Morro's POV

     The Overlord will be ready to attack soon.

      The next few days were spent with endlessly attempting to find a way to fight with injuries. Jay's foot was still in no shape to be walking on, Nya could barely run without crying out, Kai was still weaker from the poison, and while Lloyd's leg wasn't that bad, I doubted his limp would give him an advantage during battle. My chest was recovering nicely, but it hurt more than ever with the stress piling on it day after day.

     The Vermillion were gathering in really small groups and wandering around the outskirts of the city. They hadn't invaded any villages, terrorized any citizens, or attacked anything in general. Sensei said to just continue to rest and heal, that we'd take them out if they started harming people. But nothing could hide the imminent darkness that was to come. I knew the Overlord wasn't going to wait until Harumi had a son to attack. It was very possible we could wake up the next morning to the city in carnage.

      The Ninja, despite being under orders to recover, didn't rest. I knew this because their room was next to mine, and they conversed late into the night. I didn't know if they ever went to sleep. At some point during their muffled conversations, I was able to block out the noise and rest. Whether they actually stopped talking or I just got used to hearing their voices was a mystery to me. Even when I did finally go to sleep, it was restless.

     I kept having nightmares.

     I would always dream of a battle. I'd hear the hisses of the Vermillion, see the glowing eyes of the Overlord, and smell the iron tang of blood. There was always so much blood. Harumi would appear in it all, screaming something I couldn't understand, yet I could grasp the tone of her voice. It was sorrowful, filled to the brim with pain. I would wake up in a cold sweat, gasping for air.

     Every time I had the nightmare, I would feel more guilty. It filled me with the internal struggle that kept me awake for the rest of the long nights. I couldn't tell Harumi what was to come. It would break her. No matter how guilty keeping secrets, especially one this big, made me, I couldn't tell her. I couldn't.

     I felt like someone had grabbed my heart. As each day passed, the grip slowly got tighter. It became harder to breathe and my chest always hurt. I knew the time was near. The time where everything I had seen on my destiny scroll came to pass.

     I knew one day I would wake up and the pain would be gone. That day would be the one where everything I had seen would happen. As time dragged on, I panicked more and more. How could I tell her everything? How could I say goodbye?

     I didn't let Harumi know anything was wrong. I knew she suspected something, since her gaze had become distrustful when I insisted everything was fine. She didn't press for details.

     Despite the various injuries that had been inflicted on her left arm, Harumi still kept training with it. She spent her time like the Ninja, endlessly perfecting her aim and slices. I could tell she was still processing the information her parents' had given her, and she was using training as a way to let out her frustration.

     I offered to help her a few times, but she always wanted to do it alone. I would sit out on the deck with her, to offer her some company, and pour through the Cloud Kingdom's book while she threw dagger after dagger.

      Transferring Elemental Power: The Houses' Guide to the Elements.

      The book was one of the most fascinating things I had ever studied. It went through each detail of transferring elemental power, from direct transmission to how to make a power dormant inside someone. There was a precise procedure for each transmission to make sure the recipient would receive the most power possible.

     The first transference was the most highly recommended in the book: direct transference.

      Person A would transmit the power to Person B. Person B would immediately be able to use the elemental power to its fullest extent. The only way this would work properly was under a blue moon, with both parties reciting a special chant. Person A and Person B would also have to be holding each other's hands.

      Once the chant was finished, the power would have cleanly transmitted. If any part of this ceremony were done wrong, like the chant wasn't said properly, Person A and B were inside and not under the direct light of the moon, or they weren't holding hands, the power would be weakened upon transference. Person B would receive an incomplete version of the power, and the full strength of it would be lost forever.

     At first, I was surprised by the mention of a blue moon. The blue moon had popped up many times throughout my travels.

     The Cloud Kingdom would only take Eolas' requests every blue moon.

     The Caves of Calling would only work during a blue moon.

     Now, direct transference of elemental power would only work properly during a blue moon.

     I wondered if a blue moon was the Cloud Kingdom's special sign to show they were watching, or if was a sign of big events happening.

     Reading about the rules of direct transference also enlightened me to the truth behind Ray and Maya's tale. They said there had been many Elemental Houses once upon a time, but some would lose their powers or status and dissolve. If a power wasn't transferred, it would be lost forever when the one holding it died. I wondered how strong the Elemental Powers used to be; surely the ceremonies had been botched a couple time for each element.

     Then, I realized that the Elemental Masters were able to fight off Oni once upon a time.

     The second type of transmittal was called indirect transference.

     This was when Person A gave their power to Person B without physical contact, or without the effects of the blue moon. The consequences of transferring power this way was that the power would often be dormant inside of Person B. It would take days, months, or years for them to finally be able to unlock it. Like with direct transference, if done incorrectly, the result would often be weakened elemental power.

     That explained how I was the Master of Wind and how the Ninja got their powers. Jay's mother probably did indirect transference right before she died, along with Ray and Maya quickly doing it before Krux dragged them away. That would also explain why the Ninja's powers stayed dormant for so long before Lloyd used his energy to make them manifest themselves. My power activated pretty early on in my life, which means my uncle must have done the ceremony pretty close to spot on.

     The third type of transmittal was the least recommended in the book, in fact they actually warned the reader to use it only as a last resort.

      Dormant transference.

      This type of transfer could be done anywhere, anytime, and with anyone. Say the words, make the other person say the words, and the transference was complete. The full power of the first transmitted to the second. There was no messing up unless Person B refused to say their lines.

     It sounded like it should be the only method.

     But there was a catch.

     A dangerous one.

     The power would not go to Person B.

     It would go to one of Person B's offspring.

     Maybe it would be Person B's firstborn. Maybe it would be Person B's fifth child. The elemental power would remain dormant inside of Person B until one of their offspring inherited it. If Person B died before having any children, or couldn't have children, then the ability would disappear completely. Person B, once receiving it by this method, could not get rid of the power. They either had to have children or sacrifice the power. And if that weren't enough, there was an even greater risk that Person B's children wouldn't inherit the ability, and that the power would stay dormant inside of Person B forever.

     I could see how dangerous this method was. You would transfer your power to someone, only on the hope that one of their children would get it. That was only on the hope that Person B's child would use it for good, or for your purposes. Sure, the power had no risk of depleting, but the risk of losing it was even greater. I wondered if this method was why many Elemental Houses disappeared.

     It wasn't long before Wu announced that a large group of Vermillion had started threatening a small subdivision with news of the Overlord's arrival. It was late in the evening when the news came to us, so he told us we would head out to fight at dawn.

     I found myself pacing back and forth in my room as I felt the hand holding my heart clench with crushing force. Grief and sorrow hit me hard; I could barely breathe anymore when I was alone. It was in the dark of night, after another terrifying nightmare, that I knew.

     Today.

     Today is the day that everything I have seen will come to pass.

     Today is the day I fulfil my destiny.

     It was only two in the morning, but somehow, I knew. Just like I had predicted, the grip on my heart released, leaving me with nothing but a grim expectation of the upcoming future. Instead of feeling calm, stress only pounded harder on my mind until it felt ready to explode.

     I turned back to the desk that was sitting in my room. It currently had my destiny scroll pieces laying on it. I had studied these pieces for days, hoping, wishing, praying that what I saw on them wouldn't be true. That what they said wouldn't come to pass. But I couldn't fight my way out of what laid ahead.

     Nothing could alter what was written.

     The ink on my pieces was messy, like Storm had scribbled fiercely, not caring if she smudged the letters.

     I yelped when the idea hit me.

     Letters.

     Of course!

    That was my way to tell Harumi everything.

    In the darkness of night, I pulled out spare pieces of parchment paper and wrote my heart and soul into the paper. She would be so upset when she read it. But this was my way to tell her I was sorry.

>(<>)<

Harumi's POV

    It was hard to sleep before a battle.

    Even back when I lived as princess of Ninjago it was hard to sleep. There were so many things that could go wrong during a fight. But, if the battle strategy was executed correctly, everything would fall into place. I heard Wu telling his pupils that it wasn't the size of the ninja in the fight, it was the size of the fight in the ninja. I may not have been a ninja, but I sure did have a lot of fight in me. 

     Grief turned to resolve over the days as I meditated on my parent's words. As the Oni from the prophecy, I would drive back the Overlord. I would fight so that I could finally have peace. Once this whole ordeal was over, I... well, I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to happen next.

     For the longest time I had wanted to return to the Cloud Kingdom with Morro and live out the rest of my life there. It was a peaceful solution to my problems; I could just go to a place where my past didn't matter. The realm would calm me like it had before, and everything would be perfect.

     Yet, that was the very thing that made me hesitate. If I returned to the rose-tinted reality of the Cloud Kingdom, then it was unlikely that I would ever return to Ninjago. And, as much as I hated to admit it, Ninjago was starting to grow on me. Cole actually tried to have a conversation with me the other night, and the other Ninja weren't being so hostile anymore. It brought my mind back to the days of fun we had together before I betrayed them.

     And if I stayed in Ninjago then maybe—

     "You're up late."

     I let out an involuntary yelp at being caught out in the moonlight. Morro joined me next to the railing, the dark circles under his eyes evident in the white glow. He was one to talk about staying up late, seeing as he was fully dressed in his gi.

     We stood there in silence for a second, both of us looking down over the waters. The Ninja had anchored the Bounty in a lake somewhere west of Ninjago City. It was a peaceful place; there weren't even any villages nearby. It was a perfect place for tranquility before a war.

     "I can never sleep before a battle." I shrugged, as the lake messed up the moon's reflection with small ripples.

     Morro laughed softly. "I could never either."

     "I have a plan." I said, starting to pace around him. "If I am an Oni, it's possible that the Light was one of my ancestors. I could be the prophesized 'son', despite what my parents said. I'm not too ready to believe every word that came out of their mouths. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm going to try to kill the Overlord."

     Morro's expression was pained, though he never stopped watching the waters. "Your parents told you that you were the Oni. We have yet to find the Light. You may be protected by the prophecy, but it is not your destiny to kill the Overlord. You need to stay safe so you can survive to raise a son."

     Suddenly this 'being-an-Oni' thing felt really awkward.

     I searched my mind for some way to reject Morro's observations, but all I could find were scenarios of myself trapped in a loveless marriage with the mysterious 'Light'. I'd probably have to spend the rest of my life with someone I didn't even know just to save the world.

     Sure, I could abandon my quest and marry whom I chose, but then the world would be destroyed by the Overlord's hand. I guess my own personal happiness wasn't a choice when it came to those circumstances. Thank you, Storm Lightning, for ruining my life.

     Morro seemed to realize the train of thought that was running through my head. "It is possible that the Overlord will win this next fight since the son isn't born yet. What matters is that..." He trailed off, his cheeks warming. When he finally looked at me, his eyes were filled with an intensity I had never seen before. "Harumi, would you promise me something?"

     "Um, sure?" His behavior was starting to get concerning. I knew there was something he wasn't telling me, and now he seemed really nervous. The last time Morro had acted like this was before Lux appeared to make me a demon in the Departed Realm. My gut twisted with the memory, and I clenched my teeth to stop the storm of worst-case scenarios.

      Nothing would have prepared me for what he said next.

     "Please, promise me that whatever happens today, that you will hold on to what you still have left."

     "Wha—what's going to happen?" I pressed forward. "That is your way of telling me to handle grief, Morro."

     He sighed, turning back around to face the lake. "We're going to fight in a battle. Against the Overlord. It's safe to assume someone is going to get hurt."

     "Hurt and dead are two different things. Who is going to die, Morro?"

     "I never said anyone was going to die!" His voice rose, his tone layered in the sorrow he was trying to hide.

     "What do you know about today that I don't? Is this something Erasmus showed you?" I tried to think of some scenario where Morro could know about what happened today, only to be hit by the cold realization that he had never told me what he had seen on his destiny scroll. Mine told me I was going to find an unexpected truth, and that was most likely referring to my Oni heritage. Morro's scroll could have also contained an important message. "What did your destiny scroll tell you?"

     He stiffened, which pretty much proved my theory as correct. He was hiding this from me.

     "Morro."

     "I told you what my scroll said." He said quietly, his voice eerily calm. "It told me I would follow you to Ninjago. I'm just concerned about the Overlord's strength."

     I pursed my lips as I studied him. He was normally so tranquil, so assured in what was happening. In this rare moment of weakness, I found him torn. He knew something, yet he wouldn't tell me for some reason.

     Maybe it was written that he couldn't tell me whatever he was hiding.

     Maybe he was just trying to prepare me for a bloody fight in the best way he could.

     Maybe I was jumping to conclusions about someone dying.

     "There are... there are a lot of things I haven't told you yet." He swallowed, his raised hands twitching with his agitation. Slowly, I reached out to still them. His focus was on our point of contact as he forced out the words, "We used to never keep secrets from each other, and I've broken that trust. I've been a terrible person keeping things from you. Yet right now, I can't find the strength to say it. I've never been able to find the strength to say it, and I'm sorry."

     "Then don't." I surprised myself with the words. "You can tell me later. How about after this battle, we sit down and discuss everything? It could be like the days after work in the Cloud Kingdom."

     Happy memories swam at the edge of my consciousness.

     "We'll probably be injured anyway, so we'll need time to pass. Though I call going first in chess—that is if you brought the board with you."

     I didn't know if Morro had brought the token of his friends' losses with him from the Cloud Kingdom. Our endless rounds were a way for him to stifle his guilt, and I was happy to help him let out his grief in better ways than passive-aggressive behavior. Morro had seemed much more content ever since we left the Cloud Kingdom; it made me wonder if he had left his guilt and the chessboard behind.

     His grim expression softened at my hopeful smile. "Why do you believe I will have the strength then if I do not even have the strength now?"

     "I trust you. Things may be hard, but we lean on each other. That is the reason you don't want there to be secrets between us, right?" I looked down at our entwined hands, glad the darkness hid my heated cheeks.

     "Harumi?"

     I met his eyes.

     "I'm... I'm really glad Storm chose me to be your guide."

     I squeezed his hands.

     "Me too, Morro. Me too. She's given me the best friend I could have ever asked for."

     His smile, though sad, was genuine. "After the battle then?"

     "After the battle."

      "Then get some sleep, it's going to be a rough day."

>(<>)<

The morning was too bright for the grim future ahead. The Ninja gathered on the deck as Lloyd went over the plan.

     "Malevolence was hurt by energy, so it is likely the Overlord will have a weakness towards it as well. We also saw the Bounty's missiles cracked the Overlord's soul amulet. If we can get him stuck in place; we could fire another one. PIXAL has already tested if she can fire those missiles out of the Samurai X mech, and she can do it. Since the mech will have more control than the Bounty, she will be our game-changing attack."

    "Last time, the missile barely scratched the amulet. How many more will it take to break it?" Kai projected. His skin had returned to its full hue; his fiery spirit was readier than ever. He had been eating way too much beetroot the past couple days, but luckily that had helped him almost return to normal.

     "Hopefully only a couple more." Lloyd said, pacing around in front of the group. He didn't wince when putting pressure on his bad leg, and the circles under his eyes weren't as noticeable as usual. His calm tone didn't stop the worry brewing in the pit of my stomach, but it certainly helped. He acted like this battle wasn't going to be the end of our lives.

     "How are we going to hit the Overlord's amulet, which will be the tiniest spot on his body?" Jay said. "It's not like he's just going to drop it at our feet and say, 'oh come destroy this.'" Jay favored his uninjured leg, and I was pretty sure his other one still wasn't in walking condition. Yet, Jay and Nya had spent a bit of time that morning trying to fashion a supportive cast out of spare items around the Bounty.

     "We'll split into two groups." Lloyd pointed to his friends. "We'll have an offensive group and a 'secure-the-Overlord-in place' group. Kai, Jay, and I will use our energy to knock back the Overlord. Morro, you'll come with us since I guess wind energy does technically count. Cole, Nya, Zane, and Harumi will try to get the Overlord in one place so PIXAL can line up her mech for blasting. We might have some thick ropes somewhere that you all can use."

     Cole nodded, and the Ninja split into two teams. I edged my way over to where my group was, trying to figure out how we were going to accomplish our goal.

     Cole hadn't been severely injured by the Overlord's first attack, so he was the strongest out of all four of us. Zane came in second on the strength factor since he was literally made of titanium. Though the first attack had fried a few of his circuits, he was back to fully functioning within a few hours. Nya still winced if she waved her arms too violently, but I knew she would give this fight her all. And I... I would do what was required of me. My size was small, so I wasn't a good foundation for holding something still. But I was fast, and I was pretty skilled at accurate throws. I could be of use somehow.

     Besides, my wrist and shoulder barely ached at all. I had it pretty good compared to everyone else.

     "Remember those ropes Master Wu bought a while ago, the ones with the metal woven in to make them even stronger?" Cole waited until Zane and Nya nodded. "We'll use those, along with the vengestone harpoons we got from the First Realm."

     He turned to me. "How good is your aim?"

     I was flustered by the sudden attention. "It's okay."

     "Please." Nya raised an eyebrow. "I've seen you hit a target dummy in the center of its head with a dagger from twenty yards away. With your non-dominant hand. You have amazing aim."

     I flushed at her entirely unexpected praise.

     Cole put a hand on his chin. "If we can latch onto the Overlord from the back, all we'll have to watch out for are his tail and wings. The ropes should be long enough to secure him from an area where we won't get hit."

    "What about the Vermillion that will be attacking us? They aren't just going to let us chain up their Master." Zane asked.

     "Freeze as many as you can and cover us. Nya, Rumi, and I will work on tying the Overlord up." He smiled at us. "I think this might actually work."

     I was too caught up by Cole calling me Rumi. The Ninja had only called me Rumi when they had thought I was their friend. Kai had called me that when he realized I wasn't lying about Malevolence. Could the Ninja finally be warming up to me? The thought gave me more happiness than I wanted it to. Perhaps they were finally willing to let me into their lives once again.

     "Game plans ready?" Lloyd called out. When everyone nodded, he said, "Remember, we're here to take out the Overlord. The Vermillion and Time Twins are just distractions from the main goal. Make sure you are always moving towards the Overlord. The quicker we get this done, the less injuries there are going to be. I don't think we are strong enough to have one of these big battles again for a while."

    He waited for everyone to nod once more, his eyes meeting mine for a brief second. "All right, Ninja, suit up. I'll tell Master Wu to start steering us towards the gathering Vermillion."

>(<>)<

"Do you have a minute?" Morro's voice rang out behind me as I tied a chestplate over the top of my gi.

     "Aren't you supposed to be with your group?" I teased him as I finished securing the triple knot.

      "Eh, they're all discussing whether pineapple belongs on pizza. I thought I'd do something more productive." Morro handed me a set of shoulder guards.

     I slid the guards into place and started tying their leather straps together to keep them in place.

     "I've been reading about a ceremony the Elemental Masters used to do. All it requires is a few chants, and apparently it is supposed to calm nerves."

     Leather was a lot harder to tie than the thick fabric holding my chestplate in place. My fingers fiddled with the flimsy knot I had made.

     "I was wondering if you would try it with me."

     I realized Morro was asking me something. My mind whirled back to what he had just said.

     "Didn't you say it was for Elemental Masters?"

     "I'm pretty sure it works for everyone."

     I pulled the leather strap as tight as possible, but the knot just came undone again. I groaned at the stupid piece of fabric, just about ready to ditch the idea of shoulder guards all together. Morro shook his head at my frustration, then gently moved in to help secure the armor in place.

     It clanked when I stood up; I was pretty sure anything could hear me coming. Yet, it was enough to protect my vital organs and not slow me down. I stretched a few times to get the feel for it. Then, I looked up at my patient friend.

     "Sure, let's try it."

     He reached out his hands. "The first step is to touch fingertips."

     I touched the edges of his hands. He curled his fingers to encompass mine, his touch warm and steady. Morro didn't seem like he needed to battle nerves, but maybe he was trying to calm mine.

     "Take some deep breaths now. I'll tell you when to repeat after me." Morro closed his eyes and started murmuring some strange language. I closed my own eyes, trying to focus on my breathing. However, the strange chant wormed its way into my mind like a leech, sucking all of my attention away. I began to feel colder, like a breeze had suddenly decided to hit me from all angles.

     "Just repeat this sentence." Morro's voice was calm and steady, yet eerily melodic.

     He started making sounds that sounded like he was trying to talk to a babbling child. I repeated each noise the best I could. Each word turned the air colder and crisper. Not only that, but each breeze now had a faint melody that outlined it. I could hear its whispers in the back of my consciousness. Maybe if I listened hard enough, I could understand what the wind was saying.

     As Morro returned to chanting, I saw light flash in my eyelids. I opened them to see swirls of pale green lights circling us, like a weak tornado. I tried to pull away, but Morro held on tighter.

     "Remember to breathe." He told me as the lights became brighter. "This is the last thing you'll have to repeat."

     He said another set of words in the strange language of the chant. Since I wanted to get this freaky ceremony over with, I repeated them as fast I could. The wind rushed tighter and stronger, until all I could hear was its language, which wasn't that foreign anymore.

     It repeated the same word over and over as it combined with the wisps of light.

     A word I somehow could now understand.

    Power.

     The wind called to me, and I listened. I let it swirl around me, I let its message sink into my heart. The wind made me stronger. The wind was part of me.

     Suddenly, Morro's voice faded from his strange chant. The breezes stopped and the words of the winds weakened into silence. Yet, I could still feel their power in my heart. I could feel their strength inside of me. Only then did I realize Morro had let go of my fingers. Only then did I realize that all of my nerves had vanished.

     The winds had assured me I had the power to go on, that I had to the power to fight the Overlord. They gave me confidence, a similar confidence I had always seen in Morro.

     We were not going to lose because we would give everything we had to win.

     Morro looked weaker, but maybe that was just the dark circles under his eyes. He smiled at me when he saw my expression. "Do you feel calmer?"

     "I feel... stronger. Is that normal?"

     "It's better than normal." He started to walk away. "I'll get back to my group now."

     "Thank you." I called out to his retreating figure.

     We locked eyes. His dark ones were filled with sorrow and something else I couldn't decipher. There was something about the way he looked at me that made me feel strangely wonderful.

     "Anytime Rumi," Morro said. "Anytime."

>(<>)<

Zane's POV

     It was illogical for the Overlord to show himself in the outskirts of Ninjago, and even more illogical for him to let the media broadcast him on live television. Yet, here we all stood in the main cabin as the Bounty soared closer, watching him snarl at the reporters.

     "You worship the ground the Ninja walk on, but the time has come for you fools to learn the truth. This world is upheld by a balance, a balance that I have spent my whole life dedicated to keeping."

      "It's disgusting," PIXAL said from beside me, "how someone can speak falsehoods like that and keep an uninterested visage."

     Cole shushed her.

     "I am the darkness. Your Ninja are the light. If they destroy me, then they destroy the balance. Before you start thinking in your pathetic mortal minds 'oh but villains have been defeated before' let me just say this. We have never been defeated. We are always there, because we are just as a part of this world as you all are. The Ninja seek to finally wipe us out. They are fools to think it will do more good than harm. Once the balance is destroyed, it cannot be restored. The realms will fall, and you all will die with them."

     "More lies," Nya hissed, reaching over to turn the screen off. "Why is he even trying to be diplomatic? There's literally no point to it."

     "He's doing it out of desperation." Harumi whispered from across the room. "He's afraid."

     Master Wu's voice sounded over the speakers. "Get ready, we're approaching."

     We all left to gather in our groups on the deck. Cole handed us the vengestone harpoons and went over the plan one last time.

     "Stay out of the way until Lloyd's group drives the Overlord back. Our job is to tie him down so PIXAL can fire the missiles out of her mech. Zane is going to take care of the Vermillion so the rest of the us can focus on keeping the Overlord in one place." He took a deep breath, his broad shoulders rising and falling. "Is everyone ready?"

     Nya cheered, "Time to kick some Overlord butt!"

     We made our way over to the anchor chain, which everyone was sliding down. Lloyd's group was going first. Since he spent most of the last battle flying around, I expected Morro to pull some stunt to show off his wind powers, but he simply started climbing down the chain after Kai and Jay. Blasts of green light lit up the ground below us as Lloyd fought off the incoming Vermillion. They weren't shooting at the Bounty this time.

     Odd.

     As I slid down the chain (helping Nya as I went), I noticed the Time Twins were nowhere to be seen. They controlled the Vermillion, so why weren't they here? There was also noticeably less Vermillion fighting this time, probably only about two to three hundred. We hadn't decimated the army that much last time. Everything about this battle was increasingly getting stranger.

     Good luck. PIXAL messaged me as the Samurai X mech soared into the sky. We will see each other soon.

     I nodded and leapt onto the ground.

     All I had to do was feel the thin strands of cold in the air and amplify them with my power. Ice shot out of my hands as I blasted back many incoming Vermillion. Nya made it onto the dirt safely, immediately pulling out her spear to help me fend off the attackers.

     The outskirt city of Ninjago was built next to a set of rocky hills behind the city, where a lot of mining used to take place. While the city was situated on the grassy fields before the hills, the ground was still full pebble-filled dirt. It provided excellent traction for hand-to-hand combat.

     A fist flew past my head. I reached up, grabbed the snaky arm that threw it, and flipped the Vermillion over my head.

     Another two Vermillion jabbed forward with what looked to be long strips of metal. I jumped up so the makeshift weapons would stab beneath my feet. When I landed on the metal, the Vermillion holding them jolted forward, allowing me to rip the helmets off of their heads.

     It was odd. As I surveyed the forces around me, about half of the Vermillion were actually carrying weapons. The rest had either nothing or makeshift staffs made of discarded scraps of steel.

     I froze the helmets so the snakes wouldn't be able to slither back in them for a while.

     "Ah, so the weakling Ninja have finally decided to join us." The Overlord's voice rose up from the sky as I used Spinjitzu to fight off the many other attackers.

     A single magenta spot glowed in the corner of my vision, which was immediately accompanied by PIXAL informing me that the Overlord's chest held no armor or weapons. I temporarily stopped my whirlwind to blast several snakes forward.

     "Let's see how their son plans to defeat me."

     He must have been referring to the son from the prophecy since none of us had children yet. The prophecy's son wasn't even born, and our goal wasn't to defeat the Overlord. We simply wanted to destroy the thing that kept bringing him back from death.

     I covered for Harumi as she made her way to an area behind the Overlord. She was keeping up well with the strains of battle, whipping out headshots with the small knives she had brought with nearly a ninety percent accuracy rate.

     A Vermillion attempted to leap down onto my back, but I slid out of the way at the last second.

     Once the Overlord was on his last life, then he would most likely stall and make a desperate final attempt. By then Harumi's son should be old enough to fight him and complete the prophecy. The Overlord didn't know that the son didn't exist yet, so we had to stay quiet towards his taunts.

     "Look out!" Nya flew past me, ramming her shoulder into a Vermillion's stomach. The Vermillion had been inching up on me as I was fighting off another. As soon as the Vermillion stumbled, Nya limped backwards and sent her water to surround it.

     She flashed me a grin that held much pain behind it. "Will you do the honors?"

     "Most certainly." I froze the water, leaving the Vermillion trapped inside a case of ice.

     Green light flashed in the corner of my eyes, signaling Lloyd's attack. When I turned to see where he was, I found him blasting shots of energy up at the flying Overlord.

     A spurt of fire grazed my ear as Kai yelled for me to get out of the way. He used Spinjitzu to clear out the line of snakes that were creeping up on me. As soon as they had burst into the littler snakes, he turned and continued to blast at the Overlord.

     "Get down here and fight, you coward!" Lloyd sent up shot after shot from his position while Jay and Morro fended off snakes around him, but the Overlord simply flicked his wings to avoid the energy. Even from far away, the Overlord looked like a giant. I peered up at him again after disarming another Vermillion.

     It wasn't my imagination. He had gotten bigger.

     He's a fraction taller than a two-story house. PIXAL messaged me, using her regular cannons to help our position on the ground. She had to keep flying fast, lest the Overlord decide to go after her and destroy our only hope at beating him. Which is mathematically eighty-two percent bigger than when we last faced him.

    That's—excuse my upcoming term, I am trying to practice my sarcasm—swell. I tossed a helmet into the air, jump-kicking it as hard as I could away from the battlefield. In front of me, several small snakes slithered after their armor.

     "Are you really pretending to be the big bad villain when you won't even fight us like one?" Kai taunted from his position. His voice was a bit strained, but his fiery spirit burned brighter than ever as he fended off attack after attack.

     "Hiding behind your army?" Jay laughed, shooting lighting at the incoming Vermillion, then blasting the Overlord while more Vermillion moved in to take the old ones' place. "That's an amateur villain move. Here I thought you were supposed to be a big baddie."

     "Zane! Nya! Rumi!" Cole called from somewhere in the red and orange crowd. "Move into formation!"

    As I iced my way through the swarm of Vermillion, I noticed Morro wasn't joining in the other Ninja's chants. He was more focused on his swordplay than anything else. I assumed he would be flying up to the Overlord, trying to knock him out of the sky. 

     The more my brain ran statistical scans, however, the more I realized that it might not be possible to knock the Overlord out of the sky.

     He didn't even flinch when he was hit by a very large fire blast.

     Perhaps energy wasn't the key to taking out the big beast.

     I pushed my palms into the ground, creating a pillar that launched me into the air.

     Calmly, I performed the movements to create a Spinjitzu tornado and whirled through the sky until I was close to the Overlord. Still in the air, I shot ice at one of the Overlord's wings. I couldn't risk watching to see what happened, so I carefully continued my tornado until I was back on the ground, a few feet away from the gathering Vermillion. They were too focused on fighting the Ninja close to the Overlord.

     When I landed, I was knocked back by a giant wind blast as the Overlord hit the dirt. He had smashed the ice on his wing and flapped them hard to knock everyone back. Right as he prepared to take flight again, a grappling hook shot through the air and landed right in the crook where the Overlord's wing met his shoulder.

     "Gotcha!" Harumi called out. She was a noticeable distance away from the Overlord and had shot at him at a really bad angle.

     Nya was right. Her aim was impeccable.

     The Overlord snarled and pushed his shoulder forward. Harumi couldn't hold the harpoon steady, so she stumbled onto her knees. Right as she started to slide forward, Kai caught the iron rope and pulled it back. Harumi got to her feet, grime from battle adorning her face, and joined Kai in keeping the harpoon steady.

     Together, they held on as another hook soared through the air. Right as the Overlord turned to avoid it, lightning and energy blasted at his face, blinding him. The second hook buried itself into the spikes on the Overlord's back.

      "I'd like to see you try and fly now!" Nya cheered, instantly landing face-first in the mud when the Overlord swung himself around. Cole was now helping Harumi and Kai keep the first rope steady, so it was up to me to help Nya.

     I ran into the crowd of warriors, using the element of surprise to avoid them before they could attack me.

     Just as Nya came into view, Morro and Jay both latched on to her harpoon, using their combined strength to pull the Overlord back into position. Neither of them looked strong enough to hold it steady, with Morro bleeding from the attacks he couldn't repel and Jay gasping with each breath due to the pain in his leg. However, Lloyd kept firing energy at the Overlord's face, and I needed to protect all three of the groups from being impaled by the swarming Vermillion.

     "PIXAL," I said, opening up a line of direct communication between us. I waved my hand to create a wall around Nya, Jay, and Morro with ice as I twisted out the incoming Vermillions' grip. "We've about got the Overlord into position."

     "Copy that." Her voice spilled into my brain as the sound of a flying machine came nearer.

     A flash of light alerted me to Lloyd's situation as I was trying to disarm a warrior. He was knocking back Vermillion with Spinjitzu. When they fell, he would blast at the Overlord to keep him in place.

     His green energy was starting to turn yellow.

     Somewhere in the area, I heard Harumi screech at her attackers.

     The first harpoon.

     I hurried through the sea of Vermillion as fast as my fighting could take me, but it seemed Cole already had a handle on the situation.

     Another hook swished through the air over my head. The roar emitted by the Overlord soon after signaled that Cole didn't miss his shot.

     "Your pathetic plan will fail," The Overlord hissed, struggling against the iron ropes holding him in place. "Only the son can defeat me. That robot girl is incapable of whatever design you have for her."

     "You might need to take shelter." PIXAL warned in my head. The Samurai X mech flew into view, pausing briefly in the air to line up its cannon with the Overlord's amulet.

     A Vermillion launched itself on top of me, knocking me over. I flipped over on my back and kicked it off.

     My moment of distraction had done more harm than good. Several more Vermillion prowled in to attack my fallen state. Just when I was ready to send out a help message to PIXAL, the ground split around me and the Vermillion tripped in the cracks.

     Cole jumped across several heads, making the Vermillion explode into their individual snakes. "That was a close one."

     I stuck out my hands, freezing the fallen helmets. "Where's the harpoon?"

     Cole pointed to a cloister of man-made rocks, where he had stuck the harpoon into one of the crevices. His boulders would hold firm for a little bit, but not much longer.

     "Come on!" Cole shouted over the swirling rush created by PIXAL's nearly firing mech, "We need to take cover."

     I ran after him towards the harpoon when everything exploded.

     A blinding white light accompanied the discharge as we all were all blasted backwards. All the ice I had created broke into a thousand tiny shards, releasing the trapped Vermillion armor. The scream that filled the air was less than human.

      It seems PIXAL's aim would rival Harumi's.