Hello! Me and Zena and proud to present this collab between the two of us for the fandom, me posting here and she on Wattpad. We've been having fun writing this little baby! We also hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 1: Their Return

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An arm reached out from the pedestal…

Then another…

And another…

And another…

Coming back from the departed realm was strange and terrifying.

Strange, because, it was coming back to life. To breathe and walk and be with family after being mourned for years, after missing them for so long.

Terrifying, because you shouldn't, under any circumstances, be brought to life with your past, monstrous self.

"How is this even possible?" Garmadon thought as he laid on the floor, his past self (he was calling it Bad Garmadon, the form deserved that name) already up and examining his surroundings with grunts and growls. To be honest, the Sensei wasn't so sure he wanted to know how there were two of him. One free of Great Devourer venom, the other one with evil literally flowing through its veins. It sounded like a weird, convoluted story that came from on those comic books he remembered Lloyd enjoyed reading in his free time.

Garmadon considered getting up, since it looked like Bad Garmadon hadn't noticed he was not alone. Maybe he could take him out on his own, make sure he didn't cause any harm, that he didn't find his way to whoever had the crazy, stupid idea to brin-

"You"

The Sensei bit back a curse, instead slowly getting up to face the Bad Garmadon.

"I suppose the same thing could be said about you" Garmadon replied calmly as he and the monster started circulating each other. "How about you leave this realm before someone gets hurt?"

"Not…leaving….summoned" grunted Bad Garmadon.

So his other self seemed to be having a few problem communicating. Was it because its humanity was currently talking with him?

"Whoever summoned us is probably not in the right state of mind" Garmadon continued to say. It was true, who in their right mind would like Lord Garmadon back? It clearly had to be someone who clearly wanted to watch the world burn.

"Us?" Bad Garmadon growled, "US?!"

Before the Sensei could think, the monster charged. Garmadon managed to move aside just in time, but Bad Garmadon quickly recuperated and kept chasing Garmadon.

"THERE IS NO US!" Bad Garmadon kept on saying as he grabbed a piece of rubble before throwing it to his human self, who couldn't doge it in time, hitting him on the back and sending him to the floor. Garmadon tried to get up again, but the monster grabbed him by the neck robe before locking their shared vibrant red eyes.

"ONLY ME" grunted the Bad Garmadon as he threw Sensei Garmadon into a nearby wall.

The impact nearly left the old man without air, and as he laid once again in the floor, watching his monstrous self walk away, he managed to whisper one thing:

"Lloyd"

Then everything went black.

The sky was still dark when Garmadon came to once again. He realized, much to his internal frustration, that Lord Garmadon had managed to knock him out for nearly the entire day: there had been stars before he passed out, and now the stars were gone, just dark clouds over a dark sky. The Sensei had the bad feeling this had some hidden meaning in the current situation.

He got up slowly, still a little dizzy over the small fight. Once his vision was less blurry, the old master of destruction checked himself for injuries, silently thanking his father when he found none other than some bruises in his backside.

"I have to get back to the city and find the Ninja, NOW" Garmadon thought as he started to run out of the temple (slowly recognizing it as the infamous Temple of Resurrection) he found himself in. However, he quickly noticed that the first item in the newly formed bucket list was already done.

"Who builds a temple like this in the middle of the city?!" Garmadon nearly yelled in exasperation.

"Actually, who builds a city near a temple?" he pondered as he completely exited the site before stumbling upon an object with a burnt symbol. The old man quickly recognized it as the royal seal of the Emperor and Empress of Ninjago. A wave of realization hit the Sensei. Whoever wanted him back, knew where the Temple of Resurrection was, (a secret he was sure his father had taken to his grave), knew that the Royal Family had built their palace on top of it, and burned it to the ground. Garmadon only hoped the royals made it out alive.

He would have resumed his previous task before noticing that there were big crowds of people looking up at the giant TV screens all over Ninjago City, where there seemed to be some sort of fight going on. Curious, the Sensei started to approach, he realized with growing horror that:

a) The fight was live.

b) It was between Lloyd and Lord Garmadon.

And,

c) Lloyd was refusing to fight.

Garmadon watch with his breath caught in his throat as his son tried to talk the monster into reasoning, believing his father to be trapped inside that empty shell.

"-I saved you once, I'll save you again" Lloyd was currently saying. It hit Garmadon how his voice had changed into a more mature tone.

"You don't have to, I'm here" Garmadon couldn't help but whisper at the same time Lord Garmadon said the following:

"THERE IS NOTHING LEFT TO SAVE!" the monster proclaimed, before attacking more ferociously at Lloyd.

Oh, this brought unpleasant memories. Garmadon knew his son, when it came to fighting family he was always reluctant. Lloyd dodged attacks, but that was it.

"I've played many roles…" Lord Garmadon said to the Green Ninja, eventually managing to hit Lloyd with its destructive element. The Sensei couldn't bear to watch anymore.

"Where is this happening?" He asked to the person in front of him.

"Have you been living under a rock in the last few years, pal?" the person said without turning around, "That's Kriptarioum Prison"

Of course.

Before anyone could say 'Ninja Go', Garmadon had bolted towards that direction.

He had to get to Lloyd before it was too late.

It had been years since Garmadon used Spinjitzu, but his lack of practice in the art didn't stop him in arriving to the prison while it was still night. He stopped turning, spotting a mech he was sure that belong to Lloyd.

"Where are the other Ninja…?" the Sensei wondered aloud as he ran past the mech, not seeing any trace of other vehicles or red, blue, black and white. Not even the Samurai was on sight.

Did his son really come out here to fight that monster all alone?

And after finishing that thought, the sound of a wall breaking caught Garmadon's attention.

For just a few seconds, time seemed to stop.

Old red eyes could only follow the falling bricks, where there was a green blur, screaming.

The green blur stopped screaming as soon as the body hit the floor.

Not one.

Nor two.

The body didn't get up after landing the third time.

"NO!" The scream died in Garmadon's throat as he ran towards his son, ignoring the dark laughter that shortly followed and disappeared. His only focus was Lloyd, he didn't care if he got spotted by Bad Garmadon; the only thing that mattered above anything was getting to his child.

"Lloyd!" Garmadon finally made it to his son's side, quickly setting down and turning him over. "Lloyd…" he whispered in shock as he took in his son's face.

Lloyd had physically matured into a young adult, no longer looking like a teenager. His light blond hair, once in a bowl cut that transformed into a longer, suave look was now lengthier and wilder, with dirt and blood caught on it. His face was filled with cuts and newly formed bruises, as so was the rest of his body. Garmadon noticed with alarm that blood was spreading in some parts.

"Son..." the father softly cried as he cradled his broken child in his lap, "I'm sorry I didn't make it sooner, but I beg you… stay strong, okay?" he pleaded as he ripped off pieces of his clothes and attempted to stop the bleeding from the worst looking cuts.

"Stay with me, please" As he said that, Garmadon heard a familiar sound on top of him and Lloyd. Lifting his head up, a wave of hope surged through him.

The Destiny Bounty.

The Ninja were here.

AN: Don't worry, more chapters will come soon. If you liked the story, don't hesitate to leave a review, WE LOVE THEM!