Children of Destiny
Hi guys! I'm finally back from my hiatus! It's time to get the final leg of this story on a roll, even if it'll be sad to see it end. I know this chapter's short but it's just one part of a multi-chapter finale. Read on!
Chapter 70: Never Forgotten
"This is Misako. If you're hearing this message, go to Haruka's house as soon as you can. All of you must come and everything will be explained there."
Once the ninjas got the scholar's message, they did arrive at the house in the mountains before long but not all of them came. Though they were urged to join their sons, Jay and Nya declined in meeting up to make sure the new invention was ready in case the Overlord makes a surprise attack which Lloyd didn't blame them for. It was perhaps better for someone to watch over the potential target for the Overlord's wrath while everyone else were caught up in a meeting.
Once everyone was finally gathered, the young ninjas quickly realized they were still keeping a big secret from their parents, one that they weren't sure if they should reveal it or not…
"Are you hiding something from us?" Iris inquired them once she noticed the way they talked to one another in a hushed low tone.
"There is another person but I don't think you'd want to see them…" Kyle confessed sheepishly.
"Do not hide any secrets. Show them to me." The green ninja commanded firmly.
The new generation of ninjas looked at each other nervously before turning to Misako, hoping for some advice but she gave them a look as if telling them that they should, regardless of the consequences. They weren't looking forward to seeing their parents' reactions but in the end, they decided it was for the greater good for their parents to know… and get mad at them…
Inside the Bounty, Pythor was surprised upon seeing the ninjas unlock his cramped prison but he knew better than to assume they were letting him go so easily. Before he can even say one word, Kyle wrapped a bunch of chains around him. The cold pieces of metal squeezed enough cause discomfort for him but he was still able to move.
"You're coming with us." Liana commanded with a coldness in her voice that surpassed that of the Frozen North.
Pythor cooperated, not wanting to create any more conflicts and knowing the ninjas were too stubborn to let him do as much as exist without them keeping guard. He couldn't blame them. They did have merit for not trusting him…
Pythor was brought in but he was still tied in chains. To say the original ninjas were shocked by his sudden appearance would be an understatement. Kai and Cole nearly flipped the table and the mothers rushed to keep their children as far away from him as possible. Even Zane looked at his children as if he truly questioned their logic of letting him stay with them.
But just as the young ninjas expected and feared, Lloyd didn't take Pythor's presence very well.
Lloyd remained eerily silent but got up as if he was going to end the Anacondrai again…
"Dad, wait! He might give us clues about the Overlord!" Leon threw himself between his father and the purple snake.
"He may be pulling another trick. Step aside." Lloyd responded coldly.
"I know this seems like a lapse in judgement but hear us out," Misako stepped in, "I understand your mistrust but your son is right. Pythor no longer desires any affiliation with the Overlord. He has given us some vital clues of what he has been doing while we were searching for him."
"He could still be having some ulterior self-serving plan." The former hero still wasn't one to be convinced so easily.
"It appears history is only written by the winners," Pythor jeered at the one who killed him, "If only the people of Ninjago can see history from the perspective of both sides."
With Lloyd finally setting his grudge aside, Pythor can finally confront him.
"So… we meet again…" The Anacondrai started coolly towards his human enemy.
"Reluctantly so." The original green ninja's greeting was just as cold.
"Cut to the chase, Pythor. I don't care about your reasons to escape but we're keeping our eyes on you so don't even think about lying." Kai growled.
Pythor felt every pair of human eyes glaring at him from all directions. He still remembered the same look from the humans that sealed him away eons ago but those shaven primates are long gone. This cycle of revenge and hatred was getting tiring and all he wanted now was to go back and spend the rest of his life away from them. He still had no love for humanity but he
"The Overlord's base is already far more advanced than your primitive technology and that was also the weapon responsible for destroying Arbouria."
Heather clenched her fists as her anger towards the dark lord for burning down her home was reignited but there was no use trying to change the past and Zane gently stroked her shoulder to keep her from losing her cool.
"What else?" Iris urged the Anacondrai to continue though she still didn't trust him as much as her husband.
"You should've remembered what happened during the final battle. He plans on exterminating you and resume his dark designs… but that's not all…"
"What else is there?" Cole asked warily.
"There is also something the Overlord seeks, or at least keep anyone else from getting a hold of it if in case you really want to know…"
"Something…? What could he be after? There's nothing else out there that can help him or us."
"Looks like keeping secrets is a quirk Wu and Garmadon didn't just get all of a sudden. No, that was likely a habit inherited from their father…"
Wu wasn't all too pleased but knowing that his father didn't particularly enjoy talking about the acts he committed before even he was born, he didn't put the possibility past him.
"Do you even know what the Overlord's looking for?" Aria interrogated Pythor.
"Not even I know. All he said was that he had to get to it before anyone else."
"And what do you know about my husband?" Haruka confronted Pythor sternly.
"I have little to do with his plans and he still likes to keep his secrets." He responded.
"Indeed." Wu added with a grim undertone in his aged voice.
"During his time with us, Garmadon always remained quiet but he always had that type of look in his eyes. The kind you recognize when someone speaks to you yet they are also withholding the kind of information that would've made a difference if they fessed up in the first place. You still have that same look, old man." Pythor jabbed at the former tyrant's brother.
"Even if the truth is never revealed by mouth, the ninjas will find out anyway." The sagely man countered while maintaining a stoic attitude.
"So Grandpa didn't just walk out on us?" Willow asked.
"We still don't know for sure…" Iris replied.
"And what about this thing the Overlord is looking for?" Chris asked.
"We're gonna have bigger things to worry about. We've got no other choice than to track down the Overlord and get him to fess up." Akira cracked his knuckles.
"But that's another dead end. We still have no way of tracking him down and knowing him, he'll never reveal it to us." Melody reminded him.
"What choice do we have? One way or another, we'll end up fighting him. What difference will it make?" Forrest pointed out but in a jaded manner.
"And how will we deal with Pythor once this is all over?"
"I hate to admit it but our children were right to bring him in. However that still doesn't excuse all the atrocities he committed before all this." Luna still glared at him despite dispensing vital information about his superior.
"We'll let him live… for the moment." Zane answered.
Pythor couldn't help but be slightly bemused that the humans he despised so much have finally admitted he had done something other than make their lives a living hell.
"Put him back in the cell." Misako commanded.
Before he was led away, Pythor was eye-to-eye with Lloyd again and even if his eyes lost their menacing red hue, the hatred was still there.
"Even if we survive in the end, you will never regain my trust." The human glared at the snake.
The lanky Serpentine stared right back at him, knowing the human would say such a thing. It's no use trying to convince him that he was no longer the same snake he was years ago.
Some things just never change…
The invention went through several more test runs and now Jay and Nya were sure it'll be able to protect Ninjago City upon the inevitable invasion of the Overlord. It was still a tense time for them and they even brought Sayuri and Jay's parents into the office so they can keep an eye on them. Tension and anxiety loomed over the engineers who can't predict when the Overlord will attack and if the invention will work but Jay convinced them to keep their chins up, even during the darkest of times.
The team of scientists and engineers may have finished their work but they didn't have time to relax since no one knows when the invention will be needed. Nya was also feeling anxious but for different reasons and her spouse was quick to notice her plight.
"Nya, tell me what's wrong." Jay immediately attempted to console his wife.
"It's just my sibling instincts. I know Kai and his family are still out there and now I'm concerned for them." The Japanese woman quickly admitted.
"We know they can take care of themselves. For now, let's focus on protecting the city."
"I know… but it's not a habit I can break out of so easily…"
"Mom? Is something going to happen to us?" Sayuri looked up at her mother with slight fear in her hazel eyes.
"Iie. We will do everything to make sure you and everyone else will have a future." The former kunoichi comforted her youngest child.
"Is this new machine going to save us?"
"Of course it will," Ed reassured his granddaughter, "You just discovered your true powers and even destiny would think it's too cruel to take it all away so soon."
"But if the bad guys want to hurt Mom and Dad, they'll be sorry because of me!"
"Don't get ahead of yourself, sweetie. You still have some growing up to do." Jay chuckled.
"Mr. Walker! You have to see this!" An engineer called the inventor over to the station.
"Did you find something?" The former ninja rushed in to see what was going on.
"It may not be close to the city but there's been sightings of an anomaly in the sky!" One of the employees pointed at the screen displaying a strange object like a UFO.
Jay couldn't really make out the shape but he felt a shiver down his spine. It was as if he saw it before and not in a good way.
"Mr. Walker, what's your take on this?" Another worker grabbed the former ninja's attention.
"I'm still not sure what to make of this. There's something about it that seems… familiar… I still don't know why but I have this feeling…"
The blue ninja stared at the image for what felt like an eternity. Despite his loud and impulsive disposition, he preferred to take a logical approach in serious matters. He had a hunch that he may know what the strange object was and if he was right, he may not have much time…
The new generation of ninjas and Misako were back in the Bounty and made it clear to Pythor that while he was through with their parents, they weren't done with him.
"Since you worked with the Overlord, you're the only lead we have to his location. Now tell us where he is." Forrest went back to squeezing what little information Pythor had left.
"Who do you think I am? Some kind of tracking advice for your personal advantage?" The lanky snake was starting to get tired of being treated like a tool.
"Yup." Kyle answered sardonically.
"But the Overlord wouldn't stick in one place for long. He could be anywhere." Melody added.
"What about the Dark Island? We did find that secret chamber under the Temple of Light so it's possible the island still has some undiscovered secrets." Akira asked.
"I wouldn't rule out the possibility but we're too far away and making the trip will hurt us more than helping us. Our best bet is to find a way to locate the Overlord and follow him." Amy said.
As if by coincidence, the news may have answered it for them…
"This just in, Jay Walker, former lightning ninja, has confirmed sightings of an anomaly far from Ninjago City. Locals have dismissed it as a bird or aircraft but with the Overlord on the loose, Jay expressed suspicions that it could be the dark lord himself. What do you think? No one knows for sure but everyone is advised to take caution and remain indoors at all times." The reporters of NTV News announced on the screen.
The ninja and kunoichi quickly turned to Pythor as if he knew something about this…
"Spill it, Pythor. You know that's the Overlord." Alex started, beating the snake to it.
"Prove it." The Anacondrai sneered.
"Yes or no. Is that the Overlord's base or not?" Leon finally confronted him.
The Anacondrai knew he was out of options and there was nowhere to run anymore. There was nothing left for him to lose so why bother fighting it?
Pythor stood silent, staring at his human captors for many long minutes until he answered.
…
"…Yes."
Even during the finale, there's still gonna be some twists!
It's kinda funny that I'm out of my hiatus the day after Wangst-bound premiered but that season was worse than Rebooted & I don't plan on watching it on TV. Anyway, I'm glad to be back & working on the finale! As always, reviews are highly appreciated!