Aboard the Destiny's Bounty, the sun dipped low on the horizon, casting golden light across the deck where the ninja trained with renewed purpose. The sea air was crisp, the wind tugging gently at their robes, and overhead, the sails creaked like old bones stretching.
In the center of it all stood Lloyd, his new, older form lean with fresh strength, eyes closed, breathing calm. His muscles moved with instinct as the training session began.
"Your new body is a fighting instrument," Wu said from the sidelines, his voice low and instructive. "Listen to it."
Like clockwork, the ninja moved in. One after another, they launched coordinated attacks—Kai with a flurry of kicks, Cole from the side with a hammer-fist, Zane with his icy precision. Lloyd twisted, ducked, and spun, dodging every blow with fluid grace. His eyes remained shut, trusting his body's rhythm.
Then came the sharp whistle of metal through the air—Zane's shurikens. Lloyd slipped just enough to avoid them.
Thwack!
The shurikens buried themselves in a watermelon that Nya had just stepped onto the deck with, the fruit exploding in her hands. Her face, dripping with sticky juice, turned slowly to Zane.
Zane gasped, recoiling. "Oh no…"
Nya gave him a look that promised vengeance.
From the side, Wu folded his arms. "Since he's grown, he's learning faster," Nya muttered, wiping pulp from her brow.
"But will it be enough," Wu said gravely, "to challenge Lord Garmadon?" He watched silently as Kai lunged in with a smooth blade-draw.
Lloyd reacted a moment too late. He managed to block the sword, but Kai continued through the motion, sweeping his legs. Lloyd hit the deck with a thud.
Kai chuckled, offering him a hand. "You're getting pretty good," he said, "but that move? That's basic 101."
Lloyd groaned and took the hand. "Yeah… if I had focused more when I was little, I'd have seen that coming."
Before anyone could respond, the shadows on the deck shifted.
A sinuous black tendril snapped out of the shadows, coiling around Lloyd's ankle. His eyes went wide. "Oh, come on—"
WHAM! The tentacle slammed him against the mast.
THUD! Into the side railing.
BAM! Onto a crate, which promptly shattered.
Then it hoisted him upside down and dangled him, swinging like a fish on a hook, until he hung face-to-face with none other than Jinx, reclining lazily in a deck chair, a smug grin on his face and a plate of chocolate cake in hand.
A silver fork glinted as he took another bite.
"Mmm," Jinx purred, savoring it. "Still too young to face me, baby boy. Maybe in ten more years."
Lloyd dangled helplessly, his hair falling toward the deck. "Damn it, Jinx!"
SMACK! Another shadowy tendril whipped across his face, not hard—but enough to sting.
Jinx's eyes narrowed, feigning dramatic offense. "Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon!!" he scolded, rising from his seat with exaggerated flair. "How dare you treat your daddy like that!"
With a snap of his fingers, the shadow tentacle released its grip. Lloyd dropped with a yelp—only to be caught mid-fall as Jinx grabbed him by the cheeks and pinched them hard, lifting him half off the deck like a ragdoll.
"You call that respect?" Jinx huffed, wiggling Lloyd's face with both hands. "I should ground you for the next three eras!"
The rest of the ninja burst into laughter. Even Wu's stoic expression cracked into the faintest of smiles.
Lloyd wriggled. "Jinx—cut it out! I can't feel my face!"
"Oh, you'll feel it in your soul!" Jinx retorted, finally setting him down.
Still grinning, Lloyd rubbed his sore cheeks and muttered under his breath, "I'm too old for this…"
But deep down, he was smiling too.
And in that moment, beneath the fading sun and the crash of distant waves, surrounded by family—both by blood and by bond—he knew that even as the road to his destiny drew near… he wouldn't face it alone.
The wind swept across the deck of the Destiny's Bounty, rattling the sails and whispering of storms yet to come. Below the mast, the ninja stood in formation once again, bruised but not broken. Wu's gaze swept across them, calm but stern, his hands folded behind his back.
"We cannot change the past," Wu said, his voice deep and unwavering, "but we can improve for the future."
His eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
"Again. And this time… do not hold back."
No sooner had the words left him than a sharp cry split the air. KRAAAWK!
Zane's mechanical falcon swooped in low, wings outstretched, before landing on the rail beside him with a flutter of silvery feathers. Its eyes pulsed with light, a soft clicking sound emanating from within as it transmitted its findings.
Zane stepped forward, his gaze scanning its internal readouts. "The Falcon has returned… with troubling news."
He leaned in slightly. "What did you see, my mechanical-feathered friend?"
The falcon chirped once more and projected a flickering hologram from its eye—an ancient, crumbling landscape bathed in twilight. Serpentine architecture rose from the sand like bones from a long-dead giant.
Nya gasped. "The Lost City of Ouroboros!"
Kai stepped closer, eyes narrowed. "Garmadon has returned to the Serpentine's home base… but why?"
Cole folded his arms, frowning as the hologram shifted to reveal rows of Serpentine soldiers gathering, sharpening weapons and chanting in forgotten tongues.
"Looks like they're preparing for a final battle," Cole muttered grimly.
Jinx, who'd been lounging lazily on a crate nearby, tossed a small red apple into the air and caught it without looking. "I bet thirty bucks he's just stalling. Garmadon probably sat down, cracked his back, and came up with a delay-the-final-battle plan to make himself feel clever or he uses his mega weapon to delay it when we show up."
Kai snorted. "I'll take some of that action."
Cole raised a hand. "Same. Easy bet."
Zane tilted his head thoughtfully. "The probability of us winning this wager is approximately eighty percent, Jinx. I, too, shall participate."
All eyes turned to Jay, who stood frozen, eyes darting from one face to the next. Slowly, he took a cautious step backward.
"Yeah… I'm out," Jay said, raising both hands.
In his head: And they call me an idiot… Rule number three of knowing Jinx: Never. Bet. With him.
Jinx caught the apple again and took a loud, smug bite. "Smart boy," he said, voice thick with mischief.
Jay sighed. "I hate how right you always are."
Jinx winked. "That's because I don't make bets. I make investments."
The group shared a chuckle, but even as the laughter faded, a tension lingered in the air like the scent before a storm. The image of Ouroboros still hovered above the falcon—haunting, foreboding, ancient.
And the shadow of Garmadon loomed closer with every passing hour.
Wu's voice was calm, but the edge beneath it was sharp as steel.
"Nya, change course," he commanded, stepping forward. "We'll head straight for them."
Nya nodded without hesitation, spinning the helm of the Destiny's Bounty. The airship tilted in response, cutting through the clouded skies like a blade. Night soon cloaked the world in shadow, the stars above distant and cold. Down below, the ancient ruins of Ouroboros lay lit with flickering firelight—Serpentine torches and the glint of something far more dangerous.
The ninja donned their suits in silence, the hiss of armor locking into place the only sound besides the wind. They landed with purpose, boots crunching softly against the sand.
At the center of the Serpentine camp, Lord Garmadon stood tall upon a platform, his silhouette bathed in orange glow. His voice rang through the night, dark and triumphant.
"More firepower!" he roared, pointing to the hulking figures around him. "When we attack the ninja, they won't see it coming! Our forces will be so strong, Ninjago will be mine!"
Suddenly, a hiss of fire burst from beside him. Fang-Suei—eager but clumsy—had applied a blowtorch a little too carelessly to the Mega Weapon's edge.
"Aargh!" Garmadon yanked it back, the heat stinging his hand. "Watch it, you idiot!"
From the cliffs above, Wu raised a hand. "Ninja… go!"
Like shadows, the team descended into the camp, weapons drawn and energy swirling. Sparks flew. Metal clashed. Garmadon's face contorted into both frustration and recognition.
"Oh, brother," he growled.
Wu stepped forward with grim resolve. "It's time we finished this."
The ninja stormed the field.
"Ugh!" they groaned as the Serpentine countered fiercely.
"Bring it on, fools!" Garmadon bellowed, swinging the Mega Weapon.
A blur of green shot through the melee—Lloyd. He leapt forward, now taller, stronger, and more confident than the last time they met. His hands flashed with energy, and with a focused blast, he froze the Mega Weapon in Garmadon's grip.
The metal groaned and cracked under the sudden ice.
"Aargh!" Garmadon recoiled. His eyes narrowed. "Lloyd? Is that… you?"
Lloyd stepped into the torchlight, his voice deeper, steadier. "Yeah. I've grown a little since the last time you saw me, Dad."
Garmadon's eyes blazed with fury. "Stop him!" he barked, before turning and fleeing into the inner chamber.
The others pursued, but not before he shattered the ice from the weapon with a vicious strike and turned to face the portal chamber. His mind raced with bitterness and desire.
"Blast these ninja!" he snarled. "If only they weren't around. If only… they never existed!"
He paused, then straightened as an idea flickered in his twisted mind.
"Yes... yes, that's it." A wild grin spread across his face. "I wish I could go back in time, and make it so the ninja were never formed in the first place!"
The Mega Weapon pulsed—then cracked open reality. A vortex of light and time tore into the air before him, swirling with chaotic energy.
"Now," he hissed, stepping closer, "to finish the ninja once and for all… so my son never becomes the Green Ninja!"
Without hesitation, Garmadon leapt into the portal—and vanished.
Moments later, the ninja burst into the chamber, the last remnants of the portal's light illuminating their shocked faces.
"He used the Mega Weapon again!" Cole said, scanning the glowing chamber.
Jay groaned. "Oh, swell. Every time he uses that thing, something really bad happens. Now what?"
The ground beneath their feet suddenly began to tremble. The stone cracked, disintegrating into sand.
Kai staggered. "What's going on?! Is the city… sinking?"
"No, you idiots," Jinx muttered, his eyes glowing faintly, "we're returning to where it was never discovered."
Kai blinked. "Uh, what? What does that even mean?!"
Nya's voice was tense. "What's happening, Zane?"
The nindroid's eyes glowed as he analyzed the energy readings. "Garmadon's gone back in time… to prevent Lloyd from ever becoming the Green Ninja."
Lloyd clutched his hands, his fingers flickering in and out of existence. "I… I can't feel my hands…"
Kai's expression hardened. "We have to go after him. Now!"
Wu stepped forward, his voice solemn and urgent. "If he changes anything, he changes everything. Protect the future, ninja!"
With no more hesitation, the six ninja ran for the rift. As the world began to unravel around them, they leapt into the time portal—uncertain of what lay ahead, but resolved to face it.
The portal spat the ninja out with zero grace.
SPLOOSH.
"Whoa—!" Splat.
They crashed hard into a wide, cold mud puddle in the middle of a quiet, early-morning village square. The silence of Ignacia Village was broken by the groans of five thoroughly soaked ninja. Only one among them escaped the mess—Jinx, who floated down gently as if gravity itself had politely stepped aside.
Kai lifted his face from the mud, groaning. "Ugh…"
Jay spat out a clump of grass. "Okay, new rule—remind me to pack a helmet the next time we go time traveling."
Cole shook sludge off his arm and glanced around. "Where are we?"
Zane blinked, scanning the primitive architecture and the soft golden hue of morning sun. "You mean… when are we?"
Jinx landed beside him, arms crossed. "While the correction is accurate, Zane, now's not the time for clever remarks—even if unintentional."
Zane nodded, his tone apologetic. "Understood."
Kai suddenly perked up, his eyes wide. "Wait a second. Four Weapons." He pointed to a quaint little weapons shop with a familiar banner flapping in the breeze. "That's my parents' shop. Nya and I used to work there!"
He took a step forward, urgency creeping into his voice. "This is the day Garmadon ordered the Skeletons to take my sister! We need to warn them—!"
Before he could sprint off, a black tendril—shadowy and sinuous—slithered out from under Jinx's cloak and snapped around Kai's torso like a lasso, holding him fast.
"Whoa—what the heck?" Kai squirmed, dangling an inch off the ground.
"Slow your roll, hot-head," Jinx said calmly, eyes narrowing. "Have you never seen a time travel movie? You don't mess with the past. That becomes the future. And right now? We don't know what kind of nightmare we'll be returning to if you do something reckless."
Cole held up a hand, nodding. "Jinx is right. You heard what Sensei said—'We change anything, we change everything.'"
Jay scratched his head, frowning. "Yeah, I was confused by that too."
Zane stepped forward, speaking in his usual analytical tone. "What Sensei meant is that our current reality is the result of a very specific chain of past events. If one of those events fails to occur—or changes—it could radically alter the timeline. Like Jinx just said."
Jinx, still holding Kai aloft, slid across the mud and patted Zane on the shoulder.
"You know," he said lightly, "you've gotta dumb it down for Jay."
Zane tilted his head thoughtfully. "Ah. Right. Thanks, Jinx."
"Hey!" Jay protested, flinging mud off his sleeve. "I got it, okay? I was just making sure you guys got it."
Cole smirked. "Sure, buddy."
Jinx slowly lowered Kai back to the ground, the shadowy tendril dissolving into mist. "Listen up. Until we know exactly what Garmadon's up to, we keep a low profile. No contact. No interference. No heroic speeches. Understood?"
Kai muttered something under his breath but nodded.
Zane tapped his wrist. "We should move. The temporal ripple suggests Garmadon is still nearby."
Jay sighed. "Great. From mud puddle to time paradox. Just another normal day for us, huh?"
Jay scratched his head, eyes darting between the familiar village buildings and the uneasy faces of his friends. "Uh, so what you're saying is… we gotta stop Garmadon from changing anything? But seriously—out of all the days in the timeline, why this one?"
Kai took a step forward, his voice low, heavy with memory. "Because this is where it all started. The day I met Sensei Wu for the first time. The day I began my training as a ninja." His brows furrowed. "Somehow, Garmadon's gonna try to stop that. But how?"
Cole crossed his arms with a sigh. "If only Sensei were here to guide us…"
Jay blinked, then perked up, pointing toward the street. "Oh—look! There he is!" He waved excitedly, whisper-shouting, "Maybe he can help!"
Across the village square, a younger-looking Sensei Wu strolled through the morning market, hands clasped behind his back, just as calm and collected as they remembered.
Cole's eyes lit up. "We've gotta tell him what Garmadon's planning—before it's too late!"
Zane raised a hand in caution. "But we can't let the past versions of Kai and Nya see us talking to him. If we interfere, we risk creating a paradox that could unravel everything."
"Not exactly," Jinx said quietly.
Everyone turned, surprised by his sudden remark.
Jinx's violet eyes shimmered with thought as he stared into the distance. "Maybe… maybe this was always meant to happen. Maybe destiny led us here."
Kai tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
Jinx turned to face them fully, his voice thoughtful but steady. "Think back to your stories—when you first received the Golden Weapons. Sensei Wu was calm. Too calm. Even when the odds were stacked, he carried this weird confidence… like he knew what was going to happen. But the way you've told it—there were still moments that caught him off guard. Moments that surprised him."
Zane's eyes widened in realization. "So you're suggesting… Sensei may have already experienced this timeline?"
Jinx nodded. "I think he was told just enough to believe you. Enough to prepare. But not enough to change fate."
Jay frowned, chewing on the thought. "So… what's bothering you?"
Jinx hesitated.
His voice lowered, tinged with something the others weren't used to hearing from him—uncertainty.
"What concerns me… is the moment Sensei first saw me." He looked down, then back at them. "He was surprised. Like, truly stunned. If my theory is right… then maybe I never made it to the Bounty in this timeline. Maybe… I died in the Sea of Sand."
A heavy silence fell.
Cole's mouth dropped open. "Wait. You almost died in the Sea of Sand?!"
Jinx gave a wry smirk, as if amused by how casually the memory came back. "Yeah. Five days. No rest. Just me and the wind, chasing rumors of a legendary and sacred place—somewhere only spoken of in riddles. I was starving, dehydrated, hallucinating by day three." He paused, voice softening. "I was on the brink of death… before I found it."
Kai stepped forward, his tone suddenly serious. "And you never told us?"
Jinx shrugged. "Didn't seem important. I found what I was looking for. Got my sword. Made it out. That was all that mattered."
Zane's voice turned contemplative. "But if your presence here is new… then we've already changed something."
Jay swallowed. "Okay. This just got way more complicated."
Jinx gave a slow nod, eyes narrowing as he looked toward the distant figure of Wu. "And we haven't even seen what Garmadon's planning yet."
The wind stirred the sand at their feet, the village peaceful—for now. But somewhere in its quiet corners, a storm from the future waited to be born.
Kai's eyes narrowed with focus as they crept up the stone stairs of the old shop. "Hmm," he muttered. "I know exactly what to do."
At the top, the group paused just as a familiar voice echoed from the other side of the doorway. Past Kai's voice—younger, sharper, and full of fire—rang out inside the shop.
"And the shop is called Four Weapons, not For Browsing! Either buy something or go pedal your insults somewhere else!"
There was a beat of silence, then the older, composed voice of Wu replied with dry amusement, "Ha! Too bad. Thought I'd find something special here."
Without hesitation, Present Kai burst through the door and immediately clamped his hand over Past Wu's mouth.
"Sensei—we need your help!" he hissed, eyes darting around the room like a criminal mid-heist.
Jay stumbled in after him. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait just a minute!" He waved his hands. "If we're here to stop Garmadon from changing the past, wouldn't talking to Sensei kinda be… I don't know, changing the past ourselves?" He made a face. "Thus, possibly messing up our own future?"
Zane stepped forward, arms folded calmly. "That would be correct. I believe a collective uh-oh is in order."
"Uh?" Past Wu tried to speak through Kai's hand, eyes wide beneath the brim of his hat.
Kai glanced at Zane, then sighed. "Look, we can't undo what we've already done. So, no use panicking now." He turned to Wu, removing his hand gently. "Sensei, we really need your help."
Wu stepped back slowly, gaze shifting across each of them. "All four of you… you…" His eyes narrowed in confusion, yet recognition stirred in their depths. "You're not from now. You're—"
"Time travelers," Cole said bluntly. "Back from the future. Here to warn you about impending doom."
Jay raised a finger. "And maybe cause some in the process, but that's a separate conversation."
Kai stepped forward. "There's no time to explain. Can you help us?"
Wu hesitated, his eyes flickering with uncertainty. "I… I do not understand entirely, but I will try. If you four are the holders of the Golden Weapons…" His voice trailed off, then pointed toward the figure behind them. "Then who… is he?"
The others turned as Jinx stepped forward, his cloak fluttering faintly as if touched by a breeze no one else could feel. He moved with solemn grace, then came to a halt in front of Wu. He bowed low.
"I am Jinx Sky," he said evenly, his voice low and smooth. "Elemental Master of Darkness… and Wind."
A moment passed—quiet, but charged.
While the others didn't seem to notice, Jinx did. He caught it: the slightest flinch at the word "Darkness." A twitch of Wu's jaw. A tightening of his shoulders. But what surprised him more was the flash of something else—sorrow—that washed over Wu's eyes when he spoke the word "Wind."
It was faint, fleeting, but there.
Jinx noted it. Carefully. Silently. And tucked it away for later.
Wu took a breath, composing himself once again. "Then things are far more complicated than I imagined."
Jinx nodded, his voice calm. "You have no idea."
The air in Ignacia was thick with tension, a strange stillness before chaos. Kai stood beside his friends and his former self, heart pounding not from fear, but the surreal weight of it all. He was watching his own past unfold—moments before it shattered into legend.
"Okay," Kai whispered urgently. "Any moment now, the Skeletons are going to attack. And we think Garmadon may try to hurt me—I mean the past me."
Past Wu, standing beside him, raised an eyebrow. "Garmadon?"
Kai nodded. "We have to do everything in our power to protect my past self."
Before Wu could ask another question, the familiar rattle of bone against stone echoed down the narrow streets. The Skulkin had arrived.
Past Nuckal's gleeful voice echoed through the alleys. "Oh, oh! Let me go first! Please, oh please? I'm dying to go down there!"
Past Kruncha groaned, dry and unimpressed. "You nitwit, you're already dead."
Somewhere in the shadows, Garmadon adjusted the crude skeleton mask on his face with a sneer. "Why did I ever trust these numbskulls…"
"Attack! Boo!" Past Samukai bellowed, launching the first strike.
Citizens screamed and scattered. Past Nya clung to a terrified civilian.
"What are they?" she asked, her voice wavering.
"I don't know," said Past Kai, stepping forward. "Stay here."
The younger Kai charged ahead, intercepting the first wave of Skulkin with raw instinct and youthful fire. Metal clashed. Sparks flew. The fight had begun.
Kai, the older one, bristled at the sight of his younger self entering the fray. "Can we help or not?" he asked desperately.
Past Wu spread his arms. "Don't look at me. I'm wise—but not that wise."
Zane adjusted his vision lens. "Technically, since the past has already been altered by Garmadon's intrusion, I don't see why we can't engage… as long as your former self never sees you."
Cole cracked his knuckles. "Ha! You just made my day, Zane."
Jinx's violet eyes sparkled with something chaotic and eager. "And here I thought I wasn't going to have any fun today."
Jay bounced in place. "I miss beating these guys up." With a sudden burst, he lunged into the air. "Ninja, GO!"
The team split and slipped into the shadows like seasoned ghosts of war. They knew how to fight without being seen. Years of training, stealth, and sheer dumb luck on Jay's part had made it an art.
Kai pointed. "Watch for when Samukai throws his daggers! And don't forget to save me!"
Past Wu blinked, confused. "Huh?"
Kai waved it off. "It'll make sense when it happens!"
The battle ignited in full.
Jay zipped along the rooftops, his feet barely touching the tile before bolts of lightning danced between his palms. Down below, Cole took on two Skulkin with brutal sweeps of his hammer, each blow echoing like thunder. Zane moved like a ghost, calculated and precise, knocking enemies aside with icy sweeps that chilled the air.
But it was Jinx who truly stole the storm.
Clad in a flowing black-and-indigo coat, his twin-element aura flared behind him like a stormcloud. His sword gleamed in the moonlight—etched with ancient markings, sharp enough to slice through nightmares.
"Jay!" Jinx called out, planting his boots on a slanted roof.
Jay grinned, understanding instantly. "On it!"
He leapt high and fired a lightning bolt—not at the enemy, but directly at Jinx.
The air split with crackling blue energy as the bolt soared. Jinx raised his blade, angled precisely. The sword pulsed, metal singing.
The lightning struck—and instead of harming him, it flooded into the blade.
Jinx's knees buckled slightly as the surge rocked through him. His body arched from the exhaustion of redirecting raw elemental force, his face tight with focus.
Then came the reversal.
With a roar, Jinx snapped the blade forward like a conductor's wand. "Reversal—Storm Fang Slash!"
The bolt, now infused with his dark-wind energy, curved like a dragon in the sky and crashed into a cluster of Skulkin. The explosion of light and force shattered a rooftop and sent bones flying.
Past Kai and Past Nya flinched but didn't turn. Too focused. Too in the moment.
"They didn't see us," Zane confirmed from a distance.
Jinx exhaled hard, falling to one knee.
Jay dropped beside him and offered a hand. "You okay?"
Jinx grabbed his wrist. "Don't. Ruin. My. Moment."
Jay just laughed.
Across the street, Present Kai watched his past self engage Samukai in a duel. The moment had come. The twin daggers whirled through the air. The same daggers that, if they connected, would've scarred his future.
Kai vaulted forward.
Time slowed. His blade met Samukai's in midair, inches from his younger self—deflecting just enough. Kai ducked back into the shadows before either version of himself could see.
Past Kai paused, confused. "Did you see that?"
Past Nya peeked from the doorway. "See what?"
Kai watched them with a tight smile. "Saved myself," he whispered.
The battle ended soon after. The remaining Skulkin retreated, clattering down alleyways in a bony panic.
The ninja regrouped in a quiet rooftop nook overlooking the village.
"You know," Cole said, brushing a scratch from his shoulder, "for a time travel disaster, that went pretty well."
Zane nodded. "And Jinx's technique was… impressive. Though highly inefficient."
Jay chuckled. "Totally worth it."
Jinx lay flat on the rooftop, staring at the stars. "I miss lightning. It always tastes like burnt lemon pie."
Kai sighed. "One step closer to setting things right."
And far below, Past Wu stared down the empty street, frowning at something he couldn't name—like a forgotten memory tugging on the edges of his mind.
The battlefield was chaos—smoke curling like dragons in the sky, ash falling like snow. Blades clashed, fire roared, lightning danced. Through it all, Sensei Wu stood still as stone, eyes narrowed, staff gripped tightly in his calloused hands. Before him stood Past Samukai, his skeletal jaw twisted into a wicked grin, bone daggers twirling at his sides.
"Sensei Wu," Samukai mocked with a rasping chuckle, "your Spinjitzu looks a little rusty."
Wu's lips curved ever so slightly. "Nothing like bone," he said calmly, "to sharpen its edge."
And with that—he spun.
A swirl of gold and white erupted beneath his feet. The wind around him howled like a storm reborn. Tiles shattered as his figure became a whirling blur of precision and grace, striking like a falling star. The edge of his tornado clipped Samukai's bony shoulder, sending the warlord stumbling back with a grunt.
"Hehehe—aargh!" Samukai snarled, leaping away. Frustrated, he hurled both daggers—not at Wu, but at a nearby water tower. The blades struck deep.
There was a groan of metal, a hiss of pressure—
The tower collapsed.
Water surged from its base, and the entire rusted structure tipped with a shriek, falling directly toward Past Kai, who stood wide-eyed below.
"Oh, no," the younger Kai whispered, frozen as shadow overtook him.
But Wu moved like lightning.
"Ninja, GO!"
His voice cracked through the chaos like thunder. With one motion, he twisted through the air, landing between Past Kai and the falling tower. In a golden flash of energy, he pushed the boy clear—and the tower crashed down behind them, sending a geyser of water splashing into the street.
Past Kai blinked up at him in awe. "Sensei…?"
But Wu was already turning, eyes fixed on the source of the madness.
Samukai snarled, retreating into the crowd of retreating Skulkin. "Lord Garmadon says—take the girl!"
From the shadows above, Garmadon moved. Silent. Calculated. His arm swung, knocking Past Kruncha to the side with a burst of raw force—but not hard enough to do real damage. His aim had been… off. Intentionally.
Krunchka spun and hit the ground with a groan. "Ugh—aargh…"
"Fools! You missed!" Samukai roared, eyes flashing. "Retreat! Back to the Underworld!"
The remaining Skulkin hesitated, confused, but fell in line, rattling and limping as they fled the square.
Near the alley, Past Nuckal was the last to leave. He turned, glancing back—his empty sockets catching a glimpse of something... impossible.
Two Kais.
Both in red.
Both wielding the same sword.
Nuckal blinked.
"What is it?" Kruncha snapped, dragging him along.
"Uh…" Nuckal hesitated, eyes still wide. "Nothing. Probably just… a trick of the light."
The noise faded. The dust settled. The past had been saved—again.
Meanwhile, in the present…
Sensei Wu stood alone in the Tower of the Guardians, gazing out over Ninjago City. Smoke curled from distant towers, casting a shroud over the skyline. Alarms wailed in the distance, and spotlights swept through the haze. Even with peace, the city had its ghosts.
In his hand, he held a framed photograph.
The six ninja smiled in the picture, arms around each other, laughing—family. But as Wu stared, his eyes widened.
Lloyd began to fade.
And beside him, Jinx's image shimmered… then vanished.
Wu's breath caught in his throat.
"They're gone…"
The picture rattled in his fingers.
He turned toward the shadows behind him, heart heavy, knowing full well: this was only the beginning of what time had yet to unravel.
In the past, the streets of Ignacia Village had quieted. The citizens had begun to peek out from their hiding spots. Ash and the stench of scorched wood still hung in the air. But beneath it all, the flicker of relief had begun to kindle.
At the center of it, Past Kai and Past Nya embraced tightly, the adrenaline of the moment still coursing through their veins.
"This… isn't good," said the present Kai, watching from the shadows with a frown.
Sensei Wu turned to him with a puzzled look. "Why? We saved your past self—and your sister."
Kai exhaled. "Exactly. But the Skeletons were supposed to get away with Nya. That's the whole reason I agreed to go with you in the first place. To get her back."
From behind, Jinx crossed his arms and smirked. "To be honest? Still kind of noble of you, Kai."
Kai tilted his head with a small, proud grin. "Thank you."
Zane spoke next, voice calm but firm, "Because if Kai doesn't become a ninja, the world as we know it will unravel. The four of us never unite. Lloyd is never trained to become the Green Ninja. And I… I would never meet Jinx." His tone dipped for a moment, quieter, more personal. "He wouldn't be a ninja. And he would likely die in the Sea of Sand."
There was a short silence.
Jay turned, his eyes wide with shock. "And Nya would never fall head-over-heels for me!"
Zane nodded. "Exactly."
Jay gasped as though he'd just heard the world's most tragic prophecy. "NO MATTER WHAT—YOU NEED TO CONVINCE HIM TO GO WITH YOU!!"
From beside him, Jinx let out a low chuckle. "Simp."
Before Jay could snap back, Past Wu raised his hand in a signal. "Shh. Quiet. Hide."
The ninja ducked behind crates and stalls, watching as the scene continued to unfold between their past selves.
Past Kai stood tall, arms crossed. "Thank you for your help. If it wasn't for your… uh, Twistitzu? Tornadzu?"
"Spinjitzu," Past Wu corrected, eyes narrowing in mild offense.
Kai gave a sheepish shrug. "Right. Spinjitzu. If it weren't for that, my sister might've been taken."
"Come," Wu said firmly. "We must train. You must become a ninja."
Kai blinked, then chuckled. "Sorry, old man, but I've got a blacksmith shop to get back on its feet. I've got real work to do."
"No," Wu insisted. "You must come. It's vital you become a ninja because… because we must harness the fire within you."
Nya looked between them both, thoughtful. "Hold on, Kai. Maybe there's a reason this man came into our lives. Father always said the world works in mysterious ways. I think… it sounds kind of exciting."
Kai let out a long sigh. "Ha. Okay. If you wanna become a ninja, then fine by me. But I'm only going because you want to."
From the shadows, Jay fist-pumped with glee. "Oh, great! He's going! We saved the future!"
Zane folded his arms. "Not so fast. We still have to make sure he stays on the path and becomes a proper ninja. If even one detail shifts, the whole timeline could destabilize."
"We'll follow," said Cole, adjusting his hoodie. "Quietly."
Elsewhere…
The Skullkin convoy rattled across the rocky plains in their bone-covered vehicles, retreating from their failed mission. Past Samukai seethed in the back seat, claws drumming impatiently against the skull dashboard.
They veered down a dusty path between two crooked trees, looming like sentries over the trail.
Past Nuckal leaned forward, squinting. "Hey… do you see one tree or two?"
Past Kruncha groaned. "Two, you imbecile!"
Samukai snarled. "Stop fooling around! We failed. And now Lord Garmadon is going to turn us all into scrap!"
Nuckal fidgeted. "I just wanted to know if I was seeing double. Back in the village—I thought I saw the same ninja twice."
Kruncha blinked. "What are you talking about?"
"I mean it," Nuckal insisted. "One moment he was fighting beside that old man—and then another just like him was hiding behind a wagon! Red outfit. Same eyes. Same hair."
In the shadows behind them, Garmadon, still veiled in the disguise of a skeleton warrior, lifted his head with narrowed eyes.
"Double?" he said quietly.
The Skulkin turned to him, nervously awaiting his fury. But Garmadon merely smiled—a slow, dark, calculating smile.
"So… the ninja followed me here," he muttered. "And they think they can stop me…"
His hand clenched into a fist, smoke rising from his knuckles as his power pulsed through his veins.
"They are as annoying as they are troublesome."
He stepped down from the vehicle, cloak sweeping behind him in the wind. His voice dropped to a whisper, laced with amused menace.
"Hmph. Well… two can play at this game…"
But then he paused.
His eyes darkened.
A thought flickered—cold and inconvenient.
"Although… Jinx…"
He spat the name like venom.
"…Jinx will cause me trouble. His darkness… it disrupts the flow of the Megaweapon. My spells don't react properly when he's near. His very presence is a variable. A fracture."
He turned his gaze eastward, toward the Sea of Sand.
"Perhaps it's time," he murmured, "to remove that fracture."
And in the wind, the desert whispered.
The Monastery courtyard was alive with quiet clinks and grunts. Under the moon's pale light, Nya was practicing her strikes against a worn training dummy, determination in her eyes. The stone tiles beneath her feet echoed with each well-placed blow.
But Kai—past Kai—was another story.
Inside the dojo, he stumbled back as a sandbag slammed into his face. "Ow! Ah—yeah, yeah, yeah," he groaned, waving off Sensei Wu's attempts at instruction.
Wu sighed, exasperated. "You must harness the fire deep within you, Kai."
From the shadows near the door, Present Kai muttered bitterly to himself, "Oh, I'm worthless."
Leaning against the wall with arms crossed, Jinx quirked a brow. "Yeah. You're worse than Lloyd when he was a kid."
Kai turned, scandalized. "Hey! I'm not that bad!"
But Jinx didn't even flinch. He just raised an eyebrow higher.
"Dude," he said flatly, "at least he tried."
Jay scoffed and tossed a piece of straw from his hair. "It's like you don't even want to be a ninja."
Kai crossed his arms and huffed. "I told you. The only reason I became a ninja was to rescue my sister. That's it."
Zane shook his head. "If Kai doesn't learn to be a ninja… our future will be destroyed."
Cole was pacing now, visibly frustrated. "Ugh! Even when Garmadon does something good, it's always evil! Sensei ain't cutting the mustard anymore. I guess it's up to us to get things back on track."
Jay frowned. "Wait a sec. You said not to get involved. 'Change anything, change everything.' Remember?"
Cole spun on his heel. "That was before Garmadon messed with the past. Now we're cleaning up his time-warped mess."
Zane nodded in agreement. "He's right. The only way to restore the proper timeline is for Kai to discover his fire. That's the lynchpin."
Jay frowned. "Okay, sure, but what exactly are you saying?"
Zane's voice lowered, serious and cold as crystal. "I'm saying we have to give Kai back his motivation."
Jay blinked. "Motivation?"
Zane's expression was unwavering. "We have to… kidnap Nya. Deliver her into the Skeletons' hands."
A long, stunned pause filled the air.
Kai sighed dramatically. "If that's what it takes… fine. But if it's all right with you guys, I've got an idea on how I could talk some sense into myself first."
Jinx smirked and clapped him on the shoulder. "Now we're talking."
Later that night, the courtyard was cloaked in silence. Jay, Zane, Cole, and Jinx crept through the darkened hallways, avoiding creaky boards and loose tiles as they made their way toward Nya's room.
Outside her door, Cole handed each of them crudely made Skeleton masks.
"Time to play our parts."
Zane inspected his mask. "We'll have to act fast while Kai keeps himself occupied."
From behind, Jinx leaned close to Cole with a sly grin. "Whoa, dude. Pause. Don't be telling other men when a man is wanking."
Jay immediately wheezed. "Godsdammit, Jinx! Now is not the time!"
Jinx just snorted. "It's always the time to joke."
Meanwhile, in the bathroom, the two Kais were facing off through the illusion of a mirror—though it was really just present Kai holding up a polished metal panel where the mirror should be, perfectly mimicking his past self's movements.
Past Kai frowned, wiping at the surface. "Huh?" He leaned in and blew on it.
The image didn't smudge.
"Hey, dummy!" Present Kai snapped.
Past Kai yelped and jumped back. "Aah!"
"Yeah, I'm talking to you," Kai said, lowering the panel and staring himself in the eyes.
"Me?"
"Would you get your head on straight and start listening to Sensei? The fate of the world kind of rests on it!"
Past Kai blinked, stunned. "Huh?"
Back in Nya's room, the "Skeleton crew" had gone into action.
Nya had barely stirred before Zane wrapped her in a thick blanket and gently—though a little awkwardly—lowered her into a makeshift carry sack. Her legs kicked against the fabric.
"Unhand me, Skeletons!" she shouted, muffled. "I'll scream!"
Jay, panicked, lowered his mask. "Oh—sorry, Nya."
She froze. "How'd you know my name?!"
Jinx facepalmed.
Nya thrashed again. "When my brother finds out about this, you'll be sorry!"
From behind his mask, Jinx mumbled, "Dumbass."
Cole chuckled. "Actually… he'll be quite relieved."
The cold breeze of the Monastery courtyard whipped past the stone walls, stirring the torches with flickering flame. The moon hung above, casting a ghostly glow over the scene as four masked ninja crouched in the shadows—Zane, Jay, Cole, and Jinx—carrying out their ill-planned time travel mission to fake Nya's kidnapping.
Suddenly, Zane's artificial eye flickered. "Huh," he said, narrowing his gaze. "Guys… we've got company."
Jay turned. "Uh… isn't that, uh… us?"
Emerging from another corridor, their past selves were converging on the same area—sprinting toward the commotion. Past Jay, Past Zane, and Past Cole were unmistakable in posture and voice, moving in almost perfect sync with their future counterparts.
Cole grimaced. "Better lower our masks. Last thing we need is them recognizing their handsome future selves."
As the group scattered to new positions, Past Nya's voice cut through the night, panicked and muffled.
"Kai! Help! Somebody help me!"
Across the courtyard, Past Kai skidded to a halt. "Huh? Nya!"
He bolted toward the source of the cries.
From a corner, Present Kai stepped out, arms folded and impatient. "Hey! I wasn't done talking to you!"
Past Kai snapped, not slowing. "Why not? You're just my reflection!"
"Yeah? Well, this reflection punches back."
WHAM.
Present Kai clocked his younger self with a heavy right hook. Past Kai crumpled to the ground, unconscious before he hit the dirt.
Kai sighed, rubbing his knuckles. "Sorry, bud. Can't have you messing up our whole plan."
Without missing a beat, he slung his past self behind a wall and ran off toward the others.
Elsewhere, the real action had kicked off.
Jay found himself locked in a frantic scuffle… with himself. "Ow—stop dodging like that! Wait, I dodge like that!" he groaned as both Jays traded flips, kicks, and sarcastic one-liners in sync.
"Let's not hurt ourselves, boys," Cole muttered, rolling his shoulders as he kept a wary eye on his own younger double. "I'd hate to leave a mark. Might mess up my future modeling career."
Zane, ever composed, carefully slid his weapons back into their compartments. "Engaging would be… inefficient. A paradox is best avoided."
Up on the rooftop, Present Kai reappeared just in time as the sack containing Nya—carefully bundled—tumbled from a misstep. He darted forward, catching her effortlessly before she hit the tiles.
With perfect ninja grace, he landed near the group and called down in a fake gravelly tone, "Guys, uh… let's get out of here."
Jinx, perched lazily on a nearby beam like a lounging cat, grinned beneath his half-pulled-down mask.
"Yeah… honestly, Nya didn't put up nearly as much of a fight as I thought she would."
Kai raised a brow. "Really?"
Jinx gave a casual shrug. "Yeah. Knocked her out with a single punch."
Jay whipped around, eyes wide with horror. "You hit my girlfriend?!"
Jinx raised both hands. "Lightly! Feather punch. And technically, she's not your girlfriend yet."
"Still!" Jay stammered. "You don't just deck a girl in a fake kidnapping!"
Zane chimed in helpfully. "Her vitals remain stable. She'll be fine in approximately seven minutes and twenty seconds."
Cole groaned. "You guys are all nuts."
Kai, exhaling deeply, looked up at the stars. "We just knocked out a past version of me, kidnapped my sister, and fought ourselves… all to make sure I learn to believe in myself."
Jinx tossed him a wink. "Time travel's a real team-building exercise, huh?"
The group chuckled—tired, bruised, but somehow in sync.
Jay muttered, "When we get back… we are never doing a time arc again."
The sound of rushing wind and the crackling of torchlight filled the ancient courtyard as the ninja made their retreat across the rooftop. The mission had been hectic, absurd, and just barely successful—but as always, chaos had a tendency to follow them.
Jinx stretched, twirling his sword lazily in his hand as he walked beside Kai. "Whoa. Way to go on jinxing us, Jay."
Jay, mask slightly crooked and chest heaving, scowled. "Oh come on! How is that my fault?"
Kai cut in with his voice lowered to a deep rasp, clearly trying to sell the part. "Stay focused. Guys, uh…" He cleared his throat, still trying to stay in character. "Let's get out of here."
Just below them, Past Wu's voice rang out, filled with urgency and alarm. "They took Nya!"
A groan echoed from a nearby alley.
Past Kai, now recovering from his impromptu knockout, staggered upright. His head whipped around as he processed Wu's words.
"They… took my sister?" His voice trembled. "NOOOOOO!!!"
The primal scream echoed across the courtyard like a dragon's roar.
Back in the present, far from the past's unfolding events, Master Wu stood in the sacred Hall of History within the Monastery. Before him hung a faded photograph of the six ninja, young and unshaken. For hours, Lloyd's image had flickered—fading like a dying candle.
But now… with a faint shimmer, Lloyd's picture reappeared, crisp and whole once more.
Wu exhaled a long breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
"Good," he murmured to himself. "They've put things right… at least for now."
Back in the past, Past Wu placed a hand on Kai's trembling shoulder. "We'll get your sister back. But first…" He motioned behind him. "I want you to meet your team."
The ninja stepped forward, one by one, removing their masks in sync.
Zane. Cole. Jay. Jinx.
Each gave a small nod—eerily familiar to Kai, as if they were old friends he'd never met.
Present Kai, still standing off to the side, crossed his arms with a grin. "Looks like the fire returned."
Cole smirked and nudged him. "And now, all we gotta do to get things really back on track… is deliver Nya to the Skeletons."
Not far from there, hidden deep within a scorched patch of forest, the Skulkin had made a crude camp. Broken bones, shattered weapons, and empty food tins were strewn about like confetti after a funeral.
Past Samukai was already losing patience.
CRACK!
He struck Past Kruncha on the back of the skull with a bone-club.
"Hey!" Kruncha yelped, rubbing his head.
"This is no time to celebrate," Samukai snapped. "We didn't get the girl. How'd you like to go back to the Underworld and tell Lord Garmadon that we failed?"
Kruncha grumbled, wandering away from the firepit. "How would you like to go back and tell Lord Garmadon we failed? 'Oh no, my name's Samukai and I'm totally terrified of getting turned into a toothpick!' Mimimimi!"
Suddenly, a scream tore through the air.
Kruncha spun around in time to see a large sack drop from a tree branch, thudding to the ground beside their fire.
A muffled voice came from inside, furious and very much alive.
"Unhand me, Skeletons! Let me out of here this instant!"
Kruncha stared, blinking.
"…Samukai?" he called, cracking open the sack to see a furious Nya struggling against her bonds. His jaw dropped.
Samukai blinked.
Kruncha gave a sly grin. "Sooo… how'd you like to go back to the Underworld and tell Lord Garmadon… we succeeded?"
Samukai's bony eye sockets widened. "Huh. Well… that changes things."
He turned toward the others. "Get the fire going. We may just survive this after all."
The Underworld was cloaked in eternal gloom. Jagged rocks jutted out like the ribs of a dead beast, and rivers of molten lava snaked through the craggy landscape. Amidst the echoes of tortured groans and the clatter of bones, two silhouettes stood beneath the shattered remains of an ancient throne.
Past Samukai knelt before it, head bowed. "Master… we have the girl."
From the shadows, Past Garmadon stepped forward, his four-fingered hands clasped behind his back. "Good," he rasped, his voice a blend of venom and satisfaction. He threw his head back and laughed, the sound bouncing off the cavern walls like a chorus of wailing spirits.
Samukai turned to leave—only to halt when another figure stepped into view from the mist.
A taller figure. One with four arms, clad in flowing black robes etched in crimson thread. The air seemed to bend around him.
Past Garmadon narrowed his eyes. "Who dares—?"
The figure raised a hand. "It is I… your future self."
Silence fell like a guillotine blade.
"…How can it be?" Past Garmadon muttered, stunned. "You have… I have four arms."
"Yes," Present Garmadon replied, his voice cool and commanding. "And it is because of the Golden Weapons. It is through them that I became what you see now. And through them… we can become more."
Past Garmadon's breath hitched. "You've traveled back… because of the Weapons?"
Garmadon nodded. "And to ensure the ninja's defeat. I need your help to rid us of them once and for all." He leaned in and whispered something to his younger self—words laced with venom and ancient dark power.
Past Garmadon's eyes widened.
"That," he said, a grin forming on his face, "is truly evil."
They both laughed, a terrible harmony of past and future villainy, their voices rattling the bones of the Underworld.
Meanwhile, in the present, Master Wu stood at the high balcony of the Monastery, gazing over Ninjago City. The skyline was barely visible beneath a choking blanket of smoke and ash. The pollution from the past's unraveling was seeping into his time like ink into water.
Wu clutched the edge of the balcony.
"Great Scott…" he whispered.
Back in the past, the moon hung high over the Temple rooftops. A soft wind blew through the paper lanterns that lined the monastery walkway. The past versions of the ninja were fast asleep, sprawled out on mats and blankets like children after a festival.
The present ninja sat upright nearby, along with Past Sensei Wu, quietly watching the scene unfold.
Jay groaned, his arms folded. "Ugh, why are we still here? I thought everything was back on track."
Cole leaned against a pillar, arms crossed. "Yeah, but we have to make sure it stays that way. One wrong step, and boom—future's toast."
Past Wu stroked his beard thoughtfully. "So… what exactly happens next?"
Kai stood, rubbing the back of his neck. "Right about now, our past selves should already have most of the Golden Weapons. Shadow Garmadon should have my sister. And in, let's see… one minute, I get woken up and tricked into taking the Sword of Fire. That's what sets everything off. That's how the real threat gets unleashed."
Suddenly—
"Nya, wait up!"
They all turned to see Past Kai darting through the courtyard, stumbling as he chased after his sister.
Kai stared, eyes wide. "Oh no. This is the moment."
Before anyone could speak, Jinx marched forward with the confidence of someone fed up with temporal nonsense—and smacked Present Kai across the face with a clean, echoing slap.
WHACK.
Kai collapsed onto the stone path with a groan.
"I deserved that…" he wheezed.
"Good that you know that," Jinx replied dryly, flipping his hair back as he turned on his heel.
Cole chuckled under his breath. "Better listen to Jinx next time."
Zane nodded. "Time corrections are delicate. Impulsive outbursts could collapse the continuum."
Jay leaned down to help Kai up. "Still worth it, though."
Kai dusted himself off. "Let's just get to the Fire Temple before Past Me does something else dumb."
Together, the ninja turned, the moonlight glinting off their weapons as they raced off into the night—toward the Fire Temple, the Sword of Fire, and the next moment history was destined to break.
The Fire Temple stood tall and ancient, its stone walls glowing from the reflection of molten lava far below. The air shimmered with heat, and the heavy groan of ancient gears echoed through the chamber.
Chains creaked.
A scream rang out.
"Aaah!" Past Nya was being lowered into the pit, bound by a chain, suspended above a roiling pool of lava. Her face twisted in panic, but she remained defiant.
"Nya!" Past Kai cried from the stone steps.
At the altar, the Sword of Fire stood embedded in its pedestal, glowing with inner light. Its flame-like aura danced wildly as if it knew its time had come.
On a higher ledge, Past Garmadon watched with sinister glee. "Tick-tock, tick-tock…" he taunted, his voice echoing through the infernal chamber.
Past Kai didn't hesitate. "Ninja, go!" he shouted, leaping into a Spinjitzu spiral that launched him forward. His momentum carried him straight to the altar, where he gripped the sword and ripped it free with a flare of crimson light.
In one clean slash, he severed the chain, and Nya fell—landing in her brother's arms just before the lava could claim her.
"Stay close," he panted.
"Trust me," she said breathlessly, gripping his arm. "I'm not going anywhere."
They turned to face the threat.
"You can't hurt us!" Past Kai shouted at the dark figure stepping through the smoke. "You're only a shadow!"
The silhouette paused—then spoke with a voice that rumbled deeper than the one Kai remembered.
"This time… I'm actually much more."
A ripple of fear passed through Kai. He squinted from his perch above, eyes narrowing. "Wait… He never said that before."
From the veil of darkness, Present Garmadon emerged, four arms spread wide, his presence far more oppressive than his past self's could ever be.
Below, Past Kai faltered. "G-Garmadon? But you're supposed to be trapped in the Underworld!"
Present Garmadon chuckled darkly. "Oh, there's so much more you don't know."
"Go, future me!" Past Garmadon declared, clenching a fist. "Destroy him!"
Without hesitation, Present Garmadon launched forward, crashing into Past Kai with terrifying strength.
From above, Kai winced as he watched his past self get thrown like a ragdoll.
"We have to do something," he muttered. "I don't stand a chance against Garmadon's four arms—wait... that's it!"
Before anyone could stop him, Kai leapt from the ledge, landing between Present Garmadon and his younger self.
"Two Kais?!" Past Garmadon growled in confusion.
Past Kai blinked. "Uh… yeah."
Kai raised his sword. "I guess I've got four arms too… in spirit."
From the sidelines, Cole tried to flank the enemy. "Now I've got you—" But the moment he drew his weapon, Garmadon lashed out with all four arms, overpowering him in a brutal clash of force.
"Aaah!" Cole crashed into a pillar. "Okay! It's safe to say the past has been drastically changed!"
Both Garmadons threw back their heads and laughed, the sound vile and triumphant, reverberating across the fiery halls of the temple.
Zane stepped beside the others, his voice calm but urgent. "I've been thinking. If we want to erase the changes made so far… it might be possible to reverse everything by destroying the Mega Weapon that brought us here."
Kai's eyes widened. "You're saying—if we destroy that, everything goes back to normal?"
Jinx smirked, arms folded. "Man, I love how you dumped that down so casually. 'Hey guys, destroy the magic time-warping superweapon, problem solved!' It's almost adorable."
Kai gave a tired grin. "Yeah, well… desperate times."
The Fire Temple trembled with the raw tension between destinies colliding.
"But nothing can destroy the Mega Weapon!" Cole growled, bracing himself against the heat-warped wall. "Only a weapon of equal power could even hope to stop it."
"Haha!" Jay suddenly laughed, a manic glint in his eye as he reached into his satchel. "You mean like… the weapons forged to create it in the first place?"
From the folds of cloth and leather, he withdrew four radiant relics—each one pulsing with untamed energy: the Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu.
A blinding golden light burst forth, washing over the temple like a cleansing wave.
"NO!" Garmadon's voice cracked like a thunderclap. His eyes flared crimson.
"The Golden Weapons!" Cole gasped, backing up a step, awe in his voice.
Jay gave a proud smirk. "Yeah… I figured they might come in handy."
The Mega Weapon, once menacing, now seemed to shrink in importance as the Golden Weapons' power awakened—earth, lightning, fire, and ice forming a cosmic harmony against the chaos Garmadon had wrought.
But Garmadon stood still—his mind racing, teeth clenched in thought.
No… This can't be the end.
I need something they can't fight—something they won't see coming.
Something even the Golden Weapons can't stop…
(And then it came to him… a truth buried in pain, and a pawn waiting to be moved.)
His eyes drifted to Jinx, who stood apart from the others—arms folded, posture defiant, but eyes ever so slightly haunted.
"Jinx," Garmadon called gently, almost like a friend. "I… I wasn't sure before. But now I am."
Jinx's eyes narrowed. "You gonna monologue or die? Pick one."
"No. I'm going to give you something Wu never did—the truth."
Jinx scoffed, but Garmadon's tone had shifted—low, sincere, almost fatherly.
"You've been searching all this time, haven't you? For her."
Jinx's smirk twitched. "Don't."
"You think I don't know what it's like to live every day with a hole in your heart? A voice you can't remember, but can't forget? You think I don't know what it's like to lose a mother and have no one tell you why?"
Jinx faltered. His fingers curled slightly tighter against his arms.
Garmadon stepped forward slowly, lowering his voice to a whisper. "The Mega Weapon... It can bend time, space, even reality itself. It has the power to tear open the fabric between worlds. It can give you what no Spinjitzu, no Sensei, no ninja ever could."
"...What?" Jinx said, barely above a breath.
Garmadon's smile darkened. "It can show you your mother."
The words hit like a dagger. Everyone in the room turned. Wu stiffened.
"She's out there, Jinx. Somewhere beyond time. But Wu—your precious Sensei—he never told you. Never gave you a map, a name, a clue. Why? Because he's afraid. Afraid that if you find her, you won't need him anymore."
"Shut up," Jinx muttered. But his voice wavered.
"He lies to you every day. Trains you like a weapon. Keeps you close so you don't ask the real questions. But I see you. I see your pain. And I'm offering you a way out. Not just power, Jinx… answers."
Jinx stood still. Eyes lowered. Shadows flickered across his face.
"Help me," Garmadon whispered, hand extended, "and I swear… you'll see her again."
The silence was deafening. Even the lava below seemed to hush in anticipation.
Wu stepped forward, his voice taut with grief. "Jinx… don't listen. He twists pain into chains. Your mother would never want this. She'd never want you to become—"
"She's not here, is she?" Jinx snapped.
Wu recoiled.
Jinx's breath shook. Fingers trembled at his sides. And in his eyes—behind the anger, sarcasm, and bravado—was a wound even time couldn't heal.
The words still echoed like a curse in the stone halls of the Fire Temple:
"Help me… and I swear… you'll see her again."
And slowly—inevitably—Jinx began to walk.
His boots echoed in grim rhythm across the scorched floor, one step after another. His eyes no longer met the others'. He walked like a ghost following a distant song—drawn, consumed, empty and full all at once.
Zane's eyes widened. "Stop him! He's serious—he said it before! He'll do anything to see her!"
"Jinx, don't!" Jay shouted, panic in his voice.
Cole rushed forward, grabbing for Jinx's arm. "Snap out of it, man! You're not thinking straight!"
But Jinx didn't stop.
With a fluid motion, he shrugged Cole off like a falling leaf. Jay jumped on his back, locking his arms around Jinx's neck. Zane lunged for his legs, trying to pin him down.
Still, Jinx walked—unflinching, unshaken, eyes never leaving Garmadon.
He moved like an unstoppable force through water.
With one whip of his shoulder, Jay went flying. With a shift of his hip, Zane was hurled like a sack of bricks against the far wall. Even when Kai and Cole both tried to pin him down from the front, Jinx's body shimmered in a wave of dark force—an aura of invisible strength, pure and silent. The force rippled outward like a pressure shock, sending the others crashing into the temple pillars.
Nothing stopped him.
"Jinx, listen to me!" Wu called. "You're being used—this isn't the way!"
But the boy didn't look back.
And then—he stood before Garmadon.
The warlord of shadows gave a smile full of triumph and tragedy. With a dramatic flourish, he extended the Mega Weapon—its jagged, glowing form humming with ancient chaos. Power seeped from it like smoke.
Jinx reached for it.
The moment his fingers touched the weapon's grip, darkness surged. Black, web-like tendrils of shadow erupted from his arms, coiling around his forearms and wrists like living tattoos. The shadows twisted and intertwined with the Mega Weapon, creeping up its length and covering it halfway like frost devouring glass.
A tremor rolled through the temple.
Zane crawled up from rubble, dazed. "No… he's attuning to it. That's not supposed to happen!"
"Jinx!" Kai yelled. "You have to stop! You're stronger than this!"
Jinx turned his head just slightly—enough to show one eye, now glowing violet-black, emotionless and endless. A tear rolled down his cheek, and then—
He raised the Mega Weapon into the sky.
The very air screamed.
A black spiral of energy coiled around the blade's corrupted tip, and then shot straight into the heavens. There, the sky did not crack—it was ripped. An X-shaped tear opened in the firmament itself, glowing with a sickly violet-blue light, as if reality were nothing more than fragile parchment.
Beyond the tear was nothing—not darkness, not void—just absence.
A low hum became a high-pitched ring.
The clouds swirled inward toward the tear. The wind howled like voices from beyond time. Lightning arced upward instead of down, feeding the rift as it grew wider, wider, devouring the heavens.
Jinx stood in the center of it all, a living conduit of sorrow and power. His hands gripped the weapon tight, knuckles white, body shaking—but he didn't let go.
And from far above, a voice seemed to whisper—not from the world, but from beyond it:
"My son…"
Somewhere far away…
Beyond the oceans, beyond time, hidden in a place untouched by sunlight or memory, the ground trembled with a slow, terrible rhythm.
Inside a cavern so deep that light itself dared not enter, something ancient stirred.
The air was thick—like breathing through ink. Cracks webbed the blackened stone, pulsing faintly with violet energy, like veins beneath skin. The silence was heavy, not empty—but full, as if every echo had been strangled to death long ago.
At the heart of this abyss, surrounded by nothing but shifting shadow, a voice spoke:
"The balance… is shifting."
The voice was not loud, but it moved through the stone, through the dark, as if the world itself had to listen.
It was not spoken from a mouth, but felt—like a cold hand grazing the back of your mind.
Back in the present…
The sky above Ninjago split wider.
Master Wu stood on the monastery steps, his golden robes billowing violently in the cyclone wind. His staff trembled in his hands—not from age, but from something far worse: dread.
Above him, the X-shaped tear glowed like a scar across the heavens. Reality writhed around it—folding, unfolding, breaking.
And the wind screamed.
It wasn't a natural scream. It carried a note of something else—pain, or perhaps delight.
Wu's white beard whipped across his chest as he staggered to brace himself. He gazed out at the devastation unfolding across the land.
In the skies above Ninjago City, six enormous tornados churned like the fists of forgotten gods. Entire buildings twisted and ripped from their foundations, spiraling into the air. Windows shattered, fires spread unchecked, and the air filled with the chorus of chaos and sirens.
But worse than the wind… were the shadows.
They spread like ink in water—rising, infecting, crawling across walls, merging with the ground. Everything they touched withered or turned against itself. Trees curled in on themselves. Statues wept shadow. People ran, but some were swallowed whole—turned into silhouettes that screamed without mouths.
Above all of it, the storm clouds gathered, rolling in like a black tide. Dark purple lightning cracked across the sky every few seconds, each strike exploding into the ground like meteor impacts—leaving craters, leveling buildings, and igniting swaths of fire that never burned red, only blue.
It was no longer just a storm.
It was a falling curtain.
And Wu—still looking up, face pale beneath his hood—could feel it in his bones. Not just fear… not even despair.
It was recognition.
He whispered, almost to himself.
"What… has happened to you, Jinx?"
A single bolt of purple lightning struck the mountain behind him.
And the ground split open.
Above the volcano, the sky split further.
Golden light, impossibly radiant, erupted from the X-shaped rift like divine chains. Tendrils of pure Spinjitzu energy—woven from the same threads that once forged the world—lashed downward and coiled around Jinx's body.
At first, the light seemed to steady him.
But then—
Crack—crack—CRACK!
The fractures on his skin exploded like spiderwebs, racing up his neck, curling across his jaw. One tendril wrapped around his arm and disrupted his grip, forcing the Mega Weapon to sink lower. His knees buckled again as he groaned in agony, the light forcing the shadow within him to retreat, but at the price of his own strength.
Then… came the voice.
It wasn't loud. It didn't need to be.
"Now is not the time for awe…"
The voice was calm, but its power rippled through the air like the chords of an eternal melody—older than Ninjago itself.
"The Mega Weapon must be destroyed. Or the boy will die, and the balance will fall."
Wu gasped, his eyes wide with recognition. Beside him, Garmadon took an instinctive step back, as though a ghost had risen from the grave.
"Father…" Wu whispered.
"Impossible," Garmadon muttered, lips trembling. "He's—he's gone."
But the voice continued:
"There is no time. Save the boy. Use the Golden Weapons. Now!"
For a split second, the ninja froze, stunned by the realization—the First Spinjitzu Master was speaking to them. Speaking through time. Through the rift.
But Jinx's scream shattered their awe.
The energy around him began to burn, turning golden-white as it clashed violently with the shadow anchored in his veins.
Kai gritted his teeth, lifting his sword.
"Okay, no time to get distracted, guys. We have to destroy the Mega Weapon once and for all."
He raised it high.
"Fire!"
Jay followed suit.
"Lightning!"
Cole shouted.
"Earth!"
Zane's voice was calm and resolute.
"Ice!"
"No!" Garmadon cried out. "What are you doing?! You'll destroy everything!"
But it was too late.
"NINJA, GO!" Past Wu roared.
The four Golden Weapons blazed to life, their energy surging like rivers of stars. Streams of red, blue, brown, and white spiraled through the air and crashed into the Mega Weapon—light clashing with shadow in an eruption of power that shook the entire volcano.
Jinx screamed—a sound torn not from his throat, but from his very soul.
Then—
FWOOOOM!
The weapons exploded from the ninja's hands and began to circle Jinx and the Mega Weapon, drawing golden glyphs midair, forming a cage of ancient energy. For a heartbeat, everything stood still.
And then…
A shockwave tore outward in all directions.
The volcano quaked. The sky shuddered. The X-shaped tear rippled like silk in a storm, then pulsed, once, twice, and collapsed inward in a single beam that shot straight into space, leaving behind only silence.
The Mega Weapon was gone.
So were the Golden Weapons.
Jinx's body was hurled backwards like a ragdoll, crashing hard into the black volcanic wall. He crumpled to the stone, unmoving.
Silence.
Then… something stepped through the rift before it closed.
A woman's silhouette, faint as starlight but unmistakably real, moved with grace toward Jinx's unconscious form. She knelt beside him, her hand tenderly cupping his fractured cheek—glowing fingers brushing against the skin that still pulsed with shadow and light.
Her touch was not harsh.
It was love.
Pure. Endless. Unquestioning.
She leaned close, her form flickering in and out of existence like mist in moonlight. Then, slowly, she looked up—not at all of them—but at one of the ninja.
Yet none could say which one.
They all felt it—the weight of that gaze. The grief. The gratitude. The warning.
And then—
She was gone.
Vanished with the last spark of the rift's light.
And Jinx lay still.
The ground beneath the ninja's feet trembled once more, but this time, it wasn't from battle.
As they stood near the smoldering volcano, struggling to process what they had just witnessed—the silhouette of the woman, Jinx unconscious, the disappearance of the Mega Weapon—the air around them shimmered like heat haze.
Past Wu's body began to flicker.
So did Past Kai's.
"No—wait, what's happening to us?" Past Kai called out, his voice already echoing and distant.
Before anyone could answer, both of their forms began to disintegrate into streaks of golden light, dissolving into the winds of time itself.
Whrrooooom...
A portal cracked open in the sky above them—not like the rift from before, but smooth, stable. It yawned wide, and a great pull of gravity yanked at their feet.
"Uh oh—" Jay began, but was cut off as he and the others were sucked into the vortex, limbs flailing as they vanished one by one.
With a jolt, the ninja stumbled onto the deck of the Destiny's Bounty.
They crashed to the wooden planks with a series of undignified grunts and thuds. Garmadon landed last with a heavy thump, groaning.
Jay blinked. "Did we just, uh...?"
Kai pushed himself up, dusting off his gi. "Return to the future?"
Cole stretched his back. "This feels familiar. But weren't we just training Lloyd?"
Zane, kneeling and scanning his surroundings, frowned. "The future was altered. There is no Green Ninja."
"Sorry I'm late, guys!"
The familiar voice turned all their heads.
Lloyd came sprinting across the deck, panting and clutching his training gear. His hair was a mess, his belt was uneven, and he looked thoroughly apologetic. "Are we ready to get training?"
Kai's jaw dropped. "Ha! You're still here!"
Lloyd blinked. "Uh, yeah? Why wouldn't I be?"
Jay scratched his head. "So... when we went back in time and destroyed Garmadon's Mega Weapon, that didn't change anything?"
Kai walked over to a barrel and pulled out a watermelon. "Guess not."
Lloyd looked up sharply. "My father had a Mega Weapon?"
Kai froze, the melon halfway to the table. "Wait a minute. You've never heard of it?"
With a grin, he sliced it cleanly with his sword, passing pieces around.
Lloyd hesitated, accepting a slice. "I—I think I would've remembered something like that. What is it? Should I be concerned?"
The ninja burst out laughing.
Lloyd frowned. "Hey, what's so funny? What's going on?"
He carved a small dragon shape into his watermelon slice, sulking. "I don't get it."
Kai leaned back, his grin wide. "Some things are best left in the past."
Jay, Cole, and Zane laughed with him, the tension lifting for the first time in days.
"Come on," Kai added. "Let's just prepare for the future."
Far from their laughter, Wu stood quietly on the top deck, staff in hand.
His gaze was fixed skyward, to the lone, distant star that shimmered far brighter than it should—a remnant, he knew, of where the Golden Weapons had gone.
Then—a sound split the air above him.
A tear in space opened directly over the deck, swirling with gold and shadow. Wu's robes fluttered in the vortex's sudden wind. His eyes widened.
Whump!
A body fell from the rift with tremendous force, slamming into the planks of the Bounty with a crack that echoed across the ship.
A crater dented the wood.
Wu rushed forward.
"Jinx!"
Jinx lay unmoving in the wreckage, his body scarred with the blackened cracks from the Mega Weapon, glowing faintly beneath the skin. His breathing was shallow. Faint golden residue still clung to his arms.
Wu knelt beside him, his expression a complex mix of fear, sorrow, and responsibility.
The stars were silent above him.