This is number one out of three epilogue chapters: Late Night. This is a Nya and Liv centric chapter and takes place two weeks after chapter 27.
Liv stands on the balcony of her apartment, staring out across the moonlit city. She blinks, and see's the city engulfed in violet flames, the fires carry the smell of death and smoke across a ruined city, a stone demon standing tall and menacing as citizens run and scream and die and flee.
She blinks again, and the flames are gone. The colossus is gone. The city is quiet.
The smell of death and smoke still linger in the air. Liv ignores it.
Instead, she focuses on the lights inside of buildings that weren't destroyed. Watching the silhouettes of people moving through their homes. It's been a reassurance to her, seeing the lights flicker through the windows of buildings that weren't destroyed. It reminds her that just one more family made it out of this disaster unscathed, or, at least, she hopes they did.
It's also a reassurance to look at the sky, with nothing but clouds, the stars, and the moon. Not, per say, a giant stone colossus.
She's always liked clear skies. So it's nice to see it tonight, clear of the smoke from burning buildings that no one ever put out and a giant stone demon that blocked out the moonlight that would flicker in and out of the clouds. She's ecstatic to see it through eyes that are truly her's.
The city cleans up nicely, the stone's from the colossus finally swept away by bulldozers and dumped in, well, the dump. The fires from buildings that no one ever put out were finally snuffed. The people finally feeling safe enough to go out and do their jobs around the city. The sirens and ominous screams that used to ring constantly around the city have stopped. Leaving the city eerily quiet in the dark night sky. The kind of quiet the city gets after a disaster, the eerie kind of aftermath. Where people are busy picking themselves up from the rubble and trying to move on.
But some things can't be swept under the rug, no matter how much Liv wishes they could be.
The first night she'd gotten out of the hospital, and didn't hear the sirens or shouts, she'd thought that there just wasn't anyone left to scream. That the fires had died out and the sirens that went with them finally lost the power they needed to keep going. She'd thought that the city was vacant of people, abandoned.
She'd gotten so used to hearing those sounds that she just didn't know what to think when they stopped.
And maybe she's not just talking about the sounds of the city anymore.
But she doesn't want to think about it right now, it always ends in her wanting to dig her fingers into her skull, and Lloyd, nor Harumi or Jay, is here to reassure her tonight. But the lights in buildings and homes are better. A better reassurance of life than the screaming and sirens. The city is slowly rebuilding itself, if the large construction trucks scattered around the city are anything to go by.
Liv sighs, watching the stars twinkle in the clear sky. She lets a ribbon of lavender twirl around her fingers, admiring the beautiful color. It's better than the dark purple she'd gotten used too. A soft knocking echoes in her quiet apartment. She turns, reaching for her phone sitting next to her journal on the nightstand and checking the time, 10:08p.m., the knock echoes one more time, and Liv frowns, closing her balcony door and reaching under her bed, pulling out a dagger and leaving her room, slowly walking towards her door.
She opens it hesitantly, the dagger clutched in her hand as she peeks into the hall. Her expression relaxs as she catches sight of Nya's familiar smile. In all her grey sweatpants and light blue t-shirt glory as she holds up a small grocery bag, and Liv opens the door fully, letting Nya in.
"Hey!" Nya says, far too cheerfully for someone who's just showed up at her house at ten o'clock. "Sorry I didn't call, how's life?"
Liv snorts, closing the door behind the water ninja and locking it. "Eh, getting better." She says, tossing the dagger onto her counter. "What about you guys? How's renovating the Monastery going?"
Nya groans at that, setting the grocery bag down on the counter next to the dagger. She doesn't even spare the silver blade a second glance. "It's going good, I guess. It's actually going a lot faster than I would've thought, with everyone pitching in." She says, unloading a container of chocolate ice cream - oh, Nya is Liv's favorite person ever. Nya grins as Liv eyes the tub, then she pulls out a can of whipped cream and strawberries. Nya has just made herself Liv's favorite person for the next month,
"That's good." Liv says, peeling her eyes away from the container and back onto Nya. "It's about time we fixed up the Monastery."
"Yeah." Nya huffs, putting the ice cream in Liv's freezer and the strawberries and whipped cream into the fridge. "With the bounty gone, we need somewhere to stay."
Liv's eyes flash with guilt, memories that weren't really hers popping up in the back of her head, the grating laughter and the heartbreaking scream and the crack of wood ringing in her ears.
Liv blinks. She sees his eyes, so similar to her own.
She blinks again. And sees nothing.
Nya has a hand on her shoulder, a sympathetic look in her eyes. Liv waves her off, putting on a smile. The Ninja had stayed with her for a few days, but her apartment only has one room, and while she doesn't mind having blow up mattresses scattered all over her apartment and staying up late watching movies and playing games and just enjoying the well deserved break from saving the city for the umpteenth time that they deserve! Her neighbors might. The ninja aren't very quiet, and Zane and Pixal, bless them, were trying their best, but in the end the walls in Liv's apartment complex are kinda thin and she'd already gotten a few complaints from annoyed neighbors about 'the constant stomping' and 'the random shouts that ring out during the day.' That the ninja decided to headout and fix up the Monastery to stay in, instead.
"You guys know my doors are always open." Liv says, softly. "Annoying neighbors be damned."
Nya laughs, still eyeing her as she takes a seat at the small island in Liv's kitchen. "Yeah, we know. But didn't want to get you in trouble or anything." She sighs, looking at Liv. "And the same thing goes for you, too."
Liv smiles. "Thanks," She says, "And don't worry about getting me in trouble, i've known the owner of this building for like, a few months? He's cool." She says, taking a seat next to Nya.
The two fall quiet, Liv fiddling with her braided blond hair. "What brings you here so late?" She asks, eyeing the time on the microwave. "Not that I don't mind, you can show up any time if you bring ice cream over."
Nya laughs, "Someone has to make sure your not bored to death without us,"
Liv chuckles, though that's not really an answer, she takes what she can get. It has been pretty quiet since the Ninja left, and she has been pretty bored, and Nya did bring her ice cream...so…
"...And It's nice to visit without having to go all Ninja and disspearing into the shadows." Nya mutters, Liv nods in agreement. "I thought we could hang out, have a little girls night, or whatever." Nya continues, "Harumi, Pixal, and Skylor we're going to come, too, but Harumi and Lloyd needed some help with the whole, uh, court situation," Liv winces in sympathy. She knows they're struggling with that right now. "Pixal agreed to help them and Skylor already had plans to go see a movie with Kai, so you're stuck with me for the night."
Liv smiles, slinging an arm around Nya's shoulders. "Well, that's alright." She grins, tugging Nya towards the couch. "Wanna have a movie marathon?"
"Sure." Nya says, flopping down on the couch next to Liv, swiping the remote and holding it in the air as Liv pouts. "But I'm picking - hey, no, give it back - we're not watching a two hour long nature documentary."
Liv pouts, begrudgingly handing the remote to Nya. "I wasn't going to pick a nature documentary." She sulks.
"Uh-huh." Nya smirks, the TV turns on with a soft click.
Liv frowns, before her eyes shine with mischief as she goes out on a limb. "Well, I guess we could always watch one of those romantic comedies that you and Jay watch all the time." She smirks. Nya turns a betrayed glare on her.
"Who told you?" She demands.
"You did, just now." Liv smirks, and Nya glares at her, swatting her shoulder. The blond laughs, shoving Nya. "Come on, you and Jay aren't that slick."
"You're actually the spawn of satan." Nya groans, pinching the bridge of her nose. "As if one wasn't enough."
Liv knows that Nya is probably talking about Lloyd, but Garmadon comes to her mind instead. She blinks again, shaking her head and snatching up the remote and picking one of the various nature documentaries. She decides to be merciful and picks an interesting one that's only an hour and a half long. Though she doubts she and Nya will finish the whole thing.
"Hey, what can I say?" She grins as Nya sighs, resigning herself as the opening titles and the calm, somewhat monotone voice of the narrator floats from the TV. "The apples don't fall far...from the tree…"
Livs sentence cuts off in a gasp as the remote slips from her fingers, her hands shaking as they wrap around her waist. Every memory that wasn't her own and fist that was thrown and every single word forced through her lips flashing through her head. Damn it. She's supposed to be over this. It wasn't her and she knows that. So why does Liv still hear his laughter in her head? Why does she still see Borg Tower and picture herself at the top? Why does she look at the city and see it in flames?
Why does she look in the mirror and see her father staring back at her?
Nya sighs, standing up from the couch and walking over towards the kitchen. She pulls out two bowls from the cabinet, placing them on the counter as she opens the freezer. "I know it's been awhile since everything happened, but do you wanna talk about it?" She says, softly. Liv bites her lip, stubbornly turning her gaze back to the TV. No.
"If you don't wanna talk about it then say so. But don't pull a Lloyd and say your fine when you're not, either." Nya adds.
Liv huffs, she doesn't want to talk about it. It's not her fault that the stuff the others want her to open up about is dark and ugly. But..she's trying to be more open with the others. She's trying not to keep any secrets, but it's hard when she's kept secrets her whole life. "I - I know I've asked this a lot, but I want to know what happened to my dad." She says, finally. Her gaze fixed on Nya.
The raven haired girl sighs, scoping the chocolate ice cream into the bowls. Liv bites her lip, already regretting this.
"There's a lot to tell." Nya finally says, heavily. Passing one of the bowls to Liv as she sits down on the couch next to the blond girl, her eyes glassy with memory.
Nya and Pixal's team were doing fine, the perimeter around the temple was clear, and Lloyd and Harumi's team were inside, probably already starting the ceremony.
And while Nya would much rather not have Lloyd face his father alone (or at all for that matter), he has too. But Nya has faith in him. She has to believe that he'll be okay, because he fought him once already, he knows what to expect, Hopefully Lloyd won't make the same mistake twice. Hopefully he won't let his guard down like she did.
Because of course everything was going great until it wasn't.
She should've gotten suspicious when there were only a few people guarding the temple, but she hadn't thought much about it and it cost them.
"Lloyd! Lloyd! It's an ambush!" Nya yells into her commlink, clocking a biker upside the head with the hilt of her spear. "We're pinned! Hurry up!"
Lloyd never responds, which only fuels the fires of her panic. Her team of just Pixal, Tox, Paleman and Shade we're outnumbered by the sheer amount of gangsters. And while her and her team were more skilled fighters than them, it wouldn't have been much of a fight if the SoGs didn't pull guns out on them.
"Get behind me and Pixal, now!" Nya shouts, as she pulls the water from the moat surrounding the temple. Pixals hands move fast to catch the bullets aimed at Nya as she uses the water from the moat to create a wall between her team and the gangsters.
The bullets slam into the thick water shield, Pixal catching any bullet that passed through the wall of water in her metal hand. The bikers scowled in frustration, firing off more rounds.
"What do we do?" Tox asks, standing behind the wall of water.
"Stay behind me and Pix and wait until they run out of ammo?" Nya suggests, waving her hand. A tendril of water snakes out from the water shield, wrapping itself around one of the bikers' guns and hurling it into the moat below.
"Or," Paleman says, "I could go and disarm them."
Nya turns to look at paleman, Right. Invisibility and all that. "Shade, Paleman, you both go and disarm them. Then we'll help out the others in the temple." Nya says, she winces as the gunfire echoes in her ears. "And try not to get shot, that's not a part of the plan."
Paleman and Shade nod, the masters of light and shadow disappearing as they sneak past the water wall and towards the bikers. The two work fast, and soon the sound of gunfire stops, and Nya hesitantly lowers the water back into the moat. The metal bullets disappear into the water.
"Nice work, guys." Nya says, smiling at the motionless bikers laying in the grass. "Now lets go before more of them show up."
Her team nods back at her, running across the courtyard and towards the temple. Harumi comes sprinting from the temple just as Nya and her team make it too the large, wooden doors. She says something, too rushed for Nya to understand.
Pixal pushes open the wooden doors of the temple, Killow, Ultra Violet, and Mr. E all sit near the wall, tied up and gagged. The captured thugs glare at Nya and her team as they join Skylor near the altar.
Skylor smiles at them, "Oh great, you're here." She says, sounding tired. "We could use your help with the ceremony, since you were here when it was performed the first time."
Nya laughs awkwardly at the memory. "Oh, uh, yeah okay." She says, as Neuro hands her a sheet of paper. Nya stares blankly at it, taking in the hastily written directions.
"Okay, then. Let's get this over with." Nya huffs, as she gestures for the others to set up the Oni masks. Remembering the set up from the first ceremony.
The directions on the scrap of paper are pretty straightforward. Set up the masks, chant the words, and wait. And lucky for them, they don't need anyone's hair for this, so that's a plus.
Nya has enough of the first ceremony stored away somewhere in her head to know how to pronounce the odd words, the wind picks up around them, the masks hovering in the air. The wind tugs at Nya's hair, wiping it around her as the masks spin faster and faster until they collide in a burst of violet light.
The others stumble back, but Nya holds her ground, gripping the altar with white-knuckles. "What do we do now?!" Skylor yells over the wind, her hair whipping around her like a fiery red halo.
Nya looks down at the crumpled scrap of paper in her hands, hastily reading Harumi's scribbled directions. Rip the fabric between the realms, connect me to the departed realm, to send back he of many names, to which he came.
Whoever came up with these chants…
Nya huffs, stuffing the paper back into the pockets of her gi. "R-rip the fabric between the realms! Connect me to the departed–" Nya's shouts are cut off in a yelp as a round of gunfire rings through the temple, various shouts of alarm echo across the walls as the Resistance members drop to the floor.
Dozens of bikers come pouring into the temple, armed and ready. Killow and Ultra Violet let out cheers as the other gangsters rush forwards, Mr. E's scarlet eyes narrow. "Stop them!" Skylor shouts, "Nya, keep going! Do not stop!"
Nya nods, as the familiar sound of gunfire and clashing blades echoes in the temple. The winds howling in her ears, Nya turns her attention to the rift beginning to form above her. "Connect me to the Departed Realm!" She yells into the rift, the wind picks up, surrounding Nya in a raging cyclone. A flinch runs through her as s pop rings out behind her, and she turns to see one of the SoGs, gun aimed at her back.
Nya smirks at the gangster as he fires off more rounds, each one deflected by the winds surrounding her. Water surges up in Nya's hands, and she twirls, sending the ribbon of water spinning around her with the rushing wind.
The water glistens in the moonlight, soaring with the wind. Surrounding Nya in a cyclone of wind and water. She eyes Skylor, watching as the redhead kicks away one of the bikers' swords, keeping them from freeing Killow, Mr E., and Ultra Violet.
Nya takes a deep breath, calming her nerves. She has to finish the ceremony. "To send back he of many names, to which he came!" The rift suddenly closes, the winds around Nya slowing down and the water that swirled in the wind drops. The battle going on around her pauses, as the raven haired girl frowns. She did what Harumi told her too, she said all the words, they have all the masks. Why isn't it-?!
The rift re-opens with a pop! Sending out a shock wave as the winds pick up fiercely and blowing them all back as it rages. Stunning even the Sons of Garmadon. Nya clings to the altar, her scream drowned out by the howling winds. The eerie violet light fades into a bloodcurdling black. Nya grips the altar with white-knuckes, her arms wrapped around the stone and her head pressed up against it.
A shrill scream slits the air of the temple, sending a shiver down Nya's spine as a black puff of smoke drifts through the temple. From Borg Tower, Nya would assume. Garmadon. The puff of black smoak shrieks as it's dragged towards the rift, Nya brings her hands to her ears, yelping as she's almost thrown back. Her arms latch around the altar again, and she pushes herself up against it.
With a final scream, Garmadon's spirit is dragged back into the Departed Realm, the black smoke disappearing into the rift.
The rift closes, the wind dying down. The screaming stops, and the Oni masks drop to the floor.
Nya blinks, her ears ringing as she slowly stands up. The temple sits in stunned silence, both sides stare at each other blankly.
"What are you waiting for?!" Killow shouts, suddenly. "Get them!"
This seems to snap the bikers out of their shock as gunfire rings out across the temple again. Nya ducks around the altar as shots slam into the stone. She peeks out past the stone, shooting a jet of water from her hands before falling back.
"What do we do?!" Skylor shouts to them from where she's hidden behind one of the pillars with a few of the elemental masters.
"I do not know!" Pixal yells over the gunfire. "There are too many of them!"
Nya curses under her breath, her head spinning as she sends another jet of water towards the bikers, this time the blast hits one of them, but a bullet almost clips her shoulder, and Nya pulls back, pressing herself against the altar.
She looks around, taking in the terrified faces of her team. They're stuck.
Nya taps at her commlink, wincing at the shrill whine of static. She taps it again, waiting for the static to clear before opening her mouth to speak when a burst of light erupts in the night sky. Five large dragons shoot out from the portal in the sky, their roars ringing across the destroyed city.
Nya looks to Skylor, who looks to Pixal. The nindroid stares at the sky in wonder, before she turns a beaming smile towards them, nodding.
"Yes!" Nya shouts, her smile so wide it hurts. "Yes yes yes! They're back!"
The elemental masters look towards the sky, catching sight of the dragons. The Sons of Garmadon look towards the sky for an entirely different reason, horror flashing across their faces.
Nya's entire being shakes with joy. Her hands fling up towards her commlink, "Lloyd!" She yells into the comm, peeking out from behind the altar to blast one of the bikers in their shock at the Ninja's arrival. "The guys are back!"
Lloyd doesn't respond to her, but Nya's too focused on the return of her friends and dealing with the SoGs to really think much of it. "Nya?" The raven haired girl freezes, her eyes clouding with tears. "Nya! Where are you? Do you need help?"
"Kai!" Nya says, her voice cracking. "Yes! I'm at the temple of Resurrection, hurry!"
"Zane's on his way, just hang in there!"
Nya nods, even though she knows her brother can't see the gesture. She beams at Skylor and Pixal, and sure enough, a huge, grey dragon with icy blue shards soars above them. The gangsters aim their guns at the dragon, firing at the large beast.
The dragon roars, a burst of ice shooting out from its mouth and encasing the Sons of Garmadon. The Resistance cheers as the dragon lands, and Pixal jumps into Zane's arms the minute he steps away from the dragon.
"Pixal!" Zane breaths, wrapping his arms around her. "You're alright!"
"No thanks to you guys." Skylor laughs, patting Zane on the back.
Pixal steps away from Zane, holding his hand. Nya runs towards him, hugging the nindroid tightly. Zane returns the embrace, before pulling away. "I must help the others with the colossus." He says, turning towards the stone giant fighting against the other four dragons.
"Go," Pixal says, giving Zane's hand a squeeze. "Help the others, I shall see you again."
Zane smiles, placing a kiss on her cheek before pulling away. Pixal smiles, her emerald eyes flashing. Zane waves to them before mounting his dragon, and with a roar, flies towards the stone colossus to help the others.
Nya smiles as the dragon flies off, her grin widening as she turns to face the Sons of Garmadon, encased in ice. "We did it!" She shouts, and the cheers of the Resistance echo in the temple, clapping each others on the back and hugging.
"Wait, but what about Lloyd and his sister?" Skylor says, and the cheers come to a halt.
Nya curses under her breath, tapping her comm. "Lloyd!" She shouts into it. "Where are you!? Are you okay?!"
Nya waits in baited breath, her heart racing faster and faster with every passing second her little brother doesn't reply. Then - "I'm at Borg Tower, Nya I need you to-" Lloyd's sentence is abruptly cut off, and Nya blinks, tapping the comm again. The other elemental masters look on in worry.
"Lloyd? Lloyd!?" Nya curses, turning to face the others. She shakes her head.
"Well? Did he say where he was?" Skylor asks.
"He said he was at Borg Tower, but that's all." Nya sighs, biting her lip.
"Well then let's go-"
"Guys! I need anyone near Borg Tower to get here right now! It's Liv!" Nya winces as Lloyd's voice rings through her ears. She looks towards the others before sighing.
"You guys take them to Kryptarium. I'm gonna go help Lloyd." Nya says, already running from the temple. Their adventure has yet to come to a close, apparently.
"Wow." Liv says, and Nya laughs.
"Wow is right." She sighs, taking another bite of ice cream. "That night was so action packed…"
"Tell me about it." Liv breaths, frowning at her empty bowl. Annoyed at it's audacity to show up empty.
The two fall silent, Liv getting up to get some more ice cream. Nya snorts, taking another bite of her own. Liv grins as she spoons the frozen treat into her bowl, topping it off with a spray of whipped cream and strawberries.
Nya is quiet for a beat, studying Liv with an unreadable expression. "You know, Liv," She starts, slowly. "If you don't want to talk that's fine, but I just want you to know that I'll be ready to lend an ear if you need it. You don't have to keep secrets anymore."
Liv stares at her, she blinks again, her eyes straying towards the window. A clear night sky, she can even see the stars twinkle in the sky. No giant colossus. She turns to face Nya, smiling softly. "I know." She whispers, "Thank you, it means a lot."
"Any time." Nya smiles, patting the seat on the couch next to her. "Now, let's see if we can find a good nature documentary."
Liv beams, taking a seat next to Nya as she scrolls through dozens of documentaries, settling on one of her favorites about Hyroshi's Labyrinth. A smile tugs at her lips as the titles flash across the screen.
Next up, the Llorumi centric chapter. Where justice must be served.