A/N: I try to use as much of the actual dialogue and character actions from the episodes as I can. I'm sorry if I get anything wrong, it is purely unintentional. Also, I do not own Ninjago and credit for all show dialogue and characters goes to their owners.
March of the Oni Episode 4, Endings:
Adrenaline courses through his veins. Panting, Lloyd flips his hood back, staring at the wooden doors in front of him. Watching as the barricade slowly cracks, breaking from the hundreds of Oni pounding relentlessly against it from the other side.
Behind him he can hear the other ninja speaking.
Cole's deeper voice, still rough from breathing in part of the black cloud, saying, "Nya, Jay, it's been fun, guys."
"It's been an honor." Zane's robotic voice comes next.
Lloyd's gaze shifts to the mural on the wall to his right. Carefully, he looks at each of the paintings, but his eyes keep traveling back to the last one. The one with his father and the Tornado of Creation.
More voices come from his friends as he stares at the painting some more.
Jay is saying, "Let's go out with a bang."
And as he hears his boyfriend, Kai, say, "Yeah. Let's give 'em–" it finally clicks.
Smiling in realization, Lloyd turns back to face the other ninja, and exclaims - cutting Kai's previous words off -, "A tornado!"
Kai, not really paying attention to what Lloyd said, simply repeats his words as he charges at the door, sword raised and at the ready, "Yeah! Let's give 'em a tornado!"
Then the words finally sink in. He abruptly stops and walks back over to Lloyd, asking in a confused voice, "Uh–wait, what?"
Lloyd looks at the rest of the ninja, seeing all their confused expressions before he turns and points to the painting as he says, "What's the opposite of destruction? Creation!" He turns around again to face the others - god he was doing a lot of turning - and explains, "Don't you get it? Creation–the Tornado of Creation! It's the one thing that can defeat the Oni–the power of Creation!"
Looking at everyone in the courtyard - Nya, Kai, Cole, Zane, Jay, Master Wu, and Garmadon - Lloyd continues, "But all of us this time, or it won't work." His gaze settles on Garmadon as he finishes speaking.
Jay steps forward and asks him, "How do you know?"
"Yeah. It was a miracle it worked the first time!" Kai adds, glancing back at the door worriedly.
Lloyd reaches up and rubs the back of his neck for a moment before admitting, "Okay, I'm guessing. But what do we have to lose?"
He can see the others all thinking about it, and as usual, Zane is the first one to respond, "He's right. We have nothing to lose."
Shaking his head slightly, Cole looks at him with a smile and says, "What the heck. I'm in."
Kai comes up to Lloyd and puts his hands on his shoulders, saying with his usual cocky grin, "I love crazy ideas. Let's do it!"
Off to his left, Jay holds one hand out to his new Yang - Nya - and asks, "We're one now, Nya. Care to join?"
Smiling, Nya takes his hand and they step forwards together, as one. Lloyd turns to his father, Garmadon, next. Stepping forwards and looking up slightly at the taller Oni, Lloyd gives him a hard look and says, with a hint of frustration, "It has to be all of us."
Garmadon takes a slight step back and flatly states, "I am not one of you."
Holding back an eye roll and with a bit of annoyance, Lloyd says, "No, but you're as much a part of the history of Ninjago as the rest of us."
He takes another step forwards, meeting Garmadon toe to toe. Neither backs down until Garmadon stiffly turns and walks away, leaving a slightly surprised Lloyd behind. But he doesn't have much time to dwell on his father's refusal, as at that same moment the Oni finally break down the Monastery doors. The doors break in half and fly off their hinges, though one piece stays on and swings back, hitting an Oni in the face and causing them to let out a surprised yelp. The Omega kicks the last part of the door off as they take the first step into the courtyard of the Monastery.
Cole is the first one to spin, saying, "Here goes nothing!" before twisting into Spinjitzu yelling, "Ninja, GOO!"
Jay and Nya are next, followed closely by Zane and Kai. All four of them also yell "Ninja, GOO!" as they burst into their Spinjitzu.
Lloyd gives his father one last look as he and Master Wu follow the other ninja's lead and start their own Spinjitzu, also - of course - yelling, "Ninja, GOO!"
Garmadon watches the six ninja and his brother as they spin around in their Spinjitzu. The leading Oni are closing in on them, the Omega front and center. He glances over at the mural on the Monastery wall, eyes soughting out the painting from when he was resurrected and took over Ninjago City. He watches closely as a tendril of the darkness snakes down the wall and covers the image of Lloyd in the painting. Looking back at the Oni, Garmadon shakes his head and lets out a grunt, finally making up his mind. Taking a deep breath, he raises up all four of his arms and starts to spin, letting his dark purple Spinjitzu take form.
All eight of their tornadoes come together and merge, creating a large, golden tornado. The Oni look up at the growing golden light, fear evident in their eyes. Winds blow wildly around the courtyard, pushing back the Oni that are inside. The Omega is the only one able to stand their ground. But even they are powerless when the light spilling off of the Tornado of Creation grows to be so bright that they cannot see anything. They hold up an arm in an attempt to shield themselves from the light, but it is too late. The brightness dims for a millisecond, and then it explodes.
In a large, grassy field, full of golden-yellow flowers, the Green Ninja lays, asleep at the moment. There is a loud, sharp grunt, and with a gasp, Lloyd shoots up, eyes flying open. He looks around, taking in the grass, flowers, dragon, and floating isla– wait… dragon? Lloyd's eyes snap back over to his left, and sure enough there is a dragon. A golden-orange dragon stands to his left, looking at him curiously.
Mouth open slightly, Lloyd walks over to the dragon as it lets out a snort and lowers its head, bumping against Lloyd's outstretched palm. Something about the dragon seems familiar to Lloyd, but before he can figure out why, a voice comes from behind him.
"Hello Lloyd."
Almost jumping in surprise, Lloyd turns around to see who called out his name. But immediately he has to squint as he finds himself looking directly at a very bright light, almost like the sun, but not quite. All he can see is the silhouette of a man wearing a straw hat walking towards him.
"Do you like my dragon?" Even though the man is still a fair distance away, it sounds as if he is right next to Lloyd.
Lloyd squints harder, trying to make out the figure's face, but they keep their head tilted down, just enough to prevent him from doing so. Then something clicks inside Lloyd's head, and somehow he knows that the man before him is his grandfather, the First Spinjitzu Master.
"You. You're the First Spinjitzu Master." Lloyd says, quickly dropping down on one knee and lowering his head.
"No, no, please–no kneeling." The First Spinjitzu Master is somehow now right in front of Lloyd, and holds out a hand, which Lloyd takes as he is gently pulled to his feet by his grandfather. Lloyd tries once again to look up at his face, but the shadow from his hat hides it from view.
"You have done so much for Ninjago. If anyone should kneel, it should be I." He gently rests a hand on Lloyd's shoulder as he passes him, heading towards his dragon.
Lloyd looks around again, confusion now filling his mind as he tries to determine where he is. "What is this place? What happened?" He asks as he turns to look at the First Spinjitzu Master.
"You faced destruction with dignity and courage, and you responded with creation and love." The First Spinjitzu Master pauses for a moment to pet his dragon who leans gently into him with a soft purr. "There is no greater response." He then continues on past his dragon as it turns its head towards Lloyd.
Lloyd follows his grandfather, pausing - just as he did - to pet his grandfather's dragon, who once again presses eagerly into his hand. "But… why am I here?" Lloyd asks, gesturing to the field around them.
"I brought you here to say thank you for all you have done." The First Spinjitzu Master responds, still walking.
"But… but I…" Lloyd furrows his brow, speeding up to keep pace with his grandfather.
"Yes?" The First Spinjitzu Master asks, turning his head slightly towards his grandson.
Lloyd twists his head to look at the First Spinjitzu Master, trying - once again -, and failing - once again -, to catch a glimpse of his face. He then slows to a stop, watching his grandfather and says, "I don't understand."
Lloyd blinks. Then looks around quickly for a moment as he realizes that the First Spinjitzu Master is no longer in front of him.
"Life is balance."
Lloyd's eyes finally find his grandfather, bending over a cluster of flowers over to his left. Lloyd starts walking towards him as he continues.
"Endings are never really endings, only new beginnings."
Lloyd blinks again. And then he abruptly stops, once again looking around for his grandfather. And once again finding him on his left, now bending over a different patch of flowers.
"And you have given us all a new beginning. The future is what we make of it, and you refuse to let our future end in darkness."
Lloyd had been walking towards him again. And then he blinked. Stopped. And found that his grandfather was once again, not in front of him anymore. He turns around and sees his grandfather walking away from him. He's about to follow him when a stream of golden-yellow petals starts to fly by the First Spinjitzu Master, circling around him to rush straight at Lloyd. Then, just as they are only a few feet away, the stream suddenly splits in two and passes by him, surrounding him completely for a few seconds before dissipating and revealing the First Spinjitzu Master standing in front of him.
"Well done, Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon. Well done." He says as he takes off his hat and kneels down, bowing his head before his grandson.
"Thanks, but–well, I don't really understand any of this." Lloyd says, wide eyed as his brain still tries to process exactly what is happening.
The First Spinjitzu Master walks over to his dragon and begins to climb up it, saying, "You will soon," and as he sits down in the saddle that is nestled in between his dragon's wings, he continues, "if you choose to come with me."
"Come with you… where?" Lloyd asks, looking up at his grandfather.
"That is a secret. But you will be happy there." The First Spinjitzu Master tells him, his dragon starts to stand up, grumbling softly.
"Or you can return to your friends and take up your duties as the Green Ninja again."
Lloyd turns away for a moment, bending down to pick up a few of the flower petals, he lets the wind gently blow them out of his hand as he asks, "And if I go home, will I remember this?"
"You will think it was a dream. In time, you will forget all about it." The First Spinjitzu Master says as Lloyd turns back to him.
He holds out his hand for Lloyd who looks up at him, his eyes seeming to glow a brighter green than before. His brain felt fuzzy, something had been holding him back before, but now he can't seem to recall why he hesitated. And as Lloyd reaches up to grab his grandfather's hand, he swears he can almost hear someone calling his name.
With a gasp, Lloyd pulls back his hand, memories flooding his head. Nya, Jay, Master Wu, Cole, Zane, Garmadon, and Kai… KAI! He almost left them, he had forgotten.
"No. I can't go with you." Lloyd tells the First Spinjitzu Master.
"I can't leave them. I can't leave Kai."
"I don't know if he would be able to live without me. And Ninjago needs me, they need the Green Ninja." He explains.
"I know, it is not yet your time, grandson." The First Spinjitzu Master agrees.
"You still have a long life ahead of you, and you're right. That red colored boyfriend of yours would be devastated if you were to remain dead."
"Wait… I-I'm dead!?" Lloyd exclaims, dropping to his knees and clutching the sides of his head. Everything made sense now, especially the fact that he was currently talking to his DEAD grandfather. A fact that he had conveniently forgotten until now.
"Yes, your little Tornado of Creation slammed you against a wall and left you under parts of your Monastery doors. The combined impact from the wall and the weight of the door has unfortunately snapped your spine. You are not invincible, dear grandson." The First Spinjitzu Master says, appearing in front of his distressed grandson and gently pulling him into a hug.
"I can send you back though." The First Spinjitzu Master says as he pulls away, "But only if you want it."
"But my spine…" Lloyd protests.
"I am the First Spinjitzu Master, fixing your spine is much easier than creating a whole realm." He says, a hint of amusement showing in his voice. "But again, I can only do these things if you want it."
"So the question, my dear grandson, is do you want to go back?"
The dark clouds that had covered the skies of Ninjago faded as the destruction of the Oni left them weak and without a power source. All across Ninjago the people who had been caught in the darkness came back to life as it lost its hold over them.
At the Monastery the Golden Weapons golden hue dimmed and left them powerless as the lightning beams that held the Nunchucks of Lightning together fizzle out and the Shurikens of Ice lose their cold touch. Likewise the Sword of Fire cools down and the Scythe of Quakes becomes lighter in weight.
All across the courtyard the ninja lay, knocked out from where the Tornado of Creation left them. Then, almost simultaneously, they all start moving and groaning as their bodies complain about the rough landing.
Nya is the first to get to her feet, and as she hears Jay let out a pained "Ow." she rushes over to him and embraces him in a tight hug.
Jay holds onto her tightly and says, "We're alive." he then lets out a laugh and exclaims again, "We're alive!"
As Cole gets up he notices that Kai is struggling to get out from under a piece of the barricade from the door.
"Kai!" He shouts, running over to the red ninja and throwing the debris off of him. He then offers Kai a hand which he takes and uses it to help him get up onto his own feet with a grunt.
Zane then hurries over to him, running a quick scan on both of them to ensure that they didn't have any major injuries. After he finishes the scan he glances around and asks, "Where's Lloyd?"
Immediately Kai's eyes fly around the courtyard, searching for any sign of his boyfriend. He's looking around for a second time when he catches a glimpse of green out of the corner of his eye. With a gasp his eyes lock onto a pair of green feet sticking out from under a large pile of the Monastery's doors.
"Oh, no." Zane whispers.
Kai runs over to the pile, Zane and Cole hot on his heels. Together they lift the debris and throw them to the side, revealing Lloyd underneath them. His eyes are closed and he doesn't move at all when Zane calls out his name.
Kai gently reaches down and picks up his boyfriend, one arm under his head and the other under his knees. He then walks over to a section of the courtyard that is free of debris and lays him down again, gently shaking his shoulder and saying, "Greenie. Greenie, wake up."
Nya and Jay join them and Nya is the first one to point out in a worried voice, "He–He's not moving!"
Kai continues to shake Lloyd's shoulder, asking him over and over to wake up. The others are all in a daze, trying to figure out what was going on. Zane starts running a full body scan on Lloyd as Cole snaps out of his trance and says, "Someone find Wu. Where's Wu?!" his voice turning into a shout at the end.
Master Wu rushes over to the ninja and crouches down, reaching for Lloyd's arm. But Kai is in his way, in a trance, still trying to wake up Lloyd. Cole gently takes hold of Kai's shoulders and pulls him away from Lloyd, just enough so that Master Wu can get to his nephew. He picks up Lloyd's arm but hesitates, looking towards Zane with a question on his lips. Zane looks back at him and mouths, broken spine.
Jay looks between Master Wu and Zane, asking in a trembling voice, "You guys can do something, right? Right?!"
Master Wu places two fingers on the inside of Lloyd's wrist, hoping that Zane is wrong. Searching for a pulse. But after a minute of feeling nothing, he lowers Lloyd's arm and looks towards Jay, grief in his eyes, and says, "There is nothing to be done."
The ninja all stare in shock at their master, then the full meaning of his words hits them. And they fall apart. Nya immediately bursts into tears, turning and reaching out for Jay who pulls her into his arms, him crying as well. Cole stares at the ground, still in denial, but soon enough, dark spots appear on the stone beneath him as he silently cries. Zane, who had previously thought himself to be physically unable to cry, notices that his vision has started to become blurry, and when he reaches up with one hand to check if something is messing with the sensors, finds that his mental cheeks are wet to the touch.
And Kai. Kai can't believe it, no, he WON'T believe it! Dropping to his knees he reaches out and pulls Lloyd closer to him, until his boyfriend's head rests in his lap.
"Hey, hey Greenie." He says softly. "You can wake up now, we won. The Oni are all gone."
He searches Lloyd's face for a reaction, but all he sees is closed eyes and a blank expression.
"Come on now, open your eyes. Let me see your beautiful emerald eyes." He whispers.
"Please Lloyd, please wake up!"
A sob escapes Kai's lips as his head drops to press against his boyfriend's. Tears fall from his closed eyes and land in Lloyd's golden locks. His shoulders shake and his next words are almost unintelligible, "P-P-Plea-Please Greenie, I-I love you. I ca-can-can't live w-wi-witho-without y-y-you!"
All of the ninja are too consumed in their grief to notice when Garmadon slowly starts to back away from them. None of them had even noticed he was there in the first place. And they also don't notice a single golden-yellow petal that floats over the wall of the Monastery and comes to land on Lloyd's chest. It glows brightly for a moment before gradually sinking through Lloyd's gi and into his chest.
When it enters his body the petal immediately disintegrates, and a stream of golden light travels through him, stopping at the break in his spine. The light wraps around the broken ends and glows again, fusing the two parts back together. Then an even smaller stream of light makes its way to Lloyd's heart, where it disappears into that as well. After a moment there's a small thump. And then another. And another. Each one is stronger than the last. Slowly the blood in Lloyd's veins starts to move, and color returns to his skin.
Kai is in the middle of a sob when he feels a soft thump under his hands. Blinking back tears he feels another thump, and another. Until a steady pulse forms, and it's only then that he realizes that the thumps are coming from Lloyd!
The others heard when the grieving fire master stopped mid sob, and all of them now are looking at him as he watches the color begin to come back into Lloyd's skin.
"Guys, look." Cole says, finally noticing Lloyd as well. The other ninja shift their gazes and several of them gasp as they see it. Zane hurriedly starts another body scan, praying that they're all not just imagining things.
"Is it really… could he be…" Nya whispers, not daring to say anything for fear that she might jinx it.
But then, Lloyd gasps and starts to cough, struggling to open his eyes as his body gets used to being used again. And the moment he does manage to open his eyes, he's immediately enveloped in a pair of strong, warm arms that hold him so tightly it becomes hard to breathe again.
"Kai! You're hugging him too tightly!" Zane's warning snaps Kai out of his head and he looks down, finally noticing that his boyfriend is struggling to breathe.
"Oh! Sorry Lloyd! I just– you were– I thought I–" He starts, but can't seem to be able to form a proper sentence.
"Where… Where am I?" Lloyd says slowly, blinking as his eyes adjust to the light. "What happened?"
"Don't you remember?" Nya asks, wiping away the leftover tears still in her eyes.
"You scared me so badly Greenie." Kai says, holding Lloyd against his chest. "I thought you died. No, hold on, you DID die. How the hell did you manage to cheat death?!" He asks, pulling away slightly to look down at his boyfriend.
"I-I don't know, the First Spinjitzu Master…" Lloyd answers, struggling to remember.
Master Wu gasps slightly at the mention of his father's name. And Zane comes over and bends down next to Lloyd, asking, "Lloyd, can I please see your back for a moment?"
"Uh, sure?" Lloyd replies, unsure as to why Zane wants to see his back.
Lifting up the backside of his gi top, Zane quickly scans Lloyd's back before stepping away and shaking his head.
"Impossible." He whispers.
"What? What's impossible?" Kai asks, and everyone turns to face Zane, waiting for an explanation.
"Your spine was broken." Zane starts, interrupted by loud, shocked gasps from the rest of the ninja. "But now I cannot even detect where the break was, it is like it never happened at all."
"I…" Lloyd says slowly, "I think that's because of the First Spinjitzu Master. I believe he told me he could fix it. But I donno, it all feels like a dream."
"Well whatever the reason, you're back now. And it's high time you go get some sleep." Cole says, standing with his hands on his hips.
"Yeah, let's get you inside, huh?" Jay agrees, starting for the doors that lead inside.
Lloyd attempts to stand up, but Kai is having none of that, and quickly scoops him up again, saying, "Nu uh, you just came back to life. And that means no walking for you Mr. I like to cheat death for fun."
He ignores Lloyd's protests and begins to follow Jay inside, the other ninja not far behind. Master Wu turns to smile at his brother. But it quickly fades as he notices Garmadon is at the entryway of the Monastery, leaving. The two brothers lock eyes for a moment before Garmadon turns and begins to walk down the mountain.
Master Wu smiles sadly after him and whispers, "Goodbye, brother." before turning and following the ninja inside.
A/N: If you have any ideas for alterations to a scene from an episode that I haven't altered yet, and you think it would make for a good short I would be happy to hear about it.