Children of Destiny

OH MY F %&IN' GOD! I'm SO sorry this chapter was extremely late! I was very busy with real life stuff & I worked so hard to make this chapter as good as I can get it! As expected, there's gonna be action so I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 68: A Karmic End

The sound of metal hitting each other echoed in the nearly empty town of Ignacia.

Kai and Jacob were evenly matched in terms of raw strength as they were locked in a perpetual showdown of swords. The flames of hatred threatened to consume the former ninja much like the ring of fire that surrounded them but Kai was the fire ninja and didn't have to worry about being burned by either the natural flames or Jacob's hatred.

Swords collided with each other countless times but both sides were occasionally lucky. Jacob managed to add another scar to Kai's collection and the fire ninja's blade tasted flesh with each lucky blow. Aria and the twins constantly had to fight the urge to jump in and help Kai but this was his battle.

Now that it was obvious they were equals with the sword, Jacob wanted to try something else. Something he would clearly be better than Kai at.

"Enough!" Jacob lost his patience and discarded his sword, "No more child's play! We're going to fight man to man!"

"Fine by me." The fire ninja cracked his knuckles and the two butted heads again.

Kai was more than eager to oblige and started to brawl with Jacob with just his fists. Although he wasn't as strong as Cole, he was definitely able to hold his own when it comes to brawn. He twisted Jacob's arm behind his back but the treacherous man kicked the fire ninja in the groin. Kai howled in pain but refused to give in. Hate can be a very powerful emotion but others were just as strong and in some cases, even more powerful such as courage and loyalty, which driven Kai to become a ninja, fight his battles, and preserve balance. The fire ninja's courage gradually overcame Jacob's hate and the tables were soon turned.

Kai delivered blow after blow, fueled by his fervor and devotion to duties as a ninja. His zeal far outweighed the pain from the punches and kicks Jacob managed to get in. With the corrupted man on top of him, Kai used his legs to lift him up and toss him off.

Jacob finally collapsed in a bloody heap, his face was nearly unrecognizable from Kai's intense beating but he still refused to give in. He barely had enough energy to lift his head and felt cold yet wet steel suddenly press against the skin of his neck. He wearily followed the blade stained with his own blood and met burning amber.

"What a pathetic creature," Kai glared at Jacob like he was a spider, "Only a disgusting person like you would stoop so low to get revenge to keep themselves stuck in the past."

"You wouldn't understand! You're not the one who lost everything!"

"And that is not an excuse to sell yourself out to get something that can never come back. This is your last chance, Jacob. Let go of the past and move on with your life."

"I'll never let it go! I would bring the whole world back to where it was before Richard took it all away from me! I will make everything the way I want it to!" Jacob still refused to give up.

Kai was almost unnerved seeing how stubborn Jacob was.

In a way, they were both similar. Like Jacob, Kai wanted his life to be the same as it was before his parents passed away but unlike him, he learned to move on. Not even the strongest case of nostalgia can tamper with the flow of time.

Until his adventures as a ninja, Kai actually wasn't too keen on killing anyone. The fire ninja was something of an idealist growing up but due to his experiences, he now knew there were some people who were just too far gone to be saved and unfortunately, Jacob was one of them. But the past should remain where it is and if Jacob wanted to be stuck in the past forever…

"So be it." Kai said solemnly.

Realizing what her husband was going to do, Aria shielded their children from his darkest deed.

With one quick thrust, the fire ninja's blade pierced right through Jacob's heart.

Kai didn't know what went on in Jacob's head and can only imagine what it must've felt like to have everything taken from him yet again.

Jacob's body rapidly aged as he died. Within seconds, his ashen hair turned grey and brittle, his once smooth skin shriveled into a husk of wrinkles and boils, and his eyes dulled as all traces of life rapidly left his decaying body until he was gone. The fire ninja stared at the old corpse with hints of sympathy and remorse. He wasn't proud of what he did but Jacob deserved his fate.

Jacob even went as far as to go against the flow of the river that is time to keep the past alive.

"I… I can't believe it…" Alex was shell-shocked by what she just saw.

"It's for the better," Kai sighed, "Everyone have to move on at some point. Unfortunately, there are people like Jacob that keep clinging onto what is no longer there. To move forward is to not look back but he kept looking behind him and lost his way. In a way, he probably wanted this."

The Pyrrhus family stared solemnly at Jacob's corpse that served as a reminder of how dark the human heart can be.

They can only hope they won't end up like him…

The storm over the Great Ocean seemed to follow the Charbonneau family during their pursuit at Karl. Thunder still roared in the skies where they fought, matching the ferocity of the battle.

Cole and Amy weren't as powerful as they liked without solid earth beneath their feet but that didn't prevent them from fighting. The earth wielders used their true potential to conjure large boulders they threw at Karl but the tainted man wasn't one to go down so easily.

Luna and Melody had the clear advantage of being right above the ocean.

Both kunoichi of water summoned large columns of water to waylay Karl but his dragon-like jet managed to evade the torrents. The Charbonneau family still weren't going to give up so easily. Not only did Cole's stubbornness rub off on Luna but their daughters inherited it too.

The airborne battle kept going with no signs of stopping, even when Karl's aircraft lost fuel and the elemental dragons were showing signs of exhaustion. But neither side was in the mood for giving up and everyone kept giving it their all.

The boulders formed by the earth wielders crashed into the ocean, filling the air with seawater the kunoichi of water manipulated to impede Karl's jet. The Charbonneau family utilized their powers at full force and having the advantage in numbers, they soon got the upper hand. Karl had trouble dodging attacks from four adversaries and his aircraft was running low on fuel. Too bad the elemental dragons had their own willpower to keep going while his was but a machine.

Suddenly, a violent torrent of water engulfed the draconian jet and while Karl was caught in the trap, a few large boulders collided with his vessel and broke parts of it. The mechanical dragon let out a bloodcurdling roar and was sent crashing down onto the shore, sending large clouds of sand that obscured the ninjas' sight.

Cole, Luna, and their daughters wasted no time to search for their enemy until the sands finally cleared. Lying in the middle of the black debris was Karl, who was sprawled out and extremely exhausted from the dogfight.

With Karl now defenseless, Cole and Luna had the opportunity to finish him off. The earth ninja cracked his knuckles, ready to do to him what he did to Skales a long time ago but was stopped by his wife.

(*) "Warte ab." Luna said solemnly and stepped forward so she was face-to-face with Karl.

"F-finish me off…! I know you have it in you…" Karl growled at her.

The kunoichi of water was tempted to rid herself of her ex-producer forever but in a way, that would only open more opportunities for him to commit more atrocities.

"Nein."

Karl, Cole, and even Amy and Melody were shocked by Luna's refusal to finish him off.

"What are you doing!? That bastard doesn't deserve any mercy!" Cole hissed at his wife but she was resolute with her decision.

"If you spare me… I'll take it… I'll take everyone and everything you love away from you!" Karl shouted manically, trying to provoke her.

"I don't have it in my heart to kill you but I won't forget what you've done. I will spare you but I never want to see you again. If you even think about showing up, I won't be so merciful." Luna remained firm, even with her parting words.

"Why are you doing this to me!? Why won't you just let me die!?" He howled.

The original kunoichi of water only stared at her former colleague coldly, which only added to the uneasiness looming over everyone.

(*) "Abschied, Karl." She murmured and walked away, never looking back.

Cole and the Charbonneau sisters followed Luna, leaving Karl resigned to his fate.

"Why are you sparing him after what he's done to you?" Luna may have been one of the more merciful members of the team but Cole didn't understand why she would let Karl go, especially after all the crimes he committed just to have her.

"After everything Karl has done, he doesn't deserve to be taken out of his misery." Luna said in a steely voice that immediately haunted her family.

Cole quickly grew to understand why his wife would let such a despicable man live.

"We should go. We have bigger things to worry about." Cole led his family away from the shore.

Karl was a selfish man who only cared about himself and with nothing left, he did have one last chance to choose redemption or just give up. His fate was now in his hands alone.

Perhaps it was better this way…

It was more than a little jarring for Zane to fight Cryptor, knowing the evil nindroid was what he could've become if he allowed his negative emotions get the better of him before he took the chance of being the human he is now. He can still see a small part of himself in the bloodthirsty automaton and he could even feel his own resolve waver.

"Inferior being," Cryptor recognized Zane as the being he borrowed his design from, "You had much potential but you have forsaken yourself."

"A single lifetime knowing what it is to feel emotions, for both good and bad, is far better than an eternity of emptiness." The former nindroid coolly retorted.

The blades on Cryptor's 'mouth' unfurled and buzzed, ready to mangle Zane's face but the ice ninja was quick to retaliate by freezing his face and then punching him.

Cryptor was far more advanced than Zane's original outdated model and it showed in the dark robot's powers. His lasers and blades easily melted Zane and Liana's ice and swiftly cut through even the thickest trees like a hot knife on butter. Heather and Forrest still tried everything they can to restrain the nindroids but they were outnumbered.

The nindroids weren't bothered by emotions and merely did as they were built to do while the Julien family felt a range of emotions. Sadness, anger, fervor, and desperation filled their hearts and minds while they fought one robot after the other.

Function or purpose?

Which one was truly stronger?

While his family dealt with the nindroid drones, Zane went one-on-one with Cryptor.

"Fool. Your attempts to subdue me are futile." The evil automaton droned.

"My will is much stronger than someone who only functions." The former nindroid countered.

"My duty is to destroy the ninjas."

"And what else is there? What else will you do other than destroy?"

Cryptor refused to answer Zane's question and retorted by firing his eye laser at him. Again, the savvy ice ninja jumped away and shot beams of pure ice before landing on his feet. His wife and children also fought against the horde of nindroids, using their sheer willpower to maintain the strength needed to take them down.

The humans eventually prevailed but not in one piece. The Julien family were all exhausted but they survived, something Cryptor would've never predicted.

"Percentage of survival was less than ten percent… yet you still stand…" The nindroid observed.

"You can't rely on just technology for everything," Forrest started, "We all have our beginnings within nature. Like light and darkness, we live by balancing old and new. But you're nothing but a cold machine. Unlike my father, who was built to also have his own emotions and memories, all you do is function. You're not truly alive if you can't feel anything. That's what sets you apart from my father, even if he was still a nindroid."

"I-I-I… d-do not… u-u-understand." Cryptor's eyes flickered unevenly.

"Of course you wouldn't." Liana responded, "You were never built with the capacities of feeling the emotions we do. You can never experience happiness, sadness, love, and even hate. Those feelings are what makes us truly live. If you can't have that, then your life is meaningless."

"I do not understand. I do not understand." The robot repeated in a mantra and his body began to convulse violently and sparks erupted from his exposed circuits.

"What's going on!? Fight damn you!" Ash commanded.

It was too late since Cryptor was now little more than a malfunctioning wreck doing nothing but repeat his inability to feel emotions in a mantra.

"You will never know what it's like to have a true purpose to take certain actions. You have no one, not even Ash can be considered your father. You don't share the bond between a parent and his child because he doesn't care about that stuff. If you're destroyed, he can make more. You don't have any bonds or connections to give your very existence any meaning. You are no match for us and you never will." Zane chewed out his clone.

Cryptor started screaming, feeling every part in his mechanical body short-circuit.

"No! Don't you dare give up on me! I built you to fulfill my grandfather's wishes!" Ash still tried to get Cryptor to function as he was built for.

"It's no use. Your grandfather's ambitions were doomed to fail and this is why." Zane said.

"I don't need your damn pity! I don't need anyone!" The inventor grew more manic.

"Ash, please! If only you could open your heart to us, maybe we can help you!" Heather offered but it was all for naught.

Ash ran into Cryptor just as he exploded, erasing his grandfather's dark legacy forever.

"I… I can't believe it…" Heather stared in shock at the pile of ashes.

"Perhaps this is for the better," Zane mused, "With too much focus on technology, Ash had lost his humanity. Cyrus would've become him if my father hadn't stopped him. He had become so desperate to transcend humanity he ended up losing it even before now. How ironic…"

The remains of the nindroids served the family as a reminder of how technology can be great… but also how easily it can destroy humanity…

But the battle to restore balance was far from over…

The Walker brothers were still stuck in their heated battle against Clouse.

The constant wear and tear finally proved too much for Clouse's weapon and the staff snapped in two by an aptly-timed fell swoop from the Steel Kunai. But like his cohorts, the dirty cop had a few tricks up his sleeve. He used the powers given to him by the Overlord to quickly meld the two halves of the broken weapon together, making it appear good as new. Just as suddenly as he repaired his weapon, Clouse summoned a bolt of black lightning which Chris barely managed to dodge and assumed it was some strange power he got from the Overlord.

'Looks like I'm gonna have to fight lightning with lightning.' Chris spun his nunchucks until they glowed and crackled with electricity and swung it with so much force the impact on the former cop's belly caused him to throw up.

It felt like hours since Chris and Kyle dueled with Clouse. Their bodies were exhausted but they were too determined to give in. They had to keep him from reaching the city, at least hold him off until some miracle falls from the sky and intervene.

And as luck would have, a miracle did fall from the sky. Or several that is.

Several bolts of lightning suddenly homed in on Clouse, electrocuting him and burning him from the inside out. Kyle initially assumed it was Chris but the eldest ninja looked just as astonished as he was. Just as suddenly as the ambush, two figures jumped in.

The Walker brothers were surprised to see their parents in front of them.

Before Chris or Kyle can ask any questions, the always talkative Jay answered them.

"I'm not gonna ramble but I wouldn't want to leave you with all the brunt work!" The lightning ninja turned to his sons.

"But this is our fight!" The elder son protested.

"That doesn't mean we can all the burdens on you!" His mother replied, "As ninjas, we should be united as a team and as family! We can only defeat the enemies by working together!"

The Walker brothers were grateful that their parents made it obvious how much they cared for them but at the same time, worried that their age might impede their potential. Yet in a strange way, that only strengthened their familial bond with one another.

"Wait! Clouse could still be- !" Before Kyle could finish, his fears were confirmed.

Before the resulting smoke could clear, a bolt of black lightning broke out and zapped Chris and Kyle. But this was a bad move because no force is stronger than a parent's love for their child.

Just as suddenly as they came, Jay and Nya lunged at Clouse and unleashed their NRG mode on him for the first time in many years. Jay blasted him with million volts of electricity while every blow Nya delivered felt like a collision with a wrecking ball or a well-crafted blade. The tranquil fury of a parent ended up causing more enough troubles for the ex-cop.

Despite all his injuries, Clouse refused to surrender. He obviously struggled painfully to get up but the ninjas, aware of causing him to be this way, offered one last chance of redemption.

"Clouse, this is your last chance. Either redeem yourself and surrender, or stay in the dark." Nya sternly warned him.

The ex-cop seemed to consider the former kunoichi's words at first but quickly backed out. His jealousy and lust for revenge mattered more to him than anything, even his own life.

"I'll never accept mercy from someone like you." Clouse spat at her.

Nya stood silent, disappointed by his refusal to redeem himself but the silence quickly broke.

"NINJA-GO!"

Four tornadoes surrounded the former cop but he just won't let up. Clouse mostly relied on his strange lightning powers and gave Jay a run for his money and was evenly matched with Nya in terms of strength. The Walker couple would've been equally matched if their sons hadn't joined in on the fight.

Chris and Kyle unleashed their full potential to help their parents and Clouse was overwhelmed in a matter of minutes. Not even the biggest lust for vengeance can overpower the bond shared between a team of ninjas, friends, and especially family. Clouse's insides felt like burned up and he was now too weak to even get up on his own. The Walkers had the chance to finish him off but they decided he suffered enough.

It was time for fate to decide how he'll get his karma.

Now it was finally safe for the cops to step in and apprehend their former comrade.

"Clouse, you are under arrest for extreme misconduct and corruption." The head of the police confronted Clouse and bound the traitor's hands in shackles.

Clouse had a blank face but Jay and Nya can still see a hint of the absolute despair in his eyes as he was handcuffed and led into one of the police cars.

Even if he chose to fall from grace and deserved his punishment, Jay and Nya still felt a pang of sympathy for Clouse. Jealousy can really hurt and lead to ugly consequences but Clouse did this to himself by consciously becoming the very thing he was meant to oppose. Chris and Kyle had yet to understand that not everyone will benefit from them being ninjas but the battle they've fought will forever be a reminder of how grey the world truly is. Even if they fought on the side of good, not everyone will benefit from their actions.

Finally, the cops and any bystanders that caught wind of the battle left.

"Mom, Dad. Are you alright?" Kyle finally spoke to his parents once the family was finally alone.

"We're fine… This is nothing… compared to that time…" Jay winced before he could finish.

"Dad!"

"I-I can live through this…"

"Anyway, we should head back to the city," Nya said, "We still have that invention to work on."

"Yeah…"

"We can stay and help for a while if you want." Chris offered.

"Are you sure?" Jay asked, not wanting to be a burden to his own children.

"Of course. We also don't want to leave Ninjago City depending on you alone."

"Thank you…"

The Walker family made their way back to the city, already prepared for their next move in the upcoming battle that will truly decide the fate of the world…

(*) Warte ab = Wait (German)

(*) Abschied = Farewell (German)

Wow…

I worked so hard on having the bad guys getting served with karma in different ways. This has got to be one of the biggest wham chapters of this story but there's still Ronin to worry about. We'll see what'll happen to him in the next chapter. Again, I'm very sorry this chapter was so late & reviews are appreciated.