Hey guys! TombRaiderNinja here. Wow talk about a blast from the past huh? This story has been on hiatus for so long, I'd forgotten where it was going.

But story re-read and ending re-imagined, I'm ready to close up the story at last! Sorry for the long wait.

I'm balancing a lot at the moment, so the updates will be pretty irregular. But the story will have a proper conclusion by the end of the year.

Chapter 21- It's Over

Garmadon held onto his son, leaning most of his weight against Lloyd's shoulder. They moved forward together. Their hobble was faster than what Garmadon could have done on his own, but it was nowhere near fast.

He'd lost track of his brother, but he did not worry. Wu could take care of himself.

"Just a bit more," His son reassured him. It was strange, seeing him as he was. It made a sickening mass of anger grow stronger within him. What exactly had Misako been thinking, experimenting on their own son? Not only that, but forcing him to get his hands dirty in her place. . .

Clang!

The steel door swung shut, blocking their only exit. Garmadon and Lloyd both jolted back, eyes wide with surprise. A satisfied chuckled came from behind them, and Garmadon gritted his teeth at the sound. Lloyd turned both himself and his father around.

"Neither of you are going anywhere. This city has had enough of N.I.N.J.A.G.O. and its annoying endeavors." As she spoke, Wu walked towards her, quickly unlocking the handcuffs that held her hostage. With a charming smile towards the blue eyed man, Misako ran a hand through her wrist, before turning her attention back to her ex-husband. "I think both you and Lloyd need a little time to rethink this situation. Maybe you'll realize who's side you should be on."

"Wu?" Garmadon scowled, ignoring the woman's words. "What exactly are you doing?"

The man looked down, eyes shifting from left to right. He could hear Misako's soothing words, could feel his heart beating faster due to her presence. But as he felt his older brother's eyes upon him, he could think of no coherent excuse. He'd acted without thinking. He'd-

"He's finally standing up for himself," Misako said, interrupting Wu's thoughts. "He wants his thoughts to be heard. The world doesn't revolve around you, Garmadon. How many times have you actually listened to your brother's advice? How many times have you stopped to think about what effects your actions have on others? You're nothing but selfish. It gets quite tiresome."

"Come on, Wu, that's just gibberish." Garmadon ignored Misako, focusing on his brother. "This isn't about us. This isn't about the petty fights we may have. Whatever she said to you. . . This is about Ninjago, and the people in it. You were always going on about. . . about. . ."

Garmadon's eyes rolled back into his head, and his body crumpled. Lloyd struggled to keep his father's body from hitting the ground. His eyes shifted to a small dart impaled upon his father's neck.

"Thank you, Toxikita, he was beginning to give me a headache."

Lloyd looked back towards his mother, just in time to see her green-haired ally step in through the door. The woman smirked at Lloyd and Garmadon's predicament, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall. "Karloff had a bit of . . . an issue with one of the three morons that came to rescue that cute prisoner of yours. He'll be here as soon as he shakes it off."

"Good. Make sure he escorts my son and. . . His father to one of the cells." Misako turned back to look at Wu. "I think you and I have a lot of catching up to do, don't you?"

With one last conflicted look at his panicked nephew, Wu nodded his head. "I suppose we do."

"There are vehicles awaiting us. Follow me."

Zane nodded to the rest of his teammates, following the instructions he'd received from Neuro. None of them dared to look back. They had no doubt Misako would react quickly. The best they could do was keep moving forward.

Two long, black vehicles awaited them. There were no drivers within, as both were controlled remotely. Zane opened the door for the others, ushering them inside. Cole crumpled against one of the seats, the relief of safety filling him with exhaustion.

Kai lingered by the door, turning back at last. His eyes squinted against the night. "What about Wu and Garmadon?"

"They will catch up when they can, Kai." Zane reassured him, taking his friend's arm to pull him inside. Kai let himself be led, somewhat reluctantly.

Once the door was shut, the vehicle began to move.

Congratulations on a successful mission, Neuro's voice spoke within Zane's mind. We finally-

Neuro's voice froze. Zane waited, but the man did not continue. The signal fizzled, then died. "Neuro?"

Kai and Jay turned towards Zane, picking up on the concern in his voice. Kai spoke first. "Everything okay?"

"We're safe right?" Jay then asked.

Zane refrained from answering at first, his frown deepening as he continued to wait. "Hmm. I seem to have lost connection with Neuro."

"I knew something wasn't right." Kai hissed, shifting in his seat to look behind them. The street was empty. The second car hadn't followed. "We should have waited for the others. We need to turn back."

"Turn back?" Jay shook his head. His eyes shifted towards Cole momentarily, who'd begun to snore lightly, body curling into itself. "We can't do that. We barely made it out."

"But. . ." Kai shook his head. He'd never much liked Garmadon, but all in all, the man wasn't a bad person. He hated the idea of anyone being left behind for Misako to toy with.

"We don't have our weapons, we're in no shape to fight." Jay continued. "Besides! So they got a little caught up with something. Doesn't necessarily mean something's wrong. And Neuro? Well. . . Well technology isn't reliable all the time. Losing signal doesn't have to mean anything!"

"Garmadon and Wu are quite capable of taking care of themselves." Zane reassured Kai, but he wasn't convinced. He could feel something wasn't right. "They will return when they are able. Regardless of this, the vehicle can not be stopped."

Kai grumbled something under his breath, sitting back down and crossing his arms over his chest. The drive continued in silence. When they arrived at N.I.N.J.A.G.O. headquarter, things were indeed very wrong.

There was no one to welcome them. The lights in the building were mostly off, with a few scattered windows still shinning. Groups of people scrambled out, muttering amongst themselves, moving as if something terrible were chasing them.

Kai opened the door and hopped out. Jay shook Cole gently, and the black-haired man reluctantly opened his eyes. Zane exited the vehicle last, frowning at the chaos before him. No one stopped to speak, and no one stopped to explain.

Zane's advanced vision spotted Neuro. He moved towards the man, and the others followed. "Neuro. What is going on?"

Neuro shook his head. "It's over."

"What's over?" Jay questioned, eyes shifting.

"When you left. . . Wu sided with Misako. She persuaded him to help her trap Garmadon and Lloyd. It's over. Without Wu, there is no N.I.N.J.A.G.O."

"No way." Kai shook his head.

"It. . . does not seem like something Wu would do." Zane frowned.

"Well, it's true. Whether you believe it or not is not my concern." Neuro shrugged. "Though I would suggest getting out of here as soon as you can. If Wu is working with Misako, it won't be long until he brings her here."

With that, Neuro scampered off. They all exchanged glances, assessing the situation as best as they could. Jay was the first to speak. "So. . . We go home?"

"I guess." Cole shrugged. He was too tired to think of anything else. "Like Neuro said, its over."

"Well. Good luck to you all. I will remain here, and await instructions. Whatever Wu's decision is, I am still N.I.N.J.A.G.O.'s property." Zane said the words slowly, as if reassuring himself that doing this was truly what he wanted.

"No, Zane." Jay shook his head. "You're our teammate! You don't belong to anyone. You could. . .stay with me."

"Or me." Cole offered. "We aren't leaving you behind."

"I appreciate it. But I can not accept. I will remain here." Zane's voice was firm. Jay and Cole exchanged glances. They wouldn't be able to change his mind.

"Go home? Stay here? Are you guys crazy?" Kai scowled, then laughed, shaking his head. "So we're giving up? We know Misako has Garmadon, Lloyd, and the virus, and we're giving up!?"

"Without Wu we-"

Kai cut off Zane's thought. "We don't need Wu. Everything we've done, we've done on our own! He gave us each other, and he gave us advice, but in the end it was all us."

"All us. And All we've done is fail, if you haven't noticed." Jay pointed out. "What have we done successfully? Please enlighten me. Give me a good reason why you think we're capable of rescuing anybody on our own!"

"We got Cole, didn't we?"

"Yeah. After getting captured and almost poisoned. And! And we only got him because of Wu and Garmadon."

"Still." Kai persisted, even knowing his friends wouldn't be persuaded. Their spirits were in shambles, and he didn't know the right words to lift them back up. "We should. . . Try."

Cole placed a warm hand upon Kai's shoulder. Kai turned to look at him, eyes desperate. "Cole, you know we can't leave things like this. Right?"

"I'm sorry, Kai." Cole said. "It's over."

It's over

The words refused to leave Kai, replaying over and over in his mind. It was a sickening loop, one that made him want to punch something and scream at the same time.

He couldn't believe the others had been so ready to give up. After everything they'd been through?

Because of everything they'd been through, A voice in his head explained. Everyone has a limit, Kai.

And even if Kai hadn't hit his own limit, he'd finally learned to accept he couldn't do everything on his own. Thus, he was stuck. He could do nothing with the fire burning inside his chest.

At least he would get to see his sister.

When he reached their small apartment, he froze at the door. It was so innocently simple, compared to all the things he'd seen. So utterly underwhelming. Kai's fist shook as he readied himself to knock, to step back into a life he hadn't been apart of in what seemed like years.

With a breath, he let his fist fall, forming the rhythmic notes him and his sister always used to let the other know it was them behind the door. Fumbling sounds echoed from inside, accompanied by cursing. The locks rattled as his sister worked frantically to undo them. When she finally opened the door, her face was flushed, and her eyes were wide.

"Kai!" She shouted, dumbfounded.

"'Sup" He replied, for lack of anything better to say.

"'Sup" Nya scowled, punching Kai's chest. "What do you mean, 'sup? Where have you been? What the heck is going on? You go missing, and a random dude shows up at my doorstep with a check, and a reassurance that you've got a new job and aren't allowed to contact me."

"Yeah it's. . . A long story." Kai scratched the back of his neck, looking down. He could feel Nya's burning gaze against him.

"I bet it is." Nya stepped back, waving his brother inside. "And you're going to sit down and tell me everything."

Kai stepped in, almost awed at the familiarity of his apartment. The delicately organized mess, the couch that was too old, and his own and Nya's scattered belongings. His eyes ran through everything slowly, before he finally took a seat.

Nya sat cross-legged on a chair across from him, eyes waiting and expectant. Kai fidgeted with himself before answering. How much was he allowed to say? If it was a secret spy organization, weren't there certain rules? He tried to remember the things Wu had instructed them to do at the start of the journey.

But the memories of the event were blurred by the present. He heard both Cole and Neuro's voice together, stating firmly that things had come to an end. And if they had, well, there were no rules for him to follow anymore, were there?

Kai took a deep, shaky breath. Then he told her everything.

Jay stared at the door to his apartment for a long, long time.

"I don't have my keys." He laughed. "I don't have anything."

It was late, and the main office had long since closed. And even if it had been open, what were the chances the apartment still belonged to him? N.I.N.J.A.G.O. was supposed to have been a lifetime commitment. Jay had no doubt Wu would have ended the lease to his apartment the moment he'd agreed to stay.

"I don't have anything." Jay said again.

He leaned back against the wall and slid down until he was sitting. He couldn't believe everything had ended the way it had. He was more than glad to know he would never have to harm anyone ever again but. . . Now he was alone.

Alone with absolutely nothing. No job. No place to stay. Not even a dumb cell phone.

Jay wondered if Kai had been right. If they should have tried to do something, instead of breaking off into different directions the moment things had fallen apart. It felt really weird, to be without them. Even if they hadn't known each other for that long, the situations they'd been thrown into had entwined thick bonds between them.

But now, those bonds would grow weak with each passing moment. And soon enough they would be nothing more than a bizarre and feeble memory. This realization made Jay's heart ache. He shut his eyes, the weight of everything crashing down upon him.

Cole lingered before his small cabin, studying his surroundings without moving.

It all felt part of a separate world, a world he wasn't sure he belonged to any more. It felt wrong to be here. But what else was there to do? Wu had chosen. And that choice had left them with no choice but to go their own way.

He'd left all his belongings back at the chiseled headquarters, but it didn't matter. His cabin's lock was a feeble thing. Protection against other people wasn't much of a priority when you lived in the middle of nowhere.

He walked inside. He stared at the small space.

"I'm home." Cole said, to no one.

Instead of allowing his mind to wander, Cole moved toward his bed with determined steps. The squeaky mattress was a glorious comfort, and he promised himself he would forever remind himself to enjoy every simple pleasure of day to day life.

"Sleep at last." Cole mumbled to himself, as he laid down. But his eyes refused to shut. It had been easy to doze in the car before, with the obvious presence and safety of his teammates around him. But now, the empty silence chilled him.

Logically, he knew there would be no sudden shock if he were to close his eyes. He knew Karloff was far, far away. Knew Misako wasn't watching him with a cruel smirk. Yet his body refused to relax. The memory of fear kept him alert.

Cole tapped his fingers against the mattress restlessly, wondering if Kai had been right after all.

Zane could feel the emptiness in the building.

Everyone was now gone, leaving N.I.N.J.A.G.O. as nothing more than a hollowed out shell. No purpose. No direction. No life.

Zane could relate very much.

He sat inside the lab where he'd first been granted consciousness. Where he'd first been given a mission. A path. He'd known who he was then. He wasn't so sure of it now.

Logically, he knew he was only a piece of hardware. A tool, ready to serve. Zane knew that he must wait for Wu to return, for someone to show up and give him new orders. Until then, all he could do was stay still.

Illogically, however, there was nothing Zane wanted to do less.

Being part of a team had changed him. They had all grown closer together, regardless of whether their body was made of flesh or metal. They'd cared for one another. And that care had made Zane feel alive. Even though he knew he wasn't. Even though he knew he was only the result of cleverly crafted electricity.

But with his team, that hadn't mattered. He'd been important. He'd been irreplaceable. If only for a moment.

"It is over now." He chided himself. "You are only a machine."

With a sigh that was very much human, Zane shut his eyes.