"Make sure to dodge the pegs this time!" Shade called from across the lawn as I jumped onto a moving wooden platform.

    The pegs sticking out of the circular training machine immediately started turning towards me, some high, some low. I quickly jumped, slid, twisted, and flipped through the machine, making my way to the pillars that would randomly shoot out of the ground, a test of our balance and reflex.

     "The key is speed," Shade called again as I hesitantly made a jump from one pillar to the next. "You have to do the form faster."

     I clenched my jaw and used my wobbling to gain momentum for my next jump. I made it through the rest of the pillars pretty quickly, though during my last jump a pillar unexpectantly shot out of the ground, sending me flying into the next round of obstacles.

     More circular platforms, but this time it was robotic dummies wielding weapons. I barely twisted out of the way as one immediately thrust a knife at my stomach.

     "Faster!" Shade chanted.

     I slipped under the blow of an axe, using the speed of the platform to propel myself onto the next one. My movements became a blur of practiced movement.

     Duck beneath the spear.

     Stay in place to stay between the double sword thrust.

     Flip over the swinging scythes.

     Twist around the mace.

     Sweat trickled down my face as the end of the training course became nearer. Shade was waving his arms in excitement as I felt the heat around me amplify. I was barely thinking about it at all. Every practiced movement would draw a thin string of energy through the air, like I was creating something just by going through the movements.

     I hit the ground just outside the course, feeling the energy leak throughout me. With careful yet quick precision, I drew the energy together, knowing there was only one thing left to do.

     Spin!

     A plethora of light erupted in my vision as I felt my body leave the ground. All around me was the energy I'd gathered, swirling in golden streams of light. I was inside an energy tornado. I was doing it. I was finally doing it!

     Spinjitzu!

    Shade cheered from outside the tornado, but I felt myself slipping as quickly as I had grabbed ahold. I was launched out of the disintegrating energy, hitting the ground with a thud. Shade was at my side in an instant, helping me to my feet.

    "You did it!" his smile was so big it was contagious.

    "Only for a few seconds."

     "Last time you couldn't even create the tornado. Give yourself some credit!" Shade patted me on the back. I gave him a half smile before we both laughed.

     "Boys!" Mother's voice sounded out from the house, "Your grade reports have come in!"

     Shade glanced at me, raising an eyebrow. "Race you?"

     I was already running. Shade laughed again, chasing after me towards the house. I actually beat him for once, but it was probably because I was incredibly anxious to see my scores.

     Mom handed me an envelope, which I immediately started tearing at. I knew I missed that one problem on the history final, and I didn't know how it would impact the score. While I fiddled with the envelope's ends, Shade walked over to the scissor cabinet and cleanly cut his open. Ver came out of her bedroom, her eyes puffy from a lack of sleep, and got to work on her envelope.

     After a second, I was able to get the paper out, and I hastily read the scores. Most of my classes had perfect grades, due to a social life of studying the books over and over. However, that one problem I missed on my history exam had taken the whole class's score down to a ninety-nine point seven instead of it being a one hundred. I frowned at the news, even though I had a suspicion it was coming.

     Shade showed his scores to Mother, who congratulated him on making an A in every class. Shade's scores varied from ninety to ninety-five, but he still made straight A's, which would spare him from parental chastising about sharpening our minds and bodies. Mother and Father expected that we would do well in school so we could get a good set of jobs once our duty of being heroes was over. Plus, they emphasized that our mental strength would greatly improve our fighting styles.

     Ver had apparently failed her finals.

     "What in Ninjago caused you to score so low?" Mother said as she studied Ver's score sheet. Ver turned away, refusing to answer.

     "You said you studied."

     "Maybe I was busy with other things," Ver replied, picking at the edges of her jacket.

     "Your final scores alone dropped your grade averages to Cs and Ds. This is unacceptable. We have a standard for school that we've discussed many times."

    I narrowed my eyes. Ver normally did quite well in school. She latched onto new information easily and was fairly intelligent. Even if she didn't try, she would normally score better than that. Something had to be distracting her. Were her hallucinations haunting her again?

     "Ver, you aren't taking this seriousl—"

     "I know I failed the finals so can you just be quiet about it!" Ver exploded from her seat, stalking off towards her room. "I'm so tired of you all and your constant lecturing!"

     "Ver Garmadon, get back here right now!" Mother yelled after her.

     Ver didn't answer, she just slammed her room door shut. Mother went off to find Father, while Shade and I traded uneasy glances. Ver often got into mischief, then got mad when she was called out for it, which would cause Mother and Father to team up so they could give her another lecture. Ver had permanently lost a lot of her privileges because of these events: she didn't have a cellphone, wasn't allowed to use the computer for anything other than school, and was often subjected to a stay-at-home order. She never did anything terrible, most often she was caught staying up at night and training without supervision, but she still broke the house rules all the time.

     I worried for her sometimes. I don't know what type of hallucinations she had, since she was constantly yelling to someone in her room, but whatever they were, they were making her angrier. One day she might snap into something she would regret. My hope for her would be that she could remember her good side before that happened.

I hated them all. Their constant reminders. Their constant chants and lectures and punishments. I understood. I was lesser. I wasn't my brothers. I would never be as smart or powerful or accomplished as them. The voices in my head were just hallucinations. No one would ever understand. No one would ever accept me. I was alone in this flimsy, pathetic world, without a soul in the world who actually cared.

     The best part about it was that out of self-preservation, I had kept my mouth shut the whole finals lecture as my mind replayed the voice's words over and over.

     They've been preparing your brothers for this for years. Do you really think they're blindly following instructions without giving a second thought to what it really means? I told you before, there are a lot of things your parents have been hiding from you.

     My parents wanted to destroy the world. Perhaps they knew I would be the only person to see past their goody-goody façade and figure it out, so they condemned me to a life of powerlessness. Perhaps they knew the whole time, so that was why they punished me at every little turn and tried to make me focus on something as insignificant as grades.

     I would show them. I would show them all. I had a will stronger than iron, and nothing they could say or do would make me stop fighting. To save this world from them, I had to play my part. I had to join the voice. I had to fight against my family.

     I stayed huddled in my room until nightfall, and I spent the time packing. The moon was new tonight; it was the time the voice requested I come to him.

     I threw on my favorite sleeveless tunic and hastily zipped up my favorite black jacket over the top. I had stolen a katana from the weapons room a few days ago to practice with, so I placed that in its holster and buckled the strap over my jacket. Another brown strap/belt thing was added to my ensemble in case I needed any more weapon storage.

     I filled a flimsy knapsack with the necessary toiletries, not caring what I knocked over in the process of grabbing them. My bedroom was a jack-and-jill with the guest bedroom, but luckily no one was staying with us at the moment. Besides, I'm sure Mother and Father would have cleaned up my mess by the time a guest arrived. I plucked a pair of hairpins from the drawer, messily twisting my blonde braid up into a bun.

     Shade and Morro chattered to each other from across the hall as they got ready for bed. Father hadn't set the alarm yet; I could tell because the sensor in my window hadn't turned red. I tugged on a set of knee-high dark boots over my baggy pants and tossed my knapsack out the window. I reached over to lock both the door to the hallway and the door to the bathroom. To the rest of the house, I was sequestered away, sulking after my lecture. In reality, I was going to leave them forever.

     I surveyed my messy room one last time, looking at all the piles of upended clothes drawers and pieces of paper scattered around. Guilt bit in the back of my mind but I pushed it away. I was doing this for the greater good. I had to stop them before they destroyed everything.

     Monte was laying on my bed, getting his grey fur all over the green comforter. He met my eyes and meowed as if to say goodbye. Tears rushed to my eyes. I leaned down and gave him a quick kiss on the head.

     "Goodbye," I whispered to the annoying cat, slinging my legs out of the window.

     Montgomery went back to sleep, not so much as bothering to watch as I left him forever. But he was a cat. He had no idea what was going on. All he cared about was eating, sleeping, and sitting on keyboards.

     I jumped out the window, thankful that Father had decided to settle down in a ranch style home. I didn't want Monte to run off, so I reached up to close the window as best as I could. Then, I darted off towards the woods as quickly as possible. The nonexistent moon hid me as I ran through the night. Only when I reached the woods did I pull out a flashlight.

     The spirit appeared right in front of me when I turned it on.

     I nearly yelped in shock, but that would have given my position away to the rest of my family. So, I settled for hissing at his hazy form, swiping at the torso that just passed through my hand. His dark eyes were sad, and he couldn't find it within himself to lecture me.

     He only met my grim stare and asked, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

     "Yes," I said, walking through him into the woods beyond, "so get out of my way."

     When I reached the dead meadow, the scroll still sat in the shelves, looking like a completely bland piece of paper. I reached towards it, only to see a red snake slither across the ground in front of me.

     This time I did yelp in surprise. Another snake slithered next to the first, then another, then another. I backed up, but more came from behind me. I pressed a hand against my mouth to suppress any screams as an abundance of snakes slithered up the tree. That's when I realized there had been an addition added to the area while I was away.

     Metal armor sat against the tree, perfectly polished in the artificial light. The snakes slithered into it, so many I thought they wouldn't be able to fit. The armor began to move as the snakes inhabited it, moving upwards until I was staring in the face of someone who wasn't a snake at all. Somewhere in the moving mess a warrior had been formed. Its tongue flicked in and out as it reached down to grab the scroll.

     I steadied my shaking breaths, clutching whatever dead thing was behind my knees from knocking. "A-are you the ally the voice sent?"

     It nodded, gesturing for me to follow it.

     It will not speak to you, but I still can.

     I tightened my hold on the knapsack, reminded myself of why I was here, and started after the snake warrior.

      I am proud of you for choosing to fight on the right side.

     My parents must be stopped, I replied mentally, feeling too anxious to speak aloud. The snake warrior trudged through the thick woods, passing into a territory that I had never entered before.

­     It takes a brave warrior to leave everything behind for the greater good.

     Now tell me who you are, I said.

     Ah, you are quick to want your answers.

     You promised them to me.

     Very well, Ver, I shall tell you who I am.

     I waited for him to elaborate. A few seconds passed before his rasping voice entered my head once again.

     I am the darkness. I am Time's Overlord. I am the one they are working to defeat; I am the one they will never destroy.

     Something cold dropped in my gut, more powerful than any feeling I had ever faced. I had just agreed to help the darkness. I had just agreed to stop my family. Was this the right choice, or was it one that would only lead to chaos and misery? I didn't know, but I didn't resist.

     The night was dark, and the spirit was barely visible behind me. He followed my every step, not saying a word. The only sounds in the night were the constant voice of the wind and the katydids chirping from beneath the bushes. I squared myself every time I stumbled, following the snake warrior without hesitation. I had made my choice, and there was no turning back now. It was time to fight, and hopefully save the realm whilst doing so. 

I quickly went through the moves of the form, shooting fire from each of my fists with each practiced step. The mirrors around the training room reflected me from every angle, showing impeccable posture and pose. I snapped my wrists in as I prepared for the roundhouse kick, pulling the fire's energy to my feet.

    I was halfway through the motion when the room's double doors slammed open.

    "Ver's gone missing!"

     My eyes widened as my feet slipped and I crashed against the floor with thud. Fire flashed in front of me, too weak to keep alight for more than a few seconds.

     "Oh, sorry Aureole," Father rushed to my side to help me to my feet. "I thought Skylor was in here."

      "Nope," I rubbed my stinging back. "Just me."

     I wasn't sure why Father thought Mother was going to be in here. I was practically the only person who used this training room; when Mother needed space, she'd go down to the gardens. Still, it stung that news as important as 'Ver's gone missing' was only for her and not for me.

     Father sighed as I stood up and brushed my training suit off. His brow was creased with stress, making him look much older than he was. His normally immaculate uniform was untucked and rumpled, as if he had been frantically dashing around the mansion for the last half hour. I suddenly wondered if he had burst into every room he heard people in to scream the news.

     "Ver's gone missing?" I quickly unstrapped my kendo gear. He was going to elaborate, even if I had to tie him down to do so.

     "Lloyd said she probably disappeared at some point during the night," Father hurried over to the doors as I frantically hung up my kendo helmet. "Her window was cracked open and her room was ransacked."

     "Do you think she was kidnapped?" I followed him through the ornate halls.

     "It's the most probable explanation at this point. Both of her room doors were locked, like the kidnapper wanted to make it as hard as possible for her parents to figure out something was wrong." Father quickly dismissed a few members of the mansion's paid staff as they asked him to sign a couple scrolls.

     "Why would someone kidnap Ver, but not even attempt to go after the other two?"

     "You know why."

     Ver didn't have elemental power, so she was the most vulnerable. Shade could cause hypothermia if he concentrated, and Morro could just as easily make someone suffocate on their own heat. I had heard when Morro was younger, he had passed out several times from his own amplifications. What made it even more frightening was that you could chain every single limb they had to a wall, and they could still do it. Any kidnapper with two braincells to rub together wouldn't dare go after them. Ver, on the other hand, may be skilled with weapons, but she couldn't kill you with her mind. If you were trying to threaten the Garmadons, going after Ver would be the best choice.

     We rounded the corner and nearly ran into Mother. She looked about as disheveled as Father, with several hairs wisping out of her normally tight bun.

     "I just got the news," she ran a hand through her hair, which would explain its messiness. "We need to get over to the Garmadons right now."

     "You there," Father called to a passing servant. "Prepare the helicopter and have the pilot meet us there in ten minutes."

     "Kai, he's a cleaner," Mother shook her head, turning to the same servant, who looked extremely confused. "Could you bring the butler down please? He's up one floor, kind of tall, with the slicked back hair. I need his assistance. Don't worry about what my husband said. He has no idea what he's doing half the time."

     "Hey!"

     The servant rushed off.

     "Well excuse me, I do have a brain in my head—"

     "Kai, I was just trying to be polite to the servant," Mother massaged her forehead again. "Besides, we're just distracting ourselves from the main issue. Ver's been kidnapped!"

     "Are we going to try and find her now?" I jumped in.

     "No, we'll rendezvous at Lloyd's house to see if he has any updates," Father said (mostly to Mother), trying in vain to smooth out his gi.

      "You cannot go, Mrs. Skylor," the butler walked calmly down the halls, approaching us with practiced ease. He was one of the only staff members that could do so. "You have a business meeting in ten minutes, and you have already delayed them once because of family complications."

     Mother flushed at the reminder; I think she had put it off before because Father wanted to take her on a date. My parents were very mature business owners half the time, and the other half of the time they were like teenagers flirting with each other. It was a very strange dynamic when they would switch back and forth between the two personas.

     "Can Aureole fill in—" Father tried, but flames ignited over my fists with a momentary rush of anger.

    "No!" I cut in front of him, "I'm not filling in; I don't care how capable you think I am. This is Ver we're talking about. This might just be part of that prophecy you've been hiding, and I'm not going to sit back again while you and Mother try to handle everything!"

     "Aureole—"

    "No!" I exclaimed again, taking a deep breath to calm my flames. "I've been training my whole life for this. I am the Master of Fire, not you, so let me help find my friend. You're the business owners; do your job."

     Father reached forward to help Mother straighten her kimono. His face was rigid, like he was holding back strong retorts. Mother whispered something in his ear, and he sighed. "Fine, Skylor can go to her meeting, and we'll investigate the kidnapping. Simple."

     "Then, I'll get the helicopter ready, sir," the butler bowed and exited the hallway.

     "I'll update you with any news we get," Father leaned down and kissed Mother's cheek, which somehow made her more flustered than before.

     He turned and offered me his arm, which I coldly accepted. I didn't normally challenge them publicly because it would ruin our image. Famous elementals turned to a loving family. The public's view of us really boosted sales, so we were encouraged to stay as familial as possible. In private, on the other hand, I felt extremely trapped by them. Mother and Father had their business, and it seemed their only goal for me was raising me to be a replacement.

     After a while, the lack of care hardened my heart.

     They weren't going to leave me behind on this one.

     "I'll see you all later," Mother said to us, her voice becoming solemn. "Then, we're going to find this kidnapper, and we're going to make him pay."

>(<>)<

Shade was a disheveled mess when I first saw him, which was a first. He was always so calm and composed, always smiling and laughing. Now, his hair was hanging limp on his head, without a light layer of gel to hold it back into its perfect style. His eyes were puffy, his clothes thrown on without a care to how they appeared, and he was pacing back and forth as his parents talked to police officers. If this was how Shade was handling all of this, then I didn't even want to see Morro.

     I didn't say anything as I approached, I simply held out my arms.

     He was colder, feeling like he had spent all morning inside a freezer. I gently squeezed his shoulders, offering what wordless comfort I could.

     "Where's Morro?" I asked softly, not seeing the white-haired boy anywhere in the clearing.

     Shade stepped back from my embrace, biting his lip. "He's inside, surveying the room. I guess he's trying to see if the kidnapper left any evidence of who he was behind. Storm is in there with him, in case you were wondering."

    I honestly hadn't even noticed Storm's parents were here. They stood next to Zane, who had come alone. Shade and I made our way over to his parents, who were thanking the police for their help. When the police had left earshot, Harumi let out a disgruntled noise that sounded more angry than sad.

    "They sent specialized hounds after Ver's scent trail, and it ended down by a river several miles from here. This is what they found down by the river." Lloyd held a clear plastic bag with a small, dead, and red snake inside.

    Father snarled when he saw it. "Vermillion."

    "A Vermillion warrior was able to best Ver?" Nya cut in.

     "I don't know all the details," Lloyd said, studying the snake. "He probably caught her off guard when she was sleeping. All we know is that Ver's scent trail ends with this snake."

     "I told you waiting for him to come to us was a bad idea," Harumi moaned, still pacing around the group of adults. "He's taken Ver."

     "The darkness?" Shade jumped in the conversation. Like me, his trust in the adults only went so far. This was his sister they were talking about, after all.

     All of the adults turned to us.

     "The darkness kidnapped Ver? This 'Vermillion' fellow?" Shade emphasized.

     "The Vermillion are snake warriors loyal to the darkness. He must have sent them after Ver, to convince us to come to him."

    "Would you just say it's the Overlord already?! We need to stop dancing around the truth. We aren't ready to fight him, since he can obviously infiltrate our own house under our noses. He's taken Ver!" Harumi wiped at her eyes, letting out a broken sob. Lloyd wrapped an arm around her, and she sniffled into his shoulder.

    "The Overlord is the darkness? Like, the 'I-almost-defeated-the-First-Spinjitzu-Master' Overlord?" Shade's voice was very quiet. I removed my hand from his back as the temperature around him became numbingly cold.

     "Yes," Lloyd replied, not quite meeting his son's eyes.

     A meow broke the silence that followed. Morro walked towards the group, a familiar cat in his arms. Monte wriggled in Morro's grip, but Morro held on even tighter. Storm and Peak flanked the white-haired boy, their faces set in stone.

     "I didn't know Monte was an outside cat," Cole said as he made his way over to where the adults were standing. Harumi was too inconsolable to answer, so Lloyd once again had to do the talking.

     "He's not."

     "I-I just... I just needed something to hold on to," Morro mumbled into the cat fur.

     "Please put Montgomery back in the house."

     Morro hesitantly left to do so, shaking the whole way there. When he returned, he latched onto his mother for support as Zane rehashed the whole situation for Cole.

     "Well?" the voice surprisingly came from Peak. Small, fragile Peak, who had endured tragedy before. "What happens next?"

     Everyone turned to him, the steadiest out of all of us. "Are we going to keep waiting around, claiming we have the three things in Ninjago to defeat the darkness, and wait for him to come after more people we love? Are we going to sit around as my siblings are taken, or Cypress, or Bea?"

     "We have to go after Ver," Shade jumped on Peak's thought train.

     "But, to go after Ver, we'll have to go after the Overlord in the process. Is everyone prepared for that?" Zane questioned, his gaze settling on the two Garmadon sons.

     "We've been training our whole lives for this," I said, igniting a burst of fire over my hand. "And I'm sure all of us will fight to the death to get our family back. This is about more than a stupid prophecy now. The Overlord declared war when he started taking the people we love."

     All the kids around me nodded.

     "Then we look for the three things," Lloyd said, his voice growing stronger with each word. "No more easy ways out. We're going to find them for real this time, not just guess at what they might be. Then, we're going to march up to the Overlord's door and take him out."

     "I thought I was done with adventuring," Jay laughed, "but I might still have a few left in me."

     "Whatever comes next, we'll be ready," Nya said. Shade took strength in their words, stepping forward into the center of the group.

     "It's time to end this evil, once and for all."

End of Part 1.