Song Of Hope: I just plowed through this chapter since I was excited to do the chapter after this one. R&R

Sensei Wu was, once again, meditating with the Spirit Smoke.

"My turn," cried out Kai.

"Uh, no, it's my turn," whined Jay.

"Oh you want a little more," said Cole, "take this!" Sensei Wu opened his eyes, quietly walking over to what looked like a strange looking flute, before putting it in a more secure cabinet with bars, locking it. He then headed towards the gaming room, but was surprised to not find the ninja there. He went to Rose's room as was surprised to find none of the kunoichi there either. Then, with pride in his eyes, he headed towards where he had first wanted to go, the training grounds. All of the ninja and kunoichi, short of Kim, were training. Kim was sitting nearby, with Lin next to her as they watched Princess Amedia Wars. Jay was swinging his Nunchaks to block incoming, deadly arrows. Rose was using a sparring bot that Jay and Nya had made to train with her Sais, repeatedly crossing them to block incoming swings. Cole was running around on one of the cylinders. Bree was aiming her fans downwards, using them to lift herself into the air. Kai was practicing with his Spinjitsu, shooting out fireballs upwards into the sky from his Sword. Sam stood nearby and smirked. She aimed her Tonfas at the fireballs, shooting controlled bursts of Sand up at the fireballs, turning them into perfect glass orbs that were red-hot.

Zane was meditating, but soon jumped in front of Jay, hitting the arrows away with one hand. He then jumped over to where Rose was and kicked the sparring bot over with great force, jarring something side to make it glitch and stop working. He then went over to Cole's training cylinder and stole the Scythe of Quakes from Cole, slashing one of the training dummies on the cylinder before throwing the Scythe away carelessly. Cole just barely managed to catch it before it would've caused a quake on the monastery.

"NINJA-GO!" He then started using Spinjitsu, going through the whole training course and freezing it over, making Sam's feet get stuck in ice and Kai to loose his footing with his Spinjitsu and fall on his butt. Kim and Lin looked up and Kim started laughing.

"Ha! This is what you get for sticking me with baby-sitting!" Lin glared.

"Hey! I'm a delight to be around! And you should be honored that your future dark empress is watching this with you!" Kim rolled her eyes and stood up, joining the others as they looked over at Zane.

"This roof isn't big enough for the eight of us," said Kai.

"Correction," said Cole, "this roof isn't big enough for him." Bree shrugged.

"I mean, he's trying at least." Kim rolled her eyes.

"This goes beyond trying, he's being a showoff." Kai glared.

"Do you not remember yourself when Lloyd showed up?" She glared right back.

"Hey, I wasn't this bad!" Sam shook her head.

"No, you were worse." Rose rolled her eyes.

"We're talking about Zane now, not Kim." Jay nodded.

"Yeah, at least Kim's not off in her own little world." He turned towards him a bit. "I bet he can't even hear us," he shouted out, which Zane did not hear at all. He just threw his Shuriken and then kicked it away when it returned. Sensei Wu walked over to then group.

"Sensei," said Kai, "Zane's… weird."

"What is weird," he questioned, "someone who is different, or someone who is different than you?" Lin giggled, still over at the laptop.

"Nope, he's a Weirdo McWeirdson!" Sam nodded.

"I'd have to agree. I've… never met someone so weird."


Sam was doing a jigsaw puzzle, when Zane came in, and in a blur, the whole puzzle was done.

"Wha- why? Why Zane? That was my puzzle!" He shrugged and walked away.


Cole was reading a newspaper as he did his business, when Zane came in and started combing his hair.

"Do you mind," asked Cole angrily.


Bree was outside on the roof at night, when Zane just came up and started staring at the moon. She looked over at him questioningly, but said nothing as he continued to just… stare.


"Goodbye my darling," said the TV as Nya and Jay watched a sad romantic film together. They were both in tears over what was happening, but Zane started laughing.


Kim had just gotten out of the shower and had a towel wrapped around her and her hair. She was about to take it off just she heard something outside. She looked out her window and saw Zane.

"ZANE?! What are you doing here?!" He smiled and held up an herb.

"Look Kim! Basil and rosemary! There is a lot of it outside your room! I decided to gather it for the next time it is my turn to cook!"

"GO AWAY!" She shut the blinds angrily, leaving Zane confused.


Kai was up late at night, getting a snack. He went to look in the fridge to see if there was anything he wanted to eat, only to scream at the sight of what was inside. Inside the fridge was Zane, eating a sandwich.

"I'm sorry, I consumed the last of the deli meat." He held out a wedge of something. "Cheese?"


Rose was reading a book in the monastery library when Zane came in. He started looking through the shelves and was throwing books off if they didn't match what he was looking for. Rose's eye started twitching.


"I had to explain to him how a library works! Apparently, he's never even heard of one in his entire life! Those books are ancient! He could've ruined some great history!"

"We like the guy," said Kai. "He's really smart and a great fighter. He's just… he's a little off sometimes." Zane bowed to a dummy, which then hit him in the back of the head.

"Zane is a brother," said Sensei Wu, "and brothers are often different. I should know."

Huffing and puffing was the Ninjago mailman, climbing up the steps of the monastery to deliver the mail in his large wooden backpack. Once he finally reached the top, he hit the gong, which let the people inside know that there was mail. They all ran to the door and opened it. The mailman took off the pack and dug into it, sighing.

"Let's see. A letter from Jay's parents," he started handing them to their respective owners, "two for Kim, one is a package from her brother, one from her parents and sister, a letter from Rose's brother, Kai has a fan letter, Bree, looks like your grandmother sent you another care package, oh, something from Cole's father, and Sam… you got another sand filled shell necklace from your father." Sam groaned as she grabbed the necklace.

"Another one?" Cole looked at the mailman.

"What, no package? I'm expecting something from Creatures, Beasts and Beyond!" The mailman shook his head, but looked again to satisfy Cole.

"No, nothing from uh, ah ha!" He smiled triumphantly as he pulled out the package. "Here it is!" Cole smiled brightly as he grabbed it.

"Rocky's gonna love this!" Bree looked at him.

"Hold on, I've got something you can send back to Belle and Nana!" She ran to her room and came back out with a letter and a package, along with a tip. "Thanks so much!" He smiled as the door was slammed in his face.

"It's nice to be appreciated." Those who had letters looked at them fondly. Lin sighed.

"I wish Dad would send me something every now and then." Sensei Wu pat the top of her head.

"Patience Lin. Your father loves you." Kai looked up and saw how sad Zane looked. Jay finished reading his letter and looked up at him.

"Hey Zane, how come you hear get anything from your parents?"

"I… don't remember my parents. I've been an orphan all of my life…" Bree looked over sadly.

"Not even a nana or a younger sibling to help you…?" He shook his head. Rose looked at him sadly.

"Not even a home?" He shook his head again.

"Never." Lin looked down, remembering how she never remembered her mother.

"I get that," she said with a sigh. "I never even met my mom, and I only know about my dad because he always had Kruncha and Nuckal send me things."

"The monastery is your home now," said Sensei Wu, putting a hand on Lin's shoulder. "It can be all of ours, even those of us who have homes to return to." Zane just walked away sadly, going to his room.

"That could explain some of his weird behavior," said Sam. "He never had anyone growing up to tell him not to do that stuff."


Cole was opening up the package in the dragon's keep, where the other dragon were trying to get out of their stalls at the smell.

"Liver and toads Rocky, your favorite!" Rocky was panting like a dog in excitement. Cole happily threw him the treat as he ate it. "Mmm mmm!" Unknown to Cole, Skales was looking on through his eyes, standing inside of a treehouse in the middle of the woods, next to another Serpentine.

"I can't believe you hypnotized one of the ninja," said a Serpentine warrior with a much more humanlike appearance. "Does General Ssslithraa know?"

"Of courssse not Rattla!" he said, slightly angry. "He'sss been put under the control of Lloyd, and I plan to ussse it for my bessst interessst," Rattla saw Slithraa coming and walked away.

"Everyone worksss while you two ssslack," he said accusingly. "Asss my sssecond in command, I expect more from you Ssskalesss!" Skales nodded and bowed.

"Yesss general!" Slithraa started slithering off, but Skales walked after him a bit. "You know I am mossst loyal to you, but I mussst quessstion thisss childish agenda. The ninja have ssstolen our ssstaff, yet you inssstruct your army to make thisss playhoussse for Lloyd." The general was getting visibly angry, and Skales knew this, but he continued to press. "Sssnakesss don't belong treesss. There sin't a single breed of our lessser cousssinsss that doesss!"

"You know better than to quessstion my judgment Ssskalesss," he said, moving forward so he could back Skales backup. "I'll pretend you didn't asssk!"

"Hey," called out Lloyd, "if we plan to rule Ninjago from here, this elevator needs to have a trap door! I want more booby traps," he said in a whiny and demanding tone.

"Asss you wish, young Garmadon." He waved away Skales, who glared.

"Asss you wish, general." He bowed to the general slightly as he walked away from him.


Everyone short of Zane sat around the table, chattering excitedly.

"Mm, I love it when it's Zane's night to cook," said Jay, tasting some of the appetizer Zane had put out.

"Hey, I didn't hear any complaints about my duck chowder last night," said Cole.

"Yeah, that's because it glued our mouths shut," said Kai. "You really think that Jay was speechless all through out dinner? Or that Lin wasn't gonna complain about all the veggies in it?" Jay nodded.

"Yeah, please don't make that again." Sam nodded.

"I think we should just take Cole off the roster." Rose nodded.

"I second that."

"Hey!" Zane came out with a large, oven-roasted chicken.

"Dinner is served." When he put down the chicken, everyone could see his pink apron. Bree's eyes widened at the sight of him in her apron that her grandma had given her, but everyone started laughing. Zane looked at them in confusion. "What's so funny?"

"Zane, you're wearing a," started Nya, but she kept laughing, "Even I wouldn't wear that!" He walked over to the head of the table, confused.

"You laugh because I take steps to ensure I am clean after cooking," he asked.

"No," said Rose, "we laughed because you came out in that ridiculous outfit! I mean, come on! A boy in pink?"

"Uh, maybe we shouldn't tease him about his outfit," said Bree, putting an emphasis on the word indicating that it belonged to Zane. "Besides, aren't we stereotyping and enforcing gender roles by saying boys can't wear pink?"

"But Bree," started Zane, "this is-"

"Totally not the time to start up on gender issues, I get that, but, ha ha, come on, isn't it rude to enforce our ideas of masculinity on a guy who grew up without parents?" That made everyone feel bad and look down, and Bree instantly regretted it. "I mean, um… uh…"

"Is this a joke," asked Zane. "I suppose our senses of humor are not quite compatible." Cole looked around to find something to lighten the mood.

"Well, how 'bout this?" He threw a plate of shrimp in Kai's face. Everyone else short of Kai and Zane laughed, while Kai just glared, but soon even he laughed as Sensei Wu snuck off. "How could you not find that funny- WHA!" Suddenly, Sensei Wu dumped some of the leftover duck chowder on Cole's head. The stuff wasn't even white. Everyone who was laughing laughed even harder. Sensei Wu put his hands on Cole and Zane's shoulders.

"Now you are brothers." He went to go sit down in his spot, but then everyone started throwing food. Lin screeched and got under the table.

"VENGANCE UPON ALL OF YOU IF YOU RUIN MY DRESS!" Zane kept getting hit, but looked on sadly as his meal that he had worked so hard on was wasted on childish antics.


Zane was taking out the trash after dinner, soon taking off the soiled apron.

"I should wash this and return it to Bree. I wonder why she did not wish for anyone to know it was hers." He looked up at the moon, when suddenly he heard a bird's call. He turned and saw a falcon, perched on a nearby branch. He tilted his head in curiosity, and the falcon mimicked the movement. His eyes widened and he shook his head to make sure he was seeing correctly, and the bird also shook its head. His mouth opened with surprise, but he smiled and started dancing, and the bird matched his moves. The bird looked around, and then hopped towards the end of the branch before flying off. Zane looked back into the monastery, where he could hear the others talking joyfully. He turned back towards the bird and made his decision, following it down the mountain steps.

Soon, he was running through the forests with the bird, going wherever the bird lead him. He came over the crest of a hill in the woods to see a tree house being built, brightly lit up with red lights. He could see the Serpentine working inside of the building, constructing it. Several Serpentine warriors were toting Lloyd around on a wooden plank.

"If I see one girl in here that isn't Lin, I'm gonna go ballistic! She doesn't count cause she's my twin, but all other girls are banned, especially the girl ninjas! We still gotta go to Darkly's and pick Lin up though." Zane looked on with concern, but then heard the bird's call again.

"Thank you, my mysterious friend."


The next morning, as soon as he returned to the monastery and alerted them, the ninja and the kunoichi ran off, going through the forest, trying to get to Lloyd's hideout as they all followed Zane.

"Does Zane even know where he's going," asked Rose.

"I have no idea," answered Kai, "but I don't think so!" They finally came to a stop. "Tell us again how you stumbled upon Lloyd's secret headquarters."

"I followed a bird," he answered rather plainly.

"Okay," said Sam, "why did you think it was a good idea to follow a bird? One that could've possibly been going towards a cliff?"

"Because it danced."

"Oh, okay," said Jay, "was it a cuckoo bird?" They all laughed while Zane just looked confused.

"Of course not. Everyone knows that cuckoo birds are not indigenous to these forests." He started running again while everyone paused to shrug before starting up again.

Once they reached the crest of the hill, they could look on and see the tree house Lloyd was building.

"Watch it," cried out Lloyd. "No bigger! Come on, we don't have all day! It's not time for a lunch break!"

"Holy cannoli, Frosty was right," said Cole as he pointed gestured at the tree house with both hands.

"We can't let that brat and those snakes get a foothold in Ninjago," said Kai, looking at the tree house. "We gotta destroy that thing before it becomes operational." Kim smirked, holding out her Chigiriki.

"Demolition, my favorite past time!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," said Jay. "Are you sure? It looks like a pretty cool tree house! There's a ropes course, ooo, a tree swing-" Rose whacked him in the back of the head before he could continue. "Ow!"

"Yes we've gotta destroy it!" She looked up at it, "The question is how?" Sam observed it carefully.

"It's supported by three ropes, with a lower support of the actual tree. If we severe the ropes, it should fall like a house of cards."

"But why would one make a house out of cards," asked Zane. "Such construction would be careless." Kim face palmed.

"Oh brother. Zane, no one actually lives in them. It's just a-"

"Don't," said Kai, "don't bother trying to explain."

"Travel in shadows boys and girls," said Cole, trying to end the argument before it started. With that, they all started sneaking into the tree house, trying to get to the top. Jay almost lost his balance on the way up, but Zane caught him and brought him up. Soon, they were on the slanted part of the roof, looking inwards at Lloyd. He was laughing a bit to himself.

"It's almost finished! Soon, my fortress will be complete! You!" He pointed at Mezmo. "Hold up that sign for me!" He eagerly grabbed a sign that said "No Girls [Cept 4 Lin] or Ninja". Lloyd pulled a lever that made Mezmo plummet to the ground. He smirked and leaned over the hole, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Booby trap!" Mezmo hit several branches on the way down before finally hitting the ground. The ninja and kunoichi made their way up the roof to cut the ropes. Rose, Zane, and Cole went over to the rope, where Rose cut the first rope, then soon after Zane, making the whole tree house shake and slide, Serpentine falling out of it. Lloyd looked upwards and saw the ninja and kunoichi.

"I SAID NO NINJA!" The girls looked down at Lloyd and glared.

"WE'RE KUNOICHI!" Lloyd rolled his eyes.

"Whatever! Who cares?! ATTACK!"

"EVERYONE, RETREAT," called out Skales, making their safety a priority. The Serpentine all started leaving. Kai looked up towards where the third rope was tied, where Cole was standing by.

"Cole, wait til we're off the tree house! Then cut the line!" Cole nodded in understanding before Skales looked up at him.

"You will obey my every command." Cole's eyes became red and swirled. He put his hands together and bowed.

"I will obey your every command," he said in a monotone voice. Zane and Rose jumped down to meet the others.

"Where's Cole," asked Rose in a worried voice. Kim looked like she was about to fall off.

"This whole place is coming down!" She tried to walk closer in, so that she wasn't on the edge, but then Cole jumped onto the roof, shaking it enough that she fell off with a scream. Kai turned towards her, running to try and catch her.

"KIM!" She plummeted, but caught a loose board.

"I'm okay!" Kai sighed and went back to Cole, who was glaring at them all.

"No one goes anywhere until you deal with me!" Kim tried pulling herself up after hearing that.

"Come on Kim, you're strong as steel, you can do this!"

"Ssstrong asss sssteel, eh? How opportune for me then." She turned and saw Skales, who was climbing down a nearby ladder. His tail was rattling as she looked at him, right at his eyes. "Look into my eyesss. I control you now." She tried to look away.

"Can't… keep… looking…" On the rooftop, the others were staring at Cole.

"What's gotten into him," asked Kai.

"He's under their control now," said Rose. "He won't listen to us now, he'll only listen to the Serpentine that hypnotized him!"

"Well then Rose, if you know so much, then tell us how we can get him out of his trance?!" She glared at him.

"Panicking isn't gonna help anyone Jay," she yelled.

Down below, Skales was walking away, with Lloyd following after him.

"Don't go," whined Lloyd. "We have to protect my tree house fortress!" Skales looked at him in total annoyance and glared.

"Your tree houssse? It'sss about time we did thisss!" He started backing up, leaving Lloyd confused.

"Did what?" Skales pulled a lever, making Lloyd plummet into a cage. The other Serpentine clapped at the fact that they no longer had to listen to Lloyd.

"Now to get the ssstaff," declared Skales.

On the rooftop, they were all backing up from Cole. Rose threw off her zukin, trying to reach him.

"Come on Cole, it's me, Rose. We're friends, right?" He kicked her in the face. "OW! Okay, I guess that didn't work." Bree looked around.

"What should we do? We're going to get crushed it we don't get off soon?"

"Jump maybe," suggested Sam. Cole started attacking them like a feral animal, breaking off chunks of the roof with a swing of his scythe.

"No, but we could climb down one side," suggested Zane. "There is only one of him, after all." Finally, Kim climbed over the side, her eyes closed. Kai looked over at her with concern in his eyes.

"Kim, are you okay? It took you a while to get back up." Her eyes snapped open, red and swirled. They all gasped.

"Oh no, they got the two strongest members of our team," said Jay in a defeated and panicked voice. "We are so hooped!"

"Destroy the ninja…" She started swinging her Chigiriki at them. Sam looked back at Jay.

"Jay, try shocking them both! Maybe it'll snap them out of it!" He looked at his friends sadly.

"Sorry guys, but this is gonna hurt you a lot more then it's gonna hurt me!" He started swinging it around until it gathered up enough lightning to zap them both. They were both sent backwards, but when they got up, their eyes were still red. Cole ran up to Jay and pushed him off of the roof while Kim started slowly climbing up the rope.

"JAY," all of the non-hypnotized team members cried out. Jay managed to grab onto a rope, one of the ones that had been keeping the building up. He used it to swing onto the tree house, but it started shaking even more where he landed.

"That is a serious safety hazard!" Rose looked uncomfortable as Kim started climbing up the final rope.

"I've got an idea. Just," she looked at her teammates nervously, "if he doesn't remember and you guys say anything to Cole about if after this is all over," her expression turned angry, "I'll throttle you all!" Bree nodded.

"Fine, we won't tell him, just do what you have to so he doesn't kill us!" She nodded and walked over to him. He held up his Scythe, ready to cut her down, but before he could, she threw off his zukin and grabbed him by the shoulders, pulling him towards her and kissing him. He stopped, looking shocked as he blinked. She pulled away and threw her zukin back up as his eyes returned to normal.

"Rose? What happened?" She sighed in relief.

"Oh thank the First Spinjitsu Master you don't remember!" He raised an eyebrow.

"Remember what?" Suddenly, the tree house started shaking even more. He looked over and saw that Kim was where the final rope was, ready to cut it. "Kim? What is going on?!" Kai looked at her in horror.

"No, Kim, don't!" Suddenly, the sound of a flute came sharply into hearing range, making Kim blink before her eyes returned to normal. She held her head like she had a headache.

"What… What am I doing?" They all turned to see Sensei Wu, Nya, and Lin on the back of Flame.

"We're getting out of here, because this whole place is coming down," said Nya. Kim jumped on behind her, and the other seven had to figure out how to fit on one dragon. The tree house fell down as they started flying back towards the monastery.

"That flute," said Kai, looking at it.

"It cancels their powers? Why didn't you tell us Sensei," asked Sam.

"It's as old as the Serpentine themselves. I did not want it to be used unless it was absolutely necessary. But we must hurry, the monastery's unguarded! Quickly Flame!" The dragon beat its wings all the harder to get back to the monastery.


When they got back to the monastery, it had been burned to the ground.

"We're too late," said Kai, looking at the scene in horror. "Those snakes!" He pounded Flame's hide with his fist, then stroked it gently once he remembered whom he was riding. "Sorry boy." Rose looked at it sadly.

"The library is gone… nothing but ashes… all those wonderful stories, lost forever…" The dragons were literally trying to crawl out of the dragon's keep. Cole's eyes widened in fear.

"Rocky! Hang on Rocky, I'm coming!" Once Flame landed, Cole instantly went to the dragon's keep to let the dragons out. The rest of them jumped off of the dragon, their zukins off.

"Our home…" said Kai in a destitute voice. Kim looked at where her room had been and saw that there were several melted lumps of metal.

"The statues my brother made for me…" Zane looked up at his dragon.

"Shard, put this out!" The dragon used its icy breath to smother the flames, but the damage had already been done. "The training equipment, all gone…" Jay came up behind Zane, burying his face in his shoulder.

"Our video games, gone!" Sam went and looked at the seashell necklaces her father was always sending her, only to see them be burnt and even more fragile than before. Sensei Wu looked around and saw that there was no staff.

"They stole their staff back." Lin looked at where her room had once been.

"All my dresses... and all the stuff Dad sent me..." Bree looked around at the burned down monastery.

"What do we do now Sensei? I mean… I was all for traveling around, but… not like this… I never thought this would happen." Rocky started nuzzling Cole, obviously scared.

"Don't worry buddy, we'll figure something out." Kai picked up a burnt wood chip, glaring at it and crushing it in his hand before pointing an accusatory finger at Zane.

"If you hadn't followed that stupid bird, none of this would've ever happened!" Sensei Wu gave him a warning look.

"Kai." Rose shook her head.

"No Sensei, Kai's right! Your library was destroyed! That was thousands of years worth of stories and knowledge!" Jay stormed over to Zane.

"Because of you, my high score has been deleted!" Kim nodded, getting in Zane's face.

"I was hypnotized, and now I've lost the only things that I've ever gotten from my brother!" Sam held up the necklaces.

"These were the only things my father ever gave me! And now they're gone! What am I gonna tell him?!" Zane backed up a couple of steps.

"This is a teaching moment. We must learn from this."

"A teaching moment," said Cole angrily as he stomped towards Zane. "What's wrong with you?! Don't you get it?! EVERYTHING'S GONE!" Bree got between Cole and Zane.

"Calm down Cole! We can figure something out!" He just glared at her.

"Oh, so you're defending him? Oh yeah, I forgot you like being homeless! Well just because you like it doesn't mean we want it! We don't want to live like YOU!"

"ENOUGH!" They all turned to Sensei Wu. "We are all at fault! Zane is your brother, and Bree is your sister. He did nothing wrong by alerting you of Lloyd's activities, which could've provided him a foothold in Ninjago, and Bree has done nothing wrong by defending him. In fact, she was the only one of you who saw clearly in this situation. Now apologize at once." They all looked down guiltily and turned towards the two of them.

"I'm sorry Zane, I," started Kai, but then he stopped when he saw that neither Zane nor Bree were there. They looked and saw that their dragons were flying away.

"Great, we scared them away," said Rose. "I feel horrible." Kim looked sad, but then had a determined expression as she went over to Steel.

"I'm the best rider, I'll go-"

"No," said Sensei Wu, cutting her off. She turned towards him in surprise.

"But, why not? Sensei, Zane is our brother, and Bree's our sister! We can't just let them-" He held up a hand, cutting off her words.

"Sometimes, people need time to themselves. If they do return, then they are open to your words, but for now they need time to recover from the pain you all inflicted."


Back at the home base of the Serpentine, Skales was walking at the front, holding the staff, while Mezmo was toting around Lloyd on a rope, with General Slithraa next to him. Lloyd looked afraid, and leaned over to Slithraa.

"Do something general! You're-you're still under my command, right?" General Slithraa looked at Lloyd, then at Skales angrily.

"Enough!" Everyone stopped to look at him. "I am the general," he said, hitting his chest before gesturing to the staff, "and you will return my ssstaff at onccce!" Skales looked at the staff, then held it behind him.

"No." Everyone started talking amongst themselves, surprised that Skales would do such an open act of treason.

"You dare challenge my command," Slithraa asked in an offended voice. Lloyd smirked at what he thought would be the quick return of the general's staff, when suddenly the other Serpentine warriors started chanting.

"Ssslither Pit! Ssslither Pit! Ssslither Pit! Ssslither Pit!" Skales smirked proudly at how well his coup was going.

"I guessssss we'll have to fight for it," he said, gesturing to the staff, "in the Slither Pit!" All of the Serpentine, short of General Slithraa, started cheering. Lloyd looked at them all in confusion.

Soon enough, Mezmo was on top of what looked like a balcony with switches in front of him, holding the staff. Down below, Skales and General Slithraa were standing in front of each other in what looked like a circle. Lloyd's hand was tied up to an ice column, and was trying to escape. Mezmo looked down at the two about to fight.

"Winner getsss the ssstaff and leadsss the tribe! You know the rulesss, there are none, but in the Ssslither Pit, whatever I sssay goesss!" The two nodded. "Alright, fight!" Slithraa and Skales turned to face each other, circling each other at first. Then, Slithraa made the first move. He spun around, swinging his tail so that it would trip Skales, but Skales merely jumped over it. He went in to punch Slithraa, but Slithraa caught him by the wrist and pushed his arm downwards, going in to punch Skales in the face. Skales moved to the side and jumped up, wrenched his arm out of Slithraa's grasp and backhanding him in the face. Slithraa made a cry of pain, backing up a bit before shaking his head to try and straighten out his thoughts.

Lloyd looked on at the battle, but then saw a frozen skeleton holding a rolled up parchment of some sort. His curiosity and greed got the best of him, and for the sake of knowing what it is, he decided it had to be his. He looked at his guard to make sure the guard wasn't paying attention before reaching over to the parchment. He kept stretching, trying to get close enough, when finally he had his hands on it. Pulling it free, he unrolled it as best as he could and looked at it.

"Whoa, check it out! It's a map, with the names of the Serpentine tribes on it!" The guard heard him and turned around, but the map was gone, and Lloyd just waved at the guard. The guard shrugged and returned to the fight as Lloyd pulled the map back out.

"So, if this is where I found these guys, then they must be the Hypnobrai. Heh heh, of course that's the name of snakes with mind control."

"Two weaponsss," called out Mezmo as he pulled a lever. Suddenly, a chandelier like object holding a variety of ice like weapons dropped down. Slithraa grabbed a shield and an ax while Skales grabbed two swords. Slithraa threw the ax at Skales, who dodged as it whizzed towards him. The ax embedded itself in a wall, causing the whole place to shake and icicles to fall directly on Slithraa. He lifted up his shield just in time to keep from getting skewered.

"Ssside Wonder," said Mezmo as he pulled another lever. Suddenly, the Slither Pit tilted towards the side Skales was on, making them both lose their balance. Slithraa quickly regained his balance.

"Go general go," called out Lloyd, making his guard turn towards him again, soon dismissing the boy's actions.

Slithraa's tail started rattling, and he opened his eyes wide so Skales couldn't help but look at them. Skales, in turn, jump kicked Slithraa's face, forcibly making Slithraa shut his eyes and make a cry of pain. Skales tried to strike Slithraa with his swords, but Slithraa kept moving his shield to block. Finally, Skales started moving in a strange way, moving like he was a piece of paper in a gentle wind. It made Slithraa get very disoriented, and left Skales with the chance to kick Slithraa in the face once more, knocking him to the ground and making his shield fly away.

"He usssed Fang Qwon Do," said Rattla. Lloyd looked at Slithraa with a worried expression.

"Get up," he cried out desperately. "Get up!" General Slithraa tried to get up, but was unable to, and went limp.

Mezmo came down to the pit with the staff, grabbing Skales's arm and holding it up.

"We have a winner!" Everyone started cheering as Skales was handed the staff. Skales shone brightly with a golden light as he began to transform, his legs melding together into a snake tail. His appearance turned into that of what General Slithraa used to have, with Slithraa now losing his tail as it turned into legs, his appearance now that of what Skales's used to be. All of the Hypnobrai started chanting Skales's name as Slithraa tried to stand up. Skales glared at Slithraa, gesturing with his staff.

"You will be loyal to me now!" Slithraa gave a solemn nod.

"I will do asss you command," he said in a defeated voice. Skales then turned to Lloyd, glaring.

"You," he said in an accusatory tone, "leave and never return! If you do, we will devour you!" Lloyd gulped as his rope was untied. He ran out screaming.

"I don't wanna be snake fooooooooood!"


In the shelter of some rocks, the group was sitting under a tarp, eating some strange creature over a fire.

"Wh-what are we eating again," asked Kai as he shivered.

"Mud newt," answered Cole, taking a bite out of it. "Not bad for something that lives underground." Lin sniffled and nuzzled into her uncle.

"Uncle, are we gonna be homeless forever?" He gently petted her head.

"No Lin, we will find a home soon, somehow." Rose gagged, but swallowed her bite of food.

"A-At least we had the Sais to grow herbs… that's something right?" Jay spat out the mud newt.

"Even with herbs this is still disgusting! No amount of thyme or rosemary can make this taste good!" He threw a rock into a can and cheered. "Yeah, a new high s-score!" Kim looked over at their dragons, and saw how much Steel was shivering.

"Poor girl, you're so cold. You must miss your nice, warm dragon keep."

"Remember," said Sensei Wu, "we must be thankful for what we still have."

'What do we have," asked Cole. "Our home is gone!" Sam looked down at her necklace.

"Well, we have each other I guess?" Kai nodded.

"Sam's right. I miss home just as much as you guys," he looked down, "but I miss Zane and Bree more. It's my fault they're gone. I shouldn't have started that fight." Cole shook his head.

"It's my fault Bree's gone. I yelled at her for defending Zane and trying to make the best out of a bad situation." Kim sighed.

"We're all to blame. We all got mad at Zane and no one stepped up to defend him but Bree. Cole may have been the only one to say anything to Bree, but I think we were all mad at her for defending him." They all nodded sadly.

"I wish Zane and Bree were here right now," said Jay.

"Zane," said Nya in a confused tone. Jay looked at her like she was crazy.

"Yeah, you know, Zane! The white ninja? The smart strange one? And don't forget Bree, the yellow kunoichi! She was the, well, she doesn't really have a type. The traveling one I guess?" Nya shook her head.

"No, Zane," she said happily, pointing. They all turned and saw Zane walking towards them.

"Zane," they all cheered, walking over to him.

"Zane, we're so sorry for everything we said," said Jay. "We're a team, and that means we're all responsible!" Sam nodded.

"Yeah, we were so hurtful to you and Bree, but she was the only one being a real teammate!" Zane just smiled at them.

"You do not need to apologize to me," he frowned sadly, "although I do believe that Bree's feelings were quite hurt." He smiled again. "But she is willing to forgive you once we get to where she is." Kai was confused.

"Wait, where is she? And if she left because of it, but you didn't, then why, why did you leave in the first place? Isn't the things we said the reason?" Zane shook his head.

"Of course not. I saw the bird again and I followed him. Bree was able to identify him as a falcon." They all looked at each other and smiled, coming in for a group hug.

"That's our Zane," said Cole.

"We're happy to have you back," said Nya. Even Lin looked happy.

"Now we don't have to eat underground bugs!" He gave her a look of confusion.

"You have been… eating bugs Lin?" He looked back up at everyone else. "Are you so happy then because it is my turn to cook?" They laughed again.

"Yes Zane," said Sensei Wu, "we would love for you to make dinner! Perhaps you could make something edible out of these mud newts." He smiled brightly.

"But I already made it! Bree and I passed by a town on our way to our location and picked up some supplies for cooking! Come," he said, turning, "I want to show you what I've found. I think you will all be pleased." They all looked at each other and shrugged before following him.


They were getting close to the crest of a rocky, barren hill, with Zane leading them all. Lin had been whining about how tired she was, so Cole was giving her a piggyback ride. Zane had stopped just before they would've gotten over the hill and turned towards his friends.

"I cannot explain it, but I feel a strange connection with the falcon. I think he is trying to help show us the path we need to take." He started walking again and they followed him, soon coming over the crest of the hill and showing them a grand old pirate ship. Zane smiled at it. "Our new home." They all gasped and looked on in awe of it, everyone making comments about how wondrous it was. Jay sniffed the air, almost in tears.

"Do I smell pie?" Zane nodded.

"Cobblerberry. Oh, and I made burtleberry, and apple! Bree made a strawberry pie as well, and it smells most delectable!" Jay took in a deep breath and shed a tear as they started running towards the ship, with Zane and Sensei Wu staying behind. Zane grabbed Cole's shoulder.

"Hey, what are you," started Cole, but Zane had a serious look on his face.

"Perhaps you should let the young Garmadon go to her food while we talk." Lin nodded.

"Yeah, put me down! I'm never too tired for pie!" Cole shrugged and let her down, watching her run off. Cole turned back to Zane.

"Okay, why am I staying back?" Zane looked down in the ship.

"There is a room down below with a K carved into the door, next to one with an N carved into it. That's where you'll find Bree, in the one with the K. Apologize, and I'm sure she will forgive you." He nodded.

"You're right. Thanks Zane, I was so excited I almost forgot!" He ran towards the ship. Sensei smiled at him proudly.

"I am proud of you Zane." He put a hand on his shoulder. "You handled that situation very well." Zane smiled.

"Thank you Sensei."

"One day I promise, we will find your family."

"But, I've already found them," said Zane, looking down at everyone as they ran to the ship. Sensei Wu smiled and nodded.

"I feel there is more to you than meets the eye. There's something special about you Zane."

"Sensei," asked Zane, a thoughtful expression on his face, "will I become the Green Ninja?"

"It's too early to tell," he responded, "but if it's in your path, you'll know. Come now, it would be a shame to let them eat all that pie." Zane smiled brightly.

"But there is a pot roast in there as well, and mashed potatoes, and buttered carrots, and also shrimp appetizers, and Cole's favorite fried mozzarella sticks with marinara. I should hope they eat those first, as pie should come after a proper meal." Sensei Wu laughed.

"Yes, that would be the wise thing to do." They started walking towards the ship.


Cole was walking down below, knocking on the door marked with a K.

"Bree? Are you in there?"

"Yeah," came her voice softly.

"I'm coming in," he said as he opened the door. Bree was sitting on a top bunk, her feet hanging over the side, holding a locket.

"Come here to berate my life style again," she said in an accusatory tone. Cole flinched as she said that, then climbed up on the bunk and sat next to her.

"No, I came to apologize. I'm really, really sorry about what I said. You were just trying to make the best of a bad situation. Besides, you know what it's like to be traveling and stuff, so I should've listened to you, not yelled at you. I was a real jerk." He looked over at the locket. Inside was a picture of a brunet man and a blonde woman. "Who are those?" She sighed.

"My parents. They're the reason I travel around." She looked back at Cole. "I don't like the lifestyle I live, okay? I just," she sighed and looked down, "I just act like I do so people don't get worried. Even my nana and little sister don't know what I'm really doing. But I hate living the way I do. I always have." Cole raised an eyebrow.

"So if you don't like being a drifter, then, why do you travel around?"

"I… promise not to tell anyone?" Cole nodded, smiling.

"Of course you can trust me! Teammates are there for each other!" She looked at him, then back at the locket.

"I travel around, looking for my parents. When I was born, they just… dropped me off at my nana's doorstep. The same thing happened with my little sister. Just one day, there was a knock, and then when we opened the door, there she was. She looks a lot like my dad. I saw them running off and chased after them, but I rolled my ankle. Once I was old enough, I left home to find them and just ask… why. Why didn't they want to raise us?" Cole patted her on the back.

"I'm sure they have a good reason Bree. But don't worry, we'll find your parents someday." She smiled at him.

"Thanks Cole." She gave him a hug. He looked surprised, but smiled and hugged back.

"Now come on," he said, letting go of her, "I'm hungry, and there's pie up there that's calling my name!" She gave him a surprised look, but then laughed.

"Alright then, let's go get some food!" She pushed herself off of the bed, watching Cole do the same as he followed her back up.


Upstairs, everyone was enjoying their dinners and laughing. Suddenly, Zane picked up a plate of shrimp and threw it in Cole's face. Everyone laughed heavily at that as a food fight started. Lin crawled under the table once again.

"I WILL TORTURE ALL THOSE WHO STAIN MY DRESS!"

Outside, Lloyd looked on sadly, not even noticing Kyria hiding under the table. He looked as if he wanted to join them, but then sighed, walking away and looking at his map.

Song Of Hope: I got this done so fast, I'm so proud of myself! I hope that I had some good character evelopment with the canon and OC characters!