AN: Here's the climax of the story! It may not go the way you're expecting it to go. There'll be one more chapter after this of wrapping things up. Hope you enjoy!
"This is it!" Kai crowed, hopping from the deck of the Destiny's Bounty up into his mech. "This is it, this is it!"
"Remember, the rebels are already hard at work fighting off the guards everywhere they can, and I'll be continuing coordinating their attacks from here, so all you need to do is complete your jobs," Wu lectured as the ninja got comfortable in their mechs. "Cole, Kai, Nya, Jay, Zane, your job is to get Lloyd into the palace and keep the snakes, sharks, and skeletons away so Lloyd can do his job. And Lloyd, your job is to-"
"Fight my parents," Lloyd sighed, getting as comfortable as he could get in his own mech. "I know."
"Your job is to defeat your parents," Wu corrected. "Remember that."
"Defeat. Right," Lloyd echoed.
Wu nodded. "All right. Are you all ready?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," Lloyd muttered. He hadn't thought Wu could've heard it under the chorus of "Ready!" that the other ninja were yelling, but from the raised eyebrows Wu gave him, Lloyd might have thought wrong.
"Well then. Ninja? Go!" Wu commanded.
"Woo-hoo!" Kai howled, and he took his mech right over the side of the Destiny's Bounty, which was hovering a little ways above Ninjago City a few streets away from the palace, which was as close they could get without possibly alerting the guards at the palace.
Nya followed him in her mech, then Jay, then Cole, then Zane. Soon, only Lloyd was left on the deck of the Destiny's Bounty.
"Here I go," Lloyd told himself, taking a deep breath. "Here I go!"
He flew his dragon-shaped mech off of the Destiny's Bounty and down the streets, following the other ninja as they headed straight for the palace. Citizens cheered and gasped and screamed as the six of them made their way through the streets, some of the citizens seeming surprised, others seeming expectant, but all of them appearing absolutely thrilled that the ninja were there. Apparently the other ninja had spread the word about the rebellion pretty well.
Sooner than Lloyd would've liked, the six ninja in their mechs were at the huge front doors of the palace. Jay fired a few shots from his plane-like mech at the doors, which cracked under the barrage, then Cole revved up his tank-like mech and crashed right through the doors.
"Our intel said Lord and Lady Garmadon would retreat to the throne room to manage their troops from there in case of an attack," Nya reminded everyone as they entered the palace.
"Throne room, here we come!" Kai hollered gleefully, charging down the halls.
Servants stood in awe against the walls, watching as the mechs made their way through the palace. Many of them waved or grinned at the ninja, shouting encouragements. It was amazing to Lloyd how happy the servants seemed, much happier then they had ever been around him before. None of them knew who he was right now, given he was in his mech with his ninja hood up, and they were just automatically happier without the pressure of having to please "Lad Garmadon" so they wouldn't have to risk being fired out of a volcano. Granted, most of their happiness probably had more to do with realizing someone was fighting against Lord and Lady Garmadon than with the presence or absence of Lloyd himself, but still.
Kai and Nya, who were in front leading the group forward, halted their mechs in front of a pair of large doors.
"This is it, right? The Throne Room," Kai asked the rest of the ninja as they slowed their mechs to a stop as well.
"That's it," Lloyd confirmed. "That's where they have to be."
The other ninja exchanged glances.
"Are you sure you can do this?" Kai asked.
"I'm fine," Lloyd answered.
"Your voice cracked on the word 'they,'" Zane observed. "I would hypothesize that you are not, in fact, fine."
"I'm fine!" Lloyd insisted, then, when he saw the others exchanging glances, said it again. "I'm fine!"
"If you're sure you're good doing this," Cole said doubtfully.
"I have to," Lloyd stated. "I have to, and I'm going to. So let's do it."
Without another word, Lloyd slammed the controls on his mech forward, forcing his mech through the doors and into the Throne Room.
His parents were inside.
His dad was looking at something on a map and yelling on the phone, something about telling a general to attack more fiercely. His mom was talking to a whole legion of shark warriors standing in front of her, telling them where to go. Both of their voices trailed off as Lloyd burst into the Throne Room.
"The ninja," Lord Garmadon gasped. His red eyes narrowed in on Lloyd and he ended his phone call, leaning forward in his seat. "Including the Green Ninja."
"This isn't just a bunch of rebel attacks," Lady Garmadon realized. "This is a revolution. Warriors! Attack the ninja!"
The shark warriors turned in place and began running at the ninja's mechs.
"Green Ninja, do your thing! We've got this covered!" Nya called, already starting to beat up the shark warriors who had reached her.
"We hope we've got this!" Jay yelped. "I mean, we've got this! We've definitely got this!"
The other ninja started fighting the shark warriors, circling around them and forcing them toward the doors with the help of their mechs and their elemental powers.
Hovering near the ceiling, Lloyd just sat in his mech, staring at his parents. His mouth was dry, and his eyes were watering. He didn't know what to do.
"We're getting all the guards away, we've got our part! You've got your part, Green Ninja!" Kai called out, forcing the last of the shark warriors out the doors. He followed the warriors and the other ninja out the doors, peering back in for a moment just long enough to call out, "Defeat them!"
With that last bit of advice, Kai headed out of the Throne Room. The doors closed with a bang, leaving Lloyd alone with his parents.
Defeat them.
The words rang in Lloyd's head.
Defeat them. Not fight them. Defeat them.
"Well, Green Ninja, you've come to fight us. Know this: we won't make it easy on you," Lady Garmadon warned, standing from her throne.
"You and your ninja have incited rebellion, messing with our rule in the worst kind of way. But most importantly, you've kidnapped our son," Lord Garmadon stated, also standing.
Lady Garmadon's eyes flashed dangerously. "We won't let that stand. We'll fight you to our last breaths, prophecy or no prophecy. We'll get our son back."
"We'll get our son back," Lord Garmadon agreed.
Defeat them.
Defeat them.
Defeat them.
And suddenly, Lloyd knew what to do.
He lowered his mech to the floor and powered it down. Opening the hatch, he climbed out, standing on the floor of the Throne Room which he had run across to hug his parents so many times before. This time, however, he didn't run to them.
"Getting out of your mech? Not a smart move," Lord Garmadon taunted.
"Not if you want to fight us and win," Lady Garmadon agreed.
Beneath his mask, Lloyd smiled. He didn't want to fight them and win.
So he wouldn't.
He would defeat them instead.
With that thought confidently in mind, Lloyd reached up and took off his hood.
The response was instantaneous. Lady Garmadon sat down heavily in her throne, her eyes wide and glistening with sudden tears. Lord Garmadon collapsed to his knees, all four hands reaching up to cover his mouth.
"Hi," Lloyd said, his voice cracking. "Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad. I missed you."
"Lloyd," Lord Garmadon breathed, uncovering his mouth.
"How?" Lady Garmadon asked.
"The ninja kidnapped me. They told me the truth about you, about what you've done to Ninjago, about what you're still doing to Ninjago. I realize now how much Ninjago hates you, and rightly so," Lloyd explained, then he paused. "But I also realize now how much you love me."
Lord and Lady Garmadon stared at him, speechless.
Lloyd smiled sadly and continued. "You love me so much. You make sure everyone treats me with respect. You turn my birthday into a huge celebration. You get me whatever I want and need. You always take time to spend with me, to teach me things, to love me. I think you'd do anything for me. So that's why I'm asking you to do something you never would do otherwise. I'm asking you to give up Ninjago."
"Give up Ninjago?" Lord and Lady Garmadon repeated in unison.
"Give up Ninjago," Lloyd agreed. "The other ninja and I will set up a new, better government with new, better rules. You won't be rulers anymore. In fact, you'll probably go to jail or something. But I'll make sure you're treated as well as possible, and I'll visit you all the time. We'll stay a family. That's what's most important. But if you don't admit defeat right here and now, I'm going to leave. I'm going to leave and never come back, and I'm going to let the other ninja finish fighting all the guards and come fight you. You'll lose to them, and then you'll never see me again. I think that'll defeat you just as much if I'd fought you into submission. So. What'll be? Will you give up Ninjago?"
Lord and Lady Garmadon looked at Lloyd, then at each other, then at Lloyd again. After a long moment, both of them nodded.
Lloyd smiled even though tears were spilling out of his eyes. He nodded back.