Epilogue

Lloyd didn't know how long he'd been unconscious, but once his eyes shuddered open, the bright welcoming sky greeted him. There was no sign of the purple mist, nor was there any sign of the Overlord. The Golden Master sat up, his muscles sore but otherwise unharmed. He was sure the gigantic dragon had inflicted at least a couple of wounds, but there was no sign of anything, apart from a couple of tears in his suit. Looking around, he found himself just beside the edge of the chasm, no more than a couple of blocks away from his old master's home.

It seemed like such a long time since he'd run away.

He stood, his eyes scanning the small city. He saw blurry shapes in the distance slowly coming to their feet, their dark shapes blurring in with each other so that Lloyd couldn't exactly discern one from the other very well. It could have been any of the villagers, coming together after the Overlord's attack, but Lloyd had a feeling it was none other than his teammates.

The boy smiled. Teammates.

Lloyd began to run, and as he got closer, he realized his assumptions had been right. Unlike Lloyd, his four friends looked like a mess. Bruises and cuts were spread evenly across Kai, Jay, and Cole's bodies. Zane's armor was ripped and dirtied, the left side of his face peeling away to reveal the metal underneath.

"What. . . What happened?" Jay shook his head, trying to sit up for the third time. Once again, the world spun around him, and he fell back, dazed. "I feel like I was beaten up by a pile of rocks."

"Don't look at me. I don't remember anything," Cole shrugged, trying to pat his hair down. "We were going to the Overlord then. . . bam, we're here."

Kai was down on one knee, lacking the strength to make it to both of his feet. Even his bent leg trembled at the thought of having to bear the entirety of his weight. "The Overlord. . ." he started, but his voice drifted off. The blacksmith brought his attention to the environment, noticing the lack of, well, anything that seemed ominous or out of place. There was light once more. No scary monsters. No Serpentine. Nothing. "Wh-Where did he go?"

"Zane, what's wrong with your face?!" Jay shouted over Kai's question, truly disheartened at the android's appearance. "I'm sure I can fix you up, buddy," the puppeteer hummed to himself, watching as Zane eyed him carefully. Jay took the fold of skin that drooped unceremoniously from his friend's face and tried to stick it back to the metal skeleton beneath. Of course, the skin only fell once again. "Maybe, if I just use a little bit of spit, then I can. . ."

"That will not be necessary," Zane said, taking a step backwards.

Lloyd started to laugh, a genuine sound that quickly filled the air and focused all eyes back on him. "The Overlord's gone. I found my inner strength and I. . . destroyed him in a flash of light." He tried to recall most of the details from the battle, but they only came in short bursts. Claws wrapping around his body. The Overlord's grating voice. Lloyd's own wounds healing before his eyes. Blinding light. "I don't think he's going to be bothering Ninjago ever again," the boy announced happily.

"But. . ." Kai gazed around at his friends before looking down at himself. Battered and bruised. "Did we help? I just. . . I don't remember anything." It looked as if all of them had been involved in the fight somehow, but when Kai tried to reach back for any memory, he came up short.

"Oh, believe me, you helped." Lloyd smirked, slowly recovering the bits and pieces of his memories. The way that his friends own problems had slowly guided him to the truth. He wouldn't have gotten anywhere without them.

"So. . . It's over, huh?" Jay chuckled, running a hand through his auburn hair. "That was quite a ride. A great ride to be honest. It would make a great story. . . "

"Far from over, little man." Cole shook his head, breaking away bits of ice that were clinging to his clothing. "Sure, we got rid of the main threat, but there's plenty of work to be done. We freed the people from the Serpentine, but now they have no one to guide them. Without an emperor, Ninjago could crumble."

Lloyd opened his mouth, then closed it. He was the true heir. But would they really believe him?

"But we have no one to be emperor!" Jay whined. "Why can't being heroes be easy? We already fought a bad guy. Now we have to figure out all this boring stuff too?"

"There has to be a record of whoever was to be next-in-line before Pythor and the other Serpentine took over," Zane muttered, flickering through the files in his mind. "Oh. . ."

"Oh? Oh!? What do you mean 'oh', Zane?" The Master of Lightning shrieked, gaining an annoyed look from Cole.

Lloyd felt heat rise to his cheeks. He didn't dare look up.

"It appears. . . That Lloyd is Emperor Garmadon's son."

"Lloyd?!" Kai's voice rang out, a hint of anger buried within the surprise. "Lloyd's the next in line for the throne?" A mixture of respect and anger overcame him. Not only was he in the presence of the Golden Master, but he was also staring at Emperor Garmadon's only heir. And Kai was already bending a knee no less. The blacksmith grit his teeth together and managed to pull his trembling body up, standing on both feet.

"Whoa, a real life prince?" Jay's smile widened indefinitely as he made his way over to the obviously embarrassed Lloyd and patted his shoulder. "Man, I'm gonna be telling so many stories about you! I already tell stories about your dad. I was little when the Serpentine took over, but my parents always told me that Emperor Garmadon was such a great ruler."

There was a hand on Lloyd's other shoulder. The boy looked back to see Cole. "My dad use to say the same thing," he chimed in. "Lloyd, your father was the greatest ruler Ninjago had ever known. And you took the land back from the Serpentine. I'm sure the people will be overjoyed to hear that Emperor Garmadon's true heir is returning to claim his rightful place on the throne."

"I'm. . ." Just like the moment when he'd been first told that he was the Golden Master, Lloyd felt as if he were going to be sick. He'd known who he was since the moment the ghost of the old emperor had claimed him as his son, but he'd never had any time to think about what it might mean. "I-I don't think I want to rule."

"But you're the heir! Don't you know what that means?" Jay gasped, his blue eyes wide. "You can't just not be emperor. You heard Cole. The people need someone!"

"Well yes b-but. . ." Words failed him. Lloyd felt his throat tighten, and none of his thoughts were coherent.

"He's a kid."

Lloyd turned towards Kai, who'd taken a shaky step forward, standing between Lloyd and the others. The Golden Master looked up at the blacksmith, awaiting the rest of his words. "We can't make him emperor. Not yet anyway. He's been a slave most of his life. I bet he doesn't know a thing about ruling an empire. If we push him into this, we might only be putting Ninjago in trouble."

"So then what?" Cole crossed his arms. The blacksmith was right, but making Lloyd emperor was the most logical solution. It was simple and effective, and it was the way things had always been done. Emperor Garmadon himself had been a ruler at an early age.

"We could train him," Zane piped in. "After all, it was our duty to protect him. Just because the fight is over, doesn't mean our duty to stand by him is over."

Jay nodded enthusiastically. "I know plenty of stories! I'm sure he could pick up a thing or two by listening!"

"It could work," Cole smiled. "I'm a merchant, so I know my way when it comes to people. I'm sure I could work on your communication skills."

"I'd have no problem teaching you what I know about war and how to use an empire's troops properly," Kai stated. "You know. . . once we actually build a non-Serpentine army that is."

"There is enough knowledge within my mind for me to teach you about the proper way to raise an empire," Zane said, already rummaging through the files embedded in his mind. "Trade, taxes, treaties. . . There are many things for you to learn."

Lloyd looked around at the faces of his friends. He'd been silly to worry. After all, they'd come this far. A merchant, a blacksmith, a puppeteer, and a warrior. Somehow, despite all of their differences, all of them had come together to eradicate Ninjago's army of snakes. The group of misfits had traveled throughout the land, bringing an end to every bit of injustice that they had come across. They hadn't been the strongest fighters. They hadn't been the best. But they had been the only ones with enough passion to fight for what they believed in. A brief smile tugged on the side of Lloyd's lips. Sure, he was still terrified. Lloyd knew that there would be plenty of challenges ahead, and some would be greater than he could ever imagine. But he wasn't going to let that stop him.

As the group of friends returned to the castle, Lloyd felt lighter than he ever had before. All of his chains had been shattered.

Lloyd was free.