Lloyd woke up to the sound of an explosion, frantically looking around, only to see he was in a burning tree house. He quickly lunged toward the door and jumped out; falling a solid 20 feet and crashing into the ground. He winced as he stood back up and looked around. He already had an idea of what was going on, and it was confirmed when he realized where he was. The Wind Tribe village.

The night of the attack...

Lloyd turned around just in time to witness a black haired woman run toward a hut. However, a smoky purple tendril shot out from the ground and wrapped around her; lifting her up. A tall, pale man with long black hair and a red outfit stepped from the shadows. His hands and eyes glowing an evil purple. He tossed the woman ground as he stood by her; keeping the tendril tight around her so she couldn't get up. The man looked like his soul had been corrupted to the point where he no longer felt empathy for what he was about to do. Without a single word or hesitation, he conjured a second shadowy vine that shot forward and tore right through her heart. The woman let out a scream, then went limp. The man showed no emotion as his eyes met with a hut; beginning to walk towards it. Lloyd followed after him, only to be met with a terrifying scene. The man was surrounded by the evil magic purple vines as he stared at a child frozen in fear in the corner. Morro... Lloyd held his breath and couldn't help but look away as the spell lunged forward. A giant ruckus rang out; like a tornado storm was raging in the room. Then, the high-pitched shriek and sound of flesh tearing filled the room. Lloyd opened his eyes, and time had skipped. Most of the fires were out, and everything was silent. Lloyd knelt down beside the little master of wind; laying in a pool of drying blood. No more than 6 years old, with only a pair of ripped pants and a shark tooth necklace. Lloyd touched his shoulder with a sigh. It was cold. Everything around him felt cold and dark. Not a sound was made in the somber, dismal atmosphere. The ash covered every surface and hung around like a cloudy fog in the air, making the world seem drained of life and color. Lloyd sat in silence, thinking about how awful the Fire Tribe was for their actions. Suddenly, the ghostly figure appeared next to him. It hung its head and looked deep in thought. "He is truly awful. Isn't he?"

The green ninja turned turned to the spirit. "He?"

"That man you just saw. People might blame the tribes leader for their actions, but truthfully, they only serve as distractions."

Before Lloyd could question what he meant, the world spun around to reveal a new scene. The beach. A few members of the Wind Tribe were crowded around a little Morro. He still appeared dead, but he had no more wounds. Out of nowhere, he took a deep breath. His desperate gasp sounded was like he had just taken a breath after weeks of being trapped under water. Tears streamed down his face as he latched onto the woman that was holding his freezing body. He looked absolutely terrified. Lloyd couldn't blame him, that experience must have been traumatizing at the least... He couldn't imagine it. Dying... it must have been horrible.

"True evil lives and grows behind the scenes, taking control by any means. Using the power of manipulation on an innocent mind, it renders everyone who sees the actions blind. He treats him like a marionette, making him do unspeakable things, but such a plan has invisible strings. Not even the puppet knows that he's being played. You must free him, but he won't be so easily swayed."

The green ninja stared deep into the ghost's eyes. "Who are you?" His voice was stern, yet genuinely curious. The apparition floated in silence; studying Lloyd back. It looked away, almost ashamed, then disappeared.
____________________

"Not even the puppet knows that he's being played. You must free him free him, but he won't be so easily swayed...?" Repeated Lloyd silently. "What do you mean? Who are you?..."

"Lloyd? Are you alright my friend?" Questioned Zane. The master of energy snapped out of his trance. Oh. That's right. They were on their way back to Hiroshi's Labyrinth. They had just gotten to the main land and weren't too far from the shore yet.

"Oh! Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking, that's all."

"Does this have something to do with your little spirit friend? Has he revealed himself to you yet?"

Lloyd shook his head. "No. He won't tell me. It's like he's afraid of something."

The master of ice pondered as they walked through the grasslands. He suggested that it needed more time, but he admitted that it's behavior was weird. There was definitely something off about the way he acted. Whoever it was, wasn't eager to reveal themselves. As they walked, Nya seemed overwhelmed by the new sights and sounds. She'd continually ask questions about what things were, or what they did; even going as far as saying- "Look at all that seaweed!" When they arrived at the grasslands. It was a little annoying, but in a wholesome, 'aw, she's so ignorant' sort of way. Cole and Morro were helping the people from the Wind Tribe around the terrain, Jay happily watched Nya and answered her questions, and Zane and Lloyd were in front. The green ninja held the map, studying it. He had to be positive he was going the right way. But suddenly he stopped. Zane froze at the same time, causing everyone to know there was something very wrong. The entire group stood still, only the sound of the light wind blowing by could be heard. Lloyd and Zane shot each other the look of 'get ready to fight'. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Ronin and Skylor appeared in front of them. They looked soaked, cold, tired and mad. Like... VERY MAD. ABSOLUTELY TICKED. COMPLETELY DONE. And by the way they were standing, they weren't planning on holding anything back. They wanted them dead. Morro instructed the Wind Tribe to get behind him as the assassins slowly walked closer. The six ninja stood side by side, legs apart, facing their two adversaries. They could feel their enemies' powerful animosity emanating from them. Ronin, wielding his twin katakanas, and Skylor, wielding two sai, stared them down with an unbridled rage.

"Let's not waste any time." Ronin growled.

The ninja steeled themselves for battle and prepared to spring into action when Ronin let out a battle cry and charged at the ninja first. Jay threw up his arms; creating a ball of electrical energy that he latched in front of him. Ronin's attack landed him right into it. The electric energy sent him flying back. Cole quickly followed up with a powerful earth quake as he struck the ground. The fight was a blur of motion as each ninja used their respective powers to give each other an edge over the two soldiers. Lloyd and Zane used their powers together to create a megabeam of ice, but Skylor dodged it; her red ponytail flowing behind her like a ribbon. Nya shot a blast of water towards the Fire Soldier, but she dodged it easily, and countered with a powerful kick. The water ninja yelped as she crashed to the ground. Jay ran over to help her out, zapping the enemy out of the way. By now, Ronin was up and back in the fight. Cole was ready for him, and used his earth powers to create a wall of rock between them. Ronin jumped over it, but mid-jump, Zane used his ice powers to freeze him in place. Ronin, frozen in a block of ice, fell to the ground with a thud. Skylor broke free of the tornadoes hold that Morro had on her and sent a flurry of sai towards the Wind Tribe. Lloyd used his green energy to create a shield, protecting them from the attack. Nya used her powers to create a wave that pushed Ronin back a solid 20 feet; knocking him to the ground. Ronin panted as he struggled to stand back up in the now muddy terrain. Suddenly, a cry was made from behind them. Morro's eyes went wide as the group turned to see Skylor holding a member of the Wind Tribe close to her, with a sai dangerously close to his throat.
"Nobody move." She warned as she slowly made her way to her partner's side. The poor man looked terrified as his gaze met with his leaders.

"We're not giving up! Not until you all die and the green one comes with us!" Skylor boomed.

"Don't hurt him! I...." Lloyd paused. "The green one come with you?... I don't understand, what do you want from me?"

"That's none of your concern. We have our orders. Now surrender and we might spare this peasant." Smirked Ronin.

Cole nervously turned to Lloyd. "Dude, you can't do that. You know how the Fire Tribe is, whatever they want from you isn't gonna end well."

"You don't think I know that? But what else am I supposed to do? They're about to kill an innocent person!" Argued Lloyd.

"Tick Tock 'your leadershipness' Both the time and my patience are running out!"

Lloyd hesitate for a moment before taking a deep breath and walking towards the soldiers; hands in the air. "I surrender."

"Lloyd, no!" Called Zane. But the green ninja ignored his friend's cries and stood before the two enemies. "There. You have me. Now release him."

Skylor slowly lowered the sai from his neck, but still held his arm tightly. Ronin grabbed Lloyd by the shoulder and pulled him closer. "No." He smirked. Moving as quick as lightning, Skylor stabbed the man in the back and kicked him away. Lloyd screamed out for him as he writhed in the grass. Morro watched with a mixture of shock and horror before it turned to bitter rage. He darted forward as his eyes began to glow bright lime green. With a tornado forming around him, he knocked the two assassins over; giving Lloyd a way to escape. The fierce wind spiraled around them, lifting them into the air and twirling them around the top. Morro stared at them with hatred and furry. "GO BACK TO YOUR VOLCANO AND BURN!!!" He boomed. With that, he flung the two so far towards the Firelands that they made a star when they disappeared from view. The tornado wore off and the boy fell to the ground. Jay and Nya rushed over to help him up as the others raced to the injured Wind Tribe member. Morro watched in terror as Cole lifted him up to reveal his wound. Blood ran down his back as he shivered and latched onto Cole out of fear. Zane held out his hand, created an ice knife, and swiftly, cut off his jacket sleeve. He then used it to wrap up the injury.

"There. It should do for now, but it would be best to get to Hiroshi's Labyrinth as soon as possible." Suggested Zane.

Cole agreed; picking the man up in just the right way so that the bleeding didn't get worse. Morro stayed close by. As did Nelson and the other Wind Tribe members.

"I... I'm sorry. I don't know what happened." Morro apologized.

Lloyd tilted his head. "What do you mean? That was incredible!"

"Yeah, but it just... happened. I've almost never used my powers to hurt anyone. I've never needed to."

"Well, regardless, I'm glad you did." Nodded Lloyd.

Morro faced the ground as they continued on; thinking about that sentence.
'If you say so.... but last time I used my powers to fight....... I.... I lost my life.'