Chapter 11: Return of the Overlord and Rise of the Spinjitzu Master
"What was that sound? The horns?" Dr. Julian asked as he came out from the Bounty
"The Celestial Clock has reached zero. Garmadon's ultimate weapon is now operational and the Final Battle between good and evil has all but begun." Wu said
"Now Lloyd must face his father." Misako said
"But where's Nya?" Dr. Julien asked
"She's been taken by the Overlord, but we'll get her back. At the moment, there are bigger things at stake, including all of Ninjago itself." Wu said grimly
"Who cares about Ninjago? Nya was my—uh, my...you know." Jay said upset
"And she's my sister. I know her being captured is tough, but she's tougher. Tougher than most of us. We'll see her again." Kai said
"Lloyd, your focus gives strength to invoking the power of the Golden Dragon. You cannot lose faith now. Everything rests on your shoulders." Wu said
"But Sensei, you saw what happened when I tried to face my father. I-I froze. I can't fight him." Lloyd said fearfully looking down at the ground.
"You must. It is written in the scrolls." Wu stated
"Remember, your father is just as scared." Misako reminded
"Then the battle will be decided by who is willing to fight." Wu finished
"You won't be alone. I'll be right behind you. You have my Fire." Kai said, putting his hand on the green ninja's shoulder.
"You have my Earth." Cole said doing the same gesture
"And my Ice." Zane said
"And Lightning." Jay said
"And the Purple Dragon as well." Cinder said, putting a paw on Lloyd's leg.
"We're all in this together, kid." Cole said and Lloyd grinned
"What are we waiting for? Let's suit up."
The team prepares for battle, with Cinder shifting into human form wearing the same gi as the other ninja. But has silver armor as his brother but wears the mysterious symbol from the temple. Cinder waited.
"I'm ready." Lloyd said calmly and everyone ran towards Garmadon's camp. They got up to the camp's gate.
"Get down, now." Lloyd whispered
"They won't know what hit them." Kai said
"Time to chop wood." Jay said
"Ninja, go!" The ninja and Cinder say as they break open the gates with Spinjitzu, but find the campsite abandoned.
"Uh, where the heck is everybody?" Jay asked confused
"Ugh, and here I was all ready to release the thunder." Cole said annoyed
"Bro, you'll get the chance to fight ok?" Cinder said and Cole huffed, but nodded.
"The ultimate weapon is gone. We're too late. Nya? Nya!" Kai shouted as the Falcon screeched.
"My Falcon friend wants to show us something." Zane said as the Falcon showed them tracks.
"Whoa. That's one big weapon." Lloyd said shockingly
"It appears to be heading toward the coast." Zane concluded
"But why? Wouldn't he try to use it on us?" Lloyd asked
"Not on us. On Ninjago. He always wanted to turn our world into his own image. Now we know how it will be done." Wu said grimly
"But if he starts turning things evil, the balance will shift and allow the Overlord to cross over into our world." Misako said
"Then we have to make sure that my father never fires that weapon." Lloyd said and they all ran off towards the coastline. Zane caught up with the others a few mins later. They were all silent until Jay spoke up.
"Um, is anyone else thinking about how this might be our final fight together?"
"Yeah." Kai said agreeing
"Of course." Zane said agreeing as well
"It's all I've been thinking about." Cole said
"We've come a long way. It wasn't that long ago when Sensei first found us." Kai said
"Hey, you remember that time Kai thought he was the Green Ninja?" Jay said, chuckling. Everyone except Kai laughs.
"That was quite the memory." Zane said
"He was so not." Cole said
"Or what about when the Hypnobrai hypnotized Cole and we had to fight him?" Zane said and the ninja laughed. Cinder was confused
"We should've just kicked his butt." Kai said
"Ha. You had to destroy my treehouse." Lloyd said mocking annoyance
"Hypnotized? What happened?" Cinder asked and Cole blushed under his hood.
"I'll explain that later."
"Fine, how about the time you guys first saw me? Your reaction to seeing me as a dragon was priceless." Cinder said smugly and Lloyd laughed at them
"Really? They were shocked to see you living in your home doing normal things as a dragon. Now that's got to be funny to see." Lloyd said laughing as they continued running.
"How about that time Sensei came out of the guts of the Devourer's belly." Zane said and the ninja groaned. "Drinking Tea?"
"Oh, that was so gross!" Cole said disgusted
"Yeah. I thought he was a goner." Jay said but then got whacked by Sensei with his Nin-Jô.
"Wrong again, Mr. Emptyhead." Wu said humorously.
Before they brought up more past memories of their achievements they saw someone run in front of them. Everyone stopped and looked around the foliage and trees.
"Whoa." Lloyd said
"Something is wrong here." Cinder said and try to hear the person's footsteps
"Where? Where?" Jay asked worried
"Did I just see..." Kai said
"I sense an evil presence." Zane said
"Where? Where?" Jay said
"Above us!" Wu shouted as someone used Spinjitzu and hit Cole. Cinder cringed at that, he could hear that punch loud and clear.
"Ow, my jaw. That hurt!" Cole exclaims as Lloyd was knocked off his feet by the Spinjitzu tornado
"Whoa!" Lloyd exclaimed
"No one does that to the Green Ninja!" Kai said angrily as the tornado stopped. It revealed Nya, but she looked completely different. Her skin was a light gray and her eyes glowing purple. Her clothes were a darker red, getting rid of all the bright colors it has, and she was holding a flail. She had a scowl on her face but her eyes held anger, hate, and contempt. She wasn't her normal self anymore but corrupted by darkness.
"Nya!" Jay exclaims
"That is no longer Nya." Wu said grimly
"What did he do to my sister?!" Kai asked angrily
"He must've used the ultimate weapon to turn her into his own evil image." Misako said
Nya growls but Cinder growls back at her louder.
"Garmadon must have sent her to slow us down. We have to stop them from firing that weapon." Wu said
"What are we supposed to do? Use our Elemental Powers on her?" Cole said worriedly
"No! I don't want to hurt her." Jay said scared
"Jay's right. We just have to find a way to keep her from—" Kai was interrupted as he got hit from evil Nya's flail. "hurting us."
"Well, we should think of something before Garmadon fires that weapon." Zane said
"Lloyd, you go up ahead with Sensei, Cinder, and Misako, while we take care of Nya." Cole said
"But you said you'd always be behind me." Lloyd said
"We will be. We'll catch up as soon as we can. Besides that, Cinder will go with you. At least you have someone that is a dragon with a major powerhouse in them." Kai said as Jay uses Spinjitzu, but was caught by Nya.
"Oof. That hurt."
"The ninja are right. We must go." Wu said
"We'll still be behind you, son." Misako said
"And you have me as well Lloyd, a purple dragn. Now let's go." Cinder said and the four left, leaving the four ninja against evil Nya.
—
The Stone Army has reached the coast. Lloyd, Wu, Misako, and Cinder have caught up to them. After the ninja stayed behind to deal with evil Nya, the four odd member team ran ahead to get to Garmadon and his army. They stop at the edge of the forestry and on the beach watching.
"Ninjago is now within reach. Activate the weapon so all will know of your rule." The Overlord said
"Yes. Load the cannon. Finally, my darkest dream will now become reality." Garmadon said, cackling as he was about to push the button but Lloyd interrupted.
"Father, don't!"
"Lloyd!" Garmadon exclaimed in surprise
"What are you doing? Push the button!" Overlord demanded but Garmadon didn't listen
"So, the balance has sent my son, my brother, my wife, and a weak dragonet to try to stop me? It looks like my little surprise has kept the ninja busy." Garmadon said with a grin.
"Don't do it. If you alter the balance, it will allow the Overlord to cross over." Musako said
"The balance will be destroyed, and we will all pay dearly." Wu said
"Don't listen to them. They betrayed you." Overlord said
"I don't want to fight you but I will if I have to. This is about more than just us. This is about what is right." Lloyd said
"Don't you see? I will never do what's right. The evil in my blood can never go away. It has corrupted every ounce of my fiber, every bone in my body. I am Lord Garmadon. Destiny took my family from me, and the only way for us to be together is to turn everything in this world into my image. Then you'll all see what I see, feel what I feel!" Garmadon yells
"It is not too late." Misako said desperately
"You've made your decision, and I have made mine." Garmadon said and went to push the button.
"No!" Wu, Misako, Lloyd, and Cinder shouted
"Garmatron warming up. In T-minus 20...19...18...17..." the computer announced
"Warming up? You would have warned me it had to warm up!" Garmadon yell angrily
"How could I? You were monologuing." Overlord said angrily back at him
"...16..." the computer continues counting down
"We have to get to the top and shut it off." Lloyd said and ran towards the machine.
"Stop them!" Garmadon yells
"Go!" Misako shouts as she blocks the machine's attacks. Cinder shifts into dragon form and attacks the warriors, using his elemental breaths to get the warriors knockout. He watched as Lloyd ran up and climbed up the machine to the cockpit.
".11...10...9...8..."
"Come on, come on, come on." Garmadon demanded
"...7..."
Lloyd lands in the Garmatron. The green ninja smirks but then got pin by Kozu.
"No!" Garmadon yells
"...6...5...4...3..."
"No!" Lloyd exclaims
"...2...1." Garmatron fires a capsule of Dark matter.
"No!" Misako said
"We're losing." Lloyd said dejected
Cinder try to get up to Lloyd to help him but gets knocked back by a dozen warriors and lands on his stomach in front of Wu.
"Ouch..."
"I... win!" Garmadon laughs as the missile heads towards Ninjago.
"Again!" Overlord demanded
"Again!" Garmadon cackles
Lloyd grunts as he struggles to free himself, but the Stone Warrior General's grip was too strong.
"The balance is shifting." Misako said with despair
"Lloyd, you must focus and put a stop to this!" Wu shouted
Lloyd tries to destroy the Garmatron with his Energy, but Garmadon ejects him out
"Whoa!"
"You think you can stop me!?" Garmadon yells and launches another missile.
"Our worst fears." Wu said grimly
"I tried." Lloyd said dejected
"I know." Wu said
"It is done. The balance has shifted." Misako said
"Stop laughing now! This is my victory! What's happening?" Garmadon demands
"You've helped offset the balance." Overlord Laughs. "Because of you, I can now cross over into your world. I'm finally free!"
"Wait a minute! You stole that from my playbook! Well, you can forget about it. Ninjago is mine!" Garmadon yell angrily
"No. It was never going to be yours. It is mine!" Overlord said evilly and Garmadon screams as a beam of light hits him. Then the ninja arrived shortly after.
"Sorry we're late. Did we miss much?" Jay said and looked at Garmadon. "Holy unholy!"
"What is happening to me?!" Garmadon said and sees his hands turn into claws.
"Are you scared? I'm scared!" Jay said, panicking.
"Something is very wrong here!" Garmadon shouts in pain.
"The metamorphosis has begun!" Overlord said as he possessed Garmadon.
"Metamorphosis? What does that mean?" Kai asked worriedly
"Metamorphosis is a biological process by which someone or something changes into something new." Zane explains
"Yeah, change into something ugly." Cole said with disgust
"Father..." Lloyd said sadly
"No, Lloyd. That is no longer your father." Wu said grimly
"But what about the prophecy? It said I had to face my father." Lloyd said worried
"You still must, but now the Overlord has possessed him. Unlike your father, the Overlord will show you no mercy." Misako said with a frown on her face
"You can do this, Lloyd." Kai said encouragingly
"We're here and behind you all the way." Jay said with a nervous smile
"He's tough, but you're tougher." Cole said with a smile
"But we have to act before his evil gets more powerful." Zane advised
Lloyd looks at the team, then looks at his draconian teammate. Cinder smiled with a toothy grin.
"Even if I wasn't born in this world. I will fight for it because it's my home"
The Overlord laugh's manically.
"Let's do this." Lloyd yells and runs towards the Army
"Ninja, go!" All five ninja said as they did Spinjitzu
"I need more evil, but where to attack next? Ninjago City." Overlord said
Wu and Misako attack the Warriors before they reload the cannon.
"Jay!" Wu shouted and the blue ninja nodded
"This one's out of the ballpark." Jay shouts as he hits the Dark Matter toward the Endless Sea.
"See to it personally that the cannon is loaded!" Overlord demands
General Kuzo nods and speaks the ancient language to his man. But he gets hit into the cannon, which fires him towards Ninjago. The Overlord growls angrily
"Fine, I'll load it myself!" He saids and put another missile and launches it.
"Look out, Jay!" Kai shouts and knocks out a Stone Scout and takes control of its blasters. "Sorry, only two can dance this dance."
"This ends now!" Lloyd shouts
"The Final Battle has begun." Misako said with anticipation
"Let's hope he is ready." Wu said
"All this time, everything has led to this." Lloyd said
"Stupid boy. I've been planning this for thousands of years." Overlord said with hatred
"Eat green!" Lloyd yelled and blasts his Energy on the Overlord.
"Show him, Lloyd!" Cole shouted
They continue fighting, trading blows as the battle goes, until Lloyd pushes him back into the jungle.
"Yes!" Jay yelled happily but the Overlord came back, unharmed. "No!"
"The battle for good and evil. I can do this for eternity, but can you? Your friends can't help you now. You are all alone." Overlord
"No, I'm not. My father is still with you. He will fight with me."
"Lloyd! Stay strong!" Garmadon said, trying to fight the Overlord's possession
"Fool, you cannot defeat me!" Overlord yells
"I can try! Fight, Father!" Lloyd yells
"Lloyd!" Garmadon said
"Fight him!" Lloyd said determinedly
"He is the Green Ninja."
Cinder nodded quietly to the red ninja's statement, but could sense something odd in him but couldn't understand what it meant. So he continued to watch the battle.
"You will not... take..." Garmadon said, trying his hardest to fight the possession
"Fight him!" Lloyd yells
"...my son!" Garmadon yells out but it wasn't enough to get through tne possession
"Your father is... gone!" Overlord shouts and overpowers Lloyd and throws him. The young man was thrown further down the beach and landed on his stomach.
"Lloyd!" Wu shouted with fear in his eyes
"My son!" Misako shouts in fear and worry and the two of them rushed over to him.
Overlord laughs while pointing the cannon at Lloyd.
"You were always so... green." He sneers and pushes the button and the cannon shoots. The projectile soared out of the machine and towards the trapped Lloyd.
"LLOYD!" Everyone yells as the dark matter heads towards him. Cinder's eyes widened as he realized what he was sensing, his instincts were warning him to protect his friend and so he did.
"ROAR!"
Suddenly a huge flash bang occurred and everyone closed their eyes. The Overlord unfortunately wasn't prepared and was blinded by the flash. After it faded away, everyone saw what happened: there was Cinder standing in front of Lloyd, purple energy cackling along his body, growling fiercely at the evil being. Cinder shot a few more blasts of purple energy at the warriors as the Overlord regained his eyesight back and the evil being growled in anger by the young dragon's attacks.
"Enough! We don't need to waste our time with their pestering! We'll go to Ninjago City to finish this once and for all!" Overlord shouted and created a portal that led to Ninjago City. The warriors then began marching towards it
"If they leave, that means we'll be stuck here with no way to get back! Get to the vortex now!" Kai screams in fury and despair.
"Bye-bye! Forever!" Evil Nya mockingly bids farewell as she got onto the machine from tne team. But then suddenly got hit by a blast of purple energy and fell off. Misako looked over at Cinder, who sat down with a grunt.
"I'm there, I'm there!" Kai yell desperately and jumps towards the portal, but the portal disappears before he can enter it. "NOOOO!"
—
"Did I...did I win?" Lloyd asked when Misako woke him up but groaned as his body ached from the stress of the battle.
"No. But you're alive." Wu said
"But the prophecy..." Lloyd said meekly as he tried to walk, but fell when he tried to.
"Easy, kid. You've been through a lot." Jay said, helping him lean on him. Lloyd looks down to see his leg badly injured and back up to the others.
"My leg. Did we lose the Final Battle?" He asked
"What's important is, we didn't lose you." Wu said, relieved as the blonde looked at the wreckage of the Bounty and picked up a piece. The Bounty was hit when the Overlord tried to shoot another blast at the green ninja and Cinder, but Dr. Julian came in and blocked it. Causing the ship to crash.
"The symbol for destiny. Destiny showed us who was stronger today. But destiny also wanted us around to fight another day. We didn't lose the battle. Today, we just lost the fight."
After he said that, there was a groan over some rocks. Everyone turned their heads towards it and eyes widened seeing who it was. There was Nya crawling out of the rocks, but her body wasn't corrupted by darkness, and was back to normal. Kai and Jay run over to her and hug her tightly, both of them have tears in their eyes, seeing she's back to normal.
"Nya! You're ok, bu-but how?" Kai asked, surprised but happy to see his sister.
"Ugnh... I-I don't know? Garmadon have the warriors pushed my head into a container full of some evil mineral and then nothing. Like my mind and emotions were detached from my consciousness and was floating in a dark pool. Then was hit by something before finally waking up from the darkness' control." Nya explained
"Mhhh... something knocked you out of its control? Wonder how because Lloyd was unconscious from the Overlord's attack." Zane said curious of the mystery but was solved quickly
"It was Cinder that hit Nya with that blast." Misako said and the ninja's eyebrows rose in surprise by this info.
"Woah, woah, woah, woah!? Cinder did THAT!? How was that possible? You said there's no way to get out of the control of that evil lord? So how did Cinder do that?" Jay asked baffled
"I believe it's because of Cinder's power. From what I recall from the scroll, the Purple Dragon is the strongest dragon out of the other elemental dragons because of their immense power. Their power levels however, can go up to an extreme level, maybe even be more powerful than most beings here in Ninjago." Zane explains as everyone stares blankly at the Ice ninja.
Cinder however wasn't listening to them, he felt exhausted as fatigue kicked in and he crashed to the floor. Breathing heavily and body shaking from exerting so much energy. Cole saw this and ran over.
"Bro!? Are you ok?"
Cinder shook his head meekly and before he could say anything he felt drowsy and slowly passed out as sleep came over him.
"Cinder!"
—
"Ungh... where? Oh... I'm back in this place again?" Cinder said waking up to see the black void with floating platforms.
"This place again? Why am I here right now? Ignitus?" Cinder asked worriedly but then felt a presence coming in and then turned to see what it was. In front of Cinder stood another dragon, this one an adult, who was much bigger than the purple dragonet. Their scales were a brilliant blue with a light gray underbelly. The horns have a slight angle to them and a few smaller ones surrounding them. A beard grew out of the bottom of the dragon's snout. Around the dragon's torso was a leather robe and around their neck was a necklace. On the necklace was a crystal, glowing eerily with unknown power. The dragon smiled kindly
"Hello Cinder, it's nice to see you again."
Cinder realized who it was from the voice.
"Ignitus? This is you?"
"Indeed I am, young dragon." Ignitus chuckled but his face turned serious and looked at the dragonet. "But I didn't bring you here for a chat. I brought you here to discuss the symbol you discovered."
"Oh?" Cinder asked curious
"This symbol you found, represents the element of Aether." Ignitus said
"Aether?" Cinder said confused
"Yes, Aether, it surpasses all of the elements of the Realms. Its strength is equivalent to suns, gravity and the righteous might of passing comets; it is the spiritual matter the very universe is made of and the 'true element' of the Purple Dragon. Its power resides within its connection to the cosmos and specifically to 'spirit energy'." Ignitus explained
Cinder stared at the blue dragon in disbelief. Learning that the power he wields is literally a giant void of energy from millions of spirits was a shock to handle. But he thought of Lloyd: the blonde has a destiny to fight against his father (now the Overlord) with the power he has at his disposal, just like the Purple Dragon. Cinder looked at Ignitus.
"W-wow, that's just insane of one dragon wielding that much power. I know what I can do, but I know my limits when it comes to this. Besides, I don't get that many opportunities to use them compared to my brother and the others."
Ignitus nods in agreement to what Cinder said and spoke.
"Indeed young Cinder. There are consequences if you go off the path you followed. I have seen it once and the consequences were fatal."
"Uuuuuuh... What happened?" Cinder asked worried
"The entire dragon race was almost extinct thanks to what this purple dragon did. He was eager to learn new things and wanted to do more, but the Guardians at the time denied him to learn. So he was exiled from the temple and was corrupted by dark magics and created a new element called Dark Aether. During the time of his reign he forced a hatchling to become his slave, killing off thousands of eggs and families, and I was nearly killed from one of his attacks."
Cinder looked at Ignitus sadly. Hearing that an entire race almost went extinct because of a dragon that has the same power he has, and knowing what the power is and does scares him. Ignitus noticed.
"Don't fret young Cinder. Compared to the former purple dragon, you're still young and what you decide changes the actions you do. Understand?"
Cinder nods silently and Ignitus smiles
"But, you at least are following your father's footsteps as being a hero and not a villain. That role was put onto your mother unfortunately. But she was able to change other's thoughts on who she is."
"He he he he he, too true. But it seems like I'll have to follow what dad did to save mom. My friend's dad has his body taken over by some evil warlord who wants the world to be his image. I was fortunate however to save a friend from its control." Cinder said and Ingitus hummed
"Well, the power of Aether can do many powerful things. Things that can change the tide of battle, but I kept you here for too long and the others are very worried about you."
Cinder chuckles
"Well, seeing that I almost put myself at risk deflecting the blast by using Aether. But it takes a lot of my energy out."
"Yes, that's one of the unfortunate things about using Aether. Using a huge amount makes you stop using your elemental attacks temporarily before recharging. Now I'll be seeing you for another time or if you want to chat, just close your eyes and think of my name and I'll be there to speak." Ignitus said and Cinder smiles
"Alright, I'll see you then and thanks for telling me about this. It seems very important but no one didn't know what it was." He said and Ignitus chuckled wholeheartedly.
"Well, it's because it's not from Ninjago young dragon. Now go! A ninja never quits to save the day again hmm?"
Cinder laughs at what Ignitus just did but soon closes his eyes and feels himself leave the void. Hearing Ignitus still chuckling echo in his mind.
—
"Can I still fight?" Lloyd asked the elderly mechanic who was finishing bandaging Lloyd's leg.
"Hmm, I'm sorry. That leg will take weeks to heal." Dr. Julian said shaking his head
"We don't have weeks." Lloyd grunts as he tries to walk.
"The battle between good and evil will be decided today." Wu said
"And we can't even get to the fight, much less get off this island." Kai said
"Ah. But I'm glad Nya's ok but I'm worried about ever seeing my parents again." Jay said
"Perhaps it's best to think of our friends as we remember them in our hearts, not as they are now." Zane said
"But I don't remember my father any other way." Lloyd said bitterly
"Your father loved you. It was the evil of the Great Devourer that corrupted him." Misako said
"Sensei, I don't understand. The prophecy said the Green Ninja would defeat the Dark Lord. Why didn't we win?" Kai questions
"I...don't know." Wu said admitting defeat for once of not knowing what happened
"Don't know? You're Sensei! You always know! You have a long white beard!" Jay said
"There must be some message to learn. A lesson. A word of wisdom. Just a word? Something." Kai asked desperately
"For once, I'm afraid there is nothing to learn. Only that evil has won." Wu said sadly but Lloyd turned back and stood in front of everyone
"If Sensei doesn't have a lesson, then I do. I used to be nothing but trouble, but then I met you guys. You took me in. Showed me the importance of being brave, the importance of being strong. And most importantly, being good. (Groans) When this battle first began, when the First Spinjitzu Master fought the Overlord and his back was up against the wall and he knew it was all over, did he quit? No. He found a way to keep the fight going. He passed his Elemental Powers to us. Of all people, a bunch of kids. But there must have been a reason he chose us. I'd like to think it's because he knew we'd never back down, we'd never give up. We've learned the ancient ways of the ninja. That ninja never quit."
"He's right. If that means we have to swim the sea to get off this island, then so be it." Kai said with determination and started wading in the ocean.
"The entire ocean? But I didn't bring my floaties." Jay said scared
"Ugh." Kai groan with irritation
"Well, if you have a better plan..." Cole said but was cut off
"I don't, but he may." Zane said and pointed to his Falcon.
"Ooh, the Falcon. He must have found something." Dr. Julian said
"Well then, let's follow him shall we?" Nya said
"You guys forgetting someone?"
Everyone turned to see Cinder, who was sitting up from his resting place, and was smiling weakly at them. Cole ran over excitedly and hugged his dragon brother.
"You're awake bro! Hope you are doing better now."
"Yeah, I'm doing better now. Just use too much energy in the battle, but anyways what's going on?" Cinder said and yawned.
"We're going to follow the falcon. He found something." Jay said and Cinder nodded and watched as everyone prepared to follow the falcon. Cinder knew the others needed to know what he found out.
—
Everyone is now climbing up the mountain on Kai's Fire Mech and arriving at the Temple of Light.
"You brought us back to the Temple of Light? I do not understand. We've already been here." Zane questions in confusion but Misako finds something on a area of the temple resembling a picture and recognizes it
"This location, I've seen this before. I just never understood it." Misako said and grabs a scroll from her bag and looks at it with the Temple's layouts.
"I think I found something. It's just like the map." Kai grunts and inserts his Elemental Blade inside a slot.
"There's one more over there." Wu said
"And here." Nya said
"And over here." Cinder said using his tail blade to point at. The other ninja each insert their Blades, and once the ninja insert their Elemental Blades into the four slots around the room, the center of the floor opens up to reveal a large golden mech.
"What is it?" Kai asked astonished
"Cool." Jay said excited
"It is the fighting suit the First Spinjitzu Master used when he battled the Overlord." Misako said
"You mean the First Spinjitzu Master once sat here? Haha, get out of here!" Cole said in disbelief and got into the mech. "How do you make this thing work?"
"Sadly, I think time has done her in. She's only a relic now." Dr. Julian sighs
"If it worked for the First Spinjitzu Master, perhaps it will work for the next Spinjitzu Master?" Wu wondered
"It's worth a shot." Lloyd said and Cole climbs out so Lloyd can try it.
"Hey, watch out." Cole said jokingly and jumps off the mech.
"Hmm, nothing." Lloyd said looking at the controls of the Mech. But then the mech suddenly activates. "Whoa!"
"Whoa!" Cole said surprised
"Looking good!" Kai said with confidence
"Killer!" Jay said amazed
"Amazing!" Zane said impressed
"How does the leg feel now?" Wu asked to the blonde
"Stronger." Lloyd said confidently
"Well, I know how he is getting to Ninjago, but what about us?" Misako questioned but then hears a roar outside
"I know that sound. It's our dragon!" Jay said excitedly
"I believe we just found our way off this rock." Wu said as everyone looked out towards the skies at the white four headed dragon. Cinder noticed something sitting on the floor a few feet from the symbol of Aether and walked over to what it was. On the floor was a set of armor but there was something unique about it. There were four pieces: a helmet, two bracers, a chest-plate, and a tail brace and all of them were in a gold metal. They looked like they fit him so he tried on the helmet. The helmet fitted perfectly to his head and put on the other pieces. Once on, he felt like a knight or guard protecting his home. Cinder walked over to the others, who had finally noticed the armor he was wearing.
"Woah Cinder! Cool armor! Where did you find that?" Jay questioned in awe
"It was over by the symbol that I stood on. Don't know how it got there? But I'll appreciate the additional protection." Cinder said and looked at the symbol. Misako sees this and came over and look at as well.
"This is where you found this symbol?" Misako questioned
"Yes." Cinder nods
"It's unfortunate that we can't figure what this means." Misako said disappointed
"Well... I believe I found what the symbol is." Cinder said
"Really? That's great news, but how do you figured what it was?" She asked
"Well, I'll loved to explain it but we're on limited time at the moment. I'll explain if we win this battle." Cinder said and the historian nodded
—
After finding the mech and armor, the team was heading towards Ninjago.
"I see Ninjago. We're not far away!" Kai said and points to purple light coming out of the clouds.
"Oh, you sure that's Ninjago?" Cole said worried
Ninjago City is not as they remember; everything is shadowy, the people are apathetic puppets of darkness, and a massive tower dominates the skyline. Sensei Wu identifies the latter as the Garmatron, transformed into a fortress by the Overlord. Moving to the ground to get a better look, they landed and hid in a alleyway.
"He's turned everyone evil." Kai said with fear as he looked
"And now they're helping his cause. I can't wait to see the look on the Overlord's face when he gets a load of us." Cole said determined
"Oh, my goodness." Jay exclaimed as a blast of Dark Matter headed towards their direction. "Oh, sweet mother may I."
"Look out, Jay!" Kai exclaims but Zane blocks it with a shield of ice from his elemental blade.
"Is that the look you were hoping for?" Zane said calmly
"Zane, no." Jay said essentially
"The metamorphosis is complete. The Overlord's changed into his original form." Misako said and points toward the top of the fortress. Atop the tower, a massive black dragon roars to the sky. Cinder squeaks in fear, seeing that dragon reminds him of the discussion he and Ignitus have about the first Purple Dragon.
"But we can't fly up there." Cole said breaking Cinder out of his thoughts.
"We have my father's Golden mech. We have to draw their fire to help Lloyd use the mech against the Overlord." Wu said and the group makes an attack plan: most of them will draw the Overlord's attention with Ultra, while Lloyd takes the Golden Mech to fight the ultimate evil head-on. Cinder went with Lloyd, just in case things go south and get Lloyd out of the battle.
"Ready Cin?" Lloyd asked
"Yes, let's do this!" Cinder said and roars fiercely
"Alright! Let's run these stone warriors down!"
Lloyd moves the Mech forwards as it ran towards the army. The Golden Mech breaks through the outer wall of the fortress and begins battling the Stone Army.
"Time to bring out the big buttons." Lloyd said as he slashes at a group of Stone Warriors. "Ninja—" The mech's arm gets shot off as a cannon kept shooting at him until he falls over.
"Lloyd!"
Cinder flew in and did a couple of attack combos on a few groups of stone army man as best as he could with his skills. But was punched by the general and landed on top of Lloyd's Mech.
"Ugh. Oh, no! Ugh." Lloyd growls in annoyance and Cinder whines weakly from the punch.
"Ninja, go!" The four ninja said as they jumped off of Ultra and defended Lloyd and Cinder.
"Ah. I'm okay." Lloyd said
"Yeah, but are we?" Jay questioned
"Ice!" Zane shouts and makes a shield to protect them from Dark Matter.
"Good job, Zane!" Kai said as the cannon breaks the Ice. "Fire!"
Unfortunately The ninja were outnumbered and were surrounded by Stone Army warriors.
"I know we've always drawn a crowd, but this is ridiculous." Jay said jokingly
"How can you be making jokes at a time like this?" Kai snap
"Hey, if I'm going down, might as well go down laughing." Jay snaps back at the fire ninja.
"If this is how we're going to go down, I'm proud to be fighting alongside my brothers." Zane said
"Hear, hear." Cole agrees "As well be with my brother for our final moment."
"Agreed, but we shouldn't quit when we are together as a team!" Cinder said
"He's right! Keep fighting! Unh. Never give up!" Lloyd
"Ninja never quit!" Kai
"Ninja, go!" They use Spinjitzu, but were stop by a cannon shot. Knocking tnem onto their backs. They all looked up to see stone swordsman have their blades on them.
"We're doomed, guys." Jay said in despair as everyone closed their for the final blow, but it didn't happen. The Army have suddenly stop attacking.
"What happened?" Kai questioned confused
"They are frozen." Zane said
"All hail the Brown Ninja! What do you command?" General Kozu declared as Ultra lands in front of the bewildered ninja to allow Dareth to dismount.
"Brown Ninja?" Jay said as Ultra lands in front of the bewildered ninja to allow Dareth to dismount.
"Hehe, what's up, fellas? Looks like we all know who's in command now." Dareth said with a smirk
"The helmet controls the Army. Well done." Co.e congrats
"Oh, that means we now stand a fighting chance." Jay said happily and Lloyd smiles determinedly
"I need to get to the top of that fortress. I may not be able to get there by myself, but with your help, I can face him."
"Ninja, go!" The four ninja activate their Elemental Blades.
"Where'd you get those? I want one." Dareth asked
"You too, Brown Ninja." Kai smiles and gives him his Blade. "Today, you're one of us. Shall we do it once more, just for old times' sake?"
"Ninja, go! Army! About face! Stone Army, go!" Dareth commanded and the Army runs up the stairs, but a cannon shoots them. "You better get this back." He gives Kai his Blade back.
"Let's help them out." Misako said as Ultra draws the cannon's fire long enough for the ninja to begin climbing the stairs but are forced to land when a shot clips its tail. "We're hit!"
"We have to land. This is as far as we can go." Wu said as Ultra landed. During that the ninja and dragonet were making process up the fortress. Cinder kept his sense on high alert for any blasts of Dark Matter and he was save by that because of Jay
"Look out!" Jay shouts as everyone dodged but Cole gets hit with Dark Matter.
"Cole, come on. Get up!" Lloyd said desperately
"Ugh. I'm hit. Go! Go on... without me. Ugh." Cole groaned
"Cole, no!" Cinder screech in panic
"We need to move. Now!" Kai demanded and everyone continued onwards without Cole. Cinder felt numb seeing his brother in pain from that Dark Matter really upsets him. But he needs to focus on the task at hand, Lloyd need to get to the top to fight the Overlord.
Suddenly Jay pushes Lloyd before he gets hit with Dark Matter, taking the shot instead.
"Jay!"
"Get out of the way!" Jay coughs
"Don't look! Just keep climbing!" Kai demanded and the three ninja and dragonet kept on climbing
"Ugh. From my calculations, with the distance remaining to the top, the odds are that only one of us is going to make it." Zane estimated
"Then let's beat the odds!" Lloyd declared but then hear groans and turn around to see Jay and Cole, but were corrupted by Darkness and came after them, holding up their Elemental Blades.
"Go on. I'll hold them back." Zane stated as both attempt to strike Zane, but he blocks the blades with his own. Lloyd, Kai, and Cinder continue up the steps and encounters a cannon. Kai looks at Lloyd and Cinder
"I'm gonna draw its fire so you two can make it to the top."
The cannon starts shooting Darkness at the three. Kai blocks the darkness with his Elemental Blade.
"No, don't! We can do this together." Lloyd said desperately
"No. There's only one Green Ninja. This is your fight. Hiya!" Kai yells as He breaks the machine. "Go, Lloyd! Go, Cinder!"
Lloyd and Cinder made their way to the top of the building. They reached the top a few secs later and confronted the Overlord.
"I have come here to fight you!" Lloyd declared
"You're in no shape to fight. Especially with a weakling dragon. It's over. Evil wins." Overlord sneered and swipe a paw at Cinder so quick he fell off the tower.
"A ninja never quits!" Lloyd yells with determination.
"You don't even have a sword." Overlord laughed manically
"I don't need a sword." Lloyd said and surrounds himself with his Energy, creating a force field.
The Overlord growled and before he could do anything he was hit by a powerful burst of power energy. He turned to see who did that. Another came in and push him back significantly and he looked around for who it was.
"You call me a weakling? That I'm some weak hatchling that can't defend themselves? Then you're a fool to do so." Cinder said as he appeared from nowhere, keeping himself afloat in the air after getting hit by the swipe. The Overlord looked at him sneered with contempt and hatred.
"Oh really? A fool am I? Because if so, then you're the fool of going against me! I'm the most powerful being in Ninjago! Nothing can stop me ha ha ha ha ha ha!" He said laughing manically and Cinder growls angrily at that
"Oh really? You say that you're the most powerful being in Ninjago? Well, you don't know that there are other beings that are more powerful than you. I assure you that you will regret this."
"Then all I have to say is... goodbye." The Overlord said with a low growl opens his mouth and blasts Lloyd and Cinder with Darkness, nearly pushing Lloyd off the building while Cinder nearly lost control of his wings. Cinder notices that Lloyd's Energy force field grows, harming the Overlord. But then the energy turned from a green to a gold and dispersed to see Lloyd, but he was different. Instead of the black and green ninja gi, the blonde's gi was a bright gold that illuminates the darkness. Cinder realizes what Lloyd just did; he have unlocked his True Potential.
"I am the Ultimate Spinjitzu Master!" Lloyd said
"No!" Overlord yells in fury and swipes at Lloyd and the latter is pushed back. Lloyd blocks his wing and is kicked backward. Lloyd counterattacks and kicks the Overlord, sending him back.
"No!" The Overlord yell again with hatred as Lloyd summons his Golden Dragon.
"You can't defeat me. Where there is light, there will always be shadow!" Overlord said but was hit by a clawed hand made of shadows from nowhere but then sees Cinder claw coming out of a shadow
"Unless my light is bright enough!" Lloyd said and pushed and his Golden Dragon tackles the Overlord, and they are both sent falling downward. Both dragons nearly crash into the ground but recover and gain height into the skies.
"This... ends... now." Lloyd said
"You can't defeat me." The Overlord cackles, and swipes Cinder at Lloyd who caught him and watched as the Overlord surrounds the two in a cloud of shadow. The two looked around to see where he was then heard him to see a giant maw coming at them and swallowing them. But Lloyd didn't stop, he resisted and tried to get out, but couldn't get out easily. Cinder heard whispers coming through his ear.
"Unleashed the true power of the purple dragon within you."
Cinder knew what to do and focused on his elements, feeling them combining, as a new power released from its slumber and rose up into the air. He looked at Lloyd.
"Lloyd NOW!"
Lloyd nods and pushes golden energy out to attack, while Cinder concentrated on his power and with a ROAR multiple bolts of purple energy came and struck the inside of the maw. They can see cracks of the outside and continued to attack at their hardest and won't stop till they win this battle. Fortunately they were able to finally overwhelm the Overlord.
"No! No! NO! NOOOOOOOOO!" The Overlord yells in rage before imploding, and the fog engulfing Ninjago City disappears, with the beautiful blue skies, clouds, and sun coming back.
—
"Ugh. What happened?" Kai groaned as he got up and looked around
"Nya!" Both Kai and Jay said and ran towards her.
"My sister." Kai said happily
"Nya, you ok?" Jay asked as the two hug Nya. While the three were in their hug, Cole was helping Zane get up.
"Come here, you tin can." Cole said happily and hugs the Nindroid.
"Brother." Zane smiles
"Is this really happening? We did it?" Dr. Julian questioned
"We did it. You did it. I did it! Heck, who didn't do it!?" Dareth yells happily
"Yeah. But where's Lloyd?" Kai questioned but was soon answered by a roar and sees Lloyd flying down on his dragon.
"Lloyd!" Everyone said excited
"You were brilliant, son." Misako said
"Because of you, Ninjago was saved. Because of you, there will be a tomorrow." Wu said
"Speaking of which, if the Overlord should ever decide to show his face again around here, we'll be ready." Kai said determined
"And next time, we'll be a little more humble." Cole said
"And a little more wise." Zane chuckles
"And with better catchphrases." Jay said with a smile and they all started laughing but Lloyd. Cole noticed someone else was missing.
"Where's Cinder?"
ROAR!
Cole turned to see Cinder landing a few feet in front of him, but could see bits of energy on him that dispersed into wisps of smoke.
"You good bro?" Cole asked and Cinder nodded his armored head.
"Yeah I'm good, just really exhausted from the usage of power. The power I used was very powerful. Amazed I was able to use it."
"Ok then, we'll go find dad to see he's ok from this, after I believe a celebration which means CAKE!" Cole said excitedly and Cinder just laughed at his brother for his love of food.
"Aw, would you look at that? Who would have thought we'd ever see the day? You think we should dogpile them?" Jay interrupted the brothers' little bond time and looked over to see Garmadon who was no longer evil anymore.
"Let's give them their moment. They earned it." Kai said
"It's been quite a ride, fellas." Cole said and ran to his brother's head who purrs at the rubbing.
"You think there will be others?" Zanequestioned
"I hope so. I liked being a ninja. It's not like we have many other skills." Cole said
"Ha, speak for yourself, I'm looking forward to doing a little inventing, maybe some model-building, dabble in poetry—" Jay was then cut off
"Jay's right. We've come a long way and there's no reason why we can't use what we've learned in our everyday lives. And who knows? We may have gotten the balance right today, but there's always tomorrow. There's no way of knowing what's around the corner. But as long as there's something worth fighting for, there's always a need for a ninja. And we'll be ready. Kai saids and everyone nods and looked towards the rising sun.
—
Chapter 11 edited and spell checked