“Nice try, Toothy!”

Skylor raced into the cave and flipped into the offerings pile, picking up a large, metal garbage can lid as her feet landed. Then she jumped between Kai and Fire Fang and blocked the fiery blast, using the lid as a shield.

Kai quickly kicked away from the rocks and jumped to his feet. Skylor dropped the red-hot shield and Kai saw she was wearing Master Chen’s fireproof oven mitts on her hands.

Why didn’t I think of those? he thought.

They ran away just as— Whoosh! Fire Fang aimed another blast of fire at them. They ran into the tunnel, speeding toward the Lake of Fire.

Kai stopped and looked at Skylor.

“You didn’t leave after all,” he said.

Skylor shrugged. “Like I said, you’re not yourself. I thought maybe I should keep an eye on you. And it’s a good thing I did.”

Kai flashed back to the smell of Fire Fang’s hot breath, and the feeling of helplessness as the creature pinned him down. Without Skylor, he’d be toast!

He remembered the time he had discovered his True Potential, when he realized he needed to protect the Green Ninja. Everything he did from then on, every decision he made, was based on protecting others.

Then he thought about what Skylor had tried to tell him—about all the other times his sister, Nya, and his friends, Lloyd, Cole, Jay and Zane, had helped him in a tight spot. They’d saved him, and he’d saved them, and together they’d been able to save countless others.

“I can’t protect others unless I let other people protect me, too,” he realized out loud.

As he said the words, his eyes glowed red and he felt the power flow within him. Fire sprouted from his hands.

“Kai!” Skylor cried. “Your fire powers are back!”

“Yes,” he said. “And just in time.”

The cry of the Fire Fiends echoed from the tunnel as they charged toward the Lake of Fire.

“Hey, Skylor,” Kai said, looking her directly in the eyes.

“What?” Skylor asked.

“Power up,” he said. “We’re finishing this together. You were right all along. I can’t defeat Fire Fang and the Fire Fiends without your help!”

Skylor touched his arm, and an orange glow swept through her body and then faded. Red flame flashed in her eyes.

“Ready,” she said. “Time to fight fire with fire!”

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

The Fire Fiends charged out of the cave entrance, holding their flaming torches.

Whoosh! Kai and Skylor shot fireballs at the attackers. The flames hit their fireproof armor and harmlessly fanned out. Kai and Skylor kept shooting fireballs, and the Fire Fiends continued to advance.

Kai frowned—and then he had a thought.

“They can carry fire, but we can manipulate it!” he called out.

Skylor grinned. “Right!”

Kai pointed at the flaming torch of one of the Fire Fiends. He raised his hand and the flame lifted up from the torch and floated in the air. Then Kai swung his arm behind him, and the flame flew through the air and joined the flames in the Lake of Fire.

“Nice!” Skylor cheered. “But can you do a double?” She held out both arms. Concentrating, she manipulated the flames on two more torches. Fire Fiends charged at her, and she held out both arms again. But the fiends kept coming, their torches bright with flame.

“My power ran out!” she cried.

“I got this,” Kai said. “After all, you’ve saved me a bunch of times already. Now I can return the favor. “Ninjaaaaaa-go!”

Kai spun into a Spinjitzu tornado, knocking the Fire Fiends off the rim of the crater. Skylor changed tactics and kicked the torches out of their hands so Kai could easily finish them. When the last fiend was toppled, Kai whirled over to Skylor for a high five.

“I think we qualify as a power couple now,” he said, and then…

WHOOOOOSH!

A huge wave of fire blasted from inside the tunnel. Kai and Skylor dove in opposite directions to escape it.

Fire Fang emerged into the daylight. Flames leapt from the serpent’s hood. Kai looked at Skylor.

“I got this! I mean it this time,” he said.

Skylor grinned. “Glad to see the old Kai is back!”

Kai turned back to Fire Fang.

“Did you think we forgot about you, pal?” he called out. “Your little goons can’t protect you now!” Kai’s eyes glowed as he built up the power inside him for a massive blast. He extended both arms toward Fire Fang.

WHOMP! The fiery assault hit the serpent straight on. Fire Fang wobbled, but when the smoke cleared, the fireproof scales had largely protected the creature. Fire Fang’s mouth opened…

“Nice try,” Kai said, and he raised his arms and concentrated as the ferocious blast shot out. The flame flew up, over the creature’s head, and crashed into the mountain, where it fizzled against the rocks.

“Skylor, I need your help!” Kai called out.

“You got it!” Skylor replied.

Whirrrrrrrrrrrr! Kai rocketed toward Fire Fang in a Spinjitzu tornado. Skylor raced across the crater to join him.

BAM! Kai and Skylor made contact, sending the creature flying off the crater. Stunned, the giant serpent lay motionless on the sand.

“He won’t be down for long,” Kai remarked.

“Yeah,” Skylor agreed. “We need to find some way to protect the villages from—”

Vrooooooom! The sound of a small army of motors interrupted her. Kai and Skylor spun around to see dozens of trucks and cars making their way toward the Lake of Fire. They ran to greet them.

The man they recognized from the village got out of an all-terrain vehicle.

“We all talked, and we thought it wasn’t fair for you both to face Fire Fang and the Fire Fiends alone,” he said. “Do you need any help?”

Kai and Skylor looked at each other and grinned.

“What do you think?” Skylor asked. “I mean, we need help, but what can the villagers do?”

Kai glanced over at the giant statue of Fire Fang. “Hmm. I think there’s something we can all do together.”

A short time later, Kai stood on top of the Fire Fang statue. Dozens of ropes had been tied around it. The ropes were stretched across the lake and secured to the bumpers of all the villagers’ vehicles.

“Let’s do this!” Kai yelled, and the engines roared as they surged forward. Kai jumped down off the statue’s head as—WHOMP! The statue fell head-first into the Lake of Fire, smothering the flames in the crater!

The Fire Fiends, groggy from their Spinjitzu schooling, stumbled toward the crater. Smoke from the smothered fire wafted up from the edges.

“Our fire!” they moaned.

The villagers cheered. Kai and Skylor high-fived. Then Skylor frowned.

“Wait, Fire Fang must be recovered by now,” she said.

Kai and Skylor raced back to the spot of the crater where Fire Fang had fallen. The creature was gone.

“Whoa! It just vanished,” Skylor remarked.

“Maybe looking for a new place to hang out,” Kai guessed.

“Aspheera created Fire Fang,” Skylor pointed out. “Maybe it returned back to elemental energy.”

“We may never know,” Kai added.

They made their way back to the cheering villagers.

“So, you’ve got your powers back,” Skylor said. “What now?”

“Well, I guess I’ll go back to Master Wu and Lloyd, and see if there’s any news from the other ninja,” Kai said. “They might need my…I mean, our help.”

Skylor nodded.

“But first, you and I need to celebrate!” Kai added.

“What do you have in mind?” Skylor asked.

“I was thinking,” Kai said as he hopped into the passenger seat of the noodle delivery vehicle, “maybe it’s time to find out what this new red-hot team of Kai and Skylor can do together? I mean, the city is a real mess right now.”

Skylor grinned. “I’m in,” she said, starting the engine. “No sleep till Ninjago City!”