The darkness of the night was only illuminated by the stars in the sky and what barely qualified as a campfire. Lloyd had followed Morro deeper into the jungle; desperately trying to convince him to join him. As they left, the rest of the Wind Tribe had returned and met with the other leaders. Similarly to Morro, all of them seemed meager with hunger. When Morro mentioned the tribe “fading away”, they didn’t exactly interpret it like that. He was being scarily literal. They really were fading. The Wind Tribe was dying…

Cole watched as the five or so people struggled to stay awake by the firelight. He suddenly got up and walked away, with Zane and Jay excusing themselves and following after him. Jay called out for him; asking where he was going. Cole quickly spun around the moment they were out of earshot. “Didn’t you see those poor people?! They’re starving to death! You two are tribe leaders, don’t you also have some indescribable urge to help them?”

Zane sighed. “I do. I was raised with the idea of helping and protecting those who can not protect themselves. Admittedly, seeing any living thing suffer hurts me greatly.”

“Cole.” Jay chimed in. “I feel that instinct too, you know I do, but the reason they’re like this is because there’s no resources left on the island. How are we supposed to help with that?” 

The master of earth pondered for a moment. “Well… you might be right about the island being depleted- but the ocean probably isn’t!!!”
Zane agreed; saying that all they’d have to do is make another ice boat, sail it out a little bit from shore, and go fishing. Of course, for obvious reasons, Jay REALLY didn’t care for the idea of climbing into ANOTHER breakable vessel, but he did want to help.

Meanwhile, Lloyd was getting nowhere in convincing the Wind master. He had been begging for hours now, but to no avail. Morro’s argument was that he needed to be there for his tribe. They were all growing weaker, and he, regardless of his own health, swore to protect them. A very noble leader indeed, almost thinking of himself as a chosen one of sorts. The one who MUST protect at any cost. Lloyd respected that, he truly did, but he also respected Garmadon’s orders. The “Unite the tribes” stuff came so suddenly that he was sure his father had a vision about it. Maybe the ghost that had been haunting him was responsible? He didn’t know, but he knew he had to unite the tribes, no matter what. After a while of pestering, the master of wind turned to Lloyd. “Stop! Ok?! JUST SHUT UP ALREADY! I already told you that I refuse to do anything about the Fire Tribe! Last time they attacked, I lost EVERYTHING! I… I…” the boy looked like he wanted to snap at Lloyd further, but was so close to tears that he was stopping himself. The green ninja understood how hard it must have been to carry on after what happened, and like everyone else, Morro most likely lost his parents that night. Obviously, the Fire Tribe was something that triggered bad memories; he might have even been suffering from ptsd. “Look, that night isn’t something I like to remember, alright?” he continued. “They did more than raid my home, that night, one of the soldiers-"

He was suddenly cut off by the sound of laughter near the shore. The two bolted towards the source of the noise, and were met with a soggy Cole, Jay, and Zane on the beach. The three leaders appeared to have been thrown from a broken raft and onto the sand. Lloyd asked them what they were doing as he walked over to the group; Morro following.
Cole held up an ice bucket full of fish. “We got dinner.” He chuckled. “Well, Zane and I did. Jay’s the worst at catching fish.” The blue ninja shoved Cole into the sand in retaliation.
All in good fun of course.
Zane took notice of Morro’s expression. It was a mixture of shocked and something that said he didn’t know what to feel about the situation. But above all, it was hunger.

“What… I mean- how did? You-.. I just!.. Why did you?”

Zane smiled politely. “We noticed that you all looked a bit famished, so we figured we’d help out a little bit.”

The master of wind stared in confusion. “But… you’re not a part of my tribe? Why would you care?”

Cole began walking back to camp with the others tagging along. “Because- if this journey taught me anything, it’s that no matter what tribe you’re from, you’re still a person. It’d just be cruel not to help.” The three disappeared into the half-dead foliage; leaving Lloyd and Morro behind.

About two hours later, every one had dinner and was fast asleep; except for Morro and Lloyd. The wind leader was sitting on a tree branch looking down at the people sleeping around the fire pit. Everyone, for the first time since forever, looked happy… satisfied. The leaders were mixed in with the others like they truly didn’t care that they were from completely different tribes. Nelson had even fell asleep cuddling up against Cole while showing him how thankful he was. Morro struggled to understand it, but felt like he wanted to, so he quickly left the camp to find Lloyd. He found him not far away; perched on a rather high up tree branch. Using his powers, the leader gave himself a super wind powered jump. It was almost like flying as he hovered for a moment before lowering himself on the branch next to Lloyd. The green ninja stayed in his thoughtful position; not turning to face the other. “Hey.”

The wind leader looked up at the stars with him. “What… um. What’s your home like?”

Lloyd finally broke eye contact with the star he had been fixated on. “Hiroshi’s Labyrinth? Oh. Well, it’s a pretty large jungle. It’s full of lush, green plants, and it’s usually pretty hot. But in the best way! Then there’s the village- a whole bunch of tree houses spider-webbing across the canopy with rope bridges connecting them… it really is amazing.” Lloyd smiled at the dear memories flooding over his mind.

Morro looked at him like he was terrified to ask about something, but was about to anyway. “And… um… your father? W- would he be mad if other tribes were to…… maybe go there?”

“Well, he WAS the one to send me on the quest to unite the tribes in the first place- so probably not.” Lloyd paused, then looked at the other with intrigue. “Hold on, are you saying you want to go there?”

Tears started to form in Morro’s eyes as he tried to avoid looking directly at Lloyd. “It hurts me to admit it, but we can’t stay here… We won’t make it another month if we do. They’re dying under my protection, but you guys… those poor people just ate something ACTUALLY FULFILLING for the first time in months. The island is dying, and so are we. So I just thought that… maybe if we could come with you back to your home… I don’t know… maybe we could live there?”

Lloyd gave him a puzzled look.

“l know it was a stupid question.” He continued. “But even if you refuse to take me, please help the others. They don’t deserve to perish… especially not Nelson. He’s just a little kid….”

The green ninja suddenly latched onto the now crying Morro in a hug. “I guarantee my father will be more than willing to help you all. And that includes you. I won’t leave anyone behind.”

Morro sniffled as he wiped a few tears away and thanked Lloyd. Well, if all they really had to do now was get the Water Tribe leader in on the cause, then he guessed Morro was finally along for the ride. The plan was to get the Water Tribe in, go back to Hiroshi’s Labyrinth, and then Garmadon would elaborate further about what to do. And of course, convince him to take in the remaining survivors of the Wind Tribe once they arrived. The details could be ironed out as they went. He wasn’t too worried about it.

The next morning, Cole opened his eyes to see Nelson still curled up next to him. The earth ninja was confused at first, but then remembered the previous night as he looked around. Most of the Wind Tribe was still out like a light, even Lloyd and Morro were asleep by a tree. Nice to see them get along. Zane was happily sleeping in his falcon form in between two other people who, out of all of them, looked the most faded. Last night, the formling took immediate responsibility for them, obviously because he felt awful. They needed more help than the others, and he guessed his leadership instinct just kicked in, cause he almost went into parental mode in a way. However, they looked arguably better now that they had eaten. So it showed how much he desired to help them with him still being by their sides. Everyone seemed so happy to be resting, but Cole quickly realized that Jay wasn’t there.
‘Where could he have run off to?’

Being careful not to wake anyone up, the ninja snuck off to go find him. Eventually, he found Jay out on the beach. He was looking out across the sea. As he gazed out into the endless expanse of the ocean, he couldn’t help but wonder what the next move was.  Seeing the state of the Wind Tribe weighed heavily on his heart.  According to what one woman told him the night before, there were over 70 people who lived in the village prior to the Fire Tribe’s attack. They lost everything that night. From babies to adults, to the village in general… they were truly left with nothing. The Lightning Tribe might have suffered, but they had it the worst. If the Fire Tribe took anymore families away from each other, so be it, he’d electrocute the whole volcano, and everyone in it straight into the Underworld. Prior to meeting the other leaders, he thought he was the only one whose parents were murdered that day, but seeing how wrong he was STUNG. Cole approached slowly and asked what was wrong.

“Oh. Nothing. I just… well, I guess I just wonder what our plan is. Even if we unite the tribes, how are we supposed to actually defeat the Fire Tribe? Cause clearly, not all of us are in the best condition to be in battle.”
Cole was about to comment, but was cut off by a creepy, familiar chuckle.

The ninja turned to see Ronin and Skylor standing not too far away. “Aw… are the little kids stuck on this island? And what? You’re not in the best condition to be in battle, you said? That’s a shame.” Skylor mocked as she drew her sword.

Cole growled as he and Jay warned them to stay back. Ronin chuckled. “Sorry kiddos, nothing personal, but… not gonna happen.”
The two lunged at the ninja with weapons out and ready to kill. Cole and Jay clashed with the two assassins, dodging their swift strikes. Cole struck the ground with his fists, summoning a powerful earthquake that sent the soldiers stumbling back. Jay took the opportunity to send a bolt of lightning at them. The assassins quickly recovered and retaliated with a barrage of shurikens, but Cole created a wall of earth to deflect them. Jay then unleashed a fierce electrical pulse that caught Ronin off guard, allowing Cole to deliver a devastating punch. He slid back, making a trail in the sand of how far he was pushed. Cole and Jay stood back-to-back; eyes fixed on the two masked fire soldiers who were intent on killing them. Cole took the lead, taking notice of their location. A beach- a beach full of sand. Sand is earth. The earth ninja closed his eyes and focused on the sand beneath his feet. Skylor made her move, but Jay protected him with an electrical punch. His fist clashed with the blade, causing electricity to run down it and shock her into dropping it. The blue ninja picked it up; in awe that he was holding a genuine Fire Tribe blade. Its golden accents glistened like lava was flowing through it in the sun. As he marveled at it, Ronin jumped him. The blue ninja looked up just in time to see a blade feet away from his face. Just as the sword was about to make contact, a vortex of sand swept Ronin and Skylor into it. Jay looked back to see Cole controlling it. He followed suit, sending bolts of lightning into it to stun their foes. The vortex sped up then abruptly stopped, sending the assassins flying into the sea. The two excitedly gave each other high-five. Cole pulled his hand back and it was spotted with blood. Jay looked down at his own hand in silence. When he electrocuted Skylor’s sword, he had gotten cut.

“Woah. Dude, are you alright?”

Jay nodded. “Yeah. It’s just a little scratch...” He ripped off a part of his toga and wrapped up the cut. Just then, Lloyd, Morro, and Zane all ran out to see what all the commotion was. After explaining, Morro was petrified. The Fire Tribe WAS HERE?! This close to his people??! If Jay and Cole hadn’t been there to find and fight them, they could have easily killed them all while they were still sleeping…

Alright.

Morro admitted that he respects and trusts them slightly more now.
Lloyd turned to the wind ninja. “So, I have a quick question. The map mentions the Water Tribe being on this island too?”

Morro shook his head. “They did. We lived in separate villages, but generally, we worked together. We knew both our powers came from Wojira, so we saw no reason to fight. After the attack though, we didn’t see them. We found that their village was just as decimated as ours, and there was no sign of anyone. Not except for a few charred skeletons…”

“May we take a look at the remains of the village? Perhaps there is some form of clue?” Zane asked.
The Wind Tribe leader agreed and they walked off; unaware of the creature watching them from the ocean.