Onyx and the Legacy of the Green Ninja

Confrontation

Lloyd finally made it to the top of the tower. He stepped onto the roof, utterly alone. Everyone else had fallen prey to the Overlord's forces: Kai, Jay, Zane, Cole, even Onyx. And now he was the only one left to face the being of complete darkness. Lloyd looked up at the being there, a demonic dragon that smelled of death and the darkest recesses of the night.

Lloyd forced the fear in his chest down as he met the Overlord's chilling magenta stare. "I have come here to fight you!" He declared, desperately trying to hide the tremor in his voice. The Overlord's head tilted, his gargantuan jaws parting slightly in what seemed to be a grotesque smile. You're in no shape to fight. It's over. Evil prevails.

His voice was just as grating and snarling as it had always been, but there was a single difference that made Lloyd want to cry out in fear. He had spoken in the boy's head rather than using his vocal cords. Lloyd clenched his hands into fists to stop their shaking. "You haven't won yet. I'm here, and as long as I'm alive, I'm going to keep fighting you!" He shouted. The Overlord's eyes narrowed.

How very queer. The girl said something similar. You mortals are all the same, aren't you? Pitiable, simple creatures with no foresight. You do nothing but wage war on each other, flock together like wretched, commiserable cattle, ply for the favor and assistance of beings far beyond your stations, like myself, and then cry in remonstrance when you receive precisely what you coveted. Each and every one of you humans are such weak, fickle beings. I simply cannot understand it.

Lloyd gritted his teeth. "It's not weak to fight for what you believe in! I don't care what you say because a ninja never quits!" He roared. The Overlord began to laugh. So you still intend to fight me? How ludicrous. Why, you don't even have a sword!

Lloyd pulled his hands back, drawing green energy around them. He stared up at the Eldritch being towering over him and spoke five words. Only five, but in them was the passion, fury, and determination of all of the ninja. "I don't need a sword."

The Overlord stared down at this tiny being. This mere human, who dared to challenge a god that could stamp him out of existence in a fraction of a millisecond. And yet this minuscule body that was nothing more than an ant managed to channel the fury of the being from thousands of years ago through his weak mortal mouth, and that scared him. The Overlord flared his wings, ready to take flight.

I see. Then all I have to say is....

GOODBYE.

The Overlord opened his mouth, blasting a burst of darkness at Lloyd. He blocked the blow by slashing his hands up and enveloping himself in green light. He slid back and gasped as his heels stopped sliding mere centimeters from the edge of the building. Lloyd glanced back over his city. Everything about it was different now. It was dark and foreboding, and even though the twisted things that used to be the citizens shambled about, it seemed so horribly empty.

Lloyd gritted his teeth, a bonfire of righteous anger sparking to life in his chest. As it built, he felt a power burn through him, awakening something that had been lying dormant inside. "RAAAGH!" With a roar of determination, Lloyd's gi turned gold, and a blast of ancient power flew from him, lifting him off his feet.

Lloyd floated in the air, eyes closed. And then they snapped open, meeting the Overlord's eyes defiantly. Despite the fact that he was levitating, Lloyd slid his foot back and brought his hands up, slipping into a fighting stance. He spoke to the Overlord. "I am the Ultimate Spinjitzu Master." His voice was soft, but the Overlord heard him perfectly, and fear sparked in those ancient eyes.

The Overlord's wings finally flew open to their full extent as he gave a bellow of rage and hatred, finally speaking with his own mouth. "NO!" He slashed at Lloyd, aiming for the slashes that he had left on the boy's face previously, trying to shred him to pieces, but Lloyd slashed his hand up and easily countered the blow, knocking the Overlord back a few paces.

The Overlord shrieked in rage, rearing back. "You can't defeat me. Where there is light, there will always be shadow!" He snarled, apoplectic. "Unless my light is bright enough!" Lloyd cried, throwing his arms out to the side and then dragging them up through the air. When they reached their apex, the golden power he'd trailed through the air came together, solidifying into a golden dragon. Even though the golden creature was smaller than the Overlord, the evil entity flinched back, afraid of the wyrm. Its eyes, a brilliant green, bore into him. He recognized those eyes. The eyes of the man he'd fought and lost to so long ago....

"You won't defeat me again!" The Overlord wasn't speaking to Lloyd anymore, now addressing the dragon he was mounted upon. He finally used his wings, blasting off into the sky, throwing them out and nearly doubling in size as darkness spread out around him, invigorating him and boosting his power.

Lloyd's eyes narrowed rebelliously as the darkness, impenetrable and deep, spread through the sky, finally enveloping him and obscuring Ninjago. Lloyd's head whipped back and forth, searching for the Overlord, who had vanished amongst the black expanse. 'Come on... I know you're here. Stop hiding!' Lloyd's wish came true almost the second he thought it, and suddenly jaws were closing around him as the Overlord trapped both of them in his jaws.

And yet Lloyd wasn't afraid as the oppressive darkness closed in around him. Somehow he knew exactly what to do. Lloyd placed his hands on the back of the golden dragon, sensing the endless wisdom and ancient spirit within it. "This... ends... now," he whispered, to the Overlord, to the dragon, to himself, to Onyx, to everyone he loved in the world, and to Ninjago itself.

The golden dragon gave a roar of awe-inspiring divine power, flinging its wings out and releasing a burst of energy so intense that it made even Lloyd give a soft cry of shock. The divine light filled the reeking cavern of a mouth and then going beyond. There was a sickening crack as the Overlord's jaw completely snapped, suddenly opening as it hung crooked on his face, allowing Lloyd and the golden dragon to escape. They burst from the mouth and sent a final blast at the Overlord, who had fallen completely silent, eyes wide in pain, rage, and terror.

The golden light enveloped the demon, completely encircling him and spreading beyond, burning away the expanse of darkness, penetrating the impenetrable. And then, with a final anguished cry, the Overlord imploded, shattering into thousands of black shards that spun through the air before vanishing in the night wind that was now ruffling Lloyd's hair.

Lloyd gave a shaky exhale and leaned forward, onto the dragon's back. He had done it. He had defeated the Overlord.

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I think that was the most amazing thing I've ever written. I can't describe how utterly euphoric it was to write this chapter. I can't even. Wow. I have Lloyd's adrenaline pumping through my veins. I love it when I connect to a character on a personal level and share their emotions as I write.

Musical of the Day: American Psycho (not a musical I ever thought would exist, but it does. And it's... kind of fun, actually. The book was not. The book was... interesting. Fun, but in a different way. I'll never look at Lés Miserables the same way again)