You need to go back, Monty.
Monty set his jaw, grinding his teeth together as he heard that. In his hand, he clutched the reforged SoS, his hand trembling in the grasp he had on it. He shook his head, trying to block out the voice inside his head.
"I've almost found him, I'm sure of it…" Monty whispered, "I'll find him."
You should be focused on unlocking Sanctuary, not finding him! The sword admonished him, Do you not understand if we do not have that, we may lose our chance to defeat them?!
"I know that!" Monty snapped, "But this feeling won't leave me alone until I actually find him! That's it! So stop getting angry at me!"
I'm not angry at you, Monty, The sword informed him, I'm worried.
With a flash of anger in his eyes, Monty drew the sword and shouted, swinging the thing around and cracking it hard against the nearest rock. The rock was scared from the blow, a small spark forming from the force of it, yet his sword remained intact. He reached forward and gripped the stone to steady himself, shaking his head as he tried to think.
Monty stood now at the apex of the Mountain of a Million steps, having come to check the old Serpentine Tomb here. He looked down at the gaping black maw inside, and the twinkling of the torch he'd lit to see inside. He could see the passages that led down to the massive base Pythor had constructed. He remembered delivering the Fangblades to that guy with Ronin. And the extensive network of tunnels the snakes had built he'd just searched and found nothing in.
You're no closer to unlocking Sanctuary then when you got me, Monty, The sword softened its tone, I'm not trying to make you upset. I worry for the fate of worlds here! I must train you to use my power if you hope to overcome this threat. The sword attempted to reason with him.
"I can't…" Monty shook his head. The wind began to gather around him.
Why can't you? The sword asked, Don't you and Ronin understand each other?
"I just can't…" Monty growled, the wind blowing fiercer around him.
"Because he's the only one in this entire stupid world that I give a crap about!" Monty shouted, his eyes widening, "IF HE'S NOT HERE THEN WHAT'S THE POINT?!"
Monty shouted, throwing his hands out to his side. The wind that he had built up shot out like a blade, cleaving right through the large claw-like protrusion of rock atop the mountain. As Monty took a few breaths to focus, the rock slid backwards, sliced clean off and falling down the side of the mountain. The sound of it crashing down filled the air for a long while, only stopping when it settled to the bottom of the mountain far below.
"What's the point of all this if Ronin isn't here?!" Monty shook his head, "What? Tell me, you stupid piece of golden pretentious…. AUGH!" Monty spat, "The only one in this entire world that ever cared about me was him! Wu abandoned me, Morro took my place, the ninja wouldn't ever see me as anyone to trust! Ronin was the only one who looked at me and didn't treat me like I was some useless thing! And now he's gone, and you're telling me to calm down?!"
Monty… The sword tried to speak, but Monty shook his head.
"You don't know anything," Monty hissed, "I know I need Sanctuary! I know I need it! I need more of everything so I can put a bullet between Oni's eyes! But I can't, now, can I? I'm too emotionally unstable, just like everyone else thought! Just like Chen, and Soul Archer, and Wu! They all know how to twist me around and make me PAY!"
I didn't mean to… The sword tried again.
Monty sheathed the sword violently on his back. The ghost looked up towards the sky, then slammed his hand into his mouth and let out the distinctive whistle. A few moments later, the sound of humming engines tore through the air as REX flew towards them in its red and green glory.
"Just let me focus on finding him," Monty muttered, "And then we can talk."
There wasn't much to be said after that. Monty simply flew forward, opening up the cockpit to toss the SoS inside and possessing the ship outright to get it moving. Soon both of them were flying through the air and away from the mountain, off on their seemingly futile quest.
"Ronin really isn't here…" Lulloyd rotated his head as he looked across the empty shop.
Lloyd dropped the floorboard he had pried up, hoping to find something underneath it he could use to find Ronin. Instead, there was nothing there but the roar of the ocean far beneath the place. Why Stiix had been built this way, Lloyd would never know. Being here gave him a strange sense of nostalgia, recalling the week he'd spent stranded there with Harumi and Lulloyd. It felt so distant now, buried under the memories of non-stop chasing the Twins.
"Then we need to find him," Lloyd responded, "And Monty. If Monty's looking for Ronin, we can find him that way."
"Can't we, uhm… didn't he have that, big ship that, isn't here right now?" Lulloyd asked, "Doesn't, Nya know how to track things?"
"Ronin is too crafty to let us track him," Lloyd sighed, "I'm pretty sure the only reason he ever helped us out was so he could remove himself from all our stuff."
"That… uhm, from what I hear about him, that sounds right…" Lulloyd paused, "Is… Ronin a good person?"
Lloyd paused for a moment to think about that. He gestured for Lulloyd to make his way out of the building, and in turn he moved to stand on the edge of the dock that separated Ronin's shop and the temporary house he, Lulloyd and Harumi had used. As they stood there, the seemingly eternal rainy skies over the ocean churned up the waves, making them crash up and against the large pillars that held up the boardwalks. How Monty could put up living in a place like this, equivalent to them building a ninja base in Torchfire Mountain, Lloyd didn't understand.
"I… I don't really know," Lloyd sighed, "Ronin has done good things and bad things. He helped me defeat Morro, yeah, but he also did that because defeating the ghosts meant Soul Archer's deal would go away. Jay says at some point he hunted us all down but, well, I don't remember that. But he helped us move into Yang's Temple… which might have been so he could scope the place out. He's got a huge criminal record. I don't know if I would… I dont' know if you can say that he's a good person, he's a person that does good things when he decides to."
"And… what about Monty?" Lulloyd asked hesitantly.
Lloyd thought very carefully about his response, "... I think Monty is the same way. I think he does good things because it benefits him. He's… just like Ronin, he just doesn't have Ronin's charisma," Lloyd paused, "I, never thought I'd have said Ronin had that."
"Do you think Monty can do bad things?" Lulloyd asked.
"Didn't Monty shoot Morro right in front of us? While Ronin was threatening to kill Nya at gunpoint?" Lloyd asked.
"That's, not what I mean," Lulloyd frowned, "I mean… do you think, Monty is someone who could go and do, really bad things?" Lulloyd pushed the thought further, "Do you think, he could have ended up like Ophiod and Prime?"
"... I don't know," Lloyd turned away from Lulloyd, "Why are you asking that?"
"Because… I think, I think Monty is struggling with that," Lulloyd whispered, "None of you guys… have ever reached out to him. And, I think he feels like… like he's not apart of us. And so, when he's… when he's thinking he's going to lose someone that does care about him, it's really hurting him."
"We do care about him," Lloyd informed him.
"Do you?" Lulloyd asked, "... Do you even know why he's so obsessed with unlocking that sword?"
Lloyd paused. He didn't have an answer to that. Seeing that, Lulloyd dropped the tension from his face and instead reached out to gently take Lloyd's hand. Feeling that, Lloyd blinked in confusion as Lulloyd sighed.
"I… I haven't really told you guys… so I'll tell you," Lulloyd looked up, "The sword is alive. He can talk to it. I don't… really know the details but, I went with him, to Cloud Kingdom. That's… you know, way back when, we were… we were late to pick you up? That's why," Lulloyd inhaled, "The sword has been eating away at him. He's, I think he's making progress with it but, he's all about trying to figure out what he can do with it. He's been trying to do this alone, and he won't tell you guys because… he doesn't know if he can trust you."
"He can," Lloyd informed him with a defensive snap. Lulloyd sighed.
"I… I'm not trying to attack you, Lloyd," Lulloyd told him, "I just, mean that you have to understand, he's not… used to working alone. I think being alone like this is eating at him. He's always been with Ronin and… and I think…" Lulloyd paused, "... I know what it's like, to feel like, everyone else doesn't care about you, no matter what you do."
Lloyd didn't have an answer to that. The weight behind the words his friend spoke hit him harder than he thought they would. He didn't understand the extent to which Lulloyd had been bullied and harassed his whole life, isolated from everyone else save for a few that cared for him. But he could tell that Lulloyd cared for Monty, and something about his words could make that easy to see. Therefore, Lloyd reached forward and took hold of Lulloyd's hand.
"Then we're going to find him," Lloyd nodded, "And we'll make sure we bring him back. If he feels like he can't trust us, we'll just show him that he can by helping him."
A tension seemed to melt away from Lulloyd as he heard those words, "I… I uhm, thanks. I'll just… I don't wanna be rude, I just wanna help Monty."
"We need to figure out where Ronin's gone, then," Lloyd informed him, "First step to that is asking around Stiix, right?"
Before Lloyd could take a step forward, there was a noise that buzzed out from his watch. Lloyd looked down in shock as he saw it, quickly turning up the volume to listen to who was on the other side.
"Lloyd," Over's deep voice came through the other side, "I wanted to inform you that Harumi has indicated a second spike of the dimensional energy signatures for Monty's world."
"That means… someone else is here?" Lulloyd asked.
"Yes," Over informed them, "We do not know who it is. Prime is likely still searching for us in his world, but it may be Ophiod or Oni."
Lloyd stiffened up when he heard that last name. Lulloyd noticed it out the corner of his eye, but he said nothing about it. Lloyd quickly looked around, as though expecting an attack from any direction. As his fear spiked, so did the pressure he felt from something hidden underneath his gi.
"I had assumed my presence would have been harder to detect," Oni's voice sounded off behind the two ninja, "It seems that she has regained herself, then."
Lloyd and Lulloyd drew their swords instantly, turning around and holding them up towards the sight. Standing in front of Ronin's shop was Oni, his body shifted now to look human in the torso but more Oni-like in the arms and legs. His horns had grown larger, sprouting in sharp, wicked spikes. In his hand, he held the Realm Crystal, an item which he slowly tucked down into the leathers that he wore around his hips for safekeeping. On his hip, he had his deep blue mask with green paint, the item staring at them as he looked the two up and down.
"Y-You…" Lloyd frowned, "What are you doing here?!"
"The same reason that you are here," Oni shook his head, "I am looking for the sword."
"The… sword?" Lulloyd asked.
"Yes, the sword that should be rightfully mine," Oni stood up, "When last I held it, it said that I was worthy of using its power. After seeing that ghost so foolishly break it, I have waited for my chance to obtain it."
"If… if that's your goal, why show yourself to us?" Lloyd asked, "What exactly are you doing here?1 Why aren't you attacking us like everyone else?"
Oni looked at Lloyd for a long moment. There was no emotion on his face. Somehow, that fact unnerved him more than seeing Oni furious, curious or anything else. With nothing to read from his face, his dull words had to carry forward the intent behind them.
"... I think you have a misconception about my allegiance," Oni stood up in full, his posture impeccable, "I am not the Twins' soldiers, as are Ophiod and Prime. If I were to pick a term, I would say I am a contracted worker. Much in the same way that Ronin and Monty are. My payment will be the ability to restore the balance of worlds once they have achieved their final goal. But I do not take orders from them."
"Is… is that why," Lloyd frowned, "Is that why you led Over to Prime's world?" Lloyd asked. Lulloyd turned to look at him in confusion.
"It is," Oni nodded his head, "Do not misunderstand. I do not do these things out of malice. Over was a suffering soul that needed to find his peace. In those moments, he craved it by his end. It so happens now that, thanks to the meddling of that half-breed, he has found it instead by reaffirming his connection to the Overlord. I would imagine that his powers and his will to fight are now back to what they were before as well."
"You can't just lead someone like that!" Lloyd shouted, "You were going to let Prime destroy him! What would you have done if he had?"
"I just told you," Oni informed him. There was no other response.
"Why… why do you want the sword, then?" Lulloyd asked, "It seems… a bit random for you, right?"
"Random?" Oni shook his head, "No." Once again, he didn't continue.
"You want the sword because Monty has it… and you don't like Monty, right?" Lloyd asked.
"It seems as though you understand," Oni blinked, "As I would expect from one that has the will and drive to use one of my people's masks."
Lloyd stiffened up hearing that, feeling the sensation of the mask burning deep against his chest again. Lulloyd could sense there was an element here that he was missing. If it was Oni that led Over into going to Prime's world, that explained a lot. But it also left Lulloyd wondering how Oni had known about Prime's message in the first place, and then how Lloyd knew about it. Did this have something to do with, that?
"Are… are you here to fight us?" Lulloyd asked.
"I do not wish to cross blades unless I have something to gain from it," Oni informed them, "Did I not make that clear in battles past? I even allowed you to have the Time Blade because that battle would gain me nothing."
"And yet you used that smoke on us!" Lloyd snapped back, "You attacked everyone! Even your allies!"
"I am not a perfect being," Oni shook his head, "I did not anticipate how that attack would end. I assumed that you all would be trapped within your illusions long enough for me to destroy your device and move on. It was because the ghost was able to break free that I was forced to put more of my power into maintaining the smoke. If you had not fought back against your own pasts, then you would have been let go once my job was done."
Lloyd felt his skin crawling. He could feel the illusion that he'd had put on him now. He could hear Harumi's voice already starting to echo inside of his head. He could sense everything that had gone through him as he heard it. It unsteadied him, made him want to pitch forward, made to collapse. Seeing that his friend was unstable, Lulloyd took a step forward.
"If… if you're trying to intimidate us, then you have to know, we won't just back off!" Lulloyd frowned, "If you want to stop us then you have to make us!"
"Hmmph," Oni turned around, "My intention was not as such. I revealed myself to tell you to leave this place. I will find Monty, and I will claim the sword that belongs to a being that has the true ability to wield it. If you intend to stand against me, I will stop you."
Before either of them could say a word, Oni twisted his left hand, showing he had the Realm Crystal in it. He fell backwards into a portal it created, and then he was gone. The action was so fast that neither of them had a moment to react to it. The two were stunned into silence as they both went to process what was going on.
"Lloyd?" Over's voice sounded off from his comm, "Weheard all of that." Lloyd realized with a shudder that he hadn't turned off his comm on the watch.
"We need to find Monty," Lloyd nodded, "Oni has something against him. We can't let the two of them go and meet."
"I agree," Over informed him, "I would join you, yet there have been developments. We've received word that the Nature Tribe has fled to the Water Tribe and are reconstructing our plans. You must bring Monty back before Oni is able to catch him. If the situation worsens, I will join you."
"No!" Lloyd shook his head, "We can't leave anyone else alone. You need to stay there in case the Vermillion attack. Mage is still recovering. From now on, we can't afford to split up anymore! Once we get Monty back, we stay together!"
Over was silent for a long while, then he slowly sighed out, "I concur. Yet you must temper your emotions. Oni is a being that preys upon his opponents destabilizing. You have seen what he has done to myself and Monty before. If you allow him to unravel you, he will strike before you can stop him."
"We won't let him," Lloyd turned to Lulloyd, "Come on, forget talking to the people here. I know someone that might be able to tell us where Monty's going."
Lulloyd couldn't help but feel a slight whiplash as to how quickly Lloyd told him to get moving. But he wasn't also going to wait to see what was going on. Lloyd, knowing that the Mechdragon was still badly damaged from Prime's attack, instead put his hands together and summoned a massive dragon made out of Energy and quickly leap up onto it. Lulloyd followed soon after, hopping up as the two took off into the sky together.
"You," Wu narrowed his eyes, "For what reason have you come here?"
Lloyd and Lulloyd stood in front of the burned down gates of the Monastery of Spinjitzu. Lloyd felt an odd sense of nostalgia seeing the Monastery burned down like this, and more notably than that the guilt of knowing he'd been the one to do it. Though, when he thought about it, he was never around in this one to burn it down. Was the Monastery being burned down like this some sort of universal constant?
"We've come to ask about Monty," Lloyd asked. Upon hearing those words, Wu shook his head.
"I and my students were told at gunpoint never to associate with you again," Wu frowned, "How did you even know to come to this place?"
"Because you're waiting for the day Acronix emerges from the Time Vortex," Lloyd told him. Seeing Wu stiffen up told him he'd hit the nail on the head.
"I had heard that the other brother was found hiding away inside of the museum, slain where he stood," Wu mumbled, "But that does not mean my duty to stop the other iha passed."
"Uhm… sorry about that," Lulloyd rubbed his arm, "But, uhm… we need to know, if you have any idea of, where Monty might be."
"And what makes you think I would know where that elusive thief would be?" Wu gripped his staff. Lloyd felt a well of anger inside of him hearing that from the mouth of his Master… or rather, this version of his Master.
"Because," Lulloyd stepped in for Lloyd, "He's been searching for Ronin here, and we know that you care about him."
"I do not," Wu shook his head, "He has made clear that there is none of that between us, and… if that is how it must be, then I must accept that. Even if fate has taken away Morro from me, we must each move on, including him."
"I don't think you really believe that," Lloyd frowned, "We know you care about Monty. I also know that Nya's Samurai X Cave can help track anyone across Ninjago. I don't think you'd forget about Monty that quickly."
"... And why would I tell you, even if I did know?" Wu asked them, "It was due to your refusal to relinquish your crystal that my pupil has been taken from me."
"Because we know where Morro is," Lulloyd answered quickly, "And once we get Monty back… we plan to rescue him."
While at present rescuing Morro was not their priority, that was not a lie in itself. Therefore, the two knew they could convince Wu to listen to them that way. Slowly, Wu lowered his head, letting out a hollow chuckle as he did.
"I do not know if I can truly help you," Wu shook his head, "But I can give you the data that we have collected on both Ronin's hideouts and Monty's movements. He has made little attempt to hide himself as of late."
"That is all we need," Lulloyd smiled, "Thank you."
"Do not thank me for what you do not know to be useful," Wu sighed, "I will have Nya acquire the data and send it to you. After this, we do not speak to each other again."
There was a solemness with which Lloyd agreed to that. Wu instructed them to find the small bike he had taken to arrive back at the Monastery. The two descended the mountain by Lloyd's dragon, finding it parked there. The two stepped forward, finding the screen on the bike to indeed have a small file on it. Lloyd plugged the watch he had on into the screen, downloading the data and pulling it up on his wrist for Lulloyd to see.
"It looks like the red dots indicate everywhere Monty's been seen lately," Lloyd informed him, "And green dots are areas of interest that Nya has marked on the map." Within seconds, the two had a map of Ninjago that looked to be almost entirely covered in red.
"Woah… he's, really been looking…" Lulloyd whispered, "Is he, okay?"
"Let's not think about that right now," Lloyd tapped the watch, "We need to find Monty. Let's see… he's searched all the Serpentine tombs, all of the Ninja's places, and most of Ninjago City. A few other random places here… huh, Torchfire Mountain? Not been there in awhile…"
"Uh… well, I see a few places here," Lulloyd tapped the watch, zooming in, "Like, what's this here?"
"That's the Fire Temple, it's where the Sword of Fire and Fangblade were hidden," Lloyd nodded, "Why?"
"Didn't, Ronin say that he and Monty went and recovered the Fangblades for Pythor?" Lulloyd asked, "If, he's going places he and Ronin have been… We, should go to the places on the map that Ronin has been. Monty's been almost everywhere else in Ninjago so… maybe he thinks that's where Ronin is hiding?"
"Maybe…" Lloyd frowned, "But what about Oni?"
"We, have to deal with him as he comes," Lulloyd told him, "We need to get going, either way. We should find him as quickly as we can."
Lloyd looked up. By now, it was almost the early evening. They'd been out here a long time. With a nod to his friend, Lloyd pressed his hands together and formed his dragon, the beast letting out a long roar as he did. After a moment, Lloyd moved and hopped up onto its back, turning around and extending his hand to Lulloyd.
With a roar, Ion was off, flying into Ninjago. Lloyd and Lulloyd were silent for a long while, each of them knowing talking wasn't going to help them. They flew across the sky, Lloyd doing his best to conserve his energy for what may be to come yet.
"Uhm… hey, Lloyd?" Lulloyd asked, "What, was Oni talking about earlier…?"
"He… wasn't talking about anything," Lloyd countered. Lulloyd sighed at the horrible lie.
"You two… did something happen?" Lulloyd asked, "It seemed like, you knew something about how Oni figured out about Over, did…?"
"It's nothing important," Lloyd frowned. Lulloyd, sensing his anger, went quiet for awhile. The two of them flew along for a bit longer before Lulloyd finally spoke again.
"I know, you know," Lulloyd mumbled, "About what Oni said. About the mask."
Lloyd froze. Lulloyd didn't shift from his seat behind Lloyd on the dragon. Lloyd shifted away from him, his hand moving to start defensively curling around the mask he held underneath his robes.
"I'm, not trying to scare you," Lulloyd told him, "I just, think you should know you can talk to me about that if you want to."
"There's nothing to talk about," Lloyd frowned, "Monty… Monty said that I should use it. And now that I have been I've been… I've finally been able to catch up to the rest of you."
"Catch… up?" Lulloyd asked, "In, what way?"
"All of you can do something I can't…" Lloyd groaned out, "You can Master Build, Monty has all those skills with guns and his sword, Harumi is smarter than all of us put together, Mage can use all of those powers and Over… Over's the most powerful person I've ever met," Lloyd gripped his fist, "It's like… all of you are like me, but you can do something else."
"That's… not really true," Lulloyd muttered, "If, if anyone here is underpowered then, it's probably me… I don't even have any powers…"
"That's not the point!" Lloyd growled out, "All this time, it's been my fault! I'm the reason the Twins are doing this! Every single person who's gotten hurt, who's been taken away because of the Twins, that's on me! I was the one that failed to stop them… it was my power that let them even get to you in the first place, and…" Lloyd frowned, "Now with this mask, I can finally start making progress in stopping them."
Lulloyd didn't speak for a moment. Lloyd didn't realize it, but he's fully clutched the mask through his gi, letting Lulloyd see the full indent of it. He kept it on him at all times now, in case he had to use it. And right now, he'd almost pulled it out to make a point. Lloyd, realizing what he was about to do, backed down from it a moment later.
"Look… I don't, think this is the best time for us to, really start going at it but… I-I just. I want you to know that… that using things like that it's… it's…." Lulloyd's hands rotated against the joysticks, "I used the Ultimate Ultimate Weapon, because… I thought it would work. But, my hands… they were the wrong hands. And then, I nearly tore down the city because I didn't think about what using it would mean. And… and I'm just worried that, that mask. Is it, do you think that… do you think that, maybe, the person who is…. Are yours the, uhm, wrong hands?"
"No," Lloyd informed his ally. Upon hearing that, Lulloyd just sighed.
"Then, I won't, bring it up again… but, I know you used it again," Lulloyd told him, "And I think that, if you are gonna keep, doing that. You need to tell the others. We have to know if you're planning to use that so we can… be ready for it."
"There isn't anything to be ready for," Lloyd frowned, "I'll use it when I need to use it."
Lulloyd didn't want to keep talking about it. Instead, he sighed and looked down, attempting to track down the image he had on his screen.
Slowly, Monty stumbled forward towards the large red structure in the distance. The tall pine trees reached up high into the sky, casting their shadows to make the day seem closer to night than it truly was. As Monty walked along, he kept his eyes peeled around him, looking around for anyone that might be in his way.
Where are we going now? The sword sighed, Have we not searched this area of Ninjago yet?
"Ronin and I came here on business once," Monty grumbled, "There's a chance he could be here."
The ghost emerged from the treeline, finding himself in front of a small gate that stood in front of a large stone bridge that spanned across a large flow of lava. At the other end of the bridge was a massive, multi-tiered temple that glowed with the veins of fire that lay behind it. The entrance in particular shone with a deep red light, one that spoke to the veins of fire within.
The Temple of Fire, then? The sword asked. Monty didn't respond, instead walking under the gate and across the bridge.
If Monty were alive, the sheer heat of the volcano as he entered into the temple would have singed his hair. Instead, the ghost simply made sure his cape was fireproof before stepping forward. He threw the cape behind him, arms crossed as he made his way through the winding paths. He walked around the large pool of lava directly inside that once held the Sword of Fire, instead venturing deeper into the volcano through a path on the side.
Soon enough, Monty found himself standing in the midst of a massive cylindrical chamber. The chamber was intact, given that he and Ronin had stolen the Fangblade from this place without any resistance. He used to imagine the faces of Wu and Morro when they arrived to find the place already cleaned out. Now, he was focused on finding someone here instead. He walked out across the web-like paths around holes that led down into the pits of lava at the core of the volcano, scanning the walls for any sign of Ronin.
"Ronin?" Monty called out as he looked through various caves along the sides of the walls.
Do you truly believe he would be hiding in a place like this? The sword asked skeptically.
"If he is here, it'd be a good place to hide," Monty countered, "Nobody would look for him here."
There was a noise. Monty turned and immediately threw his body to the left, dodging something that cleaved into the rock behind him. When Monty turned, the rock had vanished, as though cut from the fabric of the world around it. He drew his two pistols, holding them forward from where it had come from.
"Your reflexes are as sharp as those of the living," Oni's voice came through the air, slightly distorted. Monty pointed Ebony towards the sound, seeing Oni standing across from him. On his face, he wore his deep navy mask with the swirling green decorations for eyes. He appeared to have just finished walking down the stairs that spiraled up towards the volcano's mouth above them, showing the now deep blue sky turning gently to twilight high above them. The simmering heat of the volcano caused the sky above them to haze over.
"You…" Monty growled, "Why are you here?"
"Is that not obvious?" Oni asked, "I am here to claim the sword from you."
Oni leapt forward, his hands extended into dragon-claws. Monty dodged the claws in and instead held up his pistols, firing them off towards Oni. Oni held his claws up, the bullets bouncing off and behind thrown aside as he slashed towards Monty. As Monty leapt back and out of the way, the sight was almost demonic as Oni shot his head to face Monty.
"I'm impressed you even found me," Monty growled as he fired off more shots, "Figured the dead don't leave a trail!"
"Did you forget who I am?" Oni slashed away at the ghost's attacks, "I am part Oni, part Dragon! I am the master of the Hunt!"
Monty continued to fire until Oni's claws slashed through his incorporeal arms, forcing Monty to blast into the air to avoid the attack. Instead, Oni shot his hand up, wrapping his claws into Monty's cape. Before Monty could pull it back, Oni managed to throw Monty through the air. The ghost spun a bit in the wind, landing across from Oni again. He looked down to his shredded cape and growled.
"Oh you'll pay for that!" Monty spat, twisting his pistols into position and once more letting loose. A click signaled he ran out of ammo. The moment Oni heard it, his hands began to glow with a deep black. Monty, sensing something was wrong, quickly rolled forward. A second later, two massive streaks of darkness shot through in a slashed X, arcing for him. When they struck the wall of the volcano behind him, the slashes carved an X out of the wall, completely removing them from existence.
"What the…?" Monty growled.
"Did you forget?" Oni growled, "The mask I have crafted now is the most powerful of all of those that I have made. With this mask, anything that the power touches is removed from existence. It is my Mask of Dominance!"
"It'll be the Mask of Broken in a moment," Monty sheathed his pistols, instead pulling out the SoS and holding it forward.
Do not allow him to take me, Master, The sword told him, I sense something different in him.
"Yeah, he needs to stop talking," Monty spun the SoS, seeing the reflection of his next attack in the blade. With a satisfied huff, Monty blasted his body through the air, snapping back and forth in front of Oni as he fired his body down towards him. Just before he was about to slash him, Monty blasted off and above Oni's head, bringing the sword down onto his back.
Oni stumbled forward, a noise of pain emanating from him. Before Monty could land, however, Oni turned his head around, his body tensing up. With a blast of light, Oni's body was enveloped in the deep purple smoke of the Oni. Monty rapidly threw his body out of the way of it, skating his feet down and across the thin walkways above the lava.
From the midst of the smoke, Oni shot out like a wild animal, racing across the way and into Monty's grasp faster than Monty could hope to anticipate. Monty's eyes widened as he gripped the SoS hard, twisting it around and taking the blow from Oni head on. The force of Oni's claws striking the blade sent him skidding backwards all the way towards the other wall.
"The sword belongs to me!" Oni shouted, "You will not take it from those worthy of wielding it!"
Master! The sword cried out. Before Monty could look to see what was happening, Oni struck the ground with his foot. The rocks underneath the two of them began to wobble and shake, then break apart and fall down into the lava far below. Monty looked down and spun his body around, flying through the air to land on more solid ground.
"Can't survive that lava, huh?" Monty asked.
I would prefer not to have to be reforged again… The sword informed him.
Oni lunged at him again. Monty growled and spun his sword, twisting it around and arcing off towards the other side of the arena they'd created. Oni's sheer force of impact shattered more of the rock, sending more chunks of it down into the lava below.
"You know, the sword and I are getting pretty good with each other!" Monty taunted Oni, "You should go ahead and back off!"
"I won't leave you be until I have the sword!" Oni growled out, "If attacking him didn't work, I will take it from you directly instead!"
Monty froze. In that window of time, Oni lunged, landing hard with a blast of smoke around him. Monty managed to dance out of the way just in time, but his eyes began to tremble as he did as those words rang in his head.
"What…?" Monty growled, "You did what?"
Oni stood up, hissing out as he did, "Is it not obvious? I saw Ronin attempting to flee and hide away. So I attacked him to force your hand."
Master… The sword spoke up. Monty could barely hear it. Anger began to well inside him, strong enough that Monty felt the wind around him gathering unconsciously.
"You…. did what?" Monty spat out. The sounds of the lava began to fade out.
"I have spent all this time attempting to find him," Oni continued, "I did not expect him to be so crafty in evading me. I assumed you would value his life over that of your worthless bond to that blade. It seems I was right in assuming it."
Master, he is trying to unbalance you! The sword cried out, Do not listen to him!
Monty shot forward, shouting as he blasted Oni with gale force winds directly in the chest. Oni fell backwards, then flipped around onto his stomach and shot across the rocks like some kind of cat. He spun around and leapt into the air in another attack at Monty. Monty spun his blade around and leapt into the air, aiming to plunge the thing down into Oni's back.
Instead, Oni gripped the edge of the rock, then threw his body down to hang from the lip of the hole down to the bubbling magma beneath him. Monty's sword struck down where Oni had been, sinking into the rock. Oni then used his grip to flip his body around, trying to kick Monty straight away from his blade. Monty let the kick pass through him, yet when Oni hit the blade his arm was made to feel the force. Monty held onto the blade even as the kick forced it out of the rock.
Oni landed on his feet, spreading his claws and slashing violently at Monty. Monty's rage only grew as he held the SoS up, knocking aside the strikes and not bothering to look into the reflection of the sword. A geyser of lava shot up between them, forcing the two apart. Monty took the initiative to summon wind on his feet to skate across the rock, arcing around the geyser and swinging his fist into Oni's mask. His hand struck the wood, yet the mask refused to break.
"Did you really think it would be that easy?!" Oni growled, twisting his claws up to tangle them around the SoS in his other hand. Without his grip tightened, Monty felt the sword being pulled away from him. Desperately, Monty grabbed hold of the sword in both hands, yanking backwards as he tried to pull away from Oni. Monty even blasted a cone of wind around the sword, attempting to blast the claws off and away from the thing.
Oni's body suddenly began to shift. The human-like texture dissolved into looking far more like the full Oni, turning black and hardening. Dark power flowed through him, summoning itself in his hands and adding to the pull. Before Monty could react, Oni twisted his arms, sending the SoS flying through the air and landing overtop a hole into the lava below, balanced perfectly on the end of the hit and tip of the sword.
With a cry of anger, Monty threw himself through Oni's claws and grabbed the mask in both hands, sending them down onto the rock. Monty threw violent punch after punch onto Oni's body, each one aimed to either shatter the mask or to break the ribcage. He swung over and over, his fists surrounded by wind just to make each strike that much more brutal. He swung again and again, over and over, each one hurting his hands with sheer force.
Oni, however, caught his fists. Monty strained as Oni pushed them back, holding him at bay. Monty snarled as he tried to attack again, yet Oni refused to let up. With one heave, Oni sent Monty's arms apart, then his mask glowed. Realizing what was about to happen, Monty blew out of his mouth, the wind blasting him away from Oni just before those disintegrating powers could test themselves on a ghost.
"You cannot beat me, Monty," Oni stood up, his hands still charged with that dark power, "I refuse to let you!"
Oni slashed his hands, each one sending a band of darkness that disintegrated all that it touched. New holes were carved in the floor as he aimed for Monty. Monty dodged out of the way of each of them, turning to see the SoS still laying there.
Monty gave a thrust of his hand, blasting the SoS away from them and onto the stairs surrounding the chamber instead. In turn, Oni shot across the paths, slashing his mask's power towards him again. Monty spun out of the way, but found his back against the wall. He faded into it, yet Oni simply cleaved his hands through the rock to remove it from his path. Monty shot out of the wall beside Oni, holding his hands up to try to blast him away. In turn, Oni slashed the space in front of Monty, making him duck and roll away from it.
"Give up, Monty!" Oni spat, "You will not beat me!"
"I can still try!" Monty growled. He formed one last attack, surrounding his body up in wind and hurling it at Oni to attempt to tackle him over. Instead, when he hit the opponent, Oni didn't budge. Monty felt lightning hot streaks down his back, his body solidified for his final tackle, shredding his cape up as Oni's claws raked down on him. With a massive crack, Monty's plate armor was ripped open, the claws sinking right through it down to his body underneath. While there was no wound, the pain nonetheless struck Monty with a burst of white in his vision and made him fall to his hands and knees. The last of his cape shredded apart. Oni's foot then kicked Monty in the gut, throwing him back. The ghost's body flickered between corporeal and ethereal, the pain making Monty's head swirl.
"And you," Oni spoke as he picked up the SoS, "Will fail."
Monty tried to stand up, working through the pain. Oni held one hand out, readying to use his power to hit Monty. Whether or not it would work on him, Monty couldn't afford to find out. Oni held the SoS up, the metal gleaming in his hand. The deep light of the volcano's lava beneath them illuminated the demonic features on Oni's body as he tilted his head.
"This," Oni growled out, "Is what truly belongs to me…"
Monty lowered his head, feeling anger swelling inside him. Slowly, he gripped the rocky wall beside him, hauling his body upright. He drew his guns, holding them up shakily at Oni. In turn, Oni snarled.
There was a flash of light. Monty looked up just in time for Oni to cry out in pain and drop the SoS. Lloyd landed directly on his arm, the sheer force having nearly broken it. Lulloyd spun and landed beside him, grabbing the SoS and jumping out to where Monty stood.
Lloyd held his hands up, forming Ion out of energy and leaping onto its back. Before Monty could question further, Lloyd nodded his head.
"Come on!" Lloyd shouted. Oni, snarling, began to raise his hands up to attack. Monty fired his pistols, hitting the mask and throwing Oni onto his back. He grabbed Lulloyd's hands and painfully blasted them through the air onto the dragon's back. Before Oni could get up, Lloyd shot up and out of the volcano's mouth, soaring into the open air of the night.
With a roar of rage, Oni rolled onto his back and charged up his mask's dark power in his hands. He slashed them, sending massive beams of pure disintegration towards the dragon as it flew. Monty had just enough awareness to blast a single stream of wind to narrowly avoid them. The streaks hit the wall, carving gashes in them and removing the rocks itself from existence. As Lloyd and Lulloyd both stared at it in fear, the last thing Oni saw of them was the tail end of the energy dragon soaring off into the sky above them.
The cold air of the night sky soon enveloped the three of them. Lloyd snapped his reins, sending his dragon through the air as fast as he could. Lulloyd sat behind the saddle, letting Monty rest on his back behind Lloyd. As the two saw the state the ghost was in, Lulloyd's eyes filled with pure concern.
"Monty," Lulloyd gasped out, "Are… are you okay?"
Monty didn't respond at first, reaching up and clutching his head. His entire body thrummed with pain, a rare thing to feel anymore. Even if his ghostly body didn't take damage, the feeling of claws raking down his spine was a white-hot blast that still simmered deep against his body. His shredded cape was little more than two strips of fabrics torn apart, flapping uselessly against his upper back. Monty's back armor showed the massive rips from Oni's claws, a grim reminder of what had happened to him. Even then, he forced the pain down and focused on his allies.
"I'm fine!" Monty spat, "...I didn't. You came to save me… again!"
"Hey… that's what friends do, right?" Lulloyd told him, handing Monty the SoS. As soon as Monty sat it, he took it with a snap of his hand. The action made his body burn as he frantically sheathed it onto his back and collapsed from the pain.
"... I'm not your friend," Monty growled, "... I shouldn't need to be saved. Why are you here?! Why do you keep coming after me?!"
Lloyd and Lulloyd were silent as they flew through the air. By now, the twilight had truly set in. The roar of battle was beginning to fade from Monty's eyes, and in turn, the pain and exhaustion setting in. Even then, his confused anger boiled over towards the only two people around.
"Why…" Monty spat out, curling up as his body protested, "Why did you come?! I… I don't need you! You keep tracking me down and following me, I didn't ask for that! The only reason you'd do this is if you want something from me, right!? What do you want?!" Lulloyd's eyes flashed with hurt, something that didn't go unnoticed by the unmoved ghost.
"We… we were worried about you," Lulloyd whispered, "It looks like, we got there just in time though, right?"
"Oh, yes, you got there just in time for me to be beaten into the dirt!" Monty spat, "Just like always, right?! Always getting there just a step behind everyone else and throwing ourselves to try to get one ahead on them! Because that's what you ninja do, isn't it?!" Monty shouted, "The only way to get ahead in this miserable, worthless excuse for a world is to get somewhere first, and somehow whenever I'm around you, I always come up behind everyone!"
"Monty…" Lulloyd began. Monty ignored him.
"Heck, why don't we go back then?" Monty laughed in a hollow tone, "Maybe we can go and get some more information out of him?! Finally figure out why he's so obsessed with everything being so balanced you could do a backflip right into a pool of 'I don't give a-!'" Monty gripped his head, laughing again, "Heck, why stop there?! He's a demon, right?! Why don't I go pop in some total concentration breathing and whip out first form and see where that gets me?!" Monty shouted, "Because it isn't like I've been able to do ANYTHING ELSE!"
The ghost slammed his hands down on the dragon, causing a massive crack of wind that shot out like a disc around the dragon. Lloyd frantically grabbed the reins to keep his dragon flying, his heartbeat picking up in turn. Lulloyd, however, was watching Monty closely as the ghost seemed to crumple all over again against the dragon.
"... He attacked Ronin…" Monty shook his head, "That… that thing attacked him! I can't let him get away with this! I won't let him!" Monty gripped the saddle, "He's all I have… he's the only one in this entire stupid, messed up world that actually cares about me. He's the only one that… that…" Monty grit his teeth, "It's not fair…!"
Lulloyd, feeling what was happening, leaned down and slowly put his hand on Monty's shoulder. While his hand at first passed through it, the second try landed on a solid plate of armor. Monty slowly raised his head at Lulloyd, his angry, saddened gaze refusing to leave.
"We've come to help you find him," Lulloyd told him, "And… and we'll, we'll do whatever it takes until we do."
"Why…?" Monty hissed out, "Why would you do that?! What do you hope to gain?!"
"Because, Monty…" Lulloyd smiled, even as the deep light of the night sky framed him in Monty's eyes, "Because, you're my friend. I care about you."
Monty stared at Lulloyd for a long while, disbelief in his eyes, "That's not funny."
"It's true," Lulloyd repeated, "You're my friend."
"I'm nobody's friend!" Monty spat, "I'm Ronin's partner, I'm an acquaintance at best!"
"It, doesn't sound like that's the case," Lulloyd sat back, "You're all worked up over Ronin… kinda like, I would be if my friends went missing."
"Your friends going out of town for a month isn't like this, Lulloyd," Monty spat, "Don't try to… you can't fool me."
"I know," Lulloyd agreed, "But, I still care about you. You're my friend, Monty. I promise."
Monty was silent for a rather long while. He looked up at Lulloyd with eyes that were frantically trying to process what was happening. Everything Lulloyd said didn't make sense to him. Caring about him, someone like him? A ghost who spent his time doing dirty jobs, stealing and committing crime after crime, didn't make sense to call a friend. Even now, he wanted to ask Lulloyd when he'd reveal the joke, when he'd tell him how funny it was to see him like this.
...But he knew Lulloyd better than that. He knew that Lulloyd couldn't joke about something like this. He knew how important, how caring he was. And he knew above all else that he was dumb enough to mean everything he said. It was stupid how easily he trusted. Confusing just how much effort he was putting into caring about someone like him. It was just like Lulloyd to be telling the truth.
"Now… I think, you do know where Ronin is," Lulloyd told him, "But, you just haven't thought of it yet. I… I was thinking and. There has to be some place. Something that's… important to you two. Or, somewhere that you don't wanna go back to? I, was thinking that, maybe Ronin picked somewhere that only you would know… and, maybe not on a map?"
Monty hung his head. He was still reeling over the thought of what Lulloyd had told him. But now, with his anger gone, he was drained of his energy. His mind didn't have anything else to loop on. Nothing else to get in the way of his thoughts. Nothing that would force him to panic or scramble anymore. And now, with that clarity, his mind recalled one memory that he never revisited. A memory that gave him one last idea.
"... Take us south," Monty demanded, "You better be right about this."
As Monty slowly stepped off of Lloyd's dragon, he let out a long sigh.
The three now stood near a remote village in southern Ninjago, one which had perhaps ten houses to its name. The village was only visible through a thick tree line, and even then only because of the hill that Monty had touched down on. Instead, around them was a semi-thick brush of forest, with bushes and flowers that all clumped together around the tree without much in the way to stop them.
"Of course he chose to hide here," Monty grumbled, "It's the one place I'd never tell anyone else about." By now, the pain in his body was dull enough he could hold himself up again.
Lloyd and Lulloyd were silent. Monty walked forward and slowly pulled apart two bushes, showing a large tree that reached up in front of them. At the base of that tree, the massive roots that reached up and out of the ground formed a small cave that went underneath the three. As they approached, it was clear that, as of recent, the mouth of the cave had been disturbed. The memory of that day fell on Monty as he stepped forward towards it.
"Finally found ya. Man, seems like the Wandering Spirit is a pretty accurate name. Had to wander around this entire place just to find you!" Monty called out into the brush.
"What do you want?" A voice inside the roots called back,, "Can't a ghost sleep in his cave in peace?"
Lloyd and Lulloyd stepped backwards and out of sight. Monty stepped forward towards the cave, standing upon the apex of it. The deep moonlight of the night sky around them framed Monty's body with a sickly green. Without a shadow for his body to cast, the light reached into the cave mouth, revealing the leg of someone inside.
"This is your cave? Huh, could've mistaken it for all the other ones around here," Monty waved his hand, "Mind if I give you a lift…?"
"Montgomery," Ronin stood up from inside the cave, parroting the word Monty had said so long ago.
"Sorry bud, not calling you that," Monty whispered, "How about Monty?"
In the deep night of Ninjago, Ronin and Monty stood facing each other. Ronin looked as healthy as he always had, which was to say tired and somewhat sluggish in many ways. Monty, meanwhile, had the SoS glowing on his back as he looked down at Ronin from atop the small perch he had over the cave. Ronin slowly chuckled.
"Thought you got the message not to come looking for me," Ronin shook his head.
"Oh please, you couldn't have picked a more cliche hiding place," Monty grumbled.
"Took you long enough to find it, though," Ronin chuckled, "Just how it works, ain't it?"
Monty frowned. Ronin expected the ghost to snap back at him. Instead, he could see that Monty was gripping his fist and shaking slightly. Ronin narrowed his gaze and let out a small sigh.
"Why'd you come looking for me?" Ronin asked, "Wasn't it you who said to go hide?"
"You weren't supposed to hide where I couldn't find you," Monty shook his head, "That's just rude."
"That's your specialty," Ronin sighed, "I had to go somewhere that wasn't even on the radar. Nobody would go looking in a forest beside some remote village. And figured since this is a place we both know and all…. It'd make the most sense to go here. I'd say this was pretty smart on my end."
Monty gripped his fist, "Shut up."
"What?" Ronin scowled, "You know our rule, Monty. We get split up, we wait it out and-"
"I said shut up!" Monty spat, "Don't give me that excuse!"
The force of the ghost's emotion made Ronin acquiesce. Slowly, Ronin moved to sit down on the root that made up the wall of the cave, his feet dangling over. From behind him, Monty could see a few random supplies and his large sniper rifle sitting beside his katanas. Ronin had done exactly what they'd agree to all that time ago. He'd gotten lost.
"I thought you were gone," Monty hissed out, "I thought Oni came in and hid your body. You didn't even leave me a single clue. We always leave a message to where we're going. We leave something, Ronin. You just left REX and the safe and everything! What sort of person does that to his partner?!"
Ronin opened his mouth to speak. In turn, Monty shook his head. He took a deep breath, trying to focus himself. He was losing his grip on his emotions again. Just like he always did. Just like he knew was keeping him from Sanctuary, from his allies.
"What would I do if you died, Ronin?" Monty inhaled, "I spent all this time thinking you were dead. I know it's a possibility. I know it's probably gonna happen one day. But not today. Why would you make me think that?" Monty raised his head, "I'm already dead! If it's been us, I'm the one that should go off to the Departed Realm! I'm the one that should disappear!" Monty shook his head, "At least if I die, then nobody else here is going to miss me! You have more on this miserable place to live for, and… and… and you're used to being alone, you stupid, pathetic waste of space, con artist, backwards business piece of scum sucking lowlife Stiix trash!"
Monty took a deep breath, his hands shaking and pressed them against his head, "If you disappear then what's the point, Ronin?! What's the point of me being here?! Nobody else here would notice if I just faded away into nothing! Nobody! I'm just some stupid reflection of someone who died stupid and alone, and so that's all I'll ever be! Just stupid and-"
The woods were cut through with the sound of a gunshot. Monty, instinctually, drew the SoS and looked around, readying for an attack. Instead, Ronin reached out, smoking pistol in hand, and used the other to grip the hand Monty had on his sword. Monty shot his head down to look at Ronin, who smirked at him and shook his head.
"Had to get your attention," Ronin chuckled, "Mind letting me say something?"
Monty took a few deep breaths. Ronin gently forced him to lower the sword, and in turn to calm down. As Monty looked to his partner, Ronin took a moment to inhale, then exhale.
"Kid… I didn't do any of this to panic you," Ronin shook his head, "After I fought that snake guy and his boyfriend, I knew you were in something serious. Something I couldn't handle. First time in awhile that's happened. I've spent my whole life preparing to deal with anything that breaks down my door, and making sure I got the cash to repair it after. But I could tell you were in something deep. So… I did what I've always done when things get rough: run."
"You didn't even tell me…" Monty whispered.
"Cause if you knew, then I figured the bad guys would come looking for me," Ronin told him, "Ain't that how it always works? You were better off not knowing. I figured you getting worried about where I was would feel better than worrying about if someone could figure it out. Looks like… looks like I forgot that you're still a kid."
"I'm not a kid!" Monty shouted, "I've been your partner almost as long as I was alive. I've seen every lowlife possible in Ninjago with you."
"Doesn't mean that you're not a kid," Ronin shook his head, "I forget that, sometimes. That you're someone who needs more than I can give you," Ronin chuckled, "I just ignore that Stiix isn't anyplace to be raising someone, especially one with as much baggage as you."
"No," Monty snapped back immediately, "You are."
Ronin couldn't help but laugh at that one, "Kid, you know who I am. I've been chased out of more bars and houses than I've been able to stay in. I'm just some thief that managed to make it past all the rest. And you… you're someone that reminded me of what I used to look like back then. Doesn't mean it was right of me to drag you along into all this."
"You're the only one that would ever drag me along anywhere," Monty spat, "Everyone who knew me when I was alive… just abandoned me."
"Heh… guess we can say that we both got our issues, then," Ronin shrugged.
For a moment, the two of them looked at each other. Then, slowly, Ronin's lips curled into a smirk. Monty didn't seem to see what Ronin found funny. Instead, his partner stepped forward and held his hand out towards Monty. Before it could pass through him, Monty solidified his body to let Ronin grip his shoulder.
"Want me to be honest here, kid?" Ronin nodded, "You've changed. You went off and made friends, something even I couldn't help you do. I can teach you to put a bullet between a fly's wings, but all my friends would stab me in the back the moment they got the chance. You though… well, just look at them," Ronin gestured behind Monty, "You got two of them willing to help you out right now."
Lloyd and Lulloyd stiffened from where they were hiding, watching everything unfolding. Monty drew Ebony from his hip and held it backwards, firing it into the ground with several loud bangs. Both green ninja quickly leapt away and scrambled back to give them privacy.
"I don't wanna change," Monty growled, "I don't… I don't want to be the person that I was before I met you. That guy is what got me into this situation in the first place."
"Who says you had to change back?" Ronin asked him. Monty looked up.
"All those guys…" Monty inhaled, "They remind me of who I was."
"You don't have to tell me about that," Ronin shook his head, "You know me. I won't ever ask you to tell me anything about your past. Heck, I hate even talking about anything with mine. Only time you gotta talk about that is if you want to."
"... But what if that past is what's changing me?" Monty hissed, "I don't want to stop being me."
"Then don't," Ronin put his other hand on Monty's shoulder, "Nobody out here says you gotta be anyone other than who you are. You wanna do some good things from time to time? Do it. You wanna tell the world to go jump in the Frozen Wastes? Works for me. You don't have to be just one thing," Ronin smirked, "I mean, look at me. I'm handsome, a great businessman, partner and marksman! And you know what?" Ronin leaned forward, "Lot of that was thanks to you, kid."
"Replace 'great' with 'mediocre' and 'handsome' with 'average' and I'll stomach what you just said," Monty shook his head.
"Hey, I look better than that snake," Ronin smirked, "Means if he has someone, I can get double."
"Double the time you have to watch out for them to stab you," Monty groaned out, "You have a history of getting them to do that."
"Not my fault all the ladies can tell a guy that's financially stable," Ronin puffed out his chest, "I take each scar as a compliment."
Slowly, Monty felt his lips curling into a smile despite his desire to stop them. And in turn, Ronin threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh. Slowly, all the emotion that Monty had held onto all this time, all the hate and the anger, the fear and desperation, it all came rushing forward and out in a loud laugh. Any consideration for their cover was blown away as the two men shared a long laugh together.
"Heh, finally got you to laugh at my dumb jokes!" Ronin smirked, "Only took me… oh, how many years?"
"Fourteen or so," Monty shook his head, still smiling, "That's the only one you'll ever get."
"Worth it," Ronin grinned, "Don't think I'll forget this."
"And don't think I'll forget your terrible choice in hideouts," Monty shook his head, "Emotional attachment? Really?"
"Hey, if you go somewhere random, you get random people finding you," Ronin shook his head, "You go somewhere unique, you get unique people."
"I'll pretend any of that makes sense," Monty stood up, "...I think I'm good now. You stay here, I gotta get back to saving this miserable place."
"Hey, it ain't that miserable," Ronin waved his hand, "I'm here!"
"Yeah," Monty smiled, "You're right."
Ronin blinked in surprise, expecting a jab. Instead, he just slid back down into the cave, giving Monty a long look as he began to walk away. There were more things the two could say. If Monty wanted to, he could talk to Ronin for hours about all that he'd seen. He could spill out his guts like Lulloyd or Mage, or he could try to hide away like Over and Harumi. But that wasn't his style. He knew where Ronin was. He knew that Ronin was safe here. And he knew that no matter what, Ronin would be there when he needed him.
It seems you've finally made peace with yourself, The sword informed Monty, I can sense that you are closer to unlocking the true power of Sanctuary.
"Way to ruin the moment," Monty hissed out.
I mean it, though, The sword responded, You finally understand what I meant about having to change to use the power within.
"And that is?" Monty sighed.
That you can change how you see things, without changing who you are, The sword acknowledged, You were the one that taught me that, my Master.
"Hmmph," Monty shrugged, "Let's save all this reverence stuff for when we actually get to where we gotta go with this."
If you think you can wait that long, The sword responded, I will be waiting, Master.
With that, the voice in the sword faded. Monty, in turn stepped forward and through the brush, feeling the weight of the sword on his back. For once, it felt far lighter than when he'd gotten here. Funny that.
"Are… is Ronin okay?" Lulloyd asked as Monty stepped by where the two waited.
"Yeah, he's good," Monty nodded, "We can go back now."
"You sure?" Lloyd asked.
"Do I look unsure?" Monty turned and faced Lulloyd. After a moment to process that, the two shook their heeds, "Good. Then let's go," Monty paused, then walked up and whispered to Lulloyd, "Thanks… friend."
With that, Monty held his watch up, hitting a button and causing a portal to open in front of him. Lloyd, unable to hear what was said, blinked at Lulloyd for some kind of confirmation of what happened. Lulloyd, however, just looked stunned and confused. That confusion eventually turned to a dull sigh, and eventually a smile.
With a small flash, Lulloyd jumped into the portal. Lloyd did the same, slipping into the void between worlds along with them. Ronin, unable to see but able to hear the sound of the portal opening, leaned back in his cave with a nod.
"Go on, kid," Ronin chuckled, "Go on and save the world."
"So… you've finally returned," Over nodded his head. He and Harumi stood in front of the large table with the map unfurled over it. Beside them was Mage, who had his broken leg bandaged up and currently wrapped up against slats of wood to help him stand.
"Don't expect an apology from me," Monty sighed, crossing his arms, "Not after you decided to throw your little temper tantrum."
Mage opened his mouth to protest, yet Over held his hand up, "...Fair enough then, spector. Perhaps we should all put aside the lingering reminders of our time apart, and instead focus on what we can do now that we are all… together."
"Whatever," Monty stepped forward, planting his hands on the table, "I'm guessing this is what the state of this place is right now, snakes and all?"
Lloyd and Lulloyd stepped forward as well, flanking Monty on either side. Lulloyd smiled at Monty, feeling a sense of relief and happiness he couldn't quite express yet. Lloyd, meanwhile, felt a wash of relief in another sense. Seeing all six of them together, standing as one like this, gave him something he hadn't felt in what felt like forever: hope.
"We've managed to reorganize the defenses here to keep this place safe," Harumi nodded, "With Skylar here, we have a bit more firepower than some of the other tribes. For right now, we're safe… at least, as safe as we can be."
"Now is the time to make a plan!" Mage jumped forward, pitching forward as his broken leg weighed him down. With a yelp, Mage quickly flashed his eyes copper, holding himself just an inch from smacking his face clean on top of the table. As the group watched him flail his arms to get back upright, Over sighed.
"Yes… indeed, it is time for us to do that," Over willed Mage's shadow to reach up with a warm hand and push him back to his feet, "As they say… third time's the charm."
"But… the last two plans didn't work," Lulloyd frowned, "We… we failed to take down Invictus because Oni showed up and… and then we didn't know about the Iron Demise."
"Right now, we have the advantage, though," Harumi leaned forward, "Unlike the Twins, we have something they don't have."
"Hope?" Lloyd asked. All of the others around the room grimaced.
"I…. was going to say unity," Harumi sighed, "But, you're right too."
"I had forgotten how… optimistic I used to be," Over smirked, "Your reminder is appreciated." As Lloyd was left embarrassed by his own lapse, Monty sighed and waved his hand for them to get on with it. Harumi looked at Over, and both of them nodded their heads.
"Right now, the Twins have the least control over their subordinates," Over nodded, "I have seen firsthand that Ophiod's will has been shattered by injuring his lover. Prime, too, has lost his grip by daring to attack us as he had."
"And from what you guys reported, Oni is working purely on his own now," Harumi continued, "That means all the Twins have to rely on is themselves, and their Vermillion."
"And their Vermillion are several hundred thousand snakes that can afford to sacrifice entire battalions with ease," Monty frowned, "Not exactly making this easy."
"But we have something else," Harumi nodded, "We have someone on the inside."
"... Morro," Monty groaned out, "Of course you do."
"With Morro on our side, we now have the chance to finally abuse the Twin's arrogance," Over began to pace around the table alongside Harumi, "Whatever information we need, he can give us. And at the same time, we now have a unified front. As you each have now taught me… unity can overpower even destiny if we place our faith in the duties we must perform."
"Yeah yeah yeah, Unity, Duty, Destiny, you wanna spit any more virtues at us?" Monty rolled his eyes, "What's your point?"
"The point is… it's time for us to finally go and make one last plan," Harumi shook her head, "But not one just between us. We need someone who can think about the big picture. Someone who can come up with the plan we need while we execute it."
"And… who, is that?" Lulloyd asked. Harumi and Over both stopped pacing right behind Lulloyd with a small look.
"Someone that has more experience with battle than all of us combined," Over nodded, "We leave at once to meet him."