Anirei sat on her bed, still tired from the revelation she had to go through with the others. It had been a day or so since she introduced everyone to her parents, Nox, Meyer, and revealed the missing pieces of her past and the prophecy. It was a lot, but it needed to be revealed.
But now, she had to make a choice and soon before the Overlord could take her and the others out.
"Rei!" Lloyd's voice said behind her bedroom door. He came into the room with a smile, something he always gave Anirei. Even though she hid away so much about herself, he still stayed by her side.
"You feeling up to getting out of bed?" He asked.
Anirei smiled and stood up albeit a little shakily, "I'm okay to walk around for a little bit."
"Great. Come on, Dr. Julien's about to put the falcon back together." Lloyd took Anirei by the hand and led her outside where Dr. Julien was repairing the falcon. They watched happily as he placed every cog and bolt in place.
"Every cog, every gear is important." The inventor explained, "If one piece is missing, or out of place, the invention won't work."
The last cog was placed and the falcon came back to life, cawing at its newfound breath.
"Come now, little one. Time to fly." The falcon did as it was told and flew off to find Zane.
"It is like you Ninja." Sensei Wu compared walking up behind the two Ninja, "You each serve very important roles, and are each key parts to a magnificent fighting force."
"If we're all gears, what if I'm the gear that doesn't work?" Lloyd asked, "What if I don't do my part? What if I can't defeat my father?"
"What if you what ifs turn out to be just bad thoughts to bring you down?" Anirei chuckled, "You have to know, Lloyd, that as the Green Ninja, you are more powerful than Garmadon's darkness. Your light is bright enough to take on his shadows and win."
"Anirei is right. The final battle is almost upon us. When that time comes, we will know the answer to what if, whether we like it or not." Sensei Wu said.
"I know you don't want to face your father, but there's no other choice." Nya added.
"But perhaps there is." Misako revealed, walking over to the group with a scroll in hand, "I used to think it was inevitable, but then I found this."
"You mean Lloyd doesn't have to fight? This I gotta hear." Cole said as he and the other Ninja came back from their beach hangout spot.
"The scrolls say that when the Helmet of Darkness is bequeathed to its rightful ruler, the celestial clock will count down to the activation of an unspeakable weapon." Misako explained, "The first sign that the final battle between good and evil has begun."
Anirei eyes widened as she stared at the picture on the scroll, "Yes, I remember my mother speaking to me about this helmet. She wore it while she controlled the Stone Army for the Overlord, before my father showed her the light."
"Did you just say unspeakable weapon?" Kai repeated questioningly.
"Uh, I'm still stuck on what bequeathed means." Jay said.
"Go on, Misako. Don't let us interrupt you." Cole said, "How do we stop the final battle?"
"There is nothing here that explains what would happen if the Helmet of Darkness is returned." Misako said.
"Interesting. Remove the helmet, the clock starts. Put it back, the clock stops." Sensei Wu observed.
"And the final battle never starts." Lloyd said excitedly.
"Bequeathed, anyone? Is anybody gonna help me out with that?" Jay said.
"That sounds great and all, and I know we have our new powers, but you expect us to get past his whole army of stone warriors and pluck the helmet off his head?" Kai asked, thinking that the hopeful plan was just that, hopeful.
"My brother's right." Nya pointed out, "They're good, but they're not that good."
"I know. And that is why I am going to do it." Misako claimed, "I'll just need a little help."
"And I shall be going along with you, Misako." Anirei claimed. The Ninja quickly pushed her back towards Lloyd and Sensei Wu.
"No way. We're not letting you or Lloyd get anywhere near that camp." Cole said.
"Yes, I agree with Cole. The Overlord is your parents' worst enemy. He killed them. What do you think will happen if he or Garmadon gets a hold of you?" Zane backed up just as protectively.
"I understand the risks, but if the Overlord believes that I have given up, he and the stone army will lower their guard, providing Misako with a better chance to taking the helmet and furthering our plans to stop the final battle. Besides, I not only have darkness, but a light that shakes the Overlord to his very core. He can't touch me with I have this light within me."
Anirei smiled at her elder brothers, not a single worry or care in the world, "Do not worry so much about me. Can't I meet and speak with my 'Grandfather' once in my life? Even if it is to find a way to defeat him?"
The Ninja couldn't really argue against her reasoning. It would be the best way to lower their guards, presenting them with the very thing the Overlord wanted. But at the risk of losing their precious little sister?
But, as they have done many times before in their Ninja years, they had to take it.
With a plan in mind, the Ninja ambushed a few stone warriors, took them out and dressed in their armor to blend in. They tied Anirei and Misako in ropes and went all the way to Garmadon's base camp. Anirei could feel her body shaking terribly in fear, but she had to swallow it down.
The Overlord could not see her fear, or else he would take advantage of it, tipping the scale of light and darkness within her to the latter. Something she never wanted to touch.
Jay knocked on the large wooden gate and they waltzed right in.
"Unhand me, you fiends!" Misako shouted, trying to make it look convincing.
One of the warriors walked up to them, speaking in a different language none of the Ninja could understand.
"Uh, what did he say?" Cole asked.
"I don't know." Kai answered.
"I believe it is an ancient language." Zane pointed out.
"Well, somebody say something."
Anirei took in a deep breath and spoke in the same language as the stone warrior.
"We have been captured, why not take me to my grandfather so we may have a nice chat? Or, would you like to be the one who tells him you procrastinated in bringing him his ultimate prize?"
The warrior's face turned pale and sweaty as he grabbed Misako and Anirei by the arms, dragging them away from the others. The warrior handed Anirei to another warrior while he led Misako to Garmadon's tent.
The one who held Anirei dragged her to a pit, where a large pool of pure dark matter. The waves of darkness coming off from that pool made Anirei sick to her stomach.
"Are you admiring the beautiful pool of dark matter, my precious little granddaughter?" A dark sinister voice asked behind her.
Anirei didn't turn away from the pool of dark matter, not wanting to face the monster that made her an orphan.
"If you have the gall to speak to me, do not address me as granddaughter." Anirei spat back.
"Oh, please. We are blood, even though you are the child of my traitorous daughter."
"My mother was no traitor." Anirei shouted, "She simple saw the light you so desperately tried to hide from her."
"That woman was a fool. She chose a filthy light bearer with nothing to offer her, when she could've stayed with me and ruled the world under darkness by my side."
Anirei spun around in a flash, facing the glowing Overlord. Anger in her eyes, flickering like a burning flame but the stare was colder than the frozen tundra.
"Oh, what kind of face is that to give to your grandfather?"
"YOU ARE NO FAMILY OF MINE!" Anirei shouted, "You created my mother for nothing but darkness, and I am glad she found my father! But now, all you want to do is take over all of Ninjago, to taint it darker than night so that you could feel like some kind of invincible "Overlord"! You've got no right to call me any part of your family! Just looking at you makes me sick!"
All of a sudden, the Overlord floated closer, covering her with his darkness. She fell to her knees, clutching her shoulders as the markings on her back turned pitch black. His darkness was tainting her, but she figured this would happen if she ever came close to the Overlord.
"HOW PATHETIC CAN YOU BE, YOU SPINELESS WEAK EXCUSE FOR A HUMAN GIRL! I GAVE YOUR MOTHER EVERYTHING SHE COULD HAVE EVER DREAMED OF. POWER! AN ARMY TO FOLLOW HER EVERY BECK AND CALL! A FUTURE RULING OVER ALL OF NINJAGO! AND SHE GAVE IT ALL UP FOR WHAT? A SHORT LIFE TAKING CARE OF A WEAK MAN AND AND EVEN WEAKER AND PATHETIC DAUGHTER? SHE SHOULD BE GRATEFUL THAT I MADE HER DEATH COME QUICK AND PAINLESS, AND THAT SHE DIDN'T HAVE TO SEE ME AS I TOTURED HER PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A HUSBAND!"
"NO!!!!!" Anirei screamed, the shadows disappearing from her scream and the markings fading away bit by bit. The Overlord backed away, feeling her light shooting through him with everything it had.
The Overlord looked down at the silver ninja, seeing her terrifying glare cut through him.
"The only pathetic one here is you." She growled, "I can tell that you are threatened by me, and you were threatened by my mother and father, weren't you?"
The Overlord backed away yet again.
"You knew that my father's light was harmful towards you. And that my mother's darkness was becoming more powerful than your own. With my mother's darkness becoming more powerful than your own, you couldn't stand it. That's why you call her a traitor, because she betrayed the one thing you told her become: A monster like yourself. My mother found her happiness with my father, and she told me that her happiness grew when I took my first breath in this world. Without you, my family was happy. And even though I have your darkness passed down through my mother, it was always my mother's power."
She looked up at the Overlord, "So tell me, Overlord, what is your plan? We both know that Garmadon is not strong enough to take all of Ninjago on his own, no matter how pure his darkness is. So why go on saying that this will be his world to rule? What is your plan for my friend's father?"
The Overlord was quiet for a moment, before erupting in a sinister laugh.
"You truly are my granddaughter, so smart and deciphering my sinister plans." He said, "You are correct, that fool Garmadon couldn't even take over the mind of an insect. But, his darkness is useful to me, so I plan to take his body as my own."
Anirei's eyes widened. She figured he could do something like this, but she didn't want to believe it. Garmadon was evil, that much is true, but that evil was like a poison, forcibly injected into him due to the actions of a filthy serpent. And like a poison, there's always and antidote. In Garmadon's case, it was his son's light.
"And as for you...."
Anirei's body shook violently when the pain from her markings came back full throttle. It was as if hot steel knives were being raked all over her body.
"Your darkness will take over very soon, and you will come to me."
The Overlord laughed and disappeared, not thinking about taking Anirei for her darkness was rising. Soon, the markings would never go back to being white, stained with darkness that could never be cleansed again.
She stayed crouched down in pain until it became numb and bearable before walking up the steps that lead out of the pit. As soon as she got out of the pit, she heard the alarms and ran to find the others, who had rejoined near one of the large rocks.
"Elder Brothers! Misako!" She shouted running over to them.
"We got the helmet, now let's get out of here!" Kai said.
"How did you get spotted?" Anirei asked.
"Cole gave us away." Jay blamed.
"Look, I've had a rough day. Can stop laying blame, and focus on what's in front of us?" Cole asked as the ground shook.
"Maybe we should worry about what's behind us." Kai said as they turned around and saw Garmadon inside a large mechanical fighter.
"Cut them down to size." He cackled, swinging his iron sword at the group, who had narrowly moved out of the way.
"If we do not return the helmet before the clock strikes zero, we won't be able to prevent the final battle." Misako shouted.
"Don't worry, i'm on top of it." Jay said, jumping into the air to attack Garmadon, but the machine quickly grabbed him and threw the Blue Ninja away.
"Oh, maybe not. Unh." He groaned. Anirei helped him to his feet.
"Didn't his mama ever teach him the bigger they are, the harder they fall?" Cole said, taking his elemental blade and striking the ground, sending several stones at Garmadon. But they did not do any damage to Garmadon or his weapon.
"Oh, apparently she did."
Kai tried to slow him down with a wall of fire, but not even that stopped Garmadon from getting closer.
"Bye, bye." Garmadon said before punching Kai and knocking him back towards the group.
"Ugh." The Red Ninja groaned, "Well, we better think of something fast, because... I'm out of lines!"
Anirei glared at Garmadon, and stuck her white blade into the ground, "MEYER!" She shouted, a wave of white light running over Garmadon. He screamed in pain and his weapon backed away a few steps.
Just then, the Sonic Radar drilled up from the ground with Nya at the helm. She drove it straight into Garmadon, then came back to the group.
"Hey, guys!" She greeted casually.
"How did you know we needed you?" Jay asked.
"Look up." The Ninja looked up and saw the Falcon circling the camp.
The group with no more time to waste, jumped into the vehicle and drove back down into the ground so they could return the helmet.
They drove through the dark ground, rushing to get to the celestial clock in time, but Anirei could only feel the darkness growing colder. Her entire body shook, the dark markings becoming more black and icy to the touch. Cole, who sat next to the girl, could feel the cold chills from her body.
"Anirei, what's wrong? You okay?" He asked. She immediately shook her head.
"That helmet.... the Overlord.... The darkness is growing stronger." She said, "Nya, we need to go faster, now!"
"We're going as fast as we can, Anirei." Nya replied.
All of a sudden, the Stone Army attacked from behind, and to rid themselves of the warriors, Nya drove back above ground. They lost them quickly, but their relief did not last long as Garmadon came into view in his weapon.
"Hang on!" Nya warned, driving recklessly to avoid Garmadon and escape to the clock.
"Did we lose him?" She asked.
"Not quite." Kai replied.
Garmadon laughed, grabbing the vehicle and lifting it up into the air, shaking it like a child with a new toy. The Ninja screamed as they were thrown away.
"It's stuck!" Nya cried trying to break the windows in order to escape, but it was futile. Garmadon picked up the vehicle again, smiling and glaring at them all once again.
"I finally have you ninja in the palm of my hand." He cackled.
"Let them go!" Another voice shouted in the distance, followed by a bright green shot of light fired right at Garmadon. The Ninja climbed out of the now released vehicle and saw Lloyd approaching his father.
"Lloyd.... please be careful." Anirei said softly, she and the Ninja watching as Lloyd slowly approached his father.
"Holy cannoli, Lloyd and Garmadon in a face-off!" Jay exclaimed, "Take the shot, Lloyd!"
"He's vulnerable!"
"Do not hesitate!"
"Strike now!"
"He won't do it." Anirei said softly once more, "How can he?"
Lloyd stood before his father, creating a large ball of energy in front of him, prepared to take the shot and end this fight. But he just couldn't. Lloyd couldn't take the shot and hit his father.
His destiny would not end with the demise of his father. And somehow deep inside, he knew that to be true.
The Stone Army quickly came to help their master in defeating the Ninja.
"Lloyd, we need to move!" Misako called.d
"The clock is not too far from here." Nya added.
Lloyd ran to the vehicle and they rushed to the clock. But as the sun was setting in the distance and the team dug through the ground towards the clock, Anirei felt that it would soon be too late. She looked down at her hands, the markings already making their way to her palms.
"Rei?" Lloyd called out her name, seeing the dark markings on her hands.
Anirei did her best to conceal her markings, but it was of no use for her to do so. The darkness within her was rising, and she could hardly feel the warmth of her light, the two fighting even more violently within her and causing tremendous pain. It was a miracle that she could even conceal her pain.
Soon, the group made it to the top of the mountain, where Sensei Wu waited at the celestial clock for them.
"Wow." Nya marveled at the clock, "This clock is a mechanical masterpiece."
"You're welcome to dismantle it once we stop it." Misako promised.
"There's only a couple minutes left!" Jay shouted, seeing the time on the clock slowly ticking away.
"Everyone, look for the helmet's perch! It could be anywhere." Misako said and the group split up to search the clock.
"You don't know how to return the helmet?" Sensei Wu questioned.
"It has a resting place somewhere." Misako placed it on the clock, but the timer did not stop.
"Oh, that didn't work."
She climbed up onto the clock and placed it somewhere else, but the clock did not stop.
"Perhaps I've found the perch!" Zane shouted from the bottom. Misako threw the helmet to the white Ninja and he placed on what he believed to be the perch. But once again, the clock did not stop.
"Oh! What about here?" Jay questioned, catching the helmet and placing it on the clock, but again, the clock did not stop.
"Could this be the place?" Sensei Wu asked, but before Sensei Wu could catch the helmet, he was pushed down by the Stone Army General, who had caught the helmet in his stead.
"No!" Jay shouted.
General Kozu laughed in his premature victory, "There's only 30 seconds left." He said, "I believe it's time to die, and that you give back the girl of silver--" General Kozu walked closer to the Ninja, but the helmet was quickly knocked out of his hands by the clock itself.
It bounced from one place to another, landing in Anirei's hands on the other side of the clock.
"Get the girl!" Kozu ordered. Anirei glared at the Stone Army as they came closer to her. She jumped from one place on the clock to another, avoiding their attacks and attempts to get her away from the helmet.
"Anirei! There are only ten seconds left!" She heard her Sensei shout. Anirei looked around and saw the perch near the front of the clock. She swung and ran as fast as she could, landing in front of the perch and placing the helmet on its rightful place.
Immediately, the clock stopped.
"Ah! It worked!" Lloyd and the others cheered, the Green Ninja running up to his friend and hugging her tightly.
"You did it, Rei! You stopped the clock!" He praised and laughed while the others celebrated and cheered. Anirei was about to smile, when another wave of pain caused her to scream. She pushed Lloyd away as the dark markings burned her skin like fire.
"Rei! What's wrong? Talk to me!" Lloyd begged, and his answer was the clock... continuing to tick away and move, horns in the distance blaring loudly in their ears over Anirei's screams of agony.
"The Horns of Destruction. We were too late." Misako pointed out in horror.
A bright light shone from the clock, the beam hitting several parts of the celestial clock and then shining back towards the Army camp in the forest.
The Stone Army inched closer and closer towards the group, pushing them closer towards the edge of the high cliff. All of a sudden, the edge of the cliff broke off, the Ninja, Sensei Wu and Misako all falling towards the dark waters below, and leaving Nya and Anirei with the Stone Army.
"Nya!" Jay shouted.
"Jay!"
"Sis!"
"Rei!"
Anirei looked down at her friends, the pain making it hard for her to scream for them. The General and several other warriors grabbed Nya and Anirei as the Ninja were falling.
"Let them go!" Jay shouted.
"Or what? You'll make a big splash?!" The general joked while laughing as they all fell towards the waters.
Anirei looked up at the warriors that held her back from jumping into the waters to help her friends.
"You are not leaving again." General Kozu claimed, "Bring forth the bracelet."
Another stone warrior brought out in a small silver tray a bracelet made completely out of dark matter. It radiated pure darkness that shook Anirei to her core. The only darkness she would ever want to come into contact with, was the pure, warm and gentle darkness that her mother had passed down onto her.
"What are you doing? Let her go, now!" Nya shouted.
They forced to Anirei to her knees, grabbed her arm and tore off the three bracelets that she had cherished so much.
"I believe it is time we have our true general back." General Kozu said, wrapping the bracelet around Anirei's wrist.
The darkness from her markings pulsated in harmony with the bracelet. And that's when she felt nothing at all. Just listening to Nya as she screamed out her name, and the cold chills of darkness that she was so afraid of feeling.
~~~~
On the ground, the Ninja could hear Nya screaming Anirei's name, the horrifying sound filling all of them with dread and fear.
"This is all my fault." Lloyd blamed himself, "I should've taken the shot."
"We're all at fault, kid." Cole tried to comfort, "It's just the way the cookie crumbled."
"Ah! Are you still making jokes?" Jay shouted, "They've got Nya and Anirei and you're making jokes?!"
Jay tackled Cole to the ground, "It was just a poor choice of words!" Cole tried to explain.
"Enough!" Sensei Wu shouted, making the boys stop their fighting, "We have lost enough. We don't need to lose our focus."
"Forget focus, we have to get them back." Kai said, "We have to get my sister and Anirei!"
"By the time we get back up there, they'll be gone." Misako pointed out, "We will get Anirei and Nya back, but the clock has reached zero, and the final battle could start at any moment. We must head back to the Bounty to get prepared, so that next time, you will not hesitate."
Lloyd nodded, willingly being led back to the Bounty.
"Why did I hesitate?" Lloyd thought to himself, "If I had just taken the shot.... Rei wouldn't be in danger."