*471 years later* (present day)

"We need to make a stand here and now. We're letting them get too close to the capital!" Morro slams his fist down on the counter. "Why do we keep retreating? More and more of them are going to pop up the longer we keep backing up."

"Morro calm down," Shade instructs him, sticking his hand out to urge him to stop. "We need to form a plan. We're outpowered at the moment. Their forces keep growing while ours can only shrink. We need to be tactical."

"Morro is right though. If their forces can keep growing, we need to stop them now, at least some of them, to keep our chances alive. Maybe we can try to capture one, and Aspen and I can try to find out what's giving them their powers," I look over at my best friend who smiles lightly,

For the past several months, new elemental masters have begun popping up, all causing chaos. They've been joining forces, creating their own unnatural elemental arsenals. Their path seems to be heading towards the capital, and we need to prevent that at all costs. We need to prevent their takeover.

Shade brings his hand to the bridge of his nose, pinching it and shaking his head. "That won't do. What if they manage to get back and spread our secrets to their leader, whoever they are. We'll be done for," he instantly shuts down my idea.

Idea after idea, Shade shuts it down. He's our leader, and he's very particular about what ideas go through. He has a certain vision and is very clear cut with his views. If something is outside of that view, we can't do it.

"Maybe we could use technology to our advantage. Nya found a way to harness and use electricity to power devices. Maybe she could invent something that could give us the edge," Aspen suggests. She's the master of animals and the only other female on the force. She's a short girl, but she definitely should not be underestimated. While she's soft spoken around camp, she's a firecracker on the battlefield.

"She couldn't do that in time. We need something reliable," his words are sharp, cutting into my confidence. "Above all, we need to protect Princess Seliel. She could easily be the target of their attacks, and we can't let elemental masters betray the royal family yet again."

"With all due respect," Ash leans back in his chair, resting his feet atop the table. "Protecting Seliel isn't our job. She has a personal guard for that. Our job is to protect the people."

"The princesses of Ninjago are sacred. Our defense force hasn't let a single princess get scathed ever since that atrocity around 600 years ago, and I don't intend on breaking that streak," he crosses his arms.

"Shade," I reach out for him, but he pulls back.

"I was a little boy when it all happened, and I swore to myself that nothing of the sort would ever happen again. We're protecting the princess at all costs."

"I suggest that we take a break. It is way too hostile in here," Gravis suggests, levitating in the air as he says so. Everyone else agrees with him and leaves the tent. Shade stays before he rests his head on the table.

"I'm such a bad leader," he tells me. I sigh, rubbing my hand on his back.

"You're not a bad leader, just stubborn like me. Sometimes we have to push through it," I attempt to comfort him.

"They don't understand. None of them were here that day. The people that were supposed to protect us betrayed us. They were supposed to be our heroes. I can't let the people down like that," he vents, looking up at me now. His nearly black eyes stare into mine.

I move closer to him as he rests his head on my shoulder. "I can't believe it's almost been 300 years."

"What?"

"Since we got together," I remind him. In the wake of my loss, Shade found me and wanted me to join the force to protect Ninjago from evil. I accepted, wanting to dedicate my life to something other than my own pity, and over time, we took a liking to each other. When he asked me out, I said yes. Even though we've had our fair share of breaks, we're still within a year of 300 if we say it's all consecutive.

"Wow, that long?" he asks, his voice sounding half bored. "How can they not understand the pressure I'm under? We need to have a plan, a solid one that protects the capital."

He switches the subject back to what he wants to talk about. I roll my eyes. I know that he's stressed, but it still is a bit frustrating. We've had this conversation at least 5 times in the past week.

"We're all under pressure. It's not just you," I inform him, crossing my arms.

At first he rolls his eyes, but once he realizes what he's doing, he sighs. "I'm sorry. I'm doing the thing again, aren't I? Where I just focus on myself."

"Yeah you are, but you identified it this time and stopped it, which is a step up," I rest my head on his shoulder now. I let out a deep breath. "Thank you for trying to fix it." I give him a quick kiss, leaving a small smile on his face. "I love you."

"I love you too," he leans in and connects our lips again. It's soft and full of care. After several seconds, he pulls back before running a hand through my hair. His tough facade is down, revealing his soft insides that only I get to see. "I'm happy, Nya, happy that you're mine."

---

I strap on my armor, examining myself in the mirror. My hair is tied back, but sweat is already dripping down my face from the heat outside and the heat of the armor. We were offered air conditioning for the tents, but Shade turned it down. When he makes up his mind, there's no changing it.

Taking a step closer, I notice the creases on my forehead. While my skin remains elastic, the worry on my face keeps the wrinkles forming. The stress of the last several months have been excessive, with new elemental masters popping up left and right. We don't know their intentions, only that they're all working together. They've formed a team, and all that did not join said team haven't attacked since.

We got an anonymous tip that they were going to try to attack our camp, so we're having to get ready and prepare at the last minute. We were never able to work out a game plan or any form of offense, so now we'll be on the defensive.

I look down at the index finger on my right hand. My former engagement ring, the blue sapphire in the middle, screams out to me and gives me support. It's as if it's protecting me, like it's keeping me safe.

"Are you ready to go?" Aspen's soft voice asks from the opening of my tent. I immediately jumped in shock. On her face, I notice that she saw me looking at my ring. "I wish I could've met him. Do it for him. Save Ninjago."

"I'll try my best."

---

We all hide in the trees, ready to ambush once we see their elemental arsenal come through. I'm next to Aspen who is sending her birds out as scouts. Across from us, I spot Ash and Shade waiting for the signal.

"They'll be here any second now," Aspen informs me quietly once her birds return. I nod in response. We wait for several more minutes in the trees. We want them to think they're safe, think we're secure, before we put the jump on them.

"Oh Finn, won't you put a sock in it already! Amara clearly isn't interested," I hear one girl practically scream as the group starts to approach. The voice belongs to a girl with bright purple hair, directed at a boy with a mop of wavy black hair on the top of his head.

"Thank you Chamile, but I can handle myself," a tall, tan girl places her hand on the purple haired girl's shoulder before turning to the boy. She disappears from sight, causing me to slightly jump, before appearing behind the boy and slapping him on the forehead. "You need to learn when to quit."

"Hey, I am the master of luck after all. Maybe my powers will come in clutch," he runs a hand through his hair, winking at her. She rolls her eyes.

"You're a lost cause," a girl with bright green hair, the master of poison, shakes her head.

Now, they're directly under us. Shade gives the signal, and we all begin to pound them with attacks from above. I douse them with water while Morro amplifies it with his wind. Bolobo causes vines to emerge from the ground, slithering from their legs and starting to hold them in place.

"In the trees!" a man with black and white hair holds his hands up to his temples, looking upwards. As soon as he alerts him, the girl from earlier disappears as well as someone else with quiffed blue hair. Both seem to vanish. Another man's skin seems to turn to metal, and he rips through the vines.

I focus on keeping the metal man at bay. My focus is locked on him, sending him into the nearest tree with a loud thud. However, the person with blue hair seems to grow in front of me, landing a hard punch to my jaw and sending me flying into the ground.

"Come on water girl, is that the best you got?" they hop down next to me. I groan, cracking my neck as I roll it.

"Oh trust me. You've seen nothing yet," I stick my hands out. The water molecules in the air come together, forming orbs that levitate above my palms.

"Cool party trick. Mine's cooler though," they quickly get smaller until they are out of sight. Bracing myself, I look around for them. Across from me, I see that Morro is being attacked by the teleporter. As soon as she lands a blow in the front, she follows it with a kick in the back.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see my opponent gaining size from a smaller state rapidly. Before they regain their normal state, I sweep their legs out from under them. Like a brick in water, they immediately meet the ground. I douse them with water, their blue quiff turning into a soggy mop on their head.

Taking a brief glance around me, I notice that neither side is dominating. Each person is broken off and is fighting one on one. Shade appears to be fighting their leader, the master of magnetism. Because of his skills that we've learnt of in a previous battle, we've stopped wearing metal. We can't allow him to have the upper hand.

He clashes with Shade ferociously. While he can't use his element in the middle of the forest, he is still an expert fighter. He blocks all of Shade's attacks, and Shade blocks all of his. It's like a dance of death.

A hand clasps itself over my mouth and nose out of nowhere. I struggle to get free as the hand emits a green gas. The master of poison keeps her hold on me, and I fight to hold my breath. However, once the master of size lands a blow to my gut, I let in a sharp inhale.

My brain quickly starts to fog up, and all tension starts to fade from my muscles, leaving me loose. This world fades away as my eyes close.

A/N We're almost into the fun part of the story! I hope you all are enjoying things so far.

I've almost ran out of my prewritten chapters, and with school coming up, things might get tough, but I believe in myself. I'll make it work.

Like this week, the update will be on Saturday next week, so don't expect anything on Friday. I'm gonna be out of town.

I know this chapter was a bit short, but it was mostly a context chapter anyways. things are gonna heat up soon.

Also, I've started writing on Unscripted again, so I'd appreciate if you all checked it out. It's a lot more drama and less adventure than this book (and a bit more mature), but I really like it

Thank you all so much. You're the best