Author's Note:
Greetings my followers! As of today, I have a very important announcement!
As of yesterday, I have officially begun work on the last chapter of Ninjaverse! With this milestone finally achieved, and moving into the epilogue of the story very rapidly, I have made an important decision.
Starting today, June 18th, Ninjaverse will be going to a bi-weekly upload schedule on Mondays and Fridays!
I'm hoping that you're all ready to see the end of the story! Thank you all so much for reading this far and seeing this announcement! I'm looking forward to your reactions as we finally approach where Ninjaverse was meant to go, all along. NINJA-GO!
As an extra note, I also want to thank mlydo for their amazing piece of fanart! post/653617226095771648/the-cast-from-bionicstars-fic-enter-the
In the far north of the World, the Lightning Tribe lay perched amongst a pocket of seemingly never-ending storms. The land was barren, desolate and ruined from the never-ending strikes. All that seemed to grow from the rocky, cracked slopes were massive black stones. The stones were sleek and shining, and looking into one would produce a reflection as clear as any mirror could hope to. They dotted the landscape, yet all seemed to have the slightest tilt. Following these angles would lead to where the rocks began to grow up against one another into a massive pillar of black, reaching up high into the sky. It was at the top of these rocks that the Lightning Tribe homes were built.
The homes of the Lightning Tribe were built upwards into these rocks, wrapped around them with tight metal seals they traded with the nearby Metal Tribe for. Said homes almost could look like weathervanes from a distance, small gray stone and tall buildings as they were. But even more than that, the buildings were connected by large rope bridges that were held in place by the magnetism between the homes, allowing for the people there to walk across from home to home, building to building. Yet the tribe itself seemed dull and uninteresting, perhaps brash and brazen for placing their homes so high above the ground, but that was simply it.
To any traveler, they would say the beauty of the tribe was never truly shown until the lightning struck. The homes were positioned to perfectly become a true lightning rod, conducting the strikes down into the crystals they build their homes onto. Said lightning would turn the entire pillar, the hundreds of feet of it, into a shining, glistening blue sight. The lightning spread out all the way to the ground if the strike was hard enough, soaring across the ground to light up the brethren that pointed to it. It was these strikes that let the tribe break off and harness bits of crystal charged with lightning, their powers and the tribe's power source enough to create something worthy of both export and innovation.
At the base of these crystals, the Vermillion warriors were slowly laying siege. Their tanks attempted to fire their warrior cocoons into the city high above, but the lightning flew down from the sky and blasted them, causing their entire row to spark as the metal fried the snakes inside. The soldiers that did manage to climb the crystal were thrown back as the men of the tribe held their hands out, directing the lightning of the sky itself straight into them.
The Vermillion, however, persisted in their attack. The entire ground around the crystal was another red sea of warriors and snakes, readying for battle. Slowly, the warriors began to break apart. Those soldiers of the tribe directed the lightning down into the army, yet no gap would stay such for long. Instead, the warriors began to grow and form, bending and twisting their own metal until they had formed a massive three-headed snake giant. The thing rose up on two legs, growing a tail of which metal began to encase the tip, forming a wicked blade. The thing stood perhaps thirty feet tall, and soon, it slithered forward to wrap its arms around the massive pillar of crystal.
The soldiers rapidly shot their lightning and that of the sky down towards the thing, yet the creature was too massive for them to do any good. The creature laughed as it climbed, its hands a massive well of snakes that let it hold to any surface. It slammed its body up the pillar, bringing it closer to the tribe above. The soldiers quickly began to hurl what they could do at it, but it was of little use. The thing continued to climb even as panic overtook the tribe.
With a massive roar, the entire field of crystal for perhaps a mile lit up with a powerful blue essence. The soldiers looked up and almost immediately fell to their knees as a massive beast climbed atop the tribe's buildings. The creature was a sleek and wiry blue dragon, its body slickened with small white lines that faded to a dull yellow against its predominantly blue scales. It's face, however, was long and thin, a rod to conduct the lightning that stood within its body.
"Fulgr!" Jay, the leader of the tribe, stood up amongst his men, "He's come to save us!"
Fulgr roared, spreading its wings and taking off into the sky. As he flew, the wings of the beast spread, and caused the clouds to swirl behind it. The lightning itself shot out and struck the back of the beast, causing its body to become consumed in it. It turned its head down and looked towards the Vermillion below, then went straight down towards them. The Vermillion rapidly flung their weapons towards it, but nothing could stop its descent.
With a powerful crash, Fulgr landed amongst the warriors, his body blasting electricity out in all directions from the impact. Rather than grounding with the rock underfoot, the lightning shot through the metal armor of the Vermillion, shocking them and blasting them apart where they stood. The tanks were blasted apart as Fulgr opened its jaws and unleashed a strike of power from them. The army rapidly heeled beneath him.
Seeing the creature still climbing up to its tribe, Fulgr turned and struck his tail against the rocks. The rocks light up in a blue line that went right into the creature. With a powerful spark of light, the creature was blasted apart by the sheer force of its spasming, raining a torrent of snakes down along the army in a red mist, with hail of armor soon to follow.
From atop the perch of the tribe, Jay lowered his weapon. Jay was a young man, with his orange hair having grown messy and unkempt, as though a current of lightning prevented it from staying flat. His armor was completely metallic and lean, concentrated around his hands, feet and chest. Other than that, deep blue robes splayed out from under them. In his hand, he held up a small staff with a chain on the end, one which he spun rapidly to charge a blast of lightning to send hurtling towards the ground below for good measure.
"Sir!" A voice Jay did not recognize made him turn. The man that stood in front of them wore the distinctive curved and black armor of the Time Tribe.
"You're not from here," Jay blinked, "What are you doing here?"
"Sir, I've come to ask for aid," The man bowed his head, "The Time Tribe has been under siege for the last week, I've been sent to find aid for the tribe."
"Well, you've picked the worst possible time to come and ask for help," Jay mumbled out, "We've been holding them off for almost three days now ourselves! Fulgr awoke daysago and has been scouring the lands to try to drive them away from our smaller settlements."
"Really?" The Time Tribe scout lowered his head, "Then it is as we feared. You were our last hope."
"Does that mean the other tribes are under attack too?" Jay asked. The scout nodded. Jay frowned, "I thought we were done with these Raiders! We can't hold out like this forever. Even with Fulgr, they never stop coming!"
"I… must report back to my tribe," The Time Tribe Scout flashed a green palm, "If we cannot expect aid, we must rely on the strength that we have."
"Tell Acronix I wish him the best of luck," Jay gripped his staff, charging it back up with lightning, "And once we finish getting these guys to get off our backs, we'll see to our sister Tribes!"
The young scout nodded his head. Jay turned back to the battlefield below him, seeing Fulgr blasting apart the armies once again. With a small inhale to calm his nerves, the young leader rushed over and grabbed hold of a small glider. Behind him, soldiers picked up ones of their own. Jay flapped them once to test them, then nodded his head. Once he saw the scout had vanished forward in time, he raced to the edge of the platform they were on.
"Let's help him out!" Jay shouted, jumping off. Soon, the rest of the soldiers had jumped off after him, soaring in a spiral towards the ground surrounded by crackling sparks of lightning as they flew down to their dragon to aid in his battle against the never-ending hoard.
Deep underground, in a massive cavern that was connected to the world above it by long and winding caves lit by the glowing yellow stones, a wall of Earth Tribe men raised their hands. Another cavern was closed off as rocks moved to seal the gap preventing the Vermillion behind it from entering. Before the snakes could try to break through, the men took several steps forward, forcing the wall to slide back through the cavern and shove them back. When the resistance became too much, they let go and rushed back, sealing the portion of cavern they had cleared to create a thick barrier.
"Great…" Cole, a man who wore massive armor that made his body appear almost twice his size, painted a deep black and orange and tightly and shining in the dull light of the cavern, "Another one sealed up… what about the main tunnel?"
"We've managed to hold it," A stocky Earth Tribe warrior, holding a massive hammer, bowed his head, "But with that tunnel sealed, we have only two other exits from here."
Cole looked around. The Earth Tribe stretched around him. The cavern was perhaps half the size of Tempus, with the homes built in haphazard and random locations to accommodate for the uneven terrain. In the middle of the tribe ran an underground river from which their water came from. The main path through the tribe was lit by the deep yellow stones of the Light Tribe, showing the massive black maw of the cavern that would lead up to the surface and to the main trading roads above ground. Of the nine passages that stretched from other locations in their territory, however, seven had now been sealed after their entrances had been taken by the Raiders.
"What about the mines?" Cole asked, "Can we move the people in there?"
"The mines?" The warrior asked. He looked towards the one tunnel that didn't go up, but rather down to a massive drill shaft from which their minerals and ore exports came from, "...If we do, then we would have no way out if the Raiders find a way in."
"Is there anywhere above here that's safe?" Cole asked. The warrior shook his head, "Then what other choice do we have?"
"Well," Monty responded, "You could come with us."
With a hard turn, Cole spun around, drawing a massive double-sided hammer from his back and holding it at Monty. The moment he saw the ghost, however, his eyes flashed with recognition.
"You're that one from the Summit!" Cole shook his head, "Unless… you're really a Raiders?"
Cole stuck his hammer slightly inside of Monty. The ghost looked at him for a long moment with disappointment in his gaze. Cole gave a bit of an apologetic smirk before pulling the hammer down. Monty just crossed his arms and shook his head.
"Nope, real, and I've come on behalf of Acronix," Monty sighed, "Ugh that sounds as stupid to say as it did to be said to say it. Look, what I'm saying is your tribe is screwed."
"What?" Cole blinked, "Why?"
"Because the Vermillion had put the Time Tribe under siege for the last week," Monty frowned, "And they split their forces. It looks like half of them are coming right for you."
"Vermillion?" The warrior asked. Monty's eyebrow twitched.
"Vermillion, Raiders, same thing," Monty sighed, "Look, point is the snakes are coming to take you all out, so you shouldn't wait around here to get attacked."
Cole paused in thought hearing that. He looked to the side for a moment, then back towards where Monty was. He gave him a long look before shaking his head.
"We don't have anywhere to go," Cole frowned, "And even if we did, we wouldn't know what to do. Where are you saying we need to go?"
"To Tempus," Monty waved his hand, "The Time Tribe. We could use your men and we can protect you a lot better than this underground coffin can."
For a long moment, Cole tried to think about what he wanted to say. He thought for a short time, then he slowly turned and nodded his head. Seeing that made the warrior beside him blink.
"He's right," Cole frowned, "Hate to say it, but he is. If they take the main tunnel we're trapped down here. We can't carve a new tunnel fast enough to outrun them. But how are you going to get everyone out?"
"Mage will be here soon to help," Monty paused, "Ugh, Lloyd. You know, Dragon Lord. You get everyone ready to leave, he'll show up with his own dragon and get you out."
"The Dragon Lord will come here?!" The warrior asked.
"Is your entire point to just react to what I say?" Monty spat, "Because if not then you're doing a great job at it. Just be ready when Mage gets here, he'll help evacuate you all."
"Tell him that Tellus has already woken up," Cole informed Monty, "So-"
"You're behind on that one, all the dragons are already awake," Monty frowned, "I'll see you all later."
Monty reached out and tapped his wrist. Under his feet, a portal opened up. The two were made to watch in confused amazement as Monty disappeared into it, vanishing from their sight. After a rather long moment to watch, Cole shook his head and turned around, hitting his hammer into the ground to ripple through the entire tribe's cavern.
"Be ready, everyone!" Cole shouted, "We leave as soon as the Dragon Lord gets here! Let's make it count!"
With a flash of portal in the wall behind him, Lloyd emerged into the middle of the palace of the Time Tribe. He was covered in soot and dust from the Smoke Tribe. Trying to navigate the massive plains of weird gray ash and sinkholes felt like they'd taken years off his life. Still, it meant any Vermillion that had pursued him were made to fall into the traps he'd barely escaped from, and he now had the coordinates from the Smoke Tribe on his watch.
"You're back!" Lulloyd's voice rang out. Lloyd turned to see him walking over from a small table showing a massive map of the World, covered in little red dots all over it, "D-Did you talk to Ash?"
"Yeah, they're doing just fine," Lloyd sighed, "They've been running the Vermillion into sinkholes for the last three days."
"W-Well, if you got the coordinates for their tribe then, that means…" Lulloyd leaned forward, "Monty got the ones for the Earth… a-and Mage already g-got all the ones in the north… s-so that means, w-we're only missing… I-I think that was the last one, actually."
"Then let's sync our coordinates," Lloyd nodded. Lulloyd held his watch up. The two pressed a button on the side, causing a wave symbol to show up in the corner. Both of their lists populated with the coordinates the other didn't have, filling out a perfect list of all the elemental tribes. It was even filed neatly under a dropdown menu with the universe they were in. Harumi really had made these watches-
Lloyd's thoughts stopped. He looked back towards the hallway. For a moment, he somewhat hoped that Harumi would walk in the door, look at their map of the World and the marked Vermillion positions they knew of and tell them what they needed to do in order to win this battle. But he knew that she wasn't going to be coming through that door, not anytime soon. Not with her having not left her room for the entire week.
"How goes the effort?" Krux' walked into the room. The man still had on his battle armor, with his gauntlets stained with the marks of battle on them. He looked exhausted, yet he spoke with a clear and determined voice.
"W-Well," Lulloyd looked down at the map, "The Water Tribe just, floated all their cities out to sea s-so they're okay. T-The only tribe that required aid was the Mind Tribe. Nuero went and just, moved all them into Gravity Tribe territory. With all the dragons woken up, it looks like we have, a bit of a handle on the situation right now."
"A bit?" Krux' frowned, "That's not good enough. We need a full grasp before we can hope to push them back."
"Well, that's asking a lot," Lloyd leaned over the map, "The other tribes have cut off any food source for the Vermillion, so it's safe to say that they're likely not growing stronger. I, think. I don't actually know how they breed but, well," Lloyd shook his head, "It looks like there was a force of about… forty-thousand cut up among all the tribes?"
"We estimate that we've cut down at least two of that forty over this past week," Krux' nodded, "We've forced the Vermillion into retreat again, which means we likely won't see them for at least another day."
Lloyd nodded. The first attack had shown the tribe just how powerful the force attacking them was. Muto remained by the front gate, defending them from anything that could dare to slip through the path. The largest attack had come the previous day, and even that had been driven back with one massive blast from Muto's jaws. The dragon was not one to be trifled with.
"What about your home?" Lloyd turned to Lulloyd, "Is there anything there?"
"N-No, I checked," Lulloyd rotated his head, "I-I mean, I just kinda dropped in, but dad said there hasn't been a single sighting of a snake."
"Hrmm… and, Prime?" Lloyd asked a bit quieter.
Lulloyd lowered his own voice, "N-No, not yet. We haven't had any sightings of Over yet, either."
Lloyd was quiet as he heard that. Krux' was quiet as well. Ever since that first battle, they still hadn't heard a single message from Over. They didn't know where he was, what he was doing, why he had done that. With Prime's message still lingering in their minds, the urge to find him had grown. Lloyd had no idea how long it'd take for Prime to get Invictus repaired from the fight, but if he did and felt he was being made to wait for too long, then…
"Lloyd," Krux' stepped forward, "I asked you what your plan is."
"Plan?" Lloyd blinked, "...Right now all we can do is fight off the Vermillion."
"Fighting them will not last forever," Krux' frowned, "What do you plan to do to stop them?"
"We don't know," Lloyd bit his lip.
"My people are not used to a siege like this," Krux' frowned, "Even if their bodies can rest between the battles, their minds are under threat of being overrun. How long do you think Muto can last, protecting us like this? Soon enough, they'll send something that even he can't fight. We need to stop them as quickly as possible!"
"That's enough, brother," Acronix' sighed as he himself walked into the room, "They're doing their best, let us not make it harder on them."
The group looked back to where Acroinx' stood. His armor was still on, but it was in far worse shape. The left shoulder had been ripped off, showing the torn cloth underneath. His colors had slightly faded from massive scrapes on them, and his hair was hanging limp over a face that sported a large bandage over his right cheek.
"Brother!" Krux' frowned, "What happened?"
"An ambush while scouting the Vermillion position," Acronix' grunted out, holding his left arm, "Nobody was killed, but two of my men sustained injuries. We did manage to ascertain their camp, though."
"We can talk about that later, brother," Krux' quickly moved over to support him, "You need to go and lie down. You can't fight the next battle if you can't walk."
"Yes… that is true," Acronix' sighed, "I'll go and rest then."
"You better come outside," Monty's voice flared up on Lloyd's watch, "Bring one of them with you."
"Ah, it looks like he's completed the mission we sent him to," Krux' looked back at his brother, "I'll bring you some food after this meeting."
"I'll do fine on my own," Acronix' sighed, "But… thank you."
Krux' nodded his head, letting Acronix' hobble his way over towards an infirmary in the palace. Krux' quickly turned and led the group down the hallway and to stairs that led them to the throne room and out the palace. As they emerged into the light, they saw the gates of the Time Tribe opened. Muto stood with his fangs growling at the top of the path, protecting a large procession of people as they walked through the gates.
"They made it out," Krux' sighed in relief, "Good. Let's go and greet them."
The assembled group made their way down the stairs from the palace and out into the streets of Tempus. As they approached the group, they found a large group of people in deep leather and mining equipment stumbling through, finding places to rest from their long journey. At the head of them was someone that all of them were able to recognize.
"Cole!" Krux' cried out, "You made it here safe."
"Krux!" Cole gave a small smile as he walked over and held his arm up, "Good to see you back in the fight."
"Was never out of it," Krux' reached up and slammed his arm up against Cole's own.
"Woah, those gauntlets are nice!" Cole looked down at the massive orange and red weapons hanging off Krux' hips, "Where'd you get them?"
"Gift from the one in charge," Krux' smirked, "Not exactly got my powers back yet but… well these make up for them," Krux' paused, "Is Mage with you?"
A small gust of wind made the two leaders flinch. Above them, the massive shadow of the Firstbourne flew over them, painting the light of the sun in red from its majestic wings. The dragon soared around Tempus once, then found its perch atop several buildings in the eastern quadrant. Her claws dug deep into the roof tiles, steading her body to let her rider leap down and make his way towards them.
"Did we get everyone?" Mage asked.
"The rear guard said that nobody was left behind," Cole informed him, "Thanks to you. Tellus won't be far behind us" Lloyd guessed that was the name of their patron dragon.
"Hopefully the Vermillion don't figure out that we used a decoy on them until it's too late," Mage nodded, then turned to Krux', "Do we have places for them?"
"We already made room in the east side," Krux' nodded, "Teran will show you where you all can stay. It won't be spacious, but we've secured our farmlands and water supply, so you should be comfortable for the time being."
"The Earth Tribe won't forget this," Cole nodded, "We never forget a good deed."
"You'll have to talk to my brother about that," Krux' waved his hand, "He's the one that cares about things like that."
Cole gave him another grateful nod, then slammed his hammer into the ground to tell his people to follow him. Soon, Teran joined Cole, directing him to the homes that had been prepared for them. Watching all them walk brought a sad relief to Lloyd, knowing they were safe but their homes would now surely be overrun by Vermillion.
"This will at least give us some reserve manpower if the Vermillion attack again," Krux' nodded, "And it can't hurt having people who can help us seal the path if needed," Krux' turned to Mage with a smirk, "You'll finally get a break."
"Yeah," Mage nodded his head. Feeling the lack of emotion, Krux' went momentarily silent.
"Well, we're at least managing the situation now," Lloyd nodded, "As long as Prime doesn't show back up, we'll be fine."
"Prime?" Mage gripped his fists. Lloyd froze slightly.
"We haven't found him yet," Krux' read Mage's mind without a single need for the element, "I'm sorry, Mage." Mage let out a small 'tssk.'
"I looked for him," Mage raised his head, "While I was leading the Vermillion away from Cole. I don't know if he's here or not but… he's not anywhere I can think to look."
"I know you're worried about him," Krux' reached his hand out, "But if we can't find him, we have to-"
"Have to what?" Mage snapped, "Plan without him?"
"Yes," Krux' frowned, "Mage, please. I know you're worried. We want to help. We just-"
"I'm going to go help Cole," Mage frowned, "The people feel better when I'm around."
Before they could stop him, Mage had made his way to the procession of Earth Tribe residents, guiding them along through Tempus. Rather than look angry, Krux' just lowered his hand gently and looked down at the ground with a sad gaze.
"... This is hurting him," Krux' shook his head, "He hasn't been the same ever since he came back here. He won't tell me everything that happened either."
"And, you want to help him?" Lulloyd asked.
"I owe it to him," Krux' responded back, "I put him through all that pain when the Raiders first came here. And now he's having to go through it again," Krux' put his hand on his hip, "I need to check on my brother. For right now, the best we can do is hold on."
Lloyd and Lulloyd looked at each other, silent. Krux' made his way back towards his brother. Lulloyd turned to Lloyd and nodded his head.
"I-I'm gonna look over the map again and, see if we missed anything," Lulloyd smiled, "Dad always said that, you'll always find the thing you need when you aren't looking for it. So... maybe I'll figure something out," Lulloyd smiled, "You're, uh, welcome to join me, you know."
"Alright," Lloyd raised up his watch, "Monty, where are you?" A moment later, the ghost responded back to him.
"Checking on the other tribes," Monty informed him, "Scouting stuff and all that. Don't worry, I won't get hurt." Lloyd almost wanted to smile at that joke.
"Well… alright. Lulloyd and I are gonna stay here. If you see Over or, anything like that… tell us."
"Yeah, sure," Monty responded. His comm flicked off a moment later. Slowly, Lulloyd and Lloyd made their way back towards the palace, and back towards trying to fix the mistakes they'd made.
Monty lowered his wrist from his arm, looking around. He was on the grassy plains of the Earth Tribe territory, more specifically aboveground. There were no Vermillion around. A little while ago, he swore he'd heard the Firstbourne roar a bit ago. But shortly after that, he'd been left to think by himself, looking down across the grass.
Are you going to go and search for him again? The sword asked him. Monty turned to see the SoS on his back and scoffed.
"Don't sound so disappointed in me," Monty growled, "You said yourself I have to overcome my own fears or whatever."
I didn't say you should continue to abandon your friends to search for him, The SoS replied, What do you intend to do when they notice?
"Tell them that I've been doing my job, so they can stuff it," Monty tapped his watch, "Now be a normal sword and shut up."
A moment later, Monty vanished through his portal, appearing in the Stiix he knew and tolerated. He didn't bother taking in the sights again, instead making his way right down the boardwalks and towards Ronin's shop. Thankfully, with him having been there so many times this week, nobody had tried to rob the place yet. Even lowlives were smart enough to know not to try to mess with someone they couldn't hurt.
Monty had a map laid out of Ninjago over the counter to the shop's main room. One which he quickly moved behind and leaned forward against. He reached up and slowly took hold of Ivory, laying it down on top of the map to hold it down as he ran his hand over it.
"We already checked all the Serpentine Tombs," Monty mused, "And all the places the Ninja have been to. The Sea of Sand is too risky, so we can cross that off. He's not dumb enough to try hiding in Ninjago City. Serpentine hate us so we're not gonna be with them. Maybe he's hiding out in Primevil's Eye…" Monty frowned, "Pretty rainy though."
Does it occur to you that perhaps he does not want to be found? The sword asked, I'm not saying finding him is not important, but it may be best to wait until after we've finished this battle. He may be worried that it won't be you who finds him.
"You told me to clear my emotions and stuff to get to Sanctuary!" Monty spat, "Just let me think! I know he'd hide somewhere I knew! He'd go somewhere we knew. I just have to think…" Monty growled, "Why have we raided so many tombs?!"
Have you even put any effort into training for Sanctuary? The sword responded. Monty paused.
"Look, I can use the whole 'see the next move' thing pretty well, that's working for now," Monty huffed, "Best not worry about unlocking that thing until I stand a chance at actually getting it."
Monty, we do not have time to waste, The sword replied, I can only help you so much. It is a power that you have to unlock, not me. And if you are not working towards it-
"Monty!" A voice sounded off from Monty's wristwatch. Monty rolled his eyes and tapped it to ignore the sword's words any further.
"What" Monty sighed out, leaning forward against the map.
"We just got a report that something is happening at the Gravity Tribe, you should have their coordinates, right?" Lulloyd's voice sounded out, "Do you think you could go, check on it for us?"
"Right now?" Monty looked down at the map, "I'm busy."
"The Mind Tribe fled there, if something's happening it could be big," Lulloyd replied, "J-Just pop in and tell us what you see, okay? W-We've only heard this just now and, well, we can't just go on one report."
"Fine," Monty groaned, "Just leave it to the one person who can't get tired to go out and keep running himself ragged for you."
"I appreciate it," Lulloyd smiled, "And… I-If something happens, just tell me, okay?" Monty raised his eyebrow at his tone. Something about it felt weird.
"Sure," Monty responded then closed the comm. He looked back down at the map and groaned, "Well. Looks like you got your wish, sword."
It wasn't something I wanted, but I suppose if it means that you are helping those who need it, I'll take it, The sword replied.
Monty shrugged and made his way back into his bedroom. He threw open the massive wardrobe and yanked his current cape off. He paused for a long while, thinking about what he wanted to put on, earning him a feeling of ire from the sword. He picked up a deep green one that blended right into his natural color and wrapped perfectly around his body. He hooked it into place with a clasp, then walked back to retrieve Ivory from the table.
"If it makes you feel any better," Monty shrugged, "I'm at least helping people."
It does not, but I appreciate the attempt, The sword replied. Monty gave another long groan before he portaled back out of the room and off into Mage's world once again, leaving behind a map that curled up from the moisture in the air to hide the markings that had completely covered almost all its surface.
"Harumi?" Lloyd called out as he knocked on Harumi's door.
There was no response. Once more, Lloyd had to open the door himself. Slowly, Lloyd did just that, stepping inside and looking around the darkened room. There was no change from the last time he'd seen it. The bed was still stripped of sheets, the furniture was still in place, hardly anything was out of place.
"Harumi, are you… okay?" Lloyd asked. He turned to the corner of the room, knowing Harumi would be there. The girl was still curled up, still looking almost dead. A barely-eaten tray of food sat beside her, and a half-empty glass of water. Lloyd smiled seeing that, even if it was only a small one.
"I… guess not," Lloyd shook his head, "If… if you need to talk, you call us on your comm, okay?" Lloyd raised up his wristband, "You went to all the trouble of making it so, I would hope you use it," Lloyd smiled, "You would, tell us if you needed us, right?"
Harumi didn't respond. Lloyd looked down at her tray and gently picked it up. He carried it out the door, then brought in a new one. Harumi still didn't move. He couldn't tell if she was sleeping or not. Instead, he gave her one more look, then gently closed the door behind him.
Lloyd took a deep breath. He looked around to make sure nobody could see, then he hit his watch. With a flash of portals, he was gone. Nothing was left behind but the tray of food he'd left outside the door.
When Lloyd reappeared form the portal, he was at the entrance to the Earth Tribe. The massive cavern behind him had a path that had been carved out beautifully, sculpted to perfection. The moment he landed, he rolled into the shadows, seeing the massive amount of Vermillion around him. The snakes milled about, looking around and waiting for orders. It was just like the snakes around the shore of where the Water Tribe was before they'd broken off.
Slowly, Lloyd reached into his gi. He pulled out the Mask of Hatred, feeling the wood in his hands as he hefted it up. He looked around a few times, giving a single errant glance down at the mask with a single look of apprehension. Then, he took a deep breath and pressed it on his face.
The Vermillion nearby would see a flash of purple within the shadows. An order was sent through to the ones nearby to draw their weapons, quickly surrounding the entrance. The shadows of the night sky hid whatever was inside from them. One Vermillion, wearing a thicker helmet, raised his hand up and waited for a moment.
A second later, the Vermillion was blown apart as a stone fist struck him. The other Vermillion were stunned only for a second before they pointed their swords forward and charged. The stone figure shot through the Vermillion, crashing its body into them with a feral howl of rage. Each one could only watch as something shot in and destroyed their fellow snakes one by one. Each one was blown apart in an instant.
Some of the errant snakes that tried to slither away were crushed under the figure's foot. Lloyd, covered in stone armor, with only the smallest bits of his green showing in his chest, huffed out. He held his face up, letting the moon glinter off his mask. He held his hands up in front of his face, then gripped his fists. With another long huff of anger, he shot forward into the night, leaving the broken warriors there as he ran across the landscape.
Soon, the grassy plains gave way to a small encampment of Vermillion. Two tanks and three bikes were stationed there, surrounding a fire on which they were using to preserve their cold-blooded bodies in the cold night air. Lloyd ran up until he could duck in the tall glasses, looking at them with a long, snarling glance from under the mask. There were perhaps fifty of them there, all waiting for something to happen. Maybe closer to sixty. It didn't matter.
Lloyd let two stone swords form in his hands from the mask's power, then he shot across the grass. He located the Vermillion that had to be their leader by his helmet. A single Vermillion stood guard in the grasses, looking around for someone like Lloyd. Before he could say a word, the swords shot out from the grass and spread him apart. Before the other Vermillion could react, Lloyd threw one sword right through the air, skewering apart the leader into snakes. The other Vermillion, panicking, picked up their weapons desperately.
Lloyd didn't give them time to react. He raced forward towards the bikes, grabbing one and digging his feet into the ground. With a violent swing of his body, he threw the thing upside down right into the middle of the camp, snuffing out the fire and their light. The Vermillion tried to form a circle, holding their weapons out to look for them. None of their confused faces, though, could see him hiding among the grasses.
Suddenly, there was a crash. One of their tanks had had the catapults ripped off, and the thing was tipped onto its side. The Vermillion trembled. One by one, their bikes and tanks were either disabled or broken. They each began to hiss, trying to intimidate the thing that was making their own bodies quiver in confusion. One of them glowed its eyes red, trying to contact the Hive Mind
Instead, a sword cleaved its head, and subsequently its body, apart. Before any of the other Vermillion could try to do the same, Lloyd shot out from the grasses, pouncing on one like an animal and ripping it apart, bending and misshaping its armor to make it unable to reform. The other Vermillion could only watch as it pounced at each of them, either ripped them apart, or making them unable to do anything to help themselves. Lloyd went through each other like a true demon of the night, reducing their numbers one after the other.
Finally, there were none left. The moonlight shone down on Lloyd as he stood in the middle of the now ruined camps, snakes slithering away from him in horror. He growled, holding his hand up and charging up green power. He held his hand out, blasting at those that tried to flee. Once they were broken down, it was easy to stop them. It was easy to take them down. These camps were so easy to destroy once you'd done it a few dozen times. The mask let him do that.
Soon, the snakes were gone. Lloyd panted out. That was one down. He'd managed four the previous few nights he'd done this. This entire week, he'd been going out at night like this. It was so easy for him to do this. The others didn't understand the mask. They didn't know why he was doing this. They didn't get it. But he did. Lloyd knew exactly why he was. He scanned the horizon, looking for the next sign of Vermillion to attack.
"I see you're making good use of my mask, Lloyd."
Lloyd froze, turning around and blasting his power out towards where he heard the voice. The power, however, missed the voice. He looked around a few more times, trying to find where it came from. He huffed and snarled out, his voice distorting behind the mask again.
"Who's there?! Show yourself!" Lloyd drew his stone swords again, "Unless you want to be treated like any other Vermillion, come out now!"
"If you insist," The grasses to Lloyd's right parted. Lloyd turned to look at it with his purple mask, the bits of blonde hair flopping out the side and dangling over his face. When he saw who emerged from the grass, though, he froze.
"I never thought you would bond so well with the Mask of Hatred," The half human, half demon face of Oni looked towards Lloyd, "I'm impressed."
"You… are you here to fight?!" Lloyd clashed his blades together, "Why are you here?!"
"I'm here because I was tracking someone," Oni explained, "I just so happened to see your attack on this camp. Your use of my mask is truly special."
"You can't have it back!" Lloyd spat, "You can't!"
"I doubt if we fought I could get it back," Oni shook his head, "Those that exhibit the particular trait of the mask they wear can draw upon more powers than others can. I imagine you've already seen that yourself," Oni nodded his head towards the stone blades Lloyd had made.
"I'm bonding with the mask?" Lloyd asked in a surprised tone, "How?"
"Because your hatred is stronger than those around you," Oni nodded his head, "Hatred for someone that wronged you. Hatred for your fate, your destiny, even your decisions. Even hatred for yourself can trigger the power within it." Lloyd took a deep breath hearing that. The exhale sounded harsh and raw.
"Who are you looking for?" Lloyd growled, "You won't use that smoke on us again. You can't hurt us like that again," Lloyd smacked his blades together again, "I won't let you!"
"I'm searching for Over," Oni said plainly.
"Over?" Lloyd huffed out, "Why?"
"Because I believe that at our previous battle, I truly disrupted the delicate balance that lies inside him," Oni nodded, "As the last survivor of a world that is now gone, he holds a particular place in the balance of all worlds. If something has happened to him, he must be dealt with."
"I'm not telling you where he is!" Lloyd informed him.
"I know you won't, because you do not know," Oni shook his head, "I have not been able to contact Prime, which means he is likely out hunting for him." Lloyd didn't react to Oni already having figured out this information, just shaking his head at it.
"And what will you do when you find him?" Lloyd took a step towards Oni.
"I do not wish to kill him," Oni shook his head, "I simply wish to assess how the battle has rattled him."
Lloyd took another menacing step towards Oni. The fusion of dragon, oni and man didn't even twitch. Instead, he just looked at Lloyd with a curious glance.
"You're not the only one looking for him," Lloyd growled out, "Prime wants to fight him. He wants Over to go fight him. Maybe Over's already gone and done it."
"He has?" Oni blinked, "And, does Over know Prime asked that?" When Lloyd realized he had said too much out of his tension and went silent, Oni had his answer.
"I see," Oni nodded, "Rest assured, I am on his trail. He has not left this world. When I find him, I will pass on Prime's message. Perhaps this can be used to restore the balance."
"Wait!" Lloyd shouted, only for Oni to hold up his Realm Crystal and vanish into a portal. Lloyd leapt towards him, but he simply dug his swords into the ground. He looked down at it, trying to figure out where Oni may have gone.
Instead, Lloyd heard a loud hiss. He turned around, dragging his swords up to see that an entire squadron of Vermillion was heading right towards him. Lloyd looked back to where Oni had vanished, then back towards the Vermillion. For a moment, he wondered if he should go after Oni, to try to stop him from finding Over…
His mind drifted to what he'd came out here tonight to do. His anger at the Vermillion that were marching towards him. Oni could wait. Whatever he was planning to do likely wasn't as important as what these Vermillion would do if he didn't go and stop them from attacking another Tribe.
With a loud roar, Lloyd leapt into the air, drawing his swords up in front of him. The last thing the Vermillion saw before Lloyd had landed right in the middle of them was the glimmer of moonlight on those swirling yellow painted eyes bearing down on them with hate that seemed to know no bounds.
Slowly, Mage hunched over the table in front of him. He looked down at it with a guilty look, once that was twitching with anger boiling under it. His hand moved over to try to spread the map again, looking for somewhere on it he hadn't looked. Somewhere that he hadn't been able to find him. Somewhere, something, anything he could do.
The Dragon Lord was tired. He'd spent a week like this. A week of doing nothing but flying about, saving smaller settlements, tribes, people from the dangers of the Vermillion. While the losses hadn't grown much, the threat that the Vermillion posed was a powerful one. He'd barely had time to sleep amongst it all. Barely had a chance to make himself feel useful. He'd been spending all this time going and making sure that everyone was alright.
And even then, he hadn't found him. Everything that was happening with Over, Mage knew it was his fault. It was all his fault. His fault for making Over feel this way, his fault for being mad at it. It'd been his fault for getting hurt, everything just like that. And now… now he'd made Over leave. He'd made him leave, and now… now he was. Now he was somewhere that they couldn't find him. They couldn't do anything about him.
"Lloyd," Krux' called out as he walked up towards the door to the boy's room, "Cole said that you looked tired. Is everything alright?"
All at once, Mage moved to quickly scramble together and hide away all of his maps. Before he could flash to the door and close it, however, Krux' had stepped in and looked through the doorway. In it, he could see Mage trying to hide the maps under his bed,to hide what he had been doing. And therefore, it left Krux' to sigh.
"Lloyd," Krux' shook his head, "You don't have to lie to the others like this."
"Lie?" Mage asked, "I'm not lying, what are you-"
"Your anger," Krux' shook his head, "You haven't told the others about where your friend has gone, have you?" Mage went silent.
With a nod of his head, Krux' pushed forward and through the door, walking over towards where the bed in the room was. Mage stopped trying to hide the maps, giving Krux' enough time to slowly take hold of one and open it. Upon seeing what was on it, he mentally compared it to that in the planning room they'd set up and handed it back to him.
"Over is…" Mage shook his head, "When, he woke up. I went and yelled at him. I told him I was angry at him for going and doing what I did to Machia to everyone. And now he's… he's," Mage bit his lip, "Look at him! He's gone now! Prime wants to kill him, everyone is in danger, and we need him! And I'm the reason that he's not here!"
"Mhm… so I suspected," Krux' looked Mage dead on, "And do you regret what you said?"
"Yes!" Mage shouted, then winced, "I mean, no. I. I mean. I don't…"
"You regret saying those words to him because he's gone," Krux' determined with a nod, "Yet the words you said, you don't feel you were unjust in saying. Is that right?"
Mage nodded his head. Krux' sat down on the bed. Mage, seeing this, moved and sat down next to him. The Dragon Lord looked smaller when he was compared to Krux', even if he wasn't that much older than he was. Both of the Twins here looked so old, so mature, and grown-up. And it made Mage look even more like a child than he was.
"Lloyd," Krux' turned his head, "Do you know where he is?"
"No," Mage shook his head, "I don't!"
"Do you?" Krux' asked again, "I think you do know. You know in the same way you knew where the Twins were hiding here before."
"But…" Mage was cut off by Krux' shaking his head.
"You worry if you leave, that you will fail in finding him," Krux' crossed his arms, "And what you find, you're scared to face. If you still haven't forgiven him even now, Mage, that is a sign of what he did was something he has to yet atone for. Yet that doesn't mean he doesn't deserve to be found. In fact, I think he ran away like this because he wanted, more than anything, to be found."
"Why?" Mage asked hollowly.
"Because from what little time I've known him, I know that man is someone who cares deeply for those in his life," Krux' placed his hands behind his back, "A man who would be willing to do deeds unforgivable if it meant protecting them. A man who would do anything, if it meant that he thought the ones he cared about… would get to live on another day."
For a moment, Mage wondered if Krux' was even talking about Over. Yet he didn't want to ask what those words meant. Instead, Mage took a deep breath.
"And then what?" Mage asked, "If I go and find him, what… what am I supposed to say?"
"I can't tell you that," Krux' chuckled, "Even if I could, I don't think I should. You have to figure that out yourself. Do you know why he's hurting?" Mage nodded his head, "And are you willing to help him through that pain, no matter what it may do to you?" Mage nodded his head again. Krux' smirked.
"Then I think you should go find him," Krux' stood up, "Go. I'll cover for you while you're gone. Find him and bring him back, Mage. If you think you caused this, be the one to fix it. Don't forget what you've felt, but don't let it stop you from helping him."
Mage gave him one more look. It was one of gratitude, of respect and determination. Krux' just smirked and nodded, letting Mage turn and quickly race out of the room in a flash of speed. Slowly, Krux' went and tucked all of Mage's maps under his bed again, then left to tend to the other things he needed to, leaving the hope for Mage to finally overcome his emotions in the boy's own capable hands.
The land beyond the borders of the World was foriegn and worrying or those that weren't prepared for it. While nothing about it spelled out a place that was hostile, it was a world that nobody was prepared to live in. It was a place beyond the protection of the dragons, the lives of the Tribes, and therefore it was a place to settle was strange and worrying. To leave the comfort of generations and protection was something almost none were prepared to do yet.
Which was exactly why Over had kept walking, leaving the lands of the Amber Tribe at the border of the World far behind him. He wasn't sure how long he'd walked, but he'd kept going. His body didn't require food, nor water, nor even sleep. A boon of the being that he'd fused with, whose voice was still gone to him. Someone who he still wished to hear with all of his heart.
"Why are you running, Emperor?" Sun's voice danced in Over's ear, "Where are you going?"
Over shook his head. The more he walked, the less he was forced to see. The more that he walked, the fainter Sun's voice became. The further he went, the further he could get away from the guilt of what he was abandoning. The further away he could get from it all.
He could leave this world, yes. Yet this world was the furthest from his own. The air, the sky, the colors, the very lines in the world itself were ones that he did not know. Ones that could take his mind away from what he had failed. To leave this place would be to go to a place that was more familiar to him. Even the brick world was too familiar to him. This place was nothing like what he knew. And therefore, it was an even better place for him to hide.
Over made his way to a slope. He slowly planted his staff in it, then began to crawl up towards the summit of it. The rising sun in the sky above him continued to glare down on him, making his vision shaky. For a moment, he wondered why a being of darkness like him was even allowed into the light. But that was only a momentary thought. He wished not to dwell on that. The darkness no longer obeyed him. He was not even that anymore.
His foot slipped. Over's body was sent back down the slope, sliding in the dirt and coming to a painful rest at the bottom of the slope. Over spat, clearing his throat as he pushed himself up. For a moment, he hesitated to do so. The pain of the tumble he could feel in his limbs, but the desire to get up was waning on him. How far had he gone? Was it far enough? Was this place, this very place among the dirt, a place for him to stop?
"A man like you can never stop, Emperor," Sun's voice accosted him, "You can never leave behind the world that you have made your own."
"Yes I can," Over gasped out, "It left me behind once. Why should I not be allowed to do the same?"
"Because the balance will not allow that, Over," Oni's voice sounded to him.
There was no surprise nor shock in Over's body as he turned around. He slowly pulled himself up from the dirt, planting his half-melted staff into the ground. Standing in front of him, framed by the darkness of the sky yet to be lit by the sun, was Oni. The man stood with his hands at his sides, a neutral gaze on his face as he looked over the Emperor.
"Greetings, Over," Oni nodded his head, "I have come to deliver a message."