Children of Destiny
Hi everybody! I'm sorry for being so slow in the last couple of chapters but here, we'll finally see some action and a certain someone will find their true potential!
I'm also happy to say that this story has reached 300 chapters! Enjoy!
Chapter 24: We're All Mad Here
The Bounty was heading for the eastern ends of the mainland while the ninja and kunoichi got ready for today's training.
"Nature!" Forrest summoned vines from the Forest Staff to ensnare Leon, who fought against him to start today's session.
The green ninja didn't have a weapon but he inherited his father's unique powers. He formed a mass of pure energy in his hands that demolished the foliage around him until he was free from the creeping vines.
But Forrest wasn't taking his loss very well. He roared in pure anger and summoned a bunch of vines covered in thorns and other poisonous plants.
"Holy crap!" Leon was startled, delaying his reactions and getting him trapped by the vines and it was difficult trying to escape without touching the poison ivy and oak all over the floor.
"What are you doing!?" Chris exclaimed while trying to help Leon by zapping the vines around him but they started creeping all over the floor until the deck was almost completely ensnared by the wrath of Mother Nature.
"Forrest!"
The teal ninja gasped as he was finally freed from his wrathful trance by his sister. Even after he finally calmed down, he was still tense.
"Forrest, what's wrong with you?" Kyle asked and touched his shoulder in support but the plant wielder didn't take it very well.
"Why would you care!?" The tall fourteen-year-old hissed.
(*) "Veli, there is something wrong," Liana said more firmly, "You've always had a temper when we grew up together. You can't do anything out of anger."
"YOU were the one who broke down when Alex told you about Akira!"
"I was blind to my own faults," The ice wielder continued, "It's not good losing yourself to your emotions. I know that feeling too well so please let me help."
"I'm fine." The tall ninja scoffed, brushing off his sister as he left to blow off some steam.
The ninjas tried to go after him but Liana stopped them.
"Life as a ninja is never easy," The white kunoichi started, "That's what we were told when we first started training and at times, it can sense us over the edge."
"What does this have to do with Forrest?" Chris asked.
"There are times we need to be alone with our emotions and for him, this is such a time."
"But- "
"We all saw what happened back there," Misako halted Amy, "Give him some space before he's sure he can face us again."
"What if he doesn't?"
"This is something Forrest must overcome himself. The tree must stand on its own to grow."
Liana felt some déjà vu remembering her mother's arboreal words of wisdom but she can't help but wonder if Forrest remembers too…
Forrest smacked the dummies in the training room repeatedly with the Forest Staff. It's funny he shared the same name as the Silver Weapon and wondered if that was why his mother gave him that name. But names were the least of his concern. The Overlord was now ahead of them and the ninjas' slow progress was really testing his patience. He was more on edge than he had ever felt before and can feel his grip on his emotions become weaker.
'Is this what I'm becoming? Some mad fool who doesn't even know what he's doing?' The teal ninja took a moment to think over his behavior over the last several days.
The Overlord got hold of his father's old blueprints and now had an army of nindroids built with the twisted image of his parent. This left the plant wielder on edge and he lost himself to anger more often but who can blame him? He had every right to hate the nindroids for even existing in the first place. Forrest brushed off any concerns over his behavior and continued beating up the dummies and punching bags.
"Forrest…?" A familiar voice called him from beyond the door.
"Not now!" He snapped.
"Forrest," Liana continued, "Can I please speak with you?"
The teal ninja gritted his teeth before opening the door to face his sister.
"What do you want?" He asked coldly.
"This isn't like you," The ice wielder started, "I know you've had a bit of temper growing up but you can't let your anger control you. We all need emotional balance to- "
"Don't you think I already know that?" Her brother sighed in frustration.
"I understand how you feel and I'm also angry at the Overlord for creating those… clones of our father… but we can't lose ourselves to our emotions. That's why we're all trying to find our true potential. You need to find a better way to control your temper."
"Are you implying I have a problem?" Forrest glowered.
"Yes," Liana delivered the cold truth, "Your anger is starting to cloud your mind. It's not healthy to let it control you. You might end up hurting those you intend to protect."
"Like THAT will ever happen…" The teal ninja crossed his arms stubbornly.
"I can only warn you," The ice wielder sighed in defeat, "You never know what will happen…"
After his sister left, Forrest thought about what she said to him and his attitude as of late. It was obvious he was more on edge lately but he still didn't get what she meant by saying he'll 'lose himself'. He was still here, right?
His fists shook but he shook it off and left before his temper gets the better of him again.
But little did he know that was just a preview of what's to come…
Haukka returned from his flight and greeted Misako with a recording of what it saw.
The scholar was dismayed at the tiny army of nindroids scouring the plains but they weren't the only ones. More of the Overlord's disciples followed them and the bespectacled woman wasted no time summoning her students.
"What is it, Sensei?" Alex asked the moment everyone arrived.
"My fears have been confirmed," Misako said warily, "More nindroids are being built but that's not all. The Overlord revived another Serpentine."
The wise woman had Haukka hooked up to the main computer and its vision played out on the large monitor. A group of nindroids out in the open plain were accompanied by not just Jacob and Karl but also a blue snake the new generation never saw before.
"This is not good…" Amy muttered.
(*) "Paska!" Forrest shook his fists in aggravation.
"Who is he?" Leon asked.
"That's Skales," Misako answered, "Leader of the Hypnobrai who can brainwash humans with just one look into their eyes. It's best to be careful aound him but that's not the only thing you have to worry about. They're also heading in the general direction of the monastery."
"Kuso!We have to fight them before they reach Mom and Dad!" Leon got up.
"But what if that's what they want?" Melody brought up the possibility of it all being a trick.
"This may be a trap to divert us so only half of us will go." Alex thought out a plan.
"They're still quite a distance away but the sooner they're stopped the better." Chris said.
"Half of you will stay here while the Bounty continues heading east," Misako strategized, "And the rest of you will chase the nindroids and Serpentine heading towards the monastery."
"But who will go where?" Akira asked.
"Liana, you stay here with Amy, Kyle, Alex, and Leon." The scholar eyed the kunoichi of ice.
(*) "Ymmärretty." The pale girl stoically nodded.
"The rest of you will follow the enemies. Understood?"
"Fine." Akira rolled his fiery amber eyes but obeyed anyway.
The ninjas dispatched to fend off the invaders summoned their dragons and flew off to battle.
Out in the open fields of Ninjago, the peaceful silence was just the calm before the storm.
The band of nindroids along with Jacob, Karl, and Skales marched across the plains not too far from the monastery. They weren't surprised to hear the ninjas before they leapt off their flying beasts to face them. After all, this is what they wanted…
"Looks like you're just in time." Karl cruelly smirked at the brats who showed up.
The ninjas refused to answer, cloaking the battlefield in an ominous silence.
"Thesssse bratssss aren't asssss dumb asssss I thought," Skales narrowed his hypnotic red eyes, "Jusssst like their parentsssssss…"
"Whatever happens, don't let them reach the monastery." Chris whispered to his teammates.
The small group readied themselves before commencing the inevitable battle.
"Attack!" The Hypnobrai commanded and the nindroids charged at the ninjas and kunoichi.
"NINJA-GO!"
The ninja and kunoichi weren't intent on winning, knowing this could be a trap. But no matter what, they can't let them get to the monastery where they could harm Lloyd, Iris, and even Wu. Things were easy for Chris who can just zap the robots with the Nunchucks of Lightning as well as Akira, who used the intense heat of the Sword of Fire to melt their metallic bodies.
A certain kunoichi finally decided now was the time to show them her true strength.
"Water!"
Melody's body glowed as she activated her true potential to overpower the enemies.
Even with Melody's true potential, it wasn't easy and the fact that the Overlord's minions went so far to make the nindroids waterproof didn't make things any better but that didn't stop the purple kunoichi from trying. Despite their best efforts the ninjas were terribly outnumbered by the nindroids and were beaten to the ground. They didn't want to lose to the new enemies, not like this.
"We lost…" Melody sighed in defeat.
"We will NOT let you get away with this!" Akira growled at the enemies.
"No big deal," Jacob sneered, "We can still beat you any day, any time."
That was it.
Forrest was finally pushed beyond his limit. After losing to the clones of his father and being left in the dust by these bastards, he couldn't take it anymore. Like an overturned glass, his bottled up rage spilled over.
"NO. YOU. WON'T!"
Forrest's body glowed but not in the same way Liana and Melody's had done when they found their true potential. His teammates can practically feel the anger radiating from his aura before he lunged towards the nindroids and a bunch of plants burst from the earth but these were no ordinary plants. The thick brambles were teeming with razor sharp thorns while Venus fly traps grew by the dozen, snapping their jaw-like leaves at the nindroids. The other ninja and kunoichi stared in horror as the ravenous foliage grabbed a couple of unfortunate nindroids and crushed them between their jagged maws.
"Forrest, stop it!" Akira sent a stream of fire from his sword getting some of the Venus fly traps' attention but not in the way he hoped. The carnivorous plants turned towards the human and lunged at them, as if wanting to eat them.
"Crap!" The remaining four ninjas found themselves running for their lives away from the very plants that should be on THEIR side.
The Forrest they knew was no longer there. The ninja before them was a rampaging beast bent on demolishing everyone and everything around him, even the ninjas.
"Melody!" Willow cried, "You have your true potential! Do something!"
"I can't use my powers now!" Melody retorted, "Water will only make the plants grow!"
The ninjas were terrified seeing one of their own surrender to his anger but can do nothing but watch in horror as Forrest continued to massacre the nindroids. Their mangled bodies crackled with bolts of electricity bursting from severed wires and parts and flickering optics.
"Forrest! Stop it!" Akira tried to get the teal ninja out of his trance but he was preoccupied with maiming the nindroids and he won't stop until they were all destroyed.
"He's not there anymore!" Melody cried, "There's no stopping him now!"
"Forrest isn't the only thing we have to worry about!" Chris pointed at the nindroids who barely managed to escape the nature ninja's wrath and targeted the remaining ninja and kunoichi.
"NINJA-GO!"
The four remaining ninjas were stuck fighting the nindroids but it wasn't easy when one of their own was reduced to a whirlwind of fury bent on destroying everyone and everything in its path, including them.
This was a fine mess the ninjas got themselves into…
The Bounty kept flying towards the east but one kunoichi was feeling more than a little anxious.
While looking for the Overlord's hideout, Liana kept sighing. She was worried about her brother and his growing frustration.
"Liana, is something wrong?" Alex approached the white kunoichi but the only response she got was yet another deep sigh.
"Is this about Forrest?"
The orange kunoichi didn't need to be told to know the answer.
"I know what it's like dealing with a short-tempered brother," Alex started, "I was often the one to keep Akira from getting into more trouble than he already had back home."
"This isn't about him doing reckless things," Liana groaned, "It's just that Forrest sometimes lets these things get to him. Sometimes, he gets so angry he becomes motivated purely by rage and that is not healthy…"
"I know," Alex said, "But this is one of those things he'll need to overcome by himself. Only we can break our mental chains ourselves."
The kunoichi of ice knew her sister in arms was right. The ninjas had each other's backs but this is one of the trials each of them must face by themselves. Plenty of times before, Forrest gave Liana some space whenever she was moody and she wished to do the same. Her mother often told them about the mistakes she made upon doing things out of anger. Her issues concerning her temper caused a huge strain on her relationship with their father but through her trials, she learned to channel her emotions and fix her bond with him.
But this was something Forrest had to learn on his own. As much as Liana yearned to help him, the only way to prove himself was to overcome these psychological hurdles alone without any interference from his teammates.
"I'm still worried about him…" The ice wielder sighed.
"Liana, Forrest is not weak," Alex spoke to keep her head from getting lost in the clouds, "I can tell he has a strong will and you need to have faith in him. He will lose himself if you don't and I know that all too well thanks to that little incident back there."
"I understand… But I still worry for him… I need some time to think…"
"Fine…"
After Alex left, Liana went back to staring off into the horizon.
Things were getting really ugly out in the battlefield.
The ninjas near the monastery still tried to subdue the plants and snap Forrest out of his rage.
"Forrest! Snap out of it!" Melody pleaded but her words fell on deaf ears.
The nature ninja still went on his rampage, destroying every nindroid he saw and had no regard for anything else around him, not even his own teammates that were getting in his way.
"Forrest! Stop this right now!" Chris and Akira grabbed the tall ninja's arms to stop him.
"LET GO OF ME!" The plant wielder snarled at his own teammates.
"Not until you stop!" Akira retorted, "Don't do this! You didn't become a ninja to take revenge or get consumed by hatred! Your father wouldn't want this!"
'Isä…'
Forrest saw images of his father in his head for a few moments but the nindroids in front of him only provoked his wrath. He can only think about destroying them until they were gone forever, allowing his anger to quickly take over.
(*) "PÄÄSTÄ IRTI!" The teal ninja writhed but his brothers just wouldn't let go.
"Stop it already!" Chris shouted, "If you keep this up, you'll be no better than the nindroids you desperately want to destroy!"
"EI!" Forrest lashed out and created a bunch of vines whose thorns pierced their flesh and drew blood almost all over their bodies.
"No!" The two kunoichi were horrified rushed to their brothers' aid and it finally dawned on the plant wielder what he just did. The ninjas got hurt and it was all because of him.
"Ei…!"
The tall ninja's icy blue eyes were wide with shock at the spectacle before him. Akira and Chris' bloodied bodies slumped over, surrounded by the kunoichi and the twisted plants manipulated by nothing but pure anger that radiated from him.
'What have I done…?' Forrest collapsed on his knees and the plants influenced by his emotions withered into nothing, offering relief to Forrest's teammates but unfortunately, that also meant the enemies were free.
"What are you waiting for!?" Skales commanded, "Attack!"
The surviving nindroids were built with advanced stamina and recovered more quickly than the ninjas initially thought and shot beams out of their optics towards them.
"NINJA-GO!"
The ninjas used their Spinjitzu to drive them off but Forrest just stood there, almost oblivious to everything but what he just did.
"Get Forrest out of here!" Akira commanded, "Chris and I will hold back the enemies!"
"But you're hurt!" Melody attempted to use her water powers to heal them.
"We can handle it!" Chris brushed off the raven-haired girl and entered the fray with Akira.
Melody and Willow reluctantly dragged Forrest to the back of the pseudo arena while the older ninjas fought to keep the bad guys from reaching them. They tried to snap him out of it but he was too shell-shocked to do anything besides stare into space.
"Forrest, snap out of it!" The kunoichi of water gently shook him.
The teal ninja's only reaction was curl up with his head buried in his knees. He was free from his rage but at the expense of his brothers' wellbeing. He knew of the saying 'everything comes at a price' but the cost may have been too great for him.
"How can I even call myself a ninja if I end up hurting you?" The nature ninja lamented.
"You weren't trying to hurt us," Melody responded, "But you will hurt us even more if you keep losing your temper like that. This is what Sensei Misako said when we needed to be free of our emotional restraints. You need to let go of these negative feelings."
"I can't," Forrest shook his head, "How can I NOT get mad at those… clones… for even existing in the first place…?"
"Nothing should ever be done in anger," Willow said, "That's what my dad told us whenever we trained together at the monastery. Don't you remember?"
Forrest reminisced on the advice Sensei Lloyd and his parents gave him when it came to dealing with his temper. Lloyd told his students of the evil that was once infused into him since the day he was conceived and his mother too told her children of how she needed to control her anger and negative emotions to fully grow.
He also remembered what Chris said to him.
If his hatred towards the nindroids consume him, he'll be just like them.
But he wasn't them and even if they were based on his father's blueprints, they also were NOT his father. These automatons were malicious beings that were nothing like his father, who was a very kind and selfless man and he was his son. Neither he nor his father are these evil robots that endangered those he cared about.
'I'm not one of them.'
The tall ninja turned to see his brothers struggling to keep the enemies at bay.
Forrest still felt anger towards the robotic clones of his father but didn't lose himself to his rage. His anger now fueled his determination to keep the enemies from hurting his brethren.
"Well look who came crawling back." Skales chuckled maliciously at the naïve human.
The plant wielder remained calm but he was still capable of great anger. He didn't care where the nindroids came from or how they came to be. They weren't neither him nor his father. He was going to put an end to them once and for all.
"NATURE!"
The tall ninja's body floated off the ground and was bathed in a teal light that blinded the dark robots but comforted his teammates. The once withered plants scattered across the battlefield returned to a healthy green hue. The vines lunged at the evil nindroids and squeezed every last inch of artificial life from them. The robots tried to fend them off but the plants were stronger than before now that Forrest was in control of his emotions and it showed in the plants that no longer grew in a chaotic mess but in a more 'organized' fashion, going after the nindroids.
"Probability for victory against the ninjas is thirteen percent." One of the nindroids managed to get out before being crushed by a giant Venus fly trap.
"Will these brats stop at nothing to get in our way!?" Karl hissed.
Forrest glared at the humans and snake with pure white eyes but before he could attack them, Jacob summoned the familiar cloud of dark smoke to warp himself and his cohorts away, much to the ninjas' ire.
"We lost them again!" Akira gritted his teeth.
"But that isn't the main reason we came here," Melody reminded him, "We needed to keep the others safe while they look for the Overlord's base of operations."
The water wielder's reminder brought the group back to the reality of their mission.
Forrest's glowing body descended onto the ground and the soil underneath the soles of his feet grew healthy and fresh new grass sprouted from the earth. His body stopped glowing but now felt fatigued.
"Forrest…?" Willow approached the teal ninja, "Are you okay now…?"
"I… think so…"
Forrest looked at his own hands, the same hands that once hurt his brother but also controlled the plants that helped defeat the enemies and potentially save the First Spinjitzu Master's kin.
"I unlocked my true potential…"
"Now that's three ninjas who found their true potential," Chris said, "We're almost halfway."
"So what do we do now?" The kunoichi of time asked impatiently, "There's still five more of us who have to unlock our true potential and we're still behind compared to the bad guys."
"Even if we have defeated them, the enemies' priorities is most likely keeping us from figuring out where they're hiding." Akira muttered.
"The Bounty may have reached its destination by now," The nature ninja estimated, "They may have some big news and obviously, we do too."
The ninjas gathered their strength and summoned their dragons to head back…
Liana continued watch on the deck of the Bounty but when she looked behind the ship, she was surprised to see the other half of the team return with their dragons. The rest of the ninja and kunoichi were eager to greet their returning brethren but once Forrest got off of Leaf, a sudden case of vertigo hit him hard. Before the ice wielder could help her brother, Akira and Chris took the tall ninja to his room.
"What's up with Forrest?" Kyle asked.
"Forrest found his true potential but not without some… issues…" Melody started warily.
"W-what happened…?" Liana was worried but wanted to know the whole story.
"He kinda lost it before he unlocked it." The kunoichi of water replied.
"Tell me more." The kunoichi of ice was slightly upset that her younger brother lost control of negative emotions but at least he now conquered his emotional issues…
"He still hates those nindroids he calls 'clones' and basically went on a rampage until he ended up injuring Akira and Chris. His realization came at a cost."
"What exactly did he do?" Liana asked in astonishment.
"He got REALLY pissed and then he kinda lost control of his plant powers and some of the plants he summoned attacked us but he snapped out of it after Akira and Chris got hurt by the thorns but in the end, he eventually came around."
"But he still learned from all this, right?" Amy asked, trying to be optimistic.
"I suppose." Her little sister answered.
The white kunoichi was mostly relieved but was concerned that all of these events took its toll on her brother's mental state. She wanted to see him but wanted to give him some space first.
The Charbonneau sisters went to check on the Bounty's progress at the bridge. When Melody left, it took roughly ten minutes to reach the nindroids but the way back took twice as long. The Bounty was getting close.
"How was your mission?" Misako asked.
"Forrest found his true potential… but it wasn't without some… kinks…"
"Finding your true potential is never easy," The wise teacher started, "I wasn't there when your parent unlocked theirs but I've been told it can take quite a toll both physically and mentally."
"I guess that's understandable…" Liana said.
"With three of you unlocking your true potential, you're almost halfway but that doesn't mean things will be any easier," Misako continued, "The road will only be more difficult but the most important thing is to never give up."
"We're almost there." Kyle interrupted the moment, pointing at the map.
"It looks like we're one step closer towards the truth." Amy mused out loud.
Now that the ninjas were possibly close to the Overlord's hideout, the road to destiny will only get harder from here on out…
(all words are in Finnish)
(*) Veli = Brother
(*) Paska = Shit
(*) Ymmärretty = Understood
(*) Päästä irti = Let go
Phew! Looks like the Julien siblings have found their true potential! But the next chapter will be a little lighthearted reprieve away from all the backstory & action. After that we'll see some action & maybe one of the original couples.
Also, I want to thank everyone who reviewed this story! I can't believe it already has 300 reviews! I'm REALLY tempted to say it but I won't. Instead, let me just say thank you to NinjaWriterMaster, AwesomeAuthor13, samuraifan282, Mykindleisawesome, PyroHunter16, SuperSmashDemigodNinjaKnight, Goldmedalninja, & more! Thank you!
I also have a poll for my new story ideas so if you haven't, come on down & vote!
As always, please review!