Children of Destiny

Okay guys! This is the chapter you've all been waiting for! There's a very good reason why this is another wham chapter & I'm glad I got it released in time for the holidays so get ready for this festive emotion destroyer!

Chapter 56: In the Dark

Zane found his wife watering the flowers in her garden, oblivious to her fate as a snake for the rest of her life. The former nindroid found it unfair that she'll have to live her remaining days as the very thing she despised. He still saw and loved her for who she really was but to be stuck in the body of a monster and never see the outside world again… it was such a cruel fate… No one deserved anything like that…

"Heather…" He finally took the courage to approach his wife.

"Yesssss?"

"There's… something very important I must tell you…"

"What issss it?"

Seeing his wife's naïve expression hurt the ice ninja even more, especially since she still hung on to the hope that there will be a cure to her predicament and that besides him and the children, that was the only thing that kept her going. But the truth will come out sooner or later and the ice ninja decided to tell the truth and face the consequences straightforward.

"It's about your current… condition…" He began uneasily.

"Heather… Jay did the best he could… but in the end… the tests have proven fruitless… I wish it didn't have to be like this but… you'll remain as a snake for the rest of your life…"

Zane expected Heather to break down into tears but all she did was stare at him in silence and because it wasn't what he expected, that made her mute reaction much worse.

"You alwaysssss told me it'ssssss the inssssside that countsssss…"

Heather tried to remain calm but within mere seconds, her calm façade shattered and she cried more miserably than Zane had ever seen her before.

Even if Heather knew her heart may never change, she still felt heartbroken that she can never enjoy what made her human ever again. She will never see her family, she can never feel a cool breeze or experience the snow without writhing in cold agony, and she lost her powers over the plants she cherished. She was now a monster and there was nothing anyone can do about it.

"I'm sorry, Heather…" Zane embraced her for all the good it could do her.

Heather didn't bother saying anything. All she could do was cry over the cruelties of fate. Even Zane felt tears running down his cheeks as he also mourned his wife's fate. But she needed him now much more than ever and he was willing to overlook her appearance and see her for who she still was. He silently held her as she continued to sob in his arms and soaking his shirt with her tears.

Kai felt his heart tearing apart while he heard his wife sobbing hysterically in their room where she locked herself the moment he told her there may be no cure for her. He couldn't blame his brother-in-law for merely trying his best but it still hurt to have his wife's hopes break into tiny countless pieces.

Aria laid on the barren mattress with her tail curled up around her body.

"Aria…?"

"Don't look at me!" Aria's tail curled up even tighter around her.

Kai was saddened by his wife's attitude but he wasn't planning on leaving her any time soon. He just climbed up next to her and wrapped his arms around her humanoid figure.

"Aria, listen to me. You may have the body of a Serpentine but I know that deep down, you're still the same Aria I fell in love with. What would you do if I was the one that was changed into a snake? Would you think I'm any different?"

"I don't know…"

"I'd be pretty sad too but one thing that can never change is my identity as a ninja. You're still the kunoichi of wind in my eyes. It's only your body that's changed and nothing else about you can never suffer the same fate."

Aria can only answer with more sobs but her husband understood her pain.

"I understand you want some space but I want you to know I'm here for you, no matter what."

"Pleassssse… jusssst leave me alone…"

Kai sighed in defeat and reluctantly left his wife alone in the room.

Reality can be very unpleasant but the fire ninja wasn't going to give up. Jay may not be able to help his wife but he and everyone will try to find another way…

Lloyd was busy trying to comfort his mother after she suddenly barged into the monastery as a sobbing wreck. It took her a long time to calm down and she was finally able to speak clearly.

"Mom, can you tell me what happened?" Lloyd wiped his mother's tears.

"H-he's… he disappeared…!" Haruka wept.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your father… He just left…"

The green ninja could feel a terrible weight hit him right into his soul.

"W-what happened…!?"

"I don't know what was going on in his head but this morning, he was gone!"

"Did he say or do anything suspicious right before he disappeared?"

"The night before he left, he only said that he had something very important to do but I can see in his eyes that he planned on doing something he didn't want… but why would he do it in the first place…?"

The pieces had already come together for Wu. The premonitions Willow and Iris had right down to that broken picture… it all made sense to him.

Iris too felt her heart skip a beat because of the sense of dread consuming her from the inside.

"I had visionsssss of thissss happening and I didn't want to believe it… but… I don't know what to even sssay…"

"You don't have to." Lloyd placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"My brother did spend most of his life influenced by evil and even after being healed by Lloyd's powers, it's still never easy to get rid of old habits or adjust to sudden changes. The shadows of his past still lingered deep within him and there were times he seemed to give in. I blindly held on to the belief that he was stronger than this but… I was wrong…"

"Wu, none of us are perfect. Still… I can't believe he would do such a thing…" Haruka sighed.

"Even after all he went through… He still can't get rid of his past…" Lloyd felt more than a little disappointed in his father.

"Moving on isn't that easy for some and Garmadon was just one of those people." Wu said.

"But the way he behaved after that… I would've never sssssussssspected…" Iris sighed.

"Whether or he has moved on or not, this is a very serious situation. Our children must know of what they'll be up against. Back then, my father would stop at nothing to get his way and they'll be in jeopardy if they try to stop him. The Overlord may be weak now but the more support he gets, the more dangerous he will be the next time they cross paths." Lloyd responded.

"And what are we left to do?" Haruka asked.

"Willow musssst've told the ninjasssss by now and no doubt they'll try to find the Overlord and ressssscue Garmadon… but I have a bad feeling…" Iris replied.

"I don't blame you," Lloyd stroked her shoulder to reassure her, "But that doesn't mean we're going to just sit around. We'll have to come up with our own plan to get Dad back."

But even the green ninja knew that things are always easier said than done.

The ninja and kunoichi were still shell-shocked by what Willow told them.

She's been having visions of her own grandfather returning to the dark side and these dreams have been causing much strife for her over the last several weeks. What bothered them more than anything was that she never told them in the first place.

"Willow, if your dreams really bothered you that much, why didn't you say so earlier?" Melody was astonished by the young kunoichi's leaked secrets.

"I-I didn't want to break your spirits because you looked so hopeful and ready to take on even the Overlord again… It started not long after we left and if I told you then, you'll just get mad." She whimpered.

"Why would we?" Liana stared at Willow like she offended her parents, "You couldn't help it if you have those dreams. You didn't ask for them so you're not the one to blame."

"And your mother has the same powers as you so she would've understood." Alex added.

"But she's not here now and she's a snake." The pink kunoichi protested.

"That doesn't matter. We need to find the Overlord's lair as soon as we can before it's too late to save Garmadon." Kyle exclaimed.

"Whether we reach him or not, the question is if he wants to be saved." Misako warned.

"Chto? What do you mean if he wants to be saved!?" Leon exclaimed.

"He may have not been kidnapped because if they did try to come to his residence or even the monastery, your family would've put up a fight and notified you and they have yet to report on anything out of the ordinary for them. That and Garmadon still has his inner demons and even the strongest hearts can still be corrupted if one allows it." The wise woman said.

"What reason could there be for him to willingly rejoin the forces of evil?" Amy asked.

"Not even time can heal all scars, physical and emotional. The Great Devourer's venom left its mark on Garmadon's psyche that remains even after it was purged from him. He is still haunted by his actions as the dark lord even to this day and his inner demons may have caught up with him. It actually pains me as his former lover to see him succumb to evil… We must find him and rid Ninjago of the Overlord once and for all."

"But Haukka may remember the route he had taken to get back here. He can just show us the way." Forrest suggested.

"By the way, how's he doing?" Kyle asked the kunoichi of ice.

"I'm still repairing him but it won't be long before he's fully functional again." Liana replied.

"Do you think he'll remember the way?" Leon wondered.

"Yes. My grandfather built him with highly advanced memory files. He remembers everything, even his first moments when he was activated for the first time." The teal ninja answered.

"But whether or not we can save Garmadon, it's still going to be a very big step for us once we find where the Overlord is hiding. If it comes down to it, then we're gonna to let him get away this time." Akira balled up his fist with determination.

"Time will tell." Misako murmured cryptically.

The new generation had a feeling that confronting Garmadon will not be as easy as they hope...

Aria did nothing but stare out the window all day, yearning for the humanity she lost. It pained Kai to see his strong wife in such a state of despair and wanted to do everything he can to help her or even just be there for her.

"Aria, I know you're still upset and stuff but I've learned to deal with it. Jay may not be able to come up with an antidote but there might be some other way." He tried to comfort her.

"I need to be alone…" She slithered away from him.

"Aria, please. There's nothing I can do about your body but there's no way I'm leaving you. It's gonna take some time but we'll find another way."

"It's not that… I'm still sad that I may never get to see my loved ones again…"

The former ninja can only pitifully stare at his wife but the silence was suddenly broken by her sudden yelp and she collapsed, writhing in agony and her tail whipping around violently.

"ARIA! WHAT'S WRONG!?"

The changed kunoichi can do nothing but scream in pain and there was nothing her spouse can do about it but that didn't make him any less concerned for her. He didn't care that her orange tail smacked him a few times while he held her down.

Kai held his wife while she convulsed painfully. The former kunoichi winced as it felt like every part of her body was on fire, especially her tail. Much to Kai's shock, Aria's scales were starting to slowly melt away, leaving behind light olive skin and the claws digging into his skin retracted into human nails. Even Aria's tail started to shrink and lose its flexibility until she belted out an earsplitting screech when her tail split in two with the sickening sound of rendered flesh. What used to be a large snake tail were two appendages that slowly shaped themselves into human legs and even Aria's feet and toes started to reemerge while more orange scales faded, leaving soft skin their wake. Minutes felt like hours until the pain was finally gone.

Aria was human… or mostly resembled a human… and Kai wanted to make sure.

"I… I'm human…?" Even Aria's voice was back to normal but it felt strange feeling a flat tongue and straight teeth after a long time with fangs and a thin forked tongue.

"Are you alright?" Kai lifted his wife's face in his hands and he can tell there were no longer any traces of the Serpentine DNA as even her pupils were round as they should be.

"What…? But how…?" Aria was more confused by the sudden event than she was relieved that she was cured.

"Something must've happened to the Serpentine," Kai assumed, "Too bad I wasn't there to kick their scaly asses for what they did to you…"

"I'm confused and I would like answers too…" Aria added.

"Can you stand…?"

The former kunoichi got up on shaky legs but the transformation left her extremely weak. Her knees buckled and she collapsed maladroitly. Her husband couldn't really blame her since she got around by slithering with a tail over the last several weeks. Much to her embarrassment, he scooped her up like a bride to carry her off.

"But doesn't this bother you at all?" Aria continued to protest, "There has to be an explanation for this and I have a bad feeling it's not gonna be pretty."

"I'm confused too but all that matters right now is that you're human again but I'll still take care of you until you feel better."

"Kai…"

Aria still wanted to protest but she was too weak and she can feel her consciousness slip away and she was fast asleep even before Kai reached their room.

Zane felt another body pressing up against him once his consciousness was back in the realm of the living but before he even opened his icy blue eyes. He carefully shifted to get a clear look at the person next to him and it took everything in him not to make any sound.

Clinging to him was Heather but her scales and tail were gone and she was no longer avoiding his cold aura. She was the human kunoichi of nature once more and her arm was draped over his side. The ice ninja was practically frozen staring at his now human wife until she woke up.

"Zane, why are you looking at me like that…?" Heather groggily asked.

The ex-nindroid remained speechless, having yet to find his voice.

"What's going on…?" The former kunoichi tried to speak but her voice caught in her throat once she saw her hand that was no longer covered in scales and ended with claws. Rather than cold teal scales, her eyes met pure rosy flesh and smooth fingernails. Even when she looked down, she was greeted with the sight of her own legs rather than a coiling teal tail. To make sure this was not a dream, Heather pinched her arm but the discomfort was undeniable.

She was human again.

A couple of silent seconds followed with a loud shriek that nearly rendered Zane deaf.

"WHAT'S GOING ON!? WHY AM I HUMAN!? WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS!?"

"Heather, please! Calm down!" The ice wielder tried to hold his frenzied wife so she won't end up hurting herself.

"HOW CAN I STAY CALM IF I'M SUDDENLY CHANGED FOR NO APPARENT REASON!?"

"There must be an explanation for this! Just calm down and we could figure it out!"

It took a long time but Heather finally calmed down enough for Zane to approach her and it was clear to him that she was completely human once more.

"What do you think happened…?"

"I don't know but right now, I'm concerned for your health. I want to make sure your health is sound before we can get to the bottom of this…"

The Serpentine were beyond pissed when they were forced to comply with his ultimatum. The Overlord practically forced them to undo the infusion and would've protested if not for the threat the evil lord imposed on them, not wanting to share the same fate as Skales...

"I've struck my end of the deal so in return, you must remain true to your allegiance. You most likely know what will happen if you even think about backing down from our little bargain…" The Overlord would've sneered at his former acquaintance.

"Yes… my lord…" The new zealot bowed before him.

"Good. Now get out of my sight."

Garmadon was willing to bear the shame of his betrayal if it meant changing the kunoichi back to the humans they should be.

And the darkness was the only place he belonged.

The guilt over what he had done was too much for him and the temptations in his heart finally swayed him to return to the shadows.

But a very small part of his soul held on to hope.

Garmadon knew his son well enough to expect him and the ninjas to try and find him. Perhaps they will pull him out of the darkness again if they reached their true potential but after all the terrible things he had done… should they even bother?

He willingly committed numerous atrocities and he made the conscious decision to go back to the dark side, even if it meant betraying his family.

It was probably for the better.

Light and darkness must remain balanced and while his kin lived in the light, the only place he will ever belong to was the darkness…

Le gasp!

Instead of asking a bunch of shitty questions, I'm gonna let this chapter sink in to your minds & while you're at it, allow me to wish you all a Merry Christmas!