Chapter 14

Crossing the desert took them a whole day.

Which was, all things considered, a fairly reasonable amount of time. Most of all compared to how long it would have been, if they'd been crazy enough to walk.

Despite this, Cole was restless. Due to his inability to posses things without rest, they'd been forced to stop every so often. And every time they did, Cole could picture Jay, trapped in a frenzy of lighting, alone in the task of bringing himself under control.

"I literally said to him, that the powers weren't his fault. And there I went, blaming him! If there's a prize for being the worst friend ever, I've won it ten times over."

Lloyd had answered Cole's comments, at first. But Cole hadn't really listened. Thus, Lloyd began to ignore his words and eventually, Cole caught on. He internalized the complaints instead.

When they had reached the city at long last, a place to sleep, and a place to eat was a must. Lloyd refused to go any further with an empty stomach. Luckily for them, possession and the ability to hack Ninjago's credit currencies gave them endless possibilities.

In the end, Lloyd had begrudgingly settled for fast food and a motel, after Cole's incessant nagging about needing to lay low.

"So do you have a plan?"

Lloyd sat crossed legged on the motel's only bed. It creaked beneath him over the smallest of movements, and was coated in a particularly unpleasant smell. With a frown, Lloyd took a bite of his food, chewing slowly as he searched for an answer to Cole's question.

"We could sneak in with a tour group. I know they do those. Our school would take us, sometimes. Well. Not me. I somehow always managed to be in trouble." Lloyd shook his head. "Half the time I didn't even do anything. The teachers just had it out for me!"

"Uh-huh, okay, let's save the Lloyd Chronicles for a time when we're not the last remaining members of our team." Cole waved Lloyd on. "Tour group. Okay. Do we know the times?"

"No, but we can ask. They didn't show my picture on TV. Maybe they won't know me. And anyway, you can just possess one of the workers and find out, no?" Lloyd shrugged, uninterested in details. "So that's how we get in. Then I can hack the elevators, and we can look for the others."

"All this, somehow done fast enough so that we may get out before they raise and alarm."

"Yeah!"

Cole shook his head. "Well. . . I guess it'll have to do. It's a start, anyway."

Lloyd nodded, then flicked on the tv, flipping through the channels in the search of something worth watching. Cole turned away, and moved to the window. He could see ECHO from where he stood. He really hoped Jay was alright.

The sound of the TV stopped abruptly. Cole frowned. Then Lloyd spoke, with the unsettling static filled tone.

"Do you want to regain your life?"

Cole turned away from the window. Lloyd's eyes were glowing a deep shade of purple, which let him know he wasn't truly speaking with the child.

He turned away again, unable to stand the sight. "Of course. But that's impossible."

"You've seen people wield the elements, and you still believe something may be impossible?" The sound of Lloyd's empty chuckle made Cole shudder. "I could do it for you. My abilities surpass everything."

"And why would you do that?"

"A ghost and a child do not have very good odds at infiltrating ECHO. And I do not wish to fail"

Cole didn't answer. Whatever was taking up residence inside Lloyd's body had a fair point. Yet, it exaggerated. With Lloyd's command over technology, and Cole's strengthening possession, they would be more than capable of sneaking in. Then, with the others, bursting out would be a walk in the park.

Still.

Cole had seen Lloyd's powers first hand. He had no doubt that whatever was inside him could truly do anything. Cole wanted to agree, despite the protests from his common sense. Life had been ripped from him unjustly, and there was just so much he still wanted to experience. He did not want to carry on being a ghost.

"How would it work?" Cole gathered enough courage to turn back toward the child. Lloyd sat more stiffly than any ten year old should have. His expressionless features studied Cole.

"The process could be painful. But would it not be worth it?"

Cole pretended to think. But in truth, the choice had already been made.

He stepped forward slowly, aware there would be consequences, and uncaring of this fact.

"Alright."

Pixal moved through the hall, responding to Borg's summons.

They flashed urgently now, having been ignored for some seconds too long. Pixal chastised herself, at having grown distracted. Her job was to assist. Not to waste her time with ECHO's so-called guests.

But the time she spent with Nya did not feel like a waste. She was learning things every minute, and to Pixal, every bit of new knowledge was precious. This, however, was still no excuse.

Pixal reached Borg's office in record time. She walked inside and bowed her head as a form of apology. Then she looked up. And for once, it was a challenge to keep a neutral expression.

Cyrus Borg had finished his invention. The spider-like legs held up his body, and the heavy helmet was tightened around his head. Only one of his eyes was visible, and it glowed red. Or it seemed to glow red. But this was not possible.

"How can I help you, sir?" Pixal offered, glad that it was impossible for her voice to shake with emotion.

"Tell Wu that Ronin contacted us." Something was not right with Borg's voice. "Tell him Lloyd has been found. Hiding in the ruins of Ouroboros."

Pixal almost frowned. She knew Ronin had not made any contact. Borg wanted her to . . . lie?

"Well?" Borg's voice was curt. He moved his arms, ushering Pixal out of the room. "Go on. Let him know."

Accustomed to following orders, Pixal stepped out of the room. Yet once the door was shut, she stood still, wavering with indecision. Pixal knew she was Borg's assistant, first and foremost. She owed no loyalty to Wu, not truly. But lying? It did not add up.

Regardless, orders were orders, and she couldn't go against Borg simply because she did not understand. So Pixal moved forward once again, in search of Wu.

She found him with his brother, inside the prison cell that had been added to ECHO solely to hold Garmadon within. Pixal walked inside after unlocking the door, struggling to swallow her doubts.

Wu and Garmadon both turned to her together. Pixal could hardly believe they were brothers. Both carried extremely different features. Two sides of the same coin, she supposed.

Focus.

"Sir." She bowed her head. "There is news from Ronin. He has found Lloyd."

Garmadon straightened, suddenly alert. The expression of nonchalance he had been sporting wiped from his face in an instant. Wu gave Pixal a thankful nod. "Where are they?"

"He was hidden within the ruins of Ouroboros."

"Very well. Thank you Pixal."

With heavy feelings of confusion and guilt, Pixal exited the room. She moved through ECHO without truly thinking, allowing her steps to guide her where they would. When they came to a halt, she was not surprised to find herself on the floor that housed Nya.

She gave Nya's door a soft knock, surprised by her desperate need to confide in someone.

"Let me go with you, Wu." Garmadon hated to sound desperate, but he knew the only way to get through to his brother was by being vulnerable. "Please."

Wu studied Garmadon. Now that he was unsure of the man's guilt, Wu didn't feel like he was capable of denying him anything. He gave a nod. "Of course. We'll go together. And we'll figure this out."

"Thank you." Garmadon cleared his throat, eager to shake off the emotion in his voice. "Should we head out now?"

"I don't see why not."

At Wu's request, a helicopter awaited them at the ECHO's rooftop. Garmadon couldn't help but smile at the sight. Ten years without anything more than the same four walls and his son's letters to keep him company. And now, the world moved at an incredible pace, throwing experiences at him without a break.

If Lloyd hadn't been the one tangled at the center of everything, Garmadon would have found this all to be a grand adventure.

As it was, his worry mingled with the excitement, leaving him in between positive and negative emotions. Garmadon climbed onto the helicopter beside his brother. The pilot eyed him with wide-eyed amazement. Garmadon gave the girl a wink, causing her eyes to widen. She turned away quickly, hands shaking as she worked.

"To Ouroboros please, Harumi," Wu ordered, and the young girl nodded. He turned back to his brother, then fitted the headset over his head. He signaled for Garmadon to do the same, so they would be able to speak over the spinning blades. "She's quite the prodigy, you know. Only fifteen years old and already flies better than anyone."

"Impressive," Garmadon said, coaxing a smile from the young pilot. "It's always good to be ambitious. At fifteen I had my fair share of accomplishments as well."

"At fifteen you were too busy stressing our father to do anything of importance." Wu chuckled, and Garmadon frowned.

The helicopter lifted, moving to follow Borg's false trail.

Jay found the bracelet to be a blessing.

Although he still couldn't quite recall most of his older memories, every event that had occurred since they'd decided to help the snarky ten-year-old was vivid in his mind. He could recall everything.

Well. Not everything. But more than usual. And to him, that surely felt like everything.

He found himself sitting still a lot, doing nothing more than replaying the memories in his mind. Up to a certain point, of course. He didn't dare to willfully recall his argument with Cole. Regardless of his efforts, or maybe because of them, the memory surfaced every time he lost focus on keeping it away.

Jay hadn't told anyone about the source of Cole's death. Although he wanted very much to shed the weight from his trembling shoulders, he feared the reactions of the others too much. So he let himself carry the weight alone. After all, he deserved it, didn't he?

With a frown, Jay breathed out, trying to move his mind into a more positive setting.

"You should really eat something. When Lloyd comes to rescue us, we must be energized."

Jay's eyes shifted up, connecting with Zane's. He gave the robot a smile. "I'm fine. You really think the pipsqueak is going to come to get us?."

"I believe Lloyd feels like getting us and his father out of here is the right thing to do. Thus, he will attempt it."

"Well if he finds a way to get these bracelets off, getting out shouldn't be a problem. But how's a kid going to find a way in here without getting caught?" Jay shook his head. "Face it, Zane, we're Wu's pawns now."

"I have faith in Lloyd." Zane shrugged. "He will find a way. Besides, you are the one who advised me to use positive thinking."

"Even if it's a lie." Jay chuckled, and Zane nodded.

"I'll admit the kid is stubborn. And he's got those. . . powers. Which is. . . weird. If you think about it." Jay frowned. He hadn't actually stopped to think anything of it before, but now, he was eager for the distraction. "He wasn't part of the original experiment. I mean, you weren't either, but we know Dr. Julien is the reason for your abilities. But Lloyd?"

"Hmm." Zane leaned against the wall, features tightening into a frown.

"No one gave him anything on purpose. And yet his abilities surpass ours. It's like they've got no limit." Jay struggled to connect the dots before him. "So where did they come from?"

"I believe I know something that could help you find an answer."

"Oh?" Jay sat up straighter.

"Food."

Jay slumped back down. "Seriously, Zane? I thought you had something."

"With proper nourishment, your brain will work much better. I am convinced it will help."

"You're not going to leave me alone, are you?"

"There are not many other things to do." Jay was surprised to see that the android was smiling at him. "So no. Possibly not."

Jay faked a groan, but he felt warmly content that someone cared enough to bug him. "Fine, then."

"Even if Wu is some sort of crazy evil genius," Nya laid back on the floor of the room she'd claimed as her own. Kai sat crossed legged atop one of the small coffee tables, picking at the food Pixal had brought in earlier in the day. "Him asking us to help him find the people that escaped Kryptarium doesn't seem like a bad idea."

"Doesn't seem like one. That doesn't mean it isn't." Kai said. "What if it's just a trap, so he can kill us off?"

"He could kill us right now. We're literally powerless and in his hands."

"Yeah but-" Kai made a motion with his hand as he tried to come up with words. " Maybe he doesn't want any witnesses. So he sends us off into a suicide mission."

"When, exactly, did you become so pessimistic?" Nya scowled, growing increasingly annoyed. "You're the one that was always saying, Oh we're special, Oh we'll be heroes. What's with you now?"

I almost lost you, that's what. Kai thought, but shrugged instead. "I'm just making sure you're careful."

"You're making sure I'm careful." Nya forced a laugh. "Yeah. Because that makes sense. It's not like you're-"

A soft knock came from the door, halting Nya's words. The knock had been so subtle, she momentarily wondered if she'd only imagined it. One questioning look from Kai assured her she had not.

Nya stood. She walked toward the door and opened it, expecting to see Jay, or even Zane.

Instead, she saw Pixal. "Oh. Hey. You're back!"

Nya gave the silver-skinned android a smile. Pixal gave her a smile in return, although it was nearly invisible. "Yes. There are some things I. . . wish to say."

"Come on in. I was getting tired of hearing nothing but nonsense." Nya said. Kai rolled his eyes at this, but he was too curious about Pixal's odd statement to hiss something back at his sister. "Is something wrong?"

"I believe so." Pixal gave a nod. "Although, I am not sure I should be sharing this."

"Hey, you can trust us." Nya gave Pixal a reassuring smile.

"Well. . ." Pixal's hands shifted. Nya had never seen the android emanate so much emotion. Her curiosity increased ten-fold, but she hung back, afraid of scaring her away from speaking. "Borg gave me a rather curious order. He asked me to tell Wu that Lloyd had been found. But this was a lie."

"Huh." Kai frowned. "You think Borg's trying to help us escape? With Wu out of the way. . ."

"But why would he? And wouldn't he have let us know?"

"I do not think Borg is trying to aid you," Pixal said, plainly.

"Well. . . if we don't have any idea of anything, the best we can do is stay on our toes." Kai tugged at the bracelet, huffing with annoyance. "I wish we could take these stupid things off. Then regardless of whatever happened, we could take it."

Pixal studied the bracelets. She knew exactly how to remove them, having taken part in their creation. She refrained from sharing this fact. She was already stepping out of line, as it was. Giving them a warning would have to suffice.

"If the kid's crazy enough to try and rescue us," Nya said, eyes shifting toward the window. Nothing more than glass, keeping her from freedom. That, and a 100 foot drop. "I hope he hurries."