A.N: FINALLY THIS IS DONE! But, I promise it took so long because it was…harder than I thought to write. And I had some other important things to do…*cough*Pokémon X *cough*

So here's how it's gonna work. There will be a third person pov look at each group until a specific event, and then they'll come together for the last scene. Make sense?

If you don't get it, it'll make sense once you read it.

Oh, and if you cry easily…GRAB TISSUES! BE PREPARED FOR THE ENDING! You have been warned!

ON WITH THE STORY! XD

The blue eyes narrowed into slits. "What do you want with me now? You've got me in your little claws again."

Pythor grimaced. "I came to, well; tell you that…um…"

"Spit it out already."

The Anacondrai sighed. "I want to help your friends in the battle."

Lloyd scoffed, getting to his feet to stress his point. "That's funny, because I remember you slashing my back, kidnapping me, stranding my friends in a cave during a blizzard, ditching the devourer scheme and serving Venom!"

"Yes, but I regret that my boy."

"How do I know you aren't lying to me?" The green ninja snapped back.

Pythor bit his lip. How would he know? After everything he'd done to the child, frankly he didn't deserve anyone's trust.

"Tell me why."

The serpentine jumped a little. "Excuse me?"

"Tell me why," Lloyd started patiently, "tell me why you want to help me and my friends."

Oh, where to start? Pythor thought bitterly.

- "Okay guys," Cole started, as the ninja team gathered at the back entrance of the base, "you all know what to do, right?"

There was a sea of nods. The black ninja gave a shuddering breath before continuing. "One more time, to be sure." Everyone groaned, but Cole ignored this.

"Jay, Zoe, find the shadows and cause a distraction of some kind. Nya, Zane and I will hold off the serpentine as best as we can. That leaves Kai, Sensei and Garmadon to find Lloyd, get him out of there, and get the scrolls back. Everyone clear?"

Jay sighed, exasperated. "Yes Cole, we get it."

"I'm just making sure!" Cole looked at Jay. "And I'm also making sure nobody screws anything up."

Jay held a hand over his heart in mock hurt. "Who, me?"

Garmadon growled deeply. "Are you two quite finished?"

The lightning ninja gulped. "Yes," he squeaked.

Cole grimaced. "Then let's move."

"Are you sure this is such a good idea?" Zoe whispered frantically.

The pair was standing on a catwalk above the fortress, staring down at the scene below them. To their left was the shadow army against the wall, waiting for anything out of the ordinary as they fiddled with their various weapons. In the center of the large space was the serpentine talking amongst each other, bored and impatiently waiting for action. And finally, in the front of the space were Xander, Pythor and Venom. Next to Venom's apprentice was a restrained Lloyd, uncomfortably shifting feet and looking around.

The entrance they took was in the center of the room by the serpentine on the opposite wall. Using stealth, and the snakes' stupidity, Jay and Zoe had snuck to the top of the catwalk. Zane, Nya and Cole were waiting in the doorway for the distraction so they can cut in and subdue the serpentine. When they're out of the way, Kai's group would head over to the front of the room where Lloyd was chained next to Xander.

"I wouldn't say sure…maybe somewhat certain?" Jay answered with a shrug.

Zoe sighed and buried her head in her free hand, the other tightly gripping her dagger. "Just start the plan, please."

"Alright, alright, I'm going…"

Jay pulled his nun chucks out from behind him and stood poised for attack. An electrical charge began to build as he rapidly spun the weapon in a circle above his head. Carefully, he aimed his weapon and fired a lightning bolt at the rock wall above the shadows.

The beings hissed and bared their teeth as rocks tumbled down the wall and to their feet. A larger one held out his (or her, neither Jay nor Zoe wanted to check) hand to signal them to halt, and approached the wall apprehensively.

Zoe took in a sharp breath. "I don't like this plan anymore." Her grip on her dagger was slowly getting stronger as her knuckles lost their color.

Jay quickly glanced at her. "It's a little late to back out now. Watch this!"

Another charge built up as Jay shot an additional bolt to the other side of the wall. Shadows snarled and backed away from the mass of tumbling boulders falling from the top. The cavern was too big for many serpentine to take much notice. A mere glance was thrown now and again, but nothing more. Xander and Venom didn't even look up, assuming it was a portion of their army goofing off.

Pythor however, was nervously swishing his tail back and forth in a state of indecision. He knew it was the lightning ninja. Why nobody figured it out sooner, he didn't know. But if he was right, then that meant that the rest of the ninja were here too. The violet serpentine was debating to just abandon ship and head on over, or wait…or…

Damn this is hard.

No one else saw Pythor in this state, so he continued his war within himself.

Meanwhile, Jay continued the shots of lighting, but it didn't seem to be enough.

"You ready Zoe?" Jay called as he zapped a boulder above a lieutenant's unsuspecting head.

The sister of earth gulped, but nodded firmly. "As I'll ever be."

With that, she swiftly climbed down the wall, and with a satisfying thud her feet connected with the rocky floor. Zoe took a breath. Just feet away was a high-ranking soldier with his back turned.

Sighing, she turned her head and cupped her lips. "Hey, the lieutenant doesn't seem to be a good liar! I can see right through him!"

Jay face-palmed from above her as he shot another bolt, as Zoe bit her lip to avoid giggling.

"Who said that?!" The shadow bellowed, outraged. "Was it you?!" He asked, jabbing his dagger towards his nearby friend's chest. The shadow on the other side of the weapon held both hands up and shook his head frantically.

As quick as a flash, the brunette made her way to another rock to hide behind. "He's got such a thick skull; I can see it with my own eyes!"

The warrior closest to her looked up in surprise and began shouting at his neighbor.

For several minutes, Zoe continued to shout insults at shadows as Jay shot lightning bolts again and again. The shadow army was in chaos.

Jay, from up above, could see his friends fighting the serpentine and Kai's group sneaking over to Lloyd. Xander was furious as he yelled commands to the snakes, while Venom simply stood there amused while watching the scene.

All seemed well, until a scream of pain came from the front of the fortress. Jay stopped and turned his head towards the noise. His eyes widened in horror.

Zoe realized what was happening as well. She was as white as a ghost.

The two heroes made eye contact, stopped what they were doing, and rushed over.

The ninja of earth took the lead until he reached the end of the tunnel leading towards the fortress. Jay and Zoe had taken the lead, and were preparing to cause their distraction. Until then, the best his group could do was wait and make a plan.

Oh, how he loved making plans.

Zane was jogging over to his leader, with Nya not far behind. The sister of fire didn't have her mec with her, as it was too big to fit in the passageway, but she had two steel fans strapped to her back and some throwing stars lined up and ready on her waist. Where she got them…Cole didn't have the answer.

"Okay, Nya, take their attention by throwing one of your stars. Then we attack."

His two companions nodded in unison. Out of the corner of Cole's eye, he saw Garmadon's red eyes that glowed brightly a few yards away. Before he could speak, Kai sighed and said, "We know Cole, when you guys go, then we wait for serpentine chaos and head out."

Cole closed his mouth and muttered under his breath.

Suddenly, a crack of lightning hit the opposite wall and rocks crashed down to the ground. Nya raised an eyebrow. "That's their distraction?"

"I sense there is more to it," Zane pointed out.

Nya crossed her arms. "Huh. Looks like it's working."

Sure enough, there was stirring over were the shadows were gathered.

"Give them a few more minutes," Cole said, "who knows what else Jay has in mind."

The black-clad ninja was both relieved and concerned he didn't see his sister yet. Relieved, because it meant she wasn't fighting anything or getting hurt. Concerned, because it could mean she was in trouble.

After a few moments, Cole saw the shadows arguing amongst each other. He smiled.

"Not bad. Alright guys, that's our cue. Nya?"

The black haired girl grinned as she took out a small but incredibly sharp throwing star. With careful aim and a rather impressive throw, it was latched on a fangpyre warrior's back. The snake yelped in pain and groped his hands around his back, eventually finding the star and turning around to face his attacker.

Nya stood with a smug smile on her face, as Cole and Zane stood behind her with weapons ready.

The fangpyre's eyes grew. "NINJA!"

The entire serpentine armada turned to face the trio. The victim of Nya's throwing star walked calmly up to her, drew his weapon, and snarled viciously. In response, she pulled out her two fans, and sliced his shoulder.

That did it. Soon, a full on battle was commencing. The fangpyre gravitated towards Nya, but she was handling the fight rather well. It helped that every time she pulled out one of her stars, the serpentine backed away growling.

Hypnobrai were heading over to Cole with their red eyes glowing like high beams on a truck. Keeping his eyes firmly locked on the ground, he held out his weapon in front of them. The snakes hissed as they slithered away, annoyed they couldn't get to their target.

As silence settled in the earth ninja's general area, a sly smile broke out under his mask. As fast as, well, the lightning bolts in the background, Cole slammed his scythe in the ground, causing a strong tremor to vibrate across the floor. The serpentine clasped their scaly hands over their ears as the floor continued to rumble. While in this state, the black ninja swung his weapon into their sides, knocking them down on their backs.

Zane was taking care of the venomari and constrictai easily. The second anyone of them came close, they got a taste of Zane's ice. They got the hint he wasn't to be messed with.

Nya turned to face her brother after socking a fangpyre in the nose. "Go ahead! We'll handle it down here!"

A fangpyre slowly approached behind the girl, but she elbowed him in the neck and rolled her eyes. A shot of her brother and the adults sneaking away made her smile.

However, a few moments later, when a scream pierced her eardrums, Nya paused and turned her head. So did her companions.

Cole looked horrified, turned to her and Zane, and hurried over.

Nya wasn't far behind.

The first time Kai heard the crack of lightning, here's what he thought:

Really Jay?

He had to admit, it was clever, but so…Jay. Although the fire ninja didn't question it, for it was working after all, he wondered how in the name of Ninjago he came up with it.

Then again, he does play more video games than the rest of the team. That could've had something to do with it.

After a few minutes of shadow disarray, which was rather funny to Kai, Cole's group began to do its part, after a quick moment of reassurance from Nya that she'll be fine.

Garmadon was pacing back and forth through the tunnel in worry. Consoles from his brother weren't really helping. However Kai didn't blame him at all for worrying. At least the dark lord wasn't worried about the plan failing, as he told both of them a dozen times at least, but if his son was okay at the moment or not.

At least he cared, Kai thought. He may be evil, but as long as he cared, that's all that mattered. Lloyd's life was demented enough.

Soon the serpentine were so chaotic, it made the skeletons look like a group of tea party guests. The red ninja had to give his sister some credit. She had skills.

Five minutes of Garmadon's griping later, the trio was on the move.

He was surprised how easy it was to get to the front of the chamber, though Kai assumed that Venom thought the combined efforts of the serpentine and shadows would be enough. It clearly wasn't.

Quietly, Kai slid along the wall to stay in the shadows. His breath was coming out in shallow gasps. Sensei Wu was right behind Kai, but not as close to the wall, (his pack that was strapped to his back got in the way) and Garmadon was blended into the darkness so well it was creepy.

Finally, Kai reached the green ninja. Lloyd's arms were tied behind him with thick rope, with the rope tied on a wooden pedestal. Kai noticed scorch marks on the rope, so Lloyd must've been trying to burn it to free himself. However the burns on his hands said that it wasn't very successful.

"About time you got here!" Lloyd whispered excitedly as Kai was furiously untying the rope at record speeds.

The fire ninja resisted the urge to smack Lloyd. Of course, the kid's getting rescued and the first thing he says is how he could've been quicker.

The blonde smirked. "I'm kidding Kai. Relax."

Kai softened, but just a little. Lloyd's smile was contagious after all.

The ninja's old mentor arrived next and maneuvered over to the pair. "Are you alright?"

Lloyd nodded. "Some burns here and there. Nothing I can't handle."

Sensei smiled and shook his head at his nephew's antics he didn't realize he missed.

Garmadon reached them last. His crimson eyes flicked over to Lloyd and asked the question everyone knew he would ask.

Lloyd grinned and spoke first. "I'm fine Dad."

For the first time in quite a while, the dark lord smiled.

At that moment, the ropes were undone and dropped to the floor. Lloyd rubbed his wrists and looked up at the adults. "Now what?"

Wu took off his backpack and opened the zipper, to reveal Lloyd's bow and arrows. "I thought you would like to have these back in your possession." He winked.

The smallest ninja nodded in thanks and looked at the arrow tip, the light catching off of the steel making his eyes glint and shine with joy.

Kai cleared his throat. "To answer your question kiddo, we're getting those scrolls back."

A flicker of fierce determination crossed across his face. "Then let's do it."

Lloyd barely took a dozen steps before a sharp pain crossed his chest. Slowly, he looked down. Flecks of red began to form on his gi as he fell to his knees and screamed.

Looking back up, his blue eyes registered Xander holding a dagger, dripping a strange green liquid, before the apprentice gave a cruel smile and disappeared in a cloud of snow.

A small puddle of blood began to form around his legs, making Lloyd feel increasingly nauseous. The boy's father was coming over quickly, staring at the wound in horror and subsequently holding his son close as he muttered vulgar language.

Who knew that fate was this twisted?

Everyone quickly saw the situation and rushed over to the fallen green ninja. His father was holding him tightly as Lloyd stared off into space with a dazed look on his face. What was the worst part was the large knife slash on his chest, which was oozing the red metallic liquid no one liked to see. In normal cases it wouldn't have been fatal, but the pale green color surrounding the wound said otherwise.

Cole knelt down next to the blonde child, his face as white as a sheet. "Lloyd…what happened?" he whispered barely audible.

"Poison on the dagger." He gave a small smile, despite the dire circumstances. "Pretty stupid of me huh?"

Kai gave a choked sob, managing a smile back. "Damn you for being such an idiot kid. Damn. You."

The fire ninja was going through such a swearing streak in his mind, the faint of heart would literally faint. This kid was more to him than just the chosen one, or his student. (Wow that sounded weird to him) He was now a member of their family. Their weird, crazy, dysfunctional family that Kai held close to his heart. Kai couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that Lloyd was down, Venom was awakening, or even the fact that he was close to crying. Kai couldn't accept the fact that, well, they lost.

Jay looked as if he was going to be sick. The ninja of lightning was beginning to realize just how lucky he was. He had two loving parents who were always there for him. He didn't have any tragic losses in his life. In fact, the only thing in his life he was bitter about was that he was born in a junkyard, and sometimes even that had its perks. Jay looked down. Lloyd was a kid. He didn't really deserve this. Jay was a lucky guy, but he was surprised that anyone's luck could be as bad as the green ninja's.

Zane had a saddened expression as he watched the scene. The ice ninja had seen someone die before, but it was hard to process that he was seeing it happen again. It wasn't right. At least his father had died of natural causes, but did Lloyd really have to die like this?

Cole was gnawing on his tongue to avoid crying, in order to be strong for his teammate.

And that was it, teammate. Lloyd was more to the ninja now than just another resident on their ship, or a little kid always weaving his way into trouble. Now he was like a little brother to the team, and an incredibly brave and noble ninja. Cole was both proud and slightly embarrassed to say that Lloyd was nobler than his own leader in many situations.

Zoe was refusing to look at her crush, hot tears running down her cheeks. It just wasn't fair. After all the crap he'd been through, and now look at where it had got him to! She knew from reading books back at her old orphanage, that heroes never got happy endings. At least books that were realistic. She just imagined Lloyd surviving through this, and they would head back to the Bounty, finally get the idiot to kiss her…instead of the other way around…

She shook her head. Thinking about what could've been won't make things change. But still, a girl can dream.

Sensei was staring at his nephew in disbelief. Never before had Lloyd looked so…defeated. It didn't seem right to the old mentor. It wouldn't click. He was the definition of strength and optimism.

Sighing, he sat beside his distraught brother and took his nephew's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Lloyd's eyes flicked over to Wu, blinking slowly as if processing the fact that his uncle really was next to him.

Then Wu felt a squeeze back.

The dark lord's face was buried in his son's mop of blonde hair. His entire world was beginning to shatter like broken glass around him. His pride and joy was dying in his arms. Sure, Garmadon was used to having strange things happen to him, but this was skyrocketing through the charts. What was it, you may ask?

Outliving his only child.

Death threats to whoever designed this fate were spiraling around his subconscious mind. Plans to rip Xander limb from limb pulsated through his brain. In the meantime however, Garmadon just continued to hold his son tightly to let him know he was here, and prevented himself from letting tears fall.

If someone had told him that his son would die today, he wouldn't have believed it. He had him, his protectors and Wu. He's safe. But apparently that's not how it was supposed to play out.

When Wu came over, the older was resisting the urge to tell him off and leave him alone, but something stopped him as he realized something. The dark lord just so happened to come when Lloyd was in danger, but Wu was the adult that was there for him the most. Heck, if Wu hadn't come to his dimension than Garmadon wouldn't have even known Lloyd was in danger. Wu was the one who finally taught him what was right, and how to be a ninja.

Wu was more of a father figure to Lloyd than he was. Maybe Lloyd himself didn't feel that way, but it was the cold hard truth.

And it hit Garmadon like a ton of bricks.

He made a mental note to add that to the list of regrets he's had in his life.

Lloyd was focusing on one thing and one thing only:

The ability to breathe.

The poison slowly overtaking his bloodstream was not only painful, but it was making his breath short as it constricting his lungs. His shredded chest was burning and sticky, and his body was slowly shutting down. Every movement required extreme effort and energy that just wasn't there anymore.

Some green ninja, he thought. Dying before the final battle even happened. Lloyd was curious what would happen now. Would someone else get his powers? And who would be the green ninja? These were puzzling questions.

A pleasant thought occurred to the boy. If he died, at least he and his father wouldn't have to fight to the death. Gaining strength, he turned his head towards his father's strong torso and buried it into his armor.

He didn't want anyone to see him cry.

As this was happening the serpentine were gathered in small groups on the other side of the fortress, awkwardly mingling as they waited for the inevitable. Xander had a pleased facial expression, and Pythor was slowly slithering away from them and towards the ninja.

Venom, meanwhile, was growling in irritation. His hands gripped the chains he was fettered in and yanked them absentmindedly. The scrolls were laid out in front of him in an intricate design, with ice in the top left, earth to its right, lightning on the bottom left and fire on the bottom right. Right in the middle, placed delicately so the corners touched the surrounding papers, was the creation scroll in all its glory.

"Why isn't the little brat dead yet?!" he hissed at Xander, some poison dripping from his deadly sword.

The apprentice gave a short sigh. "The poison I used wasn't fast acting, I'm afraid. However, this little display of affection is rather entertaining, hm?

Venom huffed. "I'll be thoroughly entertained when his stupid little soul is mine."

"Patience master, the deed is almost done. Let us watch."

Suddenly, a blinding glow filled the underground room. The serpentine winced and covered their eyes, as the shadows snarled and hovered into the dark parts of the chamber.

Venom grinned slyly and hung his head. Xander blinked and made eye contact with his master, who winked.

However, both were wrong. The glow settled and took shape in front of the fallen child, turning into an elderly man.

Garmadon was roughly shaken by his younger brother. "Brother, you best be looking up now."

The elder glared but obeyed. As his eyes met with the form, his mouth fell open. It was a few moments before he found words. Or rather, a word.

"…Father?"

A.N: To make things perfectly clear, Lloyd will not be permanently killed off in this story. Please to not jump to any conclusions and take out anger in reviews.

But just in case…DON'T KILL ME! *jumps in the closet with a sword* I AM ARMED!

The ending is what I like best. Anyone else?

*sighs* Just review…