Shorter chapter but a lot happens.

    Zane reeled back as if struck. He wanted to rush over to Pixal and bundle her up in his arms, but something was deeply amiss. Her brilliant green eyes now glowed deep purple and her expression held no recognition for him, only hatred.

    Wu brashly stepped forward as he had no emotional connection to these three shadow puppets. "C'mon. There's only three of them and six of us. We can take 'em."

    Faith also had no qualms fighting these people and didn't hesitate to strike first. She lunged forward and landed a devastating uppercut to the dark haired man. He crumpled down unconscious. She raised her blade to engage the metal female but found the helmeted metal man had already pulled out his own swords and was currently combatting her.

    Garmadon pulled his brother back by the scruff of his neck just in time to save him from a fireball that landed right where he had been standing. Skylor struck out at the brothers, leaving teenage Wu no time to draw his Vengestone Rifle. Garmadon shoved his younger brother to the side, easily dodging the Master of Amber's attacks. It had been a while since he had fought, but that didn't mean he couldn't. In just a couple of seconds, Lloyd watched his father use the Art of the Silent Fist to tire Skylor's vicious Elemental attacks and find the perfect opening to knock her out.

    Though Zane seemed reluctant to act, seeing a spurt of dark Ice being wielded by Pixal spurred him to aid Mr. E. There were so many unanswered questions for the Ice Ninja and so few answers. His mastery over the Element of Ice won out and Pixal was frozen solid. He stared at her immobile form despairingly, many heavy emotions striking his core.

    Garmadon's voice was sharp as he instructed, "We must go at once!"

    Lloyd hesitated as did Zane. 

    "Can we bri–" began to question Lloyd, but Faith cut him off. "No! They'll be dead weight."

    At the Ninja's crestfallen expressions, Garmadon added, "The best way to help them is to go now. Everything will be fixed if everything goes according to plan."

    The "hopefully" was left unsaid.

    The group ran deeper into the darkened, mist-covered city. Skill and instinct kept them alive and out of sight. 

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

    Cole anxiously paced back and forth, putting those around him at unease. He kept a close watch over the radio and nervously awaited for a signal to step in. His unhelpful mind kept coming up with all the things that could go wrong. He didn't particularly appreciate Harumi's attempts to calm or get him to sit still. He was still upset with her for all the pain and trouble she had caused them. 

    They all jumped when an garbled voice sounded from the radio. "Can anyone hear this?" The Earth Ninja gulped. It sounded like a young, tearful kid. "Me and momma are trapped on the roof. There's black smoke everywhere. It got my dad. Please help!"

    Cole was already in motion to go help, but Jet Jack's words made him pause, "Wait. What about the others? We need to be prepared in case something goes wrong."

    Harumi surprised even herself with how forceful her tone was when she stepped up into the Hunter's face. "No! Someone needs to go help them!"

    "You'll doom yourselves entering the smoke. Why risk everything for strangers?" argued the winged Hunter. Was everyone from this Realm so self-sacrificial?!

    The Quiet One didn't bother trying to justify her reasoning. It would take too long to explain her great need of recompense and her own past trauma which was scarily similar to what this kid was going through at the moment. No one had come to her rescue and look at what had become of her. She looked over at the Earth Ninja who she knew from past experiences wouldn't abandon someone who he knew was in need of rescue. She mounted a FrostBreath Dragon and firmly declared, "I'm going."

    Cole decided to aid her, leaving Jet Jack in charge of those remaining in reserve much to the Hunter's pride. His response was quick and Harumi suspected he was only coming with her because he didn't fully trust her which was rather fair.

    They found the mother and child easily enough as they were stranded on one of the few rooftops of a high rise apartment complex that remained above the inky blackness. It was uncomfortably close to Borg Tower. As Cole hurriedly helped them up on the back of a stocky Earth Dragon, the two Dragons startled as the smoke lurking around them seemed to gain sentience, snaking forward with terrifying speed.

    It wrapped around Cole's ankle and yanked him off his feet towards the edge of the roof. The Earth Ninja cried out as he desperately struggled to regain his footing. Harumi sprung forward and sliced the smoke with her katana, shocked to see it actually release the Ninja and recoil. Unease roiled in her gut as the typically steadfast Earth Ninja scramble to his feet, wide-eyed and breathing heavily.

    He cried out in frustration as he backed away, "Ugh! Again! Why do they always go after my foot?!" He urged them all quickly, "Go!"    

    The Earth and FrostBreath Dragons took flight as soon as Harumi hopped on. Cole summoned his Elemental Dragon, eager to leave as quickly as possible. As they winged above the darkness, Harumi and Cole made the mistake of looking down. A dozen pair of violet eyes glared up at them through the darkness.

    Goosebumps prickled along the Ninja's skin and he barely had enough time to pull out his mace before the dozen shadowy figures burst forth from the smoke. It really wasn't fair that they could shapeshift wings onto themselves. One look at their horrible, twisted figures streaking toward them at full speed was enough to give anyone nightmares for weeks.

    Harumi balanced precariously on her winged mount and viciously swung her blade as she and her Dragon worked to fend off the Oni and keep them away from the Earth Dragon that carried the civilians. 

    Cole grunted. Between little sleep and nutrition in the First Realm, his endurance was waning fast. With a careful burst of his Element, he knocked the Oni away from the civilians, shouting at the Dragon to get out of there. It took off while he and Harumi held back the growing number of Oni. At least they could have peace of mind that the kid and mother were okay.

    A familiar earth-shaking bellow was all the warning they got before Firstbourne burst forth from the cloud cover. Her fierce roar made even the Oni momentarily pause even though they knew she wouldn't fight them. Harumi's FrostBreath Dragon balked at the sight and command of his Queen but obeyed nonetheless.

    The Quiet One was wholly unprepared when her winged mount bucked and twisted, throwing her off. Cole sent his Elemental Dragon into a dive, reaching out to save his former enemy, when an Oni latched onto him and clawed at his back. His concentration broke and he found himself falling as well. Fear inhibited his ability to re-summon his Dragon and the smoke reached upward to envelop them both. 

    The two were experiencing wildly different emotions as time seemed to slow as they fell. Harumi felted a sense of peace and acceptance. It was only fitting that if she didn't see the defeat of the darkness by her hands then she should be consumed by the evil she had wrought on her home Realm. A small smile graced her lips as she thought of at least the one child she managed to save before her death. Hopefully that kid wouldn't walk down the same path of bitterness she had. 

    Her death would by no means pay for all her wrongdoings but at least she was going out fighting for good now. Her only regret was not being able to talk to Lloyd one last time and truly explain her sorrow for the pain she had brought on him. A part of her still loved him for his beautiful heart. He never gave up on her. She choked on the smoke and there was a brief explosion of pain as she crashed into what she assumed to be a rooftop. Then, she knew nothing more as her vision faded to black.

    Cole felt no such blissful peace as he fell towards the blackness. No! His time couldn't be up! He hadn't done enough. He still had so much left in him to defend his home. So many more people to love. Oddly enough, the image of young Wu popped into his mind in addition to the faces of his friends and family. He had definitely grown attached to the kid during their journey through the First Realm. He didn't want to go yet. He just got back home and his brothers needed him.

    The darkness swallowed him and he crashed hard. Tears fell from his eyes that weren't only from physical pain as he lay there in agony as the life was pulled from him. A large figure landed beside him and as his senses began failing, he could just make out Firstbourne staring down at him with sad eyes and saying in a low rumble, "I'm sorry." His world fell silent.

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

    Omega grunted and his pupils shrunk as a sharp pain exploded through his system. He cursed silently. This is why he had sent the girl away, to keep her wretched self alive for a little while longer and buy himself more time before having to deal with this. She had done her part and resurrected him but the stupid magic had tethered them in some odd way. Once they affirmed their victory, he had wanted to find a method of undoing this effect. Too late for that now.

     Opollyon eyed him curiously as parts of him turned rotten and oozing like the revived corpse disguise he had kept up for so long, except this wasn't him pretending to be Garmadon. This was really his body degenerating. Omega kept his posture tall and alert despite the agony of wasting away. Fortunately though, the effects seemed to slow and he didn't completely disintegrate. He just appeared more patchy and all the more terrifying as half of the skin on his face had been burned off, leaving behind the white of his bone underneath.

    This loathsome Realm and all its inhabitants would return to the dust and ashes from whence they came.

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

    Faith instinctively froze and crouched low as the ominous shadow of Firstbourne passed, returning to circling slowly around the tallest building. She squinted. Another Dragon followed in her wake. Something had happened.

    Lloyd took in a sharp intake of breath, peering at the Tower. "That's a lot of Oni."

    Wu pulled out an explosive device they all had been supplied with by the engineering minds of the Resistance. "Time to stir up the nest."

    "Fan out. Plant as many as possible," instructed Garmadon.

    "And keep your comms open," added Lloyd.

    They all nodded and departed to go about their business, strategically placing the explosives around the Tower. When done, they all whispered their completion. Just as Wu was setting the final bomb, a clawed hand reached out from the shadows, grabbing at him. "What do you think you're doing?"

    The white-haired boy gave a muffled shout that was heard over all their comms. Faith and Lloyd, who were closest, sprinted over to help the teen. They reached them just as the Oni started lifting off from the ground with Wu in her grasp. The Hunter and Ninja jumped, just barely managing to latch on as they were both dragged into the air with Wu.

    There was a momentary tussle as the Oni struggled furiously against the added weight. They all crashed onto the roof of a random building. With the onslaught of Faith and Lloyd, the shadowy creature was quickly overwhelmed. Lloyd cringed as the Hunter delivered the final blow.

    A horrified gasp from Wu set them both on edge as they wildly scanned the area for more attackers. Lloyd breath caught in his throat as he realized what his uncle was staring at. The bodies of two familiar forms lay motionless on the roof, devoid of all signs of life. He choked out a heartbroken, "No!" He had just gotten his brother back and Harumi had just begun to set out on the right path. As hurt as he was by her, his traitorous heart still held affection for her.

    Fear flashed through him. How would they defeat the Oni now? They needed the Element of Earth to create the Tornado of Creation and Cole was the only person who could expertly wield the Scythe of Quakes. He needed his steadfast brother.

    Faith watched uncomfortably as the descendants of the First Spinjitzu Master mourned over their fallen friends. She radioed the reserve team. "Jet Jack, listen up. We set the explosives. Get us out of here!"

    "On our way," answered Jet Jack promptly.

    Though it seemed cruel, survival was priority. She pulled the two boys away. "We have to leave before anything else can go wrong." She informed the others of the current situation, telling them to prepare to evacuate. 

    As always things just seemed to get worse as more chaos broke out, which seemed to be the norm for these unfortunate people.

    The others arrived posthaste but so did the Mother of all Dragons and a horde of Oni. A dogfight–er, dragonfight broke out in the sky. It didn't last long as the Dragons easily threw most of their riders as their Queen commanded them to. There wasn't much argument considering none of them held much love for Hunters or Oni.

    Bucked from her Dragon, Jet Jack used her own wings to navigate the skies. Amid the fight, the Hunter caught sight of those stranded on the rooftop but had no way of diving through the smoke to get to them. At most, her wings could support one.

    Faith couldn't believe their luck as the two Oni kings and their pawn Iron Baron emerged from the Tower, drawn by the commotion. Seeing the others just barely manage to get out of range of the blast zone aboard a burdened Elemental Ice Dragon, she told them to detonate the explosives while she and the two fair-haired boys crouched low for balance on the tall building.

    More chaos erupted as the Oni were thrown back by the force of the unexpected blasts. Iron Baron and the Oni leaders were extremely close to one detonation and while the Oni were mostly unharmed, the Hunter-Oni hybrid couldn't help but smirk as her tormentor howled in pain and fury. 

    The small triumph was not without cost as the Dragon Armor he donned was dealt damage and above, Firstbourne let out a pained roar and made a sloppy landing, uncaring what buildings or Oni she crushed under talon or tail. As she bucked and clawed, it became apparent what was troubling her. Her brilliant golden eyes were now an opaque, milky white. The Dragon Queen's world had been thrown into complete darkness.

    The odd gray-skinned humans from Nin-yeego circled above on the back of a SandWing which had an odd bonnet of sorts fashioned out of the violent woman's jacket, showing a surprising amount of ingenuity at being able to control their Dragon from answering the cries of its Queen. They threw down a rope, but instead of shimmying up it, the descendants of the First Spinjitzu Master began strapping the frozen forms of their friends to be hauled up like the good-natured fools they were.

    Jet Jack also threw down a chain and this time, Faith marched over and connected Wu to the end of it, letting the winged Hunter haul him up and away before he could protest. Their escape attempts did not go unnoticed, so Faith pulled out one last explosive she kept for herself, chucked it into the sky, and blasted it. The explosion of light covered the others as they fled and garnered the attention of the Oni to the final two Half-Bloods in their midst.

    Lloyd followed the Hunter's example in standing unflinchingly, despite Omega's new horrifying look, as the Oni slowly enclosed around them on the rooftop. He was surprised to find a burst of courage well up within him as he raised his hand to speak. "Wait, don't shoot the messenger. We come with a challenge. The remnant of the people of Ninjago are currently gathering forces at our monastery." He pointed in the vague general direction of the monastery. "Face us if you dare."

    Omega and Opollyon typically would have laughed at such a challenge, but they were mildly annoyed by the smoldering flames surrounding their main outpost and by the audacious courage these Half-Bloods were displaying, especially this injured scrap of a boy.

    Opollyon's ire boiled over and he lashed out. Faith let out an agonized shout as both her knees were dashed to pieces in a horrific crunch. Her sorry attempt to block his attack did little good. 

    As she collapsed to the ground in front of him where she belonged, Opollyon looked over at the green-clad boy, glad to see some fear peeking through his gaze and horror dawning on his face. The sovereign Oni hissed, "It only takes one to deliver a message." He scoffed, waving a dismissive claw. "Go. Run back to your people. Tell them their resistance will be met with our overwhelming might. There is no hope and no force great enough to withstand our darkness."

    Lloyd hesitated to abandon the Hunter who was writhing in agony, but a strained, "Go." from her and a harsh glare the Oni sent him away. As he limped away, he wished not for the first time that he had the Element of Speed. When he reached the outskirts of the dark smoke, Zane caught sight of him and picked him up. The end was coming and already so many had been swallowed by the darkness. He could only hope that the remnant at the monastery would be enough to endure and halt the spreading shadows.

Happy Holidays everyone! Enjoy your preparations and celebrations!

Little spoiler, that wasn't the last we will see of Cole and Harumi. ;]

    "Are not my few days almost over? Turn away from me so I can have a moment's joy before I go to the place of no return, to the land of gloom and utter darkness, to the land of deepest night, of utter darkness and disorder, where even the light is like darkness."" - Job‬ ‭10:20-22‬ ‭NIV‬‬