The general tone among the ninja was unanimous.

"We can't be dead." Jay said.

"Yeah, we're too awesome to be dead!" Cole agreed.

"We've been through so much, what in Ninjago could kill us?!" Kai added.

"That's just it, no one knows what caused you four to disappear on such short notice." Cyrus told them. "In terms of investigation and lack of evidence, everyone has comes to terms with the worse. Nya wasn't lying when she said this world is falling apart- and it's because of you four leaving when Ninjago was already suffering from a loss beforehand."

"What loss?" Lloyd questioned, almost already knowing -and fearing- the answer.

"Yours." Cyrus and Mina said at the same time, almost using the exact tone of voice.

"Wh... what happened?" Cole asked as everyone started to get the feeling they weren't going to like the answer. Neither Cyrus or Mina looked like they wanted to tell the ninja what had happened.

"Sixteen years ago," Mina spoke up, her voice cracking a little, "The Golden Ninja was called to the Island of Darkness by an unknown force, and for some reason he decided to go alone. That didn't stop his friends from trying to track him- and for the most part, it worked. Until he just... vanished."

"What do you mean 'vanish'? People just don't 'vanish' kid." Kai told her, growing a bit skeptical. Mina did not answer and almost instantly became catatonic again. Cyrus then filled in for her;

"When Nya and Zane were unable to locate Lloyd, everyone in Ninjago set out to find him. It was amazing at the time to see Ninjago in whole work together to find one man. However, it was to little prevail- Lloyd, as Mina had put it, vanished. There wasn't a trace of him to be found- it was almost like he never existed."

"What stopped you from going to the Dark Island to find him, if that was where he last was?" Zane inquired.

"That's just it," Cyrus explained, "No one could. Every time someone would go near the island, something would go horribly wrong and they would all come back in the worse for wear. After four years -with no real evidence, mind you- we all agreed that our worse fears had come true and that Lloyd was gone for good. And, for awhile, although Ninjago was scattered because we had lost one of the most influential leaders in our day- we had found a peace."

"Until...?" Cole asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Three weeks ago our Zane had claimed that he had found Lloyd's signal again, and without warning the remaining four of you went out to the Island of Darkness against all of our warnings. As with Lloyd before you, all four of you were declared missing the next day even though Nya kept an extremely close eye on you. She saw the moment when you all vanished off the radar- it was the moment we all knew the same fate had fallen upon you four like it had Lloyd before. It was the moment when Ninjago lost hope."

"Nya mentioned earlier that all of Ninjago was in a panic," Kai started to say, "Was it really because of us going missing?"

Cyrus nodded.

"I'm afraid that, when Ninjago hears that her best protectors are missing with no explanation, no one is able to feel safe any more."

"Including mass panic?" Jay asked.

"Including mass panic." Cyrus confirmed.

"Didn't anyone step up?" Lloyd asked. "Didn't anyone do anything to keep Ninjago protected so everyone could feel safe again?"

"There was this place," Cyrus began to say, shifting his wheelchair a bit to show discomfort, "Misako found it- and it was a place where one could undergo a series of tests to gain the First Spinjitzu Master's power in the case the last, that would have been you Lloyd, were to fall in battle or otherwise be unable to fulfill his duties."

"Did anyone pass the test?" Zane asked curiously.

"A better question would be 'did someone find the test' and the answer would be yes- someone did."

"Who?!" the ninja all asked at the same time.

"She is standing right here." Cyrus told them, moving away a bit to give them a full view of the next holder of the Golden power.

"Mina?!"

"But... but she's a girl!" Jay said without thinking. "How did she pass a test that would have given away the Golden power just like that?!"

"Besides Jay being rude, he sort of has a point," Cole added, "How old is she any way? Doesn't the Golden power have, like, limits or something?"

"I, for one, believe that she should feel lucky," Zane told them, taking a rather neutral position, "Only one person in the world can have that kind ability and maintain it without endangering others."

"I wasn't supposed to have it..." Mina said in a tone so low and dark that it almost sent a chill up everyone's spine, "The Green Ninja was supposed to have it... not me."

"And yet, here we are." Jay sarcastically scoffed.

Lloyd did not say anything, but instead walked closer to Mina. Unconsciously, but it was an act to make her feel better- a pep talk he would have wanted when the greatest power was held at your fingertips and it seemed as if no one else understood. But when he got close enough, Mina snapped out of her catatonic state and jumped back away from him.

"Get away from me!" she demanded. "I didn't want your stupid power, and you didn't want me, so just stay away!"

Lloyd stopped for a moment and looked at her.

"I just want to help." Lloyd told her.

"I don't need your help." she hissed back. "Haven't you caused enough anger and hurt in this world already?"

Lloyd looked at her.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said, as he tried to put a hand on her shoulder, "But I'm telling you, if you would trust me, I can-"

Lloyd cut his sentence short when he managed to get a hold on her and a surge of power shot through the both of them like an electric current. Surprised, Lloyd let go of Mina as she jumped backward in midst of her own surprise. The duo looked at each other with the same amount of shock as the other before Mina's eyes started to roll to the top of her head and her body sagged as her mind shut down completely. Afraid to touch her, Lloyd remained where he was as Cyrus quickly rolled his wheelchair close enough so Mina's fainted body would land on his soft lap.

"What... just... happened...?!" Jay asked, feeling as confused as everyone else now.

Without an answer, the room fell silent as Cyrus tried to arrange Mina in a way better suited to bring her back to her room. In the silence, Lloyd looked at the hand that had touched her not a minute before. Did he do that? Or...

Or did she do it?

. . .

"You broke my Mina!" Alice screeched to Lloyd as everyone arranged themselves in front of Mina's bedroom door. "What did you do?!"

"I don't know what happened!" Lloyd shouted back at her, trying to get her away from him. Say what you want about the crazy little android, but she sure had a grip on her.

"Alice, you need to calm down." Cap told the artificial girl in a stern, yet calming voice. "You're going to overheat soon if you don't start regulating your nanofluids again."

"Besides, it's not like she's alone in there acting like Sleeping Beauty." Kass agreed with a smirk. "She's got that bird with her..."

"YOU CAN NOT HUG A BIRD!" Alice thundered, causing everyone to back up from her a good foot. "I! AM! HER! FRIEND!"

"Sometimes friends need to stand back and allow the other to breathe." Montgomery told her calmly. "You know that, and you know you need to calm down before you overheat."

"I have a feeling that she's beyond the point of trying to calm down." Cole hissed quietly to Kai.

"EXCUSE ME?!" Alice screamed, getting extremely close to Cole's face within a nanosecond. The color drained from Cole's face just as quickly.

"Did I say something? I didn't say anything." Cole quickly said, throwing his hands in the air to give innocence. "Kai, did I say anything about Alice?"

"What?!" Kai said, jumping away from Cole, "Don't drag me into your mess!"

Alice growled at both of them, and they both shrunk a bit from the female android's intimidating power.

"We have all accumulated much stress over the past twenty-four hours." Zane then spoke up. "Perhaps, since we have three weeks, we should take today and just... relax."

Everyone looked at Zane as if he had suggested they all jump off a bridge. In reality though, there was enough uncertainty and anger around them that it felt as if they might as well...

"I agree." Lloyd said. "After knowing what happens... you know, in my future, I'm not as ready for the news as I thought I was."

Everyone looked at Lloyd, slowly started to agree. In a silent vote it was decided; time for a break.