The jungle was awakening in all its beauty. A soft morning light shone through the trees, and with it, came a chorus of birdsong as the air was filled with the sounds of nature.

The trees and plants were still wet with the morning dew, not yet having been drenched by the impending day's heat. Huge leafy palms swayed gently in the breeze as every possible shade of green caught the sun's rays. Morro’s lime green eyes stared down at the tribe leaders from a far up tree branch. Nya ran at Garmadon with a pointed stick, but with a blur of motion, she was sent flying away. Cole and Jay both attempted to jump him at once, but again, the master deflected them with ease.
'Wow.' Morro though. 'These guys are just sad.'

Then, as if he read his mind, Garmadon turned to Morro. "I understand your weakened state means that you require more rest, but the Fire Tribe doesn't wait for you to catch a breath. If you take your eyes off the target- let your guard down for even a split second-"
The master whipped around and knocked Zane, Lloyd and Nya backwards.
"You WILL die. So, if you'll kindly get down and show us what you can do, I might consider letting you rest a little while longer."

Morro glared down at the Jade Tribe leader. Was he for real?! It was beyond early in the morning, and was he even looking at him? He was so pale and is ribcage was so noticeable that you'd think he was dead again! The dark circles under his eyes wasn't helping that either. True, he was right about needing to train for the upcoming battle, but to be honest, if Ronin and Skylor were anything to go off of, he was fine. Regardless, he was exhausted at the moment. Garmadon wasn't going to take no for an answer though, so Morro reluctantly floated down. Garmadon faced him, a staff in his hand. He seemed barely aware of the heat, unflinching as he held his position and waited for the boy.
Morro made the first move, launching a powerful gust of wind toward Garmadon. But he easily deflected it, leaping forward to counterattack with his staff. It was as if the staff shattered the wind into pieces.

"Unbelievable..." Whispered Zane.

Lloyd smiled. "Believe it. That's my father for you."

Morro was pushed back and tried to recover, but Garmadon was too fast. He moved from attack to counterattack with grace and skill, pushing Morro ever further into exhaustion. The master of wind was confused and dazed as the man attacked and deflected him in a blur. With a smack of his staff, finally, the fight ended. Garmadon emerged as the clear victor, and Morro reluctantly accepted defeat with a nod of his head. Garmadon smiled, satisfied that Morro had learned an important lesson, and that there was an example made of him.
"Never underestimate your opponent, no matter how tired or outmatched they may seem." The master nodded at the Wind Tribe leader who was catching his breath by leaning against a tree.
Nya swallowed hard as she watched Garmadon dust himself off like he hadn't just beaten the crud out of someone. "With all do respect-" she started. "I don't know if we're gonna be ready in time to win a whole war."

For a moment, the Jade leader looked almost irritated, but it quickly turned into something of sympathy. "You're not expected to win the war by yourselves- the strongest of all your tribes will be fighting with you. However, as leaders and elemental masters, you will be on the front lines.
So for the time being, you will continue training until one or more of you defeat me."

Alright, Lloyd knew there was absolutely no way anyone could beat his father in combat. He had to be planning something... but what?

   ___________________________________

At the Firelands, Kai walked through the streets checking on the preparations. They bowed as he passed; showing that they respected their leader. Everyone there seemed to have some type of scar or injury inflicted on them. People who are born into the Fire Tribe are subjected to training from a very young age. It's always been that way, even when the first leader was in power. Kai even had his own battle scars. Speaking of which, suddenly, the one over his eye began to glow purple and burn. He cried out as he stumbled backwards and held it tightly. The immense pain slowly faded; as did the glow. When the boy looked up, Clouse was standing in front of him; arm extended like he was performing a spell. His twisted, yet almost comforting smile slowly spread across his face. "Aw... There, there young one, it's alright. I fixed it. It feels much better now, doesn't it?" The sorcerer now standing by him in a light, half hug, stroked his cheek closest to the wound.

Kai sighed in relief. "Thank you Clouse, I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Yes... of course. Now, as your advisor, I have something to discuss with you."

The leader nodded as they began to walk away from the town. The two of them stopped at the edge of a cliff that marked the border of their territory. The cliff was scorched and blackened, but on the other side of the river that ran below, was grassy. The field they looked out on was yellow, brown, greenish grass. It looked like it was dying, but that seemed to be just how that type of plant looked.
Clouse looked down at the young emperor. "Right now our enemies train to defeat us. Garmadon has them harbored in Hiroshi’s Labyrinth. Clearly, sending others to do something about it proven uneffective. We must take matters into our own hands, my emperor."

Kai took a deep breath and agreed. "If that is what you believe is the right way to get this done, then so be it." His firey eyes pierced the horizon like daggers forged by rage. " I'm coming for you- Lloyd Garmadon...
_____________________________________

Cole and Morro were flung back by one of Garmadon's attacks and got up panting. With everyone clearly exhausted, the Jade leader called that the training was done.
"But, we didn't beat you?" Questioned Zane.

Garmadon shook his head. "No, but the purpose of the test wasn't to see if you could beat me- I knew you couldn't- It was to see how long you'd continue to fight even after you knew that. It was a test of how long it would take for you to give up. And I'm happy to see that looks like you won't so easily."

Jay asked if he was free to go take a break, and the man agreed; dismissing them. "And Morro-" He spoke up. "You may meet with the rest of your tribe to get something to eat and rest. You'll all regain your strength and health soon enough. Lloyd. May you lead them back?"

The green ninja bowed. "Of course father." With that, they all left; leaving Garmadon alone in the clearing. The leader stood there, taking in the nature around him, but the peace was interrupted. He sensed something. No. Someone... The air was still, like time had frozen. Suddenly, a beam of purple magic shot out from the shadows, but Garmadon backflipped and dodged it. An evil snicker echoed around the jungle canopy as the master looked around for its source. Then, Clouse slowly stepped out of the shadows. "Well, hello there Garmadon. Looks like the years are doing a number on you."

Garmadon snarled. "I should be saying the same thing about you, but it looks like you're still using that wretched, sadistic spell of yours."

"Oh, I wouldn't call it that... If anything, it's highly effective. I admit, taking people's life force not may not be the best sounding, but oh well." The smile on Clouse's face made Garmadon's stomach turn.

"And in order to take their 'life force'
to remain young like that, you need to kill them. And I don't want to know how many of those victims were innocent young children that didn't fit your 'standards'...”

The sorcerer chuckled. "Eh, you know what they say, you can't bake a cake without cracking a few eggs.... now... Let's get down to business."

Sensing danger, Garmadon aimed one end of his staff towards the evil man, showing visible signs of warning. Clouse smirked and advanced towards him. Garmadon lunged forward, swinging his staff with his full strength. Clouse side-stepped the attack, dodging it with ease. He retaliated with a magical blast of energy, but Garmadon blocked it with his staff, sending the force of the blast back at his opponent. Clouse conjured up sinister purple fireballs and sent them hurling towards the enemy. They swirled around the master, leaving several burns as he fought to get them off. He lunged forward, and Clouse blocked him with a shield of dark energy. Garmadon tried to break it with his staff, but Clouse was too quick. He counterattacked with a barrage of purple magic bolts, forcing Garmadon back. He was definitely stronger than the last time they'd met, but he refused to go down.
Garmadon retaliated with a flurry of strikes from his staff, but Clouse was ready. He blocked each one with a magical barrier, then sent a wave of darkness at Garmadon. With a rush of  tentacles as dark as the night, the great leader was entangled; unable to move. With a chuckle, the evil sorcerer loomed over the downed man. "This is just the beginning." He whispered. Garmadon suddenly felt woozy as the shadowy vines wrapped around him tightly. Then, his vision began to blur and cut out. The last thing he saw was Clouse's eyes glowing purple before everything went black. He had.... lost?...

Meanwhile, Lloyd watched quietly from the treetops as his village went about their lives. Morro and his tribe were all wolfing down a load of fruit, but they were still getting used to actually having something in their stomachs. Prior to everyone helping out, Nelson had never really experienced what it was like to have a full stomach. It was sad to hear, but he would be in good care from now on. Lloyd promised that none of the Wind Tribe would ever have to face that ever again. Just then, Lloyd froze as a twig snapping caught his attention. It wasn't just the normal sound that a twig makes when you step on it on accident going about your everyday life. It was the sound a twig makes when you step on it while trying to sneak up on someone. When you're as trained in hunting as Lloyd, you'd be able to pick up on things like that. No wonder why Jay called him Tarzan... He himself still didn't know what that meant though. Lloyd looked around frantically for the source of the noise, and then, he saw it. A dark, shadowy figure was sitting in the trees on the opposite side of the village; staring at him. Lloyd’s emerald eyes met with the mysterious person's. Then, they started bounding from one tree to another in the opposite direction. Curious, Lloyd followed after. It didn't take long before he lost the mystery person's trail and found himself alone in a clearing. The boy was perplexed- where had the other gone? Just then, without warning, Kai jumped onto Lloyd from atop a tree. The fire leader, with his foot unloads chest, raised his golden sword; readying to stab Lloyd and finish him off once and for all. In a panic, Lloyd flung Kai off- doing a backflip and landing opposite of the assassin.
"It's you again!? You're the one who hurt Brad!"

The Fire Tribe leader chuckled in an almost sadistic manner. " Hurt him? I was pretty sure I killed him with that blast of fire. No? Oh well, I could always finish off the deed after I'm done with you."

The green ninja‘s face went pale as Kai lunged forward with his sword. Lloyd reacted quickly, dodging Kai's attack and countering with a wave of green energy from his hands. The force of the blast sent Kai flying back several feet, but he quickly recovered and was on his feet again. Kai charged forward, swinging his sword with all his might and letting out a battle cry. Lloyd blocked the attack with a shield of energy, but the force of the impact sent him sliding back, leaving a streak of dirt from where he originally stood. He swiftly countered the boy again as he began to run to the village. Lloyd opened his mouth and began calling for help, but the Fire Tribe leader blasted his back with a fireball; which knocked him to the ground and shut him up. Kai advanced again, this time with a flurry of sword strikes. He pressed his attack, raining down a barrage of life-threatening blows. Lloyd, still back to the ground, desperately blocked each attack with his energy shield, but the force of the blows was too much. The force field shattered into a billion pieces like it was made of fragile glass. Kai’s glimmering golden sword caught the sun's rays, and it's reflection blinded Lloyd. The green ninja felt the wind of the blade hurling towards his face as he braced for the worst. Then, a loud clang rang out. Curiously, Lloyd opened his eyes to see the blade only inches away from his face- only being held back by a purple tentacle of magic. He immediately recognized that magical tenderal from his visions and it sent shiver down his spine. There, standing right above him, stopping him for a meeting his demise, was Clouse. The tendrils wrapped around Lloyd, making it possible for him to move even an inch. The sorcerer glared at Lloyd’s attacker. "I told you I wanted him alive." He growled. "What part of that didn't you understand?"

The boy pulled his sword away and placed it on his back. "Sorry about that. Just, in the heat of the moment... Wait. Why do we need him alive again? I thought you said he was a serious threat."

Clouse's darkening purple eyes met with Lloyd’s as the ninja began to feel faint. "Because I want him to suffer a fate far worse than a silent death in front of no one."

As Lloyd slipped into darkness, he could hear the faint sound of the evil man's laughter.