2. Dark Sides: The Golden Weapons

Chapter 14 - King of Shadows

Nya was awoken by the sound of rustling in the undergrowth. At first, she ignored it – she was in a forest, there were animals, she had already had a hard enough time falling asleep with all the noise. But then she heard a whisper: "Nya!"

The water ninja bolted up. Glancing around, she saw that her comrades were still asleep. But that voice hadn't sounded like any of her friends. She peered into the darkness that surrounded their little campsite. It was difficult to distinguish anything amongst the silhouettes of the forest.

"Nya!"

Nya whipped her head around. She strained to see anything, but hidden in the shadows she thought she could almost make out a figure . . .

"Kai?"

Her brother put a finger to his lips. He threw a glance over his shoulder before saying, "I have to go." Then he vanished back into the brush.

"Kai – wait!" Nya scrambled to her feet and plunged into the forest after him. She could just barely see his shadow up ahead. "Wait! Where are you going? Kai!" He didn't stop or even slow down. He was too fast for her, and she soon lost him in the darkness and the undergrowth. She reached the spot where she had seen him last and looked all around, hoping for another glimpse. "Kai? Kai, please! Where are you? I just want to talk!" Nya forced her way through the bushes and gasped at the sight that lay before her.

It was the Temple of Fire, constructed at the base of an erupting volcano. A bridge led the way through a torii arch up to the temple itself. Gated archways were stacked in terraces along the path, and walls extended from the gates to wrap protectively around the temple. Nya could see her brother sprinting up the stone path and towards the main entrance at the top.

What was he doing? More importantly, why had he gotten her attention only to run? Nya wanted to follow him, but she wondered for a moment if this might be a trap. She should probably go back and tell Sensei Garmadon. After all, if Kai had discovered that she was his enemy, he might be using her sympathy to lure her here.

Nya shook her head. No, Kai would never do that. There would be no point, anyway, to bring her here to the final weapon, the very weapon they were both fighting for.

Nya ran out of the bushes and toward the bridge. Maybe he had actually led her here so she could take the weapon. Nya's feet flew up the path as she realized that all her fears had been wrong. Kai was helping her!

She could see him up ahead as he pushed his way through the gates. She barely noticed the stifling heat as she sprinted after him, ignored any fears of the unstable volcano. Climbing the levels of the path was tiring and she was already beginning to work up a sweat, but none of it mattered. She just kept going, even after her brother had entered the temple and disappeared from sight.

Nya only slowed down when she reached the temple entrance. She gently pushed one of the doors and it creaked as it swung open.

There it was, the last weapon, planted right in the middle of the room. And behind it stood her brother.

"Kai!" Overjoyed, she ran towards him.

But he didn't look as happy to see her. He opened his mouth to say something, but before he got the chance, a dark cackling resounded as a shadow rose from behind him. Nya came to a stop where the path abruptly ended.

"Lookout!" she called, but her brother didn't move. She reached in her belt for her spear, but her hands grasped at air. Glancing down, she saw that there was nothing there.

"Forgot something?" the shadow of Wu leered.

But Nya stood her ground. "You can't hurt us!" she reminded him. "You have no power from the Underworld."