Enter The Ninjaverse

by Bionic Stars

The Time Twins have returned, and with it they have brought a new threat: the loss of Lloyd's elemental powers. With Lloyd's powers taken, the Twins escape. Not the Time Vortex, however, but instead a rip in the very fabric of the universe itself. Lloyd's quest to stop the Twins leads him to new worlds, new faces, and new revelations into himself.

41. Chapter 41

Ninjago City, the city of the Emperor, was in shadow. The citizens that lived there, though uncorrupted, lived without the sun. A dark cloud had remained over the city since the day the black tower rose up. The palace of the Emperor was visible from wherever one looked in the city, a powerful symbol of might that reminded all of their place. Normally, the streets were filled with those that had continued daily life despite the change in their leadership. Life pressed on, even if all that the Emperor brought was darkness.

The skies, however, were darkened by the purple barrier that had been raised around the city like a dome. Thus, those citizens that would normally display their lives to the world were instead hidden inside, cowered in fear. The Emperor was clearly enraged, and to show their faces would be even worse. Thus, when four figures in hoods slowly walked up to a belowground entrance to a dimly lit store, it was all the more suspicious.

"Uh… what's the password?" A middle aged voice sounded from a slightly ajar door.

"By the light of Ninjago's moon," A knightly voice answered back.

Upon hearing that, the store owner shut the door and undid the multitude of locks. Quickly, the four figures rushed inside of the store, the door being shut and locked tightly behind them. The owner rushed around to lower the blinds around the store, leaving them mostly in darkness. He rushed over to flick a light switch, however, causing a massive display case that was filled with comics to come to life and illuminate a small portion of the back wall of the store.

"So…" One of the figures threw their hood back to reveal themselves as Harumi, "You're, Mother Doomsday?"

"The one and only," Mother Doomsday grinned to Harumi adjusting the ponytail on his head a bit, "Don't worry, you're safe here. Nobody will find you in here."

"He tells the truth," Sun threw back his hood to smile at the man, "He has been an unlikely but nonetheless powerful ally. His shop has been used many times as a refuge."

"All I ask is you throw in a little money to help upkeep the shop," Mother Doomsday replied, "Go and take a look around. I got some snacks in the back if you'd like."

"We don't have time to snack around," Nya threw down her hood, "We're more concerned about the information we've been hearing from the newspapers."

"Oh…" Mother Doomsday nodded his head nervously, "Yeah, I can tell you a little about that. Not really my field of stuff, but I've seen it myself."

The fourth figure walked up to a glass case display that partially made up the checkout counter. He bent forward to examine the case, specifically a set of three comics that were shown with a clear light on them. When he saw the titles on them, he threw his own hood back and rapidly turned to Mother Doomsday.

"I-Is that a first edition set of issues 1 through 3 of Starfarer?!" Lulloyd asked, turning his head back to the case to take an even closer look.

"I see you're a man of taste my oddly shaped customer," Mother Doomsday wrapped an arm around Lulloyd and leaned in towards the case, "Indeed they are. Limited edition too. I'll even let you in on a little secret," He leaned in to whisper, "I have issue 3 before the reprint."

"What?!" Lulloyd all but pressed his face to the counter, "N-No way! They took that off shelves before hardly anyone could get that! People sell those for hundreds!"

"I traded a good bit of my old collections for them, but these are my pride and joy," Mother Doomsday leaned up to pat his chest, "I've been buying a copy of each issue since then. Right now, you're looking at the owner of the complete Starfarer series since release."

"Is he getting excited about comic books?" Nya turned to Harumi as Lulloyd stared at Mother Doomsday in awe.

"It looks like that series is a universal constant," Harumi rubbed the back of her neck, "In my time they've already started making movies out of it. Lots of them, actually."

"Doomsday!" Sun raised his voice, "I do not wish to interrupt your reverie, but time is of the essence. If we are given more of it, we will return your our ally so you may discuss hobbies later."

Mother Doomsday and Lulloyd shared a slightly embarrassed look, but both relented on their discussion and made their way over to the group. Mother Doomsday led them to the source of light in the back, standing in front of a display of some monster-fighting series' newest issue. He waited for them all to gather around, then leaned in so he could talk quietly.

"Ever since that Nindroid plant got blown up, the Emperor has been releasing his personal guards into the city," Mother Doomsday explained, "Big red guys, large swords, cone hats? They're everywhere. The Emperor hasn't let up even a little bit!"

"The Stone Army…" Harumi shuddered, "We've noticed them. They're everywhere in the city right now."

"But that's not all," Mother Doomsday continued, "Word is, the big guy left the palace."

"General Kozu left the palace?!" Sun gasped, "Who saw this?!"

"Someone said they saw a guy with four arms and four big swords walking around barking weird noises at the guards," Mother Doomsday explained, "That was yesterday. Rumor is he's out here because he's looking for something."

"What would the Emperor have that Kozu needs to find?" Nya asked. Harumi thought for a few moments, then she shook her head.

"I don't know," Harumi frowned, "Sun, why is Kozu leaving the palace such a big deal?"

"General Kozu is the leader of the Stone Army, and has never left the palace since the Emperor moved the soldiers there," Sun explained, "Kozu controls the Stone Army. Have you heard of the Helmet of Shadows?"

"Wait, wait I know this one!" Lulloyd perked up, "It's, Lloyd said that, Dareth put it on and… he controlled the Stone Army!"

"...Dareth has done no such thing, but its purpose is as you said," Sun gave Lulloyd an amused look, "He who wears the helmet, controls the army. To ensure that it would not fall into the wrong hands, the Emperor fused the helmet to Kozu's armor. Only one that can take Kozu's armor by force would be worthy of leading the Stone Army."

"So there goes that option of getting rid of them," Harumi frowned, "We'll need to be careful to avoid the Stone Army. The second one of them sees us, we'll have to fight our way past indestructible soldiers."

"So uh… if I can ask, what are you all doing out here?" Mother Doomsday asked.

"It's probably for the best you leave," Nya told the shop owner, "You don't want to get involved in this anymore than you already are."

"Oh, yeah, right," Mother Doomsday sighed, walking away, "Don't mind me, just a comic owner wanting to fight back against evil oppression…"

As soon as he was gone, the group made their way to the employee lounge in the back. Harumi removed her watch and sat it down on a table, clearing it of scraps to display her downloaded map of the current Ninjago City. She hit a button to bring up a marker of their location, then highlighted the massive palace. Just the scaled down version of the city had the dark tower projecting almost three feet into the air.

"Our goal today is to find the best place where planting the core we stole from the train would cause the most damage to the palace's foundation, their outer wall specifically," Nya pointed to the large circular wall around the palace grounds, "We haven't found any evidence the Emperor discovered Dareth's tunnel, so we can't plant it anywhere where the radius would collapse the tunnel. We also need to find a location that would minimize the damage that any surrounding civilian buildings take."

"So this is a scouting mission," Lulloyd paused, "So.. uh, why didn't you take like, Monty or Mage? They… kinda are a lot more stealthy than we are."

"Monty is doing his own quest," Sun explained, "Lloyd and Mage are doing repairs on the Bounty. It seems that driving the Bounty up against the side of the barrier to retrieve that core was not the finest way to treat our vessel."

"Ehehe…." Lulloyd blushed awkwardly, "I, I had to get a clear shot!"

"Let's leave here as soon as possible," Harumi turned her map off, "We stick together and investigate together. If we're spotted, we'll split up and meet back here. Does that sound good to everyone?"

"One thing," Sun looked across the room, "Kozu being exposed is a big opportunity for us."

"What?" Nya frowned, "Sun, whatever you're thinking, no."

"If we can capture Kozu, we could take control of the Emperor's guard! That would leave the Emperor with only his other Hands for protection!" Sun leaned in against the table, "If he is looking for something, we must know what it is as well! If we were to find a way to capture Kozu…"

"We don't have any way to contain Kozu even if we could," Harumi explained, "It's dangerous, too. Both Morro and those two Skulkin had abilities. Do you know what Kozu's ability is?"

"We can find that out," Sun nodded, "After we capture him."

"It's too risky…" Lulloyd chimed in, "We're, running one operation here, Sun. It's already way too dangerous to sneak around the city. If… this Kozu guy controls the Stone Army, then the only place we can hide him is the Bounty, which, means that if we get him he'll just signal his guys to come attack us. I mean, we could tie him to the Shadow but… that's, not really a good idea. It's just better for us if we wait until we, get another chance."

"There may not be another chance!" Sun declared. He looked around the room, trying to discern what they were all thinking. When he saw no looks of support, he began to lower his head.

"Sorry, Sun," Nya groaned, "But it just isn't gonna happen today. We have to do this mission first, then worry about the bigger things."

There was a long silence in the room. For a few moments, Sun looked as though he was wrappling with what the others were saying. Slowly, Sun nodded his head, reluctantly relenting his goal and deciding to go along with them. Seeing this, Harumi put her watch back on and turned to leave the store. The four of them placed their hoods back on and made their way to the front of the store. After saying goodbye to Mother Doomsday, who had propped himself up to read a comic, the four of them exited the store and went back out onto the streets. The darkness of the city they were aiming to liberate converged around them as they turned and began to shuffle their way towards the massive black tower in the distance.

Ninjago City, devoid of people, looked almost more like an abandoned city a painter would depict to display isolation and loneliness. There was an oppression that both the gray skies and purple barrier that surrounded the city that was cast into the very air itself. It felt stuffy just to breathe, a fact that didn't help Harumi's growing nerves as the group approached the center of the city.

If Harumi's knowledge of Ninjago City before the Borg Revolution was correct, it seemed that the space that the palace occupied was likely near or on top of where the first iteration of Borg Tower was located. If that was true, it only made it seem more impressive Borg Tower had ever remained standing in her time at all. The palace, however, was far bigger than Borg Tower had ever reached, and with its massive circular wall that surrounded the palace grounds, it was even more expansive than before. The palace went by many names: the tower, Dark Tower, Dark Palace, Black Palace… essentially, she'd come to understand someone saying 'tower' or 'palace' was referring to that thing.

The streets themselves were primitive, but Harumi had come to understand that. When people walked on the lowest layer of Ninjago City, it was generally to visit some historical parks or deliver supplies. Most people characterized the lower levels with crime, which was why Harumi actually had a working knowledge of them. Thus, walking among Ninjago City's streets was something that brought with it a familiarity… and a worry.

As the group spent time slinking in and out of alleyways, Harumi couldn't help but keep looking up to the tower they were walking towards. That thing looked like an evolution of something she'd faced before. It was a pure symbol of evil, malice… and it reminded her too much of memories she wanted to desperately be rid of. She was able to push them down, but the constant drawing of her gaze to it made Lulloyd look to Harumi worriedly.

After nearly a half hour of tense walking, the group was about five blocks away from the tower's outer wall. Sun had told them the wall itself wasn't guarded, since just entering the complex would trigger the Dark Matter that was infused into the ground itself. The Emperor was connected to it, allowing for him to know any and all that walked within his domain. It certainly explained how her allies had been caught within a minute of actually entering this universe and been forced to flee. Their task became now to simply determine the best place to blow apart said wall with their newly acquired tools.

Just as Sun was about to take a step into an alley, he suddenly flung his body back and held one hand up. A moment later, the sound of grunting filled the alley. Quickly, Sun looked around, seeing a metal balcony above. As the grunting grew louder, Lulloyd looked around to see a bike holder. He broke it apart and quickly rebuilt it, along with a springing piece of board, into a small mini trampoline. Harumi had come not to question Lulloyd's building logic and just jumped.

Lulloyd had just turned the trampoline back to bricks after jumping up himself when the source of the grunting showed himself. Harumi's eyes widened as a true Stone Warrior, a swordsman if she recalled right, stepped out. Everything about him was exactly as she remembered. The chain and plate armor draped over the warrior's shoulder, the conical hat that never moved no matter where the thing looked, the low grunting coming from a face with such soulless eyes… it truly was the real thing. Harumi gripped the railing, her breath stalling.

The warrior looked around for several moments, holding two large black katanas. He growled for a few moments, scanning the streets for the intruders he thought he heard. Sun held his breath, ready to draw his blade in full. Nya reached her hand out, pushing Sun's arm down. The four stayed steady, letting the warrior slowly turn around and leave the group. After allowing it nearly a minute to walk away, Harumi gulped.

"The streets, they aren't safe," Harumi turned to them, "We need to travel by rooftop."

"We'll be too exposed," Nya shook her head, "We knew about this."

"That's a real one," Harumi shook her head with a shuddering breath, "I, I thought maybe they were mistaken. Have you ever faced one before?" When Nya shook her head, Harumi looked forward, "I have. You can't win against them. We have to travel by the rooftops."

"Harumi," Sun slowly reached out to grip Harumi's wrist, "You have nothing to fear. We are here. We will fight alongside you-"

"It doesn't matter if you throw one or a hundred of us against those things," Harumi didn't even turn, "They don't tire. They don't get hurt. If they catch us, they'll kill us. We go by the rooftops."

Sun and Nya shared a look, but when Sun saw the blank look in Harumi's eyes, he was forced to grimace and resign. Slowly, he moved to begin climbing up the side of the building, using the bricks to create his handholds. Nya followed in suit, while Harumi and Lulloyd kept watch. When the two were at the top of the roof, Lulloyd began to climb up the side of the stairwell, while Harumi followed alongside him.

Once all four were at the roof, Lulloyd looked around and saw some loose boards and quickly built those, using some of the hinges for the roof access door and the door itself, to create a folding ladder for them to lay out and use. Sun and Nya looked back to Harumi once more, who was looking down at the streets in terror. Both of them agreed to use the rooftops as Lulloyd began unfolding the ladder.

"Harumi?" Lulloyd asked as Sun and Nya crossed the ladder to the next building, "Hey… are you.. Okay?"

"No," Harumi gripped her fists, "This… this place. It's… horrible, Lulloyd. The Stone Army is free here…"

"But, we knew they would be here," Lulloyd pointed out, "...I, think I know what you're saying though. It's, harder to deal with it when you actually see it?"

"Yes," Harumi turned to climb onto the ladder, "It's much harder than I thought."

After Harumi had crossed, Lulloyd did the same. When he reached the other side, he folded the ladder and rolled it along until they found a building at a higher elevation. Once more, Sun and Nya began to cross while Lulloyd shook his head to Harumi.

"Listen," Lulloyd inhaled, "If you, need to talk then, I'm here. Like, I'm not really the best person to do it with… but, I'm at least better than nothing, right? I… know this must be hard for you, if what Lloyd was saying about this Emperor guy is true."

"It's worse than hard," Harumi hesitated crossing the ladder, "I… I feel it, Lulloyd. All the evil. It's… it's just, I can't take it. It's like my body doesn't want to go on. The dark matter is the opposite of who Lloyd and I am. I… I don't know what would happen if I actually touched it. It's in the air here, it makes me sick. And if it's in the ground too…"

"Then it's a good thing we do our plans on a flying ship, right?" Lulloyd offered. When Harumi didn't laugh and just crossed the ladder, Lulloyd frowned in defeat and followed again.

"I… I know you want to help, Lulloyd. I'm, really glad you do," Harumi admitted when he arrived beside her on the next roof, "It's… it's just hard. The last time I saw Ninjago City like this… the last time that I, saw a Stone Warrior, it was… it was…"

Lulloyd reached his hands out to put them on her shoulder with a small smile, "It was a time that, won't happen again, right? Cause, you got us right now. Friends. And, we've all been through some similar stuff. You, know you can count on us, right?"

Harumi looked at Lulloyd for a moment, only letting a small smile on her lips, "I… I know that, Lulloyd. This is just, a lot bigger than I thought it was. We need to be careful."

Lulloyd sensed that was the best he was going to get from her right now. As the group began to cross closer and closer to the tower perimeter, Lulloyd could see the number of Stone Warriors was indeed worrying. Almost every alleyway had some warrior going up and down it. The warriors wandered with eyes alert, scanning street after street for something to find. Somehow, Lulloyd could tell he didn't want to mess with them.

"Remember," Nya informed them as they grew within a block of the palace walls, "We need to locate a spot that will minimize damage to the buildings. This is our fight, not theirs."

Harumi and Lulloyd gave a murmur of agreement. Slowly, Nya and Sun paced their way up towards the lip of one building, flattening down. Lulloyd discarded the ladder and did the same. Harumi remained slightly elevated, taking pictures with her watch's camera to try to see more about the surrounding landscape.

"I'm not seeing much…" Harumi shook her head, "We need to keep going along he wall until we find something."

Sun nodded, prompting them to begin to travel from building to building again. Without the ability to go over roads, Lulloyd fashioned together a small slingshot out of some wire for a clothesline and the roof detailing. One by one, they loaded up and fire off across the street. Sun gave Lulloyd an amused look, who just rubbed his head in embarrassment.

Onwards the group went, going block by block with master building to remain unseen to the warriors that prowled the streets below. As far as Harumi saw, the wall had no weaknesses. It was clear the wall was pure Dark Matter, just like the palace itself. Climbing it would likely corrupt anyone who touched it fully, and there was no entry gate. In fact, the Stone Warriors themselves actually stepped into the wall as if it were gel, walking in and out from the streets. They entered and exited in intervals, creating a march of soldiers that only made Harumi happier and happier she'd stayed on top of the roofs like this.

Eventually, Harumi came to a massive divided road that led up to what likely used to be a four way intersection. Now, however, the wall cut off the top bit of street,turning it into a T-junction. The size of the intersection, however, made Harumi pause, making Nya and Sun stop. There was a massive gap of road between the nearest building and the wall. As Harumi's mind analyzed it, she turned to the group and nodded.

"If we're going to blow a hole in the wall, this is the best place," Harumi pointed, "If we hit the wall directly, we'll avoid destroying any buildings. It's an open approach from the ground, but we won't get anyone hurt if we time it right."

"Then mark this on that weird map of yours," Nya ordered her, "And then let's get back to the Bounty."

After Harumi marked it, the four of them began to make their way back along the buildings beside the road. There were many Stone Warriors patrolling the streets. Not a single person could be found, and that was for the best. The sight of a Stone Warrior hefting their massive warhammer and growling at every nook and cranny they found was sight that put all of them at unease. Whatever they were supposedly looking for, Harumi was glad they weren't it.

"Wait," Sun, after the group had moved perhaps five blocks away from the wall, raised his hand.

"What?" Harumi turned around, "Are we being followed?"

"I heard someone…" Sun closed his eyes. In response to something only he seemed to hear, Sun opened his eyes and turned towards the east, "Someone is in danger. This way!"

"Wait, Sun!" Lulloyd tried to ask him what he was doing, but Sun was gone before he could. Sun leapt over hte side of the building, grabbing hold of the bricks and scurrying back down to the streets. Harumi shared a look with the others before they hurried to try to follow him.

Sun drew his hood up even tighter as he raced his way from shadow to shadow across the street, determined to chase something. The Stone Army members that walked around the road gave him pause, but Sun refused to wait. Many times he darted in front of them, only hiding just as they looked towards where he once was. The others held their breath each time, trying not to let themselves get caught as they tried to follow along.

Harumi's breath pounded in her throat as they followed. As the three of them hid behind cars, corners and flowerbeds, she could hear the grunting of the lifeless brutes that walked around the street. They left heavy and hard footfalls that they made would make Harumi's skin crawl if they were close enough to hear. Sun kept running for almost a minute, making Harumi have to follow after him in a hurry.

Eventually, Sun arrived at a large below ground parking garage. He looked down the ramp, then drew his hilt. He ignited his sword, causing it glow as he walked down into the darkness it cast. Harumi tried to call out to him, but Sun didn't hear them or didn't care enough to stop. Lulloyd mouthed out a shocked question of what Sun was doing, but they had no way of stopping him. Sun's blade cast a warm yellow glow of light, and each step he took echoed in the lot.

Suddenly, a man and bicycle was thrown into the sphere of Sun's light. Harumi, Lulloyd and Nya hid in the shadows behind a large truck, peering around to see who it was. Sun looked down to see the Mailman, grunting and gasping in pain as he began to pull himself up to his feet. When the man looked up to see Sun, he at first covered his face until Sun extended his hand.

"You are with an ally," Sun declared with a smile, "You are safe now."

"T-Thanks," The Mailman took Sun's offer to stand up, then lifted his bike up and tested it, "L-Listen, you gotta get out of here! There's some crazy man here who-"

"EICCKKK VAIILL!" A guttural shout echoed around the space. The Mailman went stiff, backing away from the sound to get behind Sun.

"Go," Sun told the Mailman, "I will handle this!"

Without another minute of prompting, the Mailman hopped onto his bike and let out a shriek of fear as he peddled his way towards the exit and skidded onto the sidewalk. Sun held his sword up once he was sure the citizen was clear, then shouted: "Show yourself! Any who attempts to harm the citizens of this city must face its light!"

Sun's sword cast that sphere of light around him. Slowly, there was a series of loud footsteps. Sun remain firm, refusing to let himself become afraid of the approaching force. He heard the sound of metal sliding against metal, which also tried to unnerve him. Sun, however, refused to allow himself to. Slowly, a figure emerged, light glinting off his red and silver armor.

"I commend you for remaining firm in the presence of the Steadfast Stone of the Emperor's Hand," General Kozu slowly appeared in the light, hefting up his four larged curved swords, "You have a true conviction to remain calm against me."

"General Kozu…" Sun grinned, "I was not expecting to meet such a foe out here."

"Neither did I, son of Wu," Kozu lowered his swords, "However, I do not have business with you. Stand aside, and I will allow you to pass."

"What?" Sun shook his head, "I am the Emperor's rival! What is more important to one of his lapdogs than to capture me?!"

"A task which your small perspective cannot hope to grasp," Kozu informed him, raising his swords, "Move now, or be moved."

"K-Kozu…" Harumi whispered, putting a hand to his mouth, "He's… he's speaking a lot differently right now."

"What is he doing?!" Nya growled in Sun's direction, "Get out of there!"

Sun looked behind him to the exit to the garage, then back to Kozu. Kozu's armor glistened against the light. His eyes under his helmet were steadfast, and there was nothing in them that suggested a will to fight. Sun lowered his head for a moment, silent. Kozu waited patiently, just in time to hear Sun's chuckles and grunt in confusion.

"You were going to harm a citizen of this city," Sun raised his eyes with a fiery passion, "I cannot let you pass. As a member of the Emperor's Hand," Sun pointed his sword at Kozu, "It is your duty to face me in battle."

Kozu shook his head, "If that is your wish, then I will grant it."

Kozu let out a guttural shout, then slammed his foot onto the ground, cracking it. Sun readied himself for battle. Kozu looked ready to rush him, then shot forward and drove his four arms into one of the concrete pillars holding up the roof. A crack traveled along the ceiling, going right for Sun. Sun, seeing the roof over him collapsing, looked to Kozu and held his sword up in the air. He spun a ribbon of light in the air around him, then crouched. Harumi watched in terror as the roof collapsed, just as the ribbon of light burst apart with Sun's ability.

When the dust from the rubble cleared, a perfect circle was drawn around Sun, his ability having blasted it away in the air. Just as Sun stood up, Kozu slammed into him. The force of the four armed beast's tackle sent Sun rolling over the ground. When he managed to stop, Kozu was on him again. Sun brought his arms up over his face in a guard, but Kozu instead jumped over him.

"Where are you going?!" Sun shouted, watching Kozu run right past him, "We are doing battle!"

Kozu ignored Sun, running right for the exit to make his way out onto the street. Sun scrambled up to his feet and raced after him, his white robes flapping behind him as he did. Quickly, Harumi got Lulloyd and Nya up to go after him. Sun, upon seeing them, said nothing and instead kept his eyes focused on Kozu.

"KRAATA VU!" Kozu planted his feet into the pavement and shouted into the sky, "KRANA Z-"

This time, it was Sun who tackled Kozu. While he was by no means strong enough to actually push Kozu over, he held his sword directly to Kozu's chest and activated his ability. Kozu was sent onto his back, his armor smoking from the explosion.

"You will see no allies in this fight!" Sun shouted to Kozu, standing over him, "You will come with us for harming a citizen of this city!"

"SUN!" Nya shouted, pulling off her sash to transform it into her spear, "What do you think you're doing?! He'll call the entire Stone Army here!"

"I do not care!" Sun shouted back, "He harmed a citizen! I will make him pay for it!"

"I was sent to find others," Kozu growled to Sun, "Even after I allowed you mercy, you rejected my hand and asked for the blade. I will ensure you feel the full force of your decision."

Harumi, Lulloyd and Nya formed a triangle, looking around. From around the nearest street corner, a Stone Warrior began to pace forward. The helmeted version held up his butterfly sword, spinning it for a moment before seeing Sun standing over his leader. With a shout, the Warrior went running straight for Sun. Seeing this, Lulloyd looked around and quickly took apart bike racks and street lamps until he'd formed what looked like a drop fryer basket. He quickly turned it on its side and scooped the Warrior up, then turned it upside down to act as a cage before kicking it backwards. It and the growling warrior were sent sliding back along the street.

"Okay," Lulloyd watched the warrior violently bang against the bricks, shouting in some unknown language, "That's going to be a problem."

"Sun!" Nya turned to him, "We need to leave, NOW! The whole army is going to be coming for us!"

"Nay!" Sun shouted back, "I will finish this fight, it is between this man and myself! You may run if you wish, but my fight lay with him!"

"You have the will of a warrior," Kozu chuckled, "Then let us test your mettle."

With a heave, Kozu knocked Sun away from him. Kozu reached up to his helmet, then pulled off the large ornament on the top. He planted his other swords into the ground, then held the ornament up into the air. It began to glow and extend until it had formed a large war drum. The drum hung from his lower two arms, and came with a set of large drumsticks he held in said hands. He plucked two of his swords up from the ground with his upper hands, then opened his eyes and pointed them right at Sun.

"Now you will see my ability, and know my power!" Kozu shouted, "You who have challenged me! Fight me head on, or be struck down!" Kozu reached up, then slammed the drumsticks down onto the drum.

As soon as Sun heard the drum, everyone around him vanished.

"What?" Sun looked around. The street was empty of both his three friends and of General Kozu. The street was there, and even the strange contraption Lulloyd had built. Yet all the people around him had gone. He held his sword aloft, attempting to determine where they had gone.

With another rap of the drum, everyone reappeared.

Kozu appeared right in front of Sun, causing him to gasp and try to angle his blade. It wasn't enough, and Kozu swung both of his swords directly into Sun's blade. Without his arm in place, the blow was sent right into him and sent him flying backwards. Just as Sun landed, Kozu pounded the drum again.

Once again, everyone around him vanished. Sun looked around, trying to figure out what happend. When he heard the drum again, Kozu was again on top of him. Sun raised his sword up into the air to counter it, this time being able to more actively push him back. Kozu jumped back before the drumbeat made him disappear again.

"What is going on?!" Sun shouted, looking around, "Face me, Kozu!"

"It is you who should face me!" Kozu's drumbeat brought him to clash with Sun again, "Be steadfast as a stone, or be swept away by the tide of power!"

Suddenly, Kozu's drum began to beat faster. Sun wasn't sure what the song was, but it sounded like a fast paced marching song. As it began to pick up, Kozu began to blip in and out of Sun's vision. Each time that he disappeared, Sun was left unaware of where Kozu was until he appeared again and slashed at him. Sun's body was sent knocked around, the swords clashing into him as he was knocked from step to step back and forth by Kozu's attacks. Sun let out a gasp as each attack caused him to be thrown around until he could no longer block them, soon causing him to roll and tumble across the street until Kozu's drum stopped and he stood over the boy. Sun gasped and tried to drag himself up, but Kozu slammed his foot down onto his back to plant him down.

"You were a fool to have challenged me," Kozu growled, "If this was meant to be a battle, it was a slaughter."

"Y-you will not win this fight," Sun tried to drag himself up, "You… you are an enemy… an enemy that must be… must be purged…"

Kozu ground his foot in harder, "Is that so? Then get up and prove your conviction. Strength without will is nothing."

Sun focused, taking a deep breath. He planted his sword into the ground, then focused. His ability caused the blade to explode, flinging his body up into the air and knocking Kozu away. He landed on the ground again with a painful thud, but once he had stopped rolling, he slowly pulled himself up to his feet.

"Sun!" Nya reached onto his belt and guzzled down water, spinning her spear as her body began to hiss. She activated Reflex Hydrate and raced forward, running right for Kozu. Kozu turned right towards Nya, inhaled, then began to beat his drum.

Just as had happened with Sun, everything around Nya vanished and reappeared. With her ability in place, however, her body naturally either rolled away or snapped her spear into place to dodge Kozu's attacks. Kozu continued to blink in and out of existence to the drumbeat, but her spear managed to keep her from being beaten as Sun was. When Kozu's rhythm finally ended, Nya was sent skidding away, panting heavily as she moved to down another pouch of water she carried.

"Very good," Kozu informed her, "You have the will of a warrior. Your ability gives you the strength to continue on."

"You have not finished with me yet!" Sun held his blade and raced forward to try to plunge it into Kozu. Kozu turned around and rapidly rolled off a high tempo beat, causing him to, like watching something with flickering lights, dodge from Sun's strike and send an uppercut into his chest. Sun spat out in pain before he was flipped up into the air, landing hard again.

Kozu's head was knocked to the side by a disc bursting apart against his helmet. He slowly turned towards where Harumi stood, having just fired off a disc. Harumi was panting heavily, her eyes wild and staring right at Kozu. Kozu blinked at the display, then raised his blade at her.

"You," Kozu narrowed his eyes, "You do not come from this place. You may know of the ones I was sent to find. You will return to the palace with me."

Letting out a cry, Kozu bowled past Nya and went right for Harumi. Harumi's eyes widened as she tried to form a Rhotatae disc again. Kozu's drum, however, suddenly made tracking him impossible, as he seemed to blink in and out of perception. Kozu appeared in front of her and hooked his hand into the hole in her uniform, lifting her up into the air by it, sword still in said hand.

"Harumi!" Lulloyd heard a crash as the makeshift cage that he'd built for the Stone Warrior had broken apart, along with him being joined now by two Stone Swordsmen. Lulloyd flung his sword towards Harumi, who saw it coming and caught it just as it reached her. She grabbed it and spun it down to slice Kozu's hand. With his completely stone body, the blade simply bounced off. The action, however, distracted Kozu from Harumi for her to hold up her other hand with a Rhotatae disc and fire it into his eyes.

Kozu shouted in pain and let Harumi go as he clutched at his eyes. Harumi leapt backwards to avoid his wild swings, landing by Lulloyd. Kozu raised his head up, his eyes shut from the pain of her disc. He growled looking around for them. Lulloyd, seeing the three stone attackers, raced forward and knocked the three into the air, spinning them into a massive combo strike that ended in them being knocked back into the ground. The three groaned and began to stir as soon as Lulloyd landed, who was panting heavily just from the attack.

"Sun," Nya helped to prop Sun upright, gently pressing a hand to his chest to do so, "We need to leave!"

"Yeah…" Lulloyd watched the three warriors start to get up, "These guys don't wanna stay down, it looks like."

"Come on!" Harumi turned to run towards a nearby alley, only to see a Stone Scout emerge from it, crossbow in hand. She quickly formed a disc and held it up as a shield, the bolt the scout fired shattering the disc on impact and stumbling Harumi back.

"He really did call for the whole army…" Lulloyd gulped as he watched other of them begin to emerge onto the nearby streets, "We're in trouble…"

"Great, Sun…" Nya's spear turned back into her sash so she could better hold him up, "Harumi, can you call your friends?!"

Harumi reached down to hit a button on her watch, causing it to send out a signal. The beeping, however, was drowned out as Kozu shouted, turning around with his drums raised up and swords pointed at them. His eyes were still shut from Harumi's attack, but Kozu slowly huffed as the rest of his soldiers began to surround the group.

"If you believe that not being able to see will help you, you are wrong," Kozu growled, "I have lived my life in the dark. I was born from darkness. And it is not myself that you must worry for when you hear my War March!"

With that, Kozu began to pound on his drums again. Harumi looked around, and suddenly everyone vanished. Her breath caught in her throat as everyone vanished and appeared with the drumbeat. Lulloyd beside her continued to blip for her. She shook her head, trying to make sense of who was around her in time to see a Stone Swordsman. Harumi formed a large disc and fired it, knocking the oncoming warrior back, but failing to see another that reached up to grab her shoulder sand try to force her to the ground.

Lulloyd, who was similarly perception flickering, heard Harumi's cry being cut in and out by the drumbeat. He grabbed his sword and spun it down towards the warrior on Harumi's back, knocking the hat. The warrior turned to face Lulloyd, right before Lulloyd was unable to see the warrior again. Harumi managed to throw him off when she was able to see the warrior again, leaping away with Lulloyd to get a better stance.

"RAHKSHI KRANA VOS!" Kozu shouted. The warriors gave a loud shout of affirmation, then moved to unnaturally form into several squads of rows of 4. This gave Harumi the chance to back up towards Lulloyd. Kozu hit the drum several times until he appeared in front of three small sections. The sections formed together into one single platoon, which Kozu took point on. Sun shrugged off Nya's held to stand behind Harumi and Lulloyd.

"I commend you for your will to fight," Kozu informed them, "But you have made a grave error in facing me. This will be your last battle," He raised his sword into the air, "BARRAK-"

"Wait!" Harumi shouted. Kozu looked at her and slowly lowered his sword to look at her.

"Speak," Kozu pointed the sword at her, "You hold terror in your eyes, yet you continue to fight. I will acknowledge your fighting spirit by allowing you to have your final words."

"You could tell we weren't from this world!" Harumi shouted at him, "Does that mean the people that you're looking from aren't from this world either?!"

Kozu, eyes starting to open again, nodded his head, "Yes. The ones that the Emperor has sent me to find were not of this world. They arrived from thin air and attacked the palace. It was by powers that we have not seen they were able to escape."

Harumi's eyes widened. Lulloyd looked at her, and the two shared a look together. The implication of what Kozu had just said was enough to rock Harumi and Lulloyd.

"Is that all you wished to know?" Kozu growled, "You will take that information to your graves."

"Then come at us with all your power!" Sun shouted, "Show us the power that the Emperor has given to you! You did not earn that power! Our light will burn through unearned justice!"

"If that is the path you wish to walk, then walk it!" Kozu shouted, "BARRAKI! RAAAHHH!"

With that, the assembled Stone Warriors began to race straight for the four of them. Kozu led the charge, pounding away on his drum as he did. Harumi looked behind them, hoping to find some escape, but Kozu's constant pounding made her ability to perceive things go in and out. She turned to see, in small snippets, Kozu split his force in two, with him going right for them. The two splits moved to encircle them so, when Kozu struck them, they were already unable to flee. Kozu swung his swords towards Harumi, who dodged and let Lulloyd take them head on. Sun tried to swing his blade, but Kozu managed to catch it on the hilt. He swung his blades out, throwing both Sun and Lulloyd back. Both had to turn and face the Stone Warriors that were there to meet them. The four soon found themselves surrounded.

Each time the drum was struck, the army seemed to blink and pause back in. Suddenly, formulating a strategy wasn't an option. Instead, it was the four of them, wildly slashing away at whatever was in front of them, equally countering the moves they only saw for a second while also just aiming to knock them back. The sound of the drum was imposing and powerful. It pounded and pounded, filling the air with its sound and refusing to let those that heard it scape it.

"W-We cannot hold out like this!" Sun's voice clipped to Harumi, "Where is our escape?!"

"A minute!" Harumi was only able to steal a brief glance at her watch before the shouting face of a Stone Swordsman nearly cleaved her own one off.

"We'll never, be able to escape!" Nya spun her water spear, downing water when she could to continually let her body flip and dodge the incoming attacks at will, "Without… someone here to…!"

Harumi turned towards where she kept seeing Kozu appear. He kept hitting the drum. Even if he disappeared, she would be able to hear the beat. Something about that drum kept bugging her, tagging her mind. She wasn't able to think much on it, though. The continual rushing by the Stone Army made doing anything like that impossible. If Kozu's plan was to wear them down, he was doing just that. And she was certain there were even more warriors coming to capture them.

"There has to be something we can do!" Nya shouted, "He can't just have a power with no limitations!"

"There must be something!" Sun shouted, "Something we are overlooking!"

As the warriors kept throwing themselves into battle, Kozu laughed, "If you believe that, then perhaps you are truly foolish." His playing continued through his declaration.

"W-why does he keep playing?" Lulloyd suddenly shouted.

"What?" Nya shrugged off a Stone Warrior's hammer, only to fail to see another one and her ability to save her from being run through.

"H-He keeps playing! W-why doesn't he just, hit it once and leave us unable to see anything?!" Lulloyd shouted back.

Harumi's eyes widened as she caught a sword on a disc, "H-He's right! Why doesn't he?!"

"That must be something his ability has built in!" Sun leapt into the air, drew a ribbon in it, and then let it burst to give him some breathing room, "But what do we do?!"

Lulloyd focused. He listened in to the sound of the drum. It was a very simple beat, the more he listened. It was a sound that he recognized. It was the same sound that the Garmashark's feet made when it walked at full speed. One-two-three-four-four-four-one-two-three-four-four-four… he knew that rhythm. He could figure this out!

"Harumi!" Lulloyd turned to Harumi, "When will the Shadow get here?!

"L-Less than thirty seconds!" Harumi shouted back.

"My mechdragon is on it!" Lulloyd dodged an attack, "I-I think I can work around his ability! W-When I make my move, you three need to be ready to move!"

"Do you think you can pull off your plan, my friend?!" Sun shouted to Lulloyd. Lulloyd gulped.

"I-I don't think so but it's not worth worrying about!" Lulloyd threw back to Sun, then lowered his voice, "I-I just gotta make sure I don't mess up the song."

The Stone Army continued to overwhelm them, not only in number but in the group having to continually deal with them teleporting in and out of view with Kozu's beat. Lulloyd focused. The more that he readied for the drumbeats, the more he was able to see the warriors when they reappeared. Without the pure terror of being reset, he had a chance. He dodged a few attacks. He could do this. He… he hoped.

There it was! Harumi looked up to see the Destiny's Shadow being pursued by several Security Drone jets. The pilot looked to be Lloyd, who was quickly jerking the sticks from side to side to avoid attacks. On the bottom of the Shadow was his dragon brick. It was too heavy to normally carry around on these missions, but it was perfect for this. Kozu, however, also saw the Shadow, and turned to shout an order. The Stone Scouts all raised their crossbows towards the Shadow.

"LLOYD!" Lulloyd risked opening the comm channel to shout towards the Shadow, "Drop my brick, now!"

Thankfully, the comms seemed to work this time. Lloyd, who was still dodging fire, managed to hit the button to drop the brick towards the ground. He spun the Shadow up into the air into a roll, trying to lose the laser-shooting pursuers. As the brick began to fall, Lulloyd closed his eyes and dropped down to all fours.

"F-Follow the beat," Lulloyd whispered, "Follow… follow the beat!"

With that, Lulloyd jumped. Kozu looked up towards Lulloyd, ordering his men to fire at him. Lulloyd jumped up into the air, landing on the head of one of the soldiers. Just as he heard the drumbeat that would make the world invisible, he jumped. He rolled in the air, and at the apex of his jump, he heard the next beat. The soldiers flashed back into view, allowing him to see where to land next. Just as he landed again, the beat sounded and he jumped. Each time he jumped, he forced himself to wait for the beat, so when he saw the warriors again, he knew where to land.

Kozu let out an angered shout, looking up to see the brick Lulloyd was working his way towards. He shouted and pointed up to it, causing the archers to move to try to shoot it. Lulloyd looked down to Kozu, then threw his sword towards him. The sword went right for not his head, but his drum. When it struck, it caused another beat to be added to the mix. In an instant, the ability disappeared. The three looked around in shock, but Lulloyd was overjoyed.

"I-I was right!" Lulloyd gasped to himself, "He has to keep up a song!"

Lulloyd made one final jump as Kozu frantically moved to try to restart his ability. That, however, was Lulloyd's chance. He leapt up once more and grabbed the brick right before the arrows could take hold of it. With a press, it began to unfold out into the MEchdragon. When it was formed, however, Lulloyd rapidly went about rebuilding it. What slammed down onto the ground wasn't a dragon, but a four legged turret with a dragon head turret that Lulloyd was manning. The strange contraption planted its feet into the ground, just as Lulloyd hit a button to cause the main cannon to fire up.

Sun, Harumi and Nya hit the ground just as Lulloyd began to spin the turret wildly. The turret let out both missiles and lasers, firing away wildly into the Stone Warriors. The assembled warriors, which had indeed grown since the start, were blasted away, striking wall and the ground. When Lulloyd had done a full rotation, he turned to focus the gun at Kozu. Kozu just managed to rattle off a few opening notes before a massive missile was sent right into him. Kozu went flying, hitting the pavement and cracking it. His drum turned back into his headdress ornament, skidding off beside him as he grunted and tried to get up.

"Grab on!" Lulloyd shouted, hitting another button. The jets that he'd installed into the base of the turret suddenly fired, causing the turret to start to gain lift. Almost immediately, Sun and Nya grabbed Harumi to help her up and grab onto one leg each. Lulloyd yanked the sticks down to pull the jets on full throttle, readying them to go flying right up into the sky. Lloyd, still piloting the Shadow, saw the strange thing and turned around, ready to intercept them.

"We will be out of this soon enough!" Sun declared, "Now we just need to-"

An arrow, fired from a Stone Scout that had gotten up, hit Sun's hand. Sun cried out in pain, his grip falling from the leg and only managing to cling on by his good hand. Nya shouted at him, but her leg was on the opposite side. Harumi, who was beside him, tried to reach out to grab his hand. Another fired arrow, however, forced her to draw back.

"Sun1" Lulloyd leapt from the cockpit, sliding down the turret and grabbing the lip of the leg. He leaned down, extended his hand as far as his plastic body would allow. Sun, who had a hand that was too damaged to grab on, looked up to Lulloyd and then grimaced. With a shout, Sun tried to yank himself up, letting go. With the few inches that he got from that, his hand managed to just barely grab onto Lulloyd's own. Lulloyd smiled at him, moving to start to pull him up.

Suddenly, one of the lasers of the jets chasing after the Shadow struck the turret, rattling it. Without a strong perch, Lulloyd suddenly toppled forward. Sun instinctively grabbed the leg he was pulled up onto, turning to watch with horror as Lulloyd went falling down towards the ground. Lulloyd shouted in fear, flailing his arms. Just as he was about to hit the ground, he fell into the open arms of General Kozu. Kozu grabbed him and slammed him down, using his stone grip to act as a prison to subdue him.

"HAU HAU! IGNIKA!" Kozu shouted. The warriors all began to cheer with him.

"LULLOYD!" Harumi shouted, but it was too late. One of the jets chasing the Shadow broke off, automatically targeting the turret and beginning to fire into it. Bricks began to break off, scattering down towards the ground. The turret started to destabilize, forcing Sun, Nya and Harumi to climb around to each other. Lloyd angled the Shadow down towards them, aiming to catch them.

Just as the turret passed the Shadow, the three of them leapt. They rolled onto the open deck of the Shadow, grabbing on tightly. Without a defense, the jet that had targeted the turret fired a few more times, causing it to break apart fully. As bricks rained down onto the ground, Lloyd turned the Shadow into the sky as the jets kept firing at him.

"G-Go!" Sun clutched his injured hand, "G-Go! W-We must keep going! There will be more!"

"Lulloyd!" Harumi turned back towards the Stone Army rejoicing at their capture, "We have to go back!"

The radar Lloyd was using showed several more targets incoming. More jets were incoming, ready to chase the Shadow down. As the laser fire began to engulf him, Lloyd turned the Shadow down towards the street. Harumi gave another shout in terror as the Shadow struck one of their hidden entry points, disappearing into the sewers to make their escape.

Lulloyd watched in fear as both his dragon broke apart and the Shadow disappeared. General Kozu looked down at him, then threw him forward. Two Stone Warriors grabbed him, holding him tightly as Kozu grinned under his helmet.

"We take him to the EMPEROR!" Kozu declared, "MARCH!"