I don't own the pictures.

It has been several hours since the ship took off to distract the ninja from the Portal of Ancients and everything seemed quiet. Too quiet. Kai knew that something strange was going on yet had no means to tell the others about the newest danger heading their way. She was lucky to be able to send one, but since then her so called future husband decided to summon some griffins to stop them from reaching them.

What made it worse was that she feared that Clouse managed to succeed in his plan to impregnate her from that awful punishment. Though she won't hold it against her kids if that were the case. Before he could continue her thoughts, Clouse walked in the door followed by several servants carrying accessories and a black gown.

"Hello, my future queen." He said. That voice always irritated her, but due to the jewelry...she couldn't use her abilities. Even if she didn't have them, she doubted that it would make a difference since his summons are too powerful.  

"What do you want now?" Kai said.

"I just wanted to show you, your wedding attire." Clouse said. 

"Gee...thanks." Kai said sarcastically. She looked at each piece brought in with some dread considering how he determined he was to make her...his property. Despite that, she couldn't help herself from thinking that they looked beautiful.   

"Glad you liked it. Though, we may have to set our wedding back until you give birth to my heirs." Clouse said.

"But the ninja..." Kai started to say before Clouse continued.

"Are no longer your concern. They will face my new summons and lose the only thing that could stop me." Clouse said. The statement made Kai fear for her friends and sister who were about to face his newest batch of summons. Summons who wouldn't hesitate to do unspeakable actions against the innocent no matter what the cost. Hopefully, they'll make it out okay, but Kai knew that hope was slowly fading with each passing day. Eventually hope will die and with it...Clouse's reign will begin.

At the same time, the ninja stopped at a nearby town that was near the ocean. They needed to get supplies for their journey to get the Portal of Ancients. It would also let them gather some more things to at least hold off any unexpected surprises that may come from Clouse and his army.

"Remember to keep your eyes peeled for any unexpected surprises." Cole said. 

"That's more easy to say than actually doing it besides..." Nya began before she noticed three people walking towards them with swords at their hips. It was clear that they weren't human and were under the orders of Clouse.

(Boatswain Prowl)

(Blue Obsidian)

(MoonHunter)

"Guys, looks like we have some company." Nya exclaimed as the group minus the masters that they don't know about looked at the trio.

"So these are the ninja...not impressed." Boatswain said.

"I agree, we can easily take them." Blue Obsidian said.

"Remember the plan. We just need one." MoonHunter said. This brought the attention of the ninja who started to get ready for a fight. Seeing this, the trio of pirates instantly grabbed their swords and launched themselves to the ninja. 

"Hm...I guess that Wisp was right." Blue Obsidian said as she used her sword to push back Zane and Nya who were trying to trap her. She easily dodged Zane's ice and avoided Nya's water attacks with no difficulty. 

"Hold still..." Nya said.

"I think not." Blue Obsidian said. At this, Zane used his powers only for Blue Obsidian to slide out of the way. Unfortunately, Nya was in behind her which meant that Zane accidentally froze her.

"ZANE!" Nya yelled.

"Sorry...." Zane said before he got hit on the back of his head. 

"Sorry for ruining your day, but I have to follow our Master's orders. Hope you give me a more enjoyable and entertaining fight next time...if you live by the time that happens." Blue Obsidian said. This caused Nya to become enraged, but couldn't do much in her state. As this was going on, MoonHunter was fighting Jay who was struggling to take him down.

"Just stay still..." Jay said.

"No. I would rather give my crew member time to take down the Earth Master." MoonHunter said. 

"What?" Jay said as he turned to look at Cole, but as he did so...MoonHunter kicked him in the back causing him to hit a brick wall and get knocked out. 

"Hm...I was expecting more of a challenge." MoonHunter said. After saying that, he turned to look at the battle between Boatswain and Cole....well, to call it a battle would be an understatement. Cole was trying to push Boatswain back only for him to sidestep him and slash his sword at random points of his body while carefully avoiding his major organs and any place where he could bleed out. 

His master's orders were just to distract them from their goal and capturing their so called leader would be a wise move. As he was in his thoughts, Cole managed to hit Boatswain in the face which didn't do anything since he always worked on keeping his body at a prime condition.

"Is that the best that you can do? Is this the power of the mighty ninja who protects Ninjago? How pathetic. It's a miracle that you managed to defeat our master at all with this power that you have." Boatswain said.

"Y..You..." Cole started to say before Blue Obsidian and MoonHunter pined him onto the ground in order to subdue him. Cole tried to struggle, but it was no use. As he was carried away, he hoped that the others would save him soon. Though if they can survive the rescue is a tale for another time.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter...Bye 👋