Since the ninja got their new powers, they decided it would be best to practice them. Practice meaning fooling around on the shore. Everyone wore their swimsuits, except Lloyd. He was talking to Dr. Julien. Zane had on khaki shorts and a white button up shirt, Jay had on swim trunks and a blue tank top, Kai and Cole were shirtless and had swim trunks of their colors, and Charlie had a purple two piece.
Kai threw a coconut. "Order up. Coconut cream pie. Served well done!" He used the Fire from his sword to blast the coconut, getting a laugh out of everyone.
"It's good to have our powers back." Zane said with a smile.
Jay nodded. "Yup, you're right. And since we've all been working on our witty quips to follow every cool thing we do, I'd say we got this final battle in the bag. Or should I say–" He motioned for Cole to launch another coconut. "–I'd be shocked if we lose!" He used his Lightning on the coconut and laughed as it exploded.
Charlie laughed along, that was until she sensed her uncle approaching.
"Enough!" Wu said. "Are you trying to reveal our hidden location?"
Kai scratched the back of his head. "Uh, sorry, Sensei. We were just practicing our cool new Elemental Blades."
"And our witty quips." Jay added.
"Be wary of overconfidence, ninja." Wu warned. "While it is true your powers can defeat the Stone Army, only Lloyd alone has the power to defeat Garmadon. When it is all over, then we will see who laughs last."
"Yes, Sensei." The ninja synced as he walked away.
Cole looked over and saw Charlie reading a book, her sword stuck in the sand. It wasn't unusual for her, but she had been very quiet. Maybe if he showed her his skills, she would come over.
"Hey, Charlie!" He said. She looked up from her book and Cole aimed for a coconut. "Watch this. Eat dirt, scumbag!" He shot at the "coconut" but was stopped when Zane gasped, "That is not a coconut!" The Ice Ninja deflected Cole's Earth, and the "coconut" turned out to be Zane's Falcon, which landed on his arm.
"Nice reflexes." Charlie said. She stood up and walked over to them. Zane smiled at her before turning back to his Falcon.
"Good to have you back, old friend." He said before wandering off.
Cole looked over at Charlie. "Pretty awesome, right?"
"You mean how you almost torpedoed the Falcon?" Charlie deadpanned.
Cole's face flushed red as he struggled for words. "I didn't–I mean, uh..."
Charlie's face broke into a smile. "I'm kidding. You're so serious, it's too easy."
Cole chuckled lightly. A light breeze blew over the shore, bringing the salty smell of the sea to their noses. It also blew Charlie's chestnut hair into her eyes. Cole brushed her hair out of the way, allowing him to gaze down into her eyes. One green like the forests of their home and one blue like the ocean they now stood by.
His hand lingered near her face and Charlie leaned into it and brought her own hand up over his, intertwining their fingers. Cole pulled their hands away from her face and dropped his sword so he could take her other hand. He pressed his forehead to hers and closed his eyes. Charlie did the same. While they may have been having fun just a moment ago, both Cole and Charlie knew that Wu was right, and they didn't know how long they had to prepare.
"I love you." Cole whispered. He felt like he hadn't told her enough. Charlie squeezed his hands. "I love you, too."
Cole pulled away just enough so he could look at her. She always seemed to carry a burden and it showed in her eyes. It pained Cole to see eyes that sparkled when she laughed be laced with sadness the rest of the time. He did his best to try and shoulder her worries, but sometimes all he could do was just this: spend a moment to tell her how he felt.
Charlie looked over where Lloyd was and saw everyone was gathering. "We should probably get over there." Cole let go of her hand to grab his sword, still keeping his other hand around hers. He pressed a kiss to her forehead before they walked over, grabbing Charlie's sword on the way.
Lloyd was stareing at his feet, a saddened expression on his face.
"We know you don't want to face your father, but there is no other choice." Nya said.
"But perhaps there is." Misako countered. "I used to think it was inevitable, but I found this." She pulled out a scroll.
"You mean Lloyd doesn't have to fight?" Cole asked. "This I gotta hear."
Misako unrolled her scroll, revealing a red and black depiction of the Overlord. "The scrolls say that when the Helmet of Darkness is bequeathed to it's rightful ruler, the Celestial Clock will count down to the activation of an unspeakable weapon. The first sign that the Final Battle between good and evil has begun."
"Did you just say 'unspeakable weapon'?" Kai asked.
"Uh, I'm still stuck on what 'beqeathed' means." Jay mentioned, but everyone ignored him.
"Go on, Mom." Charlie said. "Don't let us interrupt you. How do we stop the Final Battle?"
Misako looked over her scroll. "There is nothing here that explains what would happen if the Helmet of Darkness is returned."
Wu stroked his beard. "Interesting. Remove the helmet, the clock starts. Out it back, the clock stops."
Lloyd's eyes twinkled. "And the Final Battle never starts."
Jay looked at everyone. "Bequeathed, anyone? Is anybody gonna help me out with that?"
"Uh, that sounds great and all," Kai said ignoring the Blue Ninja. "And I know we save our new powers, but you expect us to get past his whole army of Stone Warriors and pluck the helmet off his head?"
Nya nodded. "My brother's right. They're good, but they're not that good."
Misako got a gleam in her eye, the same one that Lloyd had when he wanted to prank someone. "I know. And that is why I am going to do it. I'll just need a little help." She pulled all the ninja except Lloyd to her side. "In order to get past their guards, we need to first get control...."
~~~~~
The Ninja stood at the gate of Garmadon's camp disguised as Stone Warriors. They had Misako tied up. The plan was to get her to Garmadon so she could take the Helmet of Darkness from Garmadon.
"Unhand me, you fiends!" Misako grunted as she "struggled" against her bonds. What looked like the leader of the Army came over. He had white markings and green eyes under his red helmet.
"Unt tin Klata vu!" He said. Weirdly enough, Charlie understood exactly what he was saying, but it seemed the others didn't.
"Atka iktu kuta!" (We found her spying) She said shoving her mother forward.
Kozu nodded and took Misako away, leaving Charlie with the bewildered ninja.
"Charlie, how'd you do that?" Cole asked.
Charlie shrugged. "I don't know, I just knew what he was saying and what to say back."
Zane hummed. "Hmm. Perhaps it is possible that because your powers are connected to the Overlord, you can understand his Army."
Charlie had told them about her connection to the Overlord, and what it meant to be the Master of Darkness. She had never considered what it meant to the Stone Army.
~~~~~
It had been awhile, so the ninja decided to work on their quips. "How about this?" Zane asked. "It's 'ice' to see you."
"Uh, I don't know." Jay said.
Charlie nodded. "Yeah, I feel like you could do better."
"I swear I've heard that before." Cole half muttered to himself.
Kai shifted in his armor. "Ugh. I feel like a clunky mule in this thing."
At that moment, General Kozu came over. "Tuzo tong!" He said.
"Uh, is he talking to us?" Kai asked.
"I think he wants us to get working." Zane guessed.
Before Charlie could confirm, Kozu yelled. "TUZO TONG!!!" The ninja ran away yelling gibberish, getting Dark Matter and carrying it.
"Aw, man!" Jay moaned as he held a tray of the substance. "No matter how many bad situations we get ourselves out of, we never seem to be able to escape chores!"
Cole was leading with a wheelbarrow as they approached a large structure, covered in scaffolding. "What is that thing?"
"It must be the unspeakable weapon Misako was talking about." Zane said.
Cole lead the way towards an elevator. "Looks, guys. An elevator. Sweet." They approached but Kozu stopped them.
"Soya!" He yelled.
"He said not to take the elevator." Charlie translated.
Cole scoffed at the general and started up the ramp. "Ah. Relax, relax. Forget it. Sheesh, what is wrong with these guys?"
As they walked they passed large metal cylinders sticking out the sides of whatever was in the center.
"I don't know about you," Kai said. "But that just looked like some sort of massive cannon."
"What do you think it's for?" Charlie asked as she carried her tray.
"Oh, I don't know." Jay replied nonchalantly. "How about to destroy us?"
Soon they came to a Stone Scout, who bonked Cole on the head with his stick.
"Hey, why don't you bonk someone your own size, half-stack?" The Black Ninja said before kicking the little scout off of the platform. When the Stone Army saw this and ran up the scaffolding to attack, Cole looked at his friends. "That guy seriously had it coming."
"Ninja, go!" The ninja used their Spinjitzu to change back into their gis. Zane spread his Ice over the platform so the Amry would slip. "At least we get to break the ice!"
Charlie laughed. "Haha. Nice one, Zane!"
Jay prepared to shock them. Now your cooking with gas. Or should I say, electricity!" He zapped them. "Going down?"
"Save some lines for us, Jay. I wouldn't want us to bowl over the competition." Cole said as he grabbed a rope and swung. His intention was to take out a group of Scouts, but he missed and crashed into some barrels.
"Let's get Misako and get out of here!" Kai said.
"Ninja, go!" The ninja used their Spinjitzu on the rest of the Warriors running to find Misako.
~~~~~
The ninja found Misako running with the Helmet of Darkness in her hands.
"You got the helmet!" Charlie said.
"And you got spotted." Her mother responded.
Jay pointed at the Earth Ninja. "Cole gave us away."
"All right, I've had a rough day." Cole said grumpily. "Can we stop laying blame, and focus on what's in front of us?"
The ground shook, and Kai said, "Maybe we should focus on what's behind us."
He was right. Behind them was the Stone Army Mech, piloted by Garmadon. "Cut them down." The Dark Lord said before swinging his massive sword.
They dodged, and Misako looked at the helmet in her hands. "If we do not return the helmet before the clock strikes zero, we won't be able to prevent the Final Battle."
"Don't worry, I'm on top of it!" Jay said. He jumped and flipped up to the mech, but it grabbed him and tossed him into the air. The Blue Ninja let out a scream as the mech swatted him to the ground. "Oh, maybe not. Ugh."
Cole planted his sword in the ground. "Didn't mama ever teach him the bigger they are, the harder they fall?" He used his power to fling the rocks on the ground at Garmadon, but they were deflected. "Oh, apparently she did."
Kai created a wall of fire, but the mech wasn't flammable.
Garmadon chuckled maliciously. "Bye, bye!"
Kai groaned. "Ugh, well, we better think of something fast, because...I'm out if lines!"
Just when they thought they were done for, the Earth Driller burst out of the ground and slammed into the Stone Army Mech.
"Whoa, it's Nya!" Jay said.
Nya tripped Garmadon with the driller. "Hey, guys!"
"How did you know we needed you?" Charlie asked.
"Look up." The Samurai pointed toward the sky, where the Falcon was circling above. "Get in!" The ninja and Misako jumped into the driller, Kai and Jay, Misako and Zane, and Charlie and Cole. "Hang on!" Nya drilled underground.
All around them was darkeness. It was almost claustrophobic. Jay held the helmet and was playing with it. "Heh, cool hat. I wonder if it will make me look menacing." He put it on.
Charlie raised her eyebrow. "Is that really wise? If that helmet turns you evil, we're kicking you out."
Jay took off the helmet. "Uh, is that possible? Uh, it's probably got Garmadon cooties anyway."
Up front, Nya was talking to Wu over the screen. Charlie leaned back against the seat. She could only allow herself a moment to relax, because the Stone Army was on their tail. Cole placed his hand on her knee and squeezed it gently.
Are you okay?
Charlie took a breath, it came out shakier than she would've liked. She took his hand off her knee and clutched it tightly.
This is not the time for a panic attack. She said to herself.
"Uh, sis, can we go any faster?" Kai asked nervously.
"Going as fast as we can." Nya said.
Cole gripped Charlie's hand. "We're definitely not going fast enough."
Nya took them above ground and everyone cheered, until they realized that Garmadon still had his mech and was right behind them.
"Hang on!" Nya said. She drove through the forest in hopes to lose him. "Have we lost him?"
Kai turned around to check. "Not quite!"
The ninja were thrown around the driller as Garmadon picked it up and shook it. Charlie couldn't believe her father was doing this while she and Misako were in there. It must have been the Overlord's influence that made Garmadon do this. The Dark Lord threw the driller into a tree.
Nya attempted to break the glass, but failed. "Ugh! It's stuck!"
Garmadon picked them up once again. Cole held his stomach. "I think I'm gonna be sick."
Charlie looked up in terror as her father tossed their vehicle around. This is it. She thought. This is how we go out. But it wasn't. A sudden blast of Energy knocked the mech back, destroying it and opening the glass on the Earth Driller.
Lloyd stood there, watching as Garmadon emerged from the wreckage, clutching his side. He was wounded.
"Lloyd, be careful." Charlie said. Lloyd nodded and turned to face their father.
"Holy cannoli." Jay said. "Lloyd and Garmadon in a face-off! Take the shot, Lloyd!"
"He's vulnerable!" Cole yelled.
"Do not hesitate!" Zane cried.
"Strike now! Kai ordered.
Charlie was anguished. She longed to help her father, to heal his wounds. But Lloyd needed to end this, or Ninjago would be in danger eternally.
Lloyd summoned an Energy orb. "I'm sorry, Father. You leave me no choice. It is our destiny." The Green Ninja looked up at his father. Garmadon was weak, this wasn't a fair fight. If he had to fight his father, he could at least give him the dignity of a fighting chance. Lloyd disapated his Energy.
"No!" Jay cried. "What is he doing?"
Charlie sighed a breath of relief. She wouldn't have to watch her family fight for at least a little while longer.
Suddenly, the ground began to rumble. Misako looked over. "They're coming." The Stone Army rolled up in their vehicles, and Garmadon chuckled.
"Lloyd, we need to move!" Misako called to her son.
"The clock is not too far from here." Nya said.
Lloud nodded. "Okay!"
The Samurai drove to him. "Better hop in, Lloyd."
The Green Ninja jumped in next to Nya. "Go!" They drove off, and drilled away.
~~~~~
When they arrived at the Celestial Clock the sun was setting, making the already eerie looking device look menacing. Wu was already there waiting for them.
"Wow. This clock is a mechanical masterpiece." Nya marveled.
"You're welcome to dismantle it once we stop it." Misako commented.
"There's only a couple minutes left!" Jay said. He was right. The clock was nearing it's end. Cole got out, holding his hand out to Charlie. She took it, but she wasn't able take her eyes off the clock. Their last chance to stop the Final Battle.
Misako got on the moving platform near the ground. "Everyone, look for the helmet's perch! It could be anywhere."
"You don't know how to return the helmet?" Wu asked.
"It has a resting place somewhere." Misako set the helmet down on the clock, but nothing happened. "Oh, that didn't work." She jumped up and placed it again. "Maybe here."
Zane waved his hands. "Perhaps I found the perch!" Misako tossed the helmet to him, and the Ice Ninja set it down, but once again nothing happened. "Ugh, no. Wrong place."
Jay jumped up and down and pointed. "Oh, what about here?"
Wu caught the helmet Zane threw. "Could this be the place?" He was about to set the helmet there, but Kozu pushed him and took the helmet.
"No!" Charlie yelled.
"There's only thirty seconds left." Kozu said smugly. "I believe it's time to die–" A pole on the clock pushed helmet out of his hands, sending it up the clock lodging it in the moving parts. "No!"
"Get the helmet!" Misako ordered.
Cole nodded. "Right!" He began to climb the clock. The Earth Ninja had grown up climbing mountains, but this was nothing like that. There were no rough surfaces to grip, and everything was moving. So when Cole grabbed the helmet, he wasn't prepared for another pole to knock it out of his hands.
Misako caught it as Cole got down. She scanned the clock, and her eyes settled on the front. "Ah! The helmet's perch!"
"There's only ten seconds left!" Charlie said worriedly.
"I'll get it." Misako ran to the clock, but was blocked by a Stone Warrior. Luckily, Wu kicked him. "Hurry, Misako!"
Misako ran to the clock and flipped to the perch. She set it down as the clock struck zero, and it halted.
"NOOOOOO!!!!" Kozu cried.
"Ah! It worked!" Lloyd yelled excitedly.
"We did it!" Nya said as she hugged her brother. Jay and Zane high-fived, and Cole picked up Charlie in a hug. They did it. They stopped the Celestial Clock and the Final Battle would never happen.
But suddenly, the clock began to move again, this time blaring a horn.
"No!" Wu cried as Kozu laughed evilly.
"The Horns of Destruction." Misako said. "We were too late."
The Stone Army surrounded them, and the ninja prepared to fight. But the ground beneath them gave way, sinking ten feet down. Nya was the only one up there.
"Nya!" Jay called.
"Jay!" She cried.
Kai looked up at her. "Sis!"
Kozu grabbed her, to which Jay growled, "Let her go!"
Kozu just laughed. "Or what? You'll make a big splash?"
The ground started to give way again, and the ninja fell into the Endless Sea.
~~~~~
Charlie tried to wring out her hair, but there was no use. Wu pulled Lloyd out of the water. He stood up and wiped his face before an ashamed look crossed it.
"This is all my fault. I should've taken the shot." He said.
Cole walked over to him and held his shoulders. "We're all still fault, kid. It's just the way the cookie crumbles."
Jay tackled him to the ground. "Ah! Are you still making jokes? They have Nya, AND YOU'RE MAKING JOKES?!!"
"It was a poor choice of words!" Cole reasoned. Jay raised his fist to punch him, but Charlie grabbed him.
"Enough!! We already lost so much. We don't need to lose our focus too!"
Jay sighed and helped Cole up with Charlie. The Purple Ninja clung to her boyfriend's arm for support.
"Forget focus." Kai said. "We have to get my sister."
Misako frowned. "By the time we get back up there, they'll be long gone. We will get your sister, but the clock has reached a zero and the Final Battle could start at any moment." She turned to Lloyd. "We must head back to the Bounty to get prepared, so that the next time, you will not hesitate."
And so the Ninja walked down the shore, feeling like they already lost. Charlie reached for Cole's hand, lacing their fingers together. It was hard to believe that only that afternoon, they had been playing on the shore.