Chapter Text
The first thing Illya took out was a bazooka. She slung it over her shoulder, wearing it like a backpack. She tucked a bag of ammo into her obi. She then dragged you to a glass case. It protected a jagged purple blade. She tucked it into a sheath, finding another spot in her obi to put it. You let her hold your dagger for a bit. She unsheathed it, taking a look at the craftsmanship.
“It’s good enough for a few human guards,” she said. “You said it was laced with poison, right?”
“Yeah. Guess it doesn’t work on an anacondrai,” you said.
“Well, you’d need to stab a serpentine a few more times to get a lethal dosage of that poison. It depends on the tribe, though. A venomari would be immune to most poisons, including the one in this blade.”
“What poison is it?” you asked.
“Hell if I know. But you’d need more of it to kill an anacondrai. They resist poison too but not as much as a venomari would.”
“So I stab Chen a few times with it and I’ll be golden.”
“Exactly.”
“Also, what’s with the blade?”
“Oh, this thing?” Illya grabbed the blade’s scabbard. “It was my grandad’s. He was a soldier in the OG serpentine war. He was already married to my human granny, at the time. I think my mom was pretty young too. She was like, five or something.”
“Woah.”
“It’s not that remarkable. The war was forty years ago.”
“I guess.”
“The bazooka is a prototype I haven’t been able to test out. Scales wants a couple of things for defense if all the big bads in Ninjago decide to take over the sewer.”
“That’s a lot for just you,” you said.
“Not really. I’m just pulling my weight. I gave the boys down below my designs and they make the prototypes. Did you know Selma is pretty good with math? She helped me come up with something realistic,” Illya said.
“Scales is a lucky man.”
You headed downstairs with Illya. She said that everything was mostly ready. She put on war paint like she was Rambo. Nana waved at you both on your way out.
You were quick to summon the sparrow, making your way out of Ninjago City. The Corridor of Elders was to the east of the city limit. It would take you a couple of hours to get there. Hopefully, you weren’t too late. Your hands were shaking. Your heart was racing. The sparrow was faltering in its flight to the canyon.
“Hey, you need help keeping her steady?” Illya asked.
“I’m fine,” you said.
“You want some whiskey?”
“I’m flying. That’ll make things worse. We might crash into a tree or something.”
“It’s one sip. I doubt you’ll get blackout drunk from it. And I can tell you’re a lightweight.”
“Fine, gimme.”
Illya twisted the cap off a flask, handing it to you. You took a swig of it. The alcohol burned the back of your throat. You swallowed the drink before coughing. Illya chuckled, took a swig herself, and put it back.
“Ugh, that’s horrible. Why do people even like that stuff?” you said.
“I guess you’re not a fan,” Illya said. “Might change my favor then.”
“Your favor was a drink?”
“Several drinks. It was gonna be a few years down the line. The only underage drinking I can do is a sip every once in a while.”
You continued to fly. You weren’t shaking anymore. The sparrow wasn’t threatening to poof midair. You still had quite a ways until you got to the Corridor of Elders.
“Hey,” you struck another conversation. “Your mom said something about the police searching your place without a warrant.”
“Oh, that,” Illya said. “It’s because we’re part serpentine. Normal humans don’t trust that we’re harmless. I mean, it’s in our name. Mugai literally means ‘harmless.’ Whenever me and my mom bring it up to the mayor, he doesn’t give us the time of day.”
“What if he gave a ninja the time of day?” you said. “I can bring it up to him. He’ll listen to me.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. I’ll even go to the royal family if I have to.”
“You know they don’t do anything political, though. I doubt they’d even let you in.”
“Probably not, but I can get a megaphone and shout at the palace doors.”
“Alright, cool. That’s your new favor. Tell me how it goes.”
You were close enough to the canyon to see the battle below. The anacondrai were pushing in on your friends. The statues lining the corridor were the witnesses to this battle. You lowered the sparrow. Chen was in some sort of canon, carried by his men.
“Ooh, more imposters,” Illya said. “Lower the bird. I think I can get a mid-air shot.”
“Fuck it. Let’s risk it,” you said.
“Hell yeah. That whiskey did something.”
“Sure.”
You kept the sparrow steady, letting Illya aim at where she wanted. She loaded the weapon with a rocket. A densely populated area of serpentine was the target. Chen was in the clump.
Illya fired the shot. The crowd of soldiers spreads apart, landing against the statues. Jets flew over the pushing crowds, finally noticing you. Illya fired another shot. It took only one of the jets down. The master of shadows took another jet. The bounty was next to fly in. Nets were released, trapping the anacondrai in their hold.
“Now it’s a party,” Illya said.
The bounty’s anchor dropped, skidding against the ground. Three jets flew in to try and take it out of the air. Illya fired another bazooka shot to take all three of them down. They crashed into more anacondrai soldiers.
“Holy shit that was lucky,” Illya said.
“I know,” you laughed. “Let's get to Chen.”
“You gotcha.”
You flew closer to Chen’s jet. It was headed toward the end of the canyon. Illya aimed the next shot at the tail end. When the explosion happened, the soldier with Chen fell to the ground. Clouse wasn’t there. He never came back.
The jet crashed into the flat land above the canyon. You were quick to go after it. The sparrow poofed away when you were at a good landing distance. Illya took out her grandfather’s sword. Chen was in the middle of a disaster. He slithered out of the jet’s remains, dusting off his clothing.
You didn’t give him time to breathe. He didn’t deserve to. Illya got behind him, the blade was against his throat.
“Bet you didn’t expect to see a halfbreed, did you?” she said.
“Wonderful, you brought a friend,” Chen said. “Like that’ll do anything.”
You kicked him in the chest. The infinite sakura bloomed within his body. He was knocked into the dirt. Blood flung out of his mouth. He seized your arm the moment you took out the dagger. He was only prolonging his death. With a swift swing of a blade, Illya cut off Chen’s hand. It let go of you to have gravity take it. Blood spewed out of the stump.
“Finish it!” she shouted.
You got on top of Chen. Without hesitation, you pushed the dagger’s blade deep into his heart. Chen let out a cry in pain. The blood poured out like a fountain. His tail struggled to be free of this misery. Illya pinned it down with her sword.
“You can’t finish it that quickly,” Chen said. “That poison blade won’t work. The anacondrai will rule Ninjago in no time. I’ll rule-”
“Will you just shut up!” you shouted. The dagger went into his throat. You stabbed him again and again until you were certain he was dead. Blood painted the dirt, rocks, and your jacket. The gift that was so meaningful had the stains of a tyrant.
You got off of him, laying under the sun. The battle raged on with the rest of the army, and yet, you delivered the final strike to Chen. Illya reached out to you with a smile.
“We did it,” she said. “Fuck yeah, we did it!”
“We killed him!” you ran to the edge of the cliff. “You hear that fake anacondrai, I killed your leader!”
“Suck a dick!” Illya shouted.
“Woo! I killed Chen!”
“Yeah!”
“Rot in hell, bitch!”
“Rot!”
“I’m so grounded for this!”
“And arrested!”
The radio on your wrist beeped. You cut off your celebration. It was probably your father, uncle, or Lloyd that was calling you. The bounty had already put up its anchor with him on it.
“Hey, what is it?” you asked.
“If you’re done shouting about killing a man, can you do us a favor, human puppet?” the other line had an eloquent and high-pitched voice. There was only one person that ever called you a human puppet.
“Pythor?” you said.
“Woah, the true and the halfbreed anacondrai, together at last,” Illya joked. “What is this, a crossover episode?”
“We’re doing a spell,” Garmadon said. “A spell to open up the cursed realm. I will be sent there in place of the anacondrai generals from the war. We need a blood sacrifice to do it.”
“What?” you said. “You’re being sent to the cursed realm. Who’s idea was this?”
“It was Pythor’s idea to open the cursed realm. But it was my idea to be sent there.”
“No. You can’t do that. You just got back.”
“Lloyd isn’t keen on it either. But I have to do this. It’s the only way I can make it up to Ninjago. And to you.”
You were silent for a moment. Nothing was real anymore. This was supposed to be a happy moment. You had your family back. Chen was dead. Maki and all of those other people were avenged. You took a deep breath. None of this would stop until this happened.
“I can get the body to you,” you said. “Does that work?”
“That works,” Garmadon said. “I’ll-”
“Say your goodbyes when I get to the bounty.”
You and Illya wordlessly got on the sparrow to get there. You bit your lip to prevent any tears from coming out. The physical pain distracted you. Illya had Chen’s body on her back. Her kimono was covered in blood stains.
When you finally got there, Illya plopped the body in the middle. Chen’s eyes were blank, almost white. There was no life in them whatsoever. Lloyd wasn’t on the bounty. He had already taken off into battle. The attacks he landed on the serpentine were relentless and aggressive. You did not blame him. You killed a man because you were so angry about his actions.
You rested against the railing with Pythor and Illya. She didn’t say a word.
“I’ll miss you, uncle,” you said.
“I’ll miss you too, [Name],” Garmadon handed Clouse’s spellbook to Wu. “Read it, brother. You know just as well as I do that the ninja don’t need two senseis.”
“Very well,” Wu said solemnly. “Komodo, nicktu, demic tara.”
A swirl of green and blue lifted Garmadon from the ground. A harsh wind blew in. Illya held Pythor so it wouldn’t push him off.
“Misako, will you ever forgive me for the letter?” Garmadon said.
“I already have,” she said.
“Tell Lloyd I’m sorry.”
“You can tell me that yourself,” Lloyd landed on the bounty. “If anyone should be sending you off, it’s me.”
Lloyd took the book from Wu. He started where the man left off. In Lloyd’s eyes was a deep sorrow you couldn’t comprehend that well. Although, you shared it with him.
“Kenji, severus, toto-demada,” Lloyd said. “Cursono, neeboro.”
A beam of light entered the clouds. Garmadon rose into it. It grabbed him as a magnet would to metal.
“Actu, cursono, neeboro,” Lloyd continued.
“I yearned to make the world in my image,” Garmadon said. “I never realized that it had that in you.”
“Sono, hokido, bo-rock!”
Garmadon was sent away in a blinding light. The last you saw of him was a tearful face. It was one of a man that loved his family too much. Several green lights emerged from the portal. They descended onto the corridor of elders, whisking away the anacondrai soldiers. They tried to run, but it was too late.
They were spirits sucked into a hell that would trap them forever and ever. The last spirit to be taken was the one from Chen’s dead body. He was asleep but still cursed to a life of eternal misery.
The portal closed. All that was left were the humans, Illya, and Pythor. You hugged Lloyd. Both of you held back your tears.
“The war is over,” Misako gently placed a hand on each of your shoulders. “But it had to be done.”
The fallen anacondrai generals descended onto the bounty. The leader was General Arcturus. He was the one to lead the serpentine army in the war.
“I thank you, Pythor. You will be rewarded for your courage and bravery,” Arcturus said. “You made your ancestors proud.”
“Oh, what can I say? Everyone can change,” Pythor said.
A beam of light turned him to his normal size. Pythor looked at himself, gasping in a normal voice.
“That’s more like it,” Pythor said.
“And thank you, Green Ninja,” Arcturus said. “Because of your friends, you have done what we never could, united the serpentine and your kind as one. And because of your father, our spirits are free.”
“Uh, I’m kinda the example of that. Y’know, part anacondrai and all,” Illya said.
“Of course,” Arcturus said. “Your grandfather is proud of what you’ve done.”
“Aw, thanks, gramps.”
“Gramps?!” you said. “You told me he was a soldier.”
“Yeah, generals are also soldiers.”
“You have our highest respect, Green Ninja as the greatest warrior to ever fight for Ninjago,” Arcturus bowed to Lloyd before flying free with the other generals.
“Hey, mind taking me home, ojou-chan?” Illya asked. “Ma probably has dinner cooking.”
“Of course,” you said.
…
It was sunset when everyone else left. You just got back from dropping Illya off at her home. Nana was a little shocked by the blood. She was okay when you said none of it was her daughter’s or yours.
Now, you were sitting by a small fire Kai lit. Fuwa was sitting atop your head. A teacup was in your hands. It was nostalgic, making you remember a fond dream. Those years you had with all of your family would never go away. Not for a second.
“To the anacondrai, the greatest warriors of our time,” Kai raised his cup of tea.
“Now it’s our turn to make our ancestors proud,” Jay said.
“Because we were proud of those who were here before us,” Lloyd said. “To show the way, goodbye father.”
“His loss will affect us all,” Wu said.
“Not his loss, his life,” Misako said. “He made us stronger, and brought us together.”
“Don’t forget to toast these two,” Jay wrapped his arms around you and Zane. “We finally got them back after all this time.”
“Speaking of that, well,” you said. “I’m sorry. I should’ve told you what was happening. I thought I could handle it alone. And I didn’t want to worry you.”
“Don’t apologize. You’re not alone,” Lloyd said. “You never were. We’re a team. And everyone on a team helps each other.”
“Kai told us everything,” Cole said. “It’s tough, but we’re here for you. Everything will be okay in the end.”
“No matter what happens, we’ll always stick together,” Kai said. “No one is alone.”
“That saying can be pretty ominous,” you said.
“This is supposed to be a sweet moment.”
“I know, and it is. I think.”
You and the rest of your family drank your tea. Garmadon’s sacrifice quickly got to the news. No one has said anything about it yet. But you were sure the people would remember him for what he’d done to save them.
‘Can we get some dango on the way home?’ Tohru asked.
‘I thought you’d never ask,’ you thought. Fuwa chirped. He seemed to agree.
You were finally home.