Lloyd winces as I wrap the bandage around his ankle. I look at him apologetically and tighten it some more, determining whether it'll support him or not.

"Do you think I can still fight?" Lloyd asks, a hint of hope in his voice.

I shake my head. "I'm sorry, Lloyd. It'll take a few weeks to heal."

He scowls. "We don't have a few weeks!"

Sighing, I say, "I know. We'll figure something out. We always do."

Lloyd nods and I offer him my hand, pulling him up next to me. He leans on me a bit, and we walk towards the others together.

"I don't get it. Didn't the prophecy say the Green Ninja was to defeat the Dark Lord?" Kai asks, throwing rocks into the ocean.

"I...don't know," Sensei Wu responds dismally.

Jay gasps. "B-but you're Sensei! You always know!"

"Is there not a lesson to be learned? A word of wisdom? Anything?" Kai asks.

"For once, there is nothing to learn. Only that, evil has won."

I let that sink in. Evil? Winning? Since when?

I keep reminding myself: we're still here, we haven't lost, but I'm not sure if I can be optimistic much longer.

"If Sensei doesn't have a lesson, then I do," Lloyd says. He unwraps his arm around me and limps towards the forest.

"I used to be nothing but trouble until I met you guys. You all showed me the importance of being brave, of being strong. And most importantly, being good."

He places his bad foot down and winces. He turns around to face us.

"When the First Spinjitzu Master fought the Overlord before us and he was caught between a rock and a hard place, did he give up? No. He kept going."

"Out of all people, he passed his powers to us. A bunch of regular kids. There has to be a reason he chose us. I'd like to think it's because he knew we'd never give up. We've learned the ancient ways of the ninja, and ninja never quit."

I find myself staring at Lloyd in awe. He was meant to be a leader—to be the Green Ninja. After listening to him, my dwindling optimism is replaced by sheer will.

"He's right. We haven't lost yet, and I don't plan on giving up now. Not while I'm on this shitty island," I say.

"If we have to swim to Ninjago City, then so be it," Kai says, walking into the water.

"But I didn't bring my speedos!" Jay jokes.

"Really, Jay? You're joking now?" Cole scolds.

"Just trying to lighten the situation."

A screech emits through the sky. I look up to see Zane's falcon soaring above us.

"Maybe my good friend as an idea for us," Zane says, already following his bird.

We each jump onto Nya's samurai armor, as it is faster and Lloyd can't walk, and Kai takes the controls. We follow the falcon up a familiar mountain and it perches himself at the top.

"The Temple of Light? Why would he bring us here?" I wonder aloud.

"I do not understand," Zane mumbles. "We've already been here."

We walk inside, examining all the nooks and crannies for any possible solutions. I'm not sure how a temple can get us off the island, but I'm open for miracles.

"I think I've found something!" Kai exclaims. He brushes dust off a wooden beam to reveal a slit, the same size of our Elemental Blades.

We do as he does, inserting our blades one by one into the slit.

A deep rumbling is heard. The floor that Misako, Sensei, and Zane's father was standing on opens and something rises.

"It is the First Spinjitzu Master's armor that he used when fighting the Overlord," Misako says.

Cole gasps excitedly and jumps into the seat. "You mean he once sat in here? How do you make this work?" He exclaims.

"I'm afraid time has taken a toll on it, sadly," Zane's father says.

"Perhaps, it'll work for the next Spinjitzu master?" Sensei wonders.

"It's worry a shot," Lloyd says. Cole jumps out of the seat and Lloyd takes his place.

Lloyd frowns, messing with multiple buttons and levers.

Suddenly, the armor begins to glow, the luminous light brightening the room. The armor's hand wields a sword, and it moves it in a quick slash across it's body.

"How's the leg now?" Sensei Wu asks.

Lloyd grins. "Stronger."

"Well, we know how Lloyd is getting home, but what about us?" Misako asks.

I hear a familiar roar in the distance. I gasp. "Is that...?"

"Our dragon!" Jay finishes for me, jogging out of the temple excitedly.

With Lloyd control the armor and the rest of us on the dragon, we fly to Ninjago.

Or, what was Ninjago.

In the clouds, it looked to be a glistening dark color spot. But as we flew closer, I could see that everything was dark, and the purple was the Dark Matter.

We fly closer to the city's surface, hovering right next to the tallest tower. The Overlord had turned the tall building into a sort of fortress, a staircase wrapping around it.

"If that's the fortress, shouldn't the Overlord be around it?" Cole wonders.

No one responds and we land silently on the ground. I peer over Jay's shoulder to catch a glimpse of the area.

"He's turned everyone evil," Kai mutters.

"Just like Nya," Jay says, gritting his teeth.

"What if we can't reverse it?" I ask.

"Let's just focus on the main problem right now," Cole suggests, taking one last glance.

A loud roar is emitted through the eerie silence, diverting our attention to the sky.

"Holy shit," Kai mumbles. My eyes widen.

"Watch out!" I warn, pushing everyone to the side. If I hadn't moved sooner, we all would've been hit by the Dark Matter.

"Where did that even come from?" Jay says.

"The Overlord," Zane says darkly.

The Overlord was perched on top of his fortress, roaring and spitting Dark Matter.

"The metamorphosis is complete. He has changed into his original form," Misako says.

"He was originally a dragon?" I ask dumbly.

"How do we get up there?" Jay asks.

"We'll need to distract them so Lloyd can reach the top," Wu instructs.

"I think I have an idea," Cole says.

All of us but Lloyd climb onto the dragon once again and fly towards the tower.

The Stone Army waited for us to come, stranding around the base of the fortress. They begin to load catapults and bows. They shoot.

At the last second, Sensei pulls up, dodging their fire.

We watch from above as Lloyd charges the army with the First Spinjitzu Master's armor. He obviously has the upper hand as he knocks down multiple warriors at once.

But that didn't last long. Evil Nya shoots at him, knocking the arm off of the armor and eventually destroying it.

Wu flies over Lloyd and we hop off the dragon, landing in front of Lloyd.

"Looks like I'm your knight in shining armor," I say, looking back at Lloyd with a grin.

He laughs. "I guess so."

Another spurt of Dark Matter comes towards us.

"Ice!" Zane shouts, creating a barrier between us and the substance.

The five of us form a circle around Lloyd, defending him against the many many Stone Warriors.

"I know we usually draw a crowd, but this is a bit much," Jay says.

"Dude, we're literally fighting an army of indestructible warriors and you're making a joke now?" I say, rolling my eyes.

"If I'm gonna die, I might as well die laughing."

I chuckle and continue knocking down my opponents with my wind and sword.

"I'm twelve years old!"

"Um, what?" I say, looking back at Lloyd.

"I-I just think that if we're gonna be honest with each other, you should know," Lloyd says, smiling sheepishly. Cole snickers.

"Last time I checked, you are definitely not twelve."

"Gross," Kai mutters.

"Mentally twelve, I mean. But Sensei says that time is catching up, and my mentality is changing. I'm more like seventeen now."

I don't say anything, just keep fighting. Honestly, I don't know what to say.

"You might want to explain how you got into this situation," Zane suggests.

"That'd be nice," I say.

"Oh, right," Lloyd says, explaining what happened.

"A tea made you my age?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

It was silent for a moment, the only thing heard was the clanking of metal against metal.

I make out with a twelve - seventeen, year old. Gross?

"Can't I get arrested for this?" I ask jokingly.

"Well, it's just his mental age. And besides, in a couple months he'll be all caught up," Zane says.

Suddenly I start laughing hysterically. Maybe it's the lack of sleep, but something came over me and I couldn't stop. The boys look at me weirdly; Lloyd begins to worry that he's freaked me out.

I grin. "Okay."

"Okay?" Lloyd asks.

"Okay. Whatever, it doesn't change anything. And honestly, I've seen some weird shit after moving here. I'm a goddamn ninja, anything is possible."

"Seriously?"

"Why would it? I just know more about you now. Besides, like Zane said, in a couple months you'll mentally be my age." Lloyd smiles thankfully.

"Anyone else want to admit anything before we die?" Kai says.

"I ate a slice of your cake, Cole," I say.

"You what?!"

I grin, and go into my Spinjitzu. I could see Cole glaring at me through my silvery wind.

We all knock down several Stone Warriors doing Spinjitzu, clearing up a bit of room.

Nya shoots at us again, knocking us all to the ground. The Stone Army advance, hovering dangerously above us.

We were all scattered, but I had ended up against Lloyd.

"I lo-"

Suddenly, the army stops. Freezing in place. I turn to Lloyd.

"That's weird," I say.

"Yeah," he mumbles.

"Wait, were you gonna say something?"

"No, never mind."

I frown but drop the subject.

"All hail the brown ninja!"

"Brown ninja?" Jay wonders.

Darreth stood on top of the dragon, his hands placed on his hips. The army makes room for it as Sensei Wu lands.

"The helmet controls the army," Cole says, coming to realization. "Well done!"

"We have a fighting chance!" Jay exclaims.

"I need to get to the top of the tower," Lloyd says. "I might need some help, but once I'm there I can face him."

Darreth grins and sends his Stone Army up the stairs towards the Overlord, but Nya shoots them all down.

Sensei flies the dragon near Nya, distracting her and allowing us to pass.

Jay and Cole provide support for Lloyd as Kai, Zane, and I walk in front. Without warning, Cole shoves Lloyd to the side. Cole gets hit by the Dark Matter, and falls to his knees.

"Cole!" I shouted, rushing to his side.

"Fight it, Cole!" Lloyd says.

"I-I can't! Go!"

I take one last look behind me and continue up the stairs.

Almost each and every person in Ninjago has turned evil. I try to imagine Madam Mistakè meaner and grayer. I shutter.

The Overlord roars again, and this time Jay is hit.

"Move!" Jay shouts weakly.

"We need to go," Kai says. Lloyd wraps his arm around me and we continue to the top.

Kai walks in front and Zane behind us. Lloyd sighs.

"I'm just letting him turn my friends evil."

"And that's more of the reason why you need to win," I say.

"I have calculated that only one of us is going to make it," Zane says.

"Then let's beat the odds!" Lloyd says confidently.

I hear a growl and turn around. Cole and Jay were advancing towards us, and they didn't look very happy.

"Go on! I'll hold them back," Zane says, unsheathing his blade.

The three of us keep going.

Maybe nothing else will happen between here and the top.

Of course, Nya comes by shooting bullets at us.

"I'm going to draw her fire while you two make it to the top," Kai says.

"I'll be right back," I say. Kai nods.

I help Lloyd to the top. At the last few stairs, he turns to me and looks deeply into my eyes.

"I love you."

He grabs my clothing and pulls me in close, kissing me like it was the last time he could. And in reality, that was a very real possibility.

His lips leave mine and I wrap my arms around him.

"I love you," I respond, tears brimming my eyes.

"Hey," he says softly. "I'll always come back. I promise." I nod.

"I'll see you soon?" I whisper.

"Definitely," he whispers back.

I kiss him one last time. "Go make me proud, Green Ninja."

He grins and takes the last steps. With one last glance towards me, he reaches the top.

I walk back down the stairs and meet Kai. He was struggling to keep Nya, Zane, Jay, and Cole at bay.

He sees my tear-stained cheeks and his face softens.

"He's going to be okay," he says softly, attempting to comfort me.

"I know," I say.

"I love him," I mutter to myself. But Kai hears me.

He smiles softly. "I know."

I stand at his side, fighting my best friends.

"We're currently fighting our friends, that have been turned evil by an unknown substance, that is only found on a forgotten island, with swords that can control a specific element, on a huge fortress, with an evil parasite that has taken over my boyfriend's father and turned him into a dragon, and it's all real," I say.

Kai laughs. "Wow, you're right."

"Since when did my life get this complicated?"

"You're life was always complicated."

"But it was normal for me."

"Well, this is your new normal." I think about that for a moment.

"I guess you're right."

Neither of us said anything for a moment. The only noise that was heard was Lloyd and the Overlord fighting above and our friends random growls

"It sorta sounds like a TV show," Kai says.

I scoff. "Who would watch that?"

"Hey, our lives are interesting enough to get some views. If we survive this, we should seriously consider starting our own reality show."

"I'd watch it," I say. "What would we call it? Keeping up with the Ninja?"

"That's lame," He says.

"Why don't you come up with something better, then?"

"If we survive, I will."

I grin and continue defending myself against Nya.

"Look!" Kai exclaims, pointing behind me.

I turn my head. Lloyd was glowing gold, hovering in the sky.

"He has become he Ultimate Spinjitzu Master," I say, watching in awe.

Kai whoops. "He did it!"

Nya growls. "He hasn't won yet!"

"Shut up, Nya!"

We watch as Lloyd hits and kicks the Overlord with ease. The Overlord falls back and off the building.

Another roar is heard, but it's not from the Overlord. A golden dragon envelops around Lloyd, challenging the dark dragon.

Lloyd and his dragon lunge towards the Overlord, bringing them tumbling down to the ground. They rise back up, and the Overlord surround Lloyd in darkness.

Kai and I watch as the darkness grows bigger and bigger, but it started to become brighter and brighter.

The cloud of darkness explodes, shaking the fortress. Kai and I stumble, and he grabs onto the building.

I go to grab Kai, but I trip. I lose my footing and fall.

"El!" Kai shouts. I scream.

It seemed like I was falling forever. I take one last glance at the darkness, and close my eyes.

"I love you."

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