Kai panted as he trudged along the winding road to Jamanakai Village, his wounds burning worse than before as the wind practically slapped him in the face. The Skulkin had fulfilled their end of the bargain; sending Kai out of the Underworld and into a nearby town, while they were granted their freedom. Kai couldn't care less about leading their pathetic army anymore; all that mattered was his master, but now that he was gone...

The former general huffed, trying to shake Garmadon out of his head. No more dwelling on the past. He needed to find a place to heal, and fast.

Kai stumbled into a patch of freezing snow, too exhausted to pick himself up. He closed his eyes, trying to fall asleep, or at least numb the excruciating pain through the snow. He had almost successfully blacked out, when the voice of an elderly woman caught him off guard.

"My god, boy, what have you done to yourself?"
-
The tea lady had given him nothing but a cup of pungent, hot liquid and a handful of scoldings. Kai was tired of her by the time he had been able to comprehend where he was... and that was minutes ago.

"Look, lady, I don't have time for this!" He snapped after she had nagged him for too long. "And what is this stuff? It tastes like shit!"

"You ought to respect your elders, boy." The old woman shot back, tapping on the rim of his cup. "You fail to realize one thing; I am armed with dozens of recipes that can turn you into something unpleasant."

"Oh please, like that'll ever happen." Kai attempted to smirk, but his wound forced him to cringe in pain. "U-Ugh!" He touched the side of his face, only causing him to cry out in pain even louder.

"You're right." The woman lifted her brows, looking him up and down. "You're already hideous."

Kai sat up quickly, flustered. "Wha-What?! I can't look that bad..."

The woman tossed him a small mirror on her dresser. "Have a look for yourself. Just try to refrain from screaming in horror, please." She sighed heavily and peeked outside. "I don't want to scare away what little customers I am so lucky to have."

Kai snatched the mirror into his hands and attempted a scowl, which quickly disappeared.

His mouth dropped open when he saw himself, a feeling stirring in his stomach that he couldn't quite name. Was it disgust? Fear? Shame? No... it was more like...  pride...

He even looked almost... good.

After all, half of his face eerily looked like the man he respected for years.
-
(One week later)

"Nya, I believe you can stop now. Overexertion is never a good thing."

Nya huffed, hopping down from one of the platforms of the training course and turning towards Zane. She wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead and crossed her arms. "I'm just training, Zane. I'll know when to stop."

"The problem is, you don't." Cole piped up from behind her, ruffling her messy hair. "But I guess that's one of my little sister's many quirks that I gotta learn."

Cole has insisted on calling her his "little sister", justifying it by saying she never had a good older brother to look up to, but mostly because he had always wanted a little sibling. Nya had agreed to it somewhat. After all, Cole did act like the oldest out of all of them, even if it was Zane biologically. It was more of a Cole-thing anyways; Zane was more of a little brother with his naive understanding of the outside world, and Jay was...

Nya hugged her body, glancing at Jay training alone. It had been over a week since their escape from the Underworld, but everything was still the same. It wasn't that they were growing apart; it was that Nya wanted more, and she had a feeling Jay did too. Of course, they had to worry about Garmadon's return, a battle that would require hours upon hours of training, but still. Was it too soon for them to go out? Would it be the inappropriate time with so much that was at stake?

Or was it not real at all?
-
"Stupid Darkley's..." A young boy kicked a rock along the winding path to Jamanakai Village, his dark hood pulled up over his face to hide his tears. "Who do they think I am?! Ugh, just wait until I get my revenge..."

Kai smirked. He was perfect for this task.

"Hey, get over here, brat!" Kai yelled out from behind the bushes. The kid turned his head towards him, revealing his identity. Oh god. Lloyd Garmadon. Just my fucking luck...

Lloyd's puffy eyes widened when he saw the former general. "Do you work for my father?" The boy asked, rushing towards him. He gasped when he saw his face, backing away slightly. "Whoa- what did he do to you?"

"Nothing." Kai hissed. "And I don't work for him anymore. He left me behind." The boy looked down at this, most likely knowing how that felt. "Enough of that, though. I need your help. You said you wanted revenge right? Or something like that?"

Lloyd's green eyes lightened up. "That would be awesome!"

Kai smirked. "Good. I know just the thing, but you'll have to do something for me first."
-
Nya sat on the front porch of the monastery, watching the clouds drift by. The day had gone by slowly since she had finished her morning exercises. She sat up straighter when she heard footsteps behind her.

"Hey." Jay spoke softly. "Mind if I sit here?"

Nya shook her head, patting the spot next to her. Jay sat down next to her and ran a hand through his curls. "So, I was wondering, um..." His voice faltered as his eyes met hers.

Nya stared deep into his eyes, unable to look away from the piercing sapphires. Was he crying earlier? "... Yes?"

"I mean... you and me..." He cleared his throat. "We're, you know... we're something, right? Like, a thing?" He glanced away and sighed, blushing darkly. "I mean, what I'm trying to say is... if there's ever a time when you aren't super busy, we could maybe... go out to a restaurant or... whatever you'd like..."

Nya swallowed. "Jay..."

"I'm sorry- just, just forget about it, okay?" He covered his face and groaned.

"No, Jay, it isn't- I mean..." She held his hand between hers and inhaled slowly. "I just don't think I have time for myself these days... my brother's out, planning god knows what, not to mention Garmadon is free. Look, Jay, we just need to be ready for anything. We need to train."

"We've been training for hours on end, Nya." Jay sighed heavily. "It's time to face the facts; we need a break. You need a break."

"Breaks are a luxury, Jay." Nya shot back, growing frustrated. "And I'm sorry, but we don't have that luxury anymore. We gave that up the minute we signed up to help Sensei."

"You gave that up." Jay muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Come on, Nya, it's not like Lord Garmadon is gonna show up attacking a random village-"

Cole burst through the monastery doors, interrupting Jay. "We've got a situation at Jamanakai Village!" He alerted them, pausing to catch his breath. "Lord Garmadon's returned!"
-
"It is I, Lloyd Garmadon!"

Nya stared at the little boy, her mouth hanging open in utter surprise. "Who's that, exactly...?"

"Lloyd Garmadon." Jay huffed, lowering his nunchucks. "Garmadon's son."

Cole frowned, putting away his scythe. "He must've escaped his boarding school for bad boys again."

Zane sighed. "And no sign of his father."

"Now we gotta clean up the mess? Little shit." Jay muttered, following Cole. "I'm just glad Garmadon never made us babysit him back in the Underworld."

"I demand all of your candy- Hey, what are you doing?!" Lloyd cried out as Cole tossed him over his shoulder. "Let me go, or I'll unleash the Serpentine on you!"

Cole rolled his eyes and turned to the others. "What should we do with him?"

Nya scrunched her brows together in worry. "The Serpentine? He can't be serious, can he? No one's mentioned their tombs in years, only in stories."

Jay looked towards her, even more worried. "If you let one tribe loose, it'll unite with the other four!" He whimpered. "And then who knows what'll happen!"

"Guys, missing the point here." Cole sighed and bounced Lloyd higher on his shoulder, causing him to squeak in pain. "I'll just hang him on a flagpole by his cape or something."

"Cole, just let him go." Nya rolled her eyes and stood on her tiptoes to lift Lloyd off of Cole's shoulder. She placed him on the ground and crossed her arms. "Lloyd, you don't understand what kind of threats you're making." She scolded. "The Serpentine are no laughing matter. They're sealed away for the safety of Ninjago."

"I don't care about Ninjago! What did it ever do for me?" Lloyd frowned. "You're too late, anyways."

Nya's eyes widened in concern. "Wh-What do you mean? You didn't already..." Her voice faltered as her heart pounded.

"Oh no, not me." Lloyd smirked proudly. "You're Nya, right? Kai says hi."

Nya sank to her knees as Lloyd ran off. The others prepared to chase after him, but Nya held out an arm.

"It wasn't a waste of our time... it was a diversion..." She covered her face and inhaled shakily. "My brother escaped and now he's releasing the Serpentine."