Cole bursts through the entrance of the mine that led to the castle gardens with brute strength. Keres was in Cole's arms, while Vania - in her fighting robes with her golden blonde hair down - follows them with Chompy on her shoulder. Keres' form was glitching out of control.

Wu spits out his tea and throws his tea cup aside, noticing the dire situation. "Cole? Princess Vania? What happened? Where are the others?!"

"You mean they're not back?"

"No," Wu turns to Vania.  "And you, Princess. You gave me your word that you wouldn't enter the mines!"

Vania laughs sheepishly. "Oh, did I? Did I actually give my word? I thought it was more of a...possibility."

Wu deadpan. "It was most certainly not."

"I guess I'm not very good at doing what I'm told." She says as Chompy climbed onto his hat.

"I'm beginning to see that." Wu says. He growls at the dragon on his hat. "And whose dragon is this?!"

Vania giggles. Chompy glides off his hat and lands in the flower bushes. "That's Chompy, my pet dragon. He's mine." The gold and white scaled dragon pops out of the bushes with a flower in his mouth. He goes over to the group and wags his tail happily.

"Is he a Shintaran Ridgeback?" Wu asks Vania, who gives off a confused look and shrugs.

"Uh, no? He's just Chompy." The aformention dragon begins eating the flower, and swallows it, much to the princess's dismay. "Chompy, will you quit eating the flowers? You're just gonna barf."

He looks at Keres' glitching form. "What happened to Keres? She was supposed to be staying in Katarina's head."

"I think she got hurt by those skeletons down in the mines. Katarina was weakened too, and she wasn't able to use her magic to perform a healing spell on Keres. And when me and the others were running from that Skull Sorcerer and his skeleton army, Katarina and Keres got separated." Cole explains.

"Skull Sorcerer? What Skull Sorcerer?" Wu asks curiously.

"There's an evil sorcerer called the Skull Sorcerer in the mines, and he's got this magic skull, and he commands an army of skeletons! We got separated and barely escaped! They must still be down there!"

"How? How could all that be down there without anyone up here realizing it?" Wu says in disbelief.

"I don't know, but we have to tell my father immediately!" Vania answers with urgency.

"The King needs to send his guards to stop this weirdo. If his skeleton army ever reaches the surface, all of Shintaro would be destroyed." Cole says urgently. "But first, we need to heal Keres. I don't know much about magic or healing spells, but do you think there's a way we can heal Keres up just enough until Katarina can do the rest of the work?"

Wu nods. "I can try. I have some healing potions back on the Bounty. I'll retrieve it and sees if it will work on her. If it doesn't, we'll have to wait until we reunite with the others."

"What do you mean 'if it will work on her'?" Vania echoes.

"Keres is an inner demon, Princess. We don't know how well her body will respond to the healing potions." Wu explains to her.

"We'll just have to find out," Cole says with hope.

"We can take her to my sleeping chambers," Vania volunteers. "We better hurry, we haven't got a moment to lose!"

Once Wu retrieved the healing potion from the Bounty and they were inside the castle, Vania sneaks them past the guards and shoves Cole and Wu into her chambers.

Cole quickly lays Keres down on Vania's bed, and he and Vania hold her still while Wu feeds her the potion and forces her to swallow it. Cole and Vania let her go. "Will she be okay?"

Wu sighs. "In time, Princess. The potion will take some time for it to take effect. We shall see how she handles it. Hopefully, it will heal her fully."

"I hope the others are doing okay down in the mines." Vania says with worry.

"Me too," Cole says. Keres takes a sharp breath in, and whimpers slightly before turning her head away from Cole. Vania looks down at her with concern, examining the holograph.

"How can Keres been seen as a hologram but feel solid? Magic holograms aren't supposed to work like that. And how can she feel pain?" She points out. He shrugs, not knowing the answer himself.

"I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with the spell Katarina taught her, so Keres can interact with the physical world."

"I've read and studied my fair share of magic," She says. "There's not a single spell about that." He hums in thought.

"She mentioned the Morningstars had magical power that rivaled the skull of Hazza D'ur...and she is a Morningstar, so it has to be her power-" Vania cuts Cole off.

"She's part of the Morningstars?" She says in disbelief. He nods slowly, which makes her worry.

"Yeah, she is. Why? What's wrong?" He asks worriedly.

"I studied the Morningstars without my father's knowledge in the forbidden part of the castle's library. The Morningstars are a powerful family with a lot of magic potential, which they used to eliminate every existing magical family members and clans in one fell swoop. They wanted to show their dominance to everyone...by killing those magic families and clans, picking them off one by one like they were prey to them."

Wu and Cole's faces' contorted to horror as Vania continued. "I don't even know any magical family members that exist anymore because of the Morningstars. If Katarina really is a part of that family...." She looks towards the two. "Has she ever killed anyone before?"

Cole shakes his head, but Wu nods. Cole and Vania widen their eyes in horror. "She almost did...but it was forty two years ago. Shortly after me, my brother Garmadon, Katarina and the first Elemental Alliance has defeated the Hands of Time, Katarina went on a rampage one night."

Wu takes a deep breath as he recounted that night. "I'm not sure what happened that night, and I'm not sure she does either, but...the way she fought against us was brutal and violent. It was like nothing I've ever seen before...it was a side I never thought she was capable of showing. But when she showed it that night...it scared me. It scared all of us."

Cole and Vania took the time to process the information. "...D-Did she...did anyone survive?" Vania stutters. Wu slowly nods.

"We all did...but we were all gravely injured that night. Some of the Elemental Masters almost died, too. And when Katarina awoke the next morning...we didn't go near her for a week. I drove her away from us, which to her leaving the Monastery."

Vania and Cole shudder at the same time. "It was because of me." Keres spoke. Everyone got startled by the sound of Keres' voice, and snap and whip their heads towards her. She was now sitting up on Vania's bed, looking a bit tired and a little worse for wear, but she was otherwise fine.

"Come again?" Cole says.

"It was because of me," She repeats. "I was responsible for making her that violent that night. I don't understand why I did it to this day, but I think it was because evil was running through my veins and...it's in my nature for my kind to be that way. She understands what she did that night and she very much regrets it still, but she forgave me for forcing her to hurt her friends."

"H-How did you force her?" Vania asks with  fear laced in her voice.

"By controlling her, obviously," Keres says with an eyeroll. She pulls down the collar of her shirt, revealing a scar that resembled a ying half. "That's why I have a ying scar and she has a yang scar. Why do you think she doesn't remember most of the events of that night? I mean, Katarina remembers bits and pieces of it, but not the whole picture. I made sure she wouldn't remember all of it by blocking that memory."

Everyone shuddered in fear by her explanation, but was put at a bit of ease when Keres explained the memory bit.

"....Don't think of her differently because of what you learned about her and what I just said. She's still the same person you know and love...she just doesn't want to be reminded of some parts of her past. She's been through a lot and she's trying to handle it under the stress and pressure...just don't hate her or anything, yeah?"

The others slowly nod, and it took Cole some time and courage to ask her, "How are you feeling now?"

Keres tries to summon her magic, and grunts softly. "Better. Wish I can say the same for my powers," Her eyes widen in realization. "W-Wait...am I back in the castle?"

Vania nods. "Yeah, why?"

"Are the others..." Cole, Vania and Wu realize what she's talking  about, and they nod in reply.

"Yeah, they are..." Cole says. Keres quickly gets down the bed, only for her to stumble. Cole catches her.

"Take it easy, Keres. You've only just woke up. You're lucky the healing potion I gave you is working and your body isn't rejecting it. It's going to take some time to get your strength back." Wu explains. Cole props her arm over his shoulder and holds her by the waist to keep her upright.

"No, no, you don't understand. None of you do," Keres says desperately. "The Skull Sorcerer is dangerous, very dangerous, and it's thanks to the skull of Hazza D'ur. He'll be lucky if the immense power in that skull will spare his life. Their lives are in danger, and so is Katarina's."

"What are you talking about?" Vania asks worriedly.

"I've seen the way the Skull Sorcerer looks at Katarina. And whatever it is, it's not good. He wants to steal her powers. Not her Elemental Powers, but her magic powers. He wants them for himself, and use her the way he's using the skull." Keres explains. "If he gets his hands on her-"

"We won't let that happen." Cole assures her. "Not if we have anything to say about it."

"We're going to tell my father about all this. He'll fix everything, I just know he will." Vania says firmly. Every else nods and runs to the throne room.

"And please ask the Accounting Department for a report on the latest shipment of vengesto-" Vangelis was telling his royal advisors, but was interrupted by Cole, Wu, Vania and Keres.

"Father, we must speak with you. It's an emergency!" Vania says urgently. Vangelis sighs and shoos his advisors away. He stands up, facing the group with concern.

"Vania? Wu? What emergency? What's this all about?"

"The mines! They're not as empty as we all believed!" Vania says, getting right to the point. He widens his eyes in shock and disbelief.

"You went underground?!"

"I had to, father. Cole and the other ninja and Keres were trapped!"

It's true," Cole chimes in. "She saved my life and Keres' life too."

Vangelis growls under his breath. "I told you never to go down there!" Vania's eyes sadden at the sight of her angry father.

"Please, don't be angry, Father."

Vangelis sighs at his daughter's apology. "I'm not angry, just...saddened. You have forced my hand." Keres' eyes widen a little, and she tightens her fists at Vangelis' words out of anger.

"What do you mean?" Vania says nervously.

" I love you, child," Vangelis says sweetly, but it grows to anger, "But why don't you ever listen? I was trying to protect you!" Vania's breath hitched in her throat.

"I know, I'm sorry, but you need to understand. There's a dark evil down there called the Skull Sorcerer!" Vania tries to explain to him.

"Yeah, and he's got this evil magic skull that glows red, and these two huge wings, and -" Vangelis cuts Cole off.

"Are you certain?"

Keres narrows her eyes at Vangelis. She takes her arm off Cole's shoulders, and puts an arm across his chest. "Something's not right," She whispers to Cole. "I can sense it. It's something in this room."

"We saw him!" Cole says firmly. Vangelis opens a box next to him that blended well into the room and his throne. The object in the box slowly floats out of the box. Keres gasps.

"And you're certain it wasn't ..." The skull of Hazza D'ur reveals itself to the group. It snarls at Cole and Keres. Keres snarls back at the skull. Green flames engulf Vangelis and transform him into the Skull Sorcerer. The mask's green eyes glow immensely, and he lets out a dark laugh.

"That...feels...GOOD!"

"NO!" Vania screams as she witnessed her father's transformation.

"You're the Skull Sorcerer?!" Cole says in disbelief.

"Why?" Wu asks. Keres gets into a fighting stance. Vangelis' bat-like wings lift him up in the air and hover over the princess, Wu, Cole and Keres.

"Perfection, I'm afraid, has a cost. And the cost is Vengestone. It comes from the mines."

"From the mountain, from the earth." The skull chimes in. Keres' ears let out a ringing noise, and something struck through her. She winces and covers her ears to block out the noise. Cole and Wu look at her in concern.

"The people of Shintaro may not realize it, but their magnificent city, the lives of bliss and joy that they lead, is paid for by Vengestone. Fortunately, I found a customer willing to pay dearly for it." Vangelis explains to the group and his daughter.

"I don't believe it. You-you wouldn't. You couldn't!" Vania says out of denial.

The skull looks at Keres, who was still covering her ears, and lets out a scream at her. "You...creation of evil..." The skull breathes out. "...don't belong...with the mortals....you belong...to me!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Keres snarls at the skull after she removes her hands from her ears. The ringing noise subsides, along with the pain.

"I recognize...my creations from anywhere..." The skull continues. "....You're from one of my spells....the spell of immortality...I never thought you would abandon your purpose..."

Her eyes widen in realization and she gasps. No wonder that voice felt and sounded familiar...it was Hazza D'ur's voice, calling out to her, making sure she carried out his work along with the rest of the inner demons who were born from the immortality spell. He put her under his bidding, but Katarina managed to break his chains and help her.

And now he was going to make her pay by taking Katarina's power.

Keres unleashes her demon form. Her tail lashes out widly. "Yeah, well, I got a new purpose now. Protecting this world and my host! Deal with it, bitch!" She launches herself high up in the air and rockets towards the skull, ready to deliver a powerful blow, but the skull manages to open its mouth and blast her right into a wall. It created a crater in the wall bigger than her, and her demon form dissipates as she falls back down onto the ground.

Cole and Wu turn their attention to the Skull Sorcerer after they witness her fall down. "Well, it ends now!"

The Skull Sorcerer laughs darkly. "In that respect, sadly, you are correct." The skull opens its mouth again and blasts Wu into the wall next. Vania and Cole gasp.

"Master Wu!" Cole yells. The skulls blasts Cole into the wall next. The Skull Sorcerer laughs even louder.

"NO!" Vania screams.

"The Skull. Get the Skull!" Wu says weakly. Vania props her dragon Chompy onto her arm, and the dragon and the princess share a nod.

"Chompy! GO!" Chompy launches off her arm and flies towards the skull in the air, but the Skull Sorcerer was quicker and knocks the dragon down. The small dragon whimpers from the pain and the impact. Vania gasps.

"CHOMPY!"

The Skull Sorcerer reaches for a lever beside his throne, which opened up a wide hole for Cole, Wu and Keres to fall through. They scream as they fall down, and Vania looks behind her and runs up to the hole. She reaches her hand out towards them.

"COLE! WU! KERES!" Wasting no time, she grabs a pair of wings on the far side of the room and puts them on her back. The Skull Sorcerer widens his eyes and growls at his daughter.

"Vania! No! You'll never reach them in time!"

"I have to try!" Vania protests. She was already at the hole. The Skull Sorcerer - no, Vangelis - could feel himself reaching a hand out towards her. Like he needed her by his side more than anything right now.

But his daughter's eyes told him a different story.

"If you do this...you will be my daughter no longer! You will be nothing to me!" He screams.

"Nothing! Nothing! Nothing!" The skull echoes back. Without looking back, without a moment of hesistation, she dives down the hole, with her father crying out in the distance.

"NOOOO!" He bangs his fist into a wall next to the throne. He breathes heavily, his eyes still attached to the hole. "YOU MADE YOUR CHOICE, VANIA!"

"And you made yours...Father." Vania whispers sadly, as she flew faster towards her friends while tears slipped past her eyes.