"Stop, stop, stop! That was terrible!" Garmadon said.
The alt-ninja looked at Garmadon. They were trying to form Spinjitzu tornados but had had no luck thus far.
"Have you learned nothing? You have no form, no power, and no discipline. It's like you're not even trying," Garmadon continued.
"When is Wu coming back?" Alt-Nya asked.
"I don't know. He had to take care of something and told me to teach you six Spinjitzu, except you don't seem to care."
"We do care, but I don't know if it's possible for us to do Spinjitzu. Maybe if we asked Wu-" Alt-Lloyd started before he was interrupted.
"Wu may be book smart, but I have more life experience," Garmadon said.
"Is that because you're the older brother?" Alt-Cole asked.
"It's because he trained under a crazy man," Lloyd said from where he and the rest of the ninja were watching on the porch.
"Wu wanted to stay up here, locked away from the world, while I wanted to see everything the world had to offer. I still say I made the right decision, I just maybe could have found a better teacher," Garmadon said.
"Maybe?" Lloyd asked.
"Don't get me wrong, Chen taught me a lot of useful things, because you could learn from anyone as long as you're willing to listen and put in the work. And if you don't want to learn, then get out." Garmadon pointed at the monastery, but the alt-ninja stayed still.
"Don't you think you're being a little harsh on them?" Lloyd asked.
"That's it! I want all of you over here right now!"
"Great, now you made him mad," Jay said as they walked to the middle of the courtyard.
"Kai, what is the key to making a perfect Spinjitzu tornado?" Garmadon asked.
"Speed?" Kai guessed.
"Cole?"
"Um, force?"
"Nya?"
"Form?"
"Jay?"
"You didn't tell us there was going to be a test!"
"It's all of them, right? Speed, form, force, you need all of them," Lloyd said.
"No. Zane, would you care to guess?" Garmadon asked.
"You have to unlock your True Potential first, and then your Spinjitzu will improve," Zane said.
"Amazing. Every word in that sentence was wrong. It is, in fact, your starting stance. Those other things won't do you any good if you can't even form a tornado to begin with. Okay, show me your starting stances."
The alt-ninja just stood there. Alt-Lloyd put his arms up in front of him. Garmadon shook his head.
"Again, you're not even trying. Did your master teach you your basics from a book?"
"Yes," Alt-Lloyd said.
"Seriously?"
Alt-Lloyd took out his copy of Master's Wu book and gave it to Garmadon. The old master looked at the book for a moment and flung it over the monastery wall.
"Okay, there may be something to this Garmadon," Alt-Nya whispered.
"I guarantee you there's nothing in that book that's useful," Garmadon said.
"Have you ever thought of writing a book, Dad? Tell everyone about your journey from good to bad to good to dead to bad to good?" Lloyd suggested.
"Don't change the subject. Let's try doing this step-by-step. Cole, over here. Show them how to start," Garmadon said.
Cole moved his right leg back and crouched slightly.
"Stop. This is where the spin starts, right here. His left foot is pointing in the direction of his spin, even though his torso is facing straight ahead. It's okay that his right arm is out with his leg right now. And, most importantly, he's immovable." Garmadon pushed on Cole's shoulders, but Cole just glared at him.
"Right. Jay, over here. Next move." Garmadon pointed to a spot right in front of Cole.
"Why do you keep picking on me?" Jay whined.
"Because I can. Show me what comes next. Cole, I didn't say you could leave."
Cole went back into his ready stance. Jay stood in front of Cole and lifted his right leg up while starting to turn.
"Stop!" Garmadon said.
Jay struggled to keep his balance. Cole reached out to help, but Garmadon slapped his hand away.
"Lack of balance aside, at this point, he is committed to his spin. His right leg is up, both arms are near his chest, or they're supposed to be. If your arms are flailing everywhere, that will slow you down. If you look closely, you will see that he is on the ball of his left foot. You always want to be on the ball of your foot during your turns. And he is still looking at where he is going. Nya, right here."
Nya stood ahead of Jay. She made it until she had put her right foot back down behind her and was facing Cole when Garmadon stopped her.
"This is the only time when you will not be looking where you are going. Her arms are still close to her chest. Unlike Jay, her left foot is flat on the ground, but her right foot is not. Remember, the ball of the foot is your pivot point. And her toes are pointed away from her target. This will help generate momentum when she spins. Kai, right here. Jay, stop moving."
"How much longer do I have to stand like this?" Jay asked as he tried not to fall.
"Until I say so," Garmadon replied.
Jay moaned as Kai got into his spot ahead of Nya. He was nearly finished with the turn and was standing on his right leg when Garmadon stopped him.
"He is in almost exactly the same position as Jay, except he's facing the opposite direction and he's on his right leg. But, again, he is looking towards his target. Zane, finish us out."
Zane took his spot ahead of Kai. When he had made a full circle, he jumped onto his left leg and kicked his right leg out. Unlike Jay, Zane had no problems balancing on his left leg.
"Now, who can tell me where the tornado starts to form?" Garmadon asked.
"Where Kai is?" Alt-Kai asked.
"Nope. If your tornado hasn't at least partially formed by then, you're in trouble."
"Where Jay is?" Alt-Lloyd asked.
"Lloyd? Tell them."
"Ideally, it starts with that very first turn of your foot. Then it's all about balancing." Lloyd demonstrated the turn and energy sparked underneath his foot, but he stopped before he fully formed his tornado. He slowly demonstrated each of the five steps.
"And how long does it take to do all of these steps?" Garmadon asked.
"About half a second," Lloyd replied.
"Half a second?" Alt-Jay exclaimed.
"And this is the most basic form of Spinjitzu. Like the nindroid said, when you unlock your True Potential, your Spinjitzu will improve," Garmadon said.
"True Potential?" Alt-Lloyd asked.
"There's two parts to spinjitzu. We can teach you the motions, but to really excel you have to overcome the obstacles in your heart. It could be resentment, fear, or finally admitting something to yourself. Once you overcome that, you'll unlock your True Potential," Lloyd explained. The five ninja joined him.
"What were your obstacles?"
"I remembered my father and accepted what I am," Zane said.
"I learned to just be myself." Jay took Nya's hand.
"I had to stop lying to my dad. Not that he stopped lying to me," Cole muttered.
"I finally admitted that I wasn't meant to be the Green Ninja," Kai said.
"I needed to realize that it's okay to fail sometimes," Nya said.
"I had to face my fears and accept my destiny, even if it meant killing my father," Lloyd said.
"Yes, I'm glad you found a way around that," Garmadon said. He put a hand on Lloyd's shoulder.
"Woah. So ninja," Alt-Jay said.
"Okay, everyone, back to your places. I want these guys to give it a try," Garmadon said.
The ninja groaned but returned to their spots and posed. The alt-ninja slowly went through the motions. On his tenth or so try, Alt-Lloyd thought he felt something, but he didn't form a tornado. While he waited to go again, he tried to visualize himself doing Spinjitzu. The motions were easy enough, and he was getting faster, he just couldn't quite put everything together.
"Try taking a few steps before you spin, that might help," Lloyd said.
Alt-Lloyd nodded. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He took a few steps and started his spin. Energy surged out of him and he was surrounded by a green vortex. He gasped and stopped moving, which caused the vortex to dissipate. Everyone was staring at him in awe.
"How did you do that?" Alt-Kai asked.
"I don't know," Alt-Lloyd admitted.
"Ha! I can't wait for Wu to see what the superior teacher has done," Garmadon said.
Wu stopped well away from the house. Hermes was busy shooting targets in his front yard. He waited until Hermes had run out of bullets before he approached.
"Ugh. What do you want?" Hermes removed his ear protection and faced Wu.
"I want to talk."
"I've had just about enough of that."
"Well, I haven't. Hermes, you destroyed the Time Blades."
"I knew you wouldn't."
"That's not- I realize you don't exactly trust me-"
"Understatement of the year," Hermes muttered. He went over to the porch and sat down on the steps.
"I do want to make it up to you."
"You can't." Hermes grabbed some more bullets and began to load up his magazine.
"Can I at least try?" Wu asked.
Hermes huffed but said nothing. Wu sat down next to him and took out a key. Hermes watched as Wu carefully lifted up his pants leg and forced the key into the rusted lock of the vengestone cuff around his ankle. A moment later, the cuff popped open. There were bruises and the skin was raw in spots where the cuff had rubbed against the ankle.
"That should have been done a long time ago," Wu said.
Hermes rubbed his ankle. The area was extremely tender.
"I am extremely sorry for how we treated you, for how I treated you. I should have done more to put Garmadon in his place. I should have listened to you."
Hermes stood up and walked a few steps away. It was weird not having the cuff on him anymore. It almost hurt to walk on the ankle.
"I'll be going now." Wu stood up and started down the path.
"Wu?" Hermes called.
"Yes?"
"Thank you.