And we're at the last chapter. Thank you so much to everyone who has followed, favorited, reviewed, and just read the story. It really means a lot.
Disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago or the lines from the episode The Son of Lilly.
Chapter XVI: The Son of Lilly
The Skull Sorcerer brought his spear up to his chest so that he could block Cole's strike just in time, but Cole nearly succeeded in pushing him off the ledge. To prevent this from happening, the Skull Sorcerer pushed Cole off to the side, and Grief-Bringer got ready to attack the young master of earth. The dragon released its fiery breath on Cole, who took out his shield to block this. The blast was too strong, though, and knocked him and his shield off the edge. Quickly, Cole grabbed onto the rock bridge with all his might as he watched his shield plummet to its doom.
"Destroy the others!" the Skull Sorcerer ordered his dragon. "I will take care of this one personally."
"Stand your ground!" Murtessa yelled to her fellow Munce as Grief-Bringer obeyed his master and came at them. "In the name of Milly!"
Suddenly, Lloyd noticed that the dragon was about to unleash a bunch of green fire on them. If they didn't do something quick, it would destroy them.
"Take cover!" Lloyd screamed, and everyone ran.
Kai managed to get behind Grief-Bringer, angering the dragon.
"Hey!" he yelled.
Kai ran at the dragon and tried to do spinjitzu on him, but the dragon swung around and smacked the fire ninja into a nearby rock wall with its tail. Grief-Bringer then came at the fire ninja and was about to eat him when the dragon felt something on his back.
"Hello," Echo said with a friendly smile.
The dragon easily shook Echo off, and the nindroid fell hard on the ground. Before he could do anything else to him, though, Zane threw a few pick axes at him as a distraction. This made Grief-Bringer very angry, and he started chasing Zane, who hopped on the back of a very fast mino and picked up both Echo and Kai before going into a cave for safety.
Meanwhile, Cole was struggling to get back up to the safety of the bridge, and it wasn't helping that the Skull Sorcerer was right above him.
"You're a fool to place your faith in the blades! They have no magic in them!" the Skull Sorcerer exclaimed as he tried shoving his spear into Cole's hand, but the earth ninja let go with that hand, so he was now holding on by just one.
Cole used his now free hand to grab a ninja star from his pack and yelled back, "You're lying! You're trying to trick me!"
The Skull Sorcerer was about to throw his spear into Cole again, but he was suddenly hit back by the ninja star, and Cole was up once again, kicking the Skull Sorcerer off the bridge. He knew it wouldn't be long until the necromancer was back, though, so he quickly ran back over to his mom's blades and used them to shield him from the skull's blasts.
"It is the truth, and your demise!" the Skull Sorcerer yelled from behind.
Cole turned around and was about to jump at his opponent, but the skull behind shot him down with another blast of energy.
Despite being outnumbered, Korgran and the rest of the Upply were holding their own pretty well. Korgran with his ax, Fungus with his magic, Plundar with his agility, and Adam with his webs.
"They just keep coming," Plundar panted. He'd been fighting for so long, he didn't know how to keep this up.
One of the skeletons threw their spear at Adam's web he was hanging on to the ceiling by and cut it down, causing Adam to fall rather far down.
"Adam!" his owner and best friend called after him.
It wasn't long before the spider was back up, though, and he climbed back up to Plundar.
Plundar and Fungus turned around to see that they were now being surrounded by too many skeletons to count.
"Korgran! Korgran, there are too many!" Fungus yelled.
"May I suggest a rapid retreat?" Plundar asked.
"No! No retreat!" was Korgran's response as he was caught up by the skeletons.
The skeletons turned around suddenly to see the entire Munce and Geckle race running at them in a huge stampede.
"In the name of Milly!" the leader of this stampede, Murtessa screamed at the top of her lungs.
The Skull Sorcerer came at Cole hard and fast with a swipe of his spear, but Cole managed to block this with his mother's blades. As he did so, the Skull Sorcerer worked hard to grow the doubts in Cole's mind.
"Your mother lied to the Geckles and the Munce! She told them the blades were magical," he kept attacking and Cole kept blocking, having to make sure that he prevented himself from being stabbed on one side and hit with a painful burst of energy on the other, "because she wanted to instill in them some courage. Some hope."
"False hope," the skull finished, letting it sink in.
"So she deceived them!" the Skull Sorcerer yelled before using his skull to push Cole back, "and now her deceit has doomed you!"
"Her only son!" the skull screamed.
The Skull Sorcerer threw the skull at Cole, and Cole tried to block with the blades in his hands, but the blow from the skull was too much for them to handle, and they shattered.
Cole fell to the ground and looked upon the broken pieces of the blades he had placed so much trust in. The only thing he had left from his mother's history as a ninja.
"No!" Cole yelled when he saw this. This couldn't be happening. What was he supposed to do now? How was he supposed to defeat a guy who could raise armies from the dead and control anything he wanted at will? How was he supposed to defeat the leader of the very ground they stood on? The hope he placed in these blades, in his mom, was all he had left, and now it was gone. "It can't be," he said aloud.
"It is!" the Skull Sorcerer yelled, "and now you will pay the price for your mother's lies!"
"Lies! Deceit!" the skull added.
Cole didn't even know what to do. He didn't move or do anything to stop it. He just sat there.
The Skull Sorcerer was about to strike him down where he sat, but a strange sound he heard stopped him. It was the sound of a dragon. Chompy and the entire Shintaran army, including Vania, had come to help.
"Vania," Cole gasped at the sight of the beautiful ivory skinned princess flying in on her majestic wings with a look of pure determination on her face to defeat the skeletons that had caused so many issues.
Nya had stolen a spear form a nearby skeleton and used it take out some before throwing it to Jay, who found great use in it. Nearby, Korgran was steady smacking skeletons with his ax while Murtessa and Murt worked together with their brute strength, but none of this was any use because as soon as they fell, they stood right back up. One of these was coming right for Gleck, who did not know how to fight.
Vania remembered this creature as Mr. Sparkles, and she was not going to let him be hurt.
With a loud battle cry, the princess flew right into the skeleton, her pure momentum taking the skeleton out. She angrily took out some more nearby as Gleck said, "Oh, thank you princess."
"Of course, Mr. Sparkles," Vania smiled, and Gleck smiled back, happy to hear his old nickname once again.
"Too late," the Skull Sorcerer scoffed when he saw this. "She cannot save you."
As the ninja ran away from Grief-Bringer, Chompy flew headfirst into the dragon, dodging every blast that was thrown at him. This distracted the dragon enough so that the ninja could finally focus on saving the Geckles and Munce.
Atop the bridge, the Skull Sorcerer had finally got Cole where he wanted him. On his hands and knees, head bent down, and in pain. Unbearable pain from the power of the skull's energy drenched all over him.
"Your cause is lost!" the Skull Sorcerer yelled as Cole screamed in pain. "Have the grace to admit defeat!"
Cole could barely breath, could barely move. His whole body was paralyzed yet he could feel every nerve that prevented this from happening as if they were on fire. Memories of his life washed in and out of his mind, but there was one particular memory that would not leave.
"I want you to promise me, Cole," her words came to him as clear as the day she had said them. The day she had passed on to the Departed Realm, "that you will always stand up to those who are cruel and unjust. Always."
Cole had started crying that day, hugging his mom as tightly as he could without hurting her as he repeated the words to her. "Always."
The Skull Sorcerer stopped a moment, but before he could start again, Cole said, "It-it was her."
"What?" the Skull Sorcerer demanded to hear an explanation.
"It...wasn't the blades," Cole spoke slowly, trying to understand.
"I told you that!"
"It was her. The power inside my mother. It was the spinjitzu burst. It was all her!"
"Alas, you are not half the warrior your mother was."
"Maybe not, but I am her son," Cole replied as he placed his fists to the ground and lit them up with elemental energy. "And I made her a promise. To stand up to tyrants like you! Always!"
The Skull Sorcerer backed up in both surprise and fear. The ground began to shake. In fact, the whole mountain was shaking. Elemental energy radiated off the earth ninja in such huge proportions that it was impossible to escape.
Cole stood up, his eyes glowing a bright orange now. He punched the ground hard and entered into a humongous spinjitzu tornado. In an attempt to stop the earth master, the Skull Sorcerer threw his skull at Cole, but he flew up into the air, grabbed the skull and threw it hard onto the ground. He then fell onto the skull with all his might, and it shattered into a million pieces. The spinjitzu tornado disappeared, and Cole fainted into the arms of the princess.
All the magic the skull had given the king vanished. The skeletons and Grief-Bringer became nothing but a pile of bones, the mask and robes that had been given to King Vangelis vanished, showing the army of Shintaro who he truly was, and most importantly, the creatures who resided underneath the mountain were free.
"Cole?" Vania asked as she nudged his shoulder.
The earth master gasped as he slowly opened his eyes to see the princess looking down at him worriedly.
"Wh-what happened?" Cole asked.
"You did it!" Vania smiled.
"The spinjitzu burst?" a smile of hope and excitement slowly appeared on his face.
Vania nodded happily before helping him stand up once more.
Suddenly, Vangelis looked to the two and said, "I yield! For-forgive me!"
"Don't ask my forgiveness. Ask theirs," Cole said as he gestured to all the people the man had enslaved. He then looked to Vania, and for the first time, realized how angry she truly was at the man she was once able to call father.
"Vania? My daughter?" Vangelis asked. "All I did, I did for the glory of-"
"Hailmar," Vania addressed the guard nearby. "Get this man out of my sight!"
The guards came to their former king and picked him up, leading him away to the top of the mountain and then to the palace dungeon. All the while he screamed, "Unhand me! I am your king! I am your king!"
A day had passed. The people of Shintaro were told in a public announcement by Princess Vania the crimes that their beloved king had committed against the people below the mountain. Everyone was shocked and appalled by these actions, but there was no time to process these things as preparations for the coronation had begun. It was planned to be held two days from then, and the ninja promised to help in any way they could, but they had been denied any part in this.
"Cole, what's the deal with your girlfriend," Kai demanded as he marched into the earth master's guest bedroom. He closed the door shut behind him before saying this, though.
"Girlfriend?" Cole asked as he got C.J. out of his crib. "Kai, what are you talking about?"
"Vania!" Kai exclaimed, as if it was obvious, and Cole couldn't help but blush in embarrassment. Was his crush really that clear to see? "She won't let us do anything!"
"She's stressed out and just lost her dad. The best thing we can do to help is leave her be until she's ready to talk," Cole explained.
Suddenly, Jay, Lloyd, and Nya walked in, closing the door behind, and sat in various places of the room. Lloyd leaned up against the wall, Nya sat on the floor near a chair, and Jay sat in said chair. Not before offering it to Nya, of course.
"Come on in," Cole said sarcastically, but Jay didn't seem to get it as he responded with a very friendly, "Thank you."
Before Kai could say anything to this, Nya said, "I've never been to a coronation before."
"Me neither. I'm excited to see Vania take up her mantle as queen," Cole smiled as he sat on the ottoman by his bed. C.J. sat down next to him with his stuffed bear in his hands.
"Has she said anything to you about it?" Nya asked.
"Nothin'," Cole responded. Now this was a lie. Vania had spoken to Cole about becoming queen and she had mentioned a lot of stuff to him. Nothing that he should share with the group, though. If Vania wanted to tell his friends, that was her choice.
He had found her on the balcony of her room the previous night. The door was wide opened, so he deemed it safe to enter. He came up to her, and she noticed his presence, but she said nothing to him.
"Are you okay?" Cole had asked. "I mean, with everything about your father and-"
"Cole," Vania stopped him. "I really don't want to talk about it."
"Okay," Cole said. Respecting her wish, he decided to move on to another topic.
"So, what kind of technology do you have in this place anyway?"
"We didn't use to have any," Vania responded, a smile starting to come up as she now had something else to think about. "A few years ago, we got phones, but we don't use them very much since everyone stays in Shintaro."
"Well, if you wouldn't mind, I could give you my number, so we can stay in touch," Cole shrugged awkwardly as he said this.
"I wouldn't mind that at all," Vania smiled. A slow blush growing on her cheeks.
Cole smiled as he took out his phone and Vania did the same. It was a little old fashioned, but that made sense as the kingdom had not had phones for a while.
After exchanging numbers, the two just sat and watched the setting sun in the distance. They enjoyed each other's company, but Cole could sense that something was bothering Vania, and he knew what that was. She had asked him not to mention it, though, and he was going to respect this wish.
Finally, Vania said, "What if I'm not a good queen?"
"What?" Cole asked. How could she ever think something like that?
"I am my father's daughter. What if I'm like him?"
Cole grabbed both of the princess's shoulders, looked her right in the eyes and said, "Who you are is your choice. Not your father's. Besides, I don't think you could be evil even if you tried."
Vania smiled slightly at this. "You really think so?"
"I know so."
Vania hesitated a moment before giving Cole a hug.
The earth ninja was surprised but pleasantly. He soon returned the hug and they spent a long time in the silent embrace. Finally, the soon to be queen sighed and said, "I wish you could stay."
"Really?" he sounded almost somber.
"Yeah! With your strength, you could help protect the kingdom and the Geckles and Munce will need help getting back to their normal lives. I can't do that all on my own. Besides, I'd miss you and C.J. if you left.
Cole was the one to break away from the hug and he seemed to be getting an idea.
Suddenly, he was shaken from his thoughts when he heard Echo say, "So what shall we do when we return home?"
The earth master silently sighed to himself. He looked around the room to see that everyone was here now. He had to tell them sooner or later.
"Guys," Cole started. Everyone looked his way, and Cole found himself wondering whether this was the right decision or not. He looked to C.J. who looked back up at him with a big smile on his face, and he knew that this was right. "I'm not going home."
"What?!" everyone exclaimed at once.
"What are you talking about?" Lloyd asked.
"I'm staying in Shintaro. At least for the next few months."
"What? Is this about Vania?" Jay asked. He sounded almost betrayed.
"Well..." Cole began to trail off. "No. Sort of. I don't know."
"Then what is it about, Cole?" Zane asked.
Sighing once again, Cole said, "I've had to leave C.J. too many times and I'm tired of it. You know how scared he gets when I'm not around. He's worried I'm not gonna come back and he's two! And he's been put in harm's way at least ten times. If I want to protect him, I have to make sacrifices," Cole replied.
"So this isn't a temporary thing?" Nya asked.
Cole shook his head. "I want to give C.J. the best life I can give him."
"Good," Kai smiled in a knowing way.
Everyone looked to the fire master in surprise.
"What? Let him do what he wants," Kai repeated from two years before, yet this time, there was a certain tone in his voice that said he truly believed Cole was making the right decision. "Besides, we can't be ninja forever." He sounded sad but his smile never disappeared.
"Thanks, Kai," Cole smiled back.
"So..." Jay drew the word out. He really didn't know what to think of this. "You're really leaving?"
"Yeah," Cole nodded.
"Where are you gonna go? After you leave Shintaro?" he rolled up his sleeves, seeming to need to fidget with something.
"I'm not sure. Maybe I'll get a house near my dad. What do you think of that C.J.? You wanna live near Papa Lou? Then we can see him every day."
"Yay!" C.J. exclaimed.
"I just-I can't believe it," Nya replied.
"Me neither," Cole laughed.
A pause and then, "I'm proud of you."
"As am I," Zane added.
"Me too," said Kai.
"Me three," Jay added.
"Lloyd?" Wu asked the only other person who hadn't spoken yet.
The green ninja sighed, not looking to any of the other ninja.
"Lloyd?" Cole asked.
Still no response.
C.J. carefully got off of the bed, teddy bear trailing behind him as he walked up to the youngest ninja.
"Uncle Lloyd?" the boy asked.
Lloyd finally looked down and saw the little blond looking up at him with a big grin.
"I'll miss you, bud," Lloyd said as he ruffled C.J.'s hair. He then looked to Cole and said, "But you're right."
It was time for the coronation and everyone who was invited came. The Munce, Geckles, Shintarans, Upply, and ninja were all there to see Princess Vania be crowned queen.
The princess was adorned in a huge dress. She wore an elegant collar that held her wings on higher up her back than normal, and she was escorted by at least five guards to the throne located high above everyone. Hailmar was atop this throne, and he handed the princess a scroll that she took gracefully before reading it aloud saying, "I, Princess Vania, of the Kingdom of Shintaro, do hereby solemnly swear to stand up to those who are cruel and unjust." She gave Cole a smile when she said this. He felt touched that she would put those words in her speech. "To uphold the laws of the kingdom and to protect and faithfully serve all who dwell above and below the mountain."
Hailmar took the scroll back from Vania and placed it down on a table nearby. He then took a blue and gold crown and placed it atop her head saying, "Then it is my great honor and privilege to pronounce you Queen Vania, the rightful ruler of Shintaro!"
Everyone cheered and clapped as Fungus created fireworks with his magic.
That evening, the ninja were getting ready to board the Destiny's Bounty and go back home. They said goodbye to the friends they had made during this journey and prepared to say goodbye to a brother.
"You'll make sure to visit, won't you?" Nya asked as she gave him a hug.
"Of course," Cole replied. "You guys are my family."
"You're sure this is what you want to do?" Lloyd asked. He looked almost the same as when he found out he had to fight his father at such a young age.
"Hey, kid," Cole whispered as he placed a hand on the green ninja's shoulder. Lloyd looked up in surprise. It had been so long since he called him that. "I know you're capable of beating up those bad guys all by yourself. You don't need me. You got this."
Tears began coming to Lloyd's eyes. He shut them tightly to keep them at bay, composing himself, before he smiled and backed up. He'd grown so much from the little kid they met back in Jumanikai.
"Take care, little buddy," Kai said to the young one, "and Cole," he said as he stood up to face the taller man. "I'm gonna beat your Lava Zombies score so hard now that you're gone."
Cole laughed at this. "Don't worry," he said as he playfully punched Kai in the arm. "I'll be reclaiming my title of Lava Zombie King the second I come visit."
"Not if I beat it first," Zane, the previous Lava Zombie King, added on in a playful tone. He then became much more serious and nodded to Cole saying, "We're only one call away if you ever need any help."
"Yeah!" Jay exclaimed. "If you need someone to look after C.J., or just lonely, give us a call."
"Thanks, Guys," Cole said. "Really. I wouldn't have made it this far without you."
"I'm proud of you, Cole," Wu smiled. "You've truly come farther than anyone I've ever known."
The young master suddenly found himself crushed by the arms of the earth master as he wrapped him around in a hug.
"You did everything for me," he whispered so that no one but them could hear. "I'm just passing down what you taught me."
The two let go, and Cole, albeit teary eyed said, "I'll see you around, guys."
"Bye, C.J." Jay said as he gave his nephew a hug. He was the only one who had not left for the Bounty by now. He then waved to Cole and followed the other ninja onto the Bounty.
Cole smiled as he looked to C.J. and said, "We got another adventure comin' for us, buddy, and this time, I'm never leaving you behind."
C.J. started laughing as he jumped up into his dad's arms, and the two walked over to the new queen.
"You're really staying?" Vania asked hopefully.
"That's what I told you, isn't it?" Cole smiled.
"For how long?"
"Eh. A couple months, at the most, but don't worry. I'll come back to visit as often as I can afterwards."
"Good because I'm gonna need all the help I can get."
"And I'll be here for you. With anything you need."
"Well, the first thing I need is some food. I've hardly eaten anything since you defeated my father. Care to accompany me to dinner?" she asked as she held her hand out to him.
"Of course," Cole replied as he took it. "You guys got any cake?"
"Cake!" C.J. exclaimed.
And that was it. Don't worry, this is not the end, but I thought this would the most logical next step in Cole's journey through parenthood. Bits of the Island and Seabound will be placed in C.J. Style One-Shots that I'm already getting ideas for and then we'll be back for some of Crystalized.
Hope you all enjoyed the story! Leave a review if you'd like. Hopefully, I can get back to the one-shots soon but right now, I'm focusing more on my next fanfiction.
Thanks once again for reading my story. Have a great day/night!
#God'sNotDead