Nicki's Story

106

Keyda sat rigidly. There was still yelling…rumbling…explosions… but she ignored it all as she watched him. She found herself waiting for him to take every breath. He didn't look like he was in any kind of distress; the Idiot just looked like he was sleeping.

She swallowed, trying to come to terms with what was happening. Cole was back in limbo…and she had let him go. How was it that he always managed to talk her into his reckless plans? She kicked herself mentally; she shouldn't have backed down.

As she stared at him, her thoughts turned back to the kiss. That's what that was, right? She had been trying not to think about it…but she couldn't just ignore it. Where did he get the audacity? Didn't he say that kissing was a romantic gesture?! Didn't he know she would hate it?

….Did she hate it? She groaned out loud, frustrated by everything going on. Regardless of how she felt about it, he had done it and then promptly fallen asleep…possibly never to wake up again. She didn't know much at all about romance…but even so she knew that was an incredibly maddening move on his part. She glared at him.

"You. Are. An Idiot." she muttered, squeezing his hand. She decided that it was time to think of something else…like how she would know when to wake him up and give him a piece of her mind. At what point would she know that the Monster was beyond saving? She wasn't about to just leave Cole in limbo, waiting for some miracle. Maybe she would just wake him up now… but at this point, she might as well see if he could pull it off.

She heard a roar and it snapped her out of her thoughts. She stretched to look around the pillar. Garmadon seemed really angry about something…had they made the connection? Then why hadn't it worked? She watched in horror as he launched a large attack; the dragon dodged, but the attack hit the blonde kid on the back. Lloyd didn't have far to fall, but the bigger threat was the person waiting for him on the ground.

Cole

"What's happening?"

Sensei Garmadon was struggling against the golden connection, still not lucid enough to realize its meaning.

"Leave it alone! It's half of your ticket out of here!" Cole said. Garmadon stopped pulling and looked at Cole again.

"You really shouldn't be here…"

"We can stew over that later," he answered, looking up into the vast greyness. "C'mon, Lloyd…"

Lloyd

Lloyd managed to pull off a rolling landing without hurting himself, but he wasn't able to dodge the blast sent by the husk of his father.

"Stop…" he cried out as the he hit the ground. "Don't you see? We're trying to help…to save you, Dad…"

"You misguided fool…you are wrong about so many things."

Lloyd stood up, getting into a defensive stance. Garmadon just shook his head as he came closer.

"But earlier, you said something that you were right about." He powered up all four arms, pointing them at Lloyd. "Your father is dead… and soon, you will be too."

"NO…" Lloyd said, but instead of getting ready for a fight, he closed his eyes. His aura glowed again as Garmadon prepared to fire.

I know you're in there, Dad…

Garmadon

A purple flash came ripping into the realm, slamming into Garmadon. The man's eyes cleared fully as the two bonds began pulling him away. He turned, his last sight of the limbo realm a figure in black, smiling in relief and shivering.

Ninja

Jay, Nya and Harumi burst into the sunlight.

"Nya!" Kai said, obviously relieved. He ran over to give her a hug, while Zane moved in to help with the unconscious Harumi.

"What should we do with her?" Jay asked. With Harumi's weight taken off of him, he was realizing how bad his arm was throbbing, and he held it close to his body with his other hand.

"Perhaps just restraining her will be best for now, until the proper authorities arrive…" Zane said, moving Harumi to a nearby spot where she could be tied up once again. Nya looked over and gasped as the full light gave her a good view of Jay's shoulder.

"Oh my gosh! Jay, what happened?!"

He didn't get a chance to answer, because just then another power surge ripped through the air.

Garmadon

Garmadon had been a breath away from firing on Lloyd, planning on putting an end to him once and for all. But that's when he felt the tug.

"NOOOOOOO!" He screamed as something swelled up inside, and finally the feeling seemed to explode out of him. Lloyd was knocked to the ground once again as the surge ripped across the temple grounds. The tunnels collapsed completely, shooting dust and chunks of ice out of the entrance as Zane's pillars were crushed with the rest of the structure. The Ultra-Dragon was flung through the air and Wu was barely able to hang on; his energy was gone, and it was all he could do to stay awake.

Then, just like that, there was silence. Even the S.O.G had stopped fighting with P.I.X.A.L and Skylor as everyone waited to see what had become of the Dark Emperor.

Lloyd saw him first.

"DAD!"

He pushed himself up with shaky arms and sprinted to the figure lying on the ground. Gone was the black skin and weeping ribs. An older man with mussed grey hair woke up to see a blue sky directly above him and he sighed in relief. A second later, a figure in green dive-bombed him.

"Lloyd…"

He said it with a laugh as he hugged his son back. Lloyd laughed as well, but the laughter was soon marred with tears as he buried his face into his father's shoulder, still hugging him fiercely. Garmadon swallowed hard, his own eyes misty.

"You're back…you're back…" Lloyd kept saying.

"I'm back." Garmadon confirmed softly.

"Brother."

Garmadon looked up to see Wu dismount the dragon.

"Wu!" he said happily, but then his expression became confused. "You seem…younger, little brother. And I can't recall ever seeing that armor before…"

"It's a long story." Wu said with a smirk as he went in for a hug. "But it seems we will finally have the time to tell it all."

"It's him! He's back!"

The other ninja came running in for a large group hug.

"We didn't dogpile him last time…I think we shouldn't pass up this opportunity…" Jay said with a smirk. Nya rolled her eyes.

"With your shoulder like that? I think you should resist the urge, Jay."

Garmadon took all the hugging in stride, though he still felt pretty disoriented. But as he looked at the gathered crowd, and then back over at his son, he knew that understanding would come in time. For now, he was just happy to be alive.

107

Keyda felt the surge go by and looked up in panic, thinking it would cause more of the pillar to collapse. It didn't, and she sighed in relief.

"What was that?" she muttered to herself, not sure if she should be hoping for the best or expecting the worst.

"Dad!"

She heard Lloyd yell out and turned to get a better look at the situation. She watched as the blonde kid hugged an unfamiliar man. Her heart gave a twist. Was that him? Was it over? Had it worked?! It was when she saw Wu hugging him and the others running over that she knew.

She turned to Cole and shook him, trying to wake him up.

"It's over now…you can wake up….please wake up…"

For a few horrible seconds nothing happened, but then he opened his eyes.

"Keyda? I…I think it worked….did it work? Is he back?" he mumbled, a little incoherently. She almost cried as she hugged him.

"Yes, you Idiot. It's over now. It's…." she trailed off as she realized how badly he was trembling. She swallowed, and her relief was replaced by a gnawing worm of worry.

"Cole…you're shaking…."

"I'm fine." he replied as he hugged her back. "It's just so cold out here…"

"No, it isn't…" she pulled back to get a better look at him. He looked tired, and relieved, but something was off…

"Something's not right." she said as she touched his face. He was still shaking as he repositioned himself.

"I'm fine…" he protested again, but his breathing had become shallower. That's when she noticed that he almost looked blurry at the edges…

"Oh…you Idiot…" she breathed, panic and bile rising. "What have you done?"

He looked down at his hand and noticed the fading edges of himself. He took a shaky breath and looked back up at her.

"Get Wu."

Wu

Wu sank back against the Ultra-Dragon, feeling utterly exhausted. But as he looked at everyone cheering and hugging, he smiled. For the first time in a long while, he felt like the crushing burden was lifted and he could finally relax…

"WU!"

Keyda's panic-stricken cries cut like a knife into the jovial tones of the reunion. Wu sat up, concerned. The rest of the group didn't really seem to register the yelling until it continued.

"HELP! YOU'VE GOT TO HELP HIM!"

Most of the group was looking around now, confused. Jay suddenly made a strangled sound and took off running, having realized who she was talking about. Everyone else just looked at each other, still not really sure what was going on. They had just won…hadn't they? What could possibly be going wrong now?

"They're behind that pillar!" Jay yelled, still running. Everyone took off after him-even Garmadon, helped by Lloyd, made his way over.

Cole was leaning up against the stone column, looking worse than anyone had seen him. He was breathing heavily and shaking hard. Keyda was kneeling in front of him. She turned to Wu as everyone approached, her eyes wide with dread.

"Help him." she said, her voice cracking. The ninja all were looking on with expressions of horror and disbelief.

"What happened to him? You said he was fine…" Jay said. This did not look like Cole was fine…

"HELP HIM!" Keyda yelled, still looking at Wu. Wu knelt next to his student, who looked over at him with tired eyes. He was blurred on the edges, like a drawing being erased. The Dragon Master shook his head; he had no idea what was even going on.

"What's wrong with him?" Kai asked, sounding panicked. "What's happening?"

"I…I do not know…" Wu said. By this point, Garmadon and Lloyd had reached the group.

"Let me see him!" Garmadon said, his voice still as stern as any of them could remember. Those in his way quickly moved, but Keyda gave him a murderous look.

"This is all your fault!" she spat. "He went back into the limbo to get you out…and now look at…"

"What do you mean, went back into the limbo?" Wu cut in sharply. It was Cole who answered him.

"I get pulled back there…every time I fall asleep…."

"How is that possible…" Wu breathed. Garmadon had knelt as well to get a better look.

"I'm afraid she's right…this is my fault." he finally said. Everyone turned to him in surprise, except Keyda, who continued to glare. He looked over at his brother with a look of tired regret.

"I had to get a message out…I had been there so long, I knew I didn't have much time. I was desperate to tell you how to save me and I discovered that I could link to Cole due to his time in the void with me. But in doing so, I must have created a tether between him and the limbo world….I didn't realize…"

"A tether? What does that mean?" Jay panicked, butting in. Garmadon sighed heavily.

"It means that his soul has been pulled between our world and the void multiple times…but the limbo world is not meant to be escaped…and it definitely isn't meant to be visited more than once."

"What are you getting at, Dad?" Lloyd asked. Garmadon turned back to Cole, who continued to shiver uncontrollably.

"It's put too much strain on his soul…he's…" Garmadon looked for the right word. "He's…unraveling…in a way…"

"What!? How…how do we stop it?" Jay asked as Cole's eyes grew large. He was shaking harder now.

Garmadon frowned, shaking his head.

"I'm afraid I don't know."

"You better figure it out." Keyda's voice was menacing. "It's your fault he's as damaged as he is...your fault this is happening to him now…if he dies…."

"Keyda." Wu interrupted, turning to face the terrified Oni. "We are going to do everything we can to make sure that doesn't happen…"

"We need to break the tether," Zane chimed in solemnly.

"How? You're the nindroid…how do we fix this?" Kai asked. The ninja started all talking at once, trying to figure out what to do.

As they argued, Wu closed his eyes to summon aura for a connection. If a connection is what was needed to bring a soul from limbo, perhaps he would be able to break the tether in the same way. But nothing happened; there was nothing left. He realized with dismay that all of his aura-and energy—had all been spent in saving Garmadon.

What do I do now?

"Master Wu?"

The Dragon master looked up at Cole, who was gazing at him with a look of fear.

"What's going to happen to me? Will I even go to the departed realm…or…" he trailed off, taking another shaky breath. "Wu…I'm scared."

His sensei looked at him, his own expression full of regret and horror.

"I…I don't know Cole." He watched as his student shuddered, and the fading spread a little more. "I'm so sorry…"

"I took too many…risks." Cole said. "It's not…your fault…"

"I'm your teacher," Wu's voice broke. "I'm supposed to have the answers."

They both fell silent for a minute, and Wu looked up at the ninja, trying to discern if anyone had come up with an idea.

"Wu." Cole spoke again. "If this is the end…"

"Do not give up hope; we will figure this out!" his sensei replied, looking back at him as Cole continued.

"I wanted to thank you…for looking for me on that mountain…for finding me…" his voice trailed off as he seemed to be fighting to stay awake.

"We can't let him fall asleep again!" It was Garmadon who cut in this time. "If he falls asleep now, we won't get him back."

Keyda shook him awake, tears in her eyes.

"You promised!" She reminded, her voice breaking again.

Jay pushed his way forward.

"Move…let me…if there's one thing I'm an expert at, it's keeping Cole awake." he said, trying to push in. Keyda shoved him away, glaring.

"You've all done enough damage!" she hissed.

"You've got to let me…" Jay said, trying again.

"NO."

The Master of Lightning had had it.

"Do you think you're the only one who cares about him!?" he was yelling at her now. Her eyes flashed purple, but he didn't seem to care. "Do you know how long we've known each other? The things we've gone through together!?"

"You hurt him…" she started, but Jay cut her off.

"Do you have any idea what it's like, waking up from mind control to find out your nearly killed your best friend?! Yeah, we hurt him…but because we were forced to! But now… I'm not going to sit back and watch my best friend…my brother… fade away. Not when there's something I can do… So MOVE!"

Everyone had gone silent as Jay yelled. Nya swallowed hard, a few more pieces of the unknown puzzle falling into place. In the silence following Jay's outburst, everyone looked at Keyda and waited for her to explode.

Her eyes flashed again, but then surprised everyone by standing up and backing off.

"Fine…fine. If you can save him, then do it."

Jay knelt in the space Keyda had left, shaking Cole to keep him awake. When it didn't seem to be working, he sent a little zap. Cole gasped and his eyes flew open.

"OW, Jay!" he cried out of habit. As he blinked he noticed his friend's determined face…and his wounded shoulder.

"That's right, pal, I will resort to shocking you if you try to fall asleep…"

"Jay…your arm…"

"Yeah, a lovely present I got when I was saving your life. So if you go ahead and die anyways, I will consider it a personal insult…" he gave him another shake. "So stay awake, ok? Wu and Garmadon are going to figure it out…"

"I'm…trying…" Cole said, shuddering again. "Jay, it's so cold."

"Just stay with me…"

Keyda

What was the point of saving a world that wasn't even hers, if she lost the only thing she actually cared about? There was so much inside…anger, hatred, guilt, regret, pain, grief, and even that stubborn flicker of hope. Keyda hugged herself, feeling like she had to physically hold herself together. She watched as Wu and Garmadon talked with the other ninja….trying to figure out what to do. She watched as Jay zapped Cole to keep him awake.

She was crying. After everything, she was going to lose him. He was literally fading away in front of their eyes. She realized that this was it; this was the result of his final risk. How could she have let him do it? She would never forgive herself. She would never forgive any of them.

"Keyda…"

It was Zane, most likely here to tell her some logical reason as to why everything was going to be alright….

She shook her head before he even had a chance to say anything.

"What's the point?" she murmured, still crying.

"What do you mean?" Zane asked carefully. He reached out a hand to comfort the Oni, but she pulled away.

"What's the point in feeling?!" she asked angrily. "What's the point in having emotions, when at the end of the day all we really feel is pain?!"

Zane frowned. "I know it seems that way…but you have to have hope that Wu and Garmadon will…"

"I'm tired of having hope!" she yelled at him. "I'm tired of feeling….how do I make it go away?!"

"It…is not possible." the nindroid tried to think of what to say. "Emotions, feelings; they are an important part of life. We need them in order to…"

She shook her head... "I just want it to stop…I don't want to feel anymore…I don't want to feel anything anymore…"

Zane watched her, feeling helpless.

"I know it seems like a burden…but going through life with feelings, even when some of those are grief, or pain…it is still better than having nothing. Apathy…numbness…that is no way to live."

"How would you know?!" she yelled back.

"Because I am a nindroid…we are not even meant to have emotions…but I do. And despite the pain, the fear, and even the loss…I view emotions as a blessing." He reached out again, and this time she didn't pull away at the hand on her shoulder.

"He is not gone, and we will figure this out."

108

"I'm afraid I don't have any twos, Dareth…go fish." Ed said, inspecting his hand of cards carefully. The brown ninja sighed and drew from the pile in front of him. REX had been flying all over for a few hours, always making sure to stay out of the following S.O.G's firing range without leaving them behind.

Worry gnawed at each of the adults in the airship, but with nothing to do but wait, some had resorted to passing the time with card games.

Ronin drove in silence, every few minutes glancing at the com-link. It suddenly went off and he let out a sigh.

"About time…" he grumbled before switching it on. "Nya! You finally remember to fill us in, huh?"

The adults in the back of the ship made eye contact as they heard Ronin talking on the com-link. Did they do it? Or had things gone badly? Nya's voice crackled through the system.

"They did it…Wu and Lloyd did it! They got him back!"

The ship exploded into cheers. Ed and Edna hugged while Misako sank back into her chair in relief. Dareth was yelling and pounding his fists in the air. Lou sighed in relief, but there was still a worm of worry that twisted inside.

"Guess that means we're finally allowed to come join the party?" Ronin asked dryly, adjusting his course so they were headed towards the temple. A few minutes went by with everyone talking and celebrating…only Ronin heard the com-link crackle back on line. The pilot listened to Nya's frantic update, his brow furrowing. He hung up the call with a heavy sigh, wishing he didn't always have to deliver the bad news.

"Guys…guys!" he said sharply. The fanfare in the back of the airship died down when they heard his tone. He flipped the autopilot switch, turning in his chair.

He made eye contact with the performer sitting in the back, and Lou's worm of worry grew.

"It's Cole…" Ronin said regretfully. Lou's jaw clenched as the pilot continued. "They don't know what's wrong…but Nya's afraid he's not going to last much longer…"

"Then can you get us there any faster?!" Lou cut in. His sharp tone left everyone silent and he looked down. "…Please."

Ronin turned and switched off the autopilot and pushed hard on the steering.

"I'll do what I can."

Ninja

"Can't you just pull him out, like you did before?" Kai asked. They stood in a group, trying to figure out what to do. Each of them couldn't help glancing over to where Jay sat with Cole, trying to keep him awake.

"I can't muster any aura…" Wu said unhappily. Kai groaned angrily.

"You mean to tell me we have both sons of the First Spinjitzu Master and two nindroids and we still don't have any ideas on how to save him?!"

"Kai…we don't even know what's happening to him." Nya said, putting a hand on her brother's shoulder to calm him down.

"The Limbo world is trying to pull him back," Garamdon replied. "He's been strong enough to resist the pull up to this point, apart from being asleep or unconscious. But now he's weaker, the pull is harder, and the strain is making itself known."

"I don't know much about the situation…but why don't we just let him go back to this 'limbo world' before he gets torn apart?" Skylor asked. "If you got him out once, you could do it again, couldn't you?"

"Not without both Dragon and Oni aura connections." Wu said.

"But once you've rested for a bit, surely…" Nya tried, but the sensei shook his head.

"By that point, he'll have faded too much to rescue," Garmadon said. "Our only chance is to somehow break the tether."

"Alright…so any ideas on how to do that?" Kai asked. The indecision was causing him to get angrier. Where was Zane? He looked over and saw him standing next to a distressed Keyda.

"Zane!" he yelled, and the nindroid looked over. Kai waved him over angrily; if they were going to be able to save Cole, they needed to be firing on all cylinders…especially the cylinders that were programed to solve problems. Zane looked a little conflicted. He turned and said something to Keyda, but she didn't even acknowledge him. Then he made his way back over to the group.

"We have to break the tether…like you said." Kai said, filling him in. "But have you figured out how to do that yet?!"

Cole yelled out as Jay had to zap him again. Everyone glanced over and then back at Zane.

"How did you make the tether in the first place?" Zane asked, turning to Garmadon. The recently-returned master frowned.

"I didn't mean to create the tether…I spent a lot of time trying to connect to Cole. The connection failed several times, but just when I thought hope was lost, the link was made."

"But how?! And how do we fix it?!" Kai asked.

"It's hard to explain," Garmadon retorted. He still didn't feel fully recovered from his own time in the limbo world, and he had a horrible headache that was making it hard to think. He glanced over at the Master of Earth; the fading was moving inward. The boy didn't have much time…but they didn't have any ideas.

Jay

Jay grimaced at Cole's expression as he sent another shock into his friend.

"I know, it doesn't feel great…but you've got to stay awake." he said firmly. Normally in stressful situations, Jay was reduced to panicking…but he couldn't give in to panic now. "To make up for it, I won't even say 'I told you so' about this whole plan you had…"

Cole tried to roll his eyes. He swallowed as he looked at the resolute freckled face.

"Jay…I'm sorry…"

"S'alright, boulder brain….make it up to me by not dying…"

"I…I haven't always…been a good friend…I'm sorry for…"

"Nope." Jay cut him off unapologetically. "We are not having this conversation right now."

Cole shuddered again. "I just…"

"If you have enough energy for a sappy 'this is the end' speech, then you have enough energy to hang on a little longer. You're always telling me to talk less and fight more; well, now it's your turn."

Cole dropped it, shaking his head a little at his friend's attempts to keep the mood light. Jay smiled tightly, trying not to focus on the fading outline that was creeping inward.

P.I.X.A.L

P.I.X.A.L stood back, observing. Processing. Trying desperately to figure out some way out of the current crisis. Ninjago was finally safe; Garmadon had been returned to his former self, Harumi was in custody. Technically, they had accomplished their goal. But as she subconsciously calculated the rate at which Cole was fading a few yards away, she knew that this wouldn't feel like a victory if they didn't figure something out—and quick.

She had very little data on this "limbo" everyone kept referring to. In fact, she had never even heard of it before Wu had briefly explained Garmadon's plight in the Samauri X cave. Was it a realm? Or was it more like a space between realms, where things that fall behind get left and forgotten?

She shook her head, trying to clear it. She didn't have time to ponder over the peculiarities tied to the limbo void, whatever it may be. She organized the facts; the only way out of limbo was aura connection by links of Oni and Dragon power. From what she gathered, both were necessary…but Wu was out of energy. Was Dragon power truly necessary? Or was it that they just needed two bonds? Could a rescue be made with only one bond, if such a bond had elements of both Dragon and Oni in them?

What they needed was a back door…something that had not been tried yet. Her processors were running at full capacity as she blocked out the others around her, who were still arguing. She looked at each of her companions in turn, analyzing if any of them would have the means to make up for Wu's "dry well" as it were. When she got to Lloyd, she stopped. She blinked; it was like she had stumbled upon a back door, but it was bolted shut. Yet, she felt the need to share her findings with the rest of the group.

"Maybe Garmadon and Keyda together could pull him out…" Kai said, but the recently rescued sensei was shaking his head.

"A double dose of Oni power would harm more than help…besides, I don't think I have access to that power now myself. And even if I did I wouldn't dare risk using it…"

"Considering how fast he's fading, we should at least be willing to try!" Kai snapped back.

"There may be another way." P.I.X.A.L said; it was the first time she had input anything into the conversation and the arguing died down as the others turned to her. There was a flicker of hope in their eyes, and she hoped she had not lit it in vain.

"If rescue requires Oni and Dragon power, then it would make sense that a single aura bond with both signatures could be used to go in and break the tether…" she started.

"An accurate observation," Zane noted. "But P.I.X.A.L, where would we…?"

"Lloyd." she answered simply, pointing at the baffled green ninja.

"But the power Lloyd has now is Oni," Nya pointed out.

"And as Garmadon said, a double hit of dark power…" Wu started, but P.I.X.A.L was shaking her head.

"I do not refer to the power Lloyd has from the gloves…rather his original power."

Lloyd shook his own head, partly because he was still confused and partly because he couldn't deliver on what P.I.X.A.L was implying.

"Pix…I don't have my powers. And even if I did…they were golden, like Wu's; I have Dragon power, not Oni…"

"I understand that you are blocked from your powers right now, Lloyd." P.I.X.A.L interrupted once again. "And I know that when you are in possession of your Golden power, it does carry a Dragon signature. Each of the elements combined creates that power. But from what I understand of your history, you gave up that golden power when you allowed each of the ninja to retain theirs. And you were left with energy-the green energy that you were known for."

"So…what? You're saying that the green power that Lloyd used to have was tied into all this Dragon and Oni stuff?" Kai asked, not really sure he was following the android's logic.

"As a direct relative of the First Spinjitzu Master, any power Lloyd had could arguably be directly connected with Dragon and Oni power. Your green energy was unique to any other element in my database. It had great destructive powers…and yet based on the quick recovery you have continually had for different injuries over the years, I am led to conclude they also had healing and protective qualities. I do not know if that energy is the result of a combination of Dragon and Oni power, or whether it is some new energy that has somehow evolved from a background in such power….but if you were able to get it back then I think it may be able to break the tether."

Everyone stared at her as the words sank in.

"Anytime now!" came a yell from Jay and everyone glanced over to see that the fading was continuing to spread.

Lloyd shook his head again, looking defeated. "Pix, my powers…"

"I know it seems impossible." P.I.X.A.L said. "But impossible is all we have to work with right now…'impossible' may be Cole's only chance."

109

The cold and pain had been separate feelings at first. But as the minutes passed and the cold became unbearable, the icy burn seemed to meld with the agony in Cole's back and ribs.

Another shock jolted through him and he gasped. He had been falling asleep again.

Stay awake…stay awake…stay…awake…

His body shook with the cold and the effort it took to not nod off. It hadn't been this hard before…but he also wasn't in this much pain before. There was a numbness creeping in that scared Cole as much as it relieved him. He had been in pain for so long…the tingling and then overall numbness inching along his hands and feet was almost welcome.

Almost.

The burning freeze seemed to have hit his brain…everything was a fog. He needed to stay awake…something bad would happen if he fell asleep…something bad…

Another shock. It caused his whole body to lurch, and he lashed out, groggy. Each time he began nodding off, the pain and the cold and the fear dulled. With each awakening it all crashed back into him.

"Cole...it's just me…it's ok."

A voice broke through the fog, someone pushing back on his struggling arms.

"Just stay awake…they're gonna come up with something…"

He struggled a second longer before his brain finally seemed to make a connection through the frozen haze.

"…Jay…" He muttered, relaxing as he looked up at his friend. The freckled face smiled tightly. Cole knew that his friend was trying to seem calm, but even in his groggy state he could tell Jay was scared. He noticed Jays eyes dart down for a second, his expression worried. Cole followed his gaze and fear gripped tighter as he let out a strangled "Oh…"

Where were his hands?! The tingling in them had passed…he couldn't feel them at all anymore. But he hadn't realized what the numbness had meant; now that he was actually looking down…

He shuddered hard.

"It's ok! It's ok…Wu is going to fix you, Cole. You just have to stay awake…" Jay said quickly.

Panic joined the rest of Cole's inner jumble and he continued to stare dumbly at the empty space at the end of his wrists—which were tingling now themselves.

He looked back up at Jay, who swallowed hard at his friend's expression. That look of terror…it took Jay back to the Baron's cell, where he had seen Cole make the same expression over Zane's video feed. The Master of Lightening turned to the group huddled a yard or two away.

"Anytime now!" He yelled.

Cole glanced at the group, as a few of them looked his way with worried expressions. He let his gaze drift away, across the rubble strewn temple ground.

His gaze fell on a doubled over figure.

"Keyds…" he murmured, feeling a jolt of guilt. His promise…

The fog was creeping back into his head as the tingling crept up his limbs. She was probably so mad…he had really thought everything would be ok. This hadn't happened any of the other times.

Another shudder racked his body. The pain was dulling…

Stay awake…stay…

Lloyd

"I've tried…" Lloyd said, voice breaking as he looked over at his fading friend again. "I've tried to get them back, P.I.X…but I couldn't. We have more of a chance of Wu getting enough energy back for a connection than we do of me getting my powers back in the next five minutes…"

"We destroyed the Oni masks for a reason…" Nya tried, but Lloyd shook his head.

"I've tried to summon them since them…what could possibly have changed between then and now?"

"You have me now," Garmadon put a hand on his son's shoulder, and Lloyd looked up. "I know you can do this, son…"

The green ninja's eyes pricked with tears.

"But what if I can't?!"

"You have to try!" The voice came from behind them. They turned and noticed that Keyda had stood and made her way over to the huddle, though she still had her arms wrapped around herself as if trying to keep herself from falling apart. She looked at the blonde youth with desperate eyes.

"Don't you dare give up." she said hoarsely. She looked over to where Cole was. "He's an Idiot…but...please….he doesn't deserve this."

Lloyd followed her gaze to their disappearing friend. Of course Cole didn't deserve this…but Lloyd already knew he couldn't do what P.I.X.A.L had described. And to try now…with so much on the line…

What am I so afraid of?

He clenched his jaw. Since when did fear of failure keep him from helping his friends? The loss of his powers had hit hard, and he had all but given up on getting them back…but suddenly doing so wasn't just about him anymore.

Jay

Another shock, and Cole cried out and tried to kick Jay with his legs, using his arms to push him away again.

"Stop…leave me alone…" he said, his eyes unfocused. Jay clenched his jaw. With each shock, Cole seemed to recognize him less. He grabbed at the disappearing arms, wincing as he tried to keep his friend from hurting himself more. He tried to ignore the pain in his shoulder as he pulled against Keyda's bonds.

"Cole, it's ok…"

"No more…please no more…"

Jay didn't know what to do. He swallowed hard, noticing that the fading was climbing up both Cole's arms and legs now.

Someone was suddenly kneeling next to Jay, and he looked over to see Lloyd's determined expression.

"Please tell me you have a plan…" Jay pleaded. Lloyd looked over at his father, who stood behind him.

"Your powers haven't left you, Lloyd…you just have to find them. If they had left completely your friends wouldn't be able to access their powers." Garmadon reminded. "You can do this!"

Lloyd nodded, looking at his friend. He was still shaking, fighting against Jay. The Green Ninja felt another stab of panic…a moment of being totally overwhelmed…but he forced it aside and closed his eyes.

What his Dad said made sense; if his powers were gone, the ninja's powers would be gone too. So…what? They were buried deep down? How would he find them? He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"You're allowing yourself to be blocked by fear," Garmadon said quietly. "You can't give into it… you must calm yourself and look inwards…"

The others had subconsciously drawn closer, waiting to see what would happen. Garmadon turned and gave them a look that reminded them to stay back and give Lloyd space. The blonde squeezed his eyes tighter, trying to search inward.

Fear. His father was right…there was so much of it. He had been carrying it along with him for so long, he had almost forgot what it was like to function without its ever-pressing hand. He had been afraid of losing his friends…and then, when he had thought he had, he was afraid of going on without them. He had been afraid that he wouldn't be able to lead those who had survived…or worse, lead them to their demise as he had thought he had led the ninja. He was afraid that his father was beyond saving…that he truly didn't care about him anymore. He had been afraid of facing him again. More than anything, he was afraid of failing, because when the Green Ninja failed, it felt like everyone around him had to bear the consequences of it.

But he didn't need this fear…he didn't need it. He had his friends back…his father back. So why was he still so scared? It struck him suddenly. Even if things were good now, they could take a turn for the worse at any minute. Take their current situation: they had finally defeated Harumi and Garmadon, but there was collateral damage. It seemed that no matter how much good they did, there was always some failure on the horizon. Some reason to be afraid. And though he had struggled with fear and won in the past, he did so knowing that he had the help of his friends, and most importantly his father, always on his side. Even when Garmadon had been departed, he knew that his father was still with him in a way. But fighting Harumi's puppet…that security had been shattered, and true fear had set in. If evil could taint even his father's seemingly unconquerable love for him, then it could taint anything. Destroy anything. And Lloyd had been so powerless to stop it.

Powerless.

He searched deeper in himself. Was this powerlessness really just due to fear? Due to his own perception of personal helplessness? He shook his head in frustration. He didn't have time for fear anymore…or doubt or hesitation. This was about more than just him wanting his powers back, or feeling useless. If he couldn't do this, then who knew what would happen to Cole.

"C'mon!" he muttered to himself, frustrated and angry. "C'mon!"

Jay

Jay kept glancing over at Lloyd, waiting to see if he would be able to connect with his missing powers. He wasn't sure what the plan was after that point, but he knew Cole wasn't going to last much longer. His consciousness was fading more frequently now, and even the electric shocks he was sending were losing effectiveness. Cole wasn't even shaking as much anymore, though his skin was icy to the touch, where it hadn't disappeared yet…

"C'mon boulder brain!" Jay said angrily. "Keep fighting! You're supposed to be the strong one! The responsible one….you can't give up yet!"

The fading had reached past Cole's elbows, climbing towards his shoulders. He had stopped struggling, becoming more listless.

Next to Jay, Lloyd was still meditating, face contorted. The Master of lightening looked at him and then back to his fading friend. He shut his eyes.

"Oh…please…"

Lloyd

Flashes of failure seemed to be attacking Lloyd on all sides. The harder he dug for his powers, the more memories seemed to come, unbidden, of past mistakes. Opening the snakes' tombs…trusting Pythor…failing against the Overlord and breaking his ankle…getting caught… possessed…captured…locked up…losing Wu…trapping his friends on the bounty…facing his father alone…

He pushed each one away. He couldn't dwell in his failure now…he couldn't let himself get caught up in the fear each memory seemed to bring out.

I am not perfect…but I AM The Green Ninja! I am a descendant of the First Spinjitzu Master, and I WILL save my friend!

The spark was so fleeting, Lloyd almost thought he had imagined it. He mentally dug in the place he had felt it glimmer.

A few moments went by with nothing, and then a second spark. And a third. Each flash seemed to bring with it a moment of crushing fear, but he shrugged it off as best he could, focusing instead on the hope that was building up.

It was his power…he knew it. He recognized it. He dug deeper and suddenly the sparks seemed to join together, forming bigger and bigger masses of green power. He laughed out loud in relief. It was here! It really had been here the whole time…

110

The group watched in amazement as Lloyd began to glow, wisps of green coming off of him.

"He did it…he found them…" Nya breathed, tears pricking her eyes. She knew how much Lloyd had been missing his powers…even if he hadn't talked to her much about it.

Lloyd sighed, his body sagging in relief as the glowing faded back into him. He turned and looked at his dad, his eyes once again a brilliant green.

"You were right…it was there the whole time. I don't know why it took me so long…"

"I knew you could do it, Lloyd…" Garmadon smiled, his hand still on his son's shoulder.

"What do I do now?" Lloyd said, looking over at Cole. "How do I break the tether?..."

Garmadon looked over at Wu, who walked over to join them.

"An aura link is achieved through meditation…but rather than looking for Cole, you will be looking for some kind of disturbance…the link that connects him to the limbo void."

"And that will bring him back?" Lloyd asked. Neither his father or Wu answered and Lloyd closed his eyes. After a few moments he began to glow again.

Lou

As REX approached the temple, they saw S.O.G scurrying around, apparently with no real purpose now that Garmadon had been changed and Harumi had been captured. The airship breached the temple walls, and Lou scanned the area urgently. It wasn't hard for those on REX to spot everyone; they were all huddled in one corner of the temple grounds.

Those in the huddle looked up at the sound of the ship's engine.

"How…?" Kai began, but Nya looked over at him.

"I let them know…I just felt like we should keep them in the loop…"

By now, Ronin had landed the ship a few yards away and the door flew open. Lou stumbled out onto the temple ground, making his way over to them. Ed and Edna were close behind, followed by Dareth and Misako.

"Where's my son?" Lou demanded as he reached the group.

"I feel we should warn you…" Zane began, but Lou had already pushed past them. He caught sight of Cole and stopped dead.

He had been expecting to see his son in bad shape…but…

He stumbled backwards and Kai reached out and grabbed his arm to keep the performer from falling to the ground.

"How could this even happen?" he asked hoarsely.

"Maybe you should sit down…" the Master of Fire suggested. The rest of the adults had reached the group by now.

"Woah...that's…that's pretty bad…" Dareth said, coming up short.

"We need to stay back," Nya ordered, turning to the adults. "Lloyd's trying to reverse it…but he needs space…"

"Lloyd…" Misako said, noticing the green aura. Despite the situation, she had a small smile. "His powers are back…"

"Reverse it…" Lou said, repeating Nya's words. He pulled away from Kai's grasp, turning on the ninja in anger. "My son is disappearing! How could you have let this happen?!" He looked in Garmadon's direction, who was still standing near Lloyd. "You can save the world…but you couldn't save my son from…from whatever this is?!" He gestured to the small group a few feet away.

"Lou…" Ronin started, having come over to join the group.

"Pop?"

Lou turned back around at the soft sound of Cole's voice. He had been looking down, but now he was looking over in the direction he had heard his father's voice. The fading had nearly reached his shoulder on one side, and was already creeping across his collarbone on the other.

Jay had looked over at the sound of arguing and Edna gasped and grabbed her husband's arm at the sight of Jay's shoulder and bound arm.

"Oh…Ed…"

"I'm ok, mom," Jay rushed to put her at ease, giving his parents a shaky smile. "It…it looks worse than it is…"

Lou was approaching slowly, though there wasn't much room by Cole with Jay, Lloyd, Garmadon, and Wu hovering around him. Jay watched him limp closer and finally stood and moved out of the way to make room for the only person Cole still recognized.

"Cole…" Lou knelt next to his son, who looked at him with worn out eyes. "What happened?"

"I...I don't remember…" Cole looked over at his fading shoulder. "I'm sorry Pop…I didn't know…"

Lou looked over at Lloyd, willing him to hurry and do whatever it was that was going to help his son. The green ninja's face was contorted in concentration, still glowing…but nothing seemed to be happening.

"Just…just hang on, son…" Lou said. He didn't know what to do…or even what to say. He was once again useless, possessing no skills or talents that could actually help in the situation. He silently cursed himself; what kind of father was he? His son was dying…and all he could do was watch. "Just prove to me again what you said to me all those years ago…you're a fighter Cole…you can do this…"

The vanishing line inched up Cole's neck and down his chest. Cole glanced down before looking back over at his father's worried face.

"I don't think I can fight anymore…" he mumbled, his vision growing dimmer once again.

Lou looked over at Lloyd again.

"Do something already!" he shouted, and Wu put a hand on his shoulder.

"Lloyd is doing everything he…"

Lou pulled away from the sensei, glaring daggers.

"Don't give me empty words…give me my son back! You're the reason he got mixed up in all of this…this ninja business in the first place…"

"I found it."

Lloyds voice cut in, and everyone turned to him. His eyes were still closed as he spoke. "I think I found it…but how do I break it?"

Lloyd

It wasn't what Lloyd expected…he had assumed the tether would be like a rope. Instead, it was almost like he found a pathway of some kind. He realized that the tether wasn't something that had been towing Cole back to limbo; it had merely become the path of least resistance, like water running downhill. It made sense in a way…but it also complicated everything. How did he destroy a pathway? It wasn't like he could just cut through it, like if it had been a rope.

"How do I break it?" he repeated, after explaining the situation to his father and uncle.

"We must disrupt the path…we must make it harder for him to get to the Limbo world than it is to stay here…" Garmadon ventured.

"But how?" Lloyd could sense more of Cole's soul slipping away, following the strange trail. Disrupt the path? He sent out his power, trying to use his own energy to make a barrier on the path.

"Is it working?" he asked, jaw clenched in concentration.

Wu looked over at Cole, who was leaning against his anxious father. The vanishing line had seemed to slow, but it hadn't stopped. Wu watched with concern as it crept across his student's jawline.

"It's not enough." he said, answering Lloyd.

Lloyd pushed back against the tether's flow of energy, but the harder he pushed, the more resistance seemed to build up.

"I can't…deter it…"

"How could it have gotten this bad?" Wu murmured.

"We may have caught it too late," Garmadon answered with regret.

Lloyd grunted as he strained harder.

"I need help…I'm not strong enough!"

Keyda

Keyda watched as the blonde struggled in some unseen battle. Her hands tingled with power; she longed to destroy something, to release all the pent up emotions that continued to make her feel as if she was going to blow apart. She avoided looking in Cole's direction, because she didn't want to know how much more of him was missing; the feelings inside were hard enough to control as it was.

"I need help! I'm not strong enough!" Lloyd called out, and something in her finally snapped.

She took long quick strides until she was sitting next to the kid in green, and she closed her eyes.

"Keyda, what…" Wu began, but she opened her eyes to glare.

"It's not like you can help him!" she snapped, and aura flared off of her in chaotic bursts. She closed her eyes again, struggling to control her aura so that it could search out the tether that Lloyd had described.

It didn't take her long to find the path. She could feel the energy surging, as well as the barricade that the boy next to her was trying desperately to use against the flow of the path. She added her aura to his, pushing back brutally against this force that was unraveling her friend. Despite her fierce effort, the energy seemed to push back just as hard. She clenched her jaw, summoning more power from who –knows-where as she made another attempt. At each failed effort she became angrier and more desperate. She was an Oni! She was made to destroy things! Why would this path not yield?!

"Keyda, be careful!" Wu called out, as power began to shoot off of her in chaotic spurts. Her hair began flying around her as her aura produced fierce gusts.

"What's happening?" Lou asked as the aural storm grew larger.

Garmadon looked grim as he looked at the Oni.

"It seems she's on the verge of an elemental overdrive…." he said, causing the other ninja to look up in alarm.

"An Oni Elemental overdrive?" Jay asked, eyes wide. "But…that would be…"

"Catastrophic." Zane said ominously.

"We've got to stop her!" Kai yelled as the winds grew stronger. Garmadon seemed to be on the same track of mind. He grabbed Keyda's shoulder and pulled her away from his son and out of her mediation.

"This will not help, girl…you must…"

"Don't touch me!" she yelled, the aura coming out stronger as she glared at him. "This is all your fault…you bound his soul…broke his body…you destroyed him!" At her scream the ground began to rumble once again. Even the atmosphere around them seemed to darken as hatred flowed out of the Oni.

"Stop!" Zane said, coming forward, but by now she was standing, and a flare of power stunned the nindroid.

"I tried to stop…to stop feeling…but it didn't work. There's too much inside!" she said, pressing her hands to her head as she shook with anger. "I can't control it….I can't control anything. I've never controlled anything! Not my life under the Baron…not any situation after I ran into you lot…and not these…these feelings!" More flares shot out, and the group of ninja and adults nearby was forced to disband as they dove out of the way.

Lloyd was being heavily buffeted by the winds, being the closest to her. He struggled to maintain his concentration, but the pressure of the energy was proving to be stronger than him, and he knew he wouldn't be able to contain it for much longer.

"Stop! I'm…I'm losing him!" he shouted as the built-up tether energy began breaking down his barrier.

Furious tears filled her eyes as she refused to calm down.

"No matter the result here…we were always going to lose him, if not now then later…" she said, trembling with anger. She took an angry breath. "I was always going to lose him!"

Lou swallowed hard as he watched the girl's powers whip around them, and then he looked over at where Lloyd was struggling against both winds and the unseen pressures he was facing. Finally, he turned to his son, whose head rested lifelessly on Lou's shoulder, eyes closed. He was nearly gone; the vanishing line was picking up speed as it travelled more fully down his torso and across his face.

"Oh, no…son…please…" Lou voice was a horrified whisper.

Lloyd tried once more to push back, but the energy in the tether's path was too strong. He cried out as he felt his barrier break apart.

Everyone's attention was focused on Keyda as the aura storm crackled. She was hugging herself again, trying to figure out whether she would just let everything out or if she should keep trying to curb the power that was forcing its way out of her.

"NO!"

Lou's choked yell caught her attention, as well as everyone else's. They all turned in time to see the last of the Master of Earth dissolve into thin air.

26