The light was spotted in the desert just outside Ninjago City late one night. An infinite loop of red and yellow, green and blue. The ninja were pulled from their sleep, dragged to the rooftops by their concerned sensei.
It had been several years since Krux and Acronix had been lost to the time stream, but that didn't mean they couldn't come back. Starting from the source, they found the sand disturbed, a concerning trail of blood leading towards the city.
Picking up on the signature, Zane led the others through the mostly abandoned alleyways towards the museum. After the time twins' departure, all entrances to the secret base that had been stowed away within its walls were sealed shut.
Almost all.
The team found a door in the back and slipped through, unpleasant memories surfacing as they descended through the sewers. The blood was less now, but still continuous, leading the ninja directly into the open cave, littered with expired Vermillion eggs and machinery.
A faint heat signature caught the ice master's eye and there they found him.
Collapsed in the workroom, armor dented and cape torn, Acronix lay, his skin pale and body barely shifting with breath. His left arm clutched weakly around his waist, a tape recorder in his right hand.
Wu immediately rushed to the man's side, confirming that he was still alive and noting the three tapes nearby, marked messily with names he recognized.
Per his instruction, the team gathered the tapes and recorder, which had another in it, unlabeled, and they carried the unconscious time traveler out into the open air.
Despite Acronix's past, it was agreed that letting him die overstepped 'cruel' and so the man was swiftly transported to the nearest hospital. The staff noted that he would live, but with the excessive blood loss and broken ribs, it would be a while before the elemental would even awaken.
With not much else to be done, the team headed home. Wu sent the grateful ninja back to bed and retired to his own quarters in the monastery. Carefully, he set down the recorder and tapes, spotted with blood. Taking out the unlabeled one, Wu looked them over before settling on one labeled 'Krux'.
It had the most blood on it, so the sensei master reasoned it must've been the first. Taking in a breath, he slid the tape into place.
And hit 'play'.