In Sensei's room, Garmadon and Dr. Julien were sleeping in their own beds, while Sensei Wu was wide awake. He had a dream-vision last night, and it startled him because he didn't understand it:

There was a candle lit in the center of a room. It was very small, but then it started to grow bigger and brighter.

Then he saw Lloyd and Raven in a lit up ballroom, and they were dancing together, waltzing.

After that, Wu saw Raven backed up against a wall as a darkness crept towards her, while she screamed out, "STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

The last part of the vision was of Raven laying on the floor unconscious, and Lloyd standing in front of her, protectively, against a hooded figure surrounded by darkness. Then the hooded figure pulled out what looked to be the Viporeon pearl, but the pearl was a pale purple and it wasn't glowing.

Sensei Wu woke up from this vision, and he was shocked by how real it felt. He couldn't sleep after that, and he was too alarmed by it to realize the time.

After everyone rose from their slumber, they decided to meet on deck. Raven was already there with Misako, excited. Then the four ninja gathered around as well as Garmadon, Wu, Dr. Julien, and Nya.

"We're almost there. I'm so excited to see Flare again. It's been a while since I last saw her," Raven said.

"And I'm sure Flare must be very eager to see you too Raven," Misako said.

"So, how long until we reach the Volcanic lands?" Jay asked.

Raven studied the area they were flying over, which had started to change from forest to water. "We should be there by the afternoon," Raven replied.

"Good. The sooner we help Kai and find out more information about Marcell, the better," Sensei Wu said.

However, Sensei Wu was still troubled by his vision, which no one noticed besides Garmadon.

"Are you alright brother? You seem troubled," Garmadon asked.

"I didn't sleep well. A vision came to me last night, and I'm having trouble deciphering it," Wu said.

"It could be a premonition. What did you see?" Garmadon asked.

"I'll tell you more about it later," Wu said, and Garmadon accepted that response.

"It would be great to see Kai back to his old self, right Nya?" Misako asked, as she looked at Nya.

"Oh yeah, I hope we get there soon," Nya said, trying not to sound suspicious.

Then a horn was heard in the sky. Everyone readied themselves, except Raven.

"What was that?" Lloyd asked.

"Already?" Raven said.

Everyone looked at Raven, and they saw what looked to be a flying ship right next to the Bounty. The unknown aircraft shot out a bridge that connected to the Bounty's side railing. Everyone was ready to fight, but Raven stood in front of them and said,

"She's here!"

Confused for a moment, everyone looked at Raven and then at the unknown aircraft, and saw someone walking across the bridge to the Bounty. It was a lady about the ninja's age, with orange and yellow hair in streaks up in a bun, wearing an orange dress down to her ankles with a red sash as the belt, and black and orange makeup. She was beautiful, but her expression was stern and impatient. However, the look on her face changed into happiness when she saw Raven, but then it faded when she noticed Raven's injury.

"Flare!" Raven cried out, as she lifted one arm and limped to her friend.

Flare moved to her quickly, so that Raven wouldn't have to limp so far. She hugged Raven and said,

"Hey kiddo, it's been a while."

Flare ruffled Raven's hair a little, and Raven fix it back to normal.

"I read your letter so I generally know what's going on, but..." Flare smiled for a moment, which made Raven cringe knowing that when Flare smiles like that, things don't go so well.

Then Flare's face turned to anger, and she yelled out, "What the heck happened to your leg?! You didn't say your leg was injured! Honestly, you could have said something in that letter, I could have brought you a remedy to fix it up in a pinch! I don't believe this!"

Flare looked at the others on the Bounty and pulled out two handles from the side pockets of her sash.

"Did one of these fools hurt you, Raven? I'll make them pay…!" Flare said, as she slowly approached the others with a calm, but infuriated expression on her face.

The others backed away a little, and Raven grabbed Flare by her arm and said,

"No Flare, none of them hurt me, they saved me!"

Flare looked at Raven's sincere face, and then she straightened up while putting the handles back in her pockets.

"Alright," Flare said and added, "I have no hold against them then. If you trust them, then that's okay…"

Then Flare looked at the others with a glare and said, "But I won't trust them right away."

Everyone gulped.

"So, where's the vampire boy? What's his name, Kei?" Flare asked, her hand on her hip.

"Kai, and he's in the brig," Raven corrected.

"Yes Kai, where is he? I wish to see him," Flare said.

After about seven minutes, Jay and Cole returned from the brig with Kai tied up. Being held by an extra piece of rope by Cole.

"Well well," Flare said, as she walked up to Kai, who was confused at seeing her.

"So this is Kai, the vampire boy. Hmm, I thought you would've looked more threatening, but all well."

Then Kai showed his fangs and red-ringed eyes.

"Do I look more threatening now?" He said in a taunting kind of voice.

Flare snickered and said, "Oh please, you're as threatening now as a three year old begging his mother for a piece of gum."

Kai growled at Flare with a menacing look in his eyes. Flare just smirked and walked closer to Kai, and said,

"You wanna dance little vampire boy? I'll take you out faster than you can even blink."

For a moment, Kai and Flare glared at each other intensely before Kai decided it was best not to cause trouble, so he backed off. Flare smiled in triumph and turned to Raven, and said,

"Well he doesn't look so bad, so I can safety assume that he's only been bitten for a day."

Raven nodded and Flare continued, "Well that's fine then. Besides I can't help him this moment."

"Why not?" Misako asked, which was what everyone wanted to ask.

"Because, Misako, today is the 'Peace between the rulers' day." Flare replied, with much distaste.

"And yes I know all of your names, Raven was very descriptive in her letter," Flare added.

Then Raven said, "Oh yeah, 'Peace between the rulers' day. It's when the rulers of each part of the Volcanic lands meet to ensure peace between them, and their allegiance to Flare's father and mother. It's a very important ceremony that must be perfect to ensure that the Volcanic lands don't fall apart."

Then Sensei Wu said, "This event seems to be very important, but we have an urgent situation at hand. Ms. Flare, if you could-"

"I don't have the time. I have to attend the ceremony or my mother will rain fire from the heavens and make the Volcanic lands a desolate waste land of sulfur and ashes," Flare replied, as everyone looked at her with wide eyes, and then they turned to Raven.

Raven shrugged her shoulders and said, "She's right actually, but.."

Then Raven turned to Flare with a sweet, sad face, and said, "Please Flare, there must be something you can do?"

Flare took a moment to think, with her head tilted downward and her eyes closed.

She stood like that for a good twenty seconds, and then she lifted her head up quick, which made everyone slightly jump.

"Okay, how about this..." Flare began, "I will help you guys, but you would have to attend the ceremony as guests. Then when the ceremony ends, I will help fix Kai up. However, if any of you do anything to ruin this for me, or do anything that draws attention to yourselves..."

Flare walked up to Kai and looked directly into his eyes with a death glare of horror that made Kai slightly unnerved, as she continued, " I won't hesitate to take you out either temporarily... or permanently. Got it?"

Kai spoke as calmly as he could, "I got it."

Then Flare turned to the others with the same look, and they agreed with Kai.

"Okay then," Flare said, her dark glare completely gone, "Let's get you guys ready for tonight."

With that, Flare went back on her aircraft and led the Bounty to the Volcanic lands.

After both flying vehicles had landed safely, the passengers of each vessel were outside and heading over to Flare's castle on the short, but wide mountain top. The castle was large and wide with a large rectangular body and a few watch towers around each corner about two to a corner. A smaller but still large rectangular structure stood on top of the humongous base of the castle. The castle was red colored at the bottom and faded out to a white at the top. There was a rock formation shaped as stairs that led to the castle doors, which were a dark orange color with golden trimming. The sun was close to the horizon, which made the castle look much more vivid. A lot of the land around the castle was made of a dark brown and gray rock, while farther out looked to be grass land and a forest area.

"Here we are, the Volcanic Kingdom," Flare said.

Everyone stared with their jaws dropped in amazement at the castle's vastness and vivid appearance.

"It's beautiful," Nya said, and Flare replied,

"Of course it's beautiful. What do you think I live in a shed?"

"So, if this is your kingdom, then are you like, the princess?" Jay asked.

"Yes, I am. My parents are the King and Queen, and I'm the Princess who doesn't mind backslapping my own people if need be," Flare said, as the others looked towards one another with arched eyebrows, besides Raven.

As they approached the castle, Jay stood in the back along with Cole.

"So what's the plan now?" Jay whispered to Cole.

"Weren't you listening to Kai in the brig before we landed? Ugh. Okay listen, I still have to get Lloyd, but Kai had a pretty brilliant idea too..." Cole explained the rest of the plan to Jay without being noticed by anyone except Nya, who was listening intently.

"Got it?" Cole asked, and Jay said,

"I got it. Man, that would good plan if you don't screw up again Cole."

Cole looked at Jay with a distasteful expression, and Jay simply laughed. Then Cole thought to himself,

'I'll get him this time.'

Cole smirked darkly at his thought without anyone else noticing.

Upon entering the foyer of the castle, it was a large room with stairs coming from the left and right side that faced each other and a plant in each corner of the finely decorated, light-gray room. There were four large pictures of landscapes with orange frames on the wall, a golden chandelier with clear glass crystals that had a raining effect on the ceiling, and the white glossy floors, with a red carpet on each stair way that met in the center and continued to the next room that had large golden doors.

As everyone stared in awe, Flare interrupted their thoughts when she spoke,

"Okay everyone let's move, females to the right stairway and males to the left stairway. I'll give you time to pick your partner girls: one boy to escort you in the party. Anyone leftover... well, your leftover, so feel bad about it. You can be guards or whatever, just don't get in the way. Also..."

Flare grabbed Kai by the collar and said, "You're going to be with me, and Zane will watch over you as well, Kapeesh?"

Kai thought it, and then he said with a cheeky smirk, "As you wish, your highness."

Flare became irritated at Kai's taunt, but she ignored him and yelled out,

"Avin!"

A man with flat brown hair and a gray tuxedo came in and said, "Yes your majesty."

Flare looked towards the man and said, "Take the guys to dress, and keep an eye on our little vampire punk. A sharp eye. Alright?"

Avin bowed his head and said, "Yes, my lady."

At this point, Misako, Nya, and Raven had chosen their escorts; Garmadon with Misako, Jay with Nya, and Lloyd with Raven. That left Sensei Wu, Dr. Julien, and Cole as the leftovers who would be 'guards' besides Zane, who was told to watch over Kai with Flare. This actually was perfect for Kai's plan to be enacted. After this, the guys went to their side to change, and the girls went to their side to change.

After about an hour of getting ready, the boys were already waiting in the foyer for the girls to arrive. Kai was still tied up, but he had a red tuxedo with a black tie and even black rope to match that Avin was holding. Cole wore a black tuxedo with a green tie, Zane wore a white tuxedo with a white tie, Jay wore a blue tux with a blue tie, and Garmadon wore a black tux with a purple striped tie. Sensei Wu wore a white tux with a gray striped tie but he kept his hat on, Dr. Julien wore a black tux with a white striped tie, and Lloyd wore a green tux with a golden tie. The boys stood waiting for the girls for another ten minutes before they were finally done.

Flare stepped out in her same outfit, but it was strapless with a little black half-jacket on it, and her dress had a black trim on the bottom with a yellow sash on her waist instead of red. She signaled with her hand to whoever was behind her, and walked down the stair case with her stern and impatient expression. Yet, no one noticed the small glint in her eyes when she saw Kai. She went over to Avin and took the rope that held Kai and said,

"You can go Avin, I'll walk the dog."

Kai became irritated at her insult, but he was able to keep his mouth shut as Flare smirked at him.

Coming from the stair case was Misako, Nya, and Raven. Misako had her same pony tail with a green flower crown, and wore a white dress with black trimming around the bottom and a jacket like Flare's that was a dark gray, with a green sash around her waist that matched the flowers. Nya wore a red dress with gold and black trimming on the bottom, and a black sash around her waist. She wore a golden tiara around her head with a blue gem in the center as well. Raven wore a black dress with a purple sash around her waist and a green tiara on her head. The dress had purple trimming on the bottom, and the top was covered by a green half-jacket.

As the girls descended the staircase, the boys mouths dropped open in amazement. Misako descended first, and Garmadon grabbed her hand and kissed it, which made her blush as he commented her on her beauty. Nya descended second and was met by Jay who could barely speak without stuttering as he gave Nya his complements. Raven descended last, and Lloyd could barely move his feet as he thought,

'I knew Raven was very pretty, but she's more beautiful than I could've imagined... Oh man she's coming... uh...'

Lloyd walked up to Raven, and he blushed as he spoke, "Raven, you, uh, you look..."

She giggled at his lost for words, and then Lloyd straightened up and said, "You look amazing."

Raven blushed a bit, and said, "Thank you Lloyd, and you look awesome too."

Then Lloyd noticed that Raven's leg was no longer in a cast.

"Raven, your leg," Lloyd said, and Raven replied,

"Oh yes. Flare gave me a healing remedy so that my leg would be as good as new now."

Raven bended her leg to show that it was perfectly fine, and Lloyd nodded in approval.

"Shall we go, my lady?" Lloyd asked, as he extended his arm toward Raven.

"Why of course sir, thank you kindly," she said, as she took his hand.

While everyone was looking towards Raven, Nya felt her side pocket on her dress, and kept the item inside on her mind.

Then a voice was heard out of nowhere of an angry woman that startled everyone in the foyer, including Flare.

"FLARE! WHERE ARE YOU?! Oh there you are!" A woman in an all black dress with a red and orange sash, red trimming on the bottom of the dress with small gems on just the top part of the dress, and a black crown with a large red gem in the center on her orange flowing hair stepped out from the main party room, where the golden doors were.

The woman walked towards Flare, and then turned her attention to the others in the foyer. A fierce, powerful, and stern look was set in her eyes and she had the face to match. After scanning the guests in the foyer, the woman turned to Flare and said,

"What is the meaning of bringing these people here? Raven is acceptable, but who are the others, and why is that boy tied up?"

Flare signed before speaking, "Mother, they are the people in Raven's letter. Remember, Raven described them pretty well and even wrote their names."

Flare's mother thought for a moment, and then she remembered. She looked at everyone with a smile, and said,

"Oh right, I'm sorry about that. It's just today has been a little stressful is all. I am Melantha, Queen of the Volcanic lands, and Flare's mother if you're too slow to figure it out. Welcome."

Melantha stepped forward and said, "I'm certain all of you are aware of today's importance for the whole kingdom, so let me say that if anything goes wrong on your behalf, I will rain fire from the heavens and make the Volcanic lands a desolate waste land of sulfur and ashes! You will suffer my wrath and mighty fury, understand?!"

Melantha looked at everyone with a dark, menacing glare that was even more threatening then Flare's. Everyone gulped and nodded their heads. Then Melantha smiled kindly, and said,

"Good. I don't want any trouble today, especially for my husband's sake, so let's go. You're all already late."

Melantha turned and entered the next room, as did everyone else.

The room was about ten times larger than the foyer and it had a DJ section in the middle back, a food section on the left and right sides near the walls, a large dance floor in the center, and tables right when you walk in with a large chandelier of transparent gold and gems in the same shape of the one in the foyer. There were many people on the dance floor conversing, about four main rulers and ten people from each of their lands, along with ten people from the main land that was closest to the castle. The room had pale red walls and large pictures with landscapes on them embroidered with gold. There was a throne beyond the DJ section and a large glass window behind it that showed the view outside.

Our group of heroes had their mouths open in awe, but then shut their mouths when Melantha looked at them with a raised eyebrow and gestured for them to join in. Flare, Kai, and Zane went to the food section on the left because Flare was hungry and she wanted to rub it in Kai's face, literally. Sensei Wu, Dr. Julien, Misako, and Garmadon went to converse with the people on the dance floor. Raven and Lloyd went to the food section on the right to see what was being served. Jay and Nya went to the dance floor, but they kept an eye on Kai, Raven, and Lloyd. Cole moved over to where Raven and Lloyd were without being spotted by them.

As the party went on, outside, above the glass window, a vampire was making plans.

'Let's see how my little vampire Kai is doing so far,' Marcell thought, as she peeked through the window and spotted Kai standing near the food section, while Flare gathered herself food.

Marcell smirked, and then she took out a small bug-looking robot and sent it flying threw an opening in the window and right next to Kai. It attached itself on Kai's right ear which made him turn in it's direction.

"Kai," A voice said through the bug speaker.

Kai recognized the voice and whispered, "Marcell?"

"Yes, it's me," Marcell said and continued, "I attached a speaker bug to your ear so that I could communicate with you."

Kai thought about this, and whispered, "A speaker bug? Aw come on-"

"Deal with it for now! Listen, where is Raven? Do you have a plan to capture her?"

"Yes, we'll have her soon master," Kai whispered, and then he asked, "What do you plan to do with her anyway?"

"That's not to be disclosed at this time. After the King's small speech, carry on with your plan alright. You'll learn the details later. I'll be waiting," Marcell said.

Then Kai replied, "Yes, master."

Marcell hid herself further on the roof of the castle.

After a while of conversing and eating, Avin grabbed a microphone and said,

"Eh hem, excuse me... Thank you, eh hem, presenting his royal greatest with awesome might and power, the ruler of the Volcanic Lands: King Arun!"

As the king stepped out from behind the throne, everyone began to applaud and cheer. He was a pretty tall guy, with an all white tux and an orange cape on his back. He wore three orange belts, and his hair was blonde that spiked upward and around with a white crown and a large orange gem in the center on his head. He had a few blonde hairs for his mustache, and he wore a small gold earring on the top of his right ear.

"Friends, family, new comers! It's a pleasure to see that you have all arrived here safe and sound. I trust that today's 'Peace of the rulers' ceremony will be a great and prosperous one. May you enjoy your stay in my humble abode and have a wonderful evening, my people."

After this, the music started up, and everyone started to dance. Even Misako, Garmadon, Wu, and Dr. Julien were dancing on the dance floor. Lloyd and Raven were dancing as well, and even Cole started to get into it, but then he noticed Jay give him a signal.

Jay, Cole, and Nya quickly looked toward Kai's direction. Kai smirked, and then he jumped up on the food table and relieved himself of the rope that had him bound. Flare looked up at him in shock and outrage, as Kai ran across the table showing his vampire form off, which made Flare almost jump up to tackle him, until she noticed the reactions of the four heads of the Volcanic Lands. They started to point at Kai and murmur, and then they pulled out their weapons and approached him. Kai smirked at their attempt to intimidate him, and he simply started tossing food at them, which made the rulers start picking up food and throwing it back.

During this time, Raven and Lloyd were watching this from a distance. Suddenly, Lloyd felt a hand around his mouth, as he was being dragged behind a door that led to a hall, which had guest rooms or storage on each side. Lloyd's captor picked a room on his left as he dragged Lloyd into it, but he had a hard time since Lloyd was fighting back. Then he said,

"Wow Lloyd, even for me, you're pretty hard to handle."

The familiar voice had haulted Lloyd's struggle, as he said,

"Cole?"

Then a sharp pain hit Lloyd's shoulder, as Cole's fangs had finally hit it's mark. Lloyd yelled out in pain, and then he blacked out.