"That's impossible!"
The Ninja looked in horror at the glistening figure that stood stories above them. From their vantage point high above the battle below, they were still held under the shadow of the strange beasts figure. Its black tendrils and tentacles swirled around the air, as sharp purple claws began to be formed out of them, grazing the sharp edge against the destroyed concrete. This strange creature had once been The Preeminent, now possessed by The Overlord. Reanimation and resurrection incarnate, a beast that would be hard to destroy.
It stared in glee at the battle below. Anacondrai fought men, Djinn fought ghosts. It didn't matter to him that The Ghosts, who were now under his command, were being massacred by The Deepstone Vermillion, and the Djinns superior weaponry and endless endurance. They were much like The Skulkin were for Garmadon. Lord Garmadon that is. Or even his own force of destruction, The Stone Warriors. They were simply a means to get him out of whatever prison he was trapped in. Whether it be The Dark Island, or his digital realm. He found it ironic how Ninjago had been abandoned so quickly, his former island being converted into a bustling array of cities. His first target.
"You've returned to this accursed island.. Had The First Spinjitzu Master not split The Island OF Ninjago in two, I'd have raised the grounds you all stand on to smithereens.. Not even your robot's sacrifice could contain The Dark.. Now, I have taken control of something strong enough to conquer all of Ninjago!" Gloated The Overlord, who clenched his claws, preparing to battle the annoying Ninja. At this point, most of the fighting had stopped, as all sides turned to see what their common enemy was yelling about. The Ninja, being quite visible on the grounds they stood, were a sight to behold. And the most ecstatic person to see them was Lloyd.
"O-oh my god! They're ok! There's still hope!" Lloyd shouted! Raising his fist in the air! Everyone around him looked around at each other. Most of them had been enemies of The Ninja for a long time. Some hadn't even met them in person. They had a common enemy in The Overlord, but nobody would be willing to unite against him. Not yet. The Overlord himself looked down in anger at the chosen savior of Ninjago. His hope weakened him. Even if The Overlord had beaten him badly in their first encounter, and stolen his Golden Power in the second, he was at a loss to explain how Lloyd was still not afraid of him.
"You remain here.. After all this time? Look around you.. Ninjago fell the moment this wretched realm stepped foot in your city. No matter how many citizens survived, they had to live with the fact that you failed to save those who couldn't escape.. Just as they'll lament your failure here and now. Friends and foes from times long ago can't save your guilty soul, Lloyd Garmadon." The Overlord said, trying to wear his confidence down. But Lloyd stood definitely, as people moved out of the way, giving him a clear view of Lloyd. Lloyd frowned, before looking back up at his friends, who were now listening intently to him, as were the rest of the fighters.
"Maybe you're right, Overlord. But if we defeated you twice, what makes you think we cant defeat you now?" Lloyd questioned.
"I hold possession over the strongest creature in all existence. I have armies at my disposal.. While your petty Resistance fights those who failed to gain a foothold in this backwater city."
"You may have armies at your disposal, but you don't have any allies down here. You betrayed pretty much everyone here! You blocked The Djinns ability to grant wishes, left the ghosts without their realm, and prevented The Beckoners from.. Doing whatever they were planning on doing!" Lloyd looked back at all of the faces. So many people here hadn't even seen true evil yet. They only heard rumors and fairy tales about the endless struggle they were bred for. But they could unite against the one that kept the cycle going. And Lloyd knew he could convince them.
"I know all of you have fought only to gain power. But down there somewhere, I know you don't want this land destroyed. Petty reason or not, he isn't going to let any of us leave this City. We can end The Overlord once and for all, regardless of your beliefs. Or we can die trying. Who's with me!?"
After a brief moment of silence, almost every single warrior turned to The Overlord in combined fury. Even Clouse couldnt stand for the land he fought to control to be turned over to this millenia old ghost from the past. Even Acronix and Krux hated the pretentious fool that had taken control of the city. Human, Serpentine, Anacondrai, Djinn, Skulkin, Beckoner, and Vermillion all stood as one. Regardless of motivation, four groups became one. And The Overlord could care less.
"The boy speaks well.. I enjoyed watching you fight. But I was eventually going to have to track you down myself.. Do your worst!" Echoed the voice of The Overlord, as his strengthened ghosts clashed swords with the people below him. Using the opportunity, The Ninja all leaped down to greet Lloyd and his inner circle. Khanjikhan was still kicking, along with Morro and Machia. None of them could even believe that they were still there. They all gave Lloyd a big hug.
"Lloyd! We were afraid we would never be able to find you again! What have you been doing?!-" Wu asked, but was drowned out by the crying coming from the rest of the group. Even Ronin was happy to see Lloyd again, and joined in on the hug, before jumping back with a scream upon seeing Morro.
"Woah woah woah! I didn't sign up for this. What in Ninjagos name is he doing here!?" Ronin asked, as Lloyd attempted to alleviate doubts of Morros allegiance.
"It's ok. He's with us.. Joined us rather quickly. Look- we don't have time. We need to figure out how The Overlord returned and how to get rid of him!"
"I think I might have an answer to your first question Lloyd." A female voice said, as a very humbled Harumi approached, flanked by Acronix and Krux. Wu scowled at The Time Twins.
"Acronix and Krux. I should've been there to greet you upon your return to Ninjago. I assume you aren't enjoying what has become of your master plan?"
"Hmph." Krux grumbled. "You're just lucky we weren't able to find The Reversal Blade. Or we would have escaped this doomed timeline ages ago, old man!"
"That is a secret I'm afraid you'll never learn, no matter the context of the situation. I see you've even made allies with the former princess of Ninjago."
Acronix frowned. "Don't act like she was doing us a favor! She stole our one powerful weapon at the worst possible time!"
"Enough." Harumi said, looking back at The Ninja. "The Overlord managed to use three ancient Oni Masks to escape his purgatory state in The Departed Realm. He somehow managed to possess The Preeminent. She's too weak to fight it.. And once The Overlord gains enough strength, he'll likely be able to find a way to reach The Dark Island."
"Well- What can we do about it?" Kai asked, curious to see if this mysterious woman had an answer. Harumi looked down in shame.
"This is my fault.. I wish I had an easy solution. But luckily, I have someone who might." As soon as Harumi said this, Sensei Garmadon ran up to the group. More hugs followed, as Wu and Lloyd were ecstatic to see him. After this, Garmadon stood before them.
"We've dealt with the overlord before, and we've always been able to defeat him with the powers of Creation. Now that he's possessed The Preeminent, we'll be able to use the limited time we have left to abuse his new weakness for water. Once he's weak, we'll enter The Cursed Realm, and unleash enough elemental power as we can into its heart. While it'll destroy the realm, it's the only way to vanquish both of them at once."
Khanjikhan was about to object, but we knew Garmadon was right. "If The Cursed Realm falls, my realm goes with it. I'm sorry, but I won't be able to accompany you. Once my realm is evacuated, I'll send whoever we can manage to help your fight!" As soon as he was finished, he took The Realm Crystal, and escaped back to Djinjago.
"But how do we lure him to the docks? Surely he'll see what we're doing." Zane said, gauging the distance between The Overlords current position, and the shoreline to be too far. Wu instinctively turned to Nya.
"W-what?! No no no! You arent forcing me to do this again! Last time this happened-"
"No Nya, no." Jay put his foot down. "Last time this happened, you saved everyone in Stix and gave us a chance to save Ninjago. If you hadn't done that, The Preeminent would've cursed everyone in Ninjago! You single-handedly saved everyone. And you can do it again."
"But I'm afraid.."
"We all are. But we don't have long until The Overlord defeats everyone here, including us. If we can't bring The Overlord to the sea, you have to bring the sea to The Overlord!"
As Nya looked down in fear, she knew they were right. As she leapt up on top of a semi-destroyed building, she felt the water behind her, clashing with the fear that The Overlord brought her. As The Ninja, Morro, Garmadon, Ronin, Harumi, and many others ran to aid the fight against the beast, Nya channeled her elemental energy, as water rose up from behind her.
The rest of the warriors battled hordes of endless ghosts. The Overlord had figured out how to bring his deceased fighters back from The Cursed Realm, strengthening their weaponry with bits of Dark Matter, and traces of Golden Energy, that still resonated within his soul.
The same thoughts of failures, victories, and the vision that had prevented her from remaining victorious before resurfaced. She remembered the petrified stare of The Preeminent, the disappearance of Morro, and the man. And then, in the end, she finally understood what it was trying to warn her of. The still Preeminent, under The Overlords control, Morros past self disappearing in time for the new one to take his place, and the fear of being unable to stop the threats around her were trumped by her determination to see this to the end, to return to The Dark Island, and to Tonya. She had changed so much in such a short time, that it was almost as if she had reset time itself, back to the day she almost defeated The Preeminent. Only this time, she wouldn't fail. Concentrating the water, she lifted a huge body of water up and over the city, as its translucent shadow hovered above. The Overlord, not knowing the extent of The Preeminents weakness to water, attempted to block the water with a shield of dark matter. But as the water came crashing down upon him, Nya unlocked her true potential.
The Overlord screamed in agony as the searing pain washed over him. The water seeped into his pours, as the rest of it was diverted away from him, and down to the ghosts. There was just enough left to vanquish those who hadn't been killed by the overwhelming force, the rest nested deep underground. The Overlord fell backwards, clutching destroyed buildings in agony. As Nya lowered to the ground, she caught back up with The Ninja.
"You did great, Nya. Now, it is time. Is everyone ready?" Wu asked, looking around. As everyone nodded, he gave a thankful smile. "Remember. Whatever happens in there, know it was done for the greater good."
And so, the unlikely group of allies, old and new, ran up to The Overlord's paralyzed vessel, climbing his various tentacles, and staring into the abyss that was his eye. As they dropped down, and into The Cursed Realm itself, they knew the final battle of their long journey had truly begun
(1 part left.)