A Second Chance

Chapter 22: Unintentional Arrival

They walked through the forest quietly. No conversations were started since Lloyd and Harumi last spoke to each other. Lloyd's brothers, Kai, Jay, Cole, and Zane were happy that he and Harumi are better on terms than before. When Harumi first revealed herself, they were nothing more than former enemies, at least, now they were temporary allies. It was better than nothing and luckily, the boys accepted this. They're trying to be more civil with the former Quiet One. It'll save them from distracting themselves from the real current problem, the oni.

Going through the forest wasn't their problem. Getting to the Endless Sea was the problem. They were at the home stretch but there was a problem. A big problem. A few hours back, when Lloyd decided to save Harumi, he battled with the Omega and in that small battle, he lost the map. It was their only physical map. They had a digital version in Zane's gallery but that meant that only he could see it. Zane and PIXAL led the group, followed by the rest behind the two nindroids.

This forest doesn't have a name, unlike the other sites they've visited on their trip. It was a shame to know that they couldn't visit the Enchanting Hills again on this adventure. Another downer was the Destiny's Bounty. They crashed at the Ophidian Forest, and if the Enchanting Hills were already covered by the oni, whose to say that the oni haven't already gotten there. They've had to sacrifice plenty of things during their adventures, it was just one of the things that came with being a hero to Ninjago. They've gotten used to it but the pain that comes after it, they will never get used to it. Sacrificing never feels good, even if it's for the greater good.

Zane stopped and told them that this forest is coming to an end on the map, and afterwards, it would be smooth sailing from here to get to the Endless Sea. Everyone was glad that they didn't have to walk much further. It was getting really tiring. Zane put the virtual map away and everyone just started walking forward. It wouldn't be long until they find the shores. Everything was going well, that was until everyone heard a loud, piercing screech. They all had to cover their ears due to the loud cry. Once the screeching was over, everyone was frozen in place. Vania was the first to talk, "What was that?" She asked, her hands rested on top of Cole's shoulders.

Cole shook his head, "I don't know." He responded while placing one of his hands on top of Vania's.

"Whatever it is," Kai started and pulled Skylor closer to him, "I don't think we want to stick around to find out." He scowled in a protective manner, not wanting to see any of his friends get hurt.

Lloyd was the next to respond as he looked forward and pointed that way, "Everyone, run! Don't look back!" He yelled a command. Everyone complied since they did not want to figure out what or who made that ear-piercing screech. They just ran through the forest, not caring where they went as long as it resulted in them not running into the creator of the screech. They went in the opposite direction of the loud sound but somehow, no one knew how, they ended up running in the wrong direction.

The creature struck one of its claws down on the ground, making the Ninja stop in their tracks to avoid being crushed. The sudden halt made the girls behind the Ninja fall on top of the boys which resulted in all of them falling to the ground. Everyone panted quietly on the ground, hoping to not gain the creature's attention. They all looked in different directions, trying to spot if the creature was coming. None of them dared to move off of the ground. That was until the creature sprung out of the ground, that's when everyone jumped off the ground and scrammed in different directions, trying their best to avoid the creature's attacks. Harumi wasn't doing so well with her injured leg, thankfully, she was able to dodge all the attacks sent to her in time, but they were very sloppy. Every time she jumped, she landed on her hands and legs so that she wouldn't injure her already injured leg anymore.

The Ninja took out their weapons and started attacking the beast. Zane and PIXAL already did a scan and they could not find any matches in Ninjago's animal kingdom, so everyone assumed it was made by the oni. The creature was pure black, it could grow black tentacles out of its body, just like a normal oni. It had demonic purple eyes that glowed in the dark, it seemed as if it could pierce through anyone just by looking at them. The creature looked like a dragon but it was no dragon, it was a fake dragon. The oni who had created it definitely chose to make it look like a dragon, which it was not at all. The Ninja had to give props to them, it was terrifying.