"And that's basically what's going to happen," Kai finished the retelling of what was planned to go down on the day of the revolution once they'd gotten the blueprints from the Tinkerer, said goodbye, and were back on the Destiny's Bounty and in the air.

"It's going to be pretty awesome," Cole stated.

Lloyd tried not to frown as the other five ninja smiled at each other. Sure, it might be awesome for them. They didn't have to worry about fighting their parents.

"Indeed," Wu chimed in.

Lloyd and Jay jumped and whirled to face Wu. Zane didn't jump so much as tilt his head to one side quizzically as he turned to face Wu, and Nya, Kai, and Cole didn't even flinch.

"How long have you been here?" Jay demanded wildly.

Wu gave a mysterious smile. "Long enough. It would appear the two final ninja have been found, hmmm?"

"Uh-huh. Master Wu, this is Jay, Master of Lightning, and Zane, Master of Lightning. Jay, Zane, this is Master Wu," Nya introduced.

Wu did a little half-bow. "A pleasure."

"Whoa, this is the Master Wu who's leading the revolution?" Jay gasped.

"The one and only," Kai said with a laugh.

"And these are the ninja who will help with the revolution," Wu stated, sweeping his hand to gesture to the six of them, including Jay, Zane, and Lloyd himself. "Although in those clothes, I doubt anyone will believe you three are ninja."

Lloyd glanced over himself, Jay, and Zane. Jay was in grease-stained overalls and a ratty t-shirt, Zane wore pure white pants and a matching long-sleeved shirt, and Lloyd was still wearing Kai's jeans and Cole's hoodie. It was true; they didn't look like ninja at all, much unlike Kai, Cole, and Nya in their color-coded uniforms.

"Come, all of you," Wu commanded, and he turned and walked out of the room without another word.

Wu led them to a little closet off of the main hallway, where he pulled out three thin boxes. "This one is Jay's, this one Zane's, and this one is yours, Lloyd. Go try them on, then meet us in the largest training room."

A few minutes later, the three new ninja were all clothed in their new uniforms and were walking down the hall, looking for the training room Wu had mentioned.

"I've got to admit, I love my new ninja suit," Jay bragged, pausing in his walking to do a little spin in place. "I mean, it's so awesome!"

"And the material is very light and breathable," Zane added happily.

"Yeah, I guess they're kind of cool," Lloyd hedged.

Pausing, Zane looked at Lloyd. "Are you not excited to be given such an outfit?"

"I'm excited!" Lloyd defended, stopping in his walking as well.

"You don't sound excited," Jay said doubtfully. "You sound, you sound, I don't know, but you don't sound excited."

"I believe he sounds more apprehensive," Zane offered.

"Why?" Jay asked, looking at Lloyd.

Lloyd squirmed under the two gazes. "I mean, it's cool to be a ninja, and it's cool to have elemental powers, and it's even cool that I'm going to get to save the world, but I wish it didn't have to be the way that it is, you know?"

Jay and Zane looked confused.

"Because, you know. Of who I'm saving the world from," Lloyd said, voice getting quieter and quieter as he spoke until he was mumbling the end of the sentence.

"Lord and Lady Garmadon?" Jay asked in confusion, then realization dawned on his face, his mouth dropping open. "Oooh. Because they're not just Lord and Lady Garmadon to you, are they?"

"They are your parents, and you do not wish to fight them," Zane put together, nodding. "That is understandable."

"Yeah, I can't imagine fighting my parents," Jay sympathized.

"I don't have to imagine it. I'm going to live it," Lloyd stated gloomily.

Jay and Zane traded concerned glances.

A few doors down the hall, Kai peeked out from a doorway. "C'mon, guys! We've been waiting for what feels like forever!"

"It's been like five minutes, Kai," Nya's voice came from inside the room.

"But five minutes can feel like forever," Kai retorted. He waved Lloyd, Jay, and Zane forward and into the training room before sitting on the floor beside Cole and Nya. After a moment's hesitation, Lloyd, Jay, and Zane did the same.

"Now, as ninja and Elemental Masters, you will likely use a combination of your elemental powers and your mechs in the confrontation against Lord and Lady Garmadon and their armies," Wu lectured. "Nya has much of the mechs already ready, and now that you've gathered more parts and blueprints, we can finish with those. However, just as important is your elemental powers. Kai, Cole, Nya, please stand and demonstrate your powers."

"Yes, Master," the three original ninja chimed together, standing and walking to the front of the room. They stood with feet slightly apart, hands held in front of their chests, obviously waiting for some kind of signal.

Wu bustled around, setting up a few boxes and dummies around them. Then he stood back by Lloyd and commanded, "Earth!"

"Earth!" Cole yelled back, and he slammed his hands together in front of his chest. Immediately a shockwave burst from his hands, visibly distorting the air as it rippled quickly out, knocking over all of the boxes and dummies and dissipating just before it reached Wu.

"Fire!" Wu ordered.

"Fi-yah!" Kai crowed, and he swept a leg in front of himself as he pushed his hands out to the sides. Immediately a wave of fire bellowed from both of his hands, rushing upon the boxes and dummies and setting them ablaze.

"Water!" Wu called.

"Water!" Nya shouted, and she thrust both hands up into the air. Immediately a strong rain fell from the ceiling onto the flaming boxes and dummies, soaking them and putting out the fires.

"And reset," Wu ordered.

"Reset," the three original ninja repeated. Cole and Kai got back into their original positions quickly, and Nya slowly pulled her hands down to her torso again, causing the rain to stop and all the water to flow to her and disappear.

Even having seen a display of the three original ninja's powers before, it was impressive. Lloyd glanced at Jay and Zane. Jay's eyes were huge, his mouth was curved in an enormous grin, and his hands were clenched in excited fists in front of his chest. Zane looked a little more calm, but he was grinning too.

"That. Was. Awesome," Jay breathed.

"Quite impressive!" Zane chimed in.

"It was really cool," Lloyd agreed.

Jay fidgeted in his seat, raising a hand. "Oh, oh!"

"Yes, Jay?" Wu asked.

"How long's it going to take for me to learn how to do stuff like that?" Jay asked eagerly.

"You have the next seven days to learn how to do it as best you can," Wu answered. "I believe you will be able to do something quite similar by the end of it."

Jay's grin widened. "Super sweet. When do we start?"

"Right now," Wu replied. "Kai, fire and lightning run on similar principles. You will train Jay. Nya, water and ice are two sides of one coin. You will train Zane. Cole, earth and energy have their differences, but they are very alike. You will train Lloyd. I will go back and forth between the three pairs, observing and giving help when needed. Go!"

"This'll be fun," Cole remarked, approaching Lloyd and offering him a hand up.

"Right, fun," Lloyd echoed, trying to sound enthusiastic as he took Cole's hand and pulled himself to a standing position. "This'll be fun."

It wasn't fun.

"How come I'm having this much trouble with it?" Lloyd asked Wu despairingly a while later, gesturing across the room to the other two pairs. "Jay's got lightning bolts jumping back and forth between his hands already, and Zane's been making icicles practically this whole time. Why I am the only one who's struggling?"

Wu smiled. "Because you are not truly trying?"

"I'm trying!" Lloyd objected. "Cole, tell him how much I've been trying."

"It's looked like he's been trying," Cole offered.

"Really?" Wu asked. "Lloyd, what are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking about how much I'm trying to do this," Lloyd grumbled.

"I think not. I think you are thinking about how much you want to be doing anything other than this," Wu said gravely.

Lloyd frowned. "No I'm not."

"So if I said, what do you really want to be doing right now, you would have no other answer for me than this?" Wu asked.

Lloyd tried to nod, but he couldn't. His mind was too caught up in all the other things he'd rather be doing. He'd rather be playing video games with the other ninja. He'd rather be learning something new at school. He'd rather be home with his parents, not thinking about having to defeat them.

Wu nodded, looking at Lloyd. "I see. You are not struggling with using your powers. You are struggling with what you will end up using your powers for."

Cole made a soft "oooh" sound. "Lloyd, are you still worried about fighting your parents?"

"I mean, yeah. Of course I am. Wouldn't you be?" Lloyd challenged.

Cole frowned. "Probably, yeah."

"Lloyd, you cannot focus on the future. The future will come when it comes, and we will meet it when it does. All you can focus on is what you're doing in the present," Wu stated.

"But how am I supposed to focus on the present when everything about the present leads to the future?" Lloyd wondered.

"It's a delicate balance to be sure, but it's one I am sure you can master," Wu comforted. "Now, let's try this again, but a little differently."

"Differently?" Lloyd repeated.

"Don't think of fighting your parents. But don't think about using your powers either, and don't avoid thinking about your parents completely. Instead, think of the moment you first realized your parents needed someone to stop them. Don't think about that someone being you. Just think that they need to be stopped," Wu encouraged. "Now, close your eyes."

Begrudgingly, Lloyd closed his eyes.

"Listen to my voice," Wu stated. "Think of your parents, of the things you've seen them do that you now realize weren't in Ninjago's best interests."

"The firing," Lloyd muttered.

"Exactly," Wu agreed. "Now, think of the power it'll take for them to be stopped, the teamwork, the determination, the energy. Concentrate on that."

Lloyd concentrated. He felt something sharp and striking warming up behind his eyes and deep within his chest. "I feel… Warm."

"Hold onto that warmth," Wu directed. "Focus on it. Direct it all to one place. How about into your hands?"

"It's moving," Lloyd reported, almost opening his eyes in surprise but barely managing to keep them shut. "It's really warm now, almost hot. It's all in my hands now."

"Now, when you're ready, open your eyes and quickly push your hands out in front of you," Wu ordered.

Lloyd took a deep breath, then he let it out. "Okay. I'm ready."

"Do it," Wu commanded.

Eyes flaring open, Lloyd thrust his hands out in front of him.

A burst of green-gold light flew out of his hands. It spun across the room, right into one of the boxes Wu had used for demonstrating Kai, Nya, and Cole's powers. The box glowed for a brief moment.

Then it exploded.

"Yikes!" Jay, who had been closest to the box, hollered shrilly, jumping back to avoid bits of box. "What was that?"

"That was Lloyd," Cole said with a grin. "Good job, Lloyd!"

"Congratulations," Zane called over.

"Woo-hoo, that's our Green Ninja!" Kai exclaimed.

"Now he just needs to learn to control it a little more, and he'll be all ready," Nya remarked. "That's great!"

"Yeah. Great," Lloyd repeated, half-believing it.

Because, in a way, it was great.

And in a way, it wasn't.