"Again!" Garmadon shouted.

Lloyd's eyes flashed blue as the wooden gates above him opened up. Massive torrents of water began to pour out of the reservoir and down the slope towards him. Lloyd thrust his hands outward, straining with all he had to push the flow back up. The water froze along its slope as if it had hit a wall, small trickles of water falling over the artificial wave but remaining still otherwise. As more water began to pour out and add to the wave, Lloyd strained his powers as far as they would go. Soon, the wall of water had grown to nearly fifteen feet in height. Lloyd began to huff as it cast a shadow over him.

"Good," Garmadon walked slowly underneath the wall of water, "But you are only as strong as your weakest moment. Gravity!"

Lloyd stared at his father ludicrously, but Garmadon's staff came out to swat his arm. Lloyd let out a few hard groans and strained in exertion as one of his eyes began to flicker copper. Slowly, he began to hover off the ground. In the process, the wall of water began to shake, and small droplets started to fall away like leaks.

"Higher!" Garmadon shouted, "If you cannot master two elements at once, your opponents will exploit you. A competent enemy will send far more than just one man to take you down!"

Lloyd groaned even harder as his left eye went full copper. The two elements poured out of either hand, one pointed to the wall and the other at the ground. Sweat began to actively drip down his brow as he hovered in the air. As he grew closer and closer to the top of the wave, his body began to feel like he'd weighed himself down. His limbs shook as he tried to hold the two at once.

"D-Dad!" Lloyd managed to shout out, "G-Gonna… can't… hold!"

"Yes you can," Garmadon slowly walked out from under the wave, "You have the strength to withstand it. You are speaking to me. If your mind has the capacity to speak under pressure, it has the ability to grow!" He slowly picked up a small rock from the ground, "You have limits that you have simply never have need to push into! You can summon dragons at will, son! Show that you are strong enough to command them!"

Garmadon hurled the small stone right at Lloyd's chest, flying with enough speed he didn't see it until it hit him. His concentration faltered as the sharp pain hit him, making his body quake. The wave began to crest towards the ground and his body drifted towards it at the same time. He desperately yanked on both elements with all he had, but the more he tried, the harder it was to focus on either of them!

Garmadon simply stared at Lloyd as he went further and further down. When his son touched the ground, he turned around. Lloyd fell to his knees and thrust his hands out, pushing the water backwards as he went. With the last of the will he had inside of him, he pushed nearly half of the water back into the reservoir. When he lost his grip on the rest, he shrieked and quickly rushed to Garmadon to avoid being swept away by the water that quickly poured down the slope at him. He panted hard on the ground as it fell down the mountainside and joined up with a river at the bottom.

"C-Can't… d-dad…" Lloyd panted, "I-I… I-I can do one… o-or the other, why, why both…?"

"Your weakest trait is your endurance," Garmadon shook his head, "If you become exhausted from switching element to element, you must overcome that weakness. Learn how to wield both at once you will become more powerful than you are now. You must learn how to control yourself. If you run out of power on the battlefield with nothing but a broken sword, it is over."

"I...b-broken sword could be cool…" Lloyd flopped out on the ground, "And… besides! I've done nothing but endurance training for two weeks! I'm sure I've boosted myself a little bit!"

Garmadon slowly sighed and rubbed his forehead, "I believe it is time for us to return to the Monastery, son," Garmadon smiled gently, "You've worked hard, son, but you must never neglect your training. You must grow your body so you can grow your mind."

"Thanks, dad!" Lloyd slowly climbed to his feet. Garmadon handed him the staff, allowing Lloyd to steady himself as he walked his way up the mountain. The two turned to a path leading up past the reservoir and further up the massive slope the mountain held.

Standing at the crest of a mountain far above the clouds was the Elemental Monastery. The building was a glistening red and black, painted in the image of the Firstbourne herself, who slept in a cave beneath the structure. The building was massive, spanning five floors and with far more rooms on each floor than Lloyd knew what to do with. It was built so as to be set into the mountain itself, with only half the structure visible from the outside. A series of steps winded the entire mountain from its base and around several others, making the journey to the structure arduous and enlightening, the sight from the heights was enough to inspire beauty in the world it overlooked.

Opening up the massive doors lead to an enclosed courtyard where all the main hallways branched off from. Lloyd eagerly stepped into it and quickly rushed to a fountain in the shape of two dragons twisting in flight together. He eagerly slurped down water from it, his breathing steadying as he quenched his thirst. Garmadon walked past him and towards a massive set of doors across from the main entrance.

"Heh, finally took you guys long enough!" A female voice called out from behind the doors.

Before Garmadon could open the doors, they were thrown open from the inside. A girl, closer to Lloyd's age than anyone else so far, stood. She brushed back her brilliant red hair, letting it flow behind her. It draped all the way down to her hips, splaying out at the tips like flickering tips of fire. She wore a yellowish-orange pair of pants and shirt, both of which were tied at the hips together with a deep red sash. She crossed her arms in front of her, giving a coy smirk towards Lloyd as she made eye contact with him.

"Skylar!" Lloyd immediately rose from the fountain and rushed over towards her, wrapping his arms around her in a hug, "I haven't seen you in weeks!"

"I know, I know, I just got here," Skylar chuckled, patting his back as she likewise gave him a hug back, "I let myself in."

"I would prefer that you not do that," Garmaodn said calmly as he closed the doors, "It is good to see you, Amber leader."

"It's just Skylar, Amber ain't everything I am," Skylar rolled her eyes, "And besides, I still need more time before I can even call it a 'tribe,' you knowt."

"How is that going? Is the territory good? You got anywhere you're setting a home up?" Lloyd asked as he leaned back from Skylar, "Tell me, Skys!"

"In time, Mage," Skylar winked at him.

"I have never understood why you call him that," Garmadon shook his head, "There is no such thing as a mage."

"Doesn't the legend say that the First Elemental Master tamed the 'magic of the elements' to make this happen?" Skylar gestured to Lloyd, "If he's got every element, then I might as well get in on his nickname game too."

"I believe it was far more nuanced than that," Garmadon nodded, "Do you have reason for visiting us today, Skylar?"

"Yeah!" Lloyd smiled at her, "Did you come just to chat with me? You didn't have to come all the way out here!"

"Actually, I was gonna ask for Mage's help here," Skylar gestured to him, "I was scouting my new land the other day, looking for things I needed and all that stuff, when I saw a big massive beast over the hills. I thought it was my imagination at first, but when I went to go find it, well. It's pretty big. I figured I could use some help to take it down."

"Is it dangerous?" Lloyd asked, raising his eyebrow curiously.

"If it's as big as its tracks suggest, then even if it isn't I gotta drive it off to outside my territory," Skylar frowned, "Gonna be hard to set up a Tribe in a place that's in danger. And, well," Skylar bumped his shoulder, "Figured I'd get a chance to catch up with you since I missed you at the Summit."

"Is that wise?" Garmadon asked, "You two will be alone in a territory hunting a beast. If one of you is hurt-"

"I still got a good number of elements I can mimic when I need to, and Mage here is… well he's got all of them," Skylar narrowed her eyes, "I just want him for a day or two. Is that so bad?"

"Dad, I haven't seen her in a long time!" He shook his head, "You sent me hunting when we were traveling! I'll take Firstbourne with me, she'll make sure we're safe!"

"Hrm…" Garmadon bowed his head, "If you promise me that you will only drive the creature away if you find it, and not confront it. I do not want you hurt. After what happened in the Summit…"

"I heard about that," Skylar admitted, "Listen, I'm asking for just a few days to catch up with him. That's all. He's stopped a war, you can't let him just go out and hunt a big beast? Isn't all you do here train him? Consider this him getting some neat experience."

Garmadon looked conflicted for a few moments, but he finally gave up by waving his hand. Lloyd immediately leapt up on his feet, only for his father to show Lloyd his palm..

"Be safe, and if you are not back in three days, I will send for you," Garmadon frowned, "Do not take the wild for granted, son. It is a place where you can be hurt and nobody will find you. We may have traveled it before, but outside of your walls, you must be ready for anything. Watch each other's backs."

"Yes, father!" Lloyd nodded, reaching out and grabbing Skylar's hand, "Come on, let's get going!"

Skylar rolled her eyes at his eagerness, but didn't stop him. She let Lloyd tug her out the door and start to wind down the stairs to his secluded home. After they had done a full loop around the large pillar that the Monastery sat on, they arrived at a massive cave that was lined with blackened obsidian around it. Lloyd stopped in front of it, then gave a long whistle.

The Firstbourne slowly stalked her way out of the cave, bringing her head out into the sunlight. She let out a massive rumble, stretching herself out as she did. Eagerly, Lloyd reached forward and let out a burst of fire from his feet, sending him up to land directly on top of her head. The dragoness let out a playful huff, lowering her head as Lloyd eagerly began to rub her horns.

"You remember Skylar, right, Firsty?" Lloyd asked. The Firstbourne leaned her head down towards Skylar, inhaling hard enough that there was a breeze around Skylar. She cocked her hips and crossed her arms as she processed the smell. The Firstbourne finally let out a long growl, making Lloyd smile.

"She does, and she likes you now too!" Lloyd slung himself into the saddle, "Come on, get in!"

Skylar sighed happily and walked forward, taking hold of a strap to the saddle and climbing herself up into the seat behind Lloyd. As she got comfortable, she took a small leather strap and slid it around her waist like a belt so she wouldn't fall out. Lloyd had added those after a few incidents with passengers.

"Isn't the famous Dragon Lord supposed to be able to ride a dragon without a saddle?" Skylar jabbed playfully at him.

"Oh I can," Lloyd patted the Firstbourne's neck, "But riding a dragon bareback is really bad for long distances. It hurts your butt."

"Fair enough," Skylar leaned back and yawned, "Still would be cooler if you didn't have one."

"I also keep supplies in here, like water and food," Lloyd gestured to them, "And we made it so she can take it on and off herself. It's a good saddle!"

"Then why not show how good it is and get us flying?" Skylar waved her hand, "Sooner we get there the sooner we can get hunting!"

Lloyd rolled his eyes at her, snapping the reins of Firstbourne. The dragoness nodded and spread her massive leathery wings into the air, casting a shadow on the clouds below her. She lowered her legs, then took two bounds forward and leapt off the side of the mountain. The action allowed her to send wind under her wings. With a mighty flap, she brought them jerking upwards from their downward descent, gliding out along the air as the winds carried them along the sky.

"Woah!" Skylar laughed, clutching her saddle belt, "Is this how you traveled the world?"

"Yep!" Lloyd giggled, "Everyone always loves it when they get to ride Firsty!"

Skylar held on tightly as the dragoness soared through the sky. She didn't hold back, cracking and whipping her body around as she buffeted her way through the clouds. Lloyd had taken the front seat to take the brunt of the oncoming wind, used to the sensation after all of this time. He'd given almost everyone he could a ride on Firstbourne -with her consent, of course- but never Skylar before. Given her massive smile, it looked like she was enjoying it.

Lloyd set course for the Amber Tribe. During the initial meeting after the war, it was decided that Skylar would have the right to decide if she wanted to continue the Amber Tribe or not. She had, without hesitating, decided to make sure it happened. The territory of the ruins of the former Amber Tribe stood were part of both the Time Tribe and Earth Tribe territories, and Skylar had declared she'd take the territory back for herself. The Time Tribe was one of the furthest tribes from Mage's Monastery in the Lost Wastes -a name he intended to change since he lived there- and part of the new Amber Tribe's territory was in the unexplored lands. Outside of the World, you never knew what could happen.

"So!" Lloyd shouted after they managed to get into a clear path to fly for the night, "Tell me more about this creature!"

Skylar calmed her breathing down to talk,"Well, the other day I was near where the Time Tribe border used to be, and I was by this big massive lake, right?" Skylar called out over the wind, "Well, I'm getting water, tell Nya thanks for letting me mimic that guard of hers, and when I look up I see this massive thing off in the distance! Really big thing. No clue what it is, but I swear it was glowing. I decided to go and investigate it, cause of course, but when I got there… nothing!"

"Nothing at all?" Lloyd asked, "But how, Skys? If it's that big-"

"It'd leave a track, and it did! Really weird ones too!" She chuckled, "Just from the size of its foot it's pretty crazy. I wasn't sure what I saw but, well, I knew that if it was really that big I'd need some help!"

"Well thanks, my dad has been driving me crazy with training," Mage shuddered, "The other day he was having me leap back and forth from the mountaintops with gravity, wind and speed. It's not as easy as you think it is!"

"I can't mimic you, so I'll just take your word for it," Skylar shrugged, "But I figured that I'd get a chance to at least see you again."

"You're seeing me right now!" Lloyd pointed out.

"I meant as a friend, Mage," Skylar chuckled, "You saved my butt, I'm pretty sure I'd like to get a chance to just spend some time with you. And I know you like doing things, soooo, this is just the perfect excuse."

"You got that right!" Lloyd leaned back in the saddle, "Well, I suggest you get some sleep! We'll get there late and if you wanna chat then a nap now will let us start making some progress tonight."

Skylar decided not to tell him most people didn't track at night, knowing he'd likely have some weird element combination ready for it. She leaned back in the saddle, closing her eyes and indeed closing them. She hadn't told him she hadn't slept on her journey to his home, as far away as it was, so despite the wind wisps and the cold, she decided to take his offer. Lloyd helped her tie a strap over her waist so as not to fall out, then, letting her head rest down on the saddle, she fell asleep.

She soon woke up to the sound of Lloyd shouting for her. The sky had started to indeed turn orange with sunset, and most of the clouds were gone, leaving them a clear view of the land. They had just entered the beginning of the mountain range the Time Tribe lay in, and a portion of her territory now as well. She scanned the landscape, looking for where to land.

Skylar pointed to a large crystal blue lake in the mountainside. A barely visible trail led up to it from a mountain slope below it, one that was far too narrow for the Firstbourne to use. The dragon slowly flew over the lake, casting her shadow down upon it as she did. The shore was tiny, and thus the dragon was forced to land with her back legs in the water. She slowly settled down, letting her tail also come to rest on the surface as she did. Her wings folded in as Lloyd quickly thrust himself out of his saddle and down towards the ground.

"Is this the place?" Lloyd asked, bringing his hand up and squinting as he looked around, "I don't see anything big."

"If we could see it from up there, it'd be much easier to find it, silly," Skylar knocked him on the shoulder, "Come on, I got a camp on the other side of the lake."

"One sec!" Lloyd hopped up to his saddlebags, pulling out a glowing crystal and offering it to his dragon. She bit into it and ate it with a long rumble of appreciation while Lloyd rubbed her neck, "Thanks for taking us this far, Firsty. You rest here."

Skylar gestured to a gap between rocks on the other side of the lake, "Mind giving us a lift?"

Lloyd's eyes had already gone aqua, reaching out with the power of water to surround the two of them. Skylar nodded, stepping forward into the lake and walking on top of the water. Lloyd followed after her, catching up to her and giving her an odd look, or as much a look as one could give when his eyes had no pupils in this state.

"Haven't you learned how to do this?" Lloyd asked.

"I can only use the powers the person I mimic can use," Skylar pointed out, "And my dad wasn't paying for me to have teachers. I only have enough water mimic to move waves."

Lloyd nodded. Skylar's power was different from him in that fundamental method. Lloyd could learn each element, and train that element to its peak. Skylar mimicked a person's element and could use the powers that person had instantly, but nothing more. He could learn how to walk on water if he trained over time, but Skylar would have to copy a person that already used that power and could use it instantly.

Once the two reached the other side of the lake, Skylar guided him through the gap in the rocks and up a small ridge until the Firstbourne was out of sight. Once they had, she guided him under a rock shelf, where a burnt out fire pit, bedroll and a large bag of gear sat. Skylar immediately began sifting through the bag as Lloyd lit the fire with his hand.

"Are you here alone?" Lloyd asked in confusion, "I thought you were recruiting people."

"Yeah… not really as easy as you think," Skylar sighed, "Bit of a hard sell. 'Come out to the middle of nowhere and help a girl that tried to kill the Dragon Lord rebuild a tribe you've never heard of!' Not really a surprise nobody is biting," Skylar shook her head, "Not that I'm giving up, mind you! My mother wouldn't have wanted that."

"Your mother would be proud of you!" Lloyd added, "You're rebuilding her tribe, you stood up to your dad and you're like, the second most powerful girl in the World!"

"Says the number one to the number two," Skylar chuckled as she slung her bag on her back, "Come on, we can cover some ground before it gets too dark. I can show you the tracks."

"Sure thing!" Lloyd smiled, "Lead on!"

Skylar chuckled and waved for him to follow. She brought the two further along the makeshift path she was using until they had reached the top of a large outcropping of rock, at which point she pointed up at the sky. She called upon her element, forcing wind down into her feet leaping up into the air with it. Lloyd followed suit, leaping after her as they bounded from rocks to rocks with it.

"Think you can keep up?" Skylar grinned, "You said you were pretty tired, after all!"

"I'm not tired when it comes to this," Lloyd shouted, "This is just exercise to me!"

Skylar rolled her eyes and took his word for it. For almost ten minutes, she continued to leap across the land, only taking small breaks to find and orient herself. Eventually, she had finally taken them around a large mountain and down into a small valley where water had collected into a little pond. When she landed at the edge she pointed down.

Lloyd stopped behind her, peering down. At the base of the mountain, there was a massive print. It was roughly rectangular with protrusions at the back. It was pressed perfectly into the mud that had gathered at the base. More of them were spaced along the rock, each of them in almost perfect intervals.

"Huh?" Lloyd peered down at them, "Uhm… either that thing has really long legs or…"

"Only one leg, yeah," Skylar nodded, "And those five are the only ones. They stop after you get around that next hill. It's weird, right? They must have been covering their tracks"

"Yeah… I don't even think I can tell how tall it is like that… and the feet, it's… weird. Like, they're so… blocky." Lloyd pointed out.

"For a moment I thought someone made them deliberately, but I have no clue what thing would do that unless you were human," Skylar shrugged, "It might actually be something else, but then again… it's so weird I don't know what to make of it."

"Hrm…" Lloyd slid down the slope to get up close to one of the tracks, seeing they were even bigger up close, "Well, I dunno, these things are really huge!" He looked out towards the tracks, "If you look at them that way… aren't they heading towards the old ruins?"

"Yeah, but I figured that they might be going the other way too," Skylar nodded, "I was gonna head that way, and you could take the ruins."

"You sure you don't wanna take the ruins?" Lloyd asked, "I mean, you know them better."

"I don't like being around them," Skylar smiled awkwardly, "Kinda… makes me think some dark things, you know? They're… it's weird to think that's where my mother used to live, before… you know."

Lloyd didn't need much more from her before he nodded, "I should be able to make it to the ruins in a bit, I think my range of mind is far enough that I can reach you from there."

"You and your freaky long range powers," Skylar chuckled, "Yeah, gotcha," She looked out to the tracks again, "If something that big is around here, it'd clearly want to hide. Most of the time big creatures tend to come out to hunt and hide. I can't imagine that something that big could hide that many places."

"Hrm…" Lloyd paused, "Well, if I was huge I'd wanna hide somewhere obvious. People would think I'd be hiding big. What about camouflage?"

"That's possible," Skylar nodded, rubbing her chin, "I'm not sure how someone would hide that, though," She turned around from him, "I'm gonna get going, if you don't mind at me then I'll come get you!"

Skylar focused, activating her speed mimic and soon blasting off over the slope to begin searching. Lloyd looked over the landscape. The rocky terrain sloped up and down, curling into deep valleys and then spiking upwards into cliffs as they went. It was a landscape that held little greenery to it, meaning that the only barrier to sight was the rocky mountains themselves. Aside from small caves and alcoves formed by the landscape, there wasn't anything a creature that massive could be hiding from what Lloyd saw.

To begin, Lloyd leapt his way across the landscape towards the Amber Tribe ruins. Searching took far longer than Lloyd would likely have guessed. Taking his time to actually stop and peer around to look for signs of a massive creature was far harder to do than he thought. There wasn't any sort of convenient place for him to walk in a straight path, and thus he spent a fair amount of time climbing and sliding down rocks. He considered using speed to perhaps cover more ground, but upon seeing how steep some of the drops were, he was afraid to risk the acceleration he could grow right off it.

Just like Skylar said, there were only five of those oddly rectangular tracks. He noticed the ground behind each track was also scuffed up, like something had passed over it. The only thing he knew that did that was Firstbourne when she moved her tail over the ground. But, given the size of one foot, that tail would be as long as she was. And there only five tracks! After that, they ended. After that, the tracks were completely gone. He could tell there was evidence a sixth track was covered up, but that was it.

It wasn't too long before he came upon the large path that led to the basin where the Amber Tribe ruins sat. The ruins were inside of boiling lakes, filled with deadly substances that, if he recalled the legend right, kept them isolated from the world for decades before the first meeting of the tribes. The basin used to be part of a much larger lake system, but the pathways feeding into those other systems had been clogged over time..

Lloyd crested the basin. In the middle of an island amongst the toxic waters were long decayed ruins. Buildings that were once large and mighty sat in orange rusty and dirtied hazes. They were tall and bold, reaching for the sky with their broken fingers, carved into simple pillars with points and smooth surfaces. In the center of it lay a massive domed building that used to be a massive temple of worship, with massive pillars that were said to have reached up to tempt the dragons down to them. The temple in the center was a bit of a more recent collapse, as Skylar had crushed it in an attempt to squash him in their first meeting. It was also where he'd heard of the legend of the Amber Tribe from none other than Chen himself.

Looking across it, Lloyd still felt something in his gut. Skylar was the last of these people. They'd died so many years ago, nobody had remembered them until Skylar appeared. Even then, many didn't know what to think of her. An entire tribe was forgotten for decades, centuries even. The only reason Skylar existed was because her mother was sealed away following the tribe's demise. He'd never even gotten to meet Skylar's mother before she passed after having her daughter. To think a tribe could be razed and forgotten like this… he didn't even know what to say when he saw it, only feel the sadness for it.

There was a mountain nearby that he could search. There was no use checking ruins a massive creature couldn't even hide in. Lloyd used gravity to slowly carry him up a massive drop, levitating until he was at the top. He canceled the element and sighed, wiping some sweat from his brow. He wasn't sure how long it'd been, but he had to have guessed at least an hour. It was already getting dark, but thankfully the element of shadow granted him night vision. One of his eyes turned gray while he used it. Lloyd went around the mountain behind the ruins, looking for anything suspicious. When he saw something, he froze to get a closer look.

In the middle of one of the massive mountains, was a cave. In front of the cave was a massive plateau, almost looking like a piece of the mountain had been sliced off. Normally, he wouldn't think much of the cave, but the entrance was massive. He wasn't sure how tall, but if the Firstbourne stood on her hind legs it would likely take two of her to reach the top of it. The formation looked natural, judging from the way the rock rippled like water had carved it, but it was just the size that one needed.

Skylar! Lloyd called out using mind, I think I found a place that they could be hiding. I'm going to go and investigate, alright?

Found something? Alright, be careful… Skylar warned, I'll make my way there. Just don't go too far without me, alright?

Alright! Lloyd smiled with determination and canceled the link. Slowly, he brought his hands together and focused. His eyes went a soft yellow as two small balls of light formed over his hands. Gently, he released the two into the air, letting them hover above him. He willed them to follow him as he made his way forward, letting them illuminate a small radius around him. When he stepped into the darkness, after just ten seconds of walking he was more than happy to have them. The darkness swallowed up fast.

The cave naturally began to slope down as he walked. To secure himself, Lloyd walked his way along the edge of the cave, letting one hand brush the wall to make sure he did so correctly. The light behind him gradually grew less and less prominent, instead lighting up the area around him with his own makeshift lanterns. Keeping them up required a bit of thought on his end, and he half wished he had the Light Tribe's invention… the… light sphere? It was a thing that stored light energy and lasted for a good few months. It was easier than making his own.

Soon enough, the light behind him was gone. Lloyd knew he should stop soon. The ground became damp as moisture dropped in from the ceiling, forming what looked like a tiny stream under him. The cave had small sections that branched off from one another, but the main massive chamber continued down. The further Lloyd walked, the more he felt like he should turn back. The air became cold, and he had to summon a bit of fire around his arms to keep him warm. It was getting harder to find purchase for his foot too. Thankfully his training meant maintaining the light spheres and his flames were easy.

A sound in the darkness startled him. The flames on his arms grew into whirling whips as he snapped them around him, looking around. The sound remained quiet for a few seconds, then it sounded again. It was a strange sound, one that sounded like a hiss of some kind. He wasn't sure why, but it sounded… sinister. Something was in this cave with him.

"...Alright, I'm going to go ahead and say this now," Lloyd spoke up, "You might not know this, but I'm Lloyd Garmadon! I have at least some training in every element! And, well, if you're a person out there and you're hearing this, you should probably come out. I won't hurt you! I promise, I swear! If you're an animal, well…" He let his flames grow and let them scorch the ground in front of him as a warning, "That should take care of that."

The cave felt strange. He felt something inside of it, but he wasn't sure what. It was dangerous, that much he felt, but he wasn't sure why it was. He gulped. He could tell something was here. Something in here. It had to be the creature that Skylar was hunting. The sound dimmed, but didn't go away. It sounded like it'd just moved further away. It had to have been some sort of animal then. Lloyd slowly let the flames drop and instead let his sphere handle the light. He was getting paranoid, that was it. He had to just relax and let this sort of thing just-

The sound of stones dislodging came from behind him. Without hesitation, Lloyd whipped around, letting loose a massive burst of fire. The flames lit up the walls around him, and he could see several shadows in the darkness flee. The flames shot out to the sound, then split at its point. Skylar stood in the middle of the flames, her arms extended and parting the attack. When Lloyd realized this, he let the flames die out.

"Skylar!" Lloyd yelped, "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

"Figured you were expecting me," Skylar smirked, "Something wrong down here?"

"I… I keep hearing something," Lloyd looked around, "It's weird. It's like, it sounds like air, but, I don't know. It's weird."

"Hmm…" Skylar listened for a moment, "It's probably just the water in the caves. There are underground rivers you know. Did you see anything coming down?"

"No," Lloyd admitted, "I didn't see anything. I mean, if something that big was seen, wouldn't it be here?"

"Seems like the most likely place, but if it was a creature then it wouldn't be this far down," Skylar pointed up, "We're far enough down that it'd be an issue for a creature to stay warm. I don't think we'll find anything here."

"I guess… I kinda just wanna get out of this cave though," Lloyd shuddered, "It's weird down in here, you know?"

"Yeah, let's keep looking outside," Skylar turned, "We need to get looking a bit harder."

Lloyd nodded, quickly rushing up after her. As he left, he felt a strange cold feeling he'd had on his neck vanished, as if he'd walked out of a dangerous situation. As the light from the cave came up for them, he found a breath in his chest releasing as well. He left behind the darkness, and instead began to pursue the light once more.

"Here," Skylar handed Lloyd a small roll of bread, "Eat."

Lloyd shook his head, pointing to the saddlebag he had with him, "I told you, I bring food on Firsty! You should know that, Skys."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, Mage," Skylar chuckled, "I'm just offering, you know. Rations and bread aren't really the same thing."

Lloyd ignored her and instead dug into the mixture of berries and crumbs. His father had created these mixes, and all of them were designed to purely refill his body with protein. It wasn't entirely tasty, but he'd gotten used to the taste. It was surprisingly fulfilling, all things considered. And they were said to help restore elemental energy, which was nice after the hours upon hours of using them.

It'd been two days since Lloyd had arrived. Aside from the cave, he hadn't found anything. They'd searched nearly the entire territory, but nothing was there. Eventually, the two had given up, and this was the last meal he'd be having out here before he rode back home on Firstbourne. The only conclusion worth drawing was the creature had left the territory. The dragon was currently bathing in the lake to get ready for the fly back.

"I know, I know," Mage looked down towards the fire, "It's nice getting to relax like this, Skys."

"Enjoy it while you can," She chuckled, "Soon enough we're gonna be caught up in this big coming together thing you got going."

"Hey, my 'coming together' is helping to keep the world safer!" Lloyd pouted, "The tribes are all separate and that, it's better if we just go ahead and help each other rather than fighting."

"It's nice to hear you say that," Skylar admitted, "But it's not exactly all that realistic, really. It's not exactly like everybody wants to get along."

"What makes you think that?" Lloyd asked, "Aside from a few leaders, I think everyone doesn't want another war."

"Nobody wants a war, but everybody wants something. That's just how the world works. If my dad taught me anything, it's that," She let her head droop somewhat.

"You know that you're not responsible for what your dad did, right?" Lloyd picked up on her mood and quickly moved in to help, "He did all the bad things, not you."

"I mean, I was right there with him," Skylar shook her head, "And he was using that chance to get me to mimic someone important. I mean, I didn't get all the leaders, but I did get a few of them. And you know what I was planning to do with them."

"You didn't," Lloyd pointed out, "That's what's important."

"No, what's important is that I was gonna call down all the dragons to wipe everyone out. Doesn't matter that I didn't do it, I still was planning on it," Skylar sighed, "It's not that easy to wipe away your mistakes."

"I think it is," Lloyd countered, "You're not that same girl. You were twisted into hating everyone. You're not your tribe and nobody else is. You should remember that!"

"I do, I do, and honestly having you telling me helps," Skylar smiled, "But it's not always easy. There are still a lot of people that only recognize me when I was getting ready to literally rip the world apart."

"And now they know you as my friend and won't treat you that way," Lloyd countered.

"I wish I could think that way… but whatever," Skylar shrugged, "You should get going, you don't wanna be flying home in the dark, right?"

"Actually flying at night isn't that bad for Firsty," Lloyd pointed out, "But I should get going soon. You know that if you need me, I'm here, right?"

"When I get to you, yeah, I do," Skylar chuckled, "Kinda weird for a kid to be saying that to me."

"You're only two years older than me!" Lloyd protested.

"Yeah, but I'm fourteen, which makes me a teenager!" Skylar grinned back.

"That's not fun!" Lloyd paused, then smirked, "You know I'm stronger than you!"

"Oh no, the Dragon Lord is gonna go and beat me into the ground with his amazing powers!" Skylar shrieked playfully, "Don't hurt me, your highness!"

"Stop that!" Lloyd protested, making Skylar laugh. After a bit, the two of them began laughing together. The feeling was uplifting, and soon Lloyd stood up to leave.

"Stay safe, Mage," Skylar waved her hand, "If you need me, well, you know where to find me."

"Same here!" Lloyd waved, "Don't forget it!"

With that, Lloyd leapt down and away from the rocks. He made his way back to the massive lake where he could see the horns of Firstbourne poking up from the water. He rolled his eyes and sat patiently at the lake's edge, watching her finally take in his presence. She steadily rose up from the water, her body completely soaked and glistening in the light of the setting sun. She stalked forward from the water, creating a cascade off her body that reflected a rainbow of light to Lloyd as he watched.

"You enjoy your two day bath?" Lloyd joked. The dragoness rolled her eyes at him and growled, thrusting her wing out towards him to shower him in water. Lloyd waved his hand with aqua eyes, sending the water droplets away. As he chuckled in victory, however, her other wing flapped and the wind gust enough to send him onto his butt, and let a wave of water shower him.

"Gah!" Lloyd spat, "Hey, that wasn't nice!"

Firstbourne didn't say anything, instead turning to her saddle hanging from a nearby tree. She stalked forward and gently looped her legs through it, sliding it up onto her body. Tilting her head back, she looped a large strap through her massive horn and jerked her head back, synching it to her body. Lloyd leapt up her body and onto the saddle once she was finished, replacing the food bag and grabbing the reins.

"Let's get home!" Lloyd shouted happily. Firstbourne took a few steps back and shot her wings out, running forward a step into the water and then leaping up into the sky, causing water to burst out behind them as she flapped. Lloyd giggled at the rather dramatic flourish, making the dragon grumble in what he suspected was a smile. The wind shot against his face as the force of ascending pushed him into his seat, until finally the two had crested the clouds and were flying straight off towards home.

Now that they were airbourne, Lloyd took the chance to just enjoy the flight. It felt calming to be like this. He was riding the back of the most powerful dragon there was, the only one that would not submit to him if he actually used his Dragon Lord power over the dragons. Chen's plan had been to use Skylar to mimic the dragon call the First Elemental Master gave to create the tribes to destroy them. Lloyd was the one who could actually do it and stop the fighting.

The world wasn't as perfect as he wished it to be, however. The Time Tribe was apparently on edge, the new government wasn't working like he thought it would, and many other things he was sure would come up. He'd have to talk to Bansha and get that business sorted out. And soon he'd have to help Skylar with her tribe. Many things had to get done. Maybe he could figure out a way to get them all done together…?

The Firstbourne growled loudly at him, snapping Lloyd to attention. He blinked and patted her neck, leaning over to look at her. As he did, however, he saw that they'd descended towards the ground, and in doing so, he could see what looked like fire in the distance.

"Huh? Fire?" Lloyd blinked, "But, the Fire Tribe is to the east…."

That's when he realized it. There was a large path that emerged from between two cliffs. The cliffs, however, were blocked up, looking as though a landslide had been triggered to clog up the path. Down the path from the cliffs, the fire he'd seen was in a semicircle. Stuck between the cliffs and the fire were several large carriages. Further up the road past the flames was a large mass of men spread out along the length and all advancing towards the flames, holding torches and clearly blocking the road. Once he saw that, he knew that was an ambush.

Lloyd stood up in the saddle, looking towards the ground and gripping the reins, "Fly me around and drop me off!" Lloyd ordered, "I'll take care of the stuck carriages, you clear us a path!"

The Firstbourne let out a long rumble of acknowledgement, then her body snapped up and shot into a dive. She soared straight towards the ground, putting a massive force of Lloyd as she went. Lloyd held on tightly, flattening back down to the saddle as she did. As they approached the ground, the rising moon framed the dragon.

Right as they were overtop the carriages, Lloyd leapt off, soaring towards the ground and spraying fire from his hands and feet to slow his descent. He landed in the middle of the cornered group, immediately turning his head to the wall of flame. He raced forward, reaching out with both hands and thrusting them apart. The flames were shot to either side, and once a hole was cleared, he called upon earth with brown eyes to open the ground up under the fire, swallowing it whole.

"D-Dragon Lord?!" A female -wearing the telltale clothing of a local trader- sat atop her carriage, holding the reins to a large beast of burden, "Are you here to save us?"

"How many of you are there?" Lloyd asked, the answer to her question obvious.

"T-Ten, two of us were hurt in the collapse. We lost one of our carriages to it!" She quickly informed him, "The rest of us are waiting for a chance to flee!"

"Well you got one!" Lloyd pointed up at the sky, "Firstbourne will clear the path, when I say go, get ready to run!"

The trader nodded, albeit nervously. Lloyd hopped up into the seat beside her, smiling at her before leaping on top of the carriage altogether. As he landed on top of the cloth frame, he held his hands out and readied for attack.

Up the road, Firstbourne completed a sweep with her draconic breath, burning away a large group of the attackers. The force of her breath scorched massive lines across the dirt road, smoke rising up from the ground. She spun in the air and landed beside the road, letting out a massive bellow to any that were still standing. Those that were quickly began to flee.

"Now!" Mage shouted. The trader nodded her head and quickly snapped her reins, causing her carriage to race forward. The other traders' carriages quickly fell in line once they realized they were moving, the caravan getting rolling. Lloyd remained gripping onto the carriage he was on, letting the group rocket forward even as it jostled him around. They passed by Firstbourne, who took off into the air to cover them.

A cry from behind him made Lloyd turn around. Several strange vehicles were following after them. They weren't drawn by any animal, and looked like strange triangles with blades on either side. The drivers weren't easily seen, but they were making an awful nose. There were roughly ten of them at a quick count, and all were rapidly driving after them. They shone in the moonlight, looking almost alien to their more traditional transports.

"Firsty!" Lloyd shouted, "Fly behind them and scare them! I'll take them out!"

Lloyd knew that his dragon's breath could accidently light one of the caravan on fire if they were unlucky. The dragon angled her wings up, causing her to snap backwards. Lloyd, meanwhile, filled his hands with ice and formed a makeshift bridge from his carriage back to the next one, then the third, and finally the last one. The ice was snapped apart by the force of the carriages rocking.

"What are those things?!" The driver of the last carriage, a man from the Wind Tribe it looked from this distance, shrieked out. He thrust his hand behind him, letting out a gust of wind through the carriage to try to strike the pursuers. The gust didn't reach anywhere near close.

"Don't know, don't care!" Lloyd clapped his hands together, ducking into the carriage and taking his position inside at the back, "Just keep going!"

The roar of the Firstbourne filled his ears. Lloyd saw her behind the ground, snarling at them and driving them forward out of fear. Lloyd thought fast, then quickly rubbed his hands together to form sparks. With swipes of his fists, lightning arced straight out from them, firing out to strike one of the oncoming pursuers. The charge dissipated over their metal hull.

Lloyd growled and quickly switched his tactics. He thrust both his hands out, calling upon earth with brown eyes. Rocks began to rip up from the ground which he hurled out towards the oncoming targets. Three of them were struck dead in the middle and careened off into a crash. He avoided the drivers, knowing at this speed, they could get hurt.

The Firstbourne roared again. One of the riders suddenly surged forward, driving the blades on the front of his vehicle right into the wheels of the carriage. The action caused one wheel to break off, and Lloyd was snapped forward. He gripped the lip of the carriage to stop from going out, but the carriage lurching rattled him. The trader driving the carriage shrieked in fear as he looked for somewhere to go.

"Hold on!" Lloyd shouted, running through the carriage and grabbing hold of him. The driver's eyes widened as Lloyd activated his speed element, leaping out from the carriage and out into the one in front of them. The two landed painfully inside the carriage, with Lloyd's shoulder cracking open a box painfully. The carriage they leapt from smashed apart, the beast snapping free and running off in terror as one of the pursuers were taken out.

From inside the third carriage, one of the traders stood up, sporting the blue clothes of the Sound Tribe. With the two safe, he raced forward and took a deep breath. Lloyd quickly covered his ears as he screamed, the sound waves carrying right into one of the attackers. It wasn't deadly, but distracted him enough to lose control and take one more down with him.

"Thanks!" Lloyd shouted, his ears ringing slightly as he got up. When he did, he looked to the five remaining attackers. He thought fast, bringing his fist into the air and rapidly punching the air. Each time he did, a burst of fire would come out. The flames lit the ground on fire as he kept attacking, aiming his fists back and forth as he swept and traced the path the attackers were coming in.

"Firsty!" Lloyd shouted, knowing she was listening for him, "Drop me!"

The Sound and Wind Tribe traders looked at Lloyd in confusion, but Lloyd simply climbed up onto the top of the carriage again. When he had, the Firstbourne soared towards the carriage. He waited until she was overhead, then leapt into the air. Her outstretched talons were there for him to grab onto and dangle from. He smirked for a moment, finally able to concentrate without the carriages constantly shaking.

Lloyd let go. He hurtled towards the ground, right in front of the pursuers. When he struck the ground, his fist hit first. His eyes were brown. A millisecond later, the ground rippled outwards like a shockwave, causing the remaining five to go flying about in every direction. They careened and crashed, driving wedges into the land around them. Several of the drivers were flung violently off into the ground. Lloyd stood up and brought his fists up, readying for an attack. When none came, he turned around to see a crashed vehicle.

"Alright," Lloyd approached the downed vehicle, "I tried to be nice there but you guys wouldn't stop coming! Now it's time for you to tell me who you… are…"

Lloyd went silent had approached one of the men. There was nothing more than a suit of armor there, collapsed onto the ground. No body or indication of one was nearby. He looked down towards it and picked up the helmet, trying to see underneath it. There was… nothing there. Just like before.

"What the…?" Lloyd blinked in confusion.

"Dragon Lord!" The voice of the female trader he'd seen sounded off. She was running towards him, panting heavily and using what looked like speed in short bursts to get closer to him. When she arrived, she was heaving.

"Is anyone hurt?" Lloyd asked immediately, reaching out to help her stand.

"No… no!" She coughed out, "We… we lost our supplies, though. Most of them! I'm… I'm just happy it wasn't us this time."

"This time?" Lloyd asked.

"Since… since the Summit…" She wheezed out, "These… these raiders have been going after the trade shipments. My, my friend was caught in one of them. Nobody was hurt but they lost everything too…" She grimaced, "We're in a lot of trouble…"

"Where were you heading?" Lloyd demanded.

"The… Form Tribe… to sell some supplies…" She stood up, finally getting her breath.

"I'll escort you the rest of the way," Lloyd stated, "I'll make sure you don't get attacked again."

"You'd… do that for us?" The trader smiled widely, "T-Thank you, sir! I'll go tell the others!"

As she began running back before Lloyd could stop her, the boy turned towards the empty armor husk. While he smiled for her sake, his smile dropped as soon as he laid eyes on the strange sight before him. Whatever had been chasing them was gone. He looked once more to the empty husk of armor, committing it to his memory. As he did, the dragon slowly paced her way up to him.

"Let's go, Firstbourne…" Lloyd stated firmly. The dragoness rumbled, allowing him to climb onto her back again. With one last look to the confusing sight, he snapped the reins and the two were off once more.

"Son, it's good to…" Garmadon's eyes narrowed as Lloyd entered the doors to their secluded home, seeing his scuffed up state, "What happened?"

"I didn't find anything with Skylar…" Lloyd yawned, "On the way back I saw a group of 'raiders' attacking a trade caravan and helped them out. I escorted them to the Form Tribe… didn't really get to sleep since I was watching out for them."

"Raiders?" Garmadon asked, "Are you hurt?"

"No… but they disappeared, just like those assassins at the Summit," Lloyd yawned again, slowly walked over to find a space against the wall to slide against. It'd taken him all night to get them to the Form Tribe, as slow as they were, and by this point he was exhausted.

"I heard in a report that these Raiders were attacking, but I didn't think they were that aggressive," Garmadon frowned, "How many were there?"

"Looked like twenty I think, and that's not counting the ten on these like, weird bikes," Lloyd shook his head, "They made a lot of noise and had swords on the front. Big swords."

"That sounds strange indeed," Garmadon nodded, "Here," He reached out, handing a scroll to Lloyd, "This was addressed to you. It's from Acronix. While you read it, I'll get the report to compare your experience to it."

Lloyd nodded as his dad left the room. He slowly unfurled the scroll and opened it up. He smiled as he saw the fancy and detailed lettering that Acronix used. Yawning again, he read over the long text. As he did, he steadily began to feel whatever exhaustion he had evaporating.

"Dad… dad!" Lloyd stood up, "This is bad!"

"What, son?" Garmadon returned into the room, holding a scroll, "Did you remember something?"

"No, it's worse than that!" Lloyd held up the scroll, "Acronix says Krux is gone!"