This part of the story retains the old writing, and is therefore unedited. It may not match up to the storyline of what was written in the previous chapter.

*Scarlett's POV*

Kai came back from his watch of the Stone Warriors, sighing as he looked at our surroundings. "This whole island is swarming with Garmadon's indestructible Stone Army."

"Heh, it's a good thing we're ninja and we know how to hide!" Jay smiled, putting a large green leaf on the Bounty, which was now almost entirely obscured with sand.

Once we had arrived to the Dark Island, we immediately began hiding our ship. It would be game over if even one Stone Warrior found us.

"Who wants to hide if we can fight?" Cole threw down his shovel and pouted. "I'm getting tired of having our heads buried in the sand, I wanna fight these guys!"

"But Cole," Zane interjected. "They have no apparent weakness. It would be unwise to start a fight we cannot finish."

"That is why..." Wu stood in front of the entryway of the Bounty. "We must find the Temple of Light."

Misako led us inside to the Bridge, where she laid out the scroll. "The scrolls say there is a hidden temple on the island—if you find it, it will give the ninja pure elemental powers, powers that can destroy the indestructible Stone Army."

"So you're saying we get to fight?" Cole asked, smiling. "Woo-hoo, I've got happy feet!"

She turned to Lloyd. "And you, my son. Here, it is written. For once the Green Ninja finds the Instrument of Peace, with the help of a ninja, he will strike it and know the power of the Ultimate Spinjitzu Master."

"Ultimate Spinjitzu Master?" Lloyd tilted his head.

"It means you will be able to invoke the power of the Golden Dragon—an ancient fighting style only practiced by the First Spinjitzu Master."

The other ninja stared in awe, while Lloyd cockily grinned. "Haha. Jealous?"

"Ah, Misako...?" I asked. She turned to me with a smile. "I don't mean to sound envious, but... what do I do?"

"You didn't realize?" She looked at me, a small smile forming on her face.

"Realize... what?"

Misako pulled out the scroll that we saw the other day, with the Green Ninja in the center and the four ninja on the bottom. She pointed to the Green Ninja—not him exactly, but what was behind him.

"That's the dragon," I said. "It looks pretty neat if you ask me."

"What is it, Mom?" Lloyd asked.

"Not what is it... who is it?" Misako turned to me once again, her smile returning. "Scarlett... you are more important than you think you are."

"That dragon is a person...?" I really didn't understand what she was getting at. Or maybe I did, and I just couldn't find the right way to feel about it.

"Maybe this will jog your memory." Misako pulled out another scroll—the Scarlet Ninja scroll. "Take a look."

How could I forget that? It was me, with dark shadows on the bottom of the scroll. But ironically, this was the first time I've seen it up close.

Yes, it was me. But as if it was rising from my back, a dragon the same color as my ninja gi was there. It was breathing what looked like fire.

"That's me..." I couldn't take my eyes off the scroll. "Misako, what does this mean?"

"A ninja who does not ride a dragon, but is one with the dragon," Misako spoke from the scroll. "You are the dragon, Scarlett."

"Me...?" I shook my head. "That's crazy."

"You may not be one of the protectors of the Green Ninja... but that's because he is your protector." Hearing this, everyone in the room gasped. "That dragon behind the Green Ninja is you, Scarlett. This is going to be a dangerous battle, and the Green Ninja will need your help. The two of you will work together the most."

"Those shadows, then..." I pointed at the shadows, which I noticed were five figures.

"Are the five ninja standing right in front of you," Wu answered.

"The Dragon Flame is a power that is craved by enemies... it was thought to not exist. But if they find you, they will do everything in their power to take it from you." Misako frowned. "There is so much you don't know about your powers, Scarlett. As the days go by, we will help you through it." She then smiled again. "But we want you to know that you are important to this mission—very important... never think otherwise. All the proof is right here."

I finally looked up at the boys, who were beyond speechless. Their jaws were dropped, including Lloyd's.

I couldn't help myself. "Heh... jealous?"

The four began arguing amongst themselves. They kept saying things like, "That's unbelievable!" and "Now I wish I was the Scarlet Ninja..."

"Misako... thank you for telling me." I turned my back to the boys. "I didn't know any of this."

"I was under the impression that you did." She smiled. "But I'm glad Zane told me how you felt, or you never would have known the truth."

"Sensei, why did you hide this from me?" I asked.

He sighed. "I feared that if I had told you, you would become more vulnerable to our enemy. You have not yet found your true potential... and this is one of our most toughest fights. You were not ready."

"Well, she is now." Lloyd cut into the conversation. "She's stronger than before, and is controlling her powers the closer we get to the Final Battle."

I really couldn't believe his words. "Lloyd..."

"I'll gladly be your protector." He extended his hand out, smiling determinedly at me. "Let's finish this battle together, Scarlett."

I took it, nodding. "Let's do it... thank you, Green Ninja."

Once again, the four boys stared in awe. Kai quickly spoke up. "That's my powerful girlfriend, Lloyd! She's off-limits."

"I- I wasn't trying anything, promise!" Lloyd waved his hands in front of him. This caused everyone to laugh, and the ambiance was normal again.

"That's insane." Cole shook his head. "The Green Ninja is all powerful, then Scarlett gets all this power, too! And even better, her protector is the Green Ninja! Does she even need it?"

"I'm so jealous... they get all that!" Jay threw his hands in the air. "You know what? Whatever. It's all good! All good."

"Speaking of which..." I faced the white ninja. "You're a snitch."

"I only wished to prove how important you are to the team... but this was completely unexpected!" Zane sighed, looking down. "I have a few regrets, now..."

"I'll pretend I only heard the first part..." I smiled. "But thanks for looking out for me."

"Alright, this is too good to be true, for all of us..." Kai then mumbled, "Especially them." He then looked back to Misako. "What's the catch?"

"The catch is..." Wu stepped in, holding a gold coin. "The temple could be anywhere on the island, and all we have is this."

"A medallion," Zane's father said. "It's like a compass. When the three holes match up, it will reveal where the temple is hidden."

"Uh, how'd you know that?" Jay asked.

"I did a lot of reading in my spare time." Zane's father smiled. "Adventure stories were my favorite!"

"Then what are we waiting for?" Zane smiled, he and the others making their way to the door.

Wu then stopped his nephew. "Not you, Lloyd."

"Seriously? Are we still doing this?" Lloyd arched his eyebrow.

"Wu is right." Misako stepped in. "If you were to come across your father, it could prematurely start the Final Battle. We need to be at full strength before we take any risks."

"Hahaha... jealous?" Jay smirked, the others behind him doing the same.

"Be nice." I shook my head. "That's my protector you're talking to."

"Well, I could use some help around the shop," Zane's father said. "We should get working on vehicles that might help give us a fighting chance."

"Remember, Garmadon doesn't know we're on the island. It is imperative that you stay out of sight," Wu warned.

"Of course, Sensei, don't worry! Have you ever known us to vere from a plan?" Jay put his hands on his hips.

The three in the back rolled their eyes, while the boys started their cheer. "NINJA—!"

"Shh, not so loud! Are you trying to get us caught?"

"Go..."

I sighed.

The five of us sat on a mountain, watching Garmadon from the top. Jay pointed to him. "Look, this must be Garmadon's camp!"

"No, you think?" Kai rolled his eyes. "I thought it was a takeout restaurant. Looks like he's building something... but building what?"

"Quiet, you bozos. We still need to find out where the medallion points to," Cole shushed the two.

"Here, let me see." Zane took the medallion and looked into it. "Hm... nothing matches. Wait!"

Jay gasped. "You found the Temple of Light?"

"No, but look!" He pointed toward the bird on one of the tables in the camp.

"Your falcon. I thought it got shot down and was lost for good." Kai looked too.

"Not if I can retrieve it and get the pieces back to my father!" Zane rose to his feet.

"Wait, Zane, you're veering from the plan! We're supposed to be finding the Temple of Light and staying out of sight," Cole told him.

"If I were any of you, I'd do the same. I have to get my friend back!" Zane then jumped down, sneaking around the camp.

"The more of us that go, the more chance we'll get caught. We'll just have to stay here and hope he doesn't get seen," Kai said.

"Aw," Cole whined. "I wanna fight!"

"You can fight when we have a chance of succeeding." I elbowed him. "Be patient. We'll get our chance."

Unfortunately, even my patience was beginning to wear thin. Time passed, Zane was still gone, and we had to hear Jay constantly speak about finding trees in the medallion.

"I spy... another tree!"

"Jay, how did you ever become a ninja? Seriously!" Cole turned to scold him.

"Ugh, will Zane just get his bird already and get out of there?!" Kai rose to his feet.

"The Stone Army is literally in the same room," I told him, watching Zane. "It's not like he can just waltz in there unseen."

Jay then spoke, "Guys, look!"

Kai took the medallion from his hands. "It matches up. That must be the Temple of Light!"

"Jay, I take back everything I said. You are a fine ninja. Not finer than me, but a fine—"

Cole was then interrupted by the chants of the Stone Warriors.

"Oh, no..." I looked down to see Zane being cornered by them.

"That's it, I'm fighting!" Cole stepped up.

"We can't." Kai stopped him. "They're indestructible. If we go in there, they'll know we're here, too."

Cole ignored him. "Yeah, and if we don't, we'll regret it for the rest of our lives. Come on, it's Zane!"

With that, we all followed Cole to our friend. A giant truck sped past, and we jumped down. Cole walked toward Zane, "What are you waiting for, red carpet?"

We all ran away, hearing Garmadon's shouting and the army following us.

"Remember when Sensei asked us to stay out of sight?" Kai asked us.

"Yeah, that was good advice!" Cole let us all jump on his shoulders, me being on top. However, a spear was going to impale me had I not jumped back down.

"Why didn't we listen to him?!" Jay shrieked.

"Why don't we ever listen to him?!" Zane corrected.

"Guys, there's a gate over there!" I shouted, pointing to what might be our escape. The guys and I ran across the bridge, but a piece broke off and Kai stepped back.

"Hurry up, we're halfway there!" Cole said, but soon, we found ourselves surrounded.

"We've been in situations like this a hundred times. Quick, who's got an idea?" Kai asked us all.

"Uh, we jump into that hole!" Jay suggested.

That hole did not look safe. "Next idea!"

"I say we fight!" Cole clenched his fists.

"With what? We don't have our powers!"

"I do." I let a little flame appear in my hand, but Kai grabbed my wrist.

"You can't handle this on your own. And remember what Misako said? Our enemies want your powers. Using them is the last thing we need right now."

Zane looked up. "I got us into this mess. And I know how to get us out."

Due to all of the weight, the bridge broke. Zane then shouted, "Grab a plank! Ninja-Go!"

We each stood on a plank, doing our spinjitzu and landing on top of the platform and sliding down as if we were skateboarding.

We slid past all the warriors and even through the trees. While the guys were cheering, I was scared for my life.

"I never learned how to skateboard...!" I had the worst balance, too. Just great.

Kai then grabbed my hand. "I've got you!"

"We're falling!" Jay cried.

"Use your hood as a parachute!" Zane shouted.

We did just that and landed safely on the ground. I sighed in relief.

"Zane, that scared the actual hell out of me, but you saved us!" I took a breath.

"You almost fell back there." Kai chuckled.

"Maybe it's just a boy instinct, but I never learned how to skateboard—and my balance is awful."

"Let's get back to Sensei. We have to find the Temple of Light before it's too late!" Cole ordered as he lead us back to base.