It was dark. It was always dark in this dimension. No sun, no light – so it seemed, yet there was always enough light to see by. Or perhaps their eyes had just gotten used to the gloom.

There wasn't much to look at, though. Rocks, mostly, and mud and some plant life that looked like it had been handmade out of tar. The sky, though it shifted between shades of dark red and purple, didn't seem to have any attachment to night or day. There was an ever-present sense of dread, like something was going to go wrong, or like something might jump out at you. And sometimes, things did.

So yes, this world was dangerous. But as Master Wu had said, its dangers served to make it the perfect training ground. Wu's ninja had started becoming proficient in harnessing the power of their golden weapons as they learned to navigate this cruel realm. When they had first arrived, Master Wu had given them the simple mission of surviving. Then he had left them to their own devices while he went off to do his own form of training.

Surviving hadn't been as simple as the ninja would have hoped, but so far, they had pulled through as a team, and with their mastery over the Weapons of Spinjitzu, they were stronger than ever before.

This was the world in which Zane awoke once again, only this time he was surprised that his brothers were nowhere to be found. He was troubled by this, because they never split up here. It was too dangerous to be alone.

A shadow passed overhead and he saw a bird flying low over the wasteland. He had the urge to follow it, not even considering the fact that he hadn't seen a single bird of any kind since arriving in this realm. He got up and let it take him deep into a forest of the tall, scraggly trees that were native here and never seemed to bloom. When patches of white snow began appearing amongst the branches and muddy earth, he didn't give it a second thought.

Then, he stopped in his tracks when the bird, a falcon by the looks of it, alighted on the low-hanging branch of a tree. At first glance, it was much like any other bird. Zane slowly crept forward, not wanting to scare it away.

Then, to his surprise, the bird turned to him and spoke. "I know what you are," it said. "I know where you come from."

Zane jolted awake. Or was he really? He questioned whether or not he could still be dreaming, until he heard Kai's voice. "Good, he's finally up."

Zane rubbed his eyes, wondering what his dream could have meant. He seldom ever dreamed, but on the rare occasion that he did, something about it always rang true. He suspected that it had something to do with his sixth sense, that it caused him to have a sort of vision of the future.

But what the bird had said, that it knew about him – Zane didn't know anything about his past. Could it be possible that it was about to be revealed to him, finally?

"Can we get moving already?" Kai said. "I'm ready to get out of here, and I think we've rested long enough." He was seated on a rock, twirling his sword in his hand, his eyes fixed on the mountain top.

At this reminder, Zane squinted at the peak where it glowed with an otherworldly light. Any form of light was otherworldly in this dimension, where the concept of light was nothing but a distant dream. It was a stark contrast to what he and his brothers were accustomed to, even in the Underworld. He would have never said it aloud, but Zane was relieved to be leaving this place.

He remembered now where exactly he was. Zane and his friends had struggled through every day since they arrived here, and just when they thought that they might never leave, their master had finally returned. He was stronger than the last time they had seen him, and to their bewilderment, had grown a new set of arms. He wouldn't give much of an explanation, but Zane remembered what Master Wu had said about no mortal being able to wield all four of the golden weapons at once, and guessed that he was preparing himself to overcome that little obstacle.

Master Wu had told the ninja that it was time for them to leave, though he would not yet be returning himself. He said that he wasn't finished here, but he had a new mission for them back in Ninjago.

Now they were making the journey up the Mountain of Madness where their only chance at escape awaited them. Sitting this close to the portal that would restore them to their own world, Zane was eager to leave, too. An ever-present sense of darkness and evil hung in the air, constantly putting his sixth-sense on edge. He could have sworn that it was affecting everyone's attitudes, as well, making them more touchy and easily frustrated.

Cole stood with his arms crossed, his gaze far-off and unfocused. He seemed to have a lot on his mind recently. After a moment's hesitation, he answered, "Fine. Master Wu wouldn't want us to take too long. The sooner we get out of here, the better."

"That's what I said," Kai snapped. "I don't know why you made us stop in the first place."

"We need to rest, Kai, not everyone can climb a mountain in one go like you."

"Well I sure don't need to rest," Jay retorted. "You all may not be able to handle it, but I'm doing just fine."

Zane closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath to center himself. When he opened his eyes, he said, "Remember what we talked about, brothers. The darkness of this world is strong. Don't allow it to tear us apart. Don't let it win." Zane had lost count of the number of times they had almost let something silly come between them, just because this realm had such a strong hold on their hearts.

Kai simply stood and said, "Let's just go."

Together, they resumed their trek up the mountain. They all kept their eyes out for any sign of trouble, but the slope was silent as a grave. There wasn't even a breath of wind to stir the dust.

"What do you think our mission is going to be?" Jay wondered aloud.

"How would I know?" Kai said. "He didn't tell us anything about it."

"I know! I was just wondering what it could be. We have the Weapons of Spinjitzu already, and now we've mastered them. What else is there?"

He was right. There didn't seem to be anything else for them to do without Master Wu. They could protect the weapons now, from anyone. But Master Wu had always spoken of achieving grander things with the weapons, of ridding Ninjago of all evil and claiming it as theirs to protect. But surely he wouldn't expect them to do that on their own?

Zane thought about how much more complicated this entire situation had become since they first joined Master Wu. What had started out as a hobby had consumed their lives and was now the center of their every waking moment. But it was a life they had each chosen, and one they felt a deep responsibility for.

"Maybe he wants us to defeat Garmadon once and for all," Zane suggested.

"Does he really think we're ready for that?" Cole asked doubtfully.

But before any of them could answer, something moved behind Kai, and Zane shouted, "Look out!"

Kai didn't have time to react as the mud monster rose up from the ground and batted him away like a fly.

"Kai!"

He landed hard on the loose stones a few feet away.

"Zane, go check on him!" Cole ordered. "Jay, with me!"

Zane skidded down to where Kai lay. He was beginning to stir, and Zane helped him sit up. "What was that?" he grumbled.

"Mud monster. How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Three?"

"Good. What's seven times four?"

Kai groaned. "Uh . . . twenty-eight?"

"What's your sister's name?"

Kai shot him a look, but answered, "Nya."

"Good. You seem to be alright, but we won't know for sure until –"

"Forget it, that thing's going down!" Kai unsheathed his sword and charged toward the mud monster. With a sigh, Zane followed his brothers into battle.

Cole struck the ground with his scythe and the earth opened at his command. The monster almost fell into the gap, but stopped short. As it stumbled, Kai blasted it with flames from his sword. The monster's movements began to slow as it hardened, and Cole sliced its arms off.

"Ha! Guess it couldn't take the heat!" Jay remarked.

Just then, a second mud monster appeared.

Jay winced. "Spoke too soon."

"We can take him," Cole said. Then a dozen more monsters rose up from the ground, and the boys found themselves surrounded.

"Spoke too soon," Jay repeated.

Cole threw a glance at the mountain's peak. "Retreat! Get to the portal!"

He didn't have to tell them twice. All four ninja made a mad dash for the glowing peak. Zane threw a shuriken, freezing a monster that stood in their way. Cole slashed his scythe, causing a curtain of dirt to erupt on either side of their path. It served as a brief distraction, but the mud monsters soon broke through.

Despite their best efforts, the mud monsters continued to come after them. They were surprisingly fast, which the boys knew all too well, but it seemed more of a problem now than ever before. Their goal shone ahead like a beacon as they raced towards it. They came to a skidding halt when they reached the edge. The portal rested in the mountain like lava in a volcano, and was almost equally foreboding.

"Jump!"Cole told them. Zane didn't take time to think about it. There wasn't time. He took the leap, and the others followed suit.

Zane lost all sense of feeling as lights flashed and space seemed to close around him. He felt like he had fallen into an ocean of darkness that carried him across worlds. He couldn't move, but it moved him. Then he was dazzled by a brilliant light, and he really was falling, straight through the air.

Zane hit the ground first, the others landing on top of him in a heap. The ground beneath him was soft and sandy. There was a sharp stab of pain in his side. "I believe . . . someone's weapon . . . is digging into my side," Zane gasped, trying to wriggle free.

"Well I would move if Cole would get his butt off me!"

"Hold on, I'm stuck, too!"

"Ow! Watch it!"

A shadow passed over them and they fell quiet. Zane lifted his head to see that Master Wu's shadow was stretched out on the sand before them.

"Welcome back, boys. Rough landing?"

They quickly untangled themselves and stood before their master. Upon closer investigation, Zane realized that they were standing on the coast of Ninjago. Waves lapped on the shore and seagulls squawked in the afternoon sun – the sun! Zane craned his neck to see where the sun shone through puffy white clouds. Its light lay over the beach like a warm blanket, making everything glow with vibrant colors.

Zane's attention was brought back to Master Wu when he started speaking again.

"There's a small island off the northwestern coast of Ninjago. Find it. I will give you further instructions before you land."

"Hold on, Master," Cole interjected, and Wu's gaze hardened. "I mean, just, can you maybe tell us what's going on first?"

"In time," Master Wu reassured him. "It still have a few matters I need to work out myself. Do as I say, and all will be revealed to you."

"Of course, Master." Cole said with a slight bow, and the others did the same. "But just one more question: how are we going to get there?"

Master Wu nodded to a structure much farther down the coast line. It appeared to be a dock, teeming with people who were renting boats of all shapes and sizes to take out onto the sea. "I don't think you'll have any trouble finding a vessel."

. . . 

A/N: Things are definitely in motion now, hehe. Thanks so much for reading!

Another quick note: I hate to mention this and jump on the bandwagon of panic, but things are pretty crazy right now (at least it is in my country, but it seems to be pretty bad around the world, too) and normally I wouldn't even want to address it here because this isn't the place for it, and you all probably come to sites like this to get away from it anyway. But I know that anxiety can be killer, so I just wanted to offer some resources to help alleviate any panic, annoyance, or confusion you have. Here are a couple things I think might help:

Noah's Window(.org) – Encouraging daily videos for all ages, from young kids to students to adults. Also accepting prayer requests.

Transformation Church – 7 days of prayer and fasting, live throughout the week on Youtube, Instagram, and Facebook at 12:00 pm CST

Give 'em a look if you like. I hope these can bring you hope and encouragement instead of all the fear that we're constantly hearing. Like I said, I just want to do my part to bring peace because I know how stressful it is when you can't even get away from hearing about everything that's going on. But it'll pass just like everything always does. Share with anyone else you think could use the encouragement!

Anyway, thanks again for reading! I really appreciate each and every one of you, and your comments have been super encouraging as I get back into the groove of posting regularly. See you all next week!