Lloyd's POV

I halted at the entrance to the palace, which was so quiet my breathing was just about the only sound I could hear. Just as I began climbing the wall like Morro had suggested, the gates opened. Four boys and one girl came dashing out. They saw me and froze, panic written in their eyes. Behind them, I heard screaming, which were definitely inaudible earlier.

"What happened?" I asked, recognizing their faces at once.

"We gotta go," Cole panted, shaking his shaggy black hair out of his eyes. He grabbed my wrist and wrenched me in the direction I had just come from, not even giving me any time to ask for an explanation.

"Don't worry, all our parents left already 'cause they got bored," Kai assured me while trying to catch his breath. I laughed a little. Typical parents.

We took off at a run, dashing through the countryside. I wondered if the others even knew whether or not they were headed towards the right place. My mind was blank. What had happened back there? Thank goodness Rumi was safe...

"Where's Morro?" Jay gasped as he ran. "Also, Kai was the last one out; he's the rotten egg."

"He's at his place," I said. 

"Good," Nya said between breaths. 

"How come you guys were so far ahead of everyone else?" I asked.

"We were in the palace grounds when we heard screams," Zane puffed, his normally perfect platinum blond hair disheveled.

"And?" I inquired.

Nobody answered. My legs started becoming weak and numb, but I kept on going anyway. I looked behind me only to see a black dot where the palace was supposed to be. We put a great amount of distance between ourselves and whatever danger was making all those petrified people scream.

I clutched my shirt collar, starting to run out of breath. After all, I never really had the stamina to participate in long runs.

Harumi's POV

I grudgingly trailed behind Morro, keeping a bit of distance between us. The only reason I was putting up with him was because he seemed to be the only person who knew my secret, and if he went and spilled it to everyone living in Jade City before they even got to know me, I was going to have a problem. Still, that didn't make him any less annoying. Never had I despised a person that I had just met more. Besides, what was the deal with taking forever to answer my questions?

We turned a corner and I gasped.

The Ninja. Their eyes widened when they saw me. I braced myself for them to punch me square in the face. If Morro and I had both come after our deaths, it should be safe to assume they had, too, right?

To my surprise, however, they didn't.

"Your Highness!" Kai gasped. His face was red, his brown hair not looking as slick as usual, instead sticking to his forehead. Sweat trickled down his cheeks. I bit my bottom lip. Still, that didn't stop all of them from bowing down. I felt my face heat up. Either they knew about me but didn't want to be mean because they weren't sure if I was the same Harumi, or because they were some sort of counterpart, like Lloyd. I was inclined towards the latter, since the insufferable Morro had recognized me at once.

"What... you... doing... here..." Jay puffed, his hand on Cole's shoulder to maintain his balance.

"I..." I didn't exactly know what to say.

"I was just escorting Princess Harumi to the palace," Morro said, sounding noticeably friendlier, "What's wrong?"

"Hang on," Lloyd said, "How'd you wake her up?"

Morro smirked, an expression that seemed foreign on his face, "What, you think I kissed her or something? She actually just woke up on her own. You guys look as if you'd just run a marathon." I almost made a gagging sound since the idea was appalling and glared at him.

Jay chuckled, still trying to catch his breath.

"No, I just..." Lloyd trailed off.

"The palace," Kai had his hands on his knees, "It's been attacked."

Lloyd stared at him in shock. I couldn't blame him. But his level of surprise was nowhere near mine. I hadn't even met "my parents" yet. They should be fine, right? And Ruby... she would be fine, too. She had to be.

"Hurry," Cole interrupted my thoughts, "Follow me."

He led us to a large house that looked like a miniature version of the Palace of Secrets, fumbled a bit in his pocket, and pulled out a key.

Cole then shoved it in, twisted it a bit, and turned the doorknob to push open the door. "Make yourselves comfortable." I followed everyone as they went in, feeling a bit weird. Did Cole have no issue inviting a complete stranger into his house? I was the princess, but still. How did he know I wasn't secretly trying to assassinate him?

Once we were all seated comfortably in the living room, Lloyd stood up.

"I think he's back," he said gravely.

"Who?" Nya asked.

"The Shadow Knight," I finished for him. The Ninja turned to me, all with their eyebrows raised.

"Yeah," Lloyd nodded. "I mean, it's a legend, but he's been gone for centuries, and I think he's come back. Earlier at the palace, I felt that it was too quiet. I didn't even hear you guys come out of the palace. Not to mention those people screaming."

"I sensed something wrong but could not grasp it at the time," Zane said.

"We don't know how he's going to do it, but what we do know is that he's after the north tower from the legends. Unfortunately, we don't know anything else," I said.

"Okay..." Jay said calmly, "THEN HOW ARE WE GONNA DEFEAT HIM?!!" he screamed.

"Calm down, Bolt-Head," Cole patted his back affectionately. "We'll find a way. Right?" I couldn't help but notice the Ninja, other than Jay, were surprisingly calm.

"No, we won't," Kai said, "As if we'd make any difference. We're just teenagers. Dumb teenagers who read too many comics. Being a hero's easier said than done. Also, what makes you think we're going to be the ones to save the world? Like what?" His reaction pretty much confirmed my theory that they were counterparts, which was a relief. Yeah, they were probably too virtuous to be here, since this place seemed to be for people who tried to destroy Ninjago only.

"As awesome as being a hero sounds, I agree with Kai..." Jay closed his eyes and ran a finger down his cheek.

"But—" Lloyd said.

"Oh, now there's a but," Kai said sarcastically, "Why do we have anything to do with this? Sure, it's fun gossip but you guys aren't serious about going after this guy, right?"

"Listen, Kai." Zane shushed him, "Lloyd wants to say something."

"I heard a prophecy," Lloyd continued, "About—" he stopped. Someone was pounding on the door.

"I'll go get it," Cole jumped up and headed over.

Ruby stood at the door, holding two duffel bags and trying to catch her breath. "Help." she gasped, "Rumi, our parents..."

I stood up. "What? What happened to them?"

She bit her lip. "They're dead. The Shadow Knight killed them."

I froze. They were... dead. And at once a tiny, terrible part of me was happy that I wouldn't have to deal with them again. Ashamed, I felt my chest tighten.

"How'd you know?" Nya's eyes were as wide as saucers.

"He was... he was all shadows... and I tried to warn our parents ... but they... they... they were all frozen... Their bodies were cold and lifeless... Oh Rumi, we have to do something!" She was on the verge of tears and seemed to have trouble speaking.

Nya and I helped her into a seat. "It's okay," the Water Ninja reassured her. "We'll find a way out of this. But how'd you find us?"

Ruby explained that she had asked around to see if anyone had seen a white-haired girl. She also told us that most of the guests had made it out of the palace in time, and there had been few casualties. I reached over to comfort her.

After everyone was calmer, Lloyd continued on. "Well, there's a prophecy about the Chosen One, and that she'll defeat the Shadow Knight. So uhhh..."

"Hold on," Cole said, "She?" Nya raised an eyebrow and shot him a look.

"Harumi," Lloyd said, "She's the Chosen One. The description was clear."

The Ninja glanced between each other, their faces showing clear signs of disbelief that they tried and failed to hide. I didn't blame them, since I would've done the same. Maybe even laughed.

"Well," Morro folded his arms across his chest. "Let's go save the world." I wanted to say that I didn't want him coming, but saying something like that would probably put me at odds with everyone else, who seemed to be friends with him. As for how, who knew?

"No we can't! We're just some dumb teenagers with powers! Like Kai said! How're we gonna save the world? This is so sudden, not even a... a random guy can handle it, let alone me! Just let the soldiers solve it! Just because you saved the world, Morro, doesn't mean we can! Right? Anybody with me?" Jay ranted, "No? Okay..."

Eww, I couldn't help but think, Morro saved this world once?

"I am," Kai muttered with his arms crossed, "Not that anyone else will be." His reddish brown eyes rested on a spot on the carpet.

"Do you have any plans, Princess?" Zane ignored them.

I didn't have a clue. "Uh, no..."

Frowning slightly, Zane put his hand up to his face so that his index finger was over his bottom lip. Then his face lit up. "There is a legend of the Crystal Blade located at the Light Alps, which are at the edge of the world. They say it is an immensely powerful sword and can drain and attract power. I heard that it is meant to defeat some powerful villain, which I assume is the Shadow Knight."

"The world is round, Zane." Kai said bluntly, "There's no edge. Also how do you even know it exists?"

"Hold on," Nya stood up, "There must be something about this 'edge'. The world... edge... the world... edge..." She paced the room. We watched her.

Zane stood up excitedly. "I think I know. There is a place they call 'where the sidewalk ends'! We live on an island, so it makes sense. The Crystal Blade must be there! There have been documents on explorers venturing inside that have never returned!"

"How'd you know that?!" Jay asked, awestruck.

"Everyone's ignoring my question!" Kai yelled, "How do we even know it exists?!"

"Unlike you, I pay attention in history class," Zane said smugly, still ignoring Kai. The Fire Ninja huffed and slumped against the sofa.

"Then I bet the Chosen One is the only person who can get it!" Nya cried, turning to me.

"Wow, we actually get to be superheroes!" Jay cheered, "Forget what I said earlier, THIS IS GONNA BE SO MUCH FUN!"

"Finally our powers will actually prove useful," Cole said under his breath with a small laugh, though I still heard him.

"Okay, let's all try and find records of the place," Morro said, "And we should prepare backpacks. Bring whatever you think will be useful. We'll meet back here in maybe an hour, since they're probably going to issue a curfew and we need to leave early."

"The palace isn't safe," Cole turned to Ruby and me, "You two should stay with us for tonight, too. My dad is away so there won't be any adults around," he noticed my worried expression, then added, "Don't worry though, he's far from here."

"Thank you!" Ruby said gratefully. I blinked, surprised that he'd be willing to take us in so fast.

"Do you even want to do this, though?" Kai, sitting up again, asked Ruby with a furrowed eyebrow. "You really don't have to. We could find you another place to stay."

"I'm coming," she said, and Kai's eyebrows shot up into his hair but he didn't say anything, "Also, Rumi, I got our stuff," she gestured to the duffel bags.

"Thanks," I grinned.

"Okay, everyone should go home and get their stuff and come back when they're done," Cole said and turned to Ruby and me, "Uh, you two can stay here for now and wait for the others to come back. Then we'll discuss the plan. Also be sure to bring weapons."

We nodded and the other Ninja filed out the door. Lloyd gave me a quick smile before leaving and I returned it.

...

"Okay, so for tomorrow," Cole said once everyone was comfortably gathered around his room. It, along with the rest of his house, was lit by candles. Ruby seemed to not be paying attention and had been staring at Morro ever since he walked in the door. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"It took forever to get my parents to allow us to come over. Just ask Nya." Kai was saying to Jay. His sister nodded in agreement.

"We need to leave before dawn. Before anybody wakes up. Because they ain't gonna just let us go," Cole explained.

"We're leaving like that?" Ruby asked, "All of us?"

"Of course. We don't want anybody stopping us," Morro said, "Not to mention now there's a curfew." He grimaced.

"Are you sure about that though?" Nya asked my sister.

"Yeah," she shrugged, "You're right, we should all go. This is for Jade City."

I beamed at her, though I could tell that she didn't want to. It wasn't her fault Jade City was in danger, and she wasn't born to be a warrior.

"This is gonna be so much fun," Jay said as Kai made a face and shook his head.

Just then, my head got another one of those unexpected pains. I screamed. It was worse than the last two combined. And this time, instead of passing out, I could feel every minute of it. It was like knives trying to split my head apart from the inside out, and the agony made it so that I was temporarily blind. I clutched my head and crouched down, my whole body shaking, and at the same time I was painfully aware that everyone was watching me. Their faces were probably surprised, mixed with disgust, even if I couldn't see them.

I really wanted to punch myself.

The pain ceased soon enough and I sat up, feeling my face start to burn.

"I'm so sorry you guys had to see that," I muttered, slowly straightening up.

"Are you okay?" Cole asked with concern.

"Yeah," I said, staring at the ground. Well, my body was, but my pride wasn't.

There was a long pause.

"Well, now that we've gotten that over with and if you people will excuse me, I'm going to bed," Kai said, "Like, now." He sprawled out on the floor. "We should get a good night's rest since we're gonna do something crazy tomorrow."

"Yeah..." Jay wheezed, "The floor's so soft..."

"We should go to sleep and prepare for tomorrow," Zane said.

Cole blew out the candles, and soon, we all drifted off.

...

After waking up, I decided to head to the bathroom to get out of the maid's dress I'd been wearing since leaving the palace.

I didn't know how to use anything here and spent forever just finding and lighting the matches for the candle, so I skipped the process of showering and picked out some pants and a T-shirt to wear from the duffel bag Ruby had brought. It was so nice of her to bring clothes for me. The Shadow Knight must've caused so much destruction to make everyone evacuate the palace. Maybe Ruby was stealthier and stronger than she let on.

I opened the door and saw Lloyd sitting there, crouched over. He saw me and I gestured towards the bathroom. The Green Ninja grinned sheepishly and went in.

He came out after a while. "Ready for our upcoming adventure?"

"Yup. What time is it?"

"I dunno, but it's still pitch black outside."

"Then it must be really early," I said with a small laugh. Lloyd met my eyes.

"Interesting," I heard, and we turned to look for the source. Morro was staring at us with a smug grin. "How much longer were you gonna flirt with each other if I hadn't interrupted?"

"We weren't—" Lloyd protested. I felt my stomach churn with anger. This kid had no boundaries, did he?

"I'd better wake them all up," Morro cut him off.

I inhaled deeply and caught Lloyd's eye. He blushed.

Soon, everybody was awake. "Before we go, though," Cole said, "We should introduce ourselves to the two princesses. I'll start. I'm Cole, the Elemental Master of Earth; I have super strength, and I can control rocks and soil and stuff."

"Kai. Master of Fire. That should explain enough," Kai stated proudly, sparking up a flame in his palm.

"My name's Jay, and I have these really awesome zapping powers and I can like, zap you," Jay bounced up and down while sitting. I didn't understand how he could be so hyper so early in the morning, but then he was Jay.

"I am Zane. I can create ice," he said.

"I'm Nya. Master of Water."

"Morro. Wind." Morro said abruptly.

"And I'm Lloyd. I can shoot these energy ball things."

Ruby clapped her hands together. "Well, let's go!" We took off.

I realized what a stupid idea this was but didn't say anything. After all, it wasn't like I knew what else to do. Besides, most prophecies were self-fulfilled so I figured whatever I did at the start should only contribute to the ultimate downfall of the Shadow Knight.

The skies were still dark and Kai's fire proved useful when the moonlight wasn't bright enough. According to Zane's map, we would be heading south. I wondered vaguely why no one had ever bothered to go there and find the Light Alps themselves. Maybe no one ever found them was because it wasn't meant to be found, or it just didn't show itself because their goals were different. Or like Nya said, maybe there had been people who tried to take the Crystal Blade before but I was the only one who could get it. I just prayed that Zane was right, that there really were Light Alps in existence, and that the Crystal Blade would prove useful against the Shadow Knight.

Anyway, the Ninja had stuck notes in the doors to their houses to alert their parents that they had left. That way, the adults wouldn't be too worried. They probably still would be, though, but we didn't want to think about that.

"I'm tired," Jay whined, "Why couldn't we have gotten something to carry our bags?"

"Like what?" Lloyd asked.

"We could've thought of something," Kai moaned.

"Come on, guys," Nya sighed, "We've already made our decisions so we gotta stick with it."

After walking for hours, we decided to take a break. We took out the little food we brought and sat down to eat. When we finished, not a single person was full. But knowing that there wasn't much food in the first place, we got back up and trudged on. Hopefully, I thought, we'd find some edible plants soon. Thinking straight was hard when you were hungry. I still couldn't believe that we were actually doing this. These Ninja counterparts sure seemed to be fans of improvising. I was glad that so far, they were all pretty friendly to me, unlike in Ninjago, where Lloyd and Nya, the only ones alive, hated me. It was mostly my fault, though. Okay, it was only my fault.

Nightfall came. Kai held up his fire to light the way, giving everything a reddish-orange glow.

"Hmm," Zane said thoughtfully, "It looks like we are passing through a cemetery right up ahead."

Jay shuddered. "If there's one thing that scares me more than attics, it's graveyards, especially at night."

"Come on, it's just a pile of bones," Kai said confidently, "Grow up, Jay."

The Lightning Ninja grabbed onto his girlfriend's arm, his eyes nervously shooting back and forth. Nya sighed and Kai was visibly struggling to suppress his laughter.

"That's weird," Cole said as he bent down to examine the graves, "These gravestones don't have any info on them..."

"And just why do you care?" Morro asked, raising an eyebrow.

Then Ruby screamed.

A hand, heavily scarred and dead-looking, burst out from one of the tombs.

A/N: Well, our crew has officially started their journey! Any thoughts/predictions?

At first when I wrote this chapter there were 5000+ words then I realized how much of it was filler and boring so I cut it out. (Also did I mention how I basically rewrote all of chapters 1 and 2 before publishing? They were so bad and boring I wanted to tear my eyes out lol)

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and thank you for reading! Have a wonderful day :)

Edit: I realized there was a commenting issue where you couldn't comment for several paragraphs at a time so then I fixed it for the first three chapters lol (that did result in most comments being moved to the bottom welp)