Chapter Text
A year later, after the final Battle at the Garmadon's sanctuary...
The warm sun’s glow bathed the peaceful land Clan Garmadon called home as peace reigned for the family.
The morning doves sing their melody while the leaves fall peacefully onto the healthy grass; meanwhile, an elderly man was watering the flowers with great care for the foliage. The blooming roses and lilies brought memories of joy and splendor before the venom consumed his soul, rotting everything away. But that is the funny thing about rot. At times, rot can be the fertilizer for something new to grow. Thus, from the rot of Lord Garmadon, the Cursed Son of the First Spinjitsu Master came the Restored Sensei Garmadon, Husband to Lady Iron Dragon, Father to the Golden Ninja Twins, and Teacher of Peace... He was still surprised she stayed with him, even after his confession to her... about their relationship. But what surprised how she responded to-.
“Beloved.”
Speaking of...
“Koko.” He breathed while the elder woman offered her husband some tea, “Thank you.”
“You have done wondrous work with the garden and for our new home.” Misako grinned at the love of her life while the warm sun’s glow brought out the beauty of their land.
“Yes, this Sanctuary has come along nicely, pity it was blood money from them...” He breathed, still showing disdain for certain people.
“At least they will be safe here, and they will no longer try to shackle us... We just need to keep the secret, and with that, Lloyd’s and Lady’s safety is secured.” Misako nodded, while she still showed a look of pain.
The things she endured in those times, the ugly truth of it all. So many secrets were in their family and the secrets of Ninjago. If they were ever revealed, it would shake the very foundations...
“At least I was able to tell some things about their true selves, especially their curse...”
Several Weeks before, after the completion of the Garmadon's sanctuary...
Lloyd and Lady were summoned to their father by his former students within the heart of the sanctuary, the Monastery of Redemption. It was a place where wayward souls can have a place and find peace and themselves in a world that remembers every regret. The foundations were of peace, kindness, and second chances. Sensei Garmadon took in orphans, the infirm, the homeless, people who had nowhere to go, and gave them a place here.
The Chamberlain, a man who chooses not to speak of his name but knew everything about their family (“I brought care to you as babes, your father and uncle, even before them, you Grandfather and his siblings.”) waited for them at the top of the steps.
“Ah, Young Lord and Lady, welcome to the monastery. Your father waits for you inside.” He informed the siblings in a monotone voice before bowing.
“Thank you, Chamberlain.” The Twins bowed to the older short man.
The twins entered the monastery and spotted their father alone in the training room with his back to them and a staff in hand. When Lady and Lloyd approached, their father turned around,d and they bowed to each other.
“Hey, Dad.”
“What was it you wanted to talk to us alone for?”
Garmadon smiled and approached the twins.
“Lady, Lloyd, I thank you for coming.” Garmadon smiled at his children.
“We would always be here for you, Daddy,” Lady assured him.
“And I to you. You both have come so far and restored much of our realm, and yet, as defenders of Ninjago, you have yet to understand the nature of it or the person who created it.” Garmadon began before turning to a chest, an ornate chest of golden and ivory detail.
“Grampa? What about him?” Lady wondered with her eyebrow raised and her hands on her hips.
“Yeah, we know Grampa long ago created Ninjago and stopped the Overlord, we know he created the golden weapons, and we know that he died protecting Ninjago,” Lloyd answered his father, who pulled something from the chest.
“Ah, but those tales were close to the middle, and the end, our story, the story of your blood, and not only Ninjago but the existence itself begins with nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing.”
Garmadon then pulled out an old scroll and regaled the tale of the Nothing.
“Though we refer to the beast of hatred and darkness as the Overlord, his original name was Chaos or the Nothing. Before anything else, it was him.”
“So, we came from nothing, came from that?”
“Yes, and from the nothing was a sea, the Sea of Kaiju. Deities of pure energy itself, beings of awesome power and essence aligned by their own whims. In that sea came a violent and brutal war. Kaiju alike battled each other to oblivion, destroying themselves completely, and shaping something unlike anything unforeseen before.”
“Whoa.”
“Why did the Kaiju fight?”
“No one knows, my Princess. But many believed, including my father, that the Overlord sought for his own children’s destruction.”
“Sheesh, even in the beginning, he was a jerk.”
“Indeed, the children from nothing raged out of control for eternity until... There was no Kaiju left, but their corporal forms came something new, flesh, sinew, and bone; remains of the Kaiju birthed a realm, the First Realm. Within this First Realm, from the extinct corpse of the Kaiju came two new species, their children. Oni and Dragons.”
“Dragons came from something even more powerful than them?” Lloyd breathed before Lady spotted something in the pictures.
“Dad, these Oni guys looked like you, the you before.” Lady noticed while she pointed at the drawing.
“No, my Dear, I look like them.”
He then flipped the page, revealing the Oni and the Dragon in a single place.
“The Oni and Dragons, the duality left behind by the mighty Kaiju, beings of pure energy. The Dragon represented the Gardener of the Web of Life, sewing the seeds and creating; they birthed worlds, creatures, all forms of life with their element, for their light could create anything. The Oni represented the harvester, the end, darkness, and nothing that all must one day face. They tear down the realms, end the life, till the soil clears, and bring life.”
“Life and Death. Creation and Destruction.”
“One could not exist without the other.”
“Yes, the roles of both were needed in order to keep in balance with existence; however, such a thing was not easy. Dragons and Oni, true to their nature, conflicted with one another often. Unable to find the balance between the two sides of the second element, Chi Ring. There was no balance, no peace, just confusion and resentment.”
Garmadon then turned the page once again to reveal the results.
“...Confusion and Resentment then fanned into hatred and superiority and cultivated another war. War with the Oni and the Dragon. It would seem that harmony would never come to be, before it even could... but even though they fought, something was born from their magic, their chi of destruction and creation, returned something once extinct.”
Kaju, the second generation.
“Many of these children, their energy showed which parent it was most close to, creation or destruction, Dragon or Oni. Only one, the last child of war with their parents, was centered perfectly, with both strong connections with Creation and Destruction. The youngest son was the truest definition of a true Kaiju. Creation and Destruction. However, such a perfect son would not be shared, but hoarded. The Oni and Dragon fought for who the child belonged to, and the ache in the boy’s heart created a beat where he could escape. His art became a means to escape; thus, he used his powers not only to help himself but also for his siblings to escape, and from this unity of family, and the love of a brother’s wish, but thrive in a world their youngest sibling created for them, Ninjago.”
“Wait, Grampa was a Kaiju?!?!” They gasped while their father smiled.
“And not the only one. Son, Daughter, there is more to your curse, more to your family, and more to yourselves than you know.”
Garmadon then transformed before their eyes, revealing his true self, not just his oni form, but his true Kaiju self. Lady and Lloyd were stunned by what they were seeing, what their father really looked like!
“We are not exactly human, though we are great at hiding ourselves.”
Lady and Lloyd were stunned by the essence of their true beings and the curse’s true power. Their father explained that the curse didn’t turn them into monsters, but their true selves, out of control with their power. It removed the balance of their souls and caused an influx where they rampage from the conflicting essence of Creation and Destruction inside them. The Teas return the balance but only for a short time.
“For them to defeat the curse, they needed to find their balance themselves. Truly a diabolical curse.” Garmadon admitted before his wife kissed him on the cheek.
“We will find a way to help them, but for now all we can do is be there for them... At least, they sometimes call me their mother.” Misako strained a smile.
“Koko, it will take time, and they don’t know the truth... You are the greatest mother I have ever known, especially the greatest parent in our family. What you did took the ultimate sacrifice... I wish I could have been there to stop it.”
“Do not blame yourself, it is like you said before, we’re here for them now, and we have all the time in the world to rebuild our bonds,” Misako answered while her husband wiped away her tears.
“My Lady Iron Dragon, how did I ever deserve someone as you?”
“You know, after all, you proved to me you are my other half, all those years ago.” She answered with a smile.
“...Misako, I still think Wu should know what happened.”
“I know, but for now, let us keep this a secret until we can best tell him, together.”
“I should tell him alone.”
“No, we should go together. After all, I never regret choosing you.”
Garmadon smiled, and he hugged his wife.