she exists, but they don't know that it's me. Not yet, at least.

I've done little things here and there. I saved people from a burning building the other day by taking out the oxygen so the fire could die. I remember leaving and seeing the ninja groan, they wanted to save people.

Now that I think about it, I do take their thunder quite a lot. I always arrive first to a small cry of help, and they always arrive after I've finished.

"Elaine!" Mistaké snaps. "Focus!"

"Sorry, Madam," I say, then repositioning the sword in my hand.

She charges at me and I duck under her blade then jump back up, swinging the sword from behind.

She blocks it and I push the wind towards her, making Mistaké stumble onto the ground. Just when I think I've won, she jumps back up and flips over me. She disarms me and points her blade in the small of my back.

"The runner doesn't win the race until she has crossed the finish line," she states, handing my sword back.

"That is it for today. I want you to take that sword and practice," she says.

"Where? I live in an apartment," I scoff.

"Find a place. I'm sure you have one in mind."

Mistaké was right, as usual; I do have a place in mind. But last time I was there I swore I was being watched.

Yet as night falls, I am back at the dock again, swinging my sword against nothing.

Jump, twist, swing, duck, repeat.

"You better change up your rhythm," someone says from above.

I look up at the voice that came from the roof of the small, wooden building.

The green ninja jumps down and walks towards me, his face still concealed through the mask. But I know it's Lloyd. Still, I keep my sword in front of my body protectively.

He unsheathes his own sword and bows, closing his eyes as he does so. I bow back and close mine as well.

I get a good feel of my surroundings. Trees to the left, the pier behind me, the wooden building behind him, an old boat to the right.

I jump to the left, dodging his blade. I reopen my eyes and fight back. We twist and turn around the dock, attacking and striking each other's blades.

He jumps onto the roof of the building, and I follow. I bend back as his blade glides across my chest. I jump over him and kick his back, but he jumps to the right, dodging it.

"You're pretty good at this, for a beginner," he says.

"Thanks. You're not too bad yourself," I say, my smile hidden beneath my grey mask.

"You're basic," Lloyd says.

"Excuse me?"

"Your attacks, they're basic," he grins, the corners of his eyes crinkling in the opening of his mask.

"I am a beginner," I respond. "What would you suggest, green ninja?"

He laughs. "How about performing more offensive moves? You're doing a lot of defense, then throwing in some kicks and swings here and there." He drops his sword to the ground and I follow his actions.

"Get in a defensive posture." Lloyd does what he says and I nod and follow along.

He yields an imaginary sword and does the move. I watch and try to do it on my own.

He walks over and carefully moves my arm to the correct spot.

"I'm sorry, but I have to ask. Who are you?" Lloyd asks.

I want to tell him. I want to tell somebody, it'll help dwindle out some of the stress. And he obviously knows what he's doing, plus he's already helping me. However, Mistakè would kill me if she were to find out I handed my identity over, just like that. Yet the other part of me is begging to take off my mask and come clean. I just won't tell the rest of them. Not yet, anyway.

"I'll take off my mask if you take off yours," I say.

He hesitates for a moment, pondering my offer, then nods. He pulls off his mask, revealing his messy blond hair and kind eyes.

"Your turn," he says, smiling awkwardly.

I take off my mask, revealing my true identity.

Lloyd gasps. "El?" I nod, smiling sheepishly.

"Wha-how? Did you know it was me the whole time?" He asks.

I blush. "Yeah."

"And you fought alongside us, against the snakes the other week."

"That was me."

"I- wow," he stutters. I laugh.

"It's new for me too. I didn't know about any of this when I first met you guys."

"That's a big change," he points out. I shrug.

"You can't tell them yet, okay?" I ask.

He frowns. "El, I can't not tell them. They're your friends too."

"I know. I'll tell them when the time is right."

He sighs. "Who's training you anyway? Where'd you get the suit and sword?"

"Madam Mistaké of the tea shop I work at. I train in the backyard and her closet," I say, rubbing my neck.

He chuckles and shakes his head. "You could train with us! Sensei Wu can teach you along with us in a proper place," he says.

I shake my head. "I don't know. I don't want to leave Mistaké."

"It would be so much fun! Besides, you can come with us to the action instead of stealing it from us." He says with a grin.

I laugh. "Who says I won't steal your thunder then?"

"We won't stop you. Jay might be mad though," he says, nudging me.

I roll my eyes. "That was a horrible pun."

He laughs. "How about I finish teaching you this move then we'll focus on what to do next?"

"Perfect."

-

For the next several nights, Lloyd and I would meet up at the docks and spar. He would teach me a new move, and then after we'd sit at the edge of the pier and talk and laugh.

I walk into Mistaké's tea shop, ready to begin as usual.

"Elaine," Madam Mistaké greets me.

I bow. "Madam."

She stands in front of me and crosses her arms.

"Who are you meeting with?" She asks sternly.

I blush. "No one, I've been training on my own

like you asked, remember?"

She rolls her eyes. "Elaine, you're very special. No one knows about you yet, not the rest of the ninja nor does Garmadon and the snakes."

"You knew?" I ask, but I already know the answer.

"Well, obviously! The green one, Lloyd, every night at the dock for almost two weeks now."

"Oh, you really did know," I mumble.

Mistakè sighs. "It's fine, dear. You've improved, and Wu thinks it'll be okay if you join them earlier. But not quite yet."

"You know Wu?"

She huffs. "I have a life outside of this shop, you know. Wu and I fought together when we were younger. I trained alongside many others, including Garmadon."

"I thought he was evil."

"Not always. He is Sensei Wu's older brother and the master of destruction."

But Lloyd said Wu was his uncle. So that means he is related to Garmadon...

I open my mouth to ask another question, but Mistaké quickly hushes me.

"We're getting off topic! If you want to train with your friends, you have to learn a few more things first."

"Like what?"

"For starters, Spinjitzu."

"What's that?" I ask.

"It's a fighting technique. The user must tap into their innate Elemental energies while spinning rapidly to perform the art." This must be what the ninja were doing the day of the snake attack.

"Follow me," she says, leading me outside.

And after several, several hours, I had finally learned it.

"This is so cool!" I say, spinning in Spinjitzu again.

Mistaké hums. "Come early tomorrow," she says and goes inside. I follow her, grab my things, and walk out the door.

I check the time on my phone. Ten-fifteen.

"Shit!"

I usually meet up with Lloyd around nine, I hope he hasn't been out there forever.

I arrive at the docks. I see Lloyd in the distance, sitting on the edge of the pier.

I run over to him and he looks behind him.

"El!" He says, getting up.

"Hey, Lloyd. I'm so sorry," I say.

"It's fine. What took you so long?"

I grin. "I learned Spinjitzu!" I exclaim.

He smiles. "That's great! Show me?" I nod and do as he asks, silver air surrounding me.

"Not bad," he says.

"That's it? Not bad?" He laughs.

"What do-"

"Shush," I say, pulling my hood over my face. He does the same, looking concerned.

"There's someone watching us," I whisper.

"Where?"

I close my eyes. "A group of people spread out towards the dock. Four of them, I think."

"Can we take them?" He whispers.

"Definitely. They seem to be our size. Wait, they're coming closer."

I open my eyes and look at Lloyd. He nods and we sprint up to the dock.

"Hah!" Someone says, jumping behind me.

"Kai?" Lloyd says.

The rest of the boys jump out, surrounding us.

"So this is why you've been sneaking off at night!" Jay says.

"For a girl!" Zane says.

"I'm proud," Kai says.

"It's not what it looks like," Lloyd says.

"Are you sure?" Cole says.

"Pretty sure," I murmur.

Cole wraps his arm around my neck and raises me a few inches off the ground. I grab his arm to prevent myself from choking.

"Stop it!" Lloyd says, jumping over to me. But Jay, Kai, and Zane grab a hold of him, holding me back.

"Who are you?" Cole asks. I wrap my hands around his wrist, trying to loosen his grip.

"Stop it, Cole!" I shout.

He lets go of me and I glare into his eyes. He takes off his mask.

"How do you know who I am?" He snarls.

I sigh. "It's me, El!" I say, taking off my mask.

They gasp and take off their masks as well.

"You've been sneaking off with El?!" Cole says, glaring at Lloyd.

"It's not like that at all!" Lloyd says, repeating himself.

"Again, Cole, chill," I say, grabbing his shoulder and turning him towards me. He looks at me and sighs.

"I'm sorry, El. And sorry, Lloyd," he says, turning back towards Lloyd.

"What are we going to tell Wu?" Zane asks.

"He already knows," I respond.

"What?" Lloyd says.

"I was going to tell you, but then this happened. But yeah, Mistaké told me today that I was going to train with you guys soon," I say, smiling.

"That's great!" Jay says.

"Nya will be super happy," Kai says.

Lloyd grins at me and I smile.

"Wait, so what were you guys doing?" Zane asks.

"Also, who's Mistaké?" Cole asks.

"Mistaké is my teacher, I guess," I respond. "And my boss," I add with a grin. "Lloyd taught me some fighting styles," I say.

"I didn't teach you anything. Just improved them," he says.

"You're too modest. He helped a lot," I say, smiling towards him.

He smiles back and looks at the ground, hiding his blush.

"Wait, what's your element?" Jay asks.

"Air," I respond, grinning.

"Can you fly?" Kai asks. I frown.

"I don't know. I hope so, that would be cool."

"Uh, yeah!" Cole agrees, a wide grin spread across his face.

I laugh. "I'm sorry guys, I gotta go. I'll see you guys later?" I ask, looking at the time on my phone.

"Yeah," Lloyd says. I wave and runoff.

I glance behind me and see the boys jumping around Lloyd, who shakes his head. I laugh.

I walk back to my hotel and fall into an actual peaceful sleep.

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