Warning. This particular chapter contains a whole lot of angst and mentions of death. That will be all. Thank you.
------------------------------

It's been 2 weeks since Vinny tragically "died". Everyone already felt a little bit better, but they were still mourning their loss. The weather had gotten worse, with some nights being 30 or under. It was late November, so the temperature drop was expected, but that didn't make it any easier on them. Kai had his hands full with lighting fires to keep everyone warm, and the rest of the ninja did what they could to help ensure that everybody would make it through the winter. Everyone was gathered around a large bonfire downstairs in the lobby, except Nelson, who sat upstairs in his room. It was practically freezing outside, so Cole, Jay, and Zane were out looking for resources. The three ninja were walking down a part of the city that Jay hadn't ever really been in since the disaster. Buildings were completely destroyed, streetlights broken and mangled, and the roads were nonexistent at this point. They continued on until they reached an enormous crater in the road. Jay stopped at stared down into it with horror in his eyes. The surrounding area was scorched from the fire that came with the impact.

"This is where Doom crashed into the city... this is where it all started."

Cole gave a sigh while he carried on; trying not to look at it. Zane came up behind the lightning ninja and looked down with him. The nindroid did so with great sadness. "We lost a lot of innocent people that day." Jay turned to him.

"Like Master Wu and Misako? And.... Me?"

The white ninja turned and walked off to follow Cole. "I am afraid far more people than that lost their lives to the disaster."

Jay was about to say something else, but fell silent as he spotted a parking lot that had been completely obliterated, like all the asphalt was ripped off and there was only dirt remaining.

"Wow. Doom seriously hated this particular parking lot.." Jay jokingly said trying to brighten the mood a little.

Cole stopped in front of it and looked at with despair. He paused for a moment, considering what he was about to say carefully.

"Doom didn't do this. And..... This- This isn't a parking lot. Not anymore. It's a grave yard."

Jay froze as Cole and Zane slipped into a distant memory.

***********************

Ninjago City. 3 days after the attack-

The ninja all walked down the streets in awe. They were still all in some pain from their several injuries, but they insisted on scouring the city for any possible survivors. Lloyd shouted out for anyone who could hear him. No response.
Nya peeked through the cracked window of a pizzeria to see if she could spot anyone. The black and white checkered floors had tables, chairs, and paper plates scattered all over it. There was still some balloons hanging out on the ceiling, suggesting that a birthday party had been going on when the attack happened. Wow. What a day to have a birthday on... the apocalypse. Nya looked further in to make sure nobody was in there. She jumped back with a shocked "EEP!"

"What is wrong? Have you found someone?" Inquired Zane.

Nya held her heart as she chuckled in embarrassment. "Oh, no. I just got a little spooked by the animatronics on the stage for the kitty parties. Those things have always creeped me out."

Zane shook his head and then called out for anyone again. Nothing. The silence added to the eerie nature of the overgrown city. Cole yelled for the rest of the ninja to come hurry over to where he was. He had found a building with rubble covering the entrance.

"The window is mostly blocked, but I swear I saw someone in there!"

Kai rushed over and helped his friend clear the doorway. They all ran in, ready to help, but were immediately met with something they weren't prepared for. 30 plus people were all in the building, but were all laying down, and not moving. Lloyd ran to check peoples heartbeats or pulses. The rest followed, only to find that all of them were already dead. They felt absolutely horrible. They had completely failed to save everyone. While they mourned, Kai all of a sudden burst out yelling that he found someone with a pulse. A little girl. Only about 6 or 7. Kai picked her up and hugged her.

"Don't worry little one, we got you. You're safe now. Just PLEASE stay with us." She was unconscious, but Kai kept talking to her like she was listening. Zane gave her a check up to see what her injuries were, and if they could save her. He couldn't find anything broken, but that meant nothing. Problems can sometimes be internal. The fire ninja sat with her while the others looked through rubble and in other buildings. They all came back a few hours later, and Kai asked if they had found anything. Nya spoke up.

"Oh, yeah. A WHOLE BUNCH of people. But...."

"Um, none of them were alive." Interrupted Zane.

"Oh gees.... Well, unfortunately she's not doing so good either." Kai said motioning to the girl in his arms. Her breathing was slow, and she was cold to the touch. Cole bent down and started begging her to stay with them. It didn't work. Later, Cole smashed his fists together, activating his powers. He tore up an entire office parking lot and they buried her in the ground underneath where the asphalt once was. Same went for any other unfortunate soul they found. They all had a moment of silence for all of those people who they failed to protect. Lloyd pulled a torn piece of blue fabric out of his pocket and tied it around a broken broomstick they previously stuck in the ground. They all looked at it with tears.

"We'll never forget you Jay." Lloyd said while kneeling down in a respectful manner. The others knelt down beside Lloyd, and they too, also shared in a moment of silence for their fallen friend. Of course, it wasn't actually necessary, seeing as how he wasn't actually dead... but they didn't know that. The ninja slowly walked through the abandoned city and took in what their home had become. A few days later, they were all out looking for something to eat, when they stumbled across the NCTV News Tower. Nya looked up at it, and she froze when she spotted movement in the window.

"Um. Guys..... I think there's someone up there."

Zane shook his head. "That is highly unlikely Nya. But if you insist, I suppose I could use my motion sensors to see if I could pick up......" He trailed off for a moment. "Movement. I detect movement!"

Nya cheered, claiming that she was always right. They all agreed to go inside and check it out. They walked (and limped) as quietly as they could through the building until they got to a door. Talking could be heard on the other side, so the ninja readied themselves for whatever it was. Zane burst through the door and aimed his powered up hands at the small group. Everyone froze.

"The ninja?!" Exclaimed Nelson and Dareth.

"Dareth?!" The group collectively questioned back.

The group was all beaten and battered with attempts at bandaging up their wounds. Cole looked deeply concerned about them. "Oh First Spinjitzu Master. You're all hurt! Are you alright?"

Dareth held his head and winced.

"I've been better. But I'm sure I'll be fine." He cried out again as he held his head again. Nelson was just beaming at the ninja; practically having a fangirl panic attack. Vinny flinched from the pain of trying to move, then let out a severely irritated groan. Gayle, who was sitting next to him, smiled and stroked his hair. "You'll be alright..." She turned to the ninja.

"You'll have to excuse Vinny, he's pretty hurt, so he hasn't gotten much of any sleep. He's just a little grumpy right now, that's all." Zane asked if it was alright if he gave them a check up, and of course, they all agreed. He didn't need to do much to conclude that Nelson had a broken leg, he created a small ice pack and put it on his leg. He scanned Dareth where he was holding his head, and realized his skull was slightly fractured.

"What!? I'm not gonna die from that, right?!?" he panicked.

Zane reassured him that it would heal with time. He created an ice pack for Dareth to put on it in the meantime. Gayle was just a matter of tightening the bandages on her cuts. Vinny, on the other hand, was a bit difficult. He was sleep deprived and super cranky. He wouldn't let Zane take the bandages off to check his wounds, so he took Dareth's word that they had already been cleaned out and taken care of. They all hung out for a while and talked. Eventually though, Vinny had fallen asleep, so the ninja left them to rest up.

"Do you think they'll be ok?" asked Nya in a concerned tone.

Kai smiled. "We'll make sure of it." His face turned serious. "I'm not letting anyone else die on my watch...."

******************************

Cole and Zane slipped out of their flashback and turned to Jay, who was sitting and looking longingly at his own memorial. He stroked the torn piece of his old, bloody gi.

"And all those years I hated you for forgetting about me. Abandoning me. But you put up a memorial for me... you never forgot. You mourned for me. *sigh* What a moron I was for even trying to think that you didn't care."

Cole placed his hand on Jay's shoulder. "Of course we cared, buddy! We'd never forget about you."

Zane agreed, then reminded them of why they were out there in the first place. Jay and Cole nodded and headed onwards. All three ninja walked down the crumbling roads until they came to one of their destinations. A clothing store. Cole kicked open the door and looked around like he was expecting something. They all walked in and headed towards the back where they kept the warm clothes. As Jay walked through the isles, he became saddened by the state of the store. It was like a cruel time capsule. Things were exactly how the attack left it. The cash register was open, and a pair of pants were on the counter, never actually paid for. Nobody was expecting the attack, and a lot of people didn't know what was happening until it was too late. So many people died not knowing what was going on. Shopping one moment, and being destroyed by a wyvern the next... It honestly really hurt to think about. Jay stopped and looked at a coat that was on a rack. "Mom had one just like that." He thought to himself. He stroked it as he realized that Ed and Edna probably weren't around anymore. Zane and Cole walked by holding a few coats and a few pairs of snow pants. Zane took notice of Jay drifting off and called out for him. Jay didn't answer.

Cole sighed. "Come on, not right now dude..." He nudged the blue ninja a couple of times before he snapped out of his trance and turned to him.

"Oh. I'm so sorry! I phased out again, didn't I?"

"It is not your fault my friend. You are not fully in control of your mind anymore. You can't help it if it shuts down." Said Zane in an effort to cheer him up. But it didn't really help all that much. However, Jay played it off like it did. Cole asked if Jay could go pick up a couple of snow boots that were in the back; Jay nodded and did just that.

Meanwhile at the NCTV News Tower-

Everyone sat around the large fire pit and tried to keep warm. Lloyd looked around and noticed that Nelson wasn't sitting with them. Odd. Lloyd walked up to Nelson's room and knocked on the door. The kid gave permission to enter, and so he did. Nelson was sitting on his mattress and holding a dirty baseball hat. Lloyd sat next to him and looked down at it as well. The hat was mostly blue with the only the front panel being white. Well, it used to be white. On the front white section, held the NCTV logo stitched on it. Nelson wasn't breaking his eye contact with the object.

"This was Vinny's hat from way back when we first met. He gave it to me one day when I was sad and crying. He told me that if anything were to happen to him, I'd always have a piece of him with me. I have this hat, and yet....." Nelson began tearing up.

"You miss him." Added Lloyd. "I know how you feel. Trust me. But you can't just stay up here forever. Come on, it's freezing up here. Let's get to the fire pit and warm up." The green ninja stood up and reached out his hand for the kid to take. Nelson continued his gaze at the hat for a moment before looking up at Lloyd and then at his hand. He took it and followed the ninja, but still held the baseball cap to his heart. They sat by the firelight and Nelson leaned against the green ninja.

"I'm glad you're here..."

Lloyd smiled at the kid. "I'm glad to have you here too."

******************************

Vinny paced around thinking about everything he had left behind those two weeks ago. He wondered how everyone was doing. Especially Nelson. Just then, Acronix and Krux walked into the room to ask Vinny to join them for a meeting. He followed them into the main room and asked what this was all about. The Time Twins nodded at each other, and then Krux stepped forward.

"Today is the day you prove yourself and your loyalty to us. We were wrong to trust in those barbaric bikers alone to take out the ninja AND their allies. We needed an alliance of our own. An army if you will."

Vinny agreed. "So we get the SOG, me, AND you two to all team up to take them out?!" He said as he realized the implications of the plan. "Brilliant!"

Krux cracked a devious smile. "It truly is... NOW. I truly hate to, but I believe we have a filthy pit of rowdy outlaws to visit."

***************************

Two weeks ago- (right after Mr. E and Ultra Violet were defeated)

The two beat up bikers walked through the hideout looking very irritated. Everyone who saw them heading their way, avoided eye contact and ran the opposite direction in fear of being obliterated. They reached the end of a hallway and kicked open the door at the end of it. Mr. E pulled his helmet off and gave a slow burn to the man in the room. The man was massive, with a body more impressive than that of a pro wrestler. He wore a pair of black jeans, and steal toed boots, with his belt covered in small metal spikes. The man was covered in tattoos, with one being his name tattooed on his torso. It read KILLOW.

"So? How'd it go?..." He questioned in an almost sarcastic tone.

Mr. E snarled at him. "Those bumbling color coded freaks defeated us! And they wouldn't have, if you had gotten off your butt and came with us!!!"

Killow turned to look at the frazzled nindroid, revealing his scar and eye patch on his left eye. "You know very well that I had things to do today."

"Like what?! Go get another part of you ripped off in the ring?" Ultra Violet snickered as she gestured to Killow's cybernetic arm.

"I lost that saving your life and you know that!"

"I could've handled that idiotic wyvern with my hands tied behind my back!"

"And yet, I seem to recall you nearly bleeding out in the beasts grasp..."

Ultra Violet was about to start cursing him out, but Mr. E cut her off. "Listen mate, everyone's aware about your little appendage problem, we're not here to argue about that again. We're here to convince you to help us on our next ninja slaying trip."

Killow thought for a moment. "What exactly are we talking about?"

Ultra Violet giggled sadistically.
"Six ninja with elemental powers! The ones Rumi wanted revenge on back then! Also, two average people who we've been granted permission to tear apart."

Killow smiled. "Alright. I'd be glad to partake in a sweet revenge plot! I can take out all those ninja in no time!"

Mr. E grinned, saying that he loved his spirit, but it wasn't going to be that easy. Killow shrugged it off, stating that he shouldn't underestimate his power. "I got this."

*************************

Present day-

The 3 ninja and the survivors were all discussing "grown-up" matters around the fire pit, while Kai was out in the back yard watching Nelson. Dareth didn't like the idea of letting Nelson hear about the chances of death and stuff, so he was excused from the conversation. Kai had volunteered to keep an eye on him, since that was usually Vinny's job, but... ya know. The fire ninja sat on the back steps as Nelson mucked around.

"Hey Kai, I've been thinking... Those two bikers were alive, right? So, who else do you think might still be out there?"

"Skylor." Kai snapped out of his daze and attempted to pretend he never said that. "I mean... people. Obviously, we can't be the ONLY ones who survived. There's probably plenty of people that made it; maybe not in the city, but other places, surely there's someone out there."

Nelson smiled warmly as he sat down next to Kai. "Maybe there are whole towns of people hidden away somewhere! Or what if there was a whole KINGDOM in the mountains! What if they could FLY?!"

Kai laughed at the ridiculous proposal. "I highly doubt there are flying people in the mountains, bud.. but you have a point. There's probably thousands of people out there in the world right now. But we can't leave the city. It's got the most protection from danger. The buildings and the crowded trees give us plenty of places to hide; even from the wyverns aerial prospective."

Nelson sighed. "I miss my old village. I'd love to go back to my house one day. There's so many things I left behind there. *sigh* I didn't mean for that day shopping in the city to end like it did."

Kai felt awful. He understood what Nelson was going through, and thought back on all the things HE lost that day. Master Wu, the Bounty, his friend, thousands of people he was supposed to protect... the list goes on and on. That day took away everything in a blink of an eye. No remorse. It still stung to truly think about, but it was four years ago, he had to let go of the past at some point. He had to accept that things were never going to be the way they were again. Regardless of how much the truth hurt.

-----

Meanwhile with the other ninja-

Cole had found a functioning, not mangled shopping cart, and put the clothes in there so they didn't need to carry it. He asked Zane what else they needed, and the nindroid went straight faced as he scanned through his internal list. "Oh! The grocery store."

Jay tilted his head in confusion. "The what? You DO know that whatever is in there's gone bad a long time ago, right?"

Zane smirked. "Not exactly. Follow us."

Jay, who still looked seriously confused, followed behind them as they headed towards the store. Once inside, Jay immediately understood what he'd meant. Zane had used his powers to freeze almost everything there. Granted, there wasn't much on the shelves anymore, which honestly was kinda worrying. But because his ice was the product of an elemental power, it was special. It held different properties from normal ice, dare I say it was more or less magical in a way. So if something was frozen in Zane's ice, it could last possibly forever. He unfroze a few things and shoved them in the cart. After they were done, they began walking towards the exit. Jay spotted the cash register and conveyor belt, and got a mischievous idea. He got a running start, slid over the conveyor belt, and picked up the microphone connected to the store speakers. The blue ninja cleared his throat.

"Attention customers, there seems to be a problem with our refrigerator. Someone left it open, and now there's just ice.. EVERYWHERE. Oof. Clean up in isle- the entire building!" Jay's voice echoed and popped over the stores speakers as his face lit up. "I can't believe that still works!" he giggled.

Cole smiled at the sight of his friend being happy again. He too, joined in the game of saying random crap into the microphone for a few minutes, before heading off back to the news tower. When they got back, they all had something to eat and then sat and talked around the fire again. Little did they know, danger was creeping in from the shadows outside. A masked figure crept in the shadows and nodded at someone hiding behind him. They slinked away, and the mysterious person continued to watch.

"Oh ninja...." Called a creepy voice from outside. It was accompanied by a screeching sound; like a blade was scraping against the side of the tower. The ninja jumped up and ran outside to confront the threat. When they got to the source of the noise, they were met with Ultra Violet. She creepily smiled at them.

"What do you want... um-? Sorry. I don't think we ever caught your name." Kai said with a head tilt.

"The name's Ultra Violet. And YOU- ARE ABOUT TO BE DESTROYED!!!"

The group froze and they heard Killow cracking his knuckles behind them.

"Oh boy..." Nya sighed nervously. "Run!"

Killow brought down his humongous fists, cracking the pavement. They all dodged and weaved while trying to get any hits in. Lloyd almost landed a Spinjitzu attack, but Ultra Violet tripped him and kicked him to the ground. He opened his eyes just in time to see Killow's cybernetic fist coming down to kill him. He rolled out of the way just as the fist broke the ground. The green ninja got up and continued to try to attack.

Everyone inside panicked and ran to their rooms upstairs. Just as Gayle and Nelson locked themselves in one and took a sigh of relief, the wall was broken open by a dragon's tail. A man in a blue and white kabuki mask and a black cloak jumped through the hole holding two katakanas. He made a dramatic landing pose, and then stood up tall. His masks yellow eyes seemed to glow as he slowly walked towards Gayle Gossip. He pulled back his sword and readied to strike her down, but paused when Nelson yelled for him to stop. A muffled voice came from the figure.

"Stay out of this kid, I don't wanna have to hurt you." He swung at Gayle and she just barely dodged in time. This happened a few times in a row, and the masked man grew more and more irritated each time. "Would you just stay still so I can kill you!!!"

Nelson ran in-between the two and blocked Gayle from being attacked. The man stopped his swing right before it hit the child. He angrily grabbed the kids collar and shoved him away violently. "I SAID STAY OUT OF THIS, NELSON!!!! SHE DESERVES THIS!" He boomed.

Nelson froze as he realized the man's identity. The masked stranger got Gayle cornered and prepared to end her. Right as the sword came down, Nelson yelled for him to stop again, but this time-...

"Vinny, STOP!"

The sword wavered for a moment before coming down and getting Gayle in the shoulder. He was aiming for the heart, but she took the opportunity to move away slightly during the delay. She cried out as the figure whipped around to face the child.

"Vinny... Stop. Please... You don't have to do this." He said shakily.

Gayle Gossip winced as she chimed in. "Nelson, sweetheart, that's a fine theory, but you know that Vinny-.."

"Died? Went over the waterfall?" The masked figure cut her off. He removed his mask to reveal his identity. It was Vinny. Gayle looked up at him horrified.

"You're... alive?"

He glared at her with the desire to make her pay. "Oh, don't act you care! I'm not your friend! I'm not David. You don't care about me, don't act like you do!"

Nelson watched on in shock. "David?"

Vinny gave Gayle a look of "are you going to tell him, or do I have to?"

Gayle Gossip swallowed hard. "My old camera man. He.. He died when Chen's Anacondrai army attacked the town we were reporting in. He tried to protect me by fighting them off, but... he was the one that went down that day."

"And I'm nothing like him. You want to know why Gayle and I stopped being friends? It's cause she told me that I could never replace David. They were close, and I was just an amateur mockery of what she thought she saw in me. What she remembered seeing in him. She never cared about me, she was just trying to replace her old coworker! And the very fact she was trying to replace him meant she never cared about him either! She doesn't care about anyone but herself!"

Down in the parking lot, Lloyd, Nya, and Kai were getting their butts kicked. They had to deal with Killow, Mr. E, Ultra Violet, and the Time Twins. They were running out of breath, and completely exhausted. Just then, Jay, Cole, and Zane came rushing in to assist with the battle. This gave the other three a minute to catch their breath. Mr. E immediately ran after Zane again and began trying to tear him apart.

"What is your PROBLEM?!" Questioned Zane.

"You took everything from me! And now I'm just repaying the favor!" The masked robot growled back.

"I don't even know who you are!"

"Pity. Cause I know ALL ABOUT you, mate..." Mr. E continued to fight Zane as they yelled back and forth. Cole and Killow were going head to head, being the two with super strength. Kai and Nya were taking Ultra Violet, and the others were dealing with the Time Twins. They all fought and dodged for a long time, and both sides were getting rather tired. The ninja finally all had just about enough, and they all went into overflow mode. Rather than trying to fight it, Jay used it. His eyes filled with power as his body became engulfed in electricity. He ran circles around Killow until he was made dizzy enough to be struck down by lightning. Zane took notice and called out in worry.

"JAY! You can't be letting your powers overtake you like that! They could corrupt you!"

Jay smiled rather creepily at the nindroid. "But it feels so good! We shouldn't contain our awesome new powers, we should EMBRACE THEM!! They're so much stronger than our normal ones, so it would be a crime not to use them to help people!"

Kai shrugged as he let himself become engulfed in flames. "This. Feels. AWESOME!" He used his full firepower to knock Mr. E away from Zane and into the wall of foliage. "FIYA!!!"

Nobody had to ask Cole twice, he too, joined with his elemental powers. A rocky magic surrounded him as a crack of earth powers slowly started to form on his forehead. He ground pounded and Ultra Violet went flying across the street. "Ha, ha, ha! Sweet!!"

Lloyd and Nya followed, using their powers to attack the foes. It wasn't long before it was only the Time Twins remaining on the villains side. They both powered up and stared down the ninja. Krux noticed that Kai was slowly starting to loose control of some of his fire aura, and decided to use it. He peered up at the News Tower and the people that were watching the fight through the windows. He gave a chuckle and devious smile. "I would love to stay and chat, but I believe you have a group of people to save."

The ninja all looked on confused. Acronix ran around them and conjured Tock. The dragon rammed itself into the side of the building, causing it to tremble. The ninja watched as the a crack began crawling up the side of the building and feathering out. Tock head butted the building again, causing the cracks to grow, and a part of the second floor to collapse into the fire pit below. The impact scattered the fire everywhere. Kai unexpectedly let out a raging scream as the fire completely engulfed him, and his eyes began to glow pure white. He shot a megabeam of fire at the dragon and its rider. Acronix's face turned white as the enormous blast barreled towards them. The fire beam obliterated Tock and sent Acronix flying through the wall. The flame megabeam continued further and crashed into the bonfire in the lobby.

"Kai! You are loosing control of your powers! It's just like I warned you, you're being corrupted!!" shouted Zane.

"You have to stop this!" Added Lloyd.

Kai turned to the others as he levitated of the ground. "WHY WOULD I STOP DOING SOMETHING THAT FEELS SO GOOD!?" He smiled sadistically and tilted his head.

Krux ran over and helped his unconscious brother up and started making his getaway on Tick.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!! SHE DESERVES THIS!" Yelled Vinny.

Nelson's eyes filled with tears. "Please stop this! Vinny, I know you're upset with her, but killing her isn't going to make anything better! This isn't the way!"

He glanced over at Gayle, who was on the floor holding her bleeding shoulder, then down at his bloody katakana. It looked for a moment like he felt bad, but it faded back into bitterness. Before he could speak, a fireball shot through the hole in the building and crashed through opposite wall; setting the hallway and part of the room on fire. Nelson freaked out and backed up. Dareth yelled for Clutch from the other end of the smoke filled hallway, but there was no response. The brown ninja pulled his shirt over his mouth like a mask and ran through the building trying to find him as the fire spread. Nya shot water balls at her brother, but they evaporated the second they touched the fiery aura. Same with Zane's ice beams. Nothing was working, and Kai was seemingly getting more aggressive. He had started trying to destroy the building.

"Oh, it's no use! We can't stop him!" cried Nya.

Lloyd looked at the burning building in horror. "The others are still in there! I'm going in to help them evacuate, you guys try to rescue Kai!"

They all nodded as Lloyd Spinjitzued into the tower.

"Listen buddy, I admit it... embracing our excess power was an absolutely TERRIBLE IDEA! PLEASE snap out of it!" pleaded Jay.

Kai floated back down as his fiery aura subsided. When it did, it revealed several burns scattered all over him. Jay questioned how it was possible for Kai to be burned by his own fire.

"It wasn't his fire anymore. He wasn't in control! And now look what has happened!" Zane looked up at the crumbling building, then back at Jay. "Next time, you LISTEN TO ME WHEN I TELL YOU THAT SOMETHINGS A BAD IDEA!!"

Jay jumped at the sudden burst of anger from Zane. It wasn't normal. He watched the flames climb the NCTV News Tower as their light reflected in his eyes. This was all his fault. He knew it. That knowledge tied his stomach in knots and made him want to curl up and cry.

Vinny stared intently at Gayle Gossip and how absolutely terrified she looked, then at Nelson in the corner. He grabbed Nelson and ran out the room; leaving his old partner behind to burn. Nelson yelled at Vinny to put him down and to go back for Gayle, but he ignored him. As he ran, the floor above gave out an nearly crushed them. Vinny tossed Nelson to safety, trapping himself in a fiery dead-end. Nelson coughed as he opened his eyes.

"No! Vinny!!!"

Acronix woke up to find them flying away from the tower. He looked at the dragon. It was only him and Krux on it. He perked up with fear in his eyes.
"Where's Vinny?!"

Krux glared at him. "What? We left him back there. We didn't get attached, remember?"

"You should know by now that I never follow your rules brother." Acronix conjured Tock and jumped on its back. He whipped the dragon's reins and darted back to the news tower. His brother sighed and shook his head. "Why do I even bother with this man..."

Dareth coughed as he desperately tried to avoid the smoke and flames. "Clutch! Where are you?! We need to get out of here RIGHT NOW!"

The brown ninja made his way to the makeshift kitchen, and broke down the door. There was Clutch Powers. He was shoving as much resources as he could into his satchel.

"Clutch, come on! We gotta get out of here! The whole building is falling apart! We don't have much more time!"

"Exactly! I gotta gather as much as I can. We're never going to survive the winter if we don't have food or water!"

"HECK WITH THAT! We're not going to make it to tomorrow if we don't leave now!"

Clutch Powers stared at the half-full bag longingly. He sighed as he nodded and followed Dareth down the hallways. They were stopped in their tracks when they heard Gayle calling from a break room. Dareth burst through the door to find her injured on the floor. He picked her up and kept telling her that she was going to be alright as they made their way to the exit. The roof above collapsed and blocked Clutch from following Dareth. He assured him that he'd be able to find another way and told him to keep running. Dareth did just that.

Vinny coughed as he laid on the ground; rendered useless by the lack of oxygen and smoke. The wall was smashed down as Acronix ran in and helped Vinny up. The camera man passed out in his arms, and they made their escape on Tock. Nelson tried desperately to escape the room he was in, but the rubble had him completely trapped. He cried out for anyone who could help, but nobody answered. He could only flashback to the day everything started. When he was hopelessly trapped and unable to breathe, but as he excepted death, Dareth came to his rescue. Accept there was no Dareth this time. And that fact absolutely terrified him.

Lloyd ran through the tower in a panic. He turned a sharp corner and nearly smacked directly into Dareth. His eyes darted to the injured Gayle in his arms. He would ask what happened, but that didn't matter at moment, so instead, he helped direct them out of the building. Zane ran to them and helped lay them both down on the farthest side of the parking lot. Clutch ran through the hallways, dodging and weaving around the debris and fire. He only stopped when he heard Nelson crying from behind a wall of rubble. His heart sank.

"Kid!! Are you alright back there?"

Nelson coughed violently a couple of times before responding that he was trapped. "Alright kiddo, don't worry! Back away from the wall, I'm breaking it down!"

Clutch did everything in his power to break down the wall, but he quickly learned that punching a wall caught ablaze wasn't such a good idea. But there was NO WAY he was going to loose someone else he loved to a fiery building. So he wound up and kicked the wall with full force. It collapsed, but it caused more debris to fall towards Clutch. He attempted to dodge, but it fell directly on to one of his legs. He cried out in pain as he fully collapsed and passed out. Nelson was too weak to get up, let alone help, but he reached for the explorer before his vision finally cut out. The building began to crumble and collapse, as the ninja watched from the outside.

"Come on Lloyd..." whispered Jay quietly.

Right as the top floors started to give away completely, a green Spinjitzu tornado came racing out of the front door. When it stopped spinning, Lloyd, Nelson, and Clutch all came tumbling out of it. Cole ran over, picked up all three, and carried them to Zane. They all watched on as the building finally crumbled to the ground.

Their home was gone..... FOREVER.

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Author's note-

Wow. I did a lot of story in a very little amount of time. Dang. Well, I hope you can forgive me for the shameless fnaf reference I shoved in this. And for what happened in this chapter in general.

Did it shock you? I bet you weren't expecting that one, huh?

ALSO-

Not to give spoilers, but next chapter is also pretty shocking.
(I'll say that much)

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Let me know your thoughts in the comments! I'd love to hear from you. :)