I always thought that was an amazing achievement. I've been trying to catch up to you and the other top people for ages.
Yep it was pretty cool but I'm definitely not there anymore. I'm fifth now, but the top two haven't been on in a couple months. You're pretty high on the list yourself.
Still, fifth is pretty good all things considered. Yeah it looks like it, I'm getting there little by little. XD
Talon reeled back in horror as he recognized their faces. “No… no,” he rasped. He felt every bone in his body grow cold as he looked upon the sight before him. Jay and Nya lay side by side together in the grass. They would have looked as if they were merely sleeping, if it weren't for the unnaturally pale color of their skin. Though their hands had been folded peacefully onto their chests, one of Nya's arms was stretched out, as if trying to take Jay's hand before falling unconscious. Nearby them lay three more people: Zane, Wu, and Matilda. Like Jay and Nya, they lay with their hands folded across their chests, like stiff, cold dolls. Though peaceful-looking enough, there was something terrible in how still they lay, and the sunlit air suddenly felt hot and stifled. Shocked, Talon stared at the sleeping people--and felt something hot and sticky cling to his paws. “Blind, blind, me oh my!” Kohuru’s voice cackled from the shadows of the woods. “One of a kind, such is so, is the fall of the blind!” Talon retched, and his horror increased with every hard pump of his heart. He stumbled back from the motionless people and forced himself to turn away. “Blind, blind! It can run, it can hide, but it will always be blind!” Kohuru chanted, invisible to him still. “No!” Eagle Talon broke into a run and fled—away from the humans, away from Kohuru’s mocking chant, and away from the things he’d done.
He fled through the trees. Their tall forms, suddenly seeming dark and forbidding, flashed by his vision. His paws padded swiftly across the forest floor. He didn’t know where he was going. He only ran. His heart screamed at him to run faster, yet no matter how much strength he put into his legs, to him it seemed he could never run fast enough. Suddenly, he stopped. He dug his claws into the dirt and stared. Before him stood an enormous dragon; its great wings rose high above its head and long arched neck. Scales of green and gold glittered brilliantly in the sunlight. The dragon cast its infinite green gaze upon Eagle Talon and uttered a low growl. A small cry sounded from the ground. Talon looked down at the creature’s giant paws to see Little Leaf in her human form. The dragon’s foot held her down none-too-gently as she struggled feebly and whimpered. The horror Talon felt pound in his ears was immediately replaced by hot fury at the sight of his little sister. “Get away from her!” He shifted into his nekomata form and threw himself at the green and gold dragon. Taking down the monster was easier than he’d thought. The dragon screamed its rage and writhed wildly. It flapped its wings in the air and bent down to snap its pearl-white teeth at the cat. Somehow Talon was able to deftly avoid its great claws and teeth. Within several swift, vicious seconds, Talon had brought down the beast. He took a few paw-steps back, feeling pleased with himself. He’d destroyed one of the most dangerous and powerful creatures in the world. Now nobody would ever be hurt by it again. Rendered harmless, what was left of the massive dragon looked feeble. Then, the dragon transformed. The same shimmer that had appeared over the bodies of the birds swept over the green and gold figure. The body shrunk and changed in the burst of brilliant light. With a sinking feeling, Talon watched as the dragon transformed into a humanoid, green-clad figure. Lloyd lay sprawled out before him, as if he were freshly-caught prey dropped by his hunter onto the food pile.
Yep it was pretty cool but I'm definitely not there anymore. I'm fifth now, but the top two haven't been on in a couple months. You're pretty high on the list yourself.
Still, fifth is pretty good all things considered. Yeah it looks like it, I'm getting there little by little. XD
Yep I think it is. I'm pretty content where I am. And we're both creeping up a little at a time I guess, maybe because some people are now less active, which is unfortunate.
The outpost was a small one—if it could even be referred to as a proper outpost. It consisted merely of a single tower built of gray bricks that stood nearly four stories high and only a few meters across. A couple of low buildings sitting close beside it seemed to resemble bunkers. In the clearing Kai recognized the mix of bright and dark maroon colors of the Pingous uniforms that the men in the clearing wore. Their egg-shaped helmets glinted silver in the sunlight alongside their spears and weaponry adornments. There are a little over half a dozen soldiers in the clearing, perhaps ten. The objects that truly struck Kai’s eye, however, were a small collection of dark gray, metal vehicles lined up in a neat row beside one of the smaller buildings. While the technology seemed similar to what he knew in Ninjago, the style and mechanism was new and strange to him. In terms of height, each vehicle was just a little taller than an adult’s bicycle. A thin deck three feet in length and two feet wide made the base. At the front sprouted a chest-high handlebar post, complete with—as the name suggests—handlebars. A microwave-sized metal box sat at the other end of the little deck, welded into the structure. From what Kai could tell from his spot among the treetops, the vehicles basically looked like large, clunky scooters. The only differences were the large box at the back end of the deck and the fact that there were no wheels. Only a spindly kickstand for each one held them up. Compared to the mechs, motorcycles, hoverboards, jets, flying ships, and nearly every other vehicle they had in Ninjago, thus far Kai wasn’t very impressed with Pawreles’s technology. Everything else about the world made him feel as if he’d time-traveled back a hundred years ago to a medieval era. A smooth humming noise interrupted his observation. He looked to see another one of the vehicles slide into view, with a Pingous soldier standing atop the deck and driving it. A few soldiers stepped aside to let the it through as it drifted into the clearing and slowed by the rest of the parked vehicles.
They don’t have any wheels, Kai thought. So how’s it going? He peered through the leaves carefully to get a better look. When his gaze settled upon the bottom of the craft, he felt his eyebrows arch in surprise. The vehicle was floating in mid-air! Much like the hoverboards he had used to flee pursuing Anacondrai cultists in the jungle, an advanced technology made the vehicle hover in midair, and the driver used some sort of mechanism at the front to have it moving forward and guiding it. Kai found himself mesmerized watching the vehicle. Then, just as it was slowing and the soldier was stepping off of it, a voice behind him called out shrilly in the distance, “Kai?” Jukeni! Kai gritted his teeth. Shut up! You’ll blow my cover! He looked again into the clearing. Sure enough, a couple of men had heard the Pawreleser’s voice drifting from the forest. “Hey! Did you hear that?” Kai took a breath, then leapt down from the tree. Air whipped his face for a second before he landed smoothly in the dirt clearing, knees bent and arms out. He stood up and flashed a grin at the half-dozen men who were now staring at him in astonishment. “Hi there. Just thought I’d drop in,” he quipped brightly. Some of them were already grabbing for their spears. “Who goes there—?” “Ninjaaa, go!” Kai whipped into a Spinjitzu vortex and sent red-clad people flying. He felt a happy surge of satisfaction as he whipped around beating his adversaries left and right with ease. They fell away from him with shocked cries and pained grunts. Within seconds, Kai let the vortex dissipate until it was nothing but a few fiery sparks littering the ground. He scanned the scene of soldiers lying in scatted heaps around him. “Kai!” He whirled around to see Kaeden and Jukeni stepping into the outpost clearing with equally stunned expressions. Frantic, Jukeni shouted, “This wasn’t part of the plan!” “What? I thought we were trying to beat the bad guys,” Kai protested lazily.
Kaeden opened his canine jaws to retort, but another voice interrupted. All three of them looked to see more soldiers coming around the corner of one of the smaller brick buildings. One thickset man, presumably a commander, was gesturing to Kai in a panic. “Watch out! He’s a mage!” Kai huffed. “You people obviously don’t know a ninja when you see one.” That being said, he summoned a ball of fire and blasted it at the bunker. Most of the men scrambled and dodged out of the way with shocked shouts, although a few did not escape singed. “Take the landrunners!” Kaeden cried out over the clamor. He raced from the shelter of the foliage and darted across the clearing toward the parked scooter-vehicles. He leapt and landed heavily on one of them, dwarfing the thing and making it shudder under his weight. “Kaeden’s right, Kai!” Jukeni ran to Kai and tugged on his sleeve. “More of them are coming! Let’s go!” Kai hesitated, then turned and ran with Jukeni toward the landrunners. While he was confident he could take out however many Pingous soldiers there were in the outpost, he wasn’t sure Kaeden and Jukeni would be able to get away from the situation unscathed, weaponless as they were. Kaeden’s landrunner was already rumbling to life. The dog-man was pulling out and away from the outpost while glancing anxiously toward his human companions. “Hurry!” he barked. The group of soldiers, stunned by Kai’s fireball, were several yards behind Jukeni and Kai. Already they were picking themselves up and stumbling after the intruders. Jukeni looked over his shoulder and gulped, but Kai grabbed him by the shirt and yanked him to the landrunner closest to him. “Tell me you know how to drive this thing!” In response, Jukeni hopped onto the little deck and gripped the handlebars. Between them sat a little panel containing several multi-colored buttons and a small virtual screen bearing marks in a language foreign to Kai. Jukeni grabbed something that looked like a squarish key stuck in the control panel and twisted it. A growl like that of a hot rod’s engine came to life, and the landrunner stirred and began hovering in place.
“Get on!” Jukeni called. Kai didn’t need another invitation. He jumped onto the deck behind Jukeni. He wobbled and flapped his arms wildly to catch his balance when the landrunner suddenly sped away with a dull hum. Jukeni twisted frantically at the handlebars, and they joined Kaeden. “You got this?” Kaeden called. “Yeah,” Jukeni said as he glanced over his shoulder once more. “Now let’s get out of here!” Kai heard himself yelp when the landrunner jolted and raced away. He spread his legs out to stay balanced. He felt like the little machine was waving as wildly as a fragile rowboat on rough waters. “Can’t you drive this thing?!” he demanded. “Can’t you do something about our new company?!” Jukeni snapped back. He looked more scared and frantic than Kai felt. Kai dared to turn his head back to watch what was going on behind them. He caught sight of the soldiers pouring to the line of landrunners, all clamoring angrily and waving their gear in the air. Among them a panicked commander screamed commands at them, ordering his men to go after the thieves and bring them back. Already some Pingousers had gotten their landrunners up and running. “Oh, that won’t do at all.” Kai smirked as he summoned a blazing ball of fire to each hand. With a “Ha!”, he sent both balls whizzing at the tightly-clustered group of little landrunners. Upon impact something exploded loudly. Several singed machines were thrown back and smashed into one another. Men were sent flying with shocked cries. A ball of smoke rose into the air. Then Kai’s vision was blocked by dark trees flashing by his vision. Jukeni was speeding them away from the wreckage. “Ha hah, all right!” Kai crowed. “Don’t get too proud yet,” Kaeden called ahead of them. He waved his thick tail backwards. “We’ve still got trouble!” Kai looked behind himself again, and he didn’t suppress his growl of frustration. A pair of landrunners had escaped Kai’s flames. A helmeted soldier on each bore down on the ninja and his Pawreles companions determinedly, hot on their heels.
Then, he saw them: nimble, pale shapes dotted the landscape hundreds of yards away. A few of them moved as long necks nibbled at the grass. They definitely looked horse-like, although they were standing at such a distance Kai couldn’t get a very good look at them. All he saw were a bunch of animals grazing at the fields as quietly and as peacefully as a herd of sheep. Kai re-processed the word Kaeden had used. Then he voiced a spurt of laughter. “Did you say— unicorns?” “Quiet! They’ll hear you!” Jukeni ducked his head and took another step back beneath the cover of the trees. “Unicorns!” Kai kept laughing. “You mean those magical horned ponies?” “Thank the Star Guards they aren’t magic,” Jukeni retorted. “Normal ones are bad enough.” Kai couldn’t reply for all his laughter. “I take it your unicorns aren’t like the ones we have here,” Kaeden deadpanned. Eventually Kai began to calm down. “Ha-ha, hah—no, they definitely aren’t. They aren’t even real, but they’re in magical stories meant for little girls.” “In Ninjago you read about unicorns to little girls?” Jukeni demanded incredulously. “Yeesh. That’s sick.” Kai didn’t hide the mocking smile he knew was planted on his face. “Right, right—so what’s so bad about these unicorns? Are they scarier in Pawreles?” Kaeden withstood Kai’s chortles and chuckles patiently, but without mirth. Now he said, “You wouldn’t ask that if you’ve ever seen a unicorn hunting. One stallion can take down a healthy adult lecourtie in seconds. They’re nomadic animals, but extremely protective over their grazing grounds, the females and their young. Getting close to a herd of them is a really bad idea.” “Next you’ll be telling me I need to watch out for pixies,” Kai snorted. “Only the venomous ones,” Jukeni protested. Kaeden ignored the second bout of laughter from the ninja. He merely cast a wary look at the shapes dotting the field before saying, “These must be traveling toward their summer grazing lands. They’ll probably keep close together, but it’s best if we go around and keep our distance anyway.”
Finally someone realizes how formidable unicorns can be.
Still, fifth is pretty good all things considered. Yeah it looks like it, I'm getting there little by little. XD
Yep I think it is. I'm pretty content where I am. And we're both creeping up a little at a time I guess, maybe because some people are now less active, which is unfortunate.
Yep I think it is. I'm pretty content where I am. And we're both creeping up a little at a time I guess, maybe because some people are now less active, which is unfortunate.
Oh yeah, that's true, that is unfortunate.
Yeah. I'm hoping we'll get a little more active during the summer!
Wind rushed past Kai’s face and roared in his ears. The narrow deck of the landrunner he balanced upon swayed and dipped every so often as it zipped above the ground. Kai found himself constantly readjusting his stance so as to keep his balance. Tall trees and thick shrubbery whipped by them as Jukeni sped the landrunner deeper into the forest, following Kaeden’s lead. Kai could feel his heart pounding against his chest—not of fear, but of the elation action always brought him. There were few things in life that could shake his confidence. Kai grinned at the furious expressions upon the faces of their pursuers. He clenched one fist by his head and summoned a ball of flames. “What’s the matter? You two are lookin’ a little hot under the collar!” With a grunt he swung his arm and shot the fireball at the landrunner closest to them. The driver yanked back on the bars, and thus his vehicle slowed just before Kai’s fire hit the place where’d it been. He caught sight of the blazes smoldering against an oak tree before that disappeared from view. Kai glared at the first driver and sent another fireball flying. Again the Pingouser dodged it, though by a hair. Stop moving around! Let me hit you, Egghead! Kai gritted his teeth angrily. He proceeded to send a wild flurry of flames and whizzing fireballs at the two landrunners, mainly targeting the first one. Combined with Jukeni’s rather jerky driving and the Pingous soldiers’ own adept skill at handling their vehicles, it took several tries before Kai managed to score the first landrunner. When he did, the vehicle was hit in the back and sent spinning wildly into the undergrowth, and its driver flew from the deck with a shout. “Take that!” Kai chortled. “Gah!” Jukeni’s shocked cry of pain had Kai whipping around just in time to see his companion’s arm speared with a thin arrow. Jukeni stumbled back and plummeted off the landrunner before Kai’s eyes. Suddenly, the vehicle had no driver.
I'm fifth now, but the top two haven't been on in a couple months. You're pretty high on the list yourself.
Yeah it looks like it, I'm getting there little by little. XD 
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