Nicki's Story

66

"How did you escape this last time?!" Nya yelled as they continued their escape from the large boulder.

Lloyd tried to remember back, but he had only run that simulation once. He couldn't really remember how he had escaped; but he remembered making it to the armor room. Surely it was around here somewhere…

He noticed a small side hallway and yanked Nya into it, allowing the boulder to finally roll by.

"I think the armor room is around here somewhere…" Lloyd said, peering out of their small hallway. "I think I found it shortly after the boulder…"

"Well, that's good at least," Nya said. She looked over at the bag by Lloyd. "Still got the masks?"

"Yup." he glanced in the bag to make sure and three creepy faces looked back. "They're still in there.

"Shhhh!" Nya cut him off, listening. He quieted down, thinking she was hearing a new trap.

"Make the next two lefts…"

"Was that Pix?" Lloyd asked as Nya crept out of the hallway.

"Quick, it came from this direction!" Nya said and the two of them set off down the hall. "If we can find P.I.X, I'm sure that she will be able to find the armor room."

They turned a corner and Lloyd narrowly missed being hit by a swinging ax.

"Woah!" he ducked and slid across the floor. "Careful! Almost forgot about the traps…"

"PIX?!" Nya called, trying to pinpoint the location of their friend. They made it to the end of the hall, ducking around the weapons that came at them.

"Nya?" P.I.X.A.L's voice echoed down the hall.

"Where are you?!" Nya asked as she and Lloyd paused.

"Give me a minute to scan for you…then I will give you directions on how to reach me. I'm in the armor room…"

"Wait, really?!" Lloyd called. "And Skylor is with you, right?"

P.I.X.A.L was silent and they could only assume she was busy scanning.

"Head down the hall you are currently in and turn left. You'll notice a opening in the floor…it's the hatch that I entered…."

"Got it!" Nya yelled, taking off down the hallway. It wasn't long before she and Lloyd could see the hatch in the floor.

"Just be careful because…"

"ACH!" Lloyd yelled as a sudden burst of flame lit his gi on fire. Nya quickly doused it.

"Lemme guess…be careful because there are flame-thrower traps up here?" she asked dryly. She and Lloyd reached the hatch and peered down into the armor room. There was the armor…looking just like they had remembered it. And there was P.I.X.A.L, standing on the floor with a long coil of rope.

"Where's Skylor?" Lloyd called, just as Nya stumbled into him. He looked over at her; she looked a little dazed.

"Sorry…I'm suddenly feeling a little lightheaded…"

"TRY NOT TO BREATHE!" P.I.X.A.L called out. She was annoyed at herself for not warning her friends sooner about the sleeping gas threat, but she had been shocked to see that they had made it into the stronghold at all.

"What, why?" Lloyd's question had been a knee-jerk response, but then P.I.X.A.L's words sank in and he held his breath.

"I triggered the armor's last security measure; sleeping gas. It must be making its way through the pipes now…"

Nya wanted to point out that they couldn't hold their breath forever, but talking would require her to stop holding her breath and thus posed a problem.

"Skylor has gone to locate the source of the gas…" P.I.X.A.L answered their unasked question. "We will have to just wait and see if she is able to turn it off. I would send you to help her…but if you end up being affected by the gas I will be better able to defend you here from the security nindroids."

That still didn't really sound like a good option to either Nya or Lloyd, but both kept quiet. Mainly out of necessity. The next minute was excruciating; right as Lloyd was pretty sure he was on the verge of blacking out P.I.X.A.L called out suddenly from below.

"The gas has stopped flowing through the pipes. There's still enough in the air to make you lightheaded…but you should probably breathe now before you knock yourselves out."

Nya and Lloyd simultaneously gasped for breath, and instantly became dizzy.

"I guess…this means…Skylor found it…" Lloyd said, stumbling into the wall.

"Lay on the ground to get below the gas," P.I.X.A.L instructed and both friends did so. Nya felt a little foolish…here she was, in a high-security stronghold in the middle of a labyrinth of a jungle. Lying on the floor.

"How did you guys find the armor?" Lloyd asked.

"I have been able to scan small sections of the stronghold as we worked through it and I was able to detect the room.

"How are we going to get in there? There are bars over the hatch!" Nya complained.

"Maybe we could just drop the masks down to P.I.X.A.L…" Lloyd mused, but Nya shook her head.

"But we don't know what would happen when we destroy them…and with the bars in place Pix can't get out either; she'd be trapped in there with the aftermath."

"Oh, yeah…" Lloyd said.

"Do not worry about me," P.I.X.A.L called from below. "I am here to be useful…if that is what is needed than that is what we will do."

Nya frowned. Lloyd turned towards the hatch.

"No way, Pix. We're doing this together….all of it. Ok?"

P.I.X.A.L was silent. A few minutes passed by before any of them spoke.

"I think Skylor should have been back by now…" Lloyd finally said, and P.I.X.A.L agreed.

"You should be safe to stand again; the gas should be dissipated enough now…"

Lloyd got to his feet and Nya followed suit. She turned to him.

"You go find Skylor. Pix and I will try to figure out how to get this hatch open again." He nodded and, after getting directions from P.I.X.A.L, disappeared down the hall.

Keyda

The crowd parted as an unknown man came forward. His head was half-shaved and his face was covered in hideous scars. Both Keyda and Wu watched with both curiosity and wariness as he walked forward. When he reached the front of the crowd, he stopped walking and began to talk once again. He was addressing the crowd around him, but he looked at Wu the whole time.

"Think about it, friends. Sure…some of us might wish we could all go back to the way things were before…but the Baron is dead. And this guy's the one who did it."

The crowd jeered, but the speaker held up his arm for silence.

"Life's a whole lot easier when you have someone to lead…when you don't have to make decisions for yourself. But serving under the Baron was a living nightmare…constantly being told what to do, not allowed to think for yourself...and all it took was him thinkin' you slipped up one time and you were toast."

Keyda looked at the man carefully as he spoke. She swore that she had never seen him before in her life…but the way he spoke sounded so familiar. He continued.

"Nah...life under the Baron was agony, but even if some of ya liked it better, he's dead now. The fact is we've got to decide what's more important to us…survival or revenge."

"Why should we listen to you?" someone asked, mockingly. "You're nothing more than an ugly nobody!"

"I was the Baron's right-hand man." the stranger said quietly.

Keyda blinked; then that would mean…

"Heavy Metal?" she asked, dumbfounded. She was shocked to see him without his mask…and even more shocked at the fact that he seemed to be on their side.

"That's right." he said and Oni in the crowd looked at each other uncertainly. Heavy Metal continued.

"Sure we could pick a different leader and go up against these dragons…but they're stronger than us. And they got this dragon master…and those powerful outsiders." He shuddered. "Never knew anyone stronger than the Baron but they beat him, hey? And there's plenty I don't understand about them…like where they came from, and where they got those fancy powers…how that one woke up after being dead…" He shook his head. "I feel like it's in my better interest to be on their side than on an opposing one. The rest of you decide what you want…but if this Golden Guy hasn't killed me yet after taking the Baron out so easily, I'm gonna take my chances with him. "

The Oni looked like they wanted to keep arguing…but Heavy Metal did make a good point. Behind their rage was uncertainty…and a desperate need for survival.

"I won't follow him…" One woman in the front called out. She sounded more resigned than angry. "Oni following the Dragon leader is unnatural…"

"There was Oni in the child of olden times," Wu pointed out. "And thus there is Oni in me as well. Just as much Oni as Dragon, technically."

This sunk in. The Oni looked at one another; could they really even consider this as an option?

Heavy Metal spoke again, but this time he was addressing Wu.

"Best give them some time to think about it, Dragon Master,"

Wu considered his words and finally nodded.

"So be it…you have till dawn to decide."

67

In the end, utter exhaustion beat out Cole's stubbornness. Zane continued to watch the horizon, though he glanced over now and again as his sleeping friend cried out or moaned. It seemed he was having nightmares…which didn't really surprise the nindroid. He couldn't decide if it would be better to wake Cole and spare him from his bad dreams or let him sleep so his body could get some much needed rest; he figured that Cole wouldn't be willing to go back to sleep once awakened.

While he waited, he thought about what Cole had told him. Garmadon was alive…well, the good part of Garmadon. If one considered existing in the limbo void as being alive. The Nindroid could calculate what this information would mean for Ninjago…but he could also calculate all the risks involved. Not to mention that they had yet to find a way out of this realm. He could only hope that Wu would know what to do.

A dragon call caused Zane to look up and notice that the Ultra-Dragon was approaching. Here was his chance to ask him.

The Ultra-Dragon roared again as it drew nearer and his call woke the three sleeping ninja. Cole woke up with a yell, and his arms flashed as he apparently tried to power up his earth punch. His eyes cleared as he woke up and he remembered where he was.

The ninja watched as the Ultra-Dragon flew over them and landed on the formation and then headed over.

"Soooo…how'd it go?" the blue ninja pressed as Wu and Keyda descended. They looked at each other and then Wu looked at his pupils.

"They're coming to tell us of their decision at dawn."

"You couldn't convince them?" Kai scoffed. "Why not just sic Keyda on them till they agree?"

Wu gave off a choking sound that might have been a laugh while Keyda glared at the fire ninja. He might have saved her once…but that didn't mean she liked him.

"Because there wouldn't have been any Oni left," Cole pointed out and Keyda turned to glare at him instead. "But we can talk about all that later… I remembered something important that happened in the limbo place…"

Cole quickly filled everyone else in on the experience.

"Garmadon?! Like…the good Garmadon?!" Jay looked shocked

"Yeah…exactly how he was when we last saw him…"

"Wait…so he's still a snake-man?" Kai cut in.

Cole blinked, confused. "What? NO…ok, maybe not exactly like how we last saw him. Think Sensei Garmadon, guys. He's still out there in…limbo land,"

During the discussion Wu had become very quiet. Zane looked over.

"Wu…is there a way to bring him back, like we brought back Cole?"

Wu glanced up.

"Technically…yes. But it would require getting close to Garmadon…"

"And I doubt he's gonna go for that!" Jay interjected. "I mean, it was easy to do it on Cole, with him being passed out and all. How the heck are we supposed get close enough to Garmadon long enough to do anything?"

"Easy?" Keyda glowered. "The way you talk makes it sound like you forgot that you had nothing to do with it…"

"And we would need both you and Keyda to accomplish it, correct?" Zane asked Wu.

"Maybe it would be easier to just defeat Garmadon…" Kai put in. Cole frowned.

"But guys...if we don't pull Good Garmadon out of there then he'll be lost in the void forever,"

"Maybe we could defeat the bad one and try to pull the good one out later, some other way?" Jay tried, but Cole shook his head.

"We don't have time…I mean, I was only in there for, what? A few hours? A few days?" he looked around at his friends. "Actually, how long was I out for anyways?"

"Not quite a day," Zane clarified and Cole continued.

"Yeah…not quite a day, and I was almost…" he trailed off, suddenly remembering that he almost fell asleep in the Limbo void. What would have happened if he had? He shuddered at the thought.

"I am all for saving my brother…my real brother…" Wu said. "But it will take a lot of planning. And I wouldn't be able to do it alone," he turned to Keyda. "Zane is right. You would have to be willing to come to our realm,"

She didn't respond.

"Wasn't…wasn't that the plan anyway?" Cole asked quietly. Keyda glanced up and then back down. The air was tense as everyone waited for her answer.

"How exactly do you plan on getting home anyways?"

Everyone glanced at each other and then everyone's gaze rested on Wu. He sighed.

"The only chance we have is if the nations unite,"

The ninja looked confused and Keyda bristled.

"What do you mean?" Kai asked. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"It's all in the wording of Antirock's prophecy…I believe he gave us a loophole," Wu explained. "The prophecy said that the child and the elements would always stay with the Dragon Nation…the Elder took that to mean that we would be forced to stay in this realm forever. But we are only bound to the Dragon Nation. If the two nations unite, they will become a new nation, and technically the Dragon Nation and Oni Nation would no longer exist…"

"You're basing everything on wording?!" Jay asked in disbelief.

"THAT'S why you're uniting the nations?!" Keyda couldn't believe it. After all the Dragon Master's flowery words…the truth was he was only after his own interests. That's all they were then…words. Her fists lit up.

Everyone suddenly became wary as Keyda glared at the Dragon Master.

"Keyda…" Wu started, but she shook her head.

"NO…no more of your fancy talking. You said that you were here to bring peace…that joining the nations was the only way…"

"It is the only way!"

"Really?! Because I honestly can't think of a plan that would create more turmoil! Why didn't you bring up the prophecy's loophole in all your speech to the Dragons?"

Wu sighed in irritation as Keyda answered her own question.

"You were never planning on leading anybody…you don't care what happens to this realm…you had ulterior motives this entire time! Once the nations are joined you are gonna run away…back to your own realm…"

"It's not like that…" Cole started, but Kai cut in.

"Ulterior motives?! Getting back home with the Dragon Master has been our plan this entire time! You knew that!"

"Sure… but then he," she gestured to Wu angrily, "started talking about fixing the realm…and bringing peace…for ancient's sake he just became leader of the Dragons!"

"Uniting the realms really is in everyone's best interest!" Wu argued back. "And I have no intention of tricking anybody…this is the change that will help the realm; isn't change what you wanted?!"

"STOP!" Keyda was yelling and seemed close to attacking. "You've tried to paint yourself as some kind of savior but the truth is you're just like the Elder…and the Baron! You have your own little plans and plots and you just manipulate other people into thinking it's what they want for themselves!" Her fists grew brighter and the ninja instinctively took defensive stances. She studied them all for a minute or so, and then she sighed and the flame died down.

"Well…I'm done being manipulated. You guys are on your own." She walked over to the side of the plateau that they were on and swung her legs over the edge for the climb down.

"Wait!" Cole said, and her eyes flashed as she looked up. "After all of this, you can't just…"

"Save it…you aren't talking me out of this," she said, and he could tell that she was serious. He huffed.

"Well…at least let me give you a ride to…wherever it is you're going,"

She stiffened; she had nowhere to go and she knew they all knew it. But at the moment she didn't care. She just needed to get away from here to somewhere where she wouldn't feel like a pawn for once. If such a place even existed.

"No." She disappeared as she began her dissent. Cole's brows furrowed and he continued to glare at the place she disappeared for the next couple minutes. Jay and Kai made eye contact and Jay wiggled his eyebrows. Perhaps they didn't have anything to worry about after all.

"Wu...do you think the Oni will agree to join up?" Zane asked, breaking the tension. Wu sighed.

"I do not know…but if they do not then we may be out of options for getting home…"

"Don't say that!" Jay cut in. "You're Wu! I haven't met a situation yet that you haven't had an ambiguous metaphor for that could magically relate to our situation and solve all our problems!"

Everyone waited, but Wu only frowned.

"This is where you hit us up with an ambiguous metaphor…in case you didn't get that…" Jay prompted. Wu shook his head.

"What good is my unexpected wisdom if you are all expecting it?" he said with irritation. Then he sighed. "I'm sorry…it's just that everything feels like it is against us and we are running out of time…"

"Maybe, but I think we're used to those odds by now," Kai pointed out. "We'll get out of this. Ninja never quit…right guys?" he turned and Jay and Zane nodded their agreement, but Cole still looked distracted.

"...Cole?" Kai prompted, and his friend shook his head, still looking over at where Keyda had left.

"Nope…not letting her get away with it," he muttered. He started walking towards his dragon. The Earth Guardian saw him coming and prepared to be boarded while the rest of the ninja looked at each other in disbelief.

"COLE! Where are you going!?" Jay yelled, though everyone already knew. Cole barely glanced behind him.

"She's being ridiculous…"

"She made her decision clear, Cole," Wu interjected. "I doubt she will appreciate being followed…or pressed…"

"Oh, I'm counting on it…" Cole struggled to board his dragon. He finally groaned in resigned frustration. "A little help?"

"You're just gonna make her angry…" Jay said. Kai nodded his agreement.

"Jay's right…and you are in bad shape. At least let me come with you…"

"That will just make her angrier," Cole pointed out as his dragon assisted him onboard. "Thanks." The guardian spread its wings in reply.

"I really must agree with the others…" Zane started. Based on what he knew about Keyda, chasing her down while she was angry would only escalate the situation.

"I get it, guys…but I gotta do this." With that, the Earth Guardian launched off the rock formation.

Jay shook his head.

"Aw, man…he's got it worse than we thought…"

Kai folded his arms. "I thought we agreed not to talk about it…"

68

Skylor blinked, discombobulated. Why was the world sideways? Where was she? Her mind suddenly snapped to focus as she realized that she was on the floor and she sat up. Light was leaking in the hole in the wall she had broken through to get into the room. She didn't remember passing out…but she was glad she had at least woken up again. She was taking that as a sign that she had turned the wheel the right way. She stood up and was annoyed to find her legs shaking. She steadied herself on the wall and tried to think about what the next step would be. Get back to P.I.X.A.L…find out how to get into the room…and then what? Lloyd and Nya were still outside. Maybe they could find some way to transport the armor? Then Lloyd and Nya wouldn't have to get inside with the masks. But how on earth would they…

The sound of running feet took her out of her thoughts. It had to be nindroids; Pix had mentioned that they would come soon after the gas to clean up the mess so to speak. She pulled out her crossbow, positioning herself behind the gas tank with the bow pointed at the hole in the wall. She prepared to fire on the first thing that came into view…

She heard clattering as blowdarts fired at whoever was approaching. Skylor lowered the crossbow a bit. The stronghold wouldn't be firing on its own nindroids, would it?

"Skylor?!" A voice called, and the redhead stood up, lowering her weapon the rest of the way.

"Lloyd?!" she asked, going to her makeshift door and poking her head out into the hallway. She was shocked to see the figure in green turn the corner, smiling in relief as he caught sight of her.

"Ah…there you are…" he said.

"Where's Nya?" she asked as she joinded him in the hall.

"Nya's with Pix," Lloyd said. "We found another entrance," he continued as he saw the confused look on her face."

"Oh, well…that's a relief…"

"We should get back though, before Pix sends Nya to come find us."

Skylor laughed. "After you."

Keyda

Keyda heard the dragon approach and cursed.

"GO AWAY!" she yelled as she continued her march.

"You don't even know where you're going!" Cole pointed out, swooping closer. She turned and he could make out her glare in the purple glow of her hands.

"Go away orI will blast you off that dragon!"

He rolled his eyes and landed in front of her.

"Here," he said sarcastically as he dismounted. "I'll give you a closer shot."

She turned and started walking quickly in another direction. He took off after her but wasn't able to move quite as fast.

"I know he sent you here to change my mind…but it's already made up so you might as well leave!"

"Wu didn't even want me to come!" Cole shouted back, grimacing. He would add speed-walking to the list of things that hurt a lot to do. "Would you just stop for a minute and listen?!"

"I'm done listening." She walked faster and Cole huffed angrily. Suddenly his dragon landed right in front of Keyda, cutting off her escape and giving her a patronizing look. She groaned and turned to find Cole right behind her, albeit out of breath.

"You really are the most confusing person…" he panted and she threw up her hands in frustration.

"ME? You are the ones who say one thing and do another…"

"Oh yeah? One second you want things to change…and the next you're angry that they're changing. You say you don't care about us but now you're upset that we might be leaving…can you not see how that could be sending some mixed signals?"

She folded her arms in a full body glare. "It's your Dragon Master who's sending mixed signals…"

"That's another thing!" he said, straightening up as he yelled. "You can say what you want about me…and you sure have… but don't you dare talk bad about Wu."

"Why are you so protective of him?! All he does is tell you what to do…he controls you…"

"No, he leads us. Don't you get it? There are such things as good leaders!"

"I guess I wouldn't know!"

"Yeah, well, then you can take my word for it." He took a step closer. "So don't ever compare Wu to the Baron again."

She just shook her head. "Who is he, anyways? When I first met you guys he was just a kid and now he's grown older…much older than he should have in a matter of days! And you all follow him blindly…even when he was just a runt you all looked to him for guidance. How do you know he isn't controlling you all somehow?"

"It isn't control…it's called respect. And he's older than he seems-he got mixed up with some trouble and ended up turning young. He's turning back to his old self though, slowly but surely; He's our sensei…he's the one who brought our team together in the first place and trained us." Cole became quiet, as if remembering something. "Years ago I was pretty lost. I didn't have any direction: I was more or less estranged from my Dad, and I had just lost my mom…if Wu hadn't found me when he did I don't really know where I would have ended up."

Keyda waited, arms still folded. He continued.

"I know that to you it seems like he doesn't care…like he's abandoning this realm…using those who live in it…but I've been with the guy for years. If he says this is the only way for lasting peace, then it is. If he said that he'd lead the dragons, then he will." He took in her skeptical look and nearly yelled in frustration. "If you don't trust him than at least trust me! Someday you're gonna have to trust somebody Keyds!"

Her eyes flashed. "What did you just call me?"

He flushed. "Oh please…you have definitely called me worse things…"

She took a threatening step closer. "Don't ever call me that again." She turned to go and sighed as she was once again faced with the large dragon blockade. She turned back.

"So, what? Are you going to just keep following me around and harassing me until I agree to Wu's plan?!"

"…Is that an option?"

The look she gave him was answer in and of itself. He dry-washed his face.

"Look Keyda…if you don't want to come with us to our realm, then fine. I'm not here to try to force you to come with us…but I at least need to know that you have some kind of plan for yourself from here on out."

"That's my business."

"Which is basically just telling me that you don't have a plan." he glared. "I'm not about to let you wander off with no strategy and no protection…"

"HEY!" she snapped. "I've survived this long…and I do better without having to lug around your dead weight. Why don't you get back to your real friends so you can head back to your nice little realm?"

"Because then I'd have to go the rest of my life wondering what the heck ever happened to you!" he snapped back. She shoved him and he stumbled backwards.

"Like you would even remember me after getting back to where you came from…with all those people you left behind…" she went to shove him again and he grabbed her arms.

"What are you talking about?!"

She tried to pull her arms out of his grasp, but he was holding firm.

"Let go! Leave me alone…just go away and leave me alone!"

"Keyda!"

She twisted, still trying to get her arms free as she got angrier. Her eyes burned violet.

"I should have never saved you that day! I wish that we had never met!" she screamed, still writhing. He dropped her arms and she turned away, trembling with anger. She waited for him to leave, but he didn't. He just stood silently behind her, like he was waiting for her to say something else. She sighed in irate frustration.

"Don't you get it, Idiot?!" she said, turning to face him again. "I just want to forget you! I can't wait to forget you!"

Her words finally seemed to hit home; he flinched. They stood for a few moments; she was glaring and breathing hard while he refused to look at her.

"Fine." When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet and angry. The Dragon behind Keyda moved so that it was kneeling next to Cole and he painfully boarded it without looking at her. She wanted to turn and walk away, but for some reason she felt glued to the spot, watching the dragon spread its wings. Before it lifted off, he turned towards her again.

"Just so you know…we aren't leaving to some beautiful realm. Back home there's a monster named Garmadon who's just as bad as the Baron…if not worse. And if we don't fix him, then he'll destroy everything and everyone we care about. If he hasn't already," he paused, jaw clenched. "Not that you care." And with that, the Dragon took to the skies.

Keyda watched them fly away longer than she wanted to.

Nya

"The only thing I cannot understand is why we have not been attacked by security nindroids yet…" P.I.X.A.L mused. "They should have been here shortly after the gas began."

"Like…maybe ten of them…maybe stationed relatively close?" Nya asked slyly.

P.I.X.A.L blinked. "Did you and Lloyd...?"

"Let's just say if that was the nindroid force you are waiting for, you'll be waiting awhile." Nya said with a smug smile as she positioned herself for their bar-breaking plan. "Ok…here goes nothing,".

P.I.X.A.L looked up through the bars. "Just be really careful, Nya…"

"Hey, this was your idea, remember?" Nya pointed out.

"It is the only solution I could think of…that does not mean that it is not dangerous…"

"Ok. I'm doing it now. Stand back…"

Nya took a deep breath and fired water near the wall where the flame-launcher had attacked Lloyd. Sensing the movement, the launcher came out and started firing at the water flow Nya continued to shoot. She inched closer as steam hissed, and at the last second she threw herself at the flame thrower and narrowly missed its blast as it sensed her sudden movement. She was able to position herself behind it, her back up against the wall as she grabbed the machine. It bucked under her grasp and continued to spit flame; she grunted as she forced the long gun-like machine so that it was facing the hatch.

"Is it hitting the bars?!" she yelled.

"Yes…no…more to the left…no…yes…" P.I.X.A.L gave directional orders while Nya tried her best to control the flame thrower. After a few minutes she felt like her arms were about to give out.

"Ok…that should be enough…" P.I.X.A.L's voice cut in and Nya sighed in relief. She blasted the thrower with water, causing steam to erupt once again as she made her escape. In a few moments she was back near the hatch but out of the launcher's motion sensor range.

"You must act quickly, while the bars are still hot…" P.I.X.A.L said and Nya turned her attention to the metal bars over the hatch, which were now red-hot. Pulling out her spear, she began battering the two bars in the middle with the butt of her spear, trying to get them far enough apart that a person could squeeze through them. The bars moved a bit but were cooling too fast for her to bend them very far.

"It appears that they will need a second heating…" P.I.X.A.L noted, and Nya sighed.

"Of course they will."

69

The ninja took one look at Cole and knew better than to ask. He glanced over at the horizon as he dismounted.

"Looks like dawn's here…are the Oni coming here or are you going back to them?"

Wu was looking out towards the Oni camps.

"They said they would send a representative at dawn."

They all stared off at the Oni camp, each trying to figure out what their next step would be if the Oni didn't agree to the union. Would they just have to stay here forever…just part of the dragon nation? And even if the Oni did agree…how would they keep them from killing each other once they left to go save their home realm? And even if they got that far, how would they ever defeat Garmadon without Keyda?

Cole's friends exchanged looks, having noticed that he was still glowering. Kai and Jay still didn't want to ask. By an unspoken agreement, Zane was voted to open the can of worms. He looked over at Cole and cleared his throat.

"So is Keyda…"

"No. She's not coming back." Despite his glower, Cole's voice sounded dull. "For once in your life, you were wrong about something, nindroid."

Zane frowned, confused. "But I said…"

"Not about her coming back." Cole looked over at him. "The truth is the only feelings that she has ever had for me are angry, bitter feelings."

"I do not think…"

"Look! There's the representative!" Jay said, interrupting. The ninja all looked over at where he was pointing. Sure enough, a lone spec was making its way towards them.

"It would probably be best to meet them on the ground." Wu pointed out. The ninja boarded their dragons and went down to wait at the bottom of the rock formation. After 20 more minutes or so the spec had reached them.

"Heavy Metal." Wu greeted, and the ninja looked at each other in alarm.

"Isn't that the Baron's right hand guy?!" Jay accused, while Cole asked "Where's his mask?" Wu hushed his students so that the Oni could speak.

"Yes…I was the Baron's stooge. And my mask got destroyed the day you went blasting out of the fortress. Only thing that saved my head in the fall, though. You blokes got any more questions, or can we get down to business now?"

"By all means," Wu said, shooting Jay a look. The blue ninja shut his mouth, his further questions dying in his throat.

Heavy Metal scratched his head, looking at the group.

"Well…the truth is we Oni utterly despise the thought of joining up with the dragons. It goes against nearly everything we believe. In fact, the only thing it doesn't go against is the deepest root of Oni-ness…and that's survival. We know that if we don't make this choice we're all goners…so we're gonna do it."

The ninja all just stared for a few minutes, not quite believing what they were hearing. The Oni were agreeing to the union?!

"FINALLY! Something going right for a change!" Jay exclaimed, but Heavy Metal cleared his throat as if he wasn't finished.

"The thing is…they don't trust ya, Dragon Master. They agreed to join the Union…but only if they have a full-bred Oni leading the way."

Wu's countenance dropped; he knew what the Oni was going to say before he even said it. Heavy Metal continued.

"They all want her…Keyda. I mean, there's still plenty of Oni that think she's a Dragon-lover…but better Dragon lover than part dragon."

The news hit hard and Jay cursed the fact that he had celebrated too soon. It seemed that their lives were still very much on the nothing ever going right track.

"Are there any other Oni leader options?" Zane asked.

"Nah…I mean, plenty of blokes that want the job, sure. But none of em got what she's got. She wasn't totally off last night...respect and fear are the same word as far as Oni are concerned. She's the only one they would fear enough to respect. Besides you, of course," he gestured to Wu. "But you're part Dragon so that makes em hate you more."

"And…if she doesn't agree to do it?" Wu asked, warily. He already knew she wouldn't. Though he had figured that Cole would not be successful in his attempt to bring her back, he also knew that if anyone could have convinced her it would have been him.

"They aren't gonna follow you…that's for sure. I guess if Keyda isn't an option then the Oni will just chose someone else…however," he looked at Wu coldly. "The fact that she's abandoned you as well doesn't bode very well. It'll probably make everyone rethink the whole union if even the Dragon-lover won't stand with you…"

Wu was silent. He wished there was something he could have said to Keyda that would have made her see his way…to see how important all of this was. But he couldn't get her accusations out of his head. He had never manipulated her…or the dragons…had he? He meant what he said, he meant every promise. But he also couldn't deny that he had tried his very hardest in trying to sway other's opinions to match his own.

"Wu? Wu, what do you want to do?"

Kai's voice broke through his thoughts and Wu shook his head to clear it.

"The truth is that Keyda has parted ways with us…and I don't think she'd ever agree to be in any kind of joint-leadership position if it meant that she would have to be joint with me. It will have to be someone else…"

"I don't think that any Oni would agree to be in a joint leadership position with you…" Heavy Metal pointed out. Wu raised his voice.

"Perhaps not… but it would hardly be a unified nation if the leaders aren't even unified…"

"Why are you pushing so hard for that?" Heavy Metal's eyes narrowed. "Dragons have a leader not prone to war…Oni get a leader not prone to war…and presto. War averted, peace achieved. The other Oni and myself want to know why the nations must be united…"

"Just because the leaders of today are dedicated to peace doesn't mean that old hatchets won't be dug up in the future." Wu snapped. "Besides…this is what Antirock and Echo wanted for the nations. It's why the child was ever created in the first place! So I guess you could say that unifying the nations is my destiny…"

Heavy Metal shrugged. "Sure, sure. The truth is we know we got to do what you say to avoid getting destroyed…so if that's uniting than I guess we have no choice. But it certainly hasn't won you any friends, Dragon Master."

Wu sighed. "How soon until can we unite the realms? Officially?"

The Oni gave another shrug. "I don't really know the protocol for this…"

"Why don't we plan on tonight then. I'll send for the Dragons." Wu pressed a hand to his temple. He felt a headache forming.

The Oni's eyes glittered in the dim morning light.

"As you wish, Dragon Master."

Survivors

Lloyd and Skylor rounded the corner to Nya's angry grunts. They got there in time to see her battering the bars with the butt of her spear.

"Um…how's that coming along?" Lloyd asked, amused at the image. She turned and raised an eyebrow.

"Pretty well, actually…" she replied dryly. She noticed the redhead and sat up.

"Everything ok, Skylor?" she asked.

"Yeah…everything's fine." the redhead replied, sounding a little distant. "How are the bars?"

"Well…they won't win any awards for being pretty, but we should be able to squeeze through…" Nya said as Skylor and Lloyd came to view her handiwork. Lloyd furrowed his eyebrows.

"How did you get them hot like that?"

She shrugged. "Oh, you know…mad skills…" she said as she blasted the bars with water to cool them off enough for them to pass through. They hissed and P.I.X.A.L moved out of the way as water rained down.

"Ok…that should be enough. Can you throw the rope back up this way?" Nya called down. P.I.X.A.L had them stand back and she shot an arrow through the mangled bars, the rope tied onto it.

"That works too." Skylor noted, tying the rope around one of the unharmed bars with the arrow still attached. She tugged it firmly and looked over at Lloyd and Nya.

"Should hold."

Lloyd nodded. "Ok, who first? I mean, normally I'd say ladies first, but as you are both ladies…"

"Huh, well, guess that leaves you as the odd one out," Nya said, gesturing for him to go first. He rolled his eyes.

"I really don't think it works like that…"

"Oh, for goodness sake." Skylor slid through the bars and headed down the rope. "We don't have all day!" she said as she reached the bottom of the rope. Lloyd and Nya looked at each other and she followed Skylor down. Lloyd threw the bag of masks down and then made his own way down.

"Alright… we got the masks…we got the armor…and now what?" Skylor said, staring at the armor. It levitated over its platform, seeming to pulsate the golden glow.

"Um…" even Nya seemed at a loss for what to do.

"We can hardly just throw them at the armor and see what happens," Skylor pointed out.

"Indeed…I am having a hard time calculating what the output would look like combining these two opposing volatile forces…" P.I.X.A.L commented. They looked over at Lloyd for his input, but he was staring at the armor with a distant expression.

"Lloyd…what's up? Do you have an idea?" Nya pressed. He didn't look at any of them as he talked.

"That's the golden power, yeah? In the armor…"

"Yeah…" Nya said, not sure where he was going with this.

"Technically it's the same power I used to have…right?"

His tone immediately triggered red flags in the three girls.

"Lloyd, I don't know what you're thinking, but…" Skylor started

"That armor killed Zane, Lloyd!" Nya cut in.

"We do not know if you possess the ability to hold power as you used to be able to…" P.I.X.A.L added. "There is no guarantee that it wouldn't simply destroy you…"

Lloyd looked over at his friends with a determined expression.

"I think it may be worth the risk."

70

"Lloyd…no!" Nya said. The green ninja sighed as he took in their disapproving expressions. His gaze then shifted over to the golden armor.

"Look…I know that we don't know what would happen…but we're in the middle of a war and we're outnumbered. We aren't going to win without taking some risks.

"This is more than just a risk Lloyd…you could die!" Nya argued, grabbing his arms.

"Nya…" he didn't look her right in the eyes. "I know you're worried…but I promised you that we would avenge our friends. Harumi and Garmadon killed them…they destroyed the only family we've ever known…"

"But…"

"Even with everyone we have on our side and your powers…it's not going to be enough. If we are going to have any chance of truly avenging our friends and putting a stop to Harumi and Garmadon once and for all, I've got to do this…"

"Lloyd, there is nothing in my database that would suggest that you handling the armor would bring your powers back… we do not even understand why they disappeared in the first place…" P.I.X.A.L warned.

"I think it's worth a shot."

Everybody turned to Skylor in surprise. The redhead had walked over so she was next to the armor, studying it.

"WHAT?!" Nya yelled, ready to rip into her. Lloyd looked relieved to have someone on his side, though he was confused as well.

"Sure…like Lloyd said, we need all the help we can get. But it is a risk…which is why I'm going to do it first."

The mood in the room instantly switched.

"Wait, Skylor, you can't," Lloyd said, trying to figure out how they had reached this point. She turned and raised an eyebrow.

"Why not? You just said that it was worth the risk…"

"Yeah…for me…"

"You're right, though. We need all the help we can get…all the powers we can get. So what's the problem?"

Lloyd huffed; there she went again, twisting his words.

"When I said that…"

"You meant you. But really, if it works on me it will work on you. And as logic would have it, I'm less of an asset and just as powerless," She inched closer to the armor.

"OK…" Lloyd nearly yelled as he put his hands up, still trying to talk her down. "If you want to, then fine…but at least let me go first…"

"And here I remember you saying ladies first…"

"This is stupid, NEITHER of you are doing this!" Nya cut in, fuming. "We're here to destroy the masks and that. Is. It. So Skylor, step away from the armor!"

"I must agree with Nya…" P.I.X.A.L cut in. Skylor gave a little smirk and turned away from the armor, facing Lloyd.

"I wasn't going to do it, Lloyd. I just wanted to make you think…if you really have that many doubts about how it would go down, than you really shouldn't be gambling your life on it."

Lloyd frowned and Nya and P.I.X.A.L relaxed, assured that Skylor wasn't actually about to blow herself up. The robot turned to Lloyd as well.

"Lloyd…you mentioned that it would be worth the risk…but the way I see it there is more of a chance of you dying than getting your powers back. Losing you is a far greater risk than getting a bit more power for our fight."

"Pix is right," Nya cut in. "I…I know that I haven't really been the greatest friend lately. It's true that I want revenge on Harumi…I want to avenge our friends. But that isn't worth it if it just means that I'm going to lose somebody else…."

He wasn't making eye contact with anybody. Didn't they understand how useless he had felt over the last few weeks? He couldn't even compete with his father when he had his powers…what chance did he have now? Nya put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey."

He looked up reluctantly. She tilted her head.

"It's not your powers that we need, Lloyd. It's you. Your leadership, your compassion…haven't you noticed that you're the only thing keeping this team together?" P.I.X.A.L and Skylor had joined her and all were giving him encouraging looks. The water ninja continued.

"We need a leader, Lloyd. We are outnumbered…which is why we can't risk losing anybody else. If we're going to defeat them, it's going to be together. It's not going to be by taking unnecessary risks like this…"

Lloyd took one last look at the armor, his insides still in turmoil. But they were right…they were right and he knew it. He finally sighed.

"Alright…"

Everyone gave a sigh of relief. P.I.X.A.L grabbed the bag of Oni masks.

"Now the only question is…how are we going to destroy these?"

Keyda

Keyda watched the dawn and couldn't help wondering what had been decided. She sat with her arms wrapped around her knees.

She really didn't know where she was going…but she couldn't stay with the outsiders after finding out that the Dragon Master was forcing this union just to get back home. What would this realm crumble to once they were all gone? It had been on shaky ground even before the outsiders came.

She cradled her head; she had lived her whole life without being allowed to make any choices for herself…and now, suddenly, she was expected to make so many of them. She was sure that cutting ties and leaving seemed like the only way that she would get any peace…and yet here she was once again…her back up against a rock feeling more than a little peace-less.

She turned, almost subconsciously, toward the direction Cole had flown off in. She should have known he would chase her down…try to manipulate her into coming back. She had wanted nothing more than to be rid of him…so why was it she felt so hollow after she had finally gotten him to leave? She hated that even with the Baron dead, there was still someone who had any kind of sway over her emotions.

She sighed heavily, wishing she had never gotten mixed up in all of this. Once again, she wanted so badly just to slip back into blissful apathy…to forget everything that had happened. But she knew she never would be able to; this last week had left her irreversibly changed. She would never fit in with the other Oni now. She was too different. Perhaps she could find some corner of the realm to call her own and avoid the dragons and the Oni and the whole mess that would come once Wu abandoned them.

If he says that he'd lead the dragons…then he will.

Why did all those outsiders trust each other so much? Wu hadn't shared his true motives with any of them, yet the others didn't seem the least bit worried about how it would all work out. Though, it wasn't their realm that the union would affect anyways.

And if abandoning her realm wasn't bad enough, they had assumed she would be fine with going with them herself. Didn't they realize how ludicrous that was?! She would be more out of place there than they were here…and they wore garish colorful jumpsuits in a land of unending beige and black. She would never be happy there…never belong there. But she didn't belong here either…she was beginning to see that she didn't belong anywhere.

She finally had her freedom…the freedom she had always wanted. But now she didn't know what to do with it. She had survived this long on her own, so spending the rest of her life in solitude shouldn't be a problem. So why did the thought of it make her feel so queasy inside? Those stupid, manipulative outsiders…a week with them and she had been reduced to feeling like she needed others. She had to be the only Oni who had ever gone through any of this idiocy.

She ran her hand through her hair, thinking. No…perhaps she wasn't the only Oni. The Elder had mentioned that there had been another Oni like her…the one that he and Wu had talked about. What was her name? Echo. She sighed, wondering if she had felt alone like this as well…perhaps that's what had led her to her friendship with the Dragon. She shivered feeling cold despite the fact that the morning sun continued to rise. Echo had tried to make a change and had been killed for it. Keyda couldn't help wondering if she regretted the choices she had made and the sacrifices it had cost…or if she would have done it again if she had the choice. Had she had times where she had wanted to run away and forget it all? Or was she dedicated enough that she never looked back, even after everything had fallen apart?

Keyda had wanted to change her own life, but at this point she had gotten herself tied into fixing the entire realm. She couldn't do that…nobody could do that. Even if the Dragon Master had meant all of his promises…how could he ever live up to them?

She shook her head. It didn't matter if he meant them or not…they were leaving, and if they really were facing someone like the Baron, she wasn't sure they wouldsurvive the battle. They had barely survived their battle with the villians of this realm. She suddenly thought of Cole, struggling to even get back onto his dragon. She shook her head again, willing the memory away. She would most likely never see any of them again, and the bitterest part of her soul welcomed the idea. Yet, deep down, she had to admit that she felt incredibly empty at the thought of losing them all forever. She wanted to believe that she would be able to go through the rest of her life without regret, that all it would take would take was a few weeks or months and she would have moved on and forgotten all about them. But the sight of Cole riding away after their argument would undoubtedly haunt her for much longer. She had struck a nerve at the end of the conversation, but now she couldn't even remember exactly what she had said….she had just wanted him to go away. Her thoughts continued to spiral down in a seemingly unending round of questions she would never get answers to and memories she picked into pieces. And at the end of it all lay her final decision.

24