The city was still a mess because of the Stone Warriors' attack, but it was relatively calm. As the minutes passed, the sky grew dark and something began to form above.
"I told you they would make it," Derath said as he threw the Stone General out of the dojo. "Whoa!" He lost his breath when he saw the sky.
"Are those the ninjas?" Mrs. Eddna asked.
"I believe so," Cole's father agreed.
"The ninjas in action?!" A citizen became very excited.
"We're saved!" Cole's father exclaimed.
"It was about time," another citizen rolled his eyes.
"Now let's get this place back in shape," Cole's father said excitedly.
The Stone General began to laugh—though no one paid attention to it. A strong light from the sky startled the people, who stared in shock.
The Garmatron emerged with the Stone Army. People fled in fear, but Derath stayed to fight, feeling a growing confidence.
"Alright. I'm going to count to three for you to get out of here before I unleash the full power of... One... Yiiihhaaa! Dragon! Two: Penguin!" Derath continued with his antics.
The Overlord didn't find it funny at all—in fact, he found it irritating. Derath was irritating. The Overlord prepared the Garmatron's weapons to shoot him.
"Two point thirty-three," Derath's voice even became higher.
"Three." And then the Overlord activated the shooters.
Derath dodged just in time, which made him even happier.
"You missed. Uh, ah-ah," Derath said as he stood up and ran, dodging the shots.
This made the Overlord start laughing. Now things were getting fun.
Derath hid behind a wall.
"We'll meet again. I promise!" He decided to leave before taking a hit. "Where are those ninjas?!"
The Overlord began wreaking chaos across the city of Ninjago, firing everywhere to corrupt. It seemed all would be lost without the ninjas there.
o0o0o
"Can I still fight?" Lloyd asked Zane's father.
"Hm, I'm sorry, it's going to take weeks to heal," he answered, then looked at Moon. "Your arm too—it will take a few weeks to recover."
Moon looked at her injured arm and then at him.
"That won't be a problem, I've been through worse," she said with no expression.
Moon looked away and crossed her arm. She wouldn't lie—her arm hurt a lot, but she wasn't going to whine about it. She was a warrior who had already been to war.
Zane's father helped Lloyd stand and walk to the others. They seemed to be in a conversation about remembering their friends as they were in their hearts.
"But I don't remember my father any other way," Lloyd sounded a bit down.
"Your father loved you. It was the Great Devourer's evil that corrupted him," Misako explained to ease her son's emotions.
"Yes, exactly. Even when I was controlled, I could still feel and see the aura of everyone around, and your father always seemed distressed when the battle was mentioned," Moon said, nodding.
"Sensei, I don't get it. The prophecy said the Green Ninja would defeat the Dark Lord," Kai said as he tossed a little stone into the ocean.
"And he will," Moon confirmed, looking at the Red Ninja.
"How can you be so sure?!" He was clearly frustrated. "Or was that a victory for you?!"
Moon just looked at him, trying to think of an answer.
"See! Not even you know!" Kai growled angrily.
"And what about you, Sensei? I bet you know! Right?" Jay asked, hopeful.
"I don't know..." Sensei Wu confessed.
"You don't know?! How?! How do you not know? Sensei, you always know everything, you have the long, great white beard! And Moon, you're basically the smartest one here—no offense," Jay said nervously.
"There must be some message to learn. A lesson. Something. Any word. Anything new!" Kai was getting more frustrated.
Moon approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving gentle squeezes.
"We'll figure something out, but for now, stressing out won't help," Moon explained.
Kai sighed, tired and worried. He looked at the Purple Ninja with weary, slightly hopeful eyes.
"This time there is nothing to learn, only that... evil has won," Sensei Wu's words left them disheartened.
Moon frowned and tried to think of something.
(This can't be the end! There has to be something we missed... Something that slipped by! Think! THINK!) Moon closed her eyes and began recalling everything she could.
She chose to ignore the conversation and searched through her own memories, but apparently there was nothing.
(Wait... The Overlord wanted to go after Aaron's secrets? But all that was found was a little stone.) Moon took it out of her pocket.
She stared at the small neon-blue stone. It was probably made of aura to emit such a strong aura—normally objects or non-living things emitted a faint visible aura. She saw her face reflected in the stone, and then a reflected shine. She turned and looked toward the mountains.
(Wasn't that where...?) She knew about the Temple of Light.
Moon had an idea and ran toward the Bounty.
"Moon? She was ignoring me the whole time?" Lloyd felt a little hurt by that.
She entered the damaged ship and went to her room shared with Nya. Once inside, she found what she was looking for and returned with the scepter in hand.
"That old scepter? Sure, it saved us last time, but how is that going to help? Open a portal or something?" Kai asked, a bit skeptical.
"Not exactly, but I had an idea... Aaron always used it, never letting go of it," — except for that time when he threw it to trap her — "He also used the scepter to find the places he needed to be."
"Wait, what? I don't get it," Jay confessed, raising an eyebrow.
"Aaron's scepter! The Aura Scepter! It was his weapon. The scrolls say Aaron used it to face unmatched threats. It's also written that he used it somehow to locate something he needed or a place, but it was never recorded how," Misako explained.
"But I know how," Moon said, holding the scepter and sighing.
They waited... and waited... waited a bit more... more...
"Was something supposed to happen?" Jay asked, confused.
Suddenly, the jewel in the scepter began to glow and a beam of aura pointed to a place where the Ninjas needed to go. Where they would get the answer they needed.
o0o0o
"But isn't this the Temple of Light?" Zane asked. "Why did the scepter bring us here?"
"Because it's where we needed to be," Moon replied as she approached and opened the doors.
It was her first time there, but she felt a strange familiar sensation through her body at the sight of the place, as though she had been here before.
The ninjas looked around, and Kai found something.
"I found something! Looks like a hole?" He thought for a moment before sticking his elemental sword into it.
"There's another one here," Sensei Wu pointed out.
Then each of the ninjas placed their swords into their respective pillar slots representing their elements. Again, nothing happened. Lloyd looked at the center and saw another opening with the Yin-Yang symbol, the Dragon, and the Tiger.
"Moon, there's one more here. About the tiger," Lloyd said, pointing.
Moon took a look and decided to place the scepter, which fit perfectly like a key. Suddenly, the ground began to open and something rose from below. Moon removed the scepter, and the ninjas retrieved their swords.
It was an ancient, worn battle suit—maybe it didn't even work anymore.
"The battle suit of the First Spinjitzu Master. It's what he used to fight the Overlord," Misako explained.
"You mean the First Spinjitzu Master sat here?" Cole climbed onto the suit and sat in the available chair. "Haha! Come on! How does this work?" Cole was dying to test it.
"Unfortunately, I think time destroyed it. It's only a relic now," Zane's father said, disappointed.
"I don't think so. Maybe it reacts to the next Spinjitzu Master," Moon suggested. "Go on, Lloyd, it's all yours."
"It's worth a try." Lloyd got into the suit. "Nothing..." He moved the controls but it didn't seem to work.
Suddenly, the suit activated and looked brand-new as if by magic—probably literally. Moon was impressed, her eyes shining as if she had received a Christmas gift.
The ninjas praised it.
"How's the leg now?" Sensei Wu asked.
"Stronger!" Lloyd affirmed, stomping the suit's foot on the ground and raising the sword.
"I know how he'll get back to Ninjago, but what about us?" Misako asked, frowning.
In the distance, two roars could be heard.
"Dude, I know that sound... It's our dragons!" Jay exclaimed joyfully.
"I think we figured out how to get out of here," Sensei Wu said, stroking his beard.
Lloyd was using the battle suit to fly. Kai, Cole, Jay, Zane, Zane's father, Misako, and Sensei Wu were riding the Ultra Dragon. Moon was flying on the Mega Dragon.
The Mega Dragon growled as it performed a maneuver, spinning as it flew over the Ultra Dragon. They were arriving in Ninjago, but they soon noticed that the city... wasn't exactly colorful and lively—and since when did they add a tower in the middle of the plaza?
"What is that?" Cole asked, out of breath.
"The Garmatron," Sensei Wu replied.
The Mega Dragon snorted and growled.
"It turned into a fortress?" Misako said in surprise.
"But where's the Overlord?" Zane's father questioned.
They decided it was better to land for now. Moon felt uneasy—the aura of the place was so malicious, even if forced upon the nature of the people. They heard a terrifying roar, followed by a blast of dark flame shot at them—luckily, it didn't hit.
"The metamorphosis is complete. The Overlord has returned to his original form," Misako explained.
Moon swallowed hard—she wouldn't deny that she was nervous for the first time in a long time.
"But we can't fly all the way in," Cole pointed out.
"We have my father's golden staff. We need to draw their fire to help Lloyd reach him and use the golden staff," Sensei Wu explained.
"Everyone heard that, right?" And then they put the plan into action. "Then hold on tight!"
They were approaching, and Moon noticed something strange.
"Wait, something's wrong!" she warned, identifying what seemed like catapults behind the walls—but there was no one to use them.
The Mega Dragon's eyes widened as it roared a warning. Both dragons dodged the fire blades and arrows shot at them, but ended up flying in opposite directions. Moon saw there was no way Lloyd could advance with the Stone Army protecting Lord Garmadon.
Either way, Lloyd charged toward the fortress and broke through the wall. He even managed to strike a large number of Stone Warriors, but corrupted Nya arrived and managed to tear off one of the battle suit's arms with shots from her aerial vehicle.
Lloyd fell, and Moon told the Mega Dragon to get as close to the ground as possible so she could jump, landing among the Stone Warriors. She used her new weapon—the elemental staff—to take them down.
Soon, the other ninjas joined in.
"I'm okay," Lloyd said as he crawled out of the battle suit.
"And what about us?" Jay asked when the Stone Army surrounded them.
"Just focus on not dying," Moon said, taking a defensive stance.
"Just?!"
They saw the Overlord attacking them again with those shadowy flames.
"Ice!" Zane created a barrier that worked perfectly.
"Nice one, Zane!" Jay said in relief.
Nya destroyed the barrier with shots and grew angrier, firing again at them.
"Fire!" That caused a massive explosion of flames, since Nya's shots were flammable.
It was enough to make Nya, furious, fly away. The Stone Warriors began approaching to attack them.
"I know we attract crowds, but this is ridiculous," Jay said as he kicked a Stone Warrior away.
"How can you make jokes at a time like this?!" Kai asked, incredulous.
"Well, if I'm going to die, at least I'll die laughing," Jay replied as he blocked a strike.
"He has a point," Moon said.
"Oh, great! So we all agree this is not the time for jokes!" Kai exclaimed as he slashed with his sword.
"No. I agreed with Jay."
Kai froze awkwardly.
"What?!"
"Yeah, Moon! That's the spirit!" Jay grinned, and Moon let out a quiet laugh.
"Well, if this is how we go out, then I'm proud to fall beside my brothers and sister," Zane said, kicking a Stone Warrior aside.
"That's right, Zane!" Cole agreed.
The ninjas were at a huge disadvantage, even with their new powers. They stood no chance against so many at once—but... suddenly everything stopped. The Stone Warriors simply froze.
"What happened?" Kai asked, confused.
"They froze," Zane responded.
"Hail, hail Brown Ninja!" the Stone General exclaimed. "What do you command, sir?"
"Brown Ninja?" Jay raised a brow.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's good to see you," Moon sighed.
"Hey, guys! Looks like everyone knows who's in charge now!" Dareth said, all smug.
They landed the Ultra Dragon.
"The helmet controls the army. Well done!" Cole complimented.
"So that means we can fight now!" Jay exclaimed.
"I need to reach the top of that fortress," Lloyd said, pointing upward and then at his own foot. "Maybe I can't reach it on my own, but with help I can face him!"
The ninjas raised their weapons upward.
"Ninja gooo!" they shouted as the tips of their weapons met.
"Where'd you get that? I want one!" Dareth said, sounding like an excited child.
"You too, Brown Ninja. Today, you're one of us," Kai said as he handed Dareth a sword temporarily. "Let's do it again, for old times' sake?"
"Ninja gooo!" Dareth shouted as he pointed his sword upward. "Army, preparrrre! Stone Army, gooo!" he commanded.
The Stone General let out a battle cry, as did the other Stone Warriors. They charged toward the top of the fortress.
But Nya blocked the path with shots. The Ultra Dragon was hit directly and hurt. The Mega Dragon saw this and roared furiously before charging in. It didn't want to hurt Nya, but it wouldn't allow her to hurt anyone else. Nya's ship crashed onto the ground, but she was unharmed.
The ninjas tried to climb as fast as they could. Kai, Zane, and Moon went ahead while Jay and Cole helped Lloyd climb the countless stairs. But then, Cole was struck by the dark flames of evil.
"Cole!" Moon shouted, worried as she saw his aura shift.
"Go without me! I've been hit! Go!" He was trying his hardest to stay in control.
"We need to move now!" Kai ordered, and they sped up.
Moon took Cole's place so they could move faster. But Jay, Moon, and Lloyd were about to be struck by the evil flames, so Jay pushed them aside to take the hit alone.
"Don't look! Keep going!" Kai bit his lower lip as he saw his friend in that state.
Kai took Jay's place.
"By my calculations, from here to the top of the tower, only one of us will be able to make it," Zane said.
"Then we'll beat the odds!" Lloyd exclaimed.
"I have an idea, but doing it will incapacitate me, since it's far beyond what I'm used to," Moon said. She stepped back and activated her aura tiger form. She growled when she saw Jay and Cole approaching.
"We don't have time for this!" Kai helped Lloyd climb and then helped Zane. "Come on, Zane!"
"I'll stay here and hold them back," the White Ninja said as he drew his sword.
Moon turned and started running. There were still many stairs left. When making sharp turns, she had to dig her claws deep into the stone to avoid falling off the side. But at one point, Moon came to a halt as another evil blast nearly hit them. Seeing this, Kai ran down.
"Go ahead! I'll distract him!" he said.
"No! We go together!" Lloyd yelled nervously.
Moon chose to go, ignoring what Lloyd was going to say. At a certain point, Moon stopped again and collapsed. Lloyd jumped off, worried.
"Moon!" His eyes widened in panic.
Go on. I've reached my limit.
Lloyd heard a voice inside his mind.
"No! I can't do this alone!" he said, shaking his head.
Moon smiled softly at him.
You are the Green Ninja. The prophecy says the Green Ninja will defeat the Dark Lord—and no one else. I believe in you. I trust you, Lloyd.He didn't want to leave, but he had no choice. Yet Moon's words truly touched him, and Lloyd felt a wave of confidence and determination rise.
Moon watched Lloyd climb the final stairs alone before everything went dark and she passed out.
o0o0o
Moon woke up in someone's arms. She opened her eyes, waiting for her vision to focus, and saw that it was Lloyd holding her.
"Ll-Lloyd?" Moon asked weakly, coughing a few times.
They were on top of a golden dragon. Lloyd removed his mask and smiled gently.
"I'm so glad you're awake, Moon!" He was relieved and happy. "It's finally over."
"See? I told you you would defeat him," she smiled, and Lloyd blushed a little.
They soon reached the ground, and Moon landed on her feet—though she needed help staying up because of her exhaustion.
"Lloyd! Moon!" everyone said, relieved.
"You were brilliant, my son," Misako said warmly.
"Because of you, Ninjago was saved. Because of you, there will be a tomorrow," Sensei Wu said proudly.
"And speaking of that, if the Overlord decides to show that ugly face around here again, we'll be ready," Kai said confidently.
"And next time, we'll be a little more humble," Cole added.
"And a bit wiser," Zane agreed.
"More trained to face whatever comes," Moon added.
"And with better one-liners," Jay said, breaking the mood and making everyone laugh.
Lloyd looked sad over the loss of his father, and Moon watched him sympathetically—until she heard a noise and looked to the side.
"I think someone wants to see you," Moon said with a small smile.
"Lloyd. What? What happened?" Garmadon—back to normal—emerged from the rubble, limping.
"Garmadon, is it really you?" Misako said, breathless.
"Dad?" Lloyd almost ran to him, but he was supporting Moon.
Moon pulled away on her own and used her weapon to support herself. Lloyd thanked her and ran to embrace his father. Misako joined them.
"All the evil and venom is gone," Misako said as they hugged him tightly.
"I feel good. Haha, it's been so long," Garmadon said with a warm, nostalgic smile.
"It's good to have you back, brother," Sensei Wu said as he approached.
"Wu! It's good to be back," Garmadon said as they greeted each other.
"Aww, look at that! Who could've imagined? Group hug?" Jay suggested.
"Ah, let them enjoy their moment. They deserve it," Kai said.
"It's been quite a journey, friends," Cole said.
"Will there be more?" Zane asked.
"I think so. I liked being ninjas. And we don't really have any other skills," Cole said.
"Speak for yourself! I'm dying to show the world my other talents—like inventing things, building models, working with poetry—" Kai cut Jay off.
"Jay is right, there's no reason not to use what we've learned in our everyday lives. And who knows? Maybe we restored balance today, but there's still tomorrow. And there's no telling what awaits us... As long as there's something worth fighting for, we will always be ninjas," Kai said in a beautiful and emotional speech. "And we'll be ready."
Moon approached, limping a bit, and leaned lightly on Kai. The Red Ninja blushed even more, and Cole noticed from the corner of his eye—feeling something strange.
Seeing this scene, Moon knew she had finally found what she'd been missing: a family—and she knew she would do anything for them.
Ninjago had begun to be rebuilt, and it seemed a famous inventor had joined the projects to improve the city. Now, Moon was relaxing in comfortable clothes and watering a few plants.
She looked back and saw Garmadon whispering briefly to Misako before awkwardly approaching Moon. He scratched the back of his neck, clearly nervous.
"Look, Moon, about everything that—" he began, but she cut him off.
"It doesn't matter anymore," Moon said with a small smile. "I don't care about the past anymore." She finished watering the plant. "Now it's time to look forward and be the best we can be," she said as she turned to him.
Garmadon had a brief glimpse of the old Moon—the cheerful, smiling child.
"Well," Garmadon cleared his throat, "I don't know if you already have a place to stay, but Misako and I have been talking, and we'd love it if you wanted to stay with us until you find a place of your own. You know, now that Lloyd is the Golden Ninja, the house is going to feel emptier—more spare rooms."
Moon listened carefully and saw Misako give her a thumbs up.
"A-And what I mean is... I want to make things right. Even if you say you don't care about the past, I want to make up for everything I did to you," Garmadon said, looking away in embarrassment.
"I accept," she said simply.
"R-Really?!" Garmadon cleared his throat. "I mean—of course! You're always welcome! I'm sure Lloyd will be happy." He winked.
Moon was confused by the wink but said nothing.
"I just need to gather my things, I hope you don't mind. I recently discovered a very unique and beautiful term—'plant mom'—and you know what? I like it," she said as she continued watering her plants.
Garmadon laughed and agreed. For now, things would be peaceful—but who knew what the future would bring.
_TO BE CONTINUED_