Zane's POV

PIXAL and I stand on opposite sides of the street in front of Borg Tower. In one hand, she is holding the fake vengestone handcuffs that Kai forged. The other is balled into a fist.

"You will not get away, Zane. Not this time," she warns me, loudly as to catch the attention of people walking by. It works. The pedestrians turn their heads to face us.

"Mara's reign ends today," I shoot ice out of my hands towards PIXAL. She dodges it, jumping in the leftward direction. Careful to avoid the pedestrians, I aim my ice to make her jump from one location to the other. Unbeknownst to the citizens, I am also allowing her to slowly relocate herself closer and closer to me.

She jumps with grace, her actions distracting me from my task for several seconds. When she finally gets close enough, my ice missing her every time for the sake of the mission, she throws the cuffs around one of my wrists, and I feign that my powers stopped working. I jut my hand out in front of me to make it appear like I am attempting to shoot ice. Then, she jumps over me and clasps the other one behind my back.

"Mara will be pleased."

---

Ciara's POV

"Something is wrong, sister," I look up at my sister as she lounges on her throne.

"Why must you worry so much? I'm the older one. It's my job, and I don't see anything to be worried about. Skylor is coming back today, and while I didn't really miss her, she brings the master of fire with her, and Chamille and PIXAL are both out getting elemental masters. We'll have several of them in our grasp. It signifies the beginning of the end. Once I have their powers, I'll kill them in a foul swoop," she explains to me as if I'm dumb. I roll my eyes at her.

"When Chamille and PIXAL came back from the hospital, they said Chamille was healed by a tea, but the hospital uses artificial remedies and chemicals to heal, not tea. They were somewhere else where she was healed, and I'm guessing that place is with the other elemental masters," I explain to her slowly and concisely. She looks down at me, the wrinkles in her forehead deepening.

"Do you believe that Skylor is working with them, too?" she tries to keep her cool, one of her fingers running down the armrest of her throne.

"The master of fire did save her life the first time the girls visited here. He easily could have worked his way in. We both know what those masters of fire can do," I think back to when Maya betrayed us the last time we were trying to collect the gemstones.

"So we steal their powers too and kill them as well. There is no chance for opposition then," my older sister cracks her knuckles. My eyes widen.

"We should wait until we are certain that they're betraying us. They are your daughters, after all," I inform her, but she just rolls her eyes.

"These girls are not my daughters. I had you murder my daughters almost 20 years ago. These are fickle replacements for them. Libber, Lilly, Sarah, Maya, and Amber are the girls I raised and took care of. I did nothing for these new girls besides teach them to be warriors because I knew that my love did nothing to stop the last generation from turning on me," she sharply corrects me, her jet black eyes glaring at me. "I have no remorse for these back stabbers."

"If you steal their powers, you will possess all of the elements besides creation and destruction," I inform my sister, who nods in response.

"You mentioned that Garmadon has a son?"

"Lloyd is the spitting image of his father, except a blonde."

"And he is the one who killed father?"

"Yes."

"I say we use him as bait after we have him. If we steal his powers and offer a trade to Wu and Garmadon, they'll come running. Then, we trap the two of them and still kill the boy,"

"For once, I like what you're thinking."

---

Skylor's POV

"We...need...to...go," I tell my boyfriend between kisses as we lie in the back of the car that's parked on the outskirts of the city. He hovers over me as I lie pressed against the backseat. His hazel eyes twinkle with mischief.

"The others did say we could leave later..." he presses a kiss to my neck. My eyes flutter shut as I hold onto the back of his gi, his lips hot against my neck.

"Not this much later," I work to fight the trance that he puts me under. His lips break away from my neck and give me a pout. "We can do this again when we get back."

"Fine," he sighs, moving off of me. While I'm missing the contact, he opens the door for us to get out. I follow in his tracks.

I grab the fake vengestone handcuffs from the bag as he sticks his hands out behind his back. The charcoal grey metal clasps tightly around one of his wrists. I connect the other cuff with his other wrist, restraining his hands.

"Remember that if you pull too hard, they'll break, and we only have the perfect amount of pairs," I remind him.

"I'll be careful. Trust me," he leans down, pressing a chaste kiss to my lips before walking around to the other side. "I do need you to open this door for me, though."

I rush over and open the door for him. When he sits down, I also buckle his seatbelt and shut the door before jogging over to my side and getting in.

The drive to the Palace of Secrets is about 15 minutes. To boost the act to make our charade look more realistic, Kai rests his head against the window, longingly looking out at the city while I keep a hard glare on the road.

The closer we get to the palace, the more my nerves creep up on me. While I was nervous to come to Ninjago in the first place, there was an underlying excitement there. Now, there is no excitement, just fear and anxiety.

My heart races as I see the palace in the distance. Since I've left, there have been uncountable horrors in there, and being in there will show it.

I park in front of the palace and get out of the car. Slamming the door, I walk around and open Kai's door. Pulling him out forcefully, I slam the door behind him.

"You sure made that journey nice and long, didn't you?" I roll my eyes as I drag him with me. The stone warriors guarding the entrance watch us. None of them move from their position.

"Hey, it's not my fault you were blind to the bear trap lying in the road," he counters, his voice oozing with confidence. We walk up the steps to the palace before I push open the palace doors. The view that used to take my breath away now disgusts me as we walk through. This palace is no longer Ninjago's, but Ciara and Mara's.

When Kai and I walk into the throne room, everyone else is already there. While the boys and Nya are kneeling on the ground, the rest of my sisters are standing behind their respective ninja. Unfortunately, however, six stone warriors stand in the back of the room.

"I apologize for the long wait, the journey was quite long, but Mother and Auntie, I would like to prsent you Kai Smith, the master of fire," I push him down on his knees, which he pretends to fight before falling.

"Today, today marks the day of a new era of Ninjago, the day those fighting for the past lose their precious leaders," Mara begins to begin walking back and forth, slowly. We wait for the right time to attack, the emerald on her neck bouncing with each step. "I wanted all of you here so you too could see your teammates lose their precious powers right before your eyes, so you could see their life source drained from them before they're put out of their misery."

"The light will prevail," Lloyd glares at her, which makes both Mara and Ciara laugh, their jagged teeth showing.

"Oh, young Garmadon, so naive, just like your father was," Mara clicks her tongue. "You have all been playing superhero for far too long. It's about time that you were brought back to reality."

"I say Kyle loses his powers first," Ciara stops leaning against the wall and walks over to stand near her sister. "He always has been a pain in our rear."

"It's Kai," he lurches forward, but I pull him back.

"Bring him forward," Mara instructs. My heart pounding against my ribs. I slowly bring him forward, so he is kneeling before her. She takes his face between her fingers, her long, sharp nails digging into his skin as she tilts his head back and forth. I see his nose slightly crinkle in pain, and it takes all of my restraint to stay calm.

"Do it," he glares up at Mara, a harsh tone in his voice. She looks at him slightly shocked, as do I.

"Excuse me?"

"Reunite me with my parents. You and Ciara were the one who took them away from Nya and I, after all," he tells her, vigor behind his words.

"As you wish. Officer Baku, step forward," as she says so, one of the stone warriors moves from the back of the room and next to her, my blood runs cold. She reaches out and holds his hand, the other still clawing Kai's face.

As she starts mumbling something in an ancient language, I see the emerald dangling from her neck, free. Seeing my chance, I reach my hand out to grab it, but I'm instantly lurched back. When I turn my head, I see Ciara holding my arm.

"Traitor!" she pulls me down to the ground. I hit it hard, wincing, but in my vision, I see Kai leg sweep Mara, her brittle knees falling onto the ground, and the helmet of shadows falling off of her head. It's as if the whole room freezes as soon as the helmet falls. The stone warriors halt in place, and everyone else keeps their eyes on it.

Suddenly, a dark, slimy tentacle appears from Mara's hand. It moves its way over to the helmet, but not as fast as Seliel who uses her powers to appear right in front of the helmet. Obscuring my vision, Ciara digs my face into the ground, pressing my skull down. I try to wrestle her off of me, but she's too strong.

Focusing on the fire inside of me, I transmit my warmth to my hands, supercharging them with heat. I grip onto Ciara's pale, bony wrist before engulfing her arm in a flame. She yelps in pain, pulling her arm back while I roll away and escape her grip.

"You're just as bad as her," I spit, looking into her cold, dark eyes. As a child, I never noticed how empty they were. "You let her abuse me for all those years. You killed my mom, and all of my sisters' moms, and my boyfriend's mom, and some of his teammates' moms. You're sick."

"Your boyfriend? Men are dangerous, Skylor. He will only break your heart. Your mother and I..."

"You already have," my eyes narrow at her, both of my fists turning ablaze. I throw a fireball at her, but she just dodges it.

"We grew you, shaped you into the woman you are today. Yes, the woman who conceived you is dead, but Mara is your mother, and I am your aunt. That will never go away," she smirks at me. "You need to accept it."

"Never!" I hurl another fireball at her, but she avoids my attack again.

"Swap with me. They need you over there," at the sound of Kai's voice, my rage softens. Without question, I listen to his words as he takes my spot. In sync, we spin around. I stand where he was, and he's where I was.

The scene in front of me is chaotic to say the least. Mara is defending all eight of them attacking her by sending out possibly lethal spikes out that they have to dodge. They work on breaking them off, but she keeps sending out more spikes. I work my way over to Seliel as PIXAL jumps and tries to grab the helmet of shadows. However, a slimy tentacle emerges from Mara's mouth, slapping her out of the way and sending her slamming into the wall. She gasps, but recovers.

"Oh god, did you all see that too! That was gross, so, so gross," Jay gags as he sends lightning bolts flying in Mara's direction.

"Distract her by going behind her. I'll go for the front," I hold onto Seliel's hand, absorbing her power. The airy wisp that I associate with her powers fill me. When Mara is looking at us, both of us disappear.

"Oh you have to be..." I hear her mumble as I near her. Knowing that one of us is going to go behind her, she spins around.

Seliel and I appear in sync. Occupying her from the front, I dodge her attacks. I give time so Seliel can rip off her necklace. It's noticeable when Seliel pulls it hard against her neck. As Mara briefly chokes, the chain the emerald was on snaps, the gemstone itself falling to the ground. I grab it, and Seliel immediately vanishes away with me in sync. I appear next to Lloyd while she appears next to Cole.

"We'll distract her. Destroy this curse," I press the gemstone into his palm, and when I do, our hands touch. The contact sends a feeling I've never felt through my veins. It's as if raw, pure power is fueling me now.

Seeing that Lloyd now has the gemstone, Jay, Zane, and Cole abandon their attacks against Mara, running over to the open space in the room.

"Sister!" Catching my attention, I turn to the sound of the voice. Ciara has her back pinned against the wall, her face bloody and beaten. She can only scarcely escape Kai's fireballs, and any second now, he'll knock her out cold.

Mara looks over at her sister, and she's taken aback by her situation. Taking this as a chance to use out this new power, I concentrate and form a green orb in my hand. As Mara raises her hand to use her power, I send the orb flying in her direction. It takes her off guard, sending her flying into the wall.

PIXAL races over to take Kai's place in defeating Ciara as he takes his place near the gemstone. Mara gets up quickly as I quickly glance over at Kai, Jay, Cole, and Zane who are shooting their powers at full force into the emerald. It absorbs it with ease. Lloyd and Nya stand in front of it as protection. Both aim attacks at Mara.

"Don't let them break the gemstone!" Mara tells her sister, but she's being held up by PIXAL. Mara starts to get more anxious as we stall her. She tries to make up ground, but combing the green orbs Lloyd and I are throwing at her with the water Nya is shooting with her and how Seliel keeps appearing behind her and kicking her knees out from under her, she starts to collapse.

"If I'm going out, I'm going out with a bang," suddenly, I feel myself being propelled in the air. One of her dark tentacles crawls on my skin, cold and slimy. Because it's not her, I can't absorb her power.

It wraps around my body like a boa constrictor, suffocating my air passages. As it tightens around me, it starts to crawl into my mouth, causing my body to wrack in fear. My eyes widen as the darkness starts to go down my throat. My gag reflex triggers as a searing pain travels through my body. I choke on it, unable to breath, as her darkness goes deeper and deeper into my chest.

The pain is unimaginable. It's as if I'm being deconstructed from the inside out as oxygen ceases to enter my lungs. They burn. My eyes are closed in pain. My body tries to scream, but the darkness keeps me from getting any sound out.

I feel my life force flickering away. Attempting to conjure up a green orb, I'm too weak to do so. The sound around me starts to fade as I become suddenly less aware of my surroundings.

Suddenly, the tentacle exits my body, causing me to fall onto the floor gasping. Urging my eyes open, I turn around to see that the gemstone is separate, each gemstone lying in front of its respective elemental master. In the center of it, a purple portal just like the traveler's tea opens up. Just like the tentacles that Mara uses, one emerges from the portal, except this one is glistening with light, being a pure white. It wraps around her ankles.

"No, no!" she yells as she tries to kick it off, but she can't break it off. It drags her to the ground, her body collapsing, before it pulls her into the portal. She claws at the ground, her sharp and jagged talons chipping as she tries to cling to this realm. It pulls her into the portal, and as soon as she makes it all the way in, it seals up as if she was never here.

Using my remaining energy, I push up off of the ground, the pain still searing in my chest. To my left, PIXAL has Ciara chained up in handcuffs. In front of me, Jay, Kai, Cole, and Zane lie unconscious. Lloyd stands over the four of them, smiling, while Nya sits down between her brother and her boyfriend, holding both of their hands. I feel a hand on my shoulder, and I look up to see Seliel, a smile on her face.

"We did it. We really did it."

A/N Ding dong, the wicked witch is dead! Not really, but you get the point.

Only this chapter and the epilogue (not including the alternate ending) left. The alternate ending is going to pick up during this scene, but I'm going to finish this ending first.

Thoughts on the chapter?

I'm hoping to have this book finished by February, so I can work on Unscripted! I suggest you all check it out, but I'm a biiiiiit biased.

Next chapter is going to be really cute (in my opinion) sooooo :)

Thank you guys so much! You're all amazing!