"So, uh… any ideas on how we're going to get that sword?" Lulloyd yawned out.
The three sat within a cheap motel room in a small town southeast of Ninjago City. The room wasn't in the best shape, and they had all made certain to draw the comforter away from the bed. Lloyd and Lulloyd had taken one bed, while Harumi had grabbed the other. The faint clicking of the air conditioning unit on the wall had threatened to keep them up that night, but thankfully they had all been too exhausted to let that stop them.
"Uh… we get into Cloud Kingdom, get the sword, and then give it to Monty!" Lloyd stretched his back out, "I mean, it's not like we don't know how to get there."
"Last time I checked, the only way we know of to get there is either through the Realm Crystal, or the Blind Man's Eye," Harumi spoke up from behind the door to the bathroom, shower running.
"Can, uh, someone fill me in on this Cloud Kingdom place?" Lulloyd paused, "Is, it kinda like, a world that's parallel to yours? Cause that I know about."
"That's a good way to look at it," Lloyd affirmed, "Ninjago is one of Sixteen Realms. Cloud Kingdom is one of those realms. The Realm Crystal we've been using to travel, it's sorta like a doorway into each of the realms. The guys in Cloud Kingdom were the ones that wrote destiny. They wrote down everything in scrolls for people, and then that destiny would eventually come true. After Morro defied destiny, though, they decided that it wasn't worth interfering with destiny anymore and stopped."
"And, Morro is the Green Ninja here, so, like, that's different then?" Lulloyd paused, "Can, we just use our Realm Crystal to, you know, get in there?"
"I don't think it works like that," Lloyd frowned, "I mean… I'm not even sure how we're actually using it to jump universes. It's linked to my world, I doubt it'd actually work like, in this world, you know?"
"It wouldn't," Harumi's voice came from the bathroom, "Your crystal would be attuned to your dimensional frequency. This place has a completely different one. You wouldn't be able to get that one to work without somehow changing the frequency."
"We already guessed basically that, Harumi," Lloyd called back, "You can just shower, you know! We'll handle this!"
"Fine," Harumi's voice drifted away. She continued along with her shower, while the two of them continued to plan while awaiting for the chance to leave.
After the number of times their green clothes had come up, Harumi had found the best deal for normal street clothes they could use with the money Monty gave them. Monty had slipped in a fair bit extra, which seemed to be a fraction of the payment for their job -as Lloyd theorized. With that, they'd hit up the cheapest clothing store they could and gotten casual outfits to wear over their gi.
Lloyd had gotten himself a green t-shirt with a button up gray shirt left unbuttoned overtop of it, along with a pair of casual jeans. Lulloyd had snagged a simple long sleeve blue shirt and then layered a deep green sweatshirt overtop of that, pulling the strings and leaving the hood dangling over his shoulders, then gotten a pair of black jeans to slide on. From the way that he wore them, it seemed he was relatively comfortable in that attire, and it was baggy enough his 'strange' physique wasn't an immediate issue anymore. Harumi was currently changing into a somewhat baggy long sleeved light blue shirt and black leggings. They had each picked their outfits to allow for them to wear their gi underneath in case it was needed.
"What about the Eye?" Lulloyd continued, "Can we maybe get in that way?"
Lloyd sat back down and put his hands to his chin, "Well… that's kinda a problem in it of itself. The Eye is this massive vortex that only gets close enough to fly into at the top of the Wailing Alps. We had to use Airjitzu to get into it, and, well, I don't think you guys know Airjitzu..." He paused, "Half the time I don't even think I do anymore."
"Do you know when the Eye will get close enough?" Lulloyd continued.
"Nya was the one that calculated that. The weather around the Alps gets so bad it's hard to fly dragons through it. Even if we make it to the mountains on time, it took the others almost six hours to get to the top, and those were on mechs. And even then if we make it there by some miracle on time, we'd have to get inside the Eye."
"Uh… then the Realm Crystal!" Lulloyd smirked, "I mean, for this world. Isn't it in that vault?" Lulloyd beamed, until the seconds that dragged on made him mutter, "…Oh."
"After yesterday, Morro and the ninja are probably are guarding that thing heavily," Lloyd grimaced, "We couldn't get in there even if we wanted to."
"So, we can't do this?" Lulloyd asked slowly. Lloyd looked away.
"It might be possible," The bathroom door opened to reveal a casually dressed Harumi with her hair drawn back into a braid and her face slightly wet from the moisture in the room, "Either of you need the shower?"
"We showered last night," Lloyd shook his head, "We're good. And, what do you mean?"
Harumi pointed to the mechdragon brick that Lulloyd had placed by the bed, "That might be the way we get there fast enough."
"My dragon?" Lulloyd asked curiously, "I mean, it's, fast, but I don't know if it's that fast as Lloyd says is needs to be…"
"Which is why we're going to use your weird Master Building skills to make it faster and strong enough to get us into the Eye," Harumi smirked, "Come on, we need to get to Ed and Edna's junkyard."
"You know about the junkyard?" Lloyd asked. Harumi just lifted her hand up to show her watch.
"Yep," Harumi hit her watch, causing it to bring up a mini map, "Last night on the ferry, I downloaded everything I could from a phone. It finally completed my map of this place. The only junkyard that I can see that won't make us pay for the parts would be that one. It's on the way to the Alps too."
"So, we're going to use junk, to make my dragon fast and strong enough to get us into Cloud Kingdom?" Lulloyd pieced together her plan. Harumi nodded, making Lulloyd rub his chin.
"First, we need to see if we can get into the Blind Man's Eye. I'm sure that information isn't publicly available… but maybe something that's not fully public has that for us..." Lloyd turned to Harumi, "Harumi, can your watch get into the network around here?"
"Probably?" Harumi tapped her watch with a raised eyebrow, "What sort of network?"
"Cyrus Borg set up all these informational kiosks around Ninjago, they're like interactive maps that can tell you a bunch of information you need to know," Lloyd paused, "If we could find one, think you could get into it?"
"If I had a direct link like that, yeah, obviously," Harumi stated plainly, "Where would they be?"
"Ninjago City, it'll be on the way," Lloyd turned, "Let's get going."
Harumi's suggestion to buy casual wear had appeared to work out rather well for the group, as despite the fact that Lulloyd was moving in ways that the average citizen couldn't, the clothes made them fit right in. Harumi's coldness towards Lloyd had seemingly faded the second she entered Ninjago City a few hours later and gasped once the group got down from the bus.
The first thing that Lloyd noted was the fact that everywhere that he looked, people had their 'chi' manifested. One man in a business suit chatted on a phone while what looked like a dog-sized stag beetle walked beside him. A woman in a red dress with a lopsided reporter's badge had a crocodile following after her in what looked like some sort of gold armor with a blue orb placed in the center of its back. A young girl with pigtails laughed as she chased after a massive raven. Nearly every person walking had some sort of spirit-energy animal around them in some way.
"Uh… is this normal in your world?" Lulloyd asked curiously. Lloyd slowly shook his head.
"No, not, really. I mean, some people have pets but, nothing like this!" Lloyd turned his head to see what looked like a flying electric eel coming right at his head. He winced and braced for impact, yet the creature flew right through his head.
"I'm so sorry about that!" A woman ran up, another eel flying around her head as she put a hand firmly on a young boy's shoulder, "He's still learning how to manifest! Come on, Tommy, you can't let it get away from you like that."
"Sorry, sir!" Tommy smiled at Lloyd, saw his eel starting to worm away from him, and gasped to go after it. The woman smiled apologetically at Lloyd before racing after her son.
Lloyd looked around again to take in the sights of everything. Already, he could see that Ninjago City had far more green spaces than he was used to. Buildings he had previously seen were gone, and instead replaced with large open parks and spaces. The roads were narrower, and there were far more people walking around with their Chi animals than in his own version of the city.
"Guys!" Harumi called out, "I can finally see this place now that Ronin isn't here! Oh my gosh, your cars still have wheels!" Harumi pointed towards the deadlocked traffic, "And, all these bridges! These are actual roads! I just, wow!"
"Uh… yep, these are what the average person uses here!" Lloyd nodded, "A few years ago it kinda looked like your home."
"Wait, really? What happened?" Harumi asked curiously, bouncing her way up over towards a wall plastered with advertisements for everything from an opera house to several rather restaurants, and one poster for an underground fighting ring called the Slithering Pit.
"Borg built his tower right on top of where I destroyed the Overlord, and the Overlord infected the machines and, well, used them to become the Golden Master," Lloyd felt a cold chill going up his spine, "That's, kinda how I lost my Golden Power, and all…"
"...Oh, right, you mentioned that," Harumi looked up from a poster for a tennis club, '...Right, you didn't actually fully destroy his spirit," Harumi frowned, "I sealed all my power along with him in the Golden Weapons. Never had to worry about him coming back."
Lloyd fell silent as Harumi put the poster back, her mood having seemingly gone straight down. Lloyd looked towards a poster advertising strengthening the bond between 'You and Your Companion!' Before Lloyd could try to figure out something he could actually say to get her to look back up, Lulloyd spoke up.
"Hey, isn't that the Mojo Dojo?" Lulloyd pointed towards a hand-made poster stuck in a patch of grass across the road with the telltale symbol and a massive red arrow pointing east.
"Dareth is here?!" Harumi turned towards Lloyd and Lulloyd, "We have to go see him!"
"Harumi, we're here to get you into Borg's network so we can get information on the Eye!" Lloyd shook his head, "We don't have time to make a stop like tha-"
"This is already a diversion from getting Lulloyd's dragon ready!" Harumi frowned, "Come on, we're going to see Uncle Dareth! I want to see what his Chi-thingy is in this world! Come on!"
Harumi took off down the road, using her small body to weave through the crowd. Lloyd sighed and quickly raced after her, finding that she was just as fast as he was. Lulloyd, having stood still to admire a massive skyscraper, was shocked to suddenly see his allies running off and quickly gave pursuit.
Ninjago City, at least as far as Lloyd looked at it, seemed to be relatively the same. The people there still walked around casually as though their city wasn't always in constant danger and peril, and several of the buildings appeared the same. Borg Tower was still in the distance, which made Lloyd wonder if this world knew of the Golden Master or not. The city was the same, but the way the people all seemed to have their chi out and about made it feel slightly uneasying.
Harumi slid between two kids, both wearing t-shirts of the ninja. Lloyd couldn't help but have his eyes drawn to the fact that the shirts were that of Morro instead of his own face, and unlike Lloyd's somewhat camera-shy smile, Morro was giving a determined smirk in the image depicted on the shirt. Lloyd gave a quick apology as he ducked between the two. The kids, annoyed, saw Lulloyd running as well and intentionally didn't move, causing Lulloyd to stumble and fall to the ground. In doing so, the Mechdragon brick on his back fell from his shoulders.
"H-Hey!" Lulloyd turned around, "What was that about!?"
The two kids shrugged, then looked to the brick that Lulloyd had dropped. The elder kid, the one in the Morro t-shirt with orange hair, grabbed the brick, giggled, and ran. The other kid quickly gave chase after his friend, summoning a small lion that knocked over a few bikes on a nearby rack to cover their tracks.
"H-Hey! Give that back, Chad! I-I mean, kids!" Lulloyd shouted, quickly getting up to his feet. He gave the disappearing Lloyd and Harumi a quick glance before he took off after the two children.
Lulloyd saw the two children crossing at a crosswalk and fleeing as the sign turned red for pedestrians to stop. Thinking fast, Lulloyd saw a massive streetlight and a banner on a nearby building. He took in a breath, then rushed forward and grabbed the banner and streetlight, striking the two to turn them into bricks. The string on the banner became a rubber band, which he pulled back to the top of the pole. A simple kick of his foot released the tension of the string, sending him flying over the road. A few seconds later, the pieces reverted to their original parts, the banner drifting down to the sidewalk.
Having seen this out of the corner of his eye, Lloyd paused in stride for a moment to decide who he wanted to go after. Given that Lulloyd had heard they were going to Dareth's place, and that he was already going after Harumi, he made the choice to follow her. He quickly shot after her again, jumping up onto the side of a building to run along the wall to get around large portions of the crowd, much to some citizen's shock.
"Hey!" A man called out, "What chi was that?!" He looked down towards a large eagle perched on his shoulder and sighed, "Why can't you help me do that?" Said eagle stared at him, then vanished, much to the man's shock.
"Harumi!" Lloyd shouted as he landed on the ground, darting forward expecting her to still be running. Instead, he felt something strike him in the gut. He stopped as a light yellow disc vanished from his torso, revealing Harumi looking forward in curiosity.
In front of the group stood the Mojo Dojo, yet unlike what either of them had seen before. Rather than being a simple small side shop like previously, the Mojo Dojo was now a large brown building that stood completely on its own. Large windows showed adverts for 'Train YOUR Chi today!' and 'I Dare-th you to join today!' The building looked far nicer, well kept and… newer.
"This… is the Mojo Dojo?" Harumi spoke slowly. Then she gasped, "Dareth has his own building for his Dojo now?! It took him years to get that back home! Come on, we gotta talk to him, Lloyd!"
"Uhm… yeah, we do!" Lloyd got over the confusion at the sudden change in setting, and quickly made his way into the building. As soon as they did, a loud greeting rang out.
"WELCOME! To my Mojo…. DOJO!" Dareth's distinct telltale voice came up from above them, "I am DARETH! And I dare-th you, to join my Dojo!"
Dareth stood atop a small series of stairs that went up to a small office he quickly made his way down. His brown robes, rather than being modeled after the ninja's suits, appeared instead to be a series of loose fitting robes that were tied to his body at the ankles, wrists, waist and shoulders. The brown robes flowed slightly as he made his way down towards them, and once he did, he threw back his unchanged perm with a grin.
"Hey, Dareth…" Lloyd blinked and looked around, "This… is your Mojo Dojo?"
"Why, yes it is, young one!" Dareth threw his arms out, "This is my space, where I train the minds and bodies of those to learn how to properly utilize their chi to its True Potential! If you are interested in signing up, please, make your decision soon! I, uh, have a class in like a minute, and the paperwork is kinda long and boring."
"You teach chi?" Harumi gasped, "Oh! Oh! Show us your chi, Dareth!"
"Sure thing, excitable girl! Watch and be amazed as I show off… the BROWN CHI!" Dareth pointed his arm up to the sky.
From around his fist, a brown aura formed. The two watched as the aura leapt from his arm and began to form a massive cloud in front of him. Said cloud rapidly spun around Dareth's body, before it collapsed together onto his fist and vanished.
Harumi blinked, "So uh… what is it?"
"What is what?" Dareth shook his hand, "It's my Brown Chi! The one and only!"
"But… what animal is it?" Lloyd asked. He quickly sidestepped a few children walking past him towards a room in the back.
"Oh… still figuring that part out!" Dareth chuckled awkwardly, "Once I figure it out, I'll be sure to let all my students know!"
"...Right, well," Lloyd looked to Harumi, "We're waiting on a friend, so, do you think we could wait here for them?"
"Sure thing, the waiting room is in the back!" Dareth pointed to the door the kids had gone into, "It's filling up, so I'd get your seats fast."
"Thank you!" Harumi smiled widely, "Come on, Lloyd, let's go!"
"But, you were the one who wanted t-" Lloyd was cut off by Harumi's insistent tugging.
Using her other hand, Harumi waved to Dareth and pulled Lloyd into the waiting room. Once they were inside, Lloyd quickly counted perhaps twenty chairs. Almost all of them were filled by children of various ages, but none looking older than perhaps twelve. Each of them wore similar robes to what Dareth had on, and a few of them were playing with their chi animals as they waited.
Lloyd took a seat at the end of the row of chairs,with Haumi sitting beside him. A twinge of annoyance went through him. Lulloyd was still chasing down those kids most likely, and then he'd have to get directions to Dareth's place. It was all one massive waste of time! He looked ot Harumi with a long frown.
"It's a Shark, by the way," A girl across from Lloyd spoke up.
"Huh?" Lloyd asked as he turned to her, "What do you mean?"
"Master Dareth's Brown Chi!" The girl smiled, "We've all decided that it's a Shark!"
"Have you ever seen it manifest?" Harumi asked curiously.
"Nah, he's so powerful, he's still learning how to control it!" A boy beside Harumi spoke up, "He got me to manifest my lizard chi in only two days!"
"We all want to be as powerful as Master Dareth one day!" The girl attested, "He's amazing!"
As soon as she said that, Dareth opened the door to the room. He looked around and then smiled widely, "Alright, class, shall we get to our daily warm ups?"
"Yes sir, Master Dareth!" The entire group of children called out, quickly racing up onto their feet. The group pooled through the door after Dareth, leaving Lloyd and Harumi sitting there.
"Is, what she said true?" Harumi asked curiously, "Is your Dareth powerful?"
"What? No!" Lloyd shook his head, "That's… I mean it's Dareth! He… he couldn't be that powerful without us knowing. He couldn't be. No… no. He's just, a great teacher! And… if he has a power it's, he has the biggest luck stat of everyone?"
"Luck stat?" Harumi raised an eyebrow. Lloyd turned his head away, realizing that she likely wasn't an avid player of some of those games. He suddenly remembered and hoped Jay wouldn't continue the campaign without him.
It was a few minutes in silence that it took before the doors to the waiting area opened up, and through it came a Lulloyd that was panting and clutching his mech dragon brick. Behind him, several of the kids in Dareth's class were pointing at the way his legs were moving, causing Lulloyd to grimace and wave at them.
"Sorry, sorry, Dareth, didn't mean to interrupt your class…" Lulloyd panted towards him. Dareth waved his hand and chuckled.
"No worries, your friends came to find you a bit ago, so it's all good!" Dareth looked him up and down, "I can recommend you a good chiropractor if you need it."
"Chiro..? Oh! Oh, no! But uh, thank you, Dareth!" Lulloyd waved his hand and turned towards the two with an exasperated expression. Harumi just shrugged and Lloyd gave a grimace back.
"What took you so long?" Harumi asked, cocking her head.
"Oh, uh, two ki-theives stole my dragon, and I had to get it back!" Lulloyd sighed, "This, Ninjago City isn't like my old one. I kept expecting for us to, you know, go down and find a bunch of older buildings and stuff. They just kept running between buildings!"
"That is kinda how fighting in a city works," Lloyd stood up and nodded for Harumi to do the same, "At least you got it back."
"Yeah, heh, guess I did…" Lulloyd slowly strapped the brick to his back again, "Kinda would be in, a lot of trouble if I didn't. Since, you know, this entire plan revolves around this."
Lloyd shook his head, "We'd find a way if we had to. Let's, just go ahead and get what you need Harumi, and get out of here…"
"I had a thought about that…" Harumi paused and walked over towards the door. She knocked once, twice, then three times, "Hey, Dareth! I think I have something neat to show your students!"
Dareth, who currently had the students pairing up and forming their Chi animals and posing at one another, smiled and waved his hand, "Ah, yes! A fellow tutor! Come, come!"
Lloyd and Lulloyed looked to one another in confusion, especially as Harumi made her way over casually towards where Dareth stood. Each of the students blinked at her in confusion as she stood beside Dareth. Everyone's chi animals floated or crawled upon their owners, looking towards Harumi with just as much anticipation.
"What is it you wish to show the class?" Dareth smirked, then he leaned towards Harumi and whispered, "Seriously what is it?"
"What are you all learning right now? I'm Harumi, by the way." Harumi asked curiously. One of the students, a young boy in the back, raised his hand.
"Oh! We're learning how to read our opponents!" He smiled widely, "And then how to counter them with our chi animals!"
"I think I have a good one for you then!" Harumi raised her hand up in front of her face, "Have you all ever heard of the Art of the Silent Fist?"
Lloyd's eyes flashed with recognition even as the students all shook their head. Harumi nodded her head and looked towards all of the kids, right before she ran a hand through her hair to push it backwards. She raised her hands up in the air, and then rocked back on her heels.
"What if I told you all you didn't need to attack your opponent to defeat them?" Harumi asked. She held back a grin as all the students blinked at her in utter confusion.
"I think my students will need a demonstration!" Dareth looked around the room, looking just as confused as his students, "Jasmine!" Dareth pointed to a slightly taller girl in the back, "Come up for our demonstration!"
Jasmine, a girl with massively long brown locks and glowing green eyes, simply nodded her head and walked forward through the crowd. She stood in front of Harumi, and then her eyes began to glow with that green aura. From her aura, a massive eight legged spider formed, crawling up her back and perching on her shoulder. It hissed angrily at Harumi.
"Hey, go easy on the kids, alright?" Dareth whispered, "I don't mind letting you do this but, uh, I don't actually let them do anything that dangerous. Parents get on me if I even mention a fist, you know?"
"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt them," Harumi chuckled, "That's kinda what this technique is all about."
"Alright then…" Dareth nodded somewhat skeptically, "Jasmine! Show off what we learned last week!"
Jasmine nodded her head without a word. Her entire body twisted forward, throwing her left arm forward as she did. The glistening violet spider leapt onto said arm, its abdomen leaning backwards. A thin glittering piece of webbing shot forward towards Harumi, in a movement so fast, for an untrained eye, it would be hard to see until it was too late.
Harumi, however, threw her left foot backwards, sidestepping the webbing. Her hand gripped the webbing and pulled it forward, causing the spider to lurch towards her. Jasmine's arm was pulled along with it directly towards Harumi, who then swung her left foot around in a circular arc until she had her left hand directly on Jasmine's shoulder. The girl was spun around and then pushed forward, stumbling to catch her balance as Harumi returned to her original position.
Jasmine, her eyes filled with shock, threw her spider up into the air as it launched another web towards Harumi. Once more, Harumi dodged. From her right hand, Lloyd saw a tiny disc form, cutting through the web before it could attach to her arm. Harumi, unfazed, looked down to see Jasmine rushing forward, her right hand going for Harumi's gut.
Harumi, however, reached out with her right hand and gripped Jasmine's fist, stopping it in the air and then sliding underneath it, keeping her grip on the hand by rotating her arm. Now behind Jasmine, Harumi her her left hand against Jasmine's back and pushed her forward again, sending her off balance.
The entire class gasped and began to rapidly chatter amongst themselves. Jasmine, having been defeated twice now, looked to Harumi in shock. Her spider crawled onto her shoulder, looking between the two as though asking its owner for the chance to attack.
"The Art of the Silent Fist," Harumi explained, "Is all about predicting your enemy. You're not actually attacking them, you're letting them throw themselves off. Think of it like letting someone chasing you think you kept going straight when you hid against a wall. You shouldn't be hitting them, just letting them attack you and get stunned. Here," Harumi looked to Jasmine, "Jasmine, throw a punch at me, nothing too hard."
Jasmine, confused, reared her right hand back and flung her body forward, leading her shoulder into the punch. Harumi immediately swung her body aside and grabbed her extended arm, holding her in place.
"You don't need to attack your opponent to defeat them," Harumi explained, "Just focus on what they're doing. If you can dodge a punch, you can actually make them fall over. A lot of fighters will expect for the force of their strike to help them go into their next blow. Throw that off, and then they usually fall forward. Or you can pull them into yourself to deliver your own strike. It'll be the same thing with chi. Actually, if you can master this without your chi, I'm pretty sure it'll be really powerful once you start using it."
Harumi gave Jasmine her hand back, the student staring at Harumi with a small shocked open mouth. Harumi smiled and looked over to the students, "I suggest you all learn how to tell when your opponent is going to strike. If they lean their upper body backwards, they might be punching. Or if they shift back on their feet, they're going to take your attack. And with your chi, animals can be easier to read. Just something to think about!"
The entire group continued to stare at Harumi, then they broke out into small bits of clapping. Harumi just smiled at then and gave a bit of an exaggerated bow to them, before she turned to Dareth.
"Do you have a computer here that I could use?" She asked, turning briefly to Jasmine to give her a wink.
"Sure thing!" Dareth pointed to the office at the top of the stairs, "Feel free to use it!"
"Thank you!" Harumi chirped, smiling once more before she hopped her way over to the stairs. She gave a look back for her two companions to follow after her.
Lloyd and Lulloyd scrambled up after her, the two hurrying awkwardly after her. Harumi opened the door to his office, revealing a rather well kept room with several stacks of papers along one wall and a massive computer against the other. A window overlooked the floor below them, but currently had its blinds drawn. The entire room was painted with brown coloration.
"What, was all that about?" Lulloyd asked curiously, "I, uh, don't get it."
"I realized that we don't need something like a kiosk," Harumi smirked as she sat in the computer chair, "Borg set up a big public WiFi, right?"
"Yeah," Lloyd nodded, "Your watch probably automatically connected to it, right?"
"Exactly," Harumi's fingers began to type into the computer, pulling up the WiFi information in a window and undoing her watch on her wrist, "It already thinks my device is apart of everything else. I can just get my watch here to download all the information I need directly from his servers faster than they can detect I'm doing it. And since my watch isn't on the same software, I needed a computer for it."
"Uh… isn't that hacking?" Lulloyd asked curiously. Harumi shrugged.
"My watch has its own IP address I'll be using," She reached down and plugged a small protrusion on the watch into the computer, "Basically I'm just using this as an entry point. They won't be able to tell it was this computer, plus they won't know what this watch even is. Just, give me a few minutes here…"
Harumi began to type rapidly on the computer, not giving each key more than a few seconds to rest before she hit them again. She was incredibly fast, and as she did windows upon windows began to pop up. She scrolled through them effortlessly, until finally a small progress bar appeared on screen. She swiped that aside and pulled up even more windows, checking each installment as if looking through a rear-view mirror. Both of the two others were completely stunned by the time she leaned back and pulled her watch out.
"Got it!" Harumi tapped her watch a few times, reading the tiny text that popped up, "We're in luck. The Blind Man's Eye will be passing above the Wailing Alps tomorrow morning."
"Wait, tomorrow morning?" Lulloyd shook his head, :"That, doesn't give us a lot of time."
"Well then we need to get moving fast," Lloyd replied, " Let's get to that junkyard!"
"I know I said they'd just give us the metal, but I expected we'd have to work a little bit for it..." Harumi turned towards Lloyd, who nodded his head.
"Yeah, my Ronin once broke in to steal from them and they ended up just giving it to him even after he told them he was stealing it," Lloyd adjusted his hands on his wheelbarrow, "They're honestly really nice."
"They, uh, are the ones we buy all the parts from for our mechs when we need repairs," Lulloyd grimaced as he tugged two wheelbarrows at once by using masterbuilt poles to connect the two in a chariot-style, "They were the only ones that, didn't ask Wu what he was buying them all for, you know?"
Harumi didn't respond, instead maintaining two massive Rhotatae discs to hover two massive crates of parts off the ground. She looked as though she was straining to carry them, but because of her discs, she was only straining in maintaining the discs and not dragging the boxes themselves. The three carried their piles of loot towards the entrance to the junkyard.
"Now you come again soon, you hear?" Ed called out from the porch of the trailer, "Oh, and if you see Jay, tell him to visit soon!"
"Have fun building your spaceship!" Edna followed up her husband's cry, "Let us know how it goes!"
Lloyd and Harumi both gave Lulloyd a look for his explanation, who just turned away from them with a blush on his face. He pulled his haul a bit faster to get ahead of the two, stepping out into the dry air of dried out sand of the surrounding environment. Harumi had at least given the two of them the rest of their money from Monty by sliding it under their door. It wasn't much, but it at least eased their minds about taking all of this.
The junkyard, being at the edge of the Sea of Sand, was relatively close to an isolated place to build on the mechdragon. While at first Lulloyd had wanted to do so perhaps in the junkyard itself, Lloyd had pointed out that if they asked questions and then told Jay that they'd been there, it could end in them being hunted down. Thus, Lloyd had suggested them find a very specific large basin where his team had first found the Bounty.
"How do you know, it'll still be there?" Lulloyd asked, straining as he continued to pull.
"Because his dimensional signature is extremely close to that of this world," Harumi explained, "This dimension is far closer to an 'alternate universe' than my own. I would imagine that Zane still found the Bounty, given that any alteration with Morro being the Green NInja likely happened at some other point."
Lloyd didn't respond, simply groaned as he heaved his load up a large rock. Harumi gave him a small roll of the eyes and fired a small disc towards the wheel, lurching it forward to get it over the rock. When Lloyd looked back, she used her eyes to point to the top of the ridge, which Lloyd just grimaced and pull along towards.
As soon as the two came up over the ridge, he could see the familiar basin. It was clearly still there, and he could even see the marks from where it had first blasted off from the rocks before. Did that mean the bounty had still been chased? Now he was filled with questions.
"Alright… here!" Lloyd sighed and dropped the handles, "Lulloyd, let's do this."
Lulloyd gave him a sideways glare, panting slightly as he used his shaky exhausted hands to drop his brick into the center of the basin in front of him. Once it stopped sliding, it rapidly began to unfold and branch outwards, until the Mechdragon stood at its full form once more. The beast let out a mechanical rumble once it was ready, the spines on its back rising up and its jets unfurling out. Lloyd and Harumi slowly slumped down against their wheelbarrowl and crates respectively, Harumi caressing her wrists. Lulloyd slowly walked forward, stared at the pieces, and then slowly looked to Harumi and raised his eyebrow.
"So, uh, what am I building here..?" Lulloyd frowned, "Like, what's so special about the Blind Man's Eye?"
Harumi held up her hand and then started to tap away on her screen. Once she had, she pulled up several bits of information, which she swiped through and began to read: "The Blind Man's Eye stays at an altitude that no aircraft can reach. The only time we can reach it by foot is by using the Wailing Alps to get to it when it's in position. You have to build it to be able to withstand a lot of punishment. If we miss this chance, it means we have another month and a half before we could reach it again."
"Right…" Lulloyd stated, nodding his head, "Now… uh, what exactly do you want me to be doing here with my dragon?"
"Build it up so it can get to that high altitude, you know?" Lloyd looked back to it, "Maybe, add some boosters and make it even more powerful! Like, some sort of spaceship?"
Lulloyd looked to the parts that he'd taken from the junkyard, then he shook his head, "If it's spaceships we need that's Benny's expertise. Not, sure that a bunch of scrap, is gonna do all of that…"
Harumi gave Lloyd an annoyed glare and then shook her head, "Lulloyd, what does your dragon use for energy?"
"Oh, solar energy," Lulloyd pointed to reflective surfaces on its small flaps that extended from the main body, "It charges while it's in that brick form too, at least, since it's still moving I'm sure it does. Why do you ask?"
"Can you unbuild that part and see what parts you need to make more solar panels then?" Harumi asked, pointing to the flaps, "We need to increase its speed, fuel levels and give it a bigger cockpit so we can ride it in subzero temperatures," Harumi nodded to its head, "Since it's already made to fly under its own power, just give it even more power. We have to go fast enough to actually shoot the storm and make it into the kingdom."
Lulloyd slowly paused and thought about it. He made his way over to the parts, picking up two old turbines. He struck both of them, causing them to turn into the brick versions of those turbines. Once they had, he slowly nodded to himself, and then leapt up into the air and began pulling pieces off of his dragon to find attachment points for them.
"I… think I can make this work," Lulloyd turned to them as he attached the two large turbines, "I should have just enough power right now to get us into the Kingdom, then we can charge quickly with the extra panels when we get in there… Toss me, some of that sheet metal, I need some to attach all this on."
Lloyd groaned out and pushed himself up onto his feet, reaching down and tossing the sheets out towards Lulloyd, who quickly hopped into the air to catch them. He struck them, causing them to turn into large plates he quickly began to attach to his dragon by removing the spines on its back and mounting the turbines horizontally.
"I… need something like pistons, anyone got anything?" Lulloyd called out, his body blurring briefly as he began to remount the spines onto the back of the turbines for the sake of aesthetic.
"Here!" Harumi used a Rhotatae disc to hover over a car engine. Upon Lulloyd breaking it apart, small pistons in the form of bars that moved in and out of small slots dropped onto his dragon, which he began integrating.
The sun around them began to set as the dragon gradually took shape. Lulloyd gradually began to undo the sleekness of its back to continually mount more and more engines upon them, until, including the two secondary boosters that the dragon normally had, the dragon now had a total of six other means of lift attached. By pulling apart the fins, he quickly found the parts he needed to make more solar pannels, which went around the outside of each turbine. The neck was widened to create a sealed cockpit using old car windshield, making it just big enough for the three to fit in. The dragon's head and legs were left untouched, but the tail was gutted for a set of rigid aerodynamic fins that would aid them in maintaining direction against the high winds that the Alps were known for. Lulloyd, for some reason, continually placed any gutted pieces somewhere back on the model, saying he didn't want to 'lose anything.'
As Lulloyd began to put in seats for the three to sit in, Harumi looked to their almost used pile of pieces, then turned to Lulloyd, "Hey, Lulloyd?"
"Yeah..?" Lulloyd didn't even look up as he frowned, seeing that adding the chairs in would force him to raise the windshield, trying to find the bricks to make that space work.
"I was kinda wondering… how do you do this?" Harumi gestured to the outfitted dragon, "You can just look at objects and tell how you can put them all together. How does it, feel?"
"Feel..?" Lulloyd turned around from him prying the windshield up, then slowly looked to his dragon and to Harumi, "You, want to know how I Master Build?"
"I was wondering that too," Lloyd added in, making Harumi roll her eyes, "Like, do you just look at everything and know how to work it?"
Lulloyd paused, thinking of how to best explain it. When he seemed to come to a decision after seconds of silence, he took the leftover bricks he'd scavenged from around the dragon, then leapt into the air and landed in front of them. He held the bricks up by rotating his hands and then slowly looked to both of them.
"I kinda have to explain the concept of Master Building itself… so, uh, Master Building…" Lulloyd pursed his lips together, "Okay, so, the first thing that you need to understand, is that everything in the world can be remade into something else. Like, how you take concrete to make a road, and that concrete is made by mixing together a bunch of stuff. But, no matter what you mix together, or rebuild it, you're not making or destroying anything. Like, you can't just take two buckets of bricks, and somehow make three buckets of new stuff. The amount of bricks you use, don't change…." Lulloyd looked up nervously, "Does that, make sense so far?"
The two slowly nodded, and Lulloyd continued cautiously, "Okay… so, the next bit, is realizing that everything in the world can be rebuilt. And that something has more than one purpose. For example, I can take a gear, some floor tiles, and then make it into a wheel by wrapping the tiles around the beams in a circle. Or, I can take a pan, and a scorpion, and add some colored discs and make a blaster!" Lulloyd blinked, "Uh… the trick, is that a piece only becomes something when you put it together. Until you make something, that piece is just that, a piece! And… and like look!" Lulloyd pointed to his mechdragon's eyes, "Those are just, bowls with lights inside! It only becomes that when I put it together!"
By now the two seemed to be processing, and it made Lulloyd frown. Harumi slowly opened her mouth to speak, then stopped. Then tried again. And stopped. The third time she pointed to the pieces of metal they hadn't used.
"But… how do you use that?" Harumi coughed, "They're, not bricks."
"Oh… well, after I saw the twins do it, I realized, that it's like Master Building in reverse," Lulloyd picked up a piece of glass, "It's glass. And, if I go ahead and hit it, then it's a brick of glass. And, then I just do what I normally do. I can, kinda see like I normally do if I squint. But I'm mainly just, using trial and error overall…"
Harumi slowly pursed her lips together, "So… it's like… it's like you're understanding, deconstructing, and reconstructing matter. Only, you can't create something out of nothing. And so to build what you want, you have to be given the bricks. It's almost like, a law of equal… transfer?"
"Well… I guess?" Lulloyd shrugged, "I, kinda don't know how it all works. My dad is a Master Builder. I'm, still in training. And, uh, according to my dad still a novice. I mean, I still don't always do my best. I could be more efficient here, use less pieces…" He hopped back up to the cockpit, "Like, I wanted to make it symmetrical but, I didn't have the right amount of tiles and, that meant I had to leave the sides bare, now there are studs showing and… well then I tried putting in the seats and the seats just make it so you guys are bumping on the windshield, but the floor is already only two plates thick and that's not good…"
"Well you've made something that looks usable," Lloyd stopped Lulloyd's rambling by walking over and tapping the side of the dragon,, "So I think that even if this isn't your best, you're still doing good. If it does what we need, why worry about how it looks?"
"Because… when we're not using it, that's how it's gonna look?" Lulloyd grimaced, "If, you focus too much on how it functions then, uh, you might not like how it looks…"
"Well I think it looks fine and it'll function just fine!" Harumi stated confidently, "I think it's in a good place. Think it'll fly us up into the Blind Man's Eye?"
Lulloyd nodded, "Yeah, I mean, with what your watch said I think we'll make it just fine," He pointed to his dragon, "If, uh, you want I can build up some walls around the belly and, make us a tent?"
"Shouldn't we get to the Blind Man's Eye as fast as possible?" Lloyd frowned, "We already spent an entire night and day doing this. We need to keep moving."
"We should go ahead and get the sword now," Harumi agreed without looking at Lloyd, "If we wait, we risk losing the Twins. We need to get this sword, find out what happened to Lloyd, and find out what the Time Twins are planning in this universe. We find out what happened to him, we figure out where we should be looking next."
Lulloyd gave both of them a small look, then he nodded. He scrambled his way up his dragon and pulled the hook of the cockpit open on a hinge. He slid into a seat in front of at least three control panels and a massive aerial control stick. He raised his arm up and twisted his hand for them to hop up.
"I, uh, didn't get the seats fully installed, so, it might not be the most comfortable ride…" Lulloyd smiled apologetically, "But, uh, if you wanna do this then hop in!"
"Still think we can do this, Harumi?" Lloyd asked as he craned his neck up to see over the massive peaks in front of them.
The mechdragon currently stood at the base of one of the smaller peaks of the Wailing Alps, the wind buffeting against its plastic-like shell. The peak was towards the end of the mountain chain, specifically picked due to the fact that it had an almost vertical smooth ascension slope. Harumi's watch, currently plugged into the dragon's onboard computer, showed the trajectory of the Blind Man's Eye was to pass overhead in approximately two minutes. The screen showed they had a fifteen second window to pass inside.
"I'm mostly sure…" Harumi grimaced as she gripped a bit of the side of the cockpit, "What's the worst that could happen?"
"...You, you should never say that, right before doing something dangerous…" Lulloyd turned his head around, "I did that once with my dad and… I ended up having to fight through an army of skeletons just to get to a raft to go down the River of Impossibly Large Obstacles while my dad lectured me the whole way."
"Shouldn't we get moving?" Lloyd nudged Lulloyd's shoulder, "We only have a minute and a half!"
"Right! Right!" Lulloyd drew his hood up, "Alright guys, buckle up!"
Both of the two behind him looked for their seatbelts, only to find there were none. Lulloyd ignored as tin in his chest and leaned forward, tapping two buttons. The extra booster engines on the back of the dragon suddenly roared to life, firing backwards with a massive amount of power. The two in the backseats drew their hoods up and held on tightly as the dragon began to rapidly fire forward.
The feet of the Mechdragon retracted, and in their place, massive high impact tires scavenged from trucks extended outwards. The engines firing backwards rapidly accelerated the dragon up the slope of the mountains, the wheels allowing for the dragon to ride the slope without crashing into it. The entire cockpit began to rumble and rattle violently as massive bumps along the mountain and buffeting wings threatened to send the craft right up and off the side.
Out of the right side of the cockpit, the Blind Man's Eye appeared. Lulloyd noted it and pressed his control stick forward, causing the engines to fire even harder. The three in the cockpit were pressed hard back into their seats as the power in the extra engines was set near to maximum. Lulloyd gripped the controls with a look of resolute determination, while both Lloyd and Harumi worriedly looked to the rapidly decreasing amount of mountain left.
"Hold on!" Lulloyd shouted, jamming the stick all the way forward. The six extra engines roared to almost deafening levels as the dragon launched itself the last of the way right up the mountain, a few of the spines along the dragon's back breaking off and being lost to the sky below. Lulloyd then rapidly yanked the stick backwards, cutting off the engine's power just as the dragon's wheels left the remaining bit of the mountainside. The wheels retracted, and the entire cabin suddenly had a distinct feeling of weightlessness. For a few seconds, there was silence.
Then the massive winds of the Wailing Alps buffeted the dragon, causing the three to rattle around. The sheer turbulence felt as though the entire dragon was ripping apart. Lulloyd gasped and gripped the controls, holding on hard as the dragon was threatened to spin out of its path. His eyes flashed as he shot his left arm out, striking a switch on the wall before gunning the engines at full power once again.
A series of six small wing-themed stabilizers shot out along the dragon's back. Almost instantly, two of them were ripped away, flying off into the distance. Lulloyd wasn't deterred, however, as the Blind Man' Eye was just seconds from hitting them. The dragon rolled from side to side, each time Lulloyd yanking it right back into the course. Harumi formed two discs in her hands and plunged them into the gaps of the bricks around them for support, while Lloyd simply held onto the wall and kept his eyes shut.
The dragon let out one massive bellow as rain suddenly struck the windshield around them, a massive flash blue fading into black. That darkness suddenly flashed a bright white, and the winds suddenly stopped. Lulloyd let go of the control stick to prevent the dragon from spinning out, though for a second he felt as though suddenly he wasn't even flying anymore. The gravity around them disappeared.
When the gravity came back, they were surrounded by beautiful golden clouds. Lulloyd scanned the area as fast as he could, seeing a massive set of beautiful golden gates framed against the near heavenly sight. The clouds framed everything around them in a beautiful yellow, making it seem as though, somehow, his dragon had ascended not into another Realm but another plane entirely. The sun came from all directions, making the sight that much more graceful.
However, that feeling of awe was quickly checked as he realized the engines weren't firing anymore. Upon a small nervous glance to his screen, he felt a nervous smile grow on his face. The solar panels had run out, and now, they were going to go down.
"We're out of fuel!" Lulloyd shook his head, "Guys, hold on!"
The dragon's eyes slowly lost their backlight, followed suit by the dragon tipping forward. As they did, Lulloyd yanked his stick up again, hoping for at least some sort of last minute power. There was nothing, no matter how hard he yanked. He simply shut his eyes tightly and gulped hard as he awaited for them to hit the ground.
"Lulloyd!" Harumi gasped out as she undid her disc holds, "Turn the dragon into a brick NOW!"
Lulloyd stared at her in shock, but Lloyd gave him a solid nod even as he clung to the dragon. Lulloyd slowly nodded back and slid down onto his back, using his feet to kick open the windscreen and send it flying off into the air. He bailed and leapt up into the air, dragging the two along with him with his arms rotated backwards. As soon as they were airbourne, Lulloyd struck the dragon with his fist, causing it to rapidly revert into a brick. Said brick was notably thicker than before as it tumbled through the sky.
Harumi, focusing, opened her eyes wide and threw her arms out. A green energy around her turned green as her elemental dragon sprung forth, its slender frame catching the both of them on its wings and thrusting them into the saddle. Harumi yanked her reins up, causing the dragon to widen its wings to slow their descent. Thankfully, the harsh winds of the Blind Man's Eye seemed not to be present in Cloud Kingdom, allowing her to maintain control.
By the time they hit the ground, Harumi was visibly sweating from decellearting them from such high speeds. They landed with the gracefulness of any dragon dismount. Harumi's dragon vanished, leaving their eyes now drawn to the beautiful pearly gates of the entrance to Cloud Kingdom.
"Is… this it?" Lulloyd looked around. For as far as the eye could see, there was nothing more than beautiful orange and gold clouds wafting about in the air. The entrance the mechdragon had plunged through was lost to the ambience around them. Silence consumed the three, making Lulloyd's words appear distant and a loud crash at the same time.
"I think so," Lloyd shook his head, "I was still being possessed by Morro when it happened, and… I still don't actually remember how we even got in. Some kind of back door that I never heard details on."
"Well… it seems like this is the place," Harumi raised her watch, causing it to scan the environment before it beeped affirmatively, "This place visually matches Cloud Kingdom. Or technically the entrance to it. We have to get inside to really see more about it."
It was an unspoken rule that now was the time for stealth. Lloyd focused, causing a cyclone to carry him into the air. Unlike Spinjitzu, aside from the initial sound of air, Airjitzu made hardly a sound. He landed atop the gates with no more than a small tap. Hearing a clicking sound behind him, he looked down to see Lulloyd had struck part of the wall, turning it into bricks which he used for footholds to climb up himself. The two nodded their heads even as Harumi landed by them, a Rhotatae disc under her vanishing.
From there, the golden clouds cleared, revealing to them the full extent of the kingdom. The beautiful white sculpted roads and steeped buildings rose from the clouds atop floating pieces of rock, yet as the clouds moved in and out around the rocks it appeared more so that the buildings were built onto the clouds themselves. Large ships sailed through the sky in and out of the buildings, giving life to the sculpted realm.
The three looked around, and Lloyd quickly pointed towards a small boat that remained on the ground. Lloyd leapt from the wall and softened the impact with Airjitzu, skirting up the path and then quickly ducking behind a building to avoid the gaze of a couple of nearby citizens. Harumi fired a disc off to draw their attention as it hit the ground, giving the other two time to race over to him. They skirted slowly along the building's edge, the ground under them thin and only leading to clouds and nothingness below. Lulloyd's eyes darted worriedly to and from the ground.
Soon enough, the group had managed to work their way to the ship. Cargo was being loaded onto the middle of the ship, with currently no one at the helm. Harumi gave them a nod of acknowledgement before she ran forward behind some crates. When the two citizens that were nearby the ship began to walk away, Lloyd waved his hand.
Harumi raced around the crate, grabbing the steering wheel and pulling it towards herself. The ship began to steadily rise into the air, giving the other two their cue to run forward and grab on. They both leapt and grabbed the edge of the ship's deck, rolling themselves on just as it rapidly arose from the ground. Soon, their transportation was flying into the air, falling in line with other ships.
"That's how they fly? Where'd you learn to do that?" Lloyd asked as he pulled his hood off.
"When I was little, my dad took me to Cloud Kingdom a few times," Harumi steadied the wheel against her forearms, "He wanted me to see as many realms as possible so I would understand my place in Ninjago. He thought it'd be better if I learned how to drive one of these before a car, so I know the basics. A year after I visited, Cloud Kingdom closed itself off permanently from our world after it slipped out they dealt with destiny. The Blind Man's Eye actually doesn't exist anymore in my world."
Slowly, Harumi guided their boat from one lane of boats into another, taking them towards the center of the massive city. Their boat glided along on unseen wings, taking them by beautiful towered buildings that rose their roofs to the sky. The light seemed to shine from all around in this kingdom, meaning no shadows were present on almost anything.
"Wow…" Lulloyd's hairpiece blew in the wind as he leaned over the side of the boat's railing, looking down towards the buildings and the people on each of the other ships going about their businesses, "This place is amazing… you, uh, said they worked in destiny?"
"Yeah, from what my dad told me, these guys were the ones that wrote destiny," Harumi smirked, "They stressed both a unity and duty in crafting the fate of Ninjago, and that came about in the form of destiny. Whatever they wrote in scrolls would happen, though it seems they could only really write the action and not how it happened. They wrote that a descendant of the First Rhotatae Master would hold his power again, that turned out to be me instead."
Soon, their ship crossed between two large reaching buildings, putting them in sight of a massive building off in the distance. As soon as it came into his sight, Lloyd narrowed his eyes and pointed right towards it.
"There, that's where the Sword of Sanctuary is!" Lloyd grimaced as the memories started to bubble to the surface, "The Sword should be at the top, assuming they put it back there."
"Well… I mean, this place looks pretty peaceful... " Lulloyd rotated his hand, "A soldier in peace will place his sword on the rack, but one in war will sleep with it… uh, I mean, I think that is applicable here?"
"I'm sure it's up there. Either way, let's not dawdle too long here," Lloyd shook his head, "The longer we stay here, the more likely it is we get spotted, and I'm sure they've probably buffed up security since I was here at least. We should sneak in."
"I'll take this ship to one of the ports so it doesn't cause any trouble," Harumi nodded to them, "I'll catch up with you two. Don't screw this up."
"We won't," Lloyd frowned at her, "It's a straight shot there."
"You were possessed last time you were here," Harumi frowned back, "And remember even if this place is similar, it's not your place."
Harumi's words went unheaded as Lloyd pulled up his ninja hood, running forward and leaping off the deck towards another. He landed just behind one of the realm's citizens in light purple robes. Before he could be spotted, Lloyd darted to his right as the man looked over his left shoulder. Once the man had shrugged off the sound, Lloyd ran forward again and swung himself over the edge of the ship, holding on with one hand and waving for the two to follow him. Lulloyd pulled his hood up next, rushing forward and leaping into the air. He did a triple flip, landing perfectly on the top of the mast of the ship Lloyd clung to. Lulloyd slid down the mask and then spun around it, flinging himself outwards so he could grab on beside Lloyd. The two quickly took their bearings, looking behind them to see Harumi guiding their ship to one of the ports.
Once more, Lloyd leapt off, followed quickly by Lulloyd. Lulloyd shot forward with sheer speed, while Lloyd once more summoned Airjitzu down to the next ship. The two landed on another deck, rolling once they hit it to hide behind a few sparse crates. They waited again for an opening to run off and onto the next ship, this time finding themselves clinging to the mast due to several people on the barge below. Lloyd gave a signal for Lulloyd to wait and again used Airjitzu to another ship, at which point he hid behind the main steering section and sent a little blast of green energy up in the sky. The people on the previous barge drew their attention to it, giving Lulloyd his chance to slid down the mast and then flip off to where Lloyd stood. By the time the people turned back, the two were gone.
One last ship leap later and the two were now at the roof of a small building. A quick check to nobody was any the wiser and Lulloyd jumped up into the air and landed on the roof swiftly. Lloyd, fearing being seen, decided to leap as well. His speed was nothing compared to Lulloyd, however, and his hands caught the ledge. Lloyd groaned in shock, Lulloyd quickly reaching back and pull Lloyd up.
"Thanks," Lloyd smiled to him under his hood, then pointed his hand up towards the massive tower that lay a bit off in the distance.
The two sighed and quickly ran forward, leaping and barreling from rooftop to rooftop as they ran. Lulloyd occasionally would stop them, striking a wall of bricks and then quickly rebuilding them into bridges for them to cross gaps that were too long to do so. Each time, the bricks would revert into the wall when he broke them apart. With Lulloyd's speed and their ninja training, within five minutes, they had made their way to a building adjacent to their target.
"Do you see Harumi?" Lulloyd asked as he flattened his body as best he could on the roof, "I can't see her."
Lloyd looked around, scanning the area. The base of the tower was connected to a massive walkway, meaning many citizens were walking by it. Each of them were in white robes accented by another color and tied in various methods using golden rope. The entrance to the tower was guarded by two men holding large spears that looked at the top to be charged with a strange blue light. He didn't want to see what it would feel like to get hit by one.
"...There!" Lulloyd suddenly pointed to a woman walking through the streets in green accented robes. Despite her hair being pulled backwards into a bun, it was clear from her face it was Harumi. She walked forward towards entrance with the two guards, seemingly striking up a conversation with them.
"What's she doing?" Lloyd muttered, nodding to Lulloyd. The two saw a bit of roof overhanging where Harumi was, and the two needed a way to it. Without a way over the walkway under cover, Lloyd paused and pointed to the underside of the walkway.
Lulloyd gave Lloyd a look of pure shock even as Lloyd leapt off and shot down towards the walkway, only grabbing onto it at the last moment. He slowly climbed down, verifying that there were indeed purchases to free climb under it. He waved for Lulloyd to come down.
When his ally landed beside him, he looked at Lloyd incredulously. Lloyd just gave a nervous grin and quickly began to climb his way under the platform, each handhold small but just barely affordable for their climb. Lulloyd did the same, but in a far more cautious and nervous manner. Thankfully, weeks of being chased up and down the city by Garmadon's mechs had given him the strength to climb far more difficult things than monkey bars.
When the two got to the other side, Lloyd's arms burned. He quickly pulled himself up and around the lip to place his forearms on the actual walkway, finding they were a few meters away from the guards. From this distance, he could just barely make out what Harumi was saying.
"...It's a request from the main Writers, they need to verify some details from a previous writing," She spoke smoothly and with her voice twinged with innocence, "They sent me over here so they didn't have to stop their work."
"We just need your verification as one of the Writers to let you inside," The guard asked, in a voice that was firm, but kind at the same time.
There was the sound of clothing shifting just very faintly, and then the guards muttered something. Footsteps receded into the building, prompting Lloyd to grab Lulloyd's arm and hoist him up. The two shot their way around the side of the building and into the doors of the building just as they started to close. As soon as they were inside, the two found themselves in a massive hall that was filled to the brim with massive rows of shelves stacked full of scrolls. There were no signs of Harumi or the two guards she'd entered with, instead leaving them in what looked like a library.
Rather than risk being spotted, the two weaved their way around shelves, working slowly as they passed by. Each shelf seemed to be filled with several names, each that none of them recognized. Lloyd had never been inside this part of the building when Fenwick had guided Morro there. As they made their way past rows and rows, they eventually came to the opposite wall after a good thirty seconds of walking. When they did, they followed it to find it lead to a large door.
"Hey!" Harumi whispered to them, "Come on, let's go!"
The two held down startled cries of shock as Harumi whispered to them from the next shelf over between scrolls. She quickly nodded her head and ran down towards the middle aisle, followed by her two companions. When they arrived, Harumi looked around twice and then opened the massive doors, letting her two friends slide in after her. Once they were inside, they found themselves on a platform that seemed to rock as they got on.
"Take us to the top floor!" Harumi spoke. Suddenly, the platform lurched, and a force began to carry them upwards. As Lloyd looked down, he realized the platform appeared to be made of the same material that the ships outside were made of.
"That was pretty good, Harumi," Lloyd took the chance to speak as he caught his breath, "Where'd you get the robe?"
"Yeah… that was a good one!" Lulloyd smiled to her, likewise panting.
"Thanks, Lulloyd," Harumi beamed, "I saw a Writer on the docks when I ported, and convinced them to swap the ones we bought yesterday for these robes. She 'forgot' to take her Writer's identification out," Harumi patted her pocket, "I slid it into the guard's pocket though, so they'll report it missing soon."
Harumi reached under her robe and produced two more, handing them off to Lloyd and Lulloyd. Both draped the white cloth over their shoulders, hiding their gi away.
"Do you know what this place is?" Lloyd asked curiously. Harumi's smile fell slightly.
"Yeah… aside from keeping the Sword here, this is where they keep the destinies of those that had already, died," Harumi grimaced, "They're sorted by age and name, the first floor is for the oldest ones."
"Huh… I guess it makes sense?" Lulloyd posited, "Uh… so, the sword is on the top floor?"
"Yep," Harumi nodded, "Though this only takes us to the floor right below it. We'll have to open the door ourselves. I heard they added exterior defenses, so the elevator is our best shot."
The three stood in silence for about a minute before the platform stopped. Harumi pushed open a set of double doors in front of her, leading the group into a massive, featureless room. As the doors closed behind them, they lined up perfectly flush with the wall. Across the room was another set of doors like that which they'd entered from. The only other feature to note was a set of four holes positioned above the door.
To those that seek the Sword, only those with the knowledge to use it may wield its powers, A strange ethereal voice rumbled through the room, Answer this riddle ,but be wary; just as a heart can only take one blow from the Sword, all inside gain only one try.
The three walked over to the set of doors. Lulloyd pushed on them, though nothing happened. Lulloyd shook his head, causing the three to look up towards the ceiling.
Answer this question to claim the blade of destiny: I am a river, winding forward without pause. I guide you, as my duty is to ferry you. Though you may find my branches, the path never changes. When you reach my end, I bury you... What am I?
The three stood in silence for a few moments. Each of them had heard riddles before, some of them from their Senseis. Each of them thought in silence, wanting to see what they could come up with. Lloyd himself was piecing it together line by line, while Lulloyd was scanning it for any contradictions or phrases that made no sense. Harumi herself was taking it all in.
"It's… destiny!" Harumi beamed, "It's destiny. When you reach destiny your past is buried, you can try to avoid it but you'll hit it, and you always move towards it. Destiny."
There was no response from the voice that had spoke to them. Instead, from the four holes in the wall, a charging sound emerged. A flash of yellow fired out four long beams of light which flew at high speeds towards the opposite wall. As soon as they collided with the wall, the beams sparked, then ricocheted off hard, aiming right for Harumi.
Harumi's eyes widened as she threw her body to the left, narrowly avoiding the missiles. Blindingly quickly, the lasers bounced off the floor where she stood and hit the wall behind them. They once more aimed right for her, forcing her to form a massive disc in her hands that they collided with. The force threw her backwards, sending her to the floor.
"W-What the?!" Harumi shouted even as another reflect sent the beams right back at her, "What are these things?!"
"I don't know!" Lloyd quickly spun into Spinjitzu, "NINJAGO!" The light beams fired right at him as he leapt in front of Harumi. The beams, however, went right through him, making him blink as they soared right into Harumi.
She had only enough time to raise her right arm before the beams struck it. She let out a scream as the beams burned right through the sleeve of her robes and black gi, striking her skin and burning it. She rolled out of the way to avoid another direct strike, making them bounce around to once more aim for her. She had only enough time to see the singed and burned arm before she once more had to dodge.
"Lulloyd!" Harumi shouted, "Master Build the door!"
Lulloyd struck his head, having never even thought of that. He reared his hand backwards, then struck the wall. A second went by as a confused ninja hit the wall again, only for nothing to happen. Blue sparks appeared around his fist, but nothing more occurred. Lloyd and Harumi looked to him in shock.
"Why didn't it work?!" Harumi shouted, "It worked on everything else!"
"I don't know!" Lulloyd hit the wall again, even as Harumi was forced to leap about once more to avoid getting burned, "It… it isn't working!"
Lloyd felt the wall, trying to figure out what was going on. From where his hand lay, he knew that Lulloyd had struck the door. Yet for some reason, nothing happened. When he tried to feel it further, he realized the problem.
"The doors are apart of the wall!" Lloyd turned to Lulloyd, "Maybe you can only Master Build things that are connected somehow!"
Harumi and Lulloyd gave him a look, one of desperation and another of revelation. Harumi put her back against a wall, the lasers bouncing away from her even as she shuffled her way side to side to avoid them. She clutched her burned arm, tears welling in the sides of her eyes as her arm shook hard. Lulloyd looked around the room and put together what he needed to do instead.
"W-We gotta answer that riddle before Harumi gets hurt!" Lulloyd looked up, "But, destiny sounded right! What else is there similar to that?!"
"I'm thinking!" Lloyd shook his head, "Wu used to give us riddles to help us learn! I'm thinking! It's usually an obvious answer you just overlook!"
"I'm not overlooking these lasers!" Harumi shrieked as one nearly burned her leg, "Come on, it has to be something metaphorical! If it's a river carrying you somewhere, it means that it's a force. Think of forces!"
"T-The only force I know is gravity, and I know that's not it!" Lulloyd shook his head, "C-Come on, think! Think! Gah!"
As Harumi rapidly dodged each attack, Lloyd thought. Something, like a force? Something that you have to follow. That no matter what you always get to the end. That had to be what the part about branches! But what sort of thing did that? It had to be a concept, nothing was ever described as a river like that!
"Life?" Lulloyd asked, "Maybe it's life! Wu always called life a river!"
Another barrage of lasers fired, causing Lulloyd to leap into the air and pose his legs and arms hard to dodge them, ending with him on the tips of his feet and arms behind his head. He panted, only for them to reflect back to him, making him flatten himself onto the floor.
"Lloyd!" Harumi shouted as she backed towards a corner, "You can't get this wrong! We gotta get out of here!"
"I'm trying to think!" Lloyd rubbed his head, "Gah! It's, it's right there, I know this!"
Lulloyd didn't pressure him, instead trying to dodge. Compared to Harumi, he was faring far better. His speed allowed him to weave in and out of the lasers, but their own relative speed and reflections made seeing their paths difficult. Soon he and Harumi were panting hard as they rapidly flung their bodies around, trying to avoid being burned. Harumi stared to the exit with pleading eyes, ones that wanted to see what lie beyond. Lloyd racked his brain.
"It's… it's… I don't know!" Lloyd shouted, "I… I don't, if it's not destiny then… then…" His eyes flashed, "Then it must be fate!"
Suddenly, the two doors swung open. The light beams didn't stop. The three raced out of the doors fast, throwing themselves beyond them. The lasers bounced towards them one last time before the doors shut, leaving them at the base of a small set of stairs and panting hard.
Lloyd was the first one up, slowly pulling Lulloyd and Harumi up. Harumi clutched her burnt arm as the three managed to get themselves on the stairs, looking up towards a small rectangular bit of light above them. Their destination was clear.
"Is… that gonna to be alright..?" Lulloyd pointed to Harumi's arm. Harumi just grimaced.
"It has to be, " Harumi groaned, shaking her head as her arm quivered, "Fate… ugh… I should have… should have… gotten that…"
"I only got it because my dad said it once," Lloyd slowly shrugged, "Fate is something that will befall you, destiny is what you will befall. One is what will happen to you, one is what you're meant to do. Two similar but different things."
"I thought this would be meant for the average person to get through it," Harumi sighed, "I bet those beams were supposed to just kill us instantly… I went in too quickly. Ugh! I'm an idiot!"
"Hey…" Lulloyd smiled as his arm came to rest on Harumi's shoulder, "I mean, I made a dumb guess too. It isn't like it was meant to be a simple puzzle."
Harumi gave Lulloyd a look, then her eyes trained on Lloyd. The two stared at one another for a few moments. Harumi slowly stepped past him and began to walk up the stairs without a word. Slowly, Lloyd followed after her, headed up by Lulloyd.
It was only a fair bit of seconds before the three emerged in a room that made Lloyd shudder. The room was empty save for a pedestal in the center. Upon said pedestal was a golden sword with a massive sky blue guard covering a hilt tipped by a blue gem. The blade shone unnaturally bright despite the fact that all the exterior walls were rice paper that filtered in light through their muted tanish-gray lining. There was nothing in the room to indicate anything of a trap.
"Alright…" Lloyd sighed out as he stared at the blade in front of him, "...Let's just, get that blade and, get out of here."
Slowly, Lloyd stepped forward. He walked around the blade slowly, his gaze fixated on it. Harumi and Lulloyd stared at him as he reached out, placing his hand along the blunt edge of the sword. Just feeling its cold exterior was enough to make his mind go dark with flashes of what his hands had done with this very sword. He took in a deep breath, stepping slowly around it towards the hilt.
"Would it really be wise to touch that blade?"
The three ninja suddenly shot to attention. Lloyd kicked himself into the air and flipped around the sword, landing back beside Harumi and Lulloyd. The three drew their hoods up instantly, even as the speaker in the room stepped forward.
"Knowing one's fate is a powerful things… though, from the look on your face, it seems that you already know that price," The speaker was a man in Cloud Kingdom garb. His robes were gray outlined with gold, and his gray hair was combed just slightly off to his right.
As Lloyd looked upon him, his entire body shuddered. His lips slowly moved as they formed a single word of revelation: "Fenwick."
SO! This is a really long one. This chapter turned a bit into character development for Harumi and Lulloyd, which was the main reason that I initially kept it so long. I originally separated the stuff in NInjago City and Cloud Kingdom apart. The biggest problem was the latter half was too short and I didn't think I could justify it as an entire chapter. So, rather than have one 22 page chapter and one 10 page chapter, it was easier to stick them together. I don't intend to do this as much in the future, but I hope that you all enjoy!