Nya was awoken by the sound of rustling in the undergrowth. At first, she ignored it – she was in a forest, there were animals, she had already had a hard enough time falling asleep with all the noise. But then she heard a whisper: "Nya!"

The water ninja bolted up. Glancing around, she saw that her comrades were still asleep. But that voice hadn't sounded like any of her friends. She peered into the darkness that surrounded their little campsite. It was difficult to distinguish anything amongst the silhouettes of the forest.

"Nya!"

Nya whipped her head around. She strained to see anything, but hidden in the shadows she thought she could almost make out a figure . . .

"Kai?"

Her brother put a finger to his lips. He threw a glance over his shoulder before saying, "I have to go." Then he vanished back into the brush.

"Kai – wait!" Nya scrambled to her feet and plunged into the forest after him. She could just barely see his shadow up ahead. "Wait! Where are you going? Kai!" He didn't stop or even slow down. He was too fast for her, and she soon lost him in the darkness and the undergrowth. She reached the spot where she had seen him last and looked all around, hoping for another glimpse. "Kai? Kai, please! Where are you? I just want to talk!" Nya forced her way through the bushes and gasped at the sight that lay before her.

It was the Temple of Fire, constructed at the base of an erupting volcano. A bridge led the way through a torii arch up to the temple itself. Gated archways were stacked in terraces along the path, and walls extended from the gates to wrap protectively around the temple. Nya could see her brother sprinting up the stone path and towards the main entrance at the top.

What was he doing? More importantly, why had he gotten her attention only to run? Nya wanted to follow him, but she wondered for a moment if this might be a trap. She should probably go back and tell Sensei Garmadon. After all, if Kai had discovered that she was his enemy, he might be using her sympathy to lure her here.

Nya shook her head. No, Kai would never do that. There would be no point, anyway, to bring her here to the final weapon, the very weapon they were both fighting for.

Nya ran out of the bushes and toward the bridge. Maybe he had actually led her here so she could take the weapon. Nya's feet flew up the path as she realized that all her fears had been wrong. Kai was helping her!

She could see him up ahead as he pushed his way through the gates. She barely noticed the stifling heat as she sprinted after him, ignored any fears of the unstable volcano. Climbing the levels of the path was tiring and she was already beginning to work up a sweat, but none of it mattered. She just kept going, even after her brother had entered the temple and disappeared from sight.

Nya only slowed down when she reached the temple entrance. She gently pushed one of the doors and it creaked as it swung open.

There it was, the last weapon, planted right in the middle of the room. And behind it stood her brother.

"Kai!" Overjoyed, she ran towards him.

But he didn't look as happy to see her. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he got the chance, a dark cackling resounded as a shadow rose from behind him. Nya came to a stop where the path abruptly ended.

"Lookout!" she called, but her brother didn't move. She reached in her belt for her spear, but her hands grasped at air. Glancing down, she saw that there was nothing there.

"Forgot something?" the shadow of Wu leered.

But Nya stood her ground. "You can't hurt us!" she reminded him. "You have no power from the Underworld."

"I wouldn't say no power."

Strong hands seized Nya from behind. It was the earth ninja and the ice ninja. Their grip on her arms were like iron chains. She struggled, but they weren't fazed. Eventually, she had to stop for fear of pulling them all into the pool of lava bubbling at the center of the room. She glanced helplessly toward the entrance and saw that it was already being guarded by the blue ninja. Even if she could break free, she wouldn't be able to escape.

Defeated, she looked to her brother, who didn't even have the courtesy to look her in the eye.

Her heart sank as the disappointing truth crashed over her like a wave She had been wrong. All that hope was just childish thinking.

Kai had betrayed her.

. . . 

What am I doing?

Kai clenched his fist and avoided his sister's gaze as Cole and Zane took her hostage. He couldn't stand the way she was looking at him. Master Wu had said that he wasn't responsible for this situation, that it was Garmadon's fault for bringing Nya into a fight she didn't belong in. But Kai still couldn't stop thinking about how she must feel right now.

Nya, his sister whom he hadn't seen in years. She was all grown up, now. Kai remembered a time when they had grown up together, slowly, when he couldn't hardly tell how much she changed from one day to the next because they both changed a little bit every day. Now, suddenly, she was older. There were lines just under her cheekbones that sharpened her features, and she was even a little taller than he remembered. Her arms were toned and muscular from all the training she was going through – training to fight him.

This was so wrong. Everything about it was wrong. Maybe she had never agreed with his choices, but they weren't supposed to be enemies over it.

"Kai!" Master Wu said sharply. "Take the sword!"

He looked down at the golden hilt that jutted from the ground. For a moment, he wanted to say no. He wanted to tell them to let his sister go and to get her out of this place, to explain everything to her and beg her to forgive him. But Master Wu wouldn't stand for it, and this may be their only chance to get the last two remaining weapons. He wasn't even sure if his friends would agree with him, and they had his sister.

"Now!" Master Wu snapped, his impatience rising.

Kai steeled himself and placed both hands on the hilt. He had wanted this for so long. Now it was finally his turn.

But at what price?

Kai brushed away the niggling voice in the back of his mind and instead hauled the sword up, drawing it out of the dirt. When it broke free, he spun it in his hand. He gazed at the golden blade, light from the lava glinting off the metal. He had dreamt of this moment – but now that he was here, it wasn't nearly as satisfying as he had expected.

"Wu!"

Kai was jerked out of his thoughts. When he looked across the pool of lava he saw that Garmadon was struggling against Jay at the entrance to the temple. Garmadon knocked Jay off his feet and the blue ninja skidded across the ground, leaving Garmadon free to enter. Nya tried to turn to see him, but she was held fast. Kai sheathed the golden sword, trading it out for his regular sword, and awaited orders.

"Brother," Master Wu greeted him. "Come to bargain for the girl?"

Garmadon put his hand into the folds of his robes and pulled out something small and bright. Holding it above his head, he said, "Release her, Wu!"

"First give me the shuriken."

"No!" Nya shouted. She continued to struggle, but in vain.

Garmadon bowed his head. "I will give you the shuriken if you release my student."

But Master Wu shook his head. "I know you too well, brother, to believe you would give it up so easily." He lowered his voice. "This is your chance to prove yourself, Kai. Get the shuriken!"

Shadowy figures appeared at the edges of the room, exact copies of Kai's silhouette. Kai had seen Wu do this before, but never so many. 

Kai leapt across the gap to meet Garmadon. The shadows followed his lead, rushing forward as one. But the second that Kai landed, Garmadon flung the shuriken and the fire ninja's feet were frozen in place. Kai's arms pinwheeled as he tried not to lose his balance. The shuriken bounced right back into Garmadon's hand and was stored away again.

Kai tried to chip at the ice with his sword, but he couldn't make much progress without risking injury to himself. Luckily, they were in a temple of fire, and it was already melting away, steam rising from the ground.

Meanwhile, the shadows had descended upon Garmadon, and the old sensei was managing to fend them off without even breaking a sweat. The light emanating from the lava cast his own shadow onto the walls, allowing him to fight the ghostly figures. He whacked one with the silhouette of his staff, then whirled around and kicked another. They attacked from both sides, but it didn't seem to make a difference.

Finally, the ice was thin enough that Kai could break out. Jay finally got back to his feet at about the same time. Garmadon was nearly finished with the shadows. Jay signaled to Kai and then they both charged at the old man. But Garmadon was ready for them and ducked out of the way so that they nearly collided with each other.

Kai turned and swung again, but Garmadon was too fast. Then Garmadon hit Kai on the head with his staff, leaving Kai briefly disoriented. Kai stumbled and Garmadon snatched the golden sword off his back. Kai blindly reached out to stop him, but ended up tripping over his own feet instead.

When the room stopped swaying, Kai saw the older man running towards Nya. It appeared that while they were fighting, she had managed to break free from her captors and was struggling to fend them both off when Garmadon came to her aid.

"Come on!" Kai urged Jay on, but they didn't reach them in time. Together, Nya and Garmadon were able to knock Zane down and throw Cole on top of him. Kai and Jay only reached them as they were making a break for the exit.

But Wu was not willing to take any risks. "Awaken, guardian !" he shouted, his shadowy form growing in his anger. "You mustn't let them steal the sword!"

At his call, a scaly head rose out of the lava in front of Garmadon and Nya.

No! Kai thought. He'd done enough damage already, he wasn't about to let this beast hurt his sister.

The dragon's back was turned to Kai. It stood between its prey, trapped on a small isle in the center of the temple, and their only exit. Kai leapt onto the dragon's back, using it like a stepping stone, and then landed at Nya and Garmadon's side. The ground began to rumble and sway under his feet as the dragon whipped its flaming tail through a cluster of stalactites that hung over the entrance. The rocks crumbled and fell to the ground, effectively blocking the doorway.

Kai looked to his friends. He could see Cole on the other side of the lava pool, cowering behind the beast, while Zane and Jay stood ready to fight it if necessary. Now that he'd put himself in danger, they wouldn't be able to escape, either.

The fire dragon bared its teeth and roared at the bearers of the golden sword. Kai had to get it back from Garmadon and get to the other side of the cave – at least then it would come after him and not his sister. He whirled around and used the hilt of his own sword to strike Garmadon. While it didn't incapacitate him, it caught him off guard long enough so Kai could take back the sword.

"Kai!"

He ignored his sister as he used Spinjitzu in a desperate attempt to reach solid ground on the edge of the room. It worked, and he barely made it there unharmed. But then he still had an angry dragon to worry about.

The dragon's attention was now on Kai at least, but his sister was still trapped. Nya turned to her sensei. "What are we going to do? There's no way out!"

"There is one," Garmadon said solemnly. He retreated from their little isle onto another rock formation at the back end of the cave.

"Wait, what are you –"

With a loud cry, Garmadon used the shurikens to slice through the rock on which he stood, setting himself adrift in the lava.

"Stop him!" Master Wu seethed. Kai couldn't see what his plan must be, or even how he should stop it.

The old sensei knelt down on the rock as it slowly drifted away and placed the shuriken on his lap. "Wu has managed to get three of the weapons. If he plans to bring them here, then I must take the Shurikens of Ice to the Underworld."

"No! This is all my fault, I shouldn't have come by myself –there has to be another way!"

Garmadon didn't argue as he drifted further down the river of lava. He reached the far end –

– and dropped into the Underworld.

"No!" Nya stepped forward as if she was going to run after him, but stopped short at the bubbling lava. Kai moved to get to her, but the dragon blocked his path.

"Then I will meet you there, brother! Bring the weapons to the Underworld at once!" Master Wu ordered before he vanished.

Zane and Cole and Jay hurried toward the entrance, but Kai lingered still. He couldn't leave Nya here.

"Nya!" he called. He could see her behind the dragon's form. "Nya!" he said again, louder this time. She turned, but the dragon just got in his way again, roaring in his face with its awful breath. Kai looked at the sword in his hand. All it wanted was the sword. It wouldn't hurt her.

Kai backed toward the entrance where the others had managed to create an opening. He took one last look at his sister before he turned and ran.