Chapter Text
Being a celebrated hero that was famous throughout the entire land certainly had both its ups and its downs.
Not too long after Lloyd and I had defeated the Overlord and saved all of Ninjago, our attendance was suddenly being demanded everywhere across the land. Apparently, a lot of people wanted to give us awards as their way of thanking us for what we’d done. Of course, Lloyd and I didn’t think that any of it was necessary, but the many letters that we received were quite insistent. There were so many places wanting our attention that we decided to make a road trip out of it. So, after saying goodbye to everyone, Lloyd and I set out on the golden dragon.
While traveling on our “victory tour,” as I had dubbed it, Lloyd and I actually had a lot of fun with it being just the two of us. I mean, come on, two best friends travelling the land? How were we expected not to get into any shenanigans? We may or may not have made a few stops along the way between each town (literally whenever we thought of something fun to do).
Oh, and Lloyd finally made good on his promise to me---we finally had time to go to an amusement park! He’d surprised me by taking me there; once I’d spotted it as we were flying through the air, I’d squealed so loudly in excitement that I was sure I’d damaged his eardrums. Plus, apparently since we saved Ninjago, the owner let us do things for free. It was easily one of the best days of my life; he and I had loads of fun.
As you can tell, there were definitely a lot of pros to being celebrated as heroes. For the first time in a while, I got to truly relax. Ever since Lloyd and I had both been discovered as the Green Ninja and Yellow Ninja, our lives had been filled with constant training and back-to-back problems that only ninja could solve. It had been a race to get us both fully trained before the final battle. Don’t get me wrong, I loved learning how to be a true ninja---but now that the prophecy was fulfilled and we didn’t have nearly as much pressure on us anymore, it felt nice to be able to calm down and not have to worry about any impending doom.
I had never really been one for large crowds, or just being around strangers in general. When it was necessary or when I was saving their life, I’d ignore my shyness of course and get the job done---but I usually preferred to only be around people I knew. That had been one of the reasons why making friends during my orphanage days had been so difficult. Now, it had grown easier to deal with, but I still didn’t like being in large crowds of strangers for too long. And really, who did?
The award ceremonies Lloyd and I attended almost always had a lot of people at them, much to my chagrin. And once we’d accepted our awards and the party got started, almost every single one of those people wanted to talk to us. Most of them only wanted to (profusely) thank us for what we’d done, but some others would drag us into conversations that seemed to last forever. Most of the time, they’d split the two of us up, not to be reunited until the end of the evening. I had been asked to tell the tale of how Lloyd and I had defeated the Overlord so many times that I’d lost count long ago.
Honestly, I did appreciate how thankful the people of Ninjago were. And even though I thought that the awards they gave us were totally unecessary, I still appreciated those, too. But still, I kind of just wanted to be at home, where the rest of my family was. I knew that Lloyd felt the same way.
Tonight, Lloyd and I were attending a ceremony in a large town in the northern regions of Ninjago. We’d long since been dragged in separate directions to be part of different conversations. Once again, I was telling the townspeople about our battle with the Overlord, and I kind of wished Lloyd was with me. Not only did I feel like he was the better storyteller, but the two of us enjoyed telling the story more when we told it together. If my storytelling ability was lacking in any way, however, the people didn’t say a word about it. They were probably too engrossed in the story to notice or care.
The reception was being held outside in the town square, underneath the night sky. When I felt a sudden urge to go stargaze (and to also take a break from being around all these people), I excused myself, telling them that I “had to use the little girls’ room”---the only foolproof excuse I could think of where none of them would follow me. Using my ninja stealth skills, I passed by the refreshment table and swiped a plate full of finger sandwiches (whoever had made them was a true culinary artist; I’d eaten one earlier, and now I couldn’t get enough). Then, I snuck over behind a nearby house, planning to find a way up to the roof when I almost bumped into someone.
It was Lloyd, much to my surprise. Once we saw each other, we both started laughing quietly at how things had turned out.
“Well, well, well,” I drawled, playfully smirking. “We meet again, Golden Ninja.”
Lloyd chuckled at my banter. “Long time no see,” he greeted.
I snickered. “Did we… Did we have the same idea here?” I asked, gesturing to the secluded spot we were in.
“We always have the same idea,” Lloyd reminded me, smiling in amusement.
After sharing another quiet laugh, I gestured upward. “Follow me,” I told him. Carefully gripping my plate of food, I leapt onto the nearby fence, then used that to get on top of the roof of the house. It was the side facing away from the party in the town square, but was still close enough so that we could return quickly if we were missed. I was sure that none of the townspeople would notice us up here; after all, people seldom looked up.
Lloyd followed me onto the roof, plopping down beside me when I found a place to sit. “Here,” I said, setting the plate of sandwiches down between us. “My stomach told me to snag these.”
My best friend snickered. “Wow. You stole food from your own party. I never knew you had it in you.”
I faced him with a mischievous smirk as I picked up a sandwich. “It’s better than stealing candy.”
As soon as I brought it up, Lloyd groaned loudly, shaking his head. “Aw, come on, Aurora…”
I raised my fists into the air, slightly raising my voice. “Take the candy! Take it all!” I then did my best impression of ten-year-old Lloyd’s evil laugh.
Lloyd reached over and lightly shoved me to get me to stop. The two of us burst out laughing, enjoying the joke that only we understood. It was way too fun to make jokes about Lloyd’s “evil” escapades, especially since his reactions were always worth bringing them up. Gee, that had been back when I’d first met Lloyd, when we were still kids and when the Serpentine had first been released. Even sitting on this rooftop reminded me of when I’d first met Lloyd (and saved him from dangling off of one). If you went back and told ten-year-old me that one day she’d become a powerful ninja and save Ninjago, she probably wouldn’t have believed you.
Our laughter died down, and we both descended into a companionable silence. The two of us enjoyed gazing up at the stars and munching on sandwiches, taking advantage of this moment’s respite from constantly smiling and talking to all the townspeople. I was sure that they wouldn’t spot us up here, but I still wondered if our shiny gold and silver ninja garb was too bright to go unnoticed.
After the plate had been cleared of any and all sandwiches, I sighed. “I hope we get to go home soon,” I said, gazing up at the twinkling stars I’d stared at all my life. “I miss the guys. And Nya. And Sensei.”
Lloyd nodded. “Yeah. I do, too,” he agreed.
I turned to look at him. “You probably miss your parents as well, huh?” He had only just been reunited with his father---and his mother, for that matter.
“Yeah,” he replied, nodding again. “But we’ll see them again soon.”
I made a noise of agreement, turning back to look up at the night sky. I was quiet for a few minutes more, then another thought struck me. “I wonder what’s next for us,” I mused aloud.
Lloyd hummed in thought. “I’m...not sure,” he admitted. “There are no more enemies left to fight, for now.”
“There might be, one day,” I replied. After all, in a world such as this, things unfortunately never stayed peaceful for long. Like Kai had said, there would always be a need for a ninja.
“I know,” Lloyd said. Then, he turned to me with a confident smile. “But whatever comes our way, we’ll be ready. After all, when you and I are together, Rose, there’s nothing we can’t do.”
His words made me start to blush, but I think it was dark enough for him not to notice. “Absolutely,” I agreed, mirroring his smile of confidence. Once we descended into silence again, I turned my gaze back up to the stars, immersing myself within my thoughts.
My feelings for Lloyd hadn’t dwindled at all---if anything, they’d grown steadily worse since we’d defeated the Overlord. Being alone together most of the time on a road trip around Ninjago certainly hadn’t helped with that. Whenever I was with him, I was at my happiest. He and I were closer than we’d ever been---and yet I still couldn’t figure out for sure if he reciprocated my feelings or not. It was frustrating me to no end. I had my suspicions of course, but I was still afraid of the worst-case scenario becoming a reality (something that petrified me). Nya had told me from the start that the fastest way to find out would be to just come out with it and tell him how I felt about him. But was I brave enough for that? Would that be too bold? Was now even the right time for something like that?
Hang on. Would there ever really be a right time?
Ninjago was, for the moment, in a time of peace. There were no evil supervillains threatening the land. No evil plots to foil or even worry about happening. No final battles to train for. If I waited any longer, some threat would probably come up that demanded all our attention, and there would be significantly less proper times for things like that. Also, Lloyd and I were having a nice, quiet moment together. Alone. In a romantic setting under the stars.
Honestly, if I wanted a perfect moment to confess to him...right now, there was one right in front of me.
I made my decision. Taking a deep, silent breath, I steeled my nerves and gathered all the bravery I had in me. You can do this, Aurora, I thought, mentally cheering myself on. Just tell him. Speak from your heart. You’ve got this.
I turned my head over to Lloyd, making myself start speaking before I lost my nerve. “Um, Lloyd?” I said, grabbing his attention and trying my best not to gulp. “There’s...something I’ve gotta tell you. I-It’s been on my mind for a while, and I---”
My communication device chose that exact moment to start beeping.
My gaze snapped down to the vibrating object in my pocket. I’d been gifted with the small comm device shortly before Lloyd and I had left Ninjago City, and I’d taken it with me so we could stay in touch with the others back home. Right now, I wished it had never been given to me.
Are you freaking kidding me?! I slightly glared down at the object as I pulled it out of my pocket. I finally work up the courage to tell Lloyd how I feel, and THIS happens?! I flipped the device over to glance at the contact name, ready to tell off whoever it was. This had better be good…
All my anger was replaced with confusion when I saw Nya’s name on the screen. I had called her a few times during the trip, just to check in with her and for both of us to see how the other was doing. She’d told me to call her whenever I wanted to talk, instead of the other way around. If she was calling me...then something was wrong.
“It’s Nya,” I announced to Lloyd, frowning. He mirrored my look of confusion as I pressed the answer button, making the device finally cease its loud beeping as I brought it up to my ear. “Hello? Nya?”
“Aurora! ” came the relieved, frantic reply. “Thank goodness! You and Lloyd have to come back to New Ninjago City right now! ”
My confusion quickly morphed into worry. “Whoa, slow down, Nya. What’s wrong?”
“It’s the Overlord! ” Nya’s words made my stomach drop. “He’s returned! ”
I gasped, terror striking me for a moment. But how?! We defeated him! He was vanquished! This was something out of my worst nightmares. “What?!” I exclaimed in disbelief.
“The ninja need your help! They can’t fight him alone--- We need you both! ”
Banishing my fear for a moment, I answered her. “Okay, Nya. We’re on our way!” I ended the call, stuffed the comm device back into my pocket, and stood up.
“What is it?” Lloyd asked, standing up after I did.
“I-It’s the Overlord,” I told him, still unable to believe that this was even happening. “He’s back.”
Lloyd seemed to feel the same shock that had coursed through me a second ago. “W-What? But I thought we defeated him for good!”
“That’s what I thought, too!” Our battle had been called the final battle, after all. The battle to end all battles. How could the Overlord return after something like that?
Lloyd then made a determined face. “We’ll have to ask questions later. Right now, what matters is that our friends need us.”
I nodded, also growing determined and ignoring my shock and bewilderment for now. We had a job to do. “Right. Let’s go.”
Lloyd and I hopped off the roof, scurrying to the village’s outskirts and finding a wide grassy area to summon the dragon in. Like so many other times, I gathered my silver power as Lloyd gathered his golden power. We both focused, releasing our combined power and manifesting it into a golden dragon that gleamed with a silver aura. Once we were both situated, Lloyd immediately took off into the sky, making the dragon fly as fast as it could toward New Ninjago City.
I just hoped we weren’t too late.
By some stroke of luck, the town that we were at happened to be not too far from the city. Flying on the golden dragon at full speed, New Ninjago City soon appeared on the horizon. I took a moment to be amazed at how different it looked; it had been majorly upgraded with new technology, and lit up the night brighter than ever before.
A feeling of dread formed in the pit of my stomach the closer we got, and I pulled my mask on along with Lloyd. Holding onto him, I peered down at the city below as we flew over it. All of the technology seemed to be going haywire, attacking anyone unlucky enough to be in their sights. And who did we find in the middle of it all? Kai, Jay, Cole, Zane, and Sensei Wu, of course.
All of the robots were converging on them, boxing them in and cutting off all escape. Lloyd and I exchanged a look, knowing we had to do something---and fast.
“Ready?” I asked him.
He nodded. “Let’s light them up.”
The two of us stood up on the dragon’s back. I summoned my silver power, using it to form a bright ball of light. Lloyd did the same with his golden power, and together we combined our powers to form one giant blast of silver and gold that consumed the surrounding area in its blinding glare. When it subsided, all the robots were now standing frozen in place, attacking the ninja no more. A sparkling silver and gold mist blanketed the street below, making the scene almost peaceful.
Lloyd and I exchanged a high-five. As we swooped in for a landing, our friends below cheered loudly at the sight of us. I couldn’t help but smile; clearly, they were as glad to see us as I was to see them.
Lloyd landed the dragon in the middle of the street, and it vanished, leaving us both standing together.
“Robots versus ninja?” Lloyd inquired, sounding amused. “Heh.”
“Dare we ask?” I said, snickering.
The guys all ran over to us, cheering and wasting no time in embracing us. I hugged each of them gleefully, glad to be reunited with them.
“You two are a sight for sore eyes,” Kai greeted, his tone sounding very relieved.
Grinning, I leaned over and hugged him again. “I missed you all so much!” I exclaimed.
“We missed you, too, sis,” Cole agreed, smiling.
“So, you couldn’t help yourselves.”
The familiar, creepy voice made everyone break apart. I looked up, and my heart sank when I saw the glowing, evil eyes of the Overlord on a large screen that hung on a nearby building. He really has returned…
“The Golden and Silver Ninjas...we meet again,” he growled from the screen.
Lloyd and I walked forward to face him, standing tall side by side. “Overlord,” Lloyd greeted in a firm tone. “We defeated you once, we’ll defeat you again.”
I leered up at the screen. “Yeah, you shouldn’t have come back. Get ready to lose. Again.”
“Oh, I don’t want to fight…”
I heard a whirring noise, and looked around us. The robots were rebooting themselves!
“I just want your powers! ” the Overlord finished ominously.
Lloyd and I stepped forward, ready to show the robots who was boss again. Sensei Wu’s staff stopped us.
“No, you two,” he told us. “Your powers are only making them stronger.”
I paused. “Wait, what?” How was that possible?
“But how do we fight?” Lloyd asked him.
“We don’t,” Kai stated. “We need to get you both and the Techno Blades out of the city.”
“I don’t think he’ll let us leave,” Cole pointed out nervously.
“I have an idea,” Sensei Wu announced, “but I don’t have much time to explain. Listen close…”
Everyone huddled together, listening closely to our sensei’s plan. Once he was finished, we all nodded in unison. Then, with a cry of “Ninja, go!” we all twisted into our tornadoes of Spinjitzu, splitting up from one another. Kai, Jay, Cole, and Zane all got into their commandeered vehicles, while Lloyd and I summoned the dragon again, flying up into the air and as far away from the situation as we could.
Even though we didn’t want to.
Once we had fled outside the city, we waited to rendezvous with the other ninja. The sun began to rise as we did, beginning a new day in Ninjago. One that wasn’t nearly as peaceful as the day before.
We regrouped with the others, speeding away from New Ninjago City as fast as we could. I looked down at all of their vehicles, but didn’t see Sensei Wu among them.
“We can’t just leave Sensei behind!” I told the guys. “We have to go back for him.”
“We will,” Kai assured me, “but only when you and Lloyd are safe.”
Lloyd and I were about to protest further, but Cole spoke up first. “The Overlord wants these weapons, and for some reason, he also wants the two of you. Remember, this was Sensei’s plan. They can’t break him.”
I sighed, knowing that he was right. Still, leaving Sensei behind wasn’t sitting right with me. Everything was happening all at once… How would Lloyd and I defeat the Overlord again if we couldn’t even use our powers against him?
“Yesterday is gone,” Zane stated. “Tomorrow has yet to come. We need to worry about today.”
“You said it, Zane,” Jay agreed.
“We will come back to New Ninjago City,” Zane assured us. “And when we do, we’ll be ready.”
“But for now, we find someplace safe to hide,” Kai suggested. “They’ll be looking for us.”
Lloyd and I exchanged an uneasy look. I grabbed his hand in my own, giving it a reassuring squeeze. He squeezed back, looking forward again as we followed the ninja away from the city. Just as I thought that we’d be able to swoop in and save the day again, that was sadly not the case. After all, things never happened the same way twice---and something told me that we wouldn’t be defeating the Overlord the same way as before.
I had no idea where we’d go from here. But I did know one thing: together, we would defeat the Overlord again, and save the city. Whatever it takes.