A/n: Okay, here's the next chapter! There will be twelve chapters in this story, so it's almost finished.
"Whoa." Jay said as he and the others entered the Departed Realm, "Why is the sky so dirty?"
"We're technically underground, Jay." Kai reminded him, "Of course there's dirt."
Jay was right, though. Their portal had let out into a small pond, which they were currently sitting in. The grass around the pond was normal enough, but the sky wasn't. Instead of the beautiful blue they were used to, it was brown, the color of dirt. There were no clouds, and the only thing resembling a Sun was a giant glowing red ball in the distance.
"Where do you think Chen is?" Kai asked.
"Probably somewhere in that scary looking castle." Lloyd answered, pointing.
Kai followed his finger, seeing a large castle made of (what else?) dirt. There were no windows, and only two visible doors at the front. The walls, however, looked old, with red light spilling out of the cracks.
"I guess that's a safe bet." Kai said. He felt horrible. Skylar was probably in that castle right now, listening to her father's taunts. Kai knew she and her father had never gotten along, and he felt bad that she was now being forced to see Chen again. He wanted to save her as soon as possible, and get out of this awful realm.
"Well, then," Lloyd said, "Let's get going."
They started walking, trying to ignore all the ghosts floating around them. Kai wondered whether or not Skylar and the others were ghosts now, having had their life forces stolen. He also wondered how they would take the girls back to Ninjago, once they found them. Would he just have to date and, one day, marry a ghost? And what would happen if Chen decided to self-harm, because he couldn't feel it? Would Skylar just have to constantly live in fear of being randomly stabbed or strangled?
Kai shook those thoughts off. He didn't have the answers to any of his questions, but he decided they would figure it out later.
"So, how are we even going to get into the palace?" Jay suddenly asked, breaking the silence, "Knock on the door and say please?"
"I don't know." Lloyd admitted, "I had hoped there would be windows or, even better, a skylight, but that's clearly not going to happen."
"Perhaps there is a back door?" Zane suggested.
"I doubt that." Kai said.
"Maybe we could pretend to be guards?" Jay said.
"We don't look ghostly enough." Lloyd told him.
Suddenly, Kai heard a loud crunch beneath his foot. He looked down, and saw a piece of paper. Brushing the dirt off of it, he picked it up and read it aloud.
"'You are hereby invited to the annual Day of the Departed Gala at the palace on 25 April from 20:00 to 00:00. All guests invited. The leaders of the Departed Realm (The Overlord, General Cryptor, General Kozu, Morro, and Chen) will be making an important announcement. WARNING: Living prisoners will be attending.'" He read.
"Living prisoners?" Zane asked, "Do they mean our friends?"
"I think so." Lloyd stated.
"Guys," Kai said, "I think I just came up with a plan."
"Well, duh." Jay replied.
"I think we all did." Lloyd answered.
"Shut up." Kai told them, "You're ruining the drama of the moment."
:::::::
After Skylar talked to Mistake, the doctor returned. She decided to pull the same thing again, and pretended to pass out. Once again, everyone bought it. After all, with her little cold, she looked about ten times sicker than she felt. PIXAL, however, saw this as an opportunity to leave the gala.
She and Nya "helped" Skylar to their quarters, claiming that they were more equipped for health care than the doctor, and closed the door.
"Thank you." PIXAL sighed when they were alone.
"Yeah, thanks." Nya agreed, "I didn't know how much more of The Overlord's ranting I could take."
"Don't mention it." Skylar said, "When in doubt, either pretend to cry, or pass out. It works every time. Trust me, I've used them both on several occasions, and no one ever knows what to do."
Nya laughed, but PIXAL just frowned.
"What's wrong, PIX?" Nya asked.
"It is just…" PIXAL said, "Did you see the guests? They were ghosts."
"I know." Nya replied, "I was wondering why we aren't ghosts, too. Maybe because we're not fully dead?"
"Speaking of the other guests, I saw Mistake." Skylar stated.
"Really?" Nya asked, "What did she say?"
Before Skylar could answer, Misako and Hurumi burst into the room.
"Our friends are here!" Hurumi said.
"The ninja?" PIXAL asked, suddenly hopeful.
"No." Hurumi said, squashing her hopes, "Everyone else."
"What do you mean?" Nya inquired.
"Cyrus Borg, Mistake, who was apparently taken recently, Ronin, the snakes, the elemental masters, Cole's father, Jay's parents, Ray and Maya, the commissioner, the mailman, Hutchins, and the royal family." Misako explained.
"Wow." Skylar said, "That's practically everyone we know."
"Exactly." Hurumi replied, "Cryptor said they're going to use our allies' life forces to build an army that can enter the living world. Kind of like they did with ours."
"Now we really have to get our lives back." Nya said worriedly.
"And do you know how to do that?" Misako inquired.
"Actually, yes. Skylar ran into Mistake outside the Gala, and she explained it." PIXAL stated.
Skylar then proceeded to tell them everything that had happened that night. How she had seen the old woman outside the Gala when she "passed out," how she'd said they would remain trapped here until they got their life forces, and how they had to smash the crystals in order to be free.
"Great." Hurumi said, "So, all we have to do is come up with a plan to smash the necklaces."
"Yes, though, it will not be easy." PIXAL said.
"What if we did it while they're asleep?" Skylar suggested.
"But, Cryptor doesn't sleep. And what about the guards and security cameras?" Nya asked.
"PIXAL could hack the cameras." Skylar answered, "And one of us could distract the guards."
"Okay." Hurumi said, "Say this does work, how will we know which room, or rooms, they're in?"
"I could find it in the control room." PIXAL stated.
"Great." Misako said, "That covers Morro, Chen, Kozu, and the Overlord. But what about Cryptor? He doesn't sleep."
"Well, since he clearly loves PIXAL-" Nya started.
"Like a sister." PIXAL interrupted.
"Right." Nya said, "Since he clearly loves PIXAL like a sister, she could distract him, and I'll take the necklace right from his neck. It's risky, but it could work."
"Okay." Misako said, "But what about Cole? We can't just leave him."
"PIXAL can pull up the blueprints, find the dungeon, and you can look for him." Skylar said.
"Alright." Misako said.
"This could work." Hurumi said excitedly.
"Yes, but we must act soon." PIXAL said. The plan was decent, but it made her nervous. She didn't know if she could pull it off. After all, there would be a lot of pressure on her doing her job correctly. However, her friends seemed confident, and that made her feel slightly better.
"By this time tomorrow," Nya said happily, "We could be free, and back in Ninjago!"