Though the Moon Tribe shifted into her nekomata forms and outnumbered the bear, it was still powerful and desperate. They battled furiously, cats leaping to cling to its ragged fur and raking their claws across its hide. Yet it threw them off, bellowing. It lurched toward the patrol and gnashed its huge muzzle. One cat did not flee in time: Broken Stone, the leader of the Moon Tribe. The bear snatched him by the neck, biting hard, and lifted its head to shake its prey. Broken Stone caterwauled and thrashed, but was helpless in the bear’s powerful jaws. A flash of green fire lit the scene. Black Blood remembered staggering to her paws, having been thrown against a tree and her shoulder had been throbbing. She summoned what little strength to send her energy into the bear’s brain and control it. She sent waves of pain and images of the bear’s worst fears piling into its vision: human hunters, floods, wolves, famine, traps, and lifeless cubs. The bear released Broken Stone, whereupon Black Blood was able to drive it away from the Moon Tribe patrol. Using both her speed and her skills in magic, she led the tormented bear off a cliff. She remembered laughing with joy at her success before passing out. The cheers of the Moon Tribe overwhelmed her, resounding like great drums in her head. She was standing with Broken Stone atop the massive boulder in the meeting cavern. She could feel her jaw dropping open in astonishment as the tom said solemnly, “…Because of the wisdom she showed in the face of death, for the courage she showed in risking her life, and for saving the lives of everyone in the patrol, including myself, I choose Black Blood, daughter of Silver Mist, as my successor!” Black Blood took her vows, feeling more bewildered and thrilled as the cheers of the tribe went on. She cared not that most of them were forced. Eagle Talon, Silver Mist, and even Bracken Stripe congratulated her proudly and affectionately. Then Eagle Talon was entwining his tails around hers and purring, “Didn’t I tell you? I always said you were special!” Pride clung to her in the time that followed, and she embraced it proudly. The sorcerers grumbled and groaned, repeatedly declaring it oughtn’t have happened, that a sorcerer shouldn’t be second-in-command, but she cared not what they thought of her anymore. She had earned her place—Broken Stone said so. She met her new responsibilities eagerly, organizing hunting parties, students’ duties and classes diligently, and every once in a while she gave into the urge to boss around the sorcerers, just for fun. The joy of it soon evaporated like mist in the sun. Winter that year was harsh, harsher than any the tribe had seen in a long time. She could see herself prowling the snowy hills and valleys alongside her tribe-mates for food, day after day.
More snowy hills, more empty valleys, more long, cold nights with an empty stomach… they passed by in a cold, aching jumble with the howl of the winter wind in her ears. Then, Silver Mist’s grieving wail dropped into the memories like a stone. “No! Please… ancestors, please—not my kits!” Bramble Fluff and Sandy Nose: once Black Blood’s new little brothers, now lifeless bundles of fur. Only the daughter, Little Leaf, survived that terrible winter. The stricken parents grieved for their kittens in the dark nursery cave. Eagle Talon and Black Blood could only watch, sitting off to the side. Eagle Talon looked miserable. Black Blood felt angry. “This is all the humans’ fault,” she hissed, recalling hunters and stories of the terrible Red Battle. “Those kittens are gone because we didn't have enough food, because those humans stole the land from us.” There were times in which Black Blood would think they could track down some of those humans who stole their food every season. She brought up the idea several times with Broken Stone but each time he refused her, claiming it would be too risky and could endanger all of the tribe. Angrily she’d stalk from these meetings, wondering how a cat who called himself a leader could let his entire tribe starve for the sake of a few human lives. Eventually the dark pictures of that long winter settled on another image. Black Blood sat meditating by one of the underground streams. Sunlight came from a slit in the roof of the cavern, providing the light and warmth. It was still and silent. Something small and sharp pricked her tails. Black Blood whirled around. Staring at her with big blue eyes, a small calico kitten crouched as her claws dug into the sorcerer’s tails. Black Blood resisted the urge to snarl. “What are you doing here?” “Playing,” Little Leaf replied cheerfully. Her tails stuck up behind her like sticks. “Will you play with me?” Black Blood flicked her tails away. “No. Go away.” Purring, Little Leaf pounced on the tails and bit them lightly. With a loud snarl Black Blood whirled around and shoved the kit away. “I said go away!” Little Leaf stared at her sister with shock and hurt. The happy life seemed to have been snuffed out in her like a candle. Tails drooping, she whimpered and fled. Rain suddenly lashed at Black Blood’s face. Wind howled around her. Dark clouds churned and rumbled angrily in the sky. She was standing outside, in the shelter of a small, earthy valley. Several cats were standing around a bundle of fur lying on the ground. Eagle Talon was there; they pushed the other cats aside in their haste to reach the pale shape. Black Blood found himself staring down at Silver Mist. She lay with her paws splayed out, her chest heaving in a struggle to breathe. The ground beneath her was wet with a bright red pool from her body. Rain dripped down from his whiskers and onto her face.
“Hunters,” one cat murmured, gazing at Silver Mist with wide eyes. “I saw them. They used their boom-sticks to take her down.” Horror washed over Black Blood like a wave. You kept wanting to talk. I kept ignoring you. I drove you out of my heart, she realized as her throat clenched up. We didn’t have enough time together, this is too soon, you can’t be gone, you can’t be gone…! No amount of discipline could restrain her wail of grief. “Mama! Please… don’t leave us.” Silver Mist blinked the rain from her eyes and gazed blearily at Black Blood and Eagle Talon. Black Blood barely noticed her brother crouching beside her as they pressed their bodies against their mother comfortingly. “Oh, my kits…” Silver Mist whispered, forcing a hoarse purr. “I love you so much.” “Don’t go,” Black Blood whimpered. She felt as if her entire world were falling apart. Silver Mist took a breath and gasped, “Take care of Little Leaf. She’s your… family. Our whole family… matters…” Her words trailed off as she shuddered, then sighed gently, falling still. It’s not a whole family if you’re gone! Black Blood buried her head in her mother’s chest and heard her own cries. “Mama! No! Please, don’t leave us! No!” The rain continued pouring on her. Eagle Talon trembled beside her. The crowd murmured in sorrow. She could feel them all: their whispers, their stares. She couldn’t handle it anymore. Silver Mist shouldn’t have died. She have lived a long time, long enough to see Black Blood become leader, to see Eagle Talon become the greatest warrior, to see Little Leaf grow up. This wasn’t destiny. Some evil caused this. The hunters. The hunters did this. Mud slid beneath her paws. Thunder rumbled over her head. Her tribe-mates called and protested, telling her to stop, to come back. She ignored them, running and sliding in the rain and mud. The scent trail was still fresh. She followed it, blood pounding hot in her ears. Gray landscape flashed by her vision. She had no idea how long she’d run before seeing them: gathered by the river, displaying dead deer to one another like prizes in a contest. They bore knives and boom-sticks, but Black Blood didn’t care. She plunged toward them with a bellow. They barely had time to react. She balanced on her hind legs and transformed into her human state. She stunned the first few men with Nap Attacks, and they fell to the ground gasping and clutching their heads. She’d already finished them by the time the others had grabbed their boom-sticks and aimed at her. Claws sprang out of one hand; glimmering daggers the other. Black Blood danced and lunged to and fro as she took down the humans she hated so much. She barely saw their faces and took no heed of their screams. The only scream she heard was her own, and it was one of fury.
At last there was only one man remaining, standing on the brink of the river. She could see his hands shaking as he tried to load the boom-stick. She charged the puny human. The young man looked up at her. With a gasp, Black Blood staggered and froze in her tracks. Eito. Though his face was grimy with mud, he looked at her ashen-faced. She could see his long dark hair soaked in the rain and his muddy clothes clinging to his body. His arms trembled as he gripped the boom-stick. His handsome gray eyes stared at her with mingled recognition and horror. So much horror. “B— Black Blood…?” he rasped, voice quivering. “Is that— is that you?” Lightning flashed over their heads, followed by a growl of thunder. Black Blood felt her hair clinging to her face, mud dragging down her robes, and something sticky coating her arms and mouth. She met Eito’s gaze, heaving for breath. She wondered how it was possible for any creature to feel as much pain as she did in that moment. “You killed my mother,” she spat. Eito’s face whirled with bewilderment and terror. His trembling arms released the boom-stick and it splashed in the mud. He reached for her beseechingly. “Black Blood…” With a shriek she flung her arm out. A flash of glittering green flew and sank into Eito’s chest. His eyes widened and his mouth opened, though no sound came out. His gaze flickered from the dagger to her. Almost like a phantom he reached out to her again. Then he staggered back and plummeted into the river. The roaring ride soon washed him away. As Eito’s shape disappeared among the waves, Black Blood threw back her head and screamed her hatred to the sky. The scene changed. Black Blood in the meeting cavern while Broken Stone sat upon the Meeting Rock, listening to her. She was proposing a plan for the tribe to find more food for the upcoming winter. “I could lead a patrol down the mountains, Broken Stone,” she was saying. “And see if there is some land left behind by the humans the we could take. Perhaps they’ve gotten lazy and left one of their big camps behind—their ‘villages’. If we had more land, we would have more food for winter—” Broken Stone shook his head firmly. “I’m sorry, Black Blood. It is much too risky to get close to the humans.” “We can disguise ourselves as their pet cats, those dumb animals with no ability to speak—or, we could go in disguised as humans!” she argued. “We have the power to shape-shift, and I’m a sorcerer! Can’t you see that—?” “My word is final, young warrior,” Broken Stone snapped, lashing his tails. “Do not argue with me. I say it is too risky, and no cat is leaving this mountain ever.” Black Blood opened her jaws to speak once more, but another voice hissed behind her. She couldn’t hear what they said. Then Talon’s voice snapped, “Why don’t you say that to Black Blood’s face, Tall Ears?!”
Black Blood stiffened and turned around slowly to stare at the toms. Broken Stone had already made her feel frustrated by once more rejecting her ideas. Now her blood boiled as she realized her old bullies were talking about her literally behind her back. “What was that you said, Tall Ears?” she asked in a very quiet voice. Storm Cloud and Tall Ears shared a nervous glance, but Tall Ears met her gaze. “Half-breed.” Eagle Talon and Black Blood leapt for Tall Ears and Storm Cloud at the same time. The sound of furious screeches and yowling split the air as the four cats wrestled and tumbled over the floor in vicious combat. The crowd of cats in the meeting cavern scattered from the brawl. Black Blood was locked in combat with Storm Cloud, easily flipping him over onto his back and raking his chest with her claws. She could hear Eagle Talon and Tall Ears fighting nearby, and Tall Ears yowled, “Half-breed!” Then the older warriors were yanking them away, shouting at them to knock it off. Broken Stone was furious that his warriors were fighting amongst themselves, and ordered them to apologize—but Black Blood didn’t. She hardly heard her leader as she stalked away, feeling anger burn every hair in her pelt. She would get in trouble later for ignoring Broken Stone, but walking away had been all she could do to keep from doing something worse. The growls of her tribe-mates faded away. Memories of Eagle Talon with a pretty, gray-furred female appeared in a series, along with a name: Dove Stream. Black Blood remembered that time vividly, because it had been the happiest she’d ever seen her brother. A picture came, more lighthearted than the others, of herself hunting with her brother by a river. The only sound was the gurgling water. Eagle Talon had just snagged a mouse from a bush when Black Blood broke the silence. “Is there a special relationship between yourself and the young Dove Stream that I should be aware of?” “Huh?” Eagle Talon looked up from his mouse and stared at her. Then his whiskers twitched and a sheepish expression crossed his face. “Oh. Uhh… no. Not really.” She responded stiffly. “Peculiar. You two have been spending a lot of time together. More suspicious still, you have been acting, how should I put it… happy.” He gave her an exasperated look. “You sound as if you’re interrogating me about a crime. Can you not ask straightforward questions like any normal cat?” She stood there feeling flustered. After a minute of quiet sputtering, she finally huffed, “Never mind. I shall question Dove Stream myself.” “No, don’t!” Talon looked horrified. “Please— please don’t scare her away!” “How should I scare her—?” “Because you always look and speak as if you’re condemning someone to death,” he snapped. “Please. She— she’s nice.” Looking embarrassed, he bristled at his own words and gave his chest fur a quick lick.
The scene shifted to a cave, one where sunlight was just barely coming in from somewhere. Black Blood sat talking with Dove Stream. “Yes. Your brother is wonderful,” Dove Stream was purring. “I’m very blessed to have him.” Black Blood felt awkward sitting there, talking to this cat she didn’t know very well but whom Talon apparently liked a lot. Still she tried to regain her composure and said stiffly, “And… he, ahh… He cares for you.” Dove Stream didn’t look surprised. “I know.” A shrill squeal brought the females’ attention to the other end of the warmly-lit cavern. Several kittens were chasing a moss ball, fluffy tails stuck straight up behind them as they ran. Eagle Talon trotted after them purring. “When we have kits, you’re very welcome to visit them.” Dove Stream’s voice brought Black Blood’s attention back to hers. The other cat’s eyes glimmered hopefully as she gazed at Talon playing with the kittens. “You’d be their aunt.” Black Blood felt her fur prickle hotly with embarrassment. She couldn’t say anything and instead watched the kittens as well. The scene changed darkly. She was standing in the meeting cavern, arguing with Broken Stone. Another cat had been found dead that day. Hunters had gotten him with their boom-sticks, thinking he was a panther, but other members of the tribe had dragged him back to the caves before the humans could find them. “Please!” She was practically begging. “Let me go after the humans that did it! Their trails are still fresh! If I can just teach them a lesson, the other humans will get the message and stay away from—!” “Black Blood. I understand.” Broken Stone sat in a curled-up position and blinked slowly at her, as if he were preparing for a nap. “But believe me when I tell you, no good will come of seeking revenge—” “Don’t you get it?!” she yowled angrily. “Revenge is not even the point anymore! Season after season, they slaughter our kind. How many more of our tribe-mates bearing the mark of the boom-stick must we bury, Broken Stone? How many more of us must grieve for the ones lost and wonder why we were left alive?” She unsheathed her claws and stalked toward the old tabby. “If you had just one bit of true courage in you—” Broken Stone leapt to his paws, faster than she’d ever seen him move. “That’s enough!” His eyes blazed. “You are a strong and brave warrior, Black Blood, and I do not regret making you my successor. But where you have that thirst for vengeance, I have wisdom. Like it or not, we are weaker than the humans. Yes, the Seven Sorcerers could wipe out an entire village if they must, and we could go on to plague all of Ninjago. “But in the end, man’s industry—advancements in technology beyond our comprehension—defeats nature.” He sighed, “The Tribe of the Moon leads a good, humble life here in these hills. To seek vengeance is to risk this home and all our lives.”
While to seek peace is to starve and risk the slow death of our family and friends, she thought. She bit her tongue and bowed her head with a sigh like that of submission. “I apologize for my temper,” she murmured icily. “Forgive me. Your word is law and your wisdom is beyond my own.” The meeting cave faded from view; its dark ceiling was replaced by a cloudy sky. Black Blood and Broken Stone were walking along the top of a cliff. Below them sprawled a massive valley, littered with rocks and a winding stream. “Beautiful, is it not?” Black Blood said. “Yes, yes… But remind me why I let you drag me out here in the cold.” Broken Stone grumbled and shivered. “Was there not something you wished to speak to me about?” “Indeed.” The two cats sat on a rocky precipice. Broken Stone sat further away from the edge and cast a quick glance at the sheer drop below them. “I have come to speak to you about your retirement,” Black Blood said. The old tom looked puzzled. “Retirement? I am not retiring. Who told you that?” “They were wrong, then? Oh, good,” Black Blood feigned a sigh of relief. “I am so happy to hear that. They must have been pulling a ridiculous prank on me.” “Who?” “Them. Those cats.” She gestured into the valley. “Can you not see them?” Pricking his ears, Broken Stone approached the precipice and peered over the edge. “Funny. I do not see any—” Black Blood shoved him from behind. With a startled yowl Broken Stone slid off the precipice. Pebbles flew as he thrashed. In the nick of time he turned and dug his claws into the dirt. There he dangled from the cliff. “Oh, dear!” Black Blood crouched at the ledge. “What a terrible accident.” “Black Blood.” He stared up at her with fear-stricken eyes. “Help me.” She leaned down to him and hissed, “Oh, I’ll help you—help you meet your ancestors while I help the tribe recover from your cowardly reign!” More rocks fell loose from the dirt. Broken Stone clung desperately to the cliffside. “What— what do you mean? What are you doing?” “I am doing what’s best for our tribe. I am getting rid of a weak, stupid old cat!” she snapped. “If you continue living you shall bring us to our doom! It is up to me to save us all.” She reached a paw out and scratched his paws. “This is for all the other cats whose lives you left unavenged.” With a terrible wail Broken Stone plummeted into the dark of the valley and vanished. The cliff, the valley, the clouds and sky became dark. She found herself standing atop the boulder in the meeting cavern. All of the Moon Tribe had gathered before her and listened solemnly to her speech. “The loss of Broken Stone was a terrible accident, and every cat in the clan will grieve for our beloved leader.” She carefully rose her voice to sound hopeful and strong.
“But, as Broken Stone’s appointed successor, it is my duty to take his place as leader. And I promise you that I will bring a new dawn to the Tribe of the Moon! I promise to lead our tribe to strength and to regain the power it lost so long ago, and to finally bring ultimate peace and prosperity to the great mountains and surrounding territories. I will do whatever it takes as your leader to revive the Tribe of the Moon!” Everyone cheered: warriors, elders, toms, females, kittens. Even the sorcerers lined up behind Black Blood cheered, though she could feel some of their malignant gazes upon her back. Lion Claw in particular glared at her hungrily, as if she’d just stolen something of his. She was never supposed to be this powerful. She was never supposed to be leader and she knew it—and she did not care. The sorcerers no longer controlled her… she controlled them. The jubilant yowls faded into different voices as the memory changed—they sounded high and urgent. There was a great disturbance in the main cavern and practically the whole tribe was clamoring to find out what happened. Black Blood was jostling her way through the crowd, snarling at any cat who got in her way until she got to the front. “What happened?” Even as she demanded her gaze fell upon the motionless shape the cats had just laid upon the floor. Dove Stream lay lifelessly in the middle of the crowd. A single mark on her ribcage—the mark of a boom-stick—told her what happened. Black Blood looked up to see Eagle Talon standing over her. He gazed down at Dove Stream’s shape with glazed eyes, as if he too weren’t alive anymore. The pain in her brother’s expression pierced Black Blood to the core. Then the crowd vanished. She was outside, strolling the mountainsides with a hunting party. Several warriors were with her, sniffing the air and prowling the dusty banks. One female had already caught a crow, and she carried it proudly in her jaws. “Looks like a storm is on its way.” One of the toms, Mist Rise, had raised his head to study the sky. Black Blood followed his gaze idly. The clouds looked unnaturally thick and smoky, and yet it somehow also looked… greasy. As she gazed at the phenomenon, puzzled, a breeze picked up. She nearly retched from the foul stench, and grunts and growls from her tribe-mates showed they were smelling the same thing. “What is that?” A tom screwed his face up in disgust. “Something dead?” “Not dead… but it doesn’t smell right.” Mist Rise lashed his tails uneasily. Black Blood kept her eyes on the clouds. They were coming from the east and heading right toward the hunting group. “I don’t like this,” Mist Rise murmured. “Perhaps we should head back to the caves,” she agreed. At that moment several shapes burst from the surface of the violet-colored clouds. They swooped down to the earth. They looked like long, dark worms attached to the clouds. One of them was headed straight toward the cats.
“Run,” she whispered. No cat moved. Everyone was staring at the cloud-worms. “Run!” she turned tail and bolted up the hill toward a cluster of boulders. Mist Rise was right behind her, shouting at the others to catch up. One by one the Moon Tribe cats raced into the shelter of the rocks. One large boulder sat slanted over, providing a roof for them. Black Blood squeezed herself in the back and angled her head awkwardly to see what was going on outside. A couple of the cats were struggling to catch up. The female had not dropped her crow, though her mate was telling her to let it go. Something black flashed in the sky. Black Blood watched in horror as the black pillar hit the cats on the hillside. Everyone watched with abated breath. For a moment there was no sound as the cloud dissipated. Then something within the dark veil moved. The cold silence was shattered by a throaty, eery wail. One of the cats staggered out of the black cloud, except it didn’t look like the tribe-mate they’d known. The color of his body and fur had drained dramatically to a gray color. His eyes looked glazed-over. Then his mate stumbled out of the cloud as well, looking the same as he did. The two cats caterwauled in agony. They thrashed on the ground and clawed themselves, as if some poison were running through their bodies. Their screams went on and on until at last they passed on. Memories of greasy water in the rivers, dead birds fallen out of the skies, motionless mice whose bodies stank, the untouched corpses of wolves, and burying ceremonies of tribe-mates marched by in Black Blood’s mind. Only humans could be poisoned by Dark Matter and survive. Because the strange rain had done away with many of the native birds and rodents, food that winter was scarce and more Moon Tribe cats passed away out of starvation. The scene shifted to herself sitting in the meeting cavern. Mist Rise arrived from the tunnel. He looked exhausted, weather-beaten, and smelled awful. “Mist Rise. You’ve returned safe and sound.” She greeted him approvingly. “What did you find?” “The city reeked of Dark Matter,” Mist Rise replied, sitting with a long sigh. “Destruction and fear was everywhere, though as far as I could tell, there were no human casualties. Many seemed to be recovering from being ill by the Dark Matter.” “What caused it?” “It came from across the endless waters. There’s been a great struggle between humans of power.” He hesitated. “Do you recall the tales of the Sons and Daughters of the Elements?” Black Blood stiffened. “Yes. Why bring them up?” “Because they’re alive.” Mist Rise met her startled gaze. “Not the original warriors—their offspring. Their offspring live, and it was five of them who were involved in the conflict that made the Dark Matter rain upon Ninjago.” For several moments she could not speak. “The Sons and Daughters of the Elements… caused this? All this death?” He nodded shakily.
Her mind whirled. There had been more death. There had been more pain. The events of the Red Battle had been left unavenged, and now the Sons and Daughters were still alive and were once again making the Moon Tribe suffer. “Who are these Sons and Daughters?” Mist Rise recited their names, as if he’d been memorizing them on the way back home. “There is Kai, the Son of Fire. Jay, the Son of Lightning. Zane, the Son of Ice. Cole, the Son of Earth, and Lloyd, the Son of the First Spinjitzu Master. There may be more, but those are the ones who were directly involved in the Great Battle and the ones the city calls their heroes.” “Heroes…” She said the word mockingly and turned away from Mist Rise. “What is your plan, my leader?” “For now… we wait. We plan. We prepare.” Black Blood felt excitement flood through her veins. “We shall rebuild our strength, survive this winter. They do not know we exist. We have all the time in the world to plot their downfall.” Images flickered by of Black Blood sharing plans with the sorcerers. They observed the rise of industry that came from Ninjago City. They found an old hermit and forced him to invent weapons for the tribe. They sought dreams and visions from their ancestors to lead them to the lost moonstones. They searched for Traveler’s Tea. They made crystal balls in which to carry the souls of their Dark Sleep victims. Slowly, carefully, they calculated the costs, the supplies, the timeframe—everything. Black Blood gave speeches to the tribe, telling them of who caused the Dark Matter rain, reminding them of the Red Battle and of everything else they’d suffered at the hands of humans. She heard caterwauls of rage and cheers for her promises of triumph and prosperity. The memories flew by faster. She could see herself sending her fellow sorcerers to hunt down the moonstones. Raven Frost was the first to come back triumphantly, proudly bearing the first of the seven lost moonstone pieces. At last she had two of them: tied up, beaten, being mocked by all the Moon Tribe. The Son of Fire’s voice rose angrily in the cavern. “Let her go!” Kai struggled against his captors. “If you lay one hairy finger on her, I swear I’ll—!” “What?” Black Blood could barely contain an insane giggle as she tilted her head innocently. “You mean like this?” She raked her claws at the face of the Daughter of Amber, Skylor. The girl shrieked under her gag. “Or do you mean like this?” Black Blood slashed her claws again. Skylor stiffened and choked down another shriek. You deserve it. You all deserve it. “Stop it!” Kai’s voice turned frantic. “Do what you want with me, but don’t hurt her! I’ll do anything!” Black Blood suddenly felt angry. How dare you act so noble, so self-sacrificing? She snarled, “You and your ancestors have already done more than enough! It’s time for me to do something!”
There they went, plummeting down the realm portals. The pictures moved faster. They captured the mother of the Son of the First. They attacked the home of the Sons and Daughters and retrieved the second moonstone. Eagle Talon went in, disguised as the Son of Lightning and guided a team of warriors to retrieve the third moonstone. The events of the past month played out in a whirl, like the pages of a book flying in the wind. Hunting for the moonstones, fighting for the moonstones. Fighting the ninja in the bandits’ palace, capturing them. The sorcerers laughingly torturing the humans. Black Blood took part in making up terrible nightmares for her victims. Sometimes she’d slip into their heads and watch as their worst fears and memories came back to haunt them. The pictures of events mixed in with Black Blood’s emotions, wild and jumbled-up together. She realized that Little Leaf had lied to her—she’d helped the ninja! Alone on a clifftop, Black Blood attacked Little Leaf and flung her off the cliff, the girl sobbing and pleading for her to stop. She watched Eagle Talon kill Tall Ears. She led the attack on the little town. She glared at her brother when he wouldn’t look her in the eyes, looking just as guilty as Little Leaf had. “Don’t you lie to me, Talon. Don’t you dare lie to me.” “I’m… not—!” “I’ll be the judge of that.” She into Talon’s mind; the face of an old, gray-furred human tom floated in Talon’s head. Two words came with this recent memory-image: Lou Brookstone. Then another word: Father. The word chilled her to the bones. They were right. They’d always been right. Everything I feared and hated about us is true. Her internal rage made the next pictures feel rushed and hazy. There he was, cornered into a wall: Lou Brookstone, her human father. He cowered in terror before her. “I— I never abandoned you!” he stammered. “Silver Mist left by her own choice. I wanted her to stay, but she—” “Like I care, you wretched Son of No One!” she snapped. “You ruined our lives. You made us fight for everything. We had more to prove to everyone, that we were just as good as them. It’s your fault. It’s all your fault.” Mr. Brookstone couldn’t speak. His face paled more than ever when she took out a couple of blades. She smirked at the strong scent of fear emanating from him. That’s right. You know I’m a threat. You know you deserve this. “Now,” she said. “I’m going to right the wrongs you committed. Your mistake has finally caught up with you, Lou Brookstone, Son of No One.” Then Cole burst in, stopping her. She thought she’d had the biggest shock of her life until she heard the next words coming out of the Son of Earth. “Stay away from my dad.” She felt confused. “Your dad…?” “My dad. Your dad. Our dad.” He stared at her. “We’re related, Black Blood. You’re my half-sister.” Is this a trick? Is this a lie? It doesn’t make sense.
She felt as if her entire world were falling apart all over again. “No… That’s not true. You’re lying. You’re lying.” “It’s true, Black Blood.” Eagle Talon stood behind her. When she spun around to look at him, she could see the conviction—and the shared horror—in his eyes. “It’s true. He had another mate after Silver Mist. Cole—the Son of Earth is our brother.” “Our… brother?” Rain poured down on them. All three of them were fighting one another. Black Blood put every ounce of hatred she felt into every punch, bite, kick, and slash she delivered. Cole’s voice broke through a clap of thunder. “Please. I don’t want to fight you. Either one of you…” His gaze flickered desperately between Eagle Talon and Black Blood. Are you actually acting concerned for our wellbeing? And you call us the liars. She sneered at him. “I hate you. I hate you and our father. I hate your ancestors and your family, and your ninja friends. I hate all of your kind.” They fought each other mercilessly in the thunder and rain. Then they left Cole there, dying in the mud. The image of his half-mauled body stayed with her even as they left him behind. Then she was in a town square. Her tribe had herded hundreds of terrified humans into a group. Two young kits cowered in the middle of the square. Eagle Talon stood in front of them protectively. Black Blood nearly flinched from the cold glare he gave her. “This isn’t justice. This is cruel. This is wrong.” No… not you, too… How can you betray me…? You were one of the only cats I trusted. Why must I lose you, too…? She replaced her hurt with anger. “You dare defy me? Question my decisions? I am your leader! I am your queen.” “No. You’re no queen of mine. You don’t deserve to be queen. You don’t care about the tribe. You just want to spread war and destruction across Ninjago. I no longer follow you.” His voice rang coldly in the air. Why, why, why…? Can you not see I am doing this to save everyone? Do you not remember what happened to us? To Silver Mist, to Dove Stream? How can you be so selfish?! Hiding her pain, she murmured, “You’re my brother. Don’t make me do this.” “You leave me with no choice.” More memories of fighting. More long marches across the hills and countryside. More humans fleeing from them. Next she could see Ninjago City in the distance, beyond the armies who clashed and fought for dominance on that great field. Among them stood Cole and Eagle Talon, fighting against everything she put her faith in. She felt herself drawing back the arrow and releasing it, but the arrow sank into the wrong person. Eagle Talon sank to the grass. Black Blood felt horror strip away reality. Gone, gone, gone. Everyone is gone. No one was real. No one stayed…
More war. They fled into the caves. Just like the story of the Red Battle, the ninja followed them there. Tribe-mates turned against tribe-mates. There were so many traitors deceived by the words of the Sons and Daughters, more than she could have ever guessed. More violence. More screams. They all ran together. Then—the moonstone. She lay by it and fell into a strange dream, one where she saw her mother and many other old cats, cats who’d died a long time ago. But the memory flickered. It mingled with everything else. Everything began to replay, faster and faster, from her life as a kitten to the leader she was and all the dark deeds she’d committed. It overwhelmed her. She thought she would drown in it all. At last Cole yanked himself out of her head and broke the spell.
Blood Star fell to her knees, visibly trembling. The glow of the Moonstone glimmered off the fat tears dripping from her face. “I— I’m sorry… I’m so sorry.” Her chest heaved in uneven gasps. “I didn’t… didn’t save anyone… I thought I could save them, in the— in the end.” A shrill sob racked her body. “But… but…!” Her eyes flickered to Cole. He flinched from the crazed look in them. Her face was contorted almost demonically, what with the way the Moonstone’s light glimmered off every tear and wrinkle from her expression. In one moment, he saw something; a creature sitting broken and pathetic before him, having faced every horrible deed done against her and every horrible deed she’d committed. Like a child she shivered and sniffled, huddled up in her ragged robes. No attention was given to the tears continually dripping from her chin. She stared into nothing, as if only she could see the dark shadows that haunted her. Everything about the evil queen Cole had grown to know had been scattered to pieces by the hideous invisible torment. In the next moment her eyes glazed over—not with death. Something worse: despair. She lurched toward Cole. He jumped to his feet and rolled his hands into fists, ready to defend himself. In the finale of those moments she collapsed into his arms and wept wretchedly. He froze. One hand reached for one of the small kunai knives dangling from his belt. I could do it. Right now. The realization was chilling. Like how you took Kai, and Lloyd. And Eagle Talon and Liana. I could have my revenge right here and now. Yet… he stilled his hand. She was too vulnerable. There was something so absolutely wretched about this girl—his sister, crying her heart out in this soulless cavern, that in that moment… He just couldn’t do it. Something about the way she huddled her shoulders and hid her face as if she were ashamed of her weakness reminded Cole of himself when he was a child. I could kill you. Instead, hesitatingly, Cole knelt down. He could feel his heart hammering wildly against his ribcage, as if it were rebelling against his actions. With shaking arms, he leaned forward and did the unthinkable. He hugged his sister. Blood Star lay pathetically in his embrace as she wept for everyone: Silver Mist, the father she never got to have, Bracken Stripe, Little Leaf’s brothers, Broken Stone, Dove Stream, Eito, Eagle Talon, Little Leaf… Whether she’d murdered them herself or destiny stole them away, at last she grieved for all of them. “They— they’re gone,” she sobbed. “All gone… They’ve gone and left me in this stupid, stupid world…!” Cole gazed down at his sister’s dripping face and felt his head whirl conflictingly. Was this it? Was this the chance he had to destroy the murderer of so many people he loved?
The glow of the Great Moonstone seemed to stir and quiver. That hazy cloud remained hovering about their heads while tiny stars drifted down like snow. With this glimmering snow came a sound like many quiet whispers. Among the little voices he thought he could detect the voice of a certain kitsune chanting quietly in his ear. “‘Blind, blind’…” He murmured out loud, though he barely heard himself. “‘One of a kind is the death of the blind’. Kohuru’s prophecy wasn’t talking about Liana… She was talking about you. You blinded yourself with self-pity and hatred for so long. You were meant to kill that part of yourself you’d blinded.” At the sound of his voice, Blood Star flinched and looked up at him. He wondered if she’d thought he was Eagle Talon. “Shall— shall you kill me, then?” She barked a laugh, though it sounded weary. “Fulfill this prophecy of yours?” He met her gaze. For what felt like a long time, he could not think of anything to say. Yet say something he did at last; the words rolled quietly off his tongue, but the quietness of them seemed to give them all the more weight. “I hate you,” he said. “But I can’t kill you now. Not when you’re like this.” A wry smile touched her face, though it faltered with internal agony. “When I’m too wretched to look at? Or do you suppose I shall switch allegiances, in the case that I’ve seen the error of my ways? In the case that I realize you are the only literal family I have left?” He struggled to respond. “No— well, maybe. It’s not too late. You know it’s never too late for anyone, right? You can stop this.” A tremor shook his voice. “You can make your family proud.” She raised her head to meet him face-to-face. There was a heaviness in her eyes that chilled him to the core. She wore the face of someone who had been beaten to the point of finally giving up hope in all humanity itself. “If the world has taught me anything, it is that whoever is in charge is perfectly capable of taking away everything and everyone you love. Life is a cruel and unfeeling game.” Claws sank into the soft flesh of Cole’s belly. He choked and gasped. “But if it is to be a game,” Blood Star murmured wearily. “Then I shall win it.” A new smile, weak though it was, flickered on her tear-streaked face. “After all this death, you’re still weak.” Pain screamed from his stomach to his brain. Then rage consumed him. Heaving for breath, he snatched the wrist that’d stabbed his stomach and wrenched it away, holding it up. Gritting his teeth, he leaned forward and spat in his sister’s face. “If I’m going down, sweetheart, I’m taking you with me.” The knife he’d touched earlier now flung from his hand toward Blood Star. There was a sound of ripping cloth and she shrieked. Staggering back, Blood Star snarled as she yanked the small blade out of her thigh. With a grand flourish she flung it away and it clattered at the foot of the Moonstone.
