Axel's P.O.V.:

I was plugged into the machine and ready for Borg to disable my firewall. I was nervous, but I had to do this for them. I had to do this for my family.

"Ok Axel, once I press this button, your firewall will go down for exactly ten minutes." Borg explained. "That should give you enough time to find out his plans."

"Borg and I will be monitoring your systems to make sure everything goes smoothly. If something goes wrong, we'll patch the firewall back and install the antivirus software to flush him out." Pixal said.

"Got it." I nodded.

"You can not just go out and ask him what his plan is. You will have to find a way to outsmart him and get him to tell you on his own." Zane said.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Alex asked. "From what I've learned messing with the Overlord never goes well."

"This is the only chance we have." I said laying back in the chair. "Borg, I'm ready."

"Be careful." He said.

I nodded and closed my eyes. Borg hit the button and I ran into the overlord inside my own subconscious.

"You fool!" The Overlord laughed. "You took down the last defense that was holding me back."

"It's all a trick my lord." I kneeled down and bowed. "I needed to gain the nindroids' trust so they would remove the firewall."

"Do you really think I believe that? Since the day I created you all you've ever wanted was your freedom."

"I thought it was want I wanted, but it turns out I need someone for whom I can fill orders for to the best of my ability." I said.

"Hmm... well perhaps you could still be of some use to me."

"What is your wish master?" I bowed.

"Just make sure those junior ninja don't get in my way."

"In the way of what exactly?" I asked.

"In the way of my army of course."

"Army?"

"Yes, and let's just say it will those ninja... powerless." He laughed evilly.

To make it seem real I laughed along. Then the five minutes were up and I was zapped back into reality...

I woke up in a panic and caught my breath. I looked around at the others.

"Did you figure it out?" Alex asked.

"He didn't tell me everything, but he said something about an army and how it would leave the junior ninja powerless." I said as I held my head.

"That doesn't help us very much." Alex frowned.

"We know more than did before, so I call the mission a success." Zane said.

"Axel, are you ok?" Borg asked me.

"Yeah, I think so." I nodded. My head still hurt a little.

"I'll run a diagnostics check, just to be safe." He said typing on his computer.

I laid back down in the chair and let Borg check me out. I knew this would take a while so I just sat there. I was just glad I didn't disappoint my family.

Lloyd's P.O.V.:

While my dad was at the monastery with the kids trying to get them to unlock their Oni forms, I was dealing with my own crisis. I had to find out the events of that day Ethan and Ryder went to stop Harumi and Akamu. Maybe something they did brought it out in them, but it's just so hard to imagine either of my sons doing that willingly.

I knew Kira wanted me to rest, but this was too important. I drove up to Kryptarian Prison and saw Skylor standing there in her uniform. I already called ahead, so she knew why I was there.

"Are you sure you wanna do this Lloyd?" She asked me. "I'm not sure having you and Harumi in the same room together is a good idea."

"Me neither, but I have to know what happened that night and this is the only way to find out." I said.

"Ok, just be careful."

I nodded and Skylor opened the door to the locked cylinder shaped cell in the center of the room. I rode the retractable bridge all the way and came face to face with Harumi and her brother.

"Well well well, if it isn't the former green ninja." Harumi laughed. "I heard about your sons, so sorry for your loss."

"Save the act Harumi, Ryder and Ethan are fine. Your little plan didn't work." I crossed my arms.

"How is Maizy? Is she ok?" Akamu asked.

"She's fine, no thanks to you." I scowled.

"Cut to the chase Lloyd, what are you doing here?" Harumi asked.

"Believe me, I wouldn't be here if I had any other choice, but I need to know how the overlord returned and how you came back from the dead." I pointed to Harumi.

"And why should we tell you anything?" Akamu said.

"Because the Overlord is the embodiment of pure evil. He can't be trusted." I said.

"The Overlord is the only reason why my sister is alive. He promised me if I got enough vengestone for him he'd bring her back." Akamu yelled, but then he covered his mouth.

"Idiot." Harumi rolled her eyes.

"Vengestone? What does he need that for?" I asked.

"Don't tell him anything!" Harumi covered her brother's mouth.

"Look, I don't know what he told you, but whatever it was he wasn't telling you the whole truth." I said. "The Overlord is planning to bring mass destruction to all of Ninjago, including you two and Maizy unless the kids find a way to stop it, and they won't stand a chance unless they know what they're up against. So if you don't want that to happen to you, I suggest you answer my questions, honestly."

Harumi looked at her brother, her hand still over his mouth, and then they looked at each other. She sighed and removed it.

"What? You believe him?" Akamu asked.

"Lloyd may be gullible, but he is always honest." Harumi said. "Most of the time that's his downfall."

"Dumb remarks about me aside, are you going to help me or not?" I asked.

"Ok, we'll help you, but only because I want Maizy to be safe." Akamu said.

"Then tell me what he's planning with that vengestone!" I said.

"He's building an army of warriors." Akamu said.

"How much vengestone did you give him?" I asked.

"While I was incarcerated in Kryptarian, the VKA were gathering it for me." Akamu explained. "He said if I did, he would bring my sister back to life, so that was my only priority."

"That doesn't answer my question." I yelled. "How much vengestone did you give him?"

"Only about 300 tons of it." He sighed.

"Oh man." I sighed.

"Your little team of ninja wannabes won't be any match for that many warriors." Harumi said. "It's too late to stop him Lloyd. If you try, you will only delay the inevitable."

"For everyone's sake, I hope you're wrong." I said.

I ran across the bridge and ran back to Skylor. She noticed how freaked out I was.

"What did they say?" Skylor asked me.

"We... we need to get back to the monestary and assemble the team." I caught my breath.

"Why? What's going on?"

"I'll explain later, but I have to get back home."

I made a run for my car and zoomed off to the monastery. I just hope I wasn't too late.

Ryder's P.O.V.:

Me, Ashley and Ethan were outside in the courtyard training with our grandfather in attempt to unlock our Oni forms. Ethan was getting the hang of it pretty quickly, but getting him to stop was the hard part. Me and Ashley were having a harder time getting in touch with our Oni forms, even though according to Ethan I had done it once before. That whole experience was still kinda fuzzy to me. Plus my ribs were still in a bit of pain which wasn't doing me any favors.

Ethan was running around with his powers all sparked up hitting the dummies all around the yard, ultimately destroying them.

"Woah Ethan, take it down a notch." My grandfather said to him. "Are you trying to burn down the monastery?"

"Sorry Grandpa, I'm in the zone right now." He said continuing to destroy the targets.

Something was off about my brother. It's like he wasn't able to listen to us. His eyes were a bright purple instead of his usual brown color.

Ethan kept hitting and destroying all the targets with his powers one by one. As he hit the last one, he missed and hit Ashley in her arm. It knocked her into the wall and knocked her out cold.

"Ashley!" We all shouted.

My mom had heard our screams and went to check on her. I looked at Ethan and he looked upset. My grandfather and I went to talk to him.

"Ethan, are you ok?" My grandfather asked.

"I... I couldn't control it." He looked at his hands. "I didn't listen and now..."

"Hey it's ok, it was an accident." I tried to touch Ethan's shoulder, but he slapped my arm away.

"No! Don't touch me! I'm a monster." He frowned and stood up. "No one is safe around me."

Ethan ran out of the courtyard doors and ran down the mountain at an almost supernatural speed. I had never seen him run that fast before.

"Ethan! Come back!" I shouted, but it was no use. He was already down the mountain and out of site.

"I'll get him, Ryder you stay here and make sure your sister's ok." He told me and I nodded.

He went running after my brother and I went over to Ashley and my mother. Ashley was bleeding from her arm and my mom was treating her wounds. She was just now coming to.

"Ashley, can you hear me?" My mother asked her.

"Mom? Ryder? What happened?" She asked sitting up.

"That's what I'd like to know." My mom looked at me.

"Ethan accidentally hit her with his powers." I explained. "Are you alright?"

"I don't know, it really hurts." Ashley said still holding her arm. "Where is he?"

"He ran off." I frowned. "He was so upset about hitting Ashley that he didn't want to be here."

"Which way did he go?" My mother asked.

"That way." I pointed towards the open door. "Grandpa ran after him."

"Ok Ryder, you stay here with her, I'll try to call your dad." She said.

"Ok." I said.

My mother went back inside to call my dad. I looked at Ashley and her arm looked like it was getting worse. It was swelling and she could barely move it. I only hoped my grandfather could find Ethan before he hurt anyone else.

Lloyd's P.O.V.:

I was on my way back home from Kryptarian. I was almost to the monastery when I saw what looked like Ethan running and my dad chasing him. I looked a little closer and realized it was exactly that. I immediately pulled the car over and ran into my father who was out of breath.

"Dad?" I rolled down the window. "What's going on? Was that Ethan I just saw?"

"We have to go after him. Let me in and I'll explain on the way." He said.

I let him in and took a U turn to chase after Ethan. Problem was I couldn't see him anymore. He must have been running extremely fast.

"Dad I can't see him anymore." I frowned.

"He's running at Oni speed." He said.

"What? Since when can he do that?"

"Ever since he unlocked his true potential he's unlocked all sorts of new abilities. Although now I'm thinking that training him at such a young age wasn't a good idea."

"I don't get it. What happened that made him run away?"

"He couldn't stop his powers and he... he accidentally hit Ashley in her arm."

"What? Is she alright?" I asked.

"Kira and Ryder are with her now." My dad said. "It's a good thing she's part Oni too or it could've been a lot worse."

"Yeah I know, but Ethan probably feels terrible." I frowned. "We have to find him."

My phone started ringing and Kira was calling me. I put her on speaker.

"Hello." I said.

"Hey Lloyd something just happened." Kira said.

"Yeah I know. I ran into my dad and he told me everything. We're going after Ethan now." I said. "Is Ashley ok?"

"Yeah, it was only a small hit so I think she's gonna be fine. I'm taking her to the hospital just to be safe." She said. "Did you find him?"

"We're working on it." I said.

"What do you mean? Don't you know where he is?" She worried.

"He's running with Oni speed and Oni are known to have incredible stamina. He could be anywhere by now." My dad said.

"What?!" Kira screamed.

"Relax Kira we'll find him, I promise." I said.

"I'll go and help you look." She said.

"No honey you stay with Ashley, she needs you right now." I said.

"Ok." She sighed. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"Just be careful." Kira hung up the phone.

"We have to find Ethan but I have no idea where he went." I frowned.

"Try Kira's old treehouse." My dad suggested.

"That's all the way in Hiroshi's Labyrinth. Are you sure he ran all the way over there?" I asked.

"He wants to be somewhere secluded, away from people so he won't be able to hurt anyone. He knows that place, it's our best bet." He said.

"Ok. Let's try it." I nodded.

I pulled the car over and let my dad drive so that I could text all my friends and tell them to keep a look out for Ethan. I figured he wouldn't want to be around anyone right now, but it was worth a try.

Before I knew it, we arrived at Hiroshi's Labyrinth and drove straight to the treehouse. We ran up there to find Ethan curled up in a ball on the floor. He'd been crying and he looked exhausted.

"Ethan?" I walked in.

"D-daddy?" He looked up at me.

"Ethan are you ok?" My dad asked.

"No. You were right Grandpa, I can't control my power. It's too much for me." He frowned.

"Ethan it was an accident, Ashley is going to be fine." My dad said.

"But I hurt her." He frowned. "I hurt my own sister."

"Your powers are still unstable son. You just need to be more careful next time." I said.

"But I can't. Whenever I use them I feel... powerful." He looked at his hands. "I like it, I like it so much that I let it all out and I... I know that I should stop, but I can't."

"I know how it feels, I know how Oni powers can affect a person. It can change who you are, make you do things you would never do." My father said, slightly looking at me.

"But you were the one that said I should embrace my powers." Ethan looked at him.

"I did, but I also said you have to be brave and not let them control you." He told him.

"Fine, I'll just never use them again."

"You can't do that Ethan, Ninjago needs your powers right now." I frowned.

"What?" My father and son looked at me.

"I went to Kryptarian and talked to Akamu and Harumi." I said. "They said that the Overlord is planning an attack on Ninjago city and is going to use an army of vengestone warriors."

"What's vengestone?" Ethan asked.

"Vengestone is a rock that stops elemental powers." I told him. "But your power is Oni power, meaning the rock won't affect yours."

"The Overlord's one weakness is the power of the Oni." My father said.

"Yes, and that's why it's all up to you." I looked at my son.

"Me? But the only thing I do is hurt people." He frowned.

"That's not true. It was just an accident." I said. "Now come on, we need to get home."

"NO!" He shouted. "I'm never going anywhere ever again. I'm too dangerous."

"Ethan we don't have time for you to throw a tantrum. That attack is coming any minute now and we have to get back and warn the others before it's too late." I said.

"I'd rather stay out here where I can never hurt anyone again." Ethan sat down in protest.

"But without you who's going to save Ninjago?" I asked.

"If I tried to save Ninjago, I would end up destroying it anyway. If I'm the it's only hope, then it's hopeless." Ethan frowned.

"Come on Ethan don't think like that." I frowned.

"Just go away!" He said turning around.

"Lloyd, you should go." My dad said.

"I'm not just going to leave him here all by himself." I whispered.

"Of course not. You go back to the monastery and tell everyone what's going on. I'll stay here and try to get through to him." My dad said.

"Ok, but Harumi knows this place. Keep him safe." I said.

"You have my word."

I gave him a hug and told my son I loved him, but he didn't say it back. I got in the car and called everybody for an emergency meeting at the monastery. This was something we couldn't waste time with.

After I was done with my friends I called Kira to check on Ashley.

"Hello?" She picked up on the other end of the phone.

"Hey, I'm on my way back from your treehouse." I told her.

"Did you find Ethan? Is he ok?" She panicked.

"We found him there, but I couldn't get him to come home with me. Don't worry, my dad is there with him."

"At least he's not out there all by himself." She took a deep breath.

"How is Ashley doing?" I asked.

"I'm at the hospital with her now." Kira said. "We're waiting on the x-rays to come back."

"Where's Ryder? Is he there with you?"

"No I told him to wait at the monastery in case Ethan came home."

"Ok, I'm almost there. Tell Ashley I love her and I'll see her soon."

"I will. See you later."

"Bye."

I hung up the phone and pulled into the monastery. I ran up there to find Ryder, all the ninja and their families waiting in the courtyard. I had to explain everything...

To be continued...

_______________________

In loving memory of Jason David Frank.

My childhood hero, green/white/red/black ranger,

May the power protect him, always.