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Chapter 20: An Obscure Puzzle
It had been over ten minutes since the Senate Guard entered Senator Tudabone's office. His two Ninjagoan Guards stood in place outside the doors, but found it unusual that Brad would spend such an amount of time privately speaking with a guard, even if he was delivering a message of importance.
Eventually, the female guard on the right Antonia pressed the communication button on the keypad, alerting Brad's desk that they were coming in. According to protocol, he needed to respond by having the light on the keypad flash green. When it didn't after a few moments, she looked to her fellow guard Benny.
"Senator? We're coming in!"
Readying their spears, Antonia prepared to press the panel that would open the door as Benny prepared to enter first.
3...2...1...
"Now!"
The door slid open with the push of a button, allowing Benny and Antonia to rush in to a horrid sight. "By the First Spinjitzu Master..."
The Senator's body was flung upon his desk, with a blade driven into his chest and a note written in Ninjargon attached to it. Behind the desk, the window was smashed open. Benny ran to the window to see if the murderer could be seen climbing down the building, but to no avail... the Blue Guard was long gone.
"How could he have escaped? These windows are thick enough to stop any blast smaller than an explosive. No way could he have the raw strength to break the glass by punching it. And we would have heard if he used his blaster..." Benny's voice trailed off as he looked back to his partner, who was staring at the note connected to the dagger. "What is it?"
Antonia carefully picked up the note, leaving the blade in the Senator's chest for the crime scene. "It... it says: A new chapter begins. You cannot escape us in the stars. They must pay for their sins. Death will be ours."
She began to tear up at the realization they had failed not only their duty to protect Brad, but they failed to live up to his trust. In their time on Coruscant, Brad had become good friends with all ten of of his personal attachment of guards. And now he was dead.
But Benny was not ready to mourn. Picking up his communicator, he alerted the Senate Guard and Coruscant Guard of the situation. "Attention! We have a murder in the Senatorial office wing! Senator Tudabone has been murdered by a male disguised as a Senate Guard, and he is on the run. The individual is roughly 6 feet tall, and is likely still in disguise. We need to set up a perimeter now!"
Several clicks away, Bizarro Cole turned his head at the sound of alarms going off from the Senate building. Good luck finding me.
Though he no longer wore the Senate Guard disguise, he was still hiding his natural form using a cloth and shoulder armor he took from the trader who he killed while arriving on this strange planet. There was no way they would find him, at least so long as he hurried back to Ninjago. But he still had one more stop to make, and he knew his own brothers were not going to be happy he made it.
Using a speeder he stole from an alleyway, he pulled up under the landing pad entrance to the Maximum Security Prison of Coruscant, where several Clone Guards stood between him and his goal.
"Okay... time to try out those dormant powers." Closing his eyes with immense focus, the green scar on his forehead began to glow bright green. When he opened his eyes, he looked down to see his entire figure was transparent. "Yes!"
He was now a ghost, and could easily turn back with the flip of a mental switch. Turning invisible, he floated to the top of the landing pad, passing by the squad of clones unnoticed as he passed through the gateway, down to the elevator.
Checking the elevator levels, he saw the floor he was looking for. Perfect. Going down.
As the Awakened Warriors escorted Clutch Powers out of his cell, the adventurer took note of the improvements the Serpentine, Cultists, and Sons of Garmadon had made to the Palace. Despite the still decrepit state, the cobwebs had all been removed and any failing floorboards had been replaced. Surrounding soldiers continued their work as the two black Skulkin pushed the cuffed adventurer outside, where Bizarro Jay and Bizarro Zane stood with the floating skull Hazza D'ur, admiring the empty landing strip in front of them, and beyond that, the ocean separating the island from the rest of the world.
The evil titanium ninja turned their way. "Ah, good. You're just in time, Clutch." As he was pushed down onto his knees, he stared at them nervously, almost too afraid to ask. "In time for... what?"
On queue, the sound of approaching airships alerted him and the Bizarro ninja towards the ocean, where they saw a fleet flying their way. Clutch instantly recognized them as some of the ships they had used to get to the island in the first place.
Landing in front of them, the ships opened up, allowing individual members of the Serpentine, Sons of Garmadon, and Chen's Cult to depart first. But that wasn't what shocked Clutch. Each of the approaching villains were carrying small children! Curiously, he noticed on had grey skin, another had his entire faced wrapped in a garb so no skin could be seen, and another had purple hair. They had to have been roughly five years old.
Leading the group were the three main lieutenants: Mohawk, Chopper Maroon, and Eyezor. Unlike the others behind them, they were each carrying an infant, with Eyezor carrying identical twins. Clutch guessed they had to have been less than a year each, judging by their sizes.
Mohawk nodded to the leaders as Chopper Maroon signaled to the rest of them to take the children inside as Clutch stared. "Mission accomplished, boss. The Skull here was right; all targets have been found."
"Excellent work, Mohawk. bring them to their quarters, and be sure that they are fed. This island has more than enough resources for everybody."
The Son of Garmadon nodded and followed the rest of the new arrivals into the Palace, while the leaders turned to their captive with victorious smirks. "Oh, look Jay. The poor fool still doesn't understand. How... adorable."
Bizarro Jay, however, did not look so amused. "Never mind this fool. We must be ready. Kai is already on his way with both of his targets, but we have not yet heard back from Cole..."
Aaaaannnnndd... here I am. After floatind down through several floors, Bizarro Cole turned visible once again, standing in the hallway that carried what remained of the Dark Army leadership. His footsteps could be heard, though none could see him from the entrance besides the strangely armored individual Bizarro Cole recognized as "Grievous."
Several of Ninjago's villains tried to see their visitor. "Who's there?"
Looking at a nearby control panel, Bizarro Cole pressed on a key that dimmed all of their shields so that they could not see him, like one-way glass.
Walking forward, he was unimpressed with the powerless humans Vex and Chen, as well as the Serpentine royalty Pythor and Aspheera. The strange Vermillion General Blunck did not seem too impressive either. The contained Djinn Nadakhan intrigued him, but he wasn't why the evil Master of Earth had come.
Standing in front of Killow's cell, he pressed on the control panel's key that allowed the individual shield to drop the dimlight so the Son of Garmadon General could see him. Once his eyes adjusted to the hallway's dim lighting again, the gargantuan biker backed away in awe. "Y-you!"
"Yes, Killow. It is I, one of The Four. And you are the Last of Garmadon's General's. How'd you like to come back into the fold, and help us avenge our Dark Lord?"
As the sky began to lighten up with the sun rising in the distance, Jay, Zane, and Pixal had taken a gunship down from The Wisp to meet with the Emperor and he rest of the Assembly, save Brad, at the Royal Palace. As per the Republic's treaty with Ninjago, Republic military presence cannot be allowed on the planet's soil or inner-atmosphere airspace without the consent of Lloyd or the Ninjago Government. Subsequently, the rest of Jay's forces stayed onboard The Wisp.
As they approached the Palace, Pixal looked to Zane and Jay, able to see that something was troubling them. "What is it? Is this about your headaches?"
The Titanium Ninja shook his head. "No... yes... maybe? I'm not sure, but I sense that something has happened." Jay nodded in agreement. "Yeah, me too. I don't know how, but the Bizarro Ninja have somehow been absent to the Force. But whatever their underlings are up too, I can sense will be trouble."
Pixal looked at Jay quizzically. "Absent to the Force? How is that possible? Based on everything you have told me about it, and all I have learned from public archives, Jedi are able to sense all living things, even droids now. Are there any other beings you know of with this ability?"
The Master of Lightning shook his head. "No, not that we know of. Legends speak of an ancient race millennia ago that could avoid detection through the Force, known as the Yuuzhan Vong, but they were a violent species that sought total domination, before being wiped out. Whatever the case with the Bizarro Ninja, it is something else entirely."
The gunship landed in the Palace's hangar bay, allowing the three to be greeted by Lloyd, Cyrus Borg, Dareth, Ronin, and The Mechanic, with a company of Royal Guards behind them. They noticed Kai's absence immediately.
"Where's the hothead?"
Lloyd looked to Jay with a casual smirk. "He left not too long ago to bring Nya and Cole here. He seemed distressed; he had experienced a major headache and was convinced they were in danger." The Masters of Ice and Lightning looked to each other in concern, confusing the others.
"What is it?" Ronin asked.
"While we were in Ninjago's atmosphere, Jay and I experienced a similar infliction. The fact that Pixal did not, nor you My Emperor, seems to confirm our hypothesis: The Bizarro Ninja have somehow copied our powers."
Dareth's brow furrowed. "That is troubling. If this is indeed the case, they have far more destructive potential than we initially calculated."
"And I'm afraid it is true, Dareth."
All heads turned to an approaching Royal Gaurd, holding up a holographic communication device. In front of him stood the hologram of Kai, who was leaning on his right onto another Royal Guard for support. He was covered in scratches and his clothes had sustained burns.
Lloyd walked forward with widened eyes. "KAI! What happened? Where are Cole and Nya?"
"I'm afraid... I'm afraid Bizarro Kai got to them first. And it's worse than them just having our powers. He also looked just like me now. Not only did he have my older figure and hairstyle, but my clothes, skin tone, and eye color as well. It's safe to assume the other three are the same."
They took a moment to process this before Cyrus asked the questions on their minds. "Where are you now, Kai? And how did you sustain these injuries?"
"I'm on an airship approaching you now. A patrol of Royal Guards found me in what remained of Ignacia. Bizarro Kai... He killed everyone else. His powers were raw, untamed. It wasn't like fighting Aspheera. She could control it. He used his power like a hose, spreading it everywhere."
"I see..." Everyone looked to Lloyd, waiting for his response. The Emperor nodded slowly before looking back at Kai.
"They took Cole and Nya alive... Get back here on the double, Kai. We need all hands on deck. I'll communicate Brad to let him know of this development, perhaps he can-" Before he could finish his order, a second Royal Guard approached next to the first, with a different holographic projection: two of Brad's Senatorial Guards, who Lloyd recognized as Brad and Antonia.
"What is it?" He did not fail to notice the distressed look on their faces.
Benny bowed in respect. "My Emperor... I'm afraid Senator Tudabone... is dead. He was murdered in his office only an hour ago."
"WHAT? Why am I just hearing of this?!"
"The authorities here did not allow us to communicate you until we were debriefed and questioned. The Senator's murderer came disguised as a Blue Senate Guard, and left with a knife in his chest with a note attached. Whoever he was, he is long gone. And that's not all."
Lloyd was still processing the news of his oldest friend's murder, forcing the Mechanic to speak up. "What else? What else could possibly be relevant at this moment?"
Benny stepped Back so that Antonia could answer. "There was a break-in at Coruscant's Maximum Security prison. Somehow, the Sons of Garmadon General Killow escaped. And he did so alone."
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