Rise of the Overlord

Chapter Twenty-Four

Fuck I'm so sorry this chapter is late!! I totally forgot to update! Also, after this chapter, the updating schedule is going to be out of whack once again due to catching up to where my draft is at at the moment. 

After the two Ninjas finished their healing, they waded out of the lake and sat down in the grass beside Garmadon and Misako, Kai used his powers to dry their clothes and to warm them up. A few minutes later the group watched as the lake started to glow and bubble, three lights glowed underneath the surface; one a light blue, one white, and one orange. Then Shard, Wisp, and Rocky surfaced from the water, holding Zane, Jay, and Cole respectively. The three-ninja looked like their normal selves; no gray skin, their color returned to their skin, hair, and uniforms, and they were at peace. The Elemental Masters waded out of the water and laid their descendants on the grass.

"Are they okay?" Lloyd asked.

"Yes, they shall be awakening soon," Shard said, sitting down beside her descendant.

"Shard?" Kai asked. "If you are fused with them, then why are you physical? Why aren't you like Flame at the moment?"

Rocky said, "We were unable to merge completely due to the Dark Matter in their systems. We could only get so much out before becoming corrupted ourselves, which is why we brought them here."

"When they're awake, then we shall offer them the chance to merge," Wisp said.

Kai nodded then slightly jolted when one of the ninjas groaned softly. Everyone fell silent as Zane's face contorted as his eyebrows furrowed while he struggled to wake up. Zane took in a deep breath as his whitish-blue eyes finally opened, staring at the ceiling of the cavern. His mouth opened slightly as a look of confusion grew, then closed it silently.

He sat up and held his head with one hand, he looked around as he opened his mouth again.

Kai gently spoke up, "Hey Zane."

The Ninja of Ice jumped and spun around, a bright grin appearing, "Kai! Lloyd! Did...Did we win the Final Battle?" Kai and Lloyd sheepishly looked away, sadness in their eyes. Zane's heart sank. "W-We didn't win? I do not understand; the prophecy had said that the Green Ninja would defeat the Dark Lord."

"We tried everything we could," Kai said, holding on to Lloyd tighter. "We lost the first and second rounds of the Final Battle, but we haven't lost the War."

Jay was the next to wake up; he yawned loudly and rubbed his eyes, sat up and looked around. "What?" he mumbled.

"Hi Jay," Lloyd said.

"Lloyd! Kai! Zane!" Jay cried, "You're okay! I'm okay! What happened?!"

"Well, Shard or Wisp will explain when Cole wakes up," Kai said.

"Shard?" Zane and Jay asked. They looked behind him where the Elemental Masters were sitting.

"Wait, Wisp?" Jay asked. "Weren't you a dragon before?"

"Yes Jay, we were in those forms to aid you," he said. "But we had to assume our original forms when Kai became the last Ninja to be either uncorrupted or captured."

"Captured? What do you mean?" Zane asked.

Lloyd looked heartbroken, "I was taken hostage by the Overlord, I was locked in a dungeon for a month." He brightened slightly, "I met my father though." He glanced behind him and gave Garmadon a loving smile.

Zane and Jay glanced over Lloyd's shoulder and froze at the sight of reformed Garmadon.

"T-That's...that's your dad?" Jay asked, confused.

"Yes Jay," Garmadon said. "When the Overlord possessed me, he absorbed the Devourer's Venom that had been in my blood for centuries, when he didn't need me anymore he discarded me and threw me into a cell below the castle."

The two-ninja were stunned into silence, allowing them to hear a groan coming from Cole. Everyone turned and watched as he sat up and rubbed his forehead with his right hand. "Ugh God," he grumbled. "What happened?" He opened his eyes and saw his team resting beside him, "Guys? What's going on?" Cole looked around at the cavern, growing more and more confused by the second. "Where are we? I...I don't remember anything..."

"Cole, it's okay," Kai said. "We'll explain, I promise." The Master of Fire recapped his adventures to his uncorrupted team; starting from when Cole and Jay were hit by the Dark Matter to Lloyd fighting the Overlord to his training with the Elemental Masters.

Jay, Cole and Zane's jaws dropped open when Kai demonstrated his new-found abilities. "That's so cool!" Jay exclaimed.

"Will we be able to do that?" Cole asked, glancing at his bare hands.

Kai nodded, "Yeah; Shard, Rocky, and Wisp will be teaching us the best methods with the power."

"Are we going to be staying here?" Zane asked, looking around at the cavern. "Wherever here is..."

"We are in the Spirit Coves, Zane," Shard said. "But we won't be remaining here for long. The other Elemental Masters and I decided that we need to get moving as soon as possible."

Rocky said, "We do not want to be discovered by the Overlord, especially in a place as sacred as this. We have to get moving as soon as possible."

Jay asked, "But where are we going? We can't head back to Shihon since that's Overlord City."

"We talked it over and found a few places that the Overlord would never go to," Garmadon said, walking up to the group with his wife holding his hand.

Misako spoke up, "Such as the Temple of Darkness in North-Eastern Ninjago, the Dark Island, and one of the Southern Islands off the bottom tip. The Dark Island would be a last resort due to the excess amount of Dark Matter within the soil; being there for too long would corrupt us slowly."

"The Temple of Darkness?" Cole asked. "I've never heard of it."

"There has to be a balance," Garmadon said. "There is a Temple of Light on the Dark Island and there is a Temple of Darkness on Ninjago Island. You haven't heard of it due to it being lost to the hands of time."

"Also, because your team hasn't traveled up there before," Wisp stated. "It is hidden within a dense mountainside forest."

"Will we be safe there?" Lloyd asked, still nestled within Kai's arms.

Garmadon nodded, "Yes, we should be safe there for the time being."

"We should get moving," Shard said. "We will fly there as soon as everyone is ready."

The group murmured amongst one another, eventually agreeing that they are ready to go. Shard, Rocky, and Wisp changed into their dragon forms and helped the weakened ninja climb on; Garmadon helped keep Cole on Rocky's back, Misako held onto Jay, and Kai and Lloyd held onto Zane on Wisp's back. The three dragons took off through the skylight into the morning light, disappearing into the puffy clouds gliding past.