Hey y'all! Thanks for the feedback, I'd appreciate all the reviews you can give me. REMEMBER TO READ "THE KNIGHT'S JOURNEY" (at least ch. 1-6) BEFORE READING THIS.

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Chapter 2: The Pain that Keeps on Giving

*After the Overlord's Defeat*

The entirety of the Dark army retreated through the desert that faced the South entrance of the city. Skulkin, Serpentine, Stone Warriors, Nindroids, and the Sons of Garmadon fled on their vehicles, with Lord Garmadon on Killow's back leading them.

"My Lord, where are we going?" The Quiet One, riding on the back of Mr. E, next to them, asked the Dark Lord. Garmadon simply grimaced at her, causing the bleached-haired girl to bow her head down.

"For now, we head South. Then we'll plan. We still have an army, not to mention our prisoners, the key is to keep them together."

She nodded in response, not that he cared to look. The army rumbled through the scorching sun, biding time for their eventual strike.

*1 Month Later*

Cole was right. Without the Royal Family, and the death of the city's mayor by the Dark Army's attack, Ninjago City required an emergency leadership. It was decided by a private council of representatives that the Ninjas would fill this position for the near future, at least until peace was fully restored and secured.

Zane, Pixal, and Cyrus Borg handled the City's transfer back to pre-Borg amenities, including regular cars, train transportation, and regular phones. Measures were taken to ensure that no trace of the Overlord Virus could have survived.

Cole and Nya worked together with Dareth to lead reconstruction efforts and engineering of new structures to further advance the City's range. Within weeks, new projects had begun to erect all around the original city lines, and new skyline-trains ran through the new skyscrapers (imagine season 9 Ninjago City.)

Kai put his own skills to work with the Police commissioner and Borg's resources to fortify new City defenses, including portable tank-cannons, all of which required manual guidance to prevent hacking.

Lloyd and Misako coordinated with the others, but primarily stayed in Borg Tower, the teams new base of Operations, to focus on the scripts and texts of the First Spinjitzu Master and Sensei Wu, which the latter had kept safely at Misako and Garmadon's citadel in the event of an untimely death. They also worked with the advisement of a certain tea-obsessed elderly lady. After Misako had explained the story of the Oni and Dragon to the team, Lloyd had asked if any of the two posed a threat to Ninjago, to which she had one response:

"There is only one in Ninjago. Mystake. I believe she'll be willing to join our efforts. For now, Lloyd, I believe Wu would want you to have this." Wu's Bo-staff, passed down from the First Spinjitzu Master, was more than just a gift or a walking stick: It was a symbol that Lloyd was now the new Sensei of the team, even if he felt he wasn't ready.

Over the last month, they had all made progress on their specific assignments. The citizens managed to make the necessary transition back to standard tech. Buildings that were damaged or fully destroyed in the Dark Army's raze had been rebuilt, and now the city was expanding to accommodate incoming villagers who feared the Dark Army attacking their own villages. Although no attacks have been attempted or reported by surveillance, the new city defenses were always on standby. Yet Lloyd was still troubled by what he found in Wu's texts.

"Mom, my grandfather and his sons left so much behind. The Oni and Dragon wars, a Never-Realm, the first Serpentine, the Scrolls of Forbidden Spinjitzu, this "Master Chen," the Master of Wind and Masters of Time, and now I'm finding traces of a "realm crystal!" How could they leave all this behind for us to solve?" Misako looked to Mystake, both of whom truly felt bad for him; so much pressure does not belong on anyone's shoulders, not even the Green Ninja's.

"They never meant for you to have this. Wu spent years searching for his father's realm crystal. He never found anything. As for everything else, well... Ninjago's history is complicated. No one can fix its problems on their own. That's why you have the others." Lloyd new Mystake was doing her best, but the words still felt hollow as the pressure of uncovering these secrets got to him. And that wasn't even the worst part.

"Mom... what if Lord Garmadon tries to find any of these artifacts or people for the Dark Army?"

"I refuse to believe he would intentionally ally himself with Chen or the elemental Masters that personally betrayed him and Wu. But as for the artifacts... that's why we're here. To prevent them from causing any more harm. Besides, we don't even know if this separate entity within Garmadon's body has all of his memories." The thought of the Dark Lord not remembering everything from his past was depressingly reassuring to Lloyd.

Far away from the world of Ninjago, in a void of black, a young man with green translucent skin and black hair opened his eyes, surprised by his lack of surroundings. "AH! Where am I? Ghoultar? Soul-Archer? Where are you?"

"QUIET." The raspy voice from the void silenced him, though he couldn't see who was speaking. "Who are you?"

"That is not your concern right now. Nor is it any of theirs." As the voice stopped, the ghost turned to each side to see more figures appearing in the void, all of the looking just as confused as they are. As if they woke up from a long slumber and found themselves in strange new waters. He saw a well-groomed man with a mustached wearing sorcerers robes, a four-armed Djinn, a man with a grey beard wearing librarians clothing, a black-masked figures in red armor, a cyborg with white skin and a ridiculous hat, a rather terrifying looking black-skinned demon, a female serpentine with black scales and royal-looking clothing and a scepter, and a man who wore standard villager garb. They all had the same reactions as the ghost did.

"Where am I?" "What is the meaning of this?" "Who are you?" "BROTHER, IS THAT YOU? YOU'RE OLD!"

"SILENCE, all of you."A hush fell over the small group as the voice surrounded them. "You are all here because I have sensed a great destiny for you. United as one, our forces would measure beyond anything the 16 realms have ever seen."

The demon with large horns pointed around him accusingly, in an eerily similar voice. "We Oni would not make a move until we are certain there is no threat against us. Why should we join?"

A deep chuckle encompassed the void, sending a chill through them all. "Because the time to take action is now. WU, son of the First Spinjitzu Master, is Dead. Ninjago is now under the protection of his disciples, whose training is nowhere near complete."

the ghost couldn't believe what he was hearing. Sensei is... dead? An evil smile took form across his face, looking around, he saw similar reactions. The black-hooded figure looked to the gray-bearded man he called brother, who seemed to be nodding in confirmation. The sorcerer put his fingers to his temple, muttering "I heard rumors, but I didn't dare believe..." The Cyborg cheered. The female Serpentine cackled in joy.

But the villager looked completely confused. "Erm, what do you mean? What forces do I have? And who is this Wu?"

"All will be explained in time to each of you. Soon enough, the army will find you, and with key artifacts that you will help gain, we will be unstoppable." The villager nodded in understanding, though he still seemed confused as to how he could possibly contribute. Then the Djinn looked around him. In his thick accent, he made his own complaint, more relevant to the group than he realized:

"But I am trapped in a lamp! How will I be freed?" The serpentine hissed in agreement. "I too am bound to a prison."

"I'm drifting through the sea of time."

The ghost realized he too had no way of getting out of his predicament. "I'm trapped in the cursed realm!" The voice waited for their complaints to silence on their own before speaking.

"I have a plan for freeing each of you from your imprisonments and sentences of banishment. In return, you and the entirety your forces will join our cause. Prepare yourselves. We are coming for you."

In a white flash, Morro opened his eyes again to find himself back in the cursed realm, next to the Soul-Archer. "What is wrong, Morro?"

"No time to explain! We must get word to everyone: I know how we can escape!"

"Kai, I've told you, none of our surveillance has caught on to their movements. The Dark Army has not attacked any settlements in Ninjago since the Overlord's defeat. When they show their ugly faces, you'll be the first to know." The Commissioner found himself explaining to the red Ninja once again. Kai had repeatedly been hounding the Police for any information of their enemies whereabouts, tiring the Commissioner, Simon, and Tommy in the process.

"Fine, but if you hear anything, no matter the time or day, I need to know." He marched out of the station onto his new red-blade cycle, which Nya designed as a distraction from her arduous work in the City. "Guys, this is Kai. I'm done with the Police today, still no word on the Dark Army. Does anyone want anything to east? I was going to stop somewhere before heading back to the Tower."

"Negative." "I'm all good, Kai." "No, thank you." Not even Dareth? Alright then, more for me. On the Outside, Kai arguably handled the losses of Jay and Wu the best. He refused to break down in front of his team; they required a strong will to get through this, and he needed to be that will.

But on the inside, a part of him died with them. Even though he never fully accepted Jay with Nya, he loved the ginger-haired goof who always brought a smile to the team. He couldn't say the same for Cole. And Wu reminded him so much of his Father, before he disappeared with his Mother. Food and work seemed to be his only distractions from falling into a pit of despair.

"Alright then. I'll see you soon." Now, where to go? He had gotten used to the routine food trucks right outside the Police stations that he couldn't remember the last time he had a decent sit-down meal. In fact, all of the major food joints were shut down right before the Overlord's attack on the Palace, and only begun opening up again in the last few days. How about...

"Mmmm, Mister Chen's noodles!"

Hundreds of miles away, above the clouds, the Dark Army had set up camp at the Golden Peaks, the site of the Golden Weapon's creation. Makeshift tents, vehicles, and aircrafts were scattered across the mountainside as Lord Garmadon meditated over the pit of molten liquid, the Golden Armor at his side. For the last several weeks, the human and Serpentine members of the Dark Army have relied on berries and squirrels for sustenance, while Skulkin, Nindroids, and Stone Warriors primarily acted as sentries.

The situation was undesirable, to say the least, but nobody dared to oppose Garmadon's orders. Without the Overlord, he was the obvious choice to lead. But even harumi's certainty wavered. Not in him, but in his plans. "My Lord?" Bowing her head, she humbly approached the Dark Figure, whose eyes shot open at the sound of her voice. "Speak, Quiet One."

"My Lord, the army grows restless. They yearn for action. After the sacking of the Royal Palace, they have a taste for blood. The deaths of the Gaurds and Mr. Hutchins were not enough to please their appetites, and..." Her voice trailed off, knowing what she was about to say would deeply anger him.

"And?"

"Now some are considering killing the Emperor and Empress for sport." In a dark flash, Garmadon unleashed a purple aura through the camp, blowing out every fireplace and bringing their attention to him as he slowly stood up and turned around. Now, the only source of light was the molten pit behind him. "WHAT?" His red eyes scanned the surrounding warriors, who all followed Harumi's lead and bowed their heads, refusing to look him in the eyes out of self-preservation.

"KNOW THIS. The Emperor and Empress are vital to our success. We have been here for almost a month. I know. But if any of you so much as think of backing out of our alliance, I promise a slow and merciless end to you." His calm voice made the speech all the more chilling. "We will not reside up here for much longer, I can promise you that. I have already set our next phase in motion. It is only a matter of time now."

With that, he turned back around and resumed his meditating. The warriors went back to their respective conversations and reignite the fires, while Harumi looked to Mr. E quizzically. The silent biker general shrugged, and the two of them stepped forward to the dark Lord once more. "I humbly apologize, My Lord, but... what plans have you set in motion? What is our next phase?" He held up one hand to silence her, and without turning around to face them, he spoke. "Domination is our endgame. No matter the cost, I will see that goal met. Even if it is a personal cost. Our army is strong, but we are built upon the ideal of unity against the damned Ninja, meaning that there are more out there who share our... ideals."

Harumi nodded, beginning to understand. "You've invited another faction to join us?"

"The next of many. but they weren't invited; its join or die, and these fanatics are not the type to sacrifice themselves foolishly. They will come and join our ranks as equals soon enough. And then, we'll gather ancient resources hidden throughout Ninjago and our fellow realms."

"To what end, My Lord?" To her surprise, he didn't respond, but instead let out an evil laugh as she walked away with Mr. E, anticipating what the future held for them.

Chapter 2 is done! I'm planning on this being a short buildup, but once the action starts, it will really get going. I will update whenever I can!

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