SOME QUICK NOTES FOR MY READERS:

Here is precisely what you need to read from "The Knight's Journey" BESIDES the first 6 chapters in order to get a clear picture of the Ninjago lore side of that story in order to connect it to this one:
- Chapter 9 "A New Temple" (Skip to "Jay found himself standing in..." and read the rest of the chapter)

- Chapter 11 "Why oh Why Me?" (Skip to "I am Jay Walker Ma'am..." and read the rest of the section.)
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- Chapter 13 "OK, What Now?" (Skip to "Jay opened his eye..." and read that section.) - EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO READ!
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- The last section of Chapter 17 "The Calling Part 2" (Skip to "I was born in a junkyard in a desert...") - EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO READ!
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- ALL of Chapter 18 "A Distant Familiarity" (this WHOLE chapter focuses on Jay and Ninjago!)
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- Chapter 24 "The Reveal" (TWO sections to read! Skip to "Really, I should be thanking you Jay...," Then after that section, skip to "Ryot stared at the portal..." AND READ THE REST) - MAJOR connection to an earlier chapter of "The Great Game"

AND FINALLY, read the final section of the story Epilogue, Chapter 26 (skipping to "At the front of the...") YOU NEED TO READ THIS ONE TO UNDERSTAND THIS CHAPTER!

Please enjoy, comment and leave a review!

I own nada.

Chapter 23: Uncovered

Just outside the slave camp of Ninjago City, workers were currently busy building another grand statue of the Overlord, adding Dark matter to the concrete so that the statue would for ever have a dark purple glow. However, constant contact with the Dark Matter was extremely risky, resulting in hundreds of premature deaths every day.

At the foot of the statue, one worker finally gave in to the powerlessness the Dark matter pssessed her with, falling onto her side. The surrounding slaves murmured in a saddened lore, though none were strong enough to help her up. Finally, the Ultra Violet, who was stationed at the slave camp that morning, noticed the murmuring and walked over with a whip in hand.

"What is the meaning of this? Back to work, SLAVE!" Staring down maliciously at the body on the ground, the Biker General whipped the woman until she held her arms up in defense.

"P-p-pleeease… Noo morrrre… I d-don't hhhhave the stre-strength..." An incredibly weak Gayle Gossip, now bleeding from her cheek and lips, as well as her back, was pleading. The sight only made Ultra Violet eager for more.

"Ha! You shoulda thought about that before being a slave!" After whipping Gayle with three more slashes, she conceded and looked at the surrounding crowd. "GET BACK TO WORK! Our glorious Emperor wants this statue complete by tomorrow!" She walked away, forcing the crowd to scramble back to work and leaving the former reported bleeding out to death.

Until a man dressed in purple rags came to her with bandages and a small dose of medicine when Ultra Violet wasn't looking.

"M-mailman?" The former postal worker smiled lightly as he applied the gauze and bandages. "Shh. Try not to talk. This will heal in time."

That almost sparked a laugh from her. "N-no time allowed. They...They'll just put me back to work tomorrow."

As he finished applying the bandages, the Mailman sighed with a defeated tone. She was right. It was more than likely she'd be dead soon, but he was one of the few who still tried to hold onto hope. He stared up at the Palace with hatred.

Someday, SOMEDAY SOON, you'll get what's comin' for you.

As the Overlord walked out from a high Palace hall, he stood on the balcony overlooked the airships that came from Nadakhan's fleet across the sea. With his Realm Crystal-infused powers, he is able to teleport the entirety of his army to any location he desired. The dozen ships that now came from the sea were lead by the two-faced warrior doubloon, heading up to the Garmatron II to deliver their cargo. Each ship carried a freight of Dark Matter the pirates had mined from the Overlord's original homestead: The Dark Island.

The essence that was now used to impose fear across all of Ninjago, the Overlord reminisced, was once used to fuel a small tank that helped him impose his rule for a day. He chuckled to himself at the memory as the ships flew into the Garmatron II's bay over the Palace.

"Simpler plans, for simpler times."

"Pardon, my Emperor?"

The four-armed ruler turned back from the sight to face his advisor. "Nothing you need concern yourself with, Acronix. What is it?"

Acronix shifted his wandering gaze from the Garmatron II to look his master in the eyes. "King Pythor and Queen Aspheera have sent their entourage from the Capital Pyramid to deliver their annual tribute to you, Master."

The Overlord sneered lightly. "Ugh. One thing I wasn't expecting from this after we obtained domination was the politics. Very well, we shall meet them in the Throne room. Is there anything else?"

"Yes, Master. Gene has located an off-site hideout holding at least three individuals: the mercenary Ronin, the Master of Water Nya, and Cyrus Borg. They are currently awaiting your orders." The news sent the Overlord into an immediate shift from bored presence to intense focus.

"ALREADY? Damn, he has done so well in so little time. Quite promising... So, Ronin, eh? Then it is reasonable to assume that the Mechanic is in their ranks as well. This Resistance has slowly grown from the Ninja's pitiful attacks to an idealistic movement."

He turned to walk out towards the balcony, overlooking the entire city from the view under the black sky and the Garmatron II. Acronix walked right behind him, beholding the same sight.

"Look down, Acronix. The people here, they cry for order. They NEED it. My righteous fist is the only guiding hand they'd ever need. And yet still, after four years of total order, they still desire something else. They are pawns, Acronix. Pawns in the Great Game that I have been playing since my creation. First it was with the First Spinjitzu Master. Then, with Wu. Briefly, I met my match against Jay Walker, but he is no more. Now, I am faced against Lloyd and his lackeys. Their cowardice is the only thing that has kept them alive... until now."

His head turned sideways towards his advisor, who stood ready for orders. "Order Gene and his men to attack; destroy any means of escape for our enemies, and bring Cyrus Borg back alive. I know precisely what to do with him."

Acronix bowed and turned to leave before stopping himself. "And the others, Master?"

"They are irrelevant."

The Time Twin ran to belay his masters' orders, leaving the Overlord to stand in awe at his empire. The screams from those suffering below, the joy felt by his enforcers as they did their good work, even the slight fear he could sense from his own subordinates whenever they were in his presence, it all gave him a feeling of serenity. He breathed it all in before staring across the fields, towards the mountain ranges thousands of miles away, suddenly angered at the thought of Lloyd.

I DIDN'T KILL YOU THAT DAY SO THAT YOU WOULD KNOW FAILURE, LLOYD. BUT DON'T WORRY. YOUR TIME IS COMING. VERY, VERY SOON.

Shortly after Nya and Ronin left, the remaining members of the Resistance gathered to speculate what Cyrus was working on. Kai, Cole, and Clutch suspected some sort of new weapon that could combat Dark Matter. The Mechanic, Zane, Pixal, Karlof, and Brad were all theorizing it was a new type of mech. Dareth was arguing that it had to be a shrinking pill to make the Garmatron II smaller.

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard, Dareth. Why would Cyrus waste his genius on something like that?"

"I don't know, I'm just trying to be creative!" As the speculation continued loudly, Lloyd pressed his fingers against his temples in frustration. "QUIET."

The noise immediately silenced, all heads turning to the young Sensei as he opened his eyes to look at them. "I know there is nothing we can do right now but speculate. But arguing about what it might be isn't going to solve anything!" He pointed to Clutch with an authoritative swagger.

"Clutch, you stay by the computer in case we get any more signals from the others. Karlof, Mechanic, I want you two to fix up the Land bounty. Its cloaking field was a little late to respond on the last run. Brad, hit the training course again. The rest of you, come with me." He walked through the small crowd towards the elevator, followed by Cole, Dareth, and Kai.

As the elevator door dinged open to reveal the underground laboratory known as Safehouse One, Nya and Ronin looked around in amazement. Previously, only Pixal, Zane, and Lloyd had been here besides Cyrus.

The entire room was dimly lit. While it was smaller than the old main room of Borg Tower, it had far more within it. Across the walls and floor, old blueprints and wires were scattered. Ronin noticed a couple of shut down Nindroids reminiscent to Cryptor, except these were white instead of Black. Their scattered parts and unfinished legs suggested they were cast out as unfinished projects. "Quite the scenery ya got here, Borg."

"Yes, yes, yes. I have not had much time to clean up, but it has been worth it. For you see..."

He wheeled around a small husk of junk, revealing a large machine with a ten foot wide whole in it's center. "I have FINALLY cracked it!"

Nya and Ronin looked to each other in confusement, obvious concern for Cyrus's sanity expressed on their faces. "Cracked...what, Cyrus?"

A clear smile spread across the middle-aged man's face as he wheeled to the side of the Machine. "Do you remember that fateful day over ten years ago? It had been six months since Jay sacrificed himself to lock the Overlord away, and the Dark Army's forces retreated into the desert? The day that Ninjago City stood still, and a sign came from unknown origins that dark times were ahead?"

Nya's eyes widened from realization. "You don't mean..." She turned to the machine, realizing what the large whole in its center was for. "Holy shit."

"Yes, Nya. After 10 years of retracing the signature left behind, I have fulfilled my promise! I have unlocked the key to wherever-or whoever-sent this dark energy. Once we bring this machine back to the Resistance, we can go there ourselves, and come back with the same power to defeat the Dark Army!"

Ronin stepped forward cautiously. "Yeah, but Cyrus... that power, whatever it is, brought back the Overlord! There is no way we know for sure those forces are friendly!"

"What choice do we have, Ronin? Everyday, children are ripped from their parents arms, enlisted into his New Regime of child soldiers! Innocent people are enslaved, worked tirelessly, and butchered in the thousands! Ever since the Dark Army destroyed all traces of travelers tea, and the Overlord has the Realm Crystal's power, this machine is our ONLY hope of helping those who still need it!"

Nya nodded. "You may be right, Cyrus. This machine could very well be useful." She turned to a worried Ronin. "But we will NOT go into this half-hazardly. We'll take it back to Safehouse Zero and let LLoyd decide on the best course of action." They both nodded in agreement.

"Very well. Ronin, if you and Nya could help me move this onto the elevator, I will-" The BOOMing sound of a large explosion interrupted him mid-sentence. "What was that?"

All three rushed over to the security cameras to see. "FUCK!"

The R.E.X., that is, what remained of it, was on fire. Now uncloaked, it's red pieces were blackened by an explosive force and the engulfing flames. 12 dark figures began to walk out of the surrounding trees and bushes towards the giant tree's hidden elevator entrance. Leading them was a familiar face with his mask off, holding twin katanas.

Nya's fists tightened at the sight of him. "GENE."

His evil stare looked around the door's entrance until it stared at the hidden camera. "Knock knock! Hello, Nya! Cyrus, it's a pleasure knowing you weren't incinerated along with the rest of your tower. I suppose that means Clutch is alive too. Swell! Care to let me and my friends in? We brought party favors!" As Gene finished talking, the 11 others behind him brought out an assortment of weapons, ranging from swords with laser-induced tips, Nindroid axes, explosives, and specialized guns. After a few seconds, the one with explosives began to set them up around the elevator door.

Nya put her Samurai X helmet on. Ronin hung his head in a surrendering fashion at the sight. "There's no way we can fight them without at least one of us getting killed."

"No, we can fight them! We can-"

"NO, Nya. Ronin is correct." They both turned to a saddened Cyrus Borg. "Unfortunately, there is no scenario in which we can all escape. But there is this." He pressed on a small remote in his pocket, starting up the machine with a whirrrrr.

"Cyrus, what are you doing?"

"We have no choice, Nya. We must go through the portal. Once we get through, we won't need the machine to reopen it, so if whatever on the other side is in fact unfriendly, we can simply escape back to Safehouse Zero!"

Before either of them could protest the explosives set up the elevator caused a significantly louder BOOM. After a few moments, he distant echoing grunts suggested Gene and his companions were climbing down the shaft.

"We have to hurry!" Cyrus rolled towards the machine typing in the coordinates of the signature left behind from the mysterious portal from ten years ago. "OK, it's in!"

To Nya and Ronin's astonishment, a small purple portal began to take shape in front of them, with a KRSH sound. Cyrus began to roll around from the side to get beside them. "Ok, we will jump in on three. One, two-"

A small grappling hook wrapped around Cyrus's body and pulled him off his chair, rendering him unable to move. Ronin and Nya looked to see Gene pulling the man towards him. "Three. Kill them!" Two of the black-and-purple ninja pulled out their guns, blasting at them.

Ronin's wings shot out from behind them and shielded them from the blasts. In the confusion, Cyrus looked to them catching Ronin's gaze. "GO!"

He nodded, grabbing Nya tightly as they flew towards the portal.

"NO! STOP THEM!" But it was too late. Nya and Ronin rammed straight through the portal, the last words heard before the machine shut down from the blasts being him yelling "AAAAAAAUUUUGH!" and her responding with "LOOK OUT!"

As the 12 Ninja and Cyrus stared at the collapsing portal and the surrounding lab beginning to burn, Gene signaled his men to retreat back up. "Our Emperor will not be pleased they escaped... But no matter." He stared down menacingly at Cyrus's feeble body.

"We have what we came for."

OH BOY, I'm getting excited now! Who knows where Nya and Ronin are? Please read the chapters listed above from my other story if you haven't already.

PLEASE COMMENT AND REVIEW!