“Today,” Sensei Wu announced as he stroked his long white beard with one hand. “We will practice a new battle tactic.”
   The ninja gathered eagerly in the little dojo that sat off to the side of the courtyard, rubbing their hands and flexing their muscles in preparation. The dojo didn’t have many weapons or devices to work with, seeing that the Destiny’s Bounty was a more popular place to train, but it was a wide, flat room equipped with gym mats, boxing dummies, armor, weapons, and a little more, making it an ideal place to practice battle strategies.
   The team was lined up in a row, standing respectfully in front of their sensei. Both Kai and Jay’s eyes sparkled at the prospect of learning new moves, and Lloyd, Zane, and Nya wore determined expressions. Cole, on the other hand, seemed out of sorts. Unlike his teammates, he didn’t look quite so excited, and kept staring at the ground and clenching his fists. Still, he tried to pay attention, hoping that this exercise would take his mind off things.
   “You have faced many threats, braved many enemy armies over the years.” Wu said as he leaned against his bamboo staff. Light hit his straw hat from the wide skylight and cast the old man’s eyes in afternoon shade, but his gaze was as vigorous and strong as ever. “The Skulkin, the Serpentine, the Stone Army, the nindroids,” As he talked, he paced slowly before the group, making sure he had everyone’s attention. “Chen’s Anacondrai cultists, and the ghosts of the Preeminent.”
   Jay opened his mouth to add something, then shut it.
   “Each of those armies had their own way of battling their foes. Each of their strategies were unique, and each army trained in their own style. For example, the Serpentine armies, when allied, fought to the strengths of their tribes, while the Stone Army fought with military precision, never changing their ancient, strict techniques.
   “Today we will learn the ways of the ancient Anacondrai warriors, like the soldiers we fought during the Serpentine Wars. They were a devilishly intelligent enemy, and they had countless way of defeating their prey. Now we will study one of their more diverse techniques.”
   With his staff, he gestured to his pupils. “Zane, Jay, you fight as the Anacondrai with me, and you do exactly as I tell you. Kai, Cole, Lloyd, and Nya, you fight as the human army. No elemental powers, only weapons. Gather at the other side of the room, and we shall begin.”
   Whilst Zane and Jay joined Wu and listened to him as he gave them instructions, the “human army” brandished their weapons eagerly at the other side of the room.
   “Finally we get to learn something new,” Said Kai as he slashed his katana through the air. “I was beginning to get bored with the old moves.”
   “I wonder what kind of technique this will be.” Nya unsheathed her katana from its scabbard. “Right now we outnumber them.”
   “Sensei is more than a match for all of us combined,” Lloyd said thoughtfully. “I guess he kind of counts as two people.”
   Sensei abruptly slammed the butt of his staff to the floor. “Begin!”
   With excited shouts the ninja and their sensei launched at each other. Kai immediately swung his sword wildly at Wu, who parried the blow with his staff and kicked his pupil to the ground. Without hesitation he swung around and fought to get behind Nya’s defense. Cole helped her by slashing his scythe at Wu’s feet, who gracefully leapt over the wide blade and promptly kicked Cole. Whilst the latter struggled to catch his breath and defend himself, Zane and Jay battled Kai and Lloyd, exchanging blows with their weapons.
   Kai ducked to dodge Zane’s flying shurikens, making him a target for Wu’s staff. He was knocked in the head and slightly dazed, and suddenly found himself frantically defending himself from his sensei’s frenzied strikes. Wu fought three of his pupils at the same time, never ceasing in his attacks. As Nya said, he was indeed more than a match for the ninja.
   As Cole fought, he was dimly aware of Lloyd battling the “Anacondrai”. Whilst the others fought in the middle of the room, Zane, Jay, and Lloyd were drawing further and further away as they battled. With a start Cole realized that Zane and Jay were deliberately cutting Lloyd off from the group.
   Lloyd realized it, too, and attempted to edge back to the others, but Zane cut him off with a vicious swipe of his shurikens. Lloyd fell back, at the same time parrying Jay’s nunchucks with his katana. The longer they fought, the further away Lloyd went.
Finally Lloyd stumbled, and Zane took the chance and leveled the blades of his weapons at his friend’s neck, titling him defeated. Jay swung his nunchucks happily in his hands and called out. “We did it, Sensei!”
   “Enough!” Wu ordered, and Kai, Nya, and Cole fell back, all staggering and gasping for breath. Blinking through the sweat trickling down his face, Cole watched as Wu gave Jay and Zane an approving nod. Jay helped Lloyd to his feet, and they all faced their sensei.
   “What Zane and Jay just did was a sort of 'divide and conquer' technique.” Wu rasped. Though he had been the victor of the fight, it had still left him breathless and slightly wheezing. “They cut Lloyd off from his team and drew him away, making him much more vulnerable and easier to defeat. This is one of the ways the Anacondrai warriors would win battles; picking off soldiers one by one, and finishing them in isolated areas. I recall far too many great men who lost their fight by being lead away from the battlefield and into a bog or over a cliff.”
   Cole thought that that would be a nasty way to go, then his heart lurched. Was that how Philip was finished off? Did some Anacondrai cultist lure him away from his family and defeat him in an isolated alley? Was Philip alone when he passed?

Chapter 4: Lost Friend and Forgotten Family
*Snip*
   “If anything happens to me,” Philip shouted over the roar of the waves. “Will you care for Liana?”
   “I will!” Cole shouted back.
   The voices reverberated hauntingly in head, and Cole took a shuddering breath. Philip was gone. . . But Liana remained. His blind sister was all alone, save for the relatives she lived with. Perhaps it was time for Cole to make good on his promise.
   He sighed softly, then turned from the cemetery and walked away.
   Cole had slipped away from Steep Wisdom after morning chores and exercises, switching from his ninja gi to a dark hoodie to blend in with the citizens. He had flown to the park on his elemental dragon, but now he simply walked down the bustling streets of Ninjago City, content to let his feet do the work.
*snip* 

Cole slept fitfully that night, tossing and turning in his bed. He saw haunting images of places and people, and he mumbled and murmured in his sleep.
   He found himself running on a wooded mountainside, the sky above dark and cloudy. Trees flashed by his vision. He stumbled down a rocky incline and ducked into a forest cast in shadow. As he raced by the dark trunks, he was aware of cats running with him, flitting soundlessly about the undergrowth. They whipped their tails and glared at him with glowing, pupiless eyes.
   A figure appeared in the distance between the trees, and Cole slowed to a trot. “Philip?” He called.
   Philip turned around and faced him. The dark brown, curly hair was the same, as was his brown eyes and tall, skinny stature. Instead of a laughing grin, though, Philip looked at him with a look of hurt and betrayal. “You forgot about us.”
   Cole stopped. “I’m sorry! Everything changed when I met Sensei Wu—I became a ninja! We had to fight the Skulkin, the Serpentine, Lord Garmadon. . . I’m sorry.” He pleaded.
   Philip looked away. “Liana is by herself. She has no parents, no siblings, only relatives she only met a few years ago. I asked you to take care of her.”
   “I’m so sorry!” Cole repeated. “I had no idea! If I had known you had been. . .” His voice trailed off, then he said. “I won’t forget this time. I’ll take care of Liana, I promise!”
   “Cole!” A voice called in the distance.
   “Not now, I’m in the middle of something here!” He snapped impatiently.
   “Cole!”
   “Can’t you see I’m trying to have a conversation?? Buzz off.”
   “Wake up, ya feather-brain!”
   “No! I need to talk to Philip!” He cried.
   “Wake up!!”
   “No!”
   “ALL RIGHT, YOU ASKED FOR IT!!”
   “OWW!!” Cole shot up into a sitting position in his bed and cried out in pain. “What the heck was that—?!”
   He looked down to see Whiskers sitting haughtily on the bedsheets beside him, licking her sharp claws. He saw his bare arm and realized that three long, red scratches ran down to his wrist.
   “You!” He exclaimed angrily. “You clawed me!! I don’t care what Nya says, I’m gonna—!”
   He stopped, suddenly realizing he could smell smoke. He sniffed the air, then saw that orange light was flickering through his window. For a moment he sat there, eyes wide, then shot out of bed.
   “Fire! The teashop’s on fire!” He shouted frantically.
   Cole burst out of his bedroom and shouted down the corridor. “Everybody out! The teashop is on fire!!” Heart pounding, he slammed the door open to Lloyd’s room, raced to his side and shook him. “Lloyd, wake up! We’re in trouble!”
   “Mmf. . .Wha—whatz go’in on?” Lloyd blinked sleepily.
   “Get out of bed, now! The teashop is on fire!”
   Lloyd shot up from his bed, blinked, then ran down the hallway. “I’ll tell Sensei and Mom! You warn the others!”
   Cole burst into Zane’s room and repeated what he did to Lloyd. “Get up, fast! The teashop’s burning!”
   Zane’s ice-blue eyes snapped to attention. “What did you say??”
   “On fire!! This place is on fire! You need to work on putting it out!” Cole raced out of the room. “Hurry!”
   Jay peeked out sleepily from his room. “What’s all the racket?” He mumbled crossly.
   Cole told him as he swept past him and woke up Nya. Whilst the others ran down the hall to find the source of the fire, he raced into Kai’s room. “Kai, get up! The teashop is—”
   He stared at the empty bed in the dark room. “. . . Kai?”
   Kai’s bedroom was still and silent. His bed hadn’t been slept in; the covers and pillows were smooth and in order.
   “Dang it.” Cole cursed and raced out back into the hallway, his mind on the threat at hand and not where Kai had disappeared to.
   “Over here!” Nya’s voice shouted urgently from the main room, where the tea was kept. Cole dodged into the dark room and was met with spitting flames licking the shelves. The scent of choking smoke and burning tea leaves hit his throat, and he began to cough. Zane and Nya were working furiously to douse the flames, shooting ice and water from their hands whilst Misako threw buckets of hose water. Jay, Wu, and Lloyd were whipping wet blankets and towels at the fire, coughing and wiping their tearing eyes. Cole’s own eyes stung and tears trailed his cheeks, but he summoned earth to choke out the flames.
   Jay, who was closest to the front door, looked to his left and cried out. “Skylor?! What the heck are you—AUGH!”
   Skylor leapt from the shadows and pinned Jay to the floor, brandishing a crude dagger. With a devilish grin she slashed at his chest, but Jay dodged the blow by a hair.
   Cole watched in shock as Kai sauntered in, cackling like a maniac. Cruelty like he had never seen before burned in his friend’s eyes, and he felt an ice-cold chill run down his spine when their eyes met. Kai sneered and shot red-hot flames at the walls.
   “KAI!! What do you think you’re doing?!” Nya looked utterly dumbfounded at the sight of her brother deliberately setting the teashop on fire.
   Kai glared at her, lip curling, but didn’t respond. Instead he turned away and shot more flames at the doorway. The fire blazed and roared furiously, embers flying through the air.
   Lloyd looked stricken, then, brandishing a long katana, charged toward his friend. Kai met him with a snarl and parried the blow with his own sword. The metals clashed whilst Jay struggled with Skylor on the floor. “Could use some help here!!” He cried out.
   Cole raced to Jay’s side and knocked over Skylor, who shrieked furiously and lashed out at him with her dagger. He dodged the blade and slapped it from her hands, and she swung her fists at him. He and Jay wrestled with Skylor whilst Lloyd battled Kai.
   “Have you lost your mind?!” Lloyd shouted incredulously over the roar of the heat. “Kai, what is wrong with you—?! Ah-CHIEE!”
   Kai snarled—literally—dodged his katana, and leapt at Lloyd, slamming him to the floor. Lloyd’s head was knocked harshly, and he struggled to stay awake with a groan and another sneeze. Kai cackled and raised his sword, preparing to strike.
   Cole stared in shock, frozen in place. This has to be another dream, he thought desperately, A nightmare.This can’t be happening. He’s our brother!!
   Misako saw with a horror-stricken gasp what Kai was about to do, then did the only thing a mother could do—flung a weapon at the person attacking her son.
   An inhuman screech split the air, and Kai reeled back, gripping his arm in pain. Cole felt his jaw drop open as Kai’s facial features began to change—his eyes switched from amber to ice-blue. His brown, spiky hair fell into limp, scraggly locks of shoulder-length, gray-streaked black hair, messy and wild. The skin around his eyes and mouth wrinkled to that like of an older man, and when he drew back his lips, spiky fangs reflected in the light of the roaring flames. Then hair—no, not hair—fur began to grow on his face and down his arms. His fingers closed together and his hands formed into wide paws, gleaming claws unsheathed.
   The fabric of the red gi tore and ripped as his body changed and shifted. Hind legs curved and broke free of his pants, and the paws tore out of his shoes. He fell onto all fours, and Cole saw a tail—no, two—furry tails rip free. A muzzle protruded from the face, and whiskers grew from that. The humanoid features disappeared, replaced by the face of a cat. The creature, black-and-white-pelted and roughly the size of a lion, snarled in pain and fury, and glared balefully at Misako with eyes burning with hatred.