"Family Means No One's Left Behind"~ A Greenflame and Children Story

Chapter Twenty Five: The Birth of Darkness

Sker's Point of View~
Kabaz and I raced outside and saw huge black storm clouds cover the sky, right over Ninjago City! "What the heck?!" I shouted. Kabaz quickly summoned his elemental dragon and got on. "C'mon! We have to go and see if everything's okay!" Kabaz ordered. I nodded and summoned my own dragon and the two of us took off towards the city. When we got there, it was horrifying. Stone warriors causing destruction and chaos everywhere they went. The whole city seemed to lose most of its color and became like a black and white environment. Screams of terror were heard as many citizens panicked and were running for their lives. Some of them lost color and their eyes were a striking shade of purple and they were growling and behaving like deranged animals. "What the heck is going on here?!" Kabaz shouted. "I don't know, but we have to find our siblings and the others!" I shouted back. Stone warriors charged at us, but we fought off as many as we could before a cloud of smoke blocked our view of them and we were shoved into an empty alleyway. I coughed as the smoke cleared and the one who threw it and shoved us into the alley was none other than Mia. "Mia?! What are you doing?!" I asked in shock to see her. "Saving you two, obviously." She huffed. "Well, we can see that, but what are you doing?" Kabaz asked as he rolled his eyes. "Well, I was on my way home from Stixx when there was a sudden earthquake and the clouds appeared. Then, I saw one of those things come up from the ground like a zombie. It started attacking me and that's when I ran home and got suited up for battle - way of habit. But then, my parents and cousin were screaming and I went to see what happened, only to find them looking like a lot the people are now, insane. I managed to escape them, but it was hard because I had never had to fight like that against them." Mia explained as she wiped her face. I could see that she was upset that her family was turned and she had to fight the ones she loved. "Oh, man. I can't believe that." Kabaz said sympathetically. "We have to find the others and make sure they weren't turned," I said as I stood. "What do you mean 'turned'? Do you know what's going on and why people look like the dead?!" Mia questioned. "I promise to explain everything once we find them and get to safety," I said as I helped her up. Suddenly, two familiar screams were heard nearby. "Sonia! Kano! They're in trouble!" Mia exclaimed. "C'mon!" Kabaz shouted as he bolted off in the direction of the screams. Mia and I followed. We ran until we saw the two of them corned by Stone warriors with something in their hands. Mia ran up to the warrior holding the substance and swung her sword at it, causing for warrior to send it flying in the air. I quickly used the wind to make sure it didn't touch either Kano or Sonia. We fought the warriors before we were able to temporarily trap them and tend to the two sixth graders in distress. "Are you guys okay?" I asked. "Yeah, we're fine," Kano responded. "Thank you so much! We would've been goners if you hadn't shown up in time!" Sonia said. "Okay, let's keep looking for May, Akidah, and Lari. They should be at Zane's place." Kabaz said. We all nodded and ran off in that direction. We made it to their place, but it was totally decimated on the inside and it was silent. "May? Akidah? Lari? Anyone?" I whispered. Suddenly, someone grabbed my arm and pulled me to the floor. It was revealed to be May with Akidah and Lari huddling behind her. "Thank God you're okay! I was so worried you were turned." I said. The others soon knelt down too. "We have to get out of here! Zane and everyone else were turned!" Akidah said frantically. "Oh no!" Sonia said worried. I nodded and we all got and made a run for it back to our house. We ran outside and saw that the rest of our family roaming around, already turned, or far in the process that there was nothing that could stop it. "No..." I said faintly before being pulled by Akidah in the opposite direction. We summoned our dragons and the other three tagged along with us. We flew back home, locked and boarded the doors and windows with an escape exit in the attic, and armed ourselves with the weapons that were available.

Third Person's Point of View~
Akidah and Lari let Sonia and Kano wear some of their old armor for extra warmth and protection. "Thanks for letting us wear these." Kano said. "No problem. Now c'mon, we have to have a discussion with our brothers." Lari said as he walked to the door. Everyone was in the living room, discussing about everything that they encountered. "We're all on our own now. No one's there to help. The rest of our family was turned." Sker said. "What do you mean 'turned'? Why do you keep saying that?" Mia asked. Kabaz sighed and responded, "Well, here's the story and everything we found out." And with that, Sker and Kabaz explained everything that they have been told by Kai and Lloyd and how they figured out the Overlord is to blame. "How is he back?! I thought Zane defeated him!" May yelled. "We have no idea, but no matter what, we have to stop him before all of Ninjago falls under darkness!" Sker said. "He's right, we're the only ones left. We're Ninjago's last chance of survival." Mia said. "But Kano and I have no idea how to fight or do anything like the rest of you can!" Sonia said. Everyone looked at each other and then Kabaz said, "Then we'll teach you." Right after he said that, the t.v switched on and there was breaking news. "What the heck?!" Lari shouted as the t.v displayed nothing but static. Then, the Overlord appeared on the screen. The children froze in terror as they saw him for the first time in their lives. "Th-that's what he looks like?!" Sonia asked in fear. "Hello children." The Overlord began. Everyone remained in silence as the announcement continued. "As you may have noticed, Ninjago is in complete chaos. Or should I say despair? There's no one to help you. You're on your own, so I suggest you just surrender to us. And as for your parents, I'll let you have a look for yourselves." The Overlord said. And with that, Kai, Skylor, and Lloyd were shown with their wrists and ankles chained up and eyes closed with duct tape over their mouths. "Mom! Dad! Lloyd!" The kids exclaimed in distraught as they saw their parents like that. "For a little persuasion, we'll keep them alive. But I highly recommend that you not waste our time, or your parents will cease to live, and so will you. Now, right as we speak, a swarm of my warriors are headed towards your little abode you call home and they shall destroy everything you hold dear to." The Overlord added as he left out a maniacal laugh. After that announcement, the t.v was shut off and the fear and panic was visibly seen on each of the kids' faces. Kano went over to one of the front windows and looked through the cracks and saw the tips of the warriors red kasa helmets. "Guys! He's right! Those things are coming!" Kano panicked. "Oh no! What do we do?!" Sonia sqealed. "The attic! We have to escape through there!" May said. "But where will we go?! The city's bound to have way more of those things all over! We'd be dead meat if we went there!" Kabaz asked. "I know a place where we can go! But you all to trust me on this!" Lari exclaimed. "Where?!" Sker questioned. "I know of a place that's filled with magic! I found it when I was lost in the woods! There's also an Enchantress that can possibly help too! But we can't use our dragons or we'll bring a lot of unwanted attention into the area." Lari explained. "Are you sure you're bein' for real? Maybe your mind's wandering and you think that stuff is out there." Kano said skeptically. "I'm serious! And if we're gonna survive, we go! Now!" Lari retorted. There were bangs at the doors and windows and the warriors groans and roars were heard as they tried to come in. The children ran up to the attic and crawled along the roof, knocking off a couple warriors as they climbed up. Soon, they were running for their lives through the woods, departing further away from the warriors and their homes in the city. "How...much...further...?" Sonia asked as she took in deep breaths. Lari scavenged the area before spotting something he recognized, a large grey wolf. "Hana!! It's me, Lari!" He shouted as he waved in the wolf's direction. "Has he lost it?" Kano asked under his breath. The wolf's ears twitched before turning it's head and running towards them. The wolf leapt onto Lari and began licking his face. "Hana! It's so good to see you again!" Lari exclaimed as he got up. "It's good to see you again as well." Hana responded. "The wolf can talk?!" Kano shouted in shock. "It's a long story, but yes, she can talk, along with other animals out here. For now, let's focus on what's at hand." Lari answered. "What are you doing out here Lari?" Hana asked Lari. "We need to find Ember! It's a real emergency! Will you please take us to her?" Lari replied to his wolf friend. "Of couse! I was actually on my way to her garden as well." Hana said. "Thank you Hana." Lari said. "Anything for a friend." Hana responded. They all began walking along a trail until they finally making it to Ember's garden, where they saw the Enchantress surrounded by other woodlen animals. Ember looked up and spotted the children and Hana and smiled. She got up and made her way towards them. Lari was also very glad to see Ember again and also made his way towards her. The two reunited with a big hug and Lari introduced his family and friends to Ember and Hana. "I've heard about you before. And I'm very glad I finally get the chance to meet you. Well, what brings you eight here?" Ember said. "The city has been taken over by the Overlord and the Stone Warriors. Our parents were taken and the rest of our family's been turned against us!" Kabaz explained. "The Overlord?! But I thought he was defeated!" Ember exclaimed. "We thought so too, but wait, how do you know know who he is?" Sker asked. "I'll explain it to you when we get inside. It isn't safe out here right now." Ember said as she ushered the children inside of her home. "Why isn't it safe here? We're very far from home right now." Lari asked. "Because the Overlord will not stop until he has you in his grasp. And because this place contains magic, and because of my sister, he'll most likely send warriors here to invade. I don't to take any risks of endangering you, especially since most of you are the children of powerful elementals." Ember explained. "Your sister? What does she have to do with this?" May asked. Ember sat down and sighed. She explained that her sister, Amber, made a deal with the Overlord and his son that if she was able to capture the Sker, Kabaz, May, Akidah, and Lari, she would be granted a share of the power and would rule of Ninjago as Queen and be married to Haru as King. But because she failed, the Overlord turned to a vampire and a witch and ordered them to kill the five elemental children. After that plan failed, the Overlord and Haru were left to invade the city on their own. But before they did that, they kidnapped Kai, Skylor, and Lloyd. "'Haru'?! Son?! Since when does the Overlord have a son?!" Kabaz shouted. "Haru is his son and the heir to the throne. I do not know when he was born or who his mother is, but I do know that he is almost a complete replica of his father, pure evil." Ember said. "That would explain a lot of things that we found in our parents' disappearence. There were two of them." May said. "But how do we stop them?" Akidah asked. "I would assume the same way the Overlord was destroyed years ago." Ember responded. "I can't believe all the things that happened to us was all because of one major thing." Sker said. "Is there anything that you can do help us?" Mia asked. "Well, I can't help you fight him. My magic is no match against his. But I can improve any of your physical abilities. For example, perhaps fighting skills. I can also provide you with food and transport you to a safer location." Ember said. "Does that mean you can allow us to be able to fight?" Kano asked. "Yes." Ember responded. Then, Kano and Sonia walked up to Ember as she moved her hands and sparks of light shined. A flash of light sparked and Kano and Sonia stood there. "did it work?' Sonia questioned. "Let's see." Mia said. And with that, she threw a punch at her and Sonia successfully blocked it and pinned Mia down. "Woah!" Everyone exclaimed. "I can fight and defend myself!" Sonia squealed. Kano tried some moves too. "Now that we all can fight, we have to get going before those warriors show up." May said. Everyone nodded and Ember provided two bags filled with food. "Now that you're all set, I'll transport you to a safer place than here. I don't know the exact location, but I do know that it'll be somewhere far away from where the Overlord and Haru are." Ember said. "Okay, thank you so much for helping us Ember." Kabaz said. "My pleasure. Now please, take care and stop them. I believe in you." Ember said as she gave each of them a hug. Then, Ember used her magic and transported the eight kids to their new location.