*slowly peeks around the corner* hi- *ducks back to avoid flying chair*

Review replies:

Ebony: :) I am real happy with myself. And yes, that was totally Reena giving her a hand.

Nicktastic: :))

PastelNinjaMelanie: Anything she wants. :)))

Ninjachief: Skillet is my jam :D He totally should. But first he needs more Lloyds. And I don't think Lloyd 2 is really inclined to join in. And no, I haven't seen it. I really didn't even know it was out. xD When I find myself obsessed with something else, I write fanfiction of it except I replace the characters with ninjago characters. Then I get bored of it and go back to doing normal fanfictions. :)

Impossiblegirl: Yes that is totally a reference to defenders of berk! also yes I love them

Samantha: :))))

Guest: YES ONE DOES :)))))

Chapter 37

Lloyd was frozen, staring in horrified shock as Kai 2's body thudded to the ground. He- he was dead?!

"NO!" He heard the other Lloyd scream. He sounded so far away, even though he was right behind him. He couldn't be dead. Not just like that. He just couldn't.

"GET HER!" Nya screamed, and Lloyd heard yelling and saw movement, but he couldn't move. He was paralyzed with shock. He couldn't pull his eyes away from Kai's body on the ground.

"Lloyd!" A hand grabbed his shoulder, and he turned around with blurring vision to see Morro gripping his shoulder, wide eyes staring in his general direction. "You have to help fight!"

"I- I-" Lloyd shook his head, tearing his eyes away from kai. "I-I'll fight…" Now that he looked around, he saw the ghosts floofing down the tunnel towards them. Blinking back the tears that threatened to fall, Lloyd summoned a ball of energy and let out a battle cry as he charged towards the ghosts. The battle went by in a blur. He could barely even hear the sounds of fighting, everything was a whirl of noise. As the tears, unwanted as they were, began to trickle down his face, a shout from behind made him freeze in place.

"Wait!" Looking over his shoulder, Lloyd had to dry his eyes in order to prove to himself that what he was seeing was real. A ghost stood over Kai's body, his arms out in a 'calm down' gesture. A ghost with spiky hair. And a red gi. And a scar over his eye. "I'm alright."

"KAI!" Scrambling to his feet and ignoring his broken leg, Lloyd 2 threw himself at his brother, squeezing him tight as he shook with sobs.

"Heyy, it's okay, I'm okay…" Kai 2 hugged him back, rocking him back and forth. Lloyd allowed his tears to fall as well. Somehow, Kai was cursed, not dead.

"That… was not supposed to happen." Bansha 2 muttered. "Whatever." Grabbing a bucket, the sorceress scooped up some water from the ground – she was fearless – and grabbed Kai 2's shoulder, holding it over him threateningly. "Surrender, or I won't kill him, just torture him until he begs for death." She hissed. The group was silent. Abruptly, the bucket tipped backwards, and the contents splashed over Bansha, who let out a shriek as she vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Did that work?" Lloyd turned around to see Morro standing behind him, one arm outstretched in Bansha's direction.

"Yes it did." The blond confirmed as the rest of the ninja let out a cheer, the #2 ninja tackling Kai to the ground.

"How are you alive?" Cole 2 asked as they sat up a few moments later to let him breathe.

"I don't- I don't know." The brunette shook his head, grinning. "I just… was dying, and all of a sudden I just kinda floated out of my body, and I was a ghost." He looked over at his dead body, shuddering. The body was still bleeding, Kai's lifeless eyes staring up at the ceiling. "Never thought I'd see myself dead."

"I don't care how you're okay." Lloyd 2's voice was muffled, still pressed into his chest. "I'm just glad you are."

"I'm glad too." The ghost smiled and patted his head. "I don't want to lose you just yet." Lloyd 2 didn't move for a couple minutes longer before sitting up and drying his eyes.

"We gotta free the prisoners." He said, his voice wavering a bit. "Help me up." Kai 2 stood up, then carefully helped him to his feet.

"Sensei Garmadon, you're probably a better choice to keep him steady, I'll probably lose concentration and drop him."

"Good idea." Dad nodded and stepped over, letting Lloyd's double put an arm around his shoulders and holding him up. Turning to the cell doors, Cole 1 yelled,

"Everyone stand back! We're gonna start breaking down doors!" The ghost clenched his hands into fists as the prisoners shuffled away from the doors, then he frowned. "Oh crap. Vengestone."

"Here's some keys!" Jessica piped up from the back of the group, holding up a ring of black keys.

"There we go. Start unlocking doors." The brunette nodded, running down to the end of the hall and unlocking the door of the farthest cell before moving on to the next. As soon as the door was open, the people inside flooded out, murmuring their thanks. They still seemed scared.

"We have a few hours before Bansha and her armies come back." Cole 2 assured them. "We're safe." More murmurs.

"What about them, then?" One woman called out, pointing at the good Morro and Bansha.

"See how there's two of some of us?" Jay 2 gestured to his double. "We called in reinforcements from another timeline. In it, these two are good guys."

"Oh." The people seemed more relaxed after that.

"Everyone, go out of the dungeon and wait at the top of the stairs. There isn't room in this hall for everyone." Sensei Wu instructed. "Nya A, escort them." Nya 2 nodded, leading the group up and out of the hallway. Jessica continued unlocking doors, and they sent each group up to join the others. Once all the cells in the hall were empty, they moved onto the next. They kept letting out prisoners, mostly random humans and occasionally an elemental master. Finally, Jessica stopped short in front of one of the cells.

"Uh, my Lloyd, you might wanna see this." Frowning, Lloyd walked over and peered through the bars for a moment before his mouth dropped open in shock.

"Tori?" The girl in the cell looked up in surprise, then her face broke into a grin.

"Lloyd? Oh my gosh, it's been years since I've seen you!" She jumped to her feet, looking genuinely excited to see him.

"Um… not that long for me." Lloyd rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "And, technically, you've never seen me before."

"Huh?"

"Tori!" Lloyd 2 hobbled over and grabbed the keys from Jessica, fumbling to unlock the door. Once he got it open, he staggered backwards to let her open it, but tripped and fell, fortunately onto the other Lloyd, who caught him. The blond girl stepped out of the cell, staring at the pair with narrowed, confused eyes.

"Um… is this another one of my weird dreams?"

"No, he's from another timeline. We went there to get help with Morro." Lloyd 2 nodded up at his double.

"Ohh. So, wait, what did you mean by it wasn't long for you?" Tori frowned up at Lloyd. "Did you see your version of me recently?"

"Yeah, uh… when you captured me and all my friends and threatened to torture them if I didn't date you."

"I… what?" The blond girl's eyes went wide. "I don't even like you that way!"

"I'm glad." Lloyd 2 piped up, struggling to stand. "That sounds like a mess. But how have you been? I haven't seen you in like eight years!"

"Well, after you left, I kinda… did some bad stuff. I took over my village, then when Ninjago city sent people to arrest me, I escaped and got into illegal tea trafficking." She shook her head. "I screwed up, I know. But when Morro took over, I finally lost the battle with my conscience and became a force for good. That is, until I got caught and locked up"

"Morro taking over benefited you, then." Lloyd spoke up. "In my universe, you left to join the Overlord, and are currently locked up in an insane asylum." Tori winced.

"Yeah, I'd hate for that to happen to me." She helped Lloyd 2 to his feet. "What happened to your legs?"

"Well-"

"You can catch up as we walk, guys," Kai 2 interrupted. "We gotta keep letting people out."

"Okay." Tori and Lloyd 2 migrated to the back of the group, chatting about everything that had happened. Lloyd found himself feeling a bit jealous. He wished he could have that kind of relationship with Tori. They kept going, releasing every prisoner they came across, until they came to a solid deepstone door at the end of the last hallway. Jessica glanced at Lloyd, then opened it. It had seven locks, each requiring a different key. When it was finally pulled open, there was nothing inside but darkness, and a far, far away speck of light.

"What… is this place?" Zane 2 spoke up softly, voicing the question on everyone's minds.

"We'll have to go in to find out." Cole 1 replied slowly. "Kais, Lloyd 2, stay back and watch the exit in case we're attacked." The three nodded, Tori joining them as they sat down next to the open door. The rest of the group walked down into the darkness, slowly approaching the speck of light at the end of the tunnel. As they got closer, the speck of light became a figure, a body slumped back against the wall that glowed a soft green. Who could that be? When they got within thirty feet of them, Bansha gasped softly.

"Soul Archer?" She whispered in shock. Her voice carried in the long chamber, and the figure shifted, lifting his head slightly.

"Bansha?" A guff, hoarse voice replied. The group increased their pace, and the archer came into view, his clothing dirty and torn and his arms chains to the wall behind him.

"Why are you here?" The sorceress asked in shock, stopping and kneeling in front of him.

"You… do not remember?" The older ghost closed his eyes, lowering his head again. "You were there…"

"No I wasn't. I'm from another universe. It's complicated." Soul Archer looked up at her with a frown, then past her, at the ninja.

"I… alright. I betrayed Morro, I thought I could take control…" He shifted slightly. "I failed… the Preeminent promised to help me, but she did not when the time came… Morro locked me up here, I haven't seen another soul in months…" Soul Archer lowered his head further. "****, if only I had just stayed in the Cursed Realm… now every realm is as horrible as that place…" Jay 1 snapped his fingers.

"That's why Kai didn't die!" He exclaimed. "The realm is cursed! He just turned into a ghost like Indigo did!" Lloyd frowned. Yeah, that did make sense.

"Come back with us." Bansha was saying to the ghost chained to the wall. "The ninja have a plan to beat the Preeminent, they can free the realm!"

"But if the realm is freed… I will be sent back… after all I've done…" The Archer muttered. He really sounded like he was repentant of what he had done.

"No. In my universe, Morro and I live in Ninjago, with the ninja, no less. They will protect you." The blademistress insisted. The archer was silent for a few moments, then gave a single nod.

"I will join you. Unchain me. Though, at the moment, I barely have the strength to speak."

"Give me the keys." Bansha ordered, turning to Jessica. The brunette obeyed, and the ghost woman unlocked the archer's cuffs, catching him by the arms as he slumped forward. "Cole, help me carry him." Cole 1 came over, pulling one of Soul Archer's arms around his shoulders as Bansha did the same with the other, lifting him up.

"If… we are attacked… I will slow you down…" the older ghost murmured, eyes closed as he held onto the two holding him up as best as he could.

"The others can fight, I'm not leaving you behind." Bansha shook her head, adjusting her grip on him slightly. "Let's get out of here before the other me comes back."

A ghost? He's supposed to be dead!

For the record, illegal teas are magic, and like... dangerous. The reason Tori went nuts in the normal world is because she basically overdosed on drugs.

Also, I want you all to just take a moment to imagine what had happened if Soul Archer had taken over, and Morro was the one locked underground for months.

~FFF