Chapter Text
“What is happening there…?” Lucy wondered.
“… Something crazy,” Christa said, her eyes wide and a bit shaken.
Lucy punched a Lizarian into a few others as she approached the Sound master who did the same to a group,
“What do you mean? What is happening between them?”
“Something about the world they sent Lloyd and Raven too… NightRise? And about bringing the evil side of Meir back, and… about causing a paradox on the one the Ninja caused with Lord Garmadon before,” Christa said, rubbing the side of her temple in contemplation of it all.
“Wh-What?! All of that?” Lucy asked with more shock in her eyes, and Christa nodded.
“Girls! Look out!” Pixal called to them, as three Lizarians jumped towards the two.
Suddenly a drop came down as the three Lizarians were splayed on the ground in little craters, and they all saw-
“Marcell!” Lucy joyously called her as she stood before them.
“Oh thank goodness you’re okay!” Marcell approached her sister and looked her over carefully, the three Lizarians groaning from the pain.
“I’m alright, but something terrible has been planned and has happened!”
“What? Who died?!”
“No one died, but Lloyd and Raven were thrown into a portal to another realm!”
“What?!”
“She did it,” Lucy pointed to the darker Akemi.
“Is that supposed to be… someone I know?”
“OH! That’s Akemi and her darkside, the first Green Ninja! Meir is there too!”
“Oh… OH! What the heck?! We had Darkness and now another one?!”
“This one is called Evil.”
“I should not be surprised, considering Master Chen and Clouse were taken out.”
“Taken out?”
Marcell ran a thumb across her neck, as Lucy and Christa both gasped. Sensei Wu and Garmadon heard and gave each other a look of surprise. More Lizarians came as they howled towards them.
“Everything is happening so quickly!” Lucy said.
That was when Marcell looked towards the battlefield again and she locked eyes with the Vampire King. Those red stained eyes were painted deep in her mind from when she first looked in a mirror after becoming the Vampire Queen, and her heart skipped a beat from the surprise as his grin while his fangs showed.
“The Queen is here…” Vampire King said, as Meir turned to see Marcell there while she took a step back.
“What…?” Marcell paused.
“It’s really him, sister. The one who made the scroll. The Vampire King,” Lucy trembled a little as she gripped her staff tighter.
After a moment, Marcell grit her teeth and brought forth a pistol blade as she aimed at him,
“Oh HECK no! We aren’t having this again!”
“Or are we, my dear?!” Vampire King lifted his hand as he snapped his fingers.
“No!” Meir called out.
The pulse of the vampiric blood cried out in their veins, as the former vampires felt as though their blood was boiling. Their gums around where their fangs had formerly grown were burning and itching horribly, causing them terrible tooth pains.
Kai was on his knees as his condition felt worse in his blood from fire radiating from his body to try to fight it but it was getting too high even for himself. Cole was on one knee and holding his throat from the pain with one hand. Jay tried to stay up as he held his mouth with one hand and tried to walk as he felt his legs had lead in them. Lucy was distressed as she was on her knees and holding herself in trying to resist it.
Marcell was still standing but cupping her hand over her mouth as she trembled a little while her other arm held herself up.
Meir turned to the King with a grit of his teeth.
“Aww, what’s wrong, Meir? I’m as happy as a clam! I’m as high as a freaking kite! Hahaha! I finally got my dream after so long! Don’t you want to share in it?”
Vampire King grinned darkly, and Meir hissed as he showed his own fangs and tongue.
The two Akemi sensed the immediate distress of four ninja as they looked to see them in their states.
“What have you done?!” Akemi dashed to the King as he just barely caught her fist coming to his face, but he felt his hand fracture a bit from the beastly protective intensity of the First Green Ninja.
“Well dang you got a punch, girl!”
“And it’ll go to your neck if you don’t stop your vampiric influence in them!”
“You act as if I can’t fight back.”
“When I’m through, you’ll regret it.”
“Ah ha! Make me then, Dame Akemi!”
The two fought quite fiercely with energy in their attacks sparking around them and the ground crackling and shifting under them.
Meir looked towards Evil, as she looked towards him. The two shrugged and then continued fighting each other.
“I must say though, these Ninja are strong. They aren’t immediately changing even as they are pained. I respect that. I had a small assumption that they would be weaker as beings who bask in the light daily,” Evil said.
“Then you seem to have been living in the darkness too long. Even if they aren’t as edgy as the rest of you, they aren’t weak and they aren’t backing down.”
“Good. It’s more entertaining that way.”
The two fought increasingly fierce.
Zane protected Kai with all his might as Irud grew increasingly aggressive.
“Kai! Fight it! Fight it back!” Zane called out to him.
“What’s wrong, idiot bot? Can’t help your friend?” Irud taunted.
Zane then looked passed him to see that Duri was sharpening his weapons as he was approaching Cole and Jay with a simple but powerful smile.
“Don’t touch them!” Zane sent a wave of ice to freeze the steps of Duri.
“I’m stuck!” Duri said.
“Don’t get cold feet! Hurry up and cut them down!” Irud said.
Irud attacked towards Zane as he was trying to defend himself from him.
Upon the cliff, Auria and Kerrie saw what was happening, though the Wind Master was surprised to see Kerrie struggling as she head her head. That was when Kerrie removed her arm covering to show the mark she had in a burning red form and connecting to her veins through her arm.
“That rat! He’s using it on me too?!” Kerrie then turned towards Auria as the fangs were starting to show and blood seeped from one side of her mouth.
“Kerrie! You’re changing!”
Kerrie reached a claw towards her and used her other hand to hold it back,
“Auria, get away.”
Auria held her fans as she wasn’t sure what to do. She needed to help the others, but Kerrie would be a major problem if she joins the-
“Auria-girl! Stand aside! I got this!”
Carlo ran a little ways in front of her, as Pythor came from the other side.
“What?! How did you two get out?”
“We made a truce with the purple dragon when we heard a ruckus from over here! We can hold off Kerrie. I know her moves well,” Carlo said.
“Hurry on, Princess! The Ninja need you! We were never a part of this plan of that Evil and the Vampire King, so we don’t intend to help them anymore!” Pythor said.
“Alright. Be careful then.”
Auria flew over to where Duri was since he broke out the ice, though surprised by her attack as she defended against him for Jay and Cole.
“Zane, are you alright?”
“I am! Be careful and keep fighting!”
“I shall!”
More Lizarians appeared, as four looked almost human, with the main female of purple eyes being prominent as she brought forth a sword of three edges.
“Weaken them or take them out. It doesn’t matter actually,” She said, as they burst forth to attack.
One tall male rushed to join in the double battle of Zane and Auria against Duri and Irud to help the evil two, the smaller male went for Sensei Garmadon as he fought him. The taller female who wasn’t the main one headed to Lucy and Marcell, while the main went to attack Sensei Wu.
However, Sensei Wu was blocked by a samurai sword as Nya stood before him, while Flare blocked the one who tried to jump Sensei Garmadon.
“Girls! You have arrived- Nya! Are you alright?” Sensei Wu asked, as he saw a little blood on her lip.
“I’m holding on, Sensei. I felt this horrible rush, but I think my body is resisting okay…” Nya said.
“Just in time. I assume you two came with Marcell,” Sensei Garmadon said.
“Yeah. We came as fast as we could here. I sensed the nonsense going on so Marcell went ahead, but this is even worse than we thought,” Flare said.
“So we meet again, Samurai,” The purple eyed lady said.
“Again? I don’t know you.”
“Oh? But you survived my venom.”
Nya’s eyes widened as her jaw dropped, then her brows furrowed,
“That was you!”
“Yes. But don’t be difficult now, or I’ll be sure to finish the job.”
The purple eyed lady then quickly kicked the heck out of Nya as she went falling back close to Lucy, who reached to her even in her state.
“YAH!” Sensei Wu began fighting the lady Lizarian more fiercely.
Flare and Garmadon faced off to the Lizarian that came to them.
Vampire King and Akemi knocked each other back from an attack, as he quickly stood up and turned towards Marcell. He gestured for her to approach him as he started walking to her.
“Come here, Little Queen. You can be sure that my bite will be permanent. Then you can be the Queen of my army! What do you say, Marcell?”
Akemi shook out of the attack, and then looked up to see Marcell approaching the King,
“No! Get away from her!”
Duri left his battle to let the Lizarian take his place as he stood in front of Akemi,
“Let the King work!”
“Get out the way!”
They started their battle, as the Vampire King reached his hand out to Marcell.
“Come here little caterpillar, and become the beautiful butterfly I see~”
“…”
Marcell was shaking as she wanted to reach for him… to reach… to reach and… and…
Her fists curled as her teeth grit of blood was seeping down her jaw from the fangs while her brows furrowed more so. The King’s eyes widened. Marcell growled,
“As if I’d ever let anyone control me. I am the Queen all right. But I lead my own people. And I won’t let you or anyone hurt us again! I’ll fight until you’re dead!”
Marcell held up her gun blade to fight him. The King chuckled with such amusement and madness,
“So much fight in your soul! You would be perfect as a Queen!”
“Not today!”
The two looked around when they heard a voice out of nowhere, but the Vampire King realized he couldn’t move. Then appeared purple wrapped around himself as Pythor had his tail curled around him. Marcell smiled,
“Pythor??”
“Indeed, Marcell! I would never allow my friend to be threatened so, and so unfairly. Let him have it!”
“Gladly, old Chum!”
Marcell started landing blows on the Vampire King by first delivering a punch to the gut and then attacking a few more times as she avoided Pythor’s tail in the process. Vampire King growled a few times as he was hit, but seemed to be taking the hits kind of well.
“Feeling better now from your emotions, little Queen?” He asked with a small spit to the side.
“Maybe in forty years,” Marcell simply replied as she hit him again.
Nya was able to get up as she felt less pain of the influence of the vampiric side, as Lucy did too but was still weakened from it.
“Oh Lucy... are you alright?”
“A little better. It’s just… this vampiric powers seem to be attacking my element too. It hurts a lot.”
“Oh no… no wonder it isn’t hurting me that much. Oh you guys...”
“Don’t worry for us. The portal… that evil Akemi threw Lloyd and Raven into there to go to their world. She called it NightRise. The portal looks dormant. I don’t know, even if we win, if we can open it. It seems to be a dark world. A shadow world, maybe.”
Nya had her hand over her mouth in thought of how terrible it must be for the two trapped in another world. But hearing shadows made her turn towards Flare,
“Flare! Raven and Lloyd are trapped in a shadow world in that portal over there! Could you open it?”
Flare stopped for a moment to look at the portal as Sensei Garmadon fought.
“… If I had a minute and some help, I think I could!”
“I could help you if we weren’t distracted,” Garmadon said, as Flare got back into the battle to fight.
“There has to be something. A distraction. A way…” Nya thought outloud, but then she heard something approaching as she turned towards it. Everyone mostly turned to see the purple dragon swoop down and land as she roared, her gaze upon the strongest of all in the moment, being Evil herself.
Evil locked eyes with the dragon, as they stared each other down, while Meir took a moment to breath as he looked to see his wife in need and went with her to quickly dispatch Duri as he was stomped by both of them down on the ground. He struggled as they held him while they saw the two glare a little more.
“… Come on then,” Evil raised her hand with a charge of her power, the ground around her shaking, as she readied herself.
Pearl answered with a snarl and charged her own plasmatic energy in her mouth as it sparkled heavily while the blue on her body and eyes glowed neon along with it. She was not playing around with this attack, for she could tell that Evil was strong, and she was ready to give her all to help everyone. Her dear master needed her friends to survive, to find her. She knew her master was gone in the other world, and decided to make the agreement with Carlo and Pythor to help.
She knew… She knew…
She had to give everything she got in this attack.
Evil powered up more as she began to glow a dark combination of colors as she slowly rose up from the ground and her hand trembled a little in holding her power back to charge a little more, her eyes never being taken off of the purple dragon.
This was it.
The others were distracted enough that Sensei Wu had his brother and Flare hurry to the portal, and Flare did a shadow dive to set them there faster to work on it a bit to get the portal to unlock. She did some shadow symbols as Garmadon was able to guide her on how to do them with precision and focus on dark thoughts but not evil necessarily.
Finally, Pearl unleashed her attack with a roar as a large beam of plasmatic condensed flames shot forth to Evil, as she stood there…
Her hand open palmed towards the blast as she took in a breath, and as she breathed out she made her own low roar as a beam of condensed elemental energy shot forth straight into the blast and inched its way along. It went back and forth for a while. However, Evil took another breath and pulled her hand back to again push her attack forth as the heart of Pearl was pierced straight through, her attack silencing soon after.
Everyone could only stare, allies and enemies alike had open mouths and gaping eyes as they saw the purple dragon breathe one last time, and then fall in an almost graceful and slow manner to the ground. The dust kicked up a bit but not enough to dare touch the dear Purple Dragon as she laid completely and utterly still, her heart silenced forever.
Evil descended on the ground as she lowered her hand, an expression void of much emotion though she stared at the dragon for a while of a form of distress. Then she turned towards Meir and Akemi and the shocked audience.
Lucy’s tears streamed with her shock as did Auria, Christa, and Flare as their memories with the dragon came from one eye and the heartbreak of Raven finding out from the other. Kai, Jay, Cole, and Zane were in complete shock of the power to kill a dragon in such a way, but also from such a sad and painful loss. Garmadon and Wu were in complete surprise as they now felt fear in knowing this woman could kill any of them.
Marcell could barely comprehend how this could have occurred to such a strong dragon, as Pythor shook from such strength. Vampire King also looked upon the purple dragon and didn’t at the moment take advantage to escape from Pythor’s grasp, since he was aware of who the dragon belonged to, and deep in his dark heart he felt a tug at knowing how Raven’s reaction may be similar to his own little sister when she lost a close companion once.
Kerrie and Carlo were kind of in a struggle-like wrestle as she was trying to fight the vampire, but they stopped when they saw what happened. Kerrie could not comprehend her own emotions as she felt such anger and some other emotion she wanted to stay away from. Carlo felt that emotion but an anger at the audacity of killing a creature only trying to protect her people. Only trying to protect those precious to them. It burned him inside to see that. How easy a life could just be gone the next moment.
The Lizarians lowered their heads in respect.
Irud and Duri smirked a little...
Akemi and Meir felt their hearts hurting, though Meir felt as though he lost a friend. A dear friend. Which was when he remembered at the Rite where the Black Mambians were able to talk that Jetta mentioned befriending a purple dragon that helped her find a home as she had helped it’s own injury of it’s leg. They said their goodbyes as the dragon went on his own, but that time in their lives left a connection that lasted between the Black Mambian and the Purple Dragon lineage. She had taken it as a sign of a small part of Meir being alive in that dragon and helping her.
This… this felt like that part of him was shot. Or at least this would be Raven’s fate if-
“No…” Meir said as he straightened up.
Akemi looked to him when she felt a wave of energy coming off of him.
“No…!” Meir started walking towards Evil as his weapon flashed in red a moment.
“Meir wait-”
“NO!” Meir dove so fast towards Evil, that even she was surprised by his ferocity and went flying up in the air by the hit.
“NOOO!” His eyes glowed in such a purple as it seemed to flash a few times in red that, although Evil was hoping for this she also sensed such a danger because it wasn’t from her beloved exactly.
This was something Meir was able to reach in his core for so long, that Darkness used the opportunity to reach him through it, but it was never understood what it was exactly. Akemi ran up to join and try to stop her husband’s rage as she could sense the rage in him as her own sorrow seemed to make her faster in catching up as she did not notice her own eyes were flashing in a particular color.
Flare’s tears were still coming down as she used her shadows and screamed in anger as she was able to open the portal completely.
“I’m going in!” She declared and jumped through, as Sensei Garmadon followed her with a heavy heart for the dragon.
“Ha! Soon Meir will have to accept the darkness through his sorrow. Soon! What a perfect sacrifice for it! A dragon!” Duri said.
But then he felt someone lift him by his collar, as Christa looked to him with an ambiguous expression and tears running down her eyes.
“What shall you do to me, Sound-”
Duri felt her hand reach for his throat and pull back, as he felt the sound of his voice leave him. He tried to speak more, but his voice was gone. The fool looked up at her, as she stared down at him and said,
“To hear you laugh, to see you act as if you could smile… no. You don’t deserve for your voice to be heard.”
Christa turned away from him, as he stood up and was going to attack her to try to get his voice back, but he felt his arm grabbed by Cole, who tightened his hold and snarled at him with his fangs showing, as Jay snarled at him too from the side.
“Maybe a few holes in your neck would be better,” Cole said as he glared at him, while Duri shrunk back from him a bit, especially since he couldn’t escape his grasp.
“Leave him be!” Irud dashed to try to attack him, but Kai shoved at Irud as he snarled at him too.
Irud then turned to the Lizarians and took a blade to stab their own heart with it, shocking the ones there, including Duri,
“Hear my dark heart of now, Lizarians! Destroy them!”
The Lizarians then began to howl as they were renewed in strength to fight, though the main Lady was not keen to follow a desperate order like that, but did not stop the others because she was running straight to the portal and dove in to find her mistress and her master, as the three others like her jumped in too. Nya stood up to get ready to fight the Lizarians with Sensei Wu, even as there were so many, as Irud fell to the ground and returned to the shadow of Duri. The other Ninja also were approaching to try to fight, but Sensei Wu stopped them,
“No! Go through the portal! Find Lloyd and Raven and put a stop to Evil bringing Darkness back! Do not let the worlds fall into Corruption! Go now!”
“But Sensei!”
“Go NOW! I will hold them off! Hurry!”
The Ninja looked to one another, though Lucy looked to the ones not vampired and said,
“Auria, Christa, Go now! We have to deal with the vampire king but at least in being vampires we will last if we are hurt. Hurry! Trust us!”
Auria and Christa looked to one another and Pixal as they all decided to stay behind though.
“You cannot fight by yourselves. If you lose yourselves, the world will be in even more danger!” Auria said in bringing up a good point.
“Go Zane! Hurry!” Jay said.
“I can’t leave my brothers behind!”
“You aren’t! Lloyd is our brother too, and the girls are our girls. Go! Help them! Flare and Garmadon will need your help too!” Kai said, falling on his knees as Christa stood besides him to guard him.
Zane looked between them just as Sensei Wu started battling the Lizarians, and Auria and Pixal were defending Cole and Jay.
“My brothers… my friends… please stay alive,” Zane then ran into the portal as he glanced once to the fallen dragon before going in.
Nya then stood up to fight as Lucy felt herself a little stronger to try as well. Some of the Lizarians were a bit reluctant to fight the vampiric ninja and samurai since they reminded them of the Vampire King, but they knew they had to at the moment since the King was still restrained.
Marcell then turned to the King and said, “Is this what you wanted? Death? Despair? Once Raven finds out, you think she won’t hate you as we do?!”
“Don’t act as if you can say how she will feel. You had me tied up, so how could Evil have not have gone all out if she felt cornered without me? Nor did I intend for the dragon to die or even did it. Don’t act like I’m the only bad guy when you two are or were as well!”
Marcell scoffed even though she knew he was technically right, as Pythor was shaken a bit by him.
“If they also weren’t so stubborn, she wouldn’t have to have become what she is either,” Vampire King added, as she looked to him with a raised brow.
“Kerrie, what hell did we help unleash?” Carlo asked.
“I don’t know, but I’m pissed at it. This wasn’t… this wasn’t what we even wanted.”
“No… This is too far.”
“We got to reach those paths. There has to be some way to try to fix whatever the hell is happening.”
“Right. But you gotta stop being a psychopathic loser! What’s with the vampire look? Get it off!”
“Don’t judge me! It hurts like heck man!”
“Deal with the pain and rule it! Make it your own or rip the bandage off and deal with it!”
“Shut up!”
“NO! We made the agreement to help one another, so listen to me!”
“Rrr!”
That was when Kerrie was suddenly grabbed as Carlo saw who was helping him and his eyes widened,
“Who… Silva?!”
“Aye. Nice to see you. So you’re the infamous Carlo of Pulverize Peak. Hello. Looks like you need help with my troublesome former colleague,” Silva said.
“Aye aye! She’s having trouble.”
“Silva…” Kerrie looked to her as Silva seemed to read her mind and said,
“I know, I saw from far. Raven will be heartbroken, and her family too. The youngest born will not be able to meet the dragon… you need to do something good, even as it pains you, Kerrie.”
Kerrie felt a confliction as the vampire side gave her trouble too with her heart being quite dark and it taking from there. She turned and looked towards the ones fighting, but then her eyes widened as Sensei Wu was bit in the arm by a weird purple and green eyed lizarian.
“Sensei!” Nya screamed out when she saw that as she was then struck by a lizarian as she was hit away.
Kai caught her as he looked with wide eyes to see the bite wound on Sensei Wu.
“No… “
“Sensei…” Cole said as he dropped Duri on the ground.
“No no no no!” Jay said as he ran to Sensei Wu’s side after lightning punching a lizarian away.
Sensei Wu took a moment in time to look around at everyone. The Lizarians in their crazed attacking, Duri grabbing a blade to want to attack Cole with it behind his back, Kai holding an injured Nya as she was regaining her focus, Lucy and Jay attacking the Lizarians to keep them away as was Auria and Christa to protect them, and Marcell and Pythor having the Vampire King in their grasp, as he could see in the sky that Meir was fighting Evil as Akemi was trying to help and calm him at the same time.
Then there was dear Pearl…
He looked to his wound, remembering his vision of long ago of the Great Devourer and how he was ready to sacrifice his life…
There is a time to fight another day,
But now the fight had come,
Even as Evil was but a name she called herself, Evil had come to their world,
And he was ready to give his all to stop it.
He trained himself and the Ninja for this time, and it was time they showed they could walk their own Ninja ways with or without him.
Sensei Wu then took his staff and broke it on his knee, energy surging through it to his body as he began to glow purely in Titanium, his staff holding onto a precious elemental power he found among the items given to him by Ultra Dragon. It was temporary, but he had enough time to do what he needed to before the poison would still his heart. Sensei Wu then cried out,
“Fight, my Ninja! Fight! Do not allow the sun to set for today! Not upon our world, or any other! For those who come after, stand my Ninja and find your way to save all the worlds!”
The Ninja were bewildered by such a vibrancy that helped them keep their focus and sanity through the power upon them.
Vampire King growled and sliced out of Pythor’s tail, cutting it in half as the serpent cried out. Marcell grabbed at his tail and tried to help him as the King approached Sensei Wu with an offended fury.
“So, the element of a former enemy dares to take shape before me in someone else… I won’t go easy on you for this reminder!”
“Then come forth at me, Vampire King. My friends and pupils will be free from you!”
Vampire King and Sensei Wu began their power-housed battle, as they all realized Vampire King was holding back before.
The Ninja took the opportunity to beat up the Lizarians who were flash-banged by the Titanium light, as they defeated most of them. Though the Vampire King made a roar call as the vampiric pain surged through them all as they fell on their knees screaming out. Marcell less so but she cried out for her sister.
Kerrie felt the surge… but Kerrie had enough… the sounds… the screams… the pain… how some of the lizarians wanted to take advantage to hurt the Ninja… how Raven may be in pain now too if the bit she received from Lloyd might be effecting her…
She wanted to be the villain here… but this… with all her time to reflect…
She wasn’t running away this freaking time!
Kerrie brought her arm up her mouth and bit down as she tore the part with the mark right off with her teeth.
Silva and Carlo were shocked as Kerrie spit it out and screamed out,
“I will not be tied! I will lead my OWN WAY!”
Vampire King sensed something tug at his attention as he turned to see Kerrie launching herself down from the cliff, and as she did so, with wide eyes, he saw how her blood of her arm followed her and shined like crystals. Her blood was filled with her element, and she was bending it to her will, fighting his influence by physically moving it by her will.
What the heck just happened?
How could someone even do that?
Then he remembered that Kerrie was no ordinary woman either, living two lifetimes by making herself younger with the Gem of Ages to start again. But still… he was older then she was…
Extraordinary. All of them. What gifts…
Then he remembered himself as he blocked an attack from Sensei Wu.
Kerrie quickly dove and used her crystals to seal Pythor’s tail back together as she had fixed her arm a while ago, and then looked to Marcell and reached a hand to her. Marcell looked to her and saw how her eyes looked different with a shining glow in her irises as her scleras were dark, but a fierce glow of her slit pupils. She then took her hand and stood up, as Marcell felt stronger in her hold of herself and turned to battle now.
Sensei Wu was glad to see the fight in his Ninja as well, and even to see that Kerrie was helping now. Noticing Silva was there meant to him that Ryan must be on his way too, but Sensei Wu could see with a sight beyond sight in his form now. He then took the Vampire King by the collar and charged his element well into his next move. Vampire King noticed and said,
“If you do this, you’ll waste the element, and your life…”
“My life is what I shall make of it now. For those who come, as you should think the same even as an immortal.”
“…”
“Now go then! Back to the world of dark and see if you can still agree with it!”
Sensei Wu shot Vampire King straight to the portal and sent him through. Then his light faded as he smiled, and then fell down slowly as he breathed out. Landing softly, Sensei Wu laid on the ground and went completely still to join Pearl.
When the light died out, the Ninja all turned to see that Sensei Wu laid upon the ground, as they all ran to him to see him. Tears could only accumulate their eyes more, as Lucy could barely look while she turned away into someone’s arms to cry.
They all turned quick when they saw Evil land on the ground with a heavy blow, as she rose up and avoided an attack by Meir. He then turned to see the Ninja and saw Sensei Wu on the ground, his anger becoming surprise as he powered down a little, as Akemi then landed next to him and also was surprised.
“Idiots! She’s not done!” Kerrie shouted as Akemi and Meir turned to see Evil jump between them in a split and kick both of them in the face.
Evil then charged her feet and jumped at Meir to send him and herself into the portal.
“Meir!”
“Akemi!”
“Come for him if you want him then!”
Evil and Meir then disappeared into the portal, as Kerrie sent a crystal shot into the portal that knocked Evil in the back as she and Meir went to different places when they entered.
Though the portal soon closed again.
At that point, the Lizarians fled away as some melted down from being the weaker ones, and others left to a darker place. Anyone who worked in the camp already had fled.
“Oh no… the portal,” Lucy said as she looked up.
“It’s alright, Lucy. We’ll figure that out, but right now we have to assess here,” Ryan said.
“Oh… oh! Ryan, when did you get here?!”
“I just got here a minute ago. I’m… bewildered by everything. I just learned it all with my mother as we were on our way here. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have waited to finish my training. I should have come.”
“No… if anything, you needed to complete it. This… all of this… oh Ryan,” Lucy cried into his chest as he held her again.
Ryan looked to Pearl and Sensei Wu and felt sorrow as well as he looked to his mother, who shared his same expression as she approached them all.
Silva looked to Wu and then to the Ninja and said, “I’m sorry we didn’t get here sooner. We didn’t know how bad things were until we were on our way. We learned of the killing of Chen and Clouse from Marcell and she came before us here to try to help. Two more losses it seems.”
“Why… Why Sensei…” Kai said.
“’For those who come.’ He wanted us to keep going,” Cole said, wiping his eyes with his sleeve.
“But why couldn’t he stay too… He was so cool too,” Jay said.
“I’m proud of him. He was awesome,” Nya said.
“He was super cool too. He even used an element like that,” Lucy said as she turned to them.
“Oh dearest Sensei of all, thank you for always helping us even to the end,” Auria said as Christa cried in her arms and Pixal lowered her head.
Kai grit his teeth and stood up as he looked to Kerrie and Carlo who were helping Pythor stand.
“You three. Look! Look what happened to our Sensei and Raven’s dragon! Look at what you three helped cause! Was this what you wanted?!”
“Kai…” Nya said.
“No no, let him talk. He’s taking it out on the wrong people since we didn’t know all of this, but let him get it out. Angry people are all the same, but at least Flare would think,” Kerrie said.
Hearing Flare’s name calmed Kai a little as his worry for her and their people set in.
“… You’re still part of it though.”
“You didn’t save him either. You had that Full Potential, right? Don’t be naive. You had power too and I didn’t get involved in the fight against you. Not when I saw the Darkest Lord…” Kerrie said.
“Yeah, that… that was when we knew something terrible was going to happen. Darkness was already bad, but Evil is terrifying,” Carlo said.
“Truly. I may not like you Ninja, but I don’t approve of another of scales being… killed,” Pythor said as he looked to Pearl with a sadness in his eyes and a gulp.
Kai calmed a little more as he realized they were right. When the three saw more of what was happening, they backed off. Kerrie backed off too and actually convinced the Lizarians around her not to fight. Speaking of which, he saw that those Lizarians remained and looked to Pearl with sad little whimpers.
No one really knew what was going to happen…
Except…
Him…
Kai then turned to Duri who was holding his throat and trying to stand since he was hurt a bit. Once Duri looked to Kai, he showed fear as he tried to get up more when the Fire Ninja was approaching him.
“YOU! It started with YOU! Where are they?! How do you open the portal?! Why did you do this?!”
Duri pointed to his throat and shook his head.
“You don’t need words to talk. You can gesture or write, but you’re going to tell us everything or I’m going to be the last person you see!”
Kai grabbed Duri and dragged him over to the others by his leg, in honor of his Flare, as Duri tried to grab away but the Fire Ninja was too quick and then threw him before the others, namely, Marcell.
“Go on. Tell Marcell why you brought the Vampire King here. Tell her you planned to bring him here and had him to help bring the Darkest Lord too. Tell her how we suffered because of you!”
Kai then grabbed Duri and tossed him in front of Lucy, as she held Ryan in wondering what Kai was doing.
“Go on, Duri! Tell Lucy and Ryan why because of you Lucy was suffering and is bleeding from the fangs growing out!”
“Kai…” Nya tried to call him, but Kai was on his own run.
Kai then grabbed Duri and turned him to Pythor, “GO on! Tell Pythor you got his tail cut in half!”
He turned him towards Sensei Wu, “Go ahead and apologize for my Sensei dying because of you! See if he saves you from me! And Pearl! See if Raven or anyone is going to stop me from burning every cell and bone and muscle in your body into ashes! Go ahead and try to talk your way out! Maybe you can fight, maybe you have an ally! Maybe you can SCREAM! Because Pearl and Sensei Wu can’t now can they?! Who else will we lose?! Or maybe…”
Kai threw him down, as Duri slowly got up and flipped himself over to a sitting position, but then his eyes widened to see Kai stand in front of him with a foot on his leg and a red bleeding flame in his hand as he looked to him with his eyes changing in hues of red and fury,
“Maybe you can try to convince me not to burn you alive right now… because I’ll find a way to bring your ghost back to do it again.”
The Ninja were worried for Kai, but they also noticed how the older ones and Ryan were quiet and standing more so in front of them to not get involved.
This just made Duri feel even worse. Not only his shadow pulled a sacrificial stunt to move the Lizarians to action and left him alone, but his other allies were in the portal, and his former ones now knew how he deceived them well. All that he had done and committed from his own interests and curse in his heart were coming for him now.
He was at the mercy of the Fire Elemental now. One with a light that didn’t want to change or reveal his own dark nature, but to exterminate whatever part of himself that felt fear remained. His own light, his own darkness, his own self… complete death… his fear…
Kai’s eyes widened a bit in seeing Duri’s tears that looked red as of blood,
*I wanted to forget my life, myself, my fears… to forget my regrets of hurting my own family… of not controlling what I am before it was too late… I wanted to drown in darkness and have everyone drown with me… but… even after all of this… I’m still afraid of death, even as I...*
He mouthed these words to him, as Kai was the only one to read them well since he was close enough. Kai was silent as he lowered his head and hand a little for him to continue. So Duri continued,
*I tried to enter between realms to find the voice of my nightmares and to silence it forever. That was when I found my shadow, and they told me of their world, their life… we were the same and so we both thought with two of us we could defy our fate, but that hope is what led to our ruin… I regret hoping we could change our fate…”
Duri seemed distant as he looked almost completely hollow, as Kai reached close to and pulled on the collar of Duri’s shirt down when a light glowed from there and seemed to react to the fire he had. Kai’s eyes widened to surprise to see what looked to be a swirling mass of energy in a cracked orb that changed colors from time to time embedded in his chest, but he could see that the body more so came from the orb itself.
“What are you?” Kai asked, as the others approached a little closer upon seeing the dim light.
*I am the Element of Force, and I hoped to change my fate through this paradox… but it didn’t matter… Corruption won. It invaded my path, and I listened to it and ruined myself by being lead to my demise… I suppose, I can hope in you all to defy whatever terrible fate might await you, and succeed in whatever way you decide to take… I won’t apologize, for I deserve this… goodbye… and goodbye to you Element of Fire. Hopefully you won’t lose your host as I lost mine…”
Duri then looked up at Kai with a small smile as he then fell back, his body becoming ash and dissipating until only the orb remained. Then the orb shook a little and crackled more as the light faded in it and then shattered in on itself.
Kai then stood up and shut off the flame on his hand, processing what just happened.
The others came closer as Nya asked,
“What happened to him? What was he?”
The Fire Ninja was quiet a little bit, and then turned to them and replied,
“He was the Element of Force, and from what I could tell, he was killed a long time ago, but he tried to stop it. But… he couldn’t stop what already happened. Guys, I think we’re in bigger trouble then we all thought.”
They all looked among each other as Akemi walked over and glanced to Duri. She then looked to them all and said,
“Then we will have to be the biggest trouble of all. We aren’t quitting, right?”
Everyone then took a step forward in an answer, and Akemi nodded and said,
“Then we keep moving forward. Send a message though for the others to take care of Sensei Wu and Pearl. We’ll get that portal open, and save our people and all who come.”
They all then began their work, as hard as it was to call their families to tell them what happened, though the Travelers reached them and helped with Pearl and Sensei Wu to take care of them for now.
Together they will find a way.