WAR OF DARKNESS CHRONICLES
Book One: Changes
Part Three: Power
Chapter VII: A New Face
Wednesday April 25, 2018…
A week passed, and there was no improvement where Lloyd, Cole, Zane, Kai, and Jay's powers were concerned.
In fact, the situation was becoming dire. None of the aforementioned ninja could summon any of their powers, and the last two days Lloyd was so weak he could barely get out of bed.
The only thing Sensei Wu's extensive meditations revealed was that there was an imbalance in the Elemental Spectrum, but there was no indication given as to what was causing it or how it could be corrected.
Misako and Nya spent all day every day researching but could find no clue as to what was causing the ninja's powers to be diminished; Wu and Garmadon reached out to their various contacts; Zane scoured every database in Ninjago with P.I.X.A.L.'s help.
None of these efforts turned up any information, and frustration was starting to set in.
Morro was especially frustrated at first, feeling he could do nothing to help. That is, until Lloyd's condition became severe; at that point, Morro took to providing bedside care to Lloyd.
The others had offered to take shifts sharing the responsibility, but Morro refused: he was a ghost and had no real need of sleep, and everyone else was either too weak or too busy to provide attentive care.
Today, however, Lloyd was able to get up and move around with the aid of a rare brew of invigorating tea Sensei Wu was able to prepare. So, Wu suggested an easy walk in the park to get some fresh air and get everyone's mind off of the frustrating, worrying, and confusing situation in which they had found themselves.
The entire group went on the walk, including Misako and both senseis. While the walk was supposed to be relaxing, an observer could tell the ninja were wrought with concern as they walked silently in a tight group with their heads down.
Had their heads not been down, they would have noticed dark clouds rolling in from every direction, focusing in on the park in which they walked.
The wind picked up, and it was a cold wind. It was an abnormally warm spring in Ninjago, so this phenomenon caused the heroes to look up from gazing at their feet in time to notice that the dark clouds above were flashing a brilliant show of multicolored lightning.
The many torches that decorated Ninjago City Park spat towers of flame into the sky as the ground began to shake and rain appeared to fall sideways, whipped around the focal point of the incredible storm that had appeared. The torches were undeterred by the rain.
"There's always something—now what?!" Jay cried over the howling wind and roaring thunder.
Cole was about to respond, but a violent earthquake cut him off and icicles shot out from the ground, forming ominous fingers on either side of the path the ninja were on, which seemed to point to a large blank concrete slab that was to be the site of a new statue of Cyrus Borg at a time in the future.
It was at this point the ninja realized the slab was also where the eye of the storm was focused. They watched in awe as the eye of the storm tightened into a funnel and seemed to point at the slab.
"Move towards it!" Garmadon yelled over nature's tantrums.
"You're insane!" Kai yelled back.
"Trust me," Garmadon replied, his eyes full of conviction and—why was he grinning?
As the group approached the slab, Lloyd in front, a brilliant green light emanated from the funnel cloud and connected it to the ground like a laser beam that then expanded into a great pillar of green light wrapped in clouds from which lightning and fire issued.
Then, as quickly as it had appeared, the storm and the pillar of light disappeared and all was as it was before; except now there was a figure standing on the concrete slab, still somewhat obscured by the dust that was stirred up by the storm.
No one spoke; no one moved.
As the dust cleared, the group could see more details of the mysterious figure's appearance. It appeared to be a male ninja, standing tall in black robes sporting the image of a dragon on his right side and six elemental symbols on his left; these imprints seemed to glow the same brilliant green as the pillar of light from which the stranger appeared.
His face was hidden by a ninja mask, and he wore a jet-black katana on his back which had strange green symbols glowing on its blade.
They all stood there for minutes on end before the mysterious figure spoke.
"I've been searching this world for you," he stated. His voice was sturdy but gentle. "And here you all are, just walking in the park."
Lloyd stepped forward. "Wh—who are you?" he asked.
"My name is Mack," the figure revealed, removing his hood and mask and revealing slightly shaggy brown hair. "I am the Green Ninja."
Everyone except Mack and Garmadon made an assortment of confused faces.
"No," Kai voiced what everyone was thinking, "Lloyd is the Green Ninja."
Garmadon replied, "No, Lloyd is the Golden Ninja—"
"The Ultimate Spinjitzu Master," Mack interrupted, "as foretold."
Lloyd wheeled around to face Garmadon. "Dad?"
Garmadon sighed. "Everyone… this was my last student before the venom of the Devourer consumed me completely. He speaks truly… he is the true Green Ninja."
While all the ninja gasped, Wu took Garmadon by the shoulder. "Brother, why did you never tell me of this?"
"Because I made him promise not to," Mack closed the distance between himself and the group.
"Whyever would you do that?" Wu asked, sounding slightly irritated.
"I often see fragmented pictures of possible futures," Mack replied. "Just before the last time I saw Sensei Garmadon, I saw that there are a multitude of events necessary to bring us to this day and to prepare us for the days ahead of us.
"If he had told you about me, many of those events would never have come to pass. Not least of which being the defeat and subsequent redemption of Morro, the Master of Wind."
At this, Morro moved closer to this stranger and narrowed his eyes. "You know me?" the ghost asked.
"Only by glimpses across the Ethereal Divide into this world," Mack responded somewhat cryptically.
Misako raised an eyebrow. "So, you're from another world, then?"
"Indeed," the 'Green Ninja' confirmed. "A realm called Earth."
Nya then spoke up, "Wait, there's something I'm not getting here. The reason we thought Lloyd was the Green Ninja is because the Golden Weapons chose him. What gives?"
"Ah," Mack brightened. "The original manuscript of the prophecy of the Green Ninja has been lost, so all there has been to rely on is various translations that point to different signs."
"Through a dark magic ritual," Garmadon added, "I was able to glimpse the manuscript from its unknown hiding place after…"
Garmadon suddenly looked deeply disturbed by whatever he had considered saying next.
"Well, shortly before I found Mack," he settled, burying whatever painful memory was associated with the prophecy behind his stone face.
After a knowing look to Garmadon (that nobody missed, but about which nobody wanted to ask), Mack continued, "It is the Ultimate Spinjitzu Master who is to be chosen by the Weapons of Spinjitzu. The prophecy of the Green Ninja states quite plainly that a common person fresh from some triumph will meet a man soon to be consumed by darkness on that man's third day of waiting in a given spot, and that common person will rise up to defeat a great darkness."
Garmadon picked up, "I decided to look for the Green Ninja in realms beyond Ninjago, starting with Earth. I had been sitting at a café in a city called New Orleans all day for three days when I met Mack. He had just won some award or another at a festival there—that was the triumph that heralded him as the one to whom the prophecy referred. I trained him, and his growing power proved that the prophecy was true. I found him—or rather, he found me—three years ago today, actually.
"I knew all along Lloyd was not the Green Ninja… I was surprised the first time I saw that Lloyd was wearing the green gi—not because I thought he wasn't worthy or strong enough, but because I knew there must have been a mistake; I knew he must have been chosen for something else. And I was right."
Garmadon took Lloyd by the shoulders. "Lloyd, I'm sorry I never said anything. Will you forgive me for concealing your destiny?"
"It's alright, Dad," Lloyd nodded. "It was for the greater good."
As Garmadon released his son, Mack also placed a gloved hand on Lloyd's shoulder. "And I apologize for asking Sensei Garmadon to keep this secret from you," he said.
"No worries," Lloyd smiled warmly. He offered his hand to shake with Mack, which was accepted with equal warmth.
Kai, however, was not satisfied.
"Okay, but just wait," he pressed. "There's a glaring hole in your story."
"Oh?" Mack accepted the challenge Kai seemed to be issuing.
"Yeah," Kai returned. "If Lloyd is not the Green Ninja, how has he been using the powers of the Green Ninja all this time?
"You're right, Kai." Mack narrowed his eyes. "But let me ask you, can he use that power now?"
"No," Lloyd answered. "My powers have been on the fritz for the past week."
"Ours too," Cole added, gesturing to himself, Kai, Jay, and Zane.
"Can you explain that too?" Kai asked. It sounded more like a genuine question than a challenge this time.
"Ever since Lloyd gave up his Golden Power," Mack explained, "he has been borrowing my Elemental Energy—the Green Power. The four of you have actually been borrowing and using Lloyd's power, just split up into your Elements."
"But we were using those powers before we ever gave them to Lloyd in the Temple of Light," Zane pointed out.
"Correct," Mack replied. "But they were not your own; you absorbed them from the Golden Weapons, which are the source of Lloyd's power. You only put the energy in its rightful place when you infused it into Lloyd. Your own power has rested while you used Lloyd's power—now it is time for your own abilities to awaken."
"But what do you mean, 'we used Lloyd's power?'" Cole asked.
Again Mack explained: "Since the day you took the power back, all five of you have been using borrowed energy. It worked fine since Lloyd was borrowing from someone in another realm—the Ethereal Divide negates any lessening of power caused by an energy transfer.
"However, I entered Ninjago a week ago to search for you all; as soon as Lloyd and I were in the same realm, he became unable to borrow any more energy from me—and you all were unable to borrow any more energy from him because of the power imbalance my presence here caused among you.
"After exhausting all you had left in that incident with the bandits at the museum, the strain became very apparent. I arrived just hours before the incident and heard about it on the news, but I didn't want to reveal myself until I could address all of you at once, including both Senseis; and I didn't want to stress you right after that ordeal."
Misako had been scratching her head since the pillar of green light hit connected with the ground, but now she nodded her head. "It all makes sense," she said, sounding quite content.
"Except one thing," Wu squinted. "You said many events were necessary to bring us to today, and to prepare for the days ahead of us…"
"Yeah," Lloyd picked up his uncle's angle. "What exactly does that mean? What's ahead of us?"
"It means war is coming."
Mack paused for a moment to let the gravity of his statement sink in.
"And," he continued, "we must go to the Temple of Light: that is the first step. You will all need to be in possession of your own strength—especially you, Lloyd—if we are to defeat her.
"Her?" Morro asked, leaning in.
"Rikayla…" Garmadon shuddered as he said the name.
Mack met Garmadon's eyes, and a range of emotions passed between them, fear being chief among them.
"Yes," Mack finally responded. "Rikayla, the Queen of Darkness."
"Brother…" Wu placed a comforting hand on Garmadon's shoulder. "How did you know?" he asked, fearing what the answer could be.
"She is the reason I was desperate to use the last drop of good blood in my veins to find and prepare the Green Ninja—to challenge her power.
"She was my last student before Mack."
After all the heavy information that was dropped during what was supposed to be a relaxing walk in the park, the ninja decided to invite Mack to their home for dinner and make a plan later that night to travel to the Temple of Light the next day.
Lloyd continued to be in good condition through the rest of the day, and he and Mack spent some time talking about the implications of Mack's revelations. They talked in Lloyd's bedroom, with Lloyd sitting on his bed and Mack sitting on the chair from Lloyd's desk.
"Since you're the leader of this team," Mack stated, "we should get on the same page regarding the steps that we have to take to be prepared to face what we're up against. The last thing I want to do is step on your toes here, but—"
"But you know a lot that I don't," Lloyd finished Mack's sentence.
"Right. And you know your team very well."
"Exactly. So, I don't think working together will be a problem for us."
"I agree," Mack nodded. "But surely you must have a lot of questions."
"Well, for starters," Lloyd replied, "why now? If my dad trained you to defeat this 'Rikayla' and that was three years ago, why wait until now to seek us out?"
Mack thought for a moment and then answered, "From across the Realms, I can sense that she's on the move; in the last few months, I can feel her power growing exponentially. I was worried that things might not align for us to meet in time."
"I still don't understand why there has to be one specific time that we had to meet," Lloyd questioned.
"Well, I mentioned earlier that I can see pictures of possible futures… I have seen a great battle between two armies—us at the head of one, the Queen of Darkness at the head of the other—and the scenarios in which our army defeats hers only occur if I meet you all—including Morro, the senseis, and Misako—at the same time.
"I understand you've all been together for a few months now, but I can't just look across the Ethereal Divide every day, as that takes a lot of energy. So, I came as soon as I looked across and saw that all of you were finally together.
"Waiting until you were outside was just so I could put on that show," Mack smirked and winked.
"So," Lloyd snickered, "you can just look across and spy on someone in another Realm?"
Mack chuckled. "Well, it's not like seeing as in with my eyes. It's more like I can just sense information about the state of things. The clarity and specificity of the information depends on my concentration; that's why it takes so much energy."
"I see," Lloyd nodded.
"And after the balance of power is righted among you and your friends," Mack leaned in, "I can teach you all to do things like that and more with the power inside each of you."
"Wow," Lloyd gaped.
"I don't like to think about my journey with the Elements as a quest for power, but without power we can't hope to stand up to Rikayla. We must all be strong—apart and together—to challenge her."
"What is it she plans to do?" Lloyd asked.
Mack closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath.
He opened his eyes and replied, "Your father was spiraling into darkness. He found her at an orphanage and sensed her power—he thought she could become the Green Ninja. He wanted to corrupt her into an asset that would help him take over the world, but a darkness rose within her that startled even him.
"Her powers were beyond what he could teach her to control, but what he really feared was her ambitions for what she would do with the power she was amassing. She would continually mumble under her breath about a plan to veil the entire universe in a great shadow.
"There was a final straw: late one night, he heard a commotion and caught her in a dark ritual whereby she was communicating with a demon. Garmadon realized then that he had created something truly dark out of the innocent girl he'd found in that orphanage.
"With guilt and fear overwhelming him, he cast her out of his monastery immediately and she disappeared from the face of this world. I can't locate her with my senses, but I suspect she is in the Realm of Madness; there is a disturbing amount of darkness growing there. I've tried many times to reach out with my senses to find her and keep tabs on her, but she knows who I am, and she hides her presence from me."
Lloyd blew through his cheeks. "We do everything we can, but somehow there's always a bigger threat than the last one."
"That's another reason I'm glad to be here with you," Mack sighed. "You all have experience being heroes. I've never really faced anything like this. The main threat to the peace in my world is the greed of its own inhabitants."
After a moment of reflection, Mack spoke up again.
"Well, sorry to bring so much doom and gloom," he chuckled.
"Yeah," Lloyd cracked a smile. "We should talk to the others about all this."
Lloyd and Mack presented to the others all that they had discussed. There were many questions, many of which, frankly, had no answers at the time. But for now, the group was satisfied with the information presented and they agreed that they would leave the next morning for the Temple of Light (they would use the Destiny's Bounty to get there, since there was no way the weakened ninja could make their dragons last for that whole trip).
For the rest of the afternoon, the ninja enjoyed getting to know the new face that was the true Green Ninja. Despite his terrifying (according to Jay, anyway) entrance and serious demeanor, the ninja quickly learned that Mack had a sharp sense of humor and he loved to laugh.
Whether it was his advanced powers or simply part of who he was, Mack also picked up on subtle cues that others might miss. The ninja learned this at dinner when he suddenly gestured to Jay and Nya sitting next to each other and asked, "So, how long have you two been together?"
Jay choked on his water, and Nya turned bright red.
While Jay and Nya's relationship was firmly in the past for everyone else, it was not so for Jay. He was achingly in love with Nya but kept it to himself since he felt he had already blown his chances at a relationship with her.
Nya, usually strong and authoritative, started stuttering. "Oh, we're not—I mean we were—but we're not—"
"I'm sorry," Mack interrupted. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, you two just seem to click really well."
"We're best friends," Nya quickly replied. "We were a couple before, but that's in the past." Nya missed Jay's soft sigh since she was speaking, but no one else did.
Mack hmm'ed and the dinner table went silent.
After several minutes, Kai cleared this throat. "Well, that was awkward."
Later on, when everyone was going to bed, Kai stopped Mack in the hallway.
"What's up, Kai?"
Kai looked around to make sure no one was listening. "I just wanted to ask about that whole thing at dinner."
"Oh, yeah," Mack sighed. "I'm sorry if I made Jay and Nya uncomfortable; I thought I was picking something up, but I guess I was off-base this time."
"No, man, you're spot-on. Jay's still crazy in love with Nya, but he thinks it's over and there's nothing he can do about it."
"I see," Mack stroked his chin. "Does she know?"
"Nope," a voice came around the hall. Mack and Kai turned to see Morro approaching them. "But everyone else in this house does."
"Do you mind?" Kai joked. "We're trying to have a private discussion here."
"In the hallway?" Morro smirked. "Not very private—what if Jay or Nya hears you?"
"We'd hear them coming," Kai retorted. "You're the only one who can sneak up on us, Morro."
"So, Kai," Mack brought the conversation back to the topic at hand. "What exactly was it that you wanted to ask me about the situation?"
"Right," Kai shook his head. "Since you caught those vibes at dinner, I was just wondering if you think there's something we can do to, you know… give them a push?"
Mack chuckled. "For today, let's worry about our trip to the Dark Island in the morning; we can play matchmaker once the balance of power is corrected."
Kai wasn't satisfied with the answer, but knew Mack was right. So, with that, the ninja went to bed, their dreams influenced by the journey ahead of them.