The morning sun shown over the horizon, bathing the landscape in a shade of golden light. Many hours had passed since the devastating fire. The NCTV News Tower was now nothing more than a smoldering pile of wreckage. Their food, blankets, water, and everything else- was gone. Everyone had set up a small camp a few blocks away from the site. Nelson lay on the ground unconscious while Nya sat by him stroking his messy brown hair. The child's face was partially burned on the right cheek, and he was covered in ash. Cole had helped to treat Gayle's wounds, and was now sitting by her and the injured green ninja until they woke up. Zane did the same, but with Clutch and Dareth. Kai sat further away from the group because he feared that he'd hurt them. He was fully aware that he's the one, more or less, that caused the towers destruction in the first place. So he sat alone, eyes closed, hands hidden under his armpits, and feeling guilty. Nelson let out a few coughs before fluttering his eyes open.

"Wh- What happened?" He groaned.
Nya perked up at the sight of him regaining consciousness and held him in her arms; giving him a gentle but meaningful hug.
"Oh thank the First Spinjitzu Master you're okay! I was so scared... But don't worry! You're safe now. Lloyd saved you from the fire."
Nelson's eyes sprung from tired and pained to wide open with worry.

"The FIRE! Oh my gosh! Is everyone alright?!" The pure panic and concern in his voice cracked Nya's heart in two. She stroked his arm with her thumb. "Shhhhh... Hey, it's ok. Yes. Everyone's alive. Don't worry."
The kid took a sigh of relief before remembering the event that happened right before he blacked out.

"Clutch! I remember! He got really hurt while trying to save me! Is he alright?!"

"Of course! Well, most of him... He's still breathing at least."
Nelson turned to look at the rest of his family knocked out on the ground, with attempts at bandaging up their wounds with what little materials they could find. But Clutch Powers... He was beyond anything Nelson had hoped wouldn't ever happen. His left leg was gone from slightly below the knee down. The kid looked on terrified. "Oh, Clutch..." he whispered.

Nya did her best to comfort him and assure him that it was going to be fine. About 3 hours passed, and everyone had woken up. Gayle and Nelson agreed to not mention anything about Vinny to the others for the time being, so they blamed her shoulder injury on falling debris. Clutch was the last one to wake up. He writhed in pain as he opened his eyes and tried to sit up. He let out a pained yelp as he collapsed back down. Zane propped him up against his arm and told him not to move too much. Clutch started to question why it hurt so much, but trailed off as he looked down at the source of the pain. He nearly passed out once he saw it.

"Do not fear Clutch, it might hurt, but I assure you- you will be alright." Said the master of ice trying to comfort him.

"ALRIGHT!? Most of my freaking legs been torn off in a fire! How in any world is that alright?!??!!" he panicked.

"Well, by technicality, the FIRE only rendered it unusable. I was technically, and unfortunately, the one that had to amputate it." The nindroid noticed how terrified the explorer looked, and immediately tried to make him feel better. "But on the bright side, since the procedure was done so soon, there doesn't appear to be any infection!" Zane said it with a genuinely thoughtful smile, but it honestly didn't really make anything better. Dareth sat down looking very concerned for him. The apocalypse REALLY isn't the best time to be handicapped, especially when there's super villains after you. Nelson cuddled up against Dareth.

"What now? We don't have a home anymore. Where do we go?"

Cole stared at the pavement. "We could head to Borg Tower."

"NO." Kai said firmly as stepped out of the shadows and into the middle of the group. "The Time Twins know we're here. They've destroyed one building trying to kill us, what makes you think they won't rip apart the rest of the city to try ta do it again?"

"Then what do you think we SHOULD do?" inquired Jay.

"Leave the city. We all know it's not safe here anymore, so why endanger ourselves further by staying here?"

"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND!? What about the city being the only safe place?" Argued Nya.

"Ya?!" everyone else agreed.
Kai took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "I know what I said before... but now it's different. It's either we deal with a few over sized lizards, or an army of villains that want us dead."

Nelson nodded. "I mean, they both want us dead, but one's an animal apposed to a league of evil human intelligence."

"Ug. Fair point. But where would we go?" Questioned Gayle.
Kai looked into the distance. "I don't know. Anywhere but here."
Clutch writhed as he repositioned himself against Zane. "I don't care where we go... As long as I don't have to walk by myself."
Zane smiled at him; telling him not to worry about it. "I shall be more than happy to assist."
With that said, the ninja grabbed a few things from Borg Tower and headed off into the unknown. Jay let Lloyd sit on his bike as he rolled it along next to him. Lloyd was still injured to the point where he was barely conscious and completely out of it. So he sat on the bike seat and his top half was drooped over the handlebars. They all sorrowfully left the city behind, and it was hard. It had been their home and safe haven for the entire apocalypse, so leaving it potentially forever was far from easy. As they walked, a million thoughts crashed through Gayle's brain like a title wave of emotions she wasn't sure how to process. Vinny wasn't only alive, but he was out for revenge. He believed she despised him, but in the moment he cornered her, she had desperately wanted to poor everything out. She didn't hate him, she was aggravated with him at times, sure- but not hateful. She never HATED the poor kid. When the news was brought that he had died, Gayle locked herself in her room and cried. Cried because she never got a chance to truly apologize. Even now, it was probably too late. But for an entirely different reason. She had been too headstrong to apologize for all her horrible actions towards him. All the times their little fights would happen, and Vinny would leave upset... that anger was festering and building up inside of him. He was suffering, and loosing himself to the darkness, but she was too selfish and caught up in their grudge to notice. The very thought broke her heart. As the group headed further and further away from the city, they began to run across old civilizations and towns. Some looked like the people there managed to last longer than the initial attack, but couldn't make it through the first year. There were old campfires in some abandoned houses, and some clothes left out to dry on a clothes line. Nelson moved closer to Dareth as they passed one house that had been home to a survivor of the shockwave. Unfortunately, it was now home to a long forgotten skeleton that was covered by a blanket, the person was supposedly trying to keep warm when they passed. The silence was eerie and haunting, all that could be heard was a light breeze and the sound of their footsteps. Everyone tried to keep up with Kai as he pressed onwards like he knew what he was doing, but they had been on the move for hours now, and were getting tired.

"Do you even know where we're going?" whined Nya.

Kai let out a slightly irritated groan. "No. Ok? I don't. All I know is we have to be long gone by the time the bad guys come looking for us at the tower."

"So you're leading us into death? That's wonderful. Yah, no. You got the right idea. I lived a good life. Point me to my tombstone, I better get a head start lying there." Mocked Gayle.
Nelson turned to Dareth looking absolutely terrified. "She's just being dramatic, right? We... we're not all gonna.. you know. A- are we?"
Dareth pulled him into a hug and reassured him that he wasn't going to let anything happen to him.
The ninja looked from that, up to Kai, who looked like his confidence was dying. He shakily told them that they just had to keep pushing on.

"Easy for you to say, you're not missing a leg!" scolded Clutch as he clung to Zane to be able to stand. "I'm exhausted! Everything hurts... I just wanna lay down...."
The master of ice shifted his position so that he was essentially giving Clutch Powers a piggyback ride; with the professor's arms hung over Zane's shoulders. The nindroid smiled. "I shall relieve you from your pain for the time being." He then turned to Kai. "However, we do all require a rest sooner rather than later. I can not carry everyone."
The red ninja said nothing, but turned and kept walking. About an hour later, they all ran across a town. One particular building was demolished on one side, with a hole having been made on the side wall. It was practically a cave now. The house's light blue paint was chipping off to reveal the rotting wood side panels. The interior was visibly old and dirty, but what remained implied that it was once a rather pleasant abode. It had a 'grandma's house' feeling to it; if that makes any sense. Finally, after hours of denying it, Kai let everyone take a well needed rest in the house. Jay assisted Lloyd getting off the bike and placing him on the ground. The green ninja pretty much rag-dolled through all of this, and was more than happy to be laying down so he could finally get some sleep. Zane placed Clutch on the floor, propping him against the kitchen cabinet. The explorer winced as he was moved from the droid's back onto the tiled floor, but let out a relieved sigh once he got comfortable. Zane continued to keep his word and stayed next to Mr. Powers the entire time. Jay and Cole set out to gather some firewood and other supplies while the others set up a temporary camp in the kitchen. Cole shivered as they searched for wood. "DANG. It's getting cold nowadays."
Jay, who had just kicked open a door so he could raid an abandoned house, turned to his friend. "Well, like it or not, winter IS coming... it's almost December, you know. It's gonna be a little chilly."
Cole sighed as he looked up at the cloudy sky that was now toggling the border of sunset and star filled. "Do you ever wonder?"
Jay opened an closed every cabinet in the house looking for something, but turned his head to look at the black ninja. "Wonder what?"

"If we weren't supposed to live. Like, we were supposed to die, but somehow cheated death.... I mean, maybe nobody was supposed to live the apocalypse. But we defied destiny or something."
Jay gave a confused look and summed up what Cole had just said; repeating it back to him. Cole shrugged. "I don't know. I just... wonder sometimes."
The blue ninja chuckled as he loaded his arms with sticks and began walking away.

"Well, maybe you wonder a little too much." He joked. Cole grabbed a few sticks too, and followed after him, smiling and shaking his head.
Dareth watched as Nelson fell asleep cuddling up to Nya. She slowly rubbed his back and sang him a quiet lullaby. She looked so motherly doing it. It was rather heartwarming. The tune was an old one that Kai used to sing to her when she was little. Apparently, he got it from their parents; remembering their mother singing it to him. Even though Kai wasn't the best singer, or probably didn't even remember the lyrics properly, he would do anything to keep Nya from feeling sad. In fact, her earliest memory was being in the crib, and Kai singing to her while rocking it. The memory made her smile as she recited the familiar tune to Nelson. The lullaby was even affecting Clutch, Kai, and Dareth. Kai sat with his eyes shut as he soaked in the melody. Cole and Jay walked in and placed the firewood in the middle of the group; taking notice of the situation and being as quiet as possible. Kai, without even opening an eye, shot a small fireball out of his finger and ignited the pile. He cracked a smirk as the other two sat down and started to fall asleep as well.

Next thing they knew, the morning sunlight was blinding them. The fire still crackled and burned brightly, meaning Kai had been keeping it going all night. They all shivered violently as they woke up. The fire may have kept them from freezing, but it was COLD this morning. Unlike any of the cold spells they've gotten so far. Zane, for obvious reasons, was unfazed, but decided to check the temperature. "Oh dear. It appears to be 31 degrees right now. In fahrenheit, that would be considered below freezing."
Dareth's face turned white. "What?! How are we supposed to survive these temperatures without our house?"

"I told you we were doomed." Gayle said almost sarcastically.

"We're not going to die." A weak yet firm voice added. Everyone turned to see Lloyd trying to sit himself up. Cole commented on how great it was to have him back, and so did Jay. Lloyd still seemed weak, but had enough strength to sit up and talk now.

"We gotta get somewhere further south. I don't know exactly why, but I have a feeling there's something down there. Last night I think I had a vision."

"A vision? Of what?"
Jay helped Lloyd get to his feet. The ninja's bright emerald green eyes shown in the morning sunlight.
"A village. And a large presence. In the vision, I heard a female voice, but I couldn't make out what it said."
Kai's eyes seemed to light up like a fire had just ignited behind his red-tangerine colored eyes.

"It could be Skylor!" he said getting a little bit too excited. "Come on! We've got no time to loose!"
So, they packed up what little they had and headed off. It didn't take long for them to all realize that wandering blindly in the frigid cold wasn't great news. Jay shared his cloak with Nya, and Dareth was helping Nelson and Gayle stay warm. He had gotten over his crush on her, more or less, so it wasn't as awkward as it would've been. Kai tried his best to keep his fists ablaze to warm everyone up the best he could. All while hoping and praying that Lloyd's vision was true, and there really was someplace safe out there. Jay was taking to Lloyd, when he all of a sudden stopped in his tracks. "No."
The green ninja was puzzled and asked what was the matter. The master of lightning looked firmly ahead, so Lloyd did the same, trying to catch a glimpse at what his friend saw. Though he saw nothing at first, a moment later, he saw it. As it picked up, everyone did. Snow. Nelson tried desperately not to tear up, though he severely wanted to.
"S- snow? That's n- not g- good..." the child clung to the brown ninja as he shivered. Cole looked around for a place to take shelter, but there was none. His heart sank as he looked around at the others who were already slowing down. They hadn't eaten in two days, and were freezing. He sorrowfully looked at Kai, who honestly looked like he was dying inside. Kai's the one who dragged them out on this excursion, and he knew that he was the reason they were all going to freeze to death. Zane, who was helping Clutch Powers walk, turned to him. "Clutch? I understand your condition, but you do not look well. Are you alright?"

"What? Oh, yeah. I guess. I'm just hoping that Dwayne won't be mad at me when I see him again. I mean, I swore to protect him but I couldn't. If this really is the end, I wouldn't mind. I've got plenty of people to apologize to up there."
Zane almost felt bad reassuring him that he'd live, but felt like it was the right thing to do. About an hour later, they were all giving up hope completely. The flurries had turned into a blizzard, and nobody could feel their anything anymore. Gayle started being a drama queen and tried face planting into the snow so she could "just hurry up and freeze already", but Dareth caught her and scolded her for it. Telling her not to throw her life away like that. And just as she was about to complain again, Kai called out to the group with overwhelming joy. "A village!! Guys! We have a village!"
Lloyd looked out through the snowy haze to see its outline. His eyes went wide with green energy. "That's the one I saw in my vision! We made it!!!"
The all ran as fast as they could into the house with the least damage and closed the door behind them. FINALLY.... Some form of warmth, and most importantly, protection from the frigid wind. The group collapsed on the floor exhausted, but relieved. Jay gave a little chuckle as he raised his fists to the sky and triumphantly announced that they lived.

"Aw, heck yeah we did brother!" Cole exclaimed as both he and Jay instinctively did their old secret handshake. The ex ninja laughed at how bizarre it was that he still somehow knew it. But the party was interrupted by the sound of a tin can being knocked over in another room. Everyone paused, listening closely to see if they could hear anything else.

Zane tilted his head in confusion. "Perhaps it was just the wind?"

*BAM!* A door was burst open and a figure jumped out of it. He landed in front of the group and spread out his arms, revealing the flaps of cloth sown to his shirt. It sort of made him look like a flying squirrel. He wore goggles with a bird feather attached to the left side. His messy black hair looked like it was recently washed, but still somehow managed to be a tangled mess. His shirt was a 'used to be white' with plenty of dirt stains, and his torn khakis were similarly dirty. "Who are you, and why are you here?!" his voice was rather high pitched. He stood on a toppled couch to be elevated above them. The group stared up at him bewildered.

"I can't believe it..." Started Dareth.

"AN ACTUAL HUMAN!!! ANOTHER LIVING PERSON!!!!" finish Cole.
The man tilted his head and jumped down to them to get a closer look at everyone.

"Well, yes. I'm indeed alive and real. But you! How do I know you're actually people and not some shape-shifting monsters!?"

Nelson latched onto Dareth. "Those are a THING?!?!!"

"He, he. No. I was just testing you. ANYWAY..." The stranger's calm, joking demeanor suddenly snapped into a joyful panic. "OH FIRST SPINJITZU MASTER! YOU'RE OTHER PEOPLE! OMG.... Um, ok.. Ahhh. You must be freezing! Come on, follow me to the basement!" he ran back down through the door he had come busting through earlier. The group looked like a mixture of shocked and utterly confused.

"Did he just say basement?..." The tone in Dareth's voice was so confused it was almost flat.

Lloyd looked at his dying friends around him and shrugged. "I don't think we have a choice but to follow him."

Yah, well, if a stranger that clearly has a screw loose tells you to follow him into his basement, you usually run away. Right? Well apparently, they all had to do the opposite. Follow him. They all descended the staircase until they reached a door. Kai took a deep breath while he reached for the doorknob; preparing for anything. He slowly turned it and opened the door..... and.. none of them were prepared for what was behind it.

A full fledged bunker. It was seemingly heated, because it was much warmer than the upstairs. There were several rooms branching off from the one main one they were now standing in. It's walls were a light gray concrete with a caution tape pattern bordering the bottoms and tops of the walls. There were several pieces of furniture in the room, making it look rather homey and inviting. The stranger jumped in front of the group and spread out his arms again.

"Welcome fellow survivors, to our little corner of the apocalypse! The others will be stoked to see new faces!"

"Others? You mean you don't live alone down here?..." Kai said once again looking hopeful that Skylor was there.

"Oh, heavens no!" he giggled. "I would've gone crazy if I was by myself! Heck, I didn't even build this place. All this stuff is thanks to-.." he was cut off by a feminine giggle and the sound of approaching footsteps. Everyone froze as the figure turned the corner and looked at them. Zane slowly set Clutch Powers on the ground as his eyes lit up a vibrant icy blue. He stepped out in front of everyone, not breaking eye contact from the new survivor.

"P- Pixal?..."

"Zane?" the girl's face went from inspecting his to uncontrollable excitement as she tackled him with a huge hug. "ZANE! OH MY GOSH, YOU'RE ALIVE!!!"
Zane hugged her back as hard as he could. "Pixal, I... how did? You've got a body again!"
The female nindroid nodded; stating that she had a lot to explain, but now wasn't the time. She looked over Zane's shoulder at the rest of the gang. "Oh! And I see you have brought friends!"
Zane nodded. "Yes. You already know the ninja, and these are our friends. That's Dareth Hale, Gayle Gossip, Nelson Mac, and Clutch Powers. Clutch.. um. Had a slight... incident the other day."
Pixal almost immediately took notice of what he meant, and raced over to help direct him toward a bench. The young man noticed the rest of the group was still standing by the door shivering. He led them over to the couches and gave them all a bunch of blankets and towels. Nelson wrapped himself up in the warm blanket, closed his eyes, and gave a tired smile. The man in goggles sat next to him with his legs crisscrossed and his hands on his shin. "Soooo... What's your name again?" He smiled brightly.

Nelson giggled. "Nelson Mac. And you?"

The young man sat up proudly. "I am Fugidove! Super hero of the apocalypse; Protector of the ones in need!"
The child couldn't help but chuckle at the way he posed when he said it. Just then, another man walked into the room. He had a rough and tough appearance, and almost a biker like outfit. He too, had black hair, but he also had stubble on his face. They appeared to be only a few years older than Fugidove. He apparently overheard Fugidove introducing himself, because he walked over to them, crossed his arms, and smiled down at the two sitting on the floor.

"Name's Jason. And this little numbskull of a little brother is Miles."

Fugidove lifted his goggles over his forehead as his face returned red from embarrassment. "BRO..." he wined. "It's Fugidove now, we've been over this!.."
His older brother chuckled, telling him that nobody was ever going to call him that. He could play superhero all he wanted, but that wasn't going to change his real name. Miles crossed his arms and acted petty; muttering something irritated. Everyone continued to introduce themselves to each other, till someone else entered the room asking about the new voices. Lloyd looked up surprised at who it was.

"Mr. Borg! You're here too?!"

Cyrus rolled over to everyone with a smirk. "What? You thought because I'm condemned to a wheelchair that automatically means I died easily? You should know me better than that young Garmadon." He followed that by pressing a button on his wheelchair and it suddenly transformed into a spider-like walking machine; transformers style. "Though, I suppose you are partially correct. I didn't have this when the attack happened, and I DID get hurt... but Pixal was able to save me and get me here. Of course, it was just a dirty old basement when we first arrived here, so we decided to spruce up the place."

And by that, he meant completely transform it into a full fledged apocalyptic fortification. Cyrus Borg went on to explain how everything down there worked, and what each of the many rooms held. One was a massive indoor greenhouse where they grew several types of food, another was a bedroom. One was a wash room, with a bathroom, shower, washing machine and a dryer. And thanks to Cyrus' brilliant mind, it all functioned. Though, he wouldn't tell them his secrets. A little suspicious, but they rolled with it. After the tour, they all returned to the main room where Pixal was finishing up helping Clutch. She finally pulled back and exclaimed that she was done. Clutch Powers opened his eyes and sat up at the edge of the bench. He looked down at what Pixal had created for him in awe. It was a new leg made from metal. A robot leg. Professor Powers, with Pixal's help, shakily stood up. He lost his balance for a moment, but caught and readjusted himself. Pixal slowly let go, allowing him to stand on his own. "Well?"

"It- it feels kinda weird, I suppose I'll have to get used to it, but... I mean, I can stand!" As tears of joy began to swell, the explorer looked at her with the most appreciative smile and instinctually gave her a hug. "Thank you..."
She returned the gesture and told him that it was really not a problem. The sweet moment was interrupted by a loud growling noise. She turned to the group who were all looking at each other with worry.

"Was that one of you?" Miles questioned.

Dareth rubbed the back of his neck. "Yah, that was me. After we had to abandon our base a few days ago, we haven't had much of anything to eat."

Cyrus and the others looked worried for them. "Well, if that's the case, then you should all sit down while I get you something warm to eat. Pixal, Zane, do you mind assisting me for a moment?"

Both nindroids agreed and happily followed him into the kitchen. Only a few minutes later, they all returned with plenty of bowls filled with nice hot soup. Pixal, Miles, Jason, and Cyrus watched astonished at how quickly they all attempted to scarf down their food. They'd hadn't been lying about not having eaten in days, that's for sure. Even before the NCTV News Tower was burnt down, they hadn't gotten to eat very much. Winter meant they had to ration their food supplies, so on top of them having very little in stock, they could only eat a small portion of that. Miles put his hand on his hip and smiled almost proudly while watching them.

"I guess they really were hungry, huh? We did a good thing helping them out."

"Yah, sure. But if they're going to live here, we need to find um somewhere to sleep." Pronounced Jason. "It's not like we can just add on another room."
He turned to Pixal and Cyrus who were looking at each other like they were cooking up a scheme of some sorts. The look only they could make at each other. The look that frankly scares everyone around because there's no way of knowing what it is they're planning. Nelson finished off his bowl and melted to the floor relieved. His eyes still slightly wet from the tears of joy he had cried while scarfing down his meal. Dareth, who was sitting next to him, reached down and pet his head. "See? I told you that we'd make it. Just gotta have a little faith, that's all."

The child smiled up at him. "I love you." He said with a yawn. Nelson was already getting pretty tired, so Dareth picked him up in his arms and followed Pixal into another room to put him down for a nap in her bed. Kai finished up his soup, but unlike the others, wasn't looking so happy. Nya took notice of this and sat down beside him.

"Aw, don't worry. We'll find Skylor one day Romeo." She teased.

"Oh, hardy har har." He kept a rather depressed yet ticked face while he fake laughed. "I'm not thinking about her right now anyway."

Nya scooted closer to her brother. "What's the matter then...?"

"The MATTER is that I burned our house down, hurt everyone, and now we could possibly be stuck in this bunker forever..! And it's all my fault..."

Nya questioned how exactly the bunker was a bad thing in his eyes. The people there saved their lives, and were offering to continue to help them. Even now, Pixal was giving them all a check up. She commented on how much weight they had all lost, and how many wounds and scars they had. But above all, how much bigger Lloyd had gotten. The observation made him a little self-conscious and embarrassed. He nervously chuckled.

"Well, that's what 4 years of apocalypse does to you I guess. I suppose fighting to survive all these years really did a number on me."

The green ninja turned to look at Jay who was standing in front of a mirror that hung on the wall. He had took his cloak off to dry, and opened his gi. He was examining the several numbers of scars that covered his arms and torso. He looked up and down at them, wincing at the more severe ones like he was reliving when he got them. The ex ninja panned up to look his reflection in the face. He seemed scared to look it directly in the eyes, but broke and did anyway. His eyes glistened like trembling, foggy sapphires that were having several terrible flashbacks at once. He couldn't exactly make out who it was, but he remembered someone else being with him in the darkness of his brief coma. He felt fear near them at first, but they made it clear that they were there to help. And the fear went away. Now if only he could remember who it was that he felt like he needed to thank.