TW: Panic attack, negative self-talk, mentions of child abuse. The TW starts immediately and I will signify when it is done with bolded letters. Of course, there'll be a TW Recap at the end.

"Chen has--Kai village--Everyone--" Nya's voice, filled with static, played from the communicator. "Attacked first--nothing--stop them! Hurry! Too late!"

Lyra was still on the side of the road. It'd been around 30 minutes, and she still couldn't get up. She was just waiting for the Anacondrai warrior to attack her and end her misery. Her hoodie was stained blue because, after 15 or so minutes of panicking in silence, the tears fell. They were still falling, actually.

Useless piece of--

Pathetic--

Weak--

She couldn't even form full sentences in her mind. It was cycling over and over, repeating the same things. Her sight had blurred again.

Can't even summon a dragon.

She heard the communicator buzz, then fall silent. Lyra was tempted to rip the watch off and throw it as far away as she could. She just wanted it to be over.

Lyra took a shaky breath, knowing her time in Ninjago was almost spent. Soon, her father would find her. Soon, she'd be viciously murdered. Soon, her life would be over just when it'd actually started. 

The past week was the happiest she'd ever been, despite learning her father was evil and plotting to kill her. Lyra met new friends. She met Lloyd. She finally felt like she belonged somewhere, only for her father to rip all the good things in her life away. He ruined her existence once again, tainting her very soul with his selfish desires.

Lyra thought back to her father's acts. He really had been abusive. Not physically--well, sometimes physically--but verbally. Emotionally. Chen had told her again and again of how worthless she was, how much her life didn't matter, how weak her Element was.

He lied about all of that. Lloyd had shown Lyra who she really was. The ninja Lyra once thought was vile and evil turned out to be the sweetest boy in existence, going as far as to show her a glimpse of what her life could be like, should she choose to live with him and his family.

Because that's what the ninja were: a family. A real family. 

Lyra had no idea what a real family was supposed to be like. Hell, the only family member she had that acted like actual family was her sister, and even that was a stretch because Skylor was more than a sister. She was Lyra's best friend. Someone she knew she could trust. 

Yes, they were emotionally distant with each other, but that was expected. They'd each gone through separate traumas that were equally painful and important. Lyra wasn't sure about Skylor's mental state, but she knew she herself was broken. Since the start of the Tournament, she'd been on the brink of losing it, of just exploding from the stress. Her conflicting emotions--how her instincts seemed to go directly against each other when it came to what was right and wrong--had taken a huge toll on her. She'd been just barely holding on for the sake of her friends.

And now Lyra wasn't holding on at all. She'd fallen off the cliff. After years of trying to haul herself back to safety, trying to tell herself everything would work out and that no, her father didn't hate her even though he obviously did, she didn't even care when she felt her hand slip. She didn't even scream as she fell to her inevitable death.

The only issue she had with it is that others were falling with her. Skylor had fallen when Chen kidnapped her. Lyra recognized that her sister was about to hit the ground and smash her body against the pointed rocks. She recognized that Sky's fate was because of her father. Lloyd, meanwhile, was above Lyra, trying to yank her back onto solid ground.

All he was succeeding in doing was dragging himself down, too. He and the rest of the ninja--no, all of Ninjago--were counting on her, and she was letting all of them down, condemning them to a painful, early death.

She heard a slithering behind her and looked back. The Anacondrai warrior was making its way toward her, a blurry mess of purple and white. It didn't look happy.

Stand up or you're going to be remembered as the girl who had so much potential, with a prophecy and everything, only to die because she was a scaredy cat. "Lyra the Loser" is gonna become a nursery rhyme, talking about how I had so much power then died before I could do anything about it.

Lyra tried to stand. She really tried. She shakily rose up, only to fall on her butt.

The Anacondrai warrior laughed, slowly approaching like a cat stalking a mouse. "Sso you are our master'ss daughter? The one we were told to be wary of? What a joke."

Lyra's nostrils flared. "Says you." Her voice was pathetically weak. "At least I'm not so weak, I had to transform into a completely different animal just to have a chance at beating a 15-year-old girl."

She flexed her hands, trying to get some warmth in them. She saw a tiny spark of her power at the edge of her fingertips and had to restrain herself from smirking.

"I didn't transsform into an Anacondrai warrior to defeat you! I did it to rule Ninjago!" it roared.

"But are you ruling it?" Lyra asked. Her voice was getting a bit stronger, though her vision became worse with every word. "Even if you win the war, which you won't, it'd be my father. You'd just be doing all the dirty work. It's not too late to switch sides, you know."

The purple snake hissed. "I'm not falling for that. I was promissed richessss."

Lyra barked out a laugh. "You really think my father would give a lowly foot-soldier even a single gold coin?"

The Anacondrai lunged at her in response, seemingly done with the conversation.

Lyra rolled away and used the momentum to stand up, leaning on the noodle truck for support. She raised her hands. The fingertips were bursting with power like purple sparklers. "This is your last chance."

"I'm not sscared of you!" it proclaimed, approaching her with its chest puffed out.

"Well, you should be." Lyra spread her fingers apart and flexed her hands.

Her vision returned in time for her to see her power surging and dancing in between and around each finger. She pushed her hands in the direction of the snake. The purple light streamed out of her hands, entering each of the warrior's eyes. It screamed in agony and covered its face with its hands.

While it was distracted, Lyra slashed the noodle truck's tires with her dagger. Her Element started to circle around the snake, creating an inescapable vortex of purple strands of light and power. She watched as it forced the warrior to spin around and around until it eventually lay in a heap on the floor, unconscious.

I really need to get Garmadon to explain how my Element works, she thought. Because that was cool as heck but I don't know how I did it.

Her power, still swirling around her hands, reminded Lyra that she had other things to do. She closed her eyes and concentrated, imagining her beautiful dragon in front of her. Not even a second after the image popped into her head, she heard a roar.

Lyra opened her eyes to see her dragon standing there, smiling at her. She grinned back and hopped on.

"Let's go defeat my father," she told it as they soared high into the sky. 

The dragon roared in response.

Lyra had not fallen to her death. She'd fallen, yes, but merely to a nearby ledge. She wasn't even wounded. In fact, she was stronger than she'd ever been before.

~*~

(TW is over.) TW Recap will be at the end.

"Oh, hey, guys." Lyra waved to Lloyd, Neuro, Jay, and Mr. Pale as they walked in the Samurai X cave. "What took you so long?"

"You're okay!" Lloyd grinned, approaching Lyra. He looked ready to hug her, then stopped and awkwardly dropped his arms to the side.

"How long have you been waiting here for?" Jay asked. "And where's everyone else?"

"I got here just as Neuro sent the message to gather here," Lyra explained, sitting down in a rolling chair. "And no one else has arrived yet."

"How'd you know we were gonna meet up here?" Mr. Pale asked.

Lyra waved a hand in dismissal. "It's the only place in Ninjago I know how to find, other than my father's restaurants. After I defeated the Anacondrai driver, I just...flew back here and waited."

"You were able to summon your dragon?" Neuro raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah. Can't we all?" Lyra tilted her head to the side.

"We were all too scared after we realized," Lloyd replied, taking a rolling chair and sitting next to her. "We drove the noodle trucks here." He gave her a crooked smile. "This is what I was saying about you being brave."

"Nah, it was all adrenaline." Lyra waved a hand in dismissal.

Just then, the metal doors opened, and the rest of the Elemental Masters filed in, along with Nya, Skylor, both senseis, and Misako. The amount of people made the spacious cave look cramped and tiny.

"Look at you!" Lyra smiled at Skylor. Her scales were a much less saturated shade of purple now. Garmadon's were, too.

"The spell is wearing off," Skylor explained. "Father's antics, however, have not."

"Tea?" Sensei Wu asked. Garmadon went to grab a cup, but Wu ignored him and handed it to Misako instead.

What was that all about?

"He knows about the letter?" Lloyd asked, putting a hand on Garmadon's shoulder.

Oh, I guess that makes sense.

"The message was delivered," he sighed.

"She'll get over it," Lyra reassured. They both gave her unimpressed looks, and she drew her eyebrows close. "Wait--did I say something wrong?"

Great job, Lyra. You have such a way with words, especially for someone whose Elemental Power literally involves writing poems.

"So, question," Griffen raised his hand, "why were we asked here? We should be fightin' snakes."

"Because anyone can fight. Only one side can declare victory," Wu explained.

Stop being so cryptic. 

"So we need a strategy," Lyra translated. 

Karlof, who'd previously looked confused, nodded to her in thanks.

"In the time it took everyone to get here, Chen took over the entire Eastern seaboard and is moving inland," Nya announced. "With each village destroyed, they grow stronger."

She pointed to the screen with the map on it. There were around 20 red dots, each one representing a captured village.

I didn't realize Ninjago was this big, Lyra thought. Huh.

"That a lot of red," Karlof pointed out the obvious, as usual. "Karlof not like red."

"How are we supposed to stop 'em?" Gravis asked. "Most of us have lost control of our dragons, not to mention we're outnumbered ten to one."

"Actually, 62.4 to one," Zane offered unhelpfully.

"Look, I'm scared like the rest of you," Lloyd said. "It may look like we've lost, but it's not over. When we thought we lost Zane, it nearly tore us apart. But we didn't quit. We let it fuel us. We grew stronger!"

The ninja stood with straighter backs and determined looks, like they were ready for anything. They probably were.

Lyra smiled at her friend. I can see how he's the leader.

"There's hope," Wu announced. "The Corridor of Elders." He used his staff to point to a spot on the map.

"The Corridor of Elders?" Shade repeated.

"I know we don't stand much of a chance taking on his entire army at once, but after he's controlled the East, he'll move West tomorrow," Wu said. "He'll have to pass through Echo Canyons. Our best tactical position is to make our stand where it bottlenecks: here, at the Corridor of Elders." He showed a pathway that was much narrower than the others. "The monuments honouring our ancestors. It's the narrowest channel, but our greatest chance."

"If we can't stop them here, the rest of Ninjago will fall like dominos," Garmadon said grimly.

"Karlof not like to lose. Karlof fueled!" Karlof yelled. He raised both hands in the air, almost hitting Gravis in the process.

"Then we have one day to save tomorrow," Wu told them.

~*~

"You got this," Lloyd told Lyra. They were on a private channel of their communicators. "You're one of the smartest and bravest people I know. All you have to do is--"

"All I have to do is convince random citizens to enlist for a war." Lyra laughed semi-hysterically. A few people in the mall's food court looked at her weirdly. "How hard could it be?"

"No, you just have to tell them the truth," Lloyd reminded her. "If they don't fight, we'll all die. I have to go fly now, so you wouldn't be able to hear me over the wind, but you'll do awesome. Trust yourself."

With that, he left the channel. Lyra did the same, entering the channel everyone was on. She didn't know if she was muted or not, but she didn't particularly care. 

You got this, she reminded herself. It didn't help. You just single-handedly pulled yourself out of the worst panic attack you've ever had. You managed to summon your Elemental dragon when everyone else was too scared. Public speaking won't kill you. Not public speaking could kill you, though. You need to do this.

She shakily forced herself to stand up a the table of the food court she was in. "Everyone, I am talking on behalf of the ninja!" she yelled. 

No one paid attention to her, though some gave her stranger looks than they had before. She sighed and summoned a ball of her ultraviolet power. It shimmered brightly, outshining the faint lights above. The people around quieted. A few in nearby stores walked out, wondering what was happening. 

Now or never. I completely forget what I was supposed to say, so whoopsies. Guess I gotta improvise.

"I wish we could say we're not facing an army unlike we've ever seen, but we are. We don't know what they're capable of. Right now, our cities and villages are falling, which is why we're asking everyone to rise up. We may all have different backgrounds, but we all share the same future! You may wonder why we're asking you to fight for Ninjago. I mean, isn't that the job of the military? Of the ninja? Well, we aren't. We're asking you to fight for each other. For your family, friends, acquaintances, everyone. We're asking you to fight as one! I know this is scary, but I know Ninjago. In the past, when times got tough, did we give up? No! We kept on going! We kept fighting!" Lyra was going completely off-script, but it was working. People were standing up, looking ready to fight. "Now, who's with me?" 

The entire mall cheered, stomped, and whistled. "For our future!"

~*~

Lyra's eyes narrowed as she gazed into the distance. Since she had the sharpest eye, she was at the front of the lines, along with Lloyd. It had taken some convincing to get Lloyd to agree to have her in the most dangerous spot, but Garmadon eventually talked some sense into him.

The ninja were behind them, placed at the head of the Elemental Masters, with the entire population of Ninjago City (and the closest villages to the city) somewhere close by, ready to fight for their lives. The canyon was thin, about ten people wide. 

Their back-up plan was nonexistent. This fight would decide the entire fate of Ninjago, as well as the fate of the brave people--and Serpentine--who stepped up to battle for their future. They were all as prepared as possible, with whatever weapons they could find. Some had kitchen knives or tasers while others had garden tools or fire extinguishers, but they'd all do some sort of damage.

Lyra's hair was done in a simple ballet bun so it wouldn't get caught on anything. She'd changed into fairly tight, breathable leggings and a pale purple T-shirt, as anything else would slow her down. She had chainmail gloves that stretched to her elbows, which were the only form of armour the ninja had lying around. She'd already tested her powers with them on, and it didn't seem to affect anything.

A quiet, nervous chatter was all around them as friends and families said their goodbyes, just in case. Lyra overheard some people apologized for dumb arguments that didn't matter in the grand scheme of things. 

Meanwhile, a child and two young Serpentine--the Venomari tribe, from the looks of it--had become acquainted and were making fun of their parents behind their backs. It was the most wholesome scene around. It gave Lyra hope that everything would be alright.

You'll all grow into adults, Lyra promised. I'll make sure of it. No one's dying today.

"You know, I heard your speech," Lloyd said. "Everyone else was done, so we listened to it. It was better than the rest of ours."

Lyra blushed. "I was shaking the entire time."

"Well, it didn't sound like it, and that's what matters."

Skylor slithered up behind Lyra. "You ready?"

"I dunno," Lyra answered. "Still seems inherently wrong to be fighting our own father. Other than that, I am absolutely ready. What about you?"

"About the same," Skylor admitted. "At the same time, though, it felt even more wrong to fight with him, even if it was just to keep you alive."

"What?" Lyra frowned. "What do you mean?"

"He said if I didn't help spy on everyone, he'd kill you," Skylor explained. "I kinda had to."

"He was planning on killing me either way!" Lyra exclaimed. "What a bitch."

Skylor sighed. "I'll be glad when this is all over. Good luck. If you die, I'll kill you." She patted Lyra's shoulder then slithered off into her position in between Neuro and Kai.

"Good luck," Lyra echoed.

Lyra knew she was doing the right thing. Her gut was telling her she should be right where she was, with the ninja behind her and Lloyd at her side. No matter how terrifying the situation was, it felt natural. It felt like she belonged.

Lyra returned to her job of watching the horizon. After a minute or two, the first purple speck of many appeared.

"They're here," she told Lloyd.

"Get into your positions!" he yelled. Jacob used the Element of Sound to enhance his voice so everyone could hear.

They all took on fighting stances. Lyra drew her Jade Blade, glaring at the purple soldiers. She used her power to paint a glowing red line in the ground. The Line of No Return. Apparently, her ancestors had made this line many times before. Many of them even had their faces sculpted up above, which was one of the reasons the canyon was called the Corridor of Ancestors. It was merely destiny that Lyra was drawing the line now.

Lloyd pulled his mask up, the other ninja copying him. "We fight for each other!" he started.

"We fight as one!" Lyra finished. Her voice didn't falter, nor was it too quiet.

"Hold the line!" Lloyd shouted, arms spread to prevent anyone from pushing forwards. "Hold the line," he repeated as the snakes got closer, yelling. Lyra tensed, ready for impact. "Hollld!"

The front line of Anacondrai, about fifteen or so of them, fell down a trap door. The idea had been Lyra's, and it worked out beautifully.

"Trap door?" Chen demanded. "That's my signature move! How dare you? Destroy them!"

"NOW!" Lloyd screamed.

Zane froze the trapdoor shut so the warriors couldn't escape.

Lyra ducked as a blade nearly chopped her head off. She kicked the warrior in the stomach, catching it off guard, then stabbed it in the eye. It fled from her and she moved on to another one, repeating the process.

One grabbed her with its tail, but she quickly wriggled free and leapt onto its scaly head, disorienting it.

She jumped onto another one's head, but this one was ready and swung her onto the ground. Lyra yelped and rolled to avoid getting decapitated. She stood up, only to be punched by a different one.

Another snake tried to bite her, but she moved just in time, so it hit the chainmail glove. It screamed in pain, and she knocked its tooth out.

Three more appeared in its place, and Lyra backed into the canyon wall, realizing she was cornered.

It was then that Lyra remembered she was an Elemental Master.

She channeled all her energy into her palms, then forced it upwards. The bright light enveloped the closest warriors, reflecting off their armour and blinding them and others nearby. Lyra tried to make her power spin again, but it had other plans. The purple particles began to attach themselves to the warriors, layering on like a thick coat of paint. The Serpentine didn't seem to care until it got into their eyes, nose, and mouth. Then they started to cry out in pain.

The ninja took this opportunity to shoot their respective Elements at them, knocking about 30 of them out. The Anacondrai started to back up.

"Not backwards! Forwards!" Chen yelled from his jet, which was being carried by a few soldiers. "You're Anacondrai! Crush them!"

The Serpentine army surged forward with newfound energy, trampling over their fallen allies. Lyra scowled as she fled back, closer to the line she'd drawn earlier.

So much for having a chance at winning.

The Anacondrai began to push the pitiful human "army" back. Lyra did her best to blind some, but it just wasn't enough.

"I'm slipping!" Cole yelled, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"Don't let up!" Kai shouted.

"Push!" Lloyd yelled.

Lyra dodged an Anacondrai who ran headfirst at her. She stabbed its nostril, but another one quickly took its place. There were too many of them.

"Push harder!" Chen ordered.

What is he, a gynecologist? Lyra deadpanned. Are the Anacondrai pregnant? Wait, not the time for this.

Another warrior appeared next to the one Lyra was already fighting, forcing her to change up her style to fight both of them. Her Element distracted one while she swung at the other with her Blade. It was much more difficult to attack them both at the same time and she felt herself being pushed back.

Lyra was vaguely aware of a fight happening in the skies, but she was too focused on not dying to pay much attention. Her movements were already becoming sluggish, and her power wasn't as bright as before.

"Hold the line!" Lloyd yelled. At some point, he made his way to Lyra's left. She hadn't even noticed until he spoke.

Another Anacondrai started to fight Lyra. "They just keep coming!" she screamed, kicking it in the face.

"Push!" a warrior yelled, raising its sword into the air.

"Don't give up!" Kai shouted. "Ninja never quit!"

Just then, a flying ship appeared. It was huge, maybe even bigger than Chen's ferry. At the top, Nya cheered from behind the steering wheel. Garmadon and Wu shot two cannons off the side of it, trapping multiple snakes in nets.

The ninja, spirited by this, called their powers to them. Their swirling vortexes surrounded them, but Lyra had no time to watch the mesmerizing performance of Spinjitzu. Two more Anacondrai had started to fight her.

Hey, uh, Art Element? I don't know much about you, but it'd be nice if you LISTEN TO ME!

Finally, her power started to do the same thing she tried to make it do earlier. Tiny, purple flecks circled around all five of the warriors fighting her and spun them around faster and faster until it suddenly exploded in a cloud of purple powder. The Serpentine landed on the ground and didn't move.

Lyra's rush of happiness at her success was cut short when her father shot at one of the statues on the side of the canyon. Its gigantic head fell off and started to fall down, ready to crush everyone underneath.

Lyra raised her arms above her head, fully aware that they'd do nothing against the gigantic boulder. She waited for death to take her.

It never did. She looked up and saw Gravis holding it with his Element, then throwing it off the side of the cliff behind them.

The soldiers took advantage of the chaos and charged forward, not even fighting anyone as they rushed past.

"We have to stop them!" Lloyd screamed.

"We can't hold them all!" Cole replied.

Lyra, meanwhile, was staring at her glowing red line. She watched as a warrior passed it, as the paint faded into nothing.

"They crossed the line," she whimpered.

Her entire body felt drained of all warmth, even though she was sweating because of the heat. She could do nothing but watch as more and more Anacondrai passed them, laughing. Some raise their blades victoriously. Others mocked the ninja.

Something caught her eye. Lyra narrowed her eyes, watching an incredibly small yet quick white figure riding on top of a rat with Clouse's spellbook in hand.

That's somehow not the strangest thing I've seen today. Well, maybe.

"I have something Lloyd's father needs to see," Pythor told Lyra, stopping in front of her. She stared at him in shock. "Oh, come on, you can trust me. If anyone is going to take over this world, I'd want it to be me."

Lyra nodded, wordlessly picking him up and taking him to Lloyd, who was only about ten feet away. She punched an Anacondrai that was about to slash his back and showed him the tiny snake.

"Take me to your father!" Pythor cried. "He can end this once and for all."

Lloyd frowned. "As if I'd ever listen to you!"

"You can trust him," Lyra told Lloyd. A page of the spellbook was running through her mind. She couldn't quite make out the words, but she knew it was important and probably related to what Pythor was saying. "Promise."

"Let's go, then." Lloyd grabbed Lyra's hand and they raced off towards the flying ship's anchor.

They jumped onto it just as it lifted up.

"Be free, Rodrigo!" Pythor yelled to the rat. "You've earned it!"

He named the rat? Why Rodrigo, of all names?

They jumped onto the ship. Lyra didn't even take the time to marvel at its beauty as they ran up to Wu and Garmadon.

"Pythor says he has something that can end this war," Lyra announced.

"They've crossed the Line of No Return." Wu frowned at her. "No amount of power can stop this now."

"But the might of a True Anacondrai can!" Pythor said.

Lyra's sight temporarily left her. All she could see was the image of the page, though everything was still blurry. Her heart sped up. So many words were flying through her head, yet she couldn't bring herself to say any of them.

"Do you see what's happening?" Garmadon yelled. "This isn't about you! Being big solves nothing!"

"But if the Generals you banished to the Cursed Realm so long ago saw this mockery, they would stop this travesty at once!" Pythor cried.

Lyra grabbed on to Lloyd's hand as all colour disappeared from the world. Everything was black and white. There weren't even shades of gray. Everyone looked fuzzy, too, as if they were an old TV show that first aired 70 years prior.

"No one comes back from the Cursed Realm," Misako said.

Garmadon picked the book up. "Unless he that cursed them took their place."

"No, that's wrong," Lyra murmured. "It has to be."

All the black and white disappeared. The only thing she saw was the page. The unintelligible words mocked her.

"I could unleash the spirits of the Anacondrai Generals!" Garmadon realized.

"Only if you banish yourself," Pythor reminded him. "Magic has its rules, you know."

Lloyd's hand squeezed Lyra's tightly. "We're not cursing you! We're not losing you to bring them back!"

"If we do nothing, we lose Ninjago," Garmadon pointed out.

The letters on the yellowed pages were fading in and out. For a moment, Lyra could almost read them.

"We don't even know if they'll help," Misako said.

"Well, we do know that the real Anacondrai wanted peace as much as us! It was Chen who started both wars," Lloyd's father reminded them. "I never thought I'd say this, but Pythor is right."

"No, he isn't." Lyra wasn't sure how she knew that, but she did. "It's something else."

"What is it?" Misako asked.

Lyra hesitated. "I'm...I'm not sure. But this feels wrong."

Lloyd's hand squeezed hers even tighter. Lyra squeezed back.

"I cannot allow this, brother," Wu murmured.

"Who are we fooling?" Garmadon asked. "There's not enough time for me to make up for the pain I've made in my life, but if I could save Ninjago..."

Lloyd let go of Lyra's hand, storming up to his father. "You want my blessing to walk out on us again, fine, but don't expect me to stick around and watch you go. My real family needs me!"

Lyra heard retreating footsteps, then nothing. She reached out for his hand again but was met with air.

"Lloyd!" Garmadon cried.

"What happened?" Lyra turned head around, wishing she could see. "Where'd he go?"

"You can't see?" Garmadon questioned.

Before Lyra could answer, a blast hit the ship, making Lyra almost fall to the ground as it rocked.

"If this is going to happen," Pythor said as Lyra regained her balance, "I suggest we do it now!"

Suddenly, the words came into focus. Lyra shut her eyes tightly, focusing as much as possible on them as they swam around the page before rearranging themselves to form a few sentences.

"Don't!" Lyra whipped her head up as light flooded her vision. She could see again. "There's another way!"

Lyra grabbed the book from a bewildered Misako's hands, flipping to the page the spell was on. She smacked it with an open palm, letting her power do its thing and run through the page. The ink started to bleed and the words rearranged themselves.

𝕀F 𝕠ne 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕒 𝕔h𝕚l𝕕, 𝕒 M𝕒ri𝕥𝕒𝕝 𝕓oN𝕕, a 𝕤𝕚bLLin𝕘, 𝕒n𝕕 the 𝕄𝕒𝕤T𝕖𝕣 O𝕗 𝕊𝕡𝕚𝕟j𝕚𝕥𝕫𝕦, 𝕥hi𝕤 𝕥𝕖r𝕣𝕚b𝕝𝕖 𝕗ATE 𝕞aYY 𝕓𝕖 𝕖𝕤ca𝕡𝕖d. 𝕀n𝕤𝕥𝕖A𝕕, 𝕥h𝕖𝕪 𝕤𝕙𝕒L𝕝 𝕝𝕒𝕪 𝕥𝕠 res𝕥 𝕨𝕚𝕥h 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕚𝕣 𝕗𝕠RRe𝕗𝕒𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕤, 𝕨𝕒𝕚𝕥𝕚nG 𝕥𝕠 𝕓𝕖 AA𝕨𝕠k𝕖𝕟 𝕨H𝕖𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕥𝕚m𝕖 𝕚𝕤 Rig𝕙𝕥.

"That's oddly specific," Pythor remarked.

"Clouse once told me that magic is similar to prophecies. A lot of the spells were made to be used one time in a very specific situation and never again," Lyra explained. "We need one person of each category to be here, though."

"Marital bond is Misako, sibling is Wu, and Master of Spinjitzu is Lyra," Garmadon listed. Lyra winced, having already forgotten that Spinjitzu was a form of the Element of Art. "But as for the child..."

"I'm right here," Lloyd called, scaling up the side of the ship and jumping aboard. "And I'm ready."

"Okay, so Garmadon needs to be here, in the middle," Lyra instructed, though she didn't know why. It just felt right. "Lloyd needs to be in the top left corner, Sensei Wu needs to be at the top left, Misako needs to be bottom left, and I need to be bottom right."

"How do you know this?" Pythor wondered.

"It's the Art of Literature," Garmadon explained. "She's understanding the hidden meaning. That's also why her eyes are glowing and changing colours."

Lyra subconsciously reached a hand toward her eyes. She hadn't realized they were abnormal.

"Alright, now, what do we need to do?" Lloyd asked Lyra as everyone formed a square with Garmadon in the middle.

"Garmadon needs to be chanting the words in the book," Lyra told him instinctively. "The rest of you need to be performing Spinjitzu, while my power...does whatever it does. Nya, you and Pythor have to be at least three feet away."

Nya nodded, picking up the snake and moving to the other side of the ship.

"Everyone ready?" Lyra asked. Everyone nodded. "Start whenever you feel like, then."

Lyra took a deep breath and closed her eyes, mentally readying herself. She opened them and locked eyes with Lloyd. He gave her an easy smile and she returned it.

The second that Garmadon started to chant the magical words, his family performed Spinjitzu. Lloyd's was a green forest, and his dance reminded her of riverdancing. Wu's was a golden sun, and his dance was similar to jazz. Misako's was a silver star, while her dance was a perfect interpretation of folk dancing. Lyra raised her glowing hands and forced the ultraviolet particles to listen to her. They swirled round and round everyone's feet, changing their Spinjitzu to have purple tints. Then the specks spun around Lyra and started to glow. They slowly circled Garmadon's feet, moving up his body as he got farther into the spell. Pretty soon, her power was around his head. It stretched higher and higher up, taking waves of the Spinjitzu energy up with it. They created a rip in the sky, and it slowly widened as thunder boomed.

The people below gasped as Garmadon was lifted into the air. "Son, I love you more than anything in this world. Lyra, promise me you'll take care of him until I return."

Lyra's hair had fallen out of its bun as the wind whipped around them like crazy. "I promise. He's safe with me."

And she meant it. She would do everything in her power to keep Lloyd safe, to keep any single one of the ninja away from harm. 

It was destiny; it was prophesied long before Lyra was even born.

Light burst from Garmadon's chest and into the dark crack in the sky. He screeched in pain, but Lyra kept using her power, straining as the fatigue started to hit.

Suddenly, he disappeared. The same second he did, green, serpentlike forms flew out of the rip. They flew down toward the fake Anacondrai, taking them up to the rip and throwing them in as they screamed. Lyra recognized the driver she'd faced off against earlier. They flew past, yelling profanities.

"I can't be cursed!" a familiar voice screeched. Lyra turned and gasped as she saw her father being pulled toward the Cursed Realm. "Skylor! Lyra! Save me!"

"It always was Skylor first, wasn't it?" she asked him as he passed. She was surprised to note she didn't want to save him in the slightest, even though he was her father. "Good-bye, Chen."

She ignored the sinking feeling in her heart as she watched him disappear into the Realm. As soon as he entered, the darkness disappeared, and the crack closed. Lloyd, Wu, and Misako stopped doing Spinjitzu and Lyra's power dissolved into nothing.

Lyra fell onto the floorboards as everyone below started to cheer. Lloyd joined her, and they lay there for a moment, staring at the sky. They were both panting from exertion of using their powers for so long.

"The war is over," Misako breathed. Her eyes were fixed on where her husband had disappeared. "It had to be done. We'll find him soon."

Lloyd nodded, then grabbed Lyra's hand and hauled her to her feet. She stumbled and almost fell.

"Good balance, hm?" he teased as he caught her.

Lyra simply wrapped her arms around his torso and hugged him as tight as humanly possible. He immediately crushed her in a warm embrace of his own. They stayed there like that, standing and processing what had just happened.

They pulled away when the Anacondrai Generals (in ghost form) phased through the ship's floor, obviously wanting to talk to them.

"Thank you, Pythor," Arcturus said. "You should be rewarded for your courage and bravery. You have made your ancestors proud...finally."

"Oh what can I say," Pythor shrugged, though his sparkling, childlike eyes ruined the image of nonchalance. "Everyone can change."

Arcturus hit him with a beam of yellowish green power, startling Lyra. A second later, Pythor was the size of an actual Anacondrai again.

"That's more like it!" he cheered in a much deeper voice. Lyra already missed his squeaky tone from earlier.

"And we cannot thank you enough, Lyra Soun-Chen." Arcturus turned to the girl. "Because of you, Lloyd, and your friends, you have done what we never could and united the Serpentine and your kind as one. Because of you, the balance is restored. And, because of your power, our spirits can be free. You are the exact opposite of your father. You are much more similar to your ancestors that came before him, who were our closest friends. You and Lloyd  will have our eternal respect as the greatest leaders, nay, the greatest warriors to ever battle for Ninjago. And, as your father is obviously no longer capable of holding his title of Master...I now name you Lady Lyra, saviour of the Serpentine."

A green puff of smoke surrounded Lyra. It sunk into her skin and dissolved. As it entered Lyra's very soul, she smiled. It was warm, like a friendly breeze on a summer's day.

"That will show any Serpentine that you are their friend," he explained. "Just as your ancestors were. You have a bright future, Lady Lyra."

They bowed to each other, and with that, the Anacondrai Generals flew up into the air, then disappeared.

Lyra turned to Lloyd, eyes wide with shock. "Did. You. SEE THAT?" she squealed. "THEY SAID I WAS A WARRIOR! I MEAN, IT MAKES SENSE FOR YOU, BUT ME? THE ANACONDRAI GENERALS RESPECT ME! THEY CALLED ME LADY LYRA!"

Lloyd chuckled as Lyra practically bounced in excitement. "They also called you a leader, you know. And they were kinda right. You're a natural at it."

Lyra could not believe it. The Serpentine her father had told grand stories of were real, good people, and respected her as a LEADER!

Misako laughed at her expression. "Let's land and meet the rest of the ninja before Lyra explodes, shall we?"

Wu nodded. "Yes, let's."

When they landed, Lloyd slipped his hand into Lyra's, grinning as she snapped out of whatever trance she was in. "Come on, let's go!"

He dragged her to the edge of the ship and they stood on the railing, beaming as they watched family embrace each other, lovers kiss each other, friends share the longest hugs ever. The Elemental Masters rushed toward them, cheering.

"Ha, ha! You showed them!" Griffen told Cole.

"You mean we showed them," the Earth Ninja corrected. "Thanks for fighting with us."

"Huh. Smarter than fighting against you." Karlof messed up Kai's hair.

Lyra, Lloyd, Wu, and Misako jumped down and joined them.

Lyra ran to Skylor, who was now a full human, and trapped her in a hug. "SkylorIloveyousomuchyouhavenoideaI'msorryifIwasevermean--"

Skylor cut her off with a laugh. "Hey, we won, we're okay, and Father's out of the picture. This means we have an entire business to run, by the way."

Lyra's eyebrows raised. "Oh shit, I forgot about that. Um...about that..."

She paused, unsure of how to break the news to her sister.

"Lloyd offered for you to join them?" Skylor guessed.

"How'd you know?"

Skylor waved off Lyra's question. "Just had a feeling. I'm fine with it if you do go. In fact, I'd be happy. We just have to figure out what to do with the noodles and everything first. And how to get rid of all the criminal empire stuff."

Lyra nodded. "Of course. But for now, let's just join them," she gestured to the Elemental Masters, who'd created a bonfire and were singing songs in a circle like little kids. Lloyd and Kai were standing a few feet away, waiting. "We can be happy for once."

"I think this is just the start of the happiness." Skylor grinned, walking away to meet Kai.

Yeah, I think I agree, Lyra thought as she caught Lloyd's eye. I've got a good feeling about this.

~*~

The ninja, Wu, Misako, and Lyra were gathered around a separate fire Kai had built, away from the chaos of the retreating crowd.

Skylor had left to check up on the nearest noodle house and give them privacy, though she'd never admit the latter. She promised to be back within a few hours.

Lyra held Clouse's spellbook in her hands. It felt strangely familiar, though not in a good way. She thought to what Lloyd told her about the sorcerer's fate, how he was now forever stuck in the Cursed Realm because he tried to send Garmadon there.

Garmadon's really good at avoiding the Cursed Realm, isn't he? she thought. That's twice in, like, three days.

"To the Anacondrai, the greatest warriors of their time," Kai said as Wu handed him a cup of tea.

"Yeah. Now it's our turn to make our ancestors proud," Jay grinned.

Lyra thought of her parents. Not her father, but her mother. So many mysteries surrounded her. But, as Lloyd had said, she hoped she'd made Lila proud in some way. "Yeah."

"Because we're proud of those who were here before us, to show us the way," Lloyd added. "We'll find you soon, Father."

"We shall," Wu agreed.

"Tomorrow will be the first day I will look into it, and I will not rest until I find an answer for where he could be," Misako said. "He made us stronger, brought us together."

Everyone looked down at the fire.

"I am Lloyd Garmadon, son of Lord Garmadon," Lloyd murmured.

"Student of Sensei Garmadon," Wu added.

"He made me who I am today," Lloyd continued his speech. "He was my father, he was my adversary, but in the end, he was, he is, my friend. He'll be back soon. For now, let's honour his sacrifice."

Lyra nodded. Then she realized everyone was looked expectantly at her.

Do I have to make a speech because I'm the one who's gonna throw the book in the fire?

She gulped, then took a deep breath. "I am Lyra Soun-Chen."

"Lady Lyra Soun-Chen," Lloyd reminded her with a proud smile.

Lyra nodded. "Right. I am Lady Lyra Soun-Chen, daughter of Master Al Chen. But, more importantly, daughter of Lila Soun. She was a valiant warrior, but the kindest woman in the world when she wasn't fighting. There are so many mysteries about her," Lyra glanced at Wu, "that I don't get. But I...I know she's proud of me. I can feel it. And...I don't know what's gonna happen next." Lyra's gaze drifted to Lloyd, who was watching her softly, the proud grin still there. "But, whatever it is, I know it'll be something I choose to do. Something no one forces me into. And I promise to all of you that we will find Garmadon."

"Because of you two, we will live to see tomorrow," Zane proclaimed.

"And for every tomorrow, I will live to honour his wish." Lyra was still looking at Lloyd.

I'll keep you safe. No matter what.

She threw the spellbook into the air, and it landed right on top of the raging fire. Particles of her power surrounded it against her will. They spiraled around it, stoking the fire until nothing but ash remained of the once-huge book.

They turned around and looked at the sculpture of Garmadon's face being carved into the wall beside someone Wu said used to be his best friend. Lyra had designed the statue. It was a perfect likeness of him.

No matter what.

Oml season 4 is doneeee. I literally wrote an entire season in 9 days I'm too obsessed with this. I haven't even published this yet like what if it's awful and no one reads it? That'd be kinda sad. I've also decided that I'll continue the next season on this book, though I won't jump into it right away. Instead, I'll be focusing on the time in between the two seasons.

Word count: 7.2k

TW Recap: The Anacondrai driver fights Lyra, and she gets mad at it, which erases her fear and allows her to use her power. It swirls around the snake, making it so dizzy it collapses. She summons her dragon and flies toward the Samurai X cave (If I missed anything major in this recap, please tell me).

QOTD: What do you do when you have a day off (from school, from work, from family, whatever)?

A: Write, shower, sleep, watch videos, play my flute, read, etc (I do these all normally but I have more time to do them when my family's gone and school's not on).

Next arc is Possession, which I absolutely CANNOT wait for. There are a few chapters in between this and that arc, though, that are very important for the lore moving forward

I really appreciate any comments left because they do give me motivation! Even an act as simple as answering the QOTD makes my day :D

Please remember to drink water, eat food, and get sleep because they all contribute to health and happiness<3

~Aspen