Children of Destiny
Wow… I can't believe how far this story has already gone! I know this feels like the end but it's not! In fact, it's far from it! This is supposed be kinda like the first 2 seasons of Ninjago & a lot more will come! For now, enjoy!
Chapter 38: Déjà vu
The war machine looked like something straight out of a twisted nightmare.
The large 'legs' of the mechanical monstrosity resembled those of a spider's and several twisted blades and lasers stuck out from it. At the very top was an ornate crest made of gold, giving it a throne-like quality, no doubt for the Overlord to oversee the destruction it will cause.
All the ninjas can do little else but stare at the Overlord's creation in fearful silence.
"Is it not the most amazing thing you've ever seen?" Ash gloated, "And I built it!"
"Don't you see!?" Zane pleaded, "This is exactly why my father put an end to your grandfather's plots to build weaponized machines! Such monstrosities like this one will destroy Ninjago!"
"And that's exactly what I plan to do!" The Overlord bragged and his henchmen and Serpentine clambered onto it to operate its complex mechanics.
"Lightning!" Jay shot a thunderbolt at the machine to disrupt it but the massive weapon shook off the electric currents in mere seconds.
"What the heck!?" The ninja turned inventor was disturbed that his powers didn't work.
"Water!" Luna and Melody were next to try and stop the war machine with their elements but they too were met with the same results.
"You think we'd be stupid enough to give the machine any weak spots?" Jacob jeered at them.
The Overlord cackled and floated to the top of the machine on the makeshift throne.
"Now that you're all here, that will make my victory all the more gratifying!"
The machine moved closer towards the monastery and its lasers targeted the building.
"How are we gonna take down that thing!?" Forrest shook like a leaf at the size of the machine.
"Then what are we waiting for!?" Akira complained, "We have to stop him!"
"How!?" Leon asked.
"The tornado of creation!" Chris suddenly shouted, "We have to try it to stop the Overlord!"
"But we've never done it before!" His brother argued, "It's a very difficult move and it'll take a long time before we can actually do it!"
"At least we have to try!" The lightning ninja tried to rally his teammates.
"We don't know how!" The metal ninja cried.
"And we don't have any experience!" Forrest added.
"You have to combine your powers!" Cole explained it to them, "You're a team and you have to work together to realize your full potential! None of you can do it all alone!"
"But we already do!" Amy complained, "Nothing will be able to stop it!"
"The least you can do is try!"
"We'll try first!" Akira stepped up followed by Chris, Amy, and Liana.
"Fire!"
"Lightning!"
"Earth!"
"Ice!"
The ninjas' successors tried to accomplish what their fathers had in their first adventure but the large tornado engulfing them devolved into a messy dust storm and the ninja and kunoichi fell maladroitly on their bottoms. Even worse, the war machine drew ever closer.
"I should've known this wasn't going to work!" Liana pouted.
"The tornado of time!" A lightbulb went off in Alex's head, "We have to try that too!"
"But what if we fail like the ninjas?" Melody retorted.
"We have to try!" The younger Pyrrhus twin still tried to pull the team together like her brother.
Not without some reluctance, the other half of the new generation relented. They knew that if they don't at least try something, Ninjago WILL be in big trouble.
"Wind!"
"Water!"
"Nature!"
"Metal!"
Unfortunately, the new generation's attempt to make the Tornado of Time was also a colossal failure. They too were overwhelmed by the immense power of such a feat and fell off.
"Is that all?" The Overlord sneered from his 'throne', "You truly have gone soft with those little brats! You're making this look too easy!"
Akira felt his blood boil and was ready to beat the living shit out of the dark lord but his mother blocked him.
"Don't react to his words. Don't let him have more than he already does and that will provoke him to keep manipulating you." Aria sternly reminded her son.
"But- "
"Never do anything out of pure anger."
The fire ninja finally relented but was still conflicted that confronting the Overlord won't do any good except make the situation worse for him and his teammates and family.
The war machine continued heading towards the monastery but the original ninja and kunoichi refused to give up. They fought the Overlord and were even able to defeat him once and they were prepared to do it again.
"I know it's been a long time but now it's up to us," Cole led his team as he had done years ago, "We will have to stop the war machine ourselves! We'll have to make the Tornado of Creation! Are you with me?"
"Yes!"
The four ninjas stepped up before the war machine and the memories of their first adventures came flooding back until they remembered how to conjure the Tornado of Creation.
"NINJA-GO!"
One at a time, the original ninjas spun in their own elemental tornadoes before they gathered into a single tornado. The ninjas can feel not just their own elements but each other's while the tornado surrounding them grew to a great size until it nearly rivaled the war machine. The huge twister headed towards the diabolical machine but the optical sensors pinpointed the ninjas in the massive hurricane and fired at them. The large tornado suddenly dispersed with the ninjas sent flying.
"It's up to us now!" Nya charged with the other original kunoichi.
Within moments the kunoichi banded together to form the Tornado of Time but they were met with the same results as their husbands.
The tip of the flamethrower unfolded from within the machine's main body but Zane and Liana knew better than to stand back. They summoned a snowstorm to disrupt the weapon of mass destruction's targeting abilities and freeze up the flamethrower. Ice crept up the 'spider legs' of the gigantic mechanism but Cryptor, who was hooked up to it, raised the internal temperature of the main body and the ice was thawed in mere moments.
The other ninjas did everything they could to stop the war machine. The original ninjas became their elements as they had done at the end of their journey and their children unleashed their true potentials but their efforts were in vain. The machine didn't melt by the flames fanned by the winds and the lightning failed to disrupt its circuits. Cole and Amy even tried to throw it off balance by creating earthquakes but its limbs were firmly rooted to the ground.
Even the new ninja and kunoichi resorted to their true potential but they still have yet to reach the point where the true extent of their powers were unlocked but that didn't stop them from doing everything in their power to at least halt the mechanism but it didn't even seem aware of their interferences.
Iris' eyes glowed again as she stopped the effects of time on the machine to stop it in its tracks but didn't stop there. Once the evil contraption stopped, the former kunoichi reversed time on its form so that it can move backward. The ninjas thought they may have finally found a way to stop the machine for good but much to their horror, the Overlord fought against the kunoichi of time's powers and moved forward, which was NOT supposed to happen.
"Nyet! What's going on!?" Iris did whatever she can to maintain control over time.
"When you left me in the void, I wasn't the only think you left behind!" The Overlord gloated.
"What do you mean!?"
"Remnants of your powers remained in the void where I was imprisoned."
"Chto…?" Iris' blood ran cold upon realizing her powers had freed her enemy.
"When you all used your elements to ruin my ambitions to recreate Ninjago in my image, their auras lingered in the seal that imprisoned me. I was desperate enough to try everything to get out of that cursed prison and thought I could weaken the seal by absorbing them into myself. It wasn't painless but it was worth it because I finally freed myself from that wretched prison. It's all thanks to you!"
The kunoichi of time felt extreme guilt for sharing her powers with the Overlord.
"It's… my fault…"
"Iris! This isn't your fault!" Lloyd tried to console his spouse, "It was fate that decided that light and darkness will face off again! There's no one to blame but destiny itself!"
"But if only I…"
"There was nothing else we can do. We did what we were destined to do in our time. We were only able to defeat him, not destroy him. Don't give in. This is exactly what he wants."
"Fire!"
Much to everyone else's horror flamethrower sent a gush of raging flames at the monastery.
Zane and Liana tried to stop it with their ice powers but one of the machine's legs lifted off the ground and the base unfolded into what resembled claws and shot itself at the white ninja and kunoichi and they were pinned down by its massive claws.
"Zane! Liana!" Heather tried to push the claw away with the trees she conjured but her efforts were in vain.
With no one and nothing to stop him, the Overlord set the monastery on fire.
Much to the original ninjas' horror, the monastery was set ablaze and parts of its tall walls have already crumbled by the tremors caused by the war machine's steps. The silhouette of the once hallowed building stood out amidst the flames consuming it.
One thing the original ninjas feared was having history repeat itself and now, that fear became a reality because of the Overlord.
"Dammit!" Cole slammed his fists on the ground, denting the earth below him, "This is just like what happened before!"
"Sayuri's still in there!" Nya came to the terrifying realization that her daughter was left in the building that could surely bring her doom.
"I'll get her out of there!" Iris volunteered.
Iris concentrated on being where Sayuri was hiding and disappeared before the ninjas in a flash but the ninjas didn't plan on doing nothing to stop the fire. They still had their elements but it wasn't easy with the Overlord still around. Speaking of which, the malicious being was the only one proud of his work as were his underlings. The monastery was a superb test subject for his nefarious machine and he had eyes on bigger targets.
The turbines roared to life, the legs retreated into the machine's main body, and whole weapon lifted off.
"Hey! You're not getting away!" Alex summoned a storm but just like with the other elements, the cruel mechanism didn't have any turbulence from the fierce winds.
"All of this was possible because of you!" The true dark lord cackled at his enemies as the war machine flew off.
The ninjas were very tempted to chase after it but the monastery needed them more than the Overlord needed to be served some karma.
"Water!"
Luna and Melody smothered the flames with their water powers while Kai, being the fire ninja, attempted to absorb some of the flames into himself. Even Aria and Alex pitched in by sending gusts of wind to put out the fires but made sure the gales weren't strong enough to fan them.
Iris immediately found herself in the room the kunoichi stayed in whenever they trained at the monastery for the summer. Miraculously, the flames didn't reach the room but it was already covered with smoke and she detected a faint glow down the hall.
"Sayuri!"
"I-I'm right here!" Sayuri crawled out from under one of the beds.
"Hang on! I'm gonna get you out of here!" The former kunoichi held the girl close.
With the innocent girl clinging to her, Iris teleported away from the room before it can become part of the inferno ravaging the building. Sayuri didn't know how it happened but one minute, she was trapped in a burning room and next, she was outside with the ninja and kunoichi. Her parents practically smothered her before she can say anything.
Sayuri! Thank god you're safe!" Jay wrapped his arms tightly around his frightened daughter.
"I'm so glad you're alright!" Nya hugged and nuzzled her youngest child nonstop.
"This isn't the time to celebrate!" Kai scolded his sister and brother-in-law, "Put the fire out!"
The fire was finally put out but the monastery already suffered colossal damage from the fire. Much of its infrastructure was already burned down and even the original ninjas' statues have toppled over from the tremors caused by the war machine's approach. It wasn't as catastrophic as the time the Serpentine burned down the original monastery but it was still very bad.
Wu felt nothing but disappointment but not towards the ninjas but at the
"Wu, I'm so sorry…" Misako offered her old friend her condolences.
"It's okay. I've been through this already." With had his home being destroyed more than once and having had more harrowing experiences, the burned monastery didn't crush the sagely old man's spirit.
"But where will you go?" Heather asked.
"We'd let you stay at the Bounty but it's not fixed yet." Kyle admitted.
"The Bounty is for you, not me." The old man rejected
"You can stay with us until the monastery is rebuilt." Haruka offered.
"No, you and my brother have had more than enough of your share of troubles."
"But we aren't mentally crippled," Garmadon shook his head, "You tried to help me before yet I refused… but now… it's my turn."
"This reminds me of old times…" The bearded man reminisced on their childhood as he finally accepted his brother's offer.
"I have to agree."
"And what about you?" Amy turned to Lloyd and Iris.
"My parents returned to Vremya a couple of years ago and they wouldn't mind having us living with them until the monastery is rebuilt." The kunoichi of time answered.
"But what about the Overlord and the war machine!?" Forrest reminded everyone that the one who started the whole mess is now terrorizing Ninjago.
"What do you think!?" Chris snapped at him.
"Guys, please! Stop fighting!" Liana pleaded her teammates to stop.
"How can you NOT get mad at all this!?" Akira pointed at the carnage around them, "How could you be so quiet about this!?"
"Anger won't solve anything!" Melody argued, "We're all just as upset as you are but there's no use fighting about it! It'll only make things worse!"
"Melody, please! We don't have time for arguments!" Cole grabbed his daughter but she won't stop writhing in his powerful grasp.
The original ninja and kunoichi tried to stop their children's fighting. They had their own share of conflicts between one another back in the day and have seen their kids squabble before but it was never to this extent.
"SILENCE!" Lloyd shouted, getting the new generation's undivided attention.
"The Overlord may have won this battle but the war isn't over so stop fighting and complaining like a bunch of immature children!" He
"But what about- "
"Stop fretting over what already happened! You have the choice to make things right or sit and complain for the rest of your lives! Is running away and whining all you want to do!?" The green ninja chewed out his students.
"N-no… but…"
"No buts! I know exactly how you feel but whining and crying over it won't do you any good."
The new generation eventually relented most of them still weren't happy with it.
"Damn Overlord," Kyle swore quietly so his parents couldn't hear him, "Just wait until I get my hands on him…"
(*) "I still can't believe that… that… UBLYUDOK!" Leon exploded with rage and it even showed with his powers when a tremor of green and gold light erupted from his body.
"Leon Garmadon!" Iris chastised her son, "Where on earth did you learn such language!?"
"Sorry Mom…" The young ninja pouted.
"Now that the kids got that out of their system… what do we do now?" Jay asked.
"We'll have to find the Overlord, what else?" Heather retorted, "And there's already someone who can help."
The former kunoichi pointed upwards and the group saw Haukka circling the skies above them until he swooped in on the scene towards his partner who immediately had commands to give.
"Haukka, track down the Overlord and his diabolical creation." Zane ordered.
The mechanical falcon squawked and flew off.
"So the waiting game begins…" Jay sighed.
"No," The former nindroid corrected him, "We'll also have to look for the Overlord until Haukka can give his precise location to us."
"Until we know where the Overlord is, we'll have to leave and check on the people. They're the ones who need our help the most at the moment." Misako added.
"We understand."
The ninja and kunoichi whistled to summon their dragons and the loyal creatures swooped in to take them to wherever the Overlord may be…
"Do you think it'll be better if we go separate for now?" Alex pondered out loud, "It'll be easier and quicker to find the Overlord that way."
Before anyone else can answer the kunoichi of wind, a familiar caw echoed across the skies and Haukka soon reunited with the Julien family.
"Did you get anything?" Forrest asked once he perched on his shoulder.
"The Overlord is in Ninjago City." The falcon droned.
The ninja and kunoichi weren't too surprised but that didn't make them any less alarmed.
"Why does he keep targeting that place!?" Jay complained in exasperation.
"Well duh, it's the capital of Ninjago and where he'll rule if he takes over Ninjago, not like we'll ever let that happen." Kai rolled his eyes.
"Of course not." Aria added with slight sarcasm.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Cole commanded, his leader instincts kicking in.
"NINJA-GO!"
The whole group made a beeline for Ninjago City…
The metropolis was in pandemonium by the time the heroes it desperately needs arrived. The civilians were running for their lives and many things from cars to gazebos were knocked down in their stampede away from the city they called home. The ninjas were immediately put to the test by guiding the panicking citizens out of the city.
"Should we stick together of split up?" Leon asked.
"We'll cover more ground with the latter!" Forrest suggested.
The ninjas, old and new, tried getting the people away from the city without causing any more destruction than the Overlord already had and even if they've done it before, it's never easy.
"Listen up!" Jay shouted to get the citizens' attention, "My parents' junkyard is just to the east of Ninjago City on the Sea of Sand! Head over there and stay there until things settle down! My parents actually like extra company so don't worry about intruding!"
"And Belleville isn't far to the west from here!" Cole added to his group, "Just follow the main road until you see the sign now go!"
The ninjas still couldn't find the war machine but their priority was the safety of the people. It was their duty to not just protect Ninjago from evil but to also keep its citizens safe.
Amongst the crowds the original ninjas finally saw a familiar face.
"Dareth!"
The brown ninja and his family stood next to the ninjas while everyone still evacuated the city. It was still nice for the original ninjas to see their old friend again but now was one of the worst times to get sentimental.
"I'm glad you guys are here!" Dareth shared his sentiments before the ninjas got to the point.
"Have you seen a large machine rampaging the city?" Haruka interrogated the brown ninja.
"I didn't see anything," Dareth admitted, "One moment, I was saying goodbye to my students. Next thing I knew, everyone was running away about 'him' being back. Now I'm thinking 'him' has something to do with that machine you mentioned before…"
"It's the Overlord," Iris answered, "He's back and he was an army and a war machine."
The alarmed look on the brown ninja's face pretty much said it all.
"You have to leave before the Overlord finds you!" Cole warned him.
"No! I'll fight alongside you guys!" The self-proclaimed brown ninja vowed.
"Dareth, are you insane!? You must leave before you and your family get hurt!" Jay shouted.
"But I helped you before didn't I!?" Dareth complained.
"You were only lucky back then!" Elaine pleaded, "The Overlord's stronger than ever and none of us might not be able to defeat him this time!"
"Geez, way to be supportive." Akira scoffed.
"Akira, don't be rude!" Kai hissed at his son under his breath.
"It's understandable for one to think the negative outcome will occur but we won't know unless we try to prevent it from happening." Misako said.
"Are you still going to help us?" Zane asked.
"Hell yeah!" The middle-aged man boasted to his family's astonishment.
"Dad, are you serious!?" Darrel stared at his father like he was a three-headed toadstool.
"Honey, do you even know what you're getting yourself into!?" Elaine asked.
Dareth still refused to run away despite Elaine and Darrel's pleas to leave the city.
"What good will he do? He's just a wannabe." Leon whispered to his father, only for the original green ninja to shush him in an agitated tone.
"Of course," Luna finally accepted Dareth's pleas, "We'll need all the help we can get."
The ninja and kunoichi split up again to search for the Overlord and his war machine.
"NINJA-GO!"
Forrest made the first move by utilizing his signature leafy tornado but just to lure the Overlord to his location. The sounds of the war machine's stomps echoed south from his location.
"I think we got him!" The plant wielder gripped the Forest Staff in case he was right.
"There's only one way to find out…" Liana cautiously moved towards the source of the echoes alongside her brother.
Mother and son raced towards the echoes and just as they expected, the war machine loomed over them.
"We found the Overlord! Get to where we are as soon as you can!" The teal ninja commanded.
Everyone else wasted no time getting to Forrest and Heather's location but they occupied their sweet time fending off the war machine but it wasn't easy. The machine's legs alone were very strong and tore the vines binding them with a single swing.
'Come on guys! Hurry up!' Forrest felt his patience wearing thin but he refused to let up.
Thankfully, the ninjas arrived just in time but the machinator who started it all wasn't thrilled.
"Just like last time, you never know when to give up." The Overlord glared at the ninjas.
"No. No we do not." Zane coolly retorted.
'All the easier to take you down…' The dark lord glowered at the ninjas.
"NINJA-GO!"
The other ninja and kunoichi swooped in on the scene to resume battle. The ninjas utilized their elements in the battle, even if the results will be the same as before. They needed to figure out a way to destroy the machine while they keep it from causing more destruction.
"Hey! Over here!" Dareth taunted to the side of the machine.
"Great… Another loser just begging to be put out of his misery." Jacob sneered at him.
"You think you have what it takes to defeat the brown ninja?" The middle-aged man continued to provoke the servants' temper.
While the war machine was turned towards the brown ninja, Kai went to full potential 'mode', turning his body into pure flame and lunged at the part of the machine facing him. Being made of metal, the mechanism became hot in a matter of seconds and not even the Overlord's slaves can handle the intense heat and some of the gears became hot to the touch. The war machine turned towards the fire ninja as if it had a mind of its own and glared at him. A laser shot from the front but the former ninja was quick to dodge.
"I know this is an inappropriate time to say this but this actually reminds me of our final battle." Kai confessed.
"I feel the same but this is no time to share sentiments." Cole spoke back.
The ninjas, old and new, stood their ground before the war machine.
This battle will only have one side as the victor and they can only hope it will be them…
(*) Ublyudok = Bastard (Russian)
Ho boy! Things are REALLY gonna get down!
Will the ninjas find a way to defeat the war machine? Will the monastery be rebuilt?
Okay… that's enough questions so for now, please review!