The Master of Nature

More Surprises

Hope and Alyssa stepped into the room under the trapdoor and sat down. Neither of them dared make a sound in case they were heard.

Alyssa looked up after a while. "I wonder if everything's okay. If Dr Julien did manage to convince the Leviathan that he's alone, it would be a miracle."

Hope was about to answer when the two sisters heard a sound. They looked around.

"I don't think we're alone," said Alyssa.

The thought of meeting more strangers here sent a wave of panic through Hope. "You go and check," she said. "I'm scared."

Alyssa looked at Hope in concern. Hope wouldn't hesitate to fight any enemies that came her way, and yet the thought of meeting new people still terrified her. "Don't worry, I will check for you," she said.

Alyssa inched towards the bunch of things in the room, certain that someone was hiding behind them. "Who is it? Show yourself!

To the girls' shock, something that appeared to be a rusty version of Zane appeared. " I am Zane. Built to protect those who cannot protect themselves."

Hope gasped. "Another Zane?"

"What does she mean, another?" came another voice that didn't belong to Alyssa or Echo Zane. Hope froze in place again.

"Who are you?" asked Alyssa, referring to the voice, not Echo Zane. "Come out. We don't bite.

Just then, a man and woman peeked out. The man had blue eyes and honey blond hair while the woman had wavy auburn hair and forest green eyes. Hope gasped in shock.

"Mom? Dad?"

"Hope, our little sunshine, is it you?" asked the woman.

Alyssa gasped as well. She recognized the couple from the photos in Hope's childhood home. Hope started to cry.

"I... I missed you!" She ran to hug her parents for the first time in four years."

"I can't believe this!" said the man. "You have grown up."

"But why?" asked Hope. "Why are you here?"

Just then, knocks came from the trapdoor. "Hope, Alyssa, is everything alright? The Leviathan is gone."

"Actually, you all should come down here!" said Alyssa. "We have... A little bit of a situation."

The other ninja came in, looking quite puzzled. They gasped when they saw Echo Zane and Hope's parents.

"Another Zane?" asked Kai.

"I have a brother?" asked Zane.

"Great, another knight in rusted armor," said Nya.

"And who are the two of you?" asked Cole to Hope's parents.

"I'm Jeffrey Mason and this is my wife Olivia," said Hope's father. "We are..."

"Hope's parents!" said Lloyd.

"Er... Mom, Dad, these are Kai and Nya Smith, Jay Walker, Cole Brookstone, Zane Julien, Lloyd Garmadon, Sensei Wu and Misako, Lloyd's mother."

"Barely," muttered Lloyd under his breath.

"And this girl is Alyssa Howes, my foster sister," said Hope. "Actually, I kind of consider the other ninja and Nya my siblings too."

"It's nice to meet you," said Olivia. "I'm so thankful that our Hope has found a wonderful family."

Suddenly, everyone looked uncomfortable. "Actually, we weren't the family Hope was placed with," said Jay. "She was with Alyssa's family, and they were awful to her."

"What?" asked Hope's parents.

Then came the whole tale of how Hope had been mistreated by Alyssa's parents until the ninja saved her. Then came the story of Hope discovering her powers and training. Dr Julien was explaining to Zane of how he had built Echo Zane to deal with being separated from Zane himself.

"If we're gonna make something and get out of here, we're gonna have to hurry before it comes back," reminded Kai.

So everyone had to get to work repairing the ship. However, Hope could hardly concentrate at all. Her parents had suddenly reappeared in her life, and she had a ton of questions.

Zane had stayed behind at the lighthouse to get to know Echo Zane and talk to his father. Jeffrey and Olivia acted like Hope was still a child. They insisted on carrying stuff for her and cooking her dinner.

Hope turned red. "I'm not eleven years old anymore," she said. "I can look after myself."

Her parents sighed. "Sorry, but we just have missed so much," said Olivia. "You were still a child the last time we saw you, and now you are a teenager. We weren't sure how long we have been trapped here, but..."

Hope remembered Garmadon's shocked expression when he first set eyes on aged-up Lloyd. "Yeah, I sort of get it," she said. "You see Lloyd over there? He's actually ten years old, but looks older thanks to a magical tea.

"But how did you end up here? And why didn't you try to communicate with me?"

Her parents sighed. "It's a long complicated story," said Jeffrey. "Perhaps you should take a seat..."

Unfortunately, the conversation was interrupted yet again by the Leviathan, which started to growl. Zane's family went out of the lighthouse.

Nya tried to fly the ship away, but the Leviathan grabbed it.

"Lloyd! Use your Elemental Powers!" said Wu.

As Lloyd used his energy balls, Zane suddenly noticed something.

"It's chained!" exclaimed Zane. He stood on the railing.

"Zane! What are you doing?" asked Dr Julien.

"The Leviathan won't let us leave. I think I know a way I can help," said Zane.

"But you can't jump in. These oceans are filled with Starteeth," said Dr Julien.

"I know," said Zane before diving in.

"Zane! No!" called Dr Julien.

The Leviathan was pulling the Bounty closer to the water. Lloyd was falling towards the edge. "Help!" he called.

"Lloyd!" yelled Hope. She made lilies appear and grab Lloyd's arms.

Jeffrey gasped. "Hope, you have elemental powers!"

Hope looked at her parents. "You knew I had elemental powers?"

"We weren't sure," said Olivia. "But we suspected it when..."

"We have to explain it to her," said Jeffrey.

Suddenly, the Leviathan released the ship. "It let us go," said Kai.

"Zane released the Leviathan, and now it's letting us go," said Lloyd.

"But where is my son?" asked Dr Julien.

"Over there," Echo Zane suddenly said. And sure enough, Zane was climbing back onto the ship. "I'm here, Father!"

"How did you know if you freed it from captivity it would let us go?" asked Wu.

"Because no one deserves to be held captive. Not even a monster," said Zane.