Chapter One

                                    

                                          
Lloyd Garmadon, the Green Ninja, sat on the shores of the Dark Island as his sprained leg was wrapped up in gauze. His emerald eyes stared across the turquoise waters to his homeland, the ominous black clouds could be seen across the many miles that separated the two islands. He already lost round one of the battle against evil, when the manifestation of darkness itself, an entity called the Overlord, possessed his father. Lloyd tried to stop the creature from attacking but he was thrown several hundred yards and knocked unconscious. The Overlord and his army of indestructible Stone Warriors escaped to the island of Ninjago, where his reign of terror began.
                          
Lloyd looked up at the man who was bandaging his leg, a kind old man named Nicolas Julien; his snow white hair was slicked back as his thin glasses slipped down his nose. Julien was one of Lloyd's brothers-in-arm's father, a ninja named Zane.
                          
"Can I still fight?" Lloyd asked.
                          
"I'm sorry," Doctor Julien said, shaking his head softly. "That leg will take weeks to heal."
                          
"We don't have weeks!" Lloyd exclaimed, grunting as he accidentally moved his leg. 
                          
Down at the shores, a short distance away from Lloyd and Julien, Lloyd's brothers sat on the sands as they stared, broken heartedly, at their homeland. Kai, the ninja of fire, with brown spiked hair, hazel eyes and a red and black uniform, paced angrily, unable to do anything. Their teacher, Wu, stroked his long white beard as he wondered about the future of his nephew and his students. 
                          
"The battle between good and evil will be decided today," he said.
                          
"And we can't even get to the fight! Much less get off this island!" Kai snapped, skipping a stone across the water. 
                          
Jay, the ninja of lightning, with his navy blue uniform and ginger red hair, sighed at the thought of his girlfriend, Nya. She had been corrupted by the Overlord and had escaped with him and his army earlier that day. 
                          
"I wonder if I'll see Nya again," he huffed, his head hanging in defeat.
                          
"Perhaps it's best if we remember them in our hearts," Zane said, "Not as they are now." Zane had blond hair, icy blue eyes and a white uniform, the ninja of ice laid his hand on Jay's shoulder in comfort. 
                          
Lloyd, supported by Julien, hobbled over to the rest of the group, "But I don't remember my father any other way." Lloyd's father, Montgomery Garmadon, was cursed as a young child, doomed to have evil in his veins for as long as he lived. Lloyd only knew his father as a dark lord, not the person his mother, Misako, knew. 
                          
"Your father loved you, I just wish he hadn't been corrupted by the darkness," she said, her heart aching at the thought of her husband. 
                          
Kai suddenly spoke up, "Sensei, I don't understand. The prophecy said that the Green Ninja would defeat the Dark Lord. Why didn't we win?"
                          
Wu sighed, "I don't know."
                          
"Don't know?!" Jay cried. "You're Sensei! You always know!"
                          
"There must be some message to learn. A lesson. A word of wisdom! Just a word? Something!" Kai asked desperately.
                          
"For once, I'm afraid there is nothing to learn," Wu sighed, turning to stare back at the island of Ninjago. "Only that evil has won."
                          
Lloyd couldn't take the negative energy of his family and friends, he needed to find a way to boost their morals. And he knew the perfect way. 
                          
"If Sensei doesn't have a lesson, then I do. I used to be nothing but trouble but then I met you guys. You took me in, you taught me the importance of being brave, the importance of being strong. And most importantly, being good," Lloyd said, he wanted to prove that he wasn't weak so he started attempting to walk on his own. He placed his injured foot on the ground, but grimaced again, he looked up at his friends and continued, "When the first Spinjitzu Master battled the Overlord, and his back was against the wall and he knew it was all over, did he quit? No, he found a way to keep the fight going. He passed his elemental powers to us, of all people a bunch of kids! There must've been a reason he chose us. I like to think it's because he knew we'd never back down, we'd never give up! We've learned the ancient ways of the ninja, and Ninja Never Quit!" 
                          
Kai stood up, "He's right. If that means we have to swim the sea to get off this island, then so be it." 
                          
He started to wade into the water as Jay spoke nervously, "The entire ocean?!"
                          
Cole, the ninja of earth, with his shaggy black hair, forest green eyes and black and gray uniform, spoke, "Well if you have a better plan..?"
                          
Zane spoke, "I don't, but he may." He pointed to the sky where a large, black falcon glided overhead. Everyone brightened at the sight of the familiar bird. 
                          
"He must've found something!" Jay said excitedly, jumping to his feet. The group hurried to their feet and chased after Zane's pet. Cole had to carry Lloyd on his back as they raced through the tropical forest, dodging branches and abandoned weapons left behind from the Stone Army. 
                          
"Where is it going?" Lloyd asked after several miles of being carried through the muggy forest. 
                          
"I am not sure," Zane said, unable to tear his eyes away from his pet, and yet never tripping on roots and rocks, "But yet I sense this path is familiar."
                          
The group followed the falcon to a large mountain, sighing they all started climbing the five hundred foot tall mountain. Occasionally someone would slip or trip on the blackened earth, but he would get back up without complaint. The falcon watched their progress as he sat on a cliff above their heads, cawing at random times, as if he was telling them to hurry. 
                          
Finally, after a half hour of trekking the mountain, the group of eight made it to the cliff where the falcon was perched, and waiting for them was a massive surprise.
                          
"Ultra Dragon!" Jay cheered, running over to the massive white dragon and embracing its large head. Ultra Dragon snorted and nuzzled one of its former masters, its white and green scales glistened in the sunlight as its emerald eyes wandered over the group. Kai, Cole and Zane stroked Ultra Dragon's head lovingly, causing it to purr loudly. 
                          
"It's good to see you again, old friend," Zane said, smiling.
                          
"Are you here to help us across the ocean?" Kai asked. Ultra Dragon nodded in response, lowering its head to allow the four elemental masters on its back. The group climbed on (Lloyd needed to be boosted onto it's back) as Ultra Dragon stretched its massive white wings. Roaring, it took off into the bright blue sky.