A/N: . . .
It was a long, miserable trek back to the Bounty through the thick of the forest. None of the boys spoke. Neither did the grown-ups. Lloyd tried to drown out the blaring horns in the distance by listening to the muted rhythm of their footsteps and the swish of branches and grass as they were pushed aside.
"Well," Cole finally sighed, "we tried. It isn't like we didn't try."
Kai groaned. "How are we supposed to regroup for battle after this? We don't have my sister. We don't even have the mech!"
"Yeah, and what are we supposed to do without Nya anyway?!" cried Jay, his arms flailing. "You saw how she rescued us back there. Without her, we would'a been sitting ducks! And now we are ducks!"
"I don't even know what we did wrong." Kai bent back a stubborn branch to let the others through. "Did we not put the helmet back on fast enough?"
"If I may," said Zane, "we didn't even know for sure that returning the helmet would stop the clock. The scroll indicated no such thing. It was simply..." His voice fell. "Our final hope."
Lloyd couldn't bring himself to interject. The lump in his throat was too big.
Misako sighed. "I'm so sorry, everyone. I gave you all false hopes." She stood at the front of the little procession beside Wu, but she turned back to look at the rest of them. "This is my fault."
"There is no fault to be found in trying to solve our problems without violence," answered Uncle Wu. "But destiny does not strike bargains. I was a fool to think we could avoid the inevitable. Now, we know what we must do."
The boys all nodded. Lloyd could feel the tears pushing at the back of his eyes.
Fool...try to avoid it...destiny...inevitable...he should have known better. They all should have known better. And now a last-ditch effort—and his failure to take down his dad when he had the chance—had cost them Nya. Had cost them the battle. Had cost them everything.
The older boys had all been silent for a while. Finally, Cole turned to Lloyd.
"You okay, pint size?" he asked gently.
Lloyd's eyes and shoulders felt heavy. "Do I have to answer honestly?" he whispered.
Cole said nothing. He just turned away and squeezed Lloyd's shoulder. Kai stepped up and pulled Lloyd into his side protectively.
It was all Lloyd could do not to break down. "I'm sorry, guys." His voice creaked.
"Hey." The look Kai gave him was serious, but kind. "Don't blame yourself."
Lloyd nodded, and was quiet the rest of the way.
They turned a bend, shambled down a slope, and finally, the bland carpet of sand and the sea beyond it was visible through the trees.
Lloyd shrugged Kai's arm off of his shoulders and wandered to the front of the group to be closer to Wu. They pushed the last few branches out of the way and stepped down into the cove.
Dr. Julien stood with his back to them in the middle of the clearing, staring fearfully at the sky. Lloyd felt his heart clunk into his stomach when he realized that he'd left the doc here all alone.
"What was that sound?" the doc asked as the others reached him. His hands wrung in front of him. "The horns..."
"The Celestial Clock has reached zero," Wu volunteered, stepping closer. He tucked one hand behind his back. "Garmadon's Ultimate Weapon is now operational...and the final battle between good and evil has all but begun."
Lloyd hung his head and tried to ignore his mom's hand on his shoulder. "Now Lloyd must face his father," she said.
Julien had scanned the whole group, and his face screwed up with worry. "But where's Nya?"
Lloyd squeezed his eyes shut. He didn't want to hear this or be here.
"She's been taken by the Overlord," Wu answered gravely, "but we'll get her back. At the moment, there are bigger things at stake, including all of Ninjago itself."
Jay groaned and threw his ninja mask off. "Who cares about Ninjago?! Nya was my—uh, my—" He faltered and ended weakly, "You know..."
"And she's my sister." Kai took off his mask and put his hand on Jay's shoulder, his expression firm. "I know her being captured is tough, but she's tougher. Tougher than most of us. We'll see her again."
The entire group was quiet for a moment. Lloyd stole a glance at the doc, wondering how he was taking all of this. The old inventor looked sad and a little lost, but not scared.
How could he not be scared when Lloyd, the ninja here, felt terrified?
"Lloyd," Uncle Wu said, "your focus gives strength to invoking the power of the Golden Dragon. You cannot lose faith now. Everything rests on your shoulders."
If Lloyd had to be honest, 'everything' was a pretty heavy load. He groaned. "But Sensei, you saw what happened when I tried to face my father, I—I froze!" He shook his head, feeling heavy. "I can't fight him."
"You must." The words were harsh, but it snapped Lloyd back into focus. "It is written in the scrolls."
"Remember," Misako said, putting her hand on Lloyd's shoulder, "your father is just as scared." Lloyd wasn't sure what she was smiling about, but he appreciated the comfort.
"Then the battle will be decided by who is willing to fight," said Wu.
Kai threw on his mask and stepped toward Lloyd. "You won't be alone," he said. "I'll be right behind you." He held the hilt of his elemental blade out in front of him, and it flared to life. "You have my fire."
Cole nodded and stepped forward. "You have my earth."
Zane followed. "And my ice."
"And lightning!" added Jay.
Uncle Wu and Misako each put a hand on Lloyd's shoulders. He stole a glance at them both, then looked around and his friends.
These guys had been with him through thick and thin. They'd turned him from an enemy into a friend, and fought beside him when they couldn't defend himself. They were the family he never got to have—his brothers. And now they were willing to put their lives on the line one last time to back him up, in a last-ditch effort for hope.
"We're all in this together, kid!" said Cole.
Lloyd smiled. He threw on his mask.
"What are we waiting for?" he asked. "Let's suit up!"
They all sprinted downhill and them uphill to Garmadon's camp, ready for battle—only to find it empty.
The weapon was gone, the white light was gone, and not a single stone warrior was left. Enormous caterpillar tracks snaked out of the gate, mowed down the forest, and pointed towards the beach—towards Ninjago.
Lloyd had led the charge down that path until he heard one pair of footsteps slow, pause, and then turn back. Lloyd looked over his shoulder; it was Zane.
"Father!" Zane ran back to where Dr. Julien crouched, hands on his knees and panting.
Lloyd wasn't going to leave him alone again. He ran back to make sure the doc was okay.
Dr. Julien wheezed and pushed himself back up before Zane got there. "You go on without me," he said. "I'm an inventor, not a fighter. I'll only get in the way."
"But what will you do?" Zane asked worriedly.
Dr. Julien smiled and grasped his son's shoulders. "I'll be at the Bounty, waiting for you to come back in one piece." He let his arms fall. "But don't worry—a part of me will always be with you."
That seemed to satisfy Zane. "Be well, Father." The Falcon swooped down to land on his wrist.
Julien smiled back, eyes twinkling. "Be safe."
Zane ran back to the others, then paused and turned to wave goodbye.
Dr. Julien waved back to them all.
And all of the sudden, Lloyd could see exactly what he and his dad could have been all along. He set his jaw. Just because he didn't get that happy ending shouldn't mean they couldn't.
"I swear I'll bring him back for you," he whispered, glancing up at Julien one last time. "I promise."
They met with Garmadon, the Overlord, and their army on the beach. They had Nya. They had Nya, and they'd turned her evil, with sickly grey skin and purple eyes like a zombie that moved fast and could hit like lightning.
They had Lloyd's dad—well, the Overlord did. And it possessed him. Turned him into some four-armed reptilian menace with huge teeth and claws. Garmadon tried to fight it, tried not to let it hurt Lloyd.
Lloyd still felt the chill in his bones when Garmadon couldn't struggle anymore, and the Overlord hissed, "Your father...is gone!"
The Unspeakable Weapon fired missiles of dark matter that hit Ninjago time and again and poisoned it, turning it evil so that the balance was shifted to darkness and a portal opened to carry the weapon through to Ninjago.
The Overlord's power was stronger. It held Lloyd and strangled him in a crackling ball of purple energy.
The last thing Lloyd remembered was spinning so violently he couldn't think straight. His head ached. It hurt.
He was falling.
Thud.
. . .
tbc...
A/N: If I've done my calculations right, there's just one more chapter to go before we get back to the good stuff. Hang on until we're over the hump, guys.
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