We Are Survivors

Costly Mistakes

Warning: injury and death; also, really long chapter 8,000+ words. When I said this was going to be very, very interesting, I apparently meant it's going to be a dark chapter.

    Emperor Garmadon stalked forward. His gaze was intense. "... Or should I say, Mystaké?"

    While Mystaké did her best to maintain a charade of calm, Skylor's head jerked up in surprise. How had he known?!

    As if in answer to her internal question, the tyrant's piercing gaze swung over to where Mr. Pale was cloaked with his Element. He growled, "Show yourself. It is impossible to trick the trickster."

    The Master of Light hesitantly appeared. He was in a low, defensive crouch. 

    The Emperor sneered confidently at them, "You're on a fool's errand. One from which you will not return."

    "My Lord, what makes you think we are the one's who won't return? You died once, and I have no issue returning you to your grave," declared Mystaké sharply. She still had yet to drop her disguise.

    The four-armed man let out a deep, throaty laugh. "Me? Die? Never have, never will." He scoffed, "Has your eyesight failed you over the last century?"

    "Perhaps, but my nose knows when it's caught the foul stench of a rat, Omega," snapped Mystaké, dropping Harumi's smooth tone for her own rough voice.

    Skylor exchanged a look of pure bewilderment with Mr. Pale. Neither of them had a clue what was happening.

    Garmadon raised an eyebrow. "Ah, finally." He tilted his head arrogantly, showing off his body with a flourish and mocking bow. His voice deepened, taking on an eerie echo to it. "What do you think of my disguise? Good enough to trick even you, little Huntress." 

    His mild playfulness vanished as he declared, "But this will be your final Hunt, and you will not be making a mask of my face. Instead, I shall make one from yours."

    The two Elemental Masters stared on in horror as the creature they had once though was Garmadon began to shift into his true form. There was the horrid sound of the snapping and crunching of bones as his body rearranged itself and a massive set of horns sprouted from his head. His eyes shifted from blood red to a deep purple.

    He gloated, "I can see it. Your powers have weakened, but mine have only increased."

    Mystaké, seeing Omega drop his disguise, did the same. For the first time in a long while, she revealed her true face to Ninjago. She delivered no snarky remark as she took a fighting stance.

    Skylor and Mr. Pale now understood Mystaké's urgency when talking  about the Oni. It was like a suffocating cold and darkness had enveloped the entire top of the Tower as the Oni faced off.

    The two Oni conjured weapons out of the shadows. Mystaké summoned a black bo staff while Omega had a large, twisted staff. 

    Right before he charged, Omega spared a glance at the female Elemental, sneering words he knew would strike a chord, "Only one can remain."

    He and Mystaké clashed in a colossal explosion of shadow and magic. Both let out ferocious snarls as their staffs struck with such force that, had they not been magical, their weapons would've snapped and disintegrated.

    To her frustration, Mystaké found that Omega's words were true. He had grown stronger, much stronger, leeching off the destruction and turmoil sown in Ninjago by his rule. She knew that this head to head assault would not last long nor end in her favor.