Harumi was gone. Garmadon was enraged. Skylor was poisoned. And now, our hope had dwindled to almost nothing. This was no longer about stopping Garmadon. We'd just made Garmadon angry, and now he was out to destroy us and the city together.
Of course, we were still on top of a building, with the Colossus coming right at us with nowhere to hide. Just to show us how strong it was, it picked up a car like it was a toy and chucked it to destroy the roof access. Nya and Dareth jumped to the next building, but Skylor wasn't waking up. I wasn't going to leave her behind, but I couldn't wake her up. I had to make the riskiest move I could and jump onto the Colossus' fist when it tried to crush us, then jump over to Nya.
Just looking into the eyes of that thing was like looking into a horror movie. Its eyes terrified me. I don't know how Garmadon was doing it, but feeling how cold Skylor had gone trying to use it was enough. I knew that this wasn't right. Nothing about that Colossus was right. It was the embodiment of the hatred Harumi had instilled in my father when she brought him back. It was everything that he was now. A giant monster, ready to destroy me.
...I realize that I said in the start, I wasn't going to call him my father. Nya pointed out that I've been saying it a lot, though. I don't know why. Even as we were running away from that giant thing, I still saw him as my father. I still saw him as the man that I wanted to save. I kept calling him my father. I kept, thinking of him that way, but I knew he wasn't. I know that he will never be my father. He won't ever be, anything like that again. The fact that, even when he had just tried to kill me with that thing, I still thought of him that way is… I don't know. I don't know how I feel about him.
I was feeling a lot of things, really. We were running away while the Colossus just went about destroying everything. Every possible thing it could. The roads, the buildings, the cars, anything it could get its hands on. Garmadon was serious about killing me. He wanted me dead, and he'd destroy the city to do it. While we were running, that hit me harder than the Colossus was hitting all of those buildings. The city was about to pay for all of this.
The more we ran, the more I couldn't figure out what I was feeling. Everything was just hitting me. Garmadon's anger felt like it was flowing right into me. I was reeling from what I'd just seen with… Harumi. I was dragging Skylor when I knew I was the reason she was like this. And I hadn't even gotten a chance to really process that Mystake was… gone. Everything had just gone wrong. Horribly wrong. We'd lost everyone that was there to fight with us. It was down to me, Nya and Dareth. Just us. Now, we couldn't count on anyone to help us.
Nya said she still had the battle wagon, and if we just got to it, we could escape the city. I didn't want to escape. After everything we'd done, I didn't want to leave it behind. But I knew we didn't have much choice. We had lost almost everything. Garmadon wasn't going to let up on us. It was time for us to do or die and… and I felt like we were going to die. Dareth was the one that pushed me. He said I had to know when to turn tail. I had to know when we couldn't fight anymore. And just like every other time until now… I was too weak to help lead the fight.
I went for the wagon, but said we'd stay and try to fight. We couldn't just leave the city behind, when I'd been the one to do this. I'd hurt everyone. I had to do and help. I had to. We dragged ourselves way and down the streets. I could hear the Colossus destroying buildings left and right. The news told everyone to flee. I knew this was my plan. My plan had seemed so smart at the time. I thought it would work. Everyone believed in it. Now two people had died for the sake of it, and I was only a few steps away from being totally alone.
As if it wasn't enough, we ran across UV by pure chance. The Colossus had thrown her while she wore the Mask of Hatred, so she'd survived the fall and was waiting for backup. When she saw us, it was like being punched when you were down. Even if she was crazy, she could fight, and she could do a lot to mess me up. Since Skylor was down, we didn't have a choice. Nya had to stay behind and fight. I had to drag Skylor further, without her.
Maybe that's a bit dramatic, but when it was all happening, that's what it felt like. It was like everything was just wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. And we just had to keep going. I could hear UV fighting with Nya in the background, I just had to keep going. I felt like if I stopped, I'd just give up. It was hurting. Everything was hurting. I wanted to just make this all end. I guess, that's what it's like when you see so many people just lose for you. Everyone was protecting me, but I could barely protect myself.
We did get to the Battle Wagon, and I drove it as fast as I could to save Nya. When we got back, I was worried the worst had happened. IT was only a step above it. UV had hurt Nya's shoulder, so now she couldn't fight at her full strength. We broke the Mask she wore by hitting it hard enough… which, doesn't make a lot of sense really, since the Mask was all about making you take really hard hits. I guess that's just how it was. I don't think about it. I wasn't really caring about that. I was more concerned with getting away.
Instead, that's when UV's backup came. The SOG were all around us. Nya was hurt, Skylor wasa down, and we had to fight. In truth, it almost felt like the end. They didn't stop coming. No matter what we did, we couldn't stop them. We were fighting for our lives. It was finally time for our Resistance to come to an end. It was like we'd fully, and truly, lost.
...But the Resistance Never Quits. Just when it was at its bleakest, that's when the ninja showed up. Mystake had told us to wait for them, and that if we held out, we'd be able to defeat my father. And that's exactly what happened. Dragons from the First Realm were carrying our friends with them. The friends Harumi had murdered, that I'd spent so long waiting for, that I thought I'd never be able to see again… were here. Seeing Master Wu atop the Firstbourne, my friends riding dragons that felt unlike anything I'd ever felt before… it was enough to finally give me hope. Hope that maybe, this could end well.
They weren't just for show, either. Zane rescued us. That was when Master Wu arrived. I know I've been glossing over this. And this was when I first got to see him. He was a young man, not the old Master that everyone knows him as. He looked… incredible, really. He was wearing what the ninja told me was the Dragon Armor, carrying his father's sword and armor. And he was riding the mother of all dragons. I didn't think Master Wu could be more impressive than he already was… but that image will always stick with me. He wasn't cryptic, wise, or anything like that. This was Master Wu in his prime. A young man with everything that I wanted to be. In that moment, I realized that I was looking at the Son of the First Spinjitzu Master.
When he was an old man, he was wise to avoid a fight. Today, he wasn't an old man. Wu's words were about as inspiring as anything I could have said. I still can't imagine anything cooler than that. Everything about the man that came back from the First Realm was… incredible. He said the ninja had taught him everything he knew, and today, he would go into battle alongside me. Wu was there to help, and the ninja had finally come back.
Seeing all of them like that, with their dragons, their weapons, and with Wu like that… it was like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I'd been hiding and waiting for them for so long. I'd been trying to take on my father on my own, and those that were there to help me felt like they had just fallen trying to hold me up. But now, I didn't need to hide anymore. We were going to finally take down my father and his Colossus. We finally had a shot at this. We finally had the chance to do something.
Wu said I had to confront my father. I knew, deep down, it was time. Garmaodn had lost Harumi. The SOG were scattered. We had the power to do this. Even without my power, I had to have a chance. Mystake had told me that it wasn't the power I held that was important, but me. I'd been changing all my life. I'd become the Green Ninja before, and I could do it again. It's just like my father said in his Cursed Realm… it was the color of my heart that made me the Green Ninja. It was time for me to finally do this. I'd shown the people I was alive, but I hadn't saved them yet. I'd revealed myself, and now I had to truly step into my own. And Wu reminded me even without my power, I had him by my side. I had my friends by my side. I could do this. Wu and I mounted Firstbourne and flew up to fight my father. The ninja took their dragons to go and take down the Colossus. Nya and Dareth went about helping with the evacuation. It was time for us to take back our city.
Riding Firstbourne is something that I can't really explain why, but it felt amazing. It was like the first time I'd felt my power before. I could feel that Firstbourne was amazing. She was truly something deserving of the title. I knew that she was something special from seeing her, but I had no idea how Wu was able to ride her. She was the strongest dragon I ever met, and I don't think anything will ever top that. It all just reminded me that I was finally getting a chance to face my father with my full strength. I had allies like this again. With Firstbourne and Wu, I could face him and win.
Before we arrived, Wu admitted that he didn't know how to defeat my father. Only a fool knew everything, he said. Wu said he could feel Garmadon's rage as we made our way to the tower, too. When we landed on top of the place Garmaodn had made his throne, I felt like I was walking into a cave of pure evil. The platform was broken apart in several spaces, and Garmadon truly had turned it into his dark palace. He ruled Ninjago City from here. We weren't walking into Borg Tower… we were walking into his palace. When we climbed our way up to him, it was like the rest of the city had completely vanished. I couldn't feel anything but me. If Wu wasn't wearing such bright armor, I'd probably have lost track of him. Even if we were surrounded by the city on all sides, I knew this wasn't the city. This… this was my father. This was it. This was the fight that everything had been leading up to. From the moment I faced him in Kryptarium, to the second I stepped foot on that tower, this was it. This was the fight.
My father dropped down from the shadows to fight us. Now that he was at his full power, looking at him was like seeing a demon. He was nothing but power and rage. I could feel it from him as we stepped forward to fight him. I knew this had to end here, but in those few seconds that he looked at us like that, I almost felt like turning away. All of my memories came flooding back to me at once. I'd lost to him before. I'd lost to him a lot. This wasn't the man that had tried to save me. He wanted me destroyed. He claimed he'd unlocked his true potential. All we had was the armor of the FSM, and our determination.
Garmadon was going ot tes that determination, though. Each time he struck us, it felt like we were being hit by the Colossus itself. I couldn't even hear the thing out there, even if I knew that it was there. Even if I knew the ninja were fighting it. Everything seemed to just, focus in on my father. His first attack almost threw me right off the tower. His power wasn't something we could fight head on. He was truly a monster, just like Harumi said. And we had to be the ones to take him down.
A lot of the fight that Wu put up, I didn't get to see. Garmadon threw me up into the air with his power and I slammed into two chunks of concrete before I could get back in the fight. By the time I was even there to fight again, the two had already pushed each other to their limits. I could hear it, though. I could hear them fighting. The two of them had fought before, when Garmadon tried to take the Golden Weapons. Now, they were fighting over Ninjago itself. The sword Wu was carrying was something Garmadon kept pointing out as their father's. The FSM had made a realm to avoid the fighting before the Oni and Dragon. In a way, that's exactly what was happening. Master Wu, the embodiment of the dragons, was fighting my father, who only had his Oni side. I wonder what the FSM would think if he saw this.
When I got back into the fight, Wu had pinned Garmadon and called the Firstbourne up to do… probably one of the coolest things I've ever seen a dragon do. The Firstbourne spewed lava straight from her mouth to completely encase my father in it. I had to get down just because of the sheer heat of it. For a moment, all the darkness in the tower had faded away. Apparently, Wu had already done this to someone called Iron Baron. Seeing it in person… I can only feel sorry for whoever thi Baron guy was.
But even that wasn't enough. My father broke free, telling us that it was the fight that fueled him. He'd said that the first time I fought him, but this time I got to see it. When he unleashed his power to attack the Firstbourne, he blasted Wu all the way off the tower and knocked the dragon out of the air. I was thrown all the way to the edge of the platform, holding on just to stay up. I saw Firstbourne recover enough to go and grab Wu before he hit the ground. Seeing that meant I was alone again. Garmadon's power was too much for us to fight together. I had to finish this fight… alone. Again.
When my father came to the edge, he said it was goodbye. I don't remember what I said, but I know that I made him angry. He dragged me back up and threw me back. When I got back up, he'd picked up the sword Wu had with him and started coming at me. I remember the look he gave me. He looked… happy. It was like he really wanted this fight to keep going. He really did get fueled by the fight.
I threw myself into that fight. I gave it everything I had. I put it all into it. My anger, my rage, my sadness, everything. I kept fighting for everyone. I fought for Mystake. I fought for Skylor. For Harumi. For my friends. For the city. I know it sounds silly, but that was what was keeping me going. Each time he attacked me, it was like that was it. I couldn't give up. Not now. Not after everything. Wu was gone. The ninja were fighting the Colossus. This fight… this fight had to be between us. I couldn't let him win. He couldn't take me down.
I stole the sword from Garmadon. When I did, he tried to send the same power at me that'd nearly killed me back in Kryptarium. I remember readying myself to get blown off, only to find the sword just absorbed it. I didn't know why, but I was going to use it. I had to defeat my father. I threw myself into the battle. I thought, maybe with this thing, I could fight him. I tried to tell him he could change. He'd changed for me before. Harumi couldn't have jus brought back the negative parts of him. There had to be something left. Something for me to hold onto.
But Garmadon didn't care. He said people don't change, they only reveal who they truly were. He pinned me down and started raining his attacks down on my sword. All I could do was just take them. I didn't have my power. I didn't have my friends. I didn't have anything. I just had this sword, and my will. He kept striking me. Over, and over again. I know it wasn't that long, but it felt like hours. I thought I could fight him. I had taken the sword. I'd gotten to him. I'd done all of it. I thought… I thought I could fight him.
But I couldn't. When he knocked the sword out of my hands, I knew that I couldn't fight him. He watched it, fall all the way down to the streets below. All the way down. As I watched it fall, I felt like everything was over. What was I supposed to do now? I didn't have a weapon. I didn't have Wu. I didn't have anything. Garmadon was shouting at me to get up. To keep fighting him. I had to do something… I had to keep fighting.
… When I saw the sword fall, I felt like it was over. But that was when I remembered it. Something that my father had taught me before. Something that I had already been doing. I couldn't fight him. My father's power, it was too much. I couldn't overcome it. But there was a way to fight your enemy without using weapons. It was something my father had taught me. It was something that I had to do. Garmaodn said I couldn't change. Mystake said that I'd been changing all my life. The fight was what fueled him. If he had a fight, he could always win. Without that fight… he had nothing.
I thought back to when he'd tried to crush us with the Colossus. I'd felt something. I'd felt connected to him. I knew that there was something there. Something that I didn't understand at the time. When Haumi had brought him back, she'd used me. There was only one thing in Ninjago that my father could be connected to. One thing that I could use against him. I couldn't fight him. But I could resist him.
I couldn't fight him, but I could resist him.
I stopped fighting. The fight was what fueled him. All this time, I'd been resisting him, thinking that wasn't the right way to do this. I didn't attack him. I just let him fight me. I let him try to hurt me. I didn't let him think I wanted to attack. I couldn't fight him. I'd resist him. And once I did that, it was like everything about him… drained away.
Harumi had brought back someone that was fueled by rage and hatred. When I stopped letting him feed into that, I stopped fueling him. All this time, he'd been trying to track me down. To hunt me down. But now, he had me. And I wouldn't give into his demand to fight me. He wanted me to fight him. He started shouting at me, like he was begging me to. But the longer that he kept at it, the more his power drained out. The more that I understood what was going on. The more that I knew where my power had gone.
When he finally fell, I felt it. All this time, he'd been drawing on my power. The connection I'd felt to him, wasn't just some feeling. It'd always been there. He was the Emperor. I was the Green Ninja. Power is never truly lost, Mystake said. And once I felt that… I felt my power. I realized all this time, I'd been fueling the fight. He'd drained me of my power when he attacked me. His power didn't come from his Oni side. It came from the one thing in Ninjago he had left. And that meant I could take it back. I became the Green Ninja agin.
As soon as I had my power, he knew the fight was over. He had nothing left. When he fell down, he looked like a weak man. Someone that had been dragged back from death. Someone that wasn't the man I remembered. He even told me to finish him, told me to take him down, and get rid of him. I guess it would have been a fitting end for him. The son that he'd tried to hunt down, finally coming to take him down.
But I didn't. I refused to. I told him that it was over. He knew it was over. There wasn't anything he could do now, but submit. I'd finally won. I'd brought down my father. I'd stopped Harumi's plan. I'd finally become the Green Ninja again.
That was when he told me something. That his power was the only thing that could beat back the darkness. That they were coming. He refused to tell me more. The ninja had found the Oni lands deserted. I thought it was over, but I knew when he said that it wasn't. He had no reason to lie to me. But I wasn't ready to listen. Not yet. It was time to finish this.
After everything, I put Garmadon in prison. I put him where he belonged for his crimes. I refused to kill him. My father kept saying that they were coming. That something was. Now wasn't the time for that. Now was the time for me to reunite with my friends… and to finally put all of this behind us and help the city rebuild. It was time to finally become the Green Ninja again.
I spent a long time with my friends after that. They told me all about what they did in the First Realm. Master Wu would fill in what they didn't. I learned about what they'd done, how Wu had grown up into a teenager and helped save them from Iron Baron. How they'd escaped dragon hunters and befriended them. About how they'd been on the run just like I had, and were so glad to be back. I can't say I got all the tory, but I didn't care. I was with my friends again. After everything… I was with my friends again.
Just like always, we went about cleaning up the city. None of us were expecting the celebration, but I wasn't going to turn it down. We might have been involved in this, but we'd fought for a long time. We'd saved the people. We were able ot have one celebration. One moment to finally stop and relax after everything that happened. Hearing the people… hearing everything, it was just what I had to hear. After everything, after all this time, I felt like this was it. I'd finally… finally won. This was over.
On that night, I helped see the Firstbourne off. Wu had gone back to normal, but he wasn't like the Wu I knew. He was more like the man that had come to help me. He was still the man that wanted to keep his ninja safe, above all else. I'll always be grateful to him for it. For helping me like that. He helped bring down the Colossus. And I was able to watch as the dragon that had befriended him flew back off to the First Realm.
Even through the celebration, however. I knew something wasn't right. My father's words wouldn't stop echoing in my head. I couldn't help it. I knew something was wrong. Wu even said they never saw the Oni. They were gone when they got to their lands. The First Realm was missing the Oni… and if my father was right, this wasn't the end. I'd become the Green Ninja again, but something wasn't right.
There was one more chapter to this story. One more trial for us to overcome. Something Harumi had never foreseen, something only my father knew about. The Oni were on the march, and we were all that would stand between them, and Ninjago.
Lloyd let out a long sigh. For a moment, Nya looked up in worry, thinking he was about to be upset again. Instead, however, Lloyd gave Nya a small look, then slowly rubbed his neck.
"So… how was all of that?" Lloyd asked.
Nya blinked for a moment, then let out a small chuckle, "Why are you asking me? It's your book."
"Yeah, but you were there!" Lloyd leaned in, "Was that good? I know the chapters were a bit short at first, and I know this one and the last one were longer. I mean, should I spread them out a bit more?"
"Lloyd, you went through everything," Nya rolled her eyes, "You're telling your own story. If you didn't say something, it's probably not important. Least that's how I'd feel if this was my book."
"I guess you're right…" Lloyd sighed, "I wanted to talk about the First Realm and all that, but, I didn't have anything to say. The ninja were doing all of that. Should I add that too?"
"Zane said you get worried over this stuff," Nya stood up, "Lloyd, you've finished talking about it. Don't worry about it. People will want to hear this. Just be confident in yourself."
"Yeah… yeah, I guess you're right," Lloyd stood up, "Thanks, Nya."
"No problem," Nya crossed her arms, "Are you going to do the stuff with the Oni with me, too?"
"Actually…" Lloyd shook his head, "I'm gonna talk about that all together. I think it'll be better if I do it all together. And I know how I wanna record that one, too."
"Really?" Nya smirked, "You wanna throw that my way?"
"You'll see," Lloyd nodded, "Next chapter is gonna be the last one. I'm gonna finish this. And then… well, Zane says we'll have to do a lot of editing, but we'll make it work. I'm ready for this."
"Well then," Nya smiled, "I'm looking forward to it."
