Friday

The next day, Lloyd stared longingly at his friends training. Wu was watching them, helping where he could. Garmadon stood off to the side, also watching.

"Lloyd, keep turning that," Misako scolded him.

Lloyd's head snapped back to what he was doing, which was cooking the rabbit over the fire. He quickly turned it, wincing when he realized it was slightly burned on one side. Oops.

Misako shook her head at him.

The day before, Lloyd had been looking forward to going out and foraging with his friends, but after the second time going out—while he was supposed to be resting—it had started to storm, which meant Lloyd was stuck in the cave, still. He really just wanted to get out of here… And then this morning, he had accidentally slept in because no one had bothered to wake him up! And so Nya, Wu, and his mother had gone out foraging without him. He was pretty miffed at that…

After the food was done and they had eaten what little they had, Wu had called them all together.

"I think you ninja should go and take a look at the city," Wu told them, adding in hurriedly at Misako's worried look, "—to make sure nothing's happened. Without you there, I don't know what the oni may have done or other half breeds."

The ninja glanced at each other, nodding. Wu did have a point.

"So that means I can go, too?" Lloyd asked, feeling a little embarrassed at how excited he sounded.

Wu smiled at him in amusement. "Yes, I think that would be fine." He looked at Misako for confirmation.

Misako frowned, seeing Lloyd's hopeful expression, before she finally nodded.

"Yes!" Lloyd cheered, pumping one of his hands into the air.

"Keep it down, son," Garmadon admonished him. "We don't know if the Emperor's soldiers are around."

Lloyd smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of neck. "Yeah, right… Sorry."

"I suggest you leave right away," Wu told them, gaining their attention once again, "while it's still early."

They all nodded, Lloyd especially excited, and they quickly hurried off.

Two hours later they neared the city, and Lloyd immediately took charge, more out of instinct, and ordered them to get behind some rocks. They did not want to be seen.

The ninja obeyed him, Cole and Kai more reluctantly.

Once they were situated behind some boulders, they all cautiously peeked over. They were currently on the side of a mountain, on a rocky outcropping. From here, they could see the city quite well. The army was still situated along the rim, keeping a lookout.

"See? All good. Can we go now?" Jay hissed, eyes darting anxiously around.

"No, not yet," Cole replied before Lloyd could. "Just a few more minutes."

"But I don't see anything. It doesn't even look like the city's been attacked since we left," Jay said.

"Which means it might soon," Lloyd told him, cutting off Cole's reply. Cole glared at him, and Lloyd tried to avoid his gaze. NOT a smart move, Lloyd, he told himself.

Jay groaned, shrinking lower behind the rock as if he thought that at any moment they would be spotted.

"Hey, what's that?" Nya asked, pointing north-east.

They all looked, and Lloyd felt his heart sink. A stream of oni was coming out from the Outcast, heading right for Ninjago City. It was an army.

"Oh no, no no no no," Jay panicked.

Lloyd quieted him, moving a little higher so he could see better. "We have to help the people."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Kai asked, standing up.

Cole tugged him back down. "We need a plan, pea-brain!"

"Hey! Not cool, bro!" Kai grumped.

"But he's right, Kai," Nya told him.

"Yeah, and we need to go, now," Lloyd urged them.

"At this rate, we won't get there in time!" Jay wailed. "We'll never make it!"

"Well then, come on!" Lloyd said, sliding on his ninja hood and leaping over the rock.

The others glanced at each other, then quickly followed suit, pulling on their own ninja hoods.

"Heh, good thing we wore these, huh?" Jay said.

Everyone ignored him, mostly because they were focused on the city.

The ninja could only run so fast, and with a sinking heart, Lloyd watched as the oni came upon the city wall. The oni in the front, as one, blasted the wall with their destruction power. Since the wall was made of Vengestone it didn't do much, and while the guards shot at them, the oni in the back flooded around them, slinging up hooks, and started to climb the wall. Some of them were hit, but most made it up. The guards were quickly overwhelmed, no match for the oni. Lloyd vaguely wondered where the Emperor's new army was.

As they neared the city, the oni were already rampaging through it. Lloyd skidded to a stop near the remaining oni that hadn't made it in yet and blasted them, sending three flying. Kai and Cole immediately jumped in, swinging their katanas. Nya and Jay were right behind them. They weren't able to stop some more oni from getting in, but they had least stopped about ten. The oni they had attacked now lay on the ground, knocked out or dead, courtesy of mostly Lloyd, Kai, and Cole.

Lloyd quickly led his ninja team up one of the ropes, and they all quickly scaled it. Once on the wall, they looked over in horror at the havoc the oni had caused. Buildings were burning, bright orange flames springing from them, and the guards—citizens included—lay scattered on the concrete ground, dead.

Lloyd heard a startled gasp from Jay and Nya. Kai growled.

Lloyd narrowed his eyes. "Come on," he growled, jumping down. His teammates followed him. Once on the ground, all chaos broke out. Oni were everywhere, and it was all Lloyd could do to just survive. He had almost instantly lost sight of the other ninja, and he worried especially for Jay, who often panicked and seemed to be the least skilled of them all.

Lloyd turned around, blasting an oni that had been about to impale him. He hit a few more before he could see what had become of the other. He could hear distant cries of terror coming from the citizens, and growls from the oni. He honestly had no idea how he was possibly part oni, seeing how brutal and savage they were.

After a few minutes of battle, Lloyd was already exhausted. The oni seemed to be quickly overwhelming him, and with him being the most skilled of the ninja, he hated to think how his team was faring.

Suddenly, he was slammed from behind. Lloyd fell to the ground, hard. Stars danced in his vision, and Lloyd struggled to get up as pain flared from his jaw. He was yanked up. Lloyd struggled to get free, but then the air was rushing out of his lungs and he suddenly slammed into something else, crashing to the ground. The oni had thrown him, and as Lloyd tried to get up once more, feeling stunned, a blast suddenly hit him in the head and he blacked out.

He came too a little later, and from the shouts and screams still coming from around him, he had only been knocked out for a minute or two. He dragged himself to his feet, looking around wildly for the others, but all he could see were oni and burning piles of rubble. Along with all of the smoke.

Lloyd stood up, limping a little. His eyes burned from the smoke, and his lungs felt as though they weren't getting enough air. He stumbled into the fray, his hands lighting up with his power, of which he blasted at the oni.

A few minutes later and Lloyd was back to feeling exhausted and confused. There was so much going on that it was hard to keep track of, and there were so many oni. Lloyd had no idea how they were going to fight them all off.

"Hey, Lloyd!"

Lloyd turned at the sound of his name, seeing Kai.

"You good?"

Lloyd nodded, quickly joining him. "We need to regroup," he panted.

Kai nodded, taking a quick glance around as he swiped at a few more oni. "Okay. We'll meet back here. Find anyone you can."

Lloyd nodded, relieved that Kai had come up with a plan and he hadn't had to. He turned, heading back into the fray of oni and smoke.

As Lloyd desperately tried to find the others, the smoke got thicker. It was hard to see anything. Around thirty seconds later, Lloyd heard a panicked cry. Jay! He had immediately recognized the voice. It had come from a burning building, the one right next to him. That was the only reason he'd heard Jay in the first place. The growl of anger form the oni, the roar of the fire, and the panicked cries from citizens was almost overwhelming.

Lloyd quickly stumbled towards the building, flames leaping out from a hole in its wall. Oni were still trying to kill him, and he quickly blasted who he could, back. He didn't get them all, but enough so that he quickly dispatched the remaining oni. Then he turned, facing the fire.

"Jay?!" he called, looking desperately for his friend. The flames leapt higher, and there was no way he'd be able to see his friend.

"Lloyd?" a voice responded, followed by a few hacking coughs.

"Jay! I'm coming, just hold on!" Lloyd quickly tried to find a way past the flames, but he couldn't find any openings.

He heard a whimper come from the building. "Please hurry," he heard Jay plead. "I-I, I can't move. I'm stuck!"

He's going to die! Lloyd felt panic start to creep over him, and he quickly ran a little ways down. There was no way in, the door that had been there up in flames. Making up his mind, he hurried back to the hole. Swallowing apprehensively, he readied himself to jump. This is gonna hurt, he thought. "Jay, I'm coming in, alright? Just hang on!"

A whimper was Jay's response.

Lloyd took a deep breath, trying to steady himself, and then he leaped through the flames. He felt the fire brush him, pain immediately hitting him. A burning sensation hit him next, and Lloyd collapsed on the other side. He didn't allow himself a break, though, instead rolling on the ground to try and get the flames out.

"Lloyd?" Jay squeaked, sounding very surprised. "Oh my goodness, are you okay?!" His surprise quickly turned to alarm.

Lloyd shakily stood up, coughing at all of the smoke in the building. He had managed to get all of the fire off of him, somehow, and looked over at Jay. A beam had fallen on him, somehow seeming to not have injured him too much. Probably because it had also landed on a car, which was holding it up partially.

Lloyd hurried over to him, trying to figure out how he was going to lift it.

Jay was giving him an astonished look. "Are you okay?"

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah, I'm… okay." I think…

Jay frowned, then started coughing.

Lloyd put his hands under the beam, trying to lift it. After it barely budging, he tried adjusting his grip.

"It's, it's not coming off, is it? I'm going to die here!" Jay had a terrified look on his face, tears starting to fall from his eyes.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Lloyd growled, giving the beam the hardest tug he could muster. The beam finally lifted, crashing onto the ground. Lloyd panted, almost falling down with it. He looked down at Jay. "Are you okay?" He reached his hand down, helping him up.

Jay nodded, shaking. "I-I'm okay…" He looked at Lloyd, genuine gratitude in his eyes. "Thanks."

Lloyd nodded, then glanced around. "We need to get—" he broke off coughing, half hunched over. He could feel Jay giving him a worried look before he too broke down coughing.

Feeling like his voice wouldn't work, as he couldn't get enough air in his lungs, he grabbed Jay by his arm. However, he quickly slung Jay's arm over his shoulders when the blue ninja's legs suddenly gave out.

"J—" He choked, coughing again. He swallowed. He dragged Jay towards the fire, trying to find a way out. His eyes had started watering, and Jay was now coughing again, almost non-stop. They needed to get out of here!
"Guys!" Lloyd managed to choke out. "N—" He was cut off again by another coughing attack. Where was Nya? She'd help him. But, she wasn't here, and neither were the others. They were alone. There was no way anyone would hear them.

Lloyd felt his legs start to give out, and shifted his grip on Jay, stumbling to the side and trying to stay upright. A feeling of despair crashed over him, and he felt actual tears gather in his eyes, not from the smoke of the flames. His throat tightened, the unmistakable first sign of crying.

When he had been just about to collapse, water suddenly gushed through the fire, soaking him and Jay, and Lloyd put a hand up to try and shield his eyes. He blinked, lowering his arm, and feeling relieved that Nya had found them.

But… that was wasn't Nya. Cole stood there by a fire hydrant, where it looked like he had knocked off its cap in its side.

Lloyd tried to speak, but immediately broke down coughing again. Cole hurried over to them, slinging one of Lloyd's arms over his shoulders.

Lloyd felt surprise flash through him. Cole was helping him? Of course, he had Jay, too… But he didn't have to help him. He could just grab Jay and go. Lloyd felt shame and… disappointment… that Nya hadn't saved them. He'd been so sure that at least she would have helped him that he hadn't even considered that one of his other teammates would.

Cole practically dragged Lloyd down the street, trying to remain to the side and avoid any oni. Lloyd kept a firm grip on Jay, using the last of his energy he had left.

Eventually they reached the meeting point, and Lloyd, glancing up, saw Nya and Kai already there. They were fighting off the oni, looking exhausted and frazzled. When the two siblings saw them, they looked greatly relieved before their expressions became worried.

"You guys okay?" Kai asked, panting as he swiped at an advancing oni.

Lloyd managed a nod, but he was pretty sure Jay hadn't even heard them. He was still coughing badly, gasping for breath.

"We need to get Jay out of here," Cole told them. He glanced at Lloyd. "You good?"

Lloyd nodded, though he wasn't actually sure if he was. Adrenaline was still surging through him, and he was pretty sure that the burns he'd gotten were worse than they felt.

"Okay," Cole replied, looking back at Kai and Nya. "I'll get Jay out of here, you guys… do the best you can." He moved Lloyd off of him, and Lloyd stumbled as Cole took Jay from him. After that, Cole disappeared into the fray of smoke and oni.

Lloyd hoped that Cole would make it out safely with Jay. He mentally shook himself as Nya swiped at an oni that had just been about to impale him. Right, stay on track… he reminded himself.

"Alright, guys, we need to finish this," Lloyd told them, standing up straighter although his lungs burned and his limbs felt like they may stop working at any moment. He needed to be strong, for his team.

Kai and Nya nodded, determined looks on their faces.

Lloyd turned, blasted oni left and right, hoping to use up his final energy after they had won.

It still seemed to be a losing battle no matter how hard they fought.

Fight smarter, not harder. His father's words rang in his head. Smarter… Suddenly, an idea came to him. Or at least, a strategy. He turned to his friends, who had thankfully managed to stay with him. "Guys, we need to work our way into the city, as far as the oni have gone. Then we can hopefully push them back."

Kai and Nya nodded, then followed his lead as he led the way through the swarm of oni towards downtown. Lloyd hoped that the oni hadn't gotten to downtown yet, but based upon how it was here and how well the army had fared, he wasn't very hopeful.

As they neared, the oni seemed to be a bit scarcer. That was a good sign. When they finally reached downtown, they'd made it to the lead oni.

Lloyd heard a gasp come from Nya, and Lloyd didn't blame her. There before them lay the army, or at least what was left of them. They were all dead. On their way there they'd come across countless soldiers, and now… with no more in sight, Lloyd was beginning to think that the oni had slaughtered the Emperor's entire Ninjago City Army.

The lead oni turned, seeing them standing there. He grinned. His soldiers gathered by him, awaiting orders, which probably would be to kill them.

"Slaughter them," the oni growled. "Teach this city a lesson. No one takes oni territory!"

Lloyd swallowed. Kai and Nya shifted beside him nervously, glancing at Lloyd in uncertainty.

Lloyd narrowed his eyes at the oni leader, determination coming over him. "Alright, guys. We get the leader, the other oni will retreat."

Kai and Nya nodded, also narrowing their eyes.

"Let's get em'," Kai growled.

Lloyd led the charge, power coming to life in his hands as he blasted it at the leader.

The leader ducked, an evil grin spreading onto his face. The other oni charged at them, and as Lloyd made to defend himself, he realized that these oni were more well trained than the other ones at the city wall. The battle soon turned into a desperate-to-stay-alive one.

As Lloyd fought, he realized with despair that he was slowing down. He was depleting the last of his energy. Desperation starting to creep in, he spun into spinjitzu and slammed into the oni attacking him. He spun to a stop, looking around and spotting the leader. The leader stood there watching, a gleeful look on his face.

Lloyd growled, then ran towards him at full speed. The oni suddenly flared his power into his hands, sending it hurtling towards Lloyd. Lloyd quickly spun into spinjitzu, sending it flying back at him. The oni's surprised look only lasted a second before he was blasted back by his own destruction.

The oni got back up, a look of rage on its face. An animalistic growl sounded from his throat.

Lloyd gulped, but then steadied his power in his hands. As the oni charged, he fired his power at it. It ducked, lunging for his throat, and Lloyd was slammed to the ground. Lloyd tried to shove the oni away from him, trying to keep its jaws away from his throat. After struggling for about twenty seconds, Lloyd finally managed to blast it off of him. It was sent flying into the concrete, but immediately got back up.

Lloyd stood up as well, warily eyeing his foe. Both seemed to realize that the other was more skilled than they'd anticipated, and so a game of circling started.

The tension and anticipation started to get to Lloyd as neither of them made the first move. He wanted desperately to glance at his teammates and see how they were doing, but if he took his eyes off of his enemy, than it would attack him and he wouldn't be prepared. Wu had once told him during training to never take your eyes off of your enemy. Lloyd had taken it to heart, especially after being slammed to the ground by his father because he'd gotten distracted and had taken his eyes off of him.

The oni suddenly lunged, and Lloyd tried to fire up his power, but he was too late. The oni knocked him off his feet, and Lloyd felt the air leave his lungs. Gasping, Lloyd tried to blast it off of him again, but the oni leapt out of the way. But at least it was off of him. Lloyd shakily stood up. This battle had gone on too long. Lloyd felt ready to pass out.

After the oni made a few more lunges, Lloyd finally managed to spin into spinjitzu, slamming as hard as he could into it. The oni went hurtling about three yards from him. Lloyd spun out of his mini tornado, panting in exhaustion as dots started to appear in his vision. He felt dizzy, and struggled to remain standing.

As the oni got up, again, Lloyd couldn't help the exhausted, despairing groan that escaped him. The oni seemed to be encouraged by that, a wild, victorious grin now its face. It lunged again, one last time, to finish off its foe.

Lloyd was slammed to the ground before he had time to even process the oni lunging for him. He held up his hands desperately, green sparking to life, and blasted it at the oni.

The oni didn't budge, the blast having been too weak. It lunged for his throat.

One last, desperate attempt to defend himself arose in Lloyd, pure adrenaline kicking into overdrive. He lit up his power again, green flames now coming to life, and fired it at his attacker.

The oni screamed. It scrambled to get off of him, one hand on its eyes as it tried to quell the agony Lloyd had afflicted on it. Blood dripped from out between its fingers, from its face.

Lloyd tried to stand, the exhaustion now becoming tenfold. He stumbled toward the oni, lighting up his hand to give it the finishing blow.

But he didn't have to. The oni fled, crashing into anything in its way. Lloyd had blinded it.

He felt a bit sorry for it, but that sympathy was quickly quenched as he remembered his friends. He turned, wildly looking around for his teammates. He saw the oni fleeing, confidence gone now that their leader had retreated. Kai and Nya stumbled over to him, a triumphant grin coming onto Kai's face. Nya smiled, too, and Lloyd couldn't help his own half-crazed-from-adrenline grin.

"We…we did it!" Kai panted, holding his sword up victoriously.

Nya nodded, holding up her own katana. Lloyd held up a fist in triumph as well.

And then, he blacked out.

The Emperor glared down at Raven. "What do you MEAN my army is DEAD?!"

Raven shifted uncomfortably. "Well, you see, the oni attacked. They had an entire army! Your soldiers did the best they could, but in the end…" He trailed off, looking away.

The Emperor growled, rage coursing through him. "Where are the oni now?"

Raven looked back up at him. "We don't know, Your Highness. The ninja fought them off. Without them, the city would be… destroyed."

The Emperor hummed thoughtfully. "I see…" Maybe he couldn't get rid of the ninja, not yet."Keep me posted on damages and losses."

Raven nodded, exiting quickly.

Zane felt relieved that his friends had managed to save the city. He hoped that they were all faring well.

He also hoped that they would forgive him…

The oni led their now blind leader into the throne room, where Omega sat on his throne. The blind oni was hunched over, accepting of its fate.

"What is this?" Omega demanded.

"We attacked the city as you commanded, Master," one of the oni replied. "We killed the Emperor's army. But those ninja showed up." He said the word "ninja" with disgust. "They defeated us and blinded our leader, Ogra."

Omega glared down at Ogra with a frown. He stood up, coming over to them.

Abruptly, he struck Ogra across the throat with his claws.

Ogra gasped, gurgling as blood seeped from his wound and out of his mouth. His eyes rolled back into his head and he went limp, dead.

The other oni eyed their leader apprehensively.

Omega turned, returning to his throne, and sat down. "The ninja may have won this battle, but they have only won the battle. They will not win the war. We will conquer this land, and when we do, everything will be destroyed."