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Once again, a slightly shorter chapter, but not skippable! NONE ARE!

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Chapter 17: Preparations

"NOOOOOOOO!" Kai watched in horror as the Sky Pirates continued to fire everything the had at the Walker Yard, fighting against the iron grip of the giant blue-skinned woman they called Dogshank. Misako stood petrified, tears streaming down her eyes with every explosion.

Eventually Nadakhan held a hand up, signaling the strike to end. As the smoke cleared, Kai couldn't even recognize the area anymore. The sand was scorched to glass, and what wasn't was charred black beyond the night sky. Scraps were blown to the tiniest bits, not a single piece was recognizeable or repairable. The Walker homestead was no more. "No..."

"Alright, pirates, our work is done here. It won't take long for the ninja or their friends to detect what has happened here. Let's bring it back to base, it's time we get down to the real work!"

Summoning another vortex, the Djinn turned back to Kai. "And it's also time for a little reunion..." Before the Master of Fire could ask what he meant, the flew into the Vortex, making their way back to the Dark Army's base.

"Did you guys hear that?" At the bottom of the stairway, Lloyd looked back up to see where Kai, Misako, and Mystake were. "It sounded like-"

"A portal, one that was controlled and timed." Zane interrupted, as he read his own scanner which picked up the anomaly. "Likely caused by none other than the Realm Crystal. Whomever or whatever used it is now gone. As are Kai, Misako, and Mystake!"

Oh no. Lloyd pointed to Dareth as they ran to their vehicles. "Call Borg, tell him to search for any other portal detections! The Dark Army has finally returned, and they've got our friends!"

Without hesitation, they rushed into the Land Bounty, which was now carrying Nya and Cole's cycles, and rushed straight towards Ninjago City.

The Quiet One was patient to a fault, she would be the first to admit it. She planned carefully for years under the guise as the innocent Jade Princess. She followed Lord Garmadon through the desert when the foolish Lightning Ninja killed himself to lock the Overlord away. She kept her mouth shut when he wouldn't tell her his plan. Now, she allowed her patience and loyalty to be tested to the limit when she spent the last THREE YEARS in the Never-Realm, building up an army of Blizzard Samurai.

Yet still, Lord Garmadon wouldn't allow her to kill the Emperor and Empress.

Why? What is so valuable about them that justifies their pitiful existence now? Knowing better than to express herself openly, she kept the calm demeanor as she screamed to herself inwardly, passing stray soldiers within the Golden Peak encampment.

Shortly after their return to the Underworld, the entire Dark Army force was relocated back to the Golden Peaks, with the Skulkin and majority of the ghosts staying behind for some operation Garmadon was keeping hidden from everyone else. Though she was ready for their return to Ninjago, as it signified that their revenge was almost upon them.

"Chen! Any word from the Djinn yet?" The New Anacondrai leader turned from his conversation with a Nindroid and a Venomari, shaking his head. "No word from Nadakhan yet, though Lord Garmadon is right over there, looking very pleased with himself. I dare say the strike was a success."

She turned towards the Temple, where the dark Lod was indeed standing with a wicked smile on his face. around him, Killow was telekinetically lifting the stone table of Resurrection from the original Temple of Resurrection, placing it in the encampment's epicenter. Afterwards, he took off the Mask of Vengeance and handed it to his Master, who was also holding the Masks of Vengeance and Hatred.

Interesting.

"Then where-" She was interrupted mid sentence as the Misfortune's Keep flew out of an enlarged Realm Crystal vortex, accompanied by its vast fleet of Raid-Zeppelins and one-man fighters.

After the Djinn's capital ship slowly descended into the airfield alongside all the other airships, Nadakhan poofed next to Lord Garmadon, with a large grin on his face. "Success, My Lord."

A smile on his face, Garmadon's red eyes darted towards the Djinn. "And the prisoners?" Hearing this, The Quiet One approached them out of curiosity.

"I captured and incapacitated the Oni traitor. Your wife hardly put up a fight. However, fate rewarded us with a third prisoner…" He gestured his hook hand to his approaching crew, who indeed held an unconscious Mystake, trembling Misako, and uncharacteristically quiet Kai.

"Ha! Reward, indeed." The Dark Lord placed the three Oni Masks on the stone table and approached them. "Prepare the Oni for the ritual. I want us to be ready as soon as possible! As for her..." He looked at Misako, who was pleading for mercy with her eyes. "Garmadon, it's me-"

To the horror of Kai, the Dark Lord punched his wife with both of his glowing right fists, causing her to grip onto her stomach as she knelt down. "I don't care. Quiet One, put her and the Master of Fire in the prison cell with the armorers."

She bowed her head as she grabbed the two of them by the chains, followed by a few Sky Pirates. "With pleasure, My Lord."

Brad and Nelson ran to the Command room at the alarm triggered by Karloff. The Master of Metal stood in front of the room's main screen alongside Borg, Skylor, and Gene. On the screen, a large map of Ninjago with several red dots across it took up most of the space, with Lloyd's face in the corner. "What's going on?!"

"The Dark Army has returned! They've captured Misako, Kai and Mystake! Anomaly detection picked up a vortex opening..." Borg's voice trailed off. From the screen, Lloyd's face expressed an annoyed impatience.

"WHERE? Where was the vortex detected?!"

The wheelchair-bound genius stared up from his tablet slowly to look back at him. "It opened back up at the Walker Estate. Several spikes in seismic activities indicate an attack."

Brad couldn't believe what he was hearing. "WHAT? They attacked Mr. Jay's home? Why would they?" Tears began to trail down his cheeks as Nelson hugged him by the side. Karloff pounded his fist against the nearest table, to Borg's annoyance. Lloyd was processing the news, and the other Ninja could be heard through the screen.

Gene walked up to Brad, anger and anguish in his eyes as he put a hand on his best friend's shoulder before pulling him into a hug as well. "Because they don't care. They did this because they believe their strength is their inability to feel. We win by letting them think that."

Borg returned his attention to Lloyd. "A second Vortex just appeared. I think they've already left."

"We are on our way there now! We need to see what damage was done for ourselves. If they're back in full-force, they'll likely strike somewhere else too, so keep an eye out for any other portals!"

"And what if they do?"

"Tell me first before sending anyone, and don't let any of the students leave!"

Lord Garmadon was absolutely enthralled with the plans in motion. With Mystake captured and subdued, and Misako out of the loop to inform Lloyd of his spy in the tower, just about everything was set in motion for the grand climax. Almost everything.

"Vex!" The Blizzard Samurai General ran forward from the crowd, scepter in hand. "My Lord?"

He placed a black glowing hand on Vex's shoulder, inviting him closer. "Captain Nadakhan has announced our presence to the Ninja. They now know we mean business. But I want you to make our presence known to Ninjago itself!"

Taken aback by the proposal, as Vex was still the newest addition to the Dark Army by 3 years, he took a moment to respond. "I am honored, my Lord. But how?"

"Well, it just so happens that the subsequent capture of Kai has inadvertently sparked an idea that will please more than one of us. I want you to take your forces across the Ninjago's Ice Tundra biome, where there are several scattered villages. Take them, and use the Scroll of Forbidden Spinjitzu to add the villagers to your ranks of Ice Samurai. Then, I want you to lead your forces into the Birchwood Forest, where one of my men will be waiting to signal for a portal to bring you back here."

"I-I understand, my Lord. If I may, I'd like to use this mission as a chance to test a new power."

"By all means, Vex. Summon every power you need."

*Elsewhere in the Encampment*

Kai struggled through his restraints to help Misako. "Are you ok!?" Through tears of agony, both from the physical pain and emotional, the old archeologist nodded to Kai as Flintlocke pushed her forward with his pistols.

"HEY! Knock that off!" With an agitated grunt, The Quiet One turned around as the continued walking towards the prison cells. "I would worry more about yourself, Kai. This old bag of bones doesn't have much going for her as it is!"

Though he was held back, Kai attempted to jump at her. After he was pulled back, she slugged him across the face releasing spurts of blood from his nose. This caused her to snicker. "Pathetic and foolish."

With a sneer, he spat out some blood and looked up at her, rage in his eyes. "You want to talk about foolish? How about betraying the Royal family, the family that took you in when you had no one else? Or better yet, how about royally pissing off all of Ninjago by obliterating the home of it's valiant hero? Or, and here's the real kicker, summoning a portal that lead DIRECTLY to your encampment, which Borg will detect. BOOM. It doesn't matter what you do, the Ninja will know we are here soon enough."

A brief silence followed before The Quiet One turned to the Flintlocke and the other Pirate that were helping transport the prisoner. After a few seconds, they barked out laughs, putting Kai on a further edge.

"Ha! Heh, heh... You think we didn't think of that? This encampment has been here for years! Thanks to the combined sorcery of yours truly, Clouse, and the Queen Aspheera, none of Borg's technology can detect it. And the only person on your side that knew about this location was your precious Sensei Wu."

"Don't you DARE say his name!"

She chose to ignore him, walking up to the nearby cell. "You are too easy to anger. But I imagine when you see the ritual come to light, you will be too shocked to feel any other emotion. But who knows? Maybe you'll surprise me. Perhaps I can even help you ease yourself into it by giving you some early shock..."

With cat-like reflexes, she opened the cell door and pushed both kai and a very pained Misako into it before re-shutting it. "...With a little reunion."

The Master of Fire picked himself up and lunged at the bars, attempting to somehow break through. But as The Quiet One backed away and stared with a malicious smile, he realized she was focusing on someone behind him.

"Kai?"

IT CAN"T BE. He turned back around to see two faces of the past. Faces that belonged to memories from another lifetime. "MOM? DAD?!"

BOOM. I have been thinking of ways to reveal there presence as the prisoners for a while now. It was no real secret if you've seen the show, but I wanted some sort of element of surprise when Kai finally sees them.

ANYWAY, please review or comment. If you have any questions, I IMPLORE you to ask in a review. Thank you.