Lloyd and others:

After Lloyd had finally settled down, he sat on the ground, while Terrin stood up and looked towards where Raven was taken, and Misako stood next to her son. Garmadon and Wu also stood close to Lloyd, and Dr. Julien stood looking around the forest to see if he spotted any enemies or the Ninja. Reine stood not too far behind Terrin as she looked towards Lloyd. She saw that he let out all of his tears, and that he was more stable now, so she decided to approach him.

Reine stood in front of Lloyd, as he looked up at her, and she looked down at him. Then she smiled and said,

"Lloyd. Thank you."

Lloyd looked at Reine in surprise, as did his parents and uncle. Then Lloyd asked,

"But Sensei Reine, why are you thanking me? I couldn't save her."

"But you were willing to put your life on the line to do so. Your wounds were indeed inflicted by Darkness, but I could see that certain wounds and fatigue was due to your own actions. You fought the hardest you could have, and for that I am grateful," Sensei Reine said with a soft smile, as Lloyd nodded.

"Your welcome Sensei Reine," Lloyd said, and then he felt something deep down within his heart start to move and grow.

Lloyd closed his eyes as he placed his hand on his heart, and he felt a strong whirling feeling in his chest. Then he heard a familiar disembodied voice whisper to him,

'It's not too late... you can still prevail...'

Lloyd's eyes shot open when he heard those words, and he started to stand up.

"Lloyd, what-" Misako said, but then she immediately fell silent when she saw the fiery determination in Lloyd's stern expression as he stood up on his two feet.

Garmadon and Wu saw the same expression on Lloyd's face, and they didn't say a word either. A dramatic wind blew through the air, as Lloyd looked at Sensei Reine and said,

"I may not have been able to save her now, but that doesn't mean I'm going to give up. It's not too late. I can still get her back."

Terrin turned his head slightly back towards Lloyd' direction, as Lloyd continued,

"I know the journey from here on out is going to be a tough one, but I'm willing to take the risk. If there's any chance of bringing Raven back, I'm going to take it, and I won't rest until I get her back no matter what."

Sensei Reine eyes brightened with hope, as she smiled and nodded. Garmadon, Misako, and Wu looked towards one another, and then they nodded and looked back towards Lloyd with hopefulness.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Terrin asked, as he turned around and walked towards Lloyd.

He then gave Lloyd a small blue-liquid filled vial from his pocket and said,

"Here's something for the road. You only need a little bit to feel rejuvenated and heal some wounds, so don't get hurt too badly."

Lloyd put the vial in his pocket and looked towards Terrin and nodded with a smile, and Terrin nodded back and smiled.

"Be careful son," Garmadon said, and Lloyd turned towards him and nodded.

"I will. Thank you, everyone. I'll bring her back soon," Lloyd said.

"Go ahead then. We'll catch up," Wu said, and nodded with assurance, and Lloyd turned towards him and nodded back.

"Be safe Lloyd," Misako said with a smile, as Lloyd smiled back.

Then Lloyd turned towards where Darkness had flown away with Raven on the Overlord. He breathed in slowly, and then he jumped up and summoned the Golden dragon. Lloyd started to fly onward, as his search and retrieval of Raven began.

"Will he be okay going alone?" Dr. Julien asked.

"He won't be alone for long. He has allies," Sensei Wu said, as he turned towards the forest, and the Ninja, Verpentine, and Vampires emerged together.

"Hey! Where's Lloyd? I sensed him here a few minutes ago," Flare asked.

"He's following after Darkness and the Overlord to retrieve Raven," Sensei Reine said casually.

After a moment of silence, the Ninja screamed out in surprise, "WHAT!"

"What happened here?" Marcell asked, since the Ninja were too shocked to ask.

As the story of Lloyd and Darkness' battle was being told, Lucy looked out towards where Lloyd had flew off too. Then she noticed that a hooded stranger was watching them for a moment from on top of one of the trees. Her eyes widened as she recognized who he was, and he nodded towards her and then disappeared in a dark flash. Lucy looked on after he disappeared, but she didn't tell the others, since she figured that he only wanted her to see him considering that he didn't let his presence be known openly.

"What do we do now then?" Auria asked, after the story of the fight was told.

"We prepare ourselves for the upcoming battle ahead. Lloyd may be going ahead alone, but we'll be there to back him up," Sensei Wu said.

"Let's get ready to go now," Marcell said.

"Yeah, let's hurry up," Cole said, as everyone agreed.

As most of them ran to the camp to gather their vehicles and stuff, the sound of flapping was heard, as Ultra Dragon came and landed near the Ninja.

"Hey it's been awhile. Where've you been?" Kai asked Ultra dragon, as he petted the fire dragon's head on the nose.

"He must have taken some time to rest. He looks good," Christa said, as she noticed that Ultra dragon had less scars then before and that his scales were almost glowing white.

"Good to see ya boy! You finally came back," Cole said, as he petted the Earth dragon's head on the nose.

"He came at a very prominent time. We need all the help we could acquire," Zane said, as he petted the Ice dragon's head on the side.

"Oh yeah! The whole team is back to kick some butt," Jay said, as he stood on top of the Lightning dragon's head and bent down to pet him.

"Alright guys! The Bounty's ready for take off!" Nya shouted from on the Bounty's deck.

"Then let's get ready to fly," Flare said.

"Oh! This is pretty exciting! Well, besides Raven being kidnapped, but we're going to get her back!" Lucy said with a smile.

"Yes. That's right. We're going to get our friend back," Auria said, as she turned towards Christa and Flare, and they nodded towards her.

"We are her guardians and best friends after all. So let's go," Christa said.

"Let's all go together," Cole said, as the kunoichi nodded towards him.

After everyone jumped into their vehicles, and the ninja jumped on Ultra dragon's back, they heard a roar, as they looked up and saw Pearl landing next to them.

"Pearl!" Christa said, as she ran towards Raven's purple dragon.

Pearl looked on in worry, when she saw the other kunoichi stand before her, but not Raven.

"Raven was kidnapped Pearl. We could use your help to rescue her," Auria said, as Pearl's eyes widened in short surprise, but then she growled and nodded.

Auria, Flare, Chirsta, and Lucy jumped on Pearl's back, and then everyone was ready to move onward.

"Guys! Girls! Everyone! Let's go! To Ninjago City!" Kai shouted out, as they all agreed with cheers.

"It's time... NINJAAAA!" Kai yelled out, and then everyone joined in for the next part as they took off flying and driving,

"GGOOOOOOOO!"

Lloyd:

As Lloyd flew above the trees following after where Raven was taken to, he noticed something on top of one of the trees ahead of him. His eyes widened when he noticed that it was a hooded person, and he recognized who he was. Lloyd eyed Ryan with determination for answers, as he dismissed Golden dragon in midair to land where Ryan was. Ryan teleported away, as Lloyd landed, and then Lloyd jumped down from the top of the tree to the ground. He examined his surroundings, and then he heard Ryan's voice say,

"So you let him get away with her."

Lloyd turned around and looked up to see Ryan, standing on one of the tree's branches and leaning on the trunk.

"I didn't 'let' him take her. He overpowered me, and I tried to stop him but..." Lloyd said, as he trailed off and looked down.

Ryan looked at Lloyd and signed. He looked up to the sky, closed his eyes, and said,

"Alright, fine. I'll lead you into Ninjago city to get her back."

Lloyd looked up at Ryan in surprise, as Ryan opened his eyes and looked back at him.

"What? Your going to help me? But I thought, but... Hold on! You wanted to take Raven before, and you wanted to do so because you like her! Why should I trust you? I shouldn't!" Lloyd asked, as he balled up his hands into fists.

Ryan signed again with some annoyance and replied, "Because I'm your only chance to get into the city since it's being heavily guarded, and I for one don't like what Darkness is doing. Also, to be honest with you... Darkness ordered me to say that I liked Raven a lot."

Lloyd gasped and asked, "Wha-What? Why would he order you to do that?"

Ryan replied, "I wasn't sure at first. He told me to act like I liked her so that I could gain her trust to lead her away from the rest of you later on. I wasn't fond of the idea because I don't like being dishonest and fighting undercover, but he had a plan so I decided to follow it. But, when I met Raven... she has the kindest heart and courageous of spirits that I've ever seen besides one other... that made me second guess myself, and I decided not to take Raven as long as if you fought me, like in Fountain Falls."

Lloyd saw the sincerity in Ryan's eyes. Then he asked, "But then why would Darkness want you to do it?"

Ryan replied, "I think he wanted to see if you two were together or not, and I think he wanted me to come in between you and Raven. But that's just my thoughts on it. He seemed to be somewhat pleased when I told him that you two were inseparable though."

Lloyd took a moment to take this in, and then he asked, "You said Raven 'has the kindest heart and courageous of spirits' besides one other person... who's the 'other one'?"

Ryan teleported down to ground-level, and then he looked to the side where a stream of water was flowing just behind a few trees. His eyes softened a bit, and then he turned towards Lloyd and replied,

"The 'other one' I mentioned is... Lucy."

Lloyd's eyes widened as his head moved a bit back in surprise and wonder.

"Lucy... you... do you... is she your..." Lloyd tried to ask, and Ryan replied,

"Although I never directly told her, I'm quite fond of Lucy in actuality. Her sweet heart and beaming spirit is what directed my attention towards her, and that's how it started."

"How what started?" Lloyd asked, to clarify.

"... My feelings for her," Ryan said, and Lloyd nodded.

"Well... I'm very fond of Raven, and I want to save her. I promised her that I would, and for her, I would never break my promise. I'm sure you understand?" Lloyd said.

Ryan nodded, and then Lloyd said,

"I accept your proposal to help me."

Then Ryan said, "Just make sure to keep your end of the bargain by saving Raven and escaping Ninjago city together, alright?"

Lloyd nodded, and then both guys shook hands. They turned towards their destination's route, and they started running through the forest.

Silva:

After escaping the Ninja and regrouping with Kerrie's group, Silva and her group of Lizarians jumped into their vehicles, although Silva's had no hood over it, and they started to drive towards Ninjago city. They were driving for awhile, when they spotted a dark-winged creature flying towards the direction they were going, as they just made it to the desert.

"Over there! Darkness and the Overlord are en route!" Kerrie shouted out, as the driving lizarians and the flying ones turned towards where the Overlord was flying.

When they made it close enough next to where the Overlord was flying, Darkness looked over the side and smirked in triumph to see that his plan to capture Raven and regroup was a success.

"Ah! Very good Silva, Kerrie, and my dear pets! Mission complete!" Darkness said.

Silva, Kerrie, and a few of the Lizarians looked at Darkness, as he pulled Raven over to show them that she was captured. The lizarians cheered in truimph, and Kerrie smirked deviously.

Silva looked up at Raven, and her eyes fluttered in surprise when she saw Raven's despondent expression. Her heart felt as though it had been struck when Silva laid eyes on Raven's downhearted appearance.

'The others rejoice but... what is there really to rejoice about?' Silva thought, as her steel-colored eyes slightly softened as she looked at Raven.

"Alright! Let's go!" Darkness shouted out, as he moved Raven back in place next to him and looked forward.

Silva regained her focus to the road when Darkness pulled Raven away. She felt sympathy for Raven, although she did her best not to show it by holding a cold glare on her face as she drove. Kerrie noticed Silva's glare, and she shivered a bit from it as she turned her attention to the road.

Raven:

As the Overlord flew with Raven and Darkness on his back and with Silva, Kerrie, and the Lizarians following, they were halfway through the desert as the sun was beginning to set. Raven saw that the sun was setting, and she was thinking of a plan to escape if they made camp for the night.

"Darkness, should we rest for the night and resume in the morning, or should we make it an all night flight?" The Overlord asked his master.

Darkness closed his eyes to think, and then he opened them and said, "Let's make it an all night flight. I want to get there as soon as possible."

Then Darkness grabbed Raven's chin to make her look up at him, as she glared at him, and he looked at her with a smug grin and said,

"I want to make sure my dear Raven gets to see Dark Ninjago city as soon as possible. Right Raven?"

Raven pulled her chin out of Darkness' grasp, which made him laugh. Then Darkness wrapped his arm around Raven and pulled her next to him. Raven pulled away, but then Darkness said,

"Calm down child. We have a long night and your probably tired. You can lean on me to sleep for awhile. It's better than dealing with me all night bothering you huh?"

Raven took a minute to think about it, and then she looked at Darkness with suspicion. He grinned with inscrutable eyes and extended his arm outward, as he gestured for her to lay down. After she took a few seconds to breathe, Raven slowly moved closer to Darkness, and she laid her head on the front of his shoulder. Darkness wrapped his arm around Raven to keep her still and so that she wouldn't roll off if she fell asleep.

"Better no?" Darkness asked but Raven didn't respond.

Then Darkness nodded towards the Overlord, as the Overlord roared at Kerrie, Silva, and the Lizarians so that they would know to keep going.

As they all continued on their way, Raven felt uncomfortable to be so close to her enemy. But at the same time, she felt comfortable in the sense that, something felt familiar about Darkness that she couldn't yet distinguish. Although she wanted to further analyze this feeling, her eyes grew heavy, as she actually fell asleep. Darkness sensed that Raven finally relaxed and he saw that she was sound asleep. He smiled at Raven's sleeping form, and then he looked forward and chuckled darkly as they continued flying.

Next chapter will come sooner.