"What do you mean there USED to be an island here?!" Jay shouted, staring over the side of the Bounty.

The Bounty currently hovered over a massive patch of ocean that appeared as though a hurricane had blown through. Massive chunks of what looked like rock were floating along the surface of the water, but daggerd water was being drawn into the middle of a massive vortex. In the darkness beneath the waves, massive land masses could be just barely made out. Hard winds buffeted the side of the ship, and thus the ship had to hover a distance away from the center of what had, apparently, been an island.

"Not just any island, Chen's Island," Garmadon brushed back his graying hair and shook his head, "He was a vile man that was instrumental in starting the Serpentine Wars. For his crimes in the hand he played in the deaths of many, he was exiled along with his followers to this island. It seems as though someone has taken it upon themselves to wipe him off the map."

"But, why would anyone do that?" Cole shook his head, "How could anyone even do that?"

"I do not know, but this feels deliberate," Wu walked down the stairs from the main wheel, "Whoever did this, they wanted us to see. Nobody would even know this location unless they knew about Chen. And nobody still has knowledge of this place besides Garmadon and myself. Someone did this to get our attention."

"Someone blew up an entire island just to get your attention?" Kai thrust his hand off to the side of the ship, "Who has enough power to just, go and do that?!"

"If we knew that, we would going for them already, Kai," Zane bowed his head, "I believe we need to analyze this situation further before we make any decisions."

"Well put, Zane."

From the entrance to the below deck area, Sun walked out. The white haired man walked forward, clad in a suit that was equal parts of green and gold, highlighted with white throughout it. He walked to the edge of the deck and reached out to grip the railings, leaning out to look closer at the destruction in front of them. A blast of wind to the Bounty made him pull up, slowly placing his hand over his eyes to look again.

"Father, how large was Chen's Island?" Sun asked, "Any reference will do."

"Let me see…" Wu paused and walked up the stairs, returning with a map of Ninjago, "The island is approximately… here," He pointed his hand to the location, "But it is so small it cannot be seen on the map. If I were to guess… perhaps four or so times of Ninjago City."

"Something blew up an island that big?!" Jay shouted, "But, but!"

"Yes, we hear you, Jay," Garmadon shook his head with an annoyed glance, "This is dangerous, brother. I have never seen anyone strong enough to do this before."

"Me either, brother," Wu sighed, "This is troubling. Putting aside their power, how did they know this place? We made sure that any mention of Chen or his island was scrubbed from all the texts we could find."

"Clearly, we missed some things," Garmadon grimaced, "Though, I think for now we should be grateful they have put their power to destroying something evil."

"Regardless of the sins that Chen committed, that does not mean that his execution was warranted," Sun turned to Garmadon, "Uncle, do you know of any being at all that could bring this destruction?"

"No… unfortunately not," Garmadon bowed his head, "Believe me, if we did we would not be hesitating to stop them at once."

"Hmm… Nya!" Wu shouted, "Scan Ninjago for any reports of crime or destruction! Perhaps this asdaggerlant could be attempting to get our attention elsewhere."

"Already on it," Nya called out over the intercom, "I'll keep you posted!"

"Good, set a course for Ninjago City," Wu narrowed his gaze, "If this thing is willing to harm people like Chen, then they could have no problems hurting the people as well."

"Sun, fetch the Golden Weapons," Garmadon ordered, "The Ninja will have need of them. Be ready yourself for when we arrive."

"I will ready us at once," Sun quickly disappeared beneath the Bounty's deck to fetch the items. In the meantime, the other Ninja quickly scattered to arm themselves otherwise.

Wu and Garmadon made their way to the main cockpit, silent as they went. The bounty turned and rocketed itself off towards Ninjago, jets firing at full speed. As the ship sped along, the two Masters made their way until they had entered the cockpit with Nya. The young girl was tapping away at a massive computer screen, attempting to parse out massive bits of information on the screen. As the two walked in, she only gave them a glance before looking again.

"There's something strange…" Nya pulled up the image of an apartment that looked as though it'd been burst open at the wall, "The other day, a man named Sanders Saunders was murdered. Nobody saw who got in, but they daggerd that he blasted the entire wall of the apartment to get to him. He was found dead with strange burns all over his body. I got a picture here…" Nya clicked to enlarge a photo, "The burns are weird though, they only affected the skin, not the clothes he wore."

"Brother!" Garmadon shouted as soon as the image came up, "Isn't that?!"

"It… can't be!" Wu shook his head, "That… that's Krux! He was hiding in plain sight this entire time?"

"Nya, did they find any family members related to this Sanders Saunders?" Garmadon asked forcefully. Nya turned nervously to the screen and tapped away again.

"No, they didn't…" Nya paused, "This article here says that no immediate family was found. They found a strange set of armor in his apartment though, I can't get a picture of it though."

"Brother," Garmadon turned, "Do you realize what this means?"

"Yes… it means that whoever is doing this likely destroyed Chen's Island as well…" Wu rubbed his chin, "Hmm… but how did this man know about Krux before even we did?"

"Is there anything else that you can see, Nya?" Wu asked, "Anyone at all, gone missing, killed, anything?"

Nya pulled up the database of missing persons from the police center, "Here, tell me if you see anyone, Master Wu," Nya began to slowly scroll through them, letting him look.

"Nothing else out of the ordinary," Nya leaned up, "But whoever did this knew a lot of things we didn't. The only other thing I'm detecting is some unusual ocean currents!"

"We must not worry about the tides!" Sun stepped into the cockpit, his arms behind his back and posture straight as he walked, "Someone is committing horrible acts, and it is up to us to make them see the error of their ways."

"Sun, something seems off about this," Nya called out to him, "Someone knows more than we do! And they're doing things that don't seem to make any sense. Maybe we should try to find more information on this guy."

"No," Sun shook his head, reaching down to his hips. He plucked a small wooden sword hilt and focused. Slowly, it began to glow until it had turned into a massive glowing sword of light. He turned so that the light reflected on his face, then inhaled a moment before speaking.

"Someone has destroyed people, including an entire island, we do not have the luxury of waiting," Sun lowered his sword, "We must get to Ninjago City and ensure the people are safe!"

"I believe he has a point," Garmadon bowed his head, "We can do more research on the way. Whoever has done this has intentionally begun to lay bread crumbs for us to follow. To Ninjago City, full speed!"

"I'm already on it!" Nya rushed over from the computer, grabbing the wheel and thrusting it forward. With a new burst of fuel, the Bounty lurched forward towards Ninjago City.

"What…" Sun whispered as he stood with his summoned sword at the front of the Bounty.

Ninjago City was nothing like the team had ever seen it as before. The city itself was covered by a massive black cloud that seemed to block out any light from entering it, meaning the entire city was a set of black, silver, and the harsh yellow lights of the buildings. Streams of people were fleeing from the city in droves, cars flying down the roads that carried them anywhere else. The city looked undamaged, but an aura of something sinister lay around it.

"Brother…" Garmadon gripped the railing of the Bounty behind Sun, "I've never seen anything like this before. What has happened to Ninjago City?"

"I do not know… this is evil the likes we have never seen…" Wu looked over towards the dark cloud and then looked to Sun, "Can you see anything, Sun?"

Sun slowly shook his head, "Nothing. But, if that is darkness like you claim, then there is nothing that cannot be pushed back by the light!"

Sun summoned his broadsword from the hilt again, taking it in both hands and holding it far over his head. The sword glowed in his hands before he moved up onto one foot and spun in place. When he stopped, he swung the sword in a circle in front of him, causing a ribbon of light to form in the air. The energy of his spin transferred into the ribbon. He turned to one of the cannons on the ship and turned it to the side, aiming it straight through the circle. The others scrambled out of the way as he fired a shot right through it.

The shot passed through the ribbon, right as Sun focused and caused the ribbon to burst with a shout of 'Release!' The extra force shot the ball all the way towards the city in the distance. Sun waited with baited breath as it approached the cloud. Just as it touched daggerd cloud, a massive arc of black lightning shot out and struck it, causing the shot to burst apart in the air. Sun stared in shock as it was left there, completely rendered useless.

"...What just happened?!" Jay shouted, pointing towards the darkness, "Is… is the cloud alive?!"

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it's tough!" Kai raised the Sword of Fire overhead, "That wasn't your full strength, was it, Sun?"

"No… but it was a harsh warning shot," Sun spun his broadsword in hand, "I'm shocked that it did nothing… not even Cole would manage to stand up to that one."

"I resent that!" Cole shouted, "I've stood up to any and all attacks you've ever thrown at me!"

"I believe Sun was referring to the relative amount of damage compared to the output in energy it required to withstand the attack," Zane smiled, "Sun can output a rather large amount of energy compared to our own Golden Weapon-enhanced abilities."

"Well whoever this guy is, they better be ready to get Kai-ed!" Kai lifted the Sword of Fire up into the air, causing a massive whirlwind of flames to fly around his body before sucking up into a red gem placed in the eye of the dragon on the blade.

"I agree," Zane spun the Shurikens of Ice on his hands, a gem embedded into each of them, "But I also suggest that we approach this with caution, regardless of whether or not we 'Kai' this enemy."

"It doesn't work when you say it like that, Zane!" Kai shook his head, "It's a makeshift verb, not a noun!"

"But, you are a noun?" Jay pointed to Kai, "You know, noun, 'a person, place or thing?' And if you're also using your name as a verb then that's something too."

"An anthimeria," Zane added with a smile, "The action of using one form of a sentence as another."

"Thanks for the grammar lesson Zane," Cole spun the massive Scythe of Quakes over his shoulder, "But I'm pretty sure whoever we take down only needs to hear one thing: Ninja-Go!"

Sun stared forward at the city in front of him as the Bounty gradually drifted a distance from it. He wanted to charge forward, but something in his gut daggerd that he shouldn't. They had deflected one of his attacks just like that, and the fact they could make out the hand from this distance meant it was truly massive. What sort of beast was waiting in that city for them?

"Nya," Sun turned around, "I do not believe it is a good idea to approach the city in the Bounty. We would be wise to land out of sight and sneak out way into the city. Whoever is doing this likely is attacking from the center of the city. We will approach on foot and do recon until we find out who is doing this. Father, I believe that you two should accompany us."

"I believe that would be wise," Wu concurred, "Whoever this is, they have already shown a willingness to kill and destroy. Whether or not the previous events are connected, it would be wise to go together."

"I shall come along as well!" Garmadon called out, "Nya, take the Bounty beyond the hills and land there. Sun's warning shot has likely alerted them we are in the area. It would be best for us to approach from a different angle. Take us to the east side of the city!"

"Aye, aye, captain!" Nya thrust the wheel in front of her, causing the Bounty to spin and begin to fly them away towards the hills behind them. The Bounty flew over the massive crowded lanes of fleeing citizens, much to many of their shock. The flying ship came over the hills and landed nearly ninety degrees away from their previous position. When they landed, Sun drew his hood up.

"We move like shadow from here on, Ninja!" Garmadon ordered, pulling a facemask up, "Do not get spotted. If you are, retreat to the Bounty at once. We cannot risk being caught by this strange foe!" Garmadon narrowed his eyes, "My brother and I are in charge until we obtain the information. Are we understood?"

"Yes, Master Garmadon!" Sun and the others agreed, "Yes, Master Wu!"

"Then let us be off!" Garmadon leapt from the Bounty's deck and landed with a flip, racing his way across the hills. Wu followed suit, then by Sun, Kai, Zane, Cole and Jay respectively. Nya slowly walked out over the upper deck of the Bounty to watch them flee, a wistful sigh escaping her as they raced away.

Garmadon and Wu decided to rush underneath one of the overpasses of the city, using it for cover. They did not stick to the roads for long, however, and instead used the sparse coverings of the land around Ninjago City to get closer. The group split up once they were halfway there, with Wu, Kai, Zane and Cole going one way and Garmadon, Sun and Jay going the other. Garmadon, meanwhile, found a road of several abandoned vehicles and simply used those to sneak their way up until they had reached the outer buildings.

Just seeing the city was enough to make Sun nervous. It was far from the majestic sight of progress that he had seen before. While the buildings hadn't changed, or not in a way he could see outwardly, the entire city now felt dark and foreboding. The large structures now almost felt like massive towers of a fortress. The small buildings they approached felt like gaps in a wall they were sliding into, and not just a small road into the city. They slid against the walls and began to crawl their way forward, Garmadon keeping point as they moved.

Sun's eyes narrowed as they reached the city. Once they stepped across the threshold of its borders, it felt as though the entire area had darkened. Stepping inside made his skin crawl as well, and a cold feeling drifted over him, even if it was a mild day outside. Jay and Garmadon seemed to feel it too, for they shuddered not long after Sun did.

The changed feeling of the city only continued as they continued into it. As they began to slink through the city, the ground seemed to be peppered with strange purple rocks. The rocks seemed to be sloshing around within their shape like liquid inside of a container. Their surface was speckled with flakes that seemed to move in and out of substance. The 'rocks' remained in their shape, however, and several massive sections of street and sides of buildings were broken with them. Jay moved to investigate one, but Sun thrust his hand out to stop him.

Garmadon looked up and gestured to the cloud layer. Now that they were underneath the clouds, the group could see that the clouds were not a random mass and instead were swirling around a central point. It appeared to be roughly in the center, but still a fair number of blocks away. At that point, something was stretching into the sky, and the sight of it made Sun's eyes widen.

A massive tower stretched into the sky, seemingly formed from the same strange liquid rocks around them. Unlike the rocks, however, the tower seemed to have hardened, and thus a building like none other stretched into the sky. Massive pillars sprouted from the ground and reached up the building at random points to support it as it stretched higher than all the other skyscrapers around it. At the top of the tower was a massive sculpted platform that seemed to overlook the city, and upon it, someone stood atop of it.

Normally, it would be impossible to see someone standing that high up. The reason why, however, was due to the massive wings sprouting from their back. The wingspan was nearly twenty feet, and the size was just enough for them to be able to make out the figure on the top. He appeared to be holding something in his left hand, and from his perch atop the tower, there was little doubt in any of their minds that was the man they had come to face.

"Ninja, you finally came. I was beginning to wonder if you no longer had any drive to fight here. Then again, it appears as though you have had far less training than I remember."

Sun, Garmadon and Jay froze dead in their tracks. The sound seemed to come from all direction, not just from in front of them. The group looked around, but the source was not clear. No sooner than the voice had ended, the ground behind them began to erupt and sprout more of the liquid rocks, forcing them to rush out into the open streets. Once they had, the voice continued.

"There is no need to hide. I have known you were here since you set foot in the city. Those rocks are concentrated Dark Matter, and I can sense the presence of those around it. I would not recommend touching them if I were you, Jay."

"How'd he know I was…?" Jay started to ask, but Sun silenced him. He walked up to one of the rocks in front of him and stared into its surface.

"If you know we are here, then why have you not done away with us, or come to face us yourself?" Sun demanded.

"I have no reason to face you on your own terms. I have taken your city, therefore it is your job to take it back from me. Since you're here, I am willing to assume you have seen my strength already demonstrated. I have already done you a service by removing potential enemies in your own future."

"Our future?" Sun asked into the rock, "What harm have you cast upon the citizens?!"

"Harm? You clearly misunderstand my motives here. Why would I dare risk hurting the subjects of my new empire? If you are referring to the rocks, I plan to permantely infuse them into the foundation of this city.. I needed to make certain none would be caught as I did so."

"You believe we will let you raze the city without a fight?" Sun scoffed, "You are a fool!"

"Quite the opposite, actually, Sun. I have planned for this day for years. So many interesting things have happened in that time, and I have studied all of you. I knew that you would come, and I made sure as well you would have no fear of anyone getting hurt when you came to fight me. I am impressed you found the Bounty, considering you did not meet the Serpentine as I anticipated."

"Allow me to talk to him, Sun," Garmadon slowly nudged Sun aside from the rock, even if he suspected the actual gesture meant very little, "You clearly have attempted to divine the future, and I can warn you that whatever you saw was nothing more than glimpses into one of many outcomes for this day. I doubt that the days will go as you have predicted."

"Garmadon… I am surprised you and Wu came with them. Why, I was under the impression that you and Wu would hang back and allow your Ninja to do the work. It seems you are different than I remember. But I guess I am glad you came. It makes today that much easier to complete."

"And what would that be?" Garmadon narrowed his gaze, "Why exactly do you want us here for?"

"Before that, I would like to ask, why did you not marry Misako?"

Garmadon's body froze. Jay and Sun turned to look at Garmadon, who seemed to have felt someone step on his grave from the look on his face. Garmadon slowly inhaled, and when he spoke, the color seemed to have returned to his face from his momentary shock.

"You take me as a man that would attempt to get in the way of my brother's romance?" Garmadon laughed, "You know nothing about us."

"Perhaps not. It seems that my preparation has changed far, far more than just my own place in this world. I will be waiting for you at the top of my tower. I will not obstruct your journey to it, in fact I will make it easier for you. I wish to test my new powers against you, all of you even. I have many questions that you must answer for me. Please, come at once."

A massive rumbling noise came from all around them. Sun summoned his broadsword, and Jay drew out the Nunchucks of Lightning. Garmadon simply readied his fists. Around them, the rumbling continued until to their right a building was speared apart by massive dark matter rocks. The structure was ripped apart by the rocks, and when the rocks retracted, it collapsed into rubble. Buildings began to be torn apart in the same manner, one after another, forming a winding path that gradually lead to massive tower it seemed.

"What sort of demonic power is this?" Sun whispered, crouching down to maintain his balance, "What sort of monster are we dealing with?"

"An arrogant one that believes he can overcome all seven of us at once," Garmadon declared, "I imagine Wu and the others were given a similar message. It would be pointless for us to sneak out way there now."

"I-I'm not sure this is a good idea anymore, guys…" Jay pointed to the buildings, "He just ripped apart buildings in front of us!"

"Jay, calm yourself," Sun walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder, "We will be a team when we face him. This man fights alone, and we fight as a team. They cannot defeat us, nor can they stave away our spirits!"

"Sun is correct," Garmadon nodded his head, "Come, we will meet up with my brother shortly."

"There they are!"

Garmadon turned to see the other group rushing towards them across the street. As they rushed towards them, Jay breathed a sigh of relief. Once they had arrived, Wu raced up to his son and quickly planted both hands on his shoulders.

"Sun, are you alright?" Wu asked hurriedly, "We heard the sound of the buildings collapsing, and they lead us right to you!"

"I'm fine, father," Sun smiled to him, if slightly, "Did you hear the voice as well?"

"Yeah," Kai shuddered, "It was freaky. We think it's the guy on top of that tower up there!"

"What did he tell you?" Sun turned to Kai. Wu let go, but stayed close to him.

"That he wishes to test himself against us at the tower," Zane gestured to the tower in question, "We should hurry to the tower at once."

"Or, maybe we shouldn't go walking right into whatever trap that guy has laid out for us?" Cole pointed to the tower, "It's clearly a trap!"

"Trap or not," Garmadon shook his head, "We must go to stop him. If he has laid this out for us, then he has no intentions of tricking us it seems. Brother, surely you see what he is doing?"

"He is goading us into walking into his sword, but the path forward remains painless," Wu replied solemely, "It is a risky move to trust, brother."

"I see that my attempt to get you moving was not clear enough. Perhaps this will show you what I mean?"

The ground began to rumble once more. The group turned to see a skyscraper near the tower suddenly begin to quake and shudder. Rocks around the group retracted into the ground, and massive spikes tens of feet high struck into the base of the skyscraper to rip apart its foundation. The group watched as the building began to sink into itself, collapsing down towards the ground. When it landed, the sound of its crashing filled their ears with a massive roar. The sight of such a massive structure falling caused the group to move together and crouch down in shock.

"For every minute that you are not at my tower, I will tear down another building. If you think my attempt to remake this city for my own ends is objectionable, I suggest you all get running."

Sun set his jaw, "He's willing to destroy the homes of countless people just for us to fight him? He truly is mad."

"Mad, but clearly powerful," Wu placed a hand on Sun's shoulder, "Let us make haste then, Ninja! We are on a timer now. Sun, stick close to me!"

The group formed up and quickly followed the massive path of broken buildings that led through the city. As they ran, the distance they were forced to close meant more buildings around them were torn apart. Some they couldn't see, but others were ones painfully close. The run there was kept in silence, the dread over what they were being led into making it hard for any of them to truly speak. Wu kept close to Sun as they ran, casting glances to him as they rushed their way presumably into battle.

After nearly ten minutes of running, the ground finally slid their way out between a broken building to finally reach the base of the tower. When they did, however, it appeared to have been formed from inside of another building. Sun slowly walked forward and picked up a small sign on the ground in front of them, lifting it up to see.

"Borg Tech?" Sun handed the sign off to Wu, "Why make this building your base of operations?"

"It seems without a tragedy to capitalize on, Borg hasn't hit it big yet. I would have liked to use his tower, but it seems I had to make my own. Borg is safe though, never fear. He is a piece of my plans, after all. Though I know he will resist for a good while."

The broken sliding doors of the former building the tower had seemingly grown out of were forced open with a screech. The interior of the building seemed to come with a wave of unsettling darkness that washed over the group. On the inside was what appeared to be a hovering slab of the dark matter that the tower was made of inside of a massive hollow chamber.

"I do hope that this is a suitable ride for you. I haven't taken the time to put in stairs yet, so this will be your ride to the top. Come, ninja, I wish to see how strong you are in this time."

"You mean 'at' this time, right?" Cole asked. He was given no reply .

"So it would seem, "Sun stood up straight, "Ninja! We rise to battle now! If he welcomes us into his fortress so readily, let us not waste this opportunity!"

"Yes… but be wary, Ninja," Wu shuddered, "There is a great evil in this tower, an evil that my brother and I have never faced. Your training, it seems, has come to this day. Let us face whatever this man believes he will levy upon us, and raise our heads high as he rise to face it!"

"Uh, well I for one think we shouldn't go into the dark scary tower made of what looks like concentrated evil. Eh?" Jay nervously shrugged his shoulders. The group turned to give him a harsh glare.

"Don't worry, we have the Golden Weapons, Wu AND Garmadon!" Kai smirked, raising his sword over his head, "It's not like he can take us all down at once!"

"Arrogance is as powerful a vice as a cripple, Kai," Garmadon narrowed his eyes, "Those weapons are nothing more than conduits. Sun is the only one of you who has truly mastered his abilities. Do not believe yourself infallible. You have not earned the right to think that of yourself."

"Oof, that was harsh," Cole patted Kai's shoulder, "Don't worry, Master Garmadon. We all know that we haven't fully mastered our weapons. What Kai meant to say is that this guy up there thinks he can take us all down. What he doesn't realize is that we're a team, and that'll take down any one guy ten times over!"

"Agreed," Zane nodded his head, "As long as we remain together, we stand a chance."

"While I appreciate that you all are readying yourselves for battle, need I remind you that I have you on a timer? Come, or I will destroy an entire block for your hubris."

"There is no time to waste!" Sun raised his hilt up high, "Come now, Ninja! To our battle we go!"

The group rushed inside of the buildings entrance and up to the platform that the voice had indicated. Once inside, a sickening feeling seemed to encroach upon all of them. It was similar to the feeling of being drenched in water, yet instead of the simple discomfort of waterlogged clothes, it was a miasma of evil that attempted to slink into them. The air around them felt heavy, even as the platform was slowly risen up by the tower growing more rocks to reach out and raise the platform into the air.

"If only Misako were here," Wu sighed, "I believe that I have a vague memory of what this all is, but it eludes me."

"You have hardly reached the age of memory loss yet, brother," Garmadon joked, "Surely we do not have to write down all your lessons now, lest you forget them all?"

"Do not worry, father," Sun placed a hand on his shoulder, "You are not old enough yet for me to have to worry about feeding you yet. You have at least another ten years before that."

"I should remind you, brother, that you are not that much younger than I," Wu countered, "Why do you not worry about your own mental health?"

"Only one of us has had a child," Garmadon smirked, "I hear that ages you by several years at least."

A chuckle went through the makeshift lift. The group continued to ascend further and further, truly climbing past what the highest building in Ninjago could offer. Sun and the others quieted down as they rose, each of them drawing their weapons. Sun held his broadsword in front of him, charging it up with the light around him. The four ninja spun their Golden Weapons, each of them frothing with elemental powers that poured down from them. Garmadon drew a dagger from his hip. Wu held out his own hilt and caused a massive staff to form. The group took up their defensive positions, with Sun, Wu and Garmadon in front and the other Ninja facing away from them in a half circle.

Finally, the lift stopped. The lift seemed to melt into the floor and merge with it, preventing it from being used as an escape. The Ninja were facing a wall that curled up and over in an overhang. They were at the platform at the top of the tower, overlooking the entire Ninjago city and the cloud layer above them close enough they felt they could nearly touch it. The platform seemed to come to a pinch at the opposite end. Standing at the end of the platform was the man that had summoned them there.

The figure was completely black, but whether or not it was skin seemed strange. He stood taller than all of them, with four arms that were curled behind his back. He wore no helmet, letting his jet black hair messily splay out over him. He wore a set of armor that looked to be ancient, a mixture of red and blacks with a small amount of purple mingled within the colors. He stood with his back to the group, and when he turned around, his face looked to be someone not of much age older than the ninja. His eyes were a deep purple, and his lips and eyelashes were gray. When he stepped forward, they heard the shuffling of swords.

When he finished moving, they were able to see why. In each of his arms, something jutted out of his forearms. Massive blades curled out in ornate shapes, each nearly identical and in each arm. What was odd, however, was that they seemed to be emerging from inside of his arms, rather than being held. Slowly, the blades retracted up into his arms, fading from sight.

"Finally, you have come," The figure glared, "I am impressed it took you this long, Sun. The Green Ninja should have come running as soon as a threat arose, shouldn't he?"

"What are you?" Sun asked without hesitating, "What do you want with Ninjago?"

"Straightforward, I can respect that," The figure closed his eyes, "Allow me one moment."

The man's body seemed to suddenly turn into shadow. The group watched as he dissolved partially, his head remaining in the cloud but his body dissipating. When it came back together, he had only two arms, and the armor he wore had changed to a shade of blue and purple. He raised one arm, causing the blades to slide out of it to reveal it was truly within his arm. When they fully loosed themselves, he reached up to gently slide them together, causing them to seemingly fuse together until a double bladed staff was in his hand.

"I'm still getting the hang of this new body…" The man lifted his head up, "Then again, it certainly has its advantages."

"Why are you here?" Garmadon asked coldly, "And why shouldn't we take you down?"

"From your point of view, you have none," The figure sighed, "Come. Attack me."

The figure slowly reached up and spun his staff in hand. When he struck the ground with it, massive tendrils of dark power lanced out from it towards the group. Sun had barely enough time to throw his body to the side to avoid being spread on them. The tendrils struck the wall behind them, breaking a massive hole in it. Cole let out a nervous laugh upon seeing it.

"Alright, team!" Sun turned, "Masters, back us up! We will handle this foe!"

Sun slid his hands over his hilt and ran towards the man. As he did, he focused his power into his blade. The sword began to draw light from around him, charging itself up in the process and causing it to flare brightly as he ran. The figure in turn spun his staff about, forming a massive whirling shield from it that seemed to encompass his body. Sun narrowed his gaze and, at the last second, feinted to his right and spun his entire body around, letting his sword swing in a full circular arc before cleaving around to his opponent's left side. For a brief second, he saw a look of surprise in those eyes.

Suddenly, from underneath Sun, something sprouted from the ground. His eyes bulged and he intentionally let his sword miss the swing to instead go over the man's head to leap backwards from it. When he landed, he watched as massive black spikes retracted from a shadow cast on the ground. The figure stared at them seemingly as surprised as Sun.

"I… well then, it appears I can do that without thinking," He straightened himself up, spinning his staff around again, "Did I say to stop, Sun?"

Sun got ahold of his shock and rushed forward. He once more raced forward and let his blade swing towards the man, this time from an uppercut. The action was fast enough that Sun painted a ribbon of light in the air, then released the energy. The explosion momentarily blinded Sun, leaving him to ready another swing. The dark figure, however, emerged from the light first, swinging his staff. Unable to steady his feet in time, Sun was thrown back and made to stumble back.

With a massive shout, Kai raced forward, swinging the Sword of Fire overhead. The golden blade lit with flames that wrapped around him like coils, defending him as he raced in. Sun didn't have enough time to warn him before Kai had already swung wildly to him. The figure's body twisted out of the way of three swipes, letting Kai waste his strength. Then, his staff knocked hard into Kai's guard, snapping Kai's body back with every strike until the last strike struck him with the flat of the blade, causing Kai to go flying backwards towards the edge.

At the last second, Kai managed to plunge the sword into the ground, causing him to instead flip in an arc around the blade over the edge. When he stopped, he pried his hands off his sword and gasped out, "I just did that!"

"Kai!" Cole growled, then pointed the Scythe of Quakes towards the figure. Cole leapt into the air and struck the platform, causing it to violently shake. Cole raced forward, trying to swing his blade into the man. The figure, however, was hovering over the platform, massive dragon wings having sprouted from his back.

"No I don't need help!" The figure shouted suddenly, "Stay quiet! I know what I'm doing! After all…" The figure moved to grip his staff again, "They're far slower than I anticipated."

To his point, the figure's wings retracted into his body, swinging his staff overhead and bringing it down in a swipe towards Cole. Just the force of blocking it was enough to rattle Cole's entire body, and he was sent hard into the ground. The figure thrust his right hand out, causing tendrils of dark matter to rise from the platform and grab at Cole. He shouted in terror as they spun him around and flung him out back towards the group.

"H-Help! Get these things off of me!" Cole rapidly waved his hands around his body, even as the tendrils had gone away, "W-What is this stuff?!"

"Perhaps you would do well to learn," The figure placed his hands behind his back, "Dark Matter. The pure and uncorrupted essence of the Dark Island. At present, I am keeping its concentration back so as not to corrupt you where you stand. Only Sun would truly be able to withstand me, and even that would be for very little. Right now, I am giving you a chance," The figure narrowed his eyes, "Do you wish to waste that chance?"

"Ninja!" Wu gripped his staff, "Fight together! This foe is powerful!"

The figure spun his staff once more and separated it into two pieces once more. The blades slowly sank into his hands and down into his arms, disappearing from sight. The sight of watching it was almost nauseating as they watched it happen.

"Come at me, I won't use my blades at all," The figure looked to Wu, "Reliance upon a single weapon, no matter how powerful, will eventually lead to it being worthless."

Wu's eyebrow twitched as his lesson was parrotted back to him. Kai and Cole rushed back to the group. Sun, still clinging to the ground after Cole's strike, stood up and gripped his sword again. Sun slowly began to work his way to his right, keeping the figure in sight at all times. The ninja did the same until they were opposite one another. The figure brought his hands together, his torso going smoky once more before his four arms had appeared again.

With a shout, Sun made a rush forward. Once he was halfway there, however, he stopped. The ninja continued forward, the action having drawn the figure's attention from them. Zane threw one of the Shurikens of Ice at him, and the figure responded by sidestepping them in a blur. As the Shruiken flew off into the distance, the figure's top right arm shot out. From the shadows the arm cast, one of the tendrils shot out and extended out to grab the flying weapon. With a snap of his wrist, the tendril slung itself into the air and threw the shuriken into the ground in front of Zane. The explosion of ice it caused threw Zane off his feet and backwards.

Kai was once more on him as soon as Zane was down. He waited for Kai to rush forward, then he used his elbow to strike Kai's chin hard. Two of his other hands gripped Kai and heaved him into the air over his shoulder to slam his back into the ground. No sooner had Kai fallen, Jay was swinging his Nunchucks of Lightning at him. The figure raised his free arm up, blocking the strike with a burst of lightning. His hand shot out and grabbed the nunchuck, then he stepped on top of Kai to draw Jay in and use a kick to send him soaring away. Cole came next, trying to uppercut him. The figure's eyes widened as he drew his arms together in an X over his body, and from the shadows around them, massive black pillars shot up in an X in front of him, catching the Scythe mid-swipe. When they retracted, Cole was off balance enough for the figure to grab his shoulders and deliver a headbutt right into Cole's face, throwing him back.

Sun had waited for that exact moment. With the Emperor's guard down, he spun his sword in the air and ran forward. He sliced his sword straight up into the air, causing the ribbon to be painted right on the figure's back. The figure turned to him in confusion, giving Cole enough time to recover and launch forward. He smashed his weight into the figure, throwing him back into the ribbon of light. Once done, Sun grinned and held his blade up, releasing the power inside.

The explosion of light acted as a massive cover of brightness. The figure let out only a single gasp before he was consumed in its glow. Wu and Garmadon shot forward under the cover. Garmadon held his dagger out. Wu had his staff in hand, his hand having turned to reveal the staff was his own weapon. The two struck the figure in the chest with them, causing the figure to let out a cry. The combined assault ended as they all leapt away in tandem.

Sun wasn't going to let the figure get any time to relax, however. As fast as he could, he began to charge the blade again even as he began to swing it directly towards the figure. From the figure's top left arm, half of his blade extended out from the forearm, catching the sword right as it struck. The figure growled and shook his head, trying to shake off the effect of the light.

"I have this under control!" The figure shouted to nobody in particular, "I just have to deal with this annoying little Sun furst!"

"I'll be the first and last Sun you ever see!" Sun shouted, sliding backwards and then rushing in to swing again, "You won't have Ninjago City!"

Sun took a step forward, only to look down and see his shadow was moving. Even as he saw it, he had no chance to react. Large shadow chains shot upwards and began to wrap around Sun's arms, clicking into place as they did. The chains shot apart, dragging Sun into the air. They squeezed at his hands until, with a grunt of pain, his hand forced to open and drop the sword, causing it to vanish into a hilt on the ground beneath him.

"Overconfidence is a vice, as much as a strength, Sun," The figure held one hand up, while the other three began to crackle as balls of purple started to form within them. Sun struggled, but the chains held him firm. The three hands lifted up, pointing at the ground as the energy continued to grow. Realizing what was about to happen, Sun rapidly tried to yank his body free.

"FIRE!"

Kai shot the Sword of Fire forward in hand, causing a pillar of fire to strike the hand holding Sun up in the air. The figure shot an angry gaze to him, but the action began to burn his arm as it stayed there. He growled and tried to pull free, but it wasn't going to budge.

"ICE!" Zane raised his Shurikens of Ice together, blasting the figure's back with an icy stream.

"EARTH!" Cole struck the ground with the Scythe of Quakes, blasting into the figure's left.

"LIGHTNING!" Jay twirled the Nunchucks of lightning and then unleashed a torrent into his legs.

"NINJA-GO!" Wu and Garmadon shouted in tandem as they both raised their weapons and struck the figure in the front and back simultaneously, flooding them with power.

The figure let out a cry of pain as the combined assault washed into him. His entire body quaked as he felt it all starting to take him over, making his entire body rock. The power he had been collected sparked out as he dropped to one knee. Sun likewise fell to the ground with a hard crack. He lay there, groaning hard and panting as the air was knocked out of him.

"I have… this… under… control…" The figure gapsed, only to cry out again. HIs body began to rapidly pulse with dark power over itself, "Let me… show them… I can…!"

"You've had your chance," A new voice came from the figure's lips, "Now is my time."

In a split second, something changed about the figure. His eyes lost their pupils, and the purple color darkened. His mouth suddenly contorted and he grew a sharp toothed snout. The snout turned to Wu and gave him an evil grin. His body pulsed with power, and dark lightning coursed down him. A massive burst of the power he'd been gathering earlier suddenly formed in his chest, then rapidly pushed out like an expanding sphere. Tendrils shot down the sphere, knocking all of the weapons the group held from their hands. The sphere struck them a second later, sending them all to the ground.

Garmadon was the first to recover. When he did, the figure wasn't there anymore. The figure stood with four arms, and he wore the same armor, but it was not the same person. The face of the figure had stretched and contorted to that of a horrifying dragon's face with teeth sharp enough to bite through rocks. His hand had transitioned into massive claws, and the blades hidden earlier were now proudly extending from the sides of the arms. Power collheased around the figure's head, and a helmet with a massive decorative flourish formed atop it. He'd grown a few inches as well, likely due to his now sharp feet.

"What...?" Wu gasped as he too got to his feet, "What… what are you?"

"Do you not know the legends, old man? I suppose my form is not ideal, but it is certainly interesting. Who you just fought was my liberator. We share this body now, and now I'm going to have some fun. You will come to know me as other things, but you may call me… Overlord."

"The… Overlord?" Garmadon stood up fully, "No… that's impossible. You should never be able to set foot in Ninjago! My father ensured that!"

"Then it is time that you begin… believing," The Overlord cackled. The strange creature slowly brought his hands up to and charged up the power that the other had been attempting to, and unlike him, he managed to do so in a split second. Garmadon and Wu braced themselves with their weapons, ready to take the strike head on.

Sun's sword went flying through the air, painting a ribbon in it as Sun slid under it. The ribbon burst out and met the Overlord's attack to stop it. When Sun stopped sliding, he reached up and caught his sword and brought it down in front of him, panting hard. The Overlord turned to him, at first his eyes narrowing, then his lips curling into a hard grin as he instead redirected his beams towards Sun.

Sun rapidly twisted and threw his body through the air, dodging each of the beams and throwing his sword out towards the Overlord. The being raised his arms up to catch the sword with his arm blades, but Sun's goal wasn't that it seemed. Instead, he grabbed the sword tightly and flipped over the back of the Overlord to perform a helm splitter to the dark helmet he wore.

When Sun landed, he expected for the Overlord to be staggered. Instead, the being flipped around and blasted at Sun again. Sun had only enough time to scramble to the side and leap away as the Overlord pressed his assault. Sun saw indeed the helmet had been split apart, but whatever gash he'd left in the creature's head slowly began to morph and heal like the rest of his body. That was all Sun got before he was once more dodging rapidly.

Garmadon and Wu were not ready to take this attack lying down. Garmadon withdrew his dagger and threw the weapon directly into the ground behind the Overlord. In a split second, Garmadon appeared right where the blade lay and yanked it from the ground to swipe at the Overlord. The creature saw it from the corner of his eye and twisted his body to intercept it. As he did, Wu spun his staff around and a strange mist seeped from the center. With a blow, the mist spread out and turned into a floating platform he leapt up onto. With the height, he brought the staff down on top of the Overlord.

With a laugh, the Overlord raised his hand to link its shadow with one Wu produced in the air. With a single turn of the hand, the shadows under Wu launched up into a series of massive blades. Wu opened his staff and blew another platform under him to land on to stop them, but the Overlord was on him. Rather than attack with his hands, the Overlord instead opened his mouth to reveal his teeth to snap at the master.

"Brother!" Garmadon thrust his dagger towards Wu who, quickly, grabbed it as it flew past. The force carried him off the platform just as the teeth snapped at what would have been his shoulder. When Wu landed, he stabbed the ground with his dagger, bringing Garmadon to him.

"Your weapons remind me of your father…" The Overlord mused, "One of you has the ability to flee, the other to advance. Such an interesting pair. You two embody his will in your essence… and it will be your downfall."

"Silence!" Sun shouted, trying to attack with his sword while the Overlord had given him time to breathe. The Overlord simply raised one hand and unleashed a little burst of power, sending Sun backwards.

"You want Ninjago?!" Garmadon growled, "Then come and take it!"

"I will, but first, I would like to ensure that we get rid of a little annoyance you two have been bringing on me…" The Overlord turned to the ninja, who had reclaimed their Golden Weapons.

From the shadows below them, the Overlord's tendrils shot up and grabbed the weapons from their hands, then cracked to knock the four back down. The tendrils brought the weapons up in front of the Overlord, who slowly reached out to stroke the edge of the Sword of Fire. Upon feeling it, his teeth turned to a grin. Then, with a simple nod, the weapons were thrown over the edge of the building.

"NO!" Kai shouted, trying to rush out to grab them. The shadow tendrils disappeared, allowing him to watch them fall. Before they were able to hit the ground, a massive crack opened up, revealing dark matter underneath it. The weapons fell into the matter, sinking deep into them before being lost from sight.

"Our weapons..." Cole looked to Wu and down, "We can't use our powers without them!"

"The Golden Weapons… a weapon any can use so long as they bind their weapons into them…" The Overlord grinned, "Perhaps it would be foolish to take those from you."

From the dark matter inside the floor, four hilts rose up. The ninja blinked and scrambled to grab them, verifying they were the real things. Kai summoned his to be a massive black katana with red highlights in the metal, Zane a pair of shurikens, Cole a large two handed scythe, and Jay nunchucks. The Overlord rolled his eyes just seeing how similar they were to the Golden Weapons. Their weapons were flickering, however, and in a sense looked… weak. Within moments, they had completely faded, making them all look down in fear.

"I have grown bored of this, so consider those a parting gift!" The Overlord snapped his fingers, "And kindly watch Ninjago fall, from the ground."

With that, the Overlord brought his hands together and rushed forward. The ninja had enough time to block the blasts, but it seemed that was the intent. The force of the attack sent the ninja back through the wall behind them. The dark matter, however, seemed to lose density and they went right through it, shouting in terror as they were sent over the edge.

"Ninja!" Wu shouted, stepped forward. A single step after he had, however, the foot went down into the floor. Wu found his body rapidly sinking down. His eyes widened as the Overlord stepped over with a massive grin.

"He wants you alive, it seems. Don't worry, the dark matter won't corrupt you yet…" The Overlord snapped his fingers. With a single cry, Wu suddenly was gone.

"Brother!" Garmadon shouted, rushing over and trying to reach into the floor. His fist struck a solid surface, however, much to his shock.

The Overlord grinned, raising his staff behind Garmadon, "Goodbye, Garmadon. Have a front row seat to watch the home you defended for so long… vanish…"

The floor once more began to ripple, and Garmadon found his body thrown off the side of the building. Expecting it, Garmadon tried to throw his dagger to teleport back up, but the Overlord instead reached out and caught it in the air before it could strike the ground. He smirked and flung it far away, likely to teleport Garmadon far away when it landed. Garmadon was sent shouting through the city before he suddenly vanished, his dagger having hit the ground far, far away.

Suddenly, the Overlord began to convulse. He fell down to his hands and knees, his face twisting and his body slowly turning mist once more. The mist seemed to encompass his body, and when it faded, it seemed the first figure was back. In this light, his age truly showed; he was not much older than Sun, perhaps a few years at most. When he stood up, he once more had two hands, and rubbed his jaw slightly.

"You…"

The man turned, his purple eyes landing on Sun. Sun's gaze was darkened by his dangling hair, and he held his sword with tight hands. Slowly, he looked up towards the man, his expression filled with a confused anger he could only direct at the one standing in front of him.

"What are you?" Sun growled, "What sort of man would share a body with such a foul being?"

"You understand nothing, Sun…" The figure slowly inhaled, "Three years, Sun. I've spent three years training, practicing, learning my body, learning my powers. Today, you have seen my control over shadow, just as your weapon has over light. Three years of planting dark matter into Ninjago for this day. Three years of being alone, of finding out how the world never even missed me. You are everything that I would have been, Sun. And today, I show that my will is stronger than that of the forces in this world that would wipe me out."

"Stop spouting on about that!" Sun snarled, "You just murdered my team, my uncle, father, and you turn into yourself without any reaction?"

"Murder? You misunderstand my intentions," He shook his head, "Nya will have likely caught them after you sent that signal to the bounty with that massive flash of light. And Garmadon will land wherever that dagger of his lands. Wu is mine now… he will reside with the other threats I have removed from Ninjago. You are too naive to know what Krux would have done. Nor Chen, nor Pythor, nor anyone you have never seen. I will protect Ninjago, as I know you ninja never could. I will save this land, and I will do so through fear. This will be my power. I will rule this land, and you will be there to witness it. I will be your Emperor."

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Sun raised his sword to the sky, "I have the strength to defeat you! You will never threaten Ninjago while I draw breath in my body!"

With a shout, Sun drew as much light into his sword as he could. The entire area seemed to go nearly vantablack as his sword became a glowing flare to pierce the darkness. Sun poured all he had into the sword, all he could muster, all of his strength. When he felt he had pushed to his limit, he tried to push further, to give all he had to take out this evil foe in a single slice.

Suddenly, Sun's body went cold. His sword stopped glowing and fell from his hand, the light extinguishing from it. The figure held his staff with the tip pointed against Sun's chest. Dark matter was seeping around the staff, and just the contact made Sun feel like his very essence was being drained out of him. He pulled it back, causing Sun to fall to the ground, stunned.

"I was like you, once…" The figure frowned, "Not anymore. I suggest you run before the dark matter of my palace fully corrupts all you are. I have withheld its effects for you until now,and I have shown you my power. My domination is absolute. Go, Sun. Live your life out there, make a world where you can live underneath my rule without ever raising your head, and I will allow for you to be happy. Continue to fight me, and I will make every waking moment of your life about me. You will never be free of the burden that you and your team could never defeat me, and you will live your life as a failed rebel in my empire. I am your Emperor. Now… goodbye."

With that, he grabbed Sun by the chest and casually slung his body over the side. Sun's stunned form was unable to do anything as he went falling through the air. As he watched, the entire surface they'd fought on melted like liquid, and slowly, it began to reform. As though to overlook his empire, He slowly sculpted a throne, a massive one that reached up to the sky. The back reached all the way up to the dark cloud above, and the sides spread out like spiderwebs onto the ground. The seat where he sat was several feet above the ground, and once he sat in it, it glowed a sickly purple. It was the last thing Sun saw before he heard the sound of jets, and his back struck something solid and caused him to black out.

"Sun… Sun! Sun, please, wake up!"

Slowly, Sun opened his eyes to see Nya anxiously standing over him. As he saw her, Nya let out a gasp of relief and quickly rushed over to a monitor, looking over some readings. Once she had, she rushed back and smiled widely.

"Thank goodness… Sun, you're okay!" Nya reached out and lightly drew his body into a hug. Sun's chest tightened as she held onto him, but he smiled nonetheless. That was, however, until he felt the pain in his body, and he slowly groaned to try and sit up.

"Woah, don't take it too fast there…" Nya placed her hand on his chest gently, "You're in no condition to be moving around .We kinda had to catch you with the Bounty and… you hit it hard. It's a miracle that it didn't paralyze you. It took a lot of work to save your legs, trust me."

"My… legs…" Sun looked down towards his legs. When he did, however, he saw his chest was exposed and the left side was completely wrapped in bandages. Nya, seeing he laid eyes on them, slowly shook her head.

"Something… happened there," Nya mumbled, "You're going to have a scar. It's… harmless from what I can see but I can't get it off. I can only do so much with the supplies on the Bounty."

Sun already knew what it was. He already felt what it was. It was where his body had been touched by pure concentrated dark matter. He already knew there would be a dark mark right there, a reminder that he'd been defeated with nothing more than a single little touch.

"Where are… the others…" Sun gasped out. His chest felt tight. Perhaps falling onto a ship's deck had done that to him as well.

"They're all recovering… they had an even worse fall than you did…" Nya looked down, "It's going to be awhile until any of them wake up."

"Sun…" Garmadon's voice came from Sun's left. He turned to see the master sitting beside him, a distant look in his eyes.

"Uncle…" Sun whispered, "You're okay… thank goodness."

"Yes… I am," Garmadon looked down, "I'm certain you do not need me to recount the events."

"I remember them very clearly," Sun nodded his head, only to regret it as it disturbed his body, "We lost… badly."

"Ninjago has been conquered, Sun," Garmadon slowly inhaled, "Whoever this Overlord person is, they did it without resistance. It took only him corrupting a few citizens with dark matter to force the rest to comply. We're currently hovering over the remains of Chen's island just to stay out of his wrath. It seems that his plan succeeded."

"No… but… we trained…" Sun coughed, "It can't, be over…"

"It isn't over, Sun," Garmadon stood up slowly, "As we speak, we are gathering those that would stand up to the Overlord's rule. We will have ourselves a rebellion until we can free Ninjago from his grasp. Mark my words, Sun, we will take back Ninjago and free your father."

"Thank you, Uncle," Sun groaned again, "I'm going to rest. Please, see to it these rebels, are greeted…"

"As always, Sun…" Garmadon took a few steps away from the bed. Before he exited the room, he looked back to the bed, then to the door, sighed, and stepped out.

"You should get more rest, Sun," Nya suggested, "We'll discuss the details later. Right now you need to focus on getting better, do you understand?"

"Yes, I see, Nya…" Sun closed his eyes, "Thank you…"

With that, Nya stepped away to tend to the others. As she did, Sun slowly closed his eyes, letting the sleep wash over him once more, his mind lost in a sea of thoughts as he drifted back into sleep.