"So… we're here to look for them, yes?" Ophiod asked.

"Yes, indeed we are," Prime smirked.

"Then… why are we inside of, this place?" Ophiod asked with a frown.

Prime looked around. The two of them stood inside of a large place that was labeled as 'ARCADE' outside. The entire place, however, was devoid of traditional machines. Instead, almost everything was a large mix of strange sensors and headsets.

"Well, I know these places are for fun," Prime grinned, "And well, I figured we could have some fun! So come on, let's have some fun!"

Prime stepped forward into what looked like a large glowing ring. As soon as he did, a screen in front of him began to change. A display of fighters and characters came up. Prime looked down as glowing colors on the floor showed him where his foot was being read. By moving it around, he changed the character on screen until he was over what looked like a large mecha. When Ophiod glanced at this, Prime gave a cheeky smirk.

"We shouldn't be wasting time!" Ophiod protested, "They're out there somewhere, I know that. We have to worry about that first before we do something like this!"

"Oh come on, it's a dancing game! And I've seen how you use that tail of yours," Prime waved his hand, "Come on, just one game?"

"I…" Ophiod frowned, "We shouldn't be exposing ourselves like this. What if someone were to see us?"

"Have you seen this place?" Prime rolled his eyes, waving to the number of Serpentine in the room, "Nobody is going to think twice about you. And the fashion here is weird enough I could wear nothing and get away with it," He pulled on his jumpsuit for a moment, "...Here, watch!"

Prime turned to a Serpentine over on the other side of the room. He was a young Venomari with the distinctive head frills of a Hypnobrai. Prime called out to him, causing the young Serpentine to turn away from a display showing a small ship surrounded by infinite bullets.

"Hey, tell me, does my friend look weird to you?" Prime reached out and nudged Ophiod. The screen in front of Prime flashed a warning to him telling him to stay in the play area.

"What?" The young Serpentine blinked, "No, he looks cool! Where'd you get the tail? It's cool! I thought only leaders got them…"

"Uh…" Ophiod's pupils shrink to pinpricks. The young snake blinked in confusion.

"Thanks!" Prime waved at him. The serpentin shrugged and turned back to his game. Prime turned to Ophiod, "See? Just as normal as ever."

"D-Don't…" Ophiod grimaced, "I'm… I'm…"

Prime interrupted him by grabbing his arm and dragging him into the pad with him. Ophiod gasped in shock. The screen flashed a few things, then showed an icon of a tail. The pad under Ophiod shifted and adapted to his body, reworking the control scheme.

"Huh, accessibility options? Awesome," Prime put a hand on his hip, "Come on, play just one game? This is what friends do!" Prime nudged his side, "Just one game?"

"I'm, I'm not sure that I even know what to-" Ophiod was cut off as Prime navigated his foot to select the start option.

"Too late!" Prime laughed, "Come on, we're doing this now! Just do what they do on screen!"

Ophiod's eyes widened as he saw the screen flash. In front of him, prompts began to flash, along with a small box to stay on his side of the 'play space,' whatever that meant. Prime stretched his limbs out as a funky techno beat began to play. A countdown on screen flashed, then Ophiod's avatar, apparently some sort of scorpion-creature, flashed and began to move to the beat.

"Let's go!" Prime shouted. With that, the game was off. Ophiod's sense flared up as he quickly curled his tail up under him, trying to mimic himself. The first few moves only had him moving his upper body. Lights along the side of the machine were perfectly tracking his movements. The beat, however, escalated hard, and Prime spun around in place, a combo meeting racking up. Ophiod, however, had to fight just to keep up with the fact that he had to move his tail as well.

Soon, the song began to go at full force. Prime suddenly grabbed Ophiod and spun him in place, switching sides. A prompt on screen flashed or double points, and their avatars switched. Ophiod gasped as he tried to reorient himself, while Prime and his surprisingly limber and agile body was going at it near perfectly. Ophiod, however was completely lost. Prime dragged him back over into his original side, which only disoriented him further. The music built up harder in force as it reached a climax. Prime actually leapt into the air with a triple spin, landing and throwing his body forward in a bow. Ophiod thrust his arms out and panted hard.

"Kaiju, baby!" Prime laughed, the song ending. Ophiod gasped out and slid forward, his stress and nerves peaking. The screen flashed their scores, Prime ahead of Ophiod by a woeful mile. The screen flashed for them to insert their wristbands. The two inserted them, and in turn a number of tickets were loaded onto their wristbands. A receipt was printed out along with it for them to take, which Prime stuck into his pocket.

"Funny a place as advanced as this still uses paper," Prime shrugged, "Guess it's because we don't have those watches everyone does, eh?"

"W-What was that?" Ophiod gasped, "That was, the lights and…"

"Dance game, just way better than with those pads!" Prime grinned, "Doesn't it just get your heartrate up?"

"I… I suppose, but!" Ophiod shook his head, "We, really shouldn't be!"

"Oh come on, you know that's fun!" Prime grinned, "You'd feel so much better if you loosened up a little bit, you know."

"I, I do not!" Ophiod gasped.

"Geez, you never really did get out, did you?" Prime sighed, "Alright, why not one more go? I think I set us on hard or something."

Ophiod said nothing, but slowly straightened himself up. Prime gave a grin and set it to go again, this time on a more medium difficulty. Ophiod, his body still thrumming with nerves, readied himself. Once the song started, Ophiod put his focus in it, fighting to keep up with it while Prime seemed to glide from move to move elegantly.

"Hey!" A female voice behind them sounded, "This machine is acting up, where'd you put the tools?"

Ophiod blinked, seemingly knowing the voice. He turned, trying to locate it in the sea of colors, people and sounds. The game, however, began to blare at him for missing moves. Almost instantly, he threw his head back, focusing back on the screen. The game soon wrapped up, leaving Ophiod panting, but this time with a decent score. Once more, they inserted their bands and got their receipt for tickets, both of which Prime pocketed.

"Whew!" Prime laughed, "What you say, one more round?"

"N-No, I think I'm fine now," Ophiod shook his head, "But… that was, better." Prime smiled.

"Told you," Prime waved his hand, "Whew! Alright, why don't you say we move onto something else? We'll play till we get hungry enough to go eat."

"You, want to eat after?" Ophiod frowned, "I, suppose that I can…"

"Great!" Prime laughed, "We'll play till we can redeem all we got and then head on out. I saw a pretty cool thing up front I wanna see if we managed to nab."

Ophiod nodded his head, unsure of what exactly he was going to say. Prime dragged him along the way, taking him through the place. As the two went, they passed a girl dressed in a bright blue vest sporting the arcade logo on it. She brushed back her black hair and blinked, staring at the two that had just passed her.

"Mizuko!" She turned to see a man looking down at her in a similar vest, "Is something wrong with the machine?"

"Huh? I think I got it working!" Mizuko smirked, flipping a switch to cause the screen to turn on, "Sorry, I just thought I saw someone I knew!"

"Hrmm, well the one in the back is glitching too, think you can look at it?" The man asked.

"I'll see if I can get it done before my shift is up!" Mizuko beamed, hopping up to her feet and racing her way across the arcade. She turned around, feeling a strange sensation at whoever had walked by her. It passed after a moment, however, and instead she was off to her task.

...NINJA! GO! NINJAGO! GO! Come on, come on, come on and do the WEEKEND WHIP!

Harumi laughed as the girls all threw their hands up in front of them ,finishing off the song. As soon as they did, Carnelian's foot slipped, causing her to squawk and grab Harumi. The two went down to the ground with a thud. The others stifled giggles and reached down to help them.

"That's such a good song!" Carnelian chuckled, "And uh, sorry, Harms!"

"It's all good," Harumi smiled warmly, "You all sure you were okay singing it again?"

"It's the perfect one to start and end on!" Forte nodded, "You know what, I'm gonna see if I can get permission to do that for my shows. Oh, oh wait!" Forte reached down to her watch and tapped a button, recording a message, "Set reminder: See if we can get The Fold for another feature!"

Harumi couldn't help but laugh as she saw the sight of Forte thinking of her show. Ren and Carnelian both moved up to her sides, helping her back over to the large seats. Olive, her arm still raised, lowered it a moment later. As everyone turned to look at her, she blinked in confusion.

"You cut the note early," Olive blinked, "Do you not draw out the last note?"

"That's just something Forte does for her shows," Carnelian rolled her eyes, "And besides, if you wanna do that, then you gotta do the whole thing!"

Carnelian leapt up to her feet, cocking her hips and crossing one leg in front of the other. She leaned back and brought one arm over her chest, then back out and rose it up into the air. Her crossed leg spun out as she struck a pose, her arm rose up hard towards the sky. Her other hand came up to her hip, cocked into it. The other girls looked at her and couldn't help but smile or giggle at the absurd display.

"Hey, that is not how you do it!" Forte lowered her watch, "You're too sensual, you gotta be cute!"

"Sorry, I can't change how I am," Carnelian grinned. Harumi blushed hard.

"Don't go picking on my shows!" Forte gave Carnelian a playful shove to make her drop the pose, "At least I don't go running away from my noodle shifts!"

"I will have you know I stick around to work there whenever there isn't crime to be fought!" Carnelian protested.

"Meaning never," Ren smirked. Carnelian turned to her, but Harumi had already started laughing. Carn let the comment slide and instead walked over to slump into the seat beside Harumi.

"You get that one," Carnelian hugged Harumi's arm, "But only because she's so cute, got it?"

"Oh how lucky I am," Ren looked towards the wall, specifically to a digital clock, "How much longer do we have?"

"Ten minutes, forty-five seconds," Olive informed them, "Enough time for three standard format songs without delay."

"Wait, but that was the perfect song to end on!" Forte protested, "We only have ten minutes!"

"Then we should have time to do more," Ren stood up, "Any suggestions?"

"Hrmmm… oohhh, why not something cute?" Carnelian typed in a number on a pad. The room lights turned white and blue.

"Renai Circulation?" Ren raised her eyebrow, "Interesting choice."

"Well it's good, now hurry, it's gonna start!" Carnelian dragged Harumi and Ren up with her. Forte and Olive slowly filtered in, Forte with a slightly pouty look on her face.

"Ready?" Carnelian asked, picking up her microphone, "Seeee~no!"

"Mhm!" Prime groaned out as he dug his teeth into a large burger, "Oh I'm so glad the future here isn't like the ones with those weird pills and stuff."

Ophiod blinked in confusion at Prime, he himself holding what looked more like a steak. He reached over and picked up his utensils, thankfully unchanged this far into the future, and slowly began to cut a piece off for himself. As Prime dug in eagerly, Ophiod raised the piece up to his mouth slowly and ate just as such. Prime lowered his burger, almost a quarter done, and watched Ophiod chew with an amused expression.

"You even eat like a Prince," Prime commented as Ophiod lowered his utensils, "How's that tiny piece taste?"

"I… eat like one?" Ophiod blinked, "Is, this not how you eat?"

"Oh no, it's good just… refined," Prime sat his burger down and leaned forward, "Did you ever get out of that palace the Twins pulled you from?"

"I… no," Ophiod lowered his head, "The attempts made on my life when I was young meant I was only allowed out under special circumstances. Aside from events, I spent my life in those walls. Aside from the day I went and met Skales, I didn't, leave the palace."

"Hrmm… explains why you're so awkward," Prime took another bite. When he saw Ophiod was looking away, he sighed and shook his head, "Not that I have a problem with that."

"Hmm?" Ophiod asked, raising his head.

"Yeah, when I first met my team, I wasn't that much better," Prime shrugged, "Well, I wasn't shy, I just didn't know how to talk to them. Akita was the one that got me to talk the most."

Ophiod took another moment to bite down into his food. Prime didn't say anything else, instead just going right back to his food. When Prime didn't have another reaction, Ophiod took another bite of his own and then looked up to Prime.

"You… don't have issue talking about them?" Ophiod blinked, "Back on Invictus, you were…"

"Oh, I was just emotional… I get that way a lot," Prime sighed, "I don't mind talking about it, really. Not with a friend. I mean, I know you won't judge me, so, all that."

"Hello!" A waitress with glowing blonde hair and a pretty pink shirt stopped by their table, "can I get you anything?"

"Nah, I think we're good," Prime smiled at her, "You're doing great, keep working hard."

"Oh, wel, I will!" The waitress blinked in surprise, but with a warm smile she danced off to serve the other patrons. Ophiod had to take a long moment to marvel at the charisma that leaked off of Prime.

The restaurant the two were in was a good ways away from the arcade, on layer 203 if Ophiod had read the signs correctly. It was a small place, but was packed full. The two had only gotten in by chance of a table opening when they arrived. It was completely themed around playful colors, most notably bubblegum pink. Even their table was colored with them. Prime seemed to revel in the atmosphere. In the middle of the table was a holographic display to call a waitress or pay.

"Hrmm, so you mind if I ask you a question?" Prime cocked his head, "How'd you and Skales meet? You seem pretty close, but you two don't, well, talk about each other a lot."

"You, want to know about us?" Ophiod asked. Prime nodded, prompting Ophiod to blinked, "I assumed you knew the story."

"Nope, but I wanna hear it," Prime smiled, "I mean, you two are cute together, so go on, spill it."

"I… well," Ophiod took a large bite of steak to prepare for the story, "It was, a few years ago. Arcturus, my mentor, said that I had learned all I could from him. I wanted to learn more. So, Arcturus discussed it with my mother, and decided they could send me to a remote part of Serpentine Lands. I traveled to the Frozen Wastes to train on my own and learn to fight in new environments. It was my goal to become stronger, to strengthen my image as the Prince. It was there that I met him."

"I found him nearly dead in the snow," Ophiod took another bite to gather his thoughts, "He'd challenged Slitherra, the leader of the hypnobrai, to a Slither Pit, and lost. And, well…" Ophiod sighed, "Normally, the punishment is banishment. Slitherra decided on death instead. Skales fled. I found him, and healed him. And the two of us trained together. I taught him Spinjitzu and… he taught me things I didn't know about others."

"Well, that's one way to meet," Prime chuckled, "And how'd you two, well…?"

"Slitherra eventually sent for Skales," Ophiod explained, "And I was unable to protect him from them. So instead, I decided to challenge Slitherra. He was one that had called for my death when I was born, as I am… not full Serpentine," Ophiod touched his chest, "And so I fought him in a Slither Pit, in exchange for Skales' life. I offered my own as entry."

"You went into mortal combat for him?" Prime blinked, "That's… wow. Pretty big leap."

"It was necessary," Ophiod shook his head, "I almost lost, thanks to his trickery, but Skales leapt into save me. That was when we first… touched our souls together," Ophiod put his hand on his chest again, "...We performed a Dyad. Skales declared he would fight for me. And… when we first used Spinjitzu together, I felt our connection," Ophiod smiled unknowingly, "And, when we did, I knew that, there was something about him that I would forever need. He was there for me, and so I was there for him."

"And then…" Ophiod reached down to take another bite, still smiling, "He returned to Ouroborus with me, and the two of us have been together since. He's been there for me ever since that day… and he is my everything."

"Well, I say you two make a great couple," Prime smiled at him, taking another large bite, "You should feel lucky. Hold onto him, Ophiod. You never know what might happen. Make sure he knows how you feel about him. Always."

"I will," Ophiod nodded, taking another long bite. Prime noted that Ophiod didn't sound embarrassed.

The two both indulged in their food. Getting a chance to eat like this wasn't exactly common for either of them. Ophiod normally ate with his mother in the palace, which often meant that his meals were structured and the same no matter what. Prime, though, was used to rations and eating whenever he had time. Getting to sit down in an establishment like this, with everyone around them not paying them any mind was rare even for both of them.

"Hey, Ophiod," Prime asked as he finished off the rest of his food, "What exactly do you want out of all of this?"

"What?" Ophiod narrowed his eyes, "I've told you that, Prime. Why do you bring it up to me?"

"Because I just want to know," Prime lifted his head up, "You know what I'm here for. It's pretty simple, really. But you're a bit different. I don't know why you're here. I mean…" Prime sighed, "You're not desperate at this point."

Ophiod looked down, "I… want to free my father from his prison. The one that I helped put him into. That's my goal here. That's what I want more than anything."

"Really?" Prime narrowed his eyes, "You don't seem that confident in that answer."

"It's what I want," Ophiod declared. When Prime didn't let up his gaze, Ophiod seemed to shrink away from him.

"I'm not trying to really, you know, make you uncomfortable… but if we're gonna be friends and allies, we gotta figure out what we both want. My goal is to bring my team back. Bring Akita back. If you wanna help with my goal, I gotta help with your goal. You hear me?"

"I do," Ophiod sighed, "I know what my true goal here is. What my true… desire in my life is," Ophiod planted his hand on his chest, "I want to be a Serpentine worthy of being the Prince that my title says I am."

"Really?" Prime blinked, "You already are. I mean, you can do a ton of stuff with your magic, right? Why worry so much about all this stuff?"

"Because that's not enough for my people," Ophiod hissed, "You heard what they called me… what Oni called me. Half Breed. To them, that's what I am. No matter what I do with my current power, my current strength, nothing will scrub that from their minds."

"I thought your dad, you know, saved the Serpentine during the war?" Prime cocked his head.

"His deeds earned him a home in the Serpentine lands with my mother, but not with their hearts," Ophiod shook his head, "They have always seen him as, simply, something to tolerate. Something that was a relic of war. I am, a spawn of that. And Serpentine… do not want humans, at all. To hear that I am not only their Prince, but a Viper, and I am to inherit the throne... there is a reason why I spent my life inside the palace, Prime."

"Yeah, I know all of that," Prime waved his hand, making Ophiod tense up, "But why be a prince for them, then? What's your goal in all of that?"

"...I," Ophiod paused, trying to understand the question, "I want to be the Prince, Prime. That is what my title says. It is what my destiny says. What is so wrong with wishing to be apart of that destiny?"

"Hrmm…" Prime sighed, "Look, I don't know about destiny. Looks like I didn't exactly get the whole, mystical thing like you all did. I got shoved into a mech with a core that sparked when I looked at it. Now, granted, I wouldn't trade Invictus for the world, but I don't understand why you're fixated on being Prince. I was focused on blowing up monsters that were crushing everyone. Not being a pilot, just saving people. So what's in it for you, I guess is what I'm asking."

Ophiod looked down, "I want to be able to live my life as someone to be remembered. Something to be seen as a hero. A warrior. Something the Serpentine can look to and be proud of. Not shame and hide away. Something that my people can see me and Skales as strong. I want to show the Serpentine that there is more to my life than being just a Prince, by growing to embody that feeling of Prince and going beyond. But to do that, I must first become a Prince. Does that make sense to you, Prime?"

"Hrmmm…." Prime nodded his head, "Five point-o!"

"...What?" Ophiod blinked.

"That's a good reason, you get five out of five points!" Prime smirked, "That's a good enough reason for me. If your goal is to become someone worthy of being called a hero, you're talking to the right guy. I may not be the one I wanted to be… but I'll sure as heck help you get there!" Prime pulled up the screen on the table to start tapping in for their receipt, "And you can count on me every step of that way, alright?"

"Hmmph," Ophiod nodded his head, "Fine then. If that's what you think we should do," He looked to the shop windows and to the massive sights of Ninjago City, "I think it's time we get going and looking for them. Oni may begin to wonder where we've been going."

"Alright, one more stop, I promise," Prime raised his hands, "I just want to check out this one booh I saw on the way over. Just one! Promise." Ophiod took a long time to glance at him, thinking about denying him. But Prime's smile and posture made him reconsider.

"I… suppose we aren't finding them anytime soon," Ophiod nodded, "Fine, we can spare the time to do that."

"Perfect!" Prime beamed, "See, you're getting the hang of this friend thing! Let's get going!"

Prime tapped the button, calling their waitress over. Prime fished into his pocket and pulled out some money, which he handed to the girl. She stared at it in shock, and in turn Prime smiled at her and touched her hand. She blushed, giving Prime enough time to slp by her. Ophiod, blinking in shock, slowly followed him.

As the two left the restaurant, the waitress wandered into the back of the restaurant. When she got there, she made her way into a backroom. A locker was open, and in it one of her coworkers was getting changed.

"Hey, Mizuko!" The waitress called out, "A customer in a weird jumpsuit just gave me some… paper money. What do I do with this?"

"Huh?" Mizuko popped her head out from behind the locker, "One sec! I'm getting changed! I gotta hop over to another shift after this one! I'll see what I can do."

"Okay, thanks, Mizuko!" The waitress smiled, leaving the money with her. Mizuko quickly went rushing out to grab it and take care of it, even as she got ready and raced out to start her shift.

"There we GO!" Carnelian pumped her fist in the air as the girls made their way through the city, "Whew, that was fun!"

"Yeah, thanks, girls," Harumi smiled warmly, "I, really needed that."

"A bit of time spent among friends can help cure any ill," Ren informed Harumi, "Now, where do you think we're to go?"

"Ehhhh… I gotta bounce, girls," Forte put her hands up apologetically, "I have to get a few deals worked out for my next gig. You guys want tickets?"

"When is it?" Harumi asked.

"...Tomorrow!" Forte nodded, then pointed at Ren, "No I am not being irresponsible, this is the other band trying to pull out last minute! We're doing negotiations last minute! Okay?"

"I wasn't going to say anything," Ren sighed, "Girls, my career lives and dies on contracts, did you think I would grill you for doing negotiations?"

"Well you are the responsible one," Carnelian smirked, "You typecasted yourself too hard!"

"That would require her to have worked as an actress," Olive pointed out. For some reason, that was enough to make Harumi laugh.

"I considered it, but I don't think it's for me," Ren admitted, "Acting is a bit too… well. I suppose I could, but I have enough on my plate with you girls. You need help and I sadly can't do that if I have a shoot to get to."

"Well, Ren's career aside, I'm off girls!" Forte waved her hand. The others quickly bid her farewell as she turned a corner, leaving the others to keep walking.

Harumi looked above her. The dozens of other layers above her were still filled with people. The sheer number of people in the city was always astounding to her. To her, Ninjago City wasn't the simple city that Lloyd and Monty knew, but a bustling metropolis with corners, alleyways and all sorts of places to get lost in. She was certain that she wouldn't be able to see all of it in her lifetime, and to her that was a thrilling thing. It was a city that she protected, because it was not only her city, but a place that was worth protecting.

The now four girls made their way through the crowds, for now just aimlessly wandering. The city was perfect for that. With the many layers of people that flooded every aspect of this place, it was truly a place for her to be and love. You could go into a shop, ascend a few floors, and go to a completely new place to explore. It was truly a city perfect for that.

"I have determined there is an ice cream establishment nearby experiencing low traffic," Olive spoke up, "Do you think it would be worth eating there?"

"Ice cream? Sure, why not?" Carnelian wrapped an arm around Harumi, "I haven't had something like that for a bit."

"Then let's go," Harumi nodded, "It's not too far away, right?"

Olive nodded, taking the lead for them. She wound them through the crowds, to an elevator to go down two layers, and down a few more paths. Navigating the city required one to think in 3D space instead of just one plane, which often made some people more uncomfortable. But by now, the four of them knew this city well enough to go along, even without Olive's internal map. Harumi, for the moment, was just more happy that Olive was with them.

"We have arrived," Olive turned a corner to a large open area with a small ice cream window built into the side of a building. The space was set up like a large courtyard, and the layer beneath them was completely opaque to give the illusion of grass. There was a small line at the ice cream window. Harumi was about to take a step forward, when something grabbed her arm.

"Wha-" Harumi gasped, but Carnelian yanked her backwards and clamped a hand over her mouth. Olive immediately did the same. Harumi struggled for a second, but when she saw who was getting their order taken, she froze just like her three friends.

At the front of the line, Ophiod sighed as he placed his hands behind his back, waiting patiently. Two kids behind him stared at his blue and copper scales with awe. Prime stood beside him, casually leaning up against the window. Olive reached up and tapped her head, causing her audio sensors to reach across the courtyard to pick up on what they were saying.

"You just wanted ice cream?" Ophiod groaned out.

"Yes, I did!" Prime waved his hand, "I don't get that back home, so why not? It's just a bit here. It's been months since I've had chocolate."

"Fine, but we're getting on our way after this," Ophiod sighed, "I assumed you wanted something more important."

"Don't be so prickly, we got time, they're hiding and we're out here. Nothing to worry about," Prime turned to the window to see someone walking back towards them, "Look, just try the chocolate, I'm sure you'll love it."

Ophiod sighed, holding his hand out. Prime passed him the money, something that Ophiod himself didn't even understand. His people used coins, and those were made of actual metal like silver and gold. Why people insisted on using paper was beyond him. He turned to see the person handing them their cones.

"Here you are, sir!" The attendant smiled, "I hope you have a n…" As Ophiod met her gaze the two froze.

Mizuko and Ophiod stared at each other. Prime wasn't looking at them. Mizuko's smile fell to a confused glance, while Ophiod was completely shocked at the encounter. Mizuko held their two chocolate cones in each hand, looking Ophiod up and down, slowly, while Ophiod recalled why she startled him.

"...H-Here you go!" Mizuko chuckled awkwardly, all but shoving them into Ophiod's hands, "I-I hope you enjoy!"

"Yes… I, do hope we do," Ophiod gripped them awkward, dropping the money. Prime, none the wiser, picked the money up and slid it to Mizuko with a smile. Mizuko didn't even look at it, just watching in shock as the snake that put several of her friends in the hospital casually slithered away. Ophiod himself didn't say anything, just staring at Mizuko until she broke eye contact by quickly scampering back into the ice cream joint.

"Here," Ophiod handed a cone to Prime, "...We should leave."

"Why?" Prime took the cone, taking a long lick and groaning, "Oh gosh that's good, I missed this stuff so much."

"Because that girl was there when I was attacked by Harumi's friends," Ophiod muttered, "And if she's here, we've just put ourselves on a time limit before they decide to run."

"What?" Prime blinked, "...Huh," He turned back towards the stall, "... Well this might work out for us. If they leave, we can try to track them. Let's get back to Invictus."

Ophiod nodded. As the two slithered by, Ophiod looked around the area, scanning for any threats. As he did, his gaze fell on the four girls standing there, watching him. Ren's eyes were fully purple, completely guising their bodies in the element of form. Ophiod's gaze lingered on them for a brief moment, and for that moment Harumi's breath caught in her throat. When his gaze passed them fully by, the two had already left the space and were off to their mech.

"HARUMI!" Mizuko's voice came blasting out of her Borg watch, "Harumi, we need to meet up, right now! That snake is back!"

"Mizuko!" Harumi slammed her hand down on her watch, clamping her palm over the speaker, "...Y-Yeah, we just saw them. We have to go tell the others."

"Ophiod is here?" Lloyd stood up, "... We have to leave, now!"

Harumi, Olive, Mizuko, Ren and Carnelian had returned to the underground warehouse, bearing news of what they had found. The five girls stood in front of the five boys, each of them sharing a level of concern written across their faces.

"You're sure it was him?" Monty leaned in, "You weren't just looking at another Serpentine?"

"He's the only one I know that has those weird scales!" Mizuko pointed out, "And he recognized me! Have you all not run into him before?!"

"Repeatedly, and without fail," Over frowned, "To a fault, even. I was hoping we could make it through this without seeing him. But it seems that we were flawed in our logic."

"We, we gotta go then, right?" Lulloyd asked, "Right?"

"Did, we see you guys too?" Mage asked, "If he didn't see you, we might be okay!"

"I hid us with my power," Ren waved a hand over her face to turn it into something different before turning it back to normal, "But there is a chance that he did."

"Then we need to leave," Lloyd turned to the group, "We have to. If those two are here, that Oni guy might be after us too."

"Oni?" Mizuko asked.

"We'll explain later," Carnelian waved her hand.

"And go where?" Monty frowned, "We don't have many options here."

"We could go hide out in the Time Tribe?" Mage asked, "Or anywhere in my world, really! All the Tribes would take us in if I'm with you. You helped them defeat the Raiders, after all."

"That isn't a smart idea," Monty shook his head, "Remember how you said that Krux made the Krux trying to kill us angry? Yeah, I'm pretty sure that if we head there, we'll put a target on everyone."

"Okay, then we can go hide out in my world," Lloyd nodded, "That'd be safe."

"We, uhm, kinda broke Invictus back there," Lulloyd shook his head, "They'd, be looking for us there, I'm pretty sure."

"My world's out," Monty frowned, "We already fought them there. Same issue."

"I do not have one we can use to hide," Over stated firmly.

"I mean, my dad could protect us," Lulloyd pointed out.

"I don't want to put your dad in danger," Harumi shook her head, "He already did a lot for us by hiding us as long as he did. I… I don't know where would be the best place to go."

"We could hide in one of their worlds," Mage stood up, "When Lulloyd and I went to Ophiod's place, his mom asked us to watch out for him. So, she'd maybe take us in?"

"I see two issues with that," Over frowned, "One, did you not say those were the Serpentine that vehemently despise Humans? And, second, if Ophiod were to find us there, we would likely set him off. You saw what happened when we touched Prime's world. I would prefer not to have him angry at us as well."

"...What, if we went to another world, then?" Lulloyd asked, "Like… just, a random one? Somewhere, that we haven't tried yet? We could, do that?"

"No!" Lloyd snapped, "We can't do that! We don't want to involve more worlds in this. It's… it's bad enough I couldn't stop them already. I brought you all into this conflict, I don't want to bring anyone else in!"

"Yeah, and nobody is there to sell us out," Monty pointed out, "...Besides, isn't that what the Twins did?"

"So you wish to sink to their level?" Over glared at Monty, "To somehow drag others into a conflict that has already proven deadly?"

"What has fighting clean even done for us?" Monty growled, standing up by planting the SoS into the ground, "That's right, nothing. Hiding underground while we think about running away. What's this going to get us, huh?"

"Monty," Harumi stepped forward, "As… as much as I hate to say it, we have to fight this alone. If we try to drag other people in, then-"

"Then what, hmm?" Monty spat, "You already got Olive over there beaten up. You realize that if one of your gal pals over there get eaten like she did, you aren't bringing them back, right?"

Harumi's eyes widened, and both Carnelian and Ren glared daggers at Monty. Before they could talk, Lloyd instead walked over to Monty and got in his face.

"Take that back," Lloyd demanded.

"What, you're finally mad at me now too?" Monty scoffed.

"Yes, I am!" Lloyd shouted, "You don't know what it's like to lose someone. Taunting her over that is messed up, Monty! We're all stressed and scared here, but you can't just go and attack her like that. Just because you can't die doesn't mean you can talk about the rest of us doing that!"

"Right, because we're all such good friends here?" Monty glared at Lloyd, his expression barely even changed, "Get a grip, Lloyd. Do you understand this situation here? We watched an entire universe die. And I may not have to fear death, but I sure as heck know if we get caught up in that, we're not coming back. We're lucky that the Twins are just sending these guys after us. Do you know what they could do if they came after us, hrmm? If they did that thing again here? Better it be some other world than us!"

Lloyd's expression fumed. Monty glared at him for a long moment. Then Monty lowered his head and growled under his breath 'I am not making myself the villain here, you shut it!' Lloyd followed Monty's eye to the SoS in confusion. The room's tension peaked, enough that everyone seemed too afraid to speak.

"If Ophiod is such a threat to you," Olive spoke up, "Why do you not simply go directly for the Twins?"

"We, uh, don't know how," Lulloyd rubbed his neck.

"I have analyzed the devices that Harumi created for you to use," Olive continued, "You enter another universe by tracing the energy of that world, yes? Why do you not simply trace something that the Twins have to go right to them?"

"Because we don't have anything like that," Harumi shook her head, "I mean, in theory that would work. We got into Ophiod and Prime's worlds like that. But, the Twins could be anywhere."

"Do you not have any items from them?" Olive continued.

"Is this line of questioning going anywhere?" Over asked, "We are deciding whether or not to leave."

"We aren't!" Lloyd snapped. Monty growled and grabbed the SoS, moving to take a seat again.

"Well…" Harumi frowned, "I, don't think so. The Twins already got rid of any connections they had in Monty's world, including all their Vermillion. And, they wouldn't have left anything behind in Lloyd's world, right?"

"I knocked out the pause blade from their Iron Doom when they first took my power," Lloyd frowned, "But they probably took that back already, if they already went to Monty's world."

"Wait a minute," Carnelian stepped in front of Harumi, "Those guys still touched down here too, right? Wouldn't they have left something behind there?"

"No," Harumi frowned, "I, don't think so. My dad said that, they got rid of that. They thought the Time Blades were too dangerous and destroyed them."

"That is not accurate." Olive stated.

"So we can't exactly use them to- what?" Harumi turned to Olive, "What did you say?"

"That is not accurate," Olive shook her head, "My father never made mention of destroying the Time Blades."

"But, why wouldn't you?" Lloyd asked, "They're dangerous weapons!"

"I am able to recall my father's logic," Olive nodded, "That by destroying the Time Blades, they would allow for the elemental energy inside of them to pass on to another master. Therefore, destroying them would be ill advised."

"But that isn't enough to say that they're still around," Lloyd frowned.

"No, but I will patch us through to my father now," Olive nodded, raising her arm to display a project. Before any of them could protest, the hologram shifted to display the head of the Academy, Zane, wearing his white robes.

"Hello?" Zane asked. The group looked around to each other in confusion. Quickly, Harumi stepped forward.

"Uncle Zane, it's Harumi," Harumi waved awkwardly.

"Harumi?" Zane blinked, "Harumi, it is nice to see you. Olive has told me what has happened. You brought her back to me. For that, I am most grateful. I cannot express how much this means to me and her mother."

"Y-Yeah, right," Harumi shook her head, "Listen, Uncle Zane, I have to ask you a weird question…" Harumi coughed, "Is, well, did you and my dad, destroy the Time blades?"

Zane, in the hologram, didn't respond. His face looked plain and emotionless for a few seconds. Harumi bit her lip, looking towards it in worry.

"Is this about the reports I have heard from Olive about your mission?" Zane asked quietly.

"Y-Yes, yes it is," Harumi nodded, "We…. we might need those things."

"Is it imperative to your quest?" Zane asked, "I promised your father that we would never touch them unless we had no choice. We knew the danger of them even without fighting the Twins."

Harumi looked across the room. This was such a sudden development, she wasn't sure what to say. She had to think about whether or not they were even going to be needed. There was a chance that the Twins had already taken them, or that they simply weren't there to begin with. The others looked to her, willing her to ask.

"...Yes," Harumi frowned, "We need them to track the Twins."

"Then…" Zane sighed, "...We did not destroy them. They were too dangerous to attempt. We feared that in doing so, we would unwind time itself, or grant the power to the Twins. We placed the inside of the Vault. If you must find them, that is where you must go. But, if you do go to them, they are dangerous. Do not take them unless you know what you are doing, Harumi."

"We won't, Uncle Zane," Harumi nodded, "Thank you."

"...Yes, then," Zane sighed, "I must get back to my work. If you have need of me, though, do not hesitate to call on us, Harumi."

Harumi nodded. The hologram died out. Olive lowered her arm, and in turn the room was left silent once more.

"Do you know what this Vault is?" Over asked.

"Yeah, I do," Harumi sighed, "I've, heard of it. But it won't be easy to get into."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Lloyd asked, "Do you think you can use them, Harumi?"

"I… I mean," Harumi tapped his chin, "In theory, if we used the technology we use to travel universes, we could use them to go to the Twins."

"Or to bring them to you," Ren declared, "Would that not be the smarter option?"

"Like, the reverse of what we do?" Lulloyd asked, "Cause, we jump by, using energy to pull us towards a point. So, instead we'll us it to, pull them to us?"

"Yes," Ren nodded, "Precisely." When the others looked at her, she sighed, "I have been following along with your adventures as best I can."

"That's perfect," Lloyd turned to Harumi, "If we do that, we can ignore Prime, Ophiod and this Oni guy. We can go right to them."

"And get our butts handed to us again?" Monty frowned, "We didn't exactly do well in the last fight, you know."

"Last time we weren't prepared," Lloyd shook his head, "We'll fight them on our own terms instead. No more chasing them. We'll force them to fight us instead."

"And if they try to do what they did to Sun?" Monty hissed out. Over's body tensed up.

"Then we deal with that too," Lloyd frowned, "It's our best shot."

"No, it isn't," Monty stood up, "What, you want to drag the Twins, guys who have consistently gotten away from us, right onto our doorstep and tell them to politely knock it off. Is this even a plan?"

"...I almost took them down when I fought them," Mage gripped his fist, "I… I could use my, time powers to…" He froze, then shook his head, "I can, use my elements to stop them from trying that. I, could tear their Iron Doom apart."

"And, if we do this as a surprise…" Lulloyd frowned, "We could, do this without risk of them getting to us instead."

"...It is risky," Over frowned, rubbing his chin, "But I do not think they could stand up to all six of us. If we destroyed their Time Matrix before they could jump, we would be able to defeat them without risk. We could use their own tactic against them."

"What better plan do we have?" Mage asked, looking down, "I want to stop them. And… and I don't know what we can do without hurting Ophiod and Prime. They don't seem like bad people. If we did this, we could win this battle without having to defeat them."

"And you're willing to risk your worlds to do that?" Monty asked.

"...Yes," Lloyd nodded, "I'm not losing anyone else. I'm not letting anyone else get hurt. If we dod this, we'll save everyone."

"I… I don't know if I could actually build a machine like that, but…" Harumi nodded, "If we were to at least have Time Blades, we stand a better chance, right?"

"...Really?" Monty looked around, "You're all into this? Even you, Over?" Monty glared at the dark figure, "You're okay with this?!"

"Yes," Over nodded his head, "I have seen the void… and I do not wish to go quietly into it. To those that took everything from me… I will fight to preserve their memory."

Monty looked around the room. All of them weren't questioning this. They weren't questioning how dumb this was. How stupid it was. How much this could go wrong. Even Harumi, the one that should have been the smartest. For a long while, he starred deeply at Lloyd, then Over, and finally, at Mage.

"Fine," Monty spat, "Get your blades. Do this dumb plan. Just tell me when I need to actually get involved with it."

With that, Monty turned around and left the room. He made his way down the hallway, trying to get away from them. Once he was out of the way, a voice slowly began to cackle at him. In front of him, the projection of the dragon inside of his sword grinned at him.

Did you think that display would prove to me you are not who you really are, Monty? The sword asked, You truly don't understand yourself at all.

Monty slammed his sword into the wall. The loud clang echoed down the hall and left a gash in the concrete wall. The ghost stormed his way down the hallway, away from the others.

"...Right," Lloyd turned to Harumi, "This vault, how do we do this?"

"Well," Harumi sighed, "We.. .need someone to get in."

"Someone?" Over asked, "Specifics."

"Well, the only way to get inside is to have someone that has the DNA of the one who built it open it, that was our way to ensure none of us could be used to open it against our wills," Harumi smiled awkwardly, "And… only I know the person to get us inside."

"Really?" Lloyd stepped forward, "Then let's go get them."

"Yeah… let's just, hope that he's not in danger again," Harumi sighed. When everyone turned to look at her, all Harumi could do was grimace, "...You'll, see when we get there."

Author's Note:

Sorry for the last response! This chapter is going up with Two Universal Deviation Chapters, one for Ophiod and one for Prime! Go and read them! They relate directly to the conversation from both Chapter 66 and this one! Otherwise, I hope you all continue to enjoy! I'm very proud of these deviations chapters, it would help if you did read them, otherwise NINJA-GO!