LAST CHAPTER WAS STILL IN THE NEVER REALM. THIS ONE WILL BE A LITTLE OF BOTH. I MIGHT NOT UPDATE OVER THE HOLIDAY OR I MIGHT HAVE TIME. DUNNO YET. HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO MY AMERICAN FRIENDS IF NOT.

A little better description would have been nice. Other than they went to the beach. Go find them Cole thought. A needle in a haystack would be easier. Old town beach was south of the city of New Ninjago. Most of the housing and shops were old and set on stilts. Except not gross and smelling of fish. Cole set the air jet down and each ninja leapt out.

"Well where are we gonna start." Jay questioned with some nervous laughter. "Its not like its a whole town and we have to go door to door and find people"

"We are going to do exactly that if we need to." Lloyd answered. Privately thinking its a pain in the ass and that Karlof should just pick up his phone.

The ninja started their search up and down the old boardwalk. But noticed very quickly non of the shops were open. None of the houses set abvoe them had doors or windows open to catch the breeze. In fact they saw no people moving around at all. No people. No birds either. Just quite shut down. The sounds of water from the beach even seemed subdued.

"What gives?" asled Cole. "Its the end of summer. Its gonna be hot. Where is everybody?"

"Something is really off, I can feel it" Lloyd answered him.

The started to walk down to the end of the pier. Some carnival rides up ahead didn't move or make a jangle. The lights and power were still on. Here and there they could see where people had dropped food and drinks. Popcorn and cotton candy rumbled by like tumbleweeds.

Kai gave up and yelled in frustration "Is anybody here?! Karlof! Faith!"

Making loud noises would prove to be a bad idea. Small scraping and slopping noises came out from around corners and from the floor boards below them. With apprehension the ninja started to move closer to each other.

"What the hell is that?!" Jay screeched. The loud noise only seemed to make whatever was coming go faster.

"Will you shut up Jay" Cole said in a angry whisper.

They all went silent. However that proved pointless. Dark figures boiled out of everywhere. They looked sort of like a frog, but dark dark greenish black and they had wicked claws on the end of each appendage. They looked at the ninja like they each carried a homing beacon.

"We are outnumbered more then ten to one" Lloyd started off. Only to be cut off by both Jay and Kai releasing a bolt of electricity and one of fire respectively. It slowed the creatures but only slightly. The things also seemed to have plated armor on their bodies. Like a turtle prehaps.

"That didn't do anything" Cole yelled swinging his hammer at one. Knocking it many feet back into its brethren. But seemingly not hurting it at all. Each ninja was able to push back some of the monsters, but it didn't appear to actually do anything to hurt them. Their armored hides were much too thick.

"We need to get back to the air jet and get off this boardwalk" Cole yelled again.

All four bolted back the way they came. The monsters were fast. But the ninja faster. That didnt look like it would mean much. More and more of the dark colored things crawled out from under the decking.

"Where the hell are they coming from'' Kai screamed in frustration. Batting another out of his path. "We wont make it much farther, there's too many".

It did not appear they would make it out in time. However the loud hum of the thrusters of the air jet rolled over top them. And the ropes dropped down. Each one scurrying up. Kai had to slash the rope off below Lloyd because the monsters had starting scrambling up it. They fell with a large thud. One or two falling on their armored shells and popping right back up. The third however bounced his head off a lamp post on the way down. The head smashed open like a fragile glass. Oozing a wet lime green colored goo everywhere. Absolutely disgusting. Cole wondered where he had seen that green goo before.

Each one scrambled on deck. Jay taking a strong grip on Cole's arm and hauling him over. Cole went to thank the blue ninja but Jay looked too frazzled to answer. Jay zapped several of the creatures off lamp posts and off the top of the houses as the air jet slammed into gear. Pulling them higher than the creatures could climb.

They turned to look who had saved them. A very battered and worse for wear Karlof and Faith were at the controls.

"And here we were the ones coming to save you" Lloyd said smirking slightly. Cole and Kai smiling in relieve and Jay melting to the deck of the air jet. Thrusting a thumbs up at them both. "What happened here, why are those...things going after us and you?"

"Karlof and Faith took a what you say?.. long weekend." Karlof spoke in the third person. His Ninjagain was still poor. "We go to beach. We see water. Faith like water very much" Karlof smiled at her.

''It was very good, this realm has so much beauty and abundance" Faith added. "But as soon as we got down closer to the water those...things crawled out and started chasing everyone off the beach. They especially seemed to go after Karlof". Faith did not look pleased at that. "We fought off as may as we could and went for higher ground. Noise does seem to help attract them, but they can follow Karlof like he is a fresh meal and they are starving"

"We backtracked and found the air jet, Ninja must have been close by if ninja jet is here" Karlof said.

"It looks like all the civilians have left. Or been taken Lloyd said with a grimace. "We need to head back to the air temple and make sure the rest of everyone made it".

They left with the monsters scrambling everywhere beneath them. This was not good Cole thought. Their are so many of them and so few of us. The air jet quickly putting space between.

The never realm, a later time.

Bree and Harumi moved through the woods. Hunting again. It was the first time Bree had let them outside in weeks. Many weeks ago she had dropped the book she was reading with a start. She had sensed something, but she didn't know what nor if it was good or bad. Several weeks of bitter nasty winter went by. With the young women not leaving their home for anything. Then the weather miraculously cleared and they both felt it might be safe to head back out side.

"Maybe what you felt was just one last blast of winter" Harumi whispered.

"We can only hope" Bree whispered back. "We seriously need to get more food. I was worried this realm had an endless winter or something aweful like that."

"How much do you know about this one. Or any of the others you have been too?" Harmumi whispered again.

"Not much really, we moved so often, sometimes my mother only asked me to jump to a place I remembered. I might not even know what the name of the realm would have been." Bree answered

The two young women came to and crossed the creek about half way from their home. Or half as long as they could reasonable walk. They tried to not go farther than they could easily make it back before dark.

"If it get much warmer this creek ice wont hold us any longer, but maybe we might get more fish more easily." Bree said still whispering.

Ugh more fish both women thought.

Down the trail further Bree crouched and pointed ahead of them. More wild life was coming out with the warmer temps. They looked through the brush and spotted a deer. It was the first large game animals they had seen in this realm. Harumi raised the bow that she was carrying to take aim at the deer. Waiting for the better shot.

Bree pushed her arm down with a scream. "No Harumi stop!" The deer hearing and tearing off the other direction.

"What the hell Bree! I had it" Harumi snapped at her.

Bree was already heading home and said over her shoulder "that was not a deer."

"The fuck is a deer not a deer?" Harumi grumbled.

Both women stopped then. Sensing danger and not seeing it. The baby started to squirm in her pack and whimper mama. She felt it too. Both Bree and Harumi drew weapons.

"I can't see anything" Harumi whispered.

'I know, I just can't tell where its coming from" Bree answered. Gesturing down the path with her head where they came from. "We need to see if we can make it home"

They went to creep off when the woods nearly exploded with sounds. Wolves and maybe a bear? Neither women wanted to stIck around to find out.

"Home, but not straight home if we can help it" Bree said her whisper barely audible. With that she sent off a massive slap of magic in the general direction of the sounds tearing trees apart like tissue paper. Hopeing that it would startle whatever was around them and give them a head start.

Both took off at a run. Slowed down only slightly by the packs each carried. They ran parallel to the creek for a moment and then stopped in horror. The ice was breaking up. What or whoever was after them did this on purpose. They cornered them. Looking around the wolves and bears for fucks sake started coming out of the woods. Larger and more menacing than one would usually find. Harumi readied herself to fight. Bree gestured to point her bow down.

"Let me try and talk to them" Bree said.

"Talk to wild animals? Let me know how that works out for you" Harumi snarled in frustration and fear.

"They aren't animals, they are something else, a shapeshifter of some kind" Bree responded.

"ONI?" Harumi asked.

"I don't know what an Oni is, But maybe" Bree responded only to be cut off by the snarl of the wolf at the front.

It looked like a wolf Bree thought, but it has multiple tails like a kitsune. Something she had read about it books. If it was then Bree, Harumi and little Alanna were in trouble. The wolf then shifted with a glow into a women. Young, closer in age to Harumi than Bree. Harumi was shocked and stayed silent. Bree went to speak and was cut off.

"How dare you hunt us in our own woods" The wolf girl snarled.

"We stopped as soon as we saw the deer. We mean no harm I promise" Bree said. We are just hungry and looking for food. Bree glanced at Harumi and little Alanna in the pack on Harumis back. "My cousin, my daughter and I mean you no harm".

"NO HARM!" the wolf girl snarled. "We have been watching you for weeks, we know who you are".

"If you have been watching us for weeks then you know we have never had anything to do with your kind, much less hurt them" Harumi snarled back at her.

"We know you already HARUMI" the wolf girl snarled with anger. "We have been warned about you from other travelers and we are smart enough to take their caution. You will never be allowed to stay here in our homeland".

''I've...we've been here for more than a year now and not caused you any problems" Bree interjected.

"SILENCE! You leave now or die with this Harumi" The wolf snarled. "I have already had your cave and everything in it burnt to the ashes".

"There is not a chance in hell I will allow you to hurt my family. We will leave and you can go on being your miserable selves'' Bree retorted.

Bree and Harumi were back to back now. Considering their options. Alanna was squeaking and whimpering in fear from the tension in the air.

"If I use magic on them most if not all of them will die'' Bree whispered out of the side of her mouth, Though she suspected these people shifters could hear her just fine.

"And...? They want to kill us" Harumi responded. "Where else are we going to go?"

"Anywhere but here" Bree said turning and throwing both arms around Harumi and Alanna so tightly it took their breath away. With a blinding flash of light and a loud pop both young women and the baby they held disappeared. Along with the patch of snow where they stood. All the shifters were thrown backwards by the popping blast. The bluish purple glow of magic faded with them.

The wolf girl got up first. And then the largest bear. He shifted back to a human giving the girl a look.

"That was a little harsh don't you think, we only wanted to scare them away" He said.

"It sure worked didn't it" She responded with a grin.