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Arin was with Riyu, just like in the original story, his mind was preoccupied by what Ras said and the fact that Frak was on Ras’s team. Frak was always a great judge of character. How come he could trust Ras? Then Riyu went after Kai’s voice (unheard by Arin who just thought Riyu was doing his own thing) He was deep in thought, he trusted Frak with his life. But what if Frak shattered his goodness? He didn’t know much of Ras. Telling Frak that Ras is “Downright evil” would not only be kind of prejudice, but also would remove his agency of choosing who to trust. Arin looked to the horizon and (unlike our timeline) he decided to not warn Frak…
Arin spent the day thinking if this decision was wise. Frak could handle himself without a doubt. But what if he used the gong? What if this Frak isn’t the one he knew for all those years? Then Lloyd called, “Arin! Sorry, you were deep in thought so I wondered whether you wanted to talk? What did you find out?” Arin thought for a split second, “No. I-I’m fine, a little tired. I didn’t find anything out but I’ll keep on working.” Arin lied. Lloyd looked at him then said, “OK. Don’t exhaust yourself too much, though. You need your energy for yourself too. If we are to find the person who attacked the dragons, we need to be at our best.” Arin nodded,
“Yeah. Yeah, Lloyd. I’ll keep that in mind.” And with that, Lloyd left Arin by himself.
And before anyone knew it, Sora and Frak were against each other in a match. Then, Frak took out something that scared Arin to his core, a wolf mask. Lloyd was worried for a different reason, Sora couldn’t do Spinjitzu, let alone Rising Dragon! Frak put on the mask and started doing Shatterspin. Sora was helpless and ultimately lost. In the original cycle, she won. But now, with Sora out, the Ninja didn’t stand a chance. It was only Lloyd left and, as we know, he was in a coma after his fight with Zeatrix. And then eliminated because of his injuries. Arin blamed himself. But little did he know, that blame would only worsen in the declaration of the winner…
Ras’s team ultimately won the Tournament. Lloyd blamed himself for the fact that Sora couldn’t do Spinjitzu and the fact that Zeatrix attacked him from the back shortly after falling. Lloyd felt that he was too slow and it was his fault that he was in a coma. But that was interrupted as Rox was revealed to be possessing Jordana. Rox performed a spell that put every one who used the mask under her command, including Frak. Then she and Nokt started to run to the monastery. The ninja followed, except for Arin.
“Arin!” Lloyd shouted mid-run.
“I have to stay behind! He is still my friend!” Arin shouted back. Lloyd nodded and ran after the others. And the rest is history. Arin never goes with Ras, Frak’s goodness is shattered and they have a dilemma close to the one Jay and Nya had in Season 3 part 2, The Forbidden Five is brought back, Kai and Bonzle come back, the Ninja don’t win the Tournament of the Sources. We don’t know what happened to Ras, Arin’s parents and Frak but Dragons Rising would have been very different if this were to happen…