Chapter 24

Movie Ninjago

When Koko arrived at the Julien residence the next morning, the sun hadn't even risen yet, nor would it for a long while.

She chuckled at the sight of her two sleepy sons stumbling out of the Juliens' house and into her car as she drove them to the mech warehouse to fly to Ouroboros. Fortunately, Luh-Loyd perked up after getting some coffee in him (good thing too, since he was going to be driving the mech), but Lil'Loyd was too young to drink it and thought it tasted gross anyway, so he kept almost nodding off. Koko made a mental note to keep a firm grip on him during the flight so as not to let him fall off.

As they arrived at the warehouse, the sound of Koko's car awoke the sleeping giants still there. Meowthra stretched and got to her feet to wander off, and the Ultra Dragon ruffled their wings and looked around blearily as they approached.

Lil'Loyd stopped to pet Ultra's four heads as they passed, saying, "You can go back to our Ninjago if you want. This might take a while."

The Ultra Dragon shook themself and prepared to fly off, but was stopped when Meowthra reappeared and dropped a giant mouse creature (the people of neither Ninjago knew where she got these things to eat, but many speculated they were from her original world) in front of Ultra, and looked at them expectantly.

Lil'Loyd snickered at the sight. "I take it back," he said. "You can go back to our Ninjago after you eat your breakfast."

Flame the fire head, gave a huff of annoyance and bumped against Lil'Loyd in response, but all four heads began to dig into their meal.

Not wanting to see that, Koko and her sons hurried into the warehouse and climbed aboard the Green Dragon Mech, and flew out of the roof.

Next stop, Ouroboros.


Fortunately, flying through the desert before the sun came up was cooler than during the day, though they were sure to be in for that kind of flight when they returned.

The city was just waking up as the guards escorted them through the city. Vendors were opening their stalls and waved as they walked past. Some Serpentine joggers paused to stare at them as they walked by. Serpentine children on their way to school pointed and chattered curiously when they caught sight of them.

One, in particular, stood out to them as she waved to them. "Hi, Green Ninja!" called Poisinthia the little Fangpyre girl, who looked to be in the capital as part of a school trip (one with extra chaperones to avoid any more kidnappings).

Recognizing her, Luh-Loyd smiled back and returned the wave. "Hi, Poisinthia. Nice to see you again," he said as they passed.

Poisinthia beamed back, and the rest of her school group gaped as they looked rapidly back and forth between her and Luh-Loyd, before crowding around the little Fangpyre excitedly, all asking questions and with several exclamations of, "The Green Ninja knows your name!"

Just before they were out of earshot, they all heard her reply, "Of course he does. He saved my house."

Koko snickered at that exchange. "I believe you just made that little girl the most popular one in her class."

Luh-Loyd cracked a smile at that. "Technically, Cole saved her house. I just pulled her out of the fire."

"Shouldn't Kai have done that?" asked Lil'Loyd. "He is the Fire Ninja."

Luh-Loyd let out a groan that said he'd heard that criticism many times by now and was more than tired of it.

Lil'Loyd and Koko just laughed at his expense.

This time, instead of going to the Royal Tombs, the guards who met them at the gates took them to the palace overlooking the Slither Pit in the center of the city.

"I guess that makes sense," Luh-Loyd muttered as they grew close. "They don't need to tell us about, uh, those weapons they don't want us to talk about."

Koko cracked a smile. "Also, it'd be easier to have a playdate if we go somewhere other than an ancient tomb full of delicate artifacts," she whispered back.

Lil'Loyd snickered. "Yeah, it's easier to have fun if you can actually touch the things around you," he said. "Also the lack of dead bodies is nice."

(Another Serpentine jogger going by gave them a very worried look at that last comment)

The smile soon slid off his face as he looked up at the palace, and he grew contemplative. He was on his way to a playdate with the Prince of the Serpentine. It was something he'd never thought would happen. Even when he briefly had control over the Hypnobrai after releasing them, the snakes had remained wary of him and hadn't let him anywhere near their young. What would Skales' son be like? Could they be friends? If they hated each other would the prince throw him in the dungeon?

As always, Luh-Loyd seemed to just know when he was worried about something. "Just relax," he whispered. "If you don't get along you can come join me and Mom talking to the king."

Lil'Loyd sent him a small smile of thanks at that.

They were led through some lavishly decorated doors covered in colorful serpents and symbols of the sun. The rest of the palace was just as spectacular to look at. Intricate decorations covered the place, giving a heck of a first impression of the place.

The three ninja were led into the throne room, where King Skales, Queen Selma, and General Arcturus were waiting.

The queen greeted them with a warm smile. "Welcome," she said. "It isss ssso wonderful you could come."

Koko smiled, and all three of them bowed politely. "It was our duty to help," she said modestly. "Especially with innocents on the line."

"We have heard tell of you managing to thwart an attack on a far off village sssome nightsss ago," said King Skales. "Our thanksss for protecting our people."

"However, we have hope you can ssspread sssome more light onto thossse eventsss, as they have become mired by gossssip," added General Arcturus. He chuckled and added, "There are even rumorsss of the Green Ninja getting engaged after that fight."

King Skales rolled his eyes at that. "Utterly ridiculousss, of course. The truth should be more enlightening."

Luh-Loyd turned red, and he could hear his family snickering beside him. "Yeah, that last part didn't happen, but the rest did," said Luh-Loyd. "My team and I have been investigating, and I have so much to tell you, your majesties."

"And we are eager to hear it," said Queen Selma. "But first-'' she waved to an attendant, who quickly bowed and hurried out of the room. "We mussst sssee to the little onesss."

Lil'Loyd let out a gulp and hoped he was about to meet a new friend and not a new enemy (he had far too many of those).

A moment later, a Venomari stepped into the room and announced, "Presenting, his royal highness, Prince Skales the Second!"

With that, the doors were opened all the way, and a young Hypnobrai boy wearing regal-looking robes and a circlet around his head entered the room with his head held high.

"SSSo," Prince Skales the Second said in a self-important drawl. "You are the human Charmer IronDragon took pity on." He looked Lil'Loyd up and down. "I thought you'd be taller."

Lil'Loyd scowled. On second thought, he might have just met a new enemy after all.

Still, Luh-Loyd squeezed his arm encouragingly.

Queen Selma sent her son a slightly scolding look before saying, "The children will begin their playdate in my son'sss playroom. It isss well guarded, and they will be sssafe there."

Koko looked bemused at the prince's introduction, but said, "That sounds fine if the kids are up to it."

"The playroom pleasesss me," said Skales the Second, still sounding pompous.

Lil'Loyd hesitated, but Luh-Loyd leaned down to whisper, "Get to know him before passing judgment. You and I know better than anyone that first impressions are never what you should judge by."

That was way too true, and Lil'Loyd had no argument for that. "And what if he really is that much of an ego-jerk?" he asked.

Luh-Loyd got an odd look on his face as he glanced at Prince Skales the Second, and replied, "For some reason I doubt it. I don't know why, but something about that kid reads as lonely to me. Give him a chance, and if you don't like him, just come back to us."

Lil'Loyd looked reluctant but trusted his counterpart's judgment, so he said out loud, "Okay, we can go to the playroom."

To his surprise, Prince Skales the Second's face lit up hearing that before he quickly schooled it into the same self-assured look he'd worn when he entered. That was either a sign that Luh-Loyd was right in his assessment, or that the prince was planning something and Lil'Loyd had just walked into some prank. Given his time at Darkley's, both options were possible.

As the guards escorted both of them out of the room, Lil'Loyd could hear his counterpart begin giving King Skales all they had discovered. "To start, your majesty, I'm afraid you've been had. Someone is trying to make you think there's some ancient evil out there, but the truth is a lot more modern…"


The playroom actually ended up being not bad. In fact, it was actually pretty cool.

Apparently, the Serpentine preferred active playing as opposed to quiet games. The entire playroom was basically one big obstacle course with everything from jungle gyms to a tunnel maze to crawl through. There were also toys of all kinds lining the shelves and even some Serpentine equivalents to board games sitting on a table in the corner of the room. There weren't any video games, which was a bummer, but the Serpentine's isolation didn't really allow for modern technology. All and all, Lloyd was impressed.

"This is so cool," he said, looking around and wondering what they could do first. The guards were positioned outside the room, so it was just the two of them.

Prince Skales the Second preened at his words. "It isss. Father made sure I had the bessst of everything in Ouroborosss," he bragged.

Lloyd twitched at the prince's ego but did his best to ignore it...

"What would a human like you want to do firssst?" asked Prince Skales the Second, turning to look at him.

… Even if the said prince was making it difficult.

Lloyd glanced around the room and was torn between the obstacle course or the board games. The obstacle course looked like the pure definition of 'training but fun' and he was just dying to see how fast he could run through it, but due to his family's game nights, he'd also gained a real love of board games and could see the prince had ones he'd never seen before. If he learned it first and introduced it next game night he might actually be able to beat Luh-Loyd and Koko.

Apparently, he was taking too long to decide, as Prince Skales the Second decided to take the time to brag, "No one hasss ever beat my ssspeed record in my play courssse."

Well, that settled it.

"You're on," Lloyd challenged. "I bet I can beat you."

Prince Skales the Second gave him a smirk. "Oh, you think ssso, do you?"

"Yeah, I know so!" Lloyd said confidently. "I'm the Gr-" He cut himself off before he could announce himself as the Green Ninja, a title his counterpart held in this world, and quickly changed it to, "-Grrrreat, uh Energy Ninja!"

Prince Skales the Second looked at him in confusion. It was nice to see something other than smugness on his face. "Energy Ninja?" he asked.

It was Lloyd's turn to smirk as he cupped his hands and briefly summoned a ball of green energy.

Prince Skales the Second's eyes widened in amazement. "Whoa!" he said. He then shook his head and settled back into the same tune he'd been carrying the entire time. "SSStill, it will not sssave you!"

Lloyd glanced at the obstacle course and had to agree there. "Yeah, I guess blasting my way through would just break the course. That wouldn't be very fun."

The prince looked thrown off once again at the knowledge Lloyd would be able to do that, but once again tried to hide it behind bravado as he swaggered to the starting line. "Then on your mark, get ssset…"

Lloyd tensed and was prepared if the prince tried to cheat and run before saying the last bit, but was pleasantly surprised when he didn't start until he shouted, "GO!"

The two children raced through the course neck and neck. Prince Skales the Second had the advantage of undoubtedly having memorized the course after so many times on it, but Lloyd was no slouch either. This course was nothing compared to spinjitzu training.

Before long, Lloyd started pulling ahead, even though he was occasionally slowed down by an unexpected obstacle, he was winning.

Until he wasn't.

He should have seen it coming, Darkley's was full of pit traps like this (though those had hard rocks at the bottom instead of what looked like satin cushions), but just before reaching the end, the ground gave way beneath him.

And so, there he was, the legendary Green Ninja, hanging by his fingertips in a pit of a play area trying desperately to pull himself up so he didn't fall down into the cushions below.

Prince Skales the Second had no such hindrance, having undoubtedly known about the pit trap beforehand, and leaped over it and Lloyd's dangling form.

But the second his feet touched the ground on the other side, the prince hesitated and glanced back at Lloyd's fingers peeking over the edge of the pit. Lloyd didn't really notice, as he was trying to get his feet to find traction to pull himself back up. But when he felt a scaly hand touch his wrist, that he noticed.

Lloyd looked up to see Prince Skales the Second grab his wrist, and he had to wonder if the pompous prince was about to throw him down the pit.

Instead, to his utter surprise, the prince gave his arm a firm tug, not enough to pull him completely from the pit, but enough that he was able to get an elbow over the side and begin scrambling out with his own strength.

Despite running as fast as he could to the finish line after escaping, there was no way for Lloyd to make up the lead the prince had gotten on him.

Prince Skales the Second crossed the finish line first, with Lloyd only a few steps behind him, panting from that last sprint.

Prince Skales the Second, for his part, seemed thrilled at his victory. "Yesss!" he cheered. "I knew I could win!"

Lloyd blinked as he caught his breath, and looked at the serpentine prince curiously. That… didn't sound like bragging. That actually sounded like relief? Like he'd been worried he couldn't win and was stoked that he actually had.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "You sound like you've never raced in your own obstacle course before?"

The prince looked startled, then sheepish, then tried to hide those previous reactions and bring up the pompous act again.

"Just stop," said Lloyd before he could fully commit to the act. "If you're not as big-headed as you're making yourself out to be. Why act like a jerk?"

The prince actually wilted a little hearing that. "A jerk?" he asked. "That wasssn't what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?" asked Lloyd.

Prince Skales the Second fidgeted for a moment, before admitting, "I've never met a human before. I wasn't sure how I was sssupposed to act. I asssked Father'sss generalsss, and they told me to show no fear."

"Well, you did that, but you also came off as an egomaniac," said Lloyd bluntly.

"Oh," said the prince, looking put out to hear that.

"So what did you mean that you knew you could win?" asked Lloyd, going back to the original question. "You sound like you've never raced this course before, but it's your course."

Prince Skales the Second (he needed to get a nickname for this kid, that name was a mouthful) fidgeted even more, and muttered, "I've run the courssse plenty, but… I've never had anyone to race it with."

Lloyd blinked. "No one?" he asked.

Prince Skales the Second huffed in frustration. "No one that really triesss," he complained. "SSSometimes the kidsss of noblesss or the children of ssservents come by to play, but they're boring. They alwaysss let me win 'causssse I'm the prince, and they think they can sssuck up to me." He glanced over at Lloyd with a fanged grin. "You actually tried to win the race, and you're a ninja if I can beat you-"

"Then you have to be pretty good," Lloyd finished, warming up to the prince already. Looks like Luh-Loyd had been right about him being lonely… Lloyd knew the feeling, and never wanted to go back.

"You need a nickname," he said, making Prince Skales the Second turn to look at him in bewilderment.

"What?" asked the prince.

"Your name's a mouthful," said Lloyd. "I can't keep calling you Prince Skales the Second in my head, it's too long."

Prince Skales the Second pouted. "Montgomery's not that short a name either," he said.

Lloyd had to hide a twitch at the mention of that name. He'd honestly forgotten the prince wouldn't know his real name. "Lil'Loyd," he said.

"What?" asked the prince again.

"Call me Lil'Loyd," Lloyd said. "It's a nickname I have 'cause I look like a smaller version of Lloyd, ya know, the Green Ninja. It's shorter than Montgomery at least."

Prince Skales the Second let out a snicker at the nickname.

"Yeah, laugh it up, I didn't pick the name," Lloyd said with a roll of his eyes. He then gave the prince a devious grin. "Not that my brother can talk, his nickname is Luh-Loyd."

The serpentine prince threw back his head and laughed at hearing that.

"Skales Jr.," he said finally when he recovered from his laughter. "My parentsss and their generalsss call me Skales Jr., though the generalsss sometimesss shorten it to SSSJ when they try to be dissscreet."

"SJ, I can work with that," said Lloyd. Despite the rocky start, it looks like he'd made a new friend after all.


It took nearly an hour for the teenaged Lloyd and his mother to explain to the king and queen all that they had discovered since their initial meeting. Needless to say, the royals were furious to hear someone had been abducting their citizens and using their own legends as a cover for it.

"And you believe they ssseek the Golden Weaponsss?" asked King Skales his expression serious.

"It seems to be the likely target," said Koko. "It is unclear if the culprits are aware of the consequences of wielding all four at once, but even with just one, the damage they could cause would be great."

"We're working to track the stolen materials for the Snake Mech to find out who's behind it," said Lloyd. "But if you have any idea who could know enough about them to target you, that would narrow it down."

The king and queen exchanged a look as they contemplated the question.

"Many yearsss ago, the library where we keep our ancient legendsss and sssecrets was partially dessstroyed, and a wall to the vault where they were kept wasss breached," said Selma thoughtfully. "It was during the war againssst Garmadon, where you were defending usss," she said to Koko. "We had thought it wasss merely a casssualty of the battlesss. That anything missssing was due to the damage. However, it isss possssible, sssomeone usssed that opportunity to break in and sssteal the information."

Koko frowned at the reminder of those battles that led to her meeting Garmadon. "I barely left the battlefield during those times," she admitted. "But I remember there were a few other humans there to help in their own ways. I was the only one willing to fight for the Serpentine, but the others were merchants. People offering weapons and food for the Serpentine troops and villagers whose homes were destroyed during the fighting." Her mouth twisted sardonically at the memory. "For a price, of course."

"Which isss why while they were thanked for their effortsss and aid, they were not granted the title of Charmer sssuch as yourssself," said General Arcturus with a low chuckle.

"SSStill, it givesss usss a point from which to sssearch," said King Skales, turning to General Arcturus. "Contact thossse who took part in that battle and sssearch our merchantsss logsss from that time. SSSee if there isss any memory or record of thossse who were presssent."

"I'll sssee that it isss done, my king," said General Arcturus with a bow.

Before they could discuss anything more, a knock on the door had them all turning in distraction. At the king's word, the door opened, revealing an Anacondrai with red eyes and a blue jewel set into his forehead, and carrying some beverages on a metal tray.

"Terribly sssorry to interrupt, sssire," said the Anacondrai with a bow. "But young Massster Montgomery hasss requesssted the Green Ninja come to him. The poor boy ssseems quite dissstraught for sssome reassson."

Lloyd sighed hearing that. Looks like he'd been wrong, and his counterpart and the prince hadn't gotten along like he'd hoped. Turning to the king, he said, "If it's not too much trouble, your majesty, I'll go get him and calm him down. Montgomery's a good kid, it shouldn't take long."

King Skales chuckled good-naturedly. "Green Ninja, I am a father. I know well that even the bessst children can become upssset for whatever reassson. Take your time. You are our guessst here."

Lloyd bowed to him and hurried after the Anacondrai.

"If you don't mind my asking, what's with the drinks?" Lloyd asked conversationally as they walked through the palace.

The Anacondrai gave him a pleasant smile. "Oh, I'm basssically the equivalent of what you humansss call a sssecretary. I wasss tasssked with fetching the guardsss a drink when we heard the commotion. May as well kill two birdsss with one ssstone."

Considering that Koko had needed to work as a secretary often in her past jobs, Lloyd gave him a sympathetic smile knowing it could be a pretty thankless career.

When they reached the playroom, all was quiet, and the thirsty guards accepted their drinks with a hearty thank you to the Anacondrai, already sipping at them as they opened the doors.

Luh-Loyd stepped inside and was surprised to see Lil'Loyd and the prince sitting and playing a Serpentine board game that looked somewhat similar to chess but on a board a third of the size.

The younger blond looked up and smiled when he saw him. "Luh-Loyd!" he said waving brightly. "SJ was just teaching me how to play Senet. I hope you're ready for me to pound you and Mom at it next game night."

Prince Skales the Second (or SJ now, his brother was getting far too eager to give others nicknames) looked up at him with a boggled expression. "He'sss ssso good at it!" he said in disbelief. "He never played before and I jussst taught him! How isss he ssso good?"

This didn't make any sense. The two children seemed perfectly fine, and were getting along well enough for Lil'Loyd to grant the prince a nickname. Why would…

As Luh-Loyd tried to make sense of it, he saw Lil'Loyd's expression shift into one of horror and behind him, he heard the guards let out choking sounds and keel over. He turned around just in time to see the Anacondrai secretary swinging the drink tray at him before pain exploded in his head, and he crashed to the floor.

Fighting through the pain to stay conscious but unable to move or even open his eyes, he blearily felt his body be yanked upwards in a motion that made his head spin even worse, and the cold edge of a knife was placed against his neck.

"Ah, ah, ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you," he heard the Anacondri say tauntingly into his ear, though he didn't seem to be speaking to him.

Managing to crack one eye open, Luh-Loyd saw why he'd said that. The blurry form of Lil'Loyd was standing defensively in front of the prince, his hands crackling angrily with his energy powers. But when the Anacondrai brought the knife closer to Luh-Loyd's neck, the energy dissipated.

"That'sss a good little boy," said the Anacondri smugly, dragging Luh-Loyd along as he backed the two children further into the room. "It'd be a shame to have to kill your dear big brother. But if you behave, I'll have no need to ussse thisss knife on him, and then on you."

"Pythor!" Lil'Loyd spat with a level of hatred Luh-Loyd hadn't heard from him before.

The Anacondrai froze, and through his pain addled brain, Luh-Loyd slowly recognized the name.

Pythor… The last Anacondrai of Lil'Loyd's world… The treacherous snake that kidnapped his little brother… The reason Lil'Loyd was still terrified of volcanoes… The thought of his counterpart being in that monster's clutches again set Luh-Loyd's blood boiling!

"It ssseems you've heard of me," Pythor hissed. "I'm not sure how, but no matter. It isss not as if you will be telling anyone."

Lil'Loyd growled deep in his chest, and the serpentine prince whimpered behind him.

He took the knife off Luh-Loyd's neck to reach over and push in a decoration on the playroom wall, opening up a secret passageway.

It finally sank in what was about to happen, and with the knife off his neck, Luh-Loyd forced himself to make a move.

Feeling as though he were moving through molasses, Luh-Loyd swung his fist up and slugged the Anacondrai in the eye. Pythor hissed in pain, but kept his grip on the Green Ninja, using the hand holding him up to slam him headfirst into the wall.

The last thing he heard was Lil'Loyd crying out his name before the world went black.


Poisinthia knew she was going to be in huge trouble when she got back to her class, but if she could, she had to see the Green Ninja again. He was just so cool, and once she bit him and he became a Serpentine, he was sure to be very handsome too.

Having seen the Green Ninja and those he was with (Including Charmer IronDragon! So cool!) enter the palace, she snuck around the walls of the outer gate, hoping to find a way to sneak in and see him, or at least catch him as he came out.

Then, a few yards ahead of her, she saw a hidden door slide open. She quickly ducked behind a nearby corner and peered out at the opening.

A secret passage? Wow! That was sure to be the perfect way in!

Then, she was confused to see the young human who had been with the Green Ninja (his little brother, maybe?) step out of it followed by the prince of all people. What were they doing out here, and why did the human look so angry and the prince look so scared?

The answer became chillingly clear, as a big mean-looking Anacondrai appeared out of the door a moment later, carrying the limp body of the Green Ninja in his arms. Poisinthia was horrified to see blood dripping from the Green Ninja's head and a knife being held at his throat.

The mean Anacondri gestured with the knife towards a nearby carriage that seemed to be made of stone. "Get on!" he demanded to the Green Ninja's little brother and the prince. "And no funny busssiness," he added, once again putting the knife at the Green Ninja's throat. "Or elsssse."

The prince looked terrified and the Green Ninja's brother looked furious, but they did as he said and climbed into the back of the carriage. The Anacondrai threw the unconscious Green Ninja in after them and locked the carriage shut, before moving to the front and driving away.

The sight of them leaving spurred Poisinthia into action, and she took off after it as quickly as she could.

But sadly, the carriage was too fast for her short legs to keep up, and she soon lost it in the winding streets of Ouroboros.

With a sob in her throat, Poisinthia raced back in the direction of the palace.

She had to tell the guards! She had to tell Charmer IronDragon! She had to tell the King!

The prince, the Green Ninja, and his little brother had been kidnapped!


A/N Well, in the end it was both options. Lil'Loyd made a friend with SJ and an enemy with another Pythor. And now BOTH Lloyds and SJ are kidnapped, which is really not good, especially since Show Ninjago really needs their Lloyd back. At least now we know who Chen was talking about when he told Clouse to call the guy to do the thing. Pythor's been working as a spy within the Serpentine for him in hopes of somehow taking over with his help, which was bad news for these guys.

Big Thanks to Kay Hau for all her help planning and beta reading this chapter. The joke about Luh-Loyd getting engaged after fighting Chen's men was from her, referencing Posinthia's offer to marry him for her crush.

Next Time: His friends have been attacked, his brother's been hurt, his father's been captured. Needless to say, Zane has lost his cool.

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