"It's… really you," Zane whispered as he stood up from his chair, "Lloyd, it's… it's you."
As soon as Lloyd waved his hand, Zane wrapped Lloyd up in a tight hug, one that was equally bone crushing as it was comforting. Lloyd wrapped his arms around Zane in turn, smiling to him and nodding his head.
"Well, it's not exactly me, but I guess it's close enough," Lloyd pulled back to look Zane over, "It feels like forever since I've seen you."
"I was afraid that I would never see you again," Zane lowered his gaze, "Be it from my own body withstanding the march of time untouched by the ages, or my failure to uphold the promise that we would fight as a team until the end. I had resigned myself to the fact that the last image I have of you, would be when we heard your last words you ever spoke to us."
"Correction, this Lloyd is not from your timeline," Olive cut in, only to stop as Lulloyd gave her a sideways glare, "Apologies, I believe I have disrupted the emotional atmosphere."
"It's quite alright, Olive," Zane smiled to her, "Your mother is currently in her office, would you go get her for us?"
"Right away, father," Olive's eyes flashed as she sent a message to Pixal, at which point she bowed and quickly made her way out of the room.
Said 'room' happened to be towards the top of the tallest of the pillars that made up the Academy. According to Olive, Zane had constructed the Academy so that he could be as close to the students that he taught as he could, which included his housing. The room they were in was a massive living room, Zane having gotten up from a massive recliner. Several couches lined the walls, and above those couches were various pictures framed and organized in rows around the room. A coffee table was soon populated by Zane pouring them tea in a pink apron, one that drew a chuckle from Lloyd for a reason Lulloyd wasn't able to decipher. The recliner that Zane sat by was right next to a fireplace, ironic given that the floors and walls seemed to be made of ice.
When Lloyd had first seen Zane, he'd almost done a double take. Zane did not look a day older than he was before, yet looking at his skin was indeed different. Zane was not the Titanium Ninja; instead, his skin was the same as the day that Lloyd had first seen him. His blonde hair was still buzzed down against his head in the same pattern, his eyes were distinctly human, and there was none of the light blue coloration from the Titanium form. Instead of any ninja gi, he wore a set of light blue robes accented with white and frosted navy blue, with symbols running down in two rows in the front. The robes indeed conveyed the title of Sensei Zane to him.
"I can't believe you have a daughter now, Zane," Lloyd took a long sip of tea, thinking over everything he'd heard and seen up until now, "I didn't realize you wanted to be a parent."
"After we retrieved my prototype from my father's prison," Zane gestured to a picture of him, Pixal and Echo Zane with his rusted exterior standing in front of the lighthouse, "Pixal and I made it our mission to repair him. In doing so, we realized that we wanted to bring life to another being. We built Olive a few years after Harumi was born."
Lloyd felt his glass tremble at that little bit. Lulloyd stepped in, "So, if I can ask, what, uhm, is Olive? She looks human but her arms and her eyes… are kinda, robotic."
"Olive is a fully functioning android, Lulloyd," Zane responded, earning a small grumble from Lulloyd for having been introduced like that, "Olive was heavily injured as a young child during a traffic accident. In order to save her life, Pixal and I managed to transfer her memories and mind into a virtual existence. Her body was beyond saving, so we built her a body in the image of her old one. In order to ensure she developed properly, we were asked to watch over her. We found out she had snuck out from an orphanage shortly after. We officially adopted her one year after we managed to activate her. Since then, she has been our lovely daughter."
The thought of his mind being transferred into an android body was somewhat jarring for Lloyd to think about. In his mind, he supposed if there were any two people in Ninjago that would know how to raise someone in that situation, it would be the one and only Nindroid and his female companion.
"Lloyd?" Speaking of the companion, Pixal called out as she entered the room, laying eyes on him and her pupils shrinking slightly, "I see, you must be a dimensional counterpart."
Olive appeared next to her mother with a smile. Pixal wore robes similar in color to Zane's, but oriented in a style that was more reminiscent of the outfit Lloyd had first encountered her in; the robe hung off of her right shoulder and left the top left side of her body exposed from shoulder to chest. Her hair likewise was no longer drawn upwards into the metallic bun it was previously, but instead had been altered to appear to be a long braid flowing down her back.
"I have been told that you are seeking information," Pixal smiled slightly, "I believe that the two of us can provide what it is you are looking for."
"Yes, I do believe we can," Olive confirmed, "I will leave you all alone so I do not intrude on your discussion, if you need me I will be-"
"Olive, we talked about this," Zane shook his head, "Unless you are asked, you do not need to excuse yourself from the room immediately. Besides, having you here might help convey certain facts and details your mother and I may have partially forgotten."
Olive bowed slightly, making her way over to a chair in the room that appeared to be specifically designed for her. When she sat down, her hair moved aside to reveal there was a port in the back of her neck. A plug extended from the back of the chair, attaching itself to Olive. When Lulloyd looked to it in confusion, Pixal spoke up.
"Unlike Zane and myself, we were unable to recreate a fully self-sustaining heart for Olive. As such, she requires a recharge every thirty days. We are hoping to recreate Zane's heart in order to fix this issue." Pixal explained as she took a seat in a recliner that was near identical to Zane's nearby, "Sadly, we are unable to analyze its composition to its fullest extent."
A silence drifted over the room. With all of the members seated, there seemed to be a hesitation. Zane's expression was still that of joy, but his gaze was focused on Lloyd. Lulloyd was looking over the various pictures along the walls trying to figure out what they were all from, and both Pixal and Olive seemed to be waiting for something to be said to start.
"So," Zane began, "I believe you most likely wish to learn what happened to yourself in this universe."
"Yeah… and, if you can, tell me where Harumi came from too… who her mother is, I mean!" Lloyd quickly corrected himself. Harumi currently was sleeping in Olive's bedroom, slated to wake up in a few hours if Olive's analysis was to be accurate.
"Sadly, they are both related, and I'm afraid neither story has a happy ending," Zane forewarned them, "Firstly, I would like to establish what we have in common. Can you describe how you became a ninja, Lloyd?"
"Oh… uhm, what details do you want to know?" Lloyd quiered.
"The process by which you became a ninja, specifically your relationship to your father," Pixal addressed, "Significant divergence will require us to understand your basis."
Lloyd did his best to explain everything: how he was dropped off at Darkley's School for Bad Boys, how he escaped and then began to use his father's name to try to become evil, unleashed the Serpentine, and then was revealed to be the Green Ninja. Lulloyd seemed particularly interested in the portion where Garmadon helped in the defeat of the Great Devourer, and asked for clarification on whether the Golden Weapons were the Ultimate Ultimate Weapon. After a series of blank stares, he concluded his universe was nowhere near like these anyone else's in the room.
"Your story is identical to ours until the defeat of the Great Devourer," Zane began, "When Garmadon attempted to forge the Megaweapon, he failed, and kept the golden weapons for himself. Garmadon made the Serpentine his personal army and used them to begin to attack the cities in smaller concentrated attacks. Wu believed that Garmadon didn't want to trigger the final battle by directly attacking you."
"Wait, so my father didn't… reform? What about the Dark Island?" Lloyd began, "Chen's Island? Did Morro come back?"
"The Dark Island did not rise until seven years ago. I will assume that Chen was drawing you in to try to steal your elemental powers. Garmadon came with us stating that he wished to get revenge on Chen for what he did during the Serpentine Wars. After Chen turned his army into Anacondrai, Wu sacrificed himself to summon the spirits of the old Anacondrai to drag Chen's Army into the Cursed Realm. It was this event that allowed for Morro to escape."
"Yeah, that sounds like Wu," Lulloyd muttered.
"But wait, without Wu, what happened with Morro?" Lloyd asked quizzically, "In my world, after the Dark Island rose, dad was purified and then he became our Sensei so he could train us. He was the one that read the spellbook and was lost to the Cursed Realm on Chen's Island!"
"Garmadon once more came to our side," Zane nodded solemnly, "He trained Nya to awaken her elemental powers and worked to undermine Morro's plan. He even mobilized the Serpentine to fight alongside us when the Preeminent emerged. However, when Morro was defeated, Garmadon once more decided that he would not fight us. At this point, however, the Serpentine decided that they did not want to follow a leader that changed sides so rapidly."
"I'm guessing that's why there are those snake-guys outside walking around?" Lulloyd asked. Pixal nodded.
"Indeed, after the Preeminent was destroyed, the Serpentine disowned Garmadon as their leader and sued for peace with the Surface," Pixal explained, "After this, the Serpentine established the City of Ouroborus and Caduceus as their new Capitals. In exchange for peace and the pledge that Garmadon would never be recognized under Serpentine Rule again, all crimes against the Serpentine were forgiven."
"How many years ago was all this?" Lloyd asked, "I mean, if this happened right after the Devourer, wouldn't I have been like… twelve when all this happened?"
Zane shook his head, "It was thirty years ago the Serpentine sued for peace. You were indeed twelve at the time. We did not see Garmadon until we were invited to Chen's Island four years later. It was almost one year later that we discovered Morro had escaped the Cursed Realm as well. The Serpentine sued for peace only one week after they helped defeat the invasion."
A little timeline was starting to appear in his head. If what Zane said was true, he'd be roughly around the same age that he was after the Tomorrow's Tea incident when Morro came back. That at least cleared some things up in his head, but there were other things that weren't entirely in his head.
"Okay, now, do you all know who Nadakhan is?" Lloyd asked curiously. Lulloyd perked up.
"Yes," Zane nodded, "He was a Djinn that tried to trap us all within the Sword of souls. Jay got us out and made his final wish that all of Nadakhan's wishes would be undone. This allowed his crew to then wish him permanently back within his own sword. The Sky Pirates currently are exploring the Endless Sea, seeking out new lands. We were much later asked to retrieve Echo from the Lighthouse and, after we repaired him, he decided to join the Pirates to explore the lands."
"In our world it… kinda happened and didn't," Lloyd explained, "Jay made his final wish to undo everything and made it so Nadakhan never even got out. We went looking for his teapot but never found it."
"I see," Zane nodded, "I am not certain which solution was better," Zane turned to Lulloyd, "Do you know of anyone we have mentioned, Lulloyd?"
"My dad has mentioned a Djinn before, uh… but he also like, mentions a lot of things…" Lulloyd coughed, "I uh, I do have a history teacher named Mr. Nadakhan but, uh, he's not a pirate. He has this really cool model ship though! And, uh, well I know that he has a bunch of buddies outside the school. See, one day I was getting back late from ninja stuff and we saw him leaving a bar with a bunch of guys all dressed up and stuff. I think they were apart of some role-playing thing! I tried to listen in but, see I was really high up and my hood was torn so I didn't get all of it…"
Seeing that Zane and Lloyd were looking at him in intrigued curiosity, Lulloyd realized once more that his universe wasn't exactly compatible here, "...Uhm, sorry, I'm just like, trying to parse all these guys in my head. I have a feeling that like, all your guy's enemies and stuff are just teachers and students in my world."
"Indeed," Pixal nodded, "I would like to hear more about your world later, Lulloyd. The parallels to our own indicate that your world is a valid candidate for studying multiverse divergence theory."
"Sure, just hit me up later. Or, well, later as long as the Time Twins don't go and start messing with your place you got here," Lulloyd smiled gently.
"The Time Twins?" Zane turned to Lloyd, "The Time Twins are the reason that you came here?"
"Yeah, they stole most of elemental power and Lulloyd's here too, and we're trying to stop them from taking over another universe," Lloyd frowned gently, "What happened to them here?"
"Currently, Acronix and Krux are in prison," Pixal answered, "They were arrested directly after Acronix emerged from the Time Vortex. Wu left us the information about Acronix, but Garmadon stole it from us before we could get the actual date. It was he that met him that day. We do not know what transpired, only that Acronix and Krux were both jailed that day."
"Did Wu not tell you of them before they came back?" Olive spoke up for the first time since she'd been plugged in, the cable extending so she could sit straight up.
"No," Lloyd shook his head, "Wu tried to take on Acronix himself and failed. They managed to collect each of the Time Blades and then built a massive machine called the Iron Doom to go back in time and defeat Wu and the others in the past. Kai and Nya managed to stop them but it ended up with Wu getting lost to time with the Time Twins. We got Wu back as… uhm, a baby, but we're not sure how the Time Twins managed to get out."
"I see," Zane paused, "This is perhaps something rude of me to say, but it appears that conflict in your world is far more frequent than it has been on our own."
Lloyd and Zane looked at each other, then both began to chuckle. As they shared a laugh, Lulloyd hid his confusion by drinking some of Zane's tea. As soon as he did, he quickly began to down the entire cup. Compared to Master Wu's statement that tea should only have natural flavors -thus oftentimes tasting like just leaves in water- Zane's tea was tasty enough to be addictive.
"Heh… so, where does Harumi fit into all of this?" Lloyd asked as his chuckles died down.
As soon as her name was mentioned, Zane's smile from laughing fell. He looked around the room and gathered his thoughts. His hands gripped the armrests for his seat. Pixal saw this and slowly put his hand overtop his own, looking at him with a reassuring smile. Zane took a deep breath and put his forehead up against Pixal's for a long moment, then turned to Lloyd and let out one last sigh before he spoke.
"Perhaps, it would be easier if we were in another location," Zane stood up, "I would like for you to see more of what he built before you hear what happened to him. It will make the memory less painful for me as well. Will you accompany us as well, Olive?"
"If that is what you wish, Father," Olive stood up, the plug disconnecting, "Charge completion at 33%, battery remaining: 27 days, 21 hours."
"Do, uh, you have to say all that?" Lulloyd asked, then quickly lifted his arms up, "I-I mean, not to be rude, I-I was just asking!"
"No, but informational exchange is generally beneficial for both parties," Olive frowned, "If you do not like it, I will not do so, Lulloyd."
"I… guess I'm stuck with that nickname," Lulloyd sighed, "But, uh, if it's not a problem."
Olive nodded, and both Zane and Pixal smiled at her as she did so. Zane walked over towards the door to the room and slowly opened it, leading into a large hallway. Lloyd gave a look to the room Harumi was resting in, then quickly followed out of the room. Lulloyd and Olive followed, with Pixal taking up the rear.
After the group exited the hallway, they entered into a hallway lined with lockers that reminded Lloyd of the high school that he'd visited once. Zane led them through the halls, showing several classrooms filled with students. As they continued along, Zane was quick to fill the group in.
"This Academy functions as both a school and a research facility for students," Zane explained, "Did Wu ever attempt to open a school for you, Lloyd?"
"Yeah, but I wasn't enrolled in it," Lloyd shook his head, "I was going around Ninjago and doing tours and things after I defeated the Overlord. I didn't have time to. Plus, I wasn't old enough to teach either. I mean… I don't think my friends were either but Wu insisted."
"I built this Academy so that we could teach students whatever they wanted," Zane turned to Pixal, "After I met Pixal, I knew that I no longer wished to fight. My will to fight had vanished. But there are more ways to protect others than fighting on their behalf. After analyzing the state of the education system, I decided that I should rectify this. Cyrus Borg was more than happy to finance the construction and programs in exchange for programs allowing students to study for Borg Industries. The arrangement has led to the technology that produced Olive."
Zane led them through a set of double doors, leading to a massive open gym. The gym was filled with students, all in various groups and with varying levels of equipment. Some were teenagers learning basic fighting stances, others were perhaps university age and sparring with blunt weapons.
"Our training programs are some of the most reputable in the city," Pixal smiled, "After Zane downloaded his fighting abilities into my software, we were able to construct this entire facility with that in mind. We have worked to ensure it maintains a level of prestige."
As the group walked through, students would stop and bow to Zane, who in turn would give small bows back. A child ran up to Olive as she walked by and spoke to her, to which Olive smiled and happily gave them a few words. The room seemed to bristle with energy as they made their way through the throng.
Soon enough, the group passed into another set of double doors, in which the atmosphere quickly shifted to that of a research environment. Massive open labs were on nearly every single side, filled with students working on various projects. Machines of all designs and sizes were created, from robotic arms to what looked like complicated machinations beyond either dimension hoppers. At the end of the hallway of labs, Zane entered an exterior elevator which they all populated. The elevator closed and began to rise, at which point Zane continued.
"Borg's resources have allowed for progress beyond anything that could have ever been achieved on our own," Zane looked towards the building they were rapidly ascending, "And, it was all thanks to what you did, Lloyd. Everything would never have been possible without you."
The elevator began to ascend the ice-styled towers at an angle, the floor rotating to keep them in line with the surface far below. When it finally stopped, the elevator was high enough it was far taller than Borg Tower had ever been. Zane slowly tapped a button to open the door, revealing what looked to be a large meeting room with walls entirely made of glass. When Lloyd and Lulloyd stepped out, it was clear why they were here.
From here, they could see out across nearly the entire city. Even if they were no taller than some of the buildings, they were high enough they could see the sheer distance the development sprawled. They could see the lights that the buildings formed like dots on a canvas, the distance the city had grown, and the sheer volume of cars and people were no more than ants. The sight nearly gave the dragon riders vertigo from the sight.
"This is what Lloyd built," Pixal stepped forward, "...We wished for you to understand this."
"I heard from Harumi…" Lloyd sighed, "That I'm… no longer here. Zane I need you to tell us what happened."
Zane stood looking over the city for a long few moments. Silence filled the room as he seemed fixated on the sights about him. When he turned to them, his eyes were filled with a pure cocktail of emotions Lloyd could never hope to fully sift through. Zane turned his gaze back to the city sights when he began to speak.
"After the Serpentine sued for peace, Garmadon went into hiding," Zane explained, "And began to recruit people to become his new army. The Hands of Garmadon, he called them. The most important of these was Harumi. She became Garmadon's right hand. We didn't even know that this was happening until the Princess disappeared. The entire group of nearly thirty individuals disappeared overnight. Harumi, however, was the first. She joined directly after the Great Devourer killed her parents, and she went to join Garmadon immediately. Harumi became his most trusted hand… her anger at what happened to her parents was turned into her greatest weapon, and we knew her as the Seething One. We did not meet her until almost four years after the Devourer's defeat, during the time in which you were possessed.
"Exhausted after losing both Wu and Garmadon disappearing again, you… Lloyd decided to go into Hiroshi's Labyrinth. According to legend, Hiroshi found his jewel and then stepped inside to find enlightenment. Lloyd said that he would be gone for no longer than one year and left us to defend Ninjago. During this time, Garmadon ordered Harumi to go and kidnap Lloyd and bring him there. We are not sure exactly what happened, but according to Lloyd, he discovered the Jewel was a portal to a pocket dimension that he became trapped inside, and Harumi was trapped with him when she tried to attack him. The two were stuck there for almost two years."
"When Lloyd returned home, he brought Harumi with him. At first, we were shocked the Seething One was in our midst. But… it was then that we discovered that Harumi was pregnant with his child," Zane paused, allowing Lloyd to process what he had just heard.
"...What?" Lloyd shook his head, "You… you're saying that I was stuck in Hiroshi's Labyrinth with Harumi for a year, and I… I… made a baby?"
"Yes, that was our reaction as well," Zane smiled gently for a brief moment, "Lloyd begged us to accept her. She was already several months pregnant by that point, and we agreed to take her in. However, when it came time for Harumi to deliver, something went wrong. She gave birth to Lloyd's daughter, but…"
Zane fell silent. Lloyd didn't need to think long about what Zane was saying. Already, he was imagining it in his eyes. Harumi's face. Her terrified eyes underneath that red paint as she realized that she was going to die. The feeling of horror as he realized what was happening. Watching her as the Oni Titan slammed into it and… and the sight of her falling down into the rubble. He lowered his head softly as all of the guilt over what he'd done came flooding back to him.
Lulloyd immediately could tell that something was wrong. Slowly, he moved over and rotated his arm outwards, taking Lloyd's wrist in his hand. Lloyd looked over to him, seeing the smiling face of Lulloyd looking at him. After taking a moment to collect his breath, Lloyd leaned his head up.
"I… I named Harumi after her mother, didn't I?" Lloyd looked his head away, "That's what, I think I would do, at least."
"You did," Zane confirmed, "You made us all agree to a promise. The promise that Garmadon would never find out about Harumi until she was old enough to start training. We accepted it. You… Lloyd… I apologize," Zane stopped himself, "I admit, it is somewhat difficult to separate my memories of Lloyd from you. Even now, I'm having difficulty reconciling the tow."
"That's fine," Lloyd leaned forward, "Really. I know what it's like to lose someone and… have issues with that." His eyes drifted in the direction of where Harumi was sleeping.
"I believe in this case, I will take over," Pixal patted Zane's arm, then picked up the story, "Lloyd raised Harumi until she was eight. During this time, Lloyd primarily raised her by himself in a remote village. When Harumi turned eight, Lloyd brought her to us to begin her training. She was trained until she turned fifteen."
"If you would like an additional reference," Olive spoke up, "I was activated when Harumi was three."
"She began training as soon as Harumi began to show signs of inheriting the Green Power. When an elemental master conceives a child, over the course of the child's development, the elemental power will begin to pass over into them. Lloyd stated that Harumi began to show signs when she was eight, but she did not fully harness this power until she was twelve. At thirteen, Lloyd began to show a noticeable loss in his own abilities. Lloyd, however, worked to keep Harumi a secret from Garmadon."
"So, how did he find out?" Lulloyd asked.
"Harumi and Lloyd were attacked in making a trip into Ninjago City," Pixal informed them, "And in desperation, Harumi used her Green Power. This would lead to Garmadon learning of this development, and deciding to seek out the Dark Island."
"If Harumi was 15 at this point and, you said the Dark Island rose 7 years ago… and, this was ten years ago, right?" Lloyd asked, "That means Harumi is… twenty-two?"
"Yes," Pixal affirmed, "Due to having the Green Power, Harumi was taken to the Dark Island with the rest of the ninja. I was with them at the time. Several of her fellow elemental masters came as well. When the Temple of Light was activated, the bell did not work until Harumi was the one to strike it. This revelation that the Golden Power was inside of Harumi meant that she was the one that would have to defeat the Dark Lord. Lloyd refused to accept this."
"Garmadon used Dark Matter to create the Garmatron," Zane cut in, "And we followed it. But, when we arrived at the beach, it had already been fired. Lloyd said that he could get Garmadon to snap out of his plans. That… that was when the Overlord possessed him."
There was clear hurt in Zane's voice. Despite this, Pixal did not make another attempt to speak up. Lulloyd looked somewhat confused, but was still rapt with attention. Lloyd stayed silent until Zane mustered up the ability to speak again.
"The… Overlord attacked Lloyd. By this point, most of Lloyd's power had been siphoned into Harumi. Harumi tried to help, but… but Lloyd said no… that was when the Overlord pushed forward with his attack… Lloyd was unable to hold it at bay and… and the attack, it pierced him."
Lloyd suddenly recalled what he had seen. Harumi was wearing the Elemental Robes. It had a hole directly in the middle of it. There was something sewed around the outside of it. The little stitched-in snake wasn't just decorative. Did that mean Harumi was wearing his ninja uniform?
"Lloyd died in front of all of us…" Zane clenched his fist, "There… there wasn't anything we could do. The Overlord escaped through a portal and nearly took over Ninjago. Harumi was filled with anger. She channeled that anger into flying her elemental dragon all the way to Ninjago. When we arrived in Ninjago, Harumi was battling the Overlord. Harumi… said that she didn't have enough power, and so Garmadon's spirit allowed her to harness his energy, to fuel herself enough to deal the final blow. According to her…"
"After my dad died," Harumi's voice came from behind Lloyd, "I used my grandfather's spirit to harness the power of the Golden Weapons and my Golden Power to destroy the Overlord."
The group turned to see Harumi standing in the entryway of the elevator. Her right hand was sitting right on top of the hole in her outfit. She smiled as she looked down to hide her eyes away from them all.
"You know…this outfit was always mine. I got it when I struck the bell. When I learned I had to go and defeat my grandfather, I got scared I said I didn't want to. Dad, he said I didn't have to, and he took these robes and put them on for me. He said, as long as he was wearing these, he would protect me, and would do whatever needed to be done to keep me safe. If I hadn't let him go in my place then… then maybe he'd still be here…" Harumi shed a small tear, "And maybe… maybe grandpa would be here too…"
"Harumi," Olive stood up, unplugging from the chair and walking over to grip Harumi's shoulders, "Are you alright? Do you have any tiredness? Aches? Headache?"
"No, I'm fine, I'm fine, thanks," Harumi smiled at Olive and looked over to Lloyd. The two stared at each other for a long moment, "I… I think I'm okay now."
"How much of all this did you hear?" Lloyd asked nervously.
"Just the last part," Harumi looked down, "The book signing you were at today, that book is all about my dad. If you wanna read more about what happened it's all in there."
Lloyd wanted to say something to comfort her. But after hearing all of this, he felt a lump in this throat. Just looking at Harumi was raising a massive amount of confused questions Staying silent, however, didn't feel like the right move. So he awkwardly began to speak up.
"I'll read it later. Right now I… can't believe that, that all happened," Lloyd looked down, "I'm, not even sure what to say."
From the look on Harumi's face, he knew that was the wrong thing to say. She looked away from him at the same time that he did from her. Lloyd had seen the hole inside of the uniform once more, and already he was imagining himself dying in her arms. The only feeling he had to compare to this was when he had banished his father.
Harumi tried to speak up, but the trembling in her voice betrayed the emotions welling up inside of her. Olive, recognizing this, wordlessly pulled Harumi into a long hug. Without hesitation, Harumi wrapped her arms around Olive, hugging her gently. She looked around the small room and walked to stand beside them, looking over the city.
"So… what do you guys all do now?" Lulloyd asked curiously, "Like, uh, Kai, Jay, all of them?"
The question gave Zane enough of a push in order to break the silence again, "Did you happen to see all of the movie advertisements on the way over?"
"Yeah, Dareth said that Jay hit it big with those movies," Lulloyd blinked, "I gotta remember to get the next issues…"
"Yes, Jay fully began to pursue his movie career after Harumi was born," Zane grimaced, "He wasn't successful until he worked on the Starfarer spinoff. He's currently working on the movie shoot for the next movie. They are going ahead with making the next movie already."
"Did Jay and Nya finally, you know, get together?" Lloyd asked curiously. Zane's grimace turned into a wide grin.
"Yes, he proposed to her in the middle of the filming for the third movie. There was a rather large upset on set because of this," Zane looked like he was holding back laughter, "From what we gathered, the scene involved a costly practical explosion. His proposing messed up the scene and cost them nearly ten thousand dollars in wasted explosives."
"That… sounds like Jay," Lloyd sighed, "He has the best timing until it comes for the important things, doesn't he?"
"Indeed," Zane sighed, "Tell me, in your world, have Kai and Skylar gotten together?"
"Skylar?" Lloyd paused, "Well, she's running all the noodle shops right now. Kai offered to let her join the team before but otherwise she's doing that. Well, I mean right now she's in the hospital but she'll be fine. Did they get together?"
"Kai and Skylar have one daughter," Pixal explained, "Jay and Nya have twins, one son and one daughter. Cole currently is the only one that does not currently have any children."
"Wait, really?" Lloyd paused, "But, I thought Cole… didn't he… wait but there was that one girl… no wait that wasn't it…" He blinked, "You know, I don't think I've seen Cole show any interest in a girl before."
"Cole has shown interest before," Zane mentioned, "But not to any girl we've seen."
Lulloyd was trying to parse the idea of his friends having any romantic interests. He knew that Jay had a crush on Nya -in fact the only person that didn't seem to know that was Nya herself- but the amount of time that they'd spent training meant that finding times for romantic relationships were somewhat limited. His mom had joked that she would totally support him if he brought someone home, but that'd only made him feel embarrassed enough to hide in his room. Nya was far too driven on becoming the next Lady Iron Dragon to consider getting into anything. Kai… he was a bit too full of himself to notice if someone liked him. Nobody on his team understood Zane and his habits. Cole was just, Cole.
Then again, Lulloyd suddenly had a recollection. That one Harumi girl had asked him out once before, but that had been in the hope that she would take him to his father. They'd broken up as soon as he said he couldn't do that. Given that apparently in this world and Lloyd's own Harumi was someone far more important, he didn't mention this to them.
"I think we can determine that our worlds are pretty different," Harumi's words snapped Lulloyd from his thoughts, "And that apparently, something happened to my mother in your world."
"Uhm…" The sudden question made Lloyd unable to answer.
"Your reaction when you heard my name," Harumi went on, "And since you guys are clearly from a different version of the past, something must have happened with my mother. I'm going to guess that she passed away as well."
The bluntness of Harumi's question stunned Lloyd even further. He looked down towards the floor, the memories again flashing before his eyes. His fists tightened as he once more saw her face. The terrified face of a woman knowing that she was about to die. Knowing that he had caused it. The pained look crossing his eyes was enough to get Olive to react.
"Emotional instability detected," Olive took Harumi's hand, "Harumi, perhaps we should call Dareth. I promised him that I would contact him as soon as you were well."
"Yeah… yeah, let's do that," Harumi gave Lloyd another look, then she walked towards the elevator Olive left the room with her.
"Please forgive her," Zane frowned, "Harumi took the death of Lloyd the worst out of all of us. It was almost three weeks before we were able to even see her again. Had Dareth not gotten through to her, I don't believe she'd be even well enough to talk to us. I'm certain the shock of seeing you has triggered her memories again."
"It's… it's fine," Lloyd perked up slowly, "It's not her fault. In my world, Harumi helped resurrect my father. My father then created a massive Titan the size of Borg Tower to rampage through the city. I had a plan to take control of it. During that plan, we lost control of it, and Harumi was on the building that it hit."
"From your reaction, I can guess this event was recent for you," Pixal assessed, "We do not need to speak of it further. We only ask that you understand any anger Harumi has towards you is anger she has at herself for what happened."
"I understand," Lloyd forced another smile onto his face, "So, can I ask a question about you two?"
"About us?" Zane put his hand over Pixal's again, "What about us?"
"In my world, when I defeated the Overlord, Borg built his tower on top of the site and it caused the Overlord to infect the computer, which led to him creating a body for himself he called the Golden Master. That's how you two met. So, if there was no Golden Master, how did you two meet?" Lloyd gestured to Zane.
"When designing the newest wave of androids, Cyrus Borg asked me to aide in his research," Zane turned to Pixal, "I had begun to formulate my plan to construct an Academy, and he offered to help fund the project in exchange for letting him study my body to determine the optimal design. Pixal was a prototype that he had as his personal assistant. We were assigned to work together in order to run diagnostic tests. Pixal and I were quick to find out how compatible we truly were, and eventually, Borg asked if she wished to work at my Academy. Since then, we've been together."
"Zane understood more about me than I did myself," Pixal happily smiled to him, "I am glad to have been able to explore every facet of my programming with him by my side."
"It's really neat that you have a whole Academy," Lulloyd gestured to the walls, "So, what do you teach here specifically?"
"We offer several courses," Pixal smiled proudly, "But there are two major paths students take. One is that of an academic major, in which we offer all fields. The other is a combat major. We wish to make certain that when Ninjago is threatened once more, that enough citizens know how to defend themselves."
"Specifically," Zane added, "We have adopted many of Sensei Wu's teachings into our curriculum. We train students in basic ninja forms, combat, and in Rhotatae."
"Wait, Rotate-ay?" Lulloyd asked in confusion, "Uh… what's that?"
"You don't have that in your world?" Pixal asked in shock. The two ninja looked to each other and then shook their heads.
"No," Lloyd shook his head, "Never heard of it. Is that what the statue in the park guy was doing?"
"Yes," Zane paused, "When Sensei Wu first recruited Kai, what was it that he taught him?"
"Spinjizu," Lloyd stood up and put his hands together, "NINJA-GO!" His body spun about as his green tornado surrounded him, whirling about and whipping around him. His limbs moved in the motions that the training course had trained him to do so many times, and when he finished he was on all fours with his right hand up in the air.
Pixal's eyes were already scanning it while her lips were open in awe. Zane was similarly intrigued by it. Lulloyd, having seen it in action already, was impressed enough to see it up close to smile at it. After a moment, Zane stood up and helped pull Lloyd up off the floor.
"I have to say, I'm impressed," Zane looked to his hands, "It appears that both Spinjizu and Rhotatae share the basic principle of spinning. I believe that our powers are analogous to each other. Allow me to demonstrate myself."
Zane closed his eyes and put his hands up, opening them so that the arcs they formed would create a circle if fully connected. Then, a small dot of white formed in the center of it. The dot rapidly expanded until it was indeed a massive circular disc, taking up the space that his hands allowed. He moved his hands closer together, shrinking the diameter of it. He then moved his hands outwards, showing that it could grow larger as well. The disc began to shine silver the larger it grew.
Then, Zane thrust one hand forward and another hand backwards. The disc shot out from his hands, flying towards the wall. The disc, however, suddenly changed its entire direction once it was about to strike it, flying back towards them. It circled around Zane and Lloyd rapidly, its arc perfects and circular.. The disc, after about ten seconds of spinning, began to start to shrink in its size. It flew up in the air and suddenly stopped as though its momentum was gone. It directly into Zane's hand, where her brought his hand together into a fist and caused the disc to dissipate.
"Rhotatae draws upon the user's energy to create a disc that can be fully controlled," Zane explained, "The larger the disc, the larger the energy. If an elemental user creates a disc, they can choose to imbed that disc with their power. The user can fully control the disc in the air and give it any speed or direction needed. It will, however, dissipate faster the more control over it you exert. A user can control as many discs in the air as they wish, as long as they have the energy to maintain them."
Lulloyd and Lloyd both stared at the trail the disc had left as it faded, then looked to each other. Lloyd had a look of awe, while Lulloyd was looking to the walls around him. Pixal caught this look.
"If two universes have different systems of power," Pixal quiered, "Do you have something specific to your world, Lulloyd?"
"Oh, uh…" Lulloyd shook his head, "Well I mean, I do, but I can't do it here. It's called Master Building. My world is made up of bricks, and I can, uhm, well take those bricks apart and then rebuild them really fast into whatever I need. But, well this place isn't made up of bricks."
"Have you tried it yet?" Pixal asked, "It could be possible. Despite Spinjitzu not existing in this world, Lloyd was able to do so. Try it with the room."
Lulloyd wanted to tell Pixal he couldn't see the numbers that would normally let him do this, but he didn't want to shut her down without trying. The world already felt weird to him, he could at least give it to himself to try. So he looked around and took stock of what he had to work with.
The room was mainly empty aside from tables with a few books and a small fireplace -oddly enough- on the wall. The latter seemed a good place to start.
Launching off from his position, Lulloyd quickly tried to pry the stones out of the fireplace. For a long few moments, he struggled but got nowhere. He shook his hands out and took a book, a handle from the fireplace tools, and the lightbulb from the ceiling above. When he tried to put them together, nothing happened. He sighed and set them all back where they came from.
"It was a decent attempt," Pixal affirmed, "I'm certain there is a way."
"Yeah, but I don't know what it is... " Lulloyd sighed, "But, Rhotatae seems pretty cool."
"It is a skill anyone can learn," Zane nodded his head, "Some take longer than others, but all can learn it. Perhaps with enough training, we could find a way to teach you two?"
Before the two could respond, Harumi and Olive burst back into the room. Harumi was panting, while Olive was rapidly pressing the side of her head with her hand. Olive helped Harumi to sit up, at which point she rapidly explained.
"An attack is currently underway at the Monastery of Rhotatae," Olive reported, "Krux and Acronix are confirmed to be behind the attack. However, both are also reported as having not left their cells. They have made demands that Lloyd surrender to them. Unable to dechiper their vehicles. Master of Metal and Master of Speed are on scene. Coordinating remainder of Elemental Alliance."
"That's them!" Lloyd turned to Harumi, "Harumi, this is what I was telling you about! Krux and Acronix are going to try to take over your world! We have to stop them."
"Already on it," Harumi nodded to Olive, "Olive has contacted the rest of the Elemental Alliance. They'll be on their way soon. We should get going, we can take the transports to the edge of the city and I'll fly my dragon the rest of the way."
"We need to go with you," Lulloyd tapped his back, "This brick, it's a dragon. We'll go with you and make sure that we take care of them for good this time!"
"No," Harumi stated firmly, "I need to handle this. They're just some renegades. We've dealt with them before and we can do it now."
"Harumi," Pixal spoke up, "We have confirmed these two are not from our dimension. It stands to reason that neither of them are as well. You may need their help if they have powers from a dimension that we do not know fully of yet. They may be in possession of the Chrono Blades."
"We call them the Time Blades," Lloyd nodded, "The only reason they can't travel in time is because I stole one from them. They have an army!"
"Army?" Pixal received the uplink of data from Olive, "There appears to only be one machine."
"They can summon snakes from that thing," Lulloyd pointed out, "And those snakes can make a big army. They nearly took over my city with them."
Harumi looked to Lloyd once more, unsure of what to say. She looked to both of the two for a long while. Then she turned around and gave a small groan as she realized she had no choice
"Fine, but when we're there, don't tell anyone who you two are," Harumi muttered, "Lloyd Garmadon died seven years ago. Got it?"
"Understood," Lloyd nodded. Lulloyd slowly nodded.
"We will refer to you as L for the time being," Olive directed to Lloyd, "We will refer to you as Lulloyd, however. The name is distinct enough not to raise too much suspicion."
Lulloyd grumbled as he realized that name wasn't going to go away. Harumi swiftly turned around and pulled up her ninja hood, the little golden triangular plate on top shining bright as she raced her way out of the room. Olive bowed to her father.
"Olive!" Zane quickly stopped her before she could leave, "Stay safe. If anything happens where you believe you could get hurt, come back home immediately."
"I understand, father," Olive nodded, then nodded to Pixal as well. She then was already racing her way out towards her friend.
"Lloyd," Zane added, "Keep Harumi safe. I will gather the rest of the ninja and meet you there once I have. Please, do not let anything happen to her."
"I won't!" Lloyd promised. Lulloyd was already gone, his legs moving back and forth to carry him in Harumi's direction. Lloyd turned and quickly followed. The four raced their way to the elevator, ready to chase after the Iron Doom and bring it down once and for all.