Chima, present day—eight years after the Second Illumination

Lupo hummed happily to himself as he strolled through the Sanctuary Forest. Even though he was technically on patrol duty, he liked his job of keeping an eye out for invaders more than anything else in the world of Chima. Patrol always gave the young pup a chance to explore the realm, which had changed so much since he had been a Warrior of Chima. For one thing, there were a lot more tribes now than there used to be. And that number had grown even more now that the Sixteen Realms had merged together. Of course, all the new tribes—Badgers, Mice, Squirrels, Rabbits, and Owls—were always welcome at the Lion City. However, not everyone who visited Chima came with good intentions. And that was the whole reason Lupo was out here, scouting the land for Elemental Hunters.

The thought of those fiendish hunters dressed all in black, with no purpose but to snatch young Elementals, made Lupo feel queasy. When it came down to it, he'd sooner take fighting Shauku again over facing an Elemental Hunter. And considering how Shauku had had the power of Immobilization—a destructive power that could freeze anyone in their tracks—that was saying something. The memory of the black wolf pup that had once been Lupo's friend made Lupo shiver even now. To think that these hunters could be ten times worse than Shauku himself…Lupo couldn't even begin to describe the fear he felt just thinking about it.

A sudden rustle in the bushes broke through Lupo's troubled thoughts, and the young pup's ears perked up in sheer concentration. He froze in his tracks and gazed all around, trying to figure out what in all of Chima had made that sound. Then he spotted a black figure rushing past. Was that a Hunter? he thought to himself, not daring to speak out loud. Slowly, he tiptoed through the trees until he was standing squarely behind a pile of brush just tall enough to hide him from sight. He cautiously parted the brush with one paw, and then his worst fear was confirmed. That figure was, indeed, an Elemental Hunter! And from what Lupo could tell, the Hunter was not alone.

"Tell me again, when do we strike?! I'm dying to snatch some more kiddies for the Black Master!" a voice spoke. The figure that Lupo had spotted answered, "Not yet, Zoltar! But don't worry. Once we find the Lion City, those CHImaera won't stand a chance against the Night CHI."

"Oh, no." Lupo mouthed to himself. While he had no idea what Night CHI was, he had recognized the word CHImaera right away as the word outsiders used to describe the inhabitants of Chima—specifically Crown Prince Laval and his friends, the Eight Heroes of Chima. The hidden speaker who had been addressed as Zoltar continued, "And what about that pesky pup, Lupo? I've heard he's a CHI-wielder! His incredible powers may be too much for us to handle!"

"Patience, Zoltar. That pup may be a CHI-wielder, but you must remember that the Black Master wants him alive. Taking him won't be an issue once the CHImaera are eliminated."

I've got to warn the others! Lupo thought to himself as he slowly backed away from the clearing. In his frenzy to get away before he was spotted, he didn't realize that there were several dry twigs all around him—not until he heard one snap under his back paws. "Who's there?" the Hunter's voice rang out. Lupo froze, not allowing himself to move one inch. "I know you're there. Show yourself!" the Hunter continued. But before Lupo could react or respond, the Hunter's companion, who was clearly Zoltar, shouted, "It's the ch-ch-CHI-wielder, Lupo!"

"Well, what are you waiting for?!" the Hunter barked. "Get him!"

The Hunter's command freed first Lupo's mind and then his legs. He dashed away from the clearing, hoping that with his super speed he could get to the Gorilla dwellings before the Hunter and Zoltar caught up to him. The Gorilla fruit-steads high up in the trees appeared in Lupo's sights a few seconds afterward, and quick as a Squirrel, he scurried up one of the biggest trees in the clearing. After taking a second to catch his breath, Lupo started musing over what to do about this. He was still on patrol duty, but he couldn't head back to the Lion City without running the risk of leading the two Hunters straight to it. And even if he could get back and warn his friends, how would they ever be able to fight against the Hunters and their Night CHI? Then Lupo realized something. There were still some friends of his that didn't depend on CHI for their powers. It was a big risk bringing the Ninja Pups to Chima with those two Hunters around, but it was a risk he was willing to take.

A warm tingling engulfed his body as he prepared to use his CHI-call once again. He knew that once he released the call, his friends would be drawn to the world of Chima in a matter of minutes. Hopefully, he would have just enough time to meet them at the Lion City before the Hunters discovered his location. Quickly before he could change his mind, he lifted up his head and let out a long, loud howl. The sound waves of his CHI-empowered howl echoed through the air as a wave of blue energy emanated from the clearing. The wave stretched out beyond the borders of Chima, seeking the pups Lupo sought to summon to the realm. Unbeknownst to Lupo, his friends were heading towards Chima at that very moment, on a mission of their own—looking for their missing friend, Lloyd.

"How much farther to the coast, Cole?" Rubble asked for the umpteenth time since the Land Team had left the dojo. Cole sighed and answered once again, "I don't know, Rubble."—also for the umpteenth time.

"It can't be much farther, can it?" Arin asked tiredly. "We've been on the trail for nine days already!"

Cole's only answer was to let out another frustrated sigh. He too was tired of the constant walking and looking around for clues only to find none. But this mission was too important to give up now. It was starting to look, Cole thought, as if this was the whole reason Master Wu had sent him back to his friends in the first place. Just a few days after he had taken off after the golden ball of light that seemed to somehow be linked to Master Wu, he had found himself wandering around in circles for three days. The frustration of those three days suddenly came back to his mind as he and his teammates kept on trudging farther and farther away from the dojo.

Cole gazed around the clearing he had slept in the night before. It was early morning and he wanted to get his bearings so that he could locate the strange orb of light again—after losing it just three days before. He couldn't explain why, but it seemed finding that orb was the only way he could stop wandering around in circles and actually get back to his quest. A sudden flash of light caught his eye, and he dashed off in the direction it had come from. But his excitement was cut short when he skidded to a stop and realized it had just been sunlight reflecting off of a puddle.

"You have got to be kidding me!" he screamed, not caring that there was no one around to hear him. "Now what do I do?!" He kicked at a rock in frustration but only succeeded in stubbing his toe. Yelping in pain, he hopped around for a few seconds, holding his sore foot and trying not to totally lose his composure. Suddenly, he spotted a strange creature peering intently at him. He stopped hopping around and gazed curiously at it, wondering what it wanted. Something told him that this was no ordinary creature—a hunch further confirmed by the creature's appearance. It looked like some sort of fox, but it had golden fur and not just one, but three tails. He slowly let go of his foot and just stood there, waiting and watching for this mysterious creature to do something—anything. The creature then turned and took a few steps away from Cole, as if it wanted him to follow it. Thinking that this was, in fact, the case, Cole took first one step, then two, towards it. Then the creature dashed off, and Cole had to hustle to keep up with it.

"Wait up! Slow down! Where are you taking me?" Cole cried as he rushed after the creature as fast as he could. But the creature made no answer, except to pick up the pace. Out of breath, Cole skidded to a stop beside a tree, trying to catch his breath. When he looked up again, the creature was nowhere to be seen. But before he could take his frustration out on anything, he looked up and suddenly spotted the one sight he'd never thought he'd see.

The new dojo of Spinjitzu, perched up high on a mountain.

The thought of the looks on his friends' faces that day made Cole smile slightly. It also made him miss home even more than he already did. But deep down, he knew that there was no going back until they found Lloyd and Toothless. That was his mission now, and there was no way he was going to quit this far into it.

His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden cry of pain from Kito—almost as if he had been pricked with a pin.

"What's wrong, Kito?" Hiccup asked, before everyone else cried out with pain as well. Cole felt as if he had been prodded in the back by someone—hard. Then the wind started to pick up rapidly, and he flailed his arms in panic, trying to grasp something to keep from being blown away.

"What's going on?" he cried out. "Rubble, where are you dragging me to?!"

"I'm not touching you!" the bulldog shouted. "Something's pulling me!"

"I feel the same way," Kirby yelled above the wind, "as if I was being dragged along!" Then he let out a startled cry and exclaimed, "It's happening again!"

"I can't bear it!" Rex cried as he clung to Astrid's legs.

"Wait a second!" Chase yelled. "I know what's happening here! Quick, everyone, join hands and paws and keep together!"

The team immediately did as Chase commanded, but Kito, who had never been through something like this before, cried out in confusion, "I don't understand! What's happening to us?"

"Lupo's calling us back to Chima!" Chase shouted.

"Who's Lupo?" Hiccup yelled, also confused.

"No time for that! Just stay together and…hold on tight!" Chase managed to shout before the wind finally reached its ultimatum and the entire Land team found themselves sailing through the air. A brilliant flash of light lit up the sky before the teammates crashed into a grove of trees. Chase, Rubble, and Rex recognized where they were right away. But the other members of the team, having never been to this realm, were totally bewildered and scared.

"Uh, does anyone have any idea where we are?" Astrid finally asked.

"Hiccup, Astrid, Kito, Kirby, Cole, and Arin," Chase exclaimed, "welcome to the realm of Chima."