FYI, this story will have Kai suffering a lot. If you haven't noticed already, he's going to be pushed to his limits and beyond them too. Anyways, enjoy!

Cole panted as Dash closed the door behind them. Ali looked around the small cabin they had found, checking for anyone else. When she yelped, Cole and Dash ran to help her.

"Zack!" Dash cheered.

They came to find little Zack on top of Ali, with Nicki and Roy ready to to attack nearby.

"You guys escaped," Nicki grinned, letting her defensive stance fall.

"Barely," Cole sighed.

"We were attacked in the city," Ali sighed. "They took Nya, but they wanted Cole," Dash added.

Nicki and Roy looked at the earth ninja, who grimaced at the mention of him being the target.

"Any idea why?" Roy asked.

"None at all," Cole sighed.

"Well, you are the only elemental ninja left," Dash noted.

Cole nodded, knowing that already. For him, it seemed like the only reason he was being targeted.

"Have you guys been here the whole time?" Ali asked.

"Kind of," Nicki shrugged. "I mean, we found this place abandoned after a couple days. We haven't left since."

"Sounds safe then," Cole sighed.

They all jumped, hearing branches breaking and crashing outside.

"Everyone be ready to attack," Nicki frowned. "Something is out there and it sounds big."

Everyone nodded. Dash took Cole by the hand, causing him to turn and look at her.

"Please, just stay hidden, Ok?" Dash asked him.

Cole sighed and nodded. He ducked into one of the closets. He hoped it wasn't a group of patrol droids that followed them.

Meanwhile, Dash stood with Zack and Nicki, watching the door. It slowly opened and a friendly face appeared. The face couldn't see the others in the room.

"Can you give me light, big bro?" she asked.

She walked further into the room and a fireball lit up the room. Everyone's jaw dropped before the two froze.

"Um, who's there?" Nya asked.

"Nya? Kai?" Ali questioned.

"Ali?" Kai questioned.

In a matter of seconds, multiple lamps lit up the room. Kai and Nya looked around to see everyone else in the room.

"You escaped," Dash grinned.

"But how?" Ali asked. "The Overlord has guards everywhere."

"He does," Nya sighed. "We barely escaped, but it came with a price."

Everyone looked around, exchanging worried glances.

"We've lost Jay and Zane," Nya told them.

"What?" Cole asked.

Nya and Kai turned as Cole emerged from the shadows.

"Cole, you're safe," Kai sighed in relief.

"What happened to Jay and Zane?" Cole asked Kai, walking up to his teammate. "Why is he after me?"

"Jay and Zane have been turned against us," Nya said. "The Overlord controls them now."

Kai placed a hand on his sisters shoulder, knowing how hurt she was when she saw what happened to her brother.

"They might have done it to you too if you didn't get out when you did," Kai told her.

"What about Cole?" Dash spoke up. "Why are they after him?"

Kai looked from Dash to Cole, seeing they were both worried. Kai bit his lip, debating if he wanted to tell them the truth.

"I can tell them if you want," Nya whispered to him.

"No, I should tell them," Kai sighed.

He looked up at Cole, seeing the confused look on his face.

"He wants your powers, Cole," Kai told him.

"Why?" Cole frowned.

"He wants to recreate the golden powers," Kai told him.

"But he needs all four elements combined, and he can't do that," Ali said. "At least, not on his own."
"That's why Kai was so important to him," Nya said.

"He didn't," Cole's eyes widened.

Kai sighed, nodding slowly.

"He's given Zane and Jay's elements to me," Kai said softly.

"That means Cole's element is the last one before the Golden Powers are created in Kai," Dash gasped.

Everyone looked at Kai as he fidgeted uncomfortably. Cole took Kai by the hand and lead him deeper into the Cabin, away from everyone else. Nya looked around, seeing everyone in a slight shock.

"I don't know what he was put through, but it wasn't good," Nya sighed. "He's suffered a lot from the Overlord, and possibly Zane too. And the fact that-"

Nya choked on her words, tears beginning to stream down her cheeks.

"That what, Nya?" Dash asked.

"That-" Nya stuttered.

Nya took a deep breath, and managed to tell them.

"That it never seemed like the Overlord to him, to Jay, to me," Nya muttered.

"What do you mean?" Ali asked.

"You don't know who the Overlord is controlling, do you," Nya sighed.

"The Overlord needs a host, a mortal body to be able to survive in our realm," Dash told the others. "The Golden Powers are the only thing that can give him a human body, which is why he's so desperate to have them."

"How do you know that?" Ali asked Dash.

"Long story," Dash sighed. "I'll tell you another time."

"That doesn't matter," Nicki spoke up. "Who is he possessing?"

"Lloyd," Nya muttered.

There was a moment of silence around the room. Then Ali spoke.

"That's why people were saying he's alive," she muttered.

"He would be alive," Dash told them, her voice quiet and soft. "They would need to be alive in order for him to possess them. But they would need to be weakened for him to take full control."
"When do you think this happened?" Nicki asked.

"Most likely when Lloyd was shot," Dash said. "He would have been near death and the Overlord would have kept him alive, but barely. To the point where it wouldn't be noticeable that he was alive."

"That would be why we didn't find a body," Ali sighed. "The Overlord took over and took him along for the ride."
Zack was hugging Nya tightly as she cried. Dash looked at Ali, seeing her slipping off in the direction Kai and Cole went in. She went to comfort Nya, leaving the two ninja to Ali.

Ali found Kai and Cole downstairs, in the basement of the small cabin. They were talking quietly to each other, and stopped when Ali walked in.

"What are we going to do about all this?" Cole asked Ali.

"Well, we need to address the fact that you two are the keys the Overlord will be after," Ali said. "If he gets either of you, he could easily lure us out and take the other one."

Kai nodded, listening.

"So, what do we do?" Cole asked.

Ali looked at Kai, and sighed.

"At this point, with the way everything is, there is only one thing we can do that will keep you both safe," Ali told them. "And you might not like it, Kai."
Kai gulped as Ali turned and opened a cabinet behind them.

"Nicki told me about these being here," Ali sighed. "And until we have something better, it's all we can do."
Kai watched in horror as Ali pulled out a vengestone chain with a cuff on the end of it and a lock on the other. She walked to the middle of the room and attached the lock to a hook hanging from the ceiling. She held the cuff and looked at Kai.

"You can't be serious," Kai muttered.

Cole placed a hand on Kai's shoulder, giving him a sympathetic look. Kai pulled his hands behind his back, looking at Ali.

"Kai, please, this is for your safety," Ali told him.

"No, I won't," Kai replied. "There has to be another way. Cole back me up here."

Cole went silent, not answering Kai. Cole let out a quiet sigh, and slowly stood up.

"I'm sorry, Kai," he muttered.

Kai watched in horror as Cole grabbed his arm. Kai struggled against Cole, but couldn't stop him with his super strength. Cole helped Ali put the cuff around Kai's wrist as the two turned to leave.

"You can't do this!" Kai cried out. "You can't leave me like this! Please! Don't leave me like this!"
Cole could hear the pain, the fear behind Kai's words and in his voice. He realized how terrified his friend was, being left in that situation by his own teammates, his friends. After escaping the torture and chains of the Overlord. He glanced over his shoulder as he climbed out of the basement, seeing Kai curled into a ball, crying. What did they just do?