Given that I had just taken the ground to the face four times in a row, blasted by pure darkness and broken my leg, we waited until morning before we began discussing how to proceed. I was in and out of painful sleep the entire time. The ninja wanted to find a way off the island, as the Bounty being crashed meant we had no way to get home. Given that Garmadon had stripped his camp clean of spare parts, we didn't have the chance to repair it. At the time I physically couldn't do much other than hobble. We scavenged what we could from the Bounty which was when I started passing out. When I awoke for the fifth or sixth time, it was already morning. Dr. Julien had just finished wrapping up my leg, and informed me my leg was going to take weeks to heal. I tried to protest that would be too long, but I knew he was right.
So much changed in just a few hours. When that day began, I thought I'd be standing over my father. Now, I was laying on a beach barely able to get up without making my leg feel like my whole body did when the Overlord blasted me. The others had tried all night to fix the Bounty, but whatever the Garmatron fired meant just getting close to the main deck was, as Jay put it, "like walking into a sick ward." I wanted to help, but I was either passed out, waking up from being passed out, mumbling in pain, or passing out again. I spent a lot of time passed out that night and morning.
While we were waiting, we watched Ninjago go dark. It was strange to watch, but slowly, we saw it get shrouded in a massive dark cloud. Ninjago relies upon a hard balance of light and dark, and by attacking the light it was like taking weight off one side of a scale. It didn't take long for almost all of Ninjago to get swallowed up in the darkness. I'd say that it made me feel sick inside, but I was again hurting pretty bad on the inside. I event more ashamed of myself for letting this happen.
When the Overlord started attacking Ninjago, it made me think long and hard. The final battle, was never just about me and my dad. Like I said, it was always going to be me and the Overlord. The First Spinjitzu Master hadn't been able to finish the fight on his own, and I bet he even saw one day that just splitting the islands wasn't going to be enough. I hope that he didn't know it was going to be Garmadon that did it, since that would mean he maybe let the Devourer bite his son. But, he had to have known this would happen. He carved our battles into the Temple of Light, he built this place for us to find, he'd set up so many things just for us. He knew what would happen, and that meant he'd decided that we were going to finish the fight.
Maybe he did know that my dad was going to be involved. Maybe he didn't know. It didn't matter. He knew he couldn't win, but he somehow, someway, knew that I could. I wasn't dead, and that had to be for a reason. Maybe the Overlord was just cocky, maybe my dad was the reason, but I was still breathing. I could form a fist. I could fight him. In those early hours while I was in between pain induced blackouts, I was thinking about this. About my place in this world. This, wasn't just about me and my dad anymore.
Knowing that everything was bigger than me now… that's a feeling that's scary. I was going to have to fight someone like that. Even when he was still gathering power, he was beyond me. He was going to blast me away as I was now, if I didn't stop looking at this as just me, and my dad. I had to fight. I had to win. So, when the ninja started to lose faith on the beach, I felt angry. I felt angry, because I knew this was my fault. I'd hesitated. I'd tried to be someone I wasn't. I had to grow up, and be stronger for it.
All things considered, I think that was my first 'inspiring speech' I'd ever given. I wasn't even trying to. I was more or less just venting my angry thoughts to them to get them to realize what I was thinking. This fight was more than just saving Ninjago. We'd been chosen by him, the one that literally created the world. It didn't matter if we were ready for it, if we wanted it, we were now in his shoes. We all had to pull together our strength, and make it off this island. The ninja had pulled me away from evil and shown me how the world should work. Now, I had to have them support me again while we went to save our home we'd been spending this entire time defending.
It was time for me to stop listening to Wu, to Misako, and even in some ways to the ninja. I was going to become more than the Green Ninja. So, when Kai got ready to swim the entire ocean, I'd probably have joined him if I could have. I was… I think it's called self-actualizing? I was becoming the Lloyd I wanted to be, needed to be. Thankfully, the falcon came before I got myself so fired up with who I was now I decided to swim with Kai.
Of all places to go back to, the Temple of Light wasn't some place I expected. Now, whenever we go to some big important place, we don't spend much time there. Like, I don't think I've ever gone back to the Temple of Fortitude, or Chen's Island, or the Tomb of the First Spinjitzu Master, or heck even where we found the Oni Mask of Deception. Going back there felt right, though. It felt like there was more to it.
Sometimes I wish Misako was more open with her research. If we'd known there was a massive mech right underneath my feet when I was powered up, I probably could have done a lot more damage and even fought the Garmatron earlier. She just seemed to love to hold important information from us. The ninja's new elemental swords opened up the mech. Dr. Julien tried to tell us it wouldn't work, but that was when I got inside it.
Piloting that mech wasn't like any other mech I've ever gotten in before. When I held the controls, they didn't move like a normal mech. It was more like it just, did what I wanted. I mean, yeah, there were buttons, but the feet and arms moved as I wanted them to. It felt almost like I'd slid into some big suit of armor, more than a big mech. And touching it, I felt the power stored inside of it. It felt like my own, but supercharged. If you've ever grabbed onto one of those sparky balls that make your hair stand up, imagine that feeling, but pulsing through all of you and making all of your nerves feel charged up. It was… amazing. How the First Spinjitzu Master made a mech like this, I have no idea. I still don't care, it just felt awesome to pilot.
Of course, the mech could only carry me, maybe one of the others if we pushed it, but that was when the Ultra Dragon came back. I forgot that we'd left him behind to protect Ninjago… I really hate to say a giant four headed dragon was forgettable, but all things considered, I don't know what he ever really did outside the Ninjaball Run? Like, he was kinda more of like a housepet than something like that. Well, he at least got the others back to Ninjago.
It wasn't that long of a flight given how fast the Golden Mech was. It was just enough time for me to solidify in my head what I was going to do. I knew who I was going to be now. I wasn't going to hide anymore from my destiny. I didn't like that destiny, and maybe I thought it was cruel, but it didn't matter. I was forced to grow up, to stand in front of my father and be ready to fight him, and now everything that I'd been trying to avoid was ripped away from me. I'd watched my dad literally be stamped out, right in front of me. That thing, whatever he looked like, would no longer be my dad. It wasn't going to be my dad. That fueled me, gave me power, and most of all, gave me strength.
When we landed, it was bizarre. My mech was the only source of light anywhere. All the colors were gone, and everything looked like Nya had on the island. Everyone -except Dareth, as we learned later- had been corrupted. Jay and Cole saw their parents looking more like shadowy zombies then anything else. Everyone was just… shambling around. It was like we were the last shred of what Ninjago was that was left.
It was all thanks to the massive tower that Wu said was the Garmatron. How a tank went to a massive fortress overnight we didn't know, but given the state of our home, we didn't care. I was focused on the thing at the top. The sheer size of the Overlord now put the Ultra Dragon to shame. He was, as Misako put it, back to his original form. The sight terrified the others. I felt scared, sure, but I felt angrier. That was my dad's body he'd taken over. He'd turned my dad into that. He'd turned all of Ninjago, into that. I had to do something about it.
Our plan was relatively simple: the others would use the Ultra Dragon to draw the fire of the Stone Army, while I would use the Golden Mech to rush the fortress and go up the tower to get to the Overlord. We saw the Stone Army was guarding the fortress, so we mainly had to worry about their catapults. Thankfully, we'd taken out their vehicles on the Dark Island. I made a mad dash right up a street towards it, while the Ultra Dragon did its thing.
When I broke through the outer wall, I felt powerful. I felt like I could do this. I smashed and tore through the Stone Army with the mech like they were nothing. It was filled with the power of the First Spinjitzu Master. With this, I could beat the Overlord. I was ready to tear a hole right through that tower and climb straight up it piece by piece until I could fight the dragon that stood on the top.
Now, one thing that I've learned now is whenever I have anything cool, it never sticks around for long. It's like all of our vehicles only exist long enough to be used for one or two fights. Nya was manning a turret on the side of the Garmatron we never saw, and she blasted one of its arms right off. All that power and strength and confidence, it was taken away from me in a few seconds. Honestly, now when I think about that mech, I end up feeling sad at the end. If all it ended up being used for was just to get me from the Dark Island to Ninjago, I could have just taken the Ultra Dragon. That was probably the coolest mech I've ever seen and it was gone, just like that! I didn't get to fight the dragon in it for even a minute! I'll never let Nya live down the fact she took away the coolest thing I'd ever had… ever! Maybe there is another universe where I actually got to fight the Overlord in it. That would have been awesome.
At the time, though, I was being swarmed by the Stone Army. Now my broken leg mattered again, and I realized I couldn't do that much on it. The ninja landed around me and desperately began to fight to protect me. I wasn't hurt from the mech, but I was hobbled and couldn't fight as well as they could. The entire army was on us all at once, and we were forced to form a defensive circle just to go. We all fought as hard as we could. Anytime we blasted one of the warriors, they'd just get right back up. They never stopped coming. We could hold them back, but the situation only continued to feel hopeless.
We fought as hard as we could. We made a last ditch move to use Spinjitzu to cut through the army to the stairs. If we could get there, maybe we could make our way up the tower and survive. We had to win this. We were in the hardest fight for our lives we ever had been. But then, just like before, Nya shot us down. The action broke our defensive line and pushed us back. We were going to lose, and again, I felt that terror when I realized: I would die before I ever even got to the Overlord.
That's when something happened. For everyone who doesn't realize this, I need this to be said: Dareth saved Ninjago. He saved everyone. If he hadn't put on the Helmet of Shadows and stopped the army, I'd be dead. The ninja would be dead. All of you wouldn't have ever gotten the chance to do anything, to even be yourselves again. Dareth was the hero of that day. I know that everyone knows what happens next is more important, but that couldn't have happened if Dareth hadn't bailed us out. And seeing the entire Stone Army hailing him as the Brown Ninja, it was honestly pretty impressive. Dareth looked great in that helmet.
Not to take anything away from Dareth, but something about that fact has made me think. Misako knew that the helmet was able to stop the Celestial Clock, but somehow didn't know that the helmet was able to control the Army. The more I think about it, we had the very key to ending the entire conflict in our hands literally yesterday. Our entire race to put the helmet back could have never even been a chase if any of the ninja had put it on. Actually, we probably could have even used that to stop my father! We had the very key to stopping all of our problems, in our hands even, and apparently she forgot to tell us the entire story about the Helmet of Shadows? She'd been telling us everything we needed to know until then, I don't get why she forgot at the moment where it could have saved us a lot of trouble!
But Dareth was still awesome for saving us. Dareth, if you're reading this, thank you. I wouldn't be here writing this today without you.
I knew what I needed to do. I had to get to the top of the tower and fight that massive dragon. I was going to save Ninjago. Dareth formed up the Stone Army and we all let out a team cry. I kinda wish Dareth had his own elemental sword just so we could have done it all together. Having him give the final cry before he sent the literal Stone Army up the Garmatron, that was amazing. The Stone Army was under control of Dareth, the army that had minutes before gone to try to kill us. I just want to stress how awesome that was, and how important Dareth was even before the Resistance.
Nya shot them down, but it cleared the way for us to make our way up. Making the only way up an endless climb of stairs wasn't too much of a problem for the ninja given they'd used to live on the Mountain of a Million Steps, but the climb made the dread start to set in. We were literally climbing our way up towards our death. The Garmatron was a big obstacle we had to overcome, and I was the one that had to get up there. The ninja were carrying me the way.
That was when Cole got hit by dark matter. If the plan of the Overlord was to terrify me, it worked. Cole started shaking and gasping like something was happening to his body. I know what it's like to be possessed now, and I still don't know what was happening to Cole. I wanted to help him, but he yelled at us to keep going. He was going to be corrupted. If even the ninja could get corrupted by darkness, then what chance did I have?
Jay went next. He was carrying me all on his own while Kai and Zane kept the way clear for me. Jay saw it before I did, and threw me aside. He started to twitch and double over, just like Cole. He said to get out of the way. Before I could do anything, Kai was dragging me to my feet. I think he didn't want me to see what was happening to them. I was only getting less and less sure as we went.
Zane said that only one of us would get to the top. Kai said to beat the odds, but then I saw the others. Jay and Cole came from behind us, holding their swords out like they never should have had them. They were snarling, growling and lunging at us like animals. Zane said he'd hold them back for us, and pushed me into Kai. I was down to him, the one that had started me down the path to truly becoming the Green Ninja.
Finally, Nya popped up again to stop us. Kai said he'd draw her fire, and let me get my way to the top. Having Kai ripped away from me at the last second, it was enough to make me remind him they promised they'd be behind me. I didn't know if I could do this on my own. I was scared, I was more scared then I'd ever been in my life. That confidence the Golden Mech gave me, the awe of seeing Dareth command the Stone Army, it felt like a distant memory. We were just a few floors from the top. I wanted… I needed someone with me. But Kai refused, and forced me to go on.
When I finally got to the Overlord, that last bit of confidence I had felt like it evaporated. I was barely big enough to be one of his claws on his feet. He stood larger than any creature I'd ever seen. If that had been my dad's body, it wasn't anymore. The Overlord was pure darkness. At that moment, I knew that I was all that stood between him and total domination. As long as I breathed, he hadn't fully won. Just him looking to me, almost like I was some little insect, it pushed down everything I had in me at that moment. For those few seconds, I felt truly hopeless.
"There's only one Green Ninja." Kai said that to me, right before I got to the top. Kai gave up his hopes for me. All of the ninja, had done so much for me. They'd all believed in me. It didn't matter what I'd done, or who I was before. They'd all supported me. What Kai said, was right. Right now, I was the only one who could stop the Overlord. Me, Lloyd Garmadon. Son of Lord Garmadon. The Green Ninja. For some reason, I'd made it there. Me. Me and me alone. I got enough of my strength to together to tell the Overlord I was ready to fight. Not for me. Not for the ninja. For all of Ninjago.
He tried to taunt me, saying I was injured and stood no chance. You know, maybe he was right. But I couldn't back down. I stood my ground. If there was a moment in my life I wanted to run more than I ever had, that was it. Right there. As the Overlord laughed at me, and told me to lay down my will to fight. I could have easily just let him win. But I didn't. I didn't need a sword to fight him. My power, was enough.
I mentioned earlier there was a revelation that made me unlock my True Potential. When I got to the Dark Island, I'd decided to act like some version of myself that was never really me. I was going to try to be the Green Ninja of legend. Something clicked for me, as I formed a shield around me. This image of who I was, was never an image. It was a part of me that I'd denied. That part of me, had wanted to fight the Dark Lord. Not my dad, but the Overlord. I'd decided to pretend to be this part of myself I thought was this, separate piece of me. When the Overlord covered me in dark flames, getting ready to blast me clean off the tower, I realized what it was I was missing. Why I could never have beaten him before.
In those few moments as I felt my shield ready to give out, ready to roast me alive, I saw it. There were two pieces to me. Lloyd Garmadon, and the Green Ninja. One of them was the son of Garmadon and the other was the legend that would fight the Overlord. I was so afraid to be the Green Ninja, I deluded myself into thinking that I had to act like the Green Ninja. I had to put on this mask, and be me. But that was never me. I never had to put on a mask. From the moment I first awoke my powers, I was always the Green Ninja. I was so focused on Lloyd, I wasn't focused on the Green Ninja. I let the two sides fight with each other. Make decisions for each other. When I realized then and there, that those two sides didn't need to be separate, that's when it happened. It was like this wall inside me broke, and suddenly, I felt it.
That tiny bit of power I'd felt in the Golden Mech was nothing compared to what I felt next. When I was in the Temple of Light, it was like my strength was drained out and then purified. Now, it was like that power that was inside me was reacting with itself, turning into something new. Some sort of seal was broken, something unleashed in me. I didn't even know I was flying until I realized I wasn't standing on anything. The amount of raw power inside me, it was like nothing, nothing ever. Nothing ever comes close to it. I was the Ultimate Spinjitzu Master. I was the Golden Ninja.
When before I could only summon the Golden Dragon by charging up my powers, I realized too I wasn't envoking some 'ancient fighting style' by using it. All elemental masters have an elemental dragon. I was literally summoning my dragon. It wasn't that large, but that didn't matter. I no longer felt outclassed. When I sat down on that dragon's saddle, I was now where the First Spinjitzu Master stood. I was light. Now, I wasn't just holding the Overlord back. I was going to force him back to the Dark Island. I was going to purify Ninjago, and save everyone.
The actual fight with the Overlord, was a bit of a blur. Each time I hit him, I wasn't just stopping his blows. I was countering them. We took our battle to the skies, as dragons should. I slammed into him, and my dragon knew what I wanted. We snarled and snapped at each other, throwing light all across his body while he tried to counter with shadow. I slammed him straight off the roof and down towards the street below, only barely saving us from crashing by charging my powers. Just a single charge from my hands was easily ten times as powerful as anything I could have done before. I was hurting the Overlord. I could win this.
Hearing the Overlord say he couldn't be defeated only made my light shine brighter. I know I said something about that to him. I wasn't thinking. I was letting this new power decide what to do. I knew what had to be done, and it was directing me to my goal. We soared high into the sky, fighting each other with all we had to give. Shadow and light were truly dueling. We were going to fight each other until one of us couldn't go anymore.
That was when the Overlord decided to end it. I suddenly found my dragon spinning hard, and all around me whatever little light came down into Ninjago was gone. I was literally surrounded by pure darkness. It was a darkness, not like anything before. Nothing but me was inside. It was meant to be one massive prison, one massive way to finally blot out whatever power I could give him, all at once. I heard his evil laugh just as I saw his face emerge from that darkness, and swallow me whole.
I knew what to do the second I was there. I was inside the Overlord. The shell around us was him, what he truly was. Nothing but pure, unfiltered blackness. When I was swallowed up, I had a chance to end it once and for all. I poured out every single bit of this new power I had, firing every single ounce of it straight up into the Overlord. I heard him scream as I did, but he couldn't release us. My dragon roared as I let out everything. Every single emotion I'd felt, every raw, unfiltered peace of myself, all of it poured out into the Overlord at once. I burned away every last ounce of him around me I could with my light.
When I opened my eyes again, everything was bright. Not bright like my dragon, but bright with the sunlight. The Garmatron was gone, and whatever darkness was around me was slowly, surely, burning away. I'd won. I'd saved the day. And, unlike the ninja, I didn't pass out. I felt tired, sure and I knew I couldn't keep flying forever… but this was it. I'd won. I'd actually, finally, done it. I'd fulfilled the prophecy of the Green Ninja.
The ninja were in the crater that the Garmatron formed. I flew down as fast as I could. I can't describe how amazing it felt to see they were all okay. Saving Ninjago is one thing, but seeing that I'd purified the ninja, Nya and the very ground we stood on, it was the relief I needed. Wu and Misako were already there to congratulate me. Everyone was. I was so happy… but I knew that I'd just beaten the Overlord. The ninja were vowing to defeat the Overlord if he returned, but I couldn't think about that. What I had to think about was the fact that Misako… my mother, she said she'd miss my dad.
There are rewards for doing good deeds, I think. Sometimes, it's just saying that you feel good about yourself. Sometimes, it's an award ceremony for helping free Ninjago from a tyrant. Other times, it's some sort of statue. But, right then, my reward was when I saw someone emerge from the rubble. Someone that I didn't recognize at first. I didn't know who he was. He looked like Wu, but he had hair like mine all gray, and wore robes I'd never seen before. But when he called out my name, and I heard his voice, I knew who it was.
My dad was back. I'd purified not only Ninjago, but my dad. Every single drop of venom in him, I knew it was gone. I'd won, and by winning, I saved more than Ninjago. I saved the one I'd been fighting so hard to never have to fight. My dad was there. My dad… my real, true dad. Sensei Garmadon.
I'd saved Ninjago. As me and my mother both embraced my dad, I was happier than ever before. I had him back. I could finally have a family. Maybe I was already grown up. Maybe I didn't have the time with them I wanted. But it didn't matter. The final battle, was over. I'd won! I was the Ultimate Spinjitzu Master. I was the Green Ninja. I was my dad's son again.
I'm not ashamed to say I spent most of that day hugging my father. I was so exhilarated from what I'd done, I needed his comfort. As my mother hugged me too, I finally felt it. That connection between mother and son, I felt it. My dad being back, was going to mean way more than just saving Ninjago. It meant I had my family again. And as we spent that day talking, reconciling, remembering everything, everything else just fell away. I didn't care what I'd just done. The Overlord, for all I knew, was gone. I was free from this destiny, and I could finally be just, myself.
Destiny defied me. It wouldn't be that long before all that happiness I had would be threatened, all my power stripped away, and all of Ninjago at stake again. I'd won the final battle, but it seemed the war was about to give way to a new battle. One that would echo through Ninjago in more ways than perhaps even this battle.
"DONE!" Lloyd pumped his arm in the air, "We've gotten through the final battle!"
Zane smiled widely. Sitting beside him was Kai, who was leaning forward and listening with interest. Earlier that day, Zane had asked if Kai could sit in on this session. Lloyd hadn't seen any reason not to, and let Kai listen to some of the chapters he'd recorded. Already, Kai was smiling hard.
"So wait, are you saying what I said to you was what got you to become the Ultimate Spinjitzu Master?" Kai grinned smugly, "Like, I was the one that helped save Ninjago?"
"All of us helped save Ninjago," Lloyd shook his head, "But you did help a lot, Kai."
"Come on, don't be modest!" Kai smiled, "I was telling you that you were the only one who could do it. If that gave you a big push… well, tell me!"
"I believe Lloyd is attempting to spare your ego before you inflate it," Zane responded to Kai, "I did want you to hear some of his thoughts on this, though."
"Oh?" Kai smirked, "Why's that?"
"Because I know during the incident with Morro, you felt like you weren't doing enough to help me," Lloyd pointed out, "I think Zane wanted you to know that you helped a lot. I mean, I probably could have picked a better chapter to do it in but, I was doing this one already, and…"
"Well, thanks for looking out for me, little guy," Kai grinned, "You know me! Always making sure you got what you need to do what you do! The best backup in town!"
"Heh, yeah, Kai," Lloyd smiled, "You guys think I did a good enough job describing the battle?"
"It was rather short and intense," Zane nodded, "I believe you captured it just fine."
"You did great!" Kai smirked, "Really captured all that feeling we all had as we watched you go up that tower."
"Heh, good," Lloyd looked to Zane, "Are you free tomorrow to start going into the Golden Master?"
"I initially thought you would stop here, but from that last line it seems not," Zane smiled, "I am always happy to help."
"Are you kidding?" Kai turned to Zane, "You realize if our life was like a show, we'd be on season, like, 10! He's barely gotten done with 2!"
"I dunno why, but I think we're closer to 12 now," Lloyd shrugged, "But yeah, I still gotta do the Golden Master, Chen, Morro…"
"What about Jay's insistence on what occured with the Djinn?" Zane asked.
"You saw how hard the Mega Weapon was to do," Lloyd shuddered, "We might have to skip that one."
"Well, I'm happy to help you record whenever you have time," Zane affirmed, "I think your autobiography has just begun, Lloyd."
"Sure has," Lloyd sighed, "I'm starving. Let's eat!" The two agreed, and quickly the three left the room to head for the Bounty's kitchen.
Hello my Autobiography readers! Happy 2020!
I wanted to write this note today to tell you that I will be Going on Hiatus for a few weeks. The way that I normally write is that I build up a backlog of 5-10 chapters, do edits on them, and then read each one briefly for last minute touches before posting them each week. That way, I remain consistent, and my readers know when I will post. However, due to finals and the holidays, I've only written partway into Part 10 so far. I want to finish the chapters for Seasons 3 and 4 before I continue to post. It should take me about 2-3 weeks to do that, so it will be a brief hiatus! But one nonetheless.
I plan to cover the entirety of the series up through Season 11 right now. Season 12 sets have just been made avaliable, so most likely by the time we get to Season 11 we'll be far past 12. But I do plan to cover more than just Seasons 1 and 2.
Thank you to everyone that's left a comment, kudo/review/rating, and taken the time to keep up with the series. If you want to read more of my works, I have an ongoing fic called Enter the Ninjaverse. It's an action/adventure fic about Lloyd having to cross the multiverse to get his elemental power back and stop the Time Twins' evil plot. It's been a passion project of mine and I would love it if you would spare a read to it. I'll be continually updating it, so please check it out! Link Below:
s/13407793/1/Enter-The-Ninjaverse
Once again, happy 2020, and Ninja-go!