"So, my dear, what did you think," Pythor asked as he and Kigaru reentered Kigaru's 'guest' room.
"About what," Kigaru asked. "About the walk? Well, good exercise, but not really necessary."
"No, about what you saw, what I showed you," Pythor sighed.
"Lame," Kigaru giggled.
"Lame? What's lame about this place? It's a formidable fortress, built underneath a dense jungle, reinforced with plating and guarded by thousands of soldiers."
"Lame as in it isn't practical for thousands."
"Explain."
"You barely have room to operate, let alone house thousands. Plus, what's an army without vehicular weapons, like tanks? Any ninja could roll over your forces with a single tank."
"Aw, yes, that. Vehicular design has, well, fallen behind schedule."
"I can tell. Seriously, you expect the ninja to fall by mere numbers?"
"Of course not! I learned that much from years of anguish! But a solution will present itself soon enough."
"Pythor, come quick," a viper guard interrupted. "The lab needs you immediately!"
"Stay here," Pythor ordered Kigaru. "I must leave."
"Fine with me," Kigaru scoffed. "I didn't really enjoy your company anyway."
Pythor slithered out, muttering as he left. Kigaru then plopped down atop a chest. Immediately, the chest lid flung open, launching her into the wall.
"Ouch," Kigaru grumbled. "What a piece of junk."
She stomped over, and almost slammed the chest again. Just then, her eye noticed an oddly-shaped trinket stuffed away in the corner, with a tightly wrapped scroll beside it.
"What's this," she mumbled, picking up the trinket and scroll.
She set the scroll and trinket on a desk, then slowly unraveled the scroll. A map of Ninjago, scribbled on in unreadable tongue, appeared, with some notes off to one side.
"This is Ninjago," Kigaru mumbled. "I recognize the shape, but what are all these markings and dots? I can't make them out."
"Those are landmarks," a voice answered.
Kigaru stiffened.
"Pythor, is that you," Kigaru asked, frowning.
"No, he is still away," the voice answered. "Turn around and ease your fears."
Kigaru complied, and gasped. A spirit-like woman, illuminated in a glow of light and clothed in pure white, appeared before her.
"Are…are you a ghost," Kigaru stammered.
"Be still, child," the woman soothed. "I am no ghost. Come, sit by my side on this bed."
Kigaru nodded, taking a seat on the bed.
"There now," the woman smiled. "I am not a fright, am I?"
"No…I guess," Kigaru hesitated.
"Don't be fearful of me. I only seek your wellbeing."
"Pythor does too. Go figure. It seems like my wellbeing is the only thing everyone cares about."
"Is that a hint of sarcasm I hear?"
"Can't you tell, if you are a spirit?"
"Why so bitter, if your wellbeing is his concern? I, for one, would rejoice at such care and affection."
"Affection? That's rich," Kigaru scoffed.
"You doubt he cares about you," the woman asked.
"Duh. Can't you take a hint? He's just sedating me so I'm numb to his poison."
"You are more perceptive than he realizes. Tell me, was it him or you that suggested a tour of his facilities?"
"Him, and him alone, the fool."
"Ah, but he is no fool. He has perception beyond his peers, beyond even that of the ninja."
"How so?"
"He has a vision."
"Duh. That's obvious. Every villain had a vision to execute. Ever heard of a villain without one," Kigaru laughed.
"Every villain had a dream they wished to fulfill, but only a few of them were visionaries," the woman mused. "Dreamers fantasize utopias that defy the realm of reality, and they require grand armies and glorious victories to achieve. But visionaries constrain their dreams to reality, adapting to change and accounting for a variety of obstacles and dangers, real or potential."
"I…don't quite understand what you mean," Kigaru remarked, scratching her head.
"Many villains, when they arise, perish, but Pythor, Clouse, and Harumi still live."
"Wait, Harumi still lives?"
"Physically, no, but mentally, yes."
"That doesn't make sense."
"Her body is dead, yet her presence is still noticeable, but only to a few, such as Lloyd."
"Ah, I see what you mean, I think."
"To Lloyd, it does not matter whether she lives or dies; her presence is one and the same. And it troubles him, oh, it disturbs his very soul. I see him now. He tosses and turns, wrestling, panting, sweating, cycling through repeat after repeat of her. His heart, it crumbles slowly, day by day, eaten alive by haunting shadows of his past."
"I have seen it in him," Kigaru nodded. "The pain, the sleepless nights, the anger…it…it speaks volumes of his lack of inner peace."
"Ah, so Pythor was right," the lady smiled. "You are wise beyond your years. Tell me, how did you respond?"
"At first, with bitterness, because I barely knew him," Kigaru sighed. "Then, when I grasped his despair, I swore to him that I would be his Harumi."
"Foolish decision."
"Who are you to judge? He needs me as much as I need him."
"So naïve you are! You fail to grasp, despite your understanding, what Pythor already knows!"
"And what does Pythor know?"
"What Lloyd will become if he trains you."
"You speak nonsense. Since our reconciliation, Lloyd has been kind to me. And he has sworn to train me as a ninja, like himself."
"Like himself, eh? That's rich."
"Your sour honey won't attract many flies," Kigaru puffed.
"Oh, come now, you think I'm stupid? I have seen the path Lloyd walks upon, and it leads only to dark places."
"What sort of dark places?"
"Come. Take my hand. I must take you somewhere."
"Where?"
"To an ancient ruin, far from any peering eye."
"Um…no. I don't trust you, let alone want to follow you."
"And what will assure you?"
"If I agree to follow you, to let you take my hand, then swear that you will leave me here again."
"By my honor, it shall be done."
"No. Not by your honor. Rather, by something far more certain."
"Fine. So long as the sun sets over Ninjago, I shall do as you wish."
"No. Not enough."
"Ugh! By darkness and light, I swear it shall be done!"
"Shall it be, if one can manipulate life?"
"Enough! By life itself, I swear to the heavens that if I do not do as you wish, I will forfeit life and grant you my powers! Goodness, I misspoke!"
"You can't take it back," Kigaru sighed. "Once one swears a life oath, they must fulfil it to the last letter."
"I know," the woman sighed.
"One more thing," Kigaru interrupted.
"What?"
"Who are you?"
"I am Laisha, the evening star," the woman sighed. "And I have come to show you the true fate of Ninjago."