Hey guys, Merry Christmas Eve! I'm sorry this chapter took so long, but I hope it was worth the wait and that you all enjoy it.

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Kai's P.O.V.:

I was driving the noodle truck back to the monastery when all of a sudden the truck stopped moving and died in the middle of the street.

"What happened?" Jay asked.

"I believe we are out of gas." Zane looked at the meter which was on E.

"I told you we should've filled up at the station." Cole said.

"Well I was kinda focused on saving our friend from an entire group of villains from our past!" I yelled.

"Guys, the subway is right there." Jay said. "Can't we just take the tunnels back to the monastery?"

"We could, but I have a better idea." Cole said. "We need to go after Lloyd."

"I thought Garmadon was taking care of that?" Jay said.

"Does anyone really trust Garmadon make good on that?" Cole crossed his arms.

We all thought about it for a second, and then realized Cole had a point.

"Ok, let's go." Jay said.

We all started heading to the subway tunnel. We were almost to the place where Lloyd disappeared when we stumbled upon an abandoned subway car.

"No way!" Jay shouted very excitedly.

"What?" I asked.

"Is that what I think it is?!" Jay said.

"If you think it's a rusted piece of junk blocking the tunnel, then yes." I said.

"That's not junk, that's a BRT M-12 subway car!" Jay squealed.

"What?" I asked again.

"The BRT M-12 was the workhorse of old Ninjago City subway system back when it was all run by steam!" He explained. "These cars were discontinued over 50 years ago! This is a classic!"

"Let me guess, you collected toy trains as a kid?" I said.

"No, I built model trains, thank you very much." Jay bragged. "And this is a very rare model! They don't build them like this anymore. This baby was engineered for strength and durability."

"Thanks for the trivia, now can we get back to trying to find out what happened to our friend Lloyd?" I asked. "You know, who vanished without a trace from this tunnel?"

"Right, yes. Let's do it." Jay agreed.

We kept walking until we got farther into the tunnel, but then Zane suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"What's wrong?" Cole asked him.

"My acoustic censors are picking up a strange sound."

"What kind of sound?" Jay asked him.

"A soft clicking sound, like tapping almost." Zane said.

"Ok, everyone spread out, look around." I said.

"What are we looking for?" Jay asked.

"I don't know. A machine, something weird, anything out of place." I said.

We looked around for a few minutes and we didn't find anything. But then Cole started feeling the train tracks.

"Spider bombs." He said. "Lots and lots of spider bombs! Run!"

We all turned around and saw a whole army of them all over the walls of the tunnel. We started running the other way until we reached the subway car and ran inside of it. Hopefully it was as durable as Jay says it is.

We all braced ourselves for the worst as we heard the explosion outside of the car. After the noise died down, I used my fire to give us some light. We were completely surrounded by rocks, but at least we were alive.

"Told ya! Engineered for strength and durability!" Jay bragged.

"How about a way out?" Cole asked.

"No idea." Jay shrugged.

Lloyd's P.O.V.:

I saw the blips on the screen disappear as the spider bombs were blasted. I dropped to my knees and started crying.

"They're gone Lloyd. I'm sorry." Harumi said.

"How could you?" I frowned.

"But there's no reason for you to be destroyed too. You can still join us. There will be a place for you in the dark."

I wasn't listening to anything to she said. I knocked on the bars and jostled the cage as my anger was welling up inside me.

"Lloyd focus. What's done is done." She said. "You have a choice now. You can resist and parish like your friends, or you can join us and embrace the power of the Crystal King."

"Never! I'll resist you with every ounce of my being! And so will Kira and Skylor and Seliel and Nya and Master Wu and Pixal!" I screamed punching the bars.

"Not for long they won't. I told you, I left nothing to chance." She said. "I plan to deal with your friends next. It's all part of my design."

"NO!"

I was so angry in that moment I couldn't think about anything else. I completely lost it and used my powers to break free of the cage. I jumped out and started attacking Harumi.

She pulled her sword and I grabbed a vengestone warrior and swung it at her. Then I jumped off the wall and tried to kick her but she blocked it with her sword. She took a swing but I kicked her back.

"Ha! That's the spirit. Just like your father." Harumi laughed as we were pushing the sword by the blade. "Anger makes you stronger.

"Don't. Say. That." I demanded pushing it back.

My anger fueled me so much I couldn't control it. I started blasting my powers at her left and right. She blocked most of the blasts with her sword until she dropped it and I blasted her head on. I was about to finish her, but then I looked at my hands. They were purple.

"Ha? No." I shook it until the flame went out. "NO!"

All of a sudden I felt the sharp pain of a needle stab me in the back. I fell face first into the ground.

"Welcome back, son of Garmadon." I heard Harumi say.

I was so dizzy and out of it that I passed out...

Nya's P.O.V.:

"Do you read me?" Pixal tried to get through to them. "Zane? Jay? Cole? Kai?"

"I fear something terrible has happened to them." Wu said.

"We don't know that." Skylor said.

"We lost all contact and seismic sensors indicate a powerful blast." I said. "Master Wu may be right."

Something on the screen started beeping.

"What is that?" Kira asked.

"That is strange." Pixal said typing. "The emergency escape elevator has been activated."

"By whom?" Seliel said.

All of a sudden, the elevator opened. Garmadon came out of it.

"Garmadon!" We all screamed.

"You all have to leave, now!" Garmadon said.

"What do you mean?" Misako asked.

"There's no time to explain, but there's someone coming here to collect the golden weapons." He said. "You have to hand them over."

"The golden weapons are currently powerless. Why would they want them?" Wu asked.

"Trust me, if you want to see them again, do whatever they ask." He said. "You guys need to evacuate now."

"Ok Seliel, take Misako and Kira and somewhere safe, we're staying here to defend our monastery." Wu said.

"You got it." Seliel agreed.

"You are making a grave mistake." Garmadon said.

"This is our monastery, and we are going to fight for it." I said grabbing my weapon.

"Just tell me one thing." Misako said to Garmadon. "Lloyd... is he... ok?"

"Yes." He said. "Now go. They'll be here in seconds."

Seliel threw a smoke bomb and escaped with Kira and Misako. Garmadon ran to the other side of the room and the rest of us got ready to fight.

All of the villains from our past entered from the elevator. Pythor, Asphera, Vangelis and the Mechanic were standing at the gate.

"What is the meaning of this?" Wu asked.

"I think it's obvious." Vangelis said. "We're here for..."

"REVENGE!!" Asphera shouted. Pythor rolled his eyes.

"No! Not revenge, not this time. Not everything is for revenge." Vangelis said.

"We are here for the weapons of Spinjitsu." Garmadon said, trying to act like he was part of the group.

"Come and get them, if you can." Wu taunted.

"I was hoping you'd sssay that." Asphera hissed.

A big battle ensued between both sides, although Garmadon was only pretending to fight us to keep up his charade. Skylor, Wu and Pixal were doing well with holding them off, but I was being beaten up like a practice dummy. I felt so useless without my power. I did what I could but it didn't matter. I just couldn't keep up with the others.

Pixal even released her mini Pixes to help distract the villains. I tried to run towards my mech, but Pythor used his invisibility to sneak up behind me. He strangled me and threw me into Vangelis who threw me into the floor.

I couldn't do it. I didn't have my powers, so what was I good for now?

"A little birdie told me you don't have any powers." Pythor said creeping up on me pulling his sword. "You should've stayed in the ocean where you belong!"

"Nya!" Skylor shouted.

She jumped in front of me and pushed him back. I took a second to catch my breath. I looked up and the elevator opened to reveal thousands of crystal spiders. They started shooting at us. The mini pixes were being shot by their blasts.

They managed to take out Pixal, Skylor and Wu. In all the chaos I found myself face to face with Asphera.

"Before the end, I promised to deliver a message from an old friend." She said. "Harumi sends her farewell."

"Harumi?!" I screamed.

I was so shocked I couldn't focus on anything else. Asphera took her staff and threw me into the giant TV screen and it fell on top of me. I couldn't move and I passed out...

Garmadon's P.O.V.:

With all the heroes down, council members took the opportunity to take the golden weapons and set the explosives on the spider bombs. They left with two minutes on the timer.

During the countdown, I stayed in the back while the rest of them escaped. I looked back at my brother and Lloyd's friends passed out on the floor. I really didn't care about their wellbeing, however if I wanted Lloyd to trust me again, I had to help them. It was the right thing to do.

Once the rest of the council ran ahead of me, I went back in the monastery and dragged Skylor, Wu and Pixal out of there. I went back in and tried to find Nya. I searched around for all I could, but I had to leave once the timer got to thirty seconds.

I ran out of the exit and back to the courtyard. I knew Lloyd would never forgive me now, but maybe now that I saved all the people I could, hopefully it would be a start.

Nya's P.O.V.:

I woke up to a timer that only had 20 seconds on it. It took me a second and then I realized they were bombs.

I had to get out of there, but I was still stuck under the TV. I used all my strength and energy to lift the TV off myself. My ribs really hurt but there was no time to deal with that.

I ran to the door and banged on it, but no one heard me. The countdown now said ten seconds, I knew I had to do something. As it kept counting down, I ran to my mech and jumped inside it. I started flying and made it out of there before our home was blown to pieces.

My mech sustained major damage, but at least I had enough systems still working to make it outside. I was happy to see that my friends were okay.

"Nya!" Pixal shouted.

"You made it!" Wu smiled.

"Barely." I coughed and caught my breath. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, but how?" Pixal asked.

"Yeah, who saved us?" Skylor asked.

"We don't have to time to ask questions." Seleil said, running up to us. Misako and Kira were behind her.

"Are you all ok?" Misako asked.

"We're fine, but we lost everything." Pixal frowned.

"Not yet we haven't." Kira said.

Kira held up her communicator and played us a message.

"Kira, this is Zane. We are trapped underground in an abandoned subway car. We are in need of immediate rescue. Please assist."

"They're ok!" Wu smiled.

"I'll go help them." I said.

"I'll come with you." Skylor said.

"I'll go too, they could be hurt." Kira said.

"We'll stay here and clean this up. You go." Misako said.

I nodded and let Skylor and Kira climb up on my shoulders. We tracked the location of their GPS trackers and flew in that direction. Hopefully we could find them before it was too late.

Lloyd's P.O.V.:

I woke up feeling in a cage with vengestone chains tying me to the wall. Being surrounded by all this vengestone was making me feel drowsy and weak. I couldn't stand or even see straight.

"Lloyd?" I heard someone call for me.

"Hmm?" I questioned.

As they got closer, I realized who it was. My dad was walking up to me.

"I don't wanna talk to you." I crossed my arms.

"Ok then, just listen." He said. "Your friends are alive."

"How do you know that?"

"I put a subway car known for its durability to withstand the explosions in the subway tunnel. If your friends made it inside before the blast, there is a good chance they survived." I said.

"What about my friends at the monastery?" I asked.

"Seleil, your mother, and Kira were not in the building when it happened. The council did get away with the golden weapons, but I went ahead of them and pulled the rest of them out before the blast."

"So, they're all ok because of you?"

"Yes, all of them except... Nya."

"Nya?" I frowned.

"I'm so sorry Lloyd. I tried to go back and look for her, but I couldn't find her before it was too late."

"No." I frowned.

I got on my knees. It honestly hurt to move but my heart was already broken. It hurt just as much as losing her the first time.

I didn't know how to feel about my father. I was relieved that all my other friends were ok, and I should be happy that he at least tried to save Nya, but all I could feel in that moment was nothing but grief and sadness. At that moment I felt jealous of Zane who can turn off his emotions whenever he wants. I really wish I could turn it off right now.

"I'll give you a minute. Harumi will be back soon to begin the ceremony." My father said.

"Dad, wait." I said.

He turned around and faced me. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down.

"Thank you for saving my friends." I said.

"Just do me a favor and don't tell Harumi." He said and I nodded.

He flashed me a smile and then went to the other side of the room. I went back to thinking about Nya and how sad I was, and this time I didn't have any of my friends to lean on. I guess I just have to put my feelings aside for now and focus on what I actually came here to do, save Echo.

After a few minutes, Mr. E and Harumi entered the room.

"Good morning Lloyd." Harumi said. "I hope you got enough rest, we have quite a long day ahead of us."

"The mission was successful." My dad said to her.

"Thank you Garmadon. For once you made yourself useful."

"You won't get away with this." I threatened. "I won't let you!"

"You just don't get it, do you?" She said. "Once the council gets back with the rest of the weapons, I will have everything I need to move forward with phase three. Resurrection of the Crystal King."

"Not if I stop you first!" I yelled.

I tried to stand up but my legs felt like jelly. Whatever Harumi injected me with was making me extremely weak.

"Ok, we'll see how that goes for you." She laughed. "Mr. F, Garmadon, keep an eye on him. I only have an hour to prepare for the ceremony."

Mr. F and my dad gave her a salute and took his post in front of me. I waited until she was out of the room and then started talking to him.

"Echo!" I whispered. "Echo, you have to let me out of here."

He just stared at me with a blank stare. I knew I wasn't getting through to him, but then I remembered what I thought about earlier, how I was jealous that Zane had an emotion meter. It got me thinking that because they had the same creator, Echo must have one too.

I signaled to my dad and he sent Mr. F to guard the door.

"What is it Lloyd?" He asked.

"I just remembered Echo has an emotion meter under his hatch. If you can turn it back on, I might be able to change him back." I explained.

"Ok, I'll try, but ever since your escape attempt, Harumi added cameras everywhere." He said. "If she catches me doing that, It'll blow my cover."

"Ok, then maybe we can get him to turn it on himself." I said. "You need to get him and Zane in the same room together."

"How? We're not even sure if Zane is ok." I frowned. "Or the others for that matter."

"I'll see what I can do, just sit tight ok?"

"Fine." I sat down. "Thank you Dad."

"You are welcome." He said.

My dad exited the room and sent Mr. F back over to watch me. I didn't know what he had planned, but I knew one thing. Harumi was going to pay for what she did to Nya. I was going to make sure of that.

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In memory of
Pauline Newstone
1942-2023

Thank you for providing the voice of Asphera, Airazor (Transformers Beast Wars) and lots of other characters throughout your career. You and your lovely voice will be dearly missed.