Ninjago: Negative

14 - Bird in the sky

Ear-piecing screams disrupted the light mood as the huge glass decoration dropped. In just the blink of an eye, shattered glass was violently thrown across a section of the audience floor, scraping and impaling just a few of the guests. Luckily, the chandelier didn't land directly on a table, and instead crashed forcefully on the marble floor between tables. 

Gasps of horror emerged as people warily looked up to see if any other chandeliers were falling tonight. The people disturbed by its fall and the shards of glass it projected stumbled away from the scene. 

"Woah, what was that!?"  Cole blurted in complete shock, immediately jumping out of his seat.

"LOOK!" The blue ninja pointed up at the grid of chandeliers, save the one that just fell. Dangling upon one of them was none other than Fugidove. 

"HEAR ME, YOU FILTHY LUXURY-LOVERS!" The criminal cried from his dangerously high position. People gasped as they noticed the birdman shrieking from one of the lights. 

"Now that I've FINALLY got your attention, I suggest you LISTEN UP, before another pretty light gets dropped!" He yelled - many guests started moving away from the main floor, some even leaving in fear of whatever may happen next. Fugidove began swinging the chandelier he was perched on, its creaking echoing against the tall walls of the huge room.

"He's probably after the Orion Award!" Zane exclaimed to the group, jumping up onto the white-clothed table. "We need to stop him and get the trophy!" 

At that very moment, every light in the building was suddenly killed - the hall was submerged in absolute darkness, and that is when chaos started to emerge. Yells of innocent guests filled the hall, the sound of chairs and tables being brutally knocked over and panicked footsteps in all directions. People tried to find a way out but the various exit doors placed around the hall were all mysteriously locked. 

"Guys? GUYS?" Jay's voice shrieked. In the pitch black, his hand whacked into Kai's face. 

"Ouch! DUDE!" The fire ninja yelped. He quickly let out a pulse of fire from his hands and held the flames like a torch. At last, he could see the rest of the squad, faces lit up dimly.

"Someone cut all the power!" exclaimed Nya, with wide eyes. 

"What do we do?" Hector panicked, tripping over a rogue chair.

"The trophy!" Lloyd shouted over the loud chaos building up in the hall. "It has the Orb of Distrust inside - we need to get a hold of it before th--"

Out of nowhere, a firm fist had thrown a punch at the green ninja's jaw, sending him flying into a table nearby. The others gathered closer together. Apart from the guests and hosts, they weren't alone. 

"Lloyd!" Nya gasped, as another mystery figure appeared and swiftly kicked her in the side and onto the floor. 

"Okay, this isn't cool at all!" Cole exclaimed. "Fugidove's brought backup!" 

The darkness made it hard for the ninja to identify these mystery figures; they were dressed in dark leather, and there were a lot of them. An unruly brawl broke out in the dark - Kai tried to light up the situation by hurling his fire into the air and hitting one of the chandeliers, but it was still too dim to see clearly. Punches were thrown and bodies were flung - all in an attempt to break away from the dark shadows and find a way to the stage. 

As Lloyd pinned a criminal against a wall, he could just about make out what was engraved on the figure's leather jacket. An insignia he has seen and feared before, but it looked...different. 

"The Sons of Garmadon..?" He murmured, before the figure violently kneed him in the stomach.

"Quick! Find the trophy! That's what's important!" Nya yelled amongst the fight, hoisting up her long kimono to allow more movement. 

The lilac ninja made herself useful and dived away from the brawl. She crept away from the dimly lit section of the massive hall and into the pitch blackness again. Jupiter kept her arms out, trying not to bump into anything or anyone as she hastily made her way to the stage. There seemed to be less chaos around this side of the hall - she climbed up onto the platform and formed a hot ball of stardust in her palm; it glowed softly, with just enough light so she could identify the correct trophy. 

"Yes!" She exclaimed to herself. She grabbed the Orion Award - it was cold. 

"Guys! I've got it!" She spoke into her communicator, built into her earring. 

"Jupiter's got it!" Cole's voice buzzed through - "You need to get it out of here! Get as far away as possible! We'll hold these guys back and help the guests!" 

"Alright!" Jupiter leapt off the shadowy stage and headed for a broken door in which most guests used to evacuate. 

"Hold it right there, little lady!" A gruff voice bellowed around her. She swivelled around, breathing heavy. In the dim lights, a huge man towered over her, his terrifying face barely visible in the humble light. Killow. His giant arms attempted to corner her and force her to hand over the trophy. 

Jupiter tucked the Orb of Distrust trophy under her arm and squared up her fists, burning with stardust as she backed away slowly to the wall. Killow threw a quick punch, but Jupiter ducked and briskly stepped to the side to avoid it. 

All of a sudden, the big man let out a hefty howl of pain from the bottom of his lungs. Killow stumbled back, grasping the back of his left shoulder. She was momentarily confused but Jupiter saw this as a chance to get away and out of the building.

"Ha! Take that, sucker!" Another cocky voice cried. Hector pulled out the surprisingly large carving knife from the man's flesh and threw it aside - he jumped off the large aching man and quickly grabbed Jupiter's wrist. 

"Come on! That door's rigged - there's way more of them all around the building waiting for us to escape-" 

Both of them dashed to the back of the hall, leaping over the broken glass, smashed foods and knocked over furniture. The rest of the ninja in the hall were still swept within the chaos, helping abandoned and injured guests escape and fighting off all of the strange gang members.

"I can't believe you STABBED him with a kitchen knife!" Jupiter exclaimed in shock as they made their way through the dark. 

"Well, what did you want me to do, use spinjitzu? I'm not a ninja!" Hector exclaimed sarcastically - his white shirt was splattered with a bit of blood, most likely not his own. The grand hall's chaos quietened as the two of them reached a clear hallway at the very back of the hall, behind the stage. 

"Look! There's a fire exit right there-" Jupiter pointed, trophy still in her tight grasp. "We have to take the Orb as far away as we can, until the others give the all clear." 

Hector pushed the fire door's metal bar and they both stepped into the cold quiet night. In the distance, police sirens wailed faintly - people's screams and cries were loud. Yet again, another mysterious terror attack in Ninjago City.