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The hike had been a mistake.
At least, according to Jay.
"My legs have stopped being legs," he groaned dramatically as he dragged himself up the mountain path. "They're just two noodles attached to a screaming torso."
"You've said that three times already," Kai replied.
"Because it keeps being true."
Ahead of them, Cole continued climbing with a grin that immediately made everyone suspicious.
"Come on," he called over his shoulder. "We're almost there."
"You said that twenty minutes ago," Nya shot back.
"Because we were almost there twenty minutes ago."
"That's not how distance works."
Master Wu merely chuckled into his beard while Zane walked beside him, seemingly unaffected by the climb.
"Technically," Zane said, "the phrase 'almost there' lacks a precise measurement and may therefore remain accurate for extended periods of time."
"Don't encourage him," Jay groaned.
Cole laughed and quickened his pace.
Ever since Shintaro had been freed, he had been talking about a surprise celebration organized by the Munce and Geckles. Every time someone asked what exactly they were hiking toward, he would simply smile and tell them to wait. Naturally, that only made everyone more impatient.
The path finally curved around a line of trees, and the mountain suddenly opened before them.
Every complaint died instantly.
A broad meadow stretched across the mountainside, glowing beneath the afternoon sun. Scarlet banners fluttered between wooden poles and tree branches, their patchwork fabric stitched together from hundreds of mismatched pieces that somehow formed something beautiful. Long ribbons danced in the breeze, some hanging impossibly high where Adam had spun supports between the trees.
Below them, the meadow was alive.
Hundreds of Geckles and Munce filled the field. Music drifted through the air while children ran laughing between tables. Smoke curled upward from enormous cooking pits, carrying with it the rich scent of roasted vegetables, sweet-roots, fresh pastries, and enough food to feed an army.
Jay stopped walking altogether.
"Oh."
His voice cracked slightly.
"Oh wow."
Rows of grills stretched across one side of the meadow, crowded with food. Families gathered around tables while musicians played near the center of the field. Everywhere they looked, people were smiling.
Kai stared in disbelief.
"You made a festival."
Cole's grin widened.
"Told you it'd be worth the hike."
A cheer erupted from somewhere below. Someone had spotted them. Then another voice joined in, and another after that. Within moments, half the meadow was waving and shouting greetings.
"Cole!"
"The Master of Earth!"
"The Upply!"
The crowd surged forward, and before the ninja could react, they were swallowed by celebration.
Less than five minutes later, Kai found himself standing beside a massive grill while Queen Murtessa and Chancellor Gulch argued over cooking techniques.
"More heat!" Murtessa insisted.
"No, less heat!" Gulch countered. "If you cook it too fast, it'll explode."
"If you cook it slower, it'll dry out."
The queen rolled her eyes so dramatically that Kai immediately decided he liked her.
"Move," he said.
Both rulers stepped aside.
Kai snapped his fingers, and golden fire danced beneath the grill. The flames never touched the food directly, instead warming the coals with precise control. The sizzling intensified immediately.
Murtessa's eyes widened with approval.
Gulch looked horrified.
"Is that safe?"
Kai considered the question.
"No."
The chancellor nearly dropped his mug.
"What?"
Kai grinned.
"But it'll be awesome."
Behind them, Plundar casually borrowed a spatula from an unsuspecting cook, expertly flipped several skewers, and returned the utensil before anyone noticed it had been taken.
Across the meadow, Korgran had successfully trapped Jay in conversation.
Unfortunately for Jay, there appeared to be no escape.
"And THAT was when my great-great-grandfather wrestled a cave beast twice his size!"
Jay glanced down at the mountain of food piled onto his plate before looking back up.
"...Twice his size?"
Korgran scratched his chin thoughtfully.
"Maybe three times."
"That feels like an important difference."
"Exactly!"
Korgran slapped him on the back hard enough to nearly launch him into another dimension.
Jay somehow managed to keep hold of his plate, which he considered a personal victory.
Near the center of the field, Princess Vania knelt beside a group of children, helping distribute bright red berry pastries. The children scattered with delighted laughter when a cluster of shimmering bubbles drifted overhead.
Nya stood nearby, guiding dozens of floating spheres through the air with gentle movements of her hands. The bubbles sparkled in the sunlight like tiny worlds, reflecting flashes of red banners and blue sky. Children raced after them across the grass, and every few moments one would burst, showering someone with cool mist and triggering another wave of laughter.
Vania watched the scene with a smile.
"It's strange."
Nya glanced over.
"What is?"
"Seeing this."
She gestured toward the festival around them.
The sunlight. The music. The families gathered together without fear.
The freedom.
For a moment, Vania simply watched the children running through the grass.
"No caves," she said quietly. "No guards. No mines. Just people."
Nya followed her gaze and smiled softly.
"Looks good on Shintaro."
"It does."
Neither of them spoke after that. They simply stood together and watched the celebration unfold around them.
For the first time in a very long time, neither felt responsible for keeping the world from falling apart.
At the edge of the meadow, Zane stood beneath a tree.
To anyone watching, he appeared perfectly relaxed. His posture was calm, his breathing steady, and his expression neutral.
Internally, however, he was monitoring twelve possible approach routes, tracking movement patterns throughout the festival, and evaluating seventy-three hypothetical threats.
A hand suddenly grabbed the edge of his jacket.
Before he could react, he was pulled backward.
Zane landed neatly on a blanket.
Pixal sat beside him, holding a plate piled high with sweet-roots.
"You are scanning the perimeter."
"I am not."
"You are."
"I am merely observing."
Pixal raised an eyebrow.
"The Skull Sorcerer has been defeated."
"Correct."
"The mountain is secure."
"Correct."
"There are approximately three hundred civilians between us and the nearest potential threat."
"Also correct."
She placed the plate firmly in his lap.
"Then sit."
For several moments, Zane genuinely considered arguing.
Instead, he looked out across the meadow.
Cole was laughing with the Upply. Children ran through the grass beneath fluttering banners. Families gathered around tables while music drifted through the evening air.
Slowly, his threat-assessment protocols faded into the background.
His shoulders relaxed.
For the first time all afternoon, he allowed himself to simply enjoy the celebration.
Pixal smiled knowingly.
"I knew you could do it."
Near a ridge overlooking the valley, Lloyd stood beside Commander Hailmar. Both held cups filled with bright red berry punch.
For a while, neither spoke.
Below them, the festival continued in a sea of movement and color. Music echoed across the meadow while laughter drifted upward on the breeze.
Finally, Hailmar broke the silence.
"I spent so long preparing for the next battle that I forgot what peace looked like."
Lloyd laughed softly.
"Yeah."
The commander glanced toward him.
"You understand that better than most."
Unfortunately, Lloyd did.
Being the Green Ninja meant carrying expectations that never truly disappeared. There was always another threat, another responsibility, another world-ending crisis waiting somewhere beyond the horizon. Sometimes it became difficult to remember why they fought so hard in the first place.
Hailmar raised his cup.
"Thank you."
Lloyd blinked.
"For what?"
"For helping us reach this day."
Lloyd looked back toward the celebration below. Families sat together beneath scarlet banners. Children played freely in open sunlight. People who had once lived beneath oppression now laughed without fear.
A smile spread across his face.
"Happy to be here."
As the sun began to sink toward the horizon, a bell rang across the field.
The music gradually quieted. Conversations softened. One by one, people gathered around a wooden platform near the center of the meadow.
Cole found himself standing between the ninja and the Upply.
His two families.
Together.
Queen Murtessa stepped forward with Chancellor Gulch beside her. Both held mugs filled with deep red punch.
The queen raised hers first.
"Today," she called, her voice carrying across the meadow, "we remember those who came before us."
The crowd grew still.
"We remember those who endured darkness beneath the mountain."
Gulch raised his mug.
"We remember those who never lived to see the sky."
Around the field, heads bowed in quiet respect.
For a moment, the only sound was the wind moving through the banners overhead.
Then Murtessa smiled.
"But we also celebrate."
Cheers rippled through the crowd.
"The chains are broken."
"The mines are free."
"The mountain belongs to its people."
This time the cheers thundered across the valley.
Mugs rose into the air. Flags danced in the evening breeze. Beneath a sky finally shared by all, Geckles and Munce stood together as one people.
"To freedom!" Murtessa shouted.
"TO FREEDOM!" hundreds answered.
Cole lifted his own cup.
As the cheers echoed around him, he looked across the crowd.
Kai was laughing beside the grills. Jay was somehow working on a fourth plate of food. Nya and Vania stood surrounded by children. Lloyd smiled beside Hailmar while Zane and Pixal sat together beneath a tree. Nearby, Wu watched everything with quiet pride, and Plundar, Korgran, Fungus, and Adam stood among the people they had fought to protect.
His family.
All of them.
Different paths had brought them here. Different stories had shaped them. Yet somehow they had all arrived at the same moment beneath the same sky.
Cole raised his cup higher.
The music began again, louder than before, and the celebration carried long into the night. Laughter echoed across the meadow while lanterns glowed beneath the scarlet banners.
And above them stretched the same endless sky.
Free at last.