Jadyn punched a pack warrior in the gut, sending him staggering to the ground. He then kicked another who fell back into a tree trunk. A nearby warrior pounced at him, knife in hand. He grabbed the warrior's wrist and attempted to turn the knife on him. To his shock, it actually worked, and the knife went into the warrior's shoulder as he fell to his knees. Still holding the knife and the warrior, Jadyn stared in horror. "You monster!" Shouted the warrior. Suddenly a hot and strong wind blew through his surroundings. He glanced around to see that he was in a forest that was starting to catch fire. He looked back at the warrior in his grasp, but instead of the hooded face of a man, he saw a wolf. Where he had once held clothes were now fur, yet the knife was still embedded. Jadyn let go of the wolf warrior and knife as he backed away, unsure of what to do next. The wolf's yellow eyes glared into him. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a voice came from behind him. "Well now isn't this something? I didn't think my descendants cared about my efforts to avenge us..." Jadyn turned to see a man in his late twenties. He had auburn, medium-length hair that was slightly spiky, and there was a fresh cut that went across one side of his mouth. He wore a red uniform and red-dyed leather armor, bearing the symbol of the master of fire. He held a sword, used and dripping. Jadyn didn't know how or even why, but he knew who this was. The master of fire who had led the attack on the original pack... "No-, I'm not doing what you did." was all he could manage to say. "Beg my parden, but that's really what it looks like. And why shouldn't you? You have more reason than me, they have been picking us off from the shadows for years. And what have we done? Nothing, it's disgusting. Here, allow me to help you..." The master of fire walked over to the wounded wolf warrior. He stepped on the wolf's head, the wolf warrior whined weakly in protest. Then, he jabbed his sword down into him. The wolf let out a cry as the master of fire dealt a few more blows to him, after that, the wolf lay still. Jadyn's eyes met his supposed ancestor, he felt numb, he muttered. "Stop, please..."
"Don't tell me you have sympathy for the wretched creature." said the past master of fire. "I- I do." replied Jadyn carefully, unsure of how he would react or respond to that. The master of fire spoke. "You don't know what you are saying. You of all people have every right to hate these heartless wolves. They have scarred you for life, destroyed your relatives and allies, and torment you even now with the intention of harming you further. It really should be you carrying on my legacy, just as the wolf people have taken on the legacy of their ancestors. Their ancestors wounds are their wounds, their ancestors cause is their cause. You should be the same way, but put an end to them once and for all, end the cycle." "I disagree. That would make me no better than them, wouldn't it? Besides, I can't help but feel some of them are merely misguided souls who wish to make a difference, yet have been lied to." replied Jadyn. The fire around them was closing in. The wolf still lay there motionless. "I think you will be disappointed when you find out how hallow they really are. Of course, if you haven't figured that out yet you are probably more like them than I thought, and with that mindset you are doomed anyway. What a waste of potential... Just remember this, it's us or them, coexistence or redemption is out of the question at this point. Fight to survive or be the weak link that makes us go extinct." said the master of fire indifferent to the flames around them. "I'm not going to do anything your way. But survive I will!" said Jadyn firmly. He was ready for this conversation to be done and wanted to get away as soon as possible.
Suddenly two wolves came out of nowhere and attacked the master of fire. He slashed his sword at them effortlessly and they fell to the ground. Jadyn didn't have time to react as he watched in horror. "So you side with the wolf pack?" he asked what sounded like an almost hypothetical way. "No. It's not like that. It's complicated, I don't expect you understand." replied Jadyn. "Oh? We were allies once you know. Before they told us to give up our powers and unleashed a monster on us when we didn't comply. Any humanity I saw in them was lost that day, they are monsters, all of them, they are born savages and they stay that way even when they come to the Departed Realm..." he said grimly. "What did they do to you?! And wait, are you from the Departed Relam?" asked Jadyn. The master of fire turned his back on him and started to walk away. "That is for me to know and you to find out." he responded glancing back at Jadyn for a second before continuing to leave. "Wait-!" said Jadyn as he started after the master of fire. Suddenly he stumbled and fell onto the ground. He looked back to see what had tripped him and saw a large gray wolf with its jaws biting into his leg. More approached him from not far off. Most only looked like silhouettes in the light of the fire. He kicked the one biting his leg and made a run for it. The flames and the wolves were gaining on him. In the distance, someone familiar came into view. Zephyr, wearing the uniform of the pack, stood looking up at the sky, unfazed by the chaos quickly approaching. She looked at him and smiled in an unsettling way, though he couldn't figure out why. Once he was within a few feet of her he said, "We have to run!" Just as he was about to continue on, she grabbed his shoulder and turned him to face her so that her face was only inches away from his. Then he noticed that where her hands had been were now wolf paws.
Before he could say anything her green eyes flashed and she transformed into a wolf as she snapped her wolf jaw at his shoulder. He fell to the ground on his back, the gray wolf looked down at him with a feral gleam in her green eyes, fur standing on end, and ears back. The last thing he remembered happening was the flames close in around the wolf and himself as he stared at her in horror. Jadyn jolted awake as he sat up from his sleeping spot. His breathing made a sort of tremble that was like crying, similar to he would wake up from nightmares as a child. He was sweating, although everything around him was cold. He tried to talk sense into himself, remind himself the dream was, for the most part, mostly impossible. He ran his hand through his hair, which was slightly wet with sweat. As horrible as it had been, unlike Zephyr's dreams, Jadyn's dream was just his imagination and fears getting the better of him. At least, he really hoped so. He got up from his spot on Zechariah's floor and looked out the window, it must've been around three or four AM. Unable to get back to sleep Jadyn decided to risk walking into the hallway. He needed to distract himself. To his dismay, he heard footsteps coming his way. Before he could leave the area he caught sight of who it was. It was the old man from before. "Somebody! Anybody! Help me-!" The man shouted before letting out a scream of agony. He must have seen Jadyn because he rushed over to him. He grabbed Jadyn's shoulders as his old frail legs began to fail him and he tripped. As he tried to regain his balance he said, "Have we met before? I don't remember... But you are pack, that's all that matters. I need your help!"
"Help with what?" Jadyn asked. Suddenly the old man lost his grip on Jadyn's shoulders and his balance again as he fell to the stone floor. He let out another scream. He sat himself up against the wall and reached out his fragile hand. "Boy, pease... Come closer." Jadyn did as he asked. He pitied the old man. Also, if anyone followed the man's screams and found Jadyn nearby it wouldn't look good for him... The man grasped Jadyn's hand shakily. "Stay by me, there's much I need to tell..." "Go on." said Jadyn. "Protect the bloodline, care for it, it's your heritage now, even if you weren’t born into like I was. And promise that you will take on my legacy, that whatever you do you will stop at nothing to destroy all powerful beings in Ninjago, especially the elemental masters, and that you will continue to help build a future for the pack..." Why was he talking like that? Did he really still not realize who he was talking to? Jadyn wondered. Fortunately, he didn't wait for Jadyn to respond and kept talking. "I would have liked to see our victory! But alas, I have fallen to the same cruel fate as those who came before me. Using the best of my years in the service of the pack, and now passing away with nothing to show for it yet. Don't let your generation forget this! My sacrifice wasn't in vain..." Jadyn realized the man was talking about passing away. Does he think his time is up? "What is your name?" asked Jadyn. "Gideon... Tell me your's." said the old man. "It's Jadyn." he replied. Jadyn waited for the man to maybe recognize his name, but he didn't, the man only smiled as he leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. "I had a cousin named Jadyn..." Gideon was still for a moment, then he convulsed twice before going completely still. Jadyn's hand still firmly held the old man's hand. His enemy had listened to his last words and stayed by his side in his last moments and he didn't even realize it... Sickened, Jadyn carefully removed his hand. He had to tell someone.
He stood up, and turned, only to see Gamma standing a little ways off. Jadyn's felt his heartbeat rise in shock. "Don't worry... You don't have to explain yourself... I saw what happened to him." said Gamma in his usual voice where he seemed to have trouble breathing. "I didn't know he would-" Jadyn began to say, but cut himself off, realizing it was indeed worthless explaining. "It was his time... I don't think even Sigma Sammy the healer could have done anything about it... I will inform my fellow pack members about his passing... You may go." said Gamma. Jadyn glanced at the body before he started off in the direction of Zechariah's room, he paused though when Gamma said, "I met the master of gravity in a vision... What we saw... All I- all I can say, is watch your step..." As if he needed yet another thing to worry about. So much for any rest or peace of mind...
"So... how did last night go?" asked Skylor giving Zephyr a knowing look as she sipped some fresh coffee. Zephyr nearly fell out of her seat at the table at the question. Although it was noon, Zephyr, Skylor, Copic, and Lisa had all slept in extremely late, so they had only recently woke up. Zephyr wasn't aware of the other three's reasons for sleeping in, but she couldn't blame them, things had been crazy as of late. Zephyr tried to gather her thoughts in vain as she replied, "Uh yeah, it went- according to plan for the most part, I think..." "Ah, alright then." said Skylor seeming almost mildly bored and disappointed with her response.
Skylor then turned to Copic and said with slight annoyance, "Don't tell me you pulled an all nighter again..." Copic sat up straight and put on a diva-like expression as she said, "I'm a grown woman, I can stay up all night playing Roblox with edgy twelve year olds if I want to." "Not while your brother is among an enemy that supposedly has been assassinating elemental masters and their allies for generations. What's more is they could make another move at any time now." said Skylor. Zephyr felt sickened, she didn't need a reminder... Copic sighed and rolled her eyes. "Look, you all always get so worried when there's a new enemy at large, but they always end up defeated sooner than later. Besides, Keegan never played Roblox, so I had to make him try it." "You got Keegan to play video games? He's always down talking advanced technology." said Zephyr. "He just needed a little convincing, he finally agreed to it after an hour." Replied Copic. "He was probably just glad for someone to talk to." said Lisa, who seemed more like herself than yesterday. "You kept him up all night too?" asked Skylor. "No no, he went to bed at decent time, it was only two AM. Then he went back to Lloyd's house. I stood up later because of a rivalry that took place in one of the games." explained Copic. "Why's that strange boy staying with us anyway?" asked Skylor. "He wants to spend some time around his brother Nathan, especially now that Gavin, Zephyr's brother, has gone into hiding with the rest of his family at Moe's family's place." said Copic. "Sounds like everyone has family involved now." said Lisa. Copic's face lit up and she said, "It's like we've formed our own tribe or something. We just need a name now. Ooh! I'll have to come up with one..." Skylor rolled her eyes good-naturedly. She then looked back at Zephyr and said, "I would like you to meet me out in the backyard later if you are up to it. I've already discussed with Lloyd and we both agree that I might be able to to help you maximize your elemental power of gravity." "Wait, you mean like train with you?" asked Zephyr. "Of course." replied Skylor grinning.
Later, Zephyr went to the backyard like Skylor had said. There was an odd contraption of some kind in one corner of the yard that looked to be made of household objects. In another corner of the yard, there were two statues of ninja. In another corner was some warn-out training equipment. And in the other corner was a huge man-made pond where big goldfish were swimming. Zephyr wandered over to the pond to get a better look at the plump orange-colored fish. When they noticed her presence they began to swim to the top and each touched the surface of the water as they opened their mouths. Zephyr leaned down closer to the water and touched it with her finger. The moment she did so a couple of the fish nibbled on her, their soft mouths didn't hurt, only tickled a little. Their beddy eyes and chubby bodies gave them a cute appearance. She wondered how often Jadyn had come out in this same yard and been by this same pond. She smiled at the thought of what it would be like if her and Jadyn sat by this little pond when the weather was warmer. She was startled out of her daydream when a voice behind her said, "Ah I see you met the fish, did you know they all have names?" "No." said Zephyr, trying not to sound startled. "Copic and Kai named most of them. I can't remember half of them for the life of me though. I know the one with the black spots on his back is named Hungery Face, he's always coming to the top for food. And the one with the deformed tail that swims differently from the others is named Survivor, Jadyn named him before we knew if he would live or not when we got him, he was in rough shape. That was about a year ago, he's doing much better now. " said Skylor. "How do you keep the water from getting too cold this time of year?" asked Zephyr. "We have an advanced heater installed. Makes sure that the water stays just the right temperature for them." Skylor explained. Zephyr stood up and asked, "Should we begin now?"
Skylor grinned, "Alright, sure. Hand please." "Wait, wha- hand?" asked Zephyr, not comprehending what Skylor was implying. "Well I need to absorb your powers." said Skylor. Zephyr's eyes widened with realization. "Oh, so you don't just keep the power of every elemental master you touch?" "Goodness no. If that was the case I would have even more people hunting me down. But then I suppose I would be too overpowered for them to stop me. But yeah no. It gets used up or wears off after some time. Though it's kinda unclear how long, but certainly not twenty years, which was the last time we saw Gravis." said Skylor good-naturedly. "Ah ok. I guess that makes sense. It would still be cooler if you could keep them all." replied Zephyr. "I'm sure an advanced master of amber could potentially do just that if he or she put in a lot of time training and strengthening their elemental power. But I chose to spend my time on other things. When I finally became part of the team, my main goal ever since has been protecting our world and the people I care about. That prevented me from taking the path to untilmate power like so many would have chosen instead. That is why- actually nevermind. You can just let me absorb your gravity and we can begin." Zephyr held out her hand and Skylor gently took it, after barely a moment she let go. "Why did you ask for permission first? Couldn't you have just touched me and absorbed it whenever you felt like it?" asked Zephyr. "I unfortunately learned the hard way over the years that some people feel quite violated by it. So I have tried to make it a habit to ask first." explained Skylor.
"Oh. I wouldn't have minded." said Zephyr. "What if you didn't fully trust me. Then you might think differently." said Skylor. "Oh. Good point. I've always seen the ninja team as heroes, and I am one now, so I guess I wasn't worried." replied Zephyr. "Well, it does feel nice to be trusted I suppose." Skylor suddenly began to float a few feet above the ground and she added, "with that said, what do you say we begin the training part now?" "Sure." said Zephyr. Skylor smirked, "Let's start off by testing what you know so far. Catch me if you can." Suddenly Skylor flew up high into the air. Zephyr stood in awe for a moment before snapping out of it and creating a gravitational field to lift herself into the air as well. She wasn't quite as fast as Skylor but she was getting closer. As she went higher she started to become self-conscious of the ground below that was further and further away from her every second. She mentally reminded herself that falling wasn't an issue for her anymore. As she gained on Skylor she realized Skylor had stopped going up. As she got even closer the temperature and air quality changed. She began to feel tired and found it harder to breathe. Finally, she caught up to Skylor. Skylor nodded with approval and then said, "You need to learn your limits so you can make choices with that information. When someone else's life is on the line you can't afford underestimate or overestimate your abilities. For instance, how long can you stay up here without having problems." Skylor went even higher. Zephyr followed until she felt herself grow weaker and she could tell she was close to passing out. The thought of what might happen if she lost consciousness made her stop, but it was too late; Zephyr lost control of her gravity field and started to fall. For a moment she panicked, fearing she wouldn't be able to regain control and that she would suddenly hit the ground with enough force to end her.
The faces of everyone counting on her flashed through her memory as she attempted to concentrate, but it was in vain. Suddenly Skylor was falling beside her. "Ok, forget the stuff we were just doing for now. We're focusing on catching yourself mid fall now." Skylor must have seen the fear written on Zephyr's face because she added, "just stay calm and focus on what you need to do." Comforted by Skylor's presence Zephyr desperately tried again to recreate her invisible field of gravity to use as a lifeline. Not a moment too soon she finally managed to clumsily make one to break her fall. She directed herself to the ground, which she realized wasn't that far away. When her feet touched the ground she fell into the dirt with relief. Heights had never bothered her before, what made this different? Before she could ponder this question further, Skylor asked, "Want to try that again?" "No! I mean- no thank you, I'd rather not." said Zephyr quickly. "Very well. We'll move on to other techniques." said Skylor. Zephyr would have to ponder the height thing some other time. Skylor gave Zephyr tips as she practiced lifting different types of things into the air. How to best control the field of gravity around things and how to balance it against the planet's gravity that was constant.
Then Skylor told Zephyr the different ways she could use her gravity to make attacks. Most notably how to make attacks that could disarm or immobilize enemies without hurting them. Skylor even briefly told her about attacks she could use on large-scale threats like giant monsters and bizarre armies to slow them down or possibly stop them. Then they went in to rescue tactics, and the best ways she could use her element to save civilians and teammates from danger or move them if they were injured or unconscious. After the lesson, they went back inside to recuperate. Zephyr went back to laying on her spot on the floor, exhausted. Fritz came over to her and started to purr. Soothed by the cat's presence she petted him as she half-listened to Lisa and Copic's conversation in the other room. She contemplated what she should do next. She lay there resting on the floor for what felt like hours, besides Fritz for company and the occasional person who would walk through the living room she was alone with her own thoughts. If any of her team members didn't want her to try to go to the pack on her own in an attempt to protect Jadyn, leaving her to do nothing but think about it had been a mistake.
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