Chosen by Destiny

Happy Valentine's Day folks! Actually, it's a bit hard for me to write now because I've been glued to the Olympics! ^_^; But I try to squeeze in some time to write. I'm quite happy I'm just in time for Valentine's Day to get started on Wrong Place, Wrong Time with a MAJOR twist & introduce a VERY important person to this story! Enjoy!


Chapter 44: Journey to the Past

Garmadon was too busy thinking about his plan to notice someone watching him, and yes, that person was Kai.

"You! You're up to something! I know that look!" The red ninja pointed accusingly at the tyrant.

"What are you talking about!?" Cole asked in exasperation.

"You're all so clueless!" Kai called out his teammates in his frustration, "Garmadon still has the Mega Weapon with him! He's probably planning to use it on us!"

"Kai, stop! Now isn't the time!" Nya scolded her older brother.

"But- !"

"That is enough." The serious tone in Wu's voice had Kai reluctantly holding his tongue.

"Evil or not, Garmadon is our guest and he is Lloyd's father. I understand your mistrust since he did double-cross us once," The wise teacher's eyes narrowed, remembering how he ran off with the Golden Weapons when the ninjas entrusted him with them, "but I assure you he will never do anything to endanger his son."

The dark lord inwardly winced upon the last words.

It could end up as a lie once he goes through with his plan. However, his brother's words raised questions in his mind.

Does he really want to go through with his plan?

Is he willing to do what he plans to do to Lloyd?

It shouldn't matter once he's through with his biggest scheme yet.

But after seeing the way his son interacted with the ninjas and Iris, his mind was clouded by his own uncertainties.

"Dad?"

Garmadon pointed his red eyes towards the green ninja.

"What is it?"

"You've been zoning out. Is something wrong?"

"No. I was just thinking…"

"Probably trying to pull a fast one on us." Kai grumbled angrily before Aria yanked his spiky hair.

At least the orange kunoichi was never afraid to put the spitfire ninja in his place and Garmadon decided to give her some credit for it.

"What are you thinking about?" Wu asked with eagle eyes.

"I was just thinking about what you said about Lloyd." He answered with SOME honesty.

"Anything else…?"

'Damn you and your nosiness, brother.' The dark lord gritted his teeth in annoyance.

"Not much, but enough about that," He changed the subject to avoid his brother and the ninjas having to nag him, "I would like to know more about Iris and what makes her so special."

"No!"

Kai slammed his fists on the table as he got up and stared down the dark lord.

Even Wu was becoming fed up with the fire wielder's disobedience.

"There's NO way we'll reveal anything to the likes of you!" The red ninja accused him.

"Guess some things never change…" Cole shook his head in exasperation, remembering how his teammate behaved during Garmadon's first stay with them.

"What was that!?" Kai targeted his leader.

"Kai, let Iris decide if she wants to reveal more about herself to Garmadon."

The spiky-haired ninja looked at Iris, who grew nervous by the way he stared at her. His amber orbs were practically telling her to NOT say anything to the four-armed man. But to her, he was still the father of Lloyd Garmadon, the one she loved.

Knowing she'll lose any trust Kai had towards her, she made her decision…

"Da. I'll tell him about myself."

The pink kunoichi didn't want to look at Kai but she was sure he was beyond pissed at her. She was probably nothing less of a traitor in his eyes now.

"As Sensei Wu said, I'm the kunoichi of time and space, although I don't have any powers yet."

"Yet?" The black-skinned despot raised an almost indiscernible eyebrow.

The kunoichi of time's powers will be essential for the final battle but she can't do anything yet?

"I can't do much, at least for now. Sensei said that my powers will develop over time. I actually can't even do Spinjitzu. All I have is the Bow of Hours."

"I see." Garmadon wanted to figure out what was so important about her role in the final battle but decided to delve into another topic that racked his mind ever since he saw the way she and Lloyd behaved around one another.

"What do you see in my son?"

"C-chto?"

The dark lord simply repeated his question. He couldn't deny that the pink kunoichi's behavior towards his child reminded the dark lord of her

It was obvious that Iris loved Lloyd but the latter's four-armed father was still in the dark about why the pink kunoichi seemed attracted to his only child. She looked at the other kunoichi, then the ninjas (except Kai), and finally, Sensei Wu.

'Should I tell him?' She asked mentally but the others didn't get her message.

That is, except for a certain someone.

Lloyd brushed aside a strand of her brownish gold hair and looked right into her amethyst orbs.

He also felt the same way for Iris, even though he wasn't as 'outspoken' about it as the Russian girl. He still wasn't sure if his father will accept them being together, but here goes nothing…

"It's true. I really like Lloyd. A lot." Iris confessed to the dark lord.

"Why?" His blood red eyes never left her violet ones which unnerved her, but she continued.

"Because he's not like any other I've met before. When I first met him back in my hometown of Vremya, I could tell he was different but what got me were his eyes. He said that I was the first person to show him kindness and after Wu told me more about him after we grew up, I realized that it was our differences that brought us together, kind of like the yin and yang."

Wu gave a quick nod, feeling satisfied that Iris took his advice to heart.

"How so?" Garmadon asked.

"When I first met Lloyd, he said he didn't have a really happy life up to that point."

The dark lord felt a slight tinge of guilt. He already failed to be a proper father to his son.

"As for me," Iris continued, "my life was pretty ordinary. I had my parents and my friends with me the whole time… until I became a kunoichi."

Lloyd still felt a little bad for taking it all away from her but this was all because of destiny…

"But I found my place here amongst the ninjas."

"Then why are you so important to my son's fate?"

Iris bit her lip shyly and looked to the dark lord's brother for advice. The old man nodded, giving her the 'okay' to talk.

"I'm not sure if you know, but Lloyd has a dark side- "

"I know." Garmadon brushed her off.

"Recently, Wu told me that the possible reason why I'm important to the outcome of the final battle is because of my relationship with Lloyd. He said that I'll have to keep him from falling to the dark side by helping him maintain positive emotions."

"If your son is to save Ninjago, brother," Sensei Wu summed it all up for his youngest student, "then Iris will have to save Lloyd from himself."

Seeing how happy Lloyd and Iris were together, his determination to commence his plan ended up faltering. He wasn't sure if he wanted to do such a thing to them. Luckily, the ninjas finished their meal and went off to spend the rest of the evening doing what they liked, giving the dark lord an opportunity to catch up with his son.


Out on the deck, father and son gazed into the night sky.

"I can't believe how much you've changed, Lloyd."

"I'm not too surprised about that…"

"You love her, do you not?"

"Huh?" Lloyd was astonished by his father's question.

Since when was he so concerned about his love life?

"I can already tell Iris means a lot to you, and not just because of both your destiny."

"A-am I really that obvious!?"

"Lloyd, I know I haven't been there for you as much as I should have, but I'm still you father."

Sighing, the green ninja kept staring at the full moon, reminiscing over his and Iris' relationship.

"Fine, I do like her, but I couldn't say the same when we met again after we grew older. At first, she was SO annoying, I wanted her to just go away. But after she became the pink kunoichi, we got to spend time with each other."

"Now what do you see in her?"

"I don't know how to explain, but whenever I'm with her, I seem to forget about the world and whatever's going on around us. With her, I feel like I've finally found someone who doesn't care about my past or that I'm your son. She's not only the first person who was kind to me, but she also likes me just for being me."

Garmadon took in his son's words.

Lloyd and Iris' relationship reminded him of his with her after a certain incident…

"So… was that kiss on your nose the first one?"

"W-what!?"

The green ninja can't believe his own dad just asked what he thought he asked.

"It seems like Iris was the one who started your relationship."

The dark lord chuckled at his son's vivid blush.

"And I'm still waiting for an answer."

"No. Actually, she kissed me a few times, but never on the lips."

"I see…"

"Dad, do you think I'll end up becoming the next dark lord…?"

Garmadon sighed in anguish. No matter the outcome, he'll still be defeated by his own son.

"I do not know, Lloyd. We'll just have to wait and see. But for now, I'm just glad we're spending time together like an actual family. Or as close as it can be given our destiny."

"I'm also happy being with you, dad."

The dark lord wrapped all four of his arms around his son in a tender hug. He deeply cherished this moment with his son because this may be the very last time he can be the father he always wanted to be for Lloyd.

If only fate hadn't been so cruel he wouldn't have to resort to such drastic measures…


Kai still had his suspicions of Garmadon's intentions. He kept ranting to his teammates that he was plotting something behind their backs. He tried to spy on him and Lloyd but Sensei Wu told him to let them have their moment.

"I'm telling you guys! He's trying to brainwash the kid as we speak!"

"Kai, Garmadon cares too deeply for his son to end up like him," Wu had to keep reminded the red ninja, "I know you also care about Lloyd but Garmadon hasn't seen him in such a long time and things have changed. Just let them be a family for once. Times like these are fleeting."

The fire wielder was now at a loss of words.

He may have already lost his own father and he wasn't sure he wanted to ruin Lloyd's chance to spend quality time with what little remained of his family. Kai had his own fond memories of his dad and he wanted for the green ninja to have that experience.

But after they have their moment, he won't take his eyes off Garmadon…

By nighttime, the ninjas and kunoichi were getting ready for bed, but Kai had other plans.

Without telling his teammates, he slipped out of his bed after they fell asleep and snooped all over the Bounty, looking out for a certain black-skinned man.

A strange light caught his attention as he made his way towards the deck.

He wasn't sure if it was something faint very close to him, or something bright from far away.

Anyway, he arrived just in time to see…

"Garmadon!"

The dark lord was creating a glowing portal with the Mega Weapon!

"NINJA-GO!"

Kai spun in a fiery tornado and stood before him with his uniform in place of his pajamas.

Garmadon merely glared at the sole ninja before him.

"It's too late now!" He boasted, "You alone can't stop me from commencing my plan!"

Without any weapons, the red-clad ninja had no chance, but Lady Luck was on his side. The rest of the ninjas heard the commotion and hurried towards the deck.

"NINJA-GO!" The ninjas and kunoichi, sans Luna and Iris, also used Spinjitzu to change into their uniforms. Even if they were tired, they always had to be ready to fight evil…

"Brother! I should've known!" Wu was ashamed of himself for thinking his brother wouldn't do anything malicious more than towards his four-armed sibling doing such. But for just one brief moment, he could've sworn he saw the slightest hint of remorse in Garmadon's red orbs.

The dark lord felt a slight pang in his cold heart seeing his even own son in a fighting stance.

"You were right, brother," The evil tyrant sneered at his sibling, "I can never bring myself to do any harm to my son, but that doesn't mean I'll try to keep these events from ever happening."

Garmadon headed for the portal but turned and gave a glance in his son's direction. It was such a sad fleeting glance Lloyd hoped that his father would reconsider his plans but it was not to be.

"Goodbye, Lloyd… My son…" He whispered, barely loud enough for the green ninja to hear right before he disappeared behind the glowing portal to wherever it leads to.

The ninjas and kunoichi were still a little more than apprehensive to follow the dark lord.

What lies on the other side?

And what did he mean when he said 'goodbye' to Lloyd?

Then just as suddenly as it came, a splitting headache tormented Sensei Wu.

His memories of his life before finding the ninjas grew foggy, as if they were being erased.

At the same time, Lloyd's body began to feel numb. The green ninja looked at his hands and to his and everyone's horror…

They were see-through!

"W-what's happening…!?" Lloyd was terrified by what the sight of his transparent hands.

"Ah!" Iris clutched her skull in sudden agony.

"Iris!" The green ninja called out to her, not caring about his own situation.

The kunoichi of time struggled to keep hold of her memories. All the images in her head of her first meeting with Lloyd slowly started to fade, and even the ninjas were starting to feel it. With the pounding headaches, their memories of one another grew distant, as if they were nothing but dreams rather than actual experiences in their lives.

"I-I feel like my own memories are being wiped out!" Zane managed to get out, "It's almost as if our pasts are being altered…!"

A terrible realization struck Sensei Wu's mind.

The portal Garmadon created was a gateway to the past. Having taken the Mega Weapon with him from Ouroboros, he used it to go back in time to alter history and even erase the ninjas and kunoichi from existence!

They had to do something and fast because the portal was shrinking!

"Ninjas! Get your weapons! We're going through the portal!" Wu ordered his students.

"Are you out of your mind!?" Jay was flabbergasted.

"I know where the portal will take us but we don't have much time! We must go now! The girls must stay here and keep a close eye on Lloyd and Iris!"

"But Sensei! We can fight too!" Aria complained, brandishing her war fans.

"I'm sorry, but with the Trials of the Elements coming up, it's too risky for you to go."

Getting their weapons, the four ninjas were ready for what lies in store for them.

"We're ready, Sensei," Cole affirmed to his teacher.

"Students, I honestly don't know if we'll be able to return to our time or if we'll accomplish this mission but we must follow Garmadon if we are to save Ninjago." Wu voiced his concerns over the possible outcome of their primary objective, but being a ninja was risky business.

"Are you willing to go?" The old sage wanted to make sure his disciples thought this through.

The ninjas looked back longingly towards the kunoichi.

If Garmadon changes the past, then they would've never met them, and they couldn't imagine what life would be like without them. But there wasn't much time to lose. The portal continued to shrink and they had to hurry.

Each of the ninjas sent a wistful glance towards their girlfriends. They also didn't know if they'll make it out alive, but they had to take the risk to save Ninjago.

In turn, the kunoichi looked back at them with earnest faces saying more than any words could.

"Yes. We'll go." Kai spoke for the ninjas.

Sensei Wu nodded and jumped into the portal. He knew it would be risky for him to go but he had to guide the ninjas through a time before destiny called out to them.

The ninjas looked back to the girls and Lloyd for one last time before leaping into the vortex just before it shrunk into nothing, severing the link between the ages.

The five kunoichi and Lloyd looked on where the portal used to be.

Wherever the ninjas and Sensei Wu were going, they can't do anything but wish them luck…


Weightless…

It felt like all effects of gravity and the laws of physics was nullified in this strange bright vortex into the past. The ninjas and Wu couldn't figure out their direction and they couldn't even feel their own bodies.

After several seconds, a strong flash blinded them, forcing them the close their eyes. The force of gravity soon returned and the group unceremoniously fell onto the soft earth.

The party of five looked upwards and within one last flash, the portal was gone.

"Where are we…?" Cole asked.

They were no longer on the Bounty, but did they really travel through time?

Was this really the past?

The ninjas couldn't deny feeling a little bit of familiarity with their current location.

The terrain was cool and mountainous with small white patches of snow. It looked like the land that surrounded the old monastery where they first lived together.

Sensei Wu remained calm the whole time as he and his students got up and dusted themselves off. He looked skyward and saw exactly what he expected to see.

"The monastery…! I thought the Hypnobrai burned it down!" Jay exclaimed.

Even after it was wiped out by the snakes, they could still remember those tall walls and steep stairs that led to the building. It looked exactly how they remembered it.

"That was in the present, Jay. Now this is the past. You, Kai, and Cole were very young children and Zane's father was still in this world. I'm taking a great risk following you but I have to guide you through these times before you were ready to become ninjas. Follow me."

The ninjas felt slight nostalgia climbing the winding stairway that led to the monastery. At least it wasn't as bad as the Stairway to Heaven. Thanks to their memories, their walk to the summit didn't last as long as they thought and they were now right in front of the large gates leading to the monastery they once called home.

Old memories took over Sensei Wu's mind once he saw his childhood home as he gazed at the building with bittersweet eyes.

He made so many good and bad memories here. This was where he met them. But this was also where Garmadon was bitten by the Great Devourer…

"Sensei!" Zane raised the volume of his voice to gain his teacher's attention.

"What is it, Zane?" Wu asked with patience.

"We still don't know why Garmadon went to this time period. Is there a certain event he wants to change?"

The dark lord's younger brother had a clear idea why he went to the past and it wasn't pretty…

"I believe, no, actually I know why he went back in time. He plans to convince his younger self to not lay with Lloyd's mother. He's going to erase Lloyd from existence."

His students' minds were filled with dread.

Their own brother was going to be wiped out from the face of Ninjago by his own father.

"I-I know Garmadon's evil, but why would he do that to his own son…!?" Cole asked.

"Exactly," Wu replied, "As evil as he is, my brother would never hurt Lloyd, directly. But he still wants total domination over the world more than he loves his son. He's willing to get what he wants by any means possible, even making sure he never had Lloyd in the first place."

The ancient man took in the expressions on his students' faces.

With eyebrows knitted together, eyes narrowed in anger, and lips curling into snarls, their faces were the very definition of 'pissed off'.

Sensei Wu was just as angry, but kept his composure.

A faint sound of a blunt object making impact with the ground alerted the group.

Thinking it could be Garmadon, the ninjas were about the burst through the door.

"Stop!" Wu halted his disciples from becoming foolhardy.

"It's too risky to show your faces to Garmadon and my younger self. We must go incognito."

"But what about Garmadon?" Kai's grip on his sword tightened and shook with his fury.

"We'll also have to keep an eye out for him, but for now, we have to find his past self."

The ninjas nodded and followed their teacher into the middle of the courtyard, making as little noise as possible. They reached the source of the sound near one of the rustic sliding doors.

"… Goodbye, Garmadon." A woman's voice was heard through the thin door. Her voice was sad yet stern before footsteps came towards the door. The ninjas and Wu hid in the shadows once the door opened. Emerging from beyond wherever the door led to was a woman wearing khaki clothing and a green cloth around her neck that stood out from the rest of her outfit. What got the ninjas was her expression. It was steely yet sad.

His students had no idea who she was but Sensei Wu still remembered her.

'Misako…'

She looked just like the way she did when he last saw her.

Her chocolate brown locks were held back in a braid, her lovely face had smooth features, her glasses complimented her great intelligence, and most of all, her jade eyes hinted at the clever wit she had been blessed with. She must be Lloyd's birth mother.

"Who is she?" Zane whispered.

"Her name is Misako Andersen. She used to date my brother…"

Wu trailed off before they lost sight of the brunette woman.

"That's it!" Kai 'yelled' in a hushed voice, "If we can get her to stay with Garmadon, then Lloyd won't be erased!"

"That isn't the case, Kai." Sensei Wu shook his head, "She… already broke up with him…"

"But wasn't she leaving him just now?" Cole reminded Wu of what they heard her say.

"Even after she ended her relationship with Garmadon, she still trained here at the monastery."

"Trained…?"

"Yes. My father wanted us to pass down the way of the ninja to a select few- "

The door opened again, and Wu felt another surge of memories while the ninjas were surprised by the person walking out in a different direction.

It was Garmadon before he fell to the underworld and he really looked a lot like Lloyd. He had just his original two arms and his wavy bangs were just like his son's.

But the biggest differences was that his hair was brown, his skin was pale but in a rather sinister way rather than Zane's otherworldly complexion, and the most striking features were his blood red eyes that he retained even after he was physically altered.

After he was out of sight, the ninjas still had more questions to ask.

"So, how will we get Garmadon and Misako back together?" Jay asked with slight humor.

"We won't be doing that Jay."

"Why not?"

"Misako is not Lloyd's mother."

Another noise caught the group's attention.

The sound came from where Misako headed after her conversation with Garmadon. The ninjas and Wu remained in their hiding place seeing not Misako but a different woman. Her hair was a bright blonde that was reminiscent of Lloyd's that fell in waves to the middle of her back. What got the ninjas was the same green eyes they saw on Misako. Her face was pensive as she went towards the same direction as the young Garmadon earlier.

"That's her. She's the one we must go after." Wu said.

The four elemental ninjas looked at their teacher. It was obvious he also knew her.

"That woman is Haruka Christiansen." He said, as if to answer their question before giving them the chance to ask.

"What's so special about her?" Kai inquired the old man.

Sensei Wu's frowned, knowing how much she will change after this event, and that he and his students have to make it happen…

"Haruka… is Lloyd's birth mother."


DUN DUN DUN! How's that for a twist? XD

If any of you remember, I wrote note a while back that Misako isn't Lloyd's mother in this fic.

Anyway, I want to give a bit of etymology on Haruka as well as Misako's surname.

First, I planned to name Haruka 'Sakura' but that is such an overrated & overused name. The name Haruka can mean 'faraway' which actually fits with what I have in store for her much later in the story. Her last name Christiansen comes from Ole Kirk Christiansen, the creator of Lego, while Misako's last name comes from Hans Christian Andersen.

So in the next chappie, the ninjas and Wu will try to prevent Lloyd from being 'erased'. What challenges await them?

Stay tuned, review, & have a Happy Valentine's Day!