Warning: injury and death; also, really long chapter 8,000+ words. When I said this was going to be very, very interesting, I apparently meant it's going to be a dark chapter.

    Emperor Garmadon stalked forward. His gaze was intense. "... Or should I say, Mystaké?"

    While Mystaké did her best to maintain a charade of calm, Skylor's head jerked up in surprise. How had he known?!

    As if in answer to her internal question, the tyrant's piercing gaze swung over to where Mr. Pale was cloaked with his Element. He growled, "Show yourself. It is impossible to trick the trickster."

    The Master of Light hesitantly appeared. He was in a low, defensive crouch. 

    The Emperor sneered confidently at them, "You're on a fool's errand. One from which you will not return."

    "My Lord, what makes you think we are the one's who won't return? You died once, and I have no issue returning you to your grave," declared Mystaké sharply. She still had yet to drop her disguise.

    The four-armed man let out a deep, throaty laugh. "Me? Die? Never have, never will." He scoffed, "Has your eyesight failed you over the last century?"

    "Perhaps, but my nose knows when it's caught the foul stench of a rat, Omega," snapped Mystaké, dropping Harumi's smooth tone for her own rough voice.

    Skylor exchanged a look of pure bewilderment with Mr. Pale. Neither of them had a clue what was happening.

    Garmadon raised an eyebrow. "Ah, finally." He tilted his head arrogantly, showing off his body with a flourish and mocking bow. His voice deepened, taking on an eerie echo to it. "What do you think of my disguise? Good enough to trick even you, little Huntress." 

    His mild playfulness vanished as he declared, "But this will be your final Hunt, and you will not be making a mask of my face. Instead, I shall make one from yours."

    The two Elemental Masters stared on in horror as the creature they had once though was Garmadon began to shift into his true form. There was the horrid sound of the snapping and crunching of bones as his body rearranged itself and a massive set of horns sprouted from his head. His eyes shifted from blood red to a deep purple.

    He gloated, "I can see it. Your powers have weakened, but mine have only increased."

    Mystaké, seeing Omega drop his disguise, did the same. For the first time in a long while, she revealed her true face to Ninjago. She delivered no snarky remark as she took a fighting stance.

    Skylor and Mr. Pale now understood Mystaké's urgency when talking  about the Oni. It was like a suffocating cold and darkness had enveloped the entire top of the Tower as the Oni faced off.

    The two Oni conjured weapons out of the shadows. Mystaké summoned a black bo staff while Omega had a large, twisted staff. 

    Right before he charged, Omega spared a glance at the female Elemental, sneering words he knew would strike a chord, "Only one can remain."

    He and Mystaké clashed in a colossal explosion of shadow and magic. Both let out ferocious snarls as their staffs struck with such force that, had they not been magical, their weapons would've snapped and disintegrated.

    To her frustration, Mystaké found that Omega's words were true. He had grown stronger, much stronger, leeching off the destruction and turmoil sown in Ninjago by his rule. She knew that this head to head assault would not last long nor end in her favor.

    From the swirling cloud of shadow that had engulfed the First Realm creatures, Skylor heard Mystaké call out, "Skylor, complete the mission!"

    The Elemental Masters roused themselves from their stupefied trances, taking action.

    "Go for—" Mr. Pale hesitated on what to call the Oni. Omega was it?— "...Omega. I'll cover for you. I've got a trick up my sleeve."

    Skylor gave a quick nod before darting into the murky darkness. There was a brief flash of light and suddenly there was a copy of her trailing alongside her left. She gave a small, impressed smile. The Master of Light had definitely expanded his mastery a lot since the Tournament of Elements.

    Out of the corner of his eye, Omega saw a streak of red incoming. He shoved Mystaké away and turned to face the suicidal Elemental, intending to strike her down. Instead of his staff coming down and shattering their skull, it passed straight through. 

    He growled upon realizing it was a simple decoy but wheeled around too late. He felt the hand of the Elemental brush his shoulder before she dashed off again. Ah, so she had been Amber.

    The annoying voice of the other Elemental taunted him from outside the dark fog, "What was that about not being able to trick the trickster."

    Mystaké's infuriating cackle followed after that jibe.

    "Enough!" roared Omega. He pushed back the dark cloud, uncovering his enemies.

    Mystaké, nursing what appeared to be a broken arm, took up a solid pose in front of the Elementals. In a tone that left no room for argument, she commanded, "You have what you need. Go!"

    The Elementals tried to flee, but Omega flung a stray metal pipe at the entrance to the staircase with all his might, causing it to collapse. He sought to end them, but his fellow, meddling Oni blocked him. In a rare show of mercy, he offered, "You have nowhere to run. Surrender."

    Mystaké's violet eyes sparkled as she stared unwaveringly into the face of death, summoned her iconic rice hat, pulled it low on her brow, and quipped, "Surrender? Never heard of it."

    He hissed, swinging his staff, "You've made your last mistake, Mystaké."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Skylor and Mr. Pale flinched away from the horrendous scene. Omega's first strike had been fatal. 

    While he was focused momentarily on beating Mystaké's body into beyond a bloody pulp, the Master of Light urgently prodded the Master of Amber, "We gotta get outta here."

    Both felt the numbing effects of pure terror settling in the pits of their stomachs as they futilely looked for an escape off the Tower. There was no way Mr. Pale could summon his Elemental Dragons in his current state of fear, and Skylor had never summoned one before.

    Once his thirst for destruction and blood was sated, Omega kicked the old Oni's body to the side and set his sights on the detestable Elementals. He could practically taste their panic. It brought him such a delightful rush.

    Mr. Pale, struck by inspiration from Mystaké's long saga of how Oni were darkness incarnate, summoned the brightest streak of light he could. He smirked (not that anyone saw) as he noted that Omega, the great, giant Oni, actually flinched and shied slightly away from his power. He stepped forward, brightening the glow in his hands. Skylor, having copied his Element earlier, began doing the same. 

    Omega snarled viciously, scratching at his eyes. Then, like a rabid creature, he lunged forward. The Elemental of Light let out an agonized cry as the Oni bit down on his wrists with a sickening crunch. His gloves quickly turned from white to red as blood gushed from the savage wounds.

    It was odd to think that though he was cursed with invisibility, his blood still showed up. However, Skylor didn't have time to think about much of anything, she just acted. With a mighty kick, she knocked Omega back and away from the shaking Elemental Master. She feared Mr. Pale was going into shock.

    They had to get away, now.

    As if taken by some primal power, she reached deep within, gripping onto the reserve of power she found there. Her hands lit up in purple flames. Close by, where the Colossus lay dormant, it awakened to her beckoning. 

    She saw Omega's eyes widen, and his furious attention shifted from the Elementals to his giant stone monster. Purple flames raced up both his sinewy arms, and Skylor immediately felt a powerful battle of wills begin. 

    She strained and gasped as she struggled to hold onto control of the stone beast. The Colossus stepped toward the Tower, reached up, and began climbing.

    Omega let loose an enraged yowl as he felt his command failing to this puny Amber Elemental. 

    Once the head of the Colossus was level with the top of the Tower, Skylor aided Mr. Pale in leaping onto the stone giant's wide brim and then onto its open palm. With much effort, the Master of Amber extended the creature's long arm and she and the invisible man made one last clumsy leap to the rooftop of a nearby hotel.

    Finally, she felt the mounting tension between her and Omega snap. With no master powering it, the mighty Colossus toppled from the Tower and landed with a resounding crash.

    "C'mon," gasped Skylor, hauling the Master of Light to his feet. With only adrenaline keeping them moving forward, they bounded from rooftop to rooftop.

    By some great mercy, Omega did not pursue them in any form. Although it irked him that the Amber Elemental had bested him with his own power, he knew that it would turn on her in the end. Dark powers always had a way of doing that. In the grand scheme of things, the escape of two injured Elementals was inconsequential.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Nya definitely felt fatigue weighing heavy on her as she knocked another Son of Garmadon off his motorcycle with a blast from her Element. After that, she continued sprinting down the street and turned a sharp corner, agilely throwing herself behind a dumpster. The Water Ninja attempted to stifle her heavy breaths as, much to her relief, Killow and his goons raced right past her her hiding spot on their noisy bikes.

    Something shifted in her peripheral vision and she immediately whipped around, ready to fight. She slumped against the dumpster in relief when she recognized the crouching form. "Ronin!"

    "Hey, sweetheart," greeted the mercenary, flashing her a teasing yet tired smirk.

    Nya just rolled her eyes, not answering him as she caught her breath. Both members of the Resistance jerked to high to attention as a thunderous boom sounded in the distance. They shared a questioning look, but didn't have time to bode on it long as Killow and the others came circling back around.

    "Back into the fray," muttered Nya as she and Ronin took off.

    As they fled, trying to outlast the Sons of Garmadon for the sake of their infiltration group, Skylor's desperate voice broke in over the radio. She sounded as breathless as Nya felt.

    Her voice was shaky and strained as she relayed, "Nya! I got it."

    The Master of Water felt her spirits rise. Good. Now they had equal power to Garmadon and the rest of them could ditch playing decoy. However, as fate would have it, what little hope she had was dashed by Skylor's next panicked words.

    "But... but Mystaké's gone, Mr. Pale's injured, and— Nya!" The terror that leaked into the usually levelheaded Master of Amber's voice made the Ninja's blood run cold. "Garmadon's not Garmadon."

    Nya's brow furrowed. "What?"

    "He's an Oni! He killed Mystaké!" panted Skylor. The Water Ninja feared the red-haired woman was on the verge of hyperventilating.

    Ronin, noting the gravity of the situation and Nya's bewildered silence as she struggled to take in the revelation, placed his fingers to his lips and let out a shrill whistle. Reliable as ever, R.E.X. came gliding alongside them. He and Nya leaped onboard and disappeared over the rooftops much to the frustration of the Sons of Garmadon who unsuccessfully tried shooting down the machine.

    "Skylor, Skylor! Listen," instructed Nya, trying to convey calmness through her own heavy panting. "We're coming to help you. Where are you?"

    "I—uh..."

    Mr. Pale's thin voice broke in, "We're behind Mystaké's Tea Shop."

    The mercenary quickly typed the address into R.E.X. and commandeered the conversation. He kept his voice firm and detached. "Alright. We gotta tell the others to clear out. We'll be with you in a few. Stay safe and calm. We'll figure something out. The Resistance never quits. Over and out."

    Ronin, noting the heavy sorrow weighing on the Water Ninja, placed a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder.

    After Nya urgently alerted Lloyd and Pixal fall back, the flight became silent and grim. She wasn't sure how Lloyd would take this revelation. She was barely processing it well herself. This enemy, whoever it was, seemed insurmountable. The peril and hopelessness were only multiplied by the aching absence of her brothers and Jay. 

    She took a deep steadying breath and pushed back the tears that threatened to spill over. She silently berated herself, 'Now's not the time, Nya! Pull it together!' 

    With shaking hands, she pulled out the sapphire engagement ring and gold half medallion. Though her heart hurt to stare at the objects, they also brought a strange comfort and a rush of resolve. She would fight 'til her last breath. For the memory of Jay, Kai, Cole, and Zane. For Lloyd and the Resistance. For the future of Ninjago.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

    "Well, well, well," announced Lloyd as he strided over to the lone leader of the Sons of Garmadon. He exuded much more confidence and swagger than he actually felt. The only giveaway to his anxiety was the tense grip he had on his dao. "Not so tough without your gang, are you? Princess."

    Harumi bristled at the nickname and brandished her katana threateningly. In truth though, she didn't appear as the strong, dangerous leader of a wild gang of bikers. To Lloyd, she appeared as she truly was: a sad, broken girl who was desperately trying to prove she wasn't.

    Lloyd quietly observed his opponent and idly wondered when Harumi had acquired that new gash across her cheek. She had yet to rush at him and her stance seemed less self-assured than normal.

    "And you aren't so tough without your dear brothers," growled Harumi, giving a low blow that obviously struck a nerve from Lloyd's saddened expression. 

    In her eyes, she could also see the exhaustion and brokenness in the young Ninja's countenance. For some reason, it didn't give her quite the rush of satisfaction she was expecting.

    Brushing off the Quiet One's barb, Lloyd motioned to the dirty, chaos-filled streets of Ninjago. "When will enough be enough, Harumi? When will Ninjago have suffered as much as you? Look around! This Realm is crumbling. And for what? Payback? The will of the 'Emperor'?" His voice took a bitter edge to it. "They're all stupid reasons."

    Harumi, having no answer to his challenges, lashed out, "And it's stupid to fight for a pointless cause! You're going to die for nothing, Lloyd." She spat his name out like a curse. Her voice wavered slightly with an unidentifiable emotion as she declared, "No one can stand against the Emperor."

    The blonde-haired boy shook his head sorrowfully. He disagreed with Harumi's sentiment. "I'll die for hope, for my brothers, Nya and the Resistance. That's not nothing."

    A resounding crash echoed from the direction of the Tower. Lloyd and Harumi shifted their gazes from one another, getting the barest glimpse of a plume of dust rising above the rooftops. 

    Harumi's eyes widened a touch. She growled at the Green Ninja, brandishing her katana once more. "What have you done?!"

    "Evened the odds," replied Lloyd coolly. "Garmadon's not as invincible as you think." He added in a melancholic tone, "No one is."

    The leader of the Resistance narrowed his eyes when Harumi's hand subconsciously moved up to lightly brush against the fresh wound on her face. The pieces were coming together in his mind. 

    He pointed to her, and as he spoke, his voice carried so much venom it would've made Tox jealous. "He did that to you. Didn't he?"

    Harumi instantly dropped her hand and flinched at being found out by him so quickly. She didn't need his compassion and most certainly not his pity. Her silence on the matter spoke volumes.

    "It's still not too late to turn back, Harumi. You—"

    The Quiet One cut off Lloyd's heroic speech. "Yeah, yeah. You, good. Me, bad. I can change, whatever. Save the grand hero dialogue. I don't need it." She leveled her blade at his chest. "What I need is that Crystal."

    Reluctantly, Lloyd held up his dao defensively and heaved a deep sigh. Of course, she would choose violence. As always, whenever they came face to face, a fight would ensue. It was hard to stay hopeful and have faith that there was still good in Harumi when she shut down his every effort to open her eyes and offer a chance to heal, not harm.

    Just after the two opponents crossed blades, Nya's frantic voice rang out over Lloyd's radio. "Lloyd?! Pixal?! Retreat, fall back, get out! We need to regroup!"

    Practically feeling Nya's terror, the Green Ninja's heart gave a pained jolt. He wasted no time in obeying her instructions, dodging one last blow from Harumi, and fleeing. 

    The Quiet One momentarily stared at his retreating figure in confusion. What was he doing? Since when did the "prophecied green savior" turn tail and run like that? She quickly snapped herself from her thoughts when she realized her only chance at getting back in the Emperor's good graces was getting away.

    The white-haired girl gave chase and ordered over her radio for all the Sons of Garmadon in the vicinity to aid her. As she sprints after her enemy, she afforded a glance in the direction of the Emperor's Tower. A concerning cloud of dust rose in front of it, and a tangled mass of dark smoke hovered over its top. An icy lump formed in the pit of her stomach. She was no gifted Elemental Master nor seer, but something felt markedly off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Pixal sprinted along the narrow alleys with the all the grace of a Ninja and swiftness of a Samurai. However, no matter how many twists and turns she took, the Sons of Garmadon always seemed to keep up. She had noticed the commotion stirring at Borg Tower and received Nya's distressed message, but retreating was proving to be a not so simple task.

    Mr.E kept himself fixated on the androids signal with his narrowed red eyes. The Sons of Garmadon followed the Samurai's every step. There was no escape. However, something seemed off about this setup in the red-clad general's calculating mind. 

    He had received Harumi's orders for all available members to aid her in capturing the Green Ninja and knew something was happening over at the Tower. This chase was obviously a diversion, but what had the Resistance sought to gain from breaking into their stronghold again?

    They hadn't sent any message of hope to the citizens this time. Their numbers dwindled with each encounter, and most of the rebellion's strongest warriors were part of the diversion team. Was the Green Ninja so desperate as to send a suicidal assassin after Emperor Garmadon himself?

    No, that couldn't be it. That wasn't the Resistance's style. All of the rebels, especially Lloyd, were far too altruistic to send only one to face the Emperor alone. If they did try such a feat, it was much more likely they would all rush in as one to die together like the selfless fools they are.

    While Mr. E ran through a long list of possible objectives, he made the odd decision to pull back on his pursuit of Samurai X. Let the game of cat and mouse continue on as always, but this time, it would be by his own design. He was aware that Harumi had let Lloyd slip through her grasp on more than one occasion, so he knew she could not blame him for any blunder.

    Perhaps by letting the Green Ninja's plan pan out more, the Sons of Garmadon could strike a harsher blow against them. Besides, if he let the android reunite with the rest of the Resistance, one strike would be all the Sons of Garmadon needed to finish them all. The insurrectionists raw fortune of not being annihilated yet would not sustain them forever.

    The general revs the engine to his bike, not giving the Samurai a second glance, even as she blasted off in her mech. He radioed the Quiet One, ".og ajniN neerG eht teL"

    "No! Are you malfunctioning? Get over here and help me," demanded Harumi over the roar of her motorcycle.

    Mr. E explained, ".erom on eb lliw ecnatsiseR eht, stes nus eht erofeB .em tsurT .lla meht erutpac nac ew nehT .puorger ecnatsiseR eht dna mih teL"

    "Fine," grumbled Harumi. She was so tired of trying to stamp out the last of the Ninja and their allies. They were like roaches that would not die! She just wanted to get this all over and done with, securing the Emperor's rightful position as supreme ruler of the Realm. She ordered her troops, "Sons of Garmadon, to me. Prepare for a raid."

    Though it irked her to see Lloyd flee with the help of Samurai X, she allowed it. Let them run as Mr. E proposed. There was no place they could go that she could not see. Technology had its perks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Complications just kept arising for the Resistance. Small blessing was that Lloyd and Pixal updated the others that they managed to escape unharmed and were en route to their base. 

    As Mr. Pale and Skylor waited for Nya and Ronin to pick them up, Skylor felt something off with her. Despite having had ample time to rest in their hiding spot, she still felt short of breath. Her limbs felt like jelly, and there was a pounding pressure in her head.

    Mr. Pale observed the Master of Amber worriedly. "Are you okay?"

    "Yes," panted Skylor, keeping her eyes fixed on a green soda can a few paces away. If she tried moving her head too much, her vision swam and her stomach did somersaults. 

    The invisible man was hardly convinced by her short answer. He could see the heavy perspiration accumulating on her brow and hear her labored breaths. Something wasn't right. Not knowing what else to do or say, the two sat in uncomfortable silence until Nya and Ronin arrived.

    Ronin opened the door of his R.E.X. and declared, "It's gonna be a tight fit." The slightly amused smirk on his face at the thought of them all crammed into R.E.X. immediately vanished when he saw both Elementals struggle to their feet. "Woah. You good?"

    "Yes." Skylor was trying for an annoyed tone, but it came out strained as she swayed heavily on her feet.

    "No, I don't think so," disagreed Mr. Pale as he assisted the daughter of Chen as best he could in walking and climbing aboard the mercenary's flying vehicle. 

    "Fine." The red-haired woman rolled her eyes and shot back, "But you aren't either."

    "I'll live," gritted out the invisible man lowly, carefully cradling his injured forearms and trying not to jostle them too much. 

    He was being careful to camouflage his entire body save for his hat and glasses. He didn't want to draw attention to himself or his injuries. Yes, they were serious and hurt terribly, but it was obvious that something was severely amiss with Skylor. He technically wasn't the closest with anyone in the Resistance, so it made sense that Skylor, their friend, would take precedence over him. He didn't mind fading into the background even if it hurt.

    As they traveled back to the hideout as stealthily as possible aboard R.E.X., Nya worriedly assessed Skylor's condition. The Elemental Master's skin was alarmingly cool to the touch despite the perspiration accumulating on it. Out of curiosity, because Skylor had winced when the Ninja had brushed up against her right hand, she pulled off her red glove to check for injuries.

    Both women were shocked to find thin, vein-like streaks of glowing purple slowly winding their way up Skylor's forearm, originating from the center of her palm. It was as if her skin was being cracked open by the dark powers. 

    "Skylor?!" whispered Nya in alarm. 

    She met the Master of Amber's surprised eyes before they flashed purple and rolled back into her skull. The Elemental Master was out cold.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Lloyd honestly didn't know how to react. One would think that he would be numb and that dealing with loss would come easily to him at this point, but that wasn't the case. His fractured heart broke more at the news of Mystaké's brutal death at the hands of Garmadon and at the unmoving form of Skylor. Griffin worriedly sat by her side while Pixal ran scans to try and determine what was wrong.

    Some traitorous voice in the back of his head was screaming repeatedly, 'YOUR FAULT! YOUR FAULT! YOUR FAULT!'

    His mother's gentle presence and weight of her arm helped keep him grounded as he sat and stared listlessly at the dirty, cracked floor of the power plant. He struggled to get his mind in order. First things first, he couldn't raise the dead, but he could do something about Skylor. As long as there was life, there was hope. He would allow himself to mourn the dead when Ninjago was finally at peace.

    Nya bit her lip as she watched Lloyd handle the news. She hadn't even dropped the biggest bombshell about Garmadon on him yet. At this point, she wasn't sure if she should or not. Mr. Pale and Ronin had agreed not to tell and let her break the news to him as she was closest with the Green Ninja.

    Nya gently knelt in front of Lloyd and took both his hands in hers. She summoned her courage and looked him in the eyes. "Lloyd, there's something else you need to know. Garmadon's... not Garmadon. He's an Oni. I don't think your father is back."

    Beside Lloyd's motionless form, his mother jolted in surprise. Pixal and Griffin also snapped their heads up in shock.

    Everyone eyed Lloyd, waiting for his reaction as he handled this news.

    For Lloyd, there was a twinge of sorrow at the fact that his father truly was dead and gone. However, that was nothing compared to the overwhelming joy and relief that washed over him. He wasn't fighting his father! Maybe there was hope for his emotional and mental health.

    Nya yelped when Lloyd unexpectedly scooped her up in a tight hug. "Nya! This is the best news I've heard since forever!"  He pulled back so she had a full view of his beaming face. He nearly sobbed in relief, "I don't have to kill my father!"

    The Master of Water gave a small, slightly strained smile.

    "Yeah, but you have to fight an ancient Oni with insane powers now," pointed out Mr. Pale quietly, dampening the burst of hope.

    "And what about Skylor?" questioned Griffin worriedly.

    As if on cue, the Master of Amber stirred, groaning and sitting up slowly. She murmured, "I'm okay. I'm okay." It wasn't clear whether her words were her trying to convince herself or the others.

    "Skylor! What happened?" asked Lloyd as he knelt down beside her and rested a hand on her shoulder.

    Skylor stared down at her right hand. The glove was still off. The purple cracks were still there and had noticeably gotten wider and spread further. They thrummed with an unknown energy. She brought her hands up to her temples and rubbed them. Small whispers echoed quietly in the back of her mind. Overall, her body also felt drained and nauseous. All these symptoms were highly concerning.

    "I–I don't know. It's like absorbing Omega's power... poisoned me or something," she said in a low tone.

    Lloyd looked to Pixal, the most calculating of them all, for an answer. The Samurai shook her head sadly, "My scanners are not designed to detect magical influences. I cannot tell what is causing Skylor's health to fade so quickly or how to cure her."

    Skylor's face tightened at her bleak, uncertain prognosis. She sighed, waving off her own concern and theirs. "Well. Whatever happens, like Nya said, whatever power and breath I have left in my body, I'm gonna fight."

    Lloyd's face looked pained and he opened his mouth to say something, but Skylor stopped him, "No, don't you dare blame yourself or apologize. I agreed to the plan, and we all knew the risks when we first joined the Resistance. One way or another, we'll get through this."

    "Are you sure you're okay?" asked Nya. 

    The Master of Amber gave a shrug and dry chuckle. "Eh, as okay as I can be right now. Don't worry. I don't really feel the urge to pass out, so there's that at least."

    Everyone still held concern in their gazes, but let the subject go since there wasn't much else they could do to help her condition.

    "Okay, but please let us know if you need anything," said Nya.

    Skylor gave a thumbs up.

    "For now, we still hold the advantage over G– the Oni," began Lloyd.

    "His name's Omega," contributed Skylor.

    "Right. We hold the advantage over Omega. He can't open a portal to summon the Oni as long as we keep the Elemental Masters he needs and the Realm Crystal shard away from him. The best thing we can do at this point is lay low," explained Lloyd. He looked over at Griffin and Pixal. "At the first sign of danger, I want you two outta here. Pixal, I'm trusting you to protect the Realm Crystal shard."

    "Of course," nodded Pixal. She patted her hip, assuring that the shard was still there.

    With nothing left to really say, everyone dispersed but paused when a dull thud in the corner caught their attention. 

    Skylor gasped, getting to her feet a little to quickly for her body's liking but still managing to get to the collapsed form of Mr. Pale first. 

    Lloyd felt his heart jump in his chest when he noticed the bloody stains on the Elemental Master's clothes. Weren't his gloves white before? "What happened?!"

    "Sorry," mumbled Mr. Pale who was still somewhat conscious just in a great deal of pain.

    "You should've told someone!" berated Skylor. She was partially livid that he had apparently been suffering silently while she was being worried over, but she was also extremely worried for him. She hurriedly explained how he'd been wounded by Omega while Pixal meticulously cared for Mr. Pale.

    Pixal sat back, not entirely pleased with her work. It was the best she could do with what little medical supplies they had left. The task was made even more difficult by the fact that she could not see exactly how bad the injury was on the invisible man. She had cleaned, bandaged, and stabilized both his wrists. The collapsing spell was definitely a worrisome sign, but the fact that he wasn't dead yet was a decent and promising indicator that at least no major arteries had been damaged by Omega. For good measure, she also supplied the Master of Light with the last dosage of pain medication they had in store.  

    Lloyd felt brought down by the revelation that another friend was badly injured and sadly shuffled around while Pixal tended to the Elemental Master. As he did so, he ended up bumping into Mystaké's discarded cane. His face dropped in even more agony as he reverently picked up the gnarled stick and then noticed a wrinkled piece of paper resting underneath it.

    There was a message scrawled across the page: Keep the faith, young Master. A remnant will always remain. Live and die. Rise and fall. The Phoenix and Dragon will fly. You must endure.

    Her words, though his heart didn't necessarily believe them, managed to bring a small smile to his face and keep the tiny fighting flame alive in him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

    "They've been stationary for a while," observed Killow.

    Harumi nodded her approval. Now the Resistance's hideout location made sense. That district was relatively large, and full of abandon warehouses and other large buildings. Mostly vagrants, lowlifes, and people down on their luck sheltered themselves in that area.

    She commanded all the gathered Sons of Garmadon, "Move in." She radioed her Emperor, updating him on their progress. "My Dark Lord, we are closing in on the rebels now."

    There was no response, but she knew he had received the message. Little did they know, he was already storming his way to aid their assault. He wanted to make certain that he got what he wanted and that the Resistance was finished once and for all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Dareth raced from the surveillance room into the main room where everyone was recuperating. His eyes were wide and his voice quavered as he announced, "Guuuys! The Sons of Garmadon are here!"

    Griffin jumped to his feet, alarmed. "How'd they find us?"

    "I don't know! But now they're at our doorstep. What're we gonna do?" cried Dareth frantically.

    Pixal and Ronin immediately snapped into survival mode and started shoveling whatever meager portions of supplies that were around into their machines. Ronin strapped one of the two rifles they had to himself and tossed the other Skylor. He didn't necessarily want to use it, but if push came to shove, leaving with his life mattered most.

    "We're not ready for any sort of fight," declared Lloyd, stating the obvious. There was only a few within the Resistance who were fit enough to fight.

    "Yeah, but we don't got much of a choice," cringed Ronin, peeking out the window and seeing the surrounding forces of the Sons of Garmadon.

    An idea popped in Nya's head. She gazed intently at the ceiling. "Up."

    The others looked over at her with bewildered expressions.

    She explained further, pointing upward. "We can go through the roof and rendezvous at the garbage dump. Y'know, our plan b."

    Lloyd grinned and organized everyone quickly. "Yes! Great idea! Ronin, Dareth, Nya, Mr. Pale, get onboard R.E.X. Griffin, you good to use your Dragon?" The Master of Speed gave a short nod of affirmation. "Good. Mom, you're with me. Pixal? Your mech can bust down the roof and carry Skylor. Okay, let's go!"

    He urgently hurried everyone to action. Already, they could hear the Sons of Garmadon pounding on the entrances. Shards of glass rained down from broken windows, but by the time their assailants entered, they were already blasting out of the ceiling and into the open sky.

    Tragically, something worse lurked above as Omega's Colossus seemed to fall from the sky, coming out of nowhere and surprising even his allies. 

    "Watch out!" screeched Lloyd, sharply veering his Elemental Dragon out of way of the swinging arm of the stone giant.

    Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Griffin struggling to keep his Elemental Dragon in the air. It bucked and and weaved erratically, and its maroon form flickered in and out in response to his anxiety.

    Down below, Harumi ordered her gang, hoping to aid her Emperor in any way possible. "Shoot them down!" Part of her stung in shame that he had shown up, displaying his high distrust in her competency to complete the mission.

    The Colussus attempted to go after the largest target, which was R.E.X. but Pixal intervened and blasted missiles in its direction. 

    As Omega brought the hand to make a grab for the Samurai X Mech, it suddenly froze and that infuriating pull for power start again. He growled as he pinpointed the purple glow of his fire coming from the Amber Elemental who was crouching on the shoulder of the flying Mech.

    Skylor felt fire in her veins as she struggled to resist the Oni's power. She gritted out to Pixal, "Tell them... to get... outta here."

    All her energy was dedicated to bending and forcing the Oni's copied power to her will. To her terror, she felt herself slipping quickly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Taking notice of her leader's struggle, Harumi saw her chance. She ordered her generals. "Killow, pull down the Master of Speed. Mr. E, get the gang to aim better. Ultra Violet, you're with me."

    Griffin felt his stomach drop as he felt the familiar magic yank and the sensation of falling. No offense to Gravis, but he really hated gravity now and whatever Oni Mask was doing this to him right now. Right before he slammed into the pavement, he heard the panicked shouts of his allies. Well, it was nice to know he'd be missed. 

    Unfortunately, this time, there was nothing and no one to break his fall. Never before had the runner known such pain. He thought bruised ribs had hurt, but it was nothing compared to broken ribs and a broken arm. His vision went fuzzy as he watched the Sons of Garmadon warily closing in, as if they expected him to suddenly get up and kick their butts. Heh, no worries there. 

    "Sorry," whispered Griffin before losing consciousness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Ultra Violet's eyes flashed with a maniacal joy as she realized the giant missile launcher Harumi was offering her. 

    The Quiet One smirked at her, pointing towards the havoc-filled sky. "Go for it."

    The purple general eagerly set up. Although the woman was almost inhumanly strong, she miscalculated the amount of kickback from the weapon and it sent her reeling.

    Those aboard R.E.X held on for dear life as the missile clipped their vehicle and sent them hurtling. Ronin gritted his teeth and yanked on the controls, trying to get his spinning ship under control. Smoke poured from the damaged areas as R.E.X.'s passengers were tossed around. 

    The mercenary brought his ship under control and floored it for as long as she could take it. They were still descending rapidly, but his goal was to have a controlled crash as far from the Sons of Garmadon as he could to give them a surviving chance. Ronin heard Nya yell something to him, but he was too focused to recognize it. 

    As they were tumbling through the sky, Nya watched in horror as Lloyd's Elemental Dragon was battered by a harsh spray of bullets and flickered out of existence. She also saw Pixal's Mech being struck by a purple burst of magic from Omega in her peripheral vision. It was the last glimpse she caught of her dear friends before R.E.X. crashed behind a building. Once the Water Ninja had recovered enough to get a track of her bearings, she was ready to run straight back in the direction of the fight, but Ronin gripped her arm. 

    There was a pained look in his eyes as he firmly told her. "No, we can't. We're no good to them if we die or get captured." He started pulling her in opposite direction. 

    Nya dug her heels in and resisted at first. She screamed in his face with tears leaking from her eyes. Logically, he was correct, but her heart couldn't bear to lose what little family she had left. She had to go back, had to know what had become of Lloyd! Ronin held steadfast. 

    She quieted as Dareth quietly questioned after salvaging whatever he could from the wreckage, "What happened to the invisible dude?"

    Ronin and Nya snapped their heads up, urgently surveying their surroundings. The three survivors called the Master of Lights name as loudly as they dared with their enemies lurking about, but there was no response. Mr. Pale had simply vanished.

    Though he loathe to theorize over the lost Elemental Master's fate, Ronin speculated, "He might've fallen outta R.E.X. before we crashed." His words were callous, but his intentions were set on survival. "We can't afford to search for him. We gotta get outta here before the Sons of Garmadon show up."

    He tugged on Nya's wrist, saddened by how absolutely lost and broken the Water Ninja appeared. His voice was flat as he instructed Dareth and Nya. "C'mon. Let's move."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

    The Green Ninja panicked as he and his mother fell from the sky, fulling expecting to either be riddled with bullet holes before he met the ground or to be severely injured upon impact like Griffin had. By some grace, neither of those things happen. The Sons of Garmadon held their fire as the two fell and Lloyd and Misako's fall was broken by the piles of rubbish that had collected in the streets from Omega's reign.

    "I'm too old for this," mumbled Misako as she slowly rose to her feet. Her entire body ached, but she was grateful to somehow still be alive.

    Lloyd also got to his feet and unsheathed his dao, though he doubted it would do him much good in the moment. He and his mother were surrounded on all sides with multiple firearms being pointed in their direction.

    Harumi stood directly in front of him and tsked. "How the mighty have fallen, wallowing in the garbage."

    The Green Ninja opened his mouth to speak, but Harumi was done with listening to him and done showing mercy. She quickly hardened her heart and snapped her fingers. There was a shot fired and Lloyd felt an agonizing pain rip through his leg.

    Misako caught her son before he could collapse. Her eyes glimmered with rage at the young girl who had wrought so much destruction. 

    There was a ripple of regret across the Quiet One's face, but she quickly schooled her features, forcing hate to overcome everything. She spat, "Your Resistance is dead just like everyone else. It's over, Lloyd."

    As Lloyd leaned against his mother for support, he couldn't stop his face from crumbling into a grimace of pain that had nothing to do with his bleeding leg. With a sigh, he lowered his head and dropped his weapon. She was right. Everything he did ended in disaster, tragedy, and loss. The last of his allies were gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

    The Samurai X Mech floundered in the air from Omega's shot of magic, leaving the Colossus just enough time to take its giant fist and bash the Mech. As Pixal crashed, she had enough mind to protectively cup the Mech's hands around Skylor to protect the woman from the brunt of the fall. 

    Pixal shakily emerged from the wreckage, unharmed for the most part. She immediately pried apart the fingers of the Mech to release Skylor and gasped when she saw the state the woman was in.

    The Elemental Master was on her hands and knees while gasping for breath. Her entire body was trembling and occasional grunts of pain slipped from her lips. When she pulled her head up to look at the Samurai, it revealed that her eyes were rapidly oscillating between their normal color and an unnerving purple.

    Pixal, knowing the Sons of Garmadon would be upon them any second, had an apologetic expression as she helped Skylor to her feet. They hobbled down the street with Pixal practically carrying the Master of Amber, but they didn't get far.

    The foot of the Colossus stepped right in the middle of the street in front of them, blocking their exit, and the Sons of Garmadon came speeding up behind them.

    Skylor, who was grappling to stay lucid, pulled away from Pixal. Though she stumbled heavily, she managed to keep her balance and pull out her firearm. She had limited experience using the AK-47 but she knew the basics and pointed it threateningly at the Sons of Garmadon. 

    Although Pixal was gravely concerned for Skylor's health, she was relieved she had the strength to stand on her own, which left the Samurai's hands free to brandish her two katanas. She faced down Omega who had leaped down from the shoulder of his Colossus, trusting that Skylor would protect her back. The Oni was in his "Garmadon" disguise, still keeping the charade up for his underlings.

    Omega's eyes glimmered hungrily as he stared at Pixal. "Ah, the Master of Ice." One of the last few pieces of the gateway he needed to collect.

    Pixal's expression twisted at the title. She was not the Master of Ice. The true one was gone. 

    Omega's hunger doubled when, in a reckless move, Pixal suddenly dropped a katana and pulled out the final shard of the Realm Crystal. She held it in a threateningly tight grip. "Come any closer and I will crush it."

    Omega took on a rather annoyed expression at being threatened. His four arms lit up with purple fire and the next thing anyone knew, the sound of a gun being fired echoed through the streets. 

    Pixal twitched slightly before falling forward, offline, with a smoking hole in the center of her back. None of the Sons of Garmadon had even lifted their fingers to their triggers. Instead, Skylor stood behind Pixal with the muzzle of the firearm still raised in the Samurai's direction. 

    Her body no longer trembled, and she no longer gasped for breath or struggled in pain. In fact, the Elemental Master stood stock still, exhibiting no harsh symptoms as she had before. Her tan skin had turned a sickly pale with crisscrossing cracks of purple decorating it everywhere, and her eyes glowed a steady purple.

    Everything about her had gone limp and vacant, except for the stream of tears that trickled out of her eyes. Skylor was trapped in her body, forced to be a bystander as she felt herself walk forward. She roughly kicked Pixal's offlined form over on her back and plucked the shard from her grasp. As Omega approached, Skylor despised herself when she felt her body kneel and present the shard to him.

    Inside, Skylor was crying out for herself to snap out of it and fight back, but she could do nothing. Her mind screamed repeatedly. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Harumi and her generals instinctively shrunk back as Emperor Garmadon swept by them. He didn't spare them a glance. He nearly had all the pieces he needed.

    The Quiet One dared to speak tentatively, "My Lord, what are your next orders?"

    It was not missed on her that the Emperor appeared exasperated as she piped up. His voice was gravelly as he instructed, "Gather the prisoners. We are going to Kryptarium." He added snappishly, "Keep them alive."

    Harumi gave an obedient nod. She found his mercy for the rebels odd but didn't dare question anything. Their success had assuaged his wrath for now and that was good enough for her.

    As the Sons of Garmadon loaded up the prisoners, they tried restraining the Master of Amber, but Emperor Garmadon stopped them. There was a smug lilt to his tone as he told them, "Leave her. She is harmless now."

    Harumi shivered when she looked over at the red-haired woman who was standing stiffly with a blank expression. What had Emperor Garmadon done to turn such a loyal friend of the Green Ninja? Whatever it was, everyone steered clear of the unnerving woman.

    She was taken off guard when a dark brown tabby cat suddenly darted underfoot. It didn't behave like it was spooked and made a beeline straight for Lloyd who had a look of recognition and concern when he caught sight of the cat coming for him. He braced himself for impact, but Tiger Lily had mercy on him and merely started weaving in and out of his legs, meowing loudly. 

    Mr. E and Ultra Violet, who flanked either side of the Green Ninja, paused to stare curiously down at the feline.

    Suspecting that something was up from Lloyd's and the cat's behaviors, Harumi hissed at Mr. E, "Grab the cat!"

    At those words, Tiger Lily became more insistent. She leaped up on Lloyd's shoulders, hissing and swiping at the Sons of Garmadon. When they hesitated, she butted her head against Lloyd's, and that's when he saw it. Attached to her bright purple collar was a small capsule. Chamille must've figured something out.

    He mumbled to Tiger Lily, "I appreciate the spirit, but your timing's way off. You gotta get outta here. Go find Nya."

    The tabby gave him a small, annoyed chirp. "Bbrrrrt." She had come all this way and searched the entire, filthy city for this green boy only for this puny mortal to not accept her delivery. She didn't care that his hands were tied behind his back. Just take the jangly thing on her collar, human! She just wanted to go back home and curl up on her owner's lap.

    And who was this Nya anyways? She was not wandering around the city again for another human. "Nyah?"

    Her questioning meow suddenly changed into an indignant yowl when Mr. E suddenly plucked the cat from his shoulders. Lloyd winced. Mr. E might've been impervious to Tiger Lily's claws and her ridiculously loud yowls, but he was not. He sent the cat an apologetic stare as she was whisked away.

    The message capsule on the cat's collar was not missed by Mr. E who plucked it off despite the feline's protests and handed it to Harumi. 

    Harumi couldn't help but give a snort of amusement as she opened the correspondence. Had Lloyd gotten so desperate that he had resorted to using animals to send secret messages?

    Her amusement vanished when she read the scribbled contents of the message.

    Hey, Lloyd. You might wanna sit down, but Tox found out something big. Your father, like actual real dad Sensei Garmadon, is alive and imprisoned in Kryptarium! Idk how, but he is. And I have no idea what thing that Harumi chick resurrected, but Tox says that's not Garmadon at all. Do what you want with this info, but I'm on my way to stage a breakout. Wish me luck! Also, sorry if this message is a shock or if Tiger Lily is rude. 

~ C+A

    Harumi stood frozen and stared at the small paper with wide eyes. What?!

I genuinely did not intend for this chapter to take such a dark turn, but my hand slipped and here we are. Whoops. Sorry everyone. Do I need to up the rating to mature?

I am blatantly ignoring whatever's going on in Crystalized with Harumi. I still like the season though. But Harumi is getting a redemption arc here whether she likes it or not!

I am really tired from life, but I am definitely aiming to finish this fic. Nothing irks me more than good fics are started, get the readers invested, and then the author abandons them and moves on to writing different fanfic.

    "But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened." For it is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit." - 1 Peter‬ ‭3:14, 17-18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

    "He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. He will bring justice to all who have been wronged. He will not falter or lose heart until justice prevails throughout the earth. Even distant lands beyond the sea will wait for his instruction."" - Isaiah‬ ‭42:3-4‬ ‭NLT‬‬