#mountainshipping

~

The next morning what was left of the group met outside, all the ninja looked tired and miserable. They hadn't even wanted to rest, the time could've been used to rescue their friends (or partners). Who know what Garmadon had done to them? But Wu insisted the best thing they could do is rest to ensure they were at their best to save Nya and M/n the next day, though it was pretty futile seeing as they hadn't been able to sleep anyway. Their shoulders were too heavy with guilt and worry.

The ominous blaring started once again and Dr. Julien wondered, "What was that sound? The horns?"

"The Celestial Clock has reached zero," Wu answered, disgustingly calm for having two of his students in the hands of the oni and all of Ninjago at stake, "Garmadon's ultimate weapon is now operational and the Final Battle between good and evil has all but begun."

"Now Lloyd must face his father," Misako reminded.

The inventor, who had already been in bed when the group got back, inquired, "Where's Nya and M/n?"

The ninja looked around and Cole, ever the strong one, patted Zane on the back when he swallowed hard and looked at the group with unshed tears in his icy blue eyes.

Wu responded, the others clearly too weighed down with emotion to answer, "They have been taken by the Overlord, but we'll get them back. At the moment, there are bigger things at stake, including all of Ninjago itself."

"Who cares about Ninjago!?" Jay snapped, "Nya was my—uh, my...you know," his face flushed red at the admittance of dating Nya.

"And she's my little sister. We have to get her back, she's strong but she is literally in the hands of the Lord of Darkness, the Overlord and their indestructible army!" Kai added, having to bite his lip to stop it from quivering with anger and sorrow.

Zane wasn't as flustered as Jay was with his confession, "And M/n is my boyfriend. I understand that you're our teacher but I feel that saving him and Nya should be our first priority because they are valuable assets. If you are really as worried about Ninjago as you say you are then I believe you will agree with me."

Wu's face was unreadable, only reaction being a his tightened lips and scrutinizing gaze focused on the Nindroid. Then he seemed to relent, relaxing and letting out a sigh. "I suppose you make a good point, If we are going to face Garmadon we might as well rescue Nya and M/n first."

"Since the final battle has already been decided can I come with?" Lloyd asked, eager to get M/n back and fix a situation he felt he was at fault for.

Misako answered, "Yes, and hopefully you will not hesitate this time."

"You all should get ready," The ninjas' elderly sensei instructed, "Since we already know the location of Garmadon's camp, we should be able to find them easily."

The group all rushed inside excitedly to throw on their gis and retrieve their weapons. As they started off into the dense greenery Dr. Julien's hand caught his son's arm.

"Stay safe," The elderly inventor fretted, "And make sure to bring that lovely dragon boy back safely."

Zane smiled and nodded, "I will, father"

~

"They won't know what hit them," Kai grinned

The ninja, Wu, and Misako stood in front of the looming makeshift fence made of tall logs that surrounded the enemy's camp. "Time to chop wood," Jay jeered, prompting them all to kick the wood gate, smashing it into shards.They braced for an attack but it never came, the camp was completely desolate. All the warriors, weapons and vehicles were gone, leaving only the structures which they no longer had a use for.

"Uh, where the hell is everybody?" Jay wondered, taking off his mask with confusion.

Cole scoffed disappointedly, "Ugh, and here I was all ready to kick some ass."

"The ultimate weapon is gone. We're too late. Nya?! M/n?!" Kai called as he explored, his voice only echoing back from the abandoned camp.

"Nya and M/n aren't going to be here. Garmadon and the Overlord know they are valuable to them," Zane pointed out solemnly but his attention was soon drawn elsewhere, "Look at these tracks." Giant tread tracks were imprinted into the soft soil and led out past a part of broken fence and into the lush jungle.

"Whoa. That's one big weapon," Lloyd noticed nervously.

The Nindroid observed, "It appears to be heading toward the coast."

"But why?" The Green Ninja wondered, "Wouldn't he try to use it on us?"

"Not on us," Wu corrected, "On Ninjago. He always wanted to turn our world into his own image. Now we know how it will be done."

"But if he starts turning things evil, the balance will shift and allow the Overlord to cross over into our world," Misako elaborated.

"Turning things evil?!" Jay exclaimed, "Is that what the weapon does?" Both the elders only nodded in response.

"Then we have to make sure that my father never fires that weapon," Lloyd announced then took off jogging in the direction of the tracks. Without M/n to carry them the group would have to keep a steady pace so they all followed the blonde at a steady pace, Wu and Misako lagging behind slightly.

There was a long silence until Jay asked, "Um, is anyone else thinking about how this might be our final fight together?"

"Yeah," Kai replied.

Zane nodded, "Of course."

"It's all I've been thinking about," Cole affirmed.

"We've come a long way," The hothead reminisced, "It wasn't that long ago when Sensei first found us."

"Hey, you remember that time Kai thought he was the Green Ninja?" Jay chuckled, making the group laugh and Kai's face flush slightly at the mention of his embarrassing past actions.

"That was quite the memory," Zane teased with a small jab at the Fire Ninja.

"He was so not," Cole laughed.

"Or when M/n first turned into a dragon?" The Nindroid reminded.

"We were so shocked," Cole remembered, the memory of how crucial he was in the fight against The Great Devourer reminded the group why they needed to save him. They subconsciously sped up, anxious to fight Garmadon and get their friends back.

"Or that time Sensei came out of the guts of the Devourer's belly," Kai added, ninja groaning in feign disgust at the memory.

"Oh, that was so gross!" Cole exclaimed.

"Yeah. I thought he was a goner," Jay blurted.

"Wrong again, Mr. Emptyhead," Wu whacked the hyperactive brunette playfully but it hurt a little too much for his liking and he rubbed his skull with a hiss.

A large, sudden rustle made the group stop in their tracks and look around, everything was still for a few moments. "Something is wrong here," Cole worried.

"Did I just see..." Kai started but trailed off.

"I sense an evil presence," Zane gulped, hands gripping his weapon tighter.

"Where? Where?!" Jay whipped his head around as the source of the noise seemed to teleport around.

"Above us!" Wu warned just as the bright red glow of Spinjitzu pierced the darkness of the jungle. The unknown entity leapt from the trees skillfully and attacked Cole.

"Ow, my jaw!" The ravenette exclaimed when he was thrown back, "That hurt."

The blur of light turned its attention to Lloyd and zipped towards him, knocking him onto the ground before retreating back

"Hey! Show yourself!" The Fire Ninja demanded.

When the light cleared the ninja gasped when they saw Nya infected with Dark Matter. Her skin had a noticeable pale grey hue with darker veins showing from underneath and her wide, sunken eyes glowed purple like the evil substance that infected her; her abnormally wide grin sent shivers up the ninjas' spines.

"Nya!" Jay called desperately.

Wu shook his head, "That is no longer Nya."

"What did he do to my sister?!" Kai roared and tried to lunged toward her but Wu stuck out his arm and kept him from reaching her.

"He must've used the ultimate weapon to turn her into his own evil image," Misako answered.

The girl growled in response and started to pace like a predator about to pounce

"Garmadon must have sent her to slow us down," The old man reminded, "We have to stop them from firing that weapon."

"What are we supposed to do? Use our Elemental Powers on her?—" Cole urged after he recovered from Nya's surprise attack.

"No!" Jay interrupted, "We can't hurt her!"

"He's right! We just have to find a way to keep her from—" Kai was cut by Nya's spiked ball on a chain hurling towards him and hitting him right in the gut, sending him to the ground. "Hurting us.." He finished with a groan.

The Nindroid helped the hothead up, hand on his stomach to check for bleeding. When he was assured that the hothead was fine he affirmed, "Well, we should think of something before Garmadon fires that weapon."

"Lloyd, you go up ahead with Sensei and Misako, while we take care of Nya," Cole suggested, the two elders taking the blonde's hand and pulling him past Nya.

Lloyd paused and looked back with innocent green eyes, "But you said you'd always be behind me," he reminded pleadingly.

"We will be. We'll catch up as soon as we can," Kai reassured.

        Jay used his lightning to quickly zip around and behind Nya and catch her swinging weapon with a pained whine, "That hurt.." and he pulled the weapon away from her, ensuing a small tug of war battle as they both tried to pull it from each other's grasp.

Wu pulled his nephew out of his thoughts with a nudge, "The ninja are right. We must go."

"They'll still be behind you, son," Misako encouraged, finally convincing the boy to follow them towards Garmadon.

Nya ripped her chained weapon away from Jay's hands and turned her attention to the retreating group. She threw it towards them but Cole intercepted the spiked ball, hitting it away with his weapon. He snatched the chain from the group and whipped her towards him, "Not so fast. This dance ain't over," The metal slipped from her grasp but she quickly recovered and backflipped twice to create distance with a growl but another growl blended with hers. A lower, deeper one.

~

Only minutes after the giant weapon and the surrounding vehicles arrived at the beach that Misako, Wu, and Lloyd arrived. The three could observe Garmadon at the top of the towering machine, stationed at the control center with one of her four hands hovering over a large red button that might as well have been labeled the destroy-Ninjago-City button. "Father, don't!" Lloyd yelled, making his father pause and turn to the group.

"Lloyd!" he exclaimed, looking over the edge at this three most beloved people standing against him.

Overlord hissed furiously, "What are you doing?! Push the button!"

        "So, the balance has sent my son, my brother, and my wife to try to stop me?" The oni monologued, "It looks like my little surprises has kept the ninja busy."

"Surprises?.." Lloyd repeated.

"Don't do it," Misako exclaimed, "If you alter the balance, it will allow the Overlord to cross over."

Wu tried to reason with his brother, "The balance will be destroyed, and we will all pay dearly."

"Don't listen to them. They betrayed you," The conniving disembodied voice reminded.

        "I don't want to fight you but I will if I have to. This is about more than just us. This is about what is right," The blonde boy declared, truly showing his father how mature he was now.

        "Don't you see? I will never do what's right. The evil in my blood can never go away. It has corrupted every ounce of my fiber, every bone in my body!" the oni bellowed, "I am Lord Garmadon! Destiny took my family from me, and the only way for us to be together is to turn everything in this world into my image. Then you'll all see what I see, feel what I feel!"

"It is not too late," Misako pleaded.

"You've made your decision, and I have made mine," Garmadon dramatically turned and slapped his hand over the tempting red button.

"Noooo!" The group exclaimed in tandem.

"Garmatron warming up," The weapon announced, "In T-minus 20...19...18...17..."

"Warming up?! You could have warned me it had to warm up!" Garmadon accused at the Overlord's raspy voice.

"How could I? You were monologuing," The purple, warbling entity deadpanned.

"We have to get to the top and shut it off," Lloyd commanded, prompting the three to take fighting stances.

        "Stop them!" The oni exploded. The surrounding stone warriors swarmed from all directions, approaching the group. Small canons on the surrounding vehicles shot beams at them which Wu blocked with his bamboo staff.

Misako urged "Go!" while her and Sensei Wu engaged with the soldiers.

        Computer continued to count down ominously, "...11...10...9...8..." Lloyd leapt with a powerful jump and landed roughly on the top of the Garmatron weapon.

"No!" The Lord of Darkness growled.

"...6...5...4...3..."

Lloyd readied to fight his father but General Kozu grabbed and pinned the boy, "Got you!" he rasped deeply.

"...2...1."

At the final number the Garmadon's smiled curled evilly, the Dark Matter had been turned into a gas for easier infection and concentrated into a small bullet-like tube. The evil infused cylinder was shot from the weapon into the distance toward mainland Ninjago.

"We're losing," Lloyd breathed helplessly, still under Kozu's powerful grip.

"I... win!" Garmadon laughed hysterically, his smiled wide with glee.

"Again!" The oni and the Overlord demanded, samurais below scrambling to reload the weapon.

        The general held Lloyd as if he weighed nothing, the blonde struggling to no avail, the disgusting feeling of helplessness from his childhood pooled in his stomach.

"The balance is shifting," Misako worried.

"Lloyd, you must focus and put a stop to this!" Wu yelled.

Lloyd put his hands together and screwed his eyes shut, he focused his energy into a small ball. Garmadon noticed something strange; part of the green energy was tinted dark. He smiled and laughed at the realization that M/n's state of mind had such an effect on his son's powers. Before the energy expanded any farther the oni opened a hatch at the bottom that sent Lloyd through the machine and spit out near u and Misako. He shot another missile with a  chuckle, "You think you can stop me!?"

"Our worst fears," Wu gulped.

~

"This is not good!" Cole groaned, his feet chained to a boulder by Nya's chain. He hung pathetically by his legs as his blood rushed to his brain.

"We have to help them," Kai winced as he started get up from his laying on the ground, Jay following suit.

"Tell that to your sister! It's four against one and I think she's winning!" The Earth Ninja retorted.

        "Perhaps we can use our Elemental Powers, but without hurting her," Zane suggested, revealing his elemental blade. He touched the icy blade to the metal chain that held Cole upside down. The links easily cracked and shattered with little effort, dropping the ravenette a small height and frustrating Nya.

Cole rubbed his head on which he was dropped but recovered quickly, joining the Nindroid, "I like it. Let's do it!"

The four gathered with their blades drawn, Nya's evil-fueled confidence faltered. She whipped small blades from her side and sent them flying toward the ninja; Jay released a static barrier that push it flung them away.

"Cole, can you blind her for a sec?" The Lightning Ninja requested.

"Thanks to you, sure thing," Cole chirped and sent dust towards her that hit her right in the eyes.

"Augh! My eyes! I can't see!" She wailed and stumbled backwards, roughly rubbing her eyes to relieve the pain.

"Kai, quick. Cut that tree!" Jay instructed, pointing to a tree Nya was near.

"On it!" Kai replied and slashed the palm tree.

"I know where you're heading," Zane realized and froze the leaves at the perfect moment as they encircled the girl, acting as a prison.

"Sorry, Sis!" Kai quipped cheekily.

        As they were about to celebrate their victory they heard a chilling familiar growl that make them freeze, hair standing on end. It took only a moment to realize what or who made the noise; assuming Nya went feral from Garmadon's Dark Matter they assumed he had done the same to M/n. The ninja stood with their backs facing each other as they scanned their surroundings, suddenly every bush and tree seemed as if it could be hiding something.

"Is that who I think it is?" Jay gulped, shaking.

"Be vigilant," Zane warned, "If Nya was that powerful when affected by Dark Matter I can't imagine how it changed M/n."

        "There!" Cole pointed. The others looked and through the shrubbery they could barely make out a body with notable claws showing from near the roots. At his position being revealed M/n snarled and pounced at the group, Jay barely had time to slash him with his lightning-infused blade. M/n landed in the open and now they could get a better look at him. He shared some similarities with Nya, ash-tinted skin and dark veins, but the Dark Matter in his head must have messed with his transformation ability too. He was on all fours, circling like a predator, his hands and feet more like his dragon claws, large, sharp teeth barely able to fit in his mouth, and his significantly larger stature. His body also seemed to be rejecting the dark matter as the dark purple substance mixed with his blood occasionally dripped from his nose and mouth.

        Zane's eyes locked with M/n's and fear coursed through his body. There was no humanity behind his eyes, wide and glowing purple. Their almost unrecognizable teammate stalked toward them and the group collectively backed away.

"What do we do about him?!" Jay squealed, clinging to Cole.

        Normally the Nindroid, usually the composed and logical one, would try to think of a plan but his mind was only filled with panic. His lover's slitted pupils dug into his heart with hatred he had never thought he would see directed toward him.

        Kai noticed the dark liquid dripping from the dragon hybrid's face and the minor muscle convulsions. "Guys I think he's still in there," Kai noted, "He keeps twitching and the Dark Matter is dripping out of him."

        Zane perked up, "M/n!" he pleaded. The dragon stopped in his tracks, eyes flashing [eye color] and pupils expanding slightly. It only lasted a split second then M/n continued his prowling, now slightly irritated, but that moment gave them hope.

        The ninja stopped backing up and faced the dragon head on, maybe a combination of their faces and his name would snap him out of it. M/n pounced at Cole and the ravenette bashed him on the nose with his hilt but the dragon's claws still managed to slice him, leaving deep lashes in his forearm. The two pulled away with a hiss, more dark blood flowing from M/n's face.

"M/n, snap out of it!" Kai exclaimed. The hybrid snarled and twitched, a sign their efforts were getting through to him.

        "M/n!" Zane also called. Although it was loosening the evil's grip on him it also made the darkness in his head increasingly agitated. He growled and lunged at Zane this time and the Nindroid froze. His lover pinned him to the forest floor with his powerful grip. "M/n," Zane breathed pleadingly, eyes watering and lip trembling. He could see the distinct changes in the dragon's face every time they reached the true M/n. "I love you, I can't hurt you," he sobbed, "Come back to me, We– I can't do this without you." Zane watched M/n's growling face falter, watched his eyes soften, felt his grip start to shake. The dragon gripped his head, pulling at his hair and letting out pained whines and growls. His size slowly shrunk back to normal, claws retracting into hands, and began coughing and hacking.

The concerned ninja watched M/n retch and the Dark Matter, blood and spit mixed in, spewed from his mouth and nose. He breathed heavily on his hands and knees before slowly sitting back. Tears wetted his face and continued to fall as he looked at the ground in disappointment and disgust, nor only at the vomit but at himself and the actions done with his body against his will.

The moment Zane realized M/n had returned to normal he rushed to the dragon and engulfed him in a hug. He hesitated to return the hug, he did really deserve this after attack them? But he gave in and wrapped his arms around the Nindroid, "I'm sorry," he cried quietly

Cole gave the couple a moment before bending down and also embracing M/n. The dragon repeated 'I'm sorry' between sniffles, not understanding why his friends would not be furious with him.

Jay interrupted the heartfelt moment, "Uh guys, we should probably help Lloyd stop Garmadon."

~

"I tried.." Lloyd sighed, watching the sky above them swirl with dark clouds and lightning.

"I know," Wu replied.

Misako declared, "It is done. The balance has shifted."

        Garmadon cackled hysterically but at hearing The Overlord's powerful laughter he demanded, "Stop laughing now! This is my victory! What's happening?"

"You've helped offset the balance, The voice answered, "Because of you, I can now cross over into your world. I'm finally free!"

"Wait a minute! You stole that from my playbook!" the oni exclaimed, "Well, you can forget about it. Ninjago is mine!"

"No. It was never going to be yours. IT... IS... MINE!"

        A powerful beam of light exploded from the clouds right onto Garmadon who let out a yell of surprise. The wind picked up and blew the nearby leaves around like a tornado. Wu, Misako, and Lloyd covered their faces from the glow and the swept up dust.

"Sorry we're late. Did we miss much?" Jay jogged up following by M/n and the rest of the ninja, Cole's injured armed wrapped with pieces of the dragon's outfit. He gasped, "Holy Unholy!"

Garmadon grunted and growled, "What is happening to me?!" As his hands turned more claw-like.

"Are you scared?! I'm scared!" The hyperactive brunette yelped as he watched the scene in front of them in fear.

"Something is very wrong here!" the oni exclaimed as he felt his face grow into a snout.

"The Metamorphosis has begun!" The Overlord chortled through Garmadon's mouth.

Kai gulped, "Metamorphosis?! What does that mean?!"

        "I think the Overlord is trying to take over Garmadon's body," M/n noted, "This is similar to what happened to me when I was infused with Dark Matter."

"Father!" Lloyd called, reaching toward him.

"No, Lloyd," Wu shook his head, pulling the boy back, "That is no longer your father."

"But what about the prophecy?" The blonde asked, "It said I had to face my father."

"You still must, but now the Overlord has possessed him," Misako responded, "Unlike your father, the Overlord will show you no mercy."

Kai put his hand on his shoulder, "You can do this, Lloyd."

"We're here and behind you all the way," Jay reminded.

Cole encouraged, "He's tough, but you're tougher."

"But we have to act before his evil gets more powerful," Zane advised.

M/n embraced the young ninja, "Do not hold back. The Overlord has taken over and now you do not have to fear hurting your father."

At seeing all his friends and M/n by his side he smiled and said determinedly, "Let's do this."

"Ninja, go!" The ninja shouted and exploded into bright tornadoes of elemental energy. The group intercepted the stone army, Zane shot ice to the leftmost group, engulfing all the soldiers. Cole smashed his blade into the ground and forced the ice to shatter and throw them back. A large machine approached Kai with sharp, spinning blades trying to obliterate him like a chainsaw. He dodged the attack and dragged his elemental blade along the underside, cutting straight through the metal.

"I need more evil, but where to attack next?" The Overlord ruminated to himself, "Ninjago City." He locked on the target with the computer and pressed the big red button but nothing happened. The screen showed an error that explained there was no bullet loaded into the machine. He looked down at his cronies in annoyance to see Wu and Misako stealing a capsule and tossing it to Jay who sent it flying into the ocean, "This one's out of the ballpark," He quipped.

"See to it personally that the cannon is loaded!" The Overlord demanded. Kozu agreed in their foreign language and attacked Wu but the old man skillfully defended himself and launched the general into the chamber instead. The weapon thought it had been reloaded so it shot Kozu out like a bullet toward Ninjago City, his screams quickly fading as he flew.

"Fine, I'll load it myself!" The Overlord growled.

Kai and Jay came around the side of the Garmatron and tackled two samurais but one of enemies manning the side gun targeted onto the duo. "Look out, Jay!" The hothead warned to which they both dodged the lasers while approaching the blaster. Kai kicked the stone warrior from its seat, chuckling "Sorry, only two can dance this dance." Jay jumped back to the ground and began attacking more soldiers while Kai took control of the canon and blasted them away.

"This ends now!" Lloyd's voice declared from behind the Overlord, making him slowly turn around to face the Green Ninja and the dragon.

"The Final Battle has begun," Misako worried.

"Let's hope he is ready," Wu sighed.

"All this time, everything has led to this," Lloyd said with his hand together, already gathering energy.

"Stupid boy and your stupid dragon. I've been planning this for thousands of years," The embodiment of evil growled.

"Eat green!" Lloyd taunted as he blasted the Overlord with energy.

Cole: cheered, "Show him, Lloyd!"

The Overlord was unfazed by the energy and conjured up his own energy blasts in each of his four hands and shot the at Lloyd. M/n quickly grabbed the boy and took to the sky, retreating off the Garmatron roof and onto the sand for a more open battlefield. The Overlord followed swiftly and gathered more energy in his palms. M/n tried to attack him in order to give Lloyd more time to make as powerful of an attack as he could but he had simply used up too much of his energy already. He was too slow and the Overlord grasped him roughly by the throat. The dragon let out a choked noise and sunk his claws deep into forearm that gripped his neck but the combined power of Garmadon and the Overlord in one vessel was far too immense.

"M/n!" He heard Lloyd gasp from behind him

"I should've forced Garmadon to kill you when we captured you," The Overlord sneered, "But he convinced me that you would be valuable to me. How pathetic." He tossed the hybrid away from him and refocused on Lloyd with a sinister laugh.

The Overlord sent a beam of energy at Lloyd and the boy had to quickly make one of his own to counter it. It was equally matched so the former ceased his and shot another beam, forcing the latter to dodge it. Lloyd was faster this time, with more focus he managed to attack first with such powerful energy it sent the Overlord flying back into the jungle.

"Yes!" Jay cheered prematurely before seeing the evil being emerge from the trees unharmed, "No!"

The Overlord attacked Lloyd once more, "The battle for good and evil. I can do this for eternity, but can you? Neither your friends or your dragon can help you now. You are all alone," he taunted.

Lloyd removed his hood and retorted, "No, I'm not! My father is still in you! He will fight with me."

"Lloyd!" Garmadon's voice called out, "Stay strong!"

The Overlord quickly usurped control of the body, "Fool, you cannot defeat me!"

Lloyd launched more blasts of energy at he Overlord, "I can try!" The evil quickly recovered and met Lloyd's energy with his own. "Fight, Father!" The boy begged, hoping to force the Overlord to falter enough to win.

"Lloyd!" His father's voice peeked out again.

"Fight him!"

"You will not... take..." Garmadon struggled to take control.

"Fight him!" Lloyd repeated.

"...my son!"

"Your father is... gone!" The Overlord growled at finally pushing Garmadon's consciousness back. Lloyd had been so focused on reaching his father that his energy became too weak and the Overlord shot him away with one final, powerful blast.

"Lloyd!" "My son!" Wu and Misako exclaimed as they rushed to check on the boy's condition.

Overlord laughed as he refocused the canon onto the boy's position, "You were always so... green," he jeered. He pressed the button and the capsule was shot out straight into the side paneling of the Bounty. The mist dissipated but the ship could no longer fly from the damage and it crashed right after Dr. Julien jumped out like a madman, "I may not be able to fight, but I can fly!" He watched through tilted glasses as the ship rammed into the earth, "That went well."

"Enough!" The Overlord bellowed, "We don't need to waste our time with their pestering! We'll go to Ninjago City to finish this once and for all!" He opened up a large swirling portal with the image of Ninjago City faintly in the middle. His soldiers rushed through and his mech and vehicles followed slowly after.

"If they leave, that means we'll be stuck here with no way to get back!" Kai exclaimed, "Get to the vortex now!" He sprinted toward the vortex with only Jay at his heels. Zane and Cole shared a glace as they stood by M/n who was too exhausted to continue. They weren't ready for another battle with both of their most powerful friends too weak to fight.

"Bye-bye! Forever!" A familiar voice laughed. Their eyes widened in surprise at seeing that Nya had escaped and rejoined the army on their weapons.

"I'm there, I'm there!" Kai panted and tried to leap through but when he feet landed there was only sand, "NO!"

Zane and Cole helped M/n over to Lloyd who was still unconscious on the ground. He gently caressed the boy's face, "He is alright, only passed out." He used what little energy he had left to reach out to him and try to wake him up.

Lloyd's eyelids twitched and he opened them with a groan, "Did I...did I win?"

"No. But you're alive," Wu answered

"But the prophecy..." Lloyd argued and attempted to stand up.

M/n put his hand on his chest and sat him back down, "Not so fast, you just woke up."

"My leg," The boy hissed, 'Did we lose the Final Battle?"

"What's important is, we didn't lose you," Sensei Wu assured.