Children of Destiny
Hi guys! The ninjas will finally resume their adventures as well as finding out about Willow's dreams. As always, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 43: Back on Track
Today was a bittersweet day for the ninjas and their families because today was the day they'll resume their adventures all over Ninjago, hunting down anyone who dare threaten the peace the world is still savoring, naïve to the rising danger. They knew all too well that the journey of a ninja will not end until balance is restored so hopefully, it will happen soon.
"I can't believe I have to go through this again…" Luna broke down in hysterical sobs before she can see her daughters off in the repaired Destiny's Bounty.
"Mom, I know we'll see each other again," Amy embraced her mother, "It's not like we'll leave you and Dad forever."
"…But… but I can't bear the thought of you out there… alone and defenseless…" Luna sniffled.
"Luna, it's hard for me too but we'll have to let them go," Cole comforted his wife, "They'll have to grow up at some point."
"But if anything happens to you, we'll always come back for you." Melody reassured them.
"My daughters… please be safe…" Cole embraced them, making sure not to break their spines this time but that was still something they'll miss once they leave.
"You two have already grown since you began your adventures," Aria observed her children, "I don't know if I'll even recognize you next time we meet…"
"Mom, no matter what happens, we'll always be your children." Alex reassured her mother.
"You and Dad were already there for us when we were little and now it's our turn." Akira said.
"But you've also become strong and so have your bonds. I was right to put my faith in you." Kai smiled proudly at his children.
"You can count on us." The twins proclaimed.
"We know you can."
Kai and Aria were already proud of their children but even for them, it was bittersweet to watch them grow from naïve children into capable adults.
As inevitable as it is, they'll have to let them go for them to really grow up.
"You've really changed." Even Zane found out about Liana standing up to Maria and truthfully, he was proud that she got over her special snowflake syndrome and is no longer letting anyone push her around.
"But… I don't… feel any different…" The white kunoichi said.
"There can only be one you. Don't listen to what people like Maria will say. I honestly wouldn't want you to change because you're a skilled kunoichi and a wonderful daughter." Heather told her eldest child.
"And I'm also proud of you, Forrest," Zane turned to his son, "You've also overcome your faults to fully mature as a ninja. You'll have to watch over Liana as she must do with you."
"I will."
Just like their parents, Liana and Forrest have learned to embrace their differences, thus finding acceptance not just with the ninjas but with each other.
"I'm gonna miss you…" Sayuri hugged her brothers.
"We'll miss you too. Even if we fight often, we're still siblings." Chris hugged her back.
"Hopefully we'll be there when you find your own special talent." Kyle bade his sister farewell.
"You really think I have something special?"
"We all do," Jay reassured his daughter, "But they usually come when you least expect it."
"But no matter what, we'll be looking forward to the day you find it." Nya encouraged her.
"Also, make sure not to get in too much trouble and don't make the same mistakes I did such as picking your nose or burping out loud."
"DAD!"
As much as the Walker brothers hated to admit it, they'll also miss their father's embarrassing stories and ramblings. It was part of who they were as a family and nothing can change that.
"Leon… Willow… remember everything I taught you and the trials you've went through. I want you two to be safe as well as finding your true potential."
"Are you going to miss us?" Willow asked innocently.
"Of course," The original green ninja hugged his children, "Nothing in this world is stronger than my love for you, not even the Overlord."
"And that is why I gave you my necklace," Iris pointed at the charm on her daughter's neck, "It's proof that no matter where you are or what happens, we'll always love you."
"Mom…"
"Listen to us. We love you no matter what. We have done what we could to protect you and it's time for you to face the real world. It's time for you to write your own stories and we would like for you to see it through to the end." Lloyd encouraged his son and daughter.
Leon and Willow only embraced their parents, their actions saying more than any words could and they weren't needed anyway because Lloyd and Iris knew how much they loved them and that their bonds were mutual.
"Is something wrong?" Lloyd noticed the anxious expression on his son's face.
"N-nothing… I'm just a little nervous, that's all…" Leon answered.
"I understand how you feel. But remember everything I taught you up to this point. I know you have what it takes to become the next green ninja. I can't promise it'll be easy but I can see the potential deep within you. Have courage and you'll soon find it."
"Thanks Dad…"
The elders stood back, watching the bittersweet scenes unfold.
"Such is the strength of the bond between parent and child." Wu observed.
Garmadon and Haruka mutely agreed. They may not have been there for their only child when he needed them most but they still loved him more than anything. The former was even willing to work alongside his then-opposing ninjas to ensure his safety and Haruka gained the courage to overcome her past out of her desire to protect their son.
"It is already such a bittersweet moment for the ninjas… yet they still don't know…" Garmadon stared at the scenery around him solemnly.
"I'll make sure nothing happens to you… I promise…" Haruka vowed.
"I share the same sentiment." Wu turned to his brother.
"Haruka… Brother… I… thank you…" The ex-despot's heart felt a little more at ease that his wife and brother still chose to remain by his side, despite knowing what might happen. He still had a ways to go before letting go of his past but making up for lost time with them was a good start.
"We'll miss you Gruncle." Leon and Willow also bade the wise old man farewell.
"I pray your upcoming trials will be a success." Wu gave his young relatives his blessings.
"And you too Grandma." They also gave their goodbyes to Haruka.
"I'm going to miss you so much…" The careworn woman wept bittersweet tears.
"Grandpa, are you gonna be safe by yourself?" Willow finally looked up to her grandfather.
"Unlike last time, I know I won't be facing my challenges alone because I still have my wife and my brother at my side." Garmadon said.
"Garmadon, if anything happens, we will do everything we must to save you." Misako promised her old flame before parting ways with her students.
"Thank you… Misako…"
It was tough to say goodbye but the new generation knew it was one of the challenges they had to face as ninjas. Life is never easy and they can't be with their loved ones forever even if they weren't ninjas. Finally, the Destiny's Bounty lifted off and with the ninjas' blessings the new generation were ready to resume their adventures.
The Destiny's Bounty was back to taking the ninja and kunoichi wherever they were needed but the biggest dilemma at the moment was where were they needed?
"Ah, nothing like feeling the winds and seeing the clouds around you." Chris stretched his arms comfortably, taking in life back on a flying vessel.
"Willow, are you okay? Does this have something to do with your visions?" Leon asked, noticing her downtrodden demeanor.
"It's not that..."
"So what's the problem?"
"You're probably gonna laugh but… I already miss Mom and Dad…" Willow gazed down at the lands below.
But much to her surprise… he didn't.
"I understand," Leon leaned on the railing, mimicking her, "I miss Mom and Dad too but it's no use getting all caught up with nostalgia. They still love us and your necklace is proof."
The pink kunoichi stared at the crystal heart hanging from her neck and her mother's words to her before their first departure echoed in her head…
"The heart is the symbol of love and whenever you look into it, you'll know that it's us loving you and it's also our love reaching out to you."
'Mother…'
Willow took comfort in her mother's words and finally realized she was right. She felt loved just by looking at the simple crystal and knew it was her parents loving her from afar.
"I know… but I still feel a little bad for leaving them…"
"They'll be fine and they won't want us to fret over them." Leon reassured his little sister, "This will be our story now."
"I just hope it'll have a happy ending…"
"And it will be as long as we make it happen."
Leon also remembered his father's advice and silently vowed to keep his promise…
'I won't fail you Dad…'
Liana stared at the lands below her, reminiscing on the changes she and the others have gone through since the beginning. She remembered that Amy always thought with her head and kept her focus on her duties and just wanted to get along with everyone and in the end, they found a balance amongst each other. Even Kyle, who was a bit of a perfectionist and loathed the idea of being seen as nothing more than a ninja, started to loosen up.
"Hey." A voice said behind her, startling her.
"D-don't scare me like that!" The white kunoichi complained once turning to see Akira.
"Sorry. I was trying to start a conversation."
"No need to apologize. I was just surprised back there."
The wielders of fire and ice just stood in awkward silence until the latter finally spoke.
"You definitely changed since we began our adventures." Akira tried talking with Liana.
"I know. My father already told me that." The ice wielder said but not in an unfriendly way.
"Forrest told me what happened with that bitch Maria or whatever her name was. Can't believe she did that to you for so many years…"
"But she wasn't the only one… Everyone thought I was a freak…"
"If I ever see her, I'm gonna mess her up so bad her nightmares will become her happy place." The red ninja's fists burst into flames.
"It's alright Akira. You don't have to burn anything." Liana sent a cool breeze from her hands to dispel the flames.
"But- "
"It's okay. She won't hurt me anymore. No one will hurt me with their words anymore because I know who I am and nothing will ever change that." The ice kunoichi said.
"Being who you are takes a lot of courage. You really are a strong person, Liana." Akira started, "That's what makes you so special. In fact, each and every person has something special about themselves that make them special. How can anyone be a special snowflake when all of us are different? Even among us, we all stand out."
"That's such a beautiful ideal to believe in. How were you able to believe in that?"
"It's just another quirk Alex and I got from our mom."
"Really?"
"Yeah. When she was young, my mom was almost never afraid of being who she was in front of her family, friends, and even the ninjas. She didn't have a lot in common with the other girls she grew up with but she embraced what made her different because it was part of her identity and even if others will think of her as weird, she didn't let that bother her."
"She seems like a really strong person."
"She sure is. In fact, she's one of the strongest people I know. It's no wonder why my Dad fell in love with her."
"Guess you really are your parents' son…"
"I gotta say the same for you. You and your dad are really similar and not just by looks but I also see a bit of Mrs. Julien in you."
"Such as…?"
"You also respect Mother Nature and you're genuinely polite."
Liana's face grew red as a tomato but Akira didn't make fun of her because it was another quirk that was part of who she was and that was what made him attracted to her.
But he still had yet to understand what these feelings were…
Though they just got back to living their lives as ninjas, the new generation were already hard at work trying to figure out how to start the next step of their journey. Misako and Willow already had a bit of a head start thanks to the latter's prophetic dreams and now was the right time to reveal everything.
"The elders and I sense that the Overlord is going to make his move very soon," Misako started, "You still retain your true potential but I trust you haven't forgotten what the scrolls said."
"Yeah. Our 'true' might won't show until Ninjago really needs it." Akira recapped it all.
"I think I might know what we'll have to do…" Willow meekly spoke up.
"You do?" Melody turned to the youngest kunoichi.
Instead of offering any advice, the kunoichi of time went completely silent, confusing everyone but Leon and Misako. The pink kunoichi was always eager to help out in any way, not letting her young age deter her from doing no less than her best efforts but now, she was withdrawn.
"I apologize if this brings up any bad images but can you please tell us what you foresaw?" The kunoichi of ice tried to get her to fess up.
Willow was grateful for her (mostly) patient comrades and gained the courage to speak up.
"In the past several days, I've been having nightmares. When I told my grandpa, he interpreted them as events that may come true very soon." She started.
"Can you tell us?" Amy asked.
"What if you get mad and stuff?" The pink kunoichi hesitated.
"That won't be your fault. Just tell us." Forrest goaded her.
Willow sighed with slight guilt and finally decided to be honest…
"The first of these dreams was in a shadowy place. I couldn't see anything but I heard voices."
"What voices?" Chris interrupted but was quickly shushed by the others.
"One sounded like the Overlord… and they were all saying that they were also at work…"
The room grew eerily silent, even if the ninjas knew this day would come…
"That bastard…" Akira's shaking fist emitted smoke but Alex gripped his arm until he was finally able to calm down.
"I'm not too surprised," Chris said dryly, "He and his lackeys ran off like cowards when we tried to finish them off."
"I'm not trying to sound rude or anything but we're already aware of that." Melody added.
"But that's not all," Willow continued, "Another night, I dreamt of a big egg. When it hatched, a bunch of snakes came slithering out… and their eyes… were the same as the kunoichi's…"
"Those creeps just never know when to stop, do they?" Kyle muttered sardonically.
"Apparently not." Forrest imagined feeding those overgrown snakes to a giant Venus fly trap.
"The kunoichi can defend themselves and still have your fathers so there is no need to go back for them." Misako hushed her students before they can even speak.
"But worst of all was the one I had a few nights ago. After I had it, I was scared to sleep again…"
The others can tell the youngest kunoichi was clearly distressed by what she's seen and weren't sure if she would like to continue.
"If it's too much for you to bear, you can talk another time." Amy tried to comfort her.
"Iie, I'm fine…" Willow made it clear she wanted to continue but it was still tough…
"Willow, the one way to get rid of your fears is to confess them," Misako tried to get the young kunoichi to overcome her anxiety, "You must tell us and we might be able to help you."
"I dreamt that my grandfather will become a dark lord and go back to being evil."
A shadow of foreboding quickly took over the deathly silent room
"How… h-how can you be sure of it…?" Liana couldn't stop shaking in fear until Forrest grasped her shoulders.
"He was wearing the clothes he was said to have worn when he was evil and he stood right next to the Overlord."
"Willow, this all could've been nothing more than a twisted nightmare." Amy dismissed her.
"But it's true!" Willow cried, getting agitated by her teammates' doubts, "Just because I'm the youngest doesn't mean I'm a pushover! My mom said as the kunoichi of time, my dreams have meaning and I saw what I saw!"
"I'm sorry for being rude back there. If what you saw may be an indication of what may come, we'll have to do something about them…" Kyle apologized.
(*) "Merda!" Akira slammed his fists on the table, "This is just like before! We should've stayed and protected our moms from those stalkers!"
"Akira, stop! Mom can handle the Serpentine herself and she also has Dad!" Alex held him back along with their cousins.
"But what about Garmadon?" Amy brought the discussion back to the ex-tyrant, "If you really think about it, it's actually understanding if he even gets tempted to rejoin the dark forces…"
"We can't help him for that… not now…" Misako answered, "Each and every one of us can only choose the way we live and only Garmadon can decide if he wants to fall back to old habits or fight temptation. You are ninjas to defend people, not to control their lives."
"Yesterday, I saw Pythor on the news when the reporter was in Ninjago City."
"Why didn't you say it earlier!?" Forrest snapped at the green ninja.
"Then let's go!"
"It's more than likely that he isn't there anymore. He doesn't seem to be the type to linger in a single place for long."
"We can try looking at their old hideout," Kyle suggested, "They probably assumed that since it was destroyed, we wouldn't even consider going back and took advantage at the thought."
"It's worth trying…" Amy guided the Bounty's auto-pilot functions to the old base…
But alas, the abandoned base was just the same as it was when the ninjas last set foot.
"Again, nothing." Forrest threw away a chunk of scrap metal.
"Wait…" Willow halted the team, "I sense there have been visitors…"
"How do you do?" Leon raised an eyebrow at his sister.
"I can see it… They were here…"
A flashback played out before Willow's eyes like an old movie. She was witnessing the past and the people who once visited this place.
"I still don't understand why the Overlord had to leave us here." Ronin said in the flashback.
"We need to spread out a bit more," Jacob answered next to him, "We were always in one big group every time those little brats found us."
"So what you're saying is…" Ronin paused, letting his cohort finish for him.
"We made ourselves easy targets but no more. We'll have to keep the nosy ninjas busy 'til the Overlord and Serpentine are prepared."
"I see…"
"We can't dawdle here any longer. We know how impatient they can get."
"Right."
"Willow!" A familiar voice suddenly shouted in the youngest kunoichi's ear.
The pink kunoichi's mind was taken back to the present where she was surrounded by the ninja and kunoichi staring at her with concerned expressions.
"…What… what happened…?" Willow felt groggy but mostly alright.
"Right after you spoke, you completely spaced out." Melody started.
"You were like a house with the lights on but no one inside!" Alex added.
"Guys! Give her some space!" Leon pushed the others away, creating a 'barrier' for his sister.
"Willow, did you see anything?" Akira asked once the pink kunoichi was feeling a little better.
"Ronin and Jacob… they came here not long ago…" It was difficult for Willow to even speak with a bad case of vertigo.
"Did they give away any clues?"
"They did say something about splitting up to make things harder for us."
"Do you think they're still here?" Forrest asked.
"Looks like they already left," Kyle observed, "But it's very likely that they have split up by now. We'll have to do the same if we're to find any of them in time."
"Got it."
After everyone else left, the pink kunoichi still sought to have a word with Misako.
"Misako… do you think Grandpa will be alright…?" Willow asked the old scholar.
"No matter how many scrolls I have acquired in my long life, I still do not know if your vision of your grandfather may come to pass. Even if I did, I am not the one meant to make his choices. He alone will lead himself to his fate, whatever it may be." She answered coolly.
"I'm scared of what might happen to him…"
"I am too but you can't let your fears consume you. You must be brave to ensure whatever you saw may not come to pass."
"Arigato, Misako."
At the Bounty, the ninja and kunoichi were quick to plan out a strategy.
"If what Ronin and Clouse said is true, then we'll have more than one destination." Alex started.
"But how are we going to get to a bunch of different places at once?" Leon asked.
"Haven't you forgotten about your dragons?" Misako reminded the green ninja, who pouted in slight embarrassment.
"But even with the dragons, we still have no idea where to go." Forrest pointed out.
"Then we'll just have to start searching." Melody answered.
"Where to?" Chris asked.
"Willow and I will stay here and think of a strategy while you go and search for enemies or clues to their whereabouts." Misako commanded, "If you find anything, tell us immediately."
"Understood!"
The young ninja and kunoichi leapt off the Bounty's deck and whistled for their winged beasts to take them where they needed to go.
"Liana and Kyle, you go north while Melody and Alex head west." Chris commanded.
"You can count on us." The kunoichi of wind pumped her fist in confidence.
"As for me, I'll head east with Akira and Leon while Amy and Forrest go south."
The dragons all headed off where each of their masters were needed.
Leon, while hitching a ride on Flame, sighed to let out all his pent up insecurities.
"Leon, is something wrong?" Akira quickly took notice of his metaphorical brother's unease.
"Ever since the Overlord was defeated, I started thinking…" Leon sighed yet again.
"About what?"
"About my role as the green ninja. My dad was practically THE savior of Ninjago when he sealed the Overlord and I only just started to realize that I still have a very long way to go…"
"We all do," Chris said bluntly, "Don't think you're the only one with issues over this."
"But whenever I think about all my dad had done for Ninjago, I feel like I won't be able to fill in the shoes he left for me…"
"No one person is ever the exact same. We won't be the same as our parents but no way that's gonna stop us from doing some great things. You're not alone either because we'll face all our challenges together. We're a team."
"Even if we fail…?"
"There's no way we'll let that happen! We're not perfect but that won't stop us from doing our jobs as ninjas!"
"You're right. Just because I'll follow in my father's footsteps doesn't mean I can't be myself. I'll still do things my way. In fact, all of us can. We're a team so even if we don't win every battle, at least we'll do it together."
"That's the spirit!" Akira gave the green ninja a hearty slap on the back.
"Hey!" The hero-in-the-making clutched Akira's seat so as not to fall off.
"So are you in this or not?" Chris asked.
"Hell yeah!" Leon shouted with newfound vigor.
"Then let's go!"
Flame and Wisp flew off, taking the ninjas to wherever destiny may lead them…
(*) Merda = Shit (Italian)
Yeah! Looks like there's (hopefully) gonna be action soon! Will the ninja & kunoichi be able to keep Willow's prophecies from coming true? Review to find out!