Ever since Nya, Lloyd, Jay and Katarina have entered the tunnel with the Munce tribe, Katarina had been working on keeping her distance from Lloyd and was keen with staying beside the Munce, who were carrying crystal torches to light the way. 

She wished Keres was with her right now to keep her occupied and her mind off things. But Keres wasn't with her right now, instead probably in the hands of the Skull Sorcerer. She should've gone back for Keres when she had the chance. 

"I wonder what happened to the others." Lloyd says worriedly. 

"Yeah, I hope they're safe." Nya says. 

"Or they've probably already been captured by the Skull Sorcerer and his men, and are being tortured unless they tell the Skull Sorcerer our whereabouts," Katarina says coldly and in a despondent voice. "We'll be lucky if they come out of that alive."

"Why do you have to be so pessimistic? Who knows, are friends are probably safe by now, away from the Skull Sorcerer." Lloyd says. Katarina just shrugs. 

"Just not feeling any optimistic today, because of, I don't know, what you said to me earlier today," She says with a tinge of anger in her voice. "Just a thought."

"Sis-" He starts, but she cuts him off. 

"Don't sis me, okay?" She clenches her fists in anger. "I was never your sister to begin with. So save me your lies, and let's just get this over with."

He sighs, deciding to take her words and save it. "I guess, for now, we'll have to follow these guys wherever they're going." He says to Nya and Jay. 

"The others will be okay. Don't worry." Jay assures them.

"I hope so." Lloyd says worriedly.  Suddenly, the Munce stop in their tracks. They were all at a fork in the road. There were two tunnels, and they didn't know which one to take. 

"Everything okay? Why'd we stop?" Lloyd asks Murt. 

"Murt not remember the way." Murt says nervously. 

"What? I thought you knew these tunnels like the back of your hand!" Jay yells at Murt, who looks at the back of his hand, which causes Jay to groan. 

"Easy, Sparky, it's not his fault. He and the others, along with the Geckle, have been trapped in those mines for who knows how long. Have patience. We'll help Murt and his friends find the way back." Katarina says to Jay, and puts a hand on Murt's shoulder. Murt smiles kindly at her. 

"Is one of these. Either this way, or this way, or this way." Murt explains to the others. Nya nods, and kneels down to look at the dirt. 

Lloyd sighs. "Yeah, um, we figured it was one of them, Murt, but we kinda need to know which one." Katarina rolls her eyes at Lloyd. 

"Lloyd, can you not?"

"How about this way?" Lloyd groans when Murt points to the tunnel behind them. 

"That's the way we just came."

"Oh, great! Now we're gonna get lost down here, we're never gonna see the sun again, we're all gonna -" Nya cuts Jay's rambling and runting off, and points to the tunnel on the left. 

"It's this way, guys!" Everyone else begins to crowd around her. 

"How do you know?" Jay asks her. She lights the dirt with a crystal torch, and showed the footprints in the dirt. 

"I can see footprints in the dirt." 

"Great work, Nya!" Katarina pats Nya's back lightly. She looks towards the Munce. "See, I told you we'll help you find the way back."

Jay nods in agreement. "Oh. Nice work, Nya. See, I told you it would be fine!" Katarina, Lloyd and Nya shake their heads fondly at Jay, and chuckle lightly. They behind walking down the tunnel towards the rest of the Munce tribe and their home. 

And once they got there, they couldn't believe their eyes. The spacious cave was full of large green glowing crystals with branches interwined with the rock walls and the crystals. There was even the biggest crystal they've ever seen in the center of the Munce tribe's home. 

After they venture throughout the cave, they were stopped by two guard sentries from going to the queen's throne. "Halt! Who goes there?"

"Where?" Murt asks confused. 

"There!"

"He means you, Murt." Katarina whispers to Murt gently. Murt's mouth forms an O shape and he nods, getting what the sentry meant now. 

"Oh. Murt goes there."

"Murt? Son of Murt?" The sentry says in disbelief. 

"You escape from the Skull Sorcerer? How?" Murt gestures to the Ninja. Jay waves nervously at the guard sentries. The guard sentries open the door to the throne room, and once they got to the queen's throne, they bow before her. 

"My Queen! We have visitors." Sitting on a throne amde of branches and interwined with crystals was a queen wearing a tall ponytail and a light brown dress made of slightly torn fabric and with dark brown armor protecting the top half of her chest and covering the left side of her dress. 

She looked pretty happy to see Murt, alright. She quickly stands up from her throne and rushes down towards Murt and the other Munce who were previously enslaved by the Skull Sorcerer. 

"Murt!" Murt kneels before her, but she picks him back up and examines his skinny physique, his newly-formed wounds and recent scars and his face. 

"My Queen. Murt escape. With help of these moutsiders."

"How? No one has ever returned from the caverns held by the Skull Sorcerer." She asks with disbelief. Her royal advisors who were standing around in the throne room nod in agreement. 

"If you wish to hear story, Murt will tell."

Jay chuckles. "This should be good." While Murt tells the queen Murtessa his tale, Katarina crosses her arms, takes a deep breath, and closes her eyes. There was a new method that Keres told her about while they were walking to the mines to rescue Cole. It was a new form of communication that will help them communicate with each other if they ever got separated. 

Keres did mention it would take some time for her to master, but Katarina was a quick learner. This shouldn't be hard. She just needed to focus and picture Keres. 'C'mon Keres. Where are you and the others?'

FInally, she felt something. But it didn't feel like Keres. The person she was attempting communication with was a guy who was wearing a tall white pointy hat, white robes and a belt full of herbs and potions. He had a short mustache, and hair that reached up to his chin. He seemed to have sensed her, because when he made contact with her astral projection form, he gasps. 

"You're not Keres." She says to the guy in the pointy hat. "Who are you-?" She cuts herself when she felt his magic within him. She widens her eyes in disbelief. "No way...you're a magic user."

"And so are you." The guy in the pointy hat says in the same tone of disbelief. "By the hand of the First Spinjitzu Master, I thought I was the only one."

"I'll ask again. Who are you?" She asks him in a slightly firm tone. 

"I am Fungus the Sorcerer, a Lowly." He says with a bow. He removes his hat politely as he bows, and while his hair falls close to his face, he brushes it away and tucks it behind his pointy ears. "What's your name, ma'am?"

"Oh, I'm K-" Suddenly, she was pulled back to reality thanks to Lloyd, causing Fungus to lift his head up and notice her astral projection form was gone. He hums thoughtfully, and mumbles to himself. He puts his hat back on, turns back around and continues walking when his friends call out to him. 

"Don't fall asleep." Lloyd scolds her. She growls viciously. 

"I was not sleeping, you fool," Her eyes glow immensely out of her anger towards him. Her hair ignites in flames. "I was trying to connect to Keres, but I ended up communicating with someone else."

"Oh really? What were they like?"

"Oh, you know. They had blonde hair, green clothes, brown armour, and a really shitty attitude towards emotional freaks like me. And they said they didn't want me on their team, since all the spots were taken and whatever. You know, the usual people, if you catch my drift." She says coldy. Her hair calms down and her eyes stop glowing. 

"Okay, I get it, geez."

She sighs and stuffs her hands in her pockets. "Do you really get it? Or are you just saying that so I can get off your back?"

"This is true? You are ninja from the surface? And you freed my subjects?" The queen turns towards the Ninja, who nod in reply. Katarina walks up next to Murt and puts a hand on his shoulder. 

"Yes, it is, your Majesty." Jay says to the queen in a modest tone. The queen smiles a kind smile towards the Ninja, and Jay. 

"I am most grateful. How can I repay this?" Jay waves a hand dismissively. 

"Oh, no, it was nothing. Forget it." 

"You are also modest, I see." Murtessa says, batting her eyes at Jay. Katarina could see Nya was getting jealous, and that jealously was going to rear its ugly head at Murtessa at any given moment. She takes a few steps away from Nya. 

"Well, heh, modesty prevents me from agreeing, but... yes." He nods. 

"And who is this? Your servant?" Murtessa says, looking at Nya up and down with disinterest. 

"Servant?!" Nya says in disbelief. 

"Oh, oh, no no no. This is Nya, my yang." Jay says, taking Nya's hand lovingly and giving her a loving kiss on the cheek. Nya smiles proudly from her ying's kiss. 

"Yang?"

"It means we belong together!" He explains to Murtessa, who nods in understanding. 

"Hmm. Make our guests comfortable. Give them whatever they wish. Our best quarters, food, drink. Even for the Yang-Servant." The servants nod in reply and get quickly to work. 

"Maybe she doesn't understand the concept." Katarina says to Jay and Nya. "Or she's got a thing for Jay." Nya snaps her head towards Katarina, who shrinks under her stare. She laughs nervously. "You know what, I'm just gonna stop talking now."

Once they walked out of the throne room, that anger and jealously reared its head. "Yang-Servant? Can you believe that?!"

"Actually, I think it went pretty well." Lloyd says nervously, standing away from Nya as far as possible. 

"And you didn't say anything!" She growls at Jay through gritted teeth. 

"What? No, I totally did!" Jay argues. 

"Will you guys relax? This is good. They might be willing to help us. And we can use all the help we can get right now. Finding the others, dealing with that Skull Sorcerer guy, and-"

"Hey guys! Look over here!" Katarina says, pointing to a carving on the wall. The others walk up to her, and they gasp. On display for everyone to see was a carving of a female warrior and a dragon. The warrior seemed to be fighting the dragon with the blades, ready to finish the dragon off once and for all. 

"Huh."

"That must be the Milly guy." Lloyd says. Before they could examine the carving any further, a guard walks up to the Ninja and clears his throat. 

"Ahem. Queen Murtessa asks if you would dine with her." The Ninja politely nod at the request. 

"Of course. We would be honored." Lloyd says politely. The guard shakes his head. 

"No. Not you. Just him." The guard points to Jay, who was taken aback by this. Nya was now overflowing with anger, and she grabs Jay by the arm tightly. 

"That's it! You tell the Queen we're a team! Where he goes, we all go. Right, Jay? Right?!"

He nods quickly, not wanting to anger his yang any further. He winces from how tightly she was holding onto him. "Ow! Yes! Haha, right!"

When the Ninja got to the throne room, Murtessa brightens up at the sight of Jay, but sours when Nya, Lloyd and Katarina follow. She whispers to her royal advisor, "Bring another three bowls." The royal advisor nods at the request and fetches more bowls of food. 

When the bowls were placed in front of them, all of them except Katarina grimaced at the food. She was the only one unbothered by the smell and taste, which caused Jay, Nya and Lloyd to look at her weird. "What? It tastes good. You should try it!"

Jay shakes his head, and whimpers when the food moved and chomped its teeth at him. " What is this?"

Nya grimaces at the smell. "Ugh. I have no idea." Jay yelps when the food tried to take a bite out of him. 

"Oh! Think it's trying to eat me!"

"Is it true you know Spinjitzu?" Murtessa asks Jay excitedly. 

"Uh, yes." He replies. 

"And you have Elemental Powers?"

"I-I do."

"We all do, actually-" Nya butts in, but Murtessa cuts her off. 

"I hope you will show me, Ninja-Jay. I would love to see a demonstration." He was taken aback by the sudden request, but he nods nonetheless. 

"Oh, uh, okay. Um, how about this?" Summoning his lightning, he uses one hand to hit the crystals above them, showing off a magnificent display of color and light. Murtessa and his friends marvel at the light show. Jay laughs nervously. He did not mean to do that. He just wanted to play with the lightning in his hands. "Oh, gee, um. Hehe, that doesn't usually happen, heh."

"It is beautiful! I have never seen such beauty. Truly, you are gifted. Brave, modest, and powerful! Tell me. Are you ... betrothed?" She says, batting her eyes at Jay. Nya growls. 

"Yes, he is! To me!" Murtessa and Nya make eye contact and they growl at each other. Lloyd laughs nervously. 

"So...erm...what is this wonderful food?" Murtessa jumps onto the table and kicks his food off the table. Lloyd breathes a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness."

"I demand the Munce rite of ritual combat to fight for the honor of Ninja-Jay, for you are unworthy!" Murtessa demands. 

" Are you nuts? I'm not gonna fight for Jay!" Nya argues. 

"Why not? You're afraid? You hide behind others, like a child?" Murtessa taunts her. Nya growls. 

"Nya, come on, don't. It's - it's not worth it." Lloyd says, trying to reason with her. 

"Like frightened child? Child!" 

"THAT'S IT! BRING IT!" Nya screams with determination. With that, the dinner was concluded and the Ninja went to the amoury. Nya put on her armour and picked out her weapons. 

"Nya, you can't do this." Lloyd says. 

"Yeah, Nya, there's gotta be a better way." Katarina tries. 

She sighs. "Well if you figure it out, let me know. Jay, has it occurred to you what would happen if I didn't fight? You'd have to stay here, forever! She wants you to be her king, or whatever the Munce call it." 

He gasps. "King? M-me? I would have to stay down here? Forever? Eating that disgusting Munce food?" She nods. 

"Yes, Jay." He clings to her arm desperately. 

"You have to win this, Nya! This is serious!"

She smirks. "Oh, I intend to."

The Ninja made their way to their front row seats at the arena, and they peer down nervously. Surrounding them were all the Munce subjects, and they stare down at Nya nervously, who was holding her spear and a shield in both hands. 

On the other side of the arena in a puff of smoke was Murtessa in her own armour, with was revealing half her body. She had two bats with spikes in both hands. She looks at Jay with determination. 

"Ninja-Jay! I challenge this moutsider creature to combat, for you! I wish you to be my king, for even though you have tiny arms and ugly human face, you have a stout heart and are a mighty warrior! We should be together."

Jay shudders at the proposal. "No thank you."

"Not if I can help it!" Nya says firmly. Murtessa laughs. 

"LET THE COMBAT BEGIN!" The Munce tribe cheered widely for their queen. That only fueled Nya's determination. She bangs her weapons hard on the ground, making the ground tremble. They both began to circle each other. 

"You asked for it, lady!" 

"For what?"

"FOR THIS!" Nya plants the tip of her spear on the ground and spins towards Murtessa, but the queen moves out of the way and whacks her bat on Nya's backside. Nya winces and lands on the ground with a thud. 

Before Nya could even get up, Murtessa launches herself in the air with a battle cry. Nya grabs her spear and moves out of the way just as the bats make contact with the ground. Nya and Murtessa exchange blows, until the queen drops her weapons on the ground and does a little dance, confusing Nya, Jay, Lloyd and Katarina. 

That was when Murtessa rolls towards Nya, literally, knocking Nya off balance. "HEY!" Her eyes widen when Murtessa was coming back around, and successfully knocks Nya down. 

"Nya!"

Nya growls. "Quit that! That's not how you -" Murtessa wouldn't quit it, and repeatedly hit Nya with her rolling over and over. 

Jay winces. "Lloyd, Katarina, I'm scared. Nya's getting really her butt handed to her. 

"Relax. Nya's got this." They collectively wince when Nya hits the wall. "I hope."

"Come on, Nya! Show Murtessa what a girl Ninja can really do!" Katarina encourages Nya on. "You've beaten Serpentine and defeated the Cursed Realm single-handedly by yourself! If you can beat them, then you can hand Murtessa's ass to her! You got this!"

Nya gets up and breathes heavily just when Katarina was whooping and cheering her on. She wipes the blood off the corner of her mouth with a thumb. "Okay, lady. Let's see how you like it when I spin! Ninja...GO!"

Nya summons her Spinjitzu and directs it towards Murtessa, who rolls towards her. The moment they make contact with each other, a wave of Nya's power goes throughout the entire arena. In one swift motion, Nya plants her foot directly in Murtessa's midsection. The queen makes contact with the wall, and falls down. 

Everyone looks towards her to see if she will get up, but after a few moments she doesn't. The whole room was stunned. Katarina cheers loudly. "WOO-HOO! THAT'S MY GIRL!"

"See?" Lloyd says to Jay, who was stunned was well. 

"The Queen. She-she-" One Munce says. 

"She has lost." Another Munce says. The Munce were talking amongst themselves, until they have reached a descision. 

"The Queen has lost! Long live the Queen!" One Munce declares. 

"Queen Mya! Queen Mya! Queen Mya! Queen Mya! Queen Mya!" Katarina, Lloyd, Jay and Nya's mouths drop open. 

"Oh my..." Katarina mutters. 

"Oh, boy." Lloyd whispers. 

"I did not see that coming." Jay says.