Nicki's Story

Authors Note

Prepare yourself.

3 6

Cole was tired of waking up in strange places. Wherever he was now, it was too dark to see. He must have blacked out again during…whatever the Baron had been doing to him. He assumed it was the Enrager the Baron had mentioned in his office, but it hadn't even made Cole feel angry. It had just hurt.

He could hear something now…cheers. Or was it boos? He groaned as he realized where he was.

"The Arena…" he muttered. Now what? He'd have to fight the Baron? Or some enraged dragon? He struggled to his feet….he was no shape for fighting. He never understood why villains made such a show of everything instead of just killing you outright.

The heavy doors in front of him opened and he blinked in the sudden blinding light. A few dragon masters came in with spears, forcing him out into the arena. He looked around; it seemed all the dragon masters, slaves, and everyone in between had come to watch him get killed. How decent of them.

"Ah…Cole, you're just in time for the main event." The Baron called down through the broken window; he was seated in his office, looking as if he was in a private box waiting for an opera to start.

"You don't want to fight me yourself?" Cole challenged, though his yell wasn't quite as loud as he would have liked. "What are you gonna send at me? One of your enraged beasts?!"

The Baron chuckled.

"Yes…something like that." he waved his hands and the doors on the opposite side of the arena opened. Three figures walked out, each in a different color. The only thing they had in common were their glowing red eyes.

Keyda

Keyda pounded the door again, but it was with less effort. She had lost. Any minute now the Baron was going to come back and kill her…

Two guards walked by, headed for the arena.

"So…he pit the three colorful guys against the black one? He's in bad shape; I don't feel like it'll be much of a fight…"

"Yeah, which is why we have to get there now if we want to see any of it!"

They quickly disappeared down the hall and Keyda put two and two together. The Baron was going to destroy the Idiot…using his friends.

Cole

Cole's heart practically stopped beating.

"Oh…you have got to be joking…this has got to be some kind of messed up dream…"

"Generals!" the Baron was addressing the enraged ninja. "Destroy him!"

Cole watched them run at him for a few seconds before his brain reminded him that he needed to MOVE. When did they get here? How had the Baron gotten to them? Where was Wu? Why couldn't anything ever make any sense?"

"GUYS! IT'S ME!" he tried, but Jay nearly got him with a lightening blast and it looked like Kai was powering up. How was he going to snap them out of this?

He dodged again as Zane nearly froze him in place. Their faces were contorted in rage…but also frozen. Like red-eyed, evil puppets. He shuddered.

"Ok… I get it…" he said, backing away as the three continued to come closer. "This is you guys getting back at me for the whole Hypnobrai incident all those years ago…and here I thought we had moved past this."

He slammed his fists into the ground, but the wall that came up was feeble. The Oni all laughed and jeered from the stands. He sighed exasperatedly; it seemed his powers were still weak.

Jay and Kai blasted through the wall he made, and Cole picked up some rocks and started throwing. What was he going to do? He couldn't hurt them…but at the same time they obviously had no qualms about hurting him.

The rocks were basically ineffective. Jay spinjitzued towards him, and Cole raised his arms for hand-to-hand combat. He knew he didn't have the strength to do his own spinjitzu right now.

"I always said you were the least valuable ninja." Jay's voice was deeper and echoey…to be honest it sounded straight-up demonic. Cole blocked his punches while trying to also keep track of his other two enraged friends.

"Shut up, Jay," it was basically a knee-jerk response; he was used to this kind of banter at least.

"Always trying to be the hero, eh Cole? Just like in Yang's temple… but you leave your team behind. You have always let this team down."

"I'm gonna let that slide, because I know you aren't feeling like yourself right now." Cole replied, blocking another attack. Jay wasn't even going full force but he was struggling to keep up with him.

"Where's your girlfriend?" Jay was able to land a kick and Cole stumbled backwards. "She decide she wasn't interested after all? Funny…that's just what Nya decided when you tried to steal her from me. Wonder what's wrong with you?"

Cole grunted, wishing that he hadn't brought up Keyda; he didn't want to think about her right now. She appeared, unbidden, in his mind's eye—staring at him with those piercing orange eyes while saying something along the lines of "Well, Idiot…still think your friends are here to rescue you?"

He shook his head, trying to clear it. He really didn't have time for this…wondering if she was ok…wondering if she was actually here, watching all of this from somewhere in the jeering crowd….wondering if he would ever get the chance to make her laugh again…

He was clipped by Kai's flames. He rolled behind a nearby boulder. Get it together, Cole!

"You should really stop talking, Jay…or I'm going to have a hard time laughing about this later…"

"There will not be a later…you cannot escape this." It was Zane speaking now as he appeared on one side of the boulder. Cole barely scrambled out of the way of the ice blast.

"Oh not you too, Zane. C'mon…you're a nindroid; you can override this." Cole said, slowly regaining his footing as he tried to talk sense into his friend.

"But why would I want to?" Zane moved in fast, grabbing Cole's arm in a vice-like grip. Face to face, Cole decided that his friend looked extremely creepy with his normal blue eyes replaced with burning crimson.

"You are weak…weaker than normal. It will not be long before we are finally rid of you."

He used his grip on Cole's arm to flip him, slamming him into the ground. Cole exhaled painfully, and he blocked Zane as the nindroid moved in to attack him while he was down. Zane pushed down hard, trying to crush him.

"This isn't you, Zane. This is the Baron…you've…got…to….fight him." Cole finally managed to summon a flash of his earth punch, and threw Zane back. The effort left him dizzy as he struggled to his feet.

Suddenly one of Jay's lightening attacks landed a direct shot on his side. He yelled as he flew across the arena, landing hard. He was in bad shape…and he knew he wasn't going to last much longer.

Keyda

Keyda faced the door once more, filled with a renewed determination. The Baron was going to kill them all…for no reason other than he wanted to. He played with people as if they were chess pieces in an effort to claim more power.

She thought of the Idiot. Of course the Baron wouldn't just kill the boy himself. Her fists clenched as she realized that the Baron had purposely found the most excruciating way to end him; destroyed by those he considered brothers and had trusted to save him. The guards were right; he was weak and would be no match for all three of them-especially not in an enraged state. In her anger, she didn't notice the purple glow coming from her fists as she charged the door again. This time when she hit, the door exploded from its hinges. She flew threw, shocked as she hit the cold stone floor. She shook herself…she had no idea what had just happened but she didn't have time to figure it out.

Harumi

"Poor Lloyd, alone once again. We really should do something about that hero mentality…its proving dangerous for your health."

"Quit stalling, Harumi. You gonna take your revenge or not?"

She smiled and shook her head.

"It will be much more satisfying when we're alone."

Lloyd looked around the room.

"Ah, yes, because there's far too much of a crowd in here…"

"Silence! Do you think I'm a fool?"

"You probably don't want me to answer that one."

She ignored him.

"I know your friends are in the Tower, Lloyd. It's only so much longer before they come to rescue you…"

"What are you talking about?"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't be coy."

He dropped the act. "It'll be three on one, Harumi. I wouldn't count your chickens just yet."

She smiled cruelly. "Perhaps it's you who shouldn't be so fast to count…I'm afraid there has been a little flaw in your plan."

His heart skipped a beat.

"What do you mean? What did you do?"

"I'm afraid you're going to be down a friend, dear Lloyd…"

Just then, the throne room doors flew open, revealing P.I.X.A.L, Nya, and Skylor.

"Think again, Harumi." Nya said with a smirk. Harumi's eyes fell on P.I.X.A.L and for a second, he composure cracked. But it was regained in the next instant.

"How. Very. Interesting."

37

The Baron watched as the three outsiders walked across the arena, boxing in their former friend. It wouldn't be long now…

Cole

Cole was out of energy…he wasn't sure that he could dodge anymore attacks.

"Guys…you have to snap out of it…" he was panting with effort as he trembled to his feet.

His friends made no move to stop as their triangulated approach forced him into a corner.

"JAY…KAI…ZANE" he yelled at them, but no reaction. He tried to power up his arms but after a brief flash his earth punch failed, he felt faint.

"WAKE UP! YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP!" Zane hit him with a blast, and he found himself frozen in place.

"Face it Cole…you're going to die here." It was Kai who was talking now, and the three ninja were raising their arms in unison for a final attack. "You're going to die in this strange realm where nobody will even remember you."

Cole shook his head. This couldn't happen…this wasn't happening.

"Just like nobody even cares that you're gone back home."

Terror was coursing through him now…these were not his friends. They were going to kill him. Despite his body's attempt at giving him adrenaline, he struggled against the ice. Forget super strength, he could barely stay awake! He looked up at them again as their arms radiated with elemental power; it was going to be a point-blank hit. Utterly exhausted, he looked into their eyes for one last try.

"…Please…"

Keyda

Keyda slammed through the doorway of the Baron's office. He and Heavy Metal turned in surprise; for a moment she was shocked that there weren't more people guarding the Baron…but then she remembered that he was the most feared Oni in the realm. What did he need to be guarded against?

Heavy Metal sprang at her but she dodged him, his momentum causing him to slam into the wall. The Baron just looked at her coldly as she launched for him. He stepped out of the way and she nearly fell out the open window.

"And just what do you think you are doing?"

She looked over at him; he was mere inches away from her.

"Just like you said…destroying things." With that she snatched the staff and fell backwards out of the window towards the dirt below.

On the other side of the arena there was an explosion of elemental power.

Heavy Metal ran over to the Baron as they watched her fall.

"Should we storm the arena?" he asked, turning to his boss. But the Baron was wearing the same amused expression as always.

"Not just yet, Heavy Metal. Not just yet."

Keyda yelled as she fell, swinging the rod down as the earth rushed up to meet her. The enchanted staff head shattered as pain shot up her arm from the impact. She hit the ground hard, but with shaky arms pushed herself to her feet and took off running towards a group of colored figures yards away. She passed the three outsiders with barely a glance. Their red eyes were already fading.

There he was, lying in the dirt once again, surrounded by chunks of ice and rubble. She dropped next to him.

"Get up, Idiot, we have to get out of here now!" she said harshly, but he didn't respond. Unconscious…or…

She was shaking a little as she looked for signs of life. He didn't appear to be breathing. She grabbed his shoulders and shook him.

"Wake up…WAKE UP! Imbecile…Idiot…IDIOT!" She was trembling harder now. She felt her cheek. Was she crying? "You don't get to drive me half mad and then die! WAKE UP!"

Behind her, the ninja were finally coming to. They were disoriented, but Jay realized what was happening ahead.

"COLE!" He yelled, and then the ninja saw who was with him.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?" Kai was running at her, fists flaming. She would pay dearly for her betrayal and for hurting his friend.

Behind him, Jay, was powering up his lightening as well. Only Zane was saying nothing, trying desperately to process how they had gotten here and what was actually happening.

Keyda whirled around to face them, her features contorted with anger and hatred.

"You said you were his friends!"

They paused, taken aback by her verbal attack.

"He believed that you would never forget him!" She screamed again, and Kai shook himself.

"Stop messing with our heads…YOU are the one who betrayed US… and then you came and did this to…"

"I DIDN'T DO THIS." A purple aura had started whipping around Keyda as she glared at the outsiders. How dare they blame her?! "YOU DID."

Unnoticed by any of them, Iron Baron entered the arena, grinning broadly. He gestured and Dragon Masters began running at Keyda and the Outsiders.

Keyda turned as the first dragon masters approached, and in her rage she threw large bruise-colored spheres of power at them. Jay gasped in panic.

"That looks just like…"

"Garmadon." Kai finished, trying to decide between firing at the attacking dragon masters or Keyda. He had known this girl was evil…he had known!

Keyda blasted many of the Dragon Masters away, but there were too many and they soon overwhelmed her.

"Take her to the extraction chamber." The Baron said, sounding collected as always despite the chaos.

As they dragged her away, she made eye contact with Zane. His processors were in overdrive trying to make sense of everything happening. He looked at her, questioningly.

"You spoke of Brotherhood!" She screamed, and then pointed at Cole before another Oni grabbed her arm. "DOES THIS LOOK LIKE BROTHERHOOD TO YOU?" She disappeared out of the door.

Kai and Jay were busy blasting the approaching Dragon Masters.

"A little help, Zane?!" Jay yelled, snapping the nindroid out of his mind fog. He turned to freeze the nearest person. The Baron's voice cut through the mayhem once again.

"Now…be good generals and stand down…"

The ninja struggled to see where he was.

"Generals?! What are you talking about? Show yourself! I have a bone to pick with you as well!" Kai yelled.

"You really do need to stand down…"

Suddenly the Dragon Masters backed off, and the ninja were finally able to see the Iron Baron. He stood over Cole, with a spear pointed downward just above their unmoving friend.

"Or someone could get hurt."

The ninja froze, and each stood down. They weren't sure if Cole was even alive or not…but they couldn't take the chance. The Baron smiled.

"Ah…now isn't that better? It would be hard to trust you with my army if you couldn't follow basic directions…"

"Seriously, WHAT are you talking about!?" Jay yelled. Ever since they had arrived in this crazy realm it had just been one cryptic message after another and he was SICK OF IT.

The Baron didn't reply, and the Dragon Masters soon had them in shackles. They began prodding them to the door. The Baron called out to them as they left.

"Now, don't forget to behave! I'd hate for anything else to happen to your friend."

The doors slammed closed and The Baron gave a contented sigh. He loved when things came together. Heavy Metal appeared next to him as he looked down with distain at Cole's body.

"Dispose of him." he ordered quietly, and then breezed out of the arena.

38

"You guys help Lloyd… I've got Harumi." Nya said, that the trio sprang into action.

Nya's spear hit the Empress's sword as she scoffed.

"I believe we already did this once, Nya…and if I remember right I won…"

"If I remember right," Nya spun behind her, looking for an opening. "Last time I got away."

"Well your dirty thief isn't here to save you this time, is he?"

P.I.X.A.L and Skylor reached Lloyd's cage; P.I.X.A.L searched for the release switch while Skylor kicked the bars.

The android found the switch and was headed for it when deranged laughter cut in.

"Well well well….looks like Mr. E's little plan didn't work." Ultra Violet barged from the shadows and P.I.X.A.L jumped out of the way. She pulled out her bow and shot the lever, and the cage lifted back up into the ceiling.

"That's better…." Lloyd smiled and Skylor handed him a katana. He charged Harumi, who spun to block his attack and then avoided Nya's next move. The water ninja crashed into Lloyd and sent them both sprawling.

P.I.X.A.L and Skylor were getting the heads up on Ultraviolet as Lloyd and Nya regained their footing and started backing Harumi into a corner.

"Give up, Harumi…you're outnumbered." Lloyd said. But Harumi merely smiled.

"You aren't the only one who doesn't quit, Lloyd." She reached out and hit a switch on the wall. An alarm sounded and Nya looked around.

"Shoot, we're gonna have SoG's swarming this place in seconds…"

"You didn't really think I wouldn't be prepared with back-up, did you? Unlike you," she turned to Lloyd. "I don't pretend to be able to handle things on my own."

The doors were still open and SoG began flooding in. The four rebels were suddenly outnumbered, and found themselves going back to back in a circle, trying to figure a way out of their situation. Harumi just laughed.

"And what will you do now?"

Wu

Wu didn't think he could hold on for much longer. He had giving up mediating in favor of pacing, but he continued to worry about the ninja. He turned at the end of the hallway once again, deciding that Dragons really needed to take up tea-drinking. What he wouldn't give for a nice soothing cup to calm his nerves.

The Elder Dragon watched with placid curiosity.

Do you doubt the Elemental Masters?

Wu sighed. "I am not used to not having the answers…they have gone off with no help and no guide into a highly volatile realm. I do not know how Cole is faring or if the ninja will be able to save him. It bothers me immensely that I have thus far been of no help to them…I am in a weak physical state and know next to nothing about this realm. It does not bode well for…"

Perhaps while you wait, I can teach you more.

Wu stopped pacing. "That would be much appreciated."

He followed the Elder Dragon from his cavern and down another tunnel. Their way was lit by the Dragon's weak glow.

We did not always have to cower underground. We were once a proud race which feared nothing and ruled the skies as far back as our enemies pretended to rule the ground.

"The Oni have always been your enemies, then."

The Dragon made a noise that must have been a scoff.

They hardly could ever be anything else. We, majestic beasts who hold the power of creation, and they, pale monsters who spread destruction.

They had reached a large inner chamber, and Wu could see Dragons of different sizes and colors scattered throughout. He looked over at a deep green mother, nuzzling her young. Across the chamber two males sparred, snapping and butting heads.

"What drove you underground?" Wu asked, climbing up on an outcrop of rock so that he could be more eye-level with the ancient beast. The Elder Dragon lay down, looking across the large chamber.

Our problems have their roots in events from our ancient past. Despite our opposition, there were both Oni and Dragons who didn't fall as closely to the edges of the spectrum of creation and destruction.

"I see…" Wu said softly.

The Dragon took on a look of disgust. There were two who were especially rebellious. They even considered themselves friends. Antirock was a dragon who believed that destruction could be necessary…and even beautiful. Echo was an Oni who tried to teach her people that affection wasn't a weakness.

"How did the clans react to them?"

The clans knew of their misguided beliefs, but none of us knew of their connection to each other. By the time that was discovered, something had already been born of their combined powers of creation and destruction.

"A child."

The Dragon looked at Wu for the first time.

A child. At first both clans wanted to destroy him…surely he presented a danger to us all. Yet he slowly won over Dragon and Oni alike. He came up with a technique that could be used to both create new and wondrous things while possessing the destructive power of a weapon. He called it Spinjitzu.

The dragon paused to study Wu at this point, but the child next to him didn't say anything.

The child had opened our eyes to the great power that could be achieved. Echo and Antirock had hoped the child would help unite our clans, but such foolish beliefs were not to come to fruition. Instead, the Oni and the Dragons realized that they both suddenly had a means to finally overpower the other. But the Child managed to escape our realm with the help of his rebellious creators.

Both Dragon and Oni spent decades trying to track him down. We finally discovered the realm that he was from and both parties searched it extensively. But alas, neither group ever discovered him.

"What happened to Echo and Antirock?"

They were punished-it was with their help that the child was able to escape. The Oni were unforgiving; not only was Echo put to death but they began to search out and destroy any Oni who seemed to possess affectionate qualities. They called it the Great Purge. However, despite their new dedication to hatred, they found their overall powers waning and after decades seemed to have lost their connection to nearly all of their ancient power. They had to give up their search for the child because they could no longer jump between realms.

"And…the dragon?"

Antirock was granted mercy with the condition that he would help to form some kind of connection between the child and the Dragon clan. We learned from him that the power of the child was a combination of the powers of the Elemental race of dragons. It seems the power of the four guardians had been duplicated within four golden weapons, which the child had used to both leave our realm and create a new one. With the help of Antirock, the Elemental Dragons were able to form a connection to the child in his realm. We dragons were confident that this connection would allow us to track him down. We sent four lesser elemental dragons to fetch him and the weapons, but rather than bring him back they chose to side with the child and eventually became the guardians of the weapons themselves.

We again felt betrayed by Antirock. In his dying breath he promised that someday the child and the elements that had been stolen from our race would be returned to the Dragon Nation forever. Together they would bring the rise of the Dragon Master; the promise was that the side which was aided by the Dragon Master would finally win the war. We have long awaited that day.

Wu felt the need to change the subject. "But that still doesn't explain why the Dragons were forced to seek shelter underground."

The Oni were in a weakened state due to the loss of their connection to the ancient power. We were sure victory would be ours…but we soon found ourselves weakened and our four elemental guardians declined in power, having created ethereal connections to a new generation of humans called Elemental Masters. Meanwhile an Oni called the Iron Baron rose to power. He had a manipulative mind the likes of which we had never faced; rather than simply destroying us he focused on capturing and enslaving dragons using the dregs of ancient power that he was able to connect to. We soon found ourselves not fighting just the Oni, but our own brothers as well. We knew that the Oni sought to reconnect with the ancient power of Pure Hatred, and over the years we have the premonition that the Baron is getting closer to doing so. Oni power has been growing in other realms as well; quite recently our Elemental Guardians were forced fully back to our realm. Since that day we have combined our powers in the creation of a safe haven, waiting for the fulfillment of Antirock's prophecy.

"And now that prophecy is coming to fruition." Wu finished. "And we do not have much time…we ourselves need the help of the Dragon Master to go back to our realm and defend our home."

The ancient Dragon looked at Wu with curiosity, though Wu could see something almost lustful hiding beneath the expression.

But my dear boy…you are home.

39

The Outsider was heavier than he looked. Heavy Metal had caught on to the Baron's insinuation; if the bloke wasn't already dead, it was his job to finish him off. After inspecting him, he decided the kid was a goner and was now carrying him down the hall, trying to decide how to get rid of him.

The Baron had the bloke's buddies locked up somewhere; he wouldn't be able to dispose of him anywhere they would be able to find him. How does one make a body disappear? Perhaps the best option would be to toss him down into the catacombs…

As he approached the ancient catacombs deep under the fortress, a roar sounded that shook dust from the tunnels. Heavy Metal grinned under his mask; the beast was awake. It would make light work of the outsider.

Theater

"Well…we're here," Ed called from the front of the tour bus. He glanced backwards to the rest of the crew. "So…anybody have any ideas?"

Ronin was getting especially antsy as he leaned up against one wall of the bus. He knew he could probably slip out of this situation if he needed to…but not with the rest of these yahoos. Talk about conflicting priorities.

"Well, we could always…" Dareth started, but the thief cut him off grumpily.

"Ideas that would actually work, Dareth. That basically rules out anything you have to say."

"Come now, Gentleman, we cannot cave to pressure now," Lou said quietly as Dareth puffed up for a comeback. The performer was feeling pretty down…he had been sure this plan would work. He was certain that with his idea they could actually help the cause and that he would finally do something useful. But now they were all headed straight to Harumi.

His hand tightened around his cane as he thought of her. He definitely had unfinished business with that mademoiselle…but he also knew that he was no match for her and her cronies. She would undoubtedly recognize him and the others. Perhaps that Killow fellow already had; it was the only reason that he would force them all to the tower like this, unless they really were desperate for quality entertainment. Which to be fair, Lou didn't actually doubt.

He pulled a picture out of his front pocket and studied it. What would his son have done in this situation?

They pulled to a stop in front of the tower and the bikes filled in around them.

"Is that…an alarm?" Dareth asked as some kind of blaring could be heard. They heard Killow bellow outside.

"To your stations! It seems our Empresses' guests aren't playing so nice…" The large purple man glared as his cronies jumped off their bikes. Killow held out his hand to block a group of them.

"Not you…I have a different job for the group of you." he pointed a big thumb over at the theater truck. "Make sure they stay put, yeah? In fact, do me a favor and have them all gathered up by the time I get back…"

In the bus, the theater troupe watched as the S.O.G members poured into the tower.

"Why do I get the feeling that those kids are in trouble…again?" Ronin grumbled. He opened one of the back doors to the tour bus.

"Wait, where are you going?" Dareth demanded. If this guy abandoned ship one more time…

"Don't worry about it. Just make sure this bucket of bolts is ready to go when I get back." He disappeared.

"Uh…fellas? It seems there are a few people trying to board the bus…" Ed called out from the front. The rest of the troupe could hear banging as S.O.G members tried to force their way onboard.

"Looks like we're gonna have to fight our way outta this one…" Dareth drawled, pulling on his brown ninja hood. The whole bus suddenly lurched and the brown ninja looked over to see Lou standing next to the activated stage lever.

"Let's give them a performance they won't forget."

Bikers leapt unto the newly formed stage, trying to locate the renegades. One parted the curtain only to be hit with something and slump to the ground. His comrades looked at each other and then ran to the curtain, only to be felled in a similar way. The S.O.G still off the stage had the initiative to shoot the curtain down. As it crumpled, it revealed an angry Lou wielding a heavy flamingo prop with one hand while his other braced a sore back. He was thinking he might have overexerted himself just a bit.

The bikers yelled and charged the performer, who took a few steps back as if in retreat. As they breached the curtain line a tarzan-esque yell caused them to pause and look over as Dareth came flying down on a rope and harness, foot extended in a kung-fu kick. In a classic Dareth move, he missed all three of them on the first pass by. However he was able to hit straight on in his return trip and knocked them clean off the stage. He landed and gave Ed a dazed thumbs-up, who returned the gesture from behind the special effects backstage board.

"Oooo…don't you know it's rude to touch a woman's purse?!" The troupe looked over to see Edna beating one of the S.O.G members with her handbag. A few more approached her menacingly.

"Hey fellas!" Ed called, and the three goons turned. "Keep your hands off my wife!" He pushed another button on his backstage console and three sandbags flattened two of the members. One had stepped out of the way, but a final blow from Mrs. Walker's handbag left him on the ground with his friends.

"So far, so good," Dareth noted, on the watch for other bikers. "How long do we have to keep this up?"

Lou rubbed his sore back ruefully as he gazed up at the top of the tower, where several teenagers were undoubtedly in a bad situation.

"As long as we have to."

Keyda

Keyda took out a few more Dragon Masters on her way but in the end it hadn't been enough. She was dragged through a doorway onto some kind of balcony overlooking what she knew would be her new prison. Instead of bars, it was made of a glass-like substance with a large hole in the top. The balcony had no railing and the Oni were forcing her to the edge. She was too busy fighting them to pay much attention to the rest of the room, other than noticing there was all sorts of bulky equipment around. They got her to the edge and she blasted one of the Oni off the other side of the balcony; he hit the side of the glass cage and thumped onto the floor below with a groan. That was to be her last victory, however, as the other Dragon Masters were able to shove her off the balcony and into the cages opening a few feet below. She hit the bottom of the glass chamber, looking up frantically at the hole. However the Oni were already pulling some kind of large tube over the opening, sealing her in. She yelled in anger and more of the purple smoke swirled around her, but after a few moments she noticed that it all seemed to be being pulled upward, into the tube. She watched in confusion as the smoke went out and into the other containers and tubes that seemed to now be attached to this one. She had no idea what any of it meant…but she did know that she needed to get out of here. She pounded on the strange glass, punching and kicking, but whatever the material was it was too strong for her. Eventually her anger drained away, leaving a feeling of hopelessness. She hit the wall once more and sank to the ground. As she sat, small violet tendrils continued to waft off of her.

What's happening to me?

Back in the Baron's cell, and then more fully in the arena, something had cracked within her. But rather than a crack that left her broken, it had felt more like a crack in the cocoon of an insect. Something within her had been freed…but what was it?

"You have no idea how many years I have been waiting for this moment." She looked up and glared at the Baron as purple vapor filled the air. He looked serene, but a dark mirth flashed in his eyes. She hated him.

"Get. Out."

"Aren't you interested in why I spared you, all those years ago?"

She wasn't. He continued to talk anyways.

"I saw something in you that day…something in you that lead me to know we could get to this moment together."

She turned her back on him and covered her ears. She couldn't attack him…she couldn't get out. Why wouldn't he just leave her alone? The Baron kept going.

"You have done what we have been trying to do for DECADES, Keyda. Don't you know how remarkable this is?" He paused to let her answer, but she chose to simply shrink into herself more.

He came closer, his face just inches from the back of her head. The only thing between them was the thick glass.

"You have connected to the true and ancient power of the Oni…the power of Pure Hatred…"

She whirled on him, eyes burning with disgust.

"That's what you've been searching for?" she hissed. "Hate? How could you not find it in yourself… you care about nothing!"

He smiled like he was proud of her for pointing that out. "That is precisely the problem…."

"I've hated you for years…why would it suddenly make a difference now?!" she said, her voice rising.

"I'm afraid you are mistaken, dear Keyda. You have detested me perhaps…but emotions such as despising and loathing are far different from untainted hatred. Oni have access to nearly every negative emotion you can think of. But Pure Hate? That is something that we haven't been able to achieve in centuries."

She didn't speak.

"Everything has a balance. You see, in order to truly hate something, you first must feel what it is like to truly care about something." he paused, a twinkle in his eye. "Or someone."

"SHUT UP." She turned away from him again, eyes closed and hands over her ears. She didn't have to listen to this…she didn't have to!

"It's just as you said before, Keyda. I have never cared about anyone. I can't think of any Oni nowadays who ever has. Affection was deemed a weakness and stamped out long ago. Nowadays we are beings of destruction— we either fear or are we are feared. But when I saw you scowling from the rubble in your village that day …there was something deeper in the look you gave. I realized that you might someday unlock the power to truly hate…because you had potential to truly care."

More purple exploded out of her as she tried to blast through the glass into his face. He didn't even flinch.

"So I set out for years trying to get you to hate me. Truly hate me. But despite that first inkling I had, you seemed doomed to the same loathsome apathy as the rest of us. I targeted you in one way or another…I even planned on having you fail your initiation because I knew how much you hoped to get out of your station in life. But all of those things were so rudimentary. I had no way to help you actually experience love."

"Get away from me!" She pounded the glass, but he smiled cruelly, determined to finish his discourse.

"If only I had known that all it would take was a naive outsider…"

"I NEVER CARED ABOUT HIM." Her eyes were squeezed shut as more purple vapor poured from her; the Aura of Hatred.

"Of course…which is why his death had no effect on you."

She smashed the wall again, desperately wanting- -NO, needing -to kill the man in front of her.

"He's dead, Keyda." The Baron was talking slowly, each word a weapon. "Eliminated by those he considered friends, by my command. Because of his connection to you." The box was saturated with violet smoke as the tube couldn't withdraw it fast enough; she couldn't even see the Baron anymore. But she could imagine his smug expression.

"That's why you did all of this?!" Her hands were raw from pounding. "Then why use your Enrager on him at all?! What were you going to do if it had worked?!"

"Oh, is that what you thought I was doing in the dungeon yesterday?" He sounded almost apologetic. "No, Keyda, I'm afraid his fate was decided the second I realized you could have feelings for him."

Her blood ran cold as she processed what he had said. Iron Baron had never actually tried to control Cole….he had only been torturing him. To get to her.

"You…you planned all of this…"

She had never actually escaped from the Baron…not even once. He had orchestrated every move, put every play in motion. Perhaps he had even expected Cole to take her from the arena. He had left them for days together in the dungeon…all of it was building up to the point where he could terminate something she had learned to care about. So she would hate the Baron. And she did; now she really truly hated him. Silent tears coursed down her cheeks.

The Baron tsked. "Now now, don't be tarnishing all of this perfect hatred with grief. The boy was a sacrifice that had to be made…you cannot achieve hatred without affection. "

He had walked away from her prison now, heading to something on the other side of the device. He pulled a small cylinder away from the end that the final tube in the process fed into. It was about half-way full of a concentrated purple material.

"I just made the most of a situation that was granted to me" He continued, examining the purple substance. "True…it was a strange situation that I didn't quite understand, but a true leader works with what he is given. I had to keep kicking things up a notch, making sure things kept escalating until the point when it would finally be enough to break your heart." He turned to look back at her. "Tell me, Keyda; what exactly was it you saw in him?"

He was trying to anger her…pull more hatred from her. But there was nothing she could do about it. The aura continued to pour out of her; she had no control.

"Was it his smile? Or maybe it was that 'charming personality' he mentioned. Perhaps it was the way he rushed into things, recklessly… or muddled himself up when he tried to speak."

She tried to tune him out. She tried desperately to think of something else…

"Oh wait…perhaps it was the way he rushed to defend you, time after time. In fact, I believe the first words he ever said to me were in your defense." Here he laughed. "Yes, that must be it…he was the first person who has ever tried to protect you, wasn't he? A little stupid, perhaps, but moving just the same."

"STOP IT."

"Such a hero, trying to rescue you from the likes of me. But I suppose that leads us into the bigger mystery…what on earth did he see in a monster like you?"

"YOU are the monster…" she whispered. He was walking to the door now, leaving her to her thoughts.

"Of course." he said off-handedly. "To be an Oni is to be a monster. Which is why it is just as well as I destroyed him now… I merely saved him from being destroyed by you later."

40

"Ok…so this didn't go exactly according to plan…" Lloyd murmured as the four friends stood back to back, facing the jeering S.O.G crowd.

"But when does it ever?" Nya muttered.

"Now isn't this an incredibly satisfying moment?" Harumi gloated, approaching Skylor. "Shall we see who's hiding under this mask?"

Skylor struck out but all it took was several S.O.G to grab her for Harumi to be able to yank off the hood. The self-proclaimed empress looked at her quizzically.

"…I must say that I actually have no idea who you are…"

"HEY! That's the lady who run's Chen Noodle House!" One belligerent S.O.G. called out. Skylor found the speaker in the crowd and recognized him as one of the chumps she had to regularly throw out. She rolled her eyes in irritation.

"A restaurant owner, huh?" Harumi shook her head and casually tossed Skylor's hood. "I must say, you ninja hang out with all sorts; thieves, cooks, performers…someday we'll dig all your friends from the woodwork and be rid of your entire pathetic resistance." She pulled out a sword and grinned maliciously.

"Speaking of, let's bring your little story to a close right now, shall we?"

P.I.X.A.L ran every scenario she could think of, but there really didn't seem to be a way out of this one. She found herself incredibly irritated that she couldn't be more useful. Then, out of the corner of her eye she saw something flick and her heart gave a whir of hope.

"Get ready to move…" she muttered quietly to her friends. Harumi raised her sword, and the lights promptly went out.

The four teammates launched into action in the blackness. The S.O.G. members attacked, but most of them grabbed each other and a few unlucky thugs grabbed Harumi herself.

"GET OFF ME, FOOLS! Get the lights! Find them!"

Mechanical whirring could be heard as the lights flicked back on. Lloyd and the others had made it halfway through the crowd of S.O.G, but the goons quickly grabbed them and halted their escape. In the chaos, the mechanical noises got louder. Suddenly there was a swarm of small, apple-sized flying robotic contraptions attacking the S.O.G members, who yelled out and swatted at them.

P.I.X.A.L looked over at the doorway at the person she had glimpsed earlier. Cyrus Borg smiled tightly with a wave.

"I figured you four could use some help…but now you need to get out of here!"

P.I.X.A.L shook off her now-distracted captors and ran towards her creator. "This time, I'm not leaving without you!"

"STOP THEM!" Harumi screamed, but she was struggling to get through the hordes of robots.

"No, P.I.X.A.L, I must stay here to control the bots." Borg insisted. In his lap was some kind of technical control panel that he was furiously typing at.

"But…"

"PIX!" Nya called from another doorway where she, Lloyd, and Skylor were waiting. "WE GOTTA GO!"

P.I.X.A.L's face hardened with determination. She was not leaving Borg here to suffer the consequences that would occur after this insubordination. She continued on her path towards him, pushing past the yelling S.O.G.

"There's more than one way to stop an escape…" Harumi hissed. She cut through a few more robots with her sword and then snatched a crossbow off of a nearby biker. She took aim at the man in the wheelchair.

"PIX!" Lloyd and Nya were pushing their way towards her robotic friend, while Skylor fought bikers off to keep their exit open. Harumi shot the bolt.

"NO!" P.I.X.A.L yelled as she watched Borg crumple from his wheelchair. She pushed past more S.O.G., desperate to reach him. Robots dropped out of the air like heavy metal rain and a cheer went up among the bikers.

P.I.X.A.L reached Borg and turned him over. He was alive, but his face was contorted with pain.

"I'm…sorry P.I.X.A.L…"

She just shook her head, both in shock and because this man had nothing to be sorry about. Lloyd and Nya reached the inventor and moved in to help lift him. He weakly swatted them away.

"Don't lose your window…you all know that there's no making it out of here with me as dead weight…"

"But…sir…" Nya tried and he shook his head. The S.O.G were quickly closing in, and any chance at escape would soon be gone. He turned to Lloyd.

"My boy…you must destroy those masks…"

"But how?"

"There is hope…golden hope…locked away…"

"What?" The inventor seemed to be losing it.

Borg shook his head. "That…that is all I can say here…but I know you will figure it out. Now GO!"

The S.O.G had reached them and Nya leapt in front of P.I.X.A.L and Borg, holding the thugs off with an enraged yell. Lloyd pulled P.I.X.A.L up off the ground.

"I'm…I'm sorry Pix, but he's right. We have to go now!"

"You aren't going anywhere!" Harumi called, slowly approaching the scene. P.I.X.A.L snapped back to reality. She couldn't leave Borg behind…but she also knew that she didn't have any other choice. She grabbed the control panel off the ground and began typing furiously. The Robots leapt back into action, attacking the S.O.G once more.

By the doorway, Skylor had continued to fight off the S.O.G who were trying to flip the lever to seal of the exit. After the robots went down, however, she knew she wasn't going to last much longer on her own. She sighed in relief as she noticed that P.I.X.A.L had gotten them airborne again. Suddenly, someone grabbed the redhead from behind. She yelled out as Killow lifted her off the ground.

"Sorry I'm late, Empress…I just picked something up in Jamaniki village that I think you will find interesting…"

The ninja began to once again fight their way towards the exit, their escape helped by P.I.X.A.L's robotic army. However, the small bots seemed to barely affect Killow, who appeared not to care as they poked and jabbed at him.

"Stop right there, ninja…or I'm gonna have to hurt your little friend…" Killow taunted, squeezing Skylor for emphasis. She grunted in pain, trying in vain to kick him in the face.

Nya turned to Lloyd and P.I.X.A.L, though the robot was pretty distracted as she continued to keep the S.O.G at bay with her robotic controller.

"Now what?!"

A flash of black knocked the three of them out of the way of a crossbow bolt. Harumi had fired once again, but instead of hitting the robot girl, the bolt went straight into Killow's calf. He howled in pain and dropped Skylor as he grabbed his leg.

Skylor managed to land on her feet and kicked aggressively at the large purple man's other knee. He toppled and she turned to her friends.

"NOW!"

Everything had happened so fast that Nya had hesitated on the floor. Someone offered her a hand and she looked up to see some cloaked person with a white half-mask on. Stunned, she let him help her up.

"Well…things can't get weirder than this…"

"Save it. If we're gonna get you idiots out of here, we have to move now!" the masked man groused in a familiar voice.

"Ronin?!" she asked as he pushed her towards the exit.

I take it back…things definitely just got weirder.

The five refugees rushed from the room. Ronin was the last to leave and threw a knife at the security lever as he dove through the exit before the security bars came down. He groaned as he pulled himself back up.

"Not as young as I once was…" he muttered ruefully. They rushed down the hall and P.I.X.A.L destroyed the console she was holding before tossing it. The robots were all in the other room and the signal to the controller had been lost in their escape. But she also didn't want Harumi getting her hands on it to use those robots against them someday. Her thoughts turned to Cyrus Borg and she felt a wave of guilt and sadness; part of her wanted to turn and rush back to save him, but she knew that there was no way that they could have gotten the inventor out. She still was calculating a 68% chance that they wouldn't make it out of this tower.

"Wait…" Skylor called out as they ran. "Where do we even go from here? My cover's blown…even if we make it out of here Harumi will be watching my restaurant like a hawk."

"Nya's Samauri X cave." Ronin said matter of factly. The Water Ninja turned to him in surprise.

"Is that where you've been hiding out this whole time?!"

"But how will we even get there? On foot?" Lloyd chimed in. Ronin shook his head with a smirk.

"We have quite the get-away bus…so long as Dareth hasn't done anything to blow it up."

Harumi

Harumi screamed at her useless forces.

"DO NOT let them escape…or there will be severe consequences!" The S.O.G pushed past each other to rush out of the room, a task made easier now that the robots were once again lying motionless on the floor. The empress breezed over to where Cyrus Borg was panting painfully on the ground. She crouched next to him, and he glared at her defiantly.

"And here I thought you were supposed to be smart…" she said icily. The inventor swallowed at her tone. She stood up and called a lingering goon over.

"Lock him up in his office. If his injury doesn't take care of him, then I'll let Garmadon do the honors." She felt a spike of triumph as the color drained out of Borg's face.

She turned away as the Goon pulled Borg from the ground and threw him back into his wheelchair.

"You can do what you like to me!" Borg called out, but Harumi didn't even bother turning as she continued to walk towards the exit that the ninja had escaped from. "But they will defeat you!"

"Save your strength." she said offhandedly. "You'll need it.

24