"I didn't know ghosts existed! What's it like being a ghost!? I read they can't feel things, can you?! Wait, you're see through, how are you standing on the floor? Are your clothes ghost too?! That sword looks different, is it ghost?! Can you fly, float, can you walk through walls?! What are you doing in this place? Wait, no no don't answer those, can you possess people?!"
The young boy that the group had learned was none other than the famous Dragon Lord gasped as he continued to run circles around Monty. The ghost stood still with a blank expression, almost like a bored animal caught in the headlights. The boy was zipping around Monty with his eyes flashing entirely white in a way Lloyd and Harumi could easily recognize as the power of Speed being used over and over again. The group were in one of the many rooms in the building, having been escorted there by the boy after Monty's demand for a space to answer the questions.
"I can't feel anything unless I try, even then it's only a fraction of it," Monty responded with the most neutral tone that he could, his words stiff, "Yes my clothes are a ghost. Not, the sword is not, it won't turn into a ghost like I can. Yes, I can possess people, that's how I got in here. How do you know about ghosts?"
"Oh, the First Elemental Master wrote about a bunch of things in his scrolls!" The boy beamed, "Ghosts, snakes, djinns, big animals, basically anything that could hurt his descendants! I got to read all of them since I'm related to him. And his scroll on ghosts was so cool!" He gasped, "But we don't see them anymore! He got rid of like, all that stuff! And now I get to see it! It's like… amazing!"
Lulloyd and Lloyd were both stunned trying to make heads or tails of who was in front of them, both from the fact he looked nothing like them in body structure, and how his face seemed to be eerily familiar. It was like looking at a version of themselves both as children, drawn and then brought to life in front of them with more energy than either of them had. Harumi had already scanned him with her watch while he was talking and was furiously going through data from it.
"So… Lloyd," Lloyd began awkwardly, "You, uh… you're the Dragon Lord we've heard so much about?"
"Yep!" The boy answered happily, "Lord over all Elemental Dragons and such! But I don't wanna talk about me, everybody knows about me! I wanna know about you guys! Look at you! You all look so… flat!"
"Should we tell him?" Harumi whispered fiercely to Lloyd. Lloyd paused to consider that notion.
"We're from another universe," Monty took the choice away by stating it plainly to the boy, "I'm Monty, that's Lloyd, Lulloyd and Harumi. You said you were Lloyd?" Monty stole a look at the Lloyd he already knew, "We're gonna need a nickname for you so this doesn't get confusing."
Lloyd rolled his eyes as Harumi went back down to her watch. The boy didn't seem to care, instead standing still. The action almost looked like his brain was a computer given an incredibly complex program it was trying to run through. When it finished, he looked up and his smile grew to proportions that none of them had ever seen.
"YOU'RE FROM ANOTHER UNIVERSE?!" The boy shouted, his eyes flashing cyan and his voice being amplified by sound. Lloyd had to cover his ears for a moment. The entire room vibrated from the sound before he realized his mistake, "Oh, oops, sorry! I kinda call on that without thinking…"
"Y-Yeah…" Lulloyd lowered his arms from his own head, "Uh… we're chasing down some people that got away from us and came to your world. And, uh, we were looking for you to give you information."
"You mean like assassins?" The boy suddenly grimaced,, "...Okay not exactly, I mean I don't think you all are trying to kill me. But I mean like, you tracked me down, hunted me, and got all the way here, just to give me information? Me?"
"You're thinking more of a bounty hunter there, kid," Monty spoke somewhat forced with the name, "Like I said, nickname, we need a nickname for you."
"A nickname?" The boy blinked, "But, I'm Lloyd! The one and only Dragon Lord and… hrm…" He rubbed his chin, "Well I have like, a lot of them! What sort of nickname?"
"I let them use a mispronounced version my dad uses," Lulloyd raised his hand.
"Hrm… " The boy rubbed his chin, "What do I wanna be called... well. I have one friend that calls me Mage, says it's magic that I can do all I can do. So… let's go with Mage for now!"
"Mage?" Lloyd blinked, "You sure about that? You don't do magic."
"Like I said, my friend uses it!" Mage nodded, "And it's easier to say than Monny!"
Monty crossed his arms, "I'm Monty, Monny sounds like the reject of some children's toy."
"Like you're one to talk with being respectful," Harumi scoffed, "Not everything you say has to be combative, Monty."
"Oh? But I know you can take it, Haruhi," Monty rolled his eyes, "Clearly you don't control the universe so don't go crying about it. I'm not working around you here." Lulloyd perked up.
"Sorry!" Mage quickly chirped up, "I'm really bad with names. I had to learn so many! I mean, up until a year ago I didn't even know anyone other than my mom, dad and uncle! And only my dad was ever around… never really anyone like I do now! I went from knowing three people to like, three hundred!"
"Did you live in a Monastery?" Lloyd perked up, "With your... dad?"
"Yeah, My mom is off doing things, and Uncle Wu had a big fight with my dad when I was younger and so it's just me and my dad," Mage sighed, then smiled, "But hey, I know there are people with no parents, so I'm glad to just have one!"
"...That, sounds like mom," Lloyd admitted, "I guess that's at least, a positive way of thinking at least."
"My dad is here too," Mage continued, "But he's also doing all the proceedings for the Summit. I never knew getting so many people together was this… difficult! I mean, when I was in a tribe I just had to ask and then set up the date! Leaders can be kinda stuffy."
"What is your dad like?" Harumi asked, "Is he Lord Garmadon?"
"Lord..?" Mage blinked, "Wha? No, he's just Garmadon! Or, I mean, he insists that you call him that. He's never been a Lord of anything. They tried to give him a title but he didn't get it!"
"This world is different," Monty stated plainly, "Clearly we're going to have as few points of reference with him as we have with Lulloyd."
"So… that means I finally won't be the one out of the loop all the time?" Lulloyd smiled gently.
"No, you'll still be out of it," Monty rolled his eyes, "Now you just have a friend."
"No one has addressed the elephant in the room," Lloyd spoke up, "Mage is using more than one elemental power. We talked to some traders on the way. It looks like everyone has only one."
"Oh, everyone can," Mage grinned, "But I'm the Dragon Lord! I wasn't born under a tribal dragon, I was born under the Firstbourne. I have the ability to master every element! And I know every element! ...Saying I've mastered them is kinda a stretch though," He awkwardly chuckled, "I can use them all just fine but I don't have the best stamina…"
"Wait…" Monty pursed his lip, "Does that include water?"
Mage raised one hand, a ball of water forming over his fingers and affixing to each of them like watery daggers, "Yeah, of course!"
"I see," Monty, now on the other side of the room, responded casually.
Mage paused and looked around, "So… what was it you all wanted to tell me?"
Lloyd, Harumi and Lulloyd all shared a look. After a moment of silent deliberation, Harumi stepped forward. She brushed some of her hair from her face, her features becoming serious.
"Mage, there is a pair of twins here that are trying to take over your world, or at the very least, destroy a part of it," Harumi shook her head, "They came from Lloyd's universe, and he's been chasing them down. We've come after them together in hopes of stopping them. They're going to try to undo everything, take over everyone, and then likely spread into other worlds as well. Mage… what do you know about Krux and Acronix?"
"Uhm… a lot," Mage crossed his arms, "I was around when Krux turned on his tribe-"
"The prisoners must have gone this way!"
Instantly, Harumi shot her hands up, forming small Rhotatae discs in her hands. As Mage marveled at them, Lloyd and Lulloyd rushed to the door, planting themselves on either side of it and leaning in. Monty silently drew a pistol and aimed it at the door, giving Lloyd and Lulloyd a nod of his head. The two inched towards the door to listen. The voice had come from outside the door in the hallway.
"They wouldn't get away from the building in this storm," A voice none other than Nya spoke with determined force, "They have to be in here somewhere. Spread out and search all these rooms!"
"What's wrong?" Mage looked out towards the door, "Wait… prisoners? Are you guys, did Nya take you prisoner?"
"We may have accidentally used Acronix's ride to get here and… may have hidden in her cart," Harumi groaned, "And they captured us thinking we were those Raiders."
"Raiders?" Mage squinted his eyes at her, "...Well now that you mention it, you guys do look you'd fit in that armor from back then…"
"We're here to stop the Raiders," Monty drew another pistol, "I broke them out to get here. We'd kinda like to remain hidden, or at least not captured. Take two steps to your right, Mage."
Mage complied, taking steps out of Monty's line of sight to the door. The ghost planted himself against the wall, ready to drop the SoS and leap through the wall if he had to. Lloyd charged his fists with green power, getting ready to flash them with light to stun them. Lulloyed looked around the room and kicked a small four legged table, rebuilding it into a makeshift hammer he likewise readied to swing. The four held their breath as Mage stood in confusion.
"Guys," Mage shook his head, "Look, I'll go explain this to Nya, she'll believe me! Trust me! I know all the leaders here, I'm technically the leader of this entire Summit."
"It isn't that simple," Harumi shook her head, "They think we're here to attack them, they won't just let us go! We've all been in these sort of situations before."
"I'm used to more piranha mechs being involved," Lulloyd admitted, "And more buildings blowing up."
"That's exactly what they'll do," Mage stepped towards the door, entering Monty's line of sight, "Listen, if they try to hurt you, I'll protect you. Nobody is gonna try to hurt the Dragon Lord. I promise, let me just go tell Nya I found you guys and got your side of the story explained, and that's that. I'll handle this... please?"
"Can we trust that?" Lloyd looked to his allies, "We can't afford to waste time getting caught here."
"If… Mage is who he says he is, then… it'd be the equivalent of the Royal Family issuing a decree," Harumi pointed out, taking in a breath and lowering her fighting stance, "If this goes bad, we can fight our way out."
Lulloyd slowly released his grip on the hammer, kicking it to turn it back into the table. Lloyd let his green power fizzle out, nodding to Mage. Monty continued to hold his pose for a few moments. After a bit, he relented steadily and hesitantly. He hid one gun, but Harumi noted he held onto the second one just in case.
"Just stand in the room, and let me explain this," Mage opened the door, "It'll just be one minute!"
Mage left the room. Lloyd and Lulloyd stepped away from the door and stood by Harumi. Monty stood behind all of them, not wanting to meet the master of water face to face. While the four waited with batted breath, there was the sound of scuffling outside the door. Footsteps approached it, and then stopped. From the shadows under it, two people were talking. When it opened, Mage stood beside Nya with a smile on his face. Nya looked into the room, her feminine, sleek and powerful body imposing on all of them.
"...These are those intruders alright," Nya slowly turned to Mage, "You're saying they didn't try to attack you? Not even once?"
"Nope! They actually were pretty nice. They said they're here to warn us about the Raiders," Mage pointed to them, "That's Lloyd, Lulloyd, Monty and Harumi!"
"Lloyd?" Nya cocked her head, "But, you're Lloyd. I thought that name was special?"
"Mhm, and if one of them has it, all the more reason why they're important to listen to!" Mage shrugged, "They tried to tell you, but I guess when you decide to ask questions later, these things happen," Mage sighed, "Just like the day you met me!"
Nya's face flushed slightly red. When she looked at the four of them, her eyes landed on an unusually tense Monty, "I didn't bring him with us. Where did he come from?"
"He was following you guys!" Mage lied quickly and without so much as a twitch on his features, "He's with them. They're here to warn us about some Twins that are trying to take us over. And they know something about the Raiders."
"Yes," Lloyd followed, "We're hunting two people that escaped from us and came here, we're here to try to stop them. We had to talk to Mage here."
"Mage?" Nya paused, then sighed, "Ah, that must be one of his nicknames."
"Yep, NyNy!" Mage grinned, "I think we need to hear them out. We called this entire thing just to talk about the Raiders. We need to use the information we have, and if they have it, we need it!"
Harumi stepped forward, "Will you let us explain ourselves? Hear us out, and if afterwards you find our story too far fetched, you can let us go. These Raiders are clearly a serious threat, right? We're here to help fix that, it seems," She paused, "This, may be an odd question, but are you familiar with Krux and Acronix?"
"Of course I am," Nya raised her eyebrow, "We've done business with the Time Tribe for years now. It'd be weird if I didn't know at least Acronix."
"Has he acted weird at all in the last few months?" Harumi waved her hand, "Anything at all? Has he shown any signs of not being himself?"
"I don't know him well," Nya shook her head, "I just do business with him. He was a little more tired than normal today, but that's it. I don't know what you're supposed to be asking here," She turned to Mage, "Are you sure about them?"
Mage shook his head, "It'd be easy for them to just try to attack me there! We've all seen these Raiders strike without any reason, right? Why would they suddenly decide not to attack me?" He crossed his arms, "They already tried to assassinate me once, and Acronix."
"Wait, what?" Lloyd blinked, "What was that about an assassination?"
"Good point…" Nya waved her hand, "Fine, I was going to present you to the Summit anyways. Telling me wouldn't be as useful as telling it to everyone instead. If Lloyd trusts you… we'll see how the others can tell your story to all of us, and it better be a good one. I still have plenty of cause to haul you all to a cell if it isn't."
"We want to cooperate with you," Lloyd stated firmly, "We have no intention of anything else, we promise."
"Well then…" Nya turned around, "Let's go."
As the group walked, it gave Harumi time to process what was in front of her. The Nya in front of her was more akin to the one she was used to: older, somewhat wiser, and appearing to be a bit more authoritative. It made sense, given that apparently she was the head of the entire Water Tribe. Her outfit was somewhat more what Harumi was interested in now that she was up close. It appeared to be some of skintight sleek gray material, with drapings of cloth over it to hide that fact. It was almost brazen with how it was made, and it drew her eye more than she realized. It was still very pretty on her, Harumi would admit.
As the group walked, Harumi looked to her companions. As far as the spectrum of liking them went, she already was going to put Mage above Monty even if she'd known him for less than an hour. Monty seemed to annoy her with every single little thing he said. It wasn't like she was trying to be angry with at least one person in their group, but… Monty just went out of his way to make her do that! He was useful, but beyond that she wanted this over so she wouldn't have to be around him anymore. It made her glad she wasn't still angry with Lloyd.
"Here's how we'll play this," Nya turned towards the group as she walked, eyes with actual irises in them coming across even stranger than her appearance, "I'm going to introduce the fact I have new information. Do not come in until I say so. I will have my guards tell you. Lloyd advocates for you, but my tribe is not the center of the attacks. If we do not play this carefully, we could very well be in big trouble. Understood?"
"Understood, Nya," Harumi nodded her head, "Or… is it, Master Nya?"
"Lady Nya," One of Nya's guards corrected.
"Sorry, Lady Nya," Lloyd smiled awkwardly, "We'll follow your instructions." Lulloyd blinked in agreement.
"If you think it's best, fine by me," Monty shrugged, "Better we follow you than get a one way ticket to the afterlife's afterlife."
"What?" Nya asked in confusion.
Harumi gave Monty another long look. She didn't doubt that he was going to follow orders, but at the same time the fact he had to make it so difficult and spark an entire extra exchange made her want to grip her fists. In a way she was almost glad she'd made up with Lloyd for now; she didn't have the energy to deal with being annoyed about both of them. When she put it like that, though, she sounded like someone difficult to get along with. At the very least Monty got on Lloyd's nerves too, making her at least somewhat more assured in herself.
"I just realized something," Harumi pulled up her watch, "Is your brother the leader of the Fire Tribe?"
"He is," Nya stated calmly, "Our mother is of the Water Tribe, and she met our father while on a mercy mission to the Fire Tribe. They needed someone with knowledge of medicine, and so my mother stayed behind. When it came time for her to be called back to the Water Tribe, she took me with her by my father's request. My brother and I just so happened to both be selected by the dragons."
"Are the tribes not hierarchical?" Harumi asked, "We were told the Speed Tribe selects their leaders by their dragon."
"If you aren't chosen by your tribe's dragon, it's a fast way to be doubted as a leader," Nya remarked, "The dragon choses based on their wisdom and foresight. Some dragons will pick multiple leaders and have them compete for the role. My brother and I were simply selected, and that was that."
Eventually the group reached a large hallway that they guessed was in the center of the building. It was completely circular, and had doors spaced along its circumference. A large number of people were already inside judging from the discussion taking place. Nya's guards lined up alongside a set of doors. Nya approached them and gestured for Mage to follow her.
"Do as I say and we can avoid most of the trouble," Nya narrowed her eyes at them, "The only reason I'm doing this is because the Dragon Lord trusts you. Don't make me regret this. There are people in there that have had their Tribes nearly break apart due to these Raiders. Don't waste our time, and don't you even think of lying to us."
"We hear you, Lady Nya," Lloyd nodded his head.
"We're on your side, we'll do what we need to so we can stay on it," Harumi affirmed, "Thank you for your help, Lady Nya. We really do appreciate it."
"I do have one question before we enter," Nya paused, "What was your plan before this? Sneaking aboard my personal escort was one thing, but what did you think would happen when you got here?"
"We would find the Dragon Lord, tell him about this threat, and then see if he'd help us," Lulloyd answered, "We usually make our plans loose to account for things like these."
"I guess you had a plan then, but not a thought out one," Nya pointed out, "Well let's make our plans align then. If this is the time for us to learn how to defeat these Raiders, so be it."
With that, Nya and Mage entered the doors, Mage giving them a wave before he did. The four were left standing surrounded by Water Tribe guards. Already, Harumi noted that Monty was standing at the back of the group to be as far from them as he reasonably could. Lloyd was standing with a determined look, while Lulloyd was looking around to take in more of the hallway they all stood in.
"I think, we can probably say that there are two Acronixs now," Lulloyd turned, "I, picked up on why you were asking that, Harumi."
Nodding to him, Harumi turned to the group, "If Nya says he isn't acting strange, and he looks like everyone here, then the one on the Speed Cars isn't the twin we're looking for. That must mean the actual Acronix and Krux aren't operating out in the open yet."
"But that's a problem," Lloyd paused, "We all saw it. I'm sure those Raiders are Vermillion. I mean, those bikes look like the tanks they built, now that I think about it. So the Twins have some sort of plan."
"And given that we don't know their plan, we're going in with nothing more than hearsay," Monty pointed out with a yawn, "Not a good image for us. Those empty armors after the battle also means those snakes are being careful not to get caught."
"I'm used to giving reports without time to research them," Lulloyd pointed out, "But, uh, if we have no evidence then, what'll make them believe us?"
"We need to start by telling them about the Vermillion," Harumi raised her arm to tap her watch, "Then we give what we have. Start with things they can believe, then go into things they can't. We can't get around the Twins, though. We say clearly that this Acronix and our Acronix aren't the same one. This is going to be confusing if we're not careful."
"When we deal with the actual Twins, we'll be careful," Lloyd pointed out, "Right now, let's just get ready to make a good first impression. I think you should take the lead, Harumi."
"Are you sure?" Harumi asked, "I mean, I will, but why not you?"
"I look too similar to Mage," Lloyd shook his head, "So does Lulloyd. Monty is a ghost and that likely won't look the best. You have the best image of all of us in that regard. You should do it."
Harumi nodded, seeing a guard waving them in, "Alright, then here's what I want. Lulloyd, to my right, Lloyd to my left, Monty behind me. We'll present ourselves in the best way. After I get done with the initial speech, then Lloyd and I will work out the rest. Anyone got issues with that?" Lulloyd rotated his head no, while Monty groaned. The doors to the room opened by the guard in front of them. Harumi stepped inside.
Once inside, all four were hit with the impression they had just walked into a very important place. The room was large, their eyes drawn to a massive crystal that pulsed with various colors the massive table was centered around. Seated all around the room was a collection of faces that Lloyd and Harumi knew well. She could recognize Turner, Penser, Karlof, Bolobo, Gravis, Neuro, she knew all of them. They were all the last generation of Elemental Masters. There were guards wearing all types of armor around the room, the colors they alone wore brightening the space and adding to the sense that this was an event seldom witnessed.
"We captured these strangers on their way to this very Summit to give us critical information!" Nya announced, "They say they have information on these Raiders that we have not found. We should hear them out!"
"You've let those who claim to be associated with those brigands into our Summit?!" Bolobo, whom she guessed was leader of the Nature Tribe, shouted, "Why did you not interrogate them for information instead?"
"I concur," Neuro, clearly Mind Tribe with his monk- like attire, added with his features completely blank, "We have given them an advantage they should not have had."
"If you refer to this meeting," Nya frowned, "We have kept no secret this is our Summit. If someone wished to cause us harm, they would have already. They have gained nothing coming here that they could not have already learned."
"It's still dangerous!" Jay of the Lightning Tribe added in, "My Tribe has had their supply lines almost completely cut off, and now you bring them into the Summit without telling us? Why didn't you tell us about them as soon as you arrived?!"
"Because other proceedings were occuring, and not all of you had arrived yet," Nya frowned, "Can we at least hear what they need to say before we come to any conclusions?"
"Is that truly wise?" Neuro frowned, "We should imprison them, not let them address us."
"They will be allowed to speak," A deep and familiar voice echoed across the room, "They have come this far, it would be foolish not to."
Harumi turned towards the voice. None other than Sensei Garmadon was in front of them, or rather just Garmadon. Rather than his normal dragon inspired clothes they were used to, he wore gray and purple robes similar to Lloyd had seen in old pictures. His attire mirrored that of Mage, who had taken a seat in a large seat beside his father. Garmadon eyed the four that had entered the Summit with curious eyes.
"Thank you, Garmadon," Lloyd bowed his head, fighting hard not to say 'dad.'
"Do not mistake this for saying you are welcome," Garmadon stated firmly, "Our situation is far more dire than you realize. Dire enough, in fact, that if you are indeed with the Raiders you will pay dearly for infiltrating so far into our core. I suggest you each choose your words carefully, for we will know if you are lying."
Garmadon nodded to Mage, who gave an apologetic smile and opened his eyes purple, "Sorry… it's something I kinda have to do. I'm the only one here not affiliated with any tribe, so I'm the most 'neutral' here. I'll have to use mind on you to tell if you're lying when you talk."
"How much do you need to read?" Harumi asked pointedly.
"Enough," Garmaodn replied with narrowed eyes.
The three turned to Monty. Monty didn't have an expression on his face, but he didn't immediately agree. The silence in the room started to grow as the realization that he could refuse dawned on them. If Mage found out about what Monty had told them… it could lead to rather bad situations for them.
"...Alright," Monty turned to Mage, "You take as much as you need, got it? I don't like having people poke around inside my head. It's all I got left from when I was living."
"I won't!" Mage smiled, "I just have to follow some trains of thought. I just need to keep an open channel so I can feel if you're lying or not. And uhm, you can't lie mentally, I'll know it right away. Got it?"
Monty gave another small nod. The four walked forward and stood still. Mage closed his eyes, and the four all felt something prodding them at once. Harumi, having felt Somnan do the same before, let him in instantly. Despite not having this done before, Lulloyd was rather calm and didn't seem to offer and resistance. Lloyd had to somewhat relax himself. Monty, however, seemed to be a roadblock, and even after the three felt the probe retract, Mage was left still staring intently at Monty with purple eyes.
"Can you, loosen up a bit?" Mage chuckled awkwardly, "You're kinda, blocking me out."
"Some of us have things we want to hide," Monty stated simply. The three knew exactly what it was he was hiding.
It took Mage nearly thirty seconds to finally get when he needed. When he pulled back, Mage had one eye purple and the other eye normal. He looked to Monty apologetically, gaining no reaction from the spector. Harumi, sighing, stepped forward, her friends arranging as she'd said.
"You may address the Summit now," Garmadon stepped back, "Choose your words wisely, strangers."
"Thank you. My name is Harumi, this is Lloyd, Lulloyd and Monty," Harumi stepped forward, Nya allowing her to stand at her place at the table, "As you can likely see, we do not come from this world. I know that it is difficult to believe, but we come from a world like this one, but different in many ways. The threat that you all are facing is born of those other worlds." The group turned to look to Mage, who nodded his head to say Harumi wasn't lying.
"Woah. She's either completely crazy, or this is something we ain't ever seen before," Turner waved his hand, "What do you know about these Raiders? This whole Summit is about how bad they are."
"They are from another world, just as all four of us are," Harumi raised her hand, "I know, that claim is as far fetched. I have something that might prove my point."
Harumi tapped her watch and then sat it down on the table. A massive projection formed a hologram on the table of a Vermillion. The 3D render of the warrior was enough to make several in the room tense up at the sight, and many others freeze at the strange projection. Harumi noted how many of them looked at it as though they recognized the figure.
"What… what is this element?" Tox of the Poison Tribe leaned forward, "Kinda looks like something from the Light Tribe?"
"Don't look at me," Paleman of said Light Tribe crossed his arms, "I've never seen that before."
"It's not any element," Harumi shook her head, "It's from technology. I come from a world that's far beyond this one. Most people don't have elemental powers, but almost everyone has these things. Many people, as well, can do this."
Harumi brought her hands together, forming a Rhotatae disc between them. The green disc crackled as she opened her palms, causings its diameter to grow to over a foot. She inhaled gently, and the disc evaporated. The room stared at her in complete confusion.
"Maybe I'm seeing things," Chamille of the Form Tribe spoke up, "But that looked like some sort of elemental power. The only one I know that's green like that is nature. What dragon were you born under?"
"None," Lloyd spoke up, "None of us were. We're not from your world."
The confusion that filled the room was enough to make Harumi take a step backwards. She shared a knowing look with Lloyd. The first step was done, and that was to make them at least think that they might be from another world. Mage was nodding his head in awe to everything he was seeing, effectively telling the room she wasn't lying.
Garmadon cleared his throat, causing the room to quiet down. A Fire Tribe guard entered the room, carrying something wrapped in a cloth. He handed it to Garmadon, who nodded in thanks to him. Garmadon unwrapped the item, revealing a piece of armor that he then sat down on the table in front of Harumi.
"Many weeks ago, there was an attempt on my son's life in this very building. He managed to fight them off, and we gained this for our troubles," Garmadon pointed to it, "Does this look like anything you have seen before?" Lloyd and Harumi shared a glance.
Harumi nodded her head, "It does. It looks nearly identical to the armor that the Vermillion wear," She tapped a few buttons, causing the hologram to vanish from the waist down to overlay it inside the armor to prove her point, "We've encountered your Raiders before."
"Vermillion?" Acronix spoke up, cocking his head, "What do you mean by that?"
Harumi tensed up as she heard that voice. She'd been avoiding looking at Acronix for all this time. She saw him, sitting across the room, and she'd seen him earlier that day. He had been intensely staring at them. Part of her knew it was because he had been there when they were captured, but another part of her was far more suspicious. He didn't keep his gaze off them. Harumi turned to Lloyd, who stepped forward in her place to explain.
"The Vermillion were bred from snakes," Lloyd explained, the irony of telling this to Acronix making him a bit uneasy, "They are snakes bound to a hive mind, and will move according to the will of the one in control. They curl up inside armor and make soldiers that can be struck down and slither back together. If you have fought them and they have disappeared, they likely are given orders to break apart and flee the second that they are attacked. They wanted to protect this secret. We've given it to you."
"Now that just sounds crazy," Kai of the Fire Tribe pointed out, crossing his arms, "You could just be making this up."
"While I have my doubts, the fact remains," Neuro turned to Kai, "That they do not look anything like we know. And they have indeed immediately vacated their armor the second they are defeated. We have been able to take no prisoners. Even the Smoke Tribe would leave traces of their existence. It is inhuman in a way that we have never encountered."
"But, snakes, curled up in armor, really?" Kai scoffed, "It's just so hard to believe!"
"It hard to believe months ago we would be in room like this," Karlof from the Metal Tribe grumbled, "Perhaps keep open mind to things hard to believe?"
"And they're telling the truth?" Harumi saw the speaker wasn't whom she expected; it was Bansha, whom she could only guess was representing the Wind Tribe. She directed her question at Mage.
"So far, they haven't lied, not even a once," Mage rubbed his chin, "Like, I can't even feel a hint they're hiding things. They're telling us everything right now."
"Maybe they are, but knowing this doesn't help us much," Cole from the Earth Tribe sat up, "What else can you tell us?"
Lloyd and Harumi turned to each other. This was the important bit. They both turned to look at Acornix, who acknowledged them by leaning forward. He looked friendly, amiable… the opposite of the one that had already caused them so much suffering. Lloyd nodded to Harumi to let him be the one to say it. Garmadon, sensing that they were saying something important, quieted the room with a hand.
"We know not only how they got here, but why they are here… and who leads them," Lloyd breathed in, "In fact we know a lot about them. They're two people, they come from my world. I fought them before, and they nearly won. They've taken to come to other universes to try to take them over since they can't take over mine."
"Who are they?" Jacob Penser -Sound Tribe- asked curiously.
"They're twins," Lloyd inhaled, "They're named Krux, and Acronix."
Acronix, in his chair, perked up. He leaned forward, staring Lloyd dead in the eyes. It was impossible to read what was in his head, but his gaze was intense enough to make them very uncomfortable and aware of it. As soon as he finished saying the names, however, the room erupted into chaos.
"You would insult the Time Tribe? Have you no shame?!" Shade -Shadow Tribe- snarled, "You mean us nothing but ruin!"
"Bite your tongues," Ash -Smoke Tribe- hissed out, "You insult us lying like that!"
"We should listen to them!" Paleman shook his head, and thus his hat, "They might mean something to us yet!"
"They're lying to us!" Kai shot to Paleman, "You're only saying that because your tribe isn't going hungry!"
"We've all been affected, Kai!" Zane of the Ice Tribe protested, "Do not say that one tribe's suffering is greater than another's during this time!"
"Dad!" Mage turned to Garmadon, "They aren't lying!" His purple eye flashed.
"Quiet!" Garmadon shouted, his voice booming around the room. The bickering leaders quieted down as Garmadon's harsh glares shot over them all. Those that weren't already strong of mind were forced to wilt under his gaze.
Acronix stood up, bringing attention to him, "Normally, I would dismiss this on the spot… but these are not normal times. If they say that there is another… there is possibly credence to that. Lloyd, was it? What do you mean, another Acronix is on the loose?"
While Lloyd, Lulloyd and Monty eyed Acronix with a mixture of confusion and slight worry, Harumi took point and bowed her head slightly, "It's like we've said. There is another Krux and Acronix, that look like us, but bear a resemblance to you. In our Lloyd's world, they were mad Twins that broke away from everyone and tried to take over. They were thrown into the Time Vortex, and when they reemerged they had been given enough time to find their way into this world." To prove her point, she pulled up a holographic display of the Krux and Acronix from the history archives of Ninjago to show the room. Acronix went silent as he stared at the pair in front of him.
"The Time Vortex…" Acronix rubbed his chin, "I know of this. It is a technique my dragon says my brother I can evoke. A dangerous one. Why? Why would they do that?"
"Because their power was stripped from them, and then thrown into the Vortex to ensure they would never be taken again. They managed to do so over forty years," Lloyd added.
"Stripping elemental powers?" Zane spoke up, "What do you mean by this? Only a dragon can do so. It is almost unheard of to have this happen."
"There is an element called Chronosteel that can do that in our world, but in our worlds there is only one elemental master per element," Lloyd continued, "The Twins in my world went out of control and turned on my father. They were forced to have their powers taken away."
"It is interesting you mention that," Acronix looked around the room, "For all of us here already know that my brother, Krux, was broken out by the Raiders previously," He turned to look harshly at Bansha, who simply looked back at him blankly.
"They have?" Lulloyd, finally brave enough to speak up, asked, "Why would they do that?"
"I would like to know that too, now," Acronix followed, "Since his powers were taken away by our dragon."
"They… most likely have a plan involving him, then," Lloyd nodded, "That has to be it. They're planning something with him."
"Do you know more about their plans?" Acronix leaned in, "Do you know why they would take him, any idea at all?"
"No, not right now," Harumi answered honestly, still feeling Mage's element in her head, "But given time we can figure it out."
"Given time?" Acronix sat back, "That is not of much help with our situation. The one thing we do not wish to spend is time."
"Speaking of help," Paleman crossed his arms, "What help can you offer us aside from your claims? This is already a lot to take in…."
"The Twins, they're planning something," Lulloyd stepped up, "Hi, I'm Lulloyd. We know they are. They… they hurt each of our worlds. All of us. We're trying to stop them. They wouldn't just, come here and then decide to not do anything. I know how bad guys works, that's not it."
"And if they're planning something," Harumi stepped forward, "We've been pursuing them for months now. We want to ask for your help to fight them."
"You want to ask for our help?" Turner scoffed, "You remember me saying we called this Summit about them, right? We haven't gotten far with them."
"We already know more than we did before," Nya pointed out, "We should take that as an advantage."
"On our way here, we were attacked in a trading caravan," Harumi pointed out, feeling her muscles ache in remembrance, "I'm… going to guess that they're attacking to… cut off trade, right?"
"If you just worked that out now, good," Shade nodded his head, "It's a miracle they didn't attack the Speed cars on the way in."
"We can show you how to fight the Vermillion," Lloyd added, "We can teach you how to take them out. And if you can do that, you can stop the attacks."
"We know that this is, just us telling you things, but knowledge is half the battle!" Lulloyd argued, "We want to help you by you, helping us."
"Just fighting them doesn't help when they attack at random," Cole sighed, "It's impossible to bring out men before they disappear too. Sometimes they're on weird contraptions, sometimes not!"
"Then we can work with that," Harumi put her hand on the table, "We've shown you we know them. We can work out a plan to help them. We're asking for your help, in return for giving you what you need to finish off these Raiders."
"Just because the Dragon Lord says you're telling the truth, doesn't mean we can trust you," Neuro rubbed his head, "You could be hiding things from us. Or only telling us what we need to know. One of you resisted the Dragon Lord, after all."
"They've already told us more than we could ask for," Nya argued, "And nothing they say has contradicted how the Raiders behave. If they're really made of snakes, it explains how they get out of that armor so fast."
"But not much else!" Jay chirped out, "We need more than that!"
"What plan do you propose to us?" Garmadon's voice cut through the air to the four, "Perhaps that would expedite this discussion."
"Plan?" Lloyd blinked. They… hadn't thought of one. He looked to Harumi, but she didn't have one either. The room began to draw out into silence, with all eyes on Lloyd. In those moments, Lloyd felt himself going completely blank and unable to form a thought as to what he wanted to say. Harumi, too, felt the pressure and couldn't come up with anything.
"We… uh…" Lulloyd gulped, "Well…"
"I got a plan that we can use. In fact, it's simple to execute, too.."
All eyes, including his three companions, turned to Monty. Monty had his arms crossed, yawning and patting his face to show it. He looked to each person in the room with a long sweeping gaze, then he stretched his back out and forced himself to stand up straight.
"What are you?" Bansha leaned in, "You don't look right. Are you using some weird power?"
"Nope, that's a ghost!" Mage declared, "They're talked about in the ancient texts!"
"And what would that be… ghost?" Acronix narrowed his gaze with a curious glare, "What do you propose?"
"I've fought the Twins, and I've inferred a bit about them," Monty looked Acronix dead in the eyes, "And it's rather simple. Their plan is to sit here and push the conflict to its breaking point. They want the tribes to fall apart and then pick them off one by one. It's honestly so simple it's working."
"Karlof not like ghost's tone," Karlof shook his head, "But Karlof want to hear plan!"
"Simple, metal guy, they're using these mysteriously disappearing soldiers to cut off your supply lines, trade and force you all into your own tribes, aren't they?" Monty stood up straight, "Clearly, they're either too weak to face you head on, a doubt given how many of you are affected, or they're simply going to play a waiting game. I've literally pulled that exact plan before. I say we make it clear they're actually playing two player on this one."
"Two… player?" Jay asked, "Like some kind of game?"
"Somewhat," Monty pointed to the crystal in the middle of the room, "The solution to all this is right in front of us. Us. You're all leaders of massive tribes, right? I say we use that power against the Vermillion."
"What are you proposing?" Garmadon asked firmly, "You are talking big, but your plan is vague."
"The Twins are hiding, we're going to draw them out," Monty looked around the room, "We're going to use old fashioned war tactics here. Clearly, they're going after isolated tribes. So, we need to not seem so isolated anymore. Show them we're strong."
"And what do you propose?" Garmadon asked.
"Dunno," Monty waved to Harumi, "She's the one that's good with details."
"Eh?" Harumi blinked, then saw once more the room's eyes were on her. She quickly stumbled through her head for something to say, "We… uhm, we… we show… show them we're strong by… by…"
Suddenly, a feeling of deja vu filled Lloyd, one that brought words to his lips, "...By, forming a group of people from each tribe to fight them!" There was a pause of silence in the room.
"Yeah," Lulloyd agreed, "We'll, we'll make a group. We'll do something about this. We'll… make a group of people, that are dedicated to only fighting the Raiders."
"You would have us divert the soldiers we desperately need to protect our tribes?" Ash of the Smoke Tribe scoffed, "In case you haven't noticed, we're suffering here."
"We wouldn't take many from each Tribe," Lloyd shook his head, "We wouldn't want a massive force. We'd want maybe… two or three. We'd make a group that operates, outside of the tribes. Like… a highly mobile unit that can go out and fight the Raiders."
"Two or three from each tribe would be roughly forty in total," Garmadon quickly totalled, "Is that enough for this… plan?" His skeptical tone forced their mental gears to turn faster.
"If we strike at them with a group that's always moving, then they can't corner them, and we take away the element of surprise from them," Harumi stepped in, "We can analyze where they're going to strike, and intercept them. We have the force operate out of here, so they don't look like they're from one tribe. The Raiders are operating on surprise, clearly. We need to break that surprise apart."
"So we're making a mobile batallion," Monty muttered, "We're basically making the 203rd." Lulloyd gave Monty a long look.
"You think you can do that?" Jacob snorted, "How?"
"Because I have technology that can predict things," Harumi tapped her watch, "I can put in everything that they've done and get an algorithm out of it. We can predict where they'll most likely be next. And even if we don't, the Raiders, if they're focusing on trade, will most likely be along the main road," Harumi recalled the large road on the map from earlier, moving the armor aside to turn the hologram to the map of the world, "We can focus on that first."
"So, we attack them while they're attacking?" Kai crossed his arms, "That's… not that bad a plan."
"It's a fine plan, but perhaps no more than wishful thinking," Neuro shook his head, "I have had my top scholars attempt to assess their movements, and found nothing."
"Plus, if it doesn't work, we could totally expose the fact we're weak!" Jay protested, "We don't wanna do that."
"Let us imagine that we were to use this plan," Garmadon looked to Harumi, then Lloyd, Monty and Lulloyd, "We would need insurance you would not run off."
"If we do this plan," Monty waved his hand, "We wouldn't leave the Summit."
"Oh?" Garmadon asked, "And why is that?"
"Because like she said, we know the people that are attacking you," Monty looked out to the room, "You don't need to believe us that they're another version of Acronix and Krux. But we do, and if they find out we're involved in this, they might leave. Like we said, we're pursuing them. We don't want them knowing we're here."
"I see," Garmadon nodded, "I personally am still straining to see the connection there, as are many in this room I'm sure. Given the doubt that has been expressed, I believe a vote is in order."
"Go ahead," Monty nodded, "Do it."
Garmadon gave him a long glare at his tone, but nodded nonetheless and stepped up to the table, "All those in favor of developing this plan, say 'aye.'"
What looked to be half the room spoke up. Mage counted.
"All those opposed, say 'nay.'"
Once more the room was counted. Mage turned to his father and blushed slightly.
"It's a tie, nine to nine," Mage looked around, "And I don't think I should vote."
"Well then," A female voice stepped in from behind Harumi and Lloyd, "Glad I got here just in time then."
"Skylar?" Lloyd asked in surprise. The girl looked like Skylar in face, but everything else about her was different. Her hair was still red, but it was cut close to her head. She wore what looked to be a set of orange painted sets of armor all around her body, and she had around her belt several implements to cause harm.
"Yeah, Skylar," She turned to Mage, "Sorry, Mage, had to handle some of those invaders on my way in. They ambushed me as soon as I left my house. Had to call your dragon to come get me."
"They're as bold to attack leaders now?" Zane asked in shock.
"Yeah, what were we voting on this time?" Skylar ignored him, much to Zane's confusion.
Mage filled her in on everything that had happened, giving the room some extra time to debate. When Mage finished, Skylar blinked at him and then looked to Garmadon.
"Well that's an easy choice, I'm in," Skylar raised her hand, "'Aye' or whatever you need to here. There, broke the tie."
"We should redo the vote," Garmadon turned, "All those-"
"Those wishing to change their vote, raise their hands, Mage knows who voted what way," Skylar cut him off.
Nobody did. Garmadon tweaked his lip slightly and then nodded, "Well then… the Summit hereby will move forward with the newcomers' plan. We will discuss having at minimum two members of each tribe that can provide them coming to this building and house them here. We will appoint Harumi as temporary overseer of operations. In the meanwhile, we will not give details of this plan to anyone outside of this room and those chosen."
"Those who are able?" Skylar turned, "I'll volunteer myself. Mage is going, so will I."
"That would not be wise," Garmadon began, "You are the last-"
"Clearly there won't be anyone willing to help me rebuild if they're too afraid to go into my borders," Skylar frowned at him, "You'll send you son but you try to tell me to stay away? Not going to fly. I'm behind Mage in this one. Besides, if I become an exception now, it sets a precedent for the future."
"If she wants to participate, let her," Monty turned, "Master of Amber, right? That'll be useful."
"The one and only," Skylar smirked, "Trying to make that not the case anymore, though. But I need to clearly protect the Tribes if I want to become part of them again, right? Think we can all handle that?"
"Yes," Garmadon sighed slightly, "We can. We will take a brief recess to discuss these terms. We will return in twenty minutes."
With that, Garmadon rapped the poduim he stood at with his knuckle twice, adjoining the room. Skylar turned to Mage as the other leaders began to filter out, rejoining their guards and going out in all directions.
"Come on, let's catch up a bit, I haven't seen you in a long time," Skylar smirked, "Your dad still training you hard?"
"Oh you don't even know!" Mage began eagerly, "He's been making me train with other powers while holding up entire walls of water! He builds this big pool and then opens it up and I gotta hold it up while practicing my other elements! And guess what; once I stop holding up the water, I gotta move it all the way back up and start again! It's exhausting!"
"I imagine," Skylar spoke, her voice drifting slightly away as she guided him out of the room, "You four are welcome to join us, by the way."
"We'll be a minute," Monty waved them on, "You two catch up."
Mage and Skylar eagerly left the room. Soon, it was just the four of them in the empty room. While they stood, Lloyd and Harumi turned to Monty.
"You wanna say something," Monty sighed, "Spit it out."
"Why did you say we'd stay in the Summit?" Lloyd asked, "That… doesn't make sense."
"Because you all failed four times to stop them all together," Monty waved to them, "Technically if we count individual failure, four for you, three for Lulloyd, two for Haru. If we show up, and the Twins see us, they might just up and leave," Monty pointed out with a groan, "And then we'll do this all over again. If we make the world seem like they're just fighting back instead, then the Twins will get stubborn and stick around to crush them. I've met their type before. They just want to show they have the power to subjugate this place."
"But this is assuming they can pull it off," Harumi countered, "We could just end up putting ourselves in a worse hole."
"How?" Monty gave her a sideways glance, "We lose nothing by doing this.. Even if this doesn't work, it at least makes the Twins movements a little more obvious and makes us not have to sneak around all the time. Maybe we should do that and actually try to win for a change."
"...I'm in," Lloyd turned to Harumi, "It's a good plan. We can make this work."
"Same here," Lulloyd nodded, "Anything it takes to stop the Twins."
Harumi stayed quiet for several seconds, then finally sighed, "Fine. We'll do it that way for now."
"Good," Monty turned, "Now come on, if we wait too long, I'm pretty Mage will-"
"Hey!" Mage suddenly appeared in front of Monty, his body blinking into existence from speed, "Come on, I wanna show you something!"
Before Monty could say anything, Mage had reached out and tried to grab Monty's wrist. He sped away, but Monty wasn't moved. About ten seconds later, Mage reappeared.
"Hey, you didn't come with me!" Mage turned, "Come on, I need to introduce you to Skylar! She's incredible, I think you'll all like her!" With that, Mage eagerly rushed out of the room at normal speed, guiding the four of them along on the next step of their adventure together.
And thus, the story continues!
I wanted to make one quick note here: due to me having an abundance of free time on my hands, and thanks to the idea from a certain AO3 user, I have recently published a new oneshot called Number One Crime: Copyright Infringement. For those of you who have wondered how Skylar feels about the Mechanic using one of her father's noodle trucks, I hope you take the time to find out!