Y'all probably hate me for that cliffhanger XD I'm sorryyyyyy I couldn't help myself lmao.  Anyways, strap yourself in lads, this is gonna be a while ride.

Katelyn POV

I groan in pain as I try to sit up, my attempt ultimately failing.  The Overlord's blast hit us all with so much force, I almost broke through the building.  I weakly lift my head up to see my arm all bent out of place and mangled.  I wince and cringe at the sight.  Great, a broken arm.  I look past my arm to see my wing trapped under a boulder-sized chunk of ice the Overlord had broken off from his immobilization.

The blast didn't hit me directly, but it got pretty close.  I look over to see Master Wu struggling to sit up as well.  He was the most out of range when the blast went off, so he looks to be in the best condition out of all of us.  The Overlord is standing in the center of the destruction, his back turned to us, panting from the large amounts of energy he had just released.  He looks tired, and I wouldn't blame him. The amount of energy he just released will cause him to have to recharge, and that's perfect for us.

Master Wu holds his head in his hand and looks around.  Eventually, his eyes fall onto me.  He gasps.  I look at him longingly, my eyes asking him for help.  He gets up and quickly but quietly moves towards me, trying to avoid being seen by the Overlord as he processes what just happened.  Master Wu successfully makes it over to me and inspects me silently.  I motion with a quick tilt of my head to the ice chunk on my wing, and he gets the message immediately.

Still being cautious, he attempts to move the ice, grunting at the effort. Just our luck, the Overlord hears this and whips his head around. I look at him in fear, we both do. I start to think all is lost, but then I notice something.

Instead of the normal, sinister, sharp toothed smile the Overlord would usually give us, his expression looks more... shocked. And instead of the voided purple eyes, they are replaced by normal looking ones. Green ones in fact-

I hitch my breath. "Master Wu..." I whisper to him in disbelief. He seems to have seen it too. The Overlord, or should I say, my father, looks at us in shock. He is still in the Overlord's form, but the Overlord must have used so much energy that it gave my father a window of opportunity to take control of his body!

"Kate-" my father whispers but is interrupted. He grunts in pain and squeezed his eyes shut, clutching his head out of pain. He cries out, stumbling around as he tries to keep control over his body. I take this opportunity to use telekinesis on the ice and lift it off of me. I scramble out from underneath the ice once I've lifted it, and I wince in pain at my arm.

My wing is mostly just sore and will be okay, but I don't think I could fly with it. Master Wu comes to my aid and examines my arm, a look of worry in his eyes. I look back up at my father, still trying to fight the possession. And then I realize something.

"Wait, where's Lloyd?" I ask as I look around the roof to see him nowhere. My eyes then fall onto a large hole in the roof. Master Wu sees it too. We glance at each other, both of us holding our breaths. Our thoughts are interrupted as a loud laugh comes from my father, only it's not his laugh, it's the goddamn Overlord's.

"Your son was such a nuisance, I had to get rid of him permanently if I wanted to take over the sixteen realms." The Overlord's says, seemingly speaking to Garmadon himself. At first, I'm confused by this statement, but then I realize. I realize something that causes all the blood in my body to freeze and my heart to stop.

"No..." is all I can muster out

Kai POV

I spin in a circle as I release my fire in a ring at my enemies. The warriors fall back from the heat and the assassins dissolve into mist from the light. I pant as sweat rolls down my face, despite the bitter cold of the night. Things are really intense down here now that three of our members went to fight the big guy.

I send a roundhouse kick to a warrior and knock him back. Afterwards, I scrunch up my leg so I can rub it. Since the warriors are made of stone, hitting them hurts a bit. I continue to fight our enemies with Nya, standing our ground. I'm really tired, but I can't slow down. Lloyd and the others need more time.

I grunt as I take down several more warriors.  But then, I see a large blast hit the ground next to me, throwing me off my balance and to the ground.  I groan and I sit up, looking around at the damage.  Fear strikes through me.  I look up at the tower to see many flashing lights appearing from the top of the roof.

"Kai!" I hear my sister's worried voice call out.  I look up to see her rushing towards me.  She kneels down besides me and examines me for any injuries.

"I'm fine, Nya." I tell her as I stand myself up, still looking at the tower in worry.  Anxiety spikes through me.  Lloyd... please be okay. 

Nya sees my worry and places a hand on my shoulder.  "Don't worry, they're Garmadons, they can do it." She tries to reassure me, though I can see that she, too, is nervous.

Our moment doesn't last long, though, because assassins try to sneak up behind us and attack us while we aren't looking.  Nya catches them just in time, and she whips around, using her water to slice through their shadow bodies and turn to mist.  "I never liked those shadow freaks." She remarks as she puts her guard up, looking around for any more unwanted guests.

Suddenly, a huge surge of energy explodes from the top of the tower and sends shock waves at us so strong, that almost everyone on the battle field, including warriors and assassins, are knocked over and onto the ground.  I stick my arms out in front of me to break my fall and I land with a grunt on the ground.  I wrack my brain for answers to what may have just happened, and I look back up at the tower.

Then, I notice a lot of the windows on the tower have either cracked or been shattered by the force of the wave.  I stare in shock, and instant panic ensues within me.  What happened?  Are they okay?  What was that? Several questions break out into my head but only one name is made clear. 

Lloyd.

I get up from the ground and look around.  Everyone is still dazed and confused about what just happened, but some people start getting up and returning to their battles.  But not me.  I can't stop looking at the tower.  I know I can be hotheaded, stubborn, and stupid sometimes, but right now, I don't care.  All I know, is that I have to get up there.  I have to help them.  I have to help Lloyd.

Taking in a deep breath, I start running- no, not running, that's just how it starts out.  Taking in a deep breath, I start sprinting.  Sprinting as fast as I can towards that tower.  I'm not sure how I'm going to get up there, but I don't care.  I'm getting up that tower, if it's the last thing I do.

Weaving my way past my enemies, and my occasional teammates, I make my way up to the entrance of the tower. Before I can reach the doors, though, I hear a voice call from behind me. "Kai!"

I skid to a stop and look behind me. My eyes fall onto none other than Haru, who is currently a lion. I swear, every time I see him he's a new animal. "Kai! Wait! Are you going up to the tower?" He asks me.

I nod. "I need to get onto the roof."

"That's great! I can take you!" He says excitedly.

I cock my head to the side. "But, you don't have an animal big enough to carry me, do you?" I ask him.

He chuckles. "As a matter of fact, I do! I just found out I can do this!" He says ominously. Before I can say anything, he closes his eyes to concentrate. Not even a second later, two separate glowing patches appear on his back from his shoulders and down his back. I watch in awe as suddenly, two big feathered wings extend from the lights and present themselves to me.

I look at the now winged lion in surprise and wonder. "Wait, you can do that?!" I ask him.

He nods excitedly. "Since I'm a shapeshifter, I can put multiple different animal parts into one!"

I laugh. This was so perfect! "Awesome! Let's get going then!" I say, gesturing to the tower. He nods and presents his back to me. I hop onto his back and hold onto his mane. He takes off into the air and we soar high into the sky. For a second, my mind is brought back to when Lloyd took me into the air and we soared amongst the clouds and the colors of the rising sun. The memory quickly fades, though, when I notice the roof of the tower is right upon us.

We surpass the roof and get a look at the scene from above. I gasp as I stare in confusion and horror at the scene playing out before me. Master Wu is fighting the Overlord on the ground, or at least trying to, while Katelyn is crawling behind a price of fallen rubble, hidden from the Overlord's sight, with a full splint on her arm. There's also a big hole in the roof that Katelyn seems to be trying to crawl towards. I roam my eyes all around the scene but no matter where I look, I can't seem to find Lloyd anywhere.

Panic ensues within me. Haru turns his head back to look at me, seemingly wearing the same expression as me. The Overlord is so invested in his battle with Master Wu, that he hasn't spotted us yet. I point this out to Haru and we agree to slip undetected by the Overlord to get to Katelyn, and see just what the heck's going on.

We do so, and when we land next to her she jumps and looks at us in fear. "Shh, Katie, it's just us!" I whisper-shout to her, not wanting to be heard.

She calms down after realizing it's us, and it's then that I actually get a good look at her. She's no longer in her dragonkin form, and she has a long piece of wood tied onto her arm with a white cloth because it is so badly injured. She looks dirty, and she has a few cuts and bruises here and there. It's obvious she's had it rough up here. Haru's turned into his human form and is now inspecting Katelyn further, berating her like a worried mother. "Katie, are you okay?! What happened?! Where's Lloyd?!"

That last question sparks my interest, causing me to give my undivided attention to Katelyn when she explains. She doesn't give us an answer, in fact, she's hyperventilating. I grab her shoulder on her non-injured arm and squeeze it, asking her the question again. She slows her breathing, but she looks at us worriedly. Then, she turns her head to the hole in the roof.

I don't need anyone to explain in order for me to know what she meant.

I let go of her arm and, still slightly crouching behind the rubble, sprint over towards the hole. In the corner of my eye I see Master Wu get hit hard by the Overlords's claw, but I see him come back with his own attack. I fall onto my knees and look down into the hole.

My breath leaves my body.

"Oh my F-" is all I can manage to whisper out of my mouth. I scramble down into the hole, being careful not to fall myself since he's several floors deep, and I eventually let go of the pipes and concrete parts of the building and fall onto the ground as safely as I can. After regaining my stance, I scramble over to Lloyd and fall onto my knees in front of him. I have no words.

⚠️ Kinda gory part, more descriptive than anything. ⚠️

His body is just laying there, all sprawled out and lifeless. He's laying in a pool of blood, and he has a stream of blood pooling out of his mouth as well. I can tell his ribs are broken, even through his clothes. His eyes are closed and his skin is paler than usual. I cover my mouth with my hand. Tears form into my eyes and I let out a soft cry, hardly even breathing. Shakily, I raise my hand and place two fingers right under his chin and into his neck to try and feel a pulse.

None.

I'm sure all the color has left my face. My heart has pretty much stopped beating and I haven't breathed in over a minute. I hover over him and place my hands on his shoulders.

"L-Llo-" I can't think, I'm not thinking. All I know is that this shouldn't be happening. This can't be happening. This is all a dream. Yeah, just a sick and twisted dream. I'm going to wake up, and Lloyd is going to be right next to me, holding my hand in his and saying softly into my ear, 'I'm here.'. Yeah. That's what it is.

Only I know that's not it. That never was it. That never will be 'it'. And now, there's only one thing I can say.

"LLOYD!" I scream as tears pool out from my eyes.

Lloyd POV

Darkness.

It's all I can see as far as I'm concerned. Actually, I can't even tell if my eyes are open or not. I could be staring into darkness, or my eyes could just be closed. Either way, all there is is black. Nothing but an inky abyss, stretching for miles and miles around.

I try to move, to tingle my fingers or move my head or just do anything, but I can't. It's like I never had anything to move to begin with. Nothing to feel, nothing to do. Like my mind has been in it's own little world this whole time, and I never had or needed a body to experience it.

I also realize I'm holding my breath. Or maybe, I never had breath in me to begin with. It's not painful, and it's not uncomfortable. It's just... normal. Like breathing never was a requirement to stay alive, if I even am alive.

I don't know where I am, if I am anywhere at all. It's like my consciousness is just drifting along an endless strip of nothingness, forever just drifting. Drifting. Drifting. I can't hear anything either. Not white noise, not ringing, not anything.

Maybe I'm just asleep and I'm dreaming.  That could very much be a possibility.  But, this doesn't really feel like sleeping.  Yes, it does seem a lot like it, but when you're asleep, you aren't conscious.  And if there's one thing I do know, it's that when you sleep, you're consciousness does too.  And right now, my consciousness is very much awake.  Or at least, I think it is.

I can't remember what happened. I don't know how I got here, wherever 'here' is. My mind is blank. Nothing but my thoughts echoing around each other inside of it. No memories, no emotions, nothing. Just what I'm thinking right now. My 'now' thoughts.

I don't really know how to feel or what to think right now. I mean, I don't really have questions. I feel... I feel like I'm meant to be here. I'm feeling at peace, like nothing did or could ever go wrong. Is that weird to think? I mean, I can't remember anything anyway, so who knows if anything really did go wrong, right?

But then, as I'm thinking of these thoughts, my consciousness is made aware of a new presence. It's a peaceful presence, I can feel it. It seems far away, but at the same time, so close that if I had a body, maybe I do, I could touch it. It seems to be radiating of some kind of... energy. An energy that's causing my mind overwhelming peace.

And, amongst the dead silence I hear, there is a change. It's like someone or something is... saying something? Yeah, that's it. It's not like a whisper in my ear, though, or something I can hear, oh no, it's like- in my head. Almost like I can hear, but telepathically. It's not anything verbal, but I can still sense someones's words being thrown around inside my brain. After a little bit of trying to decipher what the person is saying, I can make out that there is a single word being said.

Okay, progress.

I focus on the word, and I notice the voice saying it is getting louder, almost like I'm getting closer to the person or entity, like I'm being called upon or drawn to their consciousness. The word is becoming more clear now, and I can make out part of it.

L... d... The voice is saying. I can't make out what exactly the word is, it's too quiet for me to hear. I listen again, putting all my focus into what they're saying. I can hear that it's a more masculine voice now.

Llo... d... Okay, now it's more clear. But I still can't make out the whole word. I listen again.

Lloyd... The word- I can hear it! The voice said... Lloyd? What's a Lloyd? Is it me perhaps? Maybe... my name? Do I even have a name?

Lloyd. The voice says once more. Now it's stronger. It's closer. I can feel the presence of the person. I focus all of my consciousness onto the voice.

Lloyd, it's time to wake up. The voice says a lot louder now. And suddenly, the dead silence I was once sitting in disappears. I can hear quiet ringing, and then the whistling of a gentle breeze. Seemingly all at once, my other senses return. I can smell nature, feel the soft grass underneath me, and my once black vision gets replaced by a little bit of light. I still can't see anything, but I can see light. And then, I try once again to wiggle my fingers. And instead of nothing, I feel the extended joints twitch and alert the rest of my body.

"Welcome, Lloyd." I hear the voice say, only this time, it's not telepathically. I can actually hear the voice.

I shoot up into a sitting position and my eyes fly open. I breathe heavily as I take in the sight around me. I don't recognize anything. I seem to be on a floating island with other floating islands hovering around me in the wide stretch of sky and clouds. I look up to see the sun and I stick my hand out to shield my eyes from the blinding light. I see that I'm sitting on green grass, with patches of yellow flowers everywhere.

I try to search through my brain to find any memory of how I could've gotten here, but my mind comes up blank. I can't remember anything. I then look around and see a man standing far away from me. He's dressed in black and white clothes that resemble a sensei's gi, and he has a straw hat on. He looks at me with eyes full of kindness. I stare at him in confusion. "Hello, Lloyd." He says.

And then, the memory of my name, my identity, returns back to me, like I had... forgotten. "H-how do y- w-where am I?" I ask him.

He walks towards me. He doesn't stop walking until he's right in front of me, holding a hand out for me to take. "You, are at the beginning." He says.

I ignore his hand, too confused to really know what I should be doing right now. "Who are you?" I ask him in a quiet tone.

He smiles. "You've never met me, but I know you very well. I've been watching you since you were just an infant." A pause is left between us.

"How did I get here?" I ask the man.

"I brought you here. I wanted to speak to you." I eye his hand, and after some hesitation, I take it, and he pulls me to my feet. He starts walking away, motioning for me to follow. I do so, keeping right on his heel. "You see, when you were a baby, you and your sister were threatened by death, but I saved you. Since then, I've been watching you grow from a small child, to the warrior you are today." He stops, and turns to me. "I'm so very proud of you, you and your sister."

I stand there, speechless. "T-thank you, but.."

"But...?" He asks me once I've trailed off.

"Why me?" I ask him.

"What do you mean?"

"Why would you bring me here? Why not Katelyn?" He thinks for a moment.

"Because Katelyn was not the one who inherited my power." He says.

I stare at him. "W-wha..?" Realization dawns over me. I stare at the man in shock. "Y-your the-". The man only smiles. Without thinking, I kneel down onto one knee, because what else was I suppose to do in that situation?. "Your the First Spinjitzu Master..." I say in astonishment.

"Please, no kneeling. You have done so much for Ninjago already." He presents his hand once more. I take it, rising to my feet. "In fact, there's someone I would like you to see." He extends his arm past me, gesturing to something behind me. I turn around, and gasp at who my eyes fall onto.

"Splenda?!"

——————

Jesus Mary and Joseph why tf is it taking me so long to close this book?!?! Curse my overly descriptive self!!!! 🤦🏻‍♀️

Anyways, so I was planning on wrapping this book up literally last chapter but I just have to be overly descriptive on everything, so I'm going to post both this chapter and chapter 29 in the same day (or at least try to), because for the love of God I have another book to work on and have sworn to myself to get this book finished before New Years. 😂