Harumi's POV

     Library. Library! LIBRARY!

     What in Ninjago was the tea talking about? I spent who knows how long pacing around the Temple of Light, trying to rack my brain for what the tea wanted me to know. I had visited various libraries throughout my life, but none of them were ever significant in any way. They were just buildings stuffed with books that I needed to visit for schooling purposes.

     I had woken Lloyd up accidentally at some point because he announced (whilst still pretending to be asleep, I might add) that he couldn't rest with all the noise I was making. I ended up laying my head down on my knapsack, wishing for a quiet slumber, as every so often the voice in my head would repeat the plea.

     Find the library.

     Sleep was impossible. Every time I drifted off the voice would return, reminding me that I definitely should be using every second of my spare time searching for a vague place instead of performing basic necessary-to-life functions. In the morning, my eyes felt puffy and I had a headache. Lloyd didn't comment on the irony of the situation when he saw my drowsy state, which I was grateful for. He looked well enough, however, so we agreed to start the flight back to the Bounty.

     I must admit it felt nice to have Lloyd actually acknowledge my presence. He had heard my empty stomach growling and had offered some of his portions, which I grumpily accepted. My head hurt too much to care about my pride, so I swallowed the pieces of jerky and mumbled a thank you.

     Lloyd didn't say much on the flight home, but I could tell he was disconcerted. He kept twitching no matter how loosely I held on, and I could see his jaw continue to clench and unclench. Since he didn't allude to me being the cause of his discomfort, I decided not to say anything.

     As time passed through each wingbeat, I felt myself being lulled by the energy dragon. Even though I had a terrible fear of flying, I could feel myself nodding off as the lack of sleep caught up with me. Lloyd still didn't say anything as I rested my head on his back and slowly fell into slumber. That seemed to be his new normal, the silence. I remember when we first met, he would always try to keep a conversation going. I kind of wished for his chatter now; it would be better than the incessant nagging in my head to find the stupid library.

     "Try to get some sleep tonight." Lloyd told me after we arrived on the midpoint island. He wasn't even looking at me when he said it; he just flopped down on the floor to massage his bad leg.

     I didn't know whether to be embarrassed about falling asleep on the dragon or the fact that he had the nerve to mention I was the one who was sleep deprived this time.

     Find the library.

     By the time we reached the Bounty the next evening, my headache had morphed into an awful migraine. Night was settling in over Ninjago as the sun set, leaving the world feeling unnatural. Maybe it was just me, but everything seemed darker than normal. It was like a signal that the Overlord's power was growing.

     Lloyd waved off Wu and PIXAL's questions the minute we landed so he could go rest. I knew flying across an ocean running purely on your own energy must be exhausting, so when he left the main deck, I told them we didn't find the Oni or Light and headed off to do research.

     The Ninja hadn't left any type of electronic system in my room, I guess so I couldn't contact my villain lackeys. With the persistent nagging in my mind keeping me awake, I spent the night brainstorming where this supposed library was. The tea could be talking about any of Ninjago City's various libraries, though I assumed it probably wanted me to go after a bigger one. There were five major libraries total in the huge city, one of which had been opened after my parents' deaths. The tea wanted to lead me to my parents, so it must want me to find something that had been there during their lives. That narrowed my options down to four.

     By the time the sun had risen, my headache was so bad I wanted to have someone knock me unconscious just so I could rest. I stumbled down to breakfast, where Lloyd was talking about the First Spinjitzu Master.

     "That's all he said? He just communicated information on the origin of Ninjago and how Ancestea was created?" PIXAL watched as Lloyd lifted a spoonful of oatmeal to his lips.

     Lloyd shrugged. "I asked about the prophecy near the end of the vision, but he didn't really answer." He took another bite of his oatmeal before PIXAL could question him further.

     "That is very strange. You think he would help us along." Wu's voice had an edge, as if he suspected Lloyd wasn't telling the complete truth. Either that or he recognized I had entered the room and wanted Lloyd to stop talking.

     Wu poured me a bowl of oatmeal and I ate in silence, still hearing the voice in my head.

     Find the library.

     It wasn't just one voice saying it. It sounded like multiple people chanting the same thing in unison. I moaned as the migraine pushed forward harder, filling my head with unfathomable pain. I felt like someone was taking a hammer and stabbing needles throughout my brain.

     "Do you not prefer oatmeal?" PIXAL asked, drawing everyone's eyes to me.

     I pushed back the headache to force out the words. "The oatmeal is fine; I just didn't sleep well last night." When they returned to their breakfasts, I pushed out the words, "Um... is there any way I could visit the local libraries today?"

     Lloyd was confused, Wu was vaguely interested, and PIXAL didn't really show any emotion. I pushed the half-full bowl of oatmeal away, feeling too sick to take another bite.

     "I..." I didn't know how much to say without sounding super suspicious, but maybe Lloyd would understand since he also drank the Ancestea. "I keep hearing voices in my head telling me to find a library. I don't know which library they want me to find."

     Now all of the stares were confused.

     "Did you drink the Ancestea?" Lloyd asked after a second. When I nodded, he continued. "Did the voices start talking to you after you drank it?"

     I nodded again, the motion making me feel nauseous.

     He seemed to understand and stood up. "I can take you. Do you want PIXAL to come as well for...um... for extra precaution?" He directed the last question at Wu.

     It wasn't long before PIXAL and I were back on Lloyd's dragon as he took us down into the city. When we arrived at the first library, I noticed several electricians working on various streetlights. The city caretakers were explaining the fuse had gone out suddenly and there appeared to be no damage to the electricity system. I shuddered upon hearing that. It wasn't just my imagination; the Overlord's darkness was definitely growing stronger.

     I wasn't sure what to do when we entered the library. I assumed the voices would come back and say, "hey, now go to aisle three and find a magical book on your ancestry."

     No voice greeted my mind when we wandered the halls. Even though Lloyd was dressed casually, civilians still gaped and wondered if the great green ninja was really in the common library. Within the first fifteen minutes of us being there, Lloyd was so bombarded with autograph requests that PIXAL had to get out her katanas to keep the crowds at bay.

     That didn't work out because people recognized her too. The library ended up having to use a lot of its workforce to keep adulating fans away from the Ninja. Lloyd looked adorably embarrassed by the end of it and I was almost distracted from the small voices that whispered in my head.

      Find the library.

     So, this library wasn't the right one.

     PIXAL insisted that we return to the Bounty to get hoodies or masks before venturing further. The next three libraries were pointless. Each one, no matter how many disguises Lloyd and PIXAL tried to wear, was filled with grateful civilians. Each one, no matter how long we waited for the voices in my head to repeat themselves, always said the same thing.

     Find the library.

     Before I knew it, the whole day had gone, and I hadn't found the right place. I couldn't even eat with the pounding in my head, and sleep was so foreign an idea that I didn't even consider it anymore. I spent the whole night moaning as the voices continuously chanted their phrase. I was tempted to get on my knees and beg that someone would knock me out. It couldn't get much worse than this.

     The next day's headache was so bad I had to stay in bed all day.

     I nearly passed out just trying to make it to the breakfast hall, which would have been nice in the long run. I could barely even talk through the anguish in my head to explain why I was acting so weird. Lloyd convinced the others to let me rest for the day while he did some research. I tried to sleep, tried to get the rest I needed. It was all so pointless. Every time I would feel myself dozing off, the voices would return chanting the same thing.

     Wu told me to drink some tea, which ended up burning my tongue and making me feel even worse. It was agonizing to even think anymore. I was finally able to force out the request for a sedative when PIXAL came to offer me some broth for lunch. At least a sedative would be more dignified then asking for a major bruise on my head.

     She returned shortly with the special tea, and soon I was finally asleep. It wasn't a restful sleep, but it was the rest that I needed. I could hear the voices on the edge of my consciousness begging me to find their library. The darkness carried peace, though. For the moment, I was content.

     It was early the next morning when I heard a knock on my bedroom door. Somewhere in the night the sedative had worn off, leaving me in some sort of deep slumber. My head was clearer, but the aching still lingered.

     "Ru—Harumi? I think I might know another library we could search."

     I staggered out of bed, wiping unwashed hair out of my face, and tugging on my ninja gi's jacket over my Cloud Kingdom robes, which I still used as a set of pajamas. It was still dark outside when I peeked out of my window, which made the whole situation a whole lot stranger. Lloyd stood outside my door with a laptop in his hands. He was dressed in his ninja suit and looked completely awake. Very much the opposite of my tired, groggy self.

     Lloyd pointed to the screen, which showed an old, dilapidated building hidden in a cliffside. "It was an old library discovered months ago. The building was in a really bad condition, so the archaeologists didn't really mess with it in case it collapsed on their heads. People who risked life and limb to get close saw it was full of books. They say it's been there since my grandfather's time."

     I blinked, then ducked back in my room to check the time.

     I hadn't read the computer screen incorrectly.

     "It's three in the morning."

     Lloyd looked sheepish. "It will take a while to travel there, and I didn't think you would want another overnight trip with that headache of yours. It is just going to get worse with time."

     I placed a hand on my forehead. "How do you know that?"

     "You forget I also had voices in my head telling me to do this or that." He closed the laptop. "Are you in?"

     "I'm not sure you want to take PIXAL away from the Bounty. You all still need eyes on the city to make sure the Overlord isn't attacking or anything." I tugged at my jacket's sleeves.

     "We'll go alone. We agreed to no betrayals, and I'll trust you to keep that promise." I couldn't tell if he was being serious or trying to tease me as his fingers grazed the spot on his chest. "Besides, I'm more than enough to deal with anything this trip should bring."

     I didn't know whether he was referring to me trying to go rogue or if the Overlord should find and ambush us. But, at this point, I didn't have enough energy to care. I glanced back in my room as the voices eagerly agreed that I should go with him.

     Find the library!

     "Give me five minutes and I'll be ready to go." I said.

>(<>)<

"Can I ask why you want to help me find this library?" I asked, pulling my ninja hood farther over my face to protect it from the swirling gales Lloyd and I were currently flying through.

     "What?" Lloyd shouted above the winds, commanding his dragon to fly lower.

     I repeated the question louder, ignoring the strain it put on my sore mind.

     The energy dragon swiveled down the currents into a scarcely populated valley. The winds weren't as fierce closer to the ground, so I could hear him clearly when he replied, "It's hard being nagged by someone only you can hear."

     The sun was peaking above the flattened hills, illuminating the valley in a pink tinge. The lake below us rippled as various geese swam across it. Some took off into the sky when we flew close. A light mist sprayed up in our faces as the energy dragon's wings touched the water.

     "It's amazing how much of Ninjago we don't see." Lloyd murmured; his gaze locked on the nature around us. I couldn't clearly see his face, but I could tell he was sad. It made me wonder if he wished to see more of the countryside instead of being confined to saving Ninjago City. It was hard to think of the Ninja wanting to do anything but save people, yet I could understand where the disheartenment might be coming from. Lloyd was probably tired of the strenuous life being a ninja required.

     That's when I realized there was so much about Lloyd I didn't know. Sure, underneath his façade of being untouchable there was the little boy I had known from so long ago, but there were so many other parts to Lloyd that I probably hadn't even scratched the surface of.

     "It's beautiful." I carefully agreed, watching some leaves blow off of the trees that surrounded the lake. The citizens who lived next to the lake had lined dirt paths around it. Even now, at six in the morning, some were out running in the sunrise. Lloyd sighed, turning his wistful look back to the skies.

     "Sometimes... I don't even know why I'm telling you this... but, sometimes I wish..." He trailed off into silence, fixing his attention on the waters.

     "That you could live their life?" I whispered. "That you could wake up every day to this sunrise and live in peace by the lakeside? That every day wasn't filled with drama and chaos and so many lives on the line?"

     He picked at his sleeves, slowly glancing back over his shoulder. "Yeah."

     Then he turned away. "It's a stupid idea."

     "There's nothing wrong with wanting to get away from it all. I enjoyed my time in the Cloud Kingdom because no one there knew who I was. I was normal. I got to wake up with the sunrise and carry out a completely ordinary day. There was no drama or prophecies." I sighed, reaching up to massage my shoulder. It hadn't ached much since Lloyd popped it back into place, but every now and then the bruise would start acting up. "I... I still want to go back to that... whenever this is all over."

     "That sounds nice." Lloyd's tone was wistful as he steered the dragon back into the fierce winds. We could not afford to enjoy the scenery much more, since time was limited.

     Still, for the rest of that trip I couldn't get that fantasy out of my head. Waking up to see an actual lake instead of clouds, taking hikes on fresh dirt instead of sanded wood, sitting under trees instead of artificial fabric. It sounded so peaceful.

     Sure, the time I spent in the Cloud Kingdom was the most uplifting time I'd ever had, but for some reason, spending the rest of my life beside a placid lake didn't sound so bad either.

     My stomach was growling for breakfast by the time the dilapidated building came into view. We had to fly around so many hills and through ravines to get to it that I had almost lost hope that we were going to find it. Apparently, Lloyd knew this area better than I did. The old library was tucked into the side of a mountain, dark and ominous against the sunny plateaus around it.

     Find the li—

     The voices cut off midsentence.

     That had to mean something.

     Lloyd landed his dragon a few yards away and we slid off its back. Old pillars laid sideways on the ground, covered in newly sprung up weeds. I wondered what this place looked like when it was first built. I tried to imagine the dark pillars standing spiraling into the sky and the rusted metal tucked beneath flowers standing as a gate. As my mind painted the picture with more and more details, I realized that this probably wasn't a library. From the spikes that had dulled with the weather to the thick, broken walls, I didn't see a shelter of books and shelves.

     I saw a fortress.

     But, what was a fortress doing hidden on the side of a mountain in the middle of nowhere?

     "Stay close." Lloyd ordered, using his energy to create a barrier above his head. "The reports said it's close to collapsing."

     Don't listen to him. Trust your instincts.

     I shook my head, not sure if I heard the voices right. I stepped closer to Lloyd's barrier, only to hear it again.

     Don't listen to him. Trust your instincts.

     Lloyd watched my hesitation with a scrutinizing eye. "What's wrong?"

     "They're..." I didn't know how suspicious this would make him, but I had to trust in our pact to put the past behind us. "The voices are saying not to listen to you."

     Lloyd tilted his head and lowered the energy barrier above himself. "What else are they saying?" His voice had an edge, as I suspected it would.

     "They want me to trust my instincts."

     Lloyd narrowed his eyes, but I stepped past him into the doorway of the forgotten fortress. A dark and dreary inside awaited me. The air was thick with built up humidity and the floors were covered in peeling material. I felt the building groan when I walked inside.

     Trust your instincts.

     I wanted to run outside and beg for head protection, especially when I saw the walls shift slightly. With my luck the building would fall me. But my instincts told me to push forward, to ignore the signs of decay. They told me to look for something that might lead me to the past.

     Lloyd entered behind me, which made the building cry again. He lifted an energy shield above his head and the whole building started to shake.

    Make him stop.

     "Stop!" I lunged for Lloyd, grasping at one of his arms. He twisted out of my grip, immediately reaching for the fold of his gi I know he hid a knife in. As soon as his hold on the energy released, the building stopped trembling. My distraction had worked.

     "What are you doing?" Lloyd hissed, noticing the change in the atmosphere. I closed my eyes, somehow knowing the answer.

     "You can't use your powers here. It will make the building fold on itself."

     "Why? Is this place magical or something? And how do you know that?"

     I flinched at his tone and bit back the retort that the Temple of Light wasn't exactly a normal building. I didn't know why I knew, just that I did. Something about this place didn't like Lloyd's energy. I could... sense it.

     Lloyd took a deep breath when I didn't answer. "If this building starts to collapse, or you are in any danger, I will not hesitate to use my energy. Until then, I will keep it extinguished."

     He stalked off down one of the many shelves of books. His words didn't sink into my mind until he had disappeared from view. When they did, I felt ready to explode with stomach butterflies. If I was in danger, he'd use his powers. Did he... could he possibly...?

     I turned around and started toward the shelves of books. There was no time for those thoughts when I had instructions to follow. Something struck me as odd as I studied the blackened iron shelves. For some reason, the trapped humidity kept the books from falling apart. While most of them had worn spines and crinkled edges, they were all still intact. I reached for one, gingerly pulling it away from the shelf. I couldn't pick out the title from the peeling cover, so I opened it up to see what the text inside read.

     The runes scribbled inside were indecipherable. This book was written in a language I had never seen before. I slid the book I was holding back into place and took out another. Just like the first, it was covered in the illegible runes.

     "What language is this?" I wondered aloud as I trailed down more of the aisles.

     Trust your instincts.

     Something creaked from behind me.

     I spun to find a loose metal gate swinging on its hinges. There was a crooked sign on the door that was written in the same runes as the books. Yet, when I came closer to door, the runes started to twist. I didn't know if it was the throbbing in my head making my vision swirl or if there was actually something magic about this library. The markings twisted and reshaped until suddenly I could understand what they said.

     Restricted.

     Restricted usually meant there was precious information inside. Maybe something to clue me in on why the voices brought me here. I bit my lip, looked back to make sure Lloyd wasn't in sight, and stepped past the barred gate.

     Trust your instincts.

     As I passed the gate, I suddenly realized how dark this part of the library was. It was eerie how the temperature dropped about ten degrees and the air was less like walking through a cloud and more like walking back into Malevolence's presence. Maybe this place used to be her fortress.

     Even more bookshelves sat inside the restricted area. I trailed my fingers down the books in the aisles as I looked for some sort of graph or map that could clue me into the identity of the owners of this place. It didn't make any sense for the tea to lead me to a building I'd never been to before, and it certainly was baffling to wonder why the tea had led me to a library written in a foreign language. Nothing about this connected to me or my very normal parents. So, why was I here?

     What made the whole matter even stranger was that in the 'Restricted Room', the leather-bound books appeared more intact. It seemed like they hadn't decayed at all.

     That's when I noticed the glow.

     Behind me, something was glowing bright purple.

     Trust your instincts.

     The voices were clearer. Almost... recognizable.

     One of the books on the shelf behind me had a glowing title. I blinked as the voices continued to pound in my head and reached out to pull it from the shelf. The first page had the glowing title written in runes. Just like with the sign, they started to twist until I could make out what they said.

     The Complete History of the Oni Royal Bloodline.

     Why would the Ancestea bring me here? I touched the runes, whose glow was fading.

     That's when everything went bright.

     Brighter than the sun.

     Brighter than a portal to a different dimension.

     The light was so suffocating, so overwhelming, that I wanted to claw out my mind so it would go away. It encompassed me as the voices returned, louder and clearer than ever.

     Everyone hides behind a mask; it just depends on how much the mask covers.

     History is never what it seems to be.

     Embrace who you are.

     Open your eyes.

     I squinted as out of the white light, three figures appeared. They were all blurry. When two of them stepped forward, their figures sharpened into view. My heart stopped when I saw their visages, smiling, familiar, and loving. Their faces had haunted my mind for so many years after their deaths. Just seeing them again brought back more pain and love than I thought I had in me.

     "Mom? Dad?"