Overlord's POV

     I am whole.

     It felt almost unreal, after thousands of years of waiting. Sure, I had taken different forms when trying to conquer Ninjago, but those had never been the same as my true form. I flexed my wings, feeling their familiar weight. I felt drained by the combination, almost too weak to fight. I had been weak before, but that time I did not have the darkness around me. The darkness fueled me because it was me. Every wisp of shadow, every evil thought or word, I was in all of it. While I wanted to be whole, I knew I could never truly be combined into one form. Wherever there was darkness, I would always be. 

     The time for weakness was over. I stepped out into the light, showing my face to the eight little figures beneath me. Their faces lit up in horror; their victory stopped mid-cheer. I snarled at the Ninja's terrified facade, with the fancy colored cloths brightly showing through the rain. They thought they had won. They embodied the First Spinjitzu Master's purpose and spirit. I hated that man so much and I hated his little ninja even more. I would give so much to mount their bodies on spikes to warn anyone who dared challenge my power.

     There were two that didn't belong. One, an elemental master of wind, the other, a princess. Outcasts because of their evil past. Yet even though they had wronged the Ninja, the Ninja still let them in. How pathetic.

     It was better to kill traitors than to seek their conversion. You don't know when they would stab you in the back again. It was like the idiotic Oni. Malevolence should have killed them the minute they stepped out of line.

     "We stopped the combination." The blue ninja protested weakly, his gaze flitting to the body in front of my feet.

     I leaned down to survey the carnage. Malevolence had been stripped down to her original weakened form. She lay in the gravel, twisted and lifeless.

     I snorted. "You stopped Malevolence."

     The Ninja's faces twisted with disgust as I completely skipped over the part where my 'wife' was dead. I ignored them, pulling my soul's amulet out of the wet sand. It glowed just as brightly as it did the day I made it. I draped the long chain over my neck. Without Malevolence to protect it, the duty of keeping it safe was up to me.

     If my soul was destroyed, I would forever be trapped in the darkness I inhabited. And without a soul, that darkness would slowly fade out of existence. I had to keep some sort of form, because it was the only way to sustain the balance. Without my form, I would never be able to control and conquer. Darkness without evil was torturous to endure.

     Lloyd's hands lit up with green light, illuminating the darkness of the storm raging around us. He had always been a light, the First Spinjitzu Master's golden grandson. He had always been a symbol of hope. He inspired others with courage. My lip curled upward with disgust. Weak, pathetic good. Evil was much stronger.

     "We've defeated you before," Zane called out, "we'll defeat you again."

     "Is. That. So?" I pronounced each word menacingly, stepping forward. They all took a step back, even the Vermillion army behind the Ninja. Beside me, the moronic twins of time shrank away. I didn't have time to waste on them. Their cowardice would be dealt with later.

     "Last time, there was a prophecy of my rise and fall. This time, there is no such thing."

     "You're wrong," Lloyd's voice was steady, even in the midst of his own fear.

     I snorted. "Enlighten me. The Cloud Kingdom is done with their ridiculous prophecies. They'd rather see your realm fall to its own destruction."

     Then, right before me, Lloyd recited a prophecy. The words were in the clever couplets that the Cloud Kingdom liked to give out, slowly outlining the rise of a darkness and its defeat by a specially chosen destiny child.

     "...A great evil shall come to conquer the land.

     Oni and Light's son shall rise forth to take a stand.

     And Time's Overlord will fall to his end."

     Lloyd's energy flared even brighter. "You are Time's Overlord. You will rise and you will fall by the hand of Oni and Light's son."

     I frowned, not even trying to hide my reaction from the pesky younglings. If they were telling the truth about this (which was likely seeing as this wasn't the first time a prophecy signaled my defeat), then this could change everything. I thought the Cloud Kingdom had decided what they were going to do with Ninjago. How could they have changed their minds? Why had they decided to throw everything all fourteen realms worked to achieve away? Once something was written, it couldn't be altered. As much as I needed time to plan for this new development, it would have to wait. I had eight little people in front of me ready to kill me. I would have to wipe them out first.

     "Then, I'll find my prophesized defeater and torture him until he dies a slow, painful death." I bared my teeth at them. Without warning, I leapt at the Ninja. Only half of them were able to get out of the way in time. My claws raked up four squirming bodies with my first swipe, which I immediately proceeded to toss out of the way. Lloyd's face lit up with fear as I pounced towards him. He threw energy towards my face, but I smothered it in a fist. My true form was powerful, even in its weakened state.

     I flared my wings, knocking back the other Ninja trying to attack me from the side. I quickly spun, using my tail to knock the green ninja into the sea of red and orange. The Vermillion backed up as I advanced.

     "Either fight or get out of the way!" I roared at them. "I am your new master now." At once, their eyes glowed purple and they slowly retreated. A gust of wind hit my head, so powerful it made me stumble sideways. I saw one of the traitors floating in the air. His hood had been knocked off when I threw him with the other blue ninja. Raven black hair flew in wind as he glided towards me, sword in hand. I snorted, using my claws to knock him out of the air. He fell to the ground, breathing too heavily for it to be seen as usual.

     Lighting quick, I pinned him and tore open flesh with my razor-sharp scales. There was a warrior scream and a dagger launched itself into my wrist. The throw was quite accurate, landing in the thin area where my scales didn't cover my midnight dark skin. I bellowed in surprise, stomping back, and knocking the attacker over with my fist.

     The white-haired princess got to her feet and ran over to the Master of Wind. I had no time for such sympathy. I wrenched her off the ground by her left wrist, hearing her shoulder pop with a satisfying sound. Her eyes glazed over in pain, yet she still struggled against my hold.

     "Let her go!"

     A weak blast of wind followed that comment, trying to shake my hold on her. Morro had gotten to his feet, blood staining the front of his suit. At that moment, a sharp object buried itself into my tail, which caused me to drop the girl in surprise. I flung myself around, ready to blast the ninja with my darkness, only to find it didn't come out of my mouth. Nya had come back from my earlier throw, heaving with adrenaline as she struggled to her feet. My tail had knocked her over, but I could see her spear had gotten lodged into the base. I tried to shoot dark matter at her again. The darkness refused to listen to me. It occurred to me this might be a side effect of my weakened state.

     Fire shot at my head from afar. I snarled as another blast missed me by almost a foot. Whoever throwing the fire must either be out of practice, or too injured to think properly. I spun around and shot forward the Master of Fire. He didn't even have time to process the pain before I slammed him against the rocky ground and pushed him forward, shredding his back armor. By the time my aim had been knocked off, he had already lost consciousness.

     Cole had slammed a boulder into my side to keep me from killing his fellow Ninja. He was the strongest of his team, and the one with the least injuries so far. I grinned and scooped him up in a clawed hand. He was only about half my size, which gave me enough leverage to put my other hand around his head. One simple snap and he would be done.

     Lightning pain shot up through my tail again. Nya was twisting the spear deeper into my flesh. I used Cole as a weapon to knock her back. With a single throw, the Master of Earth leveled her to the ground. I yanked the spear free of my tail, ignoring the bubbling black blood that sputtered up in its place. I paused to aim and threw it back at its owner. Cole was helping Nya to her feet when she was hit in the side. Her eyes went wide in shock as she dropped to her knees.

     I didn't have time to watch the rest. Ice froze my legs in place as Zane delivered a swift roundhouse kick to my side. Jay had returned and shot lightning at my face. The energy knocked me to the side. I used my right wing to keep my ankles from snapping. At that moment, Zane caused the ice to start encasing more. I hissed in protest as the ice froze over my bent knees, locking me in place. At that moment, a sword flew straight at my throat. I saw Lloyd panting from far off as he waited for the sword to finish me. I caught the sword in my mouth and bit down, cracking it into splinters. The top of my mouth started to bleed.

     Cole and Nya had gotten to their feet, but I could already tell they would be easy to finish off. Nya looked ready to collapse any second, as the scarlet stains on the side of her gi continued to spread. They joined Jay, Zane, and Lloyd in circling me. I showed my teeth; I was not going to get beat by a bunch of kids again.

     With a mighty clamor, I launched myself into the air, satisfied to hear the ice shatter as force cracked it. My wings flapped powerfully in the wing. I could fly again. For a split second the freedom of the air beyond called to me, but I ignored it. Looking down at the half-beaten Ninja, I chose my next target.

     Jay didn't know what hit him. I swooped down, grabbed him by the ankle he wasn't favoring, and slammed him against the ground. He cried out in pain.

     Nya yelped from behind me. My body acted before my mind could formulate a plan. We had neared the boulders where I was brought back. They were all behind me. It was perfect.

     With a vicious swipe, I pinned Lloyd, Zane, Cole, and Nya against the side of the boulders with my tail. Their bodies slapped backwards, filling the air with a satisfying crack. I glanced behind me to make sure Jay didn't try anything stupid. Morro and the princess were at his side, trying to help him up. Morro was on the edge of passing out from blood loss and barely had the strength to help. The princess was trying her best not to use her badly dislocated arm as she kept throwing frantic glances at her fellow ninja. She seemed to be trying to decide who to help. Her hesitation would be the end of all of them.

     I flexed my claws, letting the bloodstains show. The ninja pinned beneath my tail were struggling to not show their pain. Nya's hood had been knocked off, showing an array of scratches, Cole's brows were furrowed in concentration, half of Zane's face had peeled off, revealing a tangled mess of wires, and Lloyd's tangled blonde hair looked muddy brown with the rain and blood that had been mixed into it. In the corner of my eye, I watched Morro collapse.

      I stared right at the former golden master, a wild grin growing on my face. Long fangs protruded from my mouth as an insane burst laughter slipped through.

      "So much for your prophecy," I hissed, raising my claws to slice through all of them at once.

      Swiiiiiiiish!

      Pain exploded through me, tearing its way through every part of my being. I stumbled backwards, clutching my chest. Agony clouded my vision, making everything turn unbearably smoky with the haze of anguish. I raised my wings instinctively to shield myself and continued to step backwards, not being able to process anything properly.

     Around me, a fierce wind picked up as a loud sound echoed through the clearing. It split my head in a throbbing headache, one that felt as if I was having a knife being driven through my soul. I didn't know anything could hurt so much. I would give over everything, anything, to make it stop. I didn't know I had collapsed until I found myself curled up in the muddy plains.

     Slowly but surely, the sensation became bearable. I lifted a wing to a hideously bright sun. The clouds from the storm were receding, but they still cast the world in a darkened shadow. I hissed through my teeth, lifting myself to my feet. The field was deserted, expect for the police officers far away keeping people from coming to investigate. I curled my lips in disgust. In the midst of the chaos, the Ninja had slipped away. There was whole army there that could have stopped them. I silently cursed the Time Twins and their incompetence.

      The agony in my chest still remained. I lifted my claws from my torso to see what had caused it.

      There was no blood. My belly was as dark as night, without a single wound driven into the scales. The only thing on my chest was the amulet. I gingerly lifted the glowing artifact into the air. From its right top to nearly the center ran a hairline fracture. My vision reddened with anger.

      That's impossible.

     The amulet was indestructible. How could it have cracked? I gently touched the fracture. There was only one way it could break. Glowering, I raised my head to glare at the realm beyond me.

     The amulet could only be destroyed if it was written to break.

      What Lloyd said was true. The Cloud Kingdom had brought forth a prophecy. I was going to be defeated.

      And Time's Overlord will fall to his end.

      Did this mean I would lie dormant once again, or had the Cloud Kingdom really transcribed my eternal defeat? If I truly fell to my end, then the balance would be destroyed. They wouldn't risk that; it would ruin the whole realm.

      I scoffed at the message. No matter who the writers sent forth to beat me, I would always rise again. I looked at the cracked amulet again, trying to hold onto the confidence.

      They wouldn't compromise the balance for something so silly. Yet, the more I thought of it, the more I felt dread grow. In the distance, I heard helicopters prepare to fly into the evacuated field. Dread quickly turned into resolve. Who needed destiny to be on their side? If the Cloud Kingdom wanted to be rid of me, then I would destroy everything else to show them the consequences of that choice. The Ninja would not win this time.

     I spread my wings and took off. I needed time to prepare and gain my strength back. Malevolence's skeleton lay at the base of the pillars, an artifact for the news to gush over. No matter how hard I searched myself, I could not feel remorse for her. She was only a pawn in the game to keep myself alive. The mistake villains made was to keep the one thing that could defeat them in a secluded place. I kept my soul on the demoness for her to protect. In return for keeping me forever immortal, she would gain enough darkness to keep her alive for years to come. Now that she was dead, I had to protect my soul myself. She was gone from the equation, which meant she was useless to think about now. Malevolence did do one thing I was grateful for though.

     I followed the faint temporal energy through the air, back to the caves that Malevolence hid in for weeks as she brought her plan to fruition. The Vermillion army had gathered near the base of the caves in front of the disheveled Time Twins.

     I landed in the area outside, not bothering with formalities.

     "You let them escape."

     The brothers looked at each other, then at me. The Time Blades had been destroyed by the combination as it drained them of all their power. All of the elemental power of time that was left was the small remnants of time that remained on the two twins. They didn't possess enough power to do anything anymore. They were weak and useless. Yet, they still had command over an army of nearly indestructible warriors. I needed them on my side, because if they defected, the Ninja would know much more than they needed to about what Malevolence had planned. They would know how to find me, which could make everything in my fragmented plan go wrong.

     After a minute, the older twin stepped out of the caves and into the open. I admired his bravery, as futile as it was.

     "Mr. Overlord s-sir... um..."

     "I will not be addressed by some peasant." My voice was cold. "You had an army under your command and yet you did nothing to stop the Ninja from escaping."

     "We thought you were dead—"

     "You had an army to pit against a bunch of stupid teenagers. You didn't even try to stop them." I cut the weak protest off as I licked the sore spot on the top of my mouth. The bleeding had stopped.

     Krux stammered something else, but I ignored him. Hidden in the crowd of Vermillion, I spotted the three generals Malevolence had elected to control the soldiers.

      "You three." I pointed to them. "You answered to Malevolence."

     They stepped forward like trained soldiers. I knew I did not possess the snake that would control them, nor did I have them controlled by darkness, but I knew they would listen to me.

     "I am the mission she was meant to complete. If you were loyal to her, then you will be loyal to me."

     The general made up of bright red snakes stepped forward. He clapped a fist against his chest. "I am called General Ire, my lord. I was loyal to Malevolence, and I am sure it would make her extremely happy to see me following you in her place. She spoke highly of you, my lord."

     I grinned.

     "I am General Boisterous," the vibrant orange general stated. "Malevolence was loyal to you, so I will be also."

     "My lord, I am General Viper. I am yours to command." The third general bowed.

     Krux stared at his army in shock, then looked at me. I towered over him by at least three feet. Though I was wounded, even though I was weak, understanding finally dawned on him. Krux dropped to his knees.

     "I may not have much to offer, but I will give you my loyalty as well."

     Further on, in the caves, Acronix's glare shined through. But at his brother's actions he caved and dipped his head. He would follow his twin to the grave, no matter what if required him to do.

     My smile only widened at each moment. I had an army. I still had my amulet. And now I had a body.

     I would wait and prepare until I was at full strength. Then, the Ninja wouldn't know what hit them.

     So much for prophecies.

>(<>)<

Lloyd's POV

     PIXAL and Master Wu were frantically flitting from person to person, their hands filled with bandages and creams. Those who were well enough to stand helped out the best they could, but even then, they could help very little. A silent truth hung in the air, even more potent than the iron tang of blood.

     We had been beaten.

     If Master Wu hadn't shot that cannon straight at the Overlord's heart, Cole, Zane, Nya, and I would have died. Morro still hadn't woken up from the battle, Kai was just beginning to rouse, the leg Jay sprained a few weeks ago was sprained so badly now that he couldn't walk on it, and Nya could barely sit up because of the wound in her side.

     Harumi, despite her grotesquely dislocated shoulder, was kneeling next to Morro, tending to him and him alone. The only acknowledgement she made towards her arm was a slight hiss of pain every time it moved. I watched as she cleaned his wounds and wrapped them in linen. Harumi pressed a wet cloth against Morro's head, silently begging him to wake. The emotion in her eyes was familiar. I felt a twinge in my chest.

     The Harumi I knew didn't help people. She would put herself first, get her arm fixed, and then turn to help others. Yet, there was something about Morro that brought out a side of her I thought was a lie. She actually cared about him, and deep down I knew Morro would be doing the same thing in her place.

     What had happened to make her like that? Was it really who she was now, or was she still acting? Morro wouldn't place his trust in someone who was likely to betray him, right?

     I pressed a hand against my head, feeling a large bump on the back of it. Being slammed against rocks was not good for my body. The world spun as I started to get to my feet. I winced against the pain, my eyes flitting over to Harumi again. I don't know what compelled me to go over to her. It was probably my head wound clouding my sense.

     "You need to have that looked at." I gestured to her limp shoulder, still not being able to meet her eyes.

     She glanced at the shoulder for maybe the first time since she arrived on the Bounty, her wet blue eyes showing obvious pain. Harumi blinked, shaking her head. "He needs me."

     As if her words committed some magic, Morro stirred. His dark green eyes flickered open. Harumi sobbed in relief as his gaze rested on her.

     "Did...did we win?" He mumbled, trying to pull himself into a sitting position. Harumi gently stopped him, biting back another yelp at the pain that caused her.

     "You need to rest. You passed out from blood loss." Her voice wavered as her face tightened. She didn't even glance at the source of her agony. Morro's eyes filled with concern as he started to realize what was going on. He tried to get up again, only to be pushed down harder. "Don't make me tie you to the floor. I don't need you reopening wounds."

     A smile tugged at my lips. It had been strange to see her so raw, even if it was for a few seconds, but the sassy girl who had made our time guarding her difficult had returned.

     "You need to have that shoulder looked at." Morro insisted.

     Harumi shook her head. "You're in worse shape than I am."

     "Lloyd, pop her shoulder back into place."

     I was startled by the sudden command. I looked at Harumi, who was turning red.

     "I don't need him to do any—"

     "Let him do it or I'll do it myself." Morro met her gaze. "And that would require me to get up."

     Harumi was silent for a minute, then finally exhaled. Rolling her eyes, she pulled off the gi's jacket, leaving on a black sleeveless shirt. Her left shoulder was already splotched with an ugly purple hue, making the dislocation seem even worse. I clenched my teeth and gingerly felt around the joint to find out exactly where it needed to be popped back in. Harumi hissed quietly with pain but didn't say anything. I could see her knuckles turn white as she pressed against the floor.

     It occurred to me that this was the closest we had been in a while.

     "This is going to hurt," I choked out, blinking back the memories of a time long past. It felt stupid to say something so obvious, but right now I was having a hard time focusing. Harumi nodded, shutting her eyes tight.

     I gripped her loose arm and shoved it back into the joint. Harumi let out a yelp, a few tears falling from her eyes. She scrambled back from my hold immediately, clutching the arm tight. It already looked much better being back in place. I wanted to apologize, but the pain was inevitable. There was nothing I could have done to stop it. After a couple seconds, she gave me a small nod of thanks before retreating back into the fatal position. I knew she didn't want me to see her cry.

     I slowly backed away, right into Master Wu. He gestured for me to follow him out of the room. I favored my right leg as he led me out to the dock of the ship. The left one was hurting from some sort of wound. It was hard to remember what caused it. The battle had been chaos.

     My mind was chaos.

     "You're going to have to make a decision." Master Wu said, his stare not moving from a point in the far-off distance. I leaned against the rails that lined the side of the ship, my back facing the twilight outside. My gaze flickered around the ship. We sputtered through the air, heading to the monastery. It was surprising how smooth the Bounty was flying after being hit several times by boulders. It would have to rest and be repaired soon though.

     I sighed. Harumi was the last thing I wanted to talk about right now. Our encounter had left me shaken. I had always refused to speak to her, yet just then we had gotten closer than ever before. I talked to her like a normal person, and she didn't try to manipulate me or sting me with words. That revelation in itself was making my mind fuzzy with a thousand strange feelings.

     "I can't trust myself to make one." I confessed, trying with all my might to clear my head.

     Master Wu raised an eyebrow at me. He turned back to watching the moon rise. "That's not what I was talking about." My face went red. "The news reported that the Overlord's body has disappeared from where it collapsed on the battlefield. The cannon did not kill him. He is weakened now, but he will return. You need to decide our next course of action."

    I fidgeted with my gloves, not being able to keep her expression out of my mind. She had seemed so legitimate, so human, that for a second, I wondered if my previous convictions had been false. We had failed to trust their story, and it had given Malevolence the edge she needed to succeed in her plan. No matter what my previous beliefs were, if we ignored Morro and Harumi's story again, then it might just help the Overlord succeed. I had to set aside my prejudices and listen for once, even if my heart was telling me not to believe her again.

     "The Overlord nearly killed us in his weakest state. It would be unwise to try to face him again." I didn't realize I was wanting Master Wu to approve until he nodded. "I... I think we should try to find Oni and Light's son."

     "Have you finally chosen to believe their tale?"

     "I said nothing of the sort." I stated, feeling the war inside of me grow. "It's just that this supposed prophecy is the best lead we have so far. A great evil has come to conquer the land. There is a 'Time's Overlord.' If we have any chance of beating him, I think we should find the identity of Oni and Light's son. It's the best shot we have."

     Wu stroked his beard. "How do you suppose we find this son?"

     My thoughts were already two steps ahead. "If I know the Overlord, then he'll wait until he's at full strength before he attacks again. That buys us time. We'll split up into groups and look into our ancestries. If there was an Oni parent somewhere, then the lineage won't go back past them. If we find the Oni, then it will be easy to locate the Light."

     "Smart," Master Wu commented. "When do you suggest we look into our ancestries?"

     "As soon as possible." I declared, pacing back and forth across the deck. My leg complained with each step, but I was too excited to care. "You and Pix can stay here to warn us if the Overlord returns. The rest of us will split into teams of two to research."

     "Even Morro and Harumi?"

     I was glad when my voice didn't waver. "Destiny brought them to us for a reason."

     Master Wu passed me and stopped at the door back into the brig. "You're going to have to make up your mind about them someday."

     I know Master. But my heart is too conflicted to tell the truth right now.

>(<>)<

Morro's POV

     Harumi insisted on taking care of me, despite the tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. She brought me pillows to prop myself up on, constantly bugging me to just lie down and rest. Even though my own torso stung like fire every time I moved, there was no way in Ninjago I was just going to let her tend to me. She was still in obvious discomfort as she avoided using her left arm at all costs.

     It made my chest warm though, at her almost tender actions, as she insisted on playing mother. There had been a time where Harumi refused to even touch me, yet here she was supporting me as I moved into a sitting position. We were so close. It made my breath catch and my heart start to do things I would rather it not.

     I think you definitely should tell Harumi how you feel.

     Jay's words echoed through my mind, bringing on an immeasurable guilt. There were times when I wanted to tell her. There were times when I wanted to tell her everything.

     But I couldn't disclose the horrible truth I had seen on my destiny scroll. Looking at her messy hair, tear-streaked face, and immobile arm, I wanted to do nothing but pull her into a comforting embrace and pour out my heart. In that fantasy, she'd finally open up to me and we could maybe, just maybe, have a chance at being what Jay thought we could be. For the first time in my life, I had met a person I would be glad to walk the rest of my life with.

     All I had to do was stop holding back my secrets.

     "Ninja, we need to talk." Lloyd's voice shattered through my thoughts as he limped into the brig.

     Nine faces swiveled towards him.

     "I'm not going to beat around the bush. We nearly died out there. That was the Overlord in his weakest state. We have reason to believe that he has now joined forces with the Time Twins and the Vermillion." Lloyd swallowed, his cheeks reddening. "We aren't going to win this fight."

     Protests were grumbled around the area.

     "We aren't going to win unless we find the identity of Oni and Light's son."

     Beside me, Harumi sharply inhaled.

     "If there is one thing I know about the Overlord, it's that he'll wait until he is at full strength to attack Ninjago. That buys us enough time to find this mysterious son. We'll split into teams of two. We'll research our ancestry until we find a spot where a relative doesn't have any recorded parents. That means they are probably an Oni. Once we find the Oni, it shouldn't be hard to find the Light."

     "I'll go with Jay," Nya hooked an arm around her husband's.

     "I can go with Kai," offered Zane, holding a hand to his face to keep the metal plating on.

     "Great. Cole and I can team up and..." Lloyd stopped when he saw Harumi and me.

     Cole followed his stare. "I can go with Morro," he offered, raising a bandaged hand. "The only likely parent I had was my mother. There is no way in Ninjago that my father is part Oni."

     "Son doesn't have to mean a direct son." Lloyd said. "Son could mean great-grandson for all we know."

     His eyes went to Harumi and he suddenly looked uncomfortable. "I know this mission is going to be hard with your injuries, but I believe that Oni and Light's son is our only hope to winning this fight."

     Around the brig, Ninja nodded. They would follow their green leader to their graves, whether they trusted his information or not. Lloyd had somehow finally looked at our story, at our prophecy, and saw a glimpse of truth. I don't know how, but I knew this would greatly play to our advantage.

      The Ninja were slowly becoming more trusting of us. It wouldn't be long before both sides were reconciled, and Harumi was relieved of her own guilt and anger. If Lloyd had started down that path, it wouldn't be long before everyone else followed in suit.

     I looked up at Harumi, but her eyes were not exactly focused on anything. Her left shoulder twitched as she tried to test its strength once again.

     Relationships can often take away some of the emotional burden we force ourselves to carry.

     I wanted to tell her. I wanted us to go back to the kingdom in the clouds where everything was perfect. But, most of all, I wanted her to be happy. Maybe Jay was right. Maybe if I were more honest, we could go back to the way things used to be. My throat clogged up as soon as I tried to force out the words.

     Well, they do say actions speak louder than words.

     I reached out and grasped her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze to ask a silent question. She flushed slightly, not exactly sure what I was doing.

     She didn't let go.

     "It's going to be hard," Harumi finally said, "but we made it out of the Departed Realm. How bad could this be?"

     I smiled, "Have you seen the way you react to new environments?"

     "I thought we agreed not to talk about that." Harumi tried to be stone-faced, but the laughs slipped through the cracks in her façade.

     No matter what happened, no matter what future the thief had in store for me, I would be there for her. I would make her laugh, make her smile, because she was all I had left. She would be the one I was able to save.

      I knew for a fact that the task ahead wouldn't be easy, but it would be worth it in the end. Oni and Light's son would save us.

      All we had to do was find him.

End of Part 3