*Cole*

"'Sign me up'," Jay mimicked Kai, who glared at him. Cole shook his head at the two of them. The two new additions to their team had not fit in as smoothly as he would have wanted. Aster was fairly agreeable, though Cole had made the mistake of calling her "cute", and had been blasted onto his rear by a gust of wind as a result. She was loyal to her family, and Cole had seen there were no limitations to the things she would do for them. Kai was likewise fierce and Cole could tell he loved both Aster and the sister who had been kidnapped equally, with all his heart. But the other ninja had yet to see Kai's softer side. He was rash, reckless, and suspicious of strange or new things- Like the other ninja.

"Way to go, Sparkplug," Jay groaned as Kai stepped on his foot.

"I sense this is some sort of 'team-building' activity," Zane observed.

"Just keep pulling," Cole sighed. "We've got a long way to go."

Aster grunted in response, and Cole looked at her with new respect. According to Wu, she had potential to be almost as strong as Cole was, but like the rest of them, she was new to her powers, and at the moment, she only had the regular strength of a child her age. Despite that, she hadn't shirked at all from the task Wu had set them- pulling the carriage, with an old man inside, who was heavier than he looked.

"So, how did Sensei find you three?" Kai asked after a pause.

Cole snorted. "Let's just say that if it weren't for Sensei, I don't think we'd have ever been seen together. I was testing my limits." It had been a year ago, and shortly after he ran away from the school his father had sent him to. Cole had begun to climb mountains as a sort of hobby, and he had grown strong. He had eventually decided to test himself, and see whether he could climb the Dragon Mountain, the highest in Ninjago. It was at its peak that he had met Sensei Wu, who had offered him the chance to be something, not just a disgraced kid who'd run away from boarding school.

And now he was a ninja, on the way to find a Golden Weapon, accompanied by a guy who was so emotionless he could be a robot, a little girl, a seemingly brainless chatterbox, and a recklessly impulsive idiot. Well, that's something, alright.

"I was testing my invention," Jay piped from behind him.

"And I was testing myself," Zane told Kai.

"How did Sensei find you two, anyway?" Cole asked Kai and Aster.

"He just came by, one day," Kai shrugged. "Then my sister got kidnapped, and Sensei offered to train me, so I could rescue her."

"I came to the monastery with Kai," Aster panted. She was beginning to tremble with exertion, but she shook her head when Cole offered to bear her load. "While we were climbing up the mountain, I found out I could control the wind, when I levitated a few rocks Kai upset. So I practised using my power and the obstacle course at night, and it turned out Sensei had been watching me all along. He offered to train me, and so I said yes."

"You said yes," Kai shook his head. "Why?"

"Why not?" Aster fired back. Looking between the two of them, Cole could tell that Aster had her own reasons for accepting, though Kai might be oblivious to them.

"Stop!" Sensei ordered from the carriage, and Cole came to a halt. Aster's tired muscles reacted too slowly, and she bumped into Cole.

"Sorry," she hissed under her breath. Cole began to assure her that it was alright when Sensei started to speak.

"Ninja, retrieve the Scythe of Quakes," instructed Wu. "Do not use it. You are not ready. Understood?" The five ninja nodded.

"So what's the plan?"

"First, we lower ourselves into their camp," Cole stopped. There were only three other ninja. Someone was missing.

"Where's Kai?" Aster frowned. After a brief scan of their surroundings, Cole saw a flash of red, namely Kai. He pointed at the brash ninja.

"Let's go," Jay sighed, jumping off the ledge.

"Kai's route, it is," Cole followed suit, grumbling under his breath. Aster and Zane shrugged at each other, and leapt after them.

The four remaining ninja crept carefully around the Skulkins' camp, often pausing to look around, or to avoid being seen. No more than a few minutes afterwards, though, a skeleton caught sight of Kai. Running ahead, and mumbling profanities, Cole grappled with the skeleton, who he dismembered in seconds.

They caught up with Kai shortly, and when they did, Jay reached out and slapped him.

"What is wrong with you?" Jay yelped at Kai, who only made motions at him to shut up. Below them, through a hole in the roof, they could see Samukai growling as he left the Golden Weapons' map behind to yell at his warriors, who were mining a hole into the mountain. "The map's upside down," Jay echoed Cole's thoughts. "They're digging in the wrong spot."

"The Golden Weapon is near," Zane noticed, as he extracted the map with one of his shurikans.

Grabbing the map from Zane, Kai studied it briefly. "There's no time to lose," he muttered, shooting off again, this time with Aster on his tail.

"That guy is always in a rush," Jay remarked. Cole shook his head in exasperation, catching up to them in a cave, attempting to roll a boulder.

"Before you two race off again, remember we're a team," Cole grunted as he and the other ninja helped to move the boulder away.

"Whatever," Kai snorted dismissively, ignoring Cole's glare.

"Wow, this is so cool!" Jay yipped as they stepped inside the giant cavern. His voice echoed, bouncing around the cavern. Zane winced, and Cole groaned. There was no way the Skulkin hadn't heard him.

"Oh, crud," Aster closed her eyes. "Jay, shut up."

Cole pulled the Scythe of Quakes out of a dragon-shaped rock. "Aster and I will go delay them. You guys take the Scythe and run."

"Yeah, I don't think that's gonna happen," Jay whimpered, as the Skulkin marched into the cavern, leaving nowhere for them to run to.

"Keep the Scythe away from them!" Cole threw the Scythe at Kai when a horde of skeletons surrounded him. He worked methodically, ripping limbs and heads off the Skulkin. Soon he was standing in the centre of a ring of bones.

Furthest away from him, skeletons were closing around Aster, who was throwing punches and kicks with a fury. He ran over to her, and pushed away a skeleton who was ready to stab her in the back.

"Leave me alone," Aster snarled at him. "I can take care of myself."

"Didn't look like it," Cole retorted. Aster silenced him with a finger.

"This feels familiar," Aster frowned, tilting her head. "The kick, the duck, then, this-" She leapt into the air and flipped over a skeleton's sword. As she bobbed and wove through the Skulkin, grey-green wisps began to form around her ankles. The wisps curled and danced around her, forming a vague, tornado-shaped cocoon that extended several inches above the top of her head. The tornado soon flared a dark green, with hints of the ghostly vapour woven into it.

"Spinjitzu," Cole realised, staring at her. The tornado flung itself past Cole, where it plucked a few skeletons that were threatening Jay. With a flourish, Aster came to a halt, with a pile of bones next to her.

"Cool!" Jay's eyes widened before turning to punch a skeleton. "Wait a second… This is like the obstacle course! Over the planks! Dodge the sword! Here comes the dummy!" Like Aster, blue sparks of electricity formed at his ankles, spiralling over his head, before flaring into a bright, flickering sapphire.

"How'd you do it?" Kai asked.

"Just going through the motions," Jay grinned. "This must be what Sensei meant when he said we already knew it."

"Over the planks, dodge the swords, here comes the dummy," Cole heard Kai mutter under his breath. Kai's Spinjitzu was a fiery orange-red. A few meters away, Zane had burst into his own icy tornado.

Over the planks, dodge the swords, and here comes the dummy, Cole repeated to himself over, and over again. He closed his eyes, and lashed out at the skeleton, shoving it out of the way. When he opened his eyes, he saw the skeletons through a brown-black haze. He willed himself to move forward, and as he rolled over them, the Skulkin were trapped in his tornado. With a yell, he expelled them from his Spinjitzu, and they landed on the floor in pieces.

"Retreat!" Samukai howled. "Retreat!"

"We did it!" Kai punched the air in triumph.

"Yeah!" Jay whooped, jumping up and down.

Cole froze, and turned around. He thought he'd heard growling.

Dragon, Cole thought weakly. Of all the creepy things to meet in Ninjago, it's a dragon. Oh, crud.

"Didn't Sensei say there was a guardian here?" Zane queried.

"That's… not what I think it is, right?" he asked quietly.

"It is," Aster confirmed, looking at the creature with a bemused expression.

"You mean a dragon?" Jay tilted his head.

"Sure looks like a dragon," Kai shrugged.

"I sense we might not be able to spin our way out of this one…" Zane observed, as the five of them began backing away from the dragon, who roared.

"I thought dragons weren't from this world!" Cole hollered as they raced for the exit.

"Give me the Scythe!" Aster yelled at Kai, ignoring him.

"We're not supposed to use it," Cole warned. Blast the idiotic ninja.

"So what?" Aster's eyes were shining.

"You better keep your mouths shut," Kai snarled.

"Don't do it!"

Too late. Aster and Kai charged the dragon, and Aster brought the Scythe slamming into the floor, ripping it apart. The dragon tumbled into the chasm, and Cole let out a sigh of relief.

"We are amazing at this," Kai announced as they headed out into the open. Jay opened his mouth to agree, but their triumph ebbed away at the sight of a furious Sensei Wu awaiting them outside.

"I told you not to use the Scythe!"

"She did it," Jay pointed blithely at Aster.

"It was our only option," Kai defended. Aster looked away guiltily, while Cole narrowed his eyes at her. No matter what Kai thought, that had not been her reason.

"What make you think you're more important than the rest of the team?" hissed Sensei.

"We don't think we are," Kai denied.

"But Nya is," Aster blurted out, looking up with her black eyes burning. "Nya's the reason we're here, why we joined. Rescuing her is more important than anything, and if we need to wield the other three Golden Weapons to do it, then that's what we'll do."

Sensei glowered at them all for another second, before nodding curtly and turning back. Cole followed him, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the other ninja trail after them. I hope we'll do better next time.

*Aster*

Over the course of the next few days, they had sailed to the Frozen Wasteland and back, retrieving the Shurikans of Ice, and they had found the Nunchucks of Lightning in the Floating Ruins. Now all there was left to find was the Sword of Fire, in the Temple of Fire.

When the sky had darkened, they had made camp in the Forest of Tranquillity, which was no longer very tranquil. While Sensei Wu, who had evidently forgiven them for attempting to wield the Scythe of Quakes prematurely, meditated, Kai and Jay were participating in a set of rather disturbing dance move. Next to her, Cole pounded at his bongos rhythmically. Where on earth did he get those, anyway?

"Come on, Sensei," Kai called cheerfully. "Join us!"

"There is still one Weapon left," Sensei reprimanded him sternly. "We need our sleep."

"Another thing we need is a break from your awful dancing," Aster whimpered into her hands, teasing. Kai stuck his tongue out at her. True, they had cause to celebrate. They were close to possessing all four Golden Weapons, which would enable them to rescue Nya effortlessly.

But Aster couldn't help but think that it was too easy. The Skulkin had proven themselves to be ruthless enemies; why had they become so vulnerable? Something's wrong. Not to mention that every time they took a Golden Weapon, Aster had heard a voice in her head, roaring. The voice was always different, for every Weapon they retrieved. The voices talked to themselves, telling of failure, and loneliness. They never noticed her.

And she had other problems. She was hard-pressed not to just grab the Weapons and run off alone. Not for any particularly heroic reason- not to save Nya, or Ninjago, but to destroy. She had felt the power in the Weapons, felt the rush of strength when she used the Scythe of Quakes. She wanted it again. She wanted to be unstoppable, and invincible. She'd never lose anyone again.

Or would she? Kai was eager, but he'd made clear where his loyalties lay. Despite being a reluctant ninja at first, he had told her he considered the other ninja to be his friends. No doubt if she stole the Weapons for herself, she would have him to deal with. And Nya would turn against her too, if she heard of what she had done.

No. Aster silently vowed to protect the Weapons with her life. There was little to gain by taking the Weapons; her family, and her new friends, were worth more than that. She would not be a villain.

"Show us some moves," Kai tried to coax Sensei. "Come on, please?"

"Sensei, don't," Aster pleaded. "Save me from having to burn images out of my mind."

Sensei grinned, and stroked his snow-white beard. "Perhaps one won't hurt…"

Aster groaned as Sensei leapt to his feet, and taught the other ninja moves that Tsunami would have cried at. "My eyes… Help…"

The fire eventually died out, and one by one, the ninja and Sensei fell asleep, until Kai and Aster were the only ones left awake.

"One weapon left, sis," Kai sighed, leaning against a tree. "Then we'll go find Nya…"

"What then?" Aster asked, looking up. "What do we do after we get Nya back?"

"Will it be alright with you if we… don't go home?" Kai glanced at her. "I feel like… This is what we were meant to do. Working with the other guys… Being a ninja… Maybe it isn't just a temporary thing."

"Depends on Nya, doesn't it?" Aster shrugged. "But I know what you mean…" After all, how could they return home, go back to blacksmithing? They had seen the world as it truly was, they had seen dragons, weapons of gold, ninja who knew Spinjitzu. Kai had found his fire, and she wielded the wind. How could they return to Ignacia, to be among the powerless? They were among equals now, who saw them for who they were, not just "those orphan kids". They couldn't go home- they were home.

"What's being a Master of Wind like?" Kai asked after a pause. Aster grinned.

"Awesome," she laughed, letting a few breezes bat at Kai's face. "Throw something at me."

"Are you sure?" Kai plucked a dying ember from the silent campfire. She nodded, and Kai sent it flying at her. It didn't even get more than a few inches away from Kai's hand, before the wind caught it. Kai watched it, mesmerised, as it spelt faded letters in the night sky. Derp, she wrote in the sky.

"Hey!" Aster yelped as Kai tackled her. "Get off me, you giant lug!"

She threw him off with a blast of wind, and he landed flat on his back.

"That hurt," Kai sniffed, looking at her.

"Deal with it," snorted Aster.

"You're mean."

"You're a hypocrite."

"You're an idiot."

Aster opened her mouth to answer, but froze when a familiar voice echoed around the trees.

"Kai… Aster… Kai…" Nya whispered softly, out of sight.

"Nya!" Kai and Aster called in unison, leaping to their feet. Their sister slid into view, pale and ghostly.

"I have to go…" she murmured softly, running away from them. They followed her, trying to catch up.

"Why are you running so fast?" Aster stumbled over a stick.

"Come back!" Kai called desperately. "Nya!"

"Where is she?" Aster peered around their surroundings.

"In there," he pointed at the Fire Temple. The two siblings wandered warily into the temple, and Aster winced as a blast of hot air hit her in the face. She blinked, and when she opened her eyes, Nya was perched on a rock, in front of the last Golden Weapon.

The Sword of Fire gleamed, its blade embedded in a rust-coloured boulder. Take it, her treacherous mind whispered. Take it, and run. Aster shook her head vehemently. No. No, I promised.

"Nya," Kai sighed in relief. Aster grinned at her older sister, who smiled back, and the grin slid off her face. There was something strange in Nya's face… A sort of hunger…

"Don't worry," Nya mocked, her voice deepening in an instant. Her figure shimmered for a moment, before melting away. "I'm here… brother." Lord Garmadon's voice echoed around the inside of the volcano, cackling.

"Garmadon!" Kai spat, glaring at his shadow, which had formed where "Nya" had stood.

"Forgot something?" Garmadon purred, his shadow dancing across the walls.

"You can't hurt us here," Aster hissed, brandishing her katana.

"You were banished. You're trapped in the Underworld," Kai clenched his fists.

"And that is why you are going to remove the Sword of Fire for me," the shadow agreed amiably.

"I don't think so!" Kai growled. The shadow vanished, and a chain descended, dangling their real sister from the temple roof.

"Nya!" Aster yowled, launching herself up. She swung her katana across the chains, but to her surprise and dismay, her katana shattered, and the chains remained intact. Her momentum lost, she skidded to a halt on the other side of the cavern, balanced precariously on a tiny rock. Any sudden movements, and she'd be sent tumbling into the lava. Great. So much for saving Nya.

"You know it's a trap," Nya warned. "Don't worry, I… can free… myself!" She struggled briefly, before admitting, "Okay, that's tight."

The chain slid downwards, and Nya was lowered a few inches closer to the lava. "Nya!" Kai's eyes widened in panic.

"Tick, tock. Tick, tock." Lord Garmadon's voice bounced around the volcano.

Do it, Kai. They couldn't lose Nya, not again. Kai looked at her, with desperation in his amber eyes. She nodded curtly. Screw Sensei, family came first.

"Ninja-Go!" Kai yelled, bursting into his fiery red tornado. He leapt over the rocks, and grabbed the Sword. Leaping up, he swung it at the chains, which met more success than Aster's deceased katana. The blade swept through the metal like it was butter, and using his Spinjitzu again, he carried Nya to the banks a few metres away from Aster, who was still trapped on her tiny island. There was nowhere to go. Left or right meant a gruesome, horrible death, which she did not want.

Hmmm… There was another option… Aster closed her eyes. Just like the pebbles. Just like the kite. She willed the wind to carry her up. Opening her eyes, she let out a triumphant yelp. She was hovering a metre above the rock. Over to Kai and Nya. Please? The wind blew her over, before dumping her unceremoniously on the rocks. Nya was looking at her with shock and awe in her blue eyes, which didn't make a bad change. It was good not to be the underdog for once.

"Good one," Kai congratulated her, before sobering. They still had Garmadon to worry about. "Stay close," he warned. Aster nodded, feeling vulnerable without her katana.

"Trust me, I'm not going anywhere," Nya whispered in fear. Aster felt her tense.

"You're just a shadow!" Kai called. "You can't hurt us!"

Really, Kai? Honestly, what kind of idiot walked into a volcano, grabbed a Golden Weapon, saved his sister with it, saw his other sister fly, and assumed that shadows wouldn't hurt?

"Even shadows have their uses," Garmadon laughed. Kai's shadow grew, and turned to face him.

"Stay back!" he yelled shuffling backwards for emphasis.

"Stay back, stay close, make up your mind," Nya muttered. Aster couldn't help agreeing.

Kai attempted to strike his shadow, but being a shadow, his blow went right through him. Unfortunately, the shadow did not have Kai's limitations. It attacked him, striking at every opportunity- and there were a lot of opportunities. Kai's training blew out of the window as he did everything to beat off his attacker.

"Ninja-Go!" Aster whirled towards his shadow in an effort to stop it, but to no avail. Her Spinjitzu went right through it, and she tumbled into Kai.

"Not helping," he grunted, trying and failing to fend off a blow to the head. Aster ignored him, trying to hit the shadow.

"This isn't fair!" Nya hollered from behind her.

"Too hard?" Garmadon's patronizing voice asked. Aster bit back an urge to run to the Underworld and kick him where it hurt, as Kai's shadow multiplied, growing into an army.

"Of all the elements we have, it's Wind and Fire. No Shadow, or Light. Nope. We get Wind and Fire. This sucks." Aster tried to head-butt a shadow, but only succeeded in ramming into the wall. Nya and Kai fought furiously, but one kick from a shadow left Kai on his back, too close to the lava for comfort. A shadow stooped down and plucked the Sword from Kai's grasp, and raised it in triumph. I give up. I'm not even going to try understand what's going on anymore.

But before the shadow could wield the Golden Weapon, a new shadow-figure emerged, one with a beard and a familiar straw hat. It struck repetitively at the other shadows, and was their superior by far. Glancing at the other side of the cavern, she saw Wu standing on a boulder, eyes narrowed in concentration as he made his shadow attack Kai's, which were soon defeated and sent sprawling.

"Brother…" Garmadon hissed. "I see you protect them, but what of the other three?" That's it? You guys see each other for the first time in, what, decades? And no hello? Nice meet you? You just threaten a bunch of derpy teens outside? Okay. Because, heck, this is Ninjago. This is what we do here. All Aster could do was try not to roll her eyes. If this was what life with the ninja was going to be like, she'd better get used to it.

The air before them shimmered, colouring to reveal a scene which showed Cole, Jay, and Zane being overpowered by the Skulkin. Yup. We're screwed.

"I believe those belong to Lord Garmadon, now," the Samukai in the scene cackled, brandishing the other three Golden Weapons.

"My brother must not unite the four Weapons," Wu turned to them, his pale blue eyes clouded with fear. "We must keep them apart!"

"Awaken, guardian of the deep!" Garmadon called. "They're stealing the Sword! You must not let them escape!"

With a roar, the Fire Dragon erupted out of the lava, shaking its head. It turned so its rear blocked off the entrance, and all other potential exits.

"There's no way out!" Kai turned to Sensei.

"There is one…" Wu countered, tightening his hold on the Sword. He leapt onto a rock, which drifted towards a hole in the cave which she hadn't noticed before.

"No, you fool!" Garmadon roared.

"If he is to bring the other weapons here, then I will take the Sword of Fire to the Underworld. It is my sacrifice to pay."

"No, it's ours," Aster said softly. "We should have waited… Shouldn't have come here alone." It was her arrogance, hers and Kai's. They should have known better than to believe Nya would have acted so strangely.

"There has to be another way!" Kai looked at Aster desperately. She tried summoning her wind, but it sputtered out. It's not working! Aster looked at her hands in dismay. Why isn't it working?

"I will see you there, brother," Lord Garmadon snarled, and the three siblings were left alone with an angry dragon.

Thieves! A voice roared in her head.

The voices are back… Aster clutched her forehead, while Nya looked at her in concern.

No… I've failed. I promised him, the Golden Dragon, that I would protect the Golden Weapon. Now it's gone…

Aster frowned. This was the first time a voice had mentioned dragons or protection. What if the voices belonged to the guardians?

Humans, the voice thought in disgust. Vile rodents. They must pay! They have stolen the Weapon!

The dragon opened its mouth, ready to shoot a jet of fire at them. Behind her, she felt Kai and Nya tense. There was nothing to lose…

Wait! Aster called. The dragon snapped its mouth shut in surprise. It looked around, scanning for another dragon.

Who speaks? It demanded. Aster waved her arms, trying to get its attention.

Over… Here… The one in green… Yes… Here.

"Aster, what are you doing?" Kai hissed tugging at her.

"Wait…" she murmured. "Watch…"

How can you speak? The dragon tilted its head in confusion.

I'm not quite sure… But can you do me a favour?

What?

Please don't eat me.

The dragon barked in laughter. Eat a hatchling? Why would I do that?

Because you think I stole the Golden Weapon?

Fair point. The dragon lowered its head, narrowing its eyes. Why did you try to steal it?

Because I could?

Hatchling, I'm serious.

Fine. We were trying to protect it, from somebody else, who wanted to steal it to destroy Ninjago.

That makes sense. Maybe I won't eat you. Who are you, and those with you?

The old man who took the Sword of Fire is our Sensei. The girl with black hair over here is my sister, and the red ninja over there with the grumpy expression is my brother. He's Master of Fire.

The dragon sniffed at Kai, who yelped, and leapt backwards, almost toppling into the lava.

"Aster, what are you doing?" Kai shuffled closer to Nya. "That thing's trying to eat me!"

He is Fire, the dragon noted. I can smell it. Your sister smells of the sea. Everything has a scent, but why can I not smell yours?

I am Aster… she began hesitantly.