"Your friend, Zane , is imprisoned here in the Ice Emperor's castle. There are only two paths through the mountains. This is the safest." Sora explains to Lloyd after they reviewed the map.

"A pass?" He says.

"In the Old Tongue, it's called Mala-Wojira." She says.

"Mala-Wojira?" He asks.

"Wojira's Wrath. But you must be careful. You cannot make a sound in this place. You cannot speak or whisper. Even your footfalls must be like a gentle breeze." She explains.

"Why?"

"If you make a sound, Wojira will strike you down." She puts simply.

"Okay... but what is it?" She makes a few gestures with her hands and few noises with her mouth.

Lloyd slowly nods with a small shrug. "Okay!" He rolls up the map. "Great, well, I guess we'll just be quiet."

He walks outside of Sora's house, where he found the Ninja sitting around. Katarina and Cole were talking, Nya was staring at the screen of the tracker, and Jay and Kai were putting on snow shoes.

He walks over to Nya, who turns up the dial to make any difference with the signal. "Any luck?"

She shakes her head. "Nothing. It's really weird. The signal keeps coming in and out."

"Huh. Maybe the cold is interfering?" He suggests.

"Cold shouldn't matter. It's like the signal is weak. The mech had a brand new battery, it makes no sense!" She huffs with frustration.

"Maybe we're too far away from the mech. Perhaps if we leave the village and go in the mech's direction, the signal will get stronger." Katarina suggests to Nya and the others, who think on her suggestion.

"Hey guys? Have you tried these?" They look up to see Kai wearing a pair of snow shoes as he runs around in the snow. "You gotta try them! You can walk! On top of the snow!"

"I... think that's the point." Cole chuckles.

"What will they think of next?" Jay laughs.

"ALARM! ALARM!" A villager shouts loudly, as he and another villager run towards the village. "THEY'RE COMING!"

The Ninja stand up, concerned about what the ruckus was about. They rush towards the huddled villagers, who listened to the first fisherman's words with fear. "Blizzard Samurai! On the march!"

"Heading for our village! We saw them coming down the pass!" The second fisherman adds.

"I heard them first. Boma's hearing isn't as good as m—" The first fisherman starts, but the second fisherman cuts him off.

"Don't start that again!"

"Boma! Uthaug!" Sorla scolds the fishermen. She walks hurriedly towards the crowd of villagers and the Ninja, her face written with fear and worry. " Are you sure you saw this? You saw them?"

Boma and Uthaug exhange nervous looks with each other, then turn their attention back to Sorla. They nod, causing her eyes to widen a little. She sighs. "Gather the elders. There's no time to lose."

Moments later, the elders, the villagers and the Ninja were gathered in Sorla's home. The villagers and the elders were now speaking amongst each other in hushed whispers, worrying the Ninja even more.

"What if he... must consider?" The first elder says.

"We have to hide. We must abandon the village." The second elders says firmly.

"And leave the fire behind? Are you mad?" The third elder hisses at the second elder.

"What choice do we have? I say we hide in the village of the Formlings." The first elder suggests. Katarina's ears pick up on the first elder's suggestion.

'Formlings? What do you think they are?' Keres asks her.

'I don't know. I never heard of them before.' Katarina replies with a shrug.

"I won't go there! Not after what happened. That place is cursed!" The second elder disagrees, and crosses his arms stubbornly. The villagers' whispers grew in volume.

"It is only option." The first elder argues. The elders begin to argue amongst themselves about what was the best option, and it was driving Katarina mad.

"We cannot abandon the Fire. The Fire is life! We must protect it." Sorla states to the elders.

"I don't understand. Can't you just light another? You know, with matches? Or something?" Kai suggests. The elders and the villagers whisper amongst themselves again.

"They are new to our realm. They do not know. The winters have grown too cold. It is impossible to light a new fire. We have kept this fire going by adding wood every morning and every night," Sorla explains, and adds another log to the fire. "It has burned for decades."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know." Kai apologizes to Sorla, the villagers and the elders with a solemn look. Sorla smiles gently, as if silently telling him it was okay, that it wasn't his fault he didn't know.

"The Fire is life. If the Fire , so will we." She says.

"What if we moved it somehow? Maybe we could transport it with torches?" Lloyd suggests.

She shakes her head. "The risk is too great. The Hearth Fire is the heart of our people. It keeps the darkness at bay and gives us hope. If the Fire goes out, our hope is lost. No! We must stay and protect it. We must fight."

"Now you're talking." Katarina says with a confident smile.

"Then we will fight with you." Lloyd says.

The Elders bow before the Ninja with excited whispers. Sorla smiles. "Go! Prepare yourselves!" The Ninja, the Elders and the villagers head out to prepare to fight against the Blizzard Samurai. Kai, however, stays behind.

"Do not fear for us, Kai. All will be well." Sorla says, putting a hand on his shoulder.

" I just wish I still had my powers. I was Master of Fire. I could've made a new fire like-like... like this." He snaps his fingers, silently saying he could've whipped them up a new fire for the people in a snap.

"And now you cannot?" Sorla asks.

"No. A snake woman named Aspheera stole my Elemental Powers." He explains.

She chuckles. "Oh, do not worry, Kai. Elemental Power comes from within, like courage. Sometimes it wanes, sometimes it waxes, but it cannot be stolen."

He sighs, and scratches the back of his neck. "I'm pretty sure it's gone."

She smiles gently at the Fire Ninja. "What comes from within will grow again. Give it time."

Everyone in the village spent the entire day preparing for the Blizzard Samurai. They used ice blocks to create fortresses, large wooden stakes tied together to create a protection for the fortresses and the front of the village, and shoveled small mounds of snow.

They armed themselves with spears, bows and arrows, and readied themselves at the top of their watchtowers, looking for any sign of the Blizzard Samurai.

Hours passed, until nightfall came around. Lloyd looks around for any signs of the Blizzard Samurai, while Cole was on the verge of falling asleep. Katarina walks up to Lloyd. "Hey Lloyd?"

"Yeah, sis?" He replies, not keeping his eyes off the vastness of the snow-ridden realm.

"About my powers..."

She never had time to finish asking her brother when they both saw a plethora of arrows flying straight towards them. They gasp.

"LOOK OUT!" Lloyd warns everyone. They duck behind the ice watchtowers just in time right when the arrows hit the watchtowers. The villagers dodge the arrows to the best of their ability, so they wouldn't get hit.

Lloyd peaks his head out to see a large army of Blizzard Samurai marching towards the village. They were carrying swords, and bows and arrows, ready to attack the villagers and the Ninja. "They're here! This is it!"

The villagers run around, trying to compose themselves and get a little more ready, despite the growing anxiety and fear in their chests. "They are so many." Boma mutters.

The Blizzard Samurai at the army's front raises his large ice axe in the air. He points it at the village, signalling to his army to attack immediately. Apparently, the Blizzard Samurai got the signal and charge at the village.

Katarina looks at Boma with determination as another plethora of arrows come a dozen of feet from behind her. "We can take them!"

Cole and Lloyd nod. "Yeah! Just get ready to bring it!"

"Take what? Bring what?" Uthaug asks, not really getting what Cole was saying.

"It! You know, like, uh, 'Let's rock!'" Cole punches his fists in the air as a demonstration. "'Thrown down!' 'Brawl!"

Uthaug scratches his head. "I don't get it."

Cole groans. "Nevermind," He activates his Earth Punch. "Just follow my lead!"

Another plethora of arrows fly in the air. Nya, on a watchtower, spins a spear expertly in the air when the arrows come flying down at her. Jay joins her, and uses his lightning to attack the archers, causing the archers to shatter.

"Are these guys made of ice?!" Jay says in a shocked tone.

Katarina gasps. "Some of them are frozen warriors, others are just ice!" A few of the Blizzard Samurai jump over the spikes protecting the watchtowers and climb on the one Lloyd, Katarina and Cole were on.

"What about these guys?" Cole says. Just as a couple of the Blizzard Samurai reach the top, the villager's archers hit them directly, causing them to shatter into ice. "All ice!"

The attacks weren't becoming enough. The Blizzard Samurai were now using towers to climb over the watchtowers to attack the Ninja and the villagers. Lloyd yells and uses his Spinjitzu to attack the Blizzard Samurai climbing up the watchtower he was on, and Jay uses his powers to subdue them.

When the Blizzard Samurai hit the ground, they run towards the villagers. Cole jumps down and punches directly into the ice warriors, shattering them instantly. Lloyd joins him seconds after, and tackles another Blizzard Samurai that was about to lunge at Cole.

When he pins the Blizzard Samurai down, his face turns normal for a few moments, before reverting back to its icy expression. The possessed samurai pins Lloyd down for a few seconds, until Lloyd was able to kick te possessd samurai off of him.

He turns to Cole. "Did you see that?"

Cole nods. "I saw it! It's like the ice was controlling him!" A Blizzard Samurai falls down and runs towards Cole immediately with a sword, but Cole punches him without even looking. The Blizzard Samurai crashes into a few wooden stakes.

On another ice tower, Kai was attacking the Blizzard Samurai that were climbing up, causing them to shatter on impact once they hit the ground. The leader growls at Kai and jumps up towards Kai's direction.

"KAI!" Sorla warns him. But it was too late, Kai reacted too late the moment the leader punches him directly in the chest. He falls on the ground. The villagers run out of his way once they see the leader.

"You dare defy the Ice Emperor?!" The leader yells at Kai. He runs towards Kai as he lifts his axe up in the air. Kai rolls out of the way just in time, as the leader brings his axe down. He quickly stands back up.

"You will obey or perish!" The leaders yells once more. The axe hits the ground again and again. Kai slides out of the way and grabs a bamboo stick off the ground. He tries to block at the next attack, but it only ends slicing the bamboo into pieces.

The leader raises his axe again. Kai cowers in fear when he brings it back down. Not feeling any agony or the warm feeling of blood seeping through his clothes, he opens his eyes to find Katarina using her daggers, blocking the axe's attack.

"Oh! Hi, Kat."

"HEADS UP!" Using his Earth Punch, Cole lands a powerful attack on the leader, sending him flying back at least a dozen feet. His back slams against one of the houses. He lifts his head up to see the villagers and the Ninja closing in on him.

"It's over!" Katarina pulls off her hood, and her eyes glow dangerously. "You've lost. Be lucky you're still alive."

The leader coughs slightly. He turns his head to see two children peeking from Sora's house, where the fire burned brightly. He smirks at the children, causing them to gasp and immediately close the door shut.

"You sheltered the newcomers. You should have known not to defy the Ice Emperor." He quickly stands up and goes for his axe. He runs in the direction of Sora's house, where two villagers try to block him, but fail when the leader jumps up on one of the villagers and land on the roof.

Kai gasps. "The Fire. He's going for the Fire!" He runs in the leader's direction, and the other Ninja follow close behind.

"Stop him!" Nya shouts to all the villagers and her friends.

The leader crashes through the roof. He lands on the ground, directly in front of the fire. The Ninja barge in, as the children cower away from the leader. Cole and Katarina go in front of the children protectively, while their friends went for the leader.

The leader raises his axe in the air. Kai screams. "NO!"

The axe goes down.

In a burst of flames, the fire that had been burning for decades goes out.

The leader laughs at his horrible deed. "You have won the battle. But without your Fire, you have lost the war." The leader jumps through the hole he made and lands at the front of the village.

"FALL BACK!" He orders the remainder of his soldiers. The leader and the Blizzard Samurai run away from the village, just as the villager's archers made their last few attacks at the remainder of the army.

For the next two hours, everyone was gathered around the huge fireplace in the center of Sora's house. They were huddled in blankets, trying to keep warm.

Kai was the only one without a blanket.

Katarina and Lloyd were sharing a blanket with each other, sharing each other's warmth and body heat. Nya and Jay were sitting very close to each other, sharing their body heat as well as they shivered from the cold.

The village children were whimpering from the cold, apparently not very used to it because of the Fire shared for everyone in the village. They were cuddled up with their parents, shivering underneathe their blankets.

"M-mommy, I'm c-cold." A little boy shivers to his mother, as one of the villagers wrap a blanket around the mother and son. The mother hugs her son and whispers comforting words to him.

Another villager wraps a blanket around Kai, who was wishing more than anything that he had his powers to warm his friends and the villagers up. He couldn't stand sitting around doing nothing as the people were trying hard not to freeze to death.

"I just wish I still had my powers. I was Master of Fire. I could've made a new fire."

"I'm sorry." He apologizes to everyone. Sorry for not being able to stop the leader, sorry for not having his powers, sorry for not helping the villagers the best way he can.

"Aspheera stole my powers, remember? I can't help!"

Sorry for being powerless.

"It is not your fault, Kai." Sora reassures him.

"I just wish there was something I could do." He says.

"You have done all you can, have you not?"

Kai stands up and throws his blanket off his body with renewed determination. He looks at the fireplace.

He had to do something.

He stretches his arms out, grunting, trying to re-ignite his Elemental Powers as he closes his eyes tightly.

"Oh, do not worry, Kai. Elemental Power comes from within, like courage. Sometimes it wanes, sometimes it waxes, but it cannot be stolen."

He sighs, and scratches the back of his neck. "I'm pretty sure it's gone."

She smiles gently at the Fire Ninja.

"What comes from within will grow again."

Fire sparks from underneathe the wood. The Ninja and the villagers gasp, and turn their attention to Kai, who was using all his energy to start a fire. A small fire ignites in one of Kai's hands.

Sorla smirks, knowing she had helped Kai find his spark again.

In a final moment of strength, the fire lights up, covering all the wood in the fireplace. Kai pants heavily, before almost falling down. Cole catches him.

"Fire Maker! Fire Maker! Fire Maker!" As people chant and add more wood to the fire, Sorla smiles at Kai approvingly.

Kai looks at the fire, smiling weakly. Sorla was right. His powers did come back, just in time to help the villagers in their time of need. "I did it."

The rest of the Ninja get up, surrounding Kai, cheering and congratulating him.

"You sure did!" Nya exclaims happily.

"Fire Maker! Fire Maker!"

"Just listen to them!" Lloyd gestures to the villagers chanting Kai's new name, Fire Maker. But all Kai could think about was how happy he was to have been able to help the villagers with his powers.

"Fire Maker! Fire Maker! Fire Maker! Fire Maker! Fire Maker!"

Little did they know, Vex was watching them through his ice crystal, having seen the whole thing.