"The final battle between Lloyd and Garmadon has begun."

I look into the distance. The sun was rising over the never-resting ocean. From here, the island looked so peaceful and calm—but I couldn't help but wonder what was going on in Ninjago right now—if my friends' families were okay. I know mine are.

Jay was standing by himself, balling his fist and throwing rocks into the ocean. He, like all of us, is still angry that Nya had been taken. But it affected him the most.

I would say Kai was affected the second most, but he handled it differently. He knew Nya was strong and would be okay, but still worried about his younger sister. He sits on the sand, arms over his knees, staring with deep concentration.

Zane chats with his father, speaking in hushed tones. Lloyd speaks with his mother and uncle not too far from them, no doubt discussing the final battle.

Cole lies against a boulder in front of me, the tide almost reaching his feet. I sat atop the same boulder, my legs hanging down the side of it as I watch the sun and ocean slowly break apart.

Cole reminds me of Tobi, in a way. Especially now, as watching the sun over the water was something we used to do.

Cole quietly climbs atop the rock, sitting himself down next to me.

"What's next?" He mumbles. I shrug.

"How have your nightmares been?" He asks. I look at him in surprise.

"You remember those?"

Cole rolls his eyes. "Of course I do."

I smile. "They've improved. They haven't happened in a while, it's more of a rare occurrence now."

"That's good," he says. He purses his lips, as if deciding whether or not to say something.

"Have you come to terms?"

"Oh. I-I don't know. I miss him still," I say, staring off into the ocean again.

"I miss my mom too," he murmurs, tapping his fingers on his knees.

"You never talk about your mother," I say softly.

"She died when I was young. My father and I depended on her, she was sorta like our foundation, in a way. When she passed, I sorta just fell apart. I wasn't who I am today. More...quiet."

"How'd you get better?" I ask quietly.

"Time. Acceptance. Talking with a close friend of mine..." He drawls, smiling slightly. I raise my eyebrows.

"A close friend? How close, would you describe your friendship?"

He laughs. "Her father knew mine. We pretty much grew up together, but I liked her for a long time."

"Well, go on," I say.

"This was supposed to be about getting over grief, not my past romantic endeavors."

"Can you guys be quiet? I'm trying to be mad over here," Jay says.

"We need to do something! I'm sick of just standing here looking into nothing," Kai says, walking over to Cole and I. We slide off the boulder.

Everyone else walks over to us, Jay grumbling in the back. Kai puts a hand on his shoulder, causing Jay to stand up a bit taller.

"Garmadon's weapon is now operational. The final battle between Lloyd and Garmadon has begun," Sensei Wu says.

Lloyd looks towards the ground. "What if I can't face him? You saw what happened! I- I froze."

"You cannot lose faith now, everything depends on you." Way to be encouraging, Wu.

"Your father is just as scared," Misako says, comforting her son.

"You won't be alone, we'll be with you the whole way," I say, pulling my mask on and unsheathing my blade.

Kai copies me and brings his blade towards mine. "You have my fire."

"You have my earth."

"And my ice."

"And lightning."

Lloyd grins. "Then what are we waiting for?"

-

We sprinted towards the Stone Warrior base, determined to free Nya and stop the warriors.

"Ninjago!"

We knock down the wooden gates and burst into the base.

"Um?"

"Where the hell is everybody?" Jay mutters.

"Were too late," Kai says. He walks across the bridge, shouting for Nya. We follow in pursuit.

Zane's falcon swoops down and flys at a steady pace ahead of us.

"My falcon must've found something," Zane says.

We follow the falcon, Zane's father trudging behind us. There was huge tire markings embedded in the dirt.

"It seems to be heading towards the coast," Zane observes.

"Wouldn't Garmadon want to use it on us?" Jay asks.

"No, on Ninjago. He always wanted to turn our world into his own evil image," Wu says.

"If he turns things evil, the balance will shift, allowing the Overlord into our world!" Misako exclaims.

"He's been using Garmadon this whole time!" I exclaim.

"Then we have to ensure my father never fires that weapon," Lloyd says determinedly.

We run toward the coast, but Zane's father slowly comes to a stop.

"Go on without me. I'm an inventor, not a fighter. I'll only get in the way."

"But what will you do?" Zane asks.

"I'll be on the Bounty, waiting for your safe return," he says, smiling softly. Zane hugs his father and walks towards us.

"Be safe, and good luck."

We continue running through the vast forest, jumping over tree roots and dodging various branches and limbs.

"Is anyone else thinking about how this may be our final fight together?" Jay asks.

"Of course," Zane says.

"It's all I've been thinking about," Cole says.

"We've come a long way. It wasn't too long ago when Sensei first found us," Kai adds.

"Remember when Kai thought he was the Green Ninja?" Jay asks.

Cole snickers. "He was so sure of it."

"Hey! It could've been me!"

"Or when the Hypnobrai hypnotized Cole and we had to fight him?" Zane adds.

"You guys had to ruin my treehouse!" Lloyd says.

"Treehouse? How old are you?" I joke.

Everyone laughs, but me.

"Am I missing something?" Everyone shakes their head, giggling to themselves.

"Remember when we thought Lloyd was having an affair with the evil grey ninja?" Cole asks.

"You guys thought what?" I exclaim.

Cole, Jay, Zane, and Kai burst out laughing. "We were so sure of it, but I guess technically he was," Kai says, wiggling his eyebrows. Lloyd's mom chuckles and I turn red.

"I was teaching her fighting techniques!" Lloyd says, defending us.

"Are you sure that's all you were doing?" Sensei Wu asks.

Lloyd and I look at each other, embarrassment clearly written on both of our faces.

Suddenly, something fast darts in front of us. We come to a screeching stop.

"What was that?" Cole asks.

"Something is wrong," Lloyd says.

"Above us!" Sensei Wu says.

I look in the trees, scanning over anything and everything to find the strange figure.

"Ow!" Cole shouts, rubbing his jaw.

Nya appears in front of us, but it didn't look like her.

Her skin was grayer than my suit, her eyes holding a purple glint, her clothes torn and tattered. Yet she looked as strong as ever, if not stronger.

"Nya!" Jay shouts.

"What did he do to my sister?" Kai mumbles angrily.

Sensei holds the two back, making sure they didn't do anything rash.

"He must've used the weapon to turn her into his own evil image," Misako says.

"We have to stop her!" Cole says.

"No! We can't hurt her," Jay says quickly.

"Jay's right. We just need to stop her before she hurts us," Kai says.

She lunges at Lloyd and I jump in front, clashing her blade against mine. "Go on ahead, we'll keep Nya busy," I say, looking behind me for a split second. Cole nods towards me, agreeing.

"We'll be right behind you," Cole adds, helping me fend off Nya.

Lloyd nods hesitantly then runs off, Misako and Wu trailing behind him.

Nya turns her blade, flipping me over her but I land on my feet. She disarms me and I do what I can to keep her off me without harming her. She uses the flat of her blade and pushes me against a tree. I groan and stand back up, but she had moved on to Kai.

"I don't want to hurt you, sis," he says, backing up slowly. Nya just growls in response.

Slowly, Nya defeats all of us one by one.

"Well this is embarrassing," I mumble.

"She's fighting five people, and I think she's winning!" Cole groans.

"Perhaps we can use our powers, but not to harm her," Zane suggests.

Cole blinds her with dirt and dust and Zane freezes a tree behind her. I use my wind to push her into the frozen trunk, and the leaves of the tree freeze around her.

"We need to hurry!" Jay warns, taking one last look towards Nya.

As we run towards the coast, a loud boom echoes through the air.

"That doesn't sound pleasant," Zane says.

We emerge from the trees, just in time to see the weirdest thing ever.

"What the fu-"

Garmadon screams, interrupting Kai's sentence. A bright beam of light envelopes him, as the Overlord appears to be taking over his body.

"Holy unholy," Jay mutters.

Garmadon falls to the ground, shaking and sputtering. Sharp claws shoot from his hands, his legs growing leaner and taller. He shouts again as his mouth extends outward into a snout, then to a wide jaw like a crocodile's.

"The metamorphosis has begun!" Garmadon shouts. But his voice had melted away, and the Overlord's remains.

I glance at Lloyd, leaning into him a bit. He must be hiding it, because there's no way he can feel okay with this right now.

"Father?" Lloyd mumbles.

"That is no longer your father," Misako says. "The Overlord possess him, and you still have to defeat...it."

"Unlike your father, the Overlord will show no mercy," Sensei says.

"You can do this Lloyd," Kai says.

"We're with you the whole way," I add.

"You're stronger than him," Jay says, adding on to the support.

Lloyd pulls on his mask and we run towards the Overlord and his Stone Warriors.

I meet with a stone samurai. With a determined look on my face, and a growl from the warrior, we commence.

I could taste blood in my mouth as I ran away from the Stone Warrior, now lying unconscious on the ground.

My back feels hot. I whip around to see a flame defending me against another warrior. Kai grins and waves.

I wave back, pushing the air behind him to knock another warrior down.

The Stone Warriors were everywhere. Not as bad as it was in Ninjago City, but pretty damn close.

"Look out!" Jay shouts. Kai and I look up to see bullets about to rain down on us. We dodge them and Jay shoots lightning at the gun, electrocuting it with the warrior behind it.

I use my Spinjitzu to knock down several stone men at once. Bullets, again, are aimed towards me. But none actually hit me.

I look up. Kai was sitting on the chair, shooting at the Stone Warriors around me.

"This. Ends. Now!"

Kai and I divert our attention to the Overlord. Lloyd was standing across from him, his arms out and ready to fight.

"Stupid boy!" The Overlord taunts. "I have been ready for this for-"

A beam of green light hits the Overlord in the chest, interrupting his sentence. The Overlord flinches, but quickly regains itself.

He didn't hesitate!

He rises in anger, his six hands producing dangerous purple orbs. He shoots them all at Lloyd. Lloyd jumps, dodging them. But he wasn't prepared for the Overlord's strike.

He hits Lloyd in the jaw with great power, sending him plummeting towards the ground.

Lloyd regains composure, shaking his head slightly. He gets back on his feet to face the Overlord once again.

The Overlord again yields six spheres in his claw-like hands. He aims them at Lloyd, sending a beam of shadow towards his chest.

Lloyd quickly matches the shadow with his light.

"You can do this, Lloyd," I murmur.

I know Lloyd can do it, but honesty, I'm scared for him.

Lloyd dodges the shadows, jumping skillfully to his right. He closes his green eyes in concentration and fabricates another green sphere.

The sphere comes in contact with the Overlord, pushing him deep into the forest. I grin.

"Yes!" Jay exclaims.

But the fight wasn't over yet. The Overlord returns, just as quick as he left, laughing menacingly. At high speeds, he flies into Lloyd.

Lloyd lands on his foot wrong. I could tell he was in pain, but his face showed no signs of discomfort.

"I can continue fighting for eternity," the Overlord jeers. "Your friends are no help to you now. You are all alone." Lloyd's face twists in anger.

Lloyd pulls off his green mask. "No, I'm not," He shouts with great valor. "I know my father is still there. He won't fight me!"

Lloyd's good heart and courage sometimes catches me off guard. The way he always does the right thing blows my mind. It's strange how he is related to Lord Garmadon, yet is still the purest person I know.

The Overlord flickers, almost as if he was an image. For a brisk second, Lloyd's father appears.

"Lloyd! Stay strong." Lloyd's face turns to shock, so does mine and everyone else's. I've never seen him before. After seeing him as a human, it resonates with me that this is Lloyd's father.

"Fool! You cannot defeat me!" The Overlord says. But the sight of Garmadon strengthens Lloyd and gives him the courage he needs.

Lloyd shoots the Overlord and he stumbles. Lloyd runs and attacks him, kicking and pounding at his chest.

"But I will try!"

Lloyd and the Overlord both shoot beams of light, Lloyd's the brighter one. He struggles to keep the Overlord's power from striking him, but continues to push through.

"Fight, father!"

The Overlord flickers again, Garmadon appearing for a half a second.

"It's working!" Kai mumbles.

"Garmadon is fighting the Overlord," Cole murmurs in astonishment.

"Fight him!" Lloyd shouts.

The Overlord switches between itself and Garmadon multiple times as Lloyd's father struggles to keep himself at bay.

"You...will not...take...," Garmadon stutters, struggling against the Overlord.

"Your father is-"

The Overlord regains control and shoots Lloyd in the chest. I gasp.

"Gone!"

Lloyd screams in pain as he is lifted up into the air. The Overlord laughs wickedly and tosses Lloyd like a ragdoll several lengths away.

"Lloyd!" I shout, running towards him. Misako trails behind me.

The Overlord shouts commands at his troops, and a portal opens up. He and his army jump into it, taking them to Ninjago city.

Kai runs after them, but he was too late.

I look at Lloyd and frown. I sit down next to him, gently pulling his head into my lap. I forgot Misako was there, and I look at her awkwardly.

"I remember...before Garmadon was completely evil, feeling the same way as you," She says. I didn't know what to say. She continues talking.

"I'm glad Lloyd has someone to lean on. He has a lot on his shoulders, he needs someone to support him in a way that I cannot do."

"I can't support him if he's unconscious," I mutter, smiling slightly. Misako chuckles.

"That is true. Though I'm sure he'll be up soon, I hope," she says.

"He should be up in a few minutes. He probably has a light concussion, and I believe his ankle is sprained from the fall," I say.

"Oh?"

I smile sheepishly. "I was studying to be an ER tech before I moved to Ninjago."

"Must be handy," Cole says with a grin. He and the rest of my friends surround me, Lloyd, and Misako.

"He's waking up!"

Lloyd's eyes flutter open. "How'd I do?" He jokes weakly.

I sigh, tangling my hands through his hair. He sits up and Jay gives him a hand, pulling him up on his feet.

Lloyd stumbles a bit at first, but begins limping towards the ocean. He watches the sun for a second.

"The prophecy...? Didn't it say I would win?" Lloyd questions.

Sensei Wu sighs. "I'm-I'm not sure anymore. What's important is that you're still alive."

"Destiny showed us who was stronger today. But destiny also wanted us around to fight another day," Lloyd says.

We all gather around and watch the sun melt into the ocean.

"We didn't lose the battle, we just lost the fight."

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