I'm so sorry it's been so long since I last posted. I've had so little time to actually post during winter break and then my motivation was gone. But I plan on going back to posting a new chapter every Monday now that I can write once again. Thank you for being patient and I promise that I will try to better.

Chapter XI: Grief-Bringer

It had been less than a day since Nya had become the Munce queen, and it seemed that the Munce had already decided to rage war against each other. Munce were screaming and fighting, chairs were thrown, arm wrestles were had, and Nya, Jay, and Lloyd just sat and watched. What else were they supposed to do? Get killed in the fighting? These people were barbaric.

The reason for all of this violence was because of a letter the Munce had received from the Geckles requesting a truce meeting. They didn't think much of it and laughed at the letter, but then Jay said he agreed.

"Why'd you have to say that Jay?" Nya asked.

"We can't defeat the Skull Sorcerer unless we make a truce," Lloyd answered for his blue clad brother, and Jay nodded in agreement.

"Truce meeting with Geckles is trap!" Murt exclaimed. "Tricky Geckle trap!"

"Guys, it's not a trap!" Jay announced. "The Geckles aren't your enemies!"

"The Skull Sorcerer is your enemy, and the only chance we have to defeat him is to work together!" Lloyd added.

The Munce seemed to think for a moment, but it didn't last long because they all started brawling once again.

"It's no use. They're not listening," Nya said.

"You must make them listen," Murtessa told her.

Nya looked down from her throne, wondering who said that and hoping that the advice would actually help, but when she saw it was the former Munce queen, she slouched back in her throne and said, "Oh. It's you." The distaste was evident in her voice as Murtessa walked up the steps to the throne.

"Nya, be nice," Jay told her, and it made Nya angry that he would even suggest such a thing.

"She attacked me with a giant spiked club, Jay. Remember?"

"Yeah, but if you hold every little thing against a person, you won't make any friends at all."

Sighing deeply, Nya looked up to the former queen and asked, "Make them listen how?"

"Munce are proud. Strong. They respect only power," Murtessa replied.

Suddenly, a droplet of water splattered on her throne, giving Nya an idea. She gathered all the droplets up to make one giant droplet and threw it at a Munce standing proudly on top of a table, washing him all the way down like it was some sort of water slide. That got their attention.

"All right, you Munce. Listen up!" Nya yelled as she jumped on top of the table. "We are going to that truce meeting, and there will be peace! If I have to fight every last one of you! Is that clear?"

"Of course," was the response she got.

"Good. Now, let's get this show on the road!"

Meanwhile, the same letter had befallen the Geckles. Being a more peaceful tribe then the Munce, they decided very formally not to have a war against each othe but instead to run around with their arms waving in the air, screaming until their great chancellor could figure out a better plan. Kai, Zane, and Echo watching.

"Order! Order in the court!" Kai yelled for the umpteenth time.

"I do not believe they are listening," Zane told him.

Kai was tired of this, so he did the first thing that popped into his head. Shoot fire in a random pathway so that the Geckles would listen to him.

"Thank you," he said once it worked. "Now, I propose that we trust the new Munce Queen, whoever she is, and go to the truce meeting."

"Hear, hear!" Zane and Echo exclaimed as they both threw rocks at Kai's head.

Kai shook his head, giving both brothers a look that seemed to say "what is wrong with you people?".

"We are attempting to follow Geckle parliamentary procedures," Zane explained.

"It may make them trust us more," Echo added.

"What if you're wrong?" one Geckle asked.

"Yeah, how do you know?" said another.

"We could settle the matter by slug," former Chancellor Gulch suggested.

"How do you settle a matter by slug?" Kai asked.

No one answered his question. Instead, the Geckles all cheered as they started setting up a special table with lines on it like a racetrack. Then, Gulch held a gray slug while another Geckle held a brown slug. They put these slugs on the table and Kai, Zane, and Echo were instructed to stand near the finish line. Gulch standing at the starting line.

"On your marks, get set...slow!" he yelled.

The slugs started moving down the race table, and the Geckles around started cheering things like "Brown for the win!" and "Go brown, go!"

"What is the purpose of this?" Zane asked, unsure of how to even react.

"It's simple," Gulch said as he jumped up behind them. "If the gray slug wins, you're right, and the Munce can be trusted. If the brown slug wins, you're wrong, and the Munce cannot be trusted. Only the slugs know."

Zane turned around when he felt a tap on his shoulder. When he looked down, he saw a young Geckle with the locket Cole spoke of around his neck.

"Please! I am Gleck! I must speak with you most urgently!" he then ran away, and the ninja followed.

They ran behind the chancellor's stand so no one could hear or see them before the Geckle exclaimed, "I believe you! I do not think the Munce are evil. I do not think they stole our blade, but nobody listens to me. I am only Gleck."

"Okay, uh, Gleck, don't take this the wrong way, but you're the little purple creature Cole saw in the palace, aren't you?" Kai asked.

"Yes. I did not mean to scare him. I was looking for Gilly. I heard that the elemental master of earth was invited to Shintaro, but I was wrong."

"Gleck, may I see your necklace?" Zane asked.

"Will you give it back? It is my most prized possession. Given to me by Gilly herself!" Gleck responded, clutching the locket to his chest.

"Of course. I promise," Zane told him, kneeling down to the Geckle's level so he may take the locket.

Reluctantly, Gleck took his locket off and gave it to the master of ice, who opened it to see exactly what Cole had said. A picture of Cole's mother and father inside of it.

"Who are they?" Echo asked.

"Those are Cole's parents," Kay replied. "Lou and-and-uh-What's his mom's name again?"

"Lilly!" Zane exclaimed.

Both Kai and Zane looked to each other, shocked by this new piece of information and exclaimed, "Lilly is Gilly!"

"You-you know her?" Gleck asked. "Oh, joyous news! Will you tell her that the Geckles need her help again? Please?"

"Uh, Gleck, I'm not sure how to say this, but...the woman you call Gilly...passed away a while ago," Kai explained.

The creature looked down to the necklace Kai had placed back in his hands, thinking about the woman who had saved his life all those years ago and given him her most prized possession to keep safe for her if she ever returned was now gone. She was never coming back for her necklace or for his people.

"I'm sorry," Kai's voice came in a muffle as Gleck felt the warm embrace around him. It was the only thing Kai could think to do to comfort the grieving Geckle.

"A meeting between the Munce and Geckles!" the Skull of Hazza Du'er informed his master of the horrors going on below the mountain. "They plan a truce! Their disobedient voices resonate through the mountain."

"What? Who is to blame for this?" King Vangelis asked. Anger filling his every bone.

"The ninja! They yet live. You know what must be done."

Vangelis shut his eyes tightly, thinking of this solution. Something he could only do with the skull, but that meant letting it overtake him again, and the last time he did that, he disowned his daughter. Nevertheless, his plan was falling apart before his eyes. He had to do what he must.

He opened the pit and flew down until he made it to the dungeons, where two reawakened skeletons were set to guard a large cell. Both of them asleep.

"Wake up, spawn!" the skull ordered.

"Open it!" Vangelis yelled.

The two skeletons obeyed, leading the king into a cell holding the bones of a dragon.

"Bring the bones back to life, Hazza Du'er!" he ordered. "Bring back Grief-Bringer!"

Green power enveloped the skull as it gave its power over to the dragon. The fabled dragon opened its eyes and stood up proud and strong now that its life was given back to him. Having the sole intent to obey its master.

The gray slug was struggling greatly to even move past the starting line while the brown slug was nearly at the finish. The gray slug was always picked to represent things the Geckles didn't like. It made him sad and filled the ninja with anxieties over this upcoming meeting.

"Oh, no! The brown slug is winning!" Gleck exclaimed. "That means the Munce cannot be trusted."

"We have to do something, Zane!" Kai told his brother in white. Then, an idea came to him. "Use your powers," he suddenly whispered. "Make an ice-slick for the gray slug."

"That would be cheating!" the nindroid responded, appalled that his friend would suggest such a thing.

"It's not cheating Zane. It's a...white lie."

"A white lie?"

"Isn't that the same thing?" Echo asked.

"No, Echo! It's different," Kai told him. "Cheating is bad. A white lie means we're doing it for a good reason. To stop a war! To defeat the Skull Sorcerer. Oh, no!"

Kai's jaw dropped when he saw that the brown slug was just about touching the finish line.

"I agree with Kai. You must use your powers," Echo told him.

"You are implying a lie can be good if done for a good reason?" Zane asked the both of them. "I do not accept that supposition."

"Well, then, I'm sorry, Brother," Echo started, gaining a confused look from both ninja. "Because you have to."

With a mischievous smile, Echo pushed Zane over to the starting line, claiming they were just trying to get better seats to the show, and held his hand out so it looked like Zane was holding the underside of the table.

"I can't, Echo," Zane told him.

"Too bad."

The younger of the two brothers squeezed his arm a little too tight and Zane's reaction was, of course, to release his elemental power. As his hand was currently touching the table, it made a nice slide where the gray slug was, which gave Echo the opportunity to push the slug slightly, so that he slid all the way to the finish, and, in the Geckles' eyes, giving the gray slug his first ever win.

The Geckles stopped cheering, and Zane gave his brother a look of helplessness as Kai said, "Wow! Wow, wow, wowzers! What a race! Well, the slugs have decided. Meeting's on."

"I did not appreciate that," Zane groaned as he rubbed his arm.

"I'm sorry, brother, but it was the only way," Echo replied before running after the ninja of fire.

Even though their "all knowing" slugs had decided, Gulch still refused to let anyone leave their home without some armor, so Zane, Kai, and Echo all obtained armor making them look a bit like knights.

"I do not see the necessity of this armor," Zane remarked as he looked over all the heavy gold that decorated his white ninja gi.

"Merely a precaution," Gulch replied. "Just in case it is an ambush. The slugs are never wrong, but I suppose there's always a first."

The gray slug in Gulch's hand looked down in disappointment at this statement.

"What do you know about this new Munce queen?" Kai asked. "What's she like?"

"I have no idea. Except the Munce consider her very fierce and very...ugly."

Kai shuddered at the thought of what a Munce would consider ugly.

"Is it really necessary for them to carry me?" Nya asked as she was being brought to the meeting place on a portable throne.

"You are Queen of the Munce," Murt replied happily. "A very important position. Yes. It is necessary."

"Hang in there, Nya. Just a little further," Lloyd told her.

Soon, all the Geckles and Munce were in the meeting area, a large cave that connected the two's tunnels and they all started growling at each other.

Kai pushed himself through all the Geckles so he could see better and the first thing he spotted was his little sister sitting in the throne.

"Kai?" she asked.

"Nya!" the older exclaimed.

The two ran to each other and hugged, glad to know, finally, that the other was really okay.

"Guys!" Lloyd exclaimed.

"Boy, are we glad to see you!" said Jay.

"Lloyd!"

"Jay!" Zane and Echo exclaimed.

"Protect the chancellor!" a Geckle screamed as she brought a blade up to Nya.

Immediately, the siblings stepped away from each other and watched the chaos unfold.

"Protect the queen!" a Munce yelled.

"Whoa, whoa! Easy guys. Stand down!" Kai ordered his Geckles.

"Yeah! Relax! It's okay!" Nya told her Munce.

"You know the Munce queen?" Gulch asked.

"Yeah, it's my sister, and she's not that ugly," Kai responded.

"Excuse me?" Nya asked, turning around to face her brother with a less than amused look.

"Uh, long story. Uh, Gulch, Gleck, relax, guys. Nothing's gonna happen. Okay?"

Kai was immediately proven wrong, though, when a loud growl sounded from a nearby tunnel. All the Munce and Geckles gasped in fear when they heard this.

"That sound," Gulch said, his breath getting caught in his throat.

"No! It is not possible!" Murtessa yelled.

"What? What is it?" Nya asked.

"Grief-Bringer!" the two former leaders exclaimed at once as a dragon made entirely of bones showed up and breathed green fire at them.

"Run!" Nya yelled.

"This way!" a Geckle responded.

"Get them to safety!" Lloyd yelled.

Nya turned back to her younger brother to see that he was about to run right towards the dragon.

"What about you?" she asked him.

"We're going to try to slow it down!" Lloyd told her. "Come on, Zane!"

Echo turned back when he heard his brother's name only to see both Lloyd and Zane leaving and Nya coming at him.

"Just go! They've got this!" she told him, but she was unsure of this fact herself.

An entire army of skeletons were standing proudly behind the dragon, their soulless eyes staring into Lloyd's.

The dragon flew at the two and breathed its green fire at them, but Zane ran in front of his youngest brother and created a wall made of ice.

"I-I can't hold it!" Zane grunted as he began to fall to the ground from the strain.

Meanwhile, Kai, Nya, Echo, Jay and all the Geckles and Munce were trying to get to safety, but they were stopped when they made it to a gorge with lava inside.

"Oh, no!" Nya exclaimed when she saw this.

"Oh. What do we do now?" Kai asked.

"It's easy! Like this!" Gleck exclaimed as he grabbed a rope and swung across the gorge, landing safely on the other side.

He then threw it back to Nya, and another Geckle threw one to Jay, so they could swing across.

Kai breathed shakily before telling himself, "Well, if Jay can do it, how hard can it be?"

He jumped at the rope Jay threw back to him while Echo got one from Nya, but the fire ninja went too early and crashed into the rock wall. It was too slick to climb up, so he was stuck, beginning to fall towards the lava.

"Help!" he called up to the others.

Jay was holding the rope up as best he could while Nya reached over the wall saying, "Grab my hand!"

Kai did, and they were all safe.

"Lloyd!" Zane exclaimed, still struggling to keep his ice wall up. "I cannot hold it much longer!"

"On three, let it go!" Lloyd told him. "Trust me! On three!" he yelled again as he activated his own power. "One! Two! Three!"

Zane let go of his power, and Grief-Bringer broke through, coming right at Lloyd, but the green ninja used his power and shot it right at the dragon's core. The life force of the dragon began slowly combining with Lloyd's own power, making it much stronger than before. He screamed as he let it go towards the dragon, and it crashed into the wall, Lloyd falling to the ground soon after.

"Lloyd!" Zane exclaimed when he saw this.

He helped the young ninja stand up by draping his arm over his shoulder and ran away as the dragon reconfigured himself.

When the two finally made it to the gorge, Nya and Kai were there to throw them their ropes.

"Come on! Swing across!" Nya instructed.

Grief-Bringer, the skeletons, and the Skull Sorcerer were right on their tail as Zane and Lloyd swung across and ran after the other ninja, Munce, and Geckles.

"Look at them. Fleeing like rats," Vangelis laughed to himself, "but they cannot escape."

"Grief will come to you all!" the skull screamed loud enough so that the whole mountain could hear his ominous voice.

And that's the end of that chapter. Hope you all liked it. Again, sorry it was so late.

Hope you all have a great day/night!

#God'sNotDead