I think I have the worst update system ever. Here I am, publishing another story, while I have four other WIP stories. Oh, well...

Fabro would be ashamed to own Ninjago, tbh

"If you hadn't followed that silly bird, none of this wouldn't have happened!"

Kai ripped his gaze from the smoldering wreckage and spun around. His eyes met Zane's; his lips curled into a hateful sneer.

"Kai!" Sensei Wu growled out a soft warning. He lay a hand across the fire ninja's chest, a silent warning to back off. Kai paused, seeing the pain in his mentor's eyes. Maybe we should back off...

Any doubt he had instantly disappeared as Jay pushed past the sensei, storming up to ice ninja.

"No Sensei, he's right. Because of you, my high score has been deleted!"

"This is a teaching moment," Zane said, his voice wobbling slightly. He attempted to pacify the upset group. "We must learn from this."

"A teaching moment?" The dam holding back Cole's emotions broke down, and the earth ninja couldn't maintain his aloof front any longer. He shoved Kai aside and got in Zane's face. "What is wrong with you? Don't you get it? Everything is gone!"

"ENOUGH!"

The sky flooded with light. Kai winced, shielding his eyes. The light flared, before dimming and disappearing completely. He blinked away the spots in his vision, determined to see what had happened.

There, before them was a man. His robes were gold, shimmery, glowing faintly gold. His beard was long and white, his eyes piercing. He surveyed the group, and Kai felt an inexplicable urge to bow, or at least look down.

Beside Zane, Sensei Wu gasped. "Father? Is it you?"

Zane sucked in a quiet breath. He'd had his suspicions, but now they were confirmed. It was the First Spinjitzu Master, and he was standing in front of him, living and breathing.

"Yes," the Master said, turning his gaze upon Zane. It made the ice ninja want to shrink back, to hide from his eyes. In a quieter voice. "And I have come to show all of you something important from the future."

"Ooh, ooh, is it about the green ninja?" Jay pushed his way to the front of the group. "Is it me?"

The First Spinjitzu Master turned to look at the blue ninja. "No. Well, yes. But right now, it's about Zane."

Kai frowned. "What's so special about him? He just burned down our Monastery!" He ignored the lightning ninja, who was squealing in his ear.

The Master rolled his eyes. "If you follow me, I'll show you."

He clapped his hands together, and a golden blaze surrounded everyone. Cole closed his eyes a moment too late, and he cried out as the light overwhelmed his vision. When he could see again, with only a minor headache, he found himself in a dimly-lit room. It was built like a living space, with couches, tables, chairs, and such placed in strategic locations, around a large screen.

"Make yourself at home," the Master told them.

Kai and Jay immediately claimed beanbags, while Sensei Wu chose to sit by himself off to the left. Cole found a recliner, and he flopped down into it with a sigh. Zane scanned the room. Nya beckoned to him, and he gratefully took a seat beside her.

The master walked to the front of the room, cutting the lights. "What you are about to see are clips and parts from your future. These all take part in the big story, but I would be breaking the laws of the universe to show you your whole future.

"You're here to learn from your future so that when you go back, you will not make the same mistakes."

With those words, the Master pulled out a remote and the television buzzed to life.