Children of Destiny

Wow! I can't believe how far this story has come & that I have 600 reviews! But let's cut to the chase as we'll see more of the original ninjas in this chapter as well as Garmadon's internal conflicts so enjoy!

Chapter 62: Hope & Despair

Despite the risk of Ninjago City being attacked by the Overlord, Jay and Nya instead engineered what was possibly their biggest project yet. They still remember the day the bustling capital of Ninjago was destroyed during their first battle with the true dark lord like it was yesterday. All the wanton destruction was still fresh in their minds to this day and they wanted to make sure such an atrocity will never happen again.

The Walker couple were always one for small talk even in the middle of their work but this was a different story. With countless lives at stake, they can't risk failure with frivolities. They stood silent while working on the new machine designed to protect the whole city when the day the Overlord invades arrives.

But this made their daughter feel lonely and neglected all over again.

Sayuri noticed her parents working all day and all night on this new machine but back then, the inventive couple still found time to be with her and these last few days were another story. Her once loving parents were so consumed in their work they didn't even have the time to say good morning or good night to her and it disheartened her.

"Daddy, what are you doing?" Sayuri tried to strike a conversation with her father.

"I'm doing some VERY important things, sweetie." The ninja turned inventor answered bluntly without even sparing a backward glance.

The nine-year-old was growing up but it still hurt for her to see her parents ignoring her. It felt like all those years of being overlooked in favor of her brothers over again. She was tempted to act out to get their attention again but she also remembered what happened last time she tried getting them to notice her.

As usual, Jay's parents were there to keep Sayuri company and curb her feelings of neglect.

But that didn't stop her from attempting to get her parents' attention.

"Sayuri, don't bother your parents." Ed warned her.

"Mommy and Daddy are just busy doing some really important stuff so they can spend as much time as they want with you later." Edna consoled her granddaughter.

As with the past several nights, it was late by the time Jay and Nya were done with the work for the day but were too exhausted to do as much as dote on their little girl.

"Mom! Dad! Why do have to be so busy all the time?" Sayuri complained when they continued being indifferent to her when they would've doted on her.

"I'm sorry, princess. Mommy and I are trying really hard to protect you." Jay reasoned with her.

"But you've done that already!"

"Sayuri, we really want to spend time with you but there are far more important things for us to worry about. We need to make sure our invention works perfectly so you'll be safe." Nya said.

"I don't care! I just want to be with you!" Sayuri clung to her parents.

"Sayuri, I was hoping this day wouldn't come but if we don't concentrate on our work, you will be in great danger. We've seen what the Overlord can do and we don't want the same thing to happen again. We were beyond terrified when you were taken by him and we also don't him to get his hands on you nor anyone." The lightning ninja explained.

"Is he trying to do it again?"

"Yes but this time, there's more than just you for us to protect. Your family, friends, and every last person you know and love depend on us to see tomorrow. Please try to understand."

It saddened the ninja couple to see their daughter having to live in such a harsh reality. She may be a smart girl but they didn't want to wipe out what little innocence she had left so soon. They always knew parenthood would be difficult but compared to being a ninja, this was an entirely new level but the couple already went through their fair share of trials and will still do anything to keep their daughter and everyone safe from the Overlord…

Cole and Luna sailed as far away from the mainland as they could. Instead of seeking refuge in another town and put it at risk, they chose to traverse the seas of Ninjago to avoid putting any other citizen in danger. With enough food to last them a week, the Charbonneau couple hid in their rented boat that wandered aimlessly across the Great Ocean.

Luna was more at her element out in the ocean while her husband felt apprehensive. The earth ninja was aptly happiest with the solid ground beneath his feet but he was more than willing to make sacrifices if it means keeping others safe.

With the boat stationary, the couple finally had time to muse over their situation.

"I can't believe it's coming… the next battle to decide the fate of Ninjago…" Luna mused aloud.

"I've always enjoyed the times we've had alone but now, I can't help but feel guilty…"

"I know how you feel."

"But what bothers me more than that is Garmadon betraying us. He made it clear he wanted to atone for his mistakes but he still chose to fall back into the darkness. Knowing what he did to my mother… and everyone else he had wronged… I'm starting to hate him all over again…"

"Cole…!" Luna was shocked by her spouse's remerging desire for revenge.

"I know I sound like a jerkass but after going through so much just to back away, I feel like he's being an ungrateful bastard. Lloyd went through hell and back to free him but he repaid his son by turning his back on him. He's basically putting all of our efforts back then to waste."

"Maybe there's more to it than meets the eye. Garmadon may have been having conflicts with himself longer than we could've imagined. Everyone sees the world differently and if you look at things in his perspective, maybe you could soften your words about him or even understand why he would do such things."

"If only I can see things the way you do…" The earth wielder let out a deep sigh.

Luna stood silent for a few moments before, much to Cole's surprise, leapt into the water.

"Luna! What's gotten into you!?" The black ninja was flabbergasted by his wife's action.

"I just thought being within my element could bring me comfort." The former idol shrugged it off as if jumping into the ocean with her clothes on was no big deal.

Despite knowing better, Cole followed his wife into the water and swam up to her.

"Luna, if there's something going on in your mind, you don't have to hide it from me. I want to help you so please give me a chance."

"Cole…"

Luna felt the muscles underneath his wet clothes and leaned her head on his chest to hear his steady heartbeats. She always felt safe in her husband's mighty arms but the anxiety within her heart wasn't going away this time.

"Cole, do you think we're bad parents?" The retired kunoichi finally confided her fears to him.

"Quoi?"

"We left our daughters to fight by themselves when they need our guidance more than ever. I feel like we've abandoned them…"

The bereft mother was on the verge of tears but Cole wrapped his strong arms around her.

"Amy and Melody are not alone. They have their generation alongside them and it won't serve them or you any good if you keep smothering them. I still worry for them but eventually, they'll have to grow up and walk down their own path. None of us can live forever." Cole said.

The couple shared a tender kiss to escape from their emotional turmoil, even if it was for only a single moment.

The ninja and kunoichi were beyond shocked when they heard the monastery was destroyed by the Overlord and couldn't stop beating themselves up for not defending their former teacher.

There were rumors that Lloyd and his family escaped because it was said that the Overlord and his zealots couldn't find any human remains after the destruction. There wasn't much concrete evidence but the ninjas, especially Leon and Willow, really wished it was true. If there was one person who knew how to defeat the one true cause of all evil, it's Lloyd.

But that didn't help the fact that he and the original ninjas were now scattered.

Cole and Luna never said exactly where they were going, Zane and Heather would've reached the Birchwood Forest by now, Kai and Aria chose to stay in Ignacia despite the risk, Jay and Nya were busy working on some new invention to protect the city, and Lloyd and Iris were missing. Just when things were starting to look hopeful, they just hit rock bottom. The ninjas have grown tired of this despondent cycle and they wanted nothing more than to break free of repetitions of the waning and waxing of hope but no matter what they do, history keeps repeating itself.

"Leon, are you okay? You're not looking so well…" Liana noticed the green ninja's dour face.

"How dare you ask me about my feelings!?" The fair-haired ninja suddenly lashed out.

"Leon! What's gotten into you!?" Willow was also flabbergasted by her brother's outburst.

"You're one to talk! Mom and Dad are missing and you haven't even batted one goddamn eye! Some kunoichi of time YOU turned out to be!"

The youngest team member was visibly hurt by her sibling's harsh words but she knew how he felt. She was distraught over the unclear fate of their parents but there was nothing they can do at the moment, whether she liked it or not.

"I-I… I didn't mean to… They… they wouldn't want you acting like this…" She quivered.

"Don't worry about your parents now. You should focus on your powers. Only then will you be able to fulfill your destiny." Misako still kept her cool against her student's flaring temper.

"I don't care about that! My family's missing and it's all because we were running around as if we couldn't do anything about it!"

"That's because we couldn't!" Chris argued back, "Green ninja or not, you can't do it all! No one can have everything and if you don't like that, then it's YOUR problem!"

"Chris! Don't be so hard on him!" Akira tried to defend Leon from his brutally honest cousin.

"That's enough, Akira," Misako halted him, much to his astonishment, "Sometimes, there's no use talking softly. There are times where we need to be taught in a firm manner."

Liana only nodded in agreement, having been on the receiving end of Chris' brutal honesty way back in the beginning.

The green ninja sighed in defeat.

He hated to admit it but they were right. No matter where he was or how powerful he was, he had no chance in preventing the Overlord from demolishing the monastery and possibly killing his parents. Despite countless reminders that the ninjas were with him, he kept himself under the impression that he was the only hero Ninjago needed but now, he was proven dead wrong. In a perverse way, he finally learned that as much as Ninjago needed him, he needed the ninja and kunoichi just as much to not only answer the call of destiny but because without them, he'll be lost. He finally understood why his father often told him not to rush into danger by himself and to not take his teammates for granted.

"Gomen nasai… I guess I was overreacting…" He apologized.

"Even if you were, we don't blame you. We all have our moments and that's one of the lessons your father taught us. We must keep our minds sharp or we'll be lost in the fogs of time." Amy recited a lesson Lloyd taught them long ago.

"My father truly is a wise man…"

"And he didn't obtain that wisdom overnight. Like you are right now, he went through grueling trials to acquire such knowledge. You've all learned much from your experiences and no matter where your parents are, they would be proud and will still love you." Misako added.

Leon mused over his teacher's words before finally coming to terms with himself as a ninja.

"Everyone… spasibo…"

Leon now knew how important it was to have his friends by his side. The reason why he came so far was right under his nose the whole time and now that he saw it, his motivations too have returned. He had his own destiny to fulfill but he wasn't doing it by himself.

With friends like these, he felt more confident of his duties and his destiny.

Yet again, the invisible fortress was filled with the Overlord's wrathful words over Lloyd and his family possibly escaping from the attack.

But that was what the one who aimed the weapon wanted.

Garmadon may be beyond redemption but he didn't plan on dragging his family down with him. They deserved a better life but that was no place for him. Not after all he had done.

'This is all for the better…' He told himself to the point of it becoming a mental mantra.

The former despot intentionally took a long time to fire the weapon, knowing Iris would be able to sense it and to buy time for her to evacuate his son and family and with no evidence of their deaths, it seemed like she succeeded.

But there were his grandchildren who were still under the mercy of the Overlord.

He was still saddened at how bittersweet his last interaction with them were. And there was his young granddaughter fearful for him when she first experienced those dark visions that became reality all too quickly. It still pained him to fight against them rather with alongside them as he once hoped but he wasn't so foolishly optimistic anymore.

'But hope only leads to disappointment…'

Garmadon's already hardened heart was numb to his dour feelings and he continued his service to the Overlord with little qualm.

The invisible fortress continued traversing the skies of Ninjago, waiting until the time is right to greet its next unfortunate victim…

So with the end coming soon, I guess can give 1 hint to the ending… there's gonna be a big twist. I don't want a rehash of the ending of my 1st story so I'll leave that twist up to your imaginations until I write the final battle.

As always, tell me what you think & reviews are appreciated.