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Lloyd POV

"Okay, that should do it." I say as I back away to look at my work. I ended up freezing the assassin in a thick block of ice.  He won't be getting out anytime soon.

Kai comes over to me. "Why didn't you just kill him? What if he gets out?"

"After talking with him and having him live with us... I don't know, it just feels wrong to kill him. Plus, you never know, he could be useful to us in the future."

"I guess." He looks at the frozen assassin.  "But knowing he's alive makes me uneasy."

"Well, you can do whatever you want with him after our mission is complete.  But for now, he stays in the ice."

"Whatever you say, greenie."

"How are your injuries?  I'm pretty sure my concussion is better as are the stitches in my shoulder and leg.  The only bad one is my hand." I say showing him my bandaged hand.

"Mine are good.  My ankle is sore but it's not something to be worried about.  I think we're good."

"Great.  Because if it comes to it, we'll need to fight."

"So, are we like, taking over the cave?  Or just capturing and interrogating more prisoners?" He asks me.

"I'm trying to have it be more of a stealth mission.  Interrogation didn't go so well with our last prisoner, so I don't think the others will be any better.  We've already learned that the assassins can shape shift, so trust no one."

"Ooo we should have code names!" Kai suggests.

"Code names?"

"Yeah!  What if an assassin stages as one of us?  We'll need to know who's who."

I think for a moment.  "That's... actually a great idea.  What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking of giving us the code names greenie, and scorcher!"

I look at him.  "Scorcher?"

"Yep.  Pretty foolproof name if I do say so myself.  Then let's say we split up and meet back up, I say to you, 'greenie' and you say, 'scorcher'! That way, we'll know it's us because we're the only ones who know that we have code names."

"Umm no." I say. "How about greenie and hothead?" I tease him.

"No."

"Hey, if you gave me a name then I'll give you one.  And your name, is hothead."

"I'm not going with-"

"Hothead it is!  Glad we could have this conversation." I tease as I walk past him.  All I can hear is him sighing behind me.

"Fine..." he grumbles.

~~~time skip~~~

We stare at the entrance to the cave.  Warriors are posted outside and there are probably several more inside.  "You have your sword?" I ask Kai.  He points to the sword on his back.

"You?"  He asks in return.  I point to my retractable one attached to my pants.  "Great.  Now, are we sticking together?"

"For now, yes.  Once we get inside, we'll survey the area.  I'm positive I saw tables with some papers on them the other day.  They could be important." I tell him.

"Okay, lets to this."  We split into different directions and move silently behind the warriors.  We both tackle one to the ground and tie them up.  I end up rolling mine down the mountain in case anyone were to find him.  We regroup at the entrance.

"Hothead?" I ask him. He sighs.

"And... greenie." He says, defeated. I laugh. "I seriously think we need new names." He says grumpily.

"I think we'll stick with what we've got." I say, a giggle escaping my throat. He grumbles as we peak into the tunnel to find it empty.  

"Let's go." I say as I start to move.  Kai stops me.

"Wait, am I the only one who finds it weird that there were only two warriors posted for guarding?"  I think for a moment.

"It is weird... but maybe they just don't expect anyone to be coming."

"Maybe..." he says, only partly convinced.

"Let's get moving.  We need to time this right.  We don't know if they change shifts or not."

"Your right.  Let's go."  We head into the tunnel and quietly race to the end of the it.  We hide behind some boulders and peak over them into the cave.  We hear a conversation going on below.  We look to see none other than two shadow assassins talking to the red and white warrior with four arms from the other day.  Well, they aren't exactly talking.  The warrior says something in his ancient language.  The assassins listen to his orders and after he's finished, the shadows radiating off of them morph and start to change color.  In a few seconds, the assassins change themselves into looking like humans.  But not just any humans.

"Willow and Chase..." Kai says, finishing my thoughts.

"They were fake after all..." I say.  They move over to a wooden table with what looks to be a map on it.  "There's the table!" I say.  Kai looks at it.

"Is... that a map of the whole island?" He asks me. I look closer. The land on the map is a dark shade of purple and shaped as a dragon.

"Yeah! It is! What are they doing with it?"

"They might be planning attacks. I mean, they know there are people on the island trying to defeat the Overlord, maybe they're making a move."

"I hope you're wrong, because if you are, we're in some serious trouble. Us, and the island." We watch a little bit more when they move the map of the dark island off the table to reveal another map, similar to the shape of the Dark Island, but different. This one also looks like a dragon, but it is a lighter shade of yellow and the position is opposite to the Dark Island's. "What is that?" I ask out loud.

"Oh no..." Kai whispers.

"What? What's wrong?" I ask him.

"That map... it's a map of Ninjago!"

My heart skips a beat. "What? That's Ninjago?"

"Yes!" His expression turns to realization. He gasps quietly. "On no... they aren't planning on taking over just the Dark Island... they want to take over the whole realm!" Kai and I look at each other. The assassins, who still look like Willow and Chase, push the maps together so they're connected. They observe the completed map.

"We need that map." I say sternly. "But we can't get it with all these assassins and warriors around here." I think for a moment. "Kai," he turns to me. "I need you to get those maps. I'll lure everyone out as best I can. You'll have to deal with those who stay behind on your own."

"Lloyd, no, it's to risky!"

"We can't let them win! If we can get those maps, maybe there's something on it that can tell us what their next move is." He looks from me to the maps.

"Okay, fine. Don't die, okay?"

"I'll try not to. Stay hidden until the coast if clear, got it?." He nods. I get up from my crouching position and I stand out in the open. I move to the edge of the ledge and extract my sword. I place the tip of my sword on the ground and lean on it with my hand on my hip. I wait to be noticed.

"General said to try and find his village. Any luck?" Imposter Willow says to imposter Chase.

"No. They have a habit of somehow getting away from our spies. We weren't able to track the two down as of four days ago." He answers.

"Can I assume you're talking about me?" I say out loud. They spin around and look up at me. "It isn't polite to talk about someone behind their back." I say. They pull out weapons and alert the other assassins in the cave. "Oh, shoot..." I say as I turn around and bolt for the exit.

"After him!" I can hear imposter Willow say as I come up to the exit and book it into the forest. I can hear sticks snapping wildly as several pairs of feet bound after me. Crap, I haven't thought this all the way through. Where do I go? Then I think back to all the times we've faced against them. Whenever we face them, it's always when there's shadows or it's nigh. At our last battle, the sun was covered by storm clouds! Of course, light is their weakness! I frantically look around for any openings in the forest. I have to get them somewhere where they can't run off.

I scale a tree and start tree hopping from several branches high off the ground. The assassins also start to climb the trees and hop after me, but they don't know the game as well as I do. There's a certain trick to it that always wins you the game in the long run. You hop into certain areas that may be harder for your opponent to dodge obstacles, giving you the advantage. And in the assassins case, they don't exactly have a mind of their own, which gives them the disadvantage because they don't have certain instincts, causing them to get hit way easier.

My trick works for a couple but the others are too skilled to have it work on them. I grab onto a vine and swing myself around a tree and straight back into two assassins who I kick off the branch at full force, causing them to disintegrate into mist. I land on another branch and dodge the sword of one behind me. I whip around and shove into him, causing him to loose his balance. I use my sword and I stab it into him, causing him to turn to mist as well. Several more pop up and surround me. I put my sword away and my hands together. I focus and the green light appears in my hands again. My eyes flash the same green light and I blast the energy at the assassins, disintegrating them the second it hits them. I look at the burn marks I made on the trees. At least I didn't destroy them this time.

Just as I think that, the tops of the trees where I directed the blast slowly timber and fall to the ground. Great, I really am a tree murderer. I look around for any remaining assassins. Suddenly, I hear the rustling of leaves behind me and I turn around and power up a blast, pointing it at the noise. "Woah! Hey! It's just me!" Kai says as he comes closer to me. The energy in my hand disappears and I sigh in relief.

"Did you get the map?" I ask him. He shakes his head.

"No. There were more warriors then we thought. They chased me off."

"How did you find me?" I ask him.

"I heard blasts. Looks like you did a number on those trees." He says, looking at the trees that were cut in half.

I laugh nervously. "Yeah..." I then look at Kai, suddenly suspicious. Wait, Kai wouldn't run away... he's the complete opposite. He would have fought until the very end, no matter the circumstances. "Hothead...?" I ask him.

He looks at me and laughs. "Yeah, I can be a bit of a hothead sometimes." I grab my sword and put it up against his throat.

"You're not Kai!" I say to him. He glares at me and grabs out his own sword. He tries to swipe at my stomach but I dodge and block his attack. I conjure up some energy and I put it close to his eyes, blinding him temporarily so I can nail a punch into his face. I kick him in the face which causes him to fall onto his back. I toss his sword aside and I stab mine into the ground just centimeters from his head. I sit on top of him and I grab his shoulders. "What did you do to him!" I shout in his face.

Instead of hostility, he only laughs. "Relax, I don't even know where he is. But he's probably dead by now."

"What do you mean?" I give him a deep growl, my white fangs showing behind my lips. He looks at the sky. I follow his gaze to see smoke rising into the air. I follow the smoke to try and find the origin, and I see the smoke is coming from... the village! The assassin laughs.

"You're too late."  He says mockingly. Without thinking, I grab the sword and I stab it into the assassin, causing 'Kai' to fade away into the dark purple mist.  I get up and I sprint over to the village.  The closer I get, the more smoke I can smell.  Thunder can be heard in the distance but I ignore it.  I continue to run and run until I break through the tree line, lungs burning, legs shaking, and smoke burning my eyes.  Despite the exhaustion and burning in my lungs, I get up and run towards the cave, where the smoke is pooling out from. 

The flames and smoke are so intense I can't get any closer to it without hurting myself.  There are no warriors or assassins in sight, the village and forest is silent.  The only disturbance is the crackling thunder coming from the gray clouds above.  I look around for a water source, any at all, and I find a well a few yards away from me.  I focus on it and stretch out my hand.  Water shakily rises from out of the well and flows over to me.  I direct it towards the fire and spray it onto the flames, causing them to die down a bit.  It's not enough...

"KAI!" I scream.  "KAI! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!  KAI!"  I hear no answer.  The smoke and flames are still pouring out of the cave, causing me to stay away.  I breath heavily and drop onto my knees, staring in disbelief at the scene before me.  "Kai..." I whisper.  My eyes become flooded with tears, not from the smoke.  I break down, avoiding the sight of the cave.  Thunder crackles once again and soft droplets of water start to rain down from the clouds.  My trembling becomes uncontrollable and I scream into the sky over the cracks of thunder and lightning.

~~~time skip~~~

It felt like it took me an eternity to get up and walk away.  It must have been hours.  The rain never let up and it only got worse. It completely soaked me and chilled me to the bone causing me to become freezing, but I don't care.  Kai is gone, nothing else matters to me.  With my entire body shaking, I picked myself up and began my treacherous walk back to our cave where Kai and I would have regrouped.  The entire tunnel and cave where he would have been was completely scorched; Nothing could survive such a fire.  The whole walk back, I couldn't stop thinking about his eyes... his gorgeous amber eyes.  And his voice, his warmth... warmth that I would never feel again.

I see the cave come up in the distance.  The vines are still covering the entrance.  I part the vines and walk inside the cave to see the fire up and going.  I look above it to see someone who makes my jaw drop and my heart stop.  Standing before me, with a large map in his hands, is the fire ninja, Kai Smith.  He looks at me and smiles.  "Thank the First Spinjitzu Master you're okay!  When you weren't here, I got really worried!" He says.

My breathing stops completely, but I manage to breath out one word. "H-hothead...?"

He places down the map and shoots me a finger gun.  "And greenie!" He says cheerfully.  His cheer dies down, though.  "I still don't like my name.  Are you sure we can't change it?" I finally take in a shaky breath.  Kai notices my uncontrollable shaking and his cheerful expression turns to concern.  "What's wrong?  Why are you shaking?" He looks at me closer.  "You're soaking wet! And... have you been crying?"

I don't answer him.  I slowly move from the entrance, around the fire, and over to him, where I stand just inches from him.  Tears form in my eyes once again.  "Lloyd?" He ask me in a concerned voice.  I ignore him again, but this time, I place my hand on the side of his head, cupping his cheek in my palm.  Without thinking, I lean in, he does too, and our lips touch each other in a kiss.  I close my eyes and he wraps his arms around my waist.  I place my injured hand on his shoulder, never wanting him to leave me.  After a while, we pull apart and look into each other's eyes.  "I thought you were dead..." I say to him, trying to blink back tears.  "The fire..."

He places his hand on my cheek.  "They tried, but you can't kill a master of fire with fire." He says, trying to lighten up the mood.  A weak laugh escapes my throat and I find myself leaning into his hand, his arm still around my waist.  "Lloyd, you're absolutely freezing, and trembling." He says.

"Yeah..." I mumble.  All of the adrenaline has worn off and now I can hardly stand.  Kai sees how tired I am and he directs me to a corner of the cave where he laid out a blanket.  Where he got it from, I have no idea, but I'm to exhausted to ask.  He sits me down and he sits next to me.  I curl up beside him.  He doesn't protest, and instead wraps his arms around me.  "Kai..." I weakly ask.

"Yeah?" He says, not loosening his embrace on me.

"I like you..." I whisper to him.

He looks at me.  Though I'm almost asleep, I manage to hear him say quietly, "I like you too, greenie."

Nya POV

"Aww, you called them 'mom' and 'dad'?" Ash asks Katie.  She nods, embarrassed. 

"I mean, it was a couple days ago.  No big deal." Katie says.

"Well, good for you!" Ash continues. 

"Yeah," I agree.  "This is a huge step for you.  I kind of envy you.  I'd love to meet my parents after all these years, Kai would too."  They turn to me.

"Oh yeah, I forgot your parents disappeared." Katie says, instantly realizing what she said.  "Oh my, I'm so sorry I didn't-"

I laugh.  "Hey, hey, it's okay!  I'm not sensitive about it.  Neither is Kai."

She sighs in relief.  "Man, to think I have parents now... I couldn't even imagine it before."

"Yeah, it's weird to imagine any of us with parents, Haru too.  Since we were all orphans, not having parents was something we all had in common.  It's what brought us together." Ash says.

"I know." Katie agrees.  "I wonder how Lloyd will take the news..."

"Speaking of which, where do you think Lloyd and Kai are?  We haven't seen them in almost two weeks!" I mention.

"Who knows at this point." Ash says.

"Well, this is Lloyd and Kai where talking about.  If anyone can handle themselves, it's them." Katie reassures us.

"Yeah, you're right." I say.  We hear a knock at the door.  "Yes?" I answer.

The door opens to reveal Sensei Garmadon.  "Time for training." He says.  "Get ready." He leaves the door ajar and walks away.

Before he's out of ear shot, Katie calls out an, "Okay, thanks dad!"  She looks back to us, slightly embarrassed.  "I don't think I'll ever get use to saying that."

"I don't think I'll ever get use to hearing that." I tell her.

"Same." Ash agrees.  I get ready into my new training suit, which Ash and Katie got into at their village, and we head above deck.  When we get there, the boys are already waiting for us along with Splenda, Master Wu, and Sensei Garmadon.  Dim sunshine from the rising sun shines through the opening of the large cave, and the loud noises of the waterfall never ceases to make us raise our voices to hear each other.

Master Wu begins the four hour training session with meditation practices. We are half way through the lesson when I see Katie draw her attention from Wu to the waterfall. Her expression goes from suspicious to surprised. She gasps. "Lloyd!" She yells out. Everyone turns their attention to her as she jumps over the railing of the ship and onto the ramp leading down to the floor of the cave. We all look over at the waterfall and see none other than the platinum blonde himself, watching Katie run for him with a smile. Everyone watches with delight and shock as Kai comes up behind him.

"Kai!" I yell and do exactly what Katie did. Everyone else follows my lead and we run for the pair. Katie jumps into Lloyd's arms as I jump into Kai's. The others surround the two and give their greetings.

"Where the heck were you?!" Jay asks them.

"And what the heck happened to you?" Cole adds. Now that Cole mentions it, they look really beat up.

"It's a long story." Lloyd says.

"Lloyd what happens to your head?" Katie asks as she uncovers a nasty bruise on the side of his head. "And your hand?" She takes his wrist in her hand. He laughs as he pushes her hands away.

"It's okay, this happened a couple while ago." He says, pointing to his head. "This is more recent but it's okay, I'm fine." He holds up his hand.

"And what about you? Sprain?" I say, pointing to Kai's ankle.

He rubs his neck. "Yeah."

"Welcome back." Splenda says from behind me. She's talking more to Lloyd considering she practically raised him, but she still acknowledges my brother. Wu and Garmadon come over as well.  Wu places a hand on the two's shoulders.

"Glad to have you back safe." He says. Wu takes his hands off and backs away from them, leaving Garmadon to move in front of Lloyd. Everyone stays silent, knowing the secret he has yet to tell the blonde. He gives his welcome back to Lloyd and Kai.

"What's in the bag?" Haru asks Kai. Kai has a black backpack hanging from his shoulder. Kai and Lloyd look at each other.

"That's what we want to talk to you about." Kai says, suddenly serious. "It'll be better if we head inside though."

We all look around at each other and follow the two back onto the bounty. Misako comes out and sees the two. "Oh my! You're back!" She says as she hugs the two, them returning the hug.

"Are you sure you don't want to rest?" Splenda asks them. "You've been gone for nearly two weeks, surely you must be tired."

They shake their heads. "We can't. This is too important. The fate of the whole realm rests on this little bit of information we have." Kai says. We all look at each other.

"What do you mean?" Zane asks them.

They look at each other, then back to us.  Lloyd speaks first. "The Overlord is planning on taking over the entire realm."