A/N part 2 of a double update! If you haven't read chapter 5 DO SO NOW

Skylor's POV

When we approach Mother and Auntie with the helmet in our possession, smiles cross their faces. Behind them, stone giants tower. There's so many of them that I can't see further into the tunnel. 

"Great job, girls," Auntie says, impressed. Her hands are folded neatly in front of her.

"Some of the guardians were there, coincidentally," I tell them as we near, still several feet away.

"They didn't spot you, right?" Auntie asks, her eyes wide.

"No. Nya was also with them," I add the last part a bit quieter.

"Well, she's made her side clear," Mother says before sticking out her hand. "Now give me the helmet."

I hand over the helmet, but as I do so, her hand grazes over mine. The same darkness that flooded me the day I got burnt as a child fills me again. It causes my whole body to hurt, to ache. Nausea fills my stomach as the strength of the powers increase.

My head is flooded with sharpness, and I shut my eyes, my hands flying up to my temples. Her powers explore my entire body, causing pain wherever they touch. When the pain becomes too overwhelming, I drop to my knees.

It all goes away when I feel a hand on my hand, and I'm filled with a wispy feeling, a sign that Seliel is the one touching me. The pain is gone in an instant. That's at least until I feel a foot collide with my stomach, sending me backwards. I hit my head against the ground as I tumble backwards. 

"How dare you take my powers you leech!" Mother screams at me as my head throbs. I immediately grab the back of my head, rolling over.

"Mara, Mara, relax," I watch as Auntie pulls her away from me, placing herself between the two of us. "Skylor didn't mean to."

"I'm not going to let her ruin my day of victory," Mother brushes Auntie away. "We march." She delicately places the helmet on her head. Once it makes contact with her scalp, the warriors behind her look at her. As she walks forwards, they do too. "Oh, get up. I barely touched you. I always knew you were the weakest." She glares at me the entire time I'm in her sight.

Once she walks past, Seliel and PIXAL help me up. Feeling slightly dizzy, I walk with them to the palace, below the palace, more specifically. We purposely trail behind Mother and Auntie so I don't have to deal with Mother's wrath.

"You are not a leech, Skylor," PIXAL tells me, sincerely. "You are an amazing asset to the team, and an even more amazing sister."

"Thank you, PIX," I give her a small smile. We walk the rest of the way, falling into casual conversation. Once we reach underneath the palace, Auntie signals for us to join them further up. We walk up to them slowly.

Once we do so, the warriors start punching at the tunnel above us. They break through the ceiling, exposing us to the commotion above us. Seliel teleports us up to the surface where dozens of people run away, screaming. We quickly look around, looking for any sign of the royal family. Mother and Auntie said that it was imperative that they don't escape.

"Find them!" Mother commands. Both us and the army dart off, trying to appease her. After searching one room, I know it's going to take a while.

---

"Girls, we found them," Auntie intercepts us as we go to check another room. "Your mother would like you to join us in the throne room."

Listening to her, we follow her path. I look around as we walk. The palace is filled with lots of gold, intricate decorations. The floors are made of a fine, white marble tile. Green accents are everywhere.

When we walk into the throne room, we are met with three intricate thrones, the biggest one in the middle, flanked by two smaller thrones. Exquisite banners hang behind the thrones. On their knees, the royal family face Mother, their hands behind their back.

"Oh look, you're back. Now, I can get into the fun part," Mother folds her hands in front of her. Her glare turns venomous as she looks at the royal family,"Where are these 'ninja' you people worship?"

"We don't know. We've already told you we don't know!" the emperor wails. Worry is etched onto his face, the already prominent wrinkles on his face becoming even more defined.

"Then bring them here!"

"I refuse to send them into a trap," the emperor tells her. Mother raises an eyebrow.

"You dare go against me? Fine, be that way," she raises her hand up. "Allies of the ninja must perish for us to prosper."

Initially, it appears like Mother isn't doing anything. Slowly, however, it's revealed that she's not. The emperor's face becomes pale, his eyes widening in horror. He begins to cough, slightly at first before it becomes uncontrollable. Soon after, a black liquid starts coming out as he coughs. With each cough, his body convulses as pools of black liquid pour out of his mouth. I watch in horror.

His coughs begin to slow down until he falls to the ground, limp. "Took him long enough."

"Now, Empress, will you help us catch those pesky ninja?" Auntie asks, not even fazed by what just happened in front of us. My eyes are stuck on the emperor. His face is resting in the pool of darkness, coating his skin. His arms are awkwardly twisted under his body.

"You monsters. I'd rather die than help you find those boys. They're heroes who use their powers to protect others, not exploit others and cause pain," the empress glares at all of us.

"I can arrange that," Mother smirks. "General, you can do the honor." The stone warrior behind the empress walks forward. In one quick movement, he presses his foot against her back. A loud snap can be heard as he crushes her body against the ground. I look over at my sisters, and they all share the same expression of horror on their faces. "See girls, this is justice. The dictators die the most cruel deaths possible."

My eyes turn to the princess who just watched her parents died. As opposed to the pain I expected to see on her face, there's nothing. Her expression is blank as she looks over at them.

"Now Princess..."

"I will help you," she tells Mother, quickly, turning her head towards us.

"We can't trust her. Last time we were here, she was all buddy buddy with one of the guardians," Chamille argues.

"Yes, because I was trying to gain his trust. You aren't the only one with schemes, you now," she scoffs, her white hair falling in front of her face.

"You don't like the ninja?" Auntie asks her, intrigued.

"I hate them with a burning passion. They're the reason my parents died. These people next to me," she gestures to the limp corpses next to her,"aren't my parents. My parents died the day that those ninja failed to save the city. Lord Garmadon was the one who defeated the beast that killed my parents, The Great Devourer."

"We can't trust her," I second what Chamille said. "She could easily be making this up right now."

"I have my entire plan written in a journal in my room. You can look at it, if you want proof," she tells me, a smirk on her face.

"Seliel, get the journal," Mother instructs. In the blink of an eye, a puff of a smoke is where Seliel is. Within thirty seconds, she's back, a journal in hand. She gives it to Auntie. Auntie flips through several blank pages until she's met with words. She shows it to Mother, who looks impressed.

"Let her go," Auntie tells the stone warrior behind her. He moves away, so she can stand up.

"You're joking, right?" I say, looking incredulously between them. "You're trying to replace Nya with her?"

"She knows this realm better than any of you. Plus, she has ties with the guardians. She's going to be a wonderful asset," Mother rolls her eyes at me. I see the princess smirking out of the corner of my eye, and it takes everything in my power to not snap on her. "How were you able to gain the green ninja's trust so quickly."

"You know teenage boys and how hormonal they are. I just had to bat my eyelashes at him, and he became interested. From there, I invited him over for dinner several times to 'honor his sacrifices to save Ninjago' and other things like that. Then, we started exploring the city at night together, handing out food to the poor and things that I knew his ninja heart couldn't resist and would make him fall for me more. Then, one of two weeks ago, he asked me to be his girlfriend. Everything fell into place," she explains. Both Auntie and Mother look impressed.

"We can exploit this and make him pay for what him and the rest of the ninja didn't do for your parents," Mother tells her, placing her hand on the princess's shoulder. "You are more than welcome to join our family."

"What shall I call you, my empress?" the princess bows at Mother. Now, I roll my eyes.

"Mother will suffice," she answers. "These are your new sisters: Skylor, Seliel, Chamille, and PIXAL."

"She's not our sister," I hear Seliel murmur beside me, her arms crossed.

"Now girls, while we talk to our new ally, you four need to broadcast this message to all of Ninjago," Auntie hands us a piece of paper. "Go to the news station and take over their channels."

While I want to protest everything about this, the glare Mother is giving me scares me into submission. "Of course, Auntie. We'll be back shortly."

A/N that was a bit...intense at times but oh well

The girls are back in Ninjago, and now that the royal family is out of the way, there's only one thing in their way...

Thoughts on the chapter?

Any predictions for the rest of the book?

I have so many story ideas oh my gosh. I don't want to post them for people to use though cause I go back to old ideas sometimes (this book was an idea that I went over but came back to)

Thank you guys for reading! You're absolutely amazing