Chapter 21 - Battle Cry
Zane reached the courtyard just in time to prevent Pythor's cruel hand from striking. His eyes surveyed the scene, taking in many details that most would have missed. Cole was approximately five seconds from raising his scythe, which meant that Zane had at least fifteen seconds to prevent Jay's beheading. Nya had stopped struggling, which meant that even she thought it was all over. Zane almost shook his head, but every second counted. Jay's hands were relaxed, and Zane knew the man was brave. Something the assassin would be sure to remember. Lastly, the detail he'd been looking for reached Zane's eyes.
A strange necklace hung from Pythor's neck, glowing the same red shade as Cole's eyes.
Ten seconds to go. Zane glided forward, his fingers reaching for the pair of shuriken clinging onto his belt. It had been a risk to search the castle for his and Jay's Golden Weapons, but in the end, there would have been no chance of victory without them. Focusing his mind into the frozen metal, he flicked his wrist, sending the sharpened edge towards Pythor's necklace.
For a second, as Zane watched his shuriken slice through the air, everything stood still.
Then, as expected, the golden metal crashed into the amulet, causing the fragile crystal to shatter. In reaction to this, Cole's body froze in mid-swing, holding the sharpened scythe inches before Jay's vulnerable neck. The guard stepped back, his heartbeat accelerating and making it hard to breathe. Cole looked around him, trying to remember something, anything.
He dropped the scythe at Jay's feet, briefly remembering his meeting with Pythor outside of Wu's house. Then...nothing. His mind had been taken away from him, nearly forcing him to coat his skin in his ally's blood. "Wh-what..."
"Now is not the time for questions, brother. Now is the time to fight for our freedom." Zane stepped out of the shadows, drawing a gasp from the noblemen and women that had gathered around to witness Jay's death.
The assassin broke apart the bonds that held Jay, helping the thief to his shaking feet. The assassin then turned to face the king, whose face had grown pale. For a second, a flash of fear resonated in Pythor's purple eyes, but it was gone as soon as it had come.
"Oh, well done, well done. A daring rescue from a daring rebel. Very poetic." Pythor laughed, clapping his hands, then slowly reaching behind his back, where the Sword of Fire rested. Nya followed the king's movement with her eyes. With her heart in her throat, the girl reached forward, pushing Pythor back and unsheathing the sword herself. The power burned against her palms, but she did not hestitate.
"Brother!" she shouted, putting as much will into the sword as she could. "The battle is beginning! I order you to free your people!"
Lloyd stood in front of the castle, staring at the gigantic metal door which had been pulled down, closing off the castle to prevent any of the peasants from attending Pythor's execution. Not that they would want to be there. The young man turned back towards Dareth, trying not to snicker at the silly way he looked while wearing the Stone Army's helmet. "So, you called the army?"
"Yes," Dareth nodded. "I don't understand what could take them so long. Don't they know I'm their master now? I don't take kindly to disobedience, mind you."
"They'll be here. They have to," Lloyd sighed, his fingers drumming against his sides nervously.
"Now, I could just be wrong here, but what if this is all a legend? I mean a set of magical warriors...does seem pretty far-fetched. I mean, I always thought I'd be the kind of man that makes legends reality, but it's taking pretty long."
"Just..." Lloyd shook his head, searching his mind for ideas on how to get rid of the man, as his constant babbling wasn't helping with the anxiety that had begun to creep up inside the green ninja. Then, something clicked. Something that at first seemed silly, but the more he thought of it, the better it seemed to sound. "Round up the villagers. Everyone you can find. Tell them...tell them King Pythor will fall today. And they should be here. They have as much right to fight for their freedom as any of us though. We can't take all the credit."
"Oh, why not?" Dareth groaned. "I mean, I wouldn't mind saving this whole place single handedly."
Lloyd rolled his eyes. "Just go. They all have the right to fight for what they believe in, don't they?"
"Fine, fine," Dareth sighed, resigned. "I'll go, but they'll know it was me who brought the mighty stone warriors. If they show up that is..."
As Dareth disappeared into the distance, Lloyd surveyed his surroundings. He needed to be in a high place, where both the villagers and Pythor could see him. He leaned against the castle's stone wall, then slowly looked up, his eyes resting on the small archer towers at either sidesof the door.
With a brief sigh and a nod of his head, the green eyed prince began to climb.
I order you to free your people
It was his sister's voice. Kai looked up, his breathing quickening. Nya had said the battle was beginning. Kai had no idea what had happened, what had suddenly turned the tables in their favor. Seconds ago, everything had been over, and there wasn't even a slight glimmer of hope in the distance. But now, now his sister's voice had reached him, full of passion and excitement.
As Kai's body began to change, he easily broke through the chains that held him back. He had no time to question anything. He'd received an order.
And it was going to be quite a pleasure to carry it out.
"You little-" Pythor growled, turning to lash out at Nya, kicking the young girl back against the ground. "I'll rip you into little-"
"Not so fast," Jay smirked, jumping in front of the love of his life, using his own body to shield her from danger. "You'll have to get through me if you want to hurt her."
"You think I'm scared of you?" Pythor scowled, stepping closer. "You're nothing. A petty thief at most. Do you really think you stand a chance against me? I rule this world! I awakened the Devourer! I am undefeatable!"
Zane whipped out Jay's nunchucks, tossing them to his comrade. The thief caught the weapons with ease, and began to flick his wrist in small, rapid motions in order to create a bolt of electricity. "Undefeatable? We'll see about that!"
After hissing out the last word, Jay released the energy, causing Pythor's body to fling back against the stone wall. The king growled an incomprehensible threat, slowly regaining his composure. A streak of blood slid down the side of his face. Fury pulsed in his eyes and, yet, the king decided to smile.
"This is where I draw the line," Pythor said, his voice booming across the courtyard. "This little rebellion ends now! I will make sure to send every one of you to your graves!"
"Garmadon! Destroy them!"
From the tower, Lloyd watched everything unfold. He was elated to see Jay was alive and, for a brief second, it seemed as is everything was going to work out in their favor. Nya had called Kai, and Jay himself had landed a pretty good hit on the snotty king.
Then Pythor had called for his father.
Garmadon had emerged from the shadows, followed by his army of skeletons. Watching the nobles scurry around in blind terror had been amusing at first, but it all faded as he noticed his friends cornered against the castle's walls. When Kai arrived, the flare of hope attempted to spark up again, but there was no way five people could defeat a whole army.
Much less his father.
Lloyd trotted back to the other side of the wall. Villagers had begun to appear, but the Stone Army was still nowhere to be found. They couldn't win without them. Anxiety took over, and Lloyd crumpled against the ground, his breathing growing faster. The green eyed boy closed his eyes, trying to stay calm.
A soft rumbling traveled through the stone.
The prince shot back to his feet, looking out into the horizon. There, the small shadows of the Stone Army could barely be seen, but they were coming. Lloyd smiled, beginning to relax again. With the warriors here, there was no way Pythor could win.
Now he just had to buy the army a bit more time. Luckily, his dramatic entrance had it all covered.
Lloyd stepped onto the top of the tower's chest high walls, the sun shedding enough light for him to be visible. Taking a deep breath, the young man spoke.
"Pythor!"
Everything stopped. From one side of the wall, the villagers looked upward, their eyes filled with hope and pulsing with a desire for freedom. From the other, the five rebels were covered in smiles, while the king shot beams of hate through his darkened purple eyes.
"I believe the time of your reign is finally up!" Lloyd continued. "For too long you've caused the people of Ninjago to suffer! You arrived in this place, and robbed them of everything! Well, whatever malice you set out upon the world is always returned! And on this day, the people themselves will deliver to you the punishment you deserve!"
"You will no longer gloat as others starve. You will no longer enjoy the warmth of a fire while others are destroyed by bitter winds. You will no longer swim in riches while others drown in poverty!" Lloyd unsheathed his sword, lifting it against the sky, allowing its blade to glint in the sunlight. "And most of all, you will no longer live while others die!"
"Today, we take back this city. Today, we take back our freedom!"