Chapter 100
Breathe

.:Nya:.

"What is it with you dressing me up?" The samurai heard Violet groan as she once again went to dress up Violet.

"Because you have so many pretty dresses that you never wear."

"So why don't you take them and wear them?"

"Because you're much smaller than me." Nya teased as she dug through the clothes that they bought recently. Personally, Nya would have dressed up the ninja in the clothes that they had before but unfortunately, all of that went down with the Bounty. Once she found the dress she knew she wanted Violet to wear, she grinned like an idiot. "Here, put this on."

And she threw the strapless dress towards Violet who caught it without any trouble.

"Fine." She huffed and went to change behind the changing screen.

This time, Kai told her he was going to do it, he wasn't going to be a chicken and back out. When Margret asked Violet about marrying the person she loved, she replied back with 'Well now that the Serpentine are gone along with the Stone Army and the Overlord, I wouldn't mind if he proposed to me out of the blue. However maybe the ideal date would be in a couple years' time.' However Nya left out that little piece of information when she reported back to Kai. She would be lying if she was to say she wasn't happy for her brother because she really was. Their whole entire childhood, Kai has done everything to keep her happy when her parents passed. Now, she wants nothing more than for her older brother to be happy. And make sure of that, she wants to make sure Violet looks her best.

"Are you done yet? I want to see the dress."

"I can't get the zip…"

"So let me help you." Nya said as she shook her head.

Violet timidly stepped out from behind the changing screen, her arms crossed over her chest so the dress wouldn't fall. It was a gorgeous dress. The dress was strapless with a white sweetheart shape and thick lace fabric at the structured bodice. The skirt which ended above her knees had two inner layers of white tulle and two more outer lilac tulles. The bodice slightly overlaps the a-line skirt but overall, floral applique which was a darker purple that overlays where the bodice and skirt meet.

"I knew I should have got that dress for myself too." Nya chuckled as she walked over to Violet and helped her with the zip.

"Look, this is only a date, there's no need for me to wear dresses like these."

"Shhh, don't say stupid things. You look great and Kai will love it. Now, time for your makeup and hair!" With a groan, Violet dragged herself to the chair in front of the vanity in the room and Nya immediately positioned herself behind the chair. "How would you like your hair styled?"

"Just do whatever."

"Huh, fine then." Nya huffed but never the less, she continued to work on Violet's hair.

Her fingers softly took out the tangles in the girl's soft, caramel hair and slowly, she began to do a Finnish plait. Once she was done with that, she began to start Violet's makeup which really was putting a little bit eye shadow and mascara with a bit of a natural lipstick. After that Nya took a step back, admiring another work of piece.

"And you're done."

"Finally!" Violet cheered before standing up. "Wait, I forgot one more thing."

"What is it?" However the ninja didn't answer. Instead she walked over to her bed and to the bedside table where the necklace Kai had crafted for her lay. Nya watched as Violet clasped it.

"Is there anything else I'm forgetting apart from shoes?"

"Now that you mention it, yes there is one thing."

"What?"

"You need to be blindfolded."

.:Kai:.

"Okay, are you ready?"

"Yes! Take the stupid blindfold off already!" The ninja of air groaned which resulted Kai to laugh. He knew she was getting irritated with the blindfold since she hated surprises so much. But he loved her for who she is and every aspects her beholds. He was certain that this time he won't fail with his proposal. He was going to propose for once and for all.

"I didn't mean for that, I mean to get out of the car." He laughed once Violet groaned at this statement.

Kai pulled the car he hired into a halt and turned off the engine. The forest he took them looked untouched by people since the last time they visited. It was nearly nightfall, he knew this as the fiery red orb of light slowly sank beneath the tree line with threads of light lingered in the sky, mingling with the rolling clouds, dyeing the heavens first orange. He knew the drive from Ninjago City to here would be long but he didn't know it would be that long. The brunette knew he had to take the blindfold of Violet soon so she could see the sunset but he needed to be in that spot.

"Come on, we need to hurry." He quickly undo his seat belt and get out of the car, taking the small picnic basket with him. Since the ride would take more than six hours, he packed a few snacks if necessary.

The forest introduced him with a chilling breeze as he walked to the other side of the car. With one hand, he held the basket and with the other, he helped Violet to get out of the car. Once she got out of the car, he quickly locked it and took her hand and walked forward. They walked faster than normal but Kai also went to make sure Violet didn't trip in any ditches or over roots.

"Kai, slow down. I don't feel safe walking at a fast pace while being blindfolded. What's the rush?"

"You'll see once we get there." He replied but he had a feeling once they get to their final destination, the sunset would be finish. Currently, the orange was fading into a deep red. So being swift, he let go of Violet's hand and scooped her into his arms. The hand with the basket supported the short girl underneath the knees while his free hand supported underneath her back.

"Put me down! I can walk on my own!"

"You'll be too slow then."

"So take the stupid blindfold off!"

"Nah ah." He playfully teased and he walked much faster to the spot. Once they got there, he gently placed her down. "Okay, I'm taking it off now."

"Finally!"

.:Violet:.

She could feel Kai's fingers work through the knot of the blindfold. Violet was so relieved the stupid thing was coming off. She's been staring into darkness for what seems like more than six hours. Once the soft cloth was removed, she gasped at the scenery.

Under the red sky that was softly turning into a dark blue, was the flower meadow she and Kai visited when they had to go back in time. Unlike last time, the flowers here weren't just lavenders and violets but a whole range of flowers but only in a range of purple, pink and red of specific seeds – as if someone just scattered the seeds everywhere. Violet could easily identify the Lilium Stargazer, lavender carnations, red Peruvian lilies, purple double Lisianthus, purple Mastsumoto Asters and lush greens. They all gentle swayed into the direction the cool breeze blew to. In the rough estimates of the middle of the small meadow, was the pristine pond she remembered. The pond had some accented rocks but surrounding the pond, there weren't any flowers; just grass that was just above ankle height but looked soft and luscious to sit on. Violet was about to walk forward and into the meadow until Kai's arm wrap around her waist and stopped her from continuing.

"Wait for a few minutes."

"For what?"

"Just look Sumire."

The sun was sinking rapidly underneath the horizon with the sky changing colours after it. All that was left of the sunset was a chalky mauve, and then that melted away in turn as stygian darkness took over the sky. Sequin-silver stars like the glowing embers of a dying fire winked down at them and then suddenly the clouds parted and Violet found herself looking at a lustrous, argent disc casting brilliant rays of moonlight onto the meadow. The flowers seemed to glow underneath the moon's ray and from within the pond, lights appeared. She gasped.

"Kai, do you see that?"

"Just wait." She heard him chuckle but she did wait.

After a couple of minutes, the sounds of the crickets and insects filled the sky, creating music but that wasn't what took her breath away. Instead, small yellow lights flickered on within the flowers – about the size of her thumb nail. They were so small but there were so many! One light appeared after another until there was enough light to brighten the whole meadow apart from the glowing pond. Slowly, the lights floated so they were floating just above the flowers.

"Fireflies." She heard Kai say softly but his voice still made her look to him. She slightly blushed when he looked at her too. His hand went up to her hair and undid her plait and combed through her hair. "Perfect."

Capturing her eyes were a set of a mixture of amber, bronze and gold: In the middle was the light gold colour with amber in the part sections and specks of bronze to dust off his unique eyes. Framed around his round eyes were short brown lashes which matched his light tanned skin well. His oval-shaped face held a strong jawline. But to really give character to Kai's appearance was his signature spiky hair. He looked absolutely handsome to her that it made her heart skip a beat.

"Come on." And his calloused hand took her smaller ones and he led them slowly through the meadow of flowers and towards the glowing pond.

As the two made their way through the flowers, the fireflies would slowly float away, making a cloud around them. The sight was simply breathtaking. Never have Violet seen a firefly before or even this many! When they got through the flowers and to the grass that surrounded the pond, Violet immediately let go of Kai's hand and got onto her knees and peered over the pond. The light that was projected from before came from the Shimmer fish.

"They didn't glow last time."

"That's because it's the night of the full moon. I honestly don't know how it works but it just does."

"They're beautiful."

"But they aren't as beautiful as you."

When she heard this compliment, she felt her face heat up and her stomach did a flip. What's wrong with me? She wondered but she redirected her attention back onto the two fishes that swam near the surface. Like before, the Shimmer fish had a long and narrow body that was covered in scales made of silver. It's tail was like a cloud of mist that followed the fish around or even a drape of silk. Gently, Violet placed her hand on the water's surfaced like she did before and softly, both fishes came up and head butted her hand. A smile immediately broke onto her lips and she started to stroke both of the fishes. It was hard to determine what the fish felt like. They weren't smiley nor were they hard. They felt like silk, the ninja of air couldn't feel the scales. When she looked back to Kai, she saw him looking at her with a smile on his lips. A small idea formed in her mind and immediately, she stopped playing with the fishes and she scooped up some water and chucked it at him.

"V-Violet!" Was his startled response but she couldn't help but laugh. Let's just say her aim isn't that good (even though it hit a good place!) when she's kneeling and him standing. "Now I look like I've just peed myself."

"It's just us here Kai." She laughed before standing up and making her way to the pouting Kai. "Don't be sad Kaen. I love you! Come on, let's have some dinner shall we? I'm hungry."

.::.

"Kai, why do you keep staring at me like that? It's freaking me out…" Violet softly sigh as she placed her plate to the side and looked at the brunette. She noticed while they eating that he would just look at her non-stop and it made her feel uncomfortable.

"I-I…" He muttered and diverted his eyes. Something was up and she didn't like it one bit. The violet-eyed girl crawled over towards him and cupped his jaw and forced him to look into her eyes.

"Something is up, I can tell Kai. You can tell me you know." And she offered a light smile. Once again, Kai avoided her eyes and looked away and muttered something. Something along the lines of 'It's now or never'. "Kai?"

"Violet." He simply said and back away from her a little bit before standing. She studied his figure and noticed the way his hands shook and how tense he was. Immediately she went to stand up but when Kai spoke, she stopped.

"I can look into your eyes and I can easily see myself reflected back. That doesn't mean much to some people, but to me it's everything. It means I see myself in you; a part of you that I don't ever want to let go of. Being in the same room as you just make my heart buzz and beat with excitement. I lose my breath; my voice is whisked away just by the essence of every word that brushes past your lips. When we lock eyes, I can feel a jolt go straight into me, past my physical being. It's overwhelming and it belongs to you."

Violet didn't know what to think. Her mind was blank from the sweet words he said that it nearly brought tears to her eyes but she wasn't that easy to break. But… She never felt so loved like this before, and to have someone say it to her was absolutely mind-blowing… literally! But she wasn't dumb or stupid. Yes she was born with blonde hair and still is technically a blonde but that doesn't mean she's your stereotypical blonde girl who's stupid. (AN: I'm so sorry to all those blondes reading this; you're not stupid, not at all! I'm just using the stereotype. I'm so sorry if I offended anyone! T.T) She knew where this was leading up. One part of her was over the moon at the thought of Kai proposing marriage to her but another part isn't ready.

"I want to freeze this moment and just live in it forever. It's beyond perfect. I've never loved someone as much as you and I can't ever imagine my life without you. You changed me Violet, you know that. Whenever something that used to annoy me annoys me now, I don't get mad. Looking back it all seems childish but that's because of you. I want to grow old with you, until we both have wrinkles and grey hairs. We have so many memories together and I just want to continue creating memories with you for the rest of our lives."

The brunette stumbled among his words a couple times but Violet couldn't breathe. Here she was, sitting on the grass and looking up to Kai who was pouring his heart out to her. But his hands once again took her attention as his right hand reached into his pocket and took out a box. Her heart fluttered faster knowing the answer that was bound to come.

"I love you so much that I wish I could give you the world but unfortunately, this ring was all I could afford. The others helped pay as well."

And when he got onto one knee, he opened the box. She was speechless. Her breath was literally taken away. Inside the small little box that was in his large hands was the most beautiful ring she has ever seen that wasn't too fancy or too plain. The band of the ring was rose gold but the diamond – or should she say rose quartz – that was on top of this ring was a rose in blossom. The petals was still rose gold but the inner two layer of petals was what may be topaz. However, in the middle was a perfect round, rose quartz stone. Along the sides were intricate leaves that were attached or moulded on. To highlight the fine details, topaz and rose quartz were placed on them. Immediately, Violet knew this was one of her mother's rings.

"Violet, will you marry me?"

And it was like time has frozen in place. The water no longer rippled, the fireflies didn't move and she couldn't hear anything other than her own increasing heartbeat. Kai's eyes looked into her own, capturing them in his. The one part that wasn't ready was gone. Long gone. Tears brimmed along her eyes; not from sadness but from joy. Absolute joy. Yes, Kai was only nineteen and her eighteen but she loved him too much to say no now. She would prefer it to be in a couple years' time when they're older but she couldn't say no to him. No, she wouldn't.

"Yes!" She exclaimed and immediately, she threw herself onto him and wrapping her arms around his neck. From this impact, Kai fell back but she didn't care and it appeared neither did he because his arms wrap firmly around her waist. "I love you Kai!"

"I love you too Sumire."

And he slipped the ring on.

.::.

The happiness she felt was infectious. It starts as a tingle in her fingers and toes, much like the feeling she has when she's anxious, but instead of worrisome it's warm. Violet could feel it pass through her like a warm summer breeze, brushing away every bad or troublesome thought she has had prior to this evening.

The moon contrasted greatly against the dark, navy blue sky. It's bright beams penetrated through the darkness and illuminated the meadow as well as the fireflies and the stars. They lay under the stars, which were like a beautiful, surreal blanket above the two lovebirds' heads. She could feel his heartbeat against the back of her head, and could hear the soft breaths of him by her. Having this ring on her finger just made everything different. It was like the life they had before have been just meaningless. Violet just wanted this moment to last forever. It was like she was in a dream, how could someone experience this much happiness and love as she's experiencing right now?

"You have truly made me the happiest girl in the world Kai." She said with a smile. The ninja of air then rolled over in his arms so she was partly on his chest.

"You? If anyone should be extraordinarily happy it should be me! You have no idea how nerve-wrecking that was; especially when I wasn't sure if you would accept."

"I was considering of saying no."

"What?!"

"I'm just messing around with you Kai." She laughed and kissed his lips softly before rolling back into her original position. And softly, the soft night breeze and the soothing lullaby from the crickets lured her to sleep.

.:Scarlett:.

"Dark Matter…. Dark Matter…. Ah ha! There it is!"

With delicate handling, the blonde pulled a scroll off from the dusty shelves and rushed over to the table where a lone light shone in the dark room. She sat down in haste and pushed all the other scrolls out of the way and opened the knot that was around the scroll. She then spread the old paper apart and read the ancient writing.

The Dark Matter is a powerful and sinister substance founded in the ground in the Mount of Eternal Shadows on the Dark Island. It has the ability to turn a man's heart as black as night and forget his own past. This substance may be related to the powers of Darkness and might have been created when the Overlord went to counterbalance the light that was bestowed on Ninjago when the First Spinjitzu Master created it. When the First Spinjitzu Master split the land, he split the part that contained the Dark Matter. It is commonly mistaken for mud with its thick texture and destiny however it is a dark purple material with light dots and seemed to glow darkness.

"That's it?!" Scarlett cried out in a whisper and groaned in frustration. It was possibly two in the morning, she didn't know anymore. She needed to find out why some people out of all of Ninjago's population can withstand the power of the Dark Matter. As she flicked the scroll over in disappointment, she noticed small writing. 'Weaknesses of Darkness'

Immediately, Scarlett got out of her chair and dashed to a shelf she remembered seeing a scroll with that name that but what confused her was why she didn't take it. Once she found the scroll she headed back to the table. The scroll itself was thick with the amount of paper that was on it. The blonde quickly spread it out and found that this scroll wasn't just about the Dark Matter but a lot more. She couldn't be bothered to read the whole thing and just looked for what she needed to know.

The Dark Matter, however, can't turn all people evil. It was rumoured to be that not all pirates that was on Captain Soto's Destiny's Bounty went down with the ship. While half got washed out by the sea of what is now known as the Sea of Sand, the other half is to be believed to have survived the crash and took refuge on wreckage from their ship. Captain Soto's brother, Jonto was among the survivors while the captain wasn't so he took charge. They swam all the way to the Dark Island and once they found land, they immediately made camp. However, their stay didn't last long when one of the crew fell into the Dark Matter and turn against the rest. They all fled and were fortunate enough that their turned mate didn't chase after them when they went into the sea carrying fragments of the darkness from the island. Not all pirates survived swim back however; there was no food, fresh water, exhaustion would have already settled in and the waves would drown them one by one except for one person.

The Darkness he carried with himself onto Ninjago is much the same as an immunisation shot. The actual liquid/medicine in the needle contains a smaller and slightly weaker version of disease it's preventing the patient to get. It's commonly the reason why some people still get sick after receiving the flu shot. This is so the body can fight off the weaker disease and increase its defence for when the bigger version of the same disease hit. It's the same concept with the darkness the pirate carried back to Ninjago. It already seeped into his veins but because it was a small amount, it didn't affect him as gravely as it did to his mate. This new darkness gene carried out into his offspring and passed down generations however it can skip some offspring. In other words, people that have come from this descendant have immune systems that can fight back the Dark Matter if it ever tries to take over the body.

"Wow…" Scarlett muttered as she leaned back in her chair. Now that she had read over the reason why Mabel and some people can resist the Dark Matter she could remember the First Spinjitzu telling her about it.

"Scarlett what are you doing here?" Upon this voice, Scarlett groaned and looked towards the door to see Fenwick standing there, obviously not impressed.

"Researching if that's okay with you – which obviously it isn't." The blonde snapped and quickly rolled up the scroll. She never liked the Master Writer; there was something about him that seemed peculiar. But obviously her feelings weren't one-sided; he hated her too.

"You know no one is supposed to be in here from nine to eight. So get out."

"I was doing important research and don't forget who you're talking to." Scarlet hissed, referring to how she was the First Spinjitzu Master's close assistant.

"And you better not forgot who you're talking to. I can easily change fate that laid down for your sister."

"You wouldn't dare!" Scarlett shouted as she stood up quickly – sending her chair flying back.

"Keep your voice down."

"It doesn't matter. No one is in here." She spat out towards him and narrowed her eyes at him. It was a moment of silence between the two as they sent daggers between their eyes back and forth. However the silence was broken when a boy, only about the age of fourteen ran into the room.

Scarlett immediately stood up straight at the sight of Nobu. He was the one who was entrusted with her sister's fate. The young monk wasn't so bad; in fact he was kind of like a younger brother. His personality was much the same as young Lloyd's except Nobu was a little less energetic. When Scarlett was over in the Cloud Kingdom with the First Spinjitzu Master, she and Nobu would always hang out while the Master would deal with Fenwick.

"Scarlett I have great news!"

"What is it?" The blonde asked as she walked around Fenwick who looked like he was about to explode any second however she and Nobu didn't care. The young monk was a little tall for his age, he was the same height as Scarlett whose twenty-two! However, his orange hair was a bit long but not too long but it framed his head in a way that it would give an impression of this boy being sweet. His hazel eyes didn't saw an ounce of dreariness considering it is very early in the morning but he was excited, she could tell by the way his eyes twinkled.

"Kai finally did it!"

"Did what?"

"He proposed to Violet!"

HELLO EVERYONE! 100 CHAPTERS I'M SO HAPPY! (Incase you can't tell by the capitals XD) I want to say thanks to everyone who have made this story so enjoyable to write because all your comments, favourites and follows inspired me to write on to keep entertaining you all so big thanks to you all! Also Kai finally proposed! YAY! And some people have been asking about the Dark Matter issue so there's the reason why and along with some references to the Possession season! I can't wait to get to that season because something big is going to happen (wink wink). So massive thanks to the reviewers from last chapter!: Applejack ninja lover, ElementalGirl, ALookIntoMyWorld, FlameNinjaofDarkFire, ElementzGirl7, Mihoshi 2.0, kaifireninja, Kai4ever and the guest!

SO once again thanks for the support and I'll see you all for the advancements into the Rebooted season!

Xoxox – ZaneLoverFan88