All right guys, I'm uploading the final 2 chapters + epilogue today. It's all edited and ready to go. Chapter 1 is also getting a small update; I'm adding a bit of a prologue starring Kai.

LightWolf: It's all right! I hope you're doing okay.

So. Here we go.

"How much did you remember?" Nya's voice was harsh on Zane's ears.

Cole spoke again.

"Just-just two memories."

"But it was enough." Zane said quietly. "He can see us."

Zane was looking at Xavier. The little boy's face was stark white.

"The seal is breaking." Garmadon said. "We are no longer safe."

"Then we have to act!" Cole said.

His voice was strong. The weeks alone or perhaps the memories had given him a strength that Zane craved.

"Are you suggesting we march up and fight that thing?" Jay demanded.

"That's exactly what he's saying." Kai spoke up.

He too must have gained strength from the memories. His back was straight and his eyes bright.

"We either wait here for it or we go and fight it on our terms." Cole continued.

Zane's numbness was giving way to dread, yet also determination.

"Then it will be only us." He said. "Pixal, Garmadon, take Xavier back-"

"No." Garmadon said. "I will be with you."

"Fine, Pixal-"

"Xavier has to come." Cole's voice was somber. "He's our only chance."

The little boy had his eyes squeezed shut and was as rigid as a board. When Cole spoke, however, he nodded his head. Zane's heart ached for the child. Gone were the days he would have protested. As much as it hurt him to place Xavier in danger, he knew there was nothing he could do to dissuade the boy. He could at least be at his side.

"Pixal, please go back to the base and prepare for an assault." Nya told the droid.

"Yes." Pixal said. "As much as I would like to assist you, I would be a better use at the base."

She turned to her mech.

"Good luck." She said over her shoulder. "Please, be careful."

One of the raging emotions within Zane rose above the others. What if he never saw her again? He ran after Pixal.

"Zane?" Cole called after him.

Pixal's normally impassive face was concerned as she turned to face Zane.

"Pixal." Zane's breath caught in his chest. "I need to tell you, in case I do not see you again-"

He heaved a deep breath.

"I still care for you. I will always care for you."

Pixal stared at him. There was an emotion in her eyes, but Zane could not read it.

She pulled him to her and kissed him. It was no longer than their first kiss, but Zane's heart was pulsing hard.

She looked into his eyes as she pulled away.

"I will see you again." She told him.

There was no uncertainty in her voice. It was a command to him. He would do everything in his power to come back to her.

"Yes." He said.

He felt suddenly that he could now face the hardship before him. She touched his face before hurrying to her mech.

Zane turned around to see Jay and Nya locked in a similar embrace. Cole looked saddened and Kai looked outright angry.

"We can do this." Nya said as she and Jay broke apart.

"Yeah." Jay sounded breathless.

Kai coughed.

"Now that we've got that out of our systems, can we please get to our suicide mission?"

The flight to Ninjago City was both eternal and yet the shortest of Xavier's life. He clutched the back of Zane's robes. Deep breaths. In and out. Could he do this? Could he face the Overlord?

He did not know.

Dread coursed through his veins. They were approaching. They landed on the outskirts of the city.

"Be ready." Kai said. "We may have to fight our way in."

Xavier noted Zane's pained expression. His brother was being awfully brave for just finding out what the Lordings were.

Xavier turned his attention to the streets of the city. Lordings milled about in large groups. The tall buildings made Xavier feel trapped.

He tensed as the first Lording caught sight of them. The other six immediately formed a protective circle around him. Their weapons were in their hands.

The Lording didn't cry out, or charge, or do anything. No, it did do something. It moved out of the way.

All of them stared in shock as the hundreds of Lordings parted to form a straight path to the tall twisted spire at the heart of the city.

Kai took a hesitant step forward. None of them moved. Xavier's group began to make their way

along the cleared path.

"He wants us to face him. " Zane said under his breath.

The air felt thicker the closer they got to the tower. Light seemed grey and shadows seemed darker. Places where plants might've grown were bare with sickly grey dirt.

In what felt like no time at all they had reached the base of the tower. Xavier looked up. The height was dizzying.

"Garmadon?" Kai asked.

Xavier looked around. The old man had gone pale and was trembling as he looked up the tower.

"Hey, are you all right?" Cole asked.

"I-" Garmadon swallowed. "This tower does not bring pleasant memories."

"Maybe you should go back to the dragons." Nya suggested.

She too looked troubled. At least, more troubled than before.

"That's a no-go." Jay piped up. "Look."

The path behind them had filled, leaving them trapped by a seething mass of Lordings.

"I guess the only way is up." Cole muttered.

Xavier stared at the dark staircase wrapped around the tower. He closed his eyes and took the first step.

Panic rose higher and higher as they in turn climbed higher and higher. Xavier kept his hand on the wall. It was smooth under his fingers, unnaturally so. He looked down at his feet. One, two, one, two.

They reached the top. Xavier took one more glance at the landscape of Ninjago, as shrouded as it was, before turning to face his adversary.

The Fallen was waiting for them. So was a huge dark figure made of shimmering blackness. The Overlord.

Bile rose in Xavier's throat. Here he was. Facing what he was born to face.

"You were right, master." The Fallen said. "They did come."

"Of course they did." The Overlord's voice rose and fell in a grating crescendo. "They had no choice."

Xavier found himself staring into the Overlord's red-violet eyes. It gave a strangled laugh.

"The new prophecy child." It sneered. "Destiny is nothing but predictable."

The others were trembling. The mere presence of the Overlord was suffocating.

Xavier moved to the front of the group. The Overlord laughed again.

"Child, you are nothing to me. If you must, fight my plaything."

The Fallen stood up from where he was lounging.

Xavier took a deep breath and before he could lose his nerve, stepped forward. The others shouted in alarm as a wall of darkness sprang up between them and Xavier.

The Fallen unleashed his power. Xavier dove to the side. He ran as the tentacles of darkness lashed out one after the other. He stretched out his hand. No light sprang to his fingertips. His power. Where was his power?

He was moving only by instinct now. Then his panicked mind remembered his ring. In a flash his glaive was in his hands. With a spin the tendrils of shadows dissipated.

The Fallen was suddenly in front of him. The dark creature slammed his fist down. Xavier caught the blow on the shaft of his glaive. With an overwhelming effort he threw the Fallen's arm away. Xavier jabbed his glaive but the Fallen twisted to the side. The dark aura around him formed a spike over his clenched fist. He lunged at Xavier. Xavier barely managed to scramble back. The Fallen swiped again, this time nicking Xavier's cheek. It stung, but the adrenaline made it seem insignificant.

Xavier took the opportunity to strike back. The blade of his glaive cut deeply into the Fallen's chest. The surge of triumph died when the Fallen slashed downward. Xavier scrambled away but he hit his mark. The spike sliced into Xavier's shoulder and down his chest. Xavier stumbled back. The gash blazed with pain. He didn't notice until too late as the Fallen blasted him with a wave of shadows. It threw him into the barrier. The wind was forced from his chest as he fell to the ground. He could barely focus on the form of the Fallen getting closer.

"You'll have to do better than that. " The Fallen sneered. "Where are your powers, little boy?"

Xavier struggled to his feet but it was too late. The Fallen took him by the neck and slammed him against the dark wall.

Xavier clutched the Fallen's arm, trying to keep himself from choking. He struggled for breath. His chest ached. The Fallen raised his other, spiked hand. A glimmer of pity seemed to spark in the dark pools of the Fallen's eyes.

"I'll make it quick."

Xavier squeezed his eyes shut. At least he had that.

Thud.

Xavier cracked an eye open. The Fallen had frozen, staring at something past Xavier.

Thud.

Vibrations ran up Xavier's back. The grip around his neck loosened.

Thud.

Xavier managed to gain enough leverage to twist his head. Through the shimmering dark wall, he saw Cole. Cole, with tears streaming down his cheeks, smashed his fist once again into the wall. His mouth was open in an unheard roar. He pulled the fist back, leaving a discoloration on the barrier.

Xavier could see the others in shadow, further away. They all had their arms outstretched, elemental energies arcing from their fingers. They were trying to break through.

Xavier turned his head back to face the Fallen. He was crying too.

"They'd have done that for me." He said in a hoarse voice.

The dark eyes flickered back to Xavier for a moment.

"I don't hate you." The Fallen whispered. "Why don't I hate you?"

"Because we're brothers."

Xavier said the words in his mind, but the Fallen's eyes narrowed as if he had heard them. The grip tightened but the light had come back to Xavier. It sprang not to his fingertips, but to every pore. The Fallen gasped and dropped Xavier. He backed away. Xavier landed lithely and stood up straight.

"And I'm going to save you."

The Fallen's face contorted into a combination of anger and despair.

"You can't!" He screamed. "How many times do I have to say it?"

He slammed his hands into the ground. The wave of darkness dissolved before it got close to Xavier. He dashed around the perimeter of their arena as more shadows lunged for him. He skidded to a stop and faced the Fallen one more time.

Xavier took several deep breaths and pushed. All of the light within radiated from him. The Fallen roared as a blast of darkness burst from him. It clashed with Xavier's power and Xavier felt himself be shoved backwards. He dug his feet in and pushed harder. He poured every ounce of himself into that force. He could feel that the Fallen had too. It was no longer their powers that were battling, it was their souls.

Memories and emotions that weren't Xavier's made a patchwork in his mind. Abandoned, by his mother, by the school she had left him to, by the snakes he called friends. Thrown by destiny against the father he loved. Torn away from the family he had found, leaving him alone. Completely alone.

Xavier felt it all. He faltered for just a second. The darkness snapped up the advantage. All of a sudden it was threatening to overwhelm him. He began to panic. He tried to call out for help but his voice was still lost. He was alone too. He was going to die alone-

"Xavier!"

It was Cole's voice, Zane's voice, Jay's voice, all their voices somehow overcoming the barrier. And somehow, his mother's voice. His father's voice. Xavier wasn't alone.

The knowledge opened his heart and power he didn't think possible exploded out. There was a brief resistance, but Xavier only had to focus before he purged the Fallen. The light engulfed them both. It blinded him and his senses were overcome.

When the light faded, Xavier was somewhere else. He looked around at the vast white expanse around him. There was no sign of the Fallen, the Overlord, or the others.

"Hey."

Xavier whirled around at the sound. Behind him stood a young man with pale blonde hair and dressed in green.

"You're-"

"Lloyd, yeah."

Xavier studied him. His features matched the Fallen's, but softer and rounder. He looked four years younger.

"Where are we?" Xavier asked.

"Between realms, I think." Lloyd said with a cocked head. "I'm on my way to the Departed Realm."

Xavier blanched.

"No!" He thought desperately. "I was supposed to save you!"

Lloyd shook his head with a sad smile.

"You did, in a way. You destroyed my connection with the Overlord. I can move on now. If I had died with that bond, I'd be stuck in the Cursed Realm."

Xavier bit his lip.

"But-"

Lloyd crouched down to Xavier's level.

"I've been through a lot." He said softly. "Let me be at peace."

Xavier studied his green eyes. He nodded. Lloyd smiled.

"Good."

He paused and tilted his head.

"Yeah, I'm coming, Uncle." He said to the air. He turned his focus back on Xavier.

"Thank you, Aaron."

Xavier flinched at the name of the boy he had been.

"It's Xavier." He insisted.

Lloyd grinned.

"All right. Thanks, Xavier. Look after them."

He turned around and walked away. The further he got, the more faded he became until finally he was gone.

The light was suddenly blinding again, and Xavier found himself back on the top of the Overlord's tower.

Zane was frozen in place as he watched the light fade away. It left Xavier crouched with shoulders heaving and blood staining his front. Across from him was the Fallen, now just an emaciated, pale haired young man. The second Zane laid eyes on the body, he felt the seal break. Like four years ago in an ice bound forest, memories began to pour into his head. His father. What he, Zane, was. Again his heart opened, the joy of knowing who he was coursing through him. With that joy came power. But as the ice particles began to form around him, that joy turned sharply to shock, to grief, and then to anger. Because he knew the young man lying on the ground.

Lloyd.

Xavier flinched as the top of the tower burst into light. Kai, Zane, Cole, and Jay were blazing with blinding power. The temperature of the air fluctuated wildly, from blazing hot to freezing cold. The air sparked with electricity and the tower trembled. Something was wrong, very wrong. Xavier began to run towards them, ignoring the throbbing at his chest. He reached out to Nya. She pulled away, eyes flooded with tears. She was engulfed by a pillar of glowing water. Her scream mingled with the rough laughter of the Overlord.

"No!" Xavier thought desperately.

For the thousandth time he wished he had a voice, to call out to them. If they could just hear his voice, they could come back, he just knew it.

"How did it end up like this?" A grieving voice asked.

Garmadon had made it to Xavier's side.

"What's happening?" Xavier signed.

"Their true potentials." Garmadon rasped. "Their true powers have been unleashed."

He shook his head.

"But it's all wrong. They were never supposed to be unlocked with pain and loss."

Garmadon clenched his fists and stared at the bright figures.

"Their powers are stronger than ever, but it's going to kill them. Was this my brother's plan? To destroy the Overlord at the cost of his students?"

Panic flared in Xavier's chest. Garmadon fixed his intense green gaze on Xavier.

"Xavier, you're like my son was. You have that connection with them. You have to call them back."

Xavier looked back to his five guardians. He couldn't- wouldn't lose them. He took a step forward. The elemental energy slammed into him like a wall. But he took another step. Then a third. One after the other with the elemental storm raging around him, until he reached Zane and Kai's side.

Their auras burned his face but he blindly reached out until he grabbed a hand. If he had a voice, he would have screamed at the icy sear across his palm. When he opened his eyes, Zane had turned his face to him. His expression was oddly blank. The sheer force of his powers had ripped part of his face away, leaving only frozen tears on the metal.

Xavier reached out to him in his mind. He was hit with a storm of anger and grief. He pushed back, trying to find Zane in the middle. He called to his first protector and something responded. He took those feelings. They hurt, but Xavier was no stranger to it. Xavier squeezed Zane's hand. The cold of Zane's hand lessened.

Xavier took the opportunity to reach for Kai's hand. He gasped at the scorching pain but more potent was the rage and agony flowing from Kai. Xavier looked up to Kai's blistered face. He was crying too, but the tears were evaporating as fast as they could be shed. Xavier called out again, pushing at the torrent of emotions that ensnared Kai. He took them. The flames diminished.

He connected with the others. He felt Cole's anguish. Jay's bitterness. Nya's despair. He took them all and focused them. He whispered to their hearts. Their pain came with their power.

And in him the powers combined to become the power of the First Spinjitzu Master. He held it for just a moment and saw the Overlord for what he really was. A vast darkness that spread across all of Ninjago and the world.

Xavier could not destroy it, not completely. He didn't want to. Balance wasn't the absence of one part. But Xavier could destroy that consciousness that controlled the darkness. He released the light. The Overlord screamed.

Silence.

There was a clatter as Jay's nunchucks hit the ground and vanished. He had dropped them to meet and catch a running Nya.

"Nya." He said in a tight voice. "Nya."

She just clutched him tighter and wept into his shoulder.

Kai had approached Lloyd's body. His fists clenched.

"I failed." He said in a hollow voice.

Zane hadn't moved. He was staring at his hand. The skin had been stripped away from the robotic insides.

Xavier didn't move either. He didn't have the strength to. Cole had come up to him and crouched down. He gently turned Xavier round and began examining Xavier's wound. His movements were mechanical and Xavier could tell it was all on instinct.

Garmadon had gone to Lloyd and gathered him in his arms.

"Be at peace, my son." He whispered. "Your journey is over. You can rest now."

He broke down and sobs racked his body as he clutched his son.

No one looked at the dark remnant where the Overlord had stood.

I'm sorry Lloyd, but I felt it was right. There are some versions of this in my head where Lloyd's spirit attaches himself to Xavier, or he straight up survives, but in the end, I wanted Lloyd to rest after all the crap I put him through. And Xavier's name was Aaron! Xavier actually considers that person to be dead, dying with his parents. And here's my explanation of the True Potential thing. The memories that caused the emotional release that lead to their original true potentials being released were sealed. Cole and Jay were less effected by this, i.e. being way better with their elements, because their true potentials were based on more personal things, Cole having his father be proud of him and Jay letting himself be himself. It felt like they would be able to achieve some form of inner peace in this universe even without the specific memories. On the other hand, Zane's is dependent on knowing who he was and where he came from, so of course his element is going to be stunted. The only real times he's able to use it is when he is protecting. Kai's potential is based on Lloyd and his duty to protect him. Lloyd is gone, and Kai never really gets a handle on his powers. Anyway, when their memories come back, it's tainted with the fact that Lloyd is dead, and I thought it would be interesting that if their moment of inner peace was marred by something so tragic as that, it would enhance their powers to the point of being deadly to themselves. Nya just kind of gets caught up in the energy of the moment.

Anyway, wear your masks, remember to review, and have a good week!