I woke up in Lloyd's arms, my back against his chest. I sensed he was awake, so I turn to face him. The sunlight was peaking through his mop of blond hair; his green eyes still narrow from sleep.

"Good morning," Lloyd says quietly, kissing my forehead.

"Morning," I murmur, burying my head into his chest.

"Sleep well?" He asks. I nod.

"Me too," he responds, repositioning himself so that he was lying on his back. I turn to the side and place my head atop his stomach, staring at the ceiling.

Someone knocks on the door. "Can I come in? It's Kai."

"Yeah," I shout.

Kai peaks is head through the door, suddenly I remember that Lloyd and I are currently not wearing any shirts.

"The rest of the guys are at the beach testing out our new weapons," he says, grinning. "Wanna come out?"

"Yeah, one sec," I say. Kai nods and leaves the room, I suppose he didn't notice.

Lloyd and I sit up.

"You guys have fun at the beach," Lloyd mumbles. I frown.

"You okay? You know I rather stay in here but we can't, it'll be suspicious if we're nowhere to be seen," I say.

"I know, it's not that..." Lloyd says, looking at his hands.

"Then what is it?"

He sighs. "I have to fight my father today, and you all are on the beach having fun."

I had forgotten that not only does Lloyd have to battle the ultimate evil and win, he had to battle his father.

"I'm sorry, Lloyd. I'd forgotten that Garmadon is more to you than he is to us."

Lloyd's eyes darken. "Just because he's my father doesn't mean I can't win," he says, his voice unsteady.

"I know that."

"You don't understand," he mumbles. "None of you do."

"I'm trying to, Lloyd," I say calmly.

He takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I'm just so stressed," Lloyd says.

I wrap my arms around him. "I know. We're going to be at your side, every step of the way."

"I don't want to fail Ninjago," he mumbles.

"And you won't. You have immense power, Lloyd."

"But what if I can't fight my father? What if I hesitate? I don't want to let anyone down. I don't want to let you down."

"Lloyd Garmadon, there is nothing you can do to ever let me down. Believe in yourself, that's the first step," I say, looking into his eyes. He nods.

"Thank you, El."

I nod and kiss his forehead. "Although, I much rather stay in here."

He grins and kisses my cheek. "You know we can't do that. Come on, I'm hungry."

The two of us exit the bedroom—after getting dressed, of course—and head towards the kitchen for some breakfast.

"It's about time the two of you got up," Misako says. I blush, I didn't want her to know I spent the night with her son, but she didn't seem to mind.

After a quick meal, Lloyd and I head outside to meet our friends.

"El!" Cole shouts. "You coming?"

"No, sorry!" I shout back.

Lloyd looks at me confusingly. "Go with them, I'm fine," he says.

"You sure? I can stay if-"

"Just kidding, she's coming!" Lloyd shouts, interrupting me.

He smirks. "Looks like you have to go now."

I roll my eyes. "You're confusing."

"As are you."

I scoff and walk away, smiling.

"Order up! Coconut creme pie!" Kai shouts, shooting a flame to the coconut that was flying through the air. It explodes on contact.

I smirk. "Way to frighten the enemy."

"Like you could do any better!"

"I'd be shocked if you could!" Jay exclaims, sending a burst of lighting at the coconut. I roll my eyes.

"How about this will be a breeze?"

"Eh, it's alright," Cole says.

"Throw me one, Cole," Kai says. Cole nods and launches another coconut in the air.

"Eat my di-"

"Enough!" Sensei Wu shouts, interrupting Kai. Probably for the better good.

"Are you all trying to reveal our location?" He scowls.

"Sorry Sensei, we were just testing our new Elemental Blades," Kai says.

"Be careful of overconfidence, ninja," Wu says sternly. "You may be strong, but only Lloyd has the power to defeat the Overlord."

"Yes, Sensei," we all say.

"Whoops," Cole mutters.

"We should probably head back," Zane suggests.

As we approach everyone else, we hear Misako talk about a way that Lloyd didn't have to fight.

"Woah, this I've gotta hear," Cole says.

"The scrolls say that once the helmet is removed from the Celestial Clock, the countdown to the final battle will begin. But there is nothing about what would happen if we were to return the helmet to the clock," Misako explains.

"Interesting. Return the helmet, pause the clock," Sensei Wu says.

"And the final battle never starts!" Lloyd adds.

"That sounds great and all, but how are we going to get past the whole army then pluck the helmet off his head?" Kai asks.

"My brother is right," Nya says. "They're good, but not that good."

"I know. And that's why I'll do it," Misako says. "I'll just need a bit of assistance."

The guys and I follow Misako, Lloyd following too. But Sensei stops him from coming, much to Lloyd's disapproval.

-

"These are really uncomfortable," I mumble, my voice barely heard from beneath the Stone Samurai armor.

"Shush, we can't get caught," Kai says.

We were all dressed up as Stone Warriors. Kai and Zane carried Misako, wrapped in rope, as a 'prisoner'.

"Unhand me!" Misako shouts as we step inside the gates.

The Stone Warrior leader walks up to us shouting angrily in their foreign language.

"Uh, what?" Cole mutters.

"Someone say something!" Jay whispers.

The others begin to shout, muttering a bunch of nonsense. I try not to laugh as the Stone General looks at them with question.

"That's right, you caught me," Misako says, interrupting us. She walks up the the general. "But I'll never tell you where the ninja are, and I won't saying anything until you take me to Garmadon!"

The general growls and grabs Misako, dragging her to where I can only assume Garmadon was located. I hope she stays safe, but I know she'll be okay.

-

I hum quietly, feeling bored as ever.

"How about, it's ice to see you?" Zane says.

"I don't know, I feel like you can do better," Jay says.

"I swear I've heard that from somewhere," Cole adds.

Kai groans. "I feel like a clunky mule in this thing."

"It's not that bad," Cole says. Kai glares at him.

"Yeah. It really brings out your eyes, Kai," I say. Kai rolls his eyes.

"Guys, we've got incoming," Jay mumbles.

The Stone General walks up to us and starts yelling and pointing.

"I think he wants us to get to work," Zane whispers.

He yells again and we all scramble to the large tower thing.

"What is that thing?" Cole asks.

"It must be the unspeakable weapon," Zane responds.

"Doesn't anyone think it's wrong that we're helping them build this? Shouldn't we be destroying it or something?" I ask.

"El's right, this doesn't sit right with me." Kai says.

"Well we can't break character," Cole says. He looks towards the many stairs, "We better start climbing."

We pass by many other Stone Warriors, each carrying a tray of Dark Matter like us.

"Um, was that a cannon?" Jay asks, looking back towards the metal sticking out of the wood.

"What do you think it's for?" Kai asks.

"Us," I respond, a matter of factly.

Another warrior comes up to us, and starts yelling at Cole. The Stone figure hits him, and Cole glares, "Go hit someone your own size, half stack!" Cole knocks him off the tower, sending him tumbling to the ground.

"Ninjago!" We yell, changing out of the armor.

The Stone Warriors run towards us, swords and shields in hand.

"At least we get to break the ice!" Zane shouts, hitting the group with ice from his blade.

"Nice one, Zane!" Kai says.

Jay sends a bolt of lightning at another group, knocking them over the side.

A strong gust of wind from my blade knocks another group of warriors down across from us.

"Let's get Misako and get out of here!" Kai shouts.

We jump down from the weapon, and run towards Misako, meeting each other half way.

"You got the helmet!" Zane says.

"And all of you have been spotted," she responds.

"It was Cole's fault!" Jay exclaims.

"I've had a rough day," Cole defends.

"Guys," I say, grabbing their shoulders so they face behind them. "What is that?"

A huge robotic warrior was approaching us, and Garmadon was in control. He laughs and swings his ginormous sword towards us. We scatter away just in time, but he was ready for another blow.

"We need to return the helmet quick!" Misako shouts.

"I got it!" Jay yells, running towards Garmadon at full speed. He jumps, his Elemental Blade in hand, and gets ready to shock the robot. But Garmadon easily swats Jay out of the air as if he was a fly.

Cole takes a step towards him and thrusts his blade into the ground, sending quakes into Garmadon's direction. He dodges them, cackling loudly.

"My turn," I mutter. I close my eyes for a quick second and throw my blade towards the robot. The blade wedges itself between it's armor and a strong wind pushes Garmadon back. He frowns, but regains composure after he realizes it only made him stumble a bit. Garmadon grins and takes the blade out of the robot's armor. He throws it to the side carelessly.

"Anyone have any other ideas?" I shout, backing up towards everyone else.

"Woah!" Kai shouts. Nya bursts through the ground where Kai was standing, driving the new vehicle Zane's father had built.

She speeds towards Garmadon and hits his legs, sending him toppling over. Nya drives back towards us and waves.

"Hey, guys!" She says.

"How did you know we needed your help?" Jay asks.

"Look up." Zane's falcon was soaring above us. It sends a friendly cry then flies away.

"Get in!" Nya shouts.

We jump into it and she drives back underground through the way she came.

Jay puts the helmet on. Nya watches in the mirror and frowns.

"Is that smart? If it turns you evil, we're kicking you out," she says.

"Is that even possible?" Jay asks, chuckling sheepishly and taking the helmet off.

Sensei Wu calls us, and he appears on the screen. "Did we get the helmet?"

"We did," Nya responds.

"Good. We'll meet you at the clock."

I look back to see if anyone was following us. Sure enough, one of the Stone Warrior's vehicles were close behind us.

"We've got company!" I shout. As I say this, a Stone Warrior jumps on top of the roof.

"Uh, sis, can we go any faster?" Kai asks.

"This is as fast as it goes!" Nya shouts.

"It's not fast enough!" Zane says.

The vehicle behind us bumps into us, so Nya turns up, driving us back to the surface.

They lose us for a bit, and we earn a head start on the clock.

"Garmadon!" Zane shouts, right when we thought we had it.

Nya takes several sharp turns, trying to lose Garmadon from behind us.

"Have we lost him?" She asks.

"Not exactly," Kai says. Garmadon was still hot on our trail.

He picks the vehicle up, and shakes it. We all scream, shaking from side to side as Garmadon holds us. He throws the vehicle and we hit a tree, causing branches and leaves to fall on top of the roof.

We were stuck inside the car, unable to get out as the windows were jammed from the fall.

Garmadon runs towards us and picks us up again. "I finally have you!" He says, grinning widely.

"Let them go!"

A beam of green light hits Garmadon's robot in the chest. He slams into a tree, dropping us in the process.

We jump out of the damaged vehicle, and Lloyd walks out from the brush.

Garmadon stumbles out from the metal debris, coughing and walking wearily.

I watch Lloyd take a deep breath and approach his father.

"Holy shit! Lloyd and Garmadon are about to fight!" Jay exclaims. "Take the shot!"

"He's vulnerable!" Cole shouts.

"Do not hesitate!" Zane yells.

"Strike now!" Kai says.

Lloyd looks back towards us and we lock eyes.

"You can do it, Lloyd! We're all here for you!" I shout. He looks back towards his father.

"I'm sorry, father, you leave me no choice," Lloyd says as he begins to summon a green sphere. "It is our destiny."

The orb began to grow bigger and brighter. Lloyd takes one last look at Garmadon, and the orb disappears.

No.

"They're coming," Misako warns.

"We need to move, Lloyd. Now!" Nya calls. Lloyd nods and jumps in, and Nya drives us away.

We reach the Celestial Clock, Wu waiting for us there. We all stand in marvel at the huge clock, it's gears and artwork spinning with a slight hum, ticking with warning.

"There's only a few minutes left!" Jay shouts.

We all scramble about, searching for the helmet's perch.

We all take turns placing the helmet in various locations, none of which stopped the clock.

Jay throws it to Sensei Wu, but the Stone General comes behind him and intercepts the helmet.

"There are only thirty seconds left," the general says cockily.

I take a step towards him, ready to fight for it, but a piece of the clock beats me to it, knocking if out of his hand and throwing it upwards.

Cole jumps on top of the clock and climbs to the helmet. He knocks the Stone Warrior off and grabs it, but he stumbles. Cole drops the helmet and it falls in between two gears.

Misako gasps. "The helmet's perch!" She says, pointing.

"There's only ten seconds left!"

Misako runs to the helmet, ducking under various arms and gears of the clock. She reaches it, and places it on its perch.

The clock stops.

"It worked!" Lloyd shouts happily. He kisses me quickly and I blush.

"We did it!" Nya exclaims.

Tick.

The clock moves just a tad, and horns begin to blare.

"We were too late," Misako says.

The army approaches us, and we all take a step back, becoming dangerously close the edge of the cliff. I unsheathe my Elemental Blade.

The edge we were standing on breaks. It slowly leans back, preparing to fall.

Nya was on the other side of the crack. She tries to jump with us, but the General holds her behind.

"Nya!" Jay shouts. Our ledge breaks from the cliff, and we fall.

"Jay!" Nya yells.

"Let her go!" Jay calls, glaring at the General.

"Or what?"

We scream, falling completely now. We crash into the icy water and swim to shore.

Nya's screams begin to dwindle away, and Jay looks towards them with worry.

"She'll be fine," I say, reassuring Jay.

"How do you know?" He says between his teeth.

"Because she's strong. Stronger than you and I combined," I say, not lying one bit.

"I know," he mumbles.

Lloyd groans. "This is all my fault!"

"We're all at fault," Cole says, reassuring him.

"We need to get Nya!" Kai exclaims.

"We will, but not right now. By the time we get back up there they will be gone," Misako says.

"We cannot lose focus. The final battle could start any minute," Wu says.

"Lose focus?" Jay exclaims. "It's Nya!" I frown at Jay, putting a hand on his shoulder for reassurance.

"We must head to the Bounty and get prepared so this time, you will not hesitate," Misako says. Lloyd looks at the ground.

"Come on," Wu says. "Let's head home."

We walk back through the thick woods, Lloyd and I trudging behind.

"I failed," Lloyd mutters, looking at the ground in shame. In the time that I've known him, I have never seen him so sad and worried.

"It's not over yet," I say, attempting to reassure him.

"I promised I wouldn't let you down. And I did, I let all of Ninjago down."

"You're being way to harsh on yourself. Your fighting one of the biggest evils known to man, you're going to mess up. You're going to struggle, but the battle isn't over yet. As long as you're alive, you haven't failed anyone."

He exhales heavily, then smiles slightly. "You always know what to say."

I shrug. "What can I say? I am pretty great."

He rolls his eyes, placing his arm around my shoulders and pulling me in, quickly kissing me on my head.

"You're alright, I guess."

Do I always know what to say? Most definitely not.

The past few days have been so busy and packed, I feel like I've been on this shitty island for weeks. I feel closer with everyone, the whole team and Lloyd.

I can't believe that only a few months ago I was lost. It was only six months ago that I began to train as a ninja. And now here I am, surrounded by other ninja, about to face evil one on one.

I'm not sure if we can win, but with my friends at my side, I will die trying.

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