A.N: Alright, here I am, with a new chapter! WOO HOO! Thanks to Guest for reviewing the last chapter, and here's chapter 22!
Some more swearing in this chapter. But it's Kai's POV! What do ya want? XD My subconscious imagines him as a huge potty mouth.
Anyway, R&R please, and ENJOY!
Kai's POV:
"Kai! For the last time! We are not going to travel to the serpentine base and stab all of them!"
Cole's voice traveled in one ear and out the other as I huffed in defeat. The Destiny's Bounty soared above the tree line, on its way to the remains of the Monastery of Spinjitzu. I was tuning everybody out and adding my suggestions on how to beat the snakes. Unfortunately, nobody was kind enough to take them into account.
The bastards. How much more torture can the poor kid possibly take? If there's one thing I've learned during this adventure, is that Lloyd is stronger than all of us ever gave him credit for. After all, if I were captured by the snakes more than once, I would've gone crazy.
Like I would ever admit that, of course.
Zoe was sitting a few feet away from me in the bridge. I never developed a very strong relationship with her. I guess we were just aware of each other's existence during all of this crap.
I cleared my throat. "You okay over there?"
She sighed and stared at her hands resting in her lap. "I don't even know anymore."
"Well, you've been through a lot. And I understand that. But I can assure you, all of us are going to get Lloyd back. I promise."
Zoe met my eyes. "And what if you don't?"
"Then you have every right to be mad at me. You can slap me, if you like, because I would deserve it for not keeping Lloyd safe."
And I would let her. I would one hundred percent let her slap me if anything happens to Lloyd. It's my job, my destiny to protect him, and I let him down multiple times in a row. It's amazing that Lloyd forgives me at all, or can stand to look at me.
I felt like shit, in a nutshell.
Zoe bit her lip and turned away, taking a shuddering breath and closing her eyes. I took that as a hint to leave her alone before she bites my arm off.
Numbly, I walked over to the other side of the room to where the calendar hung. The picture was of Wildwood Forest, with the trees covered in a thick blanket of snow. If things were before I became a ninja I would be playing with my friends outside of Ignacia, pelting each other with snowballs and calling each other names.
The climate around Ninjago is weird. It can be sweltering hot when it's spring all of a sudden, and go through tons of different temperatures in one day. Hell, there was already a snow storm not so long ago, and the winter solstice is tomorrow.
Wait, TOMORROW?!
I shook my head in disbelief and looked again at the date. Sure enough, today was the twentieth of December, and under the next date were the words winter solstice.
My heart began pounding like a hyperactive kettle drum. If this isn't a defective calendar, (which is highly unlikely) then we only had today to get the scroll. One day. If we didn't, then not only is the world going to fall, but Lloyd too. This was our last chance to save him.
I felt sick to my stomach, and if I wasn't resting my hand on the wall, I would've fallen over.
The question is, should I tell the others?
My gut was telling me no. After all, the others already are stressed out about this. Why do it even more? And besides, even though I hated Garmadon for multiple reasons, I can't help but feel…sorry for him.
Keep it a secret…keep it a secret…keep it a secret…
I repeated my mantra over and over in my mind as the mountain tops rose in front of me.
Jay and I were the first ones off the ship. There was ash and dirt all across the mountain peak. A crude outline of the building was still standing, made from charred pieces of wood.
The ninja clad in blue sighed softly. "We had some good memories here, right guys?"
I smiled a little. "Yeah. Still hard to believe it's gone. Stupid hypnobrai…" I muttered the last part under my breath.
Zoe appeared next to me. "This place must've been amazing."
"It was sis. It really was." Cole was scanning the mountain, as if looking for the rooms that were no longer there.
There was an awkward silence before Jay coughed. "Well, are we going to stand here reminiscing like we're in a Disney movie, or find that scroll?"
He managed to get a cheap laugh out of all of us, and we began digging around the former structure.
It was twenty minutes before we all got frustrated.
"Where…in the name of all things elemental…is that stupid paper?!" I shouted.
Sensei gave me a stern look that made me shut up and keep digging through the ash. My ninja gi was stained black on my knees, elbows and chest, and my gloves were ripped and torn apart.
"Kai has a point," Jay called from the other end of the mountain, "I mean, we've looked everywhere. Where is it?"
Zoe growled a few feet away. "Up your butt. Why don't you check?"
"What? Hey that's not very-"
"Both of you! Shut up!" Cole screamed.
"It would be wise for silence, or we won't find it at all!" Zane cried.
"ALL OF YOU SHUT UP! BECAUSE I CAN GIVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU A ONE WAY TICKET TO THE UNDERWORLD! AND I CAN TELL YOU RIGHT NOW, YOU WON'T ENJOY IT!"
All eyes turned to Garmadon, who gave us a look that could silence the walking dead. He probably used it a lot in the underworld.
Let's just say, it was strangely quiet after that.
Shortly thereafter, I found a piece of paper sticking up awkwardly from the pile of rock. I beamed.
"You guys! I found it!"
My friends, and Garmadon, quickly hurried over.
"Well, pull it out!" Jay said excitedly.
I grunted. "Working on it." It was stuck pretty well under a huge chunk of rock.
"I got it." Cole walked over and pushed the rock out of the way. Unfortunately it fell off the mountain in the process.
Zoe winced. "Feel bad for whoever's car that hit."
Cole shrugged. "It was for the greater good."
I ignored them and unrolled it. It had the elemental symbol for creation in gold, right in the center. Surrounding it were intricate green circles, curving around the crumpled parchment.
"It's so pretty," Zoe said quietly in awe.
I flipped it over, and stopped dead at what was there.
It was Lloyd, but older. Maybe about fifteen or sixteen, with longer hair, brighter eyes, and a more confident demeanor. He was standing on a very tall building rooftop, which looked like it was in Ninjago City. However the city surrounding him was black and depressing. In front of him, the creature he was looking at was a massive black dragon with a broad toothy mouth and piercing purple eyes.
"Is that…" Jay started.
"The final battle," I finished.
"It appears he is injured," Zane said, pointing to Lloyd's left leg.
We all turned to where he was pointing, and sure enough, the painting depicted Lloyd with a tightly bandaged leg.
"Then how will he…" Jay said softly.
"Dude, finish your damn sentences!" I screamed.
"I have a question," Zoe said. We all turned to her.
"I thought the prophecy said Lloyd will have to face his father, not a dragon."
Jay chortled a little and turned to the dark lord. "Maybe you'll get shape shifting or something."
Garmadon didn't seem to hear, for he was staring at the painting with a baffled expression. "I don't believe it…"
"Or," Cole said, "maybe the prophecy was wrong. After all, it never said his father directly. Just the dark lord. Garmadon might have something to do with it, but I don't think Lloyd has to face Garmadon directly. Unless you've got a super dragon mode or something we don't know about." He spoke the last part giving the lord of darkness a pointed look.
Said lord shook his head, slowly smiling. "I don't…I can't…after all this time, I don't have to fight him! This is…this is great! All this time I've been worrying about having to fight him…and now…this changes everything."
Wu smiled broadly. "It appears our family isn't as divided as we though brother."
"Wait, wait, wait guys." Jay interrupted, waving his hands. "That's great and all, but doesn't that mean that this guy, whoever he is, isn't going to hold back? I mean think about it! This dude could kill Lloyd if he got the chance."
Garmadon's smile vanished quickly. I glared at Jay. "Thanks Mr. Sunshine. That totally improved the mood."
He shut up after that.
A hiss echoed across the sky. The seven of us turned around to see Pythor and an army of serpentine looking at the paper in my hands.
"Ah, hello ninja of fire. I believe you are in possession of something I desire."
I gripped the scroll tighter. "You aren't getting this even if you have to rip it away from my cold, dead, body."
Pythor chuckled. "Well, stubborn aren't we? Perhaps we can change your mind about that."
The serpentine snarled, and charged straight for me. In mere seconds I had a massive armada of snakes groping for the scroll while kicking and punching me.
"Kai! Hold onto that scroll like your life depends on it!" Garmadon shouted.
Believe me, I will I thought angrily.
I was so focused on holding off the snakes in front of me that I forgot about behind me. Suddenly I felt a hand around my throat, squeezing me tightly. The crowd of snakes parted to reveal my friends staring at me in horror. I looked down to see a purple tail curled around my ankles. Pythor.
They say karma's a bitch. I wholeheartedly agree.
"Release my student Pythor!" Sensei shouted. His eyes were smoldering with anger, an emotion that I wasn't used to him expressing.
"Not until he releases the scroll. See fire ninja, all you have to do is let go." His voice hissed into my ear and echoed around my brain. Meanwhile, my mind began to turn fuzzy, my vision turned blurry, and my breath became strained.
"In…your…dreams," I choked.
I felt his talons dig deeper, and I briefly blacked out. When my vision became clear, the situation was the same, but I noticed that Zane wasn't there. I was too confused to determine why.
"Now, now, little ninja, there is no need to fight. Let go of the scroll, and I'll let go of you."
Pythor's voice seemed far away, and the scene slowly began to dissolve while my lungs screamed for oxygen. I faintly heard a shout, and the grip released, just as I fell unconscious.
A.N: Go ahead, threaten me in reviews, but it shall have no affect! XD
I didn't plan on having the scroll depict the final battle, it just kinda popped out, but the more I think about it the more I like it! I think it'll make this story's climax more interesting.
Speaking of which, maybe about three more chapters until the end? I don't think I'll fulfill my promise about finishing at the end of the month, but I forgot about finals. But I promise I'll keep working on it!
Review please! Frosti, out!