Author's Note:

For anyone that's confused about the layout of Ninjago City, I own the Ninjago City and Ninjago City Docks sets and used those as reference! Also, yes, any references you can spot are intentional!

Ophiod slowly moved his hand up and down the staff he carried. As he did, the scroll unfurled with his touch, and refurled when he pulled away. He stared at the golden metal and the scroll planted on its ed, his eyes attempting to decipher what meaning they held. The more he stared at it, the more he couldn't make out the words. The more that it all became nonsense to him.

"Ophiod?" Skales' voice made the Viper raise his head. The hypnobrai was standing in the entrance to the core chamber. The green core of Invictus was suspended in the air between two conducting rods, blasting power in and out in arcs that were captured by the rod sand sent out to the machine. Being so close would make one's hair stand on end. Fortunately, neither of them had any.

"Skales," Ophiod used the staff to stand up, "Is everything alright?"

"Prime said he was going to make a 'trip' or something, said I should tell you," Skales waved his hand, "Just as cryptic and annoying as ever."

"I believe that's just his personality," Ophiod dipped his head, "I was just studying the scroll."

"Again?" Skales scoffed, "If you didn't learn something the first ten times, what makes you think you'll learn something now?"

"I will find out what it takes to use it," Ophiod shook his head, "I will use its power. I will master it, no matter what."

"If you ask me, you should spend more time worrying about where we're going," Skales crossed his arms, "This trip is getting rather hard to follow, personally."

"We'll handle it as it comes," Ophiod nodded, "Is that all you needed to tell me?"

"I also need to make sure you get some sleep," Skales frowned, "I know you've been neglecting it. Use one of your spells and rest."

"But-" Ophiod started. Skales walked forward and crossed his arms.

"Sleep," Skales turned his head to the side, "A Prince like you shouldn't go into battle barely able to stay awake. Put the scroll down and rest."

"...You're right, Skales," Ophiod sat the staff down, sighing and leaning his head back, "I don't need a spell. You can leave."

"Hrmmm, I'll be back to check on you, then," skales shook hi shead, "And if you aren't resting, I'll knock you out myself."

"Alright, alright," Ophiod closed his eyes, "Thank you, Skales."

Skales took a moment to look over Ophiod, watching as his chest began to rise and fall. He reached out and brushed his hand over Ophiod's head, then turned and began to leave the room. He opened a compartment in the wall and climbed up a ladder to take him back to the main cockpit. Ophiod waited until Skales was gone, then sighed.

"A Prince like me…" Ophiod slowly sighed as he drifted off into rest.

"This is the dumbest thing I've ever done…" Monty growled, sitting down beside the pond of water, "Of course it had to be put in water. Why not just ask me to go scuba diving while I'm at it? I don't even need the air tanks!"

In the midst of the Uncrossable Jungle, far from the Ninjago City that Lulloyd called home, a golden sword was placed on a small body of water. Why the water in this world wasn't made of bricks like the rest of the world, or the plant life for that matter, Monty couldn't have cared less about. He was focused now on the reason he was here, a reason that filled him with no small amount of aggravation. Floating on the surface of the pond was none other than the SoS, glistening in the low light of the morning. Beside the pond was the unfurled scroll, written with a small list of steps he had to perform. This was the last one, and the previous ones had been so tedious Monty refused to acknowledge he'd even done them.

Taking a small breath and exhaling it hard enough to shake the trees, Monty slowly put his feet together and spread his knees. He places his hands on his thighs to hold them apart, then bent forward towards the sword. He was close enough to the water he could hear it rippling. He looked towards the scroll, groaning as he did.

"This probably won't even work," Monty rolled his eyes, "What do those guys in Cloud Kingdom think? There's no way this sword has a will of its own. I must have just shot it too many times."

The sword didn't respond to him. For a moment, Monty considered giving up, yet his mind reconsidered it for him. This may be a ridiculous ceremony, but it wouldn't be smart to not even try it. If it worked, he'd get the powers of this sword back. If it didn't, he'd just go back to Cloud Kingdom with Lulloyd later and curse Fennwick with bullets.

Slowly, Monty focused. A golden aura flared up around him as he called upon his Chi. It was a feeling he hated, and one that he'd been forced to use more often now than he liked. The power was the only link that he had to his past life, and one that would change everything for Morro and his stupid ninja if they found out. The golden dragon slowly curled around Monty protectively, its body visible through the ghost. Monty gave one final scoff, then pointed down at the water. The dragon obeyed, slowly slithering down his arm to fade into the water below. For a few seconds, the water glowed golden.

The small blue gem on the end of the SoS's hilt began to glow. Monty looked at it with masked interest, watching as the gem began to shine. Slowly, the golden glow in the water was sucked into the gem, causing it to flash gold. The entire blade glowed brightly, causing Monty to blink a few times in surprise.

Then, the color went out. The SoS faded back to its normal pristine sheen and the gem back to blue. It gently drifted along the surface of the water towards Monty. Monty looked down at it, then reached out and picked it up. When he held it up, he could see his reflection in it, but nothing more. With a groan, he blasted the sword dry with wind and sheathed it on his back.

"Next time I see Fennwick, I'm going to kill him," Monty declared.

"And what good would that do you?"

Monty spun around to face the source of the voice, pulling a pistol from his armor to point towards the speaker. A large ball of blue light hovered in the air behind him, formless in shape but pulsing as it spoke. When Monty looked to his shoulder, he saw the gem on the SoS was glowing in turn. With a groan, he moved to put his gun away.

"The one time I wish they were wrong, and they turn out to be right," Monty sighed, "This world is just one big joke, isn't it?"

"It seems so, my Master," The orb spoke.

Monty scoffed, "Let me guess, you're the will of the SoS, right? I gave you a big wake up call so you could speak to me? Is that what you really look like?"

"Would you like to see how I once looked?" The orb asked. Slowly, it began to colhease together, shaping itself up until it began to condense and take form. It turned into a large bulky dragon with two massive wings that slanted back against its body. A long tail ended in a spike that pulsed with some indistinguishable element. The dragon's head was thin and narrow, lined with ferocious looking teeth. The entire form was perhaps ten feet in length, just shorter than Monty's Chi when summoned, "This is but a mere projection of what I used to be."

"So either Fennwick's story wasn't total nonsense, or you're just really good at listening," Monty rolled his eyes, "Well, let's get this show on the road. I used that dumb ceremony thing to awaken you, right?"

"By infusing your Chi into the blade, you've told me you wish to claim me as your own, my Master," The dragon responded, "But I do not accept you as that."

"Oh?" Monty raised his eyebrow, "Is that why you haven't been showing me what I need to see?"

"You are an unworthy wielder for my potential," The projection responded to him, "As such, I do not give you my power unless I believe that you will die without it. I will remain in your shadow, but you will not use what I can give you."

"Alright there, Shinobu," Monty rolled his eyes, "I'm using you from now on. You're stuck with me. Get used to it."

"You guise your true feelings behind sarcasm and jokes," The dragon, which by now Monty had decided was the Sword in his mind, mocked him, "And yet you remain dishonest with yourself."

"I don't have time for this," Monty stepped forward, "I'm in the middle of a multiverse wide conflict that's already gotten way bigger than I wanted it to be. So I need you to work with me. I didn't summon you like this to argue with you. I summoned you to tell you to knock this whole acting up thing off. I'm sick of it and it's really inconvenient."

"Is that all my power is to you?" The Sword responded, "A convenience? Do you truly understand what my power can give to you?"

"Nope, and don't care," Monty shook his head, "I'm your Master now. Obey me."

The Sword paused for a long moment, refusing to talk to him. When Monty leaned forward to try to see what the projection was doing, it suddenly began to glow brightly. Monty didn't shield his eyes, but he was lost in the whiteness. When the light faded, however, the sight that Monty was left with caused him to inhale sharply and grit his teeth.

"You can't ask me to obey you," The Sword asked, now a glowing form of someone Monty had long since forgone, "When you cannot even obey yourself."

"You're really throwing a tantrum," Monty growled, "Knock it off."

"Can you not stand looking at yourself?" The Sword brushed a hand through head of golden hair, "This was once you."

"No," Monty spat, "That's not me anymore. I'm not him anymore. Lloyd died in the Cursed Realm, just like he should have. I'm not the same person. Knock. This. Off."

"Really?" The Sword shook his head, "If you can't even face yourself, how can you truly wield the sword forged from destiny?"

"I don't give a crap what you were made out of!" Monty stepped forward, "I don't know how you figured that little trick out, but I'm not laughing at it. That idiot doesn't exist anymore. Don't try looking at him like you think it's going to trick me into breaking down."

The Sword looked to Monty for a moment, then turned around. He gently adjusted the green robes he wore, colored by the blue aura that surrounded him, and then began to take a few steps around Monty. As he did, he looked Monty up and down. He spent a long while looking at the SoS on Monty's back.

"It's good to see that my form hasn't changed," The Sword nodded, "My last master spoke of potentially reforming me. I think this form is the most suited for me."

"Yeah?" Monty drew the SoS, "Maybe I should turn you into a kitchen knife."

The Sword sighed, "You truly don't understand, to you? The power that I grant those that hold me is but a fraction of what I was built to do. I am meant to grant you Sanctuary… yet, you are constantly in peril, yes? If you were to push forward to learn my secrets and become worthy of it, I would share with you a power you could never hope to lose with. You would truly be able to keep yourself safe."

"How about you quit the whole self-betterment shtick and just stop acting like a little brat?" Monty responded curtly, "I'm your Master now. I'm going to wield you until the end of time. I can't age, so you're stuck with me. Get over it."

The Sword thought for a moment, then shook his head. Monty felt taunted as the Sword walked over to stand on top of the surface of the water where the SoS had floated. He slowly sat down just as Monty had, shaking his head as he smiled up at Monty. Just seeing him sitting on the surface of the water filled Monty with an anger he wasn't used to feeling so potently.

"A worthy wielder of my power would wish to unlock my power," The Sword closed his eyes, "And would be willing to purge themselves of darkness to use me."

"And I'm saying I'm about to go fight a mech the size of a building with nothing but a toy dragon and pistols, so I don't need this!" Monty spat, "What exactly do you want me to do to unlock this dumb power, huh?! Huh?!"

The Sword opened one eye, "Accept yourself, for starters."

"News flash, I have," Monty crossed his arms, "I know who I am."

"Knowing who one is and accepting who they are can be very different things," The Sword shook their head, eyes closed again, "For you, they are as far apart as can be."

"You can know this who dumb analysis thing off," Monty turned to walk away, "Just stop disobeying me. I am your Master and I'll be treated like it. You're stuck with me."

The Sword sighed and shook their head, "Ah, my Master, you understand nothing. Perhaps if you came to understand the meaning behind your existence, you'd be willing to find the power you need to win this battle."

With that, the visage that the Sword had taken on faded with a shimmer of light. The gem on the SoS slowly dwindled out, allowing for Monty to look down at the blade. He looked at his reflection in the blade for a long few moments, then scoffed and turned around.

"Fine, be that way," Monty growled, "I'll win this stupid battle without you."

With one last angry snarl, Monty took off towards the sky, blasting him up until he'd long passed the canopy of trees. He scanned the area until he saw the distant sight of Ninjago City, the blocky structures reaching up to the sky. With a small hiss, Monty turned his hands down and blasted off towards it, dismissing the thought of the Sword's wishes in his mind even as they remained burned into him.

"Where's Monty?" Harumi asked with a tap of her foot, "We said we were getting together for this meeting at ten!"

On top of a large corner building in Ninjago City, the group of dimensional travelers had assembled. It was a rooftop sushi restaurant, and one that was quite well known at that. A man in red crab-themed clothes, a massive bushy mustache, and chef's hat was curiously turning fish pieces into dishes to throw onto a large conveyor belt that carried food around to nearby chairs. Lloyd and Mage both took a large platter of studs of 'sushi' and moved to a small orange-topped table to take a seat. Sitting on studs wasn't the most comfortable, but Lloyd had gotten used to it after the several days they'd spent here.

"You know, it doesn't look like food!" Mage tossed a pink stud into his mouth, "But it's so good!"

"Things here kinda act like what you think they are, and not always what they have to be," Lloyd took a bite with a massively oversized fork, "But yeah, it's good!"

"Mhmhmm!" Mage beamed, downing one plate and tossing it back onto the belt. The chef looked at the already large amount of emptied plates and shuddered.

"Do you know where Lulloyd is, too?" Lloyd turned to where Harumi was tapping her foot, "He said he'd be here."

"He's bringing his parents so… I guess we gotta be ready," Harumi shook her head, "Why did Garmadon decide to meet here?"

"He said something about not wanting to overuse a location," Over stepped out of a sliding door to a restroom, "I've ensured that this location is secure. There is no chance of our enemies finding us here."

"You weren't just going to the bathroom?" Mage asked in shock, "I thought you were taking a long time!"

"I have no need for such things now," Over placed one hand on his dark chest, "I am a fusion of flesh and immortal shadow. I do not need to sleep, eat, nor drink. I have the capacity for them, but they are nothing but a liability for me."

"Why?" Mage asked, "Can someone even poison you with food?"

"...The fact you thought of that first disturbs me," Over frowned, "But no. I have even attempted to inject myself with Tiger Widow Venom. It gave me a mild headache at the worst of it."

"Tiger Widow…?" Lloyd blinked, "Wait, I… I've heard that name somewhere before…"

"I would say to ask Jay, but it's a waste of time to tell stories with unsatisfying endings," Over moved to stand near Harumi, "If Lulloyd and Monty do not arrive in the next five minutes, we will start without them. It is not worth our time to reward them for tardiness."

"Y-Yeah…" Harumi still looked away from Over, tense whenever he was near, "They should be here soon! Ugh, maybe Borg installing trackers on everyone's watches wasn't such a bad idea." Lloyd opened his mouth to ask what she meant, but after the last Borg he'd encountered, he didn't feel the need to question it anymore.

"Hey, guys!" Lulloyd's voice came from the corner of the restaurant, where, notably, a small elevator led up to the location. With a double flip, he landed on top of a small stand for the manu, only to wobble and nearly fall off. With another flip, he landed on his feet. A few seconds later, the elevator arrived at the floor. He was in his casual green hoodie once more.

"Lulloyd!" Harumi gasped out with an annoyed glare, "Where have you been?! We were supposed to start awhile ago!"

"I-I was, uhm, I-I got sidetracked getting here!" Lulloyd rubbed his head, "Y-You see!"

"Helllllllooooooooo!" Unikitty suddenly came jumping over the elevator, landing beside Lulloyd, "Don't worry, Lloyd's friends, he was with me!"

A long moment of silence ran through the group as they all took in the sight of Unikitty, who happily waited beside Lulloyd. Mage put his food down, staring with an intense look on his face, while Lloyd and Harumi were stunned beyond words. Over just reached up and pressed against the bridge of his nose.

"I won't ask, I've seen enough strange things to last me a lifetime," Over sighed, "Is your father joining us today?"

"No, he's uhm, doing some other things," Lulloyd gulped, "...I also didn't tell him."

"I, kinda want him to be here but, I kinda also don't," Lloyd admitted, "And uhm, she's…?"

"Princess Unikitty," Lulloyd asked quickly, "From Cloud Cuckoo Land. We uhm, we have realms just like you guys."

"Is that why your father was badmouthing someone named Batman the other day?" Over asked.

"Uh… probably," Lulloyd moved over to one of the tables, taking a seat. When Lloyd gestured to the sushi bar for him, Lulloyd shook his head.

"That's…" Mage spoke up, his words quiet, "That's a… a… that's a pink cat with a horn, right?"

"A unicorn cat, I would assume," Over nodded, "Likely magical in some way."

With that, Mage suddenly turned into smoke, flying straight through everyone around him and appearing right in front of Unikitty. He hovered right over her, meeting Unikitty's happy smile with one of childlike wonder and excitement.

"OH MY DRAGON YOU'RE SO CUTE!" Mage gasped out, "I've seen all sorts of things but I've never seen anything like you before can I pet you please please?!"

"U-Uhm, I don't know if-" Lulloyd was cut off as Unikitty just nodded her head and sat down, her body turning into a slope. Mage was immediately moving to start petting her, causing her to thrum happily as he did. Lulloyd blinked, then just shook his head and sat down.

"And… for what reason have you brought her here today?" Over asked.

"She wanted to come, can we just get on with this meeting?" Lulloyd frowned.

"...Yes," Over nodded to Lulloyd's curt tone and turned to Harumi, "Would you like to begin?"

"Yeah, I would," Harumi sighed, moving to tap some things on her watch, "After what we learned by having Over go out and meet with Ophiod and Prime, I think we know enough now to make a plan. A plan that will help us finally start undoing what the Time Twins did."

Lloyd and Lulloyd perked up upon hearing that. Over moved to stand beside Harumi, causing her to tense back up and gently shift to look away from him. Mage looked towards her, but was still completely enthralled in petting Unikitty. Lloyd gave a small look over at the sight, but turned his attention to Harumi regardless.

"Let's start with what Over found out," Harumi nodded stiffly towards him.

"Our enemies are being given something in exchange for their services, which implies that these two have been specifically recruited by the Time Twins," Over began, "That we knew already. What I have found out is something more pressing. The Twins have been willing to use time travel to enter worlds at a point prior to when they left my former own. It is therefore assumed that these two are likely the strongest of those that they found. It is therefore also in our best interest to assume that no one else is coming to help us."

"We were going to look for other people to help us?" Mage asked in confusion.

"No," Lloyd shook his head, "We can't involve anyone else in this. We've already done a lot of damage by just, jumping after the Twins like we have. We can't just keep trying to add numbers and think that's enough for us."

Harumi and Over nodded together, much to Harumi's chagrin. Over turned to her, and Harumi nervously placed her watch on the table and gently hit a button. A projection of Ophiod came up and, beside him, Skales. The two were clearly constructed from their first encounter, with them readying to perform Spinjitzu together. In Ophiod's hand, the staff he held was glowing with power.

"I have confirmed that Skales here is nothing more than a common Serpentine," Over nodded his head, "Yet there is some connection between these two that is unknown to me at present. Ophiod called him his 'personal knight,' which seems to align with the concept that there is royalty in his world he is apart of. I have confirmed by touching him that he is indeed one that shares our own unifying thread. Meaning that in his world, he was born part Serpentine."

Lloyd stopped to think about that. Himself, born as a Serpentine? Nevermind Skales, since he had no idea what that was about, but just the idea of him being born a Serpentine was bizarre. From what he understood, the Serpentine Wars had been what had created him in the first place, so the idea of himself being, well, a Serpentine didn't even add up in his head! Still, he held his tongue. Harumi switched the projection to show Prime on one side in his form-fitting plug suit, and beside him a scaled down model of Invictus, also taken from their first encounter.

"Prime is of far more interest to me," Over shook his head, "His mech appears to have a core that is unlike anything I have seen. Monty's assertion there was one when he attempted to possess the mech stands. This core was what I retrieved a piece of that universe's energy from. As soon as I felt it, I knew that power the mech runs off of is none other than Green Power."

"So he's like us too?" Lulloyd asked, "But like, why the mech?"

"It does not seem like he has power in the way that we do, but rather it is concentrated inside of his mech itself," Over nodded, "What's more, he talked to the mech as though it was something, special to him. Which implies to me there is a bond between him and that machine that is more than just a weapon. What this means, I don't know yet. But he did not mention his team, even when I gave him chance sto. And he was happy to share details about himself that didn't say anything about his past, meaning he's hiding something. They both are."

"We already figured most of this out already," Harumi shook her head, "But as soon as I heard Over talk about the core, I knew something was going on there. And I think I have a plan now. A plan that will let us start making some headway on those two."

"The first thing we must do is figure out why they are working with the Twins," Over nodded his head, "Once we know this, we will know our enemy, and we can defeat them."

"And I think the core in that machine is what is letting those two travel worlds, since they don't have Green Power like us," Harumi nodded, "Just like how the Twins have to use a source inside of their machine. If I can get my hands on one of them, I might be able to use some of the tech I have back home and make us a device that won't let us have to rely on Monty and Dareth's Dojo anymore."

"How?" Lloyd asked. Harumi smiled at him and then took her watch back. She pulled a chair forward and sat down in it, sighing as she stretched out her back. When she did, she summoned a Rhotatae disc in her hand and gently held it in one of her palms. As the others looked to her, she gently held it up for them to see.

"The requirements for us to jump worlds are the same as they've always been," Harumi charged the disc with her element to turn it green, "We have to have Green Power or something related to it, the world we go to has to have an analog of us, and we have to have an anchor point to use. But, I started poking around with dimensional energy, and I think I've figured out why the Twins have been able to move around despite the restrictions we have."

Harumi moved to place the Rhotatae disc over her other hand like a top, "Our power acts as a way to carve the path through the void. Since our power comes from the First Master, we can create our way through to another world. In order to do this, we have to have some protection from the void. So, our power acts like a protection. Monty's chi is what we use in order to actually form the path. Now, the Twins have the Iron Doom, which acts like Monty's chi. It's basically the best way we can show what a shield looks like. But, that means if you give someone a machine that can harness Green Power and a way to make a path through the void, then anyone can do it. Meaning…" Harumi made the disc disappear, "All we need to do is get our hands on something that can harness our power and is already made to work inside of a machine. Like the core that's inside that mech."

"But, what about Dareth?" Lloyd asked. Harumi smiled a bit smugly.

"As much as I love using him as a reference, I know how we can fix that," Harumi pointed up towards the sky, "All the locations that we arrive at are linked. When you give directions, you navigate by landmarks, right? Instead of making a machine that has to go to that landmark, we can have one that will calculate our entry point relative to that anchor point. Meaning, we can arrive anywhere in the world we want, so long as we have the coordinates relative to where we first entered it. Which," Harumi tapped her watch, "I've been working on perfecting."

"Thus, now we have two objectives," Over stepped up behind Harumi, "Mage, stop petting the cat and come here."

"Awh…" Mage and Unikitty sighed together. Mage walked over towards the rest of the group, a bit of disappointment in his eyes. Unikitty hopped over beside Lulloyd.

"We split into three teams," Harumi looked around to the assembled group, "With three objectives. One of them will go to Ophiod's world and gather information on who he is and why he's here. The second one will go to Prime's world with me to find out how the cores work in his world and help me steal one to make us new devices to travel worlds without Monty. The third team will act as a diversion to draw Prime and Ophiod away from us."

"How can we get to Prime and Ophiod's worlds, though?" Lloyd asked.

"We will have Monty concentrate his chi on the objects that I stole from both Ophiod and Prime," Over informed them, "If her theory is correct, then we will arrive at their worlds by that alone."

"Who will be on each team?" Mage asked.

"Team one will be Lloyd and Monty," Harumi explained, "They both have the most experience with Serpentine, so they're the best to go to Ophiod's world. I'll be going with Lulloyd to Prime's world. I'll need his Master Building to help me get around. Mage, you'll be going with Over. It doesn't where you go, but you need to go somewhere they won't be following you."

"Where am I going?" Monty's voice caused the group to all turn to see the ghost casually hovering on the edge of the rooftop by them, his cape a massive green one flapping about behind him.

"So he decides to arrive," Over nodded.

"Can it," Monty growled, "I was busy. What's so important?"

"We're making our plan to start taking back everything on the Twins," Harumi explained curtly, "It's easier if we-"

"I heard you," Monty cut her off, "Are those really the teams you want to make?"

"Why?" Harumi asked with a huff.

"Because I think it's better if we do it this way," Monty pointed to each of them as he spoke, staring with Harumi, "You go with Lloyd to this Prime guy, that way Lloyd can pass for Prime if you get caught. Mage, you go with Lulloyd to Ophiod's world. Mage can shapeshift you so you can get around wherever you need to go. I'll take edge over here and lure those two into my world so I can learn a bit more about them."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Harumi protested, "I made these teams so we had the most chance of success."

"And I'm telling you that I'm used to breaking into places, and I know how to divide the teams up," Monty frowned, "Plus, I have some business I need to take care of back home. This way, I don't have to worry about doing it on your clock."

Harumi looked ready to fume out of her mind at Monty, but Over raised his hand. He gave Harumi a long look, causing her to go frigid, while in turn he eyed Monty up and down. The two immortal beings slowly stared at one another before Over sighed and turned back to Harumi.

"Monty is right," Over frowned, "His plan is one most likely to work. The two of us are best suited to taking on that mech. Mage's power is the only way to make those two not look out of place. And that leaves you and Lloyd by default. I believe we are in our best interests to do that."

"Wait a minute!" Unikitty suddenly shouted, making several of them flinch, "Does that mean you're taking Lloyd away from me again?!"

Slowly, the group all turned towards her. Unikitty had an expression on her face best said to be terrified and angry at the same time. She was all but fuming at them, but at the same time her eyes were concentrated on Lulloyd and bubbling with worry. ARound her head, small sparks of red wands began to emanate from her horn and vanish the next second.

"Yes, he is," Over frowned, "And who are you to say that he cannot?"

"Because you took him away for a super long time already!" Unikitty protested, "You can't just keep doing that! We all get super sad and nervous and grumpy when he's gone!"

"He has things to do," Monty scoffed, "Deal with it."

Lulloyd's eyes widened, but he was too late to stop Monty. Unikitty suddenly gave a fierce hiss, and in that moment her body flashed red for several moments. A strange heat began to gather around the area, one that began to worry Lloyd. Mage looked on in confused worry as Unikitty began to flash red more and more. The feeling of anger and rage from her only continued to spark up as an aura of malice seemed to surround her.

"You… don't get to take… him… away from. Me. AGAIN!" Unikitty roared, her body fully turning red as massive flames burned out from her tail and face, "WHAT SORT OF FRIENDS ARE YOU IF YOU JUST DRAG HIM RIGHT BACK INTO ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS OUT THERE?!"

All at once, Harumi, Lloyd and Mage scattered backwards, Mage nervously summoning ice in his hands. Over and Monty stood firm, just staring at her, one out of interest and the other out of indifference. Lulloyd, however, quickly jumped forward in front of her. He put his hands up at her, nervously staring at the flaming anger cat in front of him.

"OUT OF MY WAY, LLOYD!" Unikitty roared, "I'M GOING TO TEACH YOUR FRIENDS A LESSON IN BEING! MORE! NICE! AND! FRIENDLY!"

"Uni I-I have to go!" Lulloyd gasped out, "Please, d-don't be mad at them! Monty's just like that! Everyone here could be in danger if I don't find and stop those Twins!"

"YOU'RE NOT LEAVING ME AGAIN!" Unikitty roared. Lulloyd saw the chair beside her start to melt into studs from the heat. The sushi chef running the place quickly ran into the bathroom, giving a small glance before slamming the rice paper door shut.

Lulloyd bit his lip, then he leaned down and wrapped his hands around her front leg. Despite the burning pain in doing so, he reached up and pulled her in close, causing her to blink in shock as he did. Her body immediately turned pink again as she looked at him in shock.

"I'm sorry I left you behind t-that's on me, I was horrible to you and… y-you didn't deserve that," Lulloyd gulped, "B-But, don't take that out on my friends. You're important to me and… I-I'd never do anything to get myself hurt enough I couldn't come back to you. I care about you, Uni, and… and I'm sorry if I made you think I didn't. I, I really don't want you to be upset with them. They're… they're all, they're just here to help. Please… forgive me?"

"Lloyd…" Unikitty suddenly turned white all over, "Y-Your hands! I-I didn't burn your hands, did I?! I-I'm sorry, I don't know how to control myself when I'm like that! I-I just, I just got!"

"My hands are okay, don't worry," Lulloyd smiled as he held tighter to her leg, "Plus… I'd hold your hand like this, even if you were firey like that all the time. Cause, you're worth any amount of pain that it would take for me to get close to you."

Unikitty began to turn pink again, a massive blush spreading across her face. The two leaned in and slowly pressed foreheads together, the last of Unikitty's anger calming inside of her. Lulloyd smiled warmly to her as the two stayed like that together, letting their emotions drain from them and instead turn to a happiness.

"...Is… Is that what he was saying, back, on the speed car?" Lloyd asked in shock.

"...Y-Yeah," Harumi blinked, "I uhm. Huh. She's, not what I expected her to be."

"Huh, you guys found out faster than I thought you would," Monty leaned back against the side of the roof.

"Wait, you knew?!" Mage asked in shock.

"Don't act all shocked, this isn't some rom-com," Monty groaned, "I just found out the other day. He asked me to not tell you guys yet."

"And… you listened to him?" Harumi asked in confusion.

"Yeah, I'm nice like that," Monty leaned his head back, "Maybe if you tried showing me some respect from that side, I might just try the same." Harumi's confusion turned to ire once more.

"Normally, I would spend far more time questioning this," Over sighed, placing his hand on his head, "But I have met his father, mother, and seen where he lives. This is far more normal than I would like to admit it to be. It makes this world even more distressing than it already is."

"U-Uhm…" Lulloyd slowly turned to look at the others, still holding Unikitty's leg with one hand, "...U-Uh, yeah. This is, uhm, my girlfriend, Unikitty."

"Nice to meet you all!" Unikitty beamed, "Sorry about nearly raging at you!"

"U-Uhm, nice to meet you too," Lloyd muttered back, "Can, she do that, on command?"

"Normally not but, uh, well she kinda spent like, five years in a permanent state of rage in the apocalypse so, uh, now she can, kinda," Lulloyd smiled awkwardly, "I've only seen her do it once or twice, though. You have to be trying to."

"Great," Monty groaned, "Just what we needed. Well, now that that horrific incident of terror is over, how about we wrap this up?"

"Y-Yeah, sure," Harumi coughed, "I still don't know if this is the best plan but, If you all are good with it, then we can move forward with it."

Lloyd looked around to everyone's faces, gauging their reaction. When he was given none, he smiled to Harumi, "I think we're ready for it."

"Then let's get ready, everyone," Harumi inhaled, "From here on out, there's no turning back. We move out tonight."

Inside of the volcano, Garmadon slowly moved to pick up a newly made Warlord Staff. The Garma Tech™ staff slowly watched him as he swung it once, gauging the weight and force of its build. Satisfied, Garmadon turned to twist the top of the staff, causing it to hum and then suddenly break out several studs-not-on-top bricks to extend several blades on each side. For a moment, Garmadon grinned. When he moved to swing the staff into the nearby wall, however, the blades broke off. The GT staff immediately froze as Garmadon looked down at it and scoffed, tossing it towards them. The weight of it made the two collapse under it.

"C'mon, what am I now paying you for?!" Garmadon languished, "I need a staff that I can smack into anything! Come back when you've made a staff that I can actually use."

"Y-Yessir!" The two gasped, wriggling their way out from under it. They both moved and began dragging it away from the small platform beside the large entry pool in the base of the volcano. Garmadon sighed and turned to where the assembled group of dimensional travelers were.

"Sorry, Lulloyd," Garmadon groaned, "I was hoping they'd make you something good! All they came up with was that thing!"

Lulloyd looked down in his hands. His normal curved sword had been turned completely black, with the tassel at the bottom now being a dual moulded gold and black to better fit it. The sword was lighter in his hands, yet was at least five times stronger than his normal blade. Along with that, his mechdragon brick had been returned to him with brand new printing on both sides to better display it as a folded up dragon. It also now came with a small detachable handle on top for him.

"Uh… I think this is a lot, dad," Lulloyd slid both the brick and sword onto the back of his ninja suit, "Where'd you even get this sword, anyways?"

"Your mother found it back during our conquest of the Sep Rator Empire," Garmadon chuckled, "Used to be cursed, your mother purged it and I had the lab boys spruce it up for you."

"Wow…" Lulloyd blinked, "You know, mom was, really cool back then."

"What do you mean, back then?" Coco called out as she walked over to the group from deeper into the volcano, "Oh, you know I'm just kidding, Lulloyd. I wanted to paint that sword green for you but it didn't stay on well."

"Meh, printing quality on weapons like that is totally hit or miss," Garmadon scoffed.

"Are you leaving already?" Coco asked, a bit of nervousness creeping into her voice.

"I'm just doing a recon mission, nothing dangerous," Lulloyd smiled to his mother, "And then I'm coming straight back here. I already made sure Unikitty knows that."

"Good, don't anger your partner, ever," Garmadon stated firmly, "You'll find that your mother was always right when it came to the battle strategies."

"Don't be like that, Garmy," Coco shook her head, "Don't teach him to be afraid of fighting! Fighting with your partner can be good for you. You were right about that counterattack at Despair Canyon!"

"Oh that was a good one, we're the reason that it's now called Lava Canyon!" Garmadon laughed.

"No, honey, that was General Verx," Coco corrected him, "He was the one that counterattacked through that mountain pass and we hauled all the lava from the lower regions to chase them down into our forces. We collapsed the ends of Despair Canyon to force the surrender."

"Hrmm… nah, I'm pretty sure I got that right!" Garmadon affirmed, "Cause Vex was there, remember? He swore revenge when he left and that's why he went and raised that army of Ice Zombies."

"Maybe, I'll check the battle records later," Coco shook her head, "Right now we need to see our son off on his mission."

"Oh he'll be fine!" Garmadon asserted, "No General Number Son of mine would ever let me down."

"Mhm," Coco turned to Lulloyd, "Lloyd, if you don't think you can do this, you just tell us, okay? You've only been home for a few days. I know you were really worried when you got back…"

"I'll be okay, mom," Lulloyd leaned forward and gave her a hug, "I trust my friends. And, I want to make you both proud of me. I'll come back safe, I promise."

Coco gave a worried smile, then hugged him back. Garmadon, sensing the moment, gave him a hug as well. As the three shared their embrace, Lulloyd felt a bit of that worry and sadness from when he'd first come home. He forced it down as he indulged in their embrace.

"No matter what happens, we believe in you," Garmadon muttered, "Of all the things I've conquered, you're the thing I'm most proud of to call my own."

"If you need us, you tell us!" Coco told him firmly, "I know you're all grown up now, but there's nothing wrong with asking us for help! We're your parents, if you get in over your head, we'll help you no matter what. "

"Thanks mom, thanks dad," Lulloyd muttered back, "I'll stay safe, I promise. And, if I need you guys, I'll come and get you."

Coco and Garmadon shared a smile together, then let go of their son. Lulloyd held back a few tears as he gave them a wave, then quickly raced over to a catwalk. He looked back to give them one more wave before he raced his way down the way until he'd left them behind. Soon, he'd entered the vehicle bay, arriving at a small docking station where the other five were waiting for him.

"Sorry, guys, I was talking to my parents," Lulloyd nodded, "So, when do we leave?"

"Uh… right now, apparently," Lloyd pointed towards the water, "Look."

Lulloyd turned towards the water, then he froze. One of the Hammerhead Dropships had its troop bay hollowed out. In its place, was Dareth's studio. The small building looked as though it had been perfectly plucked right out of the docks and carried all the way there. Dareth wasn't inside, but the dropship was carrying it like a piece of cargo. The others were looking at it with confusion in their eyes.

"Did your dad do this?" Harumi asked curiously.

"I, guess so… he, probably overheard me saying we needed to go to Dareth's…" Lulloyd sighed, "I'll, have to find him and apologize later."

"Just saves us the trip," Monty nodded, "Alright, we all good?"

The group nodded together. Mage had tied his robes and now had Aevum strapped to his left hip permanently, even if he refused to touch it. Monty had left the gun bag this time, instead having two shotguns, several pistols, the SoS, and several boxes of ammo on his person. Over, Lloyd and Harumi looked mostly the same. All of them were rested, and all of them were ready.

"Alright, let's go," Monty turned and pulled out his gun. Inside the barrel, he had the scales that Over had taken from him loaded into a bullet to fire his chi through, "I'm taking you and Mage first. Then we'll handle Harumi and Lloyd. You sure they won't come for you guys first?"

"They won't expect us to," Harumi shook her head, "Just don't try to hide yourselves when you get back to your Ninjago. Even if they do split up, they can't get all three of us at once."

"Good," Monty aimed his pistol at the wall inside the dojo, "Let's go."

Monty pulled the trigger. When he did, nothing happened. He blinked in confusion, then moved to try to fire the gun again. When it didn't work, he moved and pulled the slide back, trying to see if something was wrong. He growled and unloaded his special bullet and put it in another pistol, trying ot fire that. When it didn't work, he growled and rapidly pulled the trigger.

"Why isn't this thing working?!" Monty growled.

"You uh, didn't saw 'Pew!'" Lulloyd pointed out. Monty gave him a long ludicrous gaze.

"What?" Monty growled, "Why in the heck would I ever need to say that?"

"I uh, I was kinda wondering why you weren't until now," Lulloyd shook his head, "Guns only work here if you say 'Pew!' I mean, try it." Monty gave Lulloyd another look, then aimed the gun again and looked disgusted as he voiced his action.

"...Pew," All at once, the bullet fired from the gun, flying off as Monty's chi dragon formed around the barrel and shot out along with the bullet. When the portal struck the wall, there was a moment of massive sparking, then the bullet broke apart. The scales seemed to hover on the surface of the portal, then sunk into it. The swirling portal took on a slight orange hue as they did.

"...I hate this world, I hate this world more than anything else and I don't want to spend another minute in it," Monty shuddered, "Get me out of this messed up place, now."

"Hmmph, expletive aside," Over stepped forward, "I believe this is our ride."

"Is everyone ready?" Lloyd asked. Once more, they all simply stayed silent. Lloyd took a moment to ready himself, then he inhaled sharply and took a step forward towards the portal, "Then let's go!"

One by one, the group funneled into the portal. The orange portal crackled as each of them entered, but remained firm for them. Once Monty stepped in last, the portal slowly began to fizzle, then it shut behind them. The path to new worlds for them had been opened, and now, their adventure had seemingly just begun anew.