Darkness screeches with laughter, "that was it? That was all you've got?!" She takes the golden orb into her hands and absorbs the power instantly, even the golden webs we were standing on. We all fall towards the ground because we even have a chance to counter attack... Not that we had another plan to begin with.
The fall wasn't that big of a deal considering we're all professionally trained ninja. So we land on the ground with ease in front of Borge Tower, turning around instantly to see what the golden power was going to do to her.
Darkness body contorts into a weird hybrid shadow, similar to the form the Overlord had when he was the Golden Master, except with one creepy aspect. It still sorta looked like me.
She was just as big of the Overlord, if not bigger. Her body kept glitching in between forms. One that looks like evil me, black hair and all. But it would switch every once in awhile to be a smoke form.
I have no idea what we're gonna do... and in all honesty, why did we storm into battle with simple pill? Really bad call on our part.
Darkness was like a child on Christmas. She was boasting about her victory... mainly to herself, but Pythor was in total awe of her, giving her constant praises.
While she's completely blissed out on golden power, Sensei Wu gets our attention and leads us over to a near by alleyway.
~
"Well, that was a total failure!" Jay exclaims quietly
"Thank you for stating the obvious, Zaptrap!" Cole says
I lean against the side of the building and take a deep breath.
"She has all the dark power now. She has all the golden power now. How in the world are suppose to stop her? Even with the ninjas combined elemental powers, what is that gonna do?"
I come back to reality to discover Jay and Cole still bickering back and forth, Wu trying to get their attention.
"Students!" He says forcefully, "this is not going to help. We need to get refocused and figure out what to do."
"He's right." Garmadon says, "our first priority now needs to be the people. We have to get them to safety before she can do anymore damage."
"How can we evacuate the city? She encased us inside." Kai says
"Yeah, I know we managed to get in, but that was just 10 of us. How are we supposed to get everyone out without her noticing?" Lloyd asks
"I think we can help with that." A voice says
We all look around for the source of the voice. No one else is around us in the alley, that is not standing directly in it.
A manhole cover underneath us slides open and a snake appears.
"Scales?!" Everyone says
"Yes, yes, you're all shocked to see me, but that will have to wait." His hissing voice informs us.
"You can help us with the citizens?" Zane asks
"Yes, we can lead everyone down below with us. We will keep them safe."
"Why did you come back? I thought you made a vow to never return to the surface?" Kai asks, cocking an eyebrow.
"The elders and I have been in council and have decided to follow in our ancestor's path and help the people of Ninjago against the reign of the Golden Master. We're hoping to change the old legend and have the people believe us this time." Scales declares
"But Ninjago City is huge. Citizens could be hiding out anywhere." I say
"I have my troops stationed all over the city, we'll lead down as many as we can."
Everyone looks to each other in agreement, not many other choices left anyways.
"Thank you, Scales." Wu says
The snake waves him off, "think nothing of it. You can repay us by stopping the Golden Master's reign."
"You've got it. Just leave it to us." Cole says, punching his fist into his opposite palm.
Scales rolls his eyes and descends down to the sewers.
"Oh ninja, where did you go?!" Darkness' voices echoes over us.
"Well, now that the people will be protected, what do we do about her?" Jay asks, gesturing out of the alleyway.
No one said anything, no one had any ideas... well, almost no ideas. Everyone has one coherent thought: I need to absorb her again.
But no ones saying it because we all know just how peachy that worked out last time. And this is even more power than before because now she also has the Overlord as well. If I couldn't handle her then, how am I supposed to handle her now?
I'm not suggesting it either and here's why: I don't want toooo!!
And I know how totally mature that sounds. But come on! She's fucking gigantic!
Kai clears his throat nervously and says, "I hate to be the one to say it, but this is kinda your department, Lindsey."
I snort, "oh yeah, allow me just to march up and take control of that fucking thing." I say gesturing to the Golden Master in her spider mech.
"Lindsey, we know you're scared, but you're the only one who can contain the darkness." Garmadon says comfortingly, "I know all too well about what it takes to control darkness."
I stare at him in utter disbelief, "having 4 arms to possess the Golden Weapons, trying to divert Lloyd's and my training so we couldn't harness our powers, reawakening an evil dark island, thus releasing the Overlord. Who by the way possessed you and started all of this mess around us. If you call that control than I think I am doing one hell of a job."
"Linds!" Lloyd snaps at me harshly under his breath.
"Okay, very rude... but am I wrong?"
"Sorry." I say awkwardly
Garmadon laughs in a low voice, "don't be. You are right. I did a lot of horrible things while consumed by darkness, but I want to atone for my mistakes."
I just sorta of nod uncomfortably at him. I know I'm stalling and now is not the time for it because she's not gonna just sit up there and wait for us forever, but it I can't help it. Not only do I not want to Darkness, I'm afraid to.
"I did control it for as long as I could, but this was when you and your brother were very little. You wouldn't have any memory of it." Garmadon continues
I look down at the pavement with a huge sigh, "I can't do it. I can't contain her. But everyone's staring at me, expecting me to handle the situation. How am I supposed to say no to them? I can't do it..."
"But I guess here goes nothing."
I look back up, meeting their gazes. Some look worried. Some look like they feel bad for me. Zane's smiling at me with a warm and caring smile, one that says he trusts me. But he also trusted me during the Final Battle and I let him down. Let all of them down.
"Okay, let's do it." I say in a confident tone, but in all reality the amount of confidence I am able to muster at the moment is zero.
They nod, looking relieved, yet somehow guilty as well. I don't know why because it's not like it's their faults.
"Alright, then I guess the next thing we have to come up with, is getting Lindsey an opening." Cole says
"He's right, we can't just send her in. I mean look how freakishly huge Darkness is! And that spider mech?!" Jay exclaims hysterically, waving his arms around like a maniac.
"Thank you, Jay, this is very helpful." I deadpan, "I KNOW HOW HUGE SHE IS!!"
"So how are we going to distract her?" Kai asks
"We may not have to." Zane says, deep in thought. I think he's running different scenarios through his scanner.
"What do you mean, Zane?" Uncle Wu asks
"There is an obstacle that without overcoming we will not be able to deafest Darkness."
"What is it?" Lloyd questions
"Darkness is no longer fabricated of only dark materials. She is now infused with golden energy." Zane explains
"You're right... but what does this mean for us exactly?" Kai inquires
"Lindsey, is not able to harness Golden elements. As long as Darkness has the golden power, she won't be able to defeat her."
"I don't think anyone else thought of that. This is why everyone should have a nindroid."
But lucky for us, we don't need to worry about what to do with the golden energy, "Then it's a good thing that Lloyd can absorb the golden power source." I say, bumping my brother's shoulder, which he returns back right away.
"Precisely. Lloyd needs to take in the golden power in order for Lindsey to contain Darkness."
Lloyd nods without hesitation, ready to go.
"So the plan is, the 4 of us create an opening for Lloyd to take her powers. That'll probably leave her exhausted if not stunned. Then in her weakened state, Lindsey can finish her off." Cole instructs
Everyone agrees with this plan, even me. Although on the inside I'm still freaking the hell out.
The 4 ninja leave the alley, getting into positions nearby after they came up with their own strategy. Lloyd and I lay low close by, ready for the signal.
My brother gives me a sideways glance, "you sure you're okay with this?"
"Not really any other choice." I reply nonchalantly, shrugging my shoulders
He turns to me fully, looking kinda upset by my statement, "what do you mean no other choice? There's always another choice. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do, Lindsey."
"Really? Because if I said no, what exactly would plan B be? Lloyd, I am the only one who can contain her, even if I totally suck at it, I'm the only one. If I said no, Ninjago would've been doomed and it would've been all my fault. So don't tell me there's always another option because there isn't. You and I have never had a say over our destinies all of our lives." I say irritably with a sort of desperation as well.
He looks back towards Darkness again, eyebrows furrowed. Then back to me, with a small somewhat sad smile in his face, "guess you're right. Well, then if this truly our destiny, then I promise to actually be there for you this time."
"Lloyd, you were there for me before. Darkness is the one who split us up."
"Yeah, well that's not happening again, not on my watch. I won't let it. I'll be there to make sure you stay awake and in control the whole time." He says confidently
"Uh okay... how exactly?"
"I don't know for sure yet, but I promise not to leave your side until I do."
"Oh my First Spinjitzu Master, I'm gonna get sick of you, aren't I?" I say grumbly
"Oh yeah, definitely!"
"Well, What about you? How are you about absorbing the Golden Weapons? You gave up some of your power because you said it was too much." I say
"Yeah, but it's destiny." Lloyd answers with a smirk.
"Oh this kid!"
"Guess you get to be the Ultimate Spinjitzu Master again." I say with a slight giggle, trying to hide my nerves.
He chuckles slightly, "yeah Lloyd and Lindsey Garmadon, the Ultimate Spinjitzu Master and... Darkness? No way am I referring to you as darkness."
"I got it!" I exclaim, "The Ultimate Spinjitzu Master and... The Greatest Evil!" I say dramatically
"What?! Linds, no!"
His face shows just how completely shocked he is by my statement, it makes me laugh. I finally have to put my hand over my mouth to stifle the sound since we're still trying to keep our low profiles.
Lloyd's face changes from shocked to a faked annoyed look. I knows it's fake because I can tell he's fighting back a smile.
"But seriously, Linds, you can do it."
"You've said this already... and I couldn't do it."
"How do you know?"
"Because I'm the oldest which means I'm always right."
"You have got to be kidding-"
"Because I trust you." His tone softens, dropping all sarcasm, "and because I believe in you. And because you're too stubborn to let it happen again." He smiles
"Why did that make me wanna cry? Ugh, I'm so weak!"
"And I mean it, right by your side."
I smile back at him. Why does his support feel like an unknown weight being lifted off my chest? It's not like I haven't had his support before. But for whatever reason, I feel it more.
"Ready and standing by for your confirmation." Zane's voice comes through our headset.
"You ready?"
"No." I nod, "let's do it!"
~
Lloyd and I watch from the alleyway, ready for the ninja to alert us.
The 4 ninja attack from all sides. Zane and Cole at the front of her while Jay and Kai ambush from behind.
"Oh, there you are, ninja!" She yells happily, "I was starting to think you left me. Come back to join the fun?"
The 4 of them try different maneuvering techniques to get close to her, but she was using her machine to shoot more golden webs around her, trying to hit them.
Lucky, they were able to dodge them, but they also weren't getting any closer.
"Tell me, was the shrinking pill Lindsey's idea? It was, wasn't it? It was too idiotic and pathetic to be anyone else's."
I scoff, feeling highly offended.
"No one wants to tell me?" She asks sweetly, as she dodges another one of Jay's attacks with ease, "no? Just the fighting? Alright, have it your way then." And with that she shoots out another dozen strings, tangling every which way.
One almost catches Kai. He almost manages to get away, but Darkness sends another behind Kai, tripping him. He's stuck underneath 5 webs, all intertwining around him. No matter which way he rolls to get out of the way, another string overlaps in front of him, caging him in.
Kai sends a fireball, getting a direct him on one of the webs. It breaks long enough for him to get out, but rematerializes just as he's getting away. The web looks different somehow... I just can't say why exactly.
I look around at the others.
Cole has a web lacing up his left arm and leg, moving towards his chest. He finally gets away by using his strength to snap them in half. But just like what happened with Kai, they reform themselves and they look different. Like, sturdier?
Jay and Zane are stuck right next to each other. Jay being held upside down by his ankle. Zane having both wrists being held in place.
Jay sends a bolt of lightning up the web and it releases him. He falls a few feet to ground, but catches himself in time. I watch the web. Gone for a few seconds and comes right back.
Zane twist his wrists around and grabs hold of the string. He shoots ice out, freezing the web until it shatters in frozen golden shards. It takes a little longer, but the string comes back as well. Then it hits me.
I turn on my speaker, "guys, you can't hit the golden Webs with your powers directly." I instruct
"What? Why?" Kai's responds
Lloyd looks at me for a second, confused. Then goes back to the fight. I could tell he was getting antsy about waiting. He was nervous bouncing/rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet, which he does when he's getting impatient. It's an reaction rarely seen because he has the patience of a God! But that's besides the point... I know that if he didn't have to wait for an opening, he'd be out there right now, fighting along the others.
"Your elements make up the golden power. Every time you break a web, it absorbs your power and it grows back stronger."
Jay had just finished breaking another one as I was saying this. He inspects the web as it rematerializes, grabbing it in his hand for a second, "she's right. It's not as flimsy."
"Then what do they do?" Lloyd asks
"You've gotta fight without really fighting her... if that makes any sense?" I say awkwardly because let's be honest, that's not really a suggestion.
However, everyone including Lloyd, shouts, "THE ART OF THE SILENT FIST!"
I gab at Lloyd for a few seconds, "wh- What...?" I ask, completely lost.
"It's something that dad taught us, we'll catch you up later."
"Just leave it to us!" Cole exclaims
Cole uses his strength to break the ground under Darkness, trying to catch her off balance. Which it does for a few seconds. The sudden earth quake made her mech temporarily lose control and start to fall. The dust clouds from the earth shifting create a form of smoke screen around her.
Darkness screams somewhat startled, but mostly annoyed, as she tries to control her machine. Jay uses this to his advantage and jumps on top of it, frying the whole system. The golden webs stay where they were, but with the machine down, Darkness couldn't produce anymore. And by the looks of it, she didn't have the best ability to control the golden power without her machine, like the energy was responding slow or only at half strength.
She was furiously trying to get the system rebooted, but it was proving to be difficult while simultaneously fighting off the ninja's attacks.
Cole and Kai work together to make another controlled earth quake so I didn't go out around the city. Kai made a sort of explosion to create a pit out of the shifted earth, big and deep enough fir her still being in her enormous state. That's when Zane comes in and freezes the ground all around them. Darkness, unable to regain the control over her machine, slips on the ice and falls into the pit, shrieking with more fury than I've ever heard. The webbing falls all over the ground and tangles above the hole as well.
"Lloyd, now!" Jay yells
"While she's distracted!" Kai adds
My brother and I run over to the others by Borge Tower and I'm finally able to see her in the pit.
She landed on her back, still in the machine and is struggling to get out. I look at the golden webs. They appear to be becoming weaker, the shining color becoming more dull, starting to evaporate as Darkness loses more and more control. Her eyes lock with mine and the hatred I see is kinda terrifying. She's about out of the mech, trying to stand up, but the webbing is keeping her caged in and she doesn't have the ability to move it very well.
Her hands out stretch to them, but they only respond with slight movements. She screams once again, but doesn't say anything.
"It's now or never, Lloyd." I say calmly
My brother steps up to the edge of the pit and holds onto one the strings. It instantly responds to him and lights up again, the others around us doing the same.
Lloyd closes his eyes and focuses all his energy into absorbing the golden power, similar to what I did months ago.
The ropes evaporate again, but instead of disappearing, they become a sort of smoky, floating light substance. It's wispy and bright and has a peaceful presence to it, it's mesmerizing to watch.
The light makes its way towards Lloyd become brighter the closer it gets. Darkness screams again, but there's a different emotion behind it. It's almost fearful. It catches me so off guard, I take my eyes off my brother and look back to her. The gold energy was streaming out of her and the more she lost, the smaller she became again.
"No! You can't just take this from me!" She cries and makes grabby hands at the light, but of course, there's nothing to grab onto, so it just slips through her fingers.
Her eyes are wide with terror which is an emotion I've never seen on her. She's also so cool and confident in the more arrogant of ways, I forgot, or didn't even think she was capable of such an emotion.
I look back to Lloyd, unchanged by her protests, only focusing on his task at hand. But I notice that Garmadon and Wu are standing around the hole with the ninja and I. Along with Nya, Pixal and Cyrus Borge, who have just made there way over here. No one says a word, just simply watches. Not much to say anyway.
The process continues until she's back down to her regular human size. My size. The light energy all gone, now back once again into the giant orb it was before she absorbed it. Only now, it's hovering in front of my brother, who has just finished extracting it all.
Lloyd finally opens his eyes and looks at the golden powers in front of him.
There's a brief second when he only stares at it. I can tell by his eyes that he's slightly afraid to take in that much power because he was right. The enemy will never stop coming for him when he possesses that much power. It'll make him the Ultimate Spinjitzu Master again. But that moment passes as soon as I see it in his eyes and they change into a determined glare.
He holds his hands out on either side of the orb and starts draw in the golden power. The lights goes through his palms and it looks for a few seconds while he takes in the power, that he's actually shining. I thought it was just a weird reflection or glare from the sun onto the orb, but I know it can't be because the smaller the orb gets, the shining doesn't go away. His gi becomes golden again, but I still don't think that's what shining. It looks like his skin is the thing glowing. Either way, very strange sight.
Lloyd soaks up the last of the light and let's out a huge breath, like he was holding it in that whole time or something. But his face turns into a smile, somewhat his regular sweet one, somewhat the sassy confidence that he gets like sometimes.
"You good?" I ask, bumping his shoulder.
"Yep, I'm good."
The others cheer in triumph over Lloyd and the fact Darkness no longer has the golden energy.
It doesn't last very long though because the missions not finished yet, that was only part of it. Now comes the hard part. Me absorbing Darkness again... who's idea was this?!