The sun was high up above the clouds and the ocean clashed against the rocks on the shore. In a grassy, green and overgrown forest, were nindroids.

They stood with weapons in hand, on the lookout for anything. But hidden deep withing the flowers and leaves, ninja.

Two young men, one with a forest green gi that blended in perfectly with the tall grass. He held little pieces of golden armor. He swiftly ran to the right and quickly waved his hand at the trees.

In the trees, the second ninja with a sage green gi and silver armor that made it almost impossible to see him in the coverage of the trees. The ninja saw his comrade's signal and began to move.

All of the sudden, a nindroids got swept off his feet and from his position. Not long after, two got hit by something up high. Two more got kicked away and shurikens were thrown.

As the final two standing nindroids were knocked down, standing in plain sight, was two ninjas. The green ninja held his head up high as his bright blonde hair gently swayed. Lloyd, the ninja who stood looked to his left.

There was Morro, the ninja who had long black hair and a single streak of green. He turned to Lloyd, his brother, as a slight breeze blew his hair out of his eyes.

The two ninja nodded for the all clear and continued their path.

And now, the story, a new chapter of a journey began.

Lloyd and Morro found themselves in a cave with red glowing lasers blocking their path. Thankfully, they were ninja, and could maneuver swiftly around them all.

As they got to the other side, the lasers shut down and more nindroids attacked. Lasers were shot but the ninja dodged with ease. In Lloyd's hand, a bright green light started to charge up. Lloyd trusted his hand forwards and the energy flew towards the nindroids.

Morro grabbed something from his belt. A small metal cylinder rest in his palm. Morro's thumb clicked the top and it sprung open to reveal a staff. Morro twirled the staff and slashed it in front of him, making a strong gust of wind cut it's way towards the nindroids.

"Ninja-go!!" The two shouted as they twirled around, making small coloured tornadoes. Their spinjitzu helped them defeat the rest of the nindroids.

The grounds shook and Lloyd looked behind him and saw a large boulder rolling towards them.

"Go!" Morro yelled. Lloyd ran ahead and grabbed a rope from the ground. He tied it around his waist and jumped down a small hole.

Morro started behind, pushing all the wind he could at the boulder, trying to make it turn into a different cavern.

Lloyd dropped down, being held at the waist. In front of him, a podium with armor, powerful armor. Lloyd swing to reach it, but to his efforts, the armor was only a hologram and it faded away.

Lloyd slumped his body as he untied himself. Morro junoed down the hole, catching his fall with wind.

"How close this time?" Morro asked pulling his mask down.

"Just at it." Lloyd replied.

"You got closer than I thought you would. But then again, I didn't think you'd be quite so rough on my security droids." Cyrus Borg, a genius inventor rolled up in his wheel chair.

He dressed in a gray suit with a black turtle neck underneath. He had one black glove over his right hand.

"If the two of us together can't steal the Golden Armor, I'd be surprised if anyone else could." Lloyd said It's secure, but where is the real one?" He asked.

"Some secrets are best kept safe." Borg answered as Lloyd pushed him along.

"Morro, Lloyd."

The ninja turned around at the call of their names. Sensei Wu, a mentor to the ninja and father to Morro started.

"Where are the other Ninja? I asked for all of you to take part in this test." Wu asked. Wu had a white kimono with a a black belt and a straw hat to add. He had a long white bearded and a wise looking face. He walked with a bamboo staff.

Lloyd sighed nervously.

"Uh, they, uh, they really wanted to be here, but they, uh...all had other plans." Lloyd replied.

"They refused to come." Morro said. Lloyd turned to Morro, his brother, and glared at him.

"Lloyd, come on. They didn't come today, what makes you think they'll some time else?" Morro asked. Lloyd turned away to continue pushing Borg.

"I understand perfectly well. The loss of Zane has affected us all. I haven't even heard word from my assistant Pixal since his memorial. It's heartbreaking." Borg explained.

"If we dwell too long on what's missing, we fail to see what can be gained." Wu said.

"The absence of Zane will either tear you five apart, or bring you closer together. The choice is yours." Wu said referring to the other ninja.

"Ah, I'll try. Morro, you take Cole." Lloyd said.

"I'll get Jay and-"

"We get Kai together. He's too much of a mess to deal with alone." Morro interrupted.

"I was... Hoping you'd say that." Lloyd said.

"We'll do what we can, father." Morro turned to Wu.

"It won't be easy." Lloyd finished.

"The greatest lessons never are." Wu replied.

. . .

"Most ultimate extreme ninja challenge!!" A crowd cheered as a young man dressed in all blue show clothing. He had reddish-brown hair and a little slit on his right eyebrow. The suit he wore was a vibrant blue with a hot pink insides and a stripped tie. Let's just say that this outfit was weird.

"I'm Jay, Ninjago's most lovable ninja," The young man spoke.

"Here before the gauntlet of humility to see who will be Ninjago 's next hero!" The stage lit up to find an obstacle course with ropes, rollers, and podiums.

"-and who's dreams will be gone... In a flash!" Jay threw his microphone away and shot lighting from his hands.

Jay was the ninja of lightning, the blue ninja. Je used his lightning and flew around the crowd before reaching the starting platform for the course. He reached his hand out and the mic flew right into it.

"I'm here with Cathy, tireless mother of four, pillar of the PTA, and returning contestant. Tell me, Cathy, after being humbled by the Gauntlet the first time, what makes you think this'll be any different?" Jay asked a woman dressed in a bright pink jumper and helmet.

"Because Ninja never quit!" Cathy yelled into the microphone. The crowd cheered.

"Eheheh... Okay, Cathy. Start the doomsday clock!" Jay announced.

A clock started to count the seconds. Cathy jumped her way across the ropes and made it to the rollers. And they were named that because they- well, rolled. She started to run forwards to try and keep on the obstacle. Boxing gloved attached to springs came flying out to try and knock Cathy out. The first one missed, but the second one hit her onto the ground.

Jay rushed up to her and held the mic up.

"Heh, I got farther than last time!" She yelled and the audience cheered.

The show had ended and Jay was in a dressing room. Jay sighed in front of his mirror. He reached for a picture of him, Lloyd, Morro and two others, including on that was Zane. A pale boy with blonde hair set in an army cut.

"Ninja never quit, huh, Zane?" Jay asked the picture.

"The team needs you now more than ever."

Jay set the picture down, startled. He turned around.

"Ah!"

Lloyd jumped down from the shadows.

"How did you get in here?!" Jay asked.

"I'm a ninja." Lloyd smirked.

"And you are wearing makeup." He pointed

"Hey, hey, hey, hey. It's concealer, a time-honored tool of the Ninja. And what do you mean "team?" I refuse to fight beside Cole." Jay yelled.

"There's nothing you can say that will get me back with that girl-stealing, black-hearted, rock-pounding--"

"Jay!" Lloyd but in his rambling.

"She still speaks of you." Lloyd reminded.

"This isn't you. You're the Master of Lightning, not the Master of Lighting. You know where I'll be if you change your mind." Lloyd entered the shadows and out of sight.

Jay sat in his chair and started to apply concealer with a brush. Jay stared at the brush in his hand before throwing it at the mirror in frustration.

. . .

And axe lodged itself into the thick branch of a tree. A muscular young man with a brown beanie on, woodwork gloves, and only and open vest on his top stood, choosing the tree.

That was Cole. The black ninja, the ninja of earth. Cole felt a slight breeze brush past his face.

"The team's been waiting for your return."

Cole looked up.

"Oh, it's you." He said. Morro stood one branch above Cole, looking down and Cole and the others in the woods that worked.

"I thought I was good with a scythe. Turns out, I'm even better with an axe." Cole said turning away.

"I'm tired of fighting, Morro." Cole said.

"Tired of Serpentine, tired of Nindroids, tired of...Jay. Out here, no one knows who you are. No one expects anything of you." Cole said.

"Everyone has expectations, weather you like it or not." Morro said, sitting down.

"What would Zane expect?" Morro asked.

"Cole, your element is earth. You don't belong in the trees, you should be planted on the ground." Morro said.

"Listen, whirlwind." Cole started.

"There's nothing you can do to make me go back. Nothing!" He said.

As a crane stocked logs on a holder, one worker noticed that the holder was starting to break, and that if one more log was placed, it would fall. Too late for a warning, a log was placed.

"Oh, oh, cracked stem! She's falling hard!" The workers all started to run away. Cole saw and couldn't help himself.

He jumped down from the tree he was on and pounded his fists on the ground. A wall of solid earth rose up and blocked the logs from falling any further. All the workers applauded and Cole didn't like the attention.

Cole grabbed a duffle bag and started to walk away and tried to ignore the praise.

Morro leaned against a tree trunk with his arms crossed.

"You can't escape it, Cole. It's who you are." Morro said. Cole almost looked back.

"You already know the place. It's Lloyd's choice, by the way." Morro said and he disappeared through some smoke.

. . .

"Welcome to the Yang Slither Pits Final. In the left corner, we have Kai, the Flaming Shogun." A serpentine announced and directed everyone's attention to what looked like a late teen dressed in a red wrestler's outfit and dark brown spiky hair.

"And in the right corner, we have Kruncha." The announcer directed to a skulkin screwing his head on.

A bell dinged and the two fought. It wasn't much of a fight.

"Ninja-go!!" The flaming shogun yelled and an orange and red tornado spun around and easily defeated his opponent, leaving the skulkin as a pile of bones on the ground.

"Didn't your mama ever warn you not to play with me?" The victor taunted.

"Victor of the Slither Pit and undefeated champion...Kai, the Flaming Shogun!" The serpentine raised Kai's hand in the air.

"The Red Shogun. Red Shogun!" Kai yelled, pulling his hand away and kicking Kruncha's head.

Morro and Lloyd watched the "fight" from the top floor. Morro looked at Lloyd and sighed. Lloyd shrugged back and made his move.

Kai stood at a bar, drinking alone.

"You shouldn't drink too much juice. It's filled with more sugar than you realize." Lloyd popped up next to Kai.

"Oh, it's you." Kai looked away.

"The team needs you now more that ever." Lloyd said.

"Who says the great and powerful Green Ninja needs a team?" Kai asked.

"Well, the green ninja himself."

Kai looked to his right and there was Morro sitting on the counter.

"Ah, come on. You two are fine just on your own." Kai said.

"I get it Kai. You've run out of bad guys to fight. There's no more call to action." Lloyd said.

"But, you really sank so low that you had to come here." Morro guestered around them.

"Where's the honor in that?" Lloyd asked.

"The master of fire?"

"It's the Red Shogun now. And where's the Master of Ice, huh? He's gone, but I'm still here. Who cares about honor?" Kai said.

"It should've been me. I should've been the one--"

"Kai, you always think it should have been you!" Morro said while looking at the ceiling.

"First it was being the green ninja, now this." Lloyd said.

"When are you gonna start thinking of someone other than yourself?"

Kai looked to his left but Lloyd was no longer there.

"If you change your mind, you know where I'll be."

Kai sighed and looked to his right to see that Morro was still there.

"Why are you still here?" Kai asked.

"Shouldn't you get going?"

"You're running away." Morro said.

"What?!" Kai shot back.

"You're running, I get it, I've tried it." Morro replied.

"But, running away, Kai, it's never the best option. We're always here."

Kai closed his eyes for one second, and when he opened them, Morro was gone.

. . .

Kai visited Zane's memorial in the city. It was now a dark faded gray, covered in moss and graffiti at the base. This hotheaded teen saw a falcon, Zane's falcon perch on the statue's shoulder. Kai felt the stone of the statue before making up his mind.

. . .

"There's only one Master Chen's, Ninjago's number one noodle house."

Kai entered the restaurant.

"Kai! Back here!" Lloyd called.

The boy in red walked over the the booth to find Jay, Cole, Morro and Lloyd there.

"Jay? Cole?" Kai asked in surprise due to their presence.

"Ha. You too?" Cole asked going back to staring at the conveyer belt of food.

"The brother's tricked us all." Jay scoffed.

Kai sat next to Cole, who was resting his elbow on the table. Kai reached for stone food when Lloyd grabbed his hand.

"We talk first, then eat." Lloyd said.

"Uh, trust me, do you know what kind of restraint I've had to have staring at all of this noodle goodness? You're late." Cole said. Kai understood his attitude, when I comes to food, Cole gets assertive.

Kai looked at Morro. The wind ninja was looking tired... More than usual.

Kai looked at Lloyd and gave a visual cue for an explanation.

"He doesn't like it here." Lloyd said.

"And I don't see why he would!" Cole shouted.

"This solace has the best food. And I mean the best!" Cole exclaimed.

"Can we just... Talk?" Morro asked.

"Make it quick." Kai said.

"I know without Zane things have been different, but we have to move on." Lloyd said.

"The reason I brought you all here is because...maybe we should add someone new to our team."

The ninja all started to get defensive.

"A new Ninja?" Kai asked.

"Are you crazy!?" Jay shouted.

"Come on, Zane's irreplaceable!" Cole raised his position.

"Zane's all in out hearts, and there's no one that could replace him. That's not what were trying to do." Morro explained.

"I cared for him too but now it's time to care about this team." Lloyd added.

"Maybe without Zane, there is no team." Kai's gaze narrowed at the brothers.

"Oh, don't look now, but we've got trouble." Jay said quietly checking it out from the booth.

Three men, two wearing beanies and one with a mohawk walked up the the cashier all menacingly. The poor guy working that postiong handed over all the cash in the register but the guys seemed to want more.

The men picked up the worker and placed him on the conveyer belt, blocking the flow of food.

Cole looked back at them.

"All right, now they're our problem." He said getting up.

"Excuse me, it's not polite to touch someone else's food." Cole said annoyed.

"I'd listen if I were you. He's no fun to be around when he's hangry." Kai smirked crossing his arms.

The guy with the mohawk threw a punch, but Cole caught it with his chopsticks. Cole smiled and taunted him. The man went for a kick, but Cole easily fought back with his chopsticks.

Kai jumped onto the counter, the two others comming. The third pressed a button that made the conveyer got faster.

"All right, I admit it. We make a good team." Kai said kicking plates of food at his opponents.

Cole threw punches and javs with his chopsticks, causally catching food and eating it.

"Yeah, mmm. Everything's better on a full stomach." He smiled.

"Should we get in there?" Jay asked.

"Nah, this is interesting." Morro replied.

The guy Cole was facing punched a plate to pieces.

"Hey, I was gonna eat that!" Cole shouted.

"Maybe we can speed things up without demolishing the place?" Kai suggested. Lloyd smirked and nudged Morro.

"Ha. Alight." Morro pulled his hands out of his pockets and waved his hand in front of him. Cole and Kai ducked at the same time to avoid Morro's wind and the gust only knocked over the thugs onto the conveyer belt.

Cole and Kai joined the group again.

"How can you walk away from this?" Lloyd asked.

The three thugs ran out through a back exit, as the last one left, he glanced at the ninja.

"Hey! Let's get 'em, guys!" Cole said as the team ran to chaser them.

When they reached the outside, there was only a blocked off alley with no one in it.

"Oh, where did they go? Huh?" Kai walked forwards to find a small alter with candles and fortune cookies.

"What's this?" Lloyd saw a sheet of paper hanging on the wall by a knife.

"Uh..." Jay stutred.

"Ah..." Kai looked at the image.

"It's Zane."

"What does it say?" Cole asked. Lloyd pulled the paper down and read.

"It says he's alive."

Everyone gasped.

"He's alive?" Morro repeated.

"I don't think those thugs were delivering a message to the Noodle House. I think they were delivering a message to us." Kai said.