Just wanted to make this clear: the monastery in this story is of my own imagining and is completely different from the one in the show.

For example, instead of being present on top of a dry mountain like in the show, the monastery is on a mountain which is covered with trees and vegetation.

The courtyard is the same but there is also a back garden, a horse stable and a chicken coop. (You might've known this from the previous chapters)

Now, let's continue.

And have some candy! 🍭

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It had been years since Garmadon found out about the Great Devourer. He was a lot silent after that. He wouldn't go out because of fear that he might get rejected. He ate very less or nothing at times. He would lock himself in his room for hours, crying his eyes out.

He had read stories of innocent men turning into hideous monsters and never leading a normal life. He had never liked those stories but never had he imagined that his story would be one of them.

He grew thin and always looked pale and weak. He didn't care when he would get angry at Wu though. He would hurt him and make him pay. His father always had to intervene. Garmadon was getting tired of the old man too.

But as his father had said, he became a lot more stable as he grew up.

He wasn't as vicious as he used to be. His monstrous behaviour towards Wu had lessened but the initial love he had for him never came back. He would still get irritated at his brother over minor things.

His father allowed him to explore and meet people once again, assuring him that now it was a little safe for him.
As he became exposed to the outside world again, he started feeling better. He started to eat again and got some colour back into his cheeks.

With time his taste for adventure changed. He had moved on from exploring abandoned places and discovering lakes and streams to journeying to find valuable artifacts or searching for clues if a certain legend was true or not. Wu would always accompany him on these trips but only on one condition: Garmadon would not be responsible for anything that happened to Wu because he didn't "care about him anymore" apparently.

The brunet had also discovered his love for candy. He wouldn't be seen without a lollipop sticking out of his mouth or chocolate smeared around his lips. He would always find comfort in those sugary treats. Whenever he would be upset, he would eat about a dozen despite feeling sick afterwards.

He and Wu were now young boys of fifteen. They had grown more skilled over the years and could take on anyone double their size or age.
They had found inner peace, unlocked their Elemental Dragons and had even (secretly) mastered Forbidden Spinjitzu.

Their father had started to spend a lot more time meditating, trying to find a way to save his son. Sure he had told him that keeping things under control would be the key to rid his body of the venom but that was a lie. Garmadon needed a lot more help than just control.

The First Spinjitzu Master couldn't just choose a random person to fight in his place in the Final Battle. He needed an heir. Wu was out of the question. For some reason, he didn't seem like right choice. The man grew more worried than ever. He had to choose someone. But who?

Then one day, it came to him.
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Garmadon was sitting on the porch of the monastery, cross-legged. He was playing a dulcet tune on a flute given to him by his father in order to relax his mind. His mind didn't need relaxing at the moment though. He just seemed to enjoy the activity.

He stopped playing as a cool breeze hit his face. He closed his and smiled, taking in a deep breath. He picked up his flute and brought it close to his mouth.

"Boo!"

Garmadon jumped about a foot in the air causing an off-key note to erupt from the instrument in his hand. He caught himself before he fell down the few steps that led into the courtyard.

He waited for his heartbeat to slow down before turning around and glaring at Wu who was clutching his sides and laughing. The blonde tried to control his laughter as he wiped away an imaginary tear.

"I scared you, didn't I?"

The brunet adjusted his purple kimono and pretended to dust his shoulder, acting like Wu hadn't just scared the jellybeans out of him.

"No, you didn't," he said. "I was just pretending to be scared. You know, just to play along with my brother who still acts like a three year old."

Wu rolled his eyes. "Come on. It's just what brothers do, no matter how old," he said, flapping his hand and smirking at his brother.

Garmadon narrowed his brown eyes.
"Not these brothers." He looked away sadly. "Not anymore."

There was a pause. Neither of the brothers said anything. Wu broke the silence by clearing his throat and saying, "Um . . . Father has requested our presence in the dojo."
Garmadon sighed. He picked up the flute that had fallen from the earlier jumpscare and got up. He waited, gesturing at Wu to lead the way.

☯️~☯️~☯️

Wu quietly slid open the door of the dojo and peered inside. The First Spinjitzu Master was sitting at a low table with his back turned to them. There were rolls of parchment, bottles of ink, pots of paints and quills scattered in front of him. He had a paintbrush in his hand which he dipped into a green paint pot and applied it on the paper on which he was apparently working.

Garmadon peeked over Wu's head, confused. "Is he painting?" he whispered. Wu was about to whisper something back when their father turned around.

"Ah, my sons. Come in. I wanted to show you something," he said, turning back to his unfinished work.

Curious, Wu and Garmadon made their way towards the table and sat down on either side of their father. He was adding the final strokes to a sketch of what looked like a little ninja wearing a green gi. But he was not alone. Around him were four other ninjas which were drawn a bit smaller compared to the green one. On the upper side were two which were coloured blue and red while on the lower side were the ones which were coloured black and white. Words encircled the quintet of ninjas, obviously telling about what was going on.

"Father? Is this what you wanted to show us?" Wu asked, looking at the painting. The First Spinjitzu Master nodded.

"What is it?" Garmadon enquired.

"It is the answer to your problem, my son," his father said, smiling.

Garmadon looked confused. "I don't understand. How can an illustrated story possibly be the answer to my problem?"
The First Spinjitzu Master chuckled. "It's not just a story, Montgomery."

Upon hearing his "old" name, Garmadon cringed. His father had never accepted that he had changed his name (the one his father had so lovingly given him) and insisted on calling him by his first one. This made the brunet mad but he couldn't just karate chop his own father so he had to deal with it.

"This is a prophecy," his father continued, "the legend of the Green Ninja." A sudden and unexplained feeling of happiness washed over Garmadon upon hearing that name.

Wu bent down to look at the little green warrior. "You mean this tiny green guy."

Garmadon rolled his eyes. "No, he meant the red guy," he said sarcastically before snapping at him, "Of course he means the green one, you simpleton."
The First Spinjitzu Master placed his hands on both his sons' shoulders. "Now, now, boys. Don't fight."

Wu stuck his tongue out at Garmadon who returned the gesture. The First Spinjitzu Master let out an exasperated sigh and started to get up. "Perhaps I should tell this story when I have a more . . . civilized company."

The brothers immediately began their apologies:

"No, Father! Please, don't go. We're sorry."

"We'll behave. We promise. Please, stay."

Their father gave them a look that said "make sure it stays that way", sat down and began the telling of the prophecy. "As you know, Montgomery is poisoned by the Overlord-"

"Because of Wu," the older interrupted, narrowing his eyes accusingly at his younger brother. The First Spinjitzu Master looked at him out of the corners of his eyes. Garmadon looked away sheepishly. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"As I was saying," his father continued patiently, "Montgomery will be responsible for the Overlord's rebirth. The First Battle -which was left unfinished- will resume." He saw his older son shifting and sensed his uneasiness. He took his hand into his wrinkled one and squeezed it reassuringly. "Defeating the Overlord is the only way to save Montgomery. For that the the original two opposing leaders must be there."

Wu moved closer to the old man. "But Father you are in no fit condition to fight. Not now and not then."

"I can't believe I'm saying this," Garmadon chimed in, "but my hopeless brother is right."

Their father smiled as if they had told him a joke. "Very well. If you're so worried then I promise I won't take part in the fight."

His sons stared at him, trying to process how in Ninjago was he going to defeat the darkness if he so easily agreed not to include himself in battle. "But then who will the Overlord fight?" Wu asked.

"Me, of course," the First Spinjitzu Master said as if it were obvious. Garmadon furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Uh . . . you lost me."

"I won't be there physically but spiritually," his father tried to lessen their confusion. "I too will rise again in the form of the Green Ninja, later to be known as the Golden Ninja."

Wu let out a whoosh of air. "There sure are a lot of ninjas in our existence," he said, looking at the painting in front of them. "You don't call this place Ninjago for nothing," he added jokingly.

Garmadon, however, processed this new information. His father was going to be back to finish the battle that never ended. All would finally be right. He laughed happily. "This is great! You can beat the living darkness out of the Overlord. And after I'm cured, the three will continue to live happily the way we used to." He reached out behind his father, grabbed Wu and gave him a big hug. Wu returned the gesture without hesitance, both of them laughing cheerfully.

The First Spinjitzu Master smiled but sadly. "I do not mean to burst your bubble, my sons. It gives me life to see you two happy like this. But the Green Ninja won't literally be me. He will be another person but with my powers. He is my heir."

The laughter died down and their smiles fell as Garmadon let go of Wu. "What?" He asked, disbelievingly. "Are you saying that . . .?"

His father nodded slowly, answering his incomplete question. The brunet shook his head. "But how can you be sure?"

"I just know," the First Spinjitzu Master replied shortly.

There was a pause. Wu's low eyes fell on the painting. He stared at the green ninja. Will he really be the one to save his brother? Will he be their father's heir? He then turned his attention to the other smaller ninjas. His eyes roamed from one ninja to the other, taking in the colours of their gi. Deciding to change the subject, he asked, "Father, who are the other four?"

Upon hearing the question, his father turned back to the table. "They are the guardians of the Green Ninja," he replied. "They will help him fulfill his destiny."

He pointed at the wall on which the Golden Weapons were displayed. "As I've told you countless times, the combined power of the Golden Weapons is too much for a single person to handle apart from me and now, the Green Ninja. So, I have distributed their powers among these four individuals." He gestured at the ninjas in the painting.

"The Master of Fire will be the wielder of the Sword, the Master of Earth will be the wielder of the Scythe, the Master of Lightning will be the wielder of the Nunchucks and the Master of Ice will be the wielder of the Shurikens," he explained, pointing to the red, black, blue and white ninja respectively.

A question popped into Garmadon's mind. "So, if the Elemental Masters are the guardians then who exactly is the Green Ninja?" He voiced his query.

"That is a very good question, my son," his father stated. "Since I created the Golden Weapons, it would be fair to say that they are a manifestation of my powers. After my departure from this world they will move onto their next master: my heir, the Green Ninja."

The First Spinjitzu Master covered the pots of paint and put the brush back in its jar before continuing, "But before the heir is found they are bound to follow orders from the Masters of Fire, Ice, Lightning and Earth. I cannot tell you who the chosen one is for I'm not sure myself but there will be one, this I know. To whoever the Golden Weapons respond to at once is destined to destroy the Overlord and to bring peace and balance to Ninjago."

"Wow," Wu exclaimed, his eyes shining with admiration. "That is so ninja." His father chuckled at his son's reaction. "Now, come on. Let's leave this here for the paint to dry and go do something about lunch." He got up and walked out of the room with Wu following close behind, pelting him with question after question.

Garmadon stayed behind. He couldn't help but look at the green hero in the middle of the paper, a slight smile spreading across his face. It felt like he had developed some sort of connection with the destined saviour without even knowing who he was. Maybe it was because he would be freeing him from the evil that held him captive or maybe it was something much, much more.

☯~️☯️~☯️

"But how will we know that it's time for the prophecy to be fulfilled?" Wu asked, pouring orange juice into the glasses. The First Spinjitzu Master looked around to see if Garmadon was out of earshot. When he didn't see him, he answered, "I would advise you to be vigilant after my passing or when Montgomery starts acting rather unusually than he is. Any time after these occurrences will be the time when the Green Ninja is likely to be revealed."

Wu was still not convinced. It was like he was obsessed with picking out minor problems that were in this prophecy. Yet his father still had some answer to give him. It seemed to him like he didn't like the idea of the Green Ninja.

His thoughts were interrupted as Garmadon walked into the room. "I'm starving. I hope lunch is ready," he said, stretching a little.
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It was the middle of the night and Wu made sure that his father and brother were asleep as he crept out of his room and sneaked past theirs to get to the dojo. He opened the doors as quietly as he could and slid them shut with equal caution.

He struck a match and lit up the candles on the table. There lay the painting, rolled up in the form of a scroll. He opened it and looked at the middle ninja dressed in green. He stared at the scroll for a minute or two before rolling it up and putting it back.

He turned his head to look at the Golden Weapons on the adjacent wall which were glinting in the candle light. He took a deep breath and inched a little closer to them.

It is the answer to your problem, his father had said.

Wu frowned. He wanted to be the answer to Garmadon's problem. He had promised himself that he'd help his brother get better. It was his fault Garmadon was in this mess so there was no denying that he should be the one to correct it. He was being responsible for his actions. Isn't that what his father had told him? He should be the one to save him. Not some kid in a green gi who will claim to have his father's powers and an entourage of Elemental Masters.

To whoever the Golden Weapons respond to at once is destined to destroy the Overlord and bring peace and balance to Ninjago.

And to my brother, Wu thought.

Now, he stood inches away from the Weapons, hoping for something to happen. "Come on, weapons. Do something. Glow. Float. Anything. Show me that I am the one destined to save my brother. I have to or I'll never be able to forgive myself."

He kept moving farther and closer, left and right but to no avail; the Golden Weapons stayed motionless as ever. Wu sighed and gave the wall a frustrated kick causing the Scythe of Quakes to fall on his bare foot.

"Ow, ow," he exclaimed, jumping on his good foot while holding the other one. He waited a few seconds for the pain to subside. He picked up the Scythe, feeling its power coursing through his veins, and hung it back on the wall on its perch. He then blew out the candles and made his way back to his room.

Guilt and disappointment sat on his shoulders like a heavy burden. He flopped down onto his sleeping mat, not bothering to take up the blankets. He didn't want to admit it but he was a little bit jealous of the Green Ninja. Garmadon was his brother. He didn't want him thanking some unknown hero for solving the problem he had caused.

"Face it, Wu. He will never forgive you," he whispered to himself. "Never."

I completely forgot about this story. It's just that I've so many things to work on right now and school's gonna start soon.

I've decided to make a timetable for each of my stories. Though it's gonna be difficult when I'm hit with inspiration for a new story every day.

I hope you liked the chapter. Don't forget to press the itty bitty star on your screen's bottom left.

Have some candy! 🍭