A/N: AHHHH Happy new DECADE you guys!!! Here's to another ten years of Ninjago!

. . . 

Garmadon woke with a start. His grip around the shuriken tightened as he looked around for any sign of danger. He was in what at first glance appeared to be a cave. He could see that he was alone, but most certainly not safe. He had made it to the Underworld.

Garmadon got to his feet. In the distance he could see the Skulkin, milling about on the floating isles that made up the dark realm. He ducked behind a pointed rock as a squad passed by. If he was to make it to his brother without being seen, he would have to be very careful.

Storing the shuriken in his robes, he made sure there was no one nearby, then crept out from behind the rocks that had hidden him.

After many, many years, it was time to face his brother again.

. . . 

Generally speaking, Pixal was a light sleeper. Of course, to say that she 'slept' was a relative term. During the time when she would rest and reboot her systems, her sensors were still fully functional, so that she could know if there was anything to threaten her safety. However, she'd had to tone down the sensitivity while on their travels, or else everything in the forest would set off her alarms.

But now there was something else, something bigger that awoke Pixal. She opened her eyes to all sorts of warnings from her systems, mainly about disturbances in the earth.

It took less than a second for her to realize that Garmadon and Nya were missing. She quickly woke Seliel and Skylor, and with their help, she was able to track their missing companions through the woods. It soon became apparent that the trail led toward the Temple of Fire, and they found themselves gazing upon a structure rooted in a volcano.

The three girls hurried up the stone steps of the Fire Temple, hoping they weren't too late. But as they drew near, Pixal could see from the rubble that there had already been some sort of battle. They stopped short.

"Nya! Sensei!" Seliel called.

"It appears that we are too late," Pixal told her

Seliel eyed the rubble as if it was deliberately standing in their way. "Look, there's an opening near the top! We can climb up and get inside."

Pixal followed her gaze, but it appeared that the stones were too loose for them to climb, and too heavy to move. "I wouldn't recommend it. It appears to be unstable and could collapse on top of us."

"But what if they're still in there? There must be something we can do. Come on, girls, think!"

"There's nothing we can do," Skylor objected. "If Nya and Sensei Garmadon had to face the ninja on their own, there's no way they could have won. And if Wu's students have already gotten the sword and the shuriken, then they would have taken them straight to the Underworld – the one place no mortal can cross over." She took a seat on the steps, resting her head in her hands. "We did our best, but . . . it's over, now."

In a rare moment of tenacity, Pixal started running a number of scenarios and possibilities in her head. But she could find no solution to help their friends, nor to get follow the ninja to the Underworld. Perhaps Skylor was right. Perhaps it had been foolish to think they ever stood a chance.

Then a voice sounded from nowhere.

"We might not be able to cross over . . ."

Pixal blinked in surprise when she identified the disembodied voice of their fourth companion. That was certainly Nya's voice, but she was nowhere to be seen. Then the earth began to shake and the temple split open. Two halves of the building slid apart to reveal the inside. And there Nya sat, atop the back of a large, red creature.

"But a dragon can!" Nya smiled as the girls stared at her in awe, wondering how she could have possibly tamed the beast. "My father used to tell me stories about the dragons," she began to explain as she gently pet its head. "How they were mystical creatures that belonged to both worlds and ferried between them. Once he realized that I wanted to protect the sword as much as he did, he actually became quite a softy!" The dragon turned its head to nuzzle her affectionately.

"Wow," Seliel breathed.

"Come on!" Nya waved them over. Skylor and Seliel clambered onto its back, both admittedly very excited to ride a dragon. Pixal, however, remained on the ground. She eyed the dragon skeptically as she ran a few calculations in her mind.

"What's wrong, Pixal?" Nya asked.

"By my calculations, this dragon will be able to support our combined weight. Being that I am composed mostly of metal, I weigh significantly more than any of you, and all four of us may be more than the dragon can bear. But you may go ahead without me."

Nya hummed thoughtfully. "I might have a way to fix that."

. . .

"Whoohoo!" Nya shouted as the fire dragon arched through the clouds. "This is amazing!"

Pixal also had to smile from where she sat on the ice dragon. They were sailing through an ocean of cloud, the wind buoying them up in a wide open sky. The wind was strong, but the sun shone brightly above. Far, far below, glimpses of the ground could be seen between wisps of cloud, like glimpsing another world through puddles in the sky.

It was a dazzling sight, even to an android. "I do quite enjoy this," Pixal agreed.

While they had gone and recruited all the dragon guardians from the previous locations, Nya filled them in on what had happened in the Fire Temple. Pixal had taken note of how she tried to brush over the part where her brother had betrayed her, and there was something in Nya's eyes that Pixal couldn't quite read. She would have to keep an eye on Nya when they encountered Wu's students again.

It wasn't too hard convincing the dragons to help since they already had the fire dragon to vouch for them. Now each of the four girls rode a dragon through the sky.

"What do we do now?" Skylor shouted above the wind.

"I think we're about to find out!" Seliel answered as all four dragons reared in the air.

They suddenly plunged down toward the earth. Pixal's anxiety levels spiked as they drew closer to the ground, picking up speed. But logic told her that they wouldn't put their own lives at risk without reason, so she leaned forward and gripped the reigns, determined to see this through.

The dragons spun and suddenly burst into a cyclone of color, not unlike a tornado of Spinjitzu. They picked up speed and drilled into the earth, but instead of colliding with the ground, they simply passed right through it.

A gasp escaped Pixal. They were in a tunnel, peppered with cracks that let in light of all colors. The dragons careened down the tunnels, speeding up faster still. They nimbly dodged obstacles of shooting fire and pointed rock faster than even Pixal's eyes could register. Faster and faster, the dragons beat their wings. She held on tight, feeling as if she might be blown off.

Suddenly they were engulfed in darkness. There was no light or sound or anything. It was like an empty vacuum devoid of any perceivable sensations. Then color and feeling flooded back and Pixal's dragon was skidding to a halt. She was unprepared for the sudden stop and was thrown of its back only to hit the ground with an "Oomf!"

Pixal's eyes darted this way and that as she sat up and tried to make sense of everything again.

Seliel was beside her, laughing. "That was incredible! Let's do it again!"

Pixal just smiled to herself as she got to her feet.

"Maybe another time." Skylor suggested. "For now, it looks like we've got our hands full." Pixal followed her gaze across a vast expanse of empty air. In the distance, she could see floating isles with bridges strung between them. It was dim and cold, like a gigantic cavern, though she couldn't make out another wall on the far side. It seemed to go on forever. There was a horrible stench, similar to how the Skulkin smelled, but ten times worse. Below was a towering structure, embellished with bones. It was surrounded by the skeleton warriors.

"They're expecting us," Nya observed.

Sure enough, a couple of skeletons stood at the bridge leading to the tallest structure. Pixal guessed that was where Master Wu resided. Zeroing in on the bridge, Pixal focused her eyes and her audio receptors as the two stopped another Skulkin pushing a cart before it could cross.

"Hold up!" said one of the guards. "Nothing gets through without inspection.

"Ninja search!" the second yelled before he dived into the cart and ransacked the cargo. Pixal took note of how thorough he was, throwing things about and most likely breaking all of it. There would be no hope of sneaking in that way.

When he'd finally finished, the skeleton dismounted from the cart and waved it on. "Okay, clear to pass." At that point, however, it was pointless, seeing as the cart was now empty.

Pixal's attention was snapped back to her teammates when Skylor spoke. "Come on let's –" Skylor made to move but then paused. "I mean, I've got a plan." When Seliel nodded for her to continue, Skylor pointed up to the ceiling. Pixal raised her eyes and saw that there were scores of stalactites hanging over the isles.

"We can climb across those to the fortress without being spotted," Skylor explained.

"Good idea," said Seliel. Nya and Pixal nodded, and it was agreed. "Let's hurry," Seliel added. "And keep an eye out for any of Wu's students. They're craftier than those skeletons."

At the mention of the boys, Pixal noticed Nya take a deep breath, as if steeling herself for the imminent confrontation. There was no denying her courage.

Then Nya looked back at the dragons, but the beasts didn't seem to be paying them any mind. In fact, the earth dragon appeared to be settling in for a nap. "Do we just . . . leave them here?"

"They want to keep the weapons safe as much as we do," Pixal reasoned. "But they seem to understand that this is our fight. I'm sure they will still be here when we get back."

One by one the girls each leaped up and grabbed hold of one of the pointed rocks. Pixal swung her feet and used the momentum to carry herself over to the next one. The height didn't bother her. Still, she couldn't help but be curious to know if there was a bottom, or if anyone unfortunate enough to fall would simply fall forever.

At one point, when she jumped and clung to a stalactite, she started to slip. As she shifted for a better grip, a stone was dislodged and dropped toward the ground. She followed its path with her eyes, concerned that it would alert the Skulkin to their presence. But it only hit a stray Skulkin directly on the head, knocking it out and preserving their secret. Pixal continued onward.

As they moved forward, the stalactites became more frequent and closer together. It was easier to climb along now, and she could hold on to two at the same time.

"I don't see any sign of the ninja," Seliel commented, looking down without a hint of fear.

"This is going to be a piece of cake," Nya said, her confidence growing. "Those boys won't even know what hit 'em."

"Umm . . . guys . . ."

They all took a look at Skylor, then followed her fearful gaze upward. A dozen pairs of glowing red eyes and sharp pincers leaned toward them –

Spykor!

The girls yelped and instinctively released the rocks that they were now realizing weren't rocks at all. They fell through the air and landed, once again, on the stone hard ground. Pixal was stunned for the second time in so many minutes as the wind was knocked out of her artificial lungs.

As they were getting to their feet, Pixal registered a warning ringing out: "NINJAAAA!"

Perhaps it wouldn't be as easy as they had thought . . . .