"You only go around once, kid. It's up to you to decide how you're going to spend it."
In the aftermath of battle, Lloyd begins to wonder if he made the right choice. The ninja begin to feel hopeful when he sways closer and closer to the light, but...
Lloyd grinned menacingly as he shut off his recording device. Those ninja should really be more careful about what they say near their communication devices!
The green ninja had waited a night to cool down and think clearly before he took action. But now he had a plan. It's time to get that elemental weapon! he thought.
Slipping on his mask, the green ninja raced through the trees, heading toward the monastery. He saw the building in the distance and sped faster. But when he was still a good distance away, voices suddenly filled his ears. He skidded to a halt as the bushes near him began to rustle.
"Are you sure this is the right way?"
Lloyd's attention snapped to immediate alert as he recognized Jay's voice.
"This is the way we saw Lloyd run," came Zane's voice.
Lloyd hurriedly slipped behind a tree trunk as the voices came closer and the ninja appeared out of the cover of the bushes.
"I feel like we're just going around in circles," Cole grumbled.
As the three went on complaining, Lloyd grunted as he leaped onto the tree's lowest branch. Keeping as quiet as he could, he climbed up the trunk until he reached a much higher branch. Looking down, he found himself straight over the ninja's heads.
He was careful not to shower any leaves onto them as he inched onto the branch. As it wobbled flimsily under his weight, an idea began to form inside his mind. Actually, I have a better plan.
He grabbed another branch above him with one hand and gave the flimsy branch a harsh kick. It shook and began to creak.
The three ninja froze.
"What was that?" Jay whispered.
Before the others could reply, Lloyd grunted and hopped on the branch and it shifted. Come on, you stupid tree, he silently told it. Break!
With all his strength, Lloyd gave the branch another shove until it completely broke off from the trunk. He grunted as he was left hanging by the top branch and watched the other fall through the air.
Jay, Zane, and Cole's gazes snapped upward just as the huge branch crashed onto them, hitting them on their heads and knocking them to the ground. Smirking, Lloyd flipped and landed neatly on the ground. He straightened up and, with one look at the ninja, knew he had knocked them unconscious. It's time to have some fun, he thought.
* * *
Cole groaned and opened his eyes, blinking to clear his vision. He found himself still out in the forest and up against a tree. What happened? he wondered. He tried to bring his hand up to rub his head, but alarm shot through him when his hand didn't move. Panicking, he struggled to gets his hands out from behind his back until he realized they were tied there. Instead, he tried to get to his feet, but his hands were completely glued to the tree and forced him to the ground. Panting, he turned his head to see Jay and Zane beside him, both of their arms tied up as well.
Lloyd watched as the three ninja awoke and tried to break free. When they were unsuccessful, their gazes turned toward him.
"Untie us, you fiend!" Cole snarled, still struggling to get loose. "You half-hearted, good for nothing—"
His voice cut off as Lloyd took off his mask. "I'll take that as a compliment," the green ninja snickered.
Cole's eyes widened. "Lloyd?"
"Let us go, Lloyd!" Jay demanded. "We're your family, for crying out loud!"
Lloyd tapped his chin with his finger. "Speaking of family..." His gaze raked the three ninja. "It seems as if you left someone home... alone."
Cole let out a soft gasp. "Kai," he whispered.
"Don't worry, Cole," Zane said. "The senseis are with him."
"Oh, they are?" Lloyd exclaimed in fake surprise. He chuckled and pulled out his recording device. "You might wanna think about that one again."
He clicked at the device until it replayed the message he had overheard.
"I don't want to leave Kai and Nya alone," Wu said.
"It's okay, Sensei," Kai spoke up. "We'll be fine."
"If you're so sure," Wu sighed. "We'll be back before nightfall."
Lloyd slipped the recorder back into his pocket. "Looks like your plan wasn't well thought out," he scoffed.
The three ninja stared in horror at what they just heard.
Then Cole's eyes exploded into fury and he violently struggled to break free. "If you lay one hand on Kai, I'll—"
"You'll what?" Lloyd cut him off, stalking closer to them. "Hurt me? Kill me? I thought you were the good guys."
Cole drew in a shaky breath, unable to respond.
Lloyd raised an eyebrow. "I could just kill you now," he murmured.
"But you wouldn't do that," Jay butted in, staring at the green ninja intensely. "Because we're your family."
Lloyd's gaze snapped toward him, eyes blazing. He drew out That Sword and stalked toward him.
"What did you do?" Cole hissed at the blue ninja.
Jay shrank backward as Lloyd drew to a halt in front of him. "Nothing!" he whispered back.
Lloyd panted angrily and gripped his sword tighter. "I am not your family!" he snarled.
In a flash of fury, Lloyd stabbed That Sword into Jay's side. The blue ninja let out a cry of pain as blood poured onto the ground.
"Jay!" Cole gasped.
Jay trembled and his breathing came in gasps. Cole watched his friend helplessly before turning back to Lloyd.
"You'll never get away with this!" the black ninja hissed.
"Oh." Lloyd slipped That Sword back into its case, chuckling. "I already have."
Zane stared at the green ninja as he turned and began heading into the forest. But Lloyd halted as if he could feel the white ninja's gaze boring into him.
"Don't look at me like that, Zane," Lloyd sniffed, spinning back around to face them. "I know you could easily break through those ropes if only you had your saw blades." He reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out two saw blades. "Too bad I already uninstalled them."
Zane's eyes rounded in surprise and he looked down at his arms, finding that the blades were gone. "Wha—when?" he exclaimed.
Lloyd let out a malicious cackle before crouching in front of him. The white ninja winced when Lloyd settled about an inch away from his face.
"One thing you should know," the green ninja growled, "is that I'll always be stronger, I'll always be smarter." He paused to shake the saw blades in Zane's face. "And I'll always be quicker."
Lloyd chuckled once more before straightening up again. "I'll see you guys around," he snickered, turning toward the monastery. "If the wolves don't get you first."
Then he disappeared into the trees, abandoning the three in the wilderness.
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