***Fun fact: I'm not giving Skylor the power of light in this book (and probably not the rest of the series, unless she touches Paleman) because it makes her too OP, in my opinion.

Also, now that I've done the whole age-thing on my feed and realized most of you guys are 13-15, I'm FREAKING OUT -

Like, now I'm super concerned that I'm going to write something really dark or kinda steamy and just...regret it later. I DON'T WANT TO STEAL YOUR INNOCENCE AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

Not that I've ever written anything that hot, but there is one scene in my computer files (not for this book) where Nya and Jay make out, and you pretty much know where it's going. HELP ERJNCU293RDENJK

But the truth is, ever since the 500 pack became a thing, I probably don't have to worry about anyone's innocence.

Oh, important: I needed another female elemental master to exist for future plot devices, so I created my own: the master of illusions. She won't play a huge part in my stories, but she essentially can create illusions of reality with her powers. And in keeping with this, this chapter is going to reveal something that might be slightly confusing, since I've never mentioned it before. There's a reason for that.

That was a long A/N.***

***(Jay's POV)***

I'm rudely awakened to a feeling of bitter cold, and I shudder, wanting to crawl back under my blankets. I must've fallen out of bed or something.

I blink against the cloudy feeling in my head and glance around, trying to find my bunk at the monastery. Or at the trailer with mom and dad. Or at sea.

I shake off my grogginess. Where am I?

"He awakens," someone rasps. "His powers will be back to full capacity now. Fetch Pythor."

Pythor...but isn't he...

I look up, but all I see is darkness. That's when it hits me – we're on the Dark Island.

Where's Nya?!

"Nya?" I call into the blackness, hoping we were trapped together. "Nya!" My head splits with pain at my shouting, but I carry on.

The only response is disturbing whispers from the shadows.

"Nya?" I say again.

A hiss from nearby. "Quiet."

"Oh, no," I moan. "Nya's not here. I don't want to be here alone! Any number of horrible things could've happened to Nya, and I'm supposed to be partnering with her in this!" I draw in a strangled breath, trying to calm myself down.

Okay, I can find a way out of here. I'm surrounded by weird shadow creatures, and my head feels like it would after a serious hangover. I've only ever been drunk once, and let's just say that Kai and Cole may enjoy it, but I do not. So yes, I know what a hangover is like.

"Calm yourself," Pythor's voice says flippantly from somewhere nearby.

I sputter. "You! You totally kidnapped me and drug me somewhere in the forest, didn't you? Where's Nya? Has she taken out half your forces yet, or three-quarters?" I try to sound a lot braver than I feel.

"None," Pythor sighs. "And yes, you're somewhere in the forest, but no, I can't tell you where your teammates are. They're all fine, I assure you. I need you for a project I'm working on."

He said 'teammates'. Does that mean he has Zane and PIXAL, too? And Harumi, even though she's not my teammate? And Kai, Skye, and Seliel?

"Fat chance!" I huff. "We're not here to help you with your giant conductor, Pythor." I try to summon my element in my hands, but they seem to be bound by a cold force.

"I know. I'm repurposing you for that, of course. Come with me."

"I can't. I'm bound, and it's too dark to see anything."

"The Oni will guide you. How do you think I get around?" He hums to himself, his voice getting further and further away.

I swallow hard as the cold presence at my wrists seems to surround my body, lifting me off the ground and in Pythor's direction. I feel...utterly hopeless against these Oni, whoever they are.

"What do you plan to do with my friends and I?" I yell, unsure whether Pythor or the shadow will reply. I don't really care, as long as I get an honest answer.

Pythor's the one who speaks up. "With you, specifically? I plan to conduct your element with my machine, of course. And with all your pesky teammates I've captured? Well, since they're no longer keeping me from you, wishing them away seems foolish. That was sufficient to get you to this island and to make you so alone that I could capture you. Now, I simply must repurpose the ones left."

"Repurpose?!" I exclaim. "Like scrap metal? My friends aren't scrap, they're people!"

"I beg to differ about the androids, but alas, I'll be needing their power for my machine, as well. Not only will I be able to steal electricity, but I'll be able to use it to enslave the people of Ninjago. Typical villainy, but it's so exciting."

I think I might throw up. "They're people, Pythor. I've known Zane for almost three years now, and I didn't even know he was an android until two months ago! That's how real he is! You can't just take his power!"

"I couldn't care less about your petty moral arguments. Omega, warm up the machine, please. We're about to test it on our first power source."

"I don't want to be your guinea pig!" I shriek.

"Jay? Is that you?" someone yells from my right.

My ears perk up. "Nya?"

"Yes, Jay!" Her tone is relieved. "Are you okay?"

"I think so," I reply, then suddenly remember that I'm about to have all the electricity in my body forcibly absorbed into a generator. "Actually, scratch that. I think I'm toast!"

"What?"

"Oh, did Pythor not confess his whole plan to you yet?" I suddenly feel something cold clamp over my mouth.

"Thank you to whichever Oni did that," Pythor sighs. "These land dwellers can be so droll sometimes. Omega, how much longer does the generator need to initiate?"

"Two minutes," it hisses a reply from right beside me. "The androids are en route with our forces. Would you like me to ensure their timely arrival?"

"That would be excellent," Pythor agrees.

"As you wish," Omega breathes.

"Wonderful. Will someone else step up to the machine to take Omega's place?"

The coldness over my mouth vanishes as one Oni glides away to obey Pythor. I try to move my hands to see if I'm still trapped by shadow, but I can't move. That means there's still an Oni holding onto me.

I feel dread course through me, but at least I can voice my feelings now. "Can't we make some sort of a deal here, Pythor? Like, you let me and my friends go, and I...have my mom bake for you? She's really great at it, promise." My mouth continues to blabber meaningless chatter while I search for any way out of this place!

Unfortunately, I can't see any escape routes in all the darkness.

"No deal," Pythor laughs. "You are amusing, I admit." His scaly tail slams into my back as he knocks me to the ground. Twigs poke me in random places, and I feel my face collide with something hard. A rock?

"Ow!" I yell.

"Jay!" Nya cries.

"I'm fine," I reassure her, tasting blood in my mouth. "I think."

"We'll see about that," Pythor chuckles. Then, in a less gregarious tone, he growls, "Shut the girl up, please. It's like all these two ever do is yell each other's names when something happens to the other."

"That's a lie!" I refute him. "Yes, in many episodes of the Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu series, we basically call out each other's name during every battle where it looks like one of us might get hurt. But you forget that in Ninja vs. Lava, when it looks like the rest of the team and I are about to die and Nya saves our butts, I yell, 'I love you, Nya'! So the writers like to keep things interesting by – "

Pythor's tail smacks me across the face, stinging my eyes with tears.

"Ouch," I groan.

"Pythor!" Nya vociferates. "I am going to reach my hand down your throat and – " Her response is muffled as someone covers her mouth.

"Ha!" Pythor laughs. "The machine is initiated." He raises his voice. "Omega, hurry up with fetching the androids!"

"I'm here," it rumbles. "And do watch your tone, please. Remember that we are only helping you due to our bargain."

"What bargain?" I swallow, my mouth coated in a metallic taste.

Pythor sighs. "Surface dwellers. You really don't keep up with the times, do you? The Oni are banished to the Dark Island as long as light remains in Ninjago. They cannot enter light – only two Oni have ever been able to leave this island, in fact. With my generator, however, they will be able to enter the mainland at night. The light of the moon can be withstood by an Oni."

"And what do they plan to do when they get to Ninjago?" I ask. I feel my tongue swelling from where I bit it when I fell.

"Oh, the usual. I rule where there's light, they rule where there's darkness. We enslave the people of Ninjago." He chuckles evilly. "The Oni are the reason I was able to construct my generator, you know. As it turns out, dark matter is a powerful conductor, and that substance is plentiful on this island."

"Of course," I spit.

"But that's enough evil plan revelation for you," Pythor goes on. "Omega, absorb the lightning master's electricity, please."

I hear Nya's muffled cries from her spot far from me, and I swallow hard. "PIX!" I yell. "Zane! We could really use your help right now!"

"They're powered off," Pythor replies.

"Darn it!" I yell. I hear a whirring noise that indicates the machine is ready to attract my element and suck every bit away from me.

I see my life flash before my eyes in that moment – cookies with my birth mom, being adopted by the Walkers, getting teased at school, finding out I had lightning powers, meeting my team, falling in love with Nya, seeing my birth mom again and holding her while she died.

Yep, that pretty much sums up my life.

And now I'm going to die so the enemy can kill or enslave my friends.

"I'm sorry, Nya," I wail. "I love you. And PIXAL and Zane, too, even if they can't hear me. I love all of you guys. And I romantically love you, Nya. Okay, as last speeches go, I'm failing, and it doesn't help that my tongue is swelling and none of this sounds right. Uh, tell my parents I said – "

A shot of light suddenly penetrates the forest, and the screeches of several Oni resound. It looks like...a torch?

Omega's shadow sweeps away from Pythor's generator as the flaming torch bounces right off the machine, and I scramble upwards.

Skylor teleports next to me, then uses the power of speed to drag me away from the machine. She holds another torch in her hand to stave off any Oni.

Pythor cries out and charges at us, but he's no match for Skylor's superior speed. I'm glad she has the power of metal, or she'd never have the strength to drag me with her as she sprints toward where Nya is.

We suddenly stop, and she drops me to the ground with a thump. The world around me spins for a moment.

"Jay!" Nya gasps, bending down next to me. Now that Skylor has eradicated any nearby shadows with her torch, I guess Nya and I are no longer bound.

"Hey," I mumble, trying to clear my mind.

"Will you be okay to fight with us, or do you need to stay here?" she asks quickly, licking her thumb and swiping at something sticky on my face.

"I think I'm okay," I groan, sitting up. "I just hit my head."

She studies me worriedly. "Okay. Just stay with me the whole time."

Skylor thrusts a new torch at her that she made from a fallen tree branch. "We need to destroy that machine and get out of here," she says urgently.

"Agreed," Nya replies. "But it's made of dark matter, and we don't know how to get rid of that stuff."

"Then we'll toss it in the ocean and hope it doesn't kill any Dark Island wildlife. Conservation of wildlife is not our biggest problem right now."

If Zane or PIXAL would've heard that, they would've had a cow.

Skylor goes on, "The Oni can always rebuild, so we'll have to capture Pythor. If we take him with us, the Oni won't have a transport for their machine to the mainland."

"True," Nya replies. "Where'd Pythor go?"

Skylor swears. "He ran off. I'll go after him, and you two destroy the machine. You need to also get Zane and PIXAL back on so they can get off the Dark Island with us."

"Heard," Nya says curtly. She offers me her free hand to help me, and I stagger upward, stumbling into Skylor.

She curses again. "Nya, help him keep his balance. I need to go." With that, she shoves me toward Nya and speeds away.

Nya places an arm around my waist. "Hold onto me."

"Don't need to tell me twice." I grip her waist as well, and we hobble toward Pythor's conductor at a somewhat quick pace.

"I wonder how Skylor knew we were in trouble," I mumble.

"Probably because we didn't check in over our radio. We didn't have any sort of a signal when you tried to speak to her earlier, and it's been hours since then. Not that I can keep track of time without a watch or the sun, but that's a good estimation."

"Oh. And how did she find us?"

"I would assume using her powers of sound, mind, speed, teleportation...you know the Skylor drill." She helps me lean against the machine when she reaches it, then runs over to the lifeless bodies of Zane and PIXAL. "Any idea where their power switches are?"

"No clue. How are we supposed to get this giant conductor out of here?"

"Well, having Zane and PIXAL would help," she sighs. Then, suddenly, her voice perks up. "I think I've found Zane's power switch!"

A moment later, his voice fills the night. "Nya! Where – what happened?"

"Long story. Can you locate PIXAL's power switch so we can get out of here?"

"I...of course. But the Oni, Nya. What happened to them?"

"They've retreated to the shadows for now. Skylor's after Pythor." She holds the torch for Zane as he works on getting PIXAL back up and running.

"Are you holding up, Jay?" she asks, not turning her gaze from the androids. "I think you have a concussion. It seems mild, but you are pretty off-balance.."

"That would explain why everything feels funny," I laugh humorlessly. However, my chuckles send pain spearing through my head, and I quickly shut up.

"First Cole, then you," she sighs. "When they say 'get your head in the game', they don't mean it literally, Jay."

I smile at that. "You've been hanging out with me too much. You're starting to tell dad jokes."

PIXAL's voice inundates the night. "Zane! But – the Oni – "

"They're not our biggest concern right now," Nya says quickly. "You and Zane have to pick up Pythor's conductor and carry it out of here. It's big, but you two have superhuman abilities." She joins me where I lean against the machine, holding our torch with one hand and placing her free arm around my waist once more.

"As you wish," PIXAL replies. "What about Harumi?"

"Haru – " Nya blanches. "Wait. I never saw nor heard Harumi around here. Was she captured with you guys, Zane?"

"Not according to my databases," he answers. "However, she could have been taken after I was turned off."

I lean heavily against Nya as PIXAL and Zane struggle to lift the conductor, and she supports at least half my body weight. It's impressive, given that I'm around six inches taller than her.

"Regardless of where Harumi is," Nya asserts, "we need to get out of here. We'll all meet up back at the ship and regroup. Maybe Harumi retreated there when you and PIXAL were taken, Zane."

"Something tells me that's not what happened," I mutter, beginning the long, dizzying trek back to my dad's boat.

***(Harumi's POV)***

I pant, having finally found my way out of the woods and onto the beach.

As soon as I heard the whispers in the shadows, I knew what was going on. I haven't had many interactions with the Oni in the past, but from my time with the Sons of Garmadon, I know what they are.

Demons.

Zane and PIXAL didn't run with me. I'm sure the Oni took them.

I guess they don't matter, though. The only person I'm here for is Lloyd.

Desperate to catch my breath after months in solitary confinement, I flop onto the warm sand of the beach, staring up at the sky. How am I supposed to find Nadakhan and make him pay without my two android companions? Or Jay and Nya? I don't have a radio, so I can't contact anyone else.

I suppose the ninja really do depend on Lloyd for leadership. They fall apart without him. They had a horrible plan to get on this island.

I lie on the beach, just staring up at the sky, trying to figure out how the heck I'm supposed to do anything of use right now. But then, three months in solitary confinement hinders your decision-making capabilities, don't they? When everyone tells you where you can and can't go and what you can and can't do, you lose your ability to think for yourself.

I hate the authorities for shoving me, a seventeen-year-old girl, into confinement. I hate them for trying to make me into their mind-slave. And I hate myself...for being so weak as to fall into that pattern of mindlessness.

I hear something nearby, and I freeze, listening closely.

It's nothing more than the whipping of the wind. It randomly flares up in different locations nearby, kicking sand into the air.

It's the 'random' part that catches my attention.

"Nadakhan?" I ask sweetly, knowing he'll hear my voice on the breeze.

The wind snaps nearby.

"What are you doing here?" I smile, my voice all innocence as I sit up in the sand.

"Quiet One," he grins. "I had thought the ninja had brought you with them. Tell me, why have you chosen to visit such a lowly island so far from Ninjago?" His seemingly congenial expression hides the stark wickedness underneath.

My tone dips as my face grows serious. "You know full well why I'm here. You've taken something that belongs to me, Nadakhan."

He smirks. "And would you care to enlighten me as to what it is that I've taken from you?"

"First of all, you betrayed me with the Sons of Garmadon," I snarl. "You left me to face the authorities."

"It's nothing less than you would have done in my place."

"You're right. But I wasn't in your place, was I? And second of all...you took Lloyd." I pout my bottom lip. "And I don't like it when people take things that belong to me."

Confidence surges through me as I control my deceptively innocent demeanor. It's been months since I've come off so cavalier. Being in prison kind of ebbs away at your masks.

Nadakhan gives a deep chuckle, tapping his sword. "Your ninja is in here, Quiet One. Tell me, how do you expect me to retrieve him for you?"

I rise to my feet. "You can grant wishes, and if you recall, I never fell into that trap when I first began working with you. So I still have three wishes to make with you."

"You are welcome to wish yourself into the sword with your boyfriend, if that is what you desire. However, I think you are too crafty for that." He gives me a scheming look.

"I am." I stretch my muscles over my head, knowing I'll be sore tomorrow. Months in solitary confinement does little to strengthen one's body for running from Oni.

"Then what is it you intend to do?" Nadakhan rumbles.

"I've worked with you before, Nadakhan. I know how this works." I hold out my hand. "I wish to hold your sword."

***Music Cue***

It suddenly poofs out of his hands, and he curses as it appears in mine.

"Buh-bye," I giggle, taking a deep breath and striking myself in the side with the weapon.

I'm suddenly enveloped in slight plain and abundant green light. It sucks me down, down, down, until I'm transported fully into Nadakhan's Djinn Blade.

"Time to get my boytoy back," I growl.

Actually, scratch that – that just sounds stupid. Gosh, the cheesy lines solitary confinement will give you.

I swim through a world of emerald green, searching for the one person left in this world who cares about me. I see other individuals Nadakhan has trapped in the past – pedestrians, members of the police force, creatures from other realms – and I vaguely wonder what his plan with them is.

I snap back to attention. No, I have to find Lloyd, and no one else. I can't fall under this sword's spell, or Lloyd and I both will be forever trapped in here.

As I search intently for the green ninja, surprise overtakes me. There are an astounding number of twenty-something-year-old women trapped in here.

I...wonder where they came from.

Something sparks in the back of my mind – something I learned just before my trial back in March.

I drum my fingers along the wall of my jail cell, listening to the two sets of footsteps quickly approaching.

"Another one?" the voice of an officer asks, incredulous.

"Yep. Another girl, gone. I just wonder where they're all going." His partner sighs. "She was an elemental master, too."

My ears perk up. An...elemental master? Interesting.

"What was her element this time?" the other officer asks.

"Form. Camille disappeared a week ago with no trace, so once again, the Harper Cauley case is the only one that makes sense."

Camille? She's...gone? And what's the Harper Cauley case?

"Eesh. I get serial killer vibes from it, but no one's ever found one of the bodies. These girls just seem to poof away!"

"Right? Hey, how long are we going to keep this thing under wraps from the public?"

"I don't know. I guess the chief needs to inform female elemental masters under the age of thirty about the case, but he hasn't yet. Maybe it's because so many non-elementals fall under the case, too?"

"Or maybe because he doesn't want the media all over it. If this killer or whoever he is figures out we're noticing patterns, he might randomize his victims just to get us off his trail."

"But don't those elemental girls need to know they're in danger?"

"Informing the public is not under my jurisdiction," a new voice says. I can tell it's the police chief, and I strain my ears to hear more.

He goes on, "The mayor of Ninjago City hasn't given me liberties to disclose any information on the Harper Cauley case. I've already put my job on the line by telling whichever female elemental masters I could get into contact with about the threat. Unfortunately, there are only five I know of left – amber, water, poison, illusions, and...well, I guess form is gone now. That leaves us with four left." He sighs. "But I've told the ones left to be careful."

"Huh. Interesting." The officers move onto a new topic, walking past my cell and away from me.

"Rumi?" asks a tired, confused voice.

I blink, fighting hard against the sword's spell of slumber. I must've drifted somewhere deeper into the sword.

And then I see him.

"Lloyd!" I squeal, attack-hugging him.

"Rumi, how did you..." He looks confused and exhausted, and his eyes begin to drift closed.

I tug on his hands, releasing him from my hug. "We have to get out of the sword's portal before it closes, Lloyd." I paddle through the emerald atmosphere with one arm and drag him behind me with my other.

After a few moments of sluggishness, he helps me propel us toward the little beam of light that signifies the outside world. Everything seems to move slower and slower as we approach it, and the light we see becomes garbled, as though we're viewing sunlight through water.

"Faster, Lloyd," I bid him, my words slurred.

He uses his elemental power of energy to give us a boost, holding onto me so we can escape together. I close my eyes right as the portal's about to –

We both suddenly land on hard ground, breathing heavily.

We made it.

I burst into nervous, happy giggles, gasping for breath as I laugh. "I beat Nadakhan!" I yell. "I beat Nadakhan!"

Lloyd rolls over on his side, looking confused as he stares down at me. "How...how are you here?"

I hear a growl from behind me, and suddenly, Nadakhan poofs in front of us, sword in hand.

"You will not escape that easily," he grunts, swinging his weapon at us.

Lloyd covers my body with his and rolls us out of the way, then shoots a weak ball of green energy at Nadakhan.

The Djinn cackles, vanishing and reappearing right next to us. "Adorable."

I grasp at straws, thinking quickly. "Nadakhan, I wish you were trapped in that sword!"

He cries out as the sword envelops him in green light, and he disappears into the weapon.

Lloyd blinks. "Can he...poof out of that thing?"

"I don't know," I giggle, shaking my head. I smack my lips against Lloyd's cheek. "But you're back!"

He looks at me seriously. "Rumi, where are we, and what happened?"

"The Dark Island. Your team came to save you, and they brought me along. Obviously, though, I did the better job of rescuing you!" My tone is light and airy.

"They...brought you along?"

"Yes, they did. And good thing, or you'd still be trapped." I take his hands, jumping upward.

He sighs, furrowing his forehead. "We need to get back to Ninjago. Any number of horrible things could've happened with the team gone. The Dark Island is...what, a three-day journey from the mainland?"

"It took us two days. But enough worrying about that – like I'd want to return someplace where they'll just throw me back in Kryptarium. Let's take our time!" I try to pull him up with my hands.

He resists me, bending over to reach Nadakhan's sword. He then rises and meets my gaze. "Thanks for coming for me, Rumi. I just think we need to get back and join the others."

***Haha, see, that was just the start of the ending of this book, guys.  still have four chapters and an epilogue 😈

Thoughts on:

The Oni/Pythor/Nadakhan?

The machine?

The Harper Cauley case?

*When I realize I'm supposed to have this story finished by the end of this week* DANG IT-***