"Can I still fight?" Lloyd was asking, as Dr. Julien bandaged his leg. Hikari was watching as Nariko waited with the ninja without her usual sarcastic manner.

"I'm sorry," Dr. Julien replied, shaking his head, "that leg will take weeks to heal."

Lloyd looked at him, worried. "We don't have weeks!"

He bit his lip in pain as Dr. Julien continued bandaging his leg. Several feet away, the ninja, Sensei Wu, Misako and Nariko were speaking. "The final battle between good and evil will be decided today," Sensei Wu said with a sigh.

"And we can't even GET to the fight!" Kai snapped, "much less get off this island."

He moodily chucked a rock into the water, as Jay sadly sighed. "I wonder if I'll ever get to see Nya again..."

Zane put a hand on his shoulder. "Perhaps it's best to think of our friends as how we remember them in our hearts... not as they are now."

Lloyd hobbled over, one arm wrapped over Hikari's shoulder. Even with these grim situations, the two teenagers couldn't help but blush a little at having so much of their bodies in contact with one another.

"But... I don't remember my father any other way," Lloyd responded, as Hikari shifted her weight subtly so that Lloyd was more comfortable.

"Your father loved you," Misako put in, "it was the evil of the Great Devourer that corrupted him."

"Sensei," Kai picked up, "I don't understand. The prophecy said the Green and Purple Ninja would defeat the Dark Lord." He threw another rock, which skipped across the water's surface. "Why didn't we win?"

"I... don't know," Sensei Wu said simply.

"Don't know? But you're SENSEI! You always know! You have a white beard!" Jay protested in a splutter.

Nariko took a deep breath and sighed. "Well... I mean... good can't always win on the first try. I mean, if you did, there would be no evil, would there?" Even saying this she sounded rather tired.

Kai shook his head slightly. "There must be... some message to learn," he said, "a lesson... a word of wisdom! Just a word?? Something!"

"For once, I'm afraid there is nothing to learn. Only that... evil has won," Sensei Wu said with a sigh.

"Well, if Sensei doesn't have a lesson," Lloyd huffed, "I think Hikari and I do."

He and Hikari walked a few feet away, slowly. "I used to be nothing but trouble, and then Hikari and I met you guys! You took us in. Showed me the importance of being brave..."

"The importance of being strong," Hikari agreed, "and most importantly, for Lloyd mostly but for me as well, being good."

"When this battle first began," Lloyd said, "the First Spinjitzu Master fought the Overlord, and had his back against the wall, and he knew it was all over, did he QUIT?"

"Nope," Hikari picked up again, "he found some way to keep the fight going. He passed his elemental powers to all of us! Us, of all people, a bunch of teenagers who can't even control their tempers, sometimes, let alone some of the most powerful elements!"

Nariko let out a bark of laughter as Lloyd continued, "But there must have been a reason he chose us. I'd like to think it's because he knew we would never back down, we'd never give up! We know the ancient ways of the ninja--"

"And ninja never quit!" Hikari finished. She had this determined look on her face as her eyes sparkled.

Kai nodded. "They're right-- if that means we have to swim the sea in order to get off this island-- well-- then so be it!" He started wading into the water, very reluctantly and slowly.

"The ENTIRE ocean?? ... but I didn't bring my floaties," Jay whimpered.

"Well, if you've got a better plan..." Cole suggested.

Zane shrugged from behind Jay. "I don't-- but he may."

The falcon swooped down, and Hikari felt a big smile spread across her face as it swooped over the ground. Dr. Julien gasped with a grin. "The falcon! It must've found something!"

x

"It brought us back to the Temple of Light," Zane said, sounding puzzled, "I do not understand. We've already been here."

"This location... I've seen this before," Misako stated, "I just... never understood it..."

After a moment's pause, they walked into the temple. Hikari was exploring the darker areas, in case there was something she missed, when she spotted something. If she came to this corner... yes...

The corner revealed a small tunnel.

Hikari looked back before gently slipping in. Wandering down the tunnel for a few minutes, she found a stone button with a glowing, violet symbol. It looked a bit like a small skull (although if it was, it was a very cute one).

Hikari regarded it before touching it, and then gently pushing it.

The purple light began to creep up her arm, with this strangely familiar feeling. Hikari hesitated, before shutting her eyes and letting it swarm over her.

A moment later, it faded, both the feeling and the purple light. Hikari looked at her arms, but it was too dark to truly see anything in the dark tunnel, so she doubled back to the entrance.

"I think I found something..." Kai turned back to the others, and his voice drifted off. Everyone turned to see Hikari coming out of the wall... except she looked different.

She wore what appeared to be a silvery purple kimono, except it only reached up to her knees. Beneath that she wore a pair of black shorts, and her sleeves seemed to glow slightly, with an internal, violet-and-silver light. It had a sort of V-neck, and beneath that there was a black shirt. Her shoes were black, leather boots, and she had a purple flower in her hair.

She blinked at them all and their gaping expressions. Then she looked down at herself and yelped. "Holy cannoli! What in the world??" She patted herself down, staring at her clothing.

Then she looked back up and blinked. "Lloyd, why is your nose bleeding?"

Lloyd blinked and touched his nose... and then his eyes widened and his cheeks turned red as he tried to stem the flow of blood. "N-no reason! The air's dry I guess! Haha!" He leaned forward and pinched his nose shut, still unable to take his eyes off of her. "Y-you look nice in that," he said, a little nasally now.

Hikari blinked, then looked down at her outfit. "Oh... really? You think so?" she asked, puzzled.

"Hm, power of the dark side of the First Spinjitzu Master," Nariko said casually.

Kai opened his mouth, before waving it off. "Never mind that now-- you can tell us all about how you got the new outfit after we defeat the Overlord. But anyway, I think I found something-- it's just like the map!"

He slowly slid his sword into the slot, which made it glow.

"There's one more, over here," Sensei Wu said, pointing at one of the pillars.

"And here!" Dr. Julien added. Misako took a look at the last pillar and said, in wondering amazement, "And over here!"

The ninja all drew their elemental blades, and approached their respective pillars, before sliding it into the slots. The ground began to glow, and the part where Lloyd and Hikari stood on to receive their powers slid away, and a huge, old robotic thing rose out of the ground.

"It is the battlesuit the First Spinjitzu Master used, when he was fighting the Overlord!" Misako said, in wonder.

Hikari put her hand on her chin. "Well, if it worked for the First Spinjitzu Master, it should work for Lloyd-- after all, he IS related to him," she said, thoughtfully.

Lloyd approached the armor, a small smile on his face. "It's worth a shot."

It took quite a bit of shuffling, and Hikari had to help him, but he finally managed to crawl into the seat, toggling one lever. "Hmmm... nothing!" he called, just as it started to glow gold.

"Woah," Hikari breathed, as the whole suit started to gleam with a golden light. "All right!" Cole cheered.

"Killer," Kai added.

"Amazing!" Zane agreed.

"How does the leg feel now?" Sensei Wu asked, craning his neck to see his nephew properly. A burst of fire shot from the leg as Lloyd-- and the suit-- lifted its right leg. "Stronger!" he grinned.

"Well," Misako said, sounding very proud of her son, "I know how he is getting to Ninjago. But what about us??"

Hikari shrugged. "I know I can ride with Lloyd."

"Heck yeah you can!"

A low roar from outside, and Jay turned to look at the doorway. "I know that sound... it's our dragons!!" he yelled, a silly grin coming over his face.

"I think," Sensei Wu said, a slow smile coming over his face, "that we just found our way off this rock!"

x

Hikari clung to Lloyd and the suit as it soared in the air next to the Ultra-Dragon, through the clouds.

"I see Ninjago!" Kai shouted, "we're not that far away!"

"Are you sure that's Ninjago?" Cole asked, squinting at the purplish glow through the thick cloud cover.

Lloyd plunged straight down, Hikari having to hug him tightly from behind. Lloyd had to smile a little before his face went back to being deadly serious, as they broke through the clouds to see a huge skyscraper with a glowing roof, and the city looking as if it had rotted to pure black.

"What is that thing??" Kai asked, staring at the skyscraper.

"Garmatron," was Sensei Wu's grave answer.

Misako gazed at the huge building. "It's turned into a fortress."

"But where's the Overlord?" Dr Julien asked, curiously.

Lloyd didn't answer, just swooped down to land.

They all plunged to the ground, and the ninja hopped off and peered around the corner to see people trudging through the streets. Nariko's brows were furrowed.

"He's turned everyone evil," Kai whispered, his scar contracting a little bit as his eyes narrowed.

"And now they're working for his cause," Cole hissed back, before punching his fist into his palm. "I can't wait to see the look on his face when he gets a load of us!"

A low roar made the streets shake as a huge, billowing cloud of darkness plummeted towards them.

Hikari and Nariko stepped forward automatically and threw up a dark shield, making the street hiss and ooze purple as the Dark Matter splashed down.

"Is that the look you were hoping for?" Zane asked, sounding bemused.

"Zane-- no," Jay said, sharply.

"The metamorphosis is complete," Misako said gravely, "the Overlord's changed into his original form."

"Well, unless you all want to be turned evil or blasted into little pieces, we most certainly cannot fly up there," Nariko remarked, a hint of her usual sardonic manner tinging her voice. Hikari frowned and looked up. "Yeah, I don't fancy trying to get up there without getting injured..."

"We have my father's Golden Mech," Sensei Wu said pointedly, gesturing at the mech with his sword, "we have to draw their fire so that Lloyd can use the mech against the Overlord and Hikari can help defeat him."

Cole nodded firmly. "We hear ya, loud and clear!"

x

Nariko perched on the back of the dragon, staying utterly silent as they flew towards the bottom of the huge skyscraper, the shadow making everything on their side look even darker than the now practically blackened landscape.

She was privately worrying about her own fate. What happened if Lloyd and Hikari did win? Would the purification of Ninjago purify Nariko too, and kill her? Or would it simply injure her?

Nariko looked down. She could see her reflection in the dragon's polished scales, with her worried red eyes and her black hair--

She blinked in surprise as she looked down at her reflection. For a moment, her features looked... somewhat... different than Hikari's, especially her bangs and her skin, which was pale and normal looking. She blinked again, and it was back to normal.

She rolled her eyes. Great. Life-threatening mission, and she was possibly hallucinating.

"Look out Sensei!" Cole suddenly shouted, and Nariko suddenly found herself very nearly fell off the dragon altogether as the Ultra-Dragon did a barrel roll to avoid the flaming catapults. As it was, she seized Kai's hand in a desperate attempt to not fall and hurt herself and was fairly sure by the sudden, pained yelp he gave that she'd nearly yanked it out of its socket.

"OW!" he yelped, and Nariko kicked to maneuver herself back and forth to avoid getting hit with one of the flaming projectiles, before suddenly crashing back onto the back of the dragon as it turned right-side-up again. "Sorry Kai!" she apologized.

"No problem!" Kai squeaked in pain.

He then paused. "Hey..."

Nariko arched her eyebrows. "What? What is it?" she asked, a bit distracted.

"It's nothing, it's just... well, you called me by my name," Kai said, what looked like the beginnings of a grin of his face.

Nariko blinked, and then her face flushed a darker shade of gray. "I most certainly did not, Firefly," she huffed slightly, glancing away awkwardly in a way that said 'yep, I'm totally lying.'

Fire arrows pelted at them suddenly, and the dragon swooped up, making Nariko, who hadn't established a proper grip, lunge forward and practically yank Kai's hair as she scrambled to get a better seat.

"They will never let Lloyd get close!" Misako exclaimed, as Kai gingerly rubbed his head and arm alternately and Nariko apologized without calling him 'Firefly' again. "Then we need to get close," Sensei Wu said, looking down at the Stone Army.

x

Hikari sat on Lloyd's Golden Mech shoulder, as he walked through the streets. "How's the leg?" Hikari asked, concerned.

Lloyd glanced at her. "What? Oh. It's better with this thing," he said, smiling slightly at her. She smiled back before letting out a little chuckle. "Remember when our only worry was looking for my house?"

He chuckled a little as well, before glancing at her. "You're ready?"

"I'm ready," she confirmed. He still waited to make sure her grip was nice and firm on the mech before breaking into a run, and waving his huge sword. "Time to bring out the big guns!"

He smashed down the barricade, and the Stone Army started flooding towards them. Lloyd swept the sword and knocked a good deal of them aside, and then shouted, "NINJA--"

A blast of laser-fire hit him, knocking off the sword arm. They looked up at Nya's wicked laughter, and Hikari bit her lip. "Well... she most certainly has the advantage here," she hummed, "both in positioning, since she's above us, and in fighting, because she can hurt us while we can't."

More laser-fire, and the Golden Mech toppled over backwards, making Hikari have to jump into the air to keep from injuring herself.

The Stone Army kept approaching, and Hikari's eyes glowed purple as Lloyd scrambled backwards in fear. "Leave my friends..." Now her fists followed. "And this city..." And now the purple glow was growing more intense, "ALONE!!" she screamed the last part and swept her hand out in front of her.

Deadly icicles speared them in the legs and made them roar in pain, the ground suddenly erupted at odd angles, leaving walls and barriers that the Stone Army had to move around, ghostly flames erupted and made the Stone Army balk, and a bolt of black lightning blasted them, jumping around the first few. By the time the ninja got down with their elemental blades, the majority of the Stone Army was either trying to get rid of the things that were plaguing them or trying to get over to Hikari, whose eyes were dying back down to normal silvery gray, with Lloyd staring at her with an open mouth.

"Not bad," Nariko whistled as Lloyd began to get back up. "I'm... I'm okay!"

"Yeah," Jay agreed, "but are we?"

A huge, inky missile plummeted towards them, and Zane raised his Elemental Blade. "Ice!"

A wall of ice rose and gracefully arced over them, so that the missile simply splashed rather harmlessly on the ice. "Nice one, Zane," Hikari said, smiling warmly.

Nya started blasting the ice with her lasers, so that suddenly the wall exploded into ice shards, forcing the ninja to duck a bit as large chunks of ice went flying over their heads. "FIRE!" Kai shouted, and blasted the thing with fire, which made an explosion so bright that everyone cringed away.

Nariko whistled casually again. "Not bad, K-- Firefly."

Kai grinned slightly again, before they had to back into a circle, blocking sword hits and other things. "I know we always attracted a crowd, but this is ridiculous," Jay said sarcastically, smacking one away.

Nariko snorted as Kai grunted, shoving one Stone Warrior back, "How can you be making jokes at a time like this?"

"Hey, if I'm going down, might as well go down laughing," Jay said casually.

"If this really is how we're going to go down," Zane said, quietly, "I'm proud to be fighting alongside my brothers."

"Hear, hear!" Cole said enthusiastically as he blocked again.

Nariko had brought out an obsidian sword and was blocking and parrying as well, sending sparks flying as she didn't hold back as much. "I've never had a family. Closest thing is Hikari," she said simply, "but if I had to name some people as my family, it will be you guys. It doesn't really matter to me that you fight for light and I for darkness anymore. As long as we fight at each other's side. After all, light and darkness together make up the balance."

"That was surprisingly poetic, coming from you," Jay remarked. Nariko smirked again, "Well it's the truth, is it not?"

Kai smiled back at Nariko slightly. For a moment, the smirk softened... then it doubled back as she bonked one of the Stone Warriors on the head with the hilt of her sword. "Ha ha! That's what you get!" she taunted, before twisting her blade and knocking the Stone Warrior's blade away. She darted forward, stole it off the ground, and held it in her other hand. "Now I get to have some fun!" she said, grinning in a way that made the other ninja scoot away from her a little bit.

"Keep fighting!" Lloyd yelled, as Nariko did a spin attack and knocked more Stone Warriors away, "Never give up!"

"A ninja never quits!" Hikari agreed, before all of them (bar Nariko, who still did her spin attack) shouted, "NINJA-GO!" and spun into their Spinjitzu tornadoes, lighting up the darkness a little bit as they sent the Stone Army flying, until a blast of light suddenly blasted into them and knocked them all down. On the ground, they blocked more hits, as Jay whimpered, "This is the end, guys!"

A moment passed as the Stone Army raised their swords, and then they struck--

And froze in place.

Hikari and Nariko stared at the Stone Army, who looked as though they'd suddenly turned into statues with how still they'd become. Then their eyes met with the others. A short silence reigned.

"What"

"in"

"the"

"world?!" Hikari, Lloyd, Nariko, and Kai all yelled in turn.

One of the Warriors (the main one, they'd noticed) waved one of his four swords. "All hail the Brown Ninja!" he bellowed, "what do you command?"

Hikari slowly started to smile. "Brown Ninja?" she asked, slowly. Nariko's smirk was getting bigger.

"What's up, fellas?" Dareth asked casually, wearing the elaborate Helmet of Darkness as the Ultra-Dragon descended, "looks like we all know who's in command now!"

"The helmet controls the army!" Cole realized, "well done!"

Jay's eyes widened and looked at the others, who all turned to look at him as well. "Oh! That means now we stand a fighting chance!"

"We need to get to the top of that fortress," Hikari said, pointing at herself, then Lloyd, then up.

Hikari smiled at the others. "With your guys help, I know we can do this."

Nariko raised her obsidian blade, and they all raised them as they all said, triumphantly, "NINJA-GO!" All the blades, except for Nariko's, glowed, as if reunited somehow.

Dareth stared at the swords in awe. "Where'd you get those??" he asked, goggling at them, "I want one!"

Kai hesitated, before smiling at Dareth. "You too, Brown Ninja. Today, you're one of us," and he held the sword out to an ecstatic looking Dareth, "Shall we do it once more? Just for old time's sake?"

"Ninja-GO!" Dareth said, proudly, and Hikari grinned at him. "Dareth, we owe you big. Thank you," she said, empathetically.

Dareth grinned at her goofily before pointing with the sword. "Army! About face!"

The Stone Army turned, and he said, loudly, "Stone Army... GO!" The army started charging up the stairs in an unorganized mess, getting shot off by Nya, who was cackling.

"You'll need this back," Dareth said, handing it back to Kai. Nariko stepped over to Hikari. "Hikari, I'm going to stay with Dareth, try to draw Nya's laser fire with the Stone Army as long as we can," she said firmly, "we'll need all the help we can get."

Hikari bit her lip, before nodding. "If... if you're sure."

Nariko nodded, before tentatively stepping forward and hugging her. It felt very stiff and odd for both of them, and when they finally released each other both of them stared at one another, before Nariko nodded with a little smile. "Do me a favor, kick the Overlord in the face for me."

Hikari let out a grim laugh. "I might not get the chance, but sure."

The Ultra Dragon swooped into the air, drawing the laser-fire to it, when suddenly one blast singed the wing. "We've been hit!" Misako shouted.

"We have to land!" Sensei Wu said, "this is as far as we can go."

Hikari bowed to the three elders, who waved back, before holding her hand out to Lloyd. "What do you say? One more time?"

Lloyd smiled before putting his arm around her, and Cole put his arm around Lloyd, and the six of them set off for the roof. They were making pretty good time in the distraction the elders had caused, too.

"Look out!" Jay yelled suddenly, and Hikari pulled Lloyd back, as Cole's grip slackened, and a dark missile landed right on top of him.

"Cole, get up!" Lloyd cried, in worry, and Cole groaned, shuddering. "I'm hit! Go on... without me!"

Hikari put her hand on his shoulder for a moment, before the remaining five started hobbling up the stairs as fast as possible. "We've got to get going as fast as possible!" Kai shouted. They made it a bit farther up when Jay, who'd come to take hold of Lloyd to help him up the stairs faster, looked up.

He immediately shoved both Lloyd and Hikari away as dark smoke splashed down on him with a nasty hiss.

"JAY!" both Lloyd and Hikari yelled, and Zane and Kai looked back in alarm.

"Get out of the way!!" Jay groaned, huddled on the staircase.

Kai and Zane came back now. "Don't look-- just keep climbing!!" And the remaining four did their best to move double-time up the staircase.

"Judging by the distance left to the top, my calculations are that only two of us will make it!" Zane said, from where he was now helping Hikari assist Lloyd. If Hikari looked down, the sheer drop to the ground was so far that the buildings beneath her looked like toys.

She decided not to look down.

"Then let's beat the odds!" Lloyd said, just as two sounds came from behind them. Jay and Cole brandished their blades at them, and Zane stopped. "Go on! I'll hold them back!" And he drew his sword and blocked the two hits as now only the three of them kept running, Kai helping Hikari help Lloyd.

Wicked cackles filled their ears, and Kai let out an exclamation. "Nya!" he cried out, as Nya kept laughing wickedly. Kai looked at Lloyd and Hikari. "I'm going to draw her fire, so you two can make it to the top," he said, determinedly.

Hikari looked at him for a moment, before nodding. "... stay safe. I don't think Nariko will be too pleased with me if you go and get yourself killed trying to protect me."

Kai tried not to look pleased and failed miserably.

He blocked off the fire as Lloyd opened his mouth to protest. Hikari looked at Lloyd and squeezed his shoulder. "I think even if we tried to tell ourselves otherwise, it was always just going to be just you, me, and the Overlord," she said, in a soft, sad voice.

Lloyd hesitated, before the two of them ran up the staircase, as Kai went and tried to disable the laser gun.

Hikari and Lloyd silently walked up the remainder of the stairs, stumbling every other step or so before reaching the top.

The Overlord looked like a huge dragon, with black wings, black scales, and glowing violet eyes that seemed to light up the sky. Hikari and Lloyd's hands tightened as they flipped on their hoods.

"We have come here to fight you!" Lloyd yelled, Hikari echoing the sentiment a tad late. "You're in no shape to fight," the Overlord snarled, "It's over, Green Ninja. Evil will win!"

"A ninja never quits!" Lloyd growled, Hikari nodding as the tugging in her gut grew more intense.

The Overlord sneered at Lloyd. "You don't even have a sword," he leered.

Lloyd and Hikari started to form spheres of energy, but Hikari stopped and dropped to her knees, shuddering. Lloyd looked down at her and she yelled, "Lloyd, don't worry about me right now, just use your energy a-as a shield!"

He let the energy expand, surrounding the two of them, as Hikari squinted her eyes shut as a violent purple flared into her eyes, flickering wildly while she shuddered.

"We don't need a sword!" Lloyd yelled up to the Overlord, who replied in an almost gloating voice, "Then all I have to say is... goodbye."

And a blast of purple fire poured from his mouth, but the shield held true, although it was being pushed back.

Hikari managed to shakily stand up, and create a weak shield as well, although the tugging in her gut was really painful now and her eyes were switching to violet and back off again as she did so.

The green shield expanded, floating into the air, and Hikari dropped to her knees, openmouthed in shock. "Lloyd?" she asked, her voice sounding very young and amazed right then. The green suddenly contracted, and Lloyd stood there, surrounded by now-gold sparkles and his gi having turned a luminous gold. It seemed a little lackluster, though, weak.

He said nothing, and blocked the Overlord's hits before knocking him off the roof. The Overlord used his wings to catch himself, and Hikari shuddered again as a huge gold dragon formed beneath Lloyd, looking very misty.

"You can't defeat me!" the Overlord snarled, "where there is light, there will ALWAYS be darkness!"

And with that, he circled Lloyd, mists of shadow rolling off of him and making everything around them turn to blackness.

Lloyd watched from within the ever-growing darkness as the Overlord turned to Hikari. "Join me, and you will rule over Ninjago! Forsake your friends, and you will be reunited with your parents again!"

Lloyd found himself holding his breath as Hikari stayed there, hands on the ground.

"At the beginning of my journey," she was speaking now, "I said that Lloyd was like the night-light in my room. And I meant it. Even when I found that I was the dark side of the elements, Lloyd was the thing that kept me there. He always saw the good in me, just as I always saw the good in everyone else. He is like my source of light on an eclipse. And I love the light."

She looked up, eyes glowing purple, and shining with a silvery tinge to it, somehow.

"If Lloyd was only a friend, I might be tempted to join you, and let the darkness take over me, like you want it to. But he isn't, Overlord."

Hikari took a deep breath before speaking again, albeit more quietly than before.

"I love him."

Lloyd stared as Hikari continued, "And because I love him, there is no way I will be able to ever lose myself in the darkness."

Her already rather silver kimono turned a luminous silver, with the shirt turning purple and everything else remaining exactly the same as she hovered into the air, a silver dragon forming beneath her. Lloyd's gi, and her kimono, started to shine incredibly bright.

"And because of that, evil will never win." And Hikari plunged towards the inky blackness and plunged straight in.

For a moment the Overlord stared as the darkness began to grow around the three of them, with Lloyd and Hikari sitting on their dragons in front of him.

Then light began to shine out from both of them, and their dragons, gold and silver alike.

"NO!" the Overlord roared, as the light turned blinding. "NO! NO! NO!!"

Just as the darkness grew to the largest point, a gold-and-silver spark flashed out, and from the ground where the skyscraper had previously stood, only stone remained, and pure light spread through it, as though a spotlight had suddenly flashed on.

x

"Where's Lloyd?" Kai asked, looking around slightly, "a-and Hikari?"

His eyes widened a little. "And... where's Nariko?"

"Here," and everyone turned to a slightly shorter girl than Hikari. She had different bangs, and normal skin, and her outfit was a plain, white t-shirt and jeans. But when she looked up, what drew everyone in was her ever-so-familiar red eyes.

Kai almost choked as he started, eyes widening. "Nariko?"

Nariko blinked down at her hands. "I'm... still alive?" she said softly, turning her hands over and examining them carefully.

A roar, and everyone turned to see a gold and silver dragon, one with Lloyd on it and the other dragon with Hikari, descending from the clear blue sky.

The two of them jumped off the dragons as the others chorused, "Lloyd! Hikari!"

Lloyd stopped and turned to Hikari. "Hey, Hikari?"

"Hm?"

"What you said... up there? When you were facing the Overlord?"

Hikari's cheeks turned rather pink. "Oh... you heard that?"

Lloyd nodded confirmation, and Hikari looked down. "I-it's okay if you don't f-feel the same way... a-as long as we can stay friends, th-that would be okay for me, honest," she eked out, "you and I don't have to--"

"Hikari."

Hikari looked up at Lloyd, who had moved forward so that their chests were almost touching. "Yeah?" she asked, as he stared at her. He stared at her evenly for what felt like forever but was really only ten seconds before leaning in and putting his lips to hers.

Hikari froze before she closed her eyes and the two of them stood there like that for a moment, pressing their lips together gently, before Lloyd leaned away and smiled at her, incredibly softly. "You have no idea how long I've been wanting to do that."

Hikari felt a little smile creep onto her face... a brighter expression lit up in her eyes...

And then her cheeks flushed. "Oh. Um..." the two of them turned with a sheepish expression to the others, who were all watching with deadpan faces. "Um... hehe..."

"... it's about time." Everyone, even Misako and Sensei Wu, flatly told them, although it was a bit obvious some of them were fighting grins on their faces. Except for Zane. That guy had a perfect poker face.

"You two were brilliant," Misako said warmly to the two of them, as they stood there. Hikari tilted her head slightly and barely touched the top of her head to his cheek as Sensei Wu said, smiling, "Because of you two, Ninjago is safe. Because of you two, there will be a tomorrow."

"Speaking of which," Nariko and Kai chorused, and Nariko glanced at Kai. "Oh-- no, you go first," she said, quickly.

"No no, I'm sure what you want to say is more important. You go first."

"No, really, it's nothing, you can go first."

"Ladies first."

"That means you're first."

"Hey!" Kai swiped at her half-heartedly as she cackled and dodged sideways, and then said, "But really, you go first, it's really nothing."

Nariko rolled her eyes at the boy but turned to Hikari. "Why was it that I wasn't destroyed along with the Overlord and the rest of the darkness?"

Hikari squinted at her. "The funny part about that... you're not darkness anymore. You seem like a genuine human being. I think what happened is that you found your own light, somehow, and even though the darkness was purged from you... the light part of you somehow remained. I don't know how that works, and I don't think I want to, ever-- sounds like it'd give me a headache."

Nariko flexed her hands. "Yeah, I can't form darkness anymore... though I can still do a wicked dual-blade attack if I want to." Everyone chuckled, before Nariko glanced at Hikari. "So... what now? For me, at least. I mean... I don't have a family--"

"Are you kidding? You're like an annoying younger sister that I never had," Hikari teased. "You can have my last name if you really want it."

Nariko's eyes lit up. "So... I'll be kinda like your sister?"

Hikari's teasing expression softened. "Yeah. You'll be exactly like my sister."

Nariko's lips twitched before settling into a big, warm, happy smile. "... thanks, sis," she said softly. Hikari grinned, before Nariko looked back at Kai. "So what were you going to say?"

"Yeah-- speaking of tomorrow, if the Overlord ever wants to show his face again, we'll be ready," Kai said, grinning.

"But next time," Cole picked up, smiling benignly, "we'll be a little more humble."

Zane smiled and said, sounding amused, "And a little more wise."

"And with better catchphrases!" Jay said cheerfully, making everyone laugh.

Lloyd smiled, but then he wilted a little. Misako noticed her son's head tilting downwards as Hikari's eyebrows knit in worry, and she came over. "We will all miss your father."

A few feet behind them, there was the sound os breaking, shifting rock, and they all turned to see an old man with gray hair and black clothing stumbling towards them. "Lloyd," he said, in a pained voice.

Hikari blinked. "G... Garmadon?" she asked, sounding rather puzzled. He sounded a little like Lord Garmadon... but he certainly did not look like him.

"Is it... really you?" Misako asked, reaching out and stalling as if afraid he was some sort of a hallucination.

"Dad?" Lloyd asked, and Hikari released him as he ran over to the man. "DAD!" he hugged the man tightly, and Hikari beamed. "I'm happy to say that every ounce of venom and evil that might've been in his blood is completely gone," she said to Lloyd, as Misako went over to her husband, her eyes brimming with happy tears.

Lord--... Garmadon, looked wondering. "I feel... good! Ha!" he laughed a bit, "it's been so long!"

"Good to have you back, brother," Sensei Wu said kindly, and Garmadon's eyes, which were more of a dark brown than anything, lit up at the sight of his brother. "Wu! Good to be be back!" he said, approaching his brother.

Garmadon approached Hikari, making her blink. "Ah, and my son's... girlfriend," and a mischievous spark lit up in his eyes. Hikari raised her eyebrow at Lloyd. "Now I see where you get your penchant for pranking," she said, teasingly, before a more inquisitive look came onto her face. "Are we... um... you know..."

Lloyd laughed this time. "Yes, we're dating."

Hikari's face lit up. "Yay!" she ran over and hugged him again, and he laughed a bit. She released him and pushed him over in the direction of his father. "Now go have some family time, you!"

Lloyd grinned at her and went off with his father and mother, as Jay said, warmly, "Aww, who'd have ever thought we'd see the day? Should we dog-pile 'em?"

Hikari laughed. "Jay Walker! You would not interrupt their family time!" she managed through her giggles.

"Yeah, let's let them have their moment," Kai agreed, before glancing at Nariko. "They earned it," Nariko agreed.

"Yeah, that was quite a ride," Cole said, reminiscently. Zane looked at him, "Do you think there'll be more?"

"I hope so!" Cole said enthusiastically, "I liked being a ninja! It's not like we have many other skills."

Hikari was about to say something when Misako came back, the mischievous spark they'd seen usually in Lloyd's eyes lighting up. "Hikari, I think you should come spend time with us. After all, you're going to have us as your family-in-law soon," she teased.

Laughter exploded from the group as Hikari's face turned six shades of red, but she ran to catch up with Lloyd, who slipped an arm around her. Nariko finished snickering and said, "We've all come a long way. And there's no reason we won't be able to use what we've learned in our everyday lives. Who knows?"

"We may have gotten the balance right today," Kai agreed, "but there's always tomorrow. There's no way of knowing what's around the corner. As long as there's something worth fighting for, there's always a need for a ninja. And we'll be ready."

A/N: ANNND cut! Take five folks, that's a wrap! Season Two is officially finished!

Hikari and Lloyd have FINALLY gotten together after only twenty-five chapters of hinting, and it looks like Nariko's here to stay. Yay! (pumps fist) not to mention we finally realize where Lloyd got his habit of pranking people.

Nariko's new faceclaim is Konno Yuuki (because she is pretty dang awesome).

So, first: So far, in the story, the story's stuck pretty darn close to the original storyline, right? Well, from Season 3 onwards, there will be some minor and major changes. The essential storyline is still almost exactly the same, so don't go looking for whole new storylines, but there will be parts of the plot that are majorly different. The reason is because some of the seasons are... somewhat oddly written (no offense to the Ninjago writers at all! I just think there are a few seasons that could've gone much better if the writing had been tweaked). So there's that.

Next: Thank you, thank you to everyone who has bothered to read this story since I published it almost a year ago! It's been a fun ride, and I want to thank MMM, Shelly Marsh, and Michelle Rita especially on Fanfiction, who review almost every time I update this story. There are so many people on Quotev that I want to thank that I'm giving them this: every person who has ever reviewed on my story (this one, not the others) get a free fanart/art commission of their choice! As for Wattpad I am thanking Cristal Hillman and pinkninjagirl101 for being the only people to comment! Thank you all for getting me to this point! This is most definitely my longest story of all!

The responses to commenters from Chapter 25 (which got an OVERWHELMINGLY large number of reviews):

Fanfiction:

Michelle Rita: I don't really get it, what did Hikari do in Chapter 10? If Nariko didn't respect Hikari, Hikari would've ended up being Purple Swedish Fish because she wears purple and she likes Swedish Fish. Cole's eyes are a very dark brown and Zane's are silver.

Shelly Marsh: I hope you liked this chapter (and yes, Garmadon is a secret shipper, mwahaha).

MMM: Yes, yes, yes, and no. I hope you liked this chapter :)

Greenninjaisbae: Why did you almost cry? And I hope you like this story so far :)

Sandshrew Master 317: (wiggles fingers) You'll have to wait until I write it :)

Quotev:

LovelyLife: Haha, glad you like it xD

Luna the Eevee: The wait is over :)

Painted Wings: I think her outfit won't change that much, actually, it'll be remarkably the same, so you can go ahead and start drawing the clothes. But thank you for taking the time to make fanart! :)

Crystalsong11: Haha, yeah, I threw that in as a joke x3

Elemental Jedi wants to be a unicorn: The universe would shatter. And Lloyd would go skipping into My Little Pony. xD It wouldn't have worked anyway. You can't imagine how tempted I was to stick that in in the last part of this chapter tho

Wattpad:

pinkninja101: And she has admitted her feelz (bows)

I'll see you all next chapter in Season 3! (waves) Bye!!

x.X. A.L. X.x