Children of Destiny
Hey! I hope you all had a good Valentine's Day & even if it's a little late, here's the next chapter. Here, we'll see a cameo of one of the original ninjas, more interactions with Pythor & the ninjas (especially Leon), & more hints of the Overlord's plans. Enjoy!
Chapter 65: Heart to Heart
One at a time, the couples visited Lloyd and Iris to discuss any course of action they may be able to take against the Overlord. Only Jay and Nya understandably declined to keep working on the defenses of Ninjago City but the others did offer their insight during their visits.
"We wouldn't want our children to deal with the Overlord alone. Of course we'd join in." Cole vowed during his and Luna's visit.
"And what about Garmadon and the remaining henchmen?" Haruka asked.
"We'll deal with them. I still have a score to settle with Karl." Luna answered.
"Anyway, Jay and Nya are working on the defenses of the capital so we shouldn't just run away from the enemies. We defeated them before and we can do it again. Even if we get older, that won't stop us from trying and my father and uncle are proof of that." Lloyd said.
"Speaking of your father, do you think anything can be done to save him?" The former kunoichi of water asked.
"I still don't know. Our children are still finding a way to free him but his betrayal is far from the most important matter at hand." Iris sighed.
"Then we can't run away anymore! We're still ninjas and we still have to protect our loved ones from any danger! I don't want my daughters to bear the burdens alone!" Cole exclaimed.
"If it helps, Jay and Nya's new defense mechanism is almost complete. If the Overlord plans on attacking Ninjago City first, then at least we have the advantage in defense." Lloyd said.
"But what does that have to do with our children?" Luna grew understandably stressed.
"That's one less problem for them to worry about. The final battle is coming very soon and we know what it's like carrying the fate of the world on our shoulders. We should be teaching our children how to deal with that and help them when they need it."
"I'm afraid even with the experience you've gained, it won't be that simple." Wu objected.
The old man was still was wise as he had always been and everyone else were all ears.
"The Overlord has more allies than he did and an imbalance of light and darkness can create an unnatural surge in any area of expertise, including technology. He also has an army of nindroids to do his bidding alongside his willing zealots."
"That doesn't mean we won't have a fighting chance," Cole still clung to whatever hope he can get his hands on, "Back in the beginning, the guys and I were outnumbered by the Skullkin but we were able to defeat them. Who says our children can't do something like that?"
"Their experiences are not wholly the same as yours. They are their own persons, not copies of you. With the scales of good and evil off balance, the Overlord is arguably more powerful than he was during your battle with him. This final battle won't be the same as last time." Wu said.
"But what matters most, at least for me, is that our children will need all the help they can get. We can't keep using them as shields and we're still ninjas deep down." Luna responded.
"Until the time comes, we'll have to lie and wait. That's all we can do."
The Charbonneau desperately wanted to act against the oncoming threat but they knew their old teacher was right. They had to save their energy for when the time comes and can only pray they and their children will have what it takes…
The pangs of hunger was becoming standard for Pythor ever since he was locked up in the new ninjas' base. He was aware that they didn't plan on killing him off but neither did the Overlord. It was the latter that was becoming unnerving for him. The dark lord wasn't exactly the poster boy for the word patience but he always had a plan in mind hidden from everyone, even from his more loyal subordinates.
Not only that, but Pythor's starvation was starting to show. The already skinny Serpentine's ribs were starting to poke out and his eyes appeared to have sunken in. Even the slight comforts a nap can give were denied to him because he was always disturbed by his growling stomach.
Finally, the tiniest bit of relief came in the form of a saucer of soggy vegetables from the ninjas' leftover dinner. That and another session of good cop and bad cop except that there was never any good cop to go with it.
"Okay, Pythor. You can starve all you want but we're not letting you go until you spill everything you know about your master." Leon approached Pythor most of the time and if anything, it was because of the rivalry the Anacondrai had with his father being passed down to him.
Even after inhaling the leftovers, Pythor still wasn't playing along so easily.
"If you would be so kind as to prepare a proper meal, perhaps I will reveal more." The starving Serpentine tried to bargain with the human.
"How will you guarantee it?"
"Just give up and tell us where the Overlord is and we'll get you some more food."
"How should I know? I've been stuck in here for days."
"Don't make any excuses."
"Do you ever get tired of playing this game?" Pythor sneered, "Don't you have any better things to do?"
"Nah. Everything else on this ship is too boring." The young green ninja retorted dryly.
"You know, being stuck in the cycle of light and darkness can be tiring…"
"Don't play any mind tricks on me, Pythor. It's not going to work."
"What would it take to convince you my words are sincere?"
"If people found a way to turn beef into chicken."
"Just as snarky as your father, I see."
"Get to the point. Why would you of all people want to drop your vendetta?"
"Don't get me wrong. I still have no love for your father and humans but being nothing but yet another puzzle piece in the cycle of vengeance is truthfully exhausting and it will honestly feel liberating to break free from the chains of fate."
'Chains of fate…'
Leon hated to admit it but what Pythor might be feeling is similar to those he felt every once in a while. There were times he wanted to quit being a ninja and be his own person. He did come to terms with his destiny but he still understood what it was like to feel trapped by the whims of the hands of fate. Part of himself still yearned to be appreciated for who he deep down and not only for his title, yet he can't shirk the world's needs for his wants.
"Even if you still despise humans, why would you want to break free from your so-called fate?" The green ninja kept interrogating his prisoner.
"Give me a little more rations and maybe I'll tell you…" The skinny snake grew obstinate again, much to the human's frustration.
Leon wasn't sure if Pythor was to be believed but against his better judgement, the green ninja went to grab a small chunk of bread for him in exchange for further reasons. Once Pythor saw the simple piece of food, he made a grab for it but Leon still refused to let his guard down.
"Tell me your reasons for calling it quits and then you get to eat." The human said icily.
The Serpentine may be mortal enemies with humans but at least Pythor remembered the rule of everything coming at a price, including food.
"If you really want to know, I have grown weary of the same battles being fought over the same reasons over and over again. I'm much older than you think and I have seen many events in my long life and if I were to succeed in my ambitions, I'll have to use another method to get them."
"Then we're still enemies." Leon glared at him.
"Not exactly." The Anacondrai retorted.
"How so?"
"There are other fish in the sea and frankly, your mother's starting to age- "
"So you're still going to cause nothing but trouble." Leon interrupted while glaring at Pythor.
"Guess that's another bad habit you got from your father." The Anacondrai deadpanned.
"Just spit it out."
"What I'm saying is that it would feel liberating to live my own life, not having to obey anyone nor let the hands of fate make my own decisions. You know what it's like, being seen as nothing but a hero and not for who you really are. You're better than those cretins who are too bored to do anything other than follow their idols around like mindless zealots."
"Are you sure you don't plan on pulling any tricks on us?"
"I can't guarantee anything."
"Then we're still keeping you locked in here."
"Hold on." Pythor interrupted the green ninja.
"What now?" Leon groaned in exasperation.
"We made a deal." The purple snake eyed the piece of bread in the human's hand.
Even if they were enemies, Leon kept his word and gave Pythor the piece of bread he promised. The emaciated snake ingested it even before a full second had passed.
"This has been a nice chat and perhaps I can bargain another conversation if you want." Pythor still attempted to sweet-talk the young ninja.
"But you're still not getting anything until you tell us all you know." The green-eyed ninja cut off the snake before he finally got away from him.
Meanwhile, the other ninjas were hard at work trying to decipher what the very last Serpentine meant when he said that the Overlord's base made theirs crude in comparison.
"What kind of technology could the Overlord use to get away with such atrocities?" Amy asked.
"For starters, his base could have some advanced form of transportation. That can only explain how he was able to get to Arbouria so quickly." Kyle started.
"Another thing that's been bugging me for a while is that when Arbouria was attacked, no one can see where those lights came from. They seemed to have literally come from nowhere." The kunoichi of ice confessed.
"But invisibility, teleportation, and all that stuff is still impossible for us… isn't it…?" Willow felt more chills go down her spine than she ever felt before.
"What took you so long?" Chris glanced at the returning ninja.
"I had a little talk with Pythor…"
"Did he say anything that could provide us with some insight?" Forrest asked.
"Not today but he did say something else…"
"Then spit it out." Akira said bluntly.
"He claims he's not that interested in doing nothing but chase my mom anymore."
"Leon, you better not be having Stockholm Syndrome…" Forrest deadpanned.
"Nyet… I can tell he meant what he said… He did admit that we'll still be enemies…"
"I'm not surprised…" Chris whispered to himself.
"Just because he said something that is theoretically true doesn't mean he's wholly honest. You should try talking to him again." Melody suggested.
"The Overlord might've heard what he said and most likely offed him. We haven't heard from him in a long time and it's starting to feel more than a little unsettling…"
"Yeah. Now that I think about it, none of our hometowns have been attacked since then…"
"What if the Overlord already knows what we're trying to do?" Willow pondered.
"Looks like we'll have to fight fire with fire." Akira cracked his knuckles.
"Is that really a wise thing to do?" Liana hesitated.
"Sometimes, we have to be more direct when dealing with our problems. We're running out of time so the only way to deal with our issues is to be more proactive." Misako answered.
"What about Pythor?"
"We can deal with him later. The Overlord is our primary threat."
"And Garmadon?"
"The answers we seek will come eventually. Even as heroes, there are times we can do nothing but leave the future in the hands of destiny."
The ninjas wanted to believe Misako but the hands of destiny weren't always so kind…
The Overlord originally targeted Meerheim, though Karl was adamant on him sparing Luna, but much to his shock, the whole town was deserted.
'Looks like those fledgling ninjas are more clever than I've given them credit for…'
The dark lord remained eerily silent and the lack of commands thrown at them made his human subordinates more than a little uncomfortable. They didn't know which was wiser: approaching him or waiting until he really wanted to say something to them. After much quieted debate, the surviving minions decided that at least the former would put the suspense to a halt.
"What now?" Ronin turned to his master for advice.
"I do not wish to meet failure again at the other village. But those little brats are still dogged in finding us. They're the ones that will pose a problem." The Overlord fumed. His slaves weren't sure if the lack of any outbursts is good or bad…
"And what of Pythor?" Ronin brought up the sole Serpentine henchman, "He's been missing for a while and he might be doing something behind our backs."
"He is of no concern anymore. I wouldn't want to deal with another turncoat and I can tell he's off doing whatever he fancies.
"Why settle for anyone else when I have someone who knows the enemies better than us?"
Garmadon knew his master was referring to him but neither flinched nor step up. He resigned himself to this fate and he had no other option than to do as he was told.
'How ironic… I gave in only to be yet another tool…'
"You!" The Overlord glared at Garmadon.
"What do you seek my lord?" The jaded man asked flatly.
"You're the one who failed to get your son out of the way so now, the only way you can atone for your failure is to tell me everything you know."
The son of his first enemy bowed without a word, awaiting his next command.
"I'm going to keep my eye on you from here on out. Don't you dare think of disobeying me ever again if you want to live long enough to see your loved ones disappear."
"I won't fail… my lord…" Garmadon knelt before the true dark lord.
"The rest of you go and find those ninjas. I don't want to see your faces anymore unless you've finished what the Serpentine have started. Furthermore, I want to see their bloodstains on your hands and clothes as proof of your success."
"Yes, my lord." The human zealots bowed and left, wanting to now please the Overlord not just to get what they want but to live to see that end of their bargain for their loyalty.
Once his minions were gone, the Overlord finally got to have a private word with Garmadon…
"You might even know the enemies better than I. You will also search for them and don't think about dawdling or misleading me. I know enough about you to not let you out of my sight."
The Overlord floated around the old man as if inspecting and judging him and it would come to no surprise for the human if he did.
"What is your command, master?" Garmadon finally broke the uneasy silence.
"I have some other plans and you're going to play a big role. So why don't you be a good slave and do exactly as I command for once?" The Overlord hovered menacingly.
The remaining human bowed.
His body followed the dark lord but his mind lingered elsewhere…
As you'd expect, the human servants will play a big part in the next couple of chapters. We're getting close to the end & speaking of which, I can't believe Gravity Falls is ending in less than an hour. It's really sad but at least Alex Hirsch is keeping the show's integrity by doing what the Hageman bros should've done a long time ago. But for the sake of everyone who may have missed it, DO NOT PUT ANY SPOILERS!
Also, I put up a 'special' V-Day oneshot so check it out… if you dare.
Review!