The Moon Tribe warrior scrambled back, dropped his weapon and fled. The enraged dog followed him with deep-throated barks. Zane smiled grimly as the two of them disappeared. Then he turned to his teammates. Each were battling a werecat. However, thanks to the uprising of the villagers’ dogs, at least half of the attacking team of Moon Tribe warriors had fled, wounded and wailing. Now the ninja were battling the survivors with comparative ease. This side of town was obviously under control—at least for now. “Lloyd!” Zane called to his friend. “They’re attacking the southwestern side! We need to get over there and protect the people!” Lloyd thought fast. “Master Wu, can you and Zane hold up the line here?” Wu neatly dodged a swinging sword and spun around to slam his bo staff into the back of his opponent’s head. “Of course.” “Cole, Liana,” Lloyd called his friends’ attention. “You two go down that way, toward the back entrance of the village, and protect the people! Help them get out.” “Got it,” Liana and Cole said at the same time. “Nya, Jay, we’ll get to the area where all the fires are and see what we can do. It could be where the largest attack party is, but it’s hard to say. They could be trying to confuse us.” “Where’s Matilda?” Cole asked, jabbing his “claws” at a man who had staggered to his feet and was trying to attack the ninja again. It didn’t take very much to drive the weary warrior back. “She went after Lion Claw. She’s taking care of the sorcerers,” Zane responded. “Good,” Liana said darkly. Zane saw a large man with cat’s paws running toward him from the side. The ninja spun around and delivered a sidekick to the man’s legs, sending him sprawling. “We’ll catch up with you as soon as this area of the village is taken care of. Go, ninja—go!” “Let’s do this!” Jay crowed.
Nya, Jay, and Lloyd left Master Wu and Zane to what was left of the attack patrol and headed toward the southwest side of town, toward the columns of smoke. Cole and Liana followed suit, though by running directly southward. They ran down the street between the houses. This part of the town was now abandoned, for the villagers had fled. It gave the area a spooky, desolate atmosphere. The sounds of battle behind them faded as Cole and Liana ran further and further away. “I hope we don’t run into Black Blood,” Liana commented. They were running too fast for Cole to see the expression on her face. He only said, “Yeah. Me, too.” After a moment, Liana muttered, “You gonna be OK?” Cole clenched his jaw grimly. “I’ll have to be.”
* * *
Matilda liked being in her feline form. This was a much more nimble and agile body than that of her fifty year-old human self. The light brown tabby raced down the narrow alleyways, presently empty of any life. The sounds of people screaming, cats yowling, and dogs barking nearby were ignored by her. She knew that the ninja would take care of what they could. Her job was to do the same, but in her own area of expertise. A scent caught her little pink nose. The cat slowed, but not by much. She recognized Lion Claw’s fear scent. Merlin’s beard, what a stinking coward. He’s only tough as long as he has the upper hand. Or paw. She followed the spoor, and found herself padding quickly down a small, narrow passage between buildings. Around a corner up ahead, she heard voices. She slowed her pace and padded soundlessly to the corner. She peered around. There, at the end of the alley, stood Lion Claw with Broken Fang. He was in nekomata form, she in her human state. The cape she wore over her dark animal skins made her almost look like a shadow in the uncertain light of the alley. They were conversing furtively. “…should have been able to take care of that. It’s one of the pivotal points of this attack!” Broken Fang was hissing.
The enormous golden cat that was Lion Claw bristled irritably. “How was I to know the Sons and Daughters would already be there? Not to mention the humans’ dogs. They took us by surprise.” “You’re the one who’s supposed to take them by surprise!” Broken Fang retorted. “This is an ambush, for ancestors’ sake! Don’t tell me you’re letting us get beaten by half-grown human kits and a bunch of dogs! You could’ve taken them all down with tiny Nap Attacks!” “Easy for you to say.” Lion Claw’s large tail flicked back and forth. “I barely had enough time to save my own pelt from that crazy Sister of Darkness, much less to—” “Matilda? How does one stinking human give us so much trouble?!” Broken Fang growled. “Never mind. I’ll find her, and when I do, I’ll—” “Yes?” Matilda padded out into the open, flicking her tail to and fro. “You’ll do what?” Lion Claw didn’t hesitate. The big cat simply turned tail and fled. Broken Fang, on the other hand, hissed and summoned a spell between her hands within the time it took for Matilda to shift into her human state and to yank out her wand. The witch repelled the opposing spell in the nick of time, and proceeded to fire two fiery blasts down the alleyway. Broken Fang ducked, but the spells came nowhere near her. Instead, one flew to Broken Fang’s left, crashing into the entrance into which Lion Claw had vanished and blasting the walls apart. Bricks flew and crumbled, blocking the alley on that side. The second blast did much the same, setting a garbage bin on fire in the process, in case Broken Fang should have any idea of climbing atop it and escaping that way. The werecat witch was trapped in the alley. Matilda Ravencroft stood before the only way in or out of the narrow corridor. Almost desperately, Broken Fang shot several multi-colored blasts from the palms of her hands. The curses made a crackling noise like electricity and lit up the alley. Matilda flicked her wand to and fro with ease, repelling curse after curse. The defensive moves didn’t send her back. Instead, she only advanced. Broken Fang saw that the witch was getting closer, and her spells grew more and more frantic.
*** Dimly, as he flung himself into the brawl, Cole was aware of more dogs rushing from the side streets and throwing themselves at the invading cats. Mutts, beagles, hounds, labs—he even thought he saw a tiny poodle run by him, yapping its little head off.
The werecat swore with frustration when Matilda was within six feet of her. Finally, Broken Fang raised her hands up and bowed her head, crying out, “I yield! I yield!” “Hsst, like heck, you do,” Matilda responded dispassionately. “You’re only brave when you’re with the other sorcerers and you outnumber us. But when it comes to a fair fight, you’re as timid as a kitten.” Broken Fang raised her head and cast Matilda a scalding glare. “I have my honor! Just as I have the wisdom to know when I’m outmatched.” “Honor, my tail.” “What do you want?” Broken Tail demanded. “If you’re going to kill me, do it now! I’ll show you how one of the Seven Sorcerers dies with honor.” “Shut up about your ‘honor’, you’ve got none. If you ever did, you all gave it up years ago,” Matilda said snidely. “Now. There is one thing I want from you, Broken Fang, sister of Rip Claw. You’ve taken something from the ninja. Something quite dear to them.” Broken Fang stared at Matilda, uncomprehending. Matilda’s eyes narrowed. “The Daughter of Amber. Skylor.”
* * *
Explosions shook the air, sending waves of heat up and down the snowy mountainside. Again and again, Skylor repelled the burning missiles with the plumes of fire. None of the bombs reached her, for her flames destroyed them before they could do any real damage. Sweat trickled down the sides of her head. She felt her muscles burning beneath the uniform she wore. She panted for breath, lungs burning. Sometime in the battle, her hair band had broken loose. Now her long, blood-red hair fell wildly about her face, reaching down nearly to her back. Occasionally she’d blow a messy strand out her face. The soldiers had fallen back when she’d taken out at least half of them with the earth element; she’d opened a great crevasse in the icy ground, and it swallowed up many screaming soldiers. Out of mercy she’d left the fissure open, letting the men live, but it would be a difficult task to get them out of there when all this was over.
The enormous golden cat that was Lion Claw bristled irritably. “How was I to know the Sons and Daughters would already be there? Not to mention the humans’ dogs. They took us by surprise.” “You’re the one who’s supposed to take them by surprise!” Broken Fang retorted. “This is an ambush, for ancestors’ sake! Don’t tell me you’re letting us get beaten by half-grown human kits and a bunch of dogs! You could’ve taken them all down with tiny Nap Attacks!” “Easy for you to say.” Lion Claw’s large tail flicked back and forth. “I barely had enough time to save my own pelt from that crazy Sister of Darkness, much less to—” “Matilda? How does one stinking human give us so much trouble?!” Broken Fang growled. “Never mind. I’ll find her, and when I do, I’ll—” “Yes?” Matilda padded out into the open, flicking her tail to and fro. “You’ll do what?” Lion Claw didn’t hesitate. The big cat simply turned tail and fled. Broken Fang, on the other hand, hissed and summoned a spell between her hands within the time it took for Matilda to shift into her human state and to yank out her wand. The witch repelled the opposing spell in the nick of time, and proceeded to fire two fiery blasts down the alleyway. Broken Fang ducked, but the spells came nowhere near her. Instead, one flew to Broken Fang’s left, crashing into the entrance into which Lion Claw had vanished and blasting the walls apart. Bricks flew and crumbled, blocking the alley on that side. The second blast did much the same, setting a garbage bin on fire in the process, in case Broken Fang should have any idea of climbing atop it and escaping that way. The werecat witch was trapped in the alley. Matilda Ravencroft stood before the only way in or out of the narrow corridor. Almost desperately, Broken Fang shot several multi-colored blasts from the palms of her hands. The curses made a crackling noise like electricity and lit up the alley. Matilda flicked her wand to and fro with ease, repelling curse after curse. The defensive moves didn’t send her back. Instead, she only advanced. Broken Fang saw that the witch was getting closer, and her spells grew more and more frantic.
* Matilda enters *
Lion Claw and Broken Fang: "Why do I hear boss music?"
The werecat swore with frustration when Matilda was within six feet of her. Finally, Broken Fang raised her hands up and bowed her head, crying out, “I yield! I yield!” “Hsst, like heck, you do,” Matilda responded dispassionately. “You’re only brave when you’re with the other sorcerers and you outnumber us. But when it comes to a fair fight, you’re as timid as a kitten.” Broken Fang raised her head and cast Matilda a scalding glare. “I have my honor! Just as I have the wisdom to know when I’m outmatched.” “Honor, my tail.” “What do you want?” Broken Tail demanded. “If you’re going to kill me, do it now! I’ll show you how one of the Seven Sorcerers dies with honor.” “Shut up about your ‘honor’, you’ve got none. If you ever did, you all gave it up years ago,” Matilda said snidely. “Now. There is one thing I want from you, Broken Fang, sister of Rip Claw. You’ve taken something from the ninja. Something quite dear to them.” Broken Fang stared at Matilda, uncomprehending. Matilda’s eyes narrowed. “The Daughter of Amber. Skylor.”
* * *
Explosions shook the air, sending waves of heat up and down the snowy mountainside. Again and again, Skylor repelled the burning missiles with the plumes of fire. None of the bombs reached her, for her flames destroyed them before they could do any real damage. Sweat trickled down the sides of her head. She felt her muscles burning beneath the uniform she wore. She panted for breath, lungs burning. Sometime in the battle, her hair band had broken loose. Now her long, blood-red hair fell wildly about her face, reaching down nearly to her back. Occasionally she’d blow a messy strand out her face. The soldiers had fallen back when she’d taken out at least half of them with the earth element; she’d opened a great crevasse in the icy ground, and it swallowed up many screaming soldiers. Out of mercy she’d left the fissure open, letting the men live, but it would be a difficult task to get them out of there when all this was over.
*snip* “Matilda? How does one stinking human give us so much trouble?!” Broken Fang growled. “Never mind. I’ll find her, and when I do, I’ll—” “Yes?” Matilda padded out into the open, flicking her tail to and fro. “You’ll do what?”
* Matilda enters *
Lion Claw and Broken Fang: "Why do I hear boss music?"
Hundreds of blaster shots were raining down on her, and she was blocking every one of them using the element of gravity. It was tricky to reverse the gravitational pull of the red-hot missiles while keeping herself firmly on the ground. It took a lot of concentrating both on the many blaster shots and herself. Still, she managed it, and thus every blast sent by the Polarian army’s guns came raining back down on the ones who’d shot them. The number of Skylor’s current opponents dropped considerably. General Tulimaq must have finally realized that bombs and blasters were useless at this point, for he began to shout, “Bear your weapons! It’s just one girl! Get up there! Get up there and fight, you stupid idiots!” Trying to ignore the cries and moans of the wounded, the soldiers reluctantly brought out their spears. These spears were more for show than anything else, considering the superior technology the army possessed. At the order to bring out the spears and charge the opponent, the soldiers knew that this fight was getting desperate. Skylor knew this, too. How many men is he going to sacrifice today? She curled her lip with disgust. Even her father, Master Chen, had been somewhat considerate of the warriors who worked for them, making sure to have a “masterful” plan before sending his men into danger—unless he were really desperate, and even then he liked to use his army cleverly. Tulimaq, on the other hand, simply threw these loyal soldiers about like they had lives to spare, with no care at all for the losses. Of course, a good leader couldn’t always worry about the men who were wounded and who would have to be left behind, but there was a difference between pushing on for the mission and treating men’s lives like toys. “What a punk,” she muttered. Skylor looked upon the desperately advancing soldiers with some element of pity. Not having the heart to kill them, she simply used her ice powers to make the snow beneath their feet come to life like an animal and shove them down the slope, creating a small avalanche. Many men found themselves buried deep in icy snow.
“What are you doing?!” Again, General Tulimaq hollered furiously from his place on the single ice jet they’d managed to steer up the mountainside. He was stationed at the very back of the army, yet his voice carried loudly in the cold winter air. “Quit playing in the snow and get that savage!” Skylor’s gaze scanned the jumbled crowd of blue-and-gray-clad soldiers. She quickly spotted the military ice jet and the plump figure standing there, waving his meaty fists in the air. “Get me that girl!” he shouted. You want me? Skylor smirked. Come and get me. Her hands crackled and sparked. She took a breath, and suddenly a bolt of bright, jagged lightning shot down from the sky. The bolt struck the single ice jet left standing. The helm, mast, and sails flew apart, and Tulimaq flew with them. He fell face-first into the snow. Skylor didn’t hesitate. She summoned ice, controlling the snow in front of her. She felt its cold, sharp energy in her head, and reached out. The snow shifted stirred beneath Tulimaq. He yanked his head out just in time to realize that the snow he sat in was moving and coiling around him like a rope. His eyes bugged out. “Wha—?!” Skylor yanked, holding out her hands and flicking them back to her direction, and the ice holding Tulimaq came to life and sped back to her, brushing past startled soldiers and commanders before anyone could do anything. Within seconds, Skylor had yanked Tulimaq from the back of the army up the steep slope, up to where she stood. She gestured with her hands again when he was within ten feet of her, and the ice stopped, standing in the ground like a cold pedestal. Tulimaq was frozen within the solid block of ice, from his chest down to his feet. Tulimaq’s face was white—not so commanding and blustering now. “Gods save me.” Gods… That was when Skylor got an idea. Her eyes narrowed. Standing straight and tall, she walked forward to where Tulimaq stood before her, literally frozen in place. “I,” Skylor spoke so that her voice rang throughout the hillside. “Am Arnapkapfaaluk, queen of the dark spirits.”
“Liar,” Matilda spat. “What was that you were just saying about honor?” Her brown eyes blazed coldly. “You can bring back young Miss Chen. I know you can.” She yanked one of the pouches she had from her belt and tossed it on the ground. Several petite, flower-like leaves slipped from the lip of the pouch and scattered on the cobblestones. “I’ve got the tea leaves. You’ve got the power.” She smirked. “I think between you and I, we’ve got a pretty good chance at bringing her back.” Broken Fang’s lip curled. “And just what makes you think I’m willing to help you, Sister of Darkness?” The werecat sorceress’s snide look dissolved instantly when Matilda brought her wand up and pointed the tip right between her eyes. The witch’s voice came out like shards of ice, cold and stinging; “Because, as you said yourself, you’re outmatched. Because it’s time for that girl to come home. Because if you don’t, I will end you right now, and I’ll enjoy doing it, too.” Broken Fang swallowed. “I— I see your point.” “Thought you might.” Matilda smiled grimly. “Now. Do your thing. After this one, you're bringing back the Son of Fire, too.” Broken Fang cast one final glare at Matilda, but a warning look from the witch had the werecat concentrating fully on the tea leaves. She took the pouch and spilled the rest of the contents on the ground, spreading and shaping them into a rough circle. She began to chant under her breath, murmuring words unintelligible. Matilda watched her keenly, wand at the ready.
* * *
Bonus points for remembering that freakishly-long name, Skylor thought wryly. Tulimaq’s eyes widened with shock. She felt a surge of satisfaction. Kissimi and the Polarian invaders may not have the same gods, but they seemed to share enough in common to be equally superstitious of the spirit realms.
She raised her voice, continuing. “You have invaded this land. You have hurt my people, the ones who lived here first.” Snowflakes began to swirl around her. Softly, gently at first. The snow sparkled. “This is not your land. This is not their land. This is my land, and I have given it to my people and to the animals to live upon it. You have angered me by coming and claiming it as your own.” Tulimaq trembled visibly now. His mouth was gaping in his terror, and his breath came out in ragged gasps from fear—or perhaps because the ice was too tight around his torso. Skylor kept going. She was on a roll. “You have hurt my people. They live in fear and in grief because of you. I came down to see if you were really as cold-hearted as your actions deemed you to be. You took me as your prisoner and attempted to kill me.” Her words came out scathingly. “For your cruelty and insolence of the great spirits, you must be punished. I will blast you and all your people from the sky with the lightning of the gods.” “No!” Tulimaq looked as if he were going to be sick. “Please, no! Great spirit, have mercy!” “One reason,” she spat. “Give me one reason why I should spare you and the miserable lives of all these men who have persecuted my children.” “We— we’ll stop!” Tulimaq replied. “We’ll leave the savag— I mean, your people alone! We’ll leave this land and let them live in peace! We’ll repent! Anything! We’ll do anything!” Skylor stared coolly at him, being sure to keep her expression unreadable. “Anything?” Tulimaq nodded so quickly that his helmet bounced on his head.
* * *
“If I don’t see a portal in the next thirty seconds, the Moon Tribe will have only the Five Sorcerers,” Matilda growled. “Ancestors save me, I’m going as fast as I can,” Broken Fang growled in between her chanting. “It won’t go any faster if you interrupt me and wave that stupid stick in my face.” “Twenty-seven seconds,” Matilda chanted. Broken Fang continued her strange song. The unintelligible words rose in intensity.
The leaves shuddered. One by one, they began to glow. Then, as their dim illuminance brightened further, they dissolved into a swirling pool of pure, blinding light. The portal whirled and hissed in the alleyway, casting a cold breeze from its entrance that played with Broken Fang’s scraggly hair and the tip of Matilda’s hat.
* * *
The snowflakes around Skylor continued to spin. They got faster and faster, thicker and thicker. She wondered if she was so in tune with Zane’s power that it was sensitive to her emotions and reacted to them. She had to call out loudly above the sound of the wind howling around her. “Let all of you hear me! I am Arnapkapfaaluk, queen of the dark spirits.” Through the growing cyclone of pure snow spinning around her, she caught sight of the soldiers gaping at her in shock. Her hair whipped wildly around her head and face. Skylor continued, voice rising even further. “I will give you one chance to live. Your General Tulimaq has given his word that you will no longer persecute my people. I am a generous spirit, and I will grant you mercy.” The soldiers, awe-struck, stared at the tall, red-haired goddess standing before them, enclosed in a whistling cyclone of snow that seemed to sparkle. Indeed, this spirit presented a terrifying picture of power as she stood there on the mountainside, bending the elements as if the very snow worshipped her. In fact, the spirit herself seemed to be glowing… it looked as if a circle of pure light appeared in the ground where she stood, just a single step behind her. That burst of light outlined her features. Skylor felt the ground beneath her feet rumble, but she didn’t turn to see what it was. She had to stay in character. She was barely aware of a strange light behind her. The wind screamed in her ears. “But should you ever lay a hand on my people, I will return, and I will strike you down with lighting, each and every one of you, until there are none left to carry on the name of Polaria!”
Skylor the “spirit” glowed. The army heard the calls of the strange apparition, saw the light glowing from her, and the unexplainable snow spinning around her. They were utterly convinced that this was one of the gods they feared so much. “We promise,” Tulimaq whimpered before her, trembling in his icy cage. “We promise to repent!” Skylor wondered what to do next. She took a breath, and tried to steady herself. The cold wind lashed at her, snowflakes were getting in her face. Every man on that mountainside was watching her with fear and awe. She took one step backwards to keep her balance against the wind… and toppled backwards into the portal. She cried out as it closed up over her head. The Polarian army watched the spirit queen disappear in a burst of light, and believed she’d returned to the heavens.
* * *
“Where is she?!” “She should be here by now, any second—!” Matilda snatched Broken Fang by the shoulders and shook her furiously. “I told you what would happen if you didn’t bring that child back! Now what? I’m not seeing any Skylor! The portal’s gone out!” “It hasn’t gone out, I’ve just directed the portal to take her and spit her out—” Broken Fang tried to protest. Matilda pressed the tip of her wand into the other woman’s neck. The werecat witch froze in place. Matilda hissed, “I warned you. I wanted you to cooperate. It would have been best for both of us. Now, I’m afraid to say, I’ll have to—” A portal appeared in the middle of the sky a few hundred yards away, startling the two witches with its loud whoosh and making the dark clouds glow. From the circle of light came flying a single, feminine figure, twisting in the air. She shrieked as she plummeted through the sky and down in to the village, and disappeared behind a building. Her scream cut off abruptly. Matilda scowled. “Hope she landed somewhere soft.” Broken Fang shoved herself at Matilda and threw her to the ground with a loud snarl. “The Daughter of Amber was never meant to return to Ninjago. You’ll pay for this, Sister of Darkness.”
Matilda rolled away from the curse of fire in the nick of time and leapt to her feet to ward off her opponent’s spells.
* * *
“My cabbages!” Skylor came to. She felt dizzy and sick to her stomach. She was lying on some round and bumpy things. Wearily, she opened her eyes. What happened…? She realized she was lying in a wooden pushcart, sharing the compartment with several dozen cabbages. Something was hanging from the side of her head, and she blew a cabbage leaf out of her hair. “My poor, precious cabbages!” A man in peasant attire and a small cap appeared in front of Skylor. He stared incredulously at the sight before him, and clutched his head as he continued to cry. “Ruined! My cabbages are ruined!” Cabbages. There aren’t cabbages in Polaria. Gasping, Skylor hopped off the cart and scanned her surroundings. A cobblestone street stretched out on both sides in between quaint houses of a village, whose styles and shapes looked strikingly familiar to her. “No way,” she breathed. “No way, no way.” “I’ll say ‘no way’!” the farmer exclaimed. “Giant cat people! Teenagers falling from the sky! What is Ninjago coming to?!” Skylor stared at him. “Did you say, ‘Nin—’?” She was interrupted by a familiar voice. “Skylor?!” She looked up to see three familiar-looking figures in ninja uniforms running down the street toward her. One green, two blue. They wore masks only on the bottom halves of their faces, so she was able to identify them easily. “Nya…?” Skylor murmured. Nya’s gaze shifted beyond Skylor. “Behind you!” Skylor didn’t hesitate. She whirled around, yanking the blaster from its holster at her belt. She turned in time to see a catlike animal the size of a lion leaping toward her. BEW! The explosion shook the ground as it hit both the cat and the wall behind it. Plaster, bricks, and tiles flew through the air, clattering to the street and smashing into windows and doors. The farmer yelped, snatched the handles of his pushcart, and scurried away from the flying rubble, all the while crying, “My cabbages! Leave my poor cabbages out of this!”
