CHAPTER FOUR
BATTLE SCARS
A FALSE HOPE
THE LEAVES RUSTLED QUIETLY AS THE TEAM AND HIRO MADE THEIR WAY BACK TO THE BASE CAMP. If not to keep their location hidden from any possible Stone Warriors, than to match the solemn mood that had fallen over the group of eight as they tried to find the way back to their ninth member. Dr. Julien waited for them on the beach, as he had been all night, looking out over the water. Though Hiro couldn't see his expression, he could almost feel the confusion and horror radiating off of the older man. After all, the team had had to go the long way around the island to avoid the Stone Warriors, and it had taken them hours to return, long through the night. Dr. Julien turned as they approached, immediately on guard, but relaxed when he saw that it was just the team and Hiro. Hiro held up his hand and waved.
"What was that sound? The horns?" Dr. Julien exclaimed upon seeing them.
"The Celestial Clock has reached zero," Wu said gravely as he looked up at the sky. Hiro couldn't see any land across the ocean, but he wondered if the people of Ninjago, where ever that was, were able to hear the Horns of Destruction. He wondered what they thought. Did they even know about his father, or that the Ninja had traveled to the island? "—the Final Battle between good and evil has all but begun," Wu finished, bringing Hiro back to reality.
"Now Lloyd must face his father," Misako spoke up as everyone looked to Lloyd, who hung his head. With his mask drawn and his back turned, Hiro couldn't see how he was feeling, though he gathered what he needed to know just based on Lloyd's body language, and the fact that he doubted anyone would be okay with a big responsibility on their shoulders, much less having the fate of the world relying on them.
"But where's Nya?" Dr. Julien asked, looking around for the raven haired girl.
"She's been taken by The Overlord," Wu revealed. Out of the corner of his eye, Hiro saw Kai put a hand on Jay's shoulder, comforting him. He kept quiet — the sting of not being able to save Nya was still present with Hiro, even an hour later and after having gone through every way he could have saved her. He couldn't have. But that didn't make it any easier to deal with, knowing that his father had taken a innocent person. Was there even a chance she was still alive? Hiro bite his lip, trying not to think about that kind of what if.
"She's my sister," Kai was saying. "I know her being captured is tough, but she's tougher. Tougher than most of us. We'll see her again," he assured Jay. Hiro thought it was mighty big of Kai to be comforting Jay — who was apparently in a romantic relationship with Nya, which Hiro definitely hadn't caught on to. Whoops — when Nya was Kai's sister, which probably in no way compared to a romantic relationship. He would have been impressed if he didn't think Kai was so terrible most of the time.
"Lloyd," Wu began, turning to his nephew, "your focus gives strength to invoking the power of the Golden Dragon. You cannot lose faith now. Everything rests on your shoulders," he said seriously. Hiro resisted the urge to make a comment about no pressure, of course — he felt that it wouldn't go over well. "The battle will be decided by who is willing to fight."
"You won't be alone," Kai said, drawing his sword. "I'll be right behind you. You have my Fire."
"You have my Earth," Cole agreed.
"And my Ice," Zane chimed in.
"And Lightning!" Jay finished.
After a moment of silence, the five ninja turned to look at Hiro. He crossed his arms, rolling his eyes. "Seriously? This is so stupid. Of course I'm on your side," he told them, though he looked at Lloyd as he said it. He didn't really care what the others thought — as long as Lloyd knew that Hiro would be there to fight with the good guys, that's all Hiro needed.
"We're all in this together, kid," Cole said, turning to Lloyd. Misako and Wu put their hands on Lloyd's shoulders, encouraging.
Lloyd smiled and drew his hood over his face. "What are we waiting for? Let's suit up."
As the Ninja prepared for the battle, Hiro found himself standing at the edge of the beach, searching the horizon for any sign of land. If he focused hard enough, he was pretty sure he could see the tiniest sliver of land — but then again, it could be his imagination, or a whale sitting on the surface of the water. He felt someone come to stand beside him, and when he looked over, he saw Zane. Zane didn't turn to look at him, simply looking out the same way Hiro had, seemingly lost in thought. When it became clear that Zane wasn't here to question him, Hiro relaxed.
"What's Ninjago like?" he asked, somewhat hoping Zane didn't hear him.
"It's . . . wonderful," Zane decided. "I think you'll really enjoy seeing it. It's much larger than the island, and the buildings are tall in the city. When the sun is at its peak in the sky, the light reflects around everything." He smiled wistfully. "It's our duty to protect the land from all evil. Serpentine, Stone Warriors, Garmadon . . . we haven't lost yet."
"Keep that up," Hiro encouraged.
"With you on our side, that shouldn't be a problem."
Zane finally met his eyes and smiled. Hiro nodded, understanding. Zane turned and walked away, joining the others as they prepared their assault plan for the camp. Hiro joined them soon after Zane, taking a step beside Lloyd as the team looked over a crudely drawn map of Garmadon's camp. The layout was marked in red crayon, with blue corrections scattered around. Hiro didn't even have to ask, but he did have to point out that they left out the pit of Dark Matter, which Kai begrudgingly had Jay correct. For now, the bad blood between Hiro and Kai had slowed to a simmer, both having realized that fighting wasn't worth what was at stake.
"I say we break open the gates," Cole said, "and take them all on. We'll have the element of surprise and they'll have to scramble to get us back. We fight and then get out. We leave enough time for Lloyd to defeat Garmadon, and then if the Stone Army is still a problem, we come back another day. Without their leader, they'll crumble." Hiro almost rolled his eyes at the joke.
"But if we were stealthy," Zane argued, "we stand a better chance of tricking them, like we did with the Serpentine."
"That's great, Zane," Kai cut in, "but the Stone Army isn't Serpentine. Those snakes were dumb, but they were living. We're dealing with venom possessed rocks. I don't think rumors are going to do anything."
"Yeah, Kai has a point," Jay agreed. "The Serpentine were easy to trick because they were at war with each other for so long. But the Stone Warriors don't have feelings and are controlled by Garmadon! I don't think tricking them is on the table."
"Well what if we split up? One group causes a distraction. We can separate them and fight one half, and then the other!" Lloyd suggested.
Hiro looked between the five, wondering what they were talking about with the Serpentine and rumors, but figuring it was a bad time to ask. Jay met his eyes. "Hey, Shiro, what do you say?" Hiro tried to shake his head to show he didn't have a plan, but when everyone turned to him, he felt the need to speak up. He took a deep breath.
"Okay, well . . . Kai and Jay are right. If the Stone Warriors weren't controlled by Garmadon or my father, tricking them would work. But they're not alive. Like Kai said, they're just rocks. Their purpose is to fight to the death and they rarely die. They're not going to care about insults or rumors, and even if we find a way to trick them, it won't work against the whole army." He gave Zane an apologetic shrug. Zane nodded, not looking offended. "As for a distraction . . . it would work, but splitting up the group is a bad idea. We're barely going to be able to fight them as is. Splitting up could result in death," he explained. Lloyd nodded. "Cole has the best plan. Surprise them. A sudden attack. Hit 'em quick, get out fast," he finished.
Misako smiled, nodding. "I agree. A surprise attack should surprise Garmadon, and that will make it harder for him to control the army."
Wu nodded. "So we're all in agreement?" The team voice their approval. "Then it's decided. Let's go."
"Yes! Let's go fight these guys!" Cole cheered, running ahead. Hiro looked after him.
"Is he . . . always excited to fight?" he asked.
"You have no idea," Jay sighed.
Hiro and the team took off through the woods, making a straight path toward the camp. Lloyd got ahead of Cole and began to lead the charge, the rest of the group following close behind. Hiro kept an eye out for any Stone Warriors, straining his ears for anything besides the rapid footsteps and harsh breaths of the people around him. He saw no flash of red or black through the overgrown foliage, and even the sky remained empty once they'd broken through the first line of trees. Not a single cloud had formed in the bright blue sky. It was almost eerie, if Hiro were being honest, though he didn't understand why he had a bad feeling from something so peaceful.
They approached the gates at a run. The spiked wood was build between two large rocks, with the main gate having what looked like a giant replica of the top part of Kozu's — or any of the generals' — helmet. Hiro got to the ground at Lloyd's order, squinting at the gates as the sunlight streamed into their eyes. Beyond the sharp and broken wood, a cold silence was waiting, not a single sound to be heard. This should have been peaceful. It could have even been a good sign, like maybe the Army was asleep, but considering Hiro knew that was impossible, he didn't have any hope that the silence meant anything good for him and the team.
With a signal from Lloyd, everyone ran toward the gates. Moments later, the Ninja broke them down, and Hiro and the team poured into the camp, ready to kick ass. But all that greeted them was a deserted camp site. Past the gates and over a rickety bridge, Hiro saw the remains of a large wooden structure, though he had no idea what it could have been. The Ninja pull their hoods back, everyone looking around in confusion. Hiro looked around, taking in the camp site that was so different than what he had saw the first time.
"Uh, where the heck is everybody?" Jay asked.
"Ugh, and here I was all ready to release the thunder!" Cole complained.
"The ultimate weapon is gone. We're too late!" Kai realized, running across the bridge. The team followed, Hiro close behind. "Nya? Nya!" he called, he and Jay beginning to look for the missing girl.
"What the hell is going on?" Hiro muttered, standing beside Lloyd, who looked just as lost as Hiro felt.
"I don't know," Lloyd said honestly. "I thought we had the upper hand. Where is everyone?"
Hiro looked up as the calling of a bird grabbed his attention. He recognized Zane's Falcon flying toward them, getting Zane's attention. "My Falcon friend wants to show us something," Zane revealed. Everyone ran after the bird as it flew overhead, leading them to a piece of wooden fence that had been broken through. The Falcon disappeared into the trees, but Hiro barely noticed it's disappearance as he looked at the ground, noticing the very, very large tracks that led out of the camp, through the forest, and to what Hiro assumed could only be the beach on the other side of the island.
"That's one big weapon," Lloyd said nervously as they looked at the trees that had been uprooted and pushed to the side.
"It appears to be heading toward the coast," Zane pointed out.
"But why? Wouldn't he try to use it on us?" Lloyd asked, frowning. He moved aside as Wu stepped beside him.
"Not on us. On Ninjago. He always wanted to turn our world into his own image. Now we know how it will be done."
Hiro frowned, taking a few steps toward the fallen trees. He couldn't imagine what scale a weapon would have to be to do this much damage to trees that had stood for centuries. He didn't want to know, if he was being honest. Pushing people aside, burning them from the inside-out, making them stop in their tracks — that was easy. But he couldn't hurt things that weren't alive. He supposed he would be able to lift vehicles into the air, but with the size that the weapon seemed to be, he wasn't sure if he had the strength to lift it even a centimeter, much less be able to do something useful to it.
"We have to make sure my father never fire that weapon," Lloyd said, beginning to run. Hiro pulled himself away from the trees, taking off after him. He was confused when everyone slowed to a stop, but understood when he turned and saw Zane and his father speaking. Hiro looked back toward the woods, wondering if he should go. One look from Lloyd put a stop to that as Hiro remembered that he was fighting with the team now. Leaving them behind wouldn't do him any good.
Once Zane returned, they continued to run along the route of the tracks. Hiro kept in pace with Lloyd and Zane, focusing on his breathing and not how his legs were starting to burn. When he'd used his powers to find the Clock, he'd felt invincible — now, he just felt tired, and he couldn't understand why. Maybe if he tried to find the weapon's energy, he'd regain his strength, or whatever it was that allowed him to run halfway across an island without losing his breath, but he didn't want to risk tiring himself out even more when he knew he still had a fight to get through. The sun climbed higher into the sky, warming the earth and turning the air hot and humid.
Eventually, Jay broke the tense quiet. "Um, is anyone else thinking about how this might be our final fight together?" he asked, which definitely weren't the words of encouragement that Hiro needed to hear. Coupled with the rest of the Ninja voicing their agreement, and Hiro felt like they were all feeling a little hopeless.
"We've come a long way," Kai mused. "It wasn't that long ago when Sensei first found us."
"Hey," Jay said, chuckling a bit, "you remember that time Kai thought he was the Green Ninja?" The team, besides Kai, laughed. Hiro kept quiet, though he wondered how Kai thought that. Hiro assumed they had all been assigned their colors at the start, and that there was no changing it. What did the Green Ninja title symbolize, really? Hiro just thought it was Lloyd's color, and he had the unfortunate luck of having to defeat his father. Hiro never assumed that being the Green Ninja and killing evil were connected.
"Or what about when the Hypnobrai hypnotized Cole, and we had to fight him?" Zane suggested, sending the group into a fit of giggles.
"Hypnobrai?" Hiro questioned quietly. Hiro had never heard such a weird name before. Then again, considering what his name was, he supposed he couldn't be the one to judge.
"We should've just kicked his butt!" Kai taunted.
"You had to destroy my tree house," Lloyd teased. He looked at Hiro, whose brows were furrowed in confusion, and chuckled. "I'll tell you later," he promised. Hiro nodded, though he felt that the promise was made on emptiness. Lloyd had no idea if there would be a later.
"Or how about the time Sensei came out of the guts of the Devourer's belly," Zane began, already getting amused groans from the boys, "drinking tea?"
"He was eaten by the Devourer?" Hiro asked Lloyd quietly, remembering the giant snake from Lloyd's tale. He spared a glance at Wu to make sure he didn't overhear. Lloyd nodded, promising to elaborate later. There was that word again, the one Hiro didn't like.
"Yeah, I thought he was a goner!" Jay exclaimed.
"Wrong again, Mr. Emptyhead!" Wu scolded, hitting Jay on the back of the head with his staff.
Hiro blinked, trying to figure out how Wu had gotten from behind the group to suddenly in front of Lloyd. Maybe he had underestimated Wu's strength and agility because he was a couple centuries old (allegedly) (most definitely) (right?). He shook his head, looking forward. He caught a dark shape darting out in front of them and skidded to a stop, grabbing Lloyd's arm and pulling him back. Lloyd grunted, turning to look at Hiro with a confused expression, before Cole called for everyone to stop, announcing that something was wrong.
"Someone just ran by," Hiro told them, his voice sounding louder now that no one was moving.
"What? Where?" Jay asked, voice a pitch higher, looking around for the shape Hiro had seen.
A twig snapped. Hiro turned his gaze to the left, letting go of Lloyd's arm to hold up his hands, scowling at the shadows of the trees that hid the intruder. "I sense an evil presence," Zane told them. The group spun in circles, everyone looking for the evil Zane had sensed. Up above, the leaves in trees rattled, the aggressor moving impossibly fast.
One moment, Hiro and the team were looking up, trying to find the figure. The next, Cole shouted out, hand going to his face. In front of him, a small tornado spun rapidly, scarlet red and bright gold. Quick as could be, it hit Lloyd, sending him to the ground. Hiro helped him up, glaring at the tornado until it finally came to a stop, revealing Nya. Except it wasn't Nya. The Nya that Hiro knew didn't have grey skin, bright purple eyes, or a snarl that could scare even a lion away. She had been infected with Dark Matter.
Wu held up his hands to stop Jay and Kai from running to her. "He must've used the ultimate weapon to turn her into his own evil image," Misako explained. Nya growled at her, staying in a fighting stance but not approaching them. She seemed to be calculating her odds against five Ninja, one sensei, one historian, and Hiro.
"Ultimate weapon? Isn't that what the Dark Matter was for?" Cole asked, looking at Hiro. He seemed to be asking a silent question.
Hiro groaned. "I was made, not infected. There's a huge difference."
"Clearly!" Jay cried out, motioning to his now-evil girlfriend.
"Garmadon must have sent her to slow us down," Wu guessed. Nya reached behind her and revealed that she had a spiked ball at the end of a chain. "We have to stop them from firing that weapon." Nya snarled, holding her weapon above her head and beginning to swing it.
"What are we supposed to do?" Cole asked desperately. "Use our Elemental powers on her?"
"No!" Jay objected. "I don't want to hurt her!"
"Jay's right," Kai agreed. "We just have to find a way to keep her from—" He was cut off as Nya threw the spiked ball at his face, sending him to the ground. Hiro winced in horror and sympathy, amazed when Kai weakly continued with, ". . . hurting us."
"How the hell is he not dead?" he muttered to Cole, who shrugged, just as surprised. Reluctantly, Hiro offered a hand to Kai, who took it without noticing who was helping him. Eyes closed, he began spinning in circles, clutching his head, but for someone who was just hit in the face with spikes, he seemed relatively unharmed. Hiro moved closer to the front of the group, hoping Kai wouldn't figure out who had helped him.
"Well we should think of something before Garmadon fires that weapon," Zane said.
"Lloyd," Cole said immediately, "you go up ahead with Sensei, Misako, and Shiro, while we take care of Nya."
"But you said you'd always be behind me!" Lloyd exclaimed, sounding nervous.
"We will be," Kai promised. "We'll catch up as soon as we can." Hiro watched Jay use his own tornado-power — something he would later learn was called Spinjitzu, which finally put an image to the name he had heard his entire life — to sneak over to Nya. As he came up behind her, he was hit in the chest with the ball. He clutched it, wheezing something that Hiro couldn't hear.
"The Ninja are right," Wu said. "We must go."
Lloyd turned to Hiro, who looked from Nya to the rest of the Ninja. He groaned, unable to believe what he was about to do. "I'll be there to help. But I think I'm needed here," he told Lloyd, who hesitated. The blond squared his shoulders and nodded before turning to run with Wu and Misako. Hiro watched him go, worried and surprised he had actually managed to go through with his thoughts. Lloyd needed him, yes — but if the Green Ninja was destined to defeat the Dark Lord, then Hiro was needed elsewhere. Mainly, he was needed by the Ninja, who rushed at the raven haired girl once Cole had gotten her weapon away from her.
Cole launched himself into the air, looking like he was about to tackle her, but Nya held out her hand, stopping him in mid-air. Hiro sighed heavily, knowing the fight just got harder. He moved aside as she knocked Cole into the others, all the Ninja falling into a heap.
"Can't you stop her?" Kai asked him.
Hiro held out his hands. Physically stopping Nya proved to be impossible. Technically speaking, she wasn't alive anymore. And hurting her, even if he was able to use his Biokinesis on her, was out of the question. Which only left lifting her into the air and moving her over the heads of the team, bringing her further away from Lloyd, Wu, and Misako before he threw her back toward the trees. She did a flip mid-air and landed on her feet, which Hiro felt was a little unfair of her.
She growled, rushing at the team. Hiro ducked as she jumped at him, holding her foot out to kick him. He rolled under her and came back on his feet, really wishing his father had just sent a regular Stone Warrior to stop them. Hiro wouldn't feel bad for hurting a Stone Warrior.
"Ice!" Zane shouted, drawing his sword and pointing it at the ground below her. She jumped out of the way. The ice hit the dirt and spread slowly across it before coming to a stop a few feet away from her. Nya jumped up and bared her teeth at him. Zane sighed. "Oops?"
In the second that Hiro took his eyes off her, Nya got the jump on him, sending him to the ground. She flipped away and used her Spinjitzu to knock down a tree, trapping Kai and Jay beneath the trunk. Hiro held up his hands, but she threw out her own, sending him flying into sharp shrubs. He growled, pushing himself to his feet and ignoring the miniature stinging pains that came from different parts of his body. Nya lunged at Cole, using her Spinjitzu. When she stopped, Cole was wrapped up in her flail. He sighed, wondering what they were going to do. They couldn't hurt her. He had to save his strength. If he kept using his powers to fight Nya, he wouldn't be strong enough to help Lloyd. But if he couldn't use his powers, what use was he?
He couldn't save Nya once. Now he was going to fail her again.
"We have to help them!" Kai shouted, pulling himself out from under the tree.
"Tell that to your sister! It's five against one and I think she's winning!" Cole snapped at him, hanging upside down against a rock.
"Perhaps we can use our powers, but without hurting her," Zane suggested. He drew his sword and sent a blast of ice toward the chain of Nya's weapon. It snapped, sending her flying backward and freeing Cole from her trap. The four rushed at her, Hiro quickly joining them. They came to a stop a few feet away when Nya threw daggers at them. Hiro turned his head, only to realize that Jay had blocked the knives with a force field.
"We need momentum," Zane realized. "Hiro, push her back!" Hiro didn't question his choice. He threw out his hands and sent Nya flying back toward the forest, the way Lloyd, Wu, and Misako had gone. Nya snarled at him and began to run toward them.
"Cole, can you blind her for a sec?" Jay asked. Cole complied, using his blade to send dust in her direction.
"Ah!" Nya shouted, covering her eyes as she came to a stop. Hiro understood Zane's request, then — if she hadn't been running, she would have been able to cover her eyes sooner and wouldn't have been blinded by the dirt. "My eyes! I can't see!"
"She can talk?" Hiro demanded, having thought that all she could do was growl at them.
"Kai, quick! Cut that tree!" Jay ordered. Kai sent a burst of fire toward the palm tree Nya spun under in her desperation to clear her eyes.
"I know where you're heading!" Zane exclaimed, freezing the tree, leaving Nya trapped inside the ice dome.
With her trapped, Hiro took off for the beach, not realizing that the Ninja had stayed behind to bid Nya farewell. He followed the tracks, wishing he could go faster. They had already wasted so much time, and he feared they would be too late to help Lloyd. Zane quickly caught up with him, with the other three falling a little behind. Hiro supposed that's what happened when a robot and a desperate, powerful teenager had somewhere to be.
It seemed like there was nothing but trees for miles. Hiro huffed, forcing himself to go faster. But then he unwillingly froze, blood going cold as thunder crackled through the air. He felt like all the air had been pulled out of his lungs. Zane skidded to a stop, turning to face him with furrowed brows. Kai, Cole, and Jay caught up to them. "Shiro?" Cole asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. "What is it?"
"We don't have time for this," Kai snapped. Hiro knew that his harsh words weren't just because of who he was talking to — it was because they were on a time crunch. He took no offense with Kai's anger. But how could Hiro explain that their time has already run out?
"He's winning," Hiro said simply. Without waiting for a reply, he began running again.
Finally — finally — they broke through the line of trees. Hiro didn't pay attention to anything but Lloyd, quickly rushing to join his side. But when he finally looked up, he stifled a gasp. A bight white beam was hitting Garmadon on top of the ultimate weapon, creating a strong wind that was blowing leaves in different directions. Garmadon was screaming as he was hit, clearly in agony. Hiro shielded his eyes against the light, squinting to see what was going on.
"Holy unholy!" Jay exclaimed, horrified.
"Holy shit!" Hiro countered, eyes widening.
Garmadon's hands were turning to sharp, black claws. his mouth growing into a dragon snout with sharp, black teeth. His limbs began to lengthen, and the demented laughter of The Overlord soon issued from his newly-reptilian mouth. When Garmadon looked up, coming to stand on the edge of the ultimate weapon, his eyes were bright purple, confirming Hiro's worst fears — his father now had a physical body. The metamorphosis had begun. Garmadon no longer existed.
"Father!" Lloyd cried, taking a step forward. Without thinking, Hiro used his power to stop him, but it went unnoticed as Wu pulled Lloyd back.
"No, Lloyd. That is no longer your father," Wu said gravely.
"But what about the prophecy?" Lloyd asked desperately. "It said I had to face my father!"
"No, it said you had to defeat the Dark Lord," Hiro countered. "Did none of you seriously think there was other evil in the world?"
"It hadn't crossed our minds," Misako defended. "Besides, he still must face his father, but now The Overlord is possessing him. Unlike Garmadon, The Overlord will show no mercy," she said, looking at Lloyd.
The Ninja began to voice their support for Lloyd, encouraging him. Hiro moved away as he noticed Stone Warriors running at the team, focusing on the one closest. He picked it up and sent it flying back into its comrades. He ran closer to the ultimate weapon and turned just as Lloyd shot a ball of green fire toward the soldiers. The fire spread in a ring around the Army, keeping them trapped as the Ninja began to bring hell down upon them. Hiro grinned, turning to see one of the Stone Warrior bikes coming toward him. He let his power wrap around the bike before throwing it toward the fire, seeing that none of the team was in range. The car broke upon impact, a fire starting near the Stone Warrior that had been driving it.
He turned just in time for Wu to kick Kozu into the empty canon. A second later, he was fired out of it, flying over the Endless Sea, and probably landing who knows where. Hiro snickered, shaking his head. His eyes were drawn to Lloyd, who jumped up to the top of the ultimate weapon. He shouted something that Hiro couldn't hear over the fighting, but he had to assume it was something cool and very frightening. Knowing Lloyd, he couldn't hope too much.
He dove back into the fight, pushing past Stone Warriors and sending others flying into the ocean. He was beginning to tire. How long ago had he fully slept? It had been over a day, but less than two. He needed to save his energy, but with so many Warriors, it was difficult not to use his powers. He found himself standing at Cole's side, who was in an area with less fighting. He made a noise of approval when Lloyd hit The Overlord with a blast of green energy. Very quickly, the rest of the Ninja joined Cole and Hiro, seeing that the Stone Warriors had also stopped fighting, everyone watching the Final Battle begin to play out.
Hiro gasped as he saw his father stand, holding out his four arms as four balls of purple energy began to form. He sent them toward Lloyd, who jumped out of the way. He wasn't quick enough to dodge the punch that sent him flying across the beach, hitting the ground multiple times before he came to a stop. As Hiro saw his father use his energy to fly down to Lloyd, he took a quick step in the same direction. Suddenly, a strong pair of arms wrapped around him, holding him back. Hiro hissed, struggling in Cole's grip. "Let me go!" he ordered.
"The Battle is between Lloyd and The Overlord," Wu said. "We cannot intervene."
"Bullshit!" Hiro snarled. He elbowed Cole, who let him go with a grunt, but he was quickly grabbed by Kai and Jay. "Seriously?"
"Look!" Zane shouted, pointing in Lloyd and The Overlord's direction. Lloyd was on his feet, jumping out of the way of another energy blast. He came to a stop with his back facing the water. He sent a blast of green energy toward The Overlord, pushing him back so far into the woods that Hiro assumed a hole would have been burned into his father's chest.
"Yes!" Jay cheered, letting go of Hiro's arm. A second later, The Overlord flew over the trees, unharmed. "No!"
The Overlord slammed into Lloyd, sending dust flying everywhere. Hiro shielded his eyes, only opening them when he felt it was safe to see. By that point, he saw Lloyd shoot a blast of energy at The Overlord, then quickly rush at him, beginning to fight. He held his breath, his chest tight with worry as another energy blast was sent, this time being blocked by a purple force field. Kai had let go of his arm, leaving Hiro free to help Lloyd. But he stayed rooted in place, taking Wu's words to heart. This wasn't his battle, not anymore. It was Lloyd's.
Both of their energy blasts met in the middle, The Overlord's raspy laughter filling the air. For the briefest moment, Garmadon appeared, the dragon image fading. The body flashed from Garmadon to The Overlord rapidly, both fighting for control. Hiro's eyes widened, realizing that Garmadon had never died during the transformation. He was still there.
And then just as suddenly, he wasn't.
With a final burst of energy, The Overlord overtook Lloyd's power. A purple wall surrounded Lloyd as Hiro's father lifted him into the air. Hiro gasped as his father sent Lloyd flying across the beach, like he had done before, only this time Lloyd didn't get up.
Hiro's mind went blank. He didn't hear Wu and Misako cry out for Lloyd. He didn't feel the Ninja reaching for him. He just found himself in front of his father, his chest filled with white hot rage. Years of abuse, neglect, and torment came to mind, but the final straw was hurting Lloyd. Final Battle or not, Destiny or otherwise, Hiro was not going to allow his father to walk away without feeling the same pain Hiro had felt for so many years.
"Avashiro," The Overlord sneered, seeing his son come to stand in front of him. Hiro threw out his hands, his power wrapping around his father's new body. The Overlord snarled, eyes boring into Hiro's. Hiro glared right back, lifting his arms slightly. His father's feet left the ground. "Stop!" he hissed, and for a moment Hiro faltered, breath stilling in his chest. "Don't you want to be on the winning side, son?"
Hiro's blood went cold. The Overlord had never called him that before, son. Countless years on the island and in darkness, and Hiro had never once heard that name from his father's mouth, much less in such a caring way. He hesitated, keeping his father in the air. The Overlord bared his teeth, which Hiro assumed was his way of smiling.
"That's right. Stop this nonsense. Put me down. Come to my side. All you have to do is kill the Ninja." Hiro's eyes involuntarily shifted toward Kai and Jay, who had run closer to the fight, probably in an effort to stop Hiro from approaching The Overlord. Even though his face was covered, Hiro could sense that Kai was scowling at him, hearing The Overlord's words. "Or even just one. The red one. I can sense his hatred. I know you can, too." Hiro looked back at his father, eyes narrowed. He kept quiet. "They don't care for you, Avashiro. If they did, they wouldn't doubt you. They can see your power, and yet they don't want you on their side. Isn't that tragic? They would never care about you the way I do."
Hiro scoffed. "You, care about me? I guess I didn't see that through the years of neglect." He stretched his hands out further, willing his power to heat up. His father hissed as a burning sensation spread throughout his body.
"Avashiro," The Overlord pleaded. "I am your creator. I should mean more to you than those who will kill you when they get the chance!"
The Overlord would have been right, in another life. And maybe he could've convinced Hiro to join his side with the right words and a bit more time. But then Hiro started to feel drowsy, and black began to take over his vision, the world flashing in and our. For the briefest moment, fear overtook his determination, and he almost fled. But then he remembered Lloyd, who had been hurt by a fight that Hiro could've finished himself as a child. Hiro moved his arms up, raising his father higher. The black vision began to disappear as he regained his strength. The Overlord had made the wrong move, trying to put Hiro back into his prison. Hiro wasn't going to go back without a fight.
"Nice try, Dad," Hiro sneered, "but that won't work on me. I won't bend to your will again."
He curled his fists. The Overlord screamed as he began to get crushed from the inside, blood appearing at the corners of his mouth. Hiro turned his head to glare at the ground, not wanting to see the aftermath, and definitely not wanting to see the expressions on the Ninja's faces. What were they going to think? That he was dangerous? That he was evil? He was about to kill someone. Sure, he was about to kill The Overlord, but he was still going to kill. He doubted they'd ever killed before.
"Shiro!" Jay cheered. Hiro looked up at him, surprised, and quickly realized that Jay hadn't been cheering at all. He was pointing behind Hiro, trying to warn him, but Hiro realized this a second too late. He turned his head just as a Stone Warrior ran at him.
Hiro didn't register the pain. He understood that he had just been stabbed with a very sharp sword, but the adrenaline blocked the pain. Kai jumped in, kicking the Stone Warrior away, but the damage was done. Hiro's concentration broke, and a second later he found himself high in the air, surrounded by purple energy. He didn't have time to process his height before he felt his stomach drop, the same way it had on the cliff just hours ago. He landed on his back with a breathless grunt, the wind knocked out of his body. He looked up at the dark sky, wide as he gasped for air like a fish out of water. Misako came into his view, kneeling at his side. He was dimly aware of her telling him to stay down.
The pain stuck, then. A burning pain, followed by the feeling of sand getting into his wound. Hiro felt blood on his back, sticky and attracting more sand. He tried to breath, but it felt like a chore. He wasn't sure if he could stand.
"Avashiro," Misako said. Hiro closed his eyes. He felt a gentle slap on his face and opened his eyes again, breathing heavily. "Stay awake, okay? Your fight isn't over."
"L— Lloyd," Hiro gasped, trying to push himself up. It took all his strength to talk. Even if Misako hadn't pushed him down again, it wouldn't have mattered. His arms were too weak to carry him. "Is Lloyd—"
"He's fine," Misako snapped. "Stop talking. Save your strength!" Even though she tried to sound authoritative, he sensed the worry in her voice. She looked up quickly, and he wondered what she was seeing that made her look so scared. A second later, a whistling sound filled the air, but Hiro didn't know if it was him hearing things or one of his father's weapons being fired.
Hiro heard a crash only seconds later. He turned his head, seeing that the Bounty was now on the sand, Dr. Julien having crashed it, successfully blocking the attack. He placed his hands in the sand, using everything he had left in him to push himself into a sitting position. He must have blacked out for a few seconds, because one moment it was only him and Misako, and the next Dr. Julien was kneeling in front of him, saying words that Hiro couldn't hear. He could hear a high pitched ringing, growing louder with every passing second.
Dr. Julien disappeared. A moment later, a burning pain raced up Hiro's face, his nerves crying out as Dr. Julien touched the wound. Hiro clamped down on his bottom lip, a small noise of pain escaping his mouth before he could stop it. He closed his eyes and opened them slowly, trying to steady his breathing. Slowly, his hearing came back to him — he could hear Dr. Julien telling him to stay still. The Ninja had come to join the adults, Hiro, and Lloyd, all of them stunned into silence. The Overlord and Stone Army was gone — one moment there, the next only an empty beach in their place. Hiro wondered what happened. Then he realized he didn't care.
He turned his head, trying to see Lloyd. He could, just barely — with Cole and Jay blocking his view, he could only see that Lloyd was knocked out. Thankfully, he seemed unharmed besides that, though it was difficult for Hiro to tell. Zane had disappeared, but moments later Hiro saw him exiting the now-broken Bounty, carrying medical supplies and what looked like a bright white shirt. Hiro looked around for Kai, but couldn't see him. He assumed Kai was out of his vision's reach, and he wasn't willing to turn even further to spot him.
"This is bad," Dr. Julien muttered, which wasn't something Hiro wanted to hear.
"What can we do?" Misako asked him, her voice heavy with worry.
"We'll have to cauterize it," Dr. Julien told her. She sucked in a sharp breath. A moment later, she stood in front of Hiro. She kneeled, using her hand to gently raise his head so he could look at her.
"Avashiro—"
"Do it."
She frowned. "I don't think you understand. Kai has so—"
"Just make it stop," Hiro pleaded quietly, not wanting the others to hear how weak he sounded. After a moment of hesitation, she nodded, getting to her feet. Hiro heard shuffling going on behind him, and then heard Kai muttering under his breath. Dr. Julien began showing him how to cauterize the wound. Hiro tried to block everything out, focusing on his breathing. No worry. No stress. No pain. Just breathing. Deep breath in, deep breath out, and—
"Fuck," Hiro hissed, clenching his fists in the sand, trying to dig his nails into his palms as a burning pain, more agonizing that anything Hiro had ever felt, spread across his body, setting his nerves on fire — literally. Hiro closed his eyes tightly, tears still managing to shed themselves even as he tried to stop them. He couldn't move — he felt like if he did, Kai's power would burn the wrong spot. Hiro swallowed back his bile, his breathing short in his chest, desperate to breath.
Moments later, something cold was placed against his back. Hiro released all the air he had been holding, relief spreading through his body. Zane was at his side, pressing an ice pack against his shoulder. Hiro muttered his thanks, unable to speak above a whisper.
Dr. Julien kneeled in front of Hiro. "Can you breath?" Hiro nodded. "Can you feel the ice?" Another nod. Dr. Julien sighed, looking like he wanted to say more. Then he got up and moved over to Lloyd to begin checking on him. Misako returned to Lloyd's side and was replaced by Wu, who came to sit beside Hiro.
"Lloyd said—" Hiro tried, voice rough. He coughed, then winced. He took a deep breath. "Lloyd. Said. That." He blinked slowly, trying to regain his energy. "Dr. Julien isn't a medical. Doctor."
Wu chuckled, clearly trying to lighten the mood. "He's had years of practice," Wu promised. "You will heal."
"Lloyd?"
"He will, as well," Wu assured. "Today we lost the battle. But we did not lose one of us. And that is a victory in and of itself."
"But . . . my father. Ninjago," Hiro pointed out, tears welling in his eyes. "How did we fail? What about Destiny?" he asked. Then again, Hiro was a Destiny defied incarnate. If he was alive, who was to say that evil wouldn't win? "What do we do?"
"Shiro," Zane chided, lowering the ice pack to grab a blanket beside him. Hiro sucked in a sharp breath as the feeling of being burned returned. Zane quickly wrapped a blanket around Hiro's shoulders, then put the ice pack underneath, securing it. That was the moment Hiro realized the back of his shirt had been cut open to help with the wound. He wasn't as upset as he could have been. The shirt was probably cut up and covered in blood anyway. "You need to rest. Questions will get us nowhere. But regaining out strength will."
"Zane is right," Wu agreed. "We are all tired. You must rest."
"How can I rest when everything is going wrong?" Hiro pleaded, wanting an answer. After a moment, he laid back in the sand, looking up at the morning sky. "Wake me when Lloyd wakes up," he ordered, closing his eyes.
Almost immediately, his exhaustion overtook him. He didn't hear Wu and Zane agree to his request. But if he was being honest, he didn't care if they complied at all. He just wanted to sleep. Hopefully when he woke up, everything would have just been a dream. Nya would still be with them. The Battle would have been won. He hoped this would all turn out to be nothing but a terrible nightmare.
But Hiro hadn't had hope for a long time. Asking for it now was an almost impossible request.