Out of Time // Ninjago Halloween Special 2018

Prologue / 2008

I was going to start posting this 👻 Halloween Special 🎃 on the weekend but I had to add an extra chapter between 1 and 2 (now 3) so you're getting the prologue today already (and because I'm super excited about this story 😂 !).

It is a Ninjago AU story, and very Jaya-centred. Most of the chapters are written in Nya's POV.

[Btw, I find it kinda strange to write 1st person POV in the past tense (but there is a good reason for this!) so if you notice any mistakes, please point them out so I can correct them.]

This is my update schedule (dates are written the 'European way' DD/MM), I really hope I will be able to stick to it:
11/10 - Prologue / 2008
13/10 - Chapter 1 / 2015 (that's the one from the sneak peek but with some small changes)
20/10 - Chapter 2 / 2015-2016
27/10 - Chapter 3 / 2016
29/10 - Chapter 4 / 2017
30/10 - Chapter 5 / 2018
31/10 - Chapter 6 / 1818
01/11 - Epilogue / 2028

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Prologue / 2008

"Slow down, Nya." My dad called after me. "I don't want you to lose your way in this mist."

But listening to others and following rules has never been my strength, so eight-year old me kept chasing after my older brother, my long black hair a rather messy ponytail was swinging wildly from side to side as I ran up the hill.

I had soon reached the top of Haunted Hill, a small elevation just outside of Ignacia, our hometown. Kai, who had arrived there just before me, turned around to grin at me.

"What took you so long?" He asked.

"I-" I tried to catch my breath. "I didn't want-" *pant* "to leave –" *pant* "dad-" *pant* "walk all on his own."

"Don't worry. I'm already here, kids." Our father then joined us on the hilltop, carrying a large bag in his hand. "Now, let us pay our respect to our ancestors."

He took a red paper lantern as well as a pack of match sticks from the bag. "Whose turn is it this year?" He asked, looking expectantly at Kai and I.

This was the moment I had been waiting for all year.

"Mine. Mine." I excitedly bounced up and down as Kai crossed his arms and huffed.

"Very well then." My dad handed me the little box. "Here you go, Nya."

With shaking hands, I took a matchstick from the box. It took me a few attempts to light it but I eventually succeeded. I then carefully lit up the candle inside the lantern that my dad was holding.

By then, my brother had stopped pouting so that all three of us together held the lantern and raised it up over our heads – well, mainly over mine as it was the lowest – before we let go.

It was an annual tradition in our family. On the eve of the Day of the Departed, our parents always used to take us children up the hill to launch one of these sky lanterns. Unfortunately, mum couldn't join us this night, so as Kai and I were watching the lantern rise up into the evening sky, my father took a picture of us for her.

On normal days, this place was a rather popular site for it held the most beautiful view over Ignacia, but, just as every single holiday that we've been up here, a thick curtain of mist surrounded us, and we always were the only people around.

"On the Day of the Departed, the Realms are closer to each other." He told us. "So tonight our ancestors in the Departed Realm will be able to see the light of these lanterns in the sky. And they will know that we are remembering them."

We stayed for a few more minutes until it had disappeared from our views, before we climbed down the hill again.

It was already dark so dad firmly gripped my hand on the descend, making sure I wouldn't trip or try to run away, while he held a strong torchlight with his free hand. Kai had a little light as well. He was allowed to walk down on his own as long as he stayed close to us.

"But I know the way." I whined. "We've been here so many times before..."

"I know, sweetheart." Dad smiled at me. "But this isn't called Haunted Hill for no reason. If you got lost in the mist up here in this special, who knows where you would end up."

"You mean..." I gasp.

"Ah, I don't believe you." Ten-year old Kai huffed. "It's just another one of dad's stories."

It's true, the bedtime stories our parents – and our father in particular – would tell us often were about creatures not found in this Realm, like dragons, ghosts, djinns, and so on. But even if these tales weren't true, that didn't make them in any way less fascinating.

"I like dad's stories." I retorted. "Tell me, where would I end up?" I asked.

"I don't know for none of the children who have disappeared here have ever returned to tell." My father's answer sent some shivers down my little back and I tightly clutched his hand until we were safely down the hill and on our way back to our hometown. In the distance, we could already hear the noise and see the Ferris Wheel of the annual fun fair.

There we were going to meet our mum who was working at one of the sweets stands. Our parents were blacksmiths, the best ones in the whole county, but Ignacia wasn't a particularly rich place, so business could be rather slow sometimes and mum and dad would always look for opportunities to earn some extra money for the family.

As we were walking towards the town centre, my dad pointed at an old ruin. "Do you know what this is?" He asked.

"That's the old palace." Kai replied, less than enthusiastic. "It belonged to the Duke of Ignacia, but it burnt down aaages ago, and everyone in and around it was killed. We went there with my class from school, and it was boooring."

"Yes, that's all true." A little smile curled on our father's lips. "But do you know why it was destroyed?"

"No." I shook my head, expectantly looking at dad with my big brown eyes. "Why?"

"It was almost two hundred years ago, during the night of the Yin-Yang Eclipse, the rarest of all lunar eclipses which only occurs in Ninjago every 3721 years -"

"So, we're never gonna see it?" I piped up.

"Unfortunately not, my darling." My father replied. "But it must have been a very special sight. Unfortunately, this event allowed some ghosts from the Cursed Realm to cross over into Ninjago. They wanted to open a portal to the Cursed Realm, but to do so they needed the Realm Crystal which was in possession of Lord Louis, the Duke of Ignacia. He was holding a grand ball at his home that night, so the ghosts, disguised as noblemen and -women, could easily get into the palace. They managed to kill the Duke and his family and overpower the guards. In the end, the only way to stop them from cursing all of Ninjago was to destroy the Realm Crystal – and it was the resulting explosion that set fire to the palace which then also spread to and destroyed many other town buildings."

"That's not what my teacher told us." Kai vigorously shook his head. "She said it was just some fireworks going astray."

"Well, looks like it's one vote against another." My father looked at me. "Which story do you believe is true, Nya?"