Querencia

S2 E12: The Last Hope*

With everyone having received new powers - even though the ninja had technically had access to their Elements, the Elemental Blades were different from the Golden Weapons - the past week had been spent practicing. They needed to prepare for the Final Battle.

[M/n] struggled with his new powers, just as much as Lloyd did, more used to the destructive properties of his Nether. That, combined with his new knowledge of his heritage, the memories of his past, and his distance from Wu, was making his week quite difficult. It left him all wrong-footed.

Lloyd was having different struggles; the Golden Energy was just waiting to be used, surging up with even the slightest negative emotion. He had been forced to keep to himself, to make sure he didn't accidentally lash out.

So right now, his main focus was training with [M/n], in order to try and learn to control it. At the moment, he was sparring with [M/n], in a hidden, walled-in cove across the way. Lloyd was tossing [M/n] around, with the ninja easily getting back up every time and lunging back into the fight. Every time he rose up from the sand, Lloyd would get angrier and angrier, feeling like a failure.

If he couldn't even keep [M/n] down, how could he ever defeat his father?

His energy surged, the golden-green sparks crawling across his arms and making his eyes glow. [M/n] kept his own calm, focusing his Aether into his hands to summon a tanto, a simple design but effective. Lloyd engaged first this time, trying to take the tanto from his hands, but was swiftly dodged, [M/n] using the flat part of the blade to tap him - signifying where each hit would be.

Growling, the energy violently spiked.

"Easy, Lloyd," [M/n] said, pausing. "Do not let the power sway you. Keep your calm. Breath."

"I'm trying!" Lloyd insisted angrily.

"You cannot try. You must do."

Lloyd sucked in a trembling breath, eyes closing tightly. "Okay, okay. I'm calm."

"Remember, your power is an ocean trying to fit through a window. When you get angry, cracks form, and it leaks through."

"How do you know about all of this?" Lloyd asked, sitting down to take a break. [M/n] hummed, focusing on destroying the tanto, reabsorbing the Aether.

"I spent a lot of time with my Grandfather, Nirnasha, and he spoke quite often of Izanagi-Oji-sama. They were very close, and I was permitted to call him such a familiar term, but I believe he shared much of this information so I could pass it on. Though there was always the possibility that he knew what my destiny was, or perhaps my Grandmother knew. She always did seem to know more than anyone."

"It's still hard to believe that you're 70 and related to the FSM's Penumbra," Lloyd admitted, leaning back on his hands.

"I find it hard to believe as well. I've spent two years believing so many things, and nearly everything is a lie."

"So, did you ever meet my grandfather? Face to face?"

"Only once, and it isn't my memory. Khêlai was there when I was born, and he saw when Izanagi-Oji-sama had the opportunity to hold me. He blessed me in the name of his wife, Manami-sama, before he completely disappeared. I believe he chose to die within the next day or two."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"What do you mean by 'chose to die'?"

"It was something my mother used to tell me whenever I asked her about Izanagi-Oji-sama. She believed he was too powerful to simply . . . die, so he chose to die and become a part of Ninjago. And she believes he came to the Dark Island to do so."