It's been at least an hour since the Nindroids left and we still haven't found a way home. We've been too busy fighting off these stupid Glow Beetles, which are continuing to try and eat us and our ship.
"These bugs just keep coming! We're going nowhere," Kai exclaims angrily.
"Nya, there's no way we're getting off this planet," Jay says solemnly. "Any last words, my darling?"
"How about, 'It was always you Cole. I wont be able to carry on without you.'"
"Now is not the time for that!" I can practically hear Nya's glare. "Can't I just care for both of you? Now just don't give up."
"Dad was right," Lloyd says to me, "we should've never given up our Gold and Silver Power. We could have all been home. Now the Overlord has all he needs to become the Golden Master."
"Don't say that," Dad says. "I was wrong. You must trust your friends. Trust yourselves."
"They've returned with the Golden Weapons," Pixal informs. "It's only a matter of time."
"Search for the power within," Uncle says, "then realize the greatness within each other."
"He's right," I say. "We can get off this planet."
"What about yours and Lloyds energy, Tasha?" Kai asks.
"It's too far," Zane says. "They'll never be able to keep their focus that long."
"No one happens to have a build-your-own-rocket-kit handy, do they?" Cole asks.
"Woah, that's it!" Lloyd suddenly exclaims.
"You have a build your own rocket kit?" I ask, looking at him skeptically.
"No, but we can make one," Lloyd replies. "Arcturus may not fly, but she'll give us all the metal we need." He begins to pace around the wreckage, ignoring the glow bugs that still attack. "And Zane knows this solar system better than anyone."
"And Kai's Fire could weld the missing parts," Zane adds.
"Cole's manpower could do all heavy lifting.".
"And Jay has enough electricity and nerd knowledge to make a halfway believable spacecraft."
Jay laughs, then glares at Cole. "Hey!" He pauses, then says, "Hey. This could actually work!"
Ten difficult minutes later, we had our ship constructed. It was small, shaped sort of like a cannon, just big enough for the six of us to fit comfortably.
"Lets fire this thing up and see if she'll fly," Kai says.
Lloyd and I run through the checklist.
"Boosters?"
"Check."
"Electronics?"
"Check."
"Navigation?"
"Check."
"How are we holding together?"
"Bubblegum and a wish," Cole says enthusiastically.
"Let's go home, fellas," I say.
~
"Hold on! We're almost there!" Cole shouts. Every alarm that could be going off is currently going off and we are so close to home.
"My power source has reached critical mass," Zane says. "It appears my unlimited energy is in fact limited."
"Critical mass? Like, it's gonna blow up!" Jay shouts.
"Don't worry about me. I must use my power to hold our vessel together," Zane says.
"No way, Zane," Lloyd argues. "Entering the atmosphere means we have air."
"No, it means we're gonna burn up!" Jay yells.
"Listen!" Lloyd says firmly. "With just enough air, we can support our Elemental Shields."
"Let's try, guys!"
The ship explodes. I shut my eyes and focus on my powers. A wall of purple energy forms around me as my body plummets towards the Earth. Opening my eyes and looking around, I see that the boys have also accessed Elemental shields.
"Hate to bring it up now, but parachutes would've come in handy!" Cole yells over the turbulence.
"Friends and family make a good substitute!" Kai shouts back.
"Coordinating catch! Be on lookout," Pixal yells.
"Kai, go for 56 degrees north, 12 east." Kai lands easily in his fire jet.
"Zane you're next!"
"Don't worry, I've got you!" Zane says. He banks right and lands in his ice copter.
Jay and Cole land in their mechs. Lloyd lands on his motor bike and I land on mine.
"Welcome home, Ninja," Uncle says.
"Brother, I can't remember the last time we fought together on the same team," Dad says.
"I have the city in my sights," Zane says.
"City? That's not a city! That's an impenetrable fortress!" Jay exclaims. And he wasn't exaggerating. Borg tower was glowing red and the surrounding buildings were smushed together to form a great wall.
"Behind that wall, the Golden Master has the power of the First Spinjitzu Master," Dad says.
Borg suddenly pulls up on my bike's control screen. "Ninja, if you get this message, I've managed to escape and have found refuge within the Temple of Fortitude here in the city."
"The Temple of Fortitude?" Uncle says. "That was left over from the Stone Warriors. The Overlord used it as a stronghold against the power of the First Spinjitzu Master."
"It has a sacred seal of protection that can resist the Golden Power," Dad adds. "Very clever."
"If you can make it here alive, I think I have a device that could defeat him," Borg finishes.
"Then we have to get to that Temple," Lloyd declares. "Everyone stay together!"
With a loud screech, I take off in the lead, Lloyd close on my tail. Nya, Jay, and Kai take to the skies while Cole, Zane, Uncle, and Dad speed behind us. The closer we get to the wall of buildings, the faster my heart starts to beat.
"Kai! You, Nya, and Zane take the high road. We'll make our own road," Lloyd shouts.
I grin and bank right, Lloyd following close behind. We drive up a rock that is shaped like a ramp and crash through the window of one of one of the buildings. Lloyd and I speed out into the streets on the other side, flying straight into fire.
"The Temple is up ahead!" Uncle shouts.
"Two down and moving onwards to the--"
Nya's sentence is cut off by a scream and a loud crash. Her line goes silent.
"Nya's down!" Kai shouts. "I repeat, Nya's down!"
"I'm going back for her," Cole says.
"No, I'll go back!" Jay argues.
"Go back, and our probability to make it to the Temple exponentially diminishes!" Zane says.
"This isn't about numbers, Zane," Kai says heatedly. "It's about family."
"Everyone else head to the Temple, we'll go pick up Nya," Lloyd says, glancing at me.
Lloyd and I speed down the street in Nya's direction. The boys, ignoring our orders, meet up with us.
"I've got her," Kai says. "She's on the corner of Bradley Boulevard and--"
Before he can finish his sentence, we're all thrown from our vehicles with a loud BOOM! We've been blasted by the Overlord's golden power.
"And somewhere," Kai finishes weakly.
"The famous Ninja have time for a meet-and-greet," the Overlord says. He sit's in a large machine with three sharp legs, kind of like Borg's spider chair. "Let's dance!"
With a high pitched cackle, the Overlord starts to spin; his spinning then turns into a large golden spinjitzu, almost the size of the tornado of creation, creating strong winds that suck up cars and powerlines in his path.
"Change of plans," I say, stumbling to help Lloyd up. "RUN!"
I run as fast as I can, the boys at my side, but every step I take is a struggle. It feels like I have one hundred pound weights attached to my feet and I can barely lift my knees up. We're moving at a speed that could hardly be considered walking, and yet we're focusing all our energy and effort into this simple action.
As the Overlord gets closer, running becomes harder and the debris becomes thicker, more difficult to dodge. We turn the corner, the Temple now in sight. I can just barely see Uncle and Dad waiting for us. I push myself harder, fight against the winds holding me back.
"Just keep going!" Lloyd shouts.
With a final burst of energy, I force my legs across the threshold. Jay comes in across behind me, Cole behind him, and Kai behind him, until finally Zane and Lloyd burst into the temple. Dad and Uncle slam the door shut.
"Brother now!" Uncle shouts.
"Activate the shield!"
At my father's words, an electric blue force field forms around the temple. The Overlord's spinjitzu collides with it and he is knocked back. We are safe.
"You said you had a weapon that could stop him," Lloyd says, panting.
The building shakes as the Overlord tries to break through the barrier again.
"I do. It is my best protected secret," Borg replies.
"What is it?" Jay asks.
Borg presses a button that raises a hidden platform. On this platform is a large metal box with many glowing red buttons. Borg begins to press them and it begins to unlock, layer by layer.
"It is well-protected," Zane comments, impressed.
"Is it an ancient curse?" Lloyd wonders.
"I say fire power," Kai says.
"I hope it rocks," Cole says enthusiastically.
"Is it dangerous? Is it alive? Does it come with a manual? Is it a- a-
The silver box slowly splits opens to reveal-
"A pill?" Jay stares at Borg like he's gone insane.
"Ah, not just any pill, a nano pill." Borg picks it up for us to see better. "For all of time, scientists have been searching for a holy grail of inventions. A diet pill that actually works!"
I stare at the pill, unimpressed.
"Just wait until you are old," Dad says, glaring at the six of us, "you'll see why it's so important. Tell me, Borg. Does it work?"
"No," Borg says, earning a sad sigh from my father. "But, the nanotechnology inside has an adverse effect. It not only shrinks your waistline, but miniaturizes you as well."
"You've made a shrinking pill?" Zane clarifies.
"Let me get this straight," Kai says, flabbergasted. "You want us to get close to this guy, who has armor that with the mere touch, would make us toast, and you want us to give him a pill?"
"Precisely!"
"Brother, do you remember when both of us were on the same team?" Dad asks, a smirk crawling across his face.
"Uh, hey, yeah, old timers, mind paying attention? We're trying to save the world here!"
Wu ignores Jay's comment. "You're right, brother, on the playground when we were kids. Templegate Tigers."
"Ha, I threw a mean curve ball, and your stick could thread the needle!" Dad continues joyously.
"So true," Uncle Wu says, grinning fondly. "Get us close, Ninja, and we'll give the Golden Master his medicine."
"Alright," I say. "But we'll need armor. As much as I love these silky suits, they don't offer much protection."
"Uh, have just the thing," Borg says excitedly.
He wheels out of the room, returning a few seconds later with some Old Stone Warrior armor.
"We decided to keep some after the Overlord was defeated the first time," he explains, handing a suit to each of us.
"Are you sure this is gonna protect us?" Kai asks, holding the armor gingerly.
"If the Overlord's Stone Warriors used this against the First Spinjitzu Master, I see no reason why we can't use it against those exact same powers," Dad replies.
I lift the armor over my head and slide it on. Immediately, it absorbs into my suit, imbedding a silver breastplate and shoulder pads into the purple silks. The building shakes again and the blue barrier outside begins to retract.
"The seal! It's broken!"
Nya comes crashing in, running over the Nindroids that were waiting outside. "Better late than never!" she says. "Go get 'em, Ninja!"
~
We leapt across buildings, doing our best to stay out of the Nindroids' sight. Dad and Uncle ran more slowly behind us. Suddenly, the shingles from the roof of a nearby building break off and form a fist. They hammer down on us, but shatter without doing any damage.
"I don't believe it!" Cole exclaims, "the armor's working!"
"Keep going! We have to keep the heat off the Sensei's!" Jay shouts.
The six of us run across the spider webs of golden power that connect to the buildings and the overlord, cutting apart some of it as we go. Angry, the Overlord builds a wall of cars across the building that we're on, but we break through, meeting him face to face. He then starts to destroy the buildings, sending rock and debris raining down on the people of Ninjago.
"We have to save the people!" Lloyd shouts.
"We have to get the Sensei's closer!" Kai argues.
Scales then slithers out of a manhole. "People of Ninjago, fallow me!" he hisses. The people don't hesitate to climb back down with him and into the sewers.
"Snakes on our side? Great. Now I've seen it all," says Jay.
"We'll never get close enough," Kai says, turning his attention back to the Overlord, who has climbed further into his nest of golden webs.
"We wont need to," Dad says. "Ready to thread the needle brother?"
"Let's show them what old timers can do."
Dad leaps into the air, landing on one of the golden strings of power and bouncing back up. Uncle Wu jumps off after him, landing on Dad, who thrusts him higher into the air. Dad tosses the pill into the air, and Uncle Wu whacks it with his staff. The pill seems to fly through the air in slow motion, getting closer and closer to the Overlord's open mouth. But at the last second, Pythor jumps into the air and swallows it, instantly shrinking.
"That was it?" The Overlord taunts. "That was all you've got?"
The golden tendrils reach out, wrapping around my waist and lifting me in the air. Next to me, my friends are picked up as well, everyone except Zane. Then I remember my vision and my mouth goes dry.
Zane is going to die.
"The armor! Why isn't it working?" Cole shouts.
"Because your time is over!" The Overlord yells.
"Support me, friends, for one last time."
Zane runs and jumps from the building, bouncing off the golden strings that are holding us. He flies through the air and grabs onto the Overlord's armor. Immediately, he turns an icy shade of blue.
"Let my friends go!" He yells.
"Go where, doomed Ninja?"
Zane's body begins to shake as he turns bluer and bluer. The air around us grows cold.
"The Golden weapons are too powerful for you to behold," the Overlord declares. "Your survival chance is zero!"
The skin like material that covers Zane's body begins to peal away, leaving only his titanium insides.
"This isn't about numbers. It's about family."
The golden power begins to leave the golden tendrils, dropping us to the ground. Zane absorbs this power, turning evermore blue. His power core emits a blinding white light, everything is so cold..
"He's not letting go!" Lloyd cries.
"His heart!" Jay shouts. "It's reaching critical mass!"
"If his heart overloads, he'll blow!" Cole exclaims. "He'll never survive."
"Let go of him Zane!" Kai yells. "What is he doing."
I swallow the lump in my throat. "He's protecting us."
"I am a Nindroid, and Ninja Never quit," Zane declares. "Go ninja, GO!"
Ice flies from his hands and straight into the Overlord's chest. I can see my breath now and ice is creeping up the sides of the buildings.
"What are you doing!" the Overlord screams. "Let me go, you fool!"
The ice begins to envelope the Overlord in a giant ball. Zane is as blue as the ice he shoots. He glows brighter than the sun, it's blinding. It's so cold and I know what's going to happen next.
"No, Zane! No!" Jay wails
"We have to get out of here, now!" Uncle says.
Shards of ice and snow fly everywhere. Zane is about to explode, I know it. Dad and Uncle Wu are trying to drag everyone to the man hole. The boys fight, Lloyd most of all. But I allow myself to be moved because I know what's about to happen and I am too numb to fight.
And just as the lid to the man hole is being closed over our heads, Zane explodes.
The Titanium Ninja has fallen.
~
*laughs in Lord Garmadon*
Grab your tissues everyone because next chapter (and the entire 4th season) will tear your heart to shreds. 😈
Nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed, and until next time, Wacky AWAY!
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