Children of Destiny
I can't believe I managed to pull off an update in a consecutive day! But I hope you all had a great Halloween & enjoy this chapter cuz some big stuff will happen towards the end so be sure to stick around the find out!
Chapter 46: Fate Worse than Death
The ninja and kunoichi woke up feeling well-rested and for good reason.
Skales was gone forever and Amy and Melody have discovered their true powers. It was only a matter of time until their teammates will be on the same level as them and maybe they'll have a standing chance to restore the balance of light and darkness in Ninjago forever…
But this wasn't the right time to slack off since Skales was far from the only threat to Ninjago. In fact, he may only be nothing more than a tiny hint of what's to come. Training continued on as usual but the Charbonneau sisters still got a lot of attention.
"Can you try using your powers again?" Leon asked Amy and Melody.
The Charbonneau sisters hesitated for several moments, provoking their comrades' curiosity.
"Well?" Akira asked bluntly.
"I don't know what it is… I feel like we can't do it…" Melody groaned.
"It's probably because we're still recovering from our ordeal." Amy tried coming up with a more logical reason for their lack of elemental strength.
"Such power can only be revealed when they're needed the most. It's one of those things that only show up as a last resort. You must remember that your powers are not toys. It's too easy to be tempted by anything so great and if your mind falters for even one moment, it will be the powers that control you." Misako warned her students.
Luckily for the old scholar, the ninjas took heed of her warning. The Overlord's words to Skales of his arrogance were still fresh in their minds and they learned such lessons from Lloyd and Iris back when they were mere novices at the monastery. Even Garmadon once said he considered himself lucky he didn't completely lose his mind when he wielded the Ultimate Weapon.
"I heard of everything that happened at that battle with Skales and I can't help but wonder…" The pink kunoichi trailed off, which unnerved her teammates.
"Willow, is there something you want to tell us?" Liana gently urged Willow to continue.
"I… I don't want to ruin the mood for you guys…" The violet-eyed girl sighed.
"We're gonna have to face reality sooner or later," Leon goaded his sibling, "Life's not complete without moments of sadness as Gruncle Wu has told us. Tell us what's wrong and maybe we'll be able to do something about it."
"It's not that I have any doubts about us… I can't help but feel a little scared…"
Willow expected the ninja and kunoichi to laugh at her confession but surprisingly, they didn't.
"It's normal to be scared of such things," Amy comforted Willow, "I'll be honest, back when we were fighting Skales, I was beyond scared. I just wanted to wake up and believe that was all just one big nightmare but my wish to protect my parents and the bond I shared with my family was stronger. When you find someone or something worth fighting for, all fears will vanish. Nothing can ever stop you when you have a reason to continue fighting."
"I understand and I want to keep my parents safe but…"
"What?"
"I don't know what it is… but I feel like something's going to happen…" The youngest kunoichi sighed, "I still don't know if it's good or bad… I just have a hunch…"
"But we've already come so far. Remember what Dad sad, always have courage even in the face of danger. No matter what happens, you CAN make a difference." Leon repeated their father's advice, which cheered his sister up a bit.
"You're right. I was getting ahead of myself. Thanks, Leon."
"No problem."
The Garmadon siblings exchanged heartfelt glances at one another before rejoining the ninjas.
The Serpentine inspected the items they'll need for their newest plan to work. It was a shame that Skales was no longer here to see his original plans come to fruition but it served that cocky snake right to underestimate the new generation. They have proven themselves to be quite the challenge if they're not prepared so they decided not to repeat Skales' mistakes.
"Isssss it ready?" Skalidor asked Acidicus with slight impatience.
"Almosssst…" The four-eyed snake made sure that everything was in place.
"Bring in the tesssst sssssubject!"
Fangtom brought in a rat he was lucky enough to find as a test subject. It would be disastrous if the experiment ends up killing the ones it's intended for.
"Sssstart the experiment!"
The experiment commenced and the humanoid snakes loomed over the rat, eyeing it carefully for any results. The dirty little rodent didn't seem to do much until the effects the snakes were hoping for in their plot started to show.
The Serpentine watched with macabre glee as the experiment actually worked.
The test was a success and now all they had to do was get the people they needed for it to fulfill its function...
"NINJA-GO!"
Eight elemental tornadoes spun through the obstacle course set up on the deck of the Bounty.
Training never ends for a ninja, which they knew all too well. Even their parents and Sensei Wu would occasionally practice their skills in martial arts and elemental control in their free time. It was one of the many burdens a ninja must endure until their time ends. The ninjas were aware of this since they day they discovered their powers and had dedicated their lives to perfecting their prowess in the way of the ninja.
But it was not 'all work and no play'.
Misako was a kind teacher and let the new generation have breaks and even let them spend a whole afternoon off if they did well.
Kyle's stomach was growling even though it won't be a couple of hours until dinner and thought it wouldn't hurt to make himself a little snake. Arriving in the kitchen to whip up a fluffernutter, he saw Melody already making one for herself. When she turned to put the peanut butter and marshmallows away, she loudly gasped at the intruder.
"Oh, Kyle. What brings you here?" She breathed heavily to calm her rapidly beating heart.
"I was getting a little hungry and couldn't wait until dinner." Kyle answered.
"Guess that makes the both of us." Melody chuckled.
The moment was interrupted by the loud growls coming from Kyle's empty stomach.
"I could make another one for you if you like." The aqua-eyed girl offered.
"I… would appreciate it…" The metal ninja grew nervous but didn't understand why though he felt bad for having Melody making him a sandwich when he could've done it himself. Before he can even say anything, the kunoichi of water was done making a second fluffernutter for him.
"Ta-da!" Melody playfully presented the yellow ninja his sandwich as if nothing was wrong.
"Uh… thanks…" He shyly accepted the snack, still feeling guilty for burdening her.
"Are you alright? You don't look so good…" Melody quickly noticed his uneasy expression.
"I-I'm fine, really." He brushed off her concerns.
The only sounds echoing in the kitchen were chewing noises as Melody and Kyle snacked on the sweet treat. The silence was becoming more and more awkward for them but it was even more difficult for them to try to start a conversation.
"It was pretty impressive back there… how you risked everything for your parents…" Kyle said.
"As scary as it was, I will gladly do it again," The purple kunoichi responded, "They are my family and even if it was just Amy in danger, I would do anything to protect her."
"You're really a strong girl, Melody." The metal wielder commented.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm talking about the way you fought against Skales the other day. I've never seen you like that before, not that it's a bad thing. You were really brave back there."
"I-it's nothing…" The raven-haired girl felt her face heat up but didn't really understand why, "I don't really think of myself as such. As for my dad, he's definitely the strongest person I know."
"Strength isn't just physical. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Look at my Dad. He has brain smarts but when it comes to things like heavy-lifting, he could still use a lesson or two."
Melody giggled and before he knew it, Kyle too let out a few chuckles.
Melody started to really appreciate Kyle for spending so much time with her. She always had a strange yet warm feeling inside her every time they talked and she got to know more about her teammate. He can be a perfectionist at times but he was one of the smartest ninjas but still had a keen intuition that has come in handy every now and then.
Likewise, Kyle also admired the way Melody thought with her heart but knew when to get her head in the game. Fortunately, the water wielder's heart almost always knew the right thing to do and after she began to create a balance between heart and mind, she proved to be a skilled kunoichi and he deeply respected her for it.
"Have a nice day, Mrs. Julien." The manager of Arbouria's House Depot thanked the kunoichi of nature for her patronage.
Heather was out shopping for some items to use for planting the flowers in her garden because even her powers alone can't bring forth the perfect flower for every occasion.
But there was an ulterior motive for her to spend some time outside before Zane comes home.
It did get lonely being at home by herself without Liana and Forrest. She hasn't seen them since they set off on the repaired Destiny's Bounty and she was already developing a case of 'empty nest syndrome' even if they still weren't ready to move out permanently. She loved them very much even before they could walk and worried for them as their mother. She saw the capability in them but she can't stop fretting over them. This was yet another part of being a mother the former kunoichi found difficult.
'I can't worry about them now,' She erased the gloomy emotions out of her head, 'What Liana and Forrest need now are my support and I'll give it to them.'
The English woman gazed into the skies, knowing her children were somewhere keep amongst the clouds fulfilling their destiny.
One thing Aria noticed while out grocery shopping was the groups of sentries standing watch at the gates that led to Ignacia, all equipped with the weapons her husband made in the event the Overlord and his underlings plan to lay siege in the little town. Security has been amped up ever since the destruction of Ninjago City and she couldn't really blame them but she sure hoped her family won't be having any problems if they plan to visit her anytime soon.
But the most surprising thing was the way her life turned out.
She never would've thought her life would end up like this. She was sure she'll be travelling all over Ninjago until she grew old and having lived an ordinary life but it was obvious destiny had other plans for her. Not only had she been through a lot but even she changed. She still liked to be proactive and doing things her way but she was calmer compared to her teenage self. That and she had children, something she had thought impossible in her youth. Back then, the very idea of having kids irked her because she thought of it as an anchor that would've kept her from doing what she wanted but now she was a mother of two and was actually proud of them. Not only did they inherit her and Kai's powers but they were never afraid to stand out and be who they were, a quirk they got from her.
"It's funny how things change…" She mused out loud.
"Did you say something Mrs. Pyrrhus?" The cashier gave the former kunoichi a confused look.
"Oh… I was only thinking out loud…" The Mediterranean woman brushed him off once all of the things she bought were checked out and paid and headed home…
And that's where things start to get strange for the former kunoichi.
Aria started to get this strange feeling that she was being watched but she can't find anyone or anything besides the native flora and fauna of the town. To make sure, she commanded the air flowing around her to sense anything out of the ordinary but again, nothing.
'Is my mind playing tricks on me…?'
She still felt uneasy but there was no use dwelling over what already happened and had to keep moving forward.
As long as the wind blows, time will continue moving forward…
Wu had seen Skales' grisly fate through the spirit smoke and had no sympathy for him. He had always been an arrogant bigot and being taken down by his hubris was nothing but pure karma. However, this will be but an inkling of what awaits the new generation.
"Sensei Wu…"
The old man can already tell who was calling him because there was no other woman living in the monastery save for…
"Are you having more visions, Iris?" He asked before the former kunoichi can say anything.
The violet-eyed woman had her hands massaging her temples, giving herself away to the sage.
"I had that vision of the egg over the last few days…" The kunoichi of time mumbled.
"Did anything change in your dreams?" Wu asked, knowing it wasn't often that Iris would speak of a vision she already saw unless something else happened…
"When the snakes emerged from the egg, they used to look like any other snake except for the eyes but this morning… they had arms and a torso like a human's…" She sighed.
"This could be a sign of something will happen… something potentially catastrophic…"
"But how will we tell the children?"
"I'll have to call Misako so your children will get an idea of what's to come before it happens."
"But ever since that vision, I've been thinking…"
"Tell me everything."
"Every time I think of those snakes I see in my dream, I can't tell whether or not they're snake offspring or… or…"
Iris began to shiver and whimper at the dreaded thought. Sensei Wu remained quiet, allowing the distressed woman a moment of peace before she can bring herself to say more.
"I understand if you don't want to talk about it any longer but you can't put off tomorrow what can be done today."
"Nyet... I can't keep running away from the truth…" The violet-eyed woman wiped off a couple of tears and prepared to voice her thoughts.
"Say all you need to say."
"I wish I never had to discourage my children but I have to let it out… I think, no, believe those snakes I saw in my dream… are us…"
Now that they don't have to worry about Skales again, the ninja and kunoichi journeyed to the area where Kyle and Liana discovered a part for the Overlord's nindroid army.
"They may not be in the exact same spot but since there was a piece lying here, they might not be too far…" Liana led the team down the trail she and Kyle took.
"But we'll also have to diverge a bit. Whoever that piece belonged to could be anywhere." The yellow ninja added.
"Then what are we waiting for? We have to look all over the place and it'll take all day if we're careless." Alex exclaimed.
The group investigated the area, looking carefully for any clues and even revisiting certain parts of the land in case they missed what could easily go undetected by the naked eye.
"Guys! I think I found who that piece belonged to!" Forrest's echoes reached his teammates.
The ninja and kunoichi gathered around the teal ninja who was pointing just ahead of him. They followed his finger and were startled at his discovery.
A lifeless nindroid that appeared slightly smaller than Cryptor laid in a mangled heap before the ninja and kunoichi.
"What on earth happened to it…?" Melody gasped.
"Could there be someone else fighting them?"
"And are they friend or foe?"
"I don't know…" Chris examined the rusted remains, "From the looks of it, I don't think this guy was destroyed in a battle. If you take a closer look, you can see some of the gears are partially melted and other than that, this guy's mostly intact. Whatever destroyed it is not natural…"
"Really? Looks like any other old pile of scrap metal to me." Akira scoffed.
"Come on, Akira. You should know this." Forrest said impatiently.
"Hey, I'm not an expert in all these gadgets and stuff." The fire ninja retorted.
"Stop it you two." Liana firmly scolded them, resulting in some stares from the others.
"Go on, Chris." The white kunoichi calmly urged the lightning wielder to continue.
"What I was trying to say is that with this evidence and what happened to Skales, we now know how ruthless the Overlord is. He's not above getting rid of his own lackeys when it comes to it."
"So what does this have to do with the nindroid?" Amy asked.
"If any of the evil nindroids had any faults in its programming, the Overlord most likely won't be above destroying them. Skales couldn't defeat Amy and Melody when he went 'Incredible Hulk' at us and we know what happened to him."
The ninjas took their time taking in their eldest member's words. There was no denying that the true dark lord will go to extreme lengths to get what he wants while they
"And it's been a while since this robot was destroyed. There's bits of rust on the exoskeleton." The kunoichi of ice pointed at the corroded metal on what was left of the android's face.
"Nevertheless, we still know very little of the Overlord's plans, save for the obvious. But we still don't know what he's going to do next and we'll have to expect for the unexpected." Alex said.
"Too bad we couldn't find anything else here…"
"Hopefully our next trip will enlighten us on what fate has in store for us..."
Leon cleared his mind alone in the training room.
'Only with a pure heart shall you fulfill your destiny as the green ninja.'
'Flow with the currents of the river that is time, not swim against it.'
'True strength is not from the powers you wield but the will to not use them for selfish desires.'
The advice from his father repeated in a mantra in his cranium while focusing on the flow of the pure energy he controlled within his body.
A mass of pure energy glowing with a healthy green hue grew between the palms of his hands before it gradually grew stronger. The green aura could easily blind those who already shun the light but Leon wasn't one of those people. He remained unfazed while gazing into the intensity of the powers only he and his father had wielded. He summoned a visage of a majestic dragon with shining golden scales within the light and stared into its emerald eyes echoing his own.
'There is nothing to fear as long as I have courage… but it also takes courage to face my fears.'
The vision of the dragon started to come to life but obviously, Leon still had some more work to do before he can successfully summon the Golden Dragon. The large beast's visage disappeared when the green ninja's mind became out of focus for even one second.
Even after taking one step, there were many more to follow…
Kai was summoned by the mayor of Ignacia for a meeting concerning the newly formed defense forces whose members all carry weapons crafted at his own hands. As such, he expected to be called upon in various matters concerning the village. He soon caught sight of his headquarters, a tall traditional pagoda right in the heart of the settlement but once he came inside, something felt off. There was no signs of life in the halls that had no light.
'Something's not right… But I can't run away. I have to get to the bottom of this…' The fire ninja crept down the halls with a fireball in his hand as a source of light to find out what happened in the office between the time Mayor Kobayashi wrote the message and him getting here…
Kai heard a faint rustling noise just above him and wasted little time reaching the second floor of the mayor's headquarter. Slamming the doors open, he finally found who he was looking for in a messy situation.
"Kobayashi-san!" Kai was shocked to see the middle-aged man hogtied like a carcass with a gag over his mouth.
Instinctively, the ninja turned blacksmith rushed to the mayor's side and removed the gag… but Mayor Kobayashi didn't seem too pleased with the gesture.
"Kai! Get out of here! It's a trap!" The mayor barely managed to exclaim before an unseen force knocked him out, startling Kai.
"What the- !?"
A clawed hand reached out and would've slashed Kai if he hadn't jumped back at the very last second. The red ninja's hands burst into flames, ready to take on the invader.
"The ssssaying issss true… sssssome thingsssss jusssst never change…" An all too familiar voice echoed from the shadows.
"Show yourself!"
The owner of the voice walked, or rather, slithered out of its hiding spot.
"I never thought I'd see YOU again…" Kai glared at the creature he hoped to never see again.
"It'sssss been a long time sssssinsssse we lasssst met…" Acidicus narrowed all four eyes at the former ninja, "And I'm sssstill dissssssapointed we ended on such a bad note…"
"It wasn't so bad for me!"
"Musssst you alwaysssss be ssssso sssssingle-minded, Kai?" Venomari asked, spewing out Kai's name as if was venomous, at least for him.
A plume of pure flames spewed out of Kai's mouth towards the Venomari but he countered it with a stream of venom that smothered the flames but Kai wasn't giving up. He ignited his own body and lunged at the four-eyed snake. Acidicus spat his narcotic saliva at Kai but the veteran ninja closed his eyes and sensed his enemy's movements to fight him without risking suffering any hallucinations.
Kai remembered everything he learned of the Serpentine in his experience but unlike his kids, he was still unaware of the Serpentine's new abilities, which Acidicus took quick advantage of. The room suddenly grew cold to the point Kai had trouble using his fire powers but that didn't stop him from trying. He summoned the full powers of the flames he hasn't used in years but it appears that his age was getting to him. The Venomari leader swooped in and bit down hard on Kai's shoulder and let the venom seep into his body. Although the Serpentine tribes each had a unique ability, they can all produce venom much like that of a scorpion. Within seconds, the fire ninja's body felt extremely weak and he can do nothing but see and hear his enemy.
Acidicus decided to give his sworn enemy a punishment far worse than death…
"I actually have sssssome good newssss, Kai… I'm not going to kill you… Insssstead, you will join your wife in partissssipating asssss our firsssst tesssst sssssubjectsssss."
"I… I won't let you do this…!" The ninja turned blacksmith glared at the humanoid snake before earning himself a harsh slap on the face.
"No one can hear you… Not assss long assss we have you in our clutchesssss…"
Kai struggled to break free to warn his wife of the dangers awaiting her but his mind continued to slip from his fingers, no matter how hard he tried to hold on to it.
'…Kuso…'
Oh no! What kind of experiment are the Serpentine gonna do to Kai?
The answers will be revealed in the next dramatic chapter of Children of Destiny!