If there was something Harumi hated, it was being beaten. Nobdy liked to lose. If they were showboating, then perhaps they deserved to lose, but being bested in combat was another feeling altogether. So, as another strike from Nya sent her smacking her face into her own shield, Harumi had to hold herself back from wearing it down further by punching it in anger, as hard as that was becoming.
"Are you just going to hide in that thing until you run out of air?" Nya's distorted voice filled Harumi's ears, "I don't have to breathe right now."
Harumi slowly picked herself up. At the very least Nya had confirmed that her backup plan of trying to wait Nya out was pointless. That left her with her first plan, which currently she was still working out. As she got to her knees, she could barely see anything. Nya had pushed her down far enough that the limited light of the storm was no longer reaching down, and the pressure was building against her. No sooner had she gotten to her feet, she was jostled forward by another strike from Nya beneath her. She slammed back down again, groaning in pain. Harumi tried to bite her lip, to keep from shouting, but her lungs were already too strained for that anyways.
At the moment Harumi wasn't keeping track of time. She opened her mouth to exhale, the sound harsh and raspy as she pulled another breath up into her lungs. The air already tasted stale, which only reminded her time was limited. The surface above had long since drifted away, with Nya's strikes dragging her further and further into the water. Even had it not been storming outside, seeing around her would likely still be impossible.
"Now that you aren't fighting back,," Nya's voice rang out, "I wasn't sure about it until now but… that's green power, isn't it?"
Harumi looked around to try to see where Nya was. The ninja wasn't anywhere to be found, making trying to answer her a massive difficulty. Instead, she just closed her eyes, trying not to focus on her as she wracked her brain for a way out of this. At the very least Nya had finally realized she was using it after however long they'd been fighting; she was beginning to wonder if this said anything about her dad's team as a whole.
"How do you have that?" Nya's voice came out slightly more accusatory, "Morro is the Green Ninja…" Nya paused, making Harumi for a moment think that perhaps she wanted her to respond. Harumi steadied herself as best she could, hoping perhaps this revelation would bring about some chances to actually talk!
Then a strike from behind sent her again her shield again. Harumi raised her fist to hit something in exasperation, her hand only stayed by her will. She turned around to see Nya with her hands gripping the shield. The fact she was actually touching her power now meant when fused chi no longer ignored her elemental powers. Yes, the repeated strikes had already proven that, but it was nice to see. Thankfully, it only made her situation a little less hopeless.
"This is definitely Morro's power…" Nya's eyes opened wide, "Now I see… alright, how about you and I make a little deal here?" Nya leaned against the shield as though it was some sort of wall, "Tell me how you have this power, and we'll see about letting you go!"
Harumi slowly moved her hand up to point to her mouth and waved to the space around her. Nya let go of the shield and drifted back a few feet in the water. Just that distance alone made seeing her already incredibly difficult.
"I know you can talk just fine in there," Nya shook her head, "Tell me how you got this power and we can work something out!"
"Fine," Harumi replied, the air in her lungs berating her for it, "I tell you that, you tell me why you want the Realm Crystal."
"...No," Nya sighed, "I.. .can't tell you that."
"Then there's no deal," Harumi bit her lip as her lungs seemingly tightened.
Seeing Nya's face made it clear that the deal on the table was one Nya clearly wanted to take. Harumi, however, noted that Nya's chi wasn't disipatting. Something was preventing Nya from talking about that, and Harumi's mind was racing with ideas. Even if it was, however, she'd only used up time talking, and her hopes of this being the end of their fight were dwindling.
Nya sped back into the inky depths, leaving Harumi floating in the water alone once more. Harumi weighed her options; she could make a dash for the surface, but that was a risk. For one, she'd have to drop her shield to propel herself upwards, and Nya was far too fast for her to do that effectively. Nya's strikes meant she was bobbing around in the water without much ability to move herself otherwise. She had maybe one more breath in her air supply before she had surface. But she had to do something! She had to hit Nya. She couldn't sit here and let Nya wail away at her shield until it broke.
Her hands came together to form a Rhotatae disc. Rhotate drew upon energy that wasn't linked to elemental, and likewise she could draw it from anywhere in her body. If she parsed out her shots, she had at least twenty before the need for air would overtake her. She closed her eyes, waiting for the moment. She had no idea where Nya was, and the only time she did was, sadly, when she was struck. There wasn't enough light penetrating this far down to let her see anything, So she would have to wait. If she could hit Nya, then she could get the advantage.
She felt a strike to her left. Once her body jostled to the right, she whipped around and fired her disc. The white disc turned a crackling green once it passed through her shield, and when Harumi opened her eyes she saw Nya pushed away from her. A burst of concentration filled her body as she focused on holding her disc directly against Nya. For a moment, she felt a surge of triumph.
Nya thrashed around in the water for a few moments, her movements going wild. Harumi's eyes narrowed as she tried to track Nya, still trying to hold the spinning disc against her. Nya thrashed around animalistically, finally managing to twist her chest to send the disc flying off into the unknown. Before she could redirect it, Nya had vanished into the depths.
NO! Harumi cursed to herself, dissipating the disc, Great, great! Now she's going to expect that! She got too far away! Like any projectile, the further away that one went the longer it took to change the arc of its trajectory. If Nya could just swim away, eventually she couldn't correct for even small motions.
"Nice trick," Nya's voice rang out again, "Not that it'll work again. If you give up now, I won't have to make you suffocate. You seem like a good fighter, I respect that. Don't make me end this fight in a lame way like that!"
Harumi couldn't tell if Nya was taunting her or giving her a compliment. Either way, she knew that she couldn't stand up to Nya right now. In maybe the next twenty seconds, she'd have to use the rest of her air. Nya kept talking.
"I know you're in that little air bubble. I don't know how much longer you got left, but I've done that whole can't-breathe-underwater thing. Drowning really sucks. Just, drop your shield, and I'll pull you to the surface. And then you can give me the Realm Crystal and we'll be done."
Harumi thought about that. She could very well trick Nya by doing that… but Nya would expect that. Nya was trying to figure her out, and that meant obvious tricks wouldn't work. Nya already had gotten hit by her Rhotatae and gotten away, so it wasn't as if she was in the dark as to her abilities.
"Five seconds. Drop your shield, and I'll take you up. No drowning. Please, Harumi. I just, I just need the Realm Crystal. Please…"
Nya's tone. It wasn't angry. It was… was that desperation? That wasn't anything like the Nya that Harumi knew. The Nya she knew wouldn't ever do anything to jeopardize her mission like this. Harumi's mind was racing. Could she trust Nya here..? She… no, no she couldn't. It didn't matter the situation. Something with Nya and the others was wrong. Her father's friends would never have ambushed them like this. She couldn't sit back and pray Nya would help her.
She had to think of a way to beat Nya. If Nya caught her, then that would stack the numbers against the others. Kai, Cole and Morro weren't here, meaning right now they were balanced if she, reluctantly, counted Monty. But… without her, Lloyd and Lulloyd would be at risk.
She let the five seconds pass. Nya's voice didn't come right away, and when it did it was a simple exasperated 'Fine.' Harumi didn't see her swimming off, but she had an idea. She'd have to wait though. She opened her mouth, exhaled, and took in the remaining air she had in the bubble. It wasn't much, but it would be enough.
The shield was struck. Then again. And again. Nya was taking short, quick strikes now as opposed to building up momentum through long dashes. With her stamina already so low, it wouldn't take that long. Harumi gave her a commendation that Nya was a tactical thinker. But that praise was lost amongst the battering making her body jostle, thrust and roll around inside of her shield, each strike sending a small pain she was sure would bruise.
The impacts kept coming. Her shield began to shrink in size. She pulled in its diameter so as to increase its density, even if that meant she was being hit with what felt like harder force. Her lungs were starting to burn. Her eyes were watering, so she shut them. Nya kept coming. The sound of energy cracking with every hit blended together as Nya wailed away. Harumi held on.
Soon her shield was only as wide as her arm span. Nya gave three last hard strikes before she backed away. Harumi winced, figuring now Nya was going back to hard rams after softening her up. Indeed, a few seconds later she felt a hard strike that seemed to go right up her right leg all the way to her neck. Just as she expected, Nya soon disappeared. Her body was starting to quake. She was running out of air. She forced the need down as best she could. She had to last.
Two more strikes. She counted. Seven seconds. Seven seconds before each impact. Harumi shrunk her shield so she had to crouch to be inside of it. Easier to maintain. Her nostrils tried to take in some air, but there wasn't anything meaningful left inside of the bubble. Her face was starting to go blue. Dizzy, she was starting to get dizzy. She stopped focusing on everything but the shield. The shield, and her thoughts.
One more strike. Harumi exhaled hard. Nya was gearing up for another. She counted. When she got to six, she opened her eyes and dropped her shield. Water rushed in and struck her from all sides. She looked around until she saw Nya coming from behind her. Nya's pace had slowed in response to seeing her drop her shield. Harumi smirked, then thrust her hands forward right up into Nya's chest.
Harumi unleashed a Rhotatae with all the remaining energy she had left. The glowing disc fired up into Nya and pushed her up. With one hand, Harumi held the disc against Nya, the other gripping Nya's shoulder. The force stored in the disc shot Nya through the water like a life vest, and with Harumi holding on, she was being carried up with Nya. The shock was enough that Nya didn't begin to thrash until several seconds after the strike.
Even as Nya thrashed, Harumi held on. She was putting all she had into this. Her lungs had long since dulled in pain, and she knew if she shut her eyes now, it'd be over. She focused. The darkness around them vanished rapidly, turning into the muted light above. Nya tried to kick, punch, anything to her, but Harumi's grip was a death one. The surface rocketed faster towards them.
Then Harumi felt it. Air. The spray of the waves and the water from the ocean above hit her face, and once it did, she gasped desperately. Her lungs burned as she forced the air into them. She held the disc on for a few more seconds until finally she could no longer compete with gravity. The two hit the top of their arc several feet above the waves.
Harumi looked to Nya. The water ninja was gasping for air. Her theory had been correct: her chi changed her ability to breathe air into that of water. Harumi turned and grabbed Nya's shoulders with both hands, pulling her in close. Nya was too starved of her own air to fight back.
Soon they were falling. Harumi took in another hard breath and formed a massive shield around the two of them. They hit the surface of the water, but this time the shield rocked in the waves rather than submerging. Rain poured against the sides and waves buffeted it up and down. Harumi looked down and then relaxed her body, letting it fall through her own shield. Nya was left inside. Harumi gripped the massive energy ball with both hands to prevent the waves from taking her under.
Inside of the shield, Nya gasped for breath. Without water inside, Nya was now in Harumi's previous exact situation. Nya struck the side of the shield with her hand, trying to break it. With air on her side, however, Harumi had to hold on. Her body and shield were rolled about in the waves, but Harumi held on.
Nya struck. She struck again. And again. Each time, now she was trying to break out of it. Harumi held on. The waves would bob her head in and out of the surface, sending her rocking in the waves. She had to keep Nya inside. Nya's eyes turned towards her, a pleading look in them as she became a fish on dry land. Harumi held her gaze, her expression unchanging as she watched Nya thrash.
Finally, the ninja stopped moving. After a few seconds, aura formed around Nya once more, and all of her shark-like features vanished. Harumi watched Nya's shark materialize from her chest and separate, at which point Nya's chest faintly began to rise. The second it did, Harumi dropped her shield and grabbed Nya with one arm. With the waves crashing around them, she looked around frantically. Her eyes landed on a nearby pier.
Slowly, Harumi swam. Her body burned. Swimming right now was difficult, but while carrying Nya it was agonizing. She continued to paddle, paddle her way through the water. But as she began to swam, she realized somethign. She wasn't getting closer to the pier. She was being htrown around in the water, and the waves were carrying her instead.
"N-No…!" Harumi gasped. She didn't have the strength anymore. She'd used it all up trying to defeat Nya! She paddled again, but Nya's weight was too much. She couldn't make it with both of them. Panic shot through her as she realized she wasn't going to be able to get back. She'd beaten Nya, but…
"H-Help!" Harumi shouted, "Someone, help me!"
In response, Harumi heard something splash in front of her. It was a piece of wood, with a large rope tied around the center. Without questioning, she reached out, grabbing onto it with one hand and holding Nya in the other. The wood began to drag itself through the waves towards the pier. Harumi slowly gasped as she was pulled along, then up out of ther water still carrying the unconcious ninja.
When Harumi managed to throw Nya up over the pier, she looked up to see who had saved her. Lloyd was panting hard, the rope in his hands and rain having soaked through his clothes. He looked down to Harumi, who looked up to him with a mixture of anger, confusion, and a hint of gratitude breaking through her harsh eyes.
"Are you okay?" Lloyd asked as he reached down to pull Harumi up to her feet.
"I'm… I'm fine…" Harumi turned to Nya, "She'll be fine too. Let's go find a place to put her and… and get back to the shop."
"You got pushed pretty far…" Lloyd turned, directing Harumi's gaze to show they were indeed on the opposite side of Stixx, "But you're right. Can you walk?"
"I'm… I'm fine!" Harumi coughed out, hitting her chest several times, "Just, help me grab Nya and, we'll get going!"
Harumi turned her gaze away from Lloyd, who simply nodded and reached down to grab one of Nya's arms. As Harumi picked up the other, the two slowly carried the girl along to find a place to keep her safe and out of hte fight. As they walked, Harumi could only pray the other's fights were going better than her's had.
If there was one thing that Lulloyd had relied upon his entire life, it had been his speed. Chad trying to throw some can of paint on him? Dodge fast. The school bus trying to leave him behind again? Run fast and grab onto the back door. His dad trying to teach him how to fight? Get away as fast as possible and just wait until either his mother stepped in to stop or join to fight. The more he thought about it, being fast was his 'thing' on the team.
Being met with someone that could keep up with him was, in many ways, unnerving. Not even his dad at full sprint could reach Lulloyd. Zane, however, was just as fast if not slightly faster, given that Lulloyd had to constantly keep moving risk getting hit in the time it took to turn around and swing. He just prayed any merchandise the two were knocking over wasn't going to be held against him.
He had to turn around and do something. His eyes landed on a few boxes. Lulloyd spun himself in the air and struck the crates with both feet, fully halting his momentum. He landed on the ground, and not a second later his sword was rapidly spinning to reflect the strikes of Zane's shurikens. Sparks flew about the room as the two struck faster than the average swordsman. Lulloyd's body rapidly flew about, striking randomly from spot to spot to break Zane's defense, moving fast enough his body became a rectangular blur the harder he struck.
A flash of silver made Lulloyd break off his attack, kicking off Zane's chest just in time to avoid getting his head pummeled by Zane's fist. Time seemed to slow down as he drifted away from Zane, their eyes meeting. Zane had no pupils, only the hard blue glow that his wolf had shared.
Lulloyd hit the floor, letting himself go down to his back so he could slide away from Zane. Zane's sword struck true a moment later, hitting the wood where he had been. Lulloyd rotated his arm out and gripped the edge of a barrel of what looked like a stack of flagpoles, yanking it to the ground while he got to his feet.
Sheathing his sword, Lulloyd struck the poles, turning them into bricks. He saw a shelf on the wall and struck it, seeing it turn into side-mounted studs. He quickly plugged the staffs into the holes, then swung the entire thing out, the 'shelf' hooking around Zane's back. He gripped the large handles and yanked forward, sending his body sliding down them so his feet struck Zane's head. As Lulloyd landed, he saw Zane's arm had blocked his feet. The moment of pause was all he needed to take another shelf off the wall by backflipping and slide the bricks down the pole, connecting them with a tile to form a bind around Zane's torso.
Without a moment's pause, Lulloyd grabbed the two handles he'd created for himself, hitting the ground to give a stud for his foot to plug into. He spun his body rapidly around that stud, going until he felt ready to fly off. He let go of the contraption, sending a trapped Zane off into the wall. A large tapestry showing something Serpentine was torn in half as Zane landed. Lulloyd really hoped Ronin wouldn't notice.
Lulloyd drew his sword, anticipating Zane to not go action was what saved him from an instant loss, as Zane's shuriken had flown out of the rubble created. By now, at least, Zane was picking up his already thrown shurikens, meaning he didn't have a seemingly infinite stash of them! Lulloyd batted it away, then his eyes flashed. He leapt out quickly, grabbing the star and throwing it right back. Zane's glowing hand caught it, before Zane disappeared again.
It was time to run again. Lulloyd barely saved himself from another strike, being forced to run around the room once more, zipping from place to place with Zane on his tail. He didn't have time to look behind him and see if Zane was there, he could only keep running.
Running wasn't going to get him anywhere though. This was a situation he'd been in before actually. Garmadon had taken him and the team out into the jungle once more, and this time given them each a piece of a puzzle. They were given an hour to hide, then Garmadon would hunt them down. It seemed simple at the time, a training exercise that would end within the day.
Only it hadn't ended within the day. Three days was how long it took. Lulloyd had at first tried to run away on foot, but Garmadon never gave him rest. So he'd improvised, using whatever he could to get away. Nothing would get him ahead, however. It had only been him finding an old wrecked Shark Army vehicle he had been able to rebuild that let him escape. Even then, he'd run for far too long, being unable to sleep, lest the sight of his father with a look of madness crawling after him grace his sight.
Thus, it was not the situation that was throwing Lulloyd off; his speed had always been his strength. No, it was the fact that Zane wasn't falling off with his speed, not even slowing down with each passing second, that was getting to him. He could easily keep up this speed for another half hour if need be… but he was certain he didn't have that time.
Assuming Harumi and Lloyd were wrapped up in their battles, then Lulloyd didn't have much time. If one of them needed help, that would mean that others would be coming for him. He wasn't sure how long, but his father had always said if you were unsure, give it three minutes. Three minutes. That's how long he had to find a way to beat Zane.
He took his stock of his surroundings. He was in a store of things that Ronin had acquired. Artifacts. But he couldn't rely on those. A good number of things were already knocked over and unusable. He didn't know what they did, or if they were even real, which meant that he had to work with basically only normal materials around him. All while not even being able to land long enough to fully see it all!
Now Lulloyd was jumping up on the walls, rocking his hips back and then thrusting his legs vertical to launch away. An errant foothold cost him a second, and in that second Zane's fist had come at him again. Just his fist. As Lulloyd started running, he realized it.
Having an elemental power that didn't allow him to physically do anything, Lulloyd was used to everyone around him using it. Zane, however, hadn't even manifested a single bit of ice yet, not since that wolf leapt into him. Could it be that fusing locked away the ability to use elemental powers?
If that was the case, if Lulloyd caught Zane, then he was… trapped. Like, an animal! Maybe not that far, but Lulloyd started to think. He needed a trap that he could catch Zane in long enough to escape. A trap was a plan. And he had a plan, even if it was one that he didn't know would work.
"Hey, Zane!" Lulloyd shouted, "Is it cold being part wolf?"
"Cold?" Zane asked, still leaping off walls and floor alike, "I believe the correct term is 'cool,' to indicate a certain amount of fascination. That is what the others have said in the past."
"N-Nope!" Lulloyd shouted, "Cold, low temperatures, all that!"
"...Fusing does slightly lower my internal core temperature, but nothing that would compromise the overall integrity of my systems," Zane responded back calmly, "...Pixel, run core temperature diagnostics!" A few seconds later, Zane nodded his head while leaping forward, "Core temperature margin is within tolerance."
"That's… too bad!" Lulloyd shouted, "I was hoping that I could help you cool off after this battle!"
"If you are attempting to imply that you will be the winner, I believe the outcome to this fight is obvious," Zane called back, "However, I believe after you have returned our Realm Crystal, you will indeed let us 'cool off.'"
"W-Well I guess we'll have to see," Lulloyd shook his head, "Who's, gonna win!"
With that, Lulloyd flung his hood off ,causing it to flatten out and flap off towards Zane's head. Zane indeed was stunned, his vision cut off momentarily by the cloth. As he reached up to take it away, Lulloyd hit the ground and looked to the rafters, working a plan out that he would use. If he knew anything about buildings, it was that rafters were usually supported. And if those supports were what he thought they were...
He ran up the wall and hit the rafters, his eyes narrowing upon seeing just what he wanted: technic beams. His fists strucks each bit of the wall, revealing one spaced evenly along the spots. Ronin had really built this place sturdy, and Lulloyd would use that.
He didn't have much longer, however. Zane had thrown the hood aside and come at him again. Lulloyd only hit the ground and continued to dodge. He needed parts. Part he had to grab and work at with Zane seeing them. And he had to do it fast. He had ninety seconds left.
Whenever he'd hit the ceiling, he'd hit something else. Something else he needed. More pieces. He guessed he had maybe about thirty seconds after he hit something before it turned back to normal. He kept hitting. Kept punching. More things turned into bricks. More things for him to work with. More things he could use.
A stray punch allowed Zane's arm to grab his own, stunning him. Zane winded him up with robotic strength, slamming Lulloyd's back into the floor. He hit the floor hard, skidding across it and rolling until he landed on his side, then promptly fell onto his back.
"If you are planning something against me," Zane shook his head, "I have analyzed your strange ability, and Pixel has determined it cannot be a threat against me."
"It's not a threat…" Lulloyd sighed, "But you wanna know what… is a threat?"
"What would that be?" Zane shook his head, "I will let you know I have heard many one liners in the past, primarily from Kai."
"...Well I don't have one, but, think fast!" Lulloyd stated, then hit the floor under Zane with both hands, causing it to turn to tiles he rapidly disassembled.
Zane's foot was lost, sending him down onto all fours. Lulloyd quickly leapt up into the air, striking the pieces he'd formed and working fast. The rafter beams rotated down, one end of each still connected, meaning the four hung down in a near rectangular shape. Quickly, Lulloyd began to scavenge for all the pins he could find, plugging them in and using the floor tiles to form a 'wall' around Zane's sides. A few bent side connectors and he used plates to quickly form the two adjacent walls around Zane. Soon, Zane was trapped between the walls, going just above his head and down to his feet.
Lulloyd wouldn't stop there. Before Zane could attack the walls, Lulloyd had grabbed a set of chains from fishing hooks and a broken harpoon and began looping Zane's hands in them. Zane looked to Lulloyd, trying to yank free, but Lulloyd had already used a long plate to slide between the chain and rapidly built up studs until he topped it with another plate, forming a binder the chains were linked into. With a large kick, he sent the studs atop the binder into the inside wall of the cage, effectively plugging Zane's chains around his arms into a binder now attacked to the wall of his cell.
To finish off the cage, Lulloyd took a large plate from what used to be the desk he'd earlier turned into the device blocking the hallway, causing it to fall apart. As the desk reformed, he plugged the top of the cage with what was originally the desk's surface. Now Zane was trapped in the cage, unable to move his hands, and the entire cage built into the ceiling with the rafters still connected at the top.
There was one last thing. Earlier, when Lulloyd had knocked over Monty's tools, he'd seen something. Something that he now leapt back and grabbed. He'd left a single slot in the cage. One that he now stuck the taser through and pressed to Zane's trapped body. With a small wince, he shut his eyes and then turned it on.
Zane garbled out nonsense as his systems were shocked, scrambling all of his calculations. Lulloyd muttered out 'sorry, sorry, sorry!' over and over again as he held the taser to what was a version of his friend. He held it on until he saw the aura around Zane form again. When the aura did form, he heard the sound of a wolf's roaring before Zane slumped forward in the cage.
Lulloyd leapt backwards, holding the taser in one hand and his sword in the other. He wathced, waited for Zane to try to break out. He continued to watch, but
"Your ability to manipulate matter into a modular constructible form is very versatile, it seems," Zane's voice sounded almost dull, "You have bested me."
"...Oh my gosh it worked!" Lulloyd gasped out, "Okay… so it was just my dad's freaky strength and skills that got him out last time! That's, kinda good to know…." Lulloyd relaxed slightly, then looked over to the now open hallway entrance.
"I assume you will now go to help your allies," Zane sighed, "If you had given us the Realm Crystal, we could have avoided all this."
"Just, uh, between you and me, I literally had no idea it existed until a few days ago…" Lulloyd smiled, "But, I'm sure we can, find a compromise, after we've beaten you guys and shown you that we're the true… ninja... " He trailed off.
"...Please don't start sounding like my dad…" Lulloyd gulped to himself. With Zane trapped, he turned to the hallway.
If there was one thing Monty hated, it was something being repetitive.
Monty stood atop the ruins of his bed and room, the walls and floor riddled with bullet holes from his carefully planned sprays of weaponry. Wu had his staff locked with the SoS, just as the sword had predicted. Monty's right hand dipped beneath his cape to produce a flintlock pistol, firing right at Wu's unguarded chest. Wu spun his body out to the left to avoid it, letting Monty turn the pistol in hand and whip Wu straight up the chin with it.
Yet again, Wu seemed to take no damage. Monty felt his anger starting to boil once more. He spun the SoS in front of him to deflect another staff strike, once more stealing a glance into the blade. A second after he did so, Wu let out a battle cry once more and leapt into the air, bringing his staff down right for Monty's hand holding the sword. Monty let his arm turn incorporeal, the sword dropping from hand. Wu's blade fell through the arm, and Monty used his other arm to blast wind to push himself. His foot kicked the SoS right up into his hand again, creating a vacuum in his palm that drew it into his firm grasp.
"Am I the only one that remembers I'm a ghost?" Monty taunted, only to see Wu stand up without hesitation.
"I've seen through your strategy now, Monty," Wu reached up and straightened his neck, "Your stolen weapon will not work on me anymore."
"Oh really?" Monty casually dropped his old pistol and instead drew a far more sleek looking pistol from under his leg armor, "Well then maybe this one will."
Monty looked into his blade, then the pistol fired off shot after shot, each one making Wu dodge once more. The wall behind him splintered, leaving a large hole into the hallway. Monty fired off his twentieth shot, unloading its clip. He ran forward, swinging his blade towards Wu. Wu spun his staff upwards so it was pressed into his opposite shoulder, catching the blade tip just behind his head. Monty raised his gun up in a bluff, but suddenly the resistance on his sword was gone. Monty, having put force into the attack, bent forward.
The ghost shook it off, seeing that Wu had, of all things, simply let go of his staff, sending it rotating off onto the floor. Monty's gaze was drawn to it, just as Wu's foot kicked it up towards him. While it didn't hit his chin, it phased through his head and instead made him throw his sword arm backwards to avoid getting it knocked out of hand.
The ninja master jumped in the air over Monty, landing behind him and rolling to avoid Monty's swipe. Wu ran towards the water still leaking from the ceiling and drove his staff into it, swinging it out in a semicircle. Monty's eyes widened as he saw the lethal droplets. His hand holding his pistol dropped it to instead grab the sheet from the bed, flapping it out in front of him to catch them. The sheet was yanked out of his hands as Wu's staff rammed into it, wrapping around the hand holding the SoS.
Monty spat and tried to throw the sheet away, but the action made the sword only get wrapped further. Not willing to abandon his weapon, Monty reached for another gun, only to find he'd gone through all of them on his person. Hissing, Monty reached for a small piece of scrap metal on his belt, pulling it to reveal it was apart of a wire that ratcheted outwards from a small holster. He spun it overhead and threw it out at Wu, the whistling betray how sharp the wire was.
The piece stuck into the wall. Wu jumped into the air to avoid it, letting Monty give the wire three sharp tugs. His weightless body was rapidly pulled as the wire retracted into his holster at full speed, drawing him at Wu like a grappling hook. Monty solidified his feet and stuck Wu as he passed him, making him stumble. When Monty's feet hit the wall, he yanked the piece of shard from the wall to let it fully move back in.
"Hmpmh," Wu had his back to Monty as he shook his head, "Is this truly what the power of destiny is, Monty? A blade of no more use than one of your many tricks?"
Monty slid something back on his gauntlet, causing a spinning saw to fly at Wu. Wu didn't even turn around, instead whipping his staff up against his back to knock it away. The action gave Monty enough time to finally cut the sheet to pieces, tossing the scraps aside to have the blade in hand again.
"Well only one of us here has gotten hit more, and well," Monty lifted the sword in front of him, "Even if I count the times you 'hit' me, well. You all know how my body works now."
"You've made the best of the worst possible situation," Wu sighed, his head hanging, "It pains me more than you know to see how far you've fallen."
"Really gonna try that angle again?" Monty snarled, "Why not go ahead and apologize for what happened while you're at it? You know, like you never will."
Wu let his arm holding the staff drop, taking in a breath that made his shoulders raise. As he let it go, he turned towards Monty and looked to him with features filled with age. He planted his staff slowly into the ground, leaning on it while he brushed his long flowing beard aside.
"...I should have apologized a long time ago," Wu shook his head, "But my own mistakes are what led you to this point. If it means anything to you now… I am truly sorry."
Monty stared at Wu for a few moments with a look of complete confusion. Then his arms began to shake. His hand gripped the sword even tighter, and his head lowered so his eyes were covered in shadow. When he looked back up, they were filled with a hatred that could burn through someone. His free hand blasted a plank on the floor to send a boxes of ammo into the air. He slowly stalked over and picked up the semiauto rifle from before, reloading it. Once he had, he tossed it into the air and caught it so it was trained right on Wu.
"Sorry, Wu," Monty growled, "You're too late on that one."
The rifle fired. With only one hand holding it, it spun up into the air with the recoil. Monty simply let it spin and go through his arm, catching it again right as it rotated a full circle. He used the sword to cock it again and fire, this time the gun spiraling into the air. When Wu got close, Monty clashed blades with him, glimpsing into the blade. He saw Wu once more, and he smirked. His other hand reached up and caught the rifle by the stock, adding it behind the sword. He slid the rifle up the sword, once more cocking it. He fired, the bullet going up into the air, but the rifle sliding down towards the ground diagonally. Monty grabbed it by the still smoking barrel, then swung it like a club up towards Wu's back.
Wu, however, reached his foot out, catching the rifle mid-swing. Monty blinked, then looked into the sword again. The second he did, Wu leaned his head forward, head-butting Monty. Wu phased through him, but Monty's attention was drawn away from the sword, allowing Wu to break the lock with a spin.
Monty wasn't done yet. He blasted air off from a foot, sending his body spinning into the air. His gun rotated until it was ready and he once more fired. Wu slid to the side and caught Monty's sword coming down from the other hand with his staff. Monty knocked it away and pivoted into place and fired once more, which Wu countered by knocking the gun aside. Monty used wind to cock the gun for its final shot in the clip, firing it so it flew back through his body. The Sword of Sanctuary changed hands as the hand grabbed the gun's stock and flung it around again. Wu jumped away to avoid the swing.
"Even a power greater than all others can become as weak as nothing if used without care," Wu stated calmly, "Like I said, Monty. I now know your trick."
Monty reloaded his now empty rifle, cocked it, and swung it at Wu sideways. Wu knocked it away, and Monty let it spin in a full arc again until it was at Wu's opposite side. He fired it, making Wu dodge again. Monty looked into the sword, seeing Wu leaping backwards, then readying a punch. Monty shrugged internally and dropped the rifle, instead swinging his sword again. As the sword predicted, Wu leapt away. Monty tried to follow this up with another hard swing, but Wu had punched… behind him? Monty at first blinked, then his eyes widened as he saw Wu's fist in the leaking water.
It was now Monty's turn to leap backwards as Wu's fist attacked. Monty looked into the sword again, but before he could glimpse anything, Wu had drawn his fist down and up, sending a curved set of droplets at him. Monty leapt away, his breath coming a bit faster now.
"You're trying to kill me?" Monty groaned, hiding the tremble in his hand, "I thought a ninja never kills."
"Has that not been what you've been doing this entire battle?" Wu narrowed his eyes, "I will not kill you, Monty, but I will incapacitate you if I must…" Wu's eyes narrowed, "Guns are such dishonorable weapons for a ninja."
Monty didn't want to dignify him with a reply. He looked into the blade. There it was, Wu jumping off to the right. He gathered a cluster of wind in his right foot, then kicked the ground behind him. The force sent him flying at Wu, sword held out in front of him. Wu leapt to the right, and Monty gathered wind in the hand holding the gun to blast Wu. Wu's staff came down on Monty's hand. Monty was startled enough his hand took the hit. To avoid going into the water behind Wu, Monty thrust his free hand out and his wind carried him back through the air to safe ground.
"What's wrong, Monty?" Wu shook his head, "Are your predictions not accurate enough?"
Monty snarled. He looked again. Wu would jump into the air and leave his left side exposed. The ghost growled and ran forward again, this time bringing the sword down overhead. Wu brought his feet together and leapt up into the air to avoid it. Monty planned to use wind to do a backwards summersault to hit Wu with his legs, but as he moved his feet up to attack, Wu was gone. He let gravity take over to bring him back down, at which point Wu's staff was coming at his sword hand.
"Too slow," Wu chastised him.
Monty was getting to the point of snorting air in through his nose, even if he didn't need to. He yanked the blade up to his face, only for Wu's staff to knock into it and prevent him from seeing it. Wu's hand shot out and grabbed Monty's hand, pulling him in close and shoving him away. Monty was thrown away before his wind caught him. Wu, however, was on top of him again, making Monty raise his sword defensively again.
"Is this not enough for you?" Wu continued, "Can you not even best your old mentor when you hold the one means to do it in your grasp? Or is this the wisdom of the thief, stealing something without training to use it?"
"Shut up!" Monty snarled, knocking Wu away. Wu only attacked him again.
"Is this what I taught you?" Wu shouted, "Is this what you have learned instead? To lie, deceive, to become nothing more than a petty thief?"
"SHUT UP!" Monty shouted, his right fist filling with wind for Wu's head. Wu caught his fist without even flinching.
"You hold power, and yet you cannot use it. Just like back then. You're so eager for it, you grasped it before you were ready!" Wu sucked in a breath, his tone dropping, "...I shouldn't have ever shown you that scroll."
"SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP! SHUT UP WU!" Monty shouted, a massive ball of air forming in his chest. The ball rapidly expanded, smashing against the walls and expanding hard enough the entire building shook. Wu brought his staff in front of him, weathering the blast even as he was pushed away. The intensity of his elemental outburst was enough that the only thing left still upright in the room was the wardrobe of capes, and even that nearly flew to the opposite wall had it not been so far from the epicenter.
When it was over, Monty felt drained. Such a release of elemental power took a toll on anyone, ghost, human or otherwise. Thus, when Monty looked up to see Wu, his staff glistening with water, he had only the energy to scowl at him.
"...I'm sorry, Monty…" Wu looked down, "I… I failed you. I failed you in so many ways. Give me what you stole, and I will be on my way."
"...After all that…" Monty tried to sit up, but Wu gripped his staff warningly, "You still want some dumb trinket that I don't even have?"
Wu's eyebrows twitched. He moved his staff up to Monty's chest. Water slid down, dropping onto him. It slid beneath his plate armor, producing a sizzle that made Monty's teeth set but his eyes remain dead set on Wu. Wu held it there, slowly exhaling.
"I should have known it wouldn't be even this easy," Wu brought his staff up, "I will get back what you stole, Monty… for your sake, and my students."
"NINJA-GO!"
Wu turned is head, only to see the door to the room, surprinsgly still on its hinges, burst open. Lloyd and Harumi thrust their hands forward, shouting as the two of let loose a torrent of green power. Lloyd's far smaller beam and Harumi's exhuasted beam joined together to fly straight towards Wu. He turned, blocking it with his staff. The action pushed him away from Monty's prone form.
As soon as Wu let out a cry of effort, the two canceled their beams and concentrated the beams into their hands. Wu leaned forward onto his staff, panting heavily as he looked to the two with eyes filled with confusion.
Harumi and Lloyd slowly shared a look, nodding their heads. Harumi moved to form a large Rhotate disc, while Lloyd leapt forward and twisted into his Spinjitzu. The tornado came flying towards Wu, striking him head on and sending him to the ground.
"The green power…" Wu coughed out, "How… how do you both possess it?"
"You could say that we learned it from someone like you," Lloyd shook his head, "But that's not important. Right now, we need to know why you want the Realm Crystal."
"Is that not obvious?" Wu shook his head, "It was stolen from us."
"Wrong," Harumi shouted out, making Lloyd turn to look at her, "Wrong. You're not looking for your Realm Crystal. You were sent here to take ours… weren't you?"
Wu's eyes flashed, making Lloyd's eyes widen. Lloyd took a step backwards, allowing Wu the chance to get up. In the corner of the room, Monty slowly got back to his feet, looking around. As it landed on his two saviors, his expression blanked.
"What are you talking about?" Monty spat, "There's only one Realm Crystal."
"No… right now there are two," Lloyd frowned, "And the only way that Wu could know that, is if someone told him that we're not from this universe. And if we didn't tell him… the only others that know are…"
Suddenly, Wu's staff moved out, striking Lloyd's face with blinding speed. Lloyd was stunned, giving Wu enough time to let his eyes glow golden. In a flash, a beautiful glistening serpent dragon had formed out of his body, wrapping around him and darting forward for the door. Harumi and Lloyd both stumbled out of its way, giving Wu enough time to follow it right out the door. Upon doing so, Wu saw Lulloyd standing guard in front of Zane's cage, who turned to Wu with a look of shock and rapidly drew his blade.
Wu's dragon hit Lulloyd's chest full on, sending him back into the wall for what felt like the hundredth time that day. Without a moment's hesitation, Wu's dragon launched out towards the cage, hitting with all its might. The force shook the bricks, loosening the tiles to fall to show Zane inside. Another strike to the bind holding Zane to the wall caused it to break apart, allowing Zane to free his arms. As soon as Zane was free, he stumbled forward and fell to his hands and knees, his systems still rebooting from the tase.
"MASTER WU!" Lulloyd groaned as he saw Jay rush down the stairs, his nunchucks still in hand, "Master Wu! You won't believe it! One of these guys has Morro's Green Power! Like, THE green power! I thought there was only… one… green… ninja…"
Jay was greeted by the sight of Lloyd, Harumi and Monty all staring at him through the doorway to Monty's ruined room. In the main room, Lulloyd got up with an expression that could only be described as barely restrained annoyance. Jay slowly lowered his nunchucks, looking out the entrance to the hallway and seeing Wu and Zane.
"...Uuhhh…. Truce?" Jay asked, smiling dumbly. Monty snarled at him, making Jay shriek and rush out towards Wu.
"My ninja and I are leaving," Wu stated calmly, "Zane, Jay, come. We will find Nya on our way out."
"I'm right here," Nya called out from the entrance. The soaking wet ninja clung to the doorframe, her body clearly tired from chi overuse. Wu shook his head, turning around and hitting his staff on the ground.
"Come, ninja!" Wu took a step forward, "We will be leaving this place, for good."
"Wait, but, what if we need to stealllllll-buy something from Ronin again?" Jay tensed, but Wu had already walked out. The three defeated ninja looked to the group of four now gathered in the shop, giving them almost humiliated looks as they began to stalk from the store.
Lloyd took a step towards them, but Harumi and Monty both raised an arm, stopping him both physically and in spirit. Lloyd looked to the two of them, but Monty shook his head. A few moments later, the four had left the shop, leaving the bricks that had formed Lulloyd's cage to revert into actual pieces, the support beams reverting back up to the ceiling while the various pieces he'd used turning back to the broken desk on the floor.
"... Why aren't we following them?" Lloyd asked, his voice twinged with concern.
"Because you don't follow someone right away," Monty spat, "We want them to at least think they have a head start on us before that."
"Well…" Lulloyd rotated his hands in a shrug, "That, is kinda what my dad always does. Though, uh, you kinda have to if you're using a shark tracker…"
"Well," Harumi put a hand on her hip, "This gives us time to ask Monty another important question."
"An important question?" Monty turned, crossing his arms after sheathing the SoS on his back, "Haven't you guys already asked and done enough?"
"No, because this one is rather simple," Harumi smirked, "I think I figured out who you really are, Monty."
Monty's expression didn't change. Lloyd and Lulloyd looked to her in confusion, making Harumi's smirk only grow wider.
"While you were fighting Wu, Lloyd and I were waiting for our ideal chance tos trike. We heard everything Wu said," Harumi nodded her head, "And he said something about you being his student once. And that reminded me of a story I heard, and then I realized what this place really was."
"You were waiting out there to help me the entire time?" Monty growled, "And you didn't step in, why?"
"Because you were shooting bullets through the wall at random," Lloyd crossed his arms.
"When Wu said he failed you, that was when it all made sense. You're Lloyd Garmadon, aren't you, Monty?" Harumi nodded her head, "That's your real name, Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon."
Lulloyd stepped towards, joing by Lloyd. The three now were in front of Monty, with Harumi at the center of it. She smirked harder and crossed her arms, gaining a confident stance as she nodded.
Monty looked to Harumi, his arms still crossed. After a moment, he let out a hollow chuckle, "What exactly gives you that idea? Lloyd is dead, gone in the departed realm now."
"I don't think so," Harumi shook her head to him, "In fact, I think I know exactly what happened to you."
"What happened to me?" Monty's tone lowered, "Aren't you smart then? Go on, Harumi," He spoke her name with venom.
"You were Master Wu's student," Harumi nodded her head, "And you were told that you would be given the power of the Green Ninja. Only you wanted it too quickly. And so you went out and tried to prove yourself. And you died for it. You got sent to the Cursed Realm, and while you were there, you stopped calling yourself Lloyd and started calling yourself Monty. You left Lloyd behind, your old life. And thus, Lloyd 'died' there. You managed to escape, and you joined Ronin after Wu rejected you. And now, you're here, hiding who you used to be because of everything that happened."
Lloyd's eyes widened. What Harumi said sounded outlandish… but so had the idea that he wasn't the gold ninja was equally as bizarre. This world, unlike Lulloyd's own, was very much so like his own. If in Harumi's world he'd switched places with the daughter he hadn't had yet, could that mean that he had done so in this world too?
"You really do like to go and make stories," Monty began to walk over towards the wall behind his broken desk, "I really don't know where you would even get that sort of thing."
"I heard him," Harumi nodded, "I heard Wu. He said he felt he failed you. In my world, there was a ghost named Morro that got out, who used to be Wu's student and died. I think this universe is so close to Lloyd's dimensional signature because this place is close to his. And if that's the case, then that means that we found you, Lloyd, all along."
Harumi smirked, placing her hand on her hip. Monty looked to Harumi, then he shrugged. He stood against the back wall of the shop, leaning against it casually. His expression hadn't changed since Harumi had started talking. For a few moments, he stayed silent. Then he nodded his head.
"Alright, you win," Monty sighed, "You're almost right. But don't call me Lloyd. I'm not that innocent naive kid anymore."
"Really?" Harumi blinked, "Then what are you?"
"This," Monty's arm suddenly struck a vertical slat of wood, causing something to come flying out. The 'something' was a strange golden handle with two strange black spikes curving away form each other on either end. As it spun around the room, a strange purple mist began to seep from it. The weapon spun beautifully in a full arc, trapping the three of them within a ring of purple mist. Monty caught the weapon as it returned to him, moving forward to slam it into the table in front of them.
"You guys know what this thing is?" Monty asked, "If you do, then I don't need to explain."
"That's… I…" Lloyd rubbed his head, "I… feel like I've seen it before but… I haven't? It's… the… the Obsidian.. Glave?"
"Correct, you get a star," Monty blew at him, smacking him in the face with a burst of wind, "This thing is pretty special. It has the ability to alter memories. Well, more specifically, to remove memories, and place others inside. And all I need to do to activate it is think of what I want taken out."
"It… it does what?!" Harumi shouted, turning to try to blast the mist away. A Rhotatae disc simply flew through it aimlessly.
"Don't even try it," Monty smirked, "Touch it, and well, you'll be wondering what your name is. You three know something about me, and frankly, I don't like anyone knowing that."
"H-Hey, I didn't say anything!" Lulloyd gasped out, "I-I would like to remember my name!"
"So, what?" Lloyd frowned, "You're just going to remove our memories, leave us not knowing anything?"
"On the contrary," Monty leaned forward on the blade, "I know Ronin likes you three. And you did just help me fight off those guys… even if you partially are to blame for it. So, I'm instead going to make you a deal, so I don't have to deal with Ronin on my back."
"A deal?" Lulloyd asked nervously, "...I-I don't like the sound of that."
"This Glave also can activate if I plant a condition inside you," Monty continued, "Right now, I've already put a condition in you," The three would see the mist having slid to their necks, seemingly fading into them, "It's simple. You tell anyone, either verbally, you hint it, write it, anything that would indicate to them you know my real identity, all the memories you have of me are going to be wiped. Gone. Completely. Just those memories. I think that's a fair condition."
"So… what's the deal?" Lloyd asked.
"Simple," Monty replied dryly, "Accept the condition or I wipe your memories of me right now."
The three shared a long look with one another. Harumi's eyes had gone from confident to enraged. Lulloyd was nervously eying the purple mist around him, terrified as to what it could do. Lloyd, feeling like he knew this somehow, was inclined to believe that this Glave was legit.
"...Fine," Lloyd nodded his head, "Fine. We'll accept this condition."
"Good," Monty pulled the Glave up from the counter, "And for being so easy this time, I'll tell you some more of what you wanna hear."
Monty turned the Glave sideways. The mist sucked straight back into the weapon, which he returned to the slot in the wall. Harumi stared at it, as though questioning him why it was right where customers could see it. Monty didn't respond.
"You're half right, Harumi," Monty's tone was completely neutral, one filled with neither anger nor happiness, "You want to know what happened to me? Misako was going to drop off Lloyd at Darkley's Boarding School for Bad Boys, but she realized he'd be better off with family. So Lloyd got dropped off with his Uncle Wu while she disappeared. Wu got curious one day, and decided he'd train Lloyd in basic ninja skills. Simple enough. Then, one day, he takes Lloyd in this room, and Lloyd inspects the Golden Weapons, and they start to glow green. Lloyd doesn't know what it means, and Wu says one day he's going to be the Green Ninja, the most powerful one of every ninja ever, and that he's going to save the world from darkness."
The three all took note at the way that Monty was referring to himself in the tale. Harumi even raised her eyebrow, but Monty didn't seem to acknowledge it. He continued.
"So Lloyd trains. All day, harder and harder. And he becomes a powerful ninja before he's even old enough to drive. But then, Lloyd gets hurt badly in a lesson on day, and so Wu says he's cutting the lessons off until he's older. Lloyd doesn't get why. So you know what he does? He goes out and trains. Everywhere. Doing everything he can. And he decides to pick a fight with the wrong creature. Actually, Lloyd was going to look for the legendary Serpentine Tombs, to prove that they existed and show Wu he had learned Ninjago. On the way to them, he gets tired. Been traveling way too long. And guess what? When something bigger than him comes to eat him… he dies."
Monty's tone deepened towards anger, "He thought it was it. That was the end of Lloyd Garmadon. But it wasn't. No, he wakes up in the Cursed realm. A ghost. And guess what? All that power he was training, that green power that he'd finally awoken? It was gone. Now it was wind. He gets caught by ghosts, and upon seeing who he really is, they make him fight in an arena for days on end. No sleep, no rest. Just fighting, fighting and fighting. The final fight he partakes in is with Soul Archer, of all ghosts, and he's facing down the business end of an arrow. Wondering if he'll die again."
"Then," Monty laughed hollowly, "A portal opens. Right by him. All the ghosts start rushing towards it, but Lloyd won't let that happen. So, Lloyd makes a decision, that he'll stay in the Cursed Realm. And so Lloyd stays, and splits. Lloyd stays behind, and I get out."
"Wait," Lulloyd blinked, "Like, you, literally split into two people?"
"Metaphorically," Monty growled, "So there I am, back in Ninjago. Only I'm a ghost now. And guess what? I do the only thing I can do. I go to Wu. Only Wu sees me, and you know what he does?" Monty's fist tightened, "He shuts the gates on me. Says he felt the shift in destiny or whatever, and that he couldn't bear what happened to me. He left me there, all alone, no idea what's happening to me."
"You're lying," Lloyd shook his head, "Wu would never do that. He would have tried to train you, or at least figure out what happened to you!"
"Apparently, I was just a reject of destiny at that point," Monty spat, "And I was just a bad omen. That was it. I was nothing to Wu anymore. And so, I was just cast away. I wandered all of Ninjago for years before Ronin tracked me down. Said he could use a partner that could do what a ghost could. Apparently people called me the 'Wandering Spirit' for how I just roamed around. And so Ronin did what Wu never did. He took me in, Taught me how to use my guns, how to use my body, how to be needed again. And that's my story. You three happy now?"
"...How did you defeat the Overlord?" Harumi asked quizzically.
"What?" Monty and Lloyd asked in tandem. Harumi shook her head.
"I'm building a theory here," Harumi followed up, "Did you defeat the Overlord, Monty?"
"Of course I didn't," Monty rolled his eyes, "Wu's perfect new replacement did. Morro… well, he went gold, poofed the Overlord. Apparently he came back, I wouldn't know. Ronin and I were off doing something at the time."
"You didn't have anything to do with it?" Harumi pressed. Monty shrugged.
"I was possessing him when Morro struck the final blow," Monty sighed, "Garmadon asked me to hold him in place for Morro. So I did. Thankfully I didn't go boom too."
"Then that settles it," Harumi turned to Lloyd, "I know how the Time Twins are being limited to selecting their universes!"
"We're… that's what you're thinking on right now?" Lloyd turned, "We just learned that Lloyd is… Monty, and that's what you're thinking of?"
"Think about it," Harumi turned, "All four of us here defeated the Overlord. Well… Lulloyd I'm still working out. But three of here were present and involved in the battle. I used the Golden Weapons to seal him away for good. You destroyed his body. And Monty here was inside of hte Overlord when he was destroyed."
"Uh… my dad used to call himself the Overlord of Ninjago… when he like, was conquering a lot?" Lulloyd half stated, half asked, "Is, that good enough?"
"I'm sure it is," Harumi nodded, "The Time Twins can only travel to universes were Lloyd or his descendant exists, and they defeated the Overlord. That's why they can't just go to a world where nothing is the same."
"...The Time Twins?" Monty blinked, "You're sounding crazy to me right now."
"Monty, we need to follow Wu!" Harumi declared, "I think we can show you everything you need to know if we do!"
"Sure," Monty shrugged, "I was going to anyway, assuming he isn't just sneaking around to get to-"
"Hey! Monty!"
"I TOLD YOU TO GET OUT OF MY SHOP, NINJA!" Monty shouted, grabbing the taser Lulloyd had dropped, firing it and striking the man entering the room head on.
Ronin looked down at the prongs sending arcs into his body. The man twitched, then looked up to Monty as he pulled the prongs out. He tossed them aside and slowly shook his head.
"I'm assuming that this has something to do with the Ninja I passed on the way in here?" Ronin smirked, "And I told you, tasers don't work on me anymore. I've gotten tased way more than enough times on dates f...for that… to…"
Ronin's eyes surveyed the state of the entire room. He slowly walked further into the building, stepping past the assembled group to look into the hallway riddled with bullet holes. Upon seeing the inside of Monty's room, the hole in the room above and the water pouring in from Harumi's exit as well, he turned and walked back into the main room with a smile on his face.
"You know what?" Ronin shook his head, "I'm going out drinking. You guys want to come with?"
"Uh… we're not old enough to, you know…" Lulloyd shook his head, "Uh, but uh… thanks?"
"I am, but alcohol isn't my thing," Harumi shook her head.
"We're going after the Ninja," Monty stated calmly, "We need REX."
"Nope," Ronin shook his head, "I'm taking REX out to go drinking. I'm going to the bar out in the fishing village."
"We need the tracking systems," Monty shook his head, "You can just get a ride."
"It's my ship, and my shop," Ronin smirked, "Unless you think I forgot about what you did to REX last heist."
"Will you just let that go?!" Monty spat, "It wasn't my fault, you wouldn't let me fly the ship! You jerking the control stick every which way doesn't make for a smooth flight!"
"Maybe possessing a ship doesn't feel right to me, hmm?" Ronin shook his head, "You possess it when I ask you to!"
"Oh, so you want to go out on your missions on your own now?" Monty hissed, "We both know how the faster shot is here."
"A fast shot means nothing if you can't even get to the battle," Ronin retorted.
The two stared each other down for a few moments. After a bit, their expressions softened. Monty leaned back as Ronin shrugged.
"Sorry kid, I need REX," Ronin turned, "I'm sure these guys got something. I mean, they got to Cloud Kingdom after all."
"True," Monty turned to the three, "You got rides?"
"We do," Harumi turned to Lulloyd, "He's got a mechanical dragon."
"...Yeah, we're taking that," Monty smirked, "Have fun in plain old REX, Ronin."
"Have fun chasing down the ninja again," Ronin chuckled, "We both know I'll be having a way more fun time."
"Oh screw you!" Monty spat. Ronin just laughed and made his way back out of his ruined shop.
The four sat in silence for a few more moments, the storm outside still raging. Monty looked to the three and then slowly sighed.
"This dragon have some sort of cockpit I can use?" Monty asked, earning a smile from Harumi and a small nod from Lulloyd, "Then let's go before those four remember to cover their tracks."
So, a lot of you actually did guess my twist here, and I'm gald that you all did! It means that I laid my groundwork for it very well. You now know about Monty!
Oh boy, this was a fight I reworked hard. The actual fights I didn't change much, but the structure of the overall chapter I altered a good deal. I'm still a little on the fence with it, but I feel this worked out way better than it initially was in the end!
I hope that you all enjoy!