"Focus, Lloyd. You can control your power much easier now that you've grown. You've just got to focus."

"Well, you talking isn't helping any, Kai." Lloyd closed his eyes and concentrated. He immediately regretted snapping at the Fire Ninja, but he was tired. Ever since he'd aged he hadn't been able to get any more than four hours of sleep at night. Every spare moment was spent training.

The small orb of green energy burst into existence in the center of his hands. He opened his eyes and grinned. A small bead of sweat formed on his forehead.

"Good," Kai said. "Try making it a little bigger, but don't lose control. You must harness this power."

"I'll try." Lloyd squeezed his eyes shut again, more sweat forming. This was the longest he'd ever been able to hold it. Usually, as soon as it appeared it'd fade. The orb swelled a little, growing bigger.

"Very good, kid. Now, aim for that punching bag.'

Lloyd spun around slowly, facing the bag. He was really sweating now, his face hot from the intense power he was calling upon. The power of his grandfather, the First Spinjitzu Master.

A beam of green light, a shade lighter than the orb, shot out. Lloyd let out a shout, trying to control its path. The beam wavered, wobbling in the air.

"Fantastic, Lloyd! Now, hit the bag," Kai exclaimed.

Lloyd tried, he really did, but the power was too much. He couldn't hold it. The beam shot to the left, completely missing the punching bag and instead hitting the mirror behind all of Dareth's fake trophies. It bounced around, and Lloyd, too drained to move, was hit by the uncontrollable power. He staggered, stumbling back a few steps, watching the world crumble to black and Kai racing toward him before he fell forward and collapsed, unconscious.

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Lloyd opened his eyes slowly, the light hurting his eyes. The four ninja, Sensei Wu, and Nya were all staring down at him. He looked around. He was still lying on the floor of Dareth's Mojo Dojo.

"Wh...what happened," he asked sitting up and holding his head.

"You passed out after you were hit with that energy," Kai said. "You've been out for about an hour."

"An...an hour? What about Dareth's class? Didn't he have one?"

"Nah," Jay spoke up. "He canceled. We didn't want to move you. You were really pale and you were burning up."

"I...I was?" Lloyd tried to stand, but immediately started to fall. Cole caught him.

"Whoa, slow down there, kid. It's clear we've been pushing you too hard. Take it easy for a while," the Black Ninja said, setting him down.

"Cole is right," Zane put in. "If you are to be at full strength when you face Garmadon, you must rest."

"Rest? Rest! I can't rest! I have to master this!" Lloyd tried to stand once more, but Wu placed one end of his staff against his chest, effectively pinning him to the floor.

"You need to stay sharp and focused, nephew. The exertion of your body aging in a matter of seconds will have drained your strength as well. You need sleep."

"Fine." Lloyd said, giving up. Nya helped him to his feet.

"Come on," she said, placing one of his arms around her shoulders. Cole took the other. "We'll help you to the Bounty."

******************************************************************************************************

Lloyd woke to the pounding of footsteps above him. He sat up, groaning and holding his head. He had a massive headache. Just then Cole burst into the room the five of them shared.

"Serpentine," he said, "Directly below us. Don't worry," he added, pushing Lloyd back onto his bed, "Us four have got this covered. Nya and Sensei Wu are coming as well in the Samurai X suit, so I think we can handle a couple of snakes. We're touching down in a little bit, and I just wanted to give you a heads up."

Jay poked his head through the doorway. "Cole, you comin'?"

"Yeah, of course." The Earth Ninja turned back to Lloyd, giving him a small smile. "Stay here, kid. Go back to sleep." Then he left with Jay to join the others on deck.

No matter how hard he tried, though, the Green Ninja couldn't fall back asleep. He lay in bed for what seemed like ages before he decided to get up.

Standing up, Lloyd stumbled through the Bounty with a hand pressed against his temple in an attempt to relieve the massive headache that had sprung up.

When he reached the Bridge, he collapsed to the floor, panting. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to get up after all, he thought.

Heaving himself into a sitting position, Lloyd stared at the big screen that was currently displaying Zane's falcon's view of the ship.

"Guess they didn't think I'd be awake to protect the ship," he said to himself. "Not that I can protect much of anything in this state."

Suddenly, something caught his eye on the screen. Squinting, he looked harder, his eyes widening as he identified the red blip on the screen. Pulling himself upright, he made his way over to the mic that allowed him to communicate with Nya through her Samurai X suit.

"Nya!" Lloyd practically shouted into the mic. "Scales and the other generals are boarding the Bounty! I...I can't protect myself like this, I can barely stand!"

"We're on our way," her voice came through, almost smothered in static. "Just hang on!"

There was a loud thump on the deck outside, accompanied by a low hiss. Lloyd looked out the window. The four remaining Serpentine Generals, Scales, Acidious, Skalidor, and Fangtom were all there. It appears that Skalidor tripped and Scales had smacked him on the head, as he was on the ground and rubbing his head. The Green Ninja could barely here what they were saying.

"You idiot," Scales hissed in a loud whisper. "Are you trying to alert him of our presence? He may be weak, but he could still crush you!"

"Sorry, Scales," Skalidor replied, getting back on his feet, well, tail. Lloyd rushed back to the mic.

"I don't have much time, Nya!" This time he whispered, he didn't want the Generals to know he was so close by. "According to Scales, they're after me!"

"Then hide! The Serpentine led us on a wild goose chase through the forest. We'll be there as soon as we can!"

The connection was cut, and Lloyd was alone. Another hiss on deck snapped him out of his stupor and he looked around frantically for a place to hide. He couldn't get out of the Bridge. The only exit led out onto the deck, and Scales was there, standing guard while the other three generals searched the ship. He watched as Acidious and Fangtom slithered below deck and Skalidor come up the stairs to the Bridge. He was trapped.

The Green Ninja dove behind the stand that held Jay's beloved button, pressing himself flat against it, hoping nothing was sticking out. He heard the crash as the door banged open as Skalidor forced his way in. Lloyd held his breath as Skalidor glanced around the room. There weren't many hiding spots, and apparently he didn't consider the button. He let out his breath when he heard the slithering of the general fade away.

He poked his head around the corner, just to make sure the coast was clear, when he felt something scaly pin him down. The long, black tail of Skalidor was wrapped around his legs, arms, and neck. The overgrown snake squeezed, choking Lloyd.

"You've grown ssssssince the last time we met," he hissed in his ear. "But your ssssssstill weak. You may look older, but you're still a little boy at heart."

Black spots danced in the Green Ninja's vision, and he heard the distant touchdown of metal against the earth. Samurai X and the Ninja had arrived.

Drawing up his remaining strength, Lloyd took as big a breath he could and called out.

"HEL–" He was immediately silenced by Skalidor shifting his grip and clamping down the end of his tail over his mouth. He tried to struggle free, but no matter what he did, nothing worked.

What did Cole say about getting out of a Constrictai's grip? Relax...It's not working!

He couldn't relax. Fear flowed through him. Help was so close! Skalidor was right. He still was a child inside.

Scales shot through the broken door to the Bridge. "The Ninja are here, along with the Sssssssamurai! We must get out of here!"

The Constrictai General gave a quick, tight squeeze to Lloyd's neck and he instantly was out cold.

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