"We need a plan," Lloyd said, pacing in the middle of the oval we'd formed between the columns of the temple.

     "If 'a plan' means 'a battle plan', then that isn't going to help us right now," Kai, Lloyd's ever constant opposing voice, replied, gesturing to the minute arsenal in front of him. "We barely have any resources. We're basically living off the berries from the trees that surround this part of the mountain, and the only firepower we have left are the various weapons we brought with us."

     "Shade's longsword, Morro's spear, Aureole's gilded twin daggers, Peak's axe, Lloyd's katana, my throwing knives, and your..." Harumi trailed off, looking over the measly pile of weapons to Kai.

     "My greatest weapon." Kai whipped out a red headband from his pocket, grinning wildly at the group. His smile faded when everyone glowered back at him.

     "Storm's katana was lost during his break in, and I'm not sure Carmen was ever in possession of a weapon." Harumi continued petulantly.

     "All I need are my hands," I said. Storm patted said hands, though his attention was on the adults. My own gaze drifted over to where Shade was sulking, but I snapped myself back to attention. I had basically agreed to be Storm's girlfriend. Our relationship (if you wanted to call it that) was ill-defined, but it was official. I needed to stop obsessing over failed loves.

     "Most of us will have weapons, but these are only made for close up combat. In order to take out the Overlord, I suggest we try to get our hands on some grappling hooks again. They worked pretty well the last time." Lloyd examined Harumi's broken hook, turning it over in his hands with a thoughtful expression.

     "How do you suggest we get our hands on the grappling hooks, dear?" Harumi said.

     "Yeah, it's not like the weapon supply of this island isn't going to be guarded by an army of Vermillion soldiers," Aureole muttered, proving to be very much her father's daughter.

     "Easy," Peak soothed from beside her. He brushed dark hair out of his eyes. "We go scouting, figure out where they're keeping what we need, and take it in an organized attack. We're ninja. We're supposed to be good at sneaking right under people's noses."

     "Sneaking things out of the Vermillion camp isn't going to be easy," Storm cut in, drawing everyone's attention back over to us. I flushed from the sudden attention. "There's hundreds of them down there. All it takes is one Vermillion figuring out something is wrong, then we're going to get swarmed and beaten to death."

     "If we go scouting," Peak reemphasized his point, "then there'll be no need to be worried. We'll know exactly when and where to strike."

     "As much as I admire your plan, it will take far too much time," Lloyd said. "Time we don't have."

     No one looked over at the white-haired boy, who was currently sitting next to his mother, but I knew everyone was thinking about him. He had been unnaturally silent since we told him of Singsong's capture. Pretty much everyone had drawn the conclusion that he was in love with her. We knew that every day we waited was another day she had to spend in the Overlord's clutches, and out of respect for his son, Lloyd was trying to please both sides of the group.

     We were obviously nowhere near ready to go to war. All of our supplies were destroyed along with the Bounty. At the same time, the longer we waited, the more powerful the Overlord was going to get. He knew we were on his island. It would only be a matter of time before he sniffed us out and killed us all.

     "What if we planted diversions around the island?" I said, thinking of how I would go about getting this done smoothly. And hopefully creating a part of the plan that didn't involve me going back to the Vermillion camp. "Small distractions to draw the Vermillion away little by little."

     Lloyd put a hand on his unshaven chin. "That's a good idea. Anyone else?"

     Everyone caught the way he glanced at Shade, but the sulking rejecter paid his father no mind. He had been just as silent as his brother, except he had been much more hostile to anyone who tried to console him. For the first time Shade wasn't being an angel, and it made me feel justified in my decision to choose Storm. Who knows how long into my infatuation I would have realized Shade was a monster underneath that heartwarming smile? Anyway, like his brother, Shade was silently ignored by everyone in the group. No one wanted to incur his wrath, just like they didn't want to incur the white-haired boy's grief.

     "We could create a controlled fire," Aureole held up a small flame. "The Vermillion will come to investigate, and we'd wipe them out."

     "I don't see why we don't just run into the camp like we did before," Kai said. "Last time we did that we completed our mission."

     "Our mission was to stop Malevolence from resurrecting the Overlord," Harumi grouched in response. "And you know exactly how well that worked out."

     "Not to mention we were masters of Spinjitzu, Airjitzu, and had all unlocked our true potentials," Lloyd countered, pausing his pacing momentarily to pat his wife's head. I envied their little displays of affection. I knew if I were to be a good partner to Storm, I needed to choose to show him the same love. It was just harder doing it to someone my hormones weren't crazy about. "We were much stronger than the kids, and even we couldn't take on the Vermillion and the Overlord."

     Kai muttered something else, but I had stopped paying attention. I had figured out Lloyd and Kai's dynamic early on, and there was no way their argument could be settled in less than an hour. They'd go back and forth, with Harumi trying to moderate the conversation. All of us would just sit there and awkwardly watch.

     Storm massaged my enclosed hand, his eyes staring past the groups. He was probably staring at the walls and their creepily accurate pictures. The giant portraits that hung in the temple had—I kid you not—moved when we walked up to them. One depicted the battle where Peak had raised the Bounty through the white-haired boy's amplification. One showed the shock in Shade's face when he came face to face with his traitorous sister. And one showed us all gathered here, inside the Temple, with only two small figures looking up to see the portraits.

     Wait—that wasn't there before.

     Were the pictures... changing?

     "Okay, so the plan is settled," Peak interrupted the adults, getting to his feet. He was the youngest, which was probably why he had enough energy to do so. It was too painful for me to even walk. Storm wanted to stall the mission for me, but at the same time he felt the same conflictions as Lloyd. In the past I could've cared less about Singsong's living or dead status, but Storm cared about the white-haired bo—his name was Morro—so I guess that meant I needed to care about him as well. It was the right thing to do. It was the supportive thing to do.

      "We head to the southern part of the island and start a small fire there. When the Vermillion come to investigate, we pillage their forces and take what we need. Hopefully, that will leave us with some better armor, weapons, and other various supplies. After that, the Overlord will obviously know where we are, so we'll have to head to him next. If we're lucky, he'll fly out to meet us, which will give us an advantage in the fight since he'll be away from his camp."

     "What about the key?" Storm asked, to which my hand immediately flew to the pocket where I was keeping it. At the other's confused looks at this subject change, he continued, "The prophecy says we need the key to defeat the Overlord."

     "The key powers the cannon," I said.

     "So what if we take the cannon?" Storm grinned in my direction. "It destroyed the Bounty. It can destroy the Vermillion army."

     Aureole caught on quickly. "We can use the fire as a bigger diversion. We'll make the Overlord think we're wanting to fight. He'll fly out with a large army by his side, and we'll take the cannon while he's away."

     "Then use said cannon to fire at the army," Storm exclaimed enthusiastically.

     "And destroy them from a distance, keeping us all safe," I added in.

     "Do you think it would work?" Harumi asked.

     "Yes."

     Everyone turned to Shade, who had stood up, his eyes blazing. "Yes, it will work. On one condition," his stare sharpened. "I get to blast the Overlord into smithereens."

      A cheer went up around our little circle. Quickly the kids reached for their weapons while some stuffed the last of our meager food supply into their mouths. Storm tightened the straps on his armor, then offered a hand to help me to my feet. I attempted to stand, but instantly a sharp pain ricocheted through my abdomen, and I was forced to lay prostrate on the ground.

     "She can't walk," Kai muttered distastefully to Storm as he approached us. "She needs to stay here."

     "You even think of leaving me behind and I'll rob you dry," I spat. My fear of dying alone in this cold temple was greater than my fear of dying to the Vermillion alongside the one person left in this world who cared about me.

     Kai laughed, clapping Storm's back. "You've got yourself a feisty one, eh? Family dinners are going to be fun. I have a feeling she and Skye will get along just fine. Jay and Nya though... she'll be a handful to them."

      Storm flushed a deep red. Kai surprised us both by scooping me up on his back. He was wearing that dumb headband, and his hair was all in my face. Upon seeing Storm's expression, he shrugged. "You certainly aren't in a state to carry someone bigger than you down a mountain. And I'd rather keep my hairspray."

     We didn't need much motivation to get out of the temple. No one really wanted to stay in the dark, enclosed space, where pictures magically changed and food was scarce. We just wanted to get this over with, once and for all.

     "Carmen?"

     I suppressed a groan as Aureole approached. The last thing I wanted to do was acknowledge the presence of the witch. However, her dad was being nice to me, so I at least owed her some semblance of kindness. That, and Storm had given my arm a good luck pat, so I was kind of expected to talk to her.

      "Things have happened between us. We used to be great friends... and then..." she trailed off, knowing exactly what happened 'then'. "Since we're going to head into the final fight of our lives, I just wanted to... make things better."

     You can't.

     I pursed my lips, refusing to let the words slip through. Aureole faltered, tucking a loose strand of hair back into her bun. "How about we agree to be allies for the fight? Just allies, and if we survive, maybe then we can start working towards friendship again."

     At Storm's glance, Kai's stiffening, and my own heart, I nodded. I held out a hand to shake, despite the gnawing pain in my core. Aureole smiled, brightening up the whole area with her grin, and shook it. Her hands were trembling, but her gaze was steady as she nodded. Then, we both turned our faces to the rising sun, the symbol of our coming war.

     I may have not been brave enough, fit enough, or wise enough to fight a Ninja's battle.

     But I had something more important.

     There was a promise in Storm's loving gestures, in Aureole's promises, in Kai's kindness, that gave me hope for the future.

     It was the promise of a family.

     And I would give everything to have that once again.           

I'd be a liar if I said I never imagined what life would be after this. Sometimes it seemed like the final battle would only be a small step in my larger plan for life. I used to fantasize about life returning to normal after this. We'd all go back to Ninjago. Shade and Morro would go through college. I'd take over my parent's business, or at least operate on the same level as them. Storm would do whatever he was planning (I honestly had no idea what he wanted to do), and Peak had mentioned he wanted to go to medical school. At some point Shade and I would probably get married, since I couldn't really imagine spending my life with anyone else.

     The final battle would barely be anything in that grand scheme; it would just give us a fun adventure to talk about when we were old and decrepit. Honestly my plan for life didn't sound exciting, but it was the only thing I'd ever known.

     And sometimes, in the moment, our harsh reality seemed like exactly that.

     A moment.

     "How much further?" Father asked as we trekked through thick foliage.

     "Hopefully not much," Peak responded, his eyes closed as he felt the ground beneath him. "I can feel the sand mixing in with the dirt up ahead. We've got to be close to a beach."

     I snapped my fingers, lighting them up with flames. "Once I set the fire, we're going to have to start running. I don't want to risk anyone getting caught in the flames."

     "I'm more concerned about the weather," Peak responded. "You'll have to set a strong enough fire to burn through rain."

     "I never thought I'd see the day where I wished Nya was here," Father muttered, his hand pressed against the damp wood of a nearby tree. I wondered if he meant that his sister usually annoyed him on these types of missions or if he meant that he never thought he'd want to be with his sister in the face of such imminent danger. Knowing her father, probably both.

     I shot him a pointed look that went unnoticed (it wasn't fair to wish for the power of water in front of Storm, who, while having unlocked his true potential, had been too tired to summon a single droplet), while Peak shifted uncomfortably on his feet. Meanwhile, Storm pretended not to hear us. He was lagging behind, his exhaustion rendering him more nonessential than we liked to admit. Though, I did wonder if his hesitation to keep up sprang from his sulking about leaving Carmen with the other group.

     We needed to split the two non-elementals up to make sure they were both properly protected. It would be unfair to either group to give them the important job of fighting the final battle while also having to look after two nearly helpless assets.

     I went over to a tree and tried to light the tall grass growing around it. Off in the distance, the sea washed quietly against the shores, not echoing a single trace of a song. The grass did burn, but the tree did not. It was too wet.

     "We need enough fire to send up a ton of smoke," Shade had said to me before I left the Temple of Light. "It'll give you a smokescreen to escape as well as clue the Overlord into the location of our trap."

     I was honestly still surprised he spoke to me. I attempted to light up the tree with more fire, but the flames fizzled out with the light rain coming from above. I pursed my lips and blasted fireball after fireball at the tree.

     "Burn, you idiot," I growled with each strike.

     Peak and Father backed away as the thin strands of grass began to blaze.

     I was two seconds away from shoving an axe through this tree. The bark had blackened, yet it still would not burn. Just as I prepared myself to strike it again, an arm stopped my own.

     Storm silently shook his head. He closed his eyes and raised a hand in the direction of the tree. I don't know how he did it, but suddenly he started getting taller. The air around him sparked with static electricity, giving him an aureole of blue light. With a cry, he opened his eyes and lightning poured from his fingers.

     The tree cracked in half, then fire jumped out of its remains.

      We all just stood there as the flames spread, staring at the once practically useless member of our team. Storm landed on the ground (he'd apparently started to float) and weakly grinned at us. He was heaving for breath, but he'd done it. The tree was burning.

     "The insides of the trees are dry," Peak realized, whipping out his axe and driving it into the bark of a nearby tree. "The flames just need to reach that dry bark, then the tree will burn."

     Between Storm's lightning, my fire, and Peak's axe, we made quick work of the area. Soon, a large forest fire was spreading, its heat withstanding the rain from above. We ran away from it, but not without creating a bunch of noise first.

     "Come and fight the son!" we hollered in the air, banging our weapons against each other. "Do you want to destroy the prophecy or not?"

     When we ran out onto the beach, smiles passed over our exhausted faces. Phase One of the plan was complete. Out in the distance the clamor of Vermillion armor was heard, and if Father stood on a high rock, he could see trees falling in the distance. A large group of Vermillion soldiers were coming to investigate.

     Father propped the half-dead Storm on his back and took my hand. Peak grabbed the other, and all together we ran around the outskirts of the forest. The Vermillion camp was far away, but there was no way any of us wanted to be caught in the crossfire. I had enough faith in the skills of Shade to be confident that he would successfully carry out Phase Two of our plan.

     We just had to get to the camp in time, or else we'd go down in flames with the enemy.

     There was no way I was letting that happen.

     There was a still a life left to live after this final fight, after all. 

As soon as we saw the Vermillion move in a giant mob out of camp, we knew Aureole had successfully completed Phase One of the plan. I could already see the smoke clogging up the air in the distance, despite the rain pouring from the sky. Father's stomach growled from his crouched position behind me, and he sheepishly grinned when Mother nudged his arm. We were all hungry, but now was not the time to be thinking about food. We could complain about it when the Overlord was dead and gone.

     It's good to see you all have no qualms about destroying the environment, the Overlord whispered in my head. I swear I could hear the smirk in his voice. Do you really think you can burn me out of hiding?

     Rubbing my forehead, I carefully watched the army pass from below us. There had to be at least two hundred Vermillion heading out of the camp with five large machines alongside them. The machines looked like a cross between catapults and cannons; they were weapons that could cause mass destruction. I could only hope Aureole and the others made it out of the way before they were caught.

     I studied the path again, and upon finding it clear, gestured to everyone that we needed to move. I got to my feet and started forward, only to find myself face to face with an unfamiliar man.

     "Going somewhere?" His dark eyes took in our little group.

     "Acronix," Mother growled from her spot beside Morro.

     Quicker than any of us expected, Father was on his feet, whisking a katana from his back and pointing it at the man's throat. "Drop your weapons," Father ordered quietly.

     The man stared him down, letting out a single chuckle. Though he looked to be the same age as Father, there was a sort of oldness about him that made him seem like he'd seen too much. "Or what?" Acronix prodded. "You'll kill me? You know I could scream before you plunged the blade into my throat because—believe me, Green Ninja—I know you'd hesitate. The camp is close by; the Vermillion just might hear me."

     Father's stare turned colder. "What do you want?"

     Acronix wiped at his dirty tunic, ignoring the blade pointed at his throat. "I am but a simple man with simple nee—"

     "Spare us the small talk," I ordered, pulling out my own longsword. "Father may have qualms about killing you, but I wouldn't bat an eye."

     Acronix laughed, almost loud enough to draw the Vermillion camp's attention. "Says the boy who refused to fight his sister. Please, little son, the only being you need to kill tonight is the Overlord."

     We all froze, staring at the traitorous ally. Acronix. That was where I'd heard the name before. He was one of the Time Twins, and the Time Twins were working with the Overlord. He was supposed to be on their side.

     Which side will prevail and which side will divide.

     "Why?" asked Carmen. She may have been on the ground, practically helpless, yet she was just as fired up as the rest of us.

     "You don't need to know why," Acronix lashed back, his words seeping with venom. "All you need to know is that I'm here to help you. I'll get you in the camp—I'm going to go off on a limb and say you want to get to the Cannon—and I'll help you get to that too. In return, you won't take me back to Ninjago, you won't lock me up, and you'll let me live freely here."

    Father wilted in surprise, his sword lowering. "That's all you want? No reward?"

     "Do you think I am incapable of an act of kindness?"

     "With people like you, there's always an angle."

     "Oh," Acronix's expression darkened. "Oh yes, there is an angle. Just as there is a price I'll pay for doing this. I'm going to lose everything."

      "Then why are you doing it?" I exclaimed, tired of the vagueness.

     "Because sometimes the right thing comes before your family!"

     We all waited with bated breath for someone, anyone, to say something. But our heavy breathing drifted into silence, and Acronix's expression shifted back to hardened steel. He reached up and pushed the edge of my sword away from his throat. "The easiest way into the camp isn't storming it from where the quarters are. Your little friend there can attest to that."

     Carmen stuck her tongue out.

     "To the south of camp there is a hill. It's mostly used to store the works in progress; however, it's been partially cleared due to the squadron that went after your distraction. It'll be easier for us to try and get to the camp through that way, since it's basically a direct path to the Cannon." He started walking in one direction, then turned to look back at us. "You coming or not?"

     Everyone looked to Father, who faltered for a split-second. His green gaze went to Mother, who pursed her lips and gave a single nod.

     "Fine," Father exhaled. He added quietly to us, "Don't let your guard down. Remember our mission is to take control of the Cannon. Do whatever it takes to accomplish that."

     We started off after Acronix. I was going to race to the front of the line to be with Father, but I felt a hand pull my shoulder back. I swiveled to see Carmen, who looked very strained. She was currently riding on Mother's back, the latter trying to pretend like she wasn't paying attention to us.

     Carmen, the girl I rejected, the girl whose heart I broke, held out her hand.

     She was holding the key.

     "Our mission is the Cannon," she said. "Don't let us down."

     Her key.

     The key that was bought with Nori's blood.

     The key that was our only way to gain an upper hand.

     The key to the prophecy.

     My fingers tightened around the rusted metal. Carmen shot me a pained glance before returning her eyes to the front of the line. I knew there was something I should say, something I should do to perhaps mend the gap I'd caused, but nothing came out of my mouth. I, the person who never struggled with words, was hesitating. Maybe it was because I knew I'd hurt her. Maybe it was because I'd never hurt anyone I semi-cared about that way before.

     Acronix led us through a thorny path of trees, and we emerged in front of a wide hill. It wasn't severely sloped by any means, which made it the perfect place to store wheeled weapons. On the flowering hill sat dozens of boats and terrain vehicles, all of them sitting empty. In fact, there were no Vermillion anywhere to be seen. The aching silence of the camp was eerie.

     Acronix frowned when he saw the empty lot. Father tried to inquire what was wrong, but Acronix waved his question away before sound could escape his lips. Acronix proceeded to step out into the open, carefully treading over the trampled flowers. He looked around the area cautiously, walking up to several of the vehicles to examine them. The rest of us waited in silence.

     Why do you wish to be so quiet? The Overlord protruded into my thought train, nearly causing me to yelp at the sound of his voice. Are you trying to ambush me?

      It's hard to ambush something you don't know the location of, I spat, closing my eyes so I wouldn't think about our surroundings.

     I think you overestimate yourselves.

     I was startled back into reality by a gentle touch of Morro's hand. In front of him, Mother and Father were sneaking across the field to get to Acronix, who was waving us over. Morro scurried off after them, a hand on his spear to silence its clinking.

     Overestimate? Shouldn't he have said underestimate? How could we overestimate ourselves on an ambush we weren't even having? I wondered if the Overlord was referring to our distraction, which he seemed to believe was our main attack.

     Acronix gestured more wildly, so I stepped out into the open. I felt practically naked out in the cold air, like everything and everyone could see my every move. I treaded fast, even though the camp was abandoned.

     Ambush. Why did the Overlord say ambush? And why did he think we were overestimating ourselves?

     "There," whisper-hissed Acronix, grabbing my arm as soon as I was in range. He pointed my head towards a large structure made of slabs of metal that sat in the midst of a bunch of tents. There was a clear path from the hill to it. "That's the Cannon of Dark. You'll have to make a run for it, because I'm going to assume the Vermillion are still inside their tents."

     "Why is the camp so deserted?" I asked, shifting back and forth on my feet. We were currently hidden behind a speedboat, but it wouldn't take much effort for someone to find us. "Surely the Overlord didn't send his entire army after Aureole."

     Acronix shook his head. He neither knew nor cared who Aureole was. "I don't know what's going on. The Overlord doesn't tell anyone what he's planning, not even Ver. And out of everyone in the camp, I'd say he's the closest to her."

     I felt Father's hand on my shoulder. "We're going to create a distraction to draw any remaining Vermillion out of hiding. You can do this, son."

     Son. The tiny title carried a burdensome destiny.

     I took a step towards the Cannon as Mother helped Carmen into one of the terrain vehicles. Father climbed into another one, while Morro prepared to run with me. I assumed his job was to protect me while I was inside the Cannon. Acronix curled his fingers into fists, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

     I squared myself, took a deep breath, and—

     Felt the wind shift.

     Why is the camp so deserted?

     Why was the camp so deserted?

     Ambush ambush ambush ambush—

     I think you overestimate yourselves.

     "Get back!" I screamed at the group, "WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW!"

     But it was too late.

      "No, I don't think you are going anywhere at all," a sickly familiar voice chorused in my ears.

      Not her. Anyone but her.

      "Ver, you're supposed to be in bed." Acronix stepped in front of me, supposedly shielding my twitching form from my sister. Hisses sounded in the air, and before we knew it, the entire hill was surrounded by hundreds of Vermillion warriors. Ver stood in front of us, looking so small compared to the army behind her.

     "And you're supposed to be on our side," Ver retorted, her voice nothing more than a painful rasp. "But I see how that went."

     Acronix flinched, and the split-second of movement gave me enough time to look at my sister.

     I cried out in shock, scrambling backwards at the sight. My sister, my completely normal sister, had grown monstrous horns. Not just one set. Two. Four horns twisted out of her scalp, two long and elegant, two stubs barely poking above her tar-black hair. Her brilliant blue eyes were now bloodshot and a hateful grey, her skin was pale and littered with scars. She looked more like a hideous zombie than an actual human, yet that fierce determination was still set in her eyes.

     That determination hidden behind the layers of pain and exhaustion her eyes rendered was the only thing that kept me believing that the creature in front of me was Ver. If that weren't there, I wouldn't know the difference between my little sister and the enemy.

     "You need to get to the Cannon," Acronix murmured quietly to me, shifting his stance into a battle position. He pulled out a twin set of shurikens and pointed them at my monstrous sister. "I'll take her."

     "No!" Mother attempted to scramble out of the terrain vehicle.

     "SERIOUSLY?!" Ver screeched so loud a few of the Vermillion behind her stepped back. "You can take me? Do you really think I'm that weak? I could rip the breath right out of your lungs, you, you—"

     She screamed and thrust a hand out towards Acronix.

     A blast of wind shot through the air, tearing up the grass beneath it. I heard Carmen gasp, I heard Father shout in fear—but the wind lost its momentum. By the time it had reached Acronix, it was nothing more than a gentle breeze kissing the ends of our hair. Shocked, we looked from Ver to the Time Twin. And Acronix smiled.

     "My turn."

     Before any of us could react, he had thrown one shuriken straight into one of her horns and used pure brute strength to knock Ver to the floor. She bounced back, using what wind she could to shield his attacks. Her form was sloppy though, and I could see the sickness weighing her down. She was barely able to move in time to avoid his offenses. Ver gasped in pain with each twist of her limbs, with each thrust of wind. Acronix was right; he could take her. Something had happened to my sister, something that had turned her from the most powerful elemental to one of the weakest.

     "Go!" Acronix yelled, just as Ver shouted at the Vermillion to start attacking.

     Suddenly, we were swarmed by tens and hundreds of red-orange snakes, each of them carrying deadly weapons. Morro jumped in front of me to start forcing a path to the Cannon, while Father and Mother yanked at the vehicles' wires to start them up.

     The only sound in the air was the squelching of snakes as their blood sprinkled across the ground. Morro cut through the crowd with practiced ease, his grim expression growing grimmer with each Vermillion he chopped down. Together we thrusted and stabbed with practiced motion, thinning the crowd swarming us. When I saw a gap in the mob, I started running.

     The Cannon of Dark was just up ahead.

     All around us, a plethora of horns bellowed into the crisp late morning air.