Harumi's POV

     The plan was simple. We would get into the chosen building after the demons searched it, pour the tea over the second floor (that was where the energy beam hit every building), and jump through the portal that the tea created before we were disintegrated or fell into the chasm.

      It was simple. It was something that required quick feet and a steady mind. I was with a trained ninja and an Oni. I should be ready. I should feel confident. All I could see was the fire of the chasm, mocking our escape. If we failed, then there would be no more chances.

     Mistake, Morro, and I were all crouched on a rooftop. The mega-demon was only five buildings away from us. We watched it as it picked up the structure in front of it. The demons swarmed through the building, taking everyone they found in chains. Then, the mega-demon destroyed the building with a burst of energy coming from the crystal in its head.

      Dirt and grime covered our faces as the debris went everywhere. Well, it covered Morro and my faces. Mistake's somehow stayed clean. The heat of the chasm came closer with the mega-demon's move towards the next building, making the waiting unbearably hot. The streets crumbled beneath the mega-demon, destroying more of the Departed City. Screams filled the air as the debris fell below, so loud it felt like that their sole purpose was to tear apart my eardrums. Despite the intense heat, the even more intense yells of the tortured, and the looming doom ahead, we all stayed in position.

     Waiting was unbearable. Every second was another second where my pulse would speed up, despite my desperate efforts to stay calm. The fear of the looming chasm was too strong to vanquish; the fear of dying a second death too heartbreaking to pretend away. I broke out in a cold sweat while the mega-demon destroyed the current building it was holding. One more building and then it was time for our plan to go into action.

     "If you two have any final words to say, now's the time," Mistake hissed towards us, her voice low even though demons couldn't hear. She was probably wanting us to make up for our little argument earlier, but I wouldn't budge until Morro got on his knees and begged. I had spent too much time during life learning to say mean things and not regret them to apologize now. It was Morro who struck first anyway. I shouldn't care about him.

      Her voice caught at the end of her statement, like she was just as afraid as we were. Luckily for us, the demons that were close to us were too concerned with the scent of fear coming from inside the buildings. For now, we were safe.

      Morro looked at me sideways. I met his dark green eyes. His were filled with several emotions, so many I couldn't tell what he was feeling. The moment gave me a case of déjà vu.

     It was like the way Lloyd and I locked eyes when we fell through the sky after Samauri X grabbed me and flew off the Bounty. It was like the way we locked eyes before he said, "You said the greatest villain was the one who got away. Then what am I?" It was like the way we locked eyes before I died.

     Why did I always seem to lock eyes with someone before something life-changing happened?

     Morro turned away, not saying anything. He looked almost... guilty. I squared my shoulders, refusing to let myself feel anything. I wasn't going to apologize to him. He was an arrogant peasant who thought he knew what was best for anyone. If anyone should be changing, it was him.

     I turned to Mistake. "Thank you for helping us." It felt necessary to thank her, even if my words were curt.

     She nodded slightly at my words, though I knew those weren't the ones she wanted to hear. "I have hope for you, Quiet One."

      "You can call me Rumi." The Quiet One was the broken girl who had no hope. I had hope now, as slim as it was.

      "We'll settle. I'll call you Harumi."

      Harumi was better than Quiet One. I felt the corners of my lips twitch up and saw Mistake smiling as well. We turned back to the mega-demon. I felt much better already.

     Morro looked like he was about to throw up, which was an unusual expression for him to have. An explosion echoed through the air. More debris went flying through the nearby streets. It was time for our plan to go into action.

     As I pulled myself to my feet, I felt Morro take my hand. It was part of the plan (someone had to fly us up to the second floor) but I still flinched at his touch. He met my eyes again and this time, the guilt was evident.

      "I'm not sure we're going to make it," he confessed, his thumb running down the back of my hand. Chills ran up my arm as my stare sharpened.

      "That's your problem." I shot back, resisting the urge to tear my hand away. "I know that I for one am going to jump through the portal as soon as I can. Whatever you choose to do is up to you."

     He simply stared at me before reaching over to grab Mistake's hand. He looked so conflicted, like someone had stabbed him and told him he couldn't say a word about the pain. It was like he was in pain but was too stuck up to think that others might be able to help. 

     I shouldn't care about him. I shouldn't see the hurt in his eyes and feel my own insides twist, like the way they had when Lloyd gave me the same look. I shouldn't feel guilty for the argument he started.

     I shouldn't.

     But I had made that choice to care back when I swore loyalty to him.

     Somewhere deep inside I had woven a thread between us too strong to be broken by a few harsh words.

     The mega-demon wrapped its claws around the building directly in front of us. It creaked and groaned as all the pipes snapped. The mega-demon lifted it high, like always.

     "Steady emotions," Mistake breathed, her eyes never leaving the elevated building.

     Demons, both black and white, flew throughout the house. It took them several minutes, even though there were hundreds of them doing the search. Finally, they all swarmed around one spot. I heard screaming and then they pulled out two strange looking creatures that looked like they hadn't come from Ninjago at all. The demons chanted familiar words.

     "Your time has come."

      I felt nauseous. Most of the swarm flew down into the chasm, which sent even bigger flames flying up from behind the mega-demon. Morro squeezed our hands and suddenly, I was floating. I stifled a scream, even though the demons wouldn't be able to hear it, since screaming would probably amplify my surprise and fear.

     Placid emotions, Harumi.

     The mega-demon's head crystal began to light up.

      "Faster Morro!" Mistake yelled. "We don't have much time!"

     Morro zoomed through the air, and we all crashed through the empty windowsills onto the second floor. Dust and ash coated my body as it stuck to my sweat. The air temperature was rising, due to the massive amount of heat energy about to blast this building apart. I got to my feet as quickly as possible. To my horror, demons had sensed us. They were starting to float into the building.

      "Harumi!" Mistake slammed into something behind me. At her touch, the demon disintegrated.

      Demons can't touch good people.

      I was still processing that when she thrust the teapot into my hand. I could not sense the tea inside but, I knew it was there.

      "Pour the tea out!" Mistake ordered, throwing herself in the path of another demon who was about to grab me. The temperature was now so hot I felt like I was being cooked alive. I rushed to the center of the room. Green flashed in my peripheral vision, reminding me I wasn't the only bad soul here.

      I scanned the room quickly to find Morro. He was getting to his feet. Strangely, no demons were coming for him. I was the only one they were after.

     "Pour the tea!" Mistake screamed.

     With a flick of my wrist, I poured the tea all around the spot I was standing in. I couldn't see it come out. I couldn't hear it hit the floor. For all my senses knew, this was a suicide mission. But I had to have faith.

     "GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

      I jumped out of the area right as the energy beam hit the building. Inside of the building, it seemed to be getting destroyed slow motion. Then, I realized everything was coming to a stop. The beam hit the spot in the floor where the tea was supposed to be, and a large portal opened up. I felt something touch my arm. Mistake clamped her hand over my mouth before I could scream.

      "Interesting," she murmured, surveying the situation. I wriggled to be free of her grip, which was somehow almost cold even though the air was so hot I could barely breathe. All around me I could hear the ticks of a clock, way too slow to be seconds.

      "Interesting indeed," a voice said. It wasn't Morro's; it was too raspy. My eyes widened as I saw a black demon emerge from behind the portal. It looked a lot different than the rest of the demons, with different shaped horns and a gaze that suggested it wasn't blind like its friends. It gripped Morro's arm with its smoking claws, burning through Morro's sleeves. Morro writhed in pain, but refused to pull away.

      "Mistake, Harumi, I'm so very glad I get to meet you at last." The demon said, grinning like a madman.

      "I don't know how long it will be before the portal closes," Mistake hissed in my ear, "You need to get out now."

      "The Princess won't be leaving this realm." The black demon's golden eyes flashed. "She'll be coming with me. Only you will get to go."

      Mistake paused, her gaze searching, before she violently turned to Morro. "What have you done?"

     "Why would this be Morro's fault?" I shot back at the old woman. "There is a literal demon telling me I need to go to the chasm, and somehow it's Morro's fault?" I noticed the demons in the room weren't coming for us anymore. They were just waiting.

      "Pity, this exchange could have been a lot simpler if you had told them." The black demon's fangs shined in the light of the portal, his grip getting tighter. Morro squared his jaw to keep from crying out in pain.

     Mistake's eyes were filled with hate as she glared at the raven-haired boy. When I looked to him, he wouldn't meet my eyes.

      You have no idea how much I've sacrificed to keep you all safe. You have absolutely no idea.

     I'm not sure we're going to make it.

      The guilty stares.

      The emotional mess.

      Our argument.

      The death of his friends was only a small part of the bigger mess.

     "What did you do?" I said blankly.

      "He traded his and your life for hers," the black demon pointed to Mistake. "Woman goes free: boy and girl come with me to become demons. Simple, easy, and almost complete."

      A cry broke into the air, but I was too numb to realize who it came from.

      "How could you do this?! I-I didn't mean what I said back there. I was angry; I was confused. I didn't mean..." A sob broke off my words, as I stared at Morro's guilty face. He had betrayed his promise to keep me safe. He had gone back on his pledge to choose me over the chasm. He had sacrificed my freedom, like the villain he was.

      It was because of my own anger. My own selfishness. My own unwillingness to change.

      I had made him mad enough to trade me away.

      I had brought this upon myself.

      Bansha was right. Nothing we could do would stop our cycle of destruction.

      "Take her," the demon ordered. Despite not being able to hear, the other demons surrounding us seemed to get the message and closed it, their smoking claws outstretched. I shut my eyes, not even wanting to watch. My heart hurt too much.

      A bloodcurdling scream broke out in the air, too distant to come from myself. My eyes opened in an instant, and I saw Mistake shake violently. Before my eyes, the old woman I knew transformed into a large beast. The creature that was Mistake opened her wings, touching many of the incoming demons. They all crumbled into piles of ash.

      "Get on," the creature hissed at me.

      I obeyed, climbing up her back. There were plenty of cartilage spikes to hold on to. Once she felt me get a grip, she took off into the sky. I realized what Mistake had turned into. She was a dragon.

     "Don't let the girl escape!" The black demon screeched at his companions.

      The demons, both black and white, flew after us, chains flapping through the air behind them. Mistake twisted and dipped, flying dangerously low. The fires of the chasm licked her stomach, but she seemed to feel no pain. I saw the little portion that was left of the Departed City frozen. I saw another Departed City off in the distance. I wasn't sure why it was there, but it made sense that it existed. The good souls needed a place to go before their year was up. Mistake saw it too.

      "We'll go there," she said, starting to fly in that direction.

      "No," I cried. I kept hearing the ticks, which were getting faster with each few passing seconds. I could see outlines of a thousand more demons in the fire. "You only had one packet of the tea. Going there is suicide. We need to escape before the portal closes!"

      Mistake growled, then swiveled around so fast I almost fell off. I gripped the spikes with all the strength I had left, ducking to avoid the incoming chains. The demons that were flying toward swerved when they saw Mistake fly towards them. They didn't want to be disintegrated. The ticking sound got faster. And the demons got slower. I could see the blue light of the portal in the distance. It was shrinking.

     "Mistake!" I yelled to her. "I think the portal only slows down things that can't fit through it. We need to hurry!"

      She sped up. I noticed she was decreasing her size to make sure she could still go fast. The building the portal was in was crumbling. I could see Morro among the broken pieces as we got closer. The mega-demon's energy beam had gone through the building completely. The floor that held it up started to crumble and fall into the chasm. The portal remained in mid-air, but it definitely was shrinking. The black demon held Morro up next to it, the demon's grip the only thing keeping Morro from falling into the fires below.

      "We had a deal, Lux!" Morro shouted from afar, whether struggling to break free or stay in the demon's hold, I couldn't tell. Mistake tried to close in on the dwindling portal, but too many demons surrounded it. They held out weapons to hold Mistake back. Mistake growled at them, in the stress of the moment forgetting she was invincible to them. I was more concerned about the speaking demon.

      Lux.

      He had a name.

     "The deal required the girl. Since the Princess obviously isn't going to go along with the plan, then she can suffer like you. In the chasm below." Lux's smile returned. All the demons paused to say with him, "Your time has come."

     "Your time has finally come," Lux whispered, the grin never leaving his face, as he faded away completely. Without anything to hold him up, Morro fell towards the fires in a green blur. I gasped so loud I wondered why I didn't hyperventilate. He was going to fall into the chasm.

     He deserves it!

     Time seemed to stand still for me. Morro hurt me. He betrayed me. After everything he had told me, after encouraging me to change, he was going to turn me over to the demons. He was still going to play the villain himself. All of his lessons and promises forgotten.

     Let him fall!

      I wanted to do it. The demons surrounding the portal dispersed to follow Morro down and the shrinking portal was open for us to go through. All I had to do was keep my mouth shut. Morro would fall, we would escape. The villain punished; the innocent would get what they needed. It was how every story went. I could let him suffer as a punishment for leaving me. I could have revenge.

     Bansha.

      I thought of her and her story before my mind could go elsewhere. Revenge? Revenge only ended in death. My revenge against Lloyd ended in my death. Bansha's revenge against the people who hurt her ended in her second death. The cycle of destruction. Revenge didn't satisfy, it only hurt more. It was better to forgive. Like my adoptive parents had done to me. Just as I had to do to Morro.

      "Save him," I ordered.

      "No," Mistake growled. "Are you crazy? He was about to hand you to the demons!"

      "Save him!" I repeated, my voice sterner than I'd ever heard it before. "Yes, he was going to go back on his promise. I've done many more terrible things before, yet he still took me in. Even if he was planning to hand me over the whole time, he still had me partially convinced that changing is possible. And if it is, then I want to try. Save him and give him the second chance I was never allowed to have."

      Mistake dived. My hair whipped in my face; my whole body was pulsing with an adrenaline I would never be able to describe. The fires came up at us, all I could see was their light. Morro was getting closer. The demons below held out their weapons. Mistake beat her wings. My heart pumped so fast I could barely breathe.

     Save him.

      It was my only thought. We were so close to the bottom of the chasm now it was a miracle we weren't caught by an onslaught of demons. I felt like I had no breath left inside of me; the heat was so intense. My thirst was extreme, my whole body ached. Morro's eyes widened at the sight of us flying towards him. With each tick of the portal, the world seemed to speed up.

      Mistake was faster than gravity. I reached out my hand towards him. Our eyes locked; our hands met. I could only blink before Mistake flew up so hard I nearly fell off. She continued to shrink with the portal. It wouldn't be long before she was too small to support our weight. My muscles burned with effort of holding Morro up and, combined with the blinding heat, suddenly I wondered if this was eternal pain.

      The portal came closer and closer. I heard the screeching of the lead demon as his lackeys continued to disintegrate at Mistake's touch. I heard the wailing of the souls below. The blue light dwindled. I held my breath, praying we could make it.

      I'm ready to be better.

      At the last second, Mistake detransformed. Our velocity kept us going. The ticking I heard stopped. Suddenly, time was back to normal. Any demons who had been slowed down threw their chains at us with lighting speed. The mega-demon, returned to mobility, swiped at our tiny forms, hoping to beat us downward. The portal light was fading. I met Morro's eyes in the blur of our last seconds.

      There was hopelessness there. His eyes weren't angry, arrogant, or scared. The version of himself Morro fronted was gone in those few seconds. All that was left was the boy who had thought he would lose everything. Somehow in that moment I realized that he probably never meant for us to be taken at all.

      Morro thought we were going to the chasm. I could tell my hope was dying because I believed him.

      We fell into the last remnants of the portal. I saw the Departed Realm fade into the blinding white-blue light. I could see swirls of the barely-there color going around us faster than a whirlwind. My internal pain intensified as the light became too blinding to see. I was falling, screaming. The white light surrounded me as the ticking in my head returned, counting seconds as I traveled through white-blue nothingness.

      Tick.

      Tick.

     Tick.

      It became too much for me. I closed my eyes, yet the light was still there, stretching through my thin eyelids. The pulsing in my head was too much. I fell prey to the pain. Light consumed me until my senses faded and all I could see was black. Darkness. It was like I had died once again.

>(<>)<

Morro's POV

     Harumi.

     The thought of her pounded through my awakening senses. My eyes snapped open, but the outside light was so intense I shut them immediately. I winced, gently re-opening my eyes to try and adjust them to the light. My fingers curled around a grainy substance as I carefully pulled myself into a sitting position. My whole body felt like it had been baked.

     I saw a black shape in the sky. It was outlined with a ring of light, brightening up the world below it. What made the situation even weirder was that there was another black disk in the sky further down towards the horizon. I looked around and saw three total in the sky. They were positioned at the top of dome, the middle east side, and on the border of the eastern mountains. I did a recap of my last thought.

      Mountains?

     I looked again and... yes! I could see the faint outline of mountains on the horizon. I pushed my aching body to my feet. While most of the grains fell off me, some stayed stuck to my hands. I peered down.

     Sand!

     There was no sand in the Departed Realm.

      Only fire and screams and ash.

      We had made it through the portal. We had made it to another realm. We weren't dead anymore.

      I didn't know whether to stammer or to smile. I stood there, checking my thumping pulse, grinning like an idiot. I was real. I was alive. I was living once again.

     Sweat dripped down my face and onto my hands. I remembered my surroundings. It looked like a desert with mountains off in the distance. I called Harumi and Mistake's names a few times while trudging around in the deep dunes of sand, but I couldn't see them anywhere. I clenched my teeth, glancing towards the fourth rising sun disk. It was getting hotter. I needed to get to the mountains. If I was alive again, that meant I could die. I needed food, water, and shelter if I was going to make it.

     I wanted to find the others more than anything else. But I couldn't help them if I was dead. Heart heavy, I started trudging towards the mountains.

     It wasn't long before she found me.

     "Morro!"

      I turned, my heart expanding. Guilt still pressed against my chest; a grief too powerful to meditate away. I didn't want to face Harumi after all that had happened, yet all I wanted to see was her alive and well. If she was okay, then my journey would be complete. I would have made her the one I could save.

     Instead of Harumi, I was faced with a well-aimed punch in the arm. Pain shot up my shoulder as I yelped in surprise.

      The old woman in front of me raised an eyebrow. "I didn't think you'd still be looking for us after what you did. I would think it wise for you to get as far away from us as possible."

       "Mistake." I rubbed my sore arm.

      She studied me with squinted eyes. "Let us get this straight: I would have left you to the chasm had it not been for Harumi. I haven't found her yet, so she isn't here to protect you from my wrath."

      I looked down at her. She was at least a head shorter than me, but still managed to look intimidating. I sighed, pursing my lips. "I wasn't going to just leave you all without making sure you were okay first. I don't care how much you all probably want to kill me again. I may have made a terrible choice, but somewhere inside I still care about your welfare."

      "That doesn't sound like an apology." Mistake remarked.

      "It wasn't much of a choice!" I waved my hands in the air. "If you didn't notice, Lux could see me and hear me. There was no way I was going to get away from him. I either had to strike the deal or he'd capture all of us. I thought I could figure a way out, but somehow, I couldn't. That's when I realized how big of a mistake I'd made."

      Mistake held out her hand, which had a few tea leaves in it. I realized I could see the tea leaves. I could touch them. I was alive. I was no longer invincible to the prospect of food.

      "Eat up. They will help with de-hydration."

      "Why?" I murmured. "I thought you were mad at me."

     "Oh, I'm mad," Mistake chomped on the rest of leaves once I hesitantly took a few out of her hand. "But you need to explain yourself. Once you argue a pointless case, I'll exact my revenge."

      I shoved the sour leaves into my mouth before she could take them away. "Can I argue my point while we look for Harumi?"

      "Hoping for her mercy? I doubt she gives it a second time. She's still not far from the Quiet One. My bet is that she'll hit harder than I did." Mistake trudged off, gesturing for me to follow. "Though she does need to be found before nightfall or things will look pretty bad for her. Now, tell me why you did it."

      I had no filter at that point. I had to keep her distracted long enough for us to find Harumi. I had to make sure Harumi was okay before I took any blows. I had to make sure she was safe.

      So, I didn't just tell Mistake what happened with Lux, I told her everything. From my first landing in the Departed Realm to finding out the demons' weaknesses. From losing my friends to meeting Harumi. From Harumi's pledge of loyalty to Lux. From Lux to the present. And she listened. To every word I said, she listened. Mistake didn't talk. I realized once my voice trailed off how nice it was to have someone who finally listened to me. Someone who didn't care about my protection or powers. Someone who just wanted to hear my side of the story.

     Memories rushed into my head of long nights after training with Sensei Wu. I felt I wasn't improving. I wanted to talk to Wu about it but, he was always busy. Even when I realized I was getting better, he was never there to talk. He was a father figure to me, but he never listened, or he never heard. Bitterness had seeped into my heart and the whole green ninja ordeal had set me over the edge.

      Mistake nodded along with the story and was silent when it ended. She didn't change into an Oni and pummel me into the ground, so I assumed I must have accomplished something. However, when she still didn't say anything after a while, I started to doubt that I had actually changed her mindset at all.

       "So... do you... not want to exact revenge now?"

      Mistake glanced in my direction, before surveying the area from the top of a sand dune. "We all have things that happen that we aren't proud of. Though I must admit, your loyalty to your friends is impressive. I'm still convinced Harumi will slap you when we find her, but maybe you can gain her forgiveness too."

      I smiled at her, feeling more relieved than I had in a long time. Mistake gestured for me to follow her, then led the way over dunes and dunes of sand. The whole area seemed arid and endless; I felt my thirst magnify as the time passed on. Mistake's pace quickened as the sun disks dropped in the sky.

      "The tea leaves should keep the water in us longer," Mistake chattered nervously as we neared the top of another dune. The mountains in the distance only seemed a little closer, the space between us so large I wondered if I had hallucinated them. "We might not die of dehydration."

       "Why do I get the feeling that isn't the thing you are worried about?"

       "I'm not worried," Mistake said, her quick eyes scanning the horizon.

       I noted the twitch of her jaw.

      She's lying.

      "Does this have something to do with us needing to find Harumi before nightfall?"

      She paused and swallowed. "If we landed where I think we are, then things will get dangerous after nightfall."

      I looked around. Twilight was setting in. "How dangerous?"

      "So dangerous that all the inhabitants of this realm decided to move underground."

       If she fell into the same realm as us, then Harumi was still out there somewhere. Nightfall was coming soon. We had to find her.

      "Wait—everyone is underground?" I looked at the sand beneath my feet.

      "I think so," Mistake said, tensing. "This place is more hazardous than Ninjago will ever be."

      A fierce cry broke out as the pink sky faded into black. If this realm was as treacherous as Mistake claimed it was, then we were in trouble. I could only hope that we would make it long enough to find Harumi. I had escaped death only to find myself in danger of it once more.

      "Morro, welcome to the Seventh Realm. Otherwise known as, the Realm of Monsters."

End of Part 1.