4. Dark Sides: Rise of the Anacondrai

Chapter 33 - This Isn't Your Identity

A/N: I posted two chapters today, so be sure you've ready the previous one before you read this!

. . .

The air was starting to grow cold in the dying light of the sun. The sky above was an array of deeply saturated pinks and purples and reds. The wind blew strong on the canyon cliff top where Skylor stood, and she was almost worried that it would blow out their little fire.

"I think it's ready," Garmadon said, standing up.

Skylor nodded. She stepped forward and tossed Clouse's spell book into the fire. Immediately the flames engulfed it, chewing at the edges of the pages, blackening its binding. The war was over. The Anacondrai were no more.

Nya and Seliel stood beside her, watching the fire eat up the wretched book. Pixal was elsewhere – she had been fussing over the unconscious Ice Ninja all day. Skylor had to admit, it seemed like a bad sign that he hadn't woken up yet. They still hadn't decided what to do with him.

When Skylor looked across the fire she felt a stab of heartache. Garmadon and Misako stood together with Lloyd between them. They were happy, and they were complete. Skylor couldn't deny that part of her was jealous, maybe part of her regretted what she had given up. She wondered what would have happened if she had never taken Garmadon's offer in the first place.

But of course, she would have only continued to live in a palace of lies, and she may have ended up like her father was now. Still, that didn't mean that she lived without grief over what she had lost.

"Skylor," Garmadon said as he broke away from his family. "There's something I've been meaning to say."

"Yeah?"

"Well before this whole mess began, I had been thinking that you girls needed a leader for when I'm not around. The problem is, you four ran off before I could even decide."

Beside her, Seliel shrugged. "Adventure called."

"You know, she talked us into it," Nya said, pointing to Skylor.

Garmadon continued. "At first I didn't know how to decide. You're all very capable, and yet you all struggle with your own flaws and shortcomings. But the only thing I felt holding you back, Skylor, were your ties to your father. Although you fought well in the struggle for the golden Weapons of Spinjitzu, I felt that your loyalty was still undecided. Don't misunderstand me, I trusted you, but I didn't know if I could trust you to lead the team if even you didn't know what you were fighting for."

Skylor didn't know what to say. She had no idea Garmadon had been thinking all this. She had attempted to assert her dominance when she first arrived at the monastery, but after working with Seliel and Nya and Pixal, they had quickly become a balanced team. She hadn't considered herself their leader anymore as much as their equal.

"I think you've proven yourself more than enough during recent events. And I think that you've come to understand yourself and what's important to you. As such, I'm electing you the default leader of this team, whenever you find yourselves lost on your own."

Seliel threw an arm around Skylor's shoulders. "Alright, Skylor! You're really hitting it big today."

"As long as you don't get bossy all of a sudden," Nya said.

"Hey Sensei, any chance of you nominating me as backup-backup-leader? Seliel joked. "I think I did an okay job on the island."

Garmadon shook his head. "That much you can sort out for yourselves."

Skylor was bewildered. After everything that had happened, was he really sure he wanted her in charge of the team?

As they continued to joke about who was leading who, Skylor turned away. The sun lay ahead, half hidden beneath the horizon. She drifted to the edge of the cliff and sat down, letting her legs dangle over the side. It reminded her of the cliffs on the island, where she would often sit over the roaring, tumultuous seas and watch the sun rise.